It had to be perfect. Korra had planned everything down to the smallest detail to make it the most flawless thing possible, and even though she had made sure everything was in order, she was afraid. Not just afraid that something might have been overlooked in the planning, but mostly because of Asami's reaction.
For some time now, things had been lukewarm between them, and it wasn't either of their faults, it was just what happens to many long-term couples: routine. Sure, Korra had her Avatar duties and Asami had always had her commitments as a businesswoman, but their schedules had become a problem when Sato decided to expand Future Industries even further. There was a constant need for travel, meetings, recruitment for new branches, employee training and development, not to mention countless negotiations with other sectors for multi-million-yuan business deals.
Korra couldn't even remember the last time they had been together in a romantic moment of their own. She knew Asami worked intensely out of love for the company she had inherited from her father, and also because she knew she had a lot of good to offer the world through her skills as an inventor in fact, it was admirable that she pushed herself so hard for it, but her girlfriend felt a pang of jealousy at sometimes being left in second place.
Now was the moment to reverse that. The Avatar would pull her ace from her sleeve and lay it on the table without any ceremony. She loved Asami with all her might and needed to reinforce that; she didn't want to lose the woman of her life, and so she thought she should present herself as something as important as the ventures Sato had gotten into. And what could be as important as the industrialist's life's work and Hiroshi's legacy? Family. If they finally became a family, they could live together, have more time for each other, share their problems, increase the fun, eventually break out of the routine a bit and live a happy, full life.
To make this happen, Korra had a proposal to make: marriage. She was going to propose to her beloved. She had been mulling over this idea for a while now, and had finally let it blossom completely. She reached into her pocket for the thousandth time that night and found the velvet box with the ring she had bought precisely to be the band that would adorn the finger of the most beautiful woman in the world. She smiled as she held it, just like all the other times.
It was strange to imagine a marriage proposal with a ring instead of a necklace. Korra was originally from the Southern Water Tribe, so she was familiar with the image of women becoming brides by accepting a handcrafted necklace made by their suitors with that very intention. There, a married woman was recognized by wearing such an adornment around her neck, made from ingredients found in the Tribe and crafted according to the maker's creativity. Korra remembered seeing many women wearing them and imagined the day she would receive one, along with an emotional and beautiful proposal that would surely make her break down in tears of happiness.
She let out a tired laugh as she remembered her childish fantasies. She had sworn she would marry one of the sons of her father's trusted men; in fact, she even had a preference for some and had secretly been involved with half a dozen of them, but nothing that had the slightest chance of a future or success. The truth was that what she had planned for herself was far from reality, and she now knew it. She wouldn't be proposed to as she had imagined she would be the one proposing, with a ring instead of a necklace, with a bride instead of a groom... Everything would be the opposite of her childhood daydreams and, perhaps because of that, absolutely better.
She found the necklace tradition beautiful, but she wouldn't impose her culture on Asami; if her beloved's traditions demanded other protocols, that was fine, she would adapt to them instead of forcing her into anything.
She went over the plan one more time. She had gone to Asami's mansion just before dusk, dismissed the staff, and after they left, dedicated herself to preparing the spaces as she had imagined for the big moment. It wasn't going to be anything too luxurious or grand in fact, she had opted for something more intimate. She had bought ready-made food and took care of setting everything up as a banquet in the dining room. She felt compelled to study all those fancy etiquette quirks characteristic of rich and/or noble people; she knew that important dinners had a whole script and unique dress code. She had to do everything right if she wanted to impress Asami and receive a positive answer to her rehearsed proposal. Indeed, Korra didn't like all that fancy bourgeois stuff, but she knew of her beloved's inclination towards all things involving the formalities and solemnities of Republic City's high society, especially since Sato had been raised in that environment; it was no surprise she felt a part of it all, so Korra ended up not minding making such a sacrifice. It was for a greater good, after all.
