Chapter 2 - Growing Closer

The next morning, Korra was up bright and early, although not as early as she usually would. She was still on vacation after all.

The tanned skinned Avatar walked out into the courtyard behind Asami's vacation home, stretching her arms. It felt refreshing with the morning sun stroking her skin.

She was barely clothed, wearing nothing more than leggings and a bra, but it was very hot out there. Korra wasn't good with temperature, but she knew a heat wave when she felt one.

She stood at the centre of the sandy yard, taking a breath. It was time for her to practice.

She punched out her fist, a small burst of fire appearing from it and travelling forward. Korra then unleashed a flurry of punches, shooting jets of flames from her fists.

She stamped the ground, creating a giant pillar of rock from under her feet, which she then leapt off, twirling in the air like a ballerina, creating cyclones around the whole area.

Korra landed back on her feet, smirking with a hint of pride. She had clearly started to get better with her bending while she was here with Asami. No flailing or flopping about. It was precise, stable bending.

Speaking of Korra's friend, Korra then heard a soft yawn from the upstairs of the house. Asami had just woken up.

Korra rubbed the back of her head. I hope I didn't wake her.

Asami had soon gotten dressed, well dressed as best as she could and then appeared in the doorway leading to the courtyard.

Korra suddenly blushed bright red. She hadn't got a good look at Asami's nightgown the night before, but now she saw that the raven-haired woman preferred to sleep in her underwear, as shown by the black lacy lingerie that was on display.

Asami's eyes then widened and she blushed as well. Asami had never seen Korra so... buff before. She was unlike any girl she had ever seen.

"H-hey," Korra shyly stuttered.

Asami covered her mouth a little. "Hey."

"You're up late," Korra tried to change the subject, wanting to distract herself from gawking at her friend.

"I-I like to sleep in when I'm on vacation," Asami told her, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"So..." Korra mused, scraping her foot on the floor.

"So..." Asami tried to reply, but both girls were very embarrassed, too embarrassed to even speak. "We said something about sparring together this morning?"

"Right, right, of course," Korra remembered. She then wiped her brow in relief. "You and I were gonna... do that."

Asami smiled. "Do you want me to change into something more... appropriate?"

"Sure, if you have like a gi or training gear, that will be fine," Korra stated.

Asami thought for a moment. "Hmmm, I think I might have something. Just let me go grab it."

Korra nodded. "I'll be waiting."

Asami returned a few moments later, wearing a lavender training gi with crimson highlights, her hair done up in her usual ponytail.

"Nice outfit!" Korra remarked.

"It belonged to one of my cousins," Asami stated. "I think she was a pro-bender and this was her training gear."

"It fits you perfectly," Korra commented. The gi was slender and thin, allowing for plenty of acrobatic movements, and hugged Asami's form perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly.

Korra blushed for a second, but it quickly went away, the avatar not wanting to distract herself. "Alright, shall we begin?"

Asami smiled. "Oh, we shall." She then charged at Korra and threw her over her back.

"Hey!" Korra grunted with a thud as she hit the sand. "I didn't say go."

"Sorry," Asami apologised. "I guess I got a bit too eager."

Korra stood up and got into a fighting stance. "Alright, come at me, 'Sami. No tricks this time."

"Who said I was going to play tricks?" Miss Sato then teased. She then leapt at Korra, kicking her leg forward.

Korra raised her arm, blocking Asami's strike and pushing her back.

The avatar fired a fist back at Asami, it planting itself right in the Asian girl's palm.

"You're good," Asami smirked. "But I'm better."

"In your dreams," Korra replied, getting competitive at this point.

Asami took a few steps backwards, planning her next move. Both women were in fighting stances, gently crab-walking around each other, their eyes constantly searching for an opening in the other's defences.

"Can I say something real quick?" Asami then said. "This is the best exercise I've gotten in a long time."

"Really?" Korra wondered. "Because this kinda fun for me too."

"We should do it more often," Asami admitted. "But right now, I'll settle for this." She then raced forward, hurling her fist towards Korra.

Korra the laid down, sweeping Asami with a low kick to trip her up, before tackling the other girl the ground.

