"Slow down, girl," Korra said to Naga as the polarbeardog bolted past a red light, almost getting hit by a car in the process. She was about to yell out an apology but a few choice words from the driver made her give him a certain gesture with her hands instead. The animal chuffed but did as Korra commanded, slowing down to a trot.
The closer she rode to the restaurant, the more she felt something . Korra didn't know if it was excitement, fear, nausea, giddiness, or a messy mixture. Either way, she was getting antsy as she spotted the restaurant down the block, and Asami's car parked out front. Korra couldn't see Lin's patrol car and wouldn't be surprised if the Chief had walked to the restaurant. Her house was close enough. Once she reached the restaurant's entrance, she hopped off Naga and fussed with her clothes.
Korra was wearing her usual clothes. She had debated for almost an hour whether she should go formal or not for the date. In the end, Korra left the room without changing, figuring that if she wore anything out of the usual it would raise suspicions. She plopped a few mints into her mouth and patted Naga's head. "Stay, Naga." The polarbeardog whined and clawed the ground, making it clear that she didn't like this idea. Korra grabbed Naga's muzzle and kissed her nose. "If you stay, I'll save some food just for you." Naga seemed to like this new plan, she licked Korra's face and laid down. Korra made a face and wiped her face free of Naga's spit.
She was still wiping at her face when she walked into the restaurant. A host stood behind a podium and he was working on some papers. He glanced up and his hands stilled when he realized who she was. The host snapped to attention and tucked a menu under his arm. Much to Korra's embarrassment, he bent at his waist, bowing as deep as he could without having to bend his knees. Korra didn't know what to do so she just stood awkwardly.
"It is an absolute honor to serve you, Avatar Korra," the host said, still bent at the waist. He straightened up and motioned for Korra to follow him. "Ms. Sato and Chief Beifong are already seated in our luxurious VIP room."
"Whoah, whoah, I ate here before and I didn't see any VIP room."
The host looked back and Korra could see the nervousness in his eyes. "We've served you before?" He stopped walking to bow again. "My humblest apologies, Avatar Korra, if we had known it was you, we would have seated you in accommodations suitable for your position." He got up and resumed leading Korra to the end of the restaurant. "Our VIP room is reserved for the most exclusive of guests." The host turned to the left and opened a door. He bowed once more. "The chef will be with you shortly. Please, enjoy our complimentary wine and bread."
Korra entered the room and saw that Lin and Asami were sitting next to each other in a booth that could fit ten. She took the spot next to Asami and looked at the two. Asami was wearing her business attire while Lin was donned her police uniform. Fitting Korra thought as she reached over take a slice of bread. She took a bite and hummed as the different tastes danced on her tongue. She didn't think bread could be so good! "Sorry if I made you two wait for long."
Asami shook her head and took a sip of her wine. "I was only here for a couple of minutes, don't worry. Lin was here longer though."
"I had to make sure nobody would think I was meeting you two," Lin explained. "If I had come in with Asami on my arm, it would have been suspicious."
"But the host guy knows we're in the VIP seating," Korra argued.
Asami waved away the words. "Oh I wouldn't worry about the people working here. Lin and I pay a lot of money to eat here and they wouldn't want to run off their two best patrons." She grabbed the bottle of wine and filled the only empty glass on the table.
Korra took it with a grin and gave it a try. She didn't necessarily like the taste but there was nothing else to drink. Besides, it was fancy and she couldn't just ask for a soda. "I would have brought you two flowers but it might have been too much."
"Without a doubt," Lin agreed.
Asami lightly punched the Chief's arm at her impassive tone but grinned at Korra, her eyes alight. "Her favorite are calla lilies," she said.
Lin frowned and jerked her head towards Asami. "Hers are red roses."
"That doesn't surprise me," Korra laughed.
The door opened and a young woman came inside and like the host, bowed. But this time it was to the three women, not just to Korra. So maybe it was for all VIP guests, Korra pondered. "Good evening Ms. Sato, Chief Beifong, and Avatar Korra." She straightened her back and smiled at Asami and Lin. "The usual for you two?" Both Asami and Lin nodded. The chef turned her attention to Korra. "And you, Avatar Korra?"
It took Korra a moment for her to realize that the chef was asking what she would like to eat. She hastily opened her menu and said the first thing that she read. "The egg custard tart sounds nice."
"Excellent choice, Avatar Korra. I'll be back shortly with your dishes." The chef bowed as she exited the room, shutting the door softly behind her.
Korra took a closer look at what she ordered and was puzzled by the dish. "This is earth kingdom food. I thought this restaurant only did water tribe."
"Normally yes, but this is the VIP section." Asami nodded towards the door where the chef had left. "That's why we get our personal chef. The others only know how to make water tribe dishes but she knows how to make foods specific for influential guests, no matter where they're from."
