Archive of Our Own

"—and here is the part where you pity me."  

"Pity?" Opal yelps, incredulous. She might have choked, had her wedge of Asami's famous from-scratch (from-the-freezer) french toast not gone down so smoothly. "Pity? God, this is delicious. But, come on, Asami, really?" 

The weekly Beifong-Sato Breakfast for Dinner is something of a time-honored tradition. It's nothing more than a quiet, dignified evening between friends. Somehow though, the Beifong part of the event always manages to bring up some of the absolute worst topics of conversation. The week prior it had been the story of exactly why she'd named her dog "Juicy." Before that, the exact dimensions of her boyfriend's package. Her boyfriend, who Asami had known since childhood. 

This week, it's much worse. Because Opal Beifong is exactly the kind of person who tells it like it is. And Asami Sato is exactly the kind of person that doesn't want to hear it. At least, not while she's enjoying her "homemade" french toast.

Asami takes the period between bites and the blissful lack of words on Opal's end to glare at her friend. "Yes, pity. I have to spend the entire day with her, and—" She swallows, raising her eyebrows pointedly. "They don't sell frozen lemonade at this place." 

"What kind of bullshit water park doesn't sell frozen lemonade? Wait. Hold on, let me get this straight." She jams the last piece of bread in her mouth, chewing slowly. "You," Swallow. "get to spend the entire day with a girl—scratch that—a grown-ass woman you've been best friends with since forever. Not only are you best friends with her, she's this outrageously gorgeous goddess, and like, she's ripped, which is all cool for you, and it's a water park. A water park, Asami." 

"Other than the fact that, for one, I've known her for years and I'm not going to spend the day ogling her," Asami begins, not even managing to convince herself, let alone the smirking woman seated across from her. "and also, I think we're pretty far from calling her a grown woman. Yesterday I overheard her and Bolin reciting the Powerpuff Girls theme verbatim." 

Opal frowns. "That was a good show." 

"The best. That's not the point." she sighs, "What are we going to do the whole day?" 

"Hm, wow Asami, I really don't know what… oh maybe—water slides? Wave pool? Rafting? Asami, you are not going to run out of things to do at a fucking water park." 

Maybe Asami's groan of complete exasperation doesn't exactly underscore the conversation. Opal just isn't getting it. She's missing everything Asami is trying to portray. She says so. "You're just not getting it, Opal." 

"I'm getting way more than you want to admit I'm getting. In fact, I am so on point that you are already blushing. Case closed." 

Asami doesn't respond, but spends the rest of the night blushing into her Breakfast for Dinner.

Saturday comes much sooner than Asami had anticipated. Not that she's suddenly lost the ability to tell time, just that she'd recently begun to lose the indifference she'd tried so desperately to build up over the week. It's going to be a fun day, yes, but fun laced with the stressful tension Asami feels every time she's around her best friend.  

"Can I get out of the car and punch this asshole in the face?" 

"Get out of the car. The moving car, mind you, and climb over said moving car to the other moving car... and punch a stranger in the face." 

Korra looks completely offended. "Do you see this? Are you seeing him riding up your ass?" She rolls her window down like she's ready to kill. "Go around!" 

"He can't hear you, Korra." 

"GO AROUND ASSHOLE!" 

"HE CAN'T—" Korra isn't listening, which is not particularly surprising, but Asami decides to take the opportunity to use her controls and roll the window back up so Korra doesn't kill herself. Or the man in the other car. 

It effectively shuts Korra's ranting out, and she slides back into her seat. "He was being an asshole, Asami! I'm just trying to defend you as a driver and as a friend." 

"As much as I'd love to thank you for your valiant efforts, I'd also love it if you kept your entire body in the car. To be honest, I'm not really interested in picking your limbs off of the road." 

"You wouldn't have to pick my limbs off the road." she grumbles, slides down in her seat with her arms folded like she's five years old. "I'm coordinated." 

"You are not coordinated enough to pull off that James Bond-level move you're considering." 

"Fine! I'll stay in the car while we're moving, jeez. But you better not make a bunch of dumb rules when we get there." 

Asami swats at her arm, because she deserves it. "If you try to jump off the edge of a water slide, I'm going to stop you." 

The groan that issues itself from Korra's mouth actually makes Asami jump. "Asamiii," she whines. "I could do it. I could make a sweet landing and you'd be super impressed and you'd tell me how awesome I am and—" 

"You'd break several bones. I'd take you to the hospital. You'd complain the entire way." 

