Strangers in the Night
Fanfic by MistressNoriko

A/N: This story has a happy ending and everyone makes it home safely.

TRIGGER WARNING– the story deals with the after-effects of Asami's drink being drugged by a sexual predator. However, beyond that, nothing non-consensual happens in this story. I'm not trying to normalize date-rape drugs by any means. My hope for individuals who read this is to inspire others to help each other out, especially women helping women when they feel unsafe out in the bars. If another woman needs you to pretend to be her best friend or girlfriend or sister or whatever for a bit so that she's safe, help out however you can if you have the ability or capacity to do so.

Side note – the consistent misspelling of the man's name in the first scene is intentional. I hope it's not too confusing!

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: More Than I Can Handle

The smile on her face couldn't feel more fake. How did this guy not pick up on the fact that she wasn't at all interested in him or the type of protein shake he had before working out every morning?

Years of doing business with men who acted just like him had trained Asami to put on her best professional smile and pretend to enjoy their interaction. She had tried to walk away from the man earlier, Norrlak or something, but he'd been insistent on sharing at least one drink as he'd reached out and held her elbow. She had had half a mind to agree and then down her entire drink, walk away, and be done with it, but she had come out to the bar to get away from her hotel room for a few hours. One free drink in exchange for subpar conversation couldn't hurt.

Right?

She brought her Manhattan to her lips and took a generous sip, reminding herself not to throw the entire drink back as he went to flex his bicep. Drinking the cocktail in one go might have been the better option because as she brought her drink away from her lips, her taste buds were utterly dissatisfied. She wasn't sure if she disliked the choice of whiskey the bartender had used for the classic mixed drink, causing the typical warmth of the whiskey to instead feel like a burn in the back of her nose, or if it was her conversational partner that made her unable to enjoy her go-to beverage.

Narluk, or whatever his name was, leaned against the bar top, resting his barely consumed pint down as he motioned with his free hand to his abs.

"I mean, you should give 'em a feel."

"I'll take your word for it," Asami said, giving a tight smile and bringing her drink up to her lips again.

"Oh c'mon," he said, making a quick grab for her wrist. "It's not every day you get to feel up a guy with a rock solid body like mine."

Her drink jostled in her hand, but she moved it in time to ensure it wouldn't splash out of the glass onto her white blouse. His touch around her bare wrist made the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge – his palm was lukewarm, rough, and his grip too tight. He wrenched her hand away from its previously relaxed position crossed under her chest and rammed her palm against his stomach.

Asami frowned. Sure, his abs were toned from what she allowed her hand to feel from where it had been forcefully placed, but his touch simply felt wrong and she had no intention of feeling more than the surface level touch. She pulled out of his clammy grip and shook her hand out.

She wanted to tear into him for the comment he'd made, but she didn't have the mental energy to dive into how conceited he sounded or that it wasn't some damn privilege to be in his presence or that he really needed to have someone's consent to touch them, even in a non-sexual manner. She'd spent the day in meeting after meeting with CEO's of various companies and financial institutions to try and cement a deal in the Southern Capital she'd been working on for the last six months. On top of that, she hadn't slept well the night before after flying down from Republic City. She simply didn't have the mental energy to start a conversation that was bound to be combative about his entitled behavior. Nor, she reasoned with herself, was it her job to educate him on how to be a decent human being.

She really needed to start traveling with more downtime scheduled at the beginning of her trips so she could recuperate from jet lag. Despite this being her fifth trip in two months, she still hadn't figured out how to schedule her time without exhausting herself. She'd hoped that a night out at the bar would help her sleep tonight as she never slept well in hotels in spite of how often she traveled for work. It was to the point that she felt that she'd need to buy or rent a condo down here, as the talks had been promising today and the future of her expansion in the south seemed inevitable. She'd even looked at a promising real estate firm on her lunch break today.

"Nice," was all she could bring herself to say as she flexed her hand open and closed twice.

She took another drink of her Manhattan and tried to down the whole thing but the drink hit her tongue, and she couldn't go through with a second gulp. Yeah. She didn't like whatever whiskey the bartender had used. But there was nothing keeping her here except her reputation of always being a likable businesswoman. She could simply put her drink down on the counter and wish him a good night and leave. There were plenty of other bars to go to. She didn't owe him a damn thing.

"And they're not just for show, either. I have core strength for days if you know what I mean," he said, suggestively waggling his eyebrows as he took a swig of his pint.

