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Chapter Text

Kuvira seems to be one of those people, who terrifies a lot of people, but who is respected and adored by many. Whenever she is seen around Zaofu, she is either all by herself, with the Beifong family or talking to other guards. She has been promoted to become a full-time guard, but she has until the year changes to live her normal life. But seeing Kuvira so much alone has gotten Ranya to wonder if she has other friends besides the Beifong siblings. To her, Kuvira seems lonely. 

"Kuvira, hold up!" Ranya says, as Kuvira is about to leave the training area for a break. The tall woman turns around to look at Ranya with a confused look on her face. She crosses her arms and shifts the weight of her body to her other leg, waiting for Ranya to speak.

But Ranya doesn't speak up, until the last person leaves the area. "So, uh. I was thinking... Would you like to... I don't know, hang out sometime? Maybe even today?" Ranya asks with a shaking voice. She notices that Kuvira relaxes a little and a smile curves on her lips. 

"That's nice of you to ask. But I am afraid that I don't have enough time to hang out with people," she answers, and her words disappoint Ranya. She doesn't know what to respond, so she just stays silent and lies her eyes on the ground, not wanting to look at Kuvira. She is ready to leave but Kuvira gently grabs her arm and stops her. "But I don't think that one time will do any harm," she says with her gentle, husky voice. 

Ranya takes a step back to face Kuvira and her beautiful, green eyes. She smiles and lets out a chuckle. "Great! See you at seven by the river?" She asks and Kuvira nods as a yes. She then let’s go of Ranya's arm and walks out of the training area, leaving Ranya standing there alone. 

Blood rushes to Ranya's face, as she jumps around in excitement, her heart pounding like crazy. She is smiling so hard that her cheeks start hurting. She is excited that she finally had the courage to talk to Kuvira and ask her to hang out with her. 

On her way to the river, Ranya spots a beautiful blue flower on the ground. She smiles and leans over to pick it up. She admires it and carries it with her to the river, where Kuvira is already waiting for her. The woman is standing with her hands behind her back, looking at the sun that is setting behind the mountains. 

Kuvira can hear Ranya coming, so she turns around and gives her a gentle smile. The sun hits her tan skin, giving it a beautiful orange tint. She seems even more stunning if that is possible. Her hair is down, and she is wearing a casual version of the Zaofu robes with a simple silver bracelet around her wrist. 

"Hi", Kuvira greets her and takes a step forward. Kuvira notices the flower Ranya is carrying and points at it. "That is a pretty flower," she points out. Ranya eyes the flower in her hand and then brings her eyes to Kuvira's.

"Do you want it? I found it on my way here, I'm sure there are more growing nearby." Ranya hands the flower to Kuvira, who accepts it and holds it with gentle hands, as if it would break in her hands if she wasn't careful. Kuvira smiles as she studies the flower. 

They sit down on the ground and look at the sun in silence, waiting for either one to break the moment of silence. Then Kuvira speaks up. "You know, I don't really hang out with people. But I must admit, this is refreshing to be outside with someone who isn't living in the same house with me," she explains, and her words make Ranya look at the woman, who is sitting next to her. 

Kuvira's words bring a smile to Ranya's face. "I'm glad you like this. I like this too." Ranya lets out a sigh and then falls on her back, Kuvira following her example. They look at the clouds that are passing by on the sky that is filled with different shades of blue, purple, and pink. "Maybe we can do this again... If you're fine with it," Ranya suggests quietly, hoping to hear a yes.

Kuvira thinks about her words for a while before she answers the question. "I will become a guard after the year changes, meaning that I won't have much free time anymore. And I want to do things that I haven't done or that I don't get to do often," she starts out and turns her head slightly to face Ranya. "So yes, I think we can do this again sometime."

Her answer makes Ranya happy and she rolls over to her stomach, so that she can see Kuvira's face better. "Sounds great. Now, let's go for a walk," she says and gets up from the ground, helping Kuvira up. They head towards the gardens behind the big buildings. 

When they walk around the garden, Ranya learns a lot about Kuvira. Apparently, she is mostly by herself because she is focusing on getting the career she is aiming for and making Suyin happy. She explained to her that Suyin is like a mother-figure to her. Kuvira does admit that she doesn't really have other friends besides the Beifong family and some guards she has been training with. "When I was younger, I used to collect all kinds of rocks. I still have them, it never felt right to throw them away. I used to practise earth bending with them," Kuvira reveals and adds a little laugh. "Okay, enough of me. I want to know more about you. I have seen you around Zaofu, but I know nothing about you. Not even your name!"

"Oh, my name is Ranya," Ranya laughs and they stop to sit down on the grass in the garden. "Well, uhm, I was abandoned by my biological parents when I was around two years old. Suyin took me in, just like she did with you. I remember the day when she took you in... After a few years of me being here under Suyin's care, I was adopted. My adoptive parents, who I just call my real parents, own the little jewelry shop near the training area," Ranya explains and Kuvira realizes that they are not so different after all. "I have been in this metal... City, my whole life and I have never seen the outside-world, but I'd like to experience it. Even just once," she whispers and looks down at the grass she is playing with.

Kuvira turns to look at Ranya. She understands what she means, but she doesn't feel the same way. She is glad that she was able to grow up in a place, where she was guaranteed to be safe and where she was wanted and understood. She doesn't really miss the outside world. 

The sun has set, and it is time to close Zaofu. Lights turn on around the city and the garden gets darker. More guards are around, and they are ready to escort home those who live in different parts of the city. 

"Do you want to go on an adventure with me someday?" Ranya asks suddenly and then turns to face Kuvira. She is confused by the question, but quickly connects Ranya's question to what she had said earlier. She jumps off the ground, shaking her head. 

"I'm sorry, Ranya, but I can't risk my career for a stupid adventure. You shouldn't even be thinking about it. Su wouldn't like it," Kuvira answers. Ranya stands up too and looks straight to Kuvira's eyes. What she said hurt her feelings for some reason, making her stomach twist and her heart ache. 

"I don't care about Su since she doesn't care about me. This isn't about her. And you said that you want to experience things you haven't before you won't be able to, so I thought you would want to come with me... But fine, I'll go on my stupid adventure all by myself," Ranya says out of anger and starts walking away. "Good night, Kuvira." She exits the garden and leaves Kuvira all by herself in the dark. 

Kuvira regrets what she said, but she thinks it's too late to take it back. So, she stands in the dark, holding the flower she got from Ranya and sighs.

Chapter Text

Kuvira is nervously standing outside the training area, waiting for Ranya to show up. She didn't sleep at all last night, because she was thinking about what she said and how she hurt Ranya. She wants to apologize and hopefully save their starting friendship.

But she doesn't show up. Kuvira is pacing around, breathing heavily and she can feel how her heart pounds harder against her chest, like it wants to get out. She wants to wait a little longer, but someone calls her name and reminds her that the lesson is about to start. Kuvira takes a last look around, before she heads to the training grounds. 

When Suyin gets to the training area, everyone greets her. She looks around the training area with a smile on her face, checking if everyone's there. Her smile fades away when she realizes that someone is missing. 

"Has anyone seen Ranya? Does anyone know if she'll be coming today?" Suyin asks and looks at everyone one by one. No one answers her. Suyin then makes eye contact with Kuvira, who is standing in the back. She raises her eyebrows at the younger woman, as if she was asking if Kuvira knew anything. Kuvira hesitates and then shakes her head, as a no. 

Su lets out a sigh. "Do some warmups. I'll be back in a minute," She instructs and then leaves the training grounds. Kuvira follows Suyin with her eyes and watches as she walks down the hill, towards Ranya's parents’ house. Kuvira can feel a small lump grow in her throat but she tries to shake the feeling off by starting to do some warmups, like Suyin had instructed. 

After 20 minutes pass, Su comes back. She seems relieved, so Kuvira decides to go ask if Ranya's ok. "Did you go to Ranya's place? Is she ok?" She asks when she gets to Suyin.

The older woman turns around to look at Kuvira. She smiles and places her hand on Kuvira's cheek. "Yes. She is staying over at her parents' place for a while. She is sick and she needs to rest. I sent the doctor to go and check on her," Suyin tells Kuvira, who then lets out a relieved sigh. "How do you and Ranya even know each other? I mean yes you are in this class together, but you two never interact with each other."

Kuvira clears her throat and then looks away for a second. "We hung out yesterday. That's why I came home so late. I was kind of hoping to see her today, but she didn't show up. For a second I thought that I had made her up in my head and that she wasn't real."

"You were with her yesterday? Were you close or... did you touch each other? Did you give anything to her?" Suyin starts asking questions and they make Kuvira very confused. 

"What? Why would you ask that? We were just talking and walking around. We didn't touch each other or anything. Why are you freaking out?" Kuvira asks.

Suyin pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. "Nothing. We should start our lesson. Get back to your position," Suyin says and walks away from Kuvira. Kuvira just stands there, feeling confused. She turns around to look at Su, who walks around the training ground, telling people what they are supposed to be doing. Kuvira goes to her corner and starts to do the positions that she already knows. 

Kuvira is starting to feel like she doesn't have control over her emotions. This situation makes her confused and all the thoughts are messing around with her head. She wants to understand the situation, but she doesn't get a grip of anything. She can feel the ground below her cracking due to her lack of control over her emotions and thoughts. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She takes her own time to calm down and when she opens her eyes, Su is standing in front of her. She takes a few steps closer to Kuvira and stops what she is doing. Kuvira straightens her back to a normal standing position and avoids Suyin's eyes. 

The older woman puts her hand on Kuvira's long braided hair and strokes it. "You're okay... You just need to remember to breathe," Suyin whispers. Kuvira hates it, when Suyin strokes her hair, especially in public. It just reminds Kuvira that she has never been able to control her own emotions without someone helping her through it. Suyin used to stroke Kuvira's hair and talk to her when she was a kid. Kuvira doesn't want to feel like a helpless kid anymore, so she pushes Suyin's arm away and continues her metal bending. 

Kuvira hesitates for a second, before she knocks on the door of Ranya's parents’ house. She waits for a while, before someone opens the door. At the door there is an older woman standing, so Kuvira assumes that she is Ranya's mother. Kuvira bows, before she greets the older woman. "Hi, I am Kuvira, a friend of Ranya's. I heard that she is staying here. Is it ok if I come in to check on her?" Kuvira asks and smiles. She tries to control her shaking voice and keep an eye contact with Ranya's mother. The woman smiles brightly and nods happily.

"Of course. It's always nice to see Ranya's friends. Come on in," she says and lets Kuvira in. She then leads her to Ranya's room and knocks on the door gently. "Ranya honey, your friend Kuvira is here to see you," she announces, before stepping away from the door and signing that Kuvira can go in. Kuvira thanks the woman, before she opens the door and enters the room. She closes the door behind her and then looks around. 

The room is dark. No lights are on and the curtains are closed. Kuvira can't see a thing. She walks over to the window and opens the curtains enough to be able to see around the room. Then she spots Ranya, who is lying on the bed, under many blankets. Her back is facing Kuvira.

Kuvira looks at her for a while, before walking to the bed and carefully sitting on the edge of it. She clasps her own hands and lets them rest on her lap. She is afraid to say anything to the other woman and worried that she'll just hurt her even more. 

"You didn't show up today. I was waiting for you," Kuvira breaks the silence with her shaking voice. Ranya rolls over to her other side, so that she can look at Kuvira, who seems to be nervous. Ranya lets out a sigh and sits up. Kuvira is afraid to look at her.

"Yeah. Su came to look for me and my parents told her that I am sick," Ranya answers Kuvira's question with a raspy voice, which makes Kuvira face Ranya and realize that she is actually sick. 

Kuvira thinks her words through carefully, before opening her mouth. "Are you ok? Su seemed to be worried about you," she says, and Ranya smiles slightly. "I thought that you didn't show up today... because of what I said yesterday. About the adventure," she adds carefully and lies her eyes back at her hands again. 

Ranya lets out a chuckle and rubs her tired eyes. "No, I'm fine. I just get sick very easily. I mean, I am always sick, sometimes it's just worse. I have a weak immune system. Basically, a normal fever or a flu could kill me," Ranya says it so casually that it makes Kuvira turn her head towards Ranya again. Ranya's eyes meet Kuvira's widened, worried eyes. "Oh, but it's nothing serious. I see the doctor every week and I have a medicine that I take every day. I must be careful around other people because I might catch some bacteria that my body isn't used to. But it's under control, so please don't freak out like Su does sometimes."

"Ranya, that is something you should've told me yesterday! What if I was sick and now, you're sick because of me?" Kuvira lets out a frustrated sigh and gets up from the bed. She paces around the room, trying to understand the situation. "You should be treated by a healer! From a water tribe. You can't just let some dumb doctors treat you and give you some pills to take. We need to talk to Su about this. Her sister's wife is a healer, and we could go to Republic City to get you treated. Seriously, I can't believe tha-"

"Kuvira, calm down, please," Ranya interrupts Kuvira's rant and gets out of her bed. She walks over to Kuvira and holds her hands. She looks at Kuvira's eyes with a gentle look and smiles. Kuvira seems to relax but Ranya can sense that Kuvira is still stressed out. "I haven't seen Kya because Su doesn't want me to risk my health. She knows that I could get sick on my way there. And she doesn't want that to happen. The pills I take aren't the best, but I can do fine with them," she tells Kuvira, who holds Ranya's hands tighter. "I've been sick my whole life. We have tried everything, except for spirit water. But Su said that it wouldn't make any difference in my health. And I don't really care, because if I die, then so what? We all die in the end. That's how life works."

Kuvira shakes her head in disbelief and looks away from Ranya's eyes. "We can ask her to come here. I don't want to throw away the idea of you getting better. How can you be so sure that the spirit water won't help?" Kuvira asks and let's go of Ranya's hands and starts pacing around the room again.

"Why do you even care, Kuvira? You've known me for less than 24 hours and you didn't even know my name before last night. Why does it bother you so much if I die?" Ranya asks.

Kuvira stops and looks at Ranya from across the dark room. She doesn't know how to respond to that because everything she said is true. She doesn't even know this girl and she is worrying about her well-being as if they've known each other for years.

Kuvira doesn't feel good, so she sits on the bed and covers her face with her hands. She closes her eyes and tries to calm down her breath, before answering. 

Ranya looks at Kuvira for a while and then walks up to her. She kneels before her and takes her hands and makes Kuvira look at her. Kuvira lets out a sigh and shakes her head, looking down at their hands that are holding each other. "I don't know. I was just happy when I got to hang out with someone after a long time. You make me feel... I feel like myself again around you. And I really like that. I know this is going to sound stupid, but I just don't want to lose the one thing that has made me happy after years," Kuvira rants and when she stops, there is a moment of silence. She looks down at Ranya's gentle eyes. 

"I understand what you mean, and your feelings are totally valid. You know, you can stay over for dinner, if you want. After that, you can go talk with Su and try to convince her to let us go to Republic City. Or you can ask if Kya and Lin can come here. Does that sound good?" Ranya suggests and rubs Kuvira's palm with her thumb. Kuvira's body relaxes and she takes a deep breath before nodding as an answer. She smiles and then she helps Ranya up from the ground.

After eating, Kuvira and Ranya go outside to sit on the front porch and look at the sunset again. Ranya brought her blanket with her since she is constantly feeling cold.

"I never apologized for what I said yesterday. I'm really sorry that I was rude and called your idea of an adventure stupid. I understand now, why you'd want to go on an adventure... Because you don't know how much time you have," Kuvira speaks up quietly and carefully glances over at Ranya, who is just smiling and looking at the sunset. "I don't think you should go on an adventure all by yourself. You should be with someone, just in case something happens," she adds.

"I will go on an adventure one day. I want to explore the world and then go to Republic City, where I can join a party and dance all through the night. I want to stay up late, just so that I can look at the stars and try to find the different star signs. I want to get to experience driving a satomobile and feel the air caress my skin," Ranya describes her dreams and laughs. She goes silent for a minute, before she continues. "I am tired of being treated like a glass that'll break. I want to be treated like a normal person because that's what I am. Just because I'm sick doesn't make me any different. That's why I didn't tell you at first. Because I was afraid of how you would treat me. I wasn't even sure if you and I would be friends."

When Kuvira listens to Ranya's dreams, she understands that she has to talk with Suyin about this. She stands up and steps in front of Ranya. "You will get to do those things one day. I'll go and talk with Su... Maybe I can convince her to invite Kya or even Katara here," Kuvira talks about her plans and smiles. Ranya gets up and smiles too. She takes a few steps back and leans on the wall behind her. She wraps her blanket tighter around her cold body. 

"Thank you, Kuvira. You don't even know me, and you have decided that you want to help me. That's so nice of you," Ranya thanks Kuvira.

"Well, good night Ranya. I will come visit you tomorrow," Kuvira says awkwardly and starts walking backwards away from Ranya, not wanting to break their eye contact.

Ranya laughs and waves at her. "Night, Kuvira."

They hold onto their eye contact, before Kuvira breaks it by turning around and jogging away. Ranya takes a deep breath and looks at the sunset for the last time before she goes back inside.

Kuvira gets home and she starts to look for Suyin. She goes outside and finds her sitting in the garden, admiring the same sunset Kuvira was admiring a while back at Ranya's place. Kuvira sits next to the older woman and is quiet for a minute. "Can we talk?" She asks carefully.

Su looks at her and she smiles. "Yes of course we can talk. What's on your mind?" She asks.

"So... I found out about Ranya's illness. And we talked about it with her and we came up with an idea," Kuvira starts. Su doesn't look happy, but she lets her finish. "We thought that maybe we could go to Republic City, to see Kya. Or invite her and Lin here. I know that you and your sister don't get along that well but please. Ranya deserves to be happy and healthy and I don't see what we could lose by letting Kya try to heal her," Kuvira presents her ideas and Suyin stays quiet.  

Suyin is struggling with finding the right words. "Honey, listen. It's not that easy. She has been sick her whole life and we have tried a lot of different things. I don't think that Kya could make much of a difference," she starts out and Kuvira can't believe what she is hearing. "And as far as I am aware, Ranya is happy. She is living the best life she can in a situation like this. You need to stop worrying about a girl you met yesterday and let the adults handle this."

"Are you serious? It sounds like you want her to die!" Kuvira yells and jumps up. She is angry. She is angry because she thought that Suyin, out of all people, would understand. "She isn't happy! She is miserable. I was just talking with her and you should've heard about her dreams. One of them is to dance. She wants to dance! But she can’t because she is sick. She can't do fun things because you are denying that she needs proper help. For god's sake, all she does is wake up, go practise some metal bending and then go home, where she is being taken care of by her parents, which, do I have to remind you, own a shop that needs to be taken care of too. She just wants to be a normal person and-"

"Kuvira stop! You don't understand, what you're saying. You're being too loud and you're messing with other people's problems. I've known this girl for 17 years. She was two, when she came here, and her illness was found pretty soon after her adoption. And when I tell you that she is doing fine, I mean it. Now go to your room and calm down," Suyin interrupts Kuvira. Suyin's words upset Kuvira. Her words are almost identical to what her real parents used to say to her - that she was too loud and needed to calm down. 

Kuvira can't understand, why Suyin doesn't want to help someone, whose only wish is to live long enough to dance or look at the stars. 

She can't take it anymore. Kuvira just walks out of the garden and bashes a few sculptures on her way inside. She holds her hands in a fist so hard that her fingernails dig into her skin and make her hands bleed out. She gets to her room, where she locks the door with a simple movement with her hand and sits on the bed. She can't understand anything. All of the feelings are so overwhelming that she just buries her face into a pillow and screams. The lights in her room break and she can hear the wall crack. She needs to calm down, otherwise she will destroy her whole room and be the way she used to be - unstable and unable to control her feelings. 

Chapter Text

Kuvira is rolling in her bed because she can't sleep. This has been going on for hours, so she sits up frustrated and covers her face with her bruised hands. She closes her eyes and thinks about the conversation she and Suyin had. The last time they fought like that was when Kuvira was young. She is embarrassed that she yelled at her after all these years of learning to control her emotions and words, but at the same time she thinks that Suyin deserved all the yelling. 

She lets out a tired sigh and looks out the window. It's dark, but there are some lights on around the city. She decides to get out of bed and put on some clothes. She walks up to the door of her room and opens it as quietly as possible. She steps into the hallway and closes the door behind her. For a minute, she just stands still and listens carefully if anyone is awake. When she is sure that she will not run into anyone, she starts walking down the hallway, towards the doors to the garden. 

When she gets outside, she is greeted by the fresh cold air. It pinches her nostrils and throat as she takes a deep breath. She starts wandering around the garden. She loves to walk there at night because it's so quiet and calming there. She is also a huge flower lover, so being surrounded by flowers makes her happy.

Then she hears a crack. She turns around, ready to fight. She takes her fighting stance and breaths quickly through her mouth. She observes her surroundings and walks in a small circle. "Who's there?" She yells and waits for an answer. She can't see well in the dark, so she squints her eyes to see better. As the footsteps start getting closer, she is preparing herself for an attack. 

"Please don't murder me, it's just me," she hears a familiar voice and then Baatar jr. steps into the light. Kuvira frowns her eyebrows and returns into her normal standing position. "Sorry if I startled you, I didn't mean to," he apologizes as he gets closer to Kuvira. 

Kuvira shrugs her shoulders and looks away from the young man. "I wasn't expecting to see anyone here at this hour. At least not you," she explains and slightly glances over at him. "Why are you even awake?"

"I couldn't sleep. Father has this crazy project that he is working on and it is keeping me awake. I'm just walking around and trying to clear my head," he responds and smiles at the younger woman. Kuvira returns a smile and then sits down on the closest bench. "Why are you awake?" Baatar asks in turn and sits next to Kuvira, but not too close. Kuvira lets out a frustrated sigh and rubs her face with her cold hands.

"I argued with Su and it was pretty intense. I got really emotional and I can still feel the exact same emotions that I did hours ago. And I feel like my own emotions are trying to suffocate me, because I can't breathe normally and I have this heavy feeling on my chest, like someone is pressing it really hard... I feel like I am that same helpless child that I was years ago," Kuvira stumbles over her words as she feels the lump in her throat grow bigger. Her breathing gets more difficult the more she thinks about the whole situation. She can hear her heart pounding, as if it was right next to Kuvira's ears. "I just... I didn’t... I-" She tries to speak, but she chokes on every word that tries to come out of her mouth. She is gasping for air and she covers her face with her hands and shakes her head. 

Baatar jr. gets down on his knees in front of Kuvira and places his hands gently on Kuvira's knees. "Kuvira... Listen to me. I want you to breathe with me. Ok? You need to breathe," he says calmly as he is rubbing Kuvira's knees. "Ok. In... and out... In... and out... Through your nose in... and through your mouth out... Ok I will now start counting and you will breathe in that rhythm. One... Two... Three... Four..." Baatar keeps talking with his calm voice and Kuvira lets her hands fall to her lap, next to Baatar's. She looks down at the young man's eyes and continues breathing with the rhythm he has set. The lump in her throat starts getting smaller, the more she listens to his voice and does as he says. 

They continue this for a while, before Kuvira leans back and Baatar lets go of her knees. Kuvira looks away as Baatar sits back on the bench. They are silent.

"Are you okay?" Baatar asks carefully as he lies his eyes on Kuvira's side profile. "I mean obviously you're not, but I mean do you want to talk about it? Because if you do, I'm all ears. We have all the time in this world," he adds and waits for Kuvira's answer.

She still can't look at Baatar. She feels stupid for reacting that way in front of Baatar. The last time he had to help her through that type of situation was when they were small kids. She slightly turns her head to look at the man sitting next to her. She takes a deep breath. "My friend is sick. Really sick. She is basically on the verge to die all of the time. I asked Su if we can get a real healer to treat her, but she just said no. She is denying her the help she needs. I don't understand why she can't see that we won't lose anything if we try it. I thought that she was different," Kuvira explains what is on her mind and Baatar is listening to her without interrupting. "I know that I met this girl a few days ago, but for fucks sake everyone deserves to be happy and healthy!" She adds and shakes her head in disbelief.

"Be honest with me now, Kuvira. Do you want my advice, or do you just want to rant?" Baatar asks after a moment of silence. 

"Please, if you have any advice for a situation like this, then spill it." She replies and now turns her head to face him.

Baatar thinks about his words, before he says anything. "Ok. I know that you're a person who turns everything into a mission. And it sounds like you've turned your friend into a mission as well. You want her to get better and that is totally normal for everyone who has friends, but you're taking it too far. Su doesn't listen to you if you yell at her. You have to show her that you're able to remain professional and reason with her without yelling," Baatar takes a break to observe Kuvira and her reactions. She seems to be neutral and just listening to him. So, he continues. "You are an amazing friend for fighting this hard for her. But like you said, you met her a few days ago. Don't you think it's weird that you feel this strongly about her?"

Kuvira is quiet. She understands what he is saying, and she agrees that it's weird that she wants to help and protect Ranya so strongly. "I know that it's weird. But something about her makes me feel alive again. I've been living emotionless for years now and I've just been focusing on getting the career that I want. But then she showed up, asked me to hang out with her and it was so nice that for the first time in years I didn't have to worry about training or anything else that has been stressing me out. With her, I felt like I was a totally different person. When I am with her, I feel vulnerable and I don't like that. But at the same time... I love feeling that way, because I can be myself around her and just feel... free," Kuvira confesses and her mouth curves into a smile, when she remembers the flower that Ranya gave her. "It's like we were friends in our past lives."

"I'm glad that you have found someone, who can make you happy. You deserve that and I totally support this friendship you and your friend have," Baatar says and smiles at Kuvira. "But still, I want you to consider why you feel like this. Is she a mission for you? Do you feel like you need to cure her, or do you want her to get better because you want her and her parents to be happy? Are you doing this for your own good or are you actually thinking what is the best for her?" He asks and Kuvira shakes her head. She then looks at Baatar and shrugs her shoulders.

"I do care about her. This isn't about me. I know that I can be a little intense sometimes and turn everything into a mission, but not this time. I honestly feel bad for her and her parents and want her to be healthy and happy, because she deserves it. She has so many dreams that seem impossible to her because she is sick. She told me that she wants to dance, stay up late to look at the stars and drive a satomobile. I can do all those things, but she can't. And that's sad. I just don't know how I can make Su see that we won't lose anything if we invite Kya here to check on Ranya," Kuvira explains with a melancholic tone in her voice. Baatar places his hand on Kuvira's shoulder.

"I know that she is stubborn, but so are you. If you just talk to her calmly and explain everything... maybe she will eventually agree to your plan," he says and smiles. "But it's already late. You should go to bed and try to get some sleep. We will see each other in the morning, unless father comes up with another crazy idea and makes me stick with him all day." 

Kuvira laughs and nods. She stands up and so does Baatar. They look at each other for a minute, both smiling. "Good night, Baatar," Kuvira whispers, before she walks away and heads back inside. 

She sneaks back into her room and goes straight to bed and tries her best to fall asleep.

The Beifong family and Kuvira are sitting quietly around the table, eating breakfast. Kuvira doesn't even dare to look at Suyin, but she and Baatar jr. exchange looks and smile at each other. Kuvira is glad that she and Baatar talked last night because it made her realize that she had missed him. After his father started to drag him into all of his projects, she hasn't really seen or heard anything from him. 

After everyone has eaten, Kuvira waits for the others to leave. She walks over to Suyin, who turns around and crosses her arms. Kuvira doesn't know what to say, so she decides to stay quiet.

"Is there something you want to say to me?" Suyin asks and raises her eyebrows at Kuvira. 

"Well yeah... About yesterday, and before you stop me, let me finish. So... I talked with Baatar jr. about this and he said that I should try to talk to you... with less yelling," Kuvira looks at Suyin, to see if she'll let her finish. Suyin stays silent, so Kuvira continues. "I know I shouldn't have yelled at you yesterday, and I am sorry that I did. I should know better and that just made me look like a child again. But I still stand behind what I said yesterday. I believe that you should invite Kya here to treat Ranya. Her only wish is to live long enough to see the stars and dance all through the night. She wants to live like a normal person, and I think she deserves that."

Suyin takes a long time to answer and Kuvira is getting worried about what she will say. "Kuvira... It's lovely to see that you've found someone you care about. But I also stand behind what I said yesterday. I don't believe Kya could make much of a difference in the situation," her words disappoint Kuvira once again. She shakes her head and sighs. "But you are true about the fact that she deserves to be happy. And it seems like you make her happy. So maybe you should just hang around with her more."

"Are you dumb or aren't you listening to me? She needs real help. And you know what? Okay, listen to me, very carefully," Kuvira starts pacing around the dining hall, trying to focus on what she is about to say. "When Ranya asked me to hang out with her for the first time, I said no. Why? Because I was so worried about my career and making you happy. But then I thought to myself, fuck it, and said yes. Because I've been so stressed out due to all of the work I have to do, so that I can be a guard and serve you . And when I went out with her, I felt free. I was happy! She gave me this flower and I don't think anyone has ever done that to me. I loved every second I spent with her, but then I screwed it up because I was thinking about my career again. And then... And then I went to see her yesterday and we talked. I met her parents and they treated me like I was their daughter. I almost started to cry, because I never felt like that with you or with anyone in this family. I've always had to fight for attention, but still, I seem to always be the last person you think about and show your love to. And I'm sick of it! Because you always say that you love me, but you don't really mean it!" Kuvira ends up yelling and tears start welling up in her eyes. 

Before Suyin can say anything, Kuvira continues. "Her parents care about her, even though they aren't her real parents. Imagine the day when they lose her. When she doesn't wake up in the morning after they've tried to wake her up multiple times, only to find her lying in her bed dead . Think about it! You are a selfish person for letting this situation to go on for too long!"

Suyin sits down at the table and takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "I am sorry that you feel that way, Kuvira. But I really do love you. I never meant to make you feel like that, I mean it," she starts out and is quiet before she continues. "I want you to promise me that you will not give up on your dream of becoming a guard, just because you can't get this one thing. Please. I don't want you to waste all of your talent over a girl you just met, even if she is sick. I know you have a big heart, but you need to reconsider your motives behind your actions."

"Su, you're killing her," Kuvira hisses and her and Suyin's eyes meet. Kuvira's eyebrows are frowned. "I hate you. I really hope that you notice what you're doing," she says and leaves the dining hall. 

Chapter Text

"Kuvira hi! It's rather early. Do you want to come in?" Ranya's mother says happily as she opens the door for Kuvira. Kuvira smiles at her and she steps inside the house. She sees that Ranya is sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating breakfast. Ranya stands up and walks over to Kuvira. 

"Is everything okay?" She asks and looks up at the taller woman's green eyes. Kuvira looks down at Ranya and for some reason the question gets her emotional. Tears start burning her eyes and she covers her mouth with her hand. Ranya doesn't say anything, she just opens her arms and gently pulls Kuvira into a hug. She wraps her arms around Kuvira's torso and after that Kuvira also wraps her arms around Ranya's body. She holds onto Ranya tightly and buries her face into her shoulder. Ranya's mother looks at the two hugging each other from the kitchen and smiles. She is not happy to see Kuvira sad, but she is happy that she chose to come here and isn't afraid to show off her emotions. 

When they depart from the hug, Kuvira wipes off the tears on her cheeks and takes a step back. She sobs and breathes through her mouth. "I'm sorry you had to witness that," Kuvira apologizes and avoids Ranya's eyes by looking at the floor.

Ranya's mother carefully approaches Kuvira and smiles gently. "Kuvira honey, do you want something to eat?" She asks. Kuvira raises her head to look at the older woman who is standing next to Ranya.

Kuvira shakes her head. "No thank you. I already ate at home. Thank you for the offer though," she gently denies the offer and smiles. Ranya's mother nods and leaves the two alone. 

They go sit in the living room. The big windows in the living room light up the place nicely and they have a gorgeous view outside. 

"I talked with Su," Kuvira says and looks at Ranya, who is sitting next to her on the floor. Ranya turns to look at her with a hopeful look on her face. 

Ranya is excited to hear the news. "Well? What did she say?"

Kuvira lets out a frustrated sigh. "I hate to say this, but she said no. She doesn't want to invite Kya here," she breaks the news, and she can see how the happiness and hopefulness fade away from Ranya's face. "I'm sorry. I tried to convince her but every time I tried to, it ended up with me yelling at her and us fighting," Kuvira explains and looks outside the window. She is disappointed in herself. She feels like she has let Ranya down. 

Ranya nods her head and looks outside the window as well. "It's fine. I don't even know what I was thinking when I thought that she would say yes."

They both ponder about the situation in silence. Kuvira carefully glances at Ranya who is playing with the hem of her shirt. She is devastated to see her this way. Before Kuvira and Ranya were friends or knew each other, Kuvira remembers seeing Ranya around Zaofu all the time. When she saw her, she had a big smile on her face, and she was goofing around with the guards or her other friends. Even on their first night out Ranya wasn't hiding her true self and she was being loud and telling incredibly stupid jokes. But now she is broken, and it breaks Kuvira's heart.

"There is one thing we can try," Kuvira breaks the silence and looks at Ranya. "Su's oldest son, Baatar jr., is amazing when it comes to technology. He has been working on trail networks for a long time, so maybe he can try to build us a radio that can reach the Republic City, unless he already has one. I can try to talk to him," Kuvira suggests and examines how Ranya reacts. She slowly turns her head to look at Kuvira and nods slightly. Kuvira gives her a smile. 

"That could work," Ranya comments and smiles back. 

They sit in the living room for hours and talk about everything. Somehow, they end up talking about dreams and Kuvira listens again as Ranya explains about her dreams even more. 

"So, what is your biggest dream?" Ranya surprises Kuvira with the question. 

Kuvira thinks for a second. "I don't really know. I mean I always wanted to be a guard or something and that is what I've been working on for years, but besides that I don't think I have any other dreams. I always wanted to make Su happy," she responds and falls on her back and closes her eyes. "Now that I think about it, it's kind of sad that all I ever wanted was to make Su happy."

Ranya nods and lies down next to Kuvira and admires her side profile and her dark hair that is beautifully framing Kuvira's face. 

"I mean yeah it's kind of sad but for the first time in your life you had someone who understood your talent. She made you see that the power you possess is a good thing and that you can control it. She became like a mother to you. It's only natural that you want her to be happy," Ranya says. "But I don't want you to hate Su because of me. She is your rock, and you need that."

"I guess you're right. But it angers me that she thinks I don't understand this situation. She always says that I should let the adults worry about this. I am an adult!" Kuvira mumbles and opens her eyes. "I should apologize."

"Probably. Even though I fight with my parents quite a lot I still love them. They don't have to agree with me on everything," Ranya agrees with Kuvira. 

Kuvira eyes Ranya and smiles. Now she realizes that Ranya has a scar on her lip that goes down to her chin. She points at it. "Where did you get that?" She asks and changes the subject of their conversation. 

Ranya laughs and sits up. Kuvira sits up too and smiles at her. 

"I was a very stupid child. I mean I'm still stupid but imagine me as a six-year-old," she starts and shakes her head when remembering what she used to be like when she was younger. "It's not even a funny story, I was just stupid ok. So, I was once in the dance studio because Su let me do whatever I wanted and I um... I took one of those cables and I was pretending to be a metal bender and I didn't even know I could metal bend back then. So, I was playing around with the cable and then bam the whole thing backfired, and I hit myself with the cable. I had metal bended the cable and that is my first metal bending experience. I scared Su so badly, but I just thought it was fun."

Kuvira laughs. "You are such a graceful human being," she comments Ranya's story and smiles slightly. 

Ranya's mother walks into the living room and leans on the door frame. She smiles. "I'm sorry to interrupt but honey, you have your doctor's appointment soon. Kuvira should start leaving," she says and Kuvira stands up from the floor. She walks to Ranya's mother and turns to face Ranya. 

"I'll get going, but I promise to come back soon. I have the whole day off so I might come back later today," she promises, and Ranya gets up too. 

"Okay. Bye!" She shouts as Kuvira leaves. She closes the front door behind her as she exits. But she doesn't go home. Since she doesn't have to train metal bending or dancing today, she decides to go sit by the river.

Kuvira's point of view

I totally get it. I mean Su sometimes does mention her sister Lin but everytime she does, it's just a reminder that they don't get along. And since Lin and Kya are married, Su is afraid that Kya would drag Lin with her here. But if we get a hold on Kya maybe we can ask her to leave Lin home. Or something.

It just doesn't sit right with me that Su doesn't want to help. It's totally out of character for her. She took me in when I needed home, she helped me through my anger problems and made me learn how to control myself. Even though I didn't always get the attention I wanted, I still do love her. And I know that she loves me. What I said to her this morning wasn't the right thing to do. I hate myself for making her feel like shit and I really want to apologize. But how? How do I apologize to her after saying those horrible things? She probably hates me now.

Even though this day started out as shit I can say that this is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the weather is beautiful, and it is quiet. I love quietness. 

But I can't shake off the things Baatar jr. told me yesterday. He was right when he said that I am a person who turns everything into a mission. And for a while I was really thinking, is Ranya just another mission for me that I have to complete? I can't explain it, but I really do care for her. We are very similar, except that she is goofier than me, and I love that about her. We were both taken in when we were younger and Su did take care of us. But Ranya got adopted into a loving family. I mean I guess Su adopted me and the Beifong family does feel like a family for me, but after seeing Ranya and her parents I don't know what to think. They are so close, and they really do care about each other. They show their love, and their love isn't something they are ashamed of. I want that. I want to feel that.

So, the thing is, am I attracted to Ranya because she is what I've always wanted to feel like or am I just being my stupid self and thinking of her as a mission? I don't even understand myself. Why do I have to be this way? Why am I so complicated? God, I am such a fucking idiot.

Maybe I should talk with Baatar again. He is good with words and he basically never fuck up anything. I don't know how he does it. I am always making a mess with my words and when I try to fix things, I create even a bigger mess. I don't even know how that's possible. 

I can't get a hold on of my own thoughts. I don't know what feeling is real and what is not, and I can't separate my feelings from each other. It's like they are all trying to speak to me at the same time, some are yelling, some are whispering, and I just can't understand what they are trying to say. They pull me into different directions, and I don't know which one to follow or if I should follow them at all. For all my life I've wanted to make all of it stop but I just don't know how. 

Like I said, this day is beautiful. I should walk around for a while before heading back home. I really want to make up things with Su. I don't want to fuck up the relationship that is the most important for me in the whole world. 

Kuvira takes her time and admires Zaofu and the weather for a few more hours. It's getting dark already, so she decides to head back home. She is hoping to find Suyin so that they can talk.

But instead of Suyin, she is greeted by Opal. She has been waiting for Kuvira for hours in the courtyard. Kuvira tries to walk past her, but she stops her. Kuvira sighs and crosses her arms and looks down at Opal. She seems mad. 

"What do you want?" Kuvira asks and Opal lets out a laugh. Kuvira raises her eyebrow.

"You're such a bitch," Opal says as she takes a step closer to Kuvira. "First you yell at mom, then you break Huan's sculptures in the garden and in the morning, you yell at mom again. She has been sad all day! What you really said to her hurt her. I think you should leave. She doesn't want to see you."

Kuvira is shocked. She knew that what she said to Suyin had hurt her, but she didn't know that she thought of her like that. "She doesn't want to see you" plays on rewind in her head and that is all she can think about. 

"Opal please, I really want to talk with her. I am here to apologize," Kuvira tries to convince Opal to let her walk past her, but Opal just shakes her head and stands her ground. "Seriously. I didn't mean to hurt her. And I will apologize to Huan too, but first you have to let me through." 

"Listen up Kuvira. She said that she doesn't want to see you. So, you should leave and find a place to spend the night. Maybe you should go back to your loser friend's place. That's where you left this morning, am I right?" Opal's words start to annoy Kuvira. She frowns her eyebrows and looks away. "No one likes you. You mess up everything. You don't belong here."

"Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to hear your bullshit, Opal. Just let me talk to Su!" Kuvira hisses and the ground beneath her starts cracking. Opal looks down at Kuvira's feet and then back at her eyes. She shakes her head.

"No. Leave."

Kuvira doesn't know what to say anymore. And as much as she wants to fight with Opal, she knows it wouldn't be fair since she is a non-bender. So, she decides to leave. She turns around and starts walking away from the house. Opal just looks after Kuvira with a smirk on her face.

Since Kuvira has to find a place to spend the night at, she decides to try Ranya's place. She stomps her way there and takes a few deep breaths before she knocks on the door. She doesn't have to wait long for Ranya's mother to open the door. She is smiling, like she always seems to be.

"Hi, is it ok if I spend the night here?"

Chapter Text

Kuvira is glad that Ranya's parents let her stay for the night. They had set her a bed in the guest room and made sure that she was comfortable. They didn't ask any questions, they just let Kuvira stay.

In the morning Ranya knocks on the door before she slightly opens it to see if Kuvira's awake. She is sitting on the floor, her legs crossed, meditating. Ranya enters the room and closes the door behind her. She sits down next to Kuvira and admires her face. A smile forces its way to Ranya's face as she observes Kuvira. She is so concentrated and calm that Ranya wonders what she is thinking about. But if she actually knew, she would be worried, even scared. 

"It's not polite to stare at other people," Kuvira speaks up and opens her eyes. She lies her eyes on the woman who interrupted her meditation session. She grins and stands up.

"I didn't mean to be impolite. I was just observing you and your morningly activity," Ranya defends herself and laughs. "I just came to check if you're awake. Mom made us some breakfast."

Kuvira takes her hands over her stomach and taps it gently. "I was starting to get hungry," she says and helps Ranya up from the floor. They exit the room and head to the kitchen, where Ranya's parents are hovering around and making sure that there is enough food for everyone. "Morning!" Kuvira greets them as she sits down at the table. Ranya sits next to her and they start to gather food on their plates.

"Are you going to the training halls today?" Ranya's father asks and eyes the young women sitting at the table. 

Ranya nods and smiles. "Yeah, I'm feeling a little better. I don't know if I'll be able to train as intensively as usual, but I guess I'll figure something out," she responds with her mouth full of food.

Kuvira chuckles and shakes her head as she watches Ranya eating the food with such a hurry. "Maybe the twins will play with you if they are there too," she proposes. 

"That sounds fun. But remember to be careful, ok?" Ranya's mother comments and smiles at the two. 

"I once played power disc with them. It was super fun, but I got my ass kicked and I haven't played it since. I might have to gain my honor back," Ranya remembers the time when she was younger and a lot healthier. She had befriended the Beifong twins Wei and Wing and they had asked if she wanted to play. And because she is competitive, she had said yes. She wasn't a strong metal bender back then, but she still loved playing with them. They gave her some advice about metal bending and she has used those tips ever since. 

"We had multiple matches when we were younger. I usually paired up with Su but sometimes I was with either one of the twins. It's super fun when you get the hang of it," Kuvira shares her experiences and smiles. She loves the twins and really misses the days when they were almost always playing around the Beifong estate. "If I ever wanted to feel better, I was with the twins. If I wanted peace and quietness, I was with Huan. And if I wanted to talk to someone, I was with Baatar jr. They all had my back, no matter the day or time."

They all get silent after Kuvira opens up a little. They eat in silence and when they finish, Ranya's parents start gathering the plates into a one big pile. 

"Thank you, the food was really good," Kuvira thanks as she stands up and helps around. She then turns around to look at Ranya, who is still sitting at the table. "We should probably get going." She notes and Ranya nods in agreement. 

"Remember to be careful, ok?" Her mother reminds her. Ranya rubs the back of her head and laughs. "Oh! And don't forget to get your pet from your friend's place. I told him that he'd be taking care of him only for a few days and I don't want to bother him too much," her mother adds quickly and Kuvira turns to face Ranya. She had no idea that she had a pet.

"A pet, huh?" Kuvira asks as she crosses her arms and grins. 

Ranya walks to the door backwards and chuckles. "Yeah. I have a fire ferret. Su gave him to me when I turned 16. He is a pain in the ass sometimes but he's a lovely goofball," Ranya explains. 

The two women leave the house and head towards the training grounds. Ranya is feeling a lot better, but she knows that she can't really do much today. She is just glad that she gets to tag along with Kuvira. 

When they get to the training grounds, Suyin is already there preparing the lesson. Kuvira avoids her and goes straight to her own corner, leaving Ranya all by herself. Suyin notices the two but doesn't say anything to them. She just watches as the other one already starts doing warmups and the other one sits on the side, starting to play with small rocks. She was worried all night, when Kuvira didn't show up home. Opal had told her that she did step by, but that she had left in a hurry. She is glad that she was with a friend.

When more people get to the hall, Suyin is ready to start her lesson. She instructs people on what they are supposed to be doing and she shows some new tricks that she thought might be helpful. Ranya observes Kuvira, who seems to be doing everything perfectly. Her stance is strong and full of raw power, but she makes it seem so elegant and easy. Just watching her makes Ranya amazed and jealous that she can't do that. 

"Are you alright?" Suyin interrupts Ranya's observation, as she sits down next to the younger woman. Ranya doesn't dare to look at Suyin, she just keeps on bending the small rocks and hovering them above her hand, trying to ignore the woman. When Suyin realizes that Ranya is avoiding her, she takes her rocks away to make her look at her. And it works. Suyin smiles at her. "You seem a lot healthier."

"Yeah well, I'm not," Ranya responds and stares at Suyin's green eyes. The older woman raises her eyebrows, as if she was asking for Ranya to elaborate what she means. "The treatments aren't really working. Yes, they take away all the pain and relieve some of my symptoms but that's all it does. I feel weaker every day and my bending is getting weaker. I don't want to worry my parents or Kuvira with this stuff. I know that it'll only break them."

Suyin breaks their eye contact. Only now she realizes that Ranya isn't really getting better, nor is she actually happy. She glances over at Kuvira. Suyin understands now that Kuvira was right. "Let's go talk somewhere private, shall we?" Su suggests and gets up. She helps Ranya, and they leave the training grounds to go walk around. "So... You've been lying to us for years," she then speaks, as they get further away from the training grounds.

"I haven't been lying. I never said that the treatments worked. I never said anything. You never asked either," Ranya talks quietly and keeps her eyes on the ground. "I also know that when my parents requested for a healer to check on me, you refused. And it appears that you haven't really changed your mind since then." 

The older woman feels bad. "I'm sorry that I did that. I had so much faith in my own doctors that I didn't believe that the spirit water could help. That's at least what they told me," she takes a small break, before she continues. "I didn't believe Kuvira when she told me that you weren't happy. I didn't believe her at all, because I was living in a dream, where I hoped that you were, indeed, happy. You always have a smile on your face, and you are still goofy as always. I didn't see that you were unhappy," Suyin admits and is ashamed that she was ignorant.

Before Ranya can say anything, Suyin stops her and looks at her in the eyes. She wants to make one thing clear. "I'm ashamed of myself and the way I have treated you. I am sorry that I ever ignored you. And I want to make it up if that's even possible. I promise to consider inviting Kya over here, so that you don't have to travel all the way to Republic City," her words bring a smile to Ranya's face. "I also would like to invite you over for dinner. I think it's time to get to know you a lot better."

Ranya can't stop smiling. She doesn't even hesitate when she hugs Suyin. She holds the older woman tightly and closes her eyes for a moment. "Thank you," she whispers. Suyin smiles and wraps her arms around Ranya. When they depart from the hug, Ranya scratches the back of her neck. "I'm sorry that you and Kuvira fought because of me. I didn't know that she was so... intense and passionate about this," she apologizes. 

"Don't apologize. Without us fighting I wouldn't have even considered to talk to you about your treatments." 

They start heading back to the training grounds. Suyin mentions that she is really happy that Ranya and Kuvira seem to be close. "She needs a friend outside her own home and family. I'm glad that you asked her to hang out with her."

Kuvira is about to leave the training grounds, but Suyin steps into her way and stops her. "Don't leave just yet. I want to talk with you really quick," Suyin says and Kuvira lets her speak. "I was worried when you didn't get home yesterday. I thought that what I said really hurt you and that you didn't want to come home anymore. So... I am sorry. I should've listened to you because you were right all along. And because of that, I've decided to consider inviting Kya here," she breaks the news and Kuvira's face lights up. "We will be having a dinner tonight and Ranya is invited. Make sure you'll be there."

Kuvira can't speak because she is shocked, in a good way. Suyin just smiles at her and steps aside, so that Kuvira can leave. "I'll see you then," Kuvira stutters as she leaves. Suyin watches as the woman she considers to be a part of her family walks to Ranya, who is waiting for her further away. They are excited and Suyin is happy to see them jump around in excitement. 

"I can't believe that she gave in. I mean I'm glad that she did but what did you say to her that made her change her mind?" Kuvira asks with excitement in her voice.

"I just told her that the treatments aren't working and that I know that she has denied my parents request for a healer before. She probably just felt really bad," Ranya theorises and shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, she should feel bad," Kuvira points out and laughs. She is glad that now there is even a possibility for Ranya to finally be healthy and happy. 

They are heading to get Ranya's fire ferret from her friend's place. It's not a long walk, so they get there in a matter of minutes. Ranya knocks on the door and they don't have to wait for more than a few seconds, before the door flies open. There is a tall guy standing at the door, holding a fire ferret.  When the animal sees Ranya, it gets excited and jumps into her arms. Ranya laughs and lets the fire ferret set on her shoulders.

"He's a real pain in the ass, you know? I don't understand how you can live with him!" The guy complains and lets out a relieved sigh that he is finally getting rid of the animal. He then realises that Kuvira is standing next to Ranya. He is confused since he has never seen the two together before. He knows who Kuvira is, but he has never actually met her. "And what are you doing with her? Isn't she part of the Beifong family? How do you two even know each other?" He bombs the two women with questions. Kuvira can't help but to let out a laugh and shake her head.

"You know what, pretty boy? You seem like a nice young guy, but we really don't have time to answer your questions. It's getting late and we have dinner to attend to," Kuvira gives a snarky comment and turns to look at Ranya. "Let's go."

Ranya nods and then looks at her friend for the last time. "Thanks for taking care of Ozai, sorry if he destroyed your cabinets again. He has a habit of doing that," she says. The guy just flicks his hand and the two start leaving. 

"You named your fire ferret after Fire Lord Ozai?" Kuvira asks while laughing.

"It wasn't my idea. It was Sachin who named him," Ranya explains.

"Sachin?"

"The guy you just met, he's Sachin. He's one of the first friends that I ever made."

"Right. Makes sense."

Since Ranya is feeling a lot better, her parents allowed her to go back to her own apartment. Kuvira doesn't want to head home yet, so she just follows Ranya and after walking around for some time, they get to her apartment that is in a different part of Zaofu, nowhere near the Beifong mansion. It's a small apartment, but Ranya has made it look like it has a lot more room than it actually does. 

The house is filled with plants, too. Everywhere you look, there is a plant. Some are big, some are small, and the air is fresh. Ozai jumps off Ranya's shoulder to go play with the plants. Ranya walks around and collects all of the dirty clothes that are just lying on the ground and the furniture. "Sorry this place is a mess. I left in a hurry." 

"No, it's fine. This is a real nice place," Kuvira compliments as she sits on the small couch that is calling for her. She is so tired that she could fall asleep. But she decides to stay awake. "What are you going to wear for dinner?" She asks.

Then it hits Ranya. She stops what she is doing and slowly turns to look at Kuvira, who is very comfortably sitting on the couch. She doesn't have anything nice to wear. That's what hit her. She is going to a fancy mansion for dinner and all she has are some old clothes with holes in them. "Fuck. I didn't even consider that."

Kuvira laughs and locates Ranya's closet in the small apartment. She walks up to it and opens the doors. She goes through the clothes and pulls out a few pieces of clothing. She turns around and tosses them to Ranya, who catches them and looks at them. A dark green turtleneck and a pair of black, flowy pants. "It's very simple, but it works. Add a necklace and a nice belt and it'll be perfect. I can help you with your hair," Kuvira offers to help and Ranya accepts the offer. 

Ranya doesn't even think twice when she starts changing her clothes in front of Kuvira. Kuvira blushes and looks away to respect Ranya. To distract herself, she starts looking for a brush and some hair pins she can use. "There are some supplies in the bathroom. Sorry, it's a mess too," Ranya guides. 

When Kuvira enters the bathroom, she is indeed met with a mess. Everything is on the floor. It looks like someone fell and tried to take a hold onto a shelf but that shelf broke and everything just fell apart. She assumes that that's what happened to Ranya and that's what she meant when she said that she left in a hurry. She carefully goes through the stuff and puts the items back on the shelves.

Ranya startles Kuvira when she barges in the bathroom too. She is only wearing her underwear, so Kuvira tries her best to not even accidentally look at the other woman.

"Sorry to barge in, I just remembered that my belt is in here somewhere," Ranya apologizes as she goes through her stuff and looks for her belt. When she finds it, she lets out an "Aha!" and then leaves the bathroom. Kuvira feels her face get hot and her stomach fills with butterflies. She tries to shake off the feeling and continues to look for the things she needs.

When she finally has everything she needs, she steps out of the bathroom and carefully walks back to Ranya. Now she is fully clothed and checking herself out in front of a mirror that is in the corner of the room. She seems to be feeling herself, and it makes Kuvira smile. "Sit down so that I can do something to your hair," Kuvira commands and Ranya does as she is told. She sits down on the couch and turns her back to Kuvira, who sits next to her. 

Kuvira starts out brushing her hair and pulling it back. She tries to be careful not to pull her hair too hard, because she knows how much it sucks when someone, even by accident, pulls your hair too hard. She then gathers all of the hairs together and twists the tail twice. She makes a low bun and secures it with a few hair pins. When she is ready, she puts her hands on Ranya's shoulders and holds them. 

"I know that this is probably stressful, but don't think about it too much. It'll be fine," Kuvira gives Ranya a pep talk. Ranya turns around to look at her and smiles. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

Chapter Text

Kuvira left Ranya all alone with the Beifong family since she had to go and change her clothes. Everyone in the Beifong family eyes the girl sitting in the right corner of the table, with an empty seat next to her for Kuvira. Next to that seat is Baatar jr., who dares to make eye contact with Ranya. She smiles at him and then looks around at everyone and then meets Suyin's eyes. 

"So, Ranya, your parents told me that you are back at your own apartment. How does it feel?" Suyin asks and smiles at her. She is wearing her normal outfit, which is expensive looking and beautiful. Afterall, Suyin is the matriarch of Zaofu so she wasn't really expecting her to tone down her appearance. 

Ranya returns a smile and leans a little bit over her side of the table, so that she doesn't have to yell at the older woman. "It's really nice to be back at my own place. I missed the quietness and well, Ozai." Ranya gets confused looks since no one else except Suyin knows who Ozai is. "Ozai is my fire ferret," she clarifies. The twins are sitting across her, on the other side of the table. They laugh at her and their lively laughing brings a bigger smile to Ranya's face.

For a moment they are all quiet, until Kuvira walks in. She is wearing similar clothes to Suyin's, except they are a little more toned down and not as detailed as the matriarch's. The tall woman walks to her seat and sits down between Ranya and Baatar jr. "Hope I didn't miss anything," she comments and adds a little laugh at the end. 

Now that they are all gathered around the big table, the chef starts bringing in their dishes. Everything smells good and looks expensive, like everything in Zaofu. "Enjoy your meal," The chef says as he leaves the dining room. 

