Author's notes: Thank you TheToasterMarketingBoard for editing! You always make the chapter come together!

Korra's eyes slowly opened and for a brief moment she didn't know where she was. Her gaze roamed over the high vaulted ceiling and it reminded her of the Southern Palace. Korra's stomach clenched; that meant she was still broken and living with her parents. She shot up from the bed and grasped at her legs. When she could soundly feel her hands upon them, she relaxed and looked around the rest of the room, recognizing it as Asami's.

With a sigh, Korra eased herself back down into the bed. She rolled onto her side to face Asami, who was now awake. Asami's long black hair was scattered over her pillow and partially obscuring her face. The only time Asami didn't look put-together was when she slept. Korra had quickly learned this once they started sharing a bed. It made her feel special knowing she was the only one who got to see the powerful businesswoman this way.

Asami smiled as she lifted her head and propped it up with her hand. "Morning."

"Morning," Korra murmured back.

They looked at each other for a quiet moment. Asami reached out her free hand and brushed two fingers down Korra's cheek.

"I don't want to go to work today."

"Then don't," Korra whispered back. "Spend it with me instead."

"You don't have any Avatarly duties to attend to?"

Korra snorted as she rolled onto her stomach, propping herself up by the elbows. She stared at the headboard as she spoke. "I guess not. Mako and Opal think we should let the Spirit World 'cool off' for a bit since that big tigerpillar spirit is still all riled up and guarding the entrance. And Raiko's people actually showed up yesterday and starting building the fence we asked for."

"That's perfect," Asami replied as she continued to pet her girlfriend. "This means we can go to the research phase. Remember we discussed at the temple that we need to get all humans out of the Spirit World so we can fence it off and conduct proper research on the time anomalies?"

Korra let her elbows slip and she plopped face-down into her pillow. "You mean the tedious doing the same thing over and over phase?" she mumbled into the cushion.

Asami scooted her body closer, and put an arm around Korra's shoulders. Korra rolled her head out from the pillow and let herself be cradled under Asami's arm.

"But that sounds so boring," Korra whined.

Asami chuckled and moved a few locks of hair from the Korra's face. "You're just sulking because the big tough Avatar part is over, and now you have to use your head."

"Are you saying I'm not smart?"

"No, but you I know you'd rather fight your way out of a problem."

Korra let out a long sigh. "Yeah… but I'm a fully-fledged Avatar now, I'm ready to start fighting with my head more… Cos it's not all about physical strength… and stuff."

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad-" Asami started.

"I know," Korra replied, cutting her girlfriend off. She looked up at Asami and flashed a smile. "I need start working on that part of my role more. I need to see this as an opportunity for growth."

"So mature of you, Avatar Korra," Asami teased, poking a finger into her girlfriend's tan cheek.

Korra grinned and nodded. "Thank you. I want my name to be synonymous with maturity. The newspapers will read; Avatar Korra now the picture of maturity. City has no concerns about her abilities anymore."

"Oh the newspapers will be talking about you again real soon..."

"Yeah, Avatar Korra; world's greatest lover."

Asami rolled her eyes and pulled herself up. She let Korra slip out of her arms. Korra sat up as well, so they were both seated in the bed across from each other.

"Are you blushing?" Korra asked, leaning in.

Asami tucked her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. She wrapped her arms around her legs to hold them in place. "Last night… you don't know how long I've wanted…" Asami shook her head and buried it in her knees, unable to finish.

Korra smiled and scooted closer. "Hey, didn't you tell me we should be able to talk about these things?" She placed an arm around Asami's shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

Asami peeked her face out from her knees and smiled.

"I'm tired of talking," she murmured as she moved swiftly to press her face to Korra's. Korra's grip on her shoulder tightened to hold them together as they kissed.

Korra and Asami spent the rest of their morning laying in bed, enjoying the peace and quiet of the empty mansion. They eventually got hungry and, not wanting to involve Hong, the housekeeper, they took Asami's car out to find a café.

The couple decided on a small noodle house that must have recently reopened, as their sign read 'grand re-opening.' They took one of the three small round tables out front. A wooden awning half-covered them from the noon sun. There were a few people milling about the side street. Sounds of hammers pounding, and saws cutting hummed in the background.

