hey there everyone, it's azuki rose. this is just a little story i've wanted to write for a while now, after having a desire to write a korrasami fanfic over the summer. i'm not exactly sure how everything is going to go, but i just thought i'd give things a shot and see how the story progresses from here. it's an au set in modern times, with a little mixture of things from the actual series added in. hopefully it turns out alright, so i hope you enjoy it. :)


How It All Started

I've been attending college for maybe about a month now.

To be completely honest with you, it's pretty much the same thing as going to high school. High school was alright, I'll admit that. Things haven't changed much though since graduating. One thing I'm really gonna miss about high school is seeing my buddies Mako and Bolin everyday. We've known each other since we were kids, and we were lucky enough to attend high school together all four years. Then it turned out to be the end of the road for us after we graduated.

Not that I don't see them anymore. I just don't see them as much. And I'm kinda one for being shy, so I have a bit of a hard time making friends. In a way, I was worried about going to college because of that.

In attempt to help me make some new friends, my mom suggested I join one of those clubs that the colleges always want new freshman to join; she thought it'd be a 'swell idea'. And yeah, those were her actual words.

So okay. Here I am now, about a month after I've started my first semester of college. I'm working on this paper I've got due for my American History class, and I'm bored as heck.

Bzzz. Bzzz.

I check my phone. It's Opal, just as I thought.

Opal happens to be the only new friend I've made so far, but that's only thanks to the club I joined when I attended orientation.

Yeah, you're probably wondering what kind of club did I join, exactly? Well, I'm glad you asked. I've always loved the water for some reason, and because of that I've done swimming for most of my short-lived life. Uh-huh, you guessed it.

I joined the swimming club.

Opal was also a new student who joined the swimming club and didn't know anyone else either, so we hit it off pretty well. Opal's really great too; she's super nice, and she always makes sure to find me on days we attend classes so that we can head off to swim practice together.

Last week I suggested she come with me to go meet up with Mako and Bolin after swim practice; we were going to have dinner together at this new Italian place that opened up in town. Turns out Opal and Bolin also hit it off really well too, and now I think they've kinda got a thing for each other.

I sigh and drop my pencil, picking up my phone to check Opal's text.

Opal: hey, whatcha doing right now? :)

Me: ugghhh… dying, that's what. T-T

Opal: oh, working on that paper you've got due? that sucks.

Me: tell me about it. anything i can do for you? :o

Opal: uh, well, i was just wondering if you and bolin and mako were gonna hang out again this weekend?

Me: idk. i've got a lot of work to do with all these classes. but i'll let you know if something comes up, alright?

Opal: sure! good luck on your paper - you're gonna need it. ttyl, girlie. ;)

I grin and put my phone back on the desk. Yep, she's totally got a thing for Bolin. I'm glad they're getting along swimmingly. Hehe, I even inserted a pun there…

A few minutes later I check the alarm clock on my nightstand and my eyes shoot open - what, 11:27 already?! Wow, I really should get to bed if I have to get up early tomorrow. I'll try to finish the paper later when I have more time.


"Korra. Korra. Korra!"

I open my really exhausted, heavily drooping eyelids to find my mom standing by the side of the bed with my dog Naga sitting next to her. Naga's tongue is hanging goofily out the side of her mouth and her tail is wagging, looking totally happy and carefree.

Unlike my mom.

"Uh, hi Mom," I say, looking up at her. "What are you doing in my room so early?"

"You better get up Missy, it's not early anymore. You've been sleeping in for the past half hour! I thought something might have been wrong, so I came up to check on you. And you were still sleeping."

I reach under my pillow and grab my phone, turning it on. 7:36. Oh crap oh crap oh crap -

I leap out of bed with what minimal clothing I have on, much to my mother's dismay as I push her out the door. "Oh crap, I'm gonna be late! Get out, Mom, I've gotta change!"

"Korra, is that all you wear to sleep?!"

I shut the door before she can ask me any more questions and run over to my dresser where I pull out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Naga watches me as I get dressed, still not quite sure what's going on. After I do my hair in my signature wolf's tail I grab all my books, stuff them in my bag, and fly down the stairs. There's a bunch of fruit sitting on the counter and I swear, missing breakfast is something I literally hate doing, so I grab whatever produce I can and make my way to the door, where I slip on my flip-flops.

"You're gonna be late, Korra!" I hear my mom shout down the hall, and I slam the door behind me.

"Shush already, woman! I'm going as fast as I can, okay?" I yell behind me. Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom…

My car's out in front of the house, so it's pretty convenient. Unlocking my little four-seater hand-me-down I throw my bag onto the passenger seat, wedging a large apple into my mouth at the same time. Hey, a girl's gotta eat.

I close my eyes as I turn the key in the ignition. Please turn on, please turn on, please turn on…

The car's engine hums to life after a few moments, and I pump a fist into the air in relief. "Yes, it's working today!"