That was it. She'd agreed to one drink. She glanced at the reddish liquid in her glass – it was about half full. She didn't care that the whiskey wasn't her choice of label – she was going to down this drink.

She gave the sweetest smile that she could and then brought her drink up and threw the whole thing back. Her nose was filled with the feeling cheap liquor, the burn of alcohol radiating in the back of her throat and nose and caused her eyes to water slightly. At this point, she doubted the drink actually contained real whiskey.

"Oh ho! Nice!" the man hooted, raising his glass. He waved down the bartender and loudly proclaimed: "Get this woman another!"

Damnit, Asami thought as she put the glass down on the countertop a little too hard. She then used her thumb to wipe her lip before taking in a deep breath and didn't bother attempting to smile.

"Listen, I've had a lon—"

"Oh c'mon," he said over her. The bartender stopped making the drink and looked between Asami and the man. "The night is young!"

"No thank you. I agreed to one drink. I'm go—" Asami started, putting an apologetic hand up towards the bartender, trying to show that she didn't want another drink.

The man shook his head at the bartender and pulled a twenty out of his pocket and slid it across the countertop. The bartender arched an eyebrow at him, took another look to Asami, shrugged, and then continued making the drink.

Nortuk turned and put a hand on Asami's hip. "C'mon, c'mon, one more drink. I promise you won't regret it."

"I'm already regretting it," she said flatly as she tried to take a step back, her butt coming in contact with the barstool behind her.

"Oh, don't be like that, sweetheart," he said as his hand moved up Asami's hip to her waist.

"First off, I'm not your sweetheart," she said as she grabbed his wrist. She moved his hand off of her body and pushed his limb back towards him. "Secondly, I'd appreciate it if you'd stop touching me."

"Hey," he said slowly, putting his hand up to show he wasn't holding anything. "No need to get bitchy. We're just having a good time. Relax!"

Asami opened her mouth, ready to start yelling at the man when the bartender slid the drink across the counter.

"Here you go," he said and then shuffled away to assist another patron down the bar.

Nurtok grabbed the stem of the glass of the new Manhattan and slid it closer. "C'mon. I'm sorry. We're having such good conversation. Do you really want to call it a night, already?"

The argumentative words that were forming in her head were lost in her mouth when she noticed something waving frantically over Nurtak's shoulder. He took her silence as a go-ahead to continue talking, which he did, changing the topic of conversation to something about his nearby apartment; but Asami wasn't paying attention to a single word.

A woman standing behind her evening hijacker stopped waving what seemed to be a napkin and then used both of her hands to hold it, showing that something had been scrawled on it. Asami tried to read it without looking too obvious.

The note, written in what looked like hasty permanent marker was quick and to the point:

Need Help?
YES – Touch neck
NO – Move hair

Asami blinked and then looked at the woman more closely. From what she could see, the stranger had a darker complexion indicative of being from the Southern Capital and medium length brown hair that was pulled back into the stubbiest ponytail she'd ever seen. Her bright blue eyes were focused wholly on her, something that looked like genuine concern exuding from her expression.

Asami knew she could handle the man if he got handsy again. She'd been in martial arts and self-defense classes since the age of seven and wasn't the dainty flower that most people perceived her to be. But she was exhausted and knew that she was getting close to losing her temper. Not something she wanted to do, especially given how hard she'd worked to gain the trust of the people in the area in hopes to build a production site for her Sato-Snow-Mobiles. If she were to have a physical altercation, her deal that she was so close to closing and that she'd been working towards over the last eight months on could crumble despite the potential thousand or so jobs that the factory would bring to the area.

"Here, you haven't touched your drink," Nurlak said, pulling Asami's attention from the blue-eyed stranger. He was looking at her, a sneer plastered on his face as he offered her the second Manhattan.

Asami's eyes flashed from the stemmed glass full of reddish liquid quickly to the blue-eyed stranger. The girl could end up being just as bad at this guy. She could simply walk away for the night and be done with it. The girl arched a concerned eyebrow but held the napkin high enough for Asami to still be able to read it.

The insistent nudge of the drink from her man before her made her sigh as she looked back to him. She wasn't the type who was too proud to accept help. In a professional setting, asking for help built work relationships and made for better business. Couldn't the same be said for her personal life?

She gave Nalrik another tight smile and took the drink, bringing a hand up to rub the side of her neck.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the blue-eyed woman nod and then bend down to the bar top.