While waiting for their food, Korra grinned mischievously and started to lean over to Asami to kiss her, when her girlfriend pulled away. Korra stopped moving, her grin quickly changing to a frown.

"We can't here," Asami whispered.

Korra let out a breath, and gave a slight nod. She looked down at the table settings, and grasped one of her chopsticks. She rotated it around as if to inspect it. "You know I've never seen another couple like us in the city."

"I'm sure you have, but were unaware." Asami sighed, also taking an interest in watching Korra's nimble fingers play with the stick.

"So other couples hide too. Does that mean, even after our announcement, I can't kiss you in public?"

Asami shot up in her seat. "No, of course not. Once it's out there, I don't see any point in being modest in public."

Korra looked up and grinned the lopsided grin Asami loved so much. Asami briefly melted before placing two fingers over Korra's mouth. "Don't get any wild ideas."

"You said-"

"What have I unleashed? Where is my bashful Avatar?" Asami lamented.

Korra chuckled and shook her head. "I'm teasing, I just want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you whenever I want, wherever I want."

"As long as that's it," Asami said in a mock-stern tone. She then flipped her hair carelessly over her shoulder. "I am a lady and expect to be treated as such."

The server's arrival paused the conversation as the two women patiently waited for their respective bowls to be placed in front of them.

Their server was a squinting old woman, who did not appear to recognize who she was waiting on. "Would either of you girls like any sprouts or basil leaves for your soup? I can't offer you any lime, fruit is still scarce in these parts."

"Sprouts please," Korra quickly replied. "You know what, basil too!"

"Where were you getting your limes from?" Asami asked curiously.

The old woman folded her hands behind her back in a feeble attempt to fix her posture. "My husband would just go down to the main street market and get it from one of the fruit stands. A lot of those vendors imported their fruits from the Earth Kingdom. We thought after Kuvira was taken down, trade would open up more, but it seems like they still don't want to share. I'll be right back with your toppings."

The girls watched the woman shuffle back inside.

"Future Industries going to get into the fruit trade now?" Korra asked, before blowing on her steaming bowl.

Asami gave a slight shake of her head. "No, but I'd figure that the Earth Kingdom would be interested in getting trade going again to increase revenue. This latest contract to rebuild the city is helping my company supplement the loss of sales we are experiencing to the Earth Kingdom now Kuvira isn't buying Satomobiles by the thousand anymore."

"Don't let the public find out, or they're going to think I'm blowing up the city every three years to keep you in business."

Asami chuckled while slurping up a few noodles. She covered her mouth with a pale hand as she finished chewing. "Please don't let the city get blown up again, I really don't want to have to rebuild these roads a third time. I'm burnt out. I'm basically using all the plans from last time."

"Then to many, many years of peace and quiet in Republic City," Korra said, holding up her water glass.

Asami clinked her own into Korra's. "To peace everywhere."

After lunch the they returned to the mansion and made a pot of tea. They found themselves back in Asami's room, tea in tow, and Korra felt slightly anxious again.

"Want to see embarrassing things from my childhood?"Asami asked, opening up a side table drawer and pulling out a box with a few books and loose papers stacked on top. She laid the pile out on the bed and sat down beside it.

Korra followed her over and sat down on the other side of the keepsakes.

They looked through stacks of early doodles, already far better than anything Korra could draw now, clippings of accolades from the Republic News, and a few candid family photos showing Hiroshi Sato in such a jovial manner that Korra could hardly believe he was the same man she had confronted so long ago.

"My mother's death really changed him. A dream to be successful, spun out of control into an obsession for power," Asami said, as if reading Korra's thoughts.

"Did it change you?"

