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"Let's go see my parents."

A World Away

I grab the mittens and pull them over my rough, calloused hands. They will protect me as I will dive into the fray to grab the broil. I feel a lithe hand slip across my back and a wet kiss on my cheek. She thanks me for helping as I reach into the heat to retrieve a roasted arctic hen. The warmth is brief and smoke from the oven is unwelcome on my eyes. Reaching for a towel to wipe my already rugged face – last time I shaved was before the Varrick and Zhu Li's wedding – I check the other side of the kitchen to see Senna cutting vegetables. Hearing me place the meat on the counter, she turns around and sees me, blackened cloth in hand, and smiles. Though I may look intimidating and am the Chief of the tribe, my wife knows the tenderness I am capable of better than I do. It runs in the family, I muse. Korra can be terrifying, especially in the Avatar State, but with us she is always pleasant and appreciative and loving (when she stopped being four, that is).

Seeing my wife and remembering my baby only further brings out the love I unconditionally feel for them. Thank the spirits that Kuvira dictator saved my life. She saddens me. What a waste. She had to become power hungry and destroy Republic City. I don't think about this for too long because Korra told me not to dwell on it, and that was three years ago. Speaking of which, we still haven't heard from Korra since she and Asami Sato disappeared from the wedding. Everyone figured they went, wherever they went, together. And so nobody was too worried when two people like that looked after each other, had each other's backs. We'd surely hear from them soon.

As if on cue, into the palace kitchen steps the Avatar and CEO of Future Industries.

"Hey, dad!"

I try not to stay speechless for long. "Uh... Hi, sweetie."

"Hello, Chief Tonraq," Asami Sato politely greets.

My wife heard the front door closing and walks over to investigate. She gasps. "Korra!" Then she throws herself at her daughter.

"Mom!" Korra calls out, half embarrassed, half endeared. She hugs back with equal fervor.

Once they pull apart, Korra grabs Asami's hand beside her and introduces the woman. "Guys, you've met Asami before." We nod, and she turns her head in the business woman's direction with a look of adoration on her face and eyes practically sparkling. Finally, she speaks with confidence as the two smile at each other. "She's my girlfriend," Korra beams with pride, looking like she did when presenting Naga for the first time, like Asami was a trophy.

Senna shares a wry grin with me as I walk over to them and pull the three women in a hug. "Welcome to the family, Asami," I say with a warm tone in my voice.

Korra can feel Asami tense, even through all the thick clothing necessary for polar weather. She looks over at her love and can see tears pooling in her girl's verdant eyes. The bender's expression turns grim because Asami's parents are dead. Kuvira killed her dad. In her father's and mother's arms she is still embracing Asami, and she does so even tighter as her parents release them, only for the couple to crumple together to the floor on their knees. Senna and Tonraq look bewildered. Then they see their daughter stroking their love's back comfortingly as the orphaned girl cries into Korra's shoulder.

After seeing Hiroshi and her mother die again in the Tree of Time, Asami didn't expect this. She felt no need to cry over them then because the tree and the Avatar granted her a spiritual connection. To her parents, to the world, and Asami was grateful that Korra showed her that. But now she realizes that she has no family waiting for her, and she finally gives in and cries right here in the arms of her love.

"Asami," Korra says with the gentlest of whispers, meant only for her. "You have a family. Tenzin's family, my family. They're your family too, and you have me. I'll always wait for you like you waited for me."

The engineer hiccups and trembles while pent up sadness is released in waves of shudders, and she clutches Korra tighter like a person overboard would hold desperately onto a bouy. Her sobs echo down the halls of the Chieftain's palace. She accepts solace from her girlfriend wholeheartedly, who has already explained she would do anything for her. Korra had plead to be able to support her the same way the brilliant engineer has when the Avatar was in a wheelchair, or like she did more recently after the shorter woman's nightmares in the Spirit World.

"They already love you," Korra continues cooing. "Dad especially. You helped him to Katara during Harmonic Convergence, and you saved us from the Si-Wong Desert in that sand sailor. Plus, I'm sure mom would love to get to know you better. You'll be the girly-girl daughter she always wished she could have and talk to about girl stuff that she never could with me."

At this, Asami smiles softly as her grief slowly subsides. The raven beauty hasn't let herself cry like this, so intensely, since Korra's letter almost a year ago now. Even then, she couldn't bring herself to cry over her parents.

"Please," Korra murmurs, "call them mom and dad."

Asami draws in a shaky breath. "Okay," she smiles. "I'd like that."

"They would too."

After they calm down, the pair walk arm in arm into the dining room to meet with their parents. Both Tonraq and Senna left to give the girls some privacy and waited for them in here. They wear sad smiles as the new couple sit beside each other, barely apart on the large seats of the royal home. They're curled up far into each other's sides and Korra begins to cut into the arctic hen to serve themselves. Asami basically sits in her girlfriend's lap. Everyone eats in comfortable silence for most of dinner.

"Mom, dad," Korra starts. Her arm draped over Asami's shoulder and rubbing soothingly. "How long were we gone?"

"About two weeks," Senna replies.

In anticipation for the dreaded answer, both Korra and Asami release a sigh at the not so frightening response. Thank the spirits.

"Asami dear, are you okay?" Senna asks in her motherly voice.

The former heiress (now Chief Executive Officer), straightens her back a little more and answers with a slight sniffle. "Yes, thank you Sen- I mean, mom. I'm fine now." Both make eye-contact and share an awkward yet earnest glance. With time they'll get used to it.

"Where did you two go after the wedding?" Tonraq asks.

"The new portal, and then we walked through the Spirit World to the southern portal." Korra answers.

"Okay, good," Senna says, then looks between the two women. "Well if you two are done eating then maybe Korra can show you her room? Assuming you're here to stay?"