"Ranya, I hope this isn't a really invasive question, but I am interested in your illness," Baatar sr. starts and Ranya looks at the man, who is sitting almost next to her on the other side of the corner. "Su told me a lot of things, I hope that is okay. But I was thinking, do you know what it is? Or what does it exactly do to you?" He finishes his question, and it seems like everyone else also wants to hear an answer to his question. Everyone's eyes are on Ranya. 

Ranya looks at the dish in front of her and thinks about her words. To be honest, she doesn't really know much about the illness that is restricting her life. "Uhm well I don't know if there is an actual name for this type of illness, but it weakens my immune system. It also affects my lungs and other organs, so sometimes it's really hard to breathe or my stomach isn't just working the way it's supposed to work." She explains about it as much as she can. "I can't really be around other people, but as many of you know, I don't follow that rule. That's why I have been sick so often during the last few years."

Baatar sr. nods his head as he eats, and Ranya can see that he has more questions on his mind. "So basically, you could die if you had a flu or something?" 

Kuvira glances at the woman sitting on her right, to make sure that she is okay. Ranya did bring it up once by herself, but Kuvira is sure that someone who is sick doesn't want to think about dying more than they already do. 

"Yeah, that's pretty much it. I have almost died twice because I had the flu. That's when I dropped out of training and had to isolate myself in my own apartment. It was a really lonely time, since I couldn't see anyone," Ranya has a melancholic tone in her voice, but she still keeps on smiling and having eye contact with Baatar sr. She doesn't want to be rude, even though Kuvira had told her that she can call them out if they ask things that she doesn't want to answer. 

"How was it? Dying, I mean." 

"Dad stop it. You're taking it too far." Baatar jr. has to stop his father, who seems to be too invested in the current topic. The older man looks over at his oldest son and realizes that his questions might've gone a little too far. 

"I apologize, I should've stopped when I had the chance," The older man apologizes and brings his eyes to meet Ranya's eyes. 

Ranya lets out a nervous laughter and rubs the back of her neck. "I understand that this is an interesting topic. It's fine, I have had a lot of people ask me the exact same questions," she replies and Baatar sr. feels a lot lighter. 

They eat in silence because no one knows what is something they all could talk about. They can't really talk about bending, since half of the family is non-benders. Only Su, the twins, Huan and Kuvira would be able to join the conversation, even if Baatar sr. somehow could have something to say about the topic. 

Kuvira notices that Opal has been really quiet during the dinner. She hasn't really taken her eyes off of her food nor has she said anything. Kuvira observes the young woman sitting across her, but she can't really get anything out of her. She just eats and keeps her head down, not wanting to look at anyone. It's as if she doesn't even want to be there, probably because Kuvira is back in the house. But Kuvira doesn't want to think about it too much, she is just glad that Opal is finally quiet even for a while. 

Su decides that now is the perfect time to stand up for an announcement. "I have invited you all here today, because I wanted Ranya to get to know us a lot better and so that we can get to know her better. Like we already discovered earlier, she has an illness that is really difficult to treat. She and Kuvira have requested multiple times that I should invite my sister's wife, Kya, over to check on her, but every time I turned them down. I was being selfish when I should've been listening to them. And I apologize. I am sorry that I did that," Suyin speaks and looks at the two women sitting next to each other. "I promised you earlier today that I would consider inviting Kya here. And I have decided. Tomorrow, I will contact her and ask her to come here. Like Kuvira told me multiple times, you deserve to be healthy and happy," she announces, and Ranya can't believe what she is hearing. It takes her a moment to fully process what she just told her and then she turns to look at Kuvira, who has an exited look on her face. 

Then it fully hits her, and she starts smiling. "Thank you, Suyin. This means a lot to me," Ranya thanks and almost starts to cry, because she is so happy. Kuvira holds Ranya's hand and they both start laughing. 

"This is great. If everything goes well, you might get to go on your adventure sooner than you thought," Kuvira points out and Ranya wipes away tears from her cheeks. She looks back at Su and the older woman nods at her, while smiling brightly. 

"An adventure? Tell me more about it," Baatar sr. asks his question and everyone starts laughing. Apparently, this man can't go on without asking questions about everything. 

For the rest of the evening, they talk about various topics, Ranya's adventure being one of the main topics. She explains all of her plans and Kuvira told that she would gladly join Ranya once she is ready to go. Suyin was hesitant about the plan, but in the end, she gave them the permission to go. 

At some point Baatar jr. and Kuvira left the dining room to go outside and no one has seen them since. Ranya is again alone with the Beifong family, but now there is less tension and even Opal has joined a few conversations. 

"Yeah, once I get my life together, it's over for you guys. I will win you at power disc," Ranya declares and smirks at the twins. They laugh at her threat and are ready to accept the challenge. 

"Sure! But you will need a partner, unless you want to go one-on-one against either of us," Wei comments and high five's his twin. 

Ranya laughs at the two and keeps eyeing the door, waiting for Kuvira to come back. When she realizes that she has been gone for almost an hour, she gets up. "Thank you for the meal. It was really delicious. Tell the chef that I am ready to pay for his food," Ranya tells Suyin with a chuckle and the older woman smiles. 

"I will deliver the feedback." 

"Ranya! Want to go outside?" The twins ask and approach her. She nods and Huan and Opal join them too. They leave the dining room and walk down the hall, towards the main entrance of the mansion. 

Ranya hears laughing somewhere, but she can't really locate where the sound is coming from. But she does recognize, whose laugh it is. The further they walk, the louder the laugh gets. Then she sees Baatar jr. and Kuvira near the front door, laughing at something. 

"What is so funny? Did he propose to you, Kuvira?" Wing comments and his voice startles the two, since they didn't notice that the others were standing there. Wing's comment makes Baatar jr. blush and everyone notices this.

Even Kuvira seems to be embarrassed by his comment, so she looks away and clears her throat. "No, he uh... He just told me about the newest project Baatar sr. has come up with," Kuvira tries to explain something, but Ranya isn't buying her excuse. "Where are you all going?" Kuvira asks a question in return to change the subject and then makes eye contact with Ranya.

Ranya looks away from Kuvira. She feels jealous that Baatar jr. had made her laugh that way. She doesn't understand why she feels this way. 

"We are heading outside. Come with us," Wei explains and then walks past the two, opening the door and stepping outside. 

It's dark outside and it's late. Zaofu has already been closed and all the lights are on. They get to spend only a small amount of time outside, before Suyin joins them. She watches as Ranya plays around with the twins and smiles. "I hate to say this guys, but it's getting really late. Ranya should start leaving," she interrupts their play. 

Kuvira turns to look at Ranya. "I can escort you home. Just so that you don't have to be alone," she offers and gives Ranya a gentle smile. Ranya responds to the offer with a smile and a nod. 

"Before you two go, I would like to talk with you, Kuvira," Suyin says as she gently grabs Kuvira's arm and pulls her to the side. Ranya gets to spend some time with the twins while Huan and Opal head back inside. 

When Kuvira finally turns to look at Suyin, she gives her a confused look. "What did I do?" She asks.

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you about yesterday. You know, the morning and why you didn't come home last night," The older woman starts out and puts her hands on Kuvira's shoulders and rubs them. "I am really sorry that I was mean. I was being selfish, not wanting to see that Ranya's problems were real. And I was ignoring your concern about the situation. I am sorry, truly." 

Kuvira smiles and takes Suyin's hands and holds them. "It's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you. And I shouldn't have said all of those mean things. I don't hate you, okay? I might've hated your attitude at the moment, but I don't really hate you. I love you and I was just being angry. Please forgive me," Kuvira apologizes on her behalf and pulls Suyin into a hug. Even if she doesn't really like to get touchy with other people, she still does enjoy hugging. 

Su wraps her arms around Kuvira's body and holds onto her tightly, as if she was afraid that she might lose her. 

Kuvira makes the first move to depart from the hug, so Suyin lets go of her. They are both smiling, happy that they were able to work their things out without yelling at each other. 

"Why didn't you come home yesterday? I was starting to get worried, but Opal told me that you stayed at Ranya's place," Suyin asks about yesterday and her question makes Kuvira raise her eyebrows. Opal had told her to leave and said that Suyin doesn't want to see her. 

"Yeah, well I talked with Opal yesterday when I was about to get home. She told me that you didn't want to see me because I hurt you. She told me to leave so I went to Ranya's place because I didn't know where else to go," Kuvira explains yesterday's events and crosses her arms and frowns her eyebrows. "Did Opal lie to me?"

"It seems like she did. Kuvira honey, I never said that I don't want to see you. I was waiting for you to come home so that we could talk. But then at some point Opal came to me and told me that you wouldn't come home for the night. I got worried but she assured me that you were okay," Suyin lets out a sigh and shakes her head, not wanting to believe that her own daughter lied to her. "I should go talk with her about this. I'm sorry that she said those things."

Kuvira sways her hand and looks away. "Don't be sorry. She is the one who should be apologizing," Kuvira mumbles and then looks over her shoulder at Ranya, who is playing around with the twins. The scene makes Kuvira smile. 

"You should go. It's already late and the guards are waiting at the train," Suyin says. Kuvira turns to look at the older woman and nods. She then walks up to Ranya and interrupts their little game they're playing. Kuvira gets hit by a rock and when she turns around to look who threw it, Wei and Wing look scared. Kuvira smirks and does a little smooth move with her hand and both of them get hit by small rocks. 

Ranya bursts to laugh as the twins hold their foreheads and groan. 

"Come on, let's go," Kuvira rushes Ranya and they start leaving. "And I am not sorry about your foreheads. Try not to mess around with me next time." she hollers at the two. 

Ranya and Kuvira are quiet for most of the ride to Ranya's place. They don't really know what to talk about. Sometimes Kuvira might point at something and Ranya comments it, but that is all the talking they really do. 

But there is something between them. Something that neither of them can explain, what it really is. They are happy to finally be alone without anyone else to bother them and whenever they look at each other, they make eye contact and smile. But it feels like it's more than just an eye contact or a smile. It is a warm feeling in their chests, a weird feeling in their stomachs and funny tingling at their fingertips. They can't explain what it is, but they aren't complaining about it. 

"Thank you for walking me home," Ranya thanks as they get to her front door. She steps in front of Kuvira and just admires the woman in front of her. 

"I hope this night wasn't too much for you. I know that they can get a little overwhelming, especially the twins. I hope they didn't give you a burnout," Kuvira chuckles and scratches her arm. Ranya just shakes her head and laughs. 

They both go silent for a moment and look away. They don't know what to say or if they are even supposed to say anything anymore. 

"I guess I'll start heading back then. It was really nice to spend this night with you." Kuvira breaks the silence and finally brings her eyes back to Ranya. "Hope I see you tomorrow," she adds and starts walking backwards away from the other woman. 

Ranya plays with the hems of the sleeves of her shirt and looks at Kuvira. "No, wait," she quickly says and walks closer to Kuvira. She stops right in front of her and she hesitates before she gently pulls Kuvira into a hug. She carefully wraps her arms around Kuvira's body and then places her head on her shoulder. Kuvira is confused, but she does the same and leans her head to Ranya's head. She closes her eyes and enjoys the moment that she has with Ranya. 

Chapter Text

Kuvira can't stop smiling on her way home. The hug definitely made her night a lot better and she considers this night to be one of the best nights she has experienced in a really long time. She loves the feeling of butterflies dancing around in her stomach and the tingling that she can feel in every part of her body. She dances around and enjoys the feelings that she can't explain. She isn't complaining though, she is happy, and this night was filled with a lot of good things. 

When she gets to the Beifong mansion, she is greeted by the guards who are on duty. She nods her head to them and then dances her way inside. Her steps are light as she dances around the hallways, on her way to her room. She will have to say goodbye to it once she becomes a guard, since she has to move out of the mansion then. Suyin never stated when she would actually begin her job, but Kuvira expects it to happen after the year changes, meaning that she has some months left. She knows that she will miss the mansion, but she also acknowledges the fact that things change in life and that change is a good thing. 

On her way to her room, she walks past Opal's room. She can hear her humming in her room, probably getting ready for bed. Kuvira stops and listens. She recognizes the song. It's one of the songs that she has performed to and it brings up good memories. She smiles and leans against the door. She feels miserable that she is constantly fighting with Opal, who is just as misunderstood as Kuvira is. She closes her eyes and remembers the times, when they were younger and did a lot of things together. It breaks her heart to remember those times, because all they do nowadays is fight and yell at each other. 

So, she decides to knock on the door. The humming stops and Kuvira hears the footsteps get closer to the door. She takes a step away from it and waits for Opal to open the door. She slightly opens the door, just so that she can stick her head out of the ajar. When Opal's eyes meet Kuvira's, she is confused. She leans on the door frame and raises her eyebrows at the older woman.

"Hope I'm not bothering you," Kuvira begins and her mouth arches into a small smile. "Can I come in?"

Opal hesitates, before she opens the door and lets Kuvira in. She takes a few long steps to get inside the room and Opal closes the door behind her. Kuvira eyes the room, admiring all of the art that is hung on the wall. She then turns around to face Opal, who is just standing near the door, her arms crossed on her chest. 

"What do you want, Kuvira?" the younger woman speaks and lets her arms fall on her sides. She starts walking around her room, continuing her bedtime routines. 

Kuvira takes a step towards Opal. "I want to talk with you. About yesterday." Kuvira's words make Opal freeze. She slowly turns around to look at the older woman but is afraid to look at her in the eyes. "I am not angry with you, okay? I just want to talk about it."

Opal nervously nods and then sits on the edge of her bed. Kuvira sits next to her but not too close. They don't look at each other. They are waiting for the other one to do the first move. 

"You lied to me and Su. Like I said, I'm not angry with you. I'm just disappointed... Why did you do it?" Kuvira breaks the silence and lets out a long sigh, slightly turning her head to look at Opal. The younger woman is nervously playing with the hem of her nightdress, trying to calm herself down. Kuvira hesitates, before she places her hand on Opal's arm, making the younger one flinch at her touch. Kuvira pulls her hand away. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's fine... Just wasn't expecting it," Opal quickly answers and glances at Kuvira, who seems to be worried. "I... I don't know what I was thinking, okay? I was just angry when Huan told me that his sculptures were destroyed and then mom told me that you two fought... So, I put the pieces together and assumed that you ruined Huan's sculptures out of anger. And I got mad because I thought that you had worked on your anger problems and got over them. I couldn't understand why you acted the way you did."

Kuvira listens as Opal talks to her. When she is sure that Opal is waiting for her response, she dares to speak. "Yeah, I have to admit that it surprised me as well when I got so angry. It caught me off guard, I do admit that," Kuvira takes a small break, before she continues. "But I didn't mean to hurt Su or Huan. You, if anyone, know that I don't always understand my emotions. You also know that it doesn't take much to make me do things I don't want to do. So yes, I did act out of anger, but I didn't mean to. The situation got out of hand and I take full responsibility of my actions."

Kuvira turns to face Opal. The younger woman slightly turns her head. "I care about you, Opal. And I care about our friendship. Don't you think it's time for us to finally get over our disagreements and start over? I want my friend back," Kuvira whispers and places her hand on Opal's shoulder, rubbing it gently with her thumb. She smiles and keeps eye contact with her. 

"I guess we can try. I mean it would be fun to have a girl friend. The boys are overwhelming sometimes," Opal laughs and now she is smiling too. Opal takes Kuvira's hand and holds it. She looks down at their hands and chuckles. "When I saw you standing in front of my room, I wasn't expecting to have a calm conversation with you. I was expecting you to come here and yell at me, being mad at me for lying. I'm glad I was wrong about you," she says and brings her eyes back to Kuvira's. 

"I'm really sorry that you have that kind of a picture of me in your head. I hope I can change it over time," Kuvira answers. 

They stay quiet, not knowing what to do or say next. Kuvira then stands up from the bed and walks over to the wall that is covered with art. She smiles when she finds a painting that she had painted when she was younger. Huan had made all of the kids and Kuvira draw or paint something one day and it took Kuvira a long time to come up with something she wanted to paint. She then decided to paint the mountains that surround Zaofu. She didn't know what to do with the finished painting, so she gave it to Opal. She points at the painting and then looks at Opal. "It's a miracle you haven't thrown this away. At one point you hated me so much that you pretended that I didn't even exist and yet you have had my painting on your wall all this time. It appears that you've been my fan all along."

Opal rolls her eyes and walks to Kuvira. She also looks at the wall filled with art. Most of it is Huan's, some are her own. "I'm your fan only in your dreams," Opal strikes back and Kuvira gives her a grin. "Okay it's a pretty painting, I didn't want to throw it away."

"I knew it!" Kuvira chants and laughs. She runs her fingers over the painting, along the curves of the mountains and the clouds. She tilts her head and sighs. It was a great day when they were out painting with Huan. "I really loved to spend time with you guys. And I still do. Sometimes I wish to go back to the times when everything was less of a mess," Kuvira admits and then drops her hand to her side. 

Opal looks as the older woman keeps her eyes on the painting. "What is stopping us from doing all of those things again?" Opal suggests carefully, observing how Kuvira reacts to her proposition. Kuvira turns her head to Opal, making eye contact. A smile curves on her lips and Opal can see her eyes sparkle.

"Right. There is nothing that can stop us," Kuvira repeats what Opal proposed. "That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah. It would be nice, indeed," Opal agrees. They look at each other, smiling. "You remember what else we used to do when we were younger?"

Kuvira raises her eyebrows, not knowing what Opal is talking about.

"I used to do your hair. I loved braiding it," Opal reminds Kuvira. She had forgotten about it since it has been so long. "Can I do it again? Braid your hair? I mean don't get me wrong, your low bun is really nice, but it doesn't do justice for your beautiful long hair."

Kuvira smiles and shifts her weight to her other leg. "I would love that," she accepts. She walks to the bed and sits in front of it on the floor. Opal gets on the bed behind her and sits with her legs crossed. She takes the metal clip off Kuvira's hair and the locks fall on her shoulders. Opal handles Kuvira's long hair with gentle hands, not wanting to pull her hair. She starts detangling her hair.

"When did you and Ranya meet? It seems like you have known each other for a long time," Opal suddenly asks. Kuvira is glad that she isn't facing Opal, because she smiles bigger when she hears Ranya's name. Her face starts getting hotter and the butterflies in her stomach wake up and start dancing around again. 

"Well, I mean I do remember seeing her around Zaofu all the time, but I didn't know who she was. And I never bothered to ask if anyone knew her. She was always with her parents at their shop or with her friends. I remember once the guards were talking about her. She had just walked up to them and started talking about the most random things ever," Kuvira remembers and lets out a laugh. "She is not a great metal bender, but that is because her illness makes her weak. But Su still let her in our training lessons. And I got to observe her even more... Okay I have to correct myself, she is a great metal bender, she's just not strong. She is a fast learner and I admire that about her. And then one day when I was leaving the hall for a break, she asked me out. That's where it all started."

Opal listens as Kuvira explains about Ranya. She can hear the excitement and joy in her voice. She has her suspicions, but she doesn't dare to say them out loud. "It seems like you've grown rather close just in a few days. I have to admit, the happiness looks good on you." 

Kuvira chuckles and rubs her knees with her thumbs. "And it feels good, too," she admits. 

Opal braids Kuvira's hair with zero effort and it turns out perfectly. She ties the end and then places the braid over Kuvira's shoulder. The older woman turns around to face her. She smiles and gets up on her knees, not standing up yet. "Opal, you don't even know how much this means to me. Thank you, I mean it," she says as she takes Opal's hands and holds them. 

"This means a lot to me, too. I think that this was the perfect time to make up," Opal agrees with Kuvira. Opal stands up and helps Kuvira up from the ground. "It's late. You should head back to your own room."

Kuvira nods and lets go of Opal's hands. She takes a few steps towards the door and puts her hand on the door handle. "Good night, Opal. See you in the morning," Kuvira says as she holds down the handle and opens the door. 

"Night, Kuvira."

Chapter Text

A week has passed since Ranya had dinner with the Beifong family and Kuvira. After that night, she has been spending a lot more time with the Beifong kids, especially the twins, at her place and they have been out shopping, eating, and doing what normal people do - hanging out with each other and talking about all of the things they can. Because they have been spending so much time with each other, Ranya has learned to separate Wei and Wing from each other. She couldn't tell them apart, so Kuvira had to help her and correct her, whenever she said something wrong. But the twins didn't mind it, they understood it and laughed at her for messing their names up all the time.

Huan invited Ranya to join him and his siblings to spend an afternoon at the Beifong mansion. She couldn't resist the offer and said yes, being excited to get to know more this young artistic man, who also has an amazing sense of humour but who isn't as bold as his younger brothers. 

Ranya arrives at the Beifong mansion and the second she is about to start walking up the stairs towards the front door, the door flies open, and the twins rush out, Kuvira barely being able to keep up with them. "You came! Come on, let's go!" Wei chants gleefully and grabs Ranya by her arm and yanks her with him, starting to run. Ranya laughs and runs with the twins down the hills to a place where Huan has all of his sculptures on display.

When Ranya gets there, she is amazed by the place. She is out of breath, but it doesn't seem to bother her when she sees the place. All kinds of metal sculptures are all across the place and she can't take her eyes off them. She snaps back to reality when Kuvira touches her shoulder, making her flinch.

"Aren't these amazing?" Kuvira asks and smiles. Ranya nods her head and turns to look at the woman beside her. "Come, Huan has been preparing this day for a while," she proposes and slides her hand down Ranya's shoulder to her wrist, gently pulling her with her. They walk to Huan, who is talking with his siblings and explaining what they are going to do today.

"Good, you're here! We can finally begin," Huan says with joy in his voice. He shows everyone the supplies he has gathered before he starts explaining about their plan for the day to Kuvira and Ranya. "So, Kuvira is already familiar with this, but basically you have two choices: either you paint or draw. It's as simple as that. I am not going to judge your art, even though I will, so just do whatever you want. I just want everyone to have fun and enjoy this day," he explains and the happiness and excitement that he shows is something Ranya has never seen when he has been around her. Huan is usually rather shy and calm, sometimes throwing snarky comments around and laughing at jokes that others don't find funny. 

Kuvira glances at Ranya, to see her reaction to this. And she is surprised when she sees the other woman completely thrilled over this. She can't literally stay put and is already ready to take the supplies she needs and begin this artistic journey ahead of her. The view is hilarious and calming at the same time. The way that Ranya can't help but move her hands around and clap out of excitement, the way that her cheeks get all red due to her smiling so hard and the corners of her eyes slightly arching upwards make Kuvira smile and let out a laugh. Ranya hears this and turns her head to look at Kuvira. "What is so funny?" She asks and makes eye contact with Kuvira.

"You seem so happy. And the way you are happy, makes me happy," Kuvira explains and now she can't control her smile anymore. Her eyes wander around Ranya's face, from her red cheeks to her arched lips back to her eyes. The way this woman makes her feel is astonishing to her and she can't really understand what it is or why this is happening to her. Her heartbeat starts racing everytime she sees her and whenever she even thinks about her laugh or smile, she can't help but smile herself. "Let's begin," she says to distract herself from the emotions and grabs some supplies. 

Ranya takes some pencils and paper with her, following Kuvira. They sit beside the pillars and the Beifong kids follow them. "What are you going to draw?" Kuvira asks as she is setting her painting stand. 

"I don't really know. I am not very artistic when it comes to this type of art," Ranya answers as she plays with her pencils. She has a concentrated look on her face when she is looking at the blank paper in front of her on the ground.

Huan walks up to her and sits next to her. "Don't think about it too hard. You can draw whatever you want, it doesn't have to be anything special. Just draw the first thing or image that pops into your mind. It can be an object, a memory or a wish or a dream you have," he helps her and smiles at her. She looks at him and her eyes go to his piercing over his left eyebrow before she brings her eyes to his. She smiles and nods. 

"Okay, maybe I'll come up with something." She adjusts her sitting position and soon she finds herself lying on her stomach on the cold, hard concrete. She supports her head with her hand and taps the pencil on the paper, thinking about all of the alternative things she wants to draw. She slightly takes a look at Kuvira, who is already working on her painting and concentrating. She gently drags the brush over the canvas and takes more paint as she starts to run out of the color. Ranya can't help herself but to notice Kuvira's hands, especially her fingers. They are holding onto the brush with a gentle grip. Her hands are a thing she thought she would never be attracted to, but she has proven herself wrong. Kuvira notices that Ranya is staring at her, so she stares back at the other woman, who doesn't notice this. 

When Ranya notices Kuvira staring at her, she blushes and quickly looks down at the blank paper, trying to hide her blushing. She hears Kuvira chuckling, which brings even more embarrassment to her. She tries to shake off the feeling by picking up the pencil and taking it over the paper, starting to draw something to distract her. 

She ends up drawing mountains and a sunset. It's nothing much, it's not detailed and it's definitely not anything fancy, but she is having fun drawing it. She observes it and thinks that it is missing something, but she doesn't know what. "I can't figure out what I should add to it, it just seems empty in the middle," she speaks up and then looks at Kuvira for help. She turns the paper to face her and raises her eyebrows.

Kuvira takes the drawing and looks at it. "Draw some people in it. Or animals," she suggests and hands the paper to Ranya. 

"I suck at drawing humans. Like I don't understand how you or Huan can do that stuff. It's impossible!" Ranya cries and lies her head on the concrete. 

"What is impossible?" Says Baatar jr., who joins them and sits down next to Kuvira. Ranya sits up and lets out a frustrated sigh.

"Art! Drawing people!" She complains and her misery seems to be funny to Baatar, who starts laughing at her. He looks down at her drawing and then back up at the woman.

"Just draw stick figures. That's what Wei and Wing do all the time," he says and then brings his eyes to Kuvira's painting. It's a painting of the river they hung out for the first time.

"Hey! Stick figures are art too!" The twins yell in unison, making everyone laugh at them. They cross their arms and stick their tongues out, pretending to be hurt by Baatar's comment. 

Ranya shakes her head and chuckles, bringing her attention back to her drawing. Stick figures. That's what she starts working on and now she is back to lying down on her stomach. She is concentrated when she draws two stick figures sitting by a bonfire. She writes "Our Adventure" under the figures and then she draws two arrows towards pointing at the figures with "Kuvira" and "Me" written at the tails of the arrows. She cracks up at the piece of art she has created and turns the paper around so that no one else can see it. 

Kuvira notices this and raises an eyebrow. "What is so funny? What did you do?" She asks and can't help but laugh too, even though she doesn't know what Ranya is laughing at. 

When Ranya refuses to show the drawing, Kuvira quickly leans over and snatches the drawing. The moment she reads what's written on the paper she also cracks up and covers her face with her hand. "Ranya what is this? Is this us?" She asks under her laugh and looks down at Ranya. 

"Well, obviously! Can't you see the mark under the other figure's eye? That's you!" Ranya points out. Kuvira looks at the drawing again and now she notices that the figure who is sitting at the right side of the bonfire has a beauty mark under the right eye. "Also, it has arrows pointing at the figures with our names on them. I thought you could read."

Kuvira turns to look at Ranya and grins. She slightly moves her fingers, bending a small piece of rock off the ground and shooting it at Ranya's forehead as a way to venge herself after Ranya made fun of her. "Ow! You want to fight? Okay let's fight!" Ranya growls as she jumps up and is already in her fighting stance. Kuvira only laughs at her, not believing that the other woman would actually attack her. But she is surprised when Ranya bends out a rock of the size of her fist and shoots at her. Kuvira barely dodges it, but the rock hits the pillar next to her, cracking it. She looks at the pillar and then stands up.

"Hey, come on, I was just playing around," Kuvira tries to get herself out of this situation, but she is met by another rock that almost hits her face. She frowns her eyebrows and also takes a fighting stance. 

They don't get to fight for long when Baatar jr. and Huan stop them. "What are you doing? And stop ruining my pillars!" Huan interrupts them as he is taking turns looking at Ranya and Kuvira. 

"She started it!" Kuvira defends herself.

"You threw a rock at me!"

"You insulted my ability to read!"

"Okay enough!" Baatar interferes and lets out a sigh. "Ranya, I am sure that Kuvira didn't mean any harm when she threw that rock at you. Okay? Now calm down," Baatar tries his best to calm the situation and for his and Huan's fortune, they do calm down. 

Ranya takes her drawing and looks at it. She is about to rip it up, but Kuvira stops her by grabbing her wrist. "Don't. I didn't mean to be mean. I do love it," she whispers and gives Ranya a gentle smile. Their eyes meet and for a moment Ranya hesitates before she smiles briefly. "Tell me more about it, I want to hear what's the meaning behind this drawing."

They sit down and Baatar and Huan also stay to hear the story behind the drawing. "Well obviously it's us. This is from a dream I have - our adventure. I imagine us sitting by a bonfire when the sun is setting behind the mountains and we are happy. We are happy to be where we are and happy to be together. We are talking about all of the things we have already experienced and what we want to experience," Ranya explains about her drawing and whenever she is talking about a specific detail, she points at it with her finger. 

"Wow. Wasn't expecting that. But I love it!" Kuvira says and leans against Ranya, resting her head on her shoulder. Baatar looks at the two under his eyebrows and crosses his arms. 

Kuvira's words make Ranya happy. "You can have it," she quietly says as she gives the drawing to Kuvira. She takes it and looks at it for one more time before she puts it aside and looks up at Baatar.

"Why are you looking so grumpy? Are you mad that she didn't include you in her drawing?" Kuvira smirks and then stands up, walking beside Baatar. The young man blushes and looks away.

"No. I was just wondering how long we are going to be down here? I was hoping to show you the latest project father has made me work with, since Opal is hanging around the twins," he murmurs and then looks over at the twins, who are painting with Opal at the other corner. He brings his eyes to Kuvira, who has her eyebrows raised. 

"Uh... I guess we can go now," she says confused and briefly eyes at Ranya. "I'll be back soon, don't leave before I come back, okay?" Ranya nods and then Baatar and Kuvira leave together. 

Opal notices this and walks over to Ranya and Huan, who are left all by themselves. "Where are they going?" The young woman asks as she is looking after the duo.

"They are going to look at some project father has given to Baatar. He basically stole her from us!" Huan scoffs and crosses his arms. 

"Well, that's a bummer. I can stay with the two of you if you don't mind?" Opal requests and smiles at the two. Ranya turns to look at the young woman and returns a smile.

"That would be nice."

Baatar and Kuvira are walking the halls of the Beifong mansion, going to his workshop where he is working on the projects his father gives him. They don't talk, so the hallways are filled with the sound of their shoes touching the floor. 

Kuvira can't bear the silence anymore, so she stops and looks at Baatar. "Why did you ask me to come with you? Why now?"

Baatar also stops and turns around to face Kuvira. He walks up to her and places her hand on her cheek. "Because I miss you, Kuvira. We don't get to spend much time together," he speaks as his eyes lie on Kuvira's lips and he is rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "Don't you miss me?"

Kuvira shrugs her shoulders. "Baatar, of course I miss you. But we were together this morning and I just want to spend some time with my friends."

"I know, but I am your boyfriend, I deserve to hang around with you as much as they do," Baatar whines and takes a step closer to her, closing the gap between them. He places his hand on Kuvira's lower back and pulls her closer. "I want to be able to do this..." He leans over and brings his lips to Kuvira's, closing his eyes. 

Kuvira closes her eyes and wraps her arms around Baatar's neck. When she breaks from the kiss, she leans her forehead against Baatar's and looks at him. "I get it," she whispers and rests her head on his shoulder. 

"What are you two cuddling here?" The voice startles both of them and Kuvira breaks up from the hug to see a familiar person standing behind her, smirking at them with her arms crossed. "I didn't know you two were together, how adorable," Suyin comments.

Baatar clears his throat and his cheeks are visibly red from embarrassment. Kuvira covers her face with her hand and lets out a sigh. "Suyin please don't tell anyone about this," Kuvira begs and dares to meet Suyin's eyes.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell anyone what I just saw. Though it would be juicy to tell..."

"Mother!" Baatar yells and Suyin just laughs at him, flicking her hand. 

"Yeah, I won't tell," she assures them and then brings her eyes back to Kuvira. "I was looking for you, but the others said that you left to check on a project. I assume that was a lie. But anyway, I wanted to talk with you, Kuvira. Come with me to my office."

Kuvira is confused, once again, but starts walking after Suyin. She looks at Baatar and smiles at him, waving her hand as a bye. He raises his hand a little and watches as she disappears behind the corner with Suyin.

Suyin closes the door to her office and sits on the couch. She looks at the model of Zaofu and smiles. Kuvira sits on the other couch on the other side of the model, keeping her eyes at Suyin. "What did you want to talk about?"

"About your job at the security team. I have some news for you," Suyin begins and leans at the back of the couch. "One of our guards retired and there is a spot available. I thought you might be interested to start your duty earlier than we had already discussed."

Kuvira takes her time to process what Suyin offered her. If she takes this opportunity, she won't have time for Ranya and Baatar and she would have to give up the thought of an adventure. So, she shakes her head. "I can't. I don't want to disappoint you, but I just can't take the offer. I am sorry," Kuvira explains. 

"Why not? I thought you wanted this job." Suyin stands up and walks over to her desk.  

"Because I don't want to. As much as I am honored by this opportunity, we made a deal. I will start my duty as a guard and a member of the security team when the year changes. There are months left of this year and I would like to spend some time with my friends and... Baatar," Kuvira elaborates her decision and turns around to look at Suyin. "I wouldn't be able to go on an adventure with Ranya either," she adds.

"Enough with the adventure! Stop dreaming about it so much, we don't even know if Ranya can be healed. Kya will come here next week, so when she confirms Ranya's status you can bring up the topic again. Until then, don't even think about it," Suyin argues and faces Kuvira. "I know you care about her but stop feeding her false truths. You don't know if she'll be able to go."

Kuvira shakes her head and stands up too. "Suyin, you already gave us permission. We have been talking about this because you told us that we can go," Kuvira argues back.

Suyin doesn't really know what she is supposed to say back. She sighs and takes a step closer to Kuvira. "I know. I just don't want you two to be hurt if this doesn't go the way you wanted," she calms herself down. "But I still want you to think about my offer."

"I don't have to think about it. I have already decided," Kuvira states. "I don't want to become a guard until the year changes. End of discussion," she finishes and walks to the door, opening it and leaving Suyin's office, heading back outside to be with Ranya and the other Beifong kids. 

Being a guard has been Kuvira's biggest dream since she started training with Suyin. It is still one of her biggest dreams but hanging out with Ranya has changed her mind a lot. She has realized that life should be about more than working and staying in one place. She has realized that she wants to travel the world and see places she hasn't before. She has realized that she wants to be with her, Ranya.

Chapter Text

A cold breeze flows through Zaofu in the morning when the domes open up and reveal the five sectors of the state of Zaofu. Fall has arrived and the weather gets colder every day and the colors are starting to change from green to rust. When the rays of the sun hit the metal surfaces of the buildings, they create different variations of orange, red and pink, occasionally rainbows too. Some people are already up and ready for a new day. Ranya is also ready for a new day, though she hasn't even slept for a second. She is sitting on the roof of her apartment, swinging her legs over the edge, and admiring the morning golden hour that gives everything a soft hue. 

She couldn't sleep last night. She heard that Kya will be arriving next week, and she is too excited about it. But what brings her down and kept her up last night was her worsening condition. She is out of her medicine and she can't go and get more, not wanting to take any risks of catching any bacteria. She is going to call Suyin as soon as possible, but at an appropriate hour. She doesn't want to collapse again. 

"What are you doing up there?" Asks a familiar voice and when Ranya looks down, she sees Sachin standing in the middle of the street with his hands in his pockets. Seeing the young man brings a smile to her face.

"Just thinking about life. And admiring the morning sun. But mostly thinking about life," she responds. "I am also killing time while waiting for the appropriate time to call Suyin. I ran out of medicine a few days ago and I am not feeling so well."

Sachin pulls his hands out of his pockets and crosses his arms across his chest and shifts weight to his other hip. "Are you okay? Do you want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'm fine all by myself. But... I'm not okay. I have this very heavy feeling on my chest, like someone is pressing it down or crushing my lungs from the inside. My throat hurts everytime I take a breath and even talking hurts. I feel like I'm out of breath all of the time," she explains and closes her eyes. She takes a deep breath, and it stings her throat, like there were spikes in her throat stabbing her when the air flows in. "Yep, still hurts like a mother."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It's devastating to see you this way again, you have been so happy for the past week. I wish there was something I could do to help you." The young man lets out a sigh and shakes his head. "If anything happens or you need something, just call me. I'm always here for you," he adds as he is starting to make his leave. 

Ranya opens her eyes to look down at Sachin. She smiles at him and tilts her head. "I know that," she says and waves her hand slightly, saying goodbye. The young man waves back and then turns around to walk away. Ranya lets out a sigh and looks up at the mountains and the sun that is slowly rising. 

She swings her legs over the edge and turns around, standing up. She stands on the roof, letting the air play with her hair. She closes her eyes again and enjoys the cold breeze. When she opens her eyes, she turns around to take a look at the other sectors. She looks at the sector that is closest to her sector. The big training halls and the large areas for training are something that she always dreamed about. She always wanted to be able to train with her peers and one year, her parents let her. She was in the same lessons as Kuvira and she had caught her eye right away. They trained together for a few years, before Ranya had to isolate herself in her apartment for a really long time before she got permission to finally go back. She wasn't the same though, as she had gone weaker and almost lost the ability to bend. But even if she wasn't able to bend, she could always watch Kuvira and admire how dedicated she was to her training. 

She lets out a sigh and then looks at the biggest sector, the Beifong estate that is behind the other sectors. She wonders, if Kuvira is awake. She would love to see her face and have her around, but unfortunately, she won't be able to do that. 

Kuvira walks around the Beifong mansion, barefoot. The cold floor brings cold shivers all around her body and she wraps her arms around herself, trying to warm herself up. It turns out to be pointless because she doesn't see any change in her body's behaviour. Then she feels warm, strong arms wrap around her and pull her closer. She smiles and turns around to face the person hugging her. It isn't a surprise that the person is Baatar jr. "Morning," she whispers and rests her head on his chest. He holds onto her tighter and smells her hair.

"Good morning to you, too. Hope you slept well," he whispers back and slightly strokes Kuvira's braided hair that Opal had braided last night. He hears satisfied humming and looks down at the woman he is hugging. 

"Yeah, I did sleep pretty well. Even though what Suyin told me yesterday was kind of shocking. For my surprise, I fell asleep rather fast," she answers and departs from the hug. She holds Baatar's hands and rubs them with her thumbs. 

Baatar returns a smile and gives her a peck on her right cheek, right under her mark. "She just wanted to be nice. But it is your choice when you take the job."

Kuvira chuckles and lets go of Baatar's hands, heading to the dining hall. "I know. I also know that Suyin will not let go of this easily. Neither am I..."

Suyin and Baatar sr. are already sitting around the table in the dining hall. The older woman makes eye contact with Kuvira, who sits next to her at the left corner, which is usually Wing's regular seat. She nods her head and gives her a subtle smile. 

"Good morning to you two," Baatar sr. greets them and puts his elbows on the table, holding his hands. 

"Morning, dad," his son responds. Kuvira only gives him a nod and looks around. She wants the others to already come in, so that the chef would bring them breakfast.

Before she can ask about the whereabouts of the others, Suyin opens her mouth first. "Kuvira, you should start packing your things. I got you the apartment in the guards dormitory and you are moving there today since you will be starting your duty tomorrow." Kuvira doesn't want to believe what Suyin just told her. She clenches her fists under the table and the smile on her face fades away. 

"Suyin, we talked about this yesterday. I don't want the job. Not now. We had a deal," she speaks through her teeth and glares at the older woman. 

"Yes, we did, but I think it's best if you start your job as soon as possible. We can't have the spot open for too long, we need all the guards to secure Zaofu's safety and security. And you are supposed to join the security team," Suyin reasons and frowns her eyebrows. "You have been working hard for this moment for years. Why are you turning it down?"

Kuvira feels a rush of rage flow through her body and it makes her slam her fists on the table. The sound startles the men, and they are debating whether or not they should leave the room or stay to make sure that the women don't murder each other. "I want the job, yes! But not now. I told you yesterday that I have months left and I want to spend those months with my friends. I don't care what you think about the adventure, we are going to talk about it with Ranya. You can't stop us. Even if it doesn't happen. I want to make her feel as comfortable as possible and just have fun. Is that too much to ask?"

"I understand that you want to be with your friends. But you knew from the start that once you become a guard you won't have much time for friends. You brought this to yourself," Suyin answers Kuvira's argument. 

"I can't deal with this crap, not now," Kuvira speaks up and gets up. She exits the dining hall, leaving Baatar jr. with his parents. She has been fighting with Suyin so much that she is fed up with it. She stomps her way to her room and slams the door shut behind her. She is not going to pack her things, even if Suyin threatens to kick her out of the house. 

Kuvira paces around the room, fists clenched, and eyes closed, trying her best to not go back and fight. Because fighting is all she seems to know nowadays, and it is exhausting. She can't bear the feeling of rage inside of her, the constant shaking out of anger and the intrusive thoughts she gets when she is around other people. She hates to feel this way. 

She doesn't get to be alone in her room for long when she hears a quiet knock on her door. She turns to face the door, opening her eyes. She doesn't know if she imagined it or if someone is actually behind the door. But then she hears the knocking again. She hesitates before walking up to the door and opening it, finding Suyin standing in the hallway. Kuvira is about to slam the door shut, but the older woman stops her by putting her foot between the door. "What do you want?" Kuvira hisses and opens the door.

"I got a call from Ranya." Hearing her name makes Kuvira snap out of her current emotion rush. Her frowned eyebrows relax, and she isn't clenching her fists anymore. "She needs help. She told me that her condition is getting worse again and she is out of medicine. Would you go to the pharmacy to get her what she needs? You have a day off today," Suyin tells her.

Kuvira gets anxious hearing about Ranya's condition dropping. "Y-yeah sure. Anything. Just give me a list of what she needs, and I'll get them." She stumbles with her words and Suyin can see stress and fear in Kuvira's eyes and body language. Her body is stiff, her hands are trembling, and she is panting. 

Suyin hands her a piece of paper that has everything Ranya needs. "When you get back, we'll talk," she adds and then walks away. Kuvira peeks her head out of her room and watches as Suyin leaves. She then looks down at the paper that she is holding. 

Kuvira gets off the train and she is greeted with a cold breeze. Her whole body shivers and she wraps her robes tighter around her. She looks around for a while to navigate where she exactly is and where she can find the pharmacy. She doesn't really leave the Beifong estate except for training and if she is meeting up with Ranya. So, this is all rather new to her. She starts walking around and it doesn't even take her long to find the place she is looking for. She realizes that the pharmacy is really close to Ranya's place, Suyin probably planned it that way so that she could have easy access to her medicine. But apparently it wasn't enough.

She enters the pharmacy. She walks to the counter and waits for a moment for the pharmacist to show up. And when he does, he is wearing a big smile on his face. "Good morning! What can I get for you?"

"Hi, Suyin told me to get these medicines for my friend," Kuvira says as she hands over the paper. The pharmacist takes the paper, eyes through it, and then looks at Kuvira with his eyebrows raised. 

"Suyin sent you? Who are these for?" He asks and leans his hands against the counter.

"My friend, Ranya. She lives around the corner," Kuvira answers and then points outside.

The pharmacist nods his head and then looks down at the paper again. "Yeah, I know her. These medicines are the worst, though. I don't understand why the doctors make her take these," he mumbles as he walks to the back. Kuvira heard his comment but didn't say anything. 

After a moment of waiting, the pharmacist comes back and loads the medicine on the counter. Now Kuvira realizes, how much medicine Ranya actually has to take to stay healthy. She is ready to pull out her wallet, but the pharmacist holds up his hand to stop her. "Suyin has already covered these. You just have to deliver these to Ranya. If she needs all of this, her condition must be really bad," he interrupts her and makes eye contact with her.

Kuvira gives him a smile and gathers the bottles and boxes into her bag. "Thank you," she thanks and bows, before she leaves the shop. When she gets outside, she looks around a bit, before she heads to Ranya's apartment.

She doesn't have to walk for long to get there. She knocks on the door and takes a step back as she waits for the door to open. But Ranya doesn't open it. She knocks on the door again, thinking that Ranya just didn't hear the first time she knocked. But nothing happens. She presses her ear against the door to hear if she is doing something in there, but she hears nothing. She walks up the window and tries to see inside, but the blinds are shut. "Ranya? Are you in there? It's me, Kuvira!" She yells as she keeps on knocking on the door. 

"What are you doing?" She hears from behind and when she turns around, she sees Sachin. A feeling of relief goes through her body as she sees the young man. 

"I'm supposed to give Ranya her medicine. But she's not opening the door. Do you know if she's home?" Kuvira explains and takes a few steps towards Sachin. 

He looks behind Kuvira, at Ranya's apartment, and raises his eyebrows. "I saw her a while ago. She was on the roof and we talked a bit," he says and then brings his eyes to Kuvira's. "Can't you check if she is in there through the ground? You know when you slam your foot on the ground to see through it?"

Kuvira raises her eyebrows. She didn't even think about that. "Right. Hold on a second." She closes her eyes and takes a wider stance. She then lifts her left leg and slams it to the ground, creating an image in her head about her surroundings. Then she sees it. Her. Ranya is lying on the floor of her apartment and she seems to be unconscious. Kuvira opens her eyes and looks at Sachin. "She's in there, but she is unconscious. We need to get in there, now!"

Sachin doesn't hesitate a second, before he walks up the door and kicks it open with one kick. He rushes inside, Kuvira right behind him. The apartment is dark and quiet, and Ranya is lying on the ground, her fire ferret Ozai curled up right next to her head. When the animal notices Kuvira and Sachin, he starts making all kinds of noises and running around Ranya. Sachin kneels next to Ranya and rolls her over to her side, pulling her to his lap. He brings his hand on her cheek and then on her neck, checking her pulse. 

"She's alive, but her body is too hot. We need to get her to the doctor," he says as he turns to look at Kuvira, who also kneels down. She brings her trembling hand to Ranya's cheek and gently strokes it. The skin is red and hot, damp due to all of the sweat. Her eyes are widened, and her mouth is open. "Did you hear me, Kuvira? We need to get her to the doctor!"

She raises her head to take a look at Sachin, whose eyes are bugged out and Kuvira swears to spirits that she can see tears in his eyes. "I heard you. Come on, let's go." She lets go of Ranya's cheek and gets up. Sachin picks up Ranya and they head out of the apartment in a hurry, running towards the closest hospital that is on the other side of the sector. A few guards notice them, and they run up to them.

"What is going on? What happened to her?" They ask and their eyes are on Kuvira, whom they already know. 

"We found her in her apartment, unconscious. I was bringing her the medicine she needs," Kuvira shortly explains and keeps her eyes on Ranya. "We need to get her to a doctor as fast as possible. She is very sick, and we don't want anything to happen to her."

The guards exchange looks and then look at the trio. "We can give them a call to let them know you're coming," the other one says and picks up the radio he is carrying. When he gets a hold onto someone in the hospital, he explains the situation. "You can go," he rushes them after he ends the call.

"Thank you!" Kuvira and Sachin leave and run to the other side of the sector. There are two nurses waiting outside the hospital, ready to take Ranya in. They take her from Sachin's arms and carry her inside, where doctors are waiting and ready to take her to the other room. Kuvira and Sachin follow them, but at some point, they are stopped, and they can't go any further. 

"It's better if you stay on this side," one of the nurses says before closing the door and leaving Kuvira and Sachin standing there, without knowing if their friend is going to be okay.

Sachin is the first one to walk away from the door to sit on a chair. Kuvira follows him and sits next to him, not daring to look in his direction. They sit in silence and wait in agony. 

It feels like the time has stopped. Everything seems to take forever and whenever either one of them looks up at the clock on the wall, it doesn't seem to move any forward. But they have been there over an hour now, and nothing has come up yet. No one has told them anything and the whole hospital is quiet. 

Kuvira slightly glances at Sachin, who has his chin against his chest and his hands are resting on his lap. His right leg is shaking and tapping the floor. "Can you stop that? It's annoying," Kuvira comments and points at his leg. Sachin glares at her and stops. 

"This is taking too long. I want to know what's happening," he murmurs frustrated and stands up, walking to the door and pressing his ear against it. A nurse notices this and walks up to him, pulling him away. 

"Young man, you have to be patient," she says, but Sachin doesn't seem to care. He shakes off the woman's hand and looks at the door with a blank expression on his face.

"She's my best friend. I don't want her to die," he whispers, and his voice breaks mid-way the sentence. The nurse doesn't know what to do, so she looks around and makes eye contact with Kuvira, who just shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders. The nurse walks away and Kuvira stands up. She walks up to Sachin and hesitates before putting her hand on his shoulder. 

"Sachin, listen," she starts, and her voice makes Sachin look at her. "She'll be fine. She has to," she whispers with a shaking voice. She is surprised when Sachin hugs her and wraps his arms around Kuvira. She doesn't really know how to react to this, so she gently places her hands on his back and pats him, trying to comfort him. He cries on her shoulder and is shaking. "She's going to be fine... We are going to be fine..."

Another hour goes by and they are sitting on the chairs again, sometimes pacing around the waiting room. When Kuvira is about to stand up again to walk around, the door suddenly opens. A doctor comes out and looks at them. They stand up and take a step closer, wanting to hear the news. 

"Is she okay? Can we see her?" Sachin asks.

The doctor smiles at them and lets out a chuckle. "We managed to stabilize her condition and we have contacted her parents and Suyin. She is awake, if you'd like to go and talk with her," the doctor tells them the news and when she sees the pure joy in Kuvira and Sachin's faces, she can't help herself but smile even bigger.

"Thank you, doctor!" Sachin jumps around and lets out a sound that doesn't even sound like it came out of a human. Kuvira shakes her head and laughs. They rush into the room where Ranya is, and she is surrounded by nurses and doctors. As soon as they enter the room, the nurses and doctors leave and close the door behind them. Ranya is lying on the bed and she doesn't look good. But she is alive and awake and that is enough for Kuvira and Sachin, at least for now. 

Ranya sees the two and a smile appears on her face, making her look more alive. Sachin rushes to her side and hesitates before holding her hand. Ranya squeezes his palm and looks up at his eyes. Then her eyes travel to Kuvira, who is still standing at the door, pondering whether or not she should get any closer. Ranya makes eye contact with her and then holds out her hand, wanting Kuvira to take it and hold it. Kuvira smiles and walks closer, taking Ranya's hand and holding it gently. 

"I'm sorry you had to find me like that," Ranya speaks up and breaks the silence in the room. Sachin and Kuvira exchange looks and then laugh. 

"Don't be sorry. We are glad that we found you." Sachin shakes his head, and a tear runs down his cheek. Ranya reaches her hand and wipes the tear away.

Then she turns to look at Kuvira, who has been quiet all of this time. "The doctors told me that you were at my apartment to bring me some medicine... Thank you, Kuvira," she whispers and tightens her grip of Kuvira's warm hand. 

Kuvira smiles and lets out a chuckle. "I just did what I was asked to do," she whispers back, keeping her eyes on Ranya's tired, red eyes. 

Sachin clears his throat and Kuvira turns to look at him. He has his eyes on her and his eyebrows are raised. "Do you... Do you two want to be alone for a moment? Because I can go and get us some food," he suggests.

"Sure. But you don't have to bring me any, I'll head back to the Beifong estate when you come back," Kuvira says and Sachin nods his head and lets go of Ranya's hand. He walks out of the room and leaves the two women there by themselves. 

They look at each other. Kuvira sits down on a chair next to the bed. "How are you feeling?" Kuvira asks. 

"Like someone hit me with a rock million times and then decided to shove the rock down my throat, making me unable to breathe and then turned the rock into a lava, burning me from the inside. Shortly: I feel like crap," she explains and looks down, breaking their eye contact. She brings her free hand to her throat and rubs it with her thumb gently. "I'm glad Kya will come here in a week."

Kuvira's smile fades away. "I don't even want to know, how many times this has happened to you before. It must be hard, not knowing when you'll collapse again. I'm sorry that you have to live like this." She tries her best to comfort the other woman and it seems to be working. Ranya brings her eyes back to Kuvira's and her mouth is arched into a smile. 

"Thanks. But I don't want to talk about it. Let's change the subject," she proposes. "So... You and Baatar jr? How did that happen?"

Kuvira is baffled. The question makes her speechless and she doesn't really know what to say. "How... How do you know about that?"

"Opal told me."

"And how does she know?"

"Wei and Wing told her."

"And... Okay I'm not even going to ask," Kuvira says in embarrassment, covering her face with her hand and sighing.

Ranya sits up and lets go of Kuvira's hand. "Isn't he supposed to be your brother? Doesn't that... Bother you at all?"

A hot wave rushes through Kuvira's body and her face starts getting hotter and redder. "We aren't siblings... I am not Suyin's adoptive daughter, only her protege..." She tries to explain her way out of the situation and is too embarrassed to even look at Ranya anymore. "Can we, uh, not talk about this?"

"No, I want to know everything! Otherwise, I have to ask Opal and the others what is going on. So, tell me, how did you end up dating? How long have you two been together?" Ranya asks.

Kuvira pinches the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes. She lets out a sigh and shakes her head. "We have always been close, even when we were kids. Then it just happened. We care about each other, a lot. There was nothing special about it, it just happened," she explains and looks at her hands. "We've been together for three months now."

"Yeah, it's not going to last," Ranya comments and sits with her legs crossed, her elbows leaning on the sides of her knees. "Sorry to break it to you."

"What do you mean?" Kuvira frowns her eyebrows and crosses her arms across her chest, looking straight to Ranya's eyes.

Ranya shrugs her shoulders and laughs. "I'm just messing around with you. Don't take me seriously."

Kuvira shakes her head and lets out a short breath. Fortunately, Sachin walks in and rescues her from the awkward situation. She stands up and leaves the bag with the medicine on the ground. She then turns to look at Ranya. "Bye," she whispers and leaves the room and then the building. 

Kuvira walks around the mansion, heading towards Suyin's office. She wanted to talk, so Kuvira is here to talk. When she reaches the office, she quietly knocks on the door and when she hears Suyin's voice, she walks in. She closes the door behind her and sits down on the couch. Suyin is sitting across her, her legs crossed and her back leaning against the back of the couch. 

"Is Ranya alright?" Suyin asks after a moment of silence.

Kuvira raises her head and looks at the older woman sitting across her. "For now," Kuvira answers shortly. She isn't really in the mood to talk right now, not after she was living in fear for hours, not knowing whether or not her friend would make it. 

"I'm glad you were there," Suyin comments. She isn't here to talk about Ranya, so she leaves the subject behind. "About your duty. Are you completely sure about your decision?"

"Yes I am. We had a deal and I expect you to respect it," Kuvira responds, frowning her eyebrows and keeping eye contact with Suyin. 

The older woman can see that Kuvira is frustrated. She doesn't want to push her too far to the edge. "Very well. I will find someone to cover the job for you until the year changes. But with one condition," Suyin says, rising one finger up. "You try your best to make Ranya feel good. I want to see that girl happy and like I said before, you seem to be able to do that."

