"Black. No sugar. Yes, the usual. Thank you,"

A flip of a few bills and she moved down to the end of the bar, they never bothered for her name anymore. The baristas stopped asking a long time ago and simply scribbled the five letters down on the cup. Benefits of being a regular, she guessed. Her back was to the sunlight streaming through the café windows, the sun danced a little higher in the sky than the usual time she came to this place every morning. Which meant the walk to work east from here was going to be annoying. She mentally scoffed. How many drinks did I have last night? Six? Or…Christ.

Her alarm this morning was outrageous, and the slight hangover headache did nothing to make that screeching sound any less annoying. She had drug herself from bed, moving slower than usual, but let's face it. There was no real rush to be to work on time. So the shower took a few minutes longer and her pace a few steps slower.

She had a feeling this Friday morning was going to be all around irritating.

"Large drip for Asami,"

She moved to grab her cup, enchantingly long black hair catching slightly in the air. She saw her name scrawled under the lid. And something else written peeked up from under the paper sleeve below. Her hand shifted it down slightly. Numbers. She glanced to shift her green eyes to the worker who placed her order and made the drink. Dark hair, smoldering eyes. A smirk on his face when he noticed she was looking. A somewhat unfamiliar face, but she'd seen it in passing a few times here.

Fucking new guy.

What the hell did his nametag say? Iroh?

Fucking Iroh.

She shot him a less than pleased look and turned out the door, her cup to her lips that ended leaving a slight crimson lipstick stain she only subconsciously noticed. The air had that sweet crisp morning taste she always loved. Well, as crisp as city air could get at least. Her walk was only a few blocks but the air was helping her headache. Except for that sun glaring in her eyes, shining down on her like punishment for last night's drinking decisions. She sighed, feeling a sudden vibration and chime from her pocket. Fishing the phone out, Asami glanced down and squinted to see the message displayed across the screen.

"Have fun last night?"

She took another sip, feeling the warm liquid bring her another step towards wakefulness. With a glance up and a slight shift to the right Asami narrowly avoided a man walking his dog down the street towards her. This light was definitely not helping her eyesight. She looked back to her phone to reply.

"I'm never doing that on a Thursday night again, Opal,"

Whose idea was it to sit at the bar and take a drink for every frat boy they say? On college night? On thirsty Thursday? She felt an almost immediate buzz from the phone in her hand. "Well it's a good thing tonight is a Friday night cause I'm making you come out again!"

A Satomobile's horn blared as it flew past her on the street, the noise pounding into her skull. If she felt like this now what was Saturday morning going to feel like? Somehow Asami always gave in to Opal's peer pressure, even though her better judgement told her no. Let's go drink, she said. It'll be fun, she said. This hangover definitely wasn't. Opal had known her for years, she knew all the sly ways to get Asami to stop working and hang out with their her. Asami knew all these ways too, aware of the pressure her friend exerted, always intending to say no. And yet time after time she ended up at some bar or club with Opal every other weekend. Sometimes more.

"Two nights in a row what's the occasion?"

"Asami, does there ever have to be an occasion?! Good friends and good drinks are all you need!"

Opal was going to be the death of her. Or that's probably how she's going to feel tomorrow morning at the rate her friend buys drinks. And it's a Friday. Opal on a Friday night means shots. She'll be fucking dead for sure. Asami looked down to her phone to respond, sunlight creeping in her peripheral vision, thumb skimming across the screen.

Except she never got to finish that text. Eyes down, Asami collided with something solid. All she saw was sunlight and blue eyes and coffee fucking everywhere.

Are you shitting me… She looked down, her cream blouse soaked with the warm liquid that previously resided in her cup. It all happened so quickly and so slowly at the same time. Asami's mind was blank and she only thought of the smell of coffee and the headache.

"Holy shit! I'm so sorry! I turned this corner and fuck! Didn't see you and…,"

Asami didn't move a muscle in her body except those controlling her eyes, vision snapping up to the voice coming from the person she'd just crashed into on the sidewalk. That voice instantly captured her attention in a way Asami was not expecting, a voice that pushed into her chest with subtle tones and a rich exotic flavor. Her view was filled with warm hues on tan skin and dancing blues in wide eyes. Not a sight she was expecting either, but fit so well in combination.

