Asami may have stopped sleeping, but she wasn’t awake either. Her mind was still cloudy and she only had a vague idea of where she was. She reached out for something and was surprised to find it wasn’t there. She wracked her mind trying to figure out what it was exactly she had been reaching for. Her eyes fluttered open and the answer came to her when she noticed the absence of a certain water tribe girl beside her. The sunlight streaming in through the windows made her panic a bit when she thought that she overslept. Then she remembered that she was taking the day off today. Clad in her red nightgown, she forced herself up and out of the bed and into the hallway. She walked to the foyer when she smelled something delicious. Following the scent, she arrived at the kitchen and was pretty surprised with what she saw.

Korra was standing in front of the stove and judging from the sizzling sounds, she was cooking something. She turned around and grinned when she saw Asami.

“You’re up late,” she said.

“And you’re up early,” the engineer said, taking a seat at the table where the staff usually ate. There were already two spots set. “What are you making there?”

“I’m working on the Tiger Seal bacon right now, but the eggs and fish are right there if you want to start.”

Sure enough, there was a bowl of scrambled eggs right in the center of the table and a plate of smoked fish next to.

“I think I’ll wait till everything else is done,” Asami said, though her stomach protested.

“If you say so,” Korra said, flipping over a few strips of meat with chop sticks.

They didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Asami didn’t want to interrupt her girlfriend and Korra wanted to focus on not burning their breakfast. It was a nice morning for that. The staff was out for a bit and Mako’s family were either preparing to go back to the Earth kingdom or were looking for places in Republic city so the two of them had the place to themselves. Something they rarely had these days.

“Okay, bacon’s done,” Korra said, taking the strips out of the pan and putting them on a plate. “The sea prunes are gonna need to simmer for a few more minutes though.”

“Totally fine,” Asami said, wasting no time in filling up her plate. With just Korra around, she didn’t mind shoveling the food into her mouth instead of using proper manners. When her stomach stopped trying to eat itself, she slowed down to appreciate the flavors. Korra had used thyme from the gardens to season the eggs, which helped sweeten them without overpowering the regular taste. The bacon was cooked so that it was both tender and crunchy around the edges. Asami preferred it mostly crunchy, but she didn’t complain. The fish were the best part so far. They had been dry rubbed with spices from the Fire Nation giving it a wonderful mixture of sweet and savory. It was a bit dry, but that was as miner of a problem as you could get.

“Prunes are finally done,” Korra said, filling up a bowl with them and putting it in front of Asami.

Those had been a real acquired taste for the engineer. She’d be reviled them at first, but after having them a few times (especially when Senna cooked them) they had really grown on her. She noticed that Korra was giving her a nervous look as she tried a spoonful.

“Something wrong?” Asami said.

“No,” the avatar said, turning her attention to the floor.

“Is it the prunes?”

“Yeah,” she said looking back up. “I’m still not used to your stove so I think I kind of burned them bit.”

“Well you don’t have to worry, they taste just fine.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Asami ate another spoonful to prove her point.

Korra let out a sigh of relief as she took a seat and filled her own plate.

“You know,” Asami said, “I just realized we’ve never really done this before.”

“What?” Korra said, her mouth full.

“I mean, just sit and have a meal alone together at home. No pressing concerns, no nation ending threats, just the two of us and some good food.”

The avatar swallowed her food and smiled. “I guess this is what people call ‘domestic life.’”

“I guess so,” Asami said, helping herself to more eggs. “By the way, what’s in that last pot up there?” She pointed to the large one with the cover still on.

Korra grinned. “Oh, you’re gonna love this,” she said, getting up. She grabbed the handles on either side of the pot and brought the whole thing to the table. When she took off the lid, Asami could feel a line of drool start to form on the side of her mouth as the most amazing smell came from within. Inside the pot was a dark brown, bubbling stew with what looked like rice, bits of various kinds of meat, and even a few crab claws sticking out.

“Arctic hen and seafood gumbo,” Korra said, pouring each of them a bowl. “I finally managed to get the recipe out of mom during my last visit.”

Asami took one spoonful and her mouth felt like it had entered a new plane of existence. It was amazing how so many different kinds of fish and crustacean could go together so well without any of them fighting for dominance. The arctic hen was chewy enough to help add texture to the whole thing, but not enough to be hard to eat. The whole thing was rich and spicy with even a few flavors that Asami couldn’t quite pin down. When her bowl was empty she snapped to attention like she had just come out of a trance.

“Good I take it,” Korra said, smirking.

“Understatement of the century,” Asami said. “I can see why your mom didn’t want to just give out that recipe.”

“Oh that wasn’t the reason.”

“Really?” Asami raised her eyebrow.

“Yeah, she only gave it to me when I promised to only make it for someone I wanted to be my lifelong partner.”

Asami didn’t react at first. Then the words hit her like a Satomobile and her face turned as red as a tomato. Korra continued smirking, loving the fact that she managed to fluster Asami for a change.

The engineer narrowed her eyes at her girlfriend until she managed to find the perfect payback. “Got a little bit of it on your cheek,” she said. “Let me get it for you.” She reached over and used her finger to get that bit of sauce. Then put it in her mouth, giving Korra her best sultry look as she did so.

The Avatar pouted as her cheeks turned red. “You, Ms. Sato, are a cheater,” she said.