A calm feeling fills Kuvira and she sinks in her seat, relaxing. Her mouth curves into a smile and her eyebrows are relaxed, the corners of her eyes decorated with subtle wrinkles. "I'll do that. I promise you, Suyin, that if we get to go on our adventure, I will be back before the year changes. And I promise you that I will serve you as well as I can." She stands up and walks to Suyin. She sits next to her and wraps her arms around the older woman's neck, burying her face in the crook of her neck.

"It's settled then..." Suyin whispers and holds onto Kuvira, pulling her closer and closing her eyes. 

Chapter Text

The previous week has gone past too slow. Every day feels like it lasts ten hours longer than usually and that sometimes time goes backwards instead of forwards. Suyin has been talking with Ranya quite a lot through the radio and one day Kuvira found out about this. She hasn't talked to her in a week and she really wants to hear her voice. So Suyin decided to let them talk, even though they are going to meet tomorrow. 

"You wanted to talk with Ranya? I have her on the line. Talk as long as you want," Suyin walks into Kuvira's room, holding onto the portable radio. Kuvira jumps off the bed and runs to her, grabbing the radio and then turning on her heels to face Suyin. She has a big smile on her face.

"Thank you, Suyin!" She gleefully thanks the older woman, who then leaves the room. Kuvira takes the radio and holds it up to her ear. She is excited. "Hi, Ranya. How are you doing?" 

Ranya chuckles at the way Kuvira starts the conversation - it is lame, and she can hear that her voice is trembling out of excitement. "I have been better. But Kya is coming tomorrow so I guess I can survive this night," she responds, and the sound of her voice makes Kuvira's heart pound and the smile on her face grows bigger. She takes the portable radio with her and sits on her bed, crossing her legs and leaning against the wall behind her. 

"Do you know what time they'll arrive?" Kuvira asks and plays with the cord of the radio. 

It sounds like Ranya is going through papers before she can answer Kuvira's question. "Uhh... Here it is! Suyin told me that they'll be here in the morning. They will pick me up and I will come with them to the Beifong estate."

"I get to see you?" Kuvira breathes and the expression on her face changes. Her lips are parted, and her eyebrows are relaxed. Her eyes are on her fingers that are playing with the cord and she nervously waits for Ranya's answer. 

She hears a chuckle from the other end of the radio. "Yeah, you do."

Kuvira sighs and smiles. "I'm glad. This past week has been exhausting and not being able to talk with you or have you in my presence kind of sucks."

"Yeah, but you have Baatar. Aren't you supposed to be with him? You know, your boyfriend?" Ranya teases and laughs. She can't believe that a gorgeous woman who has an amazing boyfriend is yearning for her. 

Kuvira clears her throat and brings her hand to her cheek. Her face is starting to get hot. "Shut up. He is busy and I don't want to bother him. I have been with Opal, though. I have been teaching her some basic self-defence moves, since she doesn't want to feel so helpless."

"She is such a nice young woman. And I'm glad you two figured your things out. It's not fun to live with someone who you don't get along with," Ranya mumbles and lets out a frustrated sigh. 

"You have some experience with that?" Kuvira inquires. 

Ranya groans and is quiet for a while before answering. "Kind of. My adoptive parents have a biological son, Kiran, you might know him since he is a guard. He never liked me and when I grew up, we were constantly arguing and literally fighting. He is also a bender and he is a strong one. I was told that he did indeed like to have a little sister, but when he found out that I was sick he suggested that my parents would give me up. He didn't like that I got all of the attention. When he moved away, everything became a lot easier and if I'm going to be totally honest with you, I don't miss him. We haven't spoken in years." Kuvira can hear the pure frustration and disgust in Ranya's voice. The way she said her brother's name was as if it was a curse word. 

"That's a bummer. But yeah, I know Kiran. He always seemed so nice and he was sometimes assisting Suyin at our lessons. It appears that I was wrong about him. But why didn't you ever tell me that you had a brother?" She asks more questions, wanting to know more about this brother of Ranya's.

"Because he's an asshole! I thought it was obvious. Also, I don't consider him to be my brother, he was more like a... Roomie. I don't know. I also had forgotten about him," Ranya explains.

Kuvira shakes her head and sighs. "That sounds harsh. You forgot your own brother?"

Ranya is starting to get frustrated with Kuvira's questions about Kiran. "He's not my brother! He probably doesn't remember me either or thinks that I am dead."

"Why don't you talk with him? I'm sure he has grown up," Kuvira suggests with precaution and hopes that Ranya won't take it the wrong way. 

"Kuvira no, I will not talk to him. He is a high-tier-level asshole, and I won't be the first one to initiate an apology," Ranya grunts and it sounds like she is walking around her apartment with heavy steps, going through shelves and then going back to where she was. Kuvira waits for a good time to respond.

"Alright then, it's your choice after all," Kuvira gives in, not wanting to make Ranya any more frustrated than she already is. 

There is a moment of silence between them because Ranya actually didn't really listen to what Kuvira told her. She hopes that it wasn't anything important, so she decides to change the subject of their conversation. "Yeah. But anyway, I'm happy that Kya will be here tomorrow. I can't wait to feel good again."

"And I can't wait to see you. I..." Kuvira stops and brings her hand to her mouth, pondering whether or not she should say it. 

"Yes?" Ranya asks and waits for Kuvira to continue her sentence. 

"Nothing. I'm just glad to be able to see you tomorrow," Kuvira panics and then covers her face with her palm, quietly hitting her forehead and closing her eyes. She mouths to herself "Kuvira you're an idiot!"

"Yeah," Ranya hums and she seems to be calming down.

Before Kuvira can say anything else, Opal knocks on her door and opens it, peeking her head through the ajar. She calls for Kuvira, who opens her eyes and looks at the young woman at the door. "Hold on a second, Opal is calling for me- What? I'm talking with Ranya. Now? Ugh, I guess? Fine. Okay now shoo, I'll be there in a minute- Sorry about that. I have to go with Opal, she wants to show me a trick she learned from the twins. I have to make sure that she won't break her neck or something," Kuvira explains and lets out a nervous laughter. 

"That sounds fun. Maybe she'll show me the trick tomorrow, I want to see it. And if it's not too hard I want to learn it too." Ranya chuckles and Kuvira smiles at her suggestion. 

"I'll tell her that... I guess we'll talk tomorrow," Kuvira makes the first move to end the call. 

Ranya lets out a sigh but understands that Kuvira has to go. "Yeah. Then I'll have the chance of stealing you away from Baatar once again. Beware, I might wreck your relationship," she teases and Kuvira can hear that she is grinning. She can only imagine the face Ranya has on her face right now. 

"Go ahead, it won't work," she proudly teases back.

Kuvira hears a loud laugh at the other end. "Challenge accepted," Ranya declares.

Kuvira chuckles and then lets out a sigh. "I should go, Opal is waiting for me."

Ranya sighs too and gives in. "Okay. Bye, see you tomorrow!"

"Bye," Kuvira whispers and then puts down the radio. She looks at the portable radio with a slight smile on her face. The fact that she got to hear Ranya's voice a day earlier than she thought brings a lot of joy and tranquillity into her day. 

She lets out a sigh and closes her eyes. "I really missed you..."

Chapter Text

The morning is cold and the breeze that flows through the mountains around Zaofu brings shivers all around Lin's body. She wraps her arms around her body and Kya lets out a chuckle, hugging the younger woman and resting her head on her shoulder as they reach the front gate of Zaofu. They stand still as they wait for the heavy gates to open up. As they take their time to open up fully, a man with light-green robes steps out, two guards walking beside him, on either side of him. The man is holding his own hands, as he walks closer to Kya and Lin. 

He stops in front of them and bents his back slightly as he bows. "Good morning, ladies. I am Aiwei and I will be taking care of you for this morning," he greets them and shows them a slight smile. Kya and Lin respond with a bow.

"It's nice to meet you, Aiwei. I am Kya and this grumpy freezing lady next to me is my wife, Lin," Kya introduces herself and points at Lin, who rolls her eyes and then lies them on her wife, raising her eyebrows. "What? You are grumpy and freezing." Kya shrugs her shoulders and smiles widely and pokes Lin's ribs with her elbow. 

Aiwei keeps a subtle smile on his face, as he watches the two. "We should get going. I am sure Ranya is already up and ready to go," he suggests and turns around on the balls of his feet. He walks towards the gates with long, feather-like steps. The other guard stays behind with Kya and Lin and escorts them into the monorail that is waiting for them. Lin is happy to finally be able to warm up her body. Her teeth are still clattering, and she rubs her arms as she sits down.

Kya is more used to the cold, so she wraps her arms around Lin's shoulders and pulls her closer. "I told you to bring a jacket with you. You don't need to wear your uniform all of the time." Kya doesn't get an answer, Lin only looks away and the corners of her mouth are slightly curved downwards. 

It is still early, so the domes are up and only a few people are up and out. When they go through the city, Kya can't help herself but to stand up and stand near the window, admiring the city. She is amazed by all of the tall buildings that aren't as enormous as the ones in Republic City, but they surely are more beautiful. She loves all of the small homes that people have and what catches her eye the most is the fact that the city is clean, and everything seems like it is new. The people of Zaofu clearly take care of the city. 

Kya has her mouth slightly open and can't take her eyes off the view. She feels a light tug on her hand and when she looks down at her hand, she notices Lin holding onto her hand. "Kya, we are going to be here for a few days. You will get to see everything. Just sit down before you fall and hurt yourself," Lin mumbles and pulls Kya towards herself. Kya smirks and sits down next to Lin. She holds tighter Lin's palm and brings it to her lips, giving it a light kiss. Lin pulls her hand away and looks away, but Kya isn't blind, she can see the blush on Lin's face.

The monorail stops at the sector where Ranya lives. Aiwei gets up from his seat and steps out of the monorail. Kya and Lin decide to follow him, they want to meet Ranya too. When they get outside, it's not as cold because of the closed domes. Lin isn't a fan of cold and the metal around her body doesn't help the situation.

The three of them walk on the empty, quiet streets of the sector. It is dark and the dim lights are the only thing that lights up the streets. They arrive at Ranya's apartment and the lights are out and the blinds are closed. "Aww, this is a cute little house," Kya gleefully comments Ranya's apartment and a smile never leaves her face. She looks around and is once again surprised by how clean the city is.

Aiwei doesn't waste any time as he walks up to the door and knocks three times. His knocks are loud and heavy, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if Ranya's neighbours also woke up because of this. He takes a step back and waits for Ranya to open the door. It takes her a few moments, but she finally peeks her head out of the ajar. Her eyes are still half-closed, and it is obvious that she was sleeping. Kya can't help herself but to laugh and bring her hand to her mouth.

"Well, it appears someone is not a morning person," Lin mocks and crosses her arms over her chest, shifting weight to her other hip. 

Ranya lets out a frustrated sigh and steps outside, rubbing her eyes. "Actually, I am. It's just... My medication. That stuff really messes up with my head," she explains and tries her best to keep her eyes open as she leans against the cold wall behind her. She brings her eyes to Aiwei, who is looking at her with his eyebrows raised. "It's time to go, am I right?"

"Yes, you should get changed," he gives her a short answer as he eyes her from head to toe. 

"What, so you mean I can't wear my nightwear? Boring." Ranya rolls her eyes and spins around, heading back inside. It doesn't take her long to get ready and she steps out after a few moments, this time in her Zaofu robes. Her hair is a mess, and it looks like she hasn't brushed it in weeks, not that it would be a complete lie. She walks past Aiwei, who has his eyes on her hair, and she can sense this. "If you even dare to comment my hair, I swear I will murder you," she threatens and glares at him with frowned eyebrows. 

Lin sticks close to Kya and leans over at her ear. "Someone is grumpy," she whispers, talking about Ranya who is walking ahead of them. 

Kya looks at her wife with a grin on her face. "Reminds me of someone. This is nothing I can't handle," she whispers back and speeds up her walking pace, catching up Ranya. She walks beside her in silence for a moment and then turns her head to look at her. "Are you excited for your first treatment?" She asks with caution.

Ranya slightly rotates her head to take a look at Kya. She shows her a slight smile and nods. "Yeah, I can't wait to get rid of my medication," she answers but then the smile fades away and she looks down at her feet. "But I'm afraid this won't work. I want it to, but what if it doesn't?" Ranya brings her eyes back to Kya and fear is the first thing Kya notices.

"Then it doesn't work. There is really nothing else I can say to you. But I promise you, I will try my best. I won't leave this place until I have tried everything," Kya reassures her and places her hand lightly on Ranya's shoulder, gently rubbing it with her thumb. She gives her an encouraging smile and then pulls her hand away, not wanting to be too intruding. 

They step inside the monorail and sit down, Aiwei sitting across Ranya. He wants to keep an eye on her, she doesn't seem so good. And he is correct. As soon as Ranya leans her head against the window behind her, her eyelids start getting sloppy and she has a hard time keeping them open. It appears that the medicine she has to take, really does mess up with her head and makes her sleepy. She is on the verge of falling asleep, when she hears a loud noise, or to her it is loud, making her flinch and open her eyes wide open. She sits up and tries to locate where the sound came from, but nothing seems to be out of ordinary. She breathes heavily through her mouth and holds onto her seat with her hands.

Aiwei is now truly worried and he leans over.  "When was the last time you fell asleep without medicine?" He asks and Ranya has a hard time bringing her eyes to meet Aiwei's. He reaches out his hand and places it on her knee. 

Ranya drops her head and shakes it, frustrated about the situation. She hasn't slept well in a long time and she knows that it is because of her medicine. Sure, they make her fall asleep, but the quality of her sleep has dropped increasingly.  "I don't remember. A week? A month?" She rests her head on her hand and looks at Aiwei. He has a worried look on his face - his eyebrows are slightly frowned, and his eyes are looking straight into her soul. She knows he is a truth seer, so she can't lie to him. She has tried it in the past and it has become obvious that no one can fool him.

"I am sorry to hear that. I am also sorry for being away for too long, maybe I could've helped you more," he says and pulls his hand away, leaning back at the wall behind him. He crosses his legs and places his hands on his knee. He is observing Ranya and remarks that her skin is paler than usual. Her skin has a subtle blue tint to it, and she doesn't even seem alive anymore. 

Ranya shakes her head and slightly smiles. "No, it's fine, you have helped me enough," she says and tilts her head. "And I thank you for that. I appreciate everything you have done for me and all of the things you taught me."

Aiwei nods his head and closes his eyes for a moment, before raising his head to look at Ranya again. "I was only doing what I thought was best in the situation. I know you've been through a lot. I also hope you will use the information you have on your adventures in the future," he reminds her and smirks. 

Kya gets invested in the conversation as soon as the word "adventure" pops up. She leans over with a smile on her face. "Adventure? Tell me more about it," she asks.

Ranya gets shy about the question. This hasn't happened to her before and it confuses her. She doesn't dare to look at Kya, so instead she looks down at her lap and picks the skin of her hands. "Well, uh... My biggest dream has always been to go on an adventure and travel around the world. My friend Kuvira promised to accompany me if I ever get to go," she elaborates the subject and carefully glances over at Kya, just enough to meet her blue eyes. She seems so kind and safe to be around and it relaxes her and now she is looking at her direction with her lips curved into a smile.

"I have travelled around the world. I never really liked to stay in one place, until I met Lin. But still, I sometimes miss all of the adventures I had! Maybe we can exchange stories in the future, once you come to visit Republic City," she proposes and lets out a laugh that warms up the atmosphere inside the monorail. Ranya nods and quickly eyes at Lin, who is sitting next to Kya. 

"We have a plan with Kuvira. Our first destination is the Kyoshi island and from there, we are going to the Fire nation. From there, we will get to Republic City. We have a tight schedule, but I think we can make it," Ranya tells more about her plans.

"How tight schedule?" Kya inquires.

Ranya has to think for a moment and count in her head before she answers the question.  "Kuvira has three or four months left before she is supposed to join the security team. We had to cut our route a lot shorter to keep up with the schedule."

Kya sways her hand and chuckles. "Well, that doesn't seem so bad. I'm sure you'll make it. When you get to Republic City, you are more than welcome to stay at the Air Temple Island."

The smile on Ranya's face gets bigger if that is even physically possible. "That's so nice, thank you."

Ranya looks out of the window behind Kya and notices that they have arrived at the Beifong estate. The monorail stops and they all stand up, ready to go outside. "Ah, we are here," Aiwei comments and stretches out his arms.

For their surprise, almost all of the Beifongs are outside waiting for them, including Kuvira, who is standing beside Baatar jr. Ranya doesn't hesitate a moment when she runs past Aiwei, Kya and Lin to Kuvira and pulls her into a hug. She wraps her arms around the taller woman tightly and closes her eyes as she leans her head against Kuvira. "I missed you," she whispers into Kuvira's shoulder.

Kuvira wraps her arms around the other woman and gently pulls her even closer. She is glad that the feeling of missing each other wasn't one-sided, as she had been afraid of. She lets out a chuckle. "I missed you too," she whispers back. After a moment of hugging, they depart, and Ranya takes a few steps back to take a good look at Kuvira's face. The dim lights highlight her face in the most interesting ways and creates shadows on her face. "It's nice to have you back here," Kuvira adds.

"Yes, it is, I'm glad to see you again. Are you excited?" Suyin speaks up and Ranya turns her attention to the older woman. 

She scratches the back of her neck and lets out a nervous laughter. "Nervous," she answers shortly. She can see from the corners of her eyes the twins, who are standing on her left. They are looking at her with excitement in their eyes and bright, lively smiles on their faces. She turns to look at them and crosses her arms over her chest. "Oh, you two want a hug too?" She asks with a grin on her face and one eyebrow raised up. The twins rush to her and scoop her into a hug, almost crushing her. "Ok, I should've guessed it," she admits and laughs, hardly being able to breathe.

Suyin laughs at the sight. "Okay boys, don't crush her. Let's go eat some breakfast so that Kya can get to work," she says, and the twins let go of Ranya and start running inside, competing which one is faster. To distract each other, they throw rocks around and try to sabotage one another. The others laugh at them and Lin keeps asking Kya how they are so full of energy this early in the morning. 

They all sit around the big table, eating the food while chatting with their neighbors. It doesn't take long for the dining hall to be filled with laughter and chatter.

Kya leans over the table to talk to Suyin. "This food is delicious!" She announces and points at the plate in front of her. Suyin laughs at her, because Ranya had said the exact same thing when she was at their place the first time. 

Lin rolls her eyes, and she lets out a short, harsh breath through her nose. "Kya, you think all food is delicious."

"No, I don't. I like most food, not all food. There is a difference," Kya argues back and looks at her wife who is sitting next to her.

"Yeah whatever, same thing," Lin mumbles and sways her hand.

Suyin smiles at her sister and supports her head with her hand. "Lin, how is work? Are you busy?"

The question alone brings goosebumps up to Lin's spine as she is remembering the current state of Republic City. "The avatar keeps me busy with her friends. There is no time for me to rest."

"The avatar? She's in Republic City?" Ranya gets interested in the conversation and leans over to hear better. The dining hall gets quiet and everyone has their eyes on Lin, who has her arms crossed and shoulders up to her ears. She seems irritated. 

"She arrived a week ago. She got arrested the first day. Apparently, she had run away from the Southern Water Tribe. Not a surprise though." Lin shakes her head and looks around at everyone. She doesn't like the fact that all of the attention is on her. 

"She sounds fun, I might have to get to know her," Ranya comments as she has her mouth full of food. 

Kuvira also steps into the conversation. "Isn't she supposed to be training? What is she doing in Republic City?"

Lin lets out a frustrated sigh and throws her hands in the air. "She is impatient. That's all I can say."

"But she is a nice young girl. Tenzin on the other hand, is trying to keep her all the time in the Air Temple Island. It's like she is a prisoner." Kya brings up her perspective of the situation and eyes Lin.

"It's better that way, she should stay away from my city," Lin grunts and continues eating.

Suyin laughs and shakes her head. "Don't be so mean. She just wants to explore the new world after being in the Southern Water Tribe for seventeen years."

"She has already run off multiple times, she is irresponsible." Lin glares at her sister for a flying moment, before looking down at her plate. 

"Oh Lin, you mean to tell me you never ran away from home when you were younger?" Kya tries to release the tension in the dining hall. She smirks at Lin and gently pokes her with her elbow.

Ranya lets out a chuckle and slightly looks away. "Juicyy..." She quietly scoffs while covering her mouth and the comment makes Kya laugh.

"Shut up kid," Lin fires back and frowns her eyebrows. Ranya can't help but laugh. 

Aiwei isn't a fan of bickering, so he decides to interrupt the conversation. "Okay, maybe we should talk about something else," he says and looks around the table. He stops at Suyin and looks at her eyes. "Suyin, do we have everything ready for Kya and Ranya? And Kya and Lin's guest house?"

Suyin nods and smiles, turning her eyes to Kya. "Everything is ready. We cleared up a room for Kya and Ranya to have some peace. There should be everything you need," she explains.

Kya returns a smile. "Thank you."

Aiwei finishes with his meal and stands up. He turns to face Kya and Lin, holding his hands behind his back. "Alright, I'll show you your guest house and then you can get to work." He walks to the entrance of the dining hall and waits for Kya and Lin to follow him. They do so and they leave.

Ranya turns to look at Kuvira, who is sitting at the other end of the table. "Kuvira," she whispers, but Kuvira doesn't seem to notice her. "Kuvira!" She whispers louder and this time Kuvira hears her. She turns to look at her and leans over the table. "Will you be here when I am done?" Ranya asks and raises her eyebrows.

Kuvira shrugs her shoulders. "Probably. I have dance practise today, but I'll try to come back in time," she answers. "I should start getting ready. We need to leave with Suyin in a moment," Kuvira adds and stands up, walking to Ranya. She places her hand on her shoulder and smiles.

Ranya looks up at her and a smile forces its way to her lips. "Okay, I'll see you later then," she says. Kuvira nods and drops her hand.

"Yeah, see you later."

Kya and Ranya enter the room that Suyin provided for them. The room has dark green walls and one window that throws shadows of different shapes around the room. There is a bed and a table with supplies for Kya. Ranya closes the door behind them and looks around the room. "Alright, just lie down on the bed. If it's not too cold you can take off the top layer of your robes," Kya instructs and hovers around the table, making sure she has everything she needs. She places a bowl with spirit water in it on the table and then turns to look at Ranya.

"Sure," Ranya gives a short answer and pulls the top layer of her robes over her head, placing it at the other end of the bed. She lies down on the bed and looks up at the ceiling. 

Kya takes a step closer to her and bends the water, bringing it over Ranya's body. "Okay, here we go," she talks to herself and starts moving the water over Ranya's body. She frowns her eyebrows when she finds something she wasn't expecting to find. "Holy spirits..."

Ranya raises her head to look at Kya. "What? What is it?" She asks.

"I... I am not sure. But I can tell you, you aren't sick because of an illness," Kya shortly explains and continues to examine Ranya.

"What do you mean?"

Kya sighs and shakes her head in disbelief. "It seems like you're sick because you were poisoned. I don't understand. How long did you say you have been sick?"

"We found out about it when I was three. But my adoptive parents told me that they saw the symptoms right away, but it was confirmed later," Ranya answers the question with a shaking voice. She can't believe that she was poisoned. 

"This is terrifying and fascinating at the same time. You have been sick for your whole life, and you're nineteen. Either the poison sucks, you're strong, the medicine slowed it down or the poison wasn't meant to kill you right away," Kya ponders out loud and makes eye contact with Ranya for a short moment, just to see how she is reacting to this. 

Ranya swallows nervously and rests her head on the pillow. She looks up at the ceiling again and shakes her head slightly. "That's scary actually... Who would poison a baby?"

"I don't want to make assumptions, but maybe your real parents did it?" Kya suggests and a moment of silence follows the question.

Ranya has to think before she answers. The option sounds something that actually could've happened. "Could be. They didn't want me so they probably poisoned me so that it would seem like I just died. But when it didn't work, they just gave me away."

"If that's the case, I want to find those bastards," Kya mumbles and lets out an enraged breath of air through her nose.

Ranya doesn't know what to think. She is quiet for a moment, before speaking up again. "So... Can you get it out?"

"For our fortune, it is a liquid, so I can get it out. But it is deep in your organs, it has even reached your brain. This might take hours and it is going to hurt," Kya warns and stops what she is doing. She puts away the water and looks at Ranya, who brings her eyes to Kya. 

"I don't care if it hurts. I want it out," Ranya insists and takes a deep breath.

Kya nods her head. "Okay, I'll try my best. Just... Try to keep yourself calm. Close your eyes if that helps."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Ranya whispers and closes her eyes, letting Kya start removing the poison in her body. 

Kya walks into Suyin's office, where Lin, Aiwei, Suyin and Kuvira are talking. Suyin is the first one to notice Kya, who is visibly exhausted. She sits down on the couch next to Lin and rests her head on her shoulder.

"Where is she?" Suyin asks and whatever they were talking about before is now long forgotten.

Kya lets out a chuckle and closes her eyes. "She fell asleep. I left her there, I didn't want to wake her up."

Kuvira straightens her back and keeps her eyes on Kya. "Did you figure out what is wrong with her?" 

"Okay you might want to mentally prepare yourself for this one," Kya begins and opens her eyes. She looks down at her hands that are resting on her lap. She takes a deep breath before she continues. "We found out that she hasn't been sick because of an illness. She has been sick because she was poisoned. The poison was already deep in her organs and it had spread to her brain. I think the poison was created so that it doesn't kill her right away, but to slowly eat her from the inside and give her a slow, painful death," she explains about what she found, and the room gets dead silent. 

Suyin brings her hand to her mouth. "Oh my... Did you get it out?"

Kya nods her head. "Most of it. We have to do another round tomorrow. I spent all of my energy when removing the poison and I could really use some rest," she groans and lets her head fall back. 

"Will she be alright?" Kuvira quietly asks. She is holding her hands nervously.

"I hope so. I don't know how her body will react to not having the poison in her system no longer. To her, it might even feel weird to not have it inside of her. But I am sure she will be fine," Kya reassures and looks at Kuvira, who is sitting across her and smiles. 

A relieved sigh leaves Kuvira's mouth. "Thank you, Kya. You're an angel."

"Meh, just a healer," she responds jokingly and laughs. 

When Ranya opens her eyes, it takes her a moment to remember where she is. She takes a look around the room and then she remembers. When her eyes wander around the room, she realizes that more light is coming inside, meaning that the domes are finally down. 

She doesn't see Kya anywhere. "Kya?" She calls, but she doesn't hear a response. "Kya, are you there?" She calls louder and tries to sit up. The whole room starts spinning around in her eyes and she collapses on her back. "Woah, ok, not going to sit up," she talks to herself and brings her hand to her forehead.

The door opens and someone steps in. For Ranya's surprise, it is Lin. "You awake, kid?" The older woman asks and closes the door behind her. 

"Where's Kya?" Ranya asks and tries to sit up again but gives up when she feels like she is about to throw up. 

"She's in Suyin's office. Are you okay?" Lin walks closer and places her hand on Ranya's forehead. 

Ranya shakes her head. "No. I feel like I am going to throw up and my head hurts. The room is spinning and my whole body is burning, and it stings everywhere," she stumbles over her own words as she is trying to fight the growing lump in her throat. 

"Do you want me to get Kya?" Lin asks worriedly.

"No... I just want to get home... I want to sleep in my own bed..." She breaks down to tears and covers her eyes with her hand, the other one instinctively finding its way to her throat. 

"Hey... Don't cry. I'll take you to Kya," Lin says as she helps Ranya to sit up. She takes Ranya's arm and throws it around her neck, supporting her back with her other arm. "Okay, come on. Oh, don't fall." Lin helps Ranya get up from the bed and when her feet touch the ground, she almost collapses. Lin tightens her grip of her and supports her more, starting to walk to the door. 

"No, just take me home. I want to go home," Ranya cries and tries to break loose from Lin's strong grip. 

Somehow Lin manages to walk Ranya close to Suyin's office, but they don't get all the way there when Ranya's legs give out and she falls to her knees on the floor. Lin puts her down and lets the young woman rest her head on her lap. "Kya! I need a little help here!" Lin yells. Kya rushes to the hallway, the others right behind her. 

"What happened?" Kya asks as she gets to them.

"She can't stand. She says that the room is spinning and that she is going to throw up. She wants to go home," Lin shortly explains what Ranya told her a few moments ago.

"I don't think that is a good idea," Kya says as she is holding Ranya's head between her hands. Her body feels hot and she is pale. 

Ranya opens her eyes slightly and looks at Kya's blue eyes. Tears start falling out of her eyes once again. "No please... I want to sleep."

Kya raises an eyebrow. "I thought you were sleeping?"

"I want to go home," Ranya avoids the question and shakes her head, trying to sit up. Kya pushes her back down.

Kuvira gets down and looks at Ranya. "You can sleep in my room. That way we keep an eye on you," she suggests and Kya glances at her. She gives her an approving nod.

"Home..." Ranya mumbles and it is clear that she isn't really aware of her surroundings anymore. 

Kuvira takes Ranya into her arms and with Lin she helps her to stand up. "I'll take her," Kuvira says. "Ok, come on, my room isn't far away."

After a moment of walking around the hallways, they finally get to Kuvira's room. She helps her to the bed and Ranya sits down. "It's getting too hot, I need to take off my clothes," Ranya mumbles and stands up with shaking legs, throwing off her robes. She is left with underwear and she falls back on the bed. 

"Hold on, the door is open," Kuvira panics and is already turning towards the door but Ranya stops her by taking her hand. 

"I don't care. If someone happens to see me then they see me. Not my problem," she mumbles and lies down on her bed, worming her way between the sheets and resting her head on the pillow. "Your bed is soft. And you have a nice blanket," she comments and strokes the fabric of the blanket with a smile on her face. 

"Sleep. Kya will get the rest of the poison out of you tomorrow. You need to rest," Kuvira chuckles and tucks Ranya in. 

"The pillow smells like you..." Ranya ignores everything Kuvira said to her and chuckles.

Kuvira sighs and shakes her head. "Probably because it is my pillow."

"This is nice..." Ranya keeps on talking and Kuvira is starting to think if she is drunk. 

"Hey, sleep. I'll come back to check on you in a few hours," Kuvira begs and brings her hand to Ranya's cheek. She gently strokes it, and the touch of her hand seems to calm Ranya.

Ranya's eyes meet Kuvira's. "Thank you, Kuvira..."

Kuvira smiles. "You're welcome," she responds. It only takes a few seconds before Ranya is completely asleep. Kuvira can't take her eyes off of her. Her eyes examine Ranya's face, and she catches herself staring at her lips for too long. Her face gets hot and she pulls her hand away. "I am glad you'll be okay," she whispers. 

Chapter Text

She can't open her eyes. She can't move a muscle. Her heart is pounding against her chest and she has a hard time breathing. The lump in her throat grows bigger every second and she feels her throat closing in. Cold sweat falls down her forehead and her body is overheating. The nightmare woke up Ranya, but it didn't leave her alone. It takes her good five minutes before she can open her eyes and look around her. The room is dark, only little light from outside gets in through the window. She is alone in the room.

She sits up and covers her face with her hands and breaks down to tears, after holding them in for too long. She curls her fingers into fists and hits her head a couple of times before she lets her hands fall to her lap. She looks at them and shakes her head, she can't understand the reason for her nightmare. To her, it makes no sense. 

To distract herself from the situation, she shifts the blanket aside and stands up. She picks up the top piece of her robes and pulls it over her head. It covers her body enough. She walks across the dark room to the door and opens it, leaving the room. The floors of the hallways are cold and when her bare feet touch the floor, they send shivers up to her spine. She wraps her arms around herself and starts walking around, trying to find out if anyone else is awake. 

When she gets closer to Suyin's office, she hears quiet chatter, and it gets louder with every step she takes. When she gets to the doorway, she sees Kuvira, Kya, Lin, Suyin and Aiwei sitting around the model of Zaofu, talking about something related to Kya's travels around the world.

Kuvira is the first one to notice Ranya standing in the doorway. At first, she has a smile on her face, but then she notices that Ranya's hair is wet because of sweat and that her face has a red tint to it. Ranya walks in and now it is visible that she is shaking. Kuvira stands up and starts walking towards her. "Hey, are you alright? What are you doing awake?" She asks as she reaches her hand to Ranya's face, brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

Ranya tries to swallow the lump in her throat and shakes her head. Her lips start trembling and she looks down at her feet. "No... I had a nightmare," she whispers, and her voice breaks as she starts choking on the lump. She turns her back to them and covers her face with her hands. Kuvira brings her hands to her shoulders and gently squeezes them. Ranya reaches her other hand towards her shoulder and places it over Kuvira's palm.

They stay like that for a few minutes before Ranya is ready to turn around and face Kuvira again. "I just want to distract myself for a moment, ok," she says and Kuvira gives her a reassuring smile and nods. They get in the office and they sit down on the couch. 

Suyin leans over and her eyebrows are frowned, giving her a concerned look. "How are you feeling? I called your parents earlier and they were shocked to hear what Kya found," Suyin asks.

"You told my parents?" Ranya answers the question with a question and raises her eyebrows. "I mean it's fine, I was just expecting that I'd have to do it myself. But thank you. And uh... I'm doing fine, I guess. My head still hurts, my body feels like it's on fire and I feel like I'm going to throw up. But I can stand, and my head isn't as fuzzy as it was before."

Kya hasn't taken her eyes off of Ranya ever since she walked in and now that she hears that she is hurting, she gets up and is ready to go get something that might help her. "Hold on a second, I'll get something that'll make you feel better."

"No, don't. I just... I just need fresh air and distraction," Ranya insists and when her eyes meet Kya's, she smiles and tilts her head. Kya nods her head and sits down next to Lin, who wraps her arms around Kya. 

Kuvira rotates her head to look at Ranya. "Let's go outside then," she suggests and stands up, holding out her hand for Ranya to take. "Come on."

Ranya chuckles and takes Kuvira's hand and stands up. "Okay."

They walk in silence around the hallways towards the main entrance. When they get outside, Ranya takes a deep breath to fill her lungs with fresh air and she closes her eyes as she is doing so. Kuvira eyes the woman beside her and a subtle grin finds its way to her lips. She lets out a quiet chuckle and she sits down on the stairs leading to the main entrance. Ranya sits down next to her and for a while they are quiet, before Kuvira decides to break the silence. "So, tell me about the nightmare. What was it about?" 

Ranya is looking down at her hands that are resting on her lap and she is pondering whether or not she should explain about it. She doesn't want to weird out Kuvira. "In the nightmare... There are three figures that are dressed in all black and I can't see their faces. Then there is this little girl. She is facing them, and she is holding onto this sky bison toy, but she drops it, when the three figures start approaching her. She can't run, she can't do anything. She is just standing there and when the three figures get to her, they close her into an embrace and then the girl... Dies. They drop her to the ground, and I see her face - it's me. It's me when I was younger," she pauses and tries to hold back the tears. "The figures see me and start coming towards me but then I wake up. I don't understand why I saw that nightmare. Obviously, it is about death, but I am not afraid of death, so it makes no sense to me," she explains and shakes her head.

Kuvira looks at Ranya's side profile and sighs. "Maybe it's not true. Maybe you do fear death," she carefully proposes, and it makes Ranya slightly turn her head and look at Kuvira's face. 

"I accepted it a long time ago. I have been ready to die since I was six. Aiwei taught me that death is not the end and I'm not afraid of it," Ranya explains and shrugs her shoulders.

Kuvira raises her eyebrows. "Aiwei? I didn't know you two had met before," she asks.

Ranya chuckles and a smile curves to her lips. "I actually spent quite a lot of time at the Beifong estate, at Aiwei's place especially, when I was younger. He has an amazing library and after I had gone through the city library, he let me read the books in his library." She smiles bigger when she remembers the times, she spent at Aiwei's house, reading books, and sometimes falling asleep. "He would even go all the way to other states to buy me books that I can read. He was like the cool uncle I never had."

"That sounds nice. But... If you spent a lot of time here, how come I never saw you?" Kuvira asks another question.

"Like I said, I was at Aiwei's place. He was the only adult besides Suyin who my parents trusted and when they were busy with their shop, Aiwei would take care of me and let me hang around in his house," Ranya explains further. Kuvira just nods her head. "I actually remember meeting Baatar jr. once when I was reading. He came to look for a book, but he couldn't find it. I asked if he needed any help and when he told me which book, he was looking for, I knew exactly what he was looking for and where to find it. So, I brought it to him, and he gave me a quiet 'Thank you' and just left."

Kuvira is rather confused, if that is the correct word to describe the multiple emotions showing on her face, when she hears about Ranya and Baatar's interaction. "Huh, he never told me that he has met you. Weird."

Ranya laughs and shakes her head. "He probably just doesn't recognize me. I had really long and thick hair back then, but when my condition started to get worse my hair became thin and I had to cut it, when I couldn't take care of myself anymore."

Kuvira's eyes are on Ranya's hair now and she reaches her hand to touch it. "I like your hair. I mean you probably would look just as pretty with long hair, but I really like this shoulder-length style," she comments and pulls her hand away. The smile on her face fades away and she looks up at the closed domes and lets out a sigh. "About Baatar... I don't know what to do with him." She suddenly speaks up.

"What do you mean? Are you planning his murder or something? Because I can help you bury the body." Ranya grins and her comment makes Kuvira chuckle.

"No. Sounds tempting though," Kuvira starts out and looks at Ranya. "But we have been having a lot of problems lately. We are constantly bickering, and he thinks that I am not trying my best in our relationship."

Ranya squints her eyes and raises an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

Kuvira takes a deep breath, before she explains any further. "He thinks that I am purposely avoiding him, but I have been really busy with dance practises and I still have to keep my ranks up even though I do have a spot secured in the security team. He thinks that I am not taking us seriously and that I don't really want to be with him."

"A wild question, do you want to be with him ?" Ranya throws the question in the air and Kuvira wasn't expecting to hear that type of an answer to her rant. 

"I- I guess so. I really like him, and he is nice and all, but sometimes it's like I am dating a baby who needs all of the attention in the world and when he doesn't get it, he gets upset and blames me for avoiding him purposely," Kuvira rants and covers her face with one hand, closing her eyes and slightly shaking her head. 

Ranya leans towards Kuvira and brings her hand to her shoulder. "Ok, I don't know anything about men, especially dating them, but I suggest that you think if you really want to be in a relationship with someone who makes you feel like shit and think that he is... A baby." Ranya tries her best to give her some advice.

Kuvira lets her hand drop and she opens her eyes to look at Ranya. "Yeah, I guess you're right..." She answers and her eyes wander to Ranya's hand that is on her shoulder. When Ranya notices the look, she pulls her hand away, thinking that she was too intruding. A silence falls upon them and to change the subject, Kuvira decides to ask a question. "So... You have never dated before? Was it because you were sick?"

The question totally catches Ranya off guard, and it takes her a moment to think what she is going to answer. She isn't even sure if she should answer the question. "No... It's because..." She hesitates and can't look at Kuvira anymore. She swallows and decides to just say it. "Because I like women..." 

Kuvira didn't know what she was expecting to hear as an answer, but it wasn't this. She doesn't know how to react; she is just staring at Ranya with her mouth slightly open. "Oh... Oh ..." Is all she can say, and those simple words hurt Ranya. She stands up and a tear falls down on her cheek. Her fingers are curled into fists and she looks down at Kuvira.

"I get it. I'll go," she mumbles and takes a few steps up, heading towards the main entrance. 

"No, wait, I didn't mean-" Kuvira panics as she gets up, but Ranya puts her arm up and stops Kuvira. 

"Drop it, I understand," Ranya whispers and opens the door, stepping inside and leaving Kuvira outside. 

Kuvira stares at the door with her mouth open and she can feel her heart dropping in her chest. She starts hitting her forehead with her palm. "Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Ranya walks down the hallways and wipes away the tears on her cheeks. "I should've just kept it to myself..."

Chapter Text

Kuvira is sitting around the table in the dining room, waiting for Ranya to show up and sit down next to her. But she doesn't show up, so the seat next to her remains empty when the chef brings them their breakfast. Kuvira can't stay quiet anymore. "Where's Ranya?" She asks and looks at Suyin. 

The older woman brings her eyes to Kuvira and lifts her eyebrows. "I have no idea; she's probably still sleeping."

"I'll go look for her after I am done eating." Kya drops into the conversation and gives Kuvira a smile. Kuvira nods and looks down at her plate full of food.

"How are you feeling? Did you sleep well last night?" Suyin asks from Kya and supports her head with her hand.

Kya grins and eyes Lin, who is sitting next to her. "I feel great. Sleeping with this lovely lady always gives me energy," she says and wraps her arms around Lin's and leans her head against her shoulder.

Lin gently pushes Kya away and rolls her eyes. "Kya, behave yourself," she murmurs.

"Oh please! We have been married for three years, Suyin has seen us cuddle multiple times. This isn't anything new!" Kya flicks her hand and laughs at Lin's reaction to the situation.

Lin clears her throat. "There are children in this room," she reminds and glances at her wife. 

Kya lifts her other eyebrow and grins. "And love is love, now shut up and eat."

Kya is the first one to finish breakfast, so she stands up and goes to look for Ranya. She decides to check if she is still sleeping, so she walks around the hallways until she gets to Kuvira's door. She knocks on it three times, before she opens it up. She peeks her head through the ajar of the door and sees Ranya sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her feet that are hanging over the floor. Kya gets inside the room and walks closer to Ranya, sitting next to her. "Hey, you didn't show up to breakfast," she quietly mentions and looks at Ranya's side profile. She slightly turns her head to look at Kya and all she can give as an answer is a shrug of her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," Ranya whispers and looks at her hands, letting out a sigh.

Kya stands up and gently pulls Ranya to her feet. "Come on, let's go prepare for the second treatment," she says and holds onto Ranya's forearm. Ranya nods and when she starts walking behind Kya, she lets go of her arm and turns to face where she is walking. They get to the room where they were yesterday, and Kya starts getting all the things she needs ready. "Sit down, I want to talk with you," she commands and looks at Ranya for a second. 

Ranya does as she is told and sits on the edge of the bed. "What is it?" She asks.

Kya stands in front of Ranya and looks down at her. She has her hands on her hips and she sighs. "I know that this isn't my place to ask but... Are you and Kuvira dating?" 

Ranya's eyes widen, and she has to clear her throat before she answers. "What? No! No, we're not dating. Actually, she is with Baatar jr."

Now Kya is the one with widened eyes and she brings her hand to her mouth. "She's with him? Oh my, I am sorry but why and how."

Ranya chuckles and shakes her head. "I know, I think about it regularly. I mean... She told me yesterday that they aren't doing so well. And..." Ranya pauses and looks down.

"And what?" Kya inquires.

"And I told her that I like women. She got all quiet and all she could say was "Oh." She had this weirded out look on her face... She probably thinks I am disgusting or something..." Ranya lets it all out. She feels safe around Kya and that is why she even mentions this. 

Kya places her hand on Ranya's head and ruffles her hair. "Hey, I'm sure she didn't mean it in a rude way. I remember when I came out that not everyone knew how to react. But that didn't mean that they didn't support or love me. Maybe she wasn't expecting you to confess something like that." Kya gives Ranya her perspective of the situation and Ranya lifts her head to look up at Kya's blue, gentle eyes.

"Yeah, but it still hurt me... I don't know what to do." She sighs.

"You should talk with her after we are done. Okay?" Kya smiles and Ranya gives her a nod as an answer. "Now, lay on your back so that I can get started," Kya commands and Ranya does as she is told. 

"She fell asleep again! I don't understand how she does it. I know it hurts when I pull the poison out of her and just looking at her makes my body shiver in pain. I don't understand how she doesn't even flinch the slightest." Kya releases her thoughts as she walks into Suyin's office, where Suyin, Aiwei and Lin are talking. Kya sits next to Lin and shakes her head. "She is strong if anything," she adds.

Aiwei laughs and a grin appears on his face. "Actually, I taught her that. She is not sleeping, she is meditating and possibly got carried away with it, so she doesn't realize the time passing," he explains and leans his back against the back of the couch and crosses his legs, placing his hands on his knee.

Kya raises her eyebrow and looks at him. "Why did you teach her something like that?"

"She used to spend quite some time at my place when she was younger. She told me that she was sometimes in so much pain that she couldn't do anything else but lie down and not move a muscle. I taught her to meditate to distract her from the pain and to focus on something else. She caught up with it rather fast and she has been using the technique ever since," he tells and even Suyin is looking at him with an amazed look on her face. 

Kya just keeps nodding her head. "Huh, that's actually really smart. So... She is not sleeping?"

"I can't be sure, but my guess is that she isn't," Aiwei shrugs his shoulders.

Lin looks at everyone in the room and then lies her eyes on her wife. "Should I go check on her again?" She asks and Kya turns to look at her.

Kya smiles at Lin and touches the tip of her nose. "Go ahead."

Lin gives Kya a subtle smile and then stands up, exiting the office and walking down the hallways to the room, where Kya came from a few minutes ago. She gives a firm knock on the door and opens it. For her surprise, Ranya is standing in front of the window and looking outside as the sun is starting to rise. When she hears Lin step inside the room, she turns around to face her. 

"Hi, kid," Lin shortly greets her and closes the door behind her. She takes a step closer but doesn't get too close to her. "You're awake. Or, not zoned out. Aiwei told us that you are meditating to focus on something else than the pain. How do you do that?"

Ranya chuckles and rolls her eyes. She wasn't expecting Aiwei to tell about it, but she doesn't really mind. "I focus on something else. Usually, it is a picture in my head. But I am not meditating. I... Ok, please don't tell anyone about this but, Aiwei taught me how to enter the spirit world. That is where I go when I am in pain. It was originally my backup plan if I died... To leave my physical body behind and continue life there."

Lin lifts her other eyebrow. "The spirit world, huh? So that's where you have been all this time. That's pretty cool. I won't tell anyone, but why don't you want other people to know?"

Ranya shrugs her shoulders and turns around to look outside again. "I don't know. It has been something that brings me peace and I don't want people to ask me about it. So, it has kind of been a secret all this time."

Lin is quiet and looks at Ranya's back that is facing her. A sigh leaves her mouth, and she walks beside her to look outside. "Are you alright?" Lin asks and eyes at the younger woman beside her. 

"Yeah, yeah I am," she answers shortly and looks down. She leans against the windowsill. "Do you know where Kuvira is? I really need to talk with her."

"I have no idea. After she finished her breakfast she fled, and I haven't seen her since." Lin straightens her back and looks at Ranya. Ranya turns to face her and straightens her back as well.

"Ok, I should go look for her." Ranya is already taking a step towards the door, but Lin gently places her hand on her shoulder and stops her. 

"Are you sure you're alright? Can you walk properly?"

"Lin, I am fine. Today wasn't as rough as yesterday and Kya got the poison out of me. My head isn't as fuzzy as it was yesterday, so you don't have to worry about me," Ranya assures Lin. "But thank you, for taking care of me," she adds and smiles. 

Lin lets go of Ranya and smiles. "Very well then."

Ranya leaves the room with Lin, but their ways depart when they walk into different directions. Ranya decides to go look for Kuvira from her room, maybe she went there to study or something. So, she walks around and makes a few turns, when she finally gets to Kuvira's room. She knocks on the door and opens it, stepping in. Kuvira is sitting on the floor, papers all over the floor and she looks up at Ranya. She is holding a pen against her mouth and when her eyes meet with Ranya's, she drops her hand and stands up. 

"Can I stay?" Ranya asks. Kuvira nods her head, so Ranya closes the door behind her and leans against it. "I want to talk about yesterday. And how I reacted. Now, don't say anything, I want to go first," she pauses and looks down at her feet. "I'm sorry that I got so upset. I'm sorry that I stormed away and didn't stay to listen to what you had to say. You probably didn't mean to be rude. I took it the wrong way and made up my own assumptions. Please, forgive me." She looks at Kuvira, her head tilted, and eyebrows frowned.

Kuvira takes a few steps closer to Ranya and is now standing a step away from her. A smile appears on her face. "Hey, it's alright. I probably should've said something else than just "Oh," so I would also like to apologize," she begins and takes one more step closer to Ranya. She looks down at the other woman and gently pulls her into a hug. She leans her head against Ranya's and closes her eyes. "Just so you know, I will always support you and you will be my friend, no matter who you like. Love is love and it's something we can't decide," she adds.

Ranya smiles and gently wraps her arms around Kuvira's upper body. "Thank you. I got so scared when you got all quiet. I thought that you were disgusted of me," she says and departs from the hug to look at Kuvira. Kuvira takes a step back. "When I was dating this one girl, there was a lot of backlash. We got beaten up and we were heavily harassed for being together. All of the hate towards us and our love made us break up. It was a mutual decision, and it was to protect one another. She moved to Ba Sing Se, so I haven't seen her in years." Ranya shares her story.

After hearing the story, Kuvira frowns her eyebrows and crosses her arms. "You got names? Because I don't mind paying them a visit and maybe punching them."

"It's fine, Kuvira. They are already in jail, Suyin took care of it when she found out about what had happened," Ranya explains and lets out a chuckle. 

"Yeah, but I still don't mind paying them a visit," Kuvira insists and grins. "But if anything like that ever happens again, you can count on me. Just tell me who did and what and I'll make sure that they'll regret the day that they were born."

Ranya shakes her head and pulls Kuvira back into a hug, wrapping her arms around Kuvira's neck. "Thank you, Kuvira. This means so much to me."

Kuvira buries her face in Ranya's hair and closes her eyes. "I'll protect you from bigots, always."

Chapter Text

“Baatar, can we talk?” Kuvira’s voice startles Baatar and he flinches, dropping the book he is holding and it falling to his feet, making him groan in pain. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” she adds and takes a few steps closer towards him. He lets out a sigh and turns to face the woman, who had just interrupted his working. 

“What is it, Kuvira? I am working,” he mumbles, and he avoids Kuvira’s eyes by walking around his workshop. “I need to get this project ready so whatever you have to say… Make it quick.”

Kuvira lets her hands fall to her side and her shoulders drop. Her breathing is shaky, and she hesitates, before she takes a few more steps towards him. She grabs his forearm and spins him around, making him turn to her. “Look at me, please.”

Baatar shakes his head, before he brings his eyes from the floor to Kuvira’s eyes. His eyes are red from staying up all night and the circles under his eyes are dark. Kuvira is about to bring her hand to his cheek, but he stops her by gently grabbing her wrist and pulling it down. “Just say what you have to say.”

Kuvira’s lips tremble. She takes a deep breath, pondering if this is the right decision to make. “I think… I think we should break up.” After hearing those words that stab Baatar’s heart, his expression grows cold and he turns his back to Kuvira. This reaction breaks Kuvira. “Please, let me explain-”

“Is this about Ranya?” Baatar interrupts, slightly turning his head so that he can take a look at Kuvira over his shoulder. 

“What? What do you mean?” Kuvira’s mouth is left open and her eyebrows are lifted, being confused by the question Baatar presented to her. 

Baatar lets out a sharp breath through his nose and turns around. He crosses his arms across his chest and frowns his eyebrows. “After you started spending time with her, you have changed. You don’t have time for me and all you talk about is her and your stupid adventure. She has manipulated you into this, hasn’t she?”

Kuvira shakes her head in disbelief. “You’re so wrong. This isn’t about her; this is about us . Our relationship. We had problems long before I had met her. You just want to find someone to blame when it is us you should blame !” She bursts and her lips become a thin line, as she presses them together. “This doesn’t work, we don’t work. Why can’t you see it?”

“I see it, but I don’t believe that something else isn’t behind this. She has messed up with your head,” Baatar argues back. 

“No, she hasn’t. If something, she has made me realize who I am and what I really want . Is it so wrong that I want to live my life the way I want ?” Kuvira tries to get closer to Baatar, but everytime he walks away or turns his head.

A moment of silence falls upon them and neither one of them knows what to say anymore. Kuvira initiated the breakup, but it doesn’t mean that she is happy about this moment or that she enjoys seeing Baatar in so much pain.

“Baatar… I want to thank you for all that we got. But the thing is, I can’t offer you anything else anymore. I have given so much to you, to us , but you have to realize that what gives much also takes much,” she whispers with a shaking voice, her lips trembling and tears burning her eyes. “Nothing lasts forever, not even our relationship. But like I said, I want to thank you for everything. We have experienced our highest highs and lowest lows together , we have laughed and cried together and stood up entire nights only talking about our troubles. I wouldn’t change a thing ,” she adds and breaks down to tears. 

Baatar can’t look at Kuvira as the tears fall down her cheeks and her expression breaks, her face turning red. He shakes his head and closes his eyes, trying to hold back his own tears.

Baatar listens to Kuvira’s crying for a while before he finally has the courage to look at her again. He meets Kuvira’s welled up, red eyes and the suffocating look she has on her face. His eyebrows relax as he realizes that Kuvira isn’t doing this because she is selfish , she is doing this because she wants to let go of something that holds both of them back . 

He takes a few steps closer to her and wraps his arms around her, pulling her against his chest and holding onto Kuvira’s head, gently stroking the long wavy hair. “I wouldn’t change a thing either,” he whimpers and closes his eyes, a tear falling down his cheek. 

Kuvira wraps her arms around Baatar and buries her face to his shoulder. “I just want to know who I am without us . I have to let go of us, before I become numb to everything else ,” she cries.

“And I am going to let go of us too if it brings you peace. I understand that this relationship isn’t as healthy as we thought it was. It holds us both back and restricts us,” Baatar gives in.

Kuvira cries against his shoulder and gasps for air, as the lump in her throat starts to choke her from the inside again. She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. “Maybe I am crazy to let go of us, but I really need to know who I am and what I want. I am sorry that this hurts you, but just so you know, this hurts me too .”

“I know Kuvira, I know. And I am sorry that I put all the blame on you. I wanted you all for myself and I got jealous. That is probably the main reason that we are in this situation right now,” Baatar apologizes and Kuvira breaks from the hug, taking a step back to look up at Baatar’s eyes. She wipes the tears from her cheeks and a shaking sigh leaves her mouth. “You have made me the way I am, Kuvira. If I didn’t have you in my life… I would be someone else and my life would be different. I want to thank you for making me the better version of myself .”

A smile arches on Kuvira’s lips and she chuckles. “Baatar, you are good. You have always been. All I ever did to you was make you more confident in your own shoes. You made you, I just watered the seed inside,” she says, and her words make Baatar grin. 

They don’t really know what to say anymore. They both know that this is the end, but they want to hold onto it for a few more seconds, just to make sure that this is the right call. 

“Are we going to be friends after this?” Kuvira asks with a quiet voice, wondering if she is even supposed to be asking this type of a question. 

But for her surprise, Baatar laughs. The laugh is full of warmth, like a warm hug in the winter. His laugh is genuine, he is happy. “Of course. I won’t let go of you that easily. I care about you and I don’t have to be in a romantic relationship with you to show that.”

“I care about you too.” Kuvira smiles. “This is it then. Thank you, once again.”

“I want you to be you, Kuvira. I’m ready to let go of you but know that my arms will always be open for you to come back.”

“ I know .”

Chapter Text

Kuvira wanders around the Beifong estate and finds Kya sitting in the garden meditating. She tries to be as quiet as possible as she approaches the older woman, but Kya hears her and opens her eyes to look at Kuvira. Kya taps the ground beside her, gesturing to the other woman to sit down. “You alright?” She asks and Kuvira lets out a heavy sigh. 

