Fools in Love:
A Spark in the Rain
Knock, knock, knock!
"Chief!" A young woman's voice called.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Chief!"
Knock, knock, knock!
"Open up Chief!"
Knock, knock, knock!
Lin woke to the sound of somebody pounding on her door and calling for her during a rain storm. She immediately shot out of bed and ran down the hall to her front door.
"Are you awake Chief? Hurry up!" The voice said as it's owner continued her frantic knocking.
"Calm down Yanmei!" Lin snapped as she unlocked her door.
Lin opened the door to see a petite, young woman standing in the rain with a look of distress on her face. The young woman looked like a mess. Her auburn hair, which was usually styled with sleek and voluminous waves, had been weighed down by the rain and now fell in a mess around her amber eyes. Her typically immaculate makeup was smeared and running down down her face, giving her lightly tanned skin a grey tone. Lin saw no sign of injury on the young woman, nor did she see any sign that she was being followed.
"Did you lock yourself out of your apartment again?"
"No."
"Are you in some kind of danger?"
"No."
Lin glanced at the clock next to her door before turning back to Yanmei.
"THEN WHY IN THE FLAMEO ARE YOU WAKING ME UP AT TWO IN THE MORNING!"
"Iroh introduced me to his mother."
Lin glared at Yanmei for a few seconds before taking a step back and opening the door wider.
"Get inside!" She snapped. "You're gonna catch a cold if you don't dry off!"
"It was awful!" The young woman cried as she walked inside.
"You know that I have a job to go to in four hours, right?" Lin reminded her as she shut the door.
"I know, but this is an emergency!"
Lin's eyes narrowed at Yanmei.
"Take off your shoes!" She snapped at the petite woman.
Yanmei looked down at her feet in surprise before kicking off her delicate high heels.
"You and I are going to have to a very serious conversation about what constitutes an emergency!" Lin said as she marched down the hall to grab some towels.
"But it is!" The young woman whined as she followed Lin down the hall. "I made such a fool of myself!"
"Did you do anything that will get you arrested or sentenced to death?" Lin asked as she opened the linen closet.
"No, but-"
"-Then it's not an emergency!" Lin snapped as she shoved some towels into Yanmei's arms and shoved her into the bathroom. "Clean your face, dry off and change. There should be clean clothes in your room."
"But Chief!" Yanmei whined again.
"Now!"
"Fine!" Yanmei huffed out as she closed the door.
Lin shook her head as she made her way down the hall. There were moments when she regretted the decision to take in Yanmei, and right now was one of them. It had seemed simple enough at first. Yanmei had been twelve, homeless and in serious need of a parental figure. Lin had the resources and the patience to handle a troubled child, and decided to take her in.
Raising Yanmei had come with many difficulties, but Lin often thought that the payoff was worth it. Taking the girl off the streets had prevented her from joining a triad or becoming a body in the morgue. That being said, Yanmei always managed to find ways to be a pain in the side. Lin thought that she would finally have some peace when Yanmei moved out five years ago, but she was wrong. Yanmei had remained a constant presence in her life. The young woman insisted on visiting her a few times every week. Whether Lin was at home or working, Yanmei would randomly pop in for a visit. Lin did not always mind the visits, they could actually be quite pleasant -when she did not show up crying on her doorstep at odd hours.
The phone rang and she grumbled as she marched into her room to answer it. She had a few guesses who was calling, and she hoped that it would be the only call of the night.
"Beifong residence."
"Hey, Chief," a young woman answered, "sorry to bother you but Yanmei left Kwong's without us and she's not at home. Is she with you by any chance?"
"Yes, she got here a few minutes ago. She's drying off now."
Lin could hear the sound of raindrops hitting glass and the caller's sigh of relief.
"That's a relief. Do you need us to come get her?"
"No, it's fine, Luli. She can spend the night. How are you getting home? It's still raining and I'm certain that there are no more taxis. Do you need me to get you?"
Yanmei and her sisters' apartment did not have a phone and the nearest payphone was three blocks away. As a police officer, Lin did not like the idea of the young woman walking home at night. She especially did not like the thought of her walking so far in the rain.
