She Can't See

chapter fourteen

Something smells ... good.

Immediately as Korra came to from her slumber, she was hit harshly with two things. One being the heaviness on her eyelids from the edibles she had decided to take in the middle of the night. The other being a strong, welcoming, and somewhat familiar smell. Though, the familiarity of it wasn't as if it was something that she had often smelled before. It was more ... comforting. It smelled like something that Korra didn't even know she missed. It smelled like she was coming home after years of being away.

And it was driving her fucking crazy.
She grumbled under her breath as the light from sunrise spilled through the curtains and continued to strain against her eyelids. After contemplating whether or not to submit to such an early time of day, Korra opened her eyes as slowly as possible. The first thing that she saw was a mane of raven hair that was spilling all out in front of her. It took a total of half of a second for her to remember exactly who was sleeping on the other side of the bed.

Asami.

Korra smiled to herself, lazily but fully, at the fact that Asami was there, right by her side. Something about this setting felt oddly confidential. Like it was a secret, or it was only meant for the two that lay next to each other. This wasn't supposed to be done with anyone else. This was how it was supposed to be.

Whatever 'it' even meant.

The room was quiet and still. Despite the slight intimacy that thudded in Korra's veins, pounded at her temples, and clouded her vision, it was peaceful. The glow of the morning sun wasn't as bad now that Korra's eyes had mostly adjusted to it, but that of all things wasn't the particular beauty that caught her attention. It wasn't the overly-grand chandelier on the ceiling either. Nor was it the couch that no doubt cost more than Korra's rent for the year. No, it wasn't any of those inanimate objects that didn't mean anything to Korra.

The silky hair that rested so close to her is what was drawing her in; what was practically calling to her. Turns out the bun that Korra had redone for her friend wasn't as tight as she had thought it was. Instead of blaming that failure on her poor judgement, she settled on just blaming it on the intoxicants. That was much less embarrassing. She honestly just hoped that the fallen hair didn't bother Asami while she rested, and it didn't seem like it did.

Asami was faced the other way, tranquilly still letting sleep take her over. Her body faintly moved up and down as she breathed at a steady pace. Korra, with her fixed eyes, let the sight take her over, too. A small part of her wished that she could see Asami's face right now.

Her brows furrowed in frustration.

She wanted to see Asami in a state that didn't fill her with any worry, stress, or concern. Where she was in an entirely other world while her body fell onto soft pillows and comforters in the meantime. Korra wanted to know what Asami looked like at her calmest, since 'Calm Asami' seemed to always be a mysterious identity. Korra almost brought herself to touch Asami's shoulder to shift her so that they were face to face, but that felt a bit disrespectful. The last thing that she wanted was to disturb this certain state.

She smiled again, more fully than before, knowing that Asami was this relaxed around her. A foolish thought came across her hind. An impossibly hopeless thought that maybe Asami was only this relaxed because of Korra's presence.

Again, a foolish thought. That couldn't be the case. Everyone was relaxed as they slept, unless they were having a nightmare or something. Asami just wasn't having a nightmare. That's the only reason why she was sleeping so soundly. So comfortably. So freely, with her arms spread across the space that she took up, her legs idly tangled in the sheets, and her hair shamelessly making room for itself.