Fixing What Was Broken

Books and papers illegally held more than one square on the pai sho board. Both parent and child were perturbed by the information they were trying to digest. For the older of the two, who was racking her gray haired brain, this was like trying to read an ancient language. Far off dead and no one left who knew how to decipher it. Lin dug her knuckles into her cheek. When it was still fresh, and for some years after, pressing on the side that had the scar always triggered memories of that day in the street. Now all Lin can think about are tiny hands reaching out to touch it, roughly prod it, and when Yee-Li had been old enough to understand, kiss it.

Hands brushed through red hair roughly pulling out invisible tangles that may help lessen the block in her brain. Yee-Li sighed as she nibbled on the end of her eraser. "I don't get it momma." She groaned.

Lin took another look at the book then her daughter. Swatting the eraser out of her mouth she said, "don't chew on that." Before taking the book for a closer inspection. Leaning close enough that her nose brushed the page. In hopes that if she let her eyes blur on the words...still, no solution came to mind.

It was then in distress she turned, the name hung on the tip of her tongue ready to fall. Korra had her back to them. Sitting on the couch. Sitting and staring. She is not in the moment with the other two. Eyes glazed. The waking dream sets her mouth flat; neither a smile nor frown.

Lin catches Yee-Li looking back to the empty page of her report. The book is set down as Lin scooches closer. The arm that tries to lay across her daughters shoulder meets nothing. Lin watches as her daughter rises without a word and leaves. Shoulders sink at the obvious look Lin sees Yee-Li give her mommy as the girl heads up the stairs.

The house gives no indication where the little girl is going. Still Lin listens with her ears, and not her feet, for anything. A creak of the floor. Perhaps the squeal of a door; no, she oiled them far too well. So she could be the one sneaking around without being caught. Now it was being used against Lin by the one she spied on.

Then there was a loud flow as water swished through the pipes in the walls. From the ceiling through the side of kitchen and out to join the main pipeline.

Lins shoulders relaxed when she saw Yee-Li coming back down. Who paid no mind to the scrunching face her momma made as she walked by. Yet, not without giving her mommy another momentary look. Which seemed to of set something straight in the little girls head as she walked out of the kitchen.

Springing to her feet Lin set to follow on her daughters heels. "Where are you going squirt?" She asked trying to keep the nervous scratch out of her voice.

In the nook Yee-Li sat down with her shoes taken from the cubby hole her. The painted wood faded from the years. There were scratches from their shoes frequently coming and going. The only true damage however was a chip from when Korra stumbled in the dark one night. Three large buttons were easily laced on Yee-Lis coat before she grabbed the door handle.

A hand was thrown hastily to stop her exit. "Wait. Let me get my stuff too."

However, the girl was out the door with a click as it shut tight behind her.

"Where are you going?" Lin shouted as she pulled the door open in a panic. Watching as the words left her mouth. Her daughter gave a look over her shoulder and started to run. Scrambling back inside Lin shouted through the house. "Korra; Yee-Lis running!" The woman was stopped in her frenetic scramble by the blank stare her wife gave like she hadn't heard the troubling bit of news. Hands folded neatly her head sunken in her shoulders. Lips chewed raw. Lin paused with hands flexing to pump the adrenaline through her arteries. "I'm going to," Lin looked away abash, "go get her." She finally finished leaving to go to her room taking the stairs three at a time.

The winged boar, the symbol of the Beifong line, once had the place of honor as the sole piece of furniture in Lins old apartment. Now it was stuffed into a corner in their room. Dwarfed by the elegant dresser given as a gift from Bolin. Flashy and expensive. The grain was flawless with no stops or starts. No piece or parts visible on the outside. The whole thing had been carved from one tree. And weighed enough that they had first thought it would break the floor when it gave a dying shriek when they set it down.

As she opened the other dresser that had been neglected the past couple of years Lins sense caught the feel of an old friend. Reaching out to touch it with her bending it was like she were back in the cemetery meeting her mother again. It felt warm and inviting as the metal engulfed her body. If not a little loose at first from all the home cooked meals she has had since she last put it on; Lin pauses at the thought and shakes it away. The plates shrink to accommodate. It fits snug to her like a second skin once more. That flexes and breaths along with her heart beat. There is enough sense left in her to wipe the grease that accumulated on the badge. Which gives a weak shine in the light like it were winking.

