#linbeifongxreader

Lin’s brows burrowed as she looked at the vast variety of cuts at the meat market this morning. She learned from Tenzin that Katara was coming in from the South Pole in the evening. Deciding that she would want to prepare her mother figure with a meal. Surely she remembered how to recreate the dishes Katara taught her when she was a little girl.

Though it has been decades since she’s prepared a traditional meal. Since becoming Chief, she has tended to keep at the quick meals or whatever Saikhan would force in her hands that his wife “accidentally” packed extra for. After the third time she was quick to realize the gesture.

Lin pursed her lips as she looked at the different cuts of fish. A passerby walked up and stood beside her as they also took in the sight of the fish.

“Hey, Jin. How fresh are the fish?” the stranger asked the merchant.

“Hey-Ho y/n!! Just caught these freshies this morning.” Jin smiles as the stranger nodded and caught interest at a cut of Koi. The stranger looked over and caught the chief of police in a pensive thought. They motioned Jin’s assistant to package up the Koi they picked up before stepping towards the esteemed Chief. “You seem to be thinking quite a bit for a fish” you spoke then gave her a soft smile.

“Hmm? What? Oh yes I’m... trying to decide what to pick” Lin muttered as she focused back at the stand. “Right....” you turned to look at the fish as Jin’s assistant came with the fish wrapped up in brown packaging as you thanked them.

“Excited to hear what dish you’ll create with this dish, y/n” Jin’s assistant smiled brightly as you placed the wrapped up fish into your ice chest. “Yeah, I’m thinking of maybe baking this piece in some ginger garlic marinade.”

“How did your last dish go?”

“The seaweed noodles with steamed halibut? Oh it came out really good. I wasn’t sure how it would come out when I steamed the sea prunes with the fish, but I was glad it came out good. Gave it a nice sweet and savory taste” you smiled as you picked up the ice chest and pulled out your wallet to pay for the fish. “Thanks so much” you smiled as the assistant bowed and walked back to the register.

You turned around and pursed your lips as the chief was still standing around.

“Well, what are you preparing? Maybe I can help you decide” you offer.

“I don’t need help. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Sure, I’m sure you have it all under control” you smirked as you couldn’t help but watch Lin look at a fillet of halibut. “If it’s the halibut you’re eyeing, keep an eye out for white, glossy flesh. You'll also want to avoid any brown spots on the white flesh” you comment as you eye a piece in the back and pick it up looking around for any imperfections and check the skin. “Like this one… it’s perfect” you smile then slowly set it down where you grabbed it.

“I didn’t ask but thanks I’ll keep that in mind” Lin grumbled then looked down and noticed the ice chest. “What did you get?”

“Oh just a piece of Koi. Figured I’d try earth kingdom today” you wave her off as you look down at the chest then back up at her.  

“Today? What do you normally cook?” Lin looked at you confused. She can’t really pinpoint your nationality from your all black attire, but she noticed your bright green eyes and she could have sworn there were specks of gold or amber.

“A little bit of everything, I guess? I come from a mixed family. Earth and Water parents, but I also have some fire on my dad’s side. So I grew up eating different dishes.” you looked around as you explained.

“Ah so that explains the seaweed noodles and your knowledge on halibut” Lin muttered as she turned to face the fish.

“So you heard that? Eavesdropping, are we chief?” you smirked as you turned to look at her and Lin’s eyes widened a bit. “It’s not like you kept your conversation low. The merchants across the street would hear you.”

“I’ll keep it quiet next time then. y/n” you introduced yourself, she extended her hand and gave each other a handshake. Lin lets go and picks up the halibut you picked up earlier “so this one is perfect, hmm?” Lin analyzed it for herself. “Yeah, perfect for Republic City’s chief of police.”

“So you say” she looks at you

“So I say” you eye Lin back not tearing your eyes away from hers

“I’ll take your word for it then” Lin looks up and motions for Jin to wrap up the fish.

“If it’s not then so help me Raava I don’t get locked up.” you joked

“I don’t think Raava would be able to help if this fish isn’t up to those perfect standards” Lin quipped up and you quieted down feeling a sense of doubt for picking the fish.

“Well….I mean maybe there is another that might be better?” your voice suddenly shaken as you look back at the other piece.

“Are you questioning yourself now?” Lin’s brow raises and hides her humor behind her voice as she folds her arms.

“What? Of course not” you stand up straight and look at Lin trying your best to look confident.

