Chapter 12

After enjoying lunch together, the pair head off with Li as their intended target. Throughout the day, Korra kept being reminded of her conversation with Kuvira. It was eating her up inside, to think that Asami would turn away an entire nation, in need. She had decided to keep quiet and wait for an appropriate time to discuss it with Asami. There has to be more to the story. There has to be.

Asami looks at Korra, briefly taking her eyes off of the road. She was getting a little worried. She'd noticed a few times throughout the day, that Korra had this extremely thoughtful look on her face. It bothered her when Korra became too silent. It wasn't like her. Korra was by no means over hyper, but this much silence wasn't normal for her.

Quickly making it to their destination, Asami parks the car and turns in her seat, facing Korra. "Hey." Korra's eyes refocus, on her. "What's wrong?"

She forces a smile onto her face. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

Asami can instantly tell she's lying. If she hadn't have already seen Korra's strange behavior, the fact that the smile that Korra now wore, wasn't crooked like usual, would've given her away. "Don't lie to me. You've been acting strange ever since breakfast. If you don't want to tell me that's fine, but please don't lie about it."

Korra's shoulders droop slightly. She couldn't lie to Asami. "It's just… I'll tell you later. I promise."

Asami shoots Korra a warm smile. "Thank you."

Seeing that smile only makes it harder for Korra to contain her question. She exits the car, silently trailing behind Asami. She desperately tries to occupy her mind, searching for anything to attract her attention. Her eyes land on Asami's back, soon lowering, causing her to be mesmerized by the sway of Asami's hips. Was she doing that on purpose?

Somewhat distracted, Korra enters the elevator with Asami and they ascend to the top floor. The doors open once they reach the top, revealing Li's empty desk.

Korra groans. "Not again!" She says, throwing her hands up, as she exits the elevator.

Asami's head cocks to the side, as she watches Korra in amused confusion. "What's wrong?"

Pointing at Li's desk, Korra whirls back around, gently pushing Asami back into the elevator. "Her desk is empty again. Like the first time that guy came to your job."

Trying to speak, Asami fails miserably at containing her laughter. It was sweet of Korra, looking out for her well-being and all, but she had the wrong idea. Asami continues trying to explain, through her laughter, as Korra forces her into the elevator.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" Korra was getting aggravated.

Covering her mouth, Asami's laughs turn into smothered chuckles. "I'm- I'm sorry."

"Asami?"

Korra whips around quickly, having gotten Asami inside of the elevator, and faces a very confused, Li. Waving, Asami still can't control her laughter. Korra's face heats up slightly, realizing why Asami was laughing. She regards Li, with a nervous smile.

"Hey, Li. How ya been?" She says, scratching the back of her neck.

Li still has her eyes on Asami, who had finally managed to stop laughing. "What's her problem?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't know. Could be anything really. Heh."

Eyeing Korra, Li shakes her head. "Did you two come here to be weird, or do you actually have a reason?"

Asami finally steps up. "Yeah. I came to check in and see how everything was going. I brought lunch too." She holds up a box of dumplings.

"Oh thank Spirits. I'm starving." She rushes over to Asami, taking the food and quickly hurrying back into the office.

The two girls follow her, settling into the couch against the wall, while Li seats on the edge of the desk, devouring her food.

"Not to interrupt your meal," Asami says, causing Korra to snort, in laughter. "has anything I should know about come up?"

Holding up one finger, Li swallows her food. "Actually, President Raiko called a few hours ago. He's scheduled you for a meeting, this Thursday. Also the land you requested, in the Fire Nation, is finally ready. The other places you had me look into also look promising, but you should send someone down there to oversee, and amkev sure that the work is done correctly."

Nodding her head, Asami runs her hand through her hair. "I should probably go myself, to make sure everything is taken care of. This is a big merger and I don't want to have any mistakes."

Li's eyebrows rise, slightly. She hadn't been expecting Asami to go, herself. "When do you think it would be a good time to go? Everything is set up. It's all on you now."

"Maybe during the summer. It's a lot of work and it's going to take some time."

Returning to her food, Li nods. "You also got a few letters in the mail." She eyes Asami cautiously, gauging where her head is, after their last talk.

"I figured I would've gotten more by now."

