Lin says goodbye to her home (*cough* prison).
A/N: The kids in this chapter are super cute, just warning. Especially sweet Amaruq - I love them way too much lol
For readers who read my Linumi fic, A New Path, there may be something coming your way soon as an anniversary of 1 year of the fic, so stay tuned. Follow me on Instagram if you want instant notice, or follow me here on fanfiction to get an email notification! (There will be artwork though, which will be posted on Instagram and Devianart, as an FYI)
A knock came at the front door, or what was left of it from when Aang had burst through it earlier. Aang appeared through the doorway soon after. He approached and sat next to Lin, pulling her in a hug. She melted into the safety of his arms.
"We have Yakone too. His wife and son are coming with us, as she demanded to see you." He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear like he used to when she was small. "But you're safe now Lin. We're bringing you home."
Lin burst into another round of tears, clutching at Aang's airbender robe. She could feel his hand rubbing her back and heard him whispering words of comfort. He smelt so familiar in a nostalgic kind of way that brought her much comfort and helped her calm down. She realized after a moment it was because he smelt like home.
He smelt like home.
It sent her back into another spell of tears. Her uncle held her in a gentle but firm embrace, as if he was scared she would vanish from his arms. Lin felt a wetness on the top of her head, but she made no comment, relieved that he was just as emotional at seeing her as she was him.
Eventually, she took deep breaths and calmed her emotions as best she could. Lin pulled back and shyly looked up at Aang. He offered her a wet smile and reached up to wipe her cheeks with a handkerchief that he procured from one of his hidden pockets. "We have a ship ready to take us back to Republic City. So whenever you and the children are ready, we can leave." He glanced at his daughter. "Kya, why don't you quickly run and get your bag from your apartment. Appa is just outside."
Kya nodded and gave Lin's shoulder a small, comforting squeeze as she passed. "I'll be back quickly. My bag was already packed and ready."
Lin nodded in understanding, but she couldn't help the small pool of anxiety that formed as she watched Kya leave. Aang seemed to sense this and tried to distract her.
"So, you need to tell me all about these great-nieces and nephews I have."
Lin attempted a small smile. "Pass me the bag there, please." She motioned to the bag with the photographs Kya had just packed. He passed it to her and she pulled out the same photo she had caught Kya looking at when she had come to see Tarlo when he was ill, nearly two months previously.
"You briefly met Nuna earlier, she is my oldest. Then there is Amaruq, Tayen, and Tarlo. Nuna is my earthbender and the other three are waterbenders." She looked up, with a much happier look on her face when talking about her children. "They will be so excited to know that you are the Avatar. Amaruq especially has a fascination with learning the histories of all your past lives."
Aang grinned at her. "I will be happy to share anything I can with him. They are beautiful Lin."
Speaking of her children, they all entered back into the living room from their bedrooms. Tayen and Tarlo had roped the military men into carrying their bags, while Nuna carried her own and Amaruq dragged his own behind him, declining the offers of help from the men.
Lin turned to her children. "Did you pack everything you want? I don't think we are coming back here, so make sure."
The kids all nodded. She then beckoned them forward, accepting Tarlo onto her knee, while the other three hovered close, slightly hanging back from the strange man sitting beside their mother.
"Kids, this is Kya's father, Aang. He is going to take us to Republic City where our family is." She hid a smile of amusement as she saw her oldest son's eyes lit up in shock.
"Aang, as in Avatar Aang?"
"Yes, I am Avatar Aang, but you may call me Uncle Aang. You must be Amaruq."
"Mama, he knows my name!" The nearly 8-year-old loudly whispered.
Aang chuckled. "Wait till he meets Sokka, I have a feeling they will get along well."
"Sokka… Mama you know Team Avatar? Why did you never tell us?" Amaruq asked in shocked wonderment.
"Well, remember when I said I was taken? My name really isn't Meriwa. It is Lin, Lin Beifong. Toph Beifong is your grandmother."
It was Nuna's turn to be stunned. "Do you think she will help teach me?"
"I'm sure your mother and grandmother can work out a training schedule for you, Nuna." Aang smiled at the older girl. "But for now, let's get ready to head out. Once Kya gets here, we will take Appa my-"
"Sky bison! So cool!" Amaruq cut him off excitedly. He started dragging his bags to the door and putting his coat on.
Aang chuckled again and stood up. "Yes, and he will take us to the docks where the ship is waiting for us." He offered Lin a hand up. "Lin, do you want to do a double check of the house to make sure the kids didn't forget anything? I'll help the little ones get ready."
