A/N: Hi, everyone!
Here is the new chapter. I think some of you waited for this moment ;)
Thanks again to my beta to make the text flow a little better.
Enjoy!
Hearing her friend and her boyfriend chuckling was starting to annoy her a little. Actually no, she was already really pissed off and it had been quite a while now. Be the third wheel didn't suit her. Not at all! Especially since it wasn't originally planned like that...
She glanced at Isolina and the guy (because, even if she knew he had a name, she considered it too much of an honor to use it) who was clinging to her, getting even more irritated. He caressed her and put his hands where he shouldn't considering that she was next to them and that they were somehow in the street. (Well, she knew that the back of the Sato mansion was not necessarily very exposed, but still!) Isolina shoved him a little with a "Stop, not now" which was a little too jokingly for her taste.
What an asshole. She'd better kick him in the butt and never see him again. And if Isolina didn't dare, Reena would be happy to do it for her. But the thing is, he was her boyfriend, so she was theoretically not allowed to intervene. Except that it was starting to be downright unbearable for her, and she came to think of some solutions that she had dismissed for some time out of fear of hurting Isolina. But she wondered if it wouldn't be worse not to talk to her about it…
"Okay, I'll leave you two for a few minutes," the guy said. "I'm going to smoke a little."
"Ok," Isolina said, waving her hand as he walked away.
Then she saw that her friend was sulking a little, which she could understand.
"I'm really, really sorry, Reena! I swear, I didn't expect him to show up!"
"Not a reason to let him intrude on my time with you."
"He's my boyfriend, what did you want me to do? Send him home?"
"Yes! It would have saved me from having to put up with seeing him groping you!"
"He means no harm... He's nice."
"He's an asshole! What do you think he's smoking right now?"
"He's still a nice boy…"
"No, he's a drug addict and a moron. Do you plan on staying with him even after high school?
"I don't know yet. It's none of your business anyway."
"Of course it is! Ever since you started dating people, I feel that you've just wanted to mess around with idiots. Let's see, there's the one who cheated on you, there's also the one who tried to use you to meet your mothers, oh and let's not forget this one who can't spend more than two hours without his drugs..."
"Oh, right, because you pretend you can do better perhaps?" Isolina lost patience.
"Of course I can!"
"Well, that's funny because I haven't seen you go out with anyone yet, and we can't say that there are not like a bunch of people who would throw themselves at your feet."
"That's not..."
She had understood her wrong. She couldn't do better that way... Oh, and just damn it...
She approached Isolina and hurriedly put her lips on hers. The latter was amazed, but didn't move. When Reena withdrew, she said to her:
"Better than them... I..."
She couldn't finish her sentence because of the slap that hit her face. And wow, it hurt... She held her cheek for a moment, looking at her friend who looked both hurt and astonished by what she had just done.
"I..." she started, looking with her teary eyes at her trembling hand.
She couldn't finish because her boyfriend returned.
"Are you having fun, girls?" he asked, completely high and therefore unable to realize the tension that finely linked the two of them.
He didn't wait for an answer and took Isolina by the waist before kissing her without restraint. The latter glanced at her friend, and Reena didn't really know if she was doing that to annoy her, humiliate her, or any other reason, but she knew that she was clenching her teeth and fists, attacked by this insolent glance.
You bitch, she thought.
"I'm leaving," she said, turning around and running away.
She couldn't hear behind her, Isolina, who was trying to distance herself from her boyfriend and call her, without real success. She could only sigh with a "Shit..." before her boyfriend started to assault her with too many unwelcomed signs of tenderness.
For her part, Reena regretted coming. Especially since she came in civilian clothes: no airbending suit, no kite, no flying bison. Therefore, she had to cross the whole city on foot or maybe try taking the roofs, but in her state, she would have preferred to avoid it. In fact, she only wanted one thing: to go home calmly and never think again about the asshole that was Isolina's boyfriend or what she had just done.
She knew it. She just knew she should have never told her. Theoretically, she hadn't said anything—she hadn't had the time—but she had kissed her! It was worse! But what had gotten into her, really... Jealousy made her do foolish things... and she was not proud of herself.
