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Climbing trees was really hard. Like really hard. They made it look so easy in movies and video games but in real life it was like a cruel game of life or death. Korra was holding onto a branch for dear life as she struggled to get her footing stable, regretting her choice to wear her nice sneakers for this stunt. She glanced up towards the third floor of the house to make sure the light was still on, checking the time on her watch.
“11:17.” She confirmed, “Dear old dad should be conked out by now.” Snickering, Korra shimmied higher up the tree looking out for a good place to settle down. She spotted a particularly firm branch right outside of her target window and took a daring leap to get there. Her heart skipped a beat as she lost her grip for half a second, nearly falling to her death. Spirits, the risks I take for love, she thought as she hoisted herself back onto the branch with a grunt. She tested its limits by bouncing up and down a few times.
Satisfied, Korra dug around in her pocket and took out a handful of small pebbles, rolling them around in her palm before tossing one at the nearby window. It made a very faint tap. Frowning, Korra tossed another with slightly more force. Still not loud enough to get anyone’s attention. So she tossed all of the rocks at once. They made a very loud clatter as they rained against the glass panel. Right on queue, the curtain flew open and Korra immediately felt her heartbeat pick up in the best way.
“Asami!” Korra whispered, waving her hand wildly, “Asami over here!” Asami’s eyes scanned the tree’s until she met Korra’s.
“What in Raava’s name do you think you’re doing?” Asami said incredulously, sliding open her window an inch, “You’re going to get yourself killed!”
“I wasn’t doing anything so I figured that I would come visit you.” Korra said casually with a shrug, “I assumed your dad wouldn’t be too happy to see me so I climbed this tree. I almost died.”
“If my dad catches you you’ll be dead before you can fall out of it.” Asami sighed.
“Oh please,” Korra scoffed, “He can’t shoot me I’m not doing anything wrong technically.”
Korra could’ve sworn that she heard Asami mutter “trespassing” under her breath.
“I’m actually very impressed with you got up that high,” Asami said, “Didn’t take you for much of a climber.”
“Are you kidding? Have you seen my guns?” Korra immediately yanked up her sleeves and flexed to her full capacity, “I could climb the Air Temple with these bad boys.”
“And I’m sure you will attempt to do so just to prove your point.” Asami said, looking slightly more pink in the face. Korra grinned and put on her best begging face.
“Soo can I come in?” She asked, “This branch leads right to your window, I think it’s destiny.” Asami bit her lip nervously and glanced back towards her bedroom door.
“My dad-”
“Is probably in a coma right now.” Korra interjected, “I can hear him snoring all the way out here.”
“I’m going to go check first,” Asami said, “Stay right there.” She crept out of the room, leaving Korra to relax against the tree trunk while she waited.
Mr. Sato had some definite beef with Korra. Which made sense because he was a cop and Korra was, well, something of a delinquent. They had crossed paths many times since Korra’s favorite past time had always been committing misdemeanors and avoiding the law. The first time she had gotten caught by Asami’s father was when she was spray painting abandoned buildings in downtown Republic City at the age of fifteen. Since then, it always seemed to be him that caught her doing illegal activities. Just months after the spraypaint incident, Mr. Sato had arrested her for illegally skateboarding on an art museum display. Then after that it was smoking cigarettes before she was eighteen, puling down another cop’s pants, the list went on and on.
All of these run-ins had given Korra a very bad attitude against cops and everyone associated with them. She hated the kids at school who had cop parents. They were always nasty and judgemental towards her and she suspected it was because the parents told their children to avoid her. All around they considered Korra nothing but bad news. So Korra hated those kids as much as she hated their parents.
There was only one exception to that.
Asami didn’t come into the picture until a couple months earlier. Korra was sitting in Mr. Sato’s office as he processed her release paperwork from her arrest earlier that day and Asami had come in to ask him something. Korra had been smitten from the moment she laid eyes on the girl who looked equally as flustered as her father took a break from chewing Korra out to answer his daughter’s question. After Asami had gone swiftly from the room, Mr. Sato resumed his furious lecture. But Korra didn’t hear another word of it.
She was in love with a police officer’s daughter.
Asami crept back in her room, signaling Korra to move closer.
“Okay, he’s asleep, you can come in but for spirit’s sake be quiet.” Asami whispered, throwing the window open wider. Korra crawled across the branch and slipped through the open window, landing noiselessly on Asami’s carpet.
“Quiet enough for you?” Korra asked, flexing her arms again.
“Such a show off.” Asami smiled and rolled her eyes, plucking a twig from Korra’s hair before pulling her in for a soft kiss.
“It’s really good to see you.” Korra said, feeling slightly dazed from the kiss, “It feels like it’s been ages.”
“It’s only been a couple days you know.”
“But it feels like forever.” Korra whined, “Just tell your old man that we’re dating so I can use the front door for once.”
