She'd been planning this for months. She'd even booked the venue early on, ensuring that it would be the perfect romantic setting, and a private one, at that. Asami didn't think Korra would want something this intimate to be in a public place. An alternative was the Spirit World, but a private room at one of the best restaurants in the newly rebuilt entertainment district would have to do. And that was the easy part.

Asami wasn't inclined to add together all the hours she'd spent on the hard part. Researching Water Tribe customs and painstakingly designing the most absolutely perfect design in the history of perfect designs, before carefully carving it into the finest stone she could find. Everything she did herself, by hand, and without machine assistance until she had the most perfect betrothal necklace the world had ever produced. As far as she was concerned, anyway.

Waiting for her lover, she smoothed her thumb over the stone and the design she'd carved. The stone itself was a circle cut to resemble a gear. The symbols for air, water and fire formed an unlined triangle. At it's center was Korra's Water Tribe symbol. She hoped it sufficed to show she understood where Korra was from, and who she ultimately was to the world. She closed her hand over it, wondering if she'd over thought the design. Did it really have to be on a gear? But that was the only thing she could think of that really said I'm betrothed to Asami Sato. Asami didn't have a huge possessive streak, but her need for Korra sometimes manifested itself in subtle ways.

She slipped it back into her purse and pulled out a mirror to touch up her make-up. She didn't really get a chance before a voice interrupted her. "Hey, am I late? I tried not to take three years this time."

Laughing, Asami looked up at the Avatar. Korra was wearing a formal water tribe dress, less heavy than usual due to unseasonable warmth. Her bright eyes beamed with affection, and Asami got to her feet to give the woman a kiss. "You joke about that more than I do."

Korra lowered the pitch of her voice and stuck Asami with a stare. "Your laugh is worth it."

Damn. Korra was in a mood. Asami hoped she could make it through the next few hours without melting. "You're smooth-talking me. What did you do?"

"What did I do? Why do I have to have done something?" She lightly bapped the back of her hand on Asami's shoulder.

"Because usually when you get this smooth you're buttering me up for something." Asami slid back into the chair with uncanny grace."I'm glad I booked us a private room." It was on the tenth floor of one of the new buildings, with a view of the Spirit Portal and then the ocean past it.

Korra thought it must have cost Asami a pretty penny, but she didn't say that out loud. She knew Asami could afford it and they'd already discussed the subject extensively. Asami knew that Korra didn't want her to spend a fortune on her, and Korra understood that sometimes Asami wanted to be generous and sweet. And they hadn't really had a date in months. "I have plans for dessert."

Asami nearly choked on her water, but the Avatar had said that so innocently that she wasn't sure if it was just her own dirty mind playing tricks on her. She looked up into Korra's face. Korra was wide-eyed and beaming at her with a bright, toothy smile. "I love you so much," she said, suddenly and breathlessly.

It took Korra offguard a bit, and she ducked her head. "I love you too. It always… just the way you look at me when you say that. Like I'm the only person in the world."

"Right now, you are," Asami replied. She set her glass down. "I know you've been busy lately. I'm really happy you were able to make it."

"It's tough out there." Korra folded her hands on the table, and leaned towards Asami. "The Earth Union's first elections are in just three months. Just getting all the states on the same page has been an adventure."

"Mmm...and some of those places are pretty out of the way, even with rail." Asami tapped her bottom lip with the tip of one finger. "It's a temporary solution but I can lend you an airship. It might not be super comfortable."

"Translation," Korra said, holding up a hand. "It's not up to Asami Sato Standards which means it's still pretty nifty and comfortable."

With a sheepish expression, Asami replied. "...you've probably got me there, hon. But maybe what you need is an official Avatar airship!" She perked up suddenly, her eyes sharpening as a flash of inspiration went through her. It would need to be fast, but they didn't have to sacrifice comfort for that. She could make room for a small training area and for Naga to not feel cramped. And the bed needed to be huge since she'd go with Korra sometimes and they'd want room to be intimate and to cuddle. And a built in Pai Sho board.

Korra could see Asami drawing a picture in her mind. Her mouth hung open a little and she blinked rapidly before putting her hand on Asami's. She was positive the industrialist didn't even realize she was designing out loud. "I don't need an airship."

"It should definitely be blue, but we'll want highlights for the other bending colors and…" She snapped out of it, and looked into Korra's eyes. " Rail is great for quickly moving goods, but it lacks the freedom that an airship provides. Please, Korra. I want to do this for you. Let it be an, uhm…" Wedding present. "A present."

"You're going to fight me on this aren't you."

"Tooth and nail."

"Just try not to go overboard?"

"I'll try." Asami had every intention on getting her own hands dirty with this project.

