"Team one. Pull!"

Asami's yell carried through the air and the indicated team, Nalon among them, sprang into action. They grabbed a rope lying at their feet and walked backwards to pull the rope taut. The other end of the rope was fixed to a diagonal pair of stanchions with braces running between them for extra support. As they redoubled their efforts the top of the frame rose off the ground higher and higher. Asami pointed towards a group standing opposite the first. "Team two. Pull!"

A few others, standing opposite of the first, grabbed their rope and tugged on it. The stanchion came to a near halt, wavering back and forth ever so slightly in both directions. Asami swung her arm to point at a person waiting by the base of the stanchion. "Freeze!"

Korra waved her arms in the air and water swirled around the base of each leg. Her fingers balled up into a fist and the liquid froze into solid blocks of ice, rooting the frame in place. Asami walked up to the frame and shoved it as hard as she could with both hands. The frame remained unmoved by her efforts and Asami waved her hands towards both groups as she continued to yell. "Good job, everyone. Let's get the other half set up then we can attach the engine and the blades."

Both teams moved to the second set of ropes and repeated the process. Once the second frame had been frozen into place Asami moved over to a row of three identical blades lying in front of the stanchions. Next to them was a wound up cable and an enclosed metal cylinder whose guts comprised all the components that would enable the windmill to generate electricity along with the tools and fasteners to hold it all together. Korra and one of the teams joined Asami then Korra stamped her foot on the ground. A line carved into the ice around them in the shape of a square which then elevated until they were roughly even with the top of the stanchions. The team lifted up the cylinder and maneuvered it into position. Asami lifted a bolt whose head was near as large as her fist and turned it as far as she could by hand. Once it stopped moving she picked up a metal rod with a socket in the very center. "Okay, I don't want to slip and fall so mind freezing me into place, Korra?"

Some of the ice at her feet dissolved into liquid and flowed up to her calves before solidifying again. Korra also took a step closer and rested her hands on Asami's sides as an added safety measure. Asami gripped each end of the rod and slid it over the bolt then twisted her arms like she was spinning a steering wheel. The bolt remained stubborn before she she pushed even harder and the bolt twisted as it winded even deeper into its socket until even the tool couldn't move it. "One bolt down. Unfreeze me then we can do the other side. " Once the second bolt had been tightened all the way Asami gestured to the team. "Okay, let's get the blades into position."

The team heaved the ungainly blade up onto their shoulders and slid it into a receptacle on the cylinders side. Asami tightened the bolt down then shoved on the blade to spin it until the next opening was pointing towards them. Two blades later she set the wrench down and picked up the power cable and inserted its heavy plug into a socket on the base of the cylinder. Last was to untie the ropes they had used to raise the stanchions. "We're all done here, Korra. Take us down, please."

Korra stomped her foot and the block of ice they were standing on descended back to ground level. Asami patted the nearest village on the shoulder. "Good job everyone. That's one windmill down. Three more to go." She bent over and grabbed the other end of the cable. "Take this and plug it in please, Korra. We can start charging the batteries while we put the other windmills up."

Korra took the cable and lugged it over towards one of two shacks located nearby. Both were assembled of short wooden planks, but one was several times the size of the first. A narrow wooden rectangle lined with waterproof canvas protruded out from the rear of the smaller building. Korra checked the connector in her hands for any moisture and after not finding any, pushed it upwards into one of the deeply recessed sockets inside the rectangle.

By the time they had finished assembling the three other windmill, the wind had picked up and intermittent gusts were flowing across the plain. The windmills were no exception and their blades revolved in the air. 'Well that part is working right. Now I need to make sure it's actually generating electricity.' Asami headed around to the front of the smaller shack and opened the door there. The floor inside was covered in rubber mats and several metal containers with cables running between them rested atop the mats. Asami glanced at the dial gauge mounted just inside the door. The red needle on it was close to zero, but still above it. 'Excellent, it's starting to charge. I'll have to come back later and see where it's at. Probably a few times.'

