Chapter Text
“Korra?”
She stirs. The first thing Korra is aware of is that someone is sitting on the bed next to her. She’s slow to wake up, eyes stuck shut, mind groggily stumbling over her first thoughts of the day — what time is it?
She doesn’t care a moment later when fingers thread their way through her hair, pressing lightly into her scalp. She tries to suppress a groan, and is only successful because of how quickly the pressure retreats. A few seconds pass before the hand is back, this time on her shoulder, and Asami is shaking her awake.
Korra is surprised to see its light outside when she opens her eyes — it feels earlier than that, she thinks — though it looks as if the sun has just barely risen, an orange light glowing just outside the window.
Korra isn't convinced that she's not still dreaming when she sees the way Asami is looking down at her, hand resting gently against her arm.
“Good morning,” Asami says, still raspy from sleep. Korra blinks at her, gaze instantly falling to her mouth as if drawn in by Asami's voice, tired and resting lower than it usually sits. “Sorry — I know I said we could leave a little later, but I kind of wanted to get out of here before anyone else wakes up.”
Korra blinks, suddenly realizing that no— this is not a dream, and she should probably wipe the dopey look off her face before Asami changes her mind about her tagging along. She sits up, stretching her arms wide before pausing, sniffing the air.
“Coffee?” she grunts, and Asami smiles, reaching over to grab the mug waiting on the nightstand.
“You still like it black?” Asami asks. She doesn’t need an answer when Korra takes a sip, her eyes closing for a long second before a contented smile appears on her face.
“Thank you,” she says.
“Don’t thank me, it’s for my own sake,” Asami says, cracking a smile. “I used to wake you up for soccer practice. You’d just let your alarm ring for hours. Remember that time you tried to punch me?”
“That wasn’t my fault — I was dreaming! I’m a really heavy sleeper.” She takes another sip, and Asami lets the silence hang over them for a second before she turns to stand.
“The company is sending a car,” Asami says. “It’ll be here in about twenty.”
Korra laughs, “Good thing I packed last night.” She takes another gulp before forcing down a yawn.
“Sorry,” Asami repeats. She looks like she means it, so Korra is sure not to grumble as she stands. She can’t help the long stretch that takes over her body once she’s up, curving her back as she reaches towards the sky.
She finds Asami’s eyes unabashedly on her when she’s finished her yawn and tries not to blush. “I’ve just got to brush my teeth,” she says, quickly excusing herself as she slips past Asami. She brings her mug, dropping it off in the kitchen before making her way to the bathroom. Her cheeks are still pink when she catches herself in the mirror.
Get it together, Korra, she reprimands herself, splashing some cool water on her face. She runs a hand through her hair, remembering the days when she would have to wake up early to fuss with it in the mornings before high school.
Short hair is much easier.
She takes her time brushing her teeth, still trying to convince herself that this is a good idea. She and Asami haven’t been alone together since they’d started this and she’s not sure what will happen once they are.
That’s the whole point, stupid. Why don’t you want to be alone together?
She looks at herself in the mirror for a long second.
What are you afraid of?
Things are going good with Asami, for what they are. Asami doesn’t seem to have much lingering anger towards her, though who knows if that will still be true at the end of the summer, when their little treaty is off. Still, Korra has a hard time imagining that Asami is harboring some deep hatred of her, hiding under every kiss.
But still, there’s something there that feels dangerous each time they touch, something lurking beneath the surface about to crack.
Asami’s been making some reckless decisions lately. What if I’m just another one of those? she thinks. I could be part of her grieving process… would that be so bad?
The sharp pang in her chest at the thought answers that question for her. She shakes it off, reaching for her toothbrush.
A knock comes at the door. “Korra? I just got a call from the driver — he’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“Okay,” she calls back. “Almost done.”
When she returns to the room, she’s surprised Asami isn’t there. She considers going looking for her before she remembers that she only has a minute or two left, and she’s still in her pajamas. She slips into clothes quickly, hoping her jeans and tee are suited for whatever Asami has planned for the day.
