Hello everyone! I know that this chapter is incredibly late, and I apologize for your extreme patience. Final exams, thesis work, and the holidays have just gotten in the way of me being able to write. But here it is, the latest chapter of my Korrasami month fic based on the Korrasami Month prompts. It's been a hell of a ride and I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my story and support it. It will continue when the next Korrasami week does! Until then, have a wonderful new year.

(-)

Korra felt sick inside. She was surprised she was even able to maintain eye contact with Asami for as long as she did. The rain poured between them, the pattering sound filling the silence and the falling droplets blurring their lines of sight.

Her heart twisted in her chest. Korra couldn't look at her anymore.

She lowered her eyes to the ground and stared at the drops hitting the cement. Mako was in her peripherals, as was the gun she had used to strike him with. Naga was panting nearby.

Images – memories – flashed inside as the lightning lit the sky over her head. They overtook her. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

A sob erupted from her chest, its intensity like a roll of thunder in the quietness that kept them apart. Korra reached up with the back of her bruised, bloody hand to wipe her tears away. She brushed her scarred cheeks but it made no difference; the rain just replaced any moisture that the tears might have left on her dirty skin. Her body convulsed and she heaved at the memories that played in her head.

Of the war and the monster it made of her.

Of her actions and the consequences that were sure to come.

Of the love of her life and how she had destroyed what they had worked so hard to build.

"I'm sorry, Asami," she wept, "I'm so sorry." A deep cough forced its way up her throat and shook her to the core. She couldn't stop quivering from the cold as she let it out. Korra staggered but kept to her feet. She held her hand up to Asami until she stabilized; she was going to get through this and say everything she wanted to say – even if it killed her.

Asami watched on with pain in her expression. Rain slid down her cheeks and into the exposed seams of her clothes.

"I'm sorry, Asami," Korra continued once she got a handle on her coughing.

Keep going. You owe it to her, and you owe it to yourself.

"I'm sorry for being away for so long," she held her elbows to hold herself together, "and I'm sorry –" Korra pushed another cough out. Her brow wrinkled in frustration, but the countenance faded quickly as the words and emotions poured out of her. "And I'm sorry for hurting you in the process. I'm – I'm sorry that things got out of hand," she hacked again and almost fell over from the force of it.

Come on, stay on your feet. You can do this. You need to.

Determination swelled in her eyes. She wiped her mouth with the back of her left hand and straightened. She glanced into Asami's peridots but looked away, the ache growing in her heart. "I'm sorry that things got out of hand and that I wasn't –" Another cough. "– able to stay in contact with you, that I didn't write to you more often, and that – that all the letters that I tried to send to you never got through."

Korra lowered her head and sighed to this, a bit of anger coursing through her. She pushed it away and continued.

"I'm sorry for the sleepless nights that I caused you while I was gone," she stopped for another cough. This one was short. She cleared her throat and choked back her tears. "And I'm sorry for the things I said to you, for getting angry at you and spiting you and being so awful to you when you were just trying to explain what happened. I'm so – so frustrated," Korra growled and wrinkled her brow, "but it's not at you. It's at him," she twisted and pointed to the unconscious Mako on the ground.

But she knew this wasn't entirely the truth. Yes, she was furious with Mako, especially after learning the details that she had ignored or hadn't even known before her initial outburst towards Asami.

That was the thing, though – her outburst towards Asami. It wasn't Asami's or Mako's or the war's. It was her own. The anger she felt… it ran much deeper than this, than Mako, and she couldn't deny it.

Korra crumbled. The weight of everything she had done came crashing down on her.

And she could no longer keep it on her shoulders.

She lifted her head and looked to the skies as the tears fell down her face. She kept her back to Asami as she stammered, her hands in painful fists.

"I'm – I'm not just angry at him. I'm – I'm – I'm angry at myself. I… I –" Korra lowered her head into her palms and sobbed. "I ruined everything. I fucked everything up, Asami. All of this – all of it," she swung a hand out to motion at Mako on the ground, "this is all my fault. I – I'm –" She threw her head back in exasperation. Korra lowered it to the ground and let her arms fall to her sides. "I'm a monster," she whimpered between exasperated breaths.

