I Made A Field Guide About The Korok Forest (but It’s Magical!)

..may this joke land with y’all the same way it did for my sister and I lol

This xkcd comic from 2009 changed my life. It feels timeless.

please write the zoo au 🙇

if you’re looking for something to blame for this, here’s the culprit

“…cockroaches.”

“Yes.”

Kara squints. “Like, the creepy-crawly little bugs we freeze in the thousands to feed to the animals.”

“The very same.”

“And you want me to… name them?”

Cat sighs so heavily that had she been standing, she probably would have fallen over. “You’re not naming them, Keira. Do try to keep up. Patrons can pay $5 to name a cockroach after their ex. You will then feed these named cockroaches to the animals. For $25 people can also name a frozen rat.”

Kara gapes. “So I’m feeding animals named after people to other animals?”

“If you think that displaying the comprehension skills of an elementary schooler is going to impress me, you’re sorely mistaken,” Cat says dryly, her tone bored as she shuffles the stacks of papers on her desk. “Thank you for reminding me that I didn’t hire you for your intellect.”

Kara ignores the dig. She’s had plenty of practice over the past five years. “But doesn’t that seem a little…. mean?”

“You’re worried about the feelings of a frozen dead cockroach?”

Kara huffs, digging her hands deep into the pockets of her green NC Zoo fleece. “Not the bugs. The people the bugs are named after. The people watching themselves in bug form be fed to a lizard, or whatever.”

Cat hums, tapping her pen thoughtfully against her chin. “I suppose we’d also better appeal to the bleeding-heart animal lovers out there if we want to maximise sales. We’ll introduce a vegetarian option as well: $5 to name a cabbage after your ex to be fed to our herbivores. I’ll let Olsen know.”

“But—”

“Keira.” Cat’s voice clicks into its most chilling no-bullshit tone and Kara winces, fighting the urge to cower at her boss’ feet. “This programme will almost singlehandedly fund the renovation of our giant panda enclosure. Do you not want the pandas to have water to swim in and bamboo to nibble on, Ms Danvers? Do you want them to go extinct?”

Kara blanches. Everybody knows the pandas are her favourites. “No, of course not, I just—”

“Good,” Cat snaps. “National City Zoo’s Cry Me a Cockroach event will be going ahead from tomorrow, and I will expect your full support every step of the way.”

Kara sighs. “Sure thing, boss.”

“Oh, and Keira,” Cat calls as Kara’s halfway out of her office. “You’re going to be the public face of this event. All the naming and feeding will be broadcast across our social media livestreams. Winslow in tech support will help you get everything set up.”

“Me?” Kara gapes. “Why?”

Cat quirks an appraising eyebrow, making no secret of the fact that she’s giving Kara a discerning once-over. “You fit the image that will draw in viewers,” she drawls, eyeing the planes of Kara’s shoulders, the lines of her thighs beneath her standard-issue cargo pants. “Can’t say that I see it myself, but I suppose you do have a certain… appeal.”

Kara feels her cheeks turn an immediate shade of scarlet, shuffling her feet awkwardly. “I, um. Thanks?”

“That wasn’t a compliment,” Cat says smoothly, eyes never leaving her laptop screen. “Go away now. And do a good job on this, Keira. We really need the extra income.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Cat calls. “Wear something form-fitting tomorrow. This is basically a PR stunt— it won’t hurt to give the people a show.”

-

“So, we’ve got all the purchase summaries right here on this tablet,” Winn says, fiddling with the inordinate number of screens and cameras currently pointing right at Kara. “So we’ll get a shot of the rat or roach, then you read out the name of the person who made the purchase, and the name they’ve given to their animal. Maybe the background story, if they’ve submitted one. Then feed the poor bastard to the— the—”

“The snake?” Kara supplies cheerily, stroking the head of the Jamaican yellow boa constrictor currently draped over her shoulders.

Winn shudders, fighting down his gag reflex. “I will never understand how you can touch that thing.”

“You work at a zoo, Winn,” she chides. “How can you be scared of snakes? Noodle is a creature that needs our love and care, just like all the others.”

“Noodle?” Winn squeaks. “You named a snake that probably weighs more than you do Noodle?”

“Only unofficially,” Kara sighs. “Cat says I have to stop getting so attached to the animals.”

Winn gapes at her. “You know what, we don’t have time to unpack that right now.” He adjusts the lighting outside the enclosure, turning Kara this way and that until he finds the perfect angle. “So the main thing is to keep things fun and engaging. We’re aiming for numbers here. If this doesn’t go viral, Cat will have my nuts on a silver platter.”

“You’re so crass,” Kara scolds. “He’s so crass,” she murmurs to the snake wrapped around her abdomen, stroking its head again. Noodle flicks his tongue out in response, tasting the air. Kara takes it as an agreement.

“Oh, and if part of the summary is shaded red, it’s because the purchaser asked for the information to remain confidential,” Winn continues, adjusting camera angles and making sure the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter livestreams are up and running. “So don’t read that bit.”

“Red means no,” Kara salutes. “Gotcha.”

“Alright, ready?” Winn asks, and Kara sucks in a deep breath. At least Noodle doesn’t care that her palms are sweating. “We’re live.”

“Hey, hi. I’m Kara Danvers, head zookeeper here at National City Zoo,” Kara starts, eyes flicking rapidly between the three cameras trained on her. Where is she supposed to look? If she looks at one feed for too long, will the others feel neglected? Will viewers tune out? Does she have to keep glancing between the three of them like she’s watching a three-way tennis match? What if—

Behind the camera, Winn clears his throat. “Chill,” he mouths silently from the far side of the intimidating assortment of screens, and Kara forces herself to heed his advice.

“Welcome to Cry Me a Cockroach,” she continues, voice steadying as she manages to get her rapid breathing under control. “Thank you so much to everyone who’s purchased a rat or a cockroach so far— all your donations will go toward the renovation of our giant panda enclosure! For anyone who hasn’t gotten around to their vermin vengeance yet, the event will be running through the end of the month.”

She reaches up to adjust Noodle so he’s slung more comfortably over her shoulders and then grabs the first container of frozen rats. “Alright, well. This guy’s hungry, so we’d better get started before he decides to eat me!” She winks at the camera, laughing when Noodle’s forked tongue darts out to flicker against her cheek.

“I’m just joking. Jamaican yellow boas like Noodle only eat small prey like birds, bats, or today, rats!” she grins, running a hand over the snake’s sleek body. “But maybe he’ll make an exception just this once for our tech guy, Winn.”

She steps closer to the camera and extends an arm, Noodle poking his head towards Winn in interest. Winn shrieks at the snake’s approach, tripping over wires and plugs as he scrambles backwards, landing flat on his ass on the ground.

Kara grins, drawing the snake closer to her body again and extending her hand. “High five,” she grins at the snake, and Noodle flicks his tongue against her palm. “Operation Scare-The-Cameraman, Day One: complete.”

She reaches one gloved hand into the bucket to pull out a frozen rat as she scans the tablet in front of her. “Okay, so. This rat, named Dave, was purchased by Kerry in Thousand Oaks, who also included this message.”

She skims the purchase summary before holding the rat out to Noodle, who unlatches his jaw to swallow it whole. Kara stares into the camera, one eyebrow quirking. “That’s what you get for cheating, Dave.”

-

They move through most of the reptile house, Winn filming as Kara names and then proceeds to feed a bucketful of cockroaches to the zoo’s scaly inhabitants.

The longer it goes on, the more at ease Kara starts to feel, laughing and cracking jokes for the camera as she reads people’s messages to their ex with growing glee.

“Shouldn’t have forgotten to pick the kids up from school, Dan,” she sing-songs, dropping a frozen rat into the enclosure of Slinky the African rock python.

“Rachel from Gotham City, you told Dylan that is wasn’t him, it was you. Well, he wants you to know that this cockroach is definitely you,” she says with a rueful smile as the creature in question is plucked from her glove by a panther chameleon.

“Lucia hopes your new woman is ready for a lifetime of your snoring, Mason from Laguna Beach,” she says as she dumps a handful of cockroaches into the bearded dragon’s enclosure to be swallowed with great enthusiasm.

They make it to one of Kara’s favourite inhabitants, Godzilla the tiny leopard gecko. She lets the little fellow climb up onto one hand as she scans the tablet. “Alright, last one for today, folks,” she grins, grabbing one more bug for Godzilla’s dinner. “This is from Lena in Metropolis, who has named her cockroach Andrea. So Andrea, this is for—”

Kara cuts herself off as her brain registers the red shading over the message section. “Never mind, the message for this one is private,” she murmurs absentmindedly, eyes still stuck on the purchase summary. Her gaze catches on words like lies and betrayal and deception and ten years and she can feel her brow scrunching as her eyes narrow.

