"You've got to be kidding, right?"
Bolin was across the table in the half-empty restaurant from Korra, staring at her, his face painting a picture of disbelief and slight mistrust. Korra was leaning back in her seat on the long bench she was sharing with her girlfriend. Her arm was around Asami, who was still studying the menu. Mako was sitting next to his brother, sipping water from a glass. Korra continued to smile at Bolin.
"I'm really not." She replied to him. "Opal totally has a thing for you. It's obvious."
"Oh, right. Now I know you're kidding." Bolin said, slumping onto the table. Asami let out a slight giggle, while Mako rubbed his temples.
"Look, bro. I don't believe you can't see it. She's always got that awkward smile on her when she's around you, plus she ignores everyone else when you're there for her to talk to." Mako said. Asami looked up from her menu.
"She doesn't stop talking about how cute you are." Asami piped up. "She keeps going on at me about how she wishes you would make a move." Bolin perked up at Asami's comment.
"Really?" He said, leaning across the table, transfixed by Asami's words. Asami put the menu on the table, crossing her hands in her lap and leaning on Korra.
"Sure." Asami said. "She looks at you the same way Korra looks at me, and vice versa. You know, that look that says 'I can spend the rest of my life with you'." Korra giggled, nuzzling her face into Asami's neck and kissing it. Asami bit her bottom lip, stopping herself from leaping onto Korra in their present company. Bolin leaned back in his chair, while Mako took another sip from his drink.
"Huh." He said. "Maybe I should ask her out." He pulled out his phone and began to furiously type. In one swift movement, Mako placed his glass on the table and snatched Bolin's phone from his hand. Bolin let out a cry of protest, but Mako simply pocketed the phone.
"You are not texting her to ask her out." Mako told his brother, speaking in the same tone Tenzin used to tell Korra something important. Korra shuddered slightly upon realizing how much like the airbender Mako just sounded. Bolin pouted at his big brother.
"I was not!" Bolin exclaimed. He turned to face Korra and Asami, both of whom we raising an eyebrow. Bolin looked down at the table. "Well, maybe I was, but I'm not gonna now. Just gimme my phone back!" Mako shook his head.
"Not till we're back at school." Mako said. "And if I find out you've asked her out in any way other than talking to her, face to face, I'll kick your ass." Bolin looked over to Korra and Asami for backup, but Korra just shook her head.
"Sorry, Bo, but he's got a point. You're on your own with this one." Korra said.
"Yep." Asami followed up. "And if I find out you didn't ask her face to face, then I'll kick your ass." Bolin looked back down at the table.
"Ok." He muttered, just loud enough for the rest of the table to hear. Mako gave his brother a quizzical look.
"Wait, you're fine to take me on, but as soon as Asami makes a threat, you're suddenly rolling over like a tame polar husky? What gives?" Mako said, accentuating his point by flailing his hands. Bolin looked up at Mako sheepishly.
"Asami is scarier than you are." Bolin said in a quiet voice. Mako looked at his brother in disbelief, then over to the two girls. Asami was smirking, while Korra was trying to stop herself from bursting into laughter.
"He has a point, Mako." Asami said, going back to studying her menu. "I can kick his ass. Or yours, for that matter. And if I can't, then I'll get my waterbender girlfriend to do it for me." Bolin made a hissing noise with his mouth at the remark, while Mako slumped back in his chair, pouting slightly. Asami giggled at his childlike response. Korra untangled her arm from Asami and straightened herself up.
"Right, shall we order, then?" Korra said, looking over to Asami, who was the last to decide. The heiress kept scanning the menu over and over.
"You guys order, I'll have something figured out when it gets to me." Asami said, waving a hand in their general direction, not breaking eye contact with the menu. Korra signaled to the waitress who had been hovering near them for the past half hour. The waitress sped over, putting on a huge smile. Korra and the boys ordered their food, each of them getting a "Excellent choice!" from the waitress. Asami was still staring into the menu. Korra could see a bead of sweat run down her face. Korra placed a hand on Asami's forearm, causing her to jump slightly at Korra's touch. Asami looked round, noticing the entire table staring at her.
"I'll… I'll have the chicken noodles…" Asami said in a quiet voice, not making eye contact with the waitress and thrusting her menu towards her. The bewildered waitress gingerly took the menu from Asami and walked away from the table. Korra squeezed Asami's shoulder.
"You alright?" Korra asked, tilting her head to one side. "You were sounding kinda weird." Asami looked up at Korra, gingerly smiling at her.
"I'm fine." Asami answered, sinking into Korra's chest. Korra looked over to the two brothers across the table. Both shrugged their shoulders at her, unable to say what was wrong. Korra planted a kiss on Asami's head and interlocked the fingers on their free hands.
"You know you can tell me anything." Korra said, her voice low enough for only Asami to hear. Asami sighed.
"That waitress has been asking me out for the past month. Every time she did, I made up some excuse, the last one being that I'm not dating. It's just kinda awkward, I guess. To turn up here, with a girl she's never seen on my arm."
Korra looked over to the bar, where the waitress was making drinks. She frowned slightly.
"She doesn't look annoyed or upset." Korra said, tightening the arm around Asami's shoulders. Asami looked up slightly, trying not to draw attention to herself. True to Korra's word, the waitress didn't seem at all fazed or emotional. Asami shifted in her seat, burying herself deeper into Korra's arms.
