AN: We get to explore more of Korra's past~
Ch 11: Einstein Once Said...
Korra was currently in class and her right leg was crossed over her other leg. Her cheek was resting on her knuckles and she was mindlessly tapping the desk with her fingers before scrunching her face. She started nervously bouncing her leg up and down and she really couldn't focus. Ever since Kai had brought up Naeun, all the feelings she had buried away started resurfacing. All the attraction she felt for Asami was suddenly mudded by anxiety and whatever irrational emotions she was going through.
It wasn't Kai's fault that she was a jumbled mess of course.
It wasn't Asami's either.
It was her fault and she knew it.
She honestly felt stupid.
The breakup she had with Naeun happened well over seven years ago and it wasn't as if they had a 'committed' relationship or anything. She should have moved on and forgotten about her a long time ago. But, with her ever-growing feelings for Asami, it was as if she was rudely reminded that relationships never turned out the way you'd think no matter how great the connection. The last time she felt like this, this light and happy, with anyone was with Naeun.
When their relationship didn't go as planned, Korra was left with a gaping hole in her heart leaving her wounded and scared. She wasn't able to move on from her. She had countless flings and one-night stands in an attempt to move on but when it came down to it, the people who truly clicked with her were Naeun and Asami. It was hard finding someone you got along with let alone to that level. Meaning… the idea of getting rejected and hurt by Asami made Korra have cold feet. She didn't want to go down this rabbit hole all over again to just be defeated.
The thought of the drift that was bound to grow between them from a failed relationship was something Korra couldn't bear. Besides, Asami had her demons. She had her own battles and wars to win so who was Korra to deny her of that by distracting her with silly feelings. And, even if by some miracle Asami had liked her the way Korra liked her, who's to say that she wouldn't end up like Naeun?
Naeun and Korra liked each other. But Naeun stepped on the brakes. But she and Asami weren't the same people. Korra knew that but the ridiculous irrational fear creeping behind her back stalked her nights, her days, and even her very consciousness.
She hated this part of her.
People have always told her that she's too wild, too emotional, and too intense. Well, they were right. She's been working on herself for many years now and just when she finally toned down somewhat, she felt like she regressed zero. Her flaws filled up a battered dam deep inside that was ready to burst at any given time and moment.
"Alright class, that will be all for today. I will see you next Friday."
Her classmates started packing up and Korra was no different. However, unlike them, she ended up jamming her supplies into her bags without care whether or not the papers got bent and ripped. She quickly left the room as you'd imagine and unfortunately on her way out, she ran into Kuvira in the quad.
"Woah woah, calm your horses' woman. I'm finally out from house arrest so where's my hi? Bet you missed my ass." She nudges Korra's arm, getting a displeased grunt from her.
"Sorry, I'm not feeling it right now. Can you leave me alone?"
Kuvira sensed that her vibe was off so she quickly stepped back with no questions asked. "Sure. Let me know if you need anything alright? I'll be a text away."
Korra couldn't keep her head up. "Thanks." She muttered that single word in a monotone voice and without further interaction, she quickly made her way home. She practically sprinted her way back and even crossed a few crosswalks with some car horns. By the time she makes it turn her apartment door, she slams the door shut before jumping into her bed. She groans in irritation before screaming in frustration into her mattress.
"Fuck meeeeee."
xXx
Humming happily, Kai comes back home before jumping at the sight of his sister. She was heavily bundled up on the couch with all of the lights off and the TV blasting some horror mover. For a second, he thought some homeless dude found his way in his apartment somehow.
"Geez you scared the crap out of me Kor."
Korra's eyes were practically glued at the TV's bright lights and blood splattering gore. "Sorry little bro… I've been… down."
Kai walks into the living room with the most judging face out there. "Are you… okay?" She looked like a mess. A mess might even be an understatement.
"Of course I am… why wouldn't I be?" She mumbles back before blinking for the first time in who knows how long.
He sets down his bag before walking around the couch and sits down next to her. "Okay, the last time you binged doom and gloom was when you broke up with you know who." He dramatically rips her blanket from her hold.
"Noooooooo, Kai what the heck man!" She hisses with a whine as she weakly flails about, trying to get back her comfort blanket.
"Nu uh. You're not gonna sit around and rot away this time around." He then grabs her arm, pulling her off the couch. "Come on, get your ass up. Let's go have some fun downtown."
"Bruh, nooooo. No no no, I do not want to—"
"Humor me will yah." Kai playfully slaps her cheeks with both of his hands. "There's this new arcade center with a bunch of crane games that I want to try out. Come on… you know those are sooo rigged so do me a solid and help me practice to show Jinora a thing or two? For me? Your sweet little brother." He says in the sweetest voice possible while blinking his eyes rapidly.
