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 31: Normality is Underrated
Asami tapped a pencil against her open notebook, staring at the blank page, her lips pulled down into a frown. Sighing, she slowly dropped her head onto the notebook, whimpering quietly, before repeatedly tapping her forehead against the paper. She didn't even move when she heard the chair being pulled back next to her.
"Having fun?" Kiyoko questioned, laughing gently. She placed her hand, palm up, onto the notebook and caught Asami by the forehead, before gently pushing her back up. "What's wrong?"
"I talked to my advisor about wanting to change my Senior Project topic and it was approved," Asami answered. "However, I don't have any ideas on what to change it to."
"Well, what was your original idea?"
"I wanted to create ways for non-benders to bend," she explained. "It was essentially like my electric glove but you would be able to conjure elements like fire, but it would be for safety reason, kind of like pepper spray." Asami crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned back in her chair. "I mean, how else would non-benders be able to protect themselves against benders if the opportunity ever arose?"
Kiyoko's eyes widened, her jaw dropping in shock. "That's an amazing idea." She leaned over and grabbed her school bag before dropping it on top of her desk. Unbuckling the clasp, she pulled out a day planner and flipped to a marked page. "I wish I were that smart."
"You are!" Asami insisted.
"Then why do I need to be tutored in every subject I'm taking?" Kiyoko asked. She leaned over and showed Asami the various tutoring sessions marked in light blue. Of course, Asami knew about some of the sessions since she has agreed to continue to tutor Kiyoko whenever she needed it.
"There's no shame in that."
Sighing, Kiyoko closed the planner with a snap. She clasped her hands together and rested them on top of the planner before eyeing Asami out of her peripheral. "What are you going to change your project to anyway?" she asked, abruptly changing the subject.
"…Something more fun."
"Does Kuvira know about the change?"
"Yes, and she was angry about it." Asami rolled her eyes. "However, she isn't coming back so it wouldn't make too much of a difference. I did tell her that if she would like to continue to work on the project she can, as long as I'm told of any significant changes and things of the like."
Before Kiyoko could respond, the door to the classroom slowly slid open. Asami began to write down various ideas into her notebook, but stopped when she felt a light pinch to her arm. She glanced over at Kiyoko, before facing forward to see what she was staring at. Asami's eyes widened as Rika and Manami stepped into the room.
Rika's hair was dyed dark shade, her skin was very pale, and she looked much thinner than before. She appeared sullen and indifferent to the whispering that erupted around her in the room. Manami had an arm around her shoulders and guided her to an empty seat.
"I wonder what happened to her," Asami muttered.
"I hear she went Goth because Iroh broke up with her," Kiyoko whispered.
"You shouldn't be starting rumors."
"I'm not starting rumors…I'm spreading it," she said with an air of nonchalance. Asami glanced over at Kiyoko, raising an eyebrow. "Only to you, though."
"Should I talk to her?" Asami questioned. She couldn't help but continue to stare at Rika. The girl kept her head down but continued to talk quietly with Manami. Her hands were folded her lap, her body stiff in the chair. "I know what it feels like to be dumped by him."
"Only if you have a death wish," Kiyoko commented.
"So, what time do you want to come over and study?" Asami asked. She placed her pen behind her ear, before turning to face Kiyoko. She then smiled as Kiyoko groaned, clearly indicating that she had hoped the topic change would have continued to stray away from the idea of studying. "We can get a head start on the semester."
"How about you come to my place?"
"You're not still mad about Korra kissing Mako are you?" Asami questioned. "She had amnesia."
During Bolin's premier of his mover, he had single handedly thwarted a plot on President Raiko's kidnapping. After all of the commotion and the evacuation of the arena as per Chief Lin Beifong's request, everyone had gathered outside and was greeted by the arrival of Korra and Tenzin. She had desperately tried to get President Raiko to lend her some of the city's military to lend a hand in aiding the war brewing between the Northern and Southern Water Tribes.
Around this time, Varrick and Raiken were arrested and placed in jail. Varrick was arrested for bombing the Cultural Center as well as other various crimes, while Raiken was arrested in aiding of the theft of the warehouse, wanting revenge against Asami for firing him and for "public humiliation" as well as "harassment". Upon Mako's release from jail Korra happily kissed him, mentioning that she had amnesia and while some details were still a bit fuzzy, she had remembered she was still dating Mako. On the downside, she didn't remember ever meeting or befriending Kiyoko or Asami.
