Wednesday, February 11th

Hiroshi turned the key in the lock of the office door and slid the door open silently, casting a look down the hallway before he entered. He locked the door behind him quickly and glanced around at the empty office in front of him. He strode over confidently to the desk and sat down, glancing at the vase of fresh fire-lilies sitting on the corner of the desk in front of him. There was a card attached to them, and he plucked the card off its ribbon a moment later, turning it over in his hand to read it.

"Thanks for everything, sunshine. Have a good day."

Hiroshi scowled and put the note back in its place, making a mental note to ask Asami who kept sending her flowers at work. Once he was satisfied that the note looked undisturbed, he scooted the seat back and opened the first drawer of Asami's desk. He rifled through the notes and folders she had laid neatly in a pile inside the drawer, not finding anything of interest. Moving on to the second drawer, he realized he didn't even know what he was looking for. Anything was what he decided on, but it looked as though Asami had done a good job of cleaning all her things out of her office, leaving only the things she had deemed necessary to work.

When he was done with the desk, he stood and went over to the filing cabinet, sliding the top drawer open. He shuffled through the folders, noting that if the folders weren't empty, they only held designs that the pair of them had worked on together. Hiroshi frowned and moved on to the next drawer, scratching his chin as he did so. He didn't hear the key unlock the door behind him, or the sound of it sliding open.

"Dad?" Asami's voice startled him from the door, "Really?"

Asami didn't look disappointed anymore, she just looked mad.

"Well considering you stole an airship and went to Zaofu without telling me," Hiroshi shrugged, raising his eyebrow, "With most of the airbenders. This is my company, Asami -."

"How'd you find out?" Asami's eyebrow shot up.

"I'm not an idiot," Hiroshi shrugged again, "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"I'm so tired of you being like this," Asami sighed, shaking her head, walking over to her desk and picking the vase of flowers up, "I'm changing the locks when I come back tomorrow."

"You can kiss your office goodbye if you do, Asami. I don't need you here."

"Ok," Asami shrugged, "I'm working on the trains with an engineer from Zaofu, so you're not going to stop me. If I need my office, I'll use my office."

"I don't feel like I can trust you anymore, Asami," Hiroshi scowled, "I want you to know that."

"Glad it's finally mutual," Asami scowled, turning on her heel and storming out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Hiroshi sighed and looked at her desk, where the card had fallen off the vase and was laying on the corner. He picked it up between two fingers and stared at it as he walked out of Asami's office and towards his own, careful to lock her door behind him as he left. He laid the card down on his own desk and sat down, frowning at it.

"Sunshine," he said out loud, running his fingers over the card, "Who on earth would call Asami 'sunshine'?"

He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced at the framed family portrait on his desk, only to sigh again when he saw Yasuko and Asami's faces.


Opal was sitting on the futon doing her homework when Asami got back to the apartment. Opal glanced up at her as she came in, motioning for Asami to sit next to her. Asami put her flowers on the kitchen table and sat down next to Opal with a huff, putting her arm on the back of the futon and propping her chin in her hand.

"How's it going?" Opal asked, looking at her laptop with a frown.

"Just frustrated," Asami sighed.

"Me too," Opal nodded, "But I think they're for different reasons."

"Yeah," Asami chuckled a little, "Need any help?"

"No," Opal grinned, "I'll get it figured out some time."

"Where's Korra?" Asami raised her eyebrow, looking around, "I thought Lin gave her the day off."

"She's still with the twins, they wanted her to see them off at the docks."

"I'm glad they came to visit," Asami smiled, "I know her family is really important to her."

"Yeah," Opal nodded, "And she keeps making her family bigger, like with us."

"I just hope she'll be able to rest a little easier knowing Tenzin's kids are safe in Zaofu."

"Me too, Asami."

"I think I'm going to go video chat your brother," Asami told her, stretching, "He texted me earlier saying he had some new ideas. Want to get dinner later?"

"Dinner sounds great." Opal smiled, "It'll give me a break from trying to figure out these problems."


'The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms. But when I woke, dear, I was mistaken, and I hung my head and I cried.'

The sand was warm under Hiroshi's feet as he walked along the beach. He could see Asami, still a child, sitting a few yards away from the breaking waves, making a sand castle. Sitting next to her on a towel sat Yasuko, watching Asami with a faint smile on her face.

