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At sixteen years of age, there was one thing that Lin Beifong craved on the weekend, sleep. Her mother on the other hand, didn’t care what her daughter wanted. Toph had opened the bedroom door, removed her meteorite arm band and started bending it at her daughter's head gently, much to Lin's annoyance. "Go, away."
"Nah, this is more fun."
"Mum, what are you doing?" Su asked from her bedroom across the hall.
"Trying to wake up your sister. It's like trying to wake up your uncle Snoozles, very entertaining."
A smirk appeared on Su's face, my kind of game. On the meteor's return, Su reached out and with as much force that her bending allowed, redirected it into her sister's backside, resulting in a growl from Lin. "I win!"
"Su, I am going to kill you!" Lin threw the blanket off and took an intimidating step towards her annoying shit of a sister. "Yeah, you better run!" She redirected her gaze to her mother. "Where are we going and why do I have to go?"
Toph leaned against the door frame and folded her arms over her chest. "Air Temple Island. Kya offered to help Su with her hand-to-hand combat against waterbenders, because I thought it would be good for her to get some experience and Katara agreed.
“You're coming because you've turned into a hermit and your room is starting to smell. It's like you died, shed your skin and then did it all over again for three months in a row. Will it kill you to open a window?"
"Gee, thanks." Lin pulled her shirt over her head and gave her mother a deadpanned look. "I guess I should come, it's been a while since I've trained."
"Yeah, I know, I can feel the pudge from here." Toph walked off, snickering to herself.
"It's not pudge, it's muscle."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."
Su hit the ground with an oof for what seemed like the hundredth time in a row. "Oh, come on mum! She's huge compared to me. I'm never going to win!"
"Toughen up princess. I was beating full-grown men three times the size of Kya when I was your age." Toph stated while flinging a piece of toe jam in Katara's general direction.
Suppressing the urge to throw up, Katara rolled her eyes. "Yes, but you were using your bending, this is pure hand to hand. Kya is nineteen, a full-grown woman, a child cannot beat her."
"Is that smugness I hear? Lin, get in there and do me proud!"
Looking up from the puddle of mud she was playing with, Lin gave her mother a shrug. "Su can make you proud. She's doing fine out there." She held out a hand, gesturing to Su, who was currently in Kya's arms being kissed on the cheeks and flailing her legs wildly. "Not a good example."
"Get in there, now!"
Kya dropped Su onto her feet when she saw the older Beifong taking off her shirt to reveal her bindings and 'pudgy' stomach. Tight, Kya thought to herself. "You're going down Beifong." Kya said through a smirk.
"Uh-huh." Lin stretched out her limbs before taking up a fighting stance, then eyed her opponent. "Go." Lin blocked and dodged as limbs were thrown at her. Biding her time, the young earthbender waited for her friend to swing wide, allowing her to land a shot to exposed ribs, causing her opponent to stumble backwards, giving her the chance to advance. A few kicks to tanned shins brought Kya to her knees. In a desperate act to save face, the small puddle Lin had her foot in was frozen, and Kya's defence turned into a flurry of strikes.
A fist was flung, forcing Lin to backflip and accidentally kick Kya in the chin, resulting in teeth slamming together. "What the heck Lin!?"
A flash of concern appeared on the teenager's face before quickly dismissing it. "It was a fair shot."
"Okay, so that's how we're playing it." The waterbender's eyebrows narrowed as she jumped and kicked her leg out, only to have it caught mid-air under her opponent's armpit. Reaching forward with her hands, she took hold of Lin's shoulders and pulled herself closer before putting her foot behind Lin's and pushed forward with all her body weight, sending them both crashing to the ground.
"Shit." Lin clutched her chest where Kya's knee had landed and heaved. "That bloody hurt."
"Sorry." Kya helped her friend back to her feet. "But it was a fair shot."
"Bison-shit." Reaching for the puddle of mud she was playing with earlier, Lin threw it in Kya's face, earning a growl. Next thing she knew, she was being tackled into a muddy river, which was once a stream. "Ugh, Kya!"
