For a few seconds, the sound of a needle falling to the floor could have been heard. Such absolute was the sudden silence that befell the dining room upon Korra's revelation. Kuvira could hear her own nervous heart beating loudly against her ribcage, fearing the sound could carry across the room. She was aware of her fingers tightly wound around Korra's strong hand, of her palm slick with perspiration. Ever the pragmatic, the metalbender was ill at ease with grandiloquent gestures of affection but if asked, she would have been quick to admit of the joy that swelled inside her chest the moment Korra introduced her as her girlfriend in front of Suyin.
"Kuvira is your whaaaat?" Bolin broke the silence echoing the question that many on the table wished to voice but their present state of stupefaction prevented them to do so.
"You heard me loud and clear Bo. I thank you all for your attention and now, if you excuse us, we will leave you to your meal. Let's go Kuvira."
"You shouldn't have done that Korra" Suyin warned bitingly.
"On the contrary" the Avatar snapped back. "It was about time I had the guts to come out with the truth."
A cacophony of voices erupted the moment Korra and Kuvira left the dining room. The scraping of chairs against the floor was followed by the rhythmic tap of boots rushing outside.
"Korra wait!" exclaimed Asami as she reached the two women. Korra's head snapped back. Asami was quickly joined by Chief Beifong and Bataar.
"Korra, are you okay?" inquired Asami worryingly.
"Yeah, what the hell was that all about?" added Lin.
"That? That was me taking back control. No more secrets for me. If Su wants to make this front page news, so be it. My conscience is clear" Korra replied with a confident smile.
"And you" Lin's inquisitive glance paused over Kuvira "did you know Korra was going to do this?"
"The truth? No Lin, I didn't know this was her plan but Korra has my vote of confidence. If she believes this is the best course of action, then she has my steadfast support." Upon hearing this, the Avatar gave her a grateful smile.
"Well, the proverbial cat is out of the bag" Bataar remarked. "The whole family knows now. Are you worried this is going to leak out to the press?"
"If and when it happens, I'll be ready. I'd rather face this situation head on than have it sneak out on me unawares" replied Korra.
"That's actually a good strategy Korra. In fact, I think it was going to be inevitable, especially with Su watching every move Kuvira made" noted Asami.
"Brilliant" Kuvira added. The metalbender was unable to hide the admiring glance she was bestowing the Avatar right now.
"Exactly" replied Korra grinning reveling in Kuvira's gaze directed at her. "And better for the news to break now that Kuvira's image has improved dramatically after the announcement of the incoming elections at the Northeastern province."
"So the Avatar's power is so all encompassing that it can even rehabilitate a dictator? Talk about sappy and romantic" observed Lin half mockingly.
"Make fun of it all that you want Lin but admit it. People are going to simply gobble up the story" affirmed Korra.
"Well, it can certainly leave some at a loss of words" countered Bataar with a chuckle.
"So, what do we do now?" queried Kuvira.
"Right now? Lunch. I'm starving!"
"I seriously doubt mom will allow us back to the dining room because by now, she should have pieced together that we already knew about you two and we didn't tell her, so I think we should head towards the kitchen and see what we can find."
"Well, what are we waiting for then?" exclaimed Korra, the grumbles in her stomach motivation enough to spur an invasion. "We have a kitchen to raid."
-oOo-
"Are you sure about this?" Kuvira queried as she put the bag inside the closet. "Your suite is way more comfortable and luxurious than this room, as it befits your status as the Avatar."
"I know that you fell in love with the view from my room but right now, I'd rather have some privacy which you have here away from Su. Besides, I told Lin she could move to my suite if she was still worried we wouldn't let her sleep." Korra's lips curved in a lopsided grin and Kuvira felt color rising over her cheeks in response.
"I hope Su doesn't take this as an offense. You know how touchy she gets if she feels she's been slighted."
"I'm not really worried about what she might think. I'm more concerned about your opinion. I did all this without warning you beforehand and I ended putting you on the spot. Was I too hasty and impulsive?"
Kuvira gazed at the Avatar pensively. "You were."
Korra's eyebrows knitted together in worry. "Are you angry at me?"
"For a moment I was because I didn't know what to expect but it wasn't definitely facing Su. And then you spoke and I realized what you were doing and understood that it was the right thing to do." Kuvira let out a sigh and smiled. "You know? I still get goosebumps remembering the scene."