"See, I don't agree with you. I think I'd—oh shit!" Korra gasps, cutting off her own train of thought. "We're here!" 

As much as she might not want to readily admit it, some of Korra's childlike excitement is rubbing off. Asami's never been one for theme parks of any sort, but even though Korra can be a royal pain in the ass sometimes, she's also the best friend Asami could ever hope for. Also, she's been talking it up for the past month, so Asami kind of (really) wants to ride the log flume. 

Korra's practically hopping in her seat as they pull into the parking lot, and Asami can't even put the car in park before she's all but fallen out of the door. 

"We are going to ride everything." 

"The park closes in four hours, so we might not get to everything." 

"Everything." 

"Korra." 

"Even the wave pool." 

"I told you, I'm not getting in the wave pool." Korra gives her a look, and Asami shoots it right back. They've had this discussion. They've had this discussion more than once. "I'm not getting in the wave pool, Korra." 

"I don't understand why you have such a problem with the wave pool." 

Asami has a glare she reserves for business meetings and Korra. Today, it's for Korra. Who subsequently rolls her eyes, pulls off her ratty t-shirt to reveal the blue and white bikini top she'd gotten specifically for this one trip, and goes running for the park entrance screaming: "Wave pool!" 

She's not going to tell Korra why she has a problem with the wave pool, because Korra doesn't get to know. Simple as that. She's not getting in the fucking wave pool. 

By the time she catches up with Korra, she's got their wristbands, and she's trying (and failing) to get hers on without having the adhesive catch on the hairs on her arm. 

"I need a new wristband." 

"You don't," Asami says while securing her own band properly and carefully. "I'm sure you'll survive." 

Before Korra can whine more, Asami seizes her arm so she can tuck the excess around itself so it's no longer bothering her. 

"You're a genius." Korra states, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "And since you're a genius, I figure that you'd be the authority on what to ride first. So what'll it be, Miss Sato: Typhoon Lagoon? Riptide Alley? Swamp Fever?" 

"Swamp Fever sounds like an STD." 

"Swamp Fever it is." 

Turns out, Swamp Fever is for children. 

Disconcerting, yes, but Korra is a child. An eighteen-year-old child. She manages to rope Asami into the area by crouching down to commandeer one of the automated spray hoses that doesn't rise above her knees and shooting Asami directly in the face.

"I declare war on you, Captain Sato!" she calls from her glorified garden hose. A gaggle of children have already surrounded her, looking equal parts interested and excited. "Unless you'd rather surrender to the almighty Water Tribe!" 

The children surrounding her cheer and take up their own arms, so Asami doesn't really have much of a choice in the matter. She wipes the heavily chlorinated water out of her eyes before grabbing a miniature spray gun of her own. She's not a kid person, but an older girl sides with her, and grabs a hose in defense.

"I accept your declaration! Your precious Water Tribe will fall at the hands of… the uh," 

"The United Republic!" the girl beside her finishes. 

"Oh, I like that one." Asami tells her, and the girl smiles back. 

Korra rallies her group of kids. "Ready troops? For the Water Tribe!" 

The water gun fight lasts for entirely too long, and eventually they have to call it a draw because parents have arrived and it's a little strange that there's two supposed "adults" playing water war with a bunch of kids. However, the kids are sorry to see them go, and they say their own goodbyes with a little reluctance. 

They're walking away from Swamp Fever when Korra pipes up.

"Water Tribe won." 

"That is a bold-faced lie and I refuse to listen to such slander." 

Korra laughs. "Well, the United Republic is a force to be reckoned with, I'll give you that much. Where to now?" 

Asami smirks, and Korra grins in response. "Log flumes?" 

"Hell yeah, log flumes." 

The log flumes are officially the greatest thing ever. In Asami's humble opinion. 

They're exactly the right mix between automation and the thrill of a manual water ride. Since it's Asami's pick, she jumps up front, and Korra hops in behind her. Fortunately or unfortunately, the space is limited, so she ends up pressing her wet, half-naked front right up against Asami's wet, half-naked back. And god if she had not been trying to ignore Korra's body all day, now it's flush against her skin. 

