The evening quickly arrived, supper too. Since Isolina had taken care of it so well, it was delicious! Gaku had been polite, he had thanked her, she had smiled. He was well educated: he knew how to sit at the table, he ate cleanly, he was generally quite discreet, even if he transgressed this rule as soon as he was enthusiastic. Then, he turned into a star in the middle of the dark night, he radiated and used his charm to be admired and to make the clown.

Reena had seen Isolina laugh at many of his jokes or smile. She didn't know what to think of it. She knew she was not feeling well, and there was one thing that pissed her off a lot: Isolina was very good at hiding what she really felt and showing the appropriate feelings.

Generally, she noticed. But when she noticed it, it was because Isolina had decided, because she had no blinders, because she had made a tiny mistake somewhere. Except that when Isolina wanted to, she could let nothing show through, she could completely deny her any access to her heart, and that was exactly what she was doing. And Reena didn't like it at all, simply because she couldn't guess whether her sincerity was, well, sincere or deceitful!

So, she had spent most of the meal being silent and scrutinizing her partner to find the slightest wrong note that would betray her. Gaku hadn't noticed anything and had continued to chat happily with Isolina. Isolina had noticed her but had ignored it beautifully. Oh, but she wasn't going to be able to ignore her for long! She just had to wait for the kid to go to bed...

The moment came when they were alone. Reena led Isolina to their bedroom by the wrist, although she was careful not to hurt her and not to be too abrupt because she did not want them to argue on the day of the adoption.

"What do you think you're doing exactly?" she asked her, closing the door.

"I'm not good?" she countered.

"You are... But you're lying to me."

"I haven't lied to you."

"Then you avoided the conversation. I just want you to tell me how you're feeling."

"Good."

"And now, don't tell me that you're not lying!"

"You have no proof that I'm lying!"

"I do."

Isolina raised an eyebrow.

"The teddy-bear."

"What about it?"

"You took it, and you only do when you're not feeling well. Really not well."

"Whatever…"

"Isolina, its head has changed position. Stop denying it."

"It's... because of the wind..."

"Because of the wind? You didn't find anything better?"

"No, I didn't."

Reena moved closer to her partner, who kept her head down and clenched her fists. She took them in her hands.

"What's wrong? You can tell me... I'm here for you."

"No I…"

"No? Isolina, we said we would do this together, remember?"

"You can't!"

She freed herself, put her back to her and ran a hand over her face and through her hair.

"I can't what? Help you?"

"Understand."

"I always managed to understand you. And even when it failed, I made you to move on. We've always worked together, the two of us."

"We no longer are the two of us! We'll no longer be the two of us!"

"Because of Gaku?"

"Yes!"

"You regret it? Already? After only one day?"

"I don't... Argh!"

Even with her back to her, Reena could see that Isolina was hopping up and down with rage, or some other form of powerful and unhappy emotion. The green-eyed woman needed to know. She stopped her hand, which was running through her black hair for the umpteenth time, grabbing her by the wrist. She tried to make her turn towards her, but Isolina resisted and only turned halfway.

"What?" she urged her. "Tell me!"

"No…"

"Isolina, I need you to tell me if you want me to help you!"

"But I don't want to!"

"Why? Because now that Gaku is here, you can't talk to me anymore?"

"Stop it."

"Because now that Gaku is here, I'm not yours anymore?"

"Stop talking."

"Because now that Gaku is here…"

"Reena, shut up!"

She pushed her abruptly against the door, and continued:

"Don't talk about it, not here, not him. Here it's for us, just for the two of us..."

"Okay…"

The airbender lowered her voice instantly. She knew that voice... It was the voice of the dark days, the one of the dirty demon who comes out to freshen up outside of its cave. She suspected that Isolina was holding it back, holding back her fears and apprehensions, but she had to be sure of it, she had to know how critical the situation was. And there they were on the threshold just before the breakdown... It didn't look good.

She was even more convinced of it when her lover's eyes, filled with cloud, came to meet hers. It was one of those days…

"Good," Isolina replied a little cruelly.