“I broke up with Baatar… It went well but now my head hurts like a mother,” she answers and brings her hand to the bridge of her nose and pinches it. “I wasn’t expecting to cry so much.”

“Breakups are hard. But he probably deserved it,” Kya comments and chuckles. “I was actually shocked to hear that you two were together,” she confesses and brings her blue eyes to Kuvira, who is picking the grass. 

Kuvira glances at the older woman and raises her eyebrows. “Oh, why?” She asks, confused.

A smirk forces its way to Kya’s lips. “Let’s just say that he doesn’t seem to be your type. No offense,” she says and winks at Kuvira. 

“None taken,” Kuvira gives a short answer and brings her attention back to the grass. She plays with it for a while before she remembers something. “I heard you wanted to see around the city. Do you want to go? I can ask Ranya to come with us,” she proposes.

When Kuvira turns to look at Kya she sees the pure joy and excitement that lights up her face. Kya brings her hands together and claps them gleefully. “That would be fun! I have been admiring it from afar and I would love to finally get to see more of those adorable little houses!” She jumps up from the ground and whisks away the grass from her clothes. 

Kuvira follows Kya’s example and stands up. “Alright, I’ll go get Ranya. You go get Lin and anyone else who wants to join us,” she says and gets a quick nod from Kya as an answer, before the older woman flees from the scene, leaving Kuvira standing there all by herself.

She lets out a chuckle and rubs her eyes before she starts heading towards the Beifong mansion. Ranya was moved into a guest room, since no one wanted to let her out of their sight and her being in the mansion was the best way to keep an eye on her, just in case something happened.

Kuvira walks around the hallways and the only sound she can hear is her shoes hitting the cold floor beneath her feet. She takes a few more turns, before she gets to Ranya’s door. She knocks on it and she hears mumbling as an answer, something that sounded like “Come in.” She carefully opens the door and peeks inside to see if Ranya’s awake. When she notices the other woman sitting on the bed reading a book, she takes one step inside and stops. “Hi, can I come in?” She asks. Ranya’s face lightens up when she notices Kuvira and she nods. She throws the book aside and gets up from the bed. Kuvira enters the room and closes the door behind her. “Do you want to go on a little tour around the city with me, Kya and Lin?”

Like Kya, Ranya brings her hands together and claps them out of excitement. “Ooh that would be fun! We can visit my parents at their shop,” she suggests. When Ranya mentions her parents all Kuvira can think about is the delicious food she ate at their place. 

“I miss their food…” She dreams quietly and chuckles.

“What did you say?” Ranya asks with a smirk on her face. She places her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow.

Kuvira panics because she didn’t intend to say the thought out loud. “N- Nothing-”

“I see I have found a rival at my parents’ table,” Ranya jokingly says and laughs. “Just kidding, everyone loves father’s food. He used to be a chef before he moved to Zaofu,” she explains and flicks her hand casually, releasing the tension. 

“Your father isn’t from here?” Kuvira inquires and crosses her arms across her chest. “I didn’t know that.”

“No, he is from Omashu. He met my mother when they were around 20 and he totally fell in love with her. He moved to Zaofu to marry her,” Ranya shares his father’s story as she starts to change her clothes to something more casual.

Kuvira chuckles at the story and shakes her head. “Wow, that is dedication.”

“I know right?” Ranya comments and turns her back to Kuvira as she removes her shirt over her head.

Kuvira is about to turn her head to respect Ranya’s privacy, but something catches her eyes. Multiple deep, healed scars go over Ranya’s arms and ribs, all the way to her shoulders. How come I didn’t notice them before; she thinks and now her eyes are glued to the scars. 

She stares at them with eyebrows frowned and she doesn’t notice that Ranya has turned around and is now looking straight at Kuvira. “What are you staring at?” She blurts and covers her body with her robes. 

“No, I just… I just saw those scars. Are you ok?” Kuvira stumbles over her words as she tries to explain to Ranya why she was staring at her bare skin for way too long. Kuvira can feel her face get hot and she is sure that her face is visibly red from blushing.

She doesn’t get an answer straight away. Ranya glares at her and continues what she is doing and Kuvira is already going through different ways to apologize in her head. “It’s none of your business actually,” Ranya finally speaks up as she is ready with her robes. She takes a step closer to Kuvira and stops to look up at her eyes. She squints her eyes and presses her lips together as she opens the door behind Kuvira and steps aside. “Let’s go,” she mumbles as she exits the room. 

Kuvira closes the door as she exits the room and lets out a sigh. She has to almost run to keep up with Ranya, who is already far ahead of her. She quietly walks behind her when she reaches her, she is too afraid to say anything. She thinks that her pointing out the scars was maybe a little too invasive and regrets it enormously. 

When they get outside, Kya and Lin are waiting for them. Kya can’t stay in her place and is constantly jumping around or clapping her hands, but all Lin can do is roll her eyes and grin at her wife, who is acting like a child. “Look who I convinced to come with us!” Kya chants as she throws her arms around Lin’s neck. She leans her head against Lin’s shoulder and closes her eyes.

Lin sighs and rolls her eyes. “I need to keep this one out of trouble,” she tries to excuse her attendance and points at Kya. 

“I won’t get us into any trouble, you silly,” Kya defends herself and lets go of Lin. She flicks her hand and chuckles. 

“Mhm? Do you remember what happened at Emper Isl-”

“Mhm, yes I do, and we do not have to talk about it now,” she interrupts Lin before she can even finish the sentence. 

Ranya and Kuvira look at each other in confusion. They won’t admit it out loud, but they would’ve loved to hear the rest of the story. 

They enter the monorail that is waiting for them and they sit down close to each other. The monorail starts moving and they leave the Beifong estate. 

“So, the first sector we’ll be going to is the one where we have all of our training halls and dance studios along with some shops and factories,” Kuvira explains as they start getting closer towards their first destination.

Ranya leans against her seat and crosses her legs. “Yeah, my parents own a jewelry shop and a factory near the training halls, we can go and see if they are at work,” she adds to Kuvira’s sentence and the thought of her parents brings a smile to her face.

Kuvira turns to look at the woman sitting next to her. “What kind of jewelry do they make? I never thought to ask about that,” she asks.

Ranya looks down at Kuvira’s necklace and chuckles. “All kinds of. For example, the one you are wearing right now is made by my mother,” she says and points at the piece of jewelry around Kuvira’s neck. 

Kuvira looks down at her chest and then brings her eyes back to Ranya. “Oh wow, I never knew who made these. Your mother is amazing,” she comments.

“I know she is,” Ranya proudly whispers and looks outside the window. The monorail stops at the sector and they get out. Ranya fills her lungs with fresh air and stretches out her arms. “Ah, here we are!”

They walk around the sector and Kya can’t help herself but to point at everything she finds exciting. Lin laughs at her wife but tries to keep it as subtle as possible. Their first destination is Ranya’s parents’ shop and when the young woman sees her parents outside the shop setting up things, her face lightens up and she starts running towards them. “Mom! Dad!” She yells and draws their attention to her. When they recognize their daughter, they start laughing. Ranya runs to their arms and holds onto them tightly. “I missed you guys so much. I’m so much better now, thanks to Kya.” When she lets go of her parents, Kya, Lin and Kuvira have reached them. Ranya stands aside her parents and turns to look at the others. “Mom, dad, here’s Kya and Lin. You already know Kuvira,” she introduces them to each other and Kuvira awkwardly waves her hand at them. 

Ranya’s parents bow, and Lin and Kya follow them. “Oh, it’s so nice to meet you. I am Alisa and this is Harit. Thank you for saving our daughter’s life. We owe you a big time,” her mother humbly speaks and smiles at the women standing in front of her. 

“No, it’s fine. I’m just doing my job.” Kya smiles and lets out a chuckle. Her eyes wander from Ranya’s parents to the display window behind them. She notices a beautiful golden bracelet with a white diamond in the middle. “Though I really do love that bracelet,” she mumbles and points at the jewelry. 

Ranya’s father rushes inside and grabs the bracelet with him. He comes back to them and hands out the bracelet to Kya. “Take it! Consider it as a gift,” he says, and Kya takes the bracelet from him. She gives him a subtle smile and nods her head. 

“Thank you. Your daughter is an amazing person, and I am glad I was able to help,” she thanks them and then turns to Lin. “Lin, give me your hand,” she demands and holds out her own hand. 

Lin raises an eyebrow but places her hand over Kya’s. The other woman slightly twists Lin’s hand and slides the bracelet around her wrist. “Kya, what are you doing?” Lin asks,

“It reminded me of you. It looks pretty. It’s nothing bougie or loud, it’s perfect for you,” Kya hums and takes Lin’s hand and holds it. 

Ranya’s parents look at the two women with smiles on their faces, before they turn to look at their daughter. “Honey, we want to talk with you about something, will you come with us?” Her mother quietly asks. Ranya turns to look at her parents.

She nods her head slightly and glances at Kuvira before she answers. “Yeah, sure”, she answers shortly. She follows her parents inside the shop and closes the door behind her. She crosses her arms across her chest and raises her eyebrows. “What is it?”

Her parents look at each other for a moment before they face their daughter. Her father takes a deep breath, before he opens his mouth. “It’s about your brother, Kiran. We heard that he has moved back to Zaofu,” he starts out and pauses for a moment to look how Ranya is reacting. So far, her expression remains calm. “We just want you to be careful. Don’t go outside alone and just… Stay safe.”

Ranya chuckles and lets her hands fall to her side. “Dad, I can handle Kiran if I come across him. But I won’t promise that I’ll be nice to him if I see him,” she jokes but the joke doesn’t seem funny to her parents. 

“You need to be careful around him. Yes, he is your brother, but he won’t hesitate to play dirty if you make the first move. At least try to be cautious, we don’t want anything to happen,” her mother worries and brings her hands to her chest. 

Ranya sighs and nods her head. “Alright, I’ll be careful. Thank you for warning me,” she thanks and looks down at the floor. A moment of silence falls upon them, but it doesn’t last long when Ranya brings her eyes to her parents and opens her mouth. “So, how have you been doing when I’ve been gone? We haven’t seen at least in a week or two,” she asks, changing the subject. 

A smile curves onto her mother’s lips. “Well, we have been busy. Nothing new really. We missed you and your friends, though. It was fun having Kuvira and her siblings around the shop,” she answers the question and looks outside the window at Kuvira, who is talking with Kya and Lin. 

Ranya looks behind her at Kuvira and she smiles at the view of Kuvira swaying her hands in the air as she is explaining something. “It was,” she sighs and then turns back to her parents. She rubs the back of her neck and clears her throat. “So… Now that I am kind of cured… I am finally able to go on the adventure. And Kuvira is coming along with me. Is that ok?”

Her father takes a few steps closer to her and places his hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Of course, it is, we want you to fulfil your dreams and live the life you want the way you want. We aren’t going to hold you back,” he supports her. 

“Thank you, dad… That means a lot to me.” She smiles and wraps her arms around his neck.

“You have been living under our roof for seventeen years, it’s time you leave,” his father adds and pats Ranya’s back. The woman breaks from the hug and raises her eyebrows.

“Ok that sounded really rude, but I’ll take it the right way. I just don’t want to leave you two,” she says and lets out a sigh. She looks at her mother, who takes a few steps closer to the two. 

“Oh, come on, we’ll be fine! We are still young and healthy, and we can keep the shop up without your help. There is nothing to worry about. We want you to be happy”. Her mother flicks her hand casually and scoops her daughter into a hug.

Ranya leans her head against her mother’s head and laughs. “I know, and I promise that I’ll be happy,” she whispers.

After a moment of hugging each other, Ranya breaks from the hug and takes a few steps back to look at both of her parents. 

“So, when are you leaving?” Her father asks. 

Ranya has to think for a moment, because she doesn’t really remember what she talked with Suyin. “I don’t know, maybe in a week? We have to do some preparations and ask Suyin for some supplies.”

Her father nods his head and is already opening his mouth to ask another question. “And when will you come back?”

The question makes the smile on Ranya’s face fade away. She shrugs her shoulders and looks away. “I don’t know. But I won’t be gone for long, I promise!” She tries to sound happy as she turns her eyes back to her parents. She forces a smile on her face.

Her parents nod their heads and look at each other for a moment. “Alright now, go to your friends. We can talk more later,” her mother says and changes the subject. 

Ranya smiles and nods her head once. “Ok, bye, love you!” She farewells as she opens the door to the shop and leaves. She waves her hands at them before she turns around and walks to Kuvira, Kya and Lin. 

“Everything alright?” Kuvira asks when the other woman gets to them. 

She nods her head and smiles. “Yeah, nothing to worry about. Now let’s show Kya and Lin around the sector.” She is already walking towards the training halls that are at the centre of the sector. 

They wander around the streets and Kya looks up at the buildings and points at them. “These buildings are huge. And there are no cute little houses!” She expresses her disappointment. Her comment makes the others laugh.

“Cute little houses can be found in the later sectors. This is mainly for the training halls and some factories and shops,” Ranya explains to Kya. 

Hours pass by as Kuvira explains the history of Zaofu while they wander around the sector. They stop a few times when Kya asks specific questions, and they visit the training halls and dance studios. Kuvira showed Lin how to use the metal cables at the studio, as Lin wondered if they were anything like the cables she and the other officers have in their uniforms. 

The next sector they arrive at is the one Ranya lives. When they step outside the monorail Kya is finally greeted with the small apartments she has been yearning for for hours, if not even days. “Cute little houses!” Are the words that escape her mouth as she notices the houses. 

Lin face palms herself and lets out a sigh, all Kya has been talking about all this time at Zaofu is the small apartments and Lin can only wish that she’ll stop talking about them once they get back to their guest house at the end of the day. 

Since Ranya lives in this sector it’s only a matter of time when they finally walk to her door. “Do you want to come inside? I can make you some tea,” Ranya asks and turns to face the others. 

“That would be nice, wouldn’t it, Lin?” Kya hums and rotates her head to take a look at Lin, who is standing beside her.

Lin sighs and shrugs her shoulders. “Yeah, why not,” she agrees.

They get inside the apartment and they are met with chaos. Clothes are all around the floors and the apartment is over all a mess. “I am so sorry that it is this messy in here. I haven’t been able to really clean up for a while,” Ranya apologizes as she picks up the clothes from the floor and throws them into a laundry basket. She opens the blinds and cleans the table so that the tea set fits on it. 

“Oh, it’s fine! You have adorable plants,” Kya points out as she can’t take her eyes off the plants all over the apartment. 

“Kuvira said the exact same thing when she came here for the first time… As did Opal. And the twins too. They actually managed to destroy some of my plants and I just don’t understand how they did it,” Ranya says as she remembers the first time Wei and Wing visited her place a while ago. 

The table in Ranya’s living room is a chabudai styled, a short legged table. Kuvira, Kya and Lin sit on the floor as Ranya brews the tea in the kitchen. She can hear some quiet chatter from the living room, but she doesn’t pay any attention to it as her focus is on the kettle. 

When the tea is ready, Ranya brings the kettle and the cups to the table. She places the cups in front of everyone and carefully pours the tea. When she is ready with everyone, she puts down the kettle and sits down next to Kuvira. 

Kya leans her elbow on the table and supports her head. “I want to hear about your adventure plans,” she says and smiles. 

Kuvira and Ranya exchange looks. They weren’t expecting that question. “Uh… Well, our first destination is supposed to be the Kyoshi Island, but we might have to spend a night at the Mist Palms Oasis,” Kuvira speaks up and brings her eyes to Kya, who nods her head slightly.

“Yeah, Suyin promised to give us a jeep. Apparently Kuvira can drive but I wouldn’t be so sure. I don’t know if I want to risk my life,” Ranya adds and eyes at Kuvira. 

“Hey, I know how to drive, we’ll be fine. Unless you want to walk, of course,” Kuvira strikes back at Ranya and gently pokes at the woman beside her with her elbow. 

“Nope, jeep is fine. As long as we don’t hit a tree. Or something,” Ranya stutters and gives in. 

Lin takes a sip of the hot tea and puts the cup down as she raises her eyebrows. “Where did you learn to drive a jeep? Is that what they teach you when you train to join the security team?” She asks. 

Kuvira chuckles quietly and looks down at her cup. “We can choose. I know how to pilot a biplane,” she casually mentions.

Ranya’s eyes widen when she hears Kuvira’s words. “You- You what?” She stumbles over her words.

“It’s not that hard. Want to go on a fly one day?” She grins and winks her eye at Ranya. 

“Yeah, no thank you. As an earthbender, I rather stay close to the ground,” Ranya denies the offer and shakes her head.

Kuvira laughs at Ranya and rolls her eyes. “I am an earthbender too. I don’t see your point.”

“You’re stronger than I am. I need the ground beneath my feet to actually function,” Ranya explains and brings her cup to her lips and takes a sip.

Lin turns to look at Ranya with raised eyebrows. “How is your metalbending?” She asks. 

Ranya places the cup on the table and sighs. She doesn’t answer for a moment, but before she does, she brings her eyes to Lin. “Not good, honestly. I mean yes, I can metalbend but it’s really hard for me. I almost lost my bending multiple times, so I haven’t really been able to train,” she mumbles.

“Well, that’s a bummer. Maybe Kuvira can teach you some things on your travels,” Kya proposes as she enters the conversation. 

“What do you say?” Kuvira asks as she turns to look at the woman sitting next to her.

Ranya is quiet for a while as she eyes everyone around the table. She brings her eyes to Kuvira and a smile curves to her lips when their eyes meet. “Sure, why not. I guess it would be fun.”

Hours pass as the four of them share stories and drink more tea. At some point they went outside to check out this one tree Ranya talked about and that’s when they realized that it was late, since the domes of Zaofu had closed and the lights had been lit up on the streets. 

“Lin, we should probably get going, it’s late already,” Kya proposes and rubs her eyes gently as she yawns. She turns to look at Ranya who is standing at her door, ready to open the door. “Thank you for the tea. I’m looking forward to exchanging adventure stories when you get to Republic City,” she adds.

A smile curves on Ranya’s lips and she leans her back against the door behind her. “It was fun to have you here. And I still want to know what happened at Ember Island,” she points out and grins at the two older women standing close to each other and Kuvira, who has been quiet for a while.

They are about to leave, when Lin notices that Kuvira isn’t following them, instead of doing so, she is standing in front of Ranya, about to say something. “Kuvira, are you coming?” She asks. 

Kuvira turns to look at Lin, who has her other arm around Kya’s shoulders. “No… I mean if it’s fine with Ranya I would like to stay a little longer,” she quietly says and takes a look at Ranya. 

“Sure, you can stay,” Ranya gives her a short answer and Kuvira turns to look back at Lin and Kya.

“Ok, but don’t stay too late. I don’t want to deal with Suyin if she gets worried,” Lin mumbles and waves her hand at Ranya before she turns around with Kya and heads towards the monorail.

Ranya and Kuvira head inside and Ranya starts cleaning the table in the living room. Kuvira follows her into the kitchen. When Ranya puts the dishes down, she turns to look at Kuvira who is leaning against the wall. “Are you alright?” Kuvira asks.

“What do you mean?” Ranya crosses her arms across her chest and swifts her weight to her other hip. 

“You know what I mean. The scars.” She clears her throat and takes a step closer to Ranya. “I’m worried about you,” she adds.

“It’s none of your concern,” Ranya harshly says and walks past Kuvira to the living room. Kuvira rolls her eyes and follows Ranya, grabs her shoulder, and spins her around to face her. 

“Yes, it is. You’re my friend and I care about you. How come Kya didn’t notice them when she was treating you?” She isn’t ready to let go of the subject so easily.

Ranya stares into Kuvira’s soul and frowns her eyebrows. She pushes her arm off her shoulder and a sharp, short breath exhales through her nose. “Oh, she did notice them. And she gave me a lecture about them,” Ranya snaps and says the words louder than she was supposed to. 

“Well, did you learn anything?” Kuvira asks and frowns her eyebrows as she looks down at Ranya.

“That I shouldn’t hurt myself? Yeah, I understand why I shouldn’t do it, but why can’t others understand me? Please Kuvira, leave if you’re going to turn this into a lecture and mother me,” she answers and turns her back to Kuvira.

Kuvira stares at her back for a while before she sighs and walks around Ranya to her front and carefully takes Ranya’s hands and holds them. “Hey… I worry about you and I want you to be alright. So, I’ll ask this one more time: are you alright?”

It takes Ranya a moment to bring her eyes back to Kuvira. When their eyes meet, she is met with Kuvira’s worried eyes and she swears to spirits that Kuvira’s lower lip is trembling. The view breaks Ranya and tears start falling down her cheeks. “No! No, I am not alright!” She cries and shakes her head. “I just… It’s not easy to explain, ok? I am constantly in pain, or used to be, so I thought to myself “What is a little more?” For the longest time there was no hope for me and at some point, I started to believe that I would actually die because of my illness. I was in a really dark place. It happened twice and I haven’t done it since.”

Kuvira is shocked to hear what Ranya has to say. She doesn’t really know, what to say. “Hey… I don’t know what you’ve had to go through, but I know that this isn’t something to be ashamed of. I am proud of you that you told me. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?” Kuvira inquires as she looks at the woman in front of her cry. Ranya doesn’t hesitate when she throws her arms around Kuvira and buries her face in the crook of Kuvira’s neck. Kuvira wraps her arms around Ranya’s body tightly and pulls her closer to her chest. “If a hug is all it takes to make you feel alive, I will never let go of you.”

“Kuvira, I’m so glad you’re my friend,” Ranya is able to speak through her crying and she sobs. Her breathing shakes as she closes her eyes. “You saved me,” she whispers and breaks down once again. 

Chapter Text

After Kuvira had left later that night, Ranya had remembered that she was supposed to pick up Ozai from Sachin’s place. She left in a hurry, and is now running down the dark, dimly lit streets, as she tries to get to his place before the day changes. She is out of breath, but she promised him and doesn’t want to let him down.

When she gets there, she can see some light peeking through the curtains of his kitchen window, so she now knows that he is still awake, probably because he is waiting for her. She runs up the three stairs and firmly knocks on the door three times, before she takes one step down and is finally able to stop to catch her breath. She is panting heavily, and she wipes the few drops of sweat off her forehead. 

Sachin hears the knock on the door, but before he opens it, he peeks through the window who is at the door. When his eyes meet Ranya’s, he lets out a frustrated sigh and shakes his head. He flies the door open and is already holding out Ozai to Ranya. “It was time you came to get your rat!” He complains and the fire ferret jumps from his arms and wraps its tail around Ranya’s neck. 

“Hey, he can understand what you say,” Ranya defends Ozai and scratches its little head. “Was he mean to you, huh? Well now you get to go home with me,” she talks to Ozai with a high-pitched voice and boops its nose. 

Sachin rolls his eyes and sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. He leans against the door frame and lifts an eyebrow. “So… How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing fine. A little weird, I guess. My body feels like it’s on fire, but Kya said that it should go away within a few days,” she answers and brings her eyes to Sachin, whose face is shadowed heavily, as the only source of light is coming from his apartment. The shape of his nose and sharp jaw is highlighted in this lightning and even if Ranya is only attracted to women, she can agree that her best friend is a really good looking man. 

“I still can’t believe you were poisoned! Who poisons a child?” He wonders and shakes his head, as he flicks his hand in confusion and as an extension to his question. 

Ranya sighs and shrugs her shoulders. She looks down at her feet and slightly shakes her head, as she doesn’t understand it either. “I don’t know, we were thinking about the same exact question. I would want to have a nice little talk with my real parents, ask them a few questions,” she mumbles and kicks the stairs. 

There is a moment where neither one of them talks. They are completely quiet, no sound, nothing. “Why don’t you go and find them?” Sachin breaks the silence with his question, and it makes Ranya lift her head to look up at him and meet his eyes again. 

“I wasn’t serious. If I actually met them, they would probably be dead at the same moment. That’s how much I hate them.” She balls her hands into fists at the thought of even meeting her parents, who might be the ones who poisoned her as a baby. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with them, even if they were to ever apologize. There is no way a simple sorry can make up for the years of suffering and almost dying multiple times. There is no way for her to get back the years she lost because she was lying in her bed, sick. 

Sachin puts out his hands and nods his head once. “Ok, fair enough.” He sighs and looks down at Ranya’s hands. She gets distracted from her thoughts, when Ozai starts playing with her messy, tangled hair. A smile appears on her face, as she starts playing with the fire ferret. Looking at the two of them makes it impossible for Sachin to keep a straight face and now he is smiling too. He rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Are you going back to the Beifong estate?” He asks. 

“Not for tonight. I convinced Lin to let me stay and she promised to deal with Suyin. She hasn’t called so I assume everything went well. I missed my own bed, and well, Ozai,” she answers as she plays with Ozai. She glances at him and grins. “And you, of course! You can come to my place if you want, we can catch up,” she adds. 

Sachin sighs and straightens his posture. “I would love to, but I have to study. Remember, I kind of am a student at the university,” he reminds her and grins. 

Ranya scratches the back of her neck as she lets out a nervous laughter. “Right, of course. I should probably go and leave you study,” she mumbles.

“It was nice that you dropped by, and got your stupid rat,” Sachin says and takes a step closer to Ranya. He opens his arms and invites her into a hug. 

She doesn’t hesitate a second, when she runs to his arms and wraps her arms around his torso. She buries her face to his shoulder and closes her eyes. She feels safe in his arms. He chuckles and leans his head against Ranya’s and gently rubs her back. When they break from the hug, Ranya looks up to Sachin’s eyes and smiles crookedly. “Well, good night then, Sachin.”

He smiles and ruffles her hair so that it is even more tangled than it was before. “Night, you stupid one,” he laughs. She shakes her head and chuckles. She takes the steps down and raises her hand, waves it twice and then spins around on the balls of her feet and starts heading home with Ozai. 

On her way home, she doesn’t hurry. She takes her time and decides to take a walk through the park and wander around a bit. She doesn’t usually get to go outside at this time, so she will enjoy it as long as she can. On her way to the park, she meets a few guards, and they all greet her, she responds to them with a single nod. 

The quietness and the lack of people calm her down. Usually, the park is crowded, and she doesn’t really like to be there at times like that. So, when no one is in the park and all she can hear is nothing, she smiles widely and walks to a bench nearby, sitting down. Ozai curls up to her lap and closes its eyes. “Hey, don’t fall asleep, we’ll go home. I just want to enjoy this for a moment…”

She lets her head fall back as she looks up. She sighs when all she can see is the metal domes closed up. She closes her eyes and imagines stars. She imagines herself lying down on a flower field, looking up at the night sky. The wind is caressing her skin and the moon is shining bright, as are the stars around it. Next to her is Kuvira, who has her eyes on the sky too. She glances over at Ranya and a smile appears on her face, when she observes the other woman who is stargazing. “You look-”

“Well look who it is. Wasn’t expecting to meet you here, not at this hour.” A voice brings her back to reality and interrupts her dream. The voice is familiar, but she hasn’t heard it in years. She opens her eyes and looks around, when her eyes meet her brother, Kiran, in his guard uniform. 

She frowns her eyebrows and stands up from the bench, Ozai climbing up her arm to settle down on her shoulder. “What do you want, Kiran?” She spits out his name as if it’s a bad word that shouldn’t be said out loud.

Kiran lets out a chuckle and holds out his arms. “Can’t I talk with my little sister?”

He tries to take a step closer towards her, but Ranya backs up and curls her fingers into fists and presses them tightly against her thighs. “I am not your sister. Get out of my way, I want to go home.” She walks past him, without looking at him even once. 

“How’s mother and father?” He asks with his professional, cold, and straight-forward voice and the sound of his stupid voice is enough to make Ranya turn around and face her brother. He has a smug on his face and he lifts his eyebrows. 

Ranya takes a step closer and raises her index finger to point at him. “That is none of your business, I know that you don’t care,” she hisses at him and presses her lips so tightly together that they form a slightly downwards pointing line.

“I do care. Why would you think that I don’t?” He lets out a sigh and drops his shoulders that he had been keeping high. He looks straight to her eyes and it feels like his eyes are piercing right through her. 

“You never visited us, you never called, nor did you ever write,” she lists out the reasons behind her accusations and crosses her arms across her chest. If he cared, he would've tried to reach out, wouldn’t he?

“I was out of Zaofu for years, I was studying abroad in Ba Sing Se. You have to understand that not everything is as black and white as you paint them to be,” he tries to defend himself and takes a few steps closer to his sister. 

Ranya laughs out loud and rolls her eyes. “Well, you should’ve stayed there. Mom and dad don’t want to see you, and neither do I,” she says and turns around. She is about to take her first step to leave, but then she hears the sound of metal cables and not even a second later, she feels how one wraps around her wrist and pulls her back. She turns her head to look at Kiran, who had bended out the metal cable from his uniform. “Let go of me,” she murmurs and raises her hand. 

Kiran shakes his head and closes his eyes. “Mom and dad would never think that way,” he whispers and tries to convince himself that this is something that his evil little sister has been planning for years. 

“Oh really? They are terrified of you! You tried to kill me when I was a baby. What do you think they think about you? That you’re still their perfect son who just made a few mistakes?” She snaps and takes a few long steps to him, close enough to feel his breath on her skin. 

He looks down at her and leans closer, so that his eyes are at the same level with hers. “I didn’t try to kill you! It was an accident!” He spits out and he is about to open his mouth again, until Ranya bends out a piece of rock off the ground and throws it at his face. He flinches back and brings his hand to his cheek. “Ow, what the flameo?!”

Ranya opens her arms and frowns her eyebrows. “Oh sorry, it was an accident! See how easy it is to lie!” She yells and her voice is shaking. She doesn’t know if it’s because she is on the verge to break down to cry or because she is so furious that she could rip his head off. His attention is somewhere else, so Ranya takes advantage of this moment and bends the metal cable around her wrist and shoots it back at him.

He has a perfect control over the metal cable, so he brings it back to his uniform and frowns his eyebrows. “I am not lying!” He tries to defend himself again, but for nothing, as Ranya already bends out another series of rocks off the ground and shoots them at him He barely dodges them and then takes a fighting stance. “Quit it, before it’s too late,” he warns her. 

“You know what? I am really lucky that you’re wearing your uniform. I can do this,” she whispers and then raises her arm and starts closing her palm into a fist, the metal around Kiran’s neck slowly following the movement and wrapping around his neck. He brings his hands around the metal and tries to do something, anything. His face starts to change slightly to blue and he is gasping for air. “How does it feel, huh?! How does it feel when you can’t breathe? How does it feel, tell me!”

He looks down at his sister and a tear slowly rolls down his cheek. “L- Let- Let go of me-” He struggles to exhale the words as the metal around his throat tightens by every second. 

“You shouldn’t have pushed me,” she whispers from under her breath and takes a step closer to him. 

Her eyes are strictly on his eyes, so she doesn’t notice, when he flicks his hand and a huge rock flies across the space between them and hits her on her shoulder, making her fall a few steps back and lose control over him. She lets go of him and he uses this time to quickly bend out his metal armour and throw it aside. He takes a fighting stance and waits, until his sister has recovered from the hit. 

She isn’t going to let go of this so easily, so she takes a fighting stance and breathes heavily, already being out of breath. Her vision has grown blurry, after using a lot of energy when choking Kiran. She can barely see her brother, as he moves his hand and bends out a rock off the ground and aims it at her. She barely dodges it, and it scrapes her ribs, making her groan in pain. But she doesn’t hesitate a second to return an attack, so she bends out multiple pieces of rock off the ground and shoots them at Kiran as a series, but he manages to dodge every single one of them smoothly, it is as if he is dancing. 

They return attacks against each other back and forth and it seems like an endless cycle. Ozai has hidden under the bench, as it is the only place where he won’t get hit by a rock. At some point Kiran gets the high ground, when one of the rocks he aims at his sister makes her fall to the ground. She falls to her back and closes her eyes for a moment, she is out of energy and every part of her body is in excruciating pain. When she tries to get up, Kiran pushes her back down as he places his boot over her chest and pins her to the ground. “Give up! You’re going to lose,” his voice is calm, and he seems like he isn’t out of breath at all. He only has a few scratches here and there and he looks like he hasn’t even been in a fight.

The calmness in his voice is enough to make Ranya’s blood boil. She looks around for a moment, when she notices the metal armour that is lying on the ground. She looks back at her brother and just looking at his annoying face is enough to give her fuel to push his leg off of her and roll over to rush towards the metal armour. She reaches her hand out and bends multiple pieces of metal out of the armour, turning back to him. She molds the pieces of metals into arrows and then shoots them at him. “No, I won’t!” She yells. Only one arrow hits him, the others are blocked by a rock wall. She hits the ground and gets up. Her legs can’t support her, and they give out, her falling back down to her knees. Her brother walks closer to her and stops right in front of her. He looks down at his sister, who isn’t doing so well. She has bruises all over her body and her arms, legs, ribs, and nose are bleeding and her hair is all tangled up. Her whole body is shivering in pain, and she tries to hide it by rocking back and forth, making it look like she is just moving around. Her vision is blurrier than before, and she isn’t quite sure if Kiran just bended the metal into a knife or not. 

“Oh, you won’t lose? What is this then?” His voice is the exact definition of hearing someone grin, without actually seeing it. He leans down and grabs her chin, turning her face from side to side as he takes a look at the bruises he had caused. 

Ranya can’t take it anymore and she breaks down to tears. She frowns her eyebrows and looks up at her brother through the tears that are burning her eyes. “I- I hate you!” She cries and shakes her head. 

He brings the knife to Ranya’s throat and presses it against her bare skin. The cold blade sends shivers down her body and she closes her eyes. He is enjoying this. He enjoys seeing his sister so broken down. A grin appears on his face, but before he is able to do anything else, someone interrupts them. “What in the flameo is going on here?” Sachin yells as he runs to them and pushes Kiran away from Ranya. When Kiran isn’t supporting Ranya’s head anymore, she falls down to her side and hits her head to the ground. Sachin rushes to her and holds her in his arms, gently supporting her head with his forearm. “Ranya, are you alright? Kiran what the flameo?!” He looks up at the other man and frowns his eyebrows.

“She started it, you can blame her,” he defends himself and points down at his sister, who can barely keep her eyes open. She chuckles and shakes her head in disbelief. 

“You both need to be taken to the hospital,” Sachin states as he takes Ranya’s arm and swings it around his neck and then slides the other hand under Ranya’s armpit, supporting her. He stands up carefully and a wave of pain strikes her nerves and makes her twitch in pain. She lets out a groan and leans against Sachin. “Ok, come on, you too,” he says and looks at Kiran, who just rolls his eyes but agrees to come with them. They start slowly making their way towards the hospital and Ozai climbs up Sachin’s leg and settles on his shoulder.

When Kya got the call that Ranya is in the hospital, she left in a hurry and Kuvira tagged along with her. They both rush to the hospital and push the doors open. The doctors recognize them and lead them straight to Ranya’s room, where Sachin is standing beside the younger, bruised woman. When Kya sees her lying on the bed, bleeding out and in pain, her eyes widen, and she rushes to her side. “What happened?!” She asks.

Ranya brings her hands to her ears and closes her eyes. “Oh my, don’t yell at me,” she mumbles. Her voice is weak and shaky.

“Are you alright?” Kuvira takes Ranya’s hand and looks down at her, before glancing at Sachin who is standing on the other side of the bed. 

“Yeah, I am, now shut up, you’re being too loud,” she complains and shakes Kuvira’s hand off to cover her face with her hands. 

“She got into a fight with her brother. He’s a mean one, if you didn’t notice.” Sachin drops into the conversation and Kya looks at him. She frowns her eyebrows and then looks down at the younger woman. 

“You have a brother?”

Ranya takes a deep breath and drops her hands. She looks up at Kya. “He’s not my brother. At least not biologically,” she hisses. “Our argument heated into a fight,” she adds.

Kya looks at her from head to toes and shakes her head. “Yes, I can see that,” she notes. “Now, stay put, I need to heal these bruises.” 

“No, don’t. It’s fine,” Ranya tries to deny the help, but Kya is already pulling her clothes aside to take a better look at the bruises. Ranya slaps Kya’s arm and looks straight at the older woman’s blue eyes. When Kya lets go of her, she pulls the sleeves back to their places and glares at Sachin. “I said it’s fine! Don’t touch me.” She doesn’t want Sachin to see her arms, she hasn’t really talked about the scars with him, and this doesn’t seem to be the appropriate time to have that talk with him. 

“Please, let me even ease the pain,” Kya begs. 

Ranya keeps eye contact with Kya. She sighs and lets her head fall back to the pillow. “Fine, but don’t try to take my clothes off again,” she mumbles. Kya nods her head and bends out the water and starts running it over Ranya’s body.

Kuvira looks as Kya heals Ranya, but she is again reminded of Sachin’s presence, as he lets out a heavy sigh. She turns her gaze to him and clears her throat. “Sachin, would you come with me?” She asks and slightly tilts her head towards the door. She gets a nod as an answer and they exit the room, leaving Kya and Ranya alone. When they get a little further away from the room, Kuvira stops and crosses her arms across her chest. “What happened?” She asks.

Sachin shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t really know. I was walking down to the library to get some books, yes, I have the key, and then I heard a lot of yelling and the earth beneath me was shaking. I went to look at what was going on and then I saw Kiran holding out a knife on Ranya’s throat,” he explains how the things went down. He shakes his head as he remembers the look on Ranya’s face in that moment.

Kuvira places her hand on Sachin’s shoulder and smiles. “Well, I’m glad you were there. I don’t even want to know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up,” she gently says. Sachin returns a smile and then looks down. “Is Kiran somewhere near?”

Sachin looks at the door behind him and then back at Kuvira. “He’s in the room next door, why?”

“I want to exchange a few words with him. I promise not to hurt him, at least not much,” she mumbles as she pats his shoulder twice and then heads to the other room. She presses down the handle and opens the door. She enters the room and closes the door behind her. She walks closer to the bed he is lying on and clears her throat. “Hello, Kiran. I see you are back in Zaofu.” Kuvira speaks and her voice startles Kiran, making him jump and open his eyes.

“Kuvira, what are you doing here?” He stumbles over his words as he is met by Kuvira’s darkened eyes and slightly sits up.

She walks over him and pushes him down, placing her hand on the wall behind the bed and leaning against it. “Well, you see, your sister is my friend and I care about her. So, when I heard that you had hurt her, I got pretty mad,” she speaks with a steady, cold voice and has her eyes pierced into his soul. He swallows nervously and tries to sink deeper into the pillow. “If you want to keep your job, I suggest that you will never look at your sister again, you will never talk to her again or work in her sector. Got it?”

Kiran lets out a nervous laughter. “And who are you to tell me what to do?” He tries to sound convincing but fails enormously when he almost chokes on the last two words.

A grin forces its way to Kuvira’s lips, and she leans closer to his face. “I have power in this damn city. If I want you out, I’ll get you out,” she whispers.

“Fine. I won’t look at her, talk to her or work in her sector, got it.” Kiran panics and agrees to everything Kuvira demands. 

She straightens her back and chuckles. “That is good to hear. It was nice talking to you, bye,” she says, roughly pats his shoulder, making him flinch in pain and then walking out of the room with her head held high. She is proud of herself, as she got to see a man fear her right in front of her own eyes. 

“Stay put, please,” Kya cries as Ranya keeps pushing her away. Kya puts down the water and brings her hands to her hips. “Hey, listen, I know you don’t want to accept the fact that you need help, but if I’m going to be honest, you’re just being a brat now and I want to help you.”

“I never asked for your help. I brought this to myself, I might as well suffer the consequences,” Ranya argues back and turns her head to the side. She notices that Kuvira walks in the room and she is already looking confused as she doesn’t really know what is going on.

Kya sighs and brings her hand to her forehead. “You think you deserve pain because you have a brother who doesn’t know how to control himself? Seriously?” She mocks Ranya’s way of thinking and shakes her head. 

“There’s more… Please just go home. I’ll be fine,” she begs.

Kuvira walks to Ranya’s side and takes her hand and holds onto it tightly. “I am not going to leave you alone with that freak right next door,” she declares and everyone in the room gets silent and all of the attention is now on Kuvira. “I’ll stay here for the night, you two go home,” she adds. 

“Are you sure?” Kya asks.

Kuvira smiles gently and nods her head. “Yes, I’ll call Suyin from here,” she reassures. 

“Thank you Kuvira. I’ll come by tomorrow morning,” Sachin thanks Kuvira. 

“Anything for her,” she whispers and looks down at Ranya, who can barely keep her eyes open. 

Kya and Sachin leave the room and the hospital and Kuvira is left alone with Ranya. She can’t get her eyes off of the woman. The bruises and cuts that go from her head to her legs break Kuvira and she is saddened that Ranya didn’t want Kya to treat her but to leave her in pain. 

“You didn’t have to stay, you know that?” Ranya suddenly speaks up and opens her eyes to look up at Kuvira.

Kuvira chuckles and shakes her head. “Yeah, but I wanted to. Now move over, I am not going to sleep in that stupid chair,” she says and is already getting ready to get on the bed. 

“Geez, go at least get yourself your own pillow and blanket,” Ranya groans and pushes Kuvira away, wrapping her blanket tighter around herself. 

“Fine.” Kuvira rolls her eyes and walks out of the room, walking back in within a few minutes with a blanket and a pillow in her arms. She shuts down the lights, leaving a desk lamp on. “Now move over,” she demands. Ranya sighs and moves to the other side of the bed and shivers when her body touches the cold side of the bed. 

Kuvira kicks her boots off and then places her pillow on the bed, right next to Ranya’s pillow. She then jumps in and lies down on her side and supports her head with her hand as she looks at the woman beside her.

Ranya looks down at Kuvira. “You know they can get you an extra bed if you just ask,” she tries one more time to get Kuvira out of the bed, but she is met with Kuvira’s confused look as she pulls the blanket up. 

“How do you know that?” Kuvira asks.

“I have spent quite a lot of time here. My parents have stayed here for nights, even Aiwei once spent a night here,” Ranya explains. Kuvira hums and nods as an answer and then lets her head sink into the pillow. She swings her hand casually and then wraps her arm around Ranya’s arm, pulling her down. 

“Whatever, shut up,” she mumbles and closes her eyes. 

Ranya sighs and lies down. She slightly turns her head to look at Kuvira, who has the most peaceful look on her face she has ever seen. A few strands of hair are out of her braid and fallen on her face. Ranya can’t help herself but to brush those few strands behind Kuvira’s ear, making Kuvira slightly open her eyes and look at Ranya. She grins and grabs her hand. “Sleep.”

“Ok, ok,” Ranya panics and lies down to her side, facing Kuvira. They look at each other and Ranya cracks into a smile. 

“Good night,” Kuvira whispers. Ranya notices that Kuvira is still holding onto her hand and she can feel her face get hot. She is glad that Kuvira can’t see the blushing since the light is coming from behind her back.

She looks at Kuvira’s eyes one more time and chuckles. “Good night.” 

Kuvira snuggles herself closer to Ranya and rests her head on her shoulder, shutting her eyes and briefly sighing before falling asleep within the warmth of Ranya’s body against hers. 

Chapter Text

The thought of Kuvira’s body against hers is the one thing that stops her from falling asleep. Every single time she is on the verge to enter the world of dreams, all of the senses in her body heighten and she can feel and hear everything ten times more sensitively than usual. She can feel Kuvira’s breath on her shoulder, she can hear her steady, calm breathing, she can feel Kuvira’s skin against hers, she can feel Kuvira’s hair tickling her forehead. She can feel, how Kuvira’s strong arms are wrapped around her arm and carefully pulling it closer to her chest, meaning she can feel as her chest rises when she breathes. Spirits, everything has to do something with her breathing.

She slightly turns her head to look at the woman sleeping beside her. Like she noted before, her breathing has a calm, steady rhythm and her chest rises every time she inhales. Her facial expression is the calmest she has ever seen her and now that she is looking at her from up-close, she notices all the small details on her face. Like the small, but rather noticeable wrinkles around the corners of her eyes. She is too young to have wrinkles, but she likes to assume that they are from smiling and laughing.

A smile curves on her lips, as she keeps examining Kuvira’s face. Her skin isn’t flawless, but it’s close enough. She probably has an insanely strict skin-care routine, it is probably simple, but strict. And she probably likes to hold onto it and the thought of staying here for the night probably meant that she had to give up on her precious routine. 

She notices a few small scars here and there and her assumption on them is that they came from training and sparring with overly proud opponents, who weren’t afraid to play dirty to win, since they didn’t want to lose to a girl. She can’t help herself but to reach her hand and touch the corner of her left eyebrow. She runs her fingers over the small cut that goes along the lines of her brow and a few strands of hair come to her way. She gently brushes them behind Kuvira’s ear and returns her fingers to run over the small cut. 

She lets out a sigh and rests her hand on Kuvira’s cheek. It’s warm and soft. She gently rubs it with her thumb and sinks her head deeper into the pillow beneath her head as she admires Kuvira and her perfectly shaped face. She doesn’t want to accidentally wake her up, so she pulls her hand away. She looks down at her left arm. Kuvira is resting her head on her shoulder and her arms are wrapped around hers, pulling it closer to her chest. Her arm is feeling numb, but she couldn’t care less. As long as she can look at Kuvira like this she’ll do anything. 

With a shaky exhale she turns her face towards the ceiling. She closes her eyes and imagines herself lying on a flower field, this time the Sun is beginning to rise, and the stars are slowly fading away, going asleep into the horizon with the Moon and greeting the Sun on their way. The wind is cold as the breeze flows through the field and slowly dances around with the flowers, gently bending them to left and right, back, and forth. 

She is looking up at the sky. It is a beautiful color of dark blue that subtly changes to the shade of purple and then to peach, as the Sun starts to peek far from the horizon, warming up everything and bringing color all over Earth. She looks at the woman lying beside her, a gorgeous view that she is. Her tan skin is caressed by the warm glow of the Sun and her black, silky face is framing her face, highlighting her sharpest features. Her lips are slightly parted, as she is amazed by the sky changing colors and night turning into a day. 

Kuvira notices the other woman staring at her, so she turns her head to face her. She smiles and reaches her hand towards her. “What are you looking at?” She laughs and places her hand over her head, her palm gently resting on her forehead. “You know that staring is impolite?” She reminds and grins. 

But she can’t answer anything. She is so caught up in her breath-taking green eyes that words don’t come out. The only thing she is able to do is reach out her own hand towards the woman and place it on her cheek, gently. A shaking breath of air exhales through her mouth, as she keeps her eyes locked with Kuvira. 

“Say something,” she begs and slides her down her head to her shoulder and squeezes it. “I want you to say something.”

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. A tear rolls down Kuvira’s cheek. “I am sorry,” she is able to whisper. She wipes the tear away from Kuvira’s cheek with her thumb. She slowly runs her fingers through her hair, towards the behind of her head and when she reaches the right spot, she gently pulls Kuvira to her chest and wraps her arms around her head. 

Kuvira rests her head against her chest and wraps her arms around her torso, their bodies aligning. A wave of warmth goes through them, as they lie on the flower field, holding onto each other, happy to have the other one in their arms as the sun keeps rising, welcoming a new day to come. 

She opens her eyes and looks up at the ceiling. Tears fall down her cheeks and a smile arches over her trembling lips. She gasps for air and brings her hand to her mouth, trying to cover the whimpers. With a shaking voice, she is able to whisper, “I wish that to happen.”

Chapter Text

“Oh boy! You won’t believe what just happened-” Sachin is already at the hospital, just a few moments after the domes opened up and the Sun let people know that morning has arrived. But when he opens the door to Ranya’s room, he notices the two women sleeping in the same bed, Kuvira hugging Ranya. He is left speechless, as he tries to understand what is going on. He slowly slides his hand on the wall and puts the lights on, making Ranya groan and squeeze her eyes. 

When she finally opens her eyes, she meets Sachin’s widened, shocked eyes. His eyes travel to Kuvira, who is still very much asleep and then back to Ranya. At first Ranya doesn’t understand what is wrong, but then she looks at Kuvira and realizes that she is still hugging her arm and resting her head on her shoulder, only this time a little closer to her chest. After the realization hits, she sits up and slowly pulls her arm away, waking Kuvira up. She covers her face with her hands and tries to hide the blushing. Sachin already noticed it.

“Ok, I don’t know if I want to know what happened after I left but… Uh here is some breakfast that I picked up for us,” Sachin mumbles as he closes the door behind him and puts down the food. He keeps eyeing the two women and shakes his head. “You know that she could’ve just gotten an extra bed?”

Kuvira sits up and rubs her eyes, before sighing and looking across the room at Sachin. “Listen, it’s really cold at night and your friend right here is a human radiator,” Kuvira mumbles with her husky morning voice and points at the woman beside her. Her voice sends shivers down Ranya’s spine and she clears her throat.

“She didn’t give me a choice. She just snuggled in,” Ranya defends herself and stretches out her arms but the bruises from yesterday remind themselves and her body twitches in pain. She wraps her arms around her torso and groans.

“You should’ve let Kya heal you,” Kuvira comments and rolls her eyes, as the woman rubs her ribs and slightly raises the hem of her shirt to check on the wounds. Kuvira’s eyes follow Ranya’s hands and she sees the wounds. They are deep and wide, mostly healed. They will leave scars for sure. 

“Yeah, yeah shut up. You love to be such a smart-ass, don’t you?” Ranya fires back and looks at Kuvira through her eyebrows. She then turns to look at Sachin, who is just standing there, not really knowing what to do. “Ok what did you bring us?”

His face lightens up when Ranya mentions the food. He digs the bag and pulls out a few vegetable wraps. “I know you love these!” He says as he hands out the food for Ranya and Kuvira. 

“Oh my, I don’t even remember when was the last time I ate these. Are they from the little shop near the pharmacy?” Ranya asks as she is opening the wrap and already shoving it down her throat.

Sachin crosses his arms across his chest and chuckles. “Yeah, they are. I thought you would want to eat something you like instead of the hospital crap.”

Kuvira carefully examines the wrap and then looks at Sachin and then Ranya. “How can you eat these? First of all, they don’t taste like anything. Second of all, they don’t even fill you up,” she questions. Ranya and Sachin glares at her with their eyebrows frowned. “Ok, sorry. I’m just saying that there are better options out there,” she mumbles and bites the wrap, as she tries to avoid the death stares. 

“You know I am vegetarian, right? Even Suyin knows it!” Ranya throws her hands into the air as she talks to Kuvira. 

Kuvira swallows nervously and clears her throat. “You- You are?” She stutters and is already preparing to get hit by a pillow that Ranya is reaching towards. 

“Seriously?! You’ve spent so much time with me, and you don’t even remember that I don’t eat meat?” Ranya swings the pillow and hits Kuvira in the head. Sachin can’t help but laugh and cover his mouth with his hand. 

“Sorry! Can you tell what’s my favorite food then?” Kuvira scoffs and lifts her eyebrows.

Ranya raises her index finger, as if she is about to point out something, but then she slowly pulls her hand down and clears her throat, when she realizes that she doesn’t know the answer. Kuvira chuckles and rolls her eyes. “That’s what I thought.” She turns her head sharply towards Sachin, who is laughing at the two bickering. “What are you laughing at? What’s your favorite food then?” She inquires. 

Kuvira’s words had come out in a harsh way and they startled Sachin. He slightly jumps and holds tightly onto his wrap. “Oh. Uh my favorite food? Cabbage soup? Or the noodles? Yeah, definitely the noodles, they are amazing,” he stumbles over his words as he scratches the back of his neck nervously and avoids Kuvira’s eyes. 

“So, you’re a vegetarian too?” Kuvira asks another question.

“Well, no, but I enjoy a lot of vegetarian food. I mainly eat them because of Ranya. I used to spend a lot of time at her parents’ place and they are vegetarian too, so I just ate whatever they gave me. It has just stuck with me,” he explains and then takes a huge bite off the wrap. 

Kuvira looks at Ranya and nods her head. “I see that your parents have managed to manipulate Sachin into the world of vegetarian food. Let’s hope they don’t do the same to me. I love dumplings too much.”

“You know, they have a vegetarian version of dumpli-” Before Ranya can finish her sentence, this time Kuvira swings the pillow and hits her right in the face, making her fall on her back. 

“And who loves to be a smart-ass now?” Kuvira smirks and rolls her eyes.

After Ranya recovers from the hit she sits up and ruffles her already messed up hair. Sachin irks when he sees all of the tangles in her hair and he can’t take it anymore. “Please, stop it! Let me brush it and braid it so that it doesn’t get that messy!” He cries and puts down the wrap so that he can bring his hands to his face. 

Ranya looks up at her friend and lets out a heavy sigh. “Fine! But don’t pull it too hard, you know that it hurts like a mother,” she gives in right away, knowing that Sachin will never let this go and he would go on until she would have to give in.

He casually pulls out a brush and some hair bands out of his bag, like they are some every-day items he uses on his short hair. Ranya turns her back to him, now facing Kuvira. Sachin starts working on her hair and pulls all of the strands behind her back. “So, Kya told me last night that you are going to leave in a week. Are you completely sure that it is safe for you to go?” Sachin breaks the moment of silence. 

“That is why we are leaving in a week. Kya will do check-ups on me and we’ll make sure that everything is fine before we leave.” She lets her head fall backwards to look up at her friend. She smiles at him and leans back to rest her head on his stomach. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I have Kuvira with me and we have all of my medicines with me just in case something happens. And once we get to Republic City, Kya will do yet another check up on me.”

He looks down at Ranya and places his hands on her cheeks, cupping them. He leans closer to her face and looks at her eyes. “Fine. But if something happens, just remember these words: I told you so,” he whispers and then pulls her head back up, so that he can continue working on her hair. 

Kuvira looks up at Sachin. “I promise to take care of her. I won’t let anything bad happen to her,” she reassures and when the man looks at her, she gives her a subtle smile. He returns her a smile, but it fades away as he brings his eyes back to Ranya’s mess of a hair. Kuvira’s eyes fall from Sachin to Ranya, who is playing with the hem of her shirt, obviously nervous about something. Kuvira looks at her playing with the fabric, before she slowly reaches her hand out and places it over her hands, stopping her. “Are you ok?” 

Ranya looks up at Kuvira and sighs, turning her face to the other direction. She bites the inside of her lower lip and slightly glances back at Kuvira. “Can you leave me and Sachin for a moment? I want to talk to him about… You know,” she struggles with her words and swallows nervously, thinking whether or not this is the right thing and that maybe she should just take back what she said. 

But Kuvira looks at her with a smile on her face, nods and gets off the bed. She puts on her boots and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

Sachin places his hands on Ranya’s shoulders and pulls her back, against his stomach. He doesn’t say anything, as he gently wraps his arms around the woman and sighs. 

“Sachin, I want you to promise me that you don’t start yelling at me or scold me. Do you promise that?” She asks with a shaking voice and tilts her head backwards, so that she can see his facial expressions. 

He looks down at her and has a confused look on his face. “Well, it depends on what you’re going to tell me.”

“Just promise me first, ok?” She begs.

“Alright, I promise.”

She nods her head slightly and faces forward, leaning her back and head against Sachin. “I really am sorry that I never brought this up any earlier. But the thing is, I haven’t been doing so well lately. And by lately, I mean the past year, especially the past few months,” she starts out and is back with playing with the fabric of her shirt. She lets out a shaky sigh and closes her eyes. “I hurt myself, because I thought I was going to die, and I didn’t want to die because I was sick. If I was going to die, it was going to be by my hand.”

