Chapter Text
Several weeks had passed since Korra’s quiet spat with Mako. It had all but faded into distant memory for Korra as she dove headlong into her senior year classes which which were all but nightmarish. Her schedule was stacked with senior theses and high level peace, war, and defense classes which wracked her brain to the core. Even just three weeks into the semester, she felt like her brain had been split open and laid out for everyone to look at. She was so tired, since she had only been sleeping for an average of four hours every night. But, for once for the first time this semester midweek did not look absolute bleak.
Bolin had shot her a text earlier that weekend, begging her to join a group of friends that he had been ask to attend by another friend. He had been asking all semester to joining him at various times, but she had been so preoccupied with not actively tanking her college degree that she had not had a chance to join the brothers in their conquest for beer and friends. However, tonight, she had managed to finish her assignments that were due the next day and there were none looming in the horizon like a pending apocalypse so she was inclined to indulge herself in some relaxing dive bar shenanigans.
Korra rolled up in her usual casual attire at a quarter past eight to one of the local bars just off campus on the main thoroughfare. It was a dive bar by all means, but there was a certain eloquence and charm to it. She wasn’t sure if it had actual charm or the fact that she’d been here so many times since her first year, munching on the drunk’s fare, or drunchies as the bar liked to call it, until the middle of the night. The atmosphere was indelible for setting the tone of the friendships she had made here. Korra had this astounding trait where she could at least make mediocre friends with anyone she met. Whether the friendship went any further was up to the other person, which was rarely at all. Korra was under the impression that most found her to be too abrasive or too impetuous. She herself couldn’t see it all. She liked to seize the moment, what was so wrong with that?
The semester had dragged, but Korra was very excited to dive back in with her friends and catch up on their last semesters at the university. Korra’s eye scanned the bar as she walked in, her eyes catching the topping of her friends’ hair. She waltzed up to the booth and plopped, motioning at the bartender to bring her the usual, or whatever beer was on special that night. It wasn’t until Korra has settled up next to Bolin and a few of their other teammates that she noticed the girl from the first-year festival. The pretty girl with the wavy dark hair. She was dressed in a deep red dress and even fiercer red lipstick. It wasn’t until now in the brighter light that Korra noticed that she had striking green eyes, like a summer field. Korra quickly averted eyes to say hello to Mako and the rest of the gang.
“Mako! Bolin! How is the rest of your semester going? How’s Suyin, Bolin? She was such a stickler last semester…” Korra launched into a conversation with Bolin, trying to stymie the fact that she was perturbed and intrigued at the same time at the presence of the girl she had never had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of. She had poked at Mako after that night for more information, but he had confessed he really didn’t’ know much about her. They took a class together and Asami had drawn closer to Mako but he had kept her at arms bay due to ‘focusing on his last semester’ or some other nonsense. Mako had been fending off pretty girls left and right since their break-up and Korra couldn’t pin down why, but she didn’t feel like prying more for fear of seeming like she was interested in Mako again. She could only assume that Mako or of the other engineering bros had invited. Regardless, she seemed to be single-mindedly focused on her glass of whiskey and not really talking to anyone.
Within moments of sitting down, the other boxing club fellows shouted in excitement and immediately initiated the conversation with Korra, wholeheartedly engaging her in conversation about macros and reps. The conversation had a tendency to be redundant in these situations, but Korra noticed that the girl she had seen at the last event which quietly nursing her glass of whiskey, casually observing the happenings of the table, but saying very little. Weirdly, Korra could relate. She had spent much of her life being brought to important talks with her father but had rarely felt included. Her heart suddenly went out for the stranger.
She looked at the seating arrangement, noticing that Bolin was sitting next to her but actively engaging with one of the club members beside Korra. “Bolin, do you wanna switch seats?”
Bolin raised an eyebrow for a second and then shrugged, “Sure, no prob.” Within moments, the two had shifted seats. Korra suddenly found herself seated next to the new girl, Asami. Without realization, Korra’s heart began to pound. As she realized, she found that quite odd. She never felt nervous in social situations and yet here she was. She looked up at the girl, extending a hand after setting down her beer, “Hey, I’m Korra. Nice to meet you, sorry about the boys, they tend to be single-minded.”
