Chapter Text
Asami excused herself to casually walk around to make sure all her guests were taken care of and content with themselves as her party continued. She prided in being a great host as she made her rounds to everyone who attended. She was surrounded by both friends and colleagues as they celebrated the launch of a new Satomobile line that she had personally engineered and built from the ground up. It seemed to be a hit with her fellow engineers and the few lucky ones to test drive it commercially.
Of course she couldn't have managed the party alone, as Mako and Bolin helped her tremendously throughout the night. Mako, turns out, was a fantastic stand-in bartender as people found him approachable and talked his ear off throughout the night, he even gave out some advice which caused Asami to smile. Half because it was charming that Mako was openly and willingly trying to help people out he had never seen before, and half because probably some of his advice wouldn’t have been the best. But he was trying! Mako caught a glimpse of Asami and smiled at her from across the room and Asami waved back.
Bolin, being the massive ball of energy that he was, was always seemingly being the center of attention of different groups of people throughout the night. He regaled the partygoers with stories of his short stint of being a movie star. And of course his brother being a detective, probably to Mako’s dismay. The amount of people that laughed, cheered, audibly gasped, and ooh-ed at his stories made Asami shake her head in wonderment. The way Bolin was able to grab everybody’s attention with his energetic and enthusiastic storytelling was always something to behold.
There was one key person that was missing…but…that was over. She hasn’t seen her in…a very long time. Asami sighed as she tried to push those thoughts out of her head. It was no use and not the time to dwell in the past.
*
There have been many moments throughout the years that hit her like a truck. The girl from so long ago that practically shattered her heart. Asami hadn’t felt so intensely about a person since being with her. It was so easy to open up to her and talk all night about anything. Asami had been vulnerable and impossibly open just to her and found it extremely difficult to do so with anyone else, she could always be herself around her. Asami was younger then, she didn’t quite fully grasp what all that meant. How her heart fluttered every time they touched each other, how she always favored sitting by her and talking to her, how she always looked forward with times it was just them two by themselves and not with their friends. Asami was in love with her. It seemed too obvious to look back at it now.
But that all changed when she had to move away. Her parents had to move back across the world to take care of some “family business.” She never elaborated on what that meant, or how Asami, herself, could help. She always refused her help. The day of their move was the hardest. Asami could remember it like it was yesterday, they stood facing each other, staring into each other’s eyes. She grabbed hold of Asami’s hands and held tightly. Asami couldn’t fathom why her stomach was in knots, or why this hurt so goddamn bad. The only thing Asami knew was that this was different. The girl standing directly in front of her hesitated so many times, Asami lost count. She clearly wanted to say something, but whatever it was she never said it. She released Asami’s hands and pulled something out of her pocket. It was a crumpled piece of paper and she handed it to Asami with a smile on her face.
“It’s my email address. Heh. Sorry we can’t call or text anymore, my parents can’t afford the roaming charges.” Her face had a smile on it, but her voice sounded so broken.
Asami could feel the lump in her throat grew in immeasurable size, “I’ll email you tonight!”
“...sweetie, we gotta go!” Her parents called out to her from inside the giant U-Haul truck.
She took one last glimpse into Asami’s eyes, it looked like she was debating something, but went against whatever she was thinking. “I’ll be waiting.” she said before running into the van and closing the door.
And then she was gone. The truck turned the corner and completely left Asami’s vision. Forever. She didn’t know how long she was staring at the corner, impossibly hoping that it would come back for whatever reason…as if this was just one long joke…but it never came back. She found herself opening the piece of paper the girl gave her and read it. At least tried to read it as her writing was some grade-A chicken scratch. Asami stared at it in disbelief.
The first absolute second Asami got home she practically knocked down the door and ran to the computer. She audibly cursed at it as it slowly booted up and dialed onto the internet. “Hurry up!” She immediately logged into her email and typed out a very short message of “I already miss you. Hope you’re comfortable” in the body and typed out the email address that was given to her. She hit send and watched in terror was a new email popped up in her inbox from “mailer-daemon”. No. Asami was confident that she could always decipher her writing. Was it a simple typo? She studied the paper again and tried switching a couple letters around. Mailer-daemon. No! Asami tried switching all the letters that could make sense. Maybe that ‘l’ is a ‘i”? Mailer-daemon. NO! Maybe that “o” was a “0”? Mailer-daemon. Mailer-daemon.
