DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: Legend of Korra.

"Korra! Are you done eating yet? There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Almost, Master Katara!" The young Avatar stuffed the remainder of her fish in her mouth, then raced to the entrance of the living quarters of the compound. She sized up the visitor, spotted the Fire Nation pendant on his parka, and frowned.

"Isn't he a little young to be my firebending teacher? I mean, he's so small I can almost touch his hair!" Korra jumped for emphasis, and winded up smacking the boy right in between his amber eyes. She gave a sheepish smile. "Oops. Sorry, Little Firebender Boy. Are you okay?"

The boy smiled, showing no pain. He knelt down and patted Korra on the head. "I'm fine, Little Avatar Girl. You're just as rambunctious as Grandfather said you were."

"Grandfather?" Korra echoed.

"Yes, Grandfather Zuko. Firelord Zuko."

"Firelord... Oh! The mister whose eyebrows I burnt off!"

The boy laughed. "Yes, that mister. Do you know who I am, then?"

"My firebending teacher?" Korra asked with excitement. The firebender shook his head.

"No, I'm not even done my firebending training yet."

"Aww... But you're Firelord Zuko's grandson, right? Don't you at least know some cool tricks?"

"Maybe a few," said the boy. "Would you like me to show you?"

Korra nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!"

"But wait, you have to ask Master Katara if it's okay first. Aren't you in the middle of waterbending training?"

The young Avatar turned to her waterbending master with pleading eyes. "Can Firebender Boy show me some firebending tricks outside, Master Katara? I promise I'll train a hundred times harder tomorrow, so pleaaase?"

The old woman laughed. "Of course, Korra. Just make sure you two come in by lunchtime. We're having your favourite: seaweed noodles."

"Yay! Thanks, Master Katara!" The girl gave Katara a quick hug, then grabbed the black haired boy's hand and dragged him to the door. "C'mon! Oh yeah, I never told you who I was. I'm Korra, and I'm six! I'm gonna be the greatest Avatar ever, so you better deal with it!" She struck a pose, and giggled. "Who are you, Firebender Boy?"

"Iroh," said the boy. "I'm eleven, and I'm going to be the greatest firebender ever!" He let out two quick bursts of fire from his fists in the forms of eagle-hawks, and smiled as the young Avatar laughed with glee.

-.|.-|-.|-.|.-

"It's been a while, Little Avatar Girl."

"I'm not little anymore!" Korra huffed. "I am eight!"

"Of course, Little Avatar Girl." Korra made an irritated noise, and Iroh laughed.

"Hey, Firebender Boy, can you show me some more firebending? Huh huh huh?"

"Sadly, no," said Iroh. "I only came here to drop off a package for Katara. My ship's engine is still running."

"Oh." Korra looked at her feet. "Oh, okay then."

"...But I heard that you've been doing some firebending lately. I think I can stay to watch you do a few tricks. Maybe you'll even teach me something new."

Korra's face lit up. "Yay! Watch and learn, Firebender Boy! I betcha I'm even better than you now!"

-.|.-|-.|-.|.-

"Little Avatar Girl!"

"Spirits, Iroh, I am not little! I'm eleven and I bet I'm even taller than you now—" Korra stopped short and looked up at the man before her in confusion. "Wait, who are you?"

Iroh frowned. "I'm Iroh! Did you forget me already?"

"But... But Firebender Boy's supposed to be short and boyish. You're... You're tall and manish! What — Oh. Ohh. Stupid puberty," Korra muttered. "Just when I though I was finally catching up to you."

Iroh laughed and ruffled the Avatar's hair. "Too bad for you. It's not my fault you're suddenly a head and a half shorter than me. Well, at least you've almost reached Katara's height." At this, Korra scowled kicked the firebender in the shin. Iroh sucked in a breath and wagged a finger at her.

"That wasn't very nice, Little Avatar Girl."

"You're not very nice," she grumbled back. "And since when did you talk back to me?"

"I'm five years your elder, Korra. I should be the one asking you why you talk back to me."

"Ugh, did your ego grow with your height?"

"Possibly. Does your ego grow with your chest? Oh, wait..."

"That's low, Firebender Boy," Korra hissed, and Iroh smiled.

"Sorry. It's just that when you're at court, these jokes are pretty much prohibited. Especially when you're as old as I am."

Korra smirked. "I've been reading your letters. So, daddy-o's finally trying to find you a lady friend, eh?" she teased. Iroh sighed, and plopped down beside the fireplace. Korra followed suit.

"Yeah. Neither Grandfather, Grandmother nor Mother support forced marriages, but that's how Father's family worked. With him being the exception, of course."

"That sucks," Korra said with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah. So I ran off and came here."

