The strong smell of salt in the air as Asami shifted in her cabin bed was a little disorientating. It reminded her of many lonely mornings spent wandering Air Temple Island after her previous home was torn away, by the city police, by Amon, by her father. Pema had went out of her way to make Asami feel welcome, but she'd never truly felt at home there. Like some kind of spare part more than anything else. Out of place.

After rubbing her eyes furiously she turned groggily to face the cabin bed across from her. She'd made sure that Korra was asleep before she'd drifted off herself, just in case the Avatar decided to run, or rather, swim away in the middle of the night. Now – now the cabin bed was completely empty aside from some ruffled up bedding. A deep sense of dread filled Asami as she scrambled out of her blankets. Surely Korra hadn't actually abandoned her? In the middle of the damn ocean?

"Korra!" Asami called as she stumbled up the stairs and onto the chilly deck.

She quietly sighed with relief at the sight before her.

Korra, sat in the lotus position at the very front of the boat, seemingly deep in meditation. Asami couldn't help but smile to herself as she walked to stand behind her friend, thinking of just how proud Tenzin would be of his student, still following his teachings all these years later. Back on their hunt for airbenders when Korra and Asami had shared a room many times, the Avatar had been notorious for trying to wake before noon. Now Korra was beating her to the punch.

"Everything okay?" Korra asked in concern as she suddenly spun around.

"Fine – good, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I just thought that you'd-"

"Ran away?" Korra asked with a raised brow and a stern expression. Asami felt her previous smile drop. "It's a fair enough assumption, given my track record," Korra said with a chuckle as she stretched her stiff limbs out. "But you don't have to worry. I'm not going to abandon you again, no matter what happens. I swear. It already hurts enough just to think about how you must have felt for all those years. It was selfish."

"It was what you thought was best, you didn't set out to hurt me. Like you said," Asami tried to assure. Maybe it hadn't been the best thing for either of them in the end, but what was done was done. Korra was here, right in front of her, and she seemed to walk with a different air now. A wisdom and honesty that her hardship appeared to have brought. "I'm just amazed that you got up so early. I was expecting to find you a sprawled out, drooling mess."

"Like in Zaofu," Korra murmured with red cheeks before sticking her tongue out. "Not all of us look like a work of art when we sleep Miss CEO."

Asami laughed far too loudly at that, mainly in an effort to conceal the underlying tingling sensation Korra's words had brought. She watched over her whilst she slept. "Seen any ships on the horizon?" she asked softly whilst leaning against the icy rails.

"Couple of United Forces cruisers way off in the distance, probably set off from the Fire Nation for the north over night. I wonder if General Iroh was in one of them," Korra explained whilst absinently spinning droplets of water that had formed after the rails had been covered in frost. "Did you sleep okay? Those beds aren't comfy, but I got used to sleeping rough over the past few weeks. It wasn't any worse than those spine breakers Tenzin made me sleep in."

"Surprisingly well actually," Asami mused. "It probably helped knowing the master of all four elements was sitting right across from me. Ready to take on any bad guys."

"Bad guys?" Korra questioned whilst gesturing to the desolate and icy sea around them. "Here?"

"What about pirates?" Asami challenged with a smirk.

"In the frozen north?"

Asami jabbed Korra lightly in the side with her elbow. "Okay then. Ice pirates."

"Yeah, cause that's a thing," Korra continued to tease.

"It might be..."

Korra simply smiled at her determination to win this argument. The most Korra like smile possible, wide and optimistic, with that oh so iconic crook of one of her brows. Asami's heart soared at the sight of it, she hadn't seen one like that since they were searching the Earth Kingdom when Asami had made some jibe about the Earth Queen. Being sassed by Korra again might've been the best thing ever.

"Okay then. We come across some ice pirates, then you get to cover my face in whatever make up you want." Korra stretched out a hand and Asami shook it far too eagerly, then held it for far too long on top of that. She could feel just how calloused Korra's fingers were from years of bending and sparring, along with a few long faded scars.

