It was dark and raining now, they had been driving for a while and would be arriving at the hotel within the hour. Korra had spent most of the trip with her hood on and her earphones in, only glancing away from the window a few times to check her phone, calm down Korra, she'll text you. She looked around the bus to find most of her teammates watching the movie being played on the various small TV screens within the coach bus. The rest were either asleep or had the overhead light on while they caught up on some homework. Everyone had their own way of coping with pre-game jitters, but homework and movies did nothing to help calm Korra's, so the window it was. She leaned her head against the glass and watched as the beads of rainwater raced across the window, watched the cars as they passed by on the highway. The music coming from her earphones drowning out all the other noise in the bus, her pump up playlist almost at its end. She was about to slide her finger over the screen of her phone to choose another list, only to have one of her ear buds pulled out of her ear.
"Opal! What the heck?" She turned and faced her teammate as she voiced her displeasure.
"Ila not texting you back?" Green eyes met hers, a smug smile on the girl's face.
"Ila? What?" Korra looked at her with confusion.
"Don't play dumb with me cap, I see you checking your phone every five seconds, starting a message then deleting it. It's very unlike you... I guess Ila's really got you." The girl replied nudging her in the side with her elbow, the blank message clearly evident on Korra's phone screen.
"I'm not with her, O." She replied dryly, her annoyance with the whole situation evident as she readjusted her hood and leaned her head back against the window.
"Not with her eh?" A sly grin crossed Opal's face.
"No." Korra didn't even turn to look at her.
"Then you won't mind if I…" Opal snatched the phone out of Korra's hand before she even had a chance to finish her sentence, "take a look for myself then eh?"
"Hey!" Korra turned her head to face the girl so fast that her hood fell off. "Give that back!"
Korra had practically climbed into Opal's seat in an attempt to get back the device, her linemate used the arm closest to Korra to fend off her oncoming attacks, while she tried to sift through her captain's phone with the other hand. Their shenanigans now attracting the attention of players in the seats closest to them, heads popping out from behind the seats to look down the aisle at the commotion.
Opal managed to see who the blank message was addressed to. "A eh? Who's A?"
"Shut up Opal!" Korra was basically on top of her at this point.
"Just tell me who she-" Her sentence was cut off by a tanned hand covering her mouth while another finally managed to pry the device from her fingers.
"Jesus O, you want the whole bus to hear?" She finally climbed off her teammate and back into her seat, device in hand.
Opal readjusted herself in her seat, fixing her RCHS Hockey hoodie after it had been pulled every which way by her captain. "Just tell me who she is!"
Korra put her phone into the front pouch of her hoodie and leaned back against the window. "She's nobody, just drop it."
The short black haired girl next to her smirked, clearly not buying any of it. "If she's got your panties in this much of a wad she's clearly not nobody."
Korra just huffed in response and began to untangle her earphones that had become incredibly knotted in their tussle, fucking christ, how earphones managed to get so entangled in such a short amount of time she would never know.
Opal was relentless, "are you sure you gave her the right number?"
That's when it hit her, the palm of her hand met her forehead. I'm an idiot… How could she be so dumb? Of course Asami hadn't texted her, she never gave her teacher her number back. Such an idiot. Her relief was only momentary, although she now knew why she hadn't yet received a message from the woman who monopolized her thoughts, she now she had to worry about what kind of message she'd send her… fucking relationship politics, this is why I don't do this shit. Were they even in a relationship? Not exactly… but I want to be…
Her thoughts were torn from her inner monologue by the sound of her coach clearing her throat at the front of the bus. "Alright ladies! Listen up!"
Coach Lin paused before continuing as she reached up and paused the movie. The sound of papers ruffling and overhead lights being clicked on could be heard as players shifted their attention to their coach at the front of the bus.
"We'll be arriving at the hotel shortly," she held up a piece of paper in her hand, "I've got your room assignments right here." She read through the list, players high-fiving or making eye contact across the bus when they found out they'd be rooming together. There were only four of them left to place, Korra being one of them. Her coach continued, "Opal you'll be rooming with Jinora," shit… "and last but not least, Korra and Kuvira."
The bus went silent, everyone's eyes shifted between their captain and leading defender waiting for a reaction. Korra could only stare at her coach with furrowed brows, jaw clenched and hands balled into fists, no fucking way I'm rooming with her. She hoped her coach could read her displeasure from across the bus, but it didn't seem to phase the grey haired woman as she didn't give Korra more than a second look.
"Well this is just great." Korra crossed her arms and sank into her seat with a pout on her lips.