As Asami closed the door, Tonraq strode up towards her, Nalon trailing behind. He glanced at the door she had just come out of before looking towards the windmill in the distance. "Nalon's informed me of what's been going on and I've spoken to a few others. The entire village is talking about this and not all of it is good. The fact that Korra brought you here earned you good will, but now you're assembling machines they don't recognize and people are starting to get uneasy. I understand that you're trying to generate power, but power for what?"

"Why don't I show you?"

During her planning for this expedition, Asami had kept careful tabs on how much everything weighed. She had wanted to keep that number low for good reason. Each extra kilogram was another kilogram that had to be loaded up and transported through one of, if not the, most hostile regions on the planet. It was a feat that was ultimately only achievable by enlisting the efforts of the people who lived there. Asami had been estimating that it would take weeks for the thousands of kilograms she had accumulated to be unloaded from the ship and dragged far across the ice. It had only taken two days. The people of Korra's village had turned out in far greater numbers than she had been expecting. Well over half the village though Korra's father hadn't been among them. Instead Tonraq had remained cloistered with Ansen and his colleagues, no doubt discussing the explorer's request as well as gleaning information about the world outside Asami assumed. There was no sign of Ansen now, but odds were that he was heading back to the coast, regardless of whether his request had been granted or not. Tonraq was here now and this was as good a time as any to show him the results of the last few days.

Asami headed to the other shack, threw open the double doors and gestured for them to precede her. Inside eight identical ovens were lined up against the opposite wall, their black surfaces inscribed with four white rings to mark the burner location. Above each were sets of pots and pans as well as all the cooking utensils they could possibly need. Facing the ovens were just as many stainless steel sinks, fridges and freezers and islands spaced at regular intervals stood in the middle of the room. Tonraq stared around in disbelief before throwing open the nearest fridge. From top to bottom, the entire unit was stacked with meat that had been cut, wrapped and shipped across the ocean. It had been necessary to store them in working fridges during the trip, but now the fridges real goal was to keep them from freezing solid.

Tonraq pulled one of the cuts out then slowly turned to stare at the ovens behind him. "I haven't had a cooked meal in nearly twenty-five years..." Within seconds he was all but shoveling the meat out of the fridge into his arms and dumping it on the island behind him.

Asami smiled to herself before looking to see what Nalon was doing. The other waterbender had opened a fridge, but his reaction was far less muted. He pulled out a pair of sweet potatoes and frowned to himself as he examined the brown vegetables. "What a strange looking plant. I don't see how these would grow. There's no stems or any flowers. Is it like seaweed?"

"No, it isn't. You're holding the underground part of the plant, but all of the sprouts have been removed except for this one here." Asami explained as she pointed at a reddish nub beginning to emerge from the side. "If it was planted then this would grow out of the ground and start making leaves."

Nalon grunted wordlessly before sticking the narrow end of the tuber in his mouth and gnawing at it. "Pretty tough, isn't it?"

'Oh jeez, I wasn't expecting him to do that.' Asami fought back the urge to grimace and put on a smile instead. "Right, let's take that over to Tonraq and we can show you how to prepare it."

'At least, I hope Tonraq can help me. He's already setting pans up so he knows a thing or two at least. No idea how good of a cook he is though. Guess I'll find out.'

"Not wasting any time are you, Tonraq?" Asami asked as she and Nalon joined the chief by the oven. He had already placed two pans onto the burners and turned the dials.

He looked down at her and chuckled. "Not if I can help it. I'm thinking medium rare for my first steak. Course it's been so long that I'll probably get it wrong. As long as it's not well done though. Those are awful."

"Absolutely." Asami quickly agreed. "I've never liked my steaks cooked like that either. Speaking of cooking, maybe we should wait a bit. I know you're excited, but maybe we should give the windmills an hour or two to charge the batteries. Once there's enough power stored up we can fire up all the ovens and throw a feast for everyone in your village."

Tonraq stared down at the steak he was trying to cook, an undisguised yearning plain as day on his face. 'Can't blame him. Twenty-five years of eating frozen meat? I'd be just as eager to eat a cooked steak if I was in his position.'

