Pema pulled Korra into her arms, laughing softly as she whispered, "Please, don't listen to a word they say." She gazed at her two girls with loving eyes before letting go of Korra and saying, "Did I ever tell you guys how I got your father, Tenzin," she smiled at Korra. "to finally ask me out?"
"No, no, mommy, tell us! Did you give him a special love potion?" Ikki was hopping up and down and clasping her hands to her chest. Pema just gave her the look before shaking her head.
"Well, it was sixteen years ago," she remembered as she stroked her stomach and sighed. "It was the year after Aang had died, and he took it hard. I remember watching him as he went about in a daze and didn't seem to see anything at all. He and his father had always been so close…"
Korra was watching her with wide eyes, happy to get to learn more about the past. "He didn't even pay attention to me. I was just a novice, barely having learned anything, but one day I started to talk to him at breakfast and dinner, making sure he answered me."
Jinora was now leaning against her mother's side, Korra tucked under the other arm and Ikki propped with her head on her mother's belly. "And then, a few months after he started to seek me out, but he still didn't realize what I had- we were perfect for one another." Pema's rolled her eyes and sighed. "Your father, for being someone that supposed to be in touch with his emotions, was very stupid about love."
"So what did you do?" Korra demanded to know as she pouted out her bottom lip. "It doesn't seem like anything would work out if Tenzin can't realize anything like that he loves you."
"Oh, well, he didn't realize it until one day I just decided to kiss him. He looked so shocked after it was all over, and it made me mad. So, I slapped him and told him he better admit to himself that he loved me already."
"You slapped daddy?!" Ikki gasped and flailed her arms. Korra had a look of deep concentration on her face as if she seriously considering something rash.
"Yes, I slapped him, and the next day he showed up at my door with flowers and told me that I was right, as you well know, the next year we were married. Then we had you boogers." She nudged her girls and looked over at Korra.
"So, don't give up. Boys are really stupid. Especially the ones that think they're smart."