Chapter Text
Korra (2:30 4/25/15): hey. dress semiformal 4 tonight :)
Asami (3:46 4/25/15): Omg fancy! So we're not just going to order pizza in your dorm and watch old Steven Universe episodes? Hahaha
Korra (3:50 4/25/15): lol nope. that can be our second date ;)
Asami (3:51 4/25/15): Nice move. See u tonight :*
Asami (3:53 4/25/15): OPAL!!!!!!! Korra wants me to dress semiformal for our date!!!!!!!!
Opal (3:56 4/25/15): OMG SHES GNA TAKE U TO A FANCY PLACE;);) :D
Asami (3:57 4/25/15): DO YOU THINK SO???
Asami (3:58 4/25/15): ???
Asami (3:59 4/25/15): OPAL im FREAKING OUT COME BACK TO THE DORM ASAP
Asami threw open the doors of her closet and pulled out another dress. She held it up to herself and turned to Opal, who was sitting on her bed on top of the ten or so other outfits Asami had considered.
"So? What do you think about this one?" Asami asked, smoothing down the front of the dress.
Opal tapped a finger against her chin.
"Hmm, no, too flowy," she said. Asami scowled. Opal grinned and shrugged. "Hey, you're going on a hot date, not having brunch with the Queen of England."
"But it doesn't matter that you wore a pajama onesie on your first date with Bolin?" Asami countered, tossing the dress onto the bed and thrusting another hand into her closet.
"Hey, it was a costume party," Opal said, crossing her arms. Asami rolled her eyes and turned around again with another dress. She grinned smugly.
"You can't say no to this one," she said, displaying the small red dress with a flourish. Opal whistled.
"You're right. That dress could turn me."
Opal stood up and grabbed one of Asami's black leather jackets from a shelf. She raised her eyebrows with a grin and offered it to Asami, who matched her grin and took it.
"I'm going to look kick-ass," Asami said. She draped the outfit over her bed. Opal laughed.
"Girl, you know it. Korra won't know what hit her." Opal leaned back and stretched. "I wonder where she's taking you. Like, the opera?" Asami snorted.
"There are no operas in Republic City."
"Ok, so maybe, like," Opal rolled onto her back. "A fancy ball?"
"Hah, I know Bolin takes you to his fancy balls."
"Asami!" Opal shouted, and hurled a dress at her laughing friend's head.
At exactly seven, three sharp knocks sounded on the door. Opal shot up from where her and Asami were seated on the couch, pulling Asami up with her.
"Good luck, Sams," Opal said with a grin. She quickly patted Asami's butt then sprinted to her room, shooting Asami a wink before she closed her door. Asami huffed, fighting the flighty butterflies in her stomach, and walked over to the door. She took a single breath to steady herself and opened the door.
Oh, shit.
Korra was dressed in a short dark blue dress that fit perfectly around her curves and broad shoulders. Her hair was down, falling in rippling waves down her back.
Spirits, she’s perfect.
Asami was suddenly struck by a certainty that Korra, in some past life, must have lived as a regal Amazonian warrior, or a demigod of Ancient Greece, for the likeness to an age-old goddess which she seemed to exude now was uncanny. Asami sucked in an unsteady breath.
"Hey," Korra said, a shy smile curling her lips.
"Hey," Asami said. She stepped out of her room and closed the door. "You- you look, like, seriously great. Beautiful."
Korra grinned and scratched the back of her neck.
"Thanks, Asami. You do too."
For a moment, they just stood staring at each other. Asami noted Korra’s eyes sweeping over her tight red dress.
Got her.
“So,” Asami said with a slow grin, feeling her anxiety quell at Korra’s open smile. “Where are you taking me?”
Korra clapped her hands together and grinned.
“Let’s find out.”
Korra was borrowing Kuvira’s big green Ford truck for the night and Asami just chuckled when she saw it.
“It even looks like her,” she joked as they climbed in the two front seats.
Korra snickered.
“Right? It’s like her truck-sona.”
She revved the engine and plucked a CD from the the floor, flashing a cheeky grin over at her date.
“Taylor Swift?” Korra asked. Asami nodded.
“You know it.”
Korra slid the CD into the player and pulled the car out of the lot, laughing as Asami started playing an air guitar to the intro of the song. Korra clicked up the volume and as the lyrics started, they both sang them out at the top of their lungs.
You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset...
Korra almost swerved off the road with the intensity of her singing but she was able to get them to the restaurant in one piece. Feeling a bit hoarse, but giddily happy, Asami climbed out of the truck after Korra parked. She looked up and around at her surroundings.
“Downtown Republic City, huh?” Asami said with a coy grin as Korra walked around the truck to meet her. “Pretty swanky.”
