"Pass that dish once you're done with it dear," Pema said. She was busy drying bowls with a towel as Asami scrubbed the remaining dirty dishes. Since Tenzin and Korra were both off at the Earth Kingdom negotiations, Asami had offered to spend her day off helping Pema at Air Temple Island. Although Tenzin's daughters had matured significantly from when she had first met them, Meelo was still quite a handful and little Rohan was turning into a little troublemaker in his own right. Pema was a formidable woman and had plenty of experience managing rambunctious airbenders, but even she needed a hand occasionally.
Since Korra and Asami had started dating, Asami found herself visiting the island more often, and Pema had adopted her like another daughter. She deeply appreciated the woman's kindness, someone who had taken her in when her father was revealed as an Equalist, someone who eased her worries while Korra was healing from Zaheer's poison at the South Pole, and someone who would happily set a place at the family dinner table when Asami showed up unannounced. Asami knew Korra and Pema were close, but Korra still had her mother, while Asami had lost hers years ago.
Pema was chatting away about how Rohan had started airbending, but since Tenzin was so busy with the Earth Kingdom business that Jinora had done most of the work so far teaching him. Teaching was a bit of an exaggeration, since the goal was simply to avoid having Rohan blow anything or anyone off the side of a cliff. Nevertheless, Jinora was apparently doing an excellent job at it.
Asami scrubbed silently, half-listening to Pema speak. The other woman paused, then asked if something was on Asami's mind. Pema had counseled enough worried or homesick Air Acolytes to know the difference between a comfortable silence and finding one's mind elsewhere, and Asami seemed like the latter.
"I'm a bit worried about the Earth Kingdom negotiations," Asami said, snapping out of her reverie to hand Pema the thoroughly-scrubbed dish. "On my way here this morning, there were a lot of people heading to City Hall. What if Kuvira has supporters hidden in the crowd? I should've gone there with Korra."
"Don't you think Korra can take care of herself? She has been through a bit worse than a few rowdy protestors before," Pema said, her soft smile taking the edge off her words, "and Lin and Tenzin are there with her, and they've been through a few tight situations as well." Asami didn't respond, so she continued, "If you're still worried, why don't we turn on the radio? If there's something going wrong, we'll hear about it."
She walked over to the old radio in the kitchen corner, turned it on, and rotated the dial until a voice came through clearly. "This is Shiro Shinobi, reporting live from three streets away from City Hall. After the unrest in the City Hall Plaza, the police have blockaded all access to the plaza until further notice. Here is a police officer now – sir, any comment on when the streets will be reopened?"
"The answer hasn't changed. Until we get word from Chief Lin, we remain on full lockdown. Nobody gets in, and nobody gets out. Anybody caught trespassing beyond the security perimeter will be arrested on sight. No exceptions!"
"There you have it folks. The police have sealed off City Hall for the safety of the negotiators until further notice."
Pema flipped the switch on the radio, silencing Shiro's broadcast. "See? There was some trouble at the beginning, but Lin and her police have it completely under control now."
"I guess so…" Asami said, absently scrubbing another dish while continuing to stare at the radio. Pema came and took the dish and washcloth out of her hands, pulling her into a comforting embrace. It didn't have the same protective strength of Korra's hugs, but Asami appreciated it all the same.
"I know how you're feeling dear. Tenzin has put himself in harm's way so many times, without the slightest concern for his own safety. Once he thinks it's his duty to the Air Nation or to Republic City, he just stops thinking about himself."
"Korra's the same way. She's seemed so stressed lately with everything going on, but she won't let herself ease up on anything she sees as her Avatar duty."
"Well, that's what we're here for. The job of the people who love these duty-obsessed types is reminding them that they're allowed to have a life of their own." Asami froze at the word 'love,' but Pema continued, seeming not to notice, "The biggest fight Tenzin and I ever had was about a year after Jinora was born. When Aang died, Tenzin was left as the only airbender in the world. So, whenever Tenzin was going to go do something dangerous, I just had to remind him that if he got hurt, that would threaten the existence of the Air Nation. But then after Jinora was born, he tried to claim that he didn't need to take care of himself anymore because the Air Nation would go on without him."
Despite her nerves, Asami allowed herself a small chuckle, "I'm guessing that didn't go over too well with you?"
