'Pairs' [korrasami]

30

Korra

We both round the corner, we aren't walking and we aren't jogging either. It's more of an urgent walk and this type of pace isn't doing my legs any good. I feel like they'll cramp up any time soon but I can't stop. I can hear Asami's heavy breathing to my left, we're a few steps away from eachother, hands in pockets to shield them from the cold.

I should take her home. Whatever my mum wants me home for shouldn't involve her. With that thought in mind, I speed up a little until I'm a few steps in front. To make it all worst, it starts to rain. Each drop sits on my skin like a puddle that will never leave, perfectly formed, perfectly cold. I feel the water steal my body heat just a tiny bit at a time. They're small but as the seconds pass, the rain hammers down, completely drenching us both but we don't care. Normally on rainy days like this, I'd be out splashing puddles and getting my socks all wet, worrying if I'll catch a cold the next day. But right now, catching a cold is the least of my worries, I need to get home.

The houses hug together, sharing walls and forming a row of storybook perfect rooftop peaks. I know where her house is from here, there's a short cut nearby. I take a sharp right and Asami follows close behind. An alleyway. If I wanted to I could stretch my arms out and touch the homes on both sides, these walls date back so long ago. They aren't the straight perfection of the modern buildings in the newer areas of this town, but each curve and flaw renders them beautifully. The light from the streetlamps begin to fade and we venture further through the alley.

I feel a tug at my coat and I look over my shoulder. It's Asami. She cluthes onto the fabric whilst her green eyes scan left, right and centre. I know she's not a fan of these dark places, I take her hand in mine and keep her close.

As we emerge out into another street, finally back into the light, Asami's expression changes to instant confusion. She recognises where we are.
"Wait, you live down here?" She asks and points with her other hand that I'm not holding onto.

I shake my head.
"I'm dropping you off first."

"What? No!"
Asami stops and makes me stop with a tug of the hand.
"I'm coming with you."

"No Asami." My bottom lip quivers from the cold.
"I need to handle it on my own."

She takes me by the shoulders, holding me still.
"Why do you?" It's like her eyes switched gears from empathy to cold indifference. Never once has she directed this gaze in my direction, yet here she stands in the pouring rain with angry eyes.

"She's my mu-"

She shakes me again, halting my speech.
"Yes I know she's your mum and your 'responsibility' Korra." She stutters from the cold, rain droplets dripping from her dark hair that was once soft.
"But you said you'd let me help. So let me help. Let me come with you, so I can be there for you."

There's a silence to my soul; I am leaves under frost. I feel the chill in my blood, coldness bringing my brain to a complete standstill. The guilt builds up again the same way it always does when I talk about 'help'. Though I said I'd let her help, I brought down my walls so she could, but at this moment I won't let her. I can't let her fix my problems.

"Asami.." I sigh and shake my head into a different direction but she takes my chin and turns me back to face her. I can't say no, not when she's this serious.

The rain creates a beat upon the blacktop sidewalk and it syncs with my heart. Her hands tangle into my hair and she presses me forward. When she finally kisses me in the rush of the rain, everything goes quiet. It's the kind of kiss that steals my breath and gives it back. Asami pulls away and rests an ice cold hand onto my cheek.