Chapter 6
"Are you sure I'm dressed nice enough, for this place?" Korra asks, apprehensively.
Asami had decided to take them to dinner, at Kwong's cuisine. Already having called, earlier that morning, they just walked right in, to her usual booth.
Korra was thankful for the gesture, but this was a bit too fancy for her liking. Everyone here is wearing suits and dresses. She feels out of place in her simple jeans and blue blouse. And thanks to her cast, she only has one shoe on! She suddenly hugs her arms around herself, feeling self conscious.
Asami looks up from her menu, at the question, and notices Korra looking around the room nervously.
"Hey." She tries getting Korra's attention but it doesn't work.
She reaches across the table and grabs her hand. That does the trick. "You look fine, alright? And even if you didn't, you came here with me, so no one will say anything."
Korra looks at her, with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"
"I brought Mako here on our first date. You know he doesn't own a suit, right? He actually showed up in sports sandals." She chuckles. "But really, you look great. So no need to worry. Maybe I should stop bringing people here on first dates." She pauses and her eyes widen, realizing what she had just said.
She looks up at Korra and sees her staring back, with a faint blush on her cheeks, and eyes, equally, as round.
"Is… this a date?" She squeezes Asami's hand.
Oh shit!
Asami's entire face heats up as she tries to recover. "No- maybe? I mean… what? I think that-." Before she has anymore time to stumble over her words, the waiter clears his throat.
Asami gladly welcomes the distraction, and rips her hand away from Korra's grip. Not missing the disappointment on Korra's face, she looks up at the waiter and waits for him to speak.
"Good evening you two. May I take your order?" He smiles politely.
Asami takes a deep breath, trying to remember their menu. She hadn't even looked at the menu long enough earlier to decide, on what she wanted.
She just goes with what she knows, since her mind refuses to work properly. "Yes, thank you. Can I have the grilled possum-chicken? Sides included."
The waiter scribbles her order down a pad and looks to Korra. "What would you like?"
Korra shrugs, refusing to meet Asami's gaze. "Just give me what she ordered."
He nods and leaves them alone. They both sit in awkward silence.
Korra fidgets with her shirt, not able to take the silence.
"I'm sorry." They both blurt out.
Asami sighs as Korra's blush deepens. "Korra I'm-" She's cut off.
"I get it, Asami. I really do. I should be apologizing, not you." Korra says with a small smile.
Korra didn't expect anything less. Sure Asami had been in a better mood since yesterday, but she was still going through her problems, whatever they may be.
What she wasn't expecting though, was the feeling of rejection, when Asami snatched her hand away. She shouldn't have feel that way. Technically, if someone had asked the other out it was Asami, since she planned this whole day. Besides, she and Asami were just friends. If even that. Right?
Their food soon arrives, and they both eat in silence, barely speaking.
Korra decides to lighten the mood. "This food is great. I've never had gravy like this. Thanks for bringing me here."
Grateful for the break in tension, Asami's eyes rise from her plate. "You don't have to thank me. I brought you here to thank you, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Well, your welcome I guess?" She scratches the back of her head. "I really did have fun, though."
Asami smiles warmly at her. "Me too. This is the most fun I've had in a while actually."
Which is exactly why, she couldn't get any closer to Korra. Anyone she get too close with, always left her, eventually.
So, she could at least make today as fun as possible, before they parted ways forever.
With that in mind, she finishes the rest of her food, and looks to Korra. "Anything else you wanna do tonight?"
Korra pulls her phone out of her pocket and looks at the time. It was getting late and she had work tomorrow, since she was only excused for two days.
"Could you take me back home? It's getting kinda late and I have work tomorrow. Plus I really need to study." She groans.
Korra forces her way through her question. In reality she didn't want to leave. Maybe she should've went with her first thought and said 'you'…
Asami, on the other hand, is glad that Korra's leaving. Sure, they had a lot of fun together. But Korra made her feel things. Things she was scared of feeling. Though she had to admit, she would miss Korra.
"Sure. Just tell me when you're ready to go."
"Thanks..." Korra says, as she studies Asami.
She had sounded way too excited, about getting rid of Korra. Maybe Asami wasn't into girls and Korra grossed her out, with her date talk.
Korra lowers her eyes onto her plate, thinking deeply. "Excuse me."
She rushes out of her seat into the restroom, leaving her crutches behind, with Asami watching in shock. When she makes it to her destination, she stops and looks into the mirror.
Had she been reading the signals wrong? Of course, Asami was a girl, but that didn't mean Korra couldn't tell when there was a mutual attraction. Maybe Asami didn't like girls. Does she even like girls? She's pretty sure she likes Asami.
Korra releases an agitated sigh. This is all so confusing.
She turns the faucet and splashes water onto her face, hoping it calms her down enough to think clearly.
Korra is fairly certain she likes Asami. On a physical level at least. Considering they don't really know each other that much, she isn't sure how deep her attraction to Asami is.
Another thing that crosses her mind, is the fact that she's even attracted to Asami at all. Is she gay? She hadn't been attracted to any other women. Sure, she thinks Opal is very pretty. But she'd never been attracted to her.
