Chapter Text
Asami woke up to Korra sleepily attempting to turn off her phone's alarm clock. It took her a moment, but once she succeeded she scooted over, wrapping her arms around Asami and immediately falling asleep again.
Asami couldn't help but smile softly, completely melting into Korra's warm embrace.
It only lasted for about ten minutes, though. As it turned out, Korra hadn't exactly turned off the alarm, but accidently put it on ‘snooze’.
“Sami, your phone is a nightmare.” Korra grumbled sleepily.
Asami let out a small laughter, struggling to reach it under Korra's iron grip. “We should get up, anyway,” She mumbled, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. “We have classes soon.”
“Nooo.” Korra groaned. “Let's stay in today.”
“We can't just… do that,” was Asami's answer.
“Why not?” Korra asked. “We have an important game tonight! We gotta rest up before…”
Asami mulled it over, and figured that Korra had a point. She almost never skipped class, but if there was a day to do it, it was before their games. She didn't want to be sleep deprived on the field, after all.
Plus, if there was someone worth skipping class with, it was definitely the person beside her.
“Fiiiine, ” She agreed, closing her eyes. “But only because you’re so damn cute.”
“Yay me.” Korra mumbled, half asleep.
Asami hummed in approval, allowing herself to fall back asleep as well. When she woke up, though, she was missing Korra’s warmth. For a moment, she thought Korra may have left her apartment. But a second later she heard the bathroom flush and the water running, and she breathed out in relief. She had to remind herself that things are not as they were, not anymore.
As Korra walked back into the room, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Sorry, did I wake you?” Korra asked with an apologetic smile, scratching the back of her neck nervously.
“No, I just missed you,” Asami replied, rubbing her eyes as she was slowly waking up. “What time is it?”
“Almost noon,” her girlfriend informed, sitting on the bed next to her. “I, uh, borrowed one of your shirts, I hope it’s alright.”
Asami examined her, realizing that she was, in fact, wearing one of Asami’s oversized t-shirts. Was she okay with it? Duh! She adored the sight!
“Depends.” She said in a seductive tone. “Is my t-shirt all that you’re wearing?” She flirted.
Korra raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.” She played along. “Is that blanket all that you’re wearing?” She deflected.
Quickly glancing beneath the blanket to confirm, Asami smirked. “Maybe.”
Korra laughed. “Nice.” She said approvingly.
“Keep that energy up for tonight,” Asami said, sitting up and holding the blanket to her chest, “we gotta celebrate our up and coming victory, right?” She winked.
“Yeah, we gotta.” Korra nodded enthusiastically, eyeing her up and down. “Good morning, baby.” She said gently, pressing a soft kiss on Asami's cheek.
“Aw, that's all I get?” Asami pouted.
Grinning, Korra cupped the side of Asami's jaw. “Of course not,” She said, giving Asami a proper kiss this time around. Asami sighed, smiling against her girlfriend's lips before they both pulled apart.
“There,” Asami said with a satisfied smile, “was that so hard?”
“I know I’m hard.” Korra joked.
Asami rolled her eyes, unable to stop herself from chuckling. “You are… such an idiot.” She said.
“Jokes on you, you're the one dating the idiot!” Korra laughed.
“Yeah, I’m not too mad about it though,” Asami shrugged, standing upright and dropping the blanket. She could feel Korra's eyes on her as she pulled pajamas out of her closet, and couldn’t help but smirk. She turned around, watching Korra’s gaze lift to meet hers. “Were you checking me out?” She asked, amused.
“Who, me?” Korra innocently asked, her eyes flickering downwards to glance once more at Asami’s body, before she raised it back up with a huge grin. “Nah, never.” She said, winking.
Asami poked her tongue out, before dressing up and rubbing her eyes a bit. “I’ll go freshen up,” she informed Korra. “Feel at home, m’kay?” She asked sweetly.
“So glad to hear you say that,” her girlfriend smiled, “because I’m absolutely starving.”
“Oh, uh…” Asami nervously mumbled, thinking back to the last time she got groceries. It's been… a while. “I think the fridge is empty,” she said, her tone holding an apology. “But I’ll order us something, what are you in the mood for?” She asked.
Korra shrugged, smiling all the same. “Anything. Surprise me.”
