Scars and Bandages

Summary: Scenes taking place in the same universe/timeline/whatever as Wounds Both Old and New.

Disclaimer: If I owned Legend of Korra, Lin would have escaped from the Equalists in the season finale and rescue Korra from being de-bending'd by tearing Amon's head off with her bare hands. Also, bender privilege and Korra being the link between the spirit and material worlds would have been addressed WAAAAAAY more. But they wouldn't show the first one on a kids' TV program and...well, they'd better address bender privilege and Korra's spiritual side in book 2...yeah, wherever I was going with this, I don't own the show.

Pairings: Lin/Korra ("Korralin")

Author's Notes: Dear Muses: FUCK. YOU.

Lin and Korra tell Tenzin about their relationship. Oh boy.

Inappropriate

Korra had been fairly certain Tenzin would, at first, not approve of her relationship with Lin, but then grow supportive at time went by. Lin insisted that he would not understand and demand that Korra and Lin break up.

There was only one way to find out.

The plan had been to keep their relationship a secret from Tenzin. Mako knew, of course, and neither Korra nor Lin had expected Mako to keep something like that from his brother, particularly because Korra knew Mako was still having trouble "sharing" Korra with Lin. Asami knew, too. Korra stubbornly refused to let her friendship with Asami die because of what had happened between Asami and Mako. Asami had sulked and been moody for a week or so, but came around soon enough; for a while, Korra had suspected that she had hooked up with Bolin, but it turned out they had become...well, the only term Korra could think of to accurately describe their relationship was "cuddle buddies". Korra wasn't positive, but she also guessed that Lin had convinced Asami that Korra missed their friendship, and if the growing size of Asami's lapsang souchong tea collection was any indication, Asami and Lin were still spending time together. Now that Asami had several people to spend time with and talk to about her feelings without the pressure of a romantic relationship, that made her much more at ease with Korra. Korra had been concerned that Asami would be jealous that Korra had two lovers and Asami had none, but it did not turn out to be a problem...at least, until Korra and Asami had indulged in a night of quality "girl talk". Korra had spilled about her love life with Lin, as well as their sex life; how surprised Korra had been that Lin could be so gentle and attentive, and how Korra, to a degree that was impossible even with Mako, was completely comfortable being vulnerable in front of Lin. Asami hadn't been the problem; she was comfortable hearing about Korra's lovers now that she was comfortable being single and hers and Korra's friendship was back on track.

The problem was that Ikki had been eavesdropping at the door. She had gone to Tenzin with one crucial question: "Korra says she's 'getting laid'. What does that mean?"

This had resulted in the single most awkward moment of Korra's life. Fortunately, Tenzin had delegated the responsibility to Pema, but Korra got a talk about how her life—particularly her life as avatar—would change dramatically, and for the worse, if she were to become pregnant. Korra tried to brush off the conversation, but as it got more and more awkward—particularly as Pema began detailing things she could do with Mako without pregnancy being a risk—Korra finally blurted out that the person she was being intimate with was not Mako and, in fact, was physically incapable of impregnating her. (Not that she and Mako had done nothing, but Mako understood that Korra could not run the risk of getting pregnant and respected that. Not to mention Korra was much more comfortable being sexual with Lin than with Mako.)

Tenzin, upon finding this out from Pema, had immediately insisted upon meeting Korra's mysterious, older female lover. A time had been set up, and a place—the portico on Air Temple Island—for Tenzin to meet Korra's girlfriend and decide whether or not he approved. And of course, there was a strong implication that if Tenzin disapproved, Korra would not be allowed to see her lover again. Korra had called Lin secretly and asked if she should go ahead and tell Tenzin herself, but Lin didn't want her to have to go through that alone.

Lin got there very early. She had not slept well the night before and had agonized over what to wear, which was a strange experience for her. Growing up with Toph Bei Fong as a mother, she had never seen fit to care at all about her appearance. Her hair had started greying when she was in her mid thirties—mostly due to the stress of being police chief—and there were many people who tried to convince Lin to dye her hair back to black. She had scoffed at them. Once in a while, she enjoyed buying a high-quality garment for herself—she did have to attend ceremonies, and had to look presentable for that sort of thing—but the feminine desire to primp was almost completely alien to her. She thought Tenzin might be slightly less furious with her if she showed up trying to look nice. And there was the added benefit of dressing up for Korra, something she had never had the courage to do but had wanted to try.

