Asami
This party is turning out better than I expected. I feel like I'm on top of the world, and it's not even my birthday. Wait. If Korra's my better half, does that mean it's my birthday too?
Of course it does. Couples share everything. Food, stories, hoodies, WiFi. Everything!
I'm surprised Korra and I haven't moved in together yet.
Woah! That would be super wicked and fun! We would see each other all the time. No! More like everyday.
It wouldn't just help our relationship, but save the environment too!
We would be cutting down on lights, due to us only using one place to charge our phones. Not wasting water, because I actually use my dishwater, unlike my old school of a girlfriend. Think of all the turtles we'll be saving!
After this song, I'll look for my girlfriend and tell her my great idea. I would search for her now, but the music is so much better up here. It's like the bass is inside my heart. I can hardly feel my eardrums, and I love it.
"Throwing this party for Korra was very sweet." Opal calls out over the music.
"What?" I ask, still jamming to the song Bolin's playing.
"I SAID! YOU THROWING THIS PARTY FOR KORRA WAS SWEET." She yells out again.
I don't know if it's just me, but everyone is talking in gibberish today. I know I'm not the problem, because I only had a few shots. But a smile can go a long way in situations like these, so that's exactly what I'll do.
Fake it till you make it, and all your problems will go away.
I see Kuvira make her way towards the booth, which tells me I wasn't smiling hard enough.
"Hey, Gurlll. How are you?" I ask, pulling her up onto the stage.
"You're drunk." She replies back.
Pfft. Vira's clearly the drunk one if she thinks I'm wasted.
"No I'm not." I defend.
"Right. Your girlfriend's ex is here."
"Really!? Where?"
Before I have a panic attack, it clicks to me. I already knew that.
"I know. I invited him, Silly." I tell my friend.
My best friend makes a face that tells me she's judging my decision, but I ignore it.
"HEY!" I call out to my beautiful arched eyebrow friend.
"Why are you yelling! I'm right here." She says, while holding her ears.
"I'M NOT YELLING. Anyway. I was thinking about asking Korra to move in with me, what do you think?"
"Don't you think it's a bit too soon?" She asks, concerned.
"What do you mean? You moved in with Baatar a few months ago."
"We also had an on and off thing going on for awhile." She defends, like that helps her case or something.
Korra and I are both very mature, I think we're ready to move in. I had a roommate before, it's like the same thing. But we can kiss each other and stuff.
Would we stay in her apartment or mine? It would be less work if we stayed in again, I really do like her view of the city...
"Earth to Asami!"
I quickly get out of my thoughts, and smile to my friend.
"Yes." I reply, with a hum.
"What gave you this idea? Because if it's the alcohol, it's not a good one."
" Actually. I've been thinking about this for awhile now."
"Well. I think you should give it some more thought while sober. How do you know if Korra's even comfortable with the whole idea?"
"Because she's always over my house duh."
My friend and I just stare at each other.
Does my friend not want me to be happy? Does she want me to sleep alone forever!? My bed is way too big for just me. I'm an environmentalist, our body heat would be all the heat we need in the winter. It's science!
" Sorry to easesdrop, but I agree with Kuvira. Opal and I've been together a little longer than you two have been, and we still don't share a home." Bolin says.
Bo has one job, and I advise him to stick with the tunes.
"No offense, but what Korra and I have is different. Some relationships just mature faster." I politely reply to the DJ.
"I don't know about all of that, Sami. I kinda want you two to wait, because I'll feel sorry for Korra taking care of you all the time. Especially while drunk." Kuvira says, getting everyone in the booth to laugh.
Ha-Ha very funny.
"I can take care of my damn self, and I'm not even drunk!"
" I agree with Asami. Well, not the drunk part. But If she thinks they're ready, I think she should bring the conversation up." Opal adds, like a supportive friend.
" But even that discussion is a big step. You'll have the whole suggestion hanging over your head, even if they don't make a decision yet. It's a big commitment. The water gets cut off for some reason, you both are out of water. Your lives are intertwined even more." Bolin defend, getting Kuvira to nod in agreement.
"Exactly. And the living space is very different too. At first you're in the honeymoon stage. Watching movies, ordering pizza, board games, etc. Then you'll go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and nearly drown in the seat your boyfriend left up." My best friend states furious.
Um. I don't think I'll have to worry about the toilet seat thing, but I can understand Kuvira's anger.