Asami narrowed her eyes, confused as to how that was helping before looking back to the man as he tipped the rim of his pint glass to her glass. Asami gave another forced smile but didn't bring her drink to her lips. She wasn't keen on ingesting more of the cheap whiskey. Perhaps she'd simply go to the hotel bar next time and pay for her own drinks, ensuring she was able to get the top shelf label she was accustomed to.

Nulrak droned on about something, but Asami had stopped listening. She just wanted to leave. She took a glance at her untouched drink in her hand and put it on the bar top. She held on to the stem of the glass so he wouldn't try to offer it to her again and looked up, nodding as if she was listening. But he kept blathering on about the size of something at his apartment, his eyes decidedly not even looking at her face or eyes. He was very much looking at her chest.

She wanted to cover up. She hated how she could feel good and confident in her clothing and then how quickly a man's gaze would make her want to cover up. She didn't dress for them. She dressed for herself. There was something empowering about a silk blouse, a pencil skirt, and a pair of stiletto heels, exactly what she was wearing tonight. Similar outfits had seen her through several extremely successful business meetings. She always kept the buttons up at work, and she hated the way her skin crawled now knowing that her chest was exactly where Norluk's dull brown eyes were looking.

Asami rolled her eyes, but then she caught movement behind the jabbering man and looked past him to see what the blue-eyed stranger was doing: The woman had straightened her posture from leaning over the bar top and then locked eyes with Asami. There was something comforting in her eyes that she hadn't felt in anyone she'd encountered so far on her various trip south. Especially no one she'd encountered so far in this bar, not even the bartender. The woman nodded before Asami's mind derailed too far and then held up a napkin that she'd unfolded to make as big as possible.

The scrawled writing read:

Lover – Touch hair
Fight – Cross arms
Friend – Wave

Asami tried her best to read the napkin discreetly, and the man in front of her made it easy as he continued talking about his apartment, something about the thread count on his sheets. It was apparent that he was leading up to invite her to come home with him, which she wanted no part of.

Asami chewed on her lips; she didn't want to cause a bar fight, so she made a conscious effort not to cross her arms as the man rambled on. Not only did she not want this helpful stranger to get hurt for her sake, she still didn't want to be involved in any type of altercation that would jeopardize her Sato-Snow-Mobiles factory's future. This was a business trip, after all, so business was a priority in not screwing up.

She furrowed her brow before remembering to keep her face neutral, as Norluk was supposed to think she was still listening to him. Though, he probably wasn't paying attention to her face still. Asami reread the third line and withheld a sigh; she wasn't sure a friendly approach would get the hint across, either, with how aggressive the man had been at keeping her company.

So she took in a short breath and tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear as she locked eyes with the blue-eyed stranger at the bar. It was the only option left and, who knew, it might get the point across that she really, really, wasn't interested in him.

Blue eyes smiled and nodded quickly before she moved to take off her hoodie. Asami wasn't sure what she was doing, but she was much more interested in looking at her than Naartik. The hoodie came up, pulling the back of the darker skinned woman's shirt up with it exposing her lower back, showing toned back muscles that met a colorful sports bra, immediately sparking a new-found interest for Asami. Blue eyes asked the bartender something before handing the hoodie over to them, presumably for safe keeping. Her shirt turned out to be a tank top that exposed beautifully sculpted shoulder and arm muscles that practically danced underneath her skin. Muscles that looked natural and not forced from protein shakes and too many hours at the gym. Her muscles were lean, much like her instructor's arms had been in her martial arts classes growing up.

Asami realized she'd bitten her lip and immediately stopped.

Why couldn't I have run into her first? she thought frustratedly as she glanced back to Nurrak.

Shit, she thought when she saw a grin spread across his face. He saw that, didn't he?

He moved out of his drastic lean on the bar top and took a step towards Asami, his hand reaching out to caress her hip again after looking to her untouched drink that her fingers kept spinning on the bar top, up and down her body, and then vaguely at her eyes. Asami was pretty sure he was stuck on her chest again. She was regretting that she had undone the top three buttons of her silk blouse after leaving her last meeting.

"You don't seem interested in that second drink, so what do you say we—"

"There you are!"

