Asami stretched and hauled herself out of bed. The sky outside her small bedroom window was still the dusty blue of early morning, but it looked like it might be another nice day. She rubbed at her eyes, trying to scrub away the sleep, then pulled back her hair and put on her workout clothes. After almost a week of practice, it was starting to feel like routine. Asami only spared the single couch half a glance as she headed out the door.

Without anyone to spar with, she divided her workout into two parts: hitting hard and running away. She knew that she'd have to develop a more balanced routine, especially if she decided to keep training solo instead of taking classes like she used to, but for today it was what she needed. Asami wound up spending nearly 20 minutes on the punching bag, hitting it with all of her strength until her knuckles were raw and stinging. It hurt. It felt good that it hurt. She knew what to do with that kind of pain, physical pain, and it was nice to have something to focus on.

Then Asami started running. She kept her pace slow and steady, going for distance rather than speed as a way to ease into it. It wasn't long before her lungs began to ache, but she kept it up all the same, taking the time to rest at busy intersections until the lights changed. She might never learn to love running the way Iroh did, but she liked to think he would have been proud of her all the same. Maybe one day she'd be faster than his grandma Mai after all.

She didn't take any of the routes they'd been on before though, hoping to avoid anything that felt too familiar. Memory was such a funny thing that way. That something as innocuous as a park bench, as everyday as a set of stairs, could be somehow transformed into a place of meaning. A kiss on the hand. A laugh over dinner. A tasted cherry. An inadvertent brush of shoulder or thigh that in hindsight may not have been accidental at all. There was no reason for Asami to see those kinds of places if she didn't have to. Not yet. Spirits, it had only been a day.

Instead she went north, jogging a few blocks up 6th before cutting over and following tree-lined Appa St. as it sloped gently down to the water. This route eventually went past the University of the Republic and Republic City College both, and wasn't a place that Asami went often. None of her academy friends had gone past secondary; in her circles, men went into business or politics (or both) and women got married. In either case, there was no need for more schooling. So despite her excellent grades and obvious means, university had never been something Asami and her father had discussed. She knew more than most engineering graduates anyway from all her time on the factory floor, and he'd been clear there was a place for her at Future Industries. Hiroshi Sato was every inch the self-made man, and his only child would follow in his footsteps regardless of her gender and formal education. In a lot of ways, he really had believed in equality.

Asami paused at a stoplight, gasping, her legs on fire. The Republic City College campus stretching off to her right was nearly deserted. As she looked around, she realized she'd gone farther than she'd planned, a lot farther. Yet every time she'd almost turned back the thought of her empty room kept her going. She just needed a little longer, a few more minutes to get out of her head. Like her time at the punching bag, every minute Asami kept running was a minute it simply hurt too much to feel anything else.

She was about to turn back anyway when a squat red brick building across the street caught her eye. It was mostly covered by trees, but below the lowest branches she could clearly read the words "Career Center." To the left of the words hung a small purple and gold United Republic flag.

Asami pursed her lips, then crossed the street. There was no harm in talking to someone, right? Her father was in prison. What he wanted was irrelevant now. Moreover, if what he had wanted was an anti-bending revolution, maybe the idea that he'd had her best interests at heart was more naive than she'd thought.

She was almost to the door when she read the rest of the sign. Asami stopped cold. Then she laughed. Of course it was.

A lone man sat behind a desk just inside the entryway. He was all in dark gray except for the dash of gold just above his heart. He looked up as she entered and flashed her a brief smile. Asami pegged him somewhere in his mid-30s, or perhaps a little older. He was very fair, with light brown eyes, chiseled features, and a dark, pointed beard. Perhaps Fire Nation, or at least mixed. He wasn't a bender though. She could tell by the outfit.

"Well, hello," he said. He had a deep voice; it reminded Asami a little of her father. The man looked her up and down and his smile broadened. "I see you've already gotten a start on the runs. What can I do for you? And please, have a seat."

