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Korra sighed into Mako's shoulder. She was tired. The pair was relaxing after cleaning up from their sparring session. Korra had won - again. Their relationship was founded on it. They met when Mako had put up an ad looking for a sparring partner to train for boxing with.
Korra, new to the city with similar aspirations had replied almost immediately. Barely a month later, they were dating. Six months later, they set into comfortable routines. But Korra felt unfulfilled. She was untouchable at the top of her fighting class and things felt stagnant with Mako. But she didn't know what to do about it. Her career and relationship were safe, leaving either behind would change everything.
"Hey, you okay?" Mako asked. Korra nodded, staying silent.
"If you say so. Anyway, Bolin wants us to see his new place tonight. His mythical friend is supposed to be there. Do you want to go?" He offered. Mako's younger brother Bolin kept telling them about this cool girl Opal had introduced him to. Asami was apparently brilliant, beautiful, smart, and funny, but as he had lamented, she was not into him. However, he was crushing rather hard on Opal, so he wasn't too destroyed.
"Sure, I'm not doing anything"
---
Bolin's new apartment was tiny. No one was really surprised by that fact, but it really was appallingly small. Korra was genuinely surprised that she, Bolin, Mako, and Opal could all fit comfortably. Bolin took no notice of the size, he was ecstatic to be able to afford his first place.
"I still can't believe this guys. I'm an actual adult now!" Bolin exclaimed catching Korra in the crook of his elbow and ruffling her hair affectionately. Korra growled and attempted to shove him off.
"Yeah Bo, we get it. Will you actually do your own laundry now?" she teased. He scowled at her.
"Hey, just because you're my brother's girlfriend, that doesn't mean you can spout such truths as that" he scolded, pointing at her.
"She is right" Opal shrugged. Bolin sighed.
"You're probably right, that was always Mako's job" Mako took a sip from his beer.
"You better not be calling me to do it for you" he warned. Bolin adopted a shocked expression.
"I would never-" His indignation was cut off by a knock on the door. He gasped and rushed to the door. Korra nearly choked on her sip of beer when she saw who was on the other side. The girl was breathtaking. Her eyes were a piercing emerald green that contrasted sharply with her pale skin and inky black hair. Even her smile was dazzling. Bolin threw his arm over her shoulders.
"Everyone, this is Asami. Asami, this is my brother Mako-" the two shook hands, "-and this is his girlfriend Korra. But she deserves better" he whispered as an aside. Mako rolled his eyes. Korra moved over on the small sofa, allowing Asami to sit next to her.
"It's nice to meet you. We were beginning to think Bolin made you up" she joked. Asami gave an understanding nod.
"I know. I'm a huge fan of yours, embarrassing to tell you I know, and I keep telling him I want to meet you. I'm just so busy all the time. My dad's about to pass the family business down to me, so I never have time for anything" Korra was frozen in surprise.
"You're a fan? Of me?" She squeaked. No one had ever come up to her and said that before. Asami nodded vigorously.
"Definitely. I was there when you took out the Mountain in five minutes flat. It was the most incredible fight I've ever seen. Honestly, I think you could easily challenge the men's current lightweight champion. He relies on his money punch too much, you diversify" she marveled. Korra was speechless. Whatever she'd expected from this girl, this hadn't been it. 'Perfect' was the only word to describe her. Beautiful, smart, rich, and into fighting? Korra didn't know what to do.
"I do try to be unpredictable. I spar with Mako all the time so if I don't, I'll lose" The two of them spent the rest of the night talking almost exclusively to each other. Occasionally their conversation would intersect with everyone else's, but for the most part, they kept to themselves. Eventually, Mako, tired and swaying, shook Korra's shoulder.
"I want to go home. I'm too drunk and I'm not sleeping here" he slurred. She heaved a sigh, irritated by the interruption. She turned to Asami.
"Hey, do you run in the mornings?" she asked.
"Well most mornings, yeah, why?" Asami replied.
"Would you want to run with me tomorrow morning? Or, ya know, whenever?" the boxer offered sheepishly. Asami's face lit up.
"Yeah, definitely! Let me give you my number, we can coordinate times" she said digging out her phone.
---
Korra woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. She was excited about her run with Asami. She hopped out of bed with an abundance of energy and threw on her clothes. She scarfed down a banana and grabbed a water bottle before racing out to their meeting place. Asami was waiting when she got there. Even in her workout clothes, Korra couldn't believe how beautiful she was. There were quick greetings and 'how are you?'s and then they were off. They talked the entire time about everything.
