To say that they had imagined New Year's Eve to go differently was a huge understatement. Yet, somehow they did it and entered a new year - just. Gathered together, they couldn't help but think: How did they get so far?
If someone had told her beforehand what was about to happen, Jinora surely would have made it a point to not attend the party. It was December 31, the last day of the year, and the perfect opportunity to throw a party to start into the new year. At least, that was what her roommate had told her.
"Are you sure? I don't think that a party would be a good idea, Opal," she told her friend over the phone, barely able to hold it. It was the coldest time of the year and the universe had decided to surprise everyone with a white Christmas. She didn't mind, as it had been a while since they've had this much snow. Unfortunately, this came with freezing cold temperatures, making it impossible to go out and do anything but stay tucked under a large pile of blankets and enjoy Christmas season from the comfort of home.
That's probably what she would have been doing if it weren't for her chores. She and Opal had agreed to take turns and today it was her turn to get some groceries, and as lucky as she was, she had caught the coldest day of the year it seemed. She did come prepared, though, but had realized soon that a winter jacket and a scarf made a poor job at protecting her from the cold.
Needless to say, she began to regret not having put in a little extra effort into her outfit. If she'd at least put on her gloves, but of course, she thought it wouldn't be that bad and had left them in her room. This left her with no other choice than to bear with the cold until she made it back home.
Clutching her phone in her hand, she listened to what her friend had to say on the end of the line. "Jin, it's the last day of the year which means today is the last chance to celebrate. It's either now or never."
Jinora sighed. To be honest, a party wasn't what she had in mind. She could think of a thousand better ways to spend the day and not to mention the elephant in the room. "Ope, it's freezing cold out here. I don't think anyone would leave their home during this weather."
That was why she planned on not leaving their apartment for the rest of the day. She'd recently bought a new book which she was itching to read. What better way to do that than with a cup of hot chocolate?
Well, Opal had other plans, apparently. "Come on, it's not that cold. Besides, we could pass around hot chocolate if all else fails. It is Christmas season, after all."
Jinora sighed. So much for that. She knew that there was no way around this, so she eventually relented. If Opal had a goal in mind, there was no going back. Also, she didn't have the nerve to waste any more time in the cold than necessary by arguing over the phone.
"All right. What do you want me to get?"
Even though she couldn't see her, she could only imagine the big grin that was plastered on her roommate's face. It was a good thing after all that she made sure of taking her credit card with her, and knowing Opal, she was going to need it.
"You've got to be kidding me."
Her eyes were glued onto the huge table in front of her.
Flights
United 1280 - canceled
She couldn't believe it. Out of all the things that could have gone wrong today, it had to be her flight getting cancelled. "Perfect, this is just perfect," she muttered under breath. The plan was to fly home and spend New Year's Eve with her parents, since she didn't have time to come over at Christmas. Luckily, her boss was nice enough to cut the whole team a break for the rest of the holidays, but it looked like it wouldn't do her any good anymore. Unless a miracle was about to happen, she'd have to cancel her plans and spend the night at the airport instead, which wasn't something she was looking forward to.
By the looks of it, she wasn't the only one who was dealt a shitty hand. People around her had already put out blankets and gotten comfortable in them, ready to spend New Year's Eve at the airport. Her shoulders slumped. She'd have to join them, unless ...
That's when she got an idea. Putting her bag down, she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts until a familiar face appeared, pressing the call-button.
After only two short beeps, the person picked up. "Hey, Korra! What a great surprise. Been a long time. How's my bestie doing?"
She smiled at the too familiar enthusiasm of her best friend. It wasn't until now that she realized just how much she missed him. "Hey, Bo. I've missed you too. Things are fine ..." Well, except for the fact that she was stuck here. She wasn't actually used to call in favors, least of all from Bolin, which was why she didn't really know how to tell him. She shouldn't beat around the bush, though, so she just said it straightforward.
"Actually, I'm kinda in need of help here. I'm stuck at the airport and was wondering if you could pick me up? I know that this comes out of nowhere and I wouldn't have called if it wasn't serious but, you see, I kinda don't have anywhere else to go and was hoping I could crash at yours for the night if that's okay with you." Truth be told, she didn't really have any money on her or at least not enough to book a hotelroom. God knew how overprized everything was, especially during Christmas season. In short, it was not in her budget.
Thankfully, she could count on Bolin. "Of course! I'll be right on my way."
"Thanks Bo," she smiled. She seriously didn't know how she was so lucky to have such a great friend as Bolin. She'd definitely make it up to him, that was for sure.
Maybe New Year's Eve wasn't lost after all.
