**** Hey! I know it's been forever! Thank you all so much for being so patient with me. I love you 3. I've been super busy finishing up an original story for my account, which I'm going to start releasing January 5 :D. SUPER SOON! It's almost done, so bear with me a little longer.
Anddddd on that note... if you wanna help support me and read a medieval book with more great lady love, go check out my ! You can even read the first chapter already :) Go to /zoereed
….
Korra turned the corner onto Asami's street on her motorcycle, noticing even from here that there was a second car in the driveway. Asami didn't know she was coming over, and what with that second car, maybe she shouldn't have come without asking first. Especially since it didn't seem like Asami had visitors very often. She hadn't answered Korra's calls that morning either, and maybe something serious was happening. It was a bit concerning, and Korra studied the new car closely as she pulled into the driveway and parked her bike behind Asami's coupe. The visitor's vehicle was nice. Really nice. Just as expensive, if not more so, than Asami's sports car, though it was a four door and more business looking.
The garage was open to expose everything inside, including its two inhabitants. One was Asami, and the other was a woman about their age, maybe a little older, with light skin and brown hair. They both turned away from the workbench to look at Korra as she pulled off her helmet, but now Korra was a little more worried than she had been. She didn't have permission to just come over to Asami's whenever she wanted, even if she had good intentions, and Asami definitely had a visitor. At least Asami didn't look upset about it. She grinned, saying something to her guest and then hurrying out of the garage to come and greet Korra.
"Hey," Asami beamed, striding up to gently grab the neck of Korra's leather jacket, pulling her in for a happy kiss. "I thought you were gone already."
Korra brushed a hand through her hair in case the helmet had messed it up. "I leave in a few hours." She and the team were flying out today for a game in the Fire Nation, but she'd specifically asked Kuvira to take her travel bag so that she could come and see Asami one more time, and drop off the small surprise she'd brought. "I wanted to say bye in person."
She shifted the backpack on her shoulders uncomfortably, taking in the state of Asami's clothing. Her hair was pulled up so it was out of the way, her long-sleeved white shirt was dirty with grease smudges, and the sleeves were pushed up to her elbows so that her hands and arms were dirty too. It looked like she'd been working, and Korra tossed an apologetic glance toward the garage. "Sorry, I tried calling. I didn't know you'd have company… I can go if you're busy."
"No, no," Asami said hastily, "it's okay." She offered a reassuring smile. "I left my phone in the house and we've been out here all morning." And she held out her hand. "Come on, I'll introduce you." Korra took Asami's hand, letting herself be led into the garage to meet the visitor. "This is Zhu Li," Asami said.
Korra let go of Asami's hand to stick hers out to Zhu Li. "Hi," she said with a smile. "I'm-"
"Korra," Zhu Li interrupted knowingly, shaking with her. "I'm a big fan. I'll be watching your game on Monday."
"That's… intimidating," Korra laughed. What if she did bad because she was nervous that Asami's friend was watching? She did want to impress Asami's friends… "But thank you," she added sincerely. As Zhu Li let go of her hand, she scanned the various metal parts on the workbench. "Do you guys work together?"
"No," Zhu Li answered, an entertained glimmer in her gray eyes even though her voice seemed characteristically unenthused. "I work for Varrick Global Industries."
"…Future Industries' biggest rival?" Korra raised one eyebrow at Asami. "Do your employees know their CEO is friends with the enemy?"
"Her husband owns it," Asami said with a teasing shrug. "It's not her fault."
Zhu Li adjusted her glasses, saying flatly, "Asami's benevolence is her best quality..." Korra laughed at the sheer amount of dryness Zhu Li managed, and Zhu Li motioned toward the parts on the table. "We don't talk about work projects anyway, we just experiment with things."
Korra strode a few feet away to an empty spot on the long bench, setting her backpack down on it carefully so its contents would remain intact. "How'd you guys meet?"
"University," Asami answered. "She was in her last year when I started my first."
"Everyone in the engineering department was talking nonstop about some freshman who got away with blowing up a car." Zhu Li shook her head amusedly. "Imagine my surprise at finding out she was actually kind of a genius."
"Kind of?" Asami repeated with playful offense.
