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Chapter Text

Korra stood in the corner of the ring, it was her final fight for the night and she was already feeling pretty exhausted. Her opponent was a newcomer, about her size. Korra made a habit of never underestimating her opponents especially when she was already tired, but the newcomer seemed so small and inconspicuous. It was the girls first seasons, in fact, Korra didn't even know the girls name. So when the announcer's voice echoed in the arena she paid some attention to what he said.

“In the blue corner we have the current champion, Avatar Korra!” The crowd went wild, people wilted and cheered as Korra stuck her signature pose. She sneared at the camera and pointed at the opponent with her pointer finger and pinky extended. The first matches in a season were always some of the most interactive. Soon after the cheers started the announcer interrupted the crowd.

“In the green corner we have rookie Kuvira, signed with the metal benders this is her debut season! She shows real promise, people.'' The cowed uttered a quieter cheer and several members of the audience booed at the newcomer. However, Kuvira simply got into position and taunted the avatar.

No matter how many times Korra stepped into the ring, it was always exciting and new. It never got old for the veteran fighter. The way the stadiums and areas filled with people just wanting to watch her kick ass was empowering. The sound of the cheers, hollers and boos was music to her ears, and the announcers' calls made it all the more fun. Korra's job might have been to fight people, but her life force was to make a show out of those fights. Even though it was her fifth year in the ring, she still vividly remembered her first season. Korra recalled her first match and how she was incredibly overzealous and overconfident in her abilities, something the newcomer in front of her seemed to suffer from as well. So Korra, as the Avatar, would need to humble the girl.

So as Kuvira took the advance and began her assault on the Avatar, Korra danced around her dodging blows and landing a few solid punches into the newcomers weak points. Eventually, Kuvira landed a hit and it threw Korra off her balance as she stumbled.

“Maybe you're a little old for this avatar.'' Kuvira prodded at the veteran attempting to make her lose her head. Korra simply responded by kicking Kuvira's back foot out from beneath her.

The newcomer fell on the mat and was almost immediately pinned by the veteran fighter, so when the ref called the round it was no surprise that the Avatar had one yet another match that night.

“Maybe you're a little young to be disrespecting your elders, Kuvira.” Korra was one to believe respect was earned, not given. However, Korra also believed she had earned such respect with her years in the ring. And Kuvira had no right to dis her in such a manner.

The crowd went wild. Cheers and hollers echoed in the stadium and the announcer began to speak.

“Yah know folks, I think paring up a rookie with the Avatar was just cruel, maybe next season Kuvira but for now, the avatar has won all three of her starting matches proving that it might be another strong season for the veteran!”

Kuvria growled “you might have won this time, Avatar, but I will have your title belt one day. And I'll make sure you never get it back.”

Korra did not respond, she simply went to her dressing room and began to clean herself up, she might have won the match, but she definitely took some hard blows. Her hands were sore as she removed her gloves, her shoulders ached as she took off her top. Her lip was sore from a deep gash that had formed from a strong blow to her face, and her ribs would probably bruise from a few strong kicks she sustained. After looking in the mirror and assessing the damage, she decided a shower was in order. She took her time inspecting her body as she cleaned herself from the sweat, blood, and other grossness that could cling to her skin after a match.

Upon exiting the shower she put on her street clothes, a tank top and a pair of deep blue sweats. She packed up her gear and walked out to her car. The night was quiet and her body felt sore, but she had tradition to uphold so rather than dive home and catch an early night, she headed over to the Iwamatsu tavern to share a drink with her old partner Mako, had retired a few years back as he decided that MMA fighting wasn't for him. After a short but incredibly successful career he became a bartender. And every year since, after a successful start to a season, Korra would share a drink with him at his pub.

Her drive to the pub was uneventful; she did have to sit through the post match traffic and that took more time than she would have hoped. But soon enough she arrived at the Makos. She parked her car and made sure she didn't look like too much of a mess.

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Korra entered the bar and was greeted by a few regulars who knew her traditions, congratulations were given by those who knew her and she walked up to the counter to see Mako. She didn't see him at first, so she waved over the bartender she saw, it was Mako's brother, Bolin.

“Hey Bolin! Where's Mako?” Korra asked with a pep in her voice.

“Oh he had to go home early tonight, some rough stuff with his lady friend caused him to need some time. He told me to tell you that you could have a drink with me instead. But not like that, like you get it Korra. You know I'm with opal.” boils response was fluid yet awkward, much like the boy himself.

