Love is Brightest in the Dark

Chapter 14

Before she knew it, Lin's final day in Zaofu had come and although she was emotionally exhausted from her visit, she felt a pang of sadness to be leaving. Her last morning with the metal clan came just as it always had- the sun gently rousing Lin awake and giving her room a golden glow. As she stretched her arms above her, Lin looked around her room to assess how long packing will take. Except for a few socks and a tee shirt that were scattered on the floor, the rest looked to be in order. As she vigorously brushed her teeth, she used her feet to propel her discarded clothes towards her bag. Once she had finished her usual morning routine and packed her remaining possessions, she caught sight of her reflection on her way towards the door. She froze in her tracks at the sight of the woman staring back at her- she had the same greying hair, muscular shoulders and scar true but there was something different. She took a step closer and found the dark shadows under her eyes had faded. In fact her skin seemed to have a foriegn healthy glow to it. "Son of a bitch," she mumbled, taking in her appearance. "Everything okay, chief?" Lin's eyes darted to the figure behind her in the mirror. "Amazing what some rest and relaxation can do for you," said Korra. "Yes, well, it'll be nice to go back to Republic City and get back into the swing of things. I imagine Mako is feeling overwhelmed with what it takes to keep things running smoothly." "I'm sure everyone is excited to have you back, Chief. Are we going back to the Air Temple or straight to Republic City?" "Do you have a preference?" Korra blushed. "I was actually hoping we could go to Republic City directly, if you didn't mind. I really want to be back home with Asami." "Of course." "Are we dropping off Kya with Tenzin?" asked Korra, causing Lin's stomach to drop. She hadn't even thought of the possibility of Kya spending the night with her in her apartment. "I... I don't know- I mean yes. Yes, she is going to the Air Temple." "I'm way too tired right now to try to pry anything out of you so let's go grab some food before we hit the road," Korra said with a yawn.

Korra and Lin entered the dining hall to find Su and Kya already seated and taking bites of their breakfast. "Good morning!" chirped Su. "Morning, Korra, Lin," Kya said with a smile. "Morning, everyone. I was thinking we should hit the road after breakfast so we can get home before dark. Kya, are you all packed?" "Ready when you are, Lin." Lin nodded and the four of them continued their meal in silence, the sound of their utensils against plates filling the dead air. "You know," Su said after some time. "I'm going to be sad to see you go. It's been so nice to have visitors, especially since Opal left." "Thank you for having us Su, we had a really fun time! I'd love to come back and play some more power disc games," said Korra. "You are always welcome in Zaofu. All of you are." "I'm going to start getting everything packed up," Lin said awkwardly, avoiding her sister's gaze. "Oh, okay." Su gave Korra and Kya a puzzled look to which they just shrugged. Lin rose from her seat and strode out towards her room, her face burning in embarrassment. "Shit," she exhaled slowly as she slumped against her door. Why did she just get up and leave when her sister was trying to show her kindness? Maybe no matter how hard they tried, Lin was always going to hold her sister at arms length. Feeling as if she had undone all of the progress she had made with her sister, she slung her back over her shoulder and took a final look around her room before leaving for the last time.

Lin heaved her duffle up onto Oogie's saddle with little effort and began inspecting the straps on the saddle, ensuring they were secure. "Lin? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Su asked hesitantly as she emerged from the doorway. "What's up?" "I just wanted to thank you personally for coming. I'm really happy I got to spend time with my sister." Lin shifted her weight on her feet as she searched for the words she wanted and noticed a tear slide down Su's cheek. "Why are you crying, Su?" "I'm just going to miss you," she said as she flung her arms around a surprised Lin. "I'm really happy for you, Lin," Su whispered. "I'm happy I got to see you," Lin said quietly as she hugged her sister back. "I love you." "I love you too, Lin." Su finally released Lin from her embrace and wiped her tears quickly before Kya or Korra could see. "Don't be a stranger," Su said. "I think you're due for a visit to Republic City," Lin said with a smile. "Really?" Lin reached into her pocket and pulled out a small white business card and handed it to Su. "Just give me a heads up," she said with a small smile. Before Su could manage to get any words out Korra came striding outside whistling loudly with Kya trailing behind her. "Next stop Republic City!" Korra cheered, lifting her luggage over her head in excitement. Lin waited patiently as Su said her goodbyes to Kya and Korra and tried not to roll her eyes when it was taking longer than she cared for. "I'm going to miss you so much!" Su wrapped both Korra and Kya up in a big hug, squishing them together. "We'll miss you too, Su," Korra said as she broke free and climbed onto Oogie. "I'll see you soon!" Kya called after Su after she too joined Lin and Korra. "You know what to do, Chief," Korra said, throwing the reins to Lin. Lin sighed and begrudgingly mumbled, "yip yip." As they took to the sky, Lin looked down to see Su getting smaller and smaller the higher they rose. Just before she faded out of sight, she gave her sister one final wave goodbye.

