Title: Expectations

Pairings: Kuvirasami, past Korvira (one-sided)

Universe: Canon – post-Book 4

Summary: It had been over a year. She had had her time to grieve. But she knew she would never move on if she did not confront the person who had caused her all this pain. Asami Sato didn't know what to expect when she visited Kuvira for the first time, but giving Kuvira a second chance certainly wasn't one of those things.

POV: Third person omniscient though more focused on Asami

Rating: T

Trigger warning: Mention of self-harm

A/N: So I've decided to try my hand at writing some canon Kuvirasami and what a visit between Asami and Kuvira might be like.

I can't imagine I'll add any romance in here, but I will put the romance in a second part/continuation of this. I'm doing two parts mainly because I don't want to end up with one huge short. Plus, it also gives me more time to plan out how I want to develop a romantic relationship between Kuvira and Asami. It was easier to incorporate romance into my first Korvira short because Kuvira and Korra already had a connection. But with Kuvira and Asami…it'll be a slow-build, so expect some angst and that feeling you get when you're like 'just kiss already!'

Happy reading!

"You'll discover that real love is millions of miles past falling in love with anyone or anything. When you make that one effort to feel compassion instead of blame or self-blame, the heart opens again and continues opening." – Sara Paddison

She didn't know what to say to Korra. She was frozen in place, just staring out at the Avatar and the other woman who had accompanied her today.

Once every week, Korra would visit her. No one else. Kuvira wasn't complaining about that. In fact, she was rather happy that none of the Beifongs had attempted to visit her. She wouldn't have known what to say or do. How could she explain her actions to them? How could she apologize? How could she expect forgiveness from them?

Korra was the only one who cared about her. The Avatar truly made an effort, and with a little time, she was able to forgive Kuvira. Of course, Korra would always remember what Kuvira had done. After all, Republic City was still rebuilding certain areas. But Korra let go of any anger or hatred towards Kuvira…if there had even been hatred to begin with…

But now, after all those visits, after all those late nights talking about random things until one of them fell asleep before the other, Kuvira felt betrayed. She knew she had no reason to feel this way. But to see Asami Sato standing there – the woman whose life she had destroyed – and to know that Korra willingly brought her, knowing the pain it would cause Kuvira, the metal bender couldn't help but feel a flare of anger.

"Why is she here?" Kuvira got out. Her voice was raspy and tired, as it had almost always been since she was put into prison, into solitary confinement, into a dark cell where she was slowly beginning to lose the little sanity she had left.

"Kuvira…" Korra started, pausing as she carefully chose her words. "Let me explain. She wanted to come with me. I thought it might be a good idea to - ,"

"To what?" Kuvira cut off. "To put a living reminder of the lives I tore apart right in front of me? To torment me with seeing the face of the woman whose family I completely destroyed?"

"Kuvira, no…please just listen." Korra took a few steps so she was standing in front of Kuvira and rested her hands on the metal bender's shoulders. "She wants to talk to you. She's been trying hard but…part of her still isn't over it."

Korra used the small moment being so close to Kuvira to give the metal bender a once over. She knew that since Kuvira was in solitary confinement, she wouldn't run into any trouble with the other inmates of the prison. But still…Kuvira was clever; she found ways to punish herself…

"I haven't done anything…if that's what you're wondering," Kuvira muttered as she easily noticed Korra's eyes scanning her body for any sign of physical harm.

The Avatar nodded. "Okay…just making sure."

"Will you be in here with me?"

"No. This is something you two need to handle," Korra responded.

Kuvira nodded to show her understanding, and she glanced over Korra's shoulder at Asami. Already, she felt the tears in her eyes. But even though her vision was slightly clouded by her tears, she could clearly make out the disdain written across Asami's face.

Korra left the room pretty quickly. Yes, she knew this was an issue Asami and Kuvira needed to address alone, but at the same time she also just didn't want to be present for the first meeting between the two women. She could already feel the tension between them once she brought Asami into the room. She could only imagine what would be said between them once she walked away.

"Why…Why are you here?" Kuvira got out softly, trying to hold back a cry before she quickly avoided her eyes from Asami's.

Neither woman had moved once Korra left. Kuvira stayed positioned behind the small table in her room, and Asami stayed put by the door. It wasn't just tense. It was something entirely different. Kuvira could actually feel all the silent, unspoken emotions coming from Asami. The sadness, the pain, the anger, the hatred…Kuvira could sense it all.