“Oh that's alright, I'll probably head out in that case, I'll give him a call later on. Thank you Boilin.” Korra was disappointed, three years of tradition thrown away because of girl problems. Korra had girl problems one year, and she didn't ditch, so why did Mako?

Korra began to head out, but some ruckus caught her attention. Some drunk was giving a girl some trouble.

“Come on sweetheart, it'll be fun, why don't you come hang out with me in my car?”

“Buzz off, I'm not interested you creep.'' The girl was most definitely uncomfortable. But the man would not back off, so Korra did her job and stepped in between the two.

“Hey mate, I don't know if you're deaf or something, but this lady just told you no. and in this world. No means to back the fuck off.” Korra did her best to seem intimidating, she used the tone she applies to the taunts she gives her opponent in the ring.

“Whoa now I'm just tryin to have a good time, and this bitch keeps taking that time from me. I'm not doin nothin wrong.'' The drunk was defensive, and it became clear to Korra that unless she did something. He wasn't gonna buzz off.

“Back up, or else you're going to become very acquainted with my fist, very fast.” it was his last warning so when he reached for the girl again, Korra didn't hold back.
She launched a punch straight into the man's jaw, he stumbled but was able to deliver one strong blow to her face, splitting her lip back open. Right after, Korra became enraged. He kneed him in the crotch hard enough to make him keel over and start dry heaving. Undoubtedly he saw spots. She picked the man up by the back of his shirt and threw him out of the bar. Blood dripped down her chin onto her shirt and she cursed.

“Sorry if I stepped on your toes there, a lady should know how to deal with creeps, but should never be forced too.” Korra sat down in the now empty seat next to the girl. She held her thumb to her now bleeding lip.

“It's perfectly alright. Do you mind if I help with that?” the stranger gestured to Korra's lip, the avatar merely nodded and took her thumb away from the gash.

The stranger held Korra's face gently as she took out a small cotton cloth and dabbed away the blood before putting some salve on the cut with a q tip. The whole situation was impossibly tender for the MMA fighter.

“By the way, I'm Asami, Asami Sato.” the stranger introduced herself.

“I'm Korra, uh it's just Korra.” Korra was still a little flustered by the interaction, so she stuttered a bit and her face felt warm. “That names a little familiar, what do you do?” Korra asked Asami.

“Oh I'm a racer, my father owns the Sato corp.” Asami responded with a bit of a smirk.

“Wait, you're Thee Asami Sato, like several time Republic circuit winner, Asami Sato?” Korra was perplexed. There was no way thee Asami Sato was next to her.

“Yes, Im that Asami sato, and you are the Avatar, are you not?” Asami chuckled at the girl next to her, being so shocked.

“You know who I am? I love watching you race on my days off!” Korra was fully fangirling over Asami.

“And I enjoy watching your matches, you're quite the specimen to watch. Why don't you call me sometime, we could get dinner, or I could take you out to the track.” Asamis suggestion was very friendly, but she did leave room for more behind her words. The Avatar was beautiful, and she was single, so why not have a little harmless fun.

Chapter Text

Korra was shocked that the racer wanted to spend time with her, not because she found herself boring or uninteresting. But because the racer was so much cooler.

“I uh, I would love that, yeah um what's your number?” Korra giggled, trying to hide her excitement.

“Here, let me put it into your phone.” Asami took Korra's phone and typed in her digits, and she named the contact ‘Miss Sato’

“There, call me sometime when you're free, alight? I'll make space in my schedule.” Asami handed the phone back to the MMA fighter. Korra blushed for the second time that evening.

“Yes that's perfect, thank you…” Korra looked down at the contact and her heart jumped into her throat. “Uh, Miss Sato.” a question popped into Korra's head, is she flirting with me, these no way.

“Oh, these no need to be so formal with me right now Korra, that's just my business contact, try and keep things professional when you text me. But please, call me Asami.” The racer replied, keeping the flirty tone in her voice. She knew that she shouldn't attempt to press the fighters buttons like this, but the girl was absolutely adorable when flustered. Asami couldn't wait to see what more came from the girl.

“Oh right, okay Asami, well honestly, after my matches tonight. I'm absolutely beat. Literally I really need to go take some Tylenol, I'm already sore as hell. I do hate to cut things so short.” Korra felt heat rise to her face again.

