A/N: Everyone needs more canon korrasami in their lives, right? Chapter 1 starts after Kuvira's surrender and works its way from there.
Tenzin had a natural gift for delivering eulogies; his voice flowed effortlessly as the soft hum of Bumi's pan flute wove into the pauses. It was a shame Asami hadn't caught a word of what he was saying.
Standing beside her mother's and soon to be father's grave, she remained silent and still as tears ran down her face. The gentle squeeze of Korra's arm around her shoulders reminded her she wasn't alone, but far from it.
"His personal sacrifice will not be forgotten…" She had felt genuine surprise at how many people had come to the Sato estate. She wasn't naive - most weren't here for Hiroshi, but for her. It was humbling and just enough to take the edge off of the pain.
"I cannot undo the damage I have caused and I cannot ask you to forgive me, but I beg for the chance to see you again." Her father's letters had been agonizing to read the night before, each ending with a simple plea for a chance to speak to her. She leaned further into Korra's embrace as a sob forced its way out of her chest.
"Hey, what's up? Sorry, stupid question," Korra had said when Asami had gone looking for her last night. They'd retreated to Asami's apartment after another long day of work to be able to mourn in peace. Asami had thought she could handle reading the letters alone while Korra worked off stress in the small gym, but that hadn't gone as planned.
"I - I, umm…" The strangest combination of emotions assaulted her as she stared at the avatar's mostly bare torso glistening with sweat. Words tangled in her mouth and would have dropped to the floor out of her slacked jaw if they could.
"I take it the reading isn't going well?" Korra offered worriedly.
"No, but," she muttered before sniffling and wiping her eyes, "this is helping a bit."
"Would anyone like to say a few words?" Tenzin asked before stepping away from the front of the ceremony.
Korra paused as she wiped her face on a towel. "Well . . . give me ten minutes to clean up and we can read together," she said sheepishly.
"Thank you."
"I've been at this for many years and, as a result, I've seen some of the worst humanity has to offer," Lin stated in a slightly less impatient voice than usual. "But every now and then, I get the chance to witness something truly inspiring. While I'm sure there was no love lost between the two of us, Hiroshi Sato demonstrated a level of courage and loyalty that too few people have and I admire him for that. The world needs more people like him: driven, creative, and willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people he loves - that's something I don't often say about convicted criminals."
Asami smiled and nodded as Lin moved to stand next to Tenzin. From the corner of her eye she saw Raiko move to the front.
"Better?" Korra asked as she pulled the engineer into her lap.
She nodded and breathed in the scent of her freshly cleaned hair. "I'm sorry I cut your workout short-"
"It's okay. To be honest, after hearing that the Empire finally agreed to pull out of the United Republic this afternoon, I'm feeling kind of relaxed for the first time in ages. You are my top priority."
"I'm honored."
"I had always admired and respected Hiroshi Sato. He was charismatic and ingenious and when I learned of his involvement in the takeover of Republic City, I felt the world had truly lost its hope for the future. I was, very fortunately, wrong - his daughter proved to be every bit the technological genius he was if not more so. With Miss Sato's help, this city has overcome everything the world has thrown at us: violent revolution, environmental upheaval, and even all out war."
Raiko cleared his throat and continued. "This city owes its very existence to the Sato family - that dedication, for better or worse, is what has enabled us to endure and persevere. When I learned of what transpired, of Hiroshi's sacrifice, I was stunned. Even after all of these years, his dedication to our city, to his family, remained as strong as ever. That is what I will remember of him."
The wind picked up a bit and ruffled the clothes and hair of the people present as he moved aside for Bolin.
"Do you need anything?" Korra asked once Asami's tears had finally stopped after the last letter.
"I'm so tired," she muttered almost inaudibly.
"Then let's go to bed." She carried her through the silent apartment to the bedroom, Korra's footsteps echoing fainting as she went.
"I'd like to start by saying how awesome Asami is, both as the CEO of one of the most successful companies in the world and as a friend," Bolin said in an overly caring voice. "When Ba Sing Se fell and my and Mako's family had nowhere else to go she opened her home to them, not because she had to, but because that's the type of person she is. She's the type of person who will always lend a hand, who will go above and beyond, and frankly I don't think we tell her often enough how much we appreciate her."