Asami patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. "It'll still be there in a couple of hours. There's something else you can do to help me in the meantime." Asami went over to the nearest fridge and retrieved one of the books resting on top of it. "I brought manuals for the ovens and cookbooks full of recipes. I know Korra can read and she told me you taught her. How many other people in your village can read? I don't want to be insulting by calling your people illiterate, but I'm completely in the dark about your education."

"No offense taken." Tonraq said with a dismissive shrug. "We've been cut off for so long that you wouldn't have any way of knowing. Korra, Senna and I have made sure all of our warriors can read in case they got their hands on Fire Nation orders. All of the healers can read since they need it to understand the notes on our waterbending scrolls. Senna works with the others, but not everyone chooses to participate since it takes time away from learning how to hunt and fish. There's plenty of people who will be able to read your manuals so that's not a problem."

"Okay, that's good." Asami said. 'Phew, he's not mad and I don't have to read these books in front of a crowd. I hate public speaking.' She turned the dials off and then set the book down on the counter next to the oven. "So let's round up some people and start going over how to use these so we can get this feast started."

Two hours later and the kitchen was bustling. Understanding the basic operation of the ovens and burners had been simple enough. Turn the dial to whatever setting you desired and the elements would heat up accordingly. That was sufficient for frying steaks and vegetables, but the artistry that a professional chef could lend to a meal was a long ways off. Even so, the smell of meat frying in the pan wafting through the air was sufficient to make more than one Water Tribe member's mouth water. Asami smiled to herself as she glanced back at the entrance to see a pair of children peeking their heads around the door before disappearing to avoid being caught in a place that had been designated off limits to them. Asami poked the steak in her pan with a fork and the tines sank into the meat revealing an evenly colored red interior. She scooped it out of the pan onto a waiting plate then turned around and set it on a platter already holding several steaks. "I'm taking these over. Someone can take my spot." She announced while picking the platter up. Before Asami had gotten to the door, Tonraq was already throwing steaks into the pans she had left behind.

Freezing air, made all the more unpleasant by the fact she was exiting a room full of active ovens, struck Asami in the face as she stepped outside. She kicked the door shut behind her and hurried towards a structure whose surface had yet to be weathered by exposure to a rarely silent wind. Heavy curtains lined the entrance like every other building she had seen, but light spilled around the edges and the chatter of people speaking and laughing loudly accompanied it. She ducked her head as she forced her way inside. Outside it was freezing, but the heat from dozens of bodies crammed into a confined space was enough to take the bite off the cold Asami was starting not to notice. A few were heading towards the entrance, but the overwhelming majority were sitting on ground covered in fur hides. In front of them were square blocks of ice that had been raised from the floor to serve as makeshift tables for eating and holding dishes.

Asami set her platter down on one of the latter blocks before retrieving one of the steaks and the utensils to eat it with. She looked around the room for a moment before spotting who she was looking for. Asami held her plate up high as she navigated the warren before joining Korra at the edge of the room. Korra looked up and smiled warmly as Asami sat down. "Hey you. I was wondering when you'd take a break and eat something."

"I guess I lost track of time." Asami admitted with a shrug. "Doesn't bother me though. I've had steak plenty of times and figured I could wait until your people had all gotten their share." She picked up her knife and fork and started cutting her meat into cubes. "Looks like they're enjoying it. A lot."

A wistful smile appeared on Korra's face as she watched her people continue to eat. "Is that really a surprise? It's no different than how I reacted the first time I had some sausage. These steaks are... well, when you've spent a lifetime chewing frozen pieces of meat until its soft enough to swallow... there's just no comparison and none of them will ever want to go back just like I don't. Not to mention all the new vegetables you've brought. Those are a treat too. You've really pulled it off, haven't you?"

"Pulled what off, this feast?" Asami asked after she finished swallowing a bite.

