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 36: Forget Me Not (I)
The next few days were filled with much tension. While Asami focused on the maintenance of the airship across the Earth Nation, she was also tackling her mountain of homework as well as her senior project. Plus, being in a fight with Korra and Bolin put a big damper on her usually pleasant disposition.
Bolin was the complete opposite from himself. Mako described it as being worse than the time "where he got drunk on noodles after he saw Korra kissing me". He would sit by himself, staring at his phone, with Pabu curled up in his lap, refusing to leave his side.
Korra was in a bad mood and everyone was well aware. She didn't bother to hide her disdain with Asami. Every time the engineer entered the room, Korra would abruptly get up and leave. While she didn't have any issue with Bolin, she was short with him as well for being the partial blame of his unhappiness. Jinora would often be Korra's spiritual advisor but found each encounter to be more of a venting session. Lin had agreed to be her sparring partner, and with the pent up aggression she's had over the years, the two would essentially beat each other to death before their fights were stopped by a flustered Tenzin, who had his hands full worrying about Jinora and her "kinda-sorta" boyfriend along with them on the trip.
Mako ended up in the position of being the one friend stuck between Korra, Asami, and Bolin, that, when given the chance, he would hide away and do his school assignments. Of course, he would also help Bolin keep up with his own work, as well as help run lines with him for Varrick's next project, much to his annoyance; which he would keep his thought to himself to continue to support his brother and his future endeavors.
Tenzin, on the other hand, was fed up with everything and everyone; although you wouldn't be able to tell with how calm he appeared to be. There was whisperings from Jinora, however, about how he amped up his meditation sessions and the length of them. While his company was something to be desired, his morale for rebuilding the Earth Nation lowered with each stop as all he would get were doors slamming into his face.
The only person who seemed to be in a relatively good mood was Bumi. He would just lament about this war stories to anyone who would listen. His stories caused for a great distraction during dinner, seeing as everyone else would be quiet since they weren't talking to someone or just didn't have anything to say.
Korra whistled to herself as she walked around the expansive airship. She had excused herself from dinner early, not in the mood to listen to another story from Bumi or a lecture from Tenzin, not that she ever looked forward to the latter. She paused outside of a door that she hadn't been through before. In fact, if memory served her correctly, it was one of the rooms Asami had told everyone not to enter.
"Now…Asami said no….but all I'm hearing is yes." With that, Korra entered the room and turned on a light. She gasped when she found all of the different satomobiles chained to the floor. A slight creaking sound came from the shifting of the cars as they moved along with the airship in the breeze. While the giant structure was tired down to a loading dock for the night, it continued to gently sway.
Korra laughed to herself, rubbing her hands together as she walked over to a car at the front of the airship, closest to the ramp. Her smile widened when she spotted the keys in the ignition. Placing her hands onto the frame of the car, she jumped into the driver's seat and settled in, quickly buckling herself.
"What are you doing?" Asami demanded, appearing at Korra's side. The Avatar jumped, placing a hand over her chest. "Get out."
"You always say driving clears your head." Korra said with a shrug. She turned the keys in the ignition, bringing the vehicle to life.
"You're not that great of a driver." She lifted her goggles to the top of her head, a bit of oil smeared across her cheek. She placed a socket wrench into a nearby tool box before ripping her gloves off. "Korra, no," she said firmly when Korra shifted the car from park to drive.
"Asami, you can't make me change my mind."
Asami sighed hard. "Then I'm coming too." She bent down along the side of the car and unhooked it from the floor of the airship. Korra watched from the rear view mirror, as the engineer made her way around the car, releasing some clasps.
"No," Korra snapped.
"If something happens, will you know what to do?" Asami demanded as she stood by the passenger door.
"Yes, I'll fly back."
"And leave my car out there? No way." Asami opened the passenger door and got into the empty seat before slamming it shut after her. "You need me and you know it."
"Fine."