And instead of letting go and pulling away, she pushed Reena even harder against the door, almost crushing her with her body. She selfishly took possession of her lips, which she abused and bit into as she pleased.

Oh yeah, it was one of those days… Isolina wasn't usually violent or domineering. It was even quite the opposite and she loved for Reena to take care of her and to satisfy her. But there were times when she lost her mind. Reena wouldn't say she took revenge on her, that wouldn't be right, since usually she hadn't done anything to deserve it. But she was releasing her pain on her, and in the end, they both ended up feeling it, even if it was in very different ways.

Reena was even more convinced when Isolina bit her clavicle unconditionally. She held back a cry of pain and simply closed her eyes. She knew what was going to happen… She was going to let her have her wicked way with her, a very wicked way. But she was the woman she loved, and she just needed it.

So she let herself be pushed around when Isolina rushed her to the bed, one hand enclosing her neck, her mouth devouring hers, and her body imprisoning hers.

"Maybe let me take my clothes off? Last time you tore them…"

She got an intense glare.

"Or not…"

Still, Isolina moved back enough for her to do so and waited for her girlfriend to get completely naked in front of her eyes.

"Come on, come here," she told her when she was done.

So Isolina got back on top of her. Reena tried to take off her clothes as well, but she earned a sort of growl of dissatisfaction.

"You know very well I don't like it when you do it dressed up."

"Fine…"

Isolina removed her clothes in no time at all and resumed her activity.

Damn, she was in a foul mood… The night was going to be long to calm her down and allow her to sleep. Reena hoped her body wasn't going to abandon her… Luckily, they were still young. One day, she would no longer be able to endure this desperate brutality. But they still had time. A few more decades.

"I love you," Reena whispered into her ear as she was appropriating her body.

"I know."

"And I'm all yours."

"You'd better be. I won't let you."

"I'm not leaving."

"Good."

She would have to repeat it to her overnight, she knew it was good for her to hear these words, that she needed it. She knew that Isolina forgot them when she was scared and she needed reassurance, she needed to make sure she was still there for her, that's why she made love to her that way—even if it hurt them. They just had to resist the pain, just for one night, both of them…

The next day, Isolina was sitting on the bed, ready for the day. Her back was against the head of the bed and her legs were crossed. She waited, staring at the door, tense. There was a basin of water next to her and Reena still sleeping, lying on her stomach and hugging the cushion on which her head rested.

The airbender woke up, her companion did not move. Why did she feel like her body was so sore?

"You're already awake? And it's been a long time obviously… Is it late?"

"It's not."

Apparently, she still wasn't very willing to talk… Reena noticed the basin anyway. She frowned.

"What is it?"

"It's for you. To… heal you… I'm so sorry, Reena… For last night… I…"

"It's nothing."

"Nothing, you say? Of course it's not!..."

"We've done that before, it doesn't matter."

"I don't think you realize how serious it is though."

"I do. I love you. Everything is fine."

"It's not fine. Get up."

She actually tried to get up. She had to hold back a grimace, which Isolina noticed easily.

"My muscles are just a little tired. It's happened a lot of times when you make me love a little too… violently…"

"If it were only that… Look…"

Isolina lifted her brown hair so she could see the long scratches tangling on her back.

"You clang too much to me, that's all…"

"And what's the excuse for this one?"

She showed her a huge scratch that stretched from her hip to her chest.

"Same one."

"Okay, okay, and for the bruises?"

"What bruises?"

She showed her bruises she had on her arms, back, hips, thighs and chest.

"They're just hickeys..."

"No, these are not hickeys. And you know it."

She showed her bites, too many bites.

"It just looks like I... beat you..."

"You didn't beat me, you made love to me."

"It's no longer love when it comes to that point. Stop pretending and saying it was all normal! It's not! I heard you scream, even if you try to hold back. I saw the tears in your eyes. And I heard you whimper all night. So don't tell me that I made love to you when I made you suffer!"