"Honestly my favorite movie is 'Johnny Guitar'. It's a really weird old movie, but the women are really well done as characters for the time period" Korra explained.
"I've never heard of it, what's it about?" Asami admitted, taking a swig of water.
"It's a cowboy movie. Basically this lynch mob wants to take out this lady and her ex boyfriend's buds. There's a whole lot of of symbolism too. And I'm not surprised you haven't heard of it, it only got one good review" she mused. Asami laughed.
"We'll have to watch it sometime" she said breathlessly. Korra grinned.
"Yeah we will" she promised.
---
Mako was overwhelmed for the first time in a while. Korra's attacks were stronger and better aimed than he ever remembered. She was more ferocious and focused. He barely blocked a punch aimed for his face and completely missed the one aiming for his diaphragm. All of the air rushed out of his lungs. He bent over and signaled a time out.
"Oh I'm sorry, are you okay?" Came Korra's concerned voice. He nodded and attempted to wave her off but the motion was aborted.
"I was so in the zone, jeez I'm sorry" she apologized. Mako wheezed, struggling to draw an adequate breath.
"What's gotten into you?" he cough. Korra shook her head.
"I don't know, I just feel really good" She didn't need to say that she'd literally never felt better, Mako heard it anyway.
"Well whatever it is, you might want to keep doing it, that was incredible" he panted. She smiled.
"I think I will" Korra stood up straight, stretching her arms, trying not grin to herself.
---
"So I'll see you tomorrow?" Mako said, clutching Korra's hand.
"Yup, just like every other day" she quipped. He frowned, narrowing his eyes.
"What's with you lately? The past two weeks you've been acting really weird" he accused. The past three weeks Korra had spent her mornings running with Asami. She definitely thought of those mornings as the best part of her day. Whenever she spent time with Mako, she just felt bored. Whatever the exact reason for their problems was, Korra didn't feel like dealing with it right then.
"It's nothing, okay? I'll see you tomorrow" she denied, standing on her toes to kiss him. Once they separated, Korra turned quickly away, heading for her apartment door. Mako's hand on her arm stopped her from going too far.
"Hey, just remember you can always talk to me. I want you to be happy, it kills me to see you like this" It occurred to Korra for the first time that the boredom didn't bother him. He probably even rejoiced in it. After growing up homeless, having a steady anything was something to be proud of and hold on to, even if it was a drifting relationship. She smiled half-heartedly.
"Yeah, I'll tell you if something's wrong. I'll see you tomorrow" she assured with a second quick kiss. She hurried into her building and jogged up the stairs, desperate to get out of the conversation. She opened her door with a sigh and collapsed onto her sofa. The way things were going, she'd have to break up with Mako. It wasn't healthy for either of them. Sure, she liked him, cared about him, but there was no love there.
Even on his part things seemed to be lagging. He started checking out other girls as they walked by. For the first few months of their relationship, he ranted and raved against any guy who did that, not that she really held it against him. She gave a few of them a look over too. When Korra finally went to bed, her sleep was uneasy. She woke every few hours and never slept very deeply. When she woke up she felt exhausted and not willing to leave her bed. Groaning, she picked up her phone and dialed Asami.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's Korra. I just wanted to tell you I can't run today"
"Are you hurt?"
"I don't think so?"
"Oh, okay then, good, what's your address?" Korra told her, confused.
"Okay, I'll be there in a half hour" The line went dead and Korra looked at her phone in confusion. Shaking her head, she tossed the phone onto her bed and curled up under the covers. She was tired, but she knew she wouldn't get back to sleep, so she lay there, wondering what the hell she was going to do about anything. She groaned and buried her face in the pillows. The loud sound I her apartment buzzer filled the room. She glanced at her clock. The half hour had passed incredibly quick. She dragged herself from the bed and pressed the call button.
"Who is it?" She grumbled.
"It's Asami, can I come up?"
"Ah- sure!" Korra stammered, jabbing at the release button. Less than a minute later, Asami was opening her door dressed in comfortable clothes.
"Hey, so it sounded like you needed cheering up" It was then that Korra noticed the bag in her visitor's hands. She was rifling through it, looking for one specific thing. She left out a triumphant noise and dug out a DVD that Korra recognized as 'Whip It'.
