Alright. Time for a new chapter. Hope everyone's staying safe out there. Probably hear that a lot, but meh. Stat Chart:

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Broke 4,000. Neat! This is more so a filler/flashback memory chapter for Tamayo. So you can skip if ya want, I get it. To those who do want to continue, read on!

Tamayo finds her seat beside Akira during Opal's farewell dinner and lets out a relaxed sigh. From a few seats away, she can hear Opal and Bolin talking about love and kale.

"Those two are so cute as a couple." Tamayo whispers to Akira.

"I know. It's a shame that they're getting separated so soon."

Tamayo nods in agreement.

A while later, Su stands up and gives a speech.

"Everyone, if I could have your attention, please. Tonight, my beautiful little girl leaves for the Northern Air Temple." She begins, turning to her daughter. "Opal, none of us could be more proud of you. You're an incredible daughter, sister, friend, and soon-to-be Airbending master."

She then raises her glass and toasts, "Here's to Opal. May she help lead us into the new era."

As the dinner comes to its conclusion, Opal is loaded onto an airship and sent away. Team Avatar and Opal's Family gather to see her off.

"We'll head out first thing in the morning." Lin tells Korra, a smile on her face and Hao's arm wrapped around her shoulder.

Following the sending off, Team Avatar settles in for the night.

Tamayo, laying down on her bed, can't seem to get to sleep.

Welp. When all else fails, alcohol.

Grabbing a bottle from the bag she brought from the airship, Tamayo begins to enjoy the drink.

Eventually, she decides to take a warm bath.

"Ahhh. This is nice. A good drink, a warm bath. So good!"

She lets out a little drunken giggle, getting out of the water and drying herself off.

Now having consumed the bottle, Tamayo flops onto her bed, post drying her hair, and finally feels drowsy.

[Memory]

[7 Years Ago]

"Come on girls, can you please stop bringing your clients over!" Amako exclaims to Tamayo and Tamako. Both of which are laying on the living room couch topless. "And put some clothes on for Agni sake."

With that, Amako leaves the house to get to work.

"That was a suggestion, right?" Tamako asks.

"Only in regards to putting on clothes. We should probably keep business to the building."

"But we were closer to home than there. And we were really horny."

"Even so, we should keep our business life and home life separate."

"Jeez, what's with you talking sense lately?"

"I'm the mature one, between the two of us. Anyways, I need to go see my boyfriend. Said he wanted to talk."

"Sounds like fun."

Tamayo scoffs and throws a sweatshirt on before leaving. She then walks over to the Red Light District on the South Side of the city and steps into a rundown looking apartment.

Jeez, this place looks worse than the apartment near the Burning Heart.

A few doors later, Tamayo knocks on one. After it opens she gives the occupant a peace sign, greeting them with a, "Yo."

"Hey babe."

"Hey Isaac. You said you wanted to talk?"

"Yeah, come on in."

She does so, taking a seat on the couch. Isaac sits next to her and rubs her upper thigh with his hand.

"I was hoping we could have a little sex before getting into the conversation."

"Ugh, you men are all the same. Of course, I know that better than anyone."

Both lightly strip down, and Tamayo is pounded on the couch. Half an hour later he finishes on her back, and Tamayo is less than aroused.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I was thinking we should break up. I found someone else, so I was thinking I could just call on you whenever she isn't around. I'll actually pay you now."

"Wow. I should've expected this." Tamayo rages, quickly dressing herself. "Should you call me again, you'll be visited by Ed. Goodbye."

She then storms out, immediately heading to the Burning Heart. Once there she greets Ed and steps inside the establishment, grabbing one of her girls and pulling her into a room.

After an hour later, the poor girl can barely stand.

"Sorry for ambushing you like that." Tamayo apologizes.

"Oh, it's fine ma'am. It was…quite the experience." She replies, breathless.

"You're…Sam, right?"

"Yeah."

"Tell me, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Oh, no. Of course not."

"Of course not. You're new here, right?"

"Yes ma'am. Started around a month or so ago."

"Hm…" Tamayo taps her finger on the bed fabric for a moment. "Wanna hang out?"

"Huh? Are you sure that's alright?"

"I'm the co-owner. Whatever I say goes."

"Oh, then…yes ma'am."

"Wonderful. I'll pick you up here tomorrow, then we can spend some quality time together."

"Ok?" Sam is very confused, but focuses on trying to walk out the door.

The next day, Tamayo keeps her words and collects Sam at the Burning Heart, talking her to the park, getting cart food, and enjoying the pleasant sights of Republic City.