The Avatar grinned. "I've been wanting to say that for a long time and I'm glad that at last I took it out of my chest. I feel so much lighter now." Korra finished placing her shoes inside the closet, smiling inwardly at the sight of their personal belongings stored side by side.
Kuvira circled her arms around Korra's waist from behind. "You know, with all these lovely gestures you've done lately, I'll need to work overtime to demonstrate my appreciation" Kuvira murmured as she placed a kiss to her cheek and chuckled when she sensed Korra shiver under her touch.
"How about you get a head start then?" the Avatar replied as she turned around and embraced the metalbender tightly.
"I think I might do just that" Kuvira retorted huskily as she began showering light kisses over Korra's face until she reached for her mouth.
"Hmm…" hummed Korra "did you try the spicy peppers at lunch?" The Avatar could sense a light tingling over her tongue.
"Aha…it is said that among its properties it can be an aphrodisiac" whispered the metalbender as she traced the Avatar's lips with her tongue.
"Really?" Korra grinned as she arched an eyebrow. "How many did you eat?"
"A lot!" Kuvira affirmed with a playful chuckle.
"How about we put that theory to the test?"
"Way ahead of you" Kuvira whispered as she brought their lips together for a deep, probing kiss. The metalbender could feel Korra's hands roaming all over her shoulders and back and caught the sound of a pleased moan when her teeth scraped the sensitive skin of the Avatar's neck, kissing and biting teasingly until she reached her ear. In fact, Kuvira was so engrossed with the subtle sounds escaping from Korra's mouth that she could barely hear the insistent knocking at her door.
The pout hanging from the Avatar's lips was almost comical when Kuvira sighed and abandoned the exploration of her neck to tend to the door.
"Hi Jinora" Kuvira greeted the young airbender master at her door. Kuvira's usual security detail was conspicuously absent. They had deemed the presence of the Avatar on a permanent basis at the prisoner's room was enough to make their presence redundant. Or at least that was the official version. Korra's intimidating glare was actually behind their absence from their usual post.
"Hi Kuvira. Is Korra there? My father called and wishes to speak to her."
"Yes, she's here. I guess Su must have already talked to Tenzin" observed Kuvira amused. Jinora nodded in agreement.
"Half of Zaofu must have found out already" commented Korra wryly as she approached the door. "Jinora, you lead the way and you…" Korra clasped Kuvira's hand and brushed her lips over the knuckles, her glance intense over her face. "You hold on to that thought. I'll be right back."
Kuvira chuckled and opted to busy herself assigning drawers for Korra's clothes while the Avatar returned. She had emptied the contents of one of her bags over a desk when the door shook again with the sound of knocks
"That was really fast…" Kuvira said when the remainder of the words halted abruptly when a piercing green glare met hers.
"We need to talk" Suyin stated matter-of-factly. "Half an hour from now, my studio. I expect you to be punctual."
"Don't worry Su, I'll be there" replied Kuvira in a detached tone that successfully masked the nervousness at the pit of her stomach.
"You better be" retorted Suyin and without adding anything else, walked away leaving a distraught Kuvira behind. Korra noticed Suyin walking briskly past her without even glancing at her. A worry lodged in her mind, making her feet double time towards Kuvira's room.
The Avatar found the metalbender with a far-away look, lost in thought sitting down at the edge of her bed and immediately joined her.
"Kuvira, are you alright?"
"I am. Suyin wants to talk to me." Korra saw shades of fear obscure her eyes. Her lower lip trembled slightly. The time had come for Kuvira to face the woman she regarded for years as her mentor. Her teacher. Her role model. Her friend. The woman she had disappointed and betrayed. The woman she had battled and almost killed.
In silence, Korra embraced Kuvira. They remained like this for several heartbeats, the only sounds filling the room were their soft, even breathing and their heartbeats.
"I'm scared Korra" the metalbender admitted.
The Avatar held her gaze tenderly. "It's okay to be scared. Just remember; regardless of what she tells you, I'll be here for you no matter what."
-oOo-
A Zaofu guard opened the door to the Metal Matriarch's studio. Kuvira shared one last apprehensive glance with Korra before coming in. Suyin was already there sitting down at her desk. A teapot and two teacups were placed over a tray. The former Zaofu captain walked with measured steps towards the elegant desk.