After he had picked her up from the airport, it was only a short way to Bolin's place which he shared with his older brother. Mako happened to be out of town for the time being, leaving a room open for her which made things easier. It didn't take long to get settled in, but she did have to call her parents about the canceled flight. As expected, they weren't too happy about the turn of events, but were understanding about it. She did feel bad about it though, so she promised them to make good for it, once she got another flight, which will probably cost her a good amount of money, as tickets in seasons were expensive as hell. She'd have to deal with that later.
She made her way into the kitchen where she found Bolin apparently talking with someone over the phone. She waited for him to notice her, so she could get the okay to grab something from the fridge. It had been a few hours since she last ate something, after all. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long and was given a thumbs up and thus went for the food. Taking out a sandwich, she blissfuly bit into it, savoring the taste as long as she could. Meanwhile, Bolin's voice grew more anxious.
"... I don't know. You see, we just came back from the airport and- Oh, did I forget to mention? Korra's here! She's gonna crash here for a while." He flashed her a quick smile which she returned, albeit furrowing her brow and motioned to the phone in his hand. He put his hand on it, silently mouthing "Opal", before putting the phone up to his ear again. "No, no. Babe, of course I'd like to come but this is pretty last-minute ..." A short pause followed, and whatever Opal must have said made him grimace awkwardly.
"Yeah, okay, I'll hand over to her. Love you," he quickly said and dropped the phone in her hand. Korra shot him a questioning look, but he just shrugged and left, but not without swiftly grabbing the sandwich from her hand while doing so. Before she could protest, however, another voice chimed in.
"Korra?"
Quickly swallowing the chunk in her mouth, she answered, "Hey, Opal. What's up?"
On the other line was indeed Opal who sounded way more chipper than she had kept her in her memory. Apparently Bolin's enthusiasm must have rubbed off on her. His attitude was contagious after all. "Korra! Where have you been? It's been ages, girl. I hope you're all right."
Korra shrugged. "Oh, you know. I've been here and there, doing stuff, nothing too big. Life's been good."
Sounding rather hectic, the other quickly changed the subject, not even bothering to ask further. Korra immediately noticed, as that was actually unusual for Opal who normally made it her life task to poke in her friends' lives. (It could be overwhelming at times, but they've all gotten used to it over time.)
"Sounds great. Hey, Jinora and I are throwing a party. I asked Bolin if he'd like to come. You're invited as well!"
Korra smiled. She should have known that there would be a party. She remembered how Opal liked to organize big events, and those always turned out good. This was promising to be fun. Besides, it's really been a long time since she saw the two girls. A reunion sounded nice. And it was way better than her initial prospect of bumming around at the airport during New Year's Eve.
"Sure, why not? Just make sure to get me good booze."
She could practically feel Opal rolling her eyes. "Korra, please. What am I, an amateur? Consider it already done."
At that, she chuckled. They quickly said their goodbyes, as Opal told her that she and Jinora were busy with planning the whole thing. Korra smiled. This was gonna be good.
The drive to Opal's was relatively short, which was why they arrived a little early, but better too early than late.
"Here we are." Shutting the engine off, Bolin turned to look at his companion, a big smile plastered on his face. "You ready to party until there's no tomorrow?"
Korra grinned, mirroring his own. "Born ready."
"Are you ready?"
Jinora nodded, albeit couldn't keep herself from feeling somewhat anxious. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Miraculously, they managed to have everything set up in a span of only a few hours which was a new record for sure. Opal wanted to go all out and made sure to spare no expense. She still couldn't believe that she let herself get convinced to do this. One thing was for sure: tomorrow was going to be a lazy day. After tonight, both of them would be exhausted anyway. Her only hope was that nothing was going to be set on fire and that the party would be over quick.
She joined Opal in the hallway, as she was texting someone on her phone. "All right, our first two guests are already here. Bolin just texted me that they're here."
Jinora raised a brow. "They?"
"Oh, right. Korra's with him," Opal added with a smile. Due to all the stress it had kind of slipped her mind, but it didn't matter anymore.
Smiling at the news, Jinora said, "Korra's here? That's great! I haven't seen her in a while now. What's she doing here?"
Opal shrugged, not really sure herself. "I didn't really ask, but according to Bolin she's going to stay in the city for a while."
Before she could add anything, the bell beat her to it. Making her way over to the door, her hand gripping the doorknob, Opal turned her head towards the younger girl and smiled mischievously.
"Time to celebrate."
Bolin took another swig. "So, was I right or was I right? This party is awesome!"
Korra smiled at her friend, downing her own can of beer and emptying it in just one swing. She took a look around the room. Just about half an hour had passed since their arrival and more guests had followed, a few having been generous and bringing their own cases of beer. Some even showed up with bottles of various champagne as well as wine, though none of those were really to Korra's liking. She was a simple woman opting for simple things in life, one of them being good old beer. Because Bolin and her had been early, they were kind enough to help the two hostesses out by carrying everything into the kitchen. It also gave the four of them time to catch up with each other's lives.
