What I Learned at SRU -123- (Part 1)

A/N: Sorry this chapter has taken so long - and to be honest, I don't think it's particular good. But it finally brings the crime drama sub plot to a definitive close, which is at this point all I really wanted to do so that I can finally approach the last handful of chapters and deal with things that SRU is really more about.

The upside is that the next chapter is a little different from usual and is actually already written. I plan to post it tomorrow, as it's rather fitting for New Year's.

I hope you are all enjoying a happy holiday season. Thanks for sticking with me - I promise that the end is coming soon (chapter 130).

What I Learned at SRU
Chapter 123 - Breathe
(Part 1)

- Wednesday, June 8th -

Jane was slouched across the lounge's couch, munching lazily on her second donut stick. Her face was warm, cheeks flushed pink. She'd brought her backpack with her to Aero House, sneaking a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream with her. By now she'd gone through a few shots of it on an empty stomach, and was feeling much more relaxed and at ease than she had been all week thus far.

In her tired, uninhibited state, she'd curled up on two thirds of the couch. Presently, her head was rested in Aang's lap, which occupied the third cushion.

The show they were watching was some superhero cartoon, and the current scene depicted a green-skinned, pointy-eared kid in purple and black spandex. He was interacting with a gloomy, gothic girl in a cloak. They were talking through a closed door.

["Raven? It's me. Look...I'm sorry."]

["For what? You're not the one who...-"]

["No. I'm sorry that...he broke your heart."]

["I know it was all a lie. But he was the only person who ever made me feel like I wasn't...creepy. And don't try to tell me I'm not."]

["OK. Fine. You're way creepy. But that doesn't mean you have to stay locked in your room. You think you're alone, Raven. But you're not."]

The purple-haired girl locked away in her room opened her door and plunging herself into her green-faced friend. It was an intense hug of appreciation – one that Jane could relate with quite well.

"Aw," Jane blurted out in a mumble. "She duzz care..."

"Told ya this show had its sentimental moments," Aang said, smiling down at his intoxicated friend. Her eyes were glazed over, and her lower lip was quivering a bit. "Wh-...Are you crying?" he muttered.

Jane sniffed loudly, her nose plugged up with gunk, and she wiped her bee-striped sleeve across her face.

"Iz just-...Like...She hugged 'im, ya know? Makin' that...firsstep to...-" Jane sighed deeply, fluttering her lips as the episode was ending on a comedic note. She rolled onto her back, letting her eyelids sink closed as she popped the last chunk of donut stick into her mouth. Some crumbs stuck to her lips, and a bunch of stray bits had scattered across her shirt and the couch she was laying on.

"Yea, she figures things out over time," Aang assured, amused at Jane's dopey nature. The girl looked like she was about ready to go to sleep. "She kinda reminds me of somebody," Aang picked, flicking his finger against the top of Jane's head. She flinched, but with a bit of delay.

"Aghh," she groaned in a slow, discomforted fashion, her face wrinkling as she squirmed. "Dick," she pouted. "Kat's...nicer n' yoo...N' her...like...legs are squishier..."

Aang raised a brow at Jane, then grinned. He wriggled his right leg up and down, bumping Jane's head around a bit. She protested this with more pouting, then curled up a bit more, resting her head on the couch, pressing it up against Aang's hip.

"Lucky," Jane sighed with some bitterness, her sleepy eyes glazing over as she let the left side of her face sink into the cushion. It smelled funny.

"Hm?" Aang checked, fiddling with the DVD player's remote control.

"Nuthin'," Jane puffed out, licking the crumbs off her lips. Some stray hair got in her mouth, as well, from the cushion, and she spit it back out. She tried to refocus her eyes on the TV screen. A DVD player logo was bouncing around the corners of the screen.

The warmth of Aang's hip against the back of Jane's head disappeared, her world wobbling as his weight lifted off from the couch.

"Ain't we...gun' watch s'more?" Jane wondered, wiping her plaid sleeve against her dribble-covered lips. She was far too comfortable for this hang out session to end. "N' where's fuggin' Kat? Unh? Where...?"

"She's coming," Aang patiently assured. "She should be here in a couple of minutes. I'm going to set up the next episode. So...-" He was scanning the packaging of his Teen Titans DVDs. "What do you want to watch next? Should we switch to a comedy episode? Or should we start the next main story arc? Or do you want to watch an episode about a certain character, or...-?"

