It was half an hour before five when Korra rapped her knuckles on the door of Asami's mansion. She could feel her heart thump in her chest as her stomach twist and turn as she waited for the mechanic to open the door. The Avatar had to wait for five minutes, her stomach so tight she thought she won't be able to keep down lunch, before the door opened. Korra wiped the sweat from her palms on her sash at the sight of the mechanic. She could do this. She was the Avatar after all.
"Korra?" Asami had grease stains on her clothing and Korra knew at once that the older woman was just as nervous about their talk as she was. Asami opened the door wider and Korra walked inside, spying the dirty washcloth resting on a nook near the door where guests hung their coats. She wondered if the mechanic had ran from her garage to the door thinking it was Lin on the other side.
"Hey, Asami," Korra smiled softly. "I know I'm early but I, uh, wanted to talk to you alone first." She glanced at the hall and noticed that nobody was there doing the mundane tasks of keeping the Sato Estate in prime condition. Asami must have given the help the day off again.
Apprehension filled Asami's face as she nodded in understanding. She grabbed the dirty washcloth from the nook and wiped off a stain on her right hand that she missed. "Where do you want to talk?" she asked Korra.
Korra pretended to think about it. "The balcony," she answered. "It's a nice day out." And if Lin tries to kill me, I can make a quick get away , Korra thought to herself. Asami led the way to the balcony that looked out over her gardens. Several spirits were milling about among the hedges and flowers while two chased one another in a game of tag. Korra smiled as the blue one in a shape of a fox with a lion's head jumped over a hedge and an orange spirit that looked a lot like Bum-Ju crashed into the leaves. It got out unscratched and resumed the chase, chirping as it dashed after the fox-lion spirit. Korra looked back at Asami and noticed that the older woman was watching the same scene with a smile. "Do you know what I want to talk about?"
The words wiped the smile from Asami's face. "I think so." She pushed her bangs behind her ear and faced Korra. "I know things have gotten weird between us but I don't want our friendship to end." Korra frowned, this wasn't what she wanted to talk about at all. Asami saw the frown and hurried to continue. "You're one of the most important people in my life and I don't want to lose you."
"Wait, stop." Korra grabbed Asami's hand and the mechanic's fingers curled to grip at Korra's hand. "I don't want to stop being friends, Asami." The relief on the mechanic's face made Korra remember that the older woman had lost so much. Asami had lost her mother to a firebender, almost her company to Varrick, and most recently her father to Kuvira. And now she thought she was going to lose Korra. The thought brought a soft, sad smile to Korra's lips. "I don't want to imagine my life without you Asami but there's something you need to know." She gave Asami's hand a squeeze, treasuring the heat from the hold. "I like you."
"I like you too." The words came to Asami easily.
"You know what I mean," Korra whispered.
Asami let go of Korra's hand. "Yes, I do," she admitted. "But, Korra, I'm with Lin an-"
"Just let me finish, okay?" Korra interrupted Asami. The mechanic wrapped her arms around herself but didn't say anything. Korra took that as a sign for her to continue. "When I first met you, I wanted to hate you for being with Mako because I liked him too. I wanted to be mad at you but I just couldn't. It was like I could be angry with everyone else except you. For a long time I didn't know why but now I do." Korra laid a hand on Asami's arm and conflicted green eyes met hers. "I like you," she repeated.
Asami looked down at the hand touching her but she didn't move away like she knew she should. She was with Lin. She was happy with Lin. So why was the simple touch able to set her heart racing? "I wanted to hate you too," she confessed. "I saw how Mako felt about you even though I was dating him. He didn't even try to hide it, or at least not very well. It was like a slap to my face every time I saw how he acted towards you." Realization made Asami's face pale and a hand covered her mouth in shock. "Oh spirits, were me and Lin like that!?"
"Sort of," Korra drawled.
