Firstly, thanks for clicking on this and reading.
The CEO and woodworker are back. I suppose you could call this an epilogue? It's more like a snippet of the future past Bated Breath. The previous fiction is not necessary to have read prior to this, but feel free to if you would like.
I may do more of these in the future. As always, comments and criticisms are more than welcome.
I am my own mistakes, .5 seconds of time were used to edit this work. One second of time was used to write this, to be honest. I think I took longer fixing the spacing when importing to Archive than actually writing this haha
"Okay okay, calm down. I'll be there as soon as I can."
She huffed out a sigh after hanging up the phone call. Asami flipped a proposal packet closed and quickly clicked a button on her desk's phone to call Jinora. After fulfilling her internship at Future Industries, Asami couldn't help but offer her a position as her closest secretary. Jinora turned out to be one of the best interns the company ever had and there was no way Asami was going to let her go out in the world of competition.
"Yes, Miss Sato?"
"Jinora I told you to stop calling me that. I need to move all my meetings to tomorrow. I know Huang Enterprise has been waiting weeks for my schedule to open up, but tell them it's an emergency. Smooth it over as best as you can, I trust you."
"Ohh, an emergency? You can count on me… Miss Sato."
"Stop that."
The call ended, she swept a light jacket from a chair before draping it over an arm. Heels sounding as they struck the hardwood surface of the floors through the building. It was hardly even noon, not even close to lunch hour, and while Asami descended the floors to finally reach the ground level many eyes of her employees looked on curiously as she pulled her jacket on. Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries, was not known for leaving on a workday before anybody else.
The exit path took her across Jinora, who had flashed her a grin. She even threw finger guns in the air at her. "Tell Korra I said hi. And that she owes me twenty dollars."
Her step faltered. Turning towards the girl, Asami absentmindedly leaned slightly on Jinora's desk. "What? What do you mean?"
Jinora's response was the heaviest eye roll Asami had seen. It must run in the Beifong family. "Asami, please. Korra is the only thing that would make you use the word 'emergency'."
Was she really that predictable? "She was pretty frantic on the phone. But she said don't rush. But didn't explain anything. I'm not really sure what to expect here. Forward that new schedule of meetings to me as soon as you get it all worked out please."
She heard a 'you got it boss' and 'have fuuuun' as she turned to finally make an exit. It was late September, overcast, windy, slightly chilly and the air hung humid as if it would rain soon. The walk to Korra's apartment wasn't far, which Asami had always been thankful of. It gave her enough time to ponder possibilities of Korra's need to see her so abruptly. But it was short enough not to allow a sickening worry settle too deep. Yet it still settled right on the surface.
Korra's apartment was nestled atop the Bench Dog, her woodworking pride and joy. Passing the front window, it revealed little movement from the dark inside. Korra was notorious for sleeping ridiculously long and it wasn't surprising she wasn't visible working on a project. Although it was surprising she was already awake. The back of the building provided a way to the backside balcony. It took a short climb and a rustle of keys to find the one that was to her back doorway. Korra had given Asami a spare to her apartment months ago, it really hadn't been brought up in conversation to warrant Asami even asking about having a key. The woodworker had deemed it practical considering they spent more time here than Asami's own place. She smiled thinking back to it, Korra was nothing but nervous habits and adorable ramblings in the attempt to explain her supporting points to the reasoning.
Before she even pushed the key into the lock, light thumping noises could be heard from the other side. With a twist and a furrowed expression Asami pushed the doorway in to enter the space.
"Korra, what's going on, are you…okay…"
The state of Korra's apartment was ridiculous. As if a bomb went off. Putting it frankly, there was shit everywhere. Normally messy, but the state of the home currently Asami would liken to a hoarder. Or a robbery. One of the two. It was clear she was looking through things but there was nearly zero organization to any of the chaos. All except a couple boxes, one each for the names of her friends written on them. It took a moment to process the sight in front of her before Korra came walking out of a bedroom with a large box in hand. Amid the mess was Naga, curled up on the couch nearly buried in various items.
