"I am never drinking that much, ever again," Kuvira groaned, as she unceremoniously fell back onto the couch. She threw one arm over her eyes and tried to ignore the nauseous bubbling in her stomach.

Nayuh chuckled from the kitchen. "I feel like I've heard that before."

Kuvira removed her arm and cracked her eyes open, squinting against the glare of the lamplight that seemed to be just a bit brighter than it should've. "This time, I mean it."

She hadn't thought she'd overdone it with the alcohol the night before at Korra and Asami's wedding, but the massive hangover she'd woken up with was telling a different story. Fortunately, Nayuh didn't seem to be much better off, and all either one of them had managed to do so far since waking up was drag themselves to the kitchen in an attempt to eat something.

Now, all Kuvira wanted to do was curl up and go right back to sleep, ignoring the world until she had to meet up with her family later.

"Here," Nayuh said, coming into the living room with two teacups, "drink this." Kuvira shifted into a seated position and took the cup Nayuh was offering her.

Kuvira sniffed it. "Is this that same concoction you made the last time we were hungover like this?"

Nayuh nodded as she took a sip of her tea, and Kuvira followed suit a few seconds later. The last time Nayuh had made this special brew, Kuvira had felt like a new person only a few hours later, with all traces of her headache and nausea completely gone. She could only hope it would work the same this time.

"The perks of the South's best healer being your girlfriend," Nayuh said, offering Kuvira a small smile. Then her gaze drifted to Kuvira's wrists. "And speaking of healing...I should probably take care of those before we see your family later."

Kuvira glanced down and chuckled slightly. The evidence of their activities in bed the night prior was definitely obvious in the rope burn marks on her wrists. Not that she regretted a moment of it. Her initial hesitance at being restrained (because it brought back too many nasty memories of her time underneath Lake Laogai) had waned over time, and last night she'd finally felt comfortable enough to allow Nayuh to do it.

And getting to return the favor...even now, just thinking about it caused a small amount of heat to flush through her and Kuvira found herself hoping for a repeat performance at some point. But not tonight, and definitely not right now. Right now, all she wanted to do was lay down on the couch and take a nap.

"Later," Kuvira told her. "We have plenty of time before we have to head over to the Palace. All I want to do right now is go back to sleep."

"I can't argue with that," Nayuh replied. As if on cue, she yawned, causing them both to laugh.

The tea's effects were already starting to work as she drained the rest of it, and Kuvira set the empty cup down on the low table next to the couch, then laid down. Nayuh set hers next to Kuvira's a few moments later and Kuvira rolled onto her side and scooted against the back of the couch to make room for her, wrapping an arm around Nayuh's waist as Nayuh laid down next to her.

Given that the couch wasn't nearly as wide as their bed, it took a few moments to get comfortable, but when they finally did, Kuvira was snugly curled up against Nayuh's back and pecking soft kisses down the back of her neck.

"Should we set an alarm?" Nayuh mumbled.

"No," Kuvira replied, giving her one more kiss before laying her head down, "I'm sure we'll be up in enough time."

"Okay," Nayuh murmured. She shifted again, pressing her backside even further into Kuvira's pelvis. The contact felt good, but sex was the very last thing on Kuvira's mind at the moment. Instead, she gently tightened her grip on Nayuh's waist and sighed happily.

She had no idea how long they'd been asleep for when the ringing of the phone startled them awake sometime later. "Ignore it," Kuvira mumbled, feeling Nayuh stir next to her and knowing it meant she was about to get up to answer it.

"What if it's important?" Nayuh asked, sounding more awake than Kuvira would've liked.

"It's Sunday," Kuvira said, "so that means it's not work. For either of us. Therefore, it's probably Su or Opal, and if they want to get a hold of us so bad, then they can walk their happy asses down here." She squeezed Nayuh tighter to her. "Ignore it and let's go back to sleep. I was in the middle of a really good dream."

Nayuh rolled over and Kuvira opened her eyes to find her girlfriend's face mere inches away from hers and smirking slightly. "A really good dream, huh? About what?"