Korra only scrunched her nose. "Ew I hate when you beg like that."
Kai sticks his tongue out before dragging her to the door. "Whatever, at least we both know that I always get what I want."
She pouts this time. "Stupid youngest sibling syndrome…"
"What was that?" He practically sings before throwing a spare sweater at Korra's face.
She grunts before dreadfully putting on her shoes. "Nothing."
"That's what I thought, now come on, let's burn through some money!"
xXx
True to his words from earlier, they were most definitely burning through money. "Fuck! Aw come on, it's right on the edge! Just fall in you stupid plush!" Kai exasperates as he practically fumes out from his ears.
Korra simply snorted as she watched him fail with the same technique for the nth time tonight. "I'm telling you man, you have to grab it from that corner." She points to said corner as if it was the easiest target out there.
"That's what I've been doing!" Angrily tapping the button for the nth time, he intently watches the crane arm lower before grabbing a hold of the plush at the perfect angle. It then starts retracting upwards before letting it slip through its mechanical arm. Kai groans in frustration again before scratching his head. "That's it, why I ought to—"
His sister's eyes widened slightly. "Woah woah woah! Down boy!" Korra quickly hugs him from behind to stop him from destroying public property.
"I've been at this for literally thirty minutes now and I've wasted like fifty bucks on this stupid twenty yuan plush!"
"And that's why I told you to set a limit for each machine." She then holds up their plastic bag from their previous endeavors. "See? You could've gotten some snacks rather than nothing with the amount of money you've used. Are you sure you want to bring Jinora to this place?"
Kai angrily slips more coins into the machine before starting all over again. "She said she wanted to go here so here we go!"
Rolling her eyes, Korra shrugged. "Don't come asking me for an allowance later this month."
"Don't worry about it! I'll get it this time!"
Leaning against a wall, Korra simply watched him unamused. "You know Einstein once said… the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." She watches as the plush drops once again for the nth time. After that, she looks at her phone for the time. "You've been at this for forty minutes now. Why don't you take a break?"
"But Korra! Just look at it! I'm so closeeeee." His eyes haven't left the game even once for a good five minutes now.
She sighs once again. "Fine, if you really want it that bad, want me to try? You know, a fresh pair of hands." She wiggles her fingers as if she was some crane game excerpt.
Kai groans out loud when he fails again before stepping back with a face of defeat. "Be my guest." He tiredly gestures at the controls.
"Hmm… let's see." Korra eyes the prize for a moment before inserting a coin. She then carefully maneuvers it to the best possible position before sending it in and clicking the grab button. They both watch the crane arm as it slowly lowers itself before grabbing the plush. Sure enough, it picked it up and they were on the tip of their toes before it successfully dropped the plush into the dispenser hole.
Kai's mouth dropped and he couldn't believe it. "You're kidding me."
Whistling softly, Korra was surprised it worked and was impressed with herself. "Damn, will you look at that?" She bends over to grab the plush, "One mini sky bison coming right up."
The corners of his lips twitched up. "I hate you, you know that?"
Korra shoves the plush in his face. "You're welcome, it's all in the arm." She couldn't help but be smug and flex her arm for no reason.
Kai rolls his eyes before grumpily hugging the plush. "It's unfair… I did all the work… it's thanks to me…"
"Oh brother…" Shaking her head softly, Korra walks over and pulls him into a one-arm hug. "I'm sure I was just lucky thanks to you, why don't we go practice some more with the easier ones? That way we can win some more snacks for later too. I'll pay for you too since you know…" she glances down at his empty-looking wallet.
He sighs again with his head hung low. "Yeah… sure… sounds good…"
The two of them ended up emptying their wallets for snacks that they could've gotten for less than a third of the price they paid.
xXx
Both Korra and Kai were mentally drained but still somewhat hungry so they ended up at the local Flameo Mart. With that said, they had made themselves at home and were busy slurping some instant noodles as tonight's comfort food. After all, they had spent a total of four long forsaken hours at the crane game arcade and for better or for worse, it was quite an experience. One they'd remember for sure.
Sucking up her last bite, Korra mindlessly chewed her ramen before commenting, "I hope you're not going with Jinora any time soon."
Kai slurped up his noodle as well before responding. "Nope…I'll tell her next month or whatever. Not until we get our next allowance…"
They both looked at their sad pile of rewards on the counter again, aka the cheap snacks, before sighing.
"Next time, let's just go to a normal arcade to waste time."
"Yeah. Sounds good…"
They both sigh yet again.