"Or! You'll find hair all over your home. In places you don't even think is possible. And my favorite. The constant trips to the store in the middle of the night, all because you drunk the last amount of Minute Maid tropical punch." Baatar adds, while his girlfriend glares at him.
"YOU KNOW THAT'S MY DRINK!"
"I GET THIRSTY TOO, KUVIRA!"
"DEHYDRATION IS A GOOD LOOK FOR YOU!" She yells louder.
" Alright, guys. Let's not scare, Asami. I still think her suggestion isn't a bad idea. Who knows? Korra might be curious too. And there are many ways she could bring up the conversation, without it sounding like an obligation." Opal says.
Everyone previously against me, starts to accept Opal's words, and I'm grateful.
"Now seeing it that way, I agree with my darling here. Having the discussion isn't a bad idea, you should do it. Maybe not as drunk as a skunk right now, but soon." Bolin says rubbing my back.
"Aww. Thanks guys, it's nice to have true friends." I defend, hugging my new favorite couple.
"Hey! I never opposed of you and Korra moving in, I just stated the shit I live with. I can clearly see more positives than negatives when it comes to living together. Especially not having to drive in the middle of the night for some love. If you know what I mean." Jr says with a wink.
"Oh! You don't have to worry about that, they don't have sex."
I don't know what's worse, the fact Kuvira disclosed a private matter or the genuine shock on everyone's face. They're not even hiding the disbelief!. Talk about a shot heard around the world.
" Thanks, Kuvira for the exclusive information." I say through gritted teeth.
"What? It's not like no one knew." Kuvira says,trying to save herself.
"I didn't! Are you serious, Asami? Nothing?" Baatar asks.
" Baatar, don't be insensitive. You have no reason to be embarrassed, Asami. Bolin and I didn't start sleeping together for a while. Tell her, Bo."
I look up at the DJ hopeful that he'll make me feel a little better, but instead, I'm faced with a red faced little boy. Who seems very uncomfortable being put on the spot like this.
"It's not a big deal, Asami. Sex is nothing." Bolin states.
"Oh? So,you're saying what we do means nothing to you?" Opal asks, now making her boyfriend panic.
"No! Honey. I didn't mean it like that. I was just trying to make Asami feel better."
"Oh? So your words were out of pity?" I reply matching Opal's offence.
"Nooo. You know what?"'I dedicate this next track to all the couples out there.' If you don't have a partner, don't be afraid to ask a single to dance.'"
After Bolin gets off the microphone, he drags his girlfriend onto the dance floor.
Baatar then offers his hand to Kuvira, leaving me all alone in the dj booth.
Wow! I've terrible friends.
Korra
"Sorry. I really needed to use the restroom, thank you for telling me where it was."
"No need to thank me. This place is huge, anyone could've gotten lost ." I reply, as she sits in the blue chair across from me.
My mother crosses her legs in her new satin dress suit, and I want to compliment the new piece naturally, but that's not my main focus.
"Happy Birthday, Korra. You look beautiful by the way." She starts.
"Thank you, but it's really just some jeans." I reply honestly.
"Well. You never been the one to dress up, and those look like some very nice jeans." She replies.
The silence we share after that short exchange of words, is enough to hear the cheers of the people still partying in the background.
When my mother approached me at the bar, I wasn't expecting to see her. Not just in that setting, but on my birthday at that.
The only thing she said to me was my name, and after I acknowledged her, she stared at me like a deer in headlights. I was the one that suggested if she wanted to go somewhere quieter, which brought us to the vacant lobby.
Now I'm sitting here, being as respectful as possible. Giving my mother the patience she never gave me before, hopeful we can get through a conversation that doesn't last 5 seconds.
"Korra. As your mother, I want to say I'm not very proud of my behavior towards you. Maybe I could've handle the situation differently."
"It wasn't a situation, Mom. There was nothing problematic about what I confessed to you. You were the one that made it into a negative. I saw nothing but pride and happiness telling you about a new addition to my life. I wanted you to feel that same joy I felt." I defend.
"Well. Don't you think that was a long shot, given your father's and I's background?"
"No, not at all. You both are open minded and loving people. So I thought..."
My mom's defense turns into remorse.
"We are, trust me. We are very much those things, but this is all new to me. "
"New to you like a challenge or a surprise?" I ask, with a hint of annoyance which takes her back as well.