"Not just this. I mean, everything. You traveled into the unknown to find and bring me back to Republic City. You designed and built the windmills. The ovens and fridges and all of this-" Korra waved her hand at the room as she spoke "-was your doing. Hiring Ansen and his ship was your doing. You were the one who told us the war was over. This might be the happiest I've ever seen my people and it's all your doing." Korra leaned in towards Asami and kissed her on the cheek. "And that doesn't even include all the things you've done for me either. All of us have something to thank you for now."

Asami's cheeks reddened as she looked around at all the people engrossed in savoring every bite or locked in animated conversations with each other. This had been the end goal all along, but the human aspect of her mission had never occurred to Asami during her preparations. The windmills had been mere lines on paper. The gala had been about raising money. Hiring Ansen had been a handshake deal. All the ovens and fridges and food had been about improving nutrition. At no point had Asami ever stopped to truly consider the impact she was going to have until this very moment. A hot meal was nothing new to Asami, or a feast for that matter, but there was more to it than that for this people. Korra's experiences weren't dissimilar from that of her people. They had all suffered wounds or lost loved ones or fought and killed themselves. Up until now. This feast wasn't just about experiencing hot food for the first time. It was a sign that the long nightmare had finally ended. It was the beginning of peace.

Asami's fork scraped against her plate as she tried to stab a piece and missed twice more before she got it with the fourth and shoved it into her mouth to give herself an excuse not to respond. Korra smirked at Asami's flustered demeanor and waited until Asami had finished chewing to speak. "So I guess the question is what happens next?"

What happens next. Asami spun her fork between her fingers as she stared at her plate. This feast had only taken Asami over a month to arrange, but that short length of time didn't account for all the tasks required to make it happen. Raising the capital funds to pay for everything, handling the logistics of purchasing all the food and kitchen equipment. Diving into scientific literature and testing her small scale models. Arranging for the full size models to be fabricated and testing. Finding a captain brave, or crazy, enough to bring their ship into these uncharted and frigid waters. Trekking across barren plains full of unseen dangers. She had been so occupied with making this happen that she had never asked herself what happened next. Asami raised her gaze from her plate towards the woman sitting by her side. What Korra had said moments ago was right. Asami had traveled into the unknown, but she hadn't been prepared for what she ended up finding. Who she ended up finding. A woman whose travels through hell had failed to break her. The strongest person Asami would ever meet. What happened next? There was only one answer. "We should get married."

"Huh?" Korra looked at her in confusion. "But we're already engaged."

"I know. It'll be a grand affair in Republic City when we get married there. Dignitaries, royalty, chiefs of industry, and the rich and famous from all over the world will be attending. Everyone will be dressed in their finest outfits and most expensive jewelry. The decorations will be extravagant, an orchestra of musicians playing their grandest songs, the finest drinks flowing like water, there'll be a hundred course meal that you'll despise every second of. And it'll be as fake as everything else in my life. That wedding won't be about the two of us. It'll be about other people's political ambitions."

"I don't understand, Asami. What are you trying to say?"

Asami set her fork down and turned to face Korra directly. "I've spent my whole life trying to live up to other people's expectations of me. The perfect daughter, a brilliant engineer, the racing team owner who pushes the envelope. The only thing in my life that's real is you. I don't want to marry you because of politics. I want to marry you because I love you and I can't imagine a better place than here where it's just the two of us."

Korra's cheeks slowly reddened until she was blushing as hard as Asami. The din in the background was as loud as ever, but it faded out as Asami waited and listened for a response from the only person who mattered at this point. Korra reached out and took her hand. "I love you too, Asami. Let's do it." She looked towards the crowd for a few seconds. "I see my mom, but not my dad. Do you know where he is? He conducts all our weddings since he's the chief."

"He must still be in the kitchen." Asami said, her heart speeding up a little. 'She just said she loved me right after I said love her. This is really happening. Right now. I should be wearing something fancier than this, but I didn't bring any outfits like that, just stuff to keep me from freezing. I'm about to get married. We're about to get married.'

"Okay. I'll tell my mom what's going on. You go get my dad and he'll take you to the lodge."