Asami chuckled as she opened her phone to order in. “Or I can use your tactic of bringing every type of food.” She said, reminiscing over the last time Korra had been to her place- when she brought an absurd amount of takeout with her.
Korra blushed. “I didn't want to mess up!” She excused.
“Tell me, Waters, does this technique usually woo a woman?” She asked jokingly, though, she allowed her tone to hold a tinge of flirtiness to it.
Korra shrugged, a playful spark in her blue eyes. “Well, it worked, didn't it?”
Asami smiled softly. “It really did,” she affirmed, making her usual order quickly, but double. “Here,” she handed off her phone, “if the delivery guy calls, answer.” She shrugged, giving Korra a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to her bathroom, gasping the moment her eyes met her reflection.
“Korra!” She called out in disbelief, hearing no response from beyond the closed door. She examined her neck, where she could spot at least four purple-ish marks- the result of Korra's absolute rampage last night. Color was flooding her cheeks as she realized just how much make-up she'd have to use to cover this up.
She cracked open the door, unimpressed. “You do realize people can see this, right?” She pointed at her very obvious hickies.
“Sorry, I wasn’t too rough, was I?” Korra asked, a bit worried.
Asami, though she had been trying to stay mad, couldn't help but smile. “No, you’re fine.” She replied, attempting to sound intimidating and failing miserably. “Just… maybe next time keep it below the shirt, okay?”
“Absolutely! Anything you want.” Korra agreed with a soft smile. “Did you like it though? Despite it being irresponsible of me?” She asked sheepishly.
“Maybe a little.” Asami said playfully.
“A little?”
“Maybe more than a little.”
“I see.” Korra grinned.
Asami rolled her eyes. though, she wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. “I’m gonna go cover this up.” She informed, narrowing her eyes to watch Korra's reaction.
Korra gasped with fake surprise. “You're going to cover up my art?” She asked in forged disbelief.
Asami couldn't help but snort. “Art?” She asked.
“Art.” She confirmed with a pout.
Asami snickered. “Idiot.” She mumbled, walking back into the bathroom, leaving the door open and opening her main drawer, starting her morning routine. Asami reached for her cleanser, gently massaging it into her skin before washing it off and applying her moisturizer. She went to check up on Korra, waiting for it to absorb. Then, she proceeded to apply her foundation and concealer as she usually did, and being done with that, she grabbed her regular eyeshadow palette, when Korra poked her head inside the bathroom.
“Baby?” Korra asked, Asami’s phone up next to her ear as she’s covering it with her hand. “The delivery guy is having some trouble, so I’m gonna–” She stopped, confused. “Are you going somewhere?” She asked, a little disappointed.
“No, why?” Asami asked.
“Oh, I just thought… because you’re putting on makeup…” She mumbled, a little relieved and embarrassed.
“I just… always do that,” Asami explained awkwardly.
“Gotcha. Um, sorry.” Korra answered with an awkward lopsided grin. “I’ll uh… go find the delivery guy.” She said with a quick kiss to Asami, before leaving the apartment.
After Asami was done with her eyeshadow and eyeliner, she moved to her neck, chuckling. She didn’t mind the marks, she definitely enjoyed it last night, but she realized she had to cover this up- otherwise she’d never hear the end of it. However, just as she was about to try covering it up, she heard Korra knock on her front door.
Asami rolled her eyes, walking out of her bathroom. “You don’t need to knock!” She called out, shaking her head in amusement.
When the door opened, however, Asami’s eyes widened in shock as Korra wasn’t the one to walk in- Opal was. Immediately, her hands quickly went to move her hair so that it would cover her hickies, as she awkwardly smiled at her friend, nervous at the prospect tha Korra could walk in at every given moment.
“Um, good to know?” Opal chuckled, a little confused. “What’s up?”
“I’m good, I’m good…” Asami answered, eyes darting to the front door and back to Opal. “What are you doing here?” She tried her best not to sound distraught, as to not offend Opal, but she had a bad feeling about this.
“I’m just checking on you,” her friend said, tilting her head. “Since you, y’know, ditched me last night. Thought you might be sick.”
Asami’s fake smile dropped. “What?” She asked, slowly remembering that she did, in fact, make plans with Opal before her fight with Korra. “Oh, gosh. Opie, I’m so sorry.” She said, her eyes wide and worried. “It just… it completely slipped my mind.”