"Hard to say. I was so young. I didn't know who I was. I know losing her affected me, but I've lived more years without her than with her. So…" Asami trailed off picking up a picture of her mother. She adjusted her position on the bed, pulling her legs up under her chin. "I wanted to be like her. The first time my father ever got really mad at me was maybe a few months after she passed. He had been sleeping in his study since her death, so he didn't know I had been going into their bedroom. They had a large walk-in closet. I would go in there and pretend to be her. I'd put on her gloves, or her shoes, easy to reach things. One day I noticed her fireferret stoll, don't tell Bolin, up on the top shelf. I thought I could climb up and get it. I slipped and latched onto one of my mother's dresses to catch myself. I ended up ripping it straight down. My father heard the crash and found me and the ruined dress. It was his favorite one of course, a first anniversary present. I'll never forget how red his face was. He locked their bedroom from then on. Soon more doors locked and more of my mother's things were shut away. I'm sure he did it to preserve them, but I think removing her presence from the home disconnected us from her."

"You don't have to shut her away anymore. It's your house now."

"You want to see the room?" Asami asked, setting the photo down.

"Sure."

Asami then reached out and grabbed Korra's hand, guiding her from the bed and down the hall. Her parents' bedroom was a little bit bigger than Asami's. A posted king-size bed occupied the center of the room. The bed was made up with a deep crimson comforter with ornate flowers stitched along the seams. Several red and green pillows were stacked up at the head board, forming a steeple with one small decorative pillow at the center.

A vanity dresser not unlike Asami's was on one side of the room and on the other was a dark oak chest cabinet. Korra assumed the later was Hiroshi's, since it only had a few keepsakes on it and a bottle of musk.

Asami touched the wall and it slid to reveal her parents' very large walk-in closet. "Mother's things on her vanity were left where she last placed them, and it always seemed out of bounds. But I never had a problem playing with her things in here."

Korra looked around at the closet; each side had a long pole that held up the row of clothes. Above that were wooden cubbies built into the wall with a pair of shoes or a few sweaters tucked in each. Again Mr. Sato's space was apparent, taking up about a third of one side. A series of dark suits had a clear dividing line where Mrs Sato's colorful wardrobe began."Your mother liked to play dress up, huh?"

"It was her one guilty pleasure. Should we indulge?"

Korra blinked a few times before uttering,"wha?"

"Play dress up with me?"

"Sure, but I dunno if I'll fit into any of your mother's clothes."

"I'm sure something will," Asami said with a wave, and she dove into the closest row of clothes, pushing hangers aside as she searched.

"How about this? It's kind of a looser, more flowy dress, like for the beach."

"Okay," Korra said with a shrug and took the dress. She headed toward the doorway to leave.

"Still too bashful to change infront of me?"

"Was there an ulterior motive to playing dress up?"

Asami's only reply was a wink.

Korra decided against leaving, but turned around in an attempt at modesty. Once she was down to her underclothes Korra tossed the bottom of the dress over her head and tried to wriggle it over her body.

Asami pressed a hand on Korra's left shoulder to stop her. "There's a clasp in the back."

Asami's other hand fished through the folds of fabric and grasped the two interlocking metsl pieces, flicking them apart. The dress opened, allowing Korra's shoulders to start to fit through, but they caught again. The dress was half over the Avatar locking her arms to her sides. If she raised them the dress would have ripped.

"Help!" Korra giggled.

Asami moved to free her girlfriend from the dress. "I think my mother must have had all her clothes tailored to her measurements."

"Guess you're the only one who can play dress up. I don't want to ruin any more of your mother's clothing."

"We could try my father's wardrobe."

Korra envisioned herself drowning in a pre-jail Hiroshi suit. "I think we might have the opposite problem with his clothes."

"This is his old wardrobe. My father was much thinner as a young man. My mother's wealthy indulgences were clothes, and you can guess what my father's were."

"I don't blame him. If I could afford to eat whatever I wanted... though I'd still exercise…" Korra rambled as she watched Asami push over hangers. "If you're picking out my outfit, I should get to pick yours."

Asami turned around from the hangers, with a thoughtful look on her face. "That's true," she murmured, picking up the mug of tea she had set on an end table.

"I'm very curious to see what you pick out for me, Avatar," Asami said, passing along the other mug. Korra blushed, accepting it. She took a swig before turning to the other side of the closet.