"Shit that is all over you, your shirt is-"

"Dior,"

"Uh…the fuck is Dior?"

Asami closed her eyes and suppressed a slow building rage. An accident, Asami. Just an accident. After letting a held breath out, she looked back up, to the woman standing in front of her with an equal amount of coffee on her clothes. It was on grey plaid mixed with…dust? And why was there an overwhelming scent of pine trees? But it was those eyes that caught her breath unexpectedly, deep and passionate and raw. Blue was not a color that normally held Asami's attention but she was swimming in it now. A few blinks returned her mind to reality. She did not have time for any of this, as much as her eyes wanted to stay looking into those others.

"Look. Forget it, I'm already late to work,"

She sidestepped and continued down the sidewalk, tossing her now empty cup into a nearby trash can. Oops, there goes that phone number. What a shame. Asami turned her head back to take one last glance at the woman who singlehandedly ruined hundreds of dollars in designer clothing in a matter of seconds. Her gaze was returned with the same stare, with an addition of deep blue and a hint of curiosity. A small smirk crept on her lips. If it had been any other day she may have stayed to admire a new city sight longer.

Fucking Fridays.

"Come on, Korra!"

"No!"

"Please, pleeeeeeeease!?"

"I already told you I need to finish!"

"Korra you've been working for days already!"

With a sigh she scrubbed her face with her hand. A familiar scent of pine filled her nose and she peeked between fingers to see green eyes staring at her, pleading. Almost like a puppy. It was just about pathetic, the way those stupid puppy eyes made her think twice. There was so much work still to do, and not a lot of time to finish.

Korra put her hand and pencil down, giving those eyes her full attention. "Bolin you know this deadline is important,"

Her friend put a packet of paper he had been holding down and waved his arms around. "Yeah not if you're dead for over exhaustion! Get it? Dead? Deadline?" He laughed at his own stupid joke. "You need a break, seriously!" Bolin's tone of voice changed a little softer. "I'm just asking for you to take one night and go enjoy something that doesn't involve working and deadlines and clients,"

She knew Bolin was right. They had been friends for years. He even was her shop manager, taking care of orders and commissions and everything to do with keeping this place from sinking. And taking care of her when Korra sunk deep into her own work. Bolin knew her well enough to have a good idea on when she really needed a break. Korra had been working for days, hardly even going home. Even though her apartment was literally the next floor up. This shitty little hole in the wall studio that she had painstakingly built into a woodshop, one machine at a time, this was her real home. Coffee and cigarettes and dollar tacos had been her only fuel for what seemed like forever.

Maybe one night would give her mind a much needed recharge, especially after that stupid ass coffee incident this morning. One moment she's turning the corner down to that little coffee shop needing a heavy dose of many espresso shots, and the next Korra's drenched in another person's drink. But Spirits, the person that coffee belonged to was breathtaking. Long dark hair that framed a face with a near perfect bone structure that shouldn't be natural, lips the color of those deep red winter sunsets, andChrist she had legs for days. But those beautiful emerald green eyes that Korra could sink into and not even care she was being swallowed whole, those were the most capturing things she had ever seen.

Korra breathed out another sigh, purging the thoughts from her mind. She definitely needed a drink. Or like ten. "Alright, you sneaky bastard. Where did you say we're going?"

Bolin's expression brightened and he punched the air. "Yes! Bolin, master of puppy eyes, wins again!" He started scrambling his papers back together and ran into the dim office across the room, shouting behind him. "I can't remember what it's called, some club on 10th and Waterway. It's barely three blocks down so we could walk it and meet them,"

Korra raised a suspicious eyebrow. "Them? I thought you said it was just your girlfriend?"

A face peeked out of the office, visible through the doorway. "Oh and Mako too. Maybe another person or two but I haven't heard anything about that for sure. I'm not even sure who she invited," Bolin came back out with his light grey jacket in hand and slipped his arms through over an olive button up, closing and locking the door behind him. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah let me lock up, I'll just leave all this out. Lord knows I'll be right back in here tomorrow," Korra reluctantly got up from her work bench, taking a mental note of where everything was placed and grabbed her brown beanie, shaking dust from it. Flicking off all the lights, she dug a ring of keys from her pocket and secured the door as they walked out into the dark, quiet alley together.

