Asami

Opal: Wait so you're on the bench?

Jinora: Not for the whole match.

Kai: you've never started on the bench. Why the sudden change?

Jinora: Lin is trying something different apparently.

Wu: If you lose today I'm blaming it on her.

Jinora: Come on it's not that bad I promise. It's just a few changes. what time are you guys getting here anyway?

Wu: I'm leaving in a minute.

Kai: On my way with Opal.

Me: I'll be there in a few.
I switch my phone off and sink into the sofa. Sunday. Normally I would still be in bed right now but there's a football match, I have no idea why it's so early in the morning but I told Korra I'd be there. My mum takes a seat next to me, cup of coffee in hand. The news is on the TV but I'm not really listening, just watching the screen pan over to different people whilst they talk about the weather.
"You seem a little uptight, what's wrong?" She asks.

"I do?" I answer. I sit up straighter in my seat and notice that my shoulders were tighter than usual.

"Yes. something on your mind?" she asks.

A lot of things actually but they all trace back to Korra. I wasn't thinking straight yesterday, I made her sit in that car and I completely forgot about the whole crash. I'm such an idiot, so stupid.
"No, I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"I don't blame you. You did work hard to get the car starting." She sets her cup of coffee down onto the table in front of us.
"Well done by the way."

"Thanks, just don't ask me to do it again. That took us longer than it should've." I say and she laughs.

"I totally agree."

My phone buzzes in my lap and I instantly turn it over to have a look. I raise an eyebrow and swipe it unlocked. Korra sends me a picture. A picture of her with her hair in a complete mess with a concentrated expression as she balances a ball ontop of her head. I couldn't help but laugh, this girl is something else. It looks like she's in the changing rooms considering I can see Kuvira in the background smiling.
"Is that Korra?"

I nod and we laugh together.
"The one and only." I quickly type back to Korra's message.

Korra: I don't see you Sato.

Me: Give me 10 minutes tops.

Korra: Make it 5. I want to see you before kick off.

Me: 8.

Korra: Fine. Hurry.

"Does she have a match today?" My mum questions.

I slip my phone into my pocket.
"Yeah and I've got to hurry otherwise I'll miss it." I say and spring towards the front door so I could open it.
"I'll be back in an hour or so."

"Alright, tell Korra I said goodluck." I shut the door after that, hands in my coat pocket as soon as the cold air hits my skin. God, it's freezing. How do people even play in this weather, not to mention that they have to wear shorts too. Korra must be a block of ice right now.

I quicken my pace. I can get there in 8 minutes, no I can get there in 5. I think... Maybe I should've taken the car but dad took one of them out this morning, the only one left in the garage is the one I fixed yesterday and I'm not really comfortable with driving that at the moment. Yes, it starts but it would probably fall to bits as soon as it hits the road, it needs a lot more work.

I finally make it to the school gates with a few minutes to spare. Opal, Kai and Wu were already there, waiting for me like they had said.
"You took your time." Opal chuckles.

"I should've left a little earlier." I say.
"Thanks for waiting."

"No problem."
As we all walk down the corridors of the school I pitch in to their conversation. Kai seems a little furious about the changes that Lin made to the team. I can't help but feel like that's my fault, I did say to Korra that the team needs to change it up but what do I know? She's the Captain, why would she listen to me?

"I just don't understand." Kai huffs.
"Jinora is literally the key player in the whole team, why bench her?"

Opal rolls her eyes.
"Kai relax, it's not the end of the world. Besides, she says only for 10 minutes. It's not that long."

I shake my head and giggle at their little argument that they continue to have until we reach the field. Once we actually get to the pitch, Bolin and Mako wave us over. And of course, Opal drags us along to sit with them.

"Hey, you guys made it." Bolin cheers and sits himself down on the grass next to Opal.
"just in time too."

I glance up to the field and smile. Korra was there talking with the whole team that formed a circle around her. Some team talk I suppose. Once they break apart Korra looks up for a moment and scans the side of the pitch slowly, looking at each and every person until her eyes land on me. With a smile on her face, she jogs over to me and the group. Shorts on, socks high with her hair tied up. She actually looks prepared today.
"Hey Korra." Mako greets.