By the time they were out the door, they made their way home but got sidetracked of course. The two siblings ended up walking through Avatar Park and since it was late in the evening, the sun was just about to set. It was slightly chilly before still refreshing nonetheless. As they pass by a pond Kai couldn't help but notice the family of turtle ducks in the pond.
"Korra look! It's a family of baby turtle ducks!"
Korra glances over at the flock and immediately she couldn't help but smile. It was the mama duck and her four kids. For some reason, Korra thought back to Asami. Asami had a family of four from what she remembered. It was a shame that her parental figure didn't reflect the ducks, being four kids and the mom, but was similar to her family either way. By reflex, she takes out her phone before taking a picture. She then quickly scrolls through her contacts before pulling up a specific one: Wonder Woman. Smiling softly to herself, she starts typing a short message:
Mama duck and her lil' squad!
After she attaches the picture, she sends the message before glancing at the ducks again. Her smile only grew and she took another picture before attaching it with another message as well.
That little one off to the side is definitely you Asami :)
After the image and message are sent, she then sends another follow-up text.
The cutest fuck of them all!
Her eyes snapped open at the misspelling.
Duck! I mean duck** not fuck!
Not believing herself, she groans out loud before facepalming her forehead. "Smoothhhh Korra, real smooth…"
Kai finally gives her this weird look. "What's up with you?"
She gives him a deadpan look. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Okay…?"
Korra gives him the stink eye before letting out a huff and walking over to mess with his hair. She then proceeds to mess with his head before pushing him off to the side. "Come on, let's go home."
"Argh hey! Watch the hair Kor!"
"Ehhh, you'll live. Come on, let's face time mom and dad. Seeing those turtle ducks made me miss Naga."
Kai awkwardly fixes his hair before chasing after her. "Didn't mom just send us a video of her eating fish though?"
"It's not the same lil' bro, I wanna see my girl run around!"
He just rolls his eyes this time. "And that's why I told you we should've just taken her with us when we moved here."
"Hey! Our apartment isn't that big so I'd feel bad if she got cramped up all the time."
"We could just look for another place." He easily retorts.
Korra groans. "You know how much work that would be? Our current place is the best spot for school and the supermarkets. Any bigger than we'd have to take the bus or something to school and I don't know about you but that's a hard pass for me."
"Oh come onnn, you know it would be so fun with her here! People at school have pets too."
She snorts at that. "Yeah, they do but they don't have a polar bear dog."
"That's… true."
"Told yah. The reason why we keep our identities under the covers is so that we can have a normal school life." Korra looked at him before she couldn't help but tease, "But… I mean if we told Tenzin, he'd totally let us live on Air Temple Island, where your girlfriend lives because Naga would probably love that!"
"What—" his face turns a bit pink, "and why would we do that!"
Korra smirks with that cocky grin of hers knowing she had won. "Exactly."
"Urghhh you're insufferable."
She cocks an eyebrow at that. "Fancy choice in words. Ahhhh," she snaps her fingers, "totally Jinora's doing huh? Maybe I can look forward to seeing straight A's."
Kai gets flustered even more. "Oh shut it! At least my girlfriend is helping me, unlike your pining ass." His eyes widened when he realized what he said, "Wait no— sorry that came out wrong. I just uh…"
Korra gives him an understanding sad smile. "It's cool. Don't worry about it lil' bro, I'm trying. I've been thinking a lot these days, you know? I really do like Asami… I do." She looks straight ahead, basking in the late city life. "I just… I can't stop thinking about her and how she made me feel. I'm scared you know?"
She turns to look him in the eyes. "What if Asami likes me back? That's what I'm really scared of Kai…" she sighs with a heavy face. "But the thought of dating her and going through what happened with her I…"
Kai remained silent as he tried reading Korra's expression and body language. Shortly enough, his sister starts talking again.
There was a short-lived smile on her face. "It would be wonderful but I just can't shake the fear and anxiety I have. I know it's stupid of me but she left an impression on me you know? Stupid teen love at first sight for you."
"Hey…" her brother frowns at that. "What you feel is not stupid. You just…" he scrunches his face in an attempt to think of something. "Are too much of a romanticist."
Korra snorts at that. "Sure I am."
He rolls his eyes back. "I don't know how to phrase it but you get what I mean."
"Ohhhh yeah, totally!" You could hear her sarcasm a mile away. "Silly old fifteen-year-old me was just your basic teen falling in love at first sight but then got heartbroken just like that." She snaps her fingers. "But… unlike most teens, my dumbass fell hard and never made a comeback!" Her face then scrunched again and her lips were pouting. "I hate myself."
Kai started rambling on about something and Korra was left with her thoughts. She really did wish she could move on but for some reason, her heart wouldn't let her. Was it really because she was that traumatized by that relationship? Or was it because of the conditions they parted with? Maybe it was because they never really had a follow-up talk so their relationship did crash and burn just like that. They were alive but never talked since.
