Love is Brightest in the Dark

Chapter 4

Lin awoke the next morning groggy and disoriented. When she caught sight of herself in the mirror she winced. She looked like hell. She had never seen her dark circles get so bad- even when she pulled all night shifts. She splashed water in her face to try and calm her bloodshot eyes, but to no avail. "Shit," she muttered and did her best to make herself presentable. She strode into breakfast with false confidence which was shattered when she saw the look on her sister's face. "Lin, are you okay?" Su asked in a concerned voice. "Never better," Lin replied with a tight smile. "You don't look too good, Chief," Korra joined in. "You guys really know how to make a girl feel special," she grumbled, taking a bite of her toast. "Did you have trouble sleeping?" Su pressed, much to Lin's annoyance. "Just got a lot on my mind." "Korra, as long as you don't mind, I think Lin could benefit from a day off today. Lin, I highly recommend seeing our acupuncturist- he really works wonders. You can go with Kya, actually. She's going to be shadowing him today. Maybe you can practice on my sister," Su joked. Lin felt her eyes widen but was unable to come up with a viable excuse. "And Korra, you and I can begin your training today as planned." Korra nodded and shot Lin a wink. Lin returned the favor by staring daggers at Korra.

"So, what's been on your mind," Kya asked Lin as the pair walked down one of the long winding trails through Zaofu. "Work stuff. Police business," Lin said shortly. "Well, I hope that this acupuncturist will be able to help you. I heard great things about him from Su." "Yeah, he sticks needles all over you. What a great guy," Lin said sarcastically. "Are you scared?" Kya asked playfully, nudging Lin's side with her elbow. "I'm not scared of needles," Lin said a bit too quickly. "I didn't ask if you were afraid of needles," Kya smirked. Lin flushed. "I think Lin Beifong is afraid," Kya continued in a mocking voice. "If I can do it once I can do it again," Lin said sternly, refusing to play along. This stopped Kya dead in her tracks. "Again? You mean you've done this before?" Lin kept walking. "The last time I was in Zaofu. I'll give you a tip- don't leave in the middle of a session. Found that one out the hard way." Kya ran to catch up to Lin. "You have to tell me everything about it! What was it like?" she asked excitedly. "Here's an idea- wait five minutes and see for yourself," Lin said sharply. "This should be fun," Kya said as the two entered the accupuntatist's office. Lin felt a sense of uneasiness as her eyes wandered around the familiar room. Before long, Lin was lying on the leather clad table while Kya examined the needles that punctured Lin's skin. "Those are an awful lot of needles," Kya remarked. "Her chi is extremely blocked- although I think it's a bit better than last time," the man said, bending more needles down Lin's arm. Lin took a deep breath and felt the final needle on her forehead right before she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Su! Hurry up! We're going to be late!" a young Lin called up the stairs. "I'm going as fast as I can! Why are you in such a rush anyway? I've never heard of anyone who was rushing to see their ex," Suyin's voice drifted down the stairs. Lin clenched her hand into a fist. "Mom told us to be there five minutes ago!" Lin called, ignoring her sister's previous comments. Su finally emerged from her room and slid down the banister, nearly colliding with her sister. "You're going wearing THAT?"Su asked, looking Lin up and down. "What? What's wrong with it?" Lin suddenly felt self conscious of her uniform. "You're not even working," Su pointed out. "I told mom I might drop by after with her to help her with some stuff," Lin lied. "Sure you are." "Can we stop focusing on what I'm wearing and get going? I'm not going to be the one mom yells at because YOU take forever to get ready." Su rolled her eyes. "Shout out to mom for letting us use one of her police blimps," Su shouted as she ran towards the door. "This is a one time thing, Su. Don't try to get mom to let you use police vehicles for you and your friends," Lin said, shooting Su a look. "Just drive," Su replied. Before too long, the pair were sailing over Republic City and nearing the island. Lin could feel knots in her stomach as she landed the blimp, anxious to see her childhood friends. "There they are!" a voice called jovially. The sisters exited the aircraft to find Bumi running towards them with open arms. "Bumi!" Su shouted and wrapped him up in a big hug. Bumi released Su and did the same to Lin, much to her annoyance. "It's good to see you too, Bumi," Lin said, trying to remain serious. "Did she become a cop and stop being fun?" Bumi asked Suyin. "Was she ever fun?" Su and Bumi laughed. Lin rolled her eyes and walked inside