Bolin and Opal had taken up their residence in an apartment on the north side of Republic City. The pair had agreed to live together shortly after the revival of their relationship, although the apartment rarely saw much use unless the two were staying in the city, which was a rarity all unto itself. They had been spending the majority of their time anywhere else, ranging from the freezing ice caps to the colossal mountains of the northern continent. Opal was still very much loyal to the cause of the Air Nomads, and she could not have been persuaded to remain fixed in one location knowing that others were still in need of assistance elsewhere. Bolin was essentially her traveling compatriot, but he never felt diminished in his role, always acting very much like an equal.

There had only been a handful of other occasions when the two settled down in one place for more than a month or two. Most of the time, it was caused by them visiting a family member or attending a grand event. Yet, it was on this particular night that the two settled down to celebrate their own significant event: their engagement.

The apartment wasn't large or extravagant, but it didn't need to be. There were only the essentials: a dining table, a stove, a large bed and bedroom, a fridge, a bathroom, a couch, and a radio. For the Bolin and Opal, snuggling together late at night under a silky blanket, it was absolutely perfect. They were at peace.

Unfortunately, it was at this hour that a loud banging began on the door, disrupting the atmosphere.

"Who could that be?" Opal wondered. Bolin merely shrugged.

"Eh, it can't be that important," he reasoned, finding a mediocre excuse not to get up from the couch. "Who else would knock at midnight?'

The question miraculously answered itself. "Bolin! It's your brother! Open the damn door now!"

Bolin, for all of the wondrous things he had done over his life, had made a mistake this night. He had goofed so erroneously that it was almost impossible to ever trust his judgment on anything ever again. He shared a worried glance with Opal, looking for some emotional support. She gave him a confused shrug. Taking a deep breath, the young earthbender rose from the couch and walked to the door. He placed his hand on the handle, but did not turn it.

"Aren't you going to open it?" she asked him expectantly.

"Would you open it if you did what I did?"

Opal shook her head. "I told you that you should have let them know."

Bolin gulped. He knew he couldn't hide behind the wooden door forever. Timidly, he turned the handle, and slightly pulled the door ajar. Within seconds, Mako, Korra and Asami all tumbled into the room, falling over each and winding up in a heap on the ground. Bolin laughed nervously.

"Hey guys," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "So… what brings you all here?"

Mako sprung off of the ground and grabbed Bolin by the shoulders, shoving him against a wall. "Why didn't you tell us you were getting married?" Mako snarled.

Bolin shuddered. "Oh man, please don't kill me! I just found love!"

"Mako, get off of him," said Asami, pulling away her psychotic ex. Bolin, once released, hugged the wall, fearful for his life.

"Phew… thanks, Asami," he gasped. "It's good to see you again. By the way, you're looking—ack!"

Before he could finish, Asami grabbed onto his shoulders and violently shoved him against the wall.

"Why didn't you tell us that you were getting married?" she asked, outraged.

"Why are you people so angry!?' Bolin asked desperately. "This is supposed to be a happy occasion!"

Korra stood up, and shook Asami's shoulders, causing her to release her grip. "Babe, I don't think that helps right now." In a moment, Bolin was released yet again, falling to his knees. However, he noticed Korra take a step towards him, and he raised his arms in defense.

"Korra, if you shove me against the wall, I'm going to lose it!" he stated, a manic look in his eye.

Korra groaned. "I'm not going to shove you against the wall."

Bolin let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, thank you. Now, maybe I can have a chance to—erk!"

Bolin, unfortunately, didn't have a chance to finish speaking as Korra sucker punched him in the gut, causing him to collapse in agony.

"That was for not telling us," Korra said sternly. She crossed her arms and grimaced at him, which Blin did not see as he was rolling on the floor. Opal hurriedly ran over and stepped in-between her fiancé and her friends.

"Can we stop hitting each other for just a second?" Opal begged. She turned to Bolin, worriedly. "Honey, are you alright?"

"Oh man," Bolin said through clenched teeth. "I'm pretty sure that punch ruptured… everything. Just… just every part of my body."

It took several minutes for the excitement to die down. Bolin was gently brought back to his feet, and Opal helped him maintain his balance. Meanwhile, the rest of his friends waited around patiently and resisted the urge to smack Bolin further or hug him tighter than ever before. It was one of the strangest feelings of empathy and disgust they had ever experienced. They were so immensely happy, and yet so furious that they could not focus on anything.

"Now, I know you're probably wondering the same thing," Bolin said knowingly. "Why did I decide to announce our engagement on live radio before telling it to our closest friends and family?"

"Including me," Mako added bitterly.

"Yes, well… I have an answer," stated Bolin. "The truth is: I didn't tell any of you guys because I thought it would be more fun to surprise you this way."

The three merely stared at him in disbelief.

