A/N: *peeks out from my hiding place* Don't shoot! I have another chapter as a peace offering! It took me a while to get this one typed as my hours have been increased so much of late. Updates to all of my fics will be slowed because of this, but I will not abandon any of them randomly. I will put a few on hiatus, but they will be worked on. This chapter follows both Korra AND Lin, and from here on out, it will mostly follow Lin, but have more Korra time. Now, a word about my other fics.

Notes on other works:

Frozen Hearts- Is almost completed. I only have two chapters left including the one I am on now. If you like AU and ElsAnna, you may enjoy it. Be warned, violence, sex, and language awaits. Oh, and plot twists. Inspired by the artwork of AtomicRedBoots on Deviant Art.

Betrayed Destiny- Okay, a bit of writers block is slapping me around, but I think I am going to be able to push past it sooner or later now that this chapter of Deal With It is done. Backstory for Dark Jupiter, and really is pretty cool, especially if read in tandem with Courage-less.

Ladies Man- ON HIATUS. This one has the third chapter started, but I am not going to work on it until I have less fics to contend with. Mamoru and Inner Senshi. Porn with plot. Lots of porn.

Harry Potter: A New Darkness- ON HIATUS-ish. I am plucking away at it slowly, but it isn't a priority. This one is proof that I write according to how the fics are received as I thrive on responses to my work. (If it is popular, I am more likely to work on it more diligently.)

In Your Debt- Ahhh... An eventual Makoto/Minako fic. You can tell what my favorite fandom is, can't you? This one will be updated once a month. Second chapter is due out on the first of November. Deals with so many topics of middle ages. All the while set in a cozy little brothel. Oh, it's AU.

Mistaken Gain- My childhood murdering fic is being put on hold for now. So, semi-hiatus?

And finally, the fic that started it all...

Courage-less: This one has been a pain in my ass. I had a good bit of the eighteenth chapter typed up, and suddenly, the fic was like, "Oh, wow! That's looks so cool! Too bad that it's no longer the eighteenth chapter. You'll be starting over now, and using the song Crawling as your inspiration. Tootles!" Proof that I have no idea what I am doing and no writing method in spite of having an entire EIGHTY FOUR CHAPTER GUIDE LIST for the damn thing.

WARNING: This chapter contains... drama and language? Maybe a bit of sexual themes. Really tame.

With love,
Korrupted.

Shout outs-

Spidi554: Well, so glad that I write well enough to avoid being lynched by my readers! And don't worry. It only gets more intense from here. Oh, did I say 'don't worry'? Because I meant to say, 'Worry'. Worry a whole lot.

writing about stuff: Hold onto these feels. Hold onto them tightly. Because this trip is about to feel even more in the coming chapters.

rinajewelstar: Wonder no more! Take this chapter... AND READ IT!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own ATLA, nor LoK. And trust me, you wouldn't want me to. I am a horrible human being. I mean, just look at what I did to Lin! This is inspired by and a gift for BadAssPANTieStalker on Deviant Art. CHECK. OUT. HER. ART. Right the fuck now.

"You're blind."

Those two words seemed to echo around the room that was far too silent, Lin's face carefully blank. She was blind? It seemed a mighty steep trade off for not being killed by the chi blocker's wayward blow, but that was the hand she had been dealt. "Oh. Well, that would explain the inability to see." She diplomatically stated slightly numb voice.

Korra stared at the metalbender in utter disbelief; how the hell was the woman taking this in such great stride? If she had become blind, the young Avatar was certain that she would have been thrown into a deep pit of despair. Just watching the Wolfbats lose their bending had been horrible enough, but waking up to see an Equalist impaled on metal and Lin barely breathing had been utterly nightmarish to her. "Lin, how... How are you so..."

"I am Lin Beifong, daughter of the first metalbender Toph Beifong. I am the Chief of Republic City's Metalbending Police Force. My mother was the Blind Bandit. I will not let this matter." The woman informed her in a very firm voice, her eyes staring out in front of her. "Besides, I can still see with my bending."

The metalbender shakily stood, brushing away the hands that tried to steady her as she stomped on the ground. Instantly, vibrations of the earth echoed out, her seismic sense showing her in fair detail what she was looking at, the vague expressions in her mind. "Mako, close your damn mouth. I'm blind, not an invalid. I can stand just fine."

"How?!"