Before Asami could respond Korra had risen to her feet and was making her way through the room. She stopped next to Senna and leaned over briefly before Korra's mother stood and followed her daughter outside. Asami looked down at her plate before stabbing the largest piece of meat on it and sticking it into her mouth. About to get married or not, she was going to eat something. Tonraq was right where Asami had left him. Inside the kitchen and standing in front of the same oven. She walked up to him then tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Excuse me, Tonraq."

He paused in the middle of flipping a steak over with a spatula as he looked down at her. "Do you need something, Asami?"

"Ummm... yes." Asami wrung her hands as her cheeks started to burn from embarrassment. "I...uh... sorta asked Korra to marry me and she said yes, but she also said we needed you because you're the chief and -"

The steak fell back into the pan as Tonraq dropped the spatula. He spun to face Asami and she squeaked loudly as Tonraq's brawny arms swept her feet clear off the floor as he enfolded her in a fierce bear hug. "Really!? That's wonderful!"

Asami fingers clawed at Tonraq's arm as she half gasped, half spoke. "Can't... breath."

Tonraq had the decency to look embarrassed as he set her back down on the ground. "Sorry about that. I got carried away." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyways one of the wedding traditions in the Southern Water Tribe is to have a second. It's kinda like having a best man, but a second's main purpose is to be a witness more than anything. Ideally it's someone you're close to, but you don't have anyone like that here as far as I know. Ansen might worked since he's from Republic City like you, but he's already departed for the shoreline."

'Someone I'm close to... Tonraq's right. All my friends are in Republic City.' Asami reflexively glanced around the kitchen and her gaze fell onto a thin man with a black beard. "Excuse me a second, Tonraq."

She hurried over towards the person in question and tapped him on the shoulder. He glanced sideways at her before returning his gaze to the pans in front of him. "May I help you, Asami Sato?"

"As a matter of fact you can, Nalon. You were the first member of the Southern Water Tribe that I met so you've known me longer than any of the others and well... I need a second."

Nalon's head slowly turned back towards her, his shoulders stiff and unmoving. "You're asking me to be your second? That is a great honor even if you make it out of necessity. I accept. When do you plan to hold your ceremony?"

"Right now."

Nalon looked over his shoulder and waved at a man standing nearby. "Take my place. I have an important matter to attend to."

The two of them followed Tonraq outside and deeper into the village then Asami had yet been. The thin layer of snow crunched underneath her feet until Tonraq came to a stop near a building that stood clear from all the others by several meters. He turned towards her and held his arm out. "This is our Spirit Lodge. It's where ceremonies and weddings are conducted from."

Asami ducked her head as she entered the building. At first glance it was like all the others, but then the differences impressed themselves upon her. There were four entrances, each facing in a different cardinal direction. The hides lining the floor were all sewn together and more precisely than any others she had seen. More hides hung from the walls and painted lines of every color covered their surfaces. Men and beasts and many more shapes and figures unfamiliar to Asami. There was also a stone dais in the center of the building and inlaid upon it, with crushed pale blue gems, was the ancient symbol of the Water Tribe. Asami's breath caught in her throat as she gazed upon sculpture. For all intents and purposes, she was only meters away from the rest of the village, but there was an added gravity inside of these walls. This place was sacred.

"Are you ready, Asami?" Korra had entered through one of the other doorways, Tonraq and Senna just behind her. She smiled nervously and brushed at her sleeves even though there was nothing on them.

"I am, though I don't know how your people's weddings are performed."

"Just follow our lead and you'll be fine. I need a couple of minutes to set everything up first." Tonraq said with a smile on his face. He moved to a nearby alcove in the wall and retrieved a bundle of dyed ropes from it. Tonraq inserted it into his pocket before gathering a bowl carved from bone whose top was covered by a hide that had been pulled taut and secured by sinew. He undid the knot and pulled the hide off before walking up to Asami. Inside was a gray waxy substance through which Tonraq dragged his thumb. He raised it to Asami's face and brushed it over her lips, leaving a a gray bar right in the middle of both. "By this marking I compel you to speak only truth."

