Author's notes

This story is more of a pet-project of mine. I always had this idea and I want to see where it goes. It probably won't be as polished as my other works (although that bar is low enough).

The change in POV will decrease as time goes on but I'll try to make it clear with the paragraph breaks.

The explicit rating will come into effect soon enough, but not immediately. And yes, this will (eventually) be a Korra X Asami X Lin X Kuvira poly relationship.

"Guilty," Kuvira repeated to herself, hearing the word bounce around in the empty room before it went back to her. The word felt strange on her tongue but it also lifted so much weight off of her shoulders. She could actually sigh in relief with how light she now felt. She lifted her head to look through the small window across the room. It was barely big enough for her to slip through but Kuvira knew it was of an intentional design. If someone was foolish enough to try to escape, then the cops stationed below would quickly collect the criminal. She watched as a few spirits flew by, wishing she was as free as them.

Her thoughts turned to what was happening outside of her temporary room. She could hear the others chat amongst themselves as they waited for President Moon and Su to finish the paperwork that would transfer Kuvira to Su's custody for house arrest. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the cool stone wall. She could only hope that the paperwork would be completed quickly. The sooner she was away from Republic City, the better.

Korra hated the bureaucracy of politics. They all knew where Kuvira was going, so why do they have to fill out so much paperwork to make it official? And why did she have to sign as well? It's not her fault she became the Avatar. Korra scratched her signature into another sheet of paper, not bothering to read it. If there was something in it that was fishy, President Moon, Lin, and especially Su would have caught it.

As she continued to write her name down again and again, Korra let her mind wander back to the sentencing. There was something strange that occurred during it that Korra couldn't let go of. When Kuvira was told that she was going to be put under house arrest with Su, Korra felt relieved. She was truly, after all that Kuvira had done, Korra had secretly hoped she would get a lighter sentence. But it was more than just being relieved, which was what confused Korra. It was like her relief was echoed back by something.

Her eyes glanced down at the contract in her hands and her eyes caught sight of Asami's company's name. "What?" She read closer and she felt confusion rise up. "Avatar Korra and her colleagues, along with the Republic City's Chief of Police Lin Beifong, will take one of Future Industries' air ships to complete the transfer of Kuvira from Republic City to Zaofu," she read aloud.

President Moon nodded. "Yes. We believed that it would be wise to have a third party handle Kuvira's actual transfer." The glance she gave Su made it clear that they have had a bit of an argument with that decision. Korra was glad she wasn't a part of it.

"Not Mako, however," Lin put in with a slight grumble. "He will stay behind to ensure the city doesn't fall to shit while we are gone." It was extremely clear that she did not want to go on the transport mission.

"Okay," Korra said to herself. She wondered if any of the women had bothered to ask Asami what she thought. With a glance at President Moon, Korra decided that she was being ridiculous. She was still used to the former President Raiko giving orders as if he owned everyone. She signed another piece of paper and breathed a sigh of relief when she was not given another one. "When are we leaving?" Korra asked.

Three sets of eyes looked shocked at her, well Lin was shocked as well as annoyed. "Tomorrow," Lin answered gruffly. "Haven't you been reading the papers we gave you?"

Korra answered with a shrug. "I trust you three with all the details." She set down the pen she was holding and flexed her fingers. "Is there anything else I need to do here?" When nobody answered, Korra stood up. "I'll help Asami get the airship ready for tomorrow." She left the three women and exited the room. Her eyes found themselves going straight past her group of friends and the Beifongs to another door on the far wall. Kuvira was in the room waiting to be picked up and delivered to Zaofu. Korra frowned when she felt something, like a light breeze against the back of her head. She began to wonder where it came from, especially because they were in a windowless hallway, but her train of thought was interrupted by the sight of her girlfriend.

"It took you long enough," Asami teased. She kissed Korra on the cheek, proud that her girlfriend was able to get through the meeting. She knew how much Korra hated sitting around, signing mountains of paperwork.

"How long do we have to get things ready?" Bolin asked.

"Not long," Korra answered. "We only have the day."