"I'm an earthbender. Mother used something she called seismic sense to see. Much like how Wolfbats howl and use the echos to 'see' around them, she used vibrations, but it needs skin contact." She swayed a bit, feeling a few sets of hands quickly steady her. "And I never had to use it too much, not like this... It will take some getting used to."

The hands helped lower her to the bed again, the blind bender panting slightly as footsteps raced towards them. "Lin! Are you alright?" A breathless Tenzin half shouted, wind whipping his cloak around slightly in his distress.

"I'm fi-"

"Tenzin, she's blind!" Bolin shouted back, the policewoman glowering in the other earthbender's general direction.

"Oh, Lin..." The piteous tone of his words caused her to snarl. "I am so sorry... Is there anything I can do?"

"Why, yes. There is." She stated in an irritated tone. "Here, tell me if this sculpture looks anything like you for me."

She stomped and raised her arms, earth erupted a scant foot from in front of the airbending master, the bearded man coughing as others giggled and chuckled. "Lin, that it a very wonderful earthen sculpture of an erect penis with an arrow on the hea- HEY!"

She could only imagine his face blood red, feeling a gust of wind from his anger flaring. "Then I guess I made a perfect replica." Lin taunted, crossing her arms under her bust haughtily.

"You had better be glad the children aren't here!" He scolded her, the pitch of his voice raising.

Korra laughed at the scene before her, trying not to blush too much at the very realistic sex organ that protruded from the floor as he attention was pulled towards the doorway. The slender figure leaning in it was a very welcome distraction, the waterbender slipping out of the room quietly to be tugged along by Asami. As soon as they were certain they were alone, the non-bender stroked the Avatar's cheek with her thumb, her expression tender, planting gentle kisses anywhere she could on mocha toned skin in a bid to soothe the girl. "Are you okay?" The green eyed woman finally inquired, looking deeply into light blue.

The young bender nodded, leaning into the touch of the other woman. "Yeah, I just... Oh, Asami, this is all my fault. If I had been more aware- Mmmpppphh...!"

Her self-loathing was cut off by the sensation of soft lips pressing against her own, her arms moving of their own accord to wrap around Asami's waist and pulling her closer. Oh, did she love how soft the non-bender was in spite of those powerful muscles hidden below smooth skin. By the time they pulled apart, the both of them were properly breathless, their faces lightly flushed before the raven haired heiress pulled back more, presenting Korra with a strange stick-like item. "I made this is for Chief Beifong. I had been there when the medics were looking her over, and when her eyes didn't react to light, I took a wild guess."

The Avatar looked over the item in her hands, noting it looked much like a gentleman's cane. "It's metal, and it will help her find her way around. But, there's also a hidden switch that electrifies the other end." The brilliant young woman explained. "Just to help her adjust without being defenseless."

The water tribe teen couldn't help but smile. "Actually, she can still bend, and uses earthbending to help her see. Well... The second part is a work in progress. She's not used to using it like that, and it looked like it gave her a headache."

"Well, we should give it to her anyways."

Just as the young woman turned to lead them back to Lin's room, Korra reached out and took a gentle hold of her arm, turning her back with a pleading expression on her features. She had yet to talk to Asami, and now was as good a time as any to say what she needed to. "Wait. Asami, I... I wanted to ask you something." Her gaze dropped nervously to the floor, her mouth moving but unable to speak for several seconds.

She had rehearsed this, written everything down, so why was it so difficult to voice? "Remember a few weeks ago, when we first started... You know, fooling around? We both agreed that it was better to keep it quiet, and that we wouldn't ever date outright." She locked her own worried eyes with questioning jade hues, working up her resolve. "But what if in the future, I don't want to keep us a secret? What if I want to show you off to people and say, 'This is my girlfriend Asami Sato, and I love her'? What then?"

The non-bender seemed to crumple slightly, her expression crest-fallen and the Avatar had no idea why. "Korra, you know I can't. It's Father, and the public's approval of the business, and... I just can't."

But the waterbender refused to be deterred. "But, it would be for us. It would make us happy, and we both know that. If I were to ask you to be mine, right here, right now, what would you say?"

There was a pause, one that allowed Korra to hear her own pulse thundering in her ears. "Then, I would tell you... That we can't see each other like this anymore." Was the saddened answer.