Opal brought her hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, managing to get muffled words through her fingers, "that really sucks Kor."
She didn't even turn to face the girl next to her as she answered. "Yeah, I can see you're real sympathetic over there."
The laughter only got louder. "Just make sure you keep your phone close by, and answer as soon as I text you so I know she hasn't killed you in your sleep."
"Ha, ha, very funny O." As if away games aren't already hard enough as it is…
She tried not to dwell on her less than desireable roommate situation for the remainder of the trip, instead focusing on what little she could see through the darkness out the window while music once again filled her ears.
Coach wasn't lying when she said they would be there shortly, within 15 minutes they found themselves in the heart of the Rabaroo's hometown. The neverending darkness that occupied the highway scenery was now replaced by flashes of colour from the many stop lights and storefront signs as they drove down mainstreet. It was a quaint little town, nothing compared to the size of Republic City. The cobblestone crosswalks caused the tires to rumble as it drove through the intersection, the hotel sign at the end of the street visible as it rounded the corner. The bus hissed as the driver put it in park outside the front entrance, nodding in appreciation at the various thank yous he received as the players walked past him and out of the bus.
"Your gear can stay on the bus ladies, just grab your overnight bags and head inside." Coach barked as she watched the players sift through the luggage in the undercarriage trying to locate their respective bags.
Korra stood at the back of the crowd of players, taking in the town and how the colours of the various lights and signs reflected on the surface of the wet asphalt as she waited for her turn to get her bag. The sensation of water being splashed on her feet broke her gaze from the main street, looking down to find that her bag now found itself dropped in a puddle. She looked up to see Kuvira standing in front of her with a sly grin on her face, "got your bag for you roomie."
She quickly snatched her bag from the puddle before it got anymore soaked and stepped towards the taller girl in front of her, "seriously?! What's your problem?!"
Coach Lin was instantly next to them, cutting Kuvira off before she could answer. "Here's your key to your room Kuvira, why don't you go on ahead and get settled."
Kuvira paused for a moment before answering. Her gaze never left Korra's, the sly grin on her face forever present, "Of course Coach."
Korra watched the girl walk away as she grit her teeth, only turning to face her coach once the defender disappeared through the hotel doors. Before she could say a word, Lin had already raised her hand to stop her, "I don't even want to hear it kid. You're rooming with her and that's that."
"But—"
"Oh stop your whining. You two have to start getting along. Now get inside."
"Ugghhh… Fine!" She turned and reluctantly walked to the hotel… this is going to be a long night…
She looked down at the room key that had been given to her as she walked through the elevator doors, 426. At least she got to be on the top floor, heights were always something Korra enjoyed, not that four floors was high up but it was the highest building in the quaint little town. She set her bag down and pressed the number 4 button before leaning back against the mirrored walls, pulling out her phone and staring blankly at it once again, what am I even supposed to say...
A foot popped in between the closing elevator doors, "Hold the door Korra!"
The automatic doors retracted before she could reach to press the 'open door' button, Opal stepping in shortly after. The girl looked exasperated, multiple bags hanging off her arms, her words ringing with sarcasm. "Oh don't worry Kor, I don't need help or anything, I've only got my bags and Jinora's here, no no it's fine, just keep staring at your phone trying to figure out what to say to this A girl."
Korra quickly put the phone back in her pocket and stepped towards her teammate. "Shit, sorry O. Let me take a few of those." She took two of the bigger bags off Opal's arm and draped them over her own, making an ugh as the weight hung off her shoulder. "Jesus what did you guys put in these? And why can't Jinora carry her own bags?"
"You know that Coach likes us to be dressed up for games. Not all of us look as snappy as you do in a button up and suspenders Korra," she gestured to the bigger dark green bag, "that bag alone contains my options for game day attire. As for the rest of them, I don't know what Jinora brought. She's downstairs talking to her parents on the lobby phone. I offered to let her use mine but she said she felt bad."
"Oh right, she doesn't have a phone eh?"
Opal shook her head, "nah, her Dad's all spiritual and what not and doesn't want her having one."
"Good old Tenzin." Korra laughed. "What floor you on?"
"3 please."
Korra leaned forward and pushed the button, after a short elevator ride the bell rang as it reached the third floor and the heavy silver doors slid open. Opal stepped through them awkwardly as she took the bags from Korra, carrying double the amount of heavy luggage before dropping them down on the carpeted floor.
She looked back at her captain who was still holding the open door button in the elevator, "you sure you'll be okay for the night Kor?"