"Want...Kat," Jane mumbled, letting her eyelids slide closed.

"Heh, me, too," Aang chuckled, making his way back to the couch. He lingered, staring down at the girl who was flopped across its surface. "C'mon, scoot," he requested, bopping her frizzled head with the back of his wrist. "You're hogging the whole thing."

"'S mine now," Jane said, letting out a yawn as she stretched up her arms, taking up the entire couch.

"Now you're being mean," Aang picked, opting to sit on an adjacent couch.

Jane reached up into her shirt to scratch an itch on her stomach, then yawned again. She opened her eyes halfway, noticing that Aang had just moved position altogether.

"That it?" she taunted, pointing a wobbling, dramatic finger in his direction. "Givin' up? Not gun' fight me for it?"

"For...what?" Aang posed, digging his hand into a nearly empty box of baked, un-salted potato chips.

"Fer the couch? Duh..."

Jane rolled onto her stomach, drearily stretching her hand down toward her backpack. It was a small struggle to unzip it.

"What are you...-?" Aang asked, but he let it roll off with a sigh as he saw her pulled out her dark brown bottle. "I don't think you need any more of that," he noted with some disappointment.

"Yer thinkin' wrong," Jane snickered. She nearly dropped the bottle, but caught it in her lap. She laughed in spite of herself.

"Sounds like you guys are having some fun in here," came Kat's voice as she entered the room.

Jane gawked at the girl, who was dressed in a long, flowing white skirt and matching blouse. Her dark, wavy hair was taut back into a ponytail. She immediately walked to Aang and leaned over the couch's back, kissing him upside down. Jane envied their moment, and the way one kiss turned into two, then three, until Aang pulled his head sideways. They laughed quietly and Kat scratched her nails across Aang's scalp before walking over to Jane.

"Oho," Katara noted, tilting her head up as she watched Jane twist off the cap to her Irish Cream. "So that's why you're suddenly in such a good mood..."

Jane took a glug of the stuff before wiping her wrist over her dampened lips.

"Notta good mood," Jane said, shaking her head. "Little better n' yesterday? Yea..."

"Ohhh-kay," Katara said meekly, taking the bottle from Jane's hand as she sat down beside her. She awkwardly fumbled around, noticing Jane's open backpack. She stuck it inside, and zipped the backpack up, pushing it out under the lounge's coffee table.

"No fun," Jane grunted, scratching her nose, then her forehead, then her ear.

Katara gave Aang a wide-eyed look with raised eyebrows, and he shrugged back. Katara, sitting on the center cushion with Jane on her right, patted her hand on the empty seat to her left.

"Why are you over there?" she wondered. "Come. Sit."

"Somebody was being a goofus," Aang explained as he got up. He tilted his bag up to his face, dumping the crumbs into his mouth. He folded the bag in half and set it down on the table before seating himself beside his girlfriend. He leaned into her side. Jane, in her loose stupor, leaned into Kat's other side.

Katara lifted her arms up and let her hands fall down on each of her friend's shoulders.

"Well, then," she said. "Everyone's just cuddly today, huh?"

"Mm-hm-hm," Jane agreed in a laughing hum, her face warm against Katara's shoulder. On impulse, Jane reached out her hand and pressed it against Katara's thigh. "Squishy," she noted.

"C'mon," Katara nudged her off. "Behave," she said primly.

"OK," Jane glumly obeyed. "See?" she said to Aang, leaning her head over and looking across to him. "Her legs are squishy."

Aang and Katara exchanged confused but entertained glances, and Aang rubbed his palm across her knee, then up to her thigh.

"Yup," he agreed.

"OK," Katara laughed awkwardly. "Can we stop...talking about how fat my legs are?"

"But...thurr nice legs," Jane muttered. "N' they got...knubby knees, n'...-"

"Stop," Katara requested. She shrugged Jane's head off of her and gave her friend a pleading but stern look. "Please?" she added in a whisper, a pleading look on her face. Even in her intoxicated state, Jane could tell that look was more Kat not wanting to have to be strict about Jane's behavior. Normally it was Toph was was misbehaving.

"Sorry," Jane said in a quiet, dejected sound, sighing through her nose with longing. This whole fucking 'hormones' thing was pretty goddamn annoying.

"It's OK," Katara eased. "You're stressed, so you're cutting loose, you're having your drink. I understand."

