A/N: God, I love TLoK, it was just such a good show, I have a few ideas for stories with Korra, but I wanted to write this one first. I wanted it to be a one-shot, but I just sort of kept on piling on, so here it is!
Livin' the High Life
"Korra! Korra!" the shout came from somewhere beyond where her dreams could reach, it was gruff and angry yet still comforting, "Korra, I know you're in there!"
"Mmhhhmm," I grunted rather audibly, "I'm coming Tenzin, I'll be there in a minute," I moved around in the bed, hoping to squirm enough to get the sheets off of my body. Eventually, I succeeded, and walked out of my small one bedroom apartment and opened the door to see Tenzin.
"I don't believe the catering company is going to be happy seeing you show up in pajamas to work," the bald man said, stroking his beard. I quickly looked down at myself.
"Aww shit," I slammed the door and looked around hurriedly for my suit. My found them and stuffed them onto my body, and opened the door, "Alright, now I'm ready."
"Oh," Tenzin said, with an earnest look of approval, "You didn't put your pants on backwards this time. Good job!"
"Yeah, yeah, very funny," I said, pushing past my former mentor, now friend, "Let's go, please!"
We drove for about fifteen minutes in silence, and we were almost there, until…
"You know," Tenzin said, me rolling my eyes already, "You don't have to work on stuff like this, Pema and I can provide for you."
"I know, Tenzin," I answered, "And I'm grateful for the offer, but I don't need it and you should save your money for Jinora, Ikki, Meelo and the little one coming along. Besides having work experience is good, and I need to start somewhere."
"Just know the offer still stands," Tenzin said, pulling the car to a stop, "Well, here we are."
"Thanks again Tenzin," I said, getting out, "Really."
"It was really nothing," He replied earnestly, "We were all glad to help you."
I ran into the party hall, I was five minutes late, and my boss, Lin Beifong, would be furious with me. I was going to have to come up with an excuse to why I was late. Traffic? No, too generic and cliched. Overslept? True, but that would put the blame on me. I'd make some something up on the on the fly.
"KORRA!" That was the shout that I really didn't want to hear right now, Lin Beifong, "WHY ARE 5 MINUTES LATE!"
"Chief," Mako, my best friend/ex-boyfriend who was probably (definitely) still hung up on me, "She's only a few minutes late, just get her to work."
"Get over there and stock the champagne bar," Lin grunted.
"Thank you," I leaned in and hugged Mako on my way over the bar, "I'll buy you a drink later."
"I'm holding you to that," Mako said, smiling genuinely, a little too genuinely for her taste.
"That was a bad idea," I whispered to herself, pulling the bottles of champagne out of the cooler and placing them under the table, "I'll deal with that later."
"I thought you and that stray mutt called it quits," The one person I wanted to talk to less than my boss, "Either way, I'm always ready."
I really wanted to punch that smug smile off of his douchy face, but no he would most certainly press charges.
"We're just friends, Tahno," I said, purposefully avoiding his face, "Which I can't say about you."
"So we're on for dinner then?" He said, still not dropping that damn smile.
"Nope," I answered, finally looking up at him, with the happiest smile I thought I would ever have, "I can say with absolute certainty that we are not friends, and we will never 'have dinner'."
"Never say never," Tahno said, keeping up that fucking smile.
"I would rather go out with a badgermole than you," I said, with much more confidence than was warranted, "Why don't you keep that in mind, next time."
"You'll be back for me," He was finally walking away, but he was still smiling at me with his damn hair! He would die at my hand, I just needed to figure it out how to plot the perfect murder, "I promise you!"
"I doubt that very much," I said, not looking at him and walking away very confidently.
I kept walking, I needed to push him out of my mind, both him and Mako really. Tahno was an asshole. That was a fact, so it was easy to push him away, but it's harder with Mako. He's a good guy, he really is, really cute, in a sort of brooding way, but we just don't work together, and I don't think he gets that. I still want to be friends, I really do, but it's just so hard when the guy really doesn't understand that I'm not into him anymore. I mean seriously what's the best way to tell him that?
"No, no, no!" A man in a nice suit and glasses shouted at Lin, "I need the butterfly-shrimp needs to be next to the salmon-eels. The seafood needs to be all together, I am courting some of the most important businessmen in the United Republic, including Hiroshi Sato of Future Industries and Varrick of Varrick Global Industries. You need to make everything perfect!"
"Yes, sir, Mr. President, sir," Lin said, nodded tersely at her employer, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"Don't apologize, Ms. Beifong," the President said, "Just fix it."
Lin sighed, and turned away, walking toward the seafood table, fuming under her breath about rich bastards, her words not mine, and moving the salmon-eel platter toward the butterfly-shrimp tower.
"Why did I go into the catering business?" Lin whispered under her breath, "I don't even like food."
"Chief," I walked over to her, probably not the best time, but here goes, "The bar is fully stocked with the champagne the President asked for. We even got the ten extra bottles you requested just in case."
"Finally," She said, not smiling at me, but I could tell she was pleased, "Some good news," Well that went surprisingly well, "You've done well Korra, even if you were late," She checked the watch on her right arm, I leaned in, it said 6:37 pm, "Take a break, but I need you by the bar before 7 o'clock when we start."
"Yes, Ma'am," I said, nodding. I turned back towards one of the corners of the ballroom and pulled out my phone. As soon as I turned it on, I saw a total of 17 messages from Bolin. Man, that guy could go really be persistent, he's the polar opposite of his brother Mako.
