CHAPTER WARNINGS: drunkenness/alcohol use, pregnancy, foot massage. (no sex)

~ o ~

Just as she had said she would, for the next three weeks, Korra stayed home. She felt bad about it at first, until about a week in, when Chief Beifong reported that her metal Benders had already apprehended two mercury bombs before their timers ran out to detonation. Clearly, they had the situation well in hand.

After that, Korra began to relax a little more. She spent most of her time accompanying Asami to her meetings and other business affairs, and when Asami's business could be done at home, Korra trained in the gym. It was a bit more dull than she was used to, but she got to see her lover every day and night, so she wasn't complaining.

One day, after visiting Air Temple Island so Asami could get a quick checkup, Korra found herself in a particularly joyful mood. "Wow..." she marveled as they sat down in the car, placing a gentle hand on her lover's round belly. "Six months. I still can't believe this is happening so fast."

"Neither can I, but here we are," Asami laughed, snaking one arm around Korra and allowing the other hand to rest upon her lover's stomach. It had finally grown so large that it was as if she were carrying a very small melon under her clothes. Pema had loaned her quite a few maternity shirts, and even though they weren't terribly stylish, she was determined to simply wear them rather than waste a lot of money on clothes she would be getting rid of before the month was out.

"Between Pema's experience and my calculations, it's pretty likely that I'll be dilating in a little over a week — two at the most!" Glancing up at Korra's face, she flashed her a weary but completely elated smile. "Isn't it wild?"

"Wild" was one word for it, for sure. In truth, this frightened Korra each and every day; but she was in generally better spirits today, after hearing from Pema that Asami seemed to be strong and healthy, and so was their baby boy. She nodded in dumbfounded agreement and sank back into the seat, smiling like a fool at her lover.

"Heh. This is all happening so fast," Korra said a couple minutes into their drive home. "It's all gonna be over so fast. And I..." She giggled very briefly. "I think you look really beautiful in those Air Temple clothes."

A dark little smirk tugged at the corner of Asami's mouth, though she kept her eyes on the road. "Oh, really? Because you laughing and calling me 'Aasami' on a daily basis really conveys 'beautiful' instead of 'a walking fashion disaster'. Can't tell you how much I've appreciated it."

Korra flushed a little awkwardly and looked at her feet. "Ahh. Then I'm sorry, Asami; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I guess I...I've wanted to tell you how gorgeous I think you look...like this." Her eyes darted down to her round belly. "I just didn't know how to say it, it felt so...weird."

"Don't worry about it; I'm kidding. Well, half-kidding."

After a moment, Korra said, "Hey. You know what? Let me make it up to you. I know you've been avoiding bringing up shopping for baby stuff because it was kind of freaking me out...so...why don't we drive into town and shop for that stuff? I think I'm ready." She gave Asami a reassuring smile and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Really?" There was actual relief in Asami's voice now, not just happiness. "Because I've been worrying that I'd end up just going there with Bolin to carry my packages, but... if you're serious about this, then I'd love to. Let's go, right now!"

Without waiting for Korra's response, she turned the wheel sharply to take them down another street, cutting off another motorist. When the man angrily shook his fist at them, she leaned out her window and shouted, "I'M PREGNANT WITH THE AVATAR'S BABY!" in a voice that brooked no argument. In her rearview mirror, she could tell he was utterly stunned.

Korra's face was absolutely stunned, hands white-knuckled on the seat beneath her. Asami had made an illegal turn and was shouted at, and shouted back! Something Tenzin had said to her weeks ago suddenly sank in: '...and as for Asami, keep a close watch. Expect...crazy things...' This probably wasn't what super-spiritual-Tenzin meant, but it rang true in that moment.

"Yeah, you are!" she retorted to Asami. "So drive a little more carefully! Please?"

"What? Oh... sorry, I just didn't have the patience for his nonsense!" Then she took a deep breath and smiled as if the previous moment had never occurred. "Now, baby shopping! Oh, Korra, we need so much — of course, if this weren't such an unusual pregnancy, we'd have plenty of time to worry about it, but we're going to have to put our noses to the proverbial grindstone!"

