Amethyst

A/N: You guys are amazing. Thanks to every single one of you guys, you have made Amethyst the FIRST Irosami fic to reach 100 REVIEWS! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Like I said before, I'll be gone for a couple days, but I'll be back on Sunday! Enjoy this chapter. :)

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prepared

Asami told herself she would be prepared when he returned. She had the whole thing planned out in her mind: she would have her hair nicely combed and pinned back, dinner reservations already booked and she would meet him at the docks when he arrived. The details were important to her, but they changed everyday when she had time to day dream. She was somewhere between wearing a braid or leaving her hair down when she realized all that preparation wouldn't even matter.

She was lying down on a sliderboard under a Satomobile, fixing the axel connections between the front and rear tires when Bom, one of her favorite factory workers, squatted down next to the car to get her attention.

"Boss," he said with a slight whistle through the gap in his teeth. "There's someone here to see ya."

"I'm a little busy right now," she said with a grunt, cranking her wrench with both hands. "Tell them to come back later."

He seemed to hesitate, his head disappearing above the car for a moment before reappearing again. "Um, I dunno if that's a good idea."

She gave an annoyed sigh, shooting him a glare. "Look, unless its the Fire Lord himself, I'm not getting out from underneath this car."

"Well then you should probably get out from underneath that car," Bom responded smartly. She gave him a sharp, unamused look, but pulled herself out from under the car. She sat up on her sliderboard with a sigh, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. She looked less than professional in her grease-stained overalls tied around her waist, and her snug-fitting white tank damp with her sweat. She was gritty and gross, and her hair was tied in a knot atop her head, but if this person insisted to see her now this is the Asami Sato they were going to get. Tugging off her thick work gloves and sticking them in her back pocket, she made her way toward the entrance to her factory.

When she moved into view, she realized there was quite a commotion stirring up by the open bay doors. Workers, mainly the women but there was still quite a handful of men, were crowded around, talking loudly, laughing and carrying on like they didn't have a job to do. Frowning, Asami strode over to the group, hands on her hips.

"I hope I'm not looking at my workers not doing their job," she stressed loud enough for the people to hear. They started to part warily when she approached, but nobody moved away. She sent the lingering workers an authoritative look, but they either avoided her eyes or shrugged sheepishly. Frowning, she turned to glare at the newcomer who was interrupting her business. It was hard to hide her embarrassment when her glare gave way to a furious blush.

Iroh gave her a quirky grin and the people in the crowd around them started to laugh at their reactions. Asami tried to glare at them, but her wide grin discredited any malice she had behind the look. She stared up at Iroh, surprised and hardly able to contain her excitement at seeing him.

"You're here earlier than I expected," she commented. He gave her a quick once-over and she self-consciously tried to rub the grease off her cheek. Oh how she wished he had come at a better time!

"I do apologize," he said, but he didn't look all that sincere about it. He lifted his hand and offered her a beautiful tigerlily that she hadn't noticed at first. "Will you forgive me?"

She took the beautiful flower and couldn't resist the soft, girlish giggle that escaped her smiling lips. "I suppose I could let it slide…"

He grinned. The crowed laughed and a few catcalls whistled through the air. Someone in the back shouted out "Give us a kiss!" which ignited blushes on both their cheeks. Asami laughed, and decided to oblige for once, taking Iroh's uniform coat into her fingers and pulling him down to place a chaste, appreciative kiss upon his cheek. The crowd cheered and her heart gave a weird flip when she noticed that his smile matched the spark simmering in his golden eyes.

"Okay, okay, enough of this," she said with a laugh, hiding her blush by facing her employees. They all gave her various looks of encouragement and happiness that warmed her heart. "Hurry up and get back to work or I'll make you all work overtime for slacking off on company hours!"

They laughed at her attempt to be stern, but did what they were told, a few of them giving her a few parting words that gave her the impression that they really liked the man that stood beside her. She took a moment to feel the soft petals of the tigerlily between her fingers before giving him a sidelong glance. He was still smiling.

"Don't get comfortable," she warned him lightheartedly. "You're not coming here ever again. I'll never get my employees to do anything with you around."

"Somehow, I doubt that its actually my fault," he said with a cheeky smile. She rolled her eyes but knew he was right. She would have to give her workers a reminder not to involve themselves with her personal life anymore, but, given the circumstances, she supposed she could let it slide for now.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A/N: By the way guys, in case you didn't hear, Nick has ordered more episodes of Korra. So we're getting four books, not just two! 52 episodes is enough for Irosami to happen, right? Right? Anyway, I'll see you guys again on Sunday. Please review!