Linorra Week Prompt, 8/14: Breakfast

Summary: Lin makes Korra breakfast the morning after their first-ever lovemaking session. Unfortunately, not all is as rosy as it seems.

Disclaimer: Written on the drive to my new apartment. (My dad was driving. I can't drive.)

Pairings: Korra/Lin ("Linorra", "Korralin")

Author's Notes: Linorra Week is happening right as I'm moving cross-country and testing for my Tae Kwon Do third-degree black belt. AUGH.

As Lin had suspected, the scent of eggs cooking woke Korra. Specifically, these were scrambled eggs with basil, chili powder, and and fresh chives and parsley. Korra loved them. She drifted into the kitchen, her hair still in a sleepy corona around her head. "Hmmm...Lin?"

"You're finally up."

Lin had to closely observe the eggs while they were cooking, so she couldn't greet Korra properly; Korra wrapped her ams around Lin's waist, her face nestled against the back of Lin's neck. "You're cozy. Can I play with your hair?"

"You always do, and half the time without asking."

Korra took that as a yes and untied the silver ponytail that now hung to Lin's waist; after a good amount of wheedling and whining from Korra, Lin had begun growing out her hair for her girlfriend to play with. Korra's hands were surprisingly gentle and loving as they sifted through Lin's hair; Korra was not a naturally gentle person, and it was still difficult to believe she could be so tender.

"Korra, the eggs are done." Korra was stroking Lin's hair and didn't answer. Lin reminded herself that in Korra's mind, the hair she was touching was not Lin's. "Korra?"

"Okay," said Korra, disappointed. "I'll just tie off the braid here, then."

"You would be able to braid my hair faster if you actually paid attention to dividing the hair into three pieces."

"I'm tired. You wore me out last night. I mean, it was my first time."

Lin's throat went dry and she could thinking of nothing to say. She served both herself and Korra a helping of scrambled eggs and took the plates to the table. Korra sat down and dug into her portion hungrily. "Mmmm! Awesome as always, Lin."

At least she knows who's cooking for her, Lin thought grimly. She went to stand behind Korra and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Korra, honey...this needs to stop."

Korra looked up at Lin, trying to seem innocent but looking nervous. "What needs to stop?"

"You pretending that you care for me."

"Lin, I don't know what—"

Lin didn't want to be circumspect or beat around the bush. Korra wasn't a perp she was interrogating; she wanted to get straight to the point. "You cried out for Asami last night."

Korra looked terrified. "Really?"

Lin nodded. "Several times. There was no mention of me."

Korra slumped over slowly, as if she were being drained of energy. "I don't think 'I'm sorry' is even close to what I should say," she said feebly.

Lin squeezed Korra's shoulder. "I'm going to tell you what I think has happened between us. I want you to hear me out, and then you can tell me how correct or wrong I am."

Korra made a small noise that could probably be most accurately described as a whimper, but somewhere in that there was an "okay". Lin continued, stroking the girl's loose hair.

"After your relationship with Mako ended so suddenly and painfully, you missed it. You missed being with someone—being held and kissed and such—but you were afraid of being hurt again. You wanted to be with someone who you didn't particularly care for, but who would still make you feel good. So you thought of me; middle-aged, plain, too devoted to my job to catch anyone's attention...of course I would jump at the chance to be on the arm of the young and beautiful avatar. You enjoyed being with me enough, but didn't develop any particular feelings for me. I started suspecting that you were interested in someone else when you asked me to grow my hair out. Whenever I kissed you...it seemed like you would close your eyes and imagine someone else. Last night, my suspicions were confirmed that the person you thought of when I kissed you was Asami."

Korra's head was resting on the table now, guilty tears seeping out from beneath closed eyelids. "You were a detective before you became police chief, weren't you?"

"Gold shield."

"So...um...why aren't you...?"

"Upset with you?"

Korra nodded, or at least it looked like she nodded.

"Because you're not the only one who likes to pretend." Lin smiled bitterly. "Sometimes it was nice to imagine it was me you wanted. Also...you seemed like you wanted to try to learn more about relationships so you would be less likely to make mistakes when you found somebody you actually loved. I wouldn't think of myself as a good example, but I tried to help."

Korra began unconsciously playing with her necklace. She had turned eighteen a little over a month before, and the necklace had been a gift from Lin. Korra had only recently learned that it had been in the Republic City Archaeological Museum as an artifact from the Southern Water Tribe, found at the site of a village the Fire Nation had completely destroyed during the war. Lin had had to use a good deal of her political clout and trade in some of her mother's childhood belongings to the museum in order to get it. Except for when she bathed, Korra never took it off. Lin had known Korra didn't love her and had still always been good to her. "Why didn't you say something? Last night?" Korra whispered.

