Asami's fingers were on the keyboard of her computer in her office at five sharp, the dawn not even lining the horizon through the window, yet. Her early mornings at F.I. were customary, as it fit her filming schedule perfectly to come in after wrapping. She would come in and work until around noon, then have the rest of Saturday afternoon to do as pleased, usually a long nap. She would be so exhausted from it all that she had no choice, really.
Like this morning. Her thighs were tight, her gluts stiff. She'd really gone out of her way to make that poor Amber girl squeal to high heaven, taking her boardroom frustrations out on the girl's vagina. Her father had gotten her so fired up that no amount of fucking knocked the ire out, but she still felt a vindictive pleasure in what she did behind his back.
If he only knew.
It was a mantra that she chanted internally when she had to deal with him ever since that night.
It was what drove her to don the mask the first time, wasn't it? When that paparazzi got the pictures of her and Yuli together by the pool at her father's estate, making out with their hands in each other's bathing suit bottoms? When he all but disowned her for being a freak and forbidding any child of his from acting in such a way? Asami's answer had been to not only go out and fuck as many girls as she could, but be paid for it, as well. Four years later, and no one knew she was the one behind the leather.
The decision had impacted her life in ways she couldn't imagine, however. It had mutilated her social life, so far as to be referred to as a reclusive celebrity, hiding in shame of the scandal with the Fire Princess.
It made Asami laugh.
The real scandal would have been before that, if she were honest. When she was seventeen, she attended a ball with her father for the opening of the new library in down town RC. Big names from all over were there, and it was there that she met the daughter of the ambassador from the Southern Water Tribe. The girl was dressed smartly in navy blue fitted suit, hair just above her collar and framing her face. But it was her eyes that made Asami never forget her, her eyes and the mellow tone of her voice once they were introduced.
Hiroshi had noticed the glazed look in Asami's eyes when they greeted the ambassador and his family, and knowing already of her preferences, pulled her out of sight to scold her for embarrassing him in public. She had avoided Korra for the rest of the night.
Then about two years ago, she wandered into a diner that was settled between the studio and the Future Industries building. And there behind the window, eight years later, was Korra. She would know those eyes anywhere, and there they were, looking at her as if they'd seen a ghost.
She had gone in regularly ever since, waiting to see if Korra would ever acknowledge her in more than the looks Asami always caught. But the girl hardly ever emerged from behind the door, and never spoke a word to Asami.
Seeing that random drunk girl flirt with Korra earlier had bothered Asami. She had been so patient in waiting to have that moment where she could act, and that drunk girl just brazenly started feeling her up right in front of her. And it was Korra she had soaked on accident on her way to the studio, just her luck. Then the coffee thing happened, and Korra was so adorable, standing there with that look on her face again, like there was a ghost in front of her. The light blue baggy gym shorts, the black tank top, the backwards cap…
Those eyes… spirits.
Asami was done waiting. She wrote the note after Ikki had shared what Korra said to her in the kitchen, making the first move in something she hoped Korra would move back.
That tank top… those arms really are impressive. I wouldn't tell her no if she offered to top me, that's for sure.
Her mind went into overdrive on the thought of feeling all of that power inside and out, and she bit her lip, crossing her legs at the sudden throb from between them. She tried to refocus on the screen in front of her, but all she could see was the defined collarbone hovering just above her face, and all she could feel was the weight of its owner atop her. Harsh, hot breath brushed her ear, colored with low moans and whispers of her name, while hips moved with rhythmic diligence between her thighs, thrusts confident and not too hurried.
Careful, don't set a standard for her before she even calls you, much less before you're in bed with her. You've ruined great potential by expecting more than they were.
Despite warning herself, she didn't put a stop to the vision in her head. Now her legs were around Korra's waist and her back was to a wall, trapped between it and a deliciously sweaty female form, her nails dragging slowly down a well-toned back as it flexed beneath her touch.
Asami glanced at the bottom corner of her screen for the time. 5:24.
She knew that if she gave in and did what she wanted to do, it would be risky. The office started filling up around six. She could lock the door, but if her father wanted to speak to her first thing about the tiff in the boardroom the day before, a locked door would just piss him off more because he would take it personally.