By some miracle, the driver finds the house despite the lack of GPS service. They’re waiting for them when they step outside.
“The train is pretty far away,” Asami says, her hand touching the small of Korra’s back as she moves up behind her. “Why don’t you take the back seat — you can stretch out, maybe get some more sleep?”
Korra nods at Asami. “Thank you for respecting how precious my sleep is to me.” Asami shakes her head, but Korra notices the small growing smile on her face before she turns towards the car.
Asami tells the driver where to go as she climbs in the front. Korra slides into the backseat, leaning her head against the window as they begin to pull away.
They’ve just made it to the main road when Asami taps her on the knee.
“Here,” she says. “Take my sweater, you can use it as a pillow.”
She hands Korra the balled up garment, and Korra tucks it under her shoulder. She wonders if Asami notices the way she presses her nose into it as she closes her eyes, but she’s asleep so quickly that the thought barely has time to bother her.
//
This time, Korra awakens to the sound of car doors slamming. She jostles as she wakes, quickly taking in her surroundings. They’ve reached the train station, which is bigger than Korra would have thought, given their secluded location. Then again, she’s not sure how long she was asleep. They could be far, far away from the beach house now.
“Thank you again,” Asami is saying to the driver as she hands him a wad of cash. She’s always been a generous tipper , Korra notes. Asami seems to notice Korra as she begins to stretch in the back seat. “Oh good, you’re up. I wasn’t sure I could handle the stress of waking you twice in one day.”
Korra smiles back. “Very funny.” She glances at the clock on the dashboard. “What time is the train?”
“We’ve got ten minutes to get tickets and some breakfast,” Asami informs her.
“I think I just need more coffee,” Korra says with a yawn.
Asami laughs as she reaches for the car door. “You’re an addict."
//
They manage to find two seats next to each other on the train, which proves challenging.
“Guess it's rush hour,” Asami notes, eyeing a man with a large briefcase. “Sorry, we should have left later.”
Korra shrugs. “Early bird gets the worm and all that.”
“I’m not sure that applies in this situation,” Asami frowns, shifting as the man sitting across from them shuffles his legs. She sighs. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“You made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Korra says, grinning. She’s been buzzing with excitement ever since Asami asked her to join her yesterday afternoon — Bolin had even asked her why she kept smiling to herself when they were playing Mario Kart the night before, despite the fact that she was getting her ass kicked.
Asami laughs. “Glad to hear I’m irresistible,” she quips. “I promise I won’t be stuck in there with them for too long. There should be plenty of evening for us to enjoy.”
Korra feels her cheeks burning, and considers trying to come up with a response before she decides she doesn't trust her voice to respond. Instead, she pats down her pockets, searching for her phone. Time for some music.
She pulls at her phone and reaches in her other pocket — and finds nothing.
Korra groans. “Shoot. I forgot my headphones.”
“No worries, we can share,” Asami says. She pulls a pair out of her pocket, then offers Korra one of her earbuds. She slides one into her ear, the one furthest from Korra, and she wonders if it was on purpose as she has to lean into Asami’s space in order to reach the headphone.
A guy with a sweet sounding voice begins to sing, and Korra feels herself relaxing. It only takes a few seconds before she’s leaning her head onto Asami’s shoulder. A small smile spreads over her face.
“You know this song?” Asami asks, her voice just low enough for Korra to hear. She shakes her head. “Want to pick the next one?”
She hands her phone over to Korra, who pauses for a moment before typing something into the search bar. They go back and forth for a few minutes, each queueing a song until Korra goes to give Asami the phone and she takes Korra's hand instead.
//
The sun is high in the sky when they get off the train. Korra squints as they walk out from underground.
Asami doesn’t take nearly as long to adjust, and Korra wonders how many times she’s made trips like this to big cities that Korra had barely dreamed of.
