Riko stared intently through the window. Her breath fogged up the glass. She had been watching Naga lately in order to see the signs that she wanted. Speaking of which, Naga was curled up behind her to keep the child warm.
Asami wandered into the foyer where her new daughter was sitting at the front window. She laughed good-naturedly and kneeled to her side. "Winter isn't here yet, Riko."
The young child smiled eagerly. "No, but I've been watching Naga and she's getting antsy."
Asami peered over to the polar bear-dog and realized that she too was staring out of the window in anticipation. She chuckled and ruffled both of their heads. "Well it's time for dinner. C'mon. The chef made Korra's favorite so she's already waiting at the table."
Riko turned around with a smile and raced Naga to the dining room. Asami watched in amusement and slowly followed after them.
"It's about time! I almost started without you!" Korra hollered when Asami finally joined them.
It was late in the night when Riko felt the comfort of Naga's warm body leave her bed. A cold chill coursed through her back at the disappearance of her source of warmth. Naga had been sleeping in her bed in order to keep her warm in the coming winter months. The beast was such a mother. However, Riko paid little mind to the animal leaving her room. Sometimes Naga left to get water from her bowl. She could usually hold in her need to use the bathroom since she's such a large creature but she did need out sometimes during the night.
Riko quickly began falling back asleep, but then she heard distant barking from downstairs. She internally knew she should be concerned but she cared too much about her sleep. She didn't want to get up without the comfort of Naga next to her. She heard footsteps tap down the stairs to see what the commotion was. After a few minutes, the footsteps started back up the stairs and headed to her room, but she was already back to sleep.
Someone gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. "Riko, c'mon! You have to see this!"
The earthbender barely opened her eyes enough to faintly see her mother standing over her with her coats and boots in hand. Riko rose a brow but nonetheless dragged herself out of bed to allow the Avatar help her dress for the cold. Korra was smiling excitedly and threw the child onto her back after she was ready. Riko wanted to go back to sleep and laid her head on the tan shoulder in front of her. She was suddenly awoken when a cold wind swam through her hair. She shivered and opened her eyes. What she saw woke her up immediately. She smiled brightly and squirmed in Korra's hold until she let her go.
Naga was already running around, happy to be back in her element. Wide-eyed at the sight before her, she tentatively stepped into the white fluff that had fallen to the ground from the sky. She laid her palm out before her and watched flakes drop into her hand and melt instantly from her body heat. She lifted her boot to see that it left an imprint on the ground.
"Is this…"
Her adoptive parents smiled happily. "It's snow!" Korra exclaimed.
Riko couldn't smile any wider and spun around to take in her new environment. Korra ran ahead and chased after Naga, who was pouncing in the growing snow piles. The Avatar was still a child at heart. The earthbender could hardly belief what she was experiencing. The Fire Nation had always been extremely hot, so hot that even the ocean waters were warm and it was a chore just to walk to the market without some sort of shade. This… This was something else entirely. It was like the world's heat completely evaporated into… It was hard to put into words for the girl since it was her first time experiencing winter. She just knew that it was something totally different that anything she had ever felt before.
Asami saw the thoughts and questions forming in the young girl's mind. She watched patiently from the patio to see what she would do. She had been so eager for snow, but what did she think of it now that it was here?
After a few minutes of taking in all of this new information, Riko looked around to see what her family was doing. Korra was sliding all over the snow with Naga. She turned her head and saw Asami drinking hot tea from the patio. The pale woman waved at her. Riko pouted and looked back to the tanner of the couple. Korra and Naga were now wrestling in the snow. She looked back to the CEO, who quirked a brow as in to ask what she was doing.