Asami looked up and saw the dark-skinned woman jog up to them and immediately took a side step away from the handsy man, abandoning her unwanted drink on the bar top. She'd never been happier to see an absolute stranger in her life. The woman opened her arms and smiled widely at her. Here, Asami could see everything that blue eyes was wearing: her white athletic tank top was loosely tight over her torso, and the front of it was tucked into dark blue denim joggers that were sitting low on her hips. She looked like she belonged in a dance video, but Asami wasn't complaining. Simple the ensemble may have been but it worked on the toned woman and the bright white tank top contrasted nicely with her darker complexion and her bright eyes.

"I'm sorry I'm so late," the woman said as moved in closer to hug Asami.

Asami hadn't been prepared for the voice that came with the shorter woman. Her voice was more feminine than she'd been expecting, but that didn't matter. It was strange, her voice had a calming effect over Asami, and her smile was warm and inviting. How had she not seen her before now?

Without thinking it through, Asami moved her arms around the woman's neck, moving her nails up into the base of her hairline and pulled the shorter woman into a kiss, arching her body into their embrace. At first, blue eyes seemed to be caught off guard but quickly recovered, wrapping her hands around Asami's waist and pulling her close and returning the kiss. Blue eyes' lips were soft and malleable and, after her initial hesitation, fell effortlessly into the demanding rhythm that Asami quickly set.

Asami hadn't been prepared for how good the stranger felt. Her arms held her close, and she could feel her taut biceps against her ribs as she gently pulled her closer but appreciated that her hands stayed respectfully at the small of her back and her mid-back. Her hands were warm and strong and steadied her as she felt slightly weak in the knees. She immediately got the impression that this wonderfully kissable stranger would be able to give very satisfying massages… among other things.

At the thought of what her deft hands could be capable of, Asami let out the smallest of moans, ignoring a pull from between her legs as her imagination got away from her for a brief moment. She bit the woman's bottom lip, causing the slightly shorter woman to gasp and then slid her tongue into her mouth, exploring for more contact. The woman made a whimpering noise of pleasure against her lips and allowed Asami's tongue to go where it pleased, her own tongue tentatively going past Asami's lips.

She could easily get lost kissing the shorter woman. She tried to tell herself that she was putting on a display of over the top affection to get the hint across to Narpuk, but the truth was she was simply lost in the magnetic stranger's lips. The feeling of her pliable lips moving with her own was intoxicating, making it far too easy to play the part of a lover.

She tasted a slight hint of alcohol and something akin to peppermint as their tongues brushed against each other, perhaps from gum or from some drink blue eyes had consumed earlier. The woman didn't feel intoxicated, though. She didn't smell any alcohol on her, only the soothing scent of lemongrass and eucalyptus – from her body wash, perhaps. But no matter how good she felt against her or how skilled her lips moved with her own, Asami knew she couldn't continue kissing her forever. At least, not without leaving the bar first. And getting rid of the man that the stranger had been so kind to help her get away from. And a brief talk of boundaries for the evening.

Asami slowed the kiss as her head was starting to spin. She'd never gotten lightheaded from kissing someone before, but with how good of a kisser the shorter woman was, she didn't mind one bit. She couldn't help herself and dragged the shorter woman's bottom lip through her teeth gently one more time before completely breaking the kiss.

"Holy fuck," blue eyes exhaled, whispering just above her breath, only for Asami to hear. Her breath was heavy, and her ice blue eyes were slightly darkened by her now enlarged pupils. Apparently, Asami hadn't been the only one to enjoy their exchange.

"I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me," Asami teased, remembering to play the part of a lover. She played up the sultry tone in her voice for Naptuk, but she honestly didn't have to try very hard. The stranger in her arms was far more alluring than the man at the bar, and a demanding part of her brain wanted to immediately leave the bar and simply go somewhere with the shorter woman and get to know her. Thoroughly.

The woman smiled and then brushed her nose against Asami's. It was cute and playfully affectionate, not at all what Asami had been expecting after the kiss they'd shared. It made Asami give her first real, unforced smile of the day.

Who was this woman?

"How could I forget about you?" blue eyes asked softly, but loud enough for the man by the bar to hear. "It just took me a bit to get away from work."

"Heh, well my night just got a whole lot more promising."

Asami blinked.

How could he still be standing there? How had that not gotten the message across? And why was she still feeling light-headed? Asami knew it had been some time since her last intimate encounter. Was she simply just that much out of practiced that she didn't remember what kissing until breathless felt like?

Blue eyes arched an eyebrow and turned to face Naptuk, her hands not leaving Asami's back.

