Title: Day Off
Pairing: Korra & Asami.
Rated: T
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra and its characters. All rights belong to their respectable owners Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino.
Authors Note: Hey guys. Just wanted you all to know I haven't dropped Just Drive. I'm trying to finishing up the last two chapters and getting over being sick. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter for the time being. Thanks again for the patience. Later Gladiators.
Korra was asleep on the couch until the ringer from her temp phone went off. "What?" she said waking up a bit jumpy. Realizing where the noise came from, Korra reached down on the floor and pulled the cell phone from its charger. She read a text message from Bolin inviting her to lunch with the guys. Korra sent him one back with a: okay.
Slowly sitting up, Korra stretched out her arms hearing them crack. She felt a sharp pain in her leg and gripped at her knee cap. She grunted at the pain and looked around the floor for her duffel bag. Spotting it by the coffee table, Korra pulled it toward her and unzipped it. She took out her pill bottle, twisted the top off and popped two in her mouth. She took a quick swig from her water bottle she had last night to wash it down.
Asami finally had the day off after working 6 days straight. She wanted to make this day special for her son. Walking into the living room, Asami spotted Korra yawning with her eyes closed. "You're up early," she said with a smile while walking into the kitchen.
"Not by choice," Korra said smiling back. She stood up and followed Asami into the kitchen. "Bolin's text message woke me up," she said taking a seat on the bar stool. "You're up early for your day off," Korra mention with a raised brow and a smirk.
Asami was rummaging the fridge until she found a bag of blue berries. "Yeah I've been setting this up everyday on my lunch break," she said pouring the blue berries into a bowl. She got a bag of chocolate chips and pancake mix from the cabinet. She took out a bigger bowl and started to pour the mix in. "I got the whole day planned. I'm taking Roh to all his favorite places if we can squeeze them in. We're going to the museum of mechanics were they're giving a tour in the new aviation exhibit. Then to the Wan Shi Tong library to pick up a few books and on the way home we're going to stop by the Jasmine Dragon to pick up his favorite packages of tea," she said starting to prepare the batter.
Korra was popping blue berries into her mouth as Asami went on. "I feel bad for not being here for Iroh. This is the longest we've ever been apart," she said with a sorrowful expression. "His father would be gone for months on in and I don't want to put him through that again," she said while stirring pretty fast. Not with me..
Noticing her aggressive actions, Korra placed her hand on top of Asami's to calm her down. "You'll find the balance between work and home. Its just gonna take some time," she said letting her hand go.
Asami took a deep calming breath and gave Korra a nod. "You're right. That's why I'm glad you're here," she said pouring chocolate chips into the first batch. "If you weren't I don't know what I'd do," she said walking over to the stove and pouring the batter into a sizzling pan.
"Yeah..." Korra mumbled still not use to hearing that. With the clear of her throat, Korra quickly changed the subject. "So on your endless list of things to do. What didn't make the cut?" she asked curiously.
"You know scuba diving, wind sailing, fishing. Things of that nature," Asami said with a smirk since it was something Korra would do with her own father.
Korra tossed a chocolate chip over at Asami with a chuckle. "You forgot ice sculpting," she added with a smile.
Asami giggled as she flipped over one pancake. "You're more than welcome to join us on our little adventure."
"As boring as that sounds. I mean fun!" Korra quickly corrected as Asami darted a death glare her way. "I'll have to pass. Bolin invited me out to lunch with the guys so..." she drifted off without wanting to explain what shenanigans they could get into.
"Getting the Krew back together?" Asami asked placing one of Iroh's pancakes on a plate and starting on the other.
Korra gave her a look with a small nod. "Almost."
Asami came back to make another batch, "you want some blue berry pancakes?" she asked pouring more mix into the bowl.
"Nah. I'm gonna get ready to head out," Korra said tossing one more up in the air before catching it in her mouth.
"But they're your favorite," Asami said with a pout.
Korra chuckled with a smile, "I'm good for right now. Thanks anyway," she said getting down off the stool.
Asami looked at the time and saw how early it was. "You need a ride?"
Korra had went into her bag and took out a black shirt. "No Bolin is sending me a Goober to pick me up," she said looking back at Asami.
"You mean an Uber?" Asami questioned.
"Something like that," Korra said with a shrug. She gathered up her clothes and headed into the bathroom to get ready. "Call me if you need anything," she said before heading down the hall.
Asami placed Iroh's second pancake on a plate for him. "I will. Thanks."
