Korra was very irritable that morning. Her head had little men who were pounding away with jackhammers into her skull with her eyes threatening to fall out of her sockets at any time. She gulped down three glasses of water straight and proceeded to the bathroom for a nice warm shower. For some strange reason, she saw a certain CEO's face when she closed her eyes. It was the strangest feeling. Korra felt her insides knot up and her stomach flutter. She took a deep breath and continued with her daily routine.
Half an hour later, Korra found herself settling for a simple egg sandwich since her stomach started rebelling against her will as well. The soldier berated herself for not drinking enough water before going to sleep that night. As soon as she finished whatever breakfast she could keep down her stomach, Korra downed a pill of paracetamol and went out for a walk.
After all, she still had time before she had to meet Asami.
~xXoXx~
The CEO woke up to a rather fine morning. It was as if the universe was in place for the first time in a long time. Asami had a date for her charity event for the victims of the civil war. Her lingering thoughts drifted to the mysterious soldier who nearly gave her life for the city that peace built. She wondered how the blue eyed woman was doing.
When she finally gained the energy to move around her luxurious bed in her room, she stretched and got ready for the day. The CEO's room was surprisingly as simple as her office. The mixture of gold with brown around her room definitely had its own luxurious feel. The furniture was very minimal yet comfortably placed. The sofa was near this gargantuan window that led to a veranda. The CEO's dresser was right beside her door that led to the closet. Every single thing was tinged with a lace of red which explained Asami's favorite color.
Asami hummed a tune as she took her time to neatly arrange herself and prepared whatever else she needed to bring for the event tonight. She was stumped when she had to pick a dress to wear for the event that evening. For the first time, she felt like she ran out of dresses to wear. Usually, what she would wear for galas like these would just come to her and for some reason she just got nervous and couldn't decide.
"Asami Sato panicking on what dress to wear. The press will have a field day." Asami muttered to herself. She then found the energy to chuckle at herself for being silly.
When she calmly sorted through her clothes she finally found one that would match the attire her date would be wearing. She smiled confidently and said, "Perfect."
~xXoXx~
Korra found herself walked aimlessly in Republic City, not sure where she was headed exactly. She thought about visiting Air Temple Island but she ended up at a nearby convenience store and bought herself a granola bar box. She remembered she was running out of those and it was nice to keep some in stock in case she decided to go to the gym or decided to train. All the while, she kept on thinking what exactly had put her into this situation in the first place.
The Captain wasn't a fan of the fancy parties she used to be invited to. She didn't like these socializing events and always ended up going on rotation just to avoid talking to people. Maybe it was something in the CEO's eyes that convinced her otherwise. Perhaps she felt guilty for being an ass all those days ago. She didn't really know. She found herself sitting on a park chair and closed her eyes.
The effects of her hangover haven't quite passed yet, and the sun didn't hide behind any sort of cloud today, magnifying her already throbbing head. She reminded herself to take another dose of paracetamol later so she wouldn't be so grouchy later. Korra absentmindedly observed the people passing her by in the park. She smiled as she is reminded of the peace she fought for. One would wonder; however, at what cost?
Sometimes, it would be easy to see how Korra has never quite gone on and looked for a partner in life, and make the assumption that she's quite lonely. The Captain wouldn't quite agree with that. Korra felt used to that. Now, was quite the oddity because she felt the large expanse of the world she lived in and it was rather overwhelming. Korra wondered why she started feeling this way when she had been perfectly contented with her life a few years back. It's true she did have feelings of attraction when she first arrived in Republic City, but that relationship ended quite quickly. Some part of her felt that it was just proper that she wasn't attracted to him like she had originally had hoped. Now, she longed for that closeness with someone. She wondered why exactly it was it had to be after that fateful meeting with the CEO of Future Industries. Why did it have to be Asami Sato?
Korra sighed and returned home. She had some time to put in a quick nap before having to attend this big event later. She hoped that the answers would arrive soon.
~xXoXx~
The CEO wondered if time could be any slower as she went through the meetings she still had scheduled for the day. Sometimes the weariness would catch up to her and she would think about snapping at her business partners but she would double back and think about how unbecoming it would be. After all, she did have to pick up the Future Industries name; once again when her father had ruined it already a long time ago. A stain would always remain a stain. It's very difficult to wash out and when you do it's easy to put another one in.
The worst part about it is that people remember.
Meeting after meeting dragged on. Until it was finally her vacant period so she could get ready for the gala later. She had about two hours to re-do her make-up, fix her hair, and get dressed appropriately. At least, that was what she had in mind. Her hands became rather unsteady, it was like she was getting ready for an actual date instead of going to a formal thing.
"Nerves?" The CEO wondered. She should be used to events like these. After all, it's only her thousandth gala, right?
Asami shrugged off whatever nerves she had and meticulously prepared herself for her date tonight.
~xXoXx~
Korra begrudgingly looked at herself in the mirror again. For the nth time, she wondered how she got suckered into a black-tie event. When her thoughts would wander to a certain raven-haired woman she would immediately try to stop her tracks, but it would be too late. The Captain's heart would start to race and she would feel excitement; like how she flew her helicopter for the first time. Her head was swimming with questions and it's not like the persistent headache was helping either. Korra sighed and hung her blazer onto her coat rack and headed for the sofa. Since she was already dressed she thought it wouldn't be bad to take some more rest before going to this thing.
The hour ticked by quickly and Korra felt like she only closed her eyes for a minute. However, that was better than getting no sleep at all. Korra's buzzer had awakened her from her nap and she was instantly alert. She got up quickly and shrugged her blazer back on. Once she was satisfied that not a fold was out of place, she proceeded to open the door.
She immediately regrets it. The Captain could not find a single word to say to her guest. "I… uh… Good evening Ms. Sato."
