Title: Drifting to the Dreamland
Word Count: 1,635
Summary: [Korra drifts on the streets, Asami drifts in her thoughts. It's late, they should really be somewhere other than here. | Korra. Asami. Korrasami!Friendship.]
be-the-peaf · Prompt 035 – drift
-.-
Usually she goes to the mainland with a purpose; Avatar duties, meetings and press conferences', hanging out with Mako, seeing Bolin play in the Probending ring - the list goes on and on. But this time Korra steps off the boat without the knowledge of where she was going; only that she was going somewhere . She wasn't quite sure how to put it; something was drawing her to the shores tonight.
Avatar's Intuition, you could call it.
There's a certain kind of slowness to her step as she walks, watching the moonlight shift behind the drifting grey clouds and yellow tinted city sky. She heads down the streets, emptied by time and cover of night, her boots scratching and scrapping on the pavement as they drag along and Korra takes her time to study the windows of the shops (they're all closed now - she can never seem to make it down here when they're open). She passes by a pottery shop with a gleaming white vase in the window and a pawnshop with dusty cracked pipes labeled "antique".
Korra turns the next corner and the street quickly changes from darkened, dead buildings to bright, lively ones as patrons mingle in and out of the nearby bars and clubs. There's a calm buzz in the air as jazz music flows from the cracked window of the bar and the sound alone makes her feel at ease, even as the night grows late and the men reach their fill of alcohol and other nightly pleasures.
She thinks of going in to sit, get a bottle of cheap rice wine and listen to the band through the night. Maybe that's what was drawing her here. She presses her face to the window, breath fogging up the glass as she looks through the haze of smoke and dim lights, scanning the room. The stroke of ebony hair against darkened maroon cloth makes her do a double-take and Korra hones in on the woman, trying to see if it's really who she thinks it is.
The woman turns to the side, looking down to the noise of the band and Korra catches the bright color of her lips and the barest hint of purple eye shadow through the dimmed lights and she knows she's right. Korra pushes her strides to the door, moving past a man so quickly he doesn't even have time to pay attention in his intoxicated state. She weaves through the crowd the seat where her friend is sitting, still gazing at the band.
"Asami."
Through the music and the voices that surround them both, she's not sure her friend hears her, hunched over the lip of the counter with elbows on each side, resting her cheek against the palm of her right hand while the left lazily touches the rim of a half-empty glass. Korra puts a hand on her shoulder, hot and dry on the sea-sprayed skin of her palm and Asami jerks up, spinning around in her seat and finally taking notice that she has company.
She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Korra, what-" she blinks slowly, collecting her thoughts as a torrent of laughter comes from the seats beyond them. "What are you doing here?"
Korra's arms fold across her chest. "I could ask you the same thing. Isn't your apartment on the other side of town?"
Asami raises her drink to her lips.
"It's not that far." She mutters, speaking more to the glass than the girl beside her. She tips the glass back and the liquid runs smooth down her throat as she tilts it back and stares into the wood of the counter. Asami blinks slowly, the corners of her eyes tightening briefly before opening again and she shakes away the stray strands of her hair masking over her face. Korra eases herself into the seat beside her, looking at Asami closely as she tips the glass back again and sets it on the counter.
It's empty.
"It's late." Korra says, watching as Asami turns the cup in her hand. "How long have you been here?"
Asami stops. Her eyes narrow on a wet spot on the counter.
"A while." Her hands tighten on the glass. "Longer than I should have."
Korra takes hold of Asami's wrist.
"Let's get you home."
-.-
Their feet clip on the walkways like an ostrich-horse as they leave the section of bars, the silence growing an endless barrier between them. They have their heads to the ground and Korra's eyes jump between all the pebbles and cracks in their path. After a while, she decides to hail a cab (we'll get there faster). Only she doesn't have much money. Asami pays the driver to take them as close to her house as he can, giving him the money early so he can make a calculation on his distance. Korra throws in the rest of her money and her friend heaves into the back-pressed seat with a sigh and her breath appears on the window briefly before disappearing into the passing buildings. Korra watches Asami stare out the window, lights blurring past them as the cab presses ahead.