Asami felt her face burn as she cleared her throat. "Thank you, Bo."
"But it doesn't end there! When Tenzin made an offhand complaint about how some of the new airbenders were constantly losing their gliders, she took it upon herself to design the amazing glider suits they are wearing today," he said dramatically. "When the city cut funding to the soup kitchens in the poorest parts of the city, she not only started them up again, but she began an education outreach program, helping bring a future and hope to the streets I used to sleep on!
"What I'm trying to say is that someone as awesome as Asami Sato deserves other awesome people in her life. I mean, I'm obviously awesome and so are Mako and Korra, but I'm talking about her dad. Hiroshi Sato made mistakes in his life, but after hearing how he was trying to fix things with his daughter, I was impressed. I takes a lot of guts to admit when you're wrong and even more when you mess up as bad as he did. Seeing him working with Asami on those hummingbird mechs was - was adorable and heartwarming if you could look past the almost constant threat of annihilation by spirit energy cannon. It was that moment that made him awesome and what happened after cemented it. Mr. Sato is a hero to me, not because of his sacrifice, but because of his dedication to fixing his mistakes and finally being the awesome father Asami deserved."
Bolin stepped from the front of the crowd to a roar of applause as Korra waved him over to her and Asami. "Bolin," the older woman said as she hugged him, "you really made me cry."
"Oh, sorry-"
"Thank you."
"Any time, I guess," he said squeezing her tight.
"I-" She stopped short as she glanced over his shoulder and, through a clearing in the trees and miles away across the bay, a single red flare climbed into the sky above Air Temple Island.
"Asami?"
She pulled away and pointed, feeling her blood run cold. "Something's wrong."
"Baatar, don't you think it's time to take a break?"
"I'm fine, mother," he said without looking up from his blueprints.
"You need a shower," she said bluntly as she peered over his shoulder. "Raiko can wait a little longer for the spirit weapon technology."
Her son sat back and sighed tiredly. "I need to finish this."
"Raiko and the rest of us will be a the Sato estate tonight for Hiroshi's funeral, he won't notice if you take an hour for yourself."
He set his glasses on the table and rubbed his face. "Fine, I'm going to make a mistake if I keep going like this anyway."
"Good," Su turned to the guards at his door. "Please escort him to the bathrooms and make sure he gets something to eat."
"Thank you," he muttered.
"Don't forget that there are still people who care about you," she said quietly. "We'll get through this."
But do I want to get through this? he thought tiredly as he watched her leave. His father had been the only other person he saw aside from his mother and the guards. His siblings still wanted nothing to do with him and he didn't blame them. He'd given up everything for a woman who . . . who had cared so little for him that she tried to kill him to take out the avatar. The scalding water of the shower did little to shake his encompassing self loathing.
Five-day stubble, I look like a hobo, but that's not too far off from how I feel, he thought as he examined his reflection. She hated the feeling of stubble on her lips . . .
CRUNCH! UMPF!
Baatar jumped away from the mirror and stared at the door in alarm. Violent shuffling could be heard in the hallway. What is-
The door was thrown open to reveal a pair of Empire soldiers staring at him victoriously. "You're coming with us, sir, by order of General Zevon."
"I'm not going anywhere," Baatar said trying to hide his fear.
The men shot metal cuffs around his wrists and pulled him into the hallway. "It's not up for discussion, sir."
He looked around wildly and spotted his guards slumped against the wall, bloodied and unconscious. "I surrendered to the avatar, bringing me back won't change that!"
"The Empire doesn't need a coward like you," the soldier said as he pushed Baatar forward. "You will be made an example of."
"Oh, good," he muttered before stopping suddenly and driving his elbow into the stomach of the man. He fought as dirty as he could before the other solder pulled him off his companion.
"You son of a bitch!" the injured soldier shouted as he began burying his fist in Baatar's face. "I hope I'm there when Zevon slits your worthless throat!"
"Take it easy! We need to bring him back aliv-" His companion was yanked violently away and into the opposite wall.
"Oh, shit," Baatar's attacker muttered as he looked down the hallway.
Baatar coughed up a bit of blood before following his terrified gaze. She was the very embodiment of anger and beauty, his fiancee Kuvira.