There were a thousand more things that she wanted to say, but they wouldn't come out. All she could do was let the rain pour down on her. She closed her eyes and spoke before Asami could move forward to rebuke her claim.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for treating you the way that I did. I was an asshole. And I threw it all away – everything we had – for a fucking kiss? A drunk make out session that was never meant to happen? I didn't even let you explain. I never even – I never even listened to you. I heard 'made out' and 'Mako' and saw red. You – you've been waiting for me. You love me. I know this now – and I should have known it then. I was too – everything just –"

Korra couldn't find a justification that wasn't 'I'm a fucking idiot'.

And that's exactly what she said.

"I'm a fucking idiot, Asami. How could I – how could I ever think that you didn't –" She wiped her eyes and coughed again, her chest convulsing from her weeping.

Korra gritted her teeth and took a breath.

"I'm sorry, Asami. I'm sorry for everything. You've been waiting for me, just like you said you would. And you love me. And things weren't easy on you because of it."

She glanced over her shoulder and peeked at the peridots staring at her. Korra faced her but looked at the ground when she rotated.

It was then that Asami got a good look at her. There was blood on Korra's uniform. It was torn and tattered and ripped apart. Her hair was disheveled. Mud and dirt clung to her wet clothing in spots. Her arms were shaking. Her hands were balled into fists, her right bloodied and bruised from what she could see in the lowlight. There was pain and exhaustion on Korra's face that made Asami's heart wretch.

Most powerful of all, though, in the short glimpses she got of Korra's eyes, was regret. Regret and hurt and pain and hatred and – what made her stomach ache the most – self-loathing, a frustration and ire so powerful that Asami was lost for words.

"I still have the letters you wrote me," Korra reached into her coat pocket and pulled them out. She lowered them to her waist and stared at the envelopes in her trembling hands. "I've read them so many times that I can almost recite them word for word. Especially the last one." She frowned, knowing exactly what that letter contained. "And I heard what Opal said about you when she argued with Bolin. About how upset you've been. About how –" Korra struggled to get the words out of her mouth. She heaved. "How broken you've been. Not just about me being gone, but about what happened between you and Mako."

Asami's emotions fluttered in her chest. Her heart was racing.

And Korra could feel it. She could feel every ounce of it.

"You made a mistake," she continued, letting her hands fall to her side, the letters still in hand. "You made a mistake and I threw it in your face."

Their eyes met, the anger in those oceans piercing right through to Asami's core before the connection was broken again.

And it wasn't hard for Asami to see the authenticity in Korra's eyes. She could feel every ounce of emotion that Korra was pouring out just as she could feel the rain pouring onto her skin.

"I'm sorry, Asami," Korra muttered again, her voice hoarse from talking and coughing too much. Just the thought of it made her throat tickle. She stifled the urge to hack and swallowed painfully instead. "And the reason –" She began, the roughness being replaced by a knot. "The reason –" Korra looked up to the sky, her eyes watering as she tried to get the words out. "The reason that – that I'm – that I'm saying sorry is – is –"

Korra's hands were shaking again. She couldn't withhold her tears anymore. She let them fall, let it all go.

"The reason that I'm saying sorry is because – because I love you, Asami. I love you so much. And I will always love you – I don't think I'll be able not to, even if I tried. I – I love you, Asami Sato, and if there was one thing that Kitsune was right about, it was that."

Korra faced her completely and looked up into her eyes with soft, crying oceans.

"I love you," she murmured, "I love you with all of my heart, Asami. And I'm sorry – I'm sorry for everything…"

Korra looked away and wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hands.

Asami stepped forward and placed a gentle palm on Korra's shoulder.

Even after all of this – after all their time apart and all of the anguish they've been through, all of the pain and torment – after all of this, she could still feel Korra ease under her touch.

"I love you, too, Korra," Asami choked out, struggling to keep her own tears from falling. "And I'm sorry, too, for everything I've done to you."

Korra glanced up at Asami and watched with an aching heart as Asami released her.

She put her back to Korra and held her elbows as she stared at the ground. "You're not entirely to blame here, you know. I – I got drunk and made a mistake – a huge mistake – and it's something that I'll regret for the rest of my life." Asami lowered her head and tightened her hold on herself as she continued. "But most of all, I'm sorry I lost even an ounce of hope in you. As the days turned into months without word from you, I – I started to really believe that you were –" She took a breath.

