Another week had passed without news from Korra. Another week without the Avatar checking in. All she knew was the whereabouts of Tonraq's daughter, provided quite a while ago, and she wasn't even sure if that information was still reliable anymore. Asami wondered if she should send a letter to Korra, like she had done a few times before, getting other letters in return. The thing is, with the flood of work from Future Industries, plus the personal issues that kept popping up, Asami couldn't even remember the last time she had written to her friend, let alone if she had gotten a reply back then.
Throughout the whole time they had exchanged letters, it was always Asami who took the initiative, sending letters to her friend, who would eventually answer. Korra never bothered to try and reach out casually, without being prompted to do so. Asami understood that the Avatar went through a huge ordeal facing Zaheer, almost lost her life, and had lasting effects that might still be with her today; the pain she went through was something no mere mortal could ever hope to understand or withstand, and it was perfectly reasonable to expect she wouldn't be the same after all that. The thing is, it had been almost three years since the Red Lotus's defeat and imprisonment, but still no sign of Korra making any positive move.
Asami would give her all the time in the world for a full recovery, but she feared she might not be able to be that patient. The Avatar, regardless of era, ethnicity, gender, or incarnation, was always needed now and then to fight threats an ordinary person never could, and maybe, when least expected, a new villain would arise trying to cause trouble as big or bigger than what Zaheer created. Korra needed to be ready, yet she showed no signs of progress in that direction. In fact, she hadn't shown any signs for months.
The young Sato still felt a bit privileged for having received, after all, some correspondence from Korra, because from what she could gather, no one else had been contacted by her. Not Mako, not Bolin, not Tenzin, much less Lin or anyone in Republic City. She even had her doubts if any contact had been made with Tonraq and Senna, because when she saw them some time ago, during the last world leaders' meeting in Republic City, she told them Korra had sent her a report about the progress in her physical recovery; the unmistakable look of shock and joy on their faces at news about their daughter said it all.
But the lack of news was killing her. She thought maybe she was considered a nuisance by her friend because of how many times she had written; she even tried to hold back on several occasions so as not to bother her as much as she wanted to, and ended up failing most of the time. That's exactly why she was weighing whether she should give Korra more space or give in to the temptation of sending one more letter, just one more, to her longtime friend.
"Friend," Asami would scoff every time she referred to the Avatar that way. This had been going on for a while now. Not that she saw her in a bad light, quite the opposite, describing what she felt for her as just friendship was like trying to fit the ocean into a cup. The young Sato's feelings were much bigger than that, and she only realized it when, invariably, she found herself not just missing Korra, like all their closest acquaintances, but making important plans for the future and placing her at the center of the most crucial things in her life, in a prominent position. She still remembered clearly when she lied about dating just to fend off the owner of a partner company of Future Industries who tried to make a move on her. She only managed to get him to back off and finally give up when she claimed to be in a relationship, which was a lie. He wasn't convinced at first and asked for a description of the person Asami was supposedly seeing. She was caught off guard, not thinking she'd have to go that deep into the charade, but she pulled it off extremely well by describing someone with such a passionate tone that wasn't fake at all, convincing the man with great ease. It was Korra she was describing. In a reflexive impulse, backed into a corner, she ended up giving the easiest attributes of someone she'd fall for. And it was easy because it was the absolute truth; she didn't need to worry about convincing or acting, she just had to be herself, and she was.
From then on, there was no more denying her own feelings to herself. When the moment passed and she realized what had happened, she stopped trying to dress up, camouflage, hide, or lie about the subject. Before, she even tried to come up with some justification for what she felt, even if it didn't sound truly convincing.
The letters they exchanged were a breath of fresh air for Asami. Being able to know how the other was doing and share news from Republic City was a great relief. Just as the fact that there had been no contact for so long caused her a wave of restlessness and anxiety. She kept wondering if writing again was a good idea, if she'd get any response, if it would sound like unnecessary pressure on someone already overwhelmed...