"Still punctual. I'm glad at least some lessons did take root" the younger Beifong sibling observed.
Kuvira nodded and sat down in the empty chair at the desk facing Suyin.
"Tea?" Su bended the metal teapot filling a cup with steaming, aromatic tea.
"No, thank you. I'm good" the former protégé replied.
"Suit yourself" the elder metalbender commented. She brought the teacup to her lips and savored the bittersweet brew, her eyes scanning the younger bender in front of her.
"Do you know why I've requested you to be here?" Suyin finally broke the silence.
"I believe I do."
Su's steepled her fingers as she studied the younger metalbender's face.
"Do you realize that what the Avatar admitted today could lead to a scandal of grave repercussions?"
Kuvira inhaled deeply, taking the time to clear her mind and control her emotions.
"In another moment yes, I would agree. It would have been scandalous for the Avatar to engage in a sentimental relationship with a war criminal she had been enemies with."
"Isn't that what's been happening under my own roof by the person I once took in and considered part of my family?"
"No Suyin" Kuvira's voice was calm yet firm. "Because said war criminal has already been tried, sentenced and has apologized and repented. The Avatar has recognized all of this and has concluded that what happened in the past is secondary to whom the person is today."
"As if the world would care for such nuances. Do you realize the damage that this could do to her good name and reputation?"
"I do but the decision to come forward with the truth was hers and hers alone. I had nothing to do with it."
"You shouldn't even be daring to correspond to whatever she thinks she feels for you! After what you've done, you don't deserve it."
"I don't deserve what Su… happiness? A second chance? Is that what you're trying to say?"
Suyin stood up abruptly. "Yes! You don't deserve any of it! You haven't paid enough for your crimes."
"Authorities had decided otherwise but I believe what you mean to say is that I haven't atoned enough for what I did to you. Why don't you go ahead and say it? That I betrayed you and broke your heart by leaving Zaofu against your will."
"And you did exactly that!" the matriarch shouted angrily. "After all I did for you, you turned your back to me, you undermined my authority and you even took my eldest son away from me. You pitted him against me and his own family! His own flesh and blood!"
Kuvira leapt from her chair. "Don't underestimate your son Su. Everything Bataar did was out of his own volition. He's nobody's puppet. He has never been but sometimes he did feel like one when he thought he was being denied the right to have his own opinions. He felt trapped, stifled here but I'm sure he has told you that already."
"What my son and I have spoken is our own damned business."
The metalbender let out a small smile at her outburst. "And I agree so you shouldn't bring the subject of Bataar to whatever problem you have with me. I know you are aware that he's accepted my apologies and now we're on good terms."
"He will always have a soft spot for you no matter what you do to him." Suyin still remembered the excruciating pain she felt the moment his son declared Kuvira his only family. It had felt as if he had driven a knife to her heart. That night she cried until there were no more tears left to shed.
"And certainly you do not agree. It would seem that a lot of people have a soft spot for me then, given that they are granting me a new chance to earn their trust and their friendship."
Suyin regarded her former pupil cautiously. "You've always been charming and cunning. That's how you climbed your way to the top."
"I learned from the best" the metalbender retorted without an ounce of irony on her voice.
"Your flattery won't work on me" the matriarch warned.
"It wasn't flattery. I was being honest" Kuvira replied almost to herself, an undecipherable expression hanging at the depths of her eyes.
Suyin arched an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Since we're being honest, tell me, why do you defied me? Why you had to undermine what I worked so hard to achieve?"
The former captain stood in front of her former mentor facing her with hands clasped behind her back. "The truth? Because I was disappointed that you thought yourself so weak that you believed yourself incapable of handling power."
Suyin's lips contorted in a sardonic smile. "And because you felt disappointed in me you almost destroyed everything I built and held dear?"
"No Su, I did that when I lost my way, when I allowed my own pride and conceit to lead me even if I didn't really knew what the fuck I was doing. Bataar and I weren't prepared for the task we were given but we were too young, too proud, too stubborn to admit it. For a time we held the hope that you would lend us a hand even if we didn't reach out for you because we believed you still cared for us. But you didn't. You never came and when you did, it was already too late." The memory of sleepless nights, of fretting over myriad challenges across the vast kingdom, the empty adulations, the pervasive seduction of absolute power, the impatience to see their dream come to fruition. It all came back to Kuvira and it was so overwhelming that she had to hold on to the back of the chair for support. Suyin saw how the proud silhouette of the former commander seemed to crumble under the weight of her misdeeds.
