A/N: Kinda fluff/bridge chapter, sorry. It's not completely pointless, there's things in it that tie in later

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or Legend of Korra

Ayana

When they landed on the island, Ed and Al pointed out that all their luggage was back at Mako and Bolin's apartment. Mako volunteered to take Sona back and grab their stuff while everyone else followed Tenzin inside. They settled into the living room to wait for Mako's return. The kids were all still awake and ran up to their father excitedly, begging for the story of what had happened. He whisked them away to bed, leaving her alone with Bolin and the Elrics.

She was still trying to come to terms with the fact that they were here. She was shocked that they'd crossed the portal, let alone trekked across the tundra and the spirit world, alone. And they'd managed to find a ride on a ship and make it to the city. She felt so much joy at their presence that the events of the night were nearly forgotten in the back of her mind.

"So, what's going on in Amestris?" She asked.

Ed answered her. "Not a lot has changed since you left. Mustang was promoted, and he's been keeping his promise and working with the Ishvalens to get their land back. Grumman was pissed you left the portal open, so he's got Mustang and another General posting guards to watch it around the clock. But you already knew that."

"Yeah. Found that one out the hard way. How did you guys get past the guards?" She looked them over, searching for injuries, and didn't find any. She'd tried to go back nearly a year ago and had been greeted with several gunshot wounds. None were life threatening, and she was able to make it back to Katara, who healed her up. She could have done it herself, of course, but Katara was extremely good at it, and the scarring had been minimal due to her skill.

Ed grinned. "Mustang and his crew helped. Not sure how we'll get back, though."

Al waved dismissively. "We'll figure that out when we have to. There's no sense in worrying about it now." She selfishly hoped that they wouldn't have to figure it out for a long time.

"Bolin says you've been busy recruiting airbenders." Ed said to her.

"We haven't had a lot of luck. Most aren't willing to leave their families to come with us. Which is understandable, of course, but I know it frustrates Tenzin. He, and his father before him, have worked so hard to reestablish the Air Nation. It's hard for him to understand that these people didn't ask to be benders, and they don't want to become monks." She paused as she heard footsteps down the hall, knowing they were Tenzin's. He walked into the room and sat down near Bolin, sighing heavily.

"I don't know where that boy gets all his energy." Tenzin complained, referring to Meelo. He locked eyes with her. "So, what happened back there? He demanded you leave with him?"

"Yeah, he said his name was Zaheer, and he's an airbender." She told him and was surprised to see shock and recognition in his eyes. "You know him?"

"Zaheer was imprisoned thirteen years ago. I didn't know he had escaped." Tenzin replied thoughtfully.

"What was he in prison for?" Bolin asked.

Tenzin looked around at the group before returning his eyes to her. "For attempted kidnapping of you. Back when you were young, and just after you'd been confirmed as the new Avatar."

"Kidnap me? What for? I don't remember that happening." She was thinking back but couldn't recall such an event.

"He and his group were apprehended and imprisoned separately, in special cells designed to suppress their abilities. Were there others with him at the stadium?"

"There was that lady, in the box near ours." Ed told him. "She was somehow exploding things just by looking at them." Tenzin's eyes widened.

"She was one of his accomplices. She's a combustionbender." Tenzin said slowly as he brought his hand to his chin in thought.

Ed and Al looked confused, so she explained, "It's a specialized form of firebending. That third eye of hers sends a sort of shockwave, creating explosions on impact. Very powerful, and deadly."

"There were two others, too. A tall, darkhaired man and another woman, and her arms were made of bent water." Bolin offered.

Tenzin looked worried. "So, they've all escaped. This isn't good. I hope the police are able to find them."

Mako walked back in at that point carrying the Elric's luggage, which he dropped on the floor. He joined the circle by plopping down next to Ed.

"What's the plan?" He asked no one in particular.

She answered, "We're going to stay here a few days to give Tenzin some time with his family and let Sona rest. She flew hard and fast to get here in time, so she deserved a break. After that, Tenzin and I had planned to go to Ba Sing Se. There's reports of airbenders there, and hopefully we can convince them to come with us."

