Korra had been to Asami's mansion several times before but she could never get over how big it was. It took her ten minutes to walk up to the front entrance after she got off Naga. Korra took her time walking, looking over the crisp lawn and impeccable hedges. There were some spirits milling about and they didn't seem to care that they were on someone else's property. Korra suspected that Asami didn't mind the otherworldly creatures as long as they kept to themselves and didn't trash her place. Korra walked to the door and rung the doorbell before she could turn tail and leave.

She practiced the breathing exercises she learned from meditating as she waited. She went over the speech in her head again. Korra gave up on trying to think of a way to tell Asami she had seen the mechanic fucking Lin without having Asami try shocking her. She just had to come clean, that's all. As soon as she sees Asami, she'll tell her everything and hopefully Lin will have pity on the Avatar and pull Asami off of her.

The door opened and Asami Sato stared at Korra with a raised eyebrow. There was slight irritation in her eyes but her mouth was quick enough to smile. "Hey, Korra."

The words were stuck in Korra's throat and she made her head jerk up in greeting. She opened her mouth to beg forgiveness. "Sorry about canceling our picnic today," Korra blurted out. Fucking coward, she growled to herself. "I, uh, ran into someone and we had a bit of a chat."
"Oh?" Asami crossed her arms and she looked genuinely curious. The fact that Korra was blushing made things more interesting "Who was it?"

Korra rubbed the back of her neck. "It was Lin." Korra looked up at Asami, remembering the look on her face when she caught her with the Chief. She appeared innocent now, well not exactly innocent but definitely not calling Lin a whore and fucking her doggystyle. Wait, she shouldn't be thinking about that now! "She actually asked if I could come over so we could all talk."

If Asami was surprised she hid it very well. "Lin is here now so we can start." She went inside the mansion and Korra had no choice but to follow. "She said you were coming over today and we already have a room to ourselves." Korra could hear the apprehension in Asami's voice and saw how tense her shoulders were. So Asami knew something was wrong but she didn't know what. Korra wasn't sure if she was glad that the mechanic expected something was up or if that just made the situation worse.

The two women walked through the mansion with Asami leading. Korra wanted to take her time and delay the talk but the mechanic's strides were too purposeful. They passed through a few hallways but didn't run into any people. Did Asami let the help have the day off or did they do their duties at night?

Asami stopped in front of an insignificant door and went inside without saying anything. Korra followed suit and gasped at the sight of the room. There was a bar that one would expect to see from a high end restaurant, complete with ten bar stools and an assortment of liquors that would make an alcoholic think they were in heaven. The bar took up one side of the room and in the middle of the room was a round table that could easily sit fifteen people. The far end of the room had a magnificent fireplace and a stuffed sabertooth moose lion rearing and baring its fangs at potential guests. It was obvious that this was some sort of entertainment room for influential friends of Future Industries. Korra almost asked if Varrick designed this room but when she turned to look at the wall that was hidden by the open door, the question died on her lips. There was a crimson couch pushed up against the wall with paintings of important-looking people hanging above but that wasn't what caught Korra's attention. What made her freeze up was the sight of Lin sitting at one end of the couch, reading the newspaper with a deep frown.

When the door opened, the Chief glanced up and met Korra's eyes. The Avatar could read the question in them and she gave a quick shake of her head as Asami went to join Lin on the couch. However, when the mechanic sat down, Lin got up and made her way to the bar. She rummaged down in the counter for a moment before pulling out three glasses. Lin grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the assortment of liquors and poured quite generous amounts of the alcohol in each glass. She handed one over to Korra, or more like thrust it in her hands, and gave the other to Asami. Lin sat down next to Asami and took a sip out of her glass, obviously waiting for the Avatar to start talking.

Korra looked down at her glass and forced herself to take a gulp to buy her time. She coughed and sputtered as the liquid seared her throat. "Fuck," Korra muttered, staring at the drink like it had tried to kill her.

"Too much for the Avatar?" Lin asked, the quip clear in her voice.

No one immediately answered or called attention to the rude jest. Asami tried to decipher the meaning of Lin's taunt while the other two women knew exactly what the Chief was inferring. Korra met Lin's piercing eyes and in a burst of courage, or recklessness, took a deliberate swallow of her drink again. This time she managed not to have an outward reaction but it still burned her throat. Lin had something almost like approval on her face before she took another drink from her glass, this one much bigger than Korra's.

