Model Behavior
Summary: Modern/AU. Korra thought it was an ordinary day of art class at Republic School for the Gifted. But then, the art model Asami Sato walked into the room... Korrasami
Chapter 30: A Nudge in the Right Direction
Asami gasped, jumping back in shock, dropping the wrench in her hand. The clang of the metal hitting the ground echoed across the empty room. She placed a hand over her heart, breathing slowly to bring her adrenaline to a stop. Glaring she took a set closer, peering down at the baby spirit that had popped up through her tool box.
Its long fangs were bared, and its hair was on edge. However, its chubby body, huge eyes, and quiet snarls made it look more cute than menacing. She wasn't sure what animal hybrid the spirit was supposed to be, but she didn't really care since it was more of a nuisance than a pressing problem. Asami exhaled sharply before reaching her hand out and grabbing the spirit by the scruff of its neck. The spirit squirmed, turning so that its fangs were right by her wrist. Opening its mouth widely, the spirit clamped down on Asami's arm. While a normal animal would have injured her, its bites felt more like nibbles.
Asami lifted the spirit so that she was looking directly in its face. "Why do you keep bothering me?" she insisted. The spirit immediately stopped what it was doing, its large eyes focused on Asami's face. "Why am I a threat to you?"
"A threat to who?" Xu questioned as she stepped into the room. Asami turned to look at her, slightly dropping her arm. "Who are you talking to?"
"This spirit," Asami insisted, thrusting her hand out. Xu looked at it and then back at Asami before taking careful steps forward. As soon as they were toe to toe, Xu place her hands on Asami's shoulders. It was then Asami noticed her empty hand and slowly lowered her arm.
Great, she must think I'm insane!
"Honey, you need some rest," Xu said gently. "How about you take some time to yourself before the premiere tonight?"
Asami quickly took up interest in a blueprint on the table. There wasn't much on the paper except for some rough sketches on a new machine she was working on. It would explain the many piles of various metals, nuts, and bolts scattered across the floor. "…I can't," she said, raising a shoulder. "I want to get some things done."
Xu exhaled gently out of her nose before brushing some of Asami's long hair out of her face. "You look like you haven't gotten much sleep in a while."
"I haven't, but this is nothing." Asami forced a smile. "It just feels like finals week…but there's more at stake." She licked her lips, tapping her thumbs against the surface of the table. "Why do you want me to leave so badly?" she asked.
Xu made a quit grunting sound before dropping her hand. Asami's dark hair fell back into her face, creating a curtain, shielding whatever look Xu was giving her, much to her relief. Asami didn't know if she would be able to handle the look that was surely set upon her face. "…You think I stole Future Industries' items from the warehouse." Xu's inflection made it a statement more than a question.
Asami rapidly shook her head. "No, I don't," she insisted.
"Because you don't know what to believe."
Brushing her hair back behind her ear, Asami finally lifted her head and faced Xu. She bit her bottom lip, the waxy coating of her lipstick invaded her mouth, coated her taste buds. Not that she was able to taste much of anything with her mouth suddenly becoming dry. "Everything seems to be there, but…I just know you didn't do it."
"Thank you." Xu nodded. "You don't know what that means to me. However, I know I didn't do anything that I'm accused of, so I just have to continue to work."
"As should I."
Xu peered closely at Asami. Her gaze was so intense she was able to hold Asami's focus, no matter how hard she tried to shift it. "…You haven't gone and visited your friend yet. Have you? The one that was arrested?" she questioned.
"No, I haven't." Asami turned around so that she leaned up against the table. She shrugged, shaking her head. "My friends have been leaving me messages, saying he'd like to see me and prove that he wasn't behind everything he was accused of. I know he isn't."
"…it's because of your father?"
"I didn't go to see my father in jail, and I don't want to see him," Asami said harshly. "My father deserves to be in there. He did so many illegal things and he almost killed me…" she had to pause to swallow, a lump was rapidly growing in her throat. "…but Mako shouldn't be in there. And yet, it's just too hard."