“He’ll probably booby trap it.” Asami said matter-of-factly, turning back to her textbook, scribbling messy notes in the margin.
“I’m way too clever to get caught in a booby trap.” Korra said, brushing off the shoulder of her jacket, “I’m smooth like that you know. Sleek. Stealthy.”
“Oh most definitely.” Asami hummed, “I’m amazed that my dad has ever been able to catch you in the first place.”
“So what are you working on tonight?” Korra asked, shrugging off her jacket and tossing it over the bed.
“Some physics review sheets.” Asami said, rubbing a spot over her eye, “It’s a real headache.”
“Can I braid your hair while you study?” Korra asked, “I’m getting pretty good at it.” Asami nodded, gathering her books and taking a seat on the lush carpet in front of Korra.
Braiding hair was something of a habit that had developed between them over the months of Korra sneaking in. It was a quiet for them to enjoy each other’s company while Asami studied or did homework at night. Plus Asami’s hair was like really soft. Korra threaded her fingers through the dark locks and began to separate them into three’s, working silently while Asami scribbled away in her notebooks.
Their whole situation was frustrating to Korra who loved to be out and loud about her relationships. It was quite an adjustment to keep it hushed up and hidden away and even now she struggle to keep it quiet. Asami’s dad hated Korra with a passion and would probably go to extremes to keep them apart. It wasn’t easy to do things this way but it was better than being shut away from each other.
“I can’t focus.” Asami said in defeat, flopping back against Korra, “I hate physics.”
“You’re the one that wants to be an engineer.” Korra teased, “I told you we could rob a bank and spend our golden years on a beach in the Fire Nation but noooo.”
“Oh hush,” Asami said with a grin, playing with Korra’s hands, “You know I’m not built for crime.”
“But you’re built for being a grease monkey?” Korra said with a laugh, “Excuse me then.”
“You’re excused.” Asami said, “But I need to get up and put my books away before I forget.”
Two things happened very rapidly.
As Asami went to stand up, her elbow accidently dug into Korra’s incredibly ticklish ribs. Right on impact, Korra barked out an uncontrollable, ear-splitting laugh which echoed all around the house. She slapped her hands over her mouth as she and Asami stared at each other in horror, the sounds of snoring no longer floating in from the other room.
“You need to hide!” Asami hissed, dragging Korra off the floor and shoving her towards the open closet.
“Ow Asami wait!” Korra protested as she was practically smothered by Asami’s clothes.
“Don’t say a single word.” Asami pressed a finger over her lips, “I’ll let you know when it’s safe.” Korra gulped and nodded, suddenly engulfed in darkness as Asami slid the closet door closed.
“Asami are you alright?” She could hear Mr. Sato’s sleepy but suspicious voice, “I thought I heard someone yell.”
“I’m sorry dad that was my fault.” Asami said quickly, “I was watching a video on my computer and the volume was all the way up.” There was a brief, yet terrifying silence as Mr. Sato processed this story.
“Strange.” He said in a pondering voice, “Your window is open. Are those twigs on the carpet?” Korra heart was hammering in her throat, beads of nervous sweat breaking out along her forehead.
She didn’t want to die here, not in a closet surrounded by dresses and designer shoes.
“The breeze was nice.” Asami said, “But a bit overpowering. Must have blown in some sticks.”
“Who’s jacket is that?”
Korra’s entire body froze over and she could practically hear Asami panicking. How could she have forgotten about her jacket? Korra braced herself and waited for the closet door to be yanked open. Mr. Sato would certainly not hesitate to shoot her on sight for trespassing in his home.
“It belongs to my friend at school.” Asami said, clearly lying, “I put it on my bed so I wouldn’t forget to return it to her.”
Mr. Sato was either a very trusting man or too tired to comprehend the situation because Korra only heard him grunt and shuffle out of the room. It was still several minutes before the closet door finally slid open and Korra could breathe easily again.
“That was close.” She said with a sigh, heart still bumping against her ribcage.
“Way too close.” Asami said, still visibly shaken, “If he had checked the closet…”
“Hey come on it’s okay.” Korra soothed, pulling Asami into a hug, “We’re gonna be fine.”
“I don’t mean to sound like an ass but I think you should go.” Asami said, muffled against Korra’s shoulder.
“Agreed,” Korra said, “I’m way too young and beautiful to die.” Asami laughed gently, pulling Korra’s chin up for another kiss.
“I’ll see you soon.” She whispered. Korra shrugged her jacket back around her shoulders and perched on the window, giving Asami one final wave before jumping back into the tree.
Another thing they don’t portray in movies is how hard it is to climb a tree, but also how much harder it is to climb back down. Korra lost her footing almost a dozen times before she slipped halfway down and plummeted to the ground. Luckily she was able to break the fall with the roll but she still landed roughly on her back. She lay, sprawled out in the grass, with a dizzy smile on her face.
“The things I do for love.