In Hiding

Summary: Korra tried hard not to think about Kuvira living in a jail cell waiting for her trial to start – until she finds her sitting on her bed, looking for a place to hide. Set after series finale.

Chapter 27

Kuvira let out a loud groan as her right eyelids were forced open. She caught a quick glimpse of Ayaka before she pushed her hand away. Kuvira tightly squeezed her eyes lids together before opening them wide and blinking rapidly. Ayaka stared down at her with a smile.

"What do you want?" she muttered.

"I want to play," Ayaka said. She jumped up into the air before plopping down next to Kuvira, causing the bed to slightly shake.

"What time is it?" Kuvira asked.

"Too early," Korra answered. Kuvira gently sat up in the bed. She reached up and scratched the side of her neck before turning and glancing down at Korra and Asami. Korra was laying on her side, an arm placed around Asami's waist. Her dark brown hair poking in numerous directions. Asami was next to Korra, laying on her back. Her makeup was smudge free and her hair still held its silky shine. Her face was turned in towards Korra's neck.

Kuvira half-smiled before quickly looking away. A pang of jealousy rushed in. The closeness of the Avatar and the CEO of Future Industries reminded her of how close she used to be wit Bataar Jr. She reached down and rubbed her naked left ring finger. Sighing quietly, she turned her attention back to Ayaka who began to jump up and down.

"Play! Play!" she cried, "Let's play!"

"It's too early to play," Kuvira hissed. She reached out to try and catch the bouncing child, but she quickly evaded her arms and moved around to the other side of her body. Korra cried out in pain as Ayaka stepped on her hair, pulling her head back.

"Maybe she just needs to be fed," Asami suggested, her face still buried in Korra's neck.

"She's not a polar-bear dog, Asami," Korra corrected her.

Kuvira quickly grabbed Ayaka around the waist and gently placed the child into her lap. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, relaxing at the lingering scent of the shampoo from her hair. "How about we go and get something to eat?" she suggested.

"Play, then eat," Ayaka declared. She leaned back before flashing a bright smile. "I'm the boss for the day."

"You know, I used to be a captain of Zaofu's metal guard," Kuvira explained. "I am more used to bossing other people around."

"You not scary," Ayaka said. She leaned back and peered into Kuvira's face. "You nice! You help!"

"I'm not scary?" Kuvira asked in a low voice. She tightly wrapped her arms around Ayaka's waist and pulled her to her chest, before leaning back and flittering her fingers along the young girls' ribs. Ayaka erupted into squeals and giggles, trying to push herself out of Kuvira's grip. Kuvira playfully nipped at Ayaka's cheeks and neck, occasionally making growling noises. Kuvira then let out a bark of laughter when she felt Ayaka's small hands rubbing against her own ribs.

Korra turned her upper body to look at the two of them and smiled brightly. Asami sleepily lifted her head and half-smiled. "I knew you were ticklish," Korra commented with a laugh. "Although, who knew you had the ability to laugh."

"Shut up, I am not ticklish," Kuvira muttered, quickly leaning forward so that her dark hair covered her rosy pink cheekbones. "Let's go down and get something to eat, Ayaka," she said, picking the little girl up and placing her onto the floor next to the bed.

"Okay, mommy," Ayaka cried before running over towards the door. She plopped herself onto the floor, moving to pull her shoes on.

Kuvira sat still for a few moments, watching the little girl struggle for a few moments in her excitement. Kuvira quickly flung the covers off of her, and climbed out of the bed. She stiffened when she felt Korra's eyes burning a hole into her side. "D-do you…want anything?" she asked.

Korra raised a shoulder. "I'm fine, but Asami usually needs coffee when she wakes up."

"Noted." Kuvira nodded.

Ayaka ran over and reached up with both hand's for Kuvira's, her small fingers wrapping around her wrist. "Mommy let's go!" she demanded. "Hungry!"

"I'm coming," Kuvira said, allowing herself to be pulled towards the door. She slipped on a pair of shoes, grabbed a key to the room, and then ushered the little girl out of the room.

Korra inhaled deeply, reaching up to rub her eyes. She turned back and placed a light kiss to Asami's forehead.