But the visions wouldn't stop, and the sensation under her skirt was only increasing in severity. She didn't think she would be able to concentrate all day without relieving the ache first. She looked around her office as if something would tell her if she'd be walked in on or not, tapping her nails on her desk impatiently. Her indecision was costing her time.
To hell with it, she thought to herself, reaching down and pulling her skirt just a bit higher. She opened her legs a bit more and practically shoved a hand under her panties. But now the fantasy had switched and she was on her knees for Korra, her mouth sealed tightly around her clit, her tongue giving teasing flickers. Fingers gripped her hair, pulling her further into undulating hips, rolling waves of moving abdominal muscle under her hands.
"Holy shit," she whispered, feeling her own hips jerk in real life. She slowed the movements of her fingers against her clit so she wouldn't come too quickly, a habit that she found hard to break. The outcome was always too beautiful to pass up, even in crunched situations like the one she found herself in this morning.
Korra's hips started to move faster in her head, however, so naturally her hand mimicked the speed without her permission. The pulse under her fingers was worked into a frenzy, and she was slick against her strokes, the kind of slick that was foretelling a whopper of an orgasm.
So close, so close, fuck…
A knock on her door jerked her right back into her chair and out of her fantasies, reality sobering her up for the most part but she knew she was flushed and ruffled. She straightened out her skirt quickly, grabbing a tissue to wipe her hands off, then another to dab at her eye makeup.
"Come in!" she called a second later. She was not surprised to see her father come through.
"Morning," he said gruffly, and Asami gave him a nod.
"Good morning, sir. To what do I owe the pleasure?" The forced politeness in her voice was palpable, but he imperiously ignored it.
"I am dropping off the file for the Gino Tools account. It has to be done before eleven." He paused, his eyes narrowing in that calculating way that he had when trying to solve a riddle. "You're flushed. You aren't getting sick, are you?"
Asami shook her head. "No, sir. Just allergies, if anything."
"Well, good. We have to be at that ambassador's birthday party at seven tonight. I'll expect you dressed and at the estate by six." He turned to go, but Asami's voice stopped him.
"Wait, what? What ambassador's birthday party? I thought the calendar was clear today?"
He gave her disparaging look. "Asami. We talked about this just yesterday. That Southern Water Tribe ambassador, Tonraq or whatever his name is. There is a party tonight and we were invited. We'll go so there's no whispers about why we did not show."
She couldn't hold back the loud scoff she gave or the way her eyes rolled on their own accord. "Of course, Father," she muttered, uploading the file onto her laptop. "I have just the thing to wear."
Korra's father, so she'll probably be there. I have to look good.
The expression in his eyes flashed with apprehension, and she fought back a grin. He knew her so well. "Don't do anything rash, Asami. I mean that."
She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Don't worry. I'll be on my best behavior."
He left without another word, but Asami waited for a few moments to make sure he was well and gone before she relaxed into her chair with a groan. She hadn't planned to do anything that night but soak in a tub and drink a beer. She sighed and focused on the reports in front of her from one of their subcontractors. The sooner she got through the day, the sooner she could catch a quick nap before she had to meet her father. But first, she needed to go to the bathroom and clean up.
"Korra! I'm not calling you again, next time I am dumping a bucket of water on you!"
Korra groaned in consternation, pulling the blankets over her head. "I'm up, Mom. Thanks."
"Finally!" Senna exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "It's almost six, you need to get moving. I put your suit on the back of your desk chair, you need to be ready as soon as possible. I cannot believe you slept all day."
"I worked last night," Korra grumbled, rolling over on her back and removing the blankets to look at her mother. Senna was already dressed and ready, a long light blue gown accented her eyes, the same shade of blue as her daughter's. Her long dark hair was piled on top of her head in an elegant bun, and her makeup was perfect.
"Yes, and you were in bed by sunrise. You should have been up hours ago. This twelve hour sleep schedule doesn't cut it anymore, Korra. You have to grow up sometime."
