"Hello, baby!"
Tonraq's voice was muffled by Korra's body, which was shaking with excitement. She hopped away from her parents, her hands over her mouth in happy shock.
"When did you guys get here?" Korra asked.
"A few minutes ago." Tonraq said, putting an arm around his wife. "We wanted to get here early to surprise you."
"How are you, baby?" Senna asked, walking over to her daughter and running a hand down her face. She frowned slightly. "You look thin. Have you been eating properly?" Korra sighed.
"Mooooooooooom!" Korra whined, closing her eyes and rolling her head back. "I'm fine!" Tonraq chuckled to himself before pulling his wife back to his side.
"Leave the poor girl alone, Senna." He said. "You'll have more than enough time to ask questions at lunch." His eyes flicked up to Korra's now dramatically shorter hair. "Such as her hair? Personal choice or maybe something else? Or someone else…" Korra went bright red.
"Dad!" Korra said, half whispering, half whining. "You're so embarrassing!" She looked up at his grinning face. It was obvious that he was her father. The same grin, the same sense of humor, the same hard headed personality. Her father's spirit in her mother's body, that's what Katara used to say. Korra felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, turning round to see Tenzin behind her.
"You'll be very proud of Korra." Tenzin said. "Her training has been going extremely well, her grades at school have be excellent and spiritually, she's never been stronger." Korra smiled to herself. She knew Tenzin was trying to calm her down for what was coming. She felt so nervous. Everytime her parents visited, her father asked her about relationships, usually following this with not-so-subtly talking about a 'young warrior back home' or the such. Korra's heart was in her mouth. She hadn't noticed her father and Tenzin talking about her training. All she could think about is how her parent's would react to Asami. As if on cue, the door bell rang followed by Meelo's voice ringing through the temple.
"KORRA! ASAMI IS HERE!"
The room was silent for a few seconds, Korra staring straight ahead, not looking at anyone or anything, while the 3 adults all looked at her. Tenzin coughed, trying to get Korra to do something, anything. Senna looked up at Tonraq with a confused look on her face, matching that of her husband.
"Asami? Who's Asami, Korra?" Senna asked. Korra looked up at her parents, her face still unchanged from the look of slight terror that had made its way across it when Asami's arrival was announced. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead she, walked out of the room as fast as she could, towards the front entrance, ignoring her parents calling out for her. She sped up, trying her hardest to get to the one person who could calm her down. She turned the corner, and saw Asami waiting for her. Upon noticing Korra, Asami's smile faded and was replaced with a look of worry. Korra strode over to her girlfriend and buried her head into her shoulder, hugging Asami as tight as she could and silently weeping. Though taken by surprise, Asami hugged back, squeezing just as tight as Korra was, gently rocking from side to side.
"Sweetie? Please tell me what's wrong." Asami said, pulling Korra's head up and wiping the tears from her eyes. Korra looked up, straight into Asami's deep green eyes. She stammered slightly, sniffing a couple of times in the process.
"I can't do it." Korra said, wiping her nose with her arm. "I can't tell them, I just…"
Before Korra could continue, Asami had pulled her in kissed her. They stayed for a moment, not moving an inch. The kiss was deep and loving, with passion running throughout. But it was one of love rather than lust. No wandering hands or lip biting. Just a long, loving kiss. After a few seconds, they broke away from one another. Korra opened her eyes and looked back into Asami's. She held her by the waist, while Asami's arms were round Korra's neck.
"We can do this. You and me." Asami said, running her fingers through Korra's hair. "I know you're scared, but they have to know. It's best if you tell them." Asami smiled down at Korra, who was biting her lip. She moved in, kissing Asami on the cheek and pulling her into another hug.
"Thank you." Korra whispered, feeling another tear roll down her face. She took a step back and released Asami, linking hands with her. She looked up from her face for a moment to notice something different. "Your hair!" Korra said, with a look of happy shock.
Asami's hair was no longer the thick, wavy mane it was before. It had all been pushed over to one side, still the same luscious black it always had been, but the other side had been shaved into an undercut. A few stray strands of hair were hanging over the shave, but it didn't bother Asami too much. The tips had also changed, now they were a deep purple, unrecognizable, until the sun struck them, showing off a beautiful shining royal purple. Korra ran a hand across the shave, while Asami gave her a sheepish grin.
"Yeah, I thought back to how you got your hair cut for the first time, and thought 'Why not?'" Asami said, raising her hand to meet Korra's by her head. "I've been meaning to do it for ages, but never really had the guts to. But I guess you make me a little bit more brave." Asami shrugged her shoulders at the end of her sentence. Korra smiled at her.