Mailer-daemon.
Mailer-daemon.
Mailer-daemon.
Mailer-daemon.
Asami stared in horror as nothing she tried was successful. How was she ever going to hear from her ever again? She let out an uncontrollable scream as she cursed everything.
*
Asami didn’t want to think of any of that right now, or any time since that day. She especially can’t think about that right now, she was technically on a date right now. She was taking a bit too long checking in on her guests as she returned to the table that she and her date, Lars, were sitting at just moments ago. She noticed that he wasn’t there and instinctively took out her phone. She saw that she got a notification from her dating app and tapped it. It was from the guy,
Hey sorry, I really had to go to the bathroom. Lol.
Asami chuckled to herself as she read the message, he really liked to communicate everything. She honestly found it endearing. She put away her phone and waited patiently for Lars to return. She looked around her estate to see everyone happy, everyone was having a good time. I’m glad, Asami thought to herself. Her date turned soon after, she flashed him a smile as he sat down.
“Hey, sorry. Did you get my message?” he apologized
Asami chuckled lightly, “I did, yes. You feel better?” she raised an eyebrow.
“I do,” he laughed. “I just hoped that it wasn’t too much information too early.”
“It wasn’t.” She shook her head, I’m just glad you didn’t invite me to come with you. “So, where were we?” she tilted her side a bit as she laid her head on her raised hand.
“I think we were in between topics, but I’d like to ask something a bit more personal, if you don’t mind.” Asami instinctively shot a look but composed herself after realizing what she did. Her date picked up on it, “No no no. Nothing bad, I hope. And you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.”
Asami smiled, “Shoot.”
He smiled, “What’s it like being a young CEO? I can’t imagine what you have to go through every day. Do you like what you do, or do you wish you can give it to somebody else?” He genuinely was curious.
“I…” Asami froze, she knew she had to open up eventually, but not so soon. She was still trying to work on that with her friends as it is, not some guy she’s only talked to once in person before.
It must have been some time because her date spoke again, “I can change the sub–”
“No…” Asami took a breath, “Sorry, I was just lost in thought.” She forced herself to smile, she had to start sooner or later. “Being a CEO has its perks, I can headline or veto any projects I want. I can make sure my entire team is happy and properly compensated. I can make sure that we stay on track with the goals and aspirations that my father set. But…” Ugh. She was at the hard part. She closed her eyes tightly and took a long breath. “Sometimes, yes. I wish…I wish I could just escape and…and leave it all behind. Everything there reminds me of…”
Lars started to reach out to grab her hand but hesitated, it was probably too soon and maybe inappropriate for a second date. He brought his hand back to the table, “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories for you. Let’s change the subject.” he offered a weak smile.
Asami nodded her head, still keeping her eyes closed.
“What’s next for you? What awesome thing are you planning on doing after this?” he tried for something that was lighthearted.
But Asami didn’t take it that way. She was no longer interested in talking about herself. She shook her head and opened her eyes, “You know what?” She exclaimed a bit louder than she anticipated, “We’ve talked about me a lot tonight and on our last date. Why don’t we talk about you? Relationships are a two-way street, you know.” She deflected, still trying to shake off her anxieties. “What are your…,” she got distracted by Bolin practically sprinting towards Mako. He was saying something to his brother and showed him something from his phone. I wonder what’s going on. She turned back, “I’m sorry,” she laughed, “Bo just caught my attention there.”
Her date laughed, “Yeah, I get it. He’s quite a cool dude.” Oh? So you’ve met? “Anyway, you were going to say?”
“You’re right, he is a ‘cool dude.’” She smiled warmly, whatever Bolin was showing Mako, she was sure to know before the night ended. “Anyway, I was going to ask what your plans are, immediate and long term, if any.”
