A.N. (Shamefully hides face) SO, it's definitely been a long time since I last touched this story. I'm not as close to this one as I was when I first wrote it, but hopefully I can still do it some justice. Lol. Have fun reading ;)

An Unexpected Reunion- Part 4


Suyin lifted her hand, placing it on Kuvira's forearm. "Don't be mad at me, but…I told her about us."


"You what?" Kuvira asked staring wide-eyed at Suyin with a raised eyebrow, watching the matriarch nod.

"I did."

Breaking her eyes away from Suyin, Kuvira looked over to the Fire Lord, who also nodded in response, barely maintaining her breaking smile. With a sigh Kuvira looked down, giving up the idea of even being angry. Her anger would have no merit. She was just glad the Fire Lord seemed not to care. Her eyes lingered, staring into the ground for a long while, as if briefly depriving Suyin of her gaze was the matriarch's "punishment".

"Did you need something?" Suyin turned her attention to Izumi as she dragged a hand through her hair; her body slowly repressing the shock of being caught with waves of relief. The threat of getting caught had been all too real, reminding Suyin that they were lucky it had only been Izumi.

Anyone else, and their lives would have been ruined.

"Well, I didn't come all the way out here to watch you two make out, if that's what you're wondering." Izumi grinned at Suyin, laughing softly under her breath at the matriarch's narrowing eyes. In the moment of her amusement, she spared a glance to Kuvira's awkward shift on the ledge her legs dangled over, where she sat with a slight hunch to her form, facing away from the Fire Lord.

She was so much like Sara, but then…she also wasn't. 'I can't believe Sara never said anything about her.' Izumi thought. '…I wonder why.'

"Very funny…" Suyin could feel the discomfort emanating off the guard over her shoulder. Hearing Kuvira shift behind her, she looked down at her feet, taking a second to collect herself before she lifted her head back up to speak. But she caught the Fire Lord focused past her, staring at the guard with curious eyes. "What is it?" Suyin pushed, intending to break the regal woman's gaze of wonderment at Kuvira.

"Wha- oh uh…" The Fire lord raised her arm briefly, adjusting her glasses and clearing her throat. It was a nervous habit Suyin recognized well. Izumi used to do it all the time when they were younger. But now as an adult, with so many years passed, the nerdy shy girl Izumi used to be was hidden well within the powerful ruler who presently stood before her, dressed in royal robes.

Clasping her hands behind her back once more, the Fire Lord spoke. "So, you'll never guess who's stopping by just to heal your guard."

"Better not be a fire bender." Kuvira glared at the stone palace walls in the distance around the perimeter.

Suyin shoved the guard's thigh with her hand "Kuvira." Her voice dropped into a warning tone.

"No offense." Kuvira added in an obedient drone without looking over to the Fire lord.

Time couldn't have been going more slowly in the day they had left. But to her relief the sun was beginning to set.

The Fire Lord raised her hands. "No no, none taken. I get it. I can understand why you aren't exactly fire bender friendly at the moment." Izumi said, dropping her eyes down to Suyin's hand that unconsciously rubbed up and down the guard's thigh.

Watching a smile stretch across Izumi's face, Suyin looked down following her gaze, catching a glance at her own hand moving along Kuvira's thigh. Immediately she ceased its motion, and cleared her throat, embarrassed by her unconscious act. "So…" She patted Kuvira's thigh and moved closer to Izumi, leaving the guard behind. "Who is it?" She looked up meeting the Fire lord's eyes.

"Kya."

Suyin raised an eyebrow. "What? I thought she was still roaming around trying to live her bohemian lifestyle." She looked down and drifted back to Kuvira with a smile on her face. "Why she lives like that, I have no idea.'' Suyin glanced up at Kuvira, then back over to Izumi. "What is she doing in the fire nation anyways? The last time I saw her was at that conference we had in the Northern Water Tribe."

"Me too. Until she stopped by about a month ago."

"What for?"

"Nothing particular. She told me she just wanted to catch up and settle down for a while. Then she offered to help out at the hospital." Izumi shrugged. "So I sent her there."

"Settle down huh?" Suyin smirked, moving back in front of the guard. She pulled Kuvira's face to her, glancing up into the guard's eyes then down again as a smile stretched across her face. "I figured all that aimless traveling would tire her out eventually."

