Badgermole Days
A dull gleam from the gray skies outside shown in the dents from ankle to knee, dirt that had once been smeared across its surface had been meticulously wiped away. Lifeless, the metal sat upon an ordinary cloth on the kitchen table. A can of polish left open beside it with a cloth frozen stiff inside the waxy mixture.
The water mixed with soap into a frothy mix. A tea kettle had begun to howl its readiness but the woman at the sink wasn't finished. Turning off the flow she took a dish towel and dried her cup for she didn't want to ruin the taste with any remnants that might remain, also cold water would spoil a drink that should always be served warm.
As Lin prepared her tea she lingered between her cup and the window in front of the sink; the view of the backyard made her annoyed. To have it there and not be able to enjoy it, the snow had melted but the earth was left muddy. A little mud never bothered an earth bender. She turned to fast and was greeted by a short burst of pain. The cup skittered across the kitchen counter, a wet trail left behind. Lin hissed as she bent over, hand rubbing from the top of her thigh down to her knee where it grazed the hard edge of her cast. White had faded to a somewhat brown. The heel had the worst of the mud and Korra didn't know how she could clean the cast without turning it into a soggy mess that would slop off her healing leg.
Mopping up her mess with the towel from the sink Lin picked up her cup and limped over to the table. The pain was like miniature electrical shots with every step but it was better than looking decrepit if she were to use a cane. She was old but not that old. Mother never used a cane and neither will I.
The tough part was folding her leg under the table and trying not to instinctively flex with the pain and hit the underside of the table. The action came smoother after a few days, either the break was starting to mend, or she had gotten used to the pain.
Lin sipped her cup, the steam fogging her eyes as she surveyed the shin guard. The casing had protected her leg from most of the damage. Lots of scratches many that had probably already been there anyway, Lin usually filled in the worst but left the smaller ones to give her armor some bite, to put the fear into those who saw her whether that had been in a room in the precinct or in a more formal setting. Either way even if she was no longer apart of the metalbending police that didn't mean she didn't want to keep up appearances.
Fingers flex and the shin guard wobbled on the table. She felt the stiff material and the parts that could be remade to her will. Lin raised the other hand and her feel of the metal intensified. It was under her control and its will was her will. She gently relaxed her fingers and even the object sighed in comfort at her lax in hold. With soothing yet rough jerks she manipulated what needed it. The dents pop, largest of which being in the relative area where the bone had been broken. A couple of inches from her ankle if the injury had been there...
The woman tousled her short grey hair as she shook her head. It would have meant nothing; I still wouldn't use the cane. And no injury could ever stop me from earth bending; Lin scoffed both physically in the empty room, and in her head, the frown a fitting shape to match the state of her armor. Miming cracking a stale loaf of bread Lin bent the shin guard straight, a harsh and cringing shriek accompanying. Lin was unaffected by the cries as she worked. Not a bead of sweat broke from actions that came with an ease that had taken a lifetime to achieve. Once what would have taken enormous bursts of energy when she was no taller than her mother's thighs, now took only tiny flexes of muscle. Lin was the puppeteer of the metal and allowed the edge of her mouth to rise at her work.
Tea was her reward. A hearty sip that slide deliciously down the throat, it did not burn her tongue and today Lin was feeling a little reckless so she added some honey. Maybe it was blasphemous to the woman who usually took it straight but today...she didn't know, it just felt like a good day to try something different. Korra always added honeys, jams, or sugars for her sweet tongue. Lin had been taught how to drink tea by her mother who learned it from Iroh who himself was a purist, by default so was her mother. Those two would probably be very angry with her. Lin took another sip. The jasmine was immediately overtaken by the sweetness of the honey, Lin didn't care.
Setting the cup down Lin took her shin guard and set it on the floor. What she laid down next was a thick piece of steal that usually rested on her back. One of the two spools that her cables were wound around; it had been roughly knocked loose in the fall. An easy fix since the spring was the only part that needed to be replaced. Pliers, the simple tool of a handywoman would be all she would need. Don't ask her to fix an engine. Lin could fix her armor and simple things in the home. When things broke, and they often did with a blind woman who had too much bravado, it was Lin who had to learn to fix them so Toph never knew what she had accidentally done. Such a spur of the moment kind of woman kicking up rocks in her own house. She remembered the first time she got splinters. The first time she hit her thumb with a hammer. Lin had been so embarrassed by her injury that the young girl risked going to air Temple Island by herself to see her Aunt Katara.
Lin picked up the wheel and made sure that the metal cable was still ok. It never hurt to double check things. Not like she was on the force anymore but protecting her wife's back was an even greater job and Lin wanted to make sure her equipment wouldn't fail Korra. The spring was similar to the old one. Asami had tried to convince her to go with a new kind supposed to be of a better quality with a higher breaking strength and would improve overall function. Function, was a good selling point, no doubt, but then it would mean that Lin would have to acquaint herself with the new feel of that spring. It was lighter and Lin, already used to the weight of her armor, reasoned any less might throw her off. Improved speed might have helped, yes, but Lin was used to its current speed. Her whole combat strategy had been honed for years around the exact speed she knew that her cables could both eject and retreat; wasn't for her was all.
It was fixed with only a little trouble setting the spring, as it sprung on Lin and bounced away forcing the woman to crawl undignified after it. Her leg throbbed for a little while after she sat back down. A hand tried to smooth away the pain.
"This is what I get for disobeying you, don't I Korra?" Grimacing when she hit a sore spot by accident and her body stiffened. The woman let out a low groan the o carried until she felt the pain subside. Rules had been set and were supposed to be followed thusly, without contradiction. As a former person of the law Lin had always followed the rules respectfully. Going against those set by the avatar was tantamount to defying a deity. Deity's don't snore like a hog monkey, and besides it wasn't like she was going in the back yard to her armor was a restful activity. "She had told me to stay on the couch the whole day." Lin scoffed as she set her jaw in her hand and looked again to the backdoor. That little amount of earth, but it was her earth, waiting to play. In a sudden fit her hands stretched behind her neck. Shoulder joints crack pleasantly. With the sudden pressure gone Lin allowed a small smile.
To bad spring is still a ways off, the woman lamented on this thought. Of course it had to be winter when she broke her leg otherwise she could have at least of had the windows and the backdoor open. Feel the city air all hot and smoggy with barely a hint of a breeze able to squeeze in from the harbor through the unnatural barrier created by the buildings.
