Several weeks had gone by since Korra's and Asami's date at Kwon's. The two women had dinner with each other regularly. It was always the moments after dinner that proved most awkward for the pair. Korra had finally convinced Asami to begin running with her in the mornings after a week or so of pestering.
"Asami, you know you are the one with the wiles at this point." Korra said breathlessly as she and Asami finished one of their morning runs they had started together.
Asami reached for her water bottle.
"I don't know what you are talking about," Asami smirked towards Korra as she took a drink.
"Of course you do. I'm in this sweat suit running while all you wear is that sports bra and those shorts." Korra made her way to where Asami was standing and ripped off her sweat suit to reveal an outfit very similar to Asami's "It's torture watching you glisten like that with so much skin exposed."
Asami made her way over to Korra and put her arms on her shoulders.
"Maybe we can discuss things about us a little more after your tournament. I want you to focus on your training not me."
Korra grabbed Asami's hips.
"But you're all I think about anymore."
Asami leaned in and kissed Korra chastely.
"That's sweet Korra it really is, but you know as well as I do this isn't the time for us to start thinking about us in bed." She pulled away from Korra and looked her up and down. "Even though I fully understand how you are feeling." She ran her hands down Korra's sides and stopped them on her hips. "But you smell, and I have to get to work."
Korra pouted.
"You can can shower at my place if you want."
"I'm not falling for that one again."
"What one?" Korra tried to ask as genuinely as she could sound.
"The wile you had of thinking I was dressed when you walked into the bathroom."
Korra tried to look embarrassed.
"I honestly thought you were done."
"So why did you come up to me and start kissing me?"
Korra blushed.
"I had to take advantage of my mistake."
"Well, I'm gonna make sure it doesn't happen again. Besides you have to go to class the same time I go into work."
"Well we can just save time and shower together," Korra smirked.
"Then we would never get anything done. Besides I'm like 5 minutes from my office I can just get ready there."
Korra pouted again.
"After Zaofu we will talk again, but we both know we have to be on our best behavior until then."
Korra grabbed her sweats off the bench.
"You're right as always this is just hard."
"Trust me," Asami said as she looked at Korra again. "I know."
The girls walked to the parking lot in silence.
"So is Bolin still on for dinner tonight at Kwon's with me?"
Korra leaned up against her car.
"Yeah, he's pretty excited. Plus, he wouldn't shut up about you letting him get some new clothes. He came over right away and showed me everything he got."
"That's no big deal, do you want to hear something funny? He spent twice as much as you and your mom."
Korra brought her hand to the back of her head.
"Gee, Asami I'm sorry about that."
"Don't worry about it. But I'm glad Opal is a Beifong otherwise at this point I would be worried I was gonna be paying for the wedding."
Both girls laughed.
"Hahaha, I highly doubt Su would be down for that," Korra said. "But we better say goodbye otherwise neither of us will get that shower."
Korra quickly kissed Asami on the cheek and began getting into her car.
"Hey what was that?" Asami asked.
"I'm protecting myself from your wiles."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Bo, you look great in that tie, besides Asami is my girlfriend not yours. You don't have to be immaculate."
"I know Korra, but I'm having dinner with a Republic City socialite in one of the nicest, if not the nicest, restaurant in town." Bolin said undoing his tie.
"Bo, at this rate you're gonna be late," Korra said as she picked out another tie and threw it around her neck real fast to tie it.
"Why do you know how to do that?"
"Because my mom would do it for my dad and I wanted to do it for him too." Korra remembered the fond memory of seeing her dad off to work the first time she had tied his tie for him. It was crooked and she was more than certain he retied it but after a few practices she tied a full Windsor faster and better than he did.
"Makes sense." Bolin struck a pose. "How do I look?"
"You look amazing! Now don't leave Asami waiting, because I won't hear the end of it."
After Bolin left Korra began making dinner for herself when she heard a knock on the door.
As soon as Korra answered Opal fell into her arms crying.
"Opal what's wrong?"
"It's Bolin. Korra, I saw him leave here all dressed up. Where is he going? Is he seeing someone else?"
Korra took Opal over to her couch.
"What? No, that's not at all." Korra said holding Opal as she cried.
"Then why has he been acting so funny the past few weeks?"
"He's meeting with Asami tonight Opal, she uhhh wanted to talk to him about his mechanic work and design changes."
Opal looked up at Korra.
"Then why didn't you go?" Opal asked with a bit of a bite on her voice.
"Because all that stuff is incredibly boring. Are you jealous?"
"He never dresses up like that for me. That must have cost him a fortune."
"Asami paid for it Opal, he is meeting with their board tonight. He uhhh, didn't want to tell you unless something came out of it." Korra felt like her lie was obvious but she was praying Opal accepted it.
"Really?" Opal asked as she looked up at Korra.
"Really, really," Korra smiled down. "Besides Bolin loves you more than anyone Opal, there isn't anyone he would chose over you."
"Well I can think of one." Opal said as she started to finally settle down.
