"I thought I was done with these stupid healing pools," Kuvira grumbled as she slowly lowered herself down into the water with Korra's assistance.

She waited for the uncomfortable images and paralyzing fear to assail her again, as they used to but, much to her surprise, they didn't. Only one or two of the more terrifying memories flicked through her mind as she sat back in the water, and she was left with only a sense of uneasiness, rather than crippling terror. It was a surprising but welcome change.

"You okay?" Nayuh asked, poised on the edge of the pool in a bending stance. She was clearly waiting for Kuvira's approval to get started and Kuvira nodded.

"Yeah...that actually wasn't too bad," Kuvira answered. "Maybe because it's been over a year since I've been in one of these."

"Maybe," Nayuh agreed. The water started to glow and move under her bending and Kuvira felt the warm sensation that only the healing water could bring enveloping her entire body, pulling at her and coaxing her into relaxing completely. "I just hope it doesn't bring back the nightmares," Nayuh added.

"Me too," Kuvira said with a small huff. It'd been well over a month since she'd had one and she was starting to think that maybe she had rounded a corner when it came to that particular part of her recovery.

"If your recovery is anything like mine, then the nightmares may never fully go away," Korra said, somewhat soberly. "I'll still get them from time to time and it's been over five years." Kuvira looked up and made a face at her, causing Korra to chuckle. "Just saying."

Kuvira looked back down at the water, trying to ignore the unnerving feeling of something heavy sitting on her chest. "Sorry I ruined your and Asami's wedding present," she said after a few moments, looking back up at Korra.

Korra looked taken aback. "You didn't ruin anything. Mako was the one that had to go and get all bent out of shape because we were losing." She sighed. "I thought Bolin had talked to him, but it looks like I'll be needing to have a chat with him as well."

"He's allowed to not like me, Korra," Kuvira said, her tone slightly chiding. "A lot of people don't, and for very good reason."

Korra frowned. "That still doesn't give him permission to try and kill you. And you'd definitely be dead right now, if Nayuh hadn't been able to bring you back."

Kuvira shifted her gaze to Nayuh, eyes going a little wider. "Care to explain?"

"The lightning stopped your heart," she answered and Kuvira could tell just by the way she was avoiding eye contact that she was trying not to cry. It made her heart feel heavy and she had to fight every instinct to not climb out of the pool, wrap her arms around Nayuh, and hold her close forever.

"That's why your chest hurts so bad," Nayuh continued. "I had to restart your heart by hand and in order to do that, I had to break your ribs." She gave Kuvira a very apologetic look. "I'm sorry...I know it hurts, but I promise I'll fix it before we leave here."

Kuvira gave her a reassuring smile. "You did what you had to do. And for that, I'm extremely grateful."

Nayuh returned her smile, but Kuvira could tell it was forced. She went back to focusing on her work and Kuvira looked over as the door to the healing room slid open. Her family poured inside, followed by Tonraq and Senna, and Asami.

Kuvira smiled at them, trying to assuage the worried looks on all their faces. Suyin looked especially worried, as well as angry, and Kuvira couldn't help but be transported back in time for a moment, to the last time she was in a healing pool while Su was around.

"Don't worry Su, I got in here on my own this time," she joked, hoping to ease some of the tension that had flooded into the room along with everyone.

Su gave her a slightly exasperated look as she hurriedly came over to Kuvira. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said, kneeling down and placing a quick kiss on the top of her head.

It was the most affection Su ever shown her, and the fact that she'd done it in front of everyone else, meant the world to Kuvira. She felt her face flush slightly, a little embarrassed but also pleased.

"Of course I am," Kuvira replied. "You all aren't getting rid of me that easy." She kept her tone light and saw with an immense amount of satisfaction that everyone started to relax. The last thing she wanted was for everyone's day to be ruined or the mood to be too serious. This was supposed to be a day for Korra and Asami and Kuvira very much wanted to redirect the attention off of her and back onto them, where it belonged.

"Think you'll be healed enough for a match or two later, sis?" Wing asked, smirking slightly. "You still owe Wei and me that rematch from the last time we were here."

Kuvira opened her mouth to reply but Nayuh beat her to it. "Absolutely no bending or strenuous activity for a while," she sternly said, narrowing her eyes at Kuvira in warning. Kuvira shrugged as innocently as she could, then turned her attention back to the twins.

