Okay. So. Little bit ago I posted a fic called "Out of the Woods" about Korra and Asami's engagement. And within that fic were four little vignette-like things that quickly recapped events where Korra thought about proposing. So I decided to expand upon those and make them their own little oneshots.

Here is the first. Expect three more. Not necessarily in a hurry, but in the near future.

Sometimes, they were so young and so in love that Korra forgot the necklace and the ring were in her pocket at all.

Like the time they were lying on Asami's couch and she decided to test a new instant camera prototype and some internal mechanism malfunctioned and set the blasted thing on fire in the middle of their apartment and Korra had laughed so hard that Asami forgot to be upset about the spectacular failure of her design and just laughed with her until her sides hurt.

Asami Sato had a lot of things.

Korra hadn't realized it fully when they'd both been living on Air Temple Island. It made sense, in retrospect, considering how wealthy she was. People with a lot of money had a lot of things.

But now that they had been living together in their own apartment for two weeks and there were still boxes everywhere, it was immediately apparent.

Korra had never had a lot of things. The people of the Southern Water Tribe led a fairly low-maintenance lifestyle to begin with, but Korra was especially spartan. Her entire life at the White Lotus compound revolved around mastering the elements. She didn't have need for anything else.

So when she and Asami moved into the penthouse (it wasn't actually the penthouse as it was on the ground floor so Naga could come and go, but it was still a few times larger than a regular apartment so Asami called it the penthouse anyway) of the apartment building (which Asami owned, hence the penthouse) in Old Republic City (the recent colloquial term for the section of downtown that had been rebuilt after Kuvira leveled it and the Spirit Portal opened), it was up to Asami to fill their new home with things.

She did so with gusto.

It took Korra a few days to figure it all out. They had all the furniture and housewares they needed unpacked and in their proper places within the first week. So what was in all the boxes?

Prototypes. Journals. Blueprints. Books. Engine parts.

Future Industries wasn't just Asami's company. It was her hobby.

Korra helped her sort through the stacks of crates and was completely astounded by the things she found. The original blueprints for the first satomobile engine. An idea journal that Asami had completely filled between the ages of six and eight. A sketch on a napkin that would eventually become the hummingbird mech. Multiple prototypes of variations on Asami's electro-glove. An entire motorcycle engine Asami had built from scratch when she was ten. The first six versions of the airbender glider suits that Jinora had tested.

Korra had known her girlfriend was a genius. But now she was surrounded by physical proof of it, and she loved nothing more than to point that out and watch Asami Sato blush.

"Ugh, can we take a break?"

Korra glanced over at Asami as she flopped onto the couch in the center of the living room, heaving an enormous sigh. A fond smile crept onto Korra's face without her even realizing it.

"But this stuff is so interesting," Korra argued, gesturing to the latest box she and Asami had been going through. So far they'd pulled out two more filled idea journals, a pair of boxing gloves, and a few rolled up blueprints containing plans for Asami's next motorcycle.

Asami just groaned loudly and threw an arm over her eyes.

"We've been at this for hours," she huffed. "Would you please just come over here and cuddle with me?"

"Since when is the CEO of Future Industries so whiny?" Korra teased, digging back into the box for the last item. Asami stuck her tongue out at her, but she didn't notice as she pulled out a device she didn't recognize. It was a small metal box with buttons and nobs on top and a big cylinder poking out above a slot on the front. 'IC prototype 4' was written in chalk on the bottom.

"What does 'IC' stand for?" Korra asked as she carefully sat down next to Asami on the couch, the item still in her hands.

"Hm?" Asami frowned and removed her arm from over her eyes. "Oh, that thing. Instant camera."

Korra just raised an eyebrow at her. Asami sighed and sat up, apparently resigning herself to the fact that Korra was way too curious about this and was not going to cuddle with her in the immediate future.

"Well in theory, you could take a picture and then it would immediately develop and print the photo through that slot on the front," Asami said with a shrug, frowning a bit at the device. Korra's eyes went wide.

"You mean like… you could take a picture and then just have it right away?" she asked, excitement creeping into her tone as she stared at the little box in her hands with renewed fascination. Asami laughed, leaning into Korra's side comfortably.

"Again, in theory," Asami said thoughtfully. "I haven't technically gotten it to work yet."

Korra turned the camera over and looked at the words on the bottom. She smirked.

