Chapter 10:

With this is COVID-19 pandemic causing chaos, I have been able to get back to writing. And what better time to update this story than on the anniversary that it was published? Ok, so technically the anniversary was two days ago (April 9, 2019), but it still counts! I have also been asked if this story will continue into the comics, and the short answer is... I'm not sure. I have read all the comics (They are fantastic! Go check them out!), I can come up with a good plot line off the top of my head, but I'm not sure if I can pull it off with my completely fanmade book after Book 4. I'll let you guys decide. What do you think? If I get 10+ comments asking me to write short fanfics for the comics, then I will! But without further adieu, Chapter 10!

Lin groaned as she woke up.

She tensed when she noticed she wasn't in her apartment, but then she almost facepalmed herself when she remembered that she wasn't in Republic City. She was in her sister's city, Zaofu, because she had to protect the Avatar from the Red Lotus, but Korra wanted to look for airbenders and one of those airbenders was surprisingly her niece. Thinking about Opal made her sad. She had yelled at her last night because her headaches had been awful and she couldn't help getting frustrated. Wait. Was it last night?

Lin took the towel that she just realized was there off of her forehead, got out of bed, and walked into the living room portion of their room. Their room. Lin smiled when she saw Emi sitting on the couch in said room pouring tea into a cup. She was wearing her Zaofu robes again, and, Lin had to admit, looked pretty good in them. They clung to her figure, and the green made her already green eyes glow like a dozen, polish emeralds. They also looked very comfortable as Emi laid her back against the back of the couch.

Emi looked up when she heard the door to the bedroom opening. When she saw the smile on Lin's face, she beamed back. "Are you feeling better?" Emi asked as Lin came and sat down next to her.

"I haven't felt this good since our last day off," Lin smirked when Emi's cheeks turned bright red. Lin pressed a kiss to her heated cheek which caused them to grow even more red. Lin thought it was adorable.

Emi cleared her throat. "Do you want some tea? It's freshly brewed."

"I'd love some," Lin said as Emi got out another cup. As she poured, Lin sighed. "Look Emi, I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I've been really insensitive and grumpy, more than usual, and you shouldn't have had to deal with that. What I'm trying to say is -"

She was cut off when Emi pressed her lips against hers in a needy kiss. Lin had forgotten how good kissing felt, and she loved the way Emi had aggressively dug her fingers into Lin's hair and was definitely holding on. Emi pulled away just as fast as she had started the kiss, and smirked at Lin's surprised face. The disappointed moan that came from between Lin's lips made her smirk wider.

"I love you," Emi finished Lin's statement for her. "I was never angry at you, but just a little disappointed. Su deserved a beating, but Opal didn't. I'm happy you see your mistakes, but I'm not the person you should be apologizing to." Lin downcasted her eyes, and Emi handed her the cup of tea. They drank in silence until Lin casted a sideways look at the clock near the entrance door. She almost choked when she saw how late it was.

"How long was I asleep?!" Lin cried in shock.

"Probably a little over half a day," Emi said before she thought it over. "Yeah, after that fight with Su and after you passed out, I took you here, put you to bed, and I've been sitting here since late afternoon yesterday."

"Oh my spirits," Lin gasped, "I've never slept that long before."

"You never sleep, that's why you slept that long," Emi said. "Your body was craving it."

"I can tell you another couple things that my body is craving," Lin smiled as she looked at Emi under her eyelashes and sipped at her tea. Again, Emi blushed, and fumbled in her head for a change in the subject.

"Oh, and Song called me this morning," Emi said.

"Oh?" Lin asked, immediately being drawn out of her playful mood at the mention of work.

"You're not going to like what happened," Emi cringed. "The Red Lotus were in Republic City, and caused a massive car chase."

"Even after all the measures were put in place to protect the city from them?" Lin asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Emi said. "Song described to me that they had tried to get out of the city by threatening this guy with a delivery truck over Kyoshi Bridge. They got to the security gate, and the man they had threatened freaked and ran. They opened the back to find the Red Lotus before being blown backwards. The Red Lotus drove away across Kyoshi bridge, and our men pursued. All cars went down either to that Combustion Bender, P'li, or the Lavabender, Ghazan. 12 officers in the hospital, and one dead."

"Oh no," Lin whispered as she sat back on the couch and put her hand over her eyes. "Who's dead?'

"No one we know very well," Emi said. "Song said it was a guy named Chu, who got melted alive by lava after going too fast and driving right into the pool. The officers who had been able to get out of the car with just a couple burns said that he kept saying "I'm a hero" and "they'll tell stories about my heroicness". They also said he was a selfish jerk that almost got them killed, so he probably won't be missed. Has no family that we can contact. When he first signed with us and we asked about family contacts, he said that he worked alone. The idiot."

