Work Text:
Lin Beifong sat at her desk in her office, and glanced at the clock on her wall, sighing as she saw the hands creeping towards 12am. The room was dark, the only illumination being the small lamp sat atop her desk, casting eerie shadows across the lonely room.
She could feel her bruised and battered limbs aching, as she attempted to finish some paperwork on an incident that had occurred earlier that day through a haze of exhaustion. She had gruffly brushed off the aid of a healer, as she had been sure she could wait until she returned home, but her advancing age was beginning to wear on her body, no matter how much she didn’t want to admit it, and she could no longer shake off injuries like she used to, even the seemingly superficial ones seemed leave a dull ache for several weeks.
Due to the lateness of the hour, the precinct was desolate apart from Mako’s solitary figure, which was seated at his desk just outside her office, trying to finish off an arrest report. It was a sight not many of the officers would be used to, but Lin was well accustomed to late nights at the precinct after almost 30 years on the force, and by this point in her lengthy career she almost found the atmosphere of the deserted station comforting.
A confrontation between the Triads had caused significant disruption to one end of the Kyoshi Bridge and Lin, along with some units of officers, had responded to the scene.
As they rushed to the scene, careening through the crowded streets, Lin’s Satomobile skidding between street vendors, shocked pedestrians and narrowly avoiding some misplaced vehicles on the road, she could feel the thrill of the chase, the hot adrenaline rushing through her body, and the sweet anticipation of catching a criminal.
I’ve missed this feeling, she had thought as they raced through the streets of the city she’d lived all her life, the city she loved, and the city she’d took an oath to protect. It reminded her of her younger self, enthusiastic and eager to please, before the stress of the job and the mounting paperwork had begun to overtake her life.
She had been eager to let off some steam, so as her car screeched to a halt beside the scuffle on the bridge, she leaped out and threw herself head first into the action. She identified the main offenders, shot her metal cables into the air, and they glinted against the afternoon sun as they wrapped themselves, like serpents, around criminal after criminal.
She was knocked around a fair bit in the course of the action, and upshot of it was that she sustained a few scrapes to her face, bruising down the left side of her body as she was roughly knocked to the ground by a wave of water, and a slightly twisted ankle.
She was reminded of the pain in her ankle as it twinged when she stood, finally ready to call it a night, and her thoughts turned to the silky, silver hair, her soft, laugh lined face, and deft, soothing hands of Kya who was waiting at home, in Lin’s own bed, for her to return.
The thought of coming home to the witty, caring, free spirited waterbender was one of the only things that could pull Lin away from her work, as these days, she no longer had a cold, empty apartment waiting for her, but a home, filled with love, light and laughter. The kind of home that filled Lin’s chest with a warm glow at the thought of returning to.
And at the centre of that little world, was Kya. Lin knew that Kya would always be what she looked forward to returning to, that Kya was worth coming home to every day, and Lin tried her hardest to be that for Kya, too.
She pulled her coat over her shoulder, her mind now solely focused on slipping into her warm, welcoming bed and enfolding her wife in her arms, and strode through the bullpen to the exit. As she passed Mako, she noted his pale, sleep deprived complexion and his eyes that were half asleep as he stared at the document in front of him, and reminded him:
“It’s always best to be awake enough that you can actually process whatever you’re doing. Go home and get some rest, kid.”
The young man snapped to attention at the abrupt remark, and stammered
“U-uh, yes Chief, of course. I was just finished.”
Lin gave him a curt nod of approval, and said, more softly than usual,
“See you in the morning.”
She turned on her heel, and left the building, Mako looking on tiredly after her. She shook her head as she thought to herself how much Mako reminded her of herself at that age, overzealous and eager to please, but her aching bones were what quickly reminded Lin that she was no longer a 20-something year old detective.
-
She unlocked the door to her and Kya’s apartment with a flick of her wrist, the door easily swinging open. She noiselessly made her way inside, and removed her shoes, not wanting to rouse Kya, as it was close to half past midnight, and the waterbender was usually long gone to bed.
