She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe and the dire need for oxygen was becoming more and more distressing. She reached out with both hands, trying to claw her way out. Trying to find an escape out of the dirt and rock and soil that she just couldn't get out of.
Then she was lying on top of the soil bed. And he was there, bending the air right out of Suyin, Tenzin, Korra, and Kya. She made vain attempts to attack, but found herself trapped under an enormous weight. A weight that sat upon her chest like a yak; unyielding, unnoticing, negligent to what was underneath. She watched as Kya's body fell to the ground, her face listless, drained of the most essential element required of humans to survive. She only remembers screaming Kya's name, or at least trying to. Then she feels a gargantuan weight on her skull, and an intense pressure. She feels her life being squeezed out of her. But her eyes remain fixed on Kya, unwilling to believe this.
"Kya!" Lin gasps, jolting upright. Her heart was beating rapidly, her breaths short. She looked to her side, and her initial fear began to subside as she found her lover fast asleep. In a struggle to remain unnoticed, Lin scrambled to her feet and walked briskly in the direction of the bathroom. She hadn't had dreams as vivid and violent in years. It only started happening again when the search for other Red Lotus members had put an immeasurable amount of stress on her, forcing her to strain every section of her mind, trying to put together a puzzle without the pieces themselves. It made her terribly troubled, and she had spent many sleepless nights in the station, unable to just leave the case alone for even a minute. An obsession, it would be called.
She stared hard at her reflection in the mirror. Bags under her eyes, the addition of several frown lines, and general fatigue colored her features. That she was even standing, after weeks of insomnia or nightmares, was a miracle. Lin turned on the tap, washing her face in cold water. She would do anything to just calm her racing heart. She opened the medicine cabinet in front of her, searching for herbs, any medication that would give her at least two hours of rest.
Cool hands were suddenly on her neck and shoulder. "You're sweating buckets." Kya murmured softly, comfortingly running one hand down to the metalbender's waist. Lin just gripped the sink with both hands, leaning heavily against it, spent.
"Sorry I woke you." Lin said quietly. Kya didn't respond, instead bending some water up to the back of Lin's neck, cooling her down. Her skin was pale and clammy. Kya already knew what happened.
"What was it this time?" She asked quietly after a few heartbeats of silence.
"You – we all died." Lin sighed. She still refused to look Kya in the eye, not wanting her to see the fear within. She was supposed to be strong, unaffected by silly dreams. She was the Chief of Police, she had a duty to the people. She had to be strong.
Kya's arms engulfed her waist, resting her chin on the metalbender's shoulder. The older woman was no stranger to nights like these. Ever since Lin had taken it upon herself to personally hunt down all Red Lotus members, to eliminate the world of poison, she had often gone to bed alone, or to wake in the morning to find the other side abandoned, though there were signs of presence in the early hours of the morning.
"You don't have to talk about your nightmares." Kya said gently. "But if you do, I'm always open to hearing about them. It's good to talk, Lin."
"Great, I'll let you know when I'm interested." Lin retorted, somewhat irritated. Kya knew what she was doing. She would never just admit defeat, show weakness, unless in the most dire of consequences. It was endearing at times, but at this moment, it was annoying.
"Lin, let me help. Please, if not for you, do it for me." The metalbender sighed at Kya's words, and she slowly turned to face her.
There was vulnerability in Lin's eyes that Kya had only seen sparingly, in their decades spent together.
"Lin, don't retreat into a place so far gone that I don't even know where you are anymore." Kya whispered, her fingers brushing the younger woman's cheek.
Lin let out a breath, trying to avoid Kya's gaze. But she knew that this kind of tactic wouldn't work. The waterbender's soothing blue eyes didn't help either, and Lin knew she was fighting an already losing battle.
"I'm scared. And I'm worried." She confessed, rubbing her hands over her forehead as she leaned back against the sink. "I'm feeling so…suffocated and claustrophobic with all of this weight on me, I just – I don't know how I'm supposed to do this – I don't know, how I'm supposed to keep the Avatar safe, how to keep you safe, I don't know, I don't know –"
Kya's lips pressed against her, cutting her off. Lin felt herself surrender to the calm, the soft lips and the cool hands that held her like an anchor. After a good few heartbeats, Lin rested her head on Kya's shoulder, just relishing the tight embrace that promised an eternity in peace.
Then, she felt Kya withdraw a little, and positioned herself in the metalbender's line of sight.
"You're not in this alone, Lin. You have allies, friends, and family standing next to you. And you have me. Whatever obstacle you have now, we'll help you. You don't have to do this by yourself." Lin looked away, mollified by Kya's words.
"I don't know where I would be without you." Lin said, her voice hoarse. Kya took Lin's hands, kissing them before she draped them around her waist.
"I love you too." Kya whispered, kissing Lin's forehead gently. "In all my travels, I've never been more thankful than in this moment right here. I hope you'll remember that."
"I don't think I could forget."