“Really?” Opal furrowed her eyebrows. “It’s not like you,” she commented.
“Well…” Asami scratched her head nervously, thinking of how she could excuse it.
Opal’s eyes suddenly drifted downwards and squinted. Asami realized her hair must’ve moved a bit, and she immediately went to cover it with her hand, but Opal already caught that.
“You had someone over?” Opal asked, a little disappointed. “You ditched to… sleep with someone?”
“Opal, I’m-”
“I’m not mad, just… confused.” Her friend said, her eyes still narrowed. “Like, why didn't you just cancel on me? I mean, I waited in the restaurant for like thirty minutes. I felt like an idiot.” She half joked, but she was obviously still upset.
“I just… had a bad day.” Asami said, worried. “I was… perplexed. I wasn’t thinking-”
Right then, the moment Asami’s been dreading the most happened. The door opened, and in walked Korra. She didn’t see Opal or Asami, as her eyes locked on the receipt of the order, narrowed in confusion. “Hey, baby?” She asked, much to Asami’s horror. “Did you put in the right address? Because the delivery guy was–” She finally raised her head, catching Asami’s mortified gaze as well as Opal’s shocked stare. “O-oh, I mean…” She cleared her throat, eyes nervously darting between the two of them. “I’m… I’m the delivery guy– um, delivery girl,” she decided awkwardly, “yep, I do deliveries in my free time. And um… you put in the wrong address.” She blabbered on. “Anyways, um, here you go! Two pizzas, just for Asami– oh, and for Opal, obviously, since she’s here– which is probably normal, right? I wouldn't know, I’ve never been here.” She nervously grinned, placing the pizzas on the dining table. “Anyways! I’mma head out now, bye!”
“Seriously?” Opal turned to Asami, annoyed.
The team captain couldn’t help but slap her forehead. “That’s the best you could come up with? Really?” She asked her girlfriend, frustrated. Not with Korra, just… the whole situation was messed up.
Korra raised her arms in surrender. “I panicked!” She exclaimed, excusing her poor cover story. “I’m sorry, I tried!”
“What the hell, Asami?” Opal asked in disbelief. “You ditched me to sleep with her, of all people?”
“Hey!” Korra protested. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Other than the fact you have no respect for Asami, or anything for that matter?” Opal glared in her direction.
Korra gawked at her. “Excuse me?”
“Opal, listen–” Asami tried, but she was immediately interrupted by her best friend.
“Listen to what? Listen to how you bailed on our plans and lied to my face about it?” She exasperated. “And for what? For someone who doesn’t grasp the concept of basic boundaries?”
“Hey! Yes I do!” Korra called out, though both Opal and Asami ignored her.
“Opie, you have no idea what you’re talking about,” Asami determined, “I didn’t mean to bail on you, I’m sorry–”
“Again with the ‘sorry’?” Opal groaned. “Save it. I don’t want to hear it. You can’t keep apologizing for being a lousy friend and expect me to blindly forgive you, without you making any effort to change it!”
Asami stared at her for a couple seconds, before her gaze dropped to the ground, heavy with guilt and shame in it. “You’re right,” she said sadly, “I’ve been neglecting our friendship, I keep messing everything up…” She sighed. “I said I’d make it up to you, and I didn’t. You have no reason to believe me, but I promise I’ll try harder.” She finally met her friend’s eyes, but she saw no hint of forgiveness in them.
“You do realize this has nothing to do with you messing up, and everything to do with her, right?” Opal asked, folding her arms.
“What?” Asami asked in disbelief. “How is she related to any of this?”
“It doesn't take a genius to see that this,” she gestured between the two of them, “isn't healthy!”
“Jesus, Opal, seriously?” Asami asked with a frustrated sigh. “She has nothing to do with any of this, you're just lashing out at her instead of holding me accountable for my own actions!”
“Whatever you say,” Opal shrugged, “honestly, if you think so low of yourself to be with her,” she spat out, making Korra roll her eyes. “Be my fucking guest. Just don’t expect me to be there when she ultimately hurts you. Again.”
Before Asami could argue, Opal turned around and left the apartment, purposely bumping into Korra on her way out.
