A/N: Please excuse the long author's Note. I promise it will be the only one that's this long in the entirety of the fanfiction.

This is my first expansive look at the LOK series, and it nods back to themes we've already seen before, along with themes we have not. As before, I leave the disclaimer that this is me just playing with storyline conventions. It may not work out for the better, but we will never know unless I try.

This fiction takes place several years after Book Four: Balance, for obvious reasons.

I have no idea how long this will be, but, I do know the direction I plan to take it. I have a good bit of it fleshed out, so for those of you who want to join in on the ride, it should be…an experience…let's just put it that way.

As before pairings are not entirely your typical fare. Korra/Jinora is the pairing oddity this time around, with nods to both cannon past relationships, and the probable future. Asami/Kuvira make an entry once more, as I dive more deeply into what could make such a romance work. The final nod is to Lin, and her complex relationship with Pema and Tenzin. Bolin/Opal will make appearances, but just how deep I dive remains to be seen.

If you've glance at my other two LOK works, then you know the catalysts sparking this attempt at a much longer fiction. Let's call this a trial in total and complete idiocy, and get underway.

Chapters one and two go up today, to give you a taste of what you're getting into if you choose to follow, favorite, and review.

TL; DR: Pairings are not typical, the story many not be either. It's an experiment on my behalf, and should be viewed as such, flaws and all.

A Place to Call Home

Chapter 1

In a perfect world, love would stand tall against all of the elements. It would empower them. It would overcome them. Love, in a perfect world would prove to be only the start of absolute unity, the first step to enlightenment. It would be a tribute to all that ever was, and all that it would ever be. That would be truly wonderful. You see, love is very much like air, is such a free thing. It should not be constrained, never shackled.

One day, you too, will come to understand.

Love, is thing that is not entirely seen, and therefore, it cannot be judged. It has such great power, to sway the very world around it. Love and air, they go hand in hand, this I am sure.

Alas, the world is not perfect. Love does not always prevail. Sometimes, also like wind, it becomes merely a faded breeze. Something that always lingers, always exists, even when it goes on forgotten. As an air bender, you should always follow the wind, and do as it bids you to. In this, I assure you, you will find happiness.

-Tenzin, to his eldest daughter, Jinora-

…

Summers were hot in Republic City, so hot in fact, that nighttime was almost unbearable for a woman used to the cold of the south. She tossed and turned, blankets little more than a mound on the floor that she ignored. Her clothes clung to her, as did her hair, and she was thankful it was so short now. She couldn't imagine how stifling it would be if she grew it back out.

Blowing a puff of air from between her lips, she sat up and lifted the edge of her shirt, wiping off the sweat on her face. There was no breeze, the air dead, the night unusually calm. Nights like these, were just the sort of night that Korra hated.

The spirits were silent, the bugs too exhausted to make a peep, and even the rolling waves left echoes of their former glory, no white caps to be seen, not even in the distance. Korra slumped against her window, lazily watching the world as it seemed to despise the heat as much as she did at that moment.

Her eyes trailed to the photo of Asami, missing the woman terribly, but ultimately accepting the fact that their timid relationship didn't last. They remained awkward friends, and found it easier to talk over the phone or through lengthy letter than face to face.

For Korra, it was just too hard to face the beautiful woman, knowing that she'd lost her chance to be with her.

Feeling the cool tapping of her companion's coal black nose against her arms, Korra sighed. "Sorry girl, I know it's hot out." The polar bear dog made a few more noises of discontent until Korra began to pet her. "Come on, Naga, let's go see if can't find someplace cooler to be."

The large beast seemed to agree as they exited the room and made their way down the long corridors of Tenzin's home. The place was quiet, the children sleeping. Tenzin probably was too, but as it so happened, Korra was not the only one away at the late hour.

"Pema?"

"Unable to sleep?" The woman asked from her place, she was mending some clothes by the looks of it, her basket sitting on the dining table with all sorts of threads and needless. "There's some iced tea in the kitchen, Korra. It might help to keep you cool."

"Yeah, sounds good." Korra admitted, as she went off to get some. Returning a moment later, tall glass in hand, she sat beside the mother of four. "So, What are you doing up?"

"Fixing Meelo's clothes." Pema said with a little smile. "There are plenty of chores that I never find the time to get done during the day. This just happens to be one of them."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Korra said sheepishly. She never really noticed, and felt a little bit bad about it. "Do you do this a lot?"

"Often enough I suppose. I don't mind, it's nice to have the house to myself every now and then. With everyone asleep, I can relax. Around here that's a luxury I don't often have." Pema set down her sewing, giving the dark skinned woman a knowing little glance. "So tell me, what's the latest and greatest?"

Korra shrugged quietly, sipping her tea.

This caused Pema to sigh. "How about Bolin?"

"He's still in Zaofu, with Opal. I don't know where they're going next." Korra was happy for him, but outside of a few occasional letters, she didn't hear much. "Guess being an air nomad has Opal going all over the place, and leave it to Bolin to follow her around like a lost puppy."

