Sailing the Shipping Seas

But then you remembered the day you'd had, the pressure of it still lying on your shoulders, and the lump in your throat returned so fiercely you weren't sure you could make yourself walk anywhere else. So you stepped inside at last.

The familiar bustle of the station washed over you immediately—telephones ringing, officers exchanging reports, metal cables clinking as metalbenders moved equipment across the room. Conversations overlapped into a constant hum, purposeful and alive.

Mako was the first to notice you hovering by the doors; he'd been hunched over his desk, frowning at a large map of the city. He straightened and smiled upon spotting you. He called your name, giving a small wave, "Nice to see you."

"Hey, Mako," you returned the gesture as you walked up to him, though your smile didn't quite reach your eyes.

"Is everything okay?" He moved around his desk, coming to stand before you with a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Oh… yeah," you chuckled awkwardly, bringing your hand to the back of your neck in an instinctive gesture when you heard how unconvincing you sounded. "I'm just here to see Lin."

Mako raised a brow at you, but didn't press further. His smile became more sympathetic. "Of course, she's in her office." He gestured to the door a few steps behind him.

You nodded slowly, fidgeting with your hands and holding a staring contest with the metal door, the only thing separating you from Lin. You shifted your attention back to Mako with a blink and a clear of your throat, "But only if she isn't busy."

Mako merely shrugged his shoulders, "I think she's only going over some paperwork." He then promptly placed a hand on your back and tugged you along to walk beside him, "Come on, it's a slow day today."

You took the few steps with bated breath, feeling the telltale of tears starting to gather in the corners of your eyes. You hadn't cried all day. Not during the meeting, not after the third impossible deadline had been dropped on your desk, not when two weeks of careful engineering calculations had been rendered useless because someone higher up had approved the wrong shipment of materials despite your repeated warnings, and not even when one of the project supervisors had subtly implied that maybe you "weren't cut out" to oversee reconstruction if you couldn't adapt.

You had swallowed every word. Smiled and nodded, promising you'd fix it. Then spent the rest of the afternoon trying to salvage a project that wasn't even your mistake.

By the time you'd finally left work, you'd felt hollow. Not angry. Just… truly exhausted. Like every ounce of strength you'd started the morning with had slowly leaked out of you.

And somehow, without consciously deciding, your feet had carried you here. To Lin.

Mako pushed open the door to Lin's office. You heard the familiar sound of her voice asking what he wanted, and Mako simply opened the door further, nodding to you once you came into view, "Someone's here to see you, Chief."

Lin softened the moment her eyes landed on you; her lips parted the slightest bit, and her green eyes glinted with something that belonged only to you. The pen she'd been holding between her fingers quietly fell against the small stack of papers on her desk.

With a final gentle push from Mako's hand on your back, you stepped into her office. Both your hands clutched at the strap of your satchel, and you gave her a tight-lipped smile. Once you heard the metal door close again behind you, your voice came softly, "Hi, Lin."

And Lin spoke your name with such care that you nearly broke down then and there. She pushed herself up from her desk, stepping around in one quick motion as her eyes skimmed worriedly up and down your body, searching for any sign you might not be okay.

"I'm alright," you spoke with the reassurance you knew she needed, allowing for a small smile to find your lips. You took half a step closer, extending your hand into the space between you.

Lin closed the gap and took your offered hand in her own. The gesture was still relatively new for both of you, yet her fingers fit snugly in between yours, her grip tight and present. But the moment she really looked at you, everything else disappeared. The concern reached her eyes almost instantly. "What happened?"

That simple question almost undid you. "I'm sorry," you blurted, feeling heat creeping up your neck and into your cheeks. "I know you're working, I just…" Your voice cracked, and you averted your eyes to Lin's boots instead. "I didn't know where else to go."

"My shift's almost over." The words were immediate, gentle. So gentle they almost didn't sound like Lin. She took another step closer, lowering her head to try and catch your gaze. "You don't have to apologize."