Asami sat in the chair on the other side of the desk. Up close, the man was quite large. Not fat, just big, like maybe he wrestled or chopped down trees in his spare time. Standing he'd be as tall as Iroh, or almost, but was maybe half again as wide. Sheesh. She hoped that wasn't what was expected of the non-benders.

"I'm exploring my options," Asami said. "I honestly don't know much about the program, how one gets started, or even what you're looking for. I'm not signing up today, but I'm looking for a change and thought I'd at least ask."

"Of course," said the big man with a smile. Asami was starting to wonder if he practiced smiling all the time so he wouldn't look threatening. "The first step is to ask you a couple of questions. Some will determine if you're even eligible, others will help me figure out where you could fit. It's a big place."

"Seems reasonable."

"All right. And I have to ask you not to lie. If you lie now and it's found out later, the consequences are very serious. And we usually find out. I'm not asking for any documentation until you're sure that you're interested, but best to start out with the truth anyway."

Asami smiled. "Don't worry. I've actually been practicing that."

A puzzled expression flashed across his face. Then it was gone. "Okay," he said. "First, your name, age, and country of residence. We accept qualified young people from all over, but 17 is the minimum age and that's firm."

"Asami Sato, 18, United Republic of Nations. I'll be 19 end of November, if that matters."

If he recognized her name, he didn't show it. "All right, Miss Sato. Are you a bender?"

"No."

"Not a problem. Well and healthy? Any chronic conditions?"

Heartbreak, Asami thought. She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

"Formal education?"

"Secondary. Granite Point Academy. It's a private school down south."

The man looked up from where he'd been taking notes. "That's pretty exclusive, no? Good student?"

Asami shrugged a little. "5** in math and hard science. 5* in everything else." She scrunched up her nose a little bit. "Except the one semester I took theater. That was a bust."

The man blinked a little. "That's… wow. I don't get a lot of folks with those kinds of scores." He raised an eyebrow. "Any reason you aren't talking to U of R down the road instead of me?"

"Who says I'm not?"

His smile returned. "Fair enough. Glad to know I've got worthy competition." He looked down at his notes again. "Any other education, skills, or interests I should know about?"

"Mechanical engineering, mostly." Asami said. "I've worked on the satomobile line at Future Industries and can probably build one from scratch by now. I'm particularly good with power generation and materials science—you know, making things lighter, zappier, more durable. But I'm decent all-around." She thought for a moment. "I made my friend a mecha fire ferret the other day, mostly out of scrap."

The man looked up again. "A… mechanical ferret?"

"Yeah. He travels a lot but wanted a pet. I only had a few hours, but it turned out pretty well, at least functionally." She didn't add that the face was nothing more than two nuts and a speaker. Asami had done about as well in art as she had in theater. "Oh, I also did the estimate for the repairs to the fleet ships damaged in the Equalist attack. That was Wednesday."

The big man narrowed his eyes. "I thought that was all handled by the United Forces?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, it was. I was only the second opinion."

He looked skeptical. "By yourself?"

Asami nodded. "The ships more or less all have the same layout. Once I got a look at the schematics it wasn't that hard to know where to check for holes. Big flying incendiaries and naval mines mean fire, water, and pressure, none of which are good for ships but that at least limits the types of damage. And I know what things cost. A satomobile isn't a battleship, but at the end of the day it's all low-carbon steel."

The man scratched absently at his beard, then made a few more notes. Finally he looked up. "Well, Miss Sato," he said. "I'm no engineer, but it sounds like you are, and in my estimation we'd be lucky to have you. Perhaps it's time that I let you ask me a few questions yourself."

Asami thought about it. She knew what she wanted to ask, but it somehow didn't seem right to lead with that. So instead she asked the next most pressing question. "Well, where would I live?"

"You'd start here," the man said. "We require it for the first six months. But someone like you, miss? After that, probably anywhere you want."

Asami walked the entire way back to the hotel. She was too tired to run, and the man in the career center had given her a thick folder of information to take back with her. That was okay. She had a lot to think about, and it seemed like the exercise had at least helped clear her head.

