Shu Beifong belongs to the RP tumblr blog, Shu-Beifong.

"Good to see you, man." Keisai nodded to Wei once he was in the foyer of the Beifong mansion, his daughter having run off to paint with Huan. Wei had grown since he'd last been by to visit, and the playful clap on the back he received from the kid actually winded him a little. "Where's loverboy? Off violating probation?"

"In his room," Wei said. Keisai didn't miss the snort.

"I'm sensing a 'with Kuvira' in there."

"Yeah."

"Well, I'll deal with my favorite dictators later. Where's your other half? Off with his other half?"

Wei grinned. "You could say that. Still can't believe he's getting married."

Keisai shrugged. "Happens to the best of us. So you're the last Beifong free of the old ball and chain, then."

Wei nodded. "Yeah. Well, kind of. I'm dating the bride's sister. Have been for a while, actually."

The lawyer's eyebrows shot up. "Uh, cool. Are they identical twins too?"

Wei nodded.

"Nice," Keisai said approvingly. "Well, if you both decide to tie the knot I can tell you it's very much worth it."

"I don't want to start a firm, Keisai."

He grinned and punched the younger man in the shoulder. "Stay out of trouble."

"Who do you think I am? Baatar?"

It had been ten long years since his first meeting with Baatar and Kuvira, and five years since he had visited Zaofu for Opal and Bolin's wedding. Not much had changed; the creepy domes were back in place and the citizens still wore pretentious futuristic garb. Keisai felt less like he was in a utopian society and more like he was in a futuristic retreat he'd quickly grow tired of, if his stay were prolonged. Still, he could hardly say that to Su. The woman was sweet to have invited him to all of her children's weddings, and somehow he felt she might take offense at a list of his grievances with how she ran her state.

"Suyin," he said, nearly colliding with her on the stairs. "Always a pleasure," he added, taking her hand and brushing it with his lips. "Do you age, or have you forgotten how?"

Su laughed delightedly. "Keisai, it's wonderful to see you again. Where's your wife?"

"With my sister, in Omashu," he replied, grinning. "She's got one brat to deal with and another on the way, and on top of that she's taking a case for a prominent captain of industry who unfortunately must remain unnamed."

Su tutted. "Cabbage Corp?"

Keisai shrugged. "Unnamed, Su."

"More importantly, Meilin's expecting again?" Su pressed on. "Congratulations to you both! And nonsense, your daughter is lovely—"

"Wasn't talking about the kid," Keisai said, winking at her before he ducked around and make his way up the stairs, eager to see Baatar and Kuvira again for the first time in months.

He heard a giggle come from the room and instantly was on his guard. Something was wrong, and Keisai shuddered as he head Kuvira's suppressed laughter again. His knuckles wrapped against the metal door, knocking it open a crack. "Couldn't even lock it?" he muttered to himself. "Then maybe it's nothing bad… Baatar? Kuvira? Do I want to come in?"

He got no response, but he heard a little indignant trill coming from the other side of the door. "For the love of—" he said darkly, and shoved the door open. "Spirits, even now?" he burst out. "I knocked and everything! Just once I'd like some proof that you two do more than unite—"

"Keisai!"

There was no mistaking the delight in Kuvira's voice upon seeing him, but that didn't change the fact that she was on Baatar's lap, his face newly removed from where her neck met her shoulder, and his hands hastily rearranged to a spot outside her shirt. "I've missed you," she said, slipping off and throwing her arms around the lawyer for a tight hug. "How is Meilin? Did you bring your daughter, this time? Shu needs to meet her."

"Meilin is in the family way and tied up with an important case, I'm afraid," Keisai said, holding Kuvira by the shoulders and appraising her. "Which reminds me, when will you both be having another? Baatar said the Beifong minimum is two?"

"Baatar would have me perennially pregnant if I let him—"

"I would not!" Baatar protested, tugging her back. "Keisai, how are you?" he added, clasping the lawyer's hand. "I've missed the verbal abuse."

"Great," Keisai said. "I'm between cases, I have a week to kill in… beautiful Zaofu… why the hell did your mother put the domes back?"

Kuvira sighed. "I helped. It was my way of trying to get back into Su's good books."

"I can see why you live in Fong," he observed. "Last Empire Loyalist stronghold, no claustrophobic domes. And Baatar, I don't understand you. Isn't being in your childhood room enough of a turnoff? You have to start trying to give Shu a little brother or sister right now?"

Baatar shrugged. "My first kiss with her was in my lab. My second was in here. I don't see anything odd about it."

"Mama?"

"Already tired of your Uncle Wing?" Kuvira said, beckoning to the little boy and picking him up when he ran to her.

"No," Shu said, a plaintive whine in his voice. "I just couldn't find you."

"Consider yourself lucky, little man," Keisai said, throwing Baatar a significant look.

"Now you have," Kuvira said easily. "Daddy and I are right here. And someone very special is here, too. Do you remember Uncle Keisai?"