Her tears fell.

Asami heaved and wiped them away. They, too, were replaced by the rain.

"I thought that you were dead, Korra, that you weren't going to come back. I started losing hope and I never should have." She, too, looked to the sky as Korra had, the frustration at herself apparent. She shook her head and lowered it back to the ground. "I should have known better. You told me you would come back and you did."

Asami turned to Korra and met her eyes with watery ones. A small smile pursed her lips.

"You're here, standing in front of me. You're alive. This isn't some drunken hallucination. This isn't like the fleeting dreams I've been having for months. You're here, you're really here. And after everything, I – I couldn't be more grateful that you're speaking to me right now." Asami looked away. Her tears continued. "I'm sorry, Korra. I'm sorry for everything."

Korra's face softened in its sadness. She put the letters back into her jacket and reached her bruised hand out.

"Asami…"

Asami glanced up at her.

Korra wiped some of Asami's tears away with her thumb. She stepped back and let her arms fall to her sides. She took Asami in within the low light before looking away.

"I love you, Asami." Her hands folded together at her waist. Her fingers tousled with each other, as painful as the action was with her injured knuckles. She stared at her fidgeting hands as she spoke. "I know that – that things will never be the same after everything that has happened. But – but I want to get better. I want to move on from this, from the war, from the pain – from all of this. And I want to move on with you. You – you mean so much to me. I couldn't imagine not having you in my life. I love you and I would do anything for you. If you want me to leave, I'll leave. If you want me to stay, I'll stay. Whatever you want, Asami."

Korra outstretched her hands at waist level and offered her palms to Asami.

"What do you say?"

Their eyes met again, hope returning to both the oceans and the peridots.

Asami couldn't help but smile, though it was a small one. She stepped forward and took Korra's hands in hers. She closed in on Korra and kept a lock on her pupils until they were too close to see.

Their lips met, the kiss gentle and soothing.

Slowly, their hands slid away and wrapped around the other's back.

They melted into an embrace.

"I love you, Korra," Asami whispered through her tears.

Korra tightened her hold. "I love you, too, Asami." She cried as well.

They stood like this for several minutes, appreciating the warmth of the other for the first time in a long time.

"Will you ever forgive me," Asami asked when their hug ended, though their hands still lingered on the body of their lover, "for what I've done?"

Korra buried her fingers into Asami's hair and stared deep into her eyes, sincerity in both her tone and her expression.

Sincerity and love.

"Of course I will." She kissed Asami's forehead, even if it did force her to stand on her toes. "Will you," she questioned when the peck was over.

Asami nodded and pulled away. She peered at the rain that hit the ground. "I think we both just need some time to forgive each other – and to forgive ourselves."

Korra bobbed her head and offered her left hand to Asami. "Want to go home, then? We can shut the world away and just work on us."

Asami smiled and met Korra's eyes. "I would like that." She laced her fingers with Korra's and stood by her side.

A barking Naga got their attention.

They both turned to her and watched as Naga woofed at the unconscious Mako on the ground.

Korra scowled at the officer, though Asami's expression was mixed. She almost motioned to leave when Asami tightened her hold on Korra's hand.

"Wait."

She stared at Asami with confusion.

"We can't just leave him here, Korra."

Korra glanced back at him. She lowered her head and sighed. "You're right. As much as I might want to…" She shook her head. "No. No, that's not right. I'm already on thin ice with this. Besides," she glanced up at Mako, though she wanted to look away, "Bo would probably kill me, even if he is mad at Mako right now."

She released Asami's hand and walked up to him. Korra called to her over her shoulder. "Come on; let's get him into his car. He'll at least be dry there." She crouched down to get a hold on him and nearly fell over.

Asami rushed to her side. "Here, let me help you," she responded frantically. She stood on Korra's left to substitute for her injured hip.

They lifted Mako from the ground by his torso and dragged him to his police car.

Asami held him in place as Korra opened the door.

They slid him into the back seat and laid him down, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to keep himself upright in the driver's spot.

Korra put his keys on his lap and motioned to shut the door when Asami stopped her.

She whispered in her ear. "Korra, what about his gun?"

