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“No, absolutely not.”
“Come on, Lin, it would just be one week.”
“No, Su.”
“You wouldn’t have to get a hotel room. You know your way around the city. Bataar would be so happy.”
“No.”
Silence.
“Not even for one day?”
“No, I have to work.”
“Lin. You can go one day without being at the station.”
“No.”
“Lin–“
“No.”
“I just–“
“My answer is no, Su.”
There was a lot of annoyingly familiar grumbling on Su’s end of the line, but Lin knew she’d won.
“Anything else?” Lin asked.
“Ugh. I miss the yes-days we used to do,” Su complained before very rudely hanging up – not that Lin had wanted to talk any longer. She was already late to her meeting, thanks to Su.
------------------------------------------------------
Kya felt lips pressing against her temple and hummed. Soon they were traveling down the side of her face. She hummed again, turning to meet Lin’s affections. “Good morning,” the gravelly voice flowed to her ears. Kya didn’t want to wake yet. Maybe she could continue her dream if Lin let her, but Lin was so warm and oh how Kya loved it when she got this soft for her.
“Why are you waking me?” Kya managed through her hazy state.
Lin kissed her cheek, her jaw. “It’s Sunday.”
“Exactly,” Kya whined, because Sunday meant sleeping in. However, the light was already coming in through the drapes and her brain already tried to come up with reasons for why Lin would wake her – too busy now to fall back asleep.
“You told me,” another kiss, “if I want to wake you,” two kisses, “I have to trade your ‘blissful slumber’,” a lingering one against the side of her neck, “for my lips.”
Kya sighed, smiling. Of course she’d told her that. Thinking about the words, it was a very her thing to say, even if she didn’t really remember doing it. She turned slightly, attempting to curl into Lin only to find she was sitting up. Kya opened her eyes, squinting up at her. Lin was thankfully blocking the sun from falling directly onto Kya’s face. She was dressed in a white tank top and sweats.
“I repeat,” Kya murmured groggily, “why are you waking me?”
“We have barely spoken in two weeks because of your annoyingly caring idea of helping out at the clinic in addition to your hospital shifts.”
Kya closed her eyes. Lin was right. She’d been busy, assisting with the more difficult cases in the hospital and then teaching the southern healing style to Republic City healers in the clinic, but she really had missed talking to Lin and more so, being with her.
Lin proceeded to make her case, “Friday afternoon and yesterday, plus the entirety of last night you slept for a concerning amount of time to make up for the exhaustion. Now, you’re at the point where if you sleep any longer, you will be tired again.”
Kya sighed, reaching out for Lin’s arm, cool to the touch. “Did you shower already? What time is it?”
“It’s nine o’clock. Yes, I already showered. I thought you’d appreciate it if I didn’t wake you up directly after my workout.”
Kya hummed approvingly, “You have more waking to do, Beifong.”
Lin rolled her eyes but leaned down, letting Kya guide their lips together, gently pressing against each other. Kya chased after Lin, when she broke their kiss, sitting up as well.
“Your hair is all tangled,” Lin noticed, frowning, remembering Kya needed to spend more time on it and how it annoyed her sometimes.
Kya touched at her hair. She hadn’t braided it before going to sleep last night. “Why,” she emphasized, poking her finger into Lin’s very firm shoulder, “Did. You. Wake me?”
“Fine,” Lin confessed avoiding Kya’s eyes, “I had an idea and didn’t want to waste any time,”
Suddenly she wasn’t sleepy anymore, instead incredibly intrigued. “Go ahead, tell me about your idea.”
“We are going to have a yes-day,” Lin said and looked back at her, grinning – actually grinning, maybe Kya was still dreaming after all.
“I love you and that beautiful smile, but please tell me what in spirits’ name that is.”
Lin cheeks flushed adorably, but their eyes remained locked. “It’s something I used to do with Su, when she was little and I thought I was,” she paused, “less little.”
Kya cupped her cheek. Lin’s voice sounded so sweet, obviously remembering those moments.
“I started doing it to distract her after a case that landed mom in the hospital and then we did it every other month. On yes-days Su was allowed to demand anything she wanted. I let her order me around all day and any request she put in had to be met with a ‘yes’ by me.”
Kya was stunned. Somehow, she had never heard of those yes-days though she was sure Su would have bragged about having Lin do embarrassing things for her. So it had to have been part of the agreement. She guessed Su had been clever enough to keep their little tradition to herself in order for Lin to keep doing it. But it was their tradition. “And you want us to do that?”
“I want you to be happy,” Lin said, “And because you have such a hard time saying no to everyone asking things of you, I want you to get the chance to experience what it’s like to have your every wish fulfilled.”
Kya was amazed. Lin had planned this. This hadn’t been a momentarily flash, Lin had been preparing to do this. Kya could hear it in her voice. “Lin,” she breathed, touched, “I don’t need to order you around to be happy.”
A half-smile appeared on Lin’s face. “I know that, Kya. It’s not about ordering me around. It’s about you, doing whatever you want us to do. We can bake together, we can go on a long walk, we can go see a mover, we can even go to the beach. If you want to, we can go to your favorite café for breakfast, then to your favorite bistro for lunch, go shopping and then for dinner, we can eat at your favorite restaurant – or the most expensive one, if only because you say so.”