"Deal..." Asami agreed quietly before retracting her hand abruptly. It seemed to take Korra a few more seconds to even register their hands were no longer touching, she'd been so preoccupied with holding Asami's gaze.

That's when the Avatar – the Avatar – began to cough very loudly, somehow reasoning that that would detract from her previous staring. It was a habit she'd picked up from Bolin back when they were teenagers.

"So – so how have Mako and Bolin been the last year? They stopped sending me letters a while ago..." Korra said with considerable sadness. Asami couldn't blame the boys for that. Mako had been the first to stop writing, Bolin followed quickly afterwards. Apparently, Korra hadn't replied to any of their correspondence, which made Asami feel a little selfish for getting angry at Korra's lack of letters to her. At least she'd gotten some. Even if at times it felt like sending letters into the void.

"I met Mako in Ba Sing Se a few weeks ago, Bolin a few months ago. They seem to both be doing pretty well for themselves. Honestly though, we haven't really spoke much since you left the city. I guess Team Avatar isn't much of a team without, well. The Avatar," Asami explained. "Ironically, the person I've heard the most from recently is my da-" Asami cut herself off sharply.

It was Korra who had exposed her father's crimes in the past, even at the risk of jeopardising her friendship with Mako and Bolin. And as Korra had admitted later, she felt like she'd ruined Asami's life at the time. Of course that was a nonsense, that was all Hiroshi's doing. Korra just happened to see right through him when no one else was willing to. Asami had come to admire Korra's determination in the whole affair eventually. Putting everything on the line in order to do what was right.

She was sure that Korra had returned, albeit a bit more fragile. And a whole lot less naive.

"Hiroshi?!" Korra questioned with a suddenly stern expression. "Of course he'd try to worm his way back into your life. He probably wants some of that fortune you made off your own back with a company he left in ruins. You haven't been to see him in jail have you?"

"No – no!" Asami argued, feeling her own anger start to build. "It's not like that at all. It's not." She couldn't quite comprehend why she was defending her father. "I think he just wants to talk. He just wants to see me."

"He tried to kill you, Asami! Actually kill you!" Korra shouted, seemingly dumbstruck that his daughter was even giving him the time of day. "You can't trust him!"

"I haven't forgotten!" Asami spat, marching up to Korra at jabbing her hard in the shoulder. "It's something I'll never forget." She glared at the Avatar intensely. "You have both of your parents Korra. It's easy for you to chop and choose how I live my life when it's at no cost to you personally. Especially when you haven't even been a part of it for years." Korra's sapphire eyes widened considerably at those words. "I'm not going to give up on him yet. He's still my dad."

With that, Asami stormed off the deck, back to the controls and warmth of the interior of the ship. Korra remained on the deck with a hand outstretched and mouth slightly agape, her expression was no longer filled with anger, only concern, and guilt. Always guilt.

"What do you mean Korra's not here?" Tonraq questioned Tenzin sternly. "She's been in Republic City for weeks. She called us as soon as she arrived." Tenzin's eyes darted between the Avatar's parents with considerable bewilderment and concern as they faced off on the dock of Air Temple Island. Republic City glowed brightly in the distance. "Tenzin, I put my daughter in your care. This – this is unacceptable. She could be anywhere!"

Senna placed a firm hand on Tonraq's shoulder before he went into a rage. "This isn't Tenzin's fault, dear. Korra hasn't been his responsibility for years. She's ours. Always has been," Senna tried to assure. Tenzin gave her a respectful nod. "How was he to know she wasn't still in the south with us?"

"I guess so," Tonraq muttered in frustration before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Master Tenzin. You know yourself that Korra hasn't been in a great place recently. Her going off alone like this, lying to us. You don't think she-"

"Never," Jinora interrupted as she appeared from behind her father's robes in the darkness after a smooth landing. "Korra's alive. I can still sense her spirit, somewhere far off. Too far away for me to hone into. But I can feel her, I really can, for the first time in a long time. She's okay."