Her date laughed nervously and started to tap the table lightly with his index finger, “Well, I –”
“I’M SO SORRY, LARS” Bolin energetically interrupted. “BUT I HAVE TO STEAL ASAMI. Uhh…UH MAKO AND I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR HER.” He didn’t even finish his statement as he grabbed Asami’s arm enthusiastically. She learned to take Bolin’s excessive energy with stride long ago.
“I’m sorry. I guess I’ll be right back.” She chuckled to her date. She decided to take her drink with her, she figured it would be a toast or some sort of news that she didn’t have the chance to read yet.
“I’ll be right here.” Lars offered her a sincere smile. Bolin’s energy was always so infectious.
“WE GOTTA GO!”
Bolin dragged her along, causing a few missteps along the way. Even though she was in danger of losing her drink, she laughed the entire way. They quickly reached their destination and Bolin grabbed her and placed her in the center of the room, facing a doorway.
“Bolin, what’s—”
Bolin took a step in front of her and placed a finger in front of his lips. Asami laughed as she followed his instruction.
“Hey, Mako!” Bolin hollered over and waved his hand frantically to get his brother’s attention. Mako seemed to have heard immediately as he seemed to excuse himself from the person he was talking to. He quickly jogged over to their location. Now Asami was especially confused, she’s never really seen Mako hurry anywhere.
Asami raised an eyebrow as the two brothers stood in front of her, “Mako, Bolin, what’s going on?”
Bolin loudly cleared his throat. “Asami,” he started off with a quiet tone, which was the most surprising thing he’s done all night. “Mako and I have a surprise for you.” Asami faced Mako, who only offered a smile and a nod of his head.
There was a pause, far too long for Asami’s patience, “Well?”
Mako and Bolin stepped out of the way of the doorway, and what replaced them was a sight she never thought she’d see again. It was her, the girl from so long ago.
Korra.
Asami audibly gasped and dropped her glass as her hands started to shake. If anyone hadn’t been focusing on them before, the glass shattering would surely let everyone know now. It was as if Asami had seen a ghost, eyes laser focused, and mouth hanged agape. She stared wide eyed at the person in front of her, the girl, no, woman now, stood just several steps in front of her. Asami took several glances up and down to study the woman, to study Korra. Asami tried to swallow the lump in her throat that she didn’t realize was already there. She had to remind herself to breathe, but she couldn’t. Her sole focus was Korra standing in front of her.
Korra on the other hand wasn’t looking at Asami, instead at some random point, just slightly away from Asami’s body. Asami swore Korra’s cheeks were several shades redder than it was just a couple seconds ago. Korra’s arm raised up and she instinctively rubbed the back of her neck as she crossed the threshold. Asami assured herself that this was some sort of dream, some sort of hallucination, there was no way that Korra was walking towards her at this moment. But she felt each and every goosebump. She felt how painful it was when she forgot to breathe. She felt all the summersaults her stomach had been performing without her consent.
Each step Korra took towards her seemed to take an eternity. The world slowly faded away from her vision as the woman from her young adolescent life, the girl who she definitely was in love with, walked towards her. The girl who she thought was never going to see again was finally standing directly in front of Asami. She was teleported back onto the street all those years ago, the smell of diesel filled her nostrils, and the summer heat from the setting sun burned on her skin.
“Hey…” Korra spoke softly, cautiously. Her eyes finally looked directly at Asami. God, were her eyes always this blue?
Asami had to swallow, her mouth insatiably dry. “H-hey.”
“I um…” Korra looked down for a second before coming right back up to maintain the eye contact that was melting Asami on the inside. “I’m back!” Korra nervously chuckled. Asami couldn’t find anything to retort back. There were billions of things she could say, that she wanted to say, but nothing could form. “I um.” Korra broke eye contact again but was reinvigorated when her eyes returned. “I have to do something, right now, that I should've done a long time ago.” She took a deep breath, “If I don’t, I’ll never forgive myself.” With each word she spoke, her passion grew.