Of course, Opal being Opal, her friend cut right to the chase, asking something that Korra could tell had been on everyone's minds. She winked at the soccer player, smirking. "So, Korra. You know, I've been aching for some updates concerning the dating scene. What are the odds?"
Bolin smiled ecstatically. "Ooh, yeah! You got some good gossip for us?"
"Come on guys," Korra rolled her eyes. Truth be told, she wasn't surprised. She'd expected one of them to adress her love life, though there wasn't anything to talk about really except for a few flings here and there within her soccer team, but nothing of substance. She was way too caught up in her duties as a soccer player to be involved in a serious relationship. Besides, she doubted she'd met the right person yet which didn't mean that she minded being single. Being single or in a relationship had both their good and bad sides, but Korra felt like she was better suited for the former, though maybe she felt so only because it was what she was mainly used to. The only committed relationship she had ever been in was with a girl in college, though it only lasted a couple of months due to their different interests and life choices. It just wasn't meant to be and Korra had found her peace with that. She wasn't in any rush to find a new partner anytime soon.
But the most nagging downside to being single was this: having a group of pestering friends urging her on to date. It mostly was just Opal, and by some pressuring on her part, Bolin as well, who would not shut up about it.
Opal shot her a glare. "Korra, don't tell me you haven't managed to find someone in all the months you've been out there. Seriously, I really don't know what your problem is. You're a great catch, and I'm not saying that because I think so. It's a norm."
Korra couldn't catch the sigh that escaped her, which earned her another glare from Opal and a snicker from Jinora. "Opal, you're ridiculous," the soccer player retorted. Despite this, a crooked grin graced her face. "But thanks. Compliment's appreciated."
It was Opal's turn now to roll her eyes. "You're impossible."
Korra exchanged a knowing look with Jinora, who had been the only one to stay silent until now. The younger smiled cheekily. "You know, if you are so desperate for Korra to date and think she'd be a great partner, why don't you just ask her to go out with you then?"
Bolin almost choked on his drink, coughing heavily.
"What?" Opal stuttered, turning beet red. "That's not what I-" Upon seeing her girl friends' amused faces, she let out an exasperated groan, biting the side of her cheek. "All right, real funny you two." A wicked smile crossed her face and she turned to Jinora. "And remind me again: who here has been pining unsuccessfully after a certain boy without having the guts to even say a simple hello to him?" She knew she'd got her and her smile only grew upon witnessing the shocked and embarrassed look on the girl's face.
"Wait, who?" Bolin raised a confused brow, but Opal quickly dismissed it with a wave of her hand, leaving him to wonder. Meanwhile Jinora looked away, cheeks taking on a light pink. She was not used to talking about it in a big group. Why would Opal even bring this up? Actually, she didn't need to think too long. She guessed that she didn't really mean anything by it and just wanted to get back at her, succeeding unfortunately. Maybe it was best to not get on her nerves too much, unless Jinora actually wanted to risk everyone finding out about her secret.
She was lucky that Korra seemed nonchalant about it and didn't insist on the topic, and instead reverted to the usual superfluous talk. However, she did not miss the lingering look of Opal throughout the rest of the conversation.
Against Jinora's expectations, the party was going rather well and was in full swing. Though, part of her reasoned that it probably had to do with the fact that it was New Year's Eve which meant that most were feeling in a party mood anyway. Opal and her had agreed on one of them maintaining supplies while the other was making small talk with the guests to make sure if everyone was enjoying the festivities. Unsurprisingly, Opal was happy to take care of the latter which left Jinora with the drinks and the food. That part was fine by her though, as it meant that she didn't have to step outside of her comfort zone and approach alien strangers. She did recognize a few of the faces from college, but she was pretty sure that most of the guests didn't attend the same college as her. Socializing was Opal's forte, which actually made them a good duo: shy and outgoing. Thinking about it, the two did balance each other in a way.
"Hey, we're almost out of booze."
Jinora blinked back into reality. Caught in her own thoughts, she totally forgot that she was going to go to the kitchen to get more drinks. Embarrassed, she quickly excused herself and made her way to the kitchen.
Kai wasn't a huge fan of New Year's Eve and this wasn't something he kept a secret. It wasn't just New Year's Eve, any kind of big celebration really, so it was a little surprising when he got invited to a New Year's Eve party. Normally, he would have rejected the invitation, but when he found out who was hosting it his plans changed. Maybe it was a little naive of him to go in hopes of getting to speak with his crush, but maybe it wasn't so stupid on the other hand. They had been seeing each other for a couple of months now, but never really talked much. He did have doubts about attending the party, as he didn't really know if she was even interested in him, but it wasn't like she outright told him she didn't. Adding on to that, it was hard to say no to Opal, who was pretty persuasive if she wanted to be.