"Isolina, this is not the first time... I know you are not in your normal state when you do this..."

"The sheets are stained... with your blood. It's the first time I've gone this far... And I don't want you to suffer because of me, let alone by me."

"It's the only way you've found."

"The only way?"

"To make me feel the pain inside of you. I'm glad you share it with me, and it does hurts me, but it's better that we both suffer rather than you alone, right?"

"You are an idiot."

"Take off your clothes."

"What?"

Despite her pains, Reena straddled her girlfriend and kissed her.

"I told you to take off your clothes..."

She kissed her on the neck and started kissing her chest, but Isolina gently pushed her away, though she was afraid of hurting her by doing so.

"Reena, now is really not a good time... It's serious and I really don't want to..."

"Exactly!"

Reena straightened up and planted her sparkling green eyes in Isolina's more troubled ones. She had just missed something obviously... But what?

"Huh?"

"You don't feel like it, so you don't want to. Did I ever tell you that I didn't want you to do to me what you did to me? If I had wanted to avoid this even once, I would have done so, I would have told you to stop, but I didn't."

Isolina chuckled.

"Yeah, because you can't."

"Why can't I?"

"You know very well that if you do that, I would be so upset with you and it would hurt me a lot."

Reena frowned. She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom that they had next to the bedroom.

"You're saying nonsense. I'm going for a bath. Join me if you want to heal me."

"Reena…" Isolina gently scolded, believing that this conversation was not over.

"I'm waiting for you…"

"Reena, Gaku will eventually wake up…"

"I don't care! He'll wait. And if you want to tell me about him, it'll be in the bathroom! We said we must not talk about him in the bedroom!"

"That was last night, and..."

"In the bathroom!"

"You're so irritating sometimes... "

But they needed to continue this discussion and Reena needed to be healed, so she told herself that Gaku would wait. Anyway, he would certainly not dare to come to their room and he would have fun with the mattress if he was bored...

So she undressed and joined Reena in the bathroom. The latter was filling the bathtub. She did not hesitate to enter it, even though the water was still a little cold and the bathtub was not full. Isolina snuck up behind her. Normally, she preferred to be in front of her, or against her chest, but under these circumstances, it was more convenient in order to heal her. She started the treatment as soon as she was inside. Reena hummed with contentment.

"See, just for that, it was worth it... It's super nice."

"Oh, so you want me to hit you more often? That way I can heal you more often."

"You didn't hit me yesterday..."

"It's all the same…"

They were silent for a while.

"Are you going to explain to me why you were not well yesterday? It would be the least you can do after this night, don't you think?"

"It was just... weird..."

"And it upsets you that much?"

"I'm terrified, Reena. We expected it. But I just wanted it to be fine and to go well, and... I need you..."

She had dropped the water she was bending for a moment to press her forehead against the back of her partner and surround her with her arms. The airbender stroked her forearm to reassure her.

"I know. But it's going to be fine... You can talk to me, you have to talk to me, if you want to avoid that again."

"But you can't help me... You can't erase my fears, I can't do it myself, and I'm... alone..."

"You're never alone. You'll never be alone. You have me, you have your mothers, you have all the people who know and love you, and now you have Gaku."

"But you see, that's exactly the problem! You are ready to make him part of the family, like that, directly, as if it were that easy!"

"But you too. This morning, you thought of him before you thought of us when you said he could wake up. You didn't collapse, you put on a mask to make him feel good even if you weren't feeling well. You are already making efforts, you want it to work, and it will work."

"I don't want to live with this mask all the time, always making efforts, it will be unbearable."

"It's just for a little while."

"What if it lasts longer?"

"Then take a break; take a break and come back."

"Far from you?"

"Yes."

"I don't want to…"

"You may not have to do it."

Isolina resumed the healing process. They stayed in the bath a few minutes after that, enjoying the hot vapors of the bath. Then Reena spoke again, thinking about the rest of the day:

"Do you want to see him this morning or are you going to go straight to the clinic? Do you want me to take care of him?"