“Oh, I hope you enjoy your evening but if you need anything, just give me a call.” There was disappointment in the racer's voice. She really did want to spend more time with Korra but she understood her need to take some time to rest after a long day.

“I will, tomorrow's my rest day so I can't go anywhere because well, I'm going to look like I got run over by a car. But maybe in a few days we could hang out some?” Korra threw the suggestion into the conversation because she really didn't want to leave Asami. Something about the girl just made Korra feel so welcomed and… taken care of. Maybe it was how tender Asami was with her lip, maybe it was because she just felt warm. Whatever the reason, Korra just wanted to stay in the presence of the girl.
“Just give me a heads up, as long as it's not a race day I can move stuff around. And if it's a race day, I can get you seats but I'll be busy for a while before and after.” Asami smiled. Korra blushed.

“Alright then, it's a date. Well not like that unless… poor choice of words. It's a plan. That sounds better.” Korra felt welcomed with the stranger, yet she was still incredibly awkward.

“Its a plan indeed, see you around.” Asami lightly punched Korra's shoulder. It was nice for her to have some friends outside of the racing industry. The people she knew in it, she couldn't really trust. Everyone wanted to win and a lot were willing to do anything to get the trophy.

“Indeed.” Korra stood up and left the bar; she entered her car and she let out a squeal. She hadn't been involved with anyone for a few years. Being an MMA fighter made having partners or friends pretty difficult. So the fact that she had butterflies in her stomach excited and scared her. Her drive home was made eventful by the way she blared music from her car and almost ended up with a speeding ticket. By the time she got home, she felt energized, even if her muscles ached. Korra, however, used her better judgement to set up an ice bath for herself.

She put on a pair of shorts and left her top on as she climbed into the icy water, she thanked her ancestors for being native to the arctic. She imagined these baths would be much less tolerable had she been without the acclimation to the cold. Korra attempted to relax her muscles as she sat in the cold. She knew there was science behind why these baths helped her recover, but she hated them, nonetheless. She set a timer for fifteen minutes and watched as it ticked down. Her thoughts wandered to the events of the evening, the beautiful young lady, getting stood up by Mako, seeing Bolin for the first time in a bit. The evening turned out to be a rather good one especially with how Korra's matches went. Although Kuvira did worry her, she was a strong opponent. The rookies' jab at her age did concern Korra if she was honest with herself, she was getting older. And there were physical effects to point that fact out. She could no longer fight days back to back the way she had used too. It was that incredible perseverance that had ended up with her being signed with all four major fighting teams at some point. That's where she had gotten the name of the Avatar.

Her train of thought was interrupted when the timer for her bath went off, she slowly got out of the tub and removed the clothes she wore during the bath. She traded them for a comfortable robe. She walked into her room and laid on her bed with a towel covering her pillow to help keep it dry. Korra then turned on the TV that sat across from her bed and flipped through the channels. Eventually, she ended up on the sports channel and they were replaying some of the weeks “Top ten moments in sports.” The list unsurprisingly highlighted her fights that evening. But among her fights, it highlighted a race that Asami had won that week. The video of the racer hopping out of her car, removing her helmet and pumping her fist up in the air was somehow inspiring to Korra. Korra also took a moment to admire how beautiful Asami looked, even right after a race. Slowly her eyes became heavy, and she eventually fell asleep after the long day.

Korra woke up soon after sunrise and much to her expectation, her body had several bad bruises and her muscles ached like god himself had fought her. As she attempted to sit up, her body screamed in pain. After struggling to get up for a bit, she eventually decided to relocate herself to the living room and spend her day snacking, watching tv, and trying to recuperate from the night before. She brought her phone with her, and she absent mindedly switched the tv on to one of the news stations. She scrolled through her social media. They were filled with people raving about the night before and she decided to take a selfie of herself laying on her couch recuperating.

She posted the photo with the caption ‘even when we win, we still need time to recuperate and get better. Winning doesn't mean you don't get hurt, it means you get back up.’ Korra used her social media to promote her fights and sponsors. However, she did try and keep a genuinely positive feed going for her fans. Unlike other fighters, she didn't push a “no pain no gain.” ideology. She made sure to show her fans that even she needed days off and needed to rest. Her fans adored her for this and it's part of the reason so many people outside of MMA fans followed her. Self care was deeply important to the avatar.

