A/N: Varrisami! Yay! I hope you all enjoy this little one-shot I wrote. I'm sorry if I made Varrick too sappy.
Disclaimer: I do not own LOK.
Asami and Varrick stood side-by-side, both bent over his desk and discussing a scroll that had complicated lines squiggled all over the surface of it. These lines happened to be all the routes the man owned and used for his shipping business, and they seemed endless to young heiress.
"This one leads to the fire nation, right? They're one of Future Industries biggest buyers of Satomobiles," Asami said, pointing a delicate finger to a thick line. Varrick nodded, inspecting the lines that intersected with it.
"Hm...I think it's free at the moment. I'm not sure if Cabbage Corp. has already got their deliveries to the capital yet. Or if anyone else's, for that matter." His mustache twitched as he thought back to his recent ships. There was Ming Lee's coats and Kion's shovels...but they were both headed to the Northern Water Tribe.
"Yes, I believe that will work," Varrick said finally, earning him a huge grin from Asami. Varrick's stomach did flip-flops in a way he hadn't felt since he was 14 and kissing his first real girlfriend.
He wasn't quite sure when his feelings towards Miss Sato had changed from partners to friends to something else Varrick was afraid to name. Truthfully, it had been a long time since Varrick had actually felt something real for another person. Sure, the people he hired were kind and always acted as if he were the Avatar or even someone greater...but that was because he signed their paychecks.
Miss Sato was a whole other probending game. Whenever he said something funny, she laughed and her bright green eyes got this twinkle that made Varrick want to lose himself in them. If he did something particularly eccentric, Miss Sato wouldn't edge away or get a nervous look on her face. No, she would smile softly and act as if he were completely normal.
And spirits was it a nice change.
"Varrick?" she asked, causing the man to blink and glance at her. She had a quizzical look on her face and he realized he must've been lost in thought. He tried to smile confidently.
"Just thinking, Miss Sato," he said, his eyes trained on the scroll.
"Please, we've been partners for a long time: call me Asami," she said with a small laugh. Varrick froze. Oh no. If he called her that, he'd be on a first name basis with her. And that meant he'd be falling deeper into the spell she'd casted over him. What was he supposed to do now?
"Yes, right! Er...Asami." There. He said it. And now she was looking at him funny. Did he have something in his mustache? He knew he should have told Zhu Li to hold the sauce on his noodles! But no, being the man he was he had decided to spoil himself and-
"You know, Varrick," said Asami softly, interrupting his panicked thoughts. "I feel like I've known you for longer than a month," she was toeing the carpet with her boots. "I mean, Korra says you're weird but I really don't think so. Eccentric? Sure, but that's different," Asami was rambling and Varrick wasn't quite sure what she was trying to say.
"The point is-" but she halted. Why couldn't she tell him? She was Asami Sato, heiress of Future Industries and she couldn't tell Varrick that...that...
She liked him as more than a friend? She pursed her lipstick covered lips and blurted:
"I really like you, Varrick."
Horrified, the young woman began straightening her coat. "I've got to go," she began to walk away, but Varrick's hand shot out and gripped her upper arm.
"I...Asami, that's fantastic!" Varrick said, his blue eyes bright. "I thought I was crazy, feeling that way, but if you like me then obviously I was wrong," he sounded a little smug about being wrong and Asami stared.
"You...you feel the same?" she whispered.
"I just said it, didn't I?" Varrick said with a half-smile that made him look much younger. Asami laughed, and she threw her arms around the man. Without thinking, she pressed a kiss into his lips.
The two froze. They gave each other wide eyed looks and Varrick felt a bout of déjà vu. The last time they'd been pressed nose-to-nose was when he'd accepted her as a shipping partner. Who knew it would end up like this?
Varrick had had his fair share of kisses, but Asami was nothing like them. Her lips were soft and she was very gentle, unlike the others who had assumed that Varrick was a rough man. Hesitantly, he kissed back and hoped she hadn't regretted kissing him in the first place.
The heiress wrapped her arms around the furry collar of his coat and Varrick hands moved automatically: one to tangle in her long hair and one on the small of her back.
Her locks were soft and Varrick idly wondered what shampoo he used as they kissed. Asami was obviously new when it came to things like this, so Varrick happily guided her on what to do. Although he'd never admit it, he wasn't much of a leader and having to help the woman along boosted his ego somewhat.
"Sir, when do you want..." The door of his office opened and the two sprang apart, Asami's lips slightly swollen and her hair mussed. Varrick faired no better. He stamped his foot on the ground and looked furiously at his pale assistant.
"ZHU LI YOU'RE FIRED!"
The woman scampered away and Asami stifled a laugh. "That seems a little harsh."
"She interrupted something very important," Varrick sniffed. She gave a mischievous grin.
"Nothing we can't continue. That desk is looking awfully comfortable..."