AN: Thank you all for your reviews! I'm surprised this story has gotten as much attention as it has, to be honest :P I think I'm about as excited for this story as you readers, since unlike all the other fanfics I've tried writing (key word: tried) this one has no definite direction I'm taking it. I've got a basic plan for where I want to go, but other than that, it's pretty much writing as I come up with it.

: Yes, these early chapters are gonna be more lighthearted than the rest of the story. I am planning for it to get darker as we get farther in. I think around the time the brothers regain their memories (which won't be for a while yet) the story will take on a darker tone.

Red: Being a slight Amorralok shipper myself, I was almost tempted to take that route as well! But Amorra is my OTP, so I'm sticking with that. And I do post on Tumblr when I update, but I've only got 6 followers. Not a lot of people are bound to see it. Also, Amorra is a pretty obscure ship. That's why I'm surprised I've gotten this much attention. (Also, I'm not bothered by anonymous reviews :) )

Anonymous: Haha, they actually DO dine with the family in this chapter! It was supposed to happen last chapter, but I wanted to move it to this one because it was getting lengthy. It goes about as well as you'd expect. And if everything goes according to plan, Asami, Mako, and Bolin should be appearing in the next chapter.

Enjoy :)

Korra does end up going through with her plan to get Noatak a sketchbook, and it can qualify as either one of the best decisions she's made in her life, or one of the worst. Noatak loves the damn thing—the moment she hands it to him, he disappears into his room without a word—not even a thank you—and Korra doesn't see him for the rest of the day. She doesn't even see him for the next few days. She's forever grateful about it.

The only downside is that, now that Noatak is busy doing Spirits-know-what, it leaves Tarrlok no one to pester. His target of choice? Korra.

Korra does try to shoo him away, but after about seven or eight tries, she gives up and decides to let him follow her around. He knows he's just pissing her off, and exploits the fact for all its worth. She vows, once again, to slap him silly when he gets stronger.

Korra doesn't know when it will happen, but it will. Eventually.

"Why can't I bend?"

Korra looks up from the bowl of noodles she's eating. "Hmm?" she mumbles around the food.

Tarrlok actually looks concerned, and the look is a bit jarring to Korra—she hasn't seen him look concerned about anything in months. "I said, why can't I bend?" he repeats.

Korra swallows the noodles a little painfully. She doesn't want to have this conversation, so she shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe it had something to do with whatever happened to you and your ball-of-sunshine big brother?" Tarrlok glares at her, but she turns back to her noodles and continues eating. He seems to know that she's lying, but he doesn't push the issue any further.

"I wonder if Noatak can still bend," he says instead. Korra nearly chokes on her noodles. "When am I going to get that arm you all promised me?"

"As soon as you can go out into the ocean and fish out the old one," Korra snaps irritably.

"Korra, do you think you could help set the table?" Pema asks.

Korra pauses from her doodling. For once, Tarrlok isn't hovering over her shoulder criticizing everything she does, and she's trying to make the most of it. "Sure thing, Pema," she replies, following the Air Acolyte into the kitchen. "Where's everyone else?"

"I think they're outside doing some airbending practice," Pema responds.

"What about Tarrlok?"

Pema shrugs. "Not sure about him; I try to avoid him if I can."

"You and me both," Korra agrees. She pulls six cups out of the cupboard. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Noodles and dumplings, with rolls and a side of rice." Pema pulls a boiling teapot off the stove. "Would you like tea or lychee juice, dear?"

Korra sets the cups down on the counter for Pema to pour the drinks. "I'll have lychee juice." Korra moves to another cupboard and opens it, pulling out six bowls and six small plates, and leaves to put them on the table at their usual seats.

When she returns to the kitchen, Pema is looking at her. "Have you considered inviting your friends over for a visit one of these days?" she questions.

Korra rolls her eyes. "You and Jinora seem dead-set on me hauling my friends over here for some reason. I've already told her—I'm keeping them as far away from here as I can while we have Amon and Tarrlok staying here." She knows that, if her friends did show up, they wouldn't be exactly happy about the whole situation. And that's a severe understatement.

"They'll find out eventually," Pema reminds her. "I think it'd be good for you to have some friends your own age over every once in a while. It would help you get your mind off of… other things." She's trying to be evasive, but Korra knows exactly what—who—she's talking about.