"So this is one of my favorite movies and I thought you might like it too. We can watch it and vent about how crappy our lives are to each other. I've also got some chocolate. I know people are picky about what they like so I've got a few options" she suggested. Korra was floored. No one had ever done something like this for her.
"You are amazing" she praised, gazing at Asami with wonder. The other girl blushed and shook her head.
"I'm really not. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't need this too" she admitted. Korra barked out an exaggerated laugh and led her to the bedroom.
"What do you need this for?" She asked. "Also, I haven't got much furniture, so we'll have to watch it on my computer in here, that okay?" Asami nodded affirmatively and considered the question as they started getting comfortable together in the bed.
"So I came out to my dad like, nine years ago, right? And last night at a business meeting he told a partner that he can't wait till I find a good husband and have kids, you know, the whole shebang. It just gets under my skin when he does it" She glared down at the comforter. Korra frowned.
"That's kind of crappy of him. You should definitely tell him to back off though. When I first telling people I was bi they were all convinced it was a phase or something, that I'd grow out of it and get a nice boyfriend. I mean I did get a boyfriend, but more of my serious relationships have been with girls" Asami laughed.
"It's so true though. Anyway, let's do this" she grinned. They pressed close together and started the movie. Korra enjoyed the entire experience. The movie was good, the chocolate was tasty, and Asami's warm weight beside her made her heart flutter. Occasionally, one of them would make a quip or comment about what happened on screen that would send them both into fits of laughter. By the end of the movie they were leaning heavily against each other, relaxed.
"I haven't had this much fun in a long time, thank you" Korra hummed happily.
"I'm glad you enjoyed, but don't you ever do things like this with Mako?" the other girl wondered. Korra shrugged.
"We used to, but now it's almost all training. And when we do go out together, it's usually with you, Opal, and Bolin" she sighed. Asami nodded thoughtfully.
"Alright then, it's decided. We're going to do this once a week. Got it?" Asami declared. Korra laughed and agreed. Her visitor left not long after and she prepared to go train with Mako. Like after the first time running with Asami, Korra was sharper, more aggressive and opportunistic. Again, Mako was baffled.
"Okay, you've got to tell me. What are you doing that's making you so much better?" he panted, unable to catch his breath. Korra barely felt tired at all.
"I don't know, I just feel better. Asami came over and we watched a movie instead of running. It was sort of therapeutic" she mused. Mako went still.
"Asami's doing this?" His voice was low. Clearly he was angry. Korra was confused. She raised an eyebrow.
"Asami's not doing anything but being my friend. Is that a problem for you?" She challenged. Mako whirled around, his face taut.
"I'm your boyfriend. I'm the one who's supposed to motivate you, not some girl" he growled. Korra glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well some girl is being a lot more supportive than you are right now. You know what, I'm not doing this right now. Call me when you pull that stick out of your ass" she thundered. She stormed out of the ring and headed towards the door, refusing to turn back to her boyfriend.
"Yeah that's right, run away, because that's a mature way to handle this!" he called after her. Instead of rising to the obvious attempt, she flicked up her middle finger, continuing to walk out. She ran the whole way home, needing to blow off steam. Her blood boiled. Mako was being ridiculous. He was often possessive of her, but never before to this degree. She wanted to throw something, but she knew that would do no one any good and she'd be left with a pile of broken something. Her phone rang, shattering her well built bubble of rage.
"What Mako?" she barked without looking at the caller id.
"Uh, hey Korra, it's Opal" the feminine voice of the other end said slowly. Korra huffed, pressing a hand to her forehead, forcing herself to calm down.
"Sorry, thought it was someone else" she muttered.
"So I gathered. Did you and Mako fight?" Opal questioned. Korra waved her hand to dismiss the conversation then remembered that she was talking on the phone.
"No it's nothing, what's up?"
"I just wanted to invite you and Mako to Triple Threat. Asami, Bolin, and I were gonna go around nine. But if you don't want to-" Triple threat was a club that the group often frequented when steam needed to be let off.
"No it's fine, I want to go, but I don't think Mako wants to talk to me right now. He might go if you or Bolin asked though. I'll see you guys there" Korra hang up after an 'okay' from Opal. She placed the phone down and breathed through her nose. If Mako wanted to be an idiot, that was up to him. Nothing she could say would change that. Whatever his issue was, he'd have to get over it on his own.
