Korra had her eyes glued on the plate in front of her. It was delicious food, prepared by Pema and the air acolytes. But she could only force herself to take a few bites here and there. The usual sweet and tangy fruits almost choked her. Korra resolved to move the rest of the food around with her fork to make it seem like she was at least interested. She glanced to her right where Tenzin was seated.
Her mentor seemed to have the same lack of appetite as her. He would share a few words with his wife and children but that was it.
Ever since her relationship with Asami and Lin was exposed, eating with Tenzin was unbearable. There was little conversation between them, even when Pema tried to get the ball rolling. Several times, Korra was tempted to go find a new table to regularly eat at, but as the Avatar she had to uphold the tradition of eating with the leader of the airbenders, which of course just had to be Tenzin.
Even with Bumi visiting things were quiet and strained at the table. He would attempt to tell one of his tall tales to get the family and Avatar talking, but Tenzin told him to stop each time. Finally he sat dejected with Bum-Ju nibbling at his lettuce. "What's wrong, kid?" Bumi asked Korra, bumping his shoulder against hers. Bum-Ju flew over her head and made a soothing chirp noise.
Korra looked at Bumi and shrugged, unwilling to get into it with Tenzin's brother with Tenzin right there. She knew that the rest of the family was well aware of the tension between her and her former mentor and she was grateful that they kept it between them. "I guess I'm just nervous about leading the class today." It was such a pitiful lie. Korra had been leading a select group of airbenders for a few weeks now and she could see that Bumi didn't buy it for one moment.
Bumi frowned and raised an eyebrow. He gasped and grabbed Korra by her shoulders, looking intently into her eyes, only three inches separating their faces. "Did something happen between you and Lin and Asami? Are you three fighting? You have to find them the most shiny jewelry to make up!" He reconsidered his position. "No, get Asami the jewelry. Just beg Lin for forgiveness! Say you're wrong and she's right like always. And make sure to say that she's so much stronger than you and better at earthbending!"
"No, no," Korra stammered out, gently removing Bumi's hands from her shoulders. "We're doing great!" She could feel her face heat up and refused to look in the direction of Tenzin.
"Oh, good," Bumi sighed in relief. He glanced at Tenzin with a chuckle. "I've seen Lin angry once and I don't think this air temple can withstand her wrath again."
It was like that little bout of laughter chased away the awkwardness at the table. Bumi told of the extensive damage Lin had caused when Tenzin had broken up with her and how long it took for the builders to fix everything. Even Aang was powerless to stop her from wrecking the place. Toph just took one good feel of how much damage her daughter had caused and grinned proudly, telling Tenzin he shouldn't have hurt her daughter. Pema giggled at that and took over the story, telling of how Lin tried to arrest her. The four children were surprised to hear that part.
"Are you still upset at her?" Jinora asked, setting the book she was reading aside.
Pema shook her head. "Oh, no. It was many years ago and it was a misunderstanding. Lin thought I took your father away from her but the two of them broke up before I even broached the subject of dating Tenzin." She laid a hand on Tenzin's arm and gave him a loving smiling but he looked down at his plate with a frown.
"Perhaps we should talk about something else," Tenzin suggested with a mutter. He took the sting out of his words by kissing his wife's hand.
"If you three are doing so great, does that mean you'll marry each other soon? Will you have it here!?" Ikki asked Korra. From the way she was practically bouncing up and down in her seat, Korra guessed that Ikki had been dying to ask that question. And they wanted a turn in the conversation, so this was the perfect opportunity.
Meelo thrust his hand into the air before Tenzin could rein them in. "Can Poki be the ringbearer if Naga doesn't want to do it?"
Korra stared wide-eyed at the siblings, her face heating up once more and unable to formulate a word.
Jinora slapped a hand against her forehead at her sister's and brother's lack of cunning.
"What?" Meelo and Ikki asked their sister at the same time.
Korra gulped and felt like it suddenly got too hot in the dining hall. "Um, well, we just started dating so no weddings yet." She saw the children's faces become downcast and could have sworn Bumi pouted next to her. "It'll be a couple of years before we even think about that!"
"But years is such a long time!" Ikki complained, frowning down at her food. Meelo nodded in agreement with his sister.
"B-but shouldn't I get to know Lin and Asami first before asking them to marry me?" Korra pointed out.
Ikki and Meelo looked at each and began discussing whether or not Korra had a valid point. Pema smiled at her children bickering and grinned at how Korra was getting all flustered at the aspect of marrying Lin and Asami. She also noticed how the younger woman had added 'yet' and blurted about knowing the two women before marriage. Pema could see Korra's heart was in the right place. Asami and Lin were lucky to have her.
What little appetite Korra had was now effectively gone. She hadn't thought about marrying the two women before now. Was that even possible for three women in Republic City? Would she have to choose? Korra closed that train of thought immediately. She had given her heart to both Asami and Lin and she was not going to choose between either of them to officially marry. But did they talk about marriage? They were together but not together during those three years Korra was recovering in the South Pole. Would they leave her behind? No. They wouldn't do that to her. Korra shook her head to get rid of those troubling thoughts.