"We could reenact the scene from that movie… the one where they're doing pottery? You know, like this—" She grabs Asami's hands, which is a whole new level of horrifying, (fucking awesome) and moves them around like she's molding clay. "Patrick Swayze, right?" 

"Yeah, Ghost. You know what that scene leads to, right?" 

"You wanna have ghost sex?" 

It's the park water between her legs. Not her. "I—what?" 

"Okay, okay… no ghost sex." 

They don't talk for the rest of the wait, because ghost sex, but when the ride's narrator tells them to "Hold on, because it's gonna be a bumpy ride." Korra immediately wraps her arms tight around Asami's middle, leaving her breathless for all the wrong (right) reasons. 

She feels Korra's breath against her ear. "We're gonna die." 

There are no other warnings before they go flying through a series of twists and turns and Asami is screaming and giggling and Korra is laughing and their entire log is soaked and Korra keeps pulling her tighter and by the time they reach the grand finale and there's a massive tidal wave, they're both in hysterics. 

Korra lets her go to help her out of the boat which is both lame and nice, respectively, but one thing is certain. 

The log flume is the best. 

They try out some of the smaller attractions next. White Water Adventure, Typhoon Lagoon, Riptide Alley, and something called Wet n' Nasty which, one, is the worst fucking name anyone could give to a ride, and two, makes Korra laugh so hard that she collapses in front of the shoe rack in tears. 

She's in such a state, she actually manages to attract a crowd. An older woman asks Asami if Korra's alright, and Asami had just assumed she'd never have to say this to a middle-aged woman, but today, she's breaking a lot of social conventions.

"She's a little overwhelmed by the, um… Wet n' Nasty." she says, and then winces, and then also wants to drown herself. Or maybe join Korra over by the shoes, or maybe not, seeing as she's beating the wet concrete with someone else's flip-flop and laughing so hard that she's not making any noise. Other than the sound of a wet flip-flop hitting the ground. It's not pleasant.

After Korra finally manages to pull herself together, Asami realizes that Wet n' Nasty is just another inner tube slide, and when they jump on the individual tubes, she can distinctly hear Korra's laughter (wheezing followed by howling and banging—did she bring the flip-flop?) from behind her the entire ride down. They're wading out of the Wet n' Nasty pool (oh no) when Korra seems to have a revelation. 

"What—Korra, what happened?" 

She's just kind of standing there, hair bedraggled and bangs in her face, and Asami follows her line of sight to… "We have to ride that." 

"I think I'm going to have to sit that one out." 

Korra turns on her like she's just been personally offended. "You have to ride it with me! I won't go alone." 

"That thing is like a four hundred foot drop—it doesn't even—it's not structurally sound." 

If there's one thing Korra is good at, it's pouty faces. Also, being very attractive. But she doesn't really try at that, so, never mind. 

Asami groans, knowing that she's already lost. 

She has no idea how they've managed to get in the ridiculously long line of something called the Kneecapper, which, again, is a horrible name, one that rivals Wet n' Nasty.

Who in the hell is naming these rides? 

They're already several hundred feet in the air, and Korra seems to have no problem with the fact that they're on a rickety wooden staircase that doesn't look nearly stable enough to support the amount of people on it.

"This may well be the greatest thing we've ever done together." 

"This may well be the last thing we'll ever do together because we're going to die." 

"Asami Sato," she begins, extending one hand out and placing the other over her heart like she's about to serenade Asami with something terrible and off-key. "I vow to protect you from certain death at the hands of the Kneecapper." 

"Is that a binding contract?" 

Today, apparently, "binding contract" to Korra means "hug," because she pulls Asami in, buries her face in her shoulder. "I'll protect you." 

"This isn't what I meant." she protests, very weakly. It's what she wants, but it's not what she meant. 

"Hug me back." It doesn't take much prompting, she hugs Korra back. "Repeat after me. Korra is amazing and cool and won't let her best friend in the universe die on a water slide." 

"Korra is a dork that gives great hugs and she won't let her best friend die on a water slide." She tries not to sound like all the air has been expelled from her lungs, but it totally has. "The line's moving." 

Without disturbing their position, Korra picks Asami up and walks the flight of stairs to the highest platform where the entrance to the ride is. "I do give great hugs, don't I?" she mumbles into Asami's shoulder. 

"Mhmm." 

Honestly, why are they even riding this stupid thing? A better idea is to just have Korra hug her for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately though, Korra pulls away when they finally get to the mouth of the tube, and the park attendant tells them what to do. 

