Asami disappeared into her workshop, the smell of grease and oil already giving her some peace of mind. But as soon as she stepped inside, the view of the blueprint still on display on her desk welcomed her, stirring another set of uncomfortable feelings. She stood still, looking at it, before making up her mind, fed up.

She needed to get at least that one thing out of her mind. So, she folded it up and began writing a note to the bioengineers of Future Industries, she needed everyone to approve the model before going forward. But mid-sentence, her pen ran out of ink.

Knowing she was one sign of the universe away from setting the whole thing on fire, she scrambled the drawers looking for a replacement, not caring about the mess of papers building up around her, until she found one. She finished the note and attached it to the blueprint along with the obsolete Earth Kingdom model she had based hers on. Tomorrow the whole thing would become someone else's problem.

Picking up the papers scattered on the floor, she found something else, stuck to the sole of her boot. She gasped in horror when she realized what it was, and started flattening the crumbled edges of the picture, a dark oil stain darkening one corner.

She had forgotten about the picture. She had kept it in her desk for ages, telling herself she would someday frame it and hang it in the living room, along with the pictures of their wedding, of Ikki's arrow ceremony, of Future Industries fortieth anniversary. But she had never gotten herself to do it.

She sat in the couch, looking at her younger self in the picture. She was around Akemi's age when the photo was taken. His father sat on her left, looking like the man she preferred to remember him as: the warm, compassionate dad she had looked up to as a child, who had raised her and the man she could thank for everything she now had, from the company, her career, to Korra. She would have been a different person without him.

Her father had an arm around her mother, who stood tall and beautiful behind her to the right. Growing up, Hiroshi would always tell her how much Asami reminded him of her mother. And Asami used to look at the picture, and hope that one day she'd grow up to look just like her.

Well, that day had come and passed, Asami was now around the age her mother had been when the picture was taken, but she didn't feel one bit like her mother. To begin with, Asami didn't look, well… like a mother at all. The thought alone seemed foreign in her head. Her mother had been composed, loving, comforting. And dead. That too. Her mother was dead, had been for so long, and her father too. She wasn't one to dwell too much on the past, but lately, she couldn't stop thinking about it.

Just as she was about to put the picture away to once again be forgotten hidden in a drawer, Asami heard Korra's hesitant steps down the stairs. She stopped mid-flight:

"Can I come in?" Korra had the face she often wore when she knew she had screwed up, a face vaguely resembling a regretful polar bear puppy.

Asami patted the seat next to her on the couch, and scooted over. Korra let an unconscious sigh of relief escape her lips as she sat down next to Asami and cautiously wrapped an arm around her.

"I think I owe you an apology" Korra said, kissing Asami's hair as this one rested her head on the Avatar's shoulder.

"Do you?" Asami was curious about where this was going.

"Yeah, I said you weren't being honest with me" She recalled the fight they had just the day before, now seemingly a life ago. "But I was the one being disingenuous"

"How so?" As she spoke, Korra started mindlessly tracing circles along Asami's thigh with her free hand.

"I had myself convinced that I didn't care whether we had children or not. As long as I was with you" she paused, her hand stopping its motion. "But I think I was wrong"

"So, you want to have kids" Asami said in a whisper.

"No, I don't know that I want to" Asami pivoted slightly in her seat to look at her confused, but before she could open her mouth, Korra continued "I don't want to have kids, I want Akemi to be my kid… ours" Asami shifted uncomfortable in her seat, but said nothing. "But you already told me how you feel about it, and I promised myself I wouldn't let my feelings steamroll over yours" Korra swallowed "You are the constant I want to keep forever in my life, the rest I can do without"

Asami turned around to face her wife.

"Korra, she's only been here a day, a single day, you know nothing about her, she could still have parents out there, looking for her" she didn't realize, but her grip around the picture had grown tighter.

"I know, I know" Korra calmed Asami by placing a firm hand on her shoulder, as if to ground her, not letting her float away from her. "I have been telling myself that over and over since I saw you step out the alleyway with her in your arms" Asami lowered her head "But even back then I knew there was no coming back, I think you know it too, otherwise you wouldn't be freaking out right now" she half smiled "We have rescued kids before, we have taken care of them, but this is different, this feels different"

"But what if it isn't, what if we get attached and we find her home" Asami said, raising her eyes up to Korra's.

"Then I'll gladly take that bullet for her" Korra said with certainty "I will love her as my own until she no longer is" Korra's voice betrayed the pain that scenario brought, but kept going "Asami, as much as I want to know what will happen tomorrow or the day after that, I can't. What I can do is making sure she has everything she needs, until she needs me no more, whenever that time comes"

"You seem set about this" Asami stared at the photo in her hands like her past and future were written on it. And in a way, maybe they were.

"I don't think I have a choice at this point" Korra laughed darkly "You, however still do. But I don't want you getting hanged up on the endless ways this could not happen" Korra let go of Asami's shoulder "I need to know where you stand if this does happen: what if Akemi didn't have any family waiting for her?" the weight of the words made her voice flicker "What if she could be part of our family instead, despite me being the Avatar, despite our lives being dangerous, hectic or unpredictable" Korra had been talking to Asami's lowered head for a while now "You like planning ahead, Sami, what if"

Asami didn't respond, she didn't even raise her head to look her in the eyes as the finality of her answer grew stronger with every passing second in silence.

