Chapter Text
Republic City was always busy, even into the darker hours of the night. It's something Kya always found comfort in. Watching couples walk down the streets, the muffled sounds of Sato-Mobiles treading through the roads, distant chattering. It was much different than back home in the South Pole. Sure she had many people back home, but something about watching the city rumble in the night brought some kind of comfort. Upon her visit she had been staying at Air Temple Island, but she had to admit that her nieces and nephews were a bit of a handful. She decided to take a few days to herself, renting a room in the heart of the city to take a breather.
So here Kya was, a joint of lilyweed nestled between her fingers standing on the balcony watching below. She inhaled then exhaled, a soft cloud tumbling from her mouth and shortly disappearing into the darkness as she leaned against the railing. A small smile formed on her lips.
Lin would kill me if she saw me smoking.
Lin.
She brought the joint back to her lips, taking a deep breathe as a certain someone took center stage in her mind.
Lin had always left a dent in her heart, even when they were younger. Watching her fall for Tenzin, someone who clearly didn't deserve her, was always a painful memory. Out of all people, why him? She can't negate that she wasn't jealous; she definitely was. Envious even. The water bender can't recall when or why it happened, but she found herself thinking about Lin a lot more than she should be. Maybe it was when Lin came to her after Suyin had left a permanent scar on her face, or when Lin got hurt after a spar with another officer, or when Lin came to her in a desperate attempt to get away from everything; her sister, Tenzin, the excruciating demands from being a rookie toppled with being the Chief's daughter. Nonetheless, somewhere down the line it happened. It didn't matter much anymore since they barely saw each other these days. With her being busy as Chief and Kya being with her mother in the South, there wasn't a lot of time leftover in their lives to visit one another. Kya sighed, whether from exhaustion or from a painful fixation of what could have been, she couldn't tell. Likely the latter. With the aching feel of nostalgia, she was about to take another hit when an aggressive knock came from the door.
At this hour?
Another soft sigh as she called an early end to her smoke and put out her joint, trudging to the door. She opened it to be met with tired green eyes.
"A little late for visiting, don't you think Chief?" Kya smiled, making a motion for her new guest to come inside.
"Glad I caught you awake then." Lin answered, voice stern as always.
The younger woman entered and her nose immediately scrunched in disapproval, "I don't presume you've been smoking?"
"What, me?" Kya gasped, dramatically placing a hand over her chest, "Never, Chief."
Lin raised a brow, clearly not buying into her little show but obviously reluctant to do anything about it, "Good. I wouldn't want to arrest you on your stay here."
Kya smiled, eyeing the earthbender seeing Lin still had full set of armor on. She probably just got finished with the day. She's always been so damn committed to her job. Not saying anything else, she led Lin to the sofa in the living room, listening to a groan of relief and a slight grunt that she didn't pay much mind to as she imagined Lin was just getting herself comfortable. Kya made her way into the kitchen to fish out a bottle of wine.
"How'd you know I was here?" She called out while filling two glasses.
"Tenzin told me. I assume Pema and the kids drove you out of there?"
Kya tittered, taking a seat on the couch next to Lin and handing her a drink, "Something like that." They each took a sip, Lin clearly shifting in her seat like she was trying to ready herself up to say something. Kya waited, watching the other woman's facial features shift while she struggled to speak.
"I hear you're leaving soon."
Then there it was, soft and almost...sad?
"That's right. A few more days and I'll be headed back home."
Lin leaned forward to set her glass down on the table in front of them, a movement that caused her face to wrinkle in some kind of emotion but the water bender didn't pay much mind to it. Upon sitting back up and shifting uncomfortably in her seat Lin moved her gaze to meet Kya's. Something was churning in her mind. Then again, soft, "Right, I'm sure you have your own fair share of duties to attend to."
Kya smirked, "Is this you trying to say you're going to miss me?" Lin scoffed, rolling her eyes and slowly sitting back onto the cushions of the couch, "Don't start with me." Kya grinned, then scanned over Lin.
Clearly a rough day.
Scabs on her hands, metal uniform tarnished with dirt, Spirits knows what injuries hid beneath that armor. So with a gentle nudge to the earthbender's knee Kya spoke up, "Don't you ever take that uniform off? Come on, it's just the two of us. I don't think wearing all that metal all the time is comfortable, is it?" With a slight glare, Lin hesitated for a moment but stood up and with a quick flick of her wrist piled her armor in the corner of the living room.
