Monday. The day Korra hated even more than Sunday, but believe it or not, for once she wasn't feeling any of the ever so present dread that would be there whenever she'd wake up in the morning and take a look at the calendar.
In fact, she was feeling ecstatic. Well, 'ecstatic' was a bit much, but the bottom line was that she was feeling happy. On a Monday, a miracle in itself. Not to get anything wrong, she was happy for most of the time, but on Mondays? Nope. That was when she was in grumpy-mood and the only thing that would get her out of bed were two cups of black coffee. Three on really bad days.
Though, this time around, she was able to wake up by herself and doing so early, which gave her plenty of time to get herself ready and have a nice breakfast and even a shower before she would head to the gym like she always did. She was on a roll. After a day like yesterday, her spirits really had been lifted up, and even at the thought of the day before, she couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach whenever she'd remember the particular woman's face.
Yeah, yesterday had been great.
After her encounter with Asami, the latter had asked her out for dinner, which was when they really hit it off. As it turned out, Asami was an awesome person to hang around with, and Korra's earlier assumption of her being a model couldn't be further from the truth. It turned out that she had beauty as well as brains. Asami happened to be the daughter of a very rich businessman, called Hiroshi Sato, who was the CEO of Future Industries, a company that made all kinds of stuff but was mainly making cars. Korra had heard about it before, but couldn't be bothered much. After all, she wasn't really into cars and all that stuff, but the woman had made sure of making it interesting and Korra could actually find herself being curious about some things.
Though, things got a little hazy in the middle of their talk, which was more of a monologue on the other woman's behalf, but not that it had bothered Korra a lot. In fact, she found herself lost in the woman's voice, or well, her eyes, and what was more, her lips. In everything of her, actually. So much, that at some point, she hadn't been listening to her words anymore, her eyes instead locked on those ruby red lips of hers. Which was kind of a shame, as it happened to be the part in which Asami had been talking about herself a little, basically giving the tanned woman the perfect opportunity to get to know her better. Well, she got to get to know her lips instead, so she wouldn't call it a total failure. That didn't mean, however, that she hadn't picked up a few snippets. Just like her father, Asami worked at the company and was something along the lines of Chief Engineer. Granted, Korra didn't really know what that meant and even when Asami explained it to her, she still hadn't really paid attention, damn those lips for that, but she guessed it had to do with engineering things like a chief. Close enough.
Overall, despite their ludicrous state and the given circumstances, they had a good time together. Even so much that Korra had been reluctant to part ways with her toward the end of their evening. She didn't know why, but something just made her want to stay with the woman and spend more time with her. Of course, she couldn't tell her that, but it was also evident that Asami had felt the same, ultimately prompting the woman to ask for her number. Needless to say, Korra didn't hesitate, even telling her that she'd be looking forward to her call, as soon as she'd get a new phone, that was. Since Asami's phone and Korra's iPod had suffered from their initial impact, the engineer had been a little hesitant to ask for a number, which the athlete had shrugged off with a grin.
"Hey, it's no big deal. Just hit me up once you've got a new phone," Korra had said, and true to her word, the athlete had gotten a message from an unknown number later that night.
Hey, here's Asami. In case you don't remember, the woman you saved from getting hit by a car earlier. Really enjoyed tonight. I'd really like to do this again, so if you'd be up for that, call me :)
Despite the late hour, Korra could in no way hold any grudge against her, and instead ended up staying up late into the night and talking with the beautiful woman she had met only a few hours ago. Unfortunately, all things had to come to an end at some point, and after both of them realized the time, both women figured it was best to end their conversation, though not without wishing a good night to one another. Even after their talk, Korra still found herself laying wide awake in her bed, already thinking about the next day, Monday, which was when both of them had agreed to a hangout.
And so it happened that she made her way to the gym, the thought of seeing the other woman not letting her go once for the course of the entire way. Not soon after she entered the gym, the scent of sweat hit her nostrils. Inhaling it, she let out a pleased sigh. Oh, how much she had missed the smell of sweat and blood and the noise of grunting people senselessly hitting an object.
The perfect way of starting the day.
Despite the early hour, the gym was already filled with a dozen people, most of them having the foresight of the afternoon-rush and opting to come in the morning. Korra looked around, searching for her usual spot and found it unoccupied. Making her way to it, she heard a surprised voice from behind.
"You're early."
She didn't need to turn around to know that it was no one other than Lin who was standing with crossed arms a few feet in front of her now.
Korra shrugged. "Thought I should come early today. Any problem with that, Coach?"
The older woman let out a huff. "Just make sure that you don't mess with the equipment." With that, she left the girl on her own again.