"You left us in the dark because it would be more fun?" Korra asked, shocked.

"Well, Bolin and I were talking about it," said Opal. "We figured that it might hassle you to call you all down individually and tell you. Then you'd all have to take time out of your day just to manage us."

"So I figured, I'm already doing an interview during the pro-bending match that you'll be listening to anyway," Bolin reasoned. "It made a lot of sense, and it allowed us to get the information out all at once. It also made for a pretty cool public event. Besides, now we all get to be together to celebrate."

"So, you didn't bother telling us this earth-shattering news because you wanted it to come across as a spectacle?" Mako asked. "That's… that's a very dumb idea."

"Yes it is, Mako. Yes it is," Bolin agreed intelligently, nodding his head. "You see, I wasn't counting on you three being so… excited about it. I probably could have saved a lot of abdominal pain that way. So, what do you guys think?"

What did they think? Obviously, Bolin knew they felt some distrust, and probably some anger, and maybe a bit of betrayal as well. Hopefully, they would be able to move past that, or at least, that was his assumption. They were his closest friends. They would always be there to support him, especially when something of this magnitude happened.

After several seconds of awkward silence, Mako finally smiled.

"Come over here and hug me, you psychotic ass."

Like a child running into his father's arms, Bolin leapt into Mako's grasp, and gave his brother the biggest hug he could muster. Asami and Korra couldn't help but smirk at the event; it was positively adorable. The animosity had washed away, and they couldn't help but join in on the massive hug as well.

The five young adults eventually made their way to the dining table, where they sat and talked endlessly about the news. Opal brought out some sparkling beverage, and it was gulped down hastily. They talked for hours about details. Mako proudly proclaimed himself best man, to which Bolin replied by telling him that the position was already being considered for Pabu. Asami asked about gowns, and Opal said that she had no idea what she was remotely interested in. Korra asked if the pair would eventually settle down, to which the couple said that they would probably keep on the move. Opal championed around her ring, Asami sipped glistening wine, Bolin cracked terrible jokes, Mako wrestled with his brother, and Korra was content with simply watching everyone being happy for a change. Korra hadn't really felt any sort of joy on this magnitude for a long while. She hoped that the cheer would last an eternity.

And then, someone made the mistake about asking when the reception was going to be.

"Oh, I couldn't even tell you that," Opal said. "All we know is that we want it to be soon."

"Yeah, it's pretty hard to wait around," Bolin agreed. "Even though it will be a ton of work, it just feels right to get it done fast."

"Well, that's a fun way to look at it," said Mako. "Do you have any time frame?"

"Well…" Opal thought. "We don't know when exactly, but our original plans were about a month, maybe two months away."

Korra and Mako burst into a series of happy cheers. However, upon hearing the time, Asami nearly choked on her precious drink. Korra gazed at her worryingly.

"Hey, is everything alright?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," Asami lied. "So, by one month, do you mean next month?"

"Well, yes," said Bolin. "That's kind of the month after this one."

Asami looked away. Korra recognized concern in her green eyes.

"Um, this is an embarrassing question," Asami said slowly, twiddling her thumbs. "Do you think… well, do you think it's possible… to maybe delay the wedding for a bit?"

All eyes were focused on her. The laughter and cheered were sucked out of the room by a vacuum of enigma.

"What's wrong with next month?" Mako asked, intrigued. Asami immediately looked at Korra, judging her gaze. She felt her stomach drop. Sweat began to slide down her forehead. She hadn't said a word, but she knew that once she did, she was going to instantly regret everything. Korra continued to stare at her, unknowing, unaware of the pain she was about to receive. All of the attention in the room was focused on one fixed point, and the pressure expanded until Asami finally felt the urge to admit the truth.

"Well, you see," Asami began, her voice quivering. "A few days from now, I'm actually going on a… a business trip. I'm going to be away for the next… month or so concentrating on my work. So, if that's the case…"

Asami trailed off, unable to speak under Korra's intensified gaze.

"You're leaving again?" asked the Avatar, sounding empty. Asami stared at her sparkling glass, making sure to concentrate on it as hard as she could so that she wouldn't look at her girlfriend.

"It's okay, Asami," Bolin said ignorantly. "We couldn't possibly not include you. It just wouldn't be the same."

"In a few days," Korra repeated, feeling the joy being sucked out of her. "You're going to be leaving? And you'll be gone for a whole month?"

Korra, don't do this, Asami mouthed silently. Yet, it was too late; the damage was done. Korra placed her glass back on the table, and crossed her arms, muttering something unintelligible under her breath. The conversation had resumed, as Bolin began describing his grand journey in his quest to ask for Opal's hand in marriage. However, Asami and Korra were paying no attention to it. For the next fifteen minutes, Korra sat in complete silence, sitting with crossed arms and staring blankly at the tablecloth. Asami kept trying to get her to say something, anything, even something hateful, but it was futile. Korra had shut down, and Asami couldn't even blame her.