After a few minutes of controlled breathing, she opted for a shower. She stood under the warm spray, thinking about their conversation again. Why was he so angry about her hanging out with Asami? What exactly did he object to? He had emphasized the word 'girl', did that have him hung up? She scoffed and turned off the water. Whatever it was could wait until later.
By the time she was dressed and ready, nine o'clock rolled around quickly. None of her friends were waiting for her outside, so she went in and ordered a drink at the bar. Leaning against the counter, she took a swig and stared at the bottle. Her anger had yet to fully dissipate and seeing Mako so soon would cause it to bubble to the surface. A pair if arms grabbing her middle brought her out of her head. She whirled around to find Asami grinning at her, smile dazzling. Opal and Bolin were coming up behind her. In the distance she could see Mako making his way through the crowd, clearly not eager to be there. Korra ignored him, grinning at Asami instead.
"Hey, long time no see!" she joked.
"Yeah, not like I saw you this morning or anything. That would be ridiculous" Asami laughed. A sudden thought came to her.
"I actually wanted to talk to you, so this is convenient. So I did what you said and I told my dad to back off. It turns out he doesn't actually understand what it means to be a lesbian" she shrugged in disbelief. Korra laughed. "Anyway, after about an hour long explanation he said he'd try to back off. Which I think is code for 'now I need to find powerful daughters to marry you off to'. An odd improvement" she continued. Korra nodded in agreement. A little weird, but still, progress.
"I actually wanted your advice with something" she began. Asami swallowed her mouthful of alcohol and motioned for Korra to tell her.
"Shoot" Korra took a deep breath, preparing for the initial backlash.
"I'm thinking of quitting boxing" She braced herself for a shout that never came. Instead, Asami was nodding slowly, digesting the information.
"What brought this on?" She asked.
"It's just that I've been on top for years, in the South and here, no one has been able to get near me- I beat the world champ in five minutes! And I've only been getting better. I'm just wondering what else I could do. Fighting is my only real talent" she confided. Asami chewed her lip in thought and Korra's gaze was dragged to where her teeth worried on the soft flesh. Once she realized she was staring, she directed her eyes to Asami's, but found herself staring there as well.
"What about mixed martial arts? Still fighting, but a lot more types of attacks are allowed since you can use your legs" Korra considered it for a moment. She knew that a few male boxers had made the switch, so it wasn't unheard of. It might even be easier to facilitate. And the idea of fighting with everything she had was certainly an attractive prospect. She nodded minutely.
"I'll definitely look into that. MMA sounds good" It would need far more consideration and a lot of talks with a lot of people, but it could be done. Asami grinned and glanced towards the dance floor, inclining her head towards it. Korra really wanted to, but she figured she might as well talk to Mako first who was sulking against the bar. She pointed her thumb to him and Asami understood.
"Good luck, and come find me after" she instructed. Korra smiled at her. Reluctantly, she headed towards her boyfriend. He glanced at her as she approached but refused to face her full-on.
"Okay Mako, listen. I'm only going to say this once" She now had his full attention. "I really like you, I do. You're a really cool person and I'm happy for nearly every moment we had together. But we just fight too much. This isn't healthy and neither of us are really happy. So I'm ending this; us. If we could still be friends and maybe even train together that would be really cool. Is any of this okay with you?" She said hopefully. He sighed, his face lined with resignation.
"I guess so. You're probably right. I just have one question. Do you like her?" Even though he didn't say it, try both knew he meant Asami. Korra paused, unsure of how to answer.
"I think so" she answered slowly. He nodded and took a long drink.
"Then I wish you the very best" he said sincerely. Surprised, Korra thanked him and finished her drink. She placed the empty bottle on the bar and entered the fray of the dance floor in search of Asami. The other girl spotted her first and grabbed her wrists, pulling her close. She placed Korra's hands low on her hips, moving with the thumping beat of the song. Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's neck.
Their bodies were impossibly close, but millimeters from actually touching. Asami moved hypnotically. Korra forgot entirely about every single other person the club. All that mattered was the girl in front of her. Green eyes locked onto her blue and stayed there, unwaveringly.
In that moment, in that song, Korra realized how much she wanted the other girl.
She was incredible. Brilliant (Korra had once seen her stop mid-run to successfully fix a stranger's motorcycle with almost no tools), funny, beautiful, and caring. It hadn't even been a full month of knowing her, but she knew she'd never felt this way towards Mako. The thought of Mako tripped up her thought process. Whatever she wanted to do with Asami had to wait. You couldn't end a six month relationship and then hitch your wagon to someone else the same night. So she had to enjoy the night as it was.