Korra took several small sips as she considered the long row of the late Mrs. Sato's wardrobe. She suddenly felt overwhelmed by all her options. What was she thinking, she didn't know anything about fashion? Korra finished off the tea and slammed the mug on the side table. She marched up to the rack and threw a hand into the line of fabric, reaching for something silky and red. A safe choice. Korra examined the dress as she held the hanger out before her. The fabric was similar to that of Asami's robe, the same deep red. Really the whole dress reminded her of it, there was just a whole lot less of it.

"That looks fun," Asami purred.

Korra jumped, almost forgetting she wasn't alone, Asami had been so quiet. They exchanged hangers and each dressed in their chosen outfit.

Korra attempted to button the black vest that came with the suit, but it wouldn't close across her chest, so she left it open. Over it she pulled on the dark green suit jacket. It fit well in the shoulders, but the bottom fell lower than she felt it probably should, making her feel small. She moved to the wall mirror at the back of the closet.

"Not too bad a fit," Asami commented.

"You're talking about yourself, right?" Korra asked, eying her girlfriend up and down. The red dress fitted perfectly.

Korra hooked her thumbs into her pants, tucking the front of her coat back, as she rocked on her heels. "I feel like a fancy gentleman. Would m'lady care to join me for a night on the town?"

Asami grinned and flipped her hair back. "You sound like Bolin."

"He's the master of characters."

"He is a character." Asami moved behind Korra examining her choice of outfit. "If we had this fitted, you could actually wear this out if you wanted."

"Yeah, maybe lose the jacket, but I like the vest," Korra said, holding out her hands to demonstrate the ill fit of the jacket.

"Nothing can have sleeves with you, huh?"

Korra pulled on the white collar under the vest. "I'd wear a nice shirt like this."

Asami moved to stand beside her girlfriend, looping their arms together like they would if they were walking about town. She admired their appearance in the mirror. "It's a pity we look this good and we're not going out anywhere."

"I disagree, I'm happy to have you here looking beautiful all to myself."

Asami blushed. "I don't want to share you with anyone else either… I just want others to see you and be jealous," she said coyly.

Korra turned her body to face Asami. "I think it's the other way around, current outfits considered, but I'm not going to continue this argument."

"What are you going to do instead?"

"This," Korra whispered, reached a shaky hand up to Asami's face, pulling her down to connect their lips. As they kissed, Korra felt her fears and anxieties fade into the background of her mind. She was with the person she had grown to trust above all others. The person to whom she didn't have to say anything to feel comfortable.

Asami closed her hands around Korra's waist, and started walking them towards a wall, still embracing. When the Korra's back connected with the hard surface, their kiss intensified.

Asami moved her hands up Korra's torso, chest, then shoulders. She tucked her palms into the opening of her sleeves, and slipped the oversized suit jacket down Korra's arms. Asami's hands were back to her chest, unbuttoning the collared shirt beneath the vest.

Korra's own hands were searching for the end of Asami's dress. She found it just above the her knees. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of the dress until her hands were beneath the fabric. Korra ran her palms along the smooth skin of Asami's thighs for a moment before daring to bring her hands higher. She moved them and the shirt up to her girlfriend's buttocks.

The kiss broke and the pair looked at each other, breathless.

"I don't want to be in the closet anymore…"

"The meeting with the public relations team is next week," Asami murmured, moving to kiss Korra's neck.

Korra grinned, feigned annoyance in her tone. "You know what I mean."

"I do."

"And we should probably get out of your parents' clothes," Korra added.

Asami nodded before pressing her body closer and sliding a thigh between Korra's legs. After a few moments she pulled away, hooking her arm through Korra's and guiding her out of the closet, through her parents' room, down the hall and into her own. Korra shut the door while Asami dimmed the light.

Korra had fallen asleep, but Asami was still awake. Korra had drifted off at some point while they were cuddling in bed. She still had her head tucked under Asami's arm, with a cheek on her chest, and a firm tan leg intertwined with Asami's own much paler legs.

They were both still naked, though she couldn't see much anymore. The waning moon only provided minimal light, letting her make out Korra's silhouette, but not much more. Asami ran her free hand along the darker woman's form. Korra's body was like a contradiction; how could something be so soft and hard at the same time?