"That's perfectly understandable." Xu placed a hand on Asami's shoulder giving it a light squeeze. Asami lifted her hand so that her palm rested against Xu's knuckles. "I'll let you get back to work. I just came in here to let you know that your dress and shoes have arrived. They are in your office."
"Thank you, Xu." Asami turned to face the older woman. "Would you like to take some time off? This way you won't have to deal with everything that's going on."
"No," she answered firmly. "Why should I hide my face when I didn't do what I'm accused of? That's what they want me to do." Slowly shaking her head, she offered up a smile. "I won't give them the satisfaction."
"That's good to hear. Maybe I'll learn from you one day."
"How so?"
Asami shrugged. She didn't mean to lay out all of her problems, but the reassuring squeeze from Xu, and the feeling of her warmth underneath her hand just caused her to explain. "Just, some things at school. I'm not really looking forward to going back. Don't get me wrong, I'd like to graduate-"
"Is that Rika girl still bothering you?" Xu demanded.
"Not as of late…not for a while, actually. I know she'll start up when we get back to school. The thing is, I'm not sure what I did to make her hate me so much," Asami admitted.
After a moment, Asami turned to look at Xu when she didn't respond. The older woman's hand was titled to the side, her eyes narrowing slightly I thought. Her lips were slightly pursed. "Why do you care that she hates you?"
"We used to be friends-"
"That girl is not a friend!" Xu snapped. "I've seen you flourish under your friendship with the Avatar and everyone else. That girl is something, but she can't be called a friend. She'll never be called a friend." As the seconds passed, the tension in her shoulders dispersed. "The only thing you can do, is offer condolences for whatever she's going through and then move past it. It's the only way I've been able to deal with Raiken for so long," she added with a wink.
Asami wanted to smile, but the mention of Raiken cause her to frown. "If I were a better leader, he would have been gone a while ago."
"You weren't a leader, you were a girl who had to jump into a big position, and you have accomplished so much. Raiken just wanted power, and he went the wrong way to get it," Xu gently reminded her. "You have a vision, not just for yourself, but for plenty of women around here. You care about your employers. You care about everyone…even your friend who you keep looking at your phone to see if she's finally responded." Xu nodded pointedly at Asami's hand that rested on her phone in her pocket.
"I thought working would help."
"It's only a temporary fix, just like drinking and other things. If anything really bad happened to the Avatar, then the whole world would have known by now," Xu pointed out. "It's a positive even though it still isn't." Xu took a hold of Asami's face, palms resting on her cheeks. "Now, go get dressed and be with your friends," she ordered.
"Thanks Xu," Asami said through a tearful smile.
Xu nodded once before gently cradling Asami's head against her chest. "I love you, you know that. Worrying won't fix everything. And I'm sure everyone has told you this hundreds of times…please, just focus on yourself for right now. Or Bolin, too, in this situation." After a few moments passed she gently pushed Asami away. "Now, will you please go and have some before I have to kick your butt?"
"Okay, I'm going," Asami laughed. Xu reached out and wiped a tear that was forming in the outer corner of Asami's eye away with her thumb. She then lightly tapped Asami against the chin with her fist before leaving the room. Before Asami could move, her phone vibrated four times in her pocket, indicating she was receiving a call. "What's up Kiyoko?" she asked upon answering.
"I just got back from visiting Mako," Kiyoko answered quietly. "It's really weird…seeing my boyfriend in jail."
"It's hard seeing anyone in jail," Asami muttered.
"All he wanted to talk about was you and your company, and how he really wanted to let you know he wasn't behind everything that he's charged with."
"I know he isn't, just like I know Xu isn't." Asami frowned when she heard silence on the other end of the line. Crossing an arm over her chest, she rested her elbow on the back of her empty hand. "What's wrong Kiyoko?" she asked.
"I can't help but feel jealous that he's so close to you and Korra," Kiyoko admitted. "I mean, you two are fantastic and I'm…me."
"Hey, he's with you for a reason. I know the feeling though, when you're with someone and then wonder why because they could have easily picked someone else." Her thoughts quickly floated to Iroh and how he did actually end up with someone else. She reached down and punched herself in the thigh, jarring her thoughts. "But he's crazy about you. Sure, he may not be the easiest to talk to, but he's a great guy."