Asami nerves shot up and found that she too was bereft of speech. "Good evening, Captain."
The silence was rather awkward rather than companionable. Korra and Asami are so taken with each other and could not find even the smallest of talks possible. It was like someone stole words from their mouth. That was until Korra finally shoved the lump down her throat and said something. "I think it would be inappropriate for us to be late."
Asami snapped out of her reverie. "Yes. I guess the uniform is a little intimidating. Let's go."
Asami once again led the way to her car. While Korra was left to ponder how the CEO got her apartment number but something told her that it would be easy to just ask anyone. Asami noticed that Korra shifted around her seat nervously. Perhaps, it had been quite some time since she attended anything this big. After all, there were already hints that the Captain had lived in solitude.
Korra took the time to observe the CEO's lithe figure and found herself quite attracted to it. Her eyes were totally glued. She now knew why she was silenced earlier: this woman's beauty was ineffable. Not minding, the already perfect hair and face. That face which was so beautiful it had to be criminal, at least that's what Korra thought. Suddenly, Korra realized how close they were to the event and she felt her heart race due to anxiety. Out of habit, she would scan each person to see if there was anyone with ill intent towards them.
Asami gently maneuvered the car towards the building carpark rather than having it valeted. She realized that Korra would probably not react well to the crowd. A private entrance would attract less of the paparazzi too and the last thing she needed now was getting paired up with another person in the tabloids. The CEO feared that it would make her lose face with Korra. She didn't need this especially when she found herself wanting to be closer to her. At least, somehow this would give her time to make things blow over before she could actually make her move. At least, that's what she convinced herself of doing.
When the two of them got off the car, Asami noticed the beads of sweat forming on the back of Korra's neck. Korra was panicking. Yet, when she analyzed her escort for the night she could barely notice any change. Asami supposed this was what one would call "grin and bear it" but she would not be standing for this macho business.
The CEO held Korra's hand. "I suppose it's too late to tell you to relax?"
Korra frowned. "It's just a little adrenaline rush… It'll take some time to die down, I apologize."
"There's no need to apologize for something you can't control."
Asami would just have to take the Captain's word for it. It wasn't exactly her place to tell the soldier what she could or couldn't do, but she would like to. This was a new feeling for her. In Asami's previous relationships, she wouldn't care this much for someone. The CEO's mind tried to rationalize everything because everything about this soldier was serious and she wasn't even sure of what she was feeling. Not yet, anyway.
The short walk from the parking area seemed quite eternal. When the two finally reached the event hall they were greeted by the bright white light and jazz. Korra was amazed by how simple everything looks: a few cocktail tables here and there, a stage for the band, a dance floor, cocktails and food on both sides of the hall, wealthy people discussing things she didn't have the patience for, and a few high ranking officers she recognized by name and face but never really knew. Korra guessed that the motif for the hall was white and blue. It seems everything was patterned that way. Again, Korra's breaths seemed to shorten and she scanned each and every person around her.
Asami could feel Korra's body tense up. Unconsciously, Asami gripped Korra's hand tighter in an effort to comfort her. "Hey, I'll need to talk to some people for a little bit. Why don't you give me an hour and we'll get out of here? You can talk to the children over there. Seems to me like they're really bored."
Korra looked at Asami gratefully. "I uh… Thanks. I never really was good with all the politics in the Air Force." The words were out before she could stop them. "Anyway… uhm… It wouldn't be too hard to see someone in uniform tonight. Very few of my superiors are here tonight anyway."
Asami chuckled, glad that she was able to get to know this soldier a little better. "All right."
The two went their separate ways. Asami was rather curious as to how things would play out tonight. Korra, on the other hand, just wanted this gala to be over as soon as possible. On the bright side of things, Asami would get to observe Korra from time to time. Her interest was piqued when she thought of Korra interacting with the children. The CEO was rather excited by it. Something about the mysterious soldier just seemed to draw her in. She could not stop it.
Asami snapped out of her reverie when her friend, Opal Beifong, had approached her. "Hey there."
The Beifong daughter had a short bob cut black hair who with jade eyes. Opal's dress was more or less a simple dark green one with trimmings of platinum cut diagonally through the dress, showing off her great body shape. Opal was a young noblewoman who cared about public service more than anything. Asami admired this woman for her guts to stray from the ordinary path most nobles would take.
"How's it going?" Asami said, hugging the younger girl.
"Everything's great. Bolin's been great too!" Opal beamed. "What about you? Seeing you come in with a handsome and mysterious woman is a first."
Asami hid her panic well. "Oh you know, she owes me a favor so I asked her to come."
Opal knew Asami was panicking. She had known the heiress for some time and she knew that Asami hasn't brought anyone as her escort, long as that particular line might be. "Sure. Then again, everyone in this room thinks you two are quite cute together. Especially mom."
The CEO was unable to mask her fear this time. "Is it that obvious?"
Opal smiled towards the direction Korra was in. "Ms. Sato, the infamous stag, bringing a date? I think people would notice."
"I suppose so. Remind me why we're friends again?" Asami laughed.
"Because no one in this room has the guts to tell Asami Sato that she brought a date and that everyone would notice." Opal answered confidently.
Asami thought on it for a moment. "I suppose you're right Ms. Opal Beifong. Now, why don't we talk to these wealthy people to get them to share their riches to these orphans?"
Opal smiled. "Right behind you, Ms. Sato."
A/N: Hey guys and gals! I'm back from the dead from what was the busiest time of my life so far which was graduating from college! Sorry it took this long to update this story xD; (Seriously, being an honor students sucks up a lot of your time lol). Anyway, as always kudos to my beta reader: Aziraphale and as always I hope you guys enjoy this story!