AN: Happy New Year! So here's just a quick oneshot with a little Korrasami and meeting between Asami and Kuvira. I have no complaints about the ending of the show, but I do think it would've been awesome to see these two interact. They're both just so composed and calculating.
Anyway, enjoy!
"Asami," the engineer began to stir at the sound of a very familiar voice calling out to her. "Asami, wake up."
"What?" Asami mumbled in confusion as her eyes fluttered open.
Her vision cleared to find herself with her head in her girlfriend's lap and the rest of her body sprawled out on the couch in one of Air Temple Island's many rooms. It was a little dark to see Korra's face clearly, but it wasn't hard to tell that she seemed concerned. The Avatar didn't jump to say anything though, she just kept running her fingers through the strands of hair that were loose from the engineer's ponytail.
"Sorry, I can't believe I fell asleep on you again," Asami apologized. "How long was I out?"
"Not that long. I just figured I should wake you up in case you wanted to head back to your place. It's getting late. And don't worry about it."
"Then why do you seem so worried?" Asami asked gently, sitting up so she could face Korra more properly.
"That's the second time this week you have fallen asleep on me. And even when you're not asleep, you seem distracted. You were fine when we were in the Spirit World but ever since we've gotten back you haven't quite been yourself."
"I-I don't know what's…"
"Asami, are you sure you're okay? I know Raiko is putting you under a lot of stress to fix things but-"
"It has nothing to do with work," Asami cut her off. "This may sound stupid, but I think I'm still having issues with my father's death. I know I hated him for a while and everything but we just made up and-"
It was Korra's turn to cut her off. "That isn't stupid at all. But why didn't you say something when we were in the Spirit World?"
The older woman shrugged. "It was easy to forget about everything there. But since I've been back almost everything makes me think about him. I got over Future Industries reminding me of the man who got thrown in jail, but now I'm not used to it putting thoughts of the father I forgave into my head. And seeing all the wreckage in the city just reminds me of what Kuvira did to him too. It just makes me so angry. Things were finally getting better and that crazed dictator destroyed everything."
Wanting to show some sort of physical support, the Avatar pulled her girlfriend into her arms. "This may sound crazy, but do you think talking to Kuvira might help? Confronting Zaheer helped me finally move on."
Korra felt Asami tense in her arms. "I've never even spoken to Kuvira before. Why should I start now? I don't want to hear what she has to say."
"Please try not to take this the wrong way and blow up at me," Korra treaded carefully, "but you didn't want to hear what your dad had to say for the longest time either and you forgave him. I'm not saying you should necessarily forgive Kuvira, but talking to her might do more than you would expect. Besides, what do you have to lose?"
"I guess it won't hurt. I'm willing to try anything that might finally get me sleeping regularly again."
"I would offer to come with you, but I think this is something you need to do on your own," Korra told her girlfriend as they stood in the entryway before Kuvira's cell.
"Thank you," Asami said, pressing a quick kiss to the younger woman's cheek. "For coming with me and for helping me convince Raiko into letting me visit her."
"Don't mention it," Korra assured her, gesturing for the woman to head toward the cell.
The cell had two doors made entirely of platinum to get through. The only way to get through them was airbending into certain pipes to get the gears to move. The engineer couldn't help but notice how well thought-out the system was. Her awe didn't last long before the guards were letting her into the cell before closing one of the wall-like doors behind her.
Asami wasn't quite sure how she had expected to find the former empress. Dancing around the entirely platinum cell would not have been her first guess though.
"Killing time?" Asami called out to the other woman who hadn't seemed to notice her yet. With how loud the doors were, the prisoner must've just assumed it was a guard coming in for some reason. Despite her effort, the engineer found herself unable to keep all of her bitterness out of her tone.
Clearly the metalbender was surprised. "I have years worth of time to kill until the end of my sentence. I guess I can spare some of that time to speak with the head of Future Industries."
"Oh, so you do know who I am." The remark was biting.
One of the things Asami hated most about Kuvira was that they had never even spoken. Asami had lost her father to someone who had never said a single word to her. Throughout all the politics and battles the two women had not interacted, yet one had fallen victim to the other.
"Of course I know who you are," Kuvira stated, curiosity creeping into her voice. "You're a big name in more places than just the United Republic. And I know you know who I am, so why are we playing this game?"
