Uh so this was in my brain and now it's on the internet oops.

"Where's Kuvira? I've been looking for her."

Varrick and Bolin exchanged looks. "Good question, buddy," Varrick said, twirling his mustache. "You know, I just saw her in this very hallway... but then she hung a right -or it could have been a left- and I haven't seen her since! You of all people ought to know where she is though, what with you being her shadow and all-"

"Spare me your attempts at humor," Baatar said irritably. "Do you know where she is or not? I need to ask her something."

Varrick shrugged. "Can't help you there. But hey, if you find her, tell her to drop by the lab. I've been working on a new-"

"Bolin," Baatar said. "I don't have time for this. Have you seen her?" His hand went to his pocket as he spoke, and Bolin's eyes narrowed.

"Wait a second, wait a second!" Bolin said. "Your overall fidgety behavior, nervous expression, and need to 'ask her a question,' all combined with the fact that you are grumpier than usual, can all only point to one thing!" he exclaimed, throwing an arm around Varrick's shoulders with a conspiratorial air.

Baatar pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, go on. Keep yelling, let the whole train hear you.."

"You took a wrong turn off honeymoon avenue, and you're trying to get out of the doghouse!"

"That is the most ridiculous conclusion you could have drawn," Baatar said with an aggrieved expression. "If neither of you have seen her-"

"No wait, I've got this," Bolin said, holding up a hand. "That bouquet of panda lilies can only mean one thing, if you haven't screwed up. They're only the most romantic flower in existence. You're going to propose!" He looked from Varrick to Baatar grinning eagerly. "C'mon, let's see the rock you picked out!"

"No." Baatar crossed his arms.

"You're not going to propose?" Varrick said, frowning. "That's a shame. Having a lady might make you act less like you've got a sewer pipe elephant rat down your pants."

"You both are insufferable," Baatar said, pulling a small green box from his pocket. "Yes, I'm going to propose." He grimaced when his announcement was met with a chorus of "awwwwws" at an absurdly high decibel level. "And we've been together for a long while now, thank you."

"Guess his bad attitude is incurable," Varrick said, shrugging.

"I knew it!" Bolin said delightedly. "Can we see the ring? Oh! Can we-" he leaned in uncomfortably close- "watch the proposal?"

"No, I want her to be the first to see it." He spoke with finality, pushing Bolin away. "And you absolutely will not be there to watch... such things are supposed to be private."

"Well, good luck with that," Varrick said. "It'll be plenty private, since Kuvira's nowhere to be found-"

"What are all of you doing, blocking the hallway?"

All three men jumped at the sound of Kuvira's voice, and Baatar hastily stuffed the box back into his pocket. Bolin took his hand holding the bouquet, positioning it in front of his chest. "Kuvira," Baatar said. "I've been looking for you all morning- you left early."

She raised an eyebrow. "I had to drill the metalbenders," she said. "You weren't in the gym, afterward. Where were you?"

Baatar jerked his hand away from Bolin. "That's not important right now. May I speak with you?"

"Are they always this businesslike?" Varrick asked in an undertone.

"Make it quick," Kuvira said, beckoning with the folder she carried under her arm. "I have a full day ahead of me." All four walked down the hallway, stopping at Kuvira's office. "Baatar, did you want to speak privately?" she asked, glancing at Bolin and Varrick.

"Yes, I thought I had made that clear," he said, frowning at the two of them.

"Don't mind us! It'll be like we aren't even here," Varrick said breezily. "Bolin, what do you say we just stand in that corner, minding our own business, and I'll tell you about the time that I was just a poor seal hunter's son, foraging-"

"Enough," Kuvira said, closing the door.

"Good luck! It'll be great!" Bolin called through the door window. "Oh, I love wedd-"

Baatar drew the shutter. "Where were we?"

Kuvira sat, placing the folder on her desk. "You wanted to talk to me about something." She tapped a pen against her chin as she began to read the files.

"Yes," he said, pausing as if to prepare himself. "Well..." he proffered the bouquet of panda lilies. "For a start, these are for you..."

"What?" She looked at him, her mind obviously elsewhere. "Oh. Thank you, they're very nice." She took the bouquet, depositing it on the desk without a second glance. The flowers seemed to wilt as she dropped them, and Baatar's expression deflated slightly.

"Kuvira, the past three years with you have been unbelievable," he began. "If I had known that reuniting the earth empire would have brought about a union I've only dreamed of-"

"Sorry," she said, glancing at him again. "If this is going to take a while, can we do this over dinner? I need to be somewhere soon."

"It won't take long at all," Baatar said, frustration growing. "As I was saying, I never anticipated this level of happiness-" He craned his neck to see the documents that had so wholly absorbed her attention. "Kuvira, are you even listening to me?"

"Of course, of course," she said, cupping his cheek and giving him a perfunctory kiss. "We've almost completely reunited the empire. I'm happy too." She turned back to her desk.

Baatar stared. "That wasn't the point." He felt for the box, turning it over inside his pocket.

"Then get to it, because I don't have all day." Her eyes narrowed as she scribbled something down. "Unbelievable, there are uprisings in Omashu?"

"Yes, I told you about that last night," he said irritably. "As I was saying, these past two years with you have been..." He trailed off. "What I'm trying to say is, my time with you is unparalleled. When we're apart, I feel equivalent to the empty set, and when we're together...I can say with utmost certainty that in an infinite set of variables, you're the only one with whom I intersect." He paused, frowning. "That sounded more romantic in my head.."