"As cute as they are together, it'll be more difficult for them to separate the longer this goes on," Asami said into Korra's neck.

"Yeah, but I think they need each other," Korra admitted.

Kuvira shifted in her chair, allowing herself to relax before biting into a piece of fruit. She quietly watched as Ayaka speared her pancakes, a frown of frustration growing on her face as it fell apart due to the accompanying syrup causing it to become soggy. Not that it made much of a difference seeing as most of Ayaka's food was either on her clothing or on the floor. Her fingers were sticky from the syrup she insisted on eating first with her hands.

"Is the food good?" Kuvira asked, her voice a bit gravely.

Ayaka nodded while chewing with large motions, inadvertently showing Kuvia the mushy contents in her mouth. "Yummy," she said, before swallowing and licking her lips.

Kuvira had pushed her empty plate away from her before picking up her teacup. She closed her eyes and deeply inhaled the steam, letting the scents and aroma waft through her nose. She then took a long sip of the hot liquid, allowing it to warm up her body. Her eyes snapped open when she heard a loud slurping sound from her right. Ayaka had picked up her cup of orange juice and mimicked Kuvira's motions of drinking her tea, right down to sniffing the citrusy beverage.

Two older women brushed by their table, sending bright smiles to Kuvira, commenting on how cute Ayaka was and how well she was eating quietly in public. Kuvira nodded in thanks, before taking a quick glance around the room. Most of the tables were empty, but a few were filled with some small families, couples, or a small group of women. They were all talking quietly among their groups, laughing, and having casual conversations. Kuvira especially took note of the couple with two young children. The little girl with them was beginning stages of a tantrum due to her potatoes being prepared in a different way than her liking. Kuvira watched as the girl's mother quietly talked to her, dispelling her outbursts.

I guess that's how mothers should be, Kuvira thought as she sadly watched them.

"Mommy okay?" Ayaka asked, reaching out and patting the back of Kuvira's hand with her sticky fingers.

"Yes, I'm fine," Kuvira said. She grabbed a napkin and dipped it into the glass of water that came with her orange juice. Kuvira then scrubbed at the stickiness on the little girl's fingers. While working on one hand, Ayaka quickly dipped her fingers of her other hand into the syrup on her plate before greedily licking them. "Ayaka…you do know that I'm not your mother?" Kuvira gently asked.

"You're Mommy Rika," Ayaka said with a smile. "…until we can find my mommy." She blinked a few times. "Will we find her?"

Kuvira quickly wiped Ayaka's other hand free of syrup. "I'll try my best," she answered.

"That's not a yes," Ayaka said, a small pout forming on her lips.

"You're right, but it is a promise." Kuvira quickly leaned forward and caught Ayaka as she slipped in her chair while leaning forward to pick a piece of sausage off Kuvira's plate. Munching happily, she allowed for Kuvira to reposition her to full sit on the chair. Kuvira noticed Ayaka suddenly stiffen, her eyes growing wide. She let out a quiet whimper before slumping down in her seat.

Kuvira followed her gaze and noticed to men entering the area, dressed in dark green and black clothing. Dark masks and headgear covered their faces save for the The weapon holsters along their backs and on their hips lightly clinked as they made their way around the room, glancing at everyone they passed. The air became very still, and the sound of silverware scraping against plates came to a stop. Kuvira locked eyes with one of the men as they walked by their table. She clenched her jaw and rested her forearms on the table, tensing her entire body, ready to spring up if need be.

The two men continued past their table before disappearing into the next room. Kuvira allowed herself to relax as movement and quiet chatter once again filled the room. She reached out a shaking hand and took a quick sip of water before turning to face Ayaka. The little girl was still seated in her chair, but her head was down, and her breathing was interjected with sniffles and sobs.

"What's wrong?" Kuvira asked before leaning over and wiping away her tears. "Do those people scare you?"

"Yeah," Ayaka sniffed. She looked over at Kuvira before bowing her head in shame. "I had an accident," she whimpered. Kuvira looked at the dark stain on the chair that slowly grew by the second.