Eventually, while Bolin was approaching the end of his story, Korra rose from her chair, and looked at Asami with cold eyes.

"Could I speak to you privately for a moment?" she asked. Every fiber of Asami's being told her not to go, but she couldn't refuse. Reluctantly, she too stood up, and followed Korra into the bedroom.

The bedroom was a lavish red, romantic and soothing. Asami was secretly hoping that the atmosphere would help make the upcoming event much less painful, but found it to be unlikely. She quietly sat on the bed, keeping her eyes fixated on Korra as she shut the door slowly. The Avatar brushed the hair out of her eyes, smearing her hands across her face. What was she supposed to say now? There were a million things she wanted to say, but had no idea how to articulate them. Asami could practically feel the intensity coming off of her.

"Look, Korra," Asami said slowly. "I know what you're going to say—"

"Are you kidding me?" Korra asked simply.

"Let's just calm down," Asami suggested nervously. "I really think we should—"

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Korra asked again, more harshly than before. "You cannot be serious right now."

"—I think we should wait until we leave to discuss this…" Asami finished. However, Korra had had enough.

"No, we're talking about this now," she stated with conviction. "Because you don't get to say that you're leaving, especially when you promised that you would stay, and then act like it's no big deal."

Asami sighed. Korra was glaring at her, her bright blue eyes piercing through the feeble layers of her skin. "Okay," she finally said. "We can talk, but can I get a chance to explain first?"

"Explain what? It's pretty obvious what's going on here. You flat-out lied to me!"

"Let me explain," Asami pleaded. "Shang called and asked if I was willing to travel with him to the Fire Nation in order to perform some more testing on the equipment. He offered me an extended contract that's nearly double what was settled on, and he said he was willing to nearly halve manufacturing costs. I know that I said I would settle down for a while, but this kind of came up unexpectedly and I made a split-second call. That kind of deal can get Future Industries ahead for a very long time."

"Future Industries…" Korra muttered angrily. "Everything is about Future Industries, isn't it?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Well, let me show you my side of things," Korra explained. "I start dating you, and I get the impression that things are going along really well. In fact, they're going better than I expected. I figure you're going to have to sacrifice some time for your company, just like I'm going to have to sacrifice some time for being the Avatar. That's fine. Cool. I get that. After a while, I ask you if we want to go public, and you tell me that we should wait it out until the right time. Once again, that's understandable. I don't have a problem with waiting for things if I know that it will make you feel more comfortable."

Korra sighed dejectedly. "And then, fast-forward to our lives now, and literally nothing has changed; if it did, it's only gotten worse. We spend almost no time together, and when we actually manage to get together, all that you can focus on is your company. Every conversation we have seems to be about it. You disappear for weeks at a time, going who knows where just to keep Future Industries afloat. And once I think you've finally come to say, something else comes up, and you leave again. It's… it's infuriating, Asami! All I'm trying to do is spend time with you, and it seems like you are actively trying to get away from me."

"I'm trying to save my company," Asami said defensively. However, the weakness in her voice was apparent.

"And I understand that!" Korra said with a pained expression. "Really, I can understand why you're doing this. I know how much this means to you, but sometimes—" she froze, trying desperately to translate her thoughts into words. "—I mean, look around you. Kai and Jinora are nearly adults. Bolin and Opal are getting married to each other. We don't even live together, Asami. Every time I ask you if you want to go public, you tell me to wait until your company is more stable. Every time I ask if I should move in with you, you tell me to wait until the company is more stable. Honestly, I'm starting to get the feeling like things will never be stable enough to get us moving forward. At this point—where we've lived for a damn quarter of a century—we need to at least be moving forward, and not caught up in this same stupid cycle we've been putting up with for years."

Korra dropped to one knee, and grabbed on to Asami's delicate fingers. She looked her lover straight in her beautiful, green eyes, and whispered.

"Asami, we need to fix this before it gets out of hand. You need to get some time free from your work, because… it's almost starting to feel like you love Future Industries more than you love me."

"I don't," Asami said quickly, reassuringly. "Believe me, I don't."

"I believe you," Korra responded. "But that is what it's starting to feel like. You're getting consumed by your work, and it's starting to influence everyone else around you. You've been under so much stress that you haven't acted normally in a year. You clearly aren't getting enough sleep, you barely want to talk over the phone, you never want to go out; the last thing I want for you is to lose yourself in this mess. Just… take a break from it all. Spend some time with me alone; no work, no distractions, just the two of us together like we used to do. I think it's what you need—we need—in order to make this work."

The air was thick and humid inside the sweltering bedroom. Korra looked away, feeling an immense burden get release off of her chest. She had no idea how long those thoughts had been clouding her mind, but she felt nothing but relief in saying them. She did not know what to expect. What was Asami going to do now? Kiss her? Slap her? Ignore her?