“We have time to grab some lunch before I have to go to headquarters,” Asami says, walking until she reaches a break in the foot traffic where she can turn and face Korra. “Any requests?”
Korra shakes her head. “I’ve never been here. Your choice.”
“Pizza it is,” she nods. Korra frowns — it seems unlike Asami to choose something unhealthy. But she’s certainly not complaining. Asami finds a pizza place on her phone — a four minute walk, according to the app. They do it mostly in silence, Korra taking in the city with wide eyes as she trails a step behind Asami.
She waits until they’re in line at the shop to speak up again. “So, want to tell me what your meeting is about?” Korra watches as Asami shifts uncomfortably. “I mean — no pressure, I was just wondering.”
Asami offers her a smile. “No offense — I just don’t want to jinx it, and I think talking about it would honestly only make me more nervous,” Asami explains.
Korra doesn’t want to push it. “No worries.” The person in front of them moves to the side, and she walks up to the counter. “Can I have two cheese slices with a coke?”
The man looks to Asami next, who orders a slice and grabs a bottle of water.
“Do you really need more caffeine?” Asami asks, eyeing Korra’s soda as they leave the pizzeria.
“I still have a headache from all of Bolin's screaming yesterday,” Korra groans. They start to head back the way they came, where Asami had noticed a park a few blocks away.
Asami rolls her eyes. “Poor Bolin — remember that time he got so scared he puked at The Asylum?”
“I totally forgot about that place,” Korra says, a grin spreading over her face. It was always one of their favorite things to do in fall. It wasn’t anything like the rinky-dink haunted house at the carnival — no, The Asylum had a large costume budget. And they could easily afford it; the wait to get inside was always at least two hours through the fall months. “God, and the boys thought that carnival ride was scary. Imagine Wu going on one of the solo runs?”
“I can almost imagine his face when the guy the ghoul jumps out at the end,” Asami says. “You know, the one with the jaw hanging off?”
“Ugh, do we have to bring him?” Korra says, but she feels guilty about it almost immediately. The kid is growing on her, after all. “Fine,” she says with a sigh. “I’ll take an Advil first this time.”
Korra walks a few steps before she realizes that Asami isn’t next to her anymore. She turns around to find the other girl staring at her with an odd look on her face. “You’d do that?” she asks.
“What?” Korra frowns.
“Come home,” Asami answers. It hangs between them for a moment before she continues. “For Thanksgiving break this year, you’ll be home?”
Korra shrugs. “I told you — I plan on moving back home after school.”
“Yeah, but that’s so far off. Thanksgiving I can actually hold you to,” Asami says, a small smile working its way across her lips. Korra watches it spread, and can’t help but return it.
“Yeah, you can,” she affirms with a nod. “Christmas, too.”
Asami rolls her eyes, but it doesn’t hide the blush spreading across her face. “Be careful, you don’t want to spoil me.”
Maybe I do, Korra thinks, the aching feeling in her chest from this morning returning. Her fingers itch to reach out to Asami as they begin to walk again, so she shoves them in her pocket.
A moment later, Asami links her arm through Korra’s, and the feeling falls away.
//
They find a bench under some shade to eat their pizza. Asami sits cross legged, her plate in her lap as she faces Korra.
They eat in silence, Korra’s slices disappearing almost as fast as Asami’s single slice. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” she says after quickly making her way through the first half.
“Me either,” Asami agrees. “Coffee is an appetite suppressant,” she reminds Korra.
“Thanks, doc,” Korra says. “But nothing could suppress my appetite for pizza.”
“I can see that.” Korra shoots Asami a look, but it just makes Asami laugh. “You have sauce on your face.”
Korra quickly swipes at her face, but Asami’s grin just grows wider, and she knows she’s missed. Asami scoots closer to her, reaching out with a napkin that she’d produced from under her plate.
She wipes Korra’s cheek, and she feels her skin flush. “And now you’re my mother, too?” she tries to make light of it, but Asami is looking at her intently now. She didn’t realize how close the other girl had gotten in the process, and tries her hardest not to let her gaze fall to Asami’s lips.