Korra watches her girlfriend in her arms with genuine worry and sees somewhat red-rimmed, yet gorgeous eyes staring back. She pulls Asami closer and presses a tender kiss to the rosy cheek, filled with care for the woman. "Sure," she speaks with her back turned to her parents, her gaze alternating between looking at the right and left pupils of her lover. They're developing their own language, staring at each other like this.

Once they leave the table with their hips essentially attached to the other, Asami reluctantly breaks apart. "I think I have to go to bathroom, to clean up."

"Yeah, sure. I'll be in my room."

They say no more and share a soft kiss before parting.

Korra enters her room. The last time she was here was more than half a year ago. It hasn't changed, but she has. Letters stand stacked upon each other in heaps organized by sender. Bolin's is the biggest by far, because not only did he send the most letters, but there was almost always a picture attached to each message. Asami's pile is right next to her bed. Korra walks over to it, but then bends down.

"Hello, Naga," the princess says and scratches the sleeping beast behind the ear.

The polarbeardog doesn't stay asleep for long and jolts awake immediately, jumping her owner with affectionate licks conveying questions like, Where did you go? I was so confused. Doesn't matter. You're here now. Love that only animals are capable of. Her tongue is drawn back into her muzzle as she pants from overwhelming excitement. Naga receives a hug around the neck before she helps the Avatar onto her feet again.

"Good girl, I missed you too." Korra pets her furry companion.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the desk where she sat and attempted to reply a hundred times and only succeeded once. It's not empty. There is a stack of even more letters, unopened. The princess approaches them with hesitancy. These were sent while she left for Republic City – or tried to. First couple of papers are all from Bolin, with the usual poorly done drawings of something he saw that day, like a soldier giving a kid a box of apples. Next few ones are from Mako, talking about sting operations he's missed out on since Wu is dragging him around town for spa treatments and shopping sprees. The detective/bodyguard ends up recounting what weather they had that week. Hail, surprisingly, in the middle of spring. Finally, the last ones are from Asami herself, and Korra is not sure what to expect or if it is even worth reading now that is so long ago.

She tears open the letter anyways. With trepidation and feigned confidence, Korra pulls out the message and unfolds the immaculate writing.

Dear Korra...

Asami closes the taps and wipes her cleaned face with a towel. She looks in the mirrors. One can still see she has been crying, and she's make-up free. Nevermind, she thinks. It's only Korra and her family. Besides, Korra has already seen me without it. Grow up, don't be silly.

She leaves the bathroom, which is blue like everything else in the Water Tribe. Through the windows she can see the Southern Lights become more apparent as the sun sets, and also the snowmobile tracks which are slowly being covered up by mildly falling snow. The engineer has missed the sight of naturally transitioning day and night. She heads down the hallway for Korra's room where she sees the Avatar with her back arched over a desk. Her Earth Kingdom parka stands out against the navy of the palace. Naga sits by her owner's side, whimpering. Asami moves closer to the woman and wraps her arms around the Avatar's middle to which Korra lets out a gasp. It is then when the engineer realizes her love is crying under the hand she uses to try and cover up. Her heart lurches painfully at the sight.

"Korra! What's wrong?"

"I-I..." she chokes.

The CEO's eyes travel across the desk to opened letters and scribbles of stickmen. In the midst of them all lie ripped open envelopes with the seal of Future Industries. Her eyes widen in understanding. Korra was already missing when she sent these, and now their parents must've saved them for their daughter. The letter which Korra is gripping in her hand, and is beginning to stain with tears, is the one Asami sent after realizing that six months was the amount of time that the bender had been gone. It was her love confession.

Asami feels Korra turn in her arms and grapple at the back of her coat while letting the tears fall. They stand like that for a while, and Asami whispers things. "I have already forgiven you." Korra lets out a howl at the loving words. Asami lets her own eyes pool a little bit, she already cried enough today. Leading them to the bed, Asami pulls Korra down with her down onto the large and comfortable mattress fit for royalty. She doesn't miss her own bed anymore, not that she ever did when sharing a bedroll with Korra, but this is even better.

"I love you, too," Korra says, like she's about to add more.

"Don't you dare say I'm sorry."

"O-okay, I won't," she shivers in Asami's embrace. Both find comfort in their shared body heat. "I'm tired of crying."

Asami chuckles, feeling lighter than ever. "Me too."

A/N: So, lemme level with you guys for a second. You may have noticed that Korra's first introduction of Asami as her girlfriend is a bit different than in other stories. Specifically, it lacks the typical "coming out". I have decided to get rid of that completely and homophobia will not be a source of conflict in this story. I like to think that even though the Avatar-world has a long way to go within politics, same-sex relationships are something they are very mature with. In fact, in this world/fic/story, people praise and look up to gay relationships because they are more uncommon (but not abnormal or wrong, please don't think I'm saying that). So thanks to their rarity, those couples are respected and even revered, seen as something to be protected and cherished.

Mako and Korra didn't need a public announcement telling everyone that they were dating, so why should Korra and Asami? All of this is the reason why Tonraq and Senna barely batted an eye when Korra barged in with a girlfriend. They surely knew about their daughter, and they've met Asami before and probably put two-and-two together when Asami helped Korra and even offered to leave her company to go with Korra to the South Pole 3 years ago.

So, I hope that doesn't put you off my story. I have so much planned and we have plenty of chapters to go through before even reaching the plot. I just have to say, all of these chapters (from 13 and on) are filled with so much foreshadowing and symbolism of the themes and of Korra and Asami. All the titles I pick are meant to make you think. The smallest detail and subtlest dialogue all say something. Everything in here matters, it's there for a reason.

Anyway, thanks for reading as always!