“How about this? I’m always around this market during weekend mornings. If that fish didn’t come out then you’re free to lock me up for some crazy offense.” You smirked as you looked at her eyes

“If it does?” Lin pays and thanks Jin for the halibut before looking at you. “Well you get to say thanks and I get to see the chief again.” you smiled as Lin placed her fish in her ice chest.

“For Raava’s sake you better be right, y/n.” Lin mutters before she walks off.

-/-

Next week rolled out and you were picking up some fresh vegetables and fruits. You were checking on how firm a mango was when you heard a voice “I see Raava has graced you”.

You put the mango in your basket when you turned around “Chief, glad to see you” you gave her a smirk as you packed some more food into your basket. “Grocery shopping?” Lin stepped forward as she grabbed some kale as her eyes glanced down in your basket.

“Yeah, figured I’ll shop for the week” you responded back as you grabbed a bunch of kale “so from that comment earlier I can safely assume the fish came out nicely”.

Lin looked at you and gave a nod “yeah, the dish was a success. Great reviews.”

You gave her a smile and nodded back “I’m glad everything worked out for you chief Beifong.”

“Lin”

“Pardon?” you looked at her as Lin grabs some grapes and puts it in her basket “My name? It’s Lin. You can call me Lin”

“Oh...right. Well Lin I’m glad it worked out. Are you prepping for another dish or just shopping?” you tried to carry on the conversation without being too weird or awkward.

“Shopping as well. Too busy during the week.”

“Right...protecting and serving the city. If you ever want some good food I know this small diner on the corner of 3rd and Yang. They’re open pretty late.”

“What do they serve?” Lin decides to engage as she grabs a couple of  fruits as she places them in her basket. You shrug and rub the back of your neck “A little bit of everything. It’s a little hole in the wall so not many people know about it” you reach in your pocket and hand the merchant a couple of yuans for your groceries.

Lin’s brows furrow as she thinks about your recommendation.

They did recommend the fish and they seem to know about food. Maybe Lin should listen to them.

“I’ll check it out when I can” she looks up as she also pays for her groceries.

“Sounds great”

-/-

Since that time at the market you and Lin would run into each other on the weekends and slowly the conversation would change to a shop or a diner nearby. Chatting about Lin’s line of work and when she would ask about you, you would answer the question but revert the attention back to her or change the subject. Lin felt slightly suspicious of the action, but felt that some people preferred their privacy to something she understood.

There was one Saturday morning the conversation ran longer than usual, both you and Lin were in a heated discussion on the pro-bending tournament. Either of you refusing to believe your teams would lose

“Eel Hounds are going to win the finals. They have only missed one game and that was because of that dumb ref” you exclaimed as you get your cup of tea and took a sip. Lin more relaxed shakes her head waving you off “no, you’re wrong. The Komodo Rhino have an equally strong offence and defense to win the finals.”

You smirk as you look at Lin “well I’m not budging on my choice”

“Me either”

“Well we can agree to disagree.” you bring the cup back up to your lips“but the Eel Hounds are going to win” you quickly say as you take another sip. Lin picks up a piece of sweet pun and throws it at your face. You laugh out as you catch it then glance at your watch, your eyes widening.

“Shit…”

“What? I didn’t mess your clothes right?” Lin looks at you confused as she notices your change in demeanor.

“What? No no. I’m late. I was supposed to be back at work before noon.” you reach down into your wallet and take out a couple of yuans.

“I got this.”

“Fine, this can be a tip then” you give her a smile as you pull your jacket on.

“Are you going to be in trouble?” Lin stood up as she paid the check

And you shook your head “nah, I just have this deadline that I cannot miss. I’m really glad we did this. Let’s do this again sometime” you smile as you touched her arm before stepping out the shop.

-/-

It’s been two weeks since that last interaction and Lin was busy with knuckling down on Triad business. After the recent bust she felt like she could relax a bit. Lin managed to finish her work early. She looked at the clock as she walked down the bullpen seeing 11:15pm. Walking down to her car and driving towards her nearby apartment she kept during the week. She remembered of that place y/n mentioned and decided to drive by it. Surely it’s already closed, most shops aren’t opened this late in the middle of the week. Surprisingly the diner’s lights were still on and Lin’s stomach started to rumble. “Shit, I forgot to eat lunch” she muttered and decided to pull over. Maybe this was a good time to try out this little shop in the alley.