He hadn't bothered with dressing up and instead had thrown on a green sweater and brown pants, keeping it fairly simple. So far, he was keeping to himself only and had opted for a drink, as he was looking around the room and observing the people in the room. He didn't really know any of them, but Bolin did text him that he would be attending the party which made sense, given that his girlfriend is the one co-hosting it. Even though Kai was looking forward to seeing them, he didn't get to catch as much as a glance of his friends or Jinora. She was probably busy with hosting as well and considering the huge number of guests, it sure wasn't an easy thing to do. Kai had never hosted a party, but he could only imagine what it must be like for the two to have organized all of this, and in such a short amount of time as well, and trying to keep things going according to plan. Part of him was nervous about seeing Jinora and he was actually wondering if he'd really get to have a moment with her, as she usually tended to keep her distance from him. Kai didn't know if it was because she was just shy or if it was her way of signalising him that she wasn't interested in him. Though, Opal did make it sound like the former if her text messages were anything to by, but maybe she was just joking when she wrote him that the odds would be in his favor. Opal could not only be persuasive, but playful as well and therefore could give people a hard fight. Kai just hoped that this fight of his would find a good ending soon.
Unlike the living room, the kitchen was fairly empty of people except for her or Opal whenever one of them needed to retreat. Drinks in hand, Jinora placed them on the table and was joined by her roommate.
"Hey."
Putting the last can down, Jinora looked up when her eyes suddenly caught something across the room. That's when she saw him. As handsome as ever and with a drink in his hand at the other end of the room was no one else standing but Kai, the boy who she had undoubtedly a crush on. To make matters worse, he was wearing a darn cute green sweater which, at the same time, brought off his amazing dark green eyes. Why did he have to be so amazing?
Wait.
Her eyes widened in shock. "Opal, what is he doing here?!" Even though she was internally freaking out right now, she didn't want everyone else in the room to notice. What's more, no one should get wind of who she was referring to.
However, Opal knew exactly who she was referring to. "Oh, you mean Kai? I thought it'd be a good idea to bring the two of you closer together. You know, so you could get a chance to actually get to know each other." Pleased with herself, she crossed her arms and smirked knowingly, well aware of the mutual crush.
Jinora, however, was anything but pleased and had a hard time believing her friend right now. "What, by inviting him here?! Opal, if he sees me-"
"Relax. Come on, you have been crushing on him this whole time now. Whenever he is around, you'd try to avoid eye contact while secretly staring at him with hearts in your eyes."
Jinora blushed. It was true. They didn't share any classes together, so the only times she'd see him was during the breaks or sometimes randomly in the city. (If she wasn't desperately trying to hide herself, that is.) In fact, the first time she laid eyes on him was at a party that Opal's boyfriend had thrown in order to celebrate an event that Jinora had already forgotten about. Since Opal hung around with her boyfriend and his group of friends, she met Kai, whereas she was too shy to even say hello to him, just like Opal had said. So instead, she spent the remainder of the year ogling him and trying to not make a fool out of herself whenever she'd see him.
It was thanks to Opal that she learned about his name in the first place. Of course, she was told several times to get a grip on herself, but that was easier said than done. Whenever she'd try to make an attempt at approaching him, somehow there would always be something that would get in her way and ruin things. Most of the time it was herself who would stop her. She just wasn't ready.
Which brought her here. Right now, she was at a New Year's Eve party of her best friend who had invited her crush without telling her and just the sight of him - as gorgeous as it was - was making her short-circuit.
"Opal, I can't do this. I'm gonna mess this up." There was no way this was going to end well. She wasn't the most interactive person to begin with, yet she was supposed to make contact with her crush at a party full of people? This was a disaster waiting to happen.
She was surprised by the pair of hands that were on her shoulders. Blinking, she looked into olive green eyes and listened to the voice of her friend, who had a determined look on her face now. "Oh no, you won't. You've spent a decade gushing about him. It's time you finally make the next step." She paused for a moment before adding, "You know how people have this tradition of kissing someone at midnight?"
Confused, Jinora nodded, having a bad feeling about where this was going. Just as she feared, her worries turned out to be true.
"I want you to kiss Kai at midnight."
- "What?!"
Opal smiled reassuringly. "Trust me, you've got this, Jinora. I know you can do it. Besides, you know how the saying goes: Kiss the person you hope to keep kissing," she said, winking slyly.
She shook her head. "Opal, I've barely even had a conversation with him. How am I supposed to kiss him?"
Somehow she started to believe Opal had drunk too much, even though she normally did go all in only after halfway through a party. One way or another, she definitely had much more faith in her than she had in herself right now. Now she really regretted of having agreed to host the party.
"Look, if you don't make a move on this last day, then that practically means your whole year was a waste."
Jinora knew that it was meant to be motivating, but honestly, this wasn't really encouraging. "Opal, he doesn't even know me. What if he isn't interested in me or-" There were so many reasons that this would go wrong. How could she be so confident that it would work out?