Korra raised an eyebrow, but nodded in agreement. "Mmm...yeah. But we can probably get it all in one afternoon, right?" She paused, feeling like her cluelessness on these matters was quite apparent. "I mean, I gotta admit, my experience with babies is mostly Water Tribe babies, and...I don't know how you were brought up as a baby or the customs with your...-peop—family?" There was another long, awkward pause. "I can't believe it's never occurred to me to ask before, but...Asami, where was your family from?"

"Hm?" She had been too busy glancing at the names of shops to take in Korra's question, but then she seemed to mentally backtrack enough to catch it. "Oh, from the Fire Nation. My paternal grandfather was already living in Republic City as a child, but my mother was a more recent immigrant." Then she pulled over to the side of the road, having seemingly spotted a likely establishment.

Korra nodded. That made sense. Asami's pale skin and raven hair were classically Fire Nation. "Okay," she said, as Asami began to pull the car over and park. "So...how are babies handled in the Fire Nation? Because the way I know is just like...you wear your baby against your skin. Always. And I assume that's not what you wanna do." She paused. "It makes a lot of practical sense when you live in the South Pole."

"How about," Asami laughed easily as they exited the vehicle, "I'll raise him in my ways, and you raise him in yours? I wouldn't want to deprive our son of either cultural influence." When she had reached Korra's side, she slid her hand into the crook of her elbow. "You can carry him against your skin sometimes; I want you to do that if it's part of your upbringing. However, I will mostly be putting him in a stroller or a bassinet. Which we will need to purchase, by the way."

"Stroller. Stroller." Korra had to search her brain to think of what the item was. Then it occurred to her. "Oh yeah, sure. We can get one of those."

When Korra and Asami walked into the store, some people's eyebrows raised a little, and a few openly stared. But this was a big and expensive enough store, Korra thought, that a paying customer ought to be able to shop in peace regardless. Wasn't that what these places cared about?

"Okay, so what first?" said Korra. "Seriously, you tell me."

"A bassinet and a stroller," she half-laughed. "And of course, we'll need some clothes and diapers. I'd like to get him a few small toys or a baby blanket now, if possible, but those can wait if we run out of time, or just end up filling the car."

The way they were walking together, arm-in-arm, made an old woman with her hair in a bun scowl at them. However, when Asami merely smiled and waved directly at her, she gave an affronted huff and moved along quickly.

Korra was embarrassed and a bit nervous, but she walked with her chest high and eyes straight ahead. Wandering around the store, it didn't take them long to gather a pile of things as tall as Korra could carry. Though Asami had insisted on an absurd number of 'practical things,' Korra had grown equally irrational when confronted with the wide selection of toys.

As Korra stuffed all of their purchases into the backseat and trunk, she remarked, "Yeah, I mean, I never figured we would fill the car."

"Guess diapers will have to wait until another trip," Asami giggled. But she didn't seem terribly concerned. After all, they had another week and then some. As she returned to her seat, she asked, "Are you sure you don't want to go back for that polar bear-dog stuffed toy? It was practically calling your name..."

Korra's eyes lit up and she laughed. "Haha! Didn't you see? I got that one." She grinned wider. "Actually I got two, one for him and one for me. Because it was calling my name."

"You did?" She craned her neck around to look in the back seat, but she couldn't see them through all the other mountains of items they had wound up with. "Korra, you sneaky little..." But then she just leaned over and laid her head against her lover's shoulder. "You sneaky little angel."

Korra laughed even harder. "Whoo! You—you had me going there for a second, honey!" She kissed Asami's cheek and gave her a tug. "C'mon, let's get all this stuff home."

"Yes, let's."

~ o ~

A short while later, they were pulling up outside the manor. A few members of the staff assisted them in getting all the items put in the room on the other side of Asami's room, opposite Naga's new "lair." Together, they were eventually able to set up the crib and the changing table, plus get some of the clothes put away in a closet. The diaper shelf looked quite barren without any actual diapers to fill it with, but at least they had a place to put them.

"But the bassinette will go in our room," Asami reassured Korra when she had expressed misgivings about the baby sleeping so far away from them. "Don't worry, he won't be sleeping in his own room for several months."

Korra nodded. That was good. She didn't want to be apart from their son any more than she had to, especially in the dark of the night. Although if she had her way, the child would be sleeping between or on his parents, not in his own 'basin' or whatever it was called.