"Please..."

"Are you coming home late tonight?"

"I don't know... Maybe I'll visit my mothers…"

"Okay."

Reena turned around and kissed Isolina on the forehead, a hand caressing her cheek.

"I'm here for you. Nothing has changed. You are my partner, my lover, the most important person of my life. Do what you need to do, I'll be there anyway."

"Thanks, Reena. I love you."

"Me too."

And the day went on like this, according to the plans they had agreed on that morning.

—

"Isolina?"

Asami found her daughter on the porch of her door. She walked up to her, which gave her time to get up, rubbing her hands against each other and blowing on them to warm up. It was still a little cold at night, which was why the businesswoman did not understand her presence outside of her house.

"Hi, Mum," she said, putting her hands in her pockets, her head tucked into her shoulders, like a guilty teenager.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you."

"And you didn't get home?"

"No, I wanted to see you…"

"I mean inside the mansion. You have a spare key, right? Why are you waiting outside?"

"I forgot them at home this morning... I kinda was in a hurry..."

"Okay…"

Asami was not yet searching for the answers to the dozens of questions that flowed through her head, and unlocked the door. They went inside and got rid of their stuff: a briefcase for Asami, a satchel for Isolina.

"Mom hasn't come home yet?"

"She should have. I guess she'll be here soon... She was a little tired of coming home before me this week, and you know your mother, it must be some kind of sulky revenge."

Isolina nodded and followed her mother into the kitchen.

"Have you eaten?"

"Nope."

It was past 8:30 p.m., it was dark, she had normally eaten by this time, and she had to admit that she was awfully hungry. Asami got out what she needed to make some food quickly and stared at her daughter, leaning on the furniture, while the water boiled.

"So... is there something wrong? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but apparently something's bothering you."

"N-No... I wanted to see you... both you..."

"No particular reason?"

"Not really?..."

"And you left Reena alone… just like that? Or is she out with friends?"

"She is not alone…"

Okay... So she decided to beat around the bush. Either she didn't want to talk to her about it, or she was waiting for Korra to come home. Anyway, she was not going to worm the truth out her, so she prepared something edible, although it wouldn't be too heavy given the time.

Her wife arrived a few minutes later. Asami greeted her with a plate which she put in her hands and a hard look as soon as she crossed the threshold of the door. Then the Avatar looked up and met her daughter's silhouette; she saw she was eating on the sofa.

"Oh, Isolina... You... were you passing by? Are you alone?"

"Yeah... Reena's busy... with something... important." She sighed. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Shouldn't I rather be the one asking you, little puppy? You rarely come out of the blue..."

"I…"

In the meantime, Korra and Asami had joined her by the sofa, without sitting by her side. They put their plates down and knelt in front of her.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"You are grandmothers."

The two women frowned and looked at each other before looking back at their daughter.

"We are going to be grandmothers or we are grandmothers."

"You are grandmothers, right now!"

"Isolina, sweetie, I know that you and Reena talked about adopting and that it was coming soon, but since you didn't exactly keep us informed..."

"It's... my fault... I asked Reena not to say anything... precise. He arrived yesterday. Gaku. His name is Gaku."

"Oh, now I understand better how my parents felt," Korra couldn't help but comment.

Asami rolled her eyes and flicked her arm which earned her an "ow!" Then, she significantly directed her green eyes at their daughter to point out that it was not exactly the time for such remarks.

"And it didn't go well?" Asami asked gently.

"It did... He's an angel. He's kind and malicious. And I wanted to... see you... But maybe I'll... go..."

Mutual agreeing, Korra and Asami rushed to their daughter's neck and locked her in a warm and maternal embrace. Isolina sighed with contentment. They always knew what she needed.

"How did you handle this?" she asked them. "Accepting this change so quickly... Accepting me."

They moved back a bit and Asami took her daughter's hand in hers to answer her.

"It was progressive. We hadn't really planned to adopt you, but we loved you so much, how could we have done otherwise? Our lives have changed, but they have changed for the best, because we did it out of love for you."

