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Asami always forgot how cold it was here. Winter in Republic City was nothing like as cold as the South, and she'd spent years of business meetings and trips here with Team Avatar silently freezing, but somehow she always downplayed it in her memory until they ended up back here and she had to try and stop her teeth from chattering.
She stepped down from the airship, hugging herself, and glanced across at Korra, who was smirking at her. “What?”
“You're freezing, aren't you?”
“No. Th-this is fine,” Asami said stubbornly.
Korra shook her head. “You know I love that coat on you, 'Sami, but it's made for Republic City, not the South Pole. That's what you get for putting fashion above comfort.”
Asami glared at her. “Would you stop teasing me? Your parents are going to be here any second.”
“And then you'll team up with them to tease me, so right now it's my turn.” Korra nudged her and then relented. “Come here.”
Asami internally weighed up the merits of making her point versus those of letting Korra keep her warm. The second impulse won easily and she huddled closer to her girlfriend, who wrapped both arms tightly around her.
She was pretty sure they had this debate every time they came to the South. It was something of a long-standing joke that normally ended with Asami wearing Korra's jacket and two or three blankets and pointedly ignoring Korra's laughter.
Despite the cold, she really was glad to be here. The nervousness she'd felt with Tonraq and Senna the first few times she'd interacted with them as Korra's girlfriend had dissipated almost entirely, and they treated her like an honorary family member. As long as she pointedly didn't think about the fact that she could never have the same thing with Korra and her own parents, everything would be great.
She shook off the brief wave of loneliness that swamped her, focusing on Korra's arms around her, Korra's head resting on her shoulder. Being the last living member of her family didn't mean she was alone.
“Korra! Asami!”
Asami looked up to see Korra's parents disembarking from their snowmobile. Asami had parked the airship a little way away from their house, and they'd promised to come and meet her and Korra outside of it.
Tonraq reached them first, pulling them both into a warm hug. “It's so good to see you. How are things in the City?”
Korra rolled her eyes. “Dad, I called you two days ago. You already know what's happening.”
Tonraq shrugged and turned to Asami. “How's business these days?”
Asami smiled. “We're doing well, mostly. I have a meeting here tomorrow to talk about how best to cater to clientele in the poles... branching out more into snowmobiles, things like that. It would be great to hear your thoughts on that at some point.”
He nodded at her and nudged Korra, who was greeting her mother. “You picked a smart one.”
“I know, Dad.” Korra grinned at Asami and then shook her head. “You say that every time she comes here.” She leaned in towards Asami like she was telling her a secret and whispered loudly, “I swear my parents love you more than they love me.”
Senna ignored her and leaned over to hug Asami tightly. “It's so good to see you, sweetheart. I hope this one hasn't been causing too much chaos in your life.” She tilted her head to indicate Korra, who put on a face of mock betrayal.
“Oh, constantly,” Asami replied. “And I wouldn't have it any other way.”
Korra tried to maintain a glare, but Asami could see the smile in her eyes. Most of the world probably wouldn't believe how sentimental Korra could be sometimes. Or, well, kind of all the time, with Asami. Another thing that Asami wouldn't change for the world.
Senna smiled at them both with a motherly expression that sent a little pang through Asami's heart. Her mother would never be able to look at them like that. Her mother had never known Korra at all. She sighed and pushed the feeling aside, getting into the back of the snowmobile. Korra followed her, wrapping an arm around her, and Asami leaned against her, wondering how it was possible that every touch still felt like a small miracle, even after they'd been together two years.
They made the brief journey mostly in silence, the wind whipping snowflakes past Asami's face. It was invigorating for a little while, and then it was just cold. She was pretty sure her lips were blue underneath her lipstick.
“You okay?” Korra asked, leaning in closer to her to be heard over the wind.
“I can't feel my face,” Asami admitted. “But I'm fine.”
Korra grinned and then leaned in to kiss her. “How about now?”
“Better,” Asami said, trying to pretend her breathlessness was entirely from the cold.
Korra leaned in again and Asami forgot about everything for an unknown amount of time, until the snowmobile finally stopped and Tonraq cleared his throat.
“Korra, Asami, I can see you're... occupied, but we're here.”
Asami pulled away from Korra, feeling the blush burn her cheeks. “Sorry. Yeah, of course.”
Senna shot them both a small smile. Any awkwardness Korra's parents had initially had around their relationship was long gone. Now Korra and Asami's inability to keep their hands off each other was something of a long-running joke instead. Which was perhaps equally mortifying.
Korra was blushing too, but the smile on her face was wide and just a little too pleased with herself. She kept one arm around Asami as they headed up the steps into the palace.
An hour later, they were all seated at the table, eating the meal Senna had prepared. The conversation flowed easily, and Korra couldn't help remembering how this had all been a little awkward at first, and how comfortable it felt now. Asami fitted into her family so perfectly, like she was meant to be there, and Korra wanted her to be part of it forever.
Even if that did mean, as she'd predicted, her parents and Asami teaming up to tease her mercilessly.
Right now, Senna was in the middle of an anecdote about Korra's long-standing hatred of mornings, and how as a young girl she would hide her head under her pillow and say 'five more minutes' every five minutes until someone finally made her get up.
Asami laughed. “Some things never change. A few weeks ago she had a meeting with the president and I had to push all the covers off her and then get the pillow out of her death grip before she would get up.”
Korra huffed, pretending to be angry. “Hey, you're meant to be on my side!”
“Always am,” Asami said affectionately, squeezing her hand. “Except when I'm not,” she added, winking.