"I maintain pretty well on my own, you know," Korra yawned, stretching as she sat up in bed. Her hip gave a throb of dull pain with the motion, and the scene with Asami came back to her full force. Her eyes shot to the folded piece of paper on the nightstand beside her wallet.
Asami's number. Right there.
"All I know is we paid for a culinary degree that you're wasting in a damn diner," Senna griped on, picking up Korra's discarded clothes from after her shower that morning. Her mother's complaining was a nice anchor to reality.
"I'm paid for it. I like the atmosphere better at Kincaid's."
Senna sighed, turning to look at her daughter before she left the room with an armful of laundry. "Just get ready, dear. We need to go soon."
Korra gave her a salute, and Senna closed the door behind her quietly. She looked over at the suit her mother had picked for her to wear. It was black slacks with a silk shirt the same color as her mother's dress, a gray waistcoat, and a black blazer to go over it all. "At least she kept it simple," Korra sighed heavily, swinging her feet over the edge of the mattress. "Maybe I can get away with not wearing a tie."
"Korra, straighten your tie," Senna muttered to her an hour later as they entered the hotel lobby. "I swear, you're just like your father."
Tonraq gave a booming laugh from Senna's other side, smug that he had managed to get out of the house without one. "You're gonna have to learn to move faster to get past the Tie Patrol, kid," he advised her, earning a look from his wife.
"You're only getting away with it because it's your birthday, mister," Senna told him, poking him in the chest.
"Well, I'm not the eligible bachelor here," Tonraq said in his defense. "Ties are lady catchers. You could run into the girl of your dreams here tonight, Korra. All kinds of strangers are supposed to show up." The last line was said jokingly, but Korra knew her father half serious about the strangers thing. He missed his friends back home, and the gatherings there, even twelve years after moving to the city.
"Right," Korra drawled sarcastically, already wishing she were anywhere else but at this gathering of political figures. "Well, if I disappear tonight, you guys will know I've found her and I am off getting a head start on trying to make you grandparents."
Her father laughed at the joke, but her mother gave a helpless sigh. Korra leaned over and pressed a kiss to Senna's cheek, and that mollified the older woman, if only slightly. "You look very handsome tonight, Little Wave," her mother said warmly, smoothing her hands across Korra's shoulders and using a childhood nickname in her sentimentality.
Korra's face heated with the compliment, and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Thanks, Mom. Open bar, right?" she asked, changing the subject. Her parents knew she was cocky, but she hadn't felt much that way since the incident with Sato last night. She didn't want them questioning the lack of "Uh, duh, Mom. I'm dead sexy."
She didn't give them a chance to answer, she made a beeline to the bar, hearing her father's booming laugh from behind her. "Whiskey on the rocks," she told the guy tending in a hurried tone. She didn't know why she was so nervous all of a sudden, she had been fine on the ride here and when they first walked in. Sure, more people were arriving and the room was filling up, but Korra had attended shit like this with her parents her whole life. And yeah, she hated it, but she had never been anxious during one, not… well, once, if she were honest with herself. The one where she was introduced to Asami.
Did the Satos get an invitation for tonight, too? Is that what's wrong with me? Is she coming? Is she already here?
As much as she wanted to, Korra did not turn and scan the room for a familiar cascade of black hair in the crowd slowly gathering around her. She instead watched her drink being made, the honor of being the first one passed across the bar that night. She sipped it immediately, fighting the urge to chug it in front of all these rich assholes. She did not dare move from her spot in front of the liquor, either, knowing that this one drink would not be enough liquid courage for her to mingle into the company. She would need at least two more.
"Hello, Korra," a woman's voice said from just behind her left elbow.
Korra's head turned on reflex, but she was relieved to see Suyin Beifong standing there. Su was Opal's mother, and the chief of police's sister. "Oh, hey, Su!" Korra set her drink down to hug the woman she considered a second mother, a much cooler one than her own. Korra loved her mother dearly, but Senna was worrisome and could be preachy; Su had raised five children without seemingly breaking a sweat because she was so laid back. Suyin was a liberal, an LGTBQ sympathizer and supporter, employed convicts through a program called Next Breath, and Korra and Opal both had a deep belief that Su smoked marijuana. She was a major inspiration for Korra to come out to her parents as when she was younger, having reacted so positively when Korra told her that she liked girls… even if she mistook it for Korra trying to tell her that she and Opal were a thing. If it had gone differently and she would have ended up with Opal instead of Bolin, Su would have been ecstatic.