Lin nodded her head and went to head to the bedrooms. She started with hers, but Kya had dutifully grabbed everything feminine in the room - not that she actually had much anyways other than her clothes and toiletries. She then went to the boys room and double checked. But they seemed to have packed everything, even Tarlo's bedding which made Lin snort in amusement; despite her heart aching at seeing the room so empty.
When she crossed to the girls room, the ache worsened. This was the room she had brought Nuna home to. She sniffed, trying to keep her tears back. While she was not attached to her own bedroom as that was where most of her suffering took place, the rest of the house had been where she had raised her children and had been her home for the past 10 years. It hurt to be leaving it, no matter how happy she was that they were going home - well her home, but the kids would adjust quickly, she was sure of it. Well she hoped that would be the case. She really hoped that they would.
She had almost left the room, when she noticed Nuna's favourite doll under her bed. She let out a small grunt as she reached down to pick it up, her other hand on the bed keeping her balanced. Standing up, she smoothed the woolen hair back from the doll's face. It had been a gift from her father when she first showed signs of her earthbending, and she had loved it ever since, carting it everywhere with her. Lin frowned as to why Nuna would leave it behind. With one final glance around the room she was satisfied that there was nothing else that had been missed, so she then turned and left.
When she entered the living room she found that Kya had returned and was directing the military men to load the bags onto the back of Appa.
"Nuna, love, you left your doll, I grabbed her for you." Lin held out the doll to her eldest, but frowned when Nuna turned her nose up at it.
"I don't want her anymore. I left her on purpose." She said before turning away.
Lin just nodded, not wanting to push her to talk right now. She put the doll in her own bag after Nuna had turned away, thinking she may regret leaving it later.
"Here." She looked up to find Kya holding her coat open for her. Lin was unused to someone helping her with her coat other than the handful of times Tulok had done it for show, but accepted it gratefully and buttoned it up. She slipped into her boots and mitts, before taking one final look at what was both her home and prison for the last 10 years.
"It's okay to miss it." Kya said softly, placing a hand on her arm.
Lin ducked her head, but nodded. They stood there in the quiet house, until she gave the waterbender another nod to say she was ready. She allowed Kya to lead her from the house following the noise of her chattering children atop the giant sky bison. She shivered at the biting cold of the winter air, pulling her hood up to help block the wind; Winter in the Northern Water Tribe meant most of the day was dark and the temperatures plummeted even more. She tried to ignore the feeling of her neighbours staring, as they had piled onto the lamp lit street to see what was happening. She was sure it would be on the front page of the local newspaper as her husband had been a member of the Chief's council, and for him to be arrested by the Avatar himself, was definitely news worthy. Especially with the visible bruising on her face and neck; which the lamp light made seem even darker against her pale flesh.
Lin was greeted by a happy grunt from Appa. She smiled a little and gave him a pat above his nose. "Hi Appa, it's good to see you again too." She said softly. He snuffled her and nuzzled gently into her protruding belly, being extra careful as if he sensed her precious cargo. She gave him a head scratch for a moment, before accepting her Uncle's help getting onto Appa's saddle.
Once she was seated, Tayen and Tarlo moved to sit beside her, leaning into her on either side. She quickly pulled their hoods up when she noticed they hadn't done so yet, wanting to protect them from the cold, before pulling them closer to her. Amaruq was excitedly bouncing on his knees as he watched Aang airbend onto Appa's neck after making sure Lin was settled, while Kya bent the snow below her to raise her up enough to step onto the air bison's saddle.
"Lin, is it okay if Amaruq helps me fly Appa?" Aang asked, looking back to her after answering a few of the excited boy's questions. The boy in question turned to her with wide, pleading eyes.
"That will be fine. I trust you, Uncle." Lin gave a little smile at the excitement her son let out as he scrambled over the edge of the saddle with Aang's help. It warmed her heart to see her baby with a man that was as good as a father to her.
She moved her eyes from the sight before she could start crying. Her eyes fixed on Kya who was sitting next to Nuna and was softly talking with the quiet girl. Lin felt even more grateful to her childhood friend when she saw Nuna's tiny smile.
They took off into the air, and under her children's gasps of excitement, she could hear her neighbours gasps of awe too. Her stomach roiled a little being in the air. She just closed her eyes and focused on breathing through it.
As they approached the docks, she heard Kya gasp. "The United Forces?"
"I had two reasons for them being here. One is that we needed to extradite the... two." Aang said carefully, aware that the children may get upset if he said their father and uncle's names. "Second is that I trust the Lieutenant Commander of this ship to get our family home safely."
Lin missed the rest of the conversation when a new wave of nausea came over her, and she focused once again on not being sick. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt Appa land, as with that her nausea faded. It completely disappeared once her own feet touched the deck of the ship. In fact she could feel a thrum of energy even through her boots, which is when she realized the boat was mainly made up of different metals. She almost kicked off her boot right there to feel the metal, but she was reminded by a cold wind that it was too frigid to do that up on deck.