She nods towards him and holds a hand out for me to take. I gladly hold onto it as she helps me onto my feet.
"Where are you going?" Mako asks, looking between the two of us with an odd smirk on his face. What's his problem?

"I just need to talk to Asami real quick." Korra answers and tugs me a few feet away from the group, down a small hill and out of their sight.

"I'm pretty sure they need their Captain to start the match Korra." I say, confused as to why she's taking me all the way down here when she should be all the way up there.

Korra shakes her head.
"I'm on the bench for the first 10 minutes."

"What?"

"I've changed the team up a little bit." She explains.

I knew it.
"You have?"

"Yeah, I actually looked at the formation and I noticed that you were right. It's sloppy as fuck." She scratches the back of her neck and chuckles nervously.

I said it was sloppy but not becuase of Korra, she was doing all the work. Now I feel bad, she's benched herself because of me.
"So you've changed it?"

"Yeah, only a little though. I want to see how they do, Lin said it was a good idea." She gives me a smile and I return it in an instant, keeping my eyes where her eyes were even though it's tempting to look down at her in this kit. She suddenly takes a step forward, biting her bottom lip whilst looking everywhere but me. In one quick motion, she jumps forwards and wraps me in a hug.
"I know I keep saying this but thank you."

I chuckle and embrace her back.
"For what?"

"For being.. you. For being there for me." She mumbles into my hair.

My heart doesn't beat, it thumps.
"I'll always be here." I say as she pulls away, hands resting on my shoulders.

She's smiling widely like a child on christmas and it makes my heart soar.
"Also I need to talk to you after.."

I raise a brow.
"Should I be worried?"

"I don't think so. It's about..." She takes a step back, points to herself and then to me.
"..us."

She wants to talk about the kiss again and yeah.. us. I nod.
"Alright."

I hear the whistle blow from over the small hill. The match has probably started.
"I'll come and find you after okay?"

I nod again.
"Okay."

She smiles and takes another step back, eyes still on mine.
"Okay." Before she could turn and jog away, I quickly grab onto her hand and tug at it, stopping her.

"Wait." I say and she turns around.
"You better win."

Her soft smile turns into a smirk and I know I'm in trouble.
"What do I get if I do?"

Bold. Two can play at that game.
"Win and find out."

<->

We all sat down at this bench shortly after the match. A bench where Mako apparently got his head stuck under once. It's pretty funny story but Bolin took a few punches to the shoulder from his brother for babbling so openly about it. Nonetheless, we all laugh eventually whilst we wait for the girls to hurry up and get changed.

My nerves were running through me that whole match, not because of the game; that was only a small part of it. It was because of what Korra said, she wants to talk about it, about us. I'm worried what she might say. What do I think she'll say? I don't know, maybe she found out that I stalked her entire family out on my laptop. I shake my head, scrunching my face up and cringing at my own actions. I can't believe I did that.

Jinora jogs up to the bench, bag slung over her arm.
"Hey guys."

We all greet her and make space on the bench.
"You did awesome today." Kai says.
"I'm still annoyed that you were benched though, what's that about?"

"Yeah, Korra too." Mako huffed. I kind of just shrink in my seat at this point.

"I'm not going to lie but whatever Lin wanted to try, it worked." Jinora explains. Wait what?
"She said we needed to start working as a team."

"That still doesn't make sense why she benched you. Why not Kuvira or something?" Kai replies, raising an eyebrow.

"Kuvira's our only goalkeeper, why would we- nevermind. Anyway, Lin just wanted to see how the rest of the team played without us for a few minutes, build new links between different players instead of using us two all the time." Jinora explains but her brow furrows and she crosses her arms.
"Wait is that right?" She mutters to herself. I shake my head and look over to see the person whos strolling over.

"Kuvira!" Bolin cheers but instantly gets a facefull of gloves to shut him up.

"You're so loud Bo." She says and sets herself down next to him on the bench. It's getting a little full now.

"Oh good, you're here. What did Coach say to us before the game?" Jinora questions.