At the time, Asami was upset that her friend wasn't aware who she was, however Korra did greet her warmly when Mako had insisted they were friends and Asami offered her assistance in the reconciliation attempt of the two tribes. As a result of the kiss, Kiyoko was understandably hurt when her boyfriend didn't deny that he and Korra were dating when the latter had asked if everything was okay between them, relationship wise.
"I know she did, but it's still hard to get over." Kiyoko frowned. "You were mad as well."
"I was mad that he essentially lied to her about their relationship and didn't take your feelings into regard, but everything is back to normal now."
"I just need a bit more time."
"Okay, then we'll go to your place after school." The bell rang loudly, indicating the homeroom was over. The teacher at the desk stood up and moved to open the door to the classroom, greeting everyone as they exited. Asami slipped her school bag over her shoulder before getting up out of her chair. On her way out of the classroom, she got jostled a bit by some students behind her and ended up bumping into someone on the right.
"Sorry about that," Asami apologized, moving to help the person she bumped into. Manami quickly stepped up and slapped her hand away.
"Whatever," Rika mumbled, refusing to look at her. "Let's go to class, Manami," she said, before grabbing onto her friend's arm. Manami sneered at Asami before allowing Rika to pull her away. Asami stared as they joined the flow of students in the halls.
Asami entered the apartment, quickly ridding herself of her shoes. She placed them by the door and gave Naga a few scratches behind her ears before heading into the living room. She dropped her stuff on to the couch, before walking around it and taking a seat on the floor next to the couch, where Korra was curled up, reading something on her laptop. "Long day?" she questioned. She smiled, her cheeks moving, causing the bandage on her cheek to crinkle a little. Korra adjusted her seat on the couch, moving a bag of ice behind her back and dropping it to the floor.
After Korra's battle against Vaatu and Unaalaq, she was forced to take a few days' rest. Initially, she hated the idea of being so idle, but now she was enjoying the idea of lounging around and not having to worry about any responsibilities. Doubling that with school not yet being back in session at Republic School for the Gifted, she was perfectly content. However, knowing Korra, she wouldn't be able to stay idle for too long.
"Very long," Asami sighed. She reached for the bowl of grapes sitting on the table and smiled happily when she found it half eaten.
"I'm so glad I don't have to be back in school yet," Korra commented.
"I actually don't mind the normality of going to school." She shrugged and stretched her knee-high sock covered feet out in front of her, happily wiggling her toes. "I mean, we haven't had any disturbance in the world for a few weeks, my company is finally blooming, and I can get back to my fun projects."
"Like tinkering and youtube videos?" she questioned, turning her attention back to her laptop. "I don't even know when you have time to film them. I never see you do it. It's like you're a ghost or something," Korra said, more to herself.
"And…to be honest…modeling, a bit." Asami placed the bowl of fruit back onto the table before taking a seat on the couch next to Korra's feet. Korra lowered the lid of her laptop, regarding Asami with an amused expression. "Xu think that with the changes at the company I should be putting myself out there a bit more. It's not as bad as I remember it being."
"So that's where you've been disappearing off to."
"And to tutor Kiyoko."
Korra's smile instantly faded. "She's still mad?"
"Yes, but I'm sure she'll be over it soon. Don't worry." Asami said reassuringly.
"So…modeling? Is there something you can't do?"
"Can't or won't? There's a big difference." Korra rolled her eyes before playfully sticking out her tongue. Asami chuckled as she gathered up her items from the couch. Yawning, she glanced out a nearby window, smiling at the view of the setting sun, before heading to a closet by the front door to put her items away. Upon opening the door, she let out a cry of shock when the baby spirit jumped out and landed at her feet. It began to nip lightly at her ankle.
"Are you okay?" Korra asked as she limped over to Asami's side.
"Why do you keep following me?" Asami questioned. "Go back to the Spirit Wilds, there's bound to be others like you there."