Before she can continue any further, Sachin places his right hand under Ranya’s chin and tilts her head, so that he can look at her. “I don’t need to hear more. I can feel that you are uncomfortable when talking about this. Save yourself. I don’t know what you’ve had to go through, and I don’t care what you’ve done to yourself. I am not going to judge you. I love you, okay? You’re my best friend and I am just glad that you let me know. I will always be here, if you need anything,” he whispers and leans down to gently press his lips against her hairline. He closes his eyes, and a few tears fall down his cheeks. 

Ranya can’t hold it in anymore and she breaks down too. She holds onto Sachin’s arms that are around her neck and she pulls him closer. “I love you too,” she whimpers and closes her eyes. 

They stay like that for a moment without saying a word, only silent sobs and gasps for air fill the room. At some point Sachin moves his hands to wipe the tears off his cheeks. He then grabs the brush and the hair bands, continuing to work on Ranya’s hair. “Did you tell Kuvira before me?” He inquires, breaking the silence in the room. 

“Yeah. But it was after she saw the scars and she wouldn’t stop asking about them,” she explains. 

“But you told her before me. We’ve known each other for fifteen years. You and Kuvira have known each other for like two weeks or something. And she deserves to hear that kind of things about you right away?” He mumbles.

“Don’t be mad at me about this. She is my friend too. Yes, we’ve known each other for only a short amount of time but it doesn’t feel like that. She has grown really close to me, just like the other Beifong kids,” Ranya tries to defend herself. 

Sachin finishes the braid and then walks to the other side of the bed to face his friend. He crosses his arms across his chest and frowns his eyebrows. “Just because you have a crush on someone doesn’t mean you have to tell them everything!”

Ranya’s eyes widen and her eyebrows frown, as she tries to process what Sachin just told her. “I don’t have a crush on Kuvira! She’s my friend, who literally saved me. If I hadn’t talked to her, I might actually be dead by now. Is that what you want?!” She snaps and clenches her fists. 

“Of course not, but I’m just saying, you clearly like her and I think you should tone it down. I don’t want you to get hurt if this doesn’t turn out the way you want it to,” he calms down his voice and sits on the bed, leaning closer to his friend. “You can admit it, ok? I know your last relationship got you into a lot of trouble and you got really badly hurt. I know you don’t want to admit your feelings, but it’s ok. I’m just saying, maybe she isn’t the right person for you.”

“Who are you to tell me who is the right person for me and who is not? Your dates have been just as bad as mine. Your taste in men sucks, sorry to break it to you,” she mumbles back at him and looks down. “I don’t have a crush on her, ok? She’s just a friend.” She closes her eyes for a moment and sighs. 

Sachin looks at his friend and ponders what he should say. “I think it’s obvious that we both have a terrible taste when it comes to our dates,” he points out, trying to release the tension in the room. 

Ranya chuckles and shakes her head. “Yeah. It’s pretty obvious. How do you always end up with the men that literally break your heart and I end up with women and end up getting beaten up?

“Nah don’t ask me. I actually came here this early to tell you about Junjie,” he remembers, and a crooked smile finds its way to his lips. “He came to my apartment last night, after I got home. Imagine, he had to deal with Ozai. And he got along with him perfectly!” He throws his hands around as he explains what happened yesterday. 

“Wow, I might as well let him babysit Ozai in the future,” Ranya comments.

“Yes, please do. But the thing is, he spent the night at my place. And we uh…” He stops and looks down. He bites his lower lip and laughs nervously. 

Ranya’s eyes widen, and her jaw drops to the floor. “You what? No way! NO WAY! Tell me everything! Now!” She demands and gets closer to him. 

“Nothing like that happened but we did sleep in the same bed and cuddle. Actually, in the same way you and Kuvira slept. Except I was the one who was hugging the other one’s arm but whatever,” he explains the rest of the story and flicks his hand casually. 

“I hope you and Kuvira know that our arms do indeed grow numb. It’s not a funny feeling, ok.” She looks at him with a grin and chuckles. “But how did you and Junjie meet? Is he at the university too?”

Sachin shakes his head. “No, he actually works at the market, he sells vegetables with his parents. They are old so he’s just helping around. But he has a sister, so he doesn’t have to be there all the time… Meaning I get him all to myself sometimes,” he giggles and claps his hands out of excitement. “He’s so handsome! I don’t understand how someone can look like that. He has the most gorgeous eyes and-”

“Yeah, shut up. Rub it in the face even more,” Ranya interrupts and slaps his leg. He winces and starts rubbing his leg, over exaggerating the pain. “You’re such a baby! That definitely didn’t hurt.”

“How can you know that? What if I end up in the hospital bed next to Kiran? Huh?” He argues back and crosses his arms. “I mean he definitely deserved it but still.”

Ranya rolls her eyes and throws her legs over the edge of the bed and slowly slides down, until her feet touch the cold floor. She curls her toes and shivers out of cold. She supports herself by holding onto the bed as she stands up. Her face twists in pain and she closes her eyes, her breathing shortens, and she wraps her other arm around her torso. She groans and whimpers as she takes her first step. Yep, she should’ve let Kya treat her, she realizes it now. 

Sachin stands up and approaches Ranya but doesn’t get too close. “Do you need help?” He quietly asks. He is ready to reach his hand to her, but she shakes her head and straightens her back. She squeezes her eyes shut and clenches her teeth to keep the groans inside. “Should I get the nurse?”

“No. I’ll be fine. I just need to let the pain go through,” she whispers with a shaky voice and looks up at Sachin. She gives him a reassuring smile and nods her head. She takes a few more steps and starts to get used to the pain. Sachin doesn’t leave her side, even when they head out of the room. He is ready to catch her if she falls. 

“Where are you going?” He clears his throat and Ranya glances at him. She pushes the hospital doors open and steps outside. 

She fills her lungs with the fresh air that is flowing through her sector. She takes a few more steps and is now standing in the Sun. She spreads her arms to her sides and closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the Sun. Sachin doesn’t really get why she always does this, but she seems genuinely happy. He wants her to be happy, so he just lets her enjoy it. 

She lets her head fall back and a smile curves to her lips. She enjoys just standing in the sun, as if she is a plant. 

A few moments go by and the doors behind them open. Kuvira walks out and blocks the Sun with her hand. She looks at Ranya and then Sachin. She lifts her eyebrows, asking with her facial expression what is going on. 

Sachin lets out a chuckle and rolls his eyes. “She likes the Sun. She’s a little plant,” he mocks Ranya and pats her head. She opens her eyes and turns to look at him. “Angry little plant,” he keeps joking and grins.

Ranya turns too fast, the pain making her body twitch and fall forward. She holds onto Sachin’s shoulder and leans against it. “Broken little plant,” she murmurs and sighs. She rests her head against his shoulder and bites her lower lip to stop herself from starting to cry. 

Sachin gently wraps his other arm around the woman hugging her and rubs her back. “It’s fine. Let’s go inside,” he comforts and supports her as they start walking towards the doors. 

Kuvira holds the doors open for them and rushes behind them. “Should I call Kya? I seriously don’t want to see you in pain constantly,” she asks. 

Ranya lets out a heavy sigh and after a moment she nods her head, finally agreeing that she needs help. “Go ahead. I thought I could take it but apparently I was wrong,” she mumbles an answer to the other woman. Kuvira gives her a subtle smile, before heading to the other direction, towards the counter. Sachin takes Ranya back to her room and helps her get on the bed. “I’m not a baby, you don’t have to help me.” He lets go of her arm and lifts his other eyebrow. 

“Well, if you say so,” he says and shrugs his shoulders. He sits down on the chair next to the bed and crosses his legs. “You have to tell her how you feel.”

Ranya sharply turns her head towards Sachin. She frowns her eyebrows and lifts her index finger to point at him. “Shut. Up. What if she walks in?” She eyes at the open door and tries to see if Kuvira is anywhere near. 

“So, you do have feelings for her?” He teases her and grins. 

“No, I don’t! It’s just not very funny when you say stuff like that. What if she weirds out and tries to distance herself from me?” She looks back at her friend and sighs. “I’m just confused, ok? Obviously, she is a really nice person, but I don’t know what I feel.”

She looks down at her lap and starts once again to play with the hem of her shirt. Sachin’s eyes fall to her hands and he looks at the movement of her fingers before he leans over. He knows that she does this when she gets stressed. “I’ll stop teasing you about it. Sorry that it made you so stressed out. But you know me, I tease you about everything,” he whispers and reaches his hand towards her. He holds her hands and smiles at her, when she slightly lifts her chin to look at the man in front of her. She returns a subtle smile, but before she can say anything Kuvira walks in and closes the door behind her.

“Get your stuff, we’re going to the Beifong estate. Kya can treat you better when we get there,” she informs and is already fussing around the room, gathering her pillow and blanket to take them back where she got them. 

Ranya and Sachin exchange looks and then turn to look at Kuvira. “But this is a hospital. What does she need that they don’t have here?” Sachin steps in and stands up, walking to Kuvira. He looks down at her and crosses his arms. “She can barely move. How are you going to get her to the Beifong estate, hm?”

Kuvira stops what she is doing and looks straight to Sachin’s eyes. She takes a step closer, the gap between them getting closer and closer. She lifts her chin and raises her eyebrows. “Kya needs her spirit water. We can keep a better eye on Ranya when she is at the estate and make sure that she doesn’t get hurt again. Besides, she was supposed to go back there anyway.”

“So, you guys think you know what is the best for her? You’ve known her for like two weeks. I’ve known her for fifteen years! I think she should stay here. We have real doctors here, just call Kya again and tell her to drag herself here,” Sachin argues back. 

Ranya doesn’t know what she is supposed to do. Is she supposed to take sides? Or is she supposed to stay out of it and stay as neutral as possible?

“No, I never said that. But if you actually care about your friend here, like I do, then you would understand that the best option is to take her to the estate. We can keep a better eye on her, and Kya will have a peaceful environment to work at. Do you not want your friend to get better?” Kuvira tilts her head, as she questions Sachin. “Or do you want her to be in pain?”

Sachin is about to open his mouth, when Ranya throws a pillow at them, distracting the two. They turn their attention to the woman sitting on the bed. “Stop arguing! I decide what is the best for me!” She yells and slams her hands on the bed. She stares at them for a good few minutes, a silence falling upon them. “I’ll go to the estate.” She stands up and starts gathering her stuff. 

Kuvira eyes at Sachin and when he looks back at her, she slightly sticks out her tongue and frowns her eyebrows. She mouths “I won” and grins. Sachin just rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Whatever,” he mumbles. 

Ranya packs her things and is ready to go. She tries to keep a straight face as she walks out of the room, even though the pain is excruciating, and it feels like someone is stabbing every single nerve in her body. She stops and looks to her left at the room, where Kiran is. “Hold on a second,” she tells Kuvira and Sachin and walks closer to the door. She holds down the handle and slightly opens the door, just enough to peek inside. Kiran is lying on the bed, his back facing her. He is still asleep. She leans against the doorframe and just looks at her brother. She wished everything wasn’t so complicated. 

She closes the door and turns around to face Kuvira and Sachin. She slightly nods her head and starts walking again. 

“You alright?” Kuvira asks as she walks beside her, exiting the hospital. A cold breeze messes with the loose strands of hair and she keeps pushing them off her face. 

“Yeah. I just wanted to see him for the last time,” she whispers and looks up to the sky. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment before she turns to look at Sachin. “I guess I’ll see you before we leave… But we can call?”

Sachin shrugs his shoulders and holds tightly onto his bag. “I don’t know. I need to go. See you,” he mumbles as he walks backwards to the other direction. He waves his hand before he turns around and leaves the two women standing there by themselves. 

“He’s mad at me, isn’t he?” Ranya asks and looks up at Kuvira. 

“Yeah, probably. Or he’s mad at me. Or he’s mad at both of us,” she throws in the options and a smirk curves to her lips as she looks down at the other woman. “Don’t worry about it too much, he seems like the type that doesn’t stay mad for a long time,” she comforts. 

Ranya nods her head and turns her eyes to the man who is now further away. “Yeah, he is like that,” she sighs. They start heading towards the monorail and all the way there Ranya keeps her head down at her feet. 

When they get to the monorail, they greet the guards and get inside. They sit down next to each other and Ranya leans her head against the window behind her. As the monorail starts moving, she turns her head to look at Kuvira. 

“Do you think I’m a bad friend?” She suddenly asks. 

Kuvira looks at the woman beside her and lifts her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Sachin. I don’t know what I did to hurt him but that is all I can think about now.”

“You’re not a bad friend. He’s just upset that you came with me and didn’t stay with him. It’s understandable, he said it himself, I’ve known you for two weeks only. It’s no surprise that he got mad about it.” She tries her best to comfort her friend. Ranya turns to look outside the window. Kuvira hesitates for a moment, before she places her hand on Ranya’s forearm to draw her attention back to her eyes. “Hey, he won’t be mad at you forever. I’m sure you’ve had bigger fights during the fifteen years you’ve known each other.”

Ranya gets lost in Kuvira’s soft, green eyes. She just stares at her, her lips slightly parting and butterflies filling her stomach. She doesn’t even hear Kuvira’s words, all she can think about are those beautiful eyes of hers. She bites the inside of her cheek to bring herself back to reality. She just nods her head, as if she agreed with Kuvira even though she didn’t hear a word. 

Maybe she should start figuring out what she feels for her. 

Chapter Text

Tomorrow is the day when they finally get to embark on their journey. They have everything they need: The jeep, food, money, clothes, and a tent, in case they need to stay the night while on the road and other more or less useful supplies. 

Kuvira is still doing some last minute packings and making sure that she has everything she needs. She lays her bags on her bed and then pulls out a list. As she goes through the list, she checks everything she has and, in the end, all of the things listed are marked with a check mark and she has everything ready. She picks up the bags and places them on the floor beside her bed.

She sits on the edge of the bed and sighs. She is really leaving Zaofu with a girl she met three weeks ago. Is this crazy? Is she throwing her life temporarily away for a girl and her dream of an adventure? What about Baatar? Was their breakup the right thing to do?

She shakes her head and covers her face with her hands, resting her head against them and closing her eyes. She swallows nervously and exhales through her mouth, leaving it slightly open. “If I don’t do this now, I will never get to do this. This is my only chance.”

Suyin’s office doors are open, when Kuvira walks in. The older woman is sitting behind the wooden desk, going through some papers. She notices Kuvira’s presence and raises her head to look at the younger woman with a subtle smile on her face. “Kuvira, is everything alright?” She asks. Kuvira takes a few steps closer and stops when she is right in front of the desk. She sighs and her shoulders drop. 

“Yeah. I just wanted to come and see you. I want to ask you something,” she begins and looks down at Suyin, who nods her head and puts her elbows on the desk, leaning against her hands. “Am I crazy for doing this? Am I wasting my life?”

“You’re not wasting your life, you’re living it,” Suyin answers shortly and then gets up from her seat. She walks to Kuvira and takes her hands to hold them. She looks deep into the younger woman’s eyes and chuckles. “Not doing this would be you wasting your life. I am sorry that I tried to deny this opportunity from you, I really am. But I want you to go and have fun. You didn’t really get to do that when you were growing up, did you?”

Kuvira nods her head and looks down at her feet. “You’re right. I don’t know what freedom or peace are, or what youth and long, lazy days are. I never got to experience those things,” she whispers and brings hr eyes back to Suyin. “Thank you.”

A smile arches to Suyin’s lips and she slides her hands up to Kuvira’s shoulders. “Do you have everything you need?”

“I do. I don’t know about Ranya though. She has been in the quest room all day and I haven’t seen her,” Kuvira answers and raises her eyebrows. “I hope she’s doing okay.”

“I am sure she is fine; we’ll see her when it’s time for dinner,” Suyin comforts the younger woman and lets go of her shoulders. 

Kuvira turns her head to look over her shoulder at the door, before glancing at Suyin briefly. “Well, shall we go then?” She proposes and grins. Suyin gives her a nod as an answer and they start making their leave.

They exit the office, walking beside one another and heading down the hallways towards the dining hall. 

For some reason, the mansion is dead silent. Not that there is ever much noise, but usually the twins are running around, chasing one another, or Baatar Sr. is messing around in his workshop and everyone can hear it. 

But this time, it is quiet. Kuvira keeps looking around every corner she passes, trying to figure out why no one is around and why it is so quiet. She isn’t used to this type of quietness unless it’s nighttime when she likes to wander around the hallways and calming herself down. 

“Where is everyone?” Kuvira wonders out loud and looks at Suyin.

The older woman shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head. “I have no idea. Maybe they are in the dining hall,” she ponders. And she isn’t wrong. When they get nearer towards the dining hall, they start hearing chatter and laughter. They exchange looks, before entering the dining hall only to see everyone already seated and the food ready in front of them. 

When the others notice the two entering the dining hall, the room gets quiet and all the attention is on Kuvira and Suyin now. 

“Finally, you’re here! We’ve been waiting for you for ages!” The twins gleefully yell and the smiles on their faces are so big that the corners of their mouths are almost up to their ears. 

The women sit down, Kuvira beside Ranya and Suyin beside Baatar Sr. 

Kuvira notices something different in Ranya. She isn’t wearing her casual robes. The outfit she is wearing is definitely not from Zaofu, Kuvira notes only based on the colors of the clothes. Kuvira leans towards the woman. “What’s up with the robes?” She asks.

Her question startles Ranya and she jumps slightly. She turns to look at the woman beside her and looks down at Kuvira. “What?” 

“The robes. Or outfit. Where did you get it?”

Ranya looks down at her outfit. She is wearing an unusual color in Zaofu – terra rose. The normal outfits found in Zaofu and Earth Kingdom overall are usually green or yellow. So, she understands Kuvira’s question. But the colors aren’t the only thing that’s unusual. She is wearing baggy, thick pants that are a few shades darker than the top piece. And the top piece? Well, it is a long sleeved, high collared dress-like shirt that goes down to her knees and that has slits on each side. The shirt is body-tight around the upper parts of her body, but otherwise it falls down loosely from the waist. 

She looks back at Kuvira and lifts her eyebrows. “I got it from my mom. She used to travel around the world when she was younger and she was wearing this exact outfit,” she explains while whispering and is now leaning closer to Kuvira. “She wanted me to wear this. It’s well preserved and I think it’s pretty neat. What do you think?”

Kuvira’s eyes wander on Ranya’s body, as she observes the outfit from up down. “I don’t know. It’s pretty but why does it have to be pink?”

“It’s not pink, you silly. My mom got it from Fire Nation, she just thought it was cute. And she didn’t like the Earth Kingdom colors, so she decided to try something else,” she corrects her and rolls her eyes as she chuckles at Kuvira. 

Kuvira nods her head and hums quietly. “Ah, ok. Are you going to be wearing it on our travels?”

“That’s my plan.”

Their conversation gets interrupted, when Kya stands up from across the table and claps her hands twice. 

“Can I get your attention please? Thank you,” she starts out and smiles as she looks around the room, making eye contact with everyone around the table. “I would like to thank all of you for your hospitality. We’ve had a lot of fun here with Lin, even though she doesn’t want to admit it. We are thankful that we got to stay here and get to know so many awesome people. If you ever come to Republic City, remember that you are always more than welcome to stay at the Air Temple Island.”

She sits down and turns her eyes to the woman beside her, the woman she can call her wife and whom she loves the most in the world. Lin doesn’t like to be affectionate in public, but this time she reaches out her hand and pulls Kya closer to a hug. She has a subtle smile on her face, and she rests her scarred cheek on Kya’s head. “Yes, thank you. Suyin I know we have had a lot of problems in the past and I am glad we worked them out years ago. Sure, you’re still a pain in the ass but I am glad I have my sister back.” Lin looks at her sister who slightly nods her head and smiles. 

“We will visit Republic City once we have the chance, thank you for the offer,” Suyin thanks Kya and Lin. She turns her gaze to her left and looks at Ranya and Kuvira, who are just silently eating the food in front of them. “Are you two excited to leave tomorrow?”

The two women exchange looks, before turning to look at Suyin. “Yeah, we have been waiting for this for quite a while,” Kuvira speaks up and smiles. 

“Especially me, I have been waiting for this moment for years!” Ranya adds and looks at the woman beside her. “And I am glad that I got myself a companion.”

They look at each other and can’t help but smile. Ranya gets lost in Kuvira’s green eyes and she doesn’t hear, when Suyin calls her name a few times. She snaps back to reality, when Kuvira waves her hand in front of her face. “Hello, earth to Ranya,” she sings and laughs at Ranya’s facial expression. 

She turns to look back at Suyin, who slightly shakes her head and laughs. “I was just asking if you have everything you need,” Suyin repeats her question. 

“Oh, yeah. I do have almost everything, I just need to pick up Ozai tomorrow. Sachin is sick of him already,” she answers and chuckles nervously. She can feel her face get hot, but she knows that it is useless to try to even hide it, everyone has probably seen her red face already.

Suyin nods her head and silently looks around the room, checking if anyone has anything to say. She turns her head one more time to the two women sitting beside each other. “Well, if you need anything, you can come to me,” she reminds and then starts eating the food in front of her. 

The rest of the dinner goes by fast and some have already left, whereas others have stayed to talk a little longer. Ranya is talking with Opal a little aside from others. “Can you do it?” She asks and leans against the wall, crossing her arms and looking at Opal with her eyebrows raised.

The younger woman shrugs her shoulders and scratches the back of her neck. “I guess I can. Are you sure though?”

Ranya flicks her hand casually and lets out a chuckle. “Yeah, I am. Come on, let’s go,” she assures the younger one and then exits the dining hall, looking over her shoulder at Kuvira, before the wall blocks the view and she turns her head to see where she is walking.

Opal runs to her side and walks around the halls with Ranya. “I really like your robes. I heard you say that your mom gave them to you,” Opal points out and tries to break the silence that has fallen upon them. 

“Thank you. And yes, my mom gave them to me. I have a green one, too. I should ask if Kuvira wants it,” she ponders and glances at the young woman beside her. “Thank you for doing this, by the way. I didn’t know anyone else who to ask.”

“Yeah, it’s fine. I used to cut Huan’s hair too at one point, until he wanted to try it himself. So how short do you want it?”

Ranya thinks for a moment and touches her hair that is currently braided. “How short are you willing to go? Maybe a pixie cut? Would it look good?” She thinks out loud. 

Opal looks up at Ranya and then at her hair. “It would look good,” she comments while nodding her head.

They get to Opal’s room and Opal starts looking for her scissors and other things she needs. Ranya sits down at the chair and starts to undo her braids while looking at herself from the mirror. She has scars all over her face, especially her chin and throat, because of the fight she had with her brother. She didn’t let Kya heal her at the spot, so some of the wounds will totally leave scars. She sighs and then turns to look at Opal, who walks to her. 

“Ready?” Opal asks and grins. Ranya looks back at the mirror and smiles. She nods her head and Opal lets out a chuckle, as she starts brushing out Ranya’s hair, before starting to cut the shoulder length locks. 

Opal wipes the hairs off Ranya’s shoulders when she is ready and ruffles the short hair with a smile on her face. “We’re all done.”

Ranya raises her gaze from her lap to the mirror and she is staring at herself now. The shoulder length hair is now a short pixie cut. She leans closer to the mirror to take a better look and when she fully realizes that her hair is now short, a smile creeps to her lips and she is smiling so hard that her cheeks start hurting. She brings her hands to her hair and she plays around with it for a moment, before turning to look at Opal. “Thank you, Opal. I love it!” She says and stands up. She gently pulls the younger woman into a hug and closes her eyes. 

“You’re welcome,” Opal chuckles and they break from the hug. “You should go show it to Kuvira.” 

Ranya turns to the mirror again and looks at herself. “Maybe I should. I hope she likes it,” she mumbles and touches her hair before she takes a few steps towards the door. “I’ll go then. Thank you!” She says before she leaves the room and enters the quiet hallway. 

She doesn’t have to walk for long when she reaches Kuvira’s room. She stands behind the door for a moment, hesitating, before she raises her hand and knocks on the door three times. She takes a step back and folds her hands behind her back, as she waits for the door to open. 

And when it does open, Kuvira’s face is something Ranya would love to have a picture of. Her face is priceless, when she realizes that Ranya has short hair and her mouth is hanging open, not knowing what to say. She raises her finger, points at the other woman’s hair and then looks straight to Ranya’s eyes. 

“Do you like it?” She asks with a teasing tone in her voice. A smirk finds its way to her lips and she chuckles. 

Kuvira struggles to find the right words. She does love the new look, she truly does, but she doesn’t know how to express it. “I love it,” she manages to say, and her response makes Ranya burst into a laughter. “Is that why you left with Opal?” Kuvira asks when Ranya somewhat manages to stop laughing. 

“Yeah, she agreed to cut my hair. I’ve wanted to do it for a while now. Sachin always complains how my hair is messy so when it’s short it can’t get all tangled up,” she explains and takes a step closer to Kuvira. She looks up at the woman and chuckles as she shakes her head. “You really had the worst response ever. “I love it” Really? Really, Kuvira? That’s all you got?” She mocks Kuvira and pokes at her with her index finger. 

“Sorry! I got all speechless, I didn’t know what to say,” Kuvira defends herself and grabs Ranya’s wrist, when she is about to poke her one more time. She yanks her closer and looks down at the woman, whose face is now only a finger away from her own face. Ranya inhales sharply, as she stares back at Kuvira, who has a smirk on her face. “And stop poking me. It’s annoying,” she murmurs and tilts her head slightly. 

Ranya swallows nervously and nods her head. Kuvira lets go of her and she gets to straighten her back. She clears her throat and looks away, as she can feel her face get hotter by every second. “Uh… I also came to ask you something,” she starts out and dares to look at Kuvira again. “I have this same outfit in green. Do you want to match with me on our travels?” She asks and grins. The question must sound silly to Kuvira, why would she want to match with her?

“Yeah, sure. Why not. Bring it to me and we’ll see if it fits,” Kuvira agrees to it right away without a hesitation. 

The answer baffles Ranya and now she is the one who can’t get words out of her mouth. She nods her head and scratches the back of her neck. “Ok. Yeah, I’ll get it. I’ll be back in a minute,” she stumbles over her words and starts backing up. She doesn’t want to break her eye contact with Kuvira, but at some point, she has to, and she turns around, walking away. 

Her heart is pounding, and she brings her hands to her cheeks, yep, they are hot. She breathes through her mouth and covers her it with her palm. “Wow…”

Kuvira looks as Ranya disappears behind the corner. She leans against the door frame and crosses her arms across her chest. She chuckles and shakes her head as she remembers the scared look on Ranya’s face when she pulled her closer. The way her eyes widened and looked up and down between her lips and eyes. Kuvira bites her lower lip and chuckles again. “She’s so… So…”

Chapter Text

Suyin won’t stop hovering around Ranya and Kuvira as they are making their leave from the Beifong estate. “Are you sure that you have everything you need?” She worries and holds her hands close to her chest as her eyes are glued to the two women. 

Kuvira lets out a heavy sigh and her head falls to her hands. “Suyin, please. We have everything we need, stop being so… Dramatic,” she groans and looks at the older woman. 

“No, but do you have the portable radio with you? Do you have enough food? I can ask the chef to make you some meals so that if you have to stay the night on the road you won’t be hungry- “

“Suyin!” Kuvira throws her hands in the air and then lets them drop to her side. “Stop mothering us. We have everything we need. We just have to go and grab Ozai and a few more things from Ranya’s parents and we’re good to go. Right?” She finishes her sentence by turning to look at the woman beside her, who is holding in her laughter by having her hand over her mouth. 

Ranya just keeps nodding, before she breaks into a laughter. “I am so sorry but seriously, Suyin you don’t have to worry about anything. I have Kuvira with me and if anything goes wrong, she knows what to do.”

Kuvira chuckles and nods her head. “Yeah, Kya gave me quite a lecture on how to treat Ranya if she gets sick or something goes wrong. I am one of your best students and probably will be the best guard Zaofu has ever seen. I if someone can handle one adventure,” she brags and crosses her arms on her chest and grins. 

“Just promise to be careful, alright? I want both of you to come back in one piece,” Suyin states and looks at both of them with a serious look on her face, her eyebrows knitted together. 

“We promise. Now, if you would finally let us leave, we would be able to actually embark on this journey,” Kuvira tries subtly to get Suyin to let them leave, but it seems to go waste when the rest of the family rushes outside and runs to them, Wei and Wing already having their arms open for a hug. Ranya doesn’t even hesitate a moment when she invites the two into a long, warm hug. 

“I’ll miss you two. Please don’t do anything stupid while we are gone, ok?” She says as she pats their heads and laughs. 

The twins take a step back and Wei flicks his hand casually and rolls his eyes. “We never do anything stupid, what are you talking about?” The only answer he gets from her is laughter. She pulls them into a one last hug and holds onto them tightly. “Come back soon, we already miss you…”

Baatar walks over to Kuvira and pulls her to the side. Kuvira lifts her eyebrows and glances over at the others. “What is it?” She asks when Baatar lets go of her arm.

He lets out a heavy sigh and brings his eyes to Kuvira’s. “I just want you to be safe, alright?” He finally speaks and Kuvira can’t help but shake her head and laugh. “I’m serious. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”

“I’ll be fine, Baatar. You know me,” she reminds him and places her hand on his forearm. “We’ll be gone for a few months only. I’ll be back sooner than you even know,” she adds and pulls him into a hug.

Baatar gently wraps his arms around Kuvira’s torso and closes his eyes for a moment, just to enjoy the moment a little longer. “I’ll miss you…” 

“And I’ll miss you, I promise to send you postcards,” Kuvira says as she departs from the hug. 

“Postcards? Not even letters? I am offended,” Baatar jokes and crosses his arms on his chest.

“Come on, you know that I suck at writing letters. Postcards are fun and easy,” Kuvira defends herself and throws her hands in the air as she laughs. 

Kuvira gets lost in Baatar’s eyes and stares at him for a minute too long. Whenever she looks at him all she can see is the man, she used to love. She thought that she’d spend the resto of her life with him. Guess everything isn’t eternal after all. 

“Kuvira, come on, let’s go!” Ranya calls for Kuvira and waves her hands. Kuvira chuckles and nods her head when she sees how Ranya is acting. She is so…

She looks at Baatar for the last time and smiles. “See you soon, Baatar.”

“Yeah, see you…”

Kuvira walks over to Ranya and casually throws her arm around the shorter one’s shoulders. She pulls Ranya closer and looks down at her. “Let’s go then,” she laughs and looks up at the others. “We certainly will not miss you guys. Enjoy your lives without us while you can,” she says and grins. 

“If you ever need anything you just need to call- “

“Suyin, we know. We are leaving now, so… Bye!” Kuvira interrupts her and turns around, her arm still wrapped around Ranya’s shoulder. 

Ranya looks behind them and waves her hand as they walk further away from the others. “Byee!”

She then turns to face forward and lets out a relieved sigh. “Well, now we have to go through that same process with my parents and Sachin,” she nervously laughs when she realizes that Kuvira is still holding onto her. 

“They are a lot easier. The Beifongs can get a little overprotective sometimes,” Kuvira ponders and looks at the woman beside her. She can’t get enough of those eyes or her nose… Or her cheeks. She could stare at her for hours without getting bored.

Ranya looks up at her and raises her eyebrows. “You’re right. But Sachin knows how to make every goodbye last at least ten times longer than they normally would,” she warns and shakes her head. “Let’s just hope that he had a busy night with his friend Junjie so that he is basically half-asleep and doesn’t have any energy to actually stall our leaving any longer.”

“A friend, huh?” Kuvira teases and smirks. “Why haven’t I heard anything about this? I technically am Sachin’s friend after all,” she adds and holds her hands out. 

“He likes to keep his private life to himself, which I do get. We haven’t been so lucky when it comes to dating and want to keep our relationships to ourselves until we are sure it’ll work. I found out about it quite recently too,” Ranya explains as she remember the time at the hospital when Sachin told her about Junjie. She also remembers how much he was teasing her about having a crush on Kuvira. She blushes when she thinks about it and glances at Kuvira from under her lashes. She doesn’t really know how she feels.

“Interesting. So how many partners have you had?”

“Three… All of them ended really bad. Two moved away and one cut ties with me after all the pain we had to go through…” Ranya mumbles and looks down at her feet. “But let’s not talk about exes, we are here for a new start and to have fun, right?” She changes the subject and laughs nervously. 

Kuvira nods and smiles at the other woman. “You’re right. From now on, we will not be discussing exes.”

They enter the monorail, and Kuvira has to let go of Ranya. They sit next to each other and place their bags on the ground. 

Kuvira notes that Ranya is bouncing her leg, which she never does. After a moment of hesitation she places her hand on her thigh and smiles. “Hey, it’ll be fine.”

Ranya nods and lets out a shaky sigh. “I know, I know. I just can’t believe that I am leaving this metal city for the first time ever in my life.”

Kuvira chuckles and then lets go of Ranya’s leg, as she doesn’t want to intrude her privacy too much. 

It doesn’t take long for them to finally arrive at the sector where Ranya’s parents are working. Sachin is supposed to be there, too, with Ozai. 

And when Ranya and Kuvira finally get to Ranya’s parents’ shop, they can see them standing outside, casually talking with each other. Ranya can’t help but smile. When Ozai notices them, he jumps off of Sachin’s shoulders and runs to the two, climbing up Ranya’s legs to get to her shoulders. He sets comfortably on her shoulders and places his small head on the crook of Ranya’s neck. “Well, hello to you too, Ozai. I missed you,” she laughs and leans her head against the fire ferret. 

They walk to Ranya’s parents and Sachin. “You two are wearing my robes! You look lovely!” Ranya’s mother points out and admires how they are wearing matching outfits in different colors. “I was wondering if you were going to wear it on your travels. I’m glad they fit you,” she says as she examines how the robes are sitting on Ranya and Kuvira’s bodies. 

“I thought that the casual Zaofu robes are quite unnecessary for travelling, so I offered Kuvira the other one. Now we are matching, comfortable AND good looking when travelling the world,” Ranya jokes and pokes at Kuvira’s ribs with her elbow. 

“These are really well preserved, and beautiful too. Like your daughter said, these are way better than our casual robes,” Kuvira adds and smiles. 

Ranya’s father takes a step forward and hands them a box. Ranya takes it and lifts her eyebrows, asking with her facial expression what’s inside the box. 

“Just some more or less useful supplies and gadgets. Food, clothes, books… Everything,” he explains as Ranya opens the box and goes through all of the stuff that’s inside.

“Thank you, dad. We will probably end up needing these,” Ranya says as she puts the box down to go and hug her father. She pulls her mother into the hug too and breaths in their familiar scent. “I’ll miss you,” she whispers with devastation in her voice. She fights the tears and buries her face in her mother’s long hair. 

“Okay not to be rude, but I am here too,” Sachin reminds everyone about his presence and Ranya can’t help but laugh at him. He always wants to be the center of attention. Ranya departs from the hug and walks over to Sachin and scoops him into a bear hug. “Ah, this is much better,” he mumbles as he wraps his arms around his best friend. He holds onto her tightly and now their lovely moment has turned into a competition to see which one can squeeze the other one tightest. 

Sachin taps Ranya’s back three times and lets out a breathless laugh. “Okay, I guess you won,” he struggles to talk as he is out of breath. Ranya lets go of him and pats his shoulder, being proud of herself. 

“See, I ain’t that weak! I’m slowly gaining my strength back,” she declares and flexes her biceps. Sachin buries his face into his hand and sighs. 

“The only reason you won was because I was too afraid to crush you,” Sachin tries to explain, but is met with a hard pat on his back and laughter. “Ow!

“We all know you’re lying! You just don’t want to admit that you haven’t hit the gym in ages,” she mocks him and Kuvira can’t hold her laughter in any longer. “See, even Kuvira agrees with me!”

Sachin rolls his eyes and crosses his arms across his chest and looks away, his lips pressed together. 

“Do you have everything you need?” Ranya’s mother asks to change the subject. She reaches her hand towards her daughter and holds onto her shoulder. 

“Yeah, we do. The only thing we were missing was Ozai but now we have him with us. We should probably be on our way now, we need to get to Misty Palms Oasis before it starts getting dark,” Ranya explains and rubs the back of her neck, wanting to already go but not daring to tell her parents that. 

Sachin pulls Ranya back into a hug and this time it’s not a squeezing competition, but a genuine hug. “Stay safe. And Kuvira, if anything happens to her, I will single-handedly kill you,” he threatens and points at the other woman with his index finger.

Kuvira holds her hands up and laughs. “I promise you, she’ll be safe,” she tries to reassure Sachin that she will not let anything happen to Ranya. 

When Sachin is confident enough that Kuvira will take care of his best friend, he lets go of Ranya and she backs up to stand beside Kuvira. 

Ranya’s parents don’t want their little daughter to go, but they understand that this is the best for her. She has been dreaming about an adventure for as long as they can remember and they don’t want to hold her back any longer. They want her to be free, they want her to be happy. And with Kuvira with her, they are sure that she will be safe and she’ll have a lot more fun, for sure.

“Well, I guess this is a goodbye then…” Ranya starts out after a moment of silence. “I will miss you guys, so much…”

“Hey, you’ll be back in a few months. Even though we will miss you, we know we’ll see you again,” her mother says and smiles. She and her husband hug each other as they watch Kuvira and Ranya stand in front of them, with their bags packed up and all ready to go. “But we won’t stall you any longer, you should go.”

“You better be ready for another hugging competition when you get back!” Sachin adds quickly, as the two are making their leave. 

Ranya smiles wistfully and nods. “Yeah… I’ll miss you!” 

She and Kuvira enter the monorail for the last time and now their destination is the main gates, where their jeep is waiting for them. They sit in the monorail, quiet. Kuvira notices that Ranya is now all deep in her own thoughts and doesn’t seem as happy as moments ago. But she assumes that it is because she has to leave her parents and best friend behind, after all of this time. 

They arrive at the main gates and when they open in front of them, Ranya can’t help but admire how big the gates are. Her mouth is slightly open and her head is fallen back as she is looking up at the gate doors. On the other side of the gates is their jeep, loaded up with supplies. They toss their bags in the jeep and then Kuvira turns to look at the guards that are standing close to them. 

“I will see you soon, gentlemen,” she says, bows and laughs. They bow to her and then turn away, closing the gates. 

Ranya is back to her happy self, when she realizes that she is officially on the other side of the gates. She is jumping in excitement and touching the grass and just enjoying being free. 

Kuvira leans against the jeep and shakes her head as she watches Ranya mess around. She smiles so hard that her cheeks start to hurt. She has never felt this type of happiness – she feels warm inside and she could look at her friend this way for ages. She loves to see Ranya happy, because only a month ago this girl thought she was going to die, but now she is outside the city, ready to embark on the journey she has dreamed of for so long. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Kuvira then says after moment and hops into the vehicle. Ranya laughs and runs to the jeep and jumps in, putting her seatbelt on and leaning against the back of the seat. 

She turns to look at Kuvira and she is smiling so widely that the corners of her mouth are probably touching her ears. “Okay, let’s go.”

When they finally are on the road, Ranya can’t help but close her eyes as the wind flows and blows her hair in the wind. She enjoys the warmth and laughs, as she is so happy. 

Kuvira has to keep her eyes on the road, but she would much more prefer to watch her friend enjoy her life for the first time in ages. She loves her friend in ways she didn’t expect to love. 

Chapter Text

Day one: Misty Palms Oasis

They will be spending their first night at the Misty Palms Oasis. It took them roughly a few hours to get there, since Ranya wanted to take a look at every other thing she saw. Kuvira didn’t mind it, she enjoyed seeing Ranya so happy and carefree. 

“Good evening ladies, how may I help you?” The front desk lady at the Misty Palms Inn asks with a smile on her face, happy to see new customers coming in. 

Kuvira leans against the front desk, feeling a little exhausted. She wasn’t really expecting a few hours of driving to drain her out of energy the way it did. This is all new to her. “Yes please, we would take one room. For one night,” she speaks up after a brief moment and gives the lady behind the front desk a subtle smile.

The lady puts down the information and then looks back up at Kuvira. “And do you want it with one or two beds?” She asks another question.

Kuvira looks beside her, but for her surprise Ranya isn’t there anymore. She turns around, just to find the other woman staring at a wall from a close distance. She groans and turns to look at the front desk lady again. “With two beds, thank you,” she finally states. 

The lady does the math and sets the price for the night before she hands the keys over to Kuvira. “Hope you enjoy your time here,” the lady says, after Kuvira pays. She quickly bows at the lady, before walking to Ranya and grabbing her by the arm. She pulls Ranya with her outside the building. 

“I was looking at the wall!” Ranya cries and keeps looking back. “It was a very interesting wall. I have never seen those before,” she adds and lets out a heavy sigh. 

“Seriously? You were looking at the wall?” Kuvira mocks and takes a long look at the woman beside her. 

“Like I said, it was very interesting and I have never seen one of those before,” she defends herself and throws her hands in the air. 

Kuvira holds her head in her hands and groans. She then lifts her gaze and looks down at Ranya. “A wall…” She whispers, still trying to get a hold of why on earth this woman was so fascinated by a wall. 

Ranya steps in front of Kuvira and cups her cheeks, pulling her face closer to hers. She looks deep into the taller woman’s eyes and chuckles. “Yes, a wall,” she repeats and goes silent right after that when she realizes how close their faces actually are. Her eyes wander to Kuvira’s lips but brings them back to her eyes, not wanting to be too obvious or weird. 

But Kuvira already caught the eye motion. Thousands of thought running through her head at the moment, but the one she chose to believe was “She didn’t mean anything by it, you’re just weird for thinking she did.”

They distance themselves from each other and look away, embarrassed about the moment they shared with each other. Kuvira clears her throat and continues walking towards their room. Ranya follows after her, keeping her head down. 

Their room isn’t big, as it is meant for two people. The beds are on each side of the room, against the walls. Only the small window lets light inside, other than that the room is rather dark and dusty. Kuvira puts her bags down on the bed she chose for herself and sits down. She wasn’t expecting to be this tired after the first day.

“Are you okay?” Ranya quietly asks, as she notices Kuvira holding her head in her hands. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she answers and raises her head, giving Ranya a reassuring smile. “Maybe a little tired.”

Ranya walks to Kuvira and places her hand on her forehead. It’s warm but not too hot. “Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to get something for you?”

Kuvira shakes her head and pushes Ranya’s hand away. “No, I said I was fine,” she murmurs, this time she sounds more aggressive. 

The tone of Kuvira’s voice caught Ranya off guard and she goes silent for a moment before she takes a few steps away from Kuvira, heading to the door. “I’ll go out for a moment. You can rest here,” she quickly says as she exits the room. 

She is already gone, before Kuvira can say anything to her. This isn’t what she meant to happen. She didn’t want to make her run away. But now it’s too late undo the damage, at least that is what she thinks. She lets her head fall back into her hands and she groans. “Damn it, Kuvira, why do you always make people run away from you?” She talks to herself. 

She is exhausted. She falls on her back and closes her eyes for a moment. On the other hand, she is glad that she is not in Zaofu anymore. She felt like she couldn’t breathe around the Beifongs – that is how miserable they made her feel and how high hopes Suyin had for her. Sure, they call Kuvira their family but she doesn’t exactly care nor feel the same way. 

It is nice to be just… Alone. 

Kuvira didn’t realize she had fallen asleep. But now Ranya is gently touching her shoulder, trying to be as gentle as possible with waking her up. She doesn’t want to make Kuvira mad. 

“Did I fall asleep? What time is it?” She asks as she sits up, covering her eyes with her palm. 

“Apparently you did,” Ranya mumbles and rubs the back of her neck. “It’s already getting dark outside. I kind of lost track of time. But I bought you some food. I didn’t know what you wanted, so I just bought the non-vegan version of dumplings. I hope that’s fine,” she explains as she shows Kuvira what she got. 

Kuvira gets up and is about to lose her balance, but Ranya is fast enough to catch Kuvira’s arm in time. They look at each other and Kuvira is the first one to break the silence between them with a nervous laughter. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to go outside?” Ranya asks out of the blue and lets go of Kuvira’s arm. 

“I mean, yeah. But it’s getting cold outside so please wear a jacket. The last thing we need is you catching the flu,” Kuvira gives in right away and the tension between them from earlier is already long forgotten. 

Ranya’s face lights up and with a smile on her face she starts going through her bags, looking for a coat. Before she even notices, Kuvira already wraps her own jacket around Ranya’s shoulders. “I know you put them on the bottom, take my jacket,” she briefly explains.

“Oh… Ok,” Ranya mumbles and she can already feel her cheeks getting hotter. 

“Ok wow I didn’t expect to be this out of breath after such a short walk. Phew, I might need to start working out,” Ranya comments as they climb up a small mountain outside Misty Palms Oasis. “But oh boy is it beautiful in here,” she adds as she finally gets a chance to look around. 

Kuvira takes a look at Ranya and smiles, before looking at the town that is dimly lit. “Yeah, it is.”

Ranya feels weak, so she sits down on the ground before her legs would give out. “You okay there?” Kuvira asks as she looks down at the other woman. She sits next to her and crosses her legs.

“I’m totally fine. Just in the need of some exercising,” she says and chuckles. She falls on her back and looks up at the sky that is already dark enough to see the stars.

Kuvira follows Ranya’s example and lies down next to her. “Now when you look at your bucket list you can check off the part about looking at the stars all night,” Kuvira reminds her and turns to look at the woman beside her. 

Ranya laughs and looks at the stars for a little longer, before turning to Kuvira. “Yeah.”

Chapter Text

Day two: Misty Palms Oasis

“Kuvira, wake up. We fell asleep,” Ranya gently says as she touches Kuvira’s shoulder. They had fallen asleep on the cliff they went stargazing and the sun is already starting to rise.

Kuvira opens her eyes but closes them shut right away, not wanting to get up. “Kuvira, please. Let’s go back so that we can sleep for a few hours in real beds,” Ranya tries to convince the other woman to wake up. Kuvira exhales sharply through her nose and makes struggling noises as she sits up and opens her eyes. 

“We fell asleep?” She mumbles and rubs her eyes before finally turning to face Ranya. She reaches her hand towards Ranya’s face and gently holds her cheek.. Ranya just stares at her with her mouth open.

After a moment of staring at each other Ranya clears her throat and stands up. She stretches her arms and then helps Kuvira up from the ground. 

“The view sure is beautiful,” Ranya points out as she looks at the rising sun. A smile forces its way to her lips. She can’t believe that she is experiencing her first sunrise outside of Zaofu, and that she is with Kuvira at a time like this. 

“Yes, it is,” Kuvira breaths as she turns to look at Ranya. Seeing the other woman smile makes her stomach fill with butterflies. She would love to grab Ranya’s face and pull her close and- But she can’t. She doesn’t want to do anything without consent. And she doesn’t want to ruin their trip, not just yet. “We should head back.”

Ranya turns to Kuvira and nods. 

The walk down from the cliff and back to Misty Palms inn takes them longer than they had thought. They are both so tired that they would’ve rather just stayed at the cliff and sleep the rest of the morning there. But on their way back Ranya found a new quality of Kuvira: she is incredibly easy to break into a laughter when she is tired. 

And Kuvira acts like a drunken teenager, who can barely stand up and who can’t control their laugh. Ranya is entertained by the scene but pulls Kuvira closer and whispers, “Shush, you’ll wake everyone up!”

“Oh no! I’ll wake everyone up if I laugh too hard! That is awful ,” Kuvira whispers back and leans against Ranya. “I should be quiet then.”

Ranya rolls her eyes and wraps her other arm around Kuvira’s torso. They walk back to their room and Ranya tries her best to close the door as quiet as possible. She walks Kuvira to her bed and Kuvira already has her eyes closed when Ranya helps her lie down. “You act like you’re drunk. Did you drink something without me noticing?” Ranya jokes as she lets go of Kuvira’s body. She immediately misses the warmth of her body against her skin.

Kuvira just flicks her hand and laughs. “No,” she answers shortly. She opens her eyes just enough to see the other woman who is standing beside the bed. She reaches her hand to take Ranya’s hand and holds onto it. “I’m just having fun with you.”

Ranya chuckles and gently rubs Kuvira’s palm with her thumb. “Well I’m glad you’re having fun.”

It doesn’t take long for Kuvira’s hand to slide from Ranya’s grip. Another quality Ranya discovered: Kuvira is fast asleep. 

Ranya backs a few steps and sits down on her bed. She realizes that Ozai is sleeping on her pillow. She gently pets the animal and Ozai wakes up momentarily but then falls back asleep. Ranya turns to look at Kuvira. She can barely see the other woman in the dark room, but as her eyes get familiar with the darkness, she can see her more clearly. 

Seeing Kuvira sleep is truly something magical to her. Kuvira always presents herself with such grace and pride but when she is asleep, she just looks so peaceful and stress-free.  She loves seeing Kuvira like this. She craves to touch her, but she holds herself back. She has to move slow, to figure out if she even feels the way she thinks she does. She has to figure out if Kuvira is even interested in women before she makes the first move. She isn’t going to rush this time. She doesn’t want to ruin their friendship, not just yet. 

She can’t believe that they met barely a month ago. Everything is going too well. 

“You can’t hear me, but I’m glad you came with me.”

Chapter Text

Day three: Kyoshi island

She rolls onto her other side and tries to keep her eyes closed, but can’t. Too many thoughts are running through her head at once. Kuvira pulls her blanket aside and gets up from the bed, walking to the window. 

It’s midnight. They arrived at Kyoshi Island during the evening and they spent most of the day wandering around and enjoying the beautiful island. Their day has been exhausting, but Kuvira has trouble falling asleep. She has tried every single method she knows but can’t get her mind to calm down. She presses her index finger and middle finger against her neck, to check her pulse. Her heart rate is in the skies.

She sighs and wraps her arms around herself and leans against the window frame. The window is open, inviting a cold breeze in. When the wind hits Kuvira’s skin it sends shivers down her body. She closes her eyes and breathes in the fresh air as she listens to the waves that are hitting the shore in the distance. Fall has arrived, and it’s a cold night.

She is so focused on the sound of the wind and the waves that she doesn’t notice when Ranya wakes up and walks to Kuvira. Ranya gently touches Kuvira’s shoulder and it makes Kuvira jump and open her eyes and turn her gaze to Ranya. 

“It’s just me,” Ranya whispers and smiles. She tilts her head slightly as she looks up at Kuvira’s gorgeous eyes. At least she thinks her eyes are gorgeous. 

Kuvira narrows her eyes and sharply exhales through her nose. “Don’t scare me like that,” she mumbles and pushes Ranya’s hand off her shoulder. She turns to look outside the window. Their room has a view to the shore and the waves are aggressively hitting the shore. It’s going to start raining soon, or that’s what Kuvira believes based on the dark clouds.

Ranya looks down at the floor and sighs. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” she says quietly before walking back to her bed and sitting on the edge. She is silent for a moment, just looking down at her hands that are resting on her lap. “Are you mad at me?”

Kuvira turns around. She leans against the wall behind her and raises her eyebrows. “Why are you asking me that?”

Ranya shrugs her shoulders and keeps looking down at her hands. “You seem like you’re not in a good mood.”

“I’m not mad at you. It’s just that… Well it’s hard to put it into words,” Kuvira struggles to find the right words. She rubs the back of her neck as she keeps pondering what to say. 

“Do you want to go outside?” Ranya asks. 

Kuvira lifts her gaze at the same time as Ranya and their eyes meet. After a moment of just staring at each other Kuvira subtly smiles and nods. “Yeah, let’s go outside.”

They walk around the village before walking down to the shore. They find a big rock for themselves and Kuvira helps Ranya climb on the rock. They sit beside each other, both facing the horizon. The sky is dark. No stars can be seen, not even the moon. The waves are loud.

Kuvira pulls her knees close to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs. She rests her chin on her knees and sighs. Ranya glances at her but doesn’t say anything. 

“I may not show it, but I really do enjoy being here with you,” Kuvira says after a moment of silence. “I was miserable in Zaofu. I wasn’t enjoying my life. I felt like a prisoner.”

Ranya turns to look at Kuvira, whose eyes are glued to the horizon. This is the first time Kuvira really says anything about her life in Zaofu. Ranya thought that Kuvira loved Zaofu. That’s how she portrayed her life to others.

“But the Beifongs are nice. They are your family, right?” Ranya carefully approaches the subject.

Kuvira just shakes her head. “No. I wouldn’t consider them my family,” she responds. “Suyin took me in when I was young and gave me a home. But she is not my mother. Baatar is not my father. Opal, Wei and Wing, Baatar jr or Huan aren’t my siblings.”

“Care to elaborate? I mean of course if you want. I’m all ears.”

“My situation isn’t like yours. You consider your adoptive parents as your real parents. They consider you as their real daughter. I don’t see Suyin and Baatar as my parents and they don’t see me as their daughter. They might say otherwise but it’s the truth. I will always come last. I’m just a protege. An orphan.” A silence follows her words. She holds her forehead against her knees and closes her eyes. “I just want to be loved.”

Ranya isn’t sure what she is supposed to do. She had no idea that Kuvira felt that way about the Beifongs. Ranya realizes how lucky she was to be adopted into a loving home. She never had to worry about whether she's being loved enough or not. She was always loved, she knew it. Her parents showed it. 

She turns to look at Kuvira. She isn’t sure if Kuvira is crying, or if she is just shivering because it’s cold. “Can I touch you?” She asks quietly and gets a hum as an answer. She snuggles closer and wraps her arms around Kuvira and pulls her closer. 

“Is that the reason why you couldn’t sleep?”

“Yeah. I can’t help but wonder how my life would’ve been if I had parents who loved me,” Kuvira whispers and slowly wraps her other arm around Ranya’s waist, pulling her even closer. 

Ranya rests her head against Kuvira’s and closes her eyes. It’s starting to rain, but it doesn’t bother them. “You don’t need the validation of your parents to have a great life. I know that I’m probably the last person to say that. But I promise you, there is someone out there who loves you. And it’s never too late to have a great life.”

Kuvira chuckles and buries her face in Ranya’s neck. She enjoys having Ranya’s arms around her body. She isn’t sure when was the last time she felt so safe in someone’s arms. She isn’t sure if Baatar ever made her feel that way. 

When the rain starts getting rougher, they decide to head back to their cabin that they had rented out for the week. Before they get to the porch, Kuvira grabs Ranya’s arm and pulls her back to the rain. 

“Kuvira, what are you doing?” Ranya laughs. 

Kuvira holds onto Ranya’s hands as they stand in the pouring rain. A moment ago Kuvira was crying and now she has the brightest of smiles lighting up her face. “Let’s just stand like this for a moment. Let’s enjoy the rain.”

“We’re going to be sick tomorrow if we do so,” Ranya points out, but gets an eye roll as a response. “Ok, ok let’s stand in the rain. And get sick.”

Without a warning Kuvira pulls Ranya into a hug and wraps her arms around the other woman. She closes her eyes and lets out a relieved sigh. 

“Uh… Kuvira? What are you doing?” Ranya quietly asks as she wraps her arms around Kuvira with hesitation. 

Kuvira just laughs. “I missed your arms already,” she responds. Those words make Ranya’s face light up in flames and she totally melts in Kuvira’s embrace. She relaxes and closes her eyes as she leans her forehead against Kuvira’s shoulder. 