She had to read up and learn about all the proceedings of an important event, as per custom. She studied how many dishes she needed, the types of cutlery, the size of the glasses, their position on the table, what was the best type of tablecloth for the occasion, the fabric of the napkin, the table arrangements... everything. Once she figured out what she needed, she ran after the remaining details to get things schematized for the big day. It took almost a week of preparations, but she finally got what she needed and was going to put it into practice.
She got nervous when the big day arrived, even more so after stepping into the Sato house. She knew it would take a while to arrange everything she had in mind, as indeed it did she even got scared that Asami would show up before she finished, given the sheer amount of details she needed to pay attention to. However, her worry didn't materialize; she had completed the plan without any interruption. Now she just had to wait for her (hopefully) future fiancée.
Korra now waited impatiently for Asami's arrival. She had been there for hours with no sign of life from the other. By that time, she should have already arrived. Perhaps she had gotten involved in some activity that demanded her presence longer and had to stay past her usual time.
The Avatar was on the sofa in the entrance hall, deliberately dimly lit for a surprise, but that half-light was already bothering her. Maybe the discomfort was amplified by the absence of the one who should have arrived by now, the reason for all of Senna's daughter's recent efforts. Korra's nervousness had been supplanted by anxiety, restlessness, eagerness; her own body denoted all of this: her legs swinging restlessly and her hands making repetitive movements with no apparent purpose.
Her mind was somewhat troubled, thinking of possibilities and even concocting things, creating increasingly complicated situations and scenarios as time passed. And still no Asami. At first, she thought of unpleasant scenarios to justify her beloved's absence, but absolutely bizarre ones that she wouldn't even consider if she weren't stressed and scared. Then, as the minutes passed, she started to get her head straight and concoct other, more feasible possibilities.
The most likely thing was that Asami decided to stay past working hours to work more on urgent projects. That had been happening frequently, and Korra was bothered by seeing her girlfriend pushing herself beyond reason. She didn't say anything to avoid upsetting her, but it was starting to cross the limits of what was acceptable for the Avatar. For a moment, she feared something more serious had happened; it was a valid concern, though less likely. She shook her head, trying to send away her more morbid thoughts.
Maybe it was nothing serious after all and she was worrying for no reason. Still, it didn't hurt to make sure after all, it was about Asami, and for that reason, Korra didn't mind moving heaven and earth to ensure everything was okay. She stood up, determined. She would go to Future Industries headquarters to check on Sato's whereabouts.
It took longer than expected to get to the place, but Korra finally found herself facing the huge facade of Republic City's largest technology company. It was poorly lit, but the movement of people inside was clear, even if less than usual, since they were no longer in business hours. The Avatar entered through the reception and would have been asked to leave, simply because they were closed to the public, if she weren't the important figure she was. The security guards watched her cross the entire lobby until she reached the wide reception desk at the opposite end from the entrance, where she addressed the secretary, who was already gathering her belongings to leave.
– Good evening. Is Asami Sato in? – She asked the woman with glasses.
– Ah, yes. Good evening, Avatar Korra. She is in her office. She said she would stay late reviewing some spreadsheets and contracts.
– Okay then. Thank you. – She started heading towards the elevator. Obviously, she was going to where the owner of that company was.
– Avatar Korra. – She stopped and looked at the receptionist, who completed with the warning she had been given precisely hours before. – Miss Sato asked us not to allow anyone into her room, as she is doing meticulous, difficult work and doesn't want to be interrupted.
– I understand your concern in enforcing what Asami asked, but I'll have to go in there, one way or another.
– Please, Avatar, I ask you to reconsider... Several jobs will be at stake if I don't comply with the directive from our upper management.
– I understand your fear, but you can rest easy. You and all the other employees here. You won't be fired over such a silly thing, especially because I'm sure Asami will understand that the reason for the interruption is just. – She paused. – It's something concerning Republic City's security. – She lied. – Something so important I'm sure she won't mind my interruption; on the contrary, she'll be grateful to be informed about the matter firsthand.
– Is it that serious? – She became alarmed.