That made a lot of sense. Republic City was a mix mash of people from all over the world and a popular destination for people touring the world. Korra drank a mouthful of wine and forced it down. Perhaps she could ask for another type of drink when the chef returned. Water was fancy enough, right? "So how are things in the Police Department?" she asked Lin.
Lin shrugged but there was a hardness on her face. "We haven't had any major breaks in the case yet but the teams are comprised of excellent officers. They'll find the spirit vines before long." She played with the stem of her wine glass, debating whether she should take a sip or wait till the food was served. "President Reiko isn't happy with how slow we're going but I told him to shove it. We're doing this safely and we won't allow another mishap to happen under my watch."
"What about you, Asami?" Korra asked the mechanic. She noticed how with the turn in conversation made Lin relax into her chair. "Any progress on the Satosation in the Fire Nation?"
Asami frowned at her wine. Lin gave the woman an empathetic look. "We have another wrench in the works," Asami muttered, taking a sip. "We're still figuring out where the tracks should go but the active volcanoes are more difficult to work around than we originally thought." She continued to explain how she would have to build bridges in the water but before then she would need to have a biologist to see if the areas held any endangered species. Korra and Lin listened attentively to the mechanic as she went into the complexities of building her tracks.
The date was easier than Korra expected. She didn't think that Asami and Lin were going to be demanding dates at all but this was effortless. Natural.
"And you, Korra?"
The Avatar was too lost in her thoughts to know who had asked the question but now two pairs of eyes were gazing at her. "Oh you know, a bit of this and a bit of that. Regular Avatar stuff." She blushed as she realized she hadn't been doing much in the recent days. "Actually, I taught the airbenders about the Spirit World a few days ago." The two were still looking at her so she went into detail about what she talked about. The more she talked, the more Korra became confident. It definitely helped when Asami chuckled and Lin grinned when she told them what Bumi said after the lesson.
The smell of their food reached them before the chef opened the door, pushing a cart holding three plates. She placed the tart in front of Korra, seaweed noodles in front of Lin, and finally a plate of dumplings for Asami. She bowed and said, "If any of you require anything, please do not hesitate in asking." The chef left the three women.
Korra looked down at her tart. She never had egg custard tarts but it did smell good. She took an experimental bite and grinned. "This is really good. You guys have to try it."
"Don't mind if I do." Asami used her own spoon to take some of the offered tart. While she had turned to get some of the food, Lin snatched the opportunity to steal one of the dumpling off of Asami's plate. The older woman narrowed her eyes at Korra, silently telling the younger woman not to rat her out. "Lin, if you stole one of my dumplings, I'm taking some of your noodles," Asami said, her back still turned to the Chief. Lin looked down at the dumpling held with her chopsticks and shrugged, taking a bite out of it without any regret. The mechanic settled back into her seat and tasted the tart for herself. She nodded and hummed in appreciation of the flavor. "You're right, Korra. This is delicious."
"Let me try some," Lin said. She didn't bother reaching over Asami to take some from Korra. She just grabbed Asami's spoon to scoop up some of the tart that the mechanic had put on her plate. Asami gave her a playful glare and threatened to take more of Lin's noodles. The Chief pushed her plate closer to Asami in response as she ate the spoonful of tart. Unlike the other two women, Lin made a face and looked at the egg custard tart with dislike. "My mother made much better tarts and she was blind."
"Toph can cook?" Korra barely managed not to burst out laughing at the sudden mental image of cranky old Toph in a pink, frilly apron pulling out an egg custard tart from the oven. Asami did laugh and looked innocently at Lin when the older woman frowned at her.
Lin focused on the question and corrected herself. "Well no, she just ordered me what to do. I did most of the cooking when we were growing up. Su ended up burning everything. We actually wondered if she was half firebender."
Korra laughed at the story while Asami smiled. She didn't know that this side of Lin existed. She really liked it. Following Lin and Asami's examples, she took some noodles and two dumplings from Asami. When the woman looked at her accusingly, Korra said, "You took some of my tart so it's only fair." She tried the noodles and made a face much like Lin's. "These are good but my mother can do better. If either of you find yourselves at the Southern Water Tribe, you have to ask her to make some for you. She would love to."
Asami grinned as she ate some of her own noodles. "I could go to the Southern Water Tribe on the guise of meeting with Varrick about Future Industries." She turned her smile towards Lin. "And of course being a CEO as well as being a part of Team Avatar, I'm a high profile person. I would need a bodyguard to keep me safe and who better than the Chief of Police herself?"
Lin rolled her eyes at the suggestion but there was a smile playing at the corner of her lips. "How long are we going to use that bit?"
"I could handle myself, true, but I would be very grateful for the company," Asami purred. "And it's cold in the South Pole. I would need someone to warm my bed."