She realized that Lin Beifong had been right. She had plenty of resources, and with enough grit and determination she probably could do anything. It was time to start acting like it. It turned out that the biggest lie she'd told herself was that her challenge was getting the life she wanted, and not understanding what that was in the first place. At the end of the day, Asami was an engineer, a problem-solver. Starting with the right problem could make all the difference.

As she walked, she made a list of the things that she knew she needed to do. First, Future Industries. It was her company now, or as good as, and everyone expected her to step up and run it. But was running a business what she really wanted? The more Asami thought about it, the more she realized that she'd taken succeeding her father as president as a given. She'd spent so much time being congratulated or asked questions about what she'd do at the helm that she'd never stopped to consider that she didn't have to take the job. Spirits, even her father had accused her of testifying so that she could take his company. But as Asami walked, she realized that it was still a choice.

It wasn't a decision that she wanted to make lightly, either. Asami loved the factories themselves, and the process of designing, improving, and testing the mecha. She loved working with other engineers and, even more so, smart people from other disciplines who could bring new ideas to the table. But none of that necessarily meant she'd love the corporate side of things. All else aside, Hiroshi Sato had been a shrewd businessman. Asami had a sneaking suspicion that she was more your garden variety geek. It wasn't that she doubted she could do the job. It was whether or not that was at all what she wanted.

So, first on her list was to call the chairman of the board and work with him to appoint an interim president. Asami wanted someone good, too, not just a warm body. It was going to be a tough time for the company, made all the tougher by her father's upcoming trial. Future Industries, and everyone who worked there, needed the benefit of a sound mind and steady hand. And if it turned out that Asami didn't want the role, it would make sense to have an interim who had long-term potential.

Next, the estate. She didn't want to live there. She knew that now. It might have every amenity imaginable, but it was still the house where her mother had been murdered and her father had plotted to overthrow the government, and Asami wanted nothing to do with it. She didn't know where she would live, not yet, and wasn't quite ready to sell, but perhaps something else could be done in the meantime. So, call a real estate agent and discuss her options for letting it. There were also a few things, like her motorbike, that it would be useful to get. She might not want to go home, but she was no longer afraid of it.

At the same time, Asami also resolved to get a lead on potential workspace. Ideally something month to month down in the Industrial District with at least some shared equipment in case her plans changed. It would be a good way to get out of the hotel, or wherever she wound up, and having a project or two couldn't hurt, either. Maybe she'd even meet some interesting new people that way. People who hadn't gone to the academy or gotten 5** in math, but who brought new things, other skills and perspectives. People like Mako and Bolin, who were a different kind of smart, or maybe even people like Korra, who weren't even from the United Republic at all but snorted when they laughed and had taught her about seaweed noodles and polar bear dogs and what it meant to never give up. Or like Iroh. Someone who would set himself on fire if it meant helping others, who could survive chaos and near-certain death and yet still see wonder and beauty in a mud-filled hole in the ground. There was no way to know, of course. But that wasn't a reason not to try. Asami was tired of eating alone.

Then she'd get a haircut.

It wasn't a new life, not really. But as Asami rounded the corner that led to the Grand Republic, it felt like a start. Besides, she still had the stack of pamphlets and materials that the huge recruiter had given her earlier. With no solid plans for the rest of the day besides her to-do list, some of which would have to wait for Monday anyway, she'd have plenty of time to go through them. It would mean a big change, but then again, if that turned out to be what she really wanted, what was stopping her?

Asami pushed open the big brass doors and crossed the lobby, suddenly exhausted. It was almost as if her bed being in range had set off some sort of beacon. Come nap, it said. Here I am. After a shower she thought she just might listen to it.

"Miss!" came a voice from her right. "Miss?" Asami looked to see a young man waving at her from behind the reception counter. She changed course and walked slowly over, oddly conscious that she probably smelled.

"Yes?"

