We will be seeing Bolin and Opal's wedding (I have big plans for that), and I promises that Korra will discover what it means to be the Avatar in the new world, but not just yet.

This interlude starts off dark, but gets a little playful towards the end.

A Long Overdue Talk

Asami felt more than a little apprehensive: the last time she'd been in this very room, almost two years ago, part of her heart had died. But a lot had changed in that time; she had changed a lot, but she felt that she needed closure before she could truly move on with her life. There was a loud clang as the heavy metal doors opened, and a guard stepped in, followed by Prisoner 964372, better know to the rest of the world as Hiroshi Sato, one of the ringleaders of the Equalist Uprising.

Known to Asami as 'daddy', but not for a long time now.

He may have been dressed in a standard issue dark orange prison uniform, and his hair was a little greyer than she remembered, but he had lost none of the poise and dignity that had made him a legend in the business world. Part of Asami felt like she was a little girl again, but she quickly mentally shook that off, and maintained her composure.

"Daughter." He nodded to her as he sat down across the table from her, the two guards taking up positions against the rear wall, giving the two of them privacy but ready to intercede if needed.

"Father." Asami nodded, "You're looking well."

"The food is far less rich than I had grown accustom to, and mandatory time in the exercise yard has its advantages" Hiroshi admitted, "You are also looking... well."

"Thank you." Asami studied her father intently, "You know why I'm here?"

"I have my suspensions." Her father maintained his poker-face, "The parole board contacted you?"

"Much to my surprise, yes." His daughter raised an eyebrow, "They tell me you've been in therapy."

"Yes, with Guru Gyatso." Hiroshi nodded, "He has helped me come to terms with the anger I have been carrying around since your mothers death and taught me to express it in non self-destructive ways."

Asami blinked, taken aback by his sudden and completely unexpected openness.

"I felt anger over your mothers death, anger that I misdirected into negative feelings when I should have concentrated on the positives in my life." Her father continued, still almost completely unreadable, "I have accepted that, while your mothers death was a tragedy, it was the actions of an individual, and could just have easily been the work of a non-bender. It was wrong of me to latch onto one aspect of the crime, and that blocked my chakras, something have been working towards changing."

Asami studied her father intently, looking for the merest hint that he was trying to deceive her. His past actions had proven that he was a master of keeping his true intent and emotions hidden from those who were supposedly closest to him, and she was unwilling to open herself up to him again if it just allowed him to hurt her even more. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the one item she'd brought with her and placed it on the table, covered by her hand. Her eyes fixed on her father, she mover her hand away, uncovering the photo; it showed her sitting with Senna and Yin in her arms, Korra standing behind her with a hand on her shoulders. It had taken by one of the most sort-after portrait photographers in Republic City for the official press release after the birth of her daughters, and had been printed and reprinted in newspapers and magazines around the world. But despite that, it was her favourite photo of them as a family, and she had had a larger copy of it framed and hung in her office at home.

Hiroshi looked down at the photo, and for the first time there was the faintest hint of emotion on his face, but he quickly regained his composure. He slowly reached out and took the photo and held it up to get a better look.

"I have a new family now, one of my own choosing; Senna, Yin and Korra." Asami did her best to keep her voice calm and level, "As you know, the Water Tribes don't go in for family names, so Korra has taken mine; she's Avatar Korra Sato now." She smiled at the memory of her wife's matter-of-fact announcement of her intent, and noted the twitch in the corner of her fathers eye at the news, "As you've no doubt heard, Mako is their father, and he is part of my family, just like Bolin and Opal, Tenzin, Pema and their children, Lin, Korra's parents, Katara, Kya and Bomi, even Naga."

"I am... glad, that you have managed to find so much love in your life." Her father nodded slowly, "I closed myself off from you after your mothers death. I wanted to protect you from ever getting hurt like that again, but I also wanted to protect myself. I was not the father I should have been, and for that I apologise."

"You called me an ungrateful and insolent child. You even tried to kill me. And I was ready to forgive that, because you are my father, and despite everything, I do love you." Asami replied with calm clarity, "I love you, but I don't trust you, not yet. A few more years in here with your Guru, and maybe I'll be willing to talk to the parole board on your behalf. But I want you to think on something while you're in here; everything that was once yours is now mine; your home, your company, your fortune, even the secret accounts that you thought no one knew about, everything. I won't see you destitute; I'm not that petty, but you will be watched. Like a lot of people, I think you forget that the White Lotus Society are more than just guards and instructors for the Avatar: they have people all around the world, experts in every field. And should anything ever happen to my family, should anyone even attempt to hurt them or to take them from me, they will be hunted down, no matter who they are or where they try and hide. And then, well, like I said, the White Lotus have experts in every field, and they can be very... creative."

"You have learned well, my daughter." Hiroshi actually smiled, "But let me leave you with one final lesson; when you fight monsters, you should be careful that you do not become a monster yourself, for when you look into the abyss, the abyss looks into you."

"I have Korra and our children to anchor me." Asami stood, "Be well, father."


Korra arrived home late, the peace talks having yet again run on far longer than anticipated. Fortunately, they at last seemed to be making headway, and it looked like they might be able to broker an actual agreement that could work. She was a little surprised to find the main house dark, save from a light in the window of the bedroom she shared with Asami, the house devoid of servants. There was normally at least one or two people working, no matter what the hour, and she'd made it a point to learn all their names and a little about them. She was the Avatar, but she was the whole worlds Avatar, even if her social standing had risen drastically over the last few years.

"Asami?" She stepped into their bedroom to find her wife sat at her dressing table, her back to the door, "Where is everyone?"

"I gave the staff the night off." Asami explained as she removed her earrings and placed them in the jewellery box Korra had bought her for their first wedding anniversary, "Mako has the girls for the night, and your parents have decided to move into the guest house."

"Okay." Korra blinked, "Any reason why?"

"I went to see my doctor today." Asami stood and slowly turned round, Korra's eyes going wide when she saw just what her wife was wearing, "He's very happy with how well I've recovered from the birth of the twins." She smiled coyly, "In fact, he gave me some very good news indeed..."

Korra was about to say something when Asami launched herself at her wife, knocking her down onto the bed, straddling her waist and kissing her deeply. Korra returned the kiss with gusto, but when she tried to put her arms around Asami to hold her tight, her wife stopped her and instead pulled her hands above her head. There was a faint click, and Korra felt something cold and hard around her writs.

"Handcuffs?" She asked.

"Platinum; something I found when going through the Equalist equipment in the basement." Asami looked down at her wife with predatory eyes, "Wasn't sure what to do with them at the time."

"So... no metal bending my way out of them then?" Korra asked as her wife started to kiss down her neck to her shoulder, "Am I going to need a Safe Word?"

To Be Continued...