the house. "Lin!" Katara and Aang said in unison and rushed to greet her. "You're so grown up!" Katara said, looking Lin over in approval. "Aang, did you see her uniform? I think someone is going to make a fine chief of police one day," Katara added. Aang gave Lin a warm smile. "I'm proud of you, Lin," Aang said. Lin felt her face flush as she smiled timidly. "Have you seen any of our children yet?" Aang asked. "So far just Bumi." "Tenzin and Kya should be around here somewhere too- you should go check outside," Katara said. Lin nodded and turned to leave. Su and Bumi were chatting and laughing outside with no Tenzin or Kya in sight. Lin set off towards the courtyard when she heard sniffling coming from behind a large tree. She stopped and peered around it to find Kya curled up on the ground crying into her arms. "Kya?" Kya raised her head in startelement and her eyes widened when she saw Lin. "Lin?" Kya wiped her tears away, smudging her runny mascara. "Are you okay?" Lin asked, sitting down beside Kya. "Oh, um, yeah. I'm okay," she said unconvincingly. "You know, I'm a cop and I can tell when you're lying," Lin said softly, trying to help wipe Kya's mascara off. Kya smiled slightly. Lin suddenly realized how close she was to the water bender and dropped her hand from Kya's face, blushing furiously. "Do you want to talk about it?" Lin asked. "It's a long story," Kya sighed. "Well, I don't have anywhere to be." "I got dumped," Kya said, a tear escaping her left eye. "You're right, that was a long story," Lin joked. "It's a lot more complicated than that." "Again, I'm a cop. I can just go arrest people so tell me his name and I'll go lock him up." Kya took a deep breath. "Her." "What?" "You would have to lock her up," Kya said softly. Lin tried her best to not look too shocked although she was not successful. "I.... I didn't know," Lin sputtered. "It's not exactly something I advertise." "Do your parents know?" Lin asked curiously. Kya nodded. "My parents and siblings all know and are really accepting. It's been hard because I grew up with the water tribe traditions and the air nation which aren't exactly opposing values, but the water tribe culture is very private- not to say my mother isn't supportive- she is. It's just a cultural thing." "So, how long were you and... her together?" "Two years," Kya said, tears threatening to fall from her eyes again. Not knowing what came over her, Lin embraced Kya in a firm hug. "I'm sorry, Kya," Lin whispered. Kya, who was taken aback by Lin's display of affection, slowly wrapped her arms around the young metal bender. Kya pulled back after a moment and looked up at Lin with watery blue eyes. Lin felt her pulse race as she felt herself being pulled by an invisible force towards Kya. The sound of her heart hammering in her chest drowned out the rest of the world as she closed her eyes, now mere inches from closing the gap between her and Kya. "We have to tell them!" said a voice from nearby. Lin quickly pushed herself away from Kya, her face completely red. The two carefully peered around the side of the tree to see Tenzin and Pema walking arm in arm into the courtyard. "I don't see the reason to make this about us," Tenzin replied. "It's good news! I would think your parents would be happy for us!" Tenzin let out a long sigh. "It's not my parents I'm worried about," he said after some time, fidgeting with his robes. Pema reached up and cupped his face with her small hand. "I think it's sweet you are concerned about her feelings. I really do. But we can't walk on eggshells around her forever-especially since she tried to have me arrested." "It was only a few times," Tenzin mumbled. "She doesn't have to come to the wedding if she doesn't want to," Pema said, stroking Tenzin's cheek. "If you think she can handle it, I think we should announce our engagement tonight," she continued. "Let's play things by ear," Tenzin said measuredly. The two shared a chaste kiss, and continued to walk towards the house, unknowingly passing Lin and Kya. "Lin? Are you okay?" Kya finally asked when she was sure the couple was out of earshot. "I'm fine," Lin said more harshly than she intended. Lin got her feet hastily and brushed the grass off herself. "Lin-" Kya started, but Lin was already gone. She began with a brisk walk which quickly turned into a run. She had no idea where she was going- all she knew was that she needed to be alone. She finally made it down the rocky path towards the water and bent over to catch her breath. She picked up a stone and began to bend it in her hands- transforming it into different shapes. She eventually formed it into a small thin disc, which she hurled with all her strength out towards the open water. It skimmed the surface of the cerulean water before disappearing entirely. Lin repeated this process, trying to distract herself. "You call