"And spoil your first time?"

Korra sat up and clasped Lin's hand to her cheek. "How did you...how did you stand it?"

"I expected it." Lin paused. "Korra, I have to ask...why didn't you just ask Asami out? I can only assume you haven't been dating her, because if you were, you wouldn't need me. Is she not interested in women?"

"She is."

"Then why?"

Korra smiled tremulously. "I'm a terrible person."

"You're not a terrible person, Korra. Your decision to start a relationship with someone you didn't much care for was...ill-advised, but understandable. There's nothing wrong with casual relationships. But you should have been honest with me. I mean...did you really think you could deceive someone who is chief of police and learned how to use seismic sense to detect lies from Toph Bei Fong?"

"I guess I didn't think you'd be with me if I...if I was completely honest."

Lin barked out a laugh. "Do you really think I expect anyone to want a genuinely loving relationship with me? If you had come to me and said 'So, Chief, can we be girlfriends for a few months so I can practice for when I find somebody I'm really in love with? Just please, for the love of the darkest spirits, never let me see you naked.' I would have told you that you were completely mad, or instructed you to listen to Tenzin's horror stories about me first to make sure you knew what you were getting into...but I would have said yes."

Korra looked deeply ashamed; there had been occasions (the previous night included) when she had practically begged Lin to keep her clothes on. "So are you breaking up with me?"

Lin sighed. "You never answered why you didn't break up with me and go out with Asami. Clearly you have strong feelings for her."

Korra paused to think, taking Lin's hand between the two of hers. Lin rested her hand on Korra's neck under the guise of an affectionate gesture, but really she was feeling Korra's pulse. The oldest trick in the book when it came to lie detection. "I...I'm not sure. Maybe...maybe because I'm afraid Asami won't be as good to me as you are. Or as good of a kisser."

"Asami seems like a sweet girl. She'd be ten times warmer towards you than I'm capable of being."

Korra looked up at Lin, smiling tremulously. "Something keeps bringing me back to you. Maybe I actually am falling in love with you."

Lin sniffed. "Or maybe you like that I get you nice presents and make you breakfast."

"And read me love poems."

"I do not read you love poems. I read to you from various poetry books I used to read to my mother because she couldn't read them herself."

"Yeah, okay," conceded Korra, "but that one time we ran across a love poem and after you were finished reading it, you said it reminded you of me."

"Yes, and you looked like you were going to be physically ill."

Korra closed her eyes. "That didn't gross me out, really. I thought it was nice of you. My head was in your lap. Maybe you didn't really see my expression."

As far as Lin could tell, Korra was being honest. "If you have feelings for me, why are you still pretending I'm Asami?"

"Habit, maybe. I don't know."

Lin thought for a moment. "Stand up."

Korra obeyed. The tiles were stone; she knew Lin was going to try to see if she was lying. Considering what Korra had done, she didn't blame Lin or feel offended at all. Lin took both of her hands. "Korra. Why are you still in this farce relationship with me?"

Korra met Lin's eyes. "Because I think I'm falling in love with you."

Korra was telling the truth. Or at least she believed what she was saying. Lin knew by now that Korra was a terrible liar.

"All right, then. What do you want now?"

"I don't want us to break up," Korra whispered.

"Then we have to start over. Or at least you have to stop thinking about somebody other than me when we're together. I put up with it last night for your sake, but being in bed with someone crying out a name that isn't mine is not an experience I would like to repeat."

Korra nodded. "If I ever start doing that again, you can just slap me in the face."

"I'd rather not physically harm you."

"But you are...okay with trying this again." Korra bit her lower lip.

"Yes."

"So...you do like me. Despite what I did."

Lin shrugged. "I just thought of it as another relationship with someone who cared less about me than I did about them. That describes most of my relationships fairly succinctly."

"And that means you like me."

Lin paused. "Yes. Very much," she replied softly.

Korra rested a hand on Lin's damaged cheek, one fingertip on each scar, and leaned up to kiss Lin. It was a chaste kiss, if a kind one. To Lin, it did not feel the same as it did when Korra had kissed her while thinking of Asami. It was more shy, almost fearful, as if she couldn't believe Lin was giving her a second chance. "Lin, I...really think we have something. Or we can have something. I'm glad you called me on my crap."

Lin wrapped Korra in a tight hug. "I think so too."

A/N: Welp, I passed my third-degree black belt test. I fucked up a few times thanks to nerves and this being my first Tae Kwon Do test in about three years, but I passed. Now I just have to move into my new apartment. Yeah, that should totally be a cinch... /sarcasm LINORRA WEEK, Y U AT SUCH AN INCONVENIENT TIME