Instead, Asami cleared her throat, and gently released Korra's grasp on her hand. "Look… I know this past year has been kind of rough. It's been really rough for me too."

Korra felt her heart sink a little. She recognized the tone in the non-bender's voice; it was one of reluctant dismissiveness. Notably, there was also a large echo of regret and sadness.

"I'm sorry that I've been so busy lately," Asami said honestly, feeling her eyes start to tear up. "I'm sorry I haven't spent nearly as much time with you as I should have, and that I've had to go away so often. I know that, recently, I've been acting out of the ordinary. I know I've been a bit standoffish and cold, and I genuinely apologize for my behavior. I don't want you to think of me in that way. And also, I'm so, so sorry about lying to you. I shouldn't haven't led you on like that."

"But?" Korra asked, already knowing where Asami was heading with the conversation.

Asami sighed deeply. "But… I can't just go off and leave Future Industries behind."

Korra groaned, and threw herself onto the bed. Asami felt a pang in her chest.

"Please don't act like that," she begged mercifully. "I don't want to have to choose between you and my family's business."

"It's a company, Asami!" Korra cried. "You're treating it like it's a real person, but it isn't. Future Industries doesn't feel, it doesn't bleed, and it sure as hell doesn't bend over backwards to please you in any way that it can."

"But it's my family," Asami said sadly. Silence once again filled the room. Korra stared at the silky sheets beneath her, unwilling to say anything else. Asami lowered herself onto her back, and rested her hands behind her head. "Do you know why I never talk about my mother?"

Korra looked at Asami's face, which was flushed and concentrated on holding back tears. "Because you don't feel comfortable talking about her?"

"Because I can't," Asami said, ashamed. "Or at least, I couldn't. When she died, it felt like a piece of my heart was torn out and burnt into ashes. If anyone brought up her name, or even mentioned the word 'mom', I would burst into tears. I had to turn all of my pictures of her down towards the floor because I couldn't manage to look at her. It took me almost two full years before I could even talk about her without losing it. It was probably the most painful experience of my entire life."

A tear escaped her eyes, and rolled gently down her cheek. With a swift motion, Korra brushed away the drop water. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I'm not good at losing things," Asami said with a sad smile. "For his entire life, my father dedicated everything to Future Industries. That was his legacy, his family, his everything. Now, he's gone too, and that legacy falls to me. I'm the last of my line, Korra. I know you understand what it means to feel like you're legacy is being taken away. You have the Avatar spirit, and I have Future Industries. My family put everything into that business, and if I lose that… it will be like losing the last bit of family I have remaining."

Asami looked at the ceiling, staring at the elegant pattern on its surface. Korra reached over, and lightly turned her head so that they were staring face-to-face.

"Except you won't be losing your family," she said with certainty. "I'm part of your family. Those people waiting outside this room are your family also. You can't really be alone as long as we're here with you. Look, I'm sorry for getting so pissed off before; I'm just worried about you. If you're ever really having problems dealing with this, you can talk to me all you want about it. I'm always going to be there for you."

Asami sighed, feeling a cool wave of relief wash over her. She felt an overwhelming urge to give the Water Tribe woman a kiss, and so she did. She pressed their lips together for the first time in weeks, and felt the energy and heat and passion flow between them like surging electricity.

"I love you so much," Asami said after pulling away to catch her breath. Korra looked at her with steamy eyes and smiled back.

"I think that's pretty obvious," she said slyly.

"Before I go, we need to have a date night, a huge one. I think we deserve one after all of this. And then I swear, the moment I get back, we are going to push this forward. We can go as far as you want: you'll move in, we'll leak stories about ourselves to tabloids… anything you want to do."

"To be honest," Korra said, biting her lip. "I kind of just want to do this for a while."

Asami giggled, wiping the remaining tears from her face. "I think we can manage to do that."

Suddenly, Opal's voice penetrated through the door. "Hey, will you two stop making out on our bed already!?"

The couple shared nervous glances at each other. "Uh… how much of that did you guys hear?"

"Just that last bit," stated Bolin. "And the part when Korra was screaming. The walls are kind of thin in this place."

Asami thrust her head against the pillow. "See Korra, this is why I wanted to have this conversation in private."

The two women managed to untangle themselves from each other, and walked to the door. Even though she felt horribly embarrassed, Korra actually felt somewhat glad. Maybe some actual progress was going to be made. Maybe the two of them could finally get back to a normal relationship. Maybe, everything would turn out alright.

The door opened. More drinks were passed around. The celebration resumed.

Note: This was actually a pretty interesting change of pace for us, since writing romantic drama isn't exactly our forte. Still, we think it turned out alright. What do you think? As always, we appreciate and encourage all reviews and feedback. We'll update again soon, so stay tuned.