"Admit it," Kya said as she tried to pin the earthbender's arms above her head, letting out a breath of relief when she succeeded, "that kick earlier was not a fair shot."
"Yes, it was and you can't make me say it wa-" Lin was silenced by a pair of lips on hers, it was unexpected, to say the least, but quickly she found herself relaxing into the kiss and reacting to it.
"Alright Kya,” Toph called from the edge of the training grounds, “I think she's had enough." Toph flicked a bit of ear wax at her younger daughter. "I think you can take her Su, Lin was winning until Kya cheated with that bit of ice."
Katara scoffed before calling out to the girls who were obscured by the steepness of the ditch. "Girls, go wash up and get dressed, I'll spar with Su, then we can eat."
Lin stomped towards the women's bathhouse, snatching up her shirt along the way, while Kya attempted to keep pace. "Lin, wait up."
"Leave me alone Kya." Lin pushed open the door to the empty showers, leaving it to slam in Kya's face.
"Oh, come on Lin, just talk to me. What did I do?"
Lin whirled around to face her friend as she angrily took off her boots and threw them against the opposing wall. "You kissed me! That's what."
"Is that all?" Kya let out a sigh of relief as she too began to undress. "For a second there, I thought I hurt you."
Lin entered one of the stalls and turned on the water. Not caring that it wasn't warm yet, she took her place under the water, sighing when the cold water washed over her bruised chest. "You know I like Tenzin. You kissing me, it was, it was-"
"It was just a sparring match." Kya entered the stall next to her friend and shot her a sad look. "And it's not like it's the first time I've kissed you in a match."
"I know that." Lin let her demeanour relax. "I just- when you used to kiss me, we were only kids, but now we're older and I don't think friends should be kissing the way that we did."
Kya released a sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry for kissing you. I'll try to restrain myself next time." Kya turned her head to her friend to see her face scrunch up, then relax. "What are you doing?"
"I think you broke my ribs. You didn't exactly go easy on me out there."
"Yeah, says the one who kicked me in the face." Kya turned off her water and leaned over the side of the stall to get a better view. "It's starting to go purple."
"No shit Professor Zei. I'll get Katara to heal it for me before I go home."
"Why don't I do it?"
Lin blushed, grateful that the heat of the water had turned her skin red. "Because I don't want you to see me naked."
"I'm a professional healer Lin."
"In training."
Kya ignored the comment. "And I'm watching you right now. You don't have anything that I haven't seen before." When her friend didn't respond, the young waterbender took it as permission and entered her stall. Kya gathered some of the water from the showerhead and brought it to her friend's chest where her knee had landed earlier. She felt Lin shudder and relax under her touch. "I didn't break anything, but you will be sore for a few days. Sorry by the way."
Lin met her concerned gaze with a reassuring smirk. "It's alright. It was a fair shot."
A minute of silence passed between the two until the liquid no longer glowed. Kya turned off the water and exited the stall, Lin right behind her. With a flick of her wrist, any excess moisture was removed from their bodies. "Come on, you can borrow some of my clothes and I'll put your dirty ones in a bag."
Lin put on her old ones, scrunching her nose when the smell finally hit her. "I appreciate it, this is the worst smelling mud in the world."
"… It wasn't all mud."
Lin and Kya entered the Avatar family's dining room, plopped down, then helped themselves to the bowl of fruit on the table.
"The blue looks lovely on you Lin." Katara commented with a smile
"Thanks, aunt Katara." Lin looked down at the dark blue tank, with matching baggy pants, "I was just grateful for anything that fit, after today's disgusting events of course."
"Yeah, sorry about that, Sokka was experimenting with the pipes and, well not all pipes lead to the ocean."
Lin shrugged. "It's okay. I guess, shit, happens."
"Don't swear."
"Sorry."
"Hey, Kya," the waterbender looked down to her left at the youngest of the Beifong clan and gave her a sweet smile that only she could give, "I beat Katara and she's a lot better fighter than you."