"Reena?" a voice called out to her.
Let's see, Asami driving back home after work… It was just her luck. She quickly wiped her eyes, which were filled with tears, but not quickly enough for the green-eyed woman not to notice.
"Hi! How are you?" the airbender asked with a false enthusiasm.
"I'm fine…" Asami muttered, doubtful. "And you?"
"Perfectly fine! I was going home!"
"Weren't you supposed to spend the day with Isolina today? I thought you were staying for supper."
"Uh, nope! Well, in fact, there were some changes in the plans! Her boyfriend is here, I don't want to intrude. So, here I am, going home."
"Should I drop you off?"
"Oh, no, it's just a bit of a walk..."
"Let me insist."
Well... It was Asami... And this way, she would go home faster. She would surely be questioned, but she didn't have to tell the truth.
So she got into the car and looked out the window while she was driving.
"You should put some ice on it," Asami uttered
"Huh?"
"On your cheek. It's red. I assume Isolina slaped you."
"Oh... Yeah... I mean, no! I mean, it's okay, it's not her fault..."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No…"
Finally, Asami parked.
"What are you doing?" Reena asked, seeing her chances of going home quickly disappear.
"I thought we could eat ice cream!"
She got out, tucking her head into the car again only to say:
"Are you coming?"
Reena sighed but got out of the car. All in all, it was a very bad idea to let Asami drop her off… For several tens of minutes, if not hours, she would have to suffer the older woman trying to figure out what was going on.
Finally, the woman and the girl sat down in a corner, inside an ice cream parlor with white tables and chairs. Asami took the opportunity to ask for ice cubes and a container for Reena's cheek, and applied it on her without hesitation.
"It's cold!" the girl complained.
"And necessary. She doesn't look like it but Isolina hits hard... I don't want it to swell..."
They stayed like that for a while, then Reena began to apply the ice herself and Asami ate her ice cream.
"Still don't want to tell me why she hit you?" Asami asked.
"Why do you absolutely want to know?"
"She's my daughter, and I would like to know why she hit her best friend, whom I've always considered a bit like my niece since she was very young."
Reena chuckled.
"How nice of you, auntie," she laughed.
"How was Tan?"
"Sticky and high..." she said bitterly.
"That's the problem with this boy," Asami sighed.
"How come you don't do anything? Usually you would make a scene for something like that!"
"Mmmm... I tried, but let's say that if I meddle in Isolina's love affairs, we always end up fighting. So it was either I trust her with her decisions—even if I don't like them at all—or she stops talking to me. And it turns out that the second option is not possible. So as long as they don't hurt her and don't get her into trouble, I guess it's bearable..."
"She's being a fool..."
Reena felt anger and grief come back to her, drowning her again. So, she ate her ice cream to distract herself. She should have taken another flavor. Apple. She had always found it tasteless. But she hadn't paid attention, she had just accepted Asami's request.
"What do you think of Isolina's relationships?" the businesswoman asked. "Since you're a friend, you may have a different point of view than a parent."
"She deserves better... All she always succeeds in doing is having numbskulls clinging to her and ending up hurting her."
"Yes, but strangely, she doesn't care a bit, don't you think?"
"I don't know... I just know that she's dating idiots who don't deserve her."
"I see…"
Asami thought and scrutinized Reena. She had the feeling that the truth was not so far away... Well, it was double or nothing!
"Will you allow me to ask you one question?" she asked.
"Isn't that what you've been doing for a while now?"
"Yes, but I want you to answer this one sincerely and honestly. Just one. Do you think it's possible?"
"If it's again about what happened..."
"No, it's another one."
"Okay, go ahead then..."
Asami stepped forward, putting her elbows on the table, and anchored her emerald green look in the girl's eyes. A proud and determined look that made Reena shiver. She was starting to regret agreeing... She felt like she was not going to like it. At all.
"Do you have feelings for Isolina?" Asami finally said, without batting an eye.
"Wh-What? But... it's not..."