"…Did you think about what we spoke about?"

Asami releases a breath from deep within. "Only a little."

Smiling, Li nods her approval. "That's better than a 'no'. I know it isn't easy, but it's good that you're at least trying."

Asami gives a small smile. "All that I can do right? Anyway… is that all?"

"Yes, I think so. You are coming back to work Monday, right?"

Asami nods.

"Then that should be all. Anything that happens between now and then can be handled once you come back."

"Thank you so much. I'm sorry to leave so abruptly. I just-" Asami is interrupted.

Li has her hand in the air, signaling Asami to stop talking. "You don't need to explain. I understand." She says, while watching Korra, who was at Asami's office window, taking in the view again.

Shaking her head, Asami gives Li a quick hug. Li was always looking out for her.

They pull apart and Asami finds Korra watching them, with a smile plastered on her face. A real smile.

"Come on Korra, let's go."

Korra follows behind Asami, waving at Li as she leaves. "Hi Li. Bye Li."

The woman simply shakes her head, smiling as she watches them leave. Where did Asami find these people? "Goodbye Korra."

Once back inside of Asami's car, the owner faces her passenger. "Where to next?"

"The surprise isn't ready yet. And I wanna take Naga on a walk before we go anyway. Let's go back to your house. I'll walk home from there." Korra shrugs.

Asami wastes no time peeling out of the parking lot, and onto the street. They make it back to her house in record time. Korra starts the trek to her apartment, and hears footsteps behind her. She spins around to see Asami, standing behind her.

"Are you coming with me?" Korra is more than a little surprised.

"Is that a problem?"

"No! Not at all. I just thought you were scared of Naga." Korra continues her walk.

"Well, she is a gigantic polar-bear dog. But, she seems friendly enough." Asami shrugs.

Korra smiles. "I think you'll be great friends."

They continue, walking side by side, in comfortable silence. Korra whips out her phone and sends Bolin a quick message. Hopefully he'd answer before they had to leave Naga alone.

"What's wrong?" Asami asks.

Korra's surprised she even noticed her slight distress. It was such a fleeting moment and she somehow managed to catch it. "I don't want Naga to be alone, for too long. I asked Bolin if he could watch her, while I'm gone."

"How sweet of you."

Chuckling, Korra shrugs. "Can't leave my best friend unattended. I'd never hear the end of it."

"Oh, she talks too, huh?" Asami raises an eyebrow, in amusement.

"No, but we communicate. Telepathically, I'm assuming."

Asami snorts, shaking her head.

Rounding one more corner, they finally make it to Korra's apartment. She opens the door, and as soon as they're inside, they hear something approaching. Korra only has a brief second to prepare herself for the weight about to be thrown at her. Naga comes into view, charging at Korra. She leaps at her owner, knocking her onto the ground, and assaulting her face with her tongue.

"What a greeting. Nice to see you too." Korra laughs.

Asami watches as Korra struggles to free herself, from her best friend's loving embrace. "You've only been gone a day. And not even a full one. Does she always greet you like this?"

Finally up from the ground, Korra straightens her clothes. "Yes. Unless I'm in a bad mood, or hurt."

"She knows when you're in a bad mood?"

Korra taps her head, and then taps Naga's. "I told you. We can communicate."

Staring at the two, dumbfounded, Asami starts to believe her.

"Do you wanna walk her?" Korra asks.

"You put her on a leash?"

"It's more like a harness with a rope attached. And I only do that if we're with other people. It comforts them, since she's so big." Korra explains, as she puts said harness on Naga.

"Uh, sure. I'll walk her. If it's okay with her." Asami says, nervously.

"Of course, it's okay with her. You don't have a problem with that, do you girl?" Korra asks Naga, who replies with a swift swipe of her tongue.

She holds the rope out for Asami, with a grin on her face. Asami accepts it and looks at Naga, who sits, watching Asami patiently, with her tongue hanging from her mouth.

Asami tightens her grip on the rope. "Let's go, Naga."

Naga exits the apartment, Korra and Asami following behind her. The rope was a lot more slack than Asami thought it would be. It was almost like Naga knew she could drag Asami down the street, if she wanted to, but chose not to.