She looks back up at the camera, one fist clenching as she ignores Winn’s questioning look to clear her throat. “Alright, Lena’s message is confidential but let me just say: Andrea, if you’re watching, you’re lucky that all you’re getting is a cockroach with your name on it after the stunt you pulled. Lena, whoever you are, you’re a better person than I would be in your shoes.”

And with a gleeful smile and far too much gusto, probably, she extends the dead bug to the gecko perched on her palm. “Enjoy this one, Godzilla,” she coos at the tiny lizard. “Really savour it.”

He does, swallowing the bug in one smooth gulp, and Kara runs an affectionate finger over his head. “Hope you felt that, Andrea,” she mutters, too low for the cameras to pick it up. Probably. Hopefully.

She perches Godzilla back on his favourite rock and turns back to the cameras with a smile. Rounds out the livestream and repeats the details for people to purchase their own cockroaches ahead of the next day’s broadcast, high fives Winn once the cameras stop rolling, and chalks the whole thing up to a good – if weird – day’s work.

-

The livestream is a hit, and Cry Me a Cockroach sales rocket overnight.

Cat even graces her with a grudging well done as she heads to the aviary for the day’s filming and feeding. She and Winn repeat the same setup at the day before, moving around the enclosures to feed bugs and rodents to the assortment of birds housed within, Kara smiling and laughing and joking the whole way.

But as they come to the end of the broadcast something’s still niggling at the back of Kara’s mind and Winn’s about to shut off the cameras when Kara reaches out a hand to stop him.

“Um, before we go,” she starts, ignoring Winn’s what the hell look even as her cheeks flush crimson, “there’s just one more cockroach to be crunched. If you were watching yesterday, you might remember that Lena from Metropolis bought a cockroach named Andrea. Lena didn’t want everyone to know the terrible thing Andrea did to her but personally, I think it was bad enough that we could maybe do one more bug-feed. On the house,” she winks at the camera, reaching into the bucket at her feet.

She scoops up a container of frozen bugs, tilting them towards the camera. “Lena, I hope you’re watching, because every single one of these guys is named Andrea,” she grins, tossing the scoop into the enclosure of Tim McCaw, the zoo’s giant hyacinth parrot, where it is immediately devoured.

Winn ends the stream just as Kara’s phone rings in her back pocket; the Jaws ringtone that indicates her boss is calling. She answers with a wince, bracing for Cat’s inevitable reprimand for going off-book and dishing out her own vermin vengeance, but it doesn’t come.

Cat just informs her that cockroach sales have spiked again, and to keep up the adequate work. She also tells Kara to strip down to her tank top in the next stream, and not to be shy about lifting some of their heaviest snakes in front of the camera.

Kara doesn’t ask for the reasoning behind that specific instruction. Based on the way Winn had snickered into his hands for a solid three minutes upon overhearing it, she doesn’t really want to know.

-

It becomes something of a routine.

Every day, she and Winn move through the different enclosures, feeding cockroaches and rats and the occasional cabbage to the zoo’s inhabitants. Kara reads out the names and the stories – some of them funny, some of them sad, and some just plain weird – and tosses the meals to the waiting animals to be enthusiastically enjoyed.

And right at the end of each stream, Kara plucks out one extra cockroach, names it Andrea, and drops it into the waiting jaws of whichever animal seems hungriest that day.

Maybe she’s a little too invested in this Lena person. Winn certainly tells her so at least eighteen times a day. Alex and Kelly have picked up on it too; they both watch Kara’s livestream from work and take turns sending her a barrage of texts the moment it ends, ranging from gentle teasing (Kelly) to downright harassment (Alex).

Kara doesn’t mind. Something about Lena’s message, the way she’d described how she’d been betrayed by the person she’d trusted the most, had struck a chord deep in Kara. Lena had sounded so hurt, so alone, and yet the only revenge she wanted to take on the woman who broke her heart was to name a $5 cockroach after her.

She doesn’t know if Lena watches the livestreams. But it makes her feel warm and fuzzy inside to think that maybe, Lena has seen it, that she knows that there’s someone out there on her side. Even if that someone is just some random zookeeper on a Facebook live.

The streams, much to Cat’s delight and Winn’s relief, have gone viral. The day after Kara lifts the zoo’s seventy pound green anaconda above her head live on camera to demonstrate its enormous size – wearing the tank top Cat had not so subtly suggested – a clip of their broadcast is shown on national news. Sales skyrocket, with so many people trying to participate in the event that their website crashes. They’ve already raised enough money to cover the renovations of the panda’s enclosure so Cat spreads out the extra profits, investing in higher quality feed for the animals and a series of webcams that livestream footage of their most popular residents 24/7.

The zoo’s profile is rising, and more big donors and investors are expressing interest in the research and conservation work they’re doing. Cat harnesses their surge in popularity, launching new protection projects for snow leopards, rhinos, and pangolins.

Everything is going according to plan – better than planned – and Kara couldn’t be happier. Protecting the planet’s incredible wildlife was all she’d ever wanted to do, and if naming some cockroaches and wearing a few tank tops can help her achieve that dream, it’s a sacrifice she’s willing to make.

She does draw the line, though, at being dubbed Cockroach Kara by internet lurkers.

Winn is extremely unhelpful, collapsing into hysterical laughter the first time he shows her her new moniker and producing no useful suggestions as to how to make it stop. The problem resolves itself, however, after Winn videos Kara hefting two enormous fallen logs in the elephant rehabilitation enclosure onto her shoulders a few days later to move them to a safer location.

The next day, #DaddyDanvers is trending nationwide. Alex laughs herself clean off the couch when she sees it, and Kara blushes so long and so hard she’s not sure she’ll ever recover.

-

The month is drawing to a close, and Kara has to admit she’s going to miss their daily livestreams. Her audience has grown exponentially since the first broadcast and many people are now genuinely invested in the wellbeing of the animals, asking for updates on specific zoo residents and sponsoring conservation efforts for the most endangered creatures.

Kara decides to end the event on a crowd pleaser, and she and Winn make their way to the koala enclosure for the final stream. Sitting cross legged on the grass with a sleepy koala in her lap, Kara tugs the bucket of eucalyptus leaves closer to her side as the stream gets going.

“I know it’s very satisfying to name a cockroach after your ex,” she grins at the camera, “but as this is our last broadcast I thought we’d end on a more upbeat note. For all of you who’ve purchased a bug today, I’ll be feeding one eucalyptus leaf to our resident koalas here at National City Zoo. We’ve got three babies in here who are growing and hungry, so let’s turn the upset and bitterness caused by everyone who’s done you dirty into something good instead. Help something new grow out of the pain of the past.”

She feeds leaf after leaf to the cuddly little creatures, beaming as the entire family gradually make their way over to investigate her. Names each leaf and reads out each story, laughing as the baby koalas climb up her arms to cling to her back and shoulders, playing with her ponytail.

“And, in keeping with tradition,” she smiles, a koala on each shoulder and three in her lap, “I’m naming this final leaf Andrea.” She holds it out to the youngest of the bunch who grabs it eagerly, clasping the leaf between its tiny paws as it chews. Kara grins, glancing directly into the camera. “This one’s for you, Lena from Metropolis.”

She wraps up the stream with a heartfelt thank you to everyone who’d contributed money to the cause, beginning the gentle process of extricating herself from her clinging koalas as Winn packs up the camera equipment for the last time. He heads off, muttering something about giving Cat a debrief as Kara bends to collect her bucket and check the water levels, one baby koala still cradled in the crook of her arm.

She’s so absorbed in her examination of the control panel, checking light and humidity settings in the enclosure, that a throat gently clearing behind her makes her jump.

She spins to see a woman standing nervously by the door of enclosure, twisting her clasped fingers together in front of her. She’s elegantly dressed, with long dark curls and perfect porcelain skin, full lips and sparkling green eyes. She is, in short, the most beautiful woman Kara has ever seen in her entire life, and she promptly forgets how to breathe.

“Can I, um, help you?” she manages at last, cheeks flushed and voice cracking.

The woman presses her lips together, and Kara curses her own abject lack of subtlety as she tries (and fails) to pull her gaze away from the woman’s mouth. “I hope so,” the stranger says, and her voice is soft and lilting and lovely and Kara instantly becomes addicted to hearing it again. “You must be Kara Danvers. I’m— I’m Lena. From Metropolis.”

Kara’s mouth falls open, and she very nearly drops the poor unsuspecting koala in her arms out of pure shock. Blinks back into a semblance of self-awareness and places the cuddly creature carefully on a nearby branch so she can make her way over to the enclosure’s door, smoothing a hand self-consciously over her koala-mussed hair.

“Um, hi,” she breathes once she’s joined Lena on the other side of the glass. “Gosh. Hi. So you’re— you’re Lena. Like, Lena-and-Andrea Lena.”