Bolin: Hey, Korra, I'm at the Long Feng's! u should totally come by!
Bolin: Yo, Korra there this SUPER cute girl, u gotta come and see this!
Bolin: i need i to be here!
Bolin: yo Korra, whazzupp! this gurl ssssooooo cute!
Bolin: Ko-Ko! can i call u Ko-Ko?
Bolin: yo Ko-Ko, i think this girl is ur boss' niece
Bolin: i think this is the best nite of my life!
Bolin: I just slept with the CUTEST girl ever. What's the etiquette on second dates after a one night stand?
Bolin: Oh god! She's waking up, please text me back!
Those were some of the best highlights from his 17, seriously, 17 fucking messages. I should probably respond and at least try to solve the problems he got himself into.
Korra: sorry man i went to sleep early last night
Korra: first piece of etiquette is don't get into one night stands!
Korra: seriously Bo!
Korra: and no u cant call me 'Ko-Ko'!
Bolin: sorry that was Drunk Bo talking
Korra: yeah well 'Drunk Bo' needs to shut up and disappear
Bolin: im working on it but you know i cant quit cold turkey
Bolin: theres science to prove that
Korra: i g2g the partys starting
Korra: bye
Bolin: seeya
I turned my phone off and put it into my inner pocket, preparing for a very boring night, which was not at all what I got.
"I'll have a glass of champagne, please," A very pretty, dark haired young woman stepped up to the bar and asked for a drink.
"ID please," I asked, starting to prepare the drink, and she handed it over, "It says here you're twenty, I can't serve an under-age woman like yourself."
"Sorry," She smiled at me, something twinkled in her eyes, that I just couldn't ignore, and I really didn't want to pay attention to her, but I couldn't help but smile. But I really didn't want to like to her, I felt like I shouldn't, but I really did like her, I wanted to be her friend, "The whole hot and rich girl routine usually works with people who serve alcohol. I thought I'd give it a try with you, I guess it didn't work."
"Sorry," I smiled, I really didn't want to, I really didn't, but I did, "It didn't work on me, maybe you should try him," I pointed to Tahno, down at the other end of the bar, checking his hair in his personal mirror, "He'd give you some alcohol, maybe even ask you for a date…" I trailed off, still smiling at her.
"Well," she smiled back at me, and flipped her hair, "I have to admit that I'm having much more fun just talking to you than drinking," She reached for something from her small handbag, "Here's my number," She scribbled something on a piece of paper, "Feel free to use it at any time," she smiled, and began to walk away, but she looked back and winked at me.
"Wait!" I shouted after her, then started to trail off, "I never got your name..."
'Fuck,' I thought to myself, 'That girl was really hot.'
I turned my attention back to the bar and saw Tahno nearly sprinting over to me. This isn't going to be fun.
"Give me her number," Tahno said immediately, nearly pleading with me, "Please, I'm begging you!" he bent down on one knee, praying to me "I'll do anything! I'll even go out to dinner with you! Please give it to me!"
"Alright," I said, looking over at him, incredulously, "First of all, you were hitting on me and I rejected you. Second of all, while you begging me for something is hilarious. But no, I will not give you her number."
"Please, you need to give me her number," Tahno said, nearly crying now, "I'm begging you! Please!" the first tear rolled down his face, "You need to give this to me!"
"Tahno!" Oh thank god, the chief is here, "Get the hell off of floor and back to your post," she started back to where she needed to be, mumbling, "Fucking pretty boy."
"Hey," The party was over and we were cleaning up as Mako came over to me, "What was with you and Tahno?"
"Oh, it was nothing," I answered, not looking at him, he didn't believe me, and when I looked up at him, he had an eyebrow raised, "Seriously it was nothing, don't worry about it."
"But I am worried," Mako said earnestly, "You're worrying me Korra, and I don't like it. Please tell me what's going on?"
"I don't owe you an explanation," I answered, "We're not dating anymore, Mako, I don't owe you anything like that. I can live my own life, you don't have to constantly defend me. I can take care of myself."
I walked into the apartment that Bolin and I shared, plopped my keys into the bowl, and wandered over to the kitchen. I absentmindedly poured myself a glass of milk, and didn't see Bolin walk out of his bedroom.
"Hey," I jumped, not seeing my best friend behind me, "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to scare you there."
"It's fine, Bo," I said, still super tired, and very startled, "I'm just tired and stressed. And I was not expecting you to be home, because, you know," I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Actually, I did not go out drinking tonight," He said, very proudly, as if he had just gotten an A on a pop quiz in elementary school, "But I do have a lady friend coming over, and she should be here any minute now."
"Please tell me you didn't hire a hooker again," Korra said, yawning.
"That was Shady Shin who hired an escort," Bolin made sure to enunciate the term, "For me, I did not hire her!"
"If you say so," Korra said, smiling, "Anyway I won't disturb you, I'm too damn tired to fuck with you anymore."
DING-DONG
"That will be her!" Bolin said smiling. He licked his hand and then fluffed up his hair a bit, "I'll get the door," He ran over to the door and opened it, smiling to see his 'lady' as I will forever refer to her as, "Welcome to my humble abode!"
"Hey, sweetie!" She was a two inches shorter than Bolin and one inch shorter than me, she leaned up and kissed Bolin on the cheek, "It's nice to see you again," she turned to face me, "And who is this?"
"I'm Korra," I stretched out my hand to shake hers, "I'm his roommate."