"Road Trip!" Bolin cried happily, sitting up from the back seat. Korra and Asami screamed loudly, collapsing in their seats in huge sighs. "I've always wanted to go on one."
"What are you doing out here?" Asami asked.
Bolin glanced at her for the longest time as Korra eased the car from its parked spot. Asami pressed a button on a rectangular device on the dashboard causing the ramp to open up. She winced as Korra eased the car out into the open air, speeding into the desert.
"Sometimes I relax in the back seat of these cars," he finally answered, more towards Korra than Asami. He had to shout over the wind rushing by them as Korra continued to speed forward. "It's a nice and quiet place."
"Doesn't anyone follow rules anymore?" Asami muttered. She rested her elbow on the frame of the passenger door, placing her forehead against her knuckles. Her dark hair blew wildly in the wind behind her. She blinked, clearing her watery eyes.
"Not unless you want to be a goody two shoes," Korra muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.
"Not all of us have our lives figured out where we have everything planned to a T." Korra rolled her eyes. "Some of us like to have some fun every once in awhile. Or do you not know what that means anymore?" she glanced over at Asami, who stared back at her with a harsh look.
"Korra," Bolin said quietly. He tensed up a bit in his seat as the Avatar accelerated a bit faster.
"You know I'm right," she continued. "You just don't want to admit it."
"No, I don't," Asami answered.
"Why not?
"Because."
"Because, why?!"
"Because…" Asami slowly shook her head. She tried so hard to keep up her anger, but she hated the way it felt in the pit of her stomach. She hated the constant headaches and her short temper. She didn't feel like her usual self. "Korra…I think I've been lying to myself…"
Korra quickly took another glance at the road, before facing Asami once more. "What are you talking about?"
"Pema and Kaya had talked to me about this, but-"
"Korra," Bolin said louder.
"But, what?"
"Things with Rika, and Bolin," Asami rambled on, "and trying to hold Future Industires together by the skin of my teeth. It's just all too much."
"So, what does this have to do with me?" Korra demanded.
"I've just been keeping myself busy."
Bolin leaned forward in his seat. He snapped his fingers by her ear. "Asami, come back to us."
"Oh, Bolin," Asami cried, turning in her seat to face him. "I just made everything worse for you. I shouldn't have gotten involved in your relationship."
"I don't care how busy your life is," Korra snapped. She turned with wheel with a jerk, dodging a pot-hole in the ground. Bolin let out a whimper as he was thrown around. Asami grabbed a hold of the door handle to steady herself. "You know I didn't deserve half of the things you said."
Asami felt anger licking at her insides. She slowly curled her hands into fits, keeping them pressed into her lap. She breathed in slowly, her chest rising, her green eyes slowly starting to turn a golden-red.
"Everyone has things going on in their life," the Avatar continued. "You don't have to worry about-"
"That's just it, Korra!" Asami shouted, glaring at her. Korra shifted her eyes from the road, facing the engineer. "You're now comparing the bad things in your life to mine. It's like you're trying to one-up me or something."
"I'm trying to get you to see things from my point of view!"
"You're so stubborn!" Asami snapped. She tightened her grip on the door handle as the car bounced around on the un-even road. "Maybe this is why things go wrong. You just rush into everything and think you can fix things with your fists and force."
"Excuse me, but didn't someone tell me how they used to like that about me? How I would step in and help anyone when needed? I've helped you plenty of times."
"You call rushing into things with your fists help? Maybe this was how Unalaq was able to get you to help him," Asami growled. "He knew that once your mind is made up, it'll be hard to change it back."
"Sure, throw that one back into my face."
"Korra, look out!" Bolin shouted, pointing out the windshield. Korra faced forward and let out a loud curse, before stomping her foot on the break and rapidly spinning the wheel.
"Don't!" Asami screamed. She leaned forward and covered her head with her hands. She grunted as the car collided with an object, cause her to slam back into her seat. Asami let out a cry as the whiplash cause her to lean forward once more, before she felt a strong pressure on her chest, holding her in place.