"No. I have a ride. Iroh was helping me look for her."
"Is Iroh there right now?"
"Yeah, he's outside with an umbrella."
"Good. Can you hit for me and tell him that ambushing Yanmei with his mother was stupid?"
"Sure."
Lin heard the sound of the phone booth opening and heard the faint sound of a slap.
"What was that for?" She heard Iroh shout in the background.
"Chief says that ambushing Yanmei with your mother was stupid!"
"Is Yanmei with her?" Iroh asked.
"Yes."
"Can I speak to her?"
"No. She's drying her hair and I want to go home."
"Can I speak to Chief Beifong?"
Lin heard Luli grumbling before speaking to her,
"He wants to talk to you."
"Tell him to make it quick."
"Chief says to make it quick." She heard Luli say as she passed the phone to Iroh and the raindrops now sounded like they were hitting an umbrella.
"Hello Chief Beifong."
"Cut to the chase, Iroh!" She snapped.
"I was wondering if I could-"
"-No, you can't come over tonight." Lin cut him off.
"But I really need to-"
"-She's doesn't need to talk to you right now. She's in a tizzy at the moment and needs to talk it out with somebody who isn't you. Apparently I'm the lucky victim."
"I'm really sorry Chief, I didn't realize that it would upset her so much."
"Iroh, your mother intimidates politicians, nobles and soldiers on a daily basis, how did you think that a surprise visit to your cabaret girlfriend was going to go?"
". . .Maybe I should have asked Grandfather to come along."
"Yeah, that really would have helped." Lin said sarcastically. "How did you become a general? You know what -never mind- just tell me how bad it was, she hasn't told me yet."
"Worse than the Ember Island Players."
Lin groaned.
"Great. It's not like I needed to sleep or anything."
"I can come ove-"
"-No. You've done enough. Should I be expecting a visit from your mother?"
"Probably. She wasn't very impressed, and now she's annoyed."
"She's with you?"
"She's in the satomobile and I think she's glaring at me."
"Well don't keep her waiting!"
"Okay, but there's one more thing."
"What?"
"I kind of proposed to her. . . although I'm not entirely sure that she knows."
"How is that even possible!"
"It was a little impromptu -I went to check on her after she ran off and it just kind of came out, but she had to go on stage -it all happened so fast."
"Did you mean it?"
"Of course I did! I-"
"I don't need to know anymore. Just get Luli home -and get your mother home before she explodes. Tell her that she can stop by my office tomorrow if she wants."
With that, Lin hung up the phone and groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Was that Iroh?" Yanmei asked.
Lin turned around and saw her standing in the doorway, now wearing a nightgown and robe.
"Yes, it seems that he and your sisters were worried about you and spent over an hour looking for you."
"I'm sorry, I didn't think-"
"-Clearly." Lin scoffed.
It was quiet for a moment, as Yanmei looked down at her feet and Lin observed her. In her current state she looked very much like the child Lin had taken in nine years ago. The only noticeable difference was that she had gained weight and now wore a gold and ruby necklace that Lin had given her for her sixteenth birthday. Then Lin noticed something new on Yan Mei's left hand. She was wearing a ring that matched her necklace, and Lin knew that only one person would have given it to her.
"I just needed someone to talk to."
"Did you hang your clothes to dry and light the fire?" Lin asked.
"Yes."
"Good. Hopefully they'll be fine in the morning and Saniya will be understanding. Let's get some tea." Lin said before leading her out of the room, down the hall and into the kitchen.
"Did Iroh tell you what happened?" Yanmei asked as Lin filled the pot.
"Not much, he just said that it didn't go well." Lin said as she filled the infuser with tea leaves and added it to the pot.
Yanmei groaned as she sat down and buried her face in her hands.
"I was hoping that it was all in my head." She mumbled.
Lin sat down and placed the pot in front of Yanmei.
"Would you mind heating this up?"
The young girl looked at the pot, then up at Lin and started whining.
"Knock that off. I know that you have enough control to heat a pot of tea!"
Yanmei let out a huff as she picked up the pot and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, steam began escaping the spout and Yanmei put the pot down to let it steep.