"Fer yoo it's juss kittin videos n' chocolate."

Jane shrunk back into the couch, pushing around strands of her bed-head to free up her vision.

"And books," Kat pointed out.

"Soooo, I like a lil' calm-me-down...So what?"

"It's fine," Kat insisted, reaching over and helping Jane sort out her own hair. "Just don't overdo it," Katara suggested.

"You seen my Irish face?" Jane retorted with a silly grin, rubbing her palm across her freckled cheeks. "Iz our duty to overdo it."

"Yea, yea," Kat murmured. "So, we're watching...-?"

"Teen Titans," Aang replied hastily, eager to get the attention of the ladies onto fictional problems rather than stirring the awkward-sauce.

"Oh, neat," said Kat, hopping on that bandwagon. "It's been a long time since I've seen this show."

"Likin' it OK," Jane put in her two cents. "'S got its moments..."

"Who's your favorite?" Kat wondered. "I bet I can guess..."

"Oh, ya?" said Jane.

"It's Raven, right?"

"Fff..." Jane smiled, rolling her eyes. "Yes," she admitted. Her face had been lit up red this whole time, but she looked particularly bashful in that instance. "And I bet yoooo-" She spun her index finger in Katara's face. "-...like the nerdy lovey-dovey one a lot."

"Her name is Starfire," Kat insisted with facetious indignity. "And she's not 'lovey-dovey.' She has a big heart and cares a lot about her friends. And also kicks ass."

"She's cute," Jane acknowledged. "N' she's like you."

"Raven's like you," Aang was quick to point out. "You even cut your hair like her, come to think of it..."

"Not today," Katara teased, ruffling Jane's mop of frizzy-ended hair. The girl's red bed-head had edges curling in various directions and split ends were plentiful.

"Gimme a cape," said Jane, indulging in Katara's fingers across her head. Kat was starting to get finicky, trying to straighten the hair out a bit. It was a failed endeavor. "N' some powers," Jane added.

"I don't even want to think of what you'd do with superpowers," said Katara, smoothing out the part in Jane's hair before leaving it be.

"Heh..." Jane shrugged. She didn't even bother to imagine the possibilities. Her brain was too sedated to care about it. Just the idea of a cape had been enough.

"Hey, wait," said Aang. "Jane, you haven't seen the episode where they switch, have you?"

"Huh?" Jane blurted, totally confused.

"Starfire and Raven – there's an episode where they get switched. It's-...Well, we'll just...-" He bounced up from his seat, heading right for the DVD cases. "-...watch it right now."

"Ohhh, I remember that one," Katara said. "It's really cute. I like that one."

Jane yawned, then squirmed a bit, nestling her side against Katara's and leaning her body forward. Kat sighed softly, but got the message. She began running her fingernails up and down Jane's back, scratching it methodically.

"Thanks, Kat," Jane mumbled, taking to the gesture like a sleepy dog.

"No problem," Katara replied. She grinned, flashing her teeth to Jane. "I've always got your back," she added, snapping her fingers at Jane in a corny manner.

"Gawd," Jane whimpered, letting her head sag as she giggled.

"Uh...-?" Aang returned to the couch, having started up the proper disc in the player. "What's so funny?"

"Absolutely nothing," Katara said, shaking her head slowly.

"She's juss a fuggin' dork," Jane explained.

"Oh. Well!" Katara removed her hand from her friend's back. "No more back-scratching for you," she teased.

"Awwnngh," winced Jane, putting on quite the insipid pout.

"What are you, five years old?" Katara asked rhetorically, while Aang fiddled with the remote.

"Naw, I'm drunk," Jane clarified, flipping her wrist daintily, her eyes dulled and her cheeks warm.

"I can see that," said Katara wamrly, winding her arm across Jane's shoulder. She stuck the other one around Aang and pulled both of them inward, assuming the position they had before.

Jane savored the intimate contact, and slouched in her seat so that her head could comfortably rest on Katara's shoulder. It was a comfortable shoulder. Softer and squishier than Korra's, but more meaty and comfy than Johnny's boniness. Jane experienced a pang of longing, the alcohol in her system causing a flood in the memory banks of her mind. That attraction towards Kat – not of the body, but of the mind, of the heart – toward the person that had pulled Jane out of her old life and into this new one...That part of Jane that she'd buried was floating up to the surface in the flood caused by the booze.

