After Korra had given her speech to the four nations, she and Lemaya were planning on having lunch somewhere with the others, but Tonraq had something else in mind for them.
As he explained once Korra, Lemaya, Asami, Mako, and Bolin all entered his freshly decorated office, there had been a lot of people that they arrested during Unalaq's attempted conquering of the world.
Some were relegated into the care of the North, per Eska and Desna's request, but Tonraq insisted on the South also having equal care over their assailants. Eska and Desna agreed and left a good number of Unalaq sympathizers, the ones who still sympathized with him anyway, for the South to deal with.
Going over it with Team Avatar, they agreed with his already made decision to put them in prison until they would be turned back to the North for a final verdict per their behavior. But, those weren't the only sympathizers Tonraq wanted to tell them about.
"While you were all in the Spirit World, I believe, a group of people came to our base. They said they came in peace."
"What did they want?" Mako asked as he rested against the wall by the door.
"They wanted to bring us something. A gift as they put it."
"Was it one of Unlaq's confidantes?" Lemaya murmured, trying to anticipate the direction this conversation might head.
"Very good, Lemaya. It was. His name is Zaheer, and they said he was very close to Unalaq's plans. And, unsurprisingly, Amon's plans before that." Mako and Korra shared a look of recognition, the memories surrounding Amon saying that very name pricking their minds.
"But we saw Amon throw Zaheer out a window. We kinda figured he was, you know..." Korra made a cutting gesture over her neck and Tonraq winced.
"No need for that gesture, Korra, we know. And, I see why you would think that, but he verified himself that he is Zaheer and has helped both Amon and Unalaq. Two of our world's greatest threats in Avatar Korra's time."
"Did he write a confession?" Asami moved the finger that rested on her chin to her side and tapped her knee lightly. "When my dad was arrested, they made him write a confession and then had me look over it just so I could know what he said. Is that what you're going to let us do, Chief Tonraq?"
Tonraq nodded solemnly and pulled a folder from inside his desk. "Like Asami said, I want you to know this about him. It may not be much, but it's more than nothing. And anything is helpful in case he becomes a problem again."
The team gathered around the folder, picking the documents apart. They circled through the descriptions of Zaheer's burly form and bald head, Zaheer's known strengths and powers as known by his non-bender partners, and what pieces of his past that his friends knew. Then, they all gathered together to listen to Bolin as he read out Zaheer's confession.
It was short and to the point and mostly the last part of the confession was of any interest to them. "I aided Amon back when he said he was for helping non-benders. And when Unalaq said the same, I believed him too. I guess I'm a follower in that way because I have done the same for a group before them that said they are for the non-bender cause.
"All I wanted was for the injustice of non-benders to stop, but I see now that I will not get that through others. I thought my past allies were too extreme, but it was I who was not extreme enough. I need to achieve this myself by making the world finally balanced in its next stage of life. As my friends have taught me, there is one unyielding power in this world, and as long as it's around, my goal will never be reached. That is why I have aligned myself with such evils in the past and that is why I will do it no longer."
As Bolin's voice faded from the room, everyone seemed to get Zaheer's memo. The "unyielding power" was the Avatar and his new goal was to get rid of it. It seemed as crazy as Unalaq's idea of a Dark Avatar, but it was more terrifying simply because it wasn't another Avatar, it was no Avatar at all.
Lemaya leaned over Korra's back and gently rubbed her back knowing that this must be stressful for her. Tonraq quietly gathered the papers and cleared his throat, adding one last thing: "For now, he is being transported to a higher security prison than even we have here in the South. If that doesn't hold, then..."
"I vote to not worry about it for now." Bolin's voice loudly rolled over Tonraq and he muttered a polite apology when Tonraq raised a sharp brow at him. "It won't be easy because this guy sounds super scary, but there's nothing we can do until he makes a move because we know nothing about any plan or whatever, only a motive and end goal. It's no use worrying over something we can't control right now."
After a minute, they murmured in agreement and slowly got to their feet. Lemaya said, "The second he does something, we'll plan our next move. Okay?"
"Okay."
"And, in the meantime, if you hear about anything that could be dangerous, tell another one of us and the authorities so we can nip it in the bud," Korra continued, firmly looking at everyone in the room.