"Well, stop worrying about it," Korra tells her. "Tarrlok practically follows me around every waking moment. I can hardly get him out of my personal space, never mind out of my mind." Korra realizes too late exactly how she worded that sentence, and sees by the look on Pema's face that the woman noticed, too. "You know what I mean."

Pema holds her hands up in mock surrender. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she objects, laughing. Korra shoots her a warning look, but Pema takes no notice. She hands Korra a bowl of noodles and a bowl of rice. "Help me carry these in?" she tries to change the subject. Korra drops it gratefully and carries the bowls to the table.

Pema follows her out with another bowl of noodles and a bowl of dumplings, handing them off to Korra when the Avatar puts down her own bowls, then disappears again into the kitchen. She returns with two cups of tea and a cup of lychee juice in her hands, which Korra carefully takes from her. As Pema returns to the kitchen, Korra sets the two cups of tea at one end of the table, where Tenzin and Pema sit, and the lychee juice to their right where Jinora sits. Korra meets Pema again at the door, taking three more cups of lychee juice from her as the woman disappears one more time into the kitchen to retrieve the rolls and their chopsticks. Two of the cups go across from Jinora's seat, where Ikki and Meelo sit, and the last one goes to Korra's seat at the opposite end of the table.

Once again, Pema comes through the door, this time carrying a bowl of rolls in one hand and chopsticks in the other. "I need to go find Tenzin and the kids. Can you finish setting the table?" she asks.

"No problem," Korra confirms, taking the bowl and chopsticks from Pema's hands. Pema nods in thanks and hurries out the door to search for her family.

She isn't even gone for two minutes before Korra hears footsteps approaching the door. "Back already?" Korra asks without looking up. "That didn't take long."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," a voice responds, and Korra's head snaps up. It's not Pema returning, but instead it's Tarrlok hovering in the doorway, answering her. Behind him, Korra can barely make out Noatak's shadow as well.

"Long time, no see, Mr. Artist," Korra snarks at Noatak. "I thought you'd still be curled up in your bedroom at this point."

"There is only so much one can draw in a room as small as that," Noatak responds, clearly unfazed. He steps forward, showing that he's still got the damned sketchbook in his hands. "I thought I'd come in here and see if there was anything interesting." He quickly scans the room, and says nothing more. Both of them are wearing sleeveless white shirts, clearly showcasing the burns and scars on their arms. The light causes jagged shadows to be cast over their skins. It's abnormal.

"The food smells delicious, too," Tarrlok adds. "Perhaps we could join you for dinner tonight." It's not exactly a request, but it's not really a demand, either. Korra isn't really sure how to respond. Tarrlok takes the lack of response as approval and sits himself down to the right of Jinora's seat. Korra notices for the first time how his movements are subtly awkward, without half his right arm to balance him on the way down. Noatak, in turn, sits down next to Korra's seat and flips his sketchbook open to a blank page, pulls out a pencil, and starts sketching something.

Korra sighs irritably. "You two just live to torment me, don't you?"

Tarrlok responds with a smug smile. "It's what we do best." Noatak sniffs in what Korra takes as agreement.

Not feeling up for arguing with either of them, Korra simply shrugs and strolls to the kitchen, pulling out two more plates, two more bowls, two more sets of chopsticks, and two cups. "Tea or lychee juice?" she calls through the door.

"Tea for both," Tarrlok calls back. Korra complies and pours two more cups of tea for them. When Korra turns around, trying to balance all the dishes, Tarrlok is standing at the door. "Want some help?"

"You're so polite," Korra comments snidely, but hands him one of the stacks of dishes. For someone with only one hand, he balances it pretty well. She takes the cup of tea off the top of the stack.

"Just trying to be a decent guest," he remarks equally snidely with that same shit-eating grin plastered to his face.

Korra nods at the door. "If only that brother of yours could show as much respect as you do," she says loudly, making sure Noatak can hear her. She pauses for a moment before she hears something thud against the door. She snickers immaturely along with Tarrlok.

"I'm sure he's trying to prove how grateful we both are in his own way," Tarrlok responds just as loudly, and they both stay silent before they hear another loud thud on the door and both break out into wild laughter. Korra takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, before abruptly breaking off completely when someone calls her name. Tarrlok shuts up as well.