Her blue eyes moved to the bickering siblings. Jinora had joined and told the two to stop meddling with Korra's romantic life. Ikki and Meelo consented, but they had turned their conversation on Jinora's and Kai's relationship and whether or not the two would last, much to the horror of Jinora.
Airbenders around them were getting up to start their training for the day. Bumi nudged Korra. He was watching her throughout breakfast. "Come on, Korra. You're supposed to lead some of the airbenders through the airbending gates." Bumi shuddered. "I hate those gates."
Korra laughed, she couldn't help it. She always liked Bumi for his laidback style and his constant attempts to make the people around him laugh. Already some of the stress for the day ahead melted away as she followed Bumi out into the training grounds.
There were a small group of airbenders waiting for the two at the airbending gates. Korra greeted them with a grin and cleared her throat. She could see the apprehension on their faces as they gazed at the gates. Korra most likely had the same expression on her own face when she tried to go through them. "I'm sure you've all been through this exercise before but it is always good to revisit the basics." She turned and blasted air through the gates, making them blur as they spun on their pegs. Korra stepped into the gates, weaving her way through with practiced and light steps. It was second nature to her now and it almost embarrassed her at how difficult it once was. Once she reached the other side, she sent them spinning again with a quick blast of wind. "Bumi, your turn!"
The former commander of United Republic Forces took a few deep breaths before going into the gates. He was slightly less graceful than Korra but he came out without a scratched to join Korra on the other side. Bumi sported a grin, more relieved that he got through the gates than being cocky of his abilities. He sent the airbending gates spinning again.
Korra called out another name and a young girl stepped away from the crowd of students. She took a shaky breath and shut her eyes tight. Korra knew that the poor airbender wasn't going to do well before she even step foot into the gates, despite the enthusiastic cheering from the other students. The girl was nervous and that would be the doom of her. An airbender needed to be confident when they move, especially for an exercise like this. Any hesitation was a sure way to be defeated and get hurt.
Korra flinched when she heard the telling whap of a gate slapping the girl when her leg stayed a second too long in one spot. The cheering quieted down as the airbender was thrown to the other side of the gates. She was covered in bruises but she still smiled at Korra. "I made it through." The pride in her voice caused Korra to nod approvingly.
"You did." Korra sent a blast of air through the gates. "It took me a few times myself to get through the gates without being pummeled." She took a step forward and quickly danced away from a gate that would have smacked into her face. "The trick is to not force your way through." Instead of immediately going to the other side, Korra took her time in the airbending gates. Off in the distance Korra could see Tenzin with his arms crossed, his face unreadable. Why is he watching me? Korra thought. "Be like the wind, ever changing." She stepped nimbly out of the way of another gate. Does he think I'm incapable of leading a simple exercise? She sidestepped and a gate grazed her hand. Korra gasped at the sting and felt her fingers go numb from the impact. She moved away from the gate effectively, easily getting back into the swing of things. "Even if you screw up, don't let it get to you. Keep going." When she twirled away from another gate, her eyes caught Tenzin. Like Tenzin screwed up when he hurt Lin. Korra was just barely able to prevent a gate from slamming into her face and giving her a black eye. She shook her head and refocused, actively avoiding the gates. Korra knew it was utterly ridiculous that she was fixating on Tenzin's past relationship with Lin, it happened years ago and they both moved on! Still, each time her eyes caught sight of Tenzin, she felt a stab of anger towards the man. Korra gritted her teeth and got out from the other side. Besides the one time, none of the gates touched her. Even so, Korra was panting lightly and her hand had a terrible stinging sensation.
She turned her head at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Tenzin had moved closer to the group while Korra struggled to get out of the airbending gates. He stroked his beard as his eyes bored down at his former pupil. Lately, her abilities in teaching were slacking, just when she started to gain faith in herself. Tenzin knew it all had to do with that invasive article exposing her relationship to all the noisy readers. But it wasn't the place to address it. He looked at the airbending students. They seemed stupefied as to what caused Korra to lose the confidence she was telling the others to have. "I must borrow Avatar Korra for a moment. Bumi, you will lead through this exercise." He looked at Bumi and gave a nod.
Bumi acknowledge the order and started to tell the students to get ready to start their own trial.
Tenzin had no doubt that as soon as he was out of sight, Bumi would slack off and begin telling the students his tales of great adventures since he didn't get as much of a response at breakfast. Usually, it would irk him to give such command to his brother knowing how it will end but there were more important matters to attend. Tenzin walked away, hearing Korra follow him quietly. He led her to a spot secluded from prying eyes and ears near the vegetable fields. Tenzin studied Korra as the younger woman scowled at the ground, kicking up some dirt. He didn't know exactly how to start the conversation without the Avatar yelling at him so he ripped off the blood leech. "Korra."