Korra notices, Asami staring at the rope in her hand. "Whenever Naga has her harness on, she lets us set the pace. Although, she doesn't usually walk much faster than this, even without her harness."

"Wow. She's really smart." Asami praises.

"Yeah, sometimes she's smarter than me, if you could believe it."

"I can." Asami laughs.

Korra clutches her chest. "Ouch."

They continue following Naga, falling into comfortable silence. Asami notices Naga heading in the direction of where she knew there was a park. She'd gone there a lot as a kid, with her mother and father. Lately though, she rarely even looked in it's direction.

They make it to the park, and Naga heads for a bench. Once she reaches it, she sits and looks at Asami, expectantly.

Looking at Korra, Asami gestures to Naga. "Does she want something?"

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Korra grabs the rope from Asami's hand and sits down on the bench, in front of Naga. She removes the harness from her chest, sitting on the ground next to them, before pulling a ball out of her pocket. She looks at Naga, whose tail is swaying back and forth in excitement. Cocking her arm back, she throws the ball far into the distance, Naga immediately giving chase.

"Nice throw." Asami says, impressed.

"Thanks."

"I thought you said she wore the harness to make other people feel better. This park is full of people."

Korra pats the space next to her on the bench, inviting Asami to sit next to her, before giving her explanation. "We come to this park often. Most of the people here have seen us before, and know that Naga isn't a threat. And people who are still scared, just steer clear of her. Plus it's hard to play fetch when your owner is slowing you down." She says, as Naga comes running back with the ball in her mouth.

"That makes sense."

Korra pulls her phone from her pocket, nodding. "Bolin said, he's going to meet us here."

"Is your surprise going to be ready, when he gets here?"

Korra smirks. "Nope. But we can go back to your place or something. Or just hang out here. I assume Opal is with him." She says, throwing the ball again.

Asami nods, watching Naga chase the ball again. "So… I know you said, you'd tell me later, but I can't get over it. What had you so worked up earlier today?"

Korra instantly stiffens.

Noticing the change, Asami falters. "But if you don't wanna talk about it-"

"No it's fine. I just don't know how to say this. It's just… I was talking to someone from the Earth Kingdom, and about how the queen has basically turned the entire nation into slaves. She told me a few rebels came to you asking for help, fighting back and that you turned them down."

She finishes and looks to Asami, who has her eyes locked on her feet.

"I didn't believe it at first. I still can't. I guess, I… I don't know. It's hard to believe you'd turn away people, in need. There's gotta be more to the story. Right?"

Korra awaits Asami's reaction, and after what seems like forever, Asami finally looks at her with a blank expression. "No. Your friend was telling the truth. I denied them help. Guess you were wrong about me."

To say Korra is shocked, would be a gross understatement. She has to look away from Asami's emotionless eyes. "Why?" She whispers.

"Because they asked for weapons. I don't make weapons, and never will. If I did what they'd asked, I'd be no better than my father. I'd be worse actually. I'd have the blood of thousands of people, on my hands. I refuse to let that happen."

Korra tries to understand, and she does, but she can't stand the thought of all those people suffering. "But way more innocent people get hurt, if you don't help. At least if you helped, innocent people would have a chance to fight back, and protect themselves."

"Korra you have to understand. I'll help in any other way. Except this one. I just can't do it." Asami shakes her head.

Releasing a sigh, Korra pushes her own feelings down. This isn't about her, and getting Asami worked up wouldn't help anyone. "I understand."

Face lighting up, Asami looks at Korra. "You do?"

"Yeah, I do. It doesn't mean I like it, but I do understand."

Asami pulls Korra into a half hug. "Thanks, Korra. Sorry to disappoint."

Releasing another sigh, Korra returns the hug. "No problem, Asami."

After a few minutes of sitting in each other's embrace, they hear footsteps dangerously close. "Oh my spirits, aren't they cute?!" Bolin exclaims.

He walks around from behind them, and into their field of view, with Opal close behind him.

She waves at the two. "Hey guys."

Raising an eyebrow, Asami eyes Opal. "Hey, 'friend'. Thanks for leaving the sleepover last night."

"I don't see you complaining." Opal laughs, gesturing to the two, still in each others embrace.

They both blush, but don't pull apart.