Shaking her head with a slight smile, she turned around and got back to her spot, lying down onto the pad, and began lifting some weights.
Afternoon arrived quickly, leaving the athlete little time to get ready. Luckily, she managed to get to their agreed meeting point on time, only to discover that the other woman wasn't there. Maybe she was still on her way? It's not like Asami forgot about it or anything, but she also didn't seem like the type to run late. So where was she?
That's when her phone rang. Eagerly pulling it out, a smile soon graced the woman's lips.
"Hey," she greeted in a chipper tone. Maybe a little too chipper, but not that she cared, and something told her that the woman on the other end wouldn't care as well.
Her expression changed, however, as soon as she heard Asami's voice. "Hey ..."
Nope. That was definitely not a good sign.
Furrowing her brows, Korra asked, "Is everything all right? You don't really sound happy."
She knew that she wasn't in a position to ask, but the way she sounded made her want to comfort her in any way possible, even if that included doing so over the phone, which always sucked, but that was besides the point right now.
She heard Asami sigh. "Korra, I'm so sorry. My Dad has an important meeting today and needs me to be there. I don't know how long the meeting is going to be, but I'm afraid it will last for a few hours. I'm really sorry, it just came out of nowhere, I swear."
The engineer was surprised to hear the athlete chuckle. "Relax, Asami. It's okay. You go to that meeting, I'll be fine. It's not like I'm desperate to see you," she joked. Although it was meant as a joke, Korra wasn't really sure if she meant it. She really had been looking forward to seeing the other woman after all, and even though she wasn't going to tell Asami, it was a little disappointing.
"Are you sure?" Asami asked. The hangout had been her idea after all and dumping Korra like that wasn't what she had intended. She hoped that she wasn't upset about it.
Korra smiled, aware that the other woman couldn't see it. "Pretty sure. After all, it would be kind of odd if the Chief Engineer wasn't there. Your dad is counting on you, and seeing that he's the leader of it all, I'd rather not get on his bad side."
Now it was Asami's turn to smile, grateful that Korra was so understanding, making the fact that she had to go to another of those stupid meetings instead of spending time with the athlete all the more stinging. She knew she had to make it up to her and she would see to it.
"Well, he's my father, so I guess he would have understood either way, but you're right. Once you get on his bad side, it's hard to get off of it again. He isn't really vindictive or anything, but he has … high expectations of everyone."
"Getting in is easy, getting out, not so much," Korra smirked. Should be said that she had learned that the hard way. Basically, she had made the mistake to team up with the wrong person, which eventually resulted in what seemed like a permanent enemy. Just be sure to never get on Coach Beifong's bad side or else you're gonna regret it for the rest of your life, that much was certain. Even though that incident happened a few years ago, the old woman still treated the athlete like she was some kind of rag doll – tossing her around how she pleased. Up until that point, Korra never believed that people could hold grudges for that long, but guess she had been wrong. So yeah, thanks for the heads-up, universe!
Asami chuckled. "Sounds like someone has experience with that."
"Let's just say that some people hold grudges more than others," she smiled.
At that, the engineer smirked. "What do they say? All are equal, but some are more equal than others."
Both of them snickered. That's when it hit – it was just so easy to talk with each other, and none of them wanted this moment to end.
But sadly, all good things come to an end at some point.
Soon enough, their laughter died down, leaving both women at a loss for words, none of them sure what to say. Asami bit her lip, already feeling bad for what she was going to say.
"Listen, Korra, I need to go now or else I'll be late to the meeting and I really don't want my Dad to be mad at me. See you soon?" she asked, hope filling her voice. Again, she really wanted to meet with the younger woman and could only do as much as hope that she felt the same way.
Korra smiled. "See you soon."
The meeting was exactly how Asami imagined it to be – boring. Like she had told Korra, she went to the meeting room where everyone had been waiting for her already, watching her embarrassing performance from their seats.
Hiroshi was standing at the front of the long table and greeted his daughter with a warm smile, gesturing her to take a seat, which happened to be right in the front next to his seat, and that's what she did – sitting in her seat for three hours and listening to the several conversations that were being exchanged between her father and the businessmen. She knew that her father wanted to keep her out of business to give her more room, which she appreciated greatly, but he also said that it would be good if she attended the meetings to get a feeling for things since she would replace him one day.