Kuvira returned her smirk and closed her eyes again. "About last night. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to return to it."

Nayuh chuckled then pressed her lips to Kuvira's. Kuvira lazily returned the kiss, trying to keep Nayuh distracted until the phone stopped ringing. When it finally did, she pulled away and made a point to try and get comfortable again.

Unfortunately, whoever was trying to get a hold of them wasn't going to be deterred that easily. Kuvira groaned as the phone rang again and Nayuh kissed her on the forehead. "I don't think I can go back to sleep, but you should if you can."

Another kiss, this time on Kuvira's cheek, then the human furnace that was Nayuh's body heat was gone and Kuvira grumbled slightly at the loss of it. She rolled over, so she was facing the back of the couch, and sighed as she listened to Nayuh answer the phone.

"Vee, it's Korra and she wants to talk to you." Kuvira groaned again and lifted her arm, throwing a very offensive gesture in the direction of the Nayuh and the phone.

She heard Nayuh laugh. "She says screw you." Another few moments of silence as Nayuh listened to whatever the Avatar was saying. "I am not telling her that. You can come over here and say it to her face, but I wouldn't recommend that at the moment."

Try as she might, Kuvira knew there was no way she was going back to sleep now and she rolled back over, narrowing her eyes at Nayuh. "Tell her to go away, we're trying to sleep. Isn't she supposed to be on her honeymoon right now?"

Nayuh rolled her eyes as she listened to the other end of the line. "Hang on, Korra." Then she took the receiver away from her ear and held it out to Kuvira. "Here, come take this. I'm too hungover to deal with you two right now."

Kuvira sighed, knowing she had no choice now. She could tell Nayuh's patience was rapidly wearing thin and she didn't want to risk it breaking altogether. She got up and walked over to Nayuh, taking the receiver from her.

"This had better be important, Korra," she said gruffly, "we were trying to take a nap. And aren't you supposed to be on your honeymoon right now? Why are you calling me?"

"A little hungover today, are we?" Korra teasingly replied. Then she chuckled. "Asami and I are, too. I think everyone is. And yes, technically, we're supposed to be on our honeymoon right now, but we pushed leaving until tomorrow morning."

"Why?" Kuvira asked, suddenly concerned. "Is everything okay? Did something happen after Nayuh and I left last night?"

"Oh yeah, no, everything is fine," Korra said, "perfect actually. I woke up today a married woman...how crazy is that?"

"Crazy…" Kuvira said, pinching the bridge of her nose and hoping Korra would get to the point. Knowing Korra though, Kuvira decided to speed up the process. "So, why did you call then?"

"Oh! Right, well, the reason we haven't left yet is because part of my Dad's wedding gift to me and Asami has to be used today. And I wanted to share it with everyone, so you and Nayuh need to get dressed and meet us at the bending arena in a half-hour."

"We're supposed to meet up with my family in a little bit, then go to dinner and do some shopping," Kuvira replied, thankful to actually have an excuse to back out of Korra's plans. Spending the afternoon at the bending arena just didn't sound appealing at the moment. Plus, she was pretty sure there were no matches today.

"They're coming too! Everyone is...your family, my family, Mako, Bolin, Lin...everyone is gonna be there. We'll only be there for a few hours so you'll still have plenty of time to go out to dinner with them and hang out when we're done."

Kuvira sighed. Korra had her there and the Avatar knew it. "Quit being lame, put some clothes on, and get your butts down to the arena. Half an hour. Don't think I won't come over there and drag both your asses out of bed if I have to."

"Fine," Kuvira said, "but this had better be worth it."

"Oh, it will be, I promise," Korra replied and Kuvira could tell she was grinning just by the tone of her voice. As annoying as Korra's excitement could be sometimes, it was certainly infectious.

They said their goodbyes and Kuvira hung up the phone with another sigh. "What was that all about?" Nayuh asked as Kuvira made her way back over to the couch.