The rain starts bothering them at one point, so they have to depart from the hug to escape the rain. When they get inside they get themselves some towels. They sit down on Kuvira’s bed and laugh, because that is all they are capable of doing. Their eyes lock and they go silent. They just stare at each other. Ranya starts leaning closer to Kuvira and Kuvira can feel all the butterflies flying in her stomach. She starts leaning towards Ranya, but is surprised when Ranya rests her head on Kuvira’s shoulder instead.

Kuvira is embarrassed that she thought it was going to be… Something else. 

Chapter Text

Day five: Kyoshi Island

“I seriously don’t understand where he went. I had him in my arms just a moment ago!” Ranya cries and sits on the edge of her bed and holds her head in her hands. She can’t find Ozai anywhere. 

“Hey, let’s go around the island just to make sure he didn’t go outside. Bring his favorite treats with you, grab a jacket and put your shoes on. We are going to find him,” Kuvira comforts Ranya and places her hand on her shoulder. 

Ranya lifts he r gaze up and smiles when she meets Kuvira’s eyes. She stands up and looks for her jacket and Ozai’s treats. Kuvira is already all dressed up, ready to leave the cabin. She goes outside to enjoy the beautiful evening. It’s a cold day, but the sun is shining and clouds are almost nowhere to be found. Ozai chose a perfect day to go missing. 

Kuvira doesn’t have to wait for long until Ranya follows her outside with a bag of treats for Ozai. 

“Ok, so we should check the places we have been with him, just in case he returned to a familiar place,” Ranya explains her plan to Kuvira and gets an approving nod from the other woman. 

“Sounds like a plan,” Kuvira shortly answers. 

They start heading towards the beach. During this trip Ranya has discovered that Ozai really loves to play in the water. So she is hoping to find him there, playing in the water safely. Maybe he didn’t realize that his owner wasn’t around?

When they get to the shore, only a few tourists can be found there, but not Ozai. Ranya keeps calling him and rustling the bag of treats she is holding. 

Kuvira walks to a family that is on the beach and asks if they have seen Ozai. She describes Ozai to them and shows with her hands how big he is.

“I’m sorry, we haven’t seen him. I hope you find him!” The mother of the family tells Kuvira. She nods and then returns to Ranya, who is looking behind the rocks for the fire ferret. 

“The family hasn’t seen him either. We should keep going,” Kuvira informs Ranya. 

Ranya turns around and nods her head. She lets out a heavy sigh and they start walking away from the shore. “I was really hopeful that he would be here.”

Kuvira glances at Ranya. She can see how worried Ranya is. “Hey, we will find him. He can’t be far away, okay?”

Their eyes meet when Ranya turns to look at Kuvira. She just nods and then faces forward again. Their next destination is the trails on the mountains. That’s where Ozai loved to chase bugs and catch raindrops. 

The trails are quiet, only a few people here and there. They ask everyone who they encounter if they’ve seen Ozai. No one has. 

Ranya is so worried sick over Ozai that she has gone silent. This is abnormal for her and Kuvira isn’t sure what she should do to lift the atmosphere. 

“So… Are you missing home already?” She asks, hoping that they can form a conversation out of the topic. Kuvira loves hearing Ranya’s voice and this silence is killing her. 

“Not really. I’ve spent most of my life in that little home and in the training halls so being here is really refreshing. But I do miss my parents. I hope they’re doing alright,” she answers and subtly smiles. “I mean of course they’re doing alright. They have Kiran if anything goes wrong.”

“You have a lot of faith in him, even though you two hate each other.”

Ranya shrugs her shoulders and turns to look at Kuvira. “I have to. I have to trust that he will help our parents. I know that he isn’t that big of an ass to not help them if they are in need of help,” she explains and cocks her eyebrows.

“I can ask if Suyin could send Wei and Wing over to help your parents. From what I saw that one day your parents really liked the twins. And they were absolutely fascinated by how they make the jewellery,” Kuvira ponders out loud and lifts her eyebrows, when Ranya glances at her. 

“Maybe. Or Suyin could send Huan there. He loves art, so it would be a perfect environment for him,” Ranya points out. 

“True, true,” Kuvira admits and laughs. 

A silence falls between them. It’s agony for Kuvira, but Ranya doesn’t even realize that. She just keeps looking around, hoping that Ozai is in a bush chasing a bug or rolling around in wet leaves. 

Ranya is a much faster walker than Kuvira had thought. She is walking so fast that Kuvira is left a little behind. Kuvira notices how Ranya is rubbing her hands together, trying to make them warm. Of course she didn’t bring her gloves with her. 

“Hey, take these,” Kuvira runs up to her and hands her own gloves. Ranya just looks at the gloves and then up at Kuvira and then down at the gloves again. “Just take them. I can see that you’re cold. I’ll be fine without them.”

Ranya carefully takes the gloves and puts them on. “Thank you, Kuvira,” she thanks and gives Kuvira a smile. 

They continue walking the trail until they reach the end. And no Ozai. Ranya is starting to feel hopeless. 

“I don’t understand. We have searched the places we have been with him. He isn’t that type to just go somewhere he hasn’t been before. He hates new places. Maybe I should’ve left him at home with my parents. Oh no, what if he went swimming and the elephant koi ate him? No, no, no-”

Kuvira steps in front of Ranya and cups her cheeks. Their eyes meet and Kuvira can tell just by Ranya’s eyes how stressed out she is. “The elephant koi didn’t eat Ozai. Someone would’ve seen it happen for sure. Let’s just go to the market and see if he’s there. Okay?”

Ranya nods and Kuvira lets go of her cheeks. Ranya is amazed how warm Kuvira’s hands were even though it’s freezing cold as the night is getting closer. She misses the warmth. 

The market place is on the other side of the village they are staying at. They head to their cabin first, to see if Ozai has returned while they weren’t there. But when they go through the yard and then the inside of the cabin they come to the conclusion that he hasn’t returned.

Ranya is getting tired. All of the worrying has drained her from energy and she just wants to sit down for a second. She finds a big enough rock and sits down. 

“Are you okay?” Kuvira asks, worried that something is seriously wrong with Ranya.

“No, I’m just really tired. My legs are hurting. I didn’t expect to spend a whole day looking for Ozai,” she rambles and looks down at her feet. She picks the weed from the ground and rips it apart. “I’m going to put a bell on his collar so that I can at least know if he’s somewhere close.”

Kuvira kneels in front of Ranya and gently places her hands on Ranya’s knees. “That’s a great idea. Let’s rest for a moment before we continue. We have been walking around all day.”

They smile at each other and then Kuvira sits beside Ranya on the ground. A few people pass by them and the duo asks them if they’ve seen Ozai. They just shake their heads and shrug their shoulders as they pass by. 

When Ranya feels like she can continue, she stands up and takes a deep breath. Then she helps Kuvira up from the ground and they start heading towards the market. 

The closer they get the clearer they can hear loud chatter and crashing sounds. They exchange looks, before running closer to see what is going on. Ranya’s jaw drops to the floor when she sees Ozai who is running for his life as an angry shop owner runs after him. 

“Ozai!” She calls him and when he hears his name he turns around and runs to her as fast as he can, the shop owner still after him. The fire ferret jumps in Ranya’s arms, just as the man is about to catch him. Instead, the man has to face Ranya and Kuvira. 

“Is he your pet?” He asks, clearly out of breath. He corrects his posture and his eyebrows are knitted together. 

“Yes, why were you chasing him?” Ranya grunts and hugs Ozai tighter. 

The man turns around and points at his shop that has a broken window and products scattered all around the alley. “Your pet stole food!”

“He doesn’t understand the concept of stealing!” Ranya argues back and leans closer to the man, who unfortunately is shorter than her. 

Kuvira pushes Ranya back and steps in front of her. “How much do you want us to pay. Money won’t be a problem,” she states as she starts going through her bag. 

After dealing with the shop owner Kuvira and Ranya start heading back to their cabin. Ranya holds Ozai in the air and pretends to be mad at him. “I’m seriously going to put you on a leash if you ever do that again!”

Kuvira laughs at Ranya’s facial expressions. She is glad they found Ozai, since Ranya is back to her normal self. 

Chapter Text

Day seven: Kyoshi Island

Ranya has been in the bathroom for hours, trying to smoothen out the wrinkles on her clothes. She had fallen asleep with her casual clothes on and all of her other clothes aren’t suitable for the event tonight. 

At least she doesn’t have to worry about her hair, she just pushes the longer strands back and makes sure that the shorter pieces aren’t just sticking out. 

A knock on the bathroom door brings her back to reality. “Are you okay? You’ve been in there for quite a while,” Kuvira speaks quietly, leaning her back on the wall beside the door. 

Ranya almost trips as she gets to the door and slides it open. Kuvira turns to look at Ranya and their eyes meet immediately. Ranya steps out of the bathroom and scratches the back of her neck. “Do I look stupid?” She asks and points at her outfit. Kuvira looks at her from head to toes and shrugs her shoulders. 

“No, you look great. Is there something wrong with it?”

Ranya exhales sharply through her nose and shakes her head as she tries to smoothen out the fabric. “It’s wrinkly!”

Kuvira places her hand on Ranya’s shoulder and smiles. “No one can see it, you look great. If it bothers you, you can always wear a loose jacket over it. It’s going to be a cold night, so it’s good to be prepared,” Kuvira suggests and then lets her hand slide down Ranya’s arm, before letting it hang by her side. “Now, come on. We are going to be late otherwise.”

“Do you need help with your hair?” Ranya asks, as she notices Kuvira starting to braid her hair in front of a small mirror in the hallway. She takes a step closer to Kuvira and gently places her hands on Kuvira’s, signalling that Kuvira can let go of her hair. Kuvira slowly lets her hair fall down on her shoulders and her hands drop to her side. “Just… Make something simple,” she says and bites her lower lip as Ranya’s hands start working on her hair. Ranya caught that lip bite through the mirror, but doesn’t say anything about it. She just smiles and hides behind Kuvira. 

Ranya uses her metal bending to put the pins onto their places and she finishes the bun with one last metal piece, before letting go of Kuvira’s hair and sliding her hands down Kuvira’s shoulders. “Done,” she breathes and Kuvira turns around. 

They stare at each other for a good few minutes, before Kuvira takes a step towards the door. “Let’s go then,” she whispers and smiles. “And don’t forget your jacket,” she reminds her. 

Ranya just rolls her eyes and then grabs her jacket from the rack. She turns to look for Ozai and hears the ringing of the bell as the fire ferret scurries his way to Ranya. She squats down and scratches the back of Ozai’s ears. “You little rascal better be here when we come back. I am not going to spend another day looking for you,” she babytalks to him and pats his head one more time before getting up and walking to the door, where Kuvira is already waiting for her. 

Kuvira slides the door open and steps outside, waiting for Ranya to do the same before sliding the door shut. 

It is late in the evening. The sun is already setting and the temperature is going to drop once the night rolls around. Without hesitation they start heading towards a seafood restaurant near the harbour. They reserved a balcony for themselves for the night. They have been waiting for this night since the day they got to the island.  

They sign in at the restaurant and a waiter shows their balcony to them. It is dimly lit with candles and a few lanterns. The balcony is right by the sea and the view is amazing. The sun is setting in the horizon and the sky is clear. A great chance for stargazing again. 

They sit down on the floor in front of the table and look at the menus they were given. Kuvira is fast to decide what she wants, but Ranya is struggling to find a vegetarian option from the menu. For her luck, the waiter told her that they can make her a vegetarian dish. 

“I didn’t expect it to be this cold,” Ranya comments as the waiter leaves them alone. She wraps her jacket tighter around herself and shivers.

Kuvira holds her head in her hands and sighs. “That’s why I told you to dress up. When the waiter comes back we can ask for blankets,” she says. 

They are sitting in silence as they wait for the waiter. Ranya is staring into the horizon, studying the calm waves. Kuvira on the other hand can’t stop studying Ranya’s face. She has been awfully quiet today and Kuvira can’t figure out why. She doesn’t want to ask right away, she wants to wait for the right moment. 

Their waiter comes back to the balcony with their dishes. When the waiter is about to leave, Kuvira asks about the blankets. The waiter doesn’t waste a second and fetches two blankets right away. “Enjoy your meal. If you have any questions feel free to ask!” 

“I’m starving. This looks delicious!” Ranya comments as she takes a closer look at her food. Kuvira is glad that she is smiling again. 

“So, are you alright?” Kuvira asks when they’ve been sitting and eating in silence for a moment. Ranya looks up from her food, lifting her eyebrows. She has her mouth full of food and Kuvira can’t help but laugh. “You’re such a dork.”

Ranya swallows her food and uses the napkin to clean the mess she already caused. “I was just hungry. And I guess I was a bit nervous to come here…”

“Oh. Why?”

Ranya shrugs her shoulders and looks down at her food. “I don’t know. I wasn’t feeling really pretty today. I guess it’s the hair. It’s starting to grow again.”

Kuvira grins and leans her elbows against the wooden table. “You look beautiful tonight. And if your hair is bothering you I can cut it for you. Anything to make you feel comfortable.”

Ranya ruffles her short hair. It is already a few inches long and she wants to keep it as short as possible, otherwise it’ll bother her. “That would be nice. But are you sure you know how to cut hair?”

“Are you questioning my hair cutting skills?” Kuvira pouts and crosses her arms on her chest. 

“No, of course not. I just-”

“I was joking, you silly. I’ve cut Baatar and Huan’s hair before. It’s not really a big deal,” Kuvira interrupts Ranya before she can even finish rambling. 

“Oh, okay. Great.” And silence falls upon them. Ranya is focusing on her food so intensively that she just forgets to speak. 

They finish their meals when the sun has set to the horizon and the moon is already high in the sky. Kuvira and Ranya wrap their blankets around their bodies and sit on the edge of the fence of the balcony. Ranya is looking up, still fascinated by the stars. 

“Those things you said to me the other day at the rock. Did you mean it? That there is someone out there… Who loves me. Do you really think that?” Kuvira asks, turning to face Ranya. 

Ranya locks her eyes with Kuvira and tilts her head. She lets out a laughter and smiles. “Of course I do. I mean you can’t predict love.... It just happens. You have to be patient.”

Kuvira nods and smiles. “Who do you think it is?” She carefully asks another question, to study the way Ranya asks. It’s a crucial question at this point in their friendship. 

Ranya feels her heart jump to her throat. She turns her head forward, not daring to look into Kuvira’s eyes anymore. “Uh… I don’t know. I… You and Baatar really looked happy together. Maybe it’s him,” Ranya struggles with her words and shrugs her shoulders. “Or maybe it’s someone you didn’t think you’d fall for,” she adds, side-eyeing Kuvira to see her reaction. 

Not the response Kuvira was looking for, but good enough. “Baatar? I broke up with him.”

“And? A lot of people get back together with their exes. Nothing new. There is nothing holding you back if you want to be with him again.”

“What if I… Don’t want to be with him? Sure, he is a lovely guy and I do enjoy his presence, but I don’t know if he is the one for me,” she mumbles and looks down at her feet that are hanging in the air.

“Who do you think is the right one for you then?” Ranya asks. 

Their eyes meet. Kuvira doesn’t know what she is supposed to answer, but the voice inside of her head is yelling “Tell her, you coward! Tell her that you want to be with her! ” But she shuts the voice down and shrugs her shoulders. 

“I don’t know. I hope that I’ll find them one day.”

Ranya looks down at Kuvira’s hand that is holding onto the fence. “I’m sure you’ll find them. You’re a wonderful person. Only a fool would turn you away.”

Kuvira decides to not say anything in response. She looks up at the sky that is already full of stars. She leans against the pillar on her left side and sighs. She loves the night sky. She remembers the first time she spent the night outside Zaofu and she used to try to count all of the stars in the sky. She wants to try it again, even though she knows it's impossible. 

She points at each star she sees and counts out loud. At first Ranya is confused, but then she realizes what Kuvira is doing. “It’s pointless to count all of the stars,” she comments, realizing that she probably sounds like a party killer. 

Kuvira drops her hand and turns to look at Ranya. If it would’ve been anyone else who had said that to her she would be mad, but not to her. She smiles and chuckles as she shakes her head. “Maybe, but I can always try.”

Chapter Text

Day ten: Kyoshi Island

It’s their last morning on Kyoshi Island. They don’t really have time to do anything, other than pack their things and make sure that they make it to the harbor in time. They have to get their jeep into the ferry when it arrives and paying all the fees takes a moment. Later they will arrive at the Fire Nation. 

Kuvira doesn’t seem to be worried about tidying up their cabin or making it to the harbor, but Ranya on the other hand is panicking. 

“You should calm down a little, we have plenty of time,” she tries to convince Ranya to cool down, but it just makes Ranya panic even more. Kuvira rolls her eyes and stands up from the floor and takes a few long steps before reaching Ranya. She firmly grasps her arms and holds her still, looking down into her eyes. “Stop fussing around. Go outside, I’ll take care of this,” she says louder than she was supposed to and she can see the fear in Ranya’s eyes. 

Ranya slowly backs away and Kuvira lets go of her. Ranya picks up Ozai from a countertop and takes her jacket as she exits the cabin. Kuvira is left alone standing there. She lets out a heavy sigh and holds her head in her hands. She didn’t mean to scare her off like that.

But it’s too late to take it back. She lets her hands drop to her side, as she examines the cabin. Not much to clean, but she should get started right away. 

Ranya holds onto Ozai tightly as she heads towards the shore. It's colder than yesterday. It won’t be long until it’s winter… And Kuvira has to go. 

The thought of going back to Zaofu brings her down. Sure, she misses her parents and can’t wait to see Sachin again, but she has been feeling so much better outside Zaofu. It might’ve been only a little over a week since they left, but it feels like a much longer time. So many things have happened already and she has gotten to experience things she only had dreamed of. She doesn’t want it to end.

She also doesn’t want to give Kuvira up. She isn’t sure what she feels towards Kuvira, but she knows for sure that she doesn’t want to be just friends with her. But it’s difficult. She has no idea if Kuvira even likes women, her last partner was Baatar… Though it doesn’t cancel out her attraction towards women. But it’s still hard to figure it out without bluntly asking. And that might scare Kuvira away, even make their friendship a lot difficult and things can get awkward. She doesn’t want that to happen either.

She sits down on the rock she and Kuvira were sitting on that one rainy night. Ozai curls up around her shoulders and they both stare into the horizon. “Ozai, what should I do? Do you think I should tell her? Or wait?” She asks and turns to look at the fire ferret. There is no thought behind his eyes, as he just stares back at Ranya. “Maybe I should wait. I can’t ruin this too,” she mumbles and sighs. She holds her knees close to her chest and wraps her hands around her legs. 

Being gay in a concervative and heteronormative society isn’t easy, and Ranya knows that. She has experienced too much hate for someone so young. She knows how much it hurts to be despised just because of the person you love. She doesn’t want to put Kuvira at risk of getting hurt. She has already heard mean things said about Kuvira, just because she is hanging out with the publicly gay girl of Zaofu. Everyone knows everyone’s dating business, and Ranya’s relationships with women definitely was a hot topic for a long time and it even affected her parents’ business. Sometimes she can’t help but think that if she was straight everything would be so much better. She wouldn’t have ended up in the hospital for being beaten up by hateful people, she wouldn’t have ruined many women’s lives and her reputation would be spotless.

But she can’t take any of those things back. They already happened. And as much as she hates that those things happened, she knows that she wouldn’t be the same person today without those incidents. When she first started dating women, she wanted to make everything public too fast. She was too excited, too naive. The biggest mistake she ever made. Now she knows to keep things a secret, she knows to take things slow. If anything happens between her and Kuvira, she wants to keep it down as long as possible. The thought of Kuvira getting hurt would break her. 

“I guess I shouldn’t think about it too much,” she whispers and leans her forehead against her knees. 

Kuvira is a master at organizing things and it doesn’t take long to have all of their bags packed up. She brings them outside to the porch, so that they aren’t in the way when she is cleaning the cabin. She can see to the shore and she notices Ranya sitting on a rock. For a moment she just stares at Ranya, before sighing and turning around. She should clean up first before talking to her. 

She lets the door stay open and she slides all of the windows open so that the cabin gets some fresh air and doesn’t smell so musty. She starts weeping off the floors. 

She doesn’t understand what has gotten into her. She thought that she could control her impulses and anger, but apparently she was wrong. She is aware that there will always be stepbacks when it comes to this type of things, but she was doing so well for years. When she started hanging out with Ranya, everything changed. Her emotions threw a backflip and totally got rearranged. It’s like she had to learn all of her emotions all over again. The first sign of her emotions being a mess was noticing how she felt about Baatar. She didn’t want to spend time with him, his hands touching her didn’t send shivers around her body again and she felt numb around him. Sure, they had their own issues, but Kuvira can’t help but to think that maybe Ranya stepping into the picture had something to do with it. 

Her urge to help Ranya after finding out about her condition almost drove her crazy. Thinking back at it she isn’t sure why she felt such a strong need to help her. She has had many friends get incredibly sick, but she didn’t care about them the same way she cares about Ranya. And even now that all of the poison is out of her, she worries about her just the same way. What if something happens anyway?

Something about Ranya has always made Kuvira’s face get hot, fingertips tingle and butterflies fly in her stomach. She knows that she likes Ranya, there is no denying that. She has known it for a while now. Every night when they are going to bed, she wants to ask Ranya to sleep with her in the same bed, just so she can hold her close and warm her up, since Ranya is always cold. She wants to play with her short hair and rest her head against it. But she can’t. She isn’t even sure if Ranya likes her. She knows that she is into women but she doesn’t know if she is into her. There have been moments when she could feel the tension between them, but she could have misunderstood those situations completely. There are mixed signals everywhere and she doesn’t know what to do or what to believe. She just wants to hold her and make sure that she doesn’t get hurt anymore. 

Kuvira takes slow steps towards the rock Ranya is still sitting on. It has been an hour already. Kuvira is holding onto a thicker jacket, knowing well that Ranya must be dying from the cold weather. She climbs onto the rock stands beside Ranya. “Can I sit?” She asks.

Ranya looks up at Kuvira and then at the jacket she is holding onto. After a moment she nods and moves to the side so that Kuvira has space to sit down. She straightens her legs and looks down at Ozai who jumps down to lie on her thighs.

“I brought you my jacket,” Kuvira points out after a moment of silence. Ranya glances at the jacket and then at Kuvira. Slowly, Kuvira wraps the jacket around Ranya’s shoulders and as much as Ranya wants to deny that she is cold, the jacket brings so much comfort to her.

“You’ve been out here alone for a while. Are you alright?” Kuvira asks, with caution.

Ranya shrugs her shoulders and sighs. “I don’t know. Are you?” She asks in return. 

“Listen, I’m sorry that I startled you. I didn’t mean to, I swear. It was a… Moment of weakness, I guess,” Kuvira rambles as she explains her actions. Ranya just looks at the other woman with her eyebrows raised. 

“It’s ok, I promise. You don’t have to explain yourself,” Ranya says as she places her hand on Kuvira’s hand. “It just caught me off guard.”

Kuvira looks down at their hands, before lifting her gaze to look into Ranya’s eyes. “But I’m still sorry… I promise it won’t happen ever again,” she whispers. 

Ranya can swear that she sees tears in Kuvira’s eyes before turning to face the horizon. She doesn’t want to point it out, knowing that Kuvira is a rather emotionally closed person who doesn’t like to get personal out of the blue. 

“We should go. We don’t want to miss our ferry,” Ranya suggests after a moment and Kuvira nods, looks at Ranya and then gets up. She gets down off the rock and then helps Ranya to get down, before they head back to their cabin. 

“When we’re on the ferry we can call Suyin. The ride is going to be long and we won’t be in the Fire Nation until late in the night, so we should stay in the Jeep. The ferry is going to be packed full anyway,” Kuvira explains and Ranya just keeps nodding, agreeing to her plan.

Before entering their cabin to get their things, Ranya stops Kuvira by holding onto her arm. Kuvira turns to face Ranya and she lifts her eyebrows. “Thanks for cleaning the cabin. I never apologized for fussing around so much,” Ranya mumbles and looks down. 

Kuvira places her hand under Ranya’s chin and lifts her face so that their eyes meet. “Don’t apologize. It’s fine.”

Chapter Text

Day twelve: Fire Nation, village in South

For two days straight, they have been stuck in a small village, in southern Fire Nation. There had been an earthquake and all of the roads have been blocked ever since and there seems to be no way out. It’s a great thing that Kuvira and Ranya happen to be earthbenders. 

They have been helping around the village and its nearby roads to clear off all of the larger rocks and damage. The work is exhausting and at the end of their second day in the small village, Ranya collapses to the ground mid-work.

Kuvira doesn’t hesitate as she rushes to her friend and kneels beside her, ready to go and get Ranya’s medicine. “You okay?” She asks, her voice shaken up. She sounds more scared than she wants to. 

Ranya holds her head with one hand and closes her eyes for a second. The world is too loud right now and every single bone in her body is screaming. She wants to rest, but she knows she can’t. If she and Kuvira want to get out of this village and continue their journey, they have to get it done. Otherwise, they’re going to fall behind their schedule and Kuvira might get punished if she doesn’t return to Zaofu in time. “Yeah, I just felt light-headed,” she manages to mumble as she opens her eyes and turns her gaze to Kuvira’s beautiful green eyes. They’re like grass, but she likes grass. 

Kuvira helps Ranya up and doesn’t let go of her even when she is standing on her feet. “Are you sure? We can take a break. They know that we’re helping them out because we are able to. But they won’t get mad if we rest,” she asks, careful not to make Ranya mad. During the past few days Ranya has seemed a lot more on edge with her emotions than usual and Kuvira doesn’t want to poke the bear. “I can get you some water?”

“Water sounds nice. And so does the break. But we need to finish this today, if we want to continue our trip tomorrow.” She then proceeds to walk forward, slipping away from Kuvira’s grip. 

“I’ll get you the water, please just sit down,” Kuvira fusses as she's walking away, heading to a nearby house to ask for water. She lets out a heavy sigh and wipes away droplets of sweat from her forehead with the back of her wrist. It’s a hot day and they’ve been working since they woke up. It’s already afternoon, and this is their first break of the day. Kuvira wonders how much more Ranya is able to take before she is not able to get up anymore. She doesn’t want that to happen. And if it does happen, she is taking the jeep and head towards the harbor they came from and hop on the next ship home. She doesn’t want her to get hurt. She doesn’t want her to get hurt. I don’t want her to get hurt. 

Kuvira gently knocks on the door and takes one step back, as she is waiting for someone to come and open the door. An older man slides the door open and looks at her with his eyebrows raised. He looks like he had woken up from a nap. “Good afternoon, Sir. I’m sorry to bother you but my friend fainted and she needs water. Am I allowed to use the well and fetch her some water?” She asks, keeping her tone controlled. She is irritated too and just wants to get out of here but she doesn’t want to show her irritation, as these people took them in as their guests. 

The man takes a moment to register what she said, before nodding his head. “I’ll bring you a vase and mugs. Would you like something to eat too?” He asks, as he walks away, leaving the door open.

Kuvira takes a step forward, curious of what the house looks like inside. She peaks in, trying to be subtle about it. “Only if you have something to spare, thank you,” she replies. 

She tries to control herself and steps back, as she sees the man turn around. He has an orange vase made out of clay in his other hand and a basket of food in the other one. “Oh no, we can’t take that much.” Kuvira shakes her head and puts her hands up. The man doesn’t say anything and just shoves the stuff to Kuvira’s arms. She tries to mumble something, but the man already slides the door closed, leaving Kuvira standing on the porch. 

She lets out a heavy sigh and looks at the basket full of food. It all looked delicious. 

Kuvira heads back to Ranya and gives her the basket. She holds up the vase in her hands and says, “I’ll go get the water now.” 

All she can think about is Ranya’s health. What if she gets sick? What if she gets so sick that she doesn’t make it? What if I lose her? What if I lose her? I can’t lose her. I can’t lose her.

The world around her feels hazy and she sees black spots in her eyes. She shakes off the feeling and continues, straightening her back. She heads towards the well and is glad, when she gets a little shade from the trees around. She starts pumping the pump attached to the well and water starts pouring to the vase. 

I need to help her. I need to help her. If I don’t help her she’s going to get hurt. I need to help her. If I don’t help her she’s going to get hurt. I can’t let her get hurt. I can’t let her get hurt. I can’t. I can’t. I-

And she falls to the ground. 

The moment she opens her eyes, she meets Ranya’s eyes. Kuvira tries to sit up, but Ranya pins her to the ground and lifts Kuvira’s head just enough to slide a folded shirt underneath her head. “Don’t move yet. You hit your head and the medic is on their way.” Ranya’s voice is so soothing that Kuvira doesn’t even try to argue against her. 

Kuvira looks at Ranya, who is folding a wet towel, before placing it on top of Kuvira’s forehead. Ranya’s gentle hands brush against Kuvira’s skin and Kuvira can’t help but lean her head towards Ranya’s hand. 

The motion startles Ranya and she takes her hand back. 

She doesn’t like me. Not the way I like her. This was all a mistake. This was all a mistake. This was all a mistake. This w-

“Sorry. That was rude,” Ranya says softly, as she places her hand on Kuvira’s cheek and gently brushes her warm skin with her thumb. Their eyes meet and Ranya is able to see tears forming in Kuvira’s eyes. Before she is able to point it out, Kuvira closes her eyes and leans against Ranya’s hand. 

It’s not a mistake. It’s not a mistake. It’s not a mistake. It’s not a mistake. 

I love her.

Chapter Text

Day sixteen: Fire Nation, village in the West

Ranya refused to leave the Southern village before Kuvira was healthy and the fever had run down. And as she had feared, they have fallen behind their schedule. They don’t have the time to spend as much time in their destinations as they wanted to, but Ranya doesn’t want Kuvira to get punished for not returning back to Zaofu on time. 

“Do you think we should tell Lin and Kya that we are going to be arriving in the Republic City earlier than we thought? We need to get ahead of our schedule within the next few weeks,” Ranya ponders out loud as she is lying on her back, gazing at the stars. She hears Kuvira sigh. “We don’t have to cut our trip to Ember Island short. We just have to keep moving,” she jokingly comments and turns her head to look at Kuvira. 

Kuvira feels that it is her fault they have to make compromises in order for her to get back to Zaofu on time so that she doesn’t get punished. She doesn’t even want the damn job. Not anymore. She just… She just wants to be with Ranya. How is she supposed to tell her how she feels? Sleeping in the same small tent together with her is agonizing. How is she supposed to not wrap her arms around Ranya’s body? How is she supposed to not touch her face and stroke her short-cut hair? Even lying beside her under the bare sky stargazing makes her heart ache. She just wants to hold her and never let go.

“Kuvira? Are you ok?”

Kuvira snaps back to reality and clears her throat. “Yeah, yeah I am.” She sits up and rolls her shoulders. “When we get to the next big city we can go and look out for a phone. Our portable radio doesn’t reach Republic City from here,” she mumbles and closes her eyes for a second, as she lets her head fall between her shoulders. 

Ranya sits up too and gently touches Kuvira’s shoulder. The soft touch of Ranya’s hand sends a wave of shivers through Kuvira’s body and her head snaps back up. She turns to look at Ranya. They just stare at each other. How easy it would be to just close the gap between them and kiss her, to wrap her arms around her and-

“You should sleep,” Ranya interrupts Kuvira’s thoughts. 

“No.” The answer comes out too harsh and Kuvira can see the slight difference it makes in Ranya’s eyes. “I’ll go for a walk,” she says as she gets up from the ground. Before Ranya can say anything about it, Kuvira is already on her way down the hill they’ve set their camp on. 

At the bottom of the hill Kuvira slows down for a moment to decide which way she should go. She decides to go left, towards a small river. She should’ve brought her water bottle with her, to fill it up. 

The night is cold, but not as cold as the nights in the Earth Kingdom. She sits down beside the river and lets out a heavy sigh, as she falls on her back to look at the sky. For a moment she just stares at the stars and the patterns they create. Then she closes her eyes. 

She listens to her surroundings. Not a lot of sounds to listen to, but she does it anyway. She can hear the river flow. It’s slow and brings her peace. She can hear the wind as it ruffles the leaves of the trees and bushes, as it moves the grass around her. She can hear the crickets, speaking their own language that Kuvira would like to understand. She can hear her own breathing. She can hear her own heartbeat. 

She places her palms on her face and inhales through her nose, and exhales through her mouth. This is the moment she starts to miss having Baatar Jr. around to calm her down. She can feel her throat closing in, her heart pounding against her chest. For so long, she could go on without getting panic attacks. It was all because of Ranya. She’s the reason she didn’t have to worry about getting panic attacks. But now she has a panic attack because of her.

She’s losing control, she can feel it and she acknowledges it. But she can’t stop it, not on her own. She’s alone. She has to go through it by herself. But what if she can’t? What if she chokes and dies right there and then? What happens then?

She lets her arms fall beside her on the grass. She forces herself to hold her breath. If she holds it long enough, she might pass out and her breathing would go back to normal. But that isn’t the goal and she knows she shouldn’t even think about it as an option to handle panic attacks. After counting down to ten, she releases her breath and inhales through her nose, and exhales through her mouth. She repeats it for several minutes, until she can feel herself gaining more control over her body. 

Without her realizing, she had ripped out a handful of grass from the ground. She releases it and relaxes her whole body. She starts listening to the sounds around her once again. The river, the wind, the trees, the brushes, the grass, the crickets. Her own breathing, her own heartbeat. She repeats the list and then opens her eyes. She meets the stars. 

A tear manages to escape the corner of Kuvira’s eye but she stops it before it reaches her hairline. This is not the time for crying. She has cried so much that she just needs to stop. She needs to stop being so emotional. She can’t be this way forever. She can’t. 

When she tries to sit up, she feels dizzy and has to close her eyes for a moment. It’s always something. Something that she has to stop everything for and rest for a moment. She’s tired of being weak. She is tired of being this way and how she is never in control. She wants to be in control. She has to be in control. She has to be in control. 

She forces herself up and takes a few wobbly steps, before the hazy feeling fades away and she is able to stand up straight. She looks behind her, at the spot she had been lying. The ground is destroyed. She had lost control and earthbent. Damn it .

Before walking up the hill back to Ranya, Kuvira gathers up some courage to face the other woman. Because this is the moment she is going to do it. Tonight. She is going to tell her how she feels. Because if she bottles up her feelings any longer, she might suffer from a panic attack that ends up giving her a heart attack and then she might not have another chance with this. She wants to say it out loud. She wants to hear herself say those words she has been pondering for days, if not for weeks already. She wants Ranya to hear her say them. 

But what if it all goes wrong?

She decides that she doesn’t care, if it goes wrong. She just wants to say it. She needs to say it. She must do it, or she will die from the inside even more.

She makes her way up the hill, only to find Ranya meditating. Kuvira stops and just gazes at Ranya. She looks so calm. How is she able to do it? Be calm? 

Kuvira quietly makes her way beside Ranya and sits down. She pulls her knees close to her chest and wraps her arms around them. She places her cheek on her knees and observes Ranya’s peaceful face.

“I didn’t know you meditate,” Kuvira says. But she doesn’t get an answer. She lifts her eyebrows and lets out a chuckle, thinking Ranya is playing with her. “And apparently you’re good at it too.”

Minutes pass and Kuvira doesn’t hear a word from Ranya. She listens to her steady breathing and watches as her chest rises each time she inhales. Kuvira can’t take her eyes off of her. She is too beautiful. Too peaceful. 

“I’m not entirely sure if you’re playing with me right now, but I can’t wait any longer…” Kuvira starts out and then makes herself not look at Ranya as she gathers the courage to continue. “The thing is… Damn it, I don’t know how to say this without sounding like an idiot. I… When we became friends, I thought it would last for a short period of time. And sure, we only met a couple of months ago, but it’s still longer than I had expected. And here we are. Under the night sky, sitting beside one another. And I don’t believe I’m lying when I say this, but I feel like we both feel something for each other.”

She takes a sharp, shaking breath through her mouth before she whispers, “I love you.”

No response. 

She turns to look at Ranya who has the same peaceful look on her face. 

“Say something,” Kuvira begs. Tears start burning her eyes.

No response. 

“Say something!” She cries and now tears are falling down her cheeks, down her neck.

“Don’t you hear me?! I love you! I said it! I said that I love you! Why can’t you hear me?!” 

No response. 

She just stares at Ranya, who doesn’t even seem to be present in this world. 

“I said I love you… Why can’t you hear me?” She whispers quietly, words barely leaving her lips. 

Chapter Text

Day twenty: Ember Island

The time they’ve spent on Ember Island has been rough. First, because they’re sleeping in separate rooms. They had already gotten used to sleeping next to each other that it feels weird now. And second, because Kuvira has been acting weird and Ranya hasn’t been able to figure out what happened. 

Ranya can’t sleep. She is sitting legs crossed, back against the wall while playing with the hem of her night shirt. She knows that Kuvira is on the other side of the wall, probably sleeping. Ranya can’t stop thinking about her and why she is acting the way she is. 

She noticed almost right away, when Kuvira wasn’t acting herself. It was actually quite obvious. Kuvira wouldn’t look her in the eye, she became less talkative and she kept her distance. Even when Kuvira was in a bad mood, she wasn’t acting this way. 

Ranya thinks about the past few days. They have talked, but only about some mediocre things that don’t actually matter. They went to the beach too, but they just sat there, went in the water for a moment and then went back to the shore to sit in silence once again. It was agonizing, the silence and the way Kuvira looked. She has never looked more sad and tired. 

She leans the back of her head against the wall and closes her eyes. She is tired. She has been rolling in her bed for hours and can’t fall asleep, even though she is exhausted and is in need of some sleep. Her mind goes back to Kuvira. Yesterday, she had smiled when she saw a turtle duck. That was the only time she had smiled during their stay on the Ember Island. But it was adorable to see Kuvira that way… Seeing her eyes light up and lips curl upward as she had reached her hand towards the turtle ducks. Ranya loved to see Kuvira that way. Only if she could make Kuvira feel that way. I don’t have the right to feel this way about her. 

When she opens her eyes, she notices shadows dancing on the wall of the hotel room. When she gets up from the bed to take a better look, she notices a bonfire further away. A party. She leans against the window frame and scans through the crowd of people. They’re dancing and laughing, drinking and eating. It looks so much fun. She wants to go out there and party, but she doesn’t want to go alone. She wants to ask Kuvira to come with her. But what if she simply says no? What if Kuvira is already asleep? What if she doesn’t say anything?

Well, there is only one way to find out. 

Ranya pulls on her robes and tiptoes to the hallway, leaving the door slightly ajar. She quietly makes her way to Kuvira’s door and places her ear on it. No sound to be heard. She takes a step back and knocks on the door quietly. 

She waits for a moment, before knocking again. This time it doesn’t take long, before Kuvira slightly slides the door open to see, who’s behind it. When their eyes meet, Kuvira is ready to slide the door shut, but Ranya is faster. She places her bare foot between the wall and the door and winces, when the door hits her. She pulls herself together and slowly starts sliding the door open. “Please, Kuvira. Why are you acting this way?” She whispers and then slides the door fully open, so that she can step inside. 

Kuvira is just standing there, in her undergarments, looking confused and embarrassed at the same time. 

“Did I do something wrong?” Ranya continues as she slides the door shut behind her. She leans against the wall and keeps her eyes on Kuvira. She wants to hear what all of this is about. She wants answers.

Kuvira sighs and slightly shakes her head, as she turns around. She wraps her arms around herself and looks outside the window, the light highlighting her tired facial features and bruised limbs. “No. No, you didn’t.” Even Kuvira’s voice is tired. Ranya knows that she hasn’t slept either. 

“Then what is it?” She keeps on asking the questions, even though she knows that there is a possibility that she isn’t going to get them.

She is right, because Kuvira remains silent, her eyes staring at nothing outside the window. 

They just stand there, in complete silence. No sound to be heard, no words to be said. 

Ranya doesn’t know, whether or not she should just leave and go to the party alone. She waits for a while, giving Kuvira the chance to speak up. But when Kuvira’s back is still facing her and no words come out of her mouth, she sighs and turns towards the door. She slightly turns her head to Kuvira’s direction, before she says, “I’m going to a party. If you want, you can come with me.” She slides the door open and steps into the dark hallway. 

When closing the door, she catches a glimpse of Kuvira turning around, looking after her. Even after seeing the look on Kuvira’s face - sad, pleading and broken - she decides to close the door and go back to her own room. If Kuvira wanted her to say, she should just say so. Right?

Ranya changes into her nicer robes and puts on her metal neck plating that she made for herself back home. She takes a look into the mirror and checks herself out. She looks good. She knows she does. And it’s a shame if Kuvira doesn’t get to see her looking like this tonight. 

She slides the door open and steps back into the dark hallway. She walks quietly, tiptoeing her way through the hallway. She doesn’t want to wake anyone up. 

She isn’t sure if she’s imagining it, but she thinks she hears a door slide open behind her. She doesn’t turn around to see. 

When she makes her way to the shore, the laughing and music gets louder. She tries to locate the source of the music and notices a small bar on the beach. The sight of people being happy and enjoying themselves brings a smile to Ranya’s face. When some people notice her approaching them, they start waving their hands and inviting her over to them. She picks up her pace and soon enough is surrounded by people, who seem to be drunk but nice and welcoming. 

She is pulled to sit down by the bonfire and someone throws their arm around her shoulders and leans closer. Ranya can smell the sweet aroma of vanilla. When she turns to look at the person who has their arm around her shoulders, she is face to face with a beautiful woman with the most beautiful tan skin and brown eyes. She can’t help but stare at the woman with an open mouth. Wow.

“Staring is rude, you know?” The woman points out and leans even closer, their foreheads now touching. The woman has a beautiful smile and when Ranya doesn’t respond, she discovers that her laugh is beautiful too. 

Ranya almost chokes on her words and can’t form a proper sentence, only some incoherent mumbling. The woman finds her adorable and continues laughing, Ranya’s stomach filling up with butterflies. 

“My name is Li-Mei,” the woman introduces herself.

“Ranya.”

“That’s a pretty name you got there, Ranya,” Li-Mei compliments as she moves her hand up and down on Ranya’s arm. When Ranya flinches, Li-Mei cocks her eyebrows, asking what’s up. “You’re taken by someone, pretty one?” She asks.

Ranya starts thinking about it. Is she? Technically, no, she isn’t dating anyone. But her heart belongs to someone else. But right now, she is in the arms of a beautiful woman with beautiful brown eyes. So she shakes her head. “No, I’m not.”

Li-Mei grins and moves to Ranya’s ear, her lips brushing against it. “Good,” she whispers and places a kiss on Ranya’s neck. She moves her mouth smoothly on her neck, moving up towards Ranya’s mouth. Their lips touch and Ranya hesitates, before she answers the kiss. Li-Mei’s arms are now roaming Ranya’s body. 

The other woman breaks the kiss off and stands up, holding her hand out for Ranya. Ranya looks up at Li-Mei and takes her hand, standing up. Li-Mei starts leading her towards another hotel building, when Ranya catches something in the corner of her eye. She turns around to see and is met by Kuvira, standing on the shore, looking into her direction. 

Ranya stops and so does Li-Mei. “You good?” Li-Mei asks, wrapping her arms around Ranya’s waist and pulling her closer. 

But Ranya keeps her eyes on Kuvira. She looks beautiful… She had put on her nicest robes and even did her hair. It breaks Ranya’s heart when she realizes the situation: Kuvira watching as Ranya is making out with another woman and then going with this woman to do something only the spirits know about. 

Ranya turns to Li-Mei. “I’m sorry, Li-Mei, but I can’t,” she says and then Li-Mei’s eyes follow the direction where Ranya had had her eyes on just a moment before, she notices Kuvira standing there, watching them. She nods her head and then lets go of Ranya, taking a step back. 

Li-Mei smiles and then bites her lower lip. “It’s fine. I know relationships can be rough sometimes. Go with your girl,” Li-Mei gently whispers and then cocks her head towards Kuvira. Ranya returns her a smile, before she turns on her heel. 

Before Kuvira has the chance to get any further away, Ranya runs up to her and stops her. “You came afterall,” she states, confused. 

“Yeah, maybe I shouldn’t have. You could keep making out with her,” Kuvira mumbles, as she keeps her eyes on Li-Mei. “Who’s that?”

Ranya looks over her shoulder at Li-Mei, who has returned to her friends by the bonfire. “She’s Li-Mei. And what do you mean by that?”

“I saw you two making out. Don’t pretend it didn’t happen.” Kuvira crosses her arms across her chest and knits her eyebrows together. “What were you going to do with her? I saw her leading you away.”

Ranya’s head snaps right back to Kuvira. “Why are you asking?” She asks in return, now her eyebrows frowning. 

Kuvira looks down at Ranya, right into her eye. “You don’t know her. What if she was going to hurt you?” 

“I barely know you, Kuvira! And here we are!” Ranya takes a step closer to Kuvira, who is just standing still, like a rock. They stare at each other for a moment, before Ranya continues, “You have been acting differently and won’t tell me what’s going on! It’s like I don’t even know you anymore.” Ranya throws her hands in the air and lets out a frustrated chuckle, “I don’t even know if I ever knew you at all.”

Kuvira takes a step closer, while keeping a firm eye contact with Ranya. Now they’re so close that if either one of them takes another step closer, their bodies would be touching. And even if that is what both of them want, this isn’t exactly the situation they would want to be in. “You really don’t know?” Kuvira says through gritted teeth.

The look on Kuvira’s face is terrifying. Half of her face is hidden in the shadows, only the dim light of the bonfire hitting Kuvira’s irises and enhancing the anger in her face. Ranya can feel her throat tightening. She is terrified of Kuvira. “I swear, I have no idea what you mean!” Defending herself is useless, because Ranya can see from the look in Kuvira’s eyes that she has already decided.

“Why are you playing with my feelings like this?” Kuvira’s voice is suddenly soft and broken.

“What?”

Kuvira runs her hand through her braided hair and looks away, breaking their eye contact. “When we stayed at the hill… I told you I loved you. But you just kept on meditating and not caring about me,” she spits the words out like a food that tastes disgusting. Ranya can see tears building up in Kuvira’s eyes. One of them escapes and is now rolling down her cheek. “You said nothing,” she whispers, her voice quiet and filled with bitterness. Ranya can see Kuvira’s lower lip trembling. 

Ranya is speechless and her eyes widen when she registers what Kuvira just told her. She… Loves me? When Kuvira had apparently confessed to her… She was in the spirit world. “Oh… Oh. ” She can’t say anything else. What is she even supposed to say? She brings her hand to her mouth and regrets it immediately, because Kuvira reads it the wrong way and starts slowly backing away, tears now streaming down her cheeks, down her neck. Ranya reaches her hand towards Kuvira, as she takes a slow step closer. “Please, Kuvira don’t go,” the words barely leaving her lips. It’s more like a whisper. 

Kuvira just shakes her head, wiping tears away from her face. “You don’t understand. It took me every single bit of energy to be able to say those things to you. And then you didn’t even say anything!” Kuvira cries and stops backing away, when she’s standing in the water. 

“I swear I didn’t hear a thing, I didn’t know you felt this way about me. If you would just let me explain myself-”

Kuvira shakes her head and steps back to the shore. “No, no. I don’t want to be with you right now.” The words pierce Ranya’s heart like thousand knives. It’s like getting your heart ripped out. “This was a mistake.” 

“Please! Let me explain-”

“No! Leave me alone. Go be with your Li-Mei, I’m sure she can give you what I can’t.” Kuvira then turns around, wiping her tears and keeps walking, until she can’t be seen anymore through the darkness. 

Ranya is left alone, standing there, a cold breeze sending shivers down her spine. She messed everything up. 

She wants to go after Kuvira, she wants to make everything right and apologize and… And tell her that she feels the exact same way about her. But her feet refuse to move. She wants to go, but her feet disagree with her. Is this to protect her own heart, or Kuvira’s?

This can’t be it. Right?

Chapter Text

Day twenty-four: Ember Island

She had done it. Kuvira had confessed her feelings for the second time, only this time Ranya had seemed to actually hear her words. 

What is she supposed to feel? She saw Ranya kiss another woman, a beautiful woman, and then Ranya claimed that she hadn’t heard Kuvira say the words she had said. She felt angry. She was sad that she wasn’t the one who kissed Ranya. Why not her?

She’s just sitting in her room, her bags already packed and waiting for them to leave the island. They will be going separate ways, that’s what they decided. Kuvira will head back home and Ranya is heading to the Earth Kingdom, Republic City. 

This isn’t what Kuvira wanted. She wanted to be with Ranya throughout the whole trip, but apparently they weren’t meant to be, afterall. 

But she doesn’t want to go home either. This trip was supposed to give her a break from Baatar jr and all of the drama back home. If she leaves now, she will be stepping right back into that mess. 

She should go on her own trip. To get a break from everyone. 

But she wants to be with Ranya. 

She can’t make sense of the thought of how she really feels. 

And right when she is starting to think about Ranya and their relationship, something slides from beneath the door. She turns her head towards the door and notices a letter with her name written on it. She gets up and picks up the letter. 

She walks to the window and leans against the window frame, as she carefully opens up the seal and takes the letter out of its envelope. 

“My dearest Kuvira, 

I don’t know if you’re going to read this till the end, but please, I need you to listen to what I have to say.

When I tell you that I had no idea you confessed to me, I am not lying. I was meditating, yes, but I was not in this world. I had no idea you were going to confess to me, so I made my escape as I couldn’t fall asleep anymore. I’m so sorry that I wasn’t there to hear you.

Please, do not rip this letter, as I still do have a few things left unsaid.”

Kuvira really wanted to rip the letter and forget about everything, but she knew how childish that would be, so she kept on reading. 

“I know you want us to go separate ways. And if that is what you really want to do, then I am not stopping you. But I do wish that you would come with me to Republic City. I know you want to see it too and I don’t want you to not go just because I was being an ass to you. 

I want you to continue this trip with me. I want to be with you and go home with you. But like I said, if you want to leave, I am not stopping you. I just don’t want to let you go.

I do want to apologize too. I shouldn’t have kissed Li-Mei and I should’ve told you about the meditating right away. I am sorry that I caused you so much stress. I do totally understand, if this is why you don’t want to continue this trip anymore. 

I care about you and want to settle this like the adults we are. We can make it work.

With love, Ranya.”

Kuvira holds onto the paper and reads the words over and over again. She wants to stay, she knows that. But her heart is so torn apart that she doesn’t know if she is actually able to do so. She doesn’t want to be friends with Ranya. She wants something more. But if that isn’t what Ranya wants… Then she doesn’t know what to do. 

She puts the letter down and exits the room to the hallway. She takes a few steps and is standing behind Ranya’s door. She holds her hand up and knocks on the door. She doesn’t have to wait for long, when the door slides open and Ranya is standing there. 

“Kuvira,” Ranya breathes as their eyes meet. 

“When are we leaving?” Kuvira asks. 

Ranya stares at Kuvira for a moment, before she answers, “Whenever you’re ready. When is your ferry leaving?”

Kuvira gathers up the courage to say what she wants to really say. “I’m not going home. I’m coming with you,” she states. The butterflies in her stomach are flying around. Why is this situation so difficult? Is it because Kuvira hasn’t seen Ranya in a few days? Or is it something else? 

“Oh, I’m glad you’re coming with me,” Ranya stumbles over her words and smiles then. “Did you read my letter?”

“Yes.” Kuvira takes one last look at Ranya, before she turns away and heads back to her room. The decision has been made and she is going to Republic City. She slides the door shut behind her and leans against it, closing her eyes for a moment. She takes a deep breath and bites her lower lip. How tempting it would’ve been to just kiss Ranya and make her forget about Li-Mei. 

Chapter Text

Day twenty-four: Western Earth Kingdom

Even with their jeep, the roads in the North Western Earth Kingdom are hard to manage and they spend most of their day time looking for better roads on foot. They don’t talk, they just walk and point if they find a better road somewhere. Even their drive from the harbour to the village they arrived at was awkward. They didn’t even know what they were supposed to even talk about - about Li-Mei? No, definitely not about her. 

The motel they had planned on staying their night at was full and they had to camp outside the village, as none of the citizens wanted to house them for the night. Setting their tent in silence was awkward nonetheless and both of them wished that time could pass on faster. 

While Kuvira is building the bonfire, Ranya is setting their stuff and cleaning their jeep, as she usually does when they stop somewhere. Kuvira thinks it’s weird, but Ranya enjoys doing it. 

“You want soup or noodles?” Kuvira hollers, not caring to turn around to face Ranya. Kuvira sounds distant, as if she’s doing everything with autopilot. 

“Soup, it’s easier to cook.”

And then, complete silence falls upon them.

Ranya takes a few steps closer to Kuvira and hands her two cans of soup. “You can pick which one you want. We only had these two left and the other one is mushroom and this one cabbage soup.”

Kuvira nods her head as she takes the cans and starts preparing their meal. Ranya gets back to cleaning the jeep and silence is all they know about. 

The sun is setting behind the mountains when they finally get to eat. Kuvira had struggled with the fire and refused to ask for help so it took her longer to prepare their meals. They sit on the edge of a cliff, gazing at the mountains before them. 

“Did Lin or Kya give you any instructions on where we are supposed to go when we get to Republic City? Are we staying at the Four Elements hotel?” Ranya breaks the silence and quickly takes a look at Kuvira, who holds her bowl of soup close to her chest. 

Kuvira finishes eating her soup, before she answers, “Kya told me that we are more than welcome to stay at the Air Temple Island with her and her family. She told us to meet with Lin at the probending arena.” Kuvira then turns to face Ranya. “If we leave early in the morning tomorrow we may have time to wander around the city for a while. What do you think? 

There are no words to describe how happy Ranya is for Kuvira asking that question. They’ve been silent for so long that any type of interaction with Kuvira manages to make her heart race and smile to form on her lips. “I think that would be nice,” she responds and subtly smiles, before turning back to her soup. Even if their relationship is awkward right now, it doesn’t feel wrong. 

Ranya can feel Kuvira’s eyes on her, so she turns her head again and their eyes meet. They don’t say anything, they just get lost in each other’s eyes and silence falls upon them. They just examine each other’s eyes and Ranya notices a hint of brown at the center of Kuvira’s irises. Her eyes are so beautiful.

When Kuvira finally snaps back to reality, she clears her throat and breaks the eye contact. She wipes some leftover soup from the corners of her mouth and starts getting up. “We should go to bed.”

They wash their dishes before putting them away. Kuvira puts out the fire and after they’ve made sure everything is good, they crawl into the tent. They don’t really have a lot of room for themselves, but they have made it work in the past so they are going to make it work tonight as well. 

Right when Ranya is on the edge of falling asleep and the darkness has taken over, she hears footsteps and cracking sounds from the outside. She opens her eyes and is wide awake now. She makes eye contact with Kuvira, who is already reaching for the knife beneath her pillow. 

They stay completely still and listen, as two or more people circle around their tent. The strangers aren’t even trying to be quiet. It’s as if they wanted to wake them up. 

Ranya sits up slowly, sliding off her sleeping bag. She is already preparing to get up, when Kuvira grabs her arm. Their eyes meet and Kuvira shakes her head, bringing her index finger to her lips. They need to be quiet, if they want the men to think they’re still asleep. 

