Chapter 1

Nice to meet you

Korra maneuvered the hallways with her eyes glued to her schedule.

Great, more chemistry, she thought as she reached the door to the lab. Her previous experience with chemistry was one of a hate-hate relationship. The Water Tribe girl had hoped that she would never have to face the beast again, but her general education requirements told her otherwise. Hopefully this will be better than the lecture.

She walked into the room to find herself surrounded by nothing but benches and hoods: no professors or students in sight. With a shrug and a sigh, she moved to one of the counters and examined all of the various knobs and pointed spouts. It was going to be a long semester.

Students began filing in, all seeming to come in pairs or groups. Some were laughing while others talked in hushed whispers.

Most of them must have known each other before college. Korra looked down at her blue armbands that stretched from her wrists to just under her elbow. She was the only one from the Southern Water Tribe to attend the University at the United Republic of Nations and knew no one here. She buried her face into the syllabus handed to her to bury the loneliness she felt. It's the first day, I'm sure I'll make some friends in time. She tried to reassure herself, without much luck.

The professor commanded the attention of the class. "It's time to begin. If you aren't aware, this is General Chemistry Lab 1. If you're not supposed to be in this time slot or this class, please leave. Otherwise, we will begin by going through the syllabus." He paced the side of the laboratory in front of two empty chalkboards as he read the papers verbatim. "Don't get too comfortable with the people at your bench. I will be assigning lab partners, two to a station." He halted and turned to the class. "Everyone line up in the back of the room."

The students shuffled away from the worktables with discontented murmurs. Korra clutched her bag to her chest. She was both hopeful and on edge. Maybe I'll make a friend. Or maybe I won't. She snapped from her thoughts when her name was called. First? I'm first? Are you serious right now?

"Korra," the instructor repeated, motioning for the frozen Southerner to come to him. With a deep breath, Korra obliged. She pushed her nervous feelings down as she stared at the class, most of which looked very unimpressed with her. "Before I begin, Korra, I must tell you that the next time you wear that outfit, I cannot let you into my lab." She examined her attire with a blush. She wore what she would normally wear down South: brown leather and fur-lined boots with a matching pelt around her waist (minus the deep-blue cover on its front), baggy blue pants, a sleeveless light-blue shirt (it was much too warm in Republic City for her arctic-hardened body), her dark-blue forearm covers, and her Water Tribe band on her upper right arm.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" The red in her cheeks hadn't faded. Neither did the snickers.

The professor cleared his throat and the snorts stopped. "You cannot wear sleeveless shirts in lab. It's a safety hazard. You'll be working with chemicals that can burn you."

Korra nodded in understanding, frustrated that he couldn't have just told her in private instead of "making an example" of her in front of the whole class. She thought of her wardrobe, trying to remember if she even had any non-sleeveless shirts.

"To bench number one," the teacher interrupted her ponderings once more and pointed to the station in the front of the room, near the doorway. Korra let out a silent sigh and slugged her bag over her shoulder. There was another sneer that made her fists clench.

This was going to be a very long semester.

"Asami Sato," Dr. Weizao continued with his pairing, though the Water Tribe girl had tuned him out.

The Southerner riffled through her bag for a pen, oblivious of the person now at her hood.

"Hello there," the woman whispered while the rest of the class was sorted.

Korra saw an open palm in front of her. She traced the hand up to the girl's face and her breath caught in her throat. No way, Korra gawked, this is the girl who was sitting next to me in lecture. How could she forget the elegant looking woman who had taken residence beside her in her (rather professional looking) red and black skirt-based attire? She felt her cheeks heat up when her blue eyes met those olivine greens staring back at her. Any tension Korra had felt from the past five minutes drained away into confusion.

"H-hi." She replied, shaking the raven's hand.

Why am I so nervous? She never had trouble speaking with women – or people in general – back home in her village.

"Nice to meet you, Korra. My name's Asami. Looks like we'll be lab partners this semester." She smiled and revealed beautiful white teeth. Korra couldn't help but beam back. She wasn't able to make out the plethora of feelings shooting through her. "Wait, you were sitting up front in lecture, right?"

The Water Tribe girl knew the predominate emotion this time: unreasonable anxiety. She nodded in response, which brought back Asami's grin.

"Alright, alright, settle down," the instructor directed. The lab fell silent. "If you're done, I can hand out the lab keys now. Each station has a set of drawers to hold all of your equipment. There are lists in the drawers. Make sure you have all of the items on the list and learn what they are. You'll have a quiz next week on them."

A quiz? Already? Korra panicked. She scratched her head as Asami explored the storage compartments with delicate eagerness. There was glassware of all shapes and sizes: beakers, flasks, graduated cylinders, and the like. The younger woman recognized a few basic items, but was soon lost. The raven finished her portion of the checklist before her partner could even unpack her drawer.