Asami let out a frustrated groan when the door slammed shut. Why couldn’t she just catch a damn break? First fighting with Korra, now Opal… why was she so good at fucking up her relationships? Dammit!
“Hey,” Korra softly said, stepping closer. “Should I hold you, or do you need some space?” She gently asked.
“Hug.” Asami murmured, sighing in content as Korra’s arms wrapped around her, and she allowed herself to sink into the comforting warmth of her partner.
“Better?” Korra gently asked.
“Much,” Asami said, placing her head on the crook of Korra’s neck and closing her eyes.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Korra asked.
“I don’t know,” Asami breathed out, upset.
“It’s okay,” Korra tightened her grip on Asami, “whatever you feel like would help.”
Asami inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down. It really helped that Korra was so damn comfortable, strong and overall extremly huggable. “I feel like I keep messing up,” she said with a sigh, “no matter what I do, I’m doing something wrong, and someone important to me gets hurt. Opal’s right, I’ve been a terrible friend lately.”
“Oh, Sami…” Korra kissed the top of her head soothingly. “I’m sure that’s not accurate, and if it is, you can make up for it.” She told her gently. “I’m not always an awesome friend to Kuv, and the same goes for her. Shit happens, but it doesn’t mean you don’t care about each other.”
Asami snorted. “Would you say she cares about me after this?”
“Absolutely.” Her girlfriend stated.
“What would you call what happened now, then?” Asami murmured.
“Honestly?” Korra chuckled. “An overreaction.”
Asami pulled back, raising her eyebrows. “You think I’m overreacting?” She asked, a little offended.
“Not you, Opal.” Her girlfriend hurried to explain. She kept quiet for a bit, and after a moment of loaded silence spoke again. “She always reacts badly when it comes to your love life, don’t you think?” She added hesitantly.
“What are you saying?” Asami asked, confused.
“Well…” She trailed off, meeting Asami's gaze. “Asami, is there any chance that Opal has feelings towards you?”
Asami's eyes widened. “What?” She asked in disbelief, pulling away from Korra. “That's ridiculous! You're not seriously jealous of Opal, are you?”
“I'm not jealous, I promise,” Korra said, taking Asami's hand in hers and stroking it's knuckles lovingly with her thumb, “I’m worried. Lingering feelings, if ignored completely, can ruin friendships. It did so for us, when you-know-who asked you out, and I’d hate to see that happen to the two of you.” She said, pursing her lips together in worry.
“It's not gonna, because you're imagining it. As far as I know, she doesn't even like girls.” Asami answered with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Korra, but I think she reacts badly to the topic of my love life because it has to do with you, and she dislikes you.”
“But she didn't hate me before I started making advances towards you,” Korra persisted.
“To be fair, said ‘advances’ involved a paint balloon and several weeks in recovery.” Asami chuckled.
“...Touche.” Korra mumbled, though she didn't seem too convinced. “Well, I guess you know her best.” She deflated.
“I do, and you have nothing to worry about.” Asami sighed. “Except for, well, my best friend hating both you and me.”
“Well, I know she doesn't hate you,” Korra smiled at her, “me is… another story.”
“I should probably talk to her.” The taller girl mumbled.
“Let her cool off,” Korra suggested, pushing a strand of Asami's hair behind her ear. “We don't need a big blowout before the game.”
Asami laughed bitterly. “I think we're past that.”
“We don't need a bigger blowout, then.” Korra smiled apologetically. “Wait an hour or two, and call her. If you do right now, she'll only get angrier.”
“Yeah, okay.” Asami said, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. “So, what now?” She asked her partner.
Korra grinned. “Pizza?” She asked, hopeful.
Asami chuckled. “Pizza.” She agreed.
“Opal.” The team’s captain sternly said, as soon as Beifong stepped into the locker room.
“What now?” She groaned, dropping her kitbag on the floor next to her locker.
“We should talk,” Asami nervously said, her eyes flickering towards Korra, silently requesting support. When her girlfriend raised her thumbs in encouragement, Asami turned back to Opal. “Alone.” She added.
“I don’t wanna talk,” Opal flatly replied, “if I had anything to say to you, I’d probably answer you when you called me for the millionth times.”
“Well, can you listen?” Asami asked, eerily aware that a few of their teammates that had already arrived were turning to them, taking notice of their conversation.