"So you've never…" She trailed off and raised her eyebrow.
"WHAT?" I said, my mouth wide open, "NO! We've never… me and him have never…"
"Yeah we haven't ever done that," Bolin said, "We've never even thought about it!" That was a blatant lie, and I know it for a fact, he pined over me for a year, especially while I was with Mako, "Anyway I have the Blu-Ray of Gone Girl, a nice couch and a sorta large TV, if you're interested?"
"I am," She said, smiling in a manner under any other circumstances, I would have called creepy.
"Oh, Korra," Bolin said, remembering he hadn't actually his 'lady friend', "This is Opal, she's the girl I met at the bar last night. And Opal, this is Korra, my roommate."
"She already introduced yourself, Idiot," Opal laughed. Wow nice job Bo, she's cute and puts up with you.
"Well, Opal," I said, very happy for my friend, "It was nice to meet you, and don't take him too seriously."
"I won't," Opal laughed, "I promise!"
I walked over to my room, hugged Bolin and whispered in his ear.
"Good job," I whispered, "She's a keeper," Then I let go, and turned to both of them, "Also are you sure that Gone Girl is best first date movie? You know because of all the-"
"HEY! HEY! HEY!" Bolin interrupted immediately, "No spoilers, neither of us has seen it!"
"Yeah, whatever," I said, closing the door to my bedroom.
This is gonna be a long night, I really need to get to sleep, but I know I can't, damn that girl! I didn't even get her name and she's gonna haunt me forever! That fucking hair flip, and the smile she had, that feigned innocence but also made you know that she wanted things that were far beyond innocent.
I needed to find who she was, but how the hell was I gonna do that? I only have her number, I don't think I'm going to be able find based solely on that information. God, her damn beautiful hair!
It was three weeks later, I was still hung up on that damn girl and I didn't even know her name. I was currently having a late lunch with Mako after another fundraiser for President Raiko's re-election.
"You really want waffles and bacon at 2:30 in the afternoon?" Mako asked, raising his eyebrow at me, "I mean, you don't want like a sandwich or something?"
"Why would I want anything other than breakfast food?" I answered, knowing I was right, and he was utterly ridiculous.
"Oh, wow!" Mako said, looking down at the newspaper.
"What?" I nearly shouted, attracting the attention of half the diner, "Breakfast food is the BEST!"
"No, not that," Mako said looking at me as if I was an idiot, "Hiroshi Sato," I didn't recognize the name, "The CEO of Future Industries," Still didn't recognize him, "They make Satomobiles…"
"Oh, him!" I said, finally recognizing the name the guy, "Yeah, what about him."
"He was just arrested for funding a terrorist organization," Mako said, scanning the article, "Damn, this guy has been funding for the Equalists for years."
"You mean those guys who want to eliminate money and wealth from the world?" I said, sorry but I don't really know my terrorist organizations that well.
"No," He said, putting down the paper, "They want to eliminate Law Enforcement because they believe they do more harm than good."
"They're not completely…" I said, then trailed off staring at the picture on the front page, "Who's that?" I pointed at the woman in the picture.
"That's Asami Sato, his daughter," He said, pulling the newspaper over to him, "Says here that she blew the whistle on her dad's activities. When she was reached for comment, she said 'I would never help those monsters'. She's easy on the eyes, too."
"Oh my god…" I finally found the girl that had been haunting me, and she was rich as fuck!
"Oh," Mako said, bringing me out of my definitely not PG-13 daydream, "It says here that all of her and his accounts have been frozen and that she's completely broke. This has got to be the worst week of her life, I mean she loses finds out her father is a terrorist, then loses all of her money, I mean that's got to suck."
"Yeah…" I stopped, and looked one more time at the picture and the article, and picked up, "Sorry I have to go umm, uhh… do, uhhh… something," I said grabbing the article and running out of the restaurant.
I sat on the couch pouring over the article for a third time, trying to find any information about my mystery crush, before I remembered the internet existed. Wow, there is a lot on this girl on the internet, apparently along with being incredibly beautiful, she is also an engineering genius, and did I mention she is really pretty? I am so glad that Bolin is out with Opal, and that he is not watching me do all this research on a really hot girl via celebrity gossip sites on the internet.
"Oh my god," I said out loud, I had just figured it out, "I should call her," I know it's been three weeks, but still she probably needs a friend right now, and she was really pretty and seemed really nice and wanted to talk to me… man, Mako was right, I do ramble way too much. Alright I need to find that piece of paper with her number, I know for a fact I didn't throw it out.
DING-DONG
Oh damn who's at the door that I definitely don't want to talk to. I got up and traveled over to the door, leaving the computer in view of the door, a decision I would regret in a few seconds. I opened the door and who else was there, but the woman I was googling right that moment.
"Hey, I'm not sure if you remember me," Asami said, her eyeliner was smudged, she had been crying, not that I could blame her, "Or you could be googling me…"
"Oh, um, yeah, hi," I said, my face was heating up, "I… um… how do you know where I live?"
"You know…" She said, she was also blushing, she twirled her hair, "The whole hot and rich thing gets you things… well it did."
"Umm… yeah, I'm sorry about that," I said, still not looking up at her, "Is there something you need?"
"Umm… actually, yes," she said, staring at her really nice feet, "I need a friend. I know that we don't really know each other… at all, but I really don't have friends. My dad never really gave me a chance to make friends, and when I was in school, guys really just wanted to hit on me and girls were intimidated by my and when that didn't happen they just thought of me as a prissy, rich, spoiled bitch. So I know that it's a weird thing to ask, but I really need a friend right now."