Kya’s eyes grew wide. Lin was really taking this seriously. She already felt selfish and guilty for even considering the yes-day, but her mind was reeling with possibilities. Things Lin rarely ever indulged her in, things Kya rarely allowed herself to do, because she thought it was unnecessary. It had been weeks since she’d really done anything for herself and Lin, too. She could tell Lin to do Yoga with her, she could tell Lin to take the next week off. Lin could find time to relax and Kya could cleanse her aura of so much stress. She smirked cockily. “What if I told you to take the next week off?”
Lin’s face scrunched up in protest, while a grumble formed in her throat, but her features settled into defeat only moments after.
“Really?” Kya asked, shocked.
Lin nodded almost dutifully. “It’s called yes-day for a reason.”
“And if I told you I wanted to spend the day with Asami? I haven’t caught up with my friend in a long time and I wanted to see the new painting she got.” Kya challenged, trying to keep the teasing undertone to a minimum.
Lin’s face fell (as far as Lin’s face ever did. A twitch of her mouth and a disappointed look in her eyes that even Kya only ever saw if she looked for it). “Then I’d go to Air Temple Island and train with Korra on her mediocre metalbending,” she recovered, smirking.
Kya had to laugh at that. “I love you, you know that.”
“I do know that,” Lin said, eyes flitting over Kya’s features, “I’ll have you know the feeling is mutual.” With that she stood, tall and steady, looking down at Kya with challenging eyes. “We are having a yes-day, there is no choice, so tell me what you want.”
Kya inhaled deeply, considering it one last time, taking a moment to appreciate how good Lin looked from this angle. She really didn’t have anything to lose here. “Alright,” she caved, “Yes-day it is.”
She could see the instant excitement in Lin’s features and made her first request. “I want breakfast in bed.” Lin had done it once – notwithstanding the times when Kya was sick – and Kya always loved the slowness of it and not having to leave the warmth of her blankets.
Lin scoffed smugly and left the room, returning mere moments later, overly pleased with herself, a tray in hand.
“You know me well, don’t you?” Kya conceded. Not only had Lin expected to persuade her to do this, but she had also already guessed at her first request and made sure to be ready.
“You’re practically teasing me about it every month and it’s a very basic order, yes.”
Kya frowned, “Can you at least stop calling it order?”
“Yes,” Lin smiled, as if it were the only possible reply, which…well…apparently was true for today.
Kya watched the neatly assembled food and smiled at the sight of steaming tea, fresh ingredients and the pretty pottery. “Are you going to join me?” she asked – hopeful.
“Yes,” Lin replied and sat down on the bed facing Kya. This was already better than anything she could have dreamed of. And all of a sudden, taking her first bite and watching as Lin snuck a fresh carrot from her tray, Kya didn’t mind being awake.
“So, tell me, what did these yes-days look like?”
Lin told her how Su would want the nicest dishes for breakfast – sweet buns from the bakery on the other end of the city, because they were the best. How she’d want the prettiest wine glasses for her juice, how Su would pick flowers in the garden, making force Lin use the finest vase for them. How, she would want Lin to wear extravagant necklaces that they bended out of metal together, how she would make Lin wear dresses and lipstick, that she’d gotten as a present from Katara once. That she would not walk and Lin had to carry her piggy-back-style all day (which, Lin interjected, was a great workout). Lin told her, the two of them would switch roles and Su would ‘teach’ her how to bend and that the days would end with Su’s last demand to sleep in her sister’s bed, the two of them curled together.
“I always felt so special when she fell asleep in my arms,” Lin smiled.
It made Kya want to lunge forward and hug and kiss the woman in front of her until she asked her to stop, but the tray was balanced on her legs, so she filed that idea away for later. “Yes-day was a very sweet idea of yours,” Kya hummed, sipping her tea.
“Now Su’s life consists of 365 yes-days a year,” Lin scoffed, “Minus me.”
Kya frowned at the bitterness behind the last words. “Hey,” she said, reaching for her hand, “Not all 365 of them are without you.”
Lin sighed, “I know…It’s just. Her family is a lot.”
Kya nodded. She knew.
They ate the rest of the breakfast and Lin brought the tray to the kitchen. When she returned to their bedroom, Kya had a mischievous grin on her face.
“You’re already dressed,” Kya noted and Lin looked down at herself. “Do I have yes-day privileges to make you change into some other clothes? I promise it’s not a dress.”
Lin smirked. Maybe it would be Kya’s favorite suit.
Kya got up and started, rummaging through their closet. “Put this on,” she instructed, getting more and more excited about the day.
Lin leaned over to look at the black slacks and dark green turtleneck Kya had chosen for her.
“It’s spring, but if you want to go outside, it’s a little too cold for just that,” she murmured (she knew Kya too well) and Kya reached forward to get a thick grey coat, that Lin stored in the back for a reason.
Kya loved the coat on Lin, but the earthbender had to be in a certain mood to wear it. (She was now, because with the way Kya’s eyes sparked at the sight of her, how could she not be?)