Asami extended her other hand that wasn’t holding a drink, shaking Korra’s hand with a delicate yet firm, business-like handshake. “I’m Asami, and, don’t worry. I’m used to their dilly-dallying.”
“Really?” Korra asked, raising an eyebrow with a slight chuckle.
Asami nodded, closing her bright green eyes and taking a sip of her drink, “Yeah, half of this lot is in the engineering program. They may not be the best at social situations except when alcohol is involved, but I can see the wheels turning underneath it all.”
Korra eyes widened, “Incredible. It seems like nothing bright is every going on in Mako’s head. Well, until I guess I ask him a theoretical question and then I can’t get him to stop talking.” Korra paused to sip on her drink. “How come I’ve never seen you here with the guys before?”
This seemed to catch Asami off guard momentarily. “They never seem to ask the top of the class,” Asami murmured quietly, almost imperceptible to Korra over the din over the bar’s music.
“The top of the class?” Korra asked, “Don’t’ tell me, you the smartest kid in the class or something?”
Asami looked quietly at Korra and then turned away, almost ashamed at the other girl’s question. Immediately Korra felt bad for asking her question. “Oh… not that that’s a bad thing or anything. Sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” Asami said, redirecting her attention back to Korra. “It just isn’t frequently that I get out of the engineering lab or am not actively socializing with moguls. This is just… a different social setting than I am used to.”
Korra hesitated for a second, piecing together the information at hand. Engineering student, moguls, pristine attire. No, she couldn’t be. “Asami… Sato?”
“Hmm, yes?” Asami asked, as if this was common information.
“Sorry, yeah, I just didn’t put two and two together until right now.”
Asami smiled then, her green eyes lighting up just ever so slightly. “Ah, so you just wanted to talk to me just to talk to me and not to get to know my father like the other engineering students.”
Korra shot a glance at the other students, “They do that? Rude. No, I genuinely had no idea until just now that you were anyone other than a regular student. Uh, not that you’re normally not a regular student.”
“Thanks, Korra,” Asami said, a genuine and soft smile playing at her lips. “Thank you for having zero clue about me.” Asami gave Korra an almost playful smile.
Sitting in the booth, Korra suddenly felt confused at why Asami would be thanking her in this moment, but she wasn’t overly concerned. During the short conversation, Korra had been unknowingly and rapidly sipping on her beer until she had drained it completely. She felt the slight tinge of a peaceful buzz growing over her cheeks. In this moment, she was happy just to be engaging in interesting conversation who wasn’t devouring her with his eyes unlike most of the horndogs she’d encountered at this bar. This was… nice, even. Korra cleared her throat, “Are you a senior, too?”
“Yeah,” Asami clarified. The only one of their group at the table that was not a senior was Bolin. “I met Mako during our first year. How did you meet him?”
“Oh, Mako? He lived in the same dorm as me and he invited me to join the boxing club during first year. We, uh, dated for a while but you know how that goes. We were better suited to be friends than anything else. I only heard him mention you a few times, so I wasn’t even sure you were a real person,” Korra said, quietly chuckling, motioning the bartender for another drink.
Asami’s eye twitched almost imperceptibly, “Only a few times, huh? This may seem weird, but I feel like I know like plenty about you. Mostly from the Mako and the other engineering guys.” Asami paused for a second, as if collecting her thoughts or stowing away some thought for a later moment. “Korra, the boxing champion. Korra, the peace, war, and defense debate team strategist. Korra, the fittest one of the bunch who will drink you under the table.”
Squinting slightly, Korra coughed, “I see, um…” Korra faltered. Asami had caught her completely blindsided by knowing so much about her without ever meeting her. It made her feel vulnerable suddenly. “I guess it’s unfair that you know so much about me and I know so little about you. Why don’t we even the odds? What are you drinking?”