"I love it." Korra said, pulling her in for another kiss. Before they could connect, someone coughed behind them, trying to attract their attention. Korra turned to see her parents standing nearby. Korra's heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath, then began to walk towards them, Asami following close behind. Korra stopped in front of her father, looking up at him. His arms were crossed in front of him, and a single eyebrow was raised. The same eyebrow Korra raises when she wants something explaining, Asami thought. Senna stood by her husband, her hands linked into his arms, her body facing Tonraq, but her eyes on the two girls in front of them. Korra began to breath slightly faster, trying to muster up the courage to say something. Anything.
"Well?" Tonraq said, his voice gruff. Asami retracted slightly, slipping her hand into Korra's out of habit. Korra tightened her grip.
"Mum, Dad." Korra began her voice beginning to wobble. "This is Asami. She's my… We're…" Korra's word began to stumble. She looked over to Asami, who gave her a small smile. She squeezed Korra's hand, wrapping her free hand around her arm. "Look, I know this is a bit of a shock and everything, but Asami…" Tonraq held up a hand to silence Korra. She went quiet instantly. Asami could feel her shaking. Tonraq took a step forward, and gathered both girls into his arms in a big hug. Korra was in so much shock, she completely forgot to cry. After a few moment's Tonraq released them, leaving his hands on a shoulder of each girl.
"What's rule number one, Korra?" Tonraq said, looking into his daughter's now-moistening eyes. "Never be afraid. I love you with all my heart, and will never be disappointed in you in any way. If you love this girl, then we will too." Korra burst into tears, and threw herself into her father's arms again. She hugged him as tight as she could. Meanwhile, Senna came over to Asami, who was still in shock. She took her hands in her own and gave her a motherly smile.
"It's so lovely to meet you, Asami. I'm Senna, Korra's mother, and this is my husband, Tonraq." Senna said. Asami stammered for a moment, then found her voice.
"I know. Korra's told me so much about you, it's great to finally meet you!" Asami said, now also on the verge of tears. Senna gathered her into her arms and hugged her. Asami hadn't felt this in a long time. A motherly touch. Senna broke the hug after a while, wiping a tear from Asami's face in the process. Asami sniffed, laughing to herself afterwards. "I'm sorry, I didn't want this to be the way you met me. I thought I'd be a bit calmer than this."
"Don't worry, you should have seen Korra's father when he met my parents." Senna said, wiping Asami's face with the sleeve of her dress. "He was a worse mess than you and Korra combined."
"Yes, thank you for bring that up, dear." Tonraq said, leading a now-sniffley Korra over to them. He kissed his wife on the head, then turned to Asami. "I hope your intentions with my daughter are not getting her into any trouble."
"Uh… well... um… no, sir." Asami stammered, going slightly stiff. Korra stepped next to her and put an arm around her waist. Asami relaxed again, putting her arm around Korra.
"Knock it off, Dad." Korra said, her grin returning to her face. Tonraq began to chuckle, stepping forward and kissing Asami on the head.
"I'm sure you're more than capable of dealing with Korra, Asami." Senna said, taking her husband's arm and pulling him back slightly, giving the girls some room. "In fact, if you can deal with her now, you should have seen her as a baby. I think I have some pictures, actually…"
"MOM!" Korra said, going red with embarrassment. "Seriously?! Why do you still bring those with you?"
"Because you look adorable in them, honey." Senna said. "She had the cutest little nose when she was younger."
"I don't know." Asami said. "Her nose is pretty cute at the moment." She kissed Korra on the cheek, feeling her go even redder at touch. Tonraq smiled at the pair of them.
"Well, I don't know about you two, but we need some food. It was one hell of a journey down here." Tonraq said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Where would you suggest?"
"I'm not sure." Asami started. "Kwong's Cuisine is always pretty good; we could go there?" She looked over at Korra, who was still rigid with embarrassment. Asami gently pushed her hand into Korra's ribs, feeling her squirm beneath her touch. Korra looked at Asami with a look of discomfort, a look that instantly disappeared upon seeing her smiling face.
"That sounds like a plan." Korra said. She looked over to her parents, who were nodding at one another.
"Kwong's Cuisine it is, then." Tonraq said. Korra smiled.
"Just don't bring those photos, Mom. That's the last thing you need at a restaurant." Korra said. Senna raised her hands in a sign of defense. They began to walk towards the front door, Korra and Tonraq leading them out to the courtyard, with Senna linking arms with Asami and following close behind.
"I'll show you later." She whispered in Asami's ear, winking at her. Asami began to giggle at the idea of seeing a Korra cuter than the one she has now. Korra turned to look at them. She frowned.
"I knew it was a bad idea for you to meet my mother." Korra said, whining slightly as she spoke. Asami and Senna burst into laughter, while Tonraq pulled Korra into a parallel hug as they walked to the nearby car, chuckling to himself.