"General Zevon does not have the authority to execute prisoners of war and neither do you," she said icily as she walked slowly toward them.
"I'm just following orders, ma'am," he said quickly.
She narrowed her eyes pulled him toward her by the metal on his suit. "A coward's excuse," she hissed as she blocked his attacks. "I'll have to remind the general of his place after I remind you of yours!" The soldier crashed into a wall and slid down it to the floor.
Baatar watched in awe as Kuvira ran to his side and examined his injuries. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Come on, in here."
She led him back into the bathroom he was pulled from. "They've infiltrated the island," she explained as she dabbed at his bleeding lip with a towel. "They seem intent on bringing us back to the Empire to face punishment for surrendering. I don't know how many of them there are, but it looks like they had help from some of the White Lotus."
"They tried taking you?" he asked in confusion.
Kuvira paused and nodded her head sadly. "They tried to convince me they believed that I was being held prisoner against my will. They didn't expect that I would help the guards stop them."
"But you're here?"
"There were so many of them," she said softly. "The guards were overwhelmed, but I finished them. But then it occurred to me that if they were trying to take me, they were going to try to take you too."
"And you came for me?"
Kuvira flinched as if he'd hit her. "I couldn't let anything happen to you, not after what I did to you," she whispered.
Baatar stared at her in amazement as tears began running down her face. Only two other times had he seen her cry: when she was eight when Su officially took her in and three years ago after she took her first life. "What you did?"
She shook her head and tried to compose herself. "I will spend the rest of my wretched life regretting firing that damn cannon, but I swear I will do everything in my power to protect you from anymore of my mistakes."
"Your mistakes are mine," he said angrily, finally finding his voice. "We made them together! I'm not anymore innocent in this than you are! Why did-" He cut himself off, realizing that he didn't want to know the answer.
"Why did I fire?" she said hollowly. "I thought it would be the end, that everything would be over and the fighting would end. No one else would have to die."
"But that wasn't the end," he spat. "It wasn't over and more people died."
"I know." They stood in silence staring at the tiled floor until more shouts of alarm echoed outside.
"What are you going to do?" he asked without looking at her.
"I'm going to find General Zevon and remove him from his post. Then I'm going to dismantle the Empire piece by piece until I make it to Ba Sing Se."
"And then?"
"It's time to remove Ghashiun and turn over the city to the United Forces."
Baatar studied her intently. "Instead of standing trial?"
"Who better to take down the Empire?" she said soberly. "I need to fix my - our - mistakes. I can't do that from a prison cell."
"If guilt is your motivation then you should realize you're depriving the world of justice by leaving. Sometimes there is nothing that can be done to right a wrong, sometimes you just have to accept the consequences of your actions!"
"Is that what you want?" she asked harshly. "You want me to face punishment for what I did? Nothing they can do to me will compare to the hell I put myself through everyday. I will be tormented until the day I die and I've accepted that fate. All I want to do I prevent anyone else from getting hurt! I need to go or I'll-"
She was cut off by him pulling her to him. She stared into his eyes in disbelief for a moment before he closed the distance and kissed her. The metallic hint of blood mixed with the salt of her fresh tears as the agony of guilt subsided long enough to be replaced by desperately needed comfort.
They separated slowly, neither wanting to face the reality of their situation. "Don't think this changes anything," Baatar whispered brokenly.
"I know." Kuvira stepped out of his arms and wiped away her tears. "But it won't stop me from loving you," she said before slipping out of the door and into the night.
"I love you, too."
A/N: Hey, so it's been a while, sorry about that. Two weekends of Fallout 4 Nukaworld and then two weekends wasted with a work trip to San Francisco kind of put me behind schedule. It's not easy writing on a tiny phone screen on an airplane.
I wasn't planning on writing much for either of these scenes to be honest. I hate writing speeches or letters or that sort of thing . . . or I thought I did until I started writing Bolin's speech. I need to write him into more chapters. Baatar and Kuvira - I enjoy writing about their messed up relationship.
The next chapter will be . . . kind of action-y and I need to expand on that scene Asami flashes back to during the funeral maybe or it could just be a side story with a mature rating - I don't know, I'm rambling :P Thanks for reading!