"Thank god you're here." The box she was holding was dropped to the ground with a solid thunk before she knelt down to rummage through it. "Do you have a legal department? I need a lawyer."
Asami still couldn't bring herself to move in closer. Not that she even had a clear pathway. "A laywer, seriously? Why do you need a lawyer?"
"Because I'm going to prison, Asami. Prison!"
Prison?
Korra disappeared into the previous room before coming back out with another box, with the same contents as the first one. Closing her eyes Asami inhaled slowly and exhaled, collecting her thoughts. "Why do you think you're going to jail?" The CEO couldn't think of a single thing that would cause Korra to jump to this conclusion.
The darker skinned woman started pulling different colored flat items from the floor, organizing them into the boxes she was looking through. "I got a voicemail when I was sleeping. But when I got a chance to listen to it, it was from the government, Asami. The government! All I heard was 'criminal penalties' and 'evasion' and, I don't know, I freaked out." A sharpie was in her hand, writing Asami's name on the boxes. "I'm leaving you my vinyl collection. Take care of it, when you listen to Kendrick Lamar please think of me while I'm in prison. And Nat King Cole. And lock up my Metallica album in that big ass vault you have, it's signed."
"Korra - "
"I have the soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, make sure you play that on a regular basis. Also make sure they don't get dusty. I could be in there for awhile."
"Korra give me your phone." It was a moment of sifting around on the floor before it was found and handed to Asami, who quickly unlocked it (Korra was literally the only person she knew who didn't have a passcode on her phone. It was creepy.) and went to the voicemail list. The message opened and a very bored and monotone voice could be heard. It wasn't an automated recording, so Asami moved telemarketers down further on her list of theories. But after hearing it once, she knew exactly what this was about.
"Did you file your taxes?"
"My what? Also, I might need to write a will. It's likely I could die in prison."
"Your taxes, Korra. Did you file them this year?"
A scoff came in response. The paler woman couldn't help but thinking the confused look plastered on Korra's face was extremely adorable. "What do you mean, this year? File them? I pay taxes everyday. You know, when I buy shit. Sales tax, right?"
Holy shit. The both stood in a thick, heavy silence before Asami couldn't help but bark out a stream of laughter. Laughter that was on the verge of tears. She couldn't stop it, even with the look of annoyance being shot right into her. This whole situation was too good, and Korra was so dramatic.
The laughter had almost stifled down but Asami made the mistake of looking back up at Korra to see an expression of pure bitterness, arms crossed and jaw clenched. She knew she shouldn't laugh at Korra's expense but this was something Asami would bring up for years.
She let out soft giggle, walking into the woodworkers space and managing to pull apart muscled tan arms. Asami pulled the other reluctant woman into a close hug, one arm slung around her shoulders and the other running up into short, brunette hair. Korra would never admit it, but she was a very physically needy person when she was upset. It helped calm down the frustration. "Babe. You're not going to jail, trust me."
Strong arms pulled her in closer. "Really?"
"Really." The embrace held for a moment longer before she pulled away, leaving a comforting kiss on a tan jawline. "Let me call Bolin. I'm sorry I laughed, but you're fucking hilarious sometimes. It's all okay, I promise."
Korra seemed unwilling to let her go, but did with a sigh and began to clean up the rabid mess around her. Spying a blue leash hanging near the door Asami pulled her phone out and hit Bolin's contact while calling to Naga. The pair went down the stairs and outside, considering Naga's gigantic size she was very gentle when handled by Asami. In contrast, the white fluffy dog seemed to enjoy dragging her owner around on purpose.
Bolin picked up the call on the second ring. "This is Bolin, alien research specialist."
The cool grass outside the building seemed to take over Naga's interest, Asami absentmindedly watched her lay and roll around. "Hey did you file Korra's taxes this year?"