"Miss Sato, right? In 1241?"

Asami had a momentary pang of regret. She'd used her real name for the new room, of course, but that didn't mean she was in the mood for visitors, let alone press. She sighed. No point in denying it now. "That's me."

"Message for you, ma'am," he said. He rummaged behind the desk and handed her a folded slip of paper.

"Thanks." At least it wasn't a reporter. Asami's heart sped up as she unfolded the paper. A small, wild part of her hoped that it was Iroh. Had he sent a message from the ship? But that was crazy. He'd only just left, and they had both been perfectly clear that there was now nothing between them. Iroh hadn't asked her to write and neither had she. She respected him too much to think he'd gone back on that already.

It wasn't Iroh. Instead, the note contained only four words:

Call me ASAP. -Tenzin

Asami frowned. What would Tenzin want that was so urgent? She could only think of one thing. He and Lin Beifong went way back, right? If she'd told him about her and Iroh, he would almost certainly have an opinion. And what if he'd in turn told Firelord Izumi? Iroh's mother had been none too happy to discover a woman in her son's room, and from what he had said might still be angry about his breaking it off with his previous girlfriend. Suddenly, Asami was furious. What business was it of hers, or Tenzin's, or Lin Beifong's, or anyone else's? Wasn't it already hard enough for both of them? Couldn't they have a week? One damned night? She hadn't ruined Iroh's life, or spoiled him for his future bride. All she'd done was love him a little.

Asami fumed all the way up the elevator. She wasn't going to be polite this time. She was going to give that bald old windbag a piece of her mind. It was as much for Iroh as it was for herself. If he was ever going to be as happy as he deserved, he couldn't have the Firelord and her network of spies always reporting back on who he was with and why. But it was hard to stand up to your family. Spirits, Asami knew that better than most. She thought of how Iroh had held her hand during the hearing, the encouraging smile he'd given her every time she needed it. The way he'd yelled at someone he liked and respected about how she was being treated. Well, perhaps it was time she did the same for him.

As soon as Asami got back to her room she stalked over to the single desk and picked up the telephone. She tossed the materials from the career center on the coffee table behind her, then angrily punched in the number for the main house at Air Temple Island. She'd called Korra there enough she didn't even have to look it up.

Korra herself picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Asami." She tried to keep her voice calm. There was no cause to snap at Korra, and she didn't want to do any inadvertent damage to their fragile relationship by being short.

"Oh!" There was a brief pause. "I'm glad you finally called back. It's been super weird here."

There was a soft knock at the door. Asami ignored it. She was too angry at Tenzin, and besides he'd said ASAP. And Korra had said things had been weird. There was always a chance that his message wasn't a lecture about her and Iroh at all, but that something else had happened. Whatever it was, it was important. Asami didn't have time for housekeeping.

"Weird how?" she asked. "Tenzin said to call him right back. What's going on?"

The knock sounded again. Asami huffed. Really.

"I think he'd better tell you himself," Korra said. She sounded evasive. "Everyone's fine though. He just… I'm staying out of this one. I'll go get him."

Asami heard the unmistakable thump of a receiver being set down. There was no yelling, either. Tenzin must be far enough away that he required fetching. What on earth was going on? There wasn't much that Korra ever wanted to stay out of; usually it was quite the opposite.

Asami gently set the telephone down. At least she could use the time to tell housekeeping that she was on the phone and they should come back later. It wouldn't do to get mad, it wasn't their fault, but she wasn't in the mood for any interruptions. Maybe they'd even have one of those little "do not disturb" signs she could use.

As she crossed the room Asami prepared her speech, something polite but firm. So it was that when she opened the door, she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking at. There was a man sitting on the floor. He was wearing gray slacks and a white shirt, his black hair sticking up a bit in the back where he must have been leaning against the wall. A dark duffel bag rested against his shoulder. On the floor by the duffel bag sat a tubby metal fire ferret.

The man jerked his head up at the sound of the door, obviously just as surprised as she was. Iroh's golden eyes stared back at her.