"Umm," I thought about it for a second, here was a beautiful woman, who needed help, and was asking me for it, "Yeah come right in. You can take a seat on the couch, and I will close the computer that is stalking you right now."
I closed the computer while she moved into my apartment and sat down on the couch. After the laptop was shut, I closed the door and sat down next to her on the couch. I watched as she rubbed some of the eyeliner from her eyes with her tears, I wasn't sure how close to her I should I be. She had come to me, she had asked me to be her friend, but that didn't counteract the fact that I didn't really know her at all. I eventually decided that I would pat her on the back. So I took my left arm and patted her on her very beautiful left shoulder, and in response, as much as I was surprised I really wanted it, she leaned over and laid her head on my shoulder, starting to cry again.
"There, there," I said, I had never really been the person to let people cry on my shoulder, both literally and figuratively, "Let it out…?"
"Hmm," she chuckled and turned her gorgeous face up at me, seriously, after crying and ruining her make-up, she still looks perfect, "You really don't know how to do this do you?"
"No," I answered earnestly, "I'm not really the sensitive person," As much as I didn't have the experience, I really wanted her to trust me, and to confide in me, "But I'll do my best, if you want to talk to me about anything, I'm here for you. I won't tell anyone. I promise."
"Thank you," the tears somehow made her face even prettier, how is that even possible? I mean, seriously, "As I've said, I've never really had friends."
"I really can't believe that," I said smiling, trying best to not sound sarcastic, I wasn't being sarcastic and I wanted her to know that, "I mean you're beautiful, smart, kind and did I mention you were beautiful, smart and kind?"
"You did," She smiled, snuggling back into my shoulder, "But even if you can't believe, it's true," She paused for what felt like hours, but in reality I knew it was only a few seconds, "My mother died when I was nine…"
"I'm so sorry," I had had a lot of problems in my youth, but my parents were always there to support to me, "I can only imagine what that must have been like for you."
"It's fine," She said, a tear rolling down her left cheek, "My father took it harder than I did, he withdrew from life, he pushed himself into his work, and I had nobody, no friends, he even fired the maid, who I was really my only friend. I stopped getting taught, my mom was my teacher, I was homeschooled, so no longer had school, I had to teach myself. Thank god the internet existed."
"You taught yourself through the internet?" I was shocked, it took me less than ten minutes on the internet to get sucked into Netflix for seven hours. The reasons to love this woman just kept piling up, "How the hell did you not get distracted?"
"Well," She had a sheepish expression, "I kinda paid people over the internet to teach me things. Turns out I'm a really good engineer," she paused, "and that I really hate reading comprehension."
"Most do," I think I'm in love with this woman, but you probably already knew that.
"So I'm a great engineer and I love engineering," She continued, "So here I am as an engineering genius," She realized she had kind of bragged, "If I do say so myself."
"I'm sure you are," I agreed, "I've driven that new Satocycle, its handling is fantastic!"
"Thank you!" She said, with the same smile that got me obsessed with her at the party, "I worked really hard on that, it was my first real project for the company, I'm really glad you loved it," did I actually have a shot at this girl?
"Well, I loved it! The best handling of any bike I've ever used," I said, I should really ask her out, "Though I should admit that it's the only bike I've ever riden."
"Well…" She took on the same sheepish expression as earlier, "I still like the compliment, especially coming from you."
She leaned her head up at me. Oh fuck, it's actually going to happen, she's kissing me! HOLY SHIT! Is this my Katy Perry moment? I really hope this isn't like that, I really love this girl! Is it possible to love a girl after only really talking to her for like 3 minutes? Sure, why not? Oh my…! She's just climbing onto me! This has got to be the best day of my life!
"Uhhmm," It was barely audible, but I know I heard her moan, "Oohh!"
"Hey, Korra," CRAP! It was Bolin, he was back, "I just finished my lunch with Opal, it was amazing! There's just so much I love about…," then he realized what was going on… on his couch, "Ko-Korra?"
"Oh, hey," I said, quickly helping Asami up, of off my body as quickly as possible, "Bolin, I didn't know you would be back so early."
"Yeah," He said, eyebrows raised, somehow there was still sound coming out with his jaw dropped on the floor, "It's 5:00, the movie started 2:10, it's actually been over for awhile," He took a moment to gather himself and pick up his jaw from the floor, "And you are making out with a very beautiful woman… on our couch."
"I can explain," I said quickly, pulling my shirt down to make sure it covered my top.
"Yes," He answered, "Please do."
"Hi," Asami answered, looking very calm for some reason, "I'm Asami, and you are?"
"I am Bolin," Bolin said, as taken aback as I was, "And who the hell are you?" Asami opened her mouth, but Bolin cut her off, "And I don't mean your name. I mean why are making out with my best friend on MY COUCH!"
"First of all, it's our couch, not yours, second of all," This was going to be a long-winded speech, I could already tell that much, "Is the couch really the part of this that you're focusing on? Third of all, how is this such a big deal? You bring back girls all the time, most of the time that I don't know, and once it was my cousin! So how is this any different than one of those times?"
"No," Bolin backtracked quicker than a seaskunk after an unaki shows up, "It's not because she's a girl and you're a girl, it just… umm… I don't know… surprised me?" Nice job, Bolin, you really did well backing out of definitely still having feelings for me. Sorry Opal but it's true, "I also didn't know you were into girls," That much was actually true.
