"Oh, come on, sweetie, those pictures were adorable! It wasn't that bad."
Asami had been trying to get Korra to stop sulking since they left the restaurant, without any victory. Korra was now in the bathroom, and had been for the past hour. Asami had her ear pressed up against the door, trying to hear anything she could through it. She was stood in a dressing gown and a pair of slippers, her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. Over by Korra's bed was both of their clothes from the day, piled up next to Korra's bedside table, while the dresses they were going to wear to Korra's party that night were draped across the bed. Naga had been sent out of the room to stop her from chewing on Asami's high heels, which she obviously found particularly enjoyable. A small sigh came from through the bathroom door.
"But she does this everytime she meets new people in my life!" Korra called back, her voice muffled by the door. "She shows them the pictures, and makes me feel embarrassed."
"She's your mom, of course she's going to embarrass you." Asami said, sliding her hand down the door and playing with door knob. "It's kinda sweet really. I wish I had someone to do that for me…"
The door swung open suddenly. Asami collapsed through the now open doorway onto the tiled floor, right at Korra's feet. Korra leapt back, covering her mouth with her hands as she let out a gasp.
"Oh, spirits! I'm so sorry!" Korra said, crouching down to help her girlfriend to her feet. Asami sat up, rubbing her head. She took Korra's hand and slowly stood up, trying her hardest not to collapse. She took a seat on the toilet and looked up at Korra. She had been putting on makeup, but, seeing as she had no experience in doing so, it was smudged and wonky. Her eyeliner was mismatched, her lipstick was wobbly and she had way too much foundation on. Asami snorted at the sight of Korra, laughing harder than she had ever done in front of her before. Korra gave Asami a confused look, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but you need to take all that off." Asami said, still chuckling. "I'll do it for you after I've done my hair." Korra began to pout.
"Well, you've changed your tune quickly." Korra said. Asami raised a hand to Korra's face, cradling her cheek as she wiped a stray bit of lipstick from Korra's lip. Korra closed her eyes, just feeling Asami's hand against her skin. She let out a low moan. Asami giggled at the sight in front of her.
"Enjoying yourself?" Asami said, raising an eyebrow of her own. Korra opened her eyes slowly, smiling at Asami. She squatted down, now at eye level with the girl sitting on the toilet. She ran her own hand across Asami's.
"I'm sorry, babe." Korra said, her voice quiet.
"It's fine, my head doesn't hurt too much." Asami said, her voice just as quiet, but upbeat. Korra shook her head.
"No, not that." Korra said. "I shouldn't have complained about my mom. I should've known better. It must've been hard not having that in your life." Asami's face dropped. She looked down to the floor, taking a few deep breaths. She slipped her hands into Korra's, resting them on her lap.
"It's OK, it's just…" Asami said, her voice wobbling slightly. "I never had my mom do all the thing yours has, or will. She hasn't see me grow up, seen all of the things I've accomplished. She won't see me graduate, or get my first job. See me get married…" Her voice trailed off. She looked up at Korra, who was beginning to tear up. The sight of Korra crying trigger Asami to do the same. She pushed herself into Korra's arms, hugging her tightly. The girls were both kneeling on the floor, crying into each others shoulders. After a few moments, Korra pulled her head back, looking into Asami's dampened eyes. She placed her forehead against hers. Her throat was dry, and her legs felt numb.
"So… you think about marriage often?" Korra asked, her voice still trembling slightly. Asami licked her lips, running a hand down Korra's neck. She gave a weak smile.
"I don't think now is the right time, do you?" Asami said, chuckling slightly at the thought of it. Korra nodded.
"Yeah." Korra whispered, returning the smile. They spent a minute on the floor, doing nothing but holding one another. After what felt like an age, Korra spoke up. "We should get ready. Everyone will be waiting." Asami nodded and gave a quiet laugh.
"Ok." She said. "You go and get that makeup off. I'll do my hair, then sort you out."
"You always do." Korra said, giving Asami a small wink. Asami giggled, covering her mouth and nose as she snorted. Korra began to giggle as well, lifting herself and Asami to their feet. Asami waved Korra out of the bathroom and began to let her hair down. Korra walked out to the room, sitting down in front of her mirror. She took in the sight of her attempt at makeup, and frowned. Asami was right, this looks awful. She turned back to the bathroom.
"Babe, where's the makeup wipes?"
"In my bag, over by the bed." Asami called back. Korra stretched out towards Asami's handbag, reaching it without leaving her chair. She pulled out the makeup wipes and began to remove the collection of foundation, eyeliner and lipstick. By the time she got everything off, Asami had left the bathroom and made her way over to Korra. Her undercut was still intact, with the shaven side fully exposed, but her usual flowing locks were curled. Korra saw them in the mirror and felt her chest tighten. She looks so beautiful. Asami leaned over her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. She then ran a hand over Korra's hair.
"What are we gonna do with this?" Asami asked, twining her fingers within it. Korra shrugged.
"It looks fine to me like this." Korra said. "Plus it's too short to really do anything drastic." Asami pouted slightly as she bundled some of Korra's hair at the back.
"I could get a bit of a bun going." She said, still concentrating on Korra's hair. "Leave the fringe for you to play with, but still have that nice tidy look overall." Korra looked at Asami in the mirror.
"Whatever you think is best." Korra said, giving a wide smile. She sat perfectly still as Asami did her hair, playing on her phone as she worked. After a few minutes of silence, only broken by Asami humming a tune, Korra's phone buzzed in her hand. She looked down to see she had received a text from Bolin.