"So what happened?" Lin asked. "I know Izumi can be difficult to impress, but it sounds like it was a little more than that."
"Everything happened!" Yanmei exclaimed as she began speaking fast. "First there was the fact that I had no warning whatsoever that I was gonna meet the Fire Lord! Iroh just pulled me over to the table and introduced me to her! I was already nervous enough to begin with, but then I found out that Iroh and I are in a relationship! So-"
"Stop." Lin said, silencing Yanmei. "Did you say that you just found out that you're in a relationship with Iroh?"
"Yes!" Yanmei exclaimed. "You see how shocked I was!"
"Oh no, you misunderstand me Yanmei. I'm not surprised about your relationship with Iroh, I'm surprised that you didn't know!"
"You knew?" Yanmei asked in surprise.
"Yes! It was fairly obvious! For the past two years, the two of you have been kissing and going on dates every time he's in town! The question is, how did you not know?"
"I thought he had a girl in every port!"
"And you were okay with that?"
"It was better than what I'm used to, and it also meant not getting my hopes up!"
"So to clarify, you thought that he was leading you on, but it was actually the other way around."
"Yes!" Yanmei exclaimed, before a look of realization dawned on her face and she groaned. "Oh spirits! Now I feel awful! How could he possibly think that we have any future? He's a prince, and at best, I'm a cabaret singer -at worst I'm a whore's daughter who burns down apartment buildings!"
"Give yourself some credit, it was only one apartment building."
Yanmei groaned again.
"Now what you did on Air Temple Island -that was something." Lin said with a smirk.
Yanmei practically cried as she buried her face in her arms.
"Why did you encourage me to do that! Now I look even worse!"
"I'm sure that Izumi will want to talk to me this afternoon. I'll let her know that one was on me and that you were just a young impressionable child."
"I was eighteen!"
"Impressionable youth." Lin corrected.
"It's not like it'll help. I blabbed about everything."
"Everything?"
"She asked about my parents so I told her that my mother was a whore and my father liked whores."
"So you told her the truth, big deal, it's not like you could hide it."
"You don't get it, Chief, those are the exact words that I used! I could have phrased it better, but nooo, I went and told the Fire Lord that my mother was a whore! I guess there's no way to make it sound better -a whore's daughter is still a whore's daughter- but I could have been less coarse about it. She thought that I just had a bad relationship with my mother-"
"-You do have a bad relationship with her."
"I know, but she thought that I was just insulting her so I had to explain that my mother really was a whore -argh! Why can't I just say prostitute!"
"What else did you talk about, besides your mother?"
Yanmei let out another a cry.
"We talked about my job, and I assured her that I wasn't a whore, and that I just occasionally flirted with men to get tips or a pay raise or those desserts that Kenta likes. . . or a discount at the market. . . and lower my rent."
"Why would you say that?" Lin groaned.
"I was panicking!"
"Please tell me that was the worst of it."
Yanmei burst into tears and buried her face in her hands. Lin stared at the girl, wondering what could have possibly been worse than anything she had already said.
"You didn't tell her about your arrest record, did you?"
"I did!" Yanmei cried.
"How did that even come up?"
"She asked how Iroh and I met, and it's kind of hard not to mention that I was being threatened with prison if I couldn't get my firebending under control!"
"Did you say what you were arrested for?"
"Yes! So now she knows about the assault and destruction of property charges -and that I'm really bad at fire bending!"
"Did you at least mention that you're not accidentally setting things on fire anymore?"
"Yes, but it was soon followed by an admission that I still suck at fire bending! Oh, and I tried to explain myself!"
Lin was now burying her face in her hands and suppressing the urge to groan as Yanmei did an imitation of herself.
"It wasn't that bad!" She said in a ditsy voice. "I didn't mean to attack three ex-boyfriends, set one of their new girlfriends on fire, and burn an ancient bonsai tree, bookshelf, fruit stand, table, and petting zoo! I was just really angry and it was all an accident!"
"Did anything go well tonight?" Lin asked with her face now buried in her hands.
"Besides my performance? No. Not even introducing her to my sisters."