"Well, I do," I tell him, I should probably tell that I just realized that, but whatever, I'll cover that another time, "And I was kissing Asami because I am attracted to her."
I made sure to look over at Asami after I said this, and I was glad to see that she blushed. Maybe I should ask her out on an actual date, hopefully this is more than just a sex thing. I mean, yeah, she's super hot, but also she's a genius, she's nice and she thinks I'm funny. I'm not sure why that last part is true, Mako always hated my jokes. But, you know what? I should stop comparing her to Mako! I was too busy rapped up in my thoughts to realized that Asami had responded. Luckily she somehow realized this and repeated herself.
"And I was kissing Korra because I am attracted to her as well," She said again.
"Why did you repeat that?" Bolin had no idea what was going on.
"Uhh, because Korra was not paying attention to what I was saying," Asami explained, "And I wanted her to know that I am attracted her."
"Do you want to go to a movie?" I abruptly turned back to Asami, and asked her to what I hoped was a date.
"Yeah sure," She said, smiling cleanly, "When?"
"How about right now?" I answered, holy fuck, did I just ask out a girl and she said yes? I did, "There's a theater not that far from my apartment."
"YEAH!" She seemed ecstatic and I was thrilled, "Let's go!" She walked over to the door and waited for me, "It was nice you meeting you, Bolin."
"Yeah… It was nice meeting you too," He had already forgotten her name, hadn't he.
"I'll see in a few hours," I said, hugging him and walking out the door. After I closed the door I heard Bolin say something inside the apartment.
"What just happened?"
"Holy shit, that was good," We were walking out of the theater, and I was thrilled that Asami loved it.
"Yeah I hadn't even heard of The Way, Way Back," I answered, suddenly noticing that our arms were intertwined. Stay calm, I said to myself, stay calm!
"Oh yeah, the movie was great too!" Asami laughed, resting her head on my shoulder, she was taller than me, but somehow it worked, and I loved that it did, "But I was talking about when you were twirling my hair."
"I was doing what?" I had no idea I was doing that, I knew my hand was on her hair, but I had no idea that I was playing with her hair!
"You were playing with my hair," Asami smiled, "It was really cute, and I loved it. I'd really love to do this again sometime, or maybe dinner, or a private movie at your place?"
"Yeah I would love to do this again with you," I said, smiling at her, god she was pretty, "Maybe I could see your place?"
"I… um…," Asami faulted for the first time, "I… uhh…"
"Asami?" I faulted too, I wanted to help, but I also didn't know what she was nervous about, "What is it?" we had stopped walking a few feet from the door to my apartment complex, "Please, 'Sami… I want to help."
"I'm… uhhh… kinda," She paused, and a tear fell across her face.
"'Sami, can I call you 'Sami?" She nodded, and I continued, "I'm here to help you, I want to help you! I won't judge you, I like you a lot. So please, if you want to tell me something, please do."
"I'm kinda broke," She admitted, maybe she thought I was only pretending to be interested in her for her wealth, I was almost offended by that. Almost.
"I know that," I answered her immediately.
"Well," She paused and lifter her head off of my shoulder, wiping a tear off her cheek, "That extends to my living situation, I'm kinda living in a motel off of the money in one of my old piggy banks. As I said earlier, I used to be really rich."
"There's a saying that my mentor used to say to me," I told her, "I think it really applies to your situation, it's kinda cliché, but…"
"What is it?" She looked up at me, I was about a head shorter than her, but somehow she still managed to look up at me.
"'These moments, when we're at our lowest points,'" I paused for effect, "'Reveal the most about who we are in the core of our being as a person.' But I've found, while that is true, that we also find out who we are at our greatest points."
"You would make a really good motivational speaker," I raised my eyebrows, "I'm serious!" She lowered her voice, "But thank you, you're right. I can do this, I can bring myself back up!"
"And I'll help you," I said, while receiving a hug from my… girlfriend? I think she is, but I really don't know, "If I read the newspaper correctly, you don't have your company, so let's get you your company back!"
"And Ms. Sato," We were in court, it was Hiroshi's trial and Asami was at the stand getting grilled by the defense attorney her father had hired to defend him, and unfortunately his lawyer's defense tactic was to pin it on Asami as well, because she didn't want to turn him in, so that made her an Equalist as well, "Is it true that you waited a week before turning your father in to the authorities?"
"No, sir," She said, "I actually waited a total of approximately ten days, sir."
"So, if I may, Ms. Sato," He continued, "Can I assume that you waited because you agreed with your father's alleged activities?"
"You can assume whatever you want," Asami answered, "That's your right as a human being, but the truth is I waited because the defendant is my father, and he is the only family I have left."
"So, Ms. Sato," Oh no, I could tell that this question was going to set her off, "Are you saying that you refrained from giving out allegedly critical information about a violent terrorist organization, because of your personal feelings? Were you on your time of the month?" Oh fuck! She is going to explode.
"Excuse me?" She nearly shouted, "Are you insinuating that I acted emotionally because I am a woman, and because of my menstruation, SIR?"
"Yes," He said quite calmly, "I believe that is a reasonable question."
"Let me ask you something," Asami's face was as red as a beat, and there was smoke coming out of her nose and ears, "Do you make decisions with your cock?" I did not think that she would go there, but I'm kind of super glad she did, "Because that's the equivalent of what you're asking me!"
"I don't see that it is, Ms. Sato," the attorney was a little bit angry now, but knowing Asami as I did, even though I had only known her for two months, I knew she was only going to make him angrier.