Korra's eyes widen when she hears the familiar clink of the armor. She panics thinking that time has turned itself back. Until she sees Lin coming down the steps and she stops. With a little more gray and a few more lines around the eyes. The smile isn't like how it used to be, grumpy and uninviting. It dithers though before her wife.

"I'm going after her." Lin nods.

Korra manages a weak ok before Lin leaves. Then closing her eyes, Korra falls asleep.

Cars split themselves going down the fork there house sat in the middle of. Lin stepped into the street as one honked its horn and made a wrong turn. She ignored the noise and shouts. Focusing her breathing. Steadying it. Trying to sync with the vibrations of the metal on her back. Which when tuned just right; hummed. The cables twisted in tune with her emotions. They twitch nervously almost hesitantly as they come out. Propelling Lin upwards to view the tops of the houses. The metal hitches onto the lines set up to help other metal benders get around. Lin swung her body. Shooting, retracting, and redirecting her cables to move. Not even her absence from using the uniform had made the woman an less adept at moving around her city.

It made Lin want to go higher; to feel the chill of fresh air in her lungs and not have to inhale the clogging smog of the Sato-mobiles that had settled as a fog over the streets. But she had a purpose and kept low. Flying over the heads of citizens trying to look for one red head in particular. Easy to spot. Yee-Li was making her way away from the house. Narrowing herself to slip between legs and using her body to push through the oncoming flow. As anyone raised in a city would know. You don't get where you need to on time by playing nice. Yet, she was strolling along in no rush.

The peculiar behavior held Lin back. Perching on a wire in front of the world to see. With no intention of hiding herself Lin watched her daughter. Even as people pointed her out and gave shouts. Knowing who she was. Yee-Li didn't notice the commotion even as it seemed to follow behind her.

The girl turned at a corner. Lin swung around it with legs bent. Rounding it Lin made a show of walking along the building, her body perpendicular to the ground, stepping over windows with curious eyes peeping out. Twisting in a dance that defied gravity as she reattached a cable to a different part of the building. Keeping well enough back from her daughter who still seemed oblivious.

Did she think I wouldn't follow her? The girl was carefree. Swinging her arms now that there had come enough space. Lin retracted the bottom of her boots to let bare feet tread across the bricks of the building. Throwing out her sense she picked up the constant vibrations coming from her daughters mouth. The humming was sporadic, chaotic, with notes crashing against one another and often time overtop each other. Some wordless tune Lins mother used to hum when she were trying to calm her nerves when work was getting on them. Who knew the same thing worked on kids. Lin was glad it worked on Yee-Li too. Till she began to wonder what her daughter was worried by.

Slowing her pace further Lin nearly came to a standstill on the side of the building. The cable of her arm still attached to it. Thumbing her lip. Giving the nail a bite. The why was unfortunately easy to piece together.

Yee-Li crossed the street taking care to look both ways even when she followed a group of people who didn't.

Lin bent and pushed off. The cable went rigged to add a little extra power to her leap. Lin swung her arm and the cable flew and found a hold on a pole naked of any flag. The pole bent under her weight. With a grunt Lin planted her feet into the side of the building making divots in the bricks for foot holds. "Damn." Lin said attaching her other cable to a more sturdy object. She swung over to the edge of the building and peeked around the corner. Yee-Li was more further away than Lin found comfortable if she were doing a stake out.

Suddenly, with an abrupt turn Yee-Li vanished into the building Lin was hanging onto. Curious Lin moved around the corner. Walking till she came to what must of been the place her daughter had gone into.

With wanton care for who owned the building Lin made her cables bury into the bricks to support her weight as she flipped upside-down. The cables hissed as people on the street watched the woman descend. Stopping to keep covered Lin stretched her neck the last few inches and peeked over the edge of the window.

There were things that would make the tip of a pink tongue run over puffy dark lips. Fluffy cakes that weighed no more than a cloud topped with thick cream to keep them grounded. Colored jimmies dusted rows of cupcakes creating a rainbow bridge between cakes to pastries. The walls were yellow like they too were freshly baked. And everyone who worked the counter wore aprons with some sort of smudge on it. One man who was at the register had a smudge of flour over his cheek were he tried to wipe away a dollop of chocolate that was also still there.

