*Hello Readers. This is a rewrite of my story Mistake. In the AU the characters are a little younger so Lin's closer to 45. Hope you guys enjoy!
I can't believe I'm here.
Was Lin's thought as she sat down at the bar. Bumi had gotten it into his head that there should be a party to celebrate Kuvira's defeat. She had tried to say no, but Bumi insisted she had to go, and Meelo bugged her until she said yes. Now, she's sitting alone at one of the tables at the back of the room watching Bumi drunkenly flirt with Izumi, Tenzin tries to keep Kai from flirting with Jinora, and Korra and Asami dance.
Hmmm,,,,there is an opening in the dance floor, and maybe I can get to the door….
"Do you want to dance?"
Her thoughts were interrupted by a man with greenish-blue eyes, spiky hair, and skin the same tone as Su's.
She snorted, "You know who I am right?"
"Yep," he said popping the P, "you are the chief of the police force, Lin Beifong. I just wanted to ask the prettiest woman here to dance."
"You're drunk," she said smiling.
"That may be, but you are tipsy too."
"Beifongs don't get tipsy and I don't dance."
"Everyone dances, some people just do better than others. Also everyone can get drunk"
"Care to test that with cactus juice?" she said as she smirked. Might as well have at least some fun while she's here.
"Your On!"
Lin is surprised when he manages to get through 10 shots of cactus juice without passing out.
She swallows her eleventh and says, "I'm impressed."
He smirks, "What, no one's ever beaten you before?"
"Not in a long time," she says while looking around the room. Bumi was passed out and Kya was on her way. Tenzin was trying to usher them out but to no avail. She really didn't want to be next on his pity list.
She looks over at the man, his cheeks slightly flushed, and says, "Do you want to get out of here?"
He raises an eyebrow, "And go where?"
She smirks as she stands, albeit a little wobbly, "Follow me. And try not to act as drunk as you are."
He gives her a half hearted salute as he also stands, "Yes ma'am."
Lin begins walking to the door and he follows dutifully. She was lucky that the rest of the people there were drunk and couldn't hold their liquor. She rolls her eyes thinking her mother would be proud.
The get outside the venue and she grabs him by his arm. She gestures with her head, "This way."
The enter the crowded street and she makes a few turns into their in a back alley area that not many people go to.
He gives her a questioning look, "What are we doing here?"
She gestures towards a sign.
He chuckles, "The Chief of Police as a sweet tooth for ice cream?"
"Only when I'm drunk."
He smiled triumphantly, "Aha! You do get drunk!"
She rolled her eyes at him and entered the shop.
The next morning, Lin wakes up to a pair of turquoise eyes staring at her.
"Where the hell am I and how did I get here?" Lin yells as she jumps out of bed, just as the killer hangover headache hit her. She blinked twice just to look around her surroundings. She was in an apartment, judging from the buildings outside the bedroom window, it was the west side of Republic City. The apartment bedroom had forest green walls and several paintings hanging on them. She looked around and realized that her clothes had been thrown all over the room. Mixed in with her clothes were clothes that looked like belong to a man. Turning to her right, she sees a man sitting up shirtless looking straight at her with those turquoise eyes.
"You'e in my apartment, and apparently naked," he said. She quickly pulls the sheet up to cover her chest as a blush faintly coats her cheeks.
"Did we...did we have sex?" she asks with concern inching its way into her voice.
"Ummm….from the looks of it yes, yes we did. To be honest I don't remember much of last night."
Lin looked at him with bewilderment in her eyes, as she realized she didn't remember much of last night either. She took a deep breathe.
"What's your name?"
"Zari."
"Okay Zari, here is what's going to happen. I'm going to get up and get dressed. I am going to walk out of your apartment and we're going to pretend like this," she points to the two of them, "never happened. Okay?"
He smiled and said, "So I can't tell people that I had a one night stand with the Chief of Police?"
She gave him her best death glare that scared all criminals.
He laughed it off and said, "Chill, I was kidding. See you around Chief." He gave her a wave and collapsed bado on to the bed.
With that Lin wrapped the sheet around her, and got dressed. She left the apartment without so much as a glance back.
2 months later….
"Chief, are you alright? You look a little pale," Mako said with concern etched all over his face.
"I'm fine," she managed to say as a wave of nausea rolled over her.
"Are you sure because you look sick."
"I'm fine Mako, you're dismissed."
As soon as Mako left, Lin threw up for what was the second time that morning, and what felt like the hundredth time that week. She had been feeling sick every morning that week, and was doing her best to hide it from her officers. She had been caught by Saikhan earlier and he had been trying to get her to go home ever since. She managed to play it off as a stomach bug, but she had no doubt that Mako went to tell Saikhan what he just witnessed.
Knock, Knock
Oh great, she thought as Saikhan marched into her office, Mako really did rat me out.
"Chief, may I speak plainly?" he asked.
"You're going to anyway so I don't really don't care," she said with an eye roll.
"You should go to a doctor."
"No. I'm fine, told it was a stomach bug."
He leveled his look with her and said, "Fine, but go home. You're no use here."
She raised her eyebrow, "Are you giving me, your Chief, an order?"
"Yes, as your friend and subordinate I care about you. The force can't use you if you're sick."
She gave him a glare and was going to respond, when another wave of nausea hit her and she ended up throwing up again. Saikhan gave her a look that somehow managed to be smug and pitying at the same time.
She shot him another glare and said, "Fine, you're in charge, and I'll see you tomorrow."
She collected her things and slipped out of the precinct without being noticed, since the majority of her detectives were at lunch.
When she got to her house she threw her stuff in the living room, bent her armor off, and collapsed on the couch. It took her about two seconds to realize someone else was in her apartment. She sensed where the person was, and groaned.
"Hello mother. It's lovely to see you," she said without trying to hide the sarcasm.
"You too, Lin," Toph said with a smirk, "did you bring someone home with you?"
Lin mimicked her mother's smirk, "No Mother. Your eyes bugging you?"
"Nope," she said rocking back and forth on her heels with smile on her face, "They're really accurate. Humor me, and use the sight I thought you."
Lin rolled her eyes, "Fine." She stomped her foot on the ground and felt the seismic wave pass over the room. She saw where everything in the room was. She focused in on her mother and felt her heartbeat as strong as a badger mole's. She then focused on herself. She felt her own heart beat strong and steady, although something was different. It was like...it was like there was another heartbeat. Her eyes popped open, and her mother cackled.