"What happened to prototypes one, two, and three?" she asked slyly.

"They melted."

Asami couldn't seem to hold in a laugh at the sight of Korra nearly dropping the camera. The Avatar scowled at her, placing the camera delicately on the stone coffee table Bolin had made them as a housewarming gift.

"Melted?" Korra repeated doubtfully.

"Well… photos are developed by placing them in different chemical solutions, right?" Asami began slowly. "So I figured… why not just put all the chemicals together inside the photo paper? Getting the mix right has been a bit tricky… figuring out how to layer them within the material, what to use for the re-agent, how to apply it evenly…" She sighed a bit. "So yes. The first three melted. But the last batch seemed promising enough. I just haven't had a chance to test it yet."

It took Korra several moments of Asami frowning at her to realize she'd been staring.

"Sorry," the Avatar said bashfully. "It's just… I like watching you when you talk about stuff you're working on. Your whole face just lights up."

"Yeah?" Asami laughed, embarrassed, as a vivid blush crept over her cheeks.

"Yeah."

Asami reached over and grabbed the camera off the table without a word. She was trying to hide the fact that she was blushing, but Korra didn't mention it. She just watched her curiously as she removed the lens cap and checked that the photo paper was loaded in correctly. A few adjustments later, she leaned back and threw an arm around Korra's shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Korra asked in confusion, never taking her eyes off the camera.

"Testing the prototype," Asami replied nonchalantly. She held the camera out in front of them. "Smile!"

"Are you sure that's-" Korra began, eyes wide, but then Asami turned and planted a kiss on her cheek and clicked the shutter button.

The camera whirred angrily before spitting out a small square-shaped piece of photo paper. It fluttered to the floor before either of them could grab it, but they were both distracted by the noise the camera was making.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Korra asked, raising her voice to be heard over the grinding noise emitting from the small device.

"Nope," Asami replied calmly, dropping the camera back on the table just in time for it to catch fire.

Korra only managed to keep a straight face for a few moments before she burst out laughing.

Asami just stared at the fire with a rather bemused look on her face. She glanced critically at her girlfriend, bent double on the couch in a fit of laughter.

"It's not that funny," Asami grumbled.

"Are you kidding?" Korra laughed, wiping tears from her eyes. She gestured toward the burning camera. "This is hilarious!"

Despite Asami's best efforts, Korra's laugh was infectious. It wasn't long before she was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.

"Could you at least put the fire out?" she eventually managed to say between laughs, flopping back on the couch again.

Korra got up and did just that with a flick of her wrist, leaving the camera a smoldering pile of metal on the table. A quick gust of airbending sent the smoke out the open window.

"Now will you please come back here and take a nap with me?" Asami whined, holding out her arms and putting on another over-exaggerated pout.

Korra let out another laugh, crashing onto the couch beside her girlfriend. But before Asami could get her hands on her, Korra was bending over to pick something up off the floor. Asami groaned.

"Korra," she sighed dramatically, but Korra just rolled her eyes.

"So you don't want to see the picture?" she teased, and Asami sat up so fast she almost knocked Korra right off the couch.

"It worked?" she asked blankly, and Korra handed her the small picture.

It was a bit blurry and the contrast was so low that most of it was a muted shade of gray, but there was Asami kissing Korra's cheek, and there was Korra with a surprised smile and a dark blush on her face.

"Wow," Korra laughed lightly, leaning on Asami's shoulder and staring at the picture. "That's actually really cool."

"Don't sound so surprised," Asami teased, and Korra just playfully poked at her side. "So I got the chemicals right this time, at least." She cast a frown at the burnt wreckage of her camera. "Still some mechanical issues to work out, though."

Korra started laughing again.

"Do you think Bolin will notice?" she asked, nodding toward the ragged burn mark under the camera on the surface of the coffee table.

Asami started laughing again too.

In fact, they couldn't seem to stop.

It was only after they'd managed to calm down and Asami had fallen asleep with her head on Korra's shoulder and Korra's arms around her waist that Korra remembered the betrothal necklace and engagement ring were in her pocket.

Korra took a deep breath, briefly considering if she should wake Asami. If it was the right time.

But then Asami let out a small sigh and snuggled even closer into Korra's embrace, and nothing else mattered in the entire world but letting this beautiful girl sleep in her arms.

And I remember thinking...