"Apparently, Tonraq got Korra and Asami a wedding gift that has to be used today," Kuvira replied. "We have to meet her and everyone else at the bending arena in a half-hour."

Nayuh wrinkled her nose, indicating her distaste for their sudden change of plans as well, much to Kuvira's satisfaction. At least they were on the same page. "I was hoping for a few more hours at home before we had to go out again."

"I was too," Kuvira replied, "but you know how hard it is to say no to Korra when she sets her mind to something. And it is for their wedding, so that makes it even harder."

Nayuh nodded and finally stood up from the couch, pulling Kuvira into an embrace. "I don't care what anyone says, you are a nice person."

Kuvira gave a small laugh and shook her head. "That's supposed to be our little secret, remember?" She dipped her head and gave Nayuh a soft kiss. "I have you to thank for that, you know."

"I know," Nayuh replied, smiling slightly. She reached up and pried Kuvira's arms off from around the back of her neck. "Let's take care of these now then. It'll only take me a few minutes, then we can get dressed and go."

"Alright," Kuvira said, shoulders slumping in slight defeat.

Nayuh led her into the kitchen and to the sink, and Kuvira held her wrists over it while Nayuh went to work. Ten minutes later, the burns were gone and they quickly changed and set out in the direction of the arena. It was on the complete opposite side of town from them and since they didn't own a snowmobile yet, they had to walk the whole way.

Which was fine, because the cold air finished what the tea and the nap had started, and by the time they walked up to the bending arena's main entrance, where everyone was gathered, Kuvira's hangover was long gone.

Greetings were exchanged and then Korra stepped to the front of their group and cleared her throat. "So, thanks to my Dad, who managed to pull some strings with the arena's manager, we've been given free rein of the place for the next few hours. I know not everyone is a bender, but I thought it might be fun to hold our own little tournament."

Kuvira didn't miss the excited whispers that Bolin and Mako shared, or the surprised but excited look on Nayuh's face. And, if she was being honest, the thought of actually being able to get out onto the arena floor and try her hand at pro-bending excited her as well. She and Nayuh had been attending every match they could since the arena opened; it was just another thing they enjoyed sharing together.

Korra and Tonraq led them inside and Tonraq gave them a quick tour of the place. Kuvira finally got to see the locker rooms, the training rooms, the massive gym...it even had a few healing rooms, just in case someone got seriously injured enough to need to be put in a healing pool. It was an impressive facility, but Kuvira had already known that.

After the tour was over, it was time to decide on teams. A typical pro-bending team had a waterbender, an earthbender, and a firebender, but since this wasn't official (and since Mako was the only firebender present), it was decided that anything goes and the teams could be made up of whoever wanted to play.

Kuvira wasn't surprised in the slightest when Korra, Mako, and Bolin decided to reform their old team. It made sense, although Korra promised she'd only use water and not the other three elements at her disposal. Kuvira couldn't help but wonder how long that promise would last, given Korra's competitive nature.

Despite the fact that airbending hadn't been added into the pro-bending rules yet, Opal, Nayuh, and Kuvira formed another team. Bolin and Mako had protested at first–"We can't even see it, how are we supposed to defend against something we can't see," Mako had whined–but Korra laid down some ground rules for Opal, that essentially boiled down to "no dirty tricks and if you try any I'll know it."

The twins and their Aunt Lin decided to team up, while Suyin, Tonraq, and Senna decided to form another. After a coin toss, it was determined that Korra, Mako, and Bolin would face off against Kuvira, Nayuh, and Opal first. Everyone else took a seat in the stands, while the two teams took their places on opposite sides of the court.

"Bolin favors his right side when he's bending," Opal muttered as they slid into their fighting stances.

"Korra too," Kuvira added, keeping her voice low. "Mako is the only one I haven't really seen bend before."

"He's quick on his feet, like you," Opal said, "so just be ready. He also hates you, so there's that as well. He's probably going to come for you first."

