Chapter Text
The interrogation room at Republic City PD was definitely not where Korra expected to be only a few hours after arriving to Republic City. And the grumpy woman glaring at her from across the room doesn't help.
"I don't know if I really want to know what you were doing or if I should just wait for your teacher to try bail you out," Grumpy breaks her silence.
"Wait so you know who I am and still have me in handcuffs?" Korra frowns , "let me talk to the boss."
"I'm Chief Beifong and your avatar title doesn't impress me one bit," Beifong scowls. The door slides open and Tenzin walks in with a smile that almost seems out-of-place given the circumstances.
"Lin you are looking radiant as ever," Tenzin grins at Lin. Korra wonders how this man could be flirting at a time like this and he's married.
"Cut the garbage Tenzin. She should be on the island not destroying the city and racking up damages. Do you know how much this will cost?" Korra is thankful that Chief stick in the mud doesn't even entertain his line.
"Well I'm sure after some negotiation my wife might be able to help," Tenzin replies and the silly grin doesn't leave his face.
"Silly woman, I wonder how you'll make it up to her," Beifong rolls her eyes and Korra can't help but wonder if Beifong has something against Tenzin's wife.
"Well I was thinki-," Tenzin is thankfully cut off again.
"Don't want to hear it, take the avatar and get her out of the city," Beifong grumbles as she leaves them in the interrogation room.
"What about the cuffs!" Korra yells at Beifong as she walks down the hall. All she gets in return is a wave.
"Tenzin please don't leave me like this," Korra pleads.
"Like what? She released the cuffs," Tenzin points to the now open cuffs. "Let's head to the island so I can keep you out of trouble and figure out a way to make this up to Lin."
The trip to the island was getting uncomfortably silent for Korra. "Uh tell me about your family. Master Katara said you have four kids right?" Korra half asks hoping to lighten the mood.
"Right. Hakoda is 24 , Aditi is 21 , Jinora is 17 and Kazu is 10," Tenzin smiles. "Ooo who bends what? Are they all benders?" Korra gets excited about meeting the young benders and sparring with them.
"I'm going to leave that to you to find out. I feel like it won't take long," Tenzin gives her a mischievous smile.
"How mad do you think your wife will be about the incident with the police?" Korra asks sheepishly.
Tenzin just shrugs "we'll see at dinner".
Korra figures she will meet the kids at random, but she doesn't realise how random some of the encounters will be.
"The kids will enjoy sparring with you on the grounds. Maybe even Lin will give you a shot," Tenzin informs her as they pass the training grounds.
"But even you couldn't beat my mom earth vs earth," A child's voices sounds from the trees.
"I'm guessing that is Kazu," Korra wonders aloud.
"You are correct Avatar," a boy jumps from a tree branch in water tribe clothing.
"Since I'm on a roll I'm going to guess you're a waterbender like your gran gran," Korra smiles at the thought of her water bending master.
"Is that your final answer?" Kazu smirks causing Korra to second guess herself.
"Uh, hold on?" Korra's confidence slowly evaporating.
"Will you help me clean the grounds if you're wrong?"
"Ugh this is a trick question then. You must be an earthbender like your mom! Yes that's it! You're an earthbender" Korra points at Kazu triumphantly.
Instead of confirming Kazu walks away from the trees.
"We clean at 5 in the morning avatar," he yells over his shoulder.
"Wait you didn't prove anything. Are you even a bender?" Korra starts getting flustered with the ten-year old who is currently aiming at a target. Suddenly there is a flash off fire which leaves Korra baffled.
"Fire bender? Is that even Kazu?" Korra groans at the thought of helping a random kid with chores before the sun rises.
"Yes and yes," Tenzin replies amused by Korra's reaction.
"But your wife is an earth bender," Korra tries to make sense of the new information.
"Her father was fire nation. Kazu helped us get that information but that's a story for a different time. Let's head to the courtyard," Tenzin leads her towards a paved area near the dorms.
In the courtyard there is a sky bison and Korra thinks it's Tenzin's until she notices someone digging around the saddle. A girl in earth kingdom clothing peers down at the two and throws her bag to Tenzin. This must be the earth bender.
"Nice catch dad!" She jumps off the saddle and , to Korra's surprise, uses air bending to brace her landing.
"Aditi , this is Korra, she is here to learn airbending from me to complete her avatar training. Korra this is Aditi, my second oldest"
"Nice to meet yah, I won't be around much but my dad's a way better teacher than I'll be. You should come with me to Kyoshi Island in a few weeks I hear the unagi should be active by then," she suggests as if they were going for tea.
Unagi?! Korra cringes at the thought.
"Di let's have Korra finish her training before you bring her on any of your wild adventures," Tenzin pleads
"Fine fine. I need to shower before dinner so see you later ," Aditi heads towards what looks like the main house.
Next, they approach a girl Korra thinks is about her age. Her back is to them but Korra figures this might be Jinora.
"Hi dad and new person," she says without turning.
"Jin, this is Korra, the avatar. Korra this is my daughter Jinora," Tenzin introduces when Jinora faces them.
"Nice to meet you Korra," Jinora offers a hand. This was definitely the most normal introduction she's had so far with Tenzin's children.
"Korra will be staying with us while she learns airbending. Diti is back for-," Tenzin doesn't get the chance to finish.
"Diti is here?! I will catch up with you guys later," Jinora uses the earth to slide towards the house and her sister.
"I'm sorry they are uh close," Tenzin tries to apologise for his daughter.
They head to the meditation pavilions where a young man dressed in acolytes clothing splashed with mud approaches them. He looks like he could be water tribe.