"My Ex used to take me to these places." Tamayo states, the two of them sitting on a bench. "Asshole found a girl with bigger tits and dumped me."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Fuck him. I'm my own woman. I can seduce a guy or girl whenever I want and get a new boy or girlfriend like that." Tamayo snaps her fingers at the end of the sentence.

"So, are you trying to seduce me? If so, this is an odd way to do that."

"How about this then?"

Tamayo then pulls her shirt up and flashes Sam, who spits out her water and stares unabashed.

"You didn't wear a bra today?"

"Nope. Wanna head to my place and do a bit more…exploration?"

"Yes ma'am."

The two immediately go to the house and embrace their lust viciously. By the end of it both are sporting bite marks, light bruising, disheveled hair, and sweaty bodies.

"Holy shit." Sam breathes out.

"Yeah. So, wanna be my girlfriend? I promise, the perks are great."

"Yes ma'am."

A month following that day, Tamayo started to feel a new emotion: love. Whenever Sam would smile at her, her cheeks would flush with warmth, and hear pulse would quicken.

Of course, Tamayo loves coming to the girl's rescue. During one particular night, one client had gotten a bit too rough.

"Sam, go to Tamako and tell her to get Ed." Tamayo demands.

"Yes ma'am." Sam replies, sporting a bruised arm and cheek.

"Who the hell are you, you bitch?" The drunken client asks.

"I'm one of the owners of this establishment. You've been very rude and disrespectful. Leave. Now."

"You? You look like a five dollar whore. How about you fuck off and leave me to the girl I paid for."

Tamayo then steps on his foot, kicks him in the shin, and punches him in the gut.

A second later Ed arrives, grabs the asshole, and throws him out of the establishment.

In her office, Tamayo tends to Sam. She wraps a bag of ice to her arm and lets the girl hold the second bag to her cheek.

"I'm sorry you went through that. If you want, you can take a break from work to rest and heal."

"I would appreciate that."

Tamayo gives Sam a peck on the un-injured cheek before she leaves.

The days pass by uneventful after the tussle. Ed was given a nice bonus for doing his job, and Sam left on vacation. She would return a week later feeling better.

A year into their relationship, Tamayo notices Sam looking off into space on occasion.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Tamayo asks as the two lay on a bed.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about visiting home. It's a quaint little place in the Earth Kingdom, but it's home."

"If you want, you can take some time off and go visit."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Take as long as you want."

"Thank you, ma'am."

A few days later Tamayo sees Sam onto the train. After leaving, their communication starts to dwindle. A handful of month pass before Tamayo gets a phone call. Sam tells her she's on her way back and she has some news.

As Tamayo waits for her girlfriend to arrive via train, she thinks about buying her a flower. She'd never waited for someone at the train station, so it was an odd experience for her. She ends up purchasing a small bundle of purplish blue flowers.

After waiting a decent amount of time, the train arrives. It takes a minute to stop, then the doors open. Tamayo scans the people unloading and soon sets her eyes on Sam.

There she is.

With a smile, Tamayo approaches the girl, only to abruptly stop in her tracks.

There, holding the girl's hand, is a man. A rather good looking one at that. The way they hold and interact with each other makes it clear they aren't siblings or simply friends.

Feeling lead fill her feet, Tamayo burns the flower to ash and walks over to the duo.

"Oh, ma'am. It's good to see you again. This is my new boyfriend, Shin." Sam introduces shyly.

"It's nice to meet you." He greets.

"You as well."

The two slightly bow.

"This is difficult for me to say, but…I'm moving back home, permanently."

"Oh. Might I ask why?"

"I found new work. It's actually where I met Shin. I wanted to thank you for helping me where you could, in person. I thought you at least deserved that."

"I see. Well, that's very kind of you. We'll miss you around the Burning Heart."

"That's kind of you to say."

The new couple then gather their things and leave the train station. Tamayo, feeling numb, walks back to the Burning Heart.

As always, she greets Ed.

As always, she grabs a bottle of Fire Whiskey for herself and enters her office.

As always, she pours herself a drink and gulps it down.

As always, she decides to down the bottle.

As always, she grabs more bottles and downs them.

As always, she gets drunk and collapses on the couch, sobbing.

As always, someone she loves leaves her.

"Hey, wake up."

Tamayo groans in protest and covers her head with the bedsheets, which are summarily pulled away.

"Come on, Akira's going to be arriving any minute now." Amako states.

"Who?"

