Archive of Our Own

“Huh?” Korra turned to look at Asami, raising her eyebrows. It had been barely a week since Tokuga had disappeared, and the two of them were standing in Asami's office on the new housing development site; she'd just been taking Korra and Zhu Li out to have a look at how things were progressing. Despite Raiko's initial reluctance - and general incompetence - they were well on track to finish the first few blocks in a month's time, and the evacuees back at the camp were incredibly grateful.

Not that Korra needed an excuse to come and see her girlfriend. After Zhu Li had left, she'd perched herself on the edge of the desk, grinning like a fool as Asami took down a few of Zhu Li's notes.

“Remember? Fan's Dumplings. And a turtle-duck boat ride.”

“Yeah, I remember. And then you got kidnapped by Tokuga - it wasn't your fault, you don't have to make it up to me.” Asami folded her arms, a smile creeping onto her face.

“Yes, but... I want to. Are you telling me you don't want to go on a date?” Korra chuckled.

“Of course I do.”

“Then it's settled. Tonight at 7. My last meeting for the day got cancelled so I can finish early.” She planted her hands on either side of Korra on her desk, and leaned in to give her a gentle kiss. “We can go together, so there's no chance of me standing you up again.”

“I should hope not,” Korra replied, slipping her hands around the other girl's waist. “I was so worried when you didn't turn up.”

“I hope you didn't think I'd left you on purpose.”

“Well, that did cross my mind. But then I remembered what you said about the Creeping Crystals.” She'd been a bundle of nerves that night, and the fact that Asami hadn't turned up only made everything a whole lot worse. But she hadn't ever really believed that Asami would have left her there deliberately.

“I guess I wasn't quite right about being able to handle things.”

“You were right,” said Korra fiercely. “I know that you can handle most fights. Tokuga was just... a huge jerk. I'm just glad you're ok.”

“As long as I've got you fighting with me, I'll always be ok.”

They didn't bother with dressing up this time; they'd both admitted to being too tired after the events of the last few weeks to make a big deal out of it. Even if it was going to be their first proper, public date as a couple.

But the restaurant was going to make enough of a fuss about having the Avatar anyway.

“Avatar Korra! It is an honour to have you and Miss Sato with us this evening. Please, right this way.” Korra tugged on her hair as several pairs of eyes turned to them. But Asami took her hand, smiled, and followed the waitress with confidence. Squeezing her hand in return, Korra ignored the stares and sat down at the proferred table, her heart catching in her throat whenever she looked at Asami. How was her girlfriend so calm and collected all the time? Their relationship - or at least, the fact that they were two women in a relationship - never seemed to be an issue when they were on their own. But whenever they were out in public Korra became hyper-aware of what was happening around her.

“Allow me to recommend the chef's special tonight, you won't be disappointed,” the waitress said, handing them menus. “Can I get you anything to drink? Or anything to start off with?”

“Oh, uh-”

“Just give us a few minutes to look through the menu, thanks,” said Asami, and the waitress nodded, moving on to the next table.

“Sorry,” Korra muttered, opening up her menu.

“For what?”

“For all the fuss. I was hoping it would just be a normal date.”

“Don't worry, I'm used to it. People know who I am too, you know. And,” she said, reaching across the table to take Korra's hand again, “I know there's nothing normal about dating the Avatar. I don't want there to be. I just want you.” Korra smiled across at her.

“Well, I'm glad everyone knows I'm dating the most incredible woman in Republic City.” Asami smiled, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and began to peruse the menu.

When their meal arrived, Asami began to talk about some of her new ideas for the company, and Korra settled down a little, taking in her every word. She was so animated when she spoke like this - Korra admired her for it, even if she couldn't understand much of what she was saying. Slowly, their surroundings began to fade, and Korra forgot that they were even on a date. It was just the two of them together again, like it should be.

“Varrick even suggested a way of broadcasting movers into people's homes. You know, a bit like how everyone has a radio. It's all about the electromagnetic waves. If we can- well, never mind, you don't want to listen to all that.”

“No, I do, keep going,” Korra replied, leaning in closer.

“Do you even know what electromagnetic waves are?”

“Well, no. But you do. I wish I was half as clever as you are, the White Lotus never taught me any of that stuff.” Asami shrugged.

“Most of it I learned from my father. School was never very useful - Future Industries was my school. But it's work stuff anyway, I don't want to talk about work. Not when I'm on a date.” She leaned across the table, and was about to kiss Korra when laughter erupted from a large group at the next table, breaking through their illusion of peace.

Frowning, Korra turned to look at them, but they were wrapped up in their own conversation, not bothering to keep their voices down. She didn't really feel like having to shout just to talk to Asami, however.

“Are you almost done? Maybe we should head down to the turtle-duck boats.”

“Good idea.”

They paid for their meal and strolled down to the park, holding hands the entire way. It was a calm, clear night, and they were far from the only couple getting into the turtle-duck boats, but once they'd settled in, Korra used her bending to push them away from the lakebed.

“It seems a little ridiculous to go for a boat ride in the shadow of my own statue,” she said, glancing up at the figure as they sailed past. “I forgot they put that there.”

“I like it,” Asami replied. “When you were gone, I used to come down sometimes to do some work, or just take a break for a while.”

“You did?” Asami stayed silent for a moment, shifting so she could stretch her legs out and lie against Korra's shoulder.

“It seems silly now, but I guess I was afraid I'd forget what you looked like. It gave me hope that you would come back eventually, though. When you were ready. I needed that, sometimes.”

“I was always going to come back,” said Korra, sighing. It broke her heart knowing that the people she loved had missed her so much during that time. She knew no one blamed her for it, but she also wished she'd been able to handle it better. “But the longer I dragged it out, the more I felt like everyone would have just moved on without me.”

“Never,” Asami said, turning to look up at her with a smile. “You'll always belong here with us. With me, and Mako and Bolin, and everyone else. And trust me, it's much better being here with the real thing.” Korra chuckled, turning to look over at the statue again as Asami rested her cheek on the other girl's chest.

“I guess I know how Aang felt when they put up his statue. So, how long do you think it'll take Mako to get used to us dating?”

“Hopefully a little longer. I have to admit, it's kinda funny watching him squirm.” They both laughed, their voices ringing out across the water. “It's all new for him.”

“It's new for me too - it's not like I had time to date anyone before him. And I've never had a girlfriend, anyway. I don't wanna screw anything up.”

“You're doing great,” said Asami, looking up at her again.

“You think so?”

“Yeah. I... dated a few girls while you were gone. Nothing serious,” she added.

“Oh.”

“Because I kept comparing them to you. The whole point was to try and get on with my life, so I wouldn't miss you as much. I dated a few guys as well - it all completely backfired,” she said, her cheeks flushing slightly. “That was when I knew I was prepared to wait for you. For as long as it took.”

“But - you could have been happy with them.”

“No. I only wanted you. So you don't have to worry about never having a girlfriend before. I haven't either. You're the only one that counts, so we're in it together.” She took Korra's hand, linking their fingers together, her perfectly manicured nails brushing over Korra's scratched and calloused hands.

“You're not wrong there. I know Republic City isn't as strict as the rest of the world, but it's not like the place is full of people like us. I kinda wish we'd known about Kya earlier.”

“Well, it was her business. But it makes me happy to think that people were supportive of her. And of us.”

“You're right. Even if Mako's gonna keep being weird about it,” she laughed.

“And it's been a perfect first date,” said Asami, reaching up to kiss her.

“It really has. I- I never thought I could be this happy. I definitely never thought you'd feel the same way. It feels like a dream.”

“I promise it's real.”