Zhu Li blinked at her for a few seconds like that didn't even merit an argument, and then looked at Korra and said, "She invites me over because she still has a lot to learn."
Asami grabbed a dirty rag off the table and threw it at her. "I think Varrick's ego is starting to rub off on you."
Zhu Li simply shrugged, and Korra couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. "So," she prompted, gesturing toward the workbench. "What are you experimenting on now?"
Asami picked up a thin piece of metal, in the shape of a skateboard but with some parts hooked up to the underside. "We're calling it the Zhumi Board."
"Like zooming?" Korra asked with a laugh, and Asami nodded with a proud smile. "It looks kind of like a skateboard."
"It is," Asami nodded. "Only, it won't have wheels."
"And it'll never touch the ground," Zhu Li added.
Korra's eyes widened with realization, and she felt an excited smile at the corners of her mouth. "You're building a hover board!?" They both nodded, looking pleased at how enthusiastic Korra appeared. "How's it work?"
"Magnets and batteries, mostly," Zhu Li said, reaching for the board and flipping it over when Asami gave it to her, showing Korra the crude workings of the bottom side. "It creates a magnetic field that repels the charge of the earth."
"Awesome," Korra mused happily.
"We're actually almost done with it," Asami said. "If you want to watch."
Korra didn't mind watching, but she also recognized that as Asami's more polite way of saying, 'we're going to finish this, please don't be offended if I don't pay attention to you for a few minutes.' So she gave an eager nod, and hopped up to sit on the closest spot of empty workbench, where she'd have a good view of everything they were doing. Despite the view, she was never sure exactly what they were doing. They didn't talk. They were like a perfectly synced machine, passing tools back and forth to work at opposite ends of the board, one of them automatically holding the board while the other welded, taking measurements and handing off a pad of paper so they could do… math? That's what it looked like anyway – complicated math that they both seemed to understand.
The only noise in the entire garage was the faint sound of the radio, playing background music so it wasn't eerily silent, but not loud enough to be a distraction from their hard concentration. Even though Korra couldn't have kept up with what they were doing if she tried, she wasn't too worried about it. She just liked getting to watch Asami in her element. Liked the dirty smudges on Asami's clothes and skin. Liked the intense look of focus on her face, the attentive glimmer in her green eyes and the slight crease the combination put in her brow. She liked the way the muscles of Asami's lean forearms flexed when she worked with tools, and the agility and precision and delicacy of her slender fingers.
Asami had mentioned over the last week that she'd dated people who couldn't handle this, who couldn't take her intelligence and drive because they were intimidated by it or felt insecure about it. But this wasn't intimidating. It was sexy. So incredibly, undeniably sexy. Asami was unbelievably smart and Korra was lucky, and anyone who'd ever felt intimidated by that was an idiot.
She sat there on the workbench for almost thirty minutes before Asami and Zhu Li simultaneously stopped what they were doing. They both froze and looked at each other, staring for several long seconds before finally glancing at Korra.
"What's wrong?" Korra asked.
"Nothing," Zhu Li answered, turning the board over and hitting a switch that powered up the battery.
"It's finished," Asami said, and then asked Zhu Li, "who's going to test it?"
They stared at each other again, and then at the board, both looking reluctant to volunteer. Korra couldn't necessarily account for the hesitation, seeing as it looked amazing even if it was just a prototype, and she would've tried it in a heartbeat. But neither Asami nor Zhu Li could decide, and they faced each other without saying anything, wordlessly settling on rock, paper, scissors.
"I'll do it," Korra said before they could play the game.
Zhu Li shook her head immediately. "You're top scorer in the entire Earth Kingdom and you have a match in two days, we can't risk you getting hurt."
Korra snickered at that while Asami turned to look at her, and then back at Zhu Li. "She might be the best one to try it, actually."
"Well," Korra asked curiously, "why can't either of you do it?"
"I'm not coordinated like that," Zhu Li answered.
"I've never ridden a skateboard," Asami added.
"Snowboard?" Korra suggested. It was pretty much the same thing.
"I ski," Asami said.
"It's settled then," Korra said, readily jumping off the workbench. "What's the worst that could happen, anyway? It's not like it's going to explode." At that, Zhu Li pursed her lips, nodding her head side to side like she wasn't convinced it wouldn't blow up.
