"Excuse me, Tenzin. Varrick is looking for you. Something about wanting to borrow a glider suit to fly off the tower?"
As Tenzin turned and swept off, his mind whirred with the possibilities. The likelihood that Varrick would disrupt his own wedding party to go do some crazy stunt seemed rather hard to believe. When he'd left the main festivities a little while ago, Varrick and Zhu Li had been locked in some kind of fancy footwork with eyes only for each other. Then again, it was Varrick. Who knew how that man's brilliant yet eccentric mind worked?
Yet when Tenzin reached the main gathering space, he found Varrick and Zhu Li exactly where he had left them, still dancing with huge grins on their faces. So, Asami had been lying to him, as he'd suspected. She'd lied because she'd wanted him to leave so that she could be alone with Korra.
Tenzin sighed and ran his hand over his shaven head. If he did not know both young women so well, he would have been concerned about this a while ago. His heart swelled when he thought of Korra and how she had grown and suffered and persevered over the past several years. His love for her was a gentle echo of the feelings he had for his own daughters; how could it not be, when she was the reincarnated form of his own beloved father? Although he naturally felt very protective towards her, he also acknowledged that she was an adult now and a fully realized Avatar. Korra's path was hers to choose. Now, fourteen year old Jinora was another story. Tenzin made a mental note to keep an eye out for her and Kai so that the two teens wouldn't have any opportunity to sneak off together at the party.
His thoughts then shifted to Asami. Tenzin had first met Asami as Mako's girlfriend and the daughter of one of Amon's staunchest supporters and craftiest technicians. He had been hesitant at first to trust her given her background. However, Asami Sato had proven herself time and time again, saving him from being captured and taken to Amon, rescuing him with Bolin from the Red Lotus after he had been nearly beaten to death, and using her economic clout to aid President Raiko in the improvement of the Republic City's rail system after Harmonic Convergence. She was a sharply intelligent, capable woman who had become one of the most respected business leaders in the world. She was also a woman who had carried a shadow of sadness behind her eyes until very recently.
Tenzin had seen Asami quite frequently during the three years Korra had been recovering at the South Pole. They had stopped and chatted at council meeting and public events, and both she and Mako had been frequent dinner guests at Air Temple Island when everyone was in town. She was always polite and professional in public and warm and friendly in private, especially with his children. He wouldn't expect anything less from someone raised in an upper class, cosmopolitan lifestyle. But Tenzin was a teacher and a parent, and he'd spent enough time around his often meditative and silently contemplative father to become adept at dissecting facial expressions and non-verbal body language. During those years, there was always a weight pushing down on Asami's shoulders and some sort of quiet hurt tugging at the corners of her lips. At the time, Tenzin had chalked it up to her continual processing of reconciling her love for her father with her disgust for his actions, but he had come to realize that the soft wistful longing that had crossed her face in the moments when she had thought no one was looking had had nothing to do with Hiroshi Sato. Or any other man, for that matter.
About two years ago, Tenzin had knocked on the doors of the Sato mansion, intending to give Asami a report on the latest budget and progress on the rail construction project. As he had waited for entrance, a messenger hawk had swooped down and dropped a letter in the little postbox to the right of the door. Curiously, Tenzin had reached for the scroll to see who the sender was, wondering if the message had anything to do with the construction project. It had to be from quite a distance away; messenger hawks were only used for long distance mail, since Republic City had an efficient courier system inside city limits. Before he could examine the scroll however, the door had opened and Asami had greeted him.
"Tenzin! What a lovely surprise. Please, come in."
As Tenzin had stepped through the door, he had passed the scroll to Asami.
"This just came for you from a messenger hawk. Fear not; I haven't opened it."
Asami's whole face had lit up like the Northern Lights. She had taken the scroll eagerly and torn it open, tears forming at the edges of her eye lids. Tenzin had been rather taken aback by her response.
"Asami? Are you quite alright? What has happened?"
Asami had wiped her eyes after a long pause and tucked the message away into a pocket for safekeeping.
"I apologize, Tenzin. I forgot myself for a moment. Now, I assume you have the latest construction report for me, correct?"
Tenzin had narrowed his gaze in suspicion. Asami's professional mask had morphed her features back into an expression of respectful interest, but he could see that it had cost her to regain her composure. His fatherly, protective instincts had reared up and Tenzin had pressed his inquiry.
"No apology is necessary, Asami. But I can tell that this letter has affected you greatly. Are you sure there is nothing you want to talk about? I've noticed that you have seemed somewhat withdrawn as of late."
Asami had sighed deeply. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell Mako or Bolin or any of your kids, okay? At Tenzin's nod, she had continued, pointedly not meeting his eyes. "It's a letter… from Korra."