"How in Shu's name did you mess that up?"
"I said 'these are my sisters Zi and Luli -They know their father!'"
"Were you trying to sabotage yourself!"
"I don't know what I was trying to do! She was glaring at me and I was panicking, and she just kept asking questions! "
Lin stood up and walked over to the cupboard. Yanmei continued to speak as Lin retrieved the teacups.
"She wanted to know how many siblings I had and I said that I don't know!"
Lin set the teacups down and began to fill them.
"I finally told her that through my mother I have seven living siblings."
Lin stopped pouring the tea and looked at Yanmei.
"Why did you specify living siblings?"
"Because for some reason I felt the need to tell her that Mom had two miscarriages. . . probably caused by whatever disease she had at the time."
"Why?" Lin asked in frustration. "Why would you say that?"
"I don't know!" Yanmei wailed. "She just kept asking questions and I kept babbling like an idiot! She even asked if I was sleeping with Iroh!"
"Are you?"
"Of course not!"
"Good." Lin said as she poured the second cup of tea. "At least you answered one question right."
"Yeah, I'm sure she's thrilled that her son isn't sleeping with a criminally inclined daughter of a whore -Damnit! Why do I keep saying whore!"
"How long did you even speak to her?" Lin asked as she set the teapot down.
"I don't know! It can't have been that long though because I had to make up some excuse about needing to hydrate with special water, rather than just saying that I needed to get back on stage!"
Lin sighed and pushed a cup of tea towards Yanmei.
"Drink some tea. It'll calm you down." Lin said as she poured her own.
As Yanmei sipped on her tea, Lin eyed the gold and ruby ring on her finger. She allowed for a few minutes of silence before approaching the topic.
"Is that new?"
"What?"
"That ring, I've never seen you wear it before."
Yanmei looked down at her hand, curiously, and let out another groan.
"Did Iroh give it to you?"
"Yes." Yanmei groaned before letting out a whine. "He asked me to marry him!"
"He did what?" Lin asked feigning shock.
"He asked me to marry him!" Yanmei wailed.
"You know, most girls would be excited that a prince wants to marry them."
"Well they're all stupid! And Iroh is stupid too! He can't marry a cabaret singer! He can play around with me all he wants, but he needs to marry some girl of noble birth!"
"Did you tell him that?"
"No! I just stared at him like an idiot before going back onstage!"
"And he took that as a yes?"
"I don't know! How would I know that? Why do you think that?"
"Because you're wearing the ring!"
Yanmei looked down at the ring in surprise, despite having noticed it a few seconds earlier. She let out another groan a put her head in her hands.
"I don't know what's going through his head! He must have slipped it on my finger when I was going onstage! I didn't even notice it!"
"I guess we're both having some pretty big conversations today." Lin mused.
"Today? Why can't I go to sleep and put it off till tomorrow!"
"Because it's already tomorrow!"
"Argh! I just want to sleep!" Yanmei whined.
"Yeah, I know the feeling." Lin grumbled.
"But I can't!" Yanmei cried.
"Why? It's not like you have a job to go to in three and half hours."
"Because I can't stop thinking about it all! I made such a fool of myself and Iroh is going to want to talk and I don't know what to say!"
"Just tell him what you told me."
"Which part?"
"All of it! Rake him over the coals for tonight and then tell him that you can't be together. Simple." Lin said as she lifted the teacup to her lips.
"Yeah. Simple." Yanmei repeated in an unconvinced tone.
Lin paused and looked at the younger woman who was now looking off to the side and ignoring the teacup in her hand. The older woman sighed and put down her own cup.
"You already got your hopes up, didn't you?"
Yanmei finally looked at her with an expression caught between bitter laughter and tears.
"He loves me." She said. "How did that even happen? How could it happen? How could he possibly want to be with someone like me?"
"Do you love him?" Lin asked.
Yanmei just stared at Lin for a few moments before answering.
"He makes me so happy -happier than I ever thought I would be -and he's so kind to everyone -and he's a wonderful leader. . . He's going to be the Fire Lord someday. He can't have somebody like me as his wife. He needs somebody who can help and support him."