She turned to head down the street but was swept into a sudden bear hug, knocking the wind from her. A huge grin was on Bolin's face, his eyes squinting in a sincere smile. "Korra! You're in for a great time! Shots on me!"

Her blue eyes rolled as he placed the tan woman down, shuffling around in her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Menthol American Spirits. She fucking loved menthols. A warm flame from a zippo lit the end of the cigarette from her mouth and Korra inhaled deeply, letting smoke and nicotine and contentment fill her. "All the shots on you? Hmm,"

Bolin flashed a grin, "Considering you haven't been out of that shop in like five days, hell yes. You deserve it,"

Korra shot an equally wide grin back at her companion, "Can't argue with that, lead the way,"

"So how it is that I've never seen someone as gorgeous as you around here before?"

Pursing her lips and swirling a finger on the edge of her wine glass, Asami mentally sighed. This guy was trying way too hard. She wasn't even dressed up, wearing a black leather jacket that was still able to pleasantly hug the curve of her body and the red V-neck shirt underneath. Ever her dark jeans and boots didn't scream Ralph Lauren, as her attire usually did during the day. Sure he was a pretty attractive guy, well okay a bit more than just attractive. Jet black hair styled up in the front, with his unusually bright and warm brown eyes, and a little red keffiyeh wrapped around his neck. He was definitely not an unappealing slight, Mako was just not someone Asami was attracted to. Heh, Mako. He shared the name with a shark. Matches so well with his shark fin hairdo. Asami took a moment and smiled at her mental joke, but soon realized Mako thought she had been smiling at him. Well shit.

He inched closer to her at the bar, obviously trying to be so suave that his movements were unobvious. Asami took a hefty drink from her wine, steeling herself for his next horribly constructed line. "Do you mind if I stare at you closer, opposed to a seat down that way?"

As if right on cue, do these guys ever think of anything different to say?

"Seriously Mako, what ever would make you think a line as shitty as that would work on anybody?!" A familiar voice chimed in from behind her, causing Asami to let out a soft laugh and turn to her friend. Opal returned with far too many shots, squeezing into her unsaid rightful place in-between the two and giving Asami breathing room from Mako. "Cool your jets, Shark Boy, it's not gonna work,"

A louder chuckle flew from Asami's lips, and Mako threw up his hands. "Will you ever let that go? Can't a guy just try?!"

Opal slide a small glass to the both of them, a clear liquid almost spilling over the edges. Definitely vodka, if Asami knew anything at all about her longtime friend. "Not with terrible pick-up lines like that, no. That one should be illegal,"

Mako admitted defeat and slumped, taking his shot quickly and leaving their side of the bar to find another drink. Opal turned to her black haired friend, fingers on her glass and a knowing look in her eyes. "You can thank me later, Sam. Yo, bar guy! Make sure you put her drinks on my tab!"

The grin on Asami's lips required no words to convey the mischief it held and she picked up her glass to clink it against Opal's. "To saving me from that shark attack,"

A playful fire dancing in Opal's eyes as she giggled back at her, throwing back the alcohol together. The liquid was fire down Asami's throat and as soon as the sensation was gone her brain was preparing for more, which she knew would come in droves after that first one. Opals gaze shifted over her shoulder and somehow became even brighter than it was before. "Bolin!"

She dashed off the stool and Asami was left smirking into her wine glass, finishing the red liquid that remained in the bottom. She had never spent any time around Bolin in person, just hearing of him in passing and knowing his voice from the background of phone calls. He seemed like a genuine guy from the way Opal always described him and Bolin made her happy, which is all that mattered to Asami.