"The boys are already at the party." Korra said, typing a reply as she spoke. Asami grunted an acknowledgement, unable to properly reply with a mouth full of hairpins. "Apparently, there are quite a few people." Asami slipped the pins into Korra's bun.
"Good. Hopefully, they won't be too drunk by the time we get there." Asami said. She patted down on the bun, adjusting it slightly. "There we are. Perfect. Now turn round and let me do your makeup." Korra swiveled round to face Asami. She looked up at her face, noticing that she already had makeup on.
"You look so beautiful, you know that, right?" Korra said as Asami pulled out the foundation. Asami gave Korra a big smile.
"You know just how to please a girl." Asami said, beginning to apply the foundation to Korra's cheeks.
"No, really." Korra said, her face completely straight. "I didn't think you could be anymore beautiful, but you are." Asami put the foundation down, picking up the eyeliner. She began to apply it to Korra as she spoke.
"Thank you, sweetie." Asami said. "Hopefully, I won't draw too much attention away from you tonight." Korra scoffed.
"Trust me, if Dad has his way, you won't." Korra said. "You know, he wanted to have a sculpture made for the party. A sculpture! I was, like, this isn't a movie, Dad, it's just a birthday party!" Asami finished on the eyeliner and began on Korra's lips, gently applying a dark lip gloss to them.
"It's your 18th. That's a big deal to him as a parent, you're finally a grown woman. I'm sure he'll be fine." Asami finished up on Korra's makeup, crouching down to have a better look at everything. "Ok, everything's done. Let's get dressed." Korra smiled at Asami, then leaned in to kiss her. Asami didn't move, just accepting the kiss as it came. "What was that for?"
"Being perfect." Korra said, smiling. She stood up and walked over to the bed, pulling off the vest top and jogging bottoms she had been wearing as she went. She picked up her dress and pulled it on over her head. It was a deep blue 1950's style dress, complete with halter neck and a flowing skirt down to just below the knee. She pulled the zip up the side and tucked it in, ensuring it couldn't come undone later in the night. "Oh, by the way, Tenzin said it's fine for you to stay here tonight. You can get a lift back with me." Asami frowned, pulling on her own dress after removing her robe.
"What about your parents? I don't think they'd be too happy about you taking a girl home with you after a night out."
"They'll be fine. They're going back to the Southern Water Tribe consulate after the cake is cut. Said they don't want to 'cramp my style', or something like that." Korra and Asami began to giggle. Korra picked up a necklace her mother had given her, and put it round her neck. It was silver, with a flowing waterdrop-shaped pendant, made out of thin metal strips, rather than solid metal. In the center of the pendant was a single round sapphire, the same blue as the dress. She fondled it in her hands, lost in thought. There was a sudden cough behind her, and she turned to face its source.
"A little help?" Asami said, motioning to the zip on her dress. Korra's jaw dropped. The dress Asami had picked was the opposite to Korra's. A long, flowing, modern design, burgundy in color, strapless and hugging her figure like it's life depended on it. Korra took a few slow steps forward, taking the zip in hand and gently doing it up. As the zip reached the top, Korra leaned in and kissed Asami's neck, feeling her tremble slightly at her touch. Asami turned and faced Korra, placing her hands on Korra's hips and pulling her close.
"Thank you." Korra said, giving Asami a small smile.
"What for?" Asami asked.
"Everything." Korra replied. "I thought going to school here, being in the city was gonna suck. But you've made everything worth while." Asami leaned in and kissed Korra long and passionately. They savored the moment, not letting anything else in their minds bother them. Once they broke away from one another, Korra smiled. "We should get going."
"Yeah, we should." Asami said, taking her high heels in hand and pulling them on. Korra grabbed a pair of black converse sneakers and pulled them on, lacing them carefully. She grabbed her dark blue combat jacket from the closet, rolling up the sleeves to her elbow, while Asami pulled on her black leather jacket. They made their way to the door, when Korra stopped suddenly.
"I forgot something. Gimme a sec." Korra said, retreating back into her room. She began to go through various bags and drawers, cursing under her breath as she did. Eventually, she re-emerged, now holding a small box in her hand, beaming from ear to ear. "Here we are. I got you something." Asami held her hands to her mouth.
"Korra, I…"
"It's not much, but I thought it would look nice on you." She opened the box and took out a bracelet. Golden in colour, it was a simple ring bracelet, with a collection of clear, shining stones gathered on one side, forming a small infinite pattern. Korra linked it round Asami's wrist.
"Korra, it's beautiful." Asami said quietly, trying her hardest not to cry. "I love it." Korra was still beaming.
"Read the inside." She said. Asami looked at the inside of the bracelet, opposite to where the gems lie. Sure enough there was an inscription in cursive.
To Asami,
My one, my only, my eternity.
Love Korra
"It wasn't as expensive as you'd think." Korra said, still looking down at the bracelet on Asami's wrist. "A bit of haggling and it only cost me a few months of saving money from odd jobs and…" Asami cut Korra off halfway through her sentence with a kiss, one just as long and passionate as before.
"Thank you." Asami said, her voice a whisper. Korra beamed up at her, then rested her head against Asami's neck. She was taller than Korra already, but the heels made her even taller. Korra didn't mind, though. It made her feel safe. She looked up, wiping a tear from her eye and taking Asami's hand.
"That's alright." Korra said, her wide grin returning. "Now, m'lady. If you would do me the honor, I would love to take you to what promises to be one of the finest parties of the year." Asami giggled, linking her arm with Korra's.
"It would be my pleasure."