Upon restoration of tranquility among the Northern and Southern Water Tribes, and keeping the two Spirit Portals open, spirit vines had grown throughout the heart of Republic City. It tore up the streets and fused into many nearby buildings. It's become such a hassle that there have been many evacuations as of late. President Raiko has been desperate in trying to get rid of the vines, even coming close to giving Korra an ultimatum: get rid of the vines or leave the city. Asami was upset by his choices, but could see where he was coming from. She has had the unfortunate reputation of destroying parts of his city since she arrived.
Korra eyed the spirit closely before crouching down near it. The spirit looked over at Korra before growling at her. Korra exhaled sharply out of her nose before moving into the kitchen and turning on the faucet. She then began to bend the water around the spirit, forming it into a sphere and gently cradling it above the ground. The water began to glow and the purple and dark hues of the spirit slowly began to fade.
"It's an ocelot-eagle spirit," Asami whispered once the spirit was placed back onto the ground. Korra turned off the faucet and rejoined Asami by the front door. She leaned up against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, and smirk on full display as the spirit nuzzled against Asami's leg.
"A baby ocelot-eagle spirit," Korra corrected. "Congratulations, Asami, you're a new mother."
"Excuse me?"
"Ocelot-eagles are used to intercept messages and can be vicious animals." Korra nodded at the spirit that quickly jumped up and took residence on Asami's shoulder. "This one is just a baby, so I think when it found you, it thought you were its mother."
"Last time I encountered this spirit when it was dark, it gave me the photo of Varrick and Raiken." Asami tapped her chin in thought.
"See, it delivered a message. Anyway, since you were the first thing it saw, it thinks you're its mother." Korra took a step forward and held her wrist up to the spirit. It looked at Korra's wrist before licking it lightly. It then nuzzled its face into Korra's palm when she began to scratch it behind the ears. Naga growled from the corner.
"Oh, don't be jealous," Korra snapped. "So what are you going to name him?"
"Name him?" Asami repeated.
"Or her. I'm not entirely sure of it's a boy or girl."
"Haven't you taken basic anatomy?" Asami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Thanks Columbus, but as you can see there's no identifying parts." Korra rolled her eyes. She picked the spirit up off of Asami's shoulder and held it up into the air in her roommate's face, trying to prove her point.
"Hermes," Asami answered.
Korra blinked. "Bless you."
"No, I'm naming this spirit Hermes, after the Greek God, who was an advisor to Zeus and a messenger to all of the other gods and goddesses," she rattled off. Hermes squirmed out of Korra's grasp, falling in Asami's direction. Asami quickly reached her arms out and caught the spirit, who then curled up and fell fast asleep.
"I thought they taught you science at your fancy school," Korra commented.
"Ha, ha," Asami answered dryly.
"No need for your sarcasm, you know you missed me."
"I did, I missed a lot of things when you were gone," Asami admitted. She let out another yawn. "I think I'm just going to head to sleep."
"Let me know if you need anything," Korra said as she limped back into the living room. She collapsed onto the couch and gathered up her laptop. "Goodnight, Tink," she called out as Asami headed into her bedroom.
Asami beamed. "Thanks. Goodnight." With that she closed her bedroom door and flicked on a nearby lamp. She walked over to her bed and moved a pillow to the floor before placing Hermes on top of it, all the while holding her breath so as to not awaken it. Asami was so tired that she had decided to skip dinner for the night.
However, sleep didn't come as easily as she expected. She tossed and turned for twenty minutes before giving up. Her mind raced too much for her to be able to relax enough to get to sleep. Reaching into pocket of her skirt, she pulled out her phone and sent Korra a text message.
Asami: -8:47 pm- Pillow?
During the Southern Water Tribe's Summer Solstice Festival, Asami had attempted the Polar Bear Dog plunge to prove her worth. After her momentary lapse of judgement she was constantly looked after by Senna and Korra. Although Korra mainly took the 'job' since she felt that she was to blame for Asami taking the jump. While recuperating, Asami would text the word pillow, to Korra, indicating that she needed another one. Soon, the word took on new meaning between the two of them. Now, whenever one of them would text pillow to the other, it mean that they needed to talk about something, wanted their company, or actually wanted a pillow. Either way, it usually ended with them talking into the early hours of the morning and sharing a bite to eat.
Korra: -8:47 pm- Sure, I'll order us a pizza.
AN: Many thanks to Rubiks, for being my beta!