Asami hoped that this day would never come. Of course, she knew that someone would have to follow in his footsteps at some point and that she was being selfish here, knowing that she was only running away from the responsibilities. Her dad was only giving her this much space because she was still attending college, but once she finished all of her classes, he would ask her to take over more responsibility, which meant that she would have little freedom in doing things she actually wanted to do. While the thought of working full-time at the company was not out of reach, she had another picture of the future, but she couldn't take that risk. Her father was all she had and the company meant a lot to him and going behind his back like that just felt wrong.
Sure, she had tried to talk things over with him, telling him that she actually wanted to do something outside of business, something that gave her more freedom as an engineer, but that only fell on deaf ears. Maybe she just needed to try harder, but then again, her father could be very stubborn if he wanted to be, something that she inherited from him.
She took a look at the time and sighed.
This was going to be a long couple of hours.
"You know, I don't really have experience in things like this. I've always been the type to 'go with the flow' without thinking too much about it. I just go for it, and depending on the situation, either good things happen or bad stuff happens. This is different though. You see, I haven't planned things to go this way but I like how things are right now and I really don't want to mess this up but.. I don't know what to do."
Korra looked up from where she was lying to look at a sleeping Naga, trying to will her dog to giving her an answer, but to her disappointment, her dog remained silent. Sighing, the athlete let herself fall back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling, arms crossed behind her head. She knew it was foolish to hope that her dog would give her answers that would solve her issue. As optimistic as she was, even Korra knew that dogs couldn't talk, or if, that Naga wasn't really intelligent enough to hold a conversation with her. She did hear, however, that pets could be great listeners and help you with your problems if you just told them about everything that's on your mind. In a way, it was just like if you were in a psycho-therapy, only with the difference that you were talking to a pet.
Somehow, Korra doubted that, as Naga didn't seem to be very interested in her owner's problems. Averting her eyes from the ceiling, she turned her head back to Naga, who was still in the same sleeping position, and was eyeing her furry friend thoughtfully.
"Look at you. You can sleep whenever and wherever you want, do anything you want without giving a crap about what someone else may think and you don't have to deal with things like being in love with a girl that you barely met a day ago and wondering if she feels the same for you and trying to figure out your own feelings by talking to your dog although you know it can't speak nor gives a crap about your non-existent pathetic love life."
At that, Naga turned around, with her back facing Korra now.
"Yeah, thought so."
A few minutes passed by, leaving the athlete to her own thoughts that were all centering about the woman in question. A long sigh escaped her lips. What was she supposed to do? When it came to love, she was absolutely clueless. She never had a relationship and the thought of one never really occurred to her before. Up until this point, she had been fairly content with her life. She was still going to college, her grades weren't bad, she could afford a place to live and food to eat and had friends and family that she could count on. Her knowledge was limited; she had gone on dates with one or another during high school, but that stopped once college had started.
Her friends, most notably Bolin, did try to hook her up at parties most of the time but even then she would refuse, full aware of the consequences of her actions and all the unnecessary drama that was bound to follow. Her parents may or may not have pried on the topic as well, but each time Korra told them that she was fine with her single-life, she couldn't help but feel a hint of disappointment from her parents, leaving her somewhat guilty.
She loved her parents and friends and knew that they wanted the best for her, but there had never been the need for her to be in a relationship. Until now. Korra didn't know why or how, but Asami had unlocked something in her. Something, that made her feel all giddy and nervous around her but at the same time with a pleasant side to it, leaving her wanting for more.
Whatever it was, it made Korra come to the conclusion that she didn't want to leave Asami's side.
If Asami was sure of one thing, it was of keeping her promises. She'd promised herself to make things up to Korra and that was exactly what she was going to do. Fortunately, the meeting didn't take as long as Asami had feared and she found a way out of what would have looked like a long conversation with her father, quickly excusing herself and escaping her responsibilities – once again. Wasting no time, she made her way to her car, starting the motor and drifting off to her home. It was almost evening, so she needed to hurry if she wanted her plan to work.
Quickly gathering all things together, dressing herself and re-applying her make-up, she gave herself a look-over in front of the mirror, happy with the outcome, and found everything good to go. She texted a quick message to Korra on the way to her car, asking for her address, which was where she was headed right now. The athlete had responded a little irritated at first, but Asami assured her that she'd understand soon enough. Luckily, it didn't take long for her to get to her destination and so she she soon found herself standing in front of the woman's door.
A few seconds later, bright blue eyes greeted her.
"Hey," the younger greeted her, having a slightly puzzled look on her face. Though, the engineer couldn't help herself but find it cute.
Very cute, in fact.
She smiled. "Hey there. I hope I don't interfere with anything?"
"Nope," the athlete answered, making a pop-sound. "I was just chilling around with Naga, nothing too exciting. I did plan on watching a movie and having a date with my beer, but I guess that's gotta wait," she grinned.