Watching Suyin interact with Kuvira, the Fire Lord smiled a gentle smile. If she kept her gaze fixed long enough, she could see the matriarch morph into the younger woman she was over twenty years ago; when her hair was still dark and her actions prone to free-spirited spontaneity, with an occasionally dangerous lack of thought. "Well, I seem to recall somebody else having a life very similar to that."

A grin broke out from Suyin's passive smile as she shifted her eyes in the direction of Izumi's voice, and brought her hands down, resting one on Kuvira's knee. "I was barely in my 20's. I could afford to do that then." Her thumb kneaded focused circular motions into the side of the guard's inner thigh. "It'd be hard for me to live a life like that now." Her smile faded.

That was right. Suyin was a leader with duties to fulfill, and a mother with a family to take care of. There was no running off into sunsets; no travelling halfway around the world to start a new life, all the while escaping fates already foreseen.

Suyin could feel the guard's eyes on her face, watching her grin diminish back into a tame smile. Looking up, she spotted Kuvira staring at her, just as she had expected; that same reassuring comfort and concern coming from the eyes she gazed into. But this time there was also something else…a hint of disappointment.

Taking Kuvira's face into her hands, Suyin lightly touched her bruised nose with a finger, watching the guard wince in response. "So how long before she gets here? I don't want this getting worse Izumi."

"Well I called her, and surprisingly she picked up." The Fire Lord glanced down and moved forward a few paces; staying back a good distance to give the couple their space, knowing both were still on edge. "I briefly told her things – no not those things." Izumi quickly added after witnessing the uncertain eye glances between Suyin and Kuvira; Suyin's eyes being the wider of the two, as she fully understood the detriments of Kya latching onto their secret.

Kya was the type who could never hold a secret down for long. If she ever found out about their relationship, they were as good as done.

"Anyways, she's still close by so, maybe an hour or two, I'll let you know."

"Good." Suyin felt a second wave of relief pass over her as she watched Kuvira's gaze drift past her head, focusing out towards one of the ancient Bonsai trees in the garden. "How is..uh..you know…the other-"

"Sara?"

Suyin moved her hand down to the base of Kuvira's jaw feeling it clench under finger tips. "…Yeah."

"She's fine." Izumi saw Kuvira's eyes slowly narrow into a glare, as Suyin did her best to control the guard's rising anger with the tenderness of her touches.

"You didn't manage to break her nose." Izumi spoke up, directing her words to the guard.

Kuvira scoffed. "That's too bad."

"Kuvira." Suyin flicked her in the side of the face, earning her a pair of now angry dark green eyes staring back into hers, as the guard rubbed the side of her face like a scolded child.

"Her nose has probably been broken so many times she's used to it by now." Izumi looked down, taking her eyes away from Kuvira. She didn't want to see Sara hurt, just as she suspected Suyin wouldn't have wanted to see the same happen to Kuvira.

But something in her knew Sara deserved it.

You can only provoke someone or something so much before they finally give in and strike. And between the two of them, Kuvira was the one who seemed to have her head screwed on the best. Kuvira spent years adapting herself to the affluent lifestyle Suyin had built for her; few signs of her street mannerisms remained. By now she could even pass as high society, albeit with a gruff edge to her character, something that made her truly unique. Sara, on the other hand, was a loose cannon; and she knew it, but never cared. A fiery, easily sparked person she was, and had always been. Hoping for Sara to change, or even tone down her dangerous attitude was nothing but a lost cause. And after years of dealing with her cold lack of concern, Izumi had learned to accept her, as difficult as she was.

For all of the taunts and provoking jabs Sara no doubt threw at Kuvira while her and Suyin were absent, Izumi wholeheartedly understood Kuvira's actions. And knowing Sara'sloathe for earth benders, it was probably something she said about Suyin that earned her a backbreaking slam against the wall, and a fist to her nose.

However, in the big picture her and Kuvira were still mother and daughter, and more alike than either wanted to admit.

The Fire Lord sighed. "Anyways, as I said, I'll let you know." She turned around giving a nonchalant wave, before stopping to smirk over her shoulder. "Oh, and I took the liberty of removing any prying eyes from the area…so, you can kiss her if you want." Izumi paused, not done having her fun. "But I know you Suyin…and I'd advise against going any further." She softly laughed under her breath. Walking to a nearby curved wooden bridge hiding a small narrow creek running beneath it, Izumi soon disappeared behind the one of the walls that secluded the garden, as she headed back towards the palace.