"Yes, well, I'm the one who should say that," Korra intervened. "You were ready to welcome her! Not me!"

"Oh, and how did you handle it, Madame Sato?"

"I prefer Avatar Korra, but since you insist, it was the same for me. But it was a little strange at the beginning anyway..."

"Can I stay over tonight?" Isolina asked, as if she didn't care about the conversation and wanted to get away from the weird thing that Korra was talking about.

"Of course. Won't Reena worry?"

"She knows I'm here…"

"Okay."

Korra and Asami tried to comfort Isolina a little more, but seeing that she had decided not to pay much attention to them and that she preferred to mop up, they acted as if they were ignoring her and chatted while watching her out of the corner of their eyes.

"Can I sleep in my old room?"

"Yep. We just need to find sheets, right?"

"I'll get you some."

Asami and Korra went upstairs and found sheets to make their daughter's bed. She stood at the door and looked at the foot of the bed. When her mothers came back to her and asked if she had everything she needed, she nodded.

"I miss her... This room is not the same without her... I don't even know if I'm going to be able to sleep..."

Korra's eyes veiled in sadness. She gave her daughter a weak smile.

"I miss her too. If you can't sleep... come to us."

"Yes, your mother snores as much as Naga, it could soothe you," Asami joked slightly.

The Avatar laughed lightly instead of replying. It didn't bother her that Asami joked—even about this subject—but herself was quite incapable of childishness when talking about her late best friend. On the other hand, Isolina did not react. She just walked into the room and tried to find comfortable pajamas among the few things she had left in here with Reena.

Her two mothers went out and closed the door behind them, heading straight for their bedroom.

"Well, our little puppy doesn't look in good shape," Korra said.

"That's for sure... I think I'll call Reena, to find out exactly what's going on."

"Now?"

"The earlier, the better? Besides, I don't think Isolina really planned to spend the night here, I would rather Reena know where she is."

"Okay…"

Korra never really agreed when Asami got involved in Isolina's business, she was more reserved. But she had to admit that she was curious and worried too, so surely that was for the best. Nevertheless, they took the time to prepare for the night, deciding that it would be fine for them to stay in their room for the evening as Isolina was at home.

"It's the same as when she was little..." Korra said nostalgically.

"Hmm?"

"When she went to sleep and we knew she was going to have a nightmare, so we stayed in our room."

"Yes, that's right, it looks a bit like that."

When they were ready to go to bed, Korra slipped under the covers and Asami left to look for the phone. However, while leaving the room, she came across Isolina who was about to knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey..."

"Hey. Your mother is in bed, you can join her. I'm coming in a few minutes. "

Isolina bowed her head as if she were a little ashamed and guilty that one guessed her thoughts so well, but she said nothing more and passed her mother to slip into the bed next to the blue-eyed woman.

Asami didn't pay attention to them yet, she had to tell Reena.

—

Reena had just put Gaku to bed. It was past 9:30 p.m. It was already quite late. He asked after Isolina and wanted to wait for her, but eventually fell asleep. She had taken him to his bed and started to do some tidying up when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Reena? It's Asami."

"Ah, hi, Asami, how are you?"

"Fine. I'm fine, what about you?"

"Very good. I guess that Isolina stays with you for the night?"

"Yes… She doesn't feel very good."

"How much?"

"I was going to ask you."

"Did she explain everything to you?"

"About Gaku? Yes, she explained. Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you."

There was a little silence. They were both wondering about what would happen next. Isolina was not doing well, then what?

"I was the one who told her to visit you," the airbender said. "She didn't feel at home when she's at home, so I figured it might help her to be with you... that she would feel a little bit safer."

"You did well. We'll do what we can."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for... all of that... She said she was ready, I wanted to believe her, but it turns out that she is not."

"We're never ready, Reena. It's not all done yet. With a little time..."

"Yes, that's what I hope too... I won't give it up. I'll take care of her even if she doesn't want to."