Bolin was at a local coffee shop waiting for Korra. She walked in a few minutes later looking around. "Over here!" he waved.
Korra heard Bolin's voice and walked into the back of the crowded place. "Hey," she greeted taking a seat beside him. "So where are the other two stooges?" she asked with a grin.
"They'll be here soon. I'm surprised you're still in town," Bolin said in disbelief. It had to be a record for her.
"Yeah well I thought I'd stay for a couple more days. Take a trip down nostalgia lane while playing stop and stare by onerepublic on loop," Korra sarcastically put with a smirk.
Bolin raised a brow at her mini rant. "Really?" he questioned.
Korra shook her head, "no man," she said with a chuckle. "Asami had no one to pick up Iroh while she was at work so... I offered."
"You offered? To baby sit? You?" Bolin asked pointing at her surprised.
"Yeah me," Korra said shoving him playfully on his shoulder. Korra thought of a weird question. "Why do they call it baby sitting anyway?" she asked curiously. "I'm not sitting on a baby."
Bolin thought on her question and said, "you're sitting next to the baby," while gesturing to his side.
"Well technically Iroh's not a baby. He's a kid. So what? Its kid sitting?" Korra asked as if he had answers.
"Nooooo," Bolin dragged out. "Plus that word is too close to kidnapping," he said hoping people wouldn't misread their conversation.
Korra sat back stretching out her bad leg. "Good point," she said looking around to see if anyone was even bothering to listen. "What about Adult sitting? I wonder if that's a thing."
Bolin nearly choked on his cup of coffee of what came to mind. "Like a kinky sex thing or just a thing people do for money?" he asked wondering which one she was getting at.
"That still sounds like a sex thing either way but I meant for income," Korra said wondering if old people had sitters.
"Yeah why not. I'm sure a lot of people do adult sitting. Specially in nursing homes or have one of those creepy fetishes were they watch old people in the park," Bolin said getting a gross image in his head. "Ew..." he said shivering while placing his cup down. "I see what you did there. Trying to throw me off the topic of Asami," he said with a bright smile. "So you tell her yet?"
Korra looked at him as if he hit his head and was talking in tongues. "I think you're misreading the situation."
Bolin took a bite into his cookie. "I think you're avoiding an opportunity," he said dipping some of it into his coffee. "This is the perfect time for the both of you to finally make things official like you were suppose to ten years ago."
"Eleven," Korra corrected without thinking about it. She knew the exact date and time but the look on Bolin's face right now made her want to slap herself for saying it out loud. "Its not gonna happen!" she said shooting down the idea of it.
Bolin snickered to himself finding her frustration amusing. "I'm rooting for the both of you," he said with a smug grin.
Korra sighed heavily and spotted Mako and Tu coming into the coffee shop. "Well you're gonna be celebrating by yourself," she commented as the guys came up to their table.
"Hey," Mako greeted with a smile after giving Korra a small hug. Tu greeted her as well and gave her a side hug. "So what we miss?"
"Oh just Korra still denying her feelings for Asami," Bolin chimed in before she could speak up.
Korra slapped the side of Bolin's arm to get him to shut up. "That's not it at all," she said directing her attention to Mako. "I-I'm not here for that," Korra made clear putting her hands up in defense. "I'm just helping her out that's all."
Mako couldn't help but laugh at how flustered Korra was getting. "It's just like high school all over again," he said recalling when they met Korra and Asami. "You both were basically in a relationship without actually being in a relationship."
"What are you talking about?" Korra asked puzzled at his remark.
Bolin cleared his throat getting everyone's attention. "For starters. You would always hold her books and escort her from class to class."
Korra thought on it and shook her head no. "I only did that because she wasn't strong enough to carry those heavy ass text books by herself. I mean," she said gesturing to her bicep. She rolled up her sleeve and flexed it. "Come on? That's all you got?" she said making it seem as if they were exaggerating.
"You weren't even in some of her classes," Mako said with Tu snickering.
"I knew other people in her class. Plus mines were always boring as hell," Korra said making up her own excuse.
Mako sat up in his seat and leaned over on the table intensely thinking of a good one. "What about the times she would get hit on and you would automatically jump in and stop it."
Korra's mind went straight to the guy she threaten to kick down the bleachers for hitting on Asami. "We had a system. She would rub her neck or pull on her ear lope which was code for 'get this creep away from me'," Korra explained. It was true. Every girl she knew had some type of system in place to secure not only their safety but peace of mind for their day not to be ruined because some asshole wouldn't get the hint they weren't interested.