Kuvira’s fingers are clutched around the knife she is holding and Ranya knows that Kuvira isn’t going to be fighting with the knife - she is going to pull the metal out of it if needed. 

Then, the manhole of the tent flies open and Kuvira doesn’t hesitate a moment to storm out and start using her earthbending against the people outside. It doesn’t take her long to switch to metalbending, as she pulls out the metal from the knife and starts using it as her defense. Kuvira aims at the man right in front of her and with a single hand movement she wraps a metal piece around the man’s wrist and drags him away, so that she can get away from the tent. 

When Ranya gets out, she realizes that they’re surrounded. At least ten men are around them, knives and other weapons out. Were these people planning on robbing them? What did they want?

Ranya doesn’t wait to find out and gets into a fighting stance. She decides to use her metalbending and starts pulling out the metal from the knives the men are holding on to. She molds them into small, sharp arrows and is ready to shoot them. She’s just waiting for Kuvira to say so. 

“You have the chance to back out! Otherwise, we won’t be holding back,” Kuvira declares, her voice loud and clear, steady and strong. She sounds like a leader .

“We will be able to take out two pathetic earthbenders,” one of the men spits the words out and takes a few steps closer to them, but Kuvira is faster and she is a woman of her word. She follows Ranya’s example and forms little arrows of the metals she had gathered and shoots one of them at the man approaching them. 

The arrow doesn’t do a lot of damage, but this one was just a warning shot. When the men don’t back out but start getting closer instead, Ranya and Kuvira release the rest of their arrows and let the men get hit. The men pull out the little arrows and continue. Spirits, how aren’t they falling?

Ranya moves to using regular earthbending and takes a wide stance, curls her fingers into fists and then the ground beneath the men starts crawling up their legs, until they can’t move anymore. The men start digging the ground with their knife handles and other weapons, but Ranya knows that it’ll take a good while before they would break free. She looks over her shoulder to see how Kuvira is doing and isn’t surprised at all, when the men around her are struggling to get close to her. After a short moment, the men Kuvira is handling are also stuck in the ground. 

“You’re lucky enough that we are willing to let you go, if you tell us what you want from us,” Kuvira says as she wipes a droplet of sweat from her forehead with the back of her wrist. 

The men remain silent and exchange looks with each other. Ranya counts the men and realizes that one of them is missing. She counts them over and over again, but always comes to the same conclusion. One of them got away. She is already turning towards Kuvira, when she sees the man.

He has his knife held up high, running towards Kuvira. Neither Kuvira or Ranya is fast enough to stop him and he manages to dig the blade deep into Kuvira’s shoulder. He cuts her shoulder open and Kuvira cries out, falling to the ground. Before the man is able to continue with his attack, Ranya has already pulled the metal out of the knife, only blood left in his hands now. She wraps the metal piece around the man’s throat and lifts him in the air as he starts kicking around, realizing that there is nothing beneath his feet. She keeps on closing her fist, and the metal around the man’s throat follows her command. 

The man struggles to breathe and he brings his hands around his throat, trying to pull the metal off. His face is turning blue. But Ranya doesn’t care, he had hurt Kuvira.

Kuvira has a hard time managing the pain in her shoulder, but she can’t let Ranya kill this man. “Ranya stop it, you’re killing him,” Kuvira wails, holding her shoulder as she watches how Ranya is slowly suffocating the man to death.

Ranya doesn’t seem to hear what Kuvira has to say. She is blinded by the rage. She got so frightened when Kuvira fell to the ground, bleeding. This man had hurt her and she doesn’t want to let go and have the possibility of it happening again.

The man is starting to lose consciousness and his body becomes lifeless. If Ranya continues this any longer, he could be gone in a matter of minutes. 

“I said stop it!” This time Ranya hears Kuvira and she lets the man down instantly. She releases him from her grip and backs away, frightened of herself. She looks down at her own hands - little white half moons pressed against her palms. She almost killed a man. I almost killed a man.

The man slowly comes back to consciousness and takes a deep breath, before coughing and holding onto his chest. He looks up at Ranya with fear in his eyes. His eyes wander to his friends, who are behind Ranya and Kuvira. Ranya follows his gaze and all she can see is terrified men around her. Kuvira releases all of the men with a simple movement and they start running away, tripping over their feet. The man who had attacked Kuvira doesn’t hesitate to follow his friends and he doesn’t spare Ranya or Kuvira a second look. The men are gone and the silence is back. 

Kuvira’s body is shaking, when she turns to Ranya. Their eyes meet and Ranya can see the terror in Kuvira’s eyes. I almost killed that man… And Kuvira was here to witness it.

Ranya reaches her hand towards Kuvira and takes a step closer, but Kuvira takes one back. “Kuvira-” Before she can finish, Kuvira shakes her head and turns around, walking back to their tent and crawling inside. 

Ranya is left standing in the darkness, alone. She has her mouth open, as if to say something. But what is there to say? She almost killed a man. There is nothing to say about it. Kuvira had seen her like this. No one else has seen her like this, except for Sachin and her brother Kiran. She wants to follow Kuvira, but the way Kuvira had looked at her makes her decide to stay outside for a little longer, to give Kuvira a little more time for herself. 

She collapses to the ground and tears stream down her face. I screwed up. I should’ve just restricted him. I shouldn’t have gone so far. I screwed up. Now she is hurt because I was too slow, and I can’t go in and help her because she is scared of me… She is… Scared of me. No, no, no. Hating I can take, but being scared of me? That’s my nightmare. How am I supposed to make this right? 

She sits on the ground, thinking of ways to apologize and to assure Kuvira that she isn’t like this. That this was just some malfunction in her brain… Or is it? She had tried to do the same thing to her brother. 

How is she supposed to explain to Kuvira that she can’t handle her emotions? She has been able to hide it but now that the two of them are getting closer, hiding has become almost impossible. She had begged Sachin to keep his mouth shut and not tell Kuvira. Sachin thought that Kuvira should know about her outbursts and fickle temperament. “You could hurt her. Or you could hurt yourself. Either way, you should tell her.” But how? How is she supposed to tell her? 

It starts raining. Ranya lets her head fall back as she closes her eyes and lets the rain fall on her. Only if the rain could wash away all of her sins. 

Ranya doesn’t know how much time has passed when she cautiously gets inside the tent, only to find Kuvira struggling to patch up her shoulder. Kuvira looks up at Ranya, confused as to why she is soaked, before she lets her eyes drop to the floor and releases a sigh. “Can you help me?” Her voice is weak, raspy from crying. 

Ranya nods her head and kneels behind Kuvira and takes the bandages from her. She begins patching her up and Kuvira flinches when Ranya’s cold hands touch her bare skin. Kuvira has lost a lot of blood and she is acting droopy. Ranya can’t help herself but to feel even more guilty, as she didn’t come here any sooner to help Kuvira, but instead was welling in her own shame in the rain. 

Kuvira brings her pillow close to her chest and holds on to it tight. Ranya tries her best to only touch Kuvira with the most gentle hands, trying to be as careful with her as possible. She doesn’t want to make any sudden moves to frighten her again. 

Ranya notices some of the scars on Kuvira’s back. They’re all healed, probably from training. At least that’s what they seem like. She wants to know more, and she wants to get rid of the silence. “Did you get these scars from training?”

Kuvira tenses up and the muscles beneath her skin move as she straightens her back. She hisses when the wound in her shoulder sends a wave of pain through her body. She sighs and closes her eyes. “Years of training with assholes caused me a lot of bruising,” she murmurs and barely is able to roll her shoulders. 

Ranya watches as Kuvira flexes her muscles, trying to ease the pain. She wants to touch Kuvira and make her stop, but she doesn’t want to be pushy and keeps her hands to herself. When Kuvira wraps her arms around the pillow she was hugging a moment ago, Ranya is able to continue her work with Kuvira’s shoulder. 

When Ranya is finished with Kuvira’s shoulder, she quietly puts away all of the medical equipment and moves them aside. She crawls to her sleeping bag and starts getting ready for bed. To her surprise, Kuvira hands her a towel and sits close to her. Ranya lifts her eyebrows up, asking what the towel is for.

“You’re soaking wet. Dry yourself up, or you’ll get sick. And change your clothes.” The words barely depart from Kuvira’s lips as she turns her gaze away. Ranya takes the towel and dries her short hair with it, before moving to her body. 

Kuvira keeps her eyes down on her own hands, until Ranya is finished and now in dry clothes. She lifts her head and looks at Ranya, examining her face and trying to figure out what had happened. “Let’s hope the rain doesn’t break through the fabric,” she then says.

“What?” Ranya almost chokes on the question.

Kuvira points up at the tent’s roof, “The tent. Let’s hope the rain doesn’t break through the tent.”

Ranya feels like a dumbass for not realizing what Kuvira had meant. “Ah. Yeah, makes sense. Let’s hope it doesn’t.” She nods her head for a long time, before it’s her turn to be looking down at her own hands that are resting on her lap. 

 Silence. Like always.

Neither one of them has anything to say, so they get ready for bed and lie down on their backs. Ranya sits up one more time and turns off the lantern and then adjusts her head on her pillow, before sighing heavily. Kuvira turns her head to the woman beside her and then shifts to her side, so that she is fully facing Ranya. 

Ranya notices this and rotates her head to see Kuvira’s face. They just stare at each other - it has become their thing lately.

“Why did you do it? Or… Why didn’t you stop?” Kuvira whispers. Ranya understands that Kuvira is curious, but all she wants to do is sleep.

She turns her head towards the roof and quietly listens as the rain falls on the thick fabric. Then she shrugs her shoulders, even though it looks more like a twitch as she is lying on her back. “Do you really want to know?” Is she really doing it now? This is it.

“Yes.” Kuvira doesn’t hesitate a moment. 

What is she supposed to actually say? How much does she have to reveal about herself, about her mental state? How is she supposed to explain the emotions she doesn’t understand either? How? Just… How? “I… I have no idea how to explain this,” she starts and lets her hands fall on her face. It’s easier if Kuvira can’t see her face. “I can’t exactly control my emotions. It got worse when my brother-” She has to stop as she starts remembering how her brother almost killed her.

A moment passes and Kuvira is patiently waiting for Ranya to continue. “My brother almost killed me when I was younger. Living with him wasn’t easy and I had a lot of built up anger. I lashed out on my parents and Suyin, even on Aiwei. I couldn’t control it. It wasn’t something that could be treated with medicine. I started hiding it,” she takes a shaky breath, before continuing, “And I lashed out today. All of the built up anger was released the moment I saw you get hurt. I was angry at the man, I was frightened because you got hurt and I was ashamed that I wasn’t able to stop him.”

She said it. She really did. Another door Kuvira had been able to open. Another door into her life, into herself. 

When Kuvira doesn’t say anything, Ranya removes her hands from her face and carefully faces the other woman. Kuvira has her eyes on Ranya but Ranya can see the tears on her face, even if it’s dark in the tent. “Kuvira-”

Kuvira shuts her up by placing her hand on Ranya’s lips. “Don’t say anything,” she whispers. Ranya can see a smile form on Kuvira’s lips. “I understand you… You… You’re like me.”

Ranya frowns her eyebrows, as she doesn’t understand what Kuvira means. “What do you mean?”

“We both suck at emotions,” Kuvira says and starts laughing. Ranya can’t help but join the laughter and she gently guides Kuvira’s hand to her cheek. She holds her hand over Kuvira’s, enjoying the warmth. 

“I’m sorry I lost control,” Ranya whispers and gently places a kiss on Kuvira’s knuckles. She lets go of Kuvira’s hand and slowly shifts to her other side so that her back is facing Kuvira. Even though Kuvira doesn’t seem to be frightened anymore, Ranya can’t help but feel ashamed of herself and how she had acted. Her heart aches but she closes her eyes, shaking off the odd feeling. 

Then she feels warm arms wrap around her body and pull her closer. She can feel the warmth of Kuvira’s skin against hers. “Is this okay?” Kuvira whispers, her lips close to Ranya’s ear. Kuvira’s raspy voice sends shivers all over Ranya’s body and she closes her eyes. She wraps her arms around Kuvira’s and holds them closer to her chest. She closes her eyes and a tear falls down her face.

“Yes, this is okay.”

“Let’s not keep this type of stuff from each other. Even if you frightened me, I haven’t changed my mind about you.”

“I promise...”

The sound of the rain pattering down on the tent’s roof guides them to the world of dreams, as they hold on to each other. 

Chapter Text

Day twenty-five: Republic City

They can already see the tall buildings of Republic City as they slowly get closer to the border of the city. They have to go through customs examination, as they arrived from the Fire Nation a few days earlier and they aren’t arriving through the harbor. Three customs officers go through their jeep and belongings, while Kuvira is handling their passports and other papers with another officer inside a small office. Ranya is silently waiting outside, sitting on the cold ground and shivering in the cool breeze. When had it become so cold outside?

When Kuvira leaves the office, she walks to Ranya and sits down beside her. She hands their passports to Ranya and shows the stamps on the pages. “Look how cool these are,” she says, a genuine smile on her lips. 

Ranya takes the passports and admires the stamps. She runs her thumb over the dried out stamp marks and chuckles. These little stamp marks were able to make both of them smile. But she can admit, the stamps are beautiful. They can show them to everyone when they get back to Zaofu. “Are we ready to go?” Ranya asks as she lies her eyes on Kuvira’s side profile. 

“Yeah, we just need to drive through that port over there and everything should be fine. I phoned Lin and she told me where we should go at the probending arena. We’ve got a lot of time on our hands now, so we can wander around the city. It’s still early,” she explains the plan for the day and gets up from the ground. She holds her shoulder and knits her eyebrows together when the wound shots through a wave of pain all over her body. She shakes off the feeling and offers her healthy hand to Ranya and helps her to get up. 

“Does it hurt bad?” Ranya asks and gently brushes her fingers over Kuvira’s shoulder. 

Kuvira shakes her head but Ranya knows she’s lying. She doesn’t say anything, she lets Kuvira be the stubborn woman she is. 

They walk to their jeep and the officers around it start making their leave. One of them hands Kuvira some papers she needs to sign. She takes the pen from the man and leaves her signature on two different papers, one of them which is for her. She thanks the officers and they hop on the vehicle. Kuvira starts the engine and then they’re moving. They drive through the port and as they pass through, it feels like the world is changing around them. And in a way, they are stepping into a new world.

They turn to face each other for a brief moment. They smile, not even trying to hide their excitement anymore. They made it to Republic City.

The buildings get bigger as they get closer and soon enough they’re surrounded by beautiful buildings and a city about to wake up. The streets aren’t busy yet, as the sun is barely rising from the horizon. But they do get weird looks from the people that are outside at this hour, probably because of their jeep, but they’re too mesmerized to notice any of it. Kuvira drives to a smaller alley and parks their jeep there. They get off and make sure that none of their luggage is visible to the outsiders, not that they have anything valuable packed in anyway.

“You know, I always thought that the buildings in Zaofu were big… But these? Just look at them!” Ranya says as she throws her hands in the air, head tilted back to see the tallest of the buildings. Her eyes examine all of the buildings and shops around.

Kuvira can’t get her eyes off of Ranya and a smile sneaks up on her lips. Seeing Ranya this way never fails to make her smile. She loves to see her happy. And she agrees, the buildings were huge, even compared to Zaofu’s tallest buildings. She couldn’t deny it, she was amazed by the city. 

They gaze up at the buildings, but then Kuvira’s stomach releases a low growl. Ranya turns to look at Kuvira and they stare at each for a moment, before they break into a laughter. “I guess your stomach is right, we should get something to eat,” Ranya comments and tries to control her laughing.

They had left so early in the morning that they had skipped their breakfast - not smart - but they really wanted to have some luxury breakfast, so they decided to wait until they got here. They walked around for a moment, trying to find themselves a restaurant to eat and fill up their hungry bellies.

At last, they come across a small restaurant near the other end of the harbor. It looks like the restaurant had opened up for the day just a while ago. They open the door and a small bell chimes above them, alerting the staff that they have customers. A lady appears behind the front desk and she grabs two menus as she walks up to them, a warm welcoming smile on her face. “Welcome! Please, take a seat,” she encourages them and gestures at the empty tables with her hand. 

Kuvira takes the menus and thanks the lady, as they take their seats near the window at the far corner. They have an amazing view of the sea and they can even see the Air Temple Island. The waitress leaves them for a moment, so that they can read through the menus and decide what they want to order. Ranya holds the menu with care in her hands and eyes through the options on her list. There aren’t a lot of vegan options but she goes with the one that is suitable for the morning - the vegan brunch. When the waitress comes back to them to get their order, Kuvira orders the regular brunch with some extra cabbage rolls and Ranya tells the waitress that she would like one vegan brunch. The waitress writes down their order and gives them a small bow before she leaves. 

For a moment, they just stare out of the window. The sea is calm and the sun is slowly rising higher in the sky. The sun has painted the sky with a mix of pink and orange and occasionally Ranya can see some blue appearing here and there. She realizes she’s smiling when she catches a glimpse of her own reflection on the window. She lets out a chuckle and turns to face Kuvira, who to her surprise, is already staring at her. 

Kuvira smiles and cocks her eyebrows. “What’s so funny?” She asks, putting her elbows on the table so that she can lean her chin against her palm. In this light, Kuvira looks like a goddess. 

Ranya shakes her head and laughs. “I looked dumb staring out of the window just smiling, as if I had never seen a sea before,” she explains and buries her face in her hands. She can’t stop smiling, even if she tries. 

Then she feels a light tug on her wrist and when she peeks through between her fingers, she can see Kuvira reaching over the table, slowly pulling her hands away from her face. “Don’t hide your face, I like to see it,” Kuvira breathes and Ranya lets her pull her hands down. 

Ranya can feel her cheeks light up like a forest fire. When Kuvira notices the hint of red on Ranya’s cheeks, a grin rises to her lips and she lets out a snort. She shakes her head but doesn’t let go of Ranya. She doesn’t want to let go of her, ever.

Ranya stares back at Kuvira’s green eyes and tilts her head slightly. A subtle smile creeps on her lips and she rolls her eyes, a chuckle following the eye roll. “I won’t hide my face if you don’t hide yours. I like to see it.”

Now it’s Kuvira’s turn to feel her cheeks burn like flames. She doesn’t hide the blush though. She just sits there in silence, her fingers gently brushing over Ranya’s hands. 

When they see their food coming, they pull their hands to their own sides and let the waitress place their food in front of them. They thank the waitress and then she hurries to greet other customers, who have come for brunch as well. 

The food looks delicious and they can’t wait to get their hands on it. And when they finally do, all they do is just eat in silence, enjoying their food. 

“This is so good,” Ranya manages to say between eating and she glances up at Kuvira, who has her eyes closed, satisfied smile on her face. “And I see you agree with me,” she adds and grins, when Kuvira finally opens her eyes to meet hers. Kuvira is blushing again. She brings her hand to her face to cover the blush this time, but then she remembers that they made a deal of not covering their faces in front of each other. She slowly lowers her hand and let’s her wrist rest at the edge of the table. She smiles. 

“Yeah, this is amazing,” she admits, though Ranya already knew her answer. It was obvious, really. 

Their eyes meet and now it’s Kuvira’s turn to notice the hint of gold in Ranya’s eyes. 

Kuvira’s admiration is interrupted when Ranya starts speaking. “I want to go to this one specific shop today.”

“Oh? And what might this shop be?” Kuvira asks in return, continuing eating. She doesn’t break their eye contact.

When Ranya goes silent Kuvira’s eyebrows rise in confusion. What is so special about this store? “You’re not going to tell me?” Kuvira inquires. 

“I think I should go there by myself.”

“Why?”

“I know you wouldn’t care about it. Also, I need some time by myself,” Ranya murmurs and looks down at her plate. 

Kuvira’s heart twitches when she hears the words ‘I need some time by myself.’ Had she said something wrong? Or did she do something? Was last night’s cuddling too much? 

Ranya notices Kuvira’s mood changing and she reaches her hand towards Kuvira and places her hand over her hand. “Hey, it’s got nothing to do with you… Or us. I just can’t reveal it yet, okay?” Her voice is gentle, quiet. 

Kuvira lifts her eyes to Ranya and she stares at her for a moment before she nods her head and subtly smiles. 

“Let’s finish this meal and let’s get going.”

Kuvira is left alone wandering around the city while Ranya is at the unspecified shop. They promised to meet each other in thirty minutes, so she has some time for herself. She finds a small clothing shop and she steps in. She walks around and touches all of the fabrics and ends up buying a new set of robes. The cashier packs the light green and lilac robes into a paper bag and hands it over to Kuvira. 

“Thank you, have a nice day,” she says as she exits the shop. Lin had mentioned something about a party they were invited to so she thought the robes would look beautiful with some jewelry. She walks back to their jeep and seats herself in the driver’s seat. 

She lifts up the sleeve of her jacket to reveal the bracelet she is wearing. She takes it off and starts turning it in her hands. Suyin had given the bracelet to her when she was young and at one point Kuvira had broken it when she had gotten angry. She had immediately regretted it and tried to fix it as well as she could. She couldn’t fix it on her own so she brought it to the jewelry shop Suyin had bought it for her. When Kuvira had met Ranya’s parents a few months ago, she had realized that they had made the bracelet and countless other jewelry pieces she owns. 

A chuckle leaves her mouth as she remembers her days back at home. She was miserable. But was she less miserable now? She still struggled with her emotions but knowing that so did Ranya made her feel safer. Of course she knows that together they’re like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, but for now? For now she just wants to hold Ranya in her arms again and fall asleep to the sound of her steady breathing. 

She smiles to herself and slightly jumps when Ranya hops on the jeep and places a package on the backseat. Kuvira clears her throat and puts her bracelet back on. She turns to look at the woman beside her. “Aren’t you cold?” She asks when she realizes that Ranya isn’t wearing a jacket.

“Kuvira, my dear, we are in a damn jeep. It doesn’t matter if I’m wearing a jacket or not. This thing doesn’t have a roof,” Ranya points out and rolls her eyes. “But I’ll put a jacket on just for you.” And then Ranya turns in her seat to stand on her knees as she goes through the bags in the backseat. She pulls out a thick jacket and pulls it on. “Better?” She turns to Kuvira as she sits down.

Kuvira smiles and nods, “Better.”

They decide to drive around the city for a while, before they would head to the probending arena. They have been in the city longer than they thought and the sun is already starting to slowly set. Did they really spend that long in the restaurant? They stayed only a few hours after they had eaten… Or maybe it was more than few hours.

As they drive around, they see a group of people standing in front of a small stage. A man is on the stage, his arms fiercely cutting the air as he is preaching something. Kuvira slows down and pulls the jeep aside. She wants to see what this is about. “Let’s go see,” she mumbles. She doesn’t let her gaze fall away from the man as she steps out of the vehicle. 

When they get closer to the crowd Kuvira steps over something and she looks down at her feet. She notices a flyer on the ground. She picks it up and reads it out loud, “Equalists?” She looks at Ranya who is beside her and shows the flyer. Ranya takes it from her hands and turns it around. It has part of a map behind it. “Why does it sound so familiar?” She ponders out loud as she turns back to the man. 

The man is preaching about the evilness of benders and how he wants them all gone. He is explaining about a big rally coming up and about a man named Amon. When Kuvira realizes what is going on, she grabs Ranya’s arm and pulls her away. “We’re not safe here,” she says.

“But they don’t know what we are.”

“It doesn’t matter. I thought that the name Equalists sounded familiar and couldn’t remember it at first but then I heard what he said. They have a way of taking away bender’s ability to bend,” Kuvira explains as she keeps on pulling Ranya with her. “These people are not the ones to mess with.”

Ranya doesn’t fight back and lets Kuvira pull her back to their jeep. They should get going. 

When Kuvira gets the jeep moving she heads straight to the harbour.

Kuvira seems frightened after seeing those Equalists and Ranya can’t help but wonder why. Is Kuvira so afraid of losing her power? Ranya has already lived without her powers, as the poison in her had limited her ability to bend for a while. She wouldn’t mind not being able to bend, but she knows that bending plays a big role in Kuvira’s identity.

“Are you okay?” Ranya asks as they get further away from the crowd. 

Kuvira nods her head. The expression on her face tells otherwise. 

“It’s okay if you aren’t.”

“I am.”

“Kuvira-”

“I said I’m fine.”

Ranya nods quietly and turns her gaze ahead. 

They park their jeep to the harbor, where Kya is waiting for them. She waves her hand and three Air acolytes rush to them to get their bags. Their belongings will be sent to the Air Temple Island, while they go meet with Lin at the Probending arena. This was just a pit stop. 

Kya walks up to them with open arms and hoards them into a big warm hug. “Welcome!” She says and Kuvira winces when her shoulder gets squeezed too hard. Kya notices this and pulls away from the hug. “Are you hurt?” She asks.

Kuvira turns her eyes to the ground and clears her throat. “We were attacked last night,” she mumbles as she keeps kicking the ground beneath her boots.

Kya gasps loudly and brings her hands to her mouth. “We should go to the Air Temple Island now so that I can heal you,” she says and is already guiding both of them to a sky bison waiting in the harbor.

“Oh, no. I’m fine, I promise. Ranya did a good job patching me up,” she insists and her eyes meet with Ranya’s. Kya turns around and looks at her, squinting her eyes as if examining her. 

“Alright then.” She seems more compliant than when she had insisted on healing Ranya’s wounds after fighting with Kiran. “But I swear-”

“I promise you can heal me when we get to the Island,” Kuvira interrupts and holds her hands up while smiling assuringly. 

Kya nods her head and then turns to help the Air acolytes lift the luggage to the bison’s back. Before she climbs on, she turns around for the last time and smiles, “See you later, kids.”

Ranya and Kuvira wave their hands as they watch Kya and the Air acolytes fly away. “Damn that bison is big,” Ranya mumbles as she watches the bison fly towards the Island. 

Kuvira just nods her head and then takes a quick look at Ranya. “We should get going, the match has already started and Lin is probably waiting for us.” 

They decide to walk to the probending arena, since the walk isn’t that long. Kuvira makes a quick trip back to the jeep to grab herself a scarf, but she ends up wrapping it around Ranya. When Ranya turns to look at Kuvira, she doesn’t return the look. She just keeps looking ahead, with a subtle smile on her face. But Ranya doesn’t complain. The scarf smells like her. 

They don’t bother talking as they walk on the busy streets that are lit up with dim lights here and there. It’s getting dark, and the weather is getting colder. Ranya notices Kuvira pulling the collar of her jacket higher and she is ready to offer the scarf back to her but when she is about to open her mouth, something big and bright catches her eyes. When she turns to see, she is facing the huge probending arena. They both stare at the arena with open mouths. They had seen pictures of it, but seeing the building in real life is a different experience. 

“We… We should get inside,” Kuvira stumbles over her words as she is too caught up admiring the building. Ranya can’t even get a word out of her mouth, so she just ends up nodding her head.

Without meaning to, Ranya grabs Kuvira’s hand. But neither one of them pulls away. They just keep walking with the flow of the crowd into the building, holding each other’s hands. 

Lin had instructed them to find their way to a changing room and they have to walk up at least a million flights of stairs, or at least that’s what it feels like to them, before reaching the right floor. They look around the hallways for a moment, before they find the changing room they were supposed to meet with Lin. When they realize it’s one of the probending team’s changing room, they start second guessing themselves.

“Are you sure we are in the right place?” Ranya asks as she looks around. No one is in the changing room as the match started ages ago and is nearing the end. Ranya stands near the edge where she can see the two teams in the arena, fighting against each other by using their bending. The crowd cheers on the teams and the sportscaster is talking non-stop. 

“Yes, I am sure. Lin told me that we should come here,” Kuvira insists as she tries her best to find the piece of paper she wrote the information down on. When she finds it, Ranya walks to her and they’re standing shoulder to shoulder as they’re reading it. Kuvira points at the part that says ‘location’. “Look, we are in the right place. Maybe she’s the one who got it wrong?”

They talk about the location for a while, but they get interrupted when one of the teams enters the changing room. They exchange awkward looks and one of the team members, a tall guy, walks to the lockers. “Bolin, I told you, you have to stop bringing your crazy fangirls in here during the matches,” the man complains and sits down. 

The other guy, Bolin assumedly, looks at Ranya and Kuvira up and down and then shakes his head. “I swear I don’t know who these are.”

“They’re talking like we aren’t even here,” Ranya says and leans towards Kuvira as she crosses her arms over her chest. 

“Mhm, maybe there is a glass between us so that they think we can’t hear them. Where’s Lin anyway?” Kuvira starts looking around and her eyes meet with a girl, whose eyes are as blue as the sea. 

“Did you say Lin?” The girl says, taking a step forward as she removes her helmet. Ranya and Kuvira exchange looks and then nod. “So you’re the girls from Zaofu, right?”

Kuvira follows Ranya’s example and crosses her arms across her chest. “Yeah, how do you know?”

“Lin has been talking about you two for quite a while! And so has Kya!” The girl says and the excitement on her face is pure. 

Now the tall guy stands up and walks to them. He scratches the back of his neck and clears his throat. “Didn’t mean to be rude. Sorry about that. I’m Mako,” he says.

“Which one of you is the sick one?” Bolin asks, getting closer to them.

“Bolin-”

“No, it's fine. I’m the one,” Ranya interrupts Mako and holds her hand up. “I’m not sick anymore, though. Kya did a pretty good job.”

“I heard it was poison,” Bolin continues.

“Yeah.”

“Who did it?”

“Probably my parents.”

Silence falls upon them as the three strangers look at Ranya with their mouths open. Kuvira has heard this story multiple times and she isn’t shocked anymore, but that doesn’t prevent the shivers from going down her spine.

Bolin is about to open his mouth but the girl with the blue eyes is faster. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to introduce myself. I’m Korra. You know, the Avatar.”

Now Ranya and Kuvira are the ones staring at her with their mouths open. Had they really been assholes to the Avatar and her friends? Korra notices the slight panic in Ranya’s eyes and laughs. “Don’t worry about it guys! It’s nothing new, people act like asses to me all the time.”

Ranya releases a relieved breath and holds her hand to her chest. “I already got scared you were going to throw me off that edge,” she says and nods her head towards the edge the Avatar’s probending team had entered a while ago. 

“I would never,” Korra says but is soon being made fun of as Mako rolls his eyes and mumbles Korra’s words. Something about his reaction tells that the threat had probably been executed at some point. 

Awkward silence fills the room as they have nothing else to talk about. Kuvira looks around and she notices that Ranya is doing the same.

“So… When’s Lin coming?” Kuvira asks after an awfully long moment of silence. 

“I don’t know, she should be here,” Mako says and he peeks into the hallway to see if he can see anyone. “Oop, and there she is,” he returns quickly to the room and soon enough Kuvira and Ranya can hear the familiar footsteps and sound of metal from the hallway. 

When Lin enters the room only Ranya and Kuvira don’t flinch and step back to give her more room. When Lin’s eyes lay on them, a subtle smile forms on her lips and she takes a few steps closer to them. Unlike Kya, she doesn’t have her arms wide open to hug them. 

“I see you’ve made it here.”

“Yeah, we were doubting ourselves when we got here because of these guys,” Kuvira says and cocks her head towards Korra and her team, “But I guess we were in the right place.”

Lin chuckles. “Sorry if I forgot to mention that this room is for them.” She casts a look on Korra, Mako and Bolin, before she continues chatting with Ranya and Kuvira. “How are you enjoying my city?”

“Oh, we love it here!” Ranya answers and smiles. “Everything is so big and fancy.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it here,” she says as she turns back to Korra and her friends. “Congratulations on your win tonight. Don’t forget to show up to the party later,” she reminds them. 

Bolin opens his mouth, “You two, you better show up too! We need some new love birds there, we’re getting tired of Asami and Mako!” It doesn’t take long for Mako to throw something at Bolin.

Ranya and Kuvira turn to look at each other. They’re blushing. “We… We are just friends,” Kuvira stutters and turns to look at Bolin, who seems to be disappointed after hearing Kuvira’s words. “But we will show up.”

Lin nods her head and takes a step towards the door. “Okay then, let’s get you two to the Air Temple Island. These three can find their own way there.”

Bolin waves at them and Kuvira waves back, before they leave the room. Ranya and Kuvira walk behind Lin and they start walking down the same flight of stairs they managed to climb up just a moment ago. Ranya lets out a frustrated sigh but keeps on following Lin.

“So how have you two been?” Lin asks, her voice echoing in the staircase. 

“Good. Good, I guess? I mean we did get attacked last night and-”

Before Kuvira can finish, Lin sharply turns her head to look at them over her shoulder. “Attacked? Where? By who? Are you hurt?”

Ranya lets her eyes fall down to her feet. Yesterday, she almost killed a man. 

“It was outside the city. There were just a few men. Only I got hurt but Kya promised to take care of me,” Kuvira explains.

Lin nods her head. “We can search for them and make them pay.”

“They did pay,” Kuvira says without hesitation and Ranya fires a glare at her. “They ran away like little boys. Probably went home to cry to their mamas.”

Lin chuckles and shakes her head. “Well I’m glad you two know how to defend yourselves.”

Lin and Kuvira chit chat on the way down the stairs, but Ranya keeps her thoughts to herself. She had forgotten about last night’s incident for a moment, but now all of the bad thoughts are running through her head again. 

She snaps back to reality when they step outside and the cold air hits her right in the face. Lin has a fast walking pace and Kuvira and Ranya have to basically run to keep up with her. There is a boat waiting for them near the harbor and Lin jumps in, getting behind the wheel. Kuvira steps into the boat next and then helps Ranya get aboard as well. 

“Thanks,” Ranya breathes as Kuvira basically lifts her to the boat.

Lin doesn’t hesitate a moment to start the engine and before they even have time to register everything, they’re already moving and heading towards the island that is dimly lit up. 

The harbor in Air Temple Island is also lit up by lanterns, and three acolytes, Kya and a tall airbender are standing there. When they get to the dock, Ranya’s legs almost give out. The tall airbender catches her in time and she can feel her cheeks fire up. Glad no one can see it well in this dim light.

“You alright?” The man asks, his voice deep but filled with care. 

Ranya straightens herself up and nods. “Yes, thank you.”

“I am Tenzin, welcome to the Air Temple Island.” The man smiles at both of them and then nods to Lin as she walks to Kya. 

The man starts leading them to the buildings and Kya slows down her pace to be able to walk with Ranya and Kuvira. “We should get you two checked up right away. That way you have time to get ready for the party,” she suggests and Ranya and Kuvira nod their heads, not complaining. 

When they get to the temple, they are greeted by a woman and three children, who are playing around. “Welcome! I am Pema, I can show you two your room,” the woman says and gently hugs both of them. They head inside the temple, leaving the kids and others outside, waiting. Only Kya is following them inside. 

Pema leads them through multiple hallways, before they get to their room. When she slides the door open, Ranya and Kuvira realize that… There is only one bed. 

“I think there might be a mistake,” Kuvira starts out and turns to Pema. 

Pema flicks her hand and laughs. “Oh no, my dear. This will be just fine for the two of you, trust me.”

Pema flees the scene before they can ask any more questions and when Ranya and Kuvira turn around, they meet Kya’s grin. “Trust her.” She gives them a wink and then slides open the door next to their room. “Now come on in, let’s check how the two of you are doing. 

When Kuvira leaves Kya’s medical room, it’s Ranya’s turn to be examined. She removes her jacket and the top layer of her robes and lies down on the bed. Kya bends the water out of a bowl big enough to fit a child in it and then brings her hands over her body. The water starts glowing as she is looking for any remains of the poison.

“So how are you really doing?” Kya asks to break the silence.

Ranya closes her eyes and sighs. “I don’t know, really. Other times I feel like crap but when I’m with her…”

“You two are like made for each other. I don’t understand why you two aren’t together already.”

“There have been… Some bumps along the way.”

“Mhm? And what are these bumps exactly?”

Ranya goes silent for a moment. “I kissed another girl… And Kuvira saw it. I… I almost killed a man… And Kuvira saw that too.”

Kya stops and puts the water away. Ranya opens her eyes and meets the familiar pair of blue eyes. “Why did you almost kill someone?” 

“He attacked Kuvira,” she whispers, tears rising up to her eyes. “I was angry and she was hurt.”

Kya purses her lips and nods, she places her hand on Ranya’s arm and slightly strokes it. “It was self defence. You did nothing wrong.”

They’re silent for a moment, not knowing what to say anymore. “And you kissed another girl?”

Ranya chuckles and wipes away the tears. “Yeah. It was a mistake.”

“Well clearly,” Kya exclaims and smiles. “You’re good to go. I couldn’t find any remains of the poison. And you seem to be doing well physically.”

Ranya sits up and starts dressing up. “Yeah, I’m gaining my bending back too. I feel stronger than ever before.”

Kya smiles. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Thank you, Kya. Without you I wouldn’t be here.” Ranya takes a step closer to Kya and hugs her.

Kya wraps her arms around Ranya and holds her for a moment. When they break from the hug, Ranya thanks Kya again before leaving the room. 

She takes a few steps and then slides open the next door. Kuvira is standing in front of a mirror, fixing her hair and robes. 

Ranya whistles when she closes the door and grins. “Are those new robes?” She asks and takes a step closer. She touches the fabric and runs her hand along it, not being able to control herself. “Soft,” she hums.

“I bought it when you were shopping at the mysterious shop.”

“Aaaand that brings me to- hold on a second,” Ranya begins and then goes to their bags, looking for the package she brought with her from the shop she went to. She finds it and walks back to Kuvira, handing it to her. “To this. Here, open it.”

Kuvira’s eyebrows lift and she looks confused. She looks down at the package and takes it and then looks back up at Ranya. “What is it?”

“Open it, then you’ll find out.”

Kuvira starts opening the package slowly, not wanting to tear it apart. When she looks inside, she hears the familiar sound of metals clinking against each other. She glances at Ranya who has an excited look on her face. Kuvira pulls out of the package a metal plated neck piece that has a jewel hanging from it’s middle part. She stares at the neck piece, mesmerized by its beauty. She touches the metal and smiles. 

“I made it,” Ranya reveals and bites her lower lip. “I went to the store to add the emerald to it.”

Without hesitation, Kuvira pulls Ranya into a hug. She buries her face into the crook of her neck and closes her eyes. “Thank you, Ranya. I love it. It’s beautiful.”

Ranya chuckles and wraps her arms around Kuvira. She smiles and closes her eyes. “Not as beautiful as you.”

Chapter Text

Day twenty-five, Republic City, City Hall

Lin walks ahead of them when they get to the City Hall. She is probably going to be having incredibly boring conversations with other city officials, while keeping an eye on possible threats. They’re left standing in the doorway, alone, gazing up and down, amazed by everything they can see. The City Hall is huge. 

They’re brought back to reality when they notice Bolin running towards them, a smile on his face. “You came!” He stops right in front of them and Kuvira can tell that the young man is trying his best not to hug the two of them. His hair is slicked back and he is wearing a black suit with green accents. “And you came with style. Those are some sick necklaces!” He leans his hands above his knees to take a better look at the metal plates around their necks. 

Both Kuvira and Ranya look down at their metal plated neck pieces. Ranya lifts her gaze and smiles, “Thank you, Bolin, I made them myself.”

“That’s pretty dope. Where did you learn that?”

Ranya shrugs her shoulders, as if this is nothing, “My parents taught me,” she says and glances at Kuvira. She seems to be proud to carry the neck piece she had made for her. She then turns back to Bolin. “Shall we get something to eat?”

Bolin nods his head and starts leading them to the buffet, where Korra and Mako are. There is also another woman, with beautiful black hair and gorgeous red dress. “Friends, look who made it here! Asami, these are Ranya and Kuvira, Ranya and Kuvira this is Asami,” Bolin introduces them and Asami is already holding her hand out to shake hands with the new acquaintances.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Asami says as she first shakes hands with Ranya and then Kuvira. “You are a lovely couple! And you have the most beautiful necklaces. Where can I get one?”

“We are just friends,” Ranya answers. This is the second time someone thinks of them as a couple. “And if you want one, just tell me and I’ll make you.”

Asami brings her hand to her lips and chuckles. “My apologies, I thought the two of you were together. You’re holding hands and everything,” she apologises and tilts her head slightly. “Although I see no problem why the two of you couldn’t be a couple.” She cocks her eyebrow and grins.

Ranya glances at Kuvira who is blushing heavily. “We take that as a compliment.” Ranya smiles and then pulls Kuvira with her, to the buffet bar. She is starving. Both of them are.

Korra and her friends follow them and they all gather themselves some food, before moving to the side to eat. They talk about all kinds of nonsense and the night goes by faster than anyone had thought it would.

People around them are dancing and chatting, the music is loud enough so that they have to almost yell at each other to hear anything. Multiple speeches are held and even the press is present, constantly trying to get an interview out of the Avatar or trying to catch a photo of her. 

Kuvira hears a familiar song being played by the orchestra. She checks out the dance floor to see if it’s crowded or not. For her luck, not a lot of people are there. She puts her plate aside and turns to Ranya. She holds out her hand and smiles, “Will you dance with me?”

At first Ranya is confused by the gesture, but then she bites her lower lip and places her hand over Kuvira’s. She gives her a subtle curtsy and smiles. “It would be an honor.”

Kuvira curls her fingers over Ranya’s hand and starts leading her to the dance floor. Soon, they’re surrounded by other people, swaying to the rhythm of the song. Kuvira places her other hand on Ranya’s lower back, while holding onto the other one. Ranya has her other hand on Kuvira’s shoulder.

They don’t do the cool and breathtaking dance moves Kuvira is used to doing. They just sway where they are, taking small steps to the left, to the right, back and forth. 

Kuvira locks her eyes with Ranya and smiles. “You look beautiful tonight,” she whispers. She wants to lean closer.

“So do you,” Ranya returns the compliment. 

Ranya slips her hand from Kuvira’s gentle grip and wraps her arms around Kuvira’s neck. There is no gap between their bodies anymore, as Ranya is pulling Kuvira closer. Kuvira places her other hand on Ranya’s shoulder.

“How’s your shoulder doing?” Ranya asks.

“Like brand new.”

Kuvira leans her forehead against Ranya’s. They keep their eye contact and they can’t help but smile. “You can check partying all night off your bucket list now,” Kuvira points out and makes Ranya laugh. 

Bolin pokes Asami’s rib with his elbow and points at Ranya and Kuvira, who are slowly dancing on the dance floor. “Does that seem like ‘just friends’ to you?” He asks and Asami can’t help but smirk. 

She shakes her head and places her hands on her hips. “No, no it doesn’t.”

“What’s on your mind?” Kuvira asks, quietly. She bites her lower lip subtly and closes her eyes for a moment.

Ranya places her cheek against Kuvira’s shoulder and hums. A smile tugs the corners of her mouth as she closes her eyes. “Nothing… Just you.”

Kuvira’s stomach fills up with butterflies after hearing those words. She opens her eyes and looks down at Ranya, who is resting her head on her shoulder. Kuvira gently places her hand under Ranya’s chin and lifts it up, gently. Their faces are so close and they can feel each other’s breathing on their skins. 

They both know what they want, what they crave. Why hadn’t they done it before? For Kuvira, she hadn’t found the right moment to do anything so courageous. Even after confessing her feelings, she felt unsure of what she should do. But now she feels like this is the right moment. The two of them, surrounded by beautiful music, close to each other, dancing. 

Kuvira’s heart is beating against her chest like crazy, when she dares to glance down at Ranya’s lips. 

Of course Ranya notices this and a grin appears on her lips. She pulls even closer, their noses now touching. “Go on,” she breathes so quietly that for a moment she wonders if the words ever left her lips.

Kuvira tilts her face and leans closer, closing the gap between their faces as she presses her lips against Ranya’s. They close their eyes and let themselves get lost in each other. Kuvira is gentle and soft, her hands cupping Ranya’s cheek. The whole world disappears from around them, it’s just them, no one else, only the music playing in the background. 

Ranya’s hands go up Kuvira’s shoulder to her neck, pulling her closer. She knew she had always wanted this, but now that they’re here, she had no idea how addicting this would be.

“Yeah, that is definitely not what ‘just friends’ would do,” Korra adds her commentary to the scene as she joins Asami and Bolin, who are staring at Kuvira and Ranya. “I mean, maybe they’re just really close friends.”

When Kuvira’s lips leave Ranya’s she keeps her eyes closed for a moment as she purses her lips and lets herself take a deep breath. Their foreheads touch and she opens her eyes, meeting a familiar set of eyes staring back at her. “Now that was…” Kuvira starts out, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

“Yeah,” Ranya agrees and laughs. 

“I don’t think the one bed is going to be a problem anymore,” Kuvira whispers, as she places her lips back on Ranya’s. 

Chapter Text

Day twenty-six, Republic City, Air Temple Island

Ranya is sitting on the Air Temple Island’s meditation pavilion. The night is cold, but she just wraps her jacket tighter around herself. She lets her other leg hang off the railing and she leans her back against one of the bigger pillars. 

It’s so quiet . 

She closes her eyes and enjoys the cool air. The sun is slowly peeking from the horizon, reminding of a new day. The stars are quietly drifting away, giving more room for the sun to take. 

Ranya breathes in and out, letting the cold air sting her throat and lungs. She enjoys it, as it works as a little reminder that she is still alive. A few months ago she wouldn’t have believed that she would be here, in Republic City, on Air Temple Island, with Kuvira. Alive. She was told to have only a few months left. And she had no idea that this is where she would end up. 

She opens her eyes as she hears someone approach her. She turns her head, to see who has come to the pavilion with her, at the break of dawn. 

Before her stands the Avatar, nervously shifting her weight from one hip to the other. Their eyes meet and they stare at each other for a moment, before Ranya tilts her head slightly and reveals a smile. She cocks her chin towards the other end of the railing, suggesting that Korra takes a seat. Korra doesn’t hesitate, and she jumps on the railing and brings her knees close to her chest. 

They sit there, in complete silence for a while. Ranya doesn’t mind it, as she is used to being quiet and in silence almost all the time. Now that she thinks about it, she and Kuvira are quiet almost all of the time too. It doesn’t bother them. They both like it. But Ranya isn’t sure, if Korra enjoys it too. 

Ranya lets her eyes wander back to the horizon. She leans her head against the pillar and lets out a sigh. 

“I saw you and Kuvira today. I think a lot of people did,” Korra says after a moment. When Ranya turns to look at Korra, she notices the smug on the Avatar’s face. 

She can feel the heat rush to her cheeks. What they did was spontaneous and they didn’t think of the people around them. It just happened, and Ranya is glad it did. She tries to hide her face with her jacket, but there is nothing Korra hasn’t seen already. 

“Honestly when I first saw you two, I thought you were a couple,” Korra reveals. “I could see from miles away that you two had a thing for each other, I was just not expecting to witness your first kiss.” Korra chuckles and shakes her head slightly. “I’m happy for you two.”

“Thank you, I guess,” Ranya responds quietly, not really knowing what to say. What are you even supposed to say, when someone says they’re happy for you and your significant other? “I was kinda nervous about making a move on her.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t know if she liked women. I had had quite bad experiences of being a lesbian where I live, so that also played a big part in this whole thing. I didn’t want her to get hurt,” she admits and sighs. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when… When we go back home.”

Korra smiles and says, “I’m sure it’ll be fine. And if it isn’t, just give me a call and I’ll be there to make sure you guys are safe. No one dares to mess with the Avatar.”

Ranya laughs at Korra’s response and looks at her, their eyes meeting. They hold onto the eye contact for a moment, before they turn back to admiring the sunrise.

“Dancing with Kuvira was the highlight of this journey,” Ranya quietly says. For some reason, she can feel tears burning her eyes. She blinks her eyes fast and hopes that Korra doesn’t notice. She can feel a lump grow in her throat. Why am I so emotional now?

Korra doesn’t say anything. She knows that what Ranya had said was more likely just for herself, and that she just had to say it out loud. She understands it. 

Minutes pass by and what feels like an hour, Ranya turns to Korra. “What brought you out here? Can’t sleep?”

Korra shrugs her shoulders and leans her head against her knees that she wraps her arms around. “I guess. I’m also frustrated with myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t airbend! I can’t reach my past selves either. I’m stuck. Broken.”

Ranya looks at the Avatar. How can someone so powerful, confident and beautiful feel like they’re broken? “I don’t believe you’re broken,” she says, quietly.

Korra slightly lifts her head, just enough to see Ranya. “But I feel like I am.”

“I… I can help you,” Ranya says and gets off the railing. She walks around the pavilion, thinking. “I can reach the spirit world quite easily. I learned how to do it when I was only twelve years old. Maybe… Maybe I can guide you there?”

Now Korra’s face is lit up by excitement and curiosity. “You can?”

Ranya nods her head and sits down on the wooden floor of the pavilion. It is cold, but she doesn’t mind it. 

“I learned all about the spirit world from books. I also had a guide, Aiwei. Now, sit down,” she explains and motions Korra to sit down. 

The Avatar sits across Ranya and crosses her legs. 

“Are you sure about this? Maybe you should go to bed…” Korra starts protesting, but Ranya silences her by lifting her hand. “Okay…”

Ranya closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, Korra follows her lead. 

“Now, just listen to my voice. I will guide you to the spirit world…”

Chapter Text

Day twenty-six, Republic City, Air Temple Island

Kuvira wakes up, as the door to their room slides open. She opens her eyes and turns around in the bed, just to see Ranya standing in the doorway, trying her best to close the door quietly. 

Kuvira watches, as the woman she loves the most takes off her jacket and undresses herself. She lets her eyes study Ranya’s body. She notices all of the scars running down her back and arms. She sits up and now Ranya realises that Kuvira is awake. She looks frightened, and she holds a piece of clothing to her chest, as if trying to hide her body. 

“Where were you?” Kuvira asks, moving to her left on their bed, making room for Ranya. She holds the blanket up, inviting Ranya in.

Ranya doesn’t bother to dress herself again, and she snuggles beside Kuvira. “Oh you’re cold, get off!” Kuvira laughs as her skin makes contact with Ranya’s, who just came from outside. 

Ranya wraps her arms around Kuvira tightly, holding her close and Kuvira can’t help but surrender. They’re lying on their sides, facing each other. Kuvira snuggles closer and their foreheads are touching. Ranya closes her eyes.

“I was outside, I had to just be alone for a moment,” she tells Kuvira. “I also helped the Avatar to get into the spirit world. It was quite successful, though it took a long time. But successful.”

“You helped the Avatar? That’s cool,” Kuvira says quietly, running her hand up and down Ranya’s bare arm. “She had a problem with getting to the spirit world?”

Kuvira’s lips find their way to Ranya’s neck and she plants kisses along Ranya’s throat and collar bones. 

“Apparently. I thought she could do anything. Guess I was wrong,” Ranya keeps on talking, as Kuvira’s lips are tracing her bare skin. 

“Mhm… And she accepted the help?” Kuvira mumbles, against Ranya’s shoulder.

Ranya inhales and her hand wanders to Kuvira’s hair. “Yes.”

Kuvira pulls Ranya under her and gets on top. She holds her own body up with her hands, as she keeps exploring Ranya’s upper body with her lips. 

Right when Kuvira is about to pass Ranya’s chest, Ranya stops her. She holds Kuvira’s face in her hands and forces her to look at her. Their eyes meet and Kuvira has a confused look on her face. 

“Did I do something wrong?” She asks, her heart suddenly pounding against her chest. Had she crossed a line?

Ranya shakes her head, quick to crush Kuvira’s thoughts of crossing a line. Kuvira gets into a better position and places her legs on either side of Ranya, setting her weight on Ranya’s pelvis. 

“No, I’m sorry. I’m just really tired and would prefer your arms around me,” Ranya whispers. Kuvira stares at her for a moment, before she smiles and nods. She touches Ranya’s cheek and can tell Ranya is blushing, as her cheeks are burning hot.

Kuvira settles beside Ranya and wraps her arms around her torso. She pulls her closer and almost every part of their skin is making contact. Ranya turns her back to Kuvira, so that they can spoon. 

Ranya holds onto Kuvira’s hands and lets out a sigh. Kuvira hides her face in the crook of Ranya’s neck.

They stay quiet for a moment, before Ranya breaks it.

“What happens when we go home?”

“Nothing, we stay the way we are.”

“But what if people are against it? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t get hurt, I promise.”

Silence falls upon them. Ranya listens to Kuvira's steady breathing and focuses on the warmth that her skin radiates.

“What if I can’t do it?” She asks.

“Do what?”

“I… Forget it. It was stupid. You’re here now and that’s all that matters.”

Kuvira nods and pulls Ranya closer, if that’s even possible. 

Chapter Text

Day thirty, Republic City

The way light hits Ranya’s bare skin every morning never fails to make Kuvira feel like the luckiest woman in the world. A paused moment, in peace, free, alive , with the woman she loves most in the world. Oh, how lucky she is.

She lets her fingers run up and down Ranya’s shoulder all the way to her neck. Her skin is soft  and Kuvira gently leans over and presses her lips on Ranya’s skin. She breathes in Ranya’s smell and closes her eyes. She rests her cheek on her girlfriend and sighs deeply - this is where she wants to spend the rest of her life.

Their moment of peace is interrupted with a firm knock on the door. The banging wakes up Ranya, who sits up in a heartbeat, accidentally smacking Kuvira’s head against the wall while doing so. “Ouh,” mumbles Kuvira, who massages the side of her head as someone walks into their room.

That someone is, surprisingly, Mako, followed by his brother Bolin. The brothers look at Kuvira and Ranya, who are still very much half asleep. Kuvira raises her eyebrows, asking what in the name of the spirits is going on. 

Mako and Bolin change looks, before looking back at the two sleepyheads. “Korra sent us. Uh, she asked if you wanted to join us,” Mako says after struggling a while with remembering how to speak.

“Join you where?” Ranya asks, her voice raspy and quiet. She needs water.

“The bending arena. We have practice today, you could come and watch,” Bolin adds and smiles so widely his cheeks start turning slightly pink.

Ranya tilts her head and turns to look at Kuvira. She cocks her eyebrows once and closes her eyes for a moment as she leans against Kuvira’s shoulder.

Kuvira chuckles and turns back to the brothers, who are standing in the doorway. They look like lost puppies, not certainly sure how to act. “Just… Give us ten minutes. I guess she’ll be awake enough by that time,” she speaks, gently and quietly.

Bolin gives her a thumbs up and they leave the room, sliding the door closed behind them. 

Silence has returned.

“Hey, we’ve got to get up,” Kuvira whispers, placing her hand behind Ranya’s neck to pull her closer to give her a kiss on the forehead. Ranya groans and snuggles closer to Kuvira. She places sloppy kisses on Kuvira’s neck (that has become one of her favorite parts of Kuvira) and sighs, before opening her eyes. She leans back, just enough to see Kuvira’s face. She can’t help but smile. 

“Have I ever told you you’re beautiful?” Ranya asks, her smile turning into a grin.

Kuvira shakes her head and pretends to be surprised. “Hmm, let me think… No, I don’t think you have,” she whispers. She can’t help but look down at Ranya’s lips.

“I guess this is a good time to start… You are beautiful.” Ranya notices how Kuvira keeps looking down at her lips and decides to help her out. She leans in for a kiss and closes her eyes. She lets her hands travel up Kuvira’s body up to her hair. 