She had decided to wear a gown that was a dark forest green color she knew Korra liked on her. The cut was form-fitting, but not inappropriate for a middle-aged woman. She hadn't had a chance to wear it in public. Lin also never wore makeup and had agonized over whether or not to do so that day, and had ended up choosing to put on a thin line of kohl on each eyelid.

Lin waited on the portico, drinking a cup of ginseng peppermint herbal tea to calm her nerves. Asami, who immediately gathered exactly what was going on, had been kind enough to make it for her. She wished she could drink something stronger, but she knew that would be a terrible idea. Eventually Tenzin walked in, and her hand tightened around her cup so hard she was afraid she would break it.

"Lin? What are you doing here?"

"You sent for me," said Lin coolly, pretending to be much calmer than she felt.

Tenzin blinked. "There must be some mistake."

Mercifully, Korra walked onto the balcony at that moment. Her face lit up, and seeing her expression immediately put Lin at ease. "Oh, Lin...did you dress up for me? You look beautiful!"

"Hello, Korra." Lin stood up. Korra ran to her and hugged her tightly. "It's good to see you."

Korra looked carefully at Lin's face. "Are you wearing makeup? I've never seen you wear makeup before."

Lin immediately regretted the decision to put the kohl on her eyelids. "Does it look foolish?"

Korra smiled. "No, I like it! It's subtle. You look gorgeous."

Lin wanted to kiss her.

"Lin...Korra...what is this?" Tenzin looked mortified.

"You wanted to meet the woman Korra is with. Well, she's here." Lin fought to keep her voice even. Korra slipped one hand into hers and squeezed gently.

Tenzin spluttered for a moment before he was able to get any words out. "Is this...is this a joke?"

"No, it's not a joke!" said Korra indignantly. "Come on, Tenzin, Pema's a lot younger than you."

"That's different," Tenzin insisted. "Lin—taking advantage of a seventeen-year-old girl? A young, innocent girl?"

"The age of consent in Republic City is sixteen!" Korra shot back. "And I'm not 'innocent!'"

"Korra, yes, you are. Somewhat." Lin gave Korra's hand a squeeze. "And Tenzin, if you must know, Korra was the one who approached me." Lin turned her head to face her lover. "I let her lead."

"And sometimes push," Korra confessed. "Really, Tenzin, she's not doing anything wrong. You don't know what I had to say to get her to take her bindings off."

Lin pressed two fingertips into her forehead. "Korra, that sort of thing is not going to help."

"I still feel kind of bad about how pushy I was about that," Korra confessed. "Lin isn't the one you need to worry about."

"I would never hurt Korra," Lin insisted. "My interest is not in taking advantage. It's much more...protective."

Tenzin folded his arms. "How long has this been going on?"

"You want me to take this one?" asked Korra gently, and Lin nodded. "It was the night I stayed with Lin after I'd escaped from Tarrlok. I noticed her ribs still needed healing, so I helped. And then I got...all weepy about being scared. She tried to make me feel better, said some really nice things..." Korra took a deep breath. "I always thought she was awesome, but I realized...um...I had feelings for her. I ended up kissing her. It was all my idea."

"So, Lin, what masterful, poetic things did you say to win Korra's heart?" Korra had never heard Tenzin talk like that, even when he caught her sneaking out or disobeying an order. He sounded like he was about to explode.

Lin's eyes were closed, as if in pain. "That I left the hospital even though I was still injured because I wanted to find her. And...that she was special."

"Come on, Tenzin, you dated her. You should, you know. Understand the appeal," Korra interjected; Lin winced. Korra sounded terribly worried and had obviously stopped thinking before she opened her mouth.

"Lin, I need to speak to you in private. Now."

Lin got up silently; Korra grabbed her arm. "Lin!"

"I can handle this. Just...stay here for a moment, honey." Lin dropped a chaste kiss on Korra's cheek. Tenzin looked ill.

"You call her 'honey'?"

"Sometimes," said Lin briefly. She followed Tenzin off the portico and into the hallway. As soon as they were out of Korra's hearing range, he wasted no time.