“I mean, I could.” Her friend shrugged. “But, why would I want to?” She challenged, folding her arms.
“Because I’m your friend,” Asami softly said, “best friend, mind you.”
“Are you?” Opal bitterly asked, tilting her head.
Looking around nervously, Asami went ahead and grabbed Opal by her forearm, silently dragging her to a more secluded location, before she spoke up.
“I only hid it because I was afraid you’d react badly,” Asami argued, her tone hushed and stern, “and given your reaction, I was right to worry. So, can you really be mad at me?”
“Yes, I can.” Opal didn’t even flinch. “Seriously Asami? Korra? Out of everyone?”
“Yes.” Asami replied. “Yes, Korra, out of everyone.”
“Why?” She demanded to know. “You could have anyone in the goddamn world, why her?”
“Because there isn’t anyone else!” Asami hissed under her breath. “There was never anyone else, just her.”
“That’s corny.” Opal rolled her eyes. “It's also not like you. This girl has already caused you to have multiple breakdowns this year, do you really think it's a good idea dating her?” She asked, her eyebrows clenching together in a frown.
“Yes.” Asami replied immediately. “And even if it wasn't, it’s my decision. Can’t you just accept it?” She asked her friend, frustrated.
“You’re kidding, right?” Opal said, eyes wide in shock. “She landed you in the ER!”
“Well- she fucked up,” Asami admitted awkwardly, “but she more than made up for it!”
“Sounds like more like she made-out for it,” Opal huffed disapprovingly.
“I like her, I want to be with her,” Asami exasperated, “I don’t understand, why isn’t it enough for you?”
“Because she’s not good for you!”
“How do you know? You wouldn’t even give her a chance!”
“Excuse me?” Opal asked, flabbergasted and fuming. “I’ve given her countless chances! Every time you asked me to, I pushed my negative feelings aside, only to be proven right about her!”
“Well, I’m asking you to give her a chance again.” Asami retorted, folding her arms.
“Absolutely not. If you want to keep making the same mistake over and over again, be my guest!” Opal spluttered angrily. “But I’m not going to pretend to approve while you’re back at it, getting your heart broken, again!” She emphasized, walking away.
Furious, Asami finally snapped. “Fine!” She called after Opal. “I don’t need your approval!”
Asami didn’t speak with Opal before the game again, nor did she have an opportunity to speak with Korra alone. She and the coach went over their strategy and lineup. Currently, they were ranked first in their division, but the College Cup was a completely different story. Sure, it was the same teams competing against each other, but unlike regular league games; you lose once– and you’re out. They reached the quarter finals successfully, even though they had already lost once in the regular seasonal games. Asami had this fantasy; she wanted in her first season as captain to win both the state’s championship and the cup. Last year was their best season in years, as they took the cup and ended up second in the championship. Asami, as the replacement for last year’s captain, wanted to outdo her. So, this game was high stakes for her, and she really hoped Opal and Korra’s dynamic wouldn’t get in the way.
Well… it did.
The match was rough. They were paired up with one of the stronger teams of their division, but they could've won it easily. No, scratch that, not could've; should've.
Kuvira kick-started a drill that they've been working on for a while, and foolishly, Asami figured it would work as it usually did during practice. From Kuvira, the ball was passed in zigzags to their defender, then between their midfielders, until it reached Asami, who passed it on to Opal.
When she saw who Opal was supposed to pass the ball to, she realized she messed up big time.
Korra was the only free player left who was closer to the goalie than Opal, and she was in a good position too. She had defenders guarding her, but nothing she couldn't shake off. In fact, if Opal would pass the ball to her it would almost certainly be a goal. The team's captain cursed under her breath, fearing that her teammate wouldn't put her grudge aside for the sake of the cup.
Asami prayed to god that she was wrong, but she wasn't. Beifong wasn't passing the ball, instead, she attempted to go all the way on her own, from an impossible position. Soon, she was swarmed with defenders as they realized Waters wasn't getting the ball, and they managed to get the ball. Since most of Asami's team was in attacking positions, they had to turn on their heel, and by the time they did so- the rival team had already scored.
“Dammit!” Asami shouted in frustration, hearing the whistle to indicate the score.
1 - 0
Half-time.