Tenzin had flinched, completely shocked by that admission. He had not heard directly from Korra since she had left for the North Pole. "You're in contact with Korra? Is she all right? She hasn't answered any of the letters my children have sent her. And as far as I know, Mako hasn't heard from her recently either."
Asami's cheeks had turned faintly pink. "That's just it… she's only been writing to me, which is why I haven't told any of you. She's… she's depressed and feels weak and powerless and alone and I… I just feel so helpless. She doesn't write me very often, and every time I hear from her, it just makes her being away that much harder. I just want to hold her and make everything okay again, but I can't and it just… it kills me."
Asami's words had come out in rush, like she'd been holding them inside her heart behind a dam that had just burst. By the end of it, her voice had completely choked up and tears were flowing freely down her pale cheeks. Tenzin had been stunned at the time by the flood of emotions coming from the normally reserved young industrialist. He had reached out and gently encircled her in his arms, letting her sob into his shoulder.
"Korra has suffered much and her recovery has been long and slow. But she will recover. She will find the light within herself again. And part of the reason that she will is because she has friends who love her and will never give up on her. I am glad that you are here for her in her time of need, Asami. And remember that you are not alone either. If you ever need anything, my door is always open to you."
Asami had rubbed her eyes and slowly withdrawn. "Thank you, Tenzin. I appreciate that. It's good to just let it out sometimes, I guess. I try to keep myself buried in my work, but my thoughts are always with her. I offered to go with her, you know, but she turned me down. I just… I would do anything to make her happy again."
As the memory of that encounter passed through Tenzin's mind, another incident swam through his thoughts. Just a few weeks ago, he had interrupted Korra and Asami drinking tea together and having a heated conversation about Korra's future and place in the world. He had noticed how they had subconsciously tilted their bodies towards each other. There was an energy in the air that had made Tenzin feel as though he were intruding upon something important.
A thousand little glances and light touches flashed through his mind. Tenzin realized that as soon as Korra had returned to Republic City, the pain in Asami's eyes had vanished. They had all been so busy, so preoccupied with the threat of impending war recently that there had scarcely been time to sleep. But now, with Kuvira defeated and a new spirit portal casting its comforting glow over the city, there was time for conversations again. Time for hugs and dances and laughter. Tenzin allowed a small smile to cross his lips. In the relief of making it through yet another battle with all of their children alive and well, he and Pema had made love well into the night and things between them had remained rather reinvigorated ever since. His children were healthy and his heart was full. Perhaps… Korra and Asami felt much the same way.
Just then, Ikki ran up to him. "Daddy, daddy! I just saw Jinora run off with Kai behind the tower! I flew over and spied on them and they're kissing!"
"Oh spirits!" Quickly, Tenzin shook his head and ran off right behind his younger daughter. His musings would have to wait until later. Right now, he needed to have a long talk with the youngest airbending master in the world and the boy she was dating about some ground rules.
After an uncomfortable lecture that had resulted in Jinora glaring defiantly at him and Kai staring sheepishly at the floor, Tenzin was heading back to the party when he saw Korra in the hallway, dressed in her normal clothes with a pack over her shoulder.
"Korra? Where are you going?"
Korra jumped and turned around slowly. "Oh Tenzin, I didn't notice you there."
Tenzin simply raised his eyebrow at her. Korra's shoulders relaxed and she closed her eyes. "I'm leaving for a while. On a vacation. I'm not sure exactly when I'll be back."
Tenzin stared at her. "You're going on a vacation… by yourself?"
Korra shook her head. "Not by myself. With Asami. I'm going to show her the Spirit World."
Tenzin's eyebrows only climbed higher. "You and Asami are going away to the Spirit World together. Just the two of you?"
The flush that crept up Korra's neck and into her cheeks was quite becoming. "I know it might seem a little strange. But I've never felt so sure about anything. Asami's father just died and I was away for so long and we need some time to just… be together, without any distractions or battles or news reporters."
Tenzin struggled to find the words to ask the question burning on his tongue as all of the pieces of the puzzle slowly came together. "Are you… is she…?
Korra's reply was so soft that he had to lean in just to hear it. "I'm not sure what we are. But I know that I want to find out. Are you... are you okay with that? I mean, I'm not asking your permission. But it would be… nice, if you approved."
Tenzin beamed with pride at Korra's maturity and wisdom. "I have no doubt that you know exactly what you are doing. Know that wherever life leads you and whatever or… whoever makes you happy, you will always have my support. And for the record, I have no doubt that Asami cares about you very much."
A single tear slid down Korra's cheek. She wrapped Tenzin in a brief hug and then stepped back. "Thank you, Tenzin. That means more than you'll ever know. Would you mind letting everyone know that I'm safe and sound? I don't want them to worry, and I don't want to go back in there and say goodbye to so many people right now."