"Sort of both, in a way. I can't take back the things I said, because apart of me feels like it was justified in that moment. But I will say I apologize for only accepting my perspective. I really don't understand all of this. It's not that I don't want to, it's just… I'm just not 100% aware on how you gained these feelings. Or how I never saw the signs."
"There would be no signs, I'm just happy. I've always been happy."
My mother nods.
"I know. That's what I need to focus on, your happiness. Even though, I personally don't think It's the right thing. What keeps me from thinking badly is, knowing your father and I raised you correctly. And sometimes..."
"Sometimes what?" I ask, as my mother struggles with her words.
"Sometimes I think it's a good thing you didn't turn out like your father and I. Because despite how protective we wanted you to be, you took the opposite approach. From choosing the most dangerous career path, you didn't just exceed our expectations but the world's. And I regret not taking that time to be your number 1 fan in that period of your life. I let my dislikes of you fighting, take away from the greatness you brought doing it. I don't want to let my views interfere with seeing how great you'll become anymore."
"Then don't let it. It's not too late to be in my corner." I reply, hearing a little tremble in my voice.
"I'm glad to hear that, because I thought I pushed you away. If it wasn't for Asami helping me look through my self pity, I don't think I would've seen things more differently."
"What do you mean by Asami?"
"She came to my hotel earlier, and we had a good chat."
"She came to your hotel? Why? What did you two talk about?"
"That's between her and I. But we did share a nice moment when I went errand shopping with her. She's quite a lovely girl. I always saw her as one, but now seeing this side of her that clearly loves you, I admire her more.
Senna's Flashback
The owner of this shady place gave us the key to the backroom and everything is so junky. The moment I stepped inside, I thought I would be attacked by a dust bunny.
If that's not starling enough, the sound the door closing behind us , sounded like a chamber. Good thing I have my jitterbug phone, the brightness and boldness of the numbers can easily help me dial 911 If the carbon monoxide leak gets too strong.
We're supposed to be looking for a bin that has all the charms inside of it. I've no idea what the plastic bin looks like, but Miss. Sato looks very confident searching for the item.
"What are you doing?" I ask, seeing how she puts her foot on one of the shelves.
"I'm going to climb up, so I can take a better look at the boxes up top."
Panic quickly engulfs my body.
The shelves don't look sturdy enough to hold the bins, let alone a grown woman. This child could get hurt. All for what? A bracelet? Why so determined?
My motherly instincts quickly kicks in, and I rush towards her, making sure she doesn't fall.
This reminds me of my cheerleading days, when I used to spot the girls. I was way too muscular to be a flyer, but I was the top spotter though. People think Korra got her strength from her father, that's highly false. The only strength that man was given, was his strength in the Lord. (Forgive me Father, for talking down upon my husband. You know I love him.)
"A ha! I found it." Miss Sato shouts.
Her enthusiasm makes me smile.
She carefully climbs down, and holds the box up like a trophy.
"Let's get charmed!" She says with a giant smile on her face.
As I sort through the pieces, I put aside the ones I think represent my daughter.
As I stare at them, I start to second guess my choices. Because, what if I don't know my Korra like I thought?
I didn't know she was attracted to girls, does that make my insight invalid?
I spot a charm of two girls holding hands that represent best friends to me, but maybe it can be applied to as….partners?
Wait. I need to stop assuming things.
In order to actually try, maybe asking for help isn't a bad thing.
I know things about Korra's past, but Asami could also know new things about her present.
"Asami?" I ask, stopping the girl's intense search.
"Yes, Senna?" She replies, making her way over to me.
"What do you think about this one?" I ask, holding the friend…I mean, 'partners' charm up.
"Ooooh. A friend charm. Korra's friendly, this could represent that." She replies, motivating.
"No. This is supposed to be you and Korra."
The woman stares at the piece, and does a terrible job trying to hide her laughter.
I don't know what's so funny, I think it's a great choice. It's logical! This is my daughter's gift from Asami.
I quickly cross my arms, not finding anything amusing.
"I appreciate the representation, Senna. But these are clearly sisters to be honest. See. One girl is taller and the other is shorter."
I examine the piece again, and can see how she may get that.
"But you're taller than Korra, it could very well be you two."
"Haha. By a few inches!"
I snatched the piece away from her and toss it back into the bin.
"I'm sorry for laughing, but it was a good suggestion."
I roll my eyes, which gets the woman to look even more amused.
"Ooohh. That's where Korra get's it from?"
"Get's what?" I ask.
"The whole attitude. It's rare you see it from her, but it looks exactly like that." She replies, laughing even more.