Amused at the situation, Asami held up her drink for Korra to take a sip. Korra did so, grimacing a little as the bitter whiskey went down. “Wish Drop. Like it?”
Sputtering a little, Korra regained her composure, “Mmm, it’s good. Not quite my usual drink.” Inwardly, Korra was reeling. The drink was incredibly strong and even more so was it bitter. Asami was sipping on it like a glass of lemonade. Korra could only imagine what sort of intensity this girl could handle with the way she was mildly sipping on a drink like that.
As they continued to chat, there was sudden upwards movement as Mako, Bolin, and the other boys stood up from the table, moving to close their tabs. “We’re going to Goodbenders,” Bolin said enthusiastically. Smiling, Korra stood, glancing at Asami, who downed the rest of her strong drink in one fell swoop without even so much as flinching. Korra grimaced involuntarily while being somewhat intimidated. Asami did not joke about, was Korra’s first impression of this serious, yet ready to let loose girl. As they closed out their tabs, Korra eyes went slightly wide as she caught the price of Asami’s one drink was more than three of her own.
The group moseyed out of the relaxed dive bar and down the main thoroughfare of the college town to Goodbenders. It was a Friday night and the line was out the door. The group chatted idly together as the bouncer checked their IDs and suddenly they found themselves thrust into a loud underground bar. The music blasted their eardrums, everyone shouting at each other to hear other over the bass, but everyone was having a blast. The group sidled up to the bar and ordered the renowned drink that the bar served: Polarbear Dog Shots. Icy, strong vodka followed up with a shot of liquid that was vaguely reminiscent of minty mouthwash. No one ever questioned the combo, but everyone had the vague assumption that the second shot wasn’t actually alcohol. Nevertheless, the group got their second round of drinks and piled into another booth.
The drinks were buzzing in everyone’s heads at this point. Korra could feel the flush across her skin as she scooted close to Bolin, sitting directly across from Asami. The bar had a mood lighting that changed occasionally, but for now it was set on an amethyst purple that washed everyone in a deep gem-like light. Seated facing Asami with the drinks flowing in her system, with the lights and the music, Korra couldn’t help but find herself enamored with this beautiful and interesting girl she knew so little about. Every time she asked her something, she was effortlessly surprised by it. The night was growing later, but their conversation was growing more and more interesting from theoretical to practical. Mako and Bolin and the group had wandered away from the two girls across the bar to play pool.
Korra was shocked when she looked down at her phone and it was nearly 2AM and several of her boxing cohort were headed for the door. Had they gotten a later start on their evening that Korra originally thought they had? No, it had been nearly five hours ago that they had all met up. Surprised, Korra waited for Asami for head for the door and followed her. On the slightly chilly, late summer street, the group started their goodbyes and well-wishes to get home safe. Most of them lived close, but one or two of them had a significantly further walk. The group had dwindled down to Korra, Mako, Bolin, and Asami.
Feeling the nagging in her gut that she didn’t want to call it a night just yet, despite what was clear departure of the majority of their friend-group. Determined not to let this potential friendship fall by the wayside on the grounds that they never meet again, Korra had an idea. “Well, I have everyone’s number except yours, Asami!” Korra said suddenly as they were all about part ways, thrusting her phone with the new contact screen open into Asami’s hands. Looking down without a question in her eyes, Asami tapped rapidly on the screen of Korra’s phone and quickly handed it back to her.
“Nice, now we all have each other’s numbers!” Asami declared, a content grin growing on her face. Just then, an Uber pulled up. Asami waved, “This is my ride, guys. Have a good night!” As sudden as the Uber arrived, so had Asami departed for the evening, leaving Korra to catch her breath from the whirlwind of the night. Korra had not been prepared to be so struck by Asami. She had been prepared for jealousy if they had ever crossed paths again. But, no, this wasn't the envy with Mako she had expected.. Envy that Asami had asked him to the formal. Envy that Mako had asked her to join up with the boys. Korra walked home that evening with envy that the rest of the group new the beautiful girl with the dark wavy hair and iridescent green eyes. Korra had a strong urge to get to know Asami more.