The woman – Lena – smiles ruefully. “Well. Without the Andrea part, now. As I’m sure you will have read in my purchase summary.”

Kara barely represses the urge to smack herself resoundingly on the forehead. “God, right. Yes. Sorry, I’m so sorry,” she stutters. “That was so dumb. I just— I can’t believe it’s you.” She reaches a hand up to tug awkwardly on her ear, emphatically unable to stop more and more words falling out of her big stupid mouth. “I can’t believe Andrea did that to you. I mean—” she whistles under her breath, giving Lena an appreciative once over. “Look at you.”

Lena’s cheeks flush the prettiest shade of pink, teeth digging into the plush of her bottom lip. “Oh. Um. Thank you?”

“Oh Jesus, I didn’t— I’m sorry,” Kara stammers. “Okay. Let me start this again. Hi.” She extends a hand, sucking in a sharp breath at the feeling of soft skin beneath her own when Lena shakes it. “I’m Kara. It’s so great to meet you.”

Lena smiles, and Kara’s never really thought much about the word radiant before but that’s what the woman before her is. Lena blossoms when she smiles, and she’s so beautiful it takes Kara’s breath away.

She squeezes Kara’s hand once before letting go. “It’s great to meet you, too.”

-

The zoo’s opening hours come to an end but, Kara realises, her time with Lena doesn’t have to. Perks of being the head zookeeper and all.

She tentatively invites the dark-haired woman to stick around, takes her on a tour of the different animals and points out all her favourites. Lena is, like, crazy smart, in addition to being crazy beautiful, and she produces odd little facts about some of the zoo’s rarer inhabitants that even Kara hadn’t known.

Kara learns that Lena had just moved to the area from Metropolis after the Andrea incident, which she has to repeatedly remind herself not to bring up. She learns that Lena has a PhD, and that she’s the youngest head of R&D ever at her brother’s company. She learns that Lena had watched every single one of her livestreams, right from the first day, and had finally been convinced by her best friend to come and meet Kara in person.

She learns that Lena is gorgeous, and devastatingly funny in an understated kind of way, and smart and kind and generous and self-effacing. She learns that everything she learns about Lena only makes her want to know more.

They end up at the giant panda enclosure and Kara sneaks a look around before unlocking the door, ushering Lena inside. She leads the dark-haired woman to a dry patch of grass near where the babies are sleeping with their mothers and gestures for her to sit, realising belatedly that Lena’s suit probably costs more than Kara makes in a year and that she probably doesn’t want to muddy it up in a mess of twigs and leaves.

But Lena doesn’t even hesitate, taking a seat facing Kara and pulling her legs in close to her body. Her eyes keep darting to the pile of pandas behind them and Kara grins. “If we just sit here, they’ll come and investigate us,” she smiles, and Lena looks so excited that Kara’s breath catches in her chest.

They chat about Kara’s job, the zoo’s conservation work, Lena’s move out west and her latest projects at Luthor Corp. Sure enough, within minutes the most brave and inquisitive of the baby pandas has perked up from its nap, ambling over to give them a curious sniff.

Kara’s heart clenches so hard in her chest at the way Lena’s entire face lights up when one of the bears flops into her lap that she legitimately fears she may have gone into cardiac arrest. But if this is how she dies, so be it; watching the untempered joy in her expression as Lena holds a tiny panda in her arms, staying quiet and still as the baby paws and prods inquisitively at her face and hair, would not be a bad final image.

“I wanted to say thank you,” Lena murmurs after a while. “For what you did on the livestream every day. For your discretion, but also— your support.”

She takes a deep breath, gaze focused on the cuddly ball of fluff in her arms. “When Andrea and I ended, it tore me apart, and no one in my daily life knew what had happened. You can imagine why I wanted to keep the details private,” she smiles grimly, and Kara nods. “I felt so isolated. But seeing your videos, seeing you every day— it made me feel that little bit less alone.”

Lena blushes, ducking her head. “I’m sorry, I know that probably sounds ridiculous. I don’t— I didn’t even know you.” An errant curl falls forward into her face, and the baby panda in her arms immediately begins chewing on it.

Kara scoots forward on her knees, pulling the lock of dark hair gently from the baby’s grip and tucking it carefully behind Lena’s ear. “It’s not ridiculous,” she whispers as Lena raises her head again, suddenly aware that their faces are now only inches apart.

“I’m, I’m really glad I could do that for you. I’m really, really glad I got to meet you, Lena. And for the record,” she pauses to swallow hard, drowning in the intensity of Lena’s eyes. “Andrea is the biggest idiot on the planet to have ever let you go.”

Lena’s breath catches in her throat, and Kara doesn’t miss the way green eyes flicker down to her mouth for a moment, Lena’s tongue darting out to wet her own lips. It makes Kara feel bold, and before she can think too hard or second-guess herself she’s leaning forward, sliding a hand up to thread through soft dark hair and pressing her lips to Lena’s.

It’s light, brief, just the gentlest press of mouths, but it shoots a white hot bolt of fire from the crown of Kara’s head to the very tips of her toes. Her whole body is tingling as she pulls back, heart pounding.

“God, sorry,” she gasps, eyes widening as the reality of the boundary she’s just blown past comes slamming in. “Oh, fu— I’m so sorry, Lena, I don’t know what I was—”

“Kara,” Lena whispers, gently depositing her baby panda on the grass to push up on her knees as well. “Do it again.”

Well. She doesn’t need to be told that twice.

She surges forward again but Lena’s already there to meet her, mouths slanting together like they’d been doing it for years. Kara’s tongue darts out to trace the seam of Lena’s bottom lip and the dark-haired woman’s mouth falls open with a tiny gasp that hits Kara low in her hips. The first touch of Lena’s tongue against hers is bright, jagged and electric, and Kara tightens one hand in Lena’s hair as the other slides round her waist to anchor their bodies together, Lena’s own hands fisting in the collar of Kara’s green fleece.

Maybe it’s minutes, maybe it’s hours later that they finally break apart, gasping for air. Kara doesn’t particularly care. She takes in Lena’s heaving chest, her kiss-swollen lips and rose-tinted cheeks, and wonders how the hell a bucketful of dead cockroaches could ever have led her to something as beautiful as this.

“Oh,” Lena gasps, voice light and breathy. “Oh, wow. Maybe I should visit zoos more often.”

“As long as it’s this one, I’m on board with that,” Kara chuckles, tracing her thumb feather-light over Lena’s lower lip and trying (and failing) to restrain a shiver at the way Lena’s nails scratch lightly at the nape of her neck.

“So, um,” Lena murmurs, biting her lip, and it’s taking every scrap of Kara’s willpower not to interrupt whatever she’s about to say and claim her mouth once again. “I feel like an all-access encounter with baby pandas is quite a tough first date to follow but, um. Would you like to maybe do this again sometime?”

Kara grins. She grins and grins and grins. She doesn’t think she could stop grinning if she tried. “I’d love to.”

The answering smile that breaks over Lena’s lovely face makes Kara’s heart do a backflip, and she’s just about to lean back in when the ominous sound of the Jaws theme tune starts up from the pocket of her fleece.

She pulls out her phone, stomach dropping when she sees the thirty new messages from Alex and Kelly and Winn, the hundreds of Facebook and Twitter notifications flooding her homescreen. With a pit of existential dread opening up in her chest, she answers the call.

“Cat,” she says, voice bright and just a little too high. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I have to assume, since you were the one who lobbied for their installation, that you are aware of the three cameras livestreaming the giant panda enclosure at all times,” Cat drawls, voice bored and callous with the barest undertone of amusement. “Which leads me, naturally, to assume that your little after-hours rendezvous with billionaire tech mogul and philanthropist Lena Luthor was intended to be broadcast live to millions of viewers?”

Kara slaps a hand across her forehead, cheeks redder than a fire truck as she shoots an agonised glance in Lena’s direction. Lena shakes her head questioningly at her and Kara tugs the phone away from her ear to put the call on speaker.

“So, um. The whole world just saw that, huh?” she asks through a grimace. Lena’s eyes widen and she presses a delicate hand to her mouth to hold back a shocked giggle.

“They certainly did,” comes Cat’s disembodied voice. “And it’s doing wonders for our popularity. I already have three new investors interested in supporting our panda rehabilitation programme. You know, Keira, when I asked you to give the people a show, this is not exactly what I had in mind. But I must say—”

Her boss pauses for an interminably long moment and Kara holds her breath, wondering if she’s about to lose her job or get promoted.

“—I don’t hate it,” Cat finishes. “While you have her, perhaps you could ask Ms Luthor how she would feel about becoming an official patron of National City Zoo.”

“I would feel very good about it, Ms Grant,” Lena answers smoothly, serene and composed despite her kiss-tousled hair and smudged lipstick.