As the fanfare of the WB logo played, Jane could hear Katara and Aang's lips sliding together a couple of times. It stung a little. But Jane had accepted that she would never have that heart, that mind, or that body. As much as she could bury it beneath the layers, that nagging feeling, that desire, it would always be there, somewhere. Jane had just learned to carry on despite it, because this friend was too valuable to leave behind. Maybe, some day, this nagging would go away for good. Maybe it wouldn't.

But this beautiful person who'd scooped her up, who'd polished off Jane's battle-worn armor, who'd taken her aboard and introduced her to this life she never had known she'd wanted...She could rest her head on that shoulder, as she was right then, and everything felt like it would be OK. That pang of difficult emotion would pass, and what would remain would be the core of it – that type of love Jane had never known she was capable of experiencing before she'd met Kat. The pure kind, the kind that existed, just as strong as it could be, whether there was physicality involved or not.

Kat had taught Jane what it was like to be loved in that way by her peers, and in turn, how to love that way toward others.

That was good enough to leave a smile on her face.

"We're...trying over here, guys, but...-" Mai sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she sent a prayer to the Advil gods. "I think it's going to take more than just a peace march and some hopeful ideals."

["And what, precisely, would you propose?"] Azula snipped from Mai's laptop screen. She and Zuko were displayed on the video chat window, sitting beside one another on some tacky black and white 'modern' couch. Mai was not a fan of Azula's interior décor senses, to say the least.

"A lot of people are getting suspicious about your family," Mai explained. "And for good reason. Maybe you both need to come back here, show your faces, I don't-..." She sighed through her nose, shaking her head slightly as she closed her eyes, her headache pulsing against her skull. "Have a freaking press conference, do something...official, show the people here that Noah is wrong about you."

["Are you all right?"] Zuko asked.

"No, Zuko," Mai sharply responded. "I am not all right. Ty is being a pain – and can you blame her? She could've been kidnapped. But now I have to deal with her, andI miss you, Zuko, andI'm sick of all of this fucking drama, OK? I am the opposite of all right. My patience is gone. That's...fine that Katara and Aang want to help you with this, but I...don't-...Ugh. I'm just glad that in a few weeks I'll be with my family – I don't even get along with my family. It's boring with my family. But at this point? I'd rather have 'boring' than 'goddamn crazy.'"

Mai finally opened her eyes back up, and she looked through the window of the Internet toward her love, his sister, and now their uncle standing behind them on the couch.

Iroh spoke, wide-eyed.

["I see that...you could maybe do with a strong drink. Perhaps some camomile-"]
"No, Iroh," Mai dryly interrupted, her tongue like a knife. "Fucking tea is not going to...-" Mai caught herself venting her anger out with such bursts of steam, and covered her mouth up. Her eyes quivered out of focus as she stared off at her desk, aimlessly wishing her pain relievers would kick in already. Her migraine had been persistent for some time now.

"Sorry," Mai breathed out as she rubbed her fingers along her sinuses. "I don't...mean to blow up at you guys, but seriously. You need to get back here and do something. I love you – all three of...-" She weakly laughed. "All three of you crazy Kurosawas, but...-" Her small smile disintegrated. "I can't keep going on like this."

["We'll come back as soon as we can,"] Zuko assured. ["I know this is difficult, but...you need to hang in there."]

Mai pursed her lips at this, her eyelids fluttering with impatience. She nodded spitefully and lifted her index finger to her camera, signaling that she needed a pause.

"I'll be back in a minute," she told them, gazing toward her door to feign that someone was present.

She clicked the mute button on her video chat program and closed her laptop's lid down.

Mai then shoved her laptop over to one side, displacing a couple of stray loose-leaf notebooks, and buried her face in her arms against her desk. A dizzying ache pounded at her brain, pressing against her sinuses. The frustration of the Kurosawas' lack of understanding added pressure to the pain. Mai heaved out a couple of dry sobs in her moment of solitude. Wet tears would not come because Mai's body had been trained to not produce them. She was tired of trying to tread water, and tired of trying to express herself in these stressful situations, and tired of putting on the calm, level-headed face while everyone around her spazzed out, and tired of...everything. It wasn't unbearable, and it wasn't as if she had it all hat bad off. But goddamn, was it all just so tiring.

