Work Text:
Asami was beat. She’d spent the better part of her morning negotiating a new contract with a shipping company and then the last half of her day getting her hands dirty with her engineers, trying to fix a gasket problem in their newest model. All she wanted to do now was curl up in bed and go to sleep. She took a few minutes to organize the papers on her desk, then packed her bag to go. As she did up the clasp, her phone began to ring. She smiled and pressed accept.
“Korra,” she greeted her girlfriend.
“Well, hello,” Korra replied. Asami could hear the smile in her voice. “You on your way?”
“Yeah, I’m heading home now.”
Korra was quiet for a beat. “Home?”
Asami picked her keys up and walked towards the bank of elevators outside her office doors. “Yeah, I should be home in 30 minutes or so. Why?”
“Oh. Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Asami felt Korra’s disappointment through the phone and racked her brain. Suddenly, it dawned on her. Korra had made reservations at their favorite restaurant to celebrate Asami’s recent promotion. “I forgot. Fuck.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Korra said with a small laugh. “Seriously. It’s not a big deal.”
“No, I’m so sorry. I just have to change. I can meet you at the restaurant.”
Asami felt like bashing her head against the wall in anger. How could she have forgotten?
Korra laughed again. “By the time you get here and change and we go to the restaurant, we’ll miss our time. Just come home and we can celebrate another night.”
Tears rose to Asami’s eyes and she angrily wiped them away. “But you’ve been so excited to go out. And I’ve just been so busy. I know this was supposed to be a night for just the two of us.”
“Baby, it’s really okay. Yeah I’m a little disappointed but it’s okay. We can do it another time. You sound tired anyway.”
Asami wanted Korra to be mad at her, to yell and tell her she was an awful person. But she never would because Korra was just that understanding and amazing and perfect.
“I can pick up takeout,” she offered weakly.
“No need. I’ll order in and it’ll be here by the time you get home,” Korra said, her voice a little brighter. “Just drive safe, okay?”
Asami sniffed, still willing her tears away, and nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”
Asami disconnected the call as the elevator arrived. Pressing the button to take her to the parking garage, she waited for the doors to close. Her shoulders slumped as she leaned against the wall of the elevator and she rubbed her forehead. A headache was coming on and she was hoping she’d get home in time to relax it away.
“Miss Sato!” a voice suddenly called, making her jump. Someone slid their hand between the doors before they could close. “I’m so glad I caught you.”
“Hey, Varrick,” Asami said tiredly.
“I’m so sorry to do this right as you’re leaving, but we’re having something of an emergency with the newest prototype.” As he explained what was happening, she felt her stomach drop. It was definitely something she’d need to be part of fixing.
Korra was going to hate her.
“Okay. You can take this elevator. I just need to make a quick phone call and then I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Varrick nodded. They switched places and Asami waited until the doors shut and the elevator was well on its way downstairs before she let the tears come. She let out a small shout, pressing her hands against her eyes until she saw stars.
“Why is everything happening tonight?” she muttered, pulling her phone from her pocket. She dialed Korra and waited for her to pick up.
“Asami, is everything okay?” Korra asked as soon as she answered.
“No, no it’s not. I mean I’m okay. Nothing serious,” Asami said, her voice strained. “I’m so sorry. I’m going to be later than I thought. Big emergency I have to get taken care of tonight.”
Korra clucked her tongue. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
Asami pinched the bridge of her nose. “Did you already order food?”
Korra hummed the affirmative. “Yeah. It should be here soon.”
“Eat, please. Don’t wait for me. And don’t wait up either. I’m honestly not sure when I’ll be done here.”
Korra scoffed. “Asami, do you know me?”
Asami smiled at that. She sure did. Korra was as stubborn as they come. “Well, at least promise me that you’ll go to sleep if you get too tired of waiting?”
“I make no such promises,” Korra said, laughing.
The sound of Korra’s laughter eased the knot that had built in Asami’s chest, at least a little bit. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Alright, I’d better get down there.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when I see you,” Korra said. “And Asami?”
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
Asami’s heart skipped a little. Hearing Korra say that never got old. “I love you, too.”
She packed her phone away in her bag and decided to just take the stairs down to the laboratory level. It was a hassle to wait for the elevator again, and Asami wanted time to get her mind back into business mode. By the time she made it to the lower levels of her building, she was ready to get back to work. She tucked her bag into a side office and gathered up the team who had been working on this model.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Asami said, one hand on her hip as she looked over the schematics on the wall.
It was shockingly easy for Asami to get back into it, letting her mind drive her forward. Problem solving was her forte; it’s what made her a savvy business woman and the youngest CEO Future Industries had ever seen. She’d brought the company into the future with confidence and ability that belied her age. And she had the technical knowledge to boot. Truthfully, she almost loved the hands on stuff more than any of the business nonsense. There was something about getting into the root of the problem, troubleshooting and coding and making things work that excited her more than almost anything else.
Hours passed, and at the end of them, the problem had been managed. As her team wrapped up, they did so with eagerness. A crisis had been averted and now she could go home knowing that there weren’t disasters waiting for her back at the office.
“Great work, everyone,” Asami said as she gathered her things. “I know it’s late and it’s also a weekend, so everyone should head home and get some rest. We can pick the rest up on Monday.”
