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City Hall has been lacking on security funds.

Fire Lord Izumi assumes this when she notices a woman letting herself in the towering, oak double doors.

Alone.

She slips past a group of assistants to the Council representatives as they murmur and pencil down notes for future press releases — the woman. A tall and full-figured woman with her silvery-gray hair pulled up. Dark leggings and animal-skin boots. A tunic of a dyed midnight blue layered beneath a haltered blue and a light blue stomacher. Short sleeves.

Izumi squints her bright gold eyes.

Water Tribe?

There's a strip of dark blue fabric ribboned around the older woman's neck — on it is a carved, pale blue stone shaped like a downward facing crescent moon. Izumi knows that necklace immediately. It couldn't — it truly couldn't be — could it?

Kya winks in Izumi's direction, smiling and folding her arms.

A thrum of heat floods in her chest.

Izumi regards the manuscripts in her hands, looking down and suppressing a wide, eager grin. "My nation appreciates your diligence, Madame President," she says lowly, bowing her head to Zhu Li who offers a polite bow in return.

"Republic City is always open to you and your people, Fire Lord Izumi."

The rest of the City Hall's occupants break apart from the meeting, wandering towards the exits. One or two peer at Kya. Izumi remains where she is standing by the dais, waiting for the room to clear out before meeting Kya's teal-colored eyes.

Both women quietly squeal out.

Izumi rushes from the dais-steps, grinning and feeling a pair of arms hugging her fiercely.

"I'll be damned," Kya says breathlessly, pulling back to stare over Izumi's expression. Thank goodness for Izumi's own composure or she thinks she would be red as a fire flake. "I haven't seen you in ages, Zu—and now you're the Fire Lord?"

"Father insisted and I did as I was bid," Izumi murmurs. She clasps their hands together. "Is Tenzin still scared of you?"

"Tenzin says he's not."

A hint of mischief curls Kya's lips.

Izumi laughs. She hasn't laughed since the evening of her coronation when Iroh, her son, joked about a Bhanti Sage hairdo.

"Goodness gracious, you and Bumi were relentless. It's fortunate he swore to be a pacifist later in life."

"Aw, c'mon! Don't be such a grumpy goose-swan!" Kya insists, smiling hard. "We were kids. It was little pranks on each other as siblings. You know… jumping out behind statues and making funny faces, hiding Tenzin's razor, dunking him in the water…"

"You pantsed him, Kya."

"So?"

"I remember Tenzin being eighteen," Izumi reminds her. "And it was in the middle of a ceremony in honor of Avatar Aang."

Kya waves a hand dismissively.

"He's so sensitive," she grumbles out.

Izumi's facial wrinkles deepen with another laugh.

It wasn't only Tenzin that Kya wanted to pick on. She remembers her and Kya as young girls. Long ago. They would run together barefoot in the palace gardens, or visit Great Uncle Iroh's tea shop, or drink with Bumi and Lin and other bored kids they met while attending an important feast with their parents. The tiniest of them — Hou-Ting, the only daughter of the Earth King — dared Kya to kiss Izumi after Izumi said she never kissed anyone before. Kya never turned down a dare.

But it wasn't spiteful in nature like Hou-Ting was. Izumi never expected how gently Kya treated her, their mouths gravitating and pressing up. Kya's brown fingers held Izumi's cheeks, as the kiss held, stilling the princess from squirming away.

Kya smirked, pulling away and nudging her thumb against Izumi's bottom lip.

She stole Izumi's thick-rimmed glasses right off her face, while Izumi gawked and reddened. Kya's giggle echoed in the marbled corridor. She climbed to her feet as a grinning Bumi encouraged her by hooting. Izumi chased after Kya, yelling.

Kya!

Too slow!

Their girlish voices fade out of Izumi's thoughts.

"How was traveling the world?"

"Incredible," Kya says, tilting her head and gazing over the other woman in approval. She moves closer. "But I did miss seeing familiar faces." Izumi reads what's under the mellow expression, catching onto Kya's wrist with lightning-quickness.

"Too slow," she whispers. Maybe it's a little too satisfying to witness Kya gawking open-mouthed.

Being alone… for so long… Izumi grows weary of it.

Heat floods her when Kya's next exhale brushes against her face. Their lips pressed up.

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