So this is it, the epilogue to this story I started so long ago. I will put a lengthier note at the end.

"That's good, Kaori," she called, laughing softly as she easily dodged the girl's disk. "You're going to give Wing and Wei a run for their money next time they visit."

"But you're beating me," Koari said, pouting.

"Well, I have a lot more experience," Kuvira explained as she adjusted her hand wrappings. "When you're my age, you'll be even better." Which was quite possible, since Kuvira was still well below her previous bending abilities. But she had managed to put Lin on her ass the week before. So that was progress. Plus, the last time she'd looked at herself in the mirror, she thought maybe she was seeing some real muscle definition coming back. She was starting to feel strong again. Sparring was fun now instead of humiliating. She certainly was consistently getting the upper hand on Hua these days.

"But you're so old," Kaori complained, but Kuvira could see the twinkle in her eyes..

"Oh, I'm old am I?" She grinned and stomped her foot, sending the ground under Kaori rippling. The girl flailed for a moment, but regained her footing.

"Yeah, old," Kaori insisted, sticking out her tongue. "So don't like, break a hip or something."

"You've been hanging out with your Aunt Lin too much," Kuvira said, shaking her head. She'd heard Kaori drop a couple of curses when Suyin wasn't around. Obviously Lin's influence.

"She's fun," Kaori said with a grin. "And she's almost as good at teaching bending as you are."

For a moment, Kuvira thought she was joking, but soon realized Kaori was entirely serious. She pulled the girl into a tight hug. "You're sweet."

"Yeah, yeah," Kaori said, but she didn't wriggle from the embrace, just leaned her head to Kuvira's chest. She was growing quickly and would likely be tall and gangly for a while.

"All right, you should probably go get cleaned up. Opal will be here this afternoon, and you don't want to smell like the practice yard."

Kaori's eyes lit up at the mention of Opal, and she quickly let go of Kuvira. "Oh, yeah! Okay, I'll see you at lunch!" And she scampered away, leaving Kuvira with a lingering smile on her face. Things had been good, really good, for the last few months. Suyin's antics in Republic City had been mostly smoothed over by Korra, Lin, and Kya, and Kuvira had finally managed to believe that the other shoe was not about to drop. After a month, she had moved back to her old rooms at the Beifong compound. She missed Lin and Kya, but she knew they were glad to have their privacy back. And she was glad to have rooms to herself.

That first week back, Suyin had casually asked if Kuvira wanted to spend nights with her and Baatar, and to her surprise, Kuvira had said no. Not yet. Her instinct told her to throw all caution to the wind, but this was her chance to do things right. So she had waited. Waited until she felt secure, waited until she felt like she was truly home again.

Because when she did spend the night with them, when she let Baatar hold her as she faced Suyin, she had turned her head and kissed him.

It surprised them both, of course, but it felt natural and good and right. It felt like the culmination of her entire life, of every decision, big or small, and when she let him take her a few weeks later, when she had both his and Suyin's hands on her, she felt whole.

She watched until Kaori was inside and out of sight before heading to her own rooms to clean up, rooms she kept because she found she liked having her own space to retreat to. Suyin was insisting that she be present when Opal arrived, insisting that they would normalize relations and move through this. It was a good sign that Opal was coming at all. After everything with Baatar Junior, Kuvira knew that Suyin was relieved Opal was still speaking to them. This would be her first visit back to Zaofu since Huan's wedding, and Kuvira was afraid her presence would make everything harder. Opal was always more reasonable than her brother, but Kuvira knew this entire situation was a lot to come to terms with.

After showering and making herself presentable, Kuvira wandered through the halls, still a little unaccustomed to moving so freely without an escort. No one on the Beifong compound was afraid of her anymore, barely anyone in Zaofu was. She had the distinct feeling that most of the guards still thought they could beat her in a fight, despite how well she had been sparring lately. They might not be wrong, but the thought did not bother her as it once had. She did not need to fight anymore. For so long, her life had been missing a key element, a contentment that no one, not even Suyin, could provide. It had taken her being stripped of everything she held dear, everything of importance, for her to see that she could not be happy with her life until she accepted there would be things out of her control, until she allowed herself to relinquish that control, to realize she did not always have to be perfect in order to be valued and loved.