A look of horror took over the older woman's face. "I am so sorry, Korra, I swear we didn't mean to." Asami considered the look Korra was giving her and amended her words. "Well maybe Lin did but that's only because she's intimidated by you."
Korra raised an eyebrow. How could the Chief of Police, badass, metalbending, look-at-her-wrong-and-she'll-destroy-you, Lin Beifong be intimated by her? She had to know. "How?"
Asami chewed on her bottom lip and sighed. "Do you know about her and Tenzin?"
"Yeah," Korra had a feeling that what she knew wasn't the whole story but she still said what she knew. "Tenzin and Lin were dating and were growing apart. They broke up and Tenzin started to date Pema."
"For the most part, yes, that's what happened." Asami didn't say anything else on the matter and Korra knew that she wasn't going to add any new information that Korra didn't know about. "Lin hasn't said anything but I know she's afraid that it's going to happen again with us."
Korra was quiet for a moment and glanced at the sky. The sun had moved a bit and she realized that she didn't have much time. "It doesn't have to," she said softly.
Asami's eyes were wary. "What do you mean?"
Korra opened her mouth to say why she was really there but the sound of knocking made it snap close. The two turned to see Lin at the doorway with her hands on her hips. Too late.
"Am I interrupting anything?" Lin asked. Her eyes were narrowed in suspicion but Korra was relieved to see the usual stoicness that the woman wore like a second armor.
"No," Korra answered with a soft smile. "You look better."
Lin huffed lightly, aware of that Korra was referring to the last time they had met. "I'm the Chief of Police, I need to be able to bounce back quickly." The way that she didn't say what she had to bounce back from showed how she didn't bounce back completely. "Does this talk require drinks?" she asked, moving the conversation from the explosion that took the lives of her two officers and several civilians to the matter at hand.
"Yes," Korra answered for herself and Asami. She needed a little liquid encouragement.
"Okay," Lin said and left the two women with a quick turn on her heel.
The Avatar looked at Asami and jerked her head towards where Lin was a moment before. "Shouldn't we go with her in case she gets lost?"
Asami shook her head with a blush. "Lin's been over enough times to know where to go. About before, what were you going to say?"
Korra licked her lips and tried to get the images that suddenly took over her mind out of her head. She needed to concentrate and be level-headed for what she was about to do. "Look, Asami, about those three years."
"Don't worry about it," Asami quickly said. "I shouldn't have snapped at you before. You were hurt and I should have been supportive instead of yelling at you."
The older woman looked ashamed and it caused Korra's heart to squeeze. "No," Korra argued. "I was the asshole. I should have sent you more than that one letter or invite you to the South Pole and I- wait I don't want to talk about that." She wanted to comfort Asami but she needed to get the words out in the open before Lin returned. "What I want to say is, now that things with Kuvira has cooled down and actually during it, I've been thinking a lot and, I uh." Korra couldn't say it, the words were on her lips, begging to be let out, but they refused to leave.
Asami placed a hand on Korra's arm and Korra's moved to cover it. She looked at Asami and took the plunge. Korra leaned forward and pressed their lips together. She felt Asami jerk in shock at the kiss and moved her free hand to cup the older woman's cheek. Korra's heart sped with fear and elation.
The sound of glass shattering made Korra take a step back. She turned to face Lin and gulped, her heart now pounding only in fear. The bottle of whatever Lin had picked and the three glasses were all shattered on the floor but no one paid attention to the wet shards. She thought that she saw Lin angry when the Chief confronted Su all those years ago but she realized even then Lin was holding back. Now she looked absolutely livid. Any thought of turn tail and running was gone as Lin took slow deliberate steps towards the Avatar, her fingers curled into trembling fists. Lin reached Korra and grabbed the collar of her shirt, a fist raised to punch Korra. Lin was so mad she forgot that she could have simply bent earth and metal against the Avatar. "How dare you." Lin's voice was calm but that only made Korra more fearful.