It's about this moment that Asami knows she's going to die. So much has been left unsaid. "Korra—" 

Korra is grinning in her own tube beside her. "Don't worry, Asami, this is going to be fucking amazing. If I could hold your hand I would, and all would be well in the world." she says, and instead has to grab the sides as per the attendant's instructions. "You good?" 

No. "Yeah." 

The attendant, who looks like she'd rather be collecting garbage than operating this ride, tells them to get ready, and without actually letting them get ready, presses a button that releases the plastic gates in front of them. 

Asami sees her life flash before her eyes. 

She has so many regrets, most of which involve Korra and her body and her lips and if she survives this death trap they are going to have to have a serious discussion about their relationship. 

She doesn't realize the ride's over until two strong arms wrap around her, and suddenly the world snaps back into place. She's not careening down a rickety pipe, screaming at the top of her lungs. She's in Korra's arms again, being both twirled around and lifted out of the pool, Korra's laughter in her ear. 

Then again, she might have just died, because this is a pretty nice heaven. 

"I told you it would be the best!" Korra says, putting Asami down on the concrete and stepping back so she can see her triumphant grin. "You want to grab some food? I didn't ask you before the Kneecapper because, you know, vomit warning." 

"Sure." Asami replies, still uncertain in her voice and on her feet. Korra drapes a towel around her shoulders and smiles and her knees wobble that much more. 

They should call Korra the Kneecapper. 

Korra insists that Asami pick whatever she wants to eat. They actually don't have any frozen lemonade, so that's out of the question, but when they reach the concession stands, her stomach grumbles, and she realizes that she hasn't eaten all day. Frozen lemonade couldn't fill her up anyway. 

They decide on pizza, order a large cheese and sit down at one of the nicer multicolored umbrella tables. And sometimes (this time being one of those sometimes) Asami wonders if Korra even tastes the food she shoves in her mouth. 

"'S not bad!" she says through a mouthful of pizza. 

"Chew," Asami says, miming a chewing motion like she's teaching an infant. "and swallow." 

Korra actually follows her instructions. After she swallows, she's watching Asami expectantly, and while it's nice to have Korra's deep blue eyes on her, it's also about make her squirm around in her seat. 

"What do you want to do after this?" Korra asks, still watching her carefully. "I've heard that whole forty-five minutes after eating thing is a crock of shit." 

"I've heard that too." Asami says, nodding and turning back to her pizza so she doesn't have to focuses on Korra's eyes. "But I'm not riding any more Kneecappers after this. Unless you want to clean up vomit." 

Korra shrugs. "As long as it's yours." 

She stops chewing. Okay, what? What does that—ew...? 

"Was that weird?" 

"Weirdly... sweet?" 

"I was going for thoughtful, but I'll take it." 

Asami's still staring at her, and Korra's just chewing on her pizza and suddenly they're both laughing their asses off. 

Asami loves this. There's no one else she can be like this with. They're always so stupid and goofy and hilarious all wrapped up in a wonderful little package. It feels so, so good to laugh with Korra, and they do it all the time. 

Those blue eyes are on her again, sparkling with laughter, and she doesn't look away. 

After eating, they wander around, deciding on what to do next. The park closes in an hour, but there's not much else they want to ride anyway. 

They're walking by another directory when Korra perks up. "I've got it." she says, and her grin is a little too mischievous for Asami's liking. "Come on!" She grabs Asami's hand to drag her along, but before she can pull away and just follow, Korra's lacing their fingers together so Asami can have an actual heart attack. 

"This might be our last thing, Korra. You said you didn't want to ride anything else." she comments, miraculously managing to string together an entire coherent thought, because her brain has to be leaking out of her ears that this point. 

"Yeah, because all the other shit looks lame in comparison to Wet n' Nasty." 

Korra starts giggling again, and Asami can't help but join her. She's not watching where they're going, just focusing on the warmth of Korra's hand, and her laughter, and it's all well and good until— 

Until Korra releases her hand, picks her up, and actually tosses her in the wave pool. 

The fucking wave pool. 

It takes her a second to fully process what's happened, but when she rises above water level, she's glaring up at what used to be her best friend, laughing hysterically on the ledge above her. As soon as she's stifled her laughter, she yells, "WAVE POOL!" and cannonballs into the pool, dousing Asami yet again. 