Korra mirrored her grin and shrugged lazily.
“I do what I can.” She reached out and took Asami’s hand, her gentle, rough fingers clasping around Asami’s. They both shared a small, shy smile, when suddenly Korra jerked on her hand and started pulling her across the street.
“C’mon, it’s this way!”
Asami could only laugh and be pulled along, feeling Korra’s infectious enthusiasm buzzing up her arm and filling her chest with warmth. They trotted hand-in-hand along the sidewalk, passing a display of colorful boutiques and bakeries that lined the street. Korra stopped finally in front of a grand, elegant-looking restaurant. Asami glanced at the menu in front.
“The...Keystone?” she said, gesturing to the menu. Korra nodded.
“Yup, they have a chain of motels near RCU too. And their food is to die for!”
She dropped Asami’s hand then ran up to the doors and pulled one open with exaggerated swagger, sending Asami a silly grin as she motioned for her to enter. Fighting a stupidly large smile, Asami allowed herself to be led inside by her date.
The inside was luxurious and romantically lit, bustling with activity and buzzing with the noise of conversations. Asami smiled and took Korra’s hand again as they approached the hostess.
“Korra, reservation for two, please,” Korra said, flashing Asami a confident grin and giving her hand a small squeeze. The hostess led them through the maze of busy tables, each occupied by well-dressed patrons. Asami gasped and gripped Korra’s hand tightly.
“Oh my god, Korra, is that Varrick of Varrick Industries™ over there in the booth?” She pointed to a thin man with a small mustache.
“Dude, I think it is!” Korra said, raising her eyebrows. Asami whipped out her phone and snapped a picture as they passed.
The hostess led them to the back of the restaurant and to a flight of stairs. On the second floor, she led them through more tables and out onto a small balcony with one table for two. Flickering candles illuminated the perfectly set table in the evening light, and lush flower boxes on the railing accentuated the beautiful view of downtown Republic City and the rapidly setting sun in the West.
Asami stopped, letting out little gasp at the setup. She was stunned. She placed a hand to her chest and let her eyes graze over the entire scene, stopping as her eyes met Korra’s who was pulling out a chair for her. Suddenly she felt an uncontrollable wave of emotion, and tears pricked around her eyes. She put her hand over her mouth.
Come on, Sato. Keep it together.
Korra frowned and reached out to take her hand.
“Is this...ok?” Korra asked tentatively, brushing her thumb over Asami’s palm.
Asami bit back her tears and smiled widely, taking Korra’s hand with both of her own.
“Korra, it’s perfect,” she said, still shell-shocked at the romantic gesture. “It’s just...all my years, no one’s ever done anything like this for me.”
Korra smiled fondly, her eyes soft, and led Asami to her chair.
Dinner progressed better from there, both immensely enjoying the fine cuisine and the gorgeous sunset from the porch.
Asami groaned in delight as she took a bite of her Fire Nation dumpling dish.
“I swear to the spirits, Korra,” she said, plucking another dumpling from her plate. “These are even better than the ones in the actual Fire Nation.”
Korra grinned up at her from her huge bowl of Water Tribe soup and nodded profusely. She slurped up a noodle and it smacked her on the cheek. Asami snorted in laughter, causing some of the dumpling in her mouth to go flying across the table into Korra’s soup. Korra gasped, and her shoulders shook with laughter as she tried to swallow the food in her mouth. They both ended up a giggling mess, and Asami wheezed with laughter when Korra’s arm caused a glass to tip and splash water into her soup. After she cleaned up, Korra carefully dabbed at her mouth with a napkin.
“Well, we may be dressed up, but this place is definitely too fancy for college students.”
Asami snorted again and managed to swallow the last of her dumplings.
“I’m glad we’re doing this, Korra,” Asami said later, long after the sun had set and the first stars of the night began appearing in the sky. Korra looked up from her menu with a smirk.
“What, ordering dessert?”
Asami swatted her hand and laughed.
“The date, nerd.” Korra smiled and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, I mean, it was gonna happen from the start. Like, flirting during Steven Universe? Come on.”
“No, no, we didn’t flirt that much!” Asami said, leaning back into her chair and smiling.
“Psh, come on! I’m just glad it wasn’t too awkward.”
“It was definitely awkward! We’re good friends!”
“Ok, yeah, but we were never like...just friends. There was a spark from the beginning!”
Asami rolled her eyes.
“Hah, you sound like Taylor Swift.”
Korra huffed and narrowed her eyes playfully.
“Don’t compare me to her, Sams,” she whined.
“Oh, you big, sappy tough guy,” Asami said, laughing, and reached forward to take Korra’s hand.
They both grew quiet as Asami ran her fingers along Korra’s hand and wrist. Asami cleared her throat.