Letting her eyes draw into a playful glare, Suyin bit her lower lip before turning back to Kuvira's widened eyes with a smile. "Don't worry about her, she's always been brazen like that." With a gentle caress she ran the backs of her fingers down the guard's cheek to the base of her jaw, getting lost in nostalgic thoughts of the past. "When we were younger, she'd tease me all the time." She paused with a grin. "Of course I was the one who always had the last laugh."

"Why did you tell her?" Kuvira didn't waste any time getting to the point as her eyes quickly fell to a stare; the stern edge to her low voice freezing Suyin for a moment, making her wonder if she had really done the right thing.

And she never questioned her own judgement. Well, hardly at least. But with Kuvira, she found herself doing it a lot more.

They both stayed silent for a while; Suyin looking away from the guard to briefly take in the natural beauty of the garden, if not lose herself for a moment before they dived back into the present issues at hand. Kuvira on the other hand, followed Suyin with her eyes, before she gave up and looked up at the myriad of warm colors in the sky.

The world around them they'd both taken a moment to see, was ephemeral, short-lived…but beautiful. The trees were full of life, which was mainly thanks to the strict gardening sessions the gardeners undertook in order to preserve the landscape's natural beauty all year-round. The leaves of some imported trees were shades of red, others still green. The creek running beneath the bridge, they'd walked over, was full of small fish painted in bright oranges, with a few yellow and white ones mixed in. The outer ledge Kuvira sat on was part of an elaborate gazebo, decorated in fire nation colors to match the palace.

Suyin sighed and focused back on Kuvira. Letting go of the guard's leg she turned her back to Kuvira, slowly walking closer to the edge of the tree's shade in thought. "I just needed to get it out, and tell someone I knew I could trust." Suyin stared out at the sky over the wall. "Keeping this all under wraps isn't easy for me…Believe it or not. I ju-" Suyin felt Kuvira's hand slip into her own, and turned back around, looking down at the foot Kuvira had set on the ground in order to reach out for her.

The silence between them remained as Suyin's eyes took their time, lingering on the guard's foot, traveling to their linked hands, before meandering up to Kuvira's face. When her eyes finally made their way to the guard's, she saw more concerning questions of 'why' she'd no doubt have to answer as Kuvira searched her face with a tense brow.

"Suyin…" Kuvira looked down, pushing herself back up onto the ledge and adjusting her seat as she pulled Suyin between her legs with a deep breath. "Why haven't you told me any of this?" She paused. "It's hard for me to be there for you if I have no idea what you're going through, and that kind of pisses me off." Kuvira watched Suyin look away, and pushed the matriarch's face back to her. "You shouldn't keep things from me."

Suyin glanced to the side. 'Is that supposed to be sentimental? Or is it a threat?' She let her eyes drift back over to the guard's somewhat intimidating stare, not being able to help a light smile crack at how oblivious Kuvira was to her borderline menacing words. 'Nope, not threatening, just Kuvira.'

After a moment a chill ran down her spine, but a breeze of cold air wasn't the culprit, in fact there was no cold air. The air around them was still hot and dry, just beginning to cool down as evening broke. The chill that shocked her body came from within. It wasn't often- if ever- that she got nervous. But looking into Kuvira's unwavering gaze, Suyin not only saw, but felt what she had been trying to avoid since the start of their relationship. It was what she noted as the defining moment; the moment things between them were confirmed to be more serious than she thought they'd ever get.

She'd been in relationships before Kuvira, before Bataar. She'd broken hearts. And most, before the relationship could reach that defining moment. And it'd be a lie to say she hadn't planned to do the same to Kuvira. But somewhere with Kuvira she'd gotten lost, caught up in every mysterious aspect of the guard and a whirlwind of feelings. She forgot about her shallow intentions from two years ago, and failed to notice all the signs leading to this oncoming moment, until right now, looking back into Kuvira's eyes.

Suyin looked down into Kuvira's lap. "I didn't know how to talk to you about it…I didn't really want to…" She was honest with not only Kuvira but herself.

This was the moment she was supposed to break away from Kuvira away, telling her it couldn't go any further, because in truth, she couldn't afford to get more invested in the young captain. But now instead of dreading this moment as she expected she would, she dreaded the thought of telling Kuvira it was over...

She dreaded the fact that she couldn't and wouldn't do it.