"Sorry boys, I'll have to take a raincheck on that rematch. Healer's orders." She looked around the room at everyone. "You guys should go back up and enjoy the time we have here though. Don't let this little incident ruin it. I'm fine and as soon as Nayuh is done down here, we'll be back up to join you."

She looked to Nayuh for confirmation, noticing that she didn't want to give it right away; a few moments later she nodded and Kuvira looked at Korra and Asami. "Go and enjoy your wedding present. I don't even want to know what Tonraq had to promise the arena manager to get him to allow us to do this, so take advantage of it. Please. I don't want this to ruin the entire day."

Tonraq chuckled softly, as did Bataar Senior and Junior. All three of them shared a knowing look, which was missed by everyone else but Kuvira, who smirked. Whatever he'd promised the arena manager, it must've been worth it.

"Are you sure?" Korra asked.

"Yes," Kuvira firmly replied. "I'm feeling much better already, thanks to the healing water. So go, have fun, and we'll be up there shortly. Just don't try to kill each other."

Her terrible joke had the desired effect and almost everyone groaned. "If you say so," Korra said. She looked around, her face breaking into a slow grin as she looked at the twins. "Well? You two up for a match?"

Wing and Wei exchanged a look then returned Korra's grin. "Lead the way, Avatar."

Everyone slowly started to file out after them, but Su hung back and gave Kuvira a concerned look. "You're sure you're okay and not just trying to deflect everyone's attention?"

"Oh she's absolutely trying to deflect," Nayuh quickly said, answering for her and sounding annoyed, "but she's also right...she's okay, Su, I promise. The lightning didn't cause any permanent damage, at least none that I can tell right now. We'll be back upstairs soon."

Kuvira gave Su a reassuring smile. "Go take some of that anger out on the court. You won't be disappointed…it really is a lot of fun."

"Alright," Su finally said with a small sigh. She gave Kuvira's shoulder a light squeeze, then stood back up and walked out, finally leaving Kuvira and Nayuh alone.

It was quiet for a long time and Kuvira was content to sit in the silence, but she knew something was bothering Nayuh. It was written all over her face and in her body language. At first, she thought it was because of what happened and that she was still upset at Mako, but after a while, she could tell it wasn't only that.

As badly as she wanted to bring it up, though, she kept her mouth shut. She'd known Nayuh long enough now to know when it was appropriate to push her to talk and when it wasn't. And she could tell now wasn't one of those times.

So, instead, she kept her eyes on the water and fought the urge to go to sleep. Eventually, the heaviness in her chest lifted enough to become bearable, but when she tried to lift her left arm, she found that it was still useless. The lightning had done a number on it, but at least it didn't feel like the bones in her chest were in a million pieces anymore.

"How are you feeling?" Nayuh asked, after a while.

"Much better," Kuvira said. "I can't lift my left arm, but my chest doesn't feel broken anymore."

Nayuh closed her eyes for a few moments, then opened them again. "Because it's not...it's still going to be sore for a while, but it's not fractured anymore." She gave Kuvira a very, very small smile. "The wonders of healing water."

"Indeed," Kuvira replied, smiling as well. "So, can I get out now?"

"Yes, you can," Nayuh said. She dropped her bending stance and stretched a little before straightening up again. Kuvira took it slow, using her good arm for assistance as she pushed herself up using the side of the pool. As Nayuh had predicted, her chest was still extremely sore, but it was far more tolerable than before.

Nayuh bent all the remaining water off of Kuvira, then helped her into her tank top and shirt again. Try as she might, her left arm refused to work and hung limply at her side. Nayuh frowned at it, then walked around the room, rummaging through drawers and opening cabinets. Kuvira watched her, curious, until Nayuh finally found what she was looking for.

"I was going to have to have words with their head healer if I couldn't find at least one sling in here somewhere," she said, as she walked back over to Kuvira. She helped Kuvira get the sling over her head and her arm into it, then she turned, heading for the door.

Kuvira caught her wrist and pulled her back. "We'll go upstairs in a minute. Before we do, I need to know...are you okay?"

Nayuh nodded and turned to go again, but Kuvira tightened her grip on Nayuh's wrist, refusing to let her walk away.

"Nayuh...stop. Look at me." Nayuh didn't try to pull away from Kuvira, but she refused to look at her. "Nayuh, please...look at me." She kept her tone gentle, tender, and finally, Nayuh looked up at her.