Her expression grew worried. She peered over her shoulder at the empty weapon several feet away. Korra's brow furrowed.

"Leave it. He doesn't deserve a gun."

Korra locked and shut the door before Asami could protest. She turned her back to her and stared off into the rainy distance. Fear crept into her heart at the consequences that might arise when Mako wakes up.

If he wakes up.

She gulped and peeked at the window of the cop car.

That's when Asami's outstretched hand caught her attention.

Korra traced it up to Asami's face, which held a soft grin.

"I think we can go home now. What do you say?"

She couldn't help but mirror the smile. Korra took Asami's hand and laced their fingers together, more than ready to get away from this all – from Mako, from the storm, from the cold… She pulled Asami closer and called over her shoulder.

"Come on, Naga. We're –" Korra choked on her words as tears filled her sight once more. She blinked them away. "We're going home."

Naga barked and stayed by Korra's side – the one furthest away from Asami – and occasionally rubbed herself against Korra's limping leg.

Asami ignored this; just as her relationship with Korra would take time to repair, her relationship with Naga would be just the same. They all needed time to heal. And after another violent cough from Korra when they reached Asami's Satomobile, they all needed to get out of this damn storm.

"Here, let me help you inside," she spoke with a gentle tone.

Korra nodded in appreciation, her body weakening now that the adrenaline was fading away. She hacked again as Asami assisted her into the front passenger seat.

Asami motioned to strap Korra in, but Korra waved her off.

"I can do it," she muttered, regretting the decision when she tried to move her bruised right hand. She hid this from Asami and buckled her seatbelt.

Asami shut the door and opened the rear for Naga.

Naga jumped inside and shook her fur out all over Asami's seat.

Asami frowned and sighed, knowing that the action was intentional. She closed the door and slid into the driver's seat. With a twist of the key, the engine purred to life.

Korra startled from the sound and sat up, darting her tired eyes around her.

Asami couldn't tell if this was something that she would have to get used to or if it was just because Korra was so exhausted. Regardless, she reached over and grabbed Korra's left hand.

Their pupils met. Korra's frantic ones calmed from the reassuring look Asami shot her.

Korra relaxed and laced their fingers over the stick shift.

Asami smiled and switched gears. She gripped the steering wheel and pressed on the gas.

It wasn't long until Korra was asleep against the window as they made their way back to Asami's apartment, hands locked for the entirety of the ride.

(-)

"Korra," she muttered. "Korra, wake up."

A soft nudge startled her.

Korra lurched forward and searched around her in a frantic state. Her grip on Asami's hand tightened as she scanned the darkness, looking for danger.

"Hey, hey," Asami responded, shaking Korra's hand while she did so.

Korra flinched away from the loudness of Asami's voice and turned to her.

Asami could see the fear in her eyes and the panting in her chest.

"Hey," she whispered much softer than before, "you're not in any danger. You're safe here."

She squinted up at Asami. After another breath, she began to calm down.

Asami squeezed Korra's hand. "Are you okay?"

Korra nodded and looked away. "I'm – I'm okay. Just, uh – I'm fine." She stared out the window and watched the rain fall on the glass.

Asami gave her a sympathetic look. She pulled Korra's hand to her lips and kissed it.

This got her attention. She met Asami's eyes once more.

"We're here."

Korra leaned forward and peered out the windshield.

"Oh, right," she muttered to herself.

"Come on," Asami smiled. She released Korra's hand and crawled out of the Satomobile.

Korra glanced around her once more. When she was comfortable, she pushed the door open with a groan and climbed out of the Satomobile.

Asami caught her before she could fall.

"I've got you, don't worry." Asami took a firm hold on Korra's torso, which forced a wince onto Korra's face.

The cold hit Korra's lungs like a freight train. It made a violent cough erupt from her chest. She staggered and leaned against the Satomobile until the hack was over.

Asami frowned. "Maybe I should take you to a hospital."

Korra shook her head in an immediate response. "No, no hospitals. Not right now. I just – I just need to get out of the cold."

Asami nodded and adjusted her hold on Korra. She pulled the handle of the back door open and Naga bolted out.

Naga spun around and growled at Asami.

"Naga, stop," Korra spoke in a commanding tone.

