Disclaimer: I don't own LoK. Never owned, never will. Sigh.
She's never cared about it.
It's just one more thing to add to the list of things she never really cared about. Her bending. Her badge that marked her as Chief of Police. Her dignity.
She doesn't need those things. She doesn't need anything.
But that's a lie, isn't it? It's a lie she tells herself, that she wants to believe, that she wishes were true so she wouldn't be lying here, broken like this.
She's slumped on the ground, unmoving, long after Amon and his cronies have left. The spot where that filth touched her, still tingles, that point right on her forehead. She should get up. But she can't, or won't, or can't. It doesn't matter, though.
The ground's never felt so hard, and her metal suit's never felt so heavy. She feels… trapped, trapped in a metal prison that's suddenly turned hostile. Her limbs feel numb, and she knows it's because they've been rendered powerless to earthbend. But her heart's heavier than the constricting metal that crushes down on her.
She grimaces. If her mother were here, she'd be telling her to toughen up and get up again. Her mother always was the tough one…
"Get off your butt, Lin, stand back up and earthbend! A five year-old could do better than you!"
She winces as she rubs the sore spot on her backside. Earthbending's never been easy for her, really. She groans as she gets back up and assumes the "horse stance", her body lowering as she sinks into the position, feet wide apart, eyes straight ahead, hands curled into fists. Her fists are sore, bruised, and she's exhausted. They've been at it all day, and the sun's beginning to set.
Her stomach grumbles, and she's really starting to hate her mom for not letting her eat anything since dawn. Or drink anything. Or take a break.
But her mother says earthbending requires determination and perseverance. She wipes the sweat off her forehead, and tries again.
She lashes out again at the large rock in front of her, grunting in effort. Remember, draw power from the earth. Feel the connection to the ground. You must be unmovable as a mountain, as unrelenting as rock.
Two fists slam into solid rock. The rock doesn't budge an inch.
Ouch.
"Sloppy." Her mother's casual taunt bites at her ego, the sound coming from somewhere behind her and to her left. "I could do better when I was three." She rolls her eyes. Typical. Her mom's always been the type to make biting remarks anyway. It's not like she cares. She's learnt to deal with it. But she's really not prepared to deal with what comes next.
"If you don't move that rock by the time I'm done walking back to the house… You're never seeing Tenzin again." The threat, seemingly tossed out casually from nowhere, hangs in the air, mingled with her mother's footsteps, starting to recede. She knows it's for real this time, because she hears that steely edge in her mom's voice that always signals she means business. Then the brunt of it hits her.
"What? You can't just do that! It's not fair! He's my best friend!" She stares at her mother's retreating figure. Toph Beifong doesn't even bother to turn around, and replies without skipping a beat.
"Oh yes I can, young lady." The voice is getting more distant, and she watches dumbly as her mother walks off, further, further, further…
"Oh yeah? Why, because you're a control freak?" Her mother abruptly swivels around, and returns her glare with an equally fearsome one of her own.
Great. Now she's done it.
"No, because I'm your mother." It's a battle of wills, mother against daughter, both locked in a staring competition, neither budging, neither giving ground.
"But I can't earthbend!" She tries, desperately, one more time, because it's not fair! Tenzin's her best friend! Her mom can't just do this to her! Her mom's GOT to listen to reason!
"Then I guess you'll have to say goodbye to Tenzin, forever." Her mom's starting to walk again, and it's really the smug tone that sets her blood on fire.
"But-"
"Save it. Unless you earthbend right this instant, I'm forbidding you from seeing Tenzin ever again."
"But I can't-"
"Just do it!"
Her mother barely raises her voice, but the simple command hits her with the force of an earthquake. She's struck dumb, only able to stare impotently, rage bubbling to the surface, at her mother, who's once again come abruptly to a stop, and turned around to face her. Toph Beifong's arms are crossed, eyebrows clenched in a narrow V, and the glare she's leveling would scare off Avatar Aang.
Believe it, she knows what she's talking about when she says that.
The frustration that's been building slowly in her comes to a boil, and she slams her palms into the rock, willing it with all her body to just MOVE one damn inch or twelve.
The results are, frankly speaking, surprising.
The rock goes flying in the direction of her mother, who lazily stomps the ground once. A pillar of earth comes up and intercepts the projectile, which smashes into bits.
She's left standing there, struck dumb, mouth agape at what she just did.
Her mother's got that infuriating smug smile on her face, and the words lazily leave her mouth.
"I told you. You could do it. C'mon Lin, let's go for dinner."
She's left with a feeling of happiness, relief, and overwhelming satisfaction, as she walks off alongside her mother to one of their favourite restaurants for dinner.
She'd only come to realise later, that she'd been manipulated so easily, at the mention of Tenzin, of all people. Her mother had said before that she'd had to steal Aang's staff, and Momo, and insult him the entire day before he'd been angry – and determined – enough to earthbend.
Heh. It sure seemed stupid now, huh? Tenzin was responsible for her earthbending. She muses silently, and somehow the numbness and exhaustion seems to fade away for a while as she remembers him…
Tenzin…
There's a knock on the metal door of her office. She looks up tiredly from the mess of paperwork that floods her desk, and she groans as she gets up from the small, almost cramped seat where she's been for hours, trying to make sense of the reports on the latest case.