Her life was so different from what she had envisioned as a girl, as a teenager, as a young woman. Her life was so different from what she had envisioned just a year ago.She could never have imagined she would be here. She could never have imagined she would be this happy. In fact, the word seemed so trivial and small, so inadequate to describe what she felt, the peace she had achieved. Sometimes, she felt she did not deserve this. Some nights, she pulled away from Suyin and Baatar, the guilt of her past actions swallowing her whole, the nasty voice of doubt insisting she would ruin this like she had ruined everything else that came before. The voice that reminded her of the lives she had ruined, the lives she had taken. The blood that was on her hands. At this point, she knew it was likely she would always struggle with that voice, and part of her even wanted to. For if she lost that voice, what was to stop her from falling into the same habits as before? What was to stop her from destroying her new, hard fought life? That voice kept her grounded, kept her from slipping. Korra would tell her it wasn't exactly a healthy coping mechanism, but Kuvira would take what she could get. If she had to shackle herself to her guilt in order to keep those she loved safe from her own tendencies, then so be it.

But most days, that voice was quiet, and she allowed herself to enjoy this gift she had been given.

She found herself near Suyin's office and checked the time. Still a little while before Opal's train was scheduled to arrive. So she stuck her head into the office, smiling as she saw Suyin bent over her desk, brows furrowed and lips pursed as she read over what Kuvira assumed were security reports. Lin was taking her new role seriously, and sent Suyin multiple updates a day. Kuvira suspected part of that was just to annoy her sister with the extra work.

She stood there for a few moments, just admiring the way Suyin's hair fell over her face. The way her brows met. The wrinkle that formed between them. She truly was so very beautiful, and Kuvira still had a hard time accepting that this radiant creature was hers.

When she'd had her fill, she cleared her throat, and Suyin looked up at her, frown smoothing out into a tired smile.

"How was Kaori this morning?"

"Good. She's a fast learner, and her bending skills are improving quickly. She's going to be quite the talent."

"Mhm, just like someone else I know."

Sometimes it bothered Kuvira when Suyin compared Kaori to her. It rubbed that raw, uncomfortable place beneath her ribs where she stored her trauma. It reminded her that the outside world saw her as Suyin's foster daughter, no matter how inaccurate that was. In different circumstances, she could have been Kaori. But that issue was hers to work through alone. She could not ask Suyin not to draw the obvious parallels between her and Kaori. All she could do was remind herself that her insecurities, her past, were not what defined her relationship with Suyin. So she did her best to let the twinge of pain that accompanied Suyin's words slide off her. Feel it then let it go, that's what Korra would say.

Kuvira managed a small smile. "Except I don't think she wants to be a guard. She just wants to beat the twins at power disc."

Suyin hummed her agreement. "Yes, she's much more interested in architecture. Baatar is pleased. None of our other children took after him that way."

"I'm glad they have something to bond over." She also appreciated her time with Kaori, just the two of them either practicing bending or working on projects around the compound. For so long, she had been convinced she would make a horrible parent, that she would end up like her own parents, giving up on a difficult child, inflicting a wound so deep that, left untreated, drove that child to unspeakable horrors. She knew she could not blame her actions on her parents, on their mistakes and failings, but she did know that their choice to give her up, to abandon her, was impossible to separate from who she had become. She could take responsibility for her choices while still acknowledging and understanding that she would not have made those choices had her childhood been different.

Dispelling those thoughts, Kuvira sat down across from Suyin. "Opal will be here soon. You should put up your work for the day. Those reports will still be here tomorrow."

Suyin sighed and leaned back, rubbing her temple. "At the time, it seemed like such a good idea to put Lin in charge of the security force. She has the experience, and she needed something to do."

"But?"

"But she's being insufferable. She put in a request for a larger budget, as if she actually needs-" Suyin checked the request again, "-Eight new satomobiles! For what? Zaofu is a mostly walkable city."

Kuvira did her best to suppress her smile. "Have you considered that she might just enjoy messing with you?"

"I have, in fact, considered that," Suyin admitted, shaking her head. "Maybe I'll deny her request so she has to actually come here and talk to me in person."