"Korra told you…I wanted to talk," Asami said back. Her voice was cold, unwavering, and it sent a chill down Kuvira's spine. Asami took a seat on the opposite side of the table, her green eyes hard and expressionless as she looked back at Kuvira.

"What is there to talk about? I…I killed…" Kuvira never finished her sentence. She nearly broke into tears at the thought. With Asami here now, she was reminded of what she truly was: a murderer.

Not only that, but she had taken away the last piece of Asami's family. She knew about what had happened to Asami's mother. She knew how much Hiroshi mattered to Asami. Even after he was thrown in jail for joining the Equalists, she knew Asami still cared about him. No matter how much Asami might have hated him for what he had done, Kuvira knew that Asami still loved him. Deep down, Asami needed Hiroshi, because he was the only family she had left.

"I-I didn't even know…" Kuvira continued. She was falling into her own mind. The voices inside her head that tormented her most nights during her imprisonment were quickly surfacing. And they were destroying her. "I-I thought it was just…you and Varrick. I didn't even know…he was out of prison. I didn't find out until…until Korra told me…"

"It doesn't excuse the fact that you murdered my dad!" Asami shot back. There was emotion in her eyes now. But Kuvira didn't see any pain or hurt now. There was only pure anger and hatred. "You just killed him and kept going! Do you have any idea what that did to me?! He was all I had left, and you just - ,"

"And do you know what it did to me?!" Kuvira cried, looking back into Asami's eyes now, her own filled with tears, guilt, and pleading for something she knew she would never receive from Asami. "You shouldn't have to know what it's like to live without both of your parents! You shouldn't have to know what it's like to live without people who are supposed to love you unconditionally! Who are supposed to care about you no matter what! And I-I took that away from you…"

"Do you really expect me to care about how you're feeling?" Asami said, keeping her voice as steady as possible as she glanced away from Kuvira. The metal bender's words got to her, but she would never let it show. "You should feel guilty about it. You should realize what you've done. I refuse to pity your own feelings, because I know that - ,"

"I don't want your pity. I just want you to listen," Kuvira said, her voice softer now and she kept her eyes trained on the floor. "I don't expect you to forgive me. I just expect you to try to understand…"

Asami sat in silence for a few minutes. She steadied her breathing, cleared her thoughts, and tried to formulate something to say. Quite frankly: She couldn't.

She had expected Kuvira to be emotionless about the subject. After all, she had watched as Kuvira blasted her spirit canon through Republic City, incinerating anyone in its path and not even blinking an eye at the destruction she had caused. She had seen the ruthless dictator murder innocent people and hurt the ones closest to her.

But now, Asami did not see the Great Uniter. Instead, she just saw Kuvira. She saw a woman in front of her, beaten and broken by her own mistakes. She saw a woman tormented by her own thoughts of the horrible things she had done.

Still though, forgiveness would not come that easily. Kuvira had killed Hiroshi. He was all Asami had left. Sure, she had Korra and Mako and Bolin and plenty of other people who cared about her immensely. But a parent's love is different. A parent's love for their child is an indescribable bond that can never be broken even through death. But still…Asami had just managed to forgive her father, only to have him torn away from her.

And as much as Asami wanted to say something, do something to Kuvira to beat her down again, to make her feel like nothing, like her heart was being torn out of her chest, to make her feel the way she had felt when she watched her father die…she couldn't.

"If you had known my father was in that hummingbird suit with me…would you have still killed him?" It was all Asami could manage. Her thoughts were so jumbled, so distraught…and right now, the only thing she was truly motivated about was proving to herself that Kuvira wasn't the monster she thought she was.

Kuvira sat down across from Asami, and the young engineer could see the thought displayed on Kuvira's face. She noticed the way Kuvira's eyes darkened as she thought, the way the metal bender's muscles tensed slightly as she tried to think of the right words to say. After a few moments of tense silence, Kuvira spoke up.

"I can't tell you what I would have done. Back then…that was the Great Uniter. And she was so caught up in her goal of uniting the entire Earth Kingdom that she would have let nothing stand in her way. But I can tell you that I, Kuvira, am sitting in front of you now, and if Kuvira had known your father was in that suit with you, she would never have killed him.