"Meriwa!"
Lin turned and saw Istas running to her with the 14 year old Tarrlok following slower behind her. Istas reached Lin and pulled her into a hug, the older woman crying.
"What's going on? They arrested Konai and said they also had Tulok. I don't understand…"
"Istas, there is a lot to tell you, some I don't want to share in front of the kids right now." Lin spared a glance at her children, thankful that Kya and Aang seemed to have them occupied. She turned back to the older woman in front of her. "But first, my name is not actually Meriwa, it's Lin. I'm not from an island between the South Pole and Earth Kingdom, I'm from Republic City."
Istas pulled back, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. "But they said…"
"They said a lot of things that weren't true. I'm afraid that if it wasn't for Avatar Aang, I'd be really hurt right now."
She could almost see the switch when Istas finally took in Lin's face and neck. "Tui and La." Istas gasped, her hand hovering over Lin's bruised cheek, then frowned. "Tulok did this to you?"
Lin looked down, but nodded. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I never thought this would happen."
"I-I just don't understand…" Istas said, tears streaming down her confused face.
"Mother, Auntie is right." Tarrlok said softly. "I will explain more later, but know that father is not the man you thought he was." He spat out the word father, but otherwise kept his voice soothing as he placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "Come, let's get settled in our room." He offered Lin a small smile of understanding, and Lin patted his arm gently, before stepping back to join her children.
She noticed a rather tall man in a maroon uniform and hair tied back at the nap of his neck standing with Aang and Kya, entertaining the kids. His back was turned to her as she approached the group.
"Mama! Lutent-ant Commder is funny!" Tarlo said as he ran over to her, grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the group.
The tall man turned, and his face turned from a huge grin to a shocked expression, his mouth hanging open wide.
Lin was also struck by the sudden sight of another familiar face. "B-Bumi?"
"Linny?" He asked so softly, almost like talking would cause her to disappear.
Lin nodded and soon found herself pulled into a tight hug with the older man. "You're alive." He breathed out, shakily. "Spirits. When Dad asked me to meet him here for a top secret mission, I didn't think… Wow. Look at you!" Bumi said, pulling back to cup Lin's face. His fingers softly trailing over the reddening bruise, but he didn't want to bring anything up in front of the kids. Instead, he looked down at her with tears in his eyes. "I have missed you so much."
Lin gave him a watery smile. "I've missed you too, Boom. Especially your bear hugs." It was true, whenever she had been upset growing up and Bumi was around, he was the one she would go to. Him or Sokka. They had a way of completely enveloping someone in a feeling of warmth and protection.
"I have a lot of those to make up for." He said, pulling her in for another small one, before separating again. "I'm assuming these terror's are all yours then?" He asked, pointing his thumb back at the kids, giving them all a wink as he did so.
A small, tender smile graced her face, as she looked at her children. "Yes." Lin reintroduced the children to Bumi, now that he was aware they were her children, and not someone else's.
After introductions, Bumi clapped his hands together, with a twinkle in his eyes. "Alright, it's about time we left port. Are there any kids who want to join their fun Uncle Bumi and learn how to steer a ship?"
"Oh oh, me!" Amaruq and Tarlo said, while the girls nodded with smiles on their faces. Lin was happy to see Nuna perking up too. Bumi was just what the children needed right now, and she would forever be grateful for that.
"Hmm, no takers, how disappointing." Bumi said, mock pouting as he pretended to not hear the kids.
"Please? We'll be good!" Amaruq said, casting his bright blue, polar bear puppy eyes on Bumi.
Bumi held a hand up to stroke his beard, pretending to consider their pleas. "I suppose you will do." He said, a grin splitting his face. The children cheered, and Bumi swung the two youngest up onto his shoulders. Lin watched the five disappear through a door which she assumed led to the bridge of the ship.
She turned her head when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't we get you settled into your room so you can have a little lie down?" Kya asked. She saw Lin hesitate. "Leave the kids to Dad and Bumi, they'll keep them entertained for a couple hours. You need to rest, it has been a long day already."
Lin realized as Kya spoke, that she really was exhausted. So she just nodded her head and followed Kya to her and the children's room for their trip. The room had a large bed, with a couple cots against the wall. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light.
A/N: Did anyone expect to see our Bumi? He was totally needed for Lin and the kiddos sake. Plus, I always love writing Lin and Bumi, even if this isn't a Linumi fic. They just have a cute dynamic, at least in my head.
Any guesses on how the rest of the family reacts?