Internet Girlfriends
Asami sat with the laptop in her lap and a glass of wine. Korra’s icon was still stubbornly set to offline. It was beginning to worry her. Korra usually sent two dozen messages a day, just generally stupid jokes and memes, anything that she thought might entertain Asami during a boring workday. Then, for the last week, nothing. Asami had no idea why and it wasn’t like she could just drive over and ask. That was the problem with living half a world away from the love of your life.
Trying to kill time Asami opened up Korra’s blog. That too had not been updated in days. The last post was a flashback image of Korra before the incident, sweaty, hair coming out its wolftail, fists held high in triumph. Korra’s last tournament. Korra’s last victory. She’d captioned it with just one word. “Remember?” It wasn’t exactly reassuring.
There was an electronic ping. Asami switched tabs hurriedly. Korra’s icon had changed to green.
Korra: Hey
Asami: Seriously? You drop off the earth and you come back with “Hey”??
Asami: ...
Asami: Sorry. That was harsh.
Asami: I was worried.
Korra: It’s fine.
Korra: I should have said something.
Asami sat back. Should have said something. So she hadn’t just been snowed in or lost power. She’d been avoiding her. The video call option was greyed out. That wasn’t normal either; they’d progressed talking rather than typing some months ago.
Asami: What’s going on? Are you ok?
Three flashing dots appeared. Then vanished. It happened twice more, more than enough time for Asami to flash through two dozen worst case scenarios. She’s breaking up with you. Someone died. She got hurt. Naga ate someone. She got a stalker. Someone ate Naga. A tiger seal... There was a ping from the laptop.
Korra: Whatever that mad brain of yours is cooking up right now, stop.
Asami tried to. She wasn’t very successful.
Korra: Promise not to freak out?
Asami: ...
Asami: if there ever was a sentence more likely to make me freak out, it’s that.
Korra: Fair point.
Korra: Can you try though?
Asami: I will do my best. No promises.
Korra: That’ll have to do.
Korra: Ok.
Korra: So.
Korra: Um.
Korra: Basically.
Asami: Babe, this is going to take a really long time if you type one word a message
Korra: Fair point.
Korra: Sorry.
Korra: Whoops.
Korra: did it again.
Asami: You did that on purpose, didn’t you?
Korra: Maybe?
Korra: :P
Korra: Ok. Real talk time. Hope you’re sitting down. I am, but hey, you knew that already.
Asami rolled her eyes.
Asami: Wheelchair gags are low-hanging fruit, Kor.
Korra: And? It’s the only kind I can reach.
Asami fought the urge to headbutt the desk.
Korra: It’s actually about that. This whole thing.
Asami: Fruit?
Korra: ...No, you plum.
Korra: The wheelchair. Me. The combination thereof.
Asami: Ooh that makes more sense.
Asami: wait, shit, are you ok?
Asami: did something happen?
Asami: Kor?
Korra: Asami, I’m fine. Well. Mainly. Ended up in hospital again.
Asami: ???
Asami: Why?!
Asami: Are you still there?
Asami: what happened?
Korra: Asami, breathe. I’m ok. Not like I can really get much more injured, eh?
Asami: REALLY NOT THE POINT, KORRA!
Asami: I mean, I’m glad to hear you’re ok.
Asami: But still.
Asami: Hospital?!
Korra: Yeah. Truck skidded on ice when mum was taking me back from the gym. Mum’s got a broken arm but she’s ok. I came round with my legs all crushed up against the front, hurt like a bitch.
Asami: Aw shit, babe, are you ok now??
Asami: Wait.
Asami: Hurt?
Asami: I thought...
Korra: :D
Korra: Exactly.
Korra: The impact dislodged it. It’s not pressing on the nerve so hard.
Asami stared at the screen. Less nerve compression meant...meant...
Asami: I’m trying not to get ahead of myself here, Kor. Less compression. More feeling?
Korra: Yeah.
Korra: Hurts like fuck. But I’m not really complaining.
Korra: So basically I've been off the grid because I’ve been stuck in pretty much every scanner known to man and talking to more doctors than anyone should ever have to deal with in their lives.
Korra: And I wanted you to be the first to know.
Korra: there’s a surgeon. Thinks they can remove it, now it’s shifted. Have to wait to heal from the truck :( but she’s confident.
Asami:...
Asami:...
Asami:...
Asami:...
Asami: Holy shit
Korra: There’s just one drawback.
Korra: Well, aside from all the usual drawbacks of letting some scalpel-jockey loose on my spinal cord.
Korra: The surgeon isn’t exactly local.
Asami: Oh, that sucks.
Asami: How far?
Asami: Fire Nation?
Asami: Earth Kingdom?
Asami: Shit, don’t tell me it’s the North Pole.
Korra: Nope.
Korra: Some weird fucking backwater I’ve never even heard of.
Asami: Oh?
Korra: Yeah. Republic City, or some bullshit like that.
Asami sat back, staring at her screen. The words didn’t change. Republic City. Korra was...Korra was...Korra was typing again.
Korra: Hey Asami?
Korra: We’ve been doing this long distance thing for a while now.
Korra: Fancy finally meeting in the big, bad, three-dimensional world?