Closeted inside without wife or daughter Lin shook herself loose of her daydream to see the cold sky and the damp backyard. She sighed and looked away; it was a hard thing to do. Taking a sip only to find nothing left, a grimace shooed away the happiness as the woman looked down to her leg then at the tea kettle.
"Well I want it don't I." She told herself trying to psyche her body up to move. Hands flat on the table she used them to move all her weight onto her good leg. Keeping the cast barely touching the floor as she got up and once upright allowed it to ease onto the floor, the tingling started immediately with the first step like she were walking on a garden bed of pins, needles, thumbtacks, or even a nail or two at times, all for the couple of feet it took to get to the tea pot.
She jiggled the pot and heard the slosh all Lin needed to do then was turn on the stove. As the tea pot was brought to a boil, hunger stirred. It was nothing more than a low growl barely above the chirp of a cricket. There wasn't much in the cabinets. Some flameo's: which were her daughters and off limits to Korra; the box did feel on the light side when Lin moved it out of the way. Spices, flours, all the usual things to cook their meals along with some dried seaweed and...Lin pushed a container of brown powder out of the way at the back of the cabinet.
"What's this?" The question went unanswered by the empty room but Lin soon found out when she pulled out a pouch. Weighty, the material and its contents ballooned between her fingers. Lin plopped it down on the counter and undid the string with fluid hands unlike her foot at the moment which had decided to shudder excruciatingly from idling too long. Palms hits the counter trying to keep Lin upright she grit her teeth, felt them strain, and rub inside her mouth, ready to crack under the pressure.
She panted and wiped her mouth and rubbed her leg to break down the stiffness till it went away and Lin could open the pouch. She knew the smell the second a tiny sliver of air could pass through the opening and kick up the scent. Not needing to see what was inside; Lin however, opened it anyway just so that she could smirk at her wife for thinking herself so clever for hiding her treat from them. This must be what you're coming down for when you think you're sneaking out of bed. A rich chuckle broke the sound of the kettles whistle. Lin wrapped the pouch and put it back. No wonder we've been going through so much stomach medicine.
With another cup in hand Lin looked at her mess. The shin guard and spool and even the badge that had once been pinned to her armor, it had received the same tender treatment, more so really, and the smudges, not that it had any sitting inside her chest, were buffed out. She left everything as it was and walked into the living room. Couch deflating slowly. Propping her leg under a pillow and at the forefront of her mind missing that Korra wasn't here to do it for her, not that she couldn't do it herself, but Lin did enjoy her gentle kisses as Korra snuggled into her lap.
Chin coming to rest against her chest Lin scowled at her predicament. Cup balanced under her nose so the smell could drift all the way to the pleasure center of her brain. What little pleasure there was to garner from the moment without her little penguin.
A blotchy and hot greenish brown stain sprouted on Lin's tank top. The woman jumped as the heat soaked through to her skin pulling on her shirt to lessen its contact she stuck the soiled end in her mouth. Lin Beifong didn't waste good tea. Nice and absorbent it soaked up the flavor and combined it with its own to produce something distinct, not undrinkable, as Lin nursed. Allowing her body to settle and sink lower till her neck was parallel to her head as it rested upon the couch pillow.
While suckling her wet shirt Lin pondered her predicament. The tea was half gone and wouldn't last much longer once she began to drink it again. She was rather comfortable at the moment and her leg wasn't giving her trouble. Then again she had nothing by her. Neither books nor wife to keep occupied; how long would it last before she needed something to busy her hands? When had she stopped being able to enjoy these moments alone?
"I'm not alone anymore." Lin spat out the end of her shirt the damp spot felt cool against her chest, a little pleasant if not for the chill it brought thereafter. Rather than pull her shirt away and not have to feel it, Lin let it be. Scrunching up her forehead she rubbed her brow and whined. When was Yee-Li going to get home? She sat up a bit to look.
"Why don't we have a clock in here?" Discontent filled Lin as she gingerly set her injured leg down on the floor, hoisted herself off the couch, and then limped into the kitchen. Eyes wandering from the cabinets, to the table, to the windows; no space big enough for a clock to perch and if there wasn't one downstairs then the other place to look...
They might as well have been the tallest mountain in the earth states, each step a wide arching hill to be concurred. With no one there to begrudgingly help, Lin had no choice but to crawl on her hands and feet, rather than risk her leg seizing at some point during the climb. By the time Lin reached the top her shirt was not only damp from the tea, but soaked with sweat. She panted harshly and rolled onto her back gasping. Eyes squeezed shut she rubbed her sore knees moaning at the sting, they felt raw.
Inhale. Exhale. Breathes measured to bring down the thudding in her chest that was cracking her ribs, Lin placed a hand overtop her heart and felt the rattle. This was so embarrassing. "Damn." Lin banged her fist against the wall. "Damn. Damn. Damn." Each curse shook the wall harder than before. By the end of her tantrum the woman had lost her breathing again and was forced to settle down.
A Beifong was not helpless. For spirits sake her own mother was blind and the woman had no problem fighting people or mastering both earthbending and metalbending. Here Lin was, with only a broken leg and she couldn't even navigate the stairs in her own home without help. A harsh sigh Lin laid her hand over her eyes; the skin wasn't as absorbent as she hoped. This was all too much Lin couldn't handle a situation unless she was able to compartmentalize it first. Too many things flew into her head at once. The hopelessness she felt was at the top. Maybe a dead match would be the feeling of loneliness that came out of nowhere. She wasn't alone, and yet, she was at the moment.
No one else was in the house. Yee-Li was at school and Korra had been called off to help with negotiations and here Lin was, stuck at home, unable to back her wife up because of a simple broken bone.
Lin giggled and sobbed at her total stupidity. She would heal in time that was all it would require before she could be back on her feet, but in that time she'd remained idle for too long. There was a time when she could do that. Which happened to of been before Korra had ever arrived in republic city. Before they had gotten to know one another and...It just didn't work that way anymore.
Drying her eyes with the pad of her thumb Lin growled at this little miserable display of ineptitude; over thinking herself as weak. She was a Beifong, "Damn it!" Lin rolled onto her knees. Using the wall for support she shimmied up it and back onto her good leg.
There bedroom had no clock either. No wonder we're never on time for anything. Lin went by the bathroom and paused in front of her daughter's door. It was closed which of course was code for no one allowed; especially her mothers. The knob turned without complaint or sound of alarm.
This was a lot more than what Lin had when she was a kid, not that she was into light pink walls; for a boyish young girl who played in the dirt they would have driven her mad. Jewelry would have made no sense to wear while she trained. Su liked those things a little more than she; not minding getting dressed up to go out. Lin preferred a quick meal to sitting down in a place that didn't serve the whole meal at once.