A few moments later, Kuvira barged back into the shared hotel room after frantically slipping the key into the lock. She rolled her eyes upon spotting Korra and Asami quickly pulling away from each other and sitting up in bed. Korra wiped at her lips with the back of her hand. "Sorry to interrupt," Kuvira commented, raising an eyebrow and Korra's glare. "Here's your coffee," she added, placing the cup onto one of the bedside tables.

"I'm cold down there," Ayaka whined.

"I know, I'm about to run your bath," Kuvira said, hitching Ayaka up higher on her hip. She forced herself to ignore the wet spot developing on her side. Kuvira entered the bathroom and flicked on the faucet to fill the tub. She stuck her foot out and used it to twist the stopper at the bottom of the bathtub to fill it up with water. "Here you go." Kuvira gently lowered Ayaka until her feet touched the ground. She assisted in helping her peel off her soiled clothing before assisting her into the bathtub. Kuvira turned off the water and bunched up the soiled clothing. "I'll be right back."

"Okay, mommy," Ayaka called out before slapping her hands against the surface of the water, creating a large splash.

"Mommy?" Korra repeated as Kuvira emerged from the bathroom. She and Asami were seated at a small table in the room near the window. Asami was taking small sips of her coffee, allowing the caffeine to assist in waking her up. Her shoulders were slightly rounded, and she held one of Korra's hands in hers underneath the table. "That actually doesn't sound that bad."

"She's getting too attached," Asami pointed out. "It'll make it much more difficult for you if you do find her family."

"I wasn't going to abandon her," Kuvira responded. "I went through that once already, and it's not a great feeling. I'm not going to do the same to her."

"You're not your parents."

Kuvira shrugged. "I could be." Asami regarded her with a sad smile. Kuvira rolled her eyes before tossing the clothing into a pile on the floor.

"She does have motherly instincts, so I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing right now, given the circumstances," Korra said.

Asami shrugged her shoulders. She cleared her throat before pulling herself up to her full height. "We need to talk."

Kuvira nodded. "Go ahead."

"We need to figure out our plan after we find to King Wu and talk to him," Asami said.

"Stay and rebuild," Korra and Kuvira said at the same time. Asami looked back and forth between them for a few moments before slightly shaking her head.

"I mean, that's the overall goal, but what's the next step?" she pressed. "Korra and I don't have roots here."

"That you know of," Kuvira pointed out. Asami bit her bottom lip before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Your trip," Korra concluded, while nodding slowly.

"I'll explain later." Asami squeezed Korra's hand. "There is only so long the Avatar can go missing. Aang was gone for 100 years and the world almost imploded. I am sure once people hear that the Avatar has disappeared for a bit, anxiety will be at an all-time high."

"Yeah, I'm sure that vacation helped the situation," Kuvira snickered.

Asami and Korra shared a look. "…That is neither here nor there," Korra insisted.

"It may be time for us to head back," Asami said.

"I think we should stay for a little bit," Korra admitted. She reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. "I mean, the Avatar may make some great progress here in the city. And think about what you can do regarding engineering and…schematics…and…tools..." She trailed off as she ran out of other suggestions to list.

Kuvira started to interject with her thoughts, but quickly pulled her lips into a straight line to silence herself. She watched as Asami dropped Korra's hand, instead wrapping it around the coffee cup she was drinking from. Asami had offered Korra a small smile but Kuvira quickly took note of the slight annoyance and frustration behind her green eyes.

"Ba Sing Se has already started to rebuild even before we came," Asami pointed out. "I'm not sure how much the Avatar may assist. We all agree that King Wu has been doing a great job so far."

"No, I agree with that," Korra said with a bit of tightness to her voice. "It just does not hurt to try."

Kuvira grunted in annoyance before moving to go through the few shopping bags sitting on the floor that were placed next to the bed. While she and Asami were out shopping for her Earth Nation clothing, Kuvira had the idea of buying a few sets of clothing for Ayaka. She grabbed a pair of pants, a shirt, and a pair of underwear before heading back into the bathroom.

Kuvira could not help but smile when she spotted Ayaka using her wet hands to push her air high up into the air. Ayaka giggled wildly as the hair flopped back into her face. Kuvira took a seat on the floor next to the bathtub before grabbing a complimentary travel size bottle of shampoo and working it into the little girl's hair. Ayaka hummed and splashed happily as Kuvira cleaned her up.