Kuvira made a face. "Great."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't touch you," Nayuh said. Kuvira smiled at her, knowing that if Mako tried anything dirty, Nayuh's protective side would come roaring out. She almost felt bad for the firebender. Almost.

On Tonraq's whistle, the match got underway. Opal's assessment had been correct, at least when it came to Mako. He immediately went for Kuvira first, launching a set of fire bursts from his fists that caught her off-guard and nearly singed her face. He followed it up with a flaming kick, but Kuvira was able to side-step it before it landed.

She countered with two well-aimed earthen disks, both narrowly missing the firebender's head. If he was going to play dirty by going right for the kill shot, then so would she. She'd been back to full bending strength for a while now and had been itching to use it. Now seemed as good a time as any.

Mako tried to counter again, but Kuvira was too quick for him. Each blast of fire, while well-placed, just missed her and before Mako could recover, Kuvira had kicked two more disks at him. This time they connected: one to his shoulder and the other to his stomach, knocking him back a zone. It gave her a slight reprieve and she looked over to see that both Opal and Nayuh were dangerously close to pushing the Avatar and Bolin back into the zone Mako was in.

Opal sent a blast of air at Bolin, who tried to roll out of the way, but rolled right into Korra's path, almost knocking her over. Nayuh immediately took advantage of the mistake and sent a current of water straight into Korra's chest, knocking her back into the next zone as well. And she didn't let up, now that she had the Avatar off-balance.

Kuvira watched with pride as her girlfriend pounded away at Korra, sending stream after stream of water at her, pushing her back even further until Korra finally gained the upper hand again. The Avatar gathered Nayuh's next attack around her, then sent it flying back at the healer before Nayuh had a chance to react. The heavy stream of water took out her legs and she hit the floor, hard.

Growling softly, and just narrowly missing another attack by Mako, Kuvira swiftly punched, then kicked, a flurry of disks at Korra, hoping one would land. None did and she growled again as Korra turned her attention to her. Mako still hadn't let up and Kuvira was now dancing around, trying to avoid scorching jets of flames and flying streams of water.

Having finally sent Bolin back to the other zone with Korra and Mako, Opal came to her aid as she, Kuvira, and Nayuh advanced forward a zone, sending a massive gust of wind that threw Korra off-balance. Kuvira saw her opening and kicked another disk at the Avatar, connecting with her legs. It knocked Korra down and Kuvira turned her attention again to the annoying firebender who didn't seem interested in going after anyone else but her.

Fine, Kuvira thought, you want my attention, well, now you've got it. Opal and Nayuh were handling Bolin and Korra easily enough so Kuvira focused on Mako, narrowing her eyes at him as he attacked again. She let him stay on the offensive for a few minutes; one, so he'd wear himself out, and two, so she could try and find a pattern in his movements.

He was clearly allowing his hatred of her to leak in because the more she ducked and evaded his fire, the angrier and more wild his movements became. So she decided to bide her time and bait him into making a mistake. She knew it probably wouldn't be long before it happened.

And she was right. A few minutes later, a blast of fire from Mako's fist fizzled out before it reached Kuvira and she smirked at him. Then she countered, sending one, two, three, and then four disks at him in rapid succession. He managed to evade all four, but his strength was gone for the time being and he knew it. All he could do now was try and evade her attacks.

Which kept coming. Kuvira wasn't going to give him an inch and she kept sending disk after disk at him. To his credit, Mako was able to avoid most of them. But not all. One finally caught him in the legs, another in the stomach, and he doubled over, looking like he was going to vomit. Kuvira smirked again and turned her attention back to Korra and Bolin. Mako wasn't quite out, but Kuvira knew he wouldn't be a problem for at least another few moments.

Or so she thought. Twin blasts of fire shot past her head and this time, Kuvira could smell some of her hair burning. She angrily turned back to Mako and saw that he was seething. For a moment, they stared at each other–then simultaneously, they attacked.