Her face softened. "There's only one way to find out. Don't overthink it, just do it! Also, if I were you, I'd hurry up. Only one hour left until midnight."
With that, she winked at her and made her way to the other direction to mingle with the guests, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Jinora could only stand on the spot, probably looking like a fool, and stare after her friend.
What have I gotten myself into?
Going to a party was definitely not how she wanted to finish off the year. Yet, here she was, invited to a New Year's celebration where she knew a handful of people at best. Well, the only good company here was the booze. There was nothing wrong with saying goodbye to the old and hello to the new year with the right alcohol, as far as Asami was concerned. It was probably for the best that no one knew her, as it meant she wouldn't have to deal with pricks or other smartasses that would throw all sorts of looks at her way.
She sighed. At least things couldn't get any worse than this. She didn't think that it was possible to reach rock bottom in a course of two days, but guess what, it was, even though it was a painful experience. Who would have thought that she would get dumped the day before New Year's Eve, only to be depressed enough afterwards to drown her sorrows in alcohol. She was certain that she's already passed sober-mindedness at this point. If her rational self would see herself right now, she'd probably be disgusted and call her pathetic. She was better than this. "Asami Sato, daughter of brilliant mind Hiroshi Sato and heiress to his multi-million dollar company" or "Grace in person" was what they were saying after all.
Well, joke's on you.
She took another shot, the taste of alcohol fading with each drink. God knew that the tabloids would have a field day if anyone were to see her like this. If she had any luck, next year shouldn't get any worse.
A happy new year indeed.
She didn't plan on coming here, instead having planned to stay at home and cry herself into the pillows. Actually, she still didn't really know why she agreed to show up. Maybe there was a part of her after all that was hopeful in terms of things getting better. Though, right now things were anything but 'better'. And to think that she had looked so optimistic to this year when it began. As if for some reason the universe played a cruel game with her, the coming months were a disaster. Not only did she end up in a relationship that was anything but healthy, her dad also got outed as a backstabber, taking her and the whole company down with him. Of course, she was the one who was left to deal with the consequences and pick up the broken pieces.
Yeah, things really could have gone better.
At least the booze was free here. It seemed like that was the only positive thing she had at the moment. On the other side, it can't possibly get worse than this. Turns out, she was wrong. To top everything off, someone stumbled into her side, splashing his drink right into her face. Part of her hoped it was just water, but Asami knew damn well that no one at this party would drink water if there was so much booze available.
"Woah. Watch it!" the guy shouted.
But the CEO wasn't having any of it. He should have known better than to piss her off because now he'd end up on the receiving end of her wrath. He asked for it.
"Oh yeah? How about you first learn to walk before going around and accusing people of your bullshit?" she spat. She felt like throwing a fit. Her mood already was turned sour as it was, so why not add some salt into it?
His twitching face told her that he didn't like her response, and Asami was ready for a fight because it meant that she could teach this douchebag a lesson, but unfortunately, his flying fist was cut off by a strong hand grabbing the guy's arm and dragging him backwards. "What the-" Whirling around, the guy came face to face with cerulean eyes which were staring him down.
He narrowed his eyes. "Who the fuck are you?"
Though his hostile tone didn't seem to impress the stranger much. She cast a brief look over his shoulder which was the first time her and Asami's eyes connected. Asami's heart skipped a beat. Even though the eye contact didn't last longer than a second, it triggered something in her. Asami knew the feeling too well. Oh no.
Korra let go of his arm. "Someone who doesn't tolerate harassing."
"Ain't your business."
"Oh, it is. As someone who's a big fan of parties I can't stand party-poopers and you are on pretty thin ice right now." Leaning in, she added, "Get lost or this won't end pretty for you. That's a promise."
He spat. "You're bluffing."
"Wanna stay and find out?" Korra raised an unimpressed eyebrow, grabbing and squeezing his wrist and watched as he cried out in pain. Not bad, Asami thought impressed.
"Okay, f-fine! Let go of me!"
She did as was told. Without missing time, he ran back into the crowd, not daring to cast another glance back. Korra huffed. "I don't get what his problem is. I wasn't even squeezing that hard." She turned around, seeing the liquid that was dripping down the woman's face. "My friends always say I make women around me wet just by existing, but I didn't think it was this bad."
Asami rolled her eyes. So she's one of those who think they're really funny and savvy. Great. It seemed like she always ended up in the worst kind of situations. Never mind that she just got to her aid - which, for the record, Asami didn't need - but she was still annoyed. First a douchebag and now a comedian, just my fucking luck.
Korra noticed and rubbed her neck. "Uh, sorry. Need a napkin?"
