Hello all! I just wanted to start by saying thank you for all the support and love for this story! I want to make this better, I know it can be better, and I feel like I got things mixed up and went too quickly the last time, so let me know what you think of his so far. Things may be the same at first, but there are some major changes coming!

~The-Frozen-Avatar~

Why in the world her father was making her take swimming lessons she would never understand. The very notion that Asami wanted to spend her summer learning a less that important, or needed, skill was almost laughable. She'd much rather be learning a useful skill, something practical that would prepare her to take over her father's business when the time came. Hiroshi was insistent though, the ever worrisome father of hers. Ever since losing her mother he had become overprotective, borderline smothering in his quest to keep her safe and, as it would seem, secluded from the world. He had even refused to let her stay in a dorm on campus, instead she had spent her entire college career being chauffeured back and forth to classes.

'I'm 22 for spirit's sake, I'm sure I can manage a company without knowing how to swim'

"Dad, I don't see why I need to do this, I don't see why I all of a sudden need to know how to swim, I don't even like swimming!" Asami grumbled, following her father into his study. She had been trying, unsuccessfully, for weeks to convince him that she didn't need those stupid lessons. The most she did around the water was apply tanning oil, lie in the sun, and ogle cute beach goers.

"Asami," Hiroshi sighed, turning to face his daughter. He used his fingertips to massage his temples in an attempt to ease his tension, "we are not discussing this again. I've already hired an instructor and you'll be at the pool twice a week until they've assured me that you are as comfortable in the water as a fish," his voice had that tone of finality to it that Asami recognized as he would tolerate no more.

She crossed her arms and glared at nothing in particular off in the distance, ignoring her father as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I just want you to be safe," his voice was softer than before and it took Asami by surprise, she looked up at her father, her anger faltering a bit when she took in his expression. He looked tired, and older than a man of his age should look. His once dark hair was now sprinkled with silver, his beard included, how had she missed the bags under his eyes, or the weary set of his shoulders? The once strong and steady man now stood a mere shadow before her, thinned and broken from a harsh world.

"Ever since losing your mother," he continued, Asami deflated 'and here comes the guilt trip,' she thought dryly. "I've done everything in my power to keep you prepared, the world is a cruel and unforgiving place. You'll be taking over for me someday and I want you to be ready for anything and everything," he gave her shoulder a light squeeze and a small smile.

She held his gaze for a moment more, then huffed, defeated, "alright".

"Great!" he grinned fully now, "be at the pool tomorrow, noon, your instructor will be waiting," he gave her shoulder another, firmer squeeze, and then brushed past her, leaving her alone.

"great...wonderful," she grumbled to herself.

Her first day of her lessons and she couldn't find her damn swimsuit.

'This is just great,' she thought, while angrily digging through her bottom drawer. She tossed clothes around the room carelessly. Maybe she should have gotten things prepared beforehand? She shook the stray thought from her mind and continued her search. No, she didn't need to prepared for something she hadn't wanted to do in the first place. She'd go to her lessons, and make sure she finished them as soon as humanly possible. She wanted to enjoy her summer off from classes, not to be forced into learning more when all she really wanted to do was relax.

"It's not like I need to look good anyway, dad probably hired some teenaged boy who is gonna ogle me the entire time," she grumbled.

Asami dug to the very corner of her drawer, and hit paydirt,

"There you are!" she sang, pulling the simple maroon one piece into the air.

She took her time changing and pulled her hair back into a lazy bun, that was as much effort she was willing to put into impressing anyone today. She slipped on her flip flops, pulled her beach towel close to her body, and made her way down to the back patio of their large home. If there was one thing Asami was appreciative of, it was that her father had planned for her swimming lessons to be at their private pool, if she had to endure the humiliation of not knowing how to swim at least it would be in the privacy of her own home. Heck, this way she could probably get away with a little sunbathing and convincing her "teacher" that these lessons were really unneeded.