As her bones were aching, she quickly made her way to the bedroom, planning on removing her armor, taking a quick shower and attempting to scrounge some leftovers together from the previous night’s takeaway before collapsing into bed, and melting into the warmth of her wife.
As she entered the bedroom, she was met with a surprising sight; her wife was sitting up in bed, awake, the room bathed in a soft, golden, candle lit glow. She was wearing her usual silk nightdress that Lin would never tire of seeing her in, with a book lodged between her hands.
She looked up as Lin padded into the room, and her face broke out into a wide smile, her book now discarded, saying teasingly,
“Hello, love, how nice of you to finally join me!”
“I thought that I should at least come home for a few hours,”
Lin replied, fondly sarcastic, and considered her wife, before striding over to her, placing a soft hand on her cheek as she captured her lips in a brief kiss before turning away to remove her constricting metal amour. Kya watched as Lin’s toned back was revealed to her, a performance she knew was for her benefit, and was one that she never failed to enjoy. But her satisfaction was quicky cut off, and the flirtatious comment on her lips died as she saw the deep purple blooms that dotted Lin’s left arm and shoulder.
“Spirits, Lin,” she sighed, used to the injuries that her wife would come home with, far too stubborn to see a healer.
“What happened? Have you seen a Healer? I told you to be more careful!”
Kya exclaimed, throwing the covers aside and rushing over to her wife, placing a gentle hand on the earthbender’s arm, and she assessed her injuries, her brows knitted in worry and concern.
“Kya, you don’t need to, I’m fine,” Lin huffed, although wincing at the waterbender’s soft touch.
“Bathroom - now.” Kya ordered, her lips pressed together forming a thin line, and Lin knew better than to argue when Kya used that clipped tone.
Lin let out an irritated sigh, but did as she was told and walked slowly towards the bathroom. Her ankle gave a particularly painful twinge, and she lowered herself down so she was sitting on the edge of the bath, resting her feet on the rough, sand coloured tiles.
Kya appeared in the doorway, having gone to get some bandages, and quickly moved to Lin’s side, drawing water from the tap and covering her hand in the glowing liquid. She scanned Lin’s side before dropping to her knees in front of her, and moved her hands over Lin’s shoulder.
Lin watched as her face turned to one of pure concentration, and the eerie blue glow of the healing water reflected on the walls of the bathroom. Lin felt the ache in her side fade as Kya worked over her.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Kya asked, Lin was silent, not wanting to admit to her other injuries when all she wanted to do was climb into bed and bury her face in Kya’s warmth.
“Lin Beifong, if you don’t tell me where else you need healing I will-” Kya sighed sternly, with a hint of exhaustion as she knew how impossible Lin could be when it came to needing to be healed.
“Well, my ankle was bothering me on my way home.” Lin admitted finally, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she clenched her jaw, trying to control the sharp pain in her ankle, her leg firmly planted on the tiled bathroom floor.
“Up. Please?” Kya’s tone softened, and her delicate touch as she drew Lin’s leg to rest on a low stool was as gentle as the feather-light kisses Lin would bestow on her collarbone when Lin was feeling particularly enchanted by her beauty.
Lin flinched, and tensed as the cool water covering Kya’s hand drew the pain from her ankle, and although only time would fully heal it, she relaxed as the pain subsided, leaving a barely noticeable ache. That, she could deal with.
As she hauled her leg off the stool, she cast a guilty look over at Kya, who was stifling a yawn against the back of her hand. As she caught both Kya’s hands in hers, she was overtaken by a wave of gratitude, and the ever present sense of disbelief that someone as wholly good as Kya would want to be with her. Lin shook her head.
“This is why I didn’t want to tell you!”
“You’re exhausted already, and now I’ve kept you up with a silly injury. I’m sorry.” she muttered, trying in vain to make Kya understand how she felt, although avoiding her piercing blue eyes.
