A/N: Two chapters in one day!? Whaaaa-? You're welcome. ;)
CHAPTER 6
When Asami returned to the garage later that evening, Korra was back in her spot, leaning against the wall casually as bay #5's door was left open for her to pull right in. There was a bag at her feet and a cup in her hand, though it didn't look like she was drinking from it. A magazine was in her other hand, held up in front of her to read as she lounged.
Once parked, Asami stepped out of the car and moved to the trunk, opening it to take out her tools and mat. As she leaned over, a bag dropped down near her hands and she slightly turned her head to sneak a peak at the owner. Instead, light fingers grazed across her lower back and up her opposite side, two of them coming up to poke her slightly as if walking up to her shoulder before being removed. A breath could be felt against her ear sending shivers up her spine as she closed her eyes.
"A healthy girl is a gorgeous girl... You need to eat." Her eyes opened at the words, and just like that, the air blown towards her sensitive spot was gone.
Moving to place her items on the ground, she grabbed the bag and closed the trunk. She immediately noticed the coffee sitting on the roof of her car. Opening the bag cautiously, she noticed another sandwich and a banana, as well as another sticky note. Green eyes turned to scan the room, finding the tan-skinned seductress a few bays over, talking to one of the other patrons. She looked up at her, tossing her a wink before diving back into the conversation. Perfectly manicured fingers reached in to take out the sliver of paper, opening it eagerly to see what soothing words were written for her this time.
You have nice boobs. *insert childish drawing of boobs here*
Asami snorted, almost doubling over in laughter at the ridiculous note. 'Well that was anything but soothing.' She shook her head as an idiot-sized grin plastered itself across her face. She stepped around to the side of the car, opening the back door so as to place the little note in her box. After returning home earlier that day, she had tossed her leftover trash and placed her flowers in a vase, but decided to leave the box to hold her wraps and gloves, as well as the letter and notes she had received. A smile spread itself a little wider as she looked at her, now growing, collection of notes. It was cute. Super cute. Who doesn't love post-its?!
Grabbing the coffee and bag of delicious foods, she hopped up on the trunk and ate her dinner as she watched the other patrons work and talk and laugh amongst one another. She wondered to herself if breaking away from her routine to socialize for once would be a bad thing. As much as she hated being lonely, she hated breaking her sense of habit even more. Then again, maybe that's why she was lonely to begin with, because her walls were wound up so tight that no one could get in, let alone have something as simple as a casual conversation.
Finishing her meal, she decided she'd do it. Like Korra had told her, she needed to let go and let loose. It wasn't doing her any good to be so stiff all the time. Jumping off the car and tossing her trash into a bin a few feet away, she scanned the area for someone approachable. While her business sense and lawyer quirks made it easy for her to speak without being nervous, it was different when there wasn't already an agenda planned out.
Her eyes landed on a broader guy working on his car across the yard. He looked friendly enough, soft features, an ever adoring grin that seemed to maintain itself regardless of the fact that his eyes showed frustration at something under the hood of his car that had him at a loss of what to do next. He just stood there, staring at the engine, a smile on his face and a hand rubbing his neck. It pained Asami to see a man so lost when it came to cars; the least she could do was help the poor guy.
She walked up to him a few moments later. "Hey there, are you having trouble?"
He jumped slightly, obviously not having heard her approach. "Oh, hi! Uh – ha! Is my ignorance really that blatant?"
She giggled and shook her head. "No, not really. I just happened to catch sight of you staring at your car like it might fly away at any moment."
"Cars can't fly! I know that much at least!" His hand dropped from his neck and his shoulders and back slumped a bit, and 'oh' expression taking hold and he stared off into the distance. "Or can they?"
The man's sudden sense of awe made Asami laugh a little more. "They can't, but that would be cool, wouldn't it?" She stuck her hand out in a greeting gesture. "I'm Asami, by the way."
The burly man shook the thoughts from his mind as he came back down to earth. He took the hand in a bone-crushing grip, making the frail woman wince slightly. "I'm Bolin. Nice to meet'cha!"
"Nice to meet you too, Bolin." When she finally got her hand back, she rubbed her knuckles in an effort to get the feeling back in her fingers. "How long have you been coming here? I can't say that I've seen you before."
He waved his hand in the air, dismissing her thoughts. "Oh, cars aren't really my thing. I come by when the place is closed to help maintain the lifts, doors, lockers, etc., pretty much any of the machinery or tools. I run maintenance for a few buildings in the city, so I do it here, too, to help a friend out."
"Oh, so you know Korra, then?" she asked in surprise.
"Oh yeah! We go way back!" His eyes widened suddenly, as though he realized something. "Wait – are you THEE Asami?"
Horror struck her, not wanting to go into the details of what's been printed in the paper as of late. "Um – I'm not sure what you mean?"
"The new girl's name is Asami. It's all Kor –" He froze mid-sentence. "Um… You know what? It's not important. You're new here! Bay #5, right?"
Asami is utterly confused at this point. "Yeah." She turned slightly, pointing back at the vehicle she left in her go-to spot. "That's my car back there. How'd you know I'm in Bay #5?"
He glanced around her in the direction she pointed in. A low whistle exhaled in approval. "Nice ride."
"Thank you." She noticed his eyes averting elsewhere, obviously dodging the question. "So, Bolin, what's the trouble you're having?"