"I don't have an attitude. I just don't like my ideas being viewed as foolish. It's certainly better than the ones you have." I reply, picking up a charm of her's, that doesn't make sense to me.
" A peach?" I ask.
The girl smiles to herself, while looking through the bin some more.
"Korra likes peaches." She replies, innocently.
That isn't even remotely true, that's actually her least favorite fruit. It just goes to show Asami doesn't know my Korra like she thinks. Maybe I am still her number 1 ?
My hands reek of metal, and I can't wait to take a shower to get such an awful stench off of me.
The things I do for my daughter.
"Shit!"
I turn over to Asami, and see her shove her finger into her mouth.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yeah. I just cut myself on one of the charms, they're so sharp."
I dig into my purse and grab some Neosporin and rush over to her.
"Senna. It's fine, it's just a cut."
"Nonsense. Who knows how long these charms been in here, you could get an infection. Sit!"
With her on top of the table, I rest her palm on to mine, and place a drop onto her finger.
"Korra never lets me tend to her wounds. Does she let you?" I find myself asking, as I rub in the ointment.
"Sometimes, but there is always a protest first."
I chuckle to myself.
"I think it takes more than persistence when it comes to her listening to me." I tease.
"Or maybe she wants you to see how strong she is?"
I look up at the woman who puts a new perspective into me. Maybe my child is acting this way towards me, not out of hatred. But out of the sole fact, she wants me to see that she's not weak. Because she knows deep down, it would break my heart seeing her broken. If she can handle the person she loves hurting her, she can handle the world. With that mentality, who cares about what others think about her. Maybe that's what she was trying to prove to me all along.
"You know what, Asami? I think you maybe right." I reply, wrapping the band aid finally around her finger.
I give it a tiny squeeze, and the woman in front of me smiles.
"Was that your way of kissing it better?" She teases.
Maybe.
End of flashback.
I find myself wiping tears from my eyes, as my mom digs into her purse to hand me another tissue.
Just hearing that story and my mother actually making an effort, shows me that our relationship can improve.
"That was very nice of you, Mom." I say after collecting myself.
"I did it mostly for you. It's my job to put you first."
"I know. But you had every right not to." I reply.
She moves from her seat and sits next to me, pulling me into her where I cuddle into her. I can barely fit into her arms now, but the closeness is all that matters.
"Thank you for coming today."
"No thank you, for seeing me. I wanted to spend the greatest day of my life with you." She replies, kissing my forehead.
"Speaking of gift ,here." With her unoccupied hand, she digs into her pocket and hands the object to me.
"It's a gift from Asami and I, she wanted me to give it to you. Said something about the party being her gift to you."
I take a hold of the jewelry and examine the many charms around it.
"I remember I had something like this before, I was devastated when I lost it." I state, while tracing all the mini symbols.
"You like it?" She asks.
"Absolutely! I haven't seen these in years." I reply.
"Well. Thanks to Asami, she was able to have someone make it specially for you. She helped me picked out the charms too. It was a lot of debate on which ones would make the cut, but I think we reached an agreement."
To be able to own something made by two people I deeply care about, is the greatest gift I could ask for.
Talk about a symbolic gesture, this is gold.
No, this is love.
Asami
I've been searching for my birthday girl all night! Everyone I asked, told me they haven't seen her in awhile. How can the birthday girl be lost at her own birthday party, and no one notices!? There is no party without the theme. My girlfriend is the theme!
I see Suki near the snack table.
Hopefully she knows where her coach is.
"Hey, Girlie! Sick party, huh?" She says, spinning me around where I have to stop her or I'll get sick.
"Have you seen Korra?" I ask, frantically.
"Um. Now thinking of it, I haven't seen her all night. But that doesn't matter, because she loves her gift . You should totally stop by the studio one day and look at it. You'll get a kick out of it, literally. I turned Korra into a dummy!"
"Korra isn't a dummy, she's lost!" I call out over the music.
If you really think about it. That crazy frog song Bolin's playing sort of matches with my pulse.
"Are you okay?" Suki asks, concerned.
"Yeah. Yeah. I'm just looking for Korra." I answer, still scanning my surroundings.
"I'm sure she's somewhere around here. How about you take a seat, and you might have a better view?"
I find myself nodding, even though I'm not sure If I agree with her.
As she walks me over to some chairs, the dj gets on the microphone.
