Hullo! Welcome to an all new story written by me! Based off of a song that I love SO much, Not A Bad Thing by Justin Timberlake. It's a really good song, so if you haven't heard it I recommend it!
And please don't hate me over my poor description of racing. I tried to do research, but it was too much information for me to make sense of.
...
She was confident. Really confident. Okay, maybe a little overconfident, but that never hurt anyone...too much. Regardless, she wasn't anyone and neither was the girl she was after. The girl she was after was more than just anyone. She was a Sato. Asami Sato to be exact. And Korra had been after her since as long as she could remember. Which was a long time. Which brought her to where she was right now. Standing outside the locker rooms of the gym, waiting patiently for said girl to emerge. Korra had long changed back into her regular clothes, but didn't bother waiting for her inside. It would've been too awkward to the southerner, being around her crush in such an environment.
Korra had been waiting a long time, a very long time, to build up the nerve to ask her crush out. She'd known Asami almost her whole life, after all. She started liking her when she was, believe it or not, twelve years old. She was seventeen now, and had watched Asami go out with guy after guy for, actually, the past three years. The longest guy was their best friend Mako, who had lasted all of a year and two months. Korra kept track. It's not weird.
Mako wasn't a terrible boyfriend, per say. He just wasn't quite experienced enough with a woman's heart. That, and he was an unintentional flake. Korra had been there when they broke up, absorbing the broken tears and picking up the shattered pieces that Mako couldn't put back together despite his many attempts. Korra felt bad for them, yeah, but she'd started raising the victory flag from that point on.
She wanted to make Asami happy to the best of her abilities. It was a long shot, considering that Korra had only seen her go after guys, but their constant unintentional flirting had to count for something. At least, Korra thought so.
Asami emerged from the locker rooms, her bag slung over her shoulder. She grinned when she saw Korra, her eyes brightening. "Surely you didn't just stand out here for me." she said as she headed for the exit.
Korra laughed and followed behind her. "You're my ride, I kind of have to."
Asami giggled as they left the building, going to her car. Korra, deciding to be a bit of a show off, hoisted herself up and over the car door, plopping down in the seat and giving Asami the goofiest grin ever. Asami laughed as she got in the car, placing her bag in the backseat.
"You could've just gotten in like a normal person." she said as she stuck the keys into the ignition.
"That's too mainstream." Korra said with a wave of her hand.
"I guess you have a point there." Asami said.
The drive to Korra's house was stressful on Korra's part. Whatever confidence she had before they'd left, it was completely drained from her now. She knew she had to ask Asami before she got out of the car, but her thoughts refused to cooperate. Her palms were sweaty and her lips were dry. She closed her eyes, trying to sort and even out her breathing.
"Korra?"
Her eyes snapped open and she looked around, taking in their surroundings. They were in front of Korra's house. She flushed immediately. How long were her eyes closed?
Asami spoke again, her tone light and teasing. "Hey, Korra, anyone home?"
"U-uh, yeah." Korra stuttered. "I, um, wanted to ask you a question."
"Sure, what is it?" Asami asked, turning her body to face her.
Korra stared at her hands in her lap, which were in fists. Now or never, now or never... "Is there...any chance you'd want to...do an activity this Sunday?"
Asami blinked and started laughing. Korra looked at her and laughed along nervously. She's laughing, why is she laughing, she shouldn't be laughing-
"I'd love to do an activity with you, Korra." Asami said after a few seconds.
Korra perked up. "R-Really?"
"Of course." Asami grinned. "Sounds like fun."
"O-okay! Great!" Korra opened her door, getting out with a spring in her step. "I'll see you Sunday!"
Asami laughed again and drove off, honking the horn and waving. Korra squealed in success, doing a fist pump and jumping in a turn. "Yes! Nailed it!" She ran up her steps and opened her door, running up to her room. Naga, her pet husky, picked her head up from the bed wagging her tail. Korra knelt beside her, grinning.
"Great news, girl!" Korra said, petting her. "Asami said yes! I'm gonna do an activity with her!"