"He was always such a nice young man. Always looks for the good in everyone, no matter who they are." Pema said with a knowing little nod, all while folding her hands in her lap. "A little naive perhaps, but I think that only adds to his charm. Opal will keep him out of trouble, I'm sure."

With that, Korra smirked. "Careful not to tell Mako that. He's still convinced that Bolin should come back to republic city."

"Oh, what does he know?" Pema frowned then, reaching back for her sewing to occupy her. She didn't want to say something she might regret. "He's a good man too, Mako. He just needs to find someone to occupy his time…someone who'll tell him off when his head gets too big."

"Oh yeah, like who?" Korra asked.

Pema said nothing, but her gaze spoke all.

"Me?!" Korra noticed her raised voice and lowered it. "Oh, no way. That's not happening ever again. He's a friend, that's it."

"You're lonely." Pema put down her sewing again. She'd been meaning to talk to Korra for a long while. "You used to go sneaking around at night, and since you were an adult, I made Tenzin leave you alone about it…then, about a year ago, you stopped. Then you started moping around, and you're still moping around."

"Yeah…well, can't go out all the time, right?" Korra asked, but there was something in Pema's stare. A knowing gaze, motherly, protective.

"Was it you and Mako?" Pema asked pointedly. "Did something else happen?"

"No, not since I was a teenager." Korra answered, completely honest. "It was…someone else."

"Someone else?" Pema parroted, before understanding fell over her. Of course it was someone else, and with that guilty expression on Korra's face, the number of people it could have been dwindled into a very small handful. "Oh, so that's how it is. I suppose all of the nights Tenzin spent worrying that you might get pregnant was all for naught then."

"Pema…please…" Korra didn't want to talk about it. "Not now."

"Tenzin worries about you." Pema sighed. "I worry about you. Many people do." She considered her options, before sighing, putting a comforting hand on Korra's shoulder. "It would have been a comfort to know you were with Asami."

Korra recoiled, brushing that hand away and backing into Naga. Icy blue eye found Pema's own deep emerald, they froze in deadlock. Pema shocked at Korra's expression. One of terror, harboring fear, and possibly regret. Naga huffed an unhappy sound, worried for her master, even still, Korra didn't budge. Pema knew that look, it was the same as a child waiting to be chastised for some sort of terrible wrongdoing. The same expression she saw in her eldest, Jinora, who so often carried the weight of her younger siblings, and the air nation, on her back.

Pushing some of her brown hair behind her ear, Pema moved forward, taking Korra's hands in her own. This was not the reason she wanted, or expected. "Korra?" She asked worriedly. "Honey, you're shaking. It's okay." Korra flinched, and Pema's grip grew more steadfast. "It's okay…"

Blue eyes hit the floor, and the avatar said nothing. No words, and she could deny it. If she spoke, her voice might possibly betray her. Korra didn't to want to risk that.

Pema knew that reaction too. "Korra? Korra, look at me."

Eyes lifted obediently, body wound like a coil, ready to flee at the first sign of anger.

Pema offered the gentlest smile she could muster. "It's not a bad thing…it's not." She edged a little closer. "Love is a good thing, Korra. Man or woman, it doesn't matter."

"Yeah…" Avatar or not, she felt weak. "So you say."

"It is when you're me." Korra said tightly. "I screwed up."

"You didn't." Pema knew, she'd suspected for a long time, but with no proof, she said nothing. Who was she to jump to conclusions? Now though, she wished she had spoken sooner. "Asami's place and yours are different, that's all. You were like two ships passing in the wind, that time was precious. It will always be so."

"It was the distance that did it." Korra swallowed hard. She wouldn't cry. Not again. No more tears, no more hating herself. "Anyway…now I don't have a reason to sneak out, right? Do me a favor, don't tell Tenzin."

"It's not my place to tell him, but maybe you should. He won't judge you, he cares too much about you to do that." Pema was assured of that much. She knew Tenzin too well, the man doted on her less like Korra's teacher, and more like her father. "Korra, you can be yourself here. You don't have to hide from anybody."

"It's not the gay thing that bothers me, alright?!" Her resolve was crumbling under her. "It's not the Asami thing either. Just…" How could she say it? She couldn't even think it, let alone give it words. There was so much more to this that coming out of the closet, and spirits knew it. "Don't tell him. You can't tell him. If you tell him, he's going to try and tell me I need to meditate more, or something and right now….right now…." She squeezed her eyes shut, and cursed an invective that would have had Pema furious if it had been any other time. "I can't reach the spirit world, and if you tell him…" Korra began curling into herself again.

She couldn't deal with this.

The disconnect.

It was so strong now that every time she stepped near a spirit portal it sent her flying backwards. She couldn't get in that way, either.

Pema sighed, her many year of motherhood serving her well when she pulled Korra into her arms as the both leaned against Naga. "I won't tell him." The avatar was like a daughter to her too, so it hurt to see the water tribe girl like this. "I'm here…I'm here now, don't cry."