Naga backed away in an instant.

Korra frowned and crouched down out of Asami's grip. "Hey," she called to her pet.

Asami closed the doors to her Satomobile and watched the interaction from a safe distance.

Naga approached Korra with a lowered head.

Korra buried her hands into Naga's scruff and pet her. "I know you're just looking out for me, but Asami isn't hurting me. She's a friend, okay?"

Naga huffed and walked away, leading them to the front door.

Korra struggled to her feet and sighed. "It might take a while before she starts to behave again. She's stubborn like that."

"Like you," Asami chuckled as she wrapped her arm around Korra. "Come on; let's get inside and out of this freaking storm."

She nodded in appreciation. Once she was in the living room and the warmth, she started to feel better. Korra spotted her bag in the corner where she had left it. The broken vase was still in pieces on the floor, as were the roses.

This made her wince. She looked away in shame before another coughing spell hit her.

Asami helped her stay on her feet. "Why don't you sit down? I'll make you tea."

Korra shook her head. "I had something else in mind."

She turned her palm over and offered it to Asami.

Asami glanced between Korra's hand and her oceans. She took her hand in hesitation.

Korra smiled and guided Asami through the living room with much-needed assistance from the wall.

Naga watched on from her bed and huffed.

Korra ignored her and continued on. She brought Asami to the bathroom and flicked the light on.

It was Asami's turn to smile; she knew exactly what Korra was thinking.

She slid her hand from Korra's grip and shut the door behind them. Asami twisted the lock while Korra started the shower. She began unlacing her boots when she heard disgruntled noises behind her. Asami faced Korra with concern, though her expression melted into sympathy.

Korra was leaning against the wall, struggling to get any piece of clothing off; her shoulder ached too much for her to remove her coat, her throbbing rib prevented her from bending to her feet, and her damaged hip limited her to standing on just one leg.

"Can I help you," Asami asked in a gentle voice, a hand now on Korra's forearm.

Their eyes met.

Korra looked away and nodded in a silent response.

Asami smiled in relief. She directed Korra onto the toilet seat cover. "Here, sit. It will be easier."

Korra groaned her way onto the lid. While she didn't admit it aloud, she was relieved to be off her feet.

Asami started at Korra's boots. Her face grew concerned when a knife in a sheath clanged out of one of Korra's shoes. She glanced up at Korra only to see her look away in embarrassment. Asami put a hand on her thigh and squeezed before continuing on. Once her boots were off, she made her way to Korra's tattered jacket. She slid that off with care. Asami couldn't help but notice the edge of the picture she had given Korra when she left for war sticking out of the inner coat pocket.

She still has it, after all this time.

Her heart melted for a moment. Asami put the jacket aside and turned back to Korra.

Then she paused, unsure of what to do next.

"It's okay, Asami," Korra muttered with a rough voice, coughing after making the statement. "I can do this part," she mumbled when she recovered. She fidgeted with her belt, failing to pull it apart. Her throbbing hand made it difficult to open the clasp.

Her shaking from the cold didn't make it any easier.

"Here, let me help," she insisted, unable to watch Korra struggle for a second more. She removed Korra's belt and unbuttoned her pants.

Korra forced her rear off the toilet with a push of her legs so she could slide her pants down. She winced at the action, her hip aching. She released the breath she was holding once the waistband was to her knees and she could sit again.

Asami frowned and pulled Korra's pants the rest of the way. "You really got hurt, didn't you?"

Korra nodded and took a moment to gather herself. She fidgeted with her shirt afterwards without much success.

Their eyes met and Asami accepted Korra's quiet plea in silence.

Asami slid her hands to the hem at the bottom of Korra's plain white tee and lifted it.

Korra grunted when the shirt passed her head, her shoulder aching from the movement.

"I'm sorry," Asami whispered, feeling genuine distress for worsening Korra's injury.

She shook her head. "No, you're fine. Thank-you for your help." Korra used her feet to remove her socks before glancing up at Asami. "I really appreciate it."

Peridots locked onto oceans. A gentle smile crossed their lips.

"You're welcome," Asami replied. She leaned over and kissed Korra's forehead. "How about you get in first? I still need to undress."