"Have you completely taken leave of your senses, Lin?"

"Korra loves me."

"I would have thought you would have the self-control to refuse her." Tenzin began pacing with his hands behind his back. Lin recognized that gesture. It was a bad sign.

"I care about Korra very much. There are few things I wouldn't do for her," said Lin loftily. She felt as though she were forcefully pulling the words out her own mind; if there was one thing Lin Bei Fong hated doing, it was talking about her feelings. Except to Korra.

Tenzin shook a finger at her. "She claims she was the one who first...showed interest. But you clearly were trying to get Korra to pay attention to you! Trying to find her while you were still injured—she probably thought that was heroic instead of stupid, didn't she?"

Lin's throat felt dry. Tenzin was completely right, of course, that Korra had made the first move, but Lin had had feelings for her before the night Korra first kissed her. "I was looking for my metalbenders too. It still hurts that I didn't get to them in time."

"Don't change the subject!" Tenzin shouted. "Why did you chase after Korra? Was it to horrify me? Because you knew I would hate it if you were involved with a seventeen-year-old who is the reincarnation of my father?"

Lin felt like slapping him. "Is it so hard to believe that I can do things without you entering into my thoughts?" she snapped. "Or is the thing you find hard to believe the fact that somebody actually wants to be with me? That Korra loves me?"

"Is that what you were trying to prove to me, then?" Tenzin demanded.

"I love her, all right!" Lin's voice rose to what was almost a scream. "I love Korra and I don't give a pigeon-rat's ass what you think of that. I know it's wrong. I know she's too young. And I know she's likely to lose interest within a few months. But she makes me happy."

Tenzin shook his head. "If you do love Korra, you'll understand why I have to do this." He stormed back onto the balcony. Lin followed, listening to Tenzin's completely unfair response to learning of hers and Korra's relationship. "Korra, you are confined to Air Temple Island. If your avatar duties take you off the island, then I or another escort will come with you. And you—Lin—you are banned from the island until further notice. Try to get here and the White Lotus will turn you away."

"That's not fair!" Korra shrieked, leaping to her feet. "That's not fair! You can't keep us apart! We're in love!"

"One day you'll understand why I'm doing this," Tenzin insisted.

"No, I won't! There's nothing wrong with two women being in love, or me being in love with Lin even though she's a lot older. And you can trust her!"

Lin went to Korra's side and touched her cheek lightly. "Korra..." she said brokenly.

"Lin." The avatar's eyes were full of tears. "Please don't leave me. Please don't leave me. I love you."

Lin took Korra into her arms, holding her tightly. "What gave you the impression that I would do that?"

Korra buried her sobs into Lin's shoulder.

"LIN!" Tenzin bellowed. "This is completely inappropriate! Let her go, now!"

"You would make me stop comforting a crying young woman?" Lin stroked Korra's back. "And you accuse me of unfairly using my relationship with Korra. And trust me, she's stronger than she looks, so you can't unwrap her arms from me. Both of us are staying right here."

Korra's sobs quieted after a short while. "I'm sorry. I was scared. I know you were worried about us..."

"I was. But I promised to be here for you." Lin kept one arm around Korra, turning to face Tenzin. "I hope you realize you are up against a Bei Fong and the avatar. You can't keep us apart."

"I love Lin," Korra declared fiercely, having recovered from her brief crying fit. "And you have to deal with it."

Lin kissed Korra goodbye (Tenzin looked like he wanted to blast her off the balcony with airbending) and left, tight-lipped and focused. It was only when she was on the ferry back to the mainland that the tears finally erupted and rolled down her face. Tenzin's words rang in her head: "This is completely inappropriate". He was right. Korra was too young for her. She deserved better. She was likely wrong about how much she cared about Lin, particularly how long they would be together.

But Lin had said she would be with Korra. If she broke up with Korra, then Korra would feel as if she could not lean on Lin for support as she recovered from her battle with Amon and her spiritual difficulties. Also, Korra was clearly still figuring out how she formed and handled romantic interactions. Lin was helping her figure out that she was polyamorous and, eventually, she would help Korra figure out that long-term relationships weren't her style.