"Ah, this hunk of junk never wants to work appropriately." He kicked the side of the car, only to wind up squealing in pain as he grabbed his toes and hopped around on one foot. "Damnit, you stupid car!" Collapsing on the ground and sitting Indian style, he pulled rubbed his pained foot and pouted up to the woman above him. "I can't get the damn thing to start and I don't know why. It won't even turn over at this point. I've replaced everything I can think of, but the piece of crap just won't work. I told Mako we should splurge a little for something nicer, but NOOOO… He didn't want to listen to me." He mumbled a few more stupid's under his breath.
"Who's Mako?" she asked unknowingly.
He looked up again after having looked down to inspect his toes. "He's my stubborn and un-budging brother that never listens to me."
She nodded in understanding. "Ah, siblings. Yeah, I hear ignoring each other is a thing."
Confused, he spoke up. "You've heard?"
"I'm an only child, so I wouldn't really know."
"Aw man, that's such a bummer," he started. "As annoying as he is sometimes, I wouldn't trade my brother for the world. There's no better relationship that the ones you have with a brother or sister!" A smile crawled across his face at the thought before dropping to a frown upon noticing the woman's downtrodden expression. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't gloat."
She shrugged. "It's alright, no worries. I've come to terms with my less-than-stellar family dynamic." Turning towards the engine, she bent over it, her expression shifting to one of deep thought. "Hmmm, it might be the alternator. If that goes out, it doesn't matter what you replace, there will be no power for the car to do anything."
"I had no idea!" he yelled excitedly, thrilled at the idea of fixing the damn hunk of junk. "What do I do?"
"Why don't I pull my car out and we lift yours in the bay and I take a look?"
His eyes shifted to the side as if looking for something in particular. "Um – but – that's your bay. I don't want to take it away from you."
Asami shook her head at the comment, not knowing where the idea that the bay belonged to her came from. "It's not MY bay, Bolin. Either way, I don't mind helping and sharing. Let's get this fixed before it gets too dark out; how does that sound?"
He jumped up, pumping his fist in the air as he went. "Alriiight! That would be super awesome! Thanks, Asami."
Laughing at his excitement, she responded in kind. "It's no problem. Now, come on! I'm going to need your help pushing this thing."
A few hours later, Bolin was driving off, his large arm sticking out the window and waving goodbye relentlessly to his new friend. Asami stood there smiling, happy that she could help and even teach him a thing or two. After a few moments, she turned see most of the patrons had left, only a couple of stragglers still cleaning their stations. In the corner, a scene caught her attention. Korra was speaking with old man Aang, his hand on her shoulder as her body language showed her looking entirely defeated. He whispered a few things in her ear, her head nodding ever few moments at the words. Patting her cheek, he turned to walk away and left the girl leaning against the wall, sinking to the floor.
The sight was entirely new for Asami. There was only one moment, earlier that morning that the sweet and confident woman looked anything but entirely too-well put together. Instead, here she was, her arms draped over her knees and head tucked into her chest. It felt like something was constricting her heart to see the woman so down. There was no way she could simply just walk away and leave her like that, however, before deciding to try and help, her feet had already closed the distance between them.
"Korra?" she spoke so softly that the girl might not have heard her. A minute passed and no response.
Asami crouched down in front of the woman and gently clasped her hands in her own. "Korra? Are you alright?"
It took a few moments, but eventually the chocolate locked head rose up to look at her. That signature grin was taking over her features; though, the remnants of crying were caked around the edges of her eyes. One of her caramel hands left go and rose up to a pale cheek. The soft skin and rough callouses gently pet across her cheekbone and jaw line before the palm rested on her on the side of her face. Asami found herself unconsciously leaning into the touch, enjoying the feeling of contact.
"I'm perfect. Did you have a good time working with Bolin?"
Asami's brow furrowed for a moment unconvinced that the woman was okay. She pulled back slightly and smiled. "I did. You're lucky to have such wonderful friends."
The woman shrugged, her grin receding just a bit. "I am. He's a good guy; so is his brother, Mako. I've known them for a long time. They're actually the friends that I had mentioned who helped me with this place." She looked around the room, as if taking it in for the first time, like she was basking in the memories of their first days in the garage. "I wouldn't have any of this if it weren't for them."
Her cryptic words, tone and demeanor were confusing Asami. Apparently confusion was the day's standard for her. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked one more time.
Korra moved to stand up, reaching out to help Asami up in the process. "I'm okay, I promise. I'm more concerned about you. Is there anything you need?"
The brilliant woman knew better than to press something that someone didn't want to discuss, so she dropped the subject. "I'm good. Thank you for the dinner… again."
"It's my pleasure." Raising the hand she still held from lifting the woman from the ground, she pressed her lips against the lotion-induced skin, all the while keeping her gaze on emerald eye. She lingered momentarily, causing Asami's breath to hitch. The linger ended, however, and her hand was released. The loss of contact was… saddening. "I still need to get my workout in, so I'm going to leave you to finish up."
"Do you want me to come with you?" The question came out more eager than intended.
"Thank you, but you should go home and get some much needed sleep. I'm good, I swear. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Asami smiled at the reassurance. "You know it."
"Excellent. I'll be waiting." She winked and headed out the back door towards her personal space.
Asami packed up her car and headed home, her mind's wheels turning as she wondered what was bothering the other woman. She was obviously troubled, and old man Aang was comforting her to an extent. 'If she wanted to talk to me, she would have,' she reasoned with herself. 'But then again, she forced me to break out of my shell. Maybe I should do the same?' As soon as she arrived home, she got to work, thinking of ideas of what she could do for the exotic beauty, telling herself that she wanted to make the other woman feel as good as she makes her feel. 'Two can play this game.'