People asked for a wedding/blessing ceremony, and the first rule of media is always give the people what they want.
Fortunately, this is not the first time I've written a same-sex marriage scene.
Talk Of The Town
Life was compromise, and that was something Asami had always known.
Their return to Republic City and Air Temple Island had been decidedly low-key, especially compared to their departure. The Order of the White Lotus provided them with an airship that was able to make the journey non-stop, and had room to carry their sky bison in comfort. While they had a cabin to themselves, the cramped nature of the ship and thin walls made it, unwise for them to express their love for each other too deeply. Not that there was any need to, after their stay on Ember Island; any doubts that may have lingered in their harts as to the strength of their feelings for each other and their commitment to one another were long gone.
With some trepidation they had looked down from the airship as it came in to land; the party that had gathered to greet them included Senna and Pema, whose expressions were unreadable, Tenzin, who looked put-upon, Bolin, who was grinning, Mako who was avoiding looking at the airship and evidently didn't want to be there and Chief Beifong, who had her customary scowl firmly in place. Korra had laughed nervously and made a joke about hijacking the airship and making a run for it while they could, but by then it was already too late. Naga had bounded down the ramp as soon as it was lowered, knocking over Bolin in order to greet Pabu, antics which seamed to break at least some of the tension. Senna had been the first to step forward when they reached the bottom of the ramp. She gave her daughter a stern look, then embraced Asami and welcomed her to the family. Pema had followed, welcoming the two of them back, then warning that they might want to be on the look out for sudden gusts of wind until Ikki had had a chance to calm down. It soon became clear that, while there had been some anger as to their sudden departure, and a little resentment that they had effectively eloped, even if that hadn't been their plan, that their friends and family were happy for them, even if there was no way that Chief Beifong would ever admit it. Mako was still a little uneasy around them as a couple, no doubt still processing the fact that the two women he'd been in love with were now in love with each other, but even he was glad that they were happy above all else.
The reaction by the wider city had been mixed; the conservatives had cried foul, accusing them of circumventing the rule of law, while the progressives had fully supported them, even if they felt cheated of their day in court. Asami had visited her father in prison, something she hadn't done in a long time, and it was clear from the moment she walked into the visitors room that he already knew; the look of revulsion on his face had made that clear. Not only had she married a bender, but she'd married the Avatar, the living embodiment of the ability that had taken her mother. The fact that she'd married a woman didn't seem to even register with her father, and she hadn't staid long enough to find out if it would. She'd managed to keep her composure all the way back to Air Temple Island, only to collapse in Korra's arms, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. It was a strange juxtaposition; for so long, Asami had been the rock that Korra had clung to as she fought to recover from her injuries, but now she had to be the emotionally strong one. For anyone else, she might have failed, but not for Asami. Instead she found a deep reserve of compassion and empathy that she had never known she had, and opened it up to her wife. Asami had cried, and Korra had held her until there were no more tears to be shed, and promised her that it was okay; she was her family now.
After that, facing the board of Future Industries had been relatively easy; they had expressed concern with what they saw as Asami's 'implosive recklessness' and seeming inability to put in a full week at the office without running off on some adventure. She was forced to admit that they were right, and agreed to start taking a more consistent approach to running the company, as well as delegating some of her authority to others with more experience. In return she was able to strike a deal that saw the Zhu Li, the battleship they had acquired during their takeover of Varrick Global Industries, leased to the White Lotus Society for a mere fraction of what a conventional freighter would have cost. She didn't tell the board, but that had been part of a plan she had come up with to try and appease the White Lotus for all the trouble her little holiday with Korra had caused them, and she was sure that it would be of imminence help to their humanitarian efforts in the Earth Kingdom. Returning to Air Temple Island, she had been surprised to be greeted at the dock by Ikki, who jumped up and hugged her, babbling something about knowing Korra and Asami would never go back on their promise. Making her way up to the main residence, she had been surprised to see a ragged looking Korra, sat in her wheelchair with Naga at her side. At first she was terrified that the Avatar had suffered some kind of set back in her rehabilitation, but with a little coaxing, she learned the truth: Senna and Pema had decided that their carefully thought out wedding plans were just too good to go to waste, so Korra and Asami were going to have to have a special commitment and blessing ceremony for all their friends and family who'd missed their actual wedding.
It had been made clear that this was non-negotiable.
Asami had thought that Fire Lord Ursa's rapid organisation of their impromptu wedding had been impressive, but they were nothing compared to what followed. Senna and Pema ran the Air Acolytes and junior airbenders ragged for two weeks, having already taken over Tenzin's study for what Bolin had named their war chamber. The airbending master had tried to protest, but one glare from his wife, backed up by his younger daughter, had quickly put an end to that. Invitations were sent out, but such was the state of the world after Zaheer's campaign of terror and anarchy. Lord Zuko, General Iroh and Bumi were all busy trying to stem the tide of chaos, Ursa was detained by matters of state, Kya was working round the clock to try and help the growing number of refuges, and Suyin was busy trying to keep Zaofu safe, but she did deputies Opal as her representative, much to Bolin's joy. Fortunately, Tonraq was able to attend thanks to the geographical distance between the Southern Water Tribe and the Earth Kingdom, even if he was going to have to depart almost immediately after the ceremony, and be brought Katara with him.
