Chapter Text
Lin woke up with a distinct crick in her neck that could have only come from falling asleep on the couch, something she had not done since her early days as a cadet. Where the couch in her office was outfitted for the (semi-)occasional overnight stay, Kya had been very intentional in making the couch in their shared apartment less than comfortable for sleeping.
Something about making sure they both kept a decent and intentional sleeping schedule, she’d said when they first moved in together.
As Lin found her bearings and forced the drowsy fog of sleep from her mind, she became acutely aware of a weight on her chest and torso. A weight shaped like a small human.
She looked down, seeing Kuvira’s dark hair that had been loosened from its braid, as well as the girl’s pale hand gripping onto the fabric of Lin’s undershirt. There was a crease between the child’s eyebrows; stress or determination, Lin was unsure.
“You both fell asleep before I could get either of you to bed,” Kya’s voice carried quietly from the kitchen island over to the couch, mindful of the sleeping child, “I figured a night on the couch would be kinder on you than attempting to lift you both would be on my back.”
Her wife walked over and pressed a kiss to her cheek, grinning as she teased, “Besides, you were too cute to wake up.”
“I’m not cute—” Lin grumbled weakly.
Kya shrugged with a grin as she perched herself on the other end of the couch, “Breakfast is on the stove. I made congee; figured it would keep warm for however long both of you decided to sleep in. After all, it’s not every day I wake up before you do.”
Lin made to get up but remembered the soft weight on her upper body at the last moment. She adjusted Kuvira’s position on her gingerly, allowing her arms to hold the child to her more securely so that she could sit up a little while not disturbing her sleep.
There was a tenseness to the girl’s sleep that Lin recognised. Raising her hand, she gently ran her thumb over the crease in Kuvira’s brow until it smoothed out.
It was painfully obvious how much the small child carried on her shoulders at her young age. Lin found herself wishing in that soul-aching sort of way that she could carry some of it for her.
“I wish I could too, love,” Kya murmured, “But we can take care of her so she doesn’t have to carry more, and teach her how to put some of it down.”
“I didn’t realise I said that out loud,” Lin responded, then said after a breath, “She’s so small. Is she supposed to be this small, Kya?”
“She’s on the small side for her age, at least from what Suyin told us,” Kya nodded, “Not worryingly so, but it is something to keep an eye on.”
Lin ran a hand through her own hair, brushing it back from her face as she spoke hesitantly, “I know I made this choice without talking it over with you. I know I should have. I just—Su—”
“You know what it’s like to feel unwanted and you couldn’t let her be at the risk of feeling that over and over again. I understand that, love,” Kya reassured, “I didn’t think either of us was the settling down type until we did it with each other. I didn’t think either of us was the mothering type until I saw her in your arms. I didn’t think we’d get the chance, if I’m being honest, but we both know too much what it feels like to not be wanted fully. Even if Su would have raised her, she wouldn’t have felt like part of the family. Not really. Who knows what kind of damage that would have done? I couldn’t blame you for doing right by her.”
“What did I do to deserve you?” Lin said after a moment’s silence.
“Well, you put up with Twinkletoes Junior for more years than anyone should have to and he still managed to royally fu—mess that all up,” Kya snarked, “And you’ve never begrudged my flightiness the entire time we’ve known each other. You are one of the kindest, strongest, most loyal people I know.”
The child on Lin’s chest stirred, then jerked violently as she was wrenched back into wakefulness. Lin instinctively held her closer, her voice dropping to a low soothing murmur as she tried to settle Kuvira, “You’re safe, badgermole. We’re right here. You’re safe.”
Green eyes opened and peered up at Lin before darting around the apartment’s foreign interior. When they came back to rest on both Kya and Lin, Kuvira allowed her shoulders to drop and some of the tension to melt out of her small frame as she recognised them both.
“Good morning my dear,” Kya said softly, “I hope you slept alright. I made some breakfast, if you’re hungry?”
Kuvira nodded quietly into Lin’s chest, before catching herself and looking up at her new guardian as if asking retroactively for permission to be as close as she was. Lin nodded, holding Kuvira steadily as the child settled herself. Her small hand moved from Lin’s undershirt to her cheek—her right cheek, specifically—and traced the darkened lines that were etched into the pale flesh.
Lin almost flinched but held steady.
“We match,” Kuvira whispered, pointing to the mark on her own cheek.
Allowing a small smile to crack, Lin lay her hand over Kuvira’s small one on her cheek, reaffirming, “We match.”
The three of them moved to the dining table, where Lin showed Kuvira how to set three places as Kya dished up breakfast for them all. Kuvira turned out to be an exactingly neat eater, almost nervous to make any sort of a mess until she realised that Kya was as clumsy with her food as they came and that any messes were quickly and uneventfully cleaned up with a little waterbending razzle-dazzle.
The doorbell rang as Kya and Lin were clearing the dishes of the table. Kuvira peered at Lin curiously as she saw the older woman step firmly on the ground and pausing before moving to open the door.
“Who is it?” Kya asked.
Lin seemed to pause for another moment, before speaking, “Your mother, I think.”
“My mother?” Kya exclaimed, “Why would she be here?”
Lin shrugged, walking towards the door and opening it and beckoning her mother-in-law in, “Hi Katara, is there something we can help you with?”
“You could begin by explaining why Tenzin came back to the island yesterday sputtering about you both kidnapping a child,” Katara responded.
Lin pushed back the growl that threatened to come out of her mouth at Katara’s request, eking out a civilized answer, “We are taking care of a child who has been given up by her parents. Suyin brought her to the station yesterday.”
“Of course Ten-ten would accuse us of kidnapping, that airhead,” Kya snapped as she walked towards her mother with Kuvira trailing behind her, “He’s not the only one of your children allowed to have children; he knows that, right? This is Kuvira. Kuvira, this is—well, I guess this is your grandmother Katara.”