-Rrrrrrrmmm!-

Mai's heart skipped as her body jolted with alertness from the vibrating on her desk. It was her phone, of course, but in that moment it had scared her half to death, as if she'd been scared that Ty-Lee had returned. Pff. How idiotic, getting so jumpy about such a thing. But Mai would rather continue to endure all of the mental taxation than let her roommate or her boyfriend think she couldn't be counted on when they needed her most. It made very little sense, Mai was aware - she hadn't asked to assume this supporting role, but here she was, now clinging to what she'd once put off in dismissal.

Tiredly, she checked her phone.

[8 New Txt]

With a sigh, Mai looked at the one that had just been delivered.

[From: Katara]
[Hi. Were you coming tonight, or are you too busy?]
[Sent: 4:13pm]

[Reply]
[To: Katara]
[Busy. Maybe next time.]
[Sent: 4:14pm]

Mai dropped her phone into her lap and wiped her wrists up over her forehead, brushing her bangs to each side. They were getting a bit long. She'd need to trim them and re-dye her red highlights soon. And there she was, fussing over how she'd present herself out in public when she'd struggle over how to present herself to her prospective husband and in-laws.

After rubbing the sand from her eyes, Mai sniffed in through her stuffy, dried nose. She blinked a couple of times before opening her computer back up and un-muting her microphone.

"Sorry about that," she muttered to them.

["No problem,"] Zuko eased. ["Did you need us to leave? We can stop talking about this if you want."]

["Oh, please, Zuko,"] Azula grunted. ["Mai is old enough to inform us of any discomfort, there's no need to-"]
"No, it's OK, we should try...-" Mai stared at the startled expression on Azula's face. The woman did not like to be interrupted. "-...to take this one step at a time."

Mai's phone rumbled in her lap. As Azula went over her business mumbo jumbo, Mai found herself tuning in and out of focus, but more of her attention was going to her text messages.

[From: Katara]
[Thank you for spending time with Toph, BTW. I know she's a handful, especially when you're stressed.]
[Sent: 4:15pm]

[Reply]
[To: Katara]
[No trouble. When we're both in a decent mood, she's fun.]
[Sent: 4:15pm]

[From: Katara]
[When you're BOTH in a decent mood? At the same time? I bet those stars don't align often ]
[Sent: 4:16pm]

[Reply]
[To: Katara]
[Often enough.]
[Sent: 4:16pm]

[From: Katara]
[Aang told me you seem really tense today. If you end having time later, we could hang out over some coffee? Or tea?]
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[Reply]
[To: Katara]
[As long as it's just us. I can't really do groups today. Migraine.]
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[From: Katara]
[OK. Sorry about that. But sure, just us. And no peace march talk, I promise.]
[Sent: 4:17pm]

[Reply]
[To: Katara]
[I'll let you know if I have time.]
[Sent: 4:18pm]

[From: Katara]
[All right. Feel better!]
[Sent: 4:19pm]

["-even listening to us, Dum-Dum."]

"Wh-?" Mai blinked up at her laptop, putting her phone aside after silencing it. "Sorry, someone was-...Yea, sorry. Go ahead."

["You look tired,"] Zuko observed plainly.

"Oh, thanks," said Mai back with some offense.

["Such sensitivity doesn't become you,"] Azula remarked. ["If you'd rather type messages into your phone than discuss the situation with us, then we can keep this family matter within our family."]

"It's fine," Mai insisted, knowing full well that she wasn't going to win here. "Whatever you want, I can...leave, or...stay here, I don't...-"
-...care either way, I just want this day to be over and for my head to stop hurting.

["You look like you could use some rest,"] Zuko reiterated his previous statement, phrasing it a little more carefully. ["We'll let you go for now, and...we'll catch up on this when you're feeling better."]

"Thank you," Mai puffed out, all-too-eager to bury herself in her bed for a nap.

["Get well soon,"] Zuko offered his sympathy. ["Love you."]

"You, too," Mai absent-mindedly replied with a vague answer. "Bye."

Mai immediately closed her video chat program, set her computer to sleep mode, shut its clam-shell closed, and cautiously dropped herself into her bed, wincing in spite of her own headache. She desperately hoped that rest would come so that she could get her schoolwork done later on after dinner. The sooner she could get through June term, the sooner she could take a break from this madness.

["I know, I know,"] Jane grumbled irritably. ["Just...go do whatever you're gonna do..."]