"Sincerely and honestly," the green-eyed woman reminded her.
Reena stared at her for a moment, speechless. She could lie, she hadn't really promised anything, but... she couldn't do that to Asami... And she thought she would manage not to talk about it... Waste of time. This woman was a demoness.
"Something like that..." she admitted reluctantly, groaning.
"I thought so," Asami said, resuming eating her ice cream and settling against the back of the chair. "So, did you tell her and she slapped you?"
"I... No... I... I kissed her..."
"Ah. Yes, this kind of method can have two effects, including this one. And now, what's the plan?"
"At the beginning, I just wanted to get back home and be left alone, feeling sorry for myself... Well, before you stepped in in any case…"
"This is a very bad plan."
"I can't really do anything else…"
"You could talk to her? Try to convince her?"
"What's the point? I'm her best friend… that's all. I don't even know if I can still be her best friend now…"
"Of course you can. Everything is not over yet!"
Reena looked at Asami, who felt compelled to justify:
"Korra was my best friend before we got together, and she still is today. Romantic love doesn't change that sort of things."
"The difference being that you are married and I just got turned down."
"You don't know if you got turned down. Maybe if you talk…"
"You really don't like this guy, do you?" Reena cut her off, raising an eyebrow.
"If I had to choose, I would rather her to be with you, actually... But that's not the point, because it's not my life, she's the one who chooses with whom she wants to be. The thing is, since Isolina started dating people... I've never seen her really shaken, in love. I wouldn't say she's suffering from her relationships either, because she chooses them, but… there's something off, I don't know what. I thought maybe it was because of her childhood... She's always been wary about people and how she trusts them..."
"Yeah, well, I got the feeling she was fine with giving her trust away... Or rather the others abuse her trust too much."
"Mmm... Are you sure it works that way and not the other way around?"
"The other way around?"
"Don't you think she could be the one using them?"
"What do you mean? Isolina's not like that..."
"I'm not so sure... She's not using them like you think, not like you think they use her."
"How then?"
"When you entered middle school, she was very angry with you for spending time with other classmates, you know. I was the one who advised her to let you go a little and to rely a little more on her friends. She did it and she got silent. Overnight, she stopped complaining. Don't you find it strange?"
"A little…"
"The relationships she has... I'm afraid they're all like that. It's to have someone, to count on someone, but she doesn't care if it stops. She has never been deeply moved, even in her romantic relationships. I can't even tell if it makes her a little bit happy. And this is where you step in!"
"Me?"
"You're her best friend, the one she trusts the most and who is unlikely to betray her or disappoint her any way, maybe she could open up a little more? And then, you've always been as thick as thieves since you were little... You would be good together, right?"
"That's what I thought too…"
Asami smiled, with a little too delighted and calculating smile for Reena. She sighed. Here she was, talking about everything she didn't want to talk about. How great.
"You're not going to say anything to Isolina, are you?" she checked. "Regarding our conversation."
"I don't know… It depends, are you going to talk to her?"
"I don't think so…"
"Then, I can't promise you anything."
"I thought you shouldn't meddle in your daughter's love affairs?"
"Oh, but this is different! I meddle in your love affairs, it's only a pure coincidence that Isolina happens to be part of it."
Reena chuckled a bit—Asami really was incurable—before pulling herself together.
"Seriously, Asami, don't say anything to Isolina. I need a little time to be able to swallow all of this..."
"Okay, it's all right. But don't wait too long, she could fly away. Shall I take you home?"
The girl nodded. They greeted the people running the store, walked out, and left. Reena was finally able to go home, where she pondered Asami's words. If only she could make Isolina fall in love with her...
"Got you!
"Isolina? What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see you. I had to search all the hiding places on the island to find you, you know?"
Reena had been escaping from time to time for a few days, since the much talked about quarrel with Isolina in fact. She rediscovered these old hiding places that they used to talk when they were children.
This time, she hid in a sort of underground cave that was a little dark and damp from where you could see a small river flowing. She amused herself by wandering a stick on its liquid surface while remaining deep in her thoughts, worried about this same person who had just found 's just say that she had expected everything but that.