"He still died even if he technically committed ridiculous suicide," Lin frowned. "This trip keeps getting better and better."

"There is nothing you could have done," Emi assured her. "You wouldn't have been out there anyways. Why would you go out to check a small security gate that went on to the bridge and not off of it? Besides, we got news about their whereabouts. The last person who spotted them said they were driving towards the middle of the Earth Kingdom. I doubt they can get to us even if someone tells them our exact location. This place is built in. There is no way to get in unless you fly over the extremely tall dome bases, or go through the tram system but they wouldn't be foolish enough to do that with all national leaders looking for them."

"I hope you're right," Lin said as she scratched her chin in thought. Emi watched her and smirked.

"Since you're in such a playful mood," Emi started as she took Lin's cup out of her grip, and set it on the table next to her's. "I'm going to ask you something." She crawled on top of Lin until her hips and legs were stradling her's. It was Lin's turn to blush as Emi's hands traveled up her strong abs and caressed the muscles.

"And what would that be?" Lin asked and she sounded more confident then she was. On the inside she was shaking and sweating, but on the outside she stood as still and emotionless as a statue as Emi played around.

"Could you… possibly…" Emi began as her hand started to snake, gently, around Lin's neck. All of sudden she retracted her hands and reached behind Lin and behind the couch. "Wear this?" Emi finished with a pleading look in her eye. Lin almost choked again when she saw what Emi was holding.

It was a set of Zaofu robes. It had a pale green, long sleeved undershirt, a grey short sleeved undershirt that went on top of the green shirt, and a black, sleeveless robe that went over everything. It also had a necklace of metal plates that Lin looked at as possibly being dangerous, and a set of grey sweatpants that were the same color as the short sleeved undershirt. She looked up at Emi with an expression that said you've-got-to-be-kidding-me, but the pleading look in Emi's eyes made her give up her stubborn ways too easily. "Fine," Lin said. "But I don't know if I'll look good in it."

"Yes!" Emi squealed as she hopped up from Lin's lap before extending her hand to help Lin up. "You will look good in this, trust me. Is a makeover pushing it over the line?"

"Definitely," Lin stated as Emi dragged her into their bedroom. Emi helped her get out of her tank top and sweatpants, and into the robes. Lin picked up her hair, so Emi could fasten the necklace around her neck as they stood in front of a full length mirror. Lin had been right about them being comfortable. The fabric used for the robes was probably more expensive than the stuff that Republic City used to make the Police gear. It was breathable and light, which, Lin guessed, was how Su was able to flip and spin when it looked like she had tons of heavy fabric on. Emi looked into the mirror to adjust the necklace so it looked perfect. She squealed excitedly again before hugging Lin around the waist. Lin smiled at how excited she was. If just this was enough to get her excited then Lin wished she had done it long ago. They both tensed when they felt the feet of three people walking up to the front door of their temporary home through their new, earth sensitive shoes (Lin thought they were pretty cool). The two officers looked at each other before walking quietly back into the living room. They stayed perfectly still as they heard one of the people speak.

"Who's going to knock?"

Emi laughed underneath her breath as the Avatar spoke outside. Lin just rolled her eyes. You would have thought that these kids would have worked out how to be sneaky. The sound of stumbling feet and Bolin's stuttering could be heard.

"No, no, no, not me!" Bolin cried as he stepped back. Apparently Korra had pushed him towards the door, but he was too scared to knock. "You're the Avatar, why can't you do it?"

"They're still scared of me," Lin whispered to Emi.

"After how you attacked Su, I'm not surprised," Emi smirked as Lin glared at her.

Korra hesitated before answering. "Uh, I can, but I just thought that you…"

"I'll do it," Mako said with annoyance before two knocks could be heard at the door. The door creaked a little like extra weight was being put on it. Lin and Emi obviously recognized that Mako had put his ear to the door like a good cop, but they weren't here to reward good behavior. Devious smiles spread across both their faces as they walked towards the closed door without making a sound. "Uh Chief?" Mako said as Emi and Lin got up close to the door. "You've been sleeping for 16 hours." Lin took a hold of the handle, and Emi was trying so hard not to laugh. "We just wanted to make sure you were okay." Lin yanked the door open, and Mako gave a cry of surprise before falling into their room. Emi let loose her laugh, and Lin just stared down at the detective with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Don't you know that you shouldn't be so loud around a Police Chief's residence?" Lin said as her smile grew and her eyes narrowed.

