"Get a water bender! NOW!"
"I really don't think it's that bad dear," Pema called from the hallway having stupidly disappeared mid cooking to collect dirty sheets. That'd left Asami all alone in the kitchen preparing this supposedly romantic meal for Korra who'd had a day of meetings with the Republic City police about Triad activity in some of the buildings left unoccupied after Kuvira's attack.
This was supposed to be a surprise but it was quickly turning into the wrong kind as Asami swatted at the now flaming pan, which once contained some seared seal meat, with a nearby dish towel. "It's really bad! Like I'm about to burn down the kitchen bad!" Did Pema really think that Asami Sato wasn't capable of setting something on fire by accident because of her Future Industries background?
"You're exaggerating honey. I'm sure Korra will love what you make, even if it's a little overdone. That girl will eat anything," Pema assured, her voice growing more distant by the second.
"Well if she has a taste for the charred remains of this building I'm sure she'll be delighted!" Asami called angrily as she searched around for oven gloves in a panic, desperate to move the roasting pan into the sink, or just throw it outside. Anywhere was better than in here with all this wood.
Apparently the anger in Asami's voice was enough to spur Pema to come running back down the hall, though she didn't even look remotely phased until she spotted flames starting to drift across the worktop. Immediately she pushed the flailing engineer away from the pan and the fire before she burned herself. "OUT! OUT! Go and get Kya and some buckets!"
"But I can't – I can't leave you in here with all this!" Asami coughed as smoke began to build in the room.
"You're more of a hindrance than a help in here! Fanning the flames with those long, swinging arms of yours!" Pema retorted as she wrenched the dish towel from Asami's trembling grip, quickly followed by a much more forceful shove towards the exit. "GO!"
Asami stumbled out of the kitchen area and into the hallway, immediately crashing into Ikki and Meelo who'd been drawn by her shouting earlier. Though those two could be drawn by absolutely any sound, no matter how small. Something Korra was continually bitter about.
"Asami! You look a little crazy!" Ikki shrieked, trying to replicate the wild grin on Asami's face. Apparently her smile was not as reassuring as the CEO thought. "And terrified!" Asami blocked the little airbender's path when she tried to dart past her.
Meelo narrowed his bushy brows. "What did Korra do now?"
"Nothing! You kids wander along now! Go play outside!" Asami fretted as she pointed down the hall.
The two siblings remained resolute, standing with crossed arms and a frighteningly accurate Tenzin scowl. "Doesn't smell like nothing. Is something burning?"
Alright. Time to play this card. "If you two don't go outside right now I'll tell your dad about that incident with the bison and the empty probending arena."
That threat seemed to waver the children's resolve a little but not enough. "And I'll tell your mom."
"Okay! We didn't see anything!" Ikki cried as she looped an arm around her brother and dragged him kicking and squirming in her grip.
"But I wanted to see what was burning!"
"Nothing is burning!" Asami shouted one last time before dodging past and sprinting in the direction of Kya's room. She'd either be in there or in the healing hut. Most likely the former since nobody was currently injured on the island. Until Pema lets you in the kitchen. If you were a firebender you'd be stupidly dangerous to your own well being.
Speaking of firebenders...
"Asami...you look a little flustered..." Mako began as he slipped in from a sliding door that led outside. "What the hell is Pema cooking? Smells like she's roasting half the population of Ba Sing Se..."
Of course. Korra had dragged him from the police station after her meeting. That meant the Avatar had returned from the city. She was on the island! I cannot let her see the mess I've made with dinner. I'll never live it down.
"Is Korra with you?!" Asami asked desperately as she grabbed Mako by the shoulders.
Mako smirked lightly. "Flustered...grabby...red faced...been a while for you two?"
"Actually, I'll have you know that-"
Mako shoved a hand across her mouth. "Wow – don't actually go there. Korra's outside talking to the kids. Why are you so edgy anyways?"
Asami rubbed her forehead frantically. "Oh god, Mako. I – I may have set the kitchen on fire trying to cook, and I left Pema to tackle it. Pema who I don't think is fireproof, but who knows." Then she slammed a fist into the top of Mako's arm. "But you are! Could you go and assist while I distract Korra?!"
Mako's expression shifted to a very smug one as he narrowed his brows. "So...let me get this straight. 'I'm a firebender, so I should deal with the fire myself?'"
"That doesn't sound like me," Asami hissed as she forcefully shoved Mako in the direction of the kitchen. "Plus you totally deserved that!"
Mako surrendered fairly quickly. "Yeah, yeah I did." He dashed off to the kitchen a moment later.
Asami shifted the sliding doors apart only to be met with a beaming pair of blue eyes right in her face.
"Korra!" Asami shouted, trying to sound remotely pleased as she subtly closed the sliding doors behind her.
"Hey!" Korra beamed before she stared at Asami long and hard. "You look a little – ehmmm – a little..."
Asami didn't give Korra a chance to finish that sentence before she looped an arm around the Avatar and marched them away from the main building of the temple. "How about we just stay outside? For like, the next two hours or five?"
"It is a nice night," Korra agreed as she glanced briefly up to the sky before her expression became a little pained. "But I really gotta pee, so if you'll stop squeezing me a sec I'll go deal with that little issue then come right back out – actually i'll get us some tea and sweet rolls from the kitchen!"
Asami grabbed Korra's hand like a vice before the Avatar could dash off. "Don't you dare!"
"Umm – do you have a problem with me going to pee? Cause that could be a bit of an issue in the near future, actually like in the next minute."
What? Why would Korra think of something so bizarre? In what world would that ever be a problem? "You can go do your business, just stay away from the kitchen."
"My business?" Korra raised a brow in confusion. "Asami...you're talking about me like I'm some kind of animal. What's up with you?" Then the Avatar leaned in towards her, inhaling a little. "Speaking of animals, you smell like some roasted – and I mean really, really roasted-" A few more twitches of the nose. "Really roasted seal!" She squeezed Asami's hand tightly and did the biggest puppy dog eyes possible. "Did you try and cook some Water Tribe food just for me?"
Asami glanced behind the Avatar briefly, spotting a small cloud of smoke rising from the general direction of the kitchen. "Put some special emphasis on the word try and don't go crazy here."
Finally, Korra took notice of where her partner's eyes had drifted off to, following her line of sight. The Avatar's eyes widened so substantially that Asami half expected her to switch into the Avatar State. "What the hell did you do?!"
"I might be a better firebender that I thought...or a really bad one." Then she simply came out with it. "I set the kitchen on fire. I think it's still on fire."
"You did what?!" Korra shrieked as she easily shook free from Asami's grip, before sprinting off in the direction of the kitchen, using some airbending to significantly increase her speed.
"I'm sorry Korra!"
"I know! I gotta go save the sweet rolls!"
Author Notes
About to get a little ranty here so so ignore me. I'm thinking of moving my writings almost entirely to AO3 (Archive of Our Own), because I just don't get the same reception here, I think there's a different demographic on here and my writing has changed and just does so much better on that other site (Get's much more reviews, subscriptions, bookmarks + plus a much better user interface). It's not that I have a problem with the fanfiction audience or anything like that, but I guess my stuff has changed enough that it doesn't quite fit with this website any more.
Thundercatroar, I feel like I literally post stuff on here for your sake only! xD Cause I absolutely love you and your reviews and would hate to just disappear from here. Honestly, if you were on AO3, i'd probably not bother posting much of my stuff here again, certainly not the smaller, prompty things and one shots. I've not jumped ship quite yet but am definitely teetering.
Anyways, rant over. Peace.