Her eyes were wet and Kuvira instantly knew that she'd been holding everything inside this entire time. Nayuh had a bad habit of bottling things up until they exploded–it was something Kuvira had been trying to get her to be better about, but it was hard. Neither one of them was very good at wanting to talk about their feelings...especially when it came to the messy ones like fear.

"You scared the hell out of me," she angrily said, but Kuvira knew her anger wasn't directed at her. "You died up there...actually died and it was on me to bring you back. Do you have any idea how hard that was, trying not to panic, knowing that the person I love more than anything else in the world might die in my arms, if I didn't do my job perfectly?

"And there was no guarantee that I was even going to be able to bring you back. The technique I used...it doesn't work all the time. You got lucky, Vee...so damn lucky, you have no idea. And I...I…" Her voice cracked and Kuvira could tell she was about to lose control. "I have no idea what I would do if I ever lost you."

At that Nayuh completely broke down. Kuvira wrapped her good arm around her and pulled her close, hugging her as tightly as she could while Nayuh cried into her shoulder. She didn't say anything, but she pressed soft and reassuring kisses to the side of Nayuh's head and stroked her back.

They stood there for a while as Kuvira let Nayuh fall apart in her arms, knowing she needed to get all of it out before they went anywhere. She honestly had no idea what Nayuh had gone through earlier, but she could imagine how awful and terrifying it must've been for her.

"I love you, so much," Kuvira finally whispered. "And I swear to you, I'm going to do everything I can to never, ever leave you. Not until we're a hundred years old and on our deathbeds."

She realized, after the fact, how those words could be taken, but she meant every single one. Maybe I am ready to marry her. She couldn't imagine her life without Nayuh and wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of it with her. Suddenly, all her hesitations about getting engaged and married seemed ridiculous. Stop being a coward and just ask her.

Kuvira pushed her mind's unwanted prompting aside, knowing that if she was going to ask Nayuh that all-important question, now wasn't the time. Nayuh sniffed and pulled back slightly, gazing up at her with puffy, red eyes.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Promise," Kuvira replied. She leaned forward and kissed Nayuh on the forehead. "You're stuck with me now. Forever and ever."

That earned her a smile and Kuvira's heart soared at the sight. "Lucky me."

"Damn right, lucky you," Kuvira replied, smirking a little. "If you didn't know, I'm quite the catch." Her attempt at humor hit and Nayuh's smile grew wider as she chuckled.

"You're quite something, that's for sure," she said. Kuvira scoffed, pretending to be hurt, and Nayuh tilted her head up to kiss her.

"I love you, too," she said when she finally pulled away. "And I'm not going anywhere either. I guess that means we're stuck with each other. Forever and ever."

"Sounds perfect," Kuvira murmured. She dipped her head, kissing Nayuh with as much sincerity and passion as she could.

"Come on, let's go back upstairs," Nayuh said when they finally parted again. "I would love to see if the Chief and Senna or even Suyin decide to get out there."

Kuvira nodded and released her. She slid her good hand into Nayuh's and together they made their way back up to the stands. They quietly slipped into seats above Bataar Junior and Senior, Lin, and Senna. The current match had the twins and Suyin pitted against Korra, Opal, and Tonraq.

Asami was sitting with Bolin and (much to both Kuvira's and Nayuh's dismay) Mako a few rows away, and she gave Kuvira a sympathetic look as she caught her eye. Bolin gave her one as well, along with an apologetic shrug, which Kuvira returned with one of her own, essentially telling Bolin not to worry about it. She wasn't going to hold a grudge, nor was she going to try and do anything to Mako. Nayuh, on the other hand, was glaring at Mako and Kuvira knew she'd need to keep the two of them separated from here on out.

"Who's winning?" Kuvira asked.

"You know," Bataar Junior said, turning around to face them, "it's really unclear."

Kuvira chuckled and watched the two teams go at it for a few moments. Neither had been pushed back a zone, so she couldn't blame Bataar for not knowing. At the moment, neither team was technically winning.

"You doing okay?" Senna asked, turning around to face Kuvira. Her voice held the same amount of concern as Suyin's and Kuvira couldn't help but give her a reassuring smile. Senna had basically become a surrogate mother to her over the last three years and Kuvira felt a closeness to her that she'd only just now started to feel with Su.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kuvira replied. "Sorry for scaring everyone like that."