All three adults sighed in relief, though Tonraq was notably still distressed. Probably from the grim implication he'd nearly made about his daughter before Jinora had interrupted him just in time.

"That still doesn't explain why she would run off without telling anyone," Tenzin said whilst scratching his beard. "Where would she go other than Republic City?"

"We barely gave her any money either…" Senna whispered to herself. "And she called us weeks ago. Weeks ago. She could be anywhere in the four nations..."

"She could've crossed them all in that time," Jinora pointed out then quickly shut herself up before she went off on a tangent of just how long it took to travel from nation to nation these days. Most of that information she'd gotten from books Asami had let her borrow or outright given her. She missed that tall genius when she wasn't around, since there wasn't anyone else to have intelligent conversations with. Definitely not Meelo or Ikki, or even Kai sadly.

"Where are the boys? Bolin and Mako?" Tonraq questioned with tensely crossed arms, his considerable muscles rippling with the effort. "They might have an idea of where Korra would be. Or maybe she outright told them."

"Mako's in Ba Sing Se, and Bolin's off with some of the airbenders in the far south of the Earth Republic. Neither of them are particularly easy to get a hold of I'm afraid," Tenzin explained sadly. "I'll certainly send a message to them, but it will probably take a week or so to get a response. Transportation across the Earth Republic is still being adversely effected by groups of roaming bandits President Suyin hasn't cracked down on yet."

"What about Asami, then?" Tonraq asked with increasing frustration.

"She's in the Fire Nation capital," Jinora said before shrugging her shoulders. "For some business conference or something...

"This is hopeless…" Tonraq shook his head. "What if something..."

"She's where ever Asami is," Senna said without a hint of doubt.

Tonraq looked at his wife with narrowed brows before closing his eyes in deep thought and then nodding firmly. "It's certainly as good a place as any to start. She's the first person Korra would seek out if she was feeling out of sorts or needing help."

"I'll call Future Industries immediately and see if one of her employees knows a number we can contact her on," Tenzin said before rushing off back into the main temple building.

"Thank you, Master Tenzin," Tonraq said warmly before wrapping an arm around Senna's shoulder. Jinora wandered up to them with arms behind her back, an inquisitive look in her eyes.

"So you guys get vibes too, huh?" Jinora asked with a smirk.

"You're far too young to know about any of that stuff, kiddo," Tonraq teased with a gentle ruffle of her brown hair. "Besides, Korra isn't exactly subtle when it comes to...anything. And especially not this sort of stuff. She always prioritized reading Asami's letters when she was recovering with us. Those were always the first to be read. And normally reread several times after."

"She was practically declaring her eternal love for Mako a few days after meeting him," Jinora laughed lightly as she batted Tonraq's huge hand away. "So subtle."

Tonraq clearly tried very hard not to laugh at that, his breathing becoming ragged as Senna glared at him with narrowed eyes. "You can't laugh at her for that. She gets that lack of decorum and tact from you, mister. I should know."

It took Korra a while to work up the nerve to go and talk to Asami, who was still at the controls of the ship and hadn't said another word to her. Such an idiot. Trying to tell her what to do. You don't know anything about her life anymore.

Instead, Korra had spent her time working on the different elemental stances. Her main problem over the last year or so wasn't so much her lack of ability in bending, her attacks were just as powerful as they'd ever been, but they weren't stable anymore. Weren't refined. Add the Avatar state to that toxic mix and things could get very dangerous, very quickly.

Tenzin was often the one to encourage her to start from the very beginning during her recovery. Get the basics right again and everything else would come naturally. It's how he'd started her on airbending when she'd first invaded his home. Working on the standard airbending form and stance for hours upon hours after meditation sessions she often fell asleep in. It'd paid off in the end, with airbending becoming one of her most frequently used weapons after she'd unlocked it.