Tu understood what she meant but thought of one that would trip her up. "What about you rubbing her feet after cheer leading practice," he asked with a raised brow. "You hate feet," he pointed out.
Korra was about to speak but had no explanation for it. She felt them staring at her and brushed it off with the wave of her hand. "Look you guys are way off okay. That's just what friends do," she said leaving it as that.
Bolin shook his head disagreeing. "I'd go above and beyond for my bro," he gestured in Mako's direction. "But I'm not gonna rub his disgusting feet."
Mako looked down at his shoes and back at his brother. "I have a manicurist for that," he said correcting his brother.
"Point is. You both have a second chance to be more," Bolin said looking at Korra with a serious expression. He tapped her lightly on her shoulder and said, "all you gotta do is woman up."
"Woman up?" Korra phased in a question from his choice of words.
Tu looked away from his phone and over at Korra. "Yeah woman up. Its basically the female equivalent to man up. Be fearless and take what you want despite the unforeseen outcome it could have on your current relationship status between the two of you," he said before turning his attention back to his phone.
Everyone stared at Tu for a long period of time before Mako spoke up on his behalf. "He took one women and gender studies course online and he knows everything," Mako said with the shake of his head.
"And a psych class," Tu said catching his sarcasm before it left his mouth.
Mako rolled his eyes and said, "yeah yeah."
Tu put his phone down and looked to Korra. "The world is expanded and your mind has to expand with it in order to explain what it contains," he said raising his hand into the distant.
"Here we go again," Bolin said flagging down one of the waitress who took his order earlier.
Asami was eating breakfast with her son for the first time this week. "How is it?" she asked pointing her fork at his plate.
Iroh was in the middle of chewing and nodded his head til he finished. "Its good," he said with a bright smile on his face.
That smile on her little boys face lit up her own. Asami was so excited to tell him the day she had planned. "So I was thinking since I had the whole day free that we could go check out that new exhibit in the museum of mechanics.."
Iroh dropped his fork on his plate out of shock. "Really?!" he said eyes wide as ever.
"Yes really and afterwards we could go to the Wan Shi Ton library pick up a few books so we can make a replica of whatever model you want," Asami said seeing the look on her son's face. It was priceless. They would often make replicas of vintage car models, motorcycles, even historical military vehicles but never planes. "On our way home we can stop by the Jasmine Dragon tea shop. What do you say?" she asked hoping he'd be on board with it all.
Iroh was speechless by the look on his face. A smile grew even wider on his face. He got up from his seat and gave his mother a huge hug before pulling back. "Can we go now?" he asked with excitement in his voice.
Asami tighten the hug before he could pull away. "Finish eating first then we can go okay," she said brushing his hair back.
"Okay!" Iroh answered in a haste. He sat back down and ate his food with an uncontrollable smile. He would finally be able to spend some time with his mother.
"So how is Asami holding up?" Bolin asked while eating a mini bagel. "Opal told me she was working at Baatar's security company."
Korra took a sip of her ice tea before sitting it back down on the table. "Well she hates her boss like every other normal human being in the four nations so... I'd say she's doing pretty well," she said with a chuckle before stealing one of Mako's hash brown bites.
Bolin knew how awful Kuvira could be and avoided every family event she was apart of. "How are things going with you and Iroh?"
"It's a slow process... plus kids don't really like me for some reason," Korra said taking another sip of her drink.
"Bull! You were great with the twins when you stayed with us," Bolin said calling her out. He knew she was making up an excuse to why they weren't clicking.
Korra shook her head no while focusing her attention on a spot that was on the table. "That's different," she said looking back at Bolin. "They're basically babies. Babies don't judge. Kids do. They give you these little judgemental looks and opinions with comebacks faster than you could imagine," she said laying her worries out on the table unknowingly.
Bolin raised a brow at her little rant. "That's what I have to look forward too?" he asked seeing her nod his way. He shook his head no not wanting to believe it. "I'm sure Iroh will warm up to you sooner or later," he said placing his hand on her shoulder.
"I hope so..." Korra said with a sigh.
Asami came out of her room and raised her hand up showing Iroh the keys. "Got them," she said seeing him smile. Before she could open up the front door her phone rang. "Hold on," she said pulling her purse open and digging through it. She took out her phone and saw it was Kuvira.
"Shh.. ugh." Asami mumbled to stop herself from cursing. She held up her index finger for her son to see before answering. "Yes?"