"She would have found another way to stop him, because she knew how you lost your mother. She knew how much Hiroshi meant to you despite some of the things he had done in the past. She knew that he was the only family you had left. Because Kuvira was abandoned by her parents at a young age, and she grew up never knowing what a parent's love truly was, she would have never wanted you to suffer that pain too. But the Great Uniter distanced herself from that pain. Pushing it to the back of her mind made it easier to move forward with her plans.

"But the Great Uniter was stopped. By you. By Korra. By your friends. Kuvira was left behind once the Great Uniter was destroyed. And that's the woman sitting in front of you right now, Asami. I'm Kuvira…not the Great Uniter. And as Kuvira, I can tell you that what I did to you, the pain I caused you, has haunted me ever since I found out your father was in that hummingbird suit with you. And I can also tell you that I don't expect any forgiveness from you, because I don't even think I'll be able to forgive myself."

"So…how did it go?" Korra asked tentatively. She had stayed close to Kuvira's room just in case, and she had heard the yelling that followed not even two seconds after she left. But after a little while she didn't hear any yelling or…anything that would suggest either woman had tried to kill each other, so she was able to relax. But still, she was worried about both Kuvira's and Asami's mental state following this meeting.

Asami hesitated a little, trying to find the right words to describe the extreme rollercoaster of emotions she had just experienced.

"It…actually went better than I had expected," is what she finally settled on.

"I didn't know she was abandoned," Asami said.

She had been talking about her meeting with Kuvira for the last hour with Korra, and now she finally brought up the topic that actually got to her. It shocked and confused her that she actually had something in common with Kuvira. Asami always thought that when she saw Kuvira in prison, the metal bender would still be the same crazed sociopath she had seen in Republic City. But in reality, Kuvira was just as vulnerable as Asami.

"How could you have known? I never told you, and the fact that she willingly opened up to you like that tells me that she must find some level of trust in you," Korra answered, giving Asami a soft smile.

"Why would she trust me?"

"Because she wants your forgiveness. Even though she might not admit it, and even though she'll tell you otherwise, if you forgive her it will help her to forgive herself."

"I just…I'm still confused…" Asami mumbled, and she glanced down to the floor in thought.

"About what?"

"About why she did what she did."

"Then maybe you should ask her."

Kuvira wasn't expecting Asami to return two weeks later. The young CEO of Future Industries had every right to hate Kuvira for the rest of her life. Asami had every right to get whatever revenge on Kuvira she wanted to. And in all honesty, Kuvira was disappointed that she would probably never see Asami again until she got out of prison…and that was still another long twenty-four years to go.

Kuvira flinched slightly when the large platinum door to her room was opened.

"Kuvira…you have a visitor," the guard said.

But Korra already visited me yesterday…I don't understand why anyone else would – oh…

"Uh…Asami…you um, you're here again…"

Kuvira had no idea why she was so flustered all of a sudden. Sure, her history with Asami wasn't so good, but not even Korra had this effect on her. There was something so intimidating about Asami. She had the appearance and confidence that would demand the attention of anyone she met. And she certainly had Kuvira's.

"Yeah…I realized that our last meeting together was sort of all over the place," Asami said. Her voice didn't carry the same chilling, distant tone like it had the last time. It was softer, safer, and almost sounded apologetic. "I guess I'm still confused about…everything you did. I remember meeting you when Korra first came to Zao Fu. You were so…mellow and easygoing. I just never would have expected…"

"I get your confusion," Kuvira replied. "In a way, I'm still confused about everything that happened too. I just wanted to help my people. I had enough influence. People respected me enough. I just – I got too caught up in what my ending goal was. For me, the ends justified the means. I know it shouldn't have been that way. But I guess that's what happens when you give someone a little too much power than they're used to."

Asami was left speechless, and this wasn't the first time Kuvira had had that effect on her. Even though Kuvira's voice sounded tired and broken in a way, Asami would never fail to be captured by the metal bender whenever she spoke. Kuvira was intelligent, insightful, and honest with her words, and it always struck a chord in Asami to hear Kuvira continue to sound confident with what she was saying.

"Has Suyin visited you? Or…anyone…from the Beifong family?" Asami asked suddenly. She knew it was random, but she really couldn't think of anything to say back to what Kuvira had just told her.

Kuvira glanced up at Asami, her eyes meeting Asami's slightly darker shade of green than her own. Asami sensed that Kuvira was silently asking her 'Why do you care?' And if Asami could actually manage to form a coherent thought in her head right now, she would have replied with 'Because I think I might actually care about you.'