Outside of self care, she truly enjoyed her days off where she could just sit and enjoy life like a person. That was one of the blessings about being famous in her industry. People would recognize her sometimes, but she never really had to deal with paparazzi or anything too serious regarding crazy fans. She had had a few crazy fans but, she gave them the old one two and they would back off. Korra wondered if that was something Asami had to deal with from time to time, and if so, how did she take care of the troublemakers. With that thought of Asami, Korra decided to shoot her a text.

“Hey Miss Sato, it's Korra sorry for taking so long to text you. After I got home last night, I was totally beat.”

Korra waited for a response and after about two hours she had lost hope that she'd get a response. Maybe it was a wrong number or something. Lucky for Korra, her attention moved back to the news as the reporter began to talk about a new story.
“Breaking news! Local street racers have started to race through republic cities streets. The suspects are still unidentified but unmarked cars were seen speeding down the streets last night. Shortly after midnight. This is not the only alarming tried as reports are claiming a rise in popularity for underground MMA fighting rings. Although they aren't technically illegal they do walk a grey area for crime and gambling. Chief of police Lin Beifong has issued a formal statement regarding the issue.” The footage of the reporter shifted to be footage on Lin speaking on the issue.
“The council is currently looking at shutting down the unregulated fighting rings, we have been notified though that if we see something going down, we are allowed to act on suspicion and raid a group of fighters, this may result in arrests if the situation calls for it. As for the street racers, if anyone has any information on the races or racers, they can avoid all charges. The bounty for information regarding racer 13 is the highest as whoever it is seems to be the one organizing these events as they have been present in all documented cases.”

Korra felt a little conflicted at the report. When she had been younger, she got her start in unregulated matches. The space for fighters in pro rings is incredibly limited, and champions fight tooth and nail to get signed onto contracts. A Lot of the time people who want to play need to make a show of themselves to even be considered. Shutting those rings down would ruin the accessibility of the sport. And as for the racers, Korra felt sympathetic to them, they went hurting anyone, all they did was break the speed limit for cheap thrills.

Korra ignored her inner thoughts and pulled out her phone to check and see If Asami had texted her, sure enough she found she had gotten a reply.

“Oh hey Avatar, sorry for the late response, I was out till dawn so I had to catch some shut eye, even if it meant I slept in today. How are you feeling?”

Korra looked at the text and realized it was already 2:30 in the afternoon. She responded to the text with her token sarcasm. It's something she always did regarding her injuries.

“If I'm being honest I feel like pure garbage, who knew getting socked in the jaw multiple times would leave a person sore, how are you feeling?”

For a few minutes Korra watched as the text bubbles appeared and disappeared as if Asami was debating what to say, eventually a message popped up.

“I'm feeling alright, can I get you anything that might help? Even if you don't need anything, I can always swing by and say hi, I'm not too busy today.”

Korra pondered her response for a bit. She certainly would love to hang out with the girl, but she worried her current physical state would scare Asami off. Korra decided to take the risk.

‘Yeah, I don't think I need anything, but if you want to come hang out, maybe we could watch a movie or something.” Korra then texted Asaim her address and a few moments later she got picture of Asamis hand on the steering wheel of her car with the caption “on my way!”

Korra blushed at the idea of Asami wanting to spend the day with her, she used all of the strength she had to get up and change out of her robe. Korra was thankful she kept her apartment clean as she put on a thin tank top and a pair of shorts. She did not bother putting a bra on as Asami was a lady and Korra felt okay with not being entirely dressed. Especially since Asami knew Korra felt like trash.

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Korra sat and waited and with time, asami knocked on the door. Korra stood up and opened the door. She was greeted with a wonderful sight. Asami standing slightly taller than her, with the best looking set of comfy clothes korra could have imagined. The racer wore a pair of black flowy pants that flared as they went down the leg, she paired the bottoms with a lovely crimson red crop top that hugged her chest incredibly. And, the girl came bearing gifts.

“Hey Asami, welcome in, you look fantastic.” Korra's face turned bright red and Asami entered the apartment.

Admittedly, Korra looked a little worse for where but that did not bother Asami at all. She liked to care for people, but only those she felt drawn to help protect.
“I know you said you didn't need anything but I brought you some food from Makos, bolin said these were your go too orders. Some loaded fries, a burger and two bottles of water. It might have gotten a little cold but, i can always microwave it for you.” Asami smiled at Korra as she watched the avatars face light up

“Asami, you have no idea how much I love you right now, you're literally a Goddess.” Korra beamed as she invited Asami to sit on the couch with her.

