Chapter Text
Asami was nervous.
“What’s wrong with you?” Opal asked her that afternoon with a knowing smirk.
Asami gave her a pointed look as she shouldered on her coat. “Don’t patronize me. You know my schedule.”
Opal graciously handed Asami her purse. “Which is why I know you have nothing to worry about. I will handle anything that comes up here. You’ve worked close enough to the holidays already.”
Asami sighed. “I know you’ve got things here. That’s…not what I’m worried about.”
Opal chuckled and gave her a light shove towards her office’s door. “Say, don’t you have someone to meet at the airport?”
She took a deep breath. “That I do.”
///
Asami was still nervous.
The Republic City Airport was busier than usual—and that’s saying something—when Asami parked and pushed her way towards the baggage claim area. She looked around for a familiar head of fluffy brown hair, then checked her phone to make sure she was at the right place, then looked up again, squinting to make sure—no, that’s not her, and wait? Is that—?
“Asami!”
She felt herself crushed in a tight hug, her high heels coming off the ground for a second. The familiar smell of eucalyptus and coconut and something else sweet filled her nose. She melted into the embrace once her feet were on the ground and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.
“Korra, you’re here!” she said into her hair. “Spirits, how I’ve missed you.”
“Me too. Your monthly trips really aren’t enough.” Korra lingered in the embrace a moment longer, before pulling away with a smile. “You have no idea how happy I am to be on the ground again. I’ll never get used to flying.”
A bark startled Asami. “Oh! Naga!” she exclaimed, crouching down to give the white dog a big smooch on her head. Naga wagged her tail excitedly. “How was the flight, big girl?”
Naga barked even louder, earning her annoyed looks from the travelers around them. Korra laughed. “I think she liked it less than me, though she doesn’t even realize how pampered she was, sitting right next to me.”
Asami gave Naga another big kiss before snatching Korra’s suitcase with a smile. “Tell me about it on the way. Don’t want traffic to get too bad and we’ve got plans.”
///
And plans did they have. Or…well, Asami had them.
After driving Korra back to her apartment—all while nervously pointing out that Republic City didn’t have traffic this bad all the time and that yes, that was the real Avatar Center Christmas Tree in the distance and no, Naga, don’t jump onto the highway!—Asami let Korra and Naga roam around the spacious penthouse with a rooftop garden as she checked and rechecked her itemized program list for the day.
Christmas Eve Plans:
- Ice skating rink by Avatar Center Tree — Morning
- Watch the Lychee-nutcracker Ballet — 6 PM
- Kwong’s Cuisine Hot Chocolate — Reservation at 9 PM
- ????
It was all scribbled in Asami’s frantic handwriting, and as she studied her list again now, she couldn’t help but feel the nerves responsible for it rise up in her chest. These few days had to be perfect. It was Korra’s first time in the city and her first Christmas away from home—and not by choice. Scheduling issues and emergency travel plans meant that most of her family and friends weren’t going to be in Lakeshore this year for Christmas, and Asami had offered for Korra and Naga to spend the holidays with her in Republic City instead. Asami remembered telling Korra on the phone, “I can show you what a city Christmas is like!”
Now, she regretted ever saying that. What were Korra’s expectations? Did she set them too high? Republic City couldn’t possibly top Lakeshore, and they both knew it! Spirits, even Asami realized that last year when just one month in her childhood home turned her entire attitude about Christmas around. Being with family and friends, not flashing lights and traffic, was the key to Christmas.
And so, Asami remained nervous.
“Your tree is so…”
Asami snapped out of her thoughts and stuffed the scrap of paper into her pockets. Korra was looking at her massive Christmas tree, perfectly symmetrical and evenly lit with professionally done lights. The ornaments all matched. “Yeah?”
Korra cocked her head to the side, studying it. “I’m gonna be honest. It’s a bit boring.”
Asami burst into laughter by Korra’s side. She touched one of the bland red ball ornaments. “You’re right, but remember, I didn’t even have a tree last year.”