"That's a watchglass," she mentioned when she saw the Southerner's baffled face. She looked at the sparse equipment on other side of the bench with an eyebrow raised. Her eyes moved back to the student hunched over their station, sketching a subpar picture of the watchglass next to its spot on the list. "You don't have a lot of lab experience, do you?" She was sure she saw the tan girl blush again but she hid it with a hung head.

"Not really, no. I know some of this stuff from drawings in the books I've read, but I've never actually used any of it." Korra sighed.

"You didn't have a chemistry lab in your school?"

She shook her head.

"Why?"

Their irises met. "I learned everything for my entrance exams through independent study in the Southern Water Tribe. We don't really have universities or schools. Everyone just learns what they need to from everyone else. Mostly our parents teach us, but other people and elders in the Tribe help, too." Korra picked up another piece of glassware and turned it in her hands. She held it up to the light to inspect it as she continued. "I'm the first kid from the Southern Water Tribe to come directly to this University." When she set the glass back down, Asami swore the intensity in her eyes was stronger.

"I've never met someone from the South Pole before. What's it like down there?"

Korra eyed her partner, expecting to see a hint of sarcasm or ridicule in her. When she found genuine interest and curiosity, she smiled and ignored the invalid reference to her homeland: she wasn't from the South Pole itself, though most people tend to assume the Tribes are from the actual Poles. Rather, her village was north of the Southernmost Point of the world, on the same continent as the Pole, though more towards the middle of the land mass than it used to be –

Korra, you're being too technical. She's looking at you. Don't just stand there, say something. Do something!

She shook it off and kept her grin. "Well, there's a lot of ice and snow, if you're looking for a visual. The skies are beautiful, though. Super clear, except when it snows – then it gets pretty dark. And the ocean is gorgeous, even though the part of the village I live in is a ways away from the shore." She broke eye contact and fiddled with another piece of equipment. "We used to be closer, but my Tribe moved inland over the years – mainly for safety and for more harbor space so we can trade with the other nations. Most of our business is with the Fire Nation and Republic City, since they've got the most ships." The Southerner set the beaker down and put her back to the edge of the counter so she could lean on it. She looked off into the distance and crossed her arms. "The docks are cool and all, but I like the water and the glaciers the most, especially at night." She replied with honesty and a homesick feeling in her gut. She missed that crisp, cold, clean air.

Asami's eyes glistened. "What's your favorite place there?"

Korra's face perplexed into deep thought. "I like the central mountain. Well, glacier. It's just outside of the village, to the north. I can climb on top of it and see the whole village, past some other smaller glaciers, and on really clear days, I can even see the ocean."

"If you two are done chitchatting, I suggest you get back to work." Dr. Weizao came between them with an overbearing look. The pair snapped back to their bench and continued trifling through the equipment.

"I guess it's a good thing that we've been paired up then," Asami began once the teacher left. "Labs and courses similar to this were my favorite type of classes during my schooling." She took the striker Korra was examining and squeezed it to make sparks fly out of it. The brunette jotted down some notes as her partner continued. "I like hands on learning. I worked with my dad in his workshop a lot when I was growing up. He's an engineer, which is what I'm going to school for."

"Wow, you're going to be an engineer?" The younger woman was starstruck. "You must be really smart then, too." Her eyes locked with the peridots once more as a smile crept onto Asami's face. The raven looked away and fidgeted with the striker.

Was she blushing? Korra tried to look closer when her hand knocked a flask over. She caught it before it rolled to the ground.

The porcelain woman chuckled. "Be careful, now. We don't want to pay for any of the equipment." She pulled the Erlenmeyer out of her tan hands and set it on the bench. "Let's get through the rest of this."

Asami removed different items out of the drawer and explained them as her partner scribbled notes and drew pictures. Boiling flasks, foreceps, scoopulas – the list seemed endless. Before she knew it, the engineer was done and Korra's wrist was cramping.

"Hey, don't be nervous," Asami caught the other's worried face. "I can help you study, if you want."

The Water Tribe girl looked hopeful. "Really? That's so nice of you." She locked her compartment and put the key in her pocket before slinging her blue bag over her shoulder. She could have sworn she saw another bit of pink on those light cheeks before the raven turned to grab her own black carrier. Her face was clear when she returned.

"It's not a problem, Korra. It'll help me study, too. I can't teach you anything if I don't know the material myself." She chuckled again as they left the lab. Without thought, they turned to one another and locked eyes. Their smiles were mirrored.

Maybe this semester wouldn't be so bad after all.