“It’s such a pretty cut,” Kya argued and held the clothes out for Lin to grab, kissing her cheek when she did.
“And now change,” Kya said, already growing far more comfortable in her role.
Lin chuckled and made to pass Kya.
“Nah – uh,” Kya said and held her by the wrist before Lin could disappear into the bathroom. “In here,” Kya grinned. “I wanna watch.”
Lin sighed for show but didn’t really care. She secretly loved the way, Kya ogled her when she got dressed, but would never truly admit it. When Kya tsked, Lin went slower to be met by some appreciative hums and when (without being asked to do so) Lin waited extra-long to hide away her abs, a deafening whistle sounded throughout the apartment.
A few requests later, Lin had dressed, then brushed Kya’s hair for her, because it had gotten exhausting for Kya’s shoulders. (If Kya hadn’t asked her to do it, Lin would have offered herself, because she knew how tiring it was for Kya to comb through the long strands when it was too tangled.)
Kya was looking at Lin through the mirror as she put on her earrings. “I get to choose anything?”
“Anything.”
“Then come over here and kiss me,” Kya grinned, arms outstretched.
Lin smirked and walked over to her. Their lips met softly. “Again,” Kya said. And after a few more ‘agains’ and shared chuckles, they were both a little breathless.
“I like yes-day,” Kya said stroking a thumb over Lin’s cheekbone.
“It’s more fun with you,” Lin confessed and wrapped her arms around Kya’s waist.
“Lin, I want you to promise me something,” Kya sighed, “I know you’re taking this very seriously, but if at any point today you are uncomfortable and don’t want to do anything, I ask of you then please tell me.”
“Of course,” Lin frowned, “I know you wouldn’t do this any other way and I trust you enough not to ask anything to get us there in the first place.”
Kya smiled and leaned forward to capture Lin’s lips in yet another kiss. She was so thankful Lin had suggested this. They really needed to spend time together and away from all the stress and things they didn’t want to think about. And Lin’s lips felt so good against her own, and the arms around her were so strong and caring.
“I like your requests so far,” Lin smirked at her when they parted.
“See, you keep making me want to kiss you, is the problem. We’ll never get anything done.”
Lin shrugged and pulled the two of them into the living room.
Kya followed with a devilish grin, “You have to call me ‘Darling’ today.”
Lin visibly cringed at that and Kya couldn’t help but take pity on her, so she offered a compromise, “I might also accept ‘my love’.”
“How gracious of you.” Lin’s voice dripped irony, then she gritted through her teeth, “Darling.”
Kya decided not to tease Lin about how she still lacked the romantic touch to it and started putting her shoes on instead.
“I want to go on that walk you offered.”
Lin simply watched her, then Kya looked around and threw heavy black boots in her general direction, hissing when they landed with a loud thud. “Sorry,” she apologized, “That was stupid, but you have to put them on. You walk so confidently when you wear those shoes.”
Lin blushed and looked at them.
“Yes, Chief, I notice how you walk,” Kya smiled, “or shall I say stride.”
“Fine.”
Lin put on the boots swung the grey coat around her shoulders, waiting for Kya to finish getting ready.
“Another kiss,” Kya said, beaming at the overly handsome earthbender.
Lin gladly provided it, trying her best not to stumble forward too eagerly at the prospect of kissing Kya again. Lin knew Kya wouldn’t overstep the boundary of her distaste for public displays of affection, deeming this the last kiss before coming back home and Lin made sure to make it good one.
Then they left, Kya grinning from ear to ear, Lin locking up.
“Where do you want to go?” Lin asked once they stood in the street.
Kya pondered. She suddenly saw Republic City with new eyes. Of course, she was always free to choose whatever she wanted to do, but somehow things were calling out to her now. She saw a poster advertising a new exhibition at the art museum. On a passing car, there was a phrase written: New mover by Varrick Industries – first female lead. She saw a young boy handing out flyers, for a new restaurant at the top of the highest building in Republic City. There were so many things she could try with Lin.
“Kya?” Lin tried to rip her from the space she’d zoned out to. Far off there was an exasperated sigh, quickly followed by a honey-dripping, “Darling.”
Kya had nearly forgotten about her request, but it caught her attention. “Sorry,” she smiled at her, “I can’t decide.”
It was overwhelming, so she looked at Lin, for calm. The mover could wait, the exhibition would be there for long after today, the restaurant was something they could try another time.
“I want to go to the park,” she chose, “and when we’re there, I want to loop my arm around yours and walk with you.”
“Kya that’s–” Lin looked at her, questioning, “You know you can do anything, right?”
“Whooo can do anything?” Kya sing-songed.
“You,” Lin rolled her eyes, “Darling.”
Kya patted Lin’s arm in a patronizing manner, “That’s better.” With that (and a halfheartedly suppressed grumble from Lin) they made way for the park.
They talked about their past weeks, exchanging tales of general stupidity concerning patients, criminals and politicians. They laughed, when Kya talked about how one of the younger healers at the clinic had followed her around like a puppy during and after the whole course.
“She kept telling me how absolutely amazing I am and how skilled and smart.”
Lin silently agreed to all of those things.
“Guess what she did when I gave her my notes on one of the cases.”
