Title: The Trophy Wife
Rating: M
Words: 2394
Fandom: The Legend of Korra
Characters/Pairings: Everyone; Amorra, Masami
Author's Note: So, shenanigans. Lots of 'em. Things I establish in this chapter:

Amon meets his in-laws, the Tarrlok question is approached, the Lieutenant has a name, and the council page's nervous constitution isn't helped by having to deal with Amon on a regular basis.

As to the Lieutenant's name, I sort of ended up picking one out at random, but I think you should know that it means "thunder." Draw your own conclusions if you must.

Two months passed in relative calm. Korra was a quick learner on the satocycle, and soon she was buzzing about the city like she had been riding her whole life. Amon moved into an office in City Hall, with the lieutenant serving as his assistant. When she wasn't at airbending training, Korra hung around City Hall in Amon's office, working with him on the new laws that they hoped to pass or simply lounging around on the floor reading books or the newspaper.

Today was one such day, where Amon was sitting at his desk signing off on paper while the lieutenant, Gui, filed it. Korra sat off in a corner reading a book, ignoring the two men.

A sharp knocking on the door pulled them out of their respective tasks, with Amon and Gui exchanging a wary glance. "Yes?" Amon called.

The council page entered, looking nervous. Korra was pretty sure it was his default expression. "Your presence has been requested in the main chamber."

"Whatever for?" Amon asked. He knew the rest of the council wasn't particular fond of him and merely tolerated his presence because the Avatar had suggested it. This wasn't a social call.

"There is a delegation from the Northern Water Tribe here. They've asked to speak to all of the council members. That includes you, sir," the page explained, his voice squeaking due to fear.

"Fine, I'll be right down," Amon grumbled.

"They've also requested that the Avatar come as well," the page added.

Korra rose from where she had been laying on the floor, looking curiously at the page. "But isn't it just a delegation to tell us who the new Northern Water Tribe representative will be?"

"Ah…you see…it's more than just the delegation," the page answered, swallowing nervously. "Please get down to the main chamber immediately!"

The scrawny man had never moved so fast as when he left Amon's office.

"Are you really going to go down?" Gui asked as he ran his hand through his hair.

"My presence has been formally requested. I don't have much of a choice," Amon replied. "Come along, Avatar."

She walked alongside him in silence as they went through the halls. Korra wondered if she knew someone from the delegation, or perhaps someone had been sent by her uncle to check on her. It would certainly explain why she had been asked to attend this meeting, even though she didn't have any sort of input about who the new councilperson would be. They arrived in the main chamber shortly, finding a group of people in Water Tribe garb standing with the other council members.

"You said she'd be here, so where is she?" someone demanded loudly. Korra flinched as she recognized the voice.

"I assure you, Chief Unalaq, that Avatar Korra is safe," Tenzin said as calmly as he possibly could with an irate Water Tribe chief in his face.

"Was someone asking about me?" Korra asked as she strode up the aisle.

The knot of people broke apart and Korra could see Unalaq standing near the center. His face broke into a relieved smile when he saw her. "Avatar Korra, you look well. You are in good health and you still have your bending?"

Amon stopped at the fringe of the crowd, allowing Korra to greet the chief, as she was expected to do. They grasped forearms in the traditional Water Tribe greeting, and then to everyone's surprise, Unalaq pulled Korra into a tight hug. "I was so worried. We received news up north about the Equalists and we feared the worst."

"I'm okay, Uncle, I swear," she laughed as she hugged him back. "How's my aunt? The twins?"

"Your aunt and the twins are well, and will be relieved to know that you're safe," Unalaq answered. "And they're not the only ones. I know of two others who are most relieved to see that you're safe."

Korra pulled back and gave her uncle a confused look. "Who?"

He jerked his head to the right and Korra turned, surprise and then happiness on her face when she saw her parents. "Mom! Dad!" she cried before launching herself at them.

Tonraq and Senna laughed as they embraced their daughter. "Hello honey!" Senna said as reached up to brush a stray lock of hair from Korra's eyes.