The box was as shiny as the day her daughter had received it from her sister. Lin could tell Yee-Li wiped it down regularly and the make-up inside, though disorganized, and the brushes bristles were bent, there was still care in the way they were stowed. As Lin closed the lid she ran her fingers over the metal flowers. They felt exquisite, though the material used wasn't so to her sense, it had taken considerable skill to bend such a pure metal. Realizing that, Lin wondered how her nephew was faring with his art career, shoed away the cynical thoughts, and hoped for the best for her sister's kid. Even if she did think art wasn't much of a career.
Though the clock was small it kept good time. A shiny penny color dial stood on three legs. Her daughter kept it on her night stand close to the bed. Relief flooded the woman when she sat down and took the strain off her leg. Lin picked up the clock and felt its heft in. The outer shell was a nice copper and Lin could feel all the tiny cogs inside turning, grinding against one another. A resonating tick was both mesmerizing and eerily easy to lull one's mind. The future industries logo was raised on the back of it and pompously large.
Lin set the clock down to read it. Two hours past midday. When did Yee-Li get out of school exactly? It should be soon, Lin thought and tried to recall; it was harder since she hadn't taken her daughter in a while. She'll be home before four for sure since they let the older kids out earlier. Lin scooted over to the window. The streets were clear and so where the sidewalks. Not much snow had accumulated and had already started to melt even with the sun hidden away. There were light brown patches of dead grass in every yard including their own, like the snow was growing some weird fungus. As she leaned on the window sill to peek at some of the neighbors who were out; their names she hadn't bothered to learn. What was important was that they had checked out when she looked into their backgrounds. Know your enemies...well neighbors. The man, who was a few years older than Korra, was busy shoveling his sidewalk having been out of the city. He dealt in trade so he was often gone for stretches of time and usually asked the other neighbors to take in his mail. The man never asked Lin and Korra to do that knowing that they were the best choice.
Stuffed into the crevice between the bed and the window, horribly mangled, his stuffing had been pressed into his soft head. Lin rang it out, and pushed most of it back into his body. Then she patted Shu's head. The slight smile made her think that the badgermole seemed pleased to have the attention.
"You-uh-keeping your eyes-eye, on her Shu?" Lin asked and received silence and a one eyed stare. She thought the smile slipped into a frown, "Yeah, sorry about the comment." It had been a while since Lin had to talk to the badgermole. As awkward to do currently as it was back when Yee-Li was younger.
Lin managed to get off the bed without much pain and hobbled to the door taking one last look back, she nods, "Keep her safe for me." The stuffed badgermole sitting was left on the bed its nose pointed towards the door. The smile seemed to of come back.
Going down had been easier as Lin slid on them with her butt. Though each step sent a jolt up her spine and halfway she had to stop to rub her back. Grumbling from her spot, the white walls framing either side as a calloused hand settled on the railing and rubbed the wood felt like it could stick to her skin if the temperature of the house dipped any lower. Lin stretched her hand around the railing as much as her fingers could go. She gave a mighty squeeze with a hand that could break boulders, yet the wood did not shrink under her hold.
When she made it down the steps at last Lin limped over to the couch and picked up her cup which lay on the floor. A few drops of tea were left, both cold and refreshing. Lips smacked and a tongue whipped the remnants away sloppily.
The couch creaked welcomingly Lin had placed the cup back on the floor and cracked the spine of a book. Immediately she no longer saw the words, presented before her eyes was a scene from another place; maybe even a different part of the world. Bo-er-Nuktuk was still in the midst of a fight Lin had left off from two weeks prior. The man had been bleeding the whole time from a superficial wound to the abdomen and hopefully today she could get far enough to seek treatment for his injury. Korra's friend's counterpart was more enjoyable to read about than Bolin actually was in person; less whiny if still just as goofy, but a better backbone.
. . .
The door was closed with a light touch though the heartbeat that went through the veins in the finger was heavy after a rough day. Three different papers due within a week's time plus normal assignments on top of that. Yee-Li ran a hand through her hair grabbed a chunk of maroon and gave a rough tug; a frustrated whimper accompanied the sting which felt good and bad, good to get out the frustration, and bad because of how it hurt. She let go and found a few hairs between her fingers. They were plucked off. Sitting on her rump in the tiny foyer Yee-Li undid her boots and placed them with care in her cubby hole just underneath an ill painted badgermole.
A grimace that rivaled her momma's looked to the colorful stain glass. Blues and greens and yellows shallowly fell upon her face. A smidge of green in one eye and some blue in the other Yee-Li propped her elbow on her knee as she held her head, admiring the little scene. Entirely impressionistic and up to the individual's interpretation, Yee-Li thought she saw a cafe, maybe, one of many that were in republic city. The blues and yellows were the customers sitting outside on one of the less humid days during the summer. Sipping their teas and munching on some tarts or such. A woman with a hat, even when most of the people seemed to change, when she looked at the stain glass Yee-Li always saw this woman. The hat was probably a cloche with a feather; occasionally a flower. She saw the flower today.
After a little more gazing Yee-Li pushed herself onto her feet and picked up her pack. It weighed heavy on her shoulder.
"Mom doesn't like it when you leave your things on the kitchen table," Yee-Li said when she found her momma sunk into the couch cushions, a book in her hand the other slung over her head where it idly rubbed the opposite shoulder. "I have homework to do." The teen scowled and picked up the heavy spool and set it on the floor with the shin guard. The cable wound round the spool grazed her fingers and sent a shiver through the teen. Regarding the badge Yee-Li did not touch it. She had never been allowed to. Her momma had a stingy fixation with the object. Even now Yee-Li left it be and filled the rest of the open space with her things. Spread them out from most annoying to least. Always do the hard things first, that was what her momma said, and save the easy assignments for last. Well, what if all the assignments were hard for Yee-Li? What then? So she went with the subject she hated the most: Math. Mom's the opposite she always likes to do the fun things first. If she had a choice I wouldn't have to do the hard things at all but momma always gets in the way of our fun.
"No one likes a snitch." The words grabbed the girl's ears and drew her back to the living room. Her mother had rolled her head on the couch the book still cracked and resting in her hands. The smirk annoyed the teen who harrumphed and sat down to do her homework. Lin went back to reading.