"It's not going to explode," Asami said in exasperation, but Korra's eyebrows rose with concern. Asami did have a track record… "It's not," Asami assured her eagerly. "Zhu Li, tell her it won't explode."
"It most likely won't explode," Zhu Li agreed.
"Right…" Korra murmured, trying to hold back a laugh. "Okay, let's do this."
Asami grabbed the board, and the three of them strode out to the road in front of her house. At least she lived in a quiet neighborhood and it wasn't a busy street. While Asami set the board on the ground, Zhu Li paced to Korra's motorcycle, picking up the helmet and carrying it back over.
"In case it explodes," she said, shoving the helmet down on Korra's head.
"…Thanks…" Korra tilted her head sideways to look down at the space between the board and the street. It was hovering, that's for sure. This was going to be awesome. "Do I just get on and push off like a normal skateboard?"
Both Asami and Zhu Li offered noncommittal nods. So Korra prepared and set one foot on the surface, taking a deep breath and faintly hoping the thing wouldn't explode. It vibrated and wobbled a little bit under the weight of her foot, but she imagined once she got some speed, it would smooth out. Here goes nothing, she thought, and she pushed off as hard as she could and then stood completely on the board.
It definitely smoothed out. It was still vibrating with a powered hum beneath her, but there was no wobbling, and it was sturdier than a skateboard. It was actually a lot like snowboarding; only she didn't have to be going downhill to maintain speed. This type of board kept the speed all on its own. In fact, the street was at just enough of a decline that she was steadily increasing in speed, and it was GREAT.
"Woo!" she yelled excitedly, throwing her arms up and leaning forward and back on her rear foot to start swerving side to side across the width of street. "It works!"
She took whipping turns, elated at how the lack of friction didn't slow her down like it would've if her board were touching ground. The next one she did, she kicked hard with her rear foot, spinning in a complete circle and then throwing her arms out to regain balance because she'd almost fallen. It didn't stop her from doing it again. Asami and Zhu Li were geniuses! She'd totally buy something like this if they sold it.
Korra made it halfway down the street, doing hard whips and turns as she continued to build speed, but there was a busy intersection up ahead, so she figured it was time to stop and head back. Out of instinct, she shifted the board sideways to heel drag like she would if she was snowboarding… but it didn't work.
"Asami!" she hollered behind her, feeling a spark of panic because she was still picking up speed. "How do I stop!?"
She was going way too fast now to turn around – it'd be too sharp, and she'd probably be thrown from the board because of the sharp shift of momentum and risk injury. But that intersection was coming up, and it wasn't empty like Asami's street. Cars were whizzing by, and she'd get run over and then she absolutely wouldn't be playing in the game on Monday.
There was the distant, familiar roar of her motorcycle engine, but she was panicking too much to think about what it meant. She was planning the safest way to bail. The only option was swerving toward the sidewalk, getting as close to the curb as she could, and then timing her jump off the board so she'd land on somebody's grass lawn instead of cement. It was a good thing she was wearing the helmet after all. At least she could be sure she wouldn't hit her head too hard. A broken bone would heal eventually…
Korra moved toward the edge of the street, noting how there were only two lawns left before the intersection. It was now or never. She bent at the knees, preparing to take the leap and do her best tuck and roll, when a hand grabbed the back of her jacket. It was Asami on her motorcycle, and the moment Asami had a grip on Korra, she applied the brake. They slowed down, gradually coming to a complete stop.
"Oh my god," Asami breathed as she shut off the engine. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry."
Korra was panting from the adrenaline rush, and glanced from Asami to the busy street she'd almost ridden into, and then back again. "Nice save," she chuckled nervously, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. She bent over to pick up the board. "What's the trick to stopping?"
Asami's bottom lip tugged down in a severe wince. "We kind of… forgot the lack of friction meant it would need a braking system…" Korra snorted with disbelief, rolling her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Korra."
"It's okay, I'm fine," she said, adding teasingly as she got on the bike behind Asami, "besides, I think Zhu Li would've been the most upset if I got hurt."
Asami chuckled a little, and fired up the engine to drive them back to her house. Zhu Li was shaking her head when they got there, and waited until the motorcycle was off.