"Understood." They all slowly filed out of the room, leaving Tonraq in silence.
Mako, Asami, and Bolin went ahead to save a table at a nearby restaurant as Lemaya stayed behind to talk to Korra who had frozen by the door to her father's office. "You okay?" Lemaya asked, squeezing Korra's hand lightly.
Korra sighed and rushed forward, hugging Lemaya tightly. She buried her head into Lemaya's hair and took a deep breath, taking in her soft scent. "I will be."
As the night came in and prisoners were shuffled around the South, Asami very calmly approached Tonraq as he oversaw the transport of the non-benders that had brought Zaheer to them. "Good morning, Asami. What can I do for you?"
"What will happen to them?" Asami spoke quietly as she surveyed the broken and battered non-benders in the enclosure below the balcony she and Tonraq stood on.
"I haven't decided yet. Did you have something in mind?" Tonraq looked over at Asami and noticed her fall into deep thought. Then, after a few quiet moments, she spoke again.
"On our way back from lunch, we passed where you were holding them this afternoon. Lemaya recognized them as friends of Kani, the woman who gave Lemaya the scroll before she passed.:
Tonraq hummed. "I see. And she thinks they're like her."
"Yes. And I do too. I have seen what happened to them happen to my father, but my father was too far gone because of things that had happened long before Amon got to him. He needs help that I cannot give, but I don't think that's true for them. I think that I can help."
Tonraq turned back to the non-benders below him and nodded. Simply, he said, "How?"
"Well, they wanted more opportunities for non-benders and felt that they needed to go to extreme means to get it since no one was giving them a hand. I think if we can eliminate that problem, give them those opportunities, less of them will turn to such violent plans to establish change."Asami turned to face Tonraq fully and looked him in his eyes to show how serious she was about this.
"I'm trying to relaunch my company and the one thing my dad did right was give non-benders a chance when others wouldn't. It's a part of him that I want to stay true to in this next chapter so I want to do as he did and give them another chance. They'd still be under punishment for their alliance with Unalaq, but they'd spend that punishment paying back to the community and working on research and investments to help others in the future at my company. Then, after their time is served, they won't be starting completely new and will have a good job to keep them going."
Tonraq spared another look down at the non-benders then he let his face spread into a wide grin. "I wish more of our world leaders felt like you do, Asami. I find that you youngins seem to be more apt to lead our world than us leaders are. And, if Lemaya has taught me anything in my moments of teaching to her, it's that an opportunity is one of the best gifts anyone can give. Once the elders reach a verdict on the length of their sentences, I'll be in touch to discuss the rest of their arrangements."
"Thank you, Tonraq," Asami said. Her breath fanned her face wildly as she finally was able to breathe. She finally let her nervousness spread across her and die out, the faked calm disappearing as soon as her pitch was done.
"No, thank you, Asami. You have reminded me of the type of proactive leadership I need to exhibit as long as I am chief of the Southern Water Tribe. I wish you luck with your company." Tonraq outstretched his hand and Asami gladly took it, giving it the same firm shake she would give every high-profile person she met.
"And I wish you luck with the South."
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Metal bars ground to a close in many places the day Team Avatar returned to Republic City and for many reasons at that. In the North, Eska and Desna took great pleasure in the anger riddling the Northern Soldiers' faces as they stripped them of their titles and locked them up. In the South, the non-benders accepted their fates without complaint, yet watched the closing doors with a glimmer of hope in them that they thought was gone for far too long.
Somewhere out of reach and out of touch, Zaheer was locked away in a small isolated cell, one that would crush any feeble spirit. But, Zaheer's spirit was the opposite and through the long and quiet hours, he waited and waited until the shift he felt caused everything to fall into place.
The last of these closing cell doors was in Republic City's prison. And, unlike for the others, it wasn't as punishment or as a temporary holding, it was for freedom.
Zhu Li stared out of the single window in Varrick's lush cell with a pained look in her eyes. The window was barred and she could barely see past them, yet she could imagine all the great things beyond the prison as clear as day in her mind.