Tenzin dried his own tears and nodded, watching as Korra bowed in a formal Water Tribe fashion, and then turned and left.
A few hours later, as the party was winding down, Tenzin was determinedly cleaning away the debris from the confetti gun that Varrick had insisted upon with his airbending when Mako ran up to him with a concerned look on his face.
"Tenzin, do you know where Korra is? Or Asami, for that matter? No one has seen them anywhere, and Prince Wu wants one last dance with his 'favorite ladies' before he turns in."
Tenzin smiled lightly and shook his head. "I'm afraid the prince will be disappointed. But Korra and Asami are exactly where they need to be."
Mako's eyes narrowed in confusion, and then his jaw dropped as comprehension struck. "Oh."
Tenzin chuckled and ruffled Mako's hair affectionately. "Don't take it too hard. After all, if it wasn't for you, they might not have ever met."
Mako groaned and put his head in his hands. After a moment, he straightened up again. "Honestly, I'm not even really all that surprised. I knew something was up between them the first day we got the group back together. It's just weird, that's all. The only two girls I've ever dated… and now they're… well…"
Tenzin put his hand on Mako's shoulder. "I'm sure that once they're back from their vacation, you'll have plenty of time to get used to the idea."
Mako's jaw dropped again and he blushed a deep scarlet. "They're going on a vacation together?" Tenzin's brow furrowed as Mako's eyes glazed over and he continued to stare off into the distance, a slight bit of drool glistening at the corner of his mouth.
"Enough of that, Mako. They are both your friends!"
Mako seemed to come back into himself. "Of course. Right. Sorry. I… I have to get back to Wu, anyway. And then I think I'm gonna go out on the town. Korra and Asami are moving forward in their lives, and now that things have settled down, I'd like to move on as well. Meet some new people, have fun again. So, I guess I'll see you around then. Goodnight, Tenzin."
As Mako walked away, Tenzin marveled at how much the young firebender had matured too. With a few more good blasts of air, the courtyard was at last confetti free. Finally. Tenzin breathed quietly for a few moments, enjoying the calm and solitude. Republic City was safe, the new Air Nation was ever expanding, his four children were clever and precious, and Pema was waiting for him in their bed. His life was really just about perfect. As he turned to go inside, he silently wished that Korra might find the same peace and utter contentment someday.
When the Avatar and Future Industries' CEO returned from the Spirit World three months later hand in hand and Korra shyly confessed that she was moving all of her possessions to the Sato mansion, Tenzin was the only one who wasn't completely surprised.
Mako, one arm around the metalbending police officer he was seeing, still couldn't help blushing. Bolin flailed incoherently until Opal gently stepped on his foot in warning. Varrick, fresh from his honeymoon with Zhu Li, whispered something in Asami's ear that made her smack him straight across the face. Jinora thought the whole thing was ridiculously romantic. Ikki asked way too many personal questions. Lin raised an eyebrow, and noted "well, you could have done a lot worse," which was pretty positive coming from her.
But the best reaction by far was Grandma Yin's. When the whole gang gathered at the Sato mansion to welcome the two young women home, she got a little too tipsy on rice wine.
" See, Mako, this is what happens when you let go of nice girls like Korra and Asami. They'll just end up dating each other. Not that I'm unfamiliar with love between the ladies, you understand? You should have seen me in my prime. Before I met your grandfather, I had quite the fling with one of the Earth Queen's handmaidens. And what a hand maiden she was! I couldn't walk right for days after a night with her!"
"Grandma Yin!" Mako cried out in dismay and mortification. Tenzin facepalmed and sat down, hard. The entire room just froze and stared at her in collective shock and embarrassment. Ikki and Meelo merely shrugged in confusion, the innuendo thankfully still flying right over their cherubic heads.
Then, a loud burst of laughter broke through the tense silence. Korra had collapsed against Asami, and she was guffawing so hard that there were tears leaking out of her eyes.
"Remind me to invite Grandma Yin to every party I ever go to."
Asami started to chuckle too, and gradually the rest of the room relaxed as the tension evaporated. Eventually, Korra shifted to face the crowd. "Thank you all for being here. It means a lot to us to have the love and support of our family and friends. Yes, Asami and I are romantically attached and we're very happy."
"Hear hear!" There were whoops and cheers from all over the room. Then a single high pitched voice rose above the rest. "Kiss! Kiss!"
"Meelo!" Tenzin scolded sharply. But Asami was already turning to face Korra and placed a hand on her cheek. Korra simply melted against her, smiling an easygoing smile and whispering something only met for one set of ears. The level of trust and comfort between the two was evident to everyone in the room.
As they shared a chaste yet incredibly intimate kiss in front of the entire party, Tenzin knew he'd been right all along. Asami had been Korra's light in the dark, and now, together, their light was bright enough to illuminate whatever lay ahead.