"Uh, do we know you?" she asked, looking back and forth between Asami and the persistent man.

"What? Oh, no," he said, a sneer still pulling on his lips. "But I was just about to ask your girlfriend to come home with me. Why don't we make it a party and you both come?" he asked, the disgustingly lecherous wink giving the indication that he'd meant come as a double entendre.

The glare that flashed across blue eyes' face was hot enough to melt iron Asami thought as she saw her expression change. She then took in a quick breath, pressing her lips together as if she was forcing herself to not say what had initially come to mind and then turned back to Asami, forcing a half smile.

"I'm not sure about you, babe, but I'm not at all interested."

Asami smiled and leaned forward, kissing the shorter woman simply. Watching the expression change so rapidly on the stranger's face made her think that she was a protective partner and Asami suppressed biting at her lip. She found it incredibly sexy and further frustrated herself for not seeing this woman first when she'd entered the bar some thirty minutes ago.

She put a hand on the plane of the shorter woman's abdomen and straightened her posture. The muscle underneath her hand, despite being covered by the fabric of her tank top, was warm and sculpted and was much more inviting to the touch than Niptik's had been. Asami slid her other arm across the woman's back and leaned into her. The minimal movement made her feel like she was about to fall and she grabbed slightly at the fabric of her shirt to steady herself.

Wait, am I drunk? she thought. I can't be. I had one drink. Why the hell do I feel like the room is about to start spinning?

Asami ignored whatever was wrong with her equilibrium and leaned into the shorter woman again, kissing her jawline as she carefully crafted what she was about to say. She faced the still sneering man at the bar but didn't take her eyes off of the woman under her hands.

"She keeps me coming almost more than I can handle. So, it's a hard pass from us," Asami said.

A rosy hue blossomed on the shorter woman's cheeks when Asami's words registered. She then cleared her throat and gave what Asami thought was supposed to be a boastful grin. Acting clearly wasn't this girl's strong suit. But her subpar acting skills didn't stop her from sliding a muscled arm around Asami's waist and resting her hand on Asami's opposite hip, pulling her slightly closer.

Asami registered that the woman's hand was warm and inviting, but she couldn't focus on it. Something just didn't feel right, and it had nothing to do with the woman holding her. Her ears were beginning to ring, and she couldn't shake the light headed feeling that had come on after kissing the shorter woman.

"Oh yeah? I'm sure I could make you come in ways she's never even tried with you."

She felt the woman next to her tense, the muscles in her arms and abdomen growing taut.

"Are you kidding me?" blue eyes said irritably.

"We could make it a competition if you'd like," Naptuk said, a smug expression on his face as he took a step forward and reached out to touch Asami's hip again.

Blue eyes was faster; she moved her hand from behind Asami's back to in front of her stomach and took a step in front of her, blocking the man from his approach.

"We're not interested," she said more sternly, articulating each word at almost a growl.

The movement of the shorter woman caused Asami's butt to hit the barstool again. Her legs felt weak and she decided sitting was the best option. She could hear the two continue to argue, but she couldn't focus on what they were saying because the room was definitely beginning to spin and her stomach felt like it was about to start churning.

She didn't care how strong the bartender had or hadn't made her drink, there was no way one drink could make her feel this intoxicated. And although the woman had expertly malleable lips, this wasn't some side effect of lust pulling at her mind from the rapid introduction to the shorter woman's body. Her limbs felt heavy, and even though she was sitting, she felt as though she was about to fall over any second. She felt incredibly off balance and the bar, although she knew it was loud and could hear the angry tones of either people in front of her, sounded muffled and far away.

What the hell is happening to me? she thought drastically as panic started to set in.

She needed to grab something to keep her steady. She reached up and grabbed hold of the bar top but moving her hand that high made her feel like she was about to fall backward. She immediately moved her hand back down and reached to touch the woman in front of her. Her fingers grabbed the soft material of the blue eyes' tank top, and she clutched the fabric in her hand.

The woman took a small step back, her butt coming flush to Asami's knees. Asami reached up with her other hand, grabbed another fist full of fabric and leaned her head forward and rested her forehead between the muscled woman's shoulder blades. She tried to focus on the smell of lemongrass and eucalyptus that permeated off of the dark-skinned woman. The smell calmed her stomach, but the warmth radiating from the woman made her feel sleepy.

Something was definitely wrong.