Korra raised her head respectfully. She dreaded having this conversation with Tenzin but it seemed like she couldn't hide from it anymore. During the past month that Korra had been in the Air Temple Island, she made an extraneous effort to never be alone with Tenzin. Before, she had the excuse of teaching some lesson or taking care of Naga or training. But now that Tenzin gave over her lesson to Bumi, she was trapped. She felt the frustration boil up and had to force it down or else she would snap at Tenzin to get it over with. Maybe Lin was rubbing off on her.
"What you're doing," Tenzin tried to say something else but came up empty. Now that they were actually having this conversation, he was stumped as to what to say. What does one say when one finds out one's former pupil is involved with one's ex and a daughter of a known equalist. He stroked his beard for a few moments, thinking of how to proceed. "What you're doing is highly inappropriate." Tenzin regretted his words at the sight of the fire that ignited in Korra's eyes.
"Is it because I'm with two women?" Korra retorted. She saw the way he would give her disapproving glances when Asami or Lin popped by to pick Korra up or to spend some time together.
"What!?" Tenzin cried out, flinching when his hand tugged at his beard in his shock. "Korra, my own sister is interested in women instead of men. I don't care about the fact that Lin and Asami are women."
Korra crossed her arms. "Is it because I'm with your ex?"
Tenzin shook his head. "No, Korra. I'm glad that Lin has found happiness." And he was. He never saw Lin so happy and relaxed the few times she came to the island to see Korra. Tenzin wasn't meant for Lin but Korra and Asami were.
"Then why is it inappropriate?" Korra asked. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off her heart hearing that Tenzin wasn't upset that she was dating two women and one of them happened to his past girlfriend. But even so, there was something about her relationship that clearly did not sit well with Tenzin.
Tenzin fixed the clasp of his cloak as he asked. "You started this relationship with Lin and Asami while Lin was the Chief of Police, correct?" Korra nodded. "What is inappropriate is that Lin was in the position of power when you started dating her." Korra looked confused so Tenzin tried to explain the nuances. "Your job as the Avatar is to bring balance to the world, not to take any sides."
"So what?" Korra asked. It sounded suspiciously like the reasons Asami and Lin gave her to keep the relationship a secret. "How is me being with Lin taking sides?"
"The people of the world might take this relationship as a slight against the other nations," Tenzin said. "Lin is the sister of Suyin Beifong, the matriarch of Zaofu, and daughter of Toph Beifong, the woman who developed metal bending and helped stop Firelord Ozai decades ago. Both of them have a lot of influence in the earth kingdom. And not just her. Asami is the CEO of arguably the most successful company in the world. Future Industries has always been at the forefront of technology. There are people who still see her as a citizen of the Earth Kingdom instead of Republic City because the land used to belong to the Earth Kingdom."
Korra didn't say anything for a long time, considering everything that Tenzin said. It didn't make sense to her, at least not fully. "You're saying that people will think that I'm using Lin and Asami to get more power for the Earth Kingdom?" Tenzin gave an affirmation, relieved that Korra hadn't immediately set off in a rage. "Seriously? I'm not even from the Earth Kingdom."
Tenzin sighed and stroked his beard. "It's not the first time an Avatar did something like that." He looked at Korra and tried to convey the seriousness of the situation into his words. "I know you're doing this because you have true feelings for Lin and Asami but the rest of the world might not see it like that."
"Well fuck them," Korra said as if she gave the answer to a simple problem.
"Language," Tenzin chastised on instinct like Korra was his own child.
Korra ignored the comment. "I like Lin and Asami so I'm dating them. Nothing more and nothing less. If people want to make a whole conspiracy thing about it, let them. I don't care." Korra gestured out towards the sea where they could see the outline of Republic City's skyscrapers. She could picture Asami in her office, making important calls and working out a complicated problem with ease. Or perhaps the mechanic was helping Zhu Li keep Varrick from making an impulsive and probably dangerous decision. Korra could imagine Lin enjoying her retirement with a cup of coffee while Mako laments of the pressures of being Chief of Police to her. The older woman would bark at him to grow a pair but she would also give him advice as to how best to deal with his officers and the press. "They already tried to use our relationship to tear down Asami's and Lin's careers and that didn't work out. So what if people start saying that I'm dating them to somehow gain more favor to the Earth Kingdom? Asami is strong and I don't need to tell you how stubborn Lin is. Just like before, we'll deal with the fallout." She faced Tenzin once more. "We just have to stick together."
Tenzin saw the unyielding determination in Korra's eyes and smiled softly. He was so proud of her. "You've grown quite a lot since you first came here."
"That's because I have such a good mentor." Korra gave Tenzin a respectful bow. She felt a little foolish at having been anxious of this conversation. She should have known that Tenzin would accept her and her relationship.
"Let's go see how Bumi is slacking off," Tenzin said. The two of them walked back to the training grounds, feeling like a great weight was lifted from their shoulders and hearts. They found Bumi giving pointers to a small group of airbenders on how best to be the leaf. They were all listening raptly to every word he said. "Well I'll be."
Korra chuckled at the surprised look on Tenzin's face. "I had no doubt he was up to the task," she said. Tenzin really should give Bumi more credit. He was her best student after all.