Korra's arms ached from metalbending several crates from Lin's home office to her living room. She took a small breather after she gently stacked her crate on top of another. Her arms rose high in the air and Korra hummed at the cracking of her joints. Who knew Lin had so much police stuff at her place? She looked behind her to where Lin was metalbending the last crate which contained her police uniform. It was a sad sight to see. That uniform fit Lin so well.
"Done," Lin huffed as the crate thumped to the ground. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and grinned at Korra. "Someone from the precinct will come over tomorrow and pick up all this crap." Lin sat down on the couch and picked up the morning's newspaper.
From where Korra was standing, she could see Lin in her police uniform on the front page with bold letters 'RETIRED' printed above the picture. Korra didn't comment on the headline as she joined Lin, throwing an arm over the older woman's shoulders. She metalbended the blob of meteorite that she had gifted Lin what seemed like so long ago and made it into different shapes. Korra could feel Lin's eyes drift from the article she was reading to watch Korra create intricate shapes, a smile playing at her lips each time. Knowing that she had Lin's approval in her metalbending made Korra heart beat faster every time she caught the smile.
Soft jazz music filled the room as the two women relaxed. Korra made the meteorite into the shape of an officer's badge and quickly turned it into a crude Pabu.
"I'm fine, you know," Lin commented, seeing the badge being created. She nimbly grabbed the meteorite from where it floated in Korra's hands. With precise movements, the Chief's badge was molded once more. Lin studied it for a moment with a frown. "You know why I became the Chief of Republic City, don't you?"
"Opal told me," Korra admitted. "You wanted to follow in Toph's footsteps."
Lin's eyes narrowed, they both knew there was more to that story and Korra pretending to be ignorant about it wasn't going to help anything in the long run. "I became the Chief of Police because I thought that by doing so, I would gain my mother's approval. It didn't work but by the time I figured that out, it was too late. I stayed as Chief of Police; I made the bed so I might as well sleep in it," Lin finished with a shrug.
"You could have unmade it," Korra said in a somewhat joking manner. She couldn't imagine coming to Republic City without Lin being the Chief of Police.
Lin considered the thought for a bit and finally shrugged again. "I don't know if I could or if I even want to. I helped a lot of people by being the Chief and I threw some nasty people behind bars." She handed the meteorite back to Korra. "But that's neither here nor there. It's in the past and in any case I'm officially retired."
Korra nodded as she resumed playing with the meteorite. The paperwork for Lin's retirement had gone through earlier that day, despite the process having been started a month prior. A lot of people were publicly upset or downright refused to believe that Lin Beifong was retiring and was naming Mako, someone who grew up on the streets and had past ties with the Triple Threat Triad, as her successor. Even President Raiko had paid a visit to Lin's house a week ago to express his own distress at her retiring. Korra shuddered at the memory of Lin calling her and Asami over to listen to her rant about how 'the fucker only came so he could tell the presses he was pro gay. He was talking down to me the entire time. He didn't even realize I'm pan!'
Korra snuggled against Lin's side and an arm pulled her closer in response. Retirement, or the process of retirement at least, had a notable effect on Lin's behavior. The older woman was much more forthcoming with her affections for her two lovers, even in public. More than once she had pulled off a possessive stunt when a passerby had looked at Asami or Korra in a way that was remotely unacceptable. It mostly consisted of Lin pulling the women closer and glaring daggers at the victim, clearly staking her claim for Asami and Korra. It shocked the two when it first occurred but they quickly grew to relish the outward displays of affection. They would still chastise Lin for being so needlessly jealous but they all knew that the words held no real conviction. Besides, Lin had no qualms doing it again when someone else looked over Asami and Korra.
The retirement also had a pleasant change on Lin's usual attire. Instead of wearing her uniform, Lin had taken to wearing dark green slacks and a white tank top. Just seeing Lin in those clothes early in the morning had caused Asami to be late for work and Korra tardy for training. And Lin knew exactly what she was doing.
Korra flushed at the memory. She turned her thoughts towards the mechanic. Asami was currently at work doing important business lady stuff and wouldn't be able to come over to Lin's for another half hour. She had been busy for the entire month. Korra recalled the determination on Asami's face when she told Korra to burn the newspaper that bore the two pictures and spouted lies about their relationship. Korra did as she was asked and suggested for Asami to take the day off as the scandalous article shriveled and blacken to ash. Asami had declined with her eyes gleaming intensely in the way they did whenever Asami faced a challenge that she couldn't wait to tackle.
'I'm not going to let those assholes bully me out of my own company,' Asami had said. She explained that the best way to overcome this scandal was to make Future Industries as profitable as she could and wallowing in self pity wasn't going to accomplish that.
The clever business owner did just that. With Varrick and several other popular figureheads, like Bolin once again putting on his Nuktuk persona, openly supporting the relationship, Asami was able to keep her head high and make Future Industries more well-known to the world, although she wouldn't tell the other women if it was good or bad publicity. Either way, Future Industries was bigger than it ever was before. And the cherry on top was that the 'leaked' news of the Satostation trying to be implemented to the Fire Nation helped overshadow the scandal. Asami was fiercely against it but Varrick and Zhu Li overruled her.