It was clear Mako had wasted the last of his energy on his latest attack, and Kuvira quickly backed him up and then sent him sprawling into the final zone. Let's finish this, she thought and quickly lifted two more disks into the air. She spun around, kicking the disks at Mako, knowing that if even one of them connected, he'd go flying over the edge and he'd finally be out of her hair.

But Mako had other ideas. And as Kuvira came out of her spin, she saw that he was completely unperturbed by the two disks flying his way. He'd taken up a new stance, one she'd never seen before, and before Kuvira even knew what was happening, Mako released a stream of lightning from his fingertips.

Kuvira's eyes widened and she tried to dive out of the way, but she was too slow. The lightning slammed into her left shoulder and her entire body went rigid. No part of her was left untouched by the electrical current that rippled out and over her from the point of contact. Her body seemed to be frozen, paralyzed, and as she fell to the floor Kuvira realized that she couldn't breathe. The lightning had knocked the breath out of her and try as she might, she couldn't draw another one in.

A familiar, yet terrifying darkness started rapidly closing in around the edges of her vision, and the last thing she saw was the two disks she'd sent at Mako, flying harmlessly off into the void behind him.

Then everything went dark.

Nayuh gathered a rather large stream of water around her, preparing to unleash it on the Avatar, when she heard an unfamiliar sound erupt from the opposite end of the court. She glanced over and saw what looked like lightning flying from Mako's fingertips, and she watched in disbelief and horror as it slammed into Vira.

Vira immediately collapsed to the ground and didn't move. Part of Nayuh wanted to rush over and check on Vira, but another, more powerful part took over. Snarling in sheer anger, she redirected the stream of water, throwing it with all her might at Mako and turning it into a flurry of deadly ice daggers in mid-air.

Mako saw them coming at the last second and punched out with a blast of fire, melting the ones nearest to him. The rest never touched him, as Korra bent them away into nothing. Screw the rules. Mako had played dirty and now Nayuh was going to finish it. She angrily strode forward, gathering more water around her.

"Nayuh, stop!" Korra demanded, jumping in front of Mako and holding her arms out.

"Get out of the way, Korra," Nayuh growled.

"No," Korra said, her eyes pleading with Nayuh to calm down. Which, Nayuh had every intention of not doing…until she realized that someone was frantically calling her name. She whipped around and saw that it was Opal, who was kneeling next to Vira and desperately trying to get her attention.

"Nayuh, she's not breathing!" Opal yelled. The desperation and panic in her voice and on her face finally snapped Nayuh out of her rage and she immediately dropped the water and ran over to where Vira had fallen.

She was lying on her side and Nayuh quickly bent her head, putting her ear close to Vira's mouth. Nothing. She sat upright and pressed two fingers to Vira's neck, then cursed. Not breathing and no pulse. Her mind instantly started to panic, but decades of training and muscle memory took over, in place of rational thought. Which was impossible at the moment anyway.

She quickly rolled Vira over onto her back then knelt above her, placing the heel of her hand in the center of Vira's chest. She braced that hand with her other one and pressed down, hard, over and over and over again, wincing when she felt Vira's sternum crack.

You can fix that later...just worry about getting her heart started again. With Vira's sternum offering no more resistance, she eased into a quick rhythm of compressions.

"Don't do this to me," she muttered, staring down at Vira. Her eyes were closed and she looked calm, peaceful, as if she was asleep. "Don't you dare do this to me...wake up dammit…"

She was barely aware of the shouting that had erupted behind her, or the scuffling noises that indicated a physical fight had likely broken out. Her focus was solely on the woman she loved, lying beneath her and very much not alive at the moment.

"Opal," Nayuh said, after a few minutes. She didn't need to look up to know that Opal was still standing next to her. "I need you to get Korra. I need her over here."

Opal's feet shifted, then she hesitantly said, "I–I don't know if I can...she's trying to keep my brothers from killing Mako."

"Let them kill him," Nayuh angrily retorted, not breaking her rhythm, "I don't care...just go get her! She's the only other healer here and if you want Vira to live, then I need you to go get her. Now."