Naga licked her face, making her laugh harder. She hugged the big dog around her neck. "Spirits, I'm gonna be so nervous! I don't even know what to do!" She groaned and fell back on the floor, spread out. "I asked her to do an activity and I didn't even plan one! What is wrong with me?!"
Naga looked at the bedroom door and started barking at the sound of the front door opening. "Korra?" Her mother was home.
"Upstairs, mom!" Korra called.
She heard her mother climb the stairs and watched as she opened the door. Her mother looked down at her and smiled, chucking. "I take she said no."
Korra shook her head. "She said yes."
"So then why aren't you jumping for joy?" Senna said as she knelt beside her.
"Because I don't have an activity to do." Korra whined.
"Is that all?' Her mother said.
Korra sat up hurriedly. "You don't understand mom! Sunday's gonna come and I'm gonna have no idea what to do with Asami! It's gonna be embarrassing!"
Her mother laughed and patted her shoulder. "Alright, alright. Calm down. What does Asami like?"
"Cars." Korra said the first thing that came to mind. "Fast ones." She sulked. "But I don't know how to drive."
"Then don't." Senna said. "The Republic City Bisons are participating in the race being held here. And it's on Sunday."
"Don't you need tickets?" Korra asked.
"Well, your father told me that he needs to work on Sunday. We were going to go, but I suppose-"
She didn't get to finish, due to Korra throwing her arms around her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome, dear." Senna said, hugging her back. She then stood up. "I'm going to go get dinner started."
Korra nodded and her mother left. Korra did another fist pump and grinned. Sunday was gonna be fantastic.
...
Three days passed and Sunday final came. Korra was up really early. That is, if you count not sleeping as being up early. She was too excited to sleep. The second her alarm went off, she leapt from her bed and grabbed a pair of clothes, running to the bathroom to shower. The race started at seven, and Korra already told Asami that she would pick her up at six thirty.
"And how are you gonna do that without a car?" Asami said, quirking an amused eyebrow.
"Hey, don't doubt me." Korra said, grinning. "I have my ways."
And by ways, she meant the bus. She'd take the bus to Asami's house and then walk to the track, which wasn't far from Asami's house. She didn't tell Asami where they were going and what they'd be doing, she'd rather keep it a surprise.
The day passed uneventfully slow, with Korra trying to find things to make it go faster. She even took Naga for a walk, and she hated that when she knew Naga could walk herself. But when six o'clock came, Korra grabbed the tickets off the counter in the kitchen and put them in her pocket, clutching them the whole way to make sure they didn't escape. She rushed outside to catch the bus.
...
Korra stood on Asami's porch, trying to keep herself from hyperventilating. She'd arrived early (and by early, five minutes). She was tempted to knock, but she didn't want to seem too eager. That would probably scare her off. No, you're overreacting. Calm down, deep breaths. Still, she said six thirty and she would stick to it.
When her watch beeped, she knocked and held her breath. The door opened a minute later and Asami stood in the doorway, smirking. "I was wondering when you'd get the nerve to knock."
"W-What?" Korra said, dumbfounded. "How did you-"
Asami pointed up. "Saw you from my window." She laughed. "Though I admit, I like people of their word."
Korra sighed in relief and Asami laughed again. She closed the door behind her. "So, where are we going?"
Korra's hand tightened on the tickets. "Follow me." She turned and started up the street faster than she'd intended.
"Ah, so it's a surprise." Asami said, taking long strides to catch up with Korra.
Korra nodded and grinned. "Something like that, yes." Korra chuckled. "Come to think of it, you should probably cover your eyes."
"Is it so crucial that I do so?" Asami joked, stopping and covering her eyes with her hand.
Korra swallowed nervously and mustered together what little courage she had and took Asami's hand. "If you trust me enough not to walk you into a pole." she said as she started walking again. She heard Asami giggle and her heart sped up.
"How could I not trust you?" Asami said.
They walked (okay, more like Korra led and Asami followed) the full six blocks, Korra seeing the theatric lights before she reached the track. She approached the ticket master and handed her tickets to him. He opened the date and Korra guided Asami in. She took a deep breath and took Asami's hands from her eyes, watching as she looked around in awe.