"We heard… you're entire… conversation," Emi gasped as she tried to catch her breath. "Oh that was fun."

Mako looked up at his boss and colleague as an embarrassed blush spread across his cheeks. Emi, who was still giggling under her breath, reached down to help Mako up. Emi's smile faltered when she saw the surprised looks that were on Korra and Bolin's faces. She then looked at Mako who too was looking with surprise over her shoulder. She followed their gaze to Lin, who was looking at the teenagers with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh," Emi figured it out. "I got her into Zaofu robes!"

"Oh," Lin said too as she looked down at her robes. "Yeah, this was not my choice."

"But you look absolutely fabulous," Emi said as she stepped out of the room, but not before giving Lin a wink. Lin followed her, and closed the door to their room on her way out. Lin gave the three teenager's surprised faces a smirk as she persuaded her excited girlfriend. Bolin, Korra, and Mako stayed silent as they walked away, and just exchanged glances.

"What do you want to do?" Emi asked as she skipped down the street.

"I don't know," Lin said as she scratched her chin in thought. She gave a cough, and her dry throat made her decision for her. "I am craving a thirst quenching drink, however." Emi didn't need to hear it twice before she took Lin's arm, and ran to the Beifong Estate. They had coincidentally bumped into the cook that they had met before in one of the hallways, and he told them he had just made a smoothie out of boredom that Lin could try if she was up for something new. Lin told him to hit her with his best shot before he laughed and told them to wait for him in the Beifong dining room. They only had to wait for about thirty seconds before he returned. He set a glass in front of both of the officers.

"What is it?" Emi asked as she picked up her glass.

"I call it the Kale Nutsco," the cook told her. "It's a mixture of kale, coconut water, and walnuts." Emi smiled with satisfaction at the answer before she and Lin took a drink. Emi took a sip of it, and her smile widened at how good it tasted. She then looked at Lin, and her jaw dropped when she saw Lin's glass was empty.

"Not bad," Lin smiled at the cook, and laughed at Emi's shocked expression.

"Is there anything else I can get for you ladies?" The cook asked as he smiled at the compliment.

"I don't believe so, thank you," Emi said before he gave them a bow, and left the room. She was about to take another sip when she heard voices outside. She couldn't see anyone, but they appeared to be close. The cook was talking to someone outside, and Emi recognized the other voice. Lin apparently did too because she looked at Emi with an uneasy expression. "You're good with Hisa. How is this any different?"

"She's older and smarter," Lin complained under her breath, so it would be hard for Opal to hear them. "Plus I don't know her all that well."

"Then get to know her," was all Emi could say before someone came into their view.

Opal stopped at the doorway, realized Lin was in there, and then tried to make her escape. One look at Emi's glaring face, and Lin knew what she wanted. "Opal don't go," Lin said as kindly as she could. She knew she didn't just scare Team Avatar, but she had scared her own niece, which felt worse than she had expected. She wanted to make it right for Opal, and Emi. "Please sit down. I want to talk to you."

Opal looked down at her feet without saying a word, and sat down in the seat next to Lin that Emi wasn't occupying. Lin sucked in a deep breath, and Emi took another sip of her drink to look like she wasn't paying attention, before talking.

"Look, I'm just not comfortable talking about these kinds of things," Lin started as she played with her hands to distract herself from her nerves. "And… well… I wanted to say I'm sorry about the other night."

"It's okay," Opal said in a small voice, but her expression said otherwise.

"Your mother and I have a complicated relationship, and…"

"It's probably difficult for you to be here," Opal finished Lin's unsaid thought.

"You're a smart, young woman," Lin said as she smiled at her niece. "And an excellent airbender. I think it would be a wonderful opportunity for you to train with the other airbenders at the Northern Air Temple."

"There's a part of me that wants to go," Opal confessed, "But I don't want to upset my mom."

"When I was younger, all I wanted to do was please my mother," Lin confessed herself as she looked down at the table she was resting her arms on. "I became a Police Chief because I thought it would make her happy, but it didn't." Lin looked up at Opal with every ounce of seriousness in her voice. "You need to make decisions based on what you want. Don't make the same mistake I did." Opal surprised both officers as she got up and gave Lin a hug. Lin hugged her back immediately, and had trouble not rolling her eyes when Emi winked at her.

"I'm going to go tell my mom right now," Opal cried excitedly before running out of the room. Lin smiled as she left, and Emi was about to say something along the lines of "I told you so" before Opal ran back in. "Oh and before I forget," She said, "Who's Hisa?"