"Ya ya O." Korra replied waving off her teammate. "I mean, I'm only like 47% sure she might try and kill me in my sleep, it's not the worst odds."
Opal adopted an overly-exaggerated look of fear and a clearly sarcastic worried hint to her voice, "why, she wouldn't dare!"
Korra smiled back at her, "you're right, she's not that stupid. She wouldn't do it herself, she'd hire someone. I'll keep an eye out for assassins cutting a disk of glass out of my window and blowing a poison dart at me."
"Yeah that sounds more plausible, you'd be much easier to get rid of if you were knocked out." The short black haired girl remarked as she brought her hand to her chin in thought.
"Of course you guys would come rescue me at the last minute as they were carrying me across the courtyard, make a mess of the place in the process."
"They've got Korra! They've got Korra!" Opal yelled as she acted out her reaction to the made-up situation, wildly pointing down the hallway at a nonexistent foe.
Korra burst out in laughter as she watched her teammate, "that'll get the cavalry out!"
Opal looked back at her bent over captain, breaking into a laughing fit of her own and falling to the ground. "But of course," she was able to get out between laughs, "we need our Avatar for the game tomorrow after all."
The ding of the second elevator as it reached their floor broke their focus from each other, both of them turning to see who would walk out as they wiped tears from their eyes, hoping it wouldn't be another guest who would no doubt give them weird looks. Thankfully it was only Jinora, although the look she gave them still rang with confusion.
"You guys okay over there?" She asked her two linemates with a cocked brow.
"Of course we are Jinora!" Opal replied between pants as she regained her composure, "we were just planning a rescue."
"Rescue?" Jinora asked, confusion still evident on her face.
"Don't worry about it Jinora, we were just being silly." Korra replied with her hand on her stomach trying to sooth her aching abs from laughing so hard.
"Curfew in an hour ladies!" A loud voice echoed from down the hall.
Korra poked her head out of the elevator, looking in the direction from which the voice came, "shit, it's Coach." She quickly released the open door button and repeatedly pressed the close door button. "Have a good night ladies!"
After furiously pressing the button for a few seconds, the doors finally began to close, "keep your phone on, cap!"
"Will do O! Catch ya in the morning!" She managed to get out before the doors shut completely.
The smile that found itself on Korra's face as she rode the elevator up to the top floor quickly disappeared as she reached her the door with the number 426 on it. Just keep your cool Korra... She inhaled deeply and let out the long breath in an attempt to calm herself before sliding her key card into the slit above the door handle, a little green light flashing indicating the door was now unlocked. The room was dark when she walked in, nothing but the light from the moon sneaking in between the divide in the curtains illuminating her way across the room. She could barely make out Kuvira's form in the bed closest to the window, at least now I don't have to worry about the assassins coming in through the window… she laughed to herself. She crept into the room trying to remain as silent as possible, quietly hanging her garment bag in the closet by the door. She could hear the faint sound of water hitting a soft material next to her, remembering the incident in the parking lot, fuck my wet clothes. The rainwater dripped from her wet bag, leaving a trail of wet circle marks in the carpet as she walked towards the small room to the right of the entrance. Her hand felt its way up the wall in search of the light switch to the washroom, finding two possible options. She hesitated for a moment before picking one and flicking it on, a loud noise filled the small room as the fan started, shit! She flicked the switch off almost as quickly as it came on, the noise of the fan dissipating shortly after.
"Could you make anymore noise? I'm trying to sleep over here!" Kuvira yelled from across the room.
Korra grit her teeth and flicked the second switch on, filling the room with light rather than noise. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?" She asked mockingly, "Maybe if my clothes hadn't been dropped in a puddle I wouldn't have to hang them up to dry right now!"
"Oh was there a puddle there? I didn't notice." She could almost hear the sly grin in Kuvira's voice.
"Don't worry your highness, I won't take long. Get back to your beauty sleep, I know some of us need more than others."
"Keep it down or you'll be sorry."
A mischievous grin crossed Korra's lips. "Actually you know what?" She asked as she turned the fan back on, "I think I'll take a shower. Don't worry I'll try to be quick."
With the light from the washroom pouring into the hallway of their hotel room, Korra could see as Kuvira reached over and grabbed the pillow on the opposite side the bed, placing it on the side of her head in an attempt to muffle the sounds. Sucker.
She moved around the room with less care now, not attempting to lessen the sounds she was making, unzipping and re-zipping her bag more times that necessary, setting things down on the night stand a little harder than she had to, stepping a little harder as she walked to hang her wet clothes on the chair next to the desk while the fan ran constantly in the background.
