Here it is guys, the next chapter!

First things first. Thank you all so much for the views, faves, and follows. I can't even begin to tell you how much it mean to me.

Also I'm sorry it took so long, I was having a hard time trying to keep everyone in character.

And as always please let me know what it was like. I love reviews and feedback.

Unexpected Joys

The ride over to the restaurant was, to say the least, uncomfortably quiet. After the awkward compliments, conversation was hard pressed.

"I didn't notice earlier with the crazy chase, but since when have you owned a Sato Mobile?" Korra said trying to make small talk.

"It was a gift from President Raiko." Lin replied curtly.

"Oh, I see..." the calmness returned.

'What do I do? This silence is killing me! I mean it's not like we've ever actually "hung" out together.' Korra peered over to Lin who seemed unperturbed by the quiet. This was an unprecedented phenomenon. The Avatar was at a loss for words.

Words always came easy to her. Whether it was chatting with Tenzin and Pema's kids, messing around with Mako and Bolin, even Varrick and Zhu Li were easier to talk to. Her spirited personality and gung-ho attitude always won her that battle. But the Chief was a different story and Korra had no idea how to handle it.

'I don't know how much longer I can take this. How is it that she can stay so quiet? Korra was fidgeting uncontrollably. Lin took notice of this.

"What's got you acting like kangaroo rabbit?"

"Huh? Oh...I...uh... Just looking forwards to dinner." Korra gave her biggest grin.

Lin cocked an eyebrow at the strange behaviour but decided to let it slide.

Blue eyes full of curiosity, Korra asked, "So where are we going?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Come on. Pretty please?" Korra unleashed her secret weapon.

Lin could just feel the look she was getting from Korra. 'She's doing that thing with the eyes isn't she?' Lin had encountered them many a time, especially when she had booked Korra on multiple occasions for damaging property. She was beginning to see the reason why Cabbage Corp really had a thing against the Avatar.

"Those polar-dog puppy eyes may work on Mako and Bolin, but not on me Avatar."

Korra would not yield.

Lin was thanking the spirits that she was driving and had to focus on the road, or those damnable eyes would have caused her to falter.

"Look we're here so you can stop with the look already"

"Already? Wow, that was quick." said Korra looking up to see where they were going to dine for the night.

"The Jasmine Dragon?!" Korra could not believe her eyes. She turned towards Lin with mouth wide open and began pointing furiously at the restaurant. Lin just nodded her head at the puzzled girl, thus putting to rest any doubts the Avatar had. Not in a million years did Korra expect the Chief to take her here.

"Jeez Chief, what's the special occasion? You're not dying are you?" Korra's tone was a mix of jest and seriousness.

"No, I am not dying." Lim dismissed Korra's nonsensical assumptions. "You said you wanted to go for dinner, so I'm taking you out for dinner."

"I know what I said, but I was thinking of a place like a family restaurant, not the fanciest place in all of Republic City. How'd you even get a reservation? Isn't this place always fully booked?

"When you're the Chief of Police, you get certain, uh...privileges." Lin said with an ever so slight smile as she walked towards the entrance.

"Hey Chief, wait up." called Korra running as best she could in her heels. High-heels weren't exactly something the White Lotus covered in her training.

"Hurry up Avatar, we haven't got all night."

Korra caught up to Lin while she was talking with the maitre d'. Korra had her first glimpse of the esteemed facility. The whole place oozed quality. The walls were painted beige with dark wooden slats accenting the walls in the most elegant of ways. The chandeliers that decorated the rooms gave off a low and warm light. Finishing it off was the music humming throughout the building. Tie all of that together and you get a vibe that made you feel comfortable whilst remaining true to its refinement. The Jasmine Dragon really did live up to its fame.

"Are you going to join me, or do you want to stand there staring like an owl-cat for the night?"

"This place is insane! Just look at all the details in...in...in like everything." Korra chimed while following Lin.

A waiter escorted them to their table.

"May I take your order?" the waiter asked politely.

"I'll have the chateaubriand with whatever wine the chef recommends."

Korra then took a look at the menu. All she saw was a mass confusion of letters and couldn't make head or toe of what was what.

"Uhhhh, I'll have what she's having." Korra said gesturing towards Lin. The waiter, having taken their orders, took his leave.

"I hope whatever you're having is good, cause I'm starving."

"It should satisfy your needs, Avatar. It's what I always order when I come here and they've impressed every time."

"Wait. You come here on a regular basis?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh, no. It's just that I never really took you for the kind of person to, you know, enjoy this." Korra said while gesturing to everything around her.

"What could possibly give you that idea?"

"Let's be honest here, Chief. You're not exactly an easy person to get to know." Lin tightened her brow at the comment. "And that's another thing," Korra pointed at Lin's face, "You always look like you want to beat somebody to a pulp. It makes it super difficult for anybody to approach you."