"Um…Opal actually visited a few days after you came here for the first time," Kuvira replied before she looked away from Asami. By the short answer Kuvira gave, Asami could tell this wasn't something Kuvira wanted to talk about.

The young engineer could see the pain in Kuvira's eyes no matter how well the metal bender tried to hide it. Asami had been there before – hiding her pain behind an expressionless mask, so she had gotten pretty good at reading people's eyes over the years.

"Sorry…" Asami started. "I didn't mean to…bring up something you don't want to think about. It's just that after everything you had with Baatar Jr. and…ya know…"

"You want to ask something else, so just go for it."

"Did you just string him along? Or did you actually love him?"

There. She said it. Asami could understand Kuvira's strained relationship with Suyin, but Baatar Jr. didn't make any sense. They were engaged after all. And whether Kuvira loved him or not, Asami still would never understand why Kuvira chose to fire that spirit canon at all of them.

"Trust me, Asami…I did love him. Just…not in the way he loved me. So I guess it was a little of both," Kuvira answered honestly. "I recognized that he had strong feelings for me, so I sort of played along. I knew his intelligence would be useful later on. Plus, he did have the same feelings about wanting to stabilize the Earth Kingdom as I did, so I sort of assumed he would come with me anyway.

"I honestly wasn't expecting him to ask me to marry him, but when he did…turning him down at that point wouldn't have been a good option. Baatar was smart; he would have guessed that something was wrong."

"But…for him to have asked…you two must have been something in Zao Fu?"

"Yes, we went out on dates and did things normal couples would do. But I don't know what I did for him to have those feelings for me. I mean, we really didn't do anything too romantic with each other…"

"Well…you happen to be a very manipulative person," Asami said, and she immediately regretted to words once they left her mouth.

Kuvira just raised an eyebrow at Asami, her lips remaining in a firm line.

"So you're saying I manipulated him into falling for me?" the metal bender returned, keeping her eyes on Asami.

"N-No…I didn't mean it like that. It's just that…you're…well, you can be very charming when you want to, so I'm sure that - ,"

"Oh, so now you think I'm charming?" Kuvira was having more fun with this than she thought she would. Even though she didn't come into contact with Asami that much during the engineer's time in Zao Fu or during her campaign, she still had never seen Asami so flustered before. It was funny to see, so Kuvira continued. "Ya know…that is a common trait in sociopaths. They're extremely charming and can mirror the personalities of those around them to get what they want. Would you say I fit into this category?"

Asami couldn't manage to look at Kuvira. She was too busy trying to hide the blush coming to her cheeks and to stifle a laugh. She shouldn't be letting Kuvira have this effect on her. She shouldn't find something Kuvira says funny in any way. This was her father's murderer. She shouldn't laugh. Instead, she should still be angry. But for some reason Asami just couldn't find it in herself to project any rage towards Kuvira in this moment.

"I don't think you're a sociopath," is what Asami finally settled on.

"Did you think I was while I was the Great Uniter?" Kuvira asked, and suddenly the air in the room was serious and solemn again.

Funny how things can change so quickly with a small shift of topic, Asami thought. Well…not funny as in 'ha-ha' funny…just, a confusing, ironic funny, I guess.

Asami shook her head. "Honestly, I didn't. I won't lie, I did think you were crazy for a little while though. But eventually, I just saw that you were misguided. Your goals and ideals were morally good, but your actions to get there weren't. I think part of that reason is because you were young, Kuvira…and you still are. You're…what, almost twenty-three, right?" Kuvira nodded.

"So we're the same age," Asami continued. "You were a little young to be the dictator of an entire kingdom, and I was a little young to be a CEO of the biggest company in all the nations. But the difference was that you didn't have any elders to guide you. You were on your own. I wasn't. I had plenty of people to help me out.

"Of course, this doesn't excuse any of your actions. Nothing does. But…I guess it does help me to see things from your perspective a little more."

Kuvira lifted her head at this, her eyes meeting Asami's in another rare moment in which the two women tried to communicate without any words. Unfortunately, it didn't work out too well for either of them, and after a few more moments of silence, Asami spoke up again.

"I was just…so closed-minded to how this affected you, Kuvira. It wasn't like me. I'm usually the person to try and understand others so I can understand their actions. And for some reason, I didn't do that with you. Maybe it was because of what you did to me emotionally. Losing my father so quickly took a toll on me, and I must admit part of me is still getting over his death.