“That’s true. Then, this is progress.” She smiled at Asami. “But I think we can do more.”
Asami bowed dramatically. “Teach me your ways, oh Christmas-meister.”
“Me?” Korra took Asami’s hand and pulled her close. “What about you? You’re supposed to be teaching me how Christmas is done in the big city.”
Asami felt her heart drop. “Right. Right.” She fingered the list in her pocket, thinking of the final item: ??? “Well…tomorrow, we’ve got tickets to see the Lychee-nutcracker. After going ice skating.”
“Really?” Korra’s eyes lit up in that adorable way that reminded Asami of a puppy. “I’ve always wanted to see it! I can’t wait.”
///
“We can’t just keep waiting like this!”
Asami wanted to scream. Instead, her voice exuded a chilling calm, but anyone who knew her recognized how this veneer of calm meant that she was absolutely fuming internally.
“It’s fine, Asami,” Korra said in a reassuring tone. She placed a steady hand over Asami’s and gave it a squeeze. “It’s not the end of the world if we don’t get to see the show.”
Except it was. Asami had plans for Christmas Eve—and today had not gone according to them. First, they were slated to go ice skating in the famed rink near the Avatar Center Christmas tree, the biggest in the city. It was so big, in fact, that newcomers often doubted if it was real—but indeed it was, all 100ft of it.
Korra and Asami had gotten all dressed up in their winter coats for their excursion. Though Republic City was never as cold as the Southern Water Tribe, it was still chilly enough to count for winter. After waving goodbye to Naga, who was happy to roam around Asami’s garden in the morning, they made the walk towards Avatar Center. Walking arm in arm, Asami took the stroll as an opportunity to give Korra a little tour of the uptown area she lived in, showing her that coffee shop she worked at or that jewelry store where she had bought Korra the necklace for her birthday. Their arrival was delayed a bit since Korra kept wanting to stop at every tacky souvenir store, and who was Asami to tell her no?
As they approached Avatar Center, the usual city crowd Asami had grown so used to noticeably worsened. People were standing around and muttering, and Asami could see the flash of police lights ahead.
“Oh, no,” whispered Asami as they pushed their way to the crowd. Before them, the glorious, pure white ice rink she expected to see was replaced by a large, gaping hole instead. Police were pushing the crowd away and setting up a perimeter.
“Holy—”
“Spirits. On Christmas Eve, too?” someone near them exclaimed.
“Looks like a sinkhole, damn.”
“Sinkhole?”
Korra nudged Asami. “Babe, I think we might have to adjust our plans.”
“But…I wanted you to see the famous center.” Asami waved her arms pathetically at the giant hole in the earth.
Korra laughed. “I mean, I did see it.”
“But—”
“I’m sure there are other ice rinks in the city, right?”
Asami deflated. “Yeah, I guess there are.”
They spent the day at another ice rink, the one in the park. It was nice…but Asami couldn’t help thinking that Korra wasn’t getting the real Republic City Christmas experience and she was disappointing her. Regardless, they skated and laughed when they (mostly Asami) fell on their asses before heading back home to check on Naga and have lunch.
Time with Korra always seemed to fly by, and the afternoon was no different. Before long, they had to get ready for the ballet, and Asami drove them over to the Grand Theater, where they settled into their balcony seats to wait for the show to begin.
Ten minutes after the show was supposed to start, an announcement crackled over the speakers: “There is a technical issue with the lights. The show will begin momentarily once the issue is resolved.”
And they’ve been waiting ever since. Twenty more minutes, to be exact.
“Hey, it’s not so bad waiting here with you,” Korra said. She leaned her head on Asami’s shoulder and pulled out her phone. “Look, we can scroll through cute dog videos while we wait.”
Asami’s fear wasn’t the wait—it was the possibility of the show being canceled. She was watching a clip of a puppy barking at his own hiccups when the same voice from earlier spoke over the speakers.