A moment later and Korra had received an identical marking and order. Tonraq then waved his hand in the air and the ceiling shifted from solid to liquid and retreated until it had vanished entirely. Asami looked up and she spotted the sun through the opening as it hung just high enough to be visible above the nearby buildings. Tonraq tied the hide back into place and returned the bowl to its alcove before he approached Asami once again. "Kneel here."

The chief pointed at a spot near the edge of the stone circle for Asami while moving Korra to a short distance away. Asami lowered herself onto the floor as Korra did the same, the hides cushioning their knees from the ice below. At the same time Senna and Nalon positioned themselves to stand behind and a short distance away from Korra and Asami respectively. Tonraq returned to stand at the edge of the stone and between the two kneeling women.

"As chief of this village, and as a very proud father, it is my honor to preside over this ritual. In the eyes of your seconds, Senna and Nalon, and beneath the eternal gaze of the spirits, Korra and Asami Sato have come here to bind their lives together. Korra, what have you to say to Asami?"

Korra gave Asami a shaking smile and her voice trembled as she began to speak. "When we first met, I didn't know what to make of you. You were the first outsider with peaceful intentions that I had ever encountered. At first I didn't trust you, but you proved yourself to be my friend on multiple occasions. As time went by, you helped to open my eyes to the world and guided me down a path that I desperately needed even if I wasn't aware of it at the time. I don't know when I fell in love with you, but I have. These last few weeks we've spent together have been the happiest of my life and I know you'll make the rest of it just as wonderful."

"Asami, what have you to say to Korra?"

Without warning her vision grew watery and Asami rubbed at her eyes. When they were clear Korra gave her an encouraging smile. Asami cleared her throat and words as unplanned as this whole wedding began to spill out. "When I came to the South Pole, it was for the wrong reason. When I asked you to marry me, it was for the wrong reason. It wasn't until I got to know you that I realized my mistakes. I had been chasing a thing that I was never going to get when I had something much better right in front of me. You, Korra. You weren't like anyone I had ever met and being around you made me realize I need to start living the life that I want and that I want you to be a part of it. I want to spend my life with you, to grow old together and to be hopelessly in love with a woman who loves me back just as much."

After she finished speaking, Asami's eyes flicked towards Tonraq for the barest of instances before returning back to Korra. I love you, she mouthed.

Tonraq stepped forward and placed one knee upon the ice. "Hold out your right hand." Korra and Asami extended their hands towards each other as requested. Tonraq wrapped a pair of the strips, one blue and one white, around Asami's wrist and tied them together before tying an identical pair around Korra's wrist. He rose to his feet and stepped back. "Just as these ropes bind you together now, the two of you are likewise bound together in life. From now on, should either one of you take a fall the other will be there to help you rise once again."

Korra and Asami clasped their wrists and both of them pulled at the same time, the leverage provided by the ropes helping draw them to their feet and closer together. Asami started to look towards Tonraq for further guidance, but Korra placed a hand on Asami's cheek to stop her. She leaned in and kissed Asami on the lips as softly as she had ever done. Asami's heart beat even faster than it had been while tears of joy dripped down her cheeks as she returned the kiss.

Asami had meant everything she had said in her vow to Korra. Her motivations had been futile from the start and she had been unable to see the obvious. But now those blinders had been stripped away and for the first time in her life she could see clearly. There were four possible exits from the building she was currently in and dozens of possible different routes she could take through the village. Asami wasn't in the mood to do the math, but that meant there were hundreds of possible paths immediately at hand. The possibilities branched out even further when she considered the days ahead. Staying longer in the village where Korra had been born. Making the trek back to her ship. Sailing to Republic City or other harbors. She had innumerable paths available to her, each extinguishing countless others and creating just as many in turn. So many that the future was impossible to predict even if she cared to bother. The fate of the United Republic and it's capital city. The tenuous peace now being enjoyed by the world. What would transpire between the Four Nations in the months and years to come. Asami couldn't say and to be honest she no longer cared. No matter what happened, Asami knew there was a single constant across every single path the future might take. This waterbender she had discovered among the frozen plains of the South Pole. Korra. Her wife.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.