"How could I be so stupid!?"
Korra had been repeating this new mantra of hers for several hours now. When she finally caught her breath and could stand without slumping back down, she got on a ferry back to Air Temple Island and been holed up in her room ever since. She jumped at every little sound and even accidentally air blasted Pema when the older woman knocked to ask why she was in her room on such a beautiful day.
It was a beautiful day. It would have been a perfect day for a picnic and a leisure walk in a park, if Korra hadn't canceled her plans with Asami. She wasn't sure if she should count herself lucky that she had to leave a notice for the secretary when she called because Asami hadn't come into work at that moment. On one hand, it saved Korra the potential confrontation about what she had witnessed earlier. On the other hand, it may mean that Asami was too mortified and angry at Korra to even speak with her and just told the secretary to say that she was unavailable. Maybe she had singlehandedly ruined their relationship. Korra ended that train of thought as soon as it occurred to her, it hurt too much to even consider it. But not knowing if Asami knew she had caught the older woman with Lin also made her heart thump in foreboding.
Korra's activity as of late was to pace from one side of the room to the other and then back again. Her legs screamed at her to sit down and rest but every time she did, Korra felt like thousands of spiderants were crawling up her legs and biting her. So she continued to pace for what felt like hours on end, and honestly Korra wouldn't be surprised if that was the truth.
A pitiful whine made Korra turn her head to look at Naga, her legs not ceasing their pacing. The polarbeardog had curled up on the Avatar's bed and had been watching the woman verbally berate herself since she came home. She knew that Korra was upset and the animal tried to cheer her up by laying on her back, offering her belly to be patted, something she rarely allowed Korra to do. But Korra just stepped over her, saying words that Naga did not understand but knew were said several times now.
"This isn't my fault!" Korra exclaimed, raising her hands in the air like that would absolve her of her crime. "I just wanted to give Lin her stupid present!" She took the time to glare at the gift she had thrown on the bed when she first entered the room. Even Naga must have sensed its wickedness, the polarbeardog didn't try to eat the box or play with it. "If Asami had just invited me over or maybe, I don't know, tell me about her relationship with Lin, none of this would have happened!" Korra rubbed the palms of her hands angrily at her eyes. She could feel them start to sting and she refused to allow one tear to escape. She was the Avatar dammit, not a child.
"If Asami had told you the truth, you would have butted in anyway."
Korra let out a squeak and whirled around to see the Chief of Police standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and looking very unhappy. "Oh, uh, hey Lin."
Lin huffed at the dismal greeting and looked at Naga. "Out." The polarbeardog slunked off the bed and made a quick retreat with her tail in between her legs. When Naga crossed the doorway, Lin looked down the hallway to make sure nobody had seen her before entering the room and shutting the door without a sound.
Despite the precarious situation she knew she was in, hearing Lin speak to her pet like that angered Korra. "Don't talk to Naga like that." Lin only had to narrow her eyes at her to make Korra bite her tongue and for the anger to die to be replaced by trepidation. "So, um, what brings you to the Air Temple? Do you have business with Tenzin?" If Korra was an outside spectator, she would have hit herself for how high pitch and unconvincing her words were.
"Don't play stupid with me, Avatar," Lin growled. She walked up to Korra and poked her hard in the chest as she glared into the other woman's blue eyes. "You know exactly why I am here."
"I-I do?" Korra could feel the heat rise in her face at the obvious lie but there was something else. Being so close to Lin brought back the image that was burned into her head. Of Lin moaning and instead of glaring daggers at her, her eyes being closed in pleasure. Why was she thinking about that now? Stupid hormones.
Lin's eyes narrowed even more but there was a flicker of something that Korra didn't quite catch in the back of her green irises. "We literally made eye contact. You're just lucky I'm not arresting you for breaking and entering into my own house."
Korra gulped down the fear and forced the turmoil within her to calm. She scavenged whatever courage she had left to put into her next words. "I didn't technically break in," she said. She saw the shock on Lin's face that she was able to speak at all and Korra was quick to continue. "I was stopping by to drop off that." Korra jerked her head to where the present lied on the bed, not breaking eye contact with Lin.
The Chief of Police barely gave the neglected box a glance before glaring back at Korra. "I don't give a fuck why you came to my house unannounced like that. Vaatu could have been resurrected for all I care."
