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 32: Girl's Day In
Asami plucked a pair of earbuds out of her ears, before slowly turning to face Korra, who was lounging on the couch. The hair from the wolf-tail at the top of her head covered her face, her left leg dangled to the ground, an empty bowl of popcorn rested on her firm stomach. Asami rolled her eyes before leaning over and pinching her friend on the thigh.
"Ow," Korra muttered, her inflection clearly indicating that the action hadn't hurt in the slightest.
"Do you have to keep sighing?" Asami questioned. "I can hear you over my music."
"I'm bored!" she cried. Brushing her hair out of her face, Korra sat up on the couch, ignoring the bowl tipping over and spilling un-popped kernels in-between the couch cushions. Asami stared at the kernels as her roommate moved to sit up. "I need something to do."
"Well, you're still recovering and I have to finish presentation for work," Asami reminded her. "Then I have to start the laundry, vacuum, and repair that hole in the wall which you still won't tell me how it got there."
"Some things are better left unsaid, Asami. It's good you learn that now."
Asami wanted to laugh, but she let out a sigh, burying her face in her hands. "I don't know how I'm going to get this all done."
"You worry about your presentation," Korra suggested. "I'll do the house work."
"Yeah, like I trust you to do that when you can't even clean up after yourself in the kitchen," Asami quietly snapped. She then cleared her throat, before turning to face her roommate, pointing at the bandage on her cheek. "Korra, you're still recovering," she pointed out. Korra opened her mouth to protest but Asami quickly cut her off. "You also still have a limp. Katara said you need to take things easy for a few weeks, and those few weeks don't end until Sunday."
"I'm fine. Unless you want me to continue to sit here and complain." With that Korra slumped over and took a deep breath. "Asaaaamiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii," she started to whine. Asami quickly reached out and placed her hand over Korra's mouth, instantly silencing her.
"I'm sorry, that was rude." Asami quickly pulled her hand away. She then raised an eyebrow. "But still, knock it off." She returned to typing at a furious speed on her laptop.
"You're a little snippy today," Korra commented, lightly hitting her roommate on the shoulder with the back of her hand. "What gives?"
Asami paused, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. Korra watched as a muscle in her friend's jaw twitched. Pulling her lips into a thin line, Asami inhaled deeply before closing the laptop lid. Korra's eyebrows rose as her friend turned towards her with a bright smile. "Nothing," Asami answered with a shrug. "I'm just a little stressed with work and school."
"As if that's new," Korra snickered.
"Don't you have cleaning to do?" Asami asked, scooping her laptop up in her arms before getting to her feet.
"Yes ma'am," she answered sarcastically. Asami reached out and flicked Korra on the side of her head as she passed by the couch. Heading towards her bedroom, she paused upon hearing the doorbell. Placing her laptop on a nearby table, she hummed to herself while moving to greet the visitor at the door.
"Flowers for a Ms. Asami Sato," a young man said as soon as Asami opened the door. She received the bundle with a small before scribbling her name onto the form the held out in front of her. "Have a nice day ma'am."
"Thank you, you too," Asami greeted politely. After closing the door, she tucked the flowers underneath her arm and retrieved her laptop from the table.
"Secret admirer?" Korra called out.
"Nope." With that, Asami retreated into her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Korra frowned when she heard the lock click into place. Shrugging, she stretched her arm above her head before getting up off of the couch and limping towards the laundry room. Flicking on the light switch she glanced at the washer and dryer before looking down at the two baskets filled with clothing.
Korra bit her bottom lip as she glanced at the two machines one more time. Picking up one of the laundry baskets, she turned on her heel and left the room, instead heading into her bedroom, and then her bathroom, but not before stopping into the kitchen and picking up a bottle of dish soap.
Dropping the basket to the floor as well as the, she turned on the shower and checked to make sure the bathroom door was open to help ventilate the area. Korra waved her hands in the air, bending the water into a giant sphere. Contouring the water with her left hand, she created a gust of air with her right, lifting the clothes out of the basket and into ball of water. She then stomped her foot onto the bottle of dish soap. The built up pressure forced the lid of the bottle open and a stream of soap erupted from the opening. Korra quickie bent the liquid dish soap into the giant ball of water and clothing.
She then moved the orb over into the shower stall, allowing the dripping water to run down the drain. This in turn also allowed water from the shower head to keep the ball of water at a decent size. Korra hummed to herself as she bent the water and soap, turning it into one giant bubble filled with numerous little bubbles. She hummed to herself as she continued to bend the water, occasionally changing it's directions to cause more bubbles to emit from the current.
"Korra," Asami called out.
"In here!"
"Hey, I wanted to-what are you doing?" she demanded upon entering the bathroom. Her eyes widened in shock when she spotted the giant ball of water floating in the shower.
"Washing our clothes," Korra answered with a shrug.
"That's what a washing machine is for."
"I don't know how to use one." She turned and looked over her shoulder, instantly noting the annoyance and confusion coating Asami's face. "This is how we wash clothes where I'm from," she explained. "Mako and Pema always did the laundry when I crashed at their places."