"I told you," she said scoldingly, "letting the Fire Ferrets star player be our test dummy was a bad idea."
Korra shrugged, taking off the helmet and getting off the bike to carry the board back to the street. "It's my fault too," she said. "I shouldn't have gone so far so fast."
"What are you doing?" Asami asked worriedly as Korra set the board down.
"Riding…" Korra answered, kicking off gently, so she was only going fast enough that she could do wide circles in front of Asami's driveway, and so that Asami could catch her when she was ready to stop. "This thing is awesome! You should perfect it though, you know, so nobody almost dies next time."
"What do you think?" Zhu Li asked Asami, and they both stood there to watch Korra do circles in the street. "Reverse magnetism?"
"We'd need to add some kind of strength control for it," Asami answered. "So momentum isn't an issue."
Korra did an Ollie after her next turn just to see if she could. It worked, but the soft jump made it so that the bottom of the board briefly scraped asphalt when she touched down again. There were a few sparks… but the board kept moving. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, but Asami and Zhu Li were so focused that they didn't seem to care.
Asami pointed to the board, as if the sparks had told her something. "We could also do a rear foot break, like the rubber thing on roller blades."
"It wouldn't be as durable," Zhu Li pointed out.
Asami nodded in agreement. "But it would work until we figure out the best way to build something in."
Zhu Li nodded too, and then stole a glance at the watch on her wrist. "We'll have to do it next time. I got to go." At that, Korra rode over, grabbing Asami's shoulder to stop herself so she could say a proper goodbye to Zhu Li. "I told Varrick I wouldn't mind him getting a spider monkey if he helped clean the house consistently… but I have to make sure he comes home with only a spider monkey."
"What else would he come home with?" Korra asked amusedly.
Zhu Li deadpanned. "The possibilities are endless."
Korra laughed at that for a moment, and then smiled in parting. "It was nice to meet you."
Zhu Li nodded her agreement. "Good luck at your game." And then tossed a wave at Asami as she started for her car. "See you."
Korra and Asami both stood there until Zhu Li pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. Then Korra flashed a grin. "I brought you something."
Asami's eyebrows rose with interest, so Korra set the board on the ground and pushed off to ride it back into the garage. She steered around the scrapped up car in the middle, to the workbench on the side where she'd left her backpack. She rode right into the table in order to stop, but she collided with it a little harder than she'd meant to, and felt her cheeks shade when Asami laughed at her.
"Okay," Korra said, pulling her backpack to her to unzip it. "Close your eyes."
"What'd you bring?" Asami asked curiously, backing up to sit on the hood of the car and squeezing her eyes shut.
"I'll show you," Korra answered, pulling the sealed container out of her bag. She turned with it in hand and moved to Asami, holding it out in front of her. "See?"
Asami opened her eyes, only to look at the large canteen and squint in confusion. "What's in it?"
"Soup," Korra said, growing slightly nervous that maybe this was weird… "Specifically five-flavored soup, a tribe specialty. I had some ingredients at home that would've gone bad by the time I got back next week." Even though there was a steady smile growing on Asami's lips, Korra was nervous enough that she kept talking. "So I figured, hey, Asami could use some good food while I'm away. It won't last the whole time, but there's enough in here for a few days."
"You brought me soup," Asami said, officially grinning. "So I wouldn't be eating fire gummies all week." She reached out for the container, turned it over her hands, and then set it aside on the roof of the car so she could pull Korra between her legs. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me," she said, wrapping her arms around Korra's waist in a grateful hug.
"What?" Korra asked in disbelief. "No." But Asami just nodded against her like it really was, and she couldn't help but sigh with relief. "I'm just glad you like it."
"Why wouldn't I?" Asami asked with a laugh, leaning back on her hands and swinging her feet side to side so they bumped Korra's calves. "It's really sweet of you."
"Well," Korra started, shrugging self-consciously, "I kind of came over unannounced and brought you food that you didn't ask for. You're just really independent, and I didn't want you to think that I assume you can't take care of yourself, or that I'm being… I don't know, overbearing."
Asami sat forward again, slipping her arms around Korra's neck. "For future reference," she said amusedly, "you can come over whenever you want. Especially if you're bringing me food."
"Good to know," Korra smiled, leaning in to plant a brief kiss to Asami's lips.