"It will be such a sacrifice since her office is maybe a whole fifty meters away."

Suyin rolled her eyes. "You two love your sarcasm a little too much, if you ask me."

"I don't think I did ask you," Kuvira quipped, grinning.

"Oh hush." Suyin flapped her hand, but shuffled her papers together, putting them away. "Fine, fine, I will return to this tomorrow." She stood and stretched her back. Kuvira admired her appreciatively before following suit.

"Do you want me at the train station, or should I wait here?" she asked cautiously. Suyin wanted this visit to go well, but Kuvira was a little more realistic. She knew there was a good possibility that Opal would not want to be greeted by her parents' mistress, or however she thought of Kuvira these days. Murderer, adulterer, dictator. She could take her pick.

Suyin took a moment to answer. "I suppose it would be best if you waited in the salon. That way I can see what kind of mood she's in. She knows you're here, and she knows what I want from this visit. But I don't want to push her too much."

Kuvira nodded. "You know I will do whatever I need to, Su. I'll be as present or as absent as you think is best. And I will stay the night in my rooms while she's here."

For a moment, Suyin looked as if she wanted to protest, but a sigh forced its way from her instead. "As much as I don't like it, that may be for the best. It's a big step for her to even come here and visit. She's agreed to speak with you, and I hope that will be…productive."

"I promise not to lose my temper. Or, well, to do my best."

The smile Suyin gave her was full of affection, and Kuvira barely managed not to blush. "I know, my dear. It's not you I'm worried about. Opal has the Beifong temper, I'm afraid.This would be much easier if she had taken after her father that way."

"It could be worse. It could have been thirty years before she agreed to speak to me," Kuvira pointed out.

Suyin grimaced. "Yes, well, luckily, she isn't quite as stubborn as my sister." Kuvira raised a brow, and Suyin rolled her eyes again. "Fine, Lin and I are both stubborn. Happy?"

"Exceedingly, actually." She kissed Suyin to appease her. "Things will be okay, even if it takes some time."

"I know," Suyin said softly, her fingers touching Kuvira's jaw. "Things have already been good. I've been…the last few months have been better than I could have imagined."

"I feel the same. But I know it hurts you to not be in a good place with Opal or Baatar Junior. Maybe I can help with at least one of those relationships."

"I hope so, too. Opal is terribly fond of Kaori. She'll probably push through this even if it's just for Kaori's sake." Suyin glanced at the clock again. "I should head that way. The train will be here soon."

"I will wait in the salon. And if she doesn't want to see me tonight, that's okay. Just let me know, and I will make myself scarce."

Suyin kissed her once more before flitting off, leaving Kuvira to wander down to the salon.

If she was truly honest with herself, she missed Opal. Their relationship had started off strained, with their respective rough edges catching and bristling. But over the years, they had become friends. It would be nice to at least be on speaking terms again, even if Kuvira knew they could never recapture their previous closeness.

Rather than let herself dwell, she selected one of the books lining the room and settled down to read. It was a history of the Earth Kingdom, and she was surprised when her own name was mentioned. She supposed she should have expected it. It had been ten years since her defeat, after all, more than enough time for history to remember her, for better or for worse. For a moment, she started to turn to the back of the book, to see what it told of her, but then she took a breath and returned to the front pages. It did not matter what was written about her. It did not matter if she was remembered as a hero or a villain or something in between. She had not united the crumbling Earth Kingdom for accolades.

She was into the third chapter when a voice cleared their throat.

She looked up to see Opal standing alone in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.

"My mother wants us to talk. So here I am."

"Are your parents joining us?"

"No, I thought it would be best if we did this alone."

Kuvira shut her book and nodded, turning to face Opal, who sat down across from her, expression guarded and apprehensive.

"Well," Kuvira started, "I will answer any questions you have, whatever you need. I just want your mother to be happy."

Opal regarded her for several moments, eyes raking over Kuvira's frame, as if she could see any dishonesty or disingenuity. Then she closed her eyes and sighed. "I know. That's the part that frustrates me so much. Junior thinks you're just using Mom and Dad, but I know that's not the truth, as much as I hate it."