Time whittled on, easy for one and excruciating for the other. Lin had finally found Nuktuk some medical aid while also saving the south from some bizarre manner of villainy trying to take over the southern water tribe through the fishing industry. That's not the way you subvert power, at least Kuvira knew how to do that much, the idiot that she was. Lin let this dark thought go, never one to stray down such a path in life; her daughter on the other hand was at the bottom of a pit of despair. Nothing was lining up. The letters didn't equal the right numbers and the numbers weren't important was what she had been told by her teacher who didn't know how to explain things right; even though he had helped her out extensively during class, Yee-Li still didn't get it.
Thump.
"Hey, don't dent the table squirt, that's a family heirloom. It'll be yours one day." Her momma's voice drifted from between the pages of her book. There were so few left to go till the end. Pema had been done for weeks and called to pester the woman now and again to see if she was finally done so they could discuss the book at length over the phone.
Thump.
The teens head smacked the table again in hopes that she might be able to make a bruise large enough that she might get out of going to school tomorrow.
For a woman with a heavy cast on her leg Lin could still move surprisingly quiet. Her hand startled the teen who sat up when she felt someone touch her shoulder. "Stop hitting your head on the table." Lin made a face at her daughter, whose cheeks burned and head sunk low.
Lin struggled to sit; her daughter tried to reach out and help only to have her hand shoved away. The woman groaned, pleased when the tension had finally loosened and she let her injured leg stretch out behind her daughters back as Lin scooted closer. Keeping her daughter pinned to the table with her body she snuggled to close for the independent teens liking.
Yee-Li tried to push her mother back but the teens hands were all skin and bone and lacking in strength. Unlike the muscles of the woman which need not even flex when the teen tried to shove Lin back.
A chuckle rumbled in the older woman chest as she placed a hand on the book and slide it out of her daughter's feeble hands as they tried to keep a hold of it, "So what's got you so upset that you're trying to hurt that beautiful forehead of yours hmm?" Lin asked her silent daughter, who flushed at the compliment.
Mothers are supposed to give their daughters compliments, but it was so rare coming from her momma who wasn't concerned with looks. Korra always showered Yee-Li with praise on the way she dressed or wore her make-up even though the woman knew nothing about style.
"It's-the problem. I can't figure it out." Bashful the teen nudged the book a little closer to Lin. Who squinted her eyes in hopes that she could make sense of what foreign language seemed to be on the page. Heads or tails she couldn't make either. There were numbers, yes, and then there were letters. She seemed to recall a little from a long time ago when she were in school.
"X is supposed to be a number right? I sort of remember that. So you just have to figure it out. Why not try a couple of possibilities till you find one that fits?"
"That's not how were suppose to solve it mom. My teacher wants me to show my work. Otherwise he'll think I cheated."
"Does he know who your parents are? Who cares if you show it as long as the answers right-right?"
"He does!" The answer to both questions was hysterically shouted as Yee-Li crossed her arm and unintentionally stabbed herself in the arm with her pencil leaving a small black dot on the skin. Wetting her thumb Yee-Li rubbed the lead away, only a red dot remained.
Lin pushed on it and her daughter flinched away sucking a breath as she put her hand over the spot to protect it. Yee-Li fixed her mother with a cold and angry stare. Lin was unperturbed by this as she focused on her daughters book. Though a smile waxed and waned on her lips a couple of times. The book slid away and back to Yee-Li who laid her hand across a page. Using the eraser on the end of her pencil she went over the problem hoping to figure out what she had missed.
Nothing came to mind. It looked like she had done everything right. Add here subtract there.
"You didn't do the stuff in the parenthesis's first."
"Huh?"
"This," Lins finger pressed to the page as she wandered closer, as her daughters head dipped to see what she was pointing at, "aren't you suppose to do that before anything else?"
"No-I don't think I have to. I can start outside of them if I want to."
"I don't think you can squirt. Look, try it this way to see if it works out. Maybe it won't, but I'm pretty sure that's how you're supposed to do those kinds of problems."
Yee-Li did as her mother said. After all what harm could it do at this point. Even if she did think her momma was wrong..."It worked!" She looked to the older woman then back to the problem. Hunching over Yee-Li went over her work again just to make sure she hadn't made another mistake. It all added up and when she plugged it in for the letter, as her teacher had told her, everything turned out right. "I did it." She breathed a sigh of relief that mingled a little bit with a laugh as the frustration drained from her body.
The next problem was structured the same way and Yee-Li solved it, the same way this time quicker than before. Soon she was closing her book and not out of frustration as usually was the case; she was done, and it didn't take her most of the night. The rest of her homework seemed to go by much the same way like something had clicked after overtaking the first hurdle now she was whizzing through her other assignments.
During, Lin stretched back no longer hovering over her daughter's shoulder the woman wore a contented smirk watching the others confidence build. Lin eventually made herself another cup of tea, with some struggle. Yee-Li had uncharacteristically offered to do it but the woman waved her off.
"I'm not an invalid." Lin gruffly spoke with her back to the table. Yee-Li could see that her mother was massaging her leg even if Lin thought she was being sneaky, mumbling to the spirits or cursing them under her breath.
This was not how a mother was supposed to act. Lin set her hands on the edge of the counter and leaned against it. Lin regarded her action for a time until her water was ready. Honey was forgone because she knew what her daughter would say, or who she would say it to. A steadfast woman who stuck to her principals, even over such a trivial detail as this but if she was to slip...oh, how the woman would never hear the end of it from the both of them.
The cup was set down before Lin took her seat. She felt this time there was less of a struggle. Except the strained look she got from her daughter seemed to say otherwise. Lin looked away as she took a sip. The flavor was there but less potent. Greenish water consumed her grimace and flipped it into a comical smile.
"Mom?" Said a very curious voice.
"Yeah, squirt?"
Books were threaded through the opening of her pack a very faded green almost grey that had once been a vibrant earth kingdom green, back when they were considered a kingdom. A simple drawstring to seal it shut and a flap kept the weather out. This pack hadn't belonged to Lin. When Yee-Li had first shown it to her and asked whether she could use it as her school bag Lin was reluctant, and mad that Korra had kept such a memento from such a rough time in her life. But Korra let the child have it. So eager and happy to receive even something that old and beaten at the time. An easy memory for Lin to drudge up because that was during the time when Yee-Lis hair was in the midst of its dramatic change to the color it would become.
Lin touched the small golden medallion with a square hole which the shine had gone out of.
Tying up the end of her pack Yee-Li said, "Did mom make anything for dinner tonight? I mean-I have some fire flakes so I'm good."