Numb fingers dropped from their hold on Asami's arm, limply hanging by her side, her heart both throbbing and frozen somehow. It hurt, how could something so simple as words hurt so much? "Oh." It was all she could say around her strangled throat, clearing it as she fought back tears. She wouldn't let Asami see her cry. She refused. "Then, I guess we're done with being whatever we were."

As she stood to leave, she felt the other female touch her shoulder and whisper her name, but she shrugged it off weakly before continuing. With each step, it became more and more of a struggle not to cry, the bender fighting to keep her eyes clear and her face neutral. The last thing she needed right now was questions, and the walking stick in her hand was a reminder of what she had just willingly given up.

"You might get a broken heart out of it, but at least you tried."

Lin's words echoed around her head, Korra's shoulders sagging more. She did have the consolation of being honest, but it was a damn hollow prize as opposed to the warmth of Asami pressing against her. She just wanted to give the metalbender the gift from her now former fling and go lock herself in her room to... Rage? Cry? Break everything in sight? Maybe a mix of all three? Yeah, that last one seemed like the best choice. Dredging up every last bit of self control, she walked through the door to Lin's room, glad that the earthen penis had since returned to being unassuming ground. "Lin, Asami made this for you. It's a metal cane to help you find your way around." She tried to make it sound like the woman wasn't useless. "While you're getting used to your Lin-dar."

Lin could hear a bit of a strain in Korra's voice, her brow furrowing. "Everyone but Korra, out. Right now. I want to talk to my student."

"Now just a moment, Lin." She could almost imagine his irritated expression. "Korra is no longer your pupil now tha-"

"I SAID OUT, TENZIN!" She roared, the floor rippling dangerously. It seemed that her loss of sight also created a loss of some control of her bending.

However, the bearded man seemed to obey at last, stalking angrily out of the room and slamming the door shut. The young Avatar blinked nervously at the woman, flinching as she held up her hand as if waiting for something. After several tense seconds, the chief sighed in annoyance, her expression reflecting that. "The cane?" She stated, beckoning with her fingers.

"Oh! S-sorry."

Korra walked up to the blind woman, placing the item in her hands. After taking a moment to run her fingers along the silver toned surface, she watched as Lin flicked it with her fingertips, her expression turning thoughtful. "Hmmm. Well made, hidden electrical charge, and very lightweight. She really outdid herself." Her head didn't move at all. "So, spill. What's bothering you?"

Korra winced silently, not meeting Lin's unseeing gaze out of habit as she gave the door a sidelong glance. "Took your advice with Asami, but I found out it wouldn't go anywhere. So, I ended it."

"And are you alright with that?" The woman blinking slowly, her face unassuming.

"Of course I am." She lied, pulling on her best fake grin. "If I wasn't, then I wouldn't have done it. Whoa!"

Before she could properly defend herself, the waterbender found herself gripped by her shirt collar and yanked closer to the greying woman, suddenly very nervous. Was the metalbender about to hit her? That was always a possibility with Lin, and after training directly under her for three days, she wouldn't nix the idea of it happening. However, when the hand flashed out to make Korra tense up and shut her eyes, it wasn't to strike her. Instead she felt the calloused hand gently touch her face, the action almost timid compared to how rough she was typically. Korra could feel the latent strength within that shockingly gentle hand as it lightly traced over her skin, taking in her features by touch while the nape of her neck tingled from the sensation. It was the most oddly intimate non-romantic thing she had ever felt; trusting someone enough to search her features without sight, to trust that they knew her just that well to decipher her emotions by the contact. Just when had she come to trust Lin? Had it been when she abandoned Amon's capture to save her? Gone blind defending her? Given her advice on Asami? Before all that? The mocha skinned woman didn't know, but she didn't back away. Not that she would have been able to if she wanted; Lin still had a death-grip on her collar.

The blinded policewoman could feel the warmth of her student's skin under her hand, tracing her fingertips over Korra's lips with the greatest of care. In her mind, she was busy painting a picture of the Avatar's face, trying to build what emotion truly lay just below the surface of her cautiously curious expression. The overall impression was sadness, guilt, and hurt. Korra must have truly had feelings for Asami, but gracefully had let go of the fling; poor kid had been hurt trying to give someone her heart. Even so, the idiot-bender had lied to her. If she didn't have such a headache, the Beifong woman would have strung her upside-down from the rafters and used her for a practice dummy. "Right. And I'm a Turtle Lion. Care to try again, kid?"