– A bit, but nothing you need to worry about. If Asami helps, everything will be resolved successfully before dawn. – She lied again. There was nothing serious happening, but if she needed to pull rank to go up, so be it.
– Y-yes, of course. I trust your word.
And without further interruption, Korra headed for the elevator. It didn't take long, and she was already on the floor of the most powerful executives' offices. It was an imposing place, for important people, and every little space there denoted that, whether through the decoration or the architecture of the floor. The door at the very end of the hallway was her beloved's; it was her office, to be specific. It was the largest and best decorated among all in the entire building; anyone who saw it would know it was something very important and, since it was an office, it would obviously belong to the most relevant person there.
Korra had been there a few times before, but it was the first time since the renovation. Nothing had changed substantially, critically, but she could see nuances different from what she remembered, in a very positive way. It was impossible to pass by there and not see the entire history of Future Industries along the hallway. The battles fought in the past, the hardships that occurred, the seemingly insurmountable difficulties, and, of course, the victories won along the way. Fortunately, the company's success was far greater than any misfortune that had ever befallen that place; it all started with Hiroshi, the one largely responsible for turning things around positively, and so it continued with his daughter. In a way, his heir was as talented as her father and had even a bit more savvy and vision when dealing with shareholders and developing bold projects. It was no wonder things were going smoothly ever since Asami decided to dive headfirst into the family business – after all, as she herself said, it was more than a company to her, it was a huge and important legacy she felt extremely honored to have received. However, along with all the prosperity and status came a ton of responsibilities and workload that were hard to handle, and Asami had been facing the downside of what that empire meant for some time now.
Korra felt sorry for all the duties her girlfriend had been accumulating lately, things that even took away the time they had to be together day-to-day. The Avatar tried not to be bothered by it, but it was getting harder and harder. She had been assured it was temporary and clung to that to not lose her mind completely, because soon things would return to normal patterns, according to Asami, but it was taking longer than expected.
Yet, it was impossible not to feel proud of the superb work Sato performed with mastery there. Sure, Future Industries was already big enough, but she made a point of expanding everything there on a scale that would leave even the unshakable Hiroshi Sato stunned and happy. Just another quality of hers for the list, which seemed endless.
As soon as she reached the door, Korra grabbed the doorknob and, without any ceremony, opened a passage to the interior of the room. She would definitely get a scolding for not knocking before entering. That was fine, it was what she wanted anyway; nothing like a little nitpicking to take the businesswoman's focus off her endless papers, even if just for a few moments. After all, Asami needed a bit of distraction at that point, and Korra had an arsenal ready and available; entering without knocking was just the tip of the iceberg.
The mischievous smile waiting for the scolding faded as soon as she saw the inside of the room. The ready retort, on the tip of her tongue, for whatever Sato might say, was immediately forgotten upon seeing and processing the scene ahead, before her eyes. To the absolute surprise and shock of the young woman entering the room, the girl with black hair was slumped on the floor, motionless.
– Asami! – She shouted desperately, going towards the other. It was a matter of seconds until she reached her and sat on the floor beside her girlfriend, extremely worried, lifting her head, hoping to be minimally effective, but she wasn't. – Asami, wake up! What happened? – No reaction. – Asami!!!
The heart of the conscious one beat erratically, in panic. She was so nervous she couldn't even check her beloved's vital signs: the most basic of basics she had learned about healing and first aid had vanished from her mind, and all that remained was an absurd blank. As talented as she was in those cases under normal circumstances, at that particular moment she was completely useless because of the influence of her emotions.
No matter how much she shouted and tried to bring Asami back to consciousness, everything seemed in vain, and the worst part was not even knowing the reason for it. And with each passing second, Korra's head grew more disturbed. Despite the delicacy of the situation, she tried not to lose control completely, but things got completely out of hand when she felt thick tears running down her own face; it was a sign she could no longer be rational in the face of the moment and was about to have a nervous breakdown. She knew it wouldn't help, but it was impossible to have any other reaction. Korra already feared the worst.