Korra rises above the water, and Asami resists the urge to shove her stupid head back under. 

"You're dead to me. You're dead, and you're dead to me." 

"Aw, come on Asami. The wave pool is awesome!" Korra protests, failing to demonstrate by swimming in a little circle. Asami has had enough of it, though, because she turns and starts swimming away. "Hey, wait! Don't—Asami!" 

She really does want to turn back to Korra, but as soon as she considers it, a used band-aid—a fucking used band-aid—floats up right in front of her. If the Kneecapper wasn't enough to to make her heave, this will definitely do the job. 

Korra's voice gets far away fast, because Asami is hauling some serious ass out of the wave pool. When she makes it to the shallow area, she all but runs the rest of the way, earning her a few odd looks from the parents lounging around on rusty pool chairs. They're the smart ones, letting their dirty kids jump in while they sunbathe in peace and relative cleanliness. 

"Asami!" Korra calls, and she turns to look at her ex-best friend, and it's a really bad idea because watching Korra—muscled bodybuilder goddess Korra—emerge from a pool (even if it is the wave pool) instantly quells any and all anger she might have built up. She wants to be angry, because she was probably just wading around in some kid's pee thanks to Korra, but when the other girl walks out of the water, soaked and mostly naked and pushing her hair out of her face, Asami kind of wants to drop right to her knees. 

"Asami, I'm sorry." she says once she makes it out of the pool, and her train of thought is completely derailed because Korra's close again. "Do you really hate the wave pool that much?" 

It takes a moment for her to force her brain back into gear, but when she does, she frowns at Korra. "I feel disease creeping into every one of my pores. I ran into a used band-aid while trying to get out. You tell me Korra, do I really hate the wave pool that much?" 

Maybe it's a little much, maybe she's a little too facetious, a little too condescending. She hadn't been entirely serious, but Asami almost smacks herself in the face because Korra gives her this wounded look and she wonders idly if she's just broken the record for fastest time to ruin a day. 

"I'm sorry." Korra mumbles, shifting her eyes downward with a frown. "It was really insensitive of me. I know you said you didn't want to go, and I didn't listen… sorry." 

Asami's anger crumbles. "Korra, don't—" 

Korra clears her throat, trying to push past Asami, but she's not going to let her chronic foot-in-mouth disease fuck up their wonderful day. She grabs Korra by the arm as she tries to walk off, and pulls her into an embrace. Korra's hands rest gingerly on Asami's arms. "Hug me back." Asami orders, repeating Korra's earlier instructions. Korra complies, albeit slowly. "Repeat after me. Asami is my best friend in the universe and she's sorry that she snapped, but she does hate the nasty ass wave pool." 

Korra huffs a laugh into the crook of Asami's neck before responding. "Asami is my best friend in the universe and she doesn't have to apologize because she's amazing and I'm being stupid." 

Her words settle pleasantly in Asami's chest, and while they might still be covered in wave pool water, Asami is starting to care less and less because hugging Korra is the greatest thing ever. She begins to say something when Korra pulls away, and she hopes that she isn't imagining the reluctance she feels when Korra releases her hold on her. Whatever words she'd had die in her throat because Korra turns her back to her and crouches down. 

"Hop on." she says, grinning over her shoulder. 

Asami smirks. "Is this a " I'm sorry I threw you in the wave pool" piggyback ride?" 

"If I say yes will you get on?" 

She can't help the smile that creeps across her face, but she also can't help but think about what Opal will say when she tells her that she rode Korra around the water park. 

Then again, Opal can shove it. 

She climbs on Korra's back precariously, but the moment she's on, Korra straightens smoothly. Her hands wrap around Asami's thighs and fuck if she doesn't feel the muscles of Korra's back flex against her skin. 

"Good?" Korra asks. 

Wonderful. "Yep. Where to, Seabiscuit?" 

"Well," Korra begins, adjusting Asami's legs over her hips in a way that forces her to repress a violent shiver. She starts walking before she finishes her thought. "I thought we might grab some cheap booze, park on the beach a couple miles from here, and camp out in your truck for the night." 

"Mmm, spontaneous." she says with a chuckle. "Also a little illegal, but I like it."

"Hey, a couple wine coolers never hurt anyone. Besides, we've got the topper and those sleeping bags in the truck bed."