It doesn’t work.
Asami leans in, her mouth connecting with Korra’s. If she senses the way Korra tenses, she doesn’t show it, pulling away a second later with a contented smile. Korra’s never kissed a girl in public before. It only takes a brief glance around to confirm that no one is watching before she decides it's something she wants to do again.
Asami smiles into this next kiss, happy Korra is making the first move. She pulls away after a moment, earning a laugh from Korra when she turns to take a bite of her pizza.
“What? You’re not the only one that’s hungry,” she points out.
“Fair enough,” Korra nods, returning to her own lunch.
They finish their slices then decide to walk around the park. There aren’t many people there, considering that it’s probably a little later than most people take lunch on a weekday. Still, Korra’s heart races as she holds Asami’s hand, and she tries not to question whether it's really her nerves causing it this time.
They stop near a fountain, and Asami fishes two pennies out of her pocket. “Want to make a wish?” she asks.
“Sure,” Korra says. She watches as Asami’s lips form a firm line as she considers what she wants. It only takes a few seconds before she flips the coin into the water.
Korra decides on her wish and tosses hers in, watching as it chases Asami’s to the bottom. “What’d you wish for?” Asami asks, and Korra turns to face her.
“If I tell you, will it still come true?” Korra asks.
Asami shrugs. “I think so.”
“I want to be captain of the soccer team,” she admits. “That’s what I wished for.”
“You’ll get it,” she says, and Korra grins at the certainty in her voice. Asami eyes trail off as she gets lost in thought for a moment. “How’d you get hurt? Sophomore year?” her eyes find Korra’s again as she asks.
Korra isn’t sure whether Asami really wants to hear this story. It’s one of her worst memories — she’d taken a wrong fall during a playoff game. She can remember laying face down in the grass, trying her hardest not to cry as pain tore through her leg. The lights were bright, and it felt like she was there for hours before they brought a stretcher to carry her off the field. After a few seconds of excruciating pain, shock set in, and she was only aware of her heart as it thudded in her chest as she lay unable to move.
“I tore my ACL,” she says, deciding that maybe a clinical answer is what Asami is really looking for. “I spent the night in the hospital. They thought they might have to do surgery, but we were able to work through it with physical therapy. It’s still weak — but I just have to be careful.”
“Are you?” Asami asks, eyebrows raised.
Korra scoffs, faking offense. “Of course.” Asami gives her a serious look, and she concedes. “Yes, I’m careful. I never want to have to go through that again, trust me.”
Asami nods. “It must’ve hurt pretty bad.”
Korra shrugs. “It wasn’t the pain that bothered me. It was the fear that this injury could potentially take away everything I’d worked for, everything I wanted.”
“That does sound scary,” Asami says. Her hand reaches for Korra’s. “I’m glad you fought for it. It must’ve been a lot of work.”
Korra smiles. “Me too. And it let me meet some really amazing people, and I learned that there’s nothing better than letting the body heal itself. It’s why I changed my major. I felt inspired.”
“Finding a passion will do that,” Asami smiles, but there’s something holding this one back. Korra has a feeling that she knows what it’s about — but she also knows better than to ask about Asami's upcoming meeting, so she decides on a change of subject as she laces her fingers through Asami’s, tugging her down the pathway.
//
It’s mid-afternoon by the time they finally leave the park. They lost track of time, and decide it’d be best if not to walk if Asami doesn’t want to be late for her meeting. Korra watches as she flags down a taxi, and is impressed when it takes her less than a minute to grab the attention of a cabbie.
Asami tells the man the address as she climbs into the seat, Korra following behind her. Something catches her eye as she buckles her seat — Asami’s hand, fidgeting nervously in her lap. She reaches over to grab it, earning her a smile from across the worn leather seat, but she somehow feels like her comfort is in vain as Asami’s fingers continue to tap against hers.