The walk to the pool was a bit of a stretch through the garden, but it was one that Asami had always loved taking. The garden had been her mother's pride and joy. She'd spend every day between the beginning of spring and the end of summer out in the garden tending to her flowers. That was, until a few years back when they had lost her.

Looking around at the colorful assortment now, it was lackluster compared to how it had been in the past. Asami could vividly remember the bright and bold colors her mother seemed to coaxe from each bud, and the glowing smile she'd see on her mother each time she collected a new specimen. Whenever Hiroshi returned from a long business trip he would present her with a new or rare breed from somewhere across the globe. The garden was filled to the brim with Earth nation daisys, Fire nation tulips, and even rare lilies that only grew high in the mountains of the Air nation. Her father had hired many a person to try and keep the garden preserved in her mother's memory, but it had never really been the same.

As she trudged down the path she could see the 8 foot privacy fence that surrounded the pool area coming into view. The sun was high in the sky, warming her skin in a way that was quickly becoming uncomfortable. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to spend the day in the pool?

As she finally reached her destination she drew in a breath and pushed the fence door open in one long motion, mentally preparing herself for the youngster she was undoubtedly about to meet.

Once stepping into the fenced area Asami stopped dead in her tracks. Well this was definitely the last thing she expected to see.

'Holy mother of - '

"Hi," Asami squeaked absently.

Okay, a teenaged boy she could handle, this however, was not something she was mentally prepared for. About ten feet away stood a girl, no a woman, about her age and smiling politely. She was about half a head shorter than Asami, with dark skin, and hair that barely brushed her strong shoulders.

"Hi," the woman grinned, her aqua eyes brightening as she approached the young heiress with an outstretched hand. Asami took the offered appendage as she studied the woman before her. She wore a classic swim top, dark blue and simple, but black board shorts that hung low on her full hips. A tattoo of an unfamiliar tribal design adorned her perfectly muscled right bicep.

As Asami examined the woman in front of her she swallowed the lump in her throat.

'What is wrong with me?' She thought to herself as she pulled her hand from the other woman's grip. 'You know damn well what's wrong with you,' Okay, now is not the time to be talking to myself.

Asami shook her head lightly, the other woman had began to talk, but she hadn't heard a word,

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

The dark skinned girl laughed and waved a hand absently," I said it's nice to meet you, I'm Korra".

"Asami," she greeted in a quiet voice.

Korra smiled thoughtfully and motioned towards the large pool that sat to their right.

"So, I hear you have a bit of trouble in the water," she said.

Asami frowned, just what had her father told this woman? She crossed her arms over her chest, and looked the other woman up and down, "maybe," she admitted lightly.

Korra chuckled and put her hands on her hips, she was suddenly beaming, her back arched as if she had just won a battle, "then you've come to the right place".

Asami barely listened to her boast, she was too busy trying to keep her eyes off of the other woman's toned stomach. Obviously there were some things Asami needed to address about herself, but for now, she just wanted to get this over with.

Korra suddenly clapped her hands together and took a large step towards the heiress, "are you ready for your first lesson?"

Asami eyed her wearily, and nodded her head slowly as she watched the shorter woman approach her. When Korra was just a mere foot away from her she stopped her approach and beamed once more,

"First lesson," she suddenly had a hand on either of Asami's sides, "get in!" and then they were both in the water.

Asami hadn't been ready for that. When her body hit the cold water's surface she gasped, and sucked in a mouthful of water. That, along with the sheer heat from Korra's touch sent her into a frenzy. She would never admit this out loud, especially not around her father, but she really needed these lessons. She had never been comfortable in the water, and well, maybe even a little scared. So when her head had dipped under the water's edge, she began to panic and flail.

She kicked her legs frantically, but ultimately found her footing, after realizing that she could actually stand, and forced her head above the water. She gasped and spit water. Her hair had come undone and was now drenched and hanging like a sheet in her face. There was little she could do but stand there and catch her breath angrily, that was until she heard the lightest bit of laughter come from her side.