(-)

Korra sighed and held her abdomen as it grumbled. I know, I know. You're hungry. But this stuff is too expensive. She frowned at the food choices in the Dining Center. How can anyone afford to live here? She pondered, reminiscing to her Tribe, where they all shared their catches amongst the people of the village. Her stomach protested until the Southerner could find something she could actually pay for. She found an empty table and stared at the very small bowl of bland-looking noodles in front of her, sadness on her face. Maybe they will be full of flavor and – nope. She almost spit the food out. The hunger pains hit again and she took another bite, despite her taste buds objecting.

"Hey, Korra!" A familiar voice called out to her. She looked up to see Asami halfway across the dining center. She waved to a bulky, black-haired man that passed her before making her way towards the table with a tray full of food. The Water Tribe girl wanted to hide her pathetic lunch out of embarrassment.

"Hey, Asami," she replied before stuffing her face with the disgusting food, trying to get as much of it down in one mouthful as she could to spare her tongue. Her grimace brought concern to the other girl's face. Once the noodles were gone, she chugged her water to rid the taste. What had been worry was now amusement.

"Not very good, huh?" Korra shook her head and returned the older woman's soft smile.

"Better than nothing, though." Her stomach made a muffled sound of false content.

"Here." She handed the Southerner another small container of noodles. The color alone signaled their quality. Korra raised her eyebrow and took the food. "Go on, try them." With that, Asami took a huge, but elegant, bite from what appeared to be the same dish.

She couldn't deny that they smelled delicious. Her gut growled at her hesitation. She pushed it away. "I can't eat your food, Asami."

"Korra, it's fine," she smiled in response. She motioned to the paper bowl and Korra sighed in defeat.

She's so nice, she noted as she restrained herself from shoveling the food into her mouth. Her hum of satisfaction kept that grin on the porcelain face across the table.

"I'm glad you like them," Asami chimed while she handed her more. She watched Korra continue to eat (with a look of guilt that didn't go unnoticed by the engineer) and took this time to absorb the woman sitting in front of her: tan skin that didn't seem to have a flaw, long hair with two pieces bunched in small blue bands which framed both sides of her face, with the rest tied towards the back, standing tall like a tail, different shades of blue and brown in her outfit, and eyes that had the brightest blue of them all – eyes that were now watching her. Asami didn't realize she was smiling the whole time until she caught Korra's sideways-smirk. Heat rushed to her pale face before she focused on her food again. She stole another glance up when the exotic woman finished her lunch.

Why is she so captivating? The engineer had been drawn to the Water Tribe girl since the chemistry lecture this morning and couldn't figure out why she was so excited to be her lab partner. Although it wouldn't be the first time she had caught herself noticing another woman's beauty, something about Korra was just… different.

The Southerner thanked her for the food as she cleared the table. "It's the least I can do to repay you," she replied at the raven's opposition. She wanted to make up for all that this woman had done for her, though this was barely even a start.

I hardly even know Asami. She hardly even knows me. Why is she being so nice to me? Is she this nice to everyone?

"Korra?" Asami was right behind her. She realized the younger woman had been gazing out by the trashcan with all of the remnants still on the tray. "Are you okay?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and tossed the trash with a smile. "Yeah, of course! I'm okay!" She ran her hand across the back of her head, hoping to ease out of her embarrassment.

Wait… Did she just giggle?

Asami had, indeed, giggled. She reached out to her long, brown hair; Korra was very aware of the hand coming near her. The fingers were gentle and temporary. They left her head with a small noodle. "You had a little something in your hair."

The brunette shot red and finger-combed her hair to hide it. "Do I have any more of them?!"

She laughed and shook her head. "No, I got it all, Korra. It must have been on your hand when you were throwing the trash out." Asami flicked the noodle into the garbage.

"Nice shot." Korra commented, still moving her palms around her wolf-tail.

The engineer smiled and led them out of the Dining Center, which was now filling up to the brim with students. The hallways were quiet within a few minutes. She fidgeted with the strap of her bag, wondering why in the world she felt so nervous.

Get a hold of yourself. She pulled it together and let her confidence swell. "Korra, I was thinking we should do some studying tonight."

Reason, Asami, give her a reason.

"It'll be easier to remember all of the equipment from lab if it's fresh in your head." They stopped near an intersection and faced each other. She flipped her raven-hair over her shoulder without a second thought. "Want to meet up for dinner?" There.

"Sure! That sounds nice, actually." The Water Tribe girl smiled up to the woman in front of her. Wow, she's taller than me. She hadn't noticed earlier during their lab together.

"Great! I'll see you then!" She waved and left Korra to watch after her, that goofy grin never leaving either of their faces.