"Tenzin was on diaper duty for about a month after that brilliant idea," Pema said with a laugh. "The point is, I know how close you and Korra are. If she won't look after herself, then you'll just have to do it for her."
"Even if it means putting her on diaper duty?" Asami said, brushing away a tear that had started to well up in her eye.
"Especially if it means putting her on diaper duty." Pema said and released Asami from her embrace.
"That means a lot to me, thanks Pema." Asami picked up the washcloth and dish and resumed scrubbing.
"Of course, I'm always happy to help. So, when were you thinking of telling people that you and Korra are dating?"
The dish fell from Asami's hands and crashed to the floor.
Smoke and dust hung in the air, making it difficult for Korra to see. As she picked herself up off the ground, she heard frantic voices from every direction. The explosion had started above the centre of the table, a few seats down from where Korra had been sitting, but directly above Prince Wu and Raiko.
"Wu down!" the Prince's shrill voice cut through the heavy air. The room's atmosphere was too chaotic for her to try to sense people's locations. With the scattered and twisted chi, she could tell someone was bending, but couldn't tell what or from where. She heard rock slamming against rock, metal scraping on metal.
A rock crashed into her chest. She fell back against the wall. A soldier leapt from the table, seeing her stagger, but a blast of wind tossed him aside. "Thanks Tenzin," she said as he stepped over, making sure she was unhurt, "we need to clear this smoke." He nodded, and together they prepared a wave of air spreading out in every direction. As the sphere of clear air expanded, they saw dozens of Earth Empire soldiers, most carrying bound or unconscious diplomats.
Prince Wu peaked out from underneath the table and scurried over to Tenzin and Korra. "Why does this keep happening to me?" Fear had reduced his voice to a squeak.
"Stay down. Tenzin, you keep an eye on Wu." She saw Lin dueling two soldiers near the doorway and Suyin pulling down a soldier who tried to escape out the hole in the roof. The two other police officers had evidently been taken by surprise, as they lay slumped by the other door that they'd been guarding. Korra ran and jumped, propelling herself over the table with a burst of wind, to land in the middle of a crowd of soldiers. She bent the rubble into rough approximations of two boxing gloves and swung at the nearest soldier, knocking her flat.
She ducked, letting a metal strip pass harmlessly overhead. Her leg swept her attacker's from under him, then turned to face two soldiers coming towards her. They stepped apart, letting their comrade, who had bent a piece of the wall into a small bunker, fire pebble bullets at Korra. She covered her face, feeling the sting as stones tore at her body and clothes. The other soldiers were circling her, moving to her unprotected sides.
The bullets kept coming, pinning her down. Screams came from above. Suyin couldn't stop them all from escaping at once. More soldiers dropped down from the ceiling and rushed in to attack Lin and Tenzin. Police reinforcements were nowhere to be see. Korra knew she had to turn the tide now.
A breath. Time slowed. She felt a wave of peace come over her as she reached out to Raava, and the bottomless wellspring of power at the core of her being. Her skin tingled with energy, every sense felt like it was on fire. Power surged through her veins, the familiar feeling that tied her to the limitless cosmic energy of the universe and the essence of the element themselves.
The bullets stopped in midair, her will breaking the soldier's control over the stone they were bending. Then they reversed, flying back at the bunker in a spray of earth. Then the bunker itself collapsed, stone flying at her command to bury the soldier within. She barely noticed the two soldiers rushing her, bending the metal on one's uniform to throw him into the other.
Pulling both fists back to her hips, she brought down the roof around the hole that the explosion created. Soldiers and diplomats fell in a heap, soldiers trying to regroup to counterattack, while diplomats tried to stumble away from the fighting. She engaged them three or four at a time, bursts of wind and fire sending soldiers flying, their attacks bouncing harmlessly off the vortex surrounding her.
"She's in the Avatar State, retreat!" the voice came from right in front of her but felt impossibly distant. The speaker lasted barely another second before Korra's attack slammed him into the wall. The soldiers turned, fleeing the implacable force of destruction advancing towards them. They ran as fast as they could towards the two doors, their only remaining hope of salvation.
But Lin had disabled her attackers and ran into the hallway to find backup. Just as the soldiers reached the doorway, the cavalry arrived. Police officers and Zaofu guards poured through both doors, attacking in pairs, alternating between using their armoured greaves to block oncoming rock and metal, and counterattacking with their metal cables.