…

Air benders could fly at great lengths, for hours on end, gliding through the sky from one place to another.

Jinora, loved flight.

High above the ground, she soared, looking at the beautiful world beneath her. She could see so much from so high up. The lives of people, spirits, and animals, living in unity. That's what she loved most. The freedom, the thrill. Sometimes, it was her only solace. Sometimes, she needed to let her eyes wander, instead of her mind. This tumultuous day, of all days, that fact gripped her.

Especially when her family's home came into view, and she landed on the very island that she had been born on.

It seemed so strange to her, so distant. It was probably because she wasn't a child anymore.

Then again, she hadn't been treated as a child for quite some time. According to the air nation bylaws, when she had gotten her tattoos, she came of age. At the tender age of eleven, she had become the youngest known air bending master in history.

If the world was a completely safe and peaceful place, or if the air nation was still as prosperous as it once was, she may have gotten married shortly after that. After all, those tattoos were the mark of a master air-bender, but moreover, they were the mark of an adult. Unfortunately, the world was not as safe as it once was. The air nation was small, and though it had grown in size, the old tradition of allowing her to leave home wasn't something she would easily be allowed to do.

Her first pilgrimage on her own wouldn't come until she was older. At the age of fourteen, Tenzin sent her off along with Meelo and Ikki, in search of the avatar. When she returned from that journey unscathed, he was much more comfortable with the idea that she could handle faraway places on her own.

At the age of sixteen, she travelled with Kai. Romantically declaring her interest in the young man the day he received his tattoos. Tenzin ever the worrier, begrudgingly allowed it, come of the situation what may. What else was he to do after all? They were old enough, and daring enough, to make their own path.

At the age of eighteen, Jinora stood alone, wetness in her eyes.

"It's wonderful to have you home." Tenzin said, when he first caught sight of his eldest walking up the steps. Then he noticed her lack of companion, and her saddened gaze. "Where's Kai."

"We've gone our separate ways." Such haunting words, sobs stuck at the back of her throat. It was all she could say.

It was all she had to say.

Tenzin embraced his daughter wholeheartedly as she wept silent tears. It pained him to see her upset. A dark cloud settled over his home that day, and he was powerless to stop it.

…

It was the loneliness that started it all during those all too warm summer months.

Korra stayed in her room, looking out of the window, watching what little she could see from there. Yet, what she saw was a great deal. Jinora would walk up and down the sandy beach, occasionally pausing to gaze out at the water, and in the distance, Republic City. On one of the covered porches, Pema would sit and whittle the day by, either pretending to read, or sew, or to unabashedly watch her daughter with concern. Tenzin would spend hours meditating atop one of the call rocks that got the best breeze, but if Korra didn't know any better, she could swear he kept cracking open his eyes.

From the tiny room, she could see all of it and more.

A few days went by like that, until watching alone became unbearable to Korra. That day, it was just driving her crazy, and she didn't know why. Barefoot she too began to pace the sandy beach. Forward, backwards, forward, backwards. A long line of footprints that stretched out along the coast. Finally, Korra found something to say. "You know, when you have your hair pulled back like that, you look a lot like your mom. All you need are some bangs in the front."

It wasn't a lie, either. Jinora had grown to be every bit as beautiful as Pema. Long flowing locks of brown hair were kept loosely tied at her back. Her bone structure was delicate, her smile serene, her gaze soft. She'd filled out, too womanly, but very easy on the eyes.

"It's nice of you to say." Even her words had matured, flattery and compliments accepted, both with gratitude and grace. "You can't take it either, can you?" Jinora asked as she paused to pick up a pebble, tossing into the depths with a loud plunk. "The way they keep looking out here like I'm just break or something."

Korra sighed, feeling a whole lot older than she really was. She was only in her middle twenties, but she felt lifetimes older. "You wanna get outta here?"

"There's no place else to go." Jinora tried, she failed. That's why she came home. Being alone, well that just wasn't her style. "I guess I'm stuck here…never thought that would stick in my craw as much as it does."

"Do you care if I ask what happened?" Korra shoved her hands in her pockets, she felt like she didn't have the right to ask. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

Jinora paused, picking up another rock. "It's pretty simple, really. I wanted to settle, and Kai didn't." It hit the water, another plunk that echoed in the air. A finality. "Not all nomads aren't supposed to be nomads forever. Eventually, you find a place, you call it home."

"He didn't want a place to call home?" Korra asked, almost confused. "Seems like the kind of guy who'd want something like that…considering."

"Nah, he's a nomad. A real one." Jinora said with a shrug. "He sleeps in trees and follows herds of bison everywhere. He's where he should be."

"And you aren't?" Korra was confused. "This is your home, you grew up here."

Jinora just laughed a little. "It's my father's home, but it's not my home." Jinora looked back to the sprawling temple. They'd walked out so far that her father was just a tiny red and yellow dot on the rock. "My home is someplace else, with someone else. I just haven't found my own path yet, although to be honest, I don't know if I ever will."

"Yeah…" Korra sighed. "I know what you mean."