Work Text:
„Ah frickin' piece of sh.., I should've put you on the junkyard when I had the chance.“
There was a rattling sound, then a metal scratching and then the murmuring continued.
„Oh, please, baby, I didn't mean it! You know I love you. Do you remember last summer when you were stuck in the dirt? I didn't leave you! Please don't do this to me now, I've done everything for you. You only get the best parts when you need to be repaired! I need you, like you need me. Pleeeeease!“
The murmuring turned into a desperate growl and although Asami wasn't usually the nosy type, she could not stop herself from peeking around the pillar that was blocking the view.
Hunched over at the neighboring gasoline pump was a muscular, tall woman with a dark tan dressed in black pants and a blue flannel. Its sleeves had been shoved up to her elbows. She was fumbling with something at the gas cap of her car – a black VW Polo - strands of her shoulder long brown hair were hanging in her face.
„Come on, you can't be serious!“ The woman stopped fumbling, took a step back and huffed angrily at her car while she pulled a smart phone out of her pocket. She began typing, to the dislike of the drivers that were impatiently waiting behind her. When one of them honked the horn of his car, she cringed and waved her hand apologetically. Asami could've sworn she heard the words „You're one to talk with your fucking Audi,“ although the apologetic smile on the tanned woman’s face remained intact.
„Please, pick up your phone,“ she pressed when she held her phone to her ear. The more time passed, the more the muscles in her arm flexed and when no one picked up, she threw the phone into the half open passenger side door.
Mesmerized by the play of muscles underneath the beautiful woman's skin, Asami was so invested that it took three loud honks from the driver behind her in line to come back to the present.
Shake it off, Asami. What are you doing?
She continued checking the oil level, wiping the oil dipstick with a paper towel. When she was done, she wanted to finish up and pay, but a loud cracking sound brought her attention back to the woman at the next pump.
She didn't know what she had expected to see, but certainly not the beautiful woman with the broken filler cap of her car in her hand. Her other fist was clenched shut and her arms were trembling from the effort.
On every other day, with every other person, Asami would've had difficulties hiding her amusement, but when she realized that silent tears were streaming down the woman's face, she didn't think twice but to abandon the current task of refueling her car and go over.
Out of pure instinct, as if she had done this a thousand times in a thousand lifetimes, she put her hand on the small of the woman's back, bending forward to try and look her in the eye, while both the cars behind Asami's car as well as the ones in line behind the woman were angrily honking and driving to the other gas pumps.
„You know,” she began while gently prying the cap out of the tight shut hands before her, “when I was a kid, I once cried because I thought I had lost my father in the super market.” The brunette carried a surprised look on her face but didn't seem to mind the physical contact nor the story that Asami was telling. She threw the cap onto the passenger seat. As she continued her tale, she noticed a car key that was stuck in the fuel tank's inner cap.
“I always played a game with my father where I would run to him and jump on the cart.” Asami immediately saw what the problem was. She had seen this a thousand times in her workshop, and she knew what to do. While she was at it, she never stopped talking and saw that the other woman's eyes were glued to her face.
“One day, I thought it would be a fantastic idea to do that with my eyes closed.” She saw a twitch in the blue eyed woman's face, as if she was saying I know what's about to happen, but Asami could surprise her by saying: “I maybe... probably should've told my father, because he didn't stop walking, and I jumped onto another man's cart. I know, as if it happened yesterday, that I was so excited and yelling something like 'Look, Dad, I can even find you with my eyes closed!'” She managed to get the key out and while she was uncapping the fuel tank and getting the nozzle to fill up the tank, she had to repress a laugh as she finished her story.
“When I heard my father from two isles behind me claim loudly that he was proud of me, I opened my eyes and looked in the most shocked face of a stranger that I have ever seen in my life.”
She screwed the cap shut again and brought the nozzle back to its place. While she was doing that, she whipped out her credit card and, without the other woman realizing it, payed her fee and stated: “That was one of the most embarrassing moments of my twenty six years.”
The tanned woman that hadn't been short of words when talking to her car before was now standing silently at the rear of her car, looking at Asami with a mixture of gratitude and shock, but to Asami's delight the sadness in her eyes had almost vanished.
Asami wasn't sure on how to proceed, but she knew that she had to continue speaking.
“Maybe it would be best to get going, since those horns are really annoying.”
That seemed to animate the other woman. She eagerly nodded her head.
“I don't know what to say. Seriously, I don't know. Can I repay you with a coffee or something?” She turned around when she noticed that the woman who helped her was already out of earshot.
Asami had already finished up and was sitting in her car. She leaned out the window, her long black hair slowly dancing in the wind while she was driving by the tanned woman. Her amused voice carried over to her, when she ordered her: “Look under your wiper!” Then she drove off, not without watching the blue eyed woman in her rear mirror, while she pulled Asami's business card from underneath the wiper.
