[Years ago]

[ "Daddy?" a tiny voice had asked, accompanying the gentle tug on his long grey jacket.

Hiroshi turned to the source asking for his attention, only to find two bright green orbs staring back at him patiently.

He smiled warmly, crouching down to meet his daughter's height.

"Well if it isn't my favorite visitor," he said with delight, putting two big hands on either side of Asami's head and smoothing out her hair. He looked pleasantly surprised at the discovery—his daughter didn't often come to his room on a school night.

The hours Asami spent studying instead of playing were longer than that of a regular preschooler's. During the weekdays, she also attended private lessons and enrichment programs. She never once complained; the young student loved to learn and was diligent in completing all her assignments. As long as she was allowed to retire to her room, alone, at the end of the day, she was able to keep up with her busy routine.

Thus, the journey to her father's study occurred almost exclusively on weekends.

Yet it was a weekday evening, and here the little girl stood, shyly asking for his time: how could he refuse anything that innocent face requested of him?

The corners of the girl's lips turned upwards as she saw her father's face beam with happiness. Asami loved going to him when she needed someone to talk to—her father radiated pure joy every time he set his eyes upon her. The man leaned down and picked the five-year-old up, walking over to the leather armchair to set her on his lap. "Now, what brings my little girl all the way over here? You know daddy's room isn't as nice as yours, or mommy's."

"I like your room the best." The little girl said simply, curling into her father's chest and trying to wrap her arms around him. Her arm span barely reached his other shoulder.

"Is that so?" Hiroshi chuckled. His hand stroked her back soothingly, his palm almost as large as her entire torso. He closed his eyes as he hugged her, cherishing the physical manifestation of everything he held dear. The warmth from the fireplace enveloped the both of them, bringing their hearts even closer together.

Hiroshi sighed happily. Those were the only sounds he needed to hear to survive—the comforting crackle of flames, and his daughter's heartbeat.

His amber eyes glowed softly in the light as he leaned back to take a look at Asami. "…But there are no ribbons, no animals, no pretty things here to be found," he smiled again, reaching around her head to adjust her favorite red bow.

"But I like other things, too, daddy." Asami broke off her gaze and closed the space between them again, hugging his chest very tightly. She buried her face into his vest, like she had something to say but couldn't.

When she did finally speak up after a few seconds, a slightly fearful voice trickled out.

"…Is that okay?"

Hiroshi frowned for a moment. He thought his daughter came for a hug because she had missed him. But knowing how naturally independent Asami was, her current behavior struck him as odd. She didn't like to cuddle too much unless she had something on her mind. He gently tugged the child's grasp off his clothing for a moment, and set her back down on his knee, making her look up at him.

"Asami?"

The child's worried gaze met her father's momentarily before being immediately downcast. It only took one word from her father, prodding her to share her feelings, to instantly make the suppressed emotion well up again. Her bottom lip stuck out into a giant pout as her head hung low.

"Oh, honey," he said softly, immediately sensing her sadness. "What's wrong? You can tell me anything," he assured her, lifting her chin up again to gaze into those big green orbs thoughtfully.

The small child's pout puckered side to side as she nervously bunched the hem of her nightgown in her fists.

"…I wanted to play with the toy blocks at school today, but my friends ignored me," she sniffed. Her voice came out in a small whine as she recalled the rejection. She squirmed her shoulders up and down as her hands came together and she considered herself unsurely. "I waited for my turn but they never gave me a chance."

A look of realization crossed Hiroshi's face as his daughter recounted the day's events. She bowed her head even further as her voice came out in a tone so despondent, it almost broke her father's heart. "…Why would they do that?" she asked.

Her father's expression of concern turned into one of sympathy as he watched his daughter writhe in place, looking very distraught. She was normally a confident child, but this event seemed to hit her deeply.

Being made to feel out of place in a crowd never did self-esteem any favors.

He brought Asami further up on his thigh so he could explain how those types of interactions, however unfortunate and unfair, would be a normal part of life. He placed two hands on her shoulders and tilted his head down to see eye-to-eye with her.

These were the kinds of conversations that were the hardest to have.

"Well, you see, sweetie… Sometimes people make assumptions about others. Do you know what an assumption is?"

The five-year-old nodded. "It's when you think you know something about a person, but you really don't."

"Exactly," her father said, smiling again. Turning things into a learning opportunity for Asami had always been an easy task.

"Children," he continued, "Especially around your age, don't have such a large attention span. So, they operate on things they can make plain assumptions about."

He paused for a minute, looking around the room as if to find an example. "Things like… whether you're a boy or a girl, or… how old you are… or, your hair color… even what kind of clothes you wear." he cupped her face softly as he paused to see if she following.