"I think you've gotten taller," Tonraq noted as he put his hand on her shoulder. "You're obviously leaving girlhood behind."

"In more ways than one," Senna noted sadly as she looked at the betrothal necklace at Korra's throat. "Then the rumors that we've heard are true, then?"

A shadow of sorrow passed over Korra's face for a moment. "They are," she answered.

Looking past his daughter to where Amon stood, Tonraq studied him. "And that's him?"

"Yes, that's him, Amon," Korra answered.

Both Unalaq and Tonraq approached the masked man, sizing him up. "So, you're the leader of the Equalists?" Unalaq asked.

"I am," Amon answered calmly.

"I want you to know, that is my baby girl," Tonraq intoned threateningly, leaning in with an icy glare. "I don't care if you can take people's bending, you hurt her and I will end you."

Amon liked to think that he wasn't afraid of anything. He hadn't been afraid of anything since he had mastered bloodbending, but he felt a little prickle of fear run down his spine at his father-in-law's threat. Not that he couldn't take Tonraq in a fight, no, that would be child's play, but there was something in the other man's eyes that spoke of a promise to make his life hell if something happened to Korra. Also, the fact that his uncle-in-law was the chief of the Northern Water Tribe meant that he could face an impossible uphill battle should they decide to make him miserable.

"I would never mistreat her," he said coolly. "I have no reason to."

The brothers exchanged a hard glance before nodding. "Well then," Tonraq said, extending his arm, "welcome to the family."

Though he hadn't been in the Water Tribe in twenty-six years, Amon still knew the warrior's greeting. Grasping his father-in-law's forearm, he held tight and nodded. Looking past Tonraq's head, he saw that Korra was standing with her mother and looking apprehensive. They would have to talk about this later. It would have been nice to know that his in-laws ran the Northern Water Tribe.

When Amon released Tonraq's hand, Unalaq spoke up. "There's something else we need to know about. Where is Tarrlok?"

"Tarrlok is safe enough," Amon answered casually.

"That's not the answer we were hoping for," Unalaq said, shaking his head. "Where are you holding him? As a citizen of the Northern Water Tribe and Republic City, he should be held by the police."

"I assure you no harm has come to him," Amon replied, slowly becoming irritated by the line of questioning.

"Uncle, I assure you, I just saw Tarrlok the other night. He's in good health and he hasn't been mistreated," Korra spoke up.

"Yes, well I'll be the judge of that. Bring him to the Northern Water Tribe embassy tonight," Unalaq ordered.

"And why should I?" Amon asked. He heard Korra groan softly in the background.

"You've taken justice into your own hands, and that isn't right. We'll decide if the charges you claim against him are true," Unalaq replied, his voice hard.

"What exactly are those charges?"

"You've charged him with abusing his bending, and perhaps most surprising of all, of being a bloodbender."

"Yes, and he is guilty on both counts."

"That's ridiculous. I've known Tarrlok since childhood. He and Tonraq were best friends, I think I would have realized if he were a bloodbender," Unalaq replied.

Amon managed to resist the urge to laugh. Yes, he and Tarrlok had known Unalaq and Tonraq as children; he could remember getting into bending battles using the ice and snow. But people changed, and they were no longer the boys who used to rough house on the tundra together. "I assure you, not only did he use his bloodbending on me, he used it on the Avatar. Are you sure that I'm the one you should be worried about?"

"You're a liar!" a voice called from the group of Water Tribe delegates. An old woman stepped forward. Her back was straight, and her eyes snapped with blue fire. Her hair was white and there were lines on her face, but Amon still knew her. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "I know my son, and he isn't a bloodbender! Where would he have learned such a deplorable skill anyway?"

Looking around the room, Amon realized that he'd have no choice but to take Tarrlok to the Northern Water Tribe embassy. The only way to convince anyone of the truth would for them to heart it straight from Tarrlok. "I'll bring him to the embassy tonight then, and perhaps when you hear it from him you'll understand. Appearances can be deceiving." He straightened his back and glanced around the room one last time. "Will you need me for anything else?"