"Is that so?" Kya looked over to her mother who quietly drank a glass of water. "Losing your touch are we mum?"
"Shut up Kya." Katara said with an eye roll.
"Language." Lin added.
"Shut up Lin."
Lin and Toph walked next to each other, occasionally bumping shoulders as they dawdled down the footpath leading towards the Island dock, while Su skipped ahead of them, picking a flower here and there.
Do I like her? Of course I like her, we're friends and friends like each other… Lin was brought out of her thoughts when an arm found itself around her shoulders. "She's really got you for a spin, doesn't she?"
Lin looked up at her mother in confusion, not that she would know. "What are you on about?"
Toph lightly punched her in the shoulder. "What's going through your head?"
"Tenzin." Lin breathed.
"Wait, is he the reason you barely leave your room anymore?"
"Mhm." Lin looked out to Republic City, the sight never failing to amaze her. "I like him mum, but I don't think I like, like him."
"What brought this on?"
"I dunno, I've just been thinking about it these last couple of months and I think I need to tell him before he gets hurt."
Toph slapped her daughter on the back. "Congrats Lin."
"For what?"
"For realising that you are allowed to put yourself first every now and then." Toph placed her arm around her daughter's shoulder, bringing her in close. "I hope you know that your happiness does matter, and you shouldn’t settle for someone who doesn't feel the same way. Whoever you choose, just know that I'm open to anything."
Before Lin could question her on what she meant, the one man she dreaded seeing, walked up the dock’s steps with a smile on his face. "Hello Lin, you look lovely in blue!"
Lin's heart broke at what was about to come.
"I'll see you at home Badgermole. We'll have to talk about this over a drink." Toph gave them a lazy wave as Su took her by the hand to lead her to the boat.
"And just like that, it's over before it even began."
"I'm sorry Tenzin, I couldn't do this to us anymore. We both deserve so much more."
Tenzin groaned as he fell backwards onto the grass, away from the cliff that overlooked the sparse ocean before them. "Can I at least know why? Maybe I could fix the problem."
"Trust me, this is something you can't fix." Lin drew her knees to her chest. "You want different things in life than what I want."
"But I'm an airbender, holding onto desire is something I’m taught not to do. Surely I can change."
Lin turned towards him, a scowl on her face. "This is something you can't let go of. Tenzin, I don't want kids and…" she looked away, "there's someone else."
"What?!" With a gust of wind quickly expelling from him, Tenzin sat up, his face red. "Do I know them?! What do they have that I don't?"
"You know who they are. But nothing has really happened between us. I mean, we've kissed but that's it. They're amazing and smart, and they get me in a way no one else does… and I understand them too. At least I think I do." Lin stood and shoved her hands into her pockets, with Tenzin following suit. "I'm sorry Tenzin, I thought that you and I had something special but today, I learned that I was in love with the idea of being with someone, not the actual person." Lin looked away as a tear escaped her eye. "I hope we can still be friends."
Tenzin's hurt vanished at seeing his friend, who is like a brick wall when it comes to anything resembling emotions, finally crack. He pulled her into his embrace and gave her a tight hug. "Of course we are. Nothing could come between you and I." He pulled back and lifted her chin with his index finger. Wiping away the tear, he leaned down and gave her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "I hope that one day I get to meet this amazing person who finally managed to figure you out."
Lin laughed and slugged him in the shoulder. "Thanks, airhead. You want to give me a lift home?"
"Of course. What are friends for?"
The two friends walked away, completely unaware of the waterbender who was currently floating in the water below.
"Okay, I start work late tomorrow, Su is at a friend’s, and you have been quiet all week, more so than usual." Silence overcame the two as the older Beifong opened the cupboard above the stove and pulled out two glasses and a bottle of Fire Nation whiskey.
"I'm only sixteen." Lin commented with a raised brow.
"I know, but I told you last week that we would talk about your problems over a drink, besides, you're not far off from seventeen." Toph plopped down next to her daughter. "On three, drink and don't cough it up. Three."