Lin stopped walking, to think for a moment. Kya loved that she’d been able to anticipate it, another thing she knew about Lin that they hadn’t noticed. Lin always did this when she had to concentrate on a walk. “She thanked you and followed you even more?”
Lin was so bad at the guessing game that Kya sometimes doubted she was an actual detective. “She thanked me as if I’d given her gold and the next day, she had tremendous bags under her eyes and the whole case memorized – including my notes.”
Lin looked at her, surprise evident.
“I know!” Kya got very excited now, because the girl really had great potential. “I didn’t even ask her to do anything.”
She looked at Lin. “How do you choose the detectives that are worth mentoring for higher positions?”
Lin shrugged her shoulders. “They just have to be willing to sacrifice a lot and put the job first.”
Kya hummed. She’d thought as much. “I think this girl might be worth the work. She could become a master healer in no time and maybe she’s the right person for…” She trailed off.
Lin motioned for one of the benches, when she noticed that Kya had zoned out again. They sat down on the one they frequented when visiting the park. Lin had been right, it was relatively cold for a spring day, but as they sat down, the sun peeked out behind one of the bigger clouds and warmed their faces. Kya breathed in the fresh air around them.
“The right person for what?” Lin asked, folding her hands in her lap.
Kya looked at her, spreading her arms along the backrest for more comfort. “I have a lot of knowledge and I need to pass it on to someone. Not all of it is in my notebooks. There are some techniques that I was taught to only share verbally through extensive teaching.”
“Oh,” Lin said, “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, I had to promise Isamu.”
“Was that the firenation healer in Caldera city?”
“Yeah. He wouldn’t let me learn it any other way and the technique is difficult for a waterbender to learn, so I’d have to spend months, training with the girl, teaching her over and over again until she’d know everything by heart before she could even begin to do the procedures on her own.”
Lin was concentrated on listening to her, turning slightly in Kya’s direction.
“It’s a huge amount of theoretic learning before she could start practicing and then healing actual people with it. It’s hard to offer something like that to her because she’d have to commit to the technique for several years and I’m sure her other training would suffer the consequences. It was like that with me, too.” She made a gesture with her hand, only a breath of air between her thumb and index finger, “I came this close to quitting more than once and I was older than her when I learnt it, so I don’t know if she’d even be disciplined and willing enough to pull through.”
Lin started to understand that this type of mentoring was nothing like her own. Yes, she taught the kids what they needed to know. Every now and again one of her detectives was especially skilled and she’d take them under her wing to mold them into even better ones, but this was a tricky situation, because other than Kya there weren’t a lot of people with similar knowledge of the skill – if any – and there were no teaching protocols either.
“I see,” Lin said, when Kya had stopped spilling all of the thoughts, she’d had not yet time to organize, “Do you want my input?”
Kya smiled, not turning to face her.
“Darling.”
“Of course I want your input,” Kya said, looking over at Lin, turning serious again. “I know I’ll make a good decision. I just haven’t had time to think about this and it’s been hanging over my head for so long now and these last two weeks it’s become so clear that I really have to find someone to pass all of this on to and–“ she interrupted herself, breathing deep to compose herself, “I’m sorry for monologuing like this. This was supposed to be a fun day not me going on rants about work.”
“Don’t even think about that, I will always listen to your monologues and it seems like you need to talk about this,” Lin offered, taking and squeezing her hand shortly in spite of their surroundings. “Besides, the point of yes-day is that we do whatever you want. If you need to rant, then rant.”
“You are so good,” she sighed, then encouraged the earthbender, “Tell me, what do you think?”
“I think this girl was willing to put work in without you even asking her to do any of it, which already speaks to her drive and discipline. Other than that, she obviously thinks you are fantastic – because you are.”
Kya smiled at that.
“My advice: talk to her about the importance of the matter, push her confidence a little and you should have your answer. If not, then you can’t really do anything but wait for someone else to come along or break your promise in order to conserve the knowledge to keep helping people and write it all down.”
Kya frowned. She knew Lin was right. She had only confirmed, what Kya had been thinking. The girl really was talented and Kya didn’t break promises. “I’ll call her next week, but now I don’t want to talk about work anymore.”
She leaned her head back and the sun warmed her face and her exposed neck. It calmed some of her worries after a few moments. Somehow, despite her troubles, she felt content with how things were. It was hectic all around them every day and yet, today it was so calm and simple. Just sitting in the park with Lin, feeling the sun and the air around them.
People walked by and once or twice, she felt the urge to open her eyes out of instinct (with a history of this many fights, it was hard to shake the habit of being on-guard all the time). She knew Lin’s seismic sense was making sure no one would even look at her the wrong way. It was strange, but nice. When she did open her eyes, she saw Lin doing the same, basking in the sun, eyes closed.
“Thank you, Lin.”
Lin’s mouth twitched upwards and then she looked at her watch. “We’ve been sitting here for an hour, do you want to go and get something to eat?”
It was then that Kya noticed, she was hungry again. “I could go for a bite or two,” she joked, then, because Lin was waiting for her to decide and Kya wanted to give her a challenge, she added, “Take me to the prettiest restaurant in town.”