With a heavy sigh, Lin leaned over the railing. Korra was so rebellious. Now that Tenzin didn't approve of Lin and Korra's relationship, would Korra's nature lead her to stay with Lin longer than she wanted just because it would stick in Tenzin's craw. Lin hoped not. If there was one experience in her life that she didn't want to repeat, it was being in a damned relationship with someone who wanted to leave her but, for whatever reason, didn't. Perhaps Lin would have to be the one to break it off.

She hoped not. She hoped neither of them would ever break it off.

Korra tried to convince her of that later that night; having already figured out how to sneak past the White Lotus guards, she snuck into Republic City and knocked frantically on Lin's door in the middle of the night. "I must say, I was surprised that you cried today. I haven't seen you so distressed since the night you escaped from Tarrlok," Lin whispered to Korra as the girl lay in her arms.

"There was this terrible look on your face, like you were ready to give up. I thought Tenzin had convinced you to dump me."

Not for the first time, Lin cursed her naturally expressive face. "I was upset that he had reacted just as terribly as I had feared. And it would have been nice for us to stay friends. Animosity is...wearying."

"He's wrong," Korra whispered. "I don't know why he doesn't understand you aren't...ugh, I hate even saying it...taking advantage of me."

"I'd imagine he has come to think of you almost as a daughter. What father would want to believe his daughter is responsible for getting into a relationship with someone thirty-three years her senior?"

Korra groaned. "I have no idea what my mom and dad are going to think. I think maybe my mom suspected I wasn't...only into guys. But the Southern Water Tribe isn't as...progressive as Republic City."

Lin closed her eyes. "I can't believe you think I'm worth all this trouble. If you're lucky enough to be capable of feelings for the opposite sex, why don't you act only on those?"

"It's your fault for being so badass and strong and gorgeous and sexy. I had no choice but to fall in love with you."

Lin sat up and stared at Korra, gobsmacked. "Korra, did you just refer to me as 'sexy'? Have you lost your mind completely? I couldn't be 'sexy' if my life and the lives of everyone I care about depended on it."

"Well, I think badassery and muscles and gorgeousness are sexy. So are your metalbending moves. I would bet at least half of Republic City wants in your pants." Korra grinned mischievously.

"Korra, shut up. That's disgusting." Lin sat up and turned away from Korra, her legs hanging over the side of the bed.

"Lin? Honey, I'm sorry...what's wrong?" Korra sat behind Lin with her arms wrapped around the taller woman's waist. "I'm just trying to tell you that you're beautiful."

"I'm not beautiful. You're beautiful. Asami is beautiful. Pema is beautiful." Lin sighed. "You know, growing up, I always thought being plain was a blessing. I didn't have to waste time worrying about how I looked because there was no hope of me looking...pretty. So why bother?"

Korra kissed Lin's shoulder. "Lin..."

"And before you start with any 'internal beauty' garbage...remember when you said that Tenzin would understand your attraction to me because he cared for me at one point?"

"Yeah."

"He pities you. He pities you for being stuck with me because he knows how brusque and uncaring and fucking impossible I am. He told me if I really love you, I will leave you, with the implication that I know...you deserve...better." Lin was gripping her own kneecaps so hard she would probably leave bruises later. "If I'm reinstated as police chief, I will not have much time to spend with you. I will forget important dates and times I've scheduled to be with you not because I don't care, but because my work made me forget. If I'm not reinstated, I'll feel at odds with the world and I'll be surly and frustrated. I said I wouldn't leave you, and I meant it. So I am giving you a chance to get out now."

Korra nuzzled Lin's neck gently. "Lin, maybe I don't know much about romance. But I do know about love. And it sounds like if I really love you, I'll stay with you so I can help you deal with everything, whether that ends up being getting used to being police chief again or getting used to not being police chief. I'm not going anywhere." Korra slid a hand under Lin's nightdress and up her side to cup one of her breasts.

"Korra, that is completely inappropriate."

"Yeah, well, that's what Tenzin said about us. So I guess I like being 'completely inappropriate'."

Lin sighed and twisted so she could rest her forehead against Korra's. "So do I."

A/N: I just envision Tenzin overreacting like WHOA, at least at first. He'll probably come around. Eventually.