Lin did as she was told but struggled to swallow when the liquid hit her tongue. "Flameo! How can you drink that stuff?"
"Years of practise." Toph poured them another drink each which they downed, then another, and another until they both had five drinks in their system. "Okay, I think that will help. Now tell me what's got your knickers in a knot?"
Lin's head moved back and forth, heavy with alcohol. "They're not in a knot, how would they even do that? Did you know Su got detention because I do, and detective Shen, Scheen? Chen? I can't remember, but I saw him buying lily weed last week from some boys at school. You'd think he could just take it from the evidence locker like everyone else. Have you caught who was selling it ye-"
"Great," Toph's voice was laced with sarcasm, "you're a talkative drunk. Tell me about you and Twinkle Toes Junior."
"Ohhh, things have been so awkward between us." Lin took the glass in front of her and shot it, to which her mother quickly re-filled.
"Why?"
"I told him I'm not into him anymore and that there's someone else. He said we’re still friends, but I think he's lying. That, or he really doesn't know how to handle what happened."
Toph's interest piqued. "Hold up, who is this 'someone else?'"
Lin laughed and drank the liquid in front of her. "I'm not telling you," she uncharacteristically giggled, "you're my mum."
"Well tonight, just think of me as your buddy." Toph poured her another drink, smiling when she felt it disappear. "Who do you like, Badgermole?"
"I can't tell you who she is."
There it was, a lead. Her inner detective loved little bits of information perps gave her without their knowing, and her daughter was no exception. "So, it's a she. Is that why you didn't want to tell me?"
"Maaaaaaaaaaaybe." Lin laughed. "She's really pretty mum, I know that you can't see her so you wouldn't know but she is really pretty, prettier than aunt Katara. I have no idea where Kya got her good looks from, but she is really pretty."
"AH-HA! So it is Kya!"
Lin gasped. "How the flameo did you figure you out? Me out? It out?"
"You gave it away and all it took was nine drinks!" Toph poured two drinks and held one in her hand, gesturing for Lin to do the same. "To new love."
Lin barely managed to make contact with her mother's glass before swallowing its contents and then collapsing onto the kitchen table with a snore.
Toph stood up from her spot at the table and patted her daughter on the back. "You're gonna have to learn to hold your liquor, Badgermole, good luck with the hangover."
The morning sunlight flowed into the open kitchen. The birds tweeted as they usually did in the morning, signalling to everyone in Republic City that the day had begun.
With a groan, Su got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom sink so that she could prepare herself for her favourite thing in the world, school. One day, this will all be over. After having brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and gotten dressed in her uniform.
Su meandered into the kitchen to find her sister still collapsed on the kitchen table. "Lin?" Her heart rate increased a little when she failed to get a response but settled down when a less than flattery snore escaped the sleeping teen.
Su walked over to Lin and shook her shoulder gently. "Wake up, you're gonna be late for school."
"Ef off Su. I'm tired and I don't feel well."
"Fine, but I'm going to tell mum."
"Go for it, it's her fault anyway. What are you doing home? I thought you were at a friend's house."
"That's just what I told mum, I snuck into the house this morning."
The front door of their home opened to reveal Tenzin in his uniform. His face was scrunched up as he picked the stiff black clothing from his bum. "I swear this is Kya's old uniform, it pinches in all the wrong places. Are you two ready for school?"
"I am but Lin is sick." She gestured to her sister, just as the older Beifong emptied the contents of her stomach onto the kitchen floor. "Lin! That is disgusting!"
Tenzin took a deep breath as he walked over to his friend and guided her out of the seat and to the couch. "Lin, there are very few things your mother loves in this world, and that couch is one of them, please don't throw up on it."
Lin cracked open an eye but quickly shut it when light made contact with her pupil. "Ugh, I need a healer… and a shower. I feel disgusting"
"I'll call mum, I can't help you with the shower thing though." Tenzin left the room for a minute and returned with a glass of water. "Drink this, it will make you feel better. I'll take Su to school. Do you want me to do anything else?"