A women smiled brighter and sweeter than the things she sold. Warm and comforting she was assisting Yee-Li in her selection. Pointing to something in the case that had the girl nodding hurriedly at. With fat fingers she pulled whatever it was and placed it neatly in a white bag. Then folded the top and sealed it with a sticker.

The blood pooled in Lins head. It began a dull pounding at the top of her skull. Pulling up to adjust the flow for a minute Lin ducked back down again to look back through the window.

Where she banged her head against the bricks as she nearly got caught by her daughter turning away from the register. The little girl blinked at the window. Head tilting downward as she went to the door that gave a happy chime from a weathered golden bell. Outside she held onto the bag with one hand and tried to find a spot to join the herd of people. None the wiser to the woman in uniform hanging not more than a couple of feet above her head.

Lin held her breath. Afraid to raise herself up for fear that the un-oiled cable might make a noise and alert her daughter. If the people who were staring at her as they passed by didn't. Raised brows and laughs at the metal bending officers antics. Some seemed a bit angry thinking that this was what their tax dollars were going towards? Pastry shop stake outs.

Maintaining a childish obliviousness to the world around her, Yee-Li found the right moment to join the moving crowd and went along her way. Keeping the bag held tight in her little fingers.

A shiver sent Lin into a swing. The armor was airy. When she used to wear it she did so with more padding for the winter months but in her haste she had forgotten. So rather than dwell Lin pulled on the cables which winched her up. Then swung after her daughter.

There was a scratch on her forehead. It felt warm and tender when the wind touched it. Her hair fluttered. Ears pounded. Yet her muscles appreciated the exercise. If earth bending was a way of life. A skill to be mastered. Then metal bending was something much more; an artistry. One that the woman had not paid much attention to. Not in a while. It wasn't until now as she was swinging once more through the city streets did Lin realize it. That she had neglected her mother's art in favor of her family. How does Suyin find the time? Lin wondered. Even when Lin had stepped down it was hard to manage a family and a job at the same time. Let alone find time to practice. Cuts had to be made somewhere and Lin wasn't about to let her time with Korra or Yee-Li go.

Somehow, I don't think mother would of cared. Pride being a dominate emotion in Tophs life. She would of shown it for whatever choice Lin had made.

Speaking of family Yee-Li wasn't going directly home after her trip as Lin had thought. Instead she walked with what looked like no destination in mind. Looking around but thankfully never up; Yee-Li was searching for something else. Two different streets didn't meet her satisfaction till she found one that was a little less crowded. Then another with even less people. And another with no one but a boy sweeping the walk in front of his house. Hair combed back by his mothers doing to make him more of a gentleman. Yee-Li walked past him and towards a bench where she sat. Appearing to think. Placing the bag next to her and swinging her legs and looking around. Noticing the boy she was quick to avert from his stare.

Lin could feel her heart double its echoes. She grinned. Great, now she's at that age huh? Oh boy, Korra is not going to be happy. Watching her daughter from the slanted roof. Lin leaned over the side to see Yee-Li turning her head. Looking down one side of the street. The humming become melancholy as her feet stilled. Yee-Li leaned more heavily upon the back of the bench.

Lin sighed and resigned herself to standing up. Taking a step off the edge she fell and goosed her daughter when she landed. The girl may have jumped at the noise but didn't turn around. Instead she lay a hand on the bag as if to protect it.

The woman rounds the bench; Yee-Li looks at her then away. The wood protests the weight of Lins armor, gasping as the she shifts about to find a comfortable way to lounge. They were never practical to sit with. An uncomfortable conciliation to having them. As she leaned forward, to avoid leaning against the cable wheels on her back, Lin sandwiched her hands together. Having wished to of grabbed her coat that was by the front door she gave a firm rub to stave off the chill that was setting in.

"So," Lin begins glancing at her daughter who looked back, "what was so important that you had to run out and get?" Unable to get mad Lin resided to wait for an answer. Which came when the bag was slide across the bench. Lin studied the plain white bag. Plucking it she held it between her hands and felt the friction on her fingers. Flipping it over she looked at the sticker that sealed it; a picture of a cupcake. Carefully she peeled it off. There was warmth though it was fleeing when the air met the little flakes dusted with spices. "Fire flakes?" Lin questioned.

There was a nod. Low and slow showing the hesitance of the young girl to answer. "For mommy."

Lins mouth opened in a silent O. The results of which made her turn away in shame. While sloppily wrapping the bag and pushing it back towards her daughter.