And she did.
---
The next morning, Korra and Asami went on their usual run. Just as they did the next day and the day after. Other than being far more aware of her feelings and being really sure of Asami's, nothing changed. They even did their new weekly movie - The Mummy - and cuddled as they had the week previous. Korra was busy laughing at drunk Evy when she noticed Asami not doing the same, but staring at her instead. She looked at her quizzically.
"What's up?" she asked, concerned. Asami didn't reply at first, she just continued staring at her.
"Do you know that I like you? And when I say 'like' I mean really like" she whispered, her face deadly serious. Korra was speechless for a moment. She knew Asami was interested in an abstract sort of way. But to be told point blank was a little startling.
"I think I kind of did, sort of" she replied. "And don't get me wrong, I really really like you too, I just don't want to jump into something so soon after Mako" Asami nodded in understanding. She tugged Korra's ponytail with a soft smile.
"Whenever you want, then" Korra returned the smile and leaned more on Asami's shoulder, feigning attention to the movie. She spent the rest of it relishing how the other girl felt against her and what it might be like to fall asleep beside her.
---
"Bolin it doesn't really work like that. Hitting a computer doesn't make it start to work. It just happens to start working again at the same time you hit it" Asami explained. Bolin looked at her skeptically.
"See I don't believe that. Every time I whack it, it starts again" he argued.
"You're probably just going to make it worse" Opal interjected, nearly laughing. The three of them sat in Bolin's apartment, waiting. Korra had teased all of her friends with big news but refused to tell them unless they were all together. Unfortunately, Mako had a fight, rendering him unavailable. But the three who were there were bored. Korra was half an hour later than she had said to be there by. So naturally, Bolin begged for technology help.
"She's completely right. You'll end up jamming something in the works or knock something out of alignment" Asami noted. Bolin opened his mouth again, but was interrupted as a heavy hand pounded on the door. Scowling, he got up to answer it.
"Alright, I'm coming, hold your horses" The second the door opened, Korra flew through, brandishing a packet of papers. A grin stretched its way across her face.
"Guess what this is!" She demanded excitedly. She was met with confused silence. Impatient, she answered her own question.
"It's my brand-spanking-new contract with Bellator MMA!" She squealed. A pause. The room burst into noise, shouts of excitement and congratulations overriding each other. Bolin crushed them all into a group hug.
"Korra that's amazing! When's your first fight?" Opal asked, squeezing out from the hug.
"We're not sure yet, but you guys will certainly be the first to know" she giggled. She was giddy. Bolin released them and clapped her shoulder.
"I'm sorry I was a little late, I thought all the paper signing would be over sooner, but I came straight from there" she informed. Asami pulled her into an embrace next, pushing her face into Korra's neck.
"I'm so proud of you" she beamed. Korra chuckled.
"You were the one to suggest it. I never would have thought about it otherwise" she replied. Asami released her, but stayed close.
"I don't know, I think you would have gotten there eventually, just a lot slower" she teased. Korra laughed and hugged her again. That week, Asami had Korra choose the movie for their weekly viewing in congratulations on her Bellator signing.
"So you said this got horrible reviews?" Asami asked puzzled. Korra hummed.
"They hated how progressive the women were. They just masked their real opinions in the written reviews. I only saw it because my dad thought it would be funny if five year old Korra watched a bunch of people get killed in sort of bizarre ways. He didn't expect me to love it" she laughed. She played the movie.
However very quickly she lost interest. She couldn't focus on the Dancing Kid stealing Emma for a dance, or Turkey showing off. All she could do was watch Asami absent-mindedly reach into the popcorn bowl and bring a piece to her mouth. She would push it through her lips, focusing on the screen. The brief action of Johnny Logan and Vienna making up - and out - brought the possibility to her mind.
She could kiss Asami right now. She could.
Gathering up as much courage as possible, she reached over and held Asami's jaw and pressed their lips together. She tasted like the butter on the popcorn. Asami kissed back, the hand not in the popcorn bowl leaving slow burning trails along Korra's back. The fighter nipped gently at Asami's lip, earning a gasp. The pair separated slowly, overwhelmed by the rush of emotions. The movie continued playing in the background.
"I guess that means you're ready then" Asami said breathlessly.
"So very ready" Korra said leaning in for another kiss. The next morning Korra satisfied her curiosity of what it would be like to wake up next to Asami Sato.