You groaned, bringing your free hand up to rub at your temple. "I feel ridiculous."

Lin squeezed your hand, "Stop."

"I just…" You laughed weakly through the tightness in your throat. "Today just kept getting worse and worse, and I tried to handle it myself, but then I left work, and suddenly all I could think about was finding you." The air had nearly left your lungs completely once you were done talking. You tried to blink away the tears blurring your sight and causing Lin's shape to blend with the soft glow of the lamp on her desk.

A quiet exhale fell past Lin's lips, and she closed her free hand into a fist. Undeniably, she was still getting used to the feeling of having her heart beat out of her chest for you. Still, something warm settled behind her normally stern eyes. She reached out, opening her arms and simultaneously tugging you in. Slowly and hesitantly, as if she wasn't sure this was the right move to make, and giving you every chance to step away.

Instead, you eagerly closed the remaining distance yourself. The hug happened almost naturally. Lin's arms wrapped around you with surprising strength; firm, protective, and steady. One hand settled against the back of your head while the other rested securely between your shoulder blades.

The warmth of Lin's hand seeped into your skin as her fingers buried in your hair and clutched at the fabric of your shirt. "I'm right here," Lin murmured quietly, her lips brushing your ear.

You buried your face against the front of Lin's uniform, squeezing her body tighter against yours. It smelled faintly of polished metal, and the jasmine tea Lin practically survived on during long shifts. Safe. It felt safe.

The two of you stayed like that for several long moments. Outside, the sounds of Republic City settled into a distant hum. Streetlights turned on as the sky grew increasingly darker, and the sharp edges of the world morphed into something softer

Eventually, Lin gently pulled away from you just enough so she could place a careful hand against your cheek. The pad of her thumb pressed over the damp path of a few tears you'd let escape. Lin brushed the skin there, tracing her touch over your cheekbones. "Tell me."

You closed your eyes, leaning deeper into her hand. "It was work."

Lin nodded once. She had expected as much. The hand that still rested on your waist settled more firmly there.

"They approved the wrong shipment despite everything I told them. Then somehow it became my responsibility to fix everything before the inspectors arrive next week." You swallowed hard. "I spent the whole day trying to solve a problem I didn't even create."

Lin's jaw tightened. Her brows furrowed as her protectiveness over you settled over her like a second shadow. "And then?"

You shrugged weakly, opening your eyes to look at her through your lashes. "My supervisor implied maybe I wasn't capable enough for the position." Your voice came as nothing but a defeated whisper.

Silence. A dangerous silence. The kind that usually meant Lin was trying very hard not to march somewhere and arrest someone for being an idiot. Her lips pursed into a tight line, and the sharpness of her features shifted into that look that you'd seen her throw at criminals sitting in interrogation rooms.

You couldn't help smiling faintly, the shape of your cheek shifting under Lin's palm.

Lin noticed. She tried fighting back a smile of her own and failed. "…What?"

You reached up, pushing a loose wave of her hair back behind her ear with a tender touch. "I know that face."

"I'm not making a face," Lin grumbled, raising a brow at you. Goosebumps rose on her skin when your hand touched her so intimately and lingered near her jaw.

You hummed, your smile widening and shifting into a smirk, "You look like you're mentally planning someone's sentence."

"They'd deserve it for saying something so stupid." Lin scoffed.

That pulled a tiny laugh from you. Small and fragile. But real, with your eyes briefly closing when your smile finally reached them.

And Lin's shoulders visibly relaxed the moment she heard it. "That's better." She couldn't remember the last time she cared about someone to the extent she cares about you. It felt almost painful sometimes, to look at you and feel like her heart had jumped out of her chest only to land on your hands.

"I knew all I needed was you." The words fell as nothing but a breath past your lips. Your hand came to hold onto Lin's own, which she still had pressed to your cheek; your fingers closed around her wrist, thumb pressing against Lin's pulse point. You could feel the rhythmic beat of her heart, quickening beneath your touch.