"Really? Who is that?" Mako was the person that immediately popped up in her mind.
"You, of course." Opal said matter-of-factly.
"Me? No way we are just super close," Korra said. "Besides it would be beyond weird to do anything with him."
"Well I wasn't meaning romantically Korra. But I mean think about it. He is always there for you, and when you and Mako would have problems he wouldn't ever let Mako say anything bad about you but you could bash on Mako all you wanted to him. He chose you over Mako. And I know that if it came down to it he would chose you over me if you and I ever had a falling out." Opal said finally calmed.
"I really don't think so," Korra said. "But that will never happen, you're the sister I've never had. And Bolin is like the brother I never had. And that makes you guys like…"
Opal hit Korra in the arm.
"Okay, I get it you can stop with the incest jokes." Opal laughed. "I just, it's been a rough few weeks with Bo and I'm worried we are growing apart. I feel like a jerk but he is just so on edge lately that's why I thought he was up to something."
"Well he's up to something Opal but it's nothing bad, I promise."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bolin was beyond anxious as he made his way to the private suite Asami had waiting in. As he entered he was given the same treatment Korra had but this time he was greeted with the soothing music of a violin player.
"Bolin, good to see you. We finally, are able to have our coffee together."
Bolin slumped a little bit.
"Coffee?"
"Well for desert of course, I'm not gonna deny my girlfriend's best friend some of the best food in Republic City, but you had agreed to meet up with me for coffee sometime. Remember?"
"Oh, that's right. Sorry for the look, but wow this place is incredible." Bolin sat at the table. "Korra said this suite is all yours?"
"Mostly, Future Industries executives are able to book it if I have no prior engagements in it and we allow employees the opportunity to book it as well," Asami said reaching for her drink.
"Wow, Miss Sato," Bolin said. "I'm surprised you have water and not a fancy bottle of wine."
Asami laughed.
"To be honest, I usually do, but with Korra not drinking anymore and her dragging me along on those god awful runs every morning alcohol has no place in my life right now."
"Korra loves dragging you on those runs too," Bolin said reaching for his own glass of water.
"Well I'm glad one of us enjoys them but some days that is the only time we have to chat and I relish those moments so it's not that big of a deal," Asami said.
"I know Korra feels the same way. I honestly don't know the last time I've seen her this happy. This is the old Korra I knew before everything with her time in the Earth Kingdom and her relationship with Mako."
"I've been meaning to get your insight on some of that Bo. I figured you knew her best outside of her parents and since we have yet to have dinner with them I wanted to talk to you about it."
Bolin shifted a bit.
"I'm not sure I'm really allowed to talk about any of that if Korra hasn't talked to you about it."
"I'm not asking for specifics Bolin, I just want to know how I can support Korra the best I can."
"Well, Korra has always been a pretty no nonsense person but at the same time she is super caring. After her time in the Earth Kingdom I think with the whole bombing thing and… How much has she told you?" Bolin stopped himself before he continued.
"I know as much as she was willing to share plus details from Iroh, so while I might not know 100% of the story I feel like I know enough."
"Well, you know Korra hesitated when the whole incident started to unfold?"
"That I do know."
"Well I think she feels guilty for not taking the guy out as soon as she realized he was a threat. She had been doing so many counter intelligence missions I think she thought she could talk him down and when everything went south she had a choice to make and she chose to give up her life over everyone else's that was in that school. But she knows if she had made the call to take him out his vest would have never gone off and no one would have gotten hurt. Then the fact she survived the blast from dumb luck was something else that played on her.
"Then her recovery was rough," Bolin continued. "Mako was kind of an ass the whole time and when she was finally on her feet again she was drinking a lot. Then her and Mako got in that fight and the police showed up. Thankfully Chief Beifong got word it was Korra and Mako and took care of it herself. With Korra having worked with her in the Earth Kingdom and Mako being on the force plus Korra's impending award it would have looked pretty bad for those two to have a domestic violence charge. And Korra isn't the best drunk to be honest, never has been though even when we were younger."
"Yeah I learned that one," Asami laughed.
"But after that fight Korra and Mako finally called it quits and Korra started to finally be herself a little bit more. Than the bombshell about the whole bisexual thing happened. She was pretty self-conscious about that then I convinced her to join Tinder, meeting you, dating Kuvira, the one nightstand with Kuvira…"
"The what with Kuvira?" Asami interjected.
"The one night…Oh shit. She didn't tell you." Bolin turned bright red.
"No, no she didn't."
"Oh Asami, I'm sorry I didn't know I thought she had told you."
"No she didn't. In fact, I saw her with Capt. Mong, Kuvira the night before she got really drunk. So she had slept with Kuvira the night I was supposed to have my first date with her?"
"Oh shit, Asami look…"
"Bolin," Asami stood up. "You can have the suite to propose to Opal if you think this is suitable, just call my office and they can make the arrangements. I need to go."
"Asami please wait…"
"No, I need to go talk to a certain Water Tribe girl."
Asami stormed out of Kwon's