Lin was about to give Korra an earful, but instead she reclined in her chair. Pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out the longest sigh of the day.

"I suppose you're right, Avatar." Lin said admittedly.

"Korra."

Lin just looked blankly at the young girl saying her own name.

"It's Korra. Just call me Korra. Not "Avatar, or "kid" or anything else, just Korra. And I'll call you Lin."

The older woman's brow furrowed as she contemplated the Avatar's request. Picking up on her hesitancy Korra furthered her point.

"Using our titles with each other at the dinner table is weird. Besides, you're off the clock so it's fine." Korra had her arms crossed and a look of determination on her face.

Seeing the she wasn't going to win, Lin gave in to the tanned girl.

"Hmmmmmm...Fine, I don't see a problem with using our first names. But, only when we're not on duty, understood, Korra?"

The mention of her name brought the biggest grin to Korra's face. She hadn't expected the Chief to relent so easily. Not that she was complaining.

"No problem, Lin." was Korra's cheery reply.

The rest of the evening went by without any major event. The food was good, although Korra could have done with a bit more of it. The music wasn't really up her alley, but Lin seemed to really enjoy smooth sounds of the piano and saxophone mix. Both Lin and Korra had opened up more to each other. They touched on topics, like Lin's love for music and how she developed a taste for it, how Korra's training was going, what Su and everybody back at Zhao Fu were up to, and, their favourite, how uptight Tenzin was.

"You know what Lin?"

"What?" replied Lin smiling slightly through her glass of wine.

"I've had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you for taking me out."

"This was your idea so I don't know why you're thanking me." Korra gave off a sheepish grin at the comment.

"But I will admit Korra; it's been a long time since I've wound down like this. Thank you for the uh...opportunity, if you can call forcing me to take you out to dinner an opportunity."

"Hey, it was a fair trade. I helped you nab the bad guys," she made a one-two jabbing motion, "You treat me to dinner."

Lin couldn't help but smile at the girl in front of her. She looked like she'd fit right in with any high-class socialite group, but her actions were, to say the least, far from elegant. But that was just how Korra was. Anybody who knew the Water-tribe girl could testify that her bravado and over the top behaviour was part of her charm, although it did help having a smile that could knock you off your feet.

"Excuse me ma'am." came a waiter's rather shaky voice. "It's getting rather late and we need to close down for the night."

Looking up, Lin noticed how late it had gotten. The two ladies had lost track of time and talked the night away. So taking the timid waiter's "request" Lin decided it was about time to take Korra home.

After paying for the food, they left the Jasmine Dragon stepping out into the night air. The wind had a chill to it.

"That was great!" exclaimed Korra stretching her arms above her head. "Thanks for the meal, Lin."

Lin replied nonchalantly, "Don't mention it. Now it's about time we get you home."

"Whaaaat?" came a whine, "Come on, the night is still young."

"The night may be young, but Tenzin would talk my ear off if I kept you out all night." Lin said with no room for play in her words. She wasn't going to budge on this.

Seeing that Lin wasn't going to budge Korra yielded. "Fine." came a rather defeated sounding Avatar.

"I'm glad you finally see my side of things. Now let's get going."

As soon as she had turned her back, Korra took off around the corner.

"But only if you can catch me!"

"Korra! Wait!"

Seeing as Korra wasn't going to listen, Lin "gave chase". Rounding the corner she caught a glimpse of her heading into the nearby park, knowing Korra, she probably took off her heels, which would explain the huge gap between the two. Following in her footsteps, Lin decided barefoot was the best way to catch the Avatar. Heading into the park she had lost sight of Korra.

'Where is that kid?'

Not seeing anything, Lin went for her seismic sense. Taking in a deep breath and closing her eyes, Lin slammed her foot into the ground. Unnoticeable to most, vibrations were sent flying all throughout the surrounding area, bouncing off any and every thing sending back signals letting her know where every little thing was. Tightening her eyes, she searched for anything Korra shaped. There it was! About a hundred feet from where Lin was standing in a small clearing, there was Korra sitting?

'What is she planning?' Lin thought to herself as she approached the clearing. "Korra why must you make my life so difficult?" she asked as she came up behind the girl who was sitting on a small wooden bench.

"Isn't the sky so beautiful?

"What do you mean? It's the same as every other night."

Korra let off a small chuckle, "I suppose you're right. Come on; sit with me for a bit."

"Korra." Lin's voice had a warning tone to it.

"It's just for a little while. This is my last request, I promise. Then I'll do everything you say like an obedient little girl."

Lin just gave her a sceptical look.

"Avatar's Honour." Korra said holding her right hand up.

"Fine, but only for five minutes."