Senna reached over and gave Kuvira's knee a light squeeze. "Don't apologize. We're just glad you're alright." Bataar Junior and Senior nodded in agreement, and it didn't slip Kuvira's notice that Lin was still staring straight ahead, seemingly focused on the match. Kuvira knew she was listening to every word, though.

"So, um," Bataar Junior started, awkwardly clearing his throat, "can I ask you something? And if you don't want to talk about it I totally understand. I'm just curious."

Kuvira raised an eyebrow at him. "Sure, ask whatever you want." She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

Bataar suddenly looked nervous as he went on. "The scars...on your back…" He trailed off and Kuvira felt Nayuh stiffen slightly next to her. She held Bataar's gaze, waiting for him to continue.

When he didn't, she finished his question for him. "Are you trying to ask if they're from what Sying did to me?" Bataar nodded, looking uncomfortable and almost guilty for wondering. "Yes, they are."

Anger passed over Bataar's face and he narrowed his eyes. "I thought so. I could kill her for what she did to you, but Mom beat me to it."

Kuvira shrugged, trying to be as nonchalant as she could. "I've made my peace with it. I deserved everything that happened to me. I was a terrible person who did terrible things and hurt a lot of people. The scars are a nice reminder of why I can't ever go back to being like that."

"If that's how you feel then I should've been right there with you," Bataar insisted. "I was just as responsible as you were for everything that happened."

Kuvira gazed at him for a moment, her expression almost sad. "You and I both know that's not true. That's why your punishment wasn't as great as mine."

"No, I got off easy because Mom pulled some strings," Bataar grumbled. Bataar Senior shot him a warning look. "What?" Bataar said, challenging his father to argue the point. "It's true and you know it. She did the same thing to get me here for the wedding."

"I was wondering how you managed to get out of Zaofu," Kuvira mused. "I figured Lin was the one who helped."

Finally, Lin turned around, eyeing both Kuvira and Bataar evenly before her sharp green eyes settled on Bataar. "I had nothing to do with it. Su managed to sweet-talk the President into easing some of your restrictions. I'm not too popular at City Hall right now. Asking for special privileges for my criminal nephew didn't seem like a good idea. So Su went around me, right to the top."

Bataar flinched at the word "criminal" but didn't argue. "Yep, that sounds like Su," Kuvira said. "I've never really been a part of the family, so I wouldn't have expected her to do the same for me." She shrugged. "Not that I'd ever ask her to."

Lin shifted her attention to Kuvira. "I think you're forgetting that Su was the one who convinced your tribunal to put you on house arrest. She fought hard for that, even though she didn't have to."

"Su is trying," Bataar Senior said gently. "We all are. I know you've never felt like you were or are a part of this family and that's as much our fault as it is yours."

Kuvira immediately wanted to argue, but she didn't. She knew Bataar was right. She'd purposefully distanced herself from them a long time ago. And they'd let her, without any real attempt to try and mend the rift that had always been there since her biological parents had abandoned her on Su's doorstep. It had only grown wider and wider the older she'd gotten until it felt as though it was entirely too large to ever fix.

"But you are a part of this family," Bataar Senior went on. "You always have been, even if it hasn't felt like it. And I think I speak for everyone when I say that we want you to feel like you're a part of it. Even if you can't ever come home again."

Kuvira's eyes flicked to Bataar Junior and saw he was watching her. As soon as she caught his eye, he gave her a small smile and an encouraging nod of his head. She sighed. "I do want to be a part of it. And I've been trying to be better. If the last three years have taught me anything, it's that I can't keep people at an arm's length anymore."

"And you aren't," Bataar Senior assured her. "You've changed so much in the last few years...for the better. Everyone can see that. As much as we would all love for you to come home, you belong here, in the South."

Kuvira glanced over at Nayuh and smiled. "You're right. I do belong here. I'll always miss Zaofu, but my life and my future are here." Nayuh's lips pulled into a small smile at the word future and she visibly relaxed a little.

Senna was also smiling and had what Kuvira could've sworn was a look of pride on her face as she listened to the whole exchange. "You know the Palace is always open, whenever you all want to come down to visit," she told Bataar Senior. "Tonraq and I love having everyone around."

"You don't have to convince me," Bataar Senior said with a chuckle. "It's Su that hates the cold." Everyone, including Lin, chuckled as well since Su wasn't around to defend herself.