“Excellent,” Cat says resoundingly. “In that case, I’ll let you, ahem. Get back to it. My office at 9am for a staff meeting, Keira.”

“Of course,” Kara manages before hanging up, tossing her phone into the grass as she presses her palms to her flaming cheeks. “So, um. Our first kiss was just livestreamed to half the country.”

Lena presses her lips together to hold back a smirk. “It was.” She arches one eyebrow, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Well, there’s no going back now. We can’t break the Internet’s heart. I suppose I’ll just have to stick around.”

Kara gives up any last semblance of self-restraint at that, pushing forward to wrap her arms around Lena’s waist and pull her back in for another bruising kiss. “Well, Lena from Metropolis. I sure hope you do.”

Hello 🙂 for the one hundred ways to say I love you I’ll ask you number 99! Thank you!

100 Ways to Say I Love you - "Be Careful" (Supercorp)

Maybe one of my shortest ficlets. A little Post-Phantom Zone reunion with a touch of angst.

Lena’s voice had been noticeably absent from the chorus of goodbyes from everyone gathered at the Watchtower as Kara prepared to head out on patrol. Something that she had tried not to notice, tried not to allow her mind to spin into some hurtful bit of fiction but as she prepared to head out on patrol she could feel herself doing just that. It didn’t surprise her... Not only did Kara have a way with words but she had months of incredibly painful memories to draw from back when she and Lena had been estranged, a deep well to draw fetid water from.. . Despite the careful progress the two had made since her return from the Phantom Zone, maybe they weren’t as okay as she thought they were… “Kara…” Lena’s voice floated to her from down the hall from the direction she had just come. There was the measured staccato click of her heels as she approached and when Lena drew closer the unmistakable beating of her heart, the tempo increasing ever so slightly when their eyes met... “Lena… Is something wrong?” Lena smiled shyly and shook her head., eyes trained momentarily on the ground before she looked up again and Kara was almost overcome with just how green Lena’s eyes truly were. The verdant green of some unending grassy meadow or the glittering ethereal beauty of delicately cut emeralds. “Nothing’s wrong,” Lena assured her. “I just…” She exhaled slowly and Kara took a step closer, concerned. “Promise me something?” she asked and before Kara could agree to Lena’s terms, she spoke again. “Be careful… Promise me that you’ll be careful, Kara.” Kara might have told her that she was just going out on patrol, that she had a better chance of being hounded for a picture than happening across an actual crime in progress but she saw the poorly masked fear on Lena’s face, the slight tremble in her hands and couldn’t get the words out. “I just got you back,” Lena whispered, throwing back the curtain on the root of her fear. “And I can’t…” She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, dropping her gaze again as her shoulders started to hitch. “I can’t…” She trailed off again and shook her head, unable to get the words out but she didn’t need to. Kara already knew what she wanted to say. “I can’t lose you, Lena,” Kara said and took Lena gently by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug that Lena melted into, arms wrapping tightly around Kara’s back, her head coming to rest against her shoulder. “I promise that I’ll be careful,” Kara whispered, pressing her lips to Lena’s temple, still holding onto her tight, tight. “And you’re here now,” she whispered and felt her eyes mist over. There were no more secrets between them, no more lies, and now all that remained was the simple fact that they were two people who loved one another very much. “Right here with me,” Kara whispered. “Right where I always wanted you to be.” Lena nodded earnestly against Kara's shoulder and nuzzled closer, tears sliding down her cheeks that Kara did her best to brush away as gently as she could. She tilted her head slightly to the side and Kara felt Lena's hands glide down her sides sending a rush of blood to her head that made her feel the slightest bit dizzy. Her hands settled securely around Kara's waist and she lifted her head up from Kara's shoulder, eyes sparkling. "I'll be here," Lena said and pointed back towards the room in the Watchtower they had both just vacated. "And here." She pointed to Kara's ear. "And here," she whispered and pressed her hand over Kara's heart. She rose up half an inch onto the tips of her toes, lips brushing dangerously close against Kara's ear that got her heart racing. "Go get 'em, Supergirl."

A smile as bright as the rising sun lit up Kara's face and while she would have liked nothing more than to scoop Lena up into her arms and fly somewhere private... somewhere romantic, she knew that there would be time for that later, tonight maybe if all was quiet. "Dinner later? If you don't mind waiting," Kara said, giving Lena an out. "As long as you let me pay," Lena said and while her eyes were still damp, she looked like she was more than ready to dig her heels in if needed. "Deal," Kara said, rising a couple of inches off the ground, feeling so deliriously happy that she might have been able to fly on just that feeling alone and flew backwards, not wanting to take her eyes off of Lena, nearly flying into a water cooler before she finally turned around and put on a burst of speed, flying out and over the city. She couldn't remember the view ever looking so magnificent. "You both left your comms on," Alex said her voice filtering in through her suit's comms. "Next time maybe switch to a private channel," she suggested, her voice brimming with poorly restrained glee.

Korrasami Week Day Eight

Because apparently there’s an eight day...? Oooh, I’m so happy there is. Well, here’s the last one (a little bit shorter, a little bit sadder), hopefully you’ll enjoy this one, too. It’s been a blast to take part in this fun little week, go check out other people’s works: I saw many others share their art in honor of Korrasami Week.

Without further ado, here’s my last, and thanks to everyone who read :)

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Prompt: free day (unspoken)

Even if you aren't completely healed, Asami writes, even if you can't walk, ever again, the paper scars under the ink, please.

She retraces the word until the page wrinkles around the curls of the letters.

Please, please, she writes and struggles and flails and drowns in the river of her emotions.

A drop of ink splashes on the last words, don't give in, I know you think yourself useless, but I don't want the next Avatar, I want you. Don't give in.

The blare of a faraway siren pierces the stillness of her office

Asami tries to breath, I can be strong enough for both of us, I can hope for both of us she lies and even if I can't, I can be strong for you. Maybe not for me, but I will give up all of my strength for you.

A log sparks in the hearth, cleaves in two.

Until there's nothing left for me she tries to figure out how to stop the life bleeding out from her beating heart I know what it feels to be broken, in shards and splinters, I can rebuild myself, I already did, I know what to do to feel whole again.

I'm a builder she writes I replaced that mirror you broke at the Air Temple, her little finger itches, the puckered line of new tissue itching, but I'm not brave enough to face its reflection alone.

Asami's vision swims, and the letter seems endless. A rattle of thorn and teeth, a desire. I love you the words plunge in the space beneath her ribs I love you. Please come back to me. Please

There is a twitch of movement at the edge of her spotted vision. A flicker.

Do you still have my brooch? her smile aches It was selfish of me, but I wanted you to have a piece of me she confesses and the shine in her eyes burns to unshed tears.

And if you don't like it, she bleeds, even if you don't know it's from me-

The thought flashes in her mind like the rotating blink of a lighthouse.

Toss it in the ocean. But please. Come back. Or I can come to the South Pole, it's just a matter of hours. I-

She crosses out everything thrice, then crumples up the paper.

Dear Korra, she writes again, and let the words spiral in a whirlwind of calm, undamaged sentences about her week I went to the park yesterday after lunch because my assistant insisted I was spending too much time holed up in my office. So I did some cloudgazing, feeling like a child again and I saw a big long cloud that definitely looked like Naga.

Her words are perfectly aligned, each letter curling upwards on the blank page in a way that makes Asami want to cry. Her voice is raw, her body broken.

It's favorite not favourite

this just in: the world outside of america doesn’t exist

Korrasami Week Day Three

Oh, this one hasn’t undergone through much editing. Enjoy :)

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Prompt: vacation

"You sure you got everything?"

"Don't worry, me and Pabu are ready to rock the beach! Those waves won't even know what hit them!" Bolin exclaims, flexing his arms over his head. Pabu climbs his torso to reach his forearms, sporting a small straw hat that matches his.

Mako sighs silently and folds the last of his towels against his leg. He places the cloth inside his bag, on top of all his other belongings. His brother doesn't miss the suspire.

"Relax, Mako. It's just one weekend."

Mako zips the bag before replying, "With Korra, I've learnt not to take anything for granted."

Bolin's enthusiastic reply slides into pursed lips, "You're not wrong... I mean, even Wu is tagging along," he trails off and shakes his head vehemently, "Oh, come on, Mako! It's been a long time since we went on vacation together. Me, you, Korra, Asami, Wu and my sweet Opal. I won't let your gloomy attitude ruin it! I know this time everything will go smoothly!"

Bolin's ramble accompanies them outside their home, to the front porch.

His brother has a point. It's not easy for them to coordinate holidays and outings so most of the times they are reduced to shared brief lunches or late nights together, where exhaustion grips at them from all sides. A whole weekend feels like a small blessing and he hopes they'll make the most of it.

"Last check, did you pack everything? What about the sunscreen? You grabbed that, too?"