"Oh. Hi." He hopped to his feet. "I didn't think you were in." The duffel bag flopped over with a soft thud.

"Iroh, what are you doing here?" Asami was too stunned to move. He was gone. She knew he was, she'd watched him leave. "Your ship, I thought—"

"It went. I didn't."

"But—"

"I resigned," Iroh said quickly. Asami just blinked at him. The words didn't make any sense. Resigned? He ran his hand through his dark hair and gave her an awkward smile. "Birthday. It was my birthday. The officer commission is seven years. I joined up the day I turned 17. It's exactly… I mean, I didn't really resign, not yet, I'm technically on leave because it takes time to process and at my level it isn't going to be easy. But I finally can. I typed up the letter." He patted his pocket. "I have it right here. It took me all yesterday. There were nine drafts, I wanted to get it right, but I'd had a lot to drink at that point, and… and I know you wanted a new life so I didn't want to assume anything or… get in the way of… but you said you wished things were different so I wanted to see if maybe… maybe you might want Iroh the Completely Ordinary and his mecha pet, Hori? As part of your plan, not the main thing, or… " Iroh trailed off, his smile fading slightly. He sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Asami flung herself at him. Iroh caught her as she wrapped herself around him, arms behind his neck, legs hooked around his waist. The force of it knocked him backwards and he almost tripped over his bag. One hand shot out to quickly brace against the wall. Then he grabbed her, squeezing her hard, crushing her in his arms, holding her up like she weighed nothing at all. Asami pressed her face into his neck, inhaling him, all fresh soap and hair oil, and then she was kissing him, kissing him with everything she had, and yes was on the tip of her tongue, yes was on her lips, and yes, yes, yes.

"I can't do this, Asami," Iroh said, breathless. "I can't know this is here, that you're here, and still choose something else."

Asami said nothing at all.

"I should at least shower." She gave him a gentle kiss. They were on the couch now, Iroh more or less stretched out beneath her. They'd finally slowed down a little, at least enough to catch their breath.

Iroh let her mouth go, somewhat reluctantly she thought. "Because I've never worked out with you, and I'm obviously repelled." He leaned up to kiss her again.

"I'm serious," Asami said. "I'm all sweaty and gross."

"Then catch me up," he mumbled against her mouth.

Asami laughed and pulled away. "You're terrible. Come on. I'll feel better."

Iroh pretended to pout, but his eyes were smiling. "All right. But if you take too long I'm coming in after you."

Asami thought that sounded just fine.

It didn't take long however. When she came out of the bedroom Iroh was sitting up on the couch. Spread out before him was the information she'd gotten from the recruiter that morning. She'd forgotten she'd dumped it all on the coffee table.

Oh.

"Asami?" Iroh asked slowly. He turned to look at her, a faint frown on his face. "What's all this?"

She tried to sound casual. "Just some information I got this morning. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do next, and where, and it turns out that checks a lot of the boxes."

"But Asami… but this is… you can't be serious?"

She dropped next to him on the couch. His eyes were wide with shock. "It's not so crazy," she said. "I'd get to focus on things that interest me while learning some new skills. It's a clean break from a lot of my baggage here, no one would even know me, and I think I have a lot to offer. I could do some good without it being, you know, necessarily Avatar stuff. The man at the career center said there's always a need for engineers, and especially ones who aren't afraid of a fight."

Suddenly Iroh laughed. He reached out and pulled her into a quick kiss. "No, you certainly aren't," he said. "But enlisting? Are you sure? I love the UF, but it's not for everyone."

Asami shook her head. "No, I'm not sure. Today was only the first conversation. Technically, with my skills it would be a commission though. Second lieutenant. I hear they, um, can live on the battleships sometimes. Not that that's a reason to do it. But I've hardly seen any of the world and if maybe there was someone else on the ship, too, he could tell me a bit about the buildings. If he wanted to."

Iroh beamed at her. "So I quit the United Forces and you want to join?"