While Lin stepped into the shop a couple walked out and nodded at the chief. Lin found the shop now empty which was to be expected and a voice rang out, “I’ll be right with you!”.

That voice…..

“What can I do for you” y/n appeared from behind the kitchen doors and stopped. The only noise being from the saloon doors swinging. y/n standing there in a black chef’s coat and black slacks.

“Lin…”

“Thanks for agreeing to accompany me tonight, Cin” you gave your date a gentle smile

“If I didn’t, you would make some excuse to leave early. What of our potential investors and buyers?”

You laugh as you fix your collar while looking at the rearview mirror “It’s always about business with you.”

“Here let me help” Cinder offers and reaches over to fix the collar laying it out then flattens out the suit jacket. Your cheeks slightly blush of the close proximity. Cinder slowly looks up and meets your eyes.

You clear your throat as you straighten up “thanks”

She gives you a warm smile as she sits back into her seat and puts on her seatbelt “don’t mention it. Let’s go”

Asami was invited to attend a state dinner in Republic City as she has been coming up with plans on modernizing Republic City's Central City Station. Asami had a stroke of inspiration on the tram designs and wanted to work on the ramifications. So she couldn’t attend so you offered to go as a representative for Future Industries. Rather than attend this dinner by yourself, you decide to take Cinder.  The Head of Automotive Interiors for the Satomobile. You and Cinder, a firebender, have become friends in the past six months after going through a bad breakup. You decided it would be a good idea to bring a fellow designer to talk up the next line of Satomobiles while you talked about the business.

Walking up the steps into the government building where the state dinner was being held. You smoothed down your suit jacket and let out a deep exhale. “You good?” Cinder looped her arm around yours giving your hand a gentle tap. Looking over you nodded your head “yeah, all good.” you reassured her and gave her a smile before walking the both of you toward the doors giving the guard your invitation.

“There’s president Raiko, we should introduce ourselves” Cinder looks at you and she starts walking both of you towards his direction. “Mr. President” Cinder approached and Raiko’s brows raised as he saw you giving you a big smile, “Captain y/n! So nice to see you here!” he extended his arms.

You smiled politely before gently correcting him “that’s former Captain, Sir. I no longer hold that position, remember? I’m now working along with Ms. Sato at Future Industries as partner and Head Designer.”

You and Raiko grab each other’s forearms in greeting as you give a firm shake “Right, sorry Ms. y/n, but is it okay if I call you Captain still? Despite the trouble in the city you held that position well. Wonder what happened.” He spoke as his security team covered him, keeping him safe while the perimeter was protected with RCPD’s finest. He took out his metal cigar canister taking one out.

“Uh...sure I guess although I’m not sure how the current Captain will take it” you looked around before looking back at Raiko as he is looking for a lighter “oh allow me Sir. If I may of course”

Raiko looks back at you and gives you a nod and you flick your finger, a flame coming out. An officer approaches to stop you but Raiko puts his hand up to prevent him as you continue lighting the cigar for him. “Thank you, Cap”

“Anytime, President Raiko.”

Cinder nudges you and fakes a cough giving you a cue “oh right so sorry” you apologized and turned dropping your arm down as you direct the attention to your date. “Mr. President, I would like to introduce you to Cinder, our brilliant Head of Automotive Interior of our successful satomobiles. She has been working diligently with our creative team on creating a beautiful car in the next season.”

Raiko gently shakes Cinder’s hand as she gives him a smile and respectfully bows “Mr. President, pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh no the pleasure is all mine. Are you two?” he eyes and points at the two of you. Your cheeks slightly blush “no no, sir. Purely business associates. We’re friends of course but just colleagues.” you clear your throat trying to bring down the head to your face.

“My apologizes”

“It’s okay, I understand with my arm around hers and our clothes slightly matching. I’m also from the Fire Nation.” Cinder tries explaining and you gently put your hand on her back and whisper in her ear “I think that’s good Cin.” you smile at President Raiko as he nods understanding “I don’t judge.” there’s an awkward silence before Raiko’s assistant comes up and whispers in his ear. Raiko speaks up, turning back to the both of you “Well I hope you enjoy the state dinner.”

You and Cinder bowed to the president before Cinder rubs her eyes “I blew it didn’t I?” she whispered. “Noooooo not at all.” you tried to assure her when she glares up at you and you laugh softly “it’s okay. He’s going to forget about it by the end of the night.”