Lin barked in laughter. Does she think I'm going to cook? No, she needn't worry about that fiasco repeating itself. What could Lin say? It wasn't like she could learn to cook from a blind woman. Aunt Katara had offered to teach her and Lin did bother to learn the basics such as how to make an egg and toast but really what did she need to learn such a silly skill for, besides Korra more than compensated for Lin's ineptitude.
"She left in kind of a hurry so don't begrudge her for not making us dinner tonight." Lin wiped a cheery tear from her eye, "and don't worry I'm not cooking dinner either. And really fire flakes for dinner? What kind of mother would I be to let my child eat breakfast so late? We'll eat out tonight; haven't done it in a while."
This lit a fire in the teen's cheeks as she turned away from Lin to stutter out a silly little question, "Would it be ok-if we go to that place by your work-the precinct?" The tip of a finger trailed a curvy line of question on the table.
"Grab your things then. Guess I'll treat." Lin jested as she reached over and rubbed her kid's head, careful of the golden headband that held her hair back in a fiery bun. It's probably what mother looked like at that age. She never had any photos to show us.
Yee-Li hurried to the front foyer to grab her boots and jacket, leaving Lin. As soon as she knew the teen was out of ear shot the woman seethed lowly. Fingers dug into a twitching muscle. The fist on the table was so wrapped up into itself that the knuckles bleed white. Why did I get up for another cup? Lin's face scrunched up and lips puckered. Damn. Ok, Lin tried to calm herself down, ok-you just need to make it to the bus stop. That's all. You can make it. It's only a few feet Lin. You can walk a few feet. The pain subsiding seemed to substantiate her claim and Lin was able to get up.
"Do you need..."
"JUST-put the shoe on the ground...please." Lin flinched when she saw her daughter and turned her head as she slipped her good foot into her moccasin.
Yee-Li got the door letting Lin through before she shut it behind them. It was hard to keep her ire down she knew her daughter was always good mannered and got the door for either of her mother's but the action just felt like it was being done because of her injury.
The first step Lin took was a casual fall into her daughter, keeping it to the side that wasn't hurt, a hand slipping around the teens shoulder.
Yee-Li groaned, "You're heavy." Yet made no move to shove her off and allowed her mother to settle.
"What can't hug my daughter?" The shoulder she clung to stiffen and the teen shook her head enough to send braids flying about.
There combined strides were like a three legged race although one of the legs was dead weight. Lin used her daughter as a living cane, not a cane, as the two walked to the bus stop and caught the next bus that would take them close enough to the station. From there it was a short walk but to Lin it was a hike.
When her rear settled into that uncomfortable stool she motioned for the man to bring her a drink, but as soon as she took notice of her daughter she shooed it away and settled for tea. But damn that would have hit the spot right about now, the woman mussed as she rubbed her leg and waited expectantly to be served. When it came the taste made Lin unhappy, it wasn't how she remembered. Everything else was the same about the tiny little stand with a tin roof. How she could stretch her hands out and touch either wall. The cook, still in his earth kingdom garb, a little shorter and with far more wrinkles. Now he seemed to squint at everything. His hair was thinner in the front but still atop his head.
"Hey," Lin spoke as she stared into her cup picking out some tea leaves that hadn't been strained, "how long has it been since we've been here? I can't remember when the last time was."
Yee-Li had a glass of water and ran a finger over the rim picking up condensation. She wiped the moisture in a napkin as she shrugged a look of nonplus on her face, "Mom doesn't let us eat out."
"She-does, maybe not all the time-but once in a while we can."
"Like when she's not around?" The teen raised a brow to dare her momma to challenge the point.
"Hey, your mommy likes to cook for us is that so bad? My mother didn't know how to cook at all."
"But mom, grandma was blind how could she cook?"
Lin barked with laughter as she edged closer on the short span of the counter, "Do you really think that would of stopped her. After all the stories I told you," Lin leaned back and swept her hand in the cramped space and hit a string of lights that dangled from the ceiling; Yee-Li let out a giggle, "my mother was not one to be told that she couldn't do anything...I should be glad that no one ever told her she couldn't cook. I don't think I'd have the stomach." she paused to consider the facts, "It probably would have been better than eating a rock. By a small margin."
The two shared a laugh at another's expense but Lin knew her mother would have joined in on her own joke. But your heart always felt a little sad to listen to when you made those jokes about yourself. Lin rubbed the smooth exterior of her cup. She asked the cook for water.
"You look nice today." The comment made the teen shifted in her seat.
"It's just my school uniform. You see me in it every day. There ugly," Yee-Li said, "And these are mom's pants." Picking at the faded blue under her skirt, the furry cuffs around the ankles were balding as they scuffed the ground when the teen walked and tended to get caught under the backs of her shoes, "they don't fit me that good."
"They didn't really fit your mommy either. I'm surprised her pants never fell down during a fight. She only wears that furry sash to keep them up." The water was cool in contrast to the warmth of the tea and the woman shivered slightly despite how the belt on her coat was tightly knotted.
"That would be a funny newspaper headline." Yee-Li joked.
"Eh," Lin said with a wave of her hand that banged into the wall, "I probably would of arrested any newspaper that tried to print such a story about her." Her daughter gasped at this.
"Would you really?" Eyes flickering nervously about the small interior Yee-Li held tightly onto her glass the perspiration slid coolly over her hand and numbed the parts of her skin it trailed over.
Lin shrugged stiffly, her coat stretching with the motion, "Hey I smashed someone's camera when they tried to take a picture of us when we went to the park, it was when you were little. My life is private and for only me to enjoy."
"I...don't remember that."
"I suppose you wouldn't," Lin sighed wistfully, "it was really our first family outing. Your mommy wanted to do it, I was happy to keep you inside the house- safe."
"Was I in danger?" The teen gapped.
"No! No, but parks a dangerous. All those people running around and no one bothers to leash their pets; it's the law! What if you got hurt?" Lin finished her water and asked for another, "You were quick too. We ran a marathon that day. I think we covered that park a thousand times before you fell asleep." When the refilled glass was set down Lin thanked the man.
Before them a great blaze of heat filled the room and wandered out into the cold. Fire licked the tin roof.
"What about the guy with the camera?
"That guy? He was just some newspaper reporter. You know how they always want to write a story about your mommy. Not always a flattering piece," Lin grumbled under her breath as she glared at the wall, "Thought he was being sneaky in that bush."
"No one can sneak up on you can they?"