Asami nodded and was quickly given one. She knew that her make-up was ruined anyway, so she tried her best to make herself look less like a disaster.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Korra smiled a little, though it quickly vanished by taking a closer look at the woman's face, past the surface. "Can I just say... even without doing Joker-cosplay, you look like you're pretty miserable here."
Asami sighed. Was it that obvious? She thought she'd been doing a good enough job so far when it came to cover up the turmoil inside of her. Maybe no one had said anything about it because they simply didn't care. That did make for a new question, though. Why does she care? It's not like they knew each other. In fact, Asami doubted she'd ever seen her before.
Putting a strand of hair behind her ear, she answered, "Well, let's just say it hasn't been a great year for me. Lost the only family member I considered close and got dumped by my boyfriend and now I'm here at a party I hate soaking in beer. I think 'miserable' sums it up about right."
She didn't know why she was telling her all of this. Maybe she just didn't care anymore herself or maybe it was the way those cerulean eyes bored into hers and made her heart beat faster. Though, she had to admit, letting everything out felt good.
Korra smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, I can relate. Well, maybe not as much, but if it helps, I ended up getting stranded in town and have to sit out here for probably another week or two. But I guess it could be worse." She pointed to the napkin in Asami's hand. "At least the booze is free here, am I right?"
She cast her a nervous glance, not sure how she'd take the comment, but relaxed when Asami let out a low chuckle. "Yeah, pretty much. I was actually just thinking the same thing before that jerk managed to turn that bad too."
"Well, hope I could turn things around a bit." Korra hesitated. "All joking aside, though, despite the ruined make-up and getting soaked in beer, I still think you look gorgeous." She didn't know why, but she just felt the need to say it and embarrassingly looked away, cheeks growing warm.
Asami blinked, caught off-guard. "Uh... thanks. You look not so bad yourself."
The moment was interrupted, however, by a drunk Bolin who staggered towards Korra. Her eyes widened. "Hey, Korra..." Before he could get out another word, he slumped down, but luckily, Korra managed to catch him in time.
Asami's eyes widened. Wait. Did he just say "Korra"? There wasn't time to mull over it, as they were soon joined by Opal whom Asami recognized. After all, it was her who had invited her in the first place.
"Asami! Korra!" Her eyes fell on the slumped figure of her boyfriend who was being supported by Korra with one arm, looking like he was about to pass out any second. "Oh thank God. I told him that he shouldn't drink too much, but he just would not listen."
Smiling, Korra shook her head, internally berating her friend. Bolin had a habit of crossing limits, always getting too ahead of himself. Maybe this would teach him a valuable lesson. "No surprise there. You know Bolin, after all. Let's just get him onto the sofa." But before they could do so, his body suddenly bent inwards. His face had taken on a dangerous shade of green and Korra had a presentiment of what was about to happen next.
Clutching his stomach, Bolin tried to warn them. "Guys, I'm gonna-"
But too late. Before anyone could react, Korra found herself covered in what she assumed was Bolin's vomit. Opal covered her mouth at the sight before her, whereas Asami scrunched up her nose in disgust. Though, in the back of her mind she couldn't help but think of it as a sweet revenge.
Smirking, she looked at Korra who was trying to cope with the substance on her body. "Remind me, what was that again about making people wet through your sheer existence?"
All she got was an incredulous look from Korra which made her laugh. It wasn't exactly a nice thing to do, but at least it helped her ease up more. Guess we're even. Regarding the now unconscious boy, Asami was glad not to have drunk as much. She turned to Opal who was pinching her nose now, obviously not pleased with the turn of events.
"Don't worry, Ope. In every good party there's someone who is knocked out. But I might want to reduce the amount of booze on the beer table."
That made the Beifong woman sigh. "Yeah. Let's carry him over to the sofa and I'll get him a glass of water afterwards."
Korra hesitated, however. "Um, Opal. If you haven't noticed, I am covered in puke. I can't move like this. Maybe it's better you take him on."
"Oh, yeah. That's a good point," she agreed, sheepishly looking to the side.
"In the meantime I'll help Korra with cleaning up." Turning to her, Asami added, "It's my turn now to return the favor."
Korra gave her a grateful smile and the three women parted ways, with Opal carrying Bolin over to the sofa which, ironically, was near the beer table, while the other two women made their way to the bathroom.
Jinora was nervously pacing up and down the kitchen. Opal made a decent point, if there was an opportunity to try and make a move on Kai, it was probably now. But this carried the downside of her having to make a move on Kai. She would probably die of embarrassment before she could manage a complete sentence.
"What are you still doing in here?" Opal entered the kitchen. "Party's out there, and so is Kai."
"And what am I going to say to him? 'Hey, I like you, we should kiss at midnight'?"
Opal thought for a second, before nodding. "Why not? And if you think it's a bad idea; booze is free here, so drink until it's a good idea."