Maybe she wasn't attracted to Asami. She'd never had a girl best-friend before, so maybe these feelings were normal.
She dismisses that thought, as her lower stomach tightens, when the object of her confusion walks into the restroom, and their eyes lock.
With her face still dripping, she gives Asami a small smile. "Hey."
Asami tilts her head slightly and furrows her brow. "Are you okay?"
She doesn't answer. She instead focuses on the look in Asami's eyes, finally noticing the bags underneath. "Are you?" She says, not able to contain her concern.
Asami averts her eyes. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired, that's all."
Korra walks over to her and grips her chin, regaining eye contact. "That's not all. Is it?"
Asami's eyes well with tears and she swallows harshly, not replying.
Korra releases her chin and cups her cheek, invading her personal space. "Tell me what's wrong." She whispers.
A tear slides down Asami's face, as she closes her eyes, and leans into Korra's hand. "Korra," She sighs. "I-"
They're interrupted by the restroom door swinging open. Asami steps back, immediately, wiping her eyes.
A woman carrying a toddler rushes past them, paying the two no mind. "Oh, excuse me!"
Asami releases a sigh, as the stall door slams behind the woman. She looks to Korra, once again, who looks mildly irritated, due to their interruption. "You ready to go?"
Korra huffs, glaring at the stall the woman had gone into. "Yeah."
They sit in the car, parked in front of Korra's building, in silence.
Asami sits, thinking over dinner. She wasn't expecting things to get so… intimate. She was glad the woman came into the restroom when she did, otherwise she would've done something she'd regret.
But she can't deny the small twinge of sadness she feels when she turns and sees Korra's pout.
Korra realizes, it probably wasn't the best idea, to be so direct with Asami, about her feelings. But she couldn't help it. All of the events leading up to the dinner, screamed that Asami was in pain. The way she stormed off after they watched the movers together, the nightmare, her fit after the nightmare, and how tired she always seemed. Korra just couldn't stand by idly anymore!
Though as she sits in the car, about to go home, she can't help but think it was all too late.
She sighs, for the hundredth time since they arrived at her building, and turns to look at Asami. Her chest aches. She really doesn't want to go. Maybe they could hang out again sometime…
She sighs again. "Asami I-"
"Korra don't." Asami says almost pleading.
Korra notices, that the tired look in Asami's eyes, is much more noticeable now. "I just wanna say… thanks for a fun weekend. I really enjoyed it." She gives her a warm smile.
Asami gives a small smile back. "I did too. Sorry we had to meet, the way we did."
Korra chuckles. "I'm glad you hit me with your car. I wouldn't have had a reason to stay with you otherwise."
A slight blush creeps over Asami's cheeks.
"I guess it's time for me to get out of your hair." Korra sighs. "Hopefully we can hang out again." She says quietly, before exiting the car.
Asami watches as Korra gathers her things from the backseat and makes her way to her building opening. Korra turns back around and waves before disappearing inside the dark hallways.
With a sigh Asami makes her way back home.
2 Weeks Later
Whoever said, that distance makes the heart grow fonder, was an idiot. At least to Korra, anyway.
It had been two weeks since she and Asami had last spoken, and she desperately wants to see her.
Everything else in her life had been going perfectly. Her ankle made a full recovery, she passed her Northern Watertribe history test, and they hired another waiter at Narook's, so she always has the entire weekend off.
But she couldn't take her mind off of Asami.
She sits on a bench at the park, scrolling through her phone. She goes to her contacts and her thumb hovers over Asami's name.
"You know, you should just call her." Says a voice, from behind her.
She jumps, haven completely forgotten that she'd told Mako to meet her.
He chuckles, sitting next to her on the bench. "If you miss her that much, just give her call. Though, she might not answer. You could always just show up at her front door." He shrugs.
She debates the two options, before remembering why she'd needed him to meet her. "As thankful as I am for the advice, I didn't call you here to talk about my… friend."
Mako raises a brow at her, smirking. "Friend, huh? Okay. Whatever. What do you need?"
"I need a ride to Lin's house. I would've walked, but it's on the other side of town and Lin doesn't like Naga."
"What? What's going on? You two don't socialize, besides for at the dinners Tenzin invites us to." Mako looks at Korra, with concern clear on his features.
"I don't know yet. I think, I might have something on The Triple Threats."
Mako's eyes go wide and he looks around them, before bringing their heads closer together. "Does anybody else know about whatever this is?" He says, in a whisper.
Korra shakes her head. "No. Well, this one kid does, but he's harmless."
Nodding his head, Mako grips her shoulder. "Korra be careful. These guys are dangerous. They don't play around. And… if you ever need any help, I want you to know, you can always count on me, no matter what it is, alright?" He says, looking at her intensely.
Korra knows that Mako and Bolin lost both of their parents. After their deaths, Mako had to look out for them both, much like the little boy at the go-kart place. He did a lot of things he isn't proud of to care for them.
They both got involved with The Triple Threats, briefly before a lawyer, Suyin Beifong, just so happened to look into their parents' death. After gathering enough evidence, it became clear that the house fire that killed Mako and Bolin's parents, was caused by faulty wiring.