Asami sighed contently, as she absentmindedly petted Korra. She found her thoughts drifting to another moment like this. She began to recall of how she felt lying late into the night after first bedding Shey. Part affirmation, part relief. Affirmation that her desires were real and very possible. Relief that she could do it with someone other than her very secret crush.

Towards the second anniversary of Korra's departure to the south, Asami was starting to feel pretty pathetic about her continued romantic feelings towards the Avatar. She tried to console herself with the fact that no one anticipated Korra would be gone this long, but that only made her feel selfish. A dear friend was suffering, and she wanted them to hurry up and get better so she could express her pent up feelings.

After vowing to move on, Shey came along unexpectedly, and she was nothing like Korra. With Shey everything was easy, there was no tension or questions about what their relationship was or would be. That clarity between them was so welcome at the time, because everything was so distant and vague with Korra.

Yet, she gave that up without any promise that the Avatar would return her affections. Asami wondered if she would always consider it her greatest gamble, because at the moment she did. Though she wished it hadn't been at the cost of Shey's feelings.

Asami felt a slight pull at her heart. She owed a lot of personal growth to Shey. Maybe someday things could be amicable between the two of them, and Korra.

Asami slipped out from Korra's embrace and tiptoed to one of her bedroom windows. She grasped one of the big red curtains covering the window and pulled it aside. There weren't nearly as many stars as in the Spirit World, but the sky was still beautifully speckled with distant twinkling lights.

Lost in her thoughts, Asami didn't realize Korra had woken up until her arms were wrapping around her waist.

"Beautiful..." Korra murmured.

"It is."

"I wasn't talking about the view."

Asami snorted and shook her head slightly. Korra nestled her head into Asami's neck and shoulders. She made a her way from one side to the other, sprinkling kisses.

"Maybe I should take tomorrow off too…"

"When do you think they'll be coming back?" Ikki asked for the fifth time during breakfast.

"Ikki, Asami probably won't be here until dinner time, I'm sure she's working now," Jinora chided.

"What about Korra, where is she then?"

Jinora looked to her mother. "Did she say two nights ago when she was coming back? Zhou Rhen and I wanted to speak with her..."

Pema let out a long sigh. "Korra will come back when Korra comes back. I'm not her mother, it's not my job to know where she is. But as your mother it is my job to tell you to stop moping around the table and go start your chores."

"I don't care when Korra comes back," Meelo announced proudly.

Jinora snorted. "Says the boy who cried when dad told him Korra still wasn't coming back from the south pole."

Meelo's eyes narrowed. "That was more than year ago and Korra's fully healed now. I don't worry about a fellow badass, she's got it covered."

"We're not worried, we just-" Ikki started, but stopped when she noticed her mother's growing scowl. "Alright, we're going!"

The three airbender children picked up their porridge bowls and filed out of the dining room. No sooner had the children left, than their father entered the room from the same door.

Tenzin lifted his robes slightly as he crossed his legs and sat down at the table. Pema passed her husband a bowl and spoon.

"I think we have a big problem coming," she said.

"What is it?"

"Korra is going to leave us one day soon, and I don't know what we're going to do with three mopy children when that happens."

"What do you mean, where is Korra going?"

"Tenzin dear, she's eventually going to move out of the temple and in with Asami."

Tezin bowed his head. "Ah, that…"

"She's been gone twenty-four hours and I can't get them off my back. Our girls especially are going to be crushed. It seems more than ever Ikki and Jinora want to be with the older girls."

"I've been trying to encourage Jinora to train with me more, but she's so willful."

"They both are," Pema sighed.

Tenzin lifted a hand to his wife's shoulder. "Of all the people our daughters could be looking up to, it could be a lot worse."

Pema nodded and looked to her mostly untouched breakfast. "I never imagined in a million years how close my life would be to the Avatar's, or that'd I'd help raise her! Pfft. But I fell madly in love with the Avatar's son, the only man who could teach his father's reincarnation airbending. And then I grew to love her too."

"Something else troubling you, Pema?"

She shook her head and smiled wistfully. "No, it's just that motley band of teenagers who crashed into our lives four years ago are growing up. And now Jinora's a teenager and Ikki and Meelo will be teenagers soon…"

"Time moves too quickly, I know."