Isolina sat down next to her, remaining silent with her for a moment. Reena felt her stomach tighten. Should she say something? Should they pretend it didn't happen? What were Isolina's intentions?
"I'm sorry I slapped you..." she told her.
Erase. She was going to want to erase all of that. Surely. Maybe if she apologized too, they would be able to stay friends...
"It's okay... I'm sorry for... kissing you," she said bitterly.
"No! That's…"
She stopped herself in the middle of her sentence. Reena didn't really pay attention to it.
She didn't know what she was meaning to say, but the slap had spoken for itself. Another silence fell, and the airbender wondered why Isolina was staying. Hadn't she said everything she had to say?
"I broke up with Tan," she said finally.
Reena froze. She expected this even less. Did she have the right to feel a bit delighted and hopeful?
"You're not too sad?" she asked instead, as her best friend.
"No, I'm fine. I didn't like him that much..."
"Okay…"
She wanted to know more, so much more about the reasons, the consequences, about... did she have any part in this? And what did Isolina want to do now?
"Do you want to know why?" the latter asked.
"There is a why?"
Isolina nodded. Reena noticed it out of the corner of her eye.
"Go ahead, tell me."
The blue-eyed girl took a shaky breath before saying with an imperceptible smile full of tenderness:
"I fell in love with someone a long time ago. But since they didn't love me like that, I thought that I had to forget. So, I started going out with other people. It didn't work... I've never been able to forget..."
"Oh, I see…"
In the end, she was disappointed. So, Isolina was hiding behind shitty relationships, which she only hoped to get a temporary pleasure from because of a person she loved beyond reason? It meant she couldn't love her either... Who was that damn person? How could they ignore her all this time? She was mad at them. Really. To make her friend unhappy... She was on the verge of asking who they were to go and have a quick word with them about it. She could do it, couldn't she? No? Yes?
"If you could see your face," Isolina said, mocking her a little.
"What? Seriously, who could not love you? Can't I be a little angry with this person?"
"Reena. Look at me."
Reluctantly, she did what her friend told her. The second after, two lips were on hers and her heart was threatening to fly away between two heretical beats.
"It was you," Isolina said.
"What? What do you mean 'it was me'?" Reena asked. She had completely lost track of the conversation.
"The one I've been in love with for a very long time. It's you."
"But... why didn't you tell me? Wait, wait, another question first: why did you slap me?"
"I... um... I didn't really think about what I was doing back then..."
"That's your excuse?"
"Hey, you're sweet, but do you have any idea of how hard I tried to be just your friend? When you kissed me... I didn't know what to do. It was as if everything I had done so far had been useless! How did you want me to react?"
"By hurting me less. If possible…"
Isolina burst out laughing. Yes, she could certainly have done that... But she couldn't really control her instincts. Everything had got mixed up in her head. All the things she had buried deep inside her, all the things that devoured her intensely from the inside, had suddenly come back and she had even been afraid of having giving in herself! She hadn't rejected Reena that day... She had rejected her own feelings instantly as if she was the one who had kissed her best friend.
"I told you I was sorry!" she said.
"Oh, but you will have to do much better than that to make me forgive you!"
Reena approached Isolina's still-laughing face, on which appeared a touch of seriousness.
"Can I kiss you?"
"Yes."
So this time—with no surprise from either of them—they kissed a little longer but still fairly chastely. It was enough for now.
When it was over, Reena took Isolina in her arms, hugging her tightly. She was happy, really happy, at the same time too enthusiastic and lulled by a tender calm.
"I will do better than them," she told her. "I promise."
"I know…"
In high school, everyone quickly learned about the breakup between Isolina and Tan, which earned a lot of bad-mouthing concerning the two of them. Isolina was used to saying nothing. She didn't care a bit. She also didn't care about the false concern of her friends, the absolutely depressed looks on their face when what had happened was brought up. Besides, even them didn't know why they put on the act, because Isolina wasn't sad at all. She was distracted from time to time. But then again... she seemed to be thinking about something that pleased her rather than a breakup, so much that it started gossiping about a possible new relationship.