Then there was a meek fumbling of lips. Before Yee-Li said, "Mommy's sad momma. Why are you doing that to her?" The girl can see the metal flex on Lins shoulders. It parts and slips over each other. When Yee-Li slides over the bench closer to Lin and lays a hand on her mother's knee it stills along with the others breathing. "She sleeps a lot, and doesn't eat. Are you mad at her?"

There are tears at the edges of Lins eyes when she finally turns to look at her daughter. "I-i," Lin pauses to swallow a thick wad of mucus, it is hard as stone and sinks like one into the pit of her stomach, "I'm not mad at her." A rough hand swipes the tears away. Lin tries to be firm in her answer. "I'm not, Yee-Li." No pet name this time.

"Then why don't you cuddle or kiss her anymore?" There is no accusation. Nothing of an adult tone in the way Yee-Li says it. Simply a child wanting to know.

Lin shields her weeping eyes with a hand but a tear manages to make a run for it. Through the armor she can feel the vibrations of her daughters fingers running over the plates. Trying to be soothing and kind.

"I saw you two on the couch...you made up right? So why would mommy still be upset."

Lin turned away from her daughters downtrodden face. Yee-Lis sulks and watches the ground in front of them. Lips creased. It made Lin turn away out of guilt. "I told you to stay in your room." She tries to sound angry but it falls out as a whimper, "it-is complicated Yee-Li but..."

The words butted in, "Is it because of the man we went to visit? He looked sick."

"He was a bad person Yee-Li that was why he was in jail. He hurt someone very very much." Lin turned back to show how serious she was. Even with puffy eyes she managed to pull it off with a curved lip.

"Was it you?" At Lins nod Yee-Li felt extremely guilty for following her mommy that day.

"And your mommy too." Lin let the words fall on a quick breath. Letting them hang in the air and be absorbed.

"B-but mommy likes him. Why would she take me to see him if she didn't? She likes him." The girl repeated once more. Remembering the cheery smile Korra had tried to give the nervous girl as they were escorted by an imposing guard through the prison where every door was made of bars.

"She shouldn't," Lin snorted at her wife's naivety, "that's her choice. Not mine to make for her Yee-Li. Everyone has their own to make." Lin reflected while staring ahead to a window with a blue curtain blowing out of it. The shade a match to the clothes her wife wore daily. It made-it made Lin feel lonely. The nights hadn't been warm since then. And daybreak brought only heartache. Seeing her wife in such a catatonic state made Lin paralyzed. Unable to think of anything to do to dispel it. Truly at a loss for the woman who always had a plan for anything. This was love though. Something Lin never really could grasp as effortless as bending. It had been easy up to this point. "How do I make this right?" Lin asked, the two turn their heads simultaneously towards each other at that moment.

"Kiss her?" Was the answer her daughter gave. "Your kisses always make her feel better. T-they do for me." Yee-Li confessed a little red in the cheeks.

Lins eyes opened wide for a second then contracted as she became bashful about her daughters confession. It allowed some of the tension to leave and she closed the small gap between them and pressed their sides together. An arm wrapping around Yee-li. The plates were jagged and felt weird against her back. Still Yee-Li put up with it cause it helped her feel better.

As her mother stood she turned to the bench and held out a hand. A light smile that shown brighter to Yee-Li than it had in days. Getting up she grabbed the bag before she took her mommas hand.

Shaking the hand off Lin crouched down and gave a haughty laugh as she grabbed Yee-Li by the waist. "I got a better way to get home. Hold tight, I mean it."

Stomach flopping. Yee-Li felt her ears pop. Her eyes closed tight. Trying hard to not hold in a breath for fear that her body might explode from the pressure. Her shearing was assaulted by car horns, shouting people, and other sounds of a normal city life. Hair wiping and blowing against her face. She tried to move it away but the effort was futile. Body clenching as moments of extreme pressure on her insides came when they swung. Then she felt light as a feather as they hung in the air.

"Open your eyes." Lin had to shout against the wind. A laugh in her mommas voice. Something Yee-Li was glad to hear.

The world was unable to come into focus as it flew by. There were moments were she saw people, windows, and even the skyline. Quick to change to a new setting. They fly weightless and reckless with Lin steering them with one hand. Daring to let go each time to affix her cable to a new perch. Yet Lin felt herself having the kind of fun moving this way around the city that she hadn't since she had first put on the uniform. Always maintaining a grip like steel on her daughter though. Who struggled between enjoying the moment and losing her stomach. Even managing to giggle and not throw up all over some unsuspecting citizen below.

