"Wouldyougoonadatewithme? Um, please?"

Asami looked up from her phone to see a dark-skinned woman with bare, muscular arms standing to her right, dark hands folded on top of the empty high-backed bar stool beside her. Her head was bent, leaving her face hidden behind short hair that barely reached her chin.

"Did you just ask me, or the chair, on a date?" Asami asked. She'd spent the last forty minutes fending off potential suitors who possessed varying degrees suaveness and/or obnoxiousness and she wasn't particularly interested in fending off another one. She just wanted a couple of drinks while she sorted through her work emails.

The woman's head came up and beautiful blue eyes met hers for a moment, dark cheeks tinged with pink, before she ducked her head again and managed to say, "You."

She looked so shy, so embarrassed, and so miserable, Asami couldn't help but feel bad for her. "What's your name?"

Blue eyes met hers again and, somehow, the blush darkened. "Korra. Um, couldyousaynosoIcanpretendthisneverhappened-"

"Slow down, please," Asami couldn't help but laugh a little before she stifled it. "Did you just ask me to turn you down?"

Korra nodded and took a breath. "Just say no and I'll go away."

"So you don't want to go on a date with me?"

Korra blinked at her, obviously at a loss.

"We're in a bar, you know," Asami leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. "Most people just offer to buy me a drink."

"Miss?" the bartender asked with a gesture at Asami's drink.

Asami met his eyes and held up two fingers with a nod to the woman beside her. Asami turned back to Korra who worried her hands on the back of the empty chair. Asami held out her own hand with a smile. "I'm Asami."

"Korra," she said, taking the hand hesitantly.

"I know," Asami said, smile widening but she realized she only made it worse when Korra pulled her hand back and ducked her head again. "Why do you want me to say no?" She had to admit, this was a first.

"Um. Everyone's been bothering you since you came in and I'm really sorry to bother you, too, I just ..."

"You just?" Asami prompted, and nodded her thanks to the bartender when he slid two whiskeys in front of them.

Korra looked at the whiskey then looked again at Asami. She looked ready to bolt but she closed her eyes and took another breath. "I made a mistake, okay? I told my friends I'd never been on a date and then I admitted I never even, you know, um, asked anyone out."

Asami thought Korra was about to snap the back of the chair with her white-knuckled grip, so she reached out and took the whiskey and held it out to her.

Korra took it, sniffed it, then threw it back, swallowing it in one go. She gasped, coughed, and wheezed for breath. "Sorry *cough*cough* sorry *wheeze* Ungh."

Asami tried desperately not to laugh again but Korra was adorable. She was gorgeous too, if terribly shy and prone to hide her face, and it was hard to imagine her never going on a date before.

Korra set the glass carefully back on the bar. "Bolin told me he'd give me a hundred dollars if I asked out someone of his choosing. I told him not to pick you because I don't want to bother you like everyone else and I'm really sorry but he bet I wouldn't do it and I could really use the hundred dollars, so if you could just say no I can leave you alone because ... I mean ... look at you. I'm sorry." Korra ducked her head again.

"So your friend, knowing you'd never asked anyone out before, told you to ask me out, knowing I'd been saying no to everyone so far? And you'd get a hundred dollars if you did it?"

Korra nodded miserably then raised beseeching eyes to Asami's. "I'm sorry. I don't bet on people, not normally, but I could use the hundred dollars and I figured it'd be a couple of seconds of awfulness when you laughed at me but ... a hundred bucks."

"Why would I laugh at you?" Asami asked, not pleased that she had been subject of a bet but the confession was delivered with such guileless candor, it held its own charm.

Korra blinked at her again. "Well, you're gorgeous and you dress nice and you seem so, um, confident? You've been really nice to me, even though I'm interrupting you, so could you please just put me out of my misery?"

"Why don't you want to go out with me?" It was probably mean of her to pursue this when Korra just wanted an escape but this was, by far, the most interesting thing that had happened to her in months.

"I don't know," Korra ducked her head again and brushed her hair behind her ear. "You seem nice but you might think kicking puppies should be an Olympic event ... or ... or small children might mysteriously go missing from your neighborhood only to turn up traumatized and spray-painted a week later ... or ... um." Korra seemed to realize she was rambling and shrugged. "No offense," she finished and blushed again.

Asami laughed. Adorable. "Would you like to sit down?"

Korra's gaze flew back to hers in surprise. "Okay," Korra said and sat, hesitant, as if anticipating a quick exit.

Asami pushed her untouched whiskey in front of Korra but Korra shook her head, eyes wide, and pushed it back toward Asami. Unasked, the bartender placed two waters in front of the women and Asami nodded another thank you to him.

"What do you do for a living? What do you do for fun? Do you live in the city?" Asami asked.

Korra fidgeted. "I'm a veterinarian and I do martial arts and, um, work out. I moved here about a month ago."

Asami nodded. "I run Future Industries, also do martial arts, and have lived here all my life. I don't believe in kicking puppies but I do believe some small dogs should be flushable and, while I've never spray-painted a child, I have nothing personal against spray paint, or children, in general."

As Asami spoke, Korra's head slowly came up and a wide crooked grin split her face. "I've met those dogs," Korra admitted.

Asami caught her breath as she took in the smile and the eyes ... the whole package. Gorgeous. Plus, while Korra was shy, there was an openness and a sweetness to her that Asami was convinced was genuine. If she was a veterinarian, that meant her awkwardness wasn't any indication of a lack of intelligence.

She leaned forward a little and lowered her voice. "I have a question for you, Korra."

"Um," Korra's eyes went wide again and reached out a hand to fiddle with her water glass. "Okay?"

"Would you like to go out on a date with me?"

Korra only stared at her, so Asami raised a brow and nodded.

"Did you just ask me out?" Korra asked and, to Asami's surprise, she looked a little scandalized.

"Yes."

"But I was supposed to ask you out! Did I mess it up?" Korra looked stricken. "What'd I do wrong?"

"Nothing," Asami laughed again, placed a hand on Korra's forearm and squeezed. "You did it just right, if a little fast. If it helps, though, I'll just say, yes. Yes, I'd like to go on a date with you."

"You would? I mean, for real?" Korra asked with incredulous eyes.

"Yes." Asami nodded, thoroughly enjoying herself.

"Um. Wow. Okay. Um?" Korra looked around, obviously unsure.

"If you want to go collect your money, we can get out of here."

"Money?"

"Your hundred dollars," Asami said helpfully.

"Oh, no, this is way better than a hundred dollars. This is way better than anything."