DISCLAIMER: LoK and all associated stuff belongs to Nick and blah blah blah, let'sgetonwithit.

SPOILER ALERT: This fic was written shortly after the release of Book 4, Chapter 3. It is safe to assume that you'll run into spoilers if you haven't gotten up to this point. This fic takes place sometime after Korra's return to Republic City (whenever that's going to be), so it's also safe to assume that i'm making up a bunch of stuff. You have been warned.

A/N: Behold, the finale! For those of you who clicked on this and slogged through nearly six thousand words in search of naughty adult things, your patience is about to be rewarded. The full version can be found on AO3: http*:*/*archiveofourown*.*org*/*works/2484908/chapters/5513882 (you'll have to delete all of the * because ffn won't let me post a hyperlink for some reason).

/

A rock hurtled at her face, too close and too quick to block. Korra faded back and twisted her shoulders as it passed over head, reflexively coming back with a left hook-right punch-rear round kick combo that caught Bolin off guard. The earthbender managed to block the punches, but at the cost of leaving himself open to the rock sent flying by the round kick. Rock met ribs and knocked the breath out of Bolin. He dropped to his knees and waved a hand in the air.

"Time out!" he gasped.

"Oh, crap." Korra jogged across the training yard. "Are you okay, Bolin?"

He rolled back onto his butt with a groan. "Yeah. I'm good. Just give me a second."

Korra knelt down next to him and bent some water out of a nearby clay jug. Her hands began to glow and she moved the water around, looking for signs of serious injury. She frowned in concentration. Bruised ribs. A bit of swelling. Nothing too bad. "You'll have a pretty colorful bruise in the morning, but I can take care of the rest," she said.

"Eh, it's okay." Bolin winced. "That was pretty creative, by the way. Painful, but creative. What the heck was that, exactly?"

"Airbending footwork with earthbending strikes."

"Man, Korra. You sure I can't convince you to go back into probending with me?" he asked only half joking.

Korra smiled. "Tempting, but I'll have to pass. You know, Avatar duties and all that. Gotta maintain that balance and keep the peace."

"Yeah, speaking of peacekeeping," Bolin began, "I don't suppose you've spoken to Asami recently."

The water in Korra's hands faltered. "No. Not in the past couple of days."

"Aaaand why not?"

She frowned. "I keep trying to call, but her secretary always says she's busy." Korra sighed and bent the water back into the jug. "There. All done."

"So she's avoiding you. Wow, that sucks." Bolin stood and offered Korra a hand, yanking her to her feet when she accepted.

Korra brushed the dirt from her pants. "I know I screwed up, Bolin, but how am I supposed to apologize if she won't even talk to me?"

"Talk to her tonight."

"Why? What's going on tonight?" Korra asked. She dunked her head into the jug to cool off, straightened, and whipped her hair about like a polar bear dog.

"Oooh, that looks like a good idea." Bolin grinned and followed her lead. "Anyway, Opal and I are going out to dinner tonight. I'm taking her to Narook's. Asami promised to pull herself away from her prototypes and gadgets long enough to join us. I asked Mako this morning and he said he'd try to make it. You should come, too."

"I don't know."

"Come on," Bolin begged. "It'll be just like old times. All you have to do is show up at six o' clock sharp."

"I'll think about it," said Korra.

Bolin put his hands on her shoulders and stared at her. "Korra, I know this is rough, but it's times like this that you have to ask yourself one question."

"What's that?" she asked.

"What would Nuktuk do?"

/

Nuktuk, Korra decided, was an idiot. She paced back and forth in front of Narook's. Mako canceled at the last minute and she imagined it was a strategic move on his part. Her suspicions grew when six o'clock came and went and neither Bolin nor Opal showed. She was just about to leave when a familiar face materialized out of the crowd.

"Asami?"

Asami hesitated. "Korra? What are you doing here? Where's Bolin?"

"Bolin invited me," she said. "Though I haven't seen him yet."