She tries to picture the last hours of Asami's night; the order of events that led her to the place.
She pictures Asami walking from the steps of her building, hailing a cab to go and sit in an ever-crowding room halfway across town, sitting in silence at the front counter, nursing the liquid in her cup as the minutes tick by. She's not drunk, Korra knows that much, but she's just not herself. She's tired, her mind drifting like the gray clouds above them and Korra thinks of asking her exactly what's troubling her but the cab stops and the driver says this is as far as he can take them.
Asami's apartment is two blocks down. That's not that bad.
Korra waits by the curb as Asami rounds the back of the car and soon enough they're off again, walking in slow silence until they reach the steps of her building.
Korra puts her hands on her hips and tries to look cheerful. "There you go."
"Thanks Korra." Asami digs through the small handbag she brought with her; digging for her set of keys. She turns the knob and Korra scratches the back of her head on the edge of the stoop, rocks back on her knees and wonders how she's going to get home without any money in her pockets.
Asami seems to have a line on her mind, because she opens the door and says "Do you want to come in for a while?"
Even as late as it is, Korra can't say no.
-.-
Asami's apartment is modest compared to the mansion, but still high-end. The first two floors are completely her own with a small stairwell separating her from the tenant above. Asami unlocks the second door leading into her home and Korra steps inside, taking the slow strides she had when "window-shopping" and clasps her hands loosely behind her back. The door shuts with a click behind her.
"Have I even been here before?" Korra asks, taking a long look as she enters the living room. Asami puts her purse on a bench near the door and turns on a single dim lamp in the corner of the room.
"You helped me move in, remember?"
Korra grins. "Oh, right. That was a while ago, huh?"
"A few months. You probably haven't seen the place without piles of boxes." Asami says and spreads her arms to the couch in the middle. "Have a seat. I'll get you something to drink."
Korra sits with her hands at her side, shifting her fingers on the soft plush material and watches Asami walk around it to go into the kitchen.
"Asami, I'm fine. You don't have to get me anything." Korra says, putting her arm around the back of the couch. "And if any of us should be sitting it's you. You look wiped."
Asami pauses in the threshold of the two rooms, holding her hand to the frame before pushing off and sitting on the place beside Korra. She sinks into the soft padding and sighs as though she's just realized how tired she is. She places her fingers to her forehead and Korra leans back on the seat with her hands in her lap.
There's not much light in the room; low casting shadows droop around them.
"Thanks for taking me back here." Asami says, putting her arm to the side. "I was in there for too long."
"Not a problem."
"You took me all the way to the other side of town."
Korra shrugs. "Like you said; it wasn't that far."
Asami laughs, her body sinking down the couch. "I did say that, didn't I?"
Korra snickers and pushes forward, looking at the space between her feet. Asami rests her chin into her collarbone and shuts her eyes. Korra watches her breath rise and fall beneath her clothes and it's a while before any of them do much of anything. But Korra doesn't mind.
Asami's eyes open on her.
"You're still here?"
Korra nods and rests her chin in her hands. The distant sound of a clock ticking taps at their ears and the silence spread across the room. A car lights up the street for a second. Darkness and shadow falls and Korra's eyes reflect what little light there is as she faces forward, looking out the window.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Korra asks. Asami sighs and closes her eyes again.
"No," she says. "Not now."
Korra turns and presses her hand against her cheek, smiling.
"Alright." She says. "Get some sleep."
Asami nods. "You too."
They drift off into their dreams.
:Fin:
That last line… idk (i guess that's supposed to be a wrap-up?)
This is a very vague piece but I'm quite pleased with how everything came out and it gave me a chance to write some Korrasami!Friendship as well as try my hand with writing two people of the same gender as the main focus of the fic. :P Sorry if I'm leaving it off without much explanation, but I do hope you enjoyed what is here!