Once she had emptied the contents of her bag and placed things where she wanted them, she stripped down to her bra and briefs to get ready for her shower, sitting down on the edge of her bed to take off her socks. A ding and a flash of light going off next to her on the bed caught her eye, prompting her to look over at her phone.
'Opal - New iMessage'
She picked up the device, slid her finger over the screen and entered her code.
Opal: You still alive up there?
Korra: I may have poked the bear briefly. Still breathing though.
Opal: Risky. Remember if you play dead bears get bored and leave. Advice that might save your life.
Korra: Play dead, got it.
Opal: Speaking of advice, need any help deciding what to text this A? Or you do you wanna hesitate some more?
Korra: I'm good O, and I wasn't hesitating!
Opal: Korra, I sat next to you the whole bus ride. I saw you checking your phone every five seconds. If she's got you hesitating then she must be something.
Opal: Stop being a pansy and just text her!
Korra: Why must you always get so involved in who I'm seeing?
Opal: Because I care! So just text her!
Opal: And then tell me what you said…
Korra: Ugh… you're right… It's just the first time I don't know what to say to a girl...
Opal: I KNEW IT!
Korra: What?
Opal: You do care! Oh this is too awesome! Look at you growing Korra!
Korra: Has anyone ever told you you're funny? Because you're god damn hilarious.
Opal: Oh come on Kor! How often does a girl get you this worked up? I could text Bolin and have him ask Mako for one of his pick-up lines.
Korra: I'm good thanks, I'll figure something out.
"Turn the damn sound off!" Kuvira voiced her displeasure without turning to face Korra.
Korra didn't even look up, answering as she continued to text.
Korra: I'm hopping in the shower O. Talk to ya in a bit.
"Simmer down Kuvy, I'm getting in the shower anyways. I know you need all the rest you can get, it must require a lot of energy constantly fighting to stay upright on the ice."
Opal: All good, I'll shoot you a text later to make sure you're still breathing.
Kuvira ripped the pillow off her ear and slammed it down on the space next to her, leaning up on her elbows as the blanket hugged her. "You're lucky I'm not dressed right now, or you'd be paying for that."
This time Korra actually looked at her, "Is that a proposition? We've gone over this Kuvy, you're not my type."
"Fuck off." Kuvira grumbled as she layed back down and turned to face the window.
Korra sat at the edge of her bed for what seemed like forever, staring at the new blank message she had just opened, addressed to the contact saved as A. She'd start to type, then delete it, repeating this process a few times. Come on Korra she gave you her damn number! Just text her. The next thing you type, you send. She stared at her phone a while longer, thumbs at the ready. Finally they started to move as she wrote out her message, letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding before hitting send.
Korra: Hey! We just got to the hotel, hope you're not missing me too much ;)
Not able to handle the anxiety of waiting for a response from the woman who she was falling harder and harder for, she threw her phone down on the bed and got up to walk to the washroom. The light slowly leaving as she closed the door, returning the rest of the room to darkness.
As much as she tried not to think about it, it was all she could do, showers have a way of getting you lost in your own thoughts. 'Hope you're not missing me too much' Way to sound like a cocky asshole Korra. And what was with the winky face? I'm an idiot…
—
Ding!
Kuvira's eyes shot open. I swear to fucking god… She turned over to see the annoying device glowing in the darkness on her captain's bed. Who would want to talk to her anyways? She pulled the covers off of herself and grabbed a t-shirt to throw on from the chair next to the window, hastily making her way to the bed next to hers before Korra came out of the washroom. The device stopped glowing right as she got to it, forcing her to press the home button in order to see what notifications her teammate had received.
'Bolin - New iMessage
Kor! Opal says you need a pick-up line from Mako?'
The corner of her mouth turned up into a half grin. The idiot has it set so it shows message previews... this is going to be too easy. She stood staring at the phone, wondering what she should do next with this opportunity. She slid her finger across the screen, prompting the phone to ask for the unlock code, shit. Her thumb hesitated above the numbers, knowing that if she did try to crack the code too many times and failed, Korra would surely find out when she got out of the shower. She waited too long and the phone screen returned to the previous one, showing the same message notification from Bolin. Fuck it, she threw the phone back towards the bed, another dinging sound went off before it had time to land face down. Kuvira was still standing next to the bed, temptation to much to resist, she picked it up once more and read the new notification. This time her mouth formed a full grin, Oh, my, god. This is too good.