"But after I first visited you, I knew I was approaching this all wrong. I shouldn't be angry at you. I shouldn't hate you. I shouldn't - ,"

"You have every right to hate me," Kuvira interrupted, keeping her eyes on Asami. Her expression had softened a little with Asami's words. She never expected the young CEO to show her any compassion at all, but Asami proved her otherwise. "Asami, what I did to you is unforgivable, and I don't blame you if you never - ,"

"I want to forgive you, Kuvira."

"Wha-but, you can't possibly mean that. I'm not even expecting you to - ,"

"Everything about our meetings so far has been pretty unpredictable, unexpected, don't you think?" Asami glanced to Kuvira with slightly quizzical eyes. "I came here wanting to lash out at you. I came here thinking I could get some kind of revenge on you and make you feel the pain I felt that day. But once I saw you, I realized that you had already done that to yourself. You mentally tortured yourself for over a year, and part of me still thinks you do. And no matter how horrible some of your actions were, no matter how angry I am about what you did to me…no one should have to suffer that pain."

"How can you forgive me when I can't even forgive myself?" Kuvira got out, her voice cracking slightly at the end as she tried her hardest to hold in her tears. Korra was the only person who showed her compassion after what happened over a year ago. But now, here was Asami, letting Kuvira know that while the pain of losing her father was still there, she still wanted to make an effort to forgive Kuvira.

"I can imagine having someone with you on the road to forgiveness makes it a little easier…a little more bearable," Asami answered. "I know that Korra has helped you a lot. She tells me often about the improvements you've made with you mentality about certain things. I want to help too. It won't do either of us any good if I just sit here with any rage or hatred I might still hold towards you. I need to get over this, and so do you. We can only do that together."

Kuvira sat in silence, swinging her legs a little over the edge of the small bed in her room. She took the time to think about what Asami had said to her. She almost didn't believe it. And now it was her turn to be left speechless.

Asami waited for a response. In fact, she was kind of expecting one. But then again, everything with Kuvira so far had turned out exactly the opposite of what she had expected. And Asami was so caught up in her anticipation, her expectation for a response, that she nearly missed the soft 'thank you' from Kuvira.

It had been two weeks since Asami's last visit with Kuvira. Asami had wanted to go last week with Korra, but the infrastructure project she was working on had kept her from doing much outside of it. But she hit a road block recently with the project.

Some of the larger buildings that had been destroyed during Kuvira's trek through Republic City over a year ago still needed to be rebuilt. Asami had found a way to make the buildings stronger and able to withhold more force. She wanted to reinforce the buildings with huge pillars of metal running through the foundation. The great part about this is that the metal beams would keep the building standing longer. People on her work force argued that a metal bender could just destroy the foundation if they wanted to, but that was not the case. The beams of metal being used to support these buildings were so tall and so dense, it took a team of ten metal benders to establish the first one.

And that's when another idea came to Asami. She wanted to get this project done within the next six months or so, and she would need much stronger metal benders than the ones she had now. Of course, she knew no one in her work force would approve of the idea, but if she had Korra's support with it, then maybe she would be able to pull some strings to make it happen.

"You want to get Kuvira out of prison?"

Asami glanced around nervously to make sure no passerby on the street might have heard Korra's outburst of shock.

"Shhhh! No one else can know about this," Asami said, her tone a little harsh.

"Okay, okay…sorry! It's just – okay, I like Kuvira, I really do, but do you honestly think you can pull something like that? Trust me, I'd love to have Kuvira out in Ba Sing Se and other Earth Kingdom towns to help me stabilize things, but the people…they'll never trust her that much."

Asami let out a soft breath and nodded. She knew it would be tough, but it was worth a shot.

"Look Korra, I really need some more help with this infrastructure project I'm doing. The metal benders that Suyin sent over from Zao Fu are good, but they aren't strong or skilled enough to get the job done in the time frame I need them to," Asami said back.

"And you think Kuvira will miraculously help that problem?"

"Yeah, I actually do. I've seen her before; I know she's probably one of the best metal benders in the world. And plus, I can't just watch her go insane in prison for the next twenty something years. She wants to help, and she certainly can't do anything in solitary confinement."

Korra raised an eyebrow at Asami before a playful smirk came to her face. She gave Asami a small nudge in her side before a light snicker escaped her.