The blue-eyed girl was informed of these rumors. She kept a close eye on them. Much as she hadn't cared a bit when her relationships with Chitra, Tan, or whoever else had been known, she wanted to keep her relationship with Reena a secret. To protect her. Reena was generally not involved in this kind of mess. As popular as she was, they generally avoided speaking ill of her. She was esteemed and respected. You could say that her good humor was contagious. And Isolina didn't want to contaminate this good humor that kept her away from being the subject of gossips with her own reputation which had clearly nothing glorious.
The problem being that the aforesaid person was not aware of the efforts she was making. She met her much more than usual and Reena stayed with her and her friends when she would never have done that before. Fortunately, being unaccustomed to being in a relationship, she avoided displays of affection. But you could see her look. And her look... Isolina wanted to cover her with kisses just by seeing her sweet and loving look, her childish excitement, her overflowing affection, sometimes accompanied by a very slight blush.
The waterbender knew that she particularly noticed this because she was deeply in love with Reena, but she suspected that people were going to notice too and they would start gossiping. Especially since everyone knew that Isolina and Reena were childhood friends. And before you know it, it would be Isolina's fault because she "corrupted" her, or people would say that maybe they had been doing weird stuff with each other since they were very little, or... No, it would necessarily go wrong. So... she had to talk to Reena.
One day when she was particularly clingy, the bell rang and she used this opportunity to take her aside. They were going to be late, but it didn't matter. She pulled her by the arm in a somewhat remote place, where she knew that no one would see them.
"You should be more careful," she scolded her.
"Careful about what?" Reena asked, confused.
"Us. Our relationship. I don't know if you realize it, but you're almost transparent. They'll find out that we're dating."
"And so ?…"
"We can't let them know."
"Why? You've already dated a girl, what's different now?"
"I've already dated a girl, right. But it wasn't you."
"How am I supposed to understand that?"
"Reena... You know that I love you, but you don't have a label yet. Even when you just date a girl some people aren't really nice, but you go out with me..."
"But why does it matter? I don't care what others say! I love you, not them!"
"I know, I know, but... Trust me with this. Please. I just don't want my bad reputation to rub off on you... You could lose your friends."
"Come on, you don't have such a bad reputation..."
"Oh no, that's because you don't listen enough to gossips. I can tell you for sure that if people who talk were to be believed, I would appear to be the worst."
"Like?"
"Right now, I'm the drugged lesbian who took advantage of Tan to have drugs without her mothers noticing. And they also believe that I was cheating on him with someone. Which is not terribly wrong when you think about it…" she thought before resuming. "But you see, if they learn that I'm with you... All of this will fall on you. It's not what I want. Do you understand?"
Reena looked at Isolina and her deeply worried—overly-worried—look skeptically. The more she thought about it, the more she had a sense of déja vu…
"Do you know who you remind me of?" she finally blurted out after a few seconds of silence and thinking.
"No? Who?"
"Asami."
"Why?"
"You both worry too much for pretty much nothing…"
"Hey! You can't compare me to my mother! I'm not that bad… It's serious!"
"Huh huh... Well, anyway, you don't have paparazzi at home, huh?"
"No…? Why?"
"Well, all the time that I won't spend with you in high school, I will catch up by stopping by as often as possible!"
Isolina chuckled. That was Reena. Always a back-up solution and flawless optimism.
"It would make me very happy," she admitted with a smile, her heart swollen with a kind of tender shyness.
"Well, that's it, problem solved!"
The airbender exaggeratedly checked that there was no one in the corridors— obviously there was no one, everyone was in the class — making Isolina giggle. Delighted to have won this cute little laugh, she smiled, then gently put her lips on hers. She withdrew when she felt a cool hand slip on her neck.
"Wait," her girlfriend demanded.
