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. First in "Model U.N." series


Chapter 47: Question of the Day

"There you are, I was getting worried," Asami greeted brightly when Korra entered her bedroom. Asami was seated on her bed, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of shorts, and knee-high socks. She was reading Against the Day by Thomas Pynchon, and quickly devouring its contents.

"This has to be the most relaxed I have ever seen you," Korra commented as she walked further into the room. She had a towel draped around her neck. "Well, not too relaxed. You don't even have your feet propped up," she snickered. "Sorry, for being late. I tend to lose track of time while in the gym." She dropped her sports bag next to the bed before lowering herself to the ground. After letting out a light sigh, she dragged the bag over to her by her foot. Without wasting a second, she unzipped it and dug out an energy bar.

"You don't have to sit on the floor, you know," Asami commented from the bed. She was leaning up against her pillows, but her feet were dangling off the side. The lamp that was sitting on her nightstand was pointed in her direction, bouncing light off the wall.

"I know," Korra answered around a bite of her energy bar. "I'm just more comfortable down here."

"But today is Tuesday, so you must have had practice with Tenzin on top of going to the gym." Asami slipped off her bed. She crossed the room and flicked off the overhead lights. The engineer had always preferred to red on her bed with the small lamp on her table. She had explained that the dim lighting allowed her to focus on whatever she was reading. "Come on, your muscles will be screaming in about an hour. There's plenty of room up here." Asami pulled the shorter girl to her feet and tugging her over to the bed. "Just sit on a towel," she instructed. Asami entered the bathroom and quickly re-emerged with a wine red colored towel.

After receiving the item from Asami, Korra tossed it onto the bed before climbed up onto it. "What are you doing?" Korra asked as Asami pulled out her cellphone and opened a music app. "You like to read in silence."

"Yeah, but you like background noise when you're lounging around," Asami answered with a shrug. She pressed play before slipping it into the empty mug sitting on her bedside table, instantly amplifying the sound.

"Okay, what's going on?" Korra demanded. She used her energy bar to point in Asami's direction. "You're being extra nice to me. Why? I should be the one who is extra nice to you, after what you had to deal with."

It had been about two weeks since Asami returned from Mist Palms Oasis in the Earth Kingdom. Upon returning, Asami has used all her new free time to solely focus on work at Future Industries, being an art model in a few of Pema's art classes at Republic School for the Gifted and working on small projects around the apartment. Some of those projects included re-organizing the kitchen, the laundry room, and even Korra's clothing in her drawers.

"I don't think I'm being extra nice," Asami said with a shrug. She reclaimed her seat on her bed and picked up her book. Once again, she dangled her feet off the side of the bed.

"The last time I sat on your bed after returning from working out, you steam cleaned your bed," Korra said. "I didn't even think that was possible!" She jammed the rest of her energy bar into her mouth, licking the crumbs off her lips. "You know you can tell me anything."

"I know." Asami smiled. She placed the book upside down on her bed, before moving to brush some of her hair out of her face. "I feel so safe around you."

"So, what's going on?" Korra asked, her voice dripping with concern. "It can be one of my twenty questions."

Asami looked at her in confusion before she noticed the smile on Korra's face. "Oh, right! We were playing twenty questions," she cried. "What number are we on?"

"I don't remember." Korra shrugged. "…I think I had four left."

"No, I think you had two and I had four," Asami corrected her.

"Semantics," she said with a wave of her hand.

"Okay, how about we agree to two more questions each?" Asami suggested. "And, no more passes or throw outs."

"So, we have to actually answer?" Korra asked. She then lifted her hand, pointing a finger high into the air. "Then I call an addendum," she declared.

"You can't make up rules just so you can win." Asami pulled a pillow from behind her and threw it into Korra's stomach. "In fact, it's impossible to win at this game."

"There is always a way to win," Korra said with a laugh. "Anyway, if we have to answer the last two questions then I want to create an addendum."

"I'm listening."

Korra lowered her hand before tapping her knee in deep thought as Asami waited patiently. Korra then snapped her fingers before smiling triumphantly. "We have to answer the question, but we can take as much time as we want to answer without any needling or pressing from the asker. And the askee must answer the question before they can ask their question."

Asami reached out and grabbed Korra's hand tightly, shaking it up and down. "Deal," she confirmed.

Wow, I was able to shake her hand without freaking out, Asami thought as Korra climbed off the bed to fully unfold the red towel so that she could lie down on the bed. Only being friends with her is already working out!