Her tone of voice made it plainly clear there was no room for argument and Opal immediately obeyed and ran off. A moment or two later Korra rushed into Nayuh's peripheral vision and knelt next to Vira's side.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked, her voice solemn.

"Did Katara teach you how to do this at all?" She didn't feel the need to elaborate and she heard Korra nervously clear her throat.

"Yeah, but I've never actually done it before."

"That's alright," Nayuh replied, "but I'm going to need you to take over for me here soon." Trying to manually start someone's heart like this was exhausting and Nayuh could already feel her strength waning. That, coupled with the sheer panic racing through her body, and she wasn't sure how long she was going to be able to keep it together.

"Okay…" Korra hesitantly said. She sat up on her knees and hovered closely over Vira's body, waiting for Nayuh to say the word.

"Just remember to press harder than you think you need to," Nayuh reminded her. "Her sternum is already broken, so you won't have much resistance, but you can't be gentle."

"Okay," Korra nervously said again, and Nayuh had to hope that the Avatar was up to the task because she wasn't going to be able to keep this up much longer. She didn't want to hand Vira's life over to anyone else, but she wasn't going to have a choice in another few minutes.

"Get ready," Nayuh said, and Korra shifted again, bringing her hands up and mimicking Nayuh's. She was getting ready to tell Korra to take over when Vira suddenly coughed. Nayuh immediately stopped her compressions, but when she saw no other reaction from Vira, she started them again.

Three more compressions and Vira coughed again, more forcefully this time, but Nayuh didn't stop. She needed to make absolutely sure the coughing wasn't a byproduct of what she was doing, but was from Vira's heart finally restarting and her body reacting accordingly.

She got her answer a few moments later. Vira coughed one more time, then drew in a massive deep breath. Her eyes didn't open, but her face scrunched up in what Nayuh could only assume was pain and a few tears leaked out from behind her eyelids. Her right hand clumsily came up and tried to push Nayuh's hands away from her chest–then, and only then, did Nayuh stop what she was doing.

As soon as Nayuh stopped, Vira took another deep, shuddering breath, then went still again. For one terrifying moment, Nayuh panicked, thinking her heart had stopped again, but then she saw the steady, methodic rise and fall of Vira's chest, and when she pressed two fingers to Vira's neck, she felt a pulse. It was weak, but it was there, and Nayuh let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Is she going to be okay?" Korra asked, still hovering at Vira's side.

"I think so, yeah," Nayuh replied. "But we need to get her in one of those healing pools downstairs."

Korra immediately moved to try and pick Vira up, but Nayuh held out her hand, stopping her. "Not yet. Not while she's still unconscious." She gave Korra a look, and Korra nodded in complete understanding. The memories of what had happened the last time they'd stuck Vira in a healing pool unconscious were still fresh in both of their minds.

"Help me get her shirt off," Nayuh instructed Korra. "I can start healing her now, and then when she wakes up we can move her."

Korra nodded and moved behind Vira, lifting her gently up by her shoulders. Now wasn't the time for modesty and having access to Vira's exposed skin would allow Nayuh to heal her faster. And considering Vira's heart had stopped once, Nayuh didn't want to waste any more time and risk it stopping again. She had no idea what kind of internal damage the lightning had caused, and wouldn't know until she could get Vira into the healing pool.

With Korra holding her up, Nayuh quickly but carefully stripped Vira's shirt off, then the tank top she had on underneath. She left her breastband on, for obvious reasons, as most of the Beifongs, Tonraq, Senna, and even Asami had gathered around them; they were keeping their distance, though, and trying to give Nayuh some space to work.

She'd forgotten that not too many people had been privy to seeing the extent of the damage to Vira's body from her time underneath Lake Laogai, and she heard a few quiet gasps and murmurs when those who hadn't seen it yet finally caught a glimpse. She glanced up, seeing anger written all over Bataar and Wing and Wei's faces as they gazed down at Vira.