Kuvira shrugs and takes a carton of apple juice out of her bag. She punctures it with a straw and takes a sip.
"I don't know, I wasn't listening. Was it important?"

Jinora smacks her face.
"I guess I'll ask Korra."

Mako starts to look around, looking back towards the field and then to the school.
"Where is Korra?"

"She'll be out in a minute.." Kuvira chuckles u. Okay, something happened.

My phone buzzes and I immedaitely tune out of the new conversation that started up. It's Korra again and she's sent another photo. Her hair is down this time, messier than before, but she's still got a football balancing ontop of her head.
Me: Korra. We're all waiting for you outside.

Korra: I would be out in a minute but Kuvira tied my shoelaces together.

I stiffle a laugh. So that's why she's taking so long. Jinora starts to stand up and so do the rest of my friends.
"I better get home before I get another lecture about being punctual from my parents." Jinora says, earning a few laughs from around.

"Me too." Wu admits. Oh god everyone's going and I'm still sat here with Korra's friends.

"Are you coming Asami?" Opal asks, stopping in her tracks.

I shake my head. I can't just leave.
"I'm waiting for Korra."

"Oh..right." She gives me a light smirk and starts to walk away after saying a few goodbyes like the rest of them did. The three left at the bench just start to chatter a little whilst I instantly turn back to my phone. I don't even dare to look up.
Me: Korra please hurry up.

Korra: Kuvira tied these up pretty well. It'll take a while.

Me: Just hurry.

Korra: Why? Are you in a rush or something?

Me: No I'm just sat with your friends and it's really awkward.

She doesn't respond after that and I hope that's she's moving double time to get out here. In the meantime, I just keep swiping at my homescreen to make it look like I'm doing something.

"So Asami, how's the project going with you?" Oh for fucks sake. I look up from my phone and all three of them are looking at me, they look smug and it's a little scary.

"Uh.. pretty well. How about you?" I respond to Kuvira.

"It's going alright. I'm pairs with Bataar and he wanted to do like 5 places." I'm kind of glad that I didn't get paired with him now, he seems really passionate. A little too passionate.
"I'm having real fun with that." She says sarcastically.

"Oh sure you are. Where's he taken you so far? The park, his place, his bedro-" Bolin earns a smack to the back of the head. The two brothers start to laugh.

"Shut up!" She screams. I don't think I've ever seen Kuvira this Red-faced before, it's almost funny. We all chat a little bit about the project, not the most interesting topic but we all had a say in everything.

The chat didn't last long. That's because Korra covers my eyes like she always does and says her little-
"Guess who?"

"Korra." I chuckle and she slips her hands away so she could sit down next to me.

"I'll fool you one day." She says. Yeah right.

"You took your time." Kuvira says and then suddenly winces. Korra kicked her from under the table.

"You're evil you know. You didn't have to tie them so tight." Korra kicks her again.

Mako laughs and leans into the conversation.
"Wait what happened?"

"I tied Korra's laces together. The idiot didn't even notice and tripped herself up." Kuvira explains and laughs.

I cover my mouth up a little and laugh into my palm. Korra heard me and gave me a little glare, pouting.
"It's not funny, that hurt." She whines. I laugh again. Cute. We chat for a little longer, back and forth about random things. I've always seen Korra's friends as her minions in some way, they all act like Korra when they're around her but then like total pricks when they're by themselves. That's not how I look at them anymore. They're actually a really nice bunch of people.

Korra taps her hands onto the bench and graudally stands up.
"Anyway me and Asmai have somewhere to be."

We do?
"You do?" Kuvira asks, looking between the two of us, smugly. Why does she keep doing that?

"Yeah, it's for the project. Talk to you guys later." She says and tugs me off the bench whilst slinging her bag over her shoulder. We walk out the school gates in silence until we were out of their sight.

"Seems like you're finally 'bonding' with my friends." Korra chuckles.

"That was awkward, please don't leave me with them like that ever again."
I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Noted."

"Okay Smith, where are we going this time?" I ask, a little confused as to why we rushed away so quickly.

"It's not for the project I promise." She says.
"I just thought it would be nice to go to the park."

