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#7 Awkward Proposals - Korra has an important question to ask Asami, but she's entirely too nervous...

Korra can feel the pit of her stomach as she stares down at the item in her hand. Her body feels tight but she's surprisingly sloppy and as she sits there, shaking, she's barely holding onto the necklace in her hand.

She takes a tip from the monks and takes a deep breath inwards, then exhales slowly. "Okay." She breathes, prolonging the 'a'. "Just relax. Asami will be back in a second and then you've just gotta – you've just gotta do it."

Talking aloud is almost like convincing herself. It propels her forward and allows her some sort of movement in her hand. She fumbles her thumb over the insignia carved into the necklace; it's only a simple thing – Korra's carved the water symbol into it, but around the circle she's turned it into a cog wheel. Korra figured that she would combine her hometown with Asami's love for mechanics, but now that she stares down at it Korra seriously doubts her intuition... and her creativity.

Man, Asami would have been so much better than her at it!

But she knows what Tenzin would say: "If it's from the heart, Korra.."

If it's from the heart. Yes, yes, it's from the heart, but what if that is the problem? What if Asami sees it and thinks the necklace is, well, stupid? Bad?

Oh, spirits, what if she refuses to wear it?

Korra clenches it in her fist a little too hard at Asami's return, and it digs into her palm painfully. When Asami gives Korra her breath-taking smile with her gorgeous, pearly teeth showing, Korra can feel her stomach churn and her heart fall so far into her stomach she thinks she might be bloated, or pregnant, or dead. She doesn't rightly care which, as long as she can make herself talk.

"Ah – uh, As-Asami?"

Asami looks up from her meal. Her flowing black hair cascades perfectly down her shoulders as it always does, and her piercing green eyes stare into Korra's with a beautiful softness that melts Korra's insides, and she can feel her face burning up. "Yes, Korra?"

Oh, her voice, her hair, her eyes, her mind, her body, her everything sends Korra into overdrive. "I just – I wanted to – I mean – I mean I've been meaning to ask you something."

And then Asami smiles in a way that is almost knowing, but not quite. She says nothing, so Korra takes it as her cue to continue.

"Well, we've been dating for, well, a while now – a while I think, it has been a while. I think." Korra can feel herself get redder by the second and she really wants to smack herself at her stupidity and lack of social skills.

"Well, you see –"

Stop with the well!

"- I've been meaning to ask – actually, you already know that – urm –"

Korra is looking down at her fumbling hands, her face red, her words stuttering, and her body shaking with anticipation and nerves.

But then Asami laughs, and Korra looks up to see her staring at her with her big, beautiful green eyes, and suddenly everything feels okay, and Korra feels more calm. "I love you, Korra." Asami says, and Korra feels her whole body go limp and the betrothal necklace almost slips from her grip.

"Ah – Asami." Just staring into her eyes gives Korra a boost of confidence, and suddenly she is awkwardly thrusting her open hand across the table and almost yelling "would you marry me?!" in such a way half the restaurant looks over.

This only makes Korra blush more, but when Asami gives a smile bigger than Korra has even seen before, and when she jumps up, taking the necklace into her hand and throwing herself into Korra's arms, Korra does not care who watches. Korra does not care who laughs, or sighs, or 'awws' or does anything.

She only cares about Asami, the girl in her arms with tears in her eyes, who stares down at the betrothal necklace in her hand and says: "It's absolutely perfect Korra, I love you so, so much. Of course I'll marry you. Of course."

And then they share a kiss too intimate for the public's eye, and when they part Asami's eyes smile up at her. "Thank you for finally asking me."

Korra kisses Asami's forehead. Maybe she's not that socially impaired after all.