The others had wanted to throw them a party the night before the wedding, but Korra and Asami declined, opting to spend the evening down on the sheltered cove where they had enjoyed the spring sunshine, with only Naga and a bottle of wine Varrick had sent as a wedding gift for company.
"We are gathered here in the presence of witnesses for the purpose of uniting in matrimony Korra of the Southern Water Tribe and Asami Sato." Tenzin stood under the mediation pavilion, looking out over the small crowed of friends and family that had assembled, "The contract of marriage is most solemn and is not to be entered into lightly, but thoughtfully and seriously with a deep realization of its obligations and responsibilities. Please remember that love, loyalty and understanding are the foundations of a happy and enduring home. No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than those you are about to pledge."
He turned to the two young women stood before him; Korra was dressed in a flowing ice-blue Water Tribe gown that Senna had prepared for her, while Asami wore a simple white dress, her long, raven-black hair held back by a clasp in the shape of a white lotus flower.
"Do you Korra take Asami to be your spouse for life?" Tenzin asked the Avatar, "Do you promise to love and comfort each other, honour and keep each other in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better or for worse and be faithful to each other as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." Korra smiled, her blue eyes shining brightly.
"Do you Asami take Korra to be your spouse for life? Do you promise to love and comfort each other, honour and keep each other in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better or for worse and be faithful to each other as long as you both shall live?"
"I do." Asami nodded, her green eyes wet with tears that she was doing her best to hold back.
"Then place your hands together." Tenzin instructed, and the two young women joined their right hands, clasping each others wrists. The airbender took a silk ribbon and wrapped it around Korra's forearm, down around their hands and back up Asami's arm, "Now that you have joined yourselves in matrimony, may you strive all your lives to meet this commitment with the same love and devotion that you now possess. By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Air Nation, I now pronounce you, spouses for life." He blushed deeply, "You may kiss..."
Not letting the ribbon slip, Asami had pulled Korra to her, spun her round and down, held securely in her other arm and kissed her deeply on the lips. The crowed had cheered, Ikki jumping up and down as she threw great handfuls of confetti over them. Tenzin, who was still having some difficulty coming to grips with everything, simply turned to Pema who had hugged him, then reminded him that they had two daughters of their own, which made his face turn from bright red to ashen grey in an instant. There was a short intermission as the brides changed into something more practical, then the party had really started.
It felt good to relax and celebrate again; aside from ceremony where Jinora had been anointed as an official master airbender, there had been little to be thankful for for a long time. Some of the more militant conservatives had attempted to crash the festivities in a commandeered airship, but that only served to give Chief Beifong something to vent her frustration on, and they were soon being fished out of the bay by the harbour patrol. But even that couldn't dampen their mood, especially at Korras attempt at dancing; even before she'd been injured, she'd been a terrible dancer for someone who was normally so poised and graceful. Now she was limited to shuffling her feet and grabbing Asami's ass, something that had earned catcalls from Bolin, before he was silence by a kiss from Opal. They had cut the cake, Korra mashing the first piece into Asami's face, something her wife swore to get her revenge for later on, then it had been time to toss the bouquet. There had been a mad scramble for it, but Asami was sure she saw Korra take careful aim before they had let it go, and it landed squarely in Opal's arms. It was hard to tell if Bolin looked happy or terrified, but it made Mako laugh and earned him a fresh scowl from Chief Beifong, who muttered something about having a word with the young earthbender about her niece. The party went on into the small hours, the younger children and those with work to get back to the next day drifting off first after passing on their warmest regards to the happy couple, and the music slowed down until it was only Asami and Korra on the dance floor. The day had taken its toll on Korra, despite all the progress she'd been making, so they simply stood in each others arms and swayed from side to side in time with the music.
Two days later, they moved into the Sato family estate overlooking Republic City. It offered them the space and privacy they needed, and freed up much needed room for the newly discovered airbenders who were arriving almost daily from around the world. There had been some protesters camped outside, raging against their marriage, but the sight of the newly installed White Lotus Sentries, backed up by the estates pre-existing security team, made sure that everything remained civil and outside the grounds. Asami had given the White Lotus the use of her father former workshop and the cavernous facility underneath it, which had laid empty and unused since the Equalist uprising. They were certainly thankful for the space, setting up a control room to organise their operations within the Earth Kingdom. While many people saw them as an organisation created to find, train and serve the Avatar, they were still deeply involved in their original mission to foster a better understanding between peoples and the expansion of knowledge. As such they had members around the world, only a small fraction of whom were fighters. Most were scholars, teachers, artists and researchers, and they all needed somewhere to contact if they needed help, and Asami was happy to provide what support she could. And so it was that she sat in her study, resting on the couch with Korra laid out with her head on Asami's lap, trying to read a report from one of the divisions of Future Industries while her wife did her best to distract her. Eventually giving up, she looked down at Korra and asked exactly what it is she wanted.
Korra smiled coyly and mentioned something about giving the staff the night off and skinny dipping in the swimming pool, and Asami knew that she wouldn't be getting any more work done that night.
To Be Continued?
(Again, only if I can come up with something worth adding)