The bartender caught her eye and moved to pour more of that red wine into a new glass, sliding over to Asami and punching the entry into Opal's open tab. The first sip was a refreshing taste after that vodka shot, returning her palette to something more familiar. Out of the corner of her eye, Asami noticed a figure seat themselves two seats down, and a newly acquainted scent grace her senses. She shifted through an inventory of thoughts in her mind. Pine. Where do I remember that from…

She turned her head a few degrees to the left and looked at the newest person to seat at the bar. A brown beanie over chin-length brunette hair and a deep blue plaid flannel rested on tanned skin that was rolled up to her elbows, revealing very defining muscles that stretched over a forearm, and –Spirts that sleeve of tattoos.. Strikingly detailed tribal patterns wove all over this woman's forearm, the pattern looked Polynesian. It snaked its way all around her arm and up under her sleeve, not ending but disappearing into something Asami found herself aching to discover. Her arm moved as she was speaking to the bartender and the rippling of cords under her skin had Asami desiring to touch. There was something so familiar about this woman Asami couldn't figure out, but it wasn't until she turned and met her own confused gaze with incredibly blue and equally puzzled eyes that remembered.

"You!"

The woman's look went from inquisitive to stunned, and her jaw dropped open. "You! Y-you're –, "

"Asami!" Opal beamed and threw an arm around her shoulder, catching the paler woman off guard. Her friend motioned to the woman who still had an incredulous look on her face, eyes dashing from one woman to the other. "Meet Korra! Korra meet Asami!"

Her own surprised expression changed into a grin and then a laugh, causing Opal to shoot a confused look between the two. "Uh…did you two already meet or something?"

Korra looked around, almost as if she was nervous. She opened her mouth to speak but Asami beat her to it. "No, not yet," she said with a cunning smirk and a wink only Korra was able to receive. "It's a pleasure to meet you,"

The tan woman seemed to relax slightly and nod, unable to still form words. Opal squeezed her hug in somewhat tighter. "Bolin went to, uh, find Mako. Finish those shots for us okay?" She winked at Asami as she disappeared into the bodies surrounding the bar. Gross. Mako is going to end up coming back before they do.

"Uh…so..."

Asami grinned again into her wine glass, drinking deeply and looking back over to awkward expression. "Relax, I figured to spare you that embarrassment,"

Korra laughed, the sound sweetly drifting to Asami's ears. "I owe you a drink for that one," She took a moment and simply met her stare, seeming to think on what to say. "And you know, I owe you a coffee too, since I kind of demolished that other one. I mean, if you're cool with that of course cause I mean we're don't really know each other and that might come off weird and –,"

"Okay," One simple word cut off Korra's little ramble. A pretty adorable ramble, actually. Asami didn't really think into agreeing, truly surprising herself. The black haired businesswoman was the type to calculate every thought and decision. But that one "okay" fell off her tongue without any hesitancy. And she found herself excited for once. "You actually gave me a good reason to throw that thing away, some dude scribbled his unwanted phone number on it,"

A white grin beamed back at her, and Asami looked over at her drink. It was pale yellow color and in a mason jar. She would have pegged Korra for a beer type so curiosity overcame her. "Is that a margarita?"

Korra gazed over to her glass, "Ahh yes, you know of the alcoholic mistress dear Margarita. My one true love. I don't really have to ask what you've got. Fine tastes for a fine lady," Her eyes were full of mischief and Asami felt a slight blush warm her face. The dim lighting was sure to hide it though. Her gaze was held for a moment longer and Korra shifted to look at the line of still full ounce-sized glasses next to Asami. "But the real question is that if Opal was really serious about finishing all of those?"

Between the conversations, Asami hadn't had a chance to actually count how many Opal got. Six. That girl sure knew how to start the night off. Considering there originally were going to be five people, that didn't seem like a large number. But all that remained was just her and Korra. "I have a feeling Opal isn't coming back, so I think these are all me and you,"

That exquisitely detailed tattoo decorated arm reached over to scoot half of those glasses closer as Korra shifted into the stool next to Asami, the forest fragrance increasing. "Race ya," A raised glass seemed to almost toast Asami, and Korra downed the liquid. And the other two in immediate succession, three empty glasses upside-down on the bar.

Drink or die, as it seems. Or drink and die, perhaps. Asami's competitive side boiled up at the notion of a challenge and she should have known that truth would bring her down, but a challenge was a challenge. A brunette eyebrow raised as Asami finished the remainder in the same fashion, Korra clearly surprised and possibly impressed at her actions. Asami was surprised by them as well.

"So. What now?"

A look at the lone margarita with a slight wet ring under the glass against the wood bar, and Asami knew the answer. "Tequila?"

Korra gave a deadly smirk. "Tequila."