“Thank you.”
After a beat, Korra leaned forward and gently clasped Asami’s hands in hers. Asami suddenly noticed in hyper-detail the way Korra’s eyes crinkled at the edges when she smiled, the way her lips twitched into a smile, the way her vivid blue eyes made Asami’s stomach kick with excitement when they drifted from their hands, to her eyes, then down to her lips.
Suddenly Asami couldn’t take it anymore. Grinning, she stood and pulled Korra up with her so they were face to face in front of the table. She placed one hand delicately on Korra’s hip, gently tugging her in closer. The moon was rising behind them, spilling a blue haze onto the porch and mixing with the soft glow of the candles, illuminating the curves and edges of Korra’s jaw and lips.
Asami dragged the tips of her fingers along Korra’s side, reveling in the sensation of her warm skin under the silky fabric of the dress. She willed her to come closer, closer, keeping her eyes locked on Korra’s, whose dark skin seemed to shimmer from the moonlight, and she traced her fingertips up Korra’s side until her hand rested on the back of her neck. Korra shivered and leaned in closer, her lips parting as her eyes drifted down to Asami’s lips.
Closer, closer, Asami pulled her, until their hips were practically flush against each other, and she leaned in until she felt Korra’s quick, hot breath against her own parted lips, and she curled her fingers around Korra’s neck and-
“Here’s the check, ladies-” Their waitress stepped onto the porch, and, almost by instinct, Korra and Asami flew apart. The waitress jumped, blushed, and put a hand over her eyes, backing up to the door again.
“Whoa! Oh dear, my apologies, I’ll just come back in a few minutes...” Asami sent Korra a withering glance. Korra, with wide eyes, held up a hand to her mouth to fight back laughter.
“No, n-no, it’s fine,” Korra stuttered, glancing over to Asami who was blushing furiously and pressing her lips together to stop herself from laughing. The waitress, with a hand still in front of her eyes, blindly handed them the check and backed off the porch.
Asami sat down and crossed her arms, her face flushed red. Korra sat as well.
“Well,” Korra began, thumbing open the check and pulling out her credit card. Her shoulders still shook with silent laughter. Asami took a small sip of water. A turtle-duck quacked loudly from the street below.
“Well.” Asami said, looking down to her lap. She looked up and met Korra’s eyes. They stared at each other for a beat, then Korra huffed loudly from her nostrils and both girls burst out laughing uncontrollably. When the waitress returned to retrieve the bill, she apologized again, but the girls waved her off. They left the restaurant hand-in-hand, still chuckling, and Korra slipped an arm around Asami’s waist and pulled her close as they talked in low voices and strolled down the moonlit street.
Back at the dorms, Korra had sent Asami back to her room to change into what she described as “comfortable cuddling clothes” and to meet her back in the hallway in five minutes. In a bit of a panic, Asami burst into the dorm after she and Korra had parted ways and practically kicked down Opal’s door.
“Opal!” she exclaimed. A wide-eyed, half-asleep Opal screeched in surprise and tumbled off her bed, scattering the books and papers on her lap.
“Opal!” she repeated, rushing over to her friend. Opal looked up at her in horror.
“Spirits, Asami, what?” Opal said, standing up. Suddenly, she gasped. “What happened on your date?”
Asami grabbed her shoulders.
“Korra wants me to change into cuddling clothes!”
Opal made a face.
“What the fuck does that even mean?”
Asami shook her shoulders.
“I don’t know!”
Opal gasped again and broke out into a wily grin.
“Oh my god, like, sex clothes? Is this a sex thing?”
Asami shook her harder, panic blazing in her eyes.
“I don’t fucking know!”
In the dorm across the hall, Korra whistled merrily as she tossed the keys to the Ford back to Kuvira.
“Went well?” Kuvira asked with a smirk, her eyes not leaving the book on her lap. Korra smiled to herself.
“Went perfectly.” She walked into her room and threw on a pair of sweats and a black tank top, then picked up the picnic basket and blanket she had prepared earlier. With confidence and excitement building, she went back outside to wait for Asami.
“Ok, Asami, we can do this. Just...just throw on some of your fancy Urban Outfitters sweatpants and a sexy, low cut top. That’s comfortable, right?”
Opal ushered Asami to her room and took her leather jacket from her. Asami nodded, and started rummaging through her drawers.
A couple panicked minutes later, she emerged from her room again, composed, in joggers and an RCU sweatshirt. Hoping she hadn’t misread the situation, she high fived Opal and went back into the hallway.
Korra was waiting for her in a similar outfit with a picnic basket and blanket. She waved goofily and Asami laughed.
“Hey again. Let’s go.” Korra took Asami’s hand and led her to the end of the hall and up a few flights of stairs.