"That su— Wait, what?"

Iroh laughed at the girl's shocked expression. "I'm kidding, Little Avatar Girl. Well, kind of. I took the ship without telling anyone, but I had some errands to run down here. I also have a message for you, Korra."

This caught Korra's attention. "For me? From who?"

"From me," said Iroh. "I had an Agni Kai with Father three days ago, and I won."

"No way!" Korra squealed. "That's great!"

Iroh laughed. "That's not all. Grandfather was there to watch, and after the Agni Kai, he and Father both agreed that I was a full-fledged firebender now. They said that I was perfect solider material. So starting next week, I'll officially be Colonel Iroh of the United Nation." He scratched the back of his head with a laugh. "Well, Colonel-in-training, anyways. I have a lot of learning to do."

"That's amazing, Iroh!" Korra said as she hugged the firebender joyously. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Korra," Iroh said, returning the hug.

"Hey, if you're gonna be in the United Forces, you'll be traveling around the world, right? You'll be going to the Earth Kingdom and the Air Temples and all those places, right?" Iroh nodded. "Hey, can you write to me? Can you send me pictures of all those places? That way, it'll feel like I'll be able to leave the compound someday, and travel around the world, just like you!"

Iroh smiled sadly. "That's the thing, Little Avatar Girl. I won't be able to write or send pictures. I'll be going on some pretty risky missions sometimes, and sending a messenger hawk may give away our position. Of course, there'll be leisure trips, but I don't think I'll have the time to write."

"Oh," Korra said dejectedly. "Oh, well that's okay. I'm used to this stuff, so it's no big deal. Just... visit me soon?"

"'Soon' might be a while, Korra."

"Three years," said Korra. "I'm giving you three years to go and collect stories to tell me, okay?"

"I don't know, but I'll try..."

"No!" Korra shouted. "You've gotta promise!" She held out her pinky finger, and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "You're my only friend, Iroh, so you've gotta promise!"

Iroh smiled sadly at the tears. "Okay," he said, locking pinkies with the Avatar. He wiped her tears away with his other hand, and kissed her forehead lightly. "Okay, I promise. But you have to promise me something, too. It's only fair."

"Name your price!" Korra said goofily, and Iroh smiled.

"Promise me that you'll become a great Avatar," he said, holding out his pinky. "Promise me that you'll become the strongest, bravest, coolest Avatar in history!"

Korra's smile faltered. "I don't know... My earthbending teacher, he's—"

"No!" Iroh snapped, making Korra jolt in surprise. "You've gotta promise. You're my favourite friend, Korra, so you've gotta promise!"

Korra stared at him for a moment, before breaking into a face splitting grin. She locked pinkies, and laughed. "I promise I'll become the strongest, bravest, coolest Avatar in history! I'll make you proud, Iroh!"

The firebending smiled. "I know you will, Little Avatar Girl. I'll be rooting for you."

Korra nodded happily. "Yeah! I'll be rooting for you, too! See you soon, Little Solider Boy!"

-.|.-|-.|-.|.-

"Hey, Little Avatar Girl."

Korra stiffened from her spot in front of the fireplace. "Iroh," she deadpanned. "It's been a long three years, huh?"

Iroh sighed, and padded over to sit beside the Avatar. "I'm sorry, Korra. I got caught up in some... things. I was promoted to Brigadier General, and then Major General, and Lieutenant General, and before I knew it I was General of the United Forces and there was just so much to do. I had planned to surprise you and visit you a year before our promise, but there was a coup de' tat in the Fire Nation, and two years turned into three, then four, then five." He sighed again when Korra gave no response. "I'm really sorry, Korra," he said again.

"Save your breath," Korra spat, turning to face the man. She fisted her hands in her pants and cast her gaze downwards. "You broke a promise that meant everything to me. A simple 'sorry' can't even hope to bandage it up."

"Korra, I—"

"Did you know that on New Years Eve two years ago, I didn't sleep the whole night?" Korra asked, cutting Iroh off. "Do you know why? Because I thought that you'd show up a minute before the year ended with a stupid excuse about the 'errands' you had to run. And then we'd watch Master Katara and Howl and everyone else in the Order make fireworks, and maybe we'd make some, too.

"We'd stay up all night after that, and you'd tell me stories about your trips, about your battles, about your pain. And then hours later, you'd call me by that stupid nickname and ask me if I kept my promise, too, and I'd show you the best bending display in the world, and you'd pat my head and smile and tell me how incredibly proud you were."

Iroh was silent, and Korra let out a shaky laugh. "Though I guess I shouldn't have thought that. I mean, you've got better things to do than watch some weak, cowardly, lame little Avatar do a few party tricks, haven't you, General Iroh?"