Jinora sighed. Of course her roommate would say that. "I can't, Opal. What if he thinks I'm a dork or something?"
Making her way over to the cupboard, Opal answered, "He would be right, you are a dork, but you're also cute. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion your odds are better than you think. So come on, better get you started." After having filled the glass with water, she took Jinora's hand, and didn't let her protest while Opal dragged her to the table with the drinks to try and get as many of them in the younger girl as was necessary. After that was done, she quickly came to Bolin's aid, who had come to himself again and was trying to rub his headache off of his forehead, and handed him his glass of water.
"You okay?" she asked, worried.
Bolin groaned. "Yeah, I'll be fine I think. Just drank too much."
Opal rolled her eyes. "Serves you right. I hope you've learned your lesson."
He nodded weakly and she pressed a quick kiss to his forehead. "Now, rest up."
Asami didn't really know the way in Opal's place, but fortunately, Korra was able to guide them to the bathroom, lucky there was a separate toilet here.
"Fucking Bolin," Korra muttered. "Every damn time, he manages to throw up on me. You'd think once is bad enough, but no, with him, I already had to make it plural before tonight."
Asami chuckled, and she was both simultaneously curious as to what had happened before, but was also perfectly content not knowing. "Need help there?"
"I can do this!" Korra loudly proclaimed while wrestling with her shirt. The pale woman tactfully decided to close the door, make sure not every guy in the house would get a free striptease from her. But it soon became apparent that Korra couldn't actually do this, both work herself out of her puke-stained shirt and minimize with contact with the dirty parts.
"Let me help you," Asami chuckled, who couldn't help herself at the sight of the other woman half in, half out of her shirt. "You pull back, I'll pull on the hem." She put her hands on the clean parts, and on an agreed signal, they moved apart, finally freeing Korra from her shirt. "That's disgusting," Asami sighed, holding the dirty clothing at a literal arm's length.
"Just put it in the sink," Korra pragmatically said. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." There was an undertone of bitterness there, but that was kind of drowned out for Asami because wow. The tanned woman was standing there now in just a training bra, and holy shit, was she gorgeous. Her gay side hadn't reared its head in a while, but clearly had been biding its time, because it was coming out in full force right now. Of course she had already noticed that Korra was attractive while fully clothed, but now it became much, much more so. Her shoulders looked powerful enough to rip a steel beam in half, and her abs hard enough to polish diamonds on. Oh snap. Meanwhile, Korra was just busy washing out her shirt as best she could in the sink, trying her hardest to rid any trace of Bolin's little 'accident', and was too pre-occupied to notice that Asami was staring, thankfully. "Ugh, help remind me to punch him in the face when he wakes up again."
This shook the pale woman out of it. "Why not now?"
"I'm not gonna punch a sleeping man, that's not nearly as satisfying."
Asami chuckled, because there was something to that. Still, they were here with a job to do, and Korra had done most of that by now. "Think you can actually get that back on?"
The tanned woman scoffed at that. "Asami, I'm a professional soccer player, I've gotten into worse than a wet T-shirt." At this, she thought for a moment. "Or a wet T-shirt contest, for that matter."
This made Asami blush furiously, as she was trying her hardest not to imagine that, but badly failing at that at the same time. There was no doubt Korra's dark skin would render her the undisputed winner of a contest like that. And in any case, her current combination of a light blue shirt and her black training bra meant it was still clear as day. Deciding she had nothing to lose, and mostly unaware that alcohol rendered a lot of her barriers non-functional, Asami decided to go for it. "Korra?"
"Hmm?" she replied, just putting the final touches of pulling her soaking wet T-shirt back into place.
"What will you do at midnight?"
"You mean the whole 'kissing someone'-tradition? Never really bothered with it, but since I'm here, I guess I'll just kiss whoever I happen to be standing next to."
Asami nodded. "Right." Turned out she didn't have to wait as long as she might have thought, because the thrumming bass coming from the living room suddenly stopped, after which a countdown seemed to start. "Guess that's me."
A slanted smirk grew on Korra's face. "Well, that's not exactly hardship as far as I'm concerned."
The countdown from the living room continued, albeit muted by the door. "Three, two, ONE!"
And with that, their lips met, and not for a second did Asami care that she was pressed up against Korra's soaking wet shirt, because all that mattered were the lips of the woman currently on hers. Firm but tender, gentle but determined, it was without a doubt the best New Year's kiss Asami could have hoped for. "Happy New Year, Asami."
"Happy New Year."