Asami nodded and added, "We'll be leaving tomorrow early in the morning." She glanced at the door that led to Kuvira's holding room. "We want to get her in the air as soon as possible. Hopefully before the protestors catch wind." She looked back at Korra and entwined their fingers. "Come on, we can help each other pack."

Korra was going to ask why would they need to help each other pack, not that she didn't want to spend more time alone with Asami, when she noticed the glint in her eyes. Korra nodded and the two left the group after saying their goodbyes. They walked just a smudge faster than casual to the car, a grin playing at their lips. Asami may have also been speeding a mile or five to get to her mansion faster.

When they arrived, Korra looked at Asami, her eyebrows knit. "Aren't Mako's and Bolin's family still here?"

Asami shook her head as she got out of the car. "No, they moved when the first apartment went up. I made sure they had the best suite and they wanted for nothing." She opened Korra's door and offered a hand.

The Avatar accepted it with a grin, wishing she had thought of doing that instead of Asami. Still, Korra knew they would have plenty of opportunities in the future for her to help Asami out of her car. "That's really amazing, Asami."

"I also kind of wanted my house back," Asami added a bit sheepishly. "I did enjoy having them around but I prefer the peace and quiet." She kissed Korra for just a second but it held promises of more kisses to come. "Besides," Asami whispered into Korra's ear, the hand the helped Korra out of the car moving to wrap around Korra's waist so she could pull Korra closer. "I didn't want them to hear us when I finally invited you over to spend the night." She nibbled on the shell of Korra's ear when she finished, loving how Korra gasped and the Avatar's hands immediately gripped her hips.

"Yeah, that, uh," Korra had to cough into her fist, her brain only processing the bare minimum of words. "Sounds good," she finished, grimacing at her response.

"Good," Asami agreed with a laugh, really enjoying the effect she had on Korra. She grabbed Korra's hand again and led the still blushing Avatar through her mansion. She walked purposely to her room, feeling the excitement well up inside her. She had wanted to do this for a while now, and it was finally happening.

Korra could feel the excitement rise up too, but there was something else there. When Asami whispered those things in her ear, she had wanted to kiss Asami right there but something pulled her back. She didn't know what it was but she could have sworn she felt panic in the back of her mind but that didn't make sense. Korra wanted this, very badly by how wet she could feel herself becoming with every stride. So why was the panicking feeling started to become annoyance?

Korra's line of thought was cut off when Asami stopped walking in front of a door. When Asami opened it, Korra's mouth fell open. The room was huge! It was as big as the dining room at the air temple. There was a walk-in closet on the left side of the room, a door that probably led to a giant bathroom on the right side, and Korra could see glass doors that led to a balcony in the back. Asami appeared to have decided that the room should have all aspects of her life included. There was a desk that Korra saw papers on that were most likely blueprints or notes for her business, a vanity set that had make up neatly organized in front of the mirror, and a bookshelf filled to the brim with all kinds of books, from plane manuals to fantasy novels, but her focus was pulled to the center of the room. There was a four-poster bed that was large enough to fit at least six people comfortably. The posters themselves were carved from a dark mahogany to form spiraling dragons, their mouths opening to release wooden flames. The plush red covers had soft-looking pillows of various sizes strewn throughout. Korra couldn't help but think how lonely it must feel sleeping in such a large bed.

Asami tugged lightly on Korra's hand to get her to walk into her room. "You can explore everything later," she said, a hint of shyness in her voice. She walked with Korra to the bed, thinking that she should have moved the pillows elsewhere beforehand but that didn't matter now. When they reached the bed, she let go of Korra's hand and faced her. Now that they were about to take that next step, Asami felt a bit apprehensive. She cupped Korra's cheek. "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"What? No." When Asami's eyes started to become guarded, Korra quickly added, holding Asami's hand to her cheek. "I want this. I want you, Asami." She leaned closer kissed Asami. Korra poured everything she felt for Asami into the kiss and with a small groan, Asami opened her mouth. Korra was quick to deepen the kiss, giving a soft moan at the taste of Asami's mouth. "I love you, Asami," she whispered when they broke the kiss to breathe, her forehead pressed against Asami's.