'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.'

Yasuko looked up as Hiroshi grew nearer, and extended one hand to him. He sat next to her, feeling warm, watching as she held her hand in his and leaned against his shoulder. Asami had gotten up from her sandcastle and hugged both of them, before insisting that her castle needed sea shells.

'I'll always love you and make you happy, if you will only say the same. But if you leave me and love another, you'll regret it all someday.'

"She's having so much fun, Hiroshi," Yasuko smiled, looking up at him. It hurt him to see how much like her Asami was, "I'm so glad you got time to take us to the beach."

"Me too," Hiroshi replied, smiling as he looked into the depths of his wife's eyes.

When he finally looked up again, he saw Asami a few yards away, bent over, inspecting a starfish that had washed up with the tide.

"Daddy!" Asami yelled, glancing up at him, "Daddy, what is this?"

"It's a starfish, sweetie," Hiroshi smiled, pulling himself up onto his feet.

Yasuko stood with him and the pair of them walked hand in hand to where Asami was still staring down at the sea star.

"What do we do with it?" Asami asked, looking up at both of them.

"We pick them up and put them back in the water, sweetie," Yasuko told her softly.

'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.'

"I'm afraid to touch it," Asami pouted, "Momma will you do it?"

"Of course, Asami," Yasuko assured her, kneeling down next to Asami, "Watch."

Hiroshi and Asami both watched with unwavering concentration as Yasuko gently scooped the starfish up onto her palm.

"See?" Yasuko smiled, "It doesn't hurt. Would you like to throw it back with me?"

Asami nodded and took her mother's free hand, and Yasuko walked slowly with her into the shallow water, their feet being grazed by the expiration of the waves. When Yasuko started to walk a little deeper, she picked Asami up, resting the child on her hip.

'You told me once, dear, you really loved me and no one could come between. But now you've left me, to love another. You have shattered all of my dreams.'

Hiroshi watched silently as Yasuko tossed the starfish back into the water, smiling as Asami giggled happily when the waning crest of a wave grazed her toes. Yasuko was smiling too, radiantly beautiful, and she pressed a kiss to Asami's cheek, squeezing her in a warm embrace.

"Daddy come stand in the water!" Asami giggled, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck.

Hiroshi obeyed, wading out into the water to stand next to his wife. Once he was there, Yasuko put Asami down, and she and Hiroshi each held one of Asami's hands, swinging her lightly so that her feet grazed the top of each fading wave that stretched past them. Asami's laughter was intoxicating, and Hiroshi felt warmth settle deep in his chest as he saw the happiness on her face.

'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.'

Hiroshi scooped Asami up in his arms and squeezed her before putting her on his shoulders and taking Yasuko's hand. Yasuko smiled at the pair of them proudly, squeezing Hiroshi's hand gently.

"Daddy, can we go look for more starfish?" Asami asked, pulling on Hiroshi's ears.

"What about your sandcastle?" Hiroshi laughed, "Don't you want to finish it?"

"But daddy we have to save the starfish," He could tell Asami was pouting, "Momma has to throw them back or they'll die."

"Ok honey," Hiroshi smiled, "We'll go look for more starfish."

'In all my dreams, dear, you seem to leave me. When I wake, my poor heart pains. So won't you come back and make me happy? I'll forgive dear, I'll take all the blame.'

"Daddy stop!" Asami shouted excitedly, "There's another one!"

She pointed it out, and Yasuko followed the line of her arm, finally finding the starfish in the sand. She went ahead of Hiroshi and picked it up, bringing it back for Asami to see.

"Do you want daddy to throw this one back?" Yasuko asked sweetly, smiling.

"No I wanna do it," Asami protested, "Daddy, will you put me down?"

Hiroshi smiled at his wife and lifted Asami off his shoulders, watching with a soft laugh at the way Asami's face contorted when Yasuko put the starfish in her outstretched hands.

"Run into the water and put it back," Yasuko instructed, her hand on Asami's shoulder.

Asami nodded and ran toward the waves, both hands held out in front of her almost reverently. Yasuko watched her, beaming, and stepped closer to her husband. Hiroshi put his arm around her and watched contently as Asami tossed the starfish into the water, washing her hands off once it had been returned.