"How are you, sweetheart?" Su asked her now, giving her a tight squeeze back before releasing her and looking her over critically. "I haven't seen you in almost three weeks. You're never there when I drop by the house to say hello to you girls. Are you avoiding me?" she teased. She pinched Korra's cheek before she let her hands drop to her hips, cocking them to one side while she waited for Korra to answer.
"Never," Korra declared with a grin. "I've picked up an extra night at Kincaid's to save up for our trip to Ember Island this summer, and I've started yoga classes with Tenzin." Her tone was noticeably less enthusiastic when she said that last part.
Suyin laughed. "Yes, Opal told me such. I can't get you into my dance classes, but Tenzin talked you into yoga and meditation? What's his secret?"
"He cornered me when I was so drunk that Mako had to take me home from the bar, and I'd left my keys at the gym."
"Where was Opal? She couldn't have let you in?"
Korra swallowed audibly, knowing the answer to the question but wanting evade it, all the same. Opal had been at Bolin's, and while she was twenty-five and didn't live at home, Su still didn't like the implications of Opal staying over at her boyfriend's. "Uh, you know, you're right. Don't know why I didn't think about it."
"She was at Bolin's, wasn't she." Su sighed and gave a wistful smile. "They grow up so quickly."
"So, uh, is Bataar with you?" Korra asked, reaching around to grab her glass and take a mouthful.
"Subtle, Korra," Su chuckled with a shake of her head. "Yes, he is. He's engaged in conversation with one of the buyers out of the Fire Nation about some blueprints for apartments or something like that. Junior is here, too, also talking business. It's rather sad that a celebration of life can turn into one big board meeting, with the right crowd for it." She paused, flagging down a waiter with a tray full of flutes of champagne, and taking one for herself. "Why don't we try to plan something else for your father sometime this week? Something smaller, with less… all of this?" She twirled her hand around to indicate the scene around them.
"More sweatpants, less ties," Korra agreed with a nod. "Yeah, just let me know a day, I work weekends so if you wanted to do it then, I'd have to work something out."
"Let me discuss it with Bataar and I'll get in touch with you. I need to get back to him, but I'll talk to you before the evening is over."
Korra raised her glass and Su raised her own in departure. Back to her own devices, she turned back around to the bartender and tapped the counter in front of her. So far, the waiters were busier than he was, and he was able to pour another for her quickly. "Make it two," she called out to him suddenly, and he gave her a questioning look.
"If you hate these parties so much, why come?" he asked her a second later when he brought two tumblers over.
"Didn't have a choice for this one. It's my old man's birthday. My mother would never forgive me if I weren't here." She finished the last of her first drink and slid the emptied glass back to him.
"Ah," he said knowingly, taking it to the sink. "There wasn't a friend you could have asked along? Boyfriend?"
Korra downed the next glass in one go, cringing internally at where this conversation was heading. She didn't want the only bartender in the place to start hitting on her, because then she would hesitate to come after drinks once she finally walked away. Where was Mako when she needed him? He was always game to be her pretend boyfriend, to walk up and say in his "tough cop" voice, "You messin' with my girl?"
The wavy haired bartender apparently thought the downing of the liquor and the subsequent silence meant something else, because he shook his head and poured her another without her asking for it. "I'm sorry," he said with too much concern, putting on airs. "I know it sucks, I just went through it, too. If you want to talk about it, I'm a good listener. I'm Tahno, by the way."
Spirits, help me.
Korra picked up the third glass just so she could have a second more to think about how she was going to let this guy down, but she needn't have bothered.
"She's taken," a new voice said from beside her, and Korra's eyes bulged out of her head when she looked over and saw Asami standing there. She was dressed in a low cut evening gown that was the same shade of red as her lips, and her hair tumbled over her shoulders in elegant waves. She was so close that Korra could smell lavender on her skin. The heiress reached over and took the glass that Tahno had brought last, draining it in one breath and putting it back down on the counter. She gave a wink to Korra, whose face flooded with blood. "Your mother asked me to tell you to not get drunk within the first hour."