Anyway, she was lost in these thoughts for a whole day until, by some twist of fate, like a flash, it occurred to her that maybe Korra needed to hear from someone who genuinely cared about her, after all she was in a faraway, isolated place, with no close acquaintances, leading a very questionable life for who she was. Maybe her reservations were pushing her beloved further away and preventing her from offering help that might be needed without her knowing. She had no idea how the Avatar received her words, what face she made reading the lines written in ink on Future Industries stationery. Maybe she smiled seeing her careful, fancy handwriting, after all Korra never hid that she thought Asami's handwriting was beautiful.
She smiled at the memory of being praised for it several times and soon fetched paper and a pen to draft another letter. When everything was ready, she sat at the desk, straightened up in her chair, and started sketching out the text. After finishing the first version, she read it and made some considerations: crossed out words, corrected spelling, added some sentences, in short, improved what she could. After all her effort, more time-consuming than usual to ensure it was impeccable, she achieved the desired result.
Republic City, 174 AG
Dear Korra,
How have you been? I hope everything is okay with you, it's been so long since we last talked, so long since I had any news from you. In case you're wondering, everything is calm here: Mako and Bolin got new jobs, Tenzin and Jinora are doing well instructing the new airbenders, the Air Temple is thriving, Lin is still leading the police and faced some issues with the triads, but nothing she and her subordinates couldn't handle later. The Fire Nation is also in a great phase, while the Earth Kingdom is trying to get back on its feet after that mess caused by the last queen's death; Wu will definitely have a lot of work ahead. I don't have much news from Zaofu, but I believe everything is fine there, otherwise we would have been notified. I ran into your parents a few weeks ago, they're doing well and miss you, just like all of us.
I'm rooting for your full recovery, as quickly as possible, and for you to feel comfortable enough to come back soon. Korra, you have no idea how much you're missed here, I can speak for myself when I say that without your presence, this city is a drag! It's not just the absence of the Avatar figure, but especially yours, the girl-woman from the Water Tribe who came to complete the training needed for such a huge purpose no one can fully grasp, and yet, you pull it off with mastery; a person who won hearts wherever she went with her kindness and generosity, leading by example, being extremely loyal to your goals, purposes, friends, family...
I know you put a lot of pressure on yourself about the mission you were entrusted with at birth, I know your personality is completely different from Aang's, that he dealt with life's problems in a calm, measured, harmonious, and peaceful way, unlike you, because your nature is the opposite of his. And there's nothing wrong with that. There are many possible paths to reach the same result. You both got there: the balance of the worlds. I'm sure Aang is very proud of you, wherever he is, so stop being so hard on yourself. I know excellence is your motivation and what you aim to achieve; the problem is you're already excellent, you just don't realize it yet. Korra, everything you do is already enough, you don't need to torment yourself thinking otherwise.
Everyone will welcome you back with open arms when you return, you can be sure of that, because everyone misses you. And I'll be first in line, because I miss you the most.
Please, don't take my words as some sort of pressure, that's not my intention at all; take them as a form of support, as a reminder that you are understood and not alone, because whatever you decide and do, you can count on me, I'm by your side. And I'm not going anywhere. Not for anything in the world.
With Affection,
Asami Sato
After everything was done, Asami neatly copied the text, doing her best to make the final result as good as possible. When she finished, she reread the letter one more time and smiled, satisfied. She still thought a lot about confessing her own feelings to her beloved, she almost did it, but she thought it might scare Korra to the point of making her never come back, after all she didn't know if the feeling was mutual, in fact she had little hope that it was.
She carefully folded the paper and placed it inside one of the many envelopes kept in the desk drawer, then sealed it. She correctly filled in the sender and recipient fields. The next morning, she would go to the post office to arrange the delivery. She needed to do it quickly so she wouldn't have time to back out like the other times. With luck, Korra would read her words. With even more luck, they would have an effect. All that was left was to wait, and that wasn't as thankless a task as it seemed. Patience had always been a well-exercised virtue for Asami. Now more than ever.