"And you don't think you can."
"Of course I can't! I'm barely literate, and my understanding of politics is limited -not to mention the fact that I'm a walking scandal! If I were to be his wife it would only cause him problems."
"He could always abdicate and give the throne to his sister." Lin pointed out.
"I can't ask him to give up the future that he's spent his life preparing for."
"So you're going to break up with him."
". . .I should. I really should. It's the right thing to do. . . but. . . ."
"But you love him." Lin concluded.
"Yeah, I do." Yanmei answered honestly.
Silence fell between the two women as they stared at each other with looks of commiseration. Yanmei broke the silence by scoffing and taking a sip of her tea.
"Why did he have to be a prince?" She asked. "Even if he was just a general, I could have justified marrying him -But, noo! He had to be a stupid prince."
"I used to think the same thing about Tenzin." Lin admitted. "Still do."
Yanmei looked at Lin in surprise. It was rare for her to talk about Tenzin with anything but anger.
"I used to wish that he could have been a waterbender like Kya or a nonbender like Bumi. Then it wouldn't matter whether or not I could have children or what element they would bend."
Yanmei stayed quiet and listened to the older woman's words.
"Take my advice, kid, it's better to end things now. I knew that I wasn't going to marry Tenzin, but I couldn't bring myself to end it, so I clung on to him for as long as I could and told myself that I would be ready when he left me. I told myself that since I knew it was coming, it wouldn't hurt so much."
"But it did." Yanmei pointed out. "You went on a rampage."
"Obviously I was wrong." Lin replied matter-of-factly. "I thought that I was giving myself a little extra time with the man that I love -and I was- but I was also giving him fourteen extra years of trying to convince me to marry him -and even though I knew I shouldn't I would find myself hoping that he was right and that we had some kind of future together." Lin let out a bitter scoff. "He pledged his undying love to me over and over again. . . and then he left me for Pema."
Lin took another sip of tea before sitting up straighter and looking the young woman in the eyes.
"I'm not telling you this for the sake of commiserating with you. I'm telling you this because you need to understand that no matter how much Iroh says he loves you, he will leave you. He was born to be the Fire Lord and if asked to choose between you and the throne, he's going to choose the throne."
With those words, Yanmei was no longer able to hold back her tears. She tried to hide them by sobbing into her hands, but it was pointless. Lin stood up and walked around the table to the young woman. She crouched down and laid a hand on her shoulder. Immediately, Yanmei launched herself into Lin's arms and began sobbing into her shoulder. Lin let out a frustrated sigh before gently wrapping her arms around the young woman.
"Yanmei, I'm not trying to be mean. I just don't want you to get hurt the way I was."
Yanmei's sobs became louder as she clung tighter to Lin. Knowing that the crying would continue for awhile, Lin pulled the tiny woman out of her seat, sat on the floor and cradled her like a child. They stayed there until Yanmei's tears began to slow down and her cries became quieter.
"What time do you have to meet with Saniya?" Lin asked as she stroked Yanmei's damp hair.
"Four." Yanmei mumbled.
"How about you go start your beauty routine -I'll get your room ready and then help you with your hair. You can sleep in until eleven and I'll tell Iroh that he can visit you around noon -that should give you two plenty of time to talk- does that sound good?"
Yanmei nodded.
"Good, let's get a move on." Lin said as she patted Yanmei's head one last time before standing up and pulling the young woman with her.
The rest of the night passed quietly as Lin helped Yanmei get ready for bed. Yanmei was silent until Lin left the room. The moment the door closed behind her, she heard the unmistakable sounds of Yanmei crying herself to sleep. Lin understood the pain the young woman was feeling, all too well. She knew it was foolish to wish that pain away, so in the end, she only wished that Yanmei would never have to understand her pain.
Don't worry, I'm not abandoning my other ALOK fanfiction. This actually ties into it and others that I may write in the future.
I am working on chapter four of A Stolen Future, but I ran into challenges with it after doing more research on one of the characters in it -and I've had several personal issues as well (which isn't unusual). I'm about 2/3 of the way through the chapter, but keep getting caught up on stupid details.