However, with Korra at their backs, the soldiers preferred to take their chances against Lin's elite metalbenders. Kuvira's former shock troops squared off against Zaofu's best and Republic City's finest, but the soldiers had no chance. In an even fight, they could've held their own, perhaps even beaten the police. But for every police officer they knocked down, two more surged through the door to replace them. Raiko and Lin had pulled every warm body they could find for the negotiations, and Suyin had brought almost her entire defence force with her. That didn't even account for Korra, who took down a soldier with every punch and jab.
The soldiers quickly realized the situation was hopeless. They dropped the rocks they were bending, halted their attack, and put their hands up in surrender. Police filled the room, tying up soldiers and rescuing diplomats from the rubble.
A breath. In her mind's eye, Korra stepped away from the glowing sphere of cosmic energy. Raava's voice quieted to its usual tenor. She felt the energy slipping away, leaving her feeling deaf and blind with only her human senses to guide her. The swirling air around her calmed as the last traces of the Avatar State left her.
She looked around. Suyin was talking to a Zaofu guard as Tenzin helped Raiko to his feet. Wu had somehow managed to remain the least dishevelled of anyone in the room, but he treated the specks of dirt on his coat like the end of the world.
She felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. "Not bad, kid. Good thing you're on our side," Lin said, then gave Korra a wry smile, "but don't think you're getting off easy for destroying half of City Hall."
"How long have you known?" Asami stammered, unable to hide her shock. She had thought that her and Korra's plan had been going so well, but if Pema knew about their secret, she worried who else had figured it out.
"I suspected you two were interested in each other before Korra even left for the South Pole. When you left on your impromptu vacation, I was even more suspicious, and since you've been back, you've been sneaking around together like Kai and Jinora when they didn't think we knew."
Asami tried to find words to respond, but none came. Her face must have showed her naked worry because Pema came and put an arm around her. "Don't worry. I doubt anyone else has figured it out. The acolytes know to mind people's privacy and when they do get too nosy, I just give them extra chores to do around the island. Besides, even though there will be people in the city who don't approve of your relationship, you'll never be able to make everyone happy."
"I know you're right, but it's still so hard to shake my fear that I'm doing something wrong. Like I'm stealing Korra away, or like I can never measure up to the Avatar, or I'm supposed to be a certain way to be the Avatar's partner."
"Oh sweetie," Pema rubbed Asami's shoulder as she talked, "the Avatar's partner never has it easy. Did you know people even thought Aang and Katara shouldn't have been together?"
"Really? But they had the perfect love story; it's almost as famous as the Battle of Wulong Forest."
"According to Katara, a lot of people thought he should marry an Air Acolyte to have airbender children and repopulate the Air Nation. Some apparently even suggested that he should've taken multiple wives, so he could've had more children in less time."
"That doesn't sound like something Aang would do at all."
"Oh no, Aang apparently didn't give it a single thought, Katara was the one who couldn't stop worrying about it. Then imagine the uproar when their first two kids were a non-bender and a waterbender. Apparently, there was a group of Air Acolytes so upset that they split off from Aang's teachings and vanished."
"I'm not sure that makes me feel better."
"The point being, people were even upset with the supposedly spirittale-perfect romance Aang and Katara had. Do you love Korra? And does she love you? Do you support each other and make each other happy? Are your lives better with each other in them?" At each question Asami nodded, and Pema smiled warmly. "Then you have nothing to worry about. And don't be nervous about telling the people who care about you. Korra's parents are good people and neither of the Beifong sisters are going to change their high opinions of you now that they're set. They're stubborn like that, you know," she added with a wink.
"And Tenzin?"
"I know Tenzin will be nothing but supportive. Kya came out when he was still young, so he grew up seeing people around him treating it as nothing abnormal."
"Wait, Kya's gay?"
"You didn't know that?" Asami merely shook her head in response, so Pema continued, "You should talk to her about her experience, I'm sure she'd be happy to share."
"Thanks Pema, this really meant a lot to me." The fear and anxiety that had gripped Asami had now fully receded and she glanced at the fragments of plate on the floor around her. "Sorry about your plate, I can clean it up."
"Oh, don't worry. It's my own fault for springing this on you so suddenly. Let me go get a bin and we can sweep this up," Her smile suddenly took on the gleeful look of a teenage girl, "and when I get back, I want you to tell me all about how the relationship is going."