For some reason my parents gave me this really old car as a grad present, and I gotta say I love the vehicle they gave me - except for the part where it's kinda hard to start sometimes, along with it having the occasional breakdown. Do not love those parts. But it's all I've got for now, so it's not really my place to complain.

Pulling out of the driveway is easy, and I quickly zoom off down the road. My college isn't too far away, so it shouldn't take long to get there. I briefly consider taking the freeway, but decide against it since the later it is the more jammed it usually gets. I check my phone again - 7:45. Damn, I'm good. If I take the back roads, I can probably still make it to my class on time, since it starts at 8:00. Alright, I got this.

No sooner than do I entered the final stretch of back roads that I hear a familiar sputtering sound coming from my car. No, not now!

The car slowly comes to a halt as I pull over to a curb, finding myself in front of a small coffee shop along the roadside.

"Great," I mumble, getting out of my car and closing the door. I probably won't make it on time after all, unless I leave my car here and make a run for it. Eh, wait. Even if I did that, I'd probably still be late. I guess it's not really the end of the world; I don't have any tardies or absences anyways, since it's still the beginning of the semester. Plus, I really don't want to leave my helpless little car out her in the middle of nowhere… Nope, no can do. I'd be without a ride to school if someone managed to steal my ride.

From what my dad told me, there's something wrong with the engine and crap, so I head to the front and pop the hatch. What I come to find is a lightly smoky, barbeque-y aroma floating up from this funky-looking box that I don't have the faintest idea of what it is. The engine? The radiator? The jukebox? Okay, scratch that last one, I'm just kidding. But seriously, I have no idea where to start. I wish I would have paid more attention when my dad was showing me how to fix it…

I cross my arms and huff in annoyance at my own stupidity. Way to go, Korra.

"Do you need any help?"

I whirl around, surprised to hear a voice so close to me. I must have been really concentrating (which rarely happens, haha) on this hunk of junk to not realize someone had come over to me while I was studying the car.

I'm about to answer when I see who it is.

There, right in front of me, is an absolutely gorgeous girl. Her hair is a beautiful black sea of wavy lusciousness (kinda like those girls from the Pantene commercials), and she has pale porcelain skin. The small smile on her face is accentuated by a pair of lips as red as Twizzlers, but the most stunning thing about her I'd have to say is her eyes.

They're a bright, vivacious emerald green, and I can't help but be drawn into them.

"Uh, is everything alright?" the girl asks, setting a cup of coffee she had been holding in her hands on the curb of the sidewalk with a laugh.

"Oh, uh, yeah - I mean, no! I mean -" I try, doing my best to refocus on the situation at hand. I can feel my face heating up as I stutter. The girl only smiles at me, and there's a little hint of amusement in her eyes that only makes me blush harder.

I take a deep breath and exhale. "Uh, yeah, I'm kinda having some car trouble," I chuckle, trying not to seem too tense.

"Yeah, I could see that," she replies as she moves in a bit closer, looking at the jumble of tubes, metal and whatnot. She gives everything a good looking over before nodding and placing her hands on her slim waist. "Yep, that's what I thought it was."

Sort of confused (okay, very confused), I frown. "Uh, what was?"

"Well, as you can see this engine here is a bit old. Really old, actually. Because of that, the…" was all I hear from the other girl as I fall into a trance again, watching as she points out all the different parts of my car that need work and what might need some fixing. In other words, pretty much everything, I think.

"I can help you get it started again, if you'd like."

I quickly avert my eyes from her face and back to the engine where I nod, pretending I was thinking over all the stuff she had just said. But really, I didn't understand anything she had so kindly tried explaining to me. It's a curse I seem to have, when people put all of their heart and soul into trying to teach/show/explain to me something and it just kinda goes in one ear and completely out the other. Me and my stupidity. "Wow, uh, thanks - that'd be awesome," I smile at her.

"I'm Asami, by the way," the girl extends a hand to me, and I nervously take it.

"Korra."

"It's nice to meet you, Korra. I'm sorry if you kinda blanked out there when I was talking to you about your car - I'm kinda a mechanics nerd, so I tend to bore people to death whenever I open my mouth and begin talking about vehicles and such. You see, I'm going to college to become an engineer."

My eyes open a bit wider than they were previously. "You want to be an engineer? Wow, that's so cool!"

"You think?" she says somewhat abashedly, and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "People always tell me that mechanics and engineering is something that really doesn't fit my image," Asami laughs, and I can't help but giggle too. "But then again, whenever did I ever listen to what people say? Anyways, I'd better get to work on your car; you look like you're a girl who's trying to get somewhere."


Asami got to work on my car right away. I'm surprised at how swiftly and efficiently she moves; her fingers hover expertly over different areas of the machinery, at times picking at something here or organizing something there. Fascinated, I can't help but watch in amazement.

"Wow, it really looks like you really know your engineering stuff," I say, leaning over the side of car and smiling up at her. She's busy toying with the weird box in front that that been smoking like a stoner earlier.