"You mean… what I look like?" she asked, combing a hand once through her raven-haired locks, trying to understand.

"Yes," he said, running a thumb across her cheek. "Appearances play a big role in making assumptions about a person."

She was naturally elegant like her mother—attracted to all things fragile and beautiful. She often begged Yasuko to string bows into her hair for school or wind flowers into crowns when they had picnics outside. Her bedroom was lined with stuffed animals with friendly faces and charming figurines. In the center of it all was her bed's canopy; large, billowy, see-through curtains draped down from it, masking herself like a secret treasure.

She was thoughtful, taking great care in everything that she did or said. She was able to see things for more than what they first appeared to be.

There was only one word perfect enough to describe her spirit.

—Lovely.

Asami looked up at her father, this time with more curiosity.

"So they don't wanna play with me because I look… different? That… I wouldn't be good or fun at building blocks?"

Hiroshi squeezed both her shoulders lightly before answering, trying to cushion the blow of the disappointing truth. "That may very well be the reason," he said.

"Oh." Asami said in dismay, and a hurtful sensation formed in the pit of her stomach. She hung her head, feeling every bit of the sore pain caused by her father's irrefutable knowledge. So this was the sad reality of the world she lived in.

It wasn't normal for a girl like herself to be good at certain things.

Hiroshi watched his daughter take in the new information, her entire form practically wilting in the process.

The light that was usually present in Asami's eyes left immediately, and Hiroshi felt a part of his soul go with it as well.

As he thought about what to say next, his heart begun to swelter with passion and rage—he hated seeing that look on his daughter's face. More than anything, he wanted to protect his little girl from every injustice life had in store for her. For girls and boys like her—who could easily become discouraged from their dreams. Those that wanted to be a part of something but weren't allowed to participate because of the most trivial reasons…

He never wanted to see his daughter's eyes become dull with the absence of hope, ever again.

"You know… when I was a boy, I shined shoes for a living…" he began.

The child didn't look up, but he could tell she was listening because her shoulders stopped trembling.

"…My family was very poor, and I couldn't afford to go to school, or have fancy private lessons like the kids from successful, rich families could. But it was always a big dream of mine—to invent something that would revolutionize the way the common man moved around this earth. But no one cared about my ideas."

Asami shifted in his lap and slowly looked up at him. Who didn't care about her father's ideas? He was the most important man in the world. She rubbed her face, feeling slightly exhausted from this conversation.

"I was just a shoe shiner, after all. I didn't fit the image of a great inventor," he continued.

"But now you have Future Industries, daddy. And everyone knows how great you are." Asami said, wriggling up to her father and putting her arms around his stomach.

"Yes, but none of this would have even existed—my company, the Satomobile—had I allowed rejection to define me. I could only believe in myself and my capabilities, and have the faith that someday, if I kept working hard enough, things would work out." He paused, smiling down at the creation he loved more than anything in the world. "…And they did. Many years later."

The little girl nodded, her face still pressed into her father's vest. She still seemed disheartened, though some of her liveliness had returned as she squeezed his stomach tightly.

"Look at me, Asami," her father said, his voice becoming unusually firm with her, and she jerked her head up. "If there's one thing you should carry with you in this life, it is the willpower to never be discouraged by the actions of another." Asami gulped as their eyes connected. "Because that person is not you."

The little girl gave an obedient nod. Her father's features were strained, and she knew that meant he was saying something very important. She didn't quite understand everything he was telling her, but when her dad looked deep in concentration, that was her cue to tell him the truth.

Hesitantly, Asami pulled away from her father, and took out something from her nightgown's breast pocket. She held a balled up fist in front of him, and slowly uncurled her fingers, revealing a handful of miniature gears, springs, and screws. His eyes grew in size as he recognized the pieces of the wind-up toy she had asked for her birthday last year.

"What's this…?"

"I'm sorry daddy…" she said, looking at her hand and avoiding her father's gaze. "I wanted to see how it worked. So I took it apart. But I'm going to put the pieces back together."

Hiroshi was speechless. Asami had never expressed an interest in mechanics—had she been hiding it this entire time? He knew Asami had a whole set of figurines and wind-ups just like the one he gave her, lined up in her bedroom.

Everything was starting to make sense now.

"Did you… take apart the other ones you have as well?"

The little girl nodded, looking guilty. "I thought you would be mad if you found out… That's why I wanted to build something new with the blocks at school instead."

Asami slowly tried to meet her father's eyes, and was surprised when she saw the giant grin that had formed on his face.

For a while now, Hiroshi had been hesitant with naming and training the next heir to Future Industries. He had a couple employees in mind—people that had helped him build the company from the ground up. Of course, he would have preferred his successor to be someone from his own family, but he never wanted to force Asami into anything she didn't want to do.