"Where are you? You're late," Kuvira said in an aggressive tone of voice.
Asami walked further into the living room so her son couldn't overhear anything being said. "Today's my day off."
Kuvira scoffed at Asami. "You wish."
"I checked the schedule it said that I was off on Sundays," Asami said lowly looking over her shoulder at Iroh who looked displeased.
"Yeah that's a... that's a glitch in the system," Kuvira said skimming through her photos to find the best selfie to post on her Instagram. Picking one, she began to write a funny caption under it before continuing her train of thought. "If you read the fine print you would know that new employees don't get a day off until a month of employment," she said taking her phone off speaker and placing it to her ear. "So I'm giving you 30 minutes to get your ass down here or don't bother coming in at all," she said before hanging up and looking at the like she got from Baatar.
Asami lowered the phone from her ear and sighed.
"Mom?" Iroh said getting her attention. The look on her face said it all. It was the same look his father would have before leaving for work. Iroh frowned slightly and gave her a nod before heading into his room.
"Iroh. Iroh!" Asami called out to him only to hear his door slam. "Dammit..."
Korra laughed when Mako mention the prank they pulled their senior year. "Yeah principal Gyatso was livid. You know I ran into him a few days ago."
"Yeah? How was that?" Mako asked still chuckling.
"Awkward as always," Korra said knowing Tenzin meant well. Her cell phone rang before she could continue."Hello?" she said not looking at the caller ID.
Asami was in the middle of changing her clothes when Korra picked up. "Hey its me. I just got a call from work saying that I have 30 minutes to come in or else I'm out of a job," she explained with clear frustration in her voice. "Do you think-"
"I'll be there," Korra said before Asami could finish. She knew how disappointing this was going to be for the both of them. "See you soon." Korra hung up the phone and stood up from the table. "I gotta go," she said placing her phone in her back pocket.
"Duty calls?" Tu asked meaning Asami.
Mako chuckled and tapped his cousin on the shoulder. "I think you mean wifey."
"Shut up," Korra said in a playful tone. "See you three stooges later."
"I'll give you a ride," Bolin said getting up as well. They said their goodbyes and left the cafe.
Korra got back in time for Asami to leave. She knocked on the door with Asami opening it up with in seconds. "Hey..." Korra greeted with a puzzled look.
"Hey! Thank you so much for this," Asami said rushing over to the couch to put her shoes on.
"No problem," Korra said entering the apartment. "How much time do you have left?"
Asami thought on it as if she was calculating it in her head. "A solid 15. Could make it there in five if I didn't have to wait for a red light," she said with a smirk.
Korra shook her head at the thought of it. "Okay speed demon. So where's the kid?" she asked looking around.
"Held up in his room," Asami said going through her satchel making sure she didn't leave anything behind. She stopped what she was doing and looked over at Korra with a worried look. "He's really disappointed... specially in me."
"Don't think like that," Korra said taking a seat beside her.
Asami shook her head no as if to disagree. "He was looking forward to today and I ruined it." Like I ruin everything.
"You didn't ruin anything okay. Things happen," Korra said trying to get her to see it from a logical stand point. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and said, "look don't worry okay. I'll take him to all those lame places you wanted to take him today."
"Really?" Asami asked surprised by Korra's offer.
Korra surprised herself but didn't let it show. "Yeah why not," she said with a shrug.
Asami turned in her seat and gave Korra a tight hug. "Thank you."
"Its fine. Now go before you actually have to blow through traffic," Korra pulling back with a chuckle.
"Okay. Call me if anything happens," Asami said standing up grabbing her satchel and keys.
Korra gave her a small salute, "will do."
Asami giggled and walked back down the hall way knocking on Iroh's door. "I'll see you when I get home okay?" she said hearing silence. "Okay..." she said heading toward the front door. "Thanks again," she said before leaving.
"Anytime," Korra said closing the door and locking it behind her. She took a deep breath and walked down the hall knocking on Iroh's door. Not getting an answer, Korra knocked again. "You okay in there?"
"I'm fine. Go away..." Iroh said sniffling.
Korra rubbed the back of her neck wondering if she should enter. "I know your mom had a lot of things planned for you today," she said not wanting to upset him any further. "If you're still up for it. We could go," Korra suggested. She knew it was a long shot but had to try. The silence she received in return was discouraging but she wouldn't let up that easy. She leaned up against the door frame to get comfortable.
