a day in the life

A Date (kinda)

Their plan went off without a hitch. Lin left a few minutes before Kya and made her way to the dock to wait for the ferry. Kya followed soon after. Once they were back in the city Lin asked, "So where exactly are we going?"

"This way, Chief," Kya led Lin through the streets, nearly skipping from excitement. With any other person, Lin would've been annoyed, but recently Kya made Lin feel like skipping too. Well, maybe not skip, but tap her foot at least. 

The two women stepped inside Yosak's, the new authentic water tribe restaurant. Kya held up two fingers to the hostess, and they were led to a small booth with a decorative blue and white tablecloth. Lin took the seat across from Kya. "I haven't had water tribe food since my last trip to the Southern Water Tribe, which was over a decade ago."

"Really? I used to have it all the time, but ever since I moved back to the city, I've been deprived."

"Deprived? Spirits, you're more dramatic then when we were kids."

"No, that's the appropriate word to describe my situation. No matter how much I love Pema, Air Nomad food every day, three meals a day, is straight up deprivation."

Lin looked to the floor and chuckled. 

Oh my spirits, she's laughing. Kya's heart filled with warmth at the accomplishment. It was normally incredibly difficult to get Lin to smile, let alone laugh. 

The waitress came over to greet them, "Hello, what would you all like to eat?" She looked to Lin first. 

"Uhh..."

Kya cut in,"She'll have the artic hen with seaweed noodles, and I'll have the tentacle soup," Kya said, looking towards the waitress. 

"Great. It'll be right out."

As the waitress left the table, Lin turned to Kya. "You remembered my favorite food?"

"Of course, I remember a lot about you."

Lin was thanking Yangchen that the lighting in the restaurant was dark, because if it hadn't been, Kya would've seen Lin's cheeks turn a dark red. 

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As the meal wore on, Kya and Lin reminisced on their childhoods and caught up on what they had missed in each other's lives for the past two decades. Their conversation got a little loud at times, partly due to Kya convincing Lin to have a glass of wine, which quickly turned into two. They both began laughing loudly about a bad pickup line that Bumi used on Izumi when they were younger. As they calmed down, Lin looked in Kya's eyes, a faint smile remained on her lips as she said, "I missed you."

Kya's heart fluttered, "I missed you too," she said softly. Impulsively, Kya reached her hand across the table and took Lin's, and Lin let her. They sat like this for a while, quietly admiring the friend they had missed so much. 

Lin's eyes darted to the aisle, and she pulled her hand away from Kya's, sitting back in her seat. Confusion ran across Kya's face, until she realized who Lin had seen behind her.  The waitress was bringing them the check. Lin took out her wallet and paid the girl, "Come on, I'll take you home."

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Their walk back to the ferry was silent. Kya was a little upset that Lin had pulled away from her. It's like she's embarrassed to be seen with me. The ferry was at the island, and the schedule said it would be back in about 20 minutes. The two women took a seat on a bench while they waited.

Kya had barely looked at Lin since they left the restaurant. She knew Kya was upset, but Lin was confused. She had never felt this way about anyone before, not even Tenzin, and it scared her. How was she supposed to allow a total stranger to see them together when she didn't even know what this was? I don't understand what I'm feeling, but I know I like it. I need to tell her. 

"Kya, I-" Lin hesitated. She had so much to say, but no way to put it into words. "-I had a good time tonight... with you."

Kya made eye contact with Lin, "Really? Because towards the end it felt like you didn't even want to be seen with me," Kya hissed.

Lin looked hurt, "What? I had a great time. I don't know what I'm feeling, but I know I'm not ashamed to be seen with you."

"Then how come we barely spoke all the way here?" Kya demanded.

"I was thinking! I'm so confused. I've never felt this way about anyone before and I don't know what it means!" 

Kya looked at Lin, an expression of shock covered her face. After a moment of silence, she spoke, "What do you mean 'felt this way'?"

"I-" Lin paused and looked to the ground, "I think I like you... Like, like you like you. I mean, I never felt this way about anyone before, not even Tenzin."

Kya grabbed Lin by the chin softly, forcing her to look into the water benders' bright blue eyes. "I think I like you too."

Before Kya could say anything else, Lin gently grabbed the sides of her face and pulled her into a slow, deep kiss. As they pulled apart, a smile formed on Lin's lips. "The ferry's here. You should go." That was not what Kya was expecting. She stood and walked onto the wooden dock. "Oh, and Kya?"

"Yeah?" She said, turning back towards Lin.

"I'm not confused anymore."

Kya bit her lip and grinned.

"I'll see you later," Lin said, returning Kya's grin with her own. 

"Goodnight, Lin," and with that, Kya turned around, and rode the ferry home, smiling the whole way there.