"Just leave me alone." Lin turned her head away from him, burying it in the white upholstery of the couch.
"Alright, feel better soon." And with that, Lin was finally alone.
"Lin?" Kya cautiously opened Lin's bedroom window as she had done multiple times in the past. She really needs to open her window more often, smells like something died in here. The waterbender went out to the lounge room where she found her friend asleep on the couch. She looks so cu- her thought process was interruptedby a stale smell hitting her full force. She followed it to the kitchen where she found two glasses and an empty bottle of whiskey in the sink. "Looks like aunt Toph finally taught you the way of the Beifong." Turning on the tap, Kya bent the water to the puke on the floor and waited for it to be absorbed before directing it down the drain.
Kya walked back to the lounge room and opened the doors that led out to the backyard, hoping to clear out the smell. She sauntered over to Lin and gave out a sigh as she knelt next to the hungover teen she cared so much about. She reached out to the water that was in a glass on the side table and waited for it to glow before pressing it to Lin's back, searching for her kidney's and liver. "Crap Lin, how much did you drink?"
"Ngh, you're not Katara."
"Your system hasn't finished processing it yet. I'm going to get it through your system but you may need to pee soon."
Kya had barely finished before Lin bolted upright and ran into the bathroom. A minute later, Lin returned, bags under her eyes, a puke stain on the black tank top she wore. "My stomach wants to kill itself and take me with it."
Kya motioned for Lin to lay down and rest her head on her lap. "This may burn a little but you need to relax and trust me."
The earthbender's eyes closed and her eyebrows furrowed together. "Of course I trust you."
Kya raked her fingers over her friend's stomach, searching for any liquid and bile in it. "Relax." Kya could feel that she had gathered it all and began directing it up her throat and out her mouth, struggling when Lin began to gag on it, then quickly threw it into the kitchen sink. "All done."
"That. Was. Horrible." She sat up and swung her legs over to the side. "What are you doing here?"
"Tenzin called and said you weren't well. I had no idea, goody-two-shoes Beifong, was hungover. This is one thing I will never forget."
"Great." Lin moaned as she leaned forward onto her hands. "I need a shower, I feel gross."
"Alright. I'll help you out." Kya wrapped her arm around Lin's torso and lifted her to her feet. "A shower will do you good anyway... so will brushing your teeth."
They made their way into the family bathroom where a walk-in shower stood proud. Kya turned on the taps and waited for the water to get just right before tugging Lin's shirt over her head. A solemn mood took place between the two teens. Lin looked into Kya's beautiful blue eyes that were currently looking up at her from their position at her waistband. She kicked off her pants and underwear and tossed them to the side before helping her friend to her feet. "I like you." The words were quiet coming from Lin's mouth.
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"I," Lin looked up to the ceiling, anywhere but Kya's eyes, "like you."
Kya smirked and gave her a smouldering gaze. "I know, now get under the water before you catch a cold, I'm going to get you some fresh clothes."
"Umm, okay." Lin turned on her heel and walked into the shower with slouched shoulders, a cloud over her head.
The waterbender walked across the hallway into Lin's bedroom and the familiar smell of dirty socks hit her like a brick, reminding her of Bumi's room. Kya couldn't resist as she began to tidy up the bedroom. She picked up what must have been twenty sweaty black tank tops, twelve pairs of dirty underwear and thirty pairs of disgusting, yellow crusted socks, and ten dirt-covered bindings. I know what I'm getting you for your birthday, a fire to burn everything. After throwing everything into a laundry basket, Kya opened the window and breathed in the fresh summer air. "Much better."
Rummaging through Lin's draws, Kya was not surprised to find more black tanks. "Of course." She grabbed a fresh pair of pants, underwear and top before walking back into the bathroom to see Lin furiously scrubbing at her teeth.
"I can still taste it."
"I have some mint leaves if you want them."
"I'll have some when I finish."
Kya leaned against the glass shower. "You like me huh?"