Keisai grinned. "It feels wrong to call him 'sweetheart,' Kuvira."

"Uncle Keisai?" the child said, perking up. "Mama, is he Liling's dad?"

"He is," Baatar said, smiling. "And he's very special to your mother and I for—"

"—reasons you don't need to hear about for a long time," Kuvira said firmly.

Baatar sighed, and turned back to the lawyer. "Keisai, I need to see your daughter again. How old is she now? Seven?"

"Birthday's next month, man," Keisai said, his expression comically aggrieved. "Stop trying to make my baby grow up faster. I'll go get her… and it's lucky I didn't bring her up here, you guys are hopeless. Bet Shu's already had an eyeful before age five."

"I'm discreet," Kuvira said evenly. "Don't look at me."

The five of them wandered the grounds, the children running ahead and Shu showing Liling all of his favorite spots and curiosities. "I've missed this," Keisai said happily. "I'm always surprised by just how much I miss your scheming faces when I'm away… Kuvira, how are you even cleared to travel? You have eighteen months left."

"You did the paperwork for the request," Baatar shot back, an arm protectively wrapped around her waist. "Which we both appreciate, by the way."

"Daddy!" Liling came running, tugging Shu along with her. Keisai's daughter was an exact blend of her parents, with her mother's deep blue eyes, her father's black, wavy hair, and an olive skin tone that made her ethnicity wonderfully ambiguous. Her features were more like her mother's, but the shape of her lips and the twinkle of devilry in her eyes made it clear whose daughter she was. "Daddy, Shu doesn't know the story about the blockade shootout. Tell him!"

Liling was a blend of her parents, but Shu seemed to favor his mother more. Or perhaps it was the little birthmark under his right eye that biased him, Keisai reflected. The little boy had a diluted version of his father's complexion, and eyes that resembled his grandmother's more than anyone else's. He was already tall for his age, and the lawyer couldn't help but see potential for a future wrestler. Kuvira had informed him in her letters that Shu had already begun earthbending with obvious pride, and seeing the child before him Keisai saw possibilities for a future Earth Rumble Six champion. Despite the resemblances to his father, Shu's chin and jawline were already sharp, and though he lacked Kuvira's cat-like eyes, there was something about his general demeanor that marked him as her son. "I don't know, Liling," Keisai said, plopping down and re-braiding her right twist of hair at the crown of her head. "Ask your aunt and uncle if it's okay."

"What story?" Baatar said, squatting down to the children's eye level. "Liling, did your dad tell you about the time he got in a shootout to get some important evidence for a case?"

"Yes," the little girl said, eyes wide. "And that's why he has a giant line on his side—"

"It's a scar, honey," Keisai said, rolling his eyes. "And it's just a scratch. But actually.. no, I haven't told them the navy story. Should we tell them now?"

"Yes!" the children chorused, and Kuvira laughed. "I've heard this one alluded to. Baatar, are you familiar with it?"

Baatar groaned. "In excruciating detail."

"Then you can help Liling and I tell the story," Keisai said with a fiendish smirk. "Is that okay with you, sweetheart?"

"I'm dying of curiosity," Kuvira said, sinking down into the soft grass and patting her lap. Shu clambered on, and she leaned against Baatar when he joined them. "Let's hear it."

"How do we start?" Keisai said to his daughter, making a face of mock seriousness.

"Twenty years ago," Liling began obediently, "Daddy was a devilishly handsome man of twenty-one—"

"Oh no," Baatar muttered.

"—and during a scouting operation of the utmost importance—"

Kuvira snorted. "Excellent parenting, Keisai."

"The seas were calm, but I was not," the lawyer said happily. "I tend to get overtly ambitious —as Kuvira knows— and I didn't follow my corporal's orders to do a sweep and then return to the base. We were near the boiling rock, and the colonies there are a hotbed for resistant Earth Kingdom operatives."

"Kingdom?" Shu said, confused. "Not Empire?"

Keisai glared at Kuvira.

"I didn't do this!" she protested. "Shu, it's the Earth Nation. You know that."

"Your wedding album said 'empire,' Mama."

"Anyway. I overshot. There were pirates returning from a successful raid on Earth Nation ships, and I decided to be a heroic arbiter of justice. Naturally, this meant steering my little vessel straight into open confrontation, while I was supposed to be on a scouting mission. It wasn't pretty. See, if I had actually done more than send up flares and trade harsh words, I would've caused an international incident—"

"Daddy, you didn't just send flares," Liling said. "You broke into the cargo hold—"

Baatar snorted. "And requested backup when the bandits proved to be too much for the unconquerable Keisai Sabad. Right, Liling?"

"Mmhmm," the little girl said, nodding solemnly. "Then Uncle Iroh helped—"

"You know what?" Keisai said, shushing her. "This is Daddy's story. Take a break, sweetheart."

"Don't talk over me, Daddy! Mom says that's rude—"

"Oh, I like her," Kuvira said, tipping her face towards Baatar. "Keep going, this is intriguing."