Asami grimaced down at her drink. She could practically see the tension between the two of them. It was like the two women were challenging each other but instead of fighting, they were drinking. Asami wanted no part in this. "I don't like to drink two nights in a row." The mechanic tried to offer it back to Lin but the Chief shook her head. She just wanted a day alone with Lin but the other woman simply told her to expect Korra to arrive at some point and afterwards it was like the Chief was waiting for a showdown. Honestly it was wearing down on Asami's patience.

"You'll want to," Lin said, gently pushing the glass back to the mechanic. She looked back at Korra who was still standing in the same spot when she gave her the glass of whiskey before turning her attention to Asami. "Korra knows."

"Knows what?" Asami asked at the same time Korra called out, "At least warm her up to it!" The mechanic looked at her friend as her eyebrows knit with confusion. The mechanic must have noted the blush on Korra's face because realization leaked on her own before she turned her head to look at Lin. "What are you talking about?" The words were strained as was Asami's grip on her glass.

Lin sighed and glared at Korra as she answered. "She saw us last night. Together."

Those few words snapped all the pieces together in Asami's mind. Now Lin's sudden reluctance to have the mechanic touch her last night to her hastily leaving her own house this morning to Korra's canceling their picnic made so much more sense. Asami took a gulp of her whiskey, much bigger than Korra. "What exactly did you see?" The question was directed at Korra, whose blush deepened a considerable amount, but before the younger woman could answer, Asami raised a hand. "Wait, I don't want to know."

Korra swirled her drink in her glass before taking a tentative step forward. This must be strong stuff. She could already feel her belly grow warm and the liquor lend her some courage. "I didn't know you were into, uh, older women." She knew she said the wrong words when Lin's lips twitched in displeasure and Asami glance away. "Sorry, I just, I'm trying to wrap my head around this."

"There's nothing to wrap your head around," Lin growled. She finished off her drink and placed the empty glass on the table stand next to the couch. "As far as you're concerned, you didn't see anything."

"I thought you wanted to talk about this, not antagonize me some more," Korra countered. She took another sip of her liquid courage and took a few steps forward. She looked down at Asami who was staring into her drink, a light flush on her face. "What I don't get is how you could shack up with her of all people! She's, she's Lin, Asami!"

Lin narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She got off the couch and was about to go over to hit the Avatar but a firm hand touched her arm.

"What did you expect, Korra!?" Asami yelled, unable to keep her voice calm. Both Lin and Korra were shocked at the intensity and Lin sat back on the couch, content to let the mechanic talk before she did anything to the Avatar. Asami saw Korra shift in her spot, clearly uncomfortable at the turn in the conversation, and that just made it worse. "You were gone for three years with only one letter letting me know you were alive! I was lonely, Korra, and Lin was there for me. She didn't suddenly disappear off the face of the earth."

"I didn't disappear!" Korra argued. "I was at the Southern Water Tribe being healed after Zaheer crippled me. You could have visited anytime." It only took Asami narrowing her eyes for Korra to see how wrong she was. Even if Asami had visited, the Avatar wouldn't have let her see her broken.

Asami continued, gesturing to Lin with her free hand. "Lin actually listened to me unlike you. She stayed when I needed her."

Korra felt the guilt go back to chewing at her and hid it with a drink from her glass. She looked at the two women, really looked at them. Despite the couch being several feet long, Lin and Asami chose to sit right next to one another at one end. Lin was never one to openly express her feelings but Korra could have sworn that the Chief was stealing glances at the mechanic every couple of seconds. Asami was more evident in her affection. She would sometimes meet those glances Lin gave her and her lips would curl up slightly like she wasn't even aware of it. They've been doing this since they first sat down together.

The Avatar drank the rest of her whiskey and set the glass on the bar's counter. After debating with herself, Korra took a seat at one of the bar stools. She was close enough to be in the conversation but far enough away that she could attempt to dodge an attack if her next question provoked the two women, namely Lin. "So how long have you two been dating?" she asked lamely.

Lin and Asami shared a certain look that made the Avatar flush for unknown reasons and they both looked at Korra. "We aren't dating exactly," Lin answered.