"I was angry at you for by defiance" replied the metalbender teacher feebly.
"And I was angry because I felt abandoned by you. The one person whom I thought would never let me down abandoned me and her own son. And what for Su? For your pride? Because we disobeyed you?" Kuvira's voice was ragged now as a tears pulled from the corners of her eyes.
"But you never asked for my help. You should have come to me."
"Believe me, we almost did but we saw how you retreated under your precious domes and ignored everything that was happening around you. You never knew of the many times we almost perished trying to accomplish an impossible task. Our country tethered on the brink of disaster without an Avatar to aid us and through all this time you just hid under the safety of your domes ignoring everything. You wouldn't understand the pleasure Bataar and I experienced when we ripped them open because of what they symbolized to us. Their destruction meant we were opening your eyes by force to make you face what became of the Earth Kingdom and of us."
Suyin stood stunned, struggling to assimilate what she was being told. All this time, the arrogance, the smug superiority Kuvira and Bataar flaunted. It was all a masquerade that hid the fear and pain of two souls lost in their own foolishness.
"I didn't knew…" muttered Suyin as she watched with contradictory emotions pulling inside her the once promising captain of guards hunched over, her sight lost in her own painful memories as tears kept trailing down her face.
"Suyin…" Kuvira croaked.
"Aha?"
Kuvira lifted her face and Su saw a dark shadow stir within the green depths of her eyes.
"You can hate me all you want but leave Korra out of this. If I find out you've done as much as lift a finger against her I swear I will come for you." There was an ominous edge on her words.
"How you dare threaten me?"
"Isn't it that what you've been doing to Korra and to me? I won't stand idle about it anymore." Kuvira noticed how panic started to etch on her former teacher's face. "Don't worry" the metalbender stated in a more conciliatory tone. "I plan to behave just as I've done for my time remaining here. I won't give you anything of concern because there's people I don't want to disappoint and I'm determined to do whatever it takes to finally obtain my freedom. But if you try to do anything in Korra's detriment, you will have to answer to me."
"You claim you have changed and here you are spewing threats just as you used to. You haven't changed at all Kuvira."
Kuvira dried the last of her years from her face and straightened up. "You can choose to believe whatever you want about me. I hold no hopes that one day you might be able to see beyond the disappointment that makes you distrust me so much. The only thing I ask of you is that you leave Korra alone. Can you do that?"
"You know I don't approve at all of this…relationship."
Kuvira couldn't help the smirk that materialized on her face. "I really don't care if you approve of it or not. What I want to know is if you can keep off our business and protect her if necessary. She's still the Avatar and your guest."
Suyin let out a long sigh as she brought a bejeweled hand over her forehead. "Alright. You both are stubborn as mules. I won't interfere in your business but don't come to me begging for help if people turn against Korra because of you."
"If that were the case, I'll be the one to answer for that."
Suyin walked towards the door and opened it.
"I believe this meeting is over. Good day to you Kuvira" the Metal City matriarch said with cordial yet cold inflection.
Kuvira offered a small smile in response. "Good day to you Suyin and thank you for receiving me."
The door closed behind her and the former captain felt the knot that had been tied up in her stomach loosen. She had faced one of her worst fears and stood her ground. She hadn't been hoping for forgiveness, not from Su but perhaps she could receive reluctant respect instead. And for today, Kuvira felt she could live with that.
Later, when Korra attempted to ask her about the meeting, the metalbender simply kissed her until she rendered her girlfriend breathless.
"What Su and I talked about can wait. Right now you and I have some unfinished business that were unfortunately interrupted when they were getting interesting."
Korra laughed as she allowed herself to be swept away by the wicked charm of the woman who wouldn't stop looking at her as she were a most precious treasure. And for Kuvira without a doubt, she was.
Notes:
The story has been building towards this face-off for a while so I hope you have found it satisfying. It was a lot of fun to write and I hope you stick around for more Beifong flavored drama and spicy pepper infused shenanigans.