"This isn't just for me," Korra specified. "You get that, right? Just because you don't want to help...-"

The evening wind was whipping about, but Korra was still pretty sure she heard Jane sigh.

["I am helping, just...in a different way..."]

"Yea, well...I'm gettin' my hands dirty so you don't have to."

["...And-...Thanks. For that."]

"You're welcome."

June, who was filling up the gas tank of her car, cut into their conversation from behind Korra's shoulder.

"Eh, tell Shamrocks I said 'hey,' wouldja?"

"You hear that?" said Korra into her phone.

["Yea. Tell her I said she'd better take good fucking care o' you."]

"Erm...-" Korra paused, then turned her head over to face June. "She says you should keep me alive."

"Oh. Good call," June dryly replied, topping off her tank. She hung the gas hose back on the pump. "I almost forgot about that part." She twisted the gas cap back onto her car and brushed the residue from her hands on her pants.

"Jane, you sure I can trust this loonie?" Korra checked, making sure June heard her.

"I'm a loose canon, all right," June stated in a flat, disinterested tone.

["June's been through more shit n' either of us,"] Jane stated. ["Follow her lead. She helped us deal with Combustion Man. She'll help you with this, too."]

"Right..." Korra sniffed, scratching her wide nose as she took in the pungent, pleasant scent of gasoline.

"Is that ginger talkin' shit about me?" June asked, swiping her debit card into the gas pump's scanner.

["You can trust her,"] Jane was continuing, evidently having not heard June's remark. ["She's a cranky bitch, don't get me wrong, but...she's got goodness on the inside."]

"Oh, man," Korra sarcastically said in reply to June. "Fuckin' awful things..."

"Yep," said June, not skipping a beat. "I knew it."

["Wait, what...?"]

"Nothing," Korra chuckled into her phone. "I believe you, Jane. We'll, uh-...We'll get this done. I'll bring him back for ya."

["Mm..."]

"Don't do that," Korra murmured with a whimper about her.

["I don't-...Look, sorry. I just...don't wanna see you...-"]

"You just told me this'll be fine."

["I know, but...-"]

"You want me to trust her, you want me to trust you, but...you won't trust me?"

["N-no, it's not that..."]

"What is it? Why are you still givin' me that...tone?"

["Sorry! I'm...moody, shitty week, n'...-"]

"She's worried about you, fucking moron," June interrupted, having caught enough of their chatter. "I think it's that 'love' thing I keep hearing so much about..."

["What's she saying about me?"] Jane asked, flustered.

"Awful, horrible things," Korra responded, giving June a wry grin.

["So, something embarrassing,"] Jane translated.

"Nooo," Korra assured. "She was just saying that you're worried about me."

["And her,"] Jane was quick to add. ["Fuck, I'm worried about everyone right now..."]

"You sound like my cousin," Korra noted with a smile.

["Good,"] said Jane. She left it at that, and this intrigued Korra some.

"Hey," June slapped Korra's back with her knuckles. "Tell your girlfriend we've gotta go. We're fucking late."

["Tell her to...stick her-...Uh...-"]
"Why don't you tell her that when we get back," Korra said, rounding June's station wagon and heading for the passenger seat side.

["...Mmph."]

"We've gotta go," Korra said, opening the car door. "Soo...I'll...I dunno, give you a call after we're done?"

["That...That it? Just...gonna fuckin' go Rambo now, n'...-?"]
"Wh-? No!" Korra puffed with irritation as she strapped into the car. "I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

["You swear?"]

"Scout's honor."

["You're not a scout."]

"I swear, Jane. C'mon..." Korra watched the little town they had made a pit stop in disappear as June drove them out. "Have some fuckin' faith in me, would ya?"

["OK, OK. I do, Kor, I mean-...Fuck. Just...don't do anything stupid."]

"I just said I wasn't."

["I know. Makin' sure it's getting into your thick skull."]

"It's in there."

["Right."]

The two breathed into their phone speakers awkwardly as June drove Korra along. Korra got the nagging feeling that June was ready to pick on them at any second, and was grateful that the woman didn't.

["Do what June says,"] Jane reiterated. ["I'm not there to look out for ya, but she will."]

"Yup..."

["Um...Good luck? N' shit? Call me when you're in the clear."]

"Yup..."

["I, uh-...Yea. Just wanna see ya'll get back in one piece."]

"We will."

["Go get 'em."]

"You, too."

["Uh...Later."]

"Bye."