Asami followed the fighter and sat down next to her. She layed out the food on the coffee table and made herself comfortable. While Asami wouldn't admit it, Korra calling her a goddess did make her wonder if she could get the fighter to call her in a less innocent sense. The racer however pushed those thoughts aside and focused on the task at hand. Picking out a film to watch together.

“So what do you want to watch?” Asami asked Korra as the fighter indulged herself in the food Asami had brought.

“I'm not entirely sure, how about a cheesy horror film or something like a romcom, those are always fun party watches.” Korra responded, shoving more food into her mouth. “Oh by the way, how much do I owe you for dinner?” Korra didn't want to be rude.

“You didn't ask me to bring it Korra, it's on me. But if you'd like to make it up to me, how about some tickets for your next match, if it's not too big of a hassle.” Asami did not ask a question, it was much more of a demand.

“Oh yeah, i can totally do that. You'll be right next to the ring.” Korra smiled at the request. It flattered her to know Asami wanted to watch her fight.

“Now back to the movie stuff, I like the idea of a horror film, I find it fun to watch how people react to them. I'm not easily scared.” asami lied through her teeth with that response, she loved the idea of watching a horror movie with korra, but only in hopes that the avatar would be scared enough to hop into her lap.

“This will be fun! Horror films always freak me out.” Korra giggled as she turned on a random horror film.

The two girls sat in silence for a while as the film began.

Two girls stood alone, the vast spirit wilds surrounded them. Voices uttered from beings the couldn't see, sounds came from animals long said to be extinct. Someone, no, something stepped out from the wilderness. The girls could feel its presence but they could not see it.

The hair on the back of Korra's neck stood up as scenes unfolded,

The girls spirited away from the creature that stalked them. A tall, massive smiling beast stared down at them. Huge teeth threaten to bite the main characters. Without warning the beast lunged at the girls.

Korra screamed when the jumpscare hit, she fell onto Asami and the racer laughed.

“I totally saw that one coming Korra. I can't believe it got you.” Asami teased Korra while wrapping her arms around the avatar “don't worry though i'll keep you safe from the big bad monsters.” Asami regretted the final poke as korra got up and huffed at asami in embarrassment

“I just… I got really into the moment, okay? I told you horror films always get me!” Korra's face was the brightest red Asami had ever seen. The color was so vivid because of the combination of the film startling her, Asami teasing her, and the embarrassment of Korra falling into the lap of her crush. The film kept playing in the background but Korra was incredibly distracted by the fear of embarrassing herself infront of her crush, again.

Meanwhile, Asami was absolutely in love with the fact that the best MMA fighter in the city was so soft. To Asami, Korra being so strong and capable, being so startled by jumpscares and horror films, was incredibly endearing. It was becoming clear to her that Korra had a side that nobody got to see. A silly girl who must be the softest person in the world. Asami began to wonder; how soft could Korra be. Just how gentle was the avatar when she was alone? Asami was interrupted by another soft squeal from Korra as one of the members in the film got devoured by the beast.

“Seems like the avatar is a lot softer out of the ring than she lets on.” Asami commented.

“I'm plenty soft in and out of the ring. If i went all out, people would get far worse injuries from me. I hold back to protect people.” Korra bit back.

A new thought entered Asamis mind. “Just how rough can you get, Korra.” embarrassment hit Asami like a truck when she realized that she had said the words out loud. The avatar seemed to not notice the implication in Asami’s tone of voice, her response practically proved it.

“Fine, if you wanna see how rough i can get. I'll go all out when you come and watch me fight this weekend.” Korra smiled, she was determined to prove herself.

“Don't worry, i believe you. You don't have to kill a man to prove that you're tough and strong. I've seen you do some real damage.” Asami chuckled, she was thankful korra did not question her.

The movie's credits began to roll and Korra finished her food. This left Asami without need to be there, and she had plans for later in the evening so she thought it would be best to leave. Although she wished she could stay with korra forever. The racer said her goodbyes and headed out the door.

Korra sat alone in her apartment, she smiled to herself and warmth filled her chest. Asami had spent hours with her. Korra loved every minute of it, the sun had set long before Asami got out the door. With memories of the wonderful day flooding her mind Korra drifted off to sleep.