Bolin coughed loudly as dust began to settle into the car and his lungs. He leaned forward and grabbed the keys from the ignition, turning the car off. His hands shook, the keys jingling rapidly before dropping to the floor.
Asami slowly opened her eyes, glancing down to see Korra's arm across her chest, keeping her in her seat. The engineer winced when she felt the cut on her face. Korra removed her arm before exiting in the car, with Bolin behind her. Korra groaned loudly, grabbing at her head, as he ran around to the passenger side.
Bolin waved his hand in the air, trying to clear the dust and smoke. He grabbed at his hair, gasping loudly when he was able to spot the giant boulder as his vision became clear. The rock crushed the driver side front bumper at an angle. The windshield had a huge crack in the top left corner, forming a spider web across the glass.
"Where did that come from?" he muttered. Asami coughed loudly, moving to unbuckle her seatbelt. Bolin grabbed her car door and forced it open, grabbing Asami gently by the arm and helping her out of the car. She gave him a soft smile before inspecting the damage. She groaned loudly, and ran a hand through her hair. She lifted her goggles off of her head and placed them on her face, before forcing the bent hood open.
"I don't see any gas spilling, and it looks to be more cosmetic damage, so I think it's okay," Asami said. "You know…all things considered…" She was interrupted by another loud groan from Korra. Asami and Bolin ran around the back of the car and over to the Avatar's side, who was holding a hand to her head.
Bolin gently pulled her hand away, inspecting the medium sized lump that had formed. She slapped his hands away before shaking her arms and legs, checking to make sure she wasn't injured any further.
"Korra, maybe you should take it easy," Asami suggested. "Another head injury could-"
"What do you mean another?" Korra asked, turning to face her. She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling with disdain. Her eyes slowly scanned Asami from the top of her head, lingering on her face, down to her feet. "And who are you? One of Mako's groupies?" she rolled her eyes.
"Mako and I haven't been involved for a while now, you know that," she answered with a bit of bite.
"No, I don't know that," Korra snapped. She blinked slowly, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand. She swayed a bit on her feet. Bolin rushed over, steadying her by her shoulders.
Asami faltered. "What?"
"Korra, are you alright?" Bolin asked.
"I'm fine," she insisted, pushing his hands away. "Just a scratch."
"That doesn't look like a scratch. Asami, how are you doing?" Bolin questioned. He bit his bottom lip before frowning. He noticed a bit of blood on her cheek. He instinctively reached out to wipe the cut, but pulled his hand back. "You know…not that I care…or anything…"
"I'm fine, Bolin," Asami answered quietly. She glanced over at Korra who was stretching her arms. The Avatar winced when she lifted her arm a bit into the air, above shoulder level. "Are you sure okay?"
"I'm…fine?" Korra raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care, anyway?"
"I know we're fighting but I still care about you," Asami said. "Excuse me for having a heart," she said with a slight eye roll.
"We're not fighting. I don't even know you…"
Asami and Bolin froze, sharing a look before slowly turning back to face the Avatar. "Korra, we're friends," she said slowly.
Korra threw her head back and laughed before giving Asami another once over. "Friends? You and me?" She snorted. "Please. That's funny."
"It's me…Asami."
"I don't know an Asami."
Bolin swallowed hard. His voice shook as he continued to closely look at the Avatar, as if waiting for her to topple over from how much she was swaying on her feet. "Korra, maybe we should talk to Tenzin?"
"Good idea," she agreed, placing a hand on the driver side door, catching her balance.
"How about I drive for now?" Asami suggested, swallowing around the hard lump that had risen up in her throat.
"Flying back wouldn't be a good idea," Bolin quickly added.
Korra blinked. "What would I fly with?" she demanded.
"Your glider."
"Bolin, I can't airbend, you know that," she snapped. "You know how hard it's been for me, trying to learn how to do it."
"…Oh no…" Asami whispered.
AN: Many thanks to my beta, Rubiks