"I slept with my parents for a long time," she said. "Until... Wow. Until they realized I was the Avatar and the White Lotus took me away."

"Really?" Asami asked, in genuine surprise. "They weren't afraid they would... I don't know, roll over on top of you? I would be." But then she saw Korra's dejected face and smiled. "We can let him sleep between us a few times — but not while both of us are asleep. I'm not all that comfortable with that, it still seems dangerous to me."

Korra's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my- is that a thing that happens? To babies?" She shuddered a little as she imagined the implications. "Ugh... I...I've never heard of that happening in the Water Tribe. Nevermind then. We can just...take turns sleeping with him? For naps?"

"Maybe Water Tribe children have more resilient bodies," Asami pointed out with a slight chuckle. "I'd believe it, knowing you. But yes, that sounds like a good plan." Then she rounded the newly-erected crib and raised her hands to rest gently against either side of Korra's neck. "And I'm really quite pleased with how great you're being about all this. I know our boy threw you for a loop — threw me for one, too, but you even moreso. Being able to share in the experience now is... it's really heartening."

"I gotta admit, I'm still scared," she said sheepishly, resting her head against Asami's, hands encircling her waist. "But... I wouldn't change any of it now, and that's the honest truth. I'm more impressed with you. You just... took everything on so confidently!" She kissed her lover's forehead and raised one hand to run her fingers through that silky raven hair she loved so damn much. "You know... Tenzin told me that a woman becomes a mother in spirit as soon as she finds out she's pregnant, and a man becomes a father in spirit when the baby is born. I think for me it kind of fell in the middle, you know?"

They both laughed. "That's actually not a bad comparison. But you're not a man — even if you are the father." Then a mischievous little smirk played over her lips, one she couldn't quite suppress. "Although, I guess if you took another trip into the Spirit World and came back permanently changed, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world..."

Korra almost choked on her own laughter. "Ha! Are you saying you'd rather I have a real dick than a... fake Waterbending one? I think Bending one is way cooler." She pulled back a bit and crossed her arms, pouting playfully. "Seriously, I bet no other Avatar has ever thought of that."

Sighing, Asami played it out a bit longer, pretending to be only vaguely interested in their conversation. "Not 'rather'. That's the wrong word. More like... it would be a non-issue. I could still make you orgasm with the force of a thousand Earthbenders, regardless." Then she grinned. "But you're right; Waterbending onto your anatomy is a stroke of genius."

"Genius is a good word." She pulled Asami back into her arms and kissed her cheek. "A thousand Earthbenders, huh? That's pretty good, too. I think that sums it up." Her kisses wandered down a little to her lover's jaw and throat, hands cradling her neck and her back ever so tenderly. "I'm feeling particularly genius tonight, if you're in the mood, my love..."

"Well..." Asami waffled, she truly did. Eventually, she simply deflated in Korra's arms and sighed. "Spirits, that sounds so good, but I honestly don't think I have the energy tonight. Incubating your spiritually-charged seed is a lot more exhausting than I thought." With a tiny pout, she added, "Forgive me?"

Korra laughed a little awkwardly. She was still harboring a little guilt over the situation. "Of course I forgive you! We can just go to bed tonight if that's what you want. Heck, I'll even rub you back and your feet first, if it helps you rest..."

As Korra's neck was halfway up to kiss Asami on the forehead, there was an inopportune knock on the door. "A thousand pardons, Miss Sato," came the butler's voice from the other side of the door. "There's a call for Avatar Korra."

Rolling her eyes, expecting it to be Chief Beifong nagging her to rejoin the investigation, Korra went to the door with a frown on her face. But when she took the phone from the butler and grunted 'hello' she was pleasantly surprised.

"Korra? Korra, hey, it's Mako!" came her friend's excited voice, loud enough for Asami to hear the conversation as well. "Are you guys busy tonight? Bolin and I stood in line for the stadium lottery all day and we got tickets to the Probending Finals! Tonight! And we're pregaming at the usual places. Do you guys wanna come?"