"It's about that time for the birthday girl to cut the cake! Can we please get Korra Waters over to the cake table, and everyone else to witness such an action?"
"I see her." Suki says, as we follow the crowd.
We end up standing near Kuvira and Jr. and a few other people I don't really know, but it doesn't really matter, because I can see my love now.
Aww. Look at her look all flustered, standing among her people like a queen.
"Should I go up there with her?" I ask, to no one in particular, but somehow receive looks of disgust from people surrounding me.
"No! Why would you go up there?" Kuvira asks.
"I don't know!? She looks sort of nervous." I defend.
"Haha. If Asami wants to look like a proud mom next to her girlfriend, I think we should let her go." Suki teases.
"I think your girlfriend can handle a knife by herself without adult supervision." Jr. adds.
Gez. All they had to say was no.
After Korra gives Bolin a hug, he hands the microphone over to her.
"Testing? Awesome! It works. I it wouldn't?" My girlfriend says into the mic, getting the crowd to laugh.
"BECAUSE THE DJ HAS BEEN YELLING INTO IT ALL NIGHT!" Baatar shouts, getting the crowd to laugh even more, and Bolin to glare.
"Before I make a wish and cut the cake, I want to thank you all for celebrating not just today, but life with me. It's really touching knowing how many people showed up today. I really suck at speeches. But, I want to thank my beautiful girlfriend Asami for putting this lovely event together. Words can't express how blown away I am by all of this, and her in general. I don't know where she is right now, but I love you. And I want to dance with you before the night's over."
The crowd erupts with awws, and I just feel so humbled and loved.
They love me. They really love me.
"Should I go up there?" I ask, ready to make my move. But Jr. holds me back laughing.
"Alright! Cake time!"
The birthday girl examines her cake and laughs.
"Wow! A picture cake. Ha-ha. I don't know how I feel about you all eating me ." She teases.
"Congratulations, Asami. You finally get the chance to eat your girlfriend." Vira's says only making Baatar hold me tighter so I don't kill my best friend.
It would be a bad look to murder someone on my girlfriend's birthday, right?
After cake, I took the opportunity to accept Korra's dance invitation.
12 seconds into Beyonce's Drunk in Love, I came into the realization, I was drunk and in love.
Luckily, Bolin played a slow song that made it look like Korra and I was slow dancing, instead of me depending drastically on her supporting my weight.
"I'm sorry I'm like this on your birthday." I apologize.
"You mean as lovely as ever? " She asks, before stepping back to show me what she's wearing on her wrist.
Before I collapse forward without my previous support, she catches me.
"Aww. You're wearing our gift. " I say, impressed.
"Yes, I am. My mother gave it to me and told me how helpful you were with her. You're truly awesome, you know that?"
I rest my head onto her shoulder.
Yass. Compliments. I love em.
"It's nothing, Sweetie."
"No! It's everything. I'm really grateful for you. This was the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me. I saw people I haven't seen in years/ months. I even saw Mako! They had to leave early, so I didn't get to meet his new girlfriend. But they invited us to dinner, so that's something to look forward to."
"I'm glad you enjoyed everything,Korra. I wanted everything to be special for you."
"It was! Because everything is special with you. And I couldn't have asked for a better ending." She replies pulling me into a kiss.
She pulls back and smiles.
"I feel like I could get drunk kissing you." She says.
"Let's find out then."
Before we could make contact, Bolin gets onto the mic.
"Alright folks. I just got word we have to shut this thang down in 15 minutes. Therefore, you don't gotta leave but you gotta get the hell out of here. It's your boy Dj, Bo. Call that that Uber or Lyft because ya ain't driving tonight. Stay safe. Peace!"
"Oh nooo." I whine.
"What?"
"People are moving, and I don't think I can walk all the way to the parking garage. Do you think they have go karts?"
My honest question, makes my life support laugh.
"Why do you need a go kart when you have me? A go-Korra(t)." She replies.
I don't know if It's the headache or the terrible play on words, either way, I'm just glad I'm not walking.
With one shift motion, I'm hung over her shoulder and I'm glad I chose the peach charm.
"Korra. I think we should share a home together." I state, as people make a path for us.
"Pfft. Duh. You think I'm going to leave you home alone like this? No way. I'll be right by your side as you get through your drunk state."
That's not what I meant! Ugh. Take me home.
Author's Note
Look! I didn't wait so long to update!
As the chill holidays approach, I'll try my best to update more regularly .
Thoughts are appreciated.