“We thank you for your patience. Unfortunately, the issue with the lights cannot be resolved in time for tonight’s show, and it will have to be canceled. Please proceed to the exits, and your tickets will be fully refunded—”
Asami didn’t pay attention to the rest. “Cancelled?”
Korra nodded sadly. “Hey, it’s okay. There will be another chance. And we can watch a movie version at your place, right?”
Asami swallowed down her disappointment. Korra looked so hopeful, trying to cheer Asami up when it should’ve been the other way around. “You’re right.” She pulled out the crumpled sheet of paper with their itinerary, placing all her hopes on the final item. “We can still save the night with dinner at Kwong’s. Their hot chocolate is heavenly. The best in the city!”
Korra jumped up excitedly. “You don’t have to tell me twice!”
Later at the restaurant, Asami stared numbly at their waiter. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “How are you out of hot chocolate?”
“Ma’am, I—”
“And on Christmas Eve?”
“We—”
“The same hot chocolate you’re still advertising outside?”
“Ma’am, I don’t know what—”
Korra interrupted the tense back and forth precisely at the moment when Asami was about to explode. “We’ll have the wine, instead. Thank you.” She snapped the menus shut and handed them to the waiter, who looked happy to escape Asami’s death glare. “Asami?”
She snapped out of it, fixing her fake publicity smile on her face. She knew Korra saw through it, but in her peppiest voice, she said, “Now, what are we eating?”
///
Back at the apartment, Asami had Korra cuddled on her lap, who, in turn, had Naga cuddled on her feet on the couch. Barbie in the Lychee-nutcracker played on the screen, and the apartment smelled faintly of that fancy pine needle candle Asami bought years ago and never used until today.
Asami played with Korra’s hair, watching as Barbie fell asleep by the Christmas Tree. Then Asami said what had been on her mind the past hour. “I can’t believe they were out of the hot chocolate.”
Korra hummed softly on her lap. “Asami, it’s fine—”
“No, it’s not.” It came out a little more forcefully than she’d meant, but she kept going. “It’s not fine, Korra. Today was supposed to be perfect for you, and it’s been the exact opposite of perfect. It’s been disastrous.” She was relieved Korra couldn’t see her pathetic face right now. “I’m so, so sorry, Korra. You love Christmas, and this has been the worst by far, I’m sure.”
Korra shifted to sit upright next to Asami, who heard Naga sigh from the movement and pad off into the darkness. “Do you really think this has been a bad Christmas?” she asked softly.
Asami bit her lip. She thought of her list. “I just…I had these grand plans.”
“But we had fun today!” Korra held Asami’s hand. “That’s what matters to me.”
Asami hung her head and cringed even as she said, “I wanted to show you what a real Republic City Christmas was like.”
Korra laughed. “And I think I experienced it plenty. Lemme think…lots of people and traffic.” When Asami said nothing, Korra gently held her chin, forcing her to look into her eyes. Barbie began dreaming of her Lychee-nutcracker prince on the screen, painting Korra’s face in blue light. “I enjoyed today because I got to spend it with you, not because of what we did. Hell, this is probably my favorite part of the day, just spending time with you and Naga. So don’t think you disappointed me, because you couldn’t possibly do such a thing when I love you so much.”
Asami stared at her. “You’re not just saying that? Because I legitimately have no plans for tomorrow.”
“Even better!” Korra gave her a big hug. “I’d rather just spend the day with my favorite girls. Who needs hot chocolate from Kwong’s Whatever when we could microwave some here! And look at Barbie go. I think this is the best rendition of the Lychee-nutcracker that exists, honestly.”
Asami considered it for a moment—before mentally tearing up her itinerary and squeezing Korra back. “You’re right. I don’t know why I got so swept up in plans and all. I guess I just wanted you to have as good of a Christmas as you do back home.”
“Hey, every Christmas is different. That doesn’t make it better or worse. And this year,” she gave Asami a soft forehead kiss, “I get to try something new with my severely Type A girlfriend.”