Korra was struck dumb for a minute. She wanted to say yes, but she hadn't forgotten the offer she'd just made to her lover. "Ahhhhhahaha... that sounds great! But I—"

"Come on!" Bolin was already saying in the background as Asami tried her best to mouth 'what is it?' so Korra could see her. "You guys have been nonexistent since this whole 'Spirit Baby' deal happened! Cut loose, hang with us guys!"

"Hang on a sec," Korra said, covering the receiver with her hand. She looked at Asami and said as sincerely as she could, though still quite unconvincingly, "Mako and Bolin want us to come out to drink and watch a Probending match, so I was just gonna tell them we're staying in tonight..."

"You promised me a foot rub," Asami groaned exaggeratedly. When Korra started to look like she was actually going to turn them down, she laughed and added, "Just a quick one. Then you can go meet those two clowns at whichever bar they're at by that time."

Korra's eyes lit up and she mouthed 'thankyouthankyouthankyou' before saying. "Tell me the first two bars you're hitting and I'll meet you there in an hour." Mako said something, and she nodded, hung up, and handed the phone back to the butler.

"Asami, you are the best, you know that?" Korra laughed as she shut the door behind the butler. She sat down on the end of their bed and patted the mattress invitingly. "I'll give you the best foot rub you've ever had."

Smiling tiredly, Asami sank into the bed with a gust of air. "Sorry for not just letting you go now," she said as she kicked off her slippers and turned toward her lover. "They're just so swollen and achy lately... if I'm not going to have you to snuggle with tonight, I at least want some help relaxing before I drop off to sleep."

Korra smiled. "Aw, don't feel bad," she replied. "I'm always happy to do this for you." She took Asami's ankles in her hands and rubbed them gently before moving down to her feet, rubbing her thumbs gently over the soles. "And don't worry; when I come back and fall into bed, then we'll snuggle."

The moan that resulted from her initial rubbing was as near sensual as it was soaked with relief. "Mmmm... oh Korra, why does pregnancy have to be such torture on the toes?" As the thumbs did their work, she smiled softly and said, "Thank you. I'll be glad to roll over and snuggle back."

"I'll even brush my teeth first," Korra joked, as she gently spread Asami's toes with her fingers and soothed her soles with the palms of her hands. "Seriously though, you sure you don't mind being alone tonight?"

"Hmmhhh," Asami intoned as the Avatar's capable fingers increased the pressure to her tortured flesh. "You're... making it really, really hard to let you go, but... yes." Opening one eye to watch her at work, she smiled serenely. "I know you and I have been joined at the hip since we found out I'm pregnant, and with the break from Avatar duties. You deserve a chance to blow off some steam."

That made the Avatar grin like an idiot. "I know I've already said it, but... you're the best!" Her fingers moved around to cup to top of each foot as her thumbs kneaded gently into her arches.

"No, no, not both at once, that- AAAIIHhhhh..." Melting completely, Asami slid backward by several inches, now propped on her elbows as she was pampered. "Oh Spirits... how do you know how to do this so well? I know I always ask, but..."

Korra gave a hearty laugh as she continued kneading the soft flesh of Asami's foot. "You really wanna know my secret? When I was in training under the Masters of the White Lotus, I was pretty much studying the Bending arts, like...all the time. Literally. So one of the Masters would give me arm and leg massages at the end of each day to help keep me in shape." She shrugged. "Not the sexiest story, I know, but I learned from the best."

Chuckling weakly, Asami flexed her feet against the onslaught of pleasure. "Well, how about you be the one to carry our second child, and I'll treat you to these all the time? Seems like the only way to balance the scales." Then she raised one up and poked Korra's cheek with her toes. "And that'll be enough for the time being, love. Get going before you miss all the action."

Korra didn't quite know what to say about "their second child," as she couldn't see herself ever having a baby; but Asami ended the foot rub before she could say anything back. She stood up and stretched a bit. "Alright, alright. Gotta get ready first."

After digging around in Asami's walk-in closet, Korra found the pieces of what would probably be a fine disguise. She wanted an easy night out with her buddies, and that meant she couldn't be recognized. So Korra bound her breasts more tightly than usual, and donned a tunic and trousers in green, with a yellow coat and gold headband. As long as nobody payed too close attention to her, they probably wouldn't even notice her blue eyes in the low light, let alone the fact that she was a woman.

"Okay," said Korra, kneeling by the