"Mm, yeah. I kind of realised it last week during our sparring session. I thought that now would be a good time to tell you, seeing as how I'm still a tad drunk… wait how did you know I like you?"
"Hmm?"
"Earlier, I told you I liked you, you said 'I know,' how did you know?"
"I heard you talk to Tenzin. It was nice of you to let him know." There was silence. "I like you too by the way."
Lin relaxed, her fears were now gone and she allowed herself to smile.
"Have you washed yet?"
"I have no strength in my arms to do so." Lin looked away as a blush crossed her face. "You could help me if you want."
Kya smirked and began to undress, tantalisingly slow as she started with her top, then her bindings, rolling the bandage as she went. She watched as the woman in the shower couldn't keep her eyes off her chest. Filling her with bravado, Kya reached into her pants pocket and pulled out a couple of mint leaves and held them in-between her teeth before taking off her pants. She sauntered into the shower and lifted Lin's chin so that they locked eyes and then she leaned down. Their lips met, the leaves tickled them gently as Kya pushed them softly into the earthbender's mouth with her tongue. The waterbender couldn't resist as she took Lin's lower lip into her mouth and sucked on it gently, she released it slowly, licking the swollen lip lightly and then she pulled back, smirking when she saw the dumb look on the younger woman's face.
"Umm, yum." Lin chewed the leaves, grateful when they took the taste of bile away. She turned around and reached for the washcloth but it was quickly snatched from her grasp. She attempted to turn around but a firm hand on her shoulder kept her where she was. "Wha-"
"Just, stand there." Kya draped the washcloth over her hand and started at the nape of the earthbender's neck, scrubbing gently. She made her way down to sculpted shoulder blades and with a little force, pushed Lin forward, causing her to brace herself on the wall in front of her. "Don't move."
Moulding their bodies together, Kya lightly ran her empty hand over Lin's arm tracing the defined lines in her forearms. Her fingertips lightly danced themselves towards the strong earthbender's back and stroked all the way down to her bum. Kya grabbed the white cheeks and brought their hips tightly together and pushed Lin against the wet shower wall. Holding Lin there with her own body, the older teen reached around and gently massaged the outside of Lin's breasts.
Kya pulled back slightly to turn the hot and bothered earthbender around so that they were now facing each other. Kya latched her teeth onto Lin's neck. She kissed and nibbled until the entire side of the neck was red from marks.
A kiss on top of her right breast, the left one, a bite below the right. A nipple twirled between two fingers and the only sound is heavy breathing.
Lin's legs are weak, the only reason she hasn't fallen over is because of the wall behind her and Kya in front of her, the desire is raging and she feels her own wetness dripping.
Kya is holding both her nipples as she kisses her way down Lin's stomach to her hips, she can feel Kya's tongue as it runs from her pelvis to her hip. Her mind is cloudy and her knees are beyond wobbly.
Kya pulls away and looks up at her.
"Wha-?"
"Lin, do you want this? I know this is your first time and we are in a dirty shower so tell me. Do you want this?"
Lin looked at her in confusion.
"Lin…"
"Kya, I love you and I don't want to do this with anyone else other than you, so stop teasing me already."
Kya smirked and grabbed one of Lin's knees to bring it over her shoulder. Lin only blushed and looked away before Kya catches her eyes. She places her hand on Lin's leg and gently massage's her way up, still holding her gaze. Kya watches as Lin takes a sharp breath when she reaches her folds. Kya gently strokes her before bringing her wet fingers to her lips, spreading them gently. Lin shuddered at the feeling of the hot breath at her centre. Kya's tongue began to probe her, rubbing her inner folds gently. She held her there with her hands on her backside, her mouth on her clit, licking gently as she did, causing Lin to let out a moan followed by a hiss. "Oh, spirits!"
This spurred Kya on. She slipped a finger in, smiling to herself when she felt Lin clench around the digit. She doubled her efforts on the clit, tasting as much of her as she could. Her hands came around and flattened themselves on the strong bender's stomach where she could feel the muscle flexing and relaxing in time with her tongue's movements. Then she came with a low growl that one would expect from a Beifong but what many didn't get to hear, which made her feel privileged.