It was then Kya knew where the Chief's discomfort came from. Fresh bruises marked pale skin and cuts too deep for her liking trailed up Lin's forearms and biceps.
"Spirits, Lin! Why didn't you say anything?" Kya got up, running her fingers over the sore spots and taking a closer look at them.
Stubbornness is something Lin clearly never grew out of.
"It's nothing I haven't deal with before," she winced as fingers brushed a particularly sensitive cut. A hushed 'sorry' came from the healer. "We got a call of a gang causing a scene. When we got there, it seems like some punk had placed the call instead and we played right into their trap. A lot more of them than there was of us to say the least."
"What, and you took them all on yourself?" Kya's voice came out a bit more sour than she intended and Lin seemed to notice, "It's my job, Kya." A scoff came from the water bender, but her intention wasn't to argue right now, just to ger her friend cleaned up.
"I'll run you a bath and get you good as new."
***
After their healing session, Lin was feeling and looking much better than before. Her muscles still ached, probably because of what the day had exerted from her body, but her limbs felt much lighter than they did before. The two sat back down on the couch with Kya clearly uneasy about something. Probably about their earlier exchange, but it wasn't like Lin was wrong.
She's chief. It's the whole purpose of her job. Getting hurt was to be expected so she didn't understand what the deal was.
"You should be more careful next time. You were close to breaking a bone."
There it is. Firm and almost...worried?
Kya had always opposed Lin with how careless she was with herself during the job. Even when they were younger; when she was just a rookie and asked Kya for healing sessions after rough days, the water bender always gave lectures. Always made sure her hands were extra tender when tending to wounds, acting like one wrong touch and Lin would shatter like glass. Lin thought that after all these years Kya would have grown out of it seeing that she's been part of the force for more than thirty years. But no, here she was, noticeably frustrated with Lin. She's Chief of Police for Spirit's sake, not a rookie! She can take a hit. What gives?
Lin huffed, "It comes with the job. You know that. Had worse before."
The water bender rolled her eyes, "It doesn't mean you could care to take it easy, Lin. You've always been so committed to your job that you don't care about your own well-being sometimes."
Here we go.
"I'm not a rookie anymore. I know how to take care of myself."
Kya scoffed, shaking her head in exasperation as she got up from the couch and began to pace, "You never change, do you? Always so damn stubborn."
Lin followed suite, getting up from her seat and trailing behind the older woman, "Don't be ridiculous Kya. This isn't anything new." The water bender spoke, amused, "Ridiculous? Me, the ridiculous one?" She laughed incredulously and threw her hands up into the air, "I'm not the one constantly throwing my life on the line as if it meant nothing." Lin could tell that there was something specific hidden behind that statement. Confused and exasperated, "What are you talking about?" Kya turned to face the chief who looked genuinely baffled. The water bender could feel the tightness of the knot in her throat grow.
A moment of silence before Kya finally shouted, "You gave yourself up to save Tenzin like it was nothing!" Wiping the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes, she continued with hurt in her voice, "Do you have any idea what it was like to hear that you had been captured by Amon? To hear that Suyin practically saved your life from being blasted by P'li?"
Damn it.
Kya took a step back suddenly feeling how insanely vulnerable she was. The ache in her chest that had been there for so long, the anger she had been holding back from Lin for so long suddenly all out in the open. She couldn't stop herself from crying anymore. "Lin, you have no idea how I felt. I was terrified. The thought that something horrible might happen—that something might still happen..." Kya trailed off. She looked away from the earthbender, but felt her take a step towards her.
"I didn't know..." Lin paused, trying to form her words correctly, "I didn't know you cared so much." Amused, Kya scoffed. She lifted her head up to look into confused green eyes. "You have no idea, do you?" Lin just kept looking at her. Isn't it obvious? Spirits, isn't she a detective?
Maybe Kya was a bit intoxicated from the lilyweed, or maybe she couldn't keep lying to the Chief with confusion written all over her face. Likely the latter. Everything was out in the open. Kya would be leaving soon enough so it didn't really matter anymore. So many years yearning for the stubborn woman standing in front of her, she couldn't keep it to herself any longer. Lin was her lifelong friend and it would hurt to see her go but Spirits damned she couldn't keep faking what Lin truly meant to her. So with a bittersweet smile and another quick wipe of the tears that threatened to cascade down her cheeks, she took a deep breath.
"Lin, I'm in love with you."