At first, she wanted to stay to keep Varrick company because she truly liked being by his side, but she didn't want to be in there forever. Not when it wasn't her mistake that landed him there. And since Varrick wasn't a complete idiot, he could see that. And so, he asked, "Why have you continued to say even when it's clear it makes you unhappy?"
Zhu Li didn't turn from the window. She couldn't. She couldn't look at how far she knew his face would fall. "Because you're my boss. And who knows if I'll have anything left out there if I don't have the one thing I've poured my soul into doing: helping you."
Varrick bit his lip and sighed, his shoulder crumpling in the heavy exhaustion that had befallen him in the cell. Even his exuberant decorations couldn't stop his outlook from becoming dull in that quiet boxed room. "Here." Varrick reached into a drawer stuck inside the table beside his chair and produced a small piece of paper.
Zhu Li carefully stepped to his side and took the paper into her fingers, reading it carefully. "It's a check?" Her words came out as a question as she tried to understand what he was writing it for.
"Yes. I have an account in your name for your yearly salary. It's stocked up years in advance so I hope it's enough. And I would like for you to have this." Varrick's voice broke frequently as he spoke for he didn't use it often. It was mostly Zhu Li keeping the conversation nowadays.
"It makes you the new owner of my company. I won't be doing much with it for a while, so I think it's best that it goes into better hands rather than laying to waste."
"I don't know what to say." Zhu Li marveled at the two pieces of paper, but she couldn't wrap her head around them. In all her years of knowing Varrick, he had never done something quite like this. Not unless there was something in it for him.
"But what about you?" she asked, finally looking him in the eye.
Varrick shrugged, and Zhu Li could see from the fading sun the dark circles lining his face. "I'll be here. You can come visit me whenever, but I hope you don't. It means that you've found something out there that is important enough for you to pour your soul in rather than pouring it into me." Varrick extended a scraggly finger to the barred window and stared at the sun, seeing a glimpse of what Zhu Li could.
"Thank you, Varrick." Zhu Li's voice was wet with tears as her cheeks stained a light red.
"Don't thank me, just go. You no longer have a job with me, Zhu Li." Varrick raised his head and gave Zhu Li a weary smile, watching her leave with a forlorn glance. As the cell bar rang to a close once Zhu Li caught a guard's attention and asked for her leave, Varrick sank further into his chair and let out an airy breath.
Looking around the room it was clear that the only lush thing there was her company and he was stupid to have neglected it for so long.
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The sun over Republic City had completely gone and only the moon's crescent remained as the two lovebirds made their trip back up to the Air Temple hand in hand. As they chatted about something or another, their arms waved between them and occasionally they parted to raise fingers to each other's lips.
"Shh! They're probably sleeping," Korra whispered for the thirteenth time since they got off the ferry from the city. Lemaya groaned lightly and spun around, twirling Korra with her toward the center of the Air Temple's northern courtyard.
"You say that every time you laugh too loudly at something. I think you're the one that needs to be quiet."
"Pssh, no, I think it's you," Korra said, pursing her lips. Lemaya raised her brows and let a chuckle fall from her lips as she twirled Korra again.
"Whatever you say." Lemaya grinned as Korra hummed and grabbed her free hand, twisting both of them in a circle until Korra's back was facing the cherry blossom tree in the center of the courtyard.
"Whatever I say? Well then, I say that you should totally let me...hmmm." Korra paused to think of something fun to do. "You should totally let me take you fishing."
"Fishing?" Lemaya asked. She furrowed her brows and stepped closer to Korra. Korra involuntarily stepped back, her heart beating quicker the closer Lemaya got to her. Since they finished dinner and took a short walk through town, Korra had told herself that she wouldn't get nervous if Lemaya's got close to her, not when Lemaya had already agreed to a date. Yet, every time Lemaya would lean her face over Korra's shoulder or by her ear, her face exploded in red and her heart rammed against each of her ribs.
"Yes. I've never been, but I've heard it's fun." Korra nervously sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and awkwardly smiled, hoping that Lemaya wouldn't notice her sudden tip into flusteredness. But, as she caught Lemaya's eyes temporarily dropping to the lip she held between her teeth, those thoughts flew right out the window.