Green eyes narrowed. "Of course you haven't. We've been set up. It's the oldest trick in the book. Such a cliche." Asami crossed her arms and looked around. "I bet Bolin never even had any intention of coming to Narook's tonight."

Korra nervously rubbed the back of her neck and scanned the crowd, stalling in an effort to think of something to say. When she gave up searching for sign of Bolin, she turned back and realized Asami was already gone. She muttered a curse under her breath and set off in the direction Asami had come from.

"Asami, wait!" Korra shouted. She hopped up on a stack of crates and caught a glimpse of long raven hair and fair skin fading into the throng of people. A sense of urgency hit Korra and she went chasing after Asami, using a small blast of wind to boost her jump off the crates. She was beginning to think she'd lost her when she saw the engineer striding towards her parked Satomobile. Korra skidded to a halt just as Asami started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

"Move, Korra."

Korra held up one hand and took a moment to catch her breath. "Wait, Asami. Just give me a second. Hear me out."

Asami's resolve began to crumble, but she refused to put the car back into park. "Why?" she asked.

"I want to apologize. I need to explain myself," said Korra. "Five minutes. That's all I'm asking. Listen to me for five minutes and then if you want me to, I'll leave."

The older woman appeared to consider the offer, then nodded. "Get in. I'm not doing this out in the street."

Korra ran around to the passenger side and vaulted into the seat. The pair sat in silence as the car sped through the streets, engine purring like a happy tigerdillo. Asami eventually pulled over and parked near the entrance to the city park. She twisted in her seat and looked evenly at Korra.

"Talk," she said.

Korra glanced at the park and decided to try her luck. "Let's take a walk."

Asami sighed. "Fine."

The two women entered the park and dodged a young firebender as he went from lamplight to lamplight, flicking a flame into each one to fend off the growing darkness. Korra jammed her hands into her pockets and steeled herself. When the firebender was finally out of earshot, she looked around to make sure they were alone. She sucked in a deep breath and tried to drown out the sound of her own heartbeat. "I'm sorry," she said.

Asami remained silent, though she seemed more saddened than angry. "I'm sorry, too. I should've told you about Iroh, but I didn't know how."

Korra stopped her with a hand on her arm. "No, Asami. I'm the only one who needs to apologize. I'm the one with the short fuse and big mouth. You haven't done anything wrong. Even if you don't forgive me, I hope you believe me when I say I'm sorry." She drew back and let her arms fall to her sides. "Asami, I really am so sorry."

"I know, but I won't lie and say it didn't hurt," Asami said, causing Korra to flinch. "Though I suppose it goes both ways. I was afraid to tell you about Iroh because I didn't want to hurt you."

Korra tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked down. "Truth be told, there was a part of me that would've felt like I deserved it. I was afraid you would be angry at me for not writing. At the time, I think I wanted you and everyone else to be angry with me. I was so lost and disappointed in myself. I was so tired of hearing everyone tell me that I'd get better. I felt so weak and useless."

"I understand, actually. It all made sense after I got your letter. But even then…" Asami shook her head and wiped away a tear before it could roll down her cheek. "I thought that maybe I'd done something to push you away. I know that's a selfish thing to think, but I couldn't help it."

Korra took a step forward. "Asami, you know that's not true."

The engineer avoided her gaze with uncharacteristic shyness. "Do I? I thought… I thought that you regretted what happened between us. I was afraid you wanted to forget," she said.

Korra's heart pounded in her ears. She remembered shared smiles and stolen glimpses in Zao Fu, clasped hands in the desert, and the intimacy of their last night in the airship. "No," she whispered. She reached forward to cup Asami's face with one hand and let the other slide up to her waist. "I would never wish to forget that."

Asami let herself be pulled closer. She slid her arms around Korra's neck and leaned forward. "You were away for so long."

"I thought about you every day," she breathed. Korra stroked her cheek with her fingertips and gave her a sad smile. "You were always with me, even though you were here in Republic City. I imagined you were there when I learned to walk again. I could hear you cheering me on when I made it through an entire firebending form. I felt you hold my hand when struggled to bend the last bit of metal out of my body. So no, I regret nothing that happened between us. I need you, Asami."