"The main park?" I raise a brow and she nods. This should be interesting.

<->

The wind wasn't blowing as much as it was before, it was still cold yet cool on my skin. It might snow again soon. With my hand in Korra's pocket again with hers, we both enter the park. It's busy like it always is but it's still a park that I like to visit. My nerves are still here though, coursing through my veins, running my mind like a motor. Korra wants to talk and I'm sure we're nearing to that conversation.

There's a few children running about and I focus on them to take clear my head, laughing and screaming like kids normally would. I smile as I watch a few of them, purposefully getting on their parent's nerves by running around them instead of the trees.

The gates on the tennis courts are locked, they lie deserted and unused waiting for the first players of the year to arrive.  The bowling green and crazy golf have an eerie silence about them, they lie like a forgotten town, deserted and derelict. People scurry along, their hats and scarves protecting them from the cold weather.  Those who can no longer brave the cold take shelter in the cosy warmth of the café that's posted at the other end of the park. I see a couple sitting outside that café hold a phone up, portait, snapping a photo of themselves with smiles on their faces.

It reminds me of something. I take out my phone with my free hand and swipe onto her contact.
"Is sending me pictures like this going to be a continuous thing?" I ask and show her the most recent one she's sent me.

Korra leans a little closer to the photo before laughing a little.
"What, you don't like them?"

"No I do, they're funny but also a little random." I answer and stuff my phone back into my pocket.

"Well if they make you laugh then they're doing their job." Korra sits me down at a free bench, we have a full view of the park. We both watch each and every scene play out for a little moment before she speaks up again.
"Remember that time in PE when you were sat at the side on the field?"

"Uh.. no?"

She adjusts her hand against mine again, lacing her fingers better with them.
"It was ages ago."

I raise a brow.
"How far back are we talking about here?"

She chuckles and scratches the back of her neck, smiling at me.
"About 5 or so years ago."

A lot of things happened in PE 5 years ago. How does she remember stuff like this?
"I don't remember that far back but carry on."

"Well I remember when I kicked a ball a little too hard and it went flying into some bushes." she says.
"Before I could even see where it went you were the first one to grab it for me."

I furrow my brow, jogging my memory from 5 years ago. Something like that did happen. I remember a ball zooming past me, inches away from my face, and disappering into the bushes behind me. I collected it and tossed it back to wherever it came from. Is that what she's talking about?
"Oh so it was you that almost took my head off?"

Korra tilts her head slightly.
"Wait, did it almost hit you?"

"Almost." I answer.

She chuckles and rubs her thumb against the back of my hand. A sigh leaves her lips moments after.
"But yeah.. that's the first time I actually noticed you properly. Then I found out you were in all of my classes and I guess I started to like you from that day forward..." My breath hitches as she turns to me, soft smile at her lips that reaches her eyes. The hand that wasn't clasped around mine moves towards my face, her index finger pressing my glasses further up my nose.
"..glasses and all."

My cheeks are a red hot and I'm not complaining, at least it's giving me some sort of heat to my face.
"Is that why you brought me out here? To tell me how you almost killed me with a football?" I joke.

She laughs and shakes her head.
"No." Korra pauses and adverts her eyes somewhere else for a moment before they meet mine again.
"I wanted to talk to you about something."

My nerves start to tingle and rush around again.
"Okay." I shuffle in my seat, my body facing hers and I'm listening.

"I've been thinking." she says.

"About what?"

"Thinking about us.. you know together." She says.
"Like girlfriends?"

It's like my ears popped, my vision sharpened so I could only see Korra and Korra only. No more park, no more nothing. Just her. the words repeat in my head, the phrase, her voice. I soon realise that I've been silent for a long time, my mouth agape in surprise. Korra sighs and her eyes soon go downcast and the grip on my hand loosens like my silence has already given her an answer, but it's the wrong answer. I cup her face in my hand and tilt her chin up so I can see her eyes.

I'm smiling a stupid smile and I think I might die of happiness. I nod. Over and over again and press my lips to hers. It's soft but the feeling strikes through me with a sharp, desperate need. It took a long second until I felt her press back, slowly