It was a quiet, slow day at the precinct, and for that Lin was grateful. When she got the call from Asami, she was doing some tedious paperwork on how many tickets she had given to reckless drivers and how to use the funds from the tickets. She only had to hear the strained voice of her lover to know something was wrong. Asami had asked for Lin to come over after her shift and that she had invited Korra too. Lin had accepted and she set the phone back into its holder. She sat staring at the spreadsheet in front of her for fifteen minutes before giving up. She needed to make sure Asami was okay. So Lin made her office tidy as quickly as possible and left the precinct, barking an order at Mako to take over command for the rest of the day. He almost questioned her why and he had every right too, she had only been in her office for two hours, but a glare silenced him and he nodded meekly. Mako was a strong and willful young man, but he got better at following orders.
Lin drove her car to the Sato Mansion and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Naga napping out in the yard. Korra couldn't wait either. That's good, the Avatar and her could work together to figure out what was happening to Asami.
A spirit had decided to play with the polarbeardog's floppy ears but was thrown off when Naga raised her head at the rumbling of Lin's car. Lin parked her car and Naga lumbered over to her, her tail wagging hopefully for treats. The Chief didn't disappoint, she grabbed some jerky and let Naga snatch it out of her hand. Naga padded back to her spot and flopped down to resume her nap.
Lin walked to the door and found it was unlocked. Apprehension tightened her throat as she went inside. She moved the metal of her shoe to expose the bottom of her foot. She slammed it down on the floor and closed her eyes. Lin could feel two people in Asami's room and they were very close together, like they were holding one another. She opened her eyes and hurried up the stairs of the foyer.
She found the door of Asami's room slightly ajar and she could hear Korra's voice and the sound of Asami's crying. The noise of her lover crying seized Lin's heart and bright hot outrage hastened her breathing and her hands clenched into fists. Whoever hurt Asami was going to fucking pay.
Her anger was washed away by another sob and in its place was the need to comfort Asami. Lin rasped her knuckles on the door to make her presence known and the two women on the bed still startled.
She had been right before. Korra was holding Asami protectively and her eyes flashed when they darted to source of the sound. Lin had no doubt that Korra was going to have some choice words hurled at the intruder but when she recognized it was Lin, her eyes softened and she beckoned the older woman closer. Lin didn't hesitate before joining the two and wrapping her arms around them.
Asami wiped her eyes clear of the new tears like she had been doing since Korra came unannounced to her bedroom ten minutes prior. She had at least managed to keep her tears at bay when she asked the workers of her mansion to take the day off.
The workers took the sudden notice well enough. They weren't stupid, they were aware, or at least guessed, that she been having a relationship that was less than appropriate, but Asami was generous in their salaries and kind so they said nothing and took their days off whenever their employer had her lover over, still receiving the full pay for the days of course. But this time, many glanced at each other as they left, not missing how Asami was prim and proper in her dismissal but she didn't have the spring in her step that hinted at the future arrival of her lover. The last of the workers who had left the mansion also saw the Avatar herself riding that giant pet of hers hard through the streets, heading in the direction of the Sato Mansion. They didn't comment on it, who Asami gave her heart to was her business. But the workers had a silent agreement that if the Avatar was the cause of Asami's grief, they were going to ask the chef at Air Temple Island to make the young woman's food hot enough to burn a dragon's mouth.
As soon as Korra had burst through her bedroom door, panting from the hard ride, Asami couldn't bottle up the storm inside anymore. Tears fell from her eyes as strong arms took her and held her, soft words rasped out as Korra struggled to catch her breath and comfort the woman at the same time. Asami clung to her lover's embrace, unable to speak a coherent word.
Now that Lin was there, Asami could breathe a little more evenly. The body pressing into her back was hard and the curves of the metal in Lin's uniform made it a bit uncomfortable, but Asami found herself wishing she could be the cold, hard metal. She heard Lin ask Korra what had happened but the Avatar had no answers.
After a few minutes, Asami had quieted with her eyes closed. Lin would have thought that the younger woman had fell asleep if it weren't the periodic squeezing of her hand and she could see that Asami was doing the same to Korra's side, like the mechanic was making sure they were truly there.
Lin looked down at the woman in her and Korra's arms. Asami was like this after her father's death and it frightened Lin to think that the younger woman could lapse back to that emotionless state. She saw the same fear in Korra's eyes and there was an urgency in them too.