However, this discovery changed everything.

"…So you like to see how the insides of things work—is that correct?" Hiroshi said, his face getting more excited by the minute as he formulated a new plan in his mind.

Asami smiled brightly upon seeing her father's positive reaction. "Yeah! It's my favorite thing to do!"

"And you've been doing this all by yourself, in your room?"

The girl nodded energetically.

Now that he thought about it, his daughter's math and science skills had always been exceptional.

Perhaps this idea really could work out, if she was willing.

"How would you… like to run my company some day, Asami?"

Her eyes grew as large as saucers, the pools of harlequin green expanding. She gasped slightly.

"Me…?"

"Yes, honey, I'm asking you," he put a hand on her shoulder. "But I don't want to push you into something you're not comfortable with. I'll give you some time to think about it. Then you can let me know, and if you think you're up for it, we'll get started as soon as—"

"Yes!" Asami shrieked, lunging towards her father's neck and grasping him closely. "Really daddy? You mean it? I can do it?"

"Yes, of course I meant what I said," he chuckled, sharing in his daughter's laughter and joy. "But that means we'll have to be spending more time together," he warned her.

The grip on his neck tightened exponentially, but only a soft voice came out to answer him.

"I love you so much, daddy." Asami said as she leaned forward and closed her eyes, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. She couldn't believe it—her father had saved her again.

"And I love you too, sweetie. Remember that." He kissed her head and combed his fingers through her long hair. He closed his eyes as well, allowing her to nestle in between the safety of his arms and his voice.

The room returned to the same silence it had when Asami had first arrived in his office.

Only her heartbeat could be heard over the comforting crackle of the flames.

Hiroshi tightened the hold he had on her back, and turned his lips to her ear, his voice just barely above a whisper.

"I will always love you." ]


"So, how are things going with you and Asami…?" Bolin asked Korra, just after the heiress and Mako left the crowd to get more snacks.

The younger brother turned to the Avatar as he sipped an extra-large slurpee, a curious look twinkling in his pastel green eyes.

Without turning her head, Korra's blue orbs flitted over at her best friend and then back to the festival's center stage. She had one hand stuffed in her pocket while the other held a smoothie. She shrugged a shoulder and started chewing on her straw. "Fine."

Bolin arched an eyebrow, and faced Korra by leaning his shoulders back so that he was looking at her with his entire stance. Still, the Southerner refused to acknowledge his body language, mindlessly staring ahead.

"Just… Fine?" Bolin remarked, giving her a well-deserved look of skepticism.

Two hours had already passed since the start of the Music Festival, and Bolin and Korra were hanging out at the very back so they could access the food stands easily. There had been quite a large turnout, most of the attendees ranging from their late teens to early twenties. Upon arriving to the event, the gang had been hesitant about staying for more than an hour. They were not sure what to expect since the culture of Zaofu was so different from their hometown.

After the opening act of Suyin's dance troupe, however, all four students knew they were in for a good time.

"Yes, Bolin, things are going fine. What else do you want me to say?" Korra said, trying to keep her face even.

She knew Bolin suspected something was up a long time ago—two and half weeks to be exact. That was when Korra went to him the night they snuck into Diamonds' Way. He had teased her about hanging out with the heiress, and she brushed off the comment quickly. Unfortunately for her, Bolin could pick up most of Korra's signals, even when she didn't fill him in on the details.

She'd been spending even less time with the two brothers since then, leaving the earthbender to draw his own conclusions.

"Wow, are we really going to pretend we're not having this conversation?" the younger brother said, standing his ground.

Korra said nothing, folding her arms as the third round of performances got up on stage to prepare for their show. They were setting up the ceiling's fixtures used for the dancers' cables, while a new set of instruments got tuned by a small orchestra. It was definitely a welcome change in pace from the upbeat music and loud rhythms that pulsed through the nightclubs back in Republic City.

Most of the festival's transforming melodies were played by flutes, pipes, and various sorts of harps as the performers danced. In a sense, it was enlightening—it was a very cultivated form of art. There was a certain beauty about metalbending that each performance brought to the audience's attention, first and foremost. Unlike earth, metal could be moved like a liquid. Instead of being forced to stay grounded, most of the benders soared in the air as they swung and flipped around on their metal cords.

"Seriously, things are going fine. Great, even. She's fun to hang out with, and now that I've taken the time to get to know her better, I'm thankful that we both ended up in Cognition, Part II this semester." Korra said, trying to remain apathetic by answering with a longer explanation. She hadn't taken her eyes off the festival's main stage, and she knew what was coming next from the earthbender's mouth.

"You like her, just admit it," Bolin said, shaking his head because he already knew the truth. The fact that the Southerner wouldn't even look back at him was already proof he was right.

