Loud jazz music sounded through the venue, met with the laughter and chatter of the party guests. Zhu Li and Varrick had just gotten married and were holding quite the extravagant after party. Kuvira stood by the refreshment table, nursing a glass of wine and glancing at a plate of cheese cubes and various meats. The young woman took another sip of the reddish alcohol, smoothing out her sacramento green dress. She had never been to a party this grand and frankly was feeling unsure of herself, gazing at her person of interest across the dancefloor. The appearance of her younger friend Mako brought her back to reality.
“What the matter with you, Curly?” he asked, flipping one of the curled strands of her hair in the air. Kuvira tightened her lips and lightly swatted at his hand.
“Nothing, I’ve just never been to a party this big before. And don’t touch my hair, this took forever!” She lowered her head to stare at her shoes, which were beginning to pinch her feet.
“Are you sure it has nothing to do with your lady interest?” Mako teased. He nudged the metalbender with his elbow and she groaned in exasperation.
“Of course not!” she exclaimed. Mako raised a knowing eyebrow, causing her to roll her eyes. “Okay, you caught me.”
Mako laughed at the woman and tried to reach for her glass of wine. “I can’t believe you’re into my ex.” Kuvira pulled her glass away and punched him in the shoulder, met with a yelp from the taller one.
“Maybe instead of teasing me about it, you can make yourself useful and tell me how I’m supposed to connect with her,” Kuvira said flatly. Mako seemed to be deep in thought for a mere moment before snapping his fingers and pointing at her.
“She likes to dance,” he suggested. The statement sent Kuvira into worry instead of relieving her. She nervously sipped her wine again, avoiding all eye contact.
“Okay, maybe not that. Something else,” she stammered.
“Why? It’s just dancing, you’re good at that,” Mako tried to reason. Kuvira stayed silent, running her index finger along the rim of her glass. “You have no idea how to talk to her, do you?” Tawny beige cheeks flushed to a bright pink with embarrassment.
“No,” she admitted. “Not in the context of ‘hey, I like you’ anyway.” A devilish grin crossed Mako’s face, gone unnoticed by the green eyes that were fixed on the Avatar, who was cackling with Asami at some dumb joke Bolin must have made. Kuvira’s face softened at the sight of Korra’s joy, though she was soon interrupted once again by Mako.
“I’ve got it!” he exclaimed. Kuvira jolted and raised both eyebrows, waiting to hear what he had to say. “You’ve gotta go up to her and say ‘come on snake, let’s rattle.’”
Kuvira shot him a look that practically screamed that that phrase had to have been the dumbest line she’d ever heard. “You have got to be kidding me. What does that even mean?”
“It means you want to dance with her,” he explained. She set her wine down and crossed her arms over her chest.
“You have to be joking,” Kuvira continued in disbelief. Mako raised his hands with a look of sincerity.
“I’m serious! Korra loves silly pick-up lines like that!” Kuvira’s eyes bore into Mako’s, mulling over the thought. The two spent the next little bit practicing how she was to approach Korra and deliver the line, though the first few tries were so painfully awkward that Mako insisted the metalbender get something stronger to drink in hopes to loosen her up.
And loosen her up it did. Soon enough, the woman was beginning to deliver her lines with confidence, albeit slightly slurred, but confident nonetheless. Mako laughed at the way her eyes grew hazy and her smile became bigger. A drunken Kuvira was a Kuvira he had never seen before, and he became even more satisfied with himself. He knew that whatever she did, this was going to be great.
Bolin and Asami soon came to surround Mako and Kuvira, leaving Korra across the floor to sip on her drink and await their return. Kuvira quickly threw her arms around the two in an ungracious manner, squishing their faces against her own. Bolin chuckled in confusion and pulled back to look at Mako, who stood with a shit-eating grin.
“What did you do to her?” Bolin asked, pointing to a very giddy Kuvira.
“I’m a little drunk,” she interrupted as Mako opened his mouth to answer. “I’m ‘onna ask Korra to dance an’ Mako said that a little bit of the spirit water would help muh confidence.” Asami gently released herself from Kuvira’s embrace, laughing softly.
“I think you had a little too much,” the taller woman noted. Kuvira looked over at her lazily and giggled.
“Oops.”
“Do you need help getting over there, Vira?” Bolin asked, still being held onto by the drunken woman. She snatched her arm away and took a step forward.
“Nope!” she said, popping the ‘p.’ “I got this, watch.” The woman sauntered across the party, occasionally bumping into guests along the way. The other three watched in amusement as she approached Korra, who glanced upward to make eye contact with Kuvira. The raven haired woman boldly stood in front of the Avatar, her gaze unmoving.
“Hey, Kuvira. What’s up?” Korra greeted warmly. Kuvira flung her hair over her shoulder and prepared to deliver the line of a lifetime.
“Korra, sweetheart!” Kuvira loudly blurted. “Come on, snake! Let’s rattle.” Korra looked around, unsure of Kuvira’s offer.
“Here? Now?” she asked, trying to make certain that Kuvira was being serious. Kuvira stepped closer, face dropping a little more seriously.
“Yes, Korra. Right here, right now!” Her arms were wide open with invitation and Korra chewed her lip and shrugged, fists curling at her sides.
Korra raised them to her face, but Kuvira’s inebriation created a delay in her reaction time. “If you say so.”
All it took was one swing of Korra’s fist to knock Kuvira flat on the ground, causing most of the wedding guests to stop what they were doing and gawk at the scene. Bolin and Asami’s eyes were practically popping out of their head across the room and Bolin swung his head in the direction of his older brother. Asami rushed to Kuvira and sat her up, looking over the face that Korra had just slammed.
“Mako! What did you tell her?” he howled. The firebender attempted to stifle his laughter as he tried to play innocent, to no avail.
Kuvira, on the other hand, was nearly in tears, cradling her bleeding nose. Asami looked between the two benders and glared at Korra.
“Korra! What’s the matter with you?” Asami scorned. Korra twisted her face with her mouth agape.
“Me? She started it!” the Avatar rambled. Kuvira looked up with a hurt expression.
“I didn’t start anything! I asked you to dance, stupid!” Kuvira wailed, leaning her head back and pinching her nose.
“To dance? ” Korra questioned. “That means to fight!”
Kuvira shook her head vigorously. “No, Mako said it means to dance.”
Korra and Asami ripped their eyes away from Kuvira, instead shooting daggers at Mako. The color left Mako’s face, quickly realizing he was in serious trouble. The young man began to scoot away from where he stood, being followed closely by Bolin.
“Well, the party was nice, but I think this is my cue to leave,” he said, making a beeline for the exit. Korra growled in frustration.
“Asami, you take care of Kuvira. I’ve got this one,” she said firmly. She immediately dashed after the fleeing firebender. “MAKO!”
******************
The party began to die down, with friends and guests starting to leave the scene and return to their homes for the night. Korra slowly made her way to where Kuvira was sitting, no longer attending a bloody nose but instead sipping on a glass of water. The tanned woman lightly tapped an exposed shoulder, causing Kuvira to turn around and meet Korra’s icy blue eyes. The lively jazz music had mellowed out to something more soft and romantic.
“Hey,” she said softly.
“Hey,” came Kuvira’s response. Korra chewed on her lip and fiddled with her thumbs.
“Did you still want that dance?” Korra’s hand was sticking out with her palm upwards, inviting the hand of Kuvira to take it. The corners of the older woman’s mouth turned upwards as she gently grasped the open hand, standing slowly.
“I thought you’d never ask.”