"Right," flashing a hungry smile that sent chills through her daughter's body, so Lin reeled it back, "no one gets the jump on me." Lin said with a wink. The creases by her eyes grew more jovial, "your mommy had a fit." Lin snorted resentfully, "he was the one who was intruding and I didn't want your face on every paper in republic city." Seething through her nose Lin taped the plank of wood that stood as their counter its surface warped by the weather with bends and bulges that made the plain cup lean.
"You didn't get in trouble for breaking the man's camera?"
A wet snort dribbled water from Lins nose the woman wiped it away on the sleeve of her jacket. The action of which drew the angry look of her daughter at the deplorable manners. "Me? In trouble? I should of had that reporter thrown in jail for invasion of privacy. I could have too. But your mommy...she's a lot kinder than she should of been. A night in jail would have taught him a lesson." She thumped a finger loudly on the counter and her leg kicked the underside. The mistake was she had done so with the leg that had the cast. Lin doubled over, face scrunched she sucked her teeth as the pain surged up her thigh.
"You didn't like that she was nice to him?" Yee-Li wanted to help but she was more torn with being angry at her momma's actions, even if it had been so long since they'd been done.
"It's not-oh, no, I didn't really care that she...ok, maybe I was angry at her for it." Lin's eyes were on the counter trying to come up with a suitable answer, "She shouldn't be so nice to people all the time, they take advantage of her. I like that goodness that she has but..." There was no buts' that came after. So she rubbed her leg.
"What do you like about mom? Besides that I mean."
"I like a lot about her squirt. You know that. I mean I'd have to if I married her." Lin joked but the chuckle disappeared quickly.
"But what exactly?" Yee-Lis voice strained. This seemed to be a subject that was very important. It would do her daughter some good to learn what a real relationship was supposed to feel like. What kind of emotions one is supposed to feel to know that they are in love with the other.
A wondrous smell found its way under their noses at that moment. Worn plates with a few chips around the edges less in Lin's plate as the cook gave her a familiar nod, which Lin returned.
Golden noodles thinner than a needle with fried broccoli and onions and some slivers of beef that were bleeding onto the rest of the plate made Lin nostalgic. Yet the taste wasn't one that brought memories. The broccoli was a little wet and undercooked. The noodles were over cooked and too stiff; she felt like they could cut her gums. Even the beef was a cheap cut.
Yee-Lis food seemed better, but the meat was as gristly as Lins. The pieces of onions were picked out and placed on a napkin. Lin plucked them off quickly before she dug into her own food. The woman liked onions a lot, even if Korra complained about the aftertaste. Not being able to do look forward to kissing her wife was souring the meal more so.
Wet slurps and healthy crunches Yee-Lis bites were small and measured with her spoon, not too much broth to risk it splattering over herself, while Lin pinched as much as her chopsticks could hold and let the rest fall back onto the plate as she lifted it too her mouth.
"Will you tell me?" Yee-Li asked as she set her spoon to the side, not even a third of her bowl consumed. Focused on her momma, the braids on either side of her face were still and contrasting in such vivid color; puce and ocean blue. Fire and ice both bending skills that the teen knew she could never posses, yet still struggled with the yearning to have.
Taking another bite of the crunchy noodles Lin chewed them and her thoughts before she came to the unavoidable conclusion, "I'm attracted to power," the answer wasn't at all what her daughter wanted to hear as she avoided looking at her momma. However, Lin wasn't finished, "She's a strong bender, the most powerful in the world. You already know that. Commanding, when she has to be and not because she wants to be. I know that from being with her for so long that your mommy hates having to be bossy. She's grouchy a lot sure." Lin shrugged and smiled into her cup of water when her daughter snickered, "that's usually someone else's fault isn't it?" Her daughter's golden brown eyes rolled as Lin heard her mutter that her mommy wasn't the grouchy one.
"That's not the only reason you like her is it?"
"Oh, please squirt your making me sound shallow," the woman sounded hurt by this admission, "Oh course I admire her beauty and her personality too."
"Even her snoring?" The teen turned up the corner of her lip.
"No that would be the reason why I smother her with a pillow but...I haven't because I love her."
"What specifically do you like about mom...mom." She wanted to know what exactly had brought them together. What made them fall in love and had kept them together all this time.
Lin took another bite. A smudge of sauce left on her lip. "I like the way she snores."
"But you just said..."
"The noise is unbearable but I like to watch her sleep. And the way she blushes or how she wears her braid. And I like to watch her cook or practice her bending. The way her lips puff when she smiles or how her eyes light up when she sees you first thing in the morning." There was so much more to go on about but Lin found it hard to breath. Chest heaving as a dull pain settled; unrelated to how her physical body felt. Yee-Li thought her momma was adjusting her coat when she grabbed herself.
"There isn't much I don't like about your mommy Yee-Li." Lin said with a strangled smile, forehead moistening. Her hand wiped the sweat away as her body heaved over the counter propped up by weakening hands.
"Mom?"
"Yes?"
"You ok?"
"I'm fine." Taking her drink in hand Lin held it up, "Little thirsty is all. Kind of hot in here right?" And the way the water cooled her throat as it went down didn't help as the burning in her chest wouldn't be quenched.
"What do you say to a snack, hmm?" Lin proposed as she pushed her plate away. Food still remained; Lin had never been known to let any scrap linger.
"Kids are starving in the outer ring of Ba Sing Se. You better finish ever scrap on that plate or else I'll switch you out for one of them. Bet they'd eat this junk food your Uncle Aang sent us." A line her mother fed Suyin and Lin to get them to eat the dinners they so rarely received dinners from air Temple Island.
Her hold was tighter this time with more weight resting on their combined three legs. Yee- breathed heavily, the air condensing in front of her mouth. Thick and solid she blew into her palm to warm it. Exposed to the open air it had numbed quickly as she kept it on her mother's torso.
They did not take another bus. Where they headed it was quite close. There were several shops only two blocks over and one block up from the precinct. In a place as big and industrialized and business driven as republic city every corner was like a small town with a shop to buy clothing, food, and other necessities, like furniture. Such as the unsavory couch made from the hide of a mongoose lizard, the markings were left as accents on the cushions and the arms seemed to stretch grotesquely outward and curl in upon themselves like overgrown nails.
Lin tried to hurry them past the shops window leg flaring the two took a tumble. Forced to let go Lin sunk on her bad leg. The cast began to absorb the ice that melted as soon as her warm leg touched it. A hiss of frustration as Lin felt the cast's material begin to dampen, "Help me up." She said hurriedly and angrily as she tried get up on her own. Stumbling to her side Lin gripped her daughter by the shoulder hard enough to pinch the nerves.