Korra's lip thinned. Why was he even bugging her about the topic if he was so confident about his theory?

Here we go…

"Of course I like her, if I didn't, we wouldn't be hanging out right now, would we?" Korra said, her fingers starting to curl into a fist in her pocket. She sipped on her strawberry smoothie even harder.

Bolin rolled his eyes with an exaggerated sigh. The Avatar was stubborn in all things—romance was no exception. He decided to take a different route to push her buttons.

"If you don't make a move soon, Mako will," Bolin snickered, quickly silencing himself by drinking his slurpee again.

"Bah!" Korra spat as she waved her hand. "Mako can do whatever he wants. Why would I care," she mumbled while her fingers dug into her palm even tighter, nails embedding small crescent marks in her skin.

"I know you better than anyone," Bolin said. "I've seen you. And I know you have a thing for girls." He raised his eyebrows as he closed his eyes resolutely, knowing Korra was about to fight his accusation.

"Girls? Psh, what?" Korra gave a sarcastic laugh. "So, maybe I act differently around them because we don't often have the same interests. That doesn't—"

"—And now that you've found a girl with the same interests as you, there's no hiding it. You are, whether or not you want to admit it, undeniably attracted to her," Bolin finished, a smug grin taking over his features.

Korra sputtered. "W-where did you get that idea? We barely have anything in common! We don't even have the same sense of style—"

"She's one of the coolest people we've ever met, and you know that," Bolin said, beginning to list off the rest of her irresistible traits. "She can fight, and build, and drive cars, and she even likes watching sports! C'mon, Korra… You're thinking it, I'm thinking it, and Mako is thinking it. She's smart, athletic, pretty…"

"Okay, alright—" Korra sighed, leaning back against the wall. "So she is all those things, but that doesn't mean anything's going on between us. We're just friends."

"Riiiight," Bolin drawled on, accompanying his retort with a slow, passive succession of nods.

"Tch, Bolin—!" Korra closed her eyes and furrowed her brow as she was pushed closer to her breaking point.

"That's why you've been spending time at her apartment having dinner together, and doing research together, and hanging out in gardens together, and…" He had started using his fingers to count the accumulating number of points against Korra's alibi.

"All that stuff was coincidental!" Korra huffed as her cheeks tinted bright red. She threw her hands up and finally looked at Bolin, a triumphant grin still plastered on his face. "Look, I need all the help I can get to find out who's responsible for the vanishing spirits. You're busy studying for tests and Mako is always traveling to Republic City for his internship. Who does that leave me with then? Oh I know, the only other person that was there with me the night of the warning!"

She snatched the drink out of Bolin's hand and started inhaling his slurpee after finding that her smoothie had run out.

Bolin looked at his empty palm and then up at Korra who was busy trying to quell her sensitive temper. He chuckled. So that's how it was going to be. He allowed the Southerner to ruminate quietly on her feelings.

It was funny. They hadn't grown apart at all, even though they were starting to deviate in their adolescent journeys as life went on. Korra was still the same hot-head with a very vulnerable side to her. He, too, remembered the time when he had a small crush on the Avatar. Though things never worked out between them after their first dinner, making the leap had been worth it.

He was her best friend. Maybe he could help her take a risk for herself, too.

"…Ask her out on a date," he said quietly. A subtle, genuine smile had formed on his face this time.

Korra closed her eyes for a moment as she bowed her head slightly, chin almost touching her collarbone as she sighed in surrender. She didn't have any words to answer the earthbender. She didn't need to. Bolin knew her well enough to read her behavior when she was admitting something.

Maybe I… do have some feelings for her.

Her eyes drifted around the crowd until she spotted Mako and Asami laughing together as they made their way back, hot dogs and a few sodas in hand. Korra stopped searching, staring hard at the couple. Though Asami was a couple yards away from Korra, the heiress instantly caught those lightning blue eyes concentrating on her through the sea of students.

The engineer looked back at her and smiled.

Korra saw her reaction and her heart thumped in her chest much stronger than before.

Maybe… This could work.

Bolin followed her gaze and saw his brother and the heiress approaching, about to close the distance between the two parties.

"Go for it. You may not get another chance as perfect as this one," he whispered again.

Korra's lip curled upwards into a pout as she seriously considered Bolin's suggestion.

He urged her one more time as Asami paused her stroll to give Mako a soda. "Think about it. You don't have any classes right now… So no obligations. No distractions. It'll be just the two of you."

Korra drew out her breath as she exhaled. Just last semester, she didn't want anything to do with the famous Asami Sato.

How did things come to this?

"Okay," Korra muttered as Bolin smiled wide at her acceptance. "I'll ask her out."