"Does she really have to do this every time?" He rolls his jade eyes. Definitely not just water tribe.
"Here let me help," Korra offers but the young man holds his hand up.
"I've got it," he explains as he takes water from a skin Korra didn't notice at first glance and removes the mud. So he is a waterbender!
"Korra, this is Hakoda. He's our oldest," Tenzin cuts in
"It is a pleasure to meet you Avatar, my gran gran has told me so much about you. She seems to think you might be as good a healer as me but that remains to be seen," he smirks.
"Most guys don't want to be healers where I'm from and I'm sure your gran gran being one of the best didn't mean you had to be," Korra squints trying to put the story together. Even decades after Master Katara insisted she was taught how to fight many persons within the water tribe still held on to old ideas.
"I-uh," Hakoda scratches his head kind of embarrassed.
"Between his mom's job and three hyperactive siblings my boy here wanted to be able to heal them properly and insisted mother teach him everything," Tenzin beams with pride.
"Wow, that's actually so sweet," Korra smiles at Hakoda.
"Being a guy doesn't mean I can't be a healer. And you've met my gran gran. Being a healer and a badass fighter aren't mutually exclusive," he smirks.
"It's dinner time, let's talk more later," Tenzin guides them to the main house where the other siblings are already in the dining room.
Korra looks at all four kids sat down for dinner and thinks there's something vaguely familiar about them. It's in Jinora and Hakoda's jade eyes , the shape of Aditi's face and the scowl on Kazus face as he complains about being hungry. Of course she sees Tenzin's side in Hakoda's complexion that's closer to Kataras than Tenzin's other children, in Kazus blue grey eyes , Aditi's blue eyes and Jinora's calm demeanor. But still something about them seems too familiar.
"When is mom going to get here?!" Kazu complains.
Jinora closes her eyes and stomps. The others don't react but Korra is again confused for what feels like the hundredth time today.
"She's already here, give her a few seconds Kaz"
"Wait-" Korra's question is cut off by the clicking of metal boots coming closer. Tenzin gets up to meet his wife and pulls her in for a short kiss before she enters the room. Korra can only see a metal armour but she's confused. It couldn't be who she was thinking of.
"I know I know I'm sorry about earlier and will make it up to you," Tenzin says to the mysterious woman. Who could she be?
Shouts of "Mom!" break Korra's thoughts as she watches Aditi run towards Tenzin and his wife to give her mother a hug. She is shocked to see the Chief of Police when Tenzin steps aside.
"How are you my badgermole?" Beifong pulls Aditi into a hug.
"Great, but as much as I enjoy travelling I did miss you," Aditi squeezes her mother.
"I want to hear all about it but later, Kazu looks hangry," Beifong kisses her daughter's forehead and does the same to the other three then moves to the empty place beside Tenzin. Korra is thrown for a loop when it really dawns on her that she already managed to piss off Tenzin's wife. Great start.
"Avatar."
"Chief."
"You're welcome to almost anywhere here but please stay out of my interrogation room."
Before Korra can even respond the family starts catching up with Aditi. Korra spends the rest of the evening answering the occasional question and observing the odd bunch in front of her. Sure it's been years since the war ended but the idea of there being a family that had children with four different personalities and bending was still so strange. Their dinner was mostly vegetarian with one dish of some kind of barbequed meat. Beifong, Jinora and Kazu were the only ones to have any meat while the others stuck to vegetables.
There's something about this family she just doesn't get. Tenzin is wearing air nation clothes and Beifong is in her armour but the kids were a puzzle. Hakoda wore air nation robes, Aditi changed into a fire nation outfit, Jinora wore a water tribe dress and Kazu wore earth kingdom clothes.
Korra can't help but blurt out, "Did you plan your outfits to prove a point?"
"Uh no," Jinora rolled her eyes….ah her Beifong is finally showing.
"Kids could you clear the table while I get changed?" Beifong asks as she heads down the hall.
"Come on Korra we're just clearing the table and heading to the family room," Hakoda assures her.
"You guys do this every day?" Korra questions the siblings
"Just whenever we are all together for dinner," Kazu replies for his brother as they clear the last plates from the table.
Korra is led to another room where she finds Beifong curled up at Tenzin's side with her head on his shoulder and his arm around her. For a second they look like a normal couple not the head of a nation and chief of police. Korra notices Lin's necklace looks just like a traditional water tribe betrothal necklace.
"Well Korra the floor is yours to ask us anything," Tenzin gestures to the center of the room.
"The clothes, I don't get the clothes," Korra scratches her head.
"I got this one," Kazu jumps to his feet. Here we go again Korra thinks to herself
"Just because we bend one element doesn't take away from our mixed heritage. Just like non benders from the water tribe are still water tribe we are still air, earth ,water and fire. Our parents raised us to appreciate all our roots, though fire was a surprise addition thanks to me," Kazu explains while the rest of his family just smiles at the usually hyper ten year old.
"When we explore the earth kingdom dad wears earth kingdom clothes and we wonder like a normal family not the kids and grandkids of the last avatar and other war heroes. Same thing goes for our fire nation visits. We all have clothes from the four nations," Jinora adds.
"Most people think we do it to show off that our family is four nations becoming one but we do it because it's a part of who we are. My being an airbender doesn't mean I shun my earth kingdom roots. It means I learn how to incorporate them in my life as well," Aditi continues.
"Like any family we have our disagreements and fights so don't expect sunshine and roses all the time," Hakoda volunteers not looking from his book.
Maybe this won't be so bad after all.
"Oh yes Korra, training starts at dawn"