"Uh no. I never have, she gets all mad every time I ask and says she takes care of her taxes all the time. I take care of the licensing for the business because she has no idea what that even is though. Why?"
She couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. Typical Korra. "Okay I need you to get me basically all the files you guys have. Receipts, invoices, order and transaction histories. Any type of record that you have of fees paid, property values, anything that has to do with money."
"What do you mean by…all?"
"All of it. Five years worth, Bolin."
The next thing she heard was a high pitched shriek in the background of the phonecall followed by a fit of laughter. She shouldn't be surprised, Bolin takes every single call on speaker phone. She hears his girlfriend's voice chime over, Opal still laughing hysterically. "Asami you're telling me Korra hasn't filed her taxes for five years? Oh my god this is gold. Pure fucking gold."
Bolin's voice returned at a frantic speed. "I'm freaking out. Is she going to go to jail? She'll die in there! I'm on my way!"
The call ended before she even had a chance to sputter out a response and left just Asami and grass covered Naga, tongue lolling with no care about the bits of plants stuck to it. The canine seemed to roll so aggressively that it had stained parts of her fur green. Taking the next minutes to check over emails and messages for work, she let Naga enjoy the cool air before making her go back inside. It was likely Korra didn't give her ample time outside yet in her frenzied state.
She didn't think she was outside for very long, but a tug on the lease and a bark pulled Asami from her phone to see Bolin running up the street to her. He stopped, bending over with his hands on his knees huffing in and out breaths before fulling standing back up. "Whew. I got here as fast as I could. Where's Korra? Oh my god she's in prison already isn't she?!"
Asami couldn't help but look at him quizzically. "How did you get here so fast?"
"Oh we were at the noodle place around the corner."
A quick glance confirmed that. Asami pointed to his chest. "Yeah I can tell. You still have a noodle on your shirt."
The burly man looked down at the spot her finger was pointing to, and his eyes lit up at the night of the small noodle. "Oh, sweet!" Bolin plucked it off and dropped it into his mouth so quickly Asami hardly had a chance to let a grimace settle on her face.
"I can't believe you and Korra both do that."
"What, it didn't touch the ground, it's fair game."
Animals.
A light tug on the leash pulled Naga up as she turned to go back inside. "Okay, well if you could get me all those files and meet us upstairs as soon as you can that would be ideal. I want to get this sorted out as soon as I can." He gave a thumbs up as he scuttled around to enter the studio, leaving the woman and dog to return upstairs. Opening the door, Korra didn't seem to make much headway in organizing the mess that she made. Slumped on the floor, the woodworker looked a little deflated while unenthusiastically poking at items. It wasn't unexpected, Korra was a very emotionally driven person.
Upon release from the leash, Naga returned to the one clear spot on the couch and nestled into a ball. Picking a path through the mess Asami knelt behind Korra, hugging against her back close in a comforting pressure and wrapping arms across harden shoulders. She would never tire of the pine scent that settled over Korra's skin like an aura. Pressing soft kisses to a warm neck, Asami could feel the tension slowly falling away. "Let's leave this mess for tomorrow, we can go back to my place, get pizza, and watch whatever show you want. Stay in for the day?"
"You're not going back to work?"
"No, I have to hide you from the feds." The snort came in response, Korra's mood seemed significantly lightened. "I'm thinking pineapple pizza."
"Wow, Asami Sato actually choosing to put pineapples on a pizza. We've been dating for a year, and this is the first time I didn't even have to beg. I'll frame the receipt."
She couldn't help but giving a slight eye roll even though Korra couldn't see it. Pushing back up to stand, she gave the brunette room to finish what she was doing and back off into another area of the mess. "Just because I like you, don't get it twisted. I'll never willingly put pineapple on any pizza for my own enjoyment."
Korra stood shockingly fast, hands coming to her mouth in a gasp. "You…like me?"
Soft fabric filled a pale hand before flying through the air. Asami launched the nearest pillow she had access to at Korra, who managed to dodge it with a grin plastered to her face. "You're insufferable."
