Soul Bound

Kya's Helping Hand

"I hope she likes these," Asami murmured to herself as she turned off her car's engine. She grabbed the bouquet of blue flowers carefully so none of the petals were rumpled and stepped out of her car. She nodded in greeting at the air acolytes and air benders as she made her way to the temple proper. Asami spied Kai nudging Jinora's side and pointing at the flowers. He whispered something into Jinora's ear and Jinora blushed a little. Asami wondered for a moment whether she should ask him what he had said but decided against it. If it was something rude, Jinora would have scolded him and apologized to Asami on his behalf.

Still, the whisper made Asami glance down at the flowers a little self-consciously. Maybe she shouldn't have given into the impulse to buy them but the blues matched Korra's eyes so perfectly that Asami couldn't help herself. She pushed down the nagging worry and hastened her stride to leave behind Kai and his whispers.

Asami checked the stables, training grounds, and even the dining hall but she didn't spot Korra in any of them. She was about to head out of the dining hall to Korra's room to check there when she almost ran into Kya who was going inside. Asami managed to take a hasty step backwards to avoid squishing the flowers. "I'm so sorry, Kya," she said as the waterbender jumped in surprise.

Kya shook her head as her hands lowered to her sides. They had flashed up in preparation for an attack before she recognized who she almost bumped into. "It's fine, Asami." She looked at the flowers and gave Asami a knowing smile. "Is Korra expecting you?"

A faint blush spread on Asami's cheeks. "No, I wanted to surprise her." She held up the flowers so Kya could see the different shades of blue more clearly. "I saw these on my afternoon stroll and well, I thought Korra might like them."

"I'm sure she will," Kya chuckled. Personally, Kya couldn't really see Korra being a flowery girl but she knew anything from Asami would melt her heart. "How are you doing, by the way?"

"I'm doing well," Asami answered automatically. She saw Kya's eyes glance around the room to ensure that they were the only two in the dining area. "What's up?" she asked, already guessing what Kya wanted to really talk to her about.

For her credit, Kya looked guilty for a moment before nodding at one of the empty tables. "I wanted to talk to you about it." It appeared that even if they were alone, Kya was not taking any chances of someone overhearing them talk about the Soul Bond.

Asami swallowed a sigh and followed Kya to the table. They sat down and Asami carefully placed the bouquet on the table.

Kya looked at the flowers again before meeting Asami's eyes. "How are you holding up with everything?"

Asami blinked in surprise at the question. She had assumed that Kya just wanted an update on Korra's condition and if anything strange had happened to her that Korra might have not told Kya or Tenzin. Well, several strange things had occurred that Asami was never, ever, going to tell anyone. She cleared her throat and forced away the memories before they made her blush. "I'm doing well." It took her a second before realizing she had already said that.

Kya's eyes crinkled with concern at the same answer. "Just well?" she asked gently.

Asami chewed on the inside of her cheek as she mulled over her answer. "I'm doing the best as I can with all of this." She gestured vaguely around the room. Her eyes landed on the flowers and some of her excitement at giving them to Korra faded. "It can be difficult at times but that's with any relationship."

"This one is far more complicated than most, though," Kya replied. She knew that Asami was holding back how she really felt. The younger woman's aura wasn't as pronounced as it usually was but Kya was impressed that it still held an abundance of strength and determination. She had thought that the knowledge and experiences of Korra's Soul Bond with Kuvira would have diminished Asami's aura greatly but she was glad to be proven wrong. Still, Asami's spirit was handling it better than Kya could believe. A little too well, actually.