Korra and Lin couldn't be prouder of their lover. They stuck through everything together and came out with their relationship stronger than it was when it first started. Korra was afraid of what the news would do to Asami's and Lin's careers but she was also concerned with how her friends would react to the news once they read the newspaper and saw the pictures. She was never so glad to be proven foolish in her worrying.
The first person to contact Korra after they were outed was Bolin. He had apparently gotten the first ferry boat to Air Temple Island that morning but when he was told Korra hadn't come home that night, he went straight to Asami's mansion. Bolin was ambushed by the paparazzi but he managed to wrestle his way out and the guards that admitted him in once they got sight of him. He saluted Lin when she had opened the door and was quickly reprimanded for doing so, she wasn't the Chief anymore. Bolin stuttered out an apology and Korra and Asami had made their way to the door by then.
Bolin had pulled the two into a tight hug once he slipped past Lin. He told the three that he was happy for them. It was apparent that Bolin wasn't aware of the complications that their relationship had caused. Maybe he only looked at the pictures before starting his search for the three women. Bolin tried to get the three to go on a double with him and Opal.
Korra was quick to decline the invitation as politely as she could. She didn't think Opal would be too thrilled with the idea of her and Asami dating her aunt. She hadn't had the opportunity to ask Opal how she felt about the entire situation since the airbender had resumed traveling the Earth Kingdom. Korra didn't know if the Opal was even aware of her and Asami's relationship with Lin, although knowing Bolin she probably found out from him before half of Republic City saw the article.
She felt Lin shift next to her. Korra noticed the scowl on Lin's lips and her eyes glaring at the radio.
"-o has given his full cooperation and released the records concerning former Chief Beifong's leadership on the Sato case for review. Some people have raised questions if there was foul play involved in the investigations and whether the shocking news of Ms. Beifong's involvement with both Future Industries CEO and daughter of known equalist Hiroshi Sato's Asami Sato and Avatar Korra had any effect on then Chief of Police performance in her duties."
"It's just like you said," Korra muttered.
Lin hummed as she continued to listen to the ridiculous accusations against her conduct during her time as the Chief of Police. She did nothing wrong and the records will show in time that she performed her duties to her utmost capability. If Lin had been dating Asami and found that the younger woman was involved in the equalist movement, Lin would have done her job and arrested her lover. It might leave a bitter taste in her mouth, but the law was the law, nobody was exempt from it. "People do love juicy gossip. But I'm fifty five, not sixty five."
Korra wasn't paying attention at the time to hear that inaccuracy from the radio's report. "You are?"
"Yes, Korra, I'm more than twice than your age," Lin said, crossing her arms and moving slightly away from the younger woman. "Does that make you uncomfortable?"
"No!" Korra closed the space that had grew between them and rested a hand on Lin's thigh. She rubbed her thumb down and grinned as the crease in between Lin's eyes went away. "Age never really meant much to me. I mean, as the Avatar I'm technically thousands of years old." Lin's eyes softened but there was still a guarded look about them. Korra leaned forward and kissed Lin's lips, pulling the older woman closer and wrapping her arms around her shoulders. She felt Lin's hands find her hips and smiled crookedly into the kiss. "I think you're the hottest woman I ever met. Well Asami too but that's a given." She resumed the kiss and allowed herself to be pulled on top of Lin. Korra moved her lips to Lin's neck, smirking at the fading mark Asami had left there from their last date. Another bonus of being outed was that they didn't have to be careful not to leave love bites on each other.
Three quick knocks on the front door made Korra jump and Lin groan under her breath. Korra untangled herself from Lin and went about fixing her sash. Somehow it had become undone during their kissing. She walked to the door and opened it slightly before opening it fully when she saw Asami on the other side.
Asami gave Korra a quick kiss, taking note of the cheeks that were darker than usual. She let her satchel slide off her shoulder to fall to the floor with a thud. "Today has been exhausting. Productive, but exhausting," Asami said as she took Korra's spot of laying on top of Lin. The older woman chuckled and held her close with one arm as she kissed the top of Asami's head.
Korra sat in front of the couch where one of Lin's legs were dangling over the side. She started to massage the foot and took glee from the murmur of content that came from the older woman. Korra glanced away from her task to look at Asami. "Hey, did you know Lin's fifty five?"
Asami nodded against Lin's chest. One of Lin's hands found its way to her hair and she relaxed more and more against the older woman as Lin's fingers brushed through her hair. "Of course, I wouldn't have been able to force Lin to celebrate her birthday if I didn't know when it was." She turned her head to grin at Lin. "It took quite a lot of persuading before she told me."
Lin raised an eyebrow, her fingers stilling in Asami's hair. "You wouldn't let me climax until I told you."
The reply only made Asami's grin spread wider as her eyes took on a mischievous glint. "But it worked." Asami turned her attention back to the Avatar at the foot of the couch. "It did surprise me however. I thought that Lin was in her late thirties at the most." Korra nodded in agreement.
Lin grumbled in response but both Asami and Korra knew that Lin secretly loved the praise. They shared a quick look. Korra subtly moved up from Lin's foot to massage her calf. Lin gave another content sound that was muffled by a chaste kiss from Asami. It didn't take long for Korra's fingers to travel up to Lin's thigh and for Asami to lick Lin's bottom lip. The older woman opened her mouth with a groan, her grip on Asami's hair tightening and giving it a tug, earning a gasp from the woman above her. "You two are greedy."
"We know," Korra said with a nonchalant shrug. "But you love it."