Asami lets out a long exhale. “I’m a little nervous,” she admits.
“It’ll be okay,” Korra says. “You’re ready for this. And it’ll just be an hour out of your life. You’ll feel much better when it’s over.”
Asami squeezes her hand back this time, but her brow remains furrowed as she stares out the front of the car as they make their way downtown.
//
Asami is gone for nearly two hours.
Korra sits on a bench outside of the building. Asami left her with her headphones, which seemed like a good idea until Korra’s phone died after the first hour, and Korra realizes that she not only forgot her headphones, but her charger as well.
She takes to watching the people as they pass by her, wondering about their lives. She can almost imagine herself living somewhere like this. It’d be peaceful — anonymity. Just another face in the crowd.
She lets her mind wander to what they’ll do after Asami gets out of her meeting. Asami promised her dinner, somewhere nice. Steakhouse, maybe? she thinks. Korra is happy she decided to come — not for the steak, per se, but because Asami clearly feels that she's enough of a comfort to want to go to such lengths to thank her for coming. It makes sitting in silence for an hour more than worth it, knowing that Asami appreciates it.
It’s nearing five o’clock when Korra notices Asami as soon as she leaves the building, but she can’t seem to catch Asami’s eyes as she makes her way towards the bench. Korra stands as she approaches. “How’d it go?”
Asami pauses for a moment before a tight smile is fixed on her face. “Fine.”
“Just fine?” Korra prompts with a small smile, but Asami doesn’t seem to be in a joking mood.
Asami nods. “It went well. Want to head to the hotel?” she says, already beginning to step away.
Korra’s doesn't follow. “What about dinner?”
Asami pauses, looking confused, then stricken. “Right — sorry, I just. I guess I’m tired, it’s been a long day, and —”
“Asami,” Korra interrupts, holding up a hand. “You know you can talk to me, right? That’s kind of what I’m here for."
Asami looks off to the side, her eyes unfocused as she nods. “Yeah, of course.” She pulls her lips together in a firm line. “Do you think maybe we could just walk for a bit?”
“Sure,” Korra says. She follows Asami’s lead this time as she starts down the street. They make it four blocks before Asami speaks.
“When my father died,” Asami begins, her voice immediately thick. “He had it set up so that an interim CEO would take control of Future Industries while I finished school, at which point I could take the reigns. They brought in some ‘brilliant young mind' — Iknik Varrick, have you heard that name?”
Korra shakes her head.
“He’s… a piece of work. He started last year and he’s already made so many changes that I can’t imagine what he has planned for— well anyway, that’s besides the point,” Asami sighs. “Obviously they see something in him they like, because the board brought me here today to ask me to cede control of the company to him on a more... permanent basis.”
Korra frowns. “Give up Future Industries?” she says, then stops to think for a moment. “Would you want that?”
“I don’t know,” Asami answers, shoulders drooping. “To be honest, I thought I did for a while. I thought maybe I’d graduate school, leave home and move to some city far away. Just live.”
Korra tries not to act like those words don’t send a shock through her. It’d be unfair of her to take offense to that, anyway. She’d done the same when her aunt died, and she would be lying if she said it wasn’t what got her through. It was a lot easier to ignore the hole Katara had left when she wasn’t living in her house anymore.
“It sounds like you know what you want,” Korra says, tentatively.
“Yeah. It sounded great — when it was my idea, anyway.” Korra can’t help but laugh at that, and Asami shoots her a look. “It’s not like that. It’s the way they said it. It was the way they just assumed I wouldn’t want to do it.” She closes her eyes. “It was worse than that. They assumed I couldn’t do it.”
“That’s crazy.” Asami’s eyes snap up to meet Korra, who is looking intently back at her.
Asami blinks at her. “It’s really not. I have no experience, I don’t know how to run a company. Maybe they're right— maybe I have no idea what I'm doing,” Asami says with a sigh, dropping her gaze.