"Why can't someone invent time bending?" Pema sighed.

Bolin removed his hard hat to wipe the sweat off his brow with a handkerchief he'd stashed in his pocket. It was around ten in the morning, and the bright sun was starting to warm things up. He was on a clean-up site with about seven other earthbenders who worked for Future Industries.

"Phew, bending like this is hard work, huh?" Bolin said aloud to no one in particular. When he got nothing more than a few looks from his coworkers, Bolin put his hat back on and started for another pile of rubble.

Bolin examined the wreckage, to determine how much steel was in the pile. He was advised to leave the mounds that were mostly metal to the benders who could do both. Bolin had quickly learned he was at a disadvantage not being able to bend metal. He had thought about bringing up his ability to lava bend to the foreman, but wasn't sure how it could be useful for clean up. He could melt the rubble around the steel beams, but they would also melt in the heat. All metal was currently being salvaged for reconstruction.

"If I could learn how to metalbend, and then lava bend that metal, I'd be like a bending blacksmith!" Bolin exclaimed to himself. He picked up a steel bar and struck a bending pose, envisioning himself in a apron, the bar in his hand, a hammer. "Call me the 'Bender-Smith'."

"Hey quit fooling around and get back to work!" the foreman called out.

Bolin flinched, dropping the metal rod. He dared a peek back. The hulking man who was the foreman fortunately had already turned away and was now barking orders at some other benders in his range.

Bolin sighed and resumed his bending stance, this time to actually move piles of earth. A few minutes passed when he heard a more feminine voice call out to him.

"What's a famous mover star doing lifting debris?"

Bolin lowered his arms and looked around for whoever was speaking to him. His eyes finally settled on a tall, pale woman, possibly of Fire Nation descent, dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit and high black boots. Behind her were two men, one holding a mover camera and the other a tall pole with a microphone attached. They were navigating their way down from a large pile of rubble.

"Are you giving back to the community?" the woman pressed.

Bolin scratched at the back of his head. "Uh, yeah, just doing my part. I mean I'm getting paid, but-"

"Stop filming", the woman commanded to her crew. "This is your job?"

"Yeah," Bolin replied awkwardly. "Who are you?"

The woman's stance relaxed and she bowed her head briefly, letting out a chuckle. She jumped down the rest of the way from the rubble mound to stand before Bolin, removed a black leather glove and extended her hand. "Shey. I'm a big fan of your work."

Bolin blushed and took her hand. "Been a while since anyone's approached me about that. What are you all doing here?"

"We've been documenting the Kuvira crisis. We're getting footage right now of the destruction and rebuilding efforts. We plan on putting out the picture next year. It's going to be revolutionary, we're calling it a 'documover'."

"Cool," Bolin said, fidgeting a bit in place.

Shey looked at him and shook her head. She let out an exasperated breath. "This is crazy. You're an amazing actor. Your talent is wasted on manual labor."

"I don't know about that… " Bolin murmured, blushing again. "Besides, I like the simplicity of this job."

Shey looked around the construction site and noticed a few pieces of equipment with the Future Industries logo. "Are you working for Asami Sato?"

"Yeah, she's the one who hooked me up with the gig. She's an old friend."

"Really?" Shey said, more as a question to herself, nodding her head. She looked to the ground for a moment, and chewed at her bottom lip. "How... how is she?"

"I think pretty good all things considered. Her dad died in the attack, but now that she's dating-" Bolin stopped himself and nervously looked over to Shey, who was intently looking at him now. He could hear Opal smacking her palm to her face and letting out a groan as if she was there with him.

"Now that she's dating-" Bolin started again, his eyes darting all around him for an escape. "Now that she's dating, now, she's getting her groove back."

"Who is she dating?" Shey asked.

"No one, she's just out there, dating. Seeing what her options are. You know, as women her age often do," Bolin replied backing away. He looked down to his bare wrist and then up to the sun. He shot his watchless arm up to shield the bright rays. "Look at the time, I forgot I'm supposed to meet the little lady for lunch. Great meeting you through, good luck with the documover."

Bolin scurried through the rubble, jumping over bricks and spikes as he vacated the clean-up site.

To be continued...