"I love them," Kuvira said, not breaking eye contact. Opal grimaced.

"Yeah, I know. I don't understand it, and I don't like it. But I can see it's true." She passed a hand over her face, and Kuvira was startled by how much she looked like Suyin in that moment. "You have to understand what this looks like from my perspective."

"I do. I know it must feel like a betrayal, or something like it."

"It's not just that," Opal said, shaking her head. "Even if you hadn't tried to kill my whole family, I still wouldn't be okay with this. She raised you. It's wrong. It's…it's shattered my image of my mother, of my parents. Now, I have to live with the knowledge that they're people who would sleep with someone they knew as a child."

Kuvira could not stop herself from flinching at the words, but she did force herself to stay collected. "There isn't anything I can say that will make that…better. I struggled with it myself, with how I feel. I was reluctant to even try anything for that very reason, among other things. The only thing I can say is that I didn't feel anything like this for either of your parents until I came back here. There was nothing going on when I was younger, I swear that to you, Opal. Your mother would never ever do that. I broke the relationship I had with her before, and now…it's something different, something new. I know it won't ever seem proper to you, but I just want you to know that you don't have to think less of your parents. They are good people. Better than I deserve."

"At least we agree on that."

Opal deserved her bitterness, so Kuvira let the comment slide over her. "What do you need from me?"

"What?"

"What do you need from me in order to be able to have a relationship with your parents?"

"Besides you leaving them?"

"That would hurt them, and I've promised not to do that anymore."

"Honestly, I don't know. It's not like I can just pretend you're someone else, or that you haven't hurt us. It's not like I can pretend you didn't play with us growing up. I can't just forget who you are, Kuvira. How would you feel if Kaori started dating one of us?"

The thought made her sick, honestly. "It's different, Opal, and you know it. Kaori is a Beifong. I never was. I never wanted to be, not like that. I didn't want to be your sibling. I didn't want to be here at all, and I moved out the second I could. I dated your brother, and I know the reason you were upset about that had nothing to do with where I was raised. Tell me, how many family portraits was I in? Was I ever introduced to people as your sibling?"

Opal scowled, and Kuvira knew she had to agree. "At least Junior was age appropriate."

"And that was the only thing about him that was appropriate. I am truly sorry that I hurt your family so deeply. I am truly sorry that I hurt him so deeply. I was not…I was not in a good place, which I know sounds like a weak excuse. It's not an excuse. I am not trying to excuse my behavior or my actions. I just want you to understand that I never meant for it to turn out like it did. It's like I was on a runaway train and couldn't pull the brakes. I was too deep in, too…caught up in everything. I can't even begin to explain it in a way that would make sense to you. But I have put in the work to be better, to do better. Every day, I do my best to work against who I used to be. I don't expect you to forgive me, and I won't ask that of you. Your parents decided to forgive me, but that was their choice, and theirs alone."

"Huan has forgiven you, too. So have Wing and Wei."

"Wing and Wei do whatever your mother asks of them," she said, letting her mouth quirk into a wry smile, a smile Opal almost returned.

"You may be right about that."

"As for Huan, I don't know why he forgave me," she said honestly. "But he did, and I will forever be thankful for that."

"He figured out about you and Mom quickly, didn't he?"

Kuvira nodded. "Yes. Had it been up to me, none of you would have known. I never wanted to...to come between you and your parents. I knew this relationship would do that. But your mother made her choice."

"She chose you. Over us."

"No, Opal, no. It's not like that." Kuvira leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. "She loves you all so much, and she never wanted to make things difficult."

"Well, things are difficult. After your last visit to Republic City, everyone knows about you and my mother. Do you know what that's been like for me, for my children? How am I supposed to explain to them that their grandmother is sleeping with the person they're learning about in school who tried to take over the United Republic?"

"I would imagine it would be similar to what I felt when I had to explain to Kaori who I was and what I did," Kuvira said, lifting her chin. "I am the one who made the mistakes, Opal. Let that shame fall on me alone. Your mother shouldn't be condemned because she gave me another chance."

"If it was simply about forgiveness, I wouldn't be so upset. It's more than that."