Korra shakes her head. “No way,” she says, but it falls flat, and Asami still won’t look at her. She tries again, this time squeezing Asami’s hand. “I watched you grow up, Asami, I’ve seen your science fair ribbons. And you’ve been living and breathing this company since you were a kid — your dad used to read annual reports to you as bedtime stories. No one knows this stuff better than you.”
“That’s sweet,” Asami says, allowing herself to smile for a second. “But I still can’t help but feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. I just wish my dad were here to tell me what to do.”
“He’d tell you to think it over, consider all of your options, just like you’re doing.” Korra offers her a smile. “As long as you do that, you’re doing what he would have wanted.”
Asami’s eyes snap to Korra, lingering for just a second too long before turning back to the sidewalk. Asami lets their hands dangle between them, and Korra thinks if she wasn’t holding on so tightly they’d probably slip apart. “Yeah. Somehow I doubt that.”
A shiver runs down Korra's back, as if someone had slipped an ice cube down the back of her tee. Yeah, Hiroshi probably would agree with the single queen-sized bed waiting for us at the hotel.
She lets her hand fall away from Asami’s, tucking it in her jeans pocket instead. Korra stays a half-step behind Asami for a few blocks, unsure of where to go from here. The click of Asami's heels on the sidewalk is all she can focus on as she keeps her eyes downcast.
Korra is barely aware that they've nearly reached the hotel until they're almost upon it, her eyes catching sight of a bright sign just ahead.
Asami slows, and Korra follows suit. They stand in the middle of the sidewalk for a second before Asami sighs, turning to face her.
“Look— I'm sorry, I didn't invite you with me because I wanted to talk to you about my business troubles. I want us to have fun,” she says, looking at Korra. Asami's eyes are slightly watery, and Korra's chest aches at the sight. She has to try to make it better.
She swallows whatever grip had been seizing her chest for the past minute and forces a smile. “Fun is my middle name,” Korra cracks.
Asami rolls her eyes, but can't hide her smile, grateful. “We both know that's not true,” she says. “Want to find a bar?”
“ What ?”
“You know — we're in the city, we could go find someplace, have a few drinks. I don’t know about you, but I’m still pretty full from lunch. And neither of us have to drive anywhere tonight,” she reminds Korra.
“I mean— I understand the concept of what a bar is. I'm just surprised you'd want to go to one,” Korra says, quirking an eyebrow. “You don't seem the type.”
“Oh, and you are?” Asami challenges.
“I'm an athlete!” Korra says, throwing her arms out emphatically. “I go to bars all the time.”
Asami frowns. “I don't really see what one has to do with the other.”
“After games. The team likes to... celebrate,” Korra says, deliberately vague.
It earns her an eyebrow raise. “I see. Celebrating… is that how you and Opal got to become such good friends?” Asami asks.
Korra’s mouth ticks downwards. “Something like that.”
“What does that mean?” Asami says.
“I’m not sure I would actually call us good friends,” Korra says, choosing her words carefully. “It’s more like we run in the same circles.”
Asami nods. “That makes sense. I mean you are on the same team and all.”
“Yeah. I’m pretty happy we’re getting to know each other now, though,” Korra says. “I’m probably going to need a few friends when I go back to school.”
“Opal actually said something similar when I was there the other day,” Asami says. “She said something about a shakeup in her group.”
Korra chooses her next words carefully. “Break-up drama,” she decides, earning a knowing nod from Asami.
“That’ll do it,” she says with a wry grin that makes Korra’s heart stutter.
They walk a few blocks in silence, enjoying the sound of the city around them as the sun begins to set. When they’re waiting to cross the street Asami’s hand finds hers, her fingers lacing around Korra’s fingers.
“How about this place?” Asami says, pointing towards a bar. She doesn’t wait for a response from Korra before she starts to walk towards it, tugging Korra along behind her.
