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Lin remembered the last time Kya visited Republic City. It had to be three or four years ago now. Those three or four years ago, they kissed for the first time right before Kya left again.
It opened the possibility for something more – whatever it was - between them. They promised to write.
There were long gaps in their communication and getting a letter to Kya was like a miracle from Raava. She changed addresses like the wind changed direction. When Lin sent a letter, she could never be sure it actually made it to her or not. Sometimes she was unsure if Kya had the same problem getting letters to her or if she had just stopped writing. Still, Lin sent them.
In the past, whenever Kya returned from her travels it was she who found Lin, tracking her down either at work or her apartment.
This time, it was Lin who found her.
Lin was just getting off the ferry returning from a meeting with Tenzin and dinner with his family. It was dark by the time she left. The wind had whipped her face red and as soon as she stepped foot onto the dock, she felt a deep weariness in her bones. She trudged forward, her armor feeling heavy on her, desperate to shower and sleep. She walked along the seawall and let herself look out at the ocean.
Lin Beifong was not a sentimental person, but something about the deep blue color of the water and a ship alight on the dark horizon made her think of Kya. Her last correspondence said she would be returning soon, but that was over a month ago. Still, the thought of her pulled Lin from her route home, and it drove her to walk the length of the ports.
By the time she made it to the end, the feeling had worn off. She was extra tired and had to walk back the same length and then some to get home.
On her walk back, the ship that had been a blip on the horizon had now docked. People were dispersing from the ship, carrying their trunks or pulling children along by their hands. Among the people she saw in the distance was a familiar head of silver hair. Lin squinted her eyes and made out the rest of the figure.
When she rushed over and called out a name, she turned around. It was Kya.
The two of them were in disbelief and readily hugged one another. What were the chances?
But before Lin could pull away, Kya kissed her. They were in public, and Lin was still in her uniform, but she could not bring herself to care. She had been waiting for that kiss. Lin remembered the softness of her lips and how she smelled of sea salt and sweat.
One thing led to another, and Kya wound up back at Lin’s apartment in bed with her. It was a surprise the first time it happened.
That was two weeks ago. Since that time, it happened again and again.
On this night, Kya and Lin were laid up together in the dark of Lin’s bedroom. It was the first time Kya was staying the night. They had planned it in advance like a real date with dinner at Lin’s apartment. Perhaps it made the chief more eager than usual to leave work, her walk just a pace faster.
Now, Kya’s head laid on Lin’s chest, her arm draped across Lin’s stomach. Lin slowly dragged her fingers through Kya’s hair, causing her to release little hums of contentment.
“I’m glad I can stay over tonight.” Kya said, completely blissed out.
“Anytime.” She placed a kiss to the top of Kya’s head.
Kya said nothing but smiled against her chest.
They laid like that until Lin’s arm grew tired. Holding her arm up to run her fingers through Kya’s hair proved uncomfortable. Instead, she lowered it to rub the small of Kya’s back, her fingernails lightly grazing over her skin. Kya had quieted down when Lin ran her fingers over a raised spot of skin she had never felt before.
Lin was half asleep when she felt Kya shift away from her, effectively pulling her from her slumber.
Kya sat up with a yawn.
“I’m going to brush my teeth real quick. I’ll be right back,” Kya spoke.
“Okay.”
“Do you mind if I turn the light on? I’m not tripping over your clothes again.”
“It was one time but, sure.”
Kya reached for the bedside lamp and yanked its chain. The sudden brightness made Lin recoil, squeezing her eyes shut.
“I did warn you.” Kya smirked.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lin slowly blinked open her eyes as they adjusted to the light. Lin rolled to her side, propping her head up with her hand as she watched Kya. She sat on the edge of the bed with her back towards Lin and the bed sheet draped over her legs. Kya swept the hair off her back, gathering it in her hands.
As Kya’s hair disappeared into a low bun, Lin noticed a long, faded scar on Kya for the first time. The raised light brown line stood out starkly against her darker brown skin. Lin followed it with her eyes, trailing the mark from just below her shoulder blades downwards. It was adjacent to her spine then curved towards the middle of her back, ending in a dark welt.
Kya turned her head over her shoulder.
“Do you want anything while I’m up?”
When Lin didn’t respond, Kya furrowed her brow. She thought for a moment before she realized why she must be staring.
“Oh, that,” Kya said as if she just remembered she had the mark on her back. She turned slightly, trying to glance down at it.