"Eh, you get used to it," Kuvira said. "I'm pretty sure if I ever ventured north again I'd die of heat exhaustion. I don't know how Korra manages to live in Republic City ninety percent of the time."

At the mention of the Avatar, everyone turned back to the court, and Kuvira could now see that Korra, Tonraq, and Opal were clearly winning against Su and the twins. It was quiet for a few minutes, as everyone watched the match. It had grown intense, with Su and the twins being pushed back into the final zone. Even as Kuvira watched, Wei took a brutal hit, courtesy of Tonraq, and tumbled backward over the edge and into the water below.

Something Lin had said earlier popped into Kuvira's mind. "So, Lin, why aren't you very popular at City Hall anymore? I thought everyone loved you as Chief."

Lin looked at her for a moment, seemingly weighing her response. "Actually, it's because of you." Kuvira's eyes widened, but before she had a chance to ask why, Lin went on. "I caught a lot of flak for how we responded to your and Junior's little invasion."

Kuvira and Bataar Junior exchanged a look, and Kuvira's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry…"

Lin waved a dismissive hand. "Even if I had wanted to handle it differently, Raiko wouldn't have let me. It's just as much his fault for what happened as mine. Which I'm sure is why Zhu Li is the president now and not him. And a lot of people blame me for not fighting harder to keep you locked up. They think that, because I'm Su's sister, I decided to look the other way and essentially allow you to go free."

"Why does it even matter now anyway?" Kuvira asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. Lin being blamed for her mistakes was absolutely ridiculous. "I've been 'dead'–" she made air quotes around the word with her good hand "–for over two years now. You'd think people would've moved on."

Lin shrugged and fortunately, she didn't seem too upset about the whole thing. "You'd think. Unfortunately, a few members of the president's cabinet have made it their personal mission to either get me fired or force me into an early retirement and have used that as their ammunition. They've managed to stir up quite a lot of support in the last couple of years, too. Even from my own officers."

At that, she inclined her head slightly and Kuvira looked over to where she was indicating. She shouldn't have been surprised, but when Kuvira realized Lin was referring to Mako, her eyes widened slightly anyway.

"I thought you and Mako always got along," Bataar Junior said, keeping his voice low so Mako didn't overhear them.

"We did," Lin said, "but ever since he started spending more time with some of the other officers who want me gone, his attitude towards me has changed. I know he and Bolin don't spend a lot of time together anymore either, and I feel like that has something to do with it as well."

She turned to Kuvira again. "He's never liked you, that's no secret. But I'm not at all surprised he tried to kill you today. Especially when he'd already assumed you were dead. I should've known he wouldn't take seeing you alive very well. I should have never let him onto the court with you. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Lin," Kuvira said. "No one saw that coming. Not even his closest friends. Korra told me she's going to try and talk to him, though."

Lin scoffed. "That won't do any good. He's beyond reason at this point. And the fact that Korra is as close to you as she is, means he won't listen to her."

"If she would've just let me kill him like I wanted to, he wouldn't be a problem to anyone anymore," Nayuh muttered. Kuvira shot her a look, which Nayuh determinedly held and crossed her arms, not willing to back down.

"No one is trying to kill anyone else," Kuvira firmly stated. "Not today, or any other day. Mako hates me–whatever, that's fine, he's allowed to. After today, I don't ever have to see him again."

Kuvira directed her statement at Nayuh, who continued to stare at her for another few moments, clearly unhappy that Kuvira wasn't going to let her follow through on her threat. Kuvira finally raised an eyebrow at her and Nayuh huffed out a breath.

"Fine. I won't kill him. But you'd better keep me away from him. Or else he might accidentally trip and fall onto an ice dagger...or several."

Lin let out an amused chuckle. "I like this one. You should keep her around."

"I'm definitely planning on it," Kuvira replied. A shout suddenly sounded from the arena floor and Kuvira looked up to find Korra, Opal, and Tonraq high-fiving each other. Su and the twins were nowhere to be found, but Kuvira could hear them whining as they climbed out of the water.

They spent the next hour or so in the arena before calling it quits. As much as Kuvira enjoyed watching from the stands, she sorely wished she'd been able to play for a little bit longer. She was more annoyed that Mako had taken that from her (considering it was likely the only time she'd ever get the chance) than she was that he'd tried to kill her.

Tonraq invited everyone back to the Palace afterward to hang out and for dinner, but Nayuh made Kuvira take a little detour first, straight to her healing hut. They spent another hour in there while Nayuh tried to fix the damage the lightning had done to her shoulder. Which, as it turned out, was far more extensive than Kuvira had originally thought.