Lin's teeth gritted together for a moment and her eyes flitted away for a moment before going back to the Avatar. The flicker was back and this time Korra recognized it to be fear. Why was Lin scared of her of all people? Right now Korra was surprised she was able to make eye contact with the woman, let alone talk with her.
"Did you tell anyone about what you saw?" Lin asked.
Now that Korra was aware of the fear, she could plainly read it in Lin's stance. The woman was truly afraid that Korra had told someone of what she saw. "N-no," Korra answered.
"Are you positive?"
"Yes," Korra said, more confident now but also more confused. Republic City was the most progressive place in the world. Who cared if Asami and Lin were together? The age difference might be an issue but Pema was more than ten years younger than Tenzin and nobody bats an eye.
The fear was replaced by relief in Lin's eyes before they hardened again. "Good." Now that the Chief had the answer to the question she dreaded asking since she caught Korra watching her and Asami, she didn't know how to proceed. She looked back at the present Korra mentioned and turned her angers toward it. She moved her pinkie finger and the box twitched on the bed. Flicking her wrist, Lin used metalbending to have the present soar to her and caught it with ease. She frowned at the poorly wrapped box and the dents to the cardboard. "Who told you?" Lin already knew the answer but she wanted conformation.
Korra followed Lin's gaze to the present. "Asami did but she asked me not to tell you that she told me." She figured that she couldn't dig her grave any deeper so she didn't bother to lie.
"Asami," Lin muttered but there was no real anger to her voice which somewhat surprised Korra. The Chief of Police wasn't known to be forgiving to those who did something she didn't like and she obviously didn't like that the mechanic had told Korra it was Lin's birthday yesterday. "I should have never told her."
"She would have found out sooner or later," Korra laughed nervously, unsure how Lin was going to treat her now. She still half-expected to be cuffed at any moment or at least be punched in the face. That was how she would act in this situation anyway. "Asami's smart like that."
Lin's lips jerked like she was about to sneer but refrained from doing so. She looked up from the present to Korra. "I know how you feel about her. Don't even try to deny it," Lin said before Korra could get out a stammered response. "It's obvious from the way you look at her, especially after you and Asami got over Mako." Lin glanced back at the present and sighed. "Look, I don't like it but I'm not going to ask you to stay away from Asami. I don't know why but your friendship means a lot to her and I'm not going to take it away." She let her words seep into Korra before continuing. "But we need to talk."
"Aren't we already talking?" Korra asked.
Lin shook her head and explained, a light flush spreading across her cheeks. "No, I mean all three of us need to talk. Asami doesn't know that you saw us last night."
It was Korra's turn to blush, however hers was a lot deeper and mingled with shame. "Can't we just forget about last night and move on?" It was a desperate plea but Korra would rather beg than have Asami know she saw her having sex with Lin.
"No." The answer was quick and unyielding to any disagreement. Lin considered offering Korra an option to pretend like she was never at Lin's house and never saw her and Asami together but that would achieve nothing in the long run. And knowing how Korra dealt with secrets, she would end up guiltily blurting everything out to Asami by week's end. It was better to get all this out of the way and to yank off the leech as it were. "As usual, you shoved your nose in where it doesn't belong and now you have to deal with the consequences." Lin crossed her arms and squared her shoulders as if she was about to interrogate someone. "Asami and I are meeting at her mansion later tonight. You're going to be there and we're going to talk about how we're going to move on from this mess." All Korra could do was nod in agreement.
Lin turned to make her way out of the room. She stopped when she grabbed the door handle like she just recalled something important. She let go of the handle and marched back to Korra. "This might be obvious but you've never been very bright." The Chief of Police grabbed the Avatar by the collar before the younger woman could react and lifted her a few inches off the floor as the other hand clenched her present. "If you ever tell anyone about what you saw, I will throw you into prison for the rest of your life; Avatar or not." Her voice was calm and even but there was fire in her eyes that made the threat all the more real. Lin let go of Korra's shirt and the younger woman fell unceremoniously on the ground.
Korra lifted her head to watch Lin leave her room and slam the door shut, no longer having the patience to keep quiet. "How the hell did Pema live through Lin?"