I'm sorry that this one has come so late, I really struggled with it. But it's here now.

Korra

She had only been in Ba Sing Se for five minutes, and already the Avatar was tired.

The airship had arrived in the airport just outside the Fire Nation palace, and as it had set down they were met by two familiar figures.

"Korra!" Bolin cheered as he ran up to hug her. "Asami found you!"

Mako was more reserved, but he moved in to hug her all the same, giving her an unusually big grin.

"I'm glad you're alright," he told her.

"Hey, don't think you're getting out of this!" Bolin called to Asami, who was standing and watching them amusedly. "Group hug!"

Asami laughed and complied, and Korra felt herself melt into her first group hug for three years.

"Listen," Mako told her seriously. "We need to tell you something worrying about Ku-"

Then everyone else turned up.

First the airbender children came piling out of the airship, being noisy and enthusiastic. Then Kuvira arrived, with Bataar and King Wu in tow. She bowed to Korra, straight backed and authoritative in her green metal armour, and smiled.

"Avatar!" She said warmly. "It's a pleasure to have you back. I haven't seen you since-"

She stopped. Korra knew why, because the last time she had seen her was the final battle with Zaheer. Kuvira just shrugged.

"-well, that doesn't matter anyway. How are you? If there is anything we can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask!"

Korra mumbled that she was fine.

"Great! That's what I like to hear. Now, since you are back I would like to humbly invite you to our victory day celebrations tomorrow. All the world leaders are going to be there, and we would love to have you back."

Kuvira looked at her expectantly. Finally, Korra sighed and nodded. "Sure, I'll come."

"Great! You can make your grand reentry!" Kuvira told her.

"Yeah. Sure. Great." Korra was not so enthusiastic. She had neglected her avatar duty for too long, she knew, and she dreaded returning to it now. Still, she knew in her heart of hearts that it had to be done, and Korra was not a woman to shirk her duty.

"In the meantime, can I invite you to dinner tonight?" Kuvira asked. "The Avatar is always welcome to share my plate."

Korra looked at her friends. Asami made a subtle gesture of encouragement. Kuvira did not notice.

She nodded.

"Excellent!" Kuvira nodded happily. "See you at 5 then?"

"See you at five," Korra agreed.

With that, the Great Uniter turned and walked away, satisfied. Bataar trailed after her, but the King stayed and began talking at Mako enthusiastically. He looked at Korra for help, but the Avatar just grinned wickedly at him and left him to his fate.

Her accommodation was nice at least; she was sharing a room with Asami in the Palace, with a balcony that overlooked the city.

"What are you worried about?" Asami asked now, from behind her. She sighed.

"I'm not sure if I can face this," she told her. "It all seems a bit... overwhelming."

Asami stepped up to the balcony. "It'll be fine," she reassured her. "You're the best avatar I know, you can deal with anything- even a few boring speeches."

"They're not going to expect me to give one, are they?" Korra asked.

"Don't worry, if they do I'll make sure to give one instead. That's the other reason you'll be fine. Your amazing friends."

That got a smile out of the Avatar.

"Sorry for just leaving you," she told Asami.

Her friend just shrugged. "That's fine. You needed to get away."

There was a knock on the door.

"Speaking of needing to get away, can you cover for me while I jump out of the window so I don't have to have dinner with Kuvira?" Korra asked.

"Don't you want to?" Asami asked.

"I get the feeling she's just going to want me to give my support to whatever it is she's been doing. She's after my legitimacy."

"You don't have to give it to her."

"Maybe I'll want to," Korra allowed. "Who knows? I at least owe her a chance."

There came another knock.

"Coming!" Korra called, turning to go.

"Good luck!" Asami called after her, leaning on the balcony. Korra waved at her, and then left the room.

She found the Great Uniter in a spacious room on the top floor of the palace, with a large window giving a beautiful view of Ba Sing Se. Bataar was with her.

"You came!" She called happily when the Avatar entered.

"Hello," Korra greeted her awkwardly.

"The world has been a poorer place for your absence," Bataar told her politely, as she sat down. She nodded, and looked down at the plate.

There was an awkward silence.

"So, what did you do in the last three years?" Kuvira asked.

Korra just shrugged. "This and that. I'm not really comfortable talking about it."

"Oh," Kuvira said, sounding disappointed. Korra sensed an opportunity to not have to talk for a while.

"What did you do?" She asked.

"Well," Kuvira suddenly puffed up. "I was working as a Security guard for Suyin Beifong when the Earth Queen died. The Earth Kingdom fell into chaos and the great and the good of the Four Nations came together to discuss what to do about it."

"And they chose you."

"Eventually. I had good ideas on how to deal with the problem, apparently."

"Who said so?"

"Everyone did. So, I recruited my team, including your friend Bolin, found an heir to the Kingdom I could use for legitimacy, and took Ba Sing Se. Turns out, they fell in line pretty easily. Then we just expanded from there."

"I see," Korra said.

"It wasn't plain sailing though," Bataar added. "She had to deal with a rival heir to the throne, bandits, warlords, and rogue generals. She beat them all."

He said this with obvious pride.

"As I knew she would."

Korra had not been entirely oblivious to these events. She had been in the Earth Kingdom for most of her time in the wilderness, after all. But she nodded politely all the same. She had also heard about how the Great Uniter had dealt with foes too stubborn to surrender quickly enough for her taste. It wasn't pretty.

"Please, I couldn't have done it without you," Kuvira replied modestly. Bataar hugged her.

"You're too modest."

"No, there's just one of me. I definitely couldn't have done it alone." Kuvira returned the hug.

"Do you want to get a room?" Korra asked.

"Way ahead of you," Kuvira gestured to their surroundings. "Speaking of which, there's just one more favour to ask..."

"Yes?" Korra resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, wondering what exactly Kuvira wanted now.

But the normally imperious and self-confident woman suddenly looked... nervous? Korra wasn't sure what to think.

"Now the wars are over, we were thinking of getting married soon," she explained quickly. "And we wanted to know if you would officiate."

"Officiate?"

"Yes," Bataar replied quickly. "Apparently the Avatar can do that."

"Then I'll do it," Korra decided. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Thank you!" Kuvira said happily. "Now, what would you like from the menu?"