Korra's parents watched the whole interaction with a kind of rapt attention that was acutely embarrassing. They'd gone from being a little awkward with Korra and Asami's relationship to being entirely too overenthusiastic about it.
Senna laughed at the banter between them. “Asami, it is so good to have you as a part of this family, you know that?”
Asami smiled, but a flicker of something else passed across her features. Korra touched her hand gently. She knew family was a difficult topic for Asami, and she couldn't imagine what kind of mixed emotions she must feel in a situation like this.
“Any thoughts of making that whole family thing a little more... 'official'?” Senna looked between them with clear meaning in her eyes, and Korra panicked. Because yeah, she had been thinking about that, but she hadn't talked to Asami about it yet.
“We haven't...” she began.
“Discussed it,” Asami finished, shooting Korra an unreadable glance.
Senna raised an eyebrow and looked between them again curiously, but thankfully dropped the subject in favour of narrating more embarrassing stories about Korra as a child. Korra wasn't sure how her parents hadn't run out of those yet, but they seemed to have an endless supply.
“Did we ever tell you about Korra's first attempts at learning waterbending?” Tonraq asked. “She must have knocked Katara over about five times with a heap of snow. A less patient teacher would probably have quit.”
“Do you have to do this every time we come here?” Korra demanded.
Senna nodded. “It's what parents are for.”
Korra felt Asami tense next to her, and then stand up, almost tripping over her cushion. “Excuse me for a moment, I just...” She headed out of the room without finishing the sentence. Most people wouldn't have noticed the catch in her voice, but Korra heard it and stood up as well.
“Did I say something wrong?” Senna asked, looking between the door and Korra's expression.
“It's just, her family...” Korra trailed off. They already knew. “I'm gonna go find her.”
She found Asami sitting outside, her back against the wall, looking so small against the might of the building.
“Hey.”
Asami stayed where she was, her face buried in her hands, but she answered quietly. “Hi.”
Korra went to sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Asami leaned into her a little, still keeping her face hidden. “Wanna talk about it?”
“I'm fine,” Asami said, not sounding it. “It's just... I don't know, I'm never sure when it's going to hit me, but I just... so many things remind me that they're gone. I love being here, I love your parents, I love being part of your family, it just...” She looked up, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes. “I hate that you can never be part of mine. I hate that I can never take you home and have my mom tell embarrassing stories about me as a kid, or my dad tell me that he's glad it's you I'm with, or... any of it. I don't have a family, Korra. I haven't had one for years.”
Korra pulled her closer, reaching her free hand out to clasp Asami's. “No-one can ever replace your parents, Asami. I know that. And I'm so sorry that you'll never get those things with them. Family isn't just blood, though. And I understand if you don't feel the same, because I don't know what it's like to lose what you have, but to me? To me, you and our friends and that whole life we have over in the City, that's family just as much as my parents are. And I will always want you as my family, for as long as you want that too. In this one,” she gestured at the palace behind them, “and the one we have in the City, and the one that's just me and you, and maybe some day... more than that.”
Asami sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes and then smiled at Korra. “Are you talking about kids right now?”
Korra smiled wryly back at her. “I mean, maybe someday, right?”
Asami nodded. “Right.” Then she exhaled, her breath standing out in white clouds against the freezing dark. “Thanks for saying all that, Korra. You're my family too, you know. And I wouldn't trade that for anything. It hurts, them not being here. It's not ever going to stop hurting.” She sighed. “But... I'm glad I'm still here. With you. And I really... I do want to be part of your family. Official or not. I'm always going to want that.”
They sat together in silence for a moment, and then Korra caught up to what Asami had just said. “Official... or not?”
“Yeah.”
“You mean, if... if I did want to make it official...?”
Asami smiled at her, tender and just a little sad. “I'd say yes in a heartbeat. If I didn't ask you first.”
“I'd say yes, too.”
They stared at each other for a moment, before Asami let out a small laugh. “Did we just propose to each other... accidentally?”
“I think so?”
Asami shook her head. “Oh, wow.”
“So, does that mean we're... accidentally engaged?” Korra asked.
“I think it means whatever we want it to mean.”
“So, can it mean 'I absolutely do want to marry you but I didn't plan to ask this way and I want to do it again properly when we get back home'?” Korra asked.
Asami smiled. “Yeah. I think it can mean that.”
When they came back into the room, Senna's gentle apologies for what she'd said were cut short by her obvious surprise at the looks on their faces. Korra was smiling so brightly Asami was sure it could melt the ice outside, and she thought her own smile must be just as wide. That didn't mean the sadness wasn't still there, because it would be a part of her always, but she'd learned that many different emotions could co-exist, no matter how contradictory they seemed.
“What happened?” Tonraq asked, looking between them.
Korra shook her head and grinned at them smugly. “Our secret.”
Asami nodded in agreement and tried to figure out how to eat her food one-handed. Because there was no way she was letting go of Korra. Not literally right now, and not figuratively ever again. Not if she was lucky.
And looking at the face of the girl who'd said she'd be her wife, just pending a formal request on either side, she knew that she was. Maybe not in a million other ways, but in loving and being loved by Korra, she thought she was the luckiest person in the world.
Family could mean loss and hurt and pain and laughter and teasing and joy and everything in between. And it could mean a smile in a pair of blue eyes, the warmth of a hand tangled with hers, the brightness of a glance shared with the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Sometimes, family could just mean Korra.
Asami kept hold of the hand of her unofficial fiancée and let herself live in the moment.