"I love you, Korra," Asami said back as she gave her own kiss. She bit Korra's bottom lip gently and she reveled in the gasp from Korra. She pulled back from the kiss and placed her hands onto Korra's shoulders. Korra looked at her quizzically and Asami pushed the Avatar onto her bed with a sly grin.

Korra landed with an, "Ooph" and she looked up at Asami. She gulped. There was an almost predatory smile on Asami's face and the eyes that were slowly going up and down Korra's body made the Avatar's heart pound. She ignored the part of her mind that was annoyed by all this as Asami crawled onto the bed so she was hovering above Korra. Unable to keep her hands to herself, Korra reached up and tangled her fingers into Asami's soft hair as she pulled the older woman down for another kiss. Korra whimpered into the kiss, which seemed to spur Asami on as there was a hand pushing her shirt up, but it wasn't from Asami that she whimpered. Something was wrong. She felt something tug at her mind, as if she moved her eyes too fast and her brain gave a protesting yank. Korra could ignore the tug but now instead of annoyance, there was panic again. What was going on? Korra tried to push down the panic but the result was strange. She felt some pain in her chest and the panic stayed and once again turned to annoyance, like it was determined. despite Korra pushing it. Korra knew she should probably be more concerned by it, but she could feel the pads of Asami's fingertips reach the bottom of her bra as the other hand hiked Korra's leg up.

"Fuck!" Korra yelped, pulling her hands away from Asami's hair to grip at her head. It felt like someone had yanked hard on her brain. She went into a fetal position with Asami worryingly calling out her name. Her annoyance changed once again, it was now a mix between shock and pain, which only increased Korra's one sense of the pain in her head. The pain left as quickly as it came, leaving a light pulse in the back of Korra's head. She let go of her head and looked at Asami who stared at her, a hand lifted to help her and her eyes conflicted with the knowledge that she couldn't. "I'm fine," Korra said, grabbing the lifted hand and giving it a soft kiss.

The relief was plain on Asami's face and she lightly cupped Korra's cheek, as if she was afraid that any more pressure would cause the flaring pain again. "What happened?"

"I don't know what that was," Korra said honestly. She touched her head gingerly but she didn't feel any bump. "It was like I got a painful migraine all of a sudden." Korra looked at Asami and saw the concern still in her eyes. Wishing she hadn't let Asami see the pain she was in, Korra leaned forward and brushed her lips against Asami's. "I swear I'm fine."

"Okay," Asami said, taking Korra for her word. She gave Korra one of her own kisses before laying back against the bed, pulling Korra with her. When they settled with Korra half-laying on Asami, the older woman started to play with Korra's hair, careful not to accidentally pull on it. She smiled to herself at the contented sigh she received. "Has anything like this happen before?" she asked, kissing the top of Korra's head.

Korra thought for a bit before shrugging. "I got these weird pangs in the back of my head after my last fight with Kuvira but then it got better when we went to the Earth Kingdom to help with the elections and fight Guan." Korra snuggled closer to Asami, relaxing more and more as the older woman played with her hair. "It never hurt like this though. Maybe I have a concussion."

"Maybe," Asami said, although she doubted it was a concussion. Korra would have shown symptoms of one long ago if that were the case. "Or maybe it's all the stress you have been under. Things have finally calmed down so your body is crashing? You probably need to take it easy for a bit."

"Maybe," Korra conceded. It was true that since her vacation with Asami to the Spirit World, Korra hadn't had much down time, with Tokogu and his fight to get more turf for the Triple Threats, President Moon's election and helping rebuild Republic City, and finally helping Wu establish democracy in the Earth Kingdoms. Korra shuddered at the thought of all the work she had done in such a short period of time. She looked up at Asami and saw the love in her eyes. She scooted up to brush her lips against hers and a brilliant plan sprung in her head. "I have an idea." Korra leaned up to fully look at Asami. "What if we take another vacation, just the two of us like before."