Lemaya continued to step closer to Korra, a distant haze falling over her brain at the thick haze surrounding them. Her skin prickled in warmth the closer she got, and she felt a surge of confidence feed through her the more she made Korra inch back in nervousness. "Funny, I've heard the opposite."
"Well, that's-" Korra's voice hitched in her throat as her back slammed into the trunk of the cherry blossom tree. Her mind froze as Lemaya was able to finally get so close to her that Korra could feel Lemaya's breath on her skin.
"What were you saying?" Lemaya's voice was taunting as her lips turned upward in a little smirk and her eyes fell to Korra's lips once more. Korra would be lying if she said her entire focus since Lemaya pressed her against the tree wasn't Lemaya's slightly parted lips, but she had other things to worry about. Mostly the lack of words falling from her lips.
Korra typically regarded herself as someone who would just go for things and take charge, but somehow Lemaya had gotten the best of her and now here she was, happily stuck between Lemaya and a tree, unable to think of anything else, and wishing more than anything that she could quell her urge to grab Lemaya's face and kiss her.
"I don't remember," Korra said breathily, her eyes raising slowly to find Lemaya's. Her eyes were warm and kind, and amusement ran through them as Korra spoke. "Sorry, all I can really think about is how much I like you."
Lemaya laughed and moved forward again. Now, their chests were pressed together and Korra could feel Lemaya's chest rise and fall. "I like you too, Korra. For a long time now." Lemaya smiled and gently slipped her right hand from Korra's left. She lifted it to Korra's face, pushing back a loose strand of Korra's hair and rubbing a tender thumb over Korra's cheek. "And, for a long time since our date ended, I wanted to do this."
Leaning her face forward, Lemaya had to press up slightly on her toes to reach Korra's face with her own. Their foreheads came together and their noses fell on either side. As their lips brushed, Korra moved her head upward, her lips tingling as Lemaya whispered something across their mingling breaths. "Can I kiss you?"
"Yes." It was a simple answer and all Lemaya needed to press forward and capture Korra's lips in her own. As they both melted into each other, their minds shook blank and their skin felt as if fireworks went off inside of them.
Lemaya reached up her left hand to grab the other side of Korra's face as Korra snaked her arms around Lemaya's waist, bringing her even closer. Their lips pulled apart only for a few seconds needed to turn their heads the other way, their hearts pounding in anticipation over how long the other would continue the kiss.
Needing air, Korra tilted her head to the side and let Lemaya's kiss fall against her burning cheek. Korra sucked in a breath as she felt Lemaya chuckle against her skin and place a few more kisses along the line of her jaw. "You could have just said you wanted to stop kissing."
Korra closed her eyes at the warmth of Lemaya's voice and buried her head into Lemaya's shoulder, saying, "Why, when I could get you to kiss my cheek instead?" Korra let out her own laugh and peeled herself off of Lemaya, leaning her head back against the cherry blossom tree as the cold air finally broke through the tingling of her body.
"Fair enough." Lemaya twisted her hands back into Korra's and exhaled, taking in what just happened. She had finally kissed the girl she'd been pining after for so long, and she could help the giddiness that bubbled in her chest. She wished they could be like that forever, and Korra agreed, saying that if everything else failed, she was glad they got this moment to themselves.
Or, mostly to themselves.
"Dad, they were kissing!" The two girls leaped apart, their faces flushing in embarrassment rather than excitement. To their right along the very pathway they had just walked up stood a little boy, no younger than ten, with a polar bear plushie clutched tightly in his hands.
"Who was kissing, Tosi? Was it the acolytes?" Bumi called out from further down the pathway, his voice lined with curiosity. And the hot gossip it would be.
But, rather, Tenzin was the one more focused on the gossip as he re-found his love of that hobby of his the longer he stayed around his siblings and listened to them talk about their lives. "Bumi, lower your voice! Then they'll know we know!"
Korra and Lemaya could hear Bumi and Tenzin getting closer and they both desperately wanted to make a run for it, but the four big round eyes staring at them, one pair from the kid and one from the polar bear, they felt compelled to stay in place.