Asami chuckled. "Well, I'm sure you can work something out. Anyway, are you ready?"
"Yes, but why did you tell me to wear light clothing?" Korra asked, still a little irritated. It was then that she noticed Asami's very light clothing, which consisted of a creme-white cardigan, a white t-shirt underneath, black pants and white trainers with blue stripes. It was a nice change to see her in a more laid back outfit. A little odd, but nice nonetheless, and it did look good on her.
Too caught up with the woman before her, she didn't notice Asami's eyes hovering over her own body, shamelessly checking her out. To Asami's pleasant surprise, the athlete had opted for a blue t-shirt with short sleeves, which were bringing out her toned arms, blue jeans and white trainers like herself.
In short, she liked what she saw.
Her gaze fell back on the pair of blue eyes that was returning the look. Smiling at the woman's confused expression, she said, "I figured it would be much more comfortable at the place we are going to. Besides, the weather's warm, so why not?"
Korra couldn't argue with that and in honesty, she was glad that she got to wear a t-shirt again, even if it was kind of a lousy excuse but she hadn't worn one in ages. It felt freeing, to say the least.
"I guess so, but where are we going?" She did ask her earlier with a message where they would go to, but the woman had kept quiet, telling her "to wait and see". It did have her wondering, but she did trust her and didn't ask further. She did like surprises, after all.
"Well, I thought that we kinda could do something outside of the city," Asami replied. Their initial idea had been to hang out in town but Asami figured, that with the stress from the meeting and all, it would be nicer and more refreshing to get away from the tumult of the city and to rest their nerves for once. She did know that there was a huge field not too far from the outskirts and what better way to use it for a picnic?
The athlete tilted her head. "Oh? What did you have in mind?"
Asami couldn't help but slightly blush at that, hoping she wouldn't notice. "I.. figured we could do a picnic, you know? To get the stress out."
Why was she blushing? It wasn't like she had intentions of spending the whole evening on a romantic picnic with her and watch the sunset or anything. That'd be stupid, after all. She had noticed Korra's well-built body and those mesmerizing blue eyes of hers and that cute lop-sided grin she would give her from time to time that would make something flutter in her, and she was aware of how attractive the athlete was, but.. she didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Hell, she didn't even know if Korra liked her back, like 'like-like' her. Asami, on the other side, knew that she liked her and, if her actions were any indication, she was being fairly obvious. Ever since they met and Korra had saved her from that car, Asami knew that she felt something for the younger woman. She couldn't deny that there was an unspoken attraction between them. There was a reason she had invited her to dinner after all, and on first glance, it seemed like Korra felt the same way about her, but she didn't make any move or whatsoever, leaving the engineer more than confused.
Asami couldn't blame her, though. They did meet only a day ago. Maybe she just needed some time? The picnic would be the perfect opportunity to get some answers anyway, and Asami was set on getting them, without pressuring the other woman of course.
To her relief, Korra didn't seem to have noticed her blush and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. But, there's one condition," she added.
Asami raised her brow. "And what would that be?"
The athlete smiled. "Naga comes with us. I can't leave her just like that all alone in the apartment and I'm not hooked on getting into trouble with the landlord again."
At that, the engineer chuckled. "Why do I have the feeling that you seem to get in trouble with a lot of people?"
"Well, I guess they're just jealous," she answered.
"Jealous of what?"
Korra smirked. "Of these babies here," she said, slightly lifting the hem of her t-shirt, just enough to reveal a part of toned abs, and 'holy shit' those were some gorgeous abs.
Asami had to restrain herself from staring, concealing the oncoming blush with a light chuckle. Oh, she really needed to get a grip.
To her dismay, the shirt was down again as quickly as she had lifted it, leaving her eyes sore. She looked up to see Korra smiling sheepishly while scratching the back of her neck.
Seriously, why did she have to be so adorable and hot at the same time? It was totally unfair.
The engineer smirked. "What? Afraid I wouldn't like the view?"
She blushed. "Well, um, kind of. I-I mean, I don't know. We just met a day ago and this might be inappropriate and ... yeah." At that, the athlete slumped a little, ashamed of what she just did, and looked away.
"Korra, there are a lot of things I may find inappropriate, but this isn't one of them," Asami smiled. Oh, this was far from inappropriate and what a view it was. Too bad it didn't last longer, but she would take what she'd get.
This seemed to lighten up her mood, earning her a smile from the athlete. "Good to know. Anyway, how about that picnic now? I've got all hungry talking about it."
To that, Asami could only laugh heartily.