Bolin's protests die immediately on his mouth, lips tightening in a cheeky smile as the earthbender rushes back inside. Just to be on the safe side, Mako lazily rifles through the contents of his own bag one last time. He prays this will be the most action he experiences during the weekend when a weird crunching noise distracts him.

"Good morning, Mako!"

Korra's cheerful call comes from a small van parked in front of him. The Avatar is leaning outside the window of the passenger seat, perched on the thin sill. Next to her, Asami smiles at him from the driving seat, green eyes shaded by a pair of googles.

He hoists his bag higher on his shoulder and waves back at them.

+++

"Next time," Wu pants and swallows heavily, face pale as a sheet, "We're riding badgermoles."

"So we have to listen to your singing? I’d quite prefer this, thank you very much." Korra replies, leaning back in her seat with a lazy stretch. Opal smiles at the back of her head, sharing the sentiment.

After all, Asami's van had easily welcomed the six of them with all of their belongings, and leaving space for Opal to stretch her legs between the seats.

"An air bison?" Wu groans again and Opal smiles sympathetically at him.

"Sorry, Tenzin had banned me from all the air bison’s stable, after I sort of helped Jinora sneak out in the middle of the night," Korra yawns and rubs at one eye, "And Opal here is still a student, and therefore prohibited to use air bison transportation for," she quotes with her fingers, "Such frivolous activities. But, on the bright side, I don't think this method of transportation is that bad."

"You think that only because it has the Future Industries' logo on its side," he moans back, both arms wrapped around his stomach.

Korra shrugs, "It's not my fault my girlfriend is a genius," she replies, leaning over the clutch to kiss said girlfriend on the cheek.

"I'm sorry, Wu," Opal hears the smile in Asami's apologetic tone, "But it won't be for much longer, now. We're almost there," she replies as she takes another turn down a deserted street.

The engineer drives smoothly down the lanes, slouched in a comfortable posture, even as the roads become smaller and less frequented. She looks serene in her seat, arms lazily gripping the wheel. Because of the many turns they had undertaken, Opal had lost any sense of direction. Instead, she takes her time to admire Asami's navigational skills: the driver hadn't looked at the map once, not since their departure from Republic City, but she hasn't hesitated once.

Opal takes a look at the other passengers to distract herself from Wu's retching sounds. Beside him, Mako leans against the side of the van, arms crossed and eyes closed, probably in sleep. Opal suspects he's just trying to ignore Wu's moaning. Most surprising of all, Bolin's snoring loudly in the seat next to her, passed out only after few minutes of traveling, lulled to sleep by the van's rocking motions. Pabu has disappeared at the beginning of the drive in the back of the van to keep company to Naga.

Curious, Opal leans forward between the two seats in the front, careful not to jostle her slumbering boyfriend.

"Asami," she begins, "How come you never told us about your beach house before?"

The Sato heiress catches her eyes through the rear view mirror and offers a slight smile, "I don't know, Opal. I guess I never considered the idea of going there again until Korra mentioned a beach day."

Korra makes an humming noise from the side, to which Asami's smirk only grows. Opal isn't privy to the silent exchange, but the secret traded knowledge doesn't bother her because of the exclusion.

"When was the last time you came here?" Opal asks again, head lolling on her crossed arms with the elbows resting on both the front seats.

"I was very little. I think I came here last with my mother," Korra lays a hand on Asami's tight. Smiling fondly, both at the memory and at the touch, Asami waves away the gesture, but not the feeling, "We wanted to go together, but my dad had to remain behind for a last minute emergency at the factory. He insisted we went without him."

Asami's smile never falters.

"Though he never said anything, I think he wanted to get rid of this house after my mother’s death. Sell it, probably. Even though I don't know what made him change his mind in the end- That's the place, by the way."

"Well, I, for once, am sure glad he didn't sell it," Korra whistles lowly, admiring the blue and white mansion that enters their windscreen.

But the rueful chuckle that escapes Asami's lips makes Korra's hand cease its circular movement on her leg.

"It's nothing, don't worry," for the second time, Opal feels like she missed a beat of the conversation, "I just realized I don't have any memory of my father in this house."

Korra's other hand rises to Asami's cheek and brushes away a strand of ebony hair.

After a moment, Opal adds her smile and her hand on Asami's shoulder.

"Then," she says, feeling like a real airbender behind those words, "What are we waiting for? Let's go make some new memories."

+++

When they reach the beach, with the sea lapping gently at the shore, the first thing Korra does is heave her girlfriend over her shoulders and drop her in the water.

Asami comes back to the surface spluttering and complaining about sunscreen and sunburns.

+++

Later, after a raucous round of water fighting with Opal and the two brothers, Korra marches back to the beach, where an unaware Asami is peacefully reading a thick book, body splayed on a towel.

Korra drops unceremoniously on her, sprawling over her back like a starfish and dripping freezing water over her warm skin.

Asami shrieks, and Korra laughs.

+++

The six of them engage in an animated match of volleyball, one that ends in the water.

They have to explain the game to Korra, first, who has never played before in her life.

Surprisingly, Wu reveals himself to be a pretty decent server, scoring a few points with only one shot. But the skill doesn't balance his refusal to play any ball that's saved further than this, claiming of not wanting his hairstyle ruined. Opal is the fastest on her feet, jumping at any given occasion to land most of the smashes.

Mako stumbles awkwardly through a couple of smashes, but Bolin makes an amazing defender against the sturdier hits. His strength hinders his fast movements, so his team ends up relying on Asami's timely saves. Except for those, Asami reveals herself to be a terrible player, somehow lacking the proper coordination for simple passes.

They all breaks down in giggles when Asami accidentally hits Korra in the face with a terrible serve.

+++

"What do you mean you can't sandbend? Aren't you an earthbender?"

Bolin smiles awkwardly at Wu, "Yes, but that's not the same thing."

Wu wrinkles his nose from behind his round sunglasses, his face being his only visible part. Bolin and Opal are working together to bury him completely in the sand, as their original plan of building a sand chair had failed miserably. At random intervals, Mako kicks a spray of sand in their direction, helping them bury the former king.

"Why not?" Wu asks again, "It's practically the same thing. Sand is just earth, split into grains and located at the ocean's side."

Bolin's face flickers to a miffed expression, "It's not the same thing, because I can't sandbend, but I can earthbend."

"Do you know the reason it's not?"

"Of course," Bolin pauses in his digging to hunt for words, "It's because... because."

"You don't know?," Wu presses, "Aren't you an earthbender?"

"I am!" a wave of embarrassment washes over Bolin, "And what about you? Why don't you know the difference?"

Wu sniffs at him, "I'm not an earthbender."

"But you're the Earth King. You should know this stuff," Bolin points out simply.

Wu's complaints pitch his voice into a whine, but Bolin can now recognize when Wu is taking the teasing in stride, laughter bubbling behind his words, "Former king, thank you very much. And I-"

Bolin sighs, tuning out the political spree Wu inevitably launches into. He had seen in first person the effects of Kuvira's tight reign on the Earth Kingdom, and so it's natural for him to wholeheartedly agree with Wu's decision in stepping down on the throne. He has the feeling that the world had seen enough of monarchs, at least for a little while.

He just wishes he wouldn't launch into an half hour speech every time they mention it.

Bolin trades shrugs with Opal as he lets his gaze divert to the side. His eyes fall on Korra's form, laying curled up on her side, head in Asami's lap. They're huddled on their towels next to their failed sand chair, Asami sitting up to read her book. One of her hands is busy carding through the Avatar's damp hair in a rhythmic motion. 

Korra looks on the brink of sleep, with that thousand mile stare she does every time she struggles to stay awake. And Bolin knows the warmth brought by the touch of a lover so he understands Korra's wishes to remain awake as long as she actually can.

He feels lucky to be among the few who have the privilege of seeing the Avatar so relaxed. In the past years Bolin had known her, Korra had faced many adversities, always giving to the world more than it deserved. Bolin often wondered how much more she could give before it demanded too much.

Seeing her pliable and serene slots a pebble in Bolin's chest, one that warms in a pleasant way.

When he rises his eyes, he meets Asami's smile with one of his brightest.

It doesn't take long for Asami to join the conversation, offering her input on sand. She explains the many applications it has found in modern technology and how Future Industries has hired a team of skilled sandbenders to create prosthetic limbs with sand particles, resulting in lighter and stronger models.

He doesn't need to imagine the widening of Korra's smile.

+++

The moon shines over them, splintered in speckles of white over the black pool of the sea. The lapping waves peal like thunder.

Strolling on the beach, Korra gently leads Asami by the wrist, eyes soft. And Asami follows her until she feels the water lap at their waists and tickle their bellies.

Korra wraps her arms around her shoulders, guiding her further in the sea of darkness.

They sway to the rhythm of the waves, stealing slow and tender kisses from each other.