Lin seemed to think on it for a moment and after her eyes lit up, she nodded. On the way there, Lin told her she’d found it a week ago on a stakeout. Mako had been hungry, thus not very attentive and after his stomach had grumbled for the first hour, Lin had been annoyed enough to go get him a sandwich. This special restaurant had been the nearest location, so one thing had led to another. Kya laughed about it and for the remainder of the way there, Lin ranted about how that boy needed to feed himself properly and that his sleep pattern had to change as well, while Kya waited for the right time to make a comment about how Lin wouldn’t buy a sandwich for all of her detectives.
The remark died on her tongue when they entered the building. How had she not heard of this place before? It was beautiful.
There were green vines full of red leaves hanging just below the ceiling and when she closed her eyes to concentrate on the fibers in the plants, she felt that they were real, feeling the water flowing through them. Lin asked for a table and just when Kya was wondering how they kept the plants from wilting, she noticed the trickle of water running down mossy walls and flowing down into a body of water that reached around the whole room. The restaurant wasn’t big, but the atmosphere seemed almost unreal.
Wooden tables were spread in the room and a few people were seated on bent up earth covered with thick blankets, eating delicious looking food. Anywhere she looked, there were plants and in between the vines in the ceiling she saw windows, placed there to let natural light inside. The lamps were off, because the sun had been bright ever since it had appeared in the park and it seemed to be enough.
Kya was sure the nature-ness of it all was a little over the top for Lin’s taste, but it warmed her heart all the more, because when Kya had said ‘the prettiest restaurant’, Lin had of course thought from Kya’s perspective.
“This place is amazing,” Kya mused when they had been seated and they were handed their menus. The waiter smiled proudly and told them about how the idea had come to his family after Kuvira’s attack, but that it had taken a while to build and afford, but that it had been running successfully for almost over a year now.
Kya listened, engrossed in the boy’s story, while Lin was grumpily reading through the menu to find something that wasn’t made out of Tofu.
Kya told the waiter to bring them some water and when Lin had chosen her food, Kya said the boy should simply surprise her with whatever dish he thought would be best.
“What if you don’t like it?” Lin asked when they were alone again.
Kya smirked, “Then we’ll just switch plates.”
Lin’s eyes grew wide. Lin had always been a certain kind of protective when it came to her food. People all around her knew not to mess with it. Jokes ended where Lin’s plate began. “No!”
“Sorry, what was that?” Kya asked, sipping on her water.
Lin growled, “Yes, we’ll switch.”
When Kya made to ask her to call her Darling again, Lin raised a hand and said, “Don’t push it.”
Kya smiled and kissed the air as if to say, ‘You love it’.
They admired the restaurant’s architecture and the small fish in the pond next to them. Food was put down in front of them. Noodles for Lin (at least for a few more bites) and some extravagant soup for Kya. She tasted her soup while Lin watched, as if her life depended on the contents of that uneven bowl appealing to Kya’s taste – which it luckily did.
“It tastes amazing,” Kya beamed.
Lin knew what was coming. “Absolutely not,” she stated firmly, but Kya promptly held her spoon out for Lin to taste some.
“Kya,” Lin whined, examining the ingredients closely, “I don’t like mushrooms.”
Kya moved the spoon closer to Lin’s face. She was such a baby when it came to foods and trying out new things. Lin liked routine and always eating the same food was part of those routines.
“What if I call you ‘Darling’ and ‘My love’?” Lin bargained, looking almost scared of the spoon. If only her officers could see her now…
“These are great mushrooms in there,” Kya ignored her, “well-cooked, but not too mushy, I know your problem isn’t the taste but the consistency. Now, open up.”
Lin glanced around, no one was watching, this was only as embarrassing as she’d make it. She leaned forward and let Kya feed her. As soon as her mouth made contact with the food, she wondered if this was what Rohan felt like and hated that it was her first connotation. Kya had been right, the soup was delicious, but the mushrooms weren’t. It left Lin feeling quite grateful that she didn’t have to switch plate. (Of course she would have given in again. Anything for Kya, but she wouldn’t have been happy about it).
The aftertaste of the mushrooms was disgusting. “’My love’ is off the table for good now,” Lin muttered after suppressing a shudder.
Kya shrugged her shoulders, apparently content with Lin forcing ‘Darling’ through her lips for the rest of the day.
They ate their meals, catching up on what Tenzin had told Lin about the progress of the Airnation and comparing it to what Jinora had told Kya about it, when the girl had brought some food to the clinic as a way of looking out for her Aunt.
“She’s so sweet,” Kya smiled, thinking about her niece’s face and how concerned she’d been.
“That kid loves you,” Lin chuckled.
“Who does she love?” Kya murmured.
“You, Darling.”
“There’s so little force left behind it now,” Kya praised, “Maybe this evening you’ll mean it.”
Lin rolled her eyes. “You’re getting almost as bad as Su used to.”
“Wrong, I’m having fun.”
“You are?” Lin asked sheepishly, busying herself by digging through her noodles.
“Of course,” Kya replied, “I haven’t had this nice of a day in forever. I’m doing things I love and I’m doing them with you. What more could I want?”