Lin's eyes widened, and Emi laughed. "You got some good ears, kid," The Captain said.

"I've been known for being a good eavesdropper," Opal blushed with embarrassment. "You don't have to answer if you're offended."

"We're not offended," Lin assured her. "Hisa is a little orphan girl, who we saved in Republic City during UnaVaatu's attack. We fostered her for a couple of months after the incident until we learned that she and her school friend… oh what was his name?"

"Jun," Emi immediately answered.

"Yes, thank you," Lin responded, "Were airbenders like you. Poor Jun was also an orphan, so we worked it out so that he and Hisa could train under Tenzin, who is the only master of Airbending in the world…"

"And the biggest Airhead in the world," Emi chuckled.

"And so," Lin continued as she glared at Emi, "You will probably meet them when you go to the Northern Air Temple."

"Oh wow, that's so nice of you," Opal said.

"Well it wasn't like we were going to teach her airbending," Emi smiled. "And no one here can teach you everything there is to know about airbending, so I suggest you get your parents on board."

"I will," Opal said before she, for the second time, ran out of the room.

Lin and Emi waited for a little bit to make sure she had gone before Emi punched Lin in the shoulder.

"Ow, what was that for?" Lin asked in alarm as she rubbed her aching shoulder.

"That was for not believing in yourself," Emi said. She then pulled Lin across the gap their chairs made, and kissed her with all her might. After pulling away from the now dazed Lin, Emi continued her thought. "And that was for making things up with Opal."

"I was being a bastard," Lin stated as she got up from her chair. "She deserves an apology. The life advice was just a bonus."

"Speaking of your life advice," Emi said as she scratched her chin. "Did you really only become a Police Chief because of your mother."

"That was the original goal," Lin confessed. "With Su and I fighting for her attention I decided that if mom couldn't come to me, I would go to her. I thought that if I helped her out, she would notice me and be proud of me… it didn't work. When she retired and her opinion wasn't the main thing I had to worry about, I realized just how important and fun my job could be. I took it for granted up until that point, and I've been a better woman ever since." Emi got up from her chair too, and straightened out Lin's necklace again.

"Your mother might not have been proud of you, but I certainly am," Emi said as she placed a kiss to Lin's cheek. Lin smiled at her.

"That means a lot," Lin stated. "Thank you."

"I bet it was hard being the daughter of the great Toph Beifong," Emi admitted. "I don't even know what she looks like."

"Neither does she," Lin said. "And neither do I actually. I only remember the mother I knew in my childhood who always came home in her uniform, ate the dinner Su or I made, and then went to bed. We were lucky if we ever got three words out of her when she came home after work. She was always so tired."

"In her legends that I read she was always described as being tiny but mighty," Emi giggled. "Luckily you didn't get that trait."

"She actually was taller than me when I was in my 20s," Lin said. "She went on a hill of height. She started out small, grew up, then got small again in her old age. I can't believe she's still alive."

"When was the last time you saw her?" Emi asked.

"About 17 years ago I think," Lin said as she tapped her temple in thought.

"That's too long," Emi said, "I wouldn't be able to go a year of not seeing my mom or dad, which reminds me! We still need to go on our vacation to the Fire Nation."

"Oh no," Lin grumbled, "I hoped you had forgotten!"

"Nope, you are meeting my parents Lin!" Emi laughed as she started to walk out of the room. "I've told them too much about you for them not to meet you."

"Wait, what?" Lin asked in alarm. "Please tell me you didn't. What did you tell them?"

"All good things don't worry," Emi said as she stopped at the doorway to the room. She gave Lin a sexy smirk before saying: "I'm going on a walk around the estate. You are welcome to join me." She swung her hips in her tight fitting robes, and walked out of sight. Lin gulped at the display, and couldn't help but actually run after her.

They walked around the boundary of the estate. Emi showed Lin everything she had seen and learned when she had been out and about with Beifong kids the day that Lin took a sick day. She showed her how to hit a power disc, how to make a metal sculpture with Huan, and how much fun bending meteorites were. It took them a couple of hours to get around the estate with their frequent stops, and Lin decided to make one more. She had suddenly walked off the sidewalk, and Emi didn't question and just followed. Lin stopped in front of a statue that stood tall in the afternoon sun.