"That's sweet," she said, turning a page. "My patience for your similes is like a exponential curve, in that it's infinite." She stood abruptly, taking the last few papers. "Now if you'll excuse me-"

"Kuvira," he said, seizing her hand and dropping to a knee, "what else? I don't have the words to tell you how in love I am with you. No unbounded expression will ever be sufficient in expressing how I feel about you, but perhaps this will." He opened the box. "Will you marry me?"

"Sure, okay," she said distractedly. "I'll be right back, Baatar," and with that she crossed the room, exiting through the north door.

Baatar's eye twitched. A growl of frustration escaped him.

Varrick and Bolin burst in, the left sides of their faces red from being pressed to the glass. "Did she say yes?" Bolin said excitedly.

"I think so?" Baatar said, rubbing his temple. The ring box lay forgotten on the desk. "She said 'sure.' And then she left the room." He took in their appearance. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Varrick clapped him on the shoulder. "It's okay, buddy. She'll come around. It's not like you drove her away with bad math humor, did you? In my years of experience, there's nothing worse than a poorly executed set theory joke-" He stopped, observing Baatar's expression. "See that face? That's the face of regret," he said to Bolin. "He tried a set theory joke. That humor's asymptotic- it'll come close, but it'll never touch base!" He grinned, only to raise his hands and step back when Baatar gave him a withering look. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's not all bad," Bolin said. "She'll be back soon, right?"

Baatar scowled, seating himself in Kuvira's newly vacant chair. "I suppose." He pocketed the ring. "I should have known better than to spring this on her while she was in the midst of negotiations..."

"You should have known better than to propose before the empire was 'one hundred percent reunited,'" Varrick said, imitating Kuvira with a frightening level of accuracy. Bolin laughed, clearing his throat when Baatar looked unamused. They stood in silence for a few minutes; Baatar paced back and forth in front of the desk.

"I only hope that-" The door hissed open, interrupting him, and Kuvira burst into the room, her usual decorum forgotten.

"The state of Taku has agreed to join our list of benefactors," she said, throwing her arms around Baatar's neck in a rare display of emotion. "The treaty has been signed, the governor is wholly supportive, we have access to their ore, our proposal for a partnership with their major exporter was approved, and I won't need to waste military resources taking one of the last earth kingdom strongholds by force-" She realized their audience a moment too late, letting go of him and assuming her usual stance. "We're nearly there, gentlemen."

Baatar put an arm around her waist, appreciative of the affectionate outburst despite Varrick and Bolin's presence. They were becoming increasingly rare; all her attention seemed to be focused on her political ambitions. "That's wonderful news. Do you have an answer for my proposal, too?"

She cocked her head. "I only remember bad math similes."

"Told you it was a lousy approach," Varrick muttered.

"Maybe this will jog your memory," Baatar said, ignoring Varrick's comment and pulling out the ring. "Kuvira, we've achieved so much being partners in office, but I'd much rather be your partner in life-"

"You picked a stone with a fractal cut?" Kuvira said, amused. "Don't tell me it symbolizes your love 'going on forever' or something equally trite."

"No," Baatar said, the pink tint to his cheeks indicating otherwise, "but I do want to ask you-"

The gentle tugging on the metal plates of his uniform became more insistent, and suddenly she was kissing him, her arms around his neck and her lips apart, her breath mingling with his as he eagerly responded. For a moment he forgot about Varrick and Bolin's presence, lost in her proximity; all that existed was her scent, her touch, and the feel of her against him. It was all reminiscent of the earlier stages of their relationship, before her responsibilities as the Great Uniter made her increasingly distant, dubbing his advances distractions that hindered her progress at inopportune moments. Now, as she kissed him, her hands drawing him closer with the same urgency they bore the previous night, his trepidation and uncertainty dissipated. "I know what you want to ask," she said softly, kissing his cheek, "and my answer is yes. Please don't make a math comparison."

He let go of her long enough to slide the ring onto her finger, the fractal cut of the diamond gleaming in the midday sun. "I'll try and contain myself." He frowned, glancing from her hand to her face. "Are they really that bad? I didn't think I did it too often."

Kuvira rested her newly decorated hand on his chest, rolling her eyes. "It's bad, Baatar."

"Well, it's obviously not crippling," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple and glancing at Varrick and Bolin. "Why are you both still here?"

"I just love weddings!" Varrick said, throwing out his arms. "I'm thinking an engagement party of at least six hundred, with preforming metal dancers and trained platypus bears! Then, for the actual wedding, we can have a life-size-"

"No celebrating yet," Kuvira said firmly, cutting off Varrick's excitement with a strip of metal over his mouth. "I will not set a wedding date until the earth empire is one hundred percent reunited."

Bolin raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Wow, Varrick. You were dead on."

"And then?" Baatar asked her, ignoring the interjection.

"And then we'll go dress shopping for you," she said, prompting a bout of laughter from the others. Baatar scowled, but she appeased him with another kiss. "I'll table the rest of today's agenda. Join me?"

"For what? I thought you won't celebrate until the complete union-"

"We have a different union to celebrate," she said, a sly smile spreading over her features as she took his hand. "And I think you've earned it."

A/N: Baavira for lyffeeeee. I still maintain that when he asked her, she would've been like "Yeah okay whatever." Review if you liked it!