A waiter with a tray of drinks comes by and you grab two glasses handing one to Cinder “Here this should take the edge off” you pass her a glass and watch as she downs it quick then grabs the one that you intended for yourself and downed it as well.

“Uh...that was for me…” you looked at Cinder then down at the two glasses in your hands

“Crap, I’m sorry”

“No worries, this isn’t my kind of drink anyways. Feeling better?” another waiter comes by and you set the two empty glasses on the passing tray. Cinder gives you a wide smile and nods “loads better. We should be meeting with these important officials on transporting vehicles for sales.” Cinder grabs your hand and tugs you along, but you stop. “Woah, how about you speak with Ambassador Zeng from the Earth Kingdom while I grab myself a drink from the bar.”

“Seeing as I took your glass back there. Fine. See you soon” Cinder gives you a smile before she heads over and approaches Ambassador Zeng.

You sigh as you near the outdoor bar unbuttoning your suit jacket as you wave a hand at the bartender, “a Pegu Club please” you order and the bartender nods as she starts pouring some gin, curaçao, lime juice, and bitters into the shaker with crushed iced. She starts giving it a good shake before pulling out a chilled cocktail glass and pouring the drink in it, finishing it off with a twisted lime and hands it to you. You gave her a nod and raised the drink in appreciation before taking a sip. Once you savored the alcohol you felt your shoulders relax.

“New haircut? Surprised to see you here”, it’s been a while since you heard that voice. It still gave you an effect as you felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You inhaled before turning around and placing a smile on your face, “Chief Beifong, I’m sorry I can’t say the same. Figured I’d run into you sometime throughout the night, but it seems like you ran into me.” you calmly spoke as you took another sip from your drink.  

“Pegu Club?” she eyes the glass then up at you as a little bit of your facade escapes but you try regaining it and look away. “Yes, it is” you tap on the glass.

“At least some things never change...” She looks away at the surrounding scene, before her eyes look back at you. Noticing your physical changes, for once you’re dressed in a fire nation suit and your hair once long in length has been cut short. It looks nice on you, Lin thinks. Though the thing she couldn’t stop looking at were those eyes she missed. The bright amber eyes that seem to look like glowing embers from a fire. Sometimes it brought a shiver down her spine in the way you looked at her at night.

“It’s a favorite-” your voice brings her back from her thoughts and she looks back at you.

“I know….” a sudden softness slips from her voice, causes you to look up and meet those jade eyes. It causes you to lose your breath for a second that you need to take another sip to regain some control. Pegu Club was one of your go to drinks and Lin would often order it for you at restaurants and even tried to prepare it for you at home. Home.

“It’s good to see you Lin-I mean- Chief Beifong. I should get going. I left my partner alone long enough.” you stepped forward and started walking when Lin grabbed your arm to stop you “that Fire Nation girl you gallivanted in with? You sure have a sweet spot for fire nation don’t you?” she looked at you talking under her breath.

“What are you insinuating?” you looked down at her then darted your eyes around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Lin doing the same. “Say it”

“Don’t act daft. First Iris and now her.” Lin put an extra emphasis on the word and you arch your brow up. Lin thinks you and Cinder are together. Is she jealous?

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lin. Please let go.” you mutter back and Lin’s grip loosens as you smooth the sleeve and button it up. “Now, if you excuse me, Chief. I have business to attend to” you bowed your head and walked away. Lin watched you go and pinched the bridge of her nose as she cursed herself for acting like this.

-/-

After talking to various ambassadors and important officials at the dinner making influences and possible deals with the neighboring cities and nations. Cinder and you decided to leave a couple of hours early before the festivities were to end.

“If you wanted to stay, I could have left you the car and I could’ve called a cap” you smiled as you walked Cinder down the steps to the valet. “Nonsense, what fun would I have with you gone.” she nudges you and you laugh nudging her back.

“I’m glad you came. I needed a friend tonight and glad you helped with the pitches. Hopefully we’ll hear from the assistants tomorrow morning on scheduling test runs and meetings.” you talked as the valet driver handed you the keys and you opened the door for Cinder. Cinder smiles and gives you a kiss on the cheek before squeezing it “look at you opening doors for me. So cute, but I could’ve done that myself” you laugh as you rub your cheek “I know, but let me do something nice.”

Cinder rolls her eyes and gets in the car as you close the door for her and starts walking around to the driver’s side. You open the door before looking up and see Lin talking to one of her officers and she turns her head and looks at you.

You sigh