"Come in." She tries not to sound tired as the words leave her mouth, but really, she could fall asleep anywhere, anytime now.
The handle turns, and Tenzin steps in, orange and yellow robes flowing as he walks into the office. It's barren, except for her grey desk and her grey chair, and two grey filing cabinets. He looks out of place, a blob of bright colour in the dull grey room.
"Working late tonight again?" The question cuts the uncomfortable silence in the room. It seems innocent enough, but his eyes are sharp. She wonders what it means. Hell, she's too tired to care.
"Just doing the paperwork… thought I'd finish it by today, since we're tackling a new case tomorrow…" Her words are slurring as she speaks, and she's trying to keep her eyes open. She stifles a yawn.
"Lin. You do realise it's 1 am in the morning. It's already tomorrow." Concern is splashed on his face, as he looks at her. Boy, she must really look a wreck…
"Oh… really? It's hard to keep track of time in… here…" She yawns loudly, and her knees buckle under her. She falls forward, and she braces herself. But strong arms catch her by the shoulders, and she's suddenly wrapped in a sea of orange and yellow.
Her stomach suddenly grumbles, loudly. He sighs, equally loudly, in that endearing way that she's somehow become attached to.
"I bet you forgot to eat dinner again, didn't you?"
"Now that I think of it… I don't think I ate lunch either." She murmurs sleepily into his chest, not protesting as he gently sets her down back in her chair. He clears away the stacks of paper on her desk, and sets down a paper bag in their place. She vaguely wonders what it is, but she's so tired anyway…
Then the aroma hits her, and all trace of sleep is wiped from her eyes.
"I made you something to eat. You need to keep your strength up."
Not daring to believe it, she opens the bag, and peeks inside.
It's really there. The hot chicken and vegetable stew her mother used to make when she was young, complete with a loaf of bread. The heavenly scent wafts into her nose, and she just manages to close her mouth before saliva drips out.
"You… made this? Yourself?" She remarks in wonder, staring at the food.
"You don't like it?" The question is tentative, timid, just like he is. And she admits to herself, she might maybe just find that a tiny little bit adorable.
The rare smile breaks out on her face. All pretenses drop, all walls come crashing down, all masks are torn off, and she's a little kid again. Water gushes from the spring of mirth that she'd thought had dried up ever since she'd become Chief of Police. She wants to get up and hug him. But her dignity won't allow that, heh. She settles for a sly comment.
"I think it'll do." The even rarer smile breaks out on his face too, and they're laughing again, just like they were when they were children.
Right now, it's not really about the food. It's all about them.
She smiles, weakly, and all the good memories come rushing back. She's lost in the flow of memory, thought, raw emotion.
The time he tried to take her on the air scooter and they both crashed into a tree…
The time she decided to pay him a visit on Air Temple Island, for a change, and walked in on him coming out of the shower, naked except for a towel wrapped round his waist…
The time he took her on a romantic trip on Oogi under the starlit night and they'd ended up kissing…
But one memory, fresh in her mind, sticks out from all the others.
She's trying to keep her balance, on the flying sky bison. The wind howls around her, and she feels almost afraid, afraid to be out of her element, so far from the ground.
She throws her arm out, and a metal cable slices through the air, intercepting the giant net that comes flying towards them, shredding it to pieces.
Tenzin's at the reins, trying desperately to outfly the equalist airships.
She knows he'll never succeed. Not at the rate he's going, anyway.
She hurls another metal cable through the wind, and feels it wrap securely around the rope from the nearest airship. She gives it a sharp tug, and it holds.
She almost can't bear to do this, can't bear to take the one step that will send her over the side. She steels herself, and grits her teeth in determination.
He turns around, too late, the question popping from his mouth, that's somehow still audible amidst the shriek of the wind as they streak through the sky.
"What are you doing?" Forget-me-not blue eyes stare at her, uncomprehending, and she looks back, trying to explain why it's necessary for him, for her, for everyone.
Oogi can't hold seven people. I'm slowing you down. I'll distract them, long enough for you to escape. So you can be safe, with your family. It's for the best…
She doesn't have any more time. The airships are almost within electric-cable range. With an effort, she breaks the eye contact and leaps, swinging through the air like a hog monkey on a vine.
And as she slices through the air, clinging on to the cable with both arms, she can't help but feel the momentary pang of pain, knowing she probably won't see him again. She steals one last glimpse at Oogi's quickly diminishing figure.
Goodbye, Tenzin. You're safe now.
And as she remembers, she thinks it was worth it. Everything was worth it, because she'd saved him from suffering the same fate. She takes solace in that thought, as the first drops of soft rain come down on her face, and moisture leaks down her face.
It was worth it. It had always been. Worth it.
A/N: This was written before episodes 11-12 came out, so I'm sorry if it doesn't match the show, heh. Lin doesn't seem like the emotional type, so I stopped trying to make her one... and this is the result. Hope it met your expectations :D
Also to all my fans who are waiting for the next update of "Gone", I'm really sorry, I've been having writer's block ever since I finished chapter 1. Don't kill me if I take a while to update :x
Reviews are greatly appreciated, as always :D