Once up Lin quickly tried to swipe away what moisture she could. Dabbing it with the hem of her coat till it couldn't absorb anymore and was left wet and swinging heavily. She rung it out in hopes to use it again. As she roughly patted her cast down a small sliver peeled away.
"Your mommy is going to kill me." Lin panicked. The woman never panicked. Lin was always cool under pressure. Why should she throw a tizzy over such a small matter? "You think the boats are still running to air temple island?"
"I don't think so."
"I can't use some back alley healer your mommy will know for sure that I did something. Maybe I can call Kya..."
Yee-Li interrupted, "Aunt Kya hasn't come home yet. She's still away. I heard Aunt Asami say she had wandered away from the temple to visit the swamp waterbender's."
"Of course she would. Leave it to her to not be around when she's needed."
Bent down Yee-Li examined the cast; she plucked the piece that had begun to peel. It parted with ease, "I don't think it's that bad." Prodding the place where she had torn the piece from. It felt squishy but still sort of solid. That was ok? It still felt plenty solid underneath. A long and manicured nail dug a little deeper. It was still pristine from the day trip they made to the spa during the week, when Asami felt that her niece needed cheering up. What always put the CEO of future industries in a good mood was nothing simpler than a beauty treatment and a nice hot mud bath to cleanse the body. Yee-Li had been squeamish while her aunt had been relaxing with cucumbers over her eyes. The mud was...disgusting, which wasn't a harsh enough a word for the way it snuck into the cracks of her body and the gooey feeling against her skin. When she got out she didn't feel refreshed until after she cleaned it off. The teen swore she had been picking mud out of her ears for days after.
Lin inched away from the probing finger as it tried to scratch off another piece. Boot scrapping the hard cement. Shoulders hitched as Lin sucked a breath. There was no pain but the sound was grating and she saw another strip stuck to the sidewalk. Korra is not going to be happy about this, the woman fretted not out of fear, but that she knew that her wife was going to worry more; Lin did not like to cause Korra worry; with her situation the anxieties could grow to world ending proportions.
A shake of the head cleared everything. Lin waved her daughter back and held onto her shoulder. Not even trying to hide that she was using her as a crutch this time.
"We should head home." Suggested the teen as her hand rested upon her mother's which was slung across her shoulder.
"I said we would go for a snack-we can still go." Green-grey eyes shimmered in the light of the lamp post. Lin gripped the neckline of her coat.
"Mom," the words were soft yet pushy, "let's get you home, please?" Yee-Li struggled to support her mother's sagging body as the woman's will left her. No words were spoken except for a grunt and Lin simply allowed herself to be led back to the bus stop.
. . .
A morning sun would break the watery horizon of the harbor in an hour. Lin lay with her hands tightly bounded about her pillow. Nose deeply pushed into the fabric. She inhaled more than she exhaled to absorb the scent that pervaded the pillow. There was nothing perverse about this sweaty aroma to the older woman whose eyes were folded halfway down her face, the smell was more luxurious than any stink of a perfume Asami wore. The fresh sea salt spray of the ocean had always clung to Korras hair no matter how much the smog of the city got into it. Lin liked visiting the southern water tribe, even if she hated snow and how it robbed her of seeing the earth, the feeling that she was surrounded by her wife while she walked those shining pearl streets was bliss.
Back stiff and leg even worse the pain had subsided but in her head she still felt the phantom hurt lingering when she moved it. Facing away from the window she stared at the blank and faded white walls. Door closed with the knob a cracked and peeling mess from her callous and rough treatment over the years. They work, so why bother replacing them until they've fallen off, Lin stared at the knob from her sleeping spot; sad that there wasn't a lovely brown body in the way to spoil the bland view.
Gently, Lin rolled onto her back. A forlorn sigh wafted towards the ceiling, hold tightening on the pillow as she firmly pressed it under her chin. Hair flopped about her head. Unwashed, since the day Korra had left. Water wasn't comforting unless someone else was there. Not just because it was easier to have another scrub the spots she couldn't reach, which was nice, but because it was the normal routine, Lin liked routines.
This was why her not being able to train as she normally did so everyday was sending her into a nervous titter. Pema had sent Rohan over to give her some of her books to help occupy the time. Which helped, yes, but a few days with no training had her fingers doing a fighting kind of tap on the back of the cover as she read. While the gap between them had grown by a wider margin every night as Lin's strategies in Pai sho had begun to fail her and she found that she had begun making far more mistakes when trying to chase the thrill of a win. Or I'm not as good as I thought I was. A hand brushed the cold wood floor. Smooth as she flexed her sense.
The front was good and locked tight, back door as well. Fence was in place and un-breached except for the tiny hole in one of the stakes where the spider rats had chewed through. Festering inside the walls of their home as they huddle for warmth not a peep from them for the past couple of weeks meant that maybe they had moved on? Or were just hibernating? The covers were pulled tighter against the thought, that Lin was even more alone. Prodding the pillow harder her elbows dug into her sides as she drew closer to herself hard enough to squeeze her chest tightly; the pain none to pleasant.
A low sniffle muffled by fabric and stuffing. Lin was back to a time when her bed was three sizes smaller and feet a lot softer and stumbled when she walked. Before her sister had been born and it was just her mother and her and she would whine in her bed till the woman would come and get her. Toph always responded quickly when Lin raised a fuss even when the woman was probably dead asleep, she always knew when to wake up. Grouchy she would stumble into the Childs room. Stepping on her toys left on the floor without a care, having broken a couple before. Without saying a word Toph would fall into bed, more than once landing on top of her daughter, and pull the crying child close to her chest so that Lin could hear her heartbeat; so soothing to a young child. That's all Lin needed to get back to sleep.
Except her mother wasn't around now, off somewhere in the spirit world. Least that's what Lin liked to think as she sniffled a little louder. The pillow pulled away from her face. In the back of her mind she hoped some childish hope that her mother would hear her cries and come to comfort her. Maybe she was already there? Not gifted like Korra or Jinora and able to see spirits that had popped over for a quick visit to their world.
Lin sighed and rubbed at her eyes using the pillow. The material stung but soaked up the moisture. The covers fell around her waist as she sat up. Pressing her nose into the pillow Lin hunched over hiccupping into it, the noise easily swallowed by the walls.
"Korra...mother." Wet and clingy ignoring the adult in her brain that explained that this was childish to be pining in such a way; between the sting in her leg whittling down her will and now the comfort of her wife gone from her side...Lin forced herself up. An awkward waddle as she opened the door to her bedroom, the pillow still with her.