A lightbulb went off in Riko's head and she hopped to the older woman. For a minute, Asami thought the girl didn't like the snow, but the she took her hand and pulled her towards their family. Asami giggled at the thought that Riko wouldn't like snow. Of course she would, she was an adventurous child. Though Riko had pulled her into the yard, she didn't know what people did with snow. Asami noticed the girl's hesitance and nudged her with her elbow. The earthbender looked up questionably. "Watch this." Asami whispered. The woman leaned down and grabbed a handful of snow, carefully smoothing it to make a ball. She nudged her head to Korra, trying to communicate with Riko. A sly smirk made its way across Riko's face as she understood what her mother was saying. She quickly copied and prepared her arm. Asami counted down on her fingers before they both simultaneously threw their snowballs at the Avatar.
"Gah!" Korra fell over, not expecting a mass of snow to suddenly hit her. She looked around and saw Asami smirking at her and Riko jumping from foot-to-foot nervously yet excitedly. She smiled and confidently stood up. "Oh, is this what we're playing now? I think you picked a fight with the wrong Avatar!"
Asami quickly grabbed Riko and hid behind a tree while Korra gathered up snow. The duo compiled as many snowballs as possible before Korra was ready. The Avatar thought about using her bending but knew it would put her at an even greater advantage than what she already had. She held an armful of snowballs and search through the yard for where the girls wandered to. She heard a small giggle behind a tree and smirked as she approached it. Just as she was about to round the tree, a snowball landed on her head from behind her. She whipped around to see Asami leaning out from behind another tree. When Korra tried to throw once again, another snowball smashed against her back. She turned around and saw Riko running to another tree. Again and again, Korra's attempts to attack were futile as the duo kept taking turns throwing and hiding. Eventually Korra caught her daughter and swung her in her arms as the child cheered loudly.
"Aha! I've got you now! Give up, Asami! I have Riko captive!" Korra announced. A few rustles could be heard before Naga stepped forward. Korra's smile dropped and she stepped back. "Oh no, Naga. Don't you dare…" Naga growled playfully before charging. Korra quickly dropped the young earthbender before the polar bear-dog pounced on her. "Gah! I surrender!" Naga's wet tongue licked up and down her face, chilling her skin. "Naga, stop! I'm freezing!" Suddenly more weight was thrown on top of her as her family pounced as well. Eventually they settled down next to each other and laughed. Riko sighed happily. Asami glanced up to her fiancée and smiled. Korra's joy brought on by having a family exuberated from her. Asami leaned up and lovingly kissed her to share her overwhelming joy. Korra pressed closer into her. Riko gagged and crawled away. The couple pulled away and laughed. They sat there staring into each other's eyes until a cold shiver ran up Asami's spine. Korra glanced over to Riko and saw that she was holding herself to keep warm. Seems the cold was finally starting to register in her mind. The Avatar chuckled and helped them all to their feet. "C'mon, I think we should go back to our warm bed. We can play more tomorrow." Korra added the last bit when she saw Riko about to retaliate. The earthbender sighed and followed her.
Riko fell right back to sleep as soon as she laid down in Korra's arms. She was apparently so warm that it soothed the girl right to sleep. The Avatar grinned down at the sleeping girl. This was what she had always wanted: a family. Asami leaned her head on her fiancée's arm and rubbed Riko's back. "Aren't you cold?"
Korra shrugged. "Nah, not really. The South is still worse than this."
Asami chuckled and cuddled closer to her. "Good, because I need you to warm me up too."
Korra smiled and adjusted their daughter to lay on her left so Asami could curl up on her right. Having a family felt so right in that moment. The two people she loved the most were curled up in her arms in bed. The couple shared a goodnight kiss and started dozing off. Riko slid further up Korra's body to tuck her head underneath her neck. "I've always wanted a mother to hold me like this…" She breathed into Korra's neck.
Tears sprung to Korra's eyes and she hugged the child tighter. "I'll never let you go, Riko. You don't have to worry about losing your parents anymore."
Asami tightened her hold on Korra's arm as her emotions were beginning to show too. She gingerly ran her hand through the earthbender's damp hair. "You're safe now, Riko."