"What?"

"I totally get it now," Korra said, trying to hold back her laughter. "You care about her."

"Wha-okay, I mildly care about her," Asami shot back.

"Hm…nah. I think you care about her a little more than that," Korra teased.

"What are you trying to say here?"

"You like her."

Now it was Asami's turn to raise an eyebrow at Korra. She folded her arms over her chest and kept her eyes on the Avatar. She was not giving in with this one.

"As in…you like like her," Korra elaborated. "As in…you have - ,"

"I know what you're getting at!" Asami snapped, but she wasn't able to hold in a soft laugh. "But for the record…you're wrong. I kind of care about Kuvira. I'm still working on forgiving her for what she did to me, but that doesn't mean I won't give her another chance. I mean, that's what you did. You forgave her and saw the good in her, right?"

Korra wasn't necessarily expecting Asami's question, and if it weren't for her darker skin color, Korra would have been beet red right now. But, the change in Korra's demeanor did not go unnoticed by Asami.

"Um…yeah…well, I just…saw that we were a lot alike and…I don't know. I knew she wasn't a bad person," Korra got out, tripping over her words the whole time.

And now, again, it was Asami's turn to tease Korra.

"Oh my goodness…you totally had a crush on her," she said, grinning at a now extremely flustered Korra.

"I did not!" Korra said back quickly. "I just…we talked a lot and I helped her out with things and…we're friends, okay? Just friends…"

Asami's expressions softened a little as she rested her hand on Korra's shoulder. "Hey…it's fine. I'm not…judging you for it or anything. I mean, it's just a little weird to think about because, ya know, you two did try to kill each other on multiple occasions, and here you are having crushes on each other."

"I had a crush on her…she never knew about it."

"Oh…well uh, at least you two are still close."

Korra nodded, and her mood quickly became more smug as she lifted her head to look at Asami. "I guess both of us have a thing for wickedly attractive, murderous, metal bending dictators then," she teased.

Asami couldn't help the blush that spread across her cheeks. "Korra…will you please stop with that? I told you, I just care about Kuvira. I can see that she wants to help, so I'm going to try and make that happen for her. This in no way means I have a crush on her."

Korra just rolled her eyes and gave Asami a playful shove. "Okay 'Sami. Whatever you say. But if you do manage to get Kuvira out of prison for the time you need her to work on this infrastructure thing, I wouldn't be surprised if, after a month or two, you come to me saying you want to ask her out."

Asami had tried for nearly three straight weeks to convince the guards at the prison to let Kuvira work on her infrastructure project. She asked every guard there. She kept track; and every one of them declined her request. They all thought it was too dangerous. They were all sure that Kuvira would try and escape or something crazy like that. Asami, of course, knew none of this was realistic thinking. Kuvira was way beyond the whole Great Uniter phase. Now, she just wanted to prove to the people of Republic City and the Earth Kingdom that she could be trusted. Her helping out with something like this was the first step in that process.

"Sir, I understand your concern, but Avatar Korra and I have been able to spend a lot of time with Kuvira, and we know she wouldn't do anything to put others in jeopardy anymore," Asami told one of the guards. She had already asked him last week, but she figured she would try her luck again.

"Miss Sato, I know how important this job is to you, but we cannot let a high-risk prisoner like Kuvira out," the guard said back.

"Yes, this job is extremely important, which is why I need Kuvira's skill." Asami was trying so hard not to lose her patience and just bust Kuvira out of the prison herself. "Suyin sent her best metal benders over from Zao Fu, but Kuvira is stronger than all of them. With her helping out, I can get this done in the time frame I've set."

The guard thought about Asami's words. He had declined her the previous week, but he was beginning to think that maybe he could grant Asami this one request.

"I-I'll have to think more about it," he answered. "I'll talk to a few other guys. Maybe we can arrange something."

"Thank you," Asami said. She was shocked to say the least. But she wouldn't let the guard know that. She had to keep her confidence and let him know that of course she would get her way with this. "Can I see Kuvira now?"

The guard nodded, and he escorted Asami past the rest of the regular inmate cells to the back of the prison where Kuvira's solitary confinement cell was.

Once she stepped into the room, Asami couldn't help the small smile that came to her face when she was greeted by Kuvira's eyes. They were stunning. A slightly darker shade of green than her own. And Asami found herself thinking that maybe she could get used to looking into Kuvira's eyes.