Korra practically falls through the door to the dining room. "Tenzin!" she exclaims, coming face-to-face with the airbending master. She quickly yet sloppily adjusts her balance to keep the cups of tea from spilling.

Tenzin is glaring at Noatak furiously. His eyes dart up to see Tarrlok standing behind the Avatar. "What are they doing here?" he asks viciously, his voice almost coming out as a snarl. Korra blinks in shock—Tenzin never snarls at anyone. He always keeps his cool.

"Tenzin, be polite," Pema scolds quietly.

"Hey, don't look at me," Korra defends herself. "They just showed up after Pema went to find you guys and decided to say for dinner."

Jinora actually has to grab the back of Meelo's robes to keep him from jumping across the table. "Let me at 'em!" he shrieks. "I'll get rid of 'em once and for all!" Noatak simply stares at the five-year-old, not entirely sure how to deal with this new predicament.

"Meelo, calm down," Jinora lectures calmly, the only one of the five who doesn't seem to be foaming at the mouth. "They're our guests; we should welcome them to the dinner table like all good hosts."

Even Pema seems to be uneasy at the tension. "Yes; come on, now, let's all sit down and have a civilized dinner." She emphasizes the word civilized and shoots a glare at Tenzin. The master airbender looks at her as if to ask, What did I do?

In the end, everyone ends up sitting down semi-peacefully in their regular seats. Ikki leans across the table to stare at Tarrlok. "What happened to your ponytails?" She sniffs loudly. "At least you don't smell like a lady anymore. You're still weird."

"And you're still precocious, I see," Tarrlok counters smoothly. Korra smirks to herself. So he remembers that conversation.

Noatak spends a good portion of the meal with his face in his sketchbook, occasionally glancing up at the family and not even touching his food. Ikki and Meelo glare at Tarrlok the entire time. Tenzin and Pema glare at Noatak, who doesn't notice a thing. Jinora doesn't say a word, just keeps to herself and eats her noodles. Only Korra and Tarrlok speak, and nearly every word they say is pure banter. The tension in the air is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Korra can nearly see the sparks of fury flying off Tenzin's head and shoulders.

Korra throws her chopsticks down. "Okay, this is depressing," she snaps in annoyance. "You're all actually being quiet and forcing me to banter with Tarrlok to make noise. Someone else say something!" Korra stares desperately at Tenzin. "How did airbending practice go today?"

Tenzin looks a little surprised. "We've made some progress," he responds. "Meelo won in a sparring match against Ikki."

"Did he now?" Korra turns her gaze on Meelo, who is still glaring at Tarrlok. "Nice job, Meelo!"

"Shh!" Meelo hisses. Lychee juice squirts out from between his teeth and lands on the table. "I'm busy! You'll blow my cover!"

Korra snorts. "What cover?"

"We're spying on the enemy!" He and Ikki continue to glare at Tarrlok.

Tarrlok takes a quick drink from his cup of tea. "You're not doing a very good job of it," he critiques.

Meelo sulks. "Thanks a lot, Korra!" he snips. "You've revealed me and my partner to our sworn enemy!" Ikki also sits back, crossing her arms and pouting.

"You can't spy on someone like that," Tarrlok tells the kid. "When you're spying on someone, you can't let them know you're there. You're just sitting right out in the open; I knew you were there the entire time."

"Don't put any ideas in his head," Tenzin snaps angrily.

Tarrlok turns to the airbender. "I was merely correcting what he was doing wrong," he defends. "You wouldn't want him going about life believing he was doing the right thing and be ridiculed for doing it wrong, would you?"

Korra can almost see a vein pulsing in Tenzin's forehead and quickly interjects. "Thank you, Tarrlok, for that wonderful information!" she says loudly. "Jinora, what did you do today?" Korra hopes she'll get better results from the calmest of the family.

For the most part, she does. "Ikki and I had a sparring session earlier." Her voice is strained and polite.

Korra works with what she gets. "Great! Who won?" She feels she already knows the answer to this question.

"I did," Jinora confirms Korra's suspicion.

"Good for you." Well, this is going spectacularly. "Ikki, you've gotta step up your game, both your siblings are beating you!"