Korra kept the phone stuck to her ear for another second or two until she heard the feedback on Jane's line end. She breathed out a long, worrisome breath as she switched off her phone, dropping it into June's glove compartment. She clawed her fingernails at her scalp, leaning her head down over her lap.

"Ain't you two cute," June remarked at last. "The awkward chatter that drags on too long...That's how it starts."

"No, it's n-...Nothing's started."

"Man..." June whistled. "You two are really touchy about that, ain'tcha?"

"Aren't we supposed to be getting ready to do this fucking thing?"

"Fair enough. You need me to run things by ya a fourth time?"

"No, I'm...-" Korra let her head sag into the car door window to her right. The internal nagging was in full swing at this point, tugging at Korra's self-confidence, warning her of how she'd somehow fuck this all up. "Well, I'm glad I'll be taking a nap before we do this," Korra expressed some kind of optimism.

"Heh." June nodded slowly to herself as she drove, double-checking her mirrors. "Your sense of humor's still around, so that's a good sign. In a few minutes here I'm gonna put you under. Then, you'll wake up and...well, then we'll see if this all pans out."

Korra sighed out, fluttering her tongue out irritably before rolling her head around on her neck. She was already feeling kind of sore, as it was. That was going to get a lot worse real soon, she could tell.

"If this pans out?" Korra said after these moments of quiet.

"Hey, I won't sugar-coat it, kiddo," stated June, adjusting her mirror as they hit a red stop light and slowed down. "Shit could roll down hill pretty fast."

"We'll...be fine, though," Korra mumbled. "Probably," she conceded.

"Eh, don't worry," said June. "The tricky part is kinda my job. Once we can get in, then it'll pretty much be your job to do the heavy lifting while shots get fired."

"Yep," Korra grunted, wrapping her broad arms across her abs. "Well..." She trailed off, her body huddling against the car door to her right as her stomach squirmed. She was starting to feel a bit nauseous.

June pressed a few buttons on her dated car radio, and some kind of retro rock ballad started playing. Korra didn't recognize it, but evidently, June did, as she started humming along to it. By the time the song ended, they had gotten out of the small town they'd filled up on gas at and were out on a local route road. Another song later, and their car had found its way out to a rural route, a forest off in the distance and evergreen trees lining the opposite side. Tall grass filled the fields on either side of the road.

June pulled her car off into the dirt on one side, continuing to let her radio play. She scrounged up her supplies and bid Korra to get out and get ready. Korra leaned up against the side of June's beat-up station wagon, admiring the tall grasses swaying in the summer evening winds. She let her body slide down the side of the car, sitting against it. She swallowed the lump in her throat, crossed her legs, and pinched her fingers together in the meditative stance Aang had taught her days earlier. The 70's rock music continued to resonate from the car, but Korra needed a moment of solace.

Korra closed her eyes, tuned her senses, and focused on the wind rustling the vegetation all around her.

In.
Out.

In.

Out.

In...

Out...

"Agh!" A sharp pain struck Korra in the neck, jarring her awake.

"Take it easy," June said in her ear.

Korra's world went hazy, the breeze-blown grass and trees ahead of her rapidly sinking into darkness.

Goddamn woman weight a fucking ton. June was relieved they had come up with this scheme, because no way anyone would believe June could have taken out this block of muscle that called herself a woman without some stealthy sedation. Hell. Did she take goddamn steroids with her Wheaties, or what?

June went about her task of binding the poor sap up properly and hauling her into her car. That was the nice thing about her station wagon – it wasn't quite as difficult to load cargo into. She draped a run-down blanket over Korra's unconscious body, which was tucked inbetween various boxes and containers for cover.

June dusted her sore hands on her pants, then stared down at the snoozing, disheveled woman in the back of her car. She lifted up her arm, ready to close the compartment, but first double-checked to ensure the tranquilized girl wouldn't get any body parts whacked. She sighed through her nose, lingering for a moment on how alien this whole situation felt, given how long it had been since she'd dealt with any cargo of this nature. At this point, an old favorite of June's had been playing on her still-running car radio. She sang along with it as she readied up for the last leg of this journey.

["~Carry on my wayward son~"]

June slammed the trunk closed.

["~There'll be peace when you are done~"]

She entered the driver's seat.

["~Lay your weary head to rest~"]

She inserted her keys and awoke her vehicle.

["~Don't you cry no more~"]