Asami presses the side of her head to Korra’s chest without a word, burying her face in Korra's neck. Her hands circle her waist and Korra feels like her heart is about to burst from love. She presses a kiss to the crown of Asami’s head in turn, cradling her closer in the embrace and heating the water around them with firebending, so Asami won't feel cold.

They stay entwined in the dark for long, moving only to kiss or caress another silver of skin.

Feeling stuck on my main fic, so decided to jump in on Supercorptober prompts (Day 15 — Coffee) despite having skipped the entire first half of the month. Just a little bit of college AU fluff. Up now on AO3, if you’d rather read it there. Hope you like it!

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“Coffee?”

“What? Oh, hi!”

Lena looked up from her theoretical physics assignment and smiled at the girl standing a few feet away. She was holding two coffees awkwardly at her sides, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other, but her sky blue eyes were fixed hopefully on Lena’s. Lena raised her hand up to shield her forehead, careful of the pencil still gripped tightly between her fingers, and squinted. It was unmistakably the same girl who had slammed into her three days ago in the middle of the quad, spilling both of their half-full coffees all over her favorite graphic tee and pristine white sneakers.

“Kara, right?”

The girl’s cautious smile widened so much it made her eyes crinkle. “Yeah! That’s right!” She nodded and Lena was about to reintroduce herself, but the girl continued. “Lena.”

Lena felt her heart pound an extra beat, hard against her ribs.

That was odd.

But the way her name sounded breathed out by those smiling pink lips — as though that wasn’t the first time they’d ever said them, as though maybe they’d spent the last few days rolling them around her mouth like a favorite candy — made her stomach do funny little flips. She let her tongue try its own new flavor again, “Kara,” and it sent a shiver down her spine and flush to her cheeks.

If Kara noticed, she was kind enough not to mention it. She just kept staring and smiled even wider. Smiled like some girl remembering her name three days after spilling coffee all over each other was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

They stayed like that for a few more seconds, already long enough to be embarrassing if anyone happened to be watching, before Lena’s smile crooked a bit and she lifted one perfect eyebrow in question.

“Oh, right, sorry! Um, I just, I saw you here on my way to the cafe…” Kara swung her arm over her shoulder, motioning toward the campus’s only source of decent fresh-brewed coffee, and the movement caused a few drops to escape the white travel lid and land hot on the girl’s wrist. “Oh shoot.” She mumbled, and Lena watched as a dark pink tongue licked across tanned skin before soft lips closed quickly around it. Lena thought she heard Kara mumble “hopeless” to herself, but she couldn’t be sure over the deafening sound of her own rushing blood pounding in her ears.

Well, shit.

A distracting crush on a straight girl was the last thing Lena needed right now. She should probably pretend to be busy [‘you are busy’ her useless queer brain supplied] and nip this in the bud. She opened her mouth for a friendly but firm brush-off, but Kara was already talking again.

“Anyway, um, you didn’t let me buy you a fresh coffee the other day, so I thought maybe I could make it up to you now. May I?” Kara motioned toward the empty half of the park bench on which Lena was now sitting completely frozen. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, trying to will dismissive words to come out.

They refused.

But the silence seemed to be doing the trick anyway. Kara’s smile faltered and her voice sounded higher and a little strained as she forced understanding words through a now-plastic looking grin. “Or, you’re probably busy. Sorry, that was stupid, I shouldn’t have interrupted you, you’re obviously working. I’ll let you—“

“Kara, wait. Please. I’ve been staring at this book for so long the words are swimming on the pages. I could use a little break.” It was a blatant lie. She’d barely made it through half of her assignment and would never finish before class if she didn’t get back to it immediately. But Kara’s smile had broken free of its plastic casing again and Lena could’ve sworn her eyes actually sparkled. She had never cared less about theoretical physics.

“Cool! Great. Nice. Thanks! Um… here.” Kara finally settled on the bench, messenger bag half-trapped under her leg. She was trying to blow a flyaway lock of hair out from between her face and her glasses, holding both arms awkwardly in front of her to keep from spilling either coffee again.

“Oh, thanks.” Lena helpfully took the offered cup then hesitated, not wanting to be rude, but… “I’m happy for the friendly distraction, but I’ll pass on the coffee. I only drink half-caf after 3pm or I’m up all night.”

Kara finally freed her messenger bag and wrangled her (gorgeous) unruly hair out of her eyes. Pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, she grinned as she reached out to twist the cup in Lena’s hands. Lena looked down at the hastily scribbled “1/2 caf” and then back up at Kara with surprise and an unspoken question in her eyes.

Kara blushed a bit, but just shrugged her shoulders. “I maybe might have noticed you in the cafe before. It’s not like it’s a hard order to remember: black in the morning, half-caf black in the afternoon. Which, also, now that we’re on the subject: Gross. How can you drink that?!”

Lena scoffed in mock outrage. “If I’m drinking coffee, I’m going to drink coffee. You’re the one who should explain herself, 3 milks and 10 sugars? What kind of monster?”

Kara’s eyes widened and Lena’s face went scarlet.

“Oh, really?” It could’ve been in defense of her “coffee” preferences, but it was quite obviously more about Lena’s accidental confession.

Lena tried to keep her eyes appropriately, embarrassingly, focused on the ground. “I maybe might have noticed you before, too.” But she couldn’t help glance up sideways through her lashes to check for Kara’s reaction.

“Well, that’s encouraging.” Kara had one smug eyebrow lifted, but she failed to hold onto her attempted smirk. Her face seemed determined to break into the widest most uninhibited smile Lena had ever seen directed her way.

“Oh?” Now Lena was trying to be coy, but Kara’s was the kind of smile that tugged yours right along with it. Before she could stop herself, Lena’s cheeks were spread around double dimples and she giggled as she scrunched up her nose and shook her head a little at the strange, beautiful girl still beaming at her with unrestrained hope. [Maybe not so straight after all?]

“Want to grab coffee with me some time?” [Definitely not so straight after all.]

Lena laughed. “Aren’t we having coffee now?”

“Oh, so this is a date! Excellent.” Kara winked. “I kinda thought so, too.” She paused while Lena laughed again, still shaking her head and nervously playing with the lid to her drink. “And since the first date is going so swimmingly, I hope it’s not too forward to ask if I could maybe take you on a second date sometime soon?”

Lena stared at those earnest blue eyes and genuine smile. The last shake of her head was directed at no one but herself as she broke every rule she had carefully put in place to avoid the dangers of letting anyone close. She turned away from Kara and rifled in her backpack, quickly unlocking her phone and handing it over before she could change her mind.

“Go ahead, put your number in.”

Kara very nearly spilled her coffee again as she scrambled to set it down and take Lena’s phone from her hands. She quickly entered her info and passed it back to Lena, her hand slowing at the last minute as a brief shadow of doubt crossed her face. Before Kara could finish her sentence (“Is it okay if I get yours— too— oh, nice!”) Lena had tapped the little phone icon and smirked as Kara whipped around to the sound of her own ringer going off.

Kara turned back around. “Best first date ever.”

Lena laughed, “I can’t help but feel that was a pretty low bar then.”

“Nope.”

Lena’s cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. Not a very Luthor problem, to say the least. Another thing she couldn’t care less about at the moment.

“I do actually have to finish a couple of sketches before my evening class though, do you mind if I…”

“Oh, no, of course! I, um, I should actually finish this physics reading, too.”

Kara smiled and reached into her bag for a sketch pad, two pencils, and a putty eraser. She brought her legs up to criss-cross on the bench and smiled one more time at Lena before diving right in on a blank page, tongue poking endearingly between her teeth. Lena settled back into her reading and was soon lost in her own work.

The silence that followed had absolutely no right to be as comfortable and productive as it was. Lena was nearing her last paragraph when her phone alarm cut through the ambient chirping of birds, murmuring of students, and crunching of autumn leaves under passing footsteps along the park paths.

Kara jerked her head up at the sound and clutched her sketchbook against her chest as Lena silenced her phone and started packing up.

“Sorry, I forgot I had that set. Good thing though, I guess, I was really off in my own world there.”

For some reason she couldn’t bring herself to meet Kara’s gaze. She kept rearranging things in her bag, trying counterproductively to both stretch and avoid the moment. “Um, I have to get to class though… I’ll, uh…” [Pull it together, Luthor.] She breathed out, stilled her hands, straightened her back, and looked down into Kara’s startling blue eyes. “I hope this isn’t the last time we talk?”

Kara’s smile was nothing if not a promise. “I hope not either.”

Korrasami Week Day Five

Okay, I’m super late. Plus, I have a busy working weekend so... I’ll do my best. But I want to finish these prompts, because it’s been super fun so far!