"Hah!" Korra cried out. "I... I..." She then started to blush furiously. "Win?"

Korra had realised how she and Asami had ended up. the Avatar was on top of Asami, the slimmer girl spread between her legs.

Her hands were on the sides of Asami's head, and Asami's emerald green eyes were staring back at her.

Korra gulped. This was a very embarrassing way to have landed in.

There was not much air between the two blushing women, their lips merely inches apart.

Korra knew it would be so easy to close that gap between them and kiss Asami, and for a few moments it looked like that would happen.

Their lips started to move closer together, almost touching when Asami suddenly pulled away.

She hid her face shyly. "Um, Korra, could you... get up?"

Korra nodded profusely. "Yes, I'll get up."

The avatar got herself off of Asami, whistling to herself. "That was... awkward."

"I..." Asami sounded like she wanted to say something, but changed her mind. "Let's just call it a tie and say you won."

"F-fine by me," Korra said, pulling her arm. "Wanna head to the beach later? Seems a beautiful day."

"Sure, I could really use a tan," Asami remarked. "Although I never seem to get one."

"I think you'd look good with a tan," Korra said, before realising the implications of her sentence and blushed again.

Asami chuckled. "Come on, let's go hit the beach."

xXx

A while later, Korra walked down to the beach, now dressed in a simple blue swimsuit. The waters were slightly choppy and a soft breeze was blowing down the beach, but that didn't bother her.

The Avatar soon laid out a mat on the sand, lying upon it to sunbathe.

As the sun warmed her skin, Korra's thoughts were of Asami once again.

They had been so close on the courtyard floor, and Asami was clearly blushing at her when she first saw her that morning.

There was a niggling doubt in her mind that Asami did have some feelings towards her back, but Korra was still unsure.

If Asami did like her back, why hadn't she said something? Asami was so confident and determined. She wasn't a total hopeless dork like her.

If anything, Korra's friend was her exact opposite in terms of pretty much everything.

Korra then put the thoughts to the back of her mind again, trying not to think too deeply about this. After all? Was she going to spend her vacation worrying about feelings that may or may not be true? No, she was going to enjoy herself.

She then sat up and smiled in the warm summer heat that the island was constantly bathed in.

The waves were getting quite choppy and quite high. Korra knew this would be a good opportunity to try some surfing.

She got off the sand and rushed to the water, quickly conjuring herself a board from frozen ice, thanks to her water-bending and cold enough that it wouldn't melt in the heat as quickly.

Korra leapt onto her board and paddled out into the ocean. She had never been surfing before, but she had heard it was quite easy, at least according to Bolin.

It was just standing on a board while it was on top of a wave. How hard could that be?

As Korra would find out, very.

Korra waited for a big wave to come by, using her water-bending to entice the water, to make the bigger wave come close to the shore.

Sure enough, the Avatar's efforts were successful and suddenly, a massive tidal wave rose up behind her, heading straight for her.

Korra went into the wave at full force, trying to stand and used her air-bending to balance.

"Alright!" Korra cheered. "Now, this is surfing!"

Korra then realised she had made the wave a bit too big, as the beach soon approached her.

Korra's eyes widened. "Oh crap!"

The wave crashed down onto the sand and Korra long with it.

The Avatar scraped along her chest on the beach, her hair in a mess and very, very wet.

As Korra squirted out some water that was in her mouth, she heard a soft giggling.

She looked up and saw Asami standing over her, wearing her own swimsuit, a beautiful red ensemble. "Tried surfing did you?"

Korra blushed at Asami's sight and her own embarrassment from making a fool of herself. "Yeah... turns out it's harder than it looks."

Asami helped her friend up, dusting her off. "Maybe you should just stick to sunbathing, Korra."

Korra sighed. "Yeah, maybe I should." She then found her mat and laid down on it. "What took you so long anyway?" She asked Asami. They had agreed to walk down together, but the Asian girl had been a no-show.

"Oh, I went to go and look at the notice board, see what was going on around here."

"Anything of note?"

"Well," Asami began. "There's this beach party on the other side of the island this evening. There'll be fire dancers, jugglers, a band."

"Sounds very fire-Bendery," Korra remarked.