A knock came from the doorway that lead down towards the studio shop, followed by Bolin's form waltzing through. All seemed normal except for the fact that his eyes were closed. "I knocked first, please nobody be naked this time."
It was Korra who picked up the pillow to chuck it at Bolin, nailing him right in the face and he shrieked in surprise. "If you waited before just walking it, you wouldn't be subjected to witnessing naked people in their own home." Korra managed to mumble out 'what a mood killer' that only Asami could hear. Korra was especially cute when she was pouty.
"Don't open your eyes, Bolin. Naga's still naked."
"Har, har. About those files…" He cracked an eye open slightly before both gaping wide like saucers. "Korra! Did they come here to try and arrest you? Did you fight them off? Look at this place!"
She lightly chuckled in response, pointing to the boxes adorned with names. "No, I was sorting through my stuff to will away. You know, when I thought I was going to die in prison."
Large eyes looked around before they locked on the box with Bolin's own name on it. He gasped ridiculously and dramatically loud. "I have a box! Really?"
"You did." A hand pulled up a stack of what looked like video games. "I was going to leave you my whole retro collection. Plus the ones in storage."
Bolin's eyes seemed to gleam with excitement until his face suddenly fell into a frown. The man leaned in Asami's direction as he put a hand to block the side of his face, as if to stop Korra from reading his lips that began to whisper. "Hey if I just, you know, misplaced all those files, Korra will go to jail and die, correct?"
"No, we're not killing Korra." A deadpan expression came in response from the woodworker in question.
Movement caught the eye of the CEO to see Korra lifting an arm to rub nervously at her neck, the muscles in her forearm coiling at the movement. "So how bad did I fuck up? What do you need to file taxes for?"
Asami simply shrugged. "I mean it could be worse. This is fixable. Essentially you have to report your yearly income, asset values, and paid tax to determine if you either overpaid or underpaid taxes for the year to the government. I'm frankly not surprised you didn't know about this considering you grew up in a small community tribe that doesn't have a system like that." She turned back to Bolin, who looked like he was still contemplating a way to get his hands on Korra's games. "Did you find them all?"
Bulky shoulders slumped in apparent disappointment. "Considering a lot of it is just paper copies, it's going to take me all day to sort through it all and collect it. I don't think I'll have it all until tomorrow." He straightened back out, stretched for a moment, and then ran to the refrigerator in the kitchen. Pulling out three energy drinks, he guzzled all of them frighteningly fast, smashed the cans into his forehead, and started punching the air. The two woman barely had enough time to register Bolin scream 'LET'S DO THIS' before storming out of the kitchen and back down the stairs.
The two shared a confused and completely silent look between them before Korra grinned and Asami let out a sigh. The woodworker moved around in the space to collect a few things before grabbing the leash for Naga. Anytime she stayed at Asami's place, the dog went with her. It was never a question on if Naga was allowed or not, Asami was very welcoming of the canine at any time.
The pair started to turn towards exiting but a thought crossed Asami's mind, halting her movements. "Oh, before I forget. On my way out today Jinora said you owe her twenty dollars? What's that about?"
A loud, sharp laugh belted out from the other woman. "Oh she thinks I owe her twenty bucks. She bet me like a month ago that I was going to get you to leave your office early purely for sex at some point."
"What are you two, freshman in high school?" Black strands of hair moved to match the movement of a shaking head. "So I take it she owes you now, like you win the bet?"
She turned slowly, darkly, the smallest of smirks gracing Korra's face before she gave that eyebrow waggle and her grin split open. It was a dark, loaded look Asami had most definitely witness before. And knew exactly what it was. "I didn't win. Yet. I bet her we were going to have sex in your office."
Fucking children.
A swift punch landed on Korra's arm following a very obvious eye roll and a sigh. "Alright, champ. Let's go. The History Channel awaits."
"God, your mind reading powers are so hot."
Korra wins that bet not even a week later.