Only, she hadn't seen Asami all week. They texted constantly, and had talked on the phone a couple of times, but this week had been their first taste of how busy they both truly were. Now that Korra was kissing Asami without anyone else around, she realized exactly how much she'd missed it, and she didn't want to stop. She leaned into it a little further, parting her lips to give a more proper kiss and feeling Asami's arms tighten around her neck with reception.
It lasted nearly a minute before Korra pulled away just enough to look at Asami. She would've kept going. She wanted to keep going, but she didn't want Asami to think she'd just come over for a make out session before she had to leave. "So, um," she said, feeling her cheeks tint as she offered in excuse, "you're really sexy when you're doing the science thing. Like, really sexy."
Asami's lips curled, and her hands slid from Korra's neck to grab the collar of her leather jacket. "I was thinking the same thing about you in this jacket."
"Yeah?" Korra asked with a smirk, and it didn't seem like Asami cared whether or not she'd come over for a make out session. She pressed another soft peck to Asami's lips, whispering against them, "Now I can't decide if I want to leave it on or let you take it off."
Asami hummed her approval at the idea, immediately taking Korra's mouth again in long, deep kiss. And Korra couldn't help it, with the way Asami was kissing her and her body just right there, her hands wanted to wander. So she slid her palms up Asami's thighs, grabbed her by the hips to pull her closer, ran them up her back to feel the slim lines of muscle beneath her shirt, anything to get the contact she'd missed out on all week. Asami didn't seem to mind either, because she left Korra's mouth to work those searing lips over her ear, and it left Korra weak.
Weak in the knees, and weak to resist slipping her hands beneath the hem of Asami's shirt, and weak to remind herself that they had that ten date rule. She knew they'd made the rule for a reason – because of this. Because they couldn't keep their hands or lips off each other, and Korra respected it because it's what Asami wanted, but… she wouldn't mind letting Asami get as carried away as she wanted to.
Her hands got to Asami's bare ribs before Asami released a low whine into her ear and pulled away. "You're the one who said no teasing," Asami complained, leaning her forehead against Korra's. Then she muttered under her breath, "Make me want to rip that jacket right off."
Korra couldn't help but grin, but she still took her hands out from under Asami's shirt. "Are you saying I'm hard to resist?" she asked teasingly.
"You know you're hard to resist," Asami said, her eyes narrowing in a mock glare. "But if we run the bases too fast we'll have nowhere left to go."
"Okay," Korra laughed, planting a chaste kiss on Asami's cheek. "Pacing. I can do that."
Asami briefly reached up to wipe off the lipstick she'd gotten on Korra's lips. "I'm glad you came over this morning," she said, leaning back on her hands again with an amused smile. "I finally got to ride your motorcycle."
"If you love motorcycles so much," Korra asked, "why don't you own one?"
"I used to," Asami answered, patting the car she was sitting on. "Used to park it right here. But they're so much easier to take apart than cars are… it spent more time in pieces being tinkered with than it did on the road."
"Oh my god," Korra chuckled. "You know, I was going to leave my bike with you the next week while I was gone, but now I'm not so sure."
Asami gasped, sitting up with an excited glimmer in her eyes. "No, no, no, leave it! I'll have it whole again by the time you get back, I promise." Korra deadpanned, and Asami snorted with laughter. "I'm joking," she said, adding with a bashful smile, "at the very most I'll only clean the engine."
"Only clean the engine," Korra said teasingly. "I'll only clean the engine, it's as easy as riding a bike."
Asami laughed and rolled her eyes, settling back on her hands again. "So if you and Kuvira are gone, who's taking care of Naga?"
"Oh," Korra answered, feeling suddenly worried that Asami would get jealous, "she's staying at Mako and Bolin's place."
"Oh," Asami repeated, but though she looked a little surprised, she didn't seem upset about Mako being so involved. "You didn't want me to watch her?"
"I thought about it," Korra said reassuringly. "But we've only been seeing each other for like a week and a half, and we didn't even see each other this week… I didn't want to burden you by asking."
"I really wouldn't mind watching her." Asami shrugged. "Unless you'd rather she stayed with Mako and Bolin."