Plus it would probably teach her some self control. Which she definitely needed after mouthing off to Asami like that. Asami who'd gone out of her way to help Korra so far.

Truthfully, Korra's anger in that moment had nothing to do with Asami. It was all directed at Hiroshi, or anyone or anything that intended to do or had done Asami harm. The thought of it burned an unexplainable fury in Korra, and sadly Asami had been the only person around to take the brunt of it. The exact opposite of your intentions you jerk. You hurt her anyway with your big stupid mouth.

"Korra, we got some ships ahead," Asami called from upstairs.

Korra stared out at the white and blue horizon, looking around large icebergs for these ships Asami had spotted, but she couldn't see anything. Just desolation and emptiness. Did she need glasses or did Asami just have ridiculously good eyesight?

A few seconds later and Korra was behind Asami's seat at the controls, hands resting on the back of it. It was only now that Korra actually had a proper look at this ships controls, the technology in here hadn't exactly enthralled her the way it had with Asami. There was a small black screen just above Asami's eye line, with a thin, white line, almost like a light, that kept spinning around and making a strange noise. Every time that noise rang out, a small white dot would appear on the black screen, and fade away again until the white line hit it.

"Is that one of those really artsy movers Mako always goes and sees?" Korra asked with narrowed brows.

"It's a sonar reader. Or ping ping. Depending on who you ask," Asami smiled before pointing to the screen. "My – my dad was working on it for a while, a way to detect objects with sound waves. I ended up improving on in it when we rescued you from the sea and sold it to shipping companies around the world."

"That's – that's actually pretty amazing. The name especially," Korra grinned.

"Those white dots are ships ahead of us, lots of them," Asami explained. "And they're pretty close together too."

"A blockade then?" Korra asked in concern. Why would someone have set up a blockade all the way out here? "You don't think its the United Forces do you?"

"With that many ships it has to be," Asami reasoned before turning to face Korra. "Hopefully General Iroh will let us through, you are the Avatar after all. It's a pretty fine passport."

"I'm just worried about why they're blockading stuff at all…" Korra said quietly. A familiar feeling stirred with in her, this had happened before. A long, long time ago. There was a faint echo of it in her memories. There was another feeling growing too, that of fear. For Asami. They were possibly heading into danger again, and this time – this time Korra wasn't so sure she could protect her friend. She cared a whole lot more about her now on top of that.

Loved her. That was bound to make her reckless.

"We'll figure it out when we get there, like always," Asami assured confidently before staring back at the controls and working away quietly.

Korra clenched her fists and remained in place. "Listen, Asami. I'm – I'm so sorry about what I said earlier. I was way out of line. I had no right to try and dictate what you do. If you want to see your dad again, i'll support you. Though I can't promise i'm gonna like it. And if he tries to hurt you again i'll kick his ass so hard he'll land in Ba Sing Se."

"My hero," Asami chuckled. "And that's enough. That's all I need. It makes it a lot easier, you having my back."

"Of course," Korra smiled before leaning her head down a little to rest her chin on top of Asami's hair. Which was just as soft as ever. "I just – I get so angry thinking about someone trying to hurt you. It makes me sick, remembering watching Zaheer try to pull the air from your lungs. Nothing was going to stop me breaking those chains when I saw that. And I hurt you too, so much and I - I could've stopped it. I should've done better-"

"-Korra!" Asami interrupted as she spun around and took a firm grip of Korra's hands. "We've been through this. There's nothing to forgive. Nothing to talk about anymore. You did everything in your power to save me. Even when I didn't want you to, I'm glad you did. I'm glad we both survived that place, because if it'd been down to me, we both would've died in those caves. I gave up, and I never..." Asami's voice began to crack.

Korra squeezed her hands tightly. "Never what?"

"I never thanked you for saving me. All I did was get caught up in the lie you told me at the time..." Asami said. "I forgave you, but that wasn't what you needed." She smiled sincerely and squeezed Korra's hands in return . "So thank you. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you for not giving up back then. Thank you."