Emi watched as Lin looked up into the statue's face without a word of explanation. Emi followed her movements, looked up at the statue. It was of a woman that was wearing what looked to be old fashioned Zaofu robes, and her hair was in a large, tight bun. She stood proudly with one hand on her hip, and her feet spread shoulder width apart. Although she looked to be made out of silver colored iron, she now looked more brown than silver. Rust was spreading over her, especially on her bottom half. Her feet looked like they were turning red. She was standing on a metal pedestal that was made of shiny steel and bronze. The pedestal itself stood almost as tall as the actual statue, and seemed to be in better condition. The one thing about the statute that seemed to stay in better condition than the pedestal was her face. Her bangs cascaded over her eyes, and Emi wondered how this woman would have been able to see with them blocking her view. That's when it hit her.

"This is your mother, isn't it?" Emi asked her silent Lin.

"Yeah," Lin said with a sigh, "I've seen multiple statues just like this all over the city, and it confuses me. Sure mom did great things, but she wasn't a great mother. I don't know why Su praises her so much."

"That's because I love her, Lin."

The two officers turned to see Su coming up behind them. Su had a smile on her face, so Emi guessed that the talk with Opal had gone well.

"Uh, hi…" Lin said as Su came to stand next to them.

"Hi," Su said as she looked knowingly between the two women. "I put up these statues to not show how great of a mother she was, but to show how much her achievements benefited the world. Plus she's our mother, and we wouldn't be here without her."

"I guess that's fair enough," Lin sighed as she looked back up at the statue.

"Opal has decided to go to the Northern Air Temple," Su changed the subject. "I'm guessing you two had something to do with her decision."

"Well we were just…" Lin started defensively, but Su cut her off immediately.

"It's okay," Su assured her sister, "I'm glad she was honest with me. I want her to do what makes her happy." Su's smile faltered as she too took her turn at looking up at the statue. "Mom gave us too much freedom, but I feel like I've made the mistake of giving Opal too little. I think it's time I let her choose her own way." Su closed her eyes like the truth of her words were painful. She opened them again before directly addressing Lin. "I'm sorry that I gave you such a hard time when we were younger. I can't imagine what my life would have been like if Mom hadn't sent me away. If I had stayed in the city."

"You would probably be in prison," Lin stated matter-a-factly.

"You're probably right," Su laughed. "Mako told me that you two are excellent at your jobs. Republic City is lucky to have you. I know Mom is proud."

"She doesn't even know me," Emi scoffed as she watched Lin look back up at the statue with a longing look.

"You'd be surprised," Su said with a sneaky grin. "She always finds a way to hear all the gossip in the world. She was actually the one who told me about you before you arrived. She told me about all the times that you almost got into a fight with the President of the United Republic. Especially about the time that you almost got fired for defending Lin's job." Emi could do nothing but gape at Su words. Lin shook her head in surprise and asked the question for her girlfriend.

"How did she know all that?"

"She said something about seeing through vines in her letters," Su said as she scratched her head in confusion, "But I have no idea what that means."

"I'm afraid I don't either," Lin sighed as she closed Emi's gaping mouth manually. Su giggled at the action.

"Can we move on?" Su asked Lin like the question had been burning in her mind for a while. "I'd love for you to be a part of my life again. There is plenty of room for you guys in the house, and the kids would love having their Aunt around. I do need a co-director for my new dance performance."

"Woah Su, leave some Lin for the rest of us," Emi laughed as she hugged Lin's arm and pretended to look protective and intimidating.

"I appreciate the offer," Lin said as she placed her hand over Emi's arms that hugged her. "But I still have a job to do, and I know I'm not ready for retirement just yet. How about for now I just promise not to show up at your house and attack you again?"

"Deal," Su as she extended her hand out. Lin took a hold, and shook. The smile on Lin's sunlit face was nothing more than beautiful as Emi saw the sibling rivalry finally disappear. Emi couldn't hold back her excitement. The Beifong sisters gave a yell of surprise as Emi scooped them both up into a big huge. Their feet weren't touching the floor, and it felt like their ribs were suffocating their lungs.

"This is one of the best days ever!" Emi cried with excitement as she put them down. "Besides when you agreed to date me, or when we moved in together, or when we met Hisa, or when we…" She was cut off when she punched something out of the air that had been millimeters from hitting Lin in the head. She metalbent it into her hands, and noticed it was a Power Disc. As if on cue, Wei and Wing peeked around the bush to find their Disc, but stopped dead when they saw their mother, their aunt, and Emilia staring back at them. Emi smirked at their terrified faces before sending the disc back their way. They blocked it and laughed as they sent it back in her direction. She caught it, and ran after them with it shouting things along the lines of "You're so busted!". Su laughed as the older woman went off chasing her youngest sons.

"You're lucky to have that girl," Su told her sister.

"I know," Lin sighed lovingly as she watched Emi start a 2 vs 1 Power Disc match in the courtyard.