The sound of the shower running had stopped, Korra was going to be out any minute, she had to act fast. She couldn't try to unlock it, and even if she succeeded, Korra would know she had gotten into it since there wouldn't be a notification anymore. She ran to get her own phone, deciding that simply taking a picture of the lock screen with be the best option. She quickly slid the screen up on her own phone and opened the camera app, snapping a picture of the message notifications Korra had received.
The door handle clicked, and light started to pour into the hallway as the door to the washroom opened slowly opened. Fuck! She hit the lock button on the top of Korra's phone and threw it back onto the bed opposite her own.
A soft thud could be heard from within the washroom as the door opened fully and hit the side of the bathtub. She only had seconds now. She jumped back onto her bed and quickly threw her covers back over herself, turning to face the window and pretending to be asleep as she could hear Korra walking out of the washroom. Fuck fuck fuck.
Korra walked into the hallway clad in a white hotel towel wrapped around her torso, her wet hair dripping onto her bare shoulders, water droplets running down her chest only to be absorbed by the towel. Kuvira could see her teammate moving around through the reflection in the window, could hear droplets pitter patter against the carpet as she bent down to put her clothes from that day in her overnight bag. The tanned girl didn't seem to notice her when she swiftly jumped onto her bed and took refuge beneath the covers. Thank god... she released a soft breath of relief.
"You shtill awake ovfer there Kuvfy?" The mumbled words escaped her captain's mouth which was partially taken over by the toothbrush in it.
She didn't answer, instead she just lay still with her phone tight in her hand, waiting and watching through the window for what her captain would do next. The sight of Korra walking back towards the washroom caused her body to release its tension slightly, her grip on her phone loosening. As soon as she heard the tap turn on she pulled her phone back out, unlocking it and starting a new message, inserting the image she took of Korra's lock screen along with her message.
Kuvira: Something more concrete than a subtle touch wouldn't you say?
The water stopped running from the tap and the light switch within the washroom clicked off. Kuvira quickly locked her phone so that Korra wouldn't see the light as she walked to her bed, tucking it under the covers as she waited for a response. She waited for a few minutes, careful not to move too much as she listened to her captain move about the room before climbing into bed herself. Finally the response came, the light from her phone only slightly visible through the thick comforter. She discreetly turned her phone towards her and swiped her finger across the screen.
Sir: My office. First thing on Monday.
A vindictive smile formed on her lips as she clicked the lock button atop her phone and set it on the night stand quietly, closing her eyes and finally finding sleep.
—
The cool crisp hotel sheets felt nice as they enveloped her, the big fluffy pillow cradling her head almost perfectly. Her eyes closed, sleep creeping up on her. The only this that would have been better after such a long bus ride would be... Asami's bed… Her eyes shot back open, my phone. She shot up to a sitting position, hands searching frantically all over the sheets for the device. A quick swipe with her left hand sent the phone flying off the bed, hitting the wall with a thud. Shit. She gave a quick look over to Kuvira's side of the room to make sure she hadn't woken up before literally diving off the bed to retrieve her phone. Her upper body was hanging off the edge of the bed while her legs were sprawled out over the bed anchoring her down as she reached across the floor to pick up her phone. She lay like that for a moment, elbows pressing into the carpet as she supported her weight on them, thumbs hovering above the home button and black screen. Why does this woman get to me so much? Get a grip Korra. She probably didn't even respond, just press the damn button. She exhaled and pressed her thumb down, her jaw almost hitting the floor as the screen lit up. She slid her finger over the screen as fast as she could, thumbing to her messages app the second after she put her code in. A warmth spread across her entire body, pooling between her legs as she stared at her phone with her mouth still agape.
A: The question is, do you miss me?
The message was accompanied by a photo of her teacher wearing nothing but a black lace thong and the royal blue RCHS hockey shirt she had given her, black wavy hair pulled back on one side while the rest cascaded over her shoulder. The bottom of the shirt was pulled up and found itself between teeth framed by crimson lips. Exposing the line down the middle of her toned abdomen, her hip bones, and just enough of the underside of perfectly shaped pale breasts. And those eyes. God damn those eyes. Piercing green eyes she could just fall into, one look from them and her knees went weak. Korra couldn't help but bite her lip as she studied the picture, following every curve with her eyes, memorizing every last bit of it. Her breathing had become ragged, although she couldn't tell if that was because of how the picture affected her or due to the way she was awkwardly lying half off the bed. Getting up seemed like the best way to test that theory, so she shifted her way back under the covers to lay properly on the bed, never taking her eyes off the picture. Although her breathing resumed its normal rhythm, her heart did not give up its quickened tempo. Asami had her. She was in deep. Fuck...