The next day, Korra was watching a lean man maneuver her car onto the right spot in the workshop. When she had arrived, she had hoped to see the beautiful woman from yesterday again but was so far disappointed to notice that she didn't seem to be here.
The young man asked her to wait a moment - he told her that he was still in training so he needed to fetch his boss. Korra leaned against her car and sighed. Great, now she would have to have her old pain in the ass repaired by some middle-aged mechanic whose butt crack you could see when he bent over. All this didn't really work out the way she wanted it to, which was a shame because her mood could've really profited from seeing the black haired beauty's smile again. With her shoulders slumped, she kicked at some dirt that was lying on the floor, a deep scowl forming on her face.
After a few minutes, she heard footsteps that indicated that the mechanic from before had found his boss. Ready to get this whole thing over with, Korra straightened her back and looked up, anticipating some fat, half bold guy to greet her with a greasy handshake.
What she saw was miles from her expectation. The beautiful woman from yesterday was gracefully walking towards Korra, recognition written on her features. She wore a red overall with white stripes, a bronze gearwheel on her chest - something about the gear seemed vaguely familiar to Korra. Asami's sleeves were shoved up to her elbows and her shiny black hair was being held back by a hairband, only a single strand didn't seem to behave and was hanging loosely in her face. On her temple there was a smudged oil stain. Her bright green eyes were sparkling in the sunlight that came from outside and when she grabbed the brunette's hand for a handshake, she radiated a calming warmth that soothed Korra's aching heart.
“Hey! I hoped that you would bring your old lady here. Please don't get angry at me, but she has seen better days. I'm Asami by the way, but you probably knew that.”
Korra was surprised by the firmness of Asami's handshake, but since her profession were martial arts, she appreciated it.
“Yeah I knew. And I also know that Black Betty here is not the youngest horse in the stable. I'm Korra and I seriously owe you.” Her mouth was dry and she was glad that Asami had released her hand, because Korra's palms were beginning to sweat. Although the black haired woman's way of dealing with yesterday's situation had been considerate, Korra could not shake the embarrassment that she still felt.
Asami gave her an amused smirk. “Black Betty? Like the song?”
Korra grinned back. “Yeah, that song was the reason I started learning to play the guitar.”
Another smirk. If Korra hadn't been sure that Asami was just polite in a professional manner, she would have thought that that grin was suggestive. But someone so good looking and sweet like Asami certainly wouldn't flirt with the strange woman that cried at the gas station.
“I see. So, should we get going then? I think your filler cap needs attention.” She paused and turned her head to the young man that was still standing behind her. “Mako, go and finish the breaks of that Chevy from before.” Mako nodded and began walking towards the shop's other end.
Asami walked around Korra's car to a nearby work space with a workbench. She began to look for something.
“You know, since I hoped that you would bring your car here today, I had the part you needed put aside.” She found what she was searching for and walked back to Korra's car, while the brunette tried to find a hidden meaning behind Asami's words.
She hoped that I would come here? Why? Oh, I know!
“I almost forgot! I didn't notice yesterday, but you payed my refuel! And of course you helped me with that damn key. I'm so sorry I didn't say anything, I will of course repay you when you’re giving me the bill. I guess yesterday just wasn't really my day.” Korra put her hand on her neck, trying to look sincere.
“It was no problem at all, really,” Asami told her as she was beginning to repair Korra's car. “I couldn't just stand by and do nothing when you were clearly upset.”
Korra couldn't believe how nice Asami was. After she had helped her, Korra could not stop thinking about Asami's story and the way her hair had tickled her cheek as she was leaning over her shoulder. The only time that she didn't think of the raven haired beauty was when…
“My dog died. I was on my way to my parents to bury her.” Korra couldn't stop the words. She felt a certain kind of security with Asami, although she barely knew her for ten minutes. Said woman stopped her hands and turned her head to face Korra. “I'm so sorry. What was her name?”
Korra didn't think that Asami would go further than a simple expression of condolence, but she took the opportunity to continue talking with the other young woman.
“Her name was Naga. She was huge. Like, up to my chest. Fluffy and white, like a polar bear. But she loved to cuddle. And you didn't need to shower anymore when she licked your face.” Korra tried to control her quivering lip. “She was my best friend.” She exhaled deeply to try and stop herself from crying on the spot.
The mechanic was suddenly on her feet, pulling Korra into a firm hug. “I'm so sorry,” she repeated. “She sounds like that kind of best friend everyone needs.”
She let Korra go, who could only make a surprised face. Then she heard Asami gasp in shock.
“Oh shoot, I smeared grease on your face! I'll give you something to wipe it off.”