Asami avoided the question. "Pretty nice jail cell for everything you've done."
Kuvira didn't understand what the CEO was playing at, but she went along with it. "Turning myself in willingly and calling off my army went a long way. I'm not chained down in here and the place is even a little furnished. So why don't we take advantage of that and have a seat?"
An arm extended to gesture toward the small table and chairs off to the side. Both women moved slowly toward the furniture, eying each other to make sure the other wasn't about to attack.
"So may I ask what you are doing here, Ms. Sato?" Kuvira questioned, her posture as rigid as the way she had run her army. The cheap linen clothes she wore didn't match the regal way the woman carried herself.
"Asami," the engineer insisted. Normally she wouldn't correct the use of the more formal title, but hearing that woman use her last name made the normally composed CEO want to hit something.
Kuvira found it odd as well, but relented. "Asami it is then."
"It infuriates me that you can't even guess why I am here."
"Well, I could guess a lot of reasons. But I don't think I have the right one. After all, you're a businesswoman. I was expecting you to cut to the chase."
The former empress wasn't even really trying to anger Asami, but she kept managing to hit the right nerves.
"Fine," the engineer spat. "After the battle, Korra told me about what went down between you two in the Spirit World."
At the mention of the Avatar, Kuvira's brow had quirked like she knew something. Asami didn't doubt that she had somehow heard about their relationship considering it had already blown up in the news.
"So you know the reasoning behind my actions now? I still don't quite understand what that has to do with you."
"All these years and being orphaned as a child still has left that deep of scars in your mind."
Now Asami had struck one of the metalbender's nerves, a scowl appearing on her face. "Can you really blame me for that?"
The engineer's eyebrows drew sharply together. "Oh, trust me, I certainly empathize with you there. But what I can't understand is how someone who was so traumatized by that could go around turning other people into orphans!"
Asami was surprised by how her voice had risen and how forcefully she had planted her hands on the cold table.
It took more than a minute of silence, but Kuvira put everything together in her head. "Your father was still in that flying mecha suit that got crushed."
"So are you happy now?" Asami all but growled. "You not only spread your ideals, but you also passed on your pain to others."
"Don't compare the two of us," Kuvira hissed, her defenses rising. "Everyone knows the story of how you lost your mother when you were young. And now your father was also taken from you. You weren't cast aside like I was!"
"That's where you're wrong. My mother never cast me aside. But my father certainly did when he fought alongside Amon. Actually he didn't just throw me aside; he tried to kill me! It took me more than three years to forgive, but I finally did just in time for you to take him away again."
It was quiet for a long time after that. This didn't particularly surprise Asami. She knew Kuvira was very touchy about the orphan thing, but her and Korra had been able to talk things out in the end. So apparently she could see reason to an extent.
"Asami, I never meant for any of that to happen," the former empress spoke up quietly. "For what it's worth, I am truly sorry for your loss."
Asami still wanted to be furious. She wanted to hold onto her hate for Kuvira instead of accepting her grief for the father she had loathed for so long. But now that this broken woman had pushed aside her own pride to apologize, the engineer almost felt sorry for her.
"I-I appreciate that," Asami stammered. It wasn't the easiest to admit, but it was true.
"You should go," Kuvira told her. "I don't need the Avatar getting impatient and storming in here thinking I tried to hurt you."
With nothing else left to say, Asami knocked on the door for the guards who quickly opened the entrance and allowed her in. Soon enough, she was face-to-face with Korra once again.
Not a word was spoken between the couple for their entire trip back to Air Temple Island. Asami didn't offer up information and Korra didn't push. The only contact between them was their laced hands as they made their way to Korra's room on the island, surprisingly not passing anyone else on their way there.
The instant the door shut behind them, the engineer threw herself into her girlfriend's arms and cried. She hadn't really let herself cry since her father's death until this point, so she couldn't stop the endless stream of falling tears. Now that she wasn't holding onto so much hate for Kuvira, she could truly grieve Hiroshi's death.
Korra wasn't sure if she should be worried about what happened between Asami and Kuvira, but she figured the older woman would tell her soon enough. So for the time being she guided them to the bed to sit comfortably on as she held her crying girlfriend until the tears finally managed to stop falling.
Things weren't perfect yet, but the engineer finally found herself in a place where she could begin healing.