Opal hadn't been entirely wrong. One drink to calm the worst of her nerves might just help with making a move on Kai. At least, that's what Jinora hoped. It took her some time until she spotted him in the far back of the crowd, right before their balcon actually. Surprisingly, no beer can in his hands which made Jinora a little nervous after all, as it meant he would be sober and therefore able to call her out if needed. Though, she was wondering what he was doing near the balcon. He was too underdressed to step outside in this weather. I guess his sweater could warm me up pretty well, Jinora thought. She quickly shook her head. No, you don't have time for this. You need to talk to Kai, and... kiss him. She gulped. Maybe one drink wasn't enough, but there was no time. Opal was right. She couldn't let this opportunity pass away and needed to finally make a move, even if he didn't return her feelings. At least then she'd know where she stood with him.
New found determination gripping her, she confidently made her way through the mass of people, never losing Kai out of her view until she actually stood right in front of him. Well, almost. His back was turned to her, probably watching the snow fall outside. Jinora breathed in deeply. All right, you can do this.
Bracing her shoulders, she lightly tapped on his shoulders. Upon the contact, Kai turned around and, when he saw who it was, his eyes widened immediately. "... Jinora?"
Jinora bowed her head. "Hello, Kai."
There it was. Her first word she exchanged with Kai. So far, so good. Now she only had to kiss him. Yeah, she was screwed. What was I thinking? Well, strictly speaking, it was Opal who dragged her into this mess, so she was the one to blame. Jinora still couldn't believe her roommate convinced her to do this.
Kai sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, startling Jinora. Was he... shy? It seemed strange because he didn't seem like that from what she knew about him. Which, in retrospect, wasn't a lot. But suddenly, a thought hit Jinora. The words of her best friend came back to her. "I have a sneaking suspicion your odds are better than you think." It was then that a light went on in her head. Of course! Kai's just as nervous as me because he feels the same way! Though, on second thought, that was ridiculous. Why would Kai have feelings for her? Jinora realized that this whole situation was messed up and a chuckle escaped her.
Confused, Kai raised a brow. "What's so funny?"
He was afraid that he might be the cause of it. He knew that his outfit wasn't the best, but he didn't think it was laughable. He suddenly felt like a fool in front of her. There was no way she'd reciprocate his feelings, he realized now, but why did she come up to him in the first place?
When she noticed his hurt gaze, she quickly stopped. Great, now he thinks it's because of him. I really am the worst at this, she chastised herself. She quickly tried to salvage the situation, hoping she wouldn't mess things up further.
Jinora made frantic gestures. "N-no! It's not because of you, I promise. I was just... thinking of something." Was she really gonna tell Kai? If she did, it would mean she'd also reveal her feelings towards him, which could end badly. But what did she have to lose? Okay. This is the moment of truth. Stay calm, Jinora. You got this.
She took another deep breath, risking a look into his beautiful, deep, emerald eyes - Okay, snap out of it!
She clasped her hands. "Kai, the truth is... I like you." She furiously blushed and looked away. It was out in the open now. Nothing she could do now, but a wave of relief washed over her. She had harbored her feelings for so long. It felt good to open herself up to Kai.
"You... do?" Kai blushed. She nodded. "Wow. I didn't know. I..."
When there was only silence, she raised her head, but was surprised to see his cheeks colored red just like hers.
"I... I have a crush on you," Kai finally said. Jinora was stunned. The boy she had developed feelings for and whom she couldn't get off her mind for a year just confessed his feelings for her. She couldn't believe it. He... he likes me! Jinora made a mental note to thank Opal later, but that was going to wait.
Mesmerized, they stared into each other's eyes, and slowly, Jinora felt herself coming closer to him, when suddenly a familiar voice rang out from the middle of the living room.
Standing on a chair, Opal adressed the guests who had all come together and listened excitedly. "All right, guys! Less than fifteen seconds left until midnight. It's time to end this year with a bang!"
With that, everyone began the countdown of the remaining seconds, Bolin even using a megaphone while doing so.
"... Ten!"
Jinora quickly turned back to Kai, and their eyes met once again. Opal's voice echoed in her head. "If you don't make a move on this last day, then that practically means your whole year was a waste." Biting her lip, Jinora made a decision. It's now or never.
"Five!"
Grabbing the collar of his sweater, she pulled Kai closer to her. "Jinora, what are you doing?"
"Three!"
Cupping his cheek, Jinora smiled lovingly into his eyes. "Isn't it obvious?"
"... Two!"
Kai swallowed. "Are you sure? We don't have to-" But Jinora quickly silenced him by laying her finger on his lips. "Close your eyes." Obeying, Kai felt warm hands sling around his shoulders and pull him down.
"... ONE!"
Their lips met and fireworks lit up behind their eyelids. Opening her lips, she gave him entrance and deepened the kiss, their bodies pressing tightly to one another. They remained in their embrace for a good few minutes before pulling apart, both breathless but happy.
Kai smiled. "That was amazing."
Jinora grinned. "Happy new year, Kai."
And just like that, the group of friends later gathered on the edge of the balcon, the respective couples staying close to each other, as they admired the night sky being illuminated through the colorful fireworks.