I need to have a word with my mother about who she sends on errands. Asami? Really? What are you up to, Ma?
"U-uh, did she?" Korra found herself impressed that Asami had taken the burn of the whiskey without flinching. "I'm sorry she bothered you with something like that."
Asami made a gesture with a couple of fingers. "It's nothing, I was happy to do it. It gave me a perfect excuse to come say hello." She held out a slender white hand to Korra, who shook it absentmindedly, caught in the color of Asami's eyes. A light, cool green that reminded Korra of spring time, of fresh mornings. "So, hello."
"Hello," Korra replied easily with a crooked grin. She marveled at how different this time was, but then remembered she'd taken a fair amount of whiskey since she'd arrived. It had been just enough to give her some wits when standing next to this woman. Her hand wasn't soft like Korra had anticipated, but rather calloused and warm, like she had known work with her hands. It was a pleasant surprise.
"Did Ikki give you my note?" Asami's eyes drifted down the sleeve of Korra's jacket, and Korra felt her muscles contract on their own, even though it wasn't visible through the fabric. She knew what Asami was thinking, and it made her heart beat faster to be aware.
"Yeah, she did," Korra chuckled, shaking her head. "You picked the wrong one to pass it through. She read it before I could."
Asami laughed with her. "That doesn't really surprise me, actually. But you two seemed to get along, the way she always spoke about you."
"Oh, we totally do. Grew up with that kid, I've known her family my whole life. Her dad was the reason we moved to Republic City, really. He nominated my dad as ambassador." Her eyes fell down the form in front of her, and she bit her lip at the curves she found. Asami was dressed to kill, and Korra hoped with all her might that she'd dressed that way specifically for her. It was her dad's party, she had to know she would be there to see her in what she chose to wear.
"You look stunning, by the way. I love that color on you." She realized with a jolt that she was still holding Asami's hand in hers and jerked away suddenly. "Sorry about that, I was distracted by how beautiful you are."
Asami shook her head at Korra, smiling again. "Thank you for the compliment. You clean up well, too. And if you don't know by now that I don't mind you touching me, then I don't know how else to tell you."
"Spirits, you're so blunt." Korra sipped her last drink, slightly grinning back at Asami.
"Blunt?" Asami echoed, waving her hand to Tahno to catch his attention. She had scared him off earlier, and now he had other patrons he was tending to. She leaned slightly closer to Korra and lowered her voice. "No, blunt would be that I wish we were alone right now so we could really talk." She gave Korra a once over and bit her lip. "I want to get to know you."
"Why?" The word was out of her mouth before Korra could stop herself, blurted out in a surprised way.
Tahno interrupted them by coming to Asami's hail, and she ordered herself a beer, surprising Korra again by ordering her personal favorite, Mooney's. "Hey, make that two!" Korra called out to him as he walked away, and he waved his hand to show he'd heard her. "That's my favorite beer. If you ordered one, I had to, too," she explained to Asami, who nodded her approval.
"It's the only beer, honestly," Asami corrected her, and Korra gave a chuckle. She really liked how this one thought about brews.
"Do you remember meeting when we were teenagers?" Asami asked her suddenly, catching her off guard.
She remembers. I didn't think for a second she would.
"Yeah, I do," Korra answered. "You were just as beautiful then as you are now. And maybe I've just had too much alcohol, but–thanks, Tahno." The bartender had placed their beer in front of them and walked away without a word, his pride apparently wounded from being shot down so hard by none other than Asami Sato.
"But what?" Asami pressed when he was gone, glancing around them to see if there were ears too close.
"I never forgot your face. Not like, I know what you look like, but your face on that night. I know, weird." Korra finished her liquor, pushed the glass aside, and pulled her beer to herself.
"Not as weird as you may think," her companion muttered back. "You asked me why, and that's my answer. You said it, yourself. I never forgot your face that night, either." She paused, sipping her bottle. "How long do you have to be here before you can disappear?"