"She's so much like you," Hiroshi sighed, pressing a kiss to his wife's temple, "I love you both so much."

"I love you too," Yasuko replied, her eyes crinkled from her smile, "The beach was a good idea."

"I couldn't agree more."

'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away.'


Hiroshi woke up in his office and raised his head off his desk with a groan. He had a throbbing headache, and he could tell by the view out his office window that it was nearly nightfall. He cut the desk lamp on and sighed, looking over at the picture frame one last time, staring down at his wife's smiling face.

"I miss you so much," Hiroshi muttered, a tear sliding down his cheek, "And Asami is so much like you. Sometimes I forget how much like you she really is."

He sat alone in his office, illuminated by the dim light for a long time, until he could no longer see any sunlight out the window. The last thing he did before he left his office for the night was call Asami, and a dull ache spread through his chest when the phone stopped ringing and went to voicemail. He left a message anyway, sighing as he slid his cellphone into his pocket and reached for his coat.


Asami was still chatting with Bataar jr. via webcam when Hiroshi called her. She silenced the call without a second glance once she saw who it was, going right back into the discussion they were having about increasing the passenger capacity of the trains. She was sitting cross-legged on Korra's bed, laptop laying in her lap with her back against the wall, and she had drug a notepad out of her backpack to write their notes on while they talked.

"I really think it would be a good idea for you to come to Republic City in a week or two, Bataar," Asami told him, "We can work together on some of this stuff, and if you stay the weekend we can spend all day Saturday working, plus you can spend some time with Opal."

"That sounds like a great idea," Bataar nodded, "I would love to actually start working on some of this."

"Well if you figure out when you want to come, let me know," Asami replied, "I'll pick you up at the train station when you get here."

Bataar agreed and began asking some more questions about cargo and passenger capacity, but just as Asami started to listen, Korra came shuffling into the bedroom. Korra looked like a deflated balloon, her shoulders slumped and her eyes tired. She didn't say anything when Asami looked up at her, only climbing across the bed in front of Asami and laying on her side against the wall with a huff. Her head was next to Asami's knee, so Asami reached down absentmindedly and began playing with Korra's hair, trying to focus back on what Bataar was saying.

"Anyway," Bataar finished, "It's almost time for dinner so I should see if my dad needs help with anything or if he's actually going to eat for once. Is it ok if I text you tomorrow and figure out when we can chat again?"

"Sounds great," Asami nodded, "See you then?"

"Yep," Bataar was grinning, "Thanks, Asami. Bye."

Asami waited until Bataar hung up the call before closing her laptop and pushing it off her lap onto the bed.

"What's wrong?" Asami asked, looking down at Korra.

"Just sad," Korra sighed, "Tenzin's kids aren't here, and Desna and Eska have gone back to the North Pole. Just feel kind of lonely."

"Well," Asami replied, brushing Korra's hair out of her face with her fingers, "You have me and Opal. We were planning on going to dinner, do you want to come with us?"

"Yeah," Korra nodded once, "I'd like that. Are we going to stay on Air Temple Island again tonight?"

"If you want to," Asami shrugged, "You and Opal can make that decision."

"What'd you do today?" Korra asked, sitting up and propping against the wall.

"Well when I came back from lunch earlier I found dad in my office at Future Industries going through my things."

"What the fuck?" Korra frowned, crossing her arms.

"Yeah," Asami sighed, "I'm going to change the lock on my office door tomorrow."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Sure, can't hurt at this point."

Korra huffed and crawled off the bed, popping her neck once she stood up.

"I'm going to go drag Opal out of her room," Korra told her, "Then we can go to dinner."

"Ok," Asami smiled, watching as Korra walked out of the bedroom.

Once Korra was in the hall, Asami retrieved her phone, planning on listening to Hiroshi's voicemail.

"Asami, I wanted to say I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I don't expect your forgiveness, nor do I deserve it. But I want to talk to you. About everything. I'll be at Kwong's Friday night and Saturday night for dinner, if you want to join me. I would like it if you did, but if you don't, I understand. I love you, Asami."

Asami sighed and stared at her phone for a long time, before finally tossing it onto the end of the bed and going to go find Opal and Korra.


"So dad wants me to have dinner with him sometime this weekend," Asami told Korra and Opal as they climbed into a booth at the pizza place.