After a minute, Iroh got up from his bed and opened the door. "You would take me?" he questioned unsure if she would even be up for something like this.
"Yeah I would," Korra said not missing a beat.
Iroh gave her a look as if he was trying to read her mind. He took a deep breath and gave her a nod. "Okay but we'll have to get there soon before the next tour starts," he said walking pass her to get his coat.
A small smile appeared on Korra's face at his response. "Sure thing mini me," she said with a chuckle.
Korra and Iroh were escorted around the museum with a small group. The guide was leading them to the Aviation part of the museum. "And here we have Teo's first invention to test out his father's theory of flight; the glider," he said showing them a modified wooden wheelchair with wings on its sides. "Since he was a paraplegic he had to build the glider around his wheelchair," he stated while pointing to the wood. "He became a famous aerial acrobatic during his respectable time period," he said throwing a fun fact their way. "The glider alone was the starting point for biplanes," he said with a smile.
As the group moved along, Korra noticed a plane she had the pleasure of jumping out of. "We meet again Big Ben," she said standing in front of it. Iroh looked at her confused. She went through the guide book and pointed at the plane they were in front of. "Sky Bison 1-53. I jumped outta one of these a few times," she said skimming briefly through the info section.
Iroh face lit up with surprise. "You did? How high up were you?"
Korra looked up to the ceiling thinking. "From what I remember it was about 30,000 feet," she said looking back at Iroh.
"That's a pro level," Iroh uttered in shock.
Korra shrugged at his reaction. "I guess," she said never really paying that much attention to it.
Iroh had a glow in his eyes Korra never seen before. "What else did you do?"
"Mostly ran stealth like missions. I was lucky enough to get to dabble in a bit of everything during my time in the United Forces," Korra said glancing back at the little booklet.
"How long were you in?" Iroh asked never knowing she was in the military.
Korra looked back at Iroh noticing the multitude of questions he had. "Six years."
Iroh was astonished by the number and looked back at the gigantic airplane model before him. "Wow. I wonder how long my father was in..." he said to himself.
"Probably longer than me," Korra uttered while folding the booklet up in her hand. She didn't know that much about his father's career but knew enough about her own to shed a little bit of light on what he might have gone through. "Let's catch up to the group before we get left behind," she said giving him a light tap on the side of his shoulder with the booklet.
After the tour at the museum, Korra was trying to figure out how to get to their next destination. "You know the way to the library right?"
"Yes," Iroh said looking around the area as they walked.
"Good. So what kind of books do you usually get?" Korra asked while walking across the street with him.
Iroh looked over at her with a curious brow, "I'm not sure you're up for that," he said knowing Korra had no clue what they were going to the library for. He would usually go with his mother and pick up books to build replica models.
Korra stopped walking once they were on the side walk. She gave him a puzzled look. "I can handle anything you throw at me," she said hoping that she wasn't discouraging him from his mother's plans.
Iroh thought on it and shook his head no. "Maybe another time," he said gaining another idea. "We already did something I like. How about we do something you like."
Korra was surprised at his suggestion. It was the first time he actually took any interest. Maybe Bolin was right. Things would get better. "You sure?" she asked.
"Yeah," Iroh said with a nod of approval. He had dozens of model planes in storage that his father would send him during extended missions. When he stopped sending them, Iroh and his mother would build model cars but never planes. His love for aviation was the only thing he and his father connected on. Hearing how Korra did the same, he wanted to know more about her. "You said you use to go on stealth missions. What was that like?"
Korra couldn't help but flash a smile at his question. "Pretty intense but most of my time out in the field was since I was a marksman," she said thinking on all the harsh conditions she had to deal with. "Keeping tabs on the enemy at long distances in concealed positions you would not believe," she said with a chuckle.
Iroh wondered what kind of locations she had to be in in order to be undetected. "Like what?"
"Well during my brief time in the Northern Tundra I would dress up in all white and laid in the snow for nearly 6 hours straight," she said feeling on her jacket remembering the white material attached to it that was suppose to blend in with the snow. Korra was trained to withstand such harsh conditions but that didn't mean that she couldn't catch hypothermia. "We would pick off our targets one by one you could see the blo-" she said stopping herself from going to far into depth. Last thing she wanted to do was traumatize the kid. Clearing her throat, Korra changed the topic. "I have an idea. Would you like to see what I did for a living?"
"Of course!" Iroh said excited about the idea.
Korra chuckled at that. "Awesome before we go we'll need a change of clothes."