I wanted to write a meet cute between tennis player Asami and Korra walking Naga in the park, but... I ended up writing this, simply because I’m rewatching book one of Korra. Hope you enjoy :)

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Prompt: au

Tarrlok waits for them at the end of the street, surrounded by a small group of soldiers. They are unnaturally still under the artificial lamplight, and Korra feels the urge to scratch her gray uniform. It''s the same they are wearing.

"Avatar Korra. Councilman Tenzin."

The urge to punch him rises violently. She settles for a nod instead.

"Councilman Tarrlok," Tenzin greets back and Korra imagines the clench of his jaw.

"Greetings," Tarrlok continues stiffly, "I apologize for requiring your presence this late in the day. I am aware of your wife's health, Tenzin, and I know how much you hate to depart from her when unnecessary."

Korra doesn't recognize the jab as one, but something in his sneer makes her prickle.

Tenzin folds his hands under his robes, the vibrant red of the air nomads humming in the night. "I have a duty to uphold to the citizens of Republic City," he says instead of answering directly.

Tarrlok breaks his posture to unfold his crossed hands. He tugs at the hem of his sleeve and a couple of men shift behind him. Korra's eyes divert to them, annoyed.

"Well? Are we going?" she snaps, mostly because she is quite horrible at standing still and waiting.

Tarrlok smiles a little, in a way that implies he's privy to the exact nature of the Avatar's thoughts, "Of course."

Korra turns and starts walking.

The guards arrange quickly in formation, a shield of human bodies built around them to separate and cover. They force a painfully slow pace that quickly grows insufferable.

After an unnoticeable number of turns and corners, Korra notices a purple streak of a non-bender band. It's a woman, kneeling on the ground with an half empty bowl of coins at her feet. One of Tarrlok's men kicks her, scattering her meager possession in the dirt.

Korra hides her fists and focuses on the fluttering of Tenzin's robe.

"Tarrlok," Tenzin motions at him but tilts his head in her direction, "What exactly is the nature of this... ambush?"

"I'd hardly call it an ambush," comes the airily reply, poorly camouflaged in the bubble of a chuckle, "More like a further assessment. A thorough evaluation."

It's nothing, Korra wishes to convey to Tenzin with the skip in her gait but the airbender keeps his gaze fixed in front of him.

"Is it really necessary? Mr. Sato is-"

"Mr. Sato is regularly detained at the station and is waiting to be tried in his cell right now, as dictated by our laws. Along with his fellow Equalists. Those non-benders," he spits the word like the foulest thing.

Korra shivers, thoughts swimming around the beggar woman.

"No," Tarrlok shakes his head, complacent smile scraping his features, "Our visit to the Sato residence concerns his daughter, Asami Sato."

Korra chokes on an angry huff. There's nothing she hates more than wasting time with practiced coquetry and luxurious cutlery.

"What about Miss Sato?" Tenzin's pitch lowers with curiosity. Korra wonders if Tarrlok can pick up the different inflection.

"She was summoned for her father's deposition at the central. She denied every involvement with him. She claimed she had no idea of his funding to the Equalist movement. And that he had been faking his bending all his life without her knowledge."

His cold scorn travels down through the cobblestones, "Living under the same roof, and she has no clue? Hardly believable. But Captain Beifong had the brilliant idea of letting her go right after the deposition. She said the girl passed that lying detection technique of her," he leans against an appeasing tone, "But you surely understand that I can't trust a judgment based on guesses and sensations. Especially when the safety of all citizens is involved."

Tenzin ruffles at the accusation, "Lin didn't become chief because of lucky guesses."

"Captain Beifong," Tenzin winces at the emphasized title, "Was a good chief. Probably one of the best. And she'll be dearly missed."

Korra's body jerks, "What do you mean?"

Tarrlok startles and the surprise on his face reeks of falseness, "Oh, nothing nefarious young Avatar. That was poor phrasing on my part. I apologize," he offers a dismissive gesture, "She presented her letter of resignation this morning. And her desk was empty by the end of the shift."

"Was it a voluntary gesture? Or did you force her hand, Tarrlok?"

Startled by her mentor's direct outburst, Korra feels the air turning tense with an unreleased tension.

"Mere semantics, Tenzin. You know better than most how important that is, especially in politics- Ah, here we are," he trails off to inspect the profile of the mansion unfurling from the cloak of darkness in front of them. Tarrlok crosses his arms and the group halts at the implicit command.

"What really matters here, Tenzin, isn't Lin Beifong. It's that her resignation came right after Miss Sato's interrogatory. That seems suspicious."

The formation of guards shatters as the cold gleam of Tarrlok's eyes reflects on the front gate.

+++

It's Asami Sato herself that greets them at the door. The absence of servants ruffles Korra's assuredness in a motion she can't comprehend. Nonetheless, Asami's lean figure withstands the rough profiles of Tarrlok's armed guards.

The marble of the foyer echoes under Korra's steps.

"Miss Sato," Tarrlok's voice diffuses, "I apologize for the intrusion. But we just have a few follow up questions for you."

"I'll lead you to my father's study, then. If you'd follow me."

The click of closing doors strikes like thunder.

Hiroshi's personal study is a mosaic of notebooks with torn pages and missing covers, a capsized sofa and decorated drawers emptied on the carpeted floor. A couple of guards linger in the hallway while the others pile in silently. When she counts them, Korra notices two more are missing, remained behind at the front gate.

"Don't mind the chaos, please," the heiress waves at the room, freeing a pinned lock from the top of her head, "I haven't found the time to clean yet. Otherwise, make yourself comfortable."

Tarrlok is the only one who picks up an upturned chair to sit. Korra remains standing beside Tenzin and when Asami circles back to her own seat, she has to drag one leg off the floor to move the chair.

"Then you don't mind if I let my men have another look? Just to be certain we had gained all intel the first time."

Asami's nod is so curt it might be a wince.

Korra feels words blurting from her mouth too late to stop them, "What about your servants? Can't they clean up the study?" she carefully avoids mentioning Hiroshi directly.

For the first time, the heiress green eyes pause on the Avatar, her gaze flickering up and down Korra almost casually. It's a moment before she gives her answer.

"Not many wishes to have the name of a criminal employer staining their resume. Especially one who faked his own bending for years."

A pool opens in Korra's stomach and she struggles to picture ornate dishes and perfected dance routines.

Tarrlok crosses his legs, lifting one foot, "And you?"

"Are you asking if I'm a criminal or a non-bender?" Asami's face is pale and drawn.

"Isn't it the same?" Tarrlok says and Korra watches him nod solemnly "Being a non-bender means having a tainted soul, since the gods didn't see fit of giving to those the natural gift of bending. If a soul is rejected by the flawless gods then how can they be accepted by the flailed society of mindless humans? An inner source of evil so great to be scorned by our deity..."

Korra hates the sound of those words, but no matter how much she wishes to spit, she's always forced to choke on them.

"The sins of a father aren't easily washed away."

Tarrlock's smiles dies on the ripple of his lips as he unfolds his legs.

A rueful smile dawns on the heiress, "Though I can assure you, I'm nor a criminal, nor a non-bender."

"We're here to determine that, Miss Sato," as Tarrlok's words cuts, a tearing sound pierces the air and Korra doesn't need to turn to see a guard slashing the cushions of the sofa.

Tenzin's hands remain hidden between the folds of his tunic, "Miss Sato," he speaks for the first time, "You already denied your affiliation with Hiroshi Sato to Chief Beifong. Do you still claim that to be true?"

Asami's eyes flickers to Korra for a brief moment, before turning back to meet Tenzin. She nods.

"Verbal confirmation is preferred, if you'd please," Tarrlok's voice loses tge dripping formality, the honeyed coat of false pleasantries fallen apart.

"Yes," Asami's timbre curls, "I had no idea of my father's involvement, nor about his nonexistent bending, even if him leaving Future Industries makes much more sense now. I never questioned his earthbending. It seemed pointless to use it in a house you didn't want to be destroyed," her eyes shoot around in the room, "So the only place he really displayed his abilities were the workshop or the fabric. I loved helping him with his inventions."

Korra gets the feeling Asami didn't want the last words to surface, but her opportunity is lost in her own flinch when another shelves gives under one man's searching with a loud thud. A cascade of books tumbles down to the floor.

Tarrlok motions over the desk and one of his men brings forward a bag.

"Then I suppose you would have never seen this before."

They all watch as Tarrlok subjects Asami to stumble through the tight bindings of the bag. After the last knot gives, a contraption of some sorts emerges from it, a match of split wires and twisted metal parts that cross in a sort of gauntlet. One end is blackened, resembling a burnt.

Once again, there's silence.

"What's that?" Korra twitches and feels at once all the weight of her impatience and inexperience in the flicker of Asami's eyes. She barrels through stubbornly, running head on as usual.