Asami liked the idea at once. If Korra could relax for a bit and her headaches went away... Asami leaned up to kiss Korra once more, unable and unwilling to stop herself. "Okay, but where would we go?"

"Zaofu," Korra said immediately. "I mean, we're already heading over there and I doubt Su will be opposed to us staying for a few days. I know it's not as glamorous as the Spirit World but-"

Asami cut Korra off with another kiss, pulling the smaller woman closer to her. "That sounds wonderful," she whispered against Korra's lips.

Kuvira scowled down at the handcuffs that chaffed her wrists and then at the people who helped load one of Asami's airships. Most of them would steal distrustful glances at her while one or two openly glared at her. Kuvira knew that it was only because Lin was next to her that none of them approached her to give her a piece of their mind. She shifted her hands and heard the clink of the handcuffs rattling. She was grateful that she wasn't in that damnable cage like last time but still, how was she going to escape miles up in the air? And why would she? Kuvira knew she was safest in the hands of the Avatar and her colleagues. Even if she escaped, she doubted a week would go by before someone would try to take her life. She really had made so many enemies and very few friends

"Why are you in handcuffs?"

Kuvira turned to look at Korra who was walking up to her with Asami at her side. Asami appeared to be more trusting than her employees, but there was still a guarded look in her eyes. Korra, however, had genuine confusion and a bit of concern on her face.

"For her protection, as well as ours," Lin answered for Kuvira.

When Korra looked at Kuvira for further explanation, the older woman just shrugged. "I am grateful to at least be out of that cage."

"We still have it, you know," Asami said. It wasn't a threat, just her stating a fact. "In case something happens." Now that was a threat.

Kuvira raised an eyebrow but didn't retort. Korra gave a sigh and grinned at Kuvira, showing that even if her girlfriend didn't trust Kuvira to behave herself, she did. Kuvira watched the two walk onto the airship, presumably to find Bolin and Opal. Kuvira wanted to join them, at least to get away from the Chief. She was not stupid enough to not know how much Lin disliked being in charge of Kuvira. She refocused on watching the Future Industries employees finish loading up the airship before she was finally allowed to board herself. Kuvira ignored how Lin followed her to her room, she was just happy to be out of the public's sight again. She went inside her room, nodding after Lin more barked than told her that her dinner would be served to her in the room instead of with anyone else. Kuvira looked at her room with a calculating eye. All the furniture was made of wood and there was not even a potted plant with some dirt. Kuvira did not doubt that Lin had inspected the room to remove anything that Kuvira could bend with before the Chief had come to collect her.

Kuvira soon became bored of inspecting her room. She looked at the closed door of her room and thought for a moment before trying to open it. The handle moved swiftly and the door creaked open. Kuvira raised an eyebrow at that and wondered if this was a test of some kind. Her body lurched backward and she had to steady herself, looking out of the window to see the ground drifting away. Kuvira shook her head and opened the door further, taking a glance outside and seeing no guards have been posted at her door. She took a tentative step out of her room and when she was not immediately arrested, started to explore the airship.

As Kuvira explored, she had to give credit to Asami and Future Industries. The airship was well crafted to withstand attacks from all benders except perhaps metalbenders, but it had a comfortable homey feel to it with the light yellow and green interior. Kuvira didn't bother trying to find the engine room, if she was caught there she would kiss what little freedom she had left goodbye.

Eventually, she made it to what would have passed as a living room of the airship. There was a stairway that Kuvira guessed led to the control room so she knew not to climb up it. She looked out of the floor-to-cieling windows and could barely see the cars driving below now.

Her attention was pulled to the couches situated in the middle of the room by a sound of displeasure. Kuvira turned her head and met the eyes of Lin Beifong, who was sitting on one of the couches, glaring at the younger woman.

"What are you doing out of your room?" Lin asked, gruffly. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"My room was unlocked so I left to explore," Kuvira answered honestly. She moved her hands up so that the handcuffs clicked. "Why am I still wearing these? It's not like there is any place for me to run off to."

Lin barely gave the handcuffs a glance. "I don't trust you," she answered. "With those I can tell where you are at all times."