"Lay her back down," Nayuh told Korra, as soon as Vira's tank top was off. Korra did as she was instructed and even though Vira was still unconscious, she squirmed slightly in Korra's grasp. Nayuh knew the movement had to hurt, given that her sternum was broken, so she gathered a large amount of water around her hands and immediately got to work.

She placed the now-glowing water over the center of Vira's chest, hoping to ease some of the pain enough for her to wake up so they could move her to the healing pool. She'd sit here for as long as it took, but there was no way in hell Nayuh was moving her there until she woke up. She'd put Vira in there once without her consent, and vowed she'd never, ever do it again.

Vira's family drifted in and out of Nayuh's view as she worked, but she didn't pay any attention to them or anyone else. All she cared about was Vira. This was not how she'd seen their day going when it had started this morning, and she swore that if she ever saw Mako again, she was going to kill him. No one threatened her girlfriend's life and got away with it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vira began to stir. Her eyelids fluttered, then, with what seemed like a great effort, cracked open. Nayuh didn't stop what she was doing, but she allowed herself a small smile when those beautiful green eyes finally focused on her.

"Hey, beautiful," Nayuh said, forcing back the emotion and tears that were threatening to overwhelm her, "welcome back."

Vira frowned slightly, then winced in pain as she tried to move. "Welcome back? What...what happened?"

Nayuh cocked an eyebrow at her and was about to answer when Vira's eyes narrowed. "Mako…" She tried to sit up, but Opal, who was sitting at Vira's side, reached out and stopped her. Which was just as well, because the movement seemed to have put Vira in a great deal of pain and she couldn't hide the tears that leaked out as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Just relax," Opal said, her voice soothing, "Mako knows he screwed up...Bolin and Lin are handling it right now."

Vira nodded and looked at Nayuh again. "I know he hit me with lightning...I don't remember anything after that." She winced again. "Why does my chest hurt so bad?"

Nayuh sighed. "I promise I'll explain, but we really need to get you into one of the healing pools downstairs. Do you think you can sit up or walk?"

"I can try," Vira said through gritted teeth. Korra knelt down behind her again and slid her arms underneath Vira's shoulders. Nayuh knew that, under normal circumstances, Vira would've shrugged off the Avatar's help and the fact that she didn't, spoke to the amount of discomfort she was in.

But, true to her tough nature and using Korra's assistance, Vira managed to get herself upright. It was blatantly obvious how much pain she was in by how taut and pale her face was, but she didn't complain as she threw her right arm around Korra's shoulders. Vira's left arm hung limp at her side, the reason for its immobility evident by the blackened and singed burn mark on her skin, courtesy of where the lightning had struck her.

Korra wrapped an arm around Vira's waist and they slowly started making their way off of the arena floor. Nayuh followed close behind, ready in case Vira went down again. It was a somewhat familiar scene, one that Nayuh had hoped would never, ever repeat itself.

But it had, and she was once again thankful for the training her aunt had given her, and the fact that her girlfriend was entirely too stubborn to die. Vira's stubbornness irritated her to no end sometimes, but right now, it was what Nayuh loved the most about her.

As if she sensed what Nayuh was thinking, Vira turned her head and gave Nayuh a small smile, her silent way of trying to reassure her. Nayuh returned it and said, quietly, "I love you."

Vira's smile grew wider, even as she winced in pain. "I love you, too. I don't know what happened, but I get the feeling that you and Korra saved me...again. So, thank you both. Again."

"Nayuh did all the work," Korra gently replied, as they rode the lift downstairs into the bowels of the stadium. "As usual."

Vira kept her gaze on Nayuh and smiled again. "Just another perk of the South's best healer being my girlfriend."

Nayuh rolled her eyes but couldn't quite stop the short laugh from escaping her lips. "Just, stop trying to die on me, okay?"

"I can make no such promises," Vira replied, chuckling as well, then wincing in pain, "but I will certainly try."

Nayuh leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on Vira's lips, not even caring that Korra was standing right there. "That's all I can ask for, I guess."