Korra didn't know the answer to those questions and it wasn't something she liked talking about on a deep level. She had thought about it a billion times by now but as Einstein once said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. She's thought about the scenarios over and over again of how they could've gone but they all ended the same. It also didn't help that she never had any luck either so maybe her love life really was insane. Not in a good way of course. She finally pulled away from her thoughts when Kai spoke up about food.
"So… what should we have for dinner today? I'm not gonna lie, some hot pot sounds good though we're a little poor."
On cue, Korra's stomach growls again despite eating a cup of ramen not more than an hour ago. "That… that actually does sound good. Good thing we have credit cards!"
This time, he cocks his eyebrow. "I thought that was for emergencies."
"Hot pot is an emergency!"
He rolls his eyes but shrugs nonetheless. "True, I ain't complaining, let's swing by the mart then. We should totally get this one fried tofu Kor! I had some at Jinny's the other day and it tasted bomb!"
Korra looks Kai in the eyes before smiling. "Yeah?"
"Hell yeah! We should get a bunch of that and some cabbage too. A ton of meat is great and all
but veggies are a must! And then the sauce! We have to get this one sesame dipping sauce because…"
Tuning out his words, Korra couldn't help but smile. As much of a mess as her life was, she was always happy seeing her little brother this excited and happy. It was nice. Listening to and seeing him this lively made her feel happy. It filled part of the void in her heart. However, it was instances like this that made Korra wonder what it would be like being with Asami.
Like how would she get along with Kai?
Would Kai like her the same way she did?
Would they dare have a double date and if so, how awkward yet funny would that be?
Korra was certain that it would be the most amazing experience she would ever have but, that would mean the harder the fall and heartbreak she would face if Asami turned her away for whatever reason. She couldn't help but mock herself at these thoughts.
Since when was I such a weak softie?
xXx
Seated at a more reclusive cafe in the side skirts of town, Korra was currently spacing out as she listened to music, mindlessly staring out the window. Her legs were crossed and she hasn't touched her school work whatsoever aside from when she initially pulled it out of her bag. Her coffee had long gone cold and the longer she sat, the higher chance she was going to leave a dent on the table from how much she was tapping it with her pen.
If her ongoing love life wasn't already a problem, she had recently failed several quizzes that brought down her average grades by a lot. At this rate, she was bound to fail her classes so what was even the point in trying? Sure, if she tried really hard, she could manage with a B at the most but honestly, Korra sort of felt like she lost her path.
Why was she going to school again? She was bound to inherit her father's position and become the next village chief someday. She left the south in the first place to enjoy normal school life and get a break from everything at home. But, rather than a breather, history was repeating itself. Aside from all of her political duties, first, it was Naeun and now it was Asami.
She didn't want this drama in her life. She didn't want some rom-com college experience and at this rate, she was going to end up as some tragic heroine. It was becoming funny actually, what a life to live. No matter how hard you try to run away, what haunts you will always come back to haunt you.
Sighing out loud, Korra frowns before mindlessly swatting her hand in front of her face. Of course, she ignores the judging stares from the other patrons before letting out a heavy breath and adjusting her legs. She then goes back to spacing out, keeping her thoughts empty, before her phone eventually buzzes. Her lips curl into a small smile when she sees who it was: Dilf Vibes
I apologize for taking so long to contact you Korra, it's taken some time but my wife and I have finally found some free time in our schedules. So, if it is alright with you, how do you feel about having dinner with us at Kwong's Cuisine this Friday night? Let's say around six and it'll be our treat. Of course, it'll be just my wife, my daughter, and I at this dinner.
Hoping for a good response, Naofumi
"I should really change that contact name…" Korra mumbles before humming to herself in amusement. Her thumbs hover over the keyboard before she eventually texts him back her response.
Sounds perfect and I'll see if Kai is free as well. It's been a while since we've all met up so it should be a lot of fun!
Getting back to her cold coffee, Korra sends the text before taking a sip and swirling the drink in her cup. She quickly scrolls through her contact list before texting her little brother.
U up for a dinner w/ Naofumi and his fam for dinner at kwongs around 6?
Thankfully she didn't have to wait too long for a response.
Kai the GUY (09:43): Sure, always down for free food
Cool, sounds good, I'll let him know
Korra quickly sends him a text before changing the ambient noise playlist she was listening to. It wasn't much of a difference per se but she did change it from complete melancholy to tranquil vibes. Sure enough, she sets down her phone before closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair. Tapping her fingers on the table again, she sighs before whispering to herself.
"Should I go back home…?"