"Yep," Asami replies, straightening up and brushing some hair away from her eyes. There's some grease on her fingers, and I feel a little bad that she's going through all this trouble just to help me get my car started again. "It's what I do."

Asami goes back to work. There's a part of me that doesn't want to stop talking to her though, and I find my mouth moving again even though she probably could use the silence instead of having to listen to an idiot. This is so totally unlike me. "So, uh, are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yeah, actually, I am," Asami rubs her hands together before placing them on the rim of the cars hatch. Her mesmerizing green eyes have me at a loss, and I swallow the lump that had somehow formed in my throat. "I just moved here with my dad last week."

"That's neat," I say as coolly as possible. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from up in Washington," Asami grins back at me. I guess that explains the pale skin? "My dad owns Future Industries, and he decided we should make another headquarters down here in California, since there's not one here yet -"

I wave my arms in front of my face frantically, stopping Asami in her tracks. "Wait, wait, wait - Your dad - owns Future Industries?" I ask, my voice raising with excitement. "That's like, one of the biggest and most famous tech companies here in the US!"

Asami only laughs, and I stare back at her, completely bewildered. How can this girl act like being the daughter of a billionaire is nothing? It sounds pretty frickin' amazing to me!

"So it is." Asami's crimson lips curl up into a smile.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic about it, though."

Asami sighs. "Sometimes it gets a little hard being the daughter of the owner of one of the biggest technology companies in the world. You know, my dad's always busy with business and everything, and we used to move around a lot when I was younger because he had to establish other offices in different locations and such." She looks down at the inside of my car and shrugs, twisting one of the little caps back onto an opening near the box thingy. She closes the hatch shut and looks back up at me with another curious smile on her face.

"My dad said we're staying here for a while though, because he's planning to make this headquarters one of the more major ones. I'm pretty excited - California seems like a pretty sweet place so far. Hopefully I'll get to settle in and make some friends now too, haha," she laughs.

I'm about to tell her I'd love to show her around when my phone vibrates in my pocket.

Opal: korra, where are you? class started a while ago, and you're still not here.

Oh crap, I think, biting my lower lip. Asami seems to notice my distressed state and frowns, taking a step closer.

"Is something wrong?"

I quickly make my way over to the car door and open it, placing my phone in the cup holder on the side. Damn. I can't believe I forgot I had to get to class. I guess I got too caught up in talking to Asami.

"Nah, I just forgot I had to get to class," I say with a wave of my hand. "My friend's buggin' me about being late."

"Oh, I see." Asami nods. She suddenly looks kind of glum. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Korra."

"Same here," I say. "Thanks so much for fixing my car too - Uh, is there anything I can give you in return? I'll pay you, if you want." I begin reaching into my pocket where I know I have a spare twenty or so. I hope.

"No, that's fine," Asami kneels down to pick up her coffee cup before walking over to the driver side of the car, where I am. "I don't need the money. Plus, I like helping people when it comes to fixing cars and stuff."

"..." My mind is blank. I don't really have anything to repay her then, do I? Wait, maybe she likes fruit…

Asami chuckles at my currently distressed state. "You really want to pay me back, don't you?"

I can only nod. Words are too hard to form in my mind when I'm trying to process in my little brain what the Asami Sato, daughter of the Hiroshi Sato, owner of the world famous tech company Future Industries, would like in return for fixing a knuckleheads car.

"You could give me your number. I'll settle for that."

I squint at the girl across from me, wondering if I heard right. My number? She wants my number? "You - You want my n-number?" I think I need hearing aids.

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind. Maybe you could show me around when you're free sometime? It'd probably be really fun, hanging out with you," Asami grins and takes a sip from her cup before wiping her hands on a napkin she pulled out of her pocket.

It takes me a few seconds to gather my bearings. The next thing I know, I'm handing Asami back her phone after typing in my phone number. I watch the absolutely stunning girl head off to a black convertible (Future Industries brand, of course) parked near the front of the coffee shop.

"So I guess I'll see you around sometime soon, right Korra?" Asami calls out across the distance cheerily before revving up the engine and backing out.

"Y-Yeah, sure thing!" I say, waving at her as she smiles warmly at me again.

"Great!" Asami waves back, and soon enough I'm watching her drive on down the street, her black convertible making a sharp curve around the corner.

My phone buzzes again, and I pick it up from out of the cup holder.

Opal: yoohoo~ you alive, korra?

I text her back, a stupid grin on my face.

Me: no - i think i just died and went to heaven.


i apologize for adding that cheesy last line... but *inhales* i just couldn't resist, haha. please tell me how you liked it; i'll try to update as soon as i can. i'm currently sandwiched between college and work, but i'll do my best to find time for this story. i'm also working on another fanfic right now, but that one will probably take longer to update due to the issue of having longer chapters. in other words, this one will probably be updated more often.

once again, thank you for reading!