Standing from her place on the floor, Kya smiled to herself when Lin slumped into her arms. "Spirits Kya, what did we just do?"
"I think I made the hangover disappear."
"Ugh, that's not what I meant." Lin pushed herself off Kya and back onto her feet. "Friends don't get each other off like that."
"Oh," Kya raised an eyebrow, drawing patterns over Lin's torso with a smirk, "how do they get each other off then?"
"I dunno, but when people… do it, they're not friends."
"Well, I guess we're not friends then. Maybe we're girlfriends."
"Girlfriends?"
"Yes, when a girl likes a girl, they are called girlfriends."
"Huh, so, you and I are together?"
Kya rested her forehead against Lin's. "Only if you want to. I won't force you into anything."
Lin smiled. "Okay, we're girlfriends then."
Kya gave her a quick kiss and turned off the water. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You look like a drowned sewer rat."
"Wow, thanks." Lin began to get dressed, starting with her undies and then pants, she was about to put on her bindings when strong tanned hands stopped her. "What?"
"Leave it off. I like feeling skin on skin when I sleep."
Even though the sleep was only four hours long, it was the best sleep Lin had ever had. She awoke to a topless Kya snuggled into her chest, a hand on each other's breast. She could stay like this forever. Lin looked over to the clock on her nightstand and saw it was three in the afternoon, Su will be home soon.
"What's wrong love?"
Lin jumped at the sound of the woman on top of her, but quickly relaxed when she snuggled deeper into her side. "Nothing."
"Word of advice, don't lie to your girlfriend. It will not end well for you." Kya turned her head and looked up at her girlfriend's beautiful emerald eyes, through her own tousled brown hair. "Now what's wrong?"
Lin motioned to the clock on the nightstand. "Su will be home in ten minutes, we need to get up and dressed."
"Ah, dreaded younger sister category one. I get it." Kya pushed herself off the bed and reached up to stretch slowly before getting dressed. "Also, I would appreciate it if you didn't go blabbing about us to people. You can tell Toph if you want but that's only because she knows about me."
Lin cocked an eyebrow. "I thought your parents knew."
"Nope. They think me kissing people in fights is just me messing around. It's not that I'm fearful of telling them, I just hate all the questions. The only reason your mum knows is because she caught me in a car making out with someone… naked."
Lin rolled her eyes. "Are there any cops who haven't seen you naked?"
Lin and Kya sat at the dinner table, laughing over pieces of fruit. "I can't believe you did that!"
"Hey! He tried to rob me, he deserved to be frozen to a wall."
"Yeah, but without pants?! You do know what ice does to a man, right?"
Kya laughed as she popped a piece of fruit into her new girlfriend's mouth. "I hope this never has to e-" before she could even finish, Toph and Su strolled into the home. "I spoke too soon."
"Hey, Chief."
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Much better. Can Kya stay for dinner?"
Toph took off her uniform, letting it fall where she stood. "I think she should go home actually. I need to talk to you."
"Oooooh, I told you, you'd be in trouble." Su smirked as she stole the piece of fruit in her sister's hand.
Kya stood and wiped the juices from her mouth. "That's alright. I have med training tomorrow anyway so I should be getting home." She turned to her girlfriend and gave her a wink. "I'll see you later Lin."
"Yeah, see you later." Lin couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice as she watched the woman leave.
"So," Toph kicked her feet up onto the table as she sat down, "What are you making for dinner?"
"Su's asleep." Said Lin, as she took a seat on the couch next to her mother. "Now what did you want to talk to me about?"
"You and Kya. What did you two do today?"
"Nothing."
"I thought you would have learned by now not to lie to me." Toph took her feet off the coffee table and sat up. "What did you do today?" Toph said, emphasizing the word 'do'.