After a moment of silence, Lin mumbled, “Mango pudding.” Kya laughed light and clear.
“Yes, mango pudding.” They ordered the desert. It was served with edible flowers. Kya went on an informative rant about the qualities of each one and how some of them were mixed into most teas. Lin listened and only partially stopped – every time she got distracted by how beautiful Kya looked when she got passionate about these kinds of things.
After a while Kya reached for her wallet Lin threw her a glare, arguing that the last three times they had eaten out, Kya had paid and waved Lin’s complains off, telling her to pay for the next meal.
“I want to pay, so you have to let me,” Kya explained.
“This is not how this is supposed to work.” Lin crossed her arms scowling at her and Kya paid – much to the waiter’s delight, seeing as he was definitely scared of Lin.
Kya made sure to leave a good tip.
They walked home and practically as soon as they arrived, Lin flopped down onto the couch with a loud groan, sated and post-meal tired.
Kya watched her from her spot at the door, while taking off her boots.
“Does yes-day stop at nightfall or does yes-day consist of 24 hours?” she asked.
Lin sat up against the backrest, suspiciously narrowing her eyes at Kya. Was this a tactic to get another breakfast in bed? “Depends on why you are asking.”
“Smart,” Kya smiled and sauntered towards her, stopping just in front of Lin. “I’m asking,” she hummed, leaning down to kiss her soundly, “because you look so very attractive in that outfit and it would be a shame,” she traced her index finger along Lin’s jaw, “if tonight, I didn’t get to act on the ideas it’s giving me.”
Lin gulped and decided, that of course yes-days consisted of 24 hours. She told Kya.
“Good,” the waterbender smiled, “let’s relax, shall we?”
Lin recovered after a moment of letting quite a few scenarios run through her head. Before Kya sat down, she picked a book off one of the shelves. But not any book. The one she’d always wanted Lin to read but could never persuade her to even flip through. She handed it to Lin, who made room on the couch so Kya could settle in between her legs and lean back against her.
“Read to me, please.”
“Really?”
Kya could hear Lin’s brows raising. “Yes, page nineteen.”
“I see that,” Lin grumbled, taking the bookmark, while flipping through the book, “Is this poetry?”
“Firenation romance poetry to be exact.”
Lin made a noise that conveyed ‘of course it is’. “Wait, is this the book you always want me to read?”
“Exactly,” Kya hummed, settling her hands on Lin’s thighs and scooting lower to get comfortable.
“You are thinking of everything today, aren’t you?”
Kya patted both her legs as an encouragement, closed her eyes and after a few moments of silence, listened as Lin’s gravelly voice read sweet rhymes and promises of love and trust. She adored Lin’s voice, but she rarely got to listen to it like this: without having to concentrate on solving a problem, without updating each other on things that happened. She seldom got to focus on just the intonations, her speech pattern and how soothing it was to listen to her.
Lin read at the perfect speed, with the right amount of emotion and only once or twice stumbled over one of the older words. Kya snuggled deeper into her strong embrace and Lin kept reading for her. She hadn’t expected Lin to do it, much less without complaining about it in length (especially after finding out the book’s contents). As the minutes went by and Kya asked her to repeat certain poems more than once and Lin did, Kya felt this sense of home she could only ever get when she was being with Lin and it warmed; knowing Lin could feel it too.
“I love you so much,” Kya interrupted at one point.
Lin put the book down and pressed a kiss against Kya’s head, so she could feel her smile.
“Those poems are making you emotional, Darling.”
Kya chuckled at that, “You too, apparently.”
Lin gave her another kiss, then carefully pushed her to sit upright. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Kya nodded and decided to prepare some tea for the two of them.
When Lin came back, Kya suggested they go to the museum, since she knew Lin liked art as much as her (if not more) and she hadn’t been able to shake the thought of at least doing something that marked the day as even more special.
The exhibition had lots of interesting paintings and even some sculptures, that Lin was very interested in. They liked going to the museums together but usually discussed everything afterwards.
Kya had talked to a guide and gotten information on one of the artists she’d especially liked. The brochure was informative as well and Kya used the knowledge, she’d gained during the visit, to tell Lin about the technique and inspiration behind the pieces on their way back home.
In turn, Lin told her how the sculptures had turned out to be an interactive piece for earthbenders and that it had been allowed to touch them to find out which ones had been created with bending and which ones hadn’t and that Lin had given herself a challenge, determining it with the use of seismic sense and just by looking at them, searching for scratches made by chisel. Lin had been both surprised and thrilled to find out that it had worked for all but one.
Kya tested Lin’s limits when they passed a store that reeked of incense (Lin’s choice of words) and Kya begged her to come inside, because there were a few things she was running out of that she needed for her healing. Lin actually went inside with her – something Kya had definitely not expected – but Kya didn’t miss that Lin used one of her father’s basic breathing exercises to avoid breathing more than absolutely necessary, while Kya dug through the shelves and smelled various incense sticks to find ones that were to her liking.
“I don’t know how you can smell any of that,” Lin complained, pinching her nose, “I’m already getting a headache.”
Kya pitied her but was going as quickly as possible. She found the right scent and on her way to the checkout, her eye caught on some fresh herbs. “Oh, look, I haven’t seen this one in forever.”
