In a place that changed easily, the man's presence beneath the old tree was a constant of sorts. The woman approached him, standing in the shadows several feet away. "You look terrible, old man." He was grayed and thin, the skin hanging from his bones. Once, he'd been strong, but that was a long time ago. She wasn't here for his physical strength.

"It's almost time." His eyes were closed, and he sat cross-legged. "I have one lesson left for you."

"There's only a few of us." Frowning, the woman studied him, amber eyes taking in his dessicated figure. "We're not ready yet. It's not ready yet."

He opened his eyes. "It will be. You are many. I've made sure of that. When you are done, you will blot out the sun."

Regarding him for a moment, she made a decision. Sitting in front of him, she assumed the lotus position. "I am ready for your lesson."

"We'll begin with your element. Fire."

Rain pelted down on Asami's head, and she looked skyward. "It's picking up again!" To her left, Earthbenders were shoring up a crumbling section of the dam. Water sloshed violently on the rim, threatening to flood over the top, but the real concern was the whole structure. She ran along the base, placing flags at weak points. Cracks were forming at a faster rate than the benders could keep up with, and water started to spout from several of the cracks. The dam groaned menacingly.

"Jia, here." She pointed at the rapidly spider-webbing cracks. "Get Korra, this needs to be reinforced now."

Thunder rumbled and it was like some god or goddess had upended a bucket. The water came down hard, and visibility dropped to only a few feet. The wind gusts sometimes made it go sideways and if Asami wasn't so well trained she'd have lost her balance. Ducking her head against the deluge she strained to listen to the dam and shouted, "Korra!"

"I'm here!" Her wife grabbed her arm. Asami didn't spare her more than the briefest smiles. Her voice was sore from yelling to be heard above the storm. "We need to reinforce the dam right here, if this gives out the whole thing collapses and a lot of people are going to die! It's already starting to go!"

Nodding, Korra punched her fist into her palm and took a step towards the dam. She started to bend supports from the earth, pillars shooting out to brace the structure. Korra tried to seal some of the cracks, but they were forming faster than she could keep up. She paused to look it over, then shook her head. "That's not going to be enough, is it?"

"No! There's a giant reservoir pushing against it! Engineers can repair it when the storm is over but we just need it to hold!"

Korra glanced back at her wife. Asami's hair was plastered to her head and her shirt was glued to her body. It was an attractive sight. White light filled Korra's eyes. "What is it you always say? No better muscle than the Avatar?"

Korra planted her feet in the ground, her long braid whipping in the wind as the rain lashed at her. As she pulled her hands up, earth rumbled up to the dam, as far along either side as Asami could see. She realized this wouldn't work, not like this. "Korra! You need to curve it! Make it follow the curve of the dam! It'll break otherwise!"

"Got it!" Korra shifted her stance and the massive structures of rocks shifted with her. It wasn't pretty, but it would hold through the storm. She ran back to Asami's side and wrapped her arms around her. "Good enough?"

Pretending to look past Korra and judge the Avatar's work, Asami clucked her tongue. "It'll do."

"Your make-up is running." Korra ran her thumb over Asami's lips. "And now your lipstick is smudged."

Laughing, she shoved at Korra's shoulder. "I'll live! Lets get back to the airship."

"Are we in such a hurry to get back, Mrs. Sato?" Korra lifted her up and started to carry her.

"If we miss our anniversary, the storm will be the least of your problems, Mrs. Sato." Asami squirmed until Korra set her back down. The two pushed through the rain and the wind until they reached the airship. Asami turned and rubbed her hand up Korra's arm. "I'm glad you came. This would have been a disaster without you."

"I had a hunch when you told me how bad the storm was." Korra gave her a grin, that lopsided cocky smile that she'd known for fourteen years. She couldn't help it. She wrapped her arms around Korra and kissed her, runny makeup and all.

Even after they'd dried off and settled into the airship's lounge, Korra kept a little bit of Asami's make-up smudged on her face as a sort of mark of honor. She sat on the couch and bumped her shoulder against Asami's. "Storm should let up soon, but I don't think we'll make it back to Republic City in time."

"I prepared for that." Jia looked up from some files. She wore a pencil skirt and golden earrings, and had black hair styled in an elaborate bun. Asami had hired her right out of the University as a personal assistant and she'd proven to be well worth her paycheck. It didn't hurt that she never batted an eye when Asami did something dangerous. "Wine is chilling in the ice box and there are sweets in the kitchen. You could set up on deck once we're airborne."

"Thank you, Jia. What would I ever do without you?"

"The company would fall apart, ma'am." There was a little twinkle of mischief in Jia's amber eyes and the three of them shared a laugh.

It wasn't long before they were in the air. The rain had washed down the whole airship, giving it a fresh smell. Korra walked to the railing and looked down at the dam. Asami leaned next to her. "We're going to do a couple of passes before we go, just to make sure everything looks sound."

Korra pointed towards one end of the dam. "Crews are already working."

"They'll smooth out your work, check for weak points, and employ permanent solutions." Asami cast a sly grin at Korra. "Jagged bits of rock aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing."

"I'm the Avatar, not an artist." She sighed, and watched Asami take notes as they circled the dam. Once a report was radioed to the ground, they finally got underway. Korra waited on deck, shifting on her feet, and rubbed her palm with her thumb. Jia had set some chairs on deck, as well as a table, and Korra took a seat to wait.

Asami finally came onto deck, carrying a basket and the bottle of wine. "Good vintage."

"We should be pretty safe up here." Korra murmured. Asami knelt over her, tilting her chin up.

"Everything will be fine, just like every other year." Her voice was kind, and understanding. She brushed her fingers along Korra's cheeks, and then traced the laugh lines that were starting to form near her eyes. "You haven't even had that dream in years."

Leaning into the touch, Korra forced herself to relax. She was just a little antsy. She always got this way before she could force herself to relax and have fun. "You're right. Sorry. You were amazing down there, Asami."

"You're the amazing one. You practically built a new dam."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't have known what to do, or where, without your help! And it's your company helping oversee the repairs and reconstruction." Korra leaned forward. "And you're doing it pro bono."

"Good press," Asami said, though she was beaming. She removed the cork and poured them wine then leaned against the table. "Five years married to you. I'm surprised I don't have any grey hairs."

Korra gave her wife an indignant look. "Are you sure about that?"

Asami mirrored Korra's look. "I'm thirty-two years old, I don't get grey hairs."

"Between running Future Industries and dealing with me," Korra teased. "You should be a silver-haired fox by now. Tell me your secret, what kind of hair product do you use?"

She nearly fell out of her chair when Asami laughed so hard that she snorted. The sound made Korra laugh, and she tugged her wife down into her lap. Asami buried her face in Korra's neck until she could breathe again, then shifted into a straddling position and lifted her head. Korra gazed up at her, spellbound. Adoringly, she whispered, "You snorted."

"Korra!" Asami started to laugh again, and Korra's fingers started to slide around her stomach and into all her most ticklish spots. She squirmed, laughing until she was out of breath before counter-attacking.

Jia lifted her head from her work as the sound of their raucous laughter drifted in. She rolled her eyes and smiled.

)I hope everyone enjoys this. I intend to update every 1-2 weeks depending on my work schedule!)