Lin began to sweat under her mother's sightless gaze, how did she know? "We had sex..." silence, "in the shower. She was helping me clean up and one thing led to another, the next thing I know we were making out and then she was on her kne-"
"Spirits! Stop! I did not want to hear all that! I wanted to know if you guys talked! In the shower?! Why would you have sex in the shower?"
"I don't know! Convenience?!"
"What's so convenient about it?!"
"Well... we're both naked for starters."
Toph groaned. "I'm starting to wish you chose Tenzin, at least I didn't have to worry about him sleeping with you. He's such a lily liver. Okay, let's start from the beginning before you made the shower unusable. Did you guys talk?"
"Yeah." She couldn't help but smirk. "And we're… girlfriends."
"That," Toph smiled, "is awesome. I'm happy for you Badgermole. I hope she makes you happy. I think this calls for a drink."
"None for me."
"Who said anything about you?"
"Okay Kya, this one is a bit deep so what you want to do is clean it first, good job, now heal as much as you can and then stitch it closed."
Kya smiled when her teacher patted her on the back after the patient had left. "Thanks, doc."
"Not a problem. I have to say, I think you may be my best student yet, maybe when all this is over you can work at my clinic." The doctor was an old man from the Fire Nation. He was tall and lean with stubble that was greying with age. Glasses hung on the tip of his nose, obscuring his golden eyes that were a trait of those from his home. "We do great work in the city and there are so many avenues you can take."
"I appreciate it. So how often do you volunteer at the Police Department?"
The doctor shrugged as he finished washing his hands. "As often as I can. I see us as comrades. They do a good job protecting people and we do a good job healing them. We complement each other."
"That's a good way to look at it." Kya nodded
"Alright, I'm going to go grab us some tea from the cafeteria. Hold down the fort."
"Aye aye." Kya sat down in the office chair, looking over the cases that they had treated earlier in the day, double-checking that the treatments they conducted were the right course of action when the door opened and closed gently. The waterbender wasn't given a chance before someone grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt and threw her against the wall face first. Her heart was racing, as she tried to push against her attacker. "Who, are, you. What do you, ngh, want?"
"I'm your worst nightmare, your girlfriend's mother."
"Aunt Toph?!" Kya's chest was heaving, the white lab coat she wore hung off her shoulders loosely, constricting her movement. Her eyes darted from left to right, trying to get a look at her attacker's eyes. "What are you, ugh, doing?"
"Interrogation." Toph leaned in close so that her breath was on Kya's neck. "What do you think you're doing with Lin?"
"Dating her?"
Toph frowned. "Wrong answer." She spun the waterbender around and placed her metal-clad forearm against her neck, pushing her up against the wall so that she had to stand on her tippy toes. "You don't get it, Kya," her voice was dangerously low, no sign of the fun-loving woman she had come to know, "Lin isn't your average girl. You can't just fuck her and expect everything to be okay when things get rough. Lin is hard-headed, brash and would give her life to save anyone she meets and one day, she will crack. I want to make sure you can handle that. I don't want to come home and find my daughter crying in a corner with a bottle of booze contemplating suicide, I won't let you do that to her. So, you are going to tell me what you're going to do when things get rough."
"I honestly don't know." Kya pushed against the metalbender's arm hoping to get an inch to breathe but it didn't budge. "I actually do care about her. It's no secret I get around, but I left them all because they weren't Lin. She is all I ever wanted and that's the truth. I know she isn't an average girl, she's everything but average. She gives so much of herself and never expects anything back but I plan to make sure she receives everything she deserves and more because I have been in love with her since we were kids. When she does eventually crack, I will be there to keep her grounded, I will hold her up." Kya narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of her. "I love her and I plan on loving her until I die."
Toph held her there for a second longer before dropping the woman in her grasp. "I'll track you down if you do anything to hurt her. I guarantee it."
"I know you will." Kya rubbed her neck, making sure there wasn't any damage. "Now, do you have an appointment?"
"I do actually." Toph straightened up, acting as though nothing had occurred between the two, she removed her armour. "I have this blister on my shoulder and puss keeps leaking out."