Korra took Iroh to a paintball field after buying some gear from their shop. There was a walk on game about to start. She was helping the kid put his gear on. He had a watch cap, a mask to cover his face, neck protector, long sleeve jersey with a vest over top of it, gloves, crash elbows and knee pads, pants and sneakers in his size all in black with red in the design. "Comfy?" Korra asked wondering if it was too much.
Iroh raised his arms to his sides and twisted his hips. "Kind of," he said a bit curious as to why he had all this gear on when she only had the same jersey as him, elbow pads, a red band on her right arm, one knee pad on her good leg, black gloves on each hand and a holster on her leg for an extra paintball gun.
Korra chuckled with a nod. "Okay. Remember stay vigilant and keep moving no matter what. Never stay in one place longer than 30 seconds or you'll get box in which is something you don't want," she said wrapping a red color band around his right arm. "And the most important thing you want to do-"
"Hey!" A man in green gear called out to Korra. He walked up right behind her with his son by his side. "Fresh meat! Oh?" he said seeing Korra turn around. "A woman?" he said as if disgusted. He noticed Korra's leg brace and pointed at it. "And a cripple at that. I didn't know they let cripples participate you know with the whole liability thing," he said laughing with his son.
Korra looked down at her leg brace and back up at the man. "Yeah..." she said shaking her leg out a bit. She stepped in front of Iroh's view to face him. "I'm a need you to tone it down a bit. Not take this game too seriously and be civil. Okay?" Korra said giving him fair warning.
The man laughed even harder in her face. "When I'm done laying you out on the field. I'm a take your arm band and wipe my ass with it. How's that sound for civil?" he said getting in her face even more.
Korra gave him a look and leaned back a bit. "Sounds like you need a breath mint," she said seeing him back up himself.
"I'll see you out there crippy," he said giving her a wink before walking off with his son.
Iroh stood beside Korra upset about what happened. "How come you didn't tell him you were in the United Forces?" he asked knowing her injury was probably why she was discharged.
"Because its not a card I like to play," Korra said remembering the threat she tossed at Aiwei for evicting her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and bend down to his level on her good knee. "I'd rather let him find out for himself," she said knowing he'd understand. Fixing his arm band again, Korra flashed him a smile, "when they blow the horn run all the way toward the back on the left side. Stay low in between the barrels and aim from out of the corner and move to a new position after shooting," she said seeing him nod.
"What were you trying to tell me before?" Iroh asked knowing she didn't get to finish when that jerk interrupted her.
Korra almost forgot what she was going to say before until he reminded her. "I was gonna say the most important thing you need to do is to have fun. Okay," she said with a smile.
Iroh smiled himself as he raised his paintball gun up. "Okay."
When the horn went off, Iroh ran all the way to the back with others around him firing off shots at each other. He got all the way to the back of the course as fast as he could. He found a spot between the barrels and stood behind it for cover. He held his paintball gun out and waited counting down the seconds. He heard some kids in the distance laughing and grown men yelling like wild animals.
After 30 seconds, Iroh moved from his position to a new one. He saw someone a few feet away from him ready to shoot him. The man with a blue band on his arm was ready to pull the trigger in his direction. Before he could, he was shot with a red splat of paint on his trigger hand moving the intended shot to a person on his own team.
Iroh looked up to see where that shot came from.
"Two for one," Korra said with a smirk. She was laying on top a stack of wooden crates.
When Iroh spotted her, she gave him a thumbs up and signaled for him to move on. He looked around like he was told and started to move in the direction she was signaling too.
Korra moved from her position and started to shoot any and everyone who got close to Iroh.
Iroh ran as fast as he could and crawled through a barrel hole and out the other side.
"There you are," the boy said aiming his paintball gun at Iroh. A loud whistle got the boys attention. He looked up and saw Korra aiming her own gun in his direction. Iroh took this opportunity to shoot the boy in the leg.
Korra laughed and got down from the high level position to regroup with Iroh. "We're doing good so far," she said with a chuckle. "Now we have to find that kids father."
The man came behind Korra aiming his paintball gun to the back of her head. "Any last words."
Reacting quickly, Korra turned around fast shoving the man's gun to the side and aiming her own in his chest shooting him repeatedly.
The man fell to the ground in shock. He had red paint all over his vest.
"Not bad for a cripple," Korra said with a wink before chuckling. She looked back at Iroh and said, "come on soldier we got a game to win."
Iroh smiled so brightly after that. He walked around the man's body and followed Korra's path.