"I'm trying," Ikki counters, "but there are just so many distractions around I just can't pay any attention!"

"Perhaps if you would keep to yourself and out of other people's business, you could focus much better."

Korra turns to her right, staring in shock at Noatak. The man is looking up from his sketchbook at last and glaring straight at Ikki, his eyes demanding her to challenge him. To her amazement, Ikki actually backs down, staring sullenly at her plate. If there had been any lightheartedness in the air earlier, it's gone now.

"Stop scaring my daughter," Tenzin orders, his voice low and commanding. He even scares Korra a little bit—he sounds that dangerous.

"Excuse me," Noatak announces, standing abruptly. "I believe I had wrongly assumed that our hosts were welcoming of their guests. I apologize if I have intruded on an otherwise enjoyable family dinner. I'll retire to our room, now." He glances first at Tarrlok, then down at Korra, and gathers his untouched meal. "I'm to leave the dishes in the kitchen, yes?" Pema nods absently, and Noatak hastily exits the room without another word. Korra almost feels bad—even though he didn't speak, she had a feeling that, maybe, he wanted to eat at the dinner table with them instead of crammed in his bedroom.

Tarrlok glowers at Tenzin. "Was that really necessary?" he questions sourly. He doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, he stands, says, "Thank you, Korra, for allowing me and my brother to eat with your family, however short of an experience it may have been," nods to Tenzin and Pema, and follows Noatak from the room.

When he has disappeared from sight, Korra turns to Tenzin. "Are you happy now?" she snaps.

"Korra, I was—"

"No, I don't want to hear it," Korra denies, holding a hand up. "I may not like them, either, even I know that was uncalled for." She stares down at her plate, not wanting to meet Tenzin's accusing gaze.

Tenzin sighs in defeat. "Very well," he concedes. The tension in the air is even thicker than before, and the silence is deafening. No one moves before Korra, who is the first to begin eating again. Jinora is the first to follow suit. Then Pema. The air is then filled with the sound of chopsticks hitting bowls and plates. No more words are spoken for the rest of the meal.

Unlike normal evenings, when everyone would stick around and talk even after they'd finished eating, Korra notices that, one by one, their party is dwindling. Meelo is the first to go, followed by Ikki soon after, muttering about rude guests and weird men. Pema is the third, awkwardly gathering and stacking the empty plates, bowls, and cups and taking off in the direction of the kitchen. Jinora manages to stick around for a short time, but even she ends up retiring before long.

Korra and Tenzin are the only two remaining. "Are you happy with all this?" she asks again, this time sounding more tired than anything.

Tenzin sighs, sounding equally as tired. "I don't want you to spend so much time with them," he admits. "They'll end up being a bad influence on you."

"And what if they're not?" she counters.

"All the worse," he replies immediately. "You'll get too attached. You won't be able to handle them going to prison."

Brutal honesty, much? "What are you talking about? Of course I'll be able to handle it! In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly the best of friends."

"Just…" Tenzin trails off for a moment. "…just be careful, okay?" He's pleading with her. It makes Korra uncomfortable.

Korra snorts. "I'm going to bed." She stands up and gathers her dishes. Without another word, she exits the room, leaving Tenzin to think about whatever it is he thinks about. She stops in the kitchen to drop her dishes off, but doesn't say a word to Pema, who watches with a bewildered expression on her face.

Naga greets Korra when the Avatar reaches her bedroom. The sun has just barely set, still casting some shadows on the wall, but Korra doesn't care. She feels so tired, she might be able to sleep for days. Before she can lay down, she notices a white piece of paper on her pillow, covered in lines and dark scratches. Korra picks it up and inspects it carefully, then feels a wave of amazement.

It's a drawing. A drawing of Korra, Tarrlok, and Tenzin's family at the dinner table. Korra feels the amazement swell—the picture looks almost like a photograph, that's how good it is. Korra lets her eyes drift over the picture, and notices a bit of script at the bottom. In the dim light, she can barely make out Noatak's signature, along with a short note:

Your family is unbearable.

Korra allows herself to snort in amusement. She puts the picture on her bedside table, and doesn't bother changing out of her day clothes. She simply kicks off her boots, throws herself on the bed, and absently strokes Naga's head as she drifts off into sleep.