The first course arrived, and Korra was pleasantly surprised at it being a water tribe dish. "What kind of meal is this?"

"It's a new special they're doing," Asami explained. "It's called the World Tour. We start with a Water Tribe starter, then an Earth Nation appetizer, a Fire Nation entree and the finish with an Air Nomad dessert."

"They started with my favorite." Korra dug in happily, and Asami leaned her chin on her hand for a moment to watch her woman eat. She didn't look much older than she had been four years ago at Kuvira's defeat, but then neither did Asami. She still couldn't believe it had been that long. She turned these thoughts over and over in her head as they ate.

"Do you remember what today is?" She finally asked as they waited for dessert.

"Thursday?" Korra stroked her finger around the rim of her glass, eyeing Asami playfully. "Or maybe the anniversary of the day we came back from the Spirit World?"

Asami smiled, her face growing a little heated. "Yes." It had seemed natural to settle on that day as the true beginning of their being together. Their time in the Spirit World a kind of fond memory, hazy and happy. When they'd stepped back into the real world, everything suddenly shot into focus and the weight of what it meant to be together had settled onto them. "I've been thinking about that a lot lately. How new and scary everything was. You'd just been through this ordeal. I'd lost my father and watched years of hard work turned to rubble…" She glanced out the window, the glow from the portal painting a gentle glow on her face. Softly, she finished. "But it just felt so right. Scary. And right."

"It was how long before we were able to relax again?" Korra asked, her hand settling on Asami's. She rubbed the woman's knuckles with her thumb.

"Eight months, if you don't count stolen moments."

Korra smiled knowingly. "I liked those stolen moments. I still do."

"Me too. But you have to admit it's a lot nicer to be apart less." She looked back at Korra, expression soft and eyes loving. "You're the Avatar, and I have a company to run, but I still get to see you nearly every day, unless you're off somewhere bringing balance to the world. And even then…" Asami trailed off. "With a portal in the city, seeing you for a few hours while you're away is as simple as meeting you there."

It wasn't as often as she'd like, but she wasn't always in a place where her body was safe enough to leave behind. But it was enough. She opened her mouth to speak, but Asami waved her hand like she wasn't done.

"That's not the only thing I've been thinking of. You can't look forward if you're always looking back. And I've been thinking forward. Where we'll be in five years. Or ten. I can't see it without you. There's this path ahead of us and I want to walk down it together."

She fished around in her purse, before pulling the betrothal necklace out. Korra's eyes widened when she saw it. Asami held it aloft so that her girlfriend could see the design. "I made it myself, of course. And I understand if you don't like it, it's not really a Southern tribe tradition, but I wanted to do something really special. And you don't have to say yes if you don't want to but I really love you, Korra. And I want to be your wife."

Korra let out a choked sound, surprise on her face. Asami was right, it really wasn't a Southern tradition, but Korra was descended from both tribes, and even then it was the meaning behind the action that mattered.

Asami stared at her, worrying her bottom lip as her nerves started to fray. She thought that maybe she'd screwed up. Korra wasn't ready, or Korra didn't like it, or she was insulted (which is silly to think but she thinks it). The Avatar reaches out to touch the stone, then closes her eyes and laughs. It's not mocking, simply soft and delighted, as though something else was amusing her. "Of course… of course! Asami, you're so sweet. I want to be your wife too."

The raven-haired woman's shoulders relaxed so quickly that she felt dizzy. She leaned over to put it around Korra's neck (that was tradition, she'd researched), but Korra stopped her. Swiping her hand through the air, the bender bent something out of her pocket. It was a long, thin rod, about finger length. It looked like it was made of silver, and Asami watched with curiousity as Korra metal bent it through the air. It landed on her finger, and then tied itself into an unbroken knot around her finger. It shimmered, like there were other metals or even precious gems hidden within the metal. She nearly dropped the betrothal necklace and her voice cracked. "Oh.. Korra…"

A huge grin formed on Korra's face. "I've been practicing that trick all year. I never got around to figuring out what I wanted to say. But then you.." She gestured at the choker, then pulled her hair back so that Asami could put it around her neck. She touched two fingers to the stone, feeling the symbols, before pulling Asami into her lap and hugging her. She buried her face in the other woman's neck. "You complete me."

Asami blinked back tears. "We're going to get married…!"

"Do you think Bolin will forgive us? We might beat him and Opal to the punch." Korra pulled her head back far enough to touch her nose to Asami's. She thought her fiance's smile could outshine the sun.

"I think he'll live." Asami wiped some tears off of her cheek.

"We're going to get married…" Korra said it like it had just sunk in. Asami nodded, enthusiastically, and then without warning, tipped them off of the chair as she swarmed Korra's face with kisses.