that skipping rocks?" Lin turned to see her mother standing a few feet away, her arms crossed. "Hey, Chief," she said in a somber voice. "What are you doing here all by yourself? Where's your sister?" Toph asked. "I could ask you the same question. She's with Bumi back at the house," Lin replied. "I actually came looking for you. Everything alright?" "Fine." Toph frowned. "You know I can tell when you're lying. Spit it out." "I said I'm fine," Lin repeated, her tone growing more agitated. Toph sighed. "Is this about Tenzin?" "No." "Not 100% true but I'll take it." Lin picked up another stone to skip. "Did you really come down here to find me or to interrogate me," Lin asked sharply. "Let's go back and rejoin everyone, okay?" Toph said, gesturing up the hill. Lin didn't budge. "But if you want to sulk by yourself, I won't stop you." Lin rolled her eyes reluctantly and began to walk back with Toph. The two walked in silence for a few minutes before Lin broke the silence. "Are you going back to the precinct after this?" "Wasn't planning on it." "Oh," Lin said, rather disappointed. "I thought I could help out if you were," she trailed off. "Didn't you just get back this morning from an overnight?" Toph asked. "Yeah... But I just thought," Lin said quietly. "A good officer knows when to recharge. You need to be on top of your game." After a few minutes of silence, Toph gave Lin an awkward pat on the back. "I appreciate your dedication, Lin," she said quietly, bringing a small smile to Lin's face. "It's good to have all you kids back together again," Toph said, quickly changing the subject. "And you're sure you're okay with Tenzin being here? Even with his new girlfriend?" "It's fine, mom. Just drop it." They finished their walk in silence, much to both of their relief. They rejoined the others inside where everyone was gathered in the simple yet spacious living room. Lin tried her best to act nonchalant, especially when Kya gestured for her to sit next to her. Much to her disappointment, all other seats were occupied and Lin begrudgingly sat down, making sure to stay as far away as physically possible. The two sat in awkward silence until Lin decided she couldn't take it anymore. "Are you... feeling better?" she asked quietly, trying not to be overheard by the others. "I am actually," Kya responded, trying to meet Lin's eyes which were darting all over the room. "I-" Lin started but was interrupted by a clinking of a knife against a glass. "Excuse me? Everyone? Can I have your attention, please?" Tenzin cleared his throat and set the glass and knife down. "Pema and I have some exciting news to share with you all," he said as he held Pema's hand. Without another word, Pema raised her left hand and pointed to her ring finger to reveal a simple silver band. "We're getting married!" she said gleefully which set off an eruption of excitement. Katara and Aang were the first to dole out hugs and congratulations. Then it was Su's turn to rush to Pema and examine her ring, already talking about wedding plans. Even Toph gave Tenzin a rough slap on the back in acknowledgement. Lin hung back from the group, not wanting to be a part of the commotion. Without anyone noticing, she silently slipped out of the room and out onto the balcony. The sun had already set, turning the sky from a burnt orange to a deep purple. Lin leaned her arms on the banister and looked up at the stars as if looking to them for guidance. "Hey, Lin." Lin turned to see Tenzin. "Oh. Hi." There was a pregnant pause before Tenzin cleared his throat to speak. "It's really good to see you," he said earnestly. Lin leaned back against the balcony, arms crossed. "Good to see you too." She paused. "I'm... happy for you," she added, swallowing all her pride. "Thank you, Lin. That really means a lot. I hope we can always be friends," he said, reaching a hand out and placing it on her shoulder. Lin quickly shrugged him off, "I think that's enough emotions for one night," Lin said as Tenzin laughed. Lin turned away from him again, looking out at the city sparkling in the distance when she felt a hand on her shoulder again. "What now?" she said, whirling around and expecting to see Tenzin. Much to her surprise it was Kya. "Oh... I thought you were someone else." "Can we talk- about earlier?" Kya asked moving to stand next to Lin. "I don't know what you mean." Lin could already feel a lump in her throat. "Lin- we can't just pretend nothing happened," Kya pressed. "Nothing did happen. You were upset. I was comforting you. End of story." "Lin-" "No, Kya. There's nothing to discuss. I'm sorry if you misinterpreted our friendship," she added coldly. Kya took a step back. "If I misinterpreted our friendship...." Kya repeated in disbelief. "I guess that's easier, isn't it," she continued. "Then admitting what really happened. I think you're just scared."