Korra couldn't help but smile, because Asami was so genuinely caring, and because she really truly didn't care that Korra and Mako were still friends. "How about I bring her over when I get back so we can see how she gets along with Tashi?" Asami nodded her agreement, and Korra took a moment to check the time on her cell phone. It was getting late. "You want to take me to the airport?"
Asami gave another eager nod, but glanced down at her dirtied clothes. "Do I have time to change real quick?"
"Sure," Korra agreed, stepping back so Asami could stand.
Asami hopped off the car she was sitting on, grabbed the soup Korra had brought, and headed into the house. Korra waited patiently outside while Asami went to change, texting Kuvira that she'd be there soon and then studying the underside of the hover board to see if she could figure out how it really worked. She couldn't.
It only took a few minutes for Asami to come back out in a fresh outfit – a clean red t-shirt, jeans, and boots – but the result still left Korra stunned, because she'd managed to make her hair and makeup perfect too, as if she hadn't been working and dirty all morning.
Korra stood there staring for a good length of seconds before Asami laughed and asked, "Ready?"
She nodded, striding with Asami to her motorcycle, where she grabbed the spare helmet and tossed it to Asami. "Why don't you show me how a Sato drives a motorcycle?"
It would've been impossible to miss the massive grin that spread across Asami's face just before she put the helmet on. After Asami swung a leg over and gripped the handlebars, Korra put her own helmet on and sat down behind her. She wrapped her arms tight around Asami's waist, preparing to hold on and already knowing she was in for a ride. And boy was she so not wrong.
Asami peeled out of the driveway, tearing down the road and whizzing between cars at speeds that probably would've terrified Korra if she'd been the one in control. But the fact that it was Asami in control made it the least terrifying thing she could imagine. She handled the bike like she'd been doing it her entire life, shifting gears and leaning into every turn with such grace and finesse it seemed entirely effortless. And it was fun. The wind whipping through her clothes and jacket, the echo of the roaring engine off of every car they sped by, how she could feel Asami's torso shake with laughter in her arms every time she yelled through her helmet with the thrill.
All too soon they were skidding to a halt outside the airport terminal, where Kuvira and some of Korra's other teammates were waiting outside for her. It was with some reluctance that she peeled herself from Asami instead of suggesting another go around the block, but she managed to stand and take off the helmet.
"Thanks for the ride," she said, unable to wipe the smile off her face, which only got worse when Asami took off her own helmet and was still grinning.
"Good luck," Asami replied, grabbing the collar of Korra's jacket and pulling her into a parting kiss. "See you next week."
Korra's adrenaline was still pumping, and in combination with the kiss and how attractive it was that Asami could drive like that and take off the helmet without messing up her hair one single bit… it left her flustered. All she could really do was wave and stare as Asami put the helmet back on and sped off.
"Hey, lover girl!" Kuvira called tauntingly.
It pulled Korra out of her trance, and she hurried to her teammates, saying sarcastically, "Ha-ha."
"That's your girlfriend?" Wei asked in disbelief, and his twin brother, Wing, let out an impressed whistle.
"You know," Tahno said smugly, "if you want to know how to handle a woman like that, I could give you some private lessons."
Wei and Wing snickered with lighthearted amusement, but Korra had never liked Tahno much – if she was captain of the team she'd have convinced coach to trade him last season – and she passed him a squinty-eyed side glance, threatening only half-jokingly, "Or I could punch you in the face."
"I second that," Kuvira agreed. Tahno threw up his hands in surrender and turned to retreat into the terminal, but for some reason Kuvira laughed. "Dude, you missed a spot." And she reached up to get the lipstick off Korra's ear. "Seriously, this is why you leave your bag with me?" she asked teasingly. "So you can go and get busy before we leave?"
"Shut up," Korra chuckled, massaging her ear between her fingers to get whatever lipstick was left. "We didn't even do anything."
"Sure," Kuvira drawled in disbelief. "I'm going to start charging you for every pound of luggage I have to haul." Wei and Wing laughed in unison.
"I swear," Korra threatened much more friendlily, "if you weren't ace, I'd make your sex life a living hell."
"Aw," Kuvira whined playfully, "sorry to disappoint." Korra rolled her eyes, so Kuvira waved and turned for the entrance. "Come on, we got a plane to catch!"