She looked her in the eyes with that intense and deep blue look that Reena was just getting to know, to recognize. But she couldn't contemplate this burning swell any longer, because Isolina closed her eyes, drawing her to her. Her lips osculated the blue-eyed girl's hungry mouth. She was surprised by her ardor, her greed: her hand on her cheek had ended on her shoulder, her two arms behind her neck as she hugged her terribly against her, her mouth almost melting in hers.
The airbender had been slightly destabilized when the other girl had jumped on her. She had grasped her hips to regain her balance. Finally out of breath, she broke the kiss.
"Wow..." she let out, before teasing her. "Are you that frustrated?'
Isolina said nothing, she just took a step back.
"Are you sure you're going to handle almost not seeing me on week days?" Reena continued sarcastically.
Isolina laughed a little. A little falsely.
"I think I can manage. You should go to class."
"Yep. See you later. "
She pecked her one last time on her lips before leaving. Isolina pretended that she was also going to her classroom but stopped after a few steps. She looked back and saw that Reena was out of sight.
So she let her body slide against the wall, letting her fiery breath escape with deep breaths. She put a trembling hand to her lips while the other tightly clutched the fabric of her chest where her heart was beating frantically.
A simple kiss... With a simple kiss, she already felt her body asking for more, she felt a painful fever take hold of her.
"And shit..." she said to herself.
She did her best to get the idea out of her head and control her legs so they would go to class (not after Reena).
And Reena who wanted to come to her house...
Easy. She promised herself to take it easy. Reena was not like that. Above all, she shouldn't rush things. But what would she do if her desires started to rush her? They thought they were free, indomitable and invincible. However, she was going to have to silence them.
I'll manage, she decided, before going back to class.
Anyway, she had no choice. She needed time. More time. She couldn't let her see.
A/N: Hey, what about leaving a review? I'd like that!
I hope you liked this chapter. I'm currently working on the next chapter, which is super long. You should encourage me to finish the translation for you guys :p
See you next month! (A little sooner if I finish before, but I have little hope…)
Lion
P.S. : We should end this story when we arrive at chapter 29. I might write a bonus afterwards. I have some ideas, but I need more time, and of course, it's only if you want to. Don't hesitate to tell me, I'm always happy to hear your thoughts :)
Answers reviews guest:
Guest (1):
Hi!
Thank you very much for your review! Um… I have no idea if we've already met? It's a shame you didn't put a name :/
Anyway, you got it about Isolina's intentions. I have no idea if it's against the law. Where I live it's not. Might be in other countries. I didn't really take it into consideration for this story because it's… not really important?
(Korra and Asami's first time is more a foolish idea of mine. I have no idea how it really happened, I just think it could have the potential to be quite humorous xD)
Um… I do think she knows how her mothers got together. She did say something about it last chapter.
I hope I did answer you well. Don't hesitate to ask! See you later!
Lion
Guest (2):
Hi!
You might be right, but that wasn't the focus of the story. I did want other characters to intervene but the story was already really long and I couldn't afford lots of complications. Let's say I followed my first plan and it was already pretty dense. I didn't have enough time to think of a more complex story, plus it wasn't my purpose.
Thank you for telling me what you feel about this story. It means a lot. I hope you'll enjoy the last chapters as well!
See you!
Lion
Guest (3):
Hi!
Thank you very much for your comment! Actually, I didn't think about it… It's quite a good idea! I'll try to write it as a bonus, if you'd like? Thank you for sharing your idea!
Hope to hear from you again and that you'll like the story nevertheless!
See you!
Lion
Guest (4):
Hi!
Thank you for the review! Um, the comics are in the story but just by some hints. I don't get why I would work on them in this story in particular? And yes, I've read them. As for what I think about them, I'm not a big fan of Turf Wars mostly because I hate the art and Asami's role, which is just… Are we really going to talk about that 'damsel in distress' side they gave to her just because she's the Avatar's girlfriend? I would have a lot more to say (about the romance for example) but it would be quite long. As for Ruins of the Empire, I love it! Way more faithful to LoK and to the characters.
Now, I have a question: just since you didn't use a nickname like the three others above, are you all the same person? I'm not used to that… Not that it matters, I'm just wondering.
Hope to see you later!
Lion