Asami flipped her hair out of her face and turned to glare at Korra, her cheeks and ears red from embarrassment. Korra covered her mouth to hide her laughter, but the damage had already been done. The heiress wasn't going to stand there and be laughed at, no matter how -

She didn't even finish the thought, she was flustered and angry. Asami turned away from Korra and started to wade to the poolside.

"Ah! Wait!" Korra's laughter died as she chased after the heiress.

Asami ignored her and started to pull herself from the pool. She was going to go inside and tell her father she was officially done learning this idiotic skill. That was, until she felt Korra's fingers wrap around her wrist gently. Asami faltered for a moment, and glanced back at her instructor.

Korra looked incredibly guilty, her eyebrows were quirked in a way that made her eyes look lighter than before. She avoided Asami's gaze as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand,

"I'm sorry if that was too much".

Asami studied the woman silently for a moment. She truly looked like she regretted her actions, she wouldn't even meet her eyes. The heiress sighed before settling back into the water in front of the shorter woman. She would never learn without making herself at least a little uncomfortable, would she?

"It's okay," she mumbled, but Korra immediately perked up.

"Good, then let's try something a bit different".

This time around she didn't thrash or sputter or completely embarrass herself, she just let Korra lead her into the deeper end of the pool. She tried to focus on what Korra was saying to her, something about kicking her legs and something about her arms. She didn't really know, she'd been too distracted with the growing tightness in her chest.

This was something she'd experienced before, and had tried many times to drown in the depths of herself. Now was not the time to dwell on things that didn't need to exist in the first place.

"Just relax your body, if you tense up you'll just sink," Korra was saying, but all Asami's brain registered were the two strong hands on either side of her waist that were keeping her afloat,

"okay, you're tensing up," the other woman's voice came, closer than it was before. She had wrapped an arm around the heiress's waist, the other worked with her legs to keep them both safely floating. Asami's heart was thundering in her chest, the water around her no longer felt cool and refreshing, boiling was more like it.

They'd been at this for more than an hour now, trying, and failing to learn how to tread water. Asami just couldn't concentrate on anything but the person beside her, and the dark secret that probed sharply at her chest.

Korra could tell something was off, but she didn't know, and didn't dare ask what was bothering the heiress. They'd just met, and she knew it'd take a while before Asami would trust her enough to talk about it. But, it did give her an idea.

Asami was thankful when Korra announced that their lesson was over, and helped her into the shallow end of the pool. Asami took no time climbing out of the water and wrapping a towel around her drenched body. She watched as Korra rose out of the water and made her way to her own towel. Neither of them had said much to each other in the last hour, and honestly Asami was scared of what would come out of her mouth if she tried to speak now.

Korra rubbed her head rapidly with her towel, causing her short hair to curl and flair in every direction. Asami couldn't help but chuckle at this, which in turned earned a crooked grin from the other woman.

"I know that today was a little rough, but I have an idea that will help things along," Korra began.

Asami raised an eyebrow at that, "and what would that be?"

Korra crossed her arms and grinned, "it's a surprise for next time!"

Two hours later Hiroshi found his daughter curled around text books in the sun room, reading glasses pushed to the end of her nose. She looked so much like her mother that it made his chest tighten painfully.

Asami looked up when he entered the room, her books and papers forgotten for the moment. He came to stand beside her, a soft smile playing behind his beard, "so how was your first lesson, as bad as you imagined it to be?"

Asami thought back to her morning with Korra, shrugging in an attempt to be nonchalant,

"it wasn't as horrible," she offered.

Hiroshi chuckled and ran a hand through his thick beard, "I'm sure it'll get better as time progresses," he gave her knee a light pat and then turned to leave, but was stopped by his daughter's voice, "thanks, dad".

He turned and gave her a small smile before exiting.