Lin hung her head, leaning her weight onto her forearms, which rested on her thighs.
“Lin.”
a soft, yet insistent voice broke into Lin’s reverie, and gentle, tender hands squeezed Lin’s callused ones. A long fingered hand left her grasp and gently pulled Lin’s chin so she was forced to look Kya in the eye.
“Never, ever apologise for needing me, for needing my help. I want to help you. I’d rather get no sleep for weeks than see you in unnecessary pain,” she replied, looking intently into Lin’s deep green eyes to ensure the earthbender understood her words.
Lin cast an imperceptible look at Kya, staying silent.
“Do you understand me, my love?” Kya persisted, a want, a desperate need flowing through her body for Lin to fully comprehend that she was never alone, that Kya would always want to, need to help her.
Lin, scanning Kya’s eyes, was surprised at the deadly serious expression that rarely came over Kya, her eyes usually full of a dancing, sparkling mischief. Lin nodded, privately wondering once again what she ever did to deserve someone like Kya.
“I do. I promise. I'll try to be more careful,” she promised, in a tone about as gentle as Lin could get.
Kya pulled Lin up into a standing position, and into a tight embrace, her long, lean arms encircling themselves around Lin’s neck, her face pressing into Lin’s steel grey hair, burying herself in the essence of her wife. Lin brought her arms around the waterbender’s waist, and they stood in that position for several minute, each just appreciating the other’s warmth.
Kya felt the hot tickle of Lin’s breath as she whispered, “I love you,” into her ear.
As Kya pulled back, Lin was horrified to see the silent tears that had begun to streak down her face.
“Kya, love, what’s wrong?” she asked gently, her mind frantically thinking of what it could be.
“I just- I love you too much to lose you, and when you're in this state I get so scared because what if one day you don’t come home, and I can’t heal you, and then-” Kya sobbed, betraying all the times she felt an almost paralyzing panic at the thought that one day, Lin wouldn’t come home.
Lin felt her heart break a little at Kya’s words. She had never paid much heed to her own safety on the job, knowing that no one would miss her too much if the worst happened, and there was no one who needed her more than her officers. But now, she realised, she was needed – Kya needed her, Kya needed her as much as she needed Kya. Kya was waiting for her; Kya would always be waiting for her when she came home.
It was almost like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over Lin. Of course, she knew before that of course Kya worried about her at work, but she never really realised.
Lin was used to being the one to sacrifice it all, for anyone who needed it, but it never registered to her that she had to keep herself safe for the others in her life, that others suffered when she suffered, that others felt her pain as their own.
She took Kya’s hand and led her to their bed, laying Kya down gently and settling beside her, so their faces were opposite each other. She caressed Kya’s tear-stained cheek with her hand before bringing her hand to rest on her waist, her thumb drawing lazy circles against Kya’s skin.
“I promise you that I am going to be more careful on the job. I, on occasion, forget myself in the moment, and you know that my job is dangerous, but I can that admit I’m not as young as I once was.”
Kya, who had by now mostly calmed down, let out a sniffle, then a shaky chuckle as she teased, “Really? Well, Chief, you most definitely have the body of a thirty-year-old, not to mention the stamina-”
She was cut off by a smiling Lin pressing a tender kiss to her lips, before smirking, “Oh, so that’s what you’re after, hm?”
Kya hummed against her, “I would love to, but I think I would quite literally pass out from exhaustion. Would you- would you just hold me? Please?”
Lin’s eyes lingered on hers as she replied: “There’s nothing in the world I would rather do.”
As she was enveloped in Lin’s warm, strong arms, Kya sighed contentedly, “You know, I love it when you come home.”
Lin swallowed the lump in her throat, and tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she choked out, “I love coming home to you.”
The two lovers drifted off to sleep, content in the knowledge that as long as the other was around they’d always have a mutual loving patience, a safe refuge, and a home.