The lightning had fried all of the nerve endings at the point of contact, as well as damaged the muscle. Her whole arm was numb from her collarbone down to her fingertips, although by the time they were finished in the healing pool, Kuvira could feel a very slight and very dull tingling sensation in the tips of two of her fingers. She was no stranger to nerve damage and how long it took to fully heal from it and she tried not to feel too discouraged as she walked back to the Palace with Nayuh.

Kuvira had fully expected the evening to be awkward after the incident at the bending arena, but to her surprise, it wasn't. Nayuh stayed away from Mako, and Mako didn't make a point to go out of his way to antagonize her or Kuvira. Though Kuvira did notice that he essentially treated her like she didn't exist.

Which was perfectly fine by her. So long as no one was actively trying to harm anyone else, she could deal with getting the cold shoulder. Being able to spend time with all of the people she considered family more than made up for the one person who didn't like her in the group.

Even though the Beifongs were staying for one more day, Kuvira had every intention of going back to work the following morning, for at least half a day. But Nayuh strictly forbade it. "You're coming to the healing hut with me," she said, as they crawled into bed that evening, "and that's final. So call Sakku in the morning and tell him you'll be out for at least another day or two."

"What am I supposed to tell him?" Kuvira whined. "I can't exactly tell him the truth." She'd kept the fact that she was a bender a secret from pretty much everyone down here. Only Korra's family and Nayuh's family knew that she could bend the earth and metal.

"Tell him you got drunk and fell down the stairs," Nayuh coolly replied, smirking slightly.

Kuvira gave her a look as she tried to get comfortable. It had been a while since she'd been forced to sleep on her back with a sling on, and trying to find a position that was both comfortable and didn't aggravate her shoulder wasn't easy.

"I am not telling him that," she grumbled. "He'll never, ever let me live it down."

"Well, I'm sure you'll think of something," Nayuh replied. She rolled up onto her elbow so she was gazing down at Kuvira. "I meant it when I said no strenuous activity or bending for a while. I want to make sure there wasn't any lasting damage to your heart, so please listen to me and don't overexert yourself. I know you don't exactly sit behind your desk all day at work."

She gave Kuvira a knowing look, which Kuvira returned with a slightly guilty one. Sitting behind a desk all day bored her to tears and she could usually be found either walking the assembly room floor or assisting the engineers with anything they needed whenever she got a moment to get out of her office.

"Alright, fine," Kuvira huffed. "No overexertion, or bending, or anything fun, until you say so." She gave Nayuh a pointed look. "You know what that means though…"

Nayuh cocked her head slightly in question and Kuvira smirked. "You can't overexert me either."

"I think we'll both survive," Nayuh replied, with a slight roll of her eyes. She was smiling though and Kuvira could tell she wasn't really annoyed. She reached out and lightly stroked Kuvira's arm. "I just want to make sure you're okay. So you're going to have to put up with me being an overbearing healer and girlfriend for a while."

"That's okay," Kuvira said, "I've been doing that for two years now. What's another few weeks?" She grinned and Nayuh groaned; then she pinched Kuvira's arm, hard. Since she couldn't reach over with her other one to pry Nayuh's fingers off of her, Kuvira had to settle for trying to squirm out of her grasp.

"Ow, ow, okay! I'll amend my statement...almost two years." That earned her an exasperated look, but Nayuh finally stopped pinching her.

"I am not overbearing all the time," Nayuh said, pouting slightly. "But I do care about you, so just promise me you'll listen to me?"

Kuvira's face softened. "Of course, I'm going to listen to you, babe. I always do."

Nayuh smiled, then leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss. "I know you do. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one you actually listen to consistently."

"You got that right," Kuvira replied. She lifted her head and kissed Nayuh again. "It's only because I love you."

"I love you, too. And I promise I'm only going to keep you in the healing hut in the morning. Then we can spend the rest of the day with your family."

"Sounds like a plan," Kuvira said. She tilted her chin up, a silent request for Nayuh to lean over and kiss her. Which she did, a moment later. Kuvira lifted her arm and Nayuh curled up next to her. Eventually, they both drifted off, although it took Kuvira far longer than Nayuh to finally fall asleep.