“Sure,” Korra says, before pausing suddenly, her eyes catching a rainbow flag hanging out the window. “Uh — Asami, wait. I think this might be a gay bar.”
Asami shrugs, seemingly undeterred. “I’m not here for anyone but you. Who cares what kind of bar it is?”
Korra’s heart stammers before sending blood rushing towards her cheeks. “Right,” she says, hoping her smile makes her seem a lot more chill about Asami flirting with her than she feels. “Good point. After you?”
It’s a small space, and Korra is immediately cramped. If the taller girl notices, she doesn’t seem to mind as she strides towards the bar. Korra follows in her wake, saying nothing as Asami flags down the attention of the woman behind the bar.
“What can I get you, honey?” the bartender asks, leaning forward to take their order.
“Can I have a whiskey sour and…” Asami trails off, glancing at Korra.
“Uh — a jack and coke?” she asks, and the woman nods before turning her back to fix their drinks.
“You girls are a day early — ladies night is tomorrow. Half priced drinks,” she says as she puts their drinks in front of them.
“We won’t be in town for that long,” Asami says. “Maybe next time though.”
“Well I hope you two ladies enjoy your night,” she says with a wink. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
Asami laughs, but when she turns to face Korra her eyes are downcast at her drink. “Come on,” she says. Asami leads them to a tall table in the back. There’s a pretty decent crowd gathered in the small room — Korra is surprised to see most of them are women.
And this isn’t ladies night? she wonders. Korra puts her glass on the table, turning her back to the room. Maybe it's a lesbian bar. Do they even make those?
She forces herself to take a deep breath. She’s not sure why she’s on edge. No one here knows her, and would it even matter if they did?
It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for Asami to notice Korra’s discomfort.
“Does this place make you uncomfortable?” Asami frowns. “I’m sorry — I shouldn’t have assumed that you’d want to be somewhere like this with me.”
“It’s not that,” Korra starts, then stops, sighing. “Maybe it is a little. Not the you part, of course, I’m just... not used to being somewhere where people will see me and make assumptions about me.”
Asami furrows her brow. “Yeah, I think I know what you mean.” She reaches for Korra’s hand, but then thinks better of it, given their current conversation. “I don’t think anyone is looking at us though, never mind judging us.”
Korra’s eyes dart around the room. She finds that Asami is right, and feels a wave of shame wash over her. Of course no one is watching us , she thinks. No one here gives a shit who I sleep with.
“I know,” she says. “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m like this.”
Asami sighs. “I do.” Korra looks up at her, surprised to find Asami giving her a soft look. “Listen, I know I’ve said it before but if you ever want to talk about this whole.... I mean, I know being attracted to a girl is scary. I’m not going to pretend it’s not. And since I’m probably the only person who knows about… I just want you to know that I’m here for you.”
Asami is clearly nervous, her words falling quickly from her mouth and Korra does her best not to hesitate as she reaches forward and grabs her hand where it rests halfway between them.
She wants to tell her everything — that this isn’t her first time being attracted to a girl, that this isn’t the first time she’s been terrified of the feeling, that it’s somehow different this time, both the feeling and the fear. They seem to swallow her at every turn — even now. But she pushes through it as she looks at Asami, who’s staring at their enjoined hands.
“Thank you,” Korra offers. “I didn’t mean to make any of this awkward. It’s no big deal, really. I’m sorry.”
Asami shakes her head. “Don’t be. We can leave,” she starts to offer, but Korra is quick to shake her head.
“No way.” She smiles. “We’re staying.”
Asami waits, examining her face for a moment before she begins to smile back, her glass raising to her lips for the first time since the bartender sat it down in front of her.
“In that case,” she says, taking a few large swigs her drink. Korra raises her eyebrows, and Asami shrugs. “You got a head start,” she points out, nodding her head towards Korra’s half empty glass, which she apparently had been sipping at during their whole conversation. Damn nerves.
“Cheers,” she says, flashing Asami a grin before downing the rest of her drink.
It’s going to be a long night.