"That's okay" Korra spoke, trying to sound reassuring through the disappointment "I'll tell Lin tomorrow morning, don't worry" she kissed her wife's lowered forehead as she walked towards the stairs.

Asami wiped the tear that fell onto the photograph glued to her hand.

"What If I am not made for this" Asami tried for her voice to sound steady, but it cracked midway through, and when she finally raised her head Korra saw the tears coursing through her cheeks.

"I can't even recall my own mother, how can I expect to be one" Korra knew when to shut up, and this was when. She sat at her wife's side, a hand going up and down her back, Asami's elbows on her knees as she grabbed her own head. "And Hiroshi? He was a wonderful father when he wasn't busy mourning my mother or weaponizing the city against benders" Asami cracked up at the absurdity, but quickly regained composure. She turned around to look at her wife, a hand cupping her cheek.

"I want kids Korra, I want kids with you" Korra leaned in to the touch "And I couldn't care less about you being the Avatar, you are more than that, you have so much more to offer besides the four elements" Asami paused, suddenly remembering something "And why would you think I don't want kids because you are a woman, why would I care about that? I married you, didn't?" Korra smiled at the scolding "It's not that I don't want kids, it's that I don't think I should be a mother" she looked at the picture once again.

Korra wanted to punch herself for not realizing sooner what Asami's apprehension around having children was really about. She remained silent for a second, choosing her words carefully.

"If that is what this is about, let me put your worries to rest" Korra said lightly "You have the mother instinct thing down, Sami, it's almost creepy" Asami didn't know if she appreciated the trivial tone to Korra's voice "You know what to do and you don't even try, it's your nature" she nudged Asami's chin upwards "You are nurturing, selfless, and you make everything around you better, and I would know" Korra smiled "I don't want you missing out on what you want because you are afraid" Asami got closer to Korra and hid her face on her chest "Fear is not always bad, sometimes it just means something matters… a lot" Korra embraced Asami tighter, her lips caressing the soft strands of hair "And besides, you don't have to do this alone like your father did. You'll always have me, even If I am also terrified. We'll simply take turns freaking out, now is your turn; if she ends up being a wolf-bat fan, I'll lose it next, and so on" Asami's laugh felt like flutter of wings against Korra's chest.

They stayed like that, comfortably in each other's arms, Asami's irregular breathing becoming steadier as Korra gently combed her hair with her fingers. After a while, the Avatar noticed the photograph in her wife's hands.

"It's crazy how much you look like her" she pinpointed Asami's mother in the picture.

"You really think so?"

"Yeah, let me…" Korra gathered Asami's hair in a bun at the back of her head, in a similar style to the woman in the picture "See? Twins" Asami looked at her, unable to repress the smile Korra's side grin provoked.

"You always know what to say, don't you?" Asami laughed, leaning in for a kiss.

"Do I?" Korra said, returning the kiss, her arms going for Asami's waist.

"Look, I don't want Akemi to go either" Asami admitted out of the blue, foreheads touching "But we need to do everything in our power to find her family, if she has one" Korra nodded in agreement "But in the meantime, we are totally underprepared" Asami broke apart and Korra could practically hear the cogs turning inside her head "We need clothes, and toys, we could ask Pemma. I don't think she is ready for daycare yet; we'll have to take turns. Maybe I can see about working from home for a while, and-" Korra planted a kiss on the corner of Asami's mouth, startling the woman.

"That sounds more like it!" She knew Asami going into planning mode could only be good "I'll take her with me tomorrow, Lin wanted to try talk to her anyways. You sort things out at work, and pick up some clothes for her on your way home, sounds good?"

"You've been thinking about this, haven't you?" Asami smiled.

"One day at a time" Korra reminded, giving her another peck on the lips. But when she was leaning away, Asami trapped her, deepening the kiss as she pinned her down to the couch.

"What is this about?" she asked with a chuckle, breathing ragged as Asami kissed her neck. Not that she was complaining: Korra grabbed her wife by the hips, pulling her closer, her hands venturing up her back beneath the clothing.

"Don't know if you noticed, but I've been kinda stressed out lately" Asami's breath felt hot against Korra's lips, her urgency escalating.

"Letting off some steam?" she said, smiling into the kiss. Asami murmured a vague affirmation, no longer interested in keeping the chat going "In that case" Korra broke apart and propped herself up, pushing Asami's back against the cushions, straddling her body. She started kissing her neck down her clavicle, feeling the pulse beneath the blushed skin. "Don't let me fall asleep, though" she unzipped Asami's jacket "I promised I'd be right ba-" Asami shut her up with a kiss, any words disappearing in a grunt.

A/N: Early upload cause I'm away next Monday.
This chapter was a mess of emotions, but I guess it's suitable for the occasion.

To the kind guest reviewer: Although I do prefer a tight-knit story with fewer characters, I am planning on integrating a few other characters from cannon into the story, at least for fluff's sake. Next chapter in fact is gonna have a brief appearance.

TypingMitten.