"Hey," Kuvira said, now sitting cross-legged on her bed. "You usually don't come for another couple days."

"I had to talk to one of the guards so I figured I would just drop by."

"About what?" Kuvira raised an eyebrow, her way of telling Asami that she wouldn't take any excuses to get around the real reason she was talking with a guard.

"Well…I'm working on this huge infrastructure project for a few larger buildings. I'm reinforcing them with huge metal slabs and beams, and the metal benders I have aren't necessarily the most efficient. So I'm trying to find a way to get you out of here whenever I need you to help work on the project," Asami answered.

"Wait…you can do that?"

"I'm Asami Sato; I can do whatever I want."

"Okay, whoa there…don't get your ego bloated. Last time I let that happen to me I tried to take over the entire Earth Kingdom and destroy Republic City with a giant spirit canon," Kuvira said. Her tone was half joking and half serious, and Asami didn't know whether she should laugh or not, so she just settled on a soft smile.

"Well…I'm just saying…I can probably get the guards to agree considering this is a project that benefits Republic City. I mean, we're reinforcing a few of the tallest buildings in the city. I need a metal bender with your skill and strength to sort of…push these other people along."

Kuvira nodded in understanding, her eyes never leaving Asami's. "I'll help you if they let this happen. I know it'll certainly give a boost to my own mental health. I now understand why so many people go crazy in prison."

"Well you are in solitary confinement with limited visitation rights. I can't imagine that helps."

"It makes it a lot worse," Kuvira admitted. "It gets rough sometimes…just alone with my thoughts. A lot of times I wish either you or Korra could just stay here constantly with me. At least then I would feel a little more tethered to some sense of sanity. And I wouldn't feel so alone…"

Asami felt her cheeks heat up slightly at Kuvira's confession about wishing she would stay, and she had to tilt her head down a little to hide her blush.

She knew she shouldn't be feeling this way about Kuvira, about the woman who had murdered her father. But Asami also knew that time passed and people changed. Clearly, she could see that Kuvira was a different person now. Kuvira regretted her decisions, and the only reason she had done what she had was because she didn't have any guidance and because she was given too much power than she knew how to handle. Kuvira wasn't a crazed sociopath like so many people still thought now. Kuvira was just a vulnerable human being with a rocky past and a lot of regrets, just like everyone else in the world. Asami recognized this.

So sure, maybe Asami was developing a friendship-but-still-keeping-at-a-fair-distance sort of thing with Kuvira. But there were moments like these when Asami couldn't help but think that maybe Korra was right.

Maybe there was something drawing her to Kuvira a little more every day.

It took two weeks for the prison to approve Asami's request to take Kuvira out to help with the infrastructure project. Asami had had to try her hardest to contain her happiness in front of the guards when they told her, but she was able to do it. It was only when she went to see Kuvira to tell the metal bender the news did she break her composure.

"It worked!" Asami exclaimed once she entered Kuvira's room. "They said you can help!"

"Wow…really?" Kuvira's eyes lit up at the thought, and even though she wasn't necessarily smiling, Asami had never seen the metal bender look so happy in all the times she had visited Kuvira in the past month. "That's amazing Asami. I-I can't believe they're actually allowing this."

"Well…of course they're taking precautions. You'll need to wear a platinum wrist band that tracks your location. They're still nervous you'll try something, but I trust you. I know you wouldn't."

"And face the wrath of Asami Sato? I wouldn't dare," Kuvira said back, and she couldn't help the smug grin that came to her face.

It almost infuriated Asami – both emotionally and, dare she say even sexually – how Kuvira could pull that kind of grin like they had been friends for years. Yes, they were moving in the right direction with each other, but Asami wouldn't say they were 'best pals' quite yet.

"But really…I don't know how to properly thank you for this," Kuvira continued, her expression softer now as their eyes met. "I-I never thought I would actually get a chance to prove myself to the people of Republic City. I never thought I would actually be able to help clean up the mess I created. But you're making all of that possible now. So thank you…"

Kuvira looked at Asami and smiled. It was real. It was genuine. And Asami had never seen a smile so beautiful before. And knowing she was the one able to make Kuvira smile like that pulled a little at Asami's heart.

"Come on guys! We need to get this beam up by eight tonight!" Asami yelled to the workers in the construction zone.