She awoke sometime later to the unnerving sensation of something pressing on her chest. Her eyes flew open in panic and she immediately realized what had been causing the pressure. Nayuh's worried face was hovering over hers and her hand was on Kuvira's chest, directly over her heart and pressing down with enough force to cause her freshly-healed sternum to protest.

"What's wrong?" Kuvira asked, suddenly worried that something had happened while she'd been asleep. "Did my heart stop again or something?"

Nayuh looked relieved to hear Kuvira speak and withdrew her hand. "No...sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." She went to go lay back down but Kuvira stopped her.

"Nayuh, what's wrong? And don't try and tell me it's nothing because I know that look. You look like how I feel after one of my nightmares."

Nayuh refused to meet her gaze and looked down at the bed instead. She also didn't answer right away, so Kuvira shifted as best she could into a sitting position. She reached out and pulled Nayuh to her with her good arm; Nayuh didn't resist and leaned against her.

"Is that it?" Kuvira gently asked. "Did you have a nightmare? Maybe about what happened in the arena?"

Nayuh nodded and Kuvira heard her sniff. Nayuh had comforted her countless times in the last two years after her nightmares, so Kuvira was more than happy to return the favor now. She held her as Nayuh softly cried, just as Nayuh had always done with her.

"It felt so real," Nayuh finally said, after a while. "Like it was happening all over again and when I woke up I couldn't help it...I needed to check to make sure it was just a dream." She pulled away slightly to look at Kuvira. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

Kuvira reached out and wiped away a wayward tear with her thumb. "Don't apologize. I've woken you up so many times from my nightmares. I'm glad you woke me up. I want you to, any time you have them. At least for me, having you right there helps so much. I want to be able to help you, too."

She took Nayuh's hand and gently placed the palm of it on the center of her chest, then put her hand over Nayuh's. It was quiet for a few moments as they both felt the rhythmic beating of Kuvira's heart, which had sped up slightly at Nayuh's touch, even though Kuvira hadn't meant for it to.

"See?" Kuvira said. "Nice and strong. Thanks to you." She laid back down, keeping her grip on Nayuh's hand and pulling her with her. Nayuh allowed it and once again curled up next to Kuvira's side.

"Wake me up if you have another one, okay?" Kuvira said, giving Nayuh a light kiss on the top of her head.

"I will," Nayuh said. She lifted her head for another kiss. "Thank you...I guess now I kind of know how you feel after your nightmares. Having you hold me after definitely helps."

"I obviously don't like the fact that what happened earlier is bothering you that much, but I'm glad I'm able to help, at least a little bit." She kissed Nayuh again, then settled her head back on her pillow.

"Me, too," Nayuh replied. She kissed Kuvira one more time and laid back down again. "Love you, Vee."

"Love you, too babe."

Fortunately, it didn't take Nayuh too long to fall back asleep again, but Kuvira's brain refused to shut off. The realization that she might be ready to marry Nayuh had been prodding for her attention ever since it had dawned on her in the healing room at the arena. And since it seemed as though she wasn't going back to sleep any time soon, she decided to entertain it.

She wasn't quite sure what she was so afraid of. It wasn't like getting married was really going to change anything. They were still going to live in the same apartment, work the same jobs, and love each other the same. If anything, that love would only be amplified.

Maybe that's it, she thought. Her relationship with Bataar had only grown deeper and stronger after he'd proposed. And despite the fact that she'd decided to end it the way she did, it didn't hurt any less. She was absolutely terrified of losing Nayuh in a similar fashion, even though deep down, Kuvira knew she wouldn't. If something was going to tear them apart, it wasn't going to be the selfish actions of either one of them.

And, now that she was thinking about it, she had no idea how to even go about proposing. The Southern Water Tribe was very steeped in their traditions and Kuvira had absolutely no clue what was involved in any of it, outside of what she saw at Korra and Asami's wedding. She supposed she could ask Korra, or Sakku, or even Tonraq or Senna. Surely, they'd be able to help her if and when she was ever ready.

But, even though Kuvira knew it was more "when" than "if", she wasn't ready to unveil those plans to anyone just yet. Not until she was absolutely certain. For now, she was content to hold Nayuh close and enjoy the life they'd built together over the last two years.

She smiled to herself. Technically, it wouldn't be two years for another couple of months and Kuvira wanted to do something special for Nayuh to commemorate the occasion. She finally drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face, thinking about all the things she was going to do to show Nayuh just how much she loved her.