Korra tilted her head and captured Asami's mouth in a hesitant kiss. Asami stiffened in her arms and Korra almost sagged with relief when she finally relaxed and returned the kiss, moving her full lips with an eagerness that matched her own. She felt the engineer's nimble fingers bury themselves in her hair and a tightness continued to build within her as Asami's nails gently scraped her scalp. Korra's hands drifted down to her lower back, pausing for only a moment before sliding further down to grip her firmly. The taller woman moaned and reluctantly pushed away from Korra.

Asami reached up with one hand and brushed aside a piece of Korra's hair, mirroring her actions from earlier that week. "Home?" she asked.

She didn't have to say anything else.

Korra nodded and followed Asami to her car. The ride back to the Sato estate went by in the blink of an eye, and yet still seemed to take forever. They were undoubtedly seen by some of the house staff as they stumbled inside and down the halls to her bedroom. Korra wondered what they made of Asami's swollen lips and unruly hair. After only a little thought, she found that she didn't really care. When they finally reached the room, Korra kept her hands to herself and fought to remain calm. Asami closed the door behind her and looked over her shoulder at Korra, sliding the lock into place with a definitive click. That was all the permission she needed.

Wordlessly, Korra swept in to pick up where she left off in the park. She pinned Asami against the wall with her hips and let her kisses drift from Asami's mouth to her collarbone. The aggressive move drew a moan from Asami's throat and Korra's hips instinctively jerked in response. Korra tugged at the hem of Asami's thin shirt and slid her hands underneath to cup her breasts. The older woman arched into her with a gasp and Korra groaned.

"Those noises you're making," she mumbled into Asami's neck, struggling to remember the words she needed. "I can't…" Korra reached for the waistband of Asami's skirt, fumbling with the ties, stopping only when Asami's hands stilled hers and gently pushed her away. Korra grunted softly in frustration and gradually realized the other woman was laughing at her.

"Slow down," Asami chided her, not bothering to hide her amusement. She tilted her head and kissed Korra deeply, then pulled back once more. "There's no rush this time."

Asami took a few steps away. It seemed to Korra that miles stretched out between them until she noticed that Asami was headed towards her bed. Bed. Yes. Good. Korra nodded as if drafting up a plan of attack. Bed was a good idea. She could do bed. Asami sat down on the edge of the mattress and held out a hand, beckoning Korra to join her. She quickly complied and nearly pounced on the engineer.

Asami laughed at the hungry look in Korra's eyes. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to get much sleep tonight?"

/

Asami sat with her back against the headrest and Korra settled herself between Asami's legs, relaxing back into her chest. She couldn't help but be momentarily transfixed by the way moonlight somehow sharpened the contrast between dark and pale skin. Korra tucked her head under Asami's chin and felt her reach over to pick up her hand. Korra flexed her fingers and let her examine her cracked callouses. Asami ran her thumb over the back of her hand and found a small, barely visible scar near her knuckles.

"What's this from?"

Korra frowned. "The desert. I slipped and scraped my hand on a rock when I fell."

Asami kissed her knuckles. "Tell me about it," she said.

"I just did."

"No, I mean everything. Tell me what happened while you were gone. Tell me things you haven't shared with us yet," she insisted. "Tell me things you left out of your letter."

And so she did. She talked about the difficulties of learning to walk again and her frustration at her inability to reach the Avatar State. She spoke in detail about her tears and triumphs, her shame, and her nightmares. She even told Asami about the discovery that she had been fighting a three-year-long battle with remnants of the metallic poison she didn't know were still in her body. She felt herself relax more and more as the night went on. It felt good to finally tell someone the whole story.

Korra knew then that she had reached the elusive point of return Katara had once referred to. She'd won. Even if she never stopped having nightmares and never forgot about Amon, Unalaq, or Zaheer, she was still going to come out on top. Korra smiled when she realized something else as Asami kissed her. She knew that no matter how much the world changed - with or without her - there were some things that would always remain the same.

/

I regret nothing!