"Fine. Anyway, that's right. Iroh was right there behind me when I blasted into the cargo hold and cleared out the booty, if you will. And then we were in a scrimmage like no other, outnumbered eight to one, fighting back to back in Earth Kingdom waters. And who were we? An overprivileged jerk from a family of lawyers and the prince of the Fire Nation. To the Earth Kingdom blockade within shooting range, we looked like shitty Fire Nation aggressors to a member of their fleet. See, the pirates had commandeered an Earth Kingdom navy ship, so we looked a lot worse than we actually were.

"Once Iroh and I cut loose with the stolen goods in tow, we tried to run the blockade since they were happy to ignore our messages that we had done them a service. And it worked, sort of… the captain of the fleet was an incredibly hot—

"Prettier than Auntie Meilin?" Shu piped up. "Mama showed us her picture."

Keisai grinned, but Kuvira could see a hint of pink in his cheeks. "Shu, the only person as pretty as Auntie Meilin is your mother. So no, not nearly that pretty."

"Oh," Shu said happily. "So you told the captain she was pretty, and she let you pass."

"Who told him the story?" Keisai said crossly. "Liling…"

"That's how you got stuff for the case you helped Mama and Daddy with," Shu said. "Right?"

"I already have a reputation with the kid," the lawyer muttered. "Right, Shu. But in this case-"

"And then the captain let you pass after she wrote you up," Liling supplied helpfully. "That means he got in trouble," she said to Shu matter-of-factly. "And because Uncle Iroh was there their navy wanted to fight the Fire Nation—"

"Right. Despite copious amounts of charm and Iroh's explanations of how we had 'saved her fleet from the pirates,' that woman wasn't buying it. Lord Zuko got a kick out of that later, not sure why. Still, something about me must've been effective —probably was that suave, rakish appeal— because she took the cargo and let us pass. But then we had a different blockade to pass— our own. So I told Iroh to sit tight, because we gunned it. I'm still not sure how I didn't get written up for that.. one of our own naval officers caught us and she was a notorious bitch—"

"Language," Baatar said curtly. "You're a father now."

"That's not his favorite bad word," Liling said happily. "That's—"

"No," Keisai said firmly. "You don't get to use those words until you're old, honey. Now, were was I.."

"You sped through the blockade, and with copious amounts of charm and a face that was simultaneously ruggedly handsome and youthfully innocent, you talked your way out of it," Baatar snapped. "That's it, that's the whole story."

"Fine," Keisai pouted. "But you're forgetting the best part."

Baatar growled in frustration. "What might that be?"

The lawyer sighed happily. "I've missed that," he said to Kuvira. "Does he still do that when you—"

"Yes," Kuvira said shortly. "Get on with the story."

"We're nearly done," Keisai said, smiling fondly at the memory. "Iroh and I returned to the capitol immediately, because Fire Lord Izumi was pissed. Iroh was fine, of course— the prince can't be tied to scandal and I made it sound like he just stepped in to help me."

"He did," Baatar said flatly. "The international incident was entirely your fault."

"Iroh owed me, because I pulled him out of open fire earlier," Keisai retorted. "Anway, his mom was not happy. But it pays to be Iroh's main man, because he convinced her to pardon me. See, what I did would've been punishable with military arrest, and I'm pretty sure the papers were already drafted. And when the commander in chief is on your side… well, I was very fortunate. I wasn't court martialed, at the end of the day. And the whole affair was hushed up, after peace talks were conducted with the Earth Nation. It all worked out all right."

"Wow," Shu said excitedly. "And you knew all of that?" he asked Liling in disbelief.

"Yeah," she nodded proudly. "But your mom and dad were in the army too, Shu. Auntie Kuvira, can we hear your war stories? You've told Daddy, but he says they're your stories so can't share."

Kuvira fiddled with her ring, clearly uncomfortable. "No, I don't think—"

"Please, Mama?" Shu's voice was plaintive. "Liling knows Uncle Keisai's war stories."

Baatar squeezed her hand. "We need to tell him eventually. We may as well get the basics out of the way right now."

"Fine. Liling, we're going to talk as a family for a little bit, and then I'll tell you some of our stories," Kuvira said, and Keisai watched her with warm pride in his eyes as she took her son's hand and led him aside, Baatar close behind.

"She'll be fine," he said to himself. And he believed it. After the Ironclad Trials, as they had come to be called, Keisai had worked with countless high-profile clients. But Kuvira would always be special to him.

"She's your favorite client ever, isn't she," Liling said, tugging on his sleeve. "She's the one that you said made you a name?"

"She is," Keisai said, contentedly watching Baatar and Kuvira perform their parental duties. "She really is, and I think she always will be."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHU! And I hope you Ironclad peeps liked it too! Unorthodox will be updated soon. :) I said that in May, but I'm actually writing a chapter now. LEMME KNOW WHAT YA THOUGHT.