Korra nodded and staggered into the tub in her bra and underwear. She gritted her teeth as she lowered herself in. She leaned against the end opposite the handles so that the hot water was pelting her chest. She rested the back of her head against the wall and closed her eyes in content. The steam filled her lungs, helping her core warm and her coughing soothe.

Asami stripped down to her delicates as well. She slid into the shower and glanced down at Korra with concern.

There were several deep bruises on Korra's injured hip from when she fell. Random scrapes were on her arms. Scars of different sizes and severities marked her skin, each with their own story. Asami wondered what those tales were, and pondered whether Korra even knew all of their origins.

It wasn't until Korra spoke to her that she snapped out of the trance that she was in.

"Is everything okay, Asami?"

Asami didn't respond. She simply kneeled down and pulled herself closer to Korra. She planted a gentle kiss on her lips before curling into Korra's torso.

Korra stared down at her, the feeling all too familiar to her; this was just like the times they spent together in the shower after Asami was drugged at the party.

It felt like so long ago.

Yet, the shower still seemed to bring them comfort, though Korra couldn't tell if it was the hot water streaming onto them or just the fact that they were in each other's arms, vulnerable only to each other and locked away from the world. Maybe it was a combination. Or maybe it was something else.

Either way, Korra pulled Asami closer on instinct. They were together. They were safe again, even if the moment was brief in the chaos that was their lives.

They sat like this for quite some time, the minutes dragging out slower and slower between them. It didn't matter, though. The only thing that mattered to them was them.

Asami readjusted her position after her leg started to fall asleep. She stretched out and sat so that Korra's legs were framing hers. Her back was to Korra's front. She leaned into Korra until their heads were in line. Her hands found Korra's arms and trailed down the muscles until their palms touched. She brought them around her waist to her abdomen and interlaced their fingers.

It was then that she got a good look at Korra's injured hand.

"Korra," she spoke for the first time in what felt like hours. She lifted Korra's hand up to her eyes to better inspect it.

There were bruises and cuts all over Korra's hand. Her knuckles were swollen, two of which were ripped open. Korra's finger occasionally twitched under Asami's inspection.

Her jaw dropped. "What – what happened? This couldn't have all been from punching Mako."

Korra's face and tone grew sheepish. She sighed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to escape the truth.

"You're right. It's not." She squirmed behind Asami but didn't pull away. "I kinda – punched a paper towel dispenser in a bathroom."

Asami turned around to meet Korra's eyes, Korra's hand still in hers. "Why?"

Korra looked away and mumbled. "I was angry and stupid."

She frowned and looked at Korra's knuckles. "We should really get you to a hospital."

Korra shook her head again to the idea. "No. I don't want to spend my last hours with you in a hospital."

Asami's head shot up to Korra in an instant. Her heart dropped. "What – what do you mean your last hours?"

Korra sighed and straightened, this time pulling her hand from Asami. "You do realize what I did, right? I punched Mako, an official Republic City Police Officer, in the face, took his gun from him, emptied it, and rendered him unconscious with it." Korra held her elbows and looked away. "With everything that's been happening, I don't doubt that he won't try to do something about it once he wakes up."

Asami frowned. "Do you think he'll arrest you?"

Korra nodded. "Probably. And I don't know when. But I'm expecting it." She looked into Asami's eyes. "I fucked up, Asami. If I have any chance of not getting arrested, I need to lay low."

Asami struggled for a moment to gather words. "Korra, you need medical attention. You're hurt, and not just in your hand."

She averted her gaze. "I know, Asami, I know. But right now – right now, I just want to spend time with you." She locked onto the peridots before her. "I just want to relax with you and feel you next to me and close my eyes and hope that – hope that everything will be okay." She glanced at her bruised hand and sighed. "I know it's trivial, but I just want to be with you. It's – it's been so long. And we have so much to work on. I want to start healing and getting better – and I don't mean my hand," she lifted it up and met Asami's eyes before letting it drop. "I mean with you."

Asami's expression softened. She brought Korra's hand up to her lips and kissed it before placing the palm against her chest, just above her breasts. She covered the back of it with each of her own.

Korra smiled and ushered her to return with her eyes alone.

Asami accepted. She settled into her position against Korra's front but slid down until the back of her head was lying on Korra's chest instead. She held Korra's hands in hers.