Tarrlok offers the same little smile as before, "That, young Avatar, is one of Hiroshi Sato's inventions. Apparently, it can grant the illusion of earthbending." he snatches the bag off the table, "Like bending could be lowered to a feeble and flimsy creation of a mortal who tries to play god."

The gauntlet gleams, harbouring hidden mysteries. Korra's gaze slowly trails down the wiry junctions, fractured design of a sinewy form. She tries to grasp the feeling of using it under her fingertips, if it buzzes with electricity. Her imagination circles back to the energy that flows and tingles in her body every time she bends.

How utterly amazing. "How does it work?" Tenzin asks and Korra basks in the inquisitiveness. No matter how resilient and traditional her master appears, Tenzin is surprisingly open minded faced with progress.

"My team of analysts were fascinated by the sheer genius behind this invention," Tarrlok palms the gauntlet, seduced despite his hate for the inventor, "Through carefully placed electrical charges planted in the ground, whoever wears this is able move entire sections of rocks. Something about repulsion and attraction between charges, I believe? It doesn't matter, engineer is a useless field of knowledge to benders."

Korra's uneasiness takes a tumble, "I disagree, Councilman," she struggles on the appellation, "It is important to draw and grow wisdom from different sources. If the knowledge has a single root, it inevitably withers and decays. Studying and understanding other elements and other disciplines, like in this case, is a key element to fairness and strength."

She smacks her lips together, feeling the tangy taste of stale on her tongue.

"A single discipline is doomed to failure, for its weaknesses will turn into cracks over time. Learning from others, even if criminals, will help us find the cracks in our society in time to heal them."

When she pauses, Tenzin clears his throat and it feels like a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Korra is right, Tarrlok. It's the same ideal Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko followed when they decided to build Republic City. One we should respect, even in regards of non-benders."

Asami's stare burns, a trail of blazing emeralds. Korra dares a smile back at her, one so quiet that feels more intimate than a simple reassurance.

Tarrlok scoffs a dry breath, "Ah, this sounds like important Avatar talk. And who am I to disagree with the Avatar herself?" his voice intones like a disagreement, "I suppose, it's fair to give recognition where it's due. Now a criminal, but lest anyone forget this, Hiroshi Sato was one of the most brilliant minds of Republic City."

Alive and remembered as dead.

"And I bet genius isn't the only trait that runs in the family."

The broken leg of the chair grates dully on the carpeted floor, "Very well," Asami concedes and rises, circling around her desk. In the corner, the sofa bleeds white feathers.

Asami makes her way through the sea of debris without stumbling. She picks a fallen photo and puts it back on the mantelpiece of an extinguished fireplace. She turns the frame to face the wall and Korra notices a crack in the middle.

Korra shifts on her feet to accommodate a small circle around the Sato heiress. Tarrlok lounges in his chair, only half turned towards the middle of the room.

Inhaling deeply, Asami spreads her hands open in front of her, palms up. She flicks her wrist and a ball of fire ignites over her fingers.

It's one Korra has never seen before.

A streak of purple dances between the rings of fire, an intense colour that envelops the whole flame around his contours. The ball rustles for a moment before the heiress directs it into the hearth.

"Shall we go outside?" Asami says, "I'm not really keen on letting my house burn again."

Again? Korra wants to ask, but Tenzin waves away her questioning flinch.

The purple now burning deepens the creases of Tarrlok's displeasure, "I hope you don't mind if my men carry on with their research."

Korra watches a purple shadow stretching in the emerald of Asami's eyes.

+++

Tarrlok's examination is humiliatingly forceful.

The black sky is repeatedly stabbed by purple arches of fire until the roaring of the flames succumbs to a shiver. Asami lures fire into the world with a violent crackle as her limbs twist in graceful vaults. Fallen autumn leaves sizzle beneath her dance, but she doesn't slip once nor loses control of her flames.

Tenzin and Korra stiffen in the open air, avoiding Tarrlok's steely glare.

"Why firebending? Doesn't she have Earth Kingdom heritage?" Asami's green eyes vibrate in Korra's mind.

Her master's robes look coal among the violet flashes, "I have to guess it comes from her mother's side of the family. Yasuko was a firebender."

"She was?"

"She was." Tenzin's sigh is drawn and hidden, "Yasuko was a firebender, but maybe most importantly, she was a talented singer. Loved by many for her beautiful voice and soul. Her concerts used to fill each row of the theatre. It was quite difficult to find a ticket for one of her shows."

Asami claps her hands and a surge of purple arches over her body.

"She used to hold small parties at her home after these concerts. Small gatherings, with food, wine and music."

Asami's punch surges into a plume of fire as Korra tries to reconcile the heiress' defiant silence with the warmth of a mother figure.

"Then, one night, the Agni Kai Triad attacked the estate during one of these parties. Yasuko was killed by one member of the triad who sought money and power," glowing embers of ash billow the hem of Tenzin's robes, "Asami was barely a child when it happened. And now to be robbed of the last of her family..."

Korra's thoughts chase the bulky profile of her own father Tonraq, locked in an image of his arms hugging a petite figure made of warm smiles and cold hands. Her own mother was segregated to the realm of memories, alongside with Yasuko.

Her circle of thoughts is soon shattered.

The liquid sounds of the night are muted by a new sparkling, a crackling that follows a new faltered rhythm. Asami's hand sparks blue as her fingers draw a slow movement in the air.

And lightning strikes a distant star, a flickering point that blinks down at them.

"Is that all, Councilman?" as she wipes a bead of sweat from her forehead, Asami's voice sounds small, a ruffle of emotion that surfaces for the first time. Plaintive. Young.

Tarrlok grits his teeth and stares ahead, lips thin.

"Almost. Could you remove your gloves?"

Korra's eyes lowers to Asami's gloved hands, which she hadn't noticed.

The black looks smudged against the pale fingers that inch into view. A guard accepts the gloves with stony silence and at Tarrlok's nod, he burns the cloth on his palm. The smoke burns black with traces of grease.

"Please continue, Miss Sato. I apologize for the interruption."

Asami replies to his jab with another crackle and a purple shield of fire, hands waving in a circular motion. She extinguishes the flame with a tired heave but her next motion is still fluid, a shuffle of feet that burns with purple sparks in its wake.

Conceding to a sudden instinct, Korra's orange fire joins the next flash of purple, the flames fading next to each other.

Asami's gaze sharpens – Korra's mind muddles over the word that describes it, because it feels they could change colour suddenly, maybe turn into the green hue of the forest. But, she's not a poet.

The intrigue in Asami's eyes drowns Tarrlok's irked scoff, "I'm not here to assist to a display of your skills, Avatar. But if you insist, I could ask Miss Sato if she'd like to spar with you."

The idea shakes Korra's core.

"I believe that's enough, Tarrlok," Tenzin interrupts, "You wanted to verify the nature of Miss Sato's bending. I think this will suffice to quench your doubts, once for all."

He turns away from him, "Miss Sato. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it."

Asami bows deeply to him in reply.

Tarrlok stiffens his stance but accepts the idea of a retreat. He bows stiffly to Asami, "Thank you, Miss Sato. And please, in the unlikely event that damage has occurred, you may claim compensation from our police department."

"I'm sure everything's in perfect order," Asami says and Korra's knuckles pale. The Water Tribe Councilman turns on his feet and follows the cold stomping of his men.

"Let's go, Korra," Tenzin bows again and leaves the Avatar to follow him.

Korra lingers in the garden, not brave enough to leave. But not brave enough to speak, either.

Asami smiles a little for both of them, "Meeting you has been an honor, Avatar."

The words stir Korra and suddenly she finds herself wishing she didn't have to leave so soon, "Uh, me too Asami. I mean, Miss Sato, uh... I..." the smile that pulls at her lips doesn't feel reluctant anymore.

"Asami will do."

Korra sticks her hand out, "I'm Korra."

Despite the firebending, Asami's palm feels rough, and a little cold in the middle. It feels nice.

"Uh, I hope," Korra stumbles, falters, "I hope this isn't the last I see of you?"

Asami's smile doesn't dim, but Korra can tell something makes her sadder, uncomfortable. For some obscure reason, her voice, when it finally comes again, is thick and palpably sad.

"Have a good night, Korra."

"You too, Asami."

When she reaches Tenzin and glances back, Korra sees Asami hasn't moved from her spot in the garden. She raises a hand in the night.

On the dark side of the Sato estate, one window burns purple.

+++

Alone in her study, Asami slumps down in her chair, mindful of its broken leg.

She tugs at one palm, looking for the edge of the hard rock she had molded into a thin plate to follow the dips and the curves of her hand. They come loose with a satisfying click from both palms, and she shivers at the cold air that nicks at her skin. She inspects the flints with a careful eye, looking for imperfections or chinks on their surface.

She idly strikes the two plaques against each other and they resonate with a sizzling crackle. A purple flame surges alive between them.