"Hey, it's better than nothing," Asami said. "So... do you wanna go?"

"Sure, why not, sounds like a nice night out." Korra looked at Asami. "Just the two of us."

Asami then held Korra's hand. "Just the two of us."

Korra then blushed and took her hand back, quickly. She hadn't expected Asami to do that.

Asami felt saddened. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "Is there something wrong, Korra?"

Korra shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just still a bit... confused."

Asami sighed. "Mako hurts doesn't he... the feeling of losing him."

Korra nodded. "I know we broke it off together, but I still feel like I was the one that caused it in the first place."

"It wasn't your fault, Korra," Asami told her. "But I don't see why that's confusing."

"Because I'm..." Korra tried to put her feelings for Asami to one side, but she had to say something. "Because I think I'm falling in love with someone again."

Asami looked down. "Oh... Who are you falling for?"

"Someone I know very well," Korra said, referring to Asami without saying her name. "Someone whose one of the best friends I've ever had."

Asami smiled at her, her heartwarming. "Well, whoever that person is, I'm sure they feel the same way about you."

Korra blushed deeply. "That's very sweet of you to say, 'Sami."

Asami giggled. "You must like this person a lot, considering all the red on your face. I've never seen you blush this much before."

Asami was pretending, right? Surely, Asami had noticed that she was blushing earlier. Was Asami playing some sort of game with Korra, feigning how she felt to tease her?

"I-I guess I do," Korra said. "They mean a lot to me."

Asami then got up. "Wanna go for a swim?"

"No thanks," Korra replied. "I've kinda had enough of water for one day."

"Wow a water-bender who doesn't like water, that's a first," Asami joked before she skipped into the water.

Korra chuckled at Asami's statement. Hopefully, this evening together would go very smoothly for them both.

xXx

As the sun set over Ember Island, and a beautiful crescent moon took its place in the night sky, Korra and Asami made their way over to the other side of the small island.

It wasn't that far of a trip, the island itself not being very big, but once they got there, the two of them found a party in full swing.

The beach was lined with many guests, all enjoying a beachside party. There was a band of firebenders playing on a small stage, a group of young men dancing on one side with sticks on fire, it was a wild mix.

"So this is what an Ember Island party looks like?" Korra remarked.

"It's warmer than I thought," Korra admitted, having expected it to be a lot cooler outside at night. She then looked at the casual beachwear that Asami was wearing. Her underwear was practically non-existent, and the top she wore very much hugged her body even more so than her swimsuit did.

Korra blushed. Asami was beautiful that evening.

Asami then sniffed the air, picking up a faint scent. "Mmmm, what is that amazing smell?"

"I think it's..." Korra sniffed the air as well. Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Fire nut chocolate!"

Asami squealed with delight. "My favourite!" She grabbed Korra's arm. "Let's go grab some!"

"Hey wait!" Korra exclaimed, but Asami was already dragging Korra towards one of the food stalls.

Korra was surprised. She had never seen Asami so relaxed and happy before, well not as much as this. Korra then realised something.

This was the happiest night of Asami's life. For the first time in sixth months, Korra's friend was utterly elated.

Was it because of the chocolate? Probably not, but Korra had a feeling it was because Asami was with her.

Asami grinned as they arrived at the food stall, examining the many snacks on display. "They've got fire cakes, lava cookies, even burning berry ice cream."

"Asami, are you sure we should eat this stuff?" Korra wondered. "I mean... I don't wanna ruin my body with this junk food."

"Relax, Korra," Asami told her. "This is your night to have fun, so forget about being the avatar for once and be regular Korra for a change. Having some sweets won't hurt you at all."

Korra felt comforted. "Well, I guess I could burn off the fat with my firebending."

"That's the spirit," Asami chimed in. "And I don't put on much weight anyway, so it's no biggie for me either."

Korra giggled. "I guess you have a point there, 'Sami."

"I always make good points," Asami remarked. "How do you think I run Future Industries so well?"

Korra smiled. "By being just plain awesome and rich and cool?"

Asami giggled. "You're cute sometimes, Korra, you know that?"

Korra then blushed again. Asami called her cute. This was definitely leading to something, but Korra wasn't sure what.