"It is," Kuvira agreed. "I didn't want my business splashed across Republic CIty newspapers any more than you did. But it happened. I can't change that, and I am not going to end my relationship with your parents. For the first time in my life, I am happy. I don't know whether I deserve to be or not, but here we are. And now I am doing what I can to help your mother. She misses you so much. I can't do anything about Baatar Junior. He will never come around to this. But I hope that you can. Or at least put aside your disgust enough to be part of your parents' lives."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Opal leaned back and sighed. She was thirty now, and like her mother, wore each year better than the last. The naivety of her teenage years had settled into a quiet confidence that commanded attention.

"Yes, you are. It means a lot to her."

"You can't hurt her again," Opal said after a moment of contemplative silence. "You don't know what it was like. After you went to prison. Spirits, even after you left with Junior, before things got bad. It's like she didn't know how to exist without you at her side. And if you're telling me there was nothing inappropriate happening then, I can't imagine how bad it would be now if you pulled another stunt like that."

"I won't ever hurt her like that again. Either of them. Huan already made me promise him that."

"Good. I know he'll hold you to it." She tucked her hair behind her ear and tilted her head. "As an airbender, I'm supposed to be all into forgiveness, but this one is hard for me. I don't know if I can ever let go."

"As I said, I don't expect you to."

"Be that as it may, I'm not prepared to throw away my relationship with my parents. Not over you." The way she said it was filled with contempt, and Kuvira swallowed. "We aren't friends. I don't want to be friends with you, or even friendly with you. But I want to be able to visit my parents without everything devolving into a fight. So I will…learn to deal with this. For them."

"That's all I could ever ask."

"All right." Opal stood, and Kuvira stood with her. "I am going to get freshened up before dinner. I guess you'll be there?"

"If that won't be too much for you."

"We'll see. It would make Mom happy."

"It would."

"Okay. I'll be on my best behavior."

"So will I."

Opal opened her mouth again, but shut it quickly and turned on her heel, leaving Kuvira alone in the salon.

She had expected the conversation to be difficult, but in the end, she knew it had been necessary, maybe even productive. She did not know if she felt better, but she did feel hopeful that this was a good start.

When dinner came, she took her seat between Suyin and Kaori, with Opal by her father. Lin and Kya as well as Huan and Yunru had joined them, and Kuvira made sure to keep out of the conversation as much as possible, letting Opal take the lead on this new dynamic.

Of course, Suyin noticed how quiet she was. "Are you all right?"

Kuvira gave her a small smile. "Mhm, I'm fine. Just don't want to intrude too much."

"Intrude?"

"This is Opal's first visit." She kept her voice low, her head angled so only Suyin could hear. "She and I understand each other, I think, and I am giving her the space she needs to be okay with everything. Don't push," she said pointedly.

"I don't know why you think I would be pushy," Suyin said haughtily.

"Oh, of course. It's a reach."

"Hmm." The look Suyin gave her was of such naked affection that Kuvira found herself blushing. The exchange did not go unnoticed, and she saw Opal watching them, expression masked and unreadable. When she saw Kuvira looking, she turned away, speaking to her brother. Suyin caught the exchange. "She'll come around."

"Maybe."

"She will."

"You're very confident."

"I'm feeling optimistic these days."

Kuvira looked around the table, at Baatar laughing with Kya, at Lin animatedly arguing bending techniques with Huan, at Opal listening to Kaori talk about her studies. She watched them, warmth swelling her chest, soothing any lingering pain from her conversation with Opal. She looked at these people who were her family, miraculously and despite everything.

And she thought maybe she was feeling optimistic, too.

It has been so long since I first started this fic. I was a completely different person then in a completely different place in my life. There was a good period of time where I thought I would never finish this even though I knew it would only take a few more chapters. But then I got a random review one day telling me how much they loved this story and came back to it. That sparked the inspiration I needed to finish it. That and changing jobs lol. Thank you to everyone who has read, who has commented, who has loved this story. Thank you to those of you who kept this story in your alerts even after I hadn't updated for like 5 years or whatever it was. You all mean so much to me, and I literally would not have finished this fic without you. This is only the second long fic I've ever finished, and I'm feeling a lot of feelings about it. So just know how much I appreciate all of you.