"Dad! Is this really the attorney you got to defend you?" Asami moved her body so that she could see her father, whose head was bowed in shame for what his attorney was saying, "This piece of shit is the best defense attorney you could find? Or was it that nobody wanted to defend a terrorist?" She paused for a few seconds, realizing that everyone was shocked at her outburst, and then she went further and louder, "No, you're not a terrorist dad, you're worse. You don't even have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, you have to do it secretly, because you're too much of a coward."
The courtroom was dead silent except for the clicks of the stenographer, desperately trying to keep up with Asami's tirade. Because of the popularity of Hiroshi Sato and the severity of the charges, every seat in the room was full, and nobody expect this to happen, not even Asami or I had expected this to happen on the first day of the case.
"Do you want really want to know why I waited so long to tell the police about my father's activities?" The lawyer nodded, as did the Judge on the bench, though I think I was the only one to notice, "Maybe you don't know this about me, but my mom died when I was nine, she was killed, they never found the killer, because he was a cop. My mom worked with a clinic that tried to help children out of gangs, so a crooked cop killed her, and the arrest was never made."
There was a silence throughout the courthouse, this time even the court stenographer was silent, her typewriter had stopped clicking.
"So I only had one person in my family left," Asami was in tears now, "And that was my father," She wiped a tear from her face, "So why do you think I waited to turn him in? I think it was because I really didn't want to put the last member of my family in prison. But then I realized something, everybody else is losing their families to these Equalist bastards, and I couldn't be so damn selfish anymore."
"No further questions, your honor," The defense attorney sat down, and the trial continued without really anymore surprises.
"ASAMI!" I ran up to her and hugged her with all of my strength, which she had told me was a lot of strength, "You did great in there, that was awesome!"
"Miss Sato," it was a reporter who wanted to talk to her, "Would you like to comment on the statement you made in the courtroom?"
"No, but I would to say something about Future Industries," She said, stepping up the camera, "The Government of the United Republic is currently holding the funds of Future Industries, a company that used to employ hundreds of thousands of employees in the United Republic. My father may have used Future Industries to help fund the Equalists, but that was my father's mistake, not his employees. And while I believe that he should and will be punished, but the employees should not be punished by not having their jobs! I don't care about how long it takes to restore my money, but you must restore Future Industries' funds, and if nobody else wants to run the company, then I volunteer to do it."
"Thank you Miss Sato," the reporter said, nodding at the cameraman as they walked away.
"That was also amazing!" I shouted, hugging her again, "I love what you're doing and saying! You are doing so much for both yourself and everybody, if the government does something," She raised her eyebrow and looked at me, "Well yeah, but if they do something and help you, they're not just helping you they're helping an entire company, that's hundreds of thousands of people that YOU are helping get back to work so they can help themselves and their families! You are a hero, and I love you!" I kissed her on the lips and at that moment what felt like a thousand cameras flashed, capturing our, unfortunately, controversial kiss.
"Ms. Sato!" A new reporter, a large, heavy-set man, ran up to us and started badgering us about the kiss, "Does this kiss mean that you are lesbian? And will that affect your performance in running Future Industries?"
"We should probably get out of here right now, because I would like some privacy right about now," I said, releasing her, "And I'm guessing you do too."
"Yeah, let's get out of here," She said, and we straight out sprinted to the car I had borrowed from Tenzin.
"KORRA!" Mako banged both his fists repeatedly on the door to my and Bolin's apartment, "LET ME IN!"
"Seriously, Mako," I said opening the door, and he came rushing in, "You can knock once, you don't need to wake up the whole city."
"Korra, did you see what's everywhere on the news?" Mako said, and then he saw Asami sitting on the couch, "So that was you kissing the heir to Future Industries on television, wasn't it?"
"Uhh, Mako," I said, closing the door and walking towards Asami, and wrapping my arm around her shoulders, "This is my girlfriend, Asami Sato, we've been seeing each other for about three weeks, now."
"Alright," He said, attempting, and failing I might add, "I have two questions," I nodded, "One, how do I get a girlfriend that hot, and second, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
"Umm," I started, but Asami cut me off.
"Well to your first question, I guess be nice?" She wasn't sure how else to answer that question, "And to the second question, I don't know this for sure," She shot me a look, "But maybe it's because you reacted like that? I mean that's just a thought, but it seems kinda accurate," Right then the door opened, and Bolin casually walked in.
"Hey, Korra, Asami," He smiled, then looked to the right and saw his brother, "Hey Bro! I didn't know you were gonna be here!"
"Wait, you knew about this?" Mako was furious and surprised that his brother knew something that he didn't.
"Yeah, of course I knew, I'm living with her," Bolin laughed, "What, did you not tell him," He looked at me and Asami, and we shook our heads, "Well that makes sense, I can't blame you."
"Seriously?" Mako's exasperation was reaching comical levels, "I mean really! Did Jinora know?" I shifted my weight closer to Asami, "Really? You told Jinora and not me?"
"Look, Mako?" He nodded, and Asami continued, "I don't know you that well, or really at all, but I really think you're blowing this out of proportion."
"We used to date," I told her.
"Oh!" Asami understood now, "It makes so much more sense now."
"Thank you," Mako said, but Asami wasn't done.
"He's still in love with you!" Asami realized out loud, and Mako's face turned a hilarious shade of purple.