"…Are you sure there's nothing going on between you two?" she asked. Moments later she was apologizing, her words a jumbled mess by how fast she was talking.
"No, we're friends," Asami insisted.
"What about Korra? I mean, I don't know her that well, and-"
"I've only known her for a few months and I can assure you she wouldn't do something to get in the way of your relationship. However, you'd have to talk to him about that since…she's still not here." She cleared her throat once. "It did unnerve me a little bit that he was still in love with her when we dated briefly, but it also makes sense. Korra's pretty great."
"How can I compete with the Avatar?"
"You shouldn't, and you're not. You're Kiyoko and that's fantastic for him," Asami answered. "When Mako gets passionate about something, or righting a wrong, it may be the only thing he focuses on, but that can be an endearing quality as well."
"You're right," Kiyoko sighed.
"You need to get your mind off of things," she suggested. As do I. "Come to the premier with me. Bolin would love to have an extra friendly face there since Opal can't attend."
"You still haven't told him?"
"No, and I won't. Not until after the premier. It's his night," Asami answered. She rubbed the back of her neck, wondering when would be the right time to tell him. "I'll see you later. Let's have dinner before we go."
"Sounds good," Kiyoko answered. She then sighed, before taking on a brighter tone. "Thanks, Sami."
Asami hesitated when Kiyoko had called her by a nickname. It was a name Korra had begun to use for her, aside from the occasional Tinkerbell here and there. "…Anytime." Asami ended the phone call before staring at her cell phone screen. She took a deep breath before pulling up her text messages, and began to compose a new message.
Hey Korra,
Bolin has a premier tonight for his movers. He got us boxseats with President Raiko and Ginger. It's going to be held at the Pro-Bending Arena. Things are a little crazy right now, but I guess that's the norm for us. While we're all pulled in different directions, we'll still come and help you and your tribe. In case you ever see this, just know that we've got your back.
Asami pressed SEND before placing her phone back into her pocket. Stooping down to pick up the wrench she had dropped, she pulled her hand back in surprise as the baby spirit quickly ran up, blocking the object with its body.
"You know, I'd be a tad bit more annoyed if you weren't cute," Asami sighed. She carefully pushed the spirit away before picking up the wrench. She moved over to the table and hovered over a blueprint. She slowly scanned the white lines, reading the small notes she had left for herself. It wasn't until she felt a tap against her arm that she was pulled out of her reverie. The baby spirit looked up at her with its big eyes, before leaning forward and head-butting her arm.
"You are beginning to bug me," Asami mumbled as she shooed the spirit away. "Add that to my list: I'm not good with children or animals." The spirit head-butted her arm once more. Again, she shooed the spirit away before tossing the wrench back into her tool box. It jumped at the loud sound, baring its fangs at the red box. Detecting that it was distracted, Asami headed out of the room and in the direction of her office. She paused, a foot in the air when a rustling sound came from behind her.
Turning around, she groaned quietly. The spirit had followed her, but with a crumpled up piece of paper in its mouth. Asami sighed hard before crouching low to the ground. "Do you want me to see this?" she questioned. The spirit dropped the piece of paper, before blinking rapidly up at her. Asami carefully unfolded the paper to discover that it was a photo. The edges were ripped, indicating that it was torn out of a newspaper
"Why is Raiken with Varrick?" she whispered. Her cellphone vibrated. Asami quickly plunged her hand into her pocket and pulled out the electronic device.
Bolin: -5:47 pm- Kiyoko just told me about dinner plans. How could you not invite me? :'( I'm hurt, but will be able to get over it if you treat a rising star to some of the best noodles in town. Let's go to Narook's.
Asami smiled softly. Leave it to Bolin to know how to distract me.
Asami: -5:47pm- Anything for an upcoming mover star. Something tells me that tonight will be unforgettable. I just need to get changed and then I'll head out. I can't wait to see the mover.
AN: Many thanks to Rubiks, for being my beta!
Here's the next chapter's title: Normality is Underrated
