Work Text:
Love Letters
“Asami?” Bolin huffed. “We are almost finished with the office, we will start cleaning up the dining hall.”
“The kitchen is empty now! Starting with the garden house.” Mako screamed from somewhere deep in the mansion.
“Thank you.” Asami called back into the vast hallways, tugging frustrated on a string that just wouldn’t keep one of the cardboard boxes shut. Korra and Milo meanwhile painted color coded circles on them. She found Korra’s gaze, “I think we should start to disassemble my bedroom.”
“Sure.” She grinned her lopsided grin. Clearly hearing the other meaning of the sentence. Asami rolled her eyes, trying to smile easily, but feeling herself fail. The turmoil in her stomach was just too big. Korra picked up on it in no time, face melting into a soft gaze, rubbing Asami’s shoulders lovingly.
“I will start, you take your time.”
Asami watched as she skipped up the stairs, using air bending to give her step more momentum. Then she looked down onto the railing. Remembering how, as a child she never quite reached it, letting her small hands grab onto the decorative bars between. It had been hand carved, finest wood from the fire nation, molten into aesthetics of the large decorated foyer. Which was now full with furniture pieces and boxes, books and suitcases. In between Bolin’s and Mako’s family shuffled along, laughing, cleaning, loading up trucks and trailers.
Taking a deep breath, smelling the dusty air, she made her way to the bedroom.
Korra had already begun to disassemble the big four-poster bed. Pulling the nails and screws out with her bending.
“When will the demolition work start?” Korra asked. “Not sure we will manage to finish today.”
“They start tomorrow.” Asami sat down on her vanity, all her favorite make up was already packed, what was left needed to be thrown away or was going to whoever wanted it. “But they will start with… the old workshop.”
Korra paused, looking up from the screw she just loosened, she looked Asami over. “Do you want to take a break?”
Putting her attention on Asami she stepped away from the bed. Embracing her softly. Taking a deep breath Asami let herself sink into Korra’s arms.
“I thought it would be easier.” She mumbled into the well defined arms. “It’s not like this is an old ancestral home, I didn’t even live here for the last few years.”
“But it had been your home.” Korra said softly after Asami went silent. Pressing a small kiss on Asami’s hair. “It’s okay to be sad. Not sure if it helps, but building social housing and apartments on this land is great and I am sure your mother would be proud. She was an architect after all”
In an unsuccessful attempt to hide her tears, Asami pressed her face into Korra’s midriff, taking another deep breath she pushed herself away. “Let’s just finish this.”
“Okay.” Korra nodded, bending down again to grab onto one of the wooden boards. Then she suddenly stopped. “Oh, I found some letters and magazines between your bed and the wall. Maybe you want to sort through them?”
Korra already went to grab them, stopping in her tracks as she read something on it.
“Those are letters for me?”
Asami felt her cheeks reddening taking the stack of paper out of Korras hands. “Oh those… those are the ones I did not dare to send to you.” Taking the stack of paper from Korra, she loosely shuffled through it. “I told you that I almost wrote you about my feelings? It’s … It’s in here.”
Korra smiled widened, like it always did when Asami made her feelings known.
“Can I read them?”
Asami thought about it, letting the yellowed letters lay heavy in her hands. In the end she pulled one of them out of the stack. The oldest one. The first one she had dared to write and never dared to send. It was a ramble of words and feelings but it laid out everything, raw and honest. “You can read this one.”
Happy Korra took it from her, sitting down onto the ground, eyes roam over Asami’s neat writing fast and excited. Not knowing what to do with herself Asami sat herself next to her girlfriend. Watching her devour every word.
After she finished Korra’s eyes found hers. Her face showed all the love and softness the hard, rough edges of the world of an Avatar had never managed to poison out of her.
Then she threw her arms around Asami, tackling her to the ground, hugging her firmly.
“I love you so much.” Korra whispered. “Marry me?”
“I would love to.”