Lin raised a brow at the greens. “They look just like the ones you bought last month.”
“That’s because you don’t know anything about herbs,” Kya chuckled and gave her arm a squeeze, “These aren’t ceremonial, these are medicinal and more– spirits look at that price.”
Lin checked if the older man at the counter had heard Kya’s excited squeak, then realized he was busy with…is that embroidery?
“It’s so cheap and such good quality, Lin I have to get these!”
Lin nodded without further questions, because this meant odor-freedom. Kya was busy holding everything, so Lin paid, almost surprised not to meet any retaliation this time and they left the store, Lin at a far quicker step than Kya. Outside, Lin took several deep breaths and found that the headache was already subsiding while Kya rolled her eyes at her dramatic reaction.
“Do you want Kya to kiss it better?” Kya asked in the same voice she used with the children.
Lin glared at her. Kya looked left and right and gave Lin a quick peck on the cheek. She was forgiven.
In order to avoid Kya making more jokes about how sensitive she was to smell, Lin took the clever way out and asked her one single question about the herbs, which kept Kya talking for the rest of the way home. It was actually rather interesting, so Lin had no intention of interrupting the info dumping that she was exposed to all the way until they crossed the threshold into their home.
As Lin started making dinner for the two of them – Kya’s favorite curry – she even found herself picking the conversation back up, asking more question about the herbs which directed their conversation back to one of the cases of last week and thus to the girl at the clinic.
“You know, I think I’m definitely going to try and convince her to learn the technique – and maybe a few others.”
Lin was chopping some vegetables and nearly cut into Kya’s finger when she tried to steal a piece of bell pepper. “Kya!”
“Sorry, won’t happen again,” she lied and instantly stole another one, plopping it into her mouth with a crunch, “starting now.”
Lin sighed and told her to sit on the other counter – telling her not to sit on the counter at all never worked – while she kept preparing their food. “What made you so sure now?” she asked in an attempt not to lose track of their conversation.
“You,” Kya replied with a warmth that was so characteristic for her, but still caught Lin off-guard sometimes.
“Me?”
“You asked me all these questions and I had so much fun explaining everything to you, even if I’ve done nothing else the past weeks. I really do enjoy sharing my knowledge on this kind of stuff with other people. Especially when they’re such smart and attentive listeners like you and that girl.”
Lin smiled, depositing everything into the pot.
“Do I need to be worried about you spending even more time working?”
Kya shook her head. “The course I was giving at the clinic was only two weeks long and you know that. I’ll just take two shifts off the hospital ones and spend them with the girl to teach her. That way she’ll learn in no time and I keep my normal hours while helping more.”
“Sounds good,” Lin agreed.
After dinner they found themselves sitting on the couch again. Lin had offered a massage when she’d noticed how Kya kept craning her neck in order to stretch it. Kya had hesitated and then told her she didn’t want one, so Lin made sure Kya knew that she wouldn’t offer if she didn’t want to – yes-day notwithstanding. After that, Kya had looked rather exasperated and had reassured herself four times by asking all sorts of questions. If it was really alright with her and if Lin wasn’t tired. Lin had shaken her head and offered again.
“Okay, fine,” Kya caved in, laying down on her stomach, “but please stop when you don’t want to anymore, I’m starting to feel really guilty for making so many requests today.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty for,” Lin hummed, starting off with Kya’s calves. They always hurt from walking around so much and Kya always forgot them when doing her stretches. “And it’s not like I don’t enjoy this,” she said, pushing her palm along the muscles, “I’m glad you agreed to yes-day.”
There was a comfortable silence to a point where Lin thought maybe Kya had drifted off to sleep. Then the waterbender cleared her throat, “Who agreed to yes-day?”
“You, Darling.”
Kya hummed approvingly and smiled into the cushion.
“Aren’t you getting tired of me using that name?” Lin asked when she was done massaging and practically kneading Kya’s legs and had moved up to her back.
“I need to shamelessly abuse my power over this particular request while I still have it,” Kya answered, simultaneously wondering if Lin’s forearms and hands were getting tired from how much time she spent on each part of Kya’s body.
They didn’t speak much afterwards. They had talked all day and both wanted some silence. Other than a few groans and the occasional hiss, when Lin reached a particularly sensitive spot, it was quiet in their apartment. Kya thought how amazingly thorough Lin’s massage was and when it was over, they both noticed the time and that despite the day lending them indescribable amounts of spiritual and emotional energy, the events had also taken a lot of physical one.
They got ready for bed, Kya made the request that they sleep naked. She wanted to feel Lin’s skin against hers and Lin said she had hoped for something along those lines. They embraced and caressed each other like they hadn’t in a long time, sharing soft and gentle kisses until Kya felt tears pricking in her eyes and pulled away to find the same glimmer in Lin’s.
“I love you,” Kya whispered and tried to scoot impossibly closer, burying her face in the junction of Lin’s neck and shoulder, “I appreciate all that you did today and all that you do every day.”