She grinned. "Maybe we both refused to take no for an answer."

"So what are we going to do?"

"We could both go be pirates?"

Iroh chuckled. "I'm serious."

She shrugged a little. "I don't know. I don't want to rush into anything. I have a lot to work on, and work out. But I do know a few things. I want to be one of the good guys, I want to use my brain, and I want to be with you. The United Forces is one way to do that, but it's not the only one. So let's figure it out together."

Suddenly Iroh tackled her to the couch. Asami squealed and giggled as he started kissing her face, planting swift kisses on her nose, her cheeks, her eyelids. "You," he breathed, "are the most amazing person I have ever met."

Asami laughed and tried to push him away. "Or the craziest. So what happened yesterday? Did you really resign?"

Iroh smiled down at her, then dropped his arm and slid in between her and the back of the couch. Asami settled down against chest as he stroked her hair. "I didn't get four blocks before I realized I'd made a mistake," he said. "So I did what any decorated general would do. I panicked. Leaving was suddenly unthinkable, not if there was any chance with you at all, but I couldn't just abandon my post. I'd be AWOL. You go to jail for that, general or no."

"What did you do?"

"I wound up at Tenzin's," he said. "I didn't know what else to do, or where to go. I report directly to the council, the whole United Forces does, but I don't think I thought of that. He was simply the only other person in Republic City who I knew there they lived. I wasn't even sure what I was going to tell him until it was all spilling out, how I'd met somebody incredible and couldn't deploy and that the council could throw me in prison before I'd go. I didn't mention your name, I knew better than that, but he's not stupid. There weren't a lot of other people I'd been spending my time with."

"Was he angry? He did tell me to stay away from you."

"He what?" Iroh sat up a bit suddenly, propping his elbows under him. "Tenzin?"

Asami looked up at him and nodded. "At the gala. That's what he took me outside to talk about. He said that you took things seriously, and that you didn't need me in your life right now. That's why I said I wasn't interested. I wasn't being completely honest, or was maybe only lying to myself, but I also didn't want to hurt you."

Iroh sagged back into the couch, then stared at the ceiling. He huffed a little. "I'm going to kill him. Here's this woman, she practically falls in my lap, and she's fun and fierce and brilliant and gorgeous, and we were getting along so well I almost couldn't believe it. Then we had that dance and it felt like whatever had been smoldering since Saturday just caught fire." Iroh shook his head. "I'd just about worked up the courage to tell you when I heard you didn't want me at all. I was like I'd been punched in the stomach."

"Wait," Asami said, startled. "Since Saturday?"

To her surprise, Iroh blushed. "Um. I may have lied a little when I told you nothing happened. That night. You, um, kind of kissed me. And I liked it. I didn't let you do anything else, but I couldn't stop thinking about it anyway. Then you turned out to be… you… and it only got worse from there."

Asami met his eyes. "It's okay. I lied, too. I'm very, very interested in General Iroh. And ordinary Iroh."

He glanced down at them snuggled together on the couch and laughed a little. "Good. This would be a rather awkward position if you weren't."

"So you told Tenzin?"

Iroh nodded. "He was actually great. He made a few calls and made it clear I was taking a short leave of absence so I wouldn't get arrested. The fleet was put under Bumi for the time being, and the command ship will join him in a few days. While he was doing that, I proceeded to drink all of his scotch. By the time Tenzin finally got off the phone I was reeling. I think I scared him, to be honest. Korra, too. I'd been trying to write up my resignation, but it didn't make any sense, and I was flinging papers all over. He made me go lie down and sleep it off. That's why I didn't come back until today."

"That must be why Korra—" Asami cut off. The telephone! She'd put it down to answer the door while Korra got Tenzin and had then completely forgotten about it. She jumped up and ran over to the desk, then scooped up the receiver. Of course the line was dead. It had been an hour at least. Asami dropped it back in the cradle. Two seconds later, it rang.