"Alright. I'm reassured in this case. I just wanted to have news from you and give you some, so I guess I'll leave you. Good night."

"Good night to you too!"

They then hung up. Reena sighed. It was going to be complicated for the next few days, maybe even the next few weeks... She didn't know if her partner was going to come back the next day, for how long, if her bed was going to be empty and cold for a long time, frequently... She knew that she had to be strong for both of them for now, and for Gaku. Someone had to take care of the kid.

However, spending the day alone away from her partner had exhausted her. She was like a magnet who despaired of not having enough magnetism to pull of its other half back to itself... But hey, being strong for both of them... It was her fault anyway, she had to find a solution to all of this and she would find one.

—

While the businesswoman made the call, mother and daughter were in the marriage bed. They were both looking at the ceiling. Korra was hesitant to speak or to do something. She felt the tension in her daughter's body, although it tended to decrease as she absorbed the cozy comfort of the bedroom.

Finally, the blue-eyed woman turned to look at her daughter's resigned face. She had drawn features, she was frowning and looked depressed. Deep in thoughts, she still noticed her mother's look on her.

"What?" she asked.

"I was planning to sleep naked tonight," Korra tried to joke, pretending to be really annoyed.

"Ugh, I don't want to know what you and Mum do when I'm not around."

Isolina shook her head as if to pull out of her mind the evocative images that her brain had instantly created. Korra was delighted to have had a whole sentence and decided to keep joking. Maybe it would cheer her up for a moment.

"Oh, but I want to know what you and Reena do when we're not around! You're both young, you may have some new things to teach us!"

"Mom!" Isolina reprimanded, outraged.

Asami returned at that moment. She quickly noticed that the lethargy had been blown by a reviving energy. She saw mischief in her wife's eyes and instantly knew what was going on when she saw the slight annoyance on her daughter's face. Korra noticed her and decided to have her take part in this picturesque situation, with the feeling that she had understood her game.

"Oh, honey, you have a good timing, we were talking about sex."

"We were not talking about sex," the young blue-eyed woman growled.

"Ah, if we're talking about sex, I'm interested!" she said, entering the game. "Besides, we should talk your mother's first time..."

"Asami, you can't!" Korra tensed, though she wasn't really afraid that her wife would betray their secret... Well, probably...

Alerted by her mother's reaction, Isolina judged that the time for a teasing revenge had arrived. She then pretended to really want to lay hands on this so heavy and humiliating secret...

"Oh, but I'm interested now!"

"Of course, in exchange you tell us about your first time," Korra intervened to discourage her. The effect was immediate. "And then, Asami, you can get started too, nobody is stopping you."

"Alright, then. It was..."

"I don't want to know!" their daughter stopped her, really thinking that discussing the possible discussion was funnier than having the discussion itself. Then, it would be more embarrassing than anything else... "We were not talking about sex to begin with!"

The other two women laughed at their daughter's reaction. There, it suited her better like that. Her puppy dog eyes were gone for a moment.

"Okay, fine, we weren't talking about sex," Korra conceded in a soft voice. "But I'm telling you we're missing an interesting conversation."

"You bet…"

Asami smirked at that, which didn't go unnoticed by her wife, who narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Isolina watched their silent dialogue while looking successively from one to the other, then sighed.

"You two are beyond help..."

To prove it, they showered her with a thousand kisses and hugs, with a few tickles by the way. Surrounded by so much radiant carelessness and kindness, the young woman became a child again. She gave in to the most wonderful laugh and, after being breathless and calming down, she ended up falling asleep right next to her mothers, a smile on her lips.

"Isn't she a little too old for this kind of things?" Korra quipped, as she slept.

"Ah, it's only once in a while..."

"She'll always be our big baby, anyway!"

"That's for sure..."

They managed to exchange a last kiss, then fell asleep each on their own. Korra had the weight of their daughter on her side but she did not fail to surround her with her protective arms. Yes, she would always be safe with them, she would always have a home and a family to go back to when she was not feeling well. And for now, that was what she needed.