She and Lin shared a knowing look and Korra felt the small flame of desire start to curl in her lower stomach. Korra was never like this with Mako. He did get her heart thumping when they kissed but he never managed to get her excited with only a few words. Korra finished off most of her tart and watched the two banter lightly with one another in between bites. She would put in a quick word once in awhile but was content with simply listening to them. Now that food was in her belly, the wine began to taste better and she helped herself to another glass. The other two did the same and soon the bottle was empty and their stomachs warm.
Before long, the chef returned with the bill. "Everything was to your liking?" The three women made sounds of agreement. "Excellent! We can't wait to serve you three again." She placed the bill on the table and left.
Asami's hand dashed down and snatched the bill before the door shut closed. She and Lin stared at each other, challenging one another.
"You paid for dinner last time," Lin said.
"That was for your birthday," Asami retorted. "It doesn't count." A wicked smile spread across her face. "If you pay, I'll get you a necklace worth ten of these dinners."
Lin narrowed her eyes. "You wouldn't dare," she said slowly as she gave Asami her best death glare but the younger woman didn't budge. After a minute, Lin groaned and rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'm paying next time."
"But of course," Asami said innocently. She paid the bill and Korra frowned at the amount of money that was left on the table. Even if Asami and Lin only ate at the restaurant once in a couple of months, they would still be very valuable customers.
The three women left the VIP room, not before Korra saw that Lin had placed a rather generous tip. They walked out together, apparently the wine had made Lin loose in her precautions. Korra knelt down to gently pat Naga's head. The polarbeardog was napping but after a moment opened her eyes and sniffed at the leftovers Korra brought with her. True to her word, the Avatar opened the box and let Naga eat the rest of her tart.
"Are you Avatar Korra?"
Korra recognized the tone in the voice of the stranger and fought the urge to groan. She stood up and forced a smile on her face. "Yep, I sure am."
A teenager with an unfortunate case of pimples was beaming up at her. "I watched you play on the Fire Ferrets when I was a kid! I saw all of your matches!"
The smile was more genuine and Korra puffed out her chest in pride. "Really?" She glanced at Asami and Lin. The two women stood off to the side and were watching the interaction with amused grins. Korra sported her crooked smirk and rested her fists on her hips. "The first match could have gone better but I still got that knockout in the end."
"It was the most amazing thing I ever saw! The way you moved, nothing could have touched you!" The boy was practically jumping on the balls of his feet. "Can I have your autograph? Not as Avatar Korra but as Korra the Fire Ferret!"
"Anything for my fans." Korra knew she overdid it a bit by the way Asami giggled and Lin quirked an eyebrow. She signed the only thing that the boy had on hand, which was his shirt. He reminded Korra of Bolin when he met Lord Zuko, he was fanning his face and his feet couldn't keep still. The boy ran off, yelling how he was going to tell everyone he met that Korra the Fire Ferret signed his shirt. Korra walked back to the other two.
"Anything for my fans?" Lin repeated as Asami laughed again.
Korra grumbled something incoherent as she and Lin led Asami back to her car. She opened the door for Asami. Korra cheeks were flushed lightly but they became a dark blush as the mechanic pressed her lips against hers. Too soon the kiss ended but Korra was treated with the sight of Asami turning her head to kiss Lin. She saw the adoration in Lin's eyes and they were darker than normal when their kiss ended.
Asami got in her car and Korra shut the door softly. "Tonight was fun," Asami said to the two women. "We should do it again and soon." With that and with light laughter, the mechanic drove off into the night with Lin and Korra watching.
Korra looked at Lin and the older woman met her gaze. With Asami now gone, neither of them knew how to proceed.
Lin was the first to break the silence. "I suppose this is the end of our little date."
"Hey, I don't do anything little, Chief." Korra was relieved when her joke earned a light chuckle. Her face became serious, well as serious as it could with her lips tingling from Asami's kiss and her face flushed with wine and the kiss. "Good first date?"
The Chief regarded Korra for a long moment. "It wasn't the worst first date, I'll grant you that." When she saw the way the Avatar was looking at her, she relented. "It was a good first date." Lin watched as Korra's face lit up and decided to take it one step further. She cupped Korra's chin and tilted her face up so she could brush her lips against hers. Lin felt the woman under her tense up at the kiss but quickly melt into it. She pulled back and smirked as Korra leaned forward like she couldn't bare for the kiss to end. "Have a good night, Avatar," she whispered, her voice slightly hoarse. Lin turned and began to walk back to her house.
Korra stood in front of the restaurant, staring after Lin. She was brought back to the physical world by a gentle nudge from Naga. She smiled at the polarbeardog and scratched between her ears. "Let's go home." The two made their way back to Air Temple Island and Korra couldn't seem to stop smiling. She was still grinning like a fool even when she climbed into her bed.