"Can you do my hair?" Ayaka asked.

Kuvira paused. She turned and glanced at her reflection in the mirror before reaching up and touched the ends of her hair. "It's been a while, but I can do it."

After rinsing the shampoo from Ayaka's hair, Kuvira rinsed off the suds before grabbing a washcloth and a bar of soap to clean the rest of the child's body. After rinsing off all the suds, Kuvira pulled the plug to the drain and lifted Ayaka out of the water, instantly wrapping her in a towel. Ayaka placed her hands on Kuvira's shoulders to step into her underwear and pants. Immediately after putting on her shirt, Ayaka wrapped her arms around Kuvira's neck, giggling happily as she was lifted off the ground

"Are you still having this conversation?" Kuvira demanded as she and Ayaka exited the bathroom. Korra and Asami continued to, politely, go back and forth about whether they should continue to stay in the Earth Kingdom.

"I've heard enough," Kuvira said firmly. Korra and Asami stopped conversing with each other and turned to look at Kuvira with a look of confusion. Kuvira rolled her eyes, sighing hard, before re-focusing her attention on braiding Ayaka's hair. "Go! Go back to Republic City, and make things right," she instructed.

"What about you?" Korra questioned.

"I came here to help rebuild the city, and I will continue to do just that," she answered. "Then, once everything seems to be on the up and up, I'll move onto Omashu, and every other city until the Earth Kingdom is back on its feet."

"You're going to need some help," Asami pointed out.

"That's what King Wu is for. I will just be his eyes and ears in each city." Kuvira stopped braiding Ayaka's hair. She held up a hand and quickly silenced Korra who had looked like she wanted to say something. "There are more people on this planet that needs the Avatar's help. As long as you exist, this will never change."

Korra and Asami got up from their seats at the table. Korra moved to lean up against the short dresser that was placed opposite the bed. She crossed her arms over her chest and crossed one leg over the other at the ankles. Asami took a seat at the edge of the bed. Ayaka looked over at her, discomfort flashing across her face as Kuvira tugged at her hair. Asami picked up a toy from the floor and held it out to her. Instead, Ayaka reached for Asami's hand and held it tightly. She then began to inspect the dark red nail polish on each of Asami's nails. "What about Ayaka?" she asked.

Kuvira cleared her throat. "I'll look for her family as we stay here to rebuild," she answered. "It'll be slow moving, but it should be done."

"What will you do if you find them?" Korra wondered.

She paused for the briefest of moments. Ayaka tilted her head back to look at Kuvira, who in turn lightly tapped her on her nose. "That will depend on if we can find them."

"What if you don't?" Asami questioned.

"We'll cross that bridge if we get to it." Kuvira made quick work of the rest of the braid. Her hands twisted back and forth, and her fingers slipped through the child's hair with ease. "Right now, she and the city need stability and I am happy to offer my assistance, undetected of course".

"You must keep us updated with how everything is going," Korra said.

"That'll be difficult as I'm sure President Raiko will be monitoring all communication," Asami pointed out.

"Not unless he gets impeached," she said.

"Or elections are held," Asami added.

"One can only dream," Korra said with a laugh. She cleared her throat and regained her composure when she noticed Kuvira rolling her eyes. ""What about Lin's rogue cops?"

"I'll figure something out," Kuvira said. She leaned forward and rested her forearms on her thighs. She shook her wrists before clenching and unclenching her fingers. Ayaka hummed quietly as she pressed back into Kuvira's chest, snuggling close. "There is something I'd like to ask of the Avatar before you leave."

Korra nodded for her to continue. Kuvira finished up braiding Ayaka's hair. She gently patted the child on her leg, to indicate that she was finished. Ayaka slid off the bed and rushed over to a mirror that was hung on the wall, admiring her braided hair.

Kuvira turned her attention to Korra, looking her directly in the eyes. "I'd like for you to take my bending away."

AN: I can't stress this enough - if you have questions on whether or not a story is discontinued, or when I'm going to update something, please message me or follow my new twitter, AngelofStarzFFN, and my tumblr, angelstellaluna. This way I can keep everything in a nice and neat place, especially since I don't always respond to reviews.