"So, with that being said, what's wrong with you?" Korra asked. She leaned forward and began to finger the stitching along the red comforter on Asami's bed, waiting patiently. Asami took a deep breath as she gathered her thoughts

Asami shrugged. "I don't have anything left," she admitted.

Korra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Asami let out a sardonic laugh, slowly shaking her head. She lifted her hand to count on her fingers. She paused when she noticed a small chip in the red nail polish on her left index finger. A moment later she pushed the worry away and began counting. "My mother is dead, my father's in jail, and I got expelled from school due to being set up from a girl who's been bullying me for years." With that, she threw her hands in the air. "What else is there for me?"

"Your company," Korra immediately answered. "I thought you liked inventing and tinkering."

"I do, but that's not the only thing that makes me me," Asami admitted. She placed her hands in her lab, slowly twiddling her thumbs. "There's more to me than engineering. I don't know if I'm not showing enough of it or if people just don't want to take the time to get to know me. I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

Korra reached out and placed her hand on top of Asami's. She then offered a half-smile before clearing her throat. "Asami, you need to chill," she declared. Asami pulled her hands away and looked at Korra with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, look at you. You won't even put your sock covered feet up on the bed." With that, she leaned forward and pulled on Asami's calf, pulling her feet up onto the comforter. "Everything seems to be so intense with you. Remember when you let loose and relaxed? We used to have fun!" she said. "Like when we snuck into the Midnight Dragon? Or snuck Bolin and Mako out of Opal's dorm room? Or went to the winter formal all dressed in suits? Or our New Year's Eve party? Or the-

"I get it!" Asami held up a hand to silence her.

"Or karaoke!" Korra said excitedly. "You really let loose that night."

"I said, I get it!" Asami winced at the harsh sound of her voice.

"Stop that," Korra ordered. "I'm not dismissing your worries. What I'm really saying is that you're always on the go." She then waved her hand up and down, gesturing towards Asami's body. "You're always so put together, except for right now," she quickly added. "You're always worrying about what other people think. Maybe it's because of your status in the city. What does Asami think?" Korra pressed. "Yes, being expelled is horrible, but now you actually have a lot of time to do what you want. You get to slow down and take care of you."

"I see what you're saying." Asami smiled softly.

"Don't for a second think you can't be sad, or angry, or upset," Korra continued. "You're entitled to your feelings, just don't let it consume you."

"Don't let my feelings consume me?" Asami repeated. "Korra, when we were getting arrested for being out during the illegitimate curfew of non-benders during the Equalist problem, you were going to drop a large slab of earth on some members of the police force," she pointed out.

Korra opened her mouth for a rebuttable, but quickly she closed it and made a grunting sound. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the ceiling in thought, tapping her fingers against her the bedspread. She then shrugged. "We're not talking about me right now," she commented, before reaching out and running a finger up Asami's sock covered foot. Asami let out a light scream, pulling her feet away. "I almost forgot about that," Korra commented.

Asami rolled her eyes before pushing on Korra's leg and pointing at the door. "You can leave now," she laughed. "I want to finish my book."

Korra performed a back roll off the bed, landing on her feet. She gave a quick wave over her shoulder before rushing out of the room. Asami smiled when she heard Korra calling out to Naga from the living room. She grabbed the book off the bed and made a quick note of the page she stopped on before closing it, checking to make sure it would close fully after being propped open on the bed for so long. Asami shifted her feet back off the bed, and leaned back into the pillows. She re-opened the book and began to read.

Asami jumped when she felt a finger poke on the bottom of her foot. She looked up from her book to see Korra leaning over her, holding out her cell phone with an annoyed look on her face. "My mom wants to talk to you," Korra said with an eye-roll.

"What's with your tone of voice?" Asami asked. She quickly marked her page in the book before gently closing it and placing it onto the bedside table.

"All she said to me was 'hi' and 'how are you doing' and then she asked to talk to you," Korra hugged. "I'm her only child. The light and joy of her life, but she wants to talk to you." She placed her phone into Asami's hand before crossing her arms over her chest. "I think she likes you more than me."

"Well, they do say you're not supposed to spoil your own children," Asami commented as she moved the phone to her ear.

"Look who's talking," Korra said with a smirk, pointing around the room. She let out a laugh when Asami stuck her tongue out at her. She then headed out of the bedroom and closed the door.

Asami made herself comfortable on the couch by turning so that her neck was against the armrest. She grabbed a throw pillow and placed it behind her back before stretching her legs out, albeit being careful not to place her feet up on the cushions. "Hi, Senna!"


