Love is Brightest in the Dark

Chapter 6

Later that evening, Lin found herself fixated on her appearance for far longer than she cared to admit. While she took pride in keeping herself looking presentable, Lin was never one to spend more than five minutes getting ready. Tonight, however, was different. After her conversation with her sister, Su decided to "help" by giving Lin and Kya an entire evening to themselves. She had instructed Kya to meet on the veranda at dusk, although she failed to mention that it would only be her and Lin. Much to Su's surprise, the older Beifong didn't put up as much of a fight as she had expected. Lin had, against her better judgement, decided to trust in her younger sister-especially since she knew romance wasn't exactly a strong suit of hers. "Shit," Lin mumbled for the millionth time as she tried to get a stubborn piece of hair to stay in place. "Need any help?" Lin's eyes darted away from her own reflection in the mirror to find Su standing by the door. "I just need a clip," Lin said tersely. Su walked over to Lin, removing a small gold pin from her hair. "Here," she said, now standing behind Lin and securing the pin for her. "Thank you," said Lin, giving her sister a grateful look. "Do I look.... Okay?" she asked nervously. "You look beautiful," said Su. Lin looked back in the mirror and studied herself- she almost didn't recognize herself. Su had leant her a similar outfit from the last time she was in Zaofu- a long green tunic paired with an oversized metal statement necklace that Lin found herself playing absentmindedly with. Su had also managed to convince her to apply small traces of makeup- her lips were painted a soft cherry and her eyes were even more striking after being lined with kohl. "I think you're ready," Su said, giving Lin a small pat on the back. Lin turned to face her sister and gave her a quick but tender hug. "Thank you, Su. This really means a lot," said Lin before releasing her embrace. "You better not keep your date waiting," Su said, gesturing to the door. Lin smiled and just as she disappeared into the hallway, she could hear Su call after her, "You better tell me everything after!" Lin rolled her eyes and slammed the door behind her.

With each step Lin took, she could feel her heart race faster and faster. Every possible wrong scenario played over and over in her head, making her wish she could turn around to retreat to the comfort of her room. She shook her head, as if to shake off the negative thoughts swirling in her brain, and squared her shoulders. She was a Beifong. She wasn't afraid of anything. With that final thought, she strode onto the veranda and felt her stomach drop instantly. The simple space she had seen merely hours ago had been transformed into a romantic alcove, complete with flickering candles and flower petals littering the ground. Maybe she could at least clean the petals up so she wouldn't be too obvious. "Lin?" Lin spun around to see Kya, radiant as ever, looking bewildered. "Um hi, Kya," Lin managed, already feeling herself begin to blush. "Lin, you look... different," Kya said, walking closer to get a better look. "I decided to try something new... Is it okay? I mean... do you like it?" Kya smiled warmly. "I love it." Lin knew she was probably bright red with embarrassment but she didn't seem to mind. "Are Korra and Su going to be joining us this evening? I see the table is only set for two," said Kya, pointing to the stone table a few feet away. "Korra wanted to do some extra training with Su so we are on our own tonight," Lin lied, gesturing for the two to sit. Not too long after they had taken their seats, Su's chef appeared with two silver platters, placing them in front of the women who made quick work of devouring their dinner, for which Lin was thankful.

"As always, that was delicious," Kya said after dabbing the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "And this ambiance," she gestured around them, "is beautiful. Dare I even say, romantic?" she arched an eyebrow at Lin who immediately looked down at her lap. "Su just has it like this, I guess," she said unconvincingly. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I would say we're on a date right now," Kya said with a playful smile. "What?" Lin asked in a panicked voice. Kya laughed and got to her feet. "Come walk with me," she said, extending her hand for Lin's. Lin hesitantly took it and the two began to stroll down a well lit stone path. Kya was the first to break their silence. "Su does have an impressive garden. I mean, look at these!" she pointed to a delicate white flower a few feet away. "Those are my favorites- they're moon lilies. See? They only bloom at night." The two took a step closer to examine the flower, marveling at its beauty. Kya let out a soft sigh before turning to continue their walk. Lin checked to make sure Kya's back was to her before quickly severing the flower from it's stem by metal bending one of the bracelets Su had leant her. She held the flower behind her back and sped up to rejoin Kya. The two approached a small courtyard surrounded by hedges shaped into different types of animals. "Su certainly has eccentric taste," Kya remarked pointing to a platypus bear shaped hedge. "Yeah, that's one word for it," Lin mumbled. Kya then turned her attention to Lin, her eyes sparkling in the soft glow of the lanterns around them. "I got this for you," said Lin as she brought the moon lily out from behind her back. "I thought you could maybe wear it in your hair," she continued, refusing to make eye contact. "Oh, Lin, it's beautiful," said Kya, her cheeks glowing a soft pink. She pushed the long strands of stray hair behind her ear and turned her head towards Lin, offering the metal bender a chance to secure the flower herself. Lin took a few timid steps closer towards Kya and gently placed the lilly behind her ear, trying to ignore how close they were together. She was about to pull away when Kya suddenly brought her hand to Lin's face, gently brushing her fingertips against her scar. Although everything in Lin wanted to pull away, somehow she couldn't; she felt as if she was being pulled into Kya's orbit, all else melting away. "Will you tell me what happened?" Kya whispered, as she continued to trace Lin's scar with her finger. "It's a long story," Lin replied in a low voice. "I hope to hear it one day." Lin's heart hammered loudly in her chest as she felt Kya's hand move from her cheek to cup her chin, drawing the two closer than before. She began to close her eyes in eager anticipation of closing the space between them when she felt Kya whisper in her ear, "It's getting late." Lin quickly took a step back, desperately trying to pretend she hadn't misread the situation. "Walk me to my room?" Kya asked. Lin nodded and without a word, escorted the waterbender to her quarters. "Goodnight," Lin said, turning quickly on her heel to leave without further embarrassment. Kya caught her wrist before she could leave and spun Lin around to face her. "I had a really nice night with you, Lin," she said before reaching up and placing a chaste kiss on Lin's cheek. And with that, she released Lin's hand and shut the door to her room. Lin stood there for a minute, trying to process what had just happened, before reaching a hand to the cheek that Kya had just kissed. She smiled to herself, still holding her cheek in her hand when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around to see Korra standing behind her, arms crossed with a smug look on her face. "Well? How was it?" she asked in a knowing tone. Lin's smile quickly vanished and was replaced by a look of annoyance. "Wouldn't you like to know," she grumbled as she began to walk swiftly towards her own room, hoping Korra would leave. "I would actually," said Korra, almost jogging to keep up with Lin's brisk steps. "We had dinner. There's nothing to tell," said Lin, praying that Korra hadn't seen the end of her date. "If that's all, then how come you're blushing?" "Goodnight, Korra," Lin said as she slammed her door in Korra's face. She let out a long sigh and before Korra could leave, she opened the door enough for her to see Lin's face. "It was nice," Lin said faintly before closing the door once more.