"No, Korra—"

"Of course you do! You've got parties — pardon me, soirees — to go to, wars to fight, a whole world to explore. And all I've got — and ever will have — is this tiny little Avatar Training Compound in the middle of the South Pole that I'm not allowed to venture out of for more than an hour, not even to visit my parents, and—" Her voice cracked, and the Avatar brought her knees up to her chest, the silhouette of a howling armadillo-wolf flickering in the fireplace. "... And it's just so lonely, dammit."

The room was silent as Iroh absorbed her words. "Show me," he mumbled after a while.

"Huh?"

"Show me that display you were going to perform two years ago," Iroh said quietly. "I want to see it."

Korra scoffed. "If you wanted to see it, why didn't you show up two years ago?"

"Please," Iroh begged, sadness evident in his voice. "I want to see it."

"...Fine," she said as she stood up. "Come outside." Iroh nodded and followed the Avatar to the training ground of the compound, where he stood right outside of the marked line.

"Go on," he said when Korra hesitated. "I want to see."

Korra closed her eyes and took a breath, and started with the slow, fluid movements of waterbending as she made the snow around her roll like the waves in the ocean. Tiny shark-orcas and tiger-seals jumped from the waves, and snow began to fall on the mini-ocean.

Then suddenly, the snow turned into hail, which then morphed into a full out blizzard. It crashed into the ground, creating the waterbending crest, and two boulders flew from the ground and exploded above Korra. Shards of sharp rock rained from the sky, but just before any pieces touched the ground, Korra stomped and stopped the shards in midair, making them levitate in complete stillness. Then, with two quick snaps of her legs, the rocks arranged themselves into the earthbending symbol.

Fire erupted from the gaps of the earthbending symbol, and formed ring around Korra. The Avatar sucked in a breath, and fire in the form of a ferocious dragon burst from her mouth while the ring morphed into the tail of the dragon. The dragon flew around the perimeter of the training ground, while two fish danced in a circle around Korra. A rocky badgermore dug its way out of the ground, sniffed the ground, then dived back into its hole and sealed it back up. The two fish chased each other and splashed back into the snow, and the dragon gave one final roar of fire before fading into the sky.

"I'm the Avatar!" Korra shouted confidently. "And you've gotta deal with it!" She punched upwards, and two majestic eagle-hawks of fire flew into the distance. The Avatar held her stance for a few seconds, before dropping her arms and taking deep gulps of air.

"That," said Iroh, as he brushed an arm across his eyes, "was amazing." He strided forwards and gave the Avatar a full hug. "You've become a great bender, and an even greater Avatar. I'm so proud of you, Korra."

"Really?" Korra asked, voice warbling embarrassingly high.

"Really."

"You promise you're not lying?"

Iroh smiled, and kissed the top of her head. "I promise, Little Avatar Girl. I promise I'm not lying."

"Thank you," Korra whispered, as she gripped the back of Iroh's coat and let her tears drop onto his chest. "Thank you so much, Iroh."

"Yeah," said Iroh, hugging her close. "Thank you, too, Korra. I'm honoured to be your friend.

-.|.-|-.|-.|.-

"...Hey, Korra?"

"Mmm?"

"...You've grown into quite the looker these five years, haven't you, Korra?"

"Wha— Keep your leering eyes to yourself, pervert!"

"What? It's true. Also, I can feel your... assets through my coat. I guess I shouldn't be calling you 'Little' Avatar Girl anymore, huh?"

"WHAT. WHY ARE YOU NOTICING THAT OF ALL THINGS?"

"Ow! C'mon, Korra, having an ample chest is a good thing—"

"SPIRITS, IROH, STOP BEING GROSS."

"Aw, are you blushing? Cuuuute."

"SHUT. UP."

.

.

.

fin.

Headcanon: Seeing that his grandson was roughly the same age as the new Avatar, Firelord Zuko often sent Iroh to the Southern Water Tribe to run errands. He made sure to always include something to do with the compound, hoping to encourage Iroh to form a friendship with Korra. After many years, they have formed a brother/sister like relationship. Korra is attached to Iroh, as his visits bring a sense of normalcy in her life, and he's the only person other than Katara that earnestly praises her skill. Iroh likes being with Korra because when he's with her, he doesn't need to put up the "Royal Family" front. He can just be himself, and she won't ever judge him for it.

Also Iroh's secretly a pervert but that's really just for my own guilty pleasure. And also he's a really big tease.

Kind of based off a tumblr headcanon, but all I really want is for Iroh and Korra to have some kind of a friendship.

And yes, "Little Solider Boy" and "honour" are intentional.

Thanks for reading!