"No, thank you," Tenzin said.

"Then I bid you all good afternoon," Amon replied coolly before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room.

"I…should go to talk to him. I don't think he realized that he'd be meeting the in-laws today," Korra said with a nervous laugh. "He's really not so bad, once you get to know him."

"Korra, you know we love you no matter what," Senna said quietly, "but were there really no alternatives?"

Smiling weakly, Korra nodded. "It's okay, Mom. We're working together in a way that was impossible before."

"You are a brave young woman, Avatar Korra," Tarrlok's mother said. "Sacrificing yourself like that for everyone else."

"I did what had to be done," Korra answered honestly. "Nothing more, nothing less. Now if you'll excuse me, I know he'll want to talk to me about all of this. I'll see you tonight."

She sprinted out of the room and up to Amon's office. She found him sitting behind his desk, elbows propped on the surface, his fingers laced together, and his chin resting on his fingers. He didn't look stressed, but somehow she could sense the unease within him. Gui was looking at his boss uncomfortably. "Gui, take the rest of the day off," Korra said.

"What? Why would I do that? I still have work to do," Gui argued back.

Korra shook her head. "I'll assist him for the rest of the day. Go ahead, I don't think he'll mind."

"The Avatar speaks for you now?" Gui scoffed. He had reached the point where he tolerated Korra's presence, but he avoided interacting with her as much as possible.

"Go home, Gui," Amon ordered. His tone was pure ice.

An unsettling silence fell over the room and suddenly Gui was glad that he was allowed to leave. Something had happened downstairs and even though he was curious, the tense atmosphere of the room was enough to make him want to get the heck out. "If you need anything, give me a call," Gui said as he gathered his things and then he dashed from the room.

"So I suppose I should have told you about my uncle," Korra said a few minutes after Gui left.

"That would have been nice to know before I accepted your proposal," Amon agreed. "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Honestly, only a few people know. We don't advertise the fact that my uncle is the head of the Northern Water Tribe because if I'm called to mediate something between the tribe and another nation, I don't want anyone to think I'm biased. It's bad enough that people will always question me if I make a decision in favor of the Water Tribes because that's where I hail from, but it's so much worse when you're related to someone who's in the seat of power," she explained. Looking up at him and trying to gauge his mood, she sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't mention it, but it was a decision that was made when I was a child that we wouldn't let anyone know unless it was important."

Amon sighed. "Fine. I suppose you have questions of your own. I saw your face when your uncle said that he's known Tarrlok since childhood."

Korra fidgeted a bit. "Well, yeah, that was a bit of a shock I guess."

"It's true. I knew your father and your uncle when I was a boy. We grew up in the same village, it was only natural that we'd train and play together," Amon explained. "Honestly, I suppose I should have seen it. Tonraq is as stubborn as they come, and I see that it's a trait that was passed on to you."

She pouted at him. "Hey!"

He chuckled. "I suppose we're even, then. It's not like you expected me to have known your father."

"It's a little weird. You're probably closer to my uncle's age, aren't you? Oh Spirits, you're older than my dad."

"I am."

"Wow. That's…I can't imagine this is going to go over well."

"I'm not worried," he informed her as he stood. "I could take your father back then and I can take him now."

"My, you're awfully confident in your abilities, aren't you?" Korra teased. It was weird to think that she was teasing him, but she learned that he actually had a sense of humor, and so long as she didn't poke fun at a sore spot, he was amiable enough.

"You, of all people, should know that I'm always confident in my abilities," he murmured as he stalked towards her.

She blushed as she let out a soft "eep!" and tried to dance out of the way. His reflexes were faster, though, and he grabbed her arm and pulled her against him. Giggling softly, she tried to get away, but her effort was half-hearted at best.

"I suppose we should go get ready for tonight," he sighed as he stood with her in his arms. "I'll need to give Tarrlok time to get ready. I refuse for him to show up looking like a mess."

"And he takes longer to get ready than I do, and I'm a girl," Korra agreed.

Amon's laughter echoed in the office.