Love is Brightest in the Dark

Chapter 12

"I think the cave is this way?" "You sound so confident," said Lin dryly. "Can you do the thing?" Kya asked. "What are you? Verrik?" Kya ignored her comment and gestured to the ground, waiting for Lin. Lin sighed and bended the metal under her foot away before bringing it down hard against the ground. "It's this way," she said, pointing ahead of them. "I'm always impressed every time you do that." "What I lack in charisma I make up for with my metal bending. Is this it?" Lin asked, pointing to a large pile of ruble in front of them. They could make out a few very old tanks with the fire nation insignia that were crushed by the weight of the rocks. "I think so." Lin made quick work of earth bending the debris out of their path and the two of them wandered into the cave. "You don't happen to have any torches on you, do you?" Lin asked as her visibility began to diminish. "Not necessary," Kya tapped Lin's shoulder and pointed upwards. Suddenly, the two were illuminated by a soft blue green light that shone from above. Lin looked up to see crystals embedded in the cave's roof, leading down one of the many tunnels. "That's how the lovers found each other," Lin murmured almost to herself. "Cmon'!" Kya shouted gleefully as she began to pull Lin down the glowing tunnel. Lin had to almost jog to keep up with Kya's excited pace. After a few minutes, the two found themselves in a large cavern with a stone carving of a man and a woman facing each other. There was an inscription below it, which Lin tried to make out in the dim light. "Love is always brightest in the dark. What do you think-" Lin was interrupted by Kya suddenly spinning her around, her lips crashing into Lin's. She pushed Lin up against the stone wall, her hands wandering up Lin's stomach. Lin let out a moan as Kya began to massage her breast. "Is this okay?" Kya whispered into her ear. Lin answered her by deepening their kiss and began to pull at Kya's shirt. Kya hastily pulled it over her head revealing her tanned stomach and white undergarment. Kya then began to pull Lin's shirt over her head in return, running her fingers down her exposed flesh, taking note of the goosebumps forming on her skin. "Not as shy as I thought," Kya gasped as Lin began to kiss her neck moving her way down to her collar bones. Kya ran her hands up and down Lin's taught back muscles, sighing with pleasure. As Lin began to move further down Kya's stomach, she felt a hand stop her. "Are you okay?" Lin asked. "Yeah- I'm fine. Come here." Kya pulled Lin up towards her face and traced her scar with her finger. "I really, really like you." "I really, really like you too, Kya." Lin took a deep breath. "Can I ask you something?" "Of course." "Please don't take this the wrong way- and I really hate to ask but what... are we?" Lin felt her stomach sink as soon as the words left her lips. "What are we?" Kya repeated back. "I was just- forget it." 'Lin, hey," Kya took Lin's face in her hands and gave her a reassuring smile. "I just don't want to rush this or make you feel like we're moving too fast. I can understand how this can all be a little confusing since we haven't really had a proper conversation addressing it. Before we decide on anything let me ask you something. Do you see this lasting outside of Zaofu?" Lin nodded. "We don't have to start telling people as soon as possible, but would you be comfortable, when you're ready, for people to know we're together?" Lin nodded again, her heart fluttering at the word "together." "Then it's settled." Kya leaned in for another kiss, but Lin placed a hand to her chest preventing her from coming any further. "So.... we're together?" "Are you asking? Because I accept," Kya said with a laugh, placing a kiss on Lin's cheek. "Are you... my girlfriend now?" "Yes! Now stop asking before I change my mind." Lin pulled Kya close to her, embracing her in a tight hug. "We should probably be getting back- even though I am having a great time with you in this cave," Kya said as she began to get dressed. "Make yourself decent, Beifong. You never know when a badger mole will show up." "Badger moles are blind so it wouldn't really matter," Lin mumbled as she pulled her shirt over her head. "I'm happy you took me here, Kya." "I had a pretty good time myself," Kya said as she and Lin began to follow the glowing trail of crystals. Lin smiled as she felt Kya reach out to hold her hand. "I think about those two lovers a lot," Kya said finally after they had been walking for a bit. "Why?" "I heard that story so much growing up and I always thought 'wow- I want to have a love like they did.' You know, minus the tragic ending of one of us dying in a war. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think there was a song my father used to sing to us to tell us the story. It goes, 'Two lovers-'" "I think I get the jist." Kya gave Lin's hand a small squeeze and wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "You ready for me to kick your butt tonight?" Kya asked, pulling Lin out of her thoughts. "You got a few hits in last time, I'll give you that. But that's all you're going to get." "Is that so?" As they stepped out into the sunlight and out of the cave, Kya began to list the ways she was going to defeat Lin in their upcoming match, causing Lin to laugh harder than she thought possible. "You know you're just giving me your entire strategy, right? You'll never have the element of surprise." "I don't know about that. I think I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Kya said as they climbed back onto Oogie's back. Before Lin could get a word in, Kya shouted, "yip! Yip!" and they were off back towards Zaofu.