“Where are you taking me?” Asami asked, feeling a new wave of excitement as Korra stopped at the top of the last flight of stairs. Korra winked. She gestured to a single door next to the stairs that read:
Restricted: Keep Out
Asami raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching into a smile. Korra flashed a smug grin and produced a key from her pocket. She unlocked the door and led Asami outside.
“The roof.”
It was practically pitch black, save for the white buzz of street lights around the dorm building, and a dim glow from the moon on the horizon. Asami shivered in the crisp night air, moving in closer to Korra. Korra tugged on their entwined hands, and they walked to the edge facing the field in the back of the building.
She set the picnic basket down and draped a blanket on the ground against a low-rising wall, then sat crossed legged against the wall and patted the spot beside her. Asami grinned and sat down beside her, immediately drawn to Korra’s warmth. She scooted closer and bumped her shoulder against Korra’s, sending the shorter girl a happy smile. Korra held up a finger and pulled out another blanket from her basket, and a small bottle of champagne. Asami whistled.
“My, Korra, you sure know how to show a girl a good time.”
Korra turned and smirked, snaking an arm around Asami’s waist and leaning in close.
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Korra’s bright eyes sparkled merrily on hers in the darkness, and Asami felt herself at a near loss of words. She leaned into Korra’s half embrace, tucking her head in close to Korra’s neck, and felt Korra’s smile against her cheek. Korra tucked the blanket tight around them and popped open the bottle of champagne. She held it out to Asami, who took it and held it in the air.
“A toast to Steven Universe,” she said, smiling at the vibration of Korra’s quiet laughter against her. “Which helped me get a date with the hottest girl in Republic City.”
“Me too,” Korra added, poking Asami in the side with a grin.
Asami took a sip and passed the bottle back to Korra. She watched, transfixed, as Korra’s lips moved against the bottle, her smooth skin, her silky hair, and nestled closer. Korra took another sip. The moon hung silently in the sky.
“I feel...good with you,” Asami started, her voice low against Korra’s neck. She heard Korra set the bottle down.
“I feel warm, and good, and safe, and I-, I just wanted to thank you for that.”
Hesitantly, she leaned up so her lips grazed against Korra’s neck. She felt Korra’s hand brush against her shoulder, then up her neck until it drifted ever so softly to her cheek. Asami lifted herself up slightly and turned to face Korra, who met her gaze with heart-stopping tenderness. Asami smiled shyly and leaned into Korra’s touch.
“You don’t need to thank me for anything. I feel the same way about you, Asami.” Korra ran her fingers along Asami’s cheek and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. Then she grinned and raised an eyebrow.
“Think it’s Opal’s turn to interrupt us?”
Asami laughed and wrapped her arms around Korra’s neck, bringing their heads just a breath away. She licked her lips and shivered at Korra’s hot breath hitting her cheeks, and finally, finally closed the distance between them and brought their lips together in a soft, slow kiss.
Asami eyes fluttered shut at the sensation of Korra’s lips against hers, gentle and warm with a lingering sweet hint of champagne. A jolt of heat shot through her as Korra ran a hand down her hip, and she suddenly needed more.
Asami pulled back after a moment and re-positioned herself, leaning in to kiss Korra’s neck as she placed herself on in her lap and brought their bodies flush against each other.
“Fuck,” Korra said roughly as Asami bit against the nape of her neck. Korra moved her hands down Asami’s back and grabbed her ass, pulling them tighter together. Asami leaned up and brought their lips together again in a much hotter, heavier kiss, moaning into Korra’s mouth as the other girl gripped her ass tighter. Eventually they broke apart, gasping, both with dark eyes and swollen lips. Korra squeezed Asami’s ass again with a smirk.
“Wow,” Asami breathed, inching closer and laying her head down on Korra’s chest. Korra’s low chuckle made her shiver, and she shook against Korra’s chest.
“You cold?” Korra asked, wrapping her arms around Asami’s waist and pulling her in closer. Asami smiled and laughed.
“Not anymore.”
They sat, warm and content against each other, returning to the champagne and nestling closer under the blanket, as the moon rose higher above them and the crisp wind danced around the roof.
That Thursday, Korra and Asami walked hand-in-hand to their TV room couch a few minutes before five thirty.
They plopped down, both exhausted after a difficult school day. Asami tucked her head against Korra’s shoulder and curled around her like a cat, giggling as Korra shoved two whole protein bars in her mouth at once.
Someone clicked off the lights and the tinkly introduction music filled the room. Asami lit up and turned to Korra, finding the other girl was already staring, and they shared excited, lovesick grins. Asami threaded their hands together.
We,
Are the Crystal Gems...