"Korra, are we-"
"Yep."
"How did you-"
Korra grinned. "I can't give away all my secrets, now can I?"
Asami stared at her, dumbstruck. "But these tickets have seen sold out for months!"
"Trust me, 'Sami, I didn't do anything illegal for them." Korra said. Her heart swelled at Asami's excitement. "Let's just go find our seats. Or would you rather get some snacks first?"
"Do we have enough time?" Asami asked.
Korra glanced at her watch. They had a good fifteen minutes. "Plenty. Come on."
She led Asami to the food court and reached into her pocket, grasping her money. It was over a hundred dollars, which she'd been saving up for a while from tips at work for this very moment. She'd been holding on to the money so that, when she got the chance, she could show Asami a good time. "You can choose anything you want."
"Come on, at least let me pay for the snacks." Asami said, already going for her purse.
Korra placed her hand over Asami's and shook her head. "Nope, I invited you out. I'll pay."
Asami's eyes raised to hers and she grinned, moving her hand from her purse. "Alright, alright, I got it. No money spending for me tonight."
"Exactly." Korra said, returning her smile. "Now, what do you want to eat?"
...
Korra and Asami got back to their seats in time for the race to start, nachos and drinks in hand. They decided to get one large order of nachos to share and go back if they wanted anything else. They watched in anticipation as the cars took their spots behind the checkered line. The revving engines were music to Asami's ears and she grinned widely.
Korra looked over at Asami, her grin just as wide when she saw Asami's excitement. She loved that she made Asami's evening better than she'd hoped. The light in Asami's eyes was enough thanks for her.
The referee raised the green flag and the revving grew louder, representing the anticipation of the drivers. The flag came down and the cars took off. The white and brown car with horns at the front was the Republic City Bisons' car. It was pulling from fourth to third, right on the Eastern Fire Nation Rhinos' tail. Asami jumped from her seat, cheering and her face aglow. Korra wanted to pay attention to the race, she honestly did, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from Asami. The way the track lights hit her skin and the way she smiled was memorizing, hypnotizing even.
It took her a few minutes to realize that Asami was looking at her and saying something.
"Huh?" Korra said over the crowd.
"I said I'm glad I came out with you!" Asami said, leaning down so Korra could hear her.
"I'm glad you're having fun!" Korra replied.
Asami simply grinned wider, turning back to find that the Bisons had moved ahead to second. She let out another cheer and Korra willed herself to look at the race. Though, she couldn't help a few glances.
After a while, Asami grew tired of standing and sat back down. Absentmindedly, she reached for the nachos and found her hand touching another. She jumped and looked at Korra who was returning her gaze with a sheepish blush.
"S-sorry..." she said.
Asami smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think you wanted to hold my hand so bad."
That made Korra fluster even further and she squeaked, "What, n-no, I just-"
"Relax, I'm teasing." Asami chuckled and turned back to the track.
...
"That was amazing!" Asami said as they exited the race track.
Korra laughed as she followed the taller girl, hands in her pockets. "I take it you enjoyed yourself."
Asami shoved her playfully, grinning. "Shut up, you know I did. You know I love cars."
"That's why I'm glad I thought of this as the perfect da- place to take you." Korra caught herself before she let the key deal breaker word escaped her. She saw Asami start to ask something and quickly cleared her throat. "Hey, um, I gotta use the bathroom. I'll be right back if you want to wait here."
"Yeah, sure." Asami said.
"Awesome, I'll be right back." Korra said and hurried off into the bathroom.
She was lying. She didn't really need to use the bathroom, but she felt like she was on the verge of losing her mind. She leaned against the basin of the sink and stared at herself in the mirror. Get it together, Korra. You can finish this. The race went better than expected, now just walk her home.
She turned on the sink and cupped her hands under the water, splashing her face and grabbing a paper towel afterwards. She wiped the water off her face and, after one more confident nod at her reflection, marched back out into the open. Her eyes scanned the passing people until she found Asami leaning against a wall and she grinned while she headed towards her. It wasn't until she was a few feet away that she realized Asami's annoyed expression and her hand to her ear. She seemed to be arguing with someone. Korra ffrowned as she got closer, picking up the conversation.
