Fair warning before we start, like the other one-shots I've been making, the epilogue concerns an ongoing fic I've been writing called Avatar: The Realignment that is otherwise unrelated to the main story. Unlike those other one-shots, the epilogue has a much, much darker tone than the main fic does. If you came here for fluff, I'd advise you stop reading after the main story ends.

Turtle Ducks

The sight of the tower, covered in vines no longer inspired fear. Rather, the spirit vines and the tower offered an almost surreal calm as the spotlights washed over it. From their vantage point on the numerous turtle duck boats that adorned the river, couples took in the view, many focused on the skyline reflecting into the crystalline river.

In the case of this particular couple however, they weren't focused on the skyline, or the reflection. They were focused on each other. The time that they had been forced to spend apart, whether because of business duties from one woman or the demands of her handler from the other, made the moments they did spend together all the more significant. She was content to rest her head on her shoulder, feeling the warmth of her love's body as the gentle rocking of the boat relaxed them.

Asami didn't want to talk. She didn't want to do anything but feel Korra close to her. Her eyes started to grow heavy as she felt her body relax.

QUACK!

The noise next to them however, awoke the pair almost immediately.

"Heh, Asami, look. There's a whole family of them."

"N-not now, Korra. Busy," Asami playfully moaned, keeping her head buried in her lover's chest. Korra, however, wasn't about to take 'no' for an answer, nudging Asami until she looked over the boat.

"Pretty loud considering how small they are," Asami noted. Korra however, was more focused on the ducks themselves than the noise they were making.

"They seem so happy."

The turtle ducks were floating side by side, quacking in unison, moving around the boat. They seemed happy to follow it, either unsure of how to move past the boat, or just taken by the large wooden vessel and its passengers. Asami couldn't help but notice this.

"They seem confused is more accurate. The mother doesn't want anything to happen to those little turtle ducklings but she can't figure out how to get around the boat."

"It is a big boat," Korra replied. "Besides, you can't blame her for being defensive. Having your own family all of a sudden, being in charge, not really sure of how to handle it, it's a lot of work."

"Yeah," Asami replied. "It is. You think that mother likes getting woken up early in the morning?"

"As if her job didn't do that now," Korra scoffed. "I bet every day before the little turtle ducklngs came along she was up at 3am to go to some fancy turtle duck meeting. And then she came home exhausted."

"Well it would help," Asami answered defensively, "if the bull bird didn't keep dragging Daddy Turtle Duck off to the four corners of the globe because the jerk doesn't like Mommy." Surprisingly enough, Korra took the ribbing fairly well.

"Well maybe that's why they decided to have ducklings," Korra reasoned. "Maybe they wanted something to come home to every night."

This line of reasoning caused Asami to raise her head, looking Korra right in the eyes. "How so?"

"Wise speeches are more Tenzin's thing, but here goes." Taking a deep breath, Korra did her best to sound intelligent and profound.

"The Mommy and Daddy Turtle Duck are just fine on their own. Maybe they take each other for granted, even though they shouldn't. But when they have a family, everything changes. They have to think about the family more than they ever would otherwise. They have to think about the lives they're in charge of raising. The little things, like making sure they're clean, teaching them to be strong and just, you can't just…"

"Korra?"

"Yeah?"

"You just said…'you.' Your little metaphor is breaking apart."

Korra shook her head when she heard this, but offered a soft laugh to try and save face. "I guess I'm not Tenzin."

"You'd need a thicker mustache," Asami offered, laughing. Korra put her finger to her lip in an attempt to pretend it was a mustache before both girls started laughing. After a few moments, Korra dropped the metaphor and became direct with her words.

"I want to start a family. I want to spend more time with you. And I want to raise a kid."

"You want a child? But Korra, you…and me…"

"We can adopt," Korra reasoned. "Besides, I think we'd be pretty good parents. I mean, we hung around Meelo all those years and didn't go insane."

"True," Asami reasoned. Korra smiled, offering a kiss to her partner, which she happily took.

"You know a child isn't like a pet," Asami warned Korra. "I want to start a family, but the UR won't even…"

Korra interrupted Asami with a shake of her head. "Don't worry about Chanming or the courts or the rest of those bigots. We'll figure something out. Don't we always?"

Asami nodded, putting her head back into Korra's shoulder. "If that giant robot couldn't stop us, what chance do a few bureaucrats have?"

"Exactly."

The pair looked ahead, seeing the turtle ducks finally figuring out where they were heading. They were all swimming towards the tower, quacking all the while.

"See?" Korra reassured Asami, kissing her forehead. "A family always finds a way."

Epilogue

78 years later –

Why did her mind keep going back to those memories? Those memories thought lost. And yet here they were, haunting her, despite her attempts to forget. It was ironic. She had wanted to remember, but now she had no choice but to remember.

As Korra nursed the bruises and broken bones, waiting for the water healers to come in and mend her, her mind wasn't on the injuries she suffered. It wasn't even on the man she fought who could wield all four elements, or the fact that he was able to defeat her completely and utterly using the Avatar State of all things.

It was on the memories of things she was never allowed to have. The promises to a woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, to raise a family with. The promises she was never allowed to keep because of society.

Mommy?

She gasped. Only to realize that she had been hearing things. There was no child. There was no one there.

Korra looked around to be sure she was alone. The Avatar must remain a pillar of strength, and it would serve no one to see her like this.

She wept. Korra wept and bawled, not because of the injuries, or the man who threatened to thwart all of her plans, but for the family she was never allowed to have. Her bitter tears continued to flow until she finally fell asleep, exhausted, ashamed, and alone.