She had two groups of metal benders. Kuvira was with one of them. The other metal benders were skeptical about having the former Great Uniter work with them, but once they saw that she drastically improved the speed at which they got things done, they were glad to have her working with their team.

In fact, Kuvira's group already had their beam up, and a couple members of the group were working on straightening out the top of it.

"Seems like you held up well there," Asami commented to Kuvira as the metal bender grabbed a drink of water.

"I guess. I'm a little out of practice considering there was no metal in prison, but it feels good to be doing something productive with my time now," Kuvira responded.

"I'm glad to have you out here. Maybe you can give the other group some help. Because if someone doesn't, we'll be here all night, and I'm not exaggerating."

"Yes ma'am, Sato," Kuvira said back before heading over to the other team of metal benders.

Once Kuvira joined the work team a couple weeks ago, their progress increased immensely. They were able to finish setting up the foundation for one of the buildings, and now they were on to the second one. They only had two more, and Asami was positive they could get it done within the time frame she had set. They had another two and a half months to finish all of it, and judging by the progress so far, it would take them another couple weeks to finish this building's foundation.

Kuvira wasn't allowed to stay out at night, so Asami had to return Kuvira to the prison before ten every night. Asami didn't mind. In fact, she enjoyed it. It allowed her more time to spend with Kuvira, more time getting to know the metal bender, and more time to continue building a friendship with her.

"Well…you have a nice view."

Asami shook her head a little to clear her thoughts, and she looked up to wherever the voice was coming from. She was met with the bright blue eyes belonging to Korra. Asami gave a small smile to her best friend.

"Oh yes, because a construction site is absolutely breathtaking," Asami said back, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't mean that 'Sami; I mean that…" Korra nodded and pointed as discretely as she could – if Korra even had a definition of discrete – towards Kuvira's direction.

Asami just rolled her eyes yet again.

"You're honestly gonna tell me you haven't looked her way once this whole time?" Korra continued.

"Of course I've watched her a few times. I kind of have to keep an eye on her…for…safety reasons…" Asami trailed off. Why don't I just dig a hole in the ground and jump into it right now? Jeez…I'm never this obvious with my feelings, Asami thought, mentally slapping herself.

"Mhmm…keep telling yourself that," Korra teased.

"Oh my goodness. If you're trying to get me to admit that I checked Kuvira out at least once, it's not going to happen. Besides, that's extremely unprofessional. She's technically an employee of mine," Asami said with a small huff.

"Well…speaking of the eye candy so luckily bestowed upon you…" Korra nodded to Kuvira who was walking their way.

"Hey Asami," Kuvira started. "So, the beam is up. We can start on the third one tomorrow…and hey, Korra…nice to see you here."

"You too Kuvira," Korra replied. "I'm glad Asami was able to get you out for this. I can tell you're happier already."

Kuvira nodded and a small but genuine smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Yes…like I told Asami, it feels really good to do something productive now."

"Keep up the good work. I'll see you in a couple days," Korra said, standing up from the bench she and Asami were seated on. "In the meantime, I'm going to Air Temple Island to do some meditation with Jinora."

"Have fun," Asami said back, grinning playfully at Korra.

"No, no, Asami…you have fun," Korra responded, shooting Asami an equally playful grin as well as a knowing wink.

Asami rolled her eyes in response before she turned her attention back to Kuvira. "It's just past nine," she said to the metal bender. "Which means you have about an hour until I need to get you back for the night. You must be starving though…"

"Yeah…I am a little hungry. I didn't have a lot for lunch," Kuvira answered honestly.

Asami knew she would probably be stepping over some sort of imaginary line between friendship and potentially something more, but at this point she didn't care. She already knew she was in too deep. So she might as well just go for it.

"In that case…can I take you out for dinner?"

A/N: I know, I know…not that much happened. But this was necessary for a good foundation for the next part/continuation of this. It gives a good lead-in for me to develop a more romantic relationship between Kuvira and Asami. I imagine the second part will be longer since it will be more involved, and I will focus an equal amount of narration time of Asami and Kuvira as this one was more Asami-based third person.

Still…I think I was able to get enough emotions in there to imply that Asami is still cautious about trusting Kuvira, but at the same time she wants to because she's really unknowingly falling for Kuvira (and trust me, the same thing is happening with Kuvira).

So in your review, leave any suggestions/things you would like to see for the continuation of this!

Happy reading and ship Kuvirasami k thanks ;)

- A