Lin blinked. She wasn't someone who blushed easily, but something unmistakably softer crossed her face. "…I'm glad you came." It came out almost awkwardly. As though admitting that mattered more than she'd intended. She cleared her throat. "Come on."

"Hm?" You tilted your head curiously.

"My shift ends in…" Lin glanced toward the clock on the wall of her office. "…eight minutes."

You grinned, untangling yourself from her so Lin could grab her coat. "I thought chiefs weren't supposed to count down until they can leave," you raised a teasing brow at her.

Lin glanced at you from the corner of her eyes, "I can make exceptions." She grabbed the dark, long coat that had been draped over her chair and put it over her uniform.

"Oh?" Something warm settled in your chest, and you felt your heart stumbling over it.

Lin flicked off the lamp on her desk. She glanced at the ground for a moment, and then back up at you before saying, "For you."

That earned her a warmer smile. One Lin found herself quietly committing to memory, as pride filled her chest for being the one to cause it. She walked back to you and reached down, threading her fingers through yours again.

Your hand fit with hers like a puzzle piece; you squeezed once, feeling the warmth of her skin seep into your palms. Then, without giving her much of a warning, you pulled Lin down and stood on your tiptoes until your lips could find hers.

Lin had to bite back a small gasp of surprise. A shiver ran down her back upon feeling the softness of your lips against hers. It took her less than a second to close her eyes and melt into you, pressing just a little closer as her lips fit together with yours.

The kiss was quick, but it lingered on Lin's lips even after you parted, leaving her with a longing for more. More of you. Her thumb absentmindedly stroked across your knuckles as she gazed down at you. "We're getting dinner."

You ran your tongue over your bottom lip, still tasting her there. "You don't have paperwork to finish?"

Lin shook her head softly. "They'll still be there tomorrow." Her voice sounded almost far away, as if caught in a trance.

Your eyes stung again. Not from sadness this time. You leaned up once more until your lips found her cheek, and you placed a kiss there, on the corner of her scars. "You're getting soft on me, Beifong."

Lin snorted, feeling the shape of your words against her skin. "Don't spread rumors." And she was. And Lin found that she didn't mind it one bit. Not if it was for you.

"Oh, they'd never believe me."

"Good."

Eight minutes later, Lin signed off her shift, ignored the knowing looks several officers exchanged, and walked out of the Police Station with you beside her. Your hands still intertwined.

The city lights had fully come alive now, reflecting across rain-slick streets as night settled over Republic City. "Takeout?" Lin asked, already tugging you along to her Satomobile.

"Definitely." You bumped your shoulder against hers as you walked, watching as the water from puddles splashed around your boots and reflected the streetlights.

Lin guided you to the passenger's side, opening the door for you. "My apartment?" Her green eyes stared at you with hints of anticipation, still endearingly nervous whenever she asked you to sleep over.

You bit the inside of your cheek, bringing your joined hands up so you could press a kiss to Lin's knuckles. "I'd love that."

And Lin's smile softened in a way that belonged only to you. She squeezed your hand before letting go, as if it took every ounce of strength in her to do so. As soon as she sat in the driver's seat, her hand found your thigh as if gravity had pulled it there.

Nothing more needed to be said. The day had been cruel. Tomorrow would probably bring its own problems.

But tonight, there would be warm food, quiet conversation, one oversized sweater that somehow always smelled like cedarwood and tea, and the steady comfort of falling asleep beside the woman who had become home before either of you had quite realized it.

For tonight, that was enough.

⋆* ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆･

Lin’s taglist is open, let me know if you’d like to be added. Or you can follow @talesofesther-library and turn notifications on to know when I’ve posted a new story/chapter.

Thank you for reading this story. Feedback and reblogs are literally what keeps me motivated to continue posting here, so I’d appreciate it if you could take some time to reblog and comment. <3