"Nehr erm nert," His lips could not possibly get any smaller, and his voice was strained because of it.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" I teased him, "I couldn't quite hear you."
"I'm not still in love with you Korra!" He shouted, too late to realize that he just made it seem more like he was still in love with me, "I even have a girlfriend."
"Wait really?" Bolin answered immediately, "When can I meet her? I mean we meet her?"
"She lives in the Fire Nation, and she can't really come by right now," Mako rubbed the back of his neck, and staring down at his shoes.
"Hahaha!" I laughed at the top of my lungs, "Are you serious?" He looked at me with the straightest (no pun intended) face I had ever seen, "Wow, you are really committing to this aren't you."
"It's true," He pleaded with us, "Her name is Ursa, and we met when I was on vacation in the Fire Nation two weeks ago."
"Pictures or it didn't happen," Asami said, sheepishly, and blushing a little. I should ask her about that later.
"I don't have pictures," Mako said desperately, "It's really true, I swear!"
"Wait," I said, I thought I finally had him, "If you really did have a girlfriend, then why did you ask how to a girlfriend that hot?"
"Oh, well," he paused, "I was just really curious how you got a really beautiful," he nodded at Asami, "woman."
The conversation kept moving in that direction, but Asami and I never believed him, even though Bolin eventually conceded that he did have a girlfriend. Yet still, Asami and I would probably never believe that he did indeed have a girlfriend unless we saw her with him.
"Anyway, I have to go," Mako said, he turned to Asami and I, "I wish you guys the best, and Korra, are we still on for lunch tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course," I replied, then got an idea, "Is it okay if I bring Asami along, you know, so you can get to know her," he raised an eyebrow at me, "I mean, we are friends, you should get to know my girlfriend a little bit at least… right?"
"Umm, yeah," he was hesitant, but I needed him to do this for me, "That sounds fun!" well that was extremely fake, but at least he agreed to do it!
"Alright, thanks," I said, waving as he left the apartment.
"Well that was awkward," Bolin stated the obvious, looking at the two of us together.
"You don't really think he has a girlfriend, do you?" I asked, moving on from his observation, "I mean really? It kinda seemed like he pulled that out of his ass."
"Innocent until proven guilty, Korra," he smiled knowingly, as if he actually did know something other than how to make his hair glow in a specific way that he claimed 'made the ladies go wild'. I know from personal experience that it doesn't, "Anyway, I'm gonna go get some groceries, I got a lot of tips from the bar last night, so I think I might go for the more expensive Ben & Jerry's," He grabbed the keys from the bowl and ran out the door.
There was a short silence as I fluffed up the cushions on the couch and sat down turning on the TV. I flipped through the channels, trying not to notice that Asami had been refusing to sit down, and was instead pacing the few feet along the apartment window. I eventually settled on a re-run of Parks and Rec that had just begun, I'm afraid to admit that Leslie Knope is kind of my hero.
"Korra," Asami finally spoke up, "Can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course," I patted the cushion next to me, "Come sit down," She did what I requested, and that gave me a chance to see her expression, and it didn't make me feel any more secure.
"You said something to me today, after the court case," Oh shit! I had forgotten about that, "You said that you loved me."
There it was, I could deny it, but that would be lying, I had said it. I could say that I didn't mean it, but that would also be lying, I had meant it. It's better to be honest and lose her, than to lie and also lose her. No matter what I'm gonna lose her, the woman who is probably the love of my life, and I lose her because I told her how I felt too early.
"Did you really mean it?" here it comes, I have to be honest.
"Yes," I said looking down at my feet, I'll be honest with her, but I don't have to look her while I did it, "I meant it completely," and there it was, our little affair was over.
Then it happened, she pulled my face over to her and kissed me full on the mouth. I guess it's not over.
"I love you too," she said when she pulled her face back a mere eighth of an inch, "And I want to tell the world. Officially."
"Really?" the last part surprised me more than anything, I couldn't believe that as public a person as she was, that she wanted to come out, and have me there with her.
"Yes, I really do," she said, smiling the hugest grin I have ever seen, "There's a party in Capitol City, it's Fire Lord Izumi's birthday in a week, and I've always been invited, and I've been invited again this year. I'd like you to be my date."
"Of course I'll do it!" I said, shouting much louder than was rational, "I've always wanted to meet Fire Lord Izumi!"
"Oh man!" I was ecstatic, just to be in the same room with such an amazing woman as Fire Lord Izumi, "I can't believe I'm even here! Thank you so much! I love you so much!"
"I love you too, Korra," Asami said, wrapping her arm my shoulders, "I'm so glad that YOU are the one who's here with me."
It was a week later, and we were in the Fire Nation's throne room for 'Fire Lord Izumi's 50th birthday bash' as Bolin put it. I had always wanted to meet Fire Lord Izumi, she was one of my personal heroes and I had mentioned that to Asami. So for her to invite me here was probably the greatest thing for anyone to have ever done ever. Okay I may be exaggerating that a little bit, but you get the idea.
"Well, the feeling is mutual, Ms. Sato," I said, attempting to be fancy, and I took from her expression that I was failing, "The feeling is mutual," then I burst out laughing, "I'm sorry, I just had to," Asami joined in my laughter, we both ignored the old stuffy people raising their eyebrows in the most pretentious way all around us.
"No, it's fine," Asami said, a few moments later after she stopped laughing, "It was cute, adorable even."
"Thank you, I live to be adorable," I replied, smiling ear to ear, "Now if you don't mind, I have had to pee since we got in the Sato-Mobile, so I'm going to go the bathroom. I'll be right back."