That earned a chuckle out of Asami. “I can’t argue with that, unfortunately.” She leaned her head on Korra’s shoulder, feeling all the stress and worry of the day melting away with a big sigh. “Boy am I excited to just sleep in tomorrow and give you your gift.”
“Me too, but first,” Korra returned to the television. The prince was in the middle of fighting a bunch of life-size rats. “You gotta fill me in on whatever just led to that.”
///
Waking up with Korra on Christmas morning felt familiar yet different. New, was the word Asami settled on as she brushed a strand of hair away from Korra’s drooling face. (Spirits, she was cute when she drooled.)
“Uphm?” Korra stirred, smacking her lips together. When she realized she was drooling, she wiped it away with a disgusted look. “Oops, looks like I dirtied your sheets.”
Asami kissed Korra’s forehead. “No problem, love. I’m glad you slept well.”
Korra smiled, then noticeably perked up. “I gotta get you your gift!”
Asami laughed, “Let me get breakfast ready first. What do you think about store-bought pancakes and hot chocolate? And for lunch, I was thinking we can get takeout from that Fire Nation place I’ve told you about. I don’t think they take any days off.”
“Oooh, that sounds amazing.” She wrapped her arms around Asami, leaning her entire weight into her. “As long as you promise to just be lazy and do absolutely nothing else with me all of today.”
“Of course.”
The hot chocolate was passable and the pancakes, edible. Regardless, they comfortably settled onto the couch with their gifts after taking Naga out and playing some oldies Christmas carols from Asami’s vintage cassette player. It felt cozy, and Asami loved how wide Korra’s smile was. Hers was probably just as big.
“Okay, open yours first,” Asami told Korra, handing her two wrapped boxes.
The first was small but heavy. Korra weighed it in her hands and gave Asami a suspicious look. “You didn’t.”
“What if I did?”
“It was so expensive!”
“And?” Asami gestured at her penthouse. “There’s no better use for it, I swear.”
With a flustered sigh, Korra ripped the reindeer wrapping paper away to reveal a small black box. It opened smoothly in half and inside was a shiny digital watch. “Asami… I— just, thank you.”
“You said you needed a new one. Now, open the other one!” Asami shoved the larger—but much lighter—box in her face.
With a laugh, Korra obliged. She held up two shirts—one for her, and one obviously for a dog. The human-sized one said, “I’m the boss,” in big tacky letters. The other said, “I’m the REAL boss.”
“Oh, Spirits, Asami,” Korra laughed, smacking Asami playfully. “These are too good. Naga, look at what Asami got you!”
Naga came bounding over and gave the shirt a disinterested sniff before running back towards the window.
“I think she likes it,” Korra decided. Then she shyly handed Asami her large gift bag. “I didn’t have your handy machine and my wrapping skills have suffered over the year, so. Yeah.”
Asami pulled out the first item from the bag, an empty scrapbook—and in an envelope attached was a stack of printed-out photos of Asami and Korra over the year. As Asami speechlessly admired it, Korra filled in, “I figured since you love organizing so much, you’d like this little project.”
“Korra!” Asami squeezed her into a tight hug. “I love it! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Now look at the bottom of the bag. Sorry they’re all just tossed in there, I didn’t have much time for these.”
Asami stuck her hand into the bag and pulled out a cheap plastic ball ornament with the Avatar Center Christmas tree painted on it. She laughed and grabbed another tacky, cheap ornament—this one with “Republic City Xmas Love” written in jarring red font. Another had a slightly terrifying snowman, and another was covered in glitter and snowflakes. She looked into the bag and spotted about a dozen of them.
“Korra, did you get these all yesterday?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Korra saluted. “And if you would help me, so do the honors, I would love to spruce up this drab ol’ tree you have here with some of these magnificent ornaments.”
Asami kissed Korra sweetly, so overcome with love for her girlfriend. “I’d love to.”