If Suyin hadn't have gotten them the money, to take care of themselves, so long after their parents death, who knows where they would've ended up.
Korra smiles, and envelopes him in a hug. "Thanks Mako."
"No problem. Now let's talk about Asami." Mako smirks, at the blush rising up Korra's face.
"Wh-what about, Asami?"
"You like her." Mako states, simply.
Korra has a mini heart attack. She decides to play it cool. "Yeah, of course I do. She's my friend."
Mako gives her a look. "Yeah, but you like like her."
"What?! No! Don't be weird." Korra's blush darkens.
An idea pops into Mako's head and he fights the smirk forming on his lips. "Oh okay. Well good, because you can do better."
Anger bubbles up within Korra, and she stands to her feet and puts her finger in Mako's face, ready to defend her crush. "Hey don't-"
She stops talking when she notices the expression on his face. He has tears in her eyes and his head's thrown over the back of the bench, trying to catch his breath.
Korra huffs, and stomps off to his car. "Let's go."
Asami sits behind her desk, glaring at a stack of envelopes on her desk. Hiroshi had sent three more letters, just today.
She had to give him props for his persistence. It was something she always admired about him, but in this instance, it annoyed her. Why wouldn't he just get it through his head, that she wanted nothing to do with him? He was making things harder than they needed to be
Asami sighs, feeling a headache coming on. Massaging her temples, her mind drifts to Korra again. She knew she'd miss Korra, but she didn't know it'd be like this. She found herself thinking about Korra more than not ever since their… date at Kwong's. Who was she kidding? All she thought about was Korra, unless she was actively working, or stressing about her dad.
"Miss Sato?" Li walks into her office, anxiously.
Li had noticed the state Asami had been in, since she and Korra's plans, Sunday. And, to be blunt, it worried her.
Opening her eyes. Asami leans into the hand that was massaging her temple. "Yes?"
"I… I think you should take the rest of the week off. Before you say no, let me finish." She says, effectively stopping Asami's protest.
"You've been working everyday for two weeks straight. And it's wearing on you. Frankly I'm worried about you. Everyone is. You should really consider taking a brief vacation. I'll handle things here, you know that I'm more than capable." Li finishes strongly, crossing her arms.
Emerald eyes close, and Asami redoubles her efforts, massaging her temples. "And what would I be doing for a week, while I dumped all the work on you and everyone else?"
"Really?" Li looks at her with a skeptical expression. "The way you've been working these past two weeks, I'm sure no-one here would protest, to you taking a week off, Asami." Li looks at her, with a soft expression.
Asami reopens her eyes, and locks her gaze onto Li's. Li has only ever called her by her first name while at work, after her father's arrest, whenever she got too overwhelmed.
"And as for what you'd be doing, I was thinking you could spend some time with Korra." She smiles at the blush creeping up Asami's face. "I know you've missed her. I'm fairly certain she's missed you too."
Thinking about what her assistant had just said to her, Asami sits back in her seat. "You really think I should take a week off?" Asami drops the facade, no longer hiding the tiredness she'd been feeling since… forever.
Li's expression switches, to a pout, and she moves to enfold Asami in her arms. "Oh, sweetie. You've needed this break for the greater part of a year. I know you're tired. You deserve a break more than anyone."
Asami squeezes back and holds back her tears. "Thank you L-" She's cut off by the sound of the elevator beeping, outside of her office.
She pulls back and her expression turns stony once more. "Were we expecting any meetings today?"
"No, you had the rest of the week clear of any meetings." Li says as she runs out of the office, closing the door behind her.
Straining her ears, Asami listens to the conversation, on the other side of her door, from behind her desk.
"Excuse me? What are you doing here, you're banned. Miss Sato's orders. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."
…
"Did you not hear me? Stop! I do not have the patience for this. If you take another step towards that door I'll have to stop you myself."
A deep gravelly voice speaks. "You won't touch him."
A moment later the same voice that had just spoken, yelps in pain. The door suddenly opens and Asami is met with the sight, of Li holding a man's arm, deep between his shoulder blades, forcing him to his knees.
Viper stands in her doorway, smirking at her. "Asami Sato. Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Li's eyes snap up toward him. "You're not going anywhere near her." She growls.
"Come on Asami? Is this any way to treat a costumer?" Viper's smirk grows, at the sight of Asami's glare.
"It's alright Li, you can let him go." Asami nods, answering the silent debate happening within Li.
Grumbling threats, Li pushes the man, by his incapacitated arm, onto his face.
"What about him?" She gestures to Viper.
Asami turns her glare back to Viper. "He can come in." Viper starts walking into her office. "If… he gets rid of his little friend."
She smirks seeing the frown on Viper's face. "I believe he's annoying my assistant."
Sending a brief glare at Asami, he shrugs with his smirk reappearing. "Fine. Riyu, go take a walk until I call for you. This won't take long."
The man in question gets up off of the floor, rubbing his shoulder. He shoots Li a glare, as he walks to the elevator. "You got it, boss."
Viper walks into Asami's office, closing the door behind him. He turns the chair, across from her, backwards and takes a seat.
He rests his arms against the back of the chair and leans forward, grinning smugly. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"