"We just have fun sometimes," Asami explained with a shrug. The anger she felt a minute prior was replaced with curiosity. Why would Korra think she and Lin were dating? They were adults, they didn't need to be together to have a bit of fun every now and again.

"Well, it looks a lot like you two are dating to me." The puzzled expressions on the women's faces still didn't go away. "Well," Korra drawled, rubbing at her jaw to figure out where she should start. She looked at Asami and decided to begin with her. "You picked up food for Lin." Asami didn't look convinced so Korra continued, "You knew it was her favorite and it was for her birthday. If it was anyone else, you would have thrown the biggest birthday party you could think of but you had a small celebration with just you two." Korra turned her head to Lin. "You told Asami about your birthday even though you hated it when I gave you the present."

"I didn't hate it," Lin muttered, crossing her arms. Korra didn't miss how Asami's eyes flashed down to the Chief's arms for a brief moment. "I just don't like it when people make a big deal about my age."

Korra waved away the words. "But you still told her and you threatened to throw me in jail if I ever said anything about," Korra hesitated and felt the heat rise in her cheeks, "about what I saw."

"You threatened to throw Korra in jail?" Asami asked, incredulous that Lin blatantly threatened to abuse her power as the Chief of Police.

Lin had the decency to look a little embarrassed before she schooled her features and shrugged. "I threatened to throw a lot of people in jail. Korra's not special."

Korra wasn't sure to be offended by that statement or not.

"And she did break and entered my own house," Lin continued, taking care to stare down Korra. "I have every right to arrest her if I wanted."

Again Korra waved away the words like they were not important. "But the fact that you still threatened me shows that you care about Asami. And you let her buy you that expensive wine!" In truth Korra had no idea if the bottle of wine she found at Lin's house was expensive but she couldn't see Asami bringing some bottle she had just happened to pick up along the way. "Just admit it that you're seeing each other." Korra may never be able to tell Asami that she cared for her but she would be damned if she let Lin stay with her friend and deny the woman that comfort.

Asami and Lin stayed quiet after that. They both thought over how they ended up in this room with the Avatar telling them that they were dating. Asami was the first to come to the same conclusion as Korra. The mechanic turned to Lin like she was seeing her in new light. "We are dating," she said.

Lin groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fuck, we are." She lifted her head to glower at Korra. "Don't you dare tell anyone."

At this point, Korra felt like they were going in circles. "Yeah, I already said I won't but why? Who cares if you two are together, it's your lives."

Asami spoke up before Lin could retort something that made the situation more tense than it already was. "It's not like that, Korra. If we were in any other position, we wouldn't care what people would say. Or at least I won't." On an impulse, Lin touched Asami's hand gently and the mechanic smiled gratefully at her. "Think of the scandal this would make for both of us. It's too much of a risk."

Korra didn't understand. "Explain."

Lin rolled her eyes with an irritated huff. "Use your brain for once and think. I'm the Chief of Police. If word gets out that I'm dating Asami Sato, CEO of Future Industries and daughter of a known equalist, we both be screwed. I let her stay out of prison when I arrested her father and I led the investigation on her company to see if it had any ties to the Red Lotus after you were poisoned by Zaheer. How long do you think it would take for people to question whether I showed Asami favoritism and let her and her company off the hook because of our relationship."

"But you two weren't together during Amon and Zaheer."

Lin nodded at Korra's statement. "True, but do you think they'll care about that little fact? Especially President Reiko? You already know how much he lacks a spine," Lin grumbled. "All it would take is for a generous donor to whisper in his ear about how I'm tampering with justice for a nice pair of tits and ass." Asami slapped Lin's arm but the Chief was unfazed. "I'm just saying what they would to the president."

After a minute, Korra nodded. "You're probably right about that." She sighed and nodded again. "I promise I won't tell anyone about you two."

"Don't promise to Lin," Asami said. Even though they were across the room, Asami managed to look into Korra's eyes and pull something in the Avatar. "I want you to promise me, Korra." All three of them knew that Korra's promise to Asami had far more weight than Korra's promise to Lin. Korra took a peek at Lin and could tell that the older woman didn't like that knowledge. She had crossed her arms and was studying the stuffed sabertooth moose lion.

"I promise, Asami." Korra managed a weak smile and tried to take a swig from her glass before she realized she didn't have any whiskey left. "You guys do make a good couple." Asami laughed while Lin nodded in silence.