Asami's not surprised that Korra can carry her the entire way back through the park with ease, but she is thankful because not only do her feet feel like lead weights, she's enjoying being able to savor every moment she gets to spend in contact with Korra. 

Once they get back to her car, Korra crouches down so she can climb off easily. "I'm kind of astounded that you managed that."

"Hey, captain of the weightlifting team right here." Korra counters, shooting Asami one of her crooked grins before disappearing around the other side of the truck. "Besides, I've benched way more than you, Asami."

"I'm not exactly sure how to take that." she says, as they both close their doors. 

Korra shrugs. "Just a fact. No offense intended."

"None taken." Asami starts the car, trying to ignore the way Korra stretches out in her seat, the muscles of her stomach pulling taut under smooth brown skin—fuck. She clears her throat and tries to do the same to her mind. "So, gas station beer?"

"Whatever floats your boat. Or better yet, wherever we won't get carded."

They end up with a six-pack of the cheapest beer they can find, easily managing the purchase when they realize that the cashier is a pimply guy, around the same age as them, and he says every word into Asami's chest as she piles the beers on the counter.

Korra finds some strawberry shortcake ice cream bars in the back, which she knows are Asami's favorite. Sometimes, Korra is sweeter than the thirty grams of fake sugar in her pink dessert.

As it happens, the beach is a quick, ten minute drive from the gas station, and there's a copse of trees that cover a secluded area, perfect for a murder. Or a romantic evening out. Whichever.

Korra takes a swig from her can once they've situated themselves in the truck bed, feet dangling off the edge.

"Uhg," she says with a grimace. "this is disgusting."

"What did you expect? We could have bought that plastic lighter with your star sign on it for only a dollar less." Asami joins Korra, taking a tentative sip from her own can. Yep, tastes like carbonated piss.

"Probably would have been a better purchase. Also, it said that I was a… what was it—a "fierce and determined individual." Too true."

"If you need the back of a gas station lighter to tell you that, you need to do some serious self-exploration, my friend."

Korra laughs that bright, clear Korra laugh Asami's grown to love so much. She shifts, pulling her legs up to her chest and setting her beer down. Asami can't help but take a moment to admire her friend. Yes, she might have a massive crush on her, and yes, it may often seem detrimental to their relationship, but when Korra looks like this, eyes bright in the dark, face soft and open, Asami wants nothing more than to make her feelings known.

She doesn't, though, just takes another sip of lukewarm beer before deciding that it's not even worth the alcohol content and pouring it out on the sand.

"Today was awesome." Korra says, still looking out on the water, chin propped up on her knees. "Thanks for coming with me, Asami."

"I couldn't very well let you go to a water park on your own." she teases, nudging Korra's arm. "You would have defied the laws of physics and burnt the whole place to the ground."

"Well, some of the rides were made of wood. I may not understand the laws of physics like you do, but I think I could've managed those."

Asami smiles fondly. Not at their casual conversation on arson, but at the situation as a whole. She scoots closer, leaning her head on Korra's shoulder. 

"I had an awesome day too, Korra. Thanks for inviting me." 

Korra doesn't respond, just leans her own head against Asami's as they watch the waves.

When she wakes up, Asami is both elated and in excruciating pain.

The pain is in her back, because the truck bed has ridges and the ridges have been digging into her spine all night, and elated because at some point in the night Korra had curled up against her, her arm thrown across Asami's stomach and a leg rucked up over her hips. It's not the most comfortable position, but Asami isn't about to move.

She feels Korra's steady breathing against her collarbone, and there's something about the situation, the early morning fog that makes her do something she probably wouldn't, if completely sentient. She angles her head just right and lightly presses her lips to Korra's forehead.

There's a moment then where she's mortified that the other girl will wake up, but the fear is suddenly overshadowed by how nice it feels to just be lying with Korra, watching the early morning light filter through the windows of her truck bed topper, feeling Korra's chest rise and fall against her side.

Asami closes her eyes for what has to be less than a second, ready to continue enjoying their position when Korra stirs.

Instantly, Asami goes stiff as a board, trying desperately to steady her breathing, but Korra's moving now and oh shit shit shit, did she feel the kiss? Fuck. 