When they stopped her stomach still flipped and flopped. Legs wobbly as they adjusted back to solid ground. Yee-Li held tightly on her mommas hand. The bag pressed against her chest was wrinkled and few fire flakes had been crushed. They walked the last block back to the house. Silent. With only the clinking of Lins metal boots on the pavement to make conversation.

They stop at the door. Yee-Li grabbing her mother's arm. She held up the bag. Gesturing for Lin to take it. With reluctance she does; it shouldn't be her gift to give though. But she cracks a nervous smile. Ruffles the girls hair.

Yee-Li reaches for the door and lets them in.

Quicker to shed her things Yee-Li waits for her mother to shut the door. Back turned she fiddles with the locks. Locking and unlocking them a couple of times. Till someone lays there hand to still the repetitive yet calming motion. Face beaming with confidence enough for the both of them Yee-Li leads her on.

The dreams looked unpleasant from Korras twisted body and face. Hands pulled to her chest. Her fingers unconsciously curl. A low whimper produced in the back of her throat. Suddenly her back goes ram rod straight. As something seems to of caught up with her in the dream.

Yee-Li gasps.

Lin kneels down on one leg. She sighs. Looking at the unpleasantness before her. I'm sorry for the bad dreams; Lin thinks, leaning forward. A thumb unwinds her knitted brows with a gentle brushing. Never again. I won't allow this ever again. Their lips brush. Lins open unconsciously to allow the inside of her lip to cover more of Korras. It felt divine, wonderful, and well missed.

Though she did not wake, and thankfully Yee-Li could only see Lins back, her face became peaceful. A bit like it had been before this folly. Here eyes still seemed sunken and she hadn't bathed in a day or two so her hair was slick with grease. Which didn't seem to bother her wife who ran her fingers through it before tucking a lock of hair behind an ear.

Lin settled herself against the couch; careful of the cables on her back. Leaving the bag next to her. Yee-Li just stood in front of her, beaming, until Lin sent her to finish her homework. The girl grumbled and complained under her breath not wanting to disturb her mommy's new serene slumber.

As Lin sat, arms on her knees, she heard the sound of a book opening. A little time later as an idea finally came and a pencil began scratching on paper. Lin tuned it out in favor of listening to Korras breathing. Heavy through the nose and out the mouth. The snoring wasn't as bad either. Feathery. Almost...cute? Lin cracked up. Yeah, I guess that's the right word.

A brown arm landed on her shoulder snipping an ear. It surprised the woman. The skin was smooth and it tickled easily. Fingers twitching at Lins touch. There was a murmur. Gruff and maybe a little agitated at the disturbance. Lin smiled. As the fingers curled then released there tension. The limb going limp so the full weight rested upon her armored shoulder. Leaving indents in the flesh that would fade easily.

"Have a good dream little penguin?" Lin asked, at which the fingers tensed once more. Taking the hand in hers Lin rubbed them till they loosened. Till all the tension was gone. And they hung out to dry. Enough that Lin could bow her head and kiss the pad of Korras palm.

A wordless nod to the back of Lins head, but she knows. Of course Lin knows. She kisses a little higher up the arm. Making it wiggle.

"Um I-we-got you something." Lin presses the bag into the palm. The hand retracts from view. Afterward Lin hears the sound of the sticker being peeled. The bag opened...then a chuckle. Long overdue. With a lot of wetness in it.

The couch creaks as Lin feels lips on the back of her head.

The a drags out in a hoarse whisper as Korra says, "thank you."

Hands so strong tug Lins head around. The first thing Lin notices are her wife's wet eyes. Happy wet eyes. After that she feels moistness on her lips. And tenderness, so much tenderness and love put into the action. Lin twists till she is on her knees. Hands gripping the cushion as she pushes herself deeper into Korra. Mixing the tears on their cheeks together as they rub their faces in an effort to get better reacquainted with one another. The cushion is squeezed so hard there is a fear it may split open. Because Lin wants to do so much more.

Yet she has to stop them. Because at the table, in the kitchen, is a little girl covering her eyes. Both happy and embarrassed; and trying to finish a report for school.