I weaved through the old stuffy people that definitely would not have fun around me to finally get to the bathroom. There was no line, I guess that meant it was early enough that nobody needed to 'powder their nose' yet. Of which I was very thankful.
"Oh, my!" I heard something coming from the next room. It was a closet, so who was going at it today?
'So what bad decision is Korra going to make today?' I thought to myself, 'Yeah I'll open the door, maybe there's something in there that I need?'
So I pulled the door open, and to my horror, I found the last person I expected to see in the closet.
"Mako?" I stared into the room and was horrified with what I found. My ex-boyfriend, who I may not be in love with, but that doesn't want mean I want to see him shirtless making out with another girl, "So is this your girlfriend? Or just a girl you like to make out with?"
"You must be Korra," She held out her hand for me to shake, with a smile on her face.
"You talk about me with your make-out buddies?" I decided not to take her hand.
"You shouldn't have opened the door!" He ignored my question, clever, "Why did you open the door?"
"Curiosity won out in me," I shrugged.
"Ikki's rubbing off on you," He commented, then looked sternly, obviously trying to be Lin, "That's not a good thing," I raised my eyebrow, challenging his perceived authority over me, he shifted his gaze towards his feet and scratched the back of his head, "Just don't tell anybody about this. We're trying to keep it on the down-low for now."
"What?" I was exasperated at this point, "Are you dating a princess or something?" Then I finally noticed her face, "You are dating a princess…"
"Yeah," He shrugged, and made a small smile at me, "I told you I was dating a girl named Ursa."
"Princess Ursa," I made a small bow toward her, "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Korra of the Southern Water Tribe."
"Are you by any chance related to Chief Tonraq?" She asked curiously, signalling for me to rise.
"Um, yeah he's my father," I explained, curious as to how she knew my dad.
"Oh!" Her eyes lit up with recognition, "I think we met like 15 years ago!"
"Really?" I had no memory of this, and was incredibly taken aback.
"Yeah, I didn't recognize you at first," She said smiling, "You've lost a lot of… girth."
"Yeah," I said, now I was the one who was embarrassed, "I was kinda a fat baby."
"Oh, don't worry!" She said continuing to smile, "You were really cute! You were a really cute baby."
"Well," I said, raising my head with a sheepish smile, "I'm glad you think so."
"This is terrible!" Mako said, breaking us both out of our conversation, "My girlfriend and my ex are not supposed to get along!"
"Yeah, well," I looked at him with my hands on my hips, I think Asami's sassiness is rubbing off on my too, "Imagine how I felt when you and Asami became such good friends!"
"Oh," Ursa popped back in with what seemed like another revelation, "Do you mean Asami Sato?" We both nodded, "Is she here?" We nodded again, and exchanged a look, "I have to find her!"
"Hey," Asami cut in right at that moment, "Did I hear something about Korra being a cute baby?"
"Sato!" Ursa said, leaning back and pointing finger guns at my girlfriend.
"Flamegirl!" Asami did the same and smiled at Mako's girlfriend, then straightened and hugged her, "It's been so long Ursa!"
"It really has!" She responded, letting go of my girlfriend, "It's been like what? 5, 6 years?"
"Yeah, at least!" She was smiling, "Now, what was this I heard about Korra being a cute baby?"
"Oh, yeah," Ursa said, laughing a little, "I have a few in my room," She looked around for a moment, "Let's go, we just have to make sure my mom doesn't find out I left the party. She will flip-"
"Okay, let's go," Mako said eagerly, "I want to see these Korra baby pictures, too!"
"Wait! Please no!" But it was too late, Asami was already dragging me there, behind Ursa and Mako.
"Gimme a second," Ursa said, and while she was rummaging around in a drawer, I tried to remember meeting her. I racked every little corner of my brain and still couldn't remember meeting her. But what did strike me was how down to earth she was for a princess. I mean sure, technically I was a princess too, but I lived in a ice-desert wasteland and she lives a frigging castle on an island called Capital Island! But as Mako said earlier, I was really getting along with her, "Here I found it," She pulled a large folder out of the drawer and put it on the bed, open to, presumably, the first page with a photo of me as a baby, "Look on at your own risk or enjoyment. As I said, she's really cute!"
"Oh Korra!" Asami squealed as I looked away to hide my completely red face, "You are so adorable in these pictures!" I peaked out at Asami who was smiling genially at me, "But you're even more adorable when you're embarrassed."
I gave Mako a death stare, making sure that he wouldn't say anything. And I wasn't joking, if he said anything, whether positive or negative, I would kill him a thousand times over.
"Korra," Asami moaned, softly using her hand to lift my head up and making eye-contact with me, "I'm not trying to hurt you. You know that right?" I nodded at her, a tear starting travel down my left cheek, a blush creeping up my right, "I love you."
"I know," I said, through tears that were intensifying by the millisecond, "I love you too."
A/N: Man, I love Korrasami! They just work so well together, and they're so cute! Sorry I'm probably losing my cred as a straight guy, but what the hell! I love this show, and I'm in love with Korra and Asami! So what the hell are you gonna do about that! Anyway, I hoped you like this story, I'm thinking of doing a 'X-Men style' LoK story (with Korrasami of course). So please tell me if that is something you might be interested in. As always favorite if you love it, leave a review, all are appreciate, just you know, if you have criticism, keep it constructive. Good luck and drink Cactus Juice, it's the QUENCHIEST!