"Well that was a nice little vacation," Korra said, stretching her arms over her head. "Time to head back to reality." "Are you excited to see Asami?" Kya asked. "This is the longest time we've spent apart after getting together. I just can't wait to wake up next to her again. Even though I had a great time in Zaofu, I felt like I just didn't sleep the same as when I'm with Asami. The bed just felt empty." "You'll be back to your girlfriend's house soon enough," Lin called back to Korra as she steered Oogie towards Republic City. "Will you excuse me for a minute?" Kya asked Korra who looked confused but nodded. Kya carefully climbed over to Oogie's head where Lin was perched. "Will I be back to my girlfriend's house soon?" she whispered into Lin's ear. "Spirits, Kya you can't just sneak up on people like that." "I only sneak up on you. Besides, you're evading the question. Where will my travels take me in Republic City?" "That is entirely up to you," Lin said, keeping her eyes on the horizon. "Listen, if I'm overstepping a boundary let me know. I just thought it might be nice to get some... quality time together since we haven't really been able to in the past few days. If you're busy with work I understand..." "I want you to come over," Lin blurted out, cutting off Kya. "You... do? Or are you just saying that so you don't hurt my feelings?" Lin rolled her eyes. "Kya, I would think by now you know that if I'm anything it's blunt. I want you to come. I do have to get back to work so I won't be available 100% of the time but I thought maybe when I'm busy it would be a good idea to spend time with your family on Air Temple Island." "I'd like that a lot," Kya said as she leaned her head on Lin's shoulder. "And if you want to break the news to your brother for me that would also be great," Lin mumbled under her breath. "What?" "Nothing." "Did you really just suggest that I have to be the one who breaks the news to Tenzin?" "I just thought... you're his sister..." "Lin, if we are going to do this we have to do this together." "I get the whole teamwork concept, that isn't lost on me. We are a team, Kya- us vs. the world and all that wonderful stuff. We don't have to rush to tell people but when we do I just think it'll go over better if it comes from you... and I would preferably not be there for that conversation." "Okay, you don't have to tell him but you do have to be there- for moral support and to see for yourself he isn't going to have the reaction you think he will. My brother was basically raised the same as my father- they are fine with two women being together." Lin bit her lip in thought before speaking. "It's not that... I just don't want things to be awkward since I dated your brother." "Lin, that was a long time ago! But fine- we have an agreement." Kya paused for a minute before smiling slightly. "If we're on a team and we're both in this thing together, you would do the same for me, right?" "Of course," Lin said absentmindedly. "You would have no problem having to explain our relationship to someone in your life I don't want to have to tell?" "Sure." "So you won't have any issue telling your mom?" Lin's eyes widened and she turned to face Kya. "Excuse me?" "I'm not saying you have to tell her now, but in the future would you tell her yourself?" "Why would I have to tell my mother?" "Why wouldn't you?" Kya raised an eyebrow as Lin chose her next words very carefully. "It's not exactly her business, is it?" Kya folded her arms and frowned. "She knows Suyin is with Bataar." "They're married and have children. It's different." "So are you telling me that you would only introduce me to your mother as your girlfriend if we were getting married or had kids?" "Kya, what difference does it make? She knows you- you've met. I also don't think your argument about how my mother has met Bataar is as strong as you think. She hates him." Lin looked over again at Kya and saw the hurt in her eyes and immediately regretted what she had said. "I get that this is new to you and it's different. I don't expect you to start announcing to everyone that we're together, but I can't do this if I have to hide who I am and who we are. So I guess it's up to you if this is worth it to you. If I'm worth it." "Kya-" Lin reached out to comfort the waterbender but she shrugged her hand off her and climbed back onto the saddle to rejoin Korra. "Great job, Lin," she said to herself. "Really handled that one well." As they soared through the clouds Lin kept replaying her conversation with Kya- replaying over and over again what she could have done better. "Think, Lin. How can you dig yourself out of this hole?" she thought. In the midst of her reverie she hadn't noticed she was lowering Oogie further down towards the ground. The clouds had vanished and were replaced with miles and miles of lush green tree tops. "Shit," Lin mumbled. "This could either go really well or really bad."