The Lie Eternal
by SMYGO4EVA
Lin supposed that she would be used to it. She knew that she never would be, no matter how hard she tried.
She was the chief of police while Izumi was the Fire Lord, and it was always going to be difficult, no matter where they ended up. They had always known each other, always seen each other as colleagues, acquaintances and stood beside each other in times of crises. Lin fulfilled in what was her true calling, keeping Republic City safe, taking her mother's place, while Izumi stood tall as the Fire Lord, leading the Fire Nation into a new age, just as her father did before her. They had been everywhere together, always finding each other, so much that Lin lost track.
Izumi was aware of this. They were growing into more than colleagues; they had been for a while. They had known one another since they were children, as it seemed to be pure kismet. She knew that she had to take her rightful place as the Fire lord—rule the Fire Nation, then wait for one to inherit the throne by birthright. Nobody else could know how she also existed for Lin.
Lin knew her place in the world and she wouldn't change it for anything. Izumi felt the same. But perhaps there was more that they were born into, raised into, certainly there must have been something else beyond that. Izumi wanted to see herself beyond being Lord Zuko's daughter, the Fire Lord, and who Izumi truly was. Lin knew that she was more than Toph Beifong's daughter, and she had brethren in Zaofu—she liked it, she had family there, but still.
They both knew that their legacies didn't define them, far from that. It was unclear of what else was there. Until then, Lin knew it would a long time of waiting for Izumi, waiting for their next chance together before a higher power would find the lie eternal.