Iroh was finishing packing up camp a few days later when he had a realization: somehow, waking Asami had become his favorite part of the day.
Over the time they'd traveled together he'd managed to make a little game of it. He'd never met anyone so averse to getting up, so he had slowly attempted different ways of going about it, trying to find the combination of factors that would wake her the fastest while keeping himself out of harm's way. It was a delicate balance: for example, he'd learned that lightly dripping water on her face woke her up quickly, but also got him punched in the big muscle of his thigh hard enough to make him swear. Effective, but not exactly desirable.
Today, he wanted to see what the smell of caffeinated tea would do.
Iroh brewed the tea, then walked over to where Asami slept. She was burrowed deep in her bag as usual, her pale face just visible under a swirl of black hair. She lay on her side, making soft sounds as she breathed. Though he'd made no effort to be quiet in packing the campsite, it was obvious that she was still deeply asleep.
He squatted down next to her and placed the mug of tea about four inches from her nose. Then he leaned down and blew on it lightly. Asami inhaled and scrunched her nose, then made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a hum. Iroh smiled. This was promising.
He blew lightly on the tea again. Asami sniffed when his breath touched her face. Her mouth curled into a faint smile, but her eyes remained closed. She made another little humming sound.
Acting on impulse, Iroh gently used his thumb to brush the loose hair from her face. Her smile widened at the touch. Her skin felt smooth and cool under his fingers, and for a second he wondered what it might be like to run his thumb across her lips as well.
"Hey," he whispered.
"Mmm," Asami murmured, "later, Mako."
Iroh pulled his hand back like he'd been burned. He quickly stood and stalked back to the plane, tea forgotten. What had he been thinking? When, exactly, had Asami given him the impression that she wanted anything more from him than their business arrangement? Now that he thought about it, he couldn't point to anything specific that indicated more than a polite friendship. Besides, she was clearly still in love with somebody else. After all, she'd never said that she'd stopped seeing Mako, only that it was complicated. He saw now that "complicated" meant more than he'd thought. At least he hadn't embarrassed himself while she was conscious.
Spirits, he needed to get a grip. They would be in the South Pole in two days, and he didn't have time for this. The only thing of Asami Sato's that he ought to be thinking about touching was the passenger seat of her plane. And the faster it flew, the better.