Lin closed her eyes, soaking in the feeling that Kya really meant all this and that it felt so good to have Kya love her. Tonight she felt as though she had given Kya something back, something she always wanted to show her, every time the waterbender came back from exhausting shifts and still managed to joke around and talk and smile until Lin relaxed from the stress of her own shift or how Kya often made the unnecessary way over to the station so they could have lunch together even if Kya was so busy.
“I love you, too,” Lin swallowed, successfully blinking the wetness away, then smiled, “Darling.”
Kya entwined their legs and let out a deep sigh. “I knew I’d get you there.”
Lin chuckled, caressing Kya’s hip until they both drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Kya woke, because she felt Lin shifting on the edge of the bed. After Kya had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and adjusted to the light, Lin was still sitting there. Kya knew this position. Forearms resting on her thighs, head hung low. Lin was thinking – or rather brooding and overthinking.
Kya stretched her arms and rolled her head until her neck unstiffened and then moved to embrace Lin from behind. She noticed that Lin was wearing a tank top and sweats. It was Monday, what was she doing home? Oh, right – it was a holiday.
“Are you alright?” Kya murmured against Lin’s shoulder.
Silence.
“Talk to me Lin,” she encouraged sitting down behind her, so her legs framed Lin’s and Kya’s body was pressed against the strong back.
“You feel warm,” Lin noticed and caressed one of Kya’s thighs.
Kya hummed planting a kiss against Lin’s shoulder. “What is it, love?”
“You know you can always wish for these things, right?” Lin croaked. “It doesn’t have to be a yes-day.”
“Of course, I know.”
“Do I not show you enough how much I love you?”
Kya was taken aback by the sincerity in Lin’s voice. All the hurt packed behind it. Kya pulled back and Lin was forced to sit upright, Kya shifted and turned for Lin to meet her gaze.
“I know very well that you love me. You don’t ever have to question that, do you hear me?”
Kya knew her tone was unusually stern, but Lin needed direct words. Kya didn’t need to feed her anxiety with a soft voice, because a soft voice could be doubted, a strong one couldn’t. That’s how Lin had learned things to be and Kya had understood it one day. She’d lived by that rule ever since and it had always worked. So did it this time.
“I’m sorry,” Lin looked away, ashamed, “I didn’t mean to doubt you.”
Lin exhaled shakily. “I don’t want you to feel trapped and that you can’t do anything, because of our jobs and schedules. You can always ask me to call you ‘Darling’, go to the museum, or to a new restaurant if our usual ones bore you.” Now, Lin gained back some strength and looked at Kya, determined and powerful. “I can take the time, I will make it all happen for you.”
“I don’t–“ Kya was touched. She knew Lin would do anything for her, but this was going in the wrong direction again. “Look, half of those things were just me testing out the limits of yes-day, which are impressive, by the way.”
“But the other half wasn’t,” Lin retorted.
“Exactly. The other half were yes-day things.”
Lin didn’t understand and her face showed as much.
“Half was limit-testing as in I wouldn’t want you to do those things on a daily basis because I know they make you uneasy. The other half are things I asked of you because it was yes-day.”
Lin still didn’t seem convinced.
“I’m not Su,” Kya tested carefully, “I don’t need ‘fancy’ every day,” Kya caressed Lin’s cheek, “I just want you to come home to and us to be together. Okay?”
Lin’s eyes once again flitted over Kya’s face and the waterbender made sure not to twitch even one bit.
“Okay,” Lin said.
Kya kissed her softly, then pulled away to get up. She didn’t miss the way Lin’s eyes ran over her body.
“You are so beautiful,” Lin muttered, hesitantly settling her hand on the side of Kya’s hip, caressing with her thumb.
“Thank you, love.”
They looked at each other for a moment longer, then Kya broke the silence. “Now, I’m gonna go and make some tea. Wanna come with me?”
Lin nodded. She would always want tea with Kya, so she put on her robe and they walked out to the kitchen.
When Kya filled Lin’s cup, the earthbender had an idea. “If you could take one request of yes-day and make it part of our routine, which one would it be?”
Kya hummed, letting herself review the events. “Honestly?”
Lin nodded, eyes darting to where Kya’s silk robe had exposed an equally soft shoulder.
“The reading,” Kya smiled, gazing off to the couch.
“Does it have to be firenation romance poetry?” Lin inquired.
“It’s not about the content, it’s about your lovely voice.”
Lin blushed at that. “I can read to you,” she mumbled into her cup, “we can do it on Sundays.”
“But you need your voice for work,” Kya frowned.
“I know, but I want to. It was–“ she ducked her head, “I thought it was nice, too.”
Kya had that urge again…that urge of kissing Lin until they were out of breath. Oh, how much she loved her. And now she would read for her every week. How lucky Kya felt at the prospect.
“I thought it would be the pet name,” Lin chuckled after a while.
“No, I’d choose your voice over being called ‘Darling’ any day. To be honest, in the wrong situation it feels just as weird for me as it does for you.”
“Well, then I’m glad,” Lin smiled, then grinned, “Darling.”
Kya threw her napkin and hit Lin square in the face. “Just drink your tea,” she chuckled.
This sure wasn’t what Kya had imagined the weekend to turn into when she’d dropped into bed on Friday, but she couldn’t be happier.