Korra grabbed her wrist, stopping Asami in her tracks.
“Don't worry, then we'll just go as a pair.” She closed her mouth when she realized how that sounded. “I mean, you got grease on your face, too! Not like we're a pair, I mean, we don't know each other! I mean, we do now and man, do I mean a lot today.” Korra could've slapped herself in the face. What did she just say?!
Asami didn't seem to think that Korra deserved a slap for that. She offered a warm smile and attended to the brunette's car again.
After a few minutes where only the scratching sounds of Asami's tools and the usual background sounds of a car workshop could be heared, Korra wanted to say something to change the impression that she had left with the other woman. When she opened her mouth, she hadn't noticed that the mechanic had begun to talk, and so she had missed what she had said. Asami looked at her expectantly.
“I'm sorry, what did you say?”
Another one of those beautiful smiles appeared on Asami's face.
“I said, I've had my car for years but I still don't have a name for it.”
“Oh, that should be easy. Do you mean the Audi that you drove yesterday?” Korra could remember the white rush of an Audi A3 driving by.
Asami shook her head and wiped her hands on a towel. When she stood up, she stated: “Your filler cap is as good as new and I solved the problem with the key hole. Your key shouldn't get stuck anymore.”
Korra was surprised by how fast Asami had done that. Now that she thought about it, mechanics usually didn't want their customers to stand behind them when they were working. Maybe she was flirting with Korra? But she couldn't end her train of thought because Asami was talking again.
“I have another car. If you're interested, I would like to show it to you. You were my last customer, so if you want, we can go to my garage.”
Korra has loved cars since she was little, so she agreed and went over to the register, where Asami refused to take the money back that she paid for Korra's gas yesterday. When the brunette couldn't convince her, she just paid her bill and waited for Asami to change.
The black haired woman told Korra to follow her in her own car. After a few minutes they had come to an industrial part of town with huge properties. Korra began to wonder where Asami was driving and when she stopped before the headquarters of Future Industries, the brunette realized who the mechanic was.
“You're Asami SATO?!” She cried out when she hadn't barely even opened her car door.
The apparent CEO turned her head and wore an amused smile on her face.
“Yes, I am.”
Korra walked over to her. “Why didn't you tell me? And why were you working in a car workshop?”
Asami shrugged when she began walking towards the side of the big Future Industries building, signaling Korra to follow her.
“I don't like to put my reputation out there before people even know my name.” She shot Korra something like a suspicious side way glance. The brunette felt caught.
Is it possible, that she knows...?
She tried to avoid that topic and asked: “And why do you repair cars then? Not to be rude, but you shouldn't be needing a second job.”
A small chuckle escaped Asami's lips and Korra's stomach fluttered at the soft sound.
“That chain of workshops belongs to Future Industries and I sometimes fill in for the boss there. I may be an engineer and I really love to think of new things and try and pave new ways for technology, but sometimes I miss the handiwork. At the moment, I have what is the equivalent to writer's block for engineers, so I like to get my mind off of these things by just working and making myself dirty.”
Although Korra was twenty five years old, for heaven's sake, she nonetheless had to repress a childish laugh at Asami's last few words.
“I see. That's actually really admirable, for someone so intelligent to be so modest.” Korra couldn't resist to compliment Asami, she was just such an endearing character.
She didn't fail to make the CEO blush.
“Thank you.” She put the loose strand of hair that was still hanging in her face behind her ear, only to have it slip out again a moment later.
They walked silently after that, going round the rear corner of the building and finally arriving at a big garage with dozens of cars in it and a connection to something that looked like a big go cart race track. There were cars of all different kinds, some that resembled Formula 1 racers, some in the style of DTM cars with sponsors all over them and some were real beauties, Korra could even make out a classical '68 Ford Mustang.
Asami made her way to a car that was blocked from view by an extra door while Korra could just stare in awe at the neatly lined up automobiles. Some of them were dirty and some of them were polished, like that old silver Mustang, but all of them seemed to be in really good condition. Perfect, even.
“This is fantastic! I can't believe how many fantastic cars you have here. Did you tune these all on your own?” Korra couldn't hide her shock.
The CEO shook her head and suddenly here smile turned sad. “My father used to help me.”
Korra knew why Asami was suddenly so silent. Hiroshi Sato, the founder of Future Industries and Asami's father, has had mental problems since his wife had been killed in an assault twenty years ago. Because of that, his view on things had got corrupted and he had started to sell technology to extremist groups around the world. He got arrested at last, but the new CEO, Asami Sato, did have a hard task at hand of rebuilding the company’s reputation.
With a few quick steps and without thinking twice, she was standing in front of Asami and putting her arms around the other woman. “I'm sorry, I didn't want to remind you of something that must have been so horrible for you.” Neither of them seemed to mind the contact, in fact, it seemed to be natural for them to be so close.