They could keep going for longer but they know they have a rather limited time frame. They depart, unwillingly. They have to leave the comfort of their bed and the warmth of each other to put somewhat decent clothes on. Kuvira goes with a simple green qipao that almost reaches her knees. She puts on the metal plated necklace Ranya made her and sits down on the windowsill to braid her hair. Ranya decides to match with Kuvira and puts on her own qipao that is slightly paler than the evening sky when the sun has started to set in the horizon.

They grab their shoes and jackets and leave their room. They’re hungry and hope that there is still some food in the dining room. They don’t have high hopes, though, because they slept in this morning. If they can’t find food here, they’ll just buy some when they get to the city.

For their fortune, they find a bunch of food at the main table. Mainly fruits, which are optimal for them since they can just grab them and go. They pick a handful of various fruits before heading out, where Korra, Mako and Bolin are waiting for them.

Bolin’s fire ferret, Pabu, is playing with Ozai, Ranya’s fire ferret. When Ozai notices Ranya he doesn’t waste a second and jumps right into her arms. Pabu - not understanding what is going on - follows Ozai and now, instead of one fire ferret, Ranya has two. She doesn’t complain, though.

“They seem to get along well,” Ranya notes, and looks at Bolin.

“Pabu definitely needed a friend. I don’t know if his heart can take it once you guys decide to head back home,” Bolin says and laughs.

Tenzin promised to drop Korra and the brothers, Kuvira and Ranya off to the city while he goes and takes care of some of his own things. He refuses to clarify what he is going to do and he amazingly dodges all of Korra’s additional questions. Most of the time he just ignores Korra (and Bolin).

Kuvira helps Ranya to get on Tenzin’s bison and in return Ranya reaches her hand out for Kuvira to take it and pull her over the edge of the saddle. They sit in the back, holding onto each other. They whisper all kinds of mindless things, comment on the color of the sky, point out the fish in the water and remind each other how lovely it is to belong to one another. Mako wants to throw up, when he sees Ranya and Kuvira cuddling each other. Not everyone can succeed in love, apparently.

Riding a bison is still something Ranya has to get used to. She would prefer to feel earth beneath her feet and to be close to the ground, just in case something happens. That is why she keeps a small amount of rocks in the pockets of her jacket. Just in case she has to smack someone across the face with them and she happens to be far away from land. 

The moment Mako starts making comments about Ranya and Kuvira’s choices of clothes, Ranya ponders whether or not it is worth it to start throwing rocks at a firebender. She decides that she likes both sides of her face equally and would prefer to keep her skin the way it is. She doesn’t answer Mako’s comments and just stares at him, eyebrows lifted and lips pursed together. 

“Well I mean it is quite cold today. You will be freezing,” he says back, as if he wants Ranya to throw rocks at him.

“We’re going to be inside. I think we can handle it,” Kuvira reminds Mako. “Also, you’re a firebender. If we get cold just set us on fire. That should help.” Kuvira can’t help but notice how everyone else is trying to hold back laughter, except for Mako who doesn’t even seem to have a good time. Guess he doesn’t like it when people talk back at him.

The rest of the ride goes with Mako and Kuvira throwing snarky comments at each other. Tenzin sighs out of relief when he drops the group off at the bending arena.

Ranya almost falls to her knees out of gratitude for being back on earth again. She loves the way the ground feels beneath her feet and if she was back home she would probably walk around without shoes. When she almost lost her ability to bend she used to sleep outside just to be in touch with the ground. She walked around barefoot, sat on the floor and collected rocks. She did everything she could to stay as close to the ground as she could, just to remember what it feels like.

The bending arena is quiet. The first time Kuvira and Ranya visited the arena it was packed with people who had come to watch the games. Now there’s barely anyone there and the hallways echo as they walk through them. 

Bolin, Korra and Mako have the entire arena for themselves, so they don’t have to stay in the official practice hall. The arena seems smaller. Maybe it’s because of the emptiness.

Kuvira and Ranya find themselves some seats and they sit down. For a moment they just watch how effortlessly Korra, Bolin and Mako work together as a team and then in a matter of seconds turn to play against each other. 

Ranya notices Kuvira’s hand, resting on the armrest. She places her hand over Kuvira’s and gently squeezes it. Their eyes meet and they stare at each other for a while. Knowing they have each other makes everything feel alright.

“You know, I’m glad you’re here with me,” Ranya says, after a moment of silence. 

Kuvira chuckles and tilts her head. “Really? I thought you hated me.”

Ranya rolls her eyes and laughs. She turns her head back to the arena. For some reason, what she is going to say next is easier to say if Kuvira’s eyes don’t meet hers.”It’s just that I…” She clears her throat before she continues, “I think I’m falling in love with you. I know we’ve been together officially for only a few days but it feels like a much longer time…And by the way, I wanted to kiss you earlier. I’ve wanted to kiss you for quite a while. Ever since you confessed at the Ember Island, actually.”

Ranya wonders if she said any of the words out loud, as Kuvira doesn’t say anything. Only when Ranya turns to look at Kuvira words fall out of her mouth. “Well, thank you for kissing me. It was quite marvelous, if I’m being completely honest.” Kuvira leans closer and now their foreheads are touching. Kuvira holds onto both of Ranya’s hands and closes her eyes. “I think I am falling in love with you, too.”

They stay the way they are for a moment. Even with Korra, Bolin and Mako fighting in the background it feels like they’re alone in this world all over again. Just like at the party. That is their magic: silencing the surrounding world.

“I never knew I would be the one to make the first move. I was so scared of you back then. Back at home I didn’t know if you liked women or not so it took me some time to be brave and ask you out. Or, I didn’t exactly ask you out. I just asked if you wanted to hang around,” Ranya keeps talking about her past feelings for Kuvira. She moves closer to Kuvira, although the seats restrict how much she is able to move. “I must’ve looked like a fool to you.”

Kuvira shakes her head and brings her hand to Ranya’s cheek. “No, no. I thought it was quite sweet, actually. People don’t usually just come up and talk to me. Apparently I’m that scary,” she says quietly and crushes Ranya’s presumptions. “I also remembered your face, as you had recently joined our group. I also remember how Suyin talked quite a bit about a girl who was sick and wasn’t able to attend earlier. I just didn’t think to connect that girl to your face.”

Ranya leans back a bit. She grins and bites her lower lip. “So I see, I’m quite famous. My reputation precedes me.”

Kuvira can’t help but laugh. She also can’t help herself and slips her hand from Ranya’s cheek to her neck and pulls her in for a kiss. She loves how she can just do that now: kiss Ranya whenever and wherever she wants to. Now she doesn’t have to panic before every step she takes around her, she doesn’t have to calculate the movement of her hands. She can just be who she is. And she loves that.

When they pull away, their eyes meet. “You know… This relationship we have. I believe it’s something special,” Kuvira begins. Ranya’s lips curl upwards and she tilts her head slightly, exposing more of her neck. “This feels like nothing I’ve felt before. When I was still with Baatar, and I apologize for bringing him into this conversation, I felt like I was stuck. I couldn’t even breathe correctly. But with you I feel… Unstuck. I feel like I can just be myself. And I don’t even mean that I can express my sexuality in a different way. It’s the way I can laugh with you and make jokes. It’s the way I can be me and you won’t judge me. We are so comfortable around each other… That it almost scares me.”

“Scares you… Why?”

“Because it is something new. Something that hasn’t been there before. In me. It feels like a missing piece that I’ve been looking for, just in the wrong places,” her voice is now like a whisper, as they keep leaning closer to each other. “Do I sound like a crazy person to you?”

“No, not at all. And we don’t like the word crazy, it’s mocking.” Ranya smiles. Their foreheads are touching again. “You sound like someone who is in love.”

They fall silent for a moment. They just listen to each other’s breathing.

However, Kuvira feels like breaking the silence. “Have you been in love? Are you… Are you actually in love with me ? Like for real or were you just flameoing with me earlier.”

Ranya thinks about her answer for a moment. “I have been, and yes, I am in love with you, for real.” She falls silent, as her thoughts fill her head for a moment. “I guess love is a different type of a thing to me than it is for other people. Love scares me, to death almost. Because of love, people I’ve cared about have gotten hurt. And that is why I’m hesitant going back home. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing will happen to me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I don’t. But if someone even attempts to do anything to me, they’re long gone before they can execute their plans.”

Ranya closes her eyes and sighs deeply. She wants to trust Kuvira. And in a way she does. But she can’t help the feeling of paranoia back in her mind, reminding her what happened to those before Kuvira. 

Kuvira notices how silent Ranya is. She gently places both of her hands on Ranya’s cheeks, cupping them. She stares into Ranya’s eyes, as if trying to capture all of the small details in her irises. Before Kuvira can do or say anything, Ranya interrupts her. “I love you.”

“Damn it. I wanted to say it first officially,” Kuvira curses and laughs. She brings Ranya closer and their lips meet. When they depart from the kiss Kuvira wraps her arms around Ranya’s shoulders. She holds her girlfriend close to her and rests her cheek on her short cut hair. “I love you, too… Please, don’t ever leave me.”

Chapter Text

Day fifty-six: Earth Kingdom village

The night is cold and full of terrors. Or that is what Kuvira had heard once, a long time ago. She didn't know what it meant but it has stuck with her ever since. 

Even now that they're lying on their backs on the cold ground underneath the bright starry sky she cannot help but wonder what kind of dangers they could face if they close their eyes for way too long. Maybe someone will try to rob them again, or worse. She wants to shake off the feeling of constantly worrying for her life, so her eyes move from the dying stars to the woman beside her, who is always as mesmerized by the night sky as the first time she was able to experience it. Kuvira can't help but smile. How was she able to find a woman this beautiful, brave and funny? What did she do to get the spirits' blessing to have her all to herself? 

"Staring is impolite," Ranya whispers and slowly turns to look at Kuvira. She has a subtle smile on her lips and the way the corners of her lips arch upwards never fail to make the butterflies in Kuvira's belly dance around.

"I know but I just can't get enough of you," Kuvira breathes out and bites her lower lip. She truly doesn't deserve Ranya but here they are.

Ranya rolls over to her stomach and supports her upper body with her elbows. She leans over to Kuvira and their faces are so close to each other that they can feel the warmth of one another. Kuvira loves that feeling of intimacy - knowing that not everyone gets to experience this with Ranya. She can't help but think again how lucky she is.

"Can I kiss you?" Ranya asks, eyeing Kuvira's lips before bringing her gaze back to her eyes.

"You don't need to ask," Kuvira replies and without a hesitation Ranya closes the gap between them and places her lips on Kuvira's. Their eyes close and they enjoy the moment they have. It almost feels magical, even if they've been together for weeks now. Somehow everything feels just as exciting as it did for the first time. That's how Kuvira knows their relationship is working. When she was with Baatar Jr. she felt stuck and everything was boring and nothing new or exciting happened. It was always the same things and at some point she stopped feeling anything for him. But with Ranya she feels like she's reborn everytime their eyes meet. She feels like she doesn't have to pretend around her. She can actually be who she is. 

When they depart from the kiss Kuvira lets out a groan - she doesn't want it to end just yet. Ranya laughs at her reaction and gently places her head on Kuvira's chest. She falls silent and for a moment Kuvira believes that Ranya actually fell asleep. She carefully lifts her head from the ground to look down at the woman who is lying on top of her just to notice that her eyes are still open. "Are you alright?" Kuvira asks, worried that she might've done or said something wrong.

Ranya tilts her head slightly to see Kuvira's face better. She hesitates before smiling and Kuvira can't help but notice this hesitation. She decides not to bring it up, maybe Ranya was just caught off guard.

"Yeah, just a little tired. All of the time we spent at Republic City definitely drained me out of all of my social energy. I didn't even know that was possible," she answers and places her hand over Kuvira's cheek. 

"Being with the Avatar and her friends was exhausting, for sure. How can some people have so much energy at all times?" She wonders out loud and chuckles.

Ranya shakes her head, in agreement with her girlfriend. "They definitely have to spill where they get their mushrooms."

Kuvira wraps her arms around Ranya and pulls her closer to her chest. She never wants to let go of this woman. Never. She'd rather die than have to live without her. However, it makes her think about their future. What if this doesn't last? What if something happens? What if something happens when they get home? Ranya has expressed openly how she's afraid of going back home with Kuvira being her girlfriend. Kuvira does understand where her fear comes from. She remembers how Ranya once told her that before Kuvira, she had had three other girlfriends. All of the relationships had ended badly, someone always ended up getting hurt by people who didn't believe in love between two women. Ranya has every reason to be afraid of going back home with a new girlfriend. But Kuvira will not let anything happen to them. She will protect Ranya with her life and if someone tries to do or say anything about their relationship she will shut their mouths for them. Afterall, she wants to be happy, too.

Ranya's breathing is getting steadier. She is starting to fall asleep but before she has the chance to do so, Kuvira wakes her up. She knows that Ranya can still get sick and with her immune system weak she isn't going to risk losing her over some stupid flu. "Let's get inside the tent. It'll be warmer in there."

Ranya nods and gets up off Kuvira. It is late already and they are both tired from travelling all day, trying to look for a perfect spot to set up their camp. When they finally did, it was already getting dark and they had to set up their camp in a hurry. Kuvira had made them some supper, while Ranya made their beds ready for them inside the tent. For some reason, Kuvira was always the one to prepare their meals for them, even though both of them knows that Ranya is a way better cook. 

Their tent is small but now that they don't have to hide their feelings from each other it doesn't seem to bother them. Just like at the Air Temple Island, when Pema had purposefully set them up a room with only one bed and at the moment they had both been afraid of admitting their feelings for one another so the situation seemed more horrible than it ended up being in the end. That night they slept in the same bed, holding onto each other in a different way than they had ever before. When they were attacked by the group of men outside of Republic City they had also ended up cuddling their way through the night. But their first night as an official couple felt different. All of the tension caused by fear and anxiety was gone. 

Exactly like now, they are able to fall asleep while holding onto each other. Kuvira scoots over and presses Ranya's back against her stomach, pulling her closer. She throws one leg over Ranya's and then wraps her arms around her torso. Fuck it if her arm gets sore, it's worth it. She places her forehead against Ranya's upper back and breathes in the familiar scent. She closes her eyes and listens to Ranya's steady breathing as she starts drifting off to the land of wonders.

Chapter Text

Day sixty-seven: Omashu

There is a festival going on and Ranya wants to go check it out. This is their first week in Omashu and so far everything has been great: the food is amazing, the people are nice and everything has worked out for them. However, Ranya has been distancing herself from Kuvira for the past few days. Kuvira has noticed this and asked about it a couple of times but the answer is always the same: "Nothing's wrong, I'm just starting to get tired, that's all."

Ranya is again lost in her thoughts, when Kuvira asks something. Kuvira has to wave her hand in front of Ranya's face for her to realize something is happening. Their eyes meet and Ranya can tell Kuvira is upset that she isn't listening to her.

"What did you say?" Ranya quickly asks and puts a smile on her face. 

Kuvira shakes her head slightly and reaches her hand out to Ranya. Ranya takes Kuvira's hand and holds onto it tightly. She doesn't want Kuvira to suddenly disappear, what if this is all a dream?

"I asked if you wanted to go and dance?"

Before Ranya can say anything in her defense, Kuvira has already pulled her into a crowd of dancing people who are swaying and moving in all kinds of ways to the rhythm of loud drums and the melody of an acoustic guitar. 

Kuvira's hands have found their way to Ranya's waist and she is pulling her closer. Panic flashes through Ranya's body and she has to glance around herself before doing anything else.

No one's watching them. No one cares that two women are showing intimacy in public. She then turns her gaze back to Kuvira and a smile forces its way to her lips. She has to let go of the fear of being hate crimed. She has to trust that nothing will happen to them.

Her hands find their way to Kuvira's neck and she gently moves her hands up to Kuvira's head. She can see how much Kuvira enjoys Ranya's hands doing their thing with her hair. 

A smirk crosses her lips and she moves her hands to Kuvira's waist to pull her even closer. Their chests are now touching and like back at the party in Republic City somehow the rest of the world goes silent for them. All they know is each other. Their foreheads touch and Ranya sees how Kuvira closes her eyes and tries to hide the wide smile on her lips by subtly brushing her hand over her mouth. 

Ranya leans closer to Kuvira's ear. "Don't hide your smile," she whispers, so close to Kuvira's ear that she can feel the goosebumps going over her body. Kuvira hums as an answer and leans her head against Ranya's. 

Ranya wasn't expecting Kuvira to be so drunk tonight. She has to almost carry Kuvira back to their hotel and even if Ranya's health has been for the better she can't help but feel like something's not right. When they climb all the stairs up to their room she gently lies Kuvira on their bed and sits beside her.

When she is about to get back up, Kuvira's strong grip holds her down and gently pulls her towards Kuvira's embrace. Ranya decides to not fight Kuvira and lies on top of the other woman. 

"I'm sorry you had to carry me all the way up here," Kuvira quietly apologizes as she wraps her arms around Ranya.

Ranya smiles gently and places her hand on Kuvira's cheek. "No, it's okay. I promise you can carry drunken-me home sometime."

Kuvira chuckles and closes her eyes. "I like the sound of that... Us having a home." Her words are slurring together and Ranya has to snuggle in closer to understand what Kuvira is saying.

She starts smiling. "Where do you imagine our home to be?" She asks. She starts running her fingers up and down Kuvira's neck and collar bones.

Kuvira hums, pleased.

"Let me think about it for a second," she whispers and falls silent, clearly fighting back the urge to just fall asleep. She then opens her eyes slightly and continues, "I would like it to be near a river. The river we first hang out at, actually. But knowing you, a forest or a bunch of trees would have to be around. So maybe near a garden."

"We could have our own garden," Ranya suggests.

"I like the sound of that too. 'Our own garden'. I really like flowers," Kuvira mumbles.

"And I like plants. Maybe we need two gardens: one for your flowers and one for my weeds," Ranya gives another suggestion. Now her fingers are running along Kuvira's arms.

"Flowers are plants," Kuvira points out.

Ranya knows Kuvira can't see her face, so she rolls her eyes and grins. "They are. But I’ve ended up killing every flower I've ever gotten so I’ve decided to give up on them. Plants are gentler," she explains her dislike towards flowers and 

"So you hate flowers because you don't know how to take care of them?" Kuvira questions Ranya's explanation and shakes her head. "Who even taught you how to take care of flowers? Sachin? Or Kiran? No, that was a mean thing to say. Let's not compare a psycho to a flower killer."

Ranya laughs out loud and has to gather herself up before answering. "Sachin, actually."

Kuvira falls silent for a moment and Ranya thinks that she fell asleep mid-conversation but then Kuvira opens her mouth. "Am I crazy for being jealous of him? For being so close to you?"

This time it's Ranya's turn to fall silent for a moment. "No. I think it's quite understandable, actually. Just like I'm in a way jealous of Baatar Jr. and all of the other Beifongs. They've known you for almost all of your life and at one moment Baatar had you all for himself." Ranya pauses for a second, pondering whether or not she should say the next phrase. She decides to say it anyway. "And then he ended up breaking your heart."

Kuvira snorts. "I feel like it was the other way around, though. If I remember it correctly, he cried when I broke up with him," she tries to remember the situation but she doesn't actually recall most of the things she even said to him, not in her current state of drunken mind.

"And you didn't cry?" Ranya questions Kuvira, remembering how she had complained how her head had hurted so much from crying after breaking up with Baatar Jr.

"I did, but only after he cried first. I think."

"You think?"

Kuvira adjusts her position and now they’re both on their side, facing each other. "Okay, yes, I cried. But breakups are never easy, right?"

Their eyes meet and the Moon's light shines right at Kuvira, so Ranya has a clear look at Kuvira's face. Even in the dark her eyes never lose their saturation.

The smile on Ranya's face slowly fades away when she thinks about Kuvira's words. She knows for a fact that break ups are mostly never easy. "They aren't."

The room falls silent. Ranya can tell that Kuvira won't be able to stay awake for much longer. She is already ready to let Kuvira fall asleep but Kuvira's mind works faster than hers. 

"Why are we dwelling in sad things? I want to think about something else," Kuvira proclaims and turns to lie on her back. Her eyes are now staring at the plain white ceiling.

"Like our separate gardens?" Ranya suggests, also turning to lie on her back.

Kuvira shakes her head. "No, I want to think about our life when we're old and grey and too tired to move."

Ranya knits her eyebrows together and glances over at Kuvira. "That sounds kind of sad, too."

Kuvira's response is quiet: "It's not."

For a moment Ranya wonders if she even wants to know what Kuvira means. However, for the sake of the conversation moving forward she decides to respond. "Care to elaborate?"

"It's not sad because we've been together all our life then. We've seen the world, we've loved and we've been happy. Importantly, we're together in the moment," Kuvira describes the scenario in her head and Ranya can feel Kuvira's hand searching for her own.

Ranya holds onto Kuvira's hand and sighs. "But we're living our last days, then."

"If I get to spend my last days with you then they aren't sad," Kuvira whispers, tightening her grip on Ranya's hand.

"Do you think about death often?" Ranya surprises Kuvira with the question, as Kuvira turns her head towards Ranya.

Kuvira subtly shakes her head, "No. But I know you do. Or, did."

Biting her lower lip, Ranya shrugs her shoulders and turns her gaze back to the ceiling. "Yes. I guess it's only natural, considering my situation."

"How do you think you will die?" Kuvira asks.

"I don't know."

Kuvira doesn't seem to get the hint that Ranya doesn't want to talk about their current topic anymore, as she continues with another question, "Would you like to know?"

Annoyed, Ranya turns to face Kuvira once again. "Would you?"

Kuvira stares at Ranya for a moment in silence. "No. I feel like it would make me not do things I would otherwise do. Or I would somehow try to avoid it."

A moment passes and the silence in the room starts feeling heavy and oppressing. "But I would like to die with you," Kuvira whispers. She struggles to keep her eyes open.

Ranya falls silent, as she doesn't know what to say anymore. She doesn't necessarily like talking about death, especially about Kuvira's death. Or her own.

Kuvira groans and lets go of Ranya's hand to cover both of her eyes. "I want to go to bed. My head hurts and the room is spinning in two directions at the same time," she complains and sighs.

Ranya sits up and holds her hand to her chest. Something definitely isn't right. "I'll go and draw myself a bath. I'm not feeling well, either."

Kuvira pulls the covers over her body and rests her head on her pillow. Their eyes meet for a second, before Kuvira decides to close hers. "Alright. Night, my love."

"Night..."

Ranya draws herself a bath. She watches as the water pours into the bath. The wait for the bath to be full is agonizingly slow. When the bath is filled, she strips out of her clothes and drops them on the floor. She steps inside the bathtub and the scorching water stings every inch of her skin as she lowers herself to sit down. 

She brings her legs close to her chest and wraps her arms around them. She places her chin on her knees and she can already feel the tears burning her eyes. 

"What am I doing?"

Chapter Text

Day seventy-six: Leaving Omashu

It is finally time to start heading back home. Kuvira is going through their hotel room, trying to find anything that might've been left behind by accident. She turns to Ranya, who is clearly looking for something.

"Do you have all of your things?" She asks.

Ranya turns to her and lets out a heavy sigh. She shrugs her shoulders and looks around. "No, my stupid pet is again somwehere. I swear, the bell is useless."

Kuvira smiles and takes a few long strides across the room to Ranya and places her hands on her shoulders. "He's not missing, I saw him when I was taking some of our bags to our jeep. He's sleeping under the front seats."

After hearing Kuvira's words Ranya can feel a weight lift off her shoulders. She holds onto Kuvira and gently leans against Kuvira's torso. "He is? Thank the spirits! I haven't seen him in two days, I was starting to get worried."

"I think he likes the jeep more. I've seen him multiple times just sleeping under the seats," Kuvira says and wraps her arms around Ranya, glad to have her so close again. In the past few days they have been even more distant than in months and it made Kuvira feel lonely, even when there were other people around. But now she has her arms around the woman she loves the most in the world.

Ranya rests her head against Kuvira's shoulder and closes her eyes. "Thank you for letting me know where he was. I would've just kept on looking for him throughout the city if you hadn't said anything."

Kuvira chuckles and gently sways around as she keeps on holding onto Ranya.

Kuvira observes as Ranya packs the last of her things from their hotel room and paces around the room. The smile on Ranya’s face has been replaced with a concentrated look, the same concentration she has everytime she is trapped by her own thoughts. Kuvira wonders, what is going on in her head.

She decides to break the silence, "I saw you writing some letters yesterday."

"Yeah," is all Ranya answers.

Kuvira furrows her brows and crosses her arms across her chest. "What do you mean 'yeah'?"

Ranya glances at Kuvira over her shoulder and shrugs her shoulders. "Yes, I was writing letters. Why are you asking?"

"Who are they for? There were quite a few letters," Kuvira inquires more.

"For friends." Another vague answer.

And just like that, the room is dead silent once again. Only Ranya's pacing makes any sound in the room. 

Kuvira starts tapping her leg against the floor and sighs. This has been going on for days, if not weeks for now. She has to ask.

"Is everything alright?"

Ranya turns to Kuvira, as she is packing up a bag that is set on their bed. "Why are you asking?"

"Because you're acting weird. First you distance yourself from me and now whenever I try to talk to you you give me some vague answers and rarely talk," she takes a few steps towards her girlfriend. She decides to keep a slight distance between them.

"I'm tired," Ranya says, her voice quiet. She does sound tired.

"Please, Ranya. Tell me what is going on," Kuvira begs. 

Now Ranya is fully facing Kuvira. She stops whatever she is doing and closes the gap between her and Kuvira. Their eyes are locked and Ranya puts a subtle smile on her face. "Nothing's going on. It's just been hard on this trip of ours. I wasn't expecting to get so tired."

Kuvira slightly squints her eyes and tilts her head. She isn't buying this anymore. "Is there something I should know?" She asks and she can see that the question somewhat shocks Ranya. Something is definitely going on.

"Like what?" Ranya asks in return, hoping for Kuvira to clarify her question.

"I don't know. You tell me."

Ranya sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Kuvira, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You sure?" Kuvira tries pushing Ranya one more time towards telling the truth.

And not to Kuvira's surprise, Ranya gives her another lame answer. "Yeah."

She decides to circle the conversation back to another conversation they had the other day. Ranya had told Kuvira about the weird feeling she gets in her chest sometimes and how she's feeling unwell. "Are you still feeling unwell?"

Kuvira notices how Ranya's hand instinctively goes up to her chest. "Sometimes," she admits and bites her lower lip. 

"But you say there's nothing going on?" Kuvira keeps on asking questions, although Ranya is very clearly tired.

"I don't know what it is. I can't exactly place where the feeling is coming from," Ranya mumbles and starts rubbing her chest with her palm.

"But does it feel like you're sick again?" Another question.

"Yes."

"Have you taken any of your meds?" And another.

This time Ranya takes her time to answer. She turns away from Kuvira, before she answers, "No. I don't think I need them."

Her answer baffles Kuvira. "What?" She had thought that Ranya was more serious about her health and taking care of herself. 

Ranya acts casual about the situation, which feels off to Kuvira. "Kya warned me that I could get flashbacks of being sick, like physical flashbacks. She told me that after so many years of living with the poison inside of me it could take months or years to get used to being poison free."

"Did she tell you what you should do if it started happening?" This time Kuvira's voice isn't demanding. She sounds worried.

Ranya is the first one to move. She wraps her arms around Kuvira. "She told me to wait it out. It shouldn't be anything serious."

Kuvira nods, hesitating before wrapping her own arms around Ranya. She does it anyway and even rests her own head against Ranya's. "Well, I'm glad you know what you need to do."

"I'm sorry for being so distant," Ranya whispers and Kuvira finds herself holding onto her even tighter.

"Was that the last bag?" Kuvira spins around on the balls of her feet, as she is loading their bags to their jeep. 

Ranya nods and places her hands on her hips. "Yeah, I think so." Ozai is on Ranya's shoulders, his tail curled around Ranya's neck as a scarf. 

A cold breeze flows through the street and Kuvira finds herself clutching onto her jacket even tighter. Whose idea was it to give them a jeep and not a satomobile for their trip? They're definitely going to freeze to death if Kuvira decides to drive extra slowly to admire the scenery.

"So we're ready to go?"

Ranya smiles at her and looks around, taking a one last glance of the hotel and its surroundings. "Seems like it."

They hop on the vehicle and Kuvira starts it. They start slowly driving down the streets, towards the main gates of the city. Ranya won't stop looking up at the buildings and everything around her. It kind of breaks Kuvira's heart to take her back to home where everything is familiar and boring.

"It feels so weird to head back home after all of this. And with you as my girlfriend," Kuvira says, breaking the silence that had fallen upon them.

Ranya slowly turns her gaze from the city to her girlfriend. She is about to open her mouth but she decides to admire Kuvira for a few more seconds. "Tell me about it."

Kuvira laughs at Ranya's reaction but can't help but notice the melancholy in her voice. The smile on her face fades, when she asks: "Are you sure you're alright?"

Ranya keeps on nodding her head and a chuckle escapes her mouth. "Yeah. I just don't want to leave just yet. As much as I miss home, I know I'll miss this even more. Being free, with you," she answers, still with a melancholy feeling in her voice.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Kuvira assures her and reaches her hand over to place it over Ranya's thigh as they leave the city behind them and the only road ahead is leading them back home.

Their eyes meet for a millisecond and Kuvira swears she saw tears in Ranya's eyes, as she said: "I know."

Chapter Text

Home. They're finally going back home.

Kuvira had chosen a more rural road to drive them back home, even if it means arriving home a bit later. It is worth it.

They don't exchange a single word. However, they've learned that silence isn't always the worst thing. They've learned to live with the silence. As long as they're together, everything's alright. They don't need words to confirm that they're comfortable around each other.

Kuvira keeps on glancing at Ranya. Ever since she swore she saw tears in her eyes she has been trying to check if Ranya's alright. She doesn't straight out ask about it, as she believes Ranya was just sad to leave Omashu. She seemed to enjoy Omashu and the wild nights in the city. But something doesn't seem right.

In terms of trying to lift up the spirit in the jeep, Kuvira decides to break the silence. "What are you going to do when you get home?" She can't help but hope that whatever Ranya is planning to do involves Kuvira as well.

Ranya slightly turns her head, enough to see Kuvira. She shrugs her shoulders, her head subtly wobbling along. "I don't know, honestly."

The answer isn't what Kuvira was hoping for, so silence falls upon them. The silence seems to bother Ranya, as it is now her turn to break the silence:  "What are you going to do?" She asks, now fully turning towards Kuvira. 

Kuvira quickly glances at Ranya, before returning her gaze to the road ahead of her. She is going to give back just as vague an answer as Ranya had given her. "I'm going to take a shower. Then I'll sleep."

Ranya nods her head and chuckles. "Understandable. Sleeping in my own bed does sound good," she admits.

The metal domes of Zaofu can be seen in the horizon. The sharp angles of the domes peek from behind the trees. Kuvira has a smile on her face. Everything seems perfect: she is with the woman she loves the most in the world, she is almost home and the sky is painted with various shades of orange, pink and purple, as the sun is setting behind the mountains.

The perfectness is about to face an end in a few seconds and Kuvira doesn't even know it.

"Can we stop for a moment?" Ranya asks suddenly.

Kuvira pulls over near a cliff's edge and stops the jeep.

Ranya stumbles out of the jeep, falling to her knees beside the vehicle. Ozai almost drops from her shoulders. Kuvira doesn't waste a second as she jumps out and hurries to her girlfriend.

Kuvira kneels in front of Ranya, holding onto her shoulders. "Are you alright?" Kuvira's voice is filled with worry and panic.

Ranya lifts her gaze from the ground. When their eyes meet, Kuvira realizes that Ranya is crying. "No, no I am not alright, Kuvira!" She yells at her.

Kuvira jumps up, taking a few steps back from Ranya. Her behaviour confuses Kuvira and she shakes her head slightly. Even Ozai gets startled, as he jumps on the jeep and hides underneath the front seats.

Ranya holds onto her chest. I guess she knows the reason behind her chest pains now.

It takes her a moment to be able to meet Kuvira's eyes again. She tries to steady her breath and control her shaking voice. She knows the next words are going to hurt like a mother. "I'm... I'm not coming with you back to Zaofu."

Now it's Kuvira's turn to feel lightheaded and in fear of her legs giving out she gets closer to the jeep to lean against it. She doesn't want to be on her knees on the ground, beside Ranya. 

How is this even happening? WHY is this even happening?

Kuvira isn't able to answer right away. She is so held back by her own thoughts that are running around in her head. She can't get a hold on any of the thoughts. 

"W-what?" Is all she is able to say without breaking down. She holds back her tears: what if this is just a sick prank? What if Ranya is just playing with her? But when she turns to face Ranya again, she knows this isn't a joke.

Ranya whimpers, "You heard me, I'm not coming with you."

Kuvira can't believe this is happening. She closes her eyes. This has to be a nightmare, there is no way this is happening for real. It just can't.

"Why?" Kuvira dares to ask, her voice shaking. 

"Because I just can't," answers Ranya. That isn't enough for Kuvira.

"Why?!" Kuvira repeats her question, screaming it this time. She opens her eyes and faces Ranya.

Ranya lifts her gaze from the dirt to meet Kuvira's fierce eyes. She can now see tears streaming down Kuvira's cheeks. She knows that Kuvira's heart is a few crucial words away from breaking into a million pieces.

"Because I can't be trapped in that metal box any longer. I need to go and be free and find out who I am!" She can't control herself and ends up raising her voice at Kuvira.

For a moment, they're all silent. They stare at each other. Kuvira's nostrils are flaring, as she breathes through her nose. 

"Then I'll come with you," Kuvira states.

She lowers herself to the ground, close to Ranya. She tries reaching out to Ranya's shoulder but Ranya is faster and pushes Kuvira's hand away. When their eyes meet, they can see each other's teary eyes.

Ranya slowly shakes her head, trying her best to not cry anymore. "You can't."

Kuvira sharply inhales and faces the other direction. She can hold back the tears better if she isn't facing Ranya. "What does that even mean?"

"You know what it means," Ranya whispers.

Kuvira's mind goes into the wrong place, when she hears Ranya's words. Is this really what she thinks it is? "You don't love me anymore?" Kuvira asks, fear in her voice.

Following Kuvira's question Ranya falls silent. She realizes that it was the wrong move to stay quiet when Kuvira gets up and turns the other direction so that Ranya is faced with Kuvira's back. Kuvira lets the tears out and Ranya can feel her stomach dropping.

Ranya wants to fix the situation, "No, I do love you, Kuvira-"

Kuvira swiftly turns around, her eyebrows knitted together, interrupting Ranya. "Then why are you doing this?!"

"Because I DO love you." Ranya says, stress on the word "do".

Ranya's answer confuses Kuvira and she shows it by shaking her head. "That makes no sense." She wraps her arms around herself.

Ranya slowly gets up from the ground, her legs wobbly and weak. "Sometimes the greatest love is being able to let go."

Kuvira closes her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks down to her neck. "But I don't want you to let me go," she gently says through sobs.

"I have to," Ranya whispers.

In the silence Kuvira starts pacing around. She runs her hand through her hair and shakes her head. She still can't understand what is happening. Deep down she probably doesn't even want to understand it. 

"I don't understand. You've been lying to me for weeks, if not months!" She exclaims.

Ranya takes a step closer but decides to keep the distance between each other. "I haven't lied." Her voice is not filled with tears and she isn't choking on each word anymore.

Kuvira turns to look at Ranya. Her eyes are red and glossy.

"Then what would you call this? It's clear you've known your own intentions for quite a long time and this is the moment you decide to tell me," Kuvira argues back, trying to get a sense of the situation she has been put in.

Ranya falls silent, trying to figure out what she should say. She hasn't exactly thought about the moment she would tell Kuvira all of this. She just had known that one day she would have to tell. Should've she had told Kuvira about all of this earlier?

"I don't know." Is all she is able to say.

Kuvira scoffs and spins around, truly baffled by Ranya's answer. She paces around for a moment, rotating her wrists and cracking her knuckles to make her distracted, even if it's for a moment. She can't believe Ranya has the nerve to say 'I don't know'. "You don't know?! Are you being serious right now?!" She can't help but yell. 

When Kuvira turns to face Ranya their eyes meet. Before Kuvira is able to continue her rage, Ranya opens her mouth: "I realized I didn't want to go back home when we arrived at the Misty Palm Oasis. I realized I didn't want to go back home when I saw the stars for the first time. I realized I didn't want to go back home when I slept in a different bed for the first time. I realized I didn't want to go back home when I kissed you for the first time!"

Kuvira shakes her head. "Yet you're making me go back there, without you. What would I even tell your parents? Or Suyin and the other Beifongs? What would I say? That you decided to follow literally any other path in this world instead of the one that leads us home, together?!"

Ranya nods, taking a step closer, reaching her hand out to Kuvira. Kuvira shakes her head once again and takes a step back.

"Kuvira, this isn't easy for me either," Ranya tries to calm the situation down and make Kuvira understand that she isn't doing this for fun.

Now it's Kuvira's turn to fall silent. She thinks about the events of the past few days: Ranya distancing herself from Kuvira, all of the vague answers, the short kisses, long hugs... And the letters.

Kuvira brings her attention back to Ranya. "Those letters you were writing... They were for your family, weren't they?"

"And for you and Sachin and the Beifongs. There's a letter for each of you, explaining why I didn't come back," she tells.

"And you think that a letter will fix all of this? That any of us will just accept this? You know Sachin will blame me for this, hell, he might even try to go and find you!" Kuvira scoffs.

Ranya shrugs her shoulders. "Then you have to stop him. There's nothing else I can say."

Kuvira shakes her head but closes the distance between her and Ranya. She holds onto Ranya's hands and brings them close to her chest. She is wearing the metal plated necklace Ranya made her and Ranya's hands touch the cold metal. Kuvira holds Ranya's hands in a begging way. She is desperate.

She can feel the lump in her throat growing. She tries to smile but can't. "Don't go. Please, I'm begging you. For the first time in my life I'm feeling like I have a purpose. I feel like I have finally found what I want. I don't want to let you go, to let us go. I don't think I can handle this," she sobs.

"I can't stay," Ranya whispers.

"Why can't I just come with you?" Kuvira cries.

"Because I need to know who I am without us."

Kuvira freezes. She had said the exact same thing to Baatar Jr. when the two of them had broken up. Tears start burning her eyes again, right after she had thought she had run out of tears to cry. "Please..."

"I can tell you don't know who you are without us either," Ranya says.

"It doesn't matter. I want you! I want us!" Kuvira holds tighter onto Ranya's hands.

Ranya simply shakes her head, a tear falling down her cheek. "No."

Confused, Kuvira asks: "What do you mean 'no'?"

Ranya lifts one shoulder. "You want love. You want to be loved."

Kuvira laughs, with tears in her eyes. She shakes her head, still in disbelief.

"Don't we all?" She fires back a question.

"I want to explore the world. I want to visit places no one has. I want to be alone," Ranya explains.

"Who wants to be alone?" Kuvira asks.

Ranya chuckles. "Someone who has had people worried about her for all of her life. Even at my loneliest moments there was always someone to look after me, to check if I'm alive. Back at home I couldn't be alone, unless I was at-" she stops herself, before telling Kuvira that she can enter the spirit world. She wants to keep it as a secret, as she has for a long time. "For the first time in my life, I want to be alone and feel lonely at my own will," she decides to say.

Kuvira feels confused. She doesn't know what she is supposed to say. She lets go of Ranya's hands and buries her face in her own.

"Kuvira... I love you, you know that," Ranya says with a soft voice. Kuvira can hear the rasp from crying in her voice.

"If you loved me you wouldn't do this," Kuvira answers, lifting her face from her hands and facing Ranya.

"Love isn't all happy and bright colors. Sometimes it's the thing that holds us back and makes everything go dark," Ranya whispers.

For a moment, there is silence. They just look at each other for a moment, not exactly sure what to say next. A cold breeze brings them back to reality.

"Remember when we were talking about our future? When you were drunk?" Ranya breaks the silence.

Kuvira cocks her eyebrows, "What about it?"

"You started talking about death and asked if I wanted to know when or how I'll die. Do you remember it?"

Kuvira nods her head once, not necessarily following what Ranya is going after with all of this.

Ranya swallows the lump growing in her throat. She lifts her chin a bit before continuing, "I asked if you would want to know how you'll die. You said no, because then you would avoid doing things you would otherwise do. You would try to change the course of your life if you knew how or when you died." Her words start making sense to Kuvira but she waits until Ranya is finished. "That's why I didn't tell you earlier that I'm not going back with you. I didn't want you to not do something you would've wanted. I wanted you to live your life as you wanted at the moment. I didn't want you to avoid doing anything else."

Kuvira drops her gaze to her feet. She takes slow steps as she walks towards the edge of the cliff they had stopped at. She lifts up her gaze, her eyes staring at the domes of Zaofu.

"I don't know what I'm going to do without you," Kuvira admits.

Ranya's still weak legs carry her to where Kuvira is standing. She stands beside her. Both of them have their eyes fixed on Zaofu.

"You're going to live. You're going to become the greatest guard Zaofu has ever had. Most importantly, you're going to live with the memories we made," Ranya imagines.

With a gentle shake of her head, Kuvira says: "That doesn't sound like the life I want."

Ranya turns her whole body to face Kuvira. Kuvira slightly moves her head so that their eyes can meet.

"I'm not going to stay away forever," Ranya reveals.

Kuvira's eyebrows frown, giving her a sad look. "Long enough for me to miss you to death."

Ranya rolls her eyes and smiles. "Now you're just being dramatic."

Kuvira can't help but smile and laugh. Oh, how Ranya loves to hear Kuvira's laugh. She is for sure going to miss it.

Ranya reaches her hand out and gently places it on Kuvira's cheek. Kuvira's hand instinctively finds its way over Ranya's. "This isn't the ending of our story. This isn't a farewell," Ranya speaks quietly, leaning closer to Kuvira.

"Then why does it feel like it?" Kuvira struggles with her words once again, as the lump starts growing once more.

"Because breakups aren't easy."

"Why is this a breakup if you're going to come back?" Kuvira asks.

Ranya shrugs her shoulders before answering, "We need to explore. Both of us. Being bound together is going to restrict that."

Kuvira lifts her eyebrows. "You want to date other people?"

"Not necessarily want to but we know that love works in funny ways." Ranya tilts her head and smiles subtly.

Kuvira nods and her gaze drops to her feet. "Can we kiss? For the last time?"

"It won't be our last," Ranya quietly reminds her.

Kuvira's body is now facing Ranya's. She cups Ranya's cheeks and slowly brings their faces closer. She leans in and finally closes the gap between their lips. Tears start running down her cheeks. Who knows when they get to do this for the next time? It might be never.

When they break from the kiss they don't depart from each other, not just yet. Their foreheads are touching and they hold onto each other.

When it's finally time to go separate ways Ranya goes over to the jeep and pulls out her backpack. She opens a smaller pocket and pulls out a pile of letters. She drops her backpack on the ground and walks over back to Kuvira. She hands the letters to Kuvira, who takes them with shaking hands.

"Will you give these to your family, my family and Sachin?" She asks.

With a nod, Kuvira responds, "I will."

Ranya points at the pile of letters. "There's two letters for you. The other one is meant to be read whenever you're sad, happy or angry. Don't read it now, don't read it tomorrow. Wait to read it. Open it when it's the right time," she instructs.

"Okay." Their eyes meet. "So, this is it?" Kuvira quietly asks. She doesn't want this to end.

"For now," Ranya whispers.

They hug for the last time. Kuvira buries her face in the crook of Ranya's neck and can't help but think how well her face fits in it. She knows it's useless to fight back the tears anymore so she just lets them out. She sobs harder than she probably ever has. Ranya just tightens her hold of Kuvira, clutching the fabric of Kuvira's jacket. 

When they're about to depart, Ozai climbs up Ranya's legs and back to her shoulders and joins in on the hug. Kuvira is the first one to laugh. She gives the animal a peck on top of his head and gently pets him. She knows she is going to miss the furry little friend.

Ranya wipes Kuvira's tears from her cheeks when they're finally able to depart. Kuvira would've wanted to hug Ranya for a few minutes longer but she knows she has to let go, even if she doesn't want to. They take a step back from each other. Ranya picks up her backpack from the ground and swings it over her shoulder.

Ranya holds her hand up, as a goodbye. Kuvira does the same and then Ranya starts backing away. Then she turns away, Kuvira now staring at her back as she walks away from her. Flakes of snow start falling from the sky at the same time.

Kuvira watches as Ranya walks down the hill, Ozai on her shoulders. When she disappears from her view, Kuvira's legs give out and she falls down to the cold ground, into the fresh snow. She breaks down into tears.

Kuvira finally reaches the gates of Zaofu when it's already dark. It took her longer than expected to gather herself and get back on the road after Ranya left.

Three guards are waiting outside the Zaofu gates. They have confused looks on their faces when they notice Ranya is not with Kuvira. Kuvira doesn't say a word and the guards open the gates to let her go through.

When the gates close behind her she stops the jeep and hops off. She takes all of her bags and the ones Ranya left behind. She carries all of the bags to the waiting monorail and sets them down, sitting down on the seat, leaning against the window. Everything feels so surreal.

She makes her first stop at the sector where Sachin lives and where Ranya used to live. She can see through the windows of the monorail that Sachin is waiting for them. When she sees the flowers he is holding onto, Kuvira's already broken heart manages to break a little more. 

Kuvira picks up a few of Ranya's bags and the letter assigned to Sachin before stepping out of the monorail.

When Sachin is met with only Kuvira his smile drops and he knits his brows together. Kuvira can tell he has a lot of questions.

Sachin takes a step closer. "Where is she?" He sounds irritated but there is a hint of worry in his voice. Had something happened to Ranya while she and Kuvira were away?

Kuvira had thought she could be strong and hold back the tears. Turns out, she isn't as strong as she ought to be. With tears falling down her cheeks, she manages to say: "She left me. She decided to... Go her own way."

Sachin shakes his head. Sure, he is relieved that Ranya is alright but he doesn't want to understand the situation. Kuvira understands how Sachin feels, as she's still in somewhat denial of Ranya not being here. 

Sachin runs his hands through his hair and the flower bouquet drops to the ground. He paces around, tears stumbling down his cheeks. He keeps telling himself that this is not real.

"I found out about it today too. We were almost here and she asked me to stop. Then she just said it. That she's not coming with me back home," Kuvira says.

Just like Kuvira herself, Sachin asks: "Why?"

"I asked the same. She told me she wanted to find who she really is. Without me, or without anyone else."

Sachin keeps on shaking his head. Kuvira drops the bags and makes the first move and takes a few steps closer to Sachin, hesitating before pulling him into a hug. Sachin is confused but doesn't fight free. Instead, he decides to wrap his arms around Kuvira. He sobs onto her shoulder, just like she had done to Ranya.

Kuvira understands Sachin. He is angry and sad at the same time. He will most likely live in denial for quite a long time.

"Why didn't you go after her? Why didn't you bring her back?" Sachin asks, anger in his voice. Kuvira knew he would be angry at her.

"It wouldn't have been fair. She said... She said that she didn't want to be trapped in this metal box any longer," Kuvira repeats Ranya's own words. "She would've been miserable. And she didn't want me to go with her. She wants to be all alone."

When they decide to separate, Kuvira holds out the letter. Sachin raises his eyebrows as he takes the letter from Kuvira's hands that are now shaking a bit less.

"She wrote it for you. Apparently she explains why she didn't come back in that letter. Even though I kind of told you why."

Eyeing the letter, Sachin asks:  "Did she write one for you too?"

"She did," Kuvira says and nods.

They stand in silence for a moment. Sachin wipes his eyes and looks into Kuvira's eyes.

"Well, thank you for telling me," he says, sobbing. Sachin looks down at his feet and realizes he had dropped the flowers he had gotten for Ranya. He bends over and picks them up, holding them out to Kuvira. "Take these."

Kuvira takes the flowers and smiles. "Thank you." In return, she gives Ranya's bags. "She didn't take these with her. I thought you should have them."

Sachin nods, taking the bags. He is the first one to leave the scene. He turns around and walks away, his eyes on the letter he got from Kuvira. She looks at him for a moment before turning herself around, heading back to the monorail.

Now she has to face Ranya's parents.

When the monorail stops at the next sector, Kuvira waits for a few seconds. She notices that Ranya's parents aren't outside, waiting for them. They must be at their shop, then.

Kuvira takes their letters and the rest of Ranya's bags. She exits the monorail and heads towards Ranya's parents' shop. The shop is small but easily recognizable from afar. 

She walks down the dimly lit streets towards the shop. She knows they're in there because the lights are on. 

She reaches the shop and hesitates before opening the door. When she does, a bell chimes above her head, alerting Ranya's parents of someone coming in. Ranya's mother, Alisa, comes into the shop from the backroom and she has the brightest smile on her face when she meets Kuvira's gaze. 

She doesn't hesitate when she closes Kuvira in her embrace. "You made it back!" Her voice is just as kind and welcoming as Kuvira had remembered.

Kuvira doesn't hug Alisa back. When Alisa realizes this she steps back and only now realizes that Kuvira is alone. The smile on her face doesn't drop, as she believes that Ranya is just outside doing something else or she got caught up with Sachin and sent Kuvira before her. However, her smile fades away when she meets Kuvira's teary eyes. "What happened? Is my baby girl alright? Where is she?" 

"She decided not to come back," Kuvira tells the truth.

Alisa covers her mouth. Tears fall down her cheek and right at that moment Ranya's father, Harit, steps into the shop from the same backroom where Alisa was a moment ago. He approaches them, a confused look on his face as to why his wife is crying. He also notices that Ranya isn't around. "What is going on?" He asks, fearing for the worst.

Alisa turns to her husband and reaches out for his hand. "Ranya didn't come back. She-" She can't continue as she breaks down into tears.

Harit's panicked eyes meet Kuvira's. "She wanted to go and find out who she is. She is alright, though," Kuvira finishes Alisa's sentence.

Harit hugs his wife. They both cry but surprisingly, they don't look sad. Even Alisa has a somewhat understanding look on her face.

Kuvira's eyes meet with Harit's. He wipes the tears from his cheeks and like always, he smiles. "We were expecting something like this to happen. We knew she wanted to explore the whole world and a few months away wouldn't be enough for her."

Nodding, Alisa agrees with her husband. "We understand why she left. It doesn't mean we won't miss her or that her not being here doesn't hurt us, but we understand."

"She wrote letters for you," Kuvira says as she gently places Ranya's bags on the floor and hands out the letters. "I also brought back some of the bags she left behind. I gave the others to Sachin, so you know where to find them if you need anything."

Alisa takes the letters from Kuvira's hands and gives the other one to her husband. The two of them have their eyes on the letters and the familiar handwriting on the covers. Alisa looks up at Kuvira, with a smile on her face. "Thank you, for returning back home and giving us these letters."

Alisa hugs Kuvira again and Harit joins the hug. The three of them stay that way for a moment, before Kuvira makes the first move of departing.

"I should get going," she says, quickly glancing over at the door.

Ranya's parents nod and smile. "Of course. You must be tired," Alisa says.

"You're always welcome to visit us," Harit reminds Kuvira before she leaves.

With a smile on her face, Kuvira opens the door. She turns to face Ranya's parents for the last time, before leaving. "Thank you."

Leaving the store was harder than she had thought it would be. She knows that she won't be getting such a warm welcome back at home when she reaches the Beifong estate. She would rather live with Ranya's parents and be met with constant warmth. The Beifongs have to present themselves as perfect, Kuvira understands. But what harm would some actual love and affection do?

She steps back into the monorail, for the last time tonight. She sits down and looks around her: it seems so empty without Ranya's belongings with her. She draws in a shaky breath and closes her eyes.

The monorail stops at its final destination, the Beifong mansion. Kuvira steps out, holding onto all of her bags. No one is waiting for her. She shouldn't be surprised but she can still feel a sharp pain in her heart. The monorail leaves her standing there all alone.

She walks through the front yard to the front door. A few guards greet her and welcome her back home. That is more than her so-called family has done for her so far.

She opens the door and heads straight to her room. She wants to get rid of her bags before going around on a lookout for her family.

The hallways are unusually quiet. After walking around for a moment she hears quiet chatter, from the direction of the dining room. She stops where she is. She has to gather herself before entering the room, where she is met with all of the Beifongs.

Their eyes turn to her and they go quiet. Suyin stands up, a smile on her face. Kuvira is tired of pretending to be strong and happy and alright and she just lets the tears fall down her cheeks. She usually doesn't cry in front of the Beifongs but she just can't take it anymore. She has been too strong for the whole day. It is time she lets herself feel what she feels.

Suyin doesn't hesitate a moment as she hurries to Kuvira. She closes Kuvira in an embrace. "Where's Ranya?" Suyin asks.

When Kuvira can't answer straight away, Suyin also assumes the worst. She gently departs from the hug and holds onto Kuvira's shoulders. "Is she alright?"

Kuvira's eyes meet Suyins. She nods. "Yes... But she didn't come back with me."

"What does that mean?" Suyin asks the same question Kuvira had asked Ranya.

"She continued on her own. Told me she wants to figure out who she is... Without us or me," Kuvira explains through sobbing.

Suyin nods and wraps her arms around Kuvira. At least she came back home, in one piece.

Right when Kuvira has settled herself back in her own room, a guard knocks on the door. She opens it and the guard tells her that Suyin has summoned her to her office. Kuvira thanks the guard and closes the door for a moment. She closes her hurting eyes and just breathes for a while, before opening the door and leaving her room.

She walks the long silent hallways down to Suyin's office. When Kuvira knocks on the door and opens it, she notices that Suyin isn't alone. The head guard of the security team is also in the room.

Kuvira closes the door behind her but doesn't move forward. She stares at Suyin and the head guard.

"We just want you to sign your contract. You'll be starting your job tomorrow," Suyin briefly explains.

Kuvira is slightly shocked to hear that she is to start her new job tomorrow. But even though she is shocked, she approaches the table without a hesitation, picks up a pen and signs her name on the contract. At least she will be busy. Maybe she’ll even forget about Ranya.

She is already turning around, ready to leave, when Suyin's voice stops her. The head guard leaves the two of them alone and closes the door as he exits the room.

Now it's just the two of them.

"Are you alright?" Suyin speaks up first.

Kuvira sits down on one of the couches and covers her face with her hands. She shakes her head. "No. She left me."

When tears start running down Kuvira's cheeks Suyin sits beside her and gently wraps her arms around Kuvira's shoulders, holding onto her tightly.

Kuvira tries to speak through the tears but she can't. Suyin rubs Kuvira's back with her palm. "Shh... It's alright. Let it all out."

And so Kuvira breaks down into a mess of whimpering and crying. She can't understand how there are even any tears left in her body. But she doesn't care anymore. She is home and now no one except Suyin can see her. She lets it all out.

"I loved her. I loved her, mom. And she left me," Kuvira stumbles over her words as she almost chokes on every word she speaks. She buries her face in Suyin's shoulder.

Suyin leans her head against Kuvira's. She strokes Kuvira's long hair and says: "She'll come back. Only a fool wouldn't come back for you."

"I loved her," Kuvira whispers through the sobs.