"I already told you, no!" Asami yelled. She gritted her teeth. "I'm not going back out with you, Mako. I told you we could stay friends, but I'm not giving you another chance."
Of course it's him calling. Just in time to ruin the mood. Korra thought bitterly.
"Mako, please, you're not making this easier on yourself." Asami's voice was strained and Korra's eyes widened.
No, no, no please don't cry.
Asami sighed gheavily and took her phone from her ear, hitting the end call button and putting her phone back in her pocket. She looked down, her hand coveringher mouth slightly. Korra bit her lip and approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Everything okay?" she said hesitantly.
Asami tried to sniff quietly as she met Korra's eyes and forced a smile. "Yeah, just allergies."
"You are a terrible liar." Korra said. She frowned at Asami. "You forget I've known you too long to fall for that."
"You're..." Asami sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. It was just Mako. That's the fifth time he's called me in the past three days."
Korra took her hand. "Forget about him. You came with me to have a good time. Just focus on that."
Asami gave a sad smile and looked at their intertwined hands. "Okay."
"You know, there's an ice cream place right by your house." Korra suggested with a raised eyebrow. "And I still have enough money left."
"You drive a hard bargain, Korra." Asami joked. It was as if her call with Mako hadn't happened by the way her spirit returned.
Korra held Asami's hand on the way out and did her best to ignore the rushes of tingles and sparks running up her arm and through her nerves.
...
Korra and Asami walked up Asami's front steps, their cups of ice cream in hand. Korra rubbed the back of her neck, smiling awkwardly. "Guess this is where we split."
"I guess so." Asami said. She smiled widely. "I had a wonderful time, Korra."
"I'm glad." Korra said. She looked at her watch for a brief second. Ten o'clock. The last bus would be arriving soon. "I'll, uh, see you tomorrow."
Korra turned and headed down the steps. This wasn't how she wanted the night to end in her mind, but she would settle for it until next time. She'd make sure of that.
"Wait!"
Korra looked over her shoulder and saw Asami catching up to her. She stopped just s few feet away and in the light of the street lamp Korra could see a faint blush on her cheeks.
"Yeah?" Korra said.
"I want the truth." Asami said.
"W-what do you mean?" Korra stuttered.
"Don't play stupid." Asami said, though it wasn't as harsh as it sounded. "Tell me why you took me out on a date."
All the color drained from Korra's face and her jaw dropped. "D-date? This wasn't a date, I -ahem- don't know what you're talking about-"
"Korra."
The Water Tribe native shut her mouth and stared at Asami for a good few minutes. Honesty is the best policy. "Because I wanted to make you happy again." She said the words slowly, cautiously. "You...hadn't been happy since you broke up with Mako and I couldn't take it..."
Asami didn't say anything as she stepped forward. She took Korra's hand and stared at her deeply. Korra swallowed the closer Asami got and her heart leapt in her throat.
"I've never been happier." Asami said softly. Her lips brushed against Korra's before she leaned in fully.
Korra's eyes widened momentarily before they fluttered closed as she turned the kiss with a stronger fervor. Her hands went to Asami's waist and Asami's went for her face to hold her in place. It was slow and soft with something smoldering under the surface. Something that Korra felt she wasn't quite ready to initiate with Asami, regardless of how the other girl felt about it.
Korra couldn't tell how long the kiss lasted, but she wished for it to last longer when Asami paused and drew back slightly. Dark emeralds gazed at azure orbs.
"Do you want to stay the night?" Asami whispered.
It was then that Korra heard the low rumble of the last bus as it drove away from the corner and she smiled.
...
You know, I couldn't really decide on a last sentence to put for the ending. So I'll leave it up to you, reader. Imagine what Korra would say. I think that's better than anything.
One thing that's good about this story is that I had other endings in mind. At least two others. And, while they would've been entertaining, I settled for the one that would let you guys decide what Korra's final words were. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the reviews!
Thanks for reading!