"Mako washed your panties?" Asami questioned.
Korra groaned, visibly cringing. "Underwear," she corrected. "Besides, I wear boxers and bindings, remember."
"Why?"
"Boxers just feel better."
Asami giggled into her palm. "I meant the bindings."
"Oh." A look of discomfort crossed over Korra's face. She faced forward once more, focusing on the ball of soapy water in front of her. She back suddenly became stiff. It was then Asami picked up on her discomfort. Growing up secluded and manly having male friends must make topics about her body an uncomfortable subject. She also found it endearing that her friend was so shy. "Growing up…I…developed…pretty quickly and they're kind of…"
"Huge?" Asami supplied.
"You noticed?" Korra asked with a laugh. She turned and winked at Asami over her shoulder. "Am I living with a pervert?"
Asami felt a flutter in her stomach. Heat raced up into her cheeks, and the middle of her palms became clammy. Memories of the kiss she had given her friend on New Year's came flooding back. She felt her heart skip a beat when she noticed the playful smile on Korra's face, and a hint of mischief in her blue eyes. "N-no," she stammered, "it's just…something that can't help but be noticed."
"Sami-Sam, I was kidding," Korra said reassuringly. She then winced. "Sorry, I don't know why I just called you that," she added, apologetically.
"No, it's okay," Asami quickly answered, grateful that the topic had changed. "I've always wanted nicknames."
"You don't like Tinkerbell?"
"That one is nice too. It's just that I've never really been close enough to someone to gain a nickname." Asami tapped her chin in thought. "So, now I have Sami, Sami-Sam, Samus…at least in your phone, and Tinkerbell. I need to come up with more for you, Angel."
"I agree, since there is no way I'll be called that in public," Korra said with a laugh. "Anyway, because of how active I was growing up and going through…" she trailed off once more.
"Changes," Asami supplied. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the bathroom doorway.
"Right…regular bras would just draw attention to them. I used sports bras for a while and they were fine until they got…this big." Korra began to wring the pair of boxers in her hands. A little bit of water dripped into the floor. She ignored the slippery surface as she absentmindedly continued to twist the material in her hands. "When my training became more intense I just wanted them out of the way, so I turned to bindings. They never moved and gave me much better support." Asami stepped into the room and tugged the pair of boxers out of her friend's hands before beginning to work on loosening the knot that had ended up forming. "Plus, a few girls I grew up with her jealous that I had developed first and they were jealous that they were so big. They thought it was how I was able to talk to and be friends with guys." Korra snorted. "I'm friends with guys because-".
"You are one," Asami interrupted, holding up the pair of boxers with one finger.
"Huh?"
"Come on, Korra. You burp pretty loudly, you sometimes shove Bolin into your armpit to get him to admit defeat, and you boast about your muscles and how awesome you are," she listed.
Korra raised an eyebrow before crossing her arms over her chest. "Sorry, I'm still not used to have this whole having a girl friend thing," she responded, her voice carrying a bit of edge. Asami folded up the boxers into a small square before gently placing it into Korra's hands.
"I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying its how you are," Asami said gently. "You're fearless and you congratulate yourself on a job well done because you're proud of your achievements." She shrugged. "I'm proud of my achievements but I was told I had to be humble. Now people think I'm stuck up when I talk down on things I should be happy about because I can see more mistakes than they can."
"The problems of growing up in the public eye," Korra said, nodding slowly. Since she was the Avatar and the daughter of a highly respected member of the Southern Water Tribe, she was able to relate to what Asami had mentioned.
Asami shrugged before smiling sadly. She watched for a few minutes as Korra placed the damp clothing up on the shower rod to drip dry. As soon as Korra moved to gather up the other clothing still sitting in the basket, Asami placed a hand on top of her's to stop her. "I'm going to show you how to use the washing machine." After motioning for Korra to pick up the basket, she led her out of the bedroom and into the laundry room. "You separate the clothes by color."
"You're supposed to separate them?" Korra asked, promptly dropping the basket onto the laundry room floor.
"Oh, Korra," Asami groaned. She glanced at the basket that Korra had just dropped into the floor and noticed it filled with black, red, white, blue, and grey clothing. She sighed before rummaging through the other laundry basket and dropping a few pieces of clothing into the drum of the washing machine.
"All of my clothes are various shades of blue and white; give me a break," Korra said defensively as she moved to help Asami.
"As I was saying, you fill the drum with clothing up to this line at most. You can have as little clothing in here as you want. Just make sure you move this dial to how big or small your load is." Asami said, pointing to one of the many dials along the dashboard. "After that, you add in a cup of soap." Korra nodded in understanding before bending down to pluck the dish soap out of the basket she had brought into the room. "Not that soap, this soap." Asami reached up and plucked an orange container off a shelf above the washer and dryer. "It's also known as laundry detergent."
"Okay, so where's the cup?" Korra asked, glancing over the container.
"It's usually the lid, but I have no idea where it is," Asami commented when she noticed she was looking at the easy pour spout of the container instead of a dark blue cap.