"Tenzin? I'm so sorry, I—"

"No," said a cold voice. "This isn't Tenzin. Is my son by any chance in your room, Miss Sato?"

Asami felt herself shrink. She recognized that voice. "So what if he is?" she said, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

"I would like to speak to him. Now."

Asami looked back at Iroh, propped up on the couch, his brows knit together with worry. She realized they hadn't talked about the Fire Nation at all, or what his family might think. And she suddenly saw the enormity of what he'd really done for her. He wasn't just a general, he was a prince as well, the son of the Firelord. There could be huge consequences if he went against his family's wishes. If he couldn't convince them, they might even cut him off entirely. Asami stiffened a little. If Iroh was going to stand up to them, he had to start now. And he wouldn't be doing it alone. She wasn't going to hide, either.

"Iroh is too busy being kissed right now," she said crisply. "He's rather tall, so there's a lot of him. It might take a while to kiss him thoroughly everywhere. He'll call you later though." Then she hung up. Asami smiled a little and pulled the receiver off the hook to set it on the desk.

She turned back to see Iroh, face scarlet, his eyebrows somewhere up around his hairline. "Did you… just… was that… ?" he stuttered.

Asami's smile widened. "What, Iroh? I said I'm done lying."

The taxi pulled up outside the black iron gates. Asami got out and punched in the code. There were no more reporters now. She bit back a laugh. From what Jin-Woo had said, they were missing a story.

The cab trundled up the drive. Iroh pressed his face up against the window, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. "Your parents must like the Fire Nation," he said. Asami looked at him, puzzled. He nodded to the house. "The building style. It looks a lot like where I grew up. The roof especially. Those overhangs have to be three or four feet."

Asami smiled at him. She'd never brought anyone to the estate and had their first comment be on the style of roofing. Nerd, indeed. "I told you my father was an improver. I don't think he'd admit borrowing anything from the Fire Nation, but I can't say I'm surprised."

The driver pulled to a stop in front of the giant entrance. He immediately got out and pulled Iroh's duffel, Asami's suitcase, and the bag containing her ball gown from the trunk. Iroh shifted Hori under his other arm and took the latter so it wouldn't drag on the ground while Asami dug a couple of yuans from her wallet.

"So, this is me," she said as the taxi pulled away.

Iroh put the mecha ferret down on top of his bag and came to stand next to her. "Are you sure you want to be here?" he asked. He wrapped the arm not holding her ball gown around her waist. "I don't mind staying in a hotel, honest. It won't be the penthouse, but I'll manage just fine." He laughed a little. "You should see the quarters on a battleship. Not to turn you off the Forces, but they're about the size of a closet."

Asami shook her head. "No, I'm not sure. But it's not forever, and we can always leave if it's too much. And there's so much space. We have 29 rooms, Iroh. It's a shame not to use them while we figure things out. Especially if we both wind up in a battleship closet."

Iroh gave her waist a squeeze. "All right, then." He dropped his arm, picked up Hori, then hoisted his duffel bag.

Asami pushed open the door. The familiar scent of the hallway hit her like an old friend, a little musty perhaps, but not unwelcome. Okay, she thought. I can do this. I can do this.

"Do I get to pick my bedroom?" Iroh asked from behind her.

Asami smirked. "No. Only one of them is available, I'm afraid."

"No room at the inn," he said, following her into the hallway. "I see. Shame. Is the available bedroom by any chance shared?"

"It is. How do you feel about roommates?"

She turned to see Iroh grinning. "My roommate feels pretty good last I checked."

"Shut up. Don't make me put you in the storage shed."

"You wouldn't."

Asami looked Iroh pointedly up and down. "No. I have better uses for you," she said.

He laughed and hung her ball gown from one of the coat hooks. Then he set Hori down on the floor. Iroh toggled the switch on his belly and the mecha shuddered to life. One leg rolled forward, then another. The tail began to spin.

"Yip!"

"That's right," Iroh said. "Welcome home, Hori."

For some reason, the house didn't feel quite so lonely anymore.