Korra knew better than to lie again, sighing sadly when the hand was removed. "It hurts a bit. Okay, a lot. But, we went into it knowing she couldn't because of her father, so I guess I was setting myself up for failure."

"It hurts, and it will hurt for a while. It's never easy. When Tenzin and I used to have fights, it hurt. Even when we were both furious, it hurt us horribly. But we are still friends. Somewhat. Kind of. Usually- Alright, maybe he's a bad example." The woman admitted in a bit of a rush, pouting a bit.

Korra laughed softly at Lin's failed attempt to console her, feeling a bit better regardless. It had been a nice gesture on her part and proved that in her own crass way, she cared. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. Really. I will hurt you if you say anything to anyone."

Lin felt properly embarrassed by her failure at trying to be understanding with romance. It had been a good many years since she had dated, let alone been in flings; she had no idea about that sort of fluff anymore. She was the police chief of Republic City, and everyone looked to her to be strong. But how strong could she be if she was blind? She needed to master the seismic sense before she could be of real use to her officers as their leader, and in the mean time, Amon was plotting like the asshole he was. Did her mother feel this way when she had to wait to fight against Ozai? "Get me the radio line, will you? It's on the desk."

She heard the young woman stand and scoop up the device and return, handing over the metal microphone. Lin expertly move the dial, setting it by memory to the right frequency. "Come in. This is Chief Beifong. Respond."

The other end crackled for a moment. "This is Officer Reisler, badge number seven, Aang, one, five, Spirit, Bumi, four. Good to hear you, Chief."

"Officer Reisler, what is the status?"

"The metal is golden. And you?"

The code for everything was normal was a relief to hear. "I've gotten word of an issue in Ba Sing Se. I have to sort it out immediately, it seems." She replied.

"Ba Sing Se? Must be serious then." The old city was code for the chief position, noting that something had happened to her. "Any idea what the situation is?"

Lin had worried of a leak in the department a week ago, informing them to return to old codes when speaking over the radios. It had been a pain to reteach them the different words and meanings, but it was paying off. "Pest infestation." It took her several seconds to voice the rest. "Badger moles."

Badger moles. Blindness. There was silence on the other end. "I se- I mean, I understand. Any idea how long you will be away?"

"No. Could be a while. Reisler, inform Saikhan that until further notice he is the Chief."

"Yes Chief." It sounded like he was about to end the transmission before he came back on. "Best of luck dealing with the badger moles. You know we'll be waiting for your return." The bare kindness in Reisler's voice was easily noted, the man hanging up as Lin sighed.

"What in the hell was that?" The young woman inquired rather tactlessly.

"None of your damn business, that's what." A knock from the door distracted her. "Come in!" She barked.

Korra watched as a wary Tenzin entered the room once more, shuffling slightly. "I need to go back to the North Pole to get Pema and the kids. I will be back in about six days." He fidgeted a bit, the Avatar now wondering what he was up to. "However, I don't feel comfortable leaving you unattended while you are learning to use your seismic sense on a constant basis. Therefore," he looked at the mocha skinned young woman. "Korra will be left in your charge again. Korra? Listen to Lin and help her with anything she needs."

The older woman visibly snarled, the floor trembling. "For the last time... I'm blind, not a damn cripple!"

"Lin, I am not asking your permission on this. And I will try to bring Mother back too, in case she can help."

She was fuming still, but relented at the mention of Korra's waterbending master and her godmother. "Now that that's settled, I need to get back. Korra? Why don't you let her rest. And Lin? Always a-"

A bit of metal all but shoved the airbender out of the room, Korra wisely fleeing as well. The metalbender clasped her hands tightly, closed her eyes, and rest her forehead on her knuckles, letting everything sink in. She was blind. She was blind, and everyone was already trying to coddle her. She wasn't sure what was worse. "I am a Beifong. I am the daughter of Toph. I will get through this. I am a Beifong. I am the daughter of Toph. I will get through this." She repeated to herself over and over again like a mantra.

"I am a Beifong." Beifong's were strong, and so she was strong too.

"I am the daughter of Toph." Toph was the first metalbender, and a force to be reckoned with, and so she was a force to be reckoned with too.

"I will get through this." She would. She had to. Her city depended on it.