The game ended with the Red Team winning. Only two sole survivors with no spot of paint on them. Korra and Iroh took a picture for the owners wall. They were the only first time walk on's to win a game spotless. It was impressive to say the least. Korra and Iroh received a copy of the photo and free t-shirts to commemorate their achievement.
After the paintball game they went to a local diner for something to eat. Iroh couldn't stop smiling from all the adrenaline he was feeling. He never experienced anything like that before. In school, he wasn't the athletic type but more of the academic kind. Considering how today went, Iroh wanted to give it a try. "It was super cool how you took that guy down."
"You were pretty cool yourself," Korra said while dipping her fry into her pool of ketchup that was on her plate.
"Not like you. You took that other guy out from behind," Iroh said demonstrating with his straw and making sound effects to go along with it.
Korra laughed not sure if he was still stoked about the experience or on a sugar high from the oreo milkshake he was drinking. "Goes to show. Never let your guard down."
Iroh sat up in his seat and took another sip of his milkshake. He wiped his mouth off and smiled widely. "I wish mom could have been there to see it," he said taking a chicken nugget and eating it.
Korra finished chewing and sat the rest of her burger down on a plate. "I know how disappointed you were that she couldn't come today. But she had a good reason," she said not sure how to explain the situation.
Iroh sat back in his seat and looked down at his plate. "I know..." he said in a low tone. "Its my fault she wasn't there."
"No its not," Korra said not wanting him to blame himself.
"Yes it is," Iroh stated in a more serious manner. He looked up at Korra with shame written all over his face. "She's only doing it because of what Grandma said."
Korra gave him a look of confusion. "What did she say?"
Iroh looked down at his hands. "That she was gonna take me away."
Korra looked at him surprised. She had no idea Iroh Seniors mom would do such a thing. "When did this happen?" she asked since this was the first it was brought to her attention.
"That night after my father's funeral," he said looking back up at her. Iroh wasn't sure if his grandmother would make good on her word. All he knew was that he wanted to stay in Republic City with his mother. "I don't want to go," he said with a scared look in his eyes.
Korra stood up and came around the booth. She sat next to him and placed her arm around his shoulder. "You're not going anywhere. No one is taking you from your mother," she said pulling him lightly toward her to cheer him up.
Iroh sniffed a bit in order to not cry. "But she said-"
"It doesn't matter what she said. Its not going to happen. You're going to be here with your mother like you always have," Korra said in a reassuring tone. She knew nothing she could say would put his mind at ease. Over hearing such a conversation was damaging enough. She sighed and looked around the diner wondering what she could say to make him feel better. Looking back at him, Korra gave him a soft smile. "Both your mother and grandmother want whats best for you that's all this is. They love you that much which they should. You're an awesome kid," she said hearing him chuckle a bit at that. "Your Nana just misses your dad as much as you do," Korra said pointing at him.
Iroh shook his head aggressively still sniffling. "I don't miss him. I barely know him," he said feeling the tingling in his cheeks as he tried his best to stop his lower lip from trembling.
Korra looked down knowing that feeling all to well. The resentment she had for her own father for never being around. "You do know him in your own way," she said looking back at him. "Every moment you shared together was special. Even if it was only for a short period of time. That's something you have to hold on too," she said wanting him keep that in mind. It was the only thing she had to keep herself from imploding internally.
Iroh nodded and picked up his shake taking another sip thinking on what Korra said. Despite what he was feeling he didn't let a single tear fall.
Asami came back home around 10pm. No one was in living room but she could hear the shower on down the hall. She placed her satchel down and walked toward Iroh's room. She came inside of his room and saw that he was asleep.
Iroh was lightly snoring with a fresh pair of pajamas on. He had his fathers medal hanging from his fingertips about to fall.
Asami carefully took it out of his hand and placed it back under his pillow. She leaned over and kissed his forehead.
The shower cut off with Korra coming out of the bathroom. She walked into the living room with her new paintball t-shirt on and black basketball shorts. Her brace was on the floor by the couch. She took a seat and stretched out her bad leg with a twitch of pain striking through it.
Asami came out of Iroh's room and spotted Korra on the couch. "How was your day?"
Korra sat up straight when she heard Asami's voice. She looked up at her with a small smirk. "Educational and eventful."
"What'd you do?" Asami asked wondering if she actually did everything she mention earlier.
"Went to the museum, saw some planes, trains and all kinds of transportation," Korra said trying not to be over sarcastic.