Asami shook her head when Korra let go after a few seconds. “It's alright. I can't ignore it for the rest of my life.” She lightened up when she quickly pressed a button on the side of the door she was standing before. “But now I want to show you my baby.” She was suddenly so full of energy that Korra, too, couldn't hide her excitement, when the door slowly opened.
What she saw, Korra wouldn't have expected in a thousand years. Standing before her was a deep blue treasure – an Audi R8 Spyder, whose front seemed to mimic the expression of a puma, ready to chase after its prey. Everything about this car was impressive. The perfectly clean car paint that seemed to pull you into its blue depths the longer you looked at it, the shining 21-inch wheel rims, the black interior that promised comfort while driving at max speed and of course the speedometer, that showed twice the amount of speed that a normal car did.
Asami was staring at Korra from the side, eagerly awaiting a reaction. “What do you say?” Korra was surprised that the CEO didn't jump on the spot.
The brunette opened her mouth to compliment the car, but before she could utter a word, Asami had yet again burst out with a question.
“Do you want to go for a ride?”
This, time, Korra answered immediately.
“Hell, yeah!”
She made her way to the passenger seat, accepting the helmet that Asami offered and securing her seat belt.
The other woman had done the same thing on the driver's side and was pressing some button on a remote control that seemed to open the big door that led to the race track. When Asami revved the engine, Korra couldn't stop herself from muttering “Oh my god” under her breath, which caused the CEO's eyes to burn with passion.
When Asami had positioned the car at the start of the track, she told Korra to hold on tight, which the brunette would've done even if the other woman hadn't ordered her to do, at the latest when the raven haired woman let the R8 shoot forward without a hitch in the movement.
The drive was fantastic, Korra instinctively leaned into every curve and admired the way that the car seemed to be glued to the asphalt. She sometimes turned her head to look at Asami who seemed totally lost in the drive. Although Korra could only see half of her face, it was here that the CEO was at her most beautiful. The brunette wondered shortly why Asami didn’t always drive this car if it was so great for her, but of course it would be the fastest way to get all the attention she didn’t want.
After a few rounds, Asami stopped the race and drove the R8 back into the garage, where she stayed in her seat and took off her helmet, her face glowing with joy.
“What do you say now?”
Korra was speechless. “What can I say? That was awesome. I don’t have words to say how awesome that was and how awesome you are.” She grinned to make the statement less cheesy, but Asami didn’t seem to mind.
“I can only give that compliment right back.” Her smile never ceased. She patted her helmet with both hands as to ask “What now?”
Korra had the answer to that question, so she asked: “So, is it this car you need a name for?” When Asami nodded, Korra continued: “Hm, it’s tricky. You know, it’s so powerful but lean, so fast but also so sturdy. I think a plain old lady name isn’t able to express all that. But all I can think of is lame, like Blue Thunder or something.” She held her hands up in a helpless gesture, trying to apologize for the boring name.
Asami seemed to be deep in thought when she slowly shook her head. “No, I think I have one that fits your description.” She smirked at Korra. “How about ‘The Avatar’?”
So she really knew.
Korra grimaced. “I had a feeling that you knew. How did you find out?”
“That you’re the mysterious blue Avatar who gives all her earnings from her MMA fights to charity?” She chuckled. “I suspected it when I saw your stature, but I was sure when you talked about your dog. You said the exact same words in an interview a few years ago, although then you didn’t mention her name.”
Korra felt a blush rise to her face, but at the same time sadness tried to get a hold on her. “You’re not gonna tell anybody, right? I wouldn’t be able to sleep one minute if the press knew who I am. And at the moment, I just want to mourn the loss of my best friend.”
The CEO’s face was full of sympathy when she said: “Since I know what you would go through if the press knew, I would really be cruel if I told them. Your secret’s safe with me, but nonetheless you have to promise me something.” She looked serious.
The MMA-fighter tried to keep her hopes low. Asami wouldn’t ask her on a date. That would be too good to be true.
“Whatever you want,” Korra told her with a questioning smile.
Although the brunette had just convinced herself that Asami wasn’t going to ask her out, now she was sure that the smirk that the CEO gave her was a suggestive one.
“Maybe I’ll come back to that. I actually wanted to know if you would maybe go on a date with me?” Her voice went up at the end, turning her sentence into a hopeful question.
No way.
Korra was so happy that she stumbled over her own words. “Of course I want to date you!” She grimaced when she understood what she had just said. “I mean, of course I want to go ON a date with you. I’m sorry.”
Asami, who apparently had to laugh at the look on Korra’s face put a hand on the fighter's shoulder in a soothing gesture. “Don’t worry, I think we’ll come to that soon enough.”