Korra stretches along the length of her body, brushing past a few very inappropriate places in the process, and when Asami ventures a look down, Korra's awake, and she's gazing up at Asami with this dopey, early-morning smile and it, amongst many things she'd experienced yesterday, is probably not something she needs to see. Or maybe she needs to see it more than life itself and also maybe she's wanted to know what Korra looks like early in the morning because it is absolutely adorable and she feels her heart swell.

"Hey," Korra says, and again, Asami hadn't really known before this point in time how badly she needed to know what Korra sounds like in the morning either. Before she can formulate a response, though, Korra leans in like it's nothing and actually kisses her.

It lasts all of two seconds, and then Korra just snuggles back into Asami's collarbone like she hadn't just actually kissed her. 

They lie in silence, and Asami feels like there should be some kind of cosmic interference in a situation like this, like maybe she should get hit by lightning, or maybe Cthulhu should be rising out of the ocean outside the truck, because it doesn't feel like it's happened, but she also knows that it did because she can still feel the ghost of Korra's lips on her own.

The moment breaks when Korra stiffens against her. "I just kissed you on the mouth, didn't I?"

She can't help it, she starts laughing. Hysterically, like Korra had before they'd ridden Wet 'n Nasty. She doesn't exactly know why she's laughing, but for some reason, she can't stop.

Somehow, though, Korra manages to slide out of the truck bed while Asami's caught up laughing, and when she finally cools down, she realizes with a start that she's been left alone.

"Korra?" she calls, pushing herself out and closing the bed and the topper. She's about to call again, but when she comes around the side of her truck, she sees Korra's elbow jutting out of the passenger-side window. Something's wrong. Asami walks around the other side, and slides into the driver's seat, closing the door. "You okay?"

Korra nods with what looks less like a smile and more like a grimace. She's not looking at her. "Yeah, let's go."

"You're not okay. You're not even looking at me."

Korra purses her lips, and still won't look at her. "I'm okay."

Luckily for them, there's no divider between the seats, so Asami can easily scoot over and grab Korra's hand. "You're not a very good liar, you know that."

"Asami, I'm fine."

"You kissed me and now you look about ready to sink into the seat. You're not fine."

She breaks. "Yeah, I kissed you, and you laughed at me and now I just want to get the fuck out of here and never talk about it again. Okay? Okay."

"Korra," she says, and it's much softer and she feels like a complete asshole. "I wasn't laughing at you."

"Yeah? What, you just thought of something really funny at a really inconvenient time?"

Asami sighs, and uses her free hand to angle Korra's face to hers. She still doesn't meet her eyes. "Look at me," she says, and when Korra finally does, the gorgeous blue orbs Asami loves so much are glassy with tears. And it's her fucking fault.

"Korra, I was laughing because I've spent a lot of time and energy trying not to kiss you over the years and you kind of just… did it. No forethought, no questions, nothing. But that's just you, isn't it?"

Korra just stares, her expression unreadable.

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I—I just didn't know what to say or do or… I don't know, I'm just sorry." Asami says, brushing the pad of her thumb over Korra's cheek. "Can you forgive me?"

The other girl looks down, but Asami doesn't miss the smile that creeps across her face. She sniffles before responding, "A lot of time and energy, huh?"

It's stupid, but Asami feels a blush rising high on her cheeks. "A fair amount."

"Oh no," Korra says, and now she's looking right at Asami, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "Don't pull that on me. You said a lot."

Asami clenches her jaw, sighing through her nose. "Are you going to forgive me, or are you going to play the game of semantics until I blush myself into an early grave?"

Korra hums, tapping her chin like she's actually thinking about this—the fucker. "Semantics." she decides, and Asami doesn't have to be looking at her to know that she's grinning like a jerk. "Also, you'll have to spend a fair amount more of that energy because you've wounded me and I need candy and coffee and honeyed words before I decide if I'm going to forgive you or not."

"And to think, I actually tried to ask for forgiveness."

"Hmm, now, I'm not tasting any honey in that sentence."

"Korra, you're allergic to honey." Asami remarks, "Also, you're making it pretty clear that you don't want to taste any of my sentences." She cranks the ignition, shoves the car into gear before she realizes that Korra hasn't made any more smartass comments. She looks over, and Korra's just kind of staring at her. "What? You are allergic to honey."

Korra blinks. "No… not that—the, uh, the… other thing."

Asami smirks, because she definitely has the upper ground in the conversation now.

"Oh the other thing?" She takes the opportunity to lick her lips slowly, and act as if she's tasting something incredible. "Mm, you know, you're really missing out. Much better than honey."