Lin had seen other scars on Kya before, but they were smaller and inconspicuous. She remembered the mark just above her knee Kya got when they were kids, accidentally cutting her leg on a rock in the ocean, or the small scar on her hand commemorating the time she tried to tame one of the island’s lemurs. This scar hadn’t been there when they were younger, and it was too large to be explained away by some sort of accident. Lin had seen plenty of wounds, had received plenty of wounds in her line of work. The curve of the scar was too unskilled to be anything surgical and the welt of scar tissue that formed its base was the unmistakable mark of a stab wound.
Lin felt anger rise in her chest at the mere thought of anyone looking at Kya the wrong way yet alone putting their hands on her.
“Who did this to you?” Lin sat up.
“It was a long time ago, it’s fine.” Kya avoided the question.
“Who?” Lin nearly spat. She would tear all four nations apart just to find their name.
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“They never caught the guy.” Kya looked away.
She did not want to think about her scar or the memories surrounding it during her night with Lin, but she knew Lin would fixate on it if she did not provide context.
“I was in Ba Sing Se,” she said reluctantly. “It was twenty years ago. I got robbed.”
Images of that night unwillingly flashed through Kya’s mind. There was the walk home from the bar alone, the acrid smell of the wet streets, then a grip on her shoulder. She was in an alley. There was an arm around her neck, someone behind her. He wanted money, whatever she had on her. She bent water from a puddle around his leg. He lost his footing. She didn’t know he had a knife. A hot gash on her back, a sharp pain. Then, she was on the ground, face against the cobblestone. He rifled through her pockets and she remembered the sound of his boots as he ran away. Her back felt sticky. Her dress was wet. It hurt to breathe.
“Kya?” Lin was familiar with the absent look on her face. “Kya,” Lin tried again, reaching out to squeeze her arm.
Kya snapped out of her thoughts and shuddered, sending them away. Kya turned her body towards Lin now.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lin’s voice was small, hurt even.
“I didn’t tell anyone. Only mom and dad knew.”
“But why?”
“Because,” her tone started off stern, “Bumi was away with the United Forces and by the time I came back, Tenzin and you had just – yeah. It wasn’t the right time.” She sighed. “But, I’m fine. I promise It looks worse than it is. Idiot missed my artery,” Kya said, attempting to lighten the mood.
Lin only looked horrified.
“You’re laughing?”
“What else can I do about it?”
Lin opened her mouth to speak then closed it again. She rested her hand under her chin, thinking. She didn’t know.
Lin ran her hand over her cheek, feeling her own scars. She knew what it felt like to carry them on her body, for them to ache incessantly, but all scars were different. What did Kya’s feel like?
“Does it hurt?” Lin broke the silence.
“Sometimes, if its cold or rainy. Mostly I can’t feel anything, like if someone is touching my back. It feels –“
“Numb?”
“Yeah.” Kya nodded. “Is that what yours are like?”
It was the first time she and Kya had been so personal about her scars.
“Sort of. The whole right side of my face is numb.” She paused then added, “They make it hard to drink without spilling on myself, too.” Lin hadn’t told that to anyone before. She stared hard at the ground.
Kya’s hand slipped into hers and Lin looked up again.
“It happens. Sometimes, I can’t even get out of bed because of mine.”
“I didn't know that. Is it like a soreness or nerve pain?”
“I don’t know. Nerves maybe? He grazed my vertebrae. If I’m standing for too long or I move wrong, I get a shooting pain down my leg. It makes sleeping in all those shitty beds while I travel or just existing in the South Pole a nightmare,” she confessed.
“I know what you mean. My nerves flare up all the time, too. It’s more of a burning feeling. It takes me out for days at a time.”
Now Kya looked concerned.
“How long has that been going on for?"
“Since I’ve had it.”
“I wish you had told me. I could’ve helped manage the pain.”
“You haven’t been around. It’s not like I expected you to come all the way up here just for that.”
“I might have if you asked.”
“Really?”
“When I got your letters during my last trip, I may not have written back to all of them, but I read them over and over…sometimes while I was stuck in bed. It helped.”
There was a long pause.
“Thank you,” Lin finally said.
“For what?”
“For telling me about your scar.” Lin knew from her own experience that every scar had a story, and they were all painful.
“Thank you for telling me about yours, too. I feel less alone about it.”
Kya moved closer to Lin, placing a hand on Lin’s right cheek and gently running her thumb over the scars. The gesture made her blush.
“I’m going to actually brush my teeth now, though.” Kya smiled, moving once again to the edge of the bed. As she was about to stand, Lin reached for her arm. Kya looked back at her.
Lin moved to be behind Kya, wrapping her arms around her waist and planting a kiss between her shoulder blades just at the start of the scar. She hugged Kya tight for a few moments, swearing to herself then and there she’d protect this woman for the rest of her life.