"Still makes me feel bad." Asami said. Korra pushed the hair from Asami's eyes and looked deep into them. Asami looked up into Korra's beaming face. Just looking at the young Avatar made her feel warm inside. Like nothing else could go wrong. She could feel herself blushing, and buried her head even deeper in embarrassment. Korra and Bolin giggled to themselves as the waitress came back over with their drinks. As she set them down on the table, Korra got a good look of her. Behind the grease and fraying hair, she was very pretty. Beautiful even. She had blood-red hair, obviously dyed, but it suited her. Mocha-coloured skin, with only a small beauty spot on the left side of her chin breaking her evenly clear skin. Not as pretty as Asami, but still attractive. The waitress finished by handing Korra her drink, looking down to the crumpled figure of Asami in Korra's lap.
"Uh, is everything ok?" the waitress asked. Korra gave Mako and Bolin a look of warning. Don't mention anything.
"It's nothing." Korra said. Mako nodded in agreement, making himself busy with his napkin. Bolin, on the other hand, looked at the other two with confusion.
"But you guys were going on about how Asami…" Bolin got no further before Mako's hand clamped around his brother's mouth.
"…Is feeling a bit ill. I'm sure some noodle soup will clear that all up." Mako finished. Bolin looked from Korra, to Mako, to the waitress, before nodding his head in agreement. The waitress slowly looked between the four students, before shrugging to herself and walking away. Mako slowly removed his hand from Bolin's mouth, shaking it slightly to get rid of the saliva that had gathered on it. Korra raised an eyebrow.
"You are an utter moron, you know that, right?" Korra said. Bolin stared down at the table.
"Sorry." Bolin muttered. Korra began to busy herself with trying to pry Asami from her lap.
"Sweetie, the waitress is gone. Not that I don't like that you're down there, but you are starting to wind me." Korra said, running her hand through Asami's hair. Asami stirred slightly, turning her head so that her face was now visible.
"No. Comfy." Asami said, running her hand along Korra's leg, feeling the waterbender shake at her touch. Asami smiled, and lifted herself back into her seat. Korra put an arm round Asami's waist and pulled her in close. She planted a long, passionate kiss on Asami's lips, before breaking away after a few seconds. Korra watched as her girlfriend's lips chased after her own for a second or two, before realizing they were gone. The waterbender let out a little giggle at the sight of Asami in her own little world, lingering on the kiss a while longer.
"Better?" Korra asked, squeezing Asami's waist. Asami let out a slight wince, before turning to face Korra.
"Better." Asami answered, placing her forehead against Korra's and smiling. There was a small cough from across the table. The two girls looked away from each other, turning to see who had coughed. They saw Bolin digging into a plate of food and Mako with his own plate in front of him. Mako nodded to the side, indicating to the waitress standing next to them with two bowls of noodles. Asami went white as a sheet. Korra tried to stammer out a coherent sentence, trying to explain what was going on.
"It's OK, don't worry." The waitress said, putting the bowls down in front of them. "You obviously didn't want to go on a date with me. I didn't get the message after the first 10 attempts to ask you out, so it's my own fault. Besides, your girlfriend seems to be a better fit for you than some failed actress working in a restaurant."
Asami stared in silence. Korra's gaping expression mirrored Bolin's, while Mako sat with a small smirk on his face. Asami began to mouth a response for a few seconds before managing to get some words out.
"Wow…uh, thanks." Asami stammered. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you straight up, I just didn't want to hurt you." The waitress shrugged her shoulders and gave a smile, showing off rows of gleaming teeth.
"Thanks for saying that. Besides…" The waitress said, giving a sideways glance at Mako, "I think I've moved on." She turned on her heels and went back to work. Asami and Korra looked at one another and began to giggle. Mako's smirk slowly disappeared.
"What?" He asked. "What are you two laughing at? What are they laughing at, bro?" Bolin looked up from his food and shrugged his shoulders. Mako began to look around feverishly, trying to find the source of the girls' amusement. Asami shook her head slightly before digging into her food. Korra watched Mako's nervous actions for a while before staring her own meal.
15 minutes later, the food was gone and empty plates were left in their place. Asami signaled for the check. Mako was pouting to himself over the amusement his friends found in what he couldn't see. Bolin had begun to beg for his phone back, which had made its way over to Asami during the course of the meal. The waitress brought the check over, placing it in front of Mako, running a hand across his shoulder. Korra held back the laughter.
"Guys, please. I won't text her." Bolin said, his hands clasped together in a begging motion. Asami shook her head, and reached for the check.
"No deal. You get it back when you're going to lesson with Korra." Asami said, pulling several notes from her purse and putting them on the tray the bill arrived on. Bolin began to pout, mirroring his brother perfectly. Asami ripped a small part of the bill of the bottom and stood up.
"C'mon, lets get out of here." Asami said. Korra rose and delved into her pockets for some money to chip in. Asami grabbed her hand and shook her head.
"I can't let you pay for everything, all the time." Korra protested. Asami smiled at her and pulled her in for a kiss.
"There, you've paid for it." Asami said, watching Korra blush slightly. The girls then turned to the boys waiting by the door.
"Oh, yeah. This is yours, by the way." Asami said, handing Mako the piece of bill she had ripped off. Mako looked at it with a confused frown on his face. Soon enough, it changed from confusion to embarrassment. Korra looked at the upside-down piece of paper, and saw a message in elaborate handwriting. Korra saw a number too small for her read, followed by:
Call me, Ginger
Mako looked over his shoulder at the waitress, who gave him a small wave and a smile. Mako went red. Asami and Korra began to laugh, and walked out to the car. Mako and Bolin swiftly followed. Bolin had a confused look on his face.
"What's happening? What's on that piece of paper?" Bolin said, trying to get his friends to talk to him.