Tosi continued to study the two girls, his gaze focused on the one on the left, the one he recognized. "I think one of them is cousin Lemaya." A strangled gasp escaped from down the pathway and suddenly two figures appeared at the top of the hill, jaws slacked and the luggage they were carrying tossed aside beside them.
The gossips in them deep, deep, deep, deep down wished it was another girl Lemaya was kissing, but the cousins of Lemaya in them were absolutely thrilled to see that it was Korra. She finally did it!, Tenzin thought.
"You finally did it, tiny boomerang number seven!" Bumi cheered. Tenzin's facepalmed, shoving his brother to the side.
"Bumi!"
"What? What did I say?" Tenzin gave Bumi a sharp look and shook his head. He then moved on, steering Tosi further down the pathway and leaving Bumi to deal with all the bags and waving politely at the girls.
"So sorry, ignore us. Have a nice night." Tenzin smiled, easing the two girls' minds only slightly as Bumi followed close behind, grumbling incoherently.
"Who was cousin Lemaya kissing, Uncle Tenzin?" Tosi whispered. Or, attempted to whisper since he didn't want Lemaya to overhear him snooping.
"The Avatar," Bumi whisper-yelled back. Tenzin shot him another glare, silently cursing him for embarrassing them like that. Bumi just shrugged, winking at the girls as he passed despite their embarrassed stances.
"Wait, you guys know the Avatar? And she was kissing cousin Lemaya? Does that mean they're together now? And does that mean she's fami-"
"Shh, now, Tosi. You need to get to bed so you're well-rested for your training tomorrow. And hopefully, you haven't embarrassed Korra so much that she doesn't want to come train with us tomorrow." Tenzin hummed and turned Tosi back around momentarily so he could face Korra.
Tenzin patted Tosi's back, urging him to apologize. Tosi frowned and said, "Sorry, Ko-Ko..." Tosi looked for help on her name because he had already forgotten what Tenzin said it was.
"Korra."
"Korra. Sorry, Korra. I didn't mean to embarrass you."
Korra waved him off, the awkwardness slowly fading off into the night. She took a deep breath and regained herself, walking over to Tosi and bending down to his height. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean to and I'd love to help you train."
Tosi's face broke out into a wide grin and he rushed forward, hugging Korra. "Lemaya has such nice friends," he beamed before stepping back and skipping inside the temple. Bumi laughed at his son and followed him in, hushing him as he grew too loud and uncautious of the others sleeping.
"I hope we didn't interrupt anything important," Tenzin sighed as he ushered Lemaya and Korra inside before closing the door behind them all. Then, he whispered, "Goodnight, you two, and a word of advice, maybe make sure you're going to be the last people arriving on the island that night before you have fun in the courtyard." Tenzin gave them a teasing smile and the girls choked out coughs as he passed by.
They shared a glance of utter shock, unable to wrap their minds around the evening they had, but as the lateness of the night started to get to them, they suddenly didn't want to. They walked each other to their rooms and said their goodnights and sweet dreams and stepped off into their respective rooms. Korra and Lemaya fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows, and of all the dreams they had, the ones about each other were their favorites of the night.
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So, we have reached the end of book 2. Lemaya and Korra have confessed their feelings and kissed, Asami, Mako, and Korra have made up, Asami and Bolin are off on a vacay, Mako is off on his own, and they've managed to save the world from chaos. That's where we end book 2 and I think that's a great place to end it. Especially with you guys pulling in 7.07k reads, which is incredible, as you follow along with my story. You guys really make my day and I'm glad some of you are sticking around to see it through.
The next parts heading into book 3 take a little (well, more of a lot) of a detour from what happens in book 3 so updates may be a bit slower since I'm sifting through a ton of notes and stuff to make these first introductory chapters. But the chapters will be out regardless, I promise, I will finish all the books so bear with me. I know I was gone for a while already and might be gone for a while again, but I hope you guys can understand and be excited for the new things when I get back.
I can't wait to move into the next chapter of this saga, and I hope you guys are excited (and don't mind) to be following Asami and Bolin for a while as we find out what shenanigans they get up to on their vacation and what book 3 will have to offer. I hope you guys are staying safe and doing awesome, you're the best and I give y'all my best wishes. Thank you so much for all your support :)
<3 JinxingGinny