After the two of them had literally stuffed their faces full of snacks, Korra and Asami decided they would try and a bit of fire dancing.

The art was quite tricky to master, at the risk of the dancer burning themselves, but Korra was an expert with firebending and a good protector of Asami.

Korra picked up two sticks and blew on their ends, setting them alight with fire.

Asami took one of the sticks and smiled. "You think you'll be alright with this?"

"Please, I've fought dark spirits and a crazed blood bender," Korra remarked. "I can take it."

"You couldn't take surfing," Asami reminded her of that morning.

"Hey, some people are good at different things than others."

Asami rolled her eyes. She might have been full of pride, but Korra had taken some ego pills.

The two of them walked to the area where the other people were dancing and began to join in.

Korra started twirling her stick around in her hand, doing a dance that sort of combined her martial arts and her firebending.

Asami was merely waving her body her about to the soft beats of the music, waving her fire above her head like a light at a concert.

Korra smiled as she saw Asami dancing. The way her body moved to the beat, the wiggling her hips did as she waved in the wind, it was all so... captivating.

How perfect would it be if Asami was doing this for her? As a sign that she was interested in her? No, Asami and her were good friends, that was all, but then this whole scenario did feel eerily like a date.

Korra knew there wasn't a better moment to make a move on Asami other than now, and she knew just the way to do it.

She remembered a story of how Aang had won Katara over with dancing like this when they were in the fire nation.

If this had worked in previous life, it would work here just as well.

Korra tossed her stick into the air, letting it fully combust into soot and walked over to Asami, taking her stick off her and tossing that one aside too.

Asami raised an eyebrow. "Korra what are you up to?"

"Oh, just wanted to dance with you, that's all, on my terms." She then held Asami's hand.

Asami giggled. "This is new."

Korra then led Asami to the centre of the dancing benders, twirling her around to the beat of the music.

Asami smiled and danced back, letting herself be free with the Avatar herself.

Korra grinned and spun Asami out, getting a good look into her eyes. If there wasn't' fireworks in the air that night, there were fireworks between them.

Cupid's arrow had struck.

In this moment, Korra knew for a fact what her feelings were.

She was in love with Asami Sato.

Asami spun back to Korra's embrace, looking into her eyes again. Their eyes didn't leave contact at all, they were too busy gazing at the vast cosmos between them.

Korra wrapped her arms around Asami, dipping the raven-haired woman in her arms, holding her down above the ground.

Asami laughed and smiled. This was very enjoyable to her.

Korra was in love with Asami's smile. No matter how long she lived, she wanted to preserve this moment. She didn't want to forget Asami's face, as Korra made her happy.

As their dance ended, Korra and Asami walked over to the water's edge, sitting on some rocks away from the busy crowd.

They were much closer together now, their hands not far from touching, and looks of adoration on their faces.

"That was fun," Asami said. "I'll admit, I've never danced like that before."

Korra rubbed the back of her neck. "Me too, actually. In fact... that's the first time I've danced with anyone."

Asami purred softly, her red lips curled into that same perfect smile that Korra knew all too well at this point.

Korra looked at her shyly. She wanted to ask her in this moment how she felt, did she really love her in a romantic way? "Asami?" Korra asked. "Can I ask you something?"

Asami nodded. "You can ask me anything you want, Korra."

Korra shyly looked away. "Asami... what do you think of me? Be honest."

Asami traced a line in the sand as she thought. "Well, you're really kind for one thing. Brave, strong, fearless, but that's what everyone else says. I think you're loyal, you never give on the ones you care about and do anything to make them happy. You also have the most beautiful body in the world. Those muscles, that cute face, that silky brown hair. It's..." Asami blushed.

Korra smiled. She knew exactly how it was now. "Well, Asami, I think you're amazing. You're so confident and smart and intelligent and super supportive. Hell, I'm thankful for this little trip you took me on. It's helped me understand a lot." Korra then held Asami's hand.

Asami blushed bright red, just like she had done in the training yard that morning.

"Asami," Korra finally said it. "I love you."

xXx

Author's note: True love is in the air! And it's in the shape of Korra and Asami :3

See you next time for the cute conclusion