Neither squeak nor squeal did the door make. Lin moved on one steady leg while the other slid along. A light pressure that kept her moving, if she stopped then a small shock of pain would surge. The bed was occupied by a lump of blankets breathing steadily, unaware of any intruder.
The bed sunk and the teen trapped in the blanket murmured, wetly smacking her lips as she rolled towards Lin. Not stilling her movements to keep from waking her daughter Lin reached for the maroon hair. Threading a hand through that thick head, the hairs run smoothly through her fingers; cold but not brittle. The effect is soothing to Lin, who doesn't stop even when the head shifts and stirs and the blankets fall back to reveal unfocused eyes that blink in the darkness.
"Mom-ma?"
Spirits that was sweet music to her ears and her heart soared a little higher out of the well. Lin began to hum like her mother did for her, when the woman crawled into her bed. It was like a summons to which Lin jumped roughly under the covers. The pillow she brought along a buffer as she cuddled her daughter.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Yee-Li whispered into her neck. Struggling in the others hold and feeling embarrassed even though they are alone.
Hands turned to hooks as the sunk into any part they could. One clung to her daughters back; the other was on her head pushing it into the pillow. The teen mechanically took a whiff and calmed.
A sweet kiss pressed to the top of Yee-Li's head right where the head band would have been.
Lips lingered and murmured sweetly, "You're a wonderful daughter." Wet and wistful they stirred a negative response when they were supposed to be a compliment.
"Your scaring me."
"Sorry, I'm a little scared myself."
"You can't be scared mom."
"Oh," Tone daring as Lin gazed upon that beautiful hair, at least she thought it was even though Yee-Li always seemed to be fussing with it though. "Whys that?"
"Because then who won't be when mom and me are?"
"Sorry, I didn't want to upset you. I just, wanted to tell you I love you that's all." Oh so affectionately administered like medicine through another kiss.
"But you're ok? Everything's fine? You're not sick-or anything?"
A short burst of sappy laughter. So that's what had her so scared, "Nothing hurt except my pride squirt...and my leg." Words like a sweet lullaby had the teen sinking back and even snuggling up to the pillow between them. Yee-Li took another whiff to finish off her fears and put them to rest. A pressure alerted Lin to her daughter's arms circling the pillow and finding her by the waist. Flesh kneaded by slimmer fingers than her own. Yee-Li felt the same on her back. Rough presses that hitched her spin and straightened the nerves in her hair.
"Do you-are you better now?" Tentative as if she were tiptoeing around broken glass that would cut deep Yee-Li posed her question and waited for an answer.
Lin searched till she found the right spot then dug in until a shrill laugh bleated from her daughter's mouth, "I'm good." Lin said over the laughter.
When it quieted and they were left with the noises of the house as a wind had picked up outside, it blew with ferocity causing the wood to creak and the frost covered windows flexed. The world turned into a blotchy mess as confusing as an impressionist painting.
Things relaxed as the silence carried on. Bodies, hands...hearts, the calm tired them both. Yee-Li was first to go. A steady whistle through the nose. Lin wanted to laugh. She's so much like you Korra. Flesh and blood meant nothing to Lin. Their hearts are what connected all three of them. And even though you aren't by my side at the moment I still feel you here. Lin shifted herself to get to that sweet spot. A hip pushing into the mattress, a new comfort unlike their futon it was something that Lin could get used to. The feeling was light as if she were nestled on feathers. A woman could get used to this, Lin felt her body relax into the mattress. Feeling a pull in her head to go to bed which she struggled against wanting to stay up for a little while more and bask in this feeling of joy. Yet as she patted her daughters head and her eyes slid shut and refused to open, Lin conceded.
. . .
All the life and happiness had been drained away by the gray tinge of the sun, unable to make it through the clouds. People shuffled unhappily to work, or the shops, or nowhere in particular. Spirits tried to cheer their neighbors up but it was useless. Even the children didn't react. The cold kept some snow around, which had collected the cities dirt and grime and now was colored brownish grey with trash embedded inside.
However, Lin sipped her tea with more than a smile. A beam that was far brighter than her daughter was used to seeing upon that wrinkling face. A bowl of flameo's crackled when the milk was poured and Lin thought she had seen a spark. No milk dribbled down that sharp chin.
The two sat without a conversation.
That is until the two of them heard a sound. They stared at one another as they heard the rustle of a door knob then the door swinging open, and heavy feet walking through. Boots were tossed with as much grace as a rock thrown down a hill; they thudded and scuffed the walls surface. A grumble as someone argued with themselves and the boots were then put in their proper place.
Pants heavy and wet with snow, still dripping onto the floor, Korra wobbled into the kitchen. Face haggard, eyes blood shot, yet her mouth perked when she saw her family. Korra gave them a wave then stumbled towards the living room and fell onto the couch. She growled angrily when her nose hit the soft pillow hard enough to cause tears. Rather than wipe them away she just pressed her face deeper in hopes that it would soak them up.
"Your home early aren't you?" The voice was rough but sweet hiding a laugh somewhere in it.
Korra mumbled into the pillow.
"What was that?" Lin lowered herself onto the couch pushing her wife over with ease so that she might rest as well, yet half her body overlapped atop Korra's with cast tucked behind her as she faced inwards. Korra lay on her stomach hands tucked under the pillow and head buried.
"Boring stuff," she huffed, "I told them to take care of it themselves. You wouldn't believe it Lin," Korra turned her head and Lin could see how exhausted her wife looked. Lips chapped and morning breath absolutely atrocious, "it was the stupidest," a calloused and rough finger laid itself across that mouth to stop it from talking, and also, to stop the smell.
Lin shushed Korra quietly through parted lips that mashed against the others. Thin as they were they were eagerly consumed by Korras more plump in size. A blistering kiss that lasted only for a few seconds as Lin soon noticed that her partner's responsiveness dwindled. As she pulled away seeing the happy grin and light breathing through a parted open mouth Lin realized that her wife was dozing lightly and eyelashes, though very fine and unfeminine, were fluttering closed.
Lin settled in just as her daughter was turning on the sink to clean her dish. The shallow trickle was soothing in contrast to the increasing sound coming from Korra as the woman sank deeper into sleep. Lin smiled inching closer to a brown ear and spoke softly, "Good to have you back."Lips smacked and an arm drew her close. Lin enjoyed the comfort.
-The End-
This is where I leave them, safe, happy, and loved. I hope you all enjoyed the story. Thank you to everyone, for all the favorites, watches, follows, and kind words. Please look forward to my next work.
~Sanomo