"We'll spend the night together. But tomorrow morning, I'm taking you to the hospital."

It was Korra's turn to agree. She did so with a quiet nod.

Asami smiled and closed her eyes. She had missed this: sitting in the shower with someone behind her – with the love of her life behind her – holding her close. It made her feel loved. It made her feel safe. It had given her that feeling of security and hope and mere acceptance that she had desired all these months. It brought her a much needed peace. She released a soft sigh of content.

Korra shut her lids as well. She took in the warmth of the steam and the lingering scent of Asami's skin with each inhale. It was nearly life restoring. She felt herself calm down. The memories started to fade into the moment, right here, right now, in the shower with the love of her life, locked away from the world around her. She didn't feel on edge. She didn't feel afraid. She felt loved and safe, a sentiment she had been yearning for since she left for the war. It was finally here. She could breathe again. A sense of peace – even if it was only temporary – was finally within her grasp.

And grasp it she did.

She tightened her hold on Asami.

"I missed you," Asami muttered, relaxing into Korra even more.

"I missed you, too," Korra replied in just as soft of a tone.

"I'm so glad that you're alive, Korra." Asami took a sharp breath, her thoughts forcing her tranquility away. "And I'm sorry for everything that happened."

"Hey," she squeezed Asami's hands to get her attention.

Asami sat up and craned her head to Korra.

Their sleepy eyes met.

"I'm sorry, too. But let's stop thinking about the past."

Asami raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"The past," Korra started, straightening a bit before continuing, "the past is important. It's meant to teach us and, when it comes to good memories, make us happy. But we can't waste time living in it. The more we keep apologizing to each other for it, the more we, in turn, keep thinking about it, and the more it'll consume us. Right now, we'll both feel bad for what we did. It'll cross our minds every day and we'll feel the need to say sorry, even in the most random circumstances. But that's just going to keep opening the wound. It's okay while it's fresh – it'll happen without us realizing it is. All this – all this is still raw. We're still getting used to it, adjusting to it, getting over it. We're going to apologize to each other for a while, but if we keep apologizing for it and bringing it up every day for months and months, then that wound? That wound is going to stay raw, and it's never going to heal. It'll sting forever and it will always be something that keeps us apart. Once we get past the next few days or weeks – however long it'll take for this guilt to start to fade away… we need to learn to move on, just as we did before I went out to war after that party. We need to learn to forgive each other and to forgive ourselves. It'll take time, but we'll get there."

"And if we never forgive ourselves?"

Korra's face softened. She buried her hands into Asami's hair. "It'll be okay. We'll get there, and we'll learn how to forgive ourselves, together."

Asami smiled and slid into a gentle embrace.

Korra pulled her close and nuzzled Asami's neck.

"Are we going to be okay," Asami whispered.

Korra nodded. "We'll be okay. It'll take time, but we'll be okay, as long as we love and support each other. We can do this, Asami."

"You and me," she asked as she departed from the hug, staring deep into Korra's eyes with watery ones.

"You and me," Korra confirmed. "I want to get better and to get through this. And I want you to get better, too. I want us to get better."

"And we will," Asami replied, a new determination sparking in her. "I'm here for you, if you ever want to talk or anything. Whatever you need from me."

Korra smiled. "And whatever you need from me."

Asami bent down and locked her lips with Korra's in a tender kiss. "And we'll be okay," she asked when she departed, tears streaming down her face.

Korra nodded. "We'll be okay."

Asami grinned and kissed Korra once more. She brushed Korra's hair behind her ear when the kiss ended and stared into her oceans.

"Want to stay here for a while," Korra offered.

She nodded and melted back into Korra.

They smiled and scooched into each other. They both let out an audible sigh and relaxed, the hot water and steam lulling them into sleep. Hell, just the comfort the other provided was enough to do this; the shower was a bonus. They were together again, finally together again. And while they were a bit battered and bruised, they would no longer be broken, so long as they had each other. Their last thoughts before drifting into slumber were of each other, of the strength of their love, of the hope for recovery and growth that was rooting within them, and of how they were going to persevere through everything that was to come, no matter how long it would take.

For they had each other, and in this moment, it was all that they needed.