"Easy fix." Korra shrugged. She reached into one of the baskets of clothing and pulled out one of Asami's pink lacy bras. She then turned grabbed the soap and poured it into one of the cups, filling up the cotton material to the outer edges before tossing it back into the drum. Korra then closed the lid of the washing machine before wiping the sticky residue off onto her pants. It was then she noticed Asami glaring at her, at least attempting to glare at her. A smile was fighting its way onto her face. "What?" Korra asked.
Asami rolled her eyes, chuckling softly and gently pushing Korra out of the way with her elbow. "Then you select the setting by turning the dial, and pulling it out." With that, Asami closed the lid of the machine, turned the dial to the correct setting and then pulled lightly. A loud hum filled the room and the sound of water followed.
"Cool," Korra commented. She then reached out to grab the lid of the washing machine. She cried out in shock when Asami smacked the back of her hand.
"And don't ever open the lid after you start a load," Asami added. "Now, help me separate the rest of the clothing." She slowly lowered herself to the ground and began to pull her red and white clothing out of the basket and next to her onto the floor.
"Are you okay?" Korra asked. "You really aren't yourself today."
"I'm fine, really," she answered with a shrug. "I'm just really stressed out."
Korra nodded in understanding. She grabbed a few pairs of socks and began to bundle them together, all the while periodically glancing over at Asami. She quickly noticed how her friend's jaw was clenched, and she seemed to overly snap the clothing she was pulling out of the basket. "Pillow?" she asked quietly.
Asami jumped, reacting as if she had forgotten she wasn't' alone. Putting on a light smile, shrugged. "No, thanks. Not right now, anyway." She then paused in the middle of adding a pair of black pants to the pile next to her. "I'm missing a pink bra," she commented.
"Oh, it's in the wash," Korra said, pointing to the machine behind her with the jerk of her thumb.
"Get it out! Pink stains white!" Asami said, attempting to get to her feet. She ended up crashing back down to the floor, as a pair of pants ended up wrapped around her ankles. Korra stared at her in confusion, before getting up and pulling open the lid. "Wait, turn it off first!" Asami shouted.
However, her warning was too little too late as a wave of bubbles exploded from the washing machine, quickly filling the room. Korra spat the bubbles out of her mouth, slowly turning away from the machine, wiping at her face. The entire front side of her was covered from head to toe in bubbles. Asami burst out laughing, the acoustics in the room caused it to echo. She reached up and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"I knew I'd get you to genuinely smile today," Korra commented as she lifted a hand and blew the bubbles off. She smiled brightly as they danced into the air. She then waved her arms around, creating a gently breeze and removing the bubbles from her and Asami's bodies.
"So you actually know how to do laundry?" Asami questioned as she untangled the pair of pants from around her legs.
Korra leaned over and lightly flicked her friend in the forehead. "Duh! I just do it the other way to save on electricity, and it's fun." She shrugged before bending the little bit of water out of her clothing. "I'm working on my bending without really working on my bending."
Before Asami could answer, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She retrieved it and read the new text message she had just received.
Bolin -2:37 pm-: School will be starting up soon and Opal still isn't back. She's also been answering my texts with one word. Do you know what's going on? Do you think you can find out?
"You still haven't told him?" Korra asked. She had leaned over to read the text message. Normally, Asami would have scolded her for intruding on the privacy of her correspondence, but couldn't bring herself to do so.
"I don't know how," Asami sighed. "I keep telling Opal that she should be the one to tell him…but I can also see where she's coming from. It's not something I'd want to hear over the phone."
"When I have problems figuring out what to do, I go and talk to Pema." Korra grabbed Asami by the wrist and pulled her to her feet. "You seem like you could talk about a lot of things. Besides, I'm overdue for a visit." Asami smiled gently as Korra excitedly pulled her along as she headed for the front door. "Kya and Bumi are staying for a while so you can get her opinion as well." She paused when her ringtone peeled from her pocket. Korra pulled out the electronic device and checked the screen. "Speaking of which…hey Tenzin!"
"Korra…are you busy at the moment?" his gruff voice exploded through the receiver. Korra winced and held the phone a distance away from her ear. Asami leaned forward, straining to her.
"No, I'm just hanging with Asami. We were actually talking about heading over to visit Pema and everyone."
"I need you to meet me on the bridge that leads into the city," Tenzin insisted.
Korra and Asami exchanged a look of confusion. "Why? What's wrong?"
"We may have a jumper situation."
"Well, why do you need me for that? Call Lin."
"Korra…" Tenzin took in a deep breath. It was then she noticed that not only did he sound concerned in his previous sentence, small traces of hope and even elation were weaved into each word. She waited patiently for him to continue. "He…he airbent himself up there," he quietly announced.
"What?!" Korra shouted.
"What?" Asami repeated. She grabbed Korra's arm and shook it, trying to catch her attention. "What?"
"Airbenders are popping up all over," Tenzin continued. "The nation is back."
AN: Many thanks to Rubiks, for being my beta!