Asami stood in front of Korra with her arms crossed and a know-it-all smirk on her face. "What's with the shirt?" she said nodding at it.
Korra looked down at her black t-shirt that had red, blue, green, and yellow paint splatters on it with the name of the company on top. "Oh yeah..." she said looking back up at Asami who was waiting for an explanation. "There was a walk on game at a paintball field so we stopped by see what all the excitement was about," she said with a shrug as if it was nothing.
"He really went to a paintball event with you?" Asami asked knowing how particular her son was.
"Yeah he said we did something he wanted to do and suggested we do something I wanted to do," Korra said not sure if she worded it right.
Asami was baffled at that and quickly remembered the topic at hand. "And you chose to take a nine year old to a paintball field?" she asked with a small frown on her face.
Korra didn't realize at the time how Asami would react to it until now. "I a..." she said not sure how to explain.
"I'll need to step my game up next time I'm free," Asami said with a smirk before walking into the kitchen.
Korra sat back on the couch relieved that she wasn't upset. "We picked up your favorite chicken salad," she mention when Asami opened up the fridge.
Asami spotted it soon as she opened the fridge. "Thanks," she said taking it out.
Korra took the remote and turned on the television. She turned down the volume since Iroh was asleep.
"And thanks again for today," Asami said taking a seat next to Korra. "Was Iroh okay with it?"
"He was disappointed but I understand why now," Korra said keeping her eye on the TV.
Asami poured a bit of ranch on to her salad and placed the bottle on the coffee table. "What do you mean?" she asked looking in Korra's direction.
Korra looked over at Asami and sighed. "He told me what his grandmother said about taking him away from you," she said seeing Asami jaw clench out of reaction. "When were you gonna tell me?"
"It wasn't relevant," Asami responded unfazed.
"It is to Iroh," Korra shot back. She was concerned for the kid. "He's carrying all that weight on him. He needs to express himself," Korra said in a serious tone.
Asami knew Korra was right. Iroh was dissociating instead of grieving properly. "Did this help," Asami asked pulling the edge of Korra's t shirt. She spotted Korra's v line and quickly released her shirt letting it puff up.
Korra smirked and gave Asami a nod. "Its a start. How was work?"
Asami let out an exhausted sigh. "Boring as usual. Found over 12 ways to set fire to the place with just Kuvira in it..." she said drifting off into thought.
Korra laughed and said, "just 12?" knowing Asami had more up her sleeve.
"Would have been more but I got distracted," Asami said tapping Korra lightly on her thigh.
Korra was trying to simmer down her amusement with a hard smirk. "Aside from your arsonistic fantasies how was everything else?"
Asami looked at Korra and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking. "Bearable," she said with a shrug.
"I can see why Iroh has a hard time expressing himself," Korra said seeing where the kid gets it from.
Asami placed her food down on the coffee table and looked over at Korra. "I haven't had time to really cope with it," she admitted with a distant look in her eyes. She looked away from Korra and down to the floor. "Our anniversary is coming up next month..."
Korra automatically felt bad for badgering her about it. "I'm sorry."
Asami shook her head not wanting to think about it. "We haven't been together in almost five years," she said feeling regret and sorrow build up. She looked over at the hallway to make sure Iroh was no where in sight. She turned in her seat to face Korra clearly. "I asked him for a divorce two years ago. He said that when he came back that we would talk about it and now..." she said gulping. "Now I'm here by myself again..." she said feeling her lip quiver.
Korra placed a comforting hand on Asami's knee. "You're not alone."
Asami gave Korra a weak smile and a nod. "Thank you," she said placing her hand on top of Korra's. Before she could get any more emotional, Asami let go of Korra's hand and said, "I think I should just get some sleep," she said not feeling hungry anymore. She stood up and took her salad back into the kitchen and placed it into the fridge.
Korra stood up and walked over to where Asami stood. "You gonna be okay?" she asked worried now.
Asami gave her a nod and a small smile in response. "Yeah. Goodnight Korra."
"Goodnight..." Korra said watching Asami walk pass her. She turned around wanting to say something but stood there unable to speak.
Asami stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Korra. She walked back and gave her a hug. "Thank you again for today," she said wanting her friend to know how grateful she was for all her help. It was true. If Korra wasn't here she wouldn't know what to do.
Korra held her and gently rubbed her back. "Your welcome."
Asami pulled back and gave Korra a kiss on the cheek. "Night," she said walking back to her room.
Korra stood there and watched her walk away until her door closed. "Night."