Korra wears many expressions, and over the years Asami has managed to decipher them all. Some are obvious (her confused face is, well, a confused face—adorable as it may be) and some not so much. This one, though, with her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed, but a blush dusting her cheeks can only mean one thing is going to come out of her mouth—

"You asshole."

Asami laughs. "You love me."

So, she's not really sure how it happened.

No, actually, she knows exactly what happened. She knows exactly why they're pulled over on the curb in front of the house Korra is supposed to be having a lesson on meditation in, and she knows exactly why she's straddling Korra in her seat, and she also knows exactly why her tongue is in her best friend's mouth.

Just because she knows how it's happened doesn't devalue the situation—at all.

They'd driven back in much the same fashion as the day prior, only this time involved a hell of a lot more touching on Korra's part. She'd grabbed Asami's hand, lacing their fingers together, and they'd stayed that way until she'd brought their joined hands to her lips, pressing a kiss to the back of Asami's hand that not only caused her to stop right in the middle of a sentence, but had almost made her run into oncoming traffic. 

Asami Sato is an amazing driver, but in one fell swoop Korra had damn near ruined her perfect driving record.

Korra had also spent a good chunk of the trip running her fingers along every piece of skin she could find. It had been so, so distracting, Asami had considered pulling over on the side of the freeway to remedy the problem because Korra would not stop touching her. 

Not that she'd minded.

When she'd pulled over, it had taken a manner of seconds for her to turn the car off and lunge at the other, infuriating, girl and kiss her, finally, properly.

The events leading up to the kiss had only made it better.

However, what had not made it better was the loud, sharp knocking on the window of Asami's car—knocks that send her flying backwards, away from Korra.

"Are you in there, Korra? You're going to be late for our lesson!"

Mortification is not a strong enough word to describe the feeling that settles in the pit of Asami's stomach at the sight of all four of Tenzin's children crowded around the window of her truck while she sits, idle astride Korra's lap.

"Oh, shit." Korra groans, and really helps portray just how Asami is feeling. "Oh for the love of fuck."

Then, muffled, from the other side of the glass: "Is that what sex is?" Followed by: "Woah, what? That's sex?" And then: "You're fucking kidding me!"

"Is that Opal?"

Asami doesn't want to respond, she doesn't want to keep watching the scene unfold outside of her window. Opal Beifong tromping over the front lawn with officially the most shit-eating smile Asami has ever seen on a person.

"Yeah," she says, weakly, like she's already dead, as the girl outside the door smashes her face against the window, banging on the glass and trying the handle. "that's Opal."

"Roll down the window!" she yells from the other side of the glass. 

Asami sighs and turns to Korra, who's already watching for her response. "You know she's not going to leave."

Korra frowns, and it gives Asami a second to admire her handiwork. Her lips are red and thoroughly kissed, and there's a couple dark marks along her jawline, and for a moment, just a moment—Asami forgets that Opal and four children are right outside the car.

It takes another moment to roll down the window, but as soon as she does, Opal is smirking like an asshole, propping her chin up with her hand like an asshole, and generally being an asshole.

"Late for class, half-naked, and playing tonsil hockey around the children. Outrageous."

"Tonsil hockey?"

"You are in no position to argue with my word choice, Hickey Queen."

"That's worse, Opal. That's—that's so much worse."

"Shush." Opal hisses, clamping her fingers together in front of Asami's face. "I need to savor this moment. I was right. I was so right. I deserve an award."

"If we make you an award, will you take the kids and leave for like… fifteen minutes?" Korra begs, looking up at Asami for approval on her time choice. Asami would have given them an hour, at least, but oh well. She nods her approval. "You can have a little plaque with your name on it and an engraving that says: "World's Blankiest Blank.""

Opal narrows her eyes, flitting her gaze between the two of them. "Ten. And I want "World's Bestiest Romance Predictor.""

There's a few minutes of prompting, but eventually Opal wrangles the kids back into the house, and Korra turns to Asami, eyes bright with humor. "More like World's Cock-Blockiest Asshole."

Asami snorts, unattractive and loud. "Neither of us… you know what, no. I love it. Order the plaque."

"On it. But in the meantime, I'm pretty sure the World's Whateveriest Whatever just gave us ten minutes."

"Clock's ticking, Hickey Queen."