"Lin," Korra found her voice, raising her hands in surrender. "It isn't what it looks like."
"Isn't what it looks like!?" Now Lin was yelling and she raised Korra off the ground in her rage. "You've crossed the line!"
Korra grabbed at Lin's arm for leverage and glanced at Asami. The mechanic met Korra's gaze and sprung into action. She dashed behind Lin and grabbed at her raised fist, pulling it down. "Let me explain!" Korra yelled out.
"Fuck you!" Lin roared, unable to throw the punch now that Asami was holding her arm down.
"Lin, please, just listen to me." Korra could see pass the walls of wrath that was shielding Lin's eyes. She could see the tears building at the corners and the betrayal in the back of those green eyes. The guilt that ripped into her heart was more painful than anything Lin could possibly dish out. Desperate, Korra used one hand to grab at the collar of Lin's uniform and jerk her closer. The other hand grabbed the back of Lin's head and smashed their lips together. The shock in the action made Asami let go of Lin's arm but the Chief didn't take the opportunity to attack. Korra pressed their lips together harder and felt her feet touch the ground as Lin lowered her back down in her stupor. She broke the kiss, unable to stop her heavy breathing as the Chief and mechanic stared at her. "Sorry," Korra mumbled. "That was messed up of me."
"What the hell was that about?" Lin asked. She didn't let go of Korra's collar but she didn't look like she was about to throw a punch.
Korra glanced away. "I like you too," she admitted. To buy herself some time, she moved Lin's fingers away from her collar. They left the abused clothing without resistance, likely due to the shock of the sudden kiss. "I want to go on a date with you. Both of you," she added to make it clear what she meant.
Asami and Lin looked at each other. Asami could only shrug helplessly, she had known Korra longer but she didn't know what to make of this. Lin looked back to Korra and rubbed at her eyes. The eldest woman might have tried to make it look like she was doing it to express her exasperation but Korra noticed that when her hand left her face, the tears that were building were gone. "When did this happen, Avatar?" The gruff Lin was back but Korra and Asami could see the tension in her shoulders.
"Well, you already know about the Unspoken Thing between me and Asami," Korra began. Lin grunted to show she knew about it.
"What about you and Lin?" Asami asked. She was trying to fit the pieces together like she would a car but they wouldn't match. "Don't tell me there's an Unspoken Thing you two too?"
Lin shook her head. "No." The two women turned their attention to Korra so she could answer.
A light blush spread across Korra's face as she coughed into a closed fist. But she made herself look Lin in the eye, the older woman deserved that. "Honestly, what I feel for you is more physical than anything else. You're really beautiful." Her words caused Lin to flush lightly but the tension in her shoulders stayed.
It was quiet between the three women after Korra gave her side of things. Not even the sound of crickets and spirits going about their business seemed to reach them. Korra could feel her nervousness rise up as the silence stretched on. "So, what now?"
Lin and Asami once again looked at one another. Even though no words passed between them, it was clear that the ball was in Lin's court. The Chief crossed her arms and sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "One date." Both Korra and Asami stared at Lin with slacked mouths. Lin hardened her eyes as she jabbed a finger into Korra's chest. "But if you do something I don't like-"
"You'll throw me in jail?" Korra finished for the older woman. She saw Asami grin at the jest from behind Lin. She wondered how the two could keep their relationship a secret for so long.
"We can go to the watertribe restaurant near the Probending Arena," Asami suggested. Her lips still tingled from when Korra kissed her and she was a little lightheaded from the turn of events. The other two agreed after some thought.
It was after Korra left the two, figuring that they would want to talk alone, and was standing outside of Asami's mansion that it hit her. The talk went better than she could ever dare hope. Korra turned to stare at the door in awe. Slowly, a crooked grin made itself known on Korra's face as she jumped up and punched at the air, two blasts of fire coming out of her fists in her excitement. "WOOHOO!" She didn't care if Asami or Lin or anyone else heard her. She had a date!