Asami made her way into the parking garage, her energy beginning to wane with each step she took. She was well and truly ready for sleep. She glanced at the clock as she started her car. It was a little after 3:00 am. She groaned. This was definitely now how she’d planned on starting her weekend. The drive home was uneventful, everyone else already home or out and about in the city, which was opposite the direction she was headed. She finally arrived and pulled her car into the garage, cursing at the loud squeal the mechanism made as it lifted the door.
“I need to take a look at that,” she said to herself, making a mental note to do that this weekend.
Opening the door, she stepped inside quietly. Almost all the lights were off, but she could hear the sound of the TV playing from the den. She slipped her shoes off, leaving them at the door, along with her bag, and walked towards the kitchen, stretching her neck with a soft sigh.
On the counter was a note scrawled in Korra’s messy handwriting.
Dinner is in the warmer. I thought you’d just want a bit of everything. Come find me in the TV room. xoxo
Asami smiled, tracing the letters. They hadn’t lived together for long but she was really glad she didn’t have to come home to an empty house anymore. She moved towards the warmer, pulling a loaded plate from it, then poured herself a glass of wine. She decided to eat quickly; the delay on her night had zapped her appetite but she knew Korra would scold her if she didn’t eat something for dinner. She ate as fast as she could while standing at the counter, then put her plate in the sink to clean up in the morning.
Carrying her wine with her to the TV room, Asami felt herself finally start to relax. She could curl up with Korra and just forget the disaster of a night. A game show was playing quietly, the sound low, and she wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion. An odd choice for Korra. She stepped around the couch and grinned.
Korra had tried her damndest but it was obvious that exhaustion had won out. She was laying on the couch in her sweats, an arm behind her head, one leg pulled up on the couch and the other dangling in front of it. Asami stood and watched her with a soft smile. Korra’s cheeks were pink with sleep, her mouth open slightly, and every so often her leg would twitch in her sleep as if reacting to her dreams.
God, Asami loved her so much. She had never been more excited than when Korra agreed to move in with her. They’d been together for a few years; it felt like the next right step for them. And she’d loved every second of it. Sure, they got on each other’s nerves once in a while, but having her best friend there with her each day and falling asleep in her arms every night was more than Asami could have ever dreamed of.
Asami couldn’t help herself. She sat on the other end of the couch and pulled her legs up, then leaned in and rested her head on Korra’s chest, wrapping her arms around her torso. She felt Korra shift and one hand came up to rest against the back of her head, smoothing down her hair.
“Welcome home,” Korra said sleepily.
Asami looked up at her. “Sorry for waking you.”
Korra smiled at her, her blue eyes bright despite having just woken up. “Everything work out okay?”
Asami nodded, then buried her face against Korra’s stomach. “Yeah. I just wanted to come home the whole time though,” she said, her voice muffled.
Korra laughed, jostling Asami’s head. “Come again?”
Asami giggled and lifted her head. “I just wanted to come home the whole time. Everything is fine though.”
“Good, I’m glad,” Korra said, brushing her fingers through Asami’s hair.
Asami melted into her, closing her eyes and humming pleasantly.
“I swear, you were a cat in another life,” Korra teased.
Asami nuzzled Korra’s stomach, then slid her hand into Korra’s shirt, resting it on the warm skin of her stomach. “Probably,” she said quietly.
They fell into a companionable silence as Korra continued playing with Asami’s hair and Asami found herself starting to drift off. Eventually, she felt Korra’s fingers still and move from her head. She nuzzled in more, hoping for Korra to continue. Instead, Korra’s fingers found hers, pulling Asami’s hand from underneath her shirt. She played with Asami’s fingertips for a few moments, lifting them, then letting them drop back down. Then she lifted her ring finger and slid something onto it.
Asami’s heart started racing as she raised her head to look at her hand where a beautiful diamond ring now rested. Then she looked up to Korra. Korra was watching her, a dark blush staining her cheekbones and a nervous smile on her face.
“What -” Asami started as Korra slid up to sit, pulling Asami with her.
Korra held her hand gently between the two of them.
“I know it might feel out of the blue but I’ve been in love with you since the first day we met. I knew after only a few weeks that you were the woman I wanted to marry. And since I moved in here with you, it’s only made that feeling more real.”
Asami felt her breath catch, tears building in her throat.
“I wanted to do this right, at dinner tonight, fancy food and candles and all of that. But turns out, this was actually the perfect moment. Just you and me, together in our home. Asami Sato, will you marry me?” Korra’s voice quavered as she finished speaking and she glanced away for a moment, biting her lip.
Asami reached up and cupped Korra’s cheek, turning her face gently until their eyes met. She stared at Korra for a breathless moment, her heart so full of Korra that she couldn’t find any words. A tear rolled down her cheek and Korra carefully brushed it away. Then Asami smiled.
“Yes,” Asami whispered, her smile growing so wide that her cheeks hurt. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Korra pulled her close and kissed her through her tears and smiles. Asami wrapped her arms around Korra, holding her. Then she laughed, her breath mingling with Korra’s. They kissed, then kissed some more, allowing their love to take them into the depths of their passion in celebration. And hours later, as the sun came peeking over the horizon, they finally made their way upstairs to fall into bed together. In the last few moments before she fell asleep, Asami watched her ring sparkle in the sunlight and knew she’d remember this night forever.