"Our cousin? Akira? He's coming to visit for a week?"

"Oh. Right."

A month had passed since the breakup, if you could call it that.

"I'll give the kid some alcohol as a gift."

"He's thirteen!"

"I'll give him some weak shit then."

"Ugh! If you can't put in the effort to make yourself look presentable, then don't even come out of your room."

With a slam, Amako shuts the door after she leaves.

Amako's such a pain. Why can't she just leave me be.

From her room, she can hear the front door open and muffled voices.

That must be Akira. Good kid.

Tamayo continues to lay in her bed until the stench of alcohol and her bodily uncleanliness becomes too unbearable. So, she takes a bath, cleans up a small bit, and gets dressed. She then leaves her room and goes to the kitchen to grab some food and more drink.

"Oh, hey Tamayo." A voice greets.

She turns around and sees Akira and Amako sitting on the couch. Akira looks happy to see her while Amako looks mad.

"Hey bud. I just came down for some lunch."

"So, you were telling me about your adventures in the South Pole?" Amako intervenes.

"Oh, yeah. So after we rode Naga, we found a group of Otter Penguins. They were so adorable. They even let us sled on them."

As Tamayo makes her noodles, she listens to the tales. It makes her feel…different. Over the month she'd only felt heavy and dead to the world. Now though, she's feeling…she doesn't know.

"Wanna go visit the park? I'll buy us some ice cream too." Amako says.

"Sure. Sounds fun." Akira responds. The two slip on their shoes and leave through the front door. Now alone, Tamayo feels the emptiness return.

This is so stupid. I need a drink.

She grabs a bottle from the freezer and pops the cap open, consuming the contents within in seconds. Following that, she then grabs more bottles and her noodles before returning to her and Tamako's room. Tamako had decided to spend a few days at the Burning Heart, wanting to inspect some of the new girls personally.

With her drinks and food, Tamayo consumes the noodles voraciously and downs bottle after bottle. Eventually, she passes out on the bed.

Waking up, Tamayo feels woozy and immediately runs to the bathroom to vomit. She makes it in time and empties her stomach. After doing so, she swishes some water in her mouth, spits it out, then swallows a new mouthful of water.

Starting to get sober, Tamayo leaves her room and heads to the kitchen to grab more drinks. As she gets there, she sees Amako sitting on the couch reading a book. The other woman quickly notices her and scowls.

Tamayo just waves before moving to the freezer. As she goes to open it, Amako slams the lid shut with her hand and glares at her.

"Come on sis." Tamayo slurs. "I just want a little pick me up."

"No. Not while Akira is here. It's bad enough you got drunk while we were away, but now you want to be like this when he's a few feet away?"

"Oh knock it off you bitch. Let me have my drink."

"No."

Tamayo then tackles her step-sister, knocking them both to the ground. Due to her intoxicated state though, Tamayo is unable to keep her down.

Amako pushes Tamayo off her and the two grapple.

"Hey!" A voice shouts out. The two look at the stairway and see Akira staring at the two in confusion. "What are you two doing?"

"Agni, I'm sorry Akira." Amako apologizes.

Tamako doesn't do so immediately, but does feel…regret. After a moment she does get out a, "Sorry."

"You two are sisters. Different mothers, but still. Why are you two fighting?"

"It's my fault." Tamayo says, surprising Amako. "I wanted to drink some alcohol and get drunk, but Amako didn't want me to."

Why am I saying this? Better yet, why am I feeling like this? Is it…Akira?

"I shouldn't be hitting the drinks so hard, but…"

Amako lets out a sigh and places a calming hand on Tamayo's shoulder.

"We both acted a bit crazy."

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Akira looks happy that the fighting had stopped.

"Alright. How about we all get some rest. I'm sure we're all feeling tired."

Amako nods her head and walks past Akira, heading to her room. before Akira can do the same, Tamayo asks him, "Could you…stay with me tonight?"

Akira smiles and replies, "Of course."

The two head to her room, but Akira brings up the useful point that it smells like booze and death. So, the two sleep in Akira's room. Luckily the bed is big enough for two people, so there's no problem there.

As Tamayo is laying under the covers, she thinks on the recent event.

That's it! Akira is the non-bias party that helps us all calm down. No one gets mad at the little cousin, even though he technically isn't little anymore. With him around for the week, we can get through this…I can get through this.

And there we go. That's it for this weekend. Bit of a filler chapter, but it gives me a chance to practice

Reviews would be appreciated

Anyways stay awesome guys and gals of the world, and I'll see you next chapter