Bolin looks around them, confused. "Where's Naga?"

"Somewhere around here. She'll turn up sooner or later." Korra waves him off.

No sooner than the words leave her mouth, Naga comes out of nowhere, and leaps at Bolin, ball still in her mouth. She tackles him to the ground and drops the slobbery ball onto his face, replacing it with her tongue.

Bolin groans slightly, while the girls laugh at him.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Korra catches her breath. "Hey, where's Mako?"

"He's out with some Fire Nation girl." Bolin shrugs.

"What?!" Both Asami and Korra yell, simultaneously.

"Yeah, they met after today's game and really seemed to hit it off."

"Wow. Everyone's finding love lately." Opal says.

Bolin finally frees himself from Naga's loving grip, and embraces Opal. "Nobody has a love as strong as ours!"

Opal laughs. "Yeah, your right. Nobody loves me like you do. Korra used to love me, but then she got a new job." She pouts.

"How could you, Korra?" Bolin asks, dramatically.

"Oh come on, Opal. I just needed some extra money. You know I love you."

"And to make it worse, I haven't even seen you since you started at your new job! You've been spending all your time with Asami." She sticks her tongue out at Asami.

Gasping, Korra pretends to be overly shocked. "Don't blame Asami. We all were supposed to have a sleepover last night. But I don't think it was her who left. Who was it again?" She asks, looking at Asami to answer.

Looking between the two, Asami has to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

Opal huffs. "I can't do you guys a simple favor, without you throwing it back in my face can I? Did it ever occur to you that I'm just a selfless person?" She turns away from Korra.

"Selfless people don't remind everyone how selfless they are, every five minutes." Korra mumbles.

Whipping back toward Korra, Opal glares at her playfully. "What was that?"

Not able to take it anymore, Asami bursts out laughing at the two. They were ridiculous, and she loved it.

"You think this is funny?" Korra's glare is betrayed, by her large smile.

"Should we attack her? This is all her fault." Opal suggests.

"What?! How is this my fault?"

Korra ignores her. "Yeah, let's get her."

Bracing for their attack, Asami throws her hands up. "Wait!"

It was useless. Both Korra and Opal rush her. Opal makes it to her first, and Asami bypasses her wide tackle, narrowly spinning out of her reach, causing her to land in the grass. She doesn't have time to recover, as Korra's attack comes right Opal's.

Knocking Asami off of her feet, they both land on the ground next to Opal, with Korra on top of Asami.

She leans down, stopping beside Asami's ear. "Try and pin me now." She whispers, enjoying the chill she feels roll through Asami.

"Ouch." Opal says, sitting up with her legs crossed.

"You guys are crazy." Bolin says, walking off with Naga.

Korra watches him walk away, with her dog, still seated atop Asami. She turns her attention back to the woman underneath her. "Guess I'll free you now. Need a hand?" She extends her hand down to Asami.

"No thanks. I like the view down here." Asami says, staring up at the clouds in the sky.

Craning her neck back, Korra looks up, noticing the amount of clouds in the sky. She decides to lie down in the grass beside Asami, and watch the clouds.

"I used to come here a lot, with my parents. Mom would lay with me and we'd point out shapes in the clouds, while dad worked on his sketches. I haven't been here since." Asami recalls, with a small smile on her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. I didn't mean to bring up any old memories." Korra grabs her hand.

Asami closes her eyes, giving Korra's hand a light squeeze. "No, it's okay. I'm glad you brought me here. I had fun. Thank you."

Bolin comes back, with takeout and a blanket. "Surprise! When you told me you were at the park, I was like 'Oh my spirits, we've gotta have a picnic'."

"Sorry Bolin, but we already had lunch. Maybe you and Opal can eat the food, and watch the clouds with us." Korra suggests.

Crawling closer to the two, Opal settles on the blanket, as Bolin plops down beside Naga, digging into his noodles. "I don't know about you guys, but this is the most soothing date I've ever been on." Opal sighs, leaning her head on Bolin's shoulder.

Opening her eyes, Asami finds Korra watching her with a grin on her face. "What?"

"We finally got to go on that double date, huh?"

The smile that takes over Asami's face is so wide, her cheeks hurt. "Looks like we did."