“O…okay…Wha….” Was all Asami could muster, as she continued to stare dumbfoundedly and head remained empty.
Korra quickly grabbed hold of Asami’s dress and pulled her in and crashed their lips together. Asami couldn’t help but to release a surprised moan at the sudden and intense movement, but as the kiss lingered on and Asami fully registered what was happening. She exhaled all the breath holding peacefully. If she could hear outside of her bubble, she would’ve heard people oohing and cheering, but it was impossible to do so as Korra was showing her her desires. When her thoughts returned, she decided to make her move. She pressed forward with her weight to deepen the kiss and wrapped her arms tightly around Korra’s waist. God, I love this.
Korra pulled back slowly, with a lopsided grin slowly forming on her face, Holy fuck, did I miss you. Asami smiled brightly at Korra in response. The surge of emotions coursing through Asami’s veins, how impossible it all felt but yet it was still so familiar. It brought immense peace within Asami. She was glad the person who she was willingly open up to from so long ago…so… long…ago….
“You asshole!” Asami yelled loudly, Korra’s smirk instantly disappeared and was replaced with fear. “You. Gave. Me. A. Bad. Email” She exclaimed each word with a harder smack onto Korra’s shoulder.
Korra’s defenses lowered as she started to chuckle, “I’m! ow. Sorry! ow.” She raised her hands up to defend herself, but Asami relented.
Just as quickly as she was angry, Asami once again returned to shock. “I…I can’t believe you’re here. I…I have so many questions.” She stared and easily got lost into Korra’s magnificent blue eyes.
“And I have answers. Can we…sit and talk?” She pointed away from the party. “I know you’re hosting a party, and I sincerely hope I won’t be interrupting anything, but…” Korra began to blush once more, “…I’d like for us to catch up.”
“No you’re not--” Oh shit. Lars. Asami quickly turned around to face the table that her and Lars were sitting at. To her confusion, it sat empty. He must have left. Crap, I have to make it up to him somehow. That was kind of a shitty thing to do. Asami sighed, “Actually, I do need to take care of something first. Can…can I come find you later?” It was Asami’s turn to blush.
“Yeah, of course. I…I’ll be here all night.”
Asami didn’t hesitate to smile, “I’m really glad.” She said warmly. She let herself steal one more look of her Korra before she ran off to do damage control.
She went and found a, in comparison, quiet corner and took out her phone. The dating app already had the number notification on it. Crap, I should’ve messaged first. She opened it
Hey. So... This is kinda awkward. Lol. But I decided to leave, but please don’t worry about it. Bolin talked to me and he told me he’d hang out with me sometime and be my wing man. Lol.
Asami smiled in relief. Lars wasn’t being gross and being really chill with the whole situation.
Listen, I know we don’t know each other too much, but I’d have to say. You looked really happy right then.
And like, it became clear to me that you had a wall up on both of our dates, and then in walks in this girl and that wall seemed to crumble as soon as you saw her.
And I know this will sound weird, coming from a guy that just watched two girls kiss but I can tell you were really into it and you weren’t holding yourself back? Idk.
Anyway, I’d like to once again congratulate you on a successful new car line and…more than likely congratulate you on your new…..old? found happiness. Lol.
Asami began typing away.
Lars, I am SO sorry! I had no idea that was going to happen! I never would have done anything to hurt you on purpose. Thank you for understanding and not being super weird about the whole thing. I’ve talked to other guys who I KNOW would have asked some gross shit.
Let me make it up to you one day. It obviously can’t be a date, but if Bolin fails, let me be your wing-woman for a night :)
Let me know when you’re free after your adventure with Bolin. Oh and word of advice, You’re going to have to interrupt Bolin when he takes you out. He’s is going to say some things you probably don’t want the girl to hear when first meeting you Lol
Asami put her phone away, relieved that she didn’t hurt this guy who was honestly just trying his best. But with all that said and done, and it not taking as nearly as long as she thought it would, there was only one last thing to do. Go be with Korra.