Asami stirred suddenly and the hand that was gripping Lin's let go so she could grab at Korra's sash. Korra blushed deeply and tried to squirm away but Asami didn't let her go. "Please." The word was desperation given sound. "I need, I need-" she tugged at the sash to make it clear what she desired when she couldn't finish her sentence.
Korra looked at Lin for guidance but the older woman only shrugged helplessly. She didn't know what to make of Asami's abrupt change in behavior or if she should stop Asami.
The mechanic undid Korra's sash and threw the clothing away before impatiently pulling Korra's pants and underwear to her boots. Asami made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat when she couldn't pull them fully off. She pushed Korra's legs into the air so that she could bury her tongue into the Avatar's sex.
"Fuck, slow down!" Korra winced as the tendons were stretched painfully when Asami shoved her legs up. She couldn't keep the groan from slipping from her mouth as she felt Asami's tongue plunge into her folds. Korra was still tired from riding Naga and couldn't make herself reach up and take off her boots and pants so she could lay her legs down.
Lin watched the two for a time before moving so she could help Korra out of her clothing. Asami didn't paid the older woman any mind, her sole focus was to make the woman under her cry out.
And she succeeded with a few laps of her tongue. Thanks to Lin taking the care of removing her boots and clothing, Korra could open her legs and Asami wasted no time delving deeper. Korra's hand dashed down to grab Asami's hair as she felt herself start to reach her peak.
Once Korra's body slumped into the soft bed, Lin knew it was her turn. She got rid of her uniform and Asami kissed at each new patch of skin that was exposed. Lin was free of her clothes and hissed as fingers explored her sex. She sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Asami's fingers teased and played with her. Lin felt the bed shift behind her as Korra moved closer to the two. She turned her head to capture Korra's lips, moaning against them as Asami entered her finally. Her toes curled as Asami's fingers pressed against that sweet spot inside her. Lin murmured something against Korra's lips as she felt Asami move her hair back to kiss at her neck. She felt teeth scrape against her skin but she couldn't find it in herself to tell Asami to not mark her, the warm tingles that were being sent down her spine clouded her judgment. The mechanic didn't let up, she massaged the rough patch inside Lin with confident fingers, drawing louder moans from Lin until she gave a shout as she found her release. Asami slipped her fingers out and held them up for Korra to suck clean.
Lin leaned up on her elbows and watched with a satisfied smirk as Korra began taking off Asami's shirt and bra. She greedily took in the sight of the quickly exposed skin and reached up with one hand to pull Asami against her. Korra gave her a slight pout at having Asami taken away from her but it was replaced by her crooked grin as she stood off the bed behind the mechanic. Lin kissed Asami, keeping an eye open to see Korra strip Asami of her remaining clothes, her blue eyes dark with hunger. Lin kissed down Asami's throat, having enough self control not to leave any love bites, and took a hard nipple into her mouth.
"Yes," Asami breathed out, cradling the back of Lin's head as she held herself up by her free hand. She could already feel the telling burn in her arm but she couldn't care, not with Lin sucking her nipple and Korra's divine fingers inside her. Asami looked behind her and shuddered at the expression Korra had on her face. The Avatar looked absolutely ravenous. She glanced down and saw much the same look on Lin's face as she switched nipples, a hand coming up to draw red lines down Asami's side. The mechanic hissed at the wonderful burn that Lin's nails caused and lifted her hips higher so Korra could go in deeper.
"Fuck, you're so beautiful, Asami," Korra said as she curled her fingers inside Asami. The older woman responded with a whine that drove the Avatar delirious with lust. She thrust her fingers harder and was rewarded with her name being tumbled out of Asami's lips. Korra bent forward and pressed soft kisses into Asami's shoulder blades as she worked her higher and higher.
Asami reached her climax with a tremble and almost collapsed onto Lin. The older woman didn't mind, she wrapped an arm around Asami's waist and scooted up the bed so their legs weren't dangling off the edge. Korra joined them after licking her fingers clean of Asami's slick and threw an arm around the two.
Lin rubbed circles into the small of Asami's back as the younger woman came back down to earth. "Are you ready to talk about what happened?" She didn't like breaking the tranquil atmosphere but she and Korra needed to know what had upset Asami so much so they could deal with it together.
