The Rebellion Within

Chapter 23: Farewell to the Newlywed

"You got married an hour ago and you're here all covered in grease."

Asami looked up from the motor she was working on and wiped some sweat off her forehead with her arm. She looked down on herself. Asami looked better than she did weeks ago. The wounds in her back and torso -gashes and punctures from the wood- were meant to scar from the moment they were inflicted and she had a small cut running horizontally from her eye to her lip. There were bruising patterns all over her arms and legs, but overall she was mostly healed. Yet, Kuvira was right. Her once white tank top had turned grey and her camo pants had streaks of grease and dust. The only thing that was acceptable in her new uniform was her boots and her intact high ponytail.

"I'm sorry, Vira." The engineer rolled her eyes. "Do you expect me to go on a honeymoon?"

"Well if it'll get you off this hell hole." Kuvira mumbled as she walked around and climbed her way to the roof of the car Asami was working on. She sat there with her legs crossed and looked down at the former nurse.

Korra left three weeks ago from what Asami has counted and a lot has happened. There was something about new beginnings that people romanticized and Asami just didn't seem to get. This was a new beginning for her, considering the fact that she had decided to step down as a nurse and take on Varrick's offer to work as a mechanic in the army, and it wasn't what she expected. Although this is all she wanted since she left Madrid, Asami felt... empty. Waking up and not finding the deep oceans she had fallen in love with was beyond discouraging. She had spent the next three days wondering and trying to understand the reasons on her own, but it was finally Kuvira who stepped in and made her somewhat understand.

"Warfare and commitment to the cause are all we know, Asami. You can't blame Korra for succumbing to the only reality she had known for the last few years. She loves you, she wants this war to end for you and everyone. It's exhausting to fight." Kuvira had said one day over breakfast.

Maybe she was wrong, but that was very unlikely. If someone knew 'Korra the Soldier' to her totality that was Kuvira. Alas, Asami couldn't help the feeling of loss and uncertainty. What if Korra didn't come back? What if she came back in a body bag? What if the last interaction they had was in the crumbling hospital? Asami winced internally. That was another train of thought on its own. All the lives lost that day caused a major panic around the whole army and the nurses that were left alive were indeed broken. She and Opal had to help Jinora a lot after Asami woke up, even more, when they told the young girl that, after a second extensive search, they couldn't find Kai. Jinora was devastated and so was everyone else.

Asami, however, couldn't stop thinking about how incompetent the generals were to give that order and just not care about them. Were they so unimportant to them? So disposable? The people who were fighting and helping the country while they sat in the safety of their offices didn't seem to matter to them. Katara hadn't mattered to them. Even Korra's rogue decision to disobey orders didn't save her and it almost got Asami and Kya killed.

"You came here for a reason. Did Korra send you?" Asami looked up at Kuvira with playful eyes and the other woman scoffed.

They had grown close, more than they were before Korra's departure. Kuvira had mentioned to Asami how Korra made her promise to take care of her and how she agreed even though it wasn't needed. Kuvira had grown fond of Asami and would take care of her as any friend would. Still, the former nurse would often pick on the soldier and make comments about how she only took care of her because Korra always ordered her to do so. It was just a healthy joke, of course, Asami knew how important she was to Kuvira and vice versa. She had found another sister in this mess.

However, Kuvira finally had a shot to fire back at Asami's teasing.

"I don't take orders from other captains." The former Lieutenant grinned proudly. "I make them now." Asami smiled at her and got back to work. It had been hard for Kuvira to receive her promotion and new uniform without Korra present, yet she always mentioned how thankful she was for Asami, who had been to the ceremony without her even asking. Asami knew from the relief she saw in Kuvira's eyes when she spotted her in the building that she had made the right choice.