Asami knocked on the open door to Korra's bedroom, announcing her arrival. She smiled brightly when she noticed Naga and Korra rolling around the floor. Even though Naga was a large animal, she still acted like a small puppy around Korra, evident in the fact that she just placed herself in her owner's lap. Not that Korra seemed to mind; she let out a loud laugh before burying her face into Naga's neck. Asami pulled out her cell phone and began to record a video of Korra and Naga playing.

A moment later, Korra looked up from the floor, a smile still on her face. "What's up?" she asked.

Asami ended the video recording and re-pocketed her phone before walking into the room. "I came to return your phone," she said. Korra gestured to her bed before squirming away when Naga began to sniff at her check. Asami gently tossed the phone onto the bed. "Senna gave me her number. I hope that's okay with you."

"Why would it be a problem for me?" Korra asked. "Everyone's needs a mom." She froze for a moment before turning to face Asami with an apologetic on her face.

"It's no problem," Asami said as she gracefully lowered herself to the floor. "I knew what you meant." She reached out and scratched Naga behind one of her ears.

"Naga's a good replacement though." Korra sighed happily. "Nothing like some animal therapy to put you in good spirits."

"What do you mean?" Asami asked. She watched as Korra hunched over a little bit, physically showing her discomfort. She forced herself to ignore her disgust of Naga licking all around her hand to focus on Korra.

"Sometimes, when I get overrun with worries or negative thoughts, I give Naga more of my attention," Korra admitted quietly. She then shrugged before offering a smile. "Its a win-win situation. She gets more time with me, and I get to relax for a few moments, and just have fun. I get to be carefree."

"Carefree?" Asami repeated. "You're one of, if not the most easy-going person I know." Korra let out a chuckle. "You're probably the living definition of fun. You're not afraid of anything. You're so sure of yourself," she added. Asami quickly stopped complimenting her friend when she noticed the solemn look on her face. Korra quickly turned away and grabbed a dog brush from the floor, one of the many items covering the area. "…or is that what you want everyone else to think?" Asami deduced. "Showing your real emotions isn't a weakness."

"I never said it was," Korra answered with an edge. She began to brush the fur along Naga's back. Naga let out a deep sigh before rolling onto her stomach out of Korra's lap. Asami wiped her wet hand along Naga's fur on her back, frowing at all of the fur that had instead stuck to her hand.

"So, what are you afraid of?" Asami asked. Korra remained silent, continuing to brush Naga's fur. "That's one of my two questions," she pressed.

Korra paused her brushing motions. She let out a deep sigh. "Amon, letting people down, not living up to expectations…" she listed off. "Failure," she whispered.

"You're not a failure," Asami reassured her.

Korra shook her head. "I didn't say I was a failure, just failure in general," she admitted. Korra patted Naga on the side before taking a seat on the floor, using the flank of her pet as a back rest. "As much as I would like for someone else to understand, no one does except for Aang, or Kiyoshi, or the other Avatars, and I can't talk to them anymore." Korra's voice cracked. She cleared her throat and reaching up to rub the back of her neck before looking over at Asami. "The entire balance of the world is on my shoulders, and even when I succeed, not everyone will agree with my choices. It is a lot of pressure, and it doesn't just affect my life, it affects everyone's." She shrugged. "Aang, was twelve and he handled this much better than I am."

"Technically, he was 112 so-"

"So, he's still better than me," she concluded.

Asami sat down next to Korra before reaching out and gently holding Korra's hand. "Korra, you can't live your life comparing yourself to the other Avatar's that came before you. You all are different," she gently explained. "Aang was a pacifist while Avatar Kiyoshi didn't have problems with murdering a tyrant. Wan was cocky and abused his newfound powers at first. There is no such thing as a perfect person, or even a perfect Avatar." She gave Korra's hand a squeeze before releasing her grip. "Don't for a second think for a second you haven't done anything as great as them. You're amazing."

Korra leaned over and pulled Asami into a hug. "You always know what to say," she commented. "I knew there was a reason I keep you around."

Asami laughed, allowing Korra to holder her tighter. "I want you to know that I'm here for you," she said quietly. "If you ever want to talk, or-"

Korra and Naga let out a loud cry as they fell to the floor, Naga rolling on top of them. The two looked at each other and bust into fresh giggles. "It looks like Naga is here for us as well," Korra said.

Asami reached out to pet Naga's side, ignoring the small flush of heat in her cheeks when Korra said the word 'us'.