"A simple bracelet made of metal would have achieved the same effect," Kuvira muttered under her breath.

Lin must have heard her because the Chief shrugged. "The cuffs suit you better."

Kuvira didn't respond to that, deciding to focus again on the drifting landscape. From what she could tell, they should be at Zaofu in half a day. She wondered if Suyin would be there to greet them or if it would just be the household guards. She hoped it was the former, at least Suyin had started to see that she truly had changed. "I'm surprised that Su allowed me to come home." Kuvira hadn't meant to say the words aloud but they were gone before she could stop them.

"So am I," Lin said. She looked at Kuvira and saw the face in the reflection of the window. She saw the unease and the exhaustion on it, but she didn't know where the exhaustion had come from. "If it were up to me, I would have thrown you right back to your cell."

Kuvira took one more look outside and then walked away, not bothering to give Lin a farewell. She retraced her steps back to her room and was grateful she didn't run into anybody during her walk.

A sigh escaped her mouth before Kuvira sat on the bed. "At least it's comfortable," she grumbled to herself, laying down. The handcuffs clinked as she settled into the bed, her eyes staring at the ceiling as the ship slowly took off. She could feel another headache forming behind her eyes as they moved through the air. "Just a little more time," she whispered to herself.

Korra watched the landscape drift by from her and Asami's room's window as they headed to Zaofu. She tried to figure out where exactly they were based on the landscapes she saw but quickly gave up.

She would have jumped by the arms that were suddenly wrapping themselves around her waist if she hadn't seen Asami coming from the reflection in the window. Korra turned her head to capture Asami's lips, a hand laying on one of Asami's arms. "I'm surprised you aren't piloting the airship yourself," she said when they broke apart.

"I trust Gashe to fly us there. He's a great pilot," Asami said, resting her head against Korra's shoulder and looking out of the window. "We should be in Zaofu soon enough." She glanced at Korra as she tightened her grip slightly. "How long do you want to be there?"

"It's really up to you," Korra answered, enjoying the embrace Asami had on her. "With the world finally at peace, at least for now, I don't have much on my schedule." She hoped that this peace will last longer than what she was used to. It seemed as if with every big threat she vanquished, a new one was looming in the horizon.

Asami hummed as she went through her own schedule in her head. "We can stay for a few days, at least. I do have a few ideas that I want to work on back in Republic City." She sighed happily as she nuzzled against Korra's cheek. "But they can wait for a little while."

Korra wasn't sure if she should be happy that Asami was willing to put a few of her plans to the side to spend some time with Korra, but she was. She knew Asami was smart enough to balance her work life with their relationship. If the plans were of utmost importance, Asami would have told her. Korra turned in the embrace so she could hug Asami. "I love you," she murmured before she kissed the older woman.

The kiss started out innocent enough, but it quickly evolved into something more passionate. Neither women knew who was the first one to make the soft whimper nor who was the first to open their mouths, but soon, they were stumbling back towards the large bed. Asami fell down onto the covers and smirked up at Korra who still kept her footing. She wrapped her legs around the Avatar's waist and pulled her towards the bed until her legs were pressed against the bed's frame.

"Whoah," Korra husked, leaning down so she was hovering above Asami. She had her hands pressed against the covers to keep her body up so she could look down at her lover. The glint in those green eyes and the slight upwards turn on Asami's mouth made Korra's stomach flutter. She leaned down to resume the kiss with Asami, her hands moving so she could push the older woman's skirt up. The feel of Asami's stockings on her fingertips were heavenly to Korra, but not more so than the smooth feel of her skin. Korra groaned into the kiss as Asami's hips rocked up to rub against the front of her pants and sash. Her eyebrows furrowed as she broke the kiss to move down the older woman's jaw to her neck. Something was wrong again. She could feel confusion at the back of her mind as she fingers finally found the lacy underwear Asami had been wearing. The confusion was quickly turning into panic as Korra pulled the underwear down to Asami's legs that have unwrapped themselves from Korra's waist to help the Avatar undress her.