Korra grimaced. "I'm stuck, I'm afraid. They're my ride home, and this event doesn't end until eleven."
"Well, I promised you a ride, so I could take you home. We would have to go pick up my bike, but that's not an issue. I would need to change, anyway."
Korra looked down at herself critically, then back up at Asami with a faint grin. "I'm not exactly dressed for a ride tonight, unfortunately."
Asami gave her yet another once over, and nodded to herself. "I have things you could wear. It may be a little tight, but if we're just going to your place…."
Was this where Korra said something about a longer trip? Because she really wanted to volunteer her night to riding around the city with this intriguing woman. And that sounded like a trail off, like maybe she wanted to hear another suggestion. Korra took a deep breath, and decided to go for it.
"If you're not busy, maybe we could ride around a while?" She licked her lips nervously when she asked, but there was no hesitation in Asami's answer.
"I was hoping you'd say that," she admitted with a tinkling laugh. "I have the perfect destination in mind."
You picked up a signal. Good job. Progress already.
Asami took a step closer to Korra, leaned her mouth over to ear. "So, just some mingling and then we disappear?" she whispered into it, and chills shot through Korra's body.
But when she saw the glare she was receiving from across the room, centered on a chubby, slightly wrinkled face, Korra gulped. Hiroshi was watching them, and he seemed to know exactly what was being planned between them.
"Er," she said awkwardly, still staring at Hiroshi, who wasn't looking away. "What about your dad?"
Asami took a small glance over to where he father stood, shooting steam out of his ears as some guy in a dark green suit yakked on beside him, unaware that the mogul heard nothing being said. Korra could swear she saw a slight smile and wink sent across the room from daughter to father, and when he clenched his jaw tightly and turned his eyes back onto the talkative man, she knew she had.
"What about him?" Asami asked carelessly with a shrug. "He can speculate all he wants, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him." She gave Korra a pointed look, a smile pulling up on one side of her mouth. "Besides, I don't care what he thinks. I never have. And I have wanted to have this conversation with you for a very long time."
"You've been coming into Kincaid's for almost two years," Korra noted, sipping her beer. "Why wait so long to say something to me?"
A light blush rose on Asami's face, and Korra couldn't help but grin a little at the sight. She liked it. "Honestly?" Asami asked, chuckling at herself. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I was hoping you'd make the first move."
Korra's own face heated up, and she suddenly found the label around her bottle to be the most interesting thing she'd ever read. "I kind of did," she mumbled. "If I hadn't been so clumsy when I was running away from Alaya, and slammed my hip into the corner of your table, would you still have written that note?" She looked back up to see Asami was also interested in her own label.
Asami pondered the question for a moment, her peridot eyes thoughtful. "Well," she said slowly after a moment. "It wasn't exactly the coffee down my shirt that made me write it. It was watching that kid flirt with you." Those eyes looked up from beneath their lashes, and Korra felt a swoop in her lower belly when Asami's teeth caught her bottom lip. "I didn't want to lose my chance, I guess."
Korra gave a dry chuckle at that, shooting an involuntary glance at Hiroshi again, only to see that he seemed more involved with Green Suit Guy this time around. "Alaya is an acquaintance. She's a server in the bar that my friends and I hang around. The marriage thing is an inside joke."
The heiress held up a slender hand, and Korra could see the calluses on her fingertips, her palm. It made her wonder what sort of work could give her hands like that in an office. "None of my business," she said, referring to Alaya. "But I admit that I was a tad jealous with how easy it was for her to flirt with you. Brazen little thing."
"You haven't been subtle," Korra remarked wryly, and Asami laughed.
"No, I guess I haven't," she agreed, taking another drink of her beer. "Have I been too forward?" There was a slightly nervous tone to this question, and Korra shook her head immediately to nip any uncertainty attempting to bloom.
"Not at all," she promised. "If you hadn't spelled it out for me, I'd still be telling myself I was crazy, seeing signs that weren't there."
Asami held up her half empty bottle to Korra with a small grin. "To the beginning of a good night?" she asked, making a gesture to her raised bottle.
"A good night," Korra agreed, tapping hers against it.