"We want to help," Korra added, kissing Asami's cheek.
Asami said nothing as she untangled herself from her lovers' embraces. She walked to her vanity desk and grabbed something from the surface. Asami handed the two photographs to Korra and the note to Lin. She watched their expressions sour at the sight of them. Korra's face paled and she was still as a statue, her eyes glued onto the photographs. Lin's hands shook in her rage as her eyes roamed over the words several times to make sure she had read them correctly.
"Varrick," Lin growled as she looked at the photographs over Korra's shoulder. "I should have dragged his ass back to jail when I saw him at Zaofu."
"He didn't have anything to do with this, surprisingly," Asami said. "I heard him yelling outside my office door before he showed me the pictures. And Zhu Li wouldn't let him pull a stunt like this. Not anymore." She took back the photographs and studied them for a bit. She took a deep breath. "Varrick gave me a way out of this. I can sign Future Industries over to him and he promised to let me still be in charge in secret. We don't have to be exposed."
"No." Lin crossed her arms and said the word with a finality that put Varrick's deal up in smoke. She ripped the note in half and grabbed the pictures from Asami to do the same. "I've seen you take over Future Industries after the mess your father left and make it into one of the most innovative and profitable companies in the entire world. Korra and I will never experience the hardships you had to endure to rebuild Future Industries from ashes nor will we know the pride you must feel for being the reason it is so successful. You put too much into your company and I will not stand by and let you throw it away because of some pictures."
"But what about you?" Korra asked, laying a hand on Lin's shoulder. "When I found out about you two, you said that the scandal something like this could make was too much of a risk."
Asami nodded and added, "Now that Korra is in this relationship, the scandal and the questions asked will be even worse if those photos get out. I'm a daughter of a known equalist and owner of a company that helped make Amon so powerful. You're the Chief of Police, you investigated my company and personally questioned me twice, about my father and about Zaheer's poison! This will ruin you."
Lin's eyes focused on the pieces of the photographs that she torn. She looked back at Asami. "You're right." She got off the bed and grabbed the phone on the nightstand. Lin dialed a number and tapped her foot against the carpet as she waited for the person on the other line to pick up. "You want the job? It's yours." Lin offered no explanation and hung up before the other person could say a word. She went back to the bed and laid down like nothing had happened.
"Who was that?" Korra asked.
"Mako. He's the new Chief of Police of Republic City." Lin held up a hand to halt Korra's and Asami's immediate protests. "I'm getting old and the people want to see a new face to the Police Department. Too much shit has gone down while I was in charge. The public probably thinks I haven't done enough to prevent freak tragedies from happening, even if they are out of my control. I have to face those facts."
"You can't just retire!" Asami blurted out.
Lin shrugged. "I just did and I'm not taking it back. Besides, I was planning on retiring after all the Spirit Vines were recovered. Doing it a little earlier doesn't make much a difference to me." Lin grabbed Asami's hand and kissed her knuckles. "This is the only way to soften the blow. If those fuckers do release the photos, I already named my successor and started the process of retiring long before today. And if they want to look at the records of my investigations on you, which they will, don't doubt that, it'll look better for Mako to hand them over than me. This way, they can't claim I tampered with the evidence." Lin leaned up and cupped Asami's cheek. "I want to do this. For you and for me. I'm tired of cleaning up bullshit that I didn't cause." Her eyes flashed to Korra and there was a playful glint in them. "Especially the bullshit you are so fond of bringing into my city, Avatar."
Asami accepted Lin's decision with a frown, knowing that she trying to argue more would be a waste of breath. She nuzzled against the palm with a sigh.
Korra wished she could do something on the same level as Lin but she couldn't exactly quit being the Avatar. She could only be there for the two women and hope that it's enough. Korra pressed her lips against Asami's neck as she hugged her from behind. "We'll stick by you, no matter what. If this gets bad, just remember that we're here."
"Thank you, both of you," Asami whispered. "You two are the most important people in my life. I don't know what I'll do if I lost you two."
Lin laid a hand over Korra's and brushed her lips against Asami's. "You won't have to ever find out."
"I don't want to be alone."
"We know," Korra said, kissing Asami's neck again. "We don't want to be alone either." Lin nodded in agreement.