"Spirits!" Korra gasped, stopping everything to grab at her head, unaware that one of her hands still held Asami's now torn panties. She flopped to the side next to Asami, whimpering at the searing pain. The pain had left soon enough, not as quickly as before however and Korra could feel a bit of worry along with her own. "What the fuck?" she growled to herself, agitated that once again she was stopped short of making love to Asami.

"Korra?" Asami cupped Korra's cheek, any lust she had felt previously replaced by concern and fear for her lover.

Korra shook her head, feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes. She angrily rubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hands, trying to convince herself the tears were only from the pain. "What the fuck," she growled, her hands flopping down on the covers. Korra took a deep breath before turning to look at Asami. "I don't know what's happening to me."
Asami cupped Korra's cheek and kissed the crown on her head lightly. "We'll figure this out," she said, although she knew she didn't sound too confident. She felt herself being pulled closer by Korra and the Avatar bury her face into her chest. "I'm sure a healer can help."

"No healers," Korra said, an edge to her voice. Since Katara helped heal her during her three-year absence, Korra had more than a healthy fear of going back to one for help. She felt cold hands grasp at her heart at the idea she been trying not to entertain. What if the metal was still affecting her? What if this was permanent? Korra pulled back to look at Asami's face. She wanted Asami, wanted to show her how much she loved the older woman, but what if she couldn't? Korra pushed the last thought away, refusing to accept that possibility.

Asami met Korra's eyes and saw the vulnerability in the blue irises. She ran her fingers through Korra's hair, calming both the Avatar and herself. What if this was their new reality? Asami didn't want to accept that but she didn't want to be foolish either. "What about the acupuncture guy Lin visited?"

"What?" Korra asked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Lin visited an acupuncturist when we went to get Opal the first time we visited Zaofu," Asami explained, her other hand rubbing small circles into Korra's back. "He helped her with her repressed memories about Suyin. Maybe he can help you with this."

Korra didn't like the idea fo telling someone about her bedroom problems but if that was what it took to finally take that next step. "Okay," she said. "I'll," she swallowed her pride, "think about it."

Kuvira groaned as she clasped her head, curling up on top of her covers at the pain. She could feel the alarm at the back of her head and the fear that she didn't recognize what was going on. Kuvira would have laughed at the absurdity and sheer ignorance of it but all that came out of her mouth was another moan of pain. Just like before, the pain left her head as quickly as it flared up, and Kuvira was grateful that there appeared to be no long-term damage. She slowly sat up and brushed away the strands of hair that clung to her face. Sitting up, and dutifully ignoring how even now she could still feel the embers of arousal in her lower stomach, she pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, thinking.

"Why can't they just keep their hands off of each other?" Kuvira growled, tightening her grip on her legs. The two were slowly fraying her nerves, and Korra was the worse of the two. Kuvira was sure that the Avatar daydreamed more about Asami than actually paying attention to her studies. She sighed and rubbed at her temples, thinking about this annoying connection.

She was sure that it happened when she and Korra were blasted into the Spirit World. It wasn't bad right after she surrendered and waited for her trial. During her time in prison, she knew something was wrong but she wasn't too worried about it. It felt as if she was about to get sick, nothing too serious but something that may grow worse. But now, it was stronger and the Avatar hadn't even realized it yet!

Kuvira worried at her bottom lip as she could feel the other presence at the back of her mind. As of late, Kuvira had to actively avoid getting too close or else alert Korra. More than once, she had found herself drifting to the other presence in her sleep. It never pulled away from her, which most likely meant Korra didn't know what was happening. But Kuvira would eventually realize what was happening and quickly retreated back to her mind. So far, Korra never followed her, but she wasn't sure how long it would last. If Korra ever decided to investigate the presence in her own mind...

Kuvira ended that thought at once. She was going to Zaofu, Korra and the others would be leaving as soon as she was off the ship, she hoped, and the connection could wither and die. She only needed to hold on a little bit longer, and stop the Avatar from being intimate with Asami again if need be. The distance would surely end the connection between the two. Wouldn't it?