"You should go," Opal shrugged, noticing the scowl on Korra's face, "Dinner seems pretty harmless."

"Korra?" Asami raised her eyebrow, "What do you think?"

"I mean, he's your dad," Korra sighed finally, "And Opal's right, dinner can't hurt, as long as you're not stuck with him for three days again. All you did last time was fight."

"I'll think about it," Asami nodded, "The only thing keeping us together right now is the company. I think if I made dinner about that, it would help."

"That's a good idea," Opal agreed, "Speaking of dinner, Korra, I refuse to talk about Kuvira and her zombie killing skills while we eat."

"Aww," Korra pouted, "Why not?"

"Because you already gave me a blow-by-blow recount from last night," Opal complained, "And told me all about how you and Kuvira are the perfect zombie killing team."

"Well I mean we are," Korra shrugged, smirking, "She's supposed to text me after her dance rehearsal tonight so we can play some more."

"Ugh," Opal rolled her eyes, "You have the strangest ways of making friends. You two nearly beat the shit out of each other playing power disc and now you're best friends. Your bruises are disgusting. You should have let Kya heal them."

"They're just bruises!" Korra laughed, "It's not like they're concealing any broken bones. I mean yeah they hurt for a little while, but I'm not some dainty little fairy princess that can't handle a bruise."

"Mom said Kuvira was positively black and blue from it," Opal chuckled, "It's a wonder she's not too sore to dance."

"We're tough as nails, Ope," Korra grinned.

"Dumb as nails too sometimes," Opal smirked.

"I am offended," Korra pouted, "I didn't know you thought so little of me."

"Only when you get on her nerves," Asami teased, "She loves you some days."

"Not today, apparently," Korra shrugged a little, "Oh well, I still love you, Opal."

"I know," Opal laughed, "That's why you let me pick where we eat. I'm so glad you did because I went to Narook's yesterday with Bolin and I am not in the mood for it again."

Korra rolled her eyes and told the waiter what the three of them wanted, looking down momentarily as her phone began to ring.

"Who's that?" Opal raised one eyebrow, "Your new girlfriend Kuvira? Do I need to tell Junior his engagement is in peril?"

Korra shot Opal a rude gesture with one hand, turning her phone over and glancing at the caller ID with a smirk.

"It's my mom, thank you." Korra replied, sticking her tongue out at Opal, "I'll text her and let her know I'll call when we're done."

"Aww," Asami pouted, "I want to talk to Senna too."

"Yeah!" Opal agreed, "I miss Senna. She should come back and see us."

"I'll tell her," Korra laughed, typing out her text message before putting her phone away, "Her and dad still haven't decided when they're going to come visit again."

"They should do that soon," Asami offered, "Bataar jr. may visit soon too."

"Really?" Opal's face lit up, "Why?"

"We have stuff we want to work on," Asami smiled, "So he may come to the city for a weekend, and we'll work on Saturday or something, I want him to see you too."

"I'll have to call him and ask him about it," Opal replied, "None of them normally visit me here, except for the twins."

"If Bataar jr. comes that means he can bring Kuvira!" Korra added excitedly.

"Ugh." Opal swatted her, "Now I'm definitely telling Junior you have a thing for his fiancée."

"It is not a thing," Korra frowned, "And if I did have a thing it certainly wouldn't be for Kuvira."

"Yeah, yeah," Opal laughed, "Whatever you say Korra."

"Ugh," Korra huffed, crossing her arms, "I can't deal with you right now. Do you see how mean to me she is, Asami?"

"I do," Asami nodded with a laugh, "Absolutely mistreats you, and sometimes you deserve it."

"Ha!" Opal snorted, "Asami finally took my side. She doesn't like your girlfriend Kuvira either."

"I just can't win with you two tonight can I?"

"Nope," Asami grinned, "And we can't stay on Air Temple Island tonight if you have a 'date' with Kuvira."

Korra huffed and covered her face with her hands.

"I am going to strangle both of you," Korra grumbled.

"Empty threats," Asami shrugged, winking at her, "Isn't that right?"

"You win this round, sunshine," Korra smirked.


A/N: I don't know how I feel about this one, but I'm thinking of it as a springboard for what I want to do in some later chapters.