Korra scooted over a little for Lin, who then proceeded to take a seat and stare up at the cloud littered sky. Just then, a strong and chilly gust of wind flew through the clearing, sending shivers down Lin's spine. Korra, noticing the goosebumps that covered Lin's arms, leaned over rested against her body.

"Can I help you, Korra?"

"No, but I can help you." A goofy grin covered her dark skinned face.

"Excuse me?"

"You looked like you were cold so I'm helping you out. You get used to this kind of weather when you live in the South Pole." Korra said as she snuggled up closer to Lin, leaning her head on her companion's shoulder.

Lin's whole body tensed at the sudden close proximity, but began to relax as her body was enveloped by warmth.

Korra couldn't put a finger on it, but at this very moment she just felt so... Comfortable and at ease with Lin. Looking up, she had a chance to really look at her. She'd never really noticed it, but gazing at the contours of her face, Lin was really beautiful. Korra's eyes drifted to the two claw-like marks on Lin's cheek. She liked the scar that Lin sported on her cheek; it gave her that badass look. In contrast to the hardened look, her lips looked full and soft; alluring was the only way to describe them. Tying it all up was a strong, feminine jaw-line and green eyes that could suppress any rebellious notions of your heart; you get the perfect mix of beauty, scary, badass, and womanly, all in one iron clad package. The Chief of Police and Protector of Republic City, Lin Beifong.

"Is there something on my face?" Lin's words broke Korra out of her admiration.

Turning her eyes to stare at the floor, "Oh! I, ah... no, sorry." Korra was blushing violently and was half expecting Lin to get up and start the walk back to her Sato Mobile. Instead, Korra felt a soft pressure on the top of her head. It was Lin's head leaning on top of her brown mess of hair. Korra tensed at the sudden touch, but relaxed into Lin even more.

"This is nice." Korra mumbled into Lin's shoulder.

Lin didn't understand why she felt so relaxed with Korra, but she couldn't agree more. They just sat there for what seemed like hours, not saying a single word, feeling happy just being in each other's company.

Korra was dosing off, and Lin could tell. So before the Avatar could be completely taken over by slumber, Lin decided it was time to get Korra home.

"Let' go Korra, you're falling asleep."

"No I'm not. I'm perfectly." Lin could see through the half closed eyes that was obviously a lie.

"No you're not. Come on, I don't feel like carrying you back to the Sato Mobile." Lin stood up instantly missing the warmth that Korra brought her. "Besides, Tenzin is going to kill you if get back after curfew."

Yawning loudly, Korra stood up. "Curfew was like two hours ago, so he's probably gonna flip his head anyway.

"Still, it's best we don't add any fuel to the fire, and get you home now." Lin had started walking back towards the restaurant.

Silently acknowledging the Chief's idea, she walked back with Lin.

The drive to the docks was silent, but all the awkwardness from the earlier ride had completely disappeared. They settled into a comfortable silence. Arriving at the docked ferry, the women disembarked and prepared to bid each other good night. Standing at the bottom of the ferry's ramp stood two very rigid looking ladies unsure of how to proceed.

"Korra, thank you for tonight." Lin extended a hand.

Korra didn't know what she wanted Lin to do, but she was positive that a handshake wasn't what she had in mind. Staring at the hand outstretched to her, she hesitantly took it.

"N-No problem Lin, I had fun." Korra smiled as best she could to try hide her disappointment.

When the handshake had ended, Lin motioned to take her hand away, but was stopped by Korra who had maintained her grip. The two just stood there connected. Korra was looking at the ground and Lin was staring at the girl with a confused look. She didn't want to let go.

"I don't want tonight to end like this, anything but this." Korra's words were a whisper, Lin could barely hear them.

Using their still clasped hands she pulled herself closer to Lin. Her heart was racing and she felt as if though her whole body was on fire. As Korra's tan lips met with soft pink ones, she felt a surge of electricity surge though her body. As soon as it had started it had ended, and Korra was running up the ramp.

Shouting out as she ran, "Good night, Lin! We should do this again." The final horn for departure had sounded and Korra was on her way back to Air Temple Island.

Lin just stood there in shock. Did that actually happen? Ten minutes passed until it finally sunk in. Korra had just kissed her, it was only a graze, but she definitely kissed her. Lin didn't know what to do, so she just got back to her Sato Mobile and drove home. After a hot shower and a change into more comfortable clothes, Lin plopped herself onto the couch in her living room. It had been a long day for the metal-bender. Sighing as she gazed up at the ceiling, Lin started replaying the events of the whole evening in her head, trying to rationalize what Korra had done. But before she could make any head-way the day's stress had caught up to her, enveloping her whole body in slumber.

Finally, she got to rest her weary mind.

Soooooooo... How was that?

I think the next chapter may be my last one for this story. Then it's a go on the other stories, yay!

Expect the next chapter to come out in the next two weeks. Thanks.