"We can take Asami's airship, she told me yesterday she was done with the repairs it needed." Mako offered. "Bolin and I are out of the Pro-Bending finals, so we're free. We'll go with you."

"We'll go to." Ed put in. She knew he was going to say that, but was elated to hear it all the same.

"You're not worried about this Zaheer guy?" Bolin asked her. "He seemed like he really didn't like you."

"I'm hoping the police take care of it. If not, then I'll kick his ass if he comes at me again." She assured him as she punched her fist into her hand confidently.

Everyone dispersed to their separate rooms, and she showed the Elrics to a guest room. She gave them the one right next to hers. Now that they were here, she was reluctant to be too far from them.

She entered her room and flopped on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She didn't want to sleep, she wanted to catch up with the boys. She wanted to make up for all the lost time. But they'd have plenty of opportunities to talk over the next several days. She sighed and pushed herself to her feet, then headed for her dresser to get ready for bed.

Edward

When he awoke the next morning, he found Al still sleeping. He changed and slipped quietly from the room. He realized he didn't know where the kitchen was, so he began wandering the halls, looking for either breakfast or a familiar face.

He found a door that led outside to a circular stone gazebo structure. In the center, all meditating, sat Ayana, Tenzin, Jinora, and two other kids whose names he didn't know. He kept walking, not wanting to disturb them, and followed his nose to the kitchen. There was a lady there with a baby slung in front of her chest, and she was cooking something that smelled wonderful. She turned when she heard him enter.

"You must be Edward! I'm Tenzin's wife, Pema. Breakfast isn't quite ready yet, come back in around twenty minutes or so, okay?"

"Okay, thanks." He replied, then wandered back down the halls. He skirted around the meditating group and walked out to the edge of the cliff to take in the view of the city surrounding him. The large statue was close to the island, and he studied it. Mako had said it was an Avatar. It was weird to think about that man being a past life of Ayana.

He heard footsteps behind him and found her moving to stand next to him. She slid her hand into his easily, and a warm feeling spread from his fingers all the way down to his toes. She must have seen him looking at the statue because she started explaining.

"That's Avatar Aang. He was the Avatar before me. He helped establish the United Republic, Republic City, and the world we know today."

He looked back at the city and spied a few airships floating above the buildings. "I guess I didn't realize how different your world would be from Amestris. There's a lot of things you have here that don't exist back home. Like that airship." He said as he pointed to one. "How does it work?"

She shrugged. "You'll have to ask Asami. She's the engineer, not me. All I know is that they float, and they're more comfortable for long trips than a sky bison is. Speaking of which, I should go make sure Sona has some food. Want to come?" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled on his hand, and they walked around to the other side of the temple where a barn-like structure stood.

Sona was laying down inside, but immediately stood when she saw her owner and began making happy growling noises as she shifted on her feet in excitement. There was another bison there, too, and it was slightly bigger in size than Sona was. It looked up at their approach, but otherwise ignored them.

Ayana greeted Sona warmly and rubbed her head affectionately. Ed followed her inside the barn and watched her airbend up into the loft to push a few haybales down to the ground. The two animals grunted happily, and the big one shoved Sona out of the way so he could get the first bite.

Ayana laughed, and the sound made his heart flutter. He hadn't heard that wonderful sound in a long time. "Oogie, you better share. That's for both of you, and it has to last until tomorrow." They both made disappointed noises and chewed slower.

He watched her jump down from the loft and land lightly on the ground. He found he couldn't stop staring at her; he was still coming to terms with the fact that he was actually here with her. He'd been dreaming of the day they'd see each other again ever since she'd left last year, and that moment was finally upon him. And for the first time in sixteen months, they were alone.

He couldn't stop himself, and he knew he wouldn't have anyway. He strolled over to her confidently, and she looked surprised as he wrapped one hand around her waist and the other behind her neck. His heart was pounding as he gazed into her beautiful hazel eyes, reading the emotions written there. The momentary surprise he saw was quickly replaced with excitement and desire.

He felt his heart skip at the sensations her expression sent through his brain. The look in her eyes was all the invitation he needed. Pulling her into him gently, he kissed her with every ounce of the passion he'd been saving all these months. Her lips easily accepted his, and he basked in her sweet taste. She snaked her arms around him and pulled his body into hers tighter.

He pushed her backwards gently, and she allowed him to slowly walk her to the wall. She leaned against it with a small thump, and only then did he break away from her lips and move down to her neck. She breathed a gratified moan as his lips brushed her skin, and the sound made his heart jump. She had her hand running through his hair, which he noticed vaguely had been pulled out of its ponytail at some point.

They both jumped when one of the bison let out a loud groan behind them. Ayana giggled softly, and he pulled back to look at her. She had an amused smile on her face as she gazed over his shoulder, so he glanced back to see what she was looking at. Sona was standing right behind them, watching with interest. She opened her mouth wide and groaned again.

"It's not nice to stare, you know." He scolded, and Ayana laughed. The bison simply blinked in reply.

She grabbed his hand to bring his attention back to her, then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "C'mon. Pema's probably done with breakfast by now."

He was disappointed, but accepted that the moment was over. He allowed her to pull him out of the stable and back toward the temple.

As they walked, she spoke softly. "I'm glad you're here, Ed. How long were you planning on staying?"

"You know… Al and I never discussed that." He replied truthfully. "We just knew we wanted to come. We'll leave whenever we feel like it. It's not like we have to be back for anything." He thought about it. "I had Winry look at my automail before we left, so it should be good to go for a while."

"Assuming you don't bust it." She elbowed him playfully. "But really, if you do, I'll bet Asami could at least patch it if necessary." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and changed the subject. "I went to talk to Kei Shei Rah this morning."

He met her gaze, wondering where she was going with this. "What about?"

"To check up on him. But also to ask how your departure went. I hate to say it, but it sounds like your guy's exit wasn't as smooth as you hoped."

His heart dropped. How had they found out? "What did he say?"

"He said a black-haired man came through the portal a week or two after you guys did. Mustang, of course. He said he allowed a few questions before chasing him back through the portal." She laughed. "Sometimes I think he takes his job too seriously. I gave him the names of all of Mustang's crew to add to the 'allowed' list. But anyway, I guess Mustang asked him about your and Al's whereabouts. I'm guessing someone noticed you're gone."

He hoped that Al's bridge had remained undiscovered. That was probably their best way back through, and he didn't want anyone destroying it. Assuming that one could control how high up in the portal you could enter and exit. But that wasn't important right now.

"Why do they care if we left?" He wondered aloud.

She shrugged. "No clue. It's not like the military has any control over you anymore, so I'm not sure why it matters to them."

They spent the day lazily, wandering around the island and simply relaxing. Later that afternoon he watched Tenzin leading his children in a lesson, teaching them airbending techniques. He didn't think she really needed the coaching, but Ayana had joined them, too. Maybe she was just there as an encouragement to the kids. It was fascinating to watch. They were shooting air gusts at spinning gates, then passing through without touching them. Half of him wanted to give it a try, but he knew he'd probably just end up with a lot of bruises.

Al, Mako, and Bolin all lounged near him as they watched the airbenders. Bolin was playing with his ferret, trying to teach him some tricks.

"Ed, Al, can I ask you guys something?" Mako asked softly, and he glanced briefly at the airbenders to see if they were listening. They were too focused on their lesson to hear, though, so he spoke a little louder. "Ayana told us lots of stories from her time in your world. But there's a few things she won't talk about, and I'm curious. Like that massive scar on her back. What happened?"

He stiffened at the question. He didn't really want to talk about the day she'd nearly died saving him from Kimblee. Al didn't know that story either. He didn't even know about the scar, because he turned to him and asked, "What scar, Brother?"

He found himself curious as to how Mako had seen it, and he felt jealousy steal into his heart as he thought about that. "How did you see it?" He locked eyes with Mako.

Mako didn't look away from his hard gaze. "Sparing one day. Bending... blows things around, ya know? I got a glimpse and asked her about it. She showed it to me but didn't say much. She said it was an old injury from your world and left it at that." He paused and finally broke his eyes away from Ed's to look towards Ayana. "It matches on both sides of her body. Whatever happened, she shouldn't have survived."

Ed turned his gaze to look at her, too. "She nearly didn't, but she healed herself."

Mako looked surprised. "I didn't know she could do that."

Bolin surprised everyone by joining the conversation suddenly. "C'mon, Mako, she can do pretty much everything. Except lavabend. And metalbend. Oh, and bloodbend…. Actually, I guess there's a lot she can't do."

"Bloodbend? That's actually a thing?" Al sounded intrigued.

"Yup. Hard to do, only a few waterbenders can do it. It's not something I'd want to have happen to me." Bolin answered solemnly. Ed had been about to tell him that he was wrong because he'd witnessed her bend blood in Gluttony's stomach, but the earthbender's expression made him decide to keep his mouth shut.

It looked like the training session had ended because the kids ran off, chasing after some lemurs. Tenzin walked toward the temple, and Ayana approached their group. Ed was glad for the distraction from Mako's questions.

"Who's up for some sparing?" She asked as she raised her fists and punched the air. "I've got some energy to burn."

"Oo, oo, Mako, regale us with your firebending!" Bolin exclaimed as he pushed his brother's shoulder. Mako sighed, but Ayana perked up and moved to an open space in the yard, taunting him with her eyes. He relented and stood. He stretched and looked annoyed, but his attitude changed quick as he attempted to catch her off guard. He broke into a sprint and leaped into the air, kicking out to bend fire at her.

She blocked with her hand, and Ed wondered how she hadn't gotten burned. Spinning quickly, she circled around in her own attack and threw fire back at him. As they continued to fight, he noticed she was limiting herself to firebending. The fighting got more and more intense, and he began to wonder if it was still a lighthearted sparing match. Mako pumped his fists, sending blast after blast. She jumped and weaved to avoid them.

Mako grinned mischievously and shouted at her, "Get ready, Avatar! I'm about to hit you with everything I got!"

"Bring it on!" She goaded. He circled his arms and pointed at her, causing lightning to erupt from his fingertips.

Ed shouted in shock, but she simply reached out her own fingers and absorbed the lightning bolt. Her body sparked for a second as her other hand pointed up to the sky, and she released the energy harmlessly into the air with a crack of thunder. She and Mako stood puffing.

"You've got to teach me how to do that." Mako panted between breaths, and so the next fifteen minutes or so was spent with them making poses together with her explaining how to channel the energy through the body without damaging yourself. Afterwards, they returned to the group and sat.

"All right, my turn! Who wants to take me?" Bolin stood and curled his arms to flex his muscles.

"Not me. Someone else's turn." Ayana responded, and she glanced towards him and Al curiously.

"I will." He stood and followed Bolin into the yard. He may not have his alchemy anymore, but he could still fight.

"Don't you want a weapon or something?" Ayana called after him, and he felt annoyance flare at the question. He wasn't helpless. He didn't bother to answer her, he just raised his fists and waited for Bolin's attack.

Bolin stomped and punched a rock at him. He rolled to dodge and closed the distance between them. Bolin tried to slow his rush by bending the ground beneath his feet, but he jumped between the bent rocks like steppingstones, then jumped and extended his automail foot in a kick. Bolin blocked with his forearm and grunted, then stepped backward and spun to bring another rock around from the side. He jumped back just in time, and the projectile missed. He swung his fist forward in a punch, but his attack was blocked by a short earth wall. He jumped over it, surprising Bolin, and closed in for another strike. The earthbender recovered quickly and jumped in a backwards flip, sending the top section of the wall over his body and knocking Ed back.

They were each able to land a few hits on the other before they ended in a draw. Their audience clapped politely at the performance, and Bolin took a dramatic bow. Ed returned to his spot in the grass, glad for the break.

"Guess you really don't need alchemy, huh?" Ayana noted. "Have you ever considered using a weapon? You used to use your arm, transmuted into a blade. I'm sure the skills would easily transfer over to a dagger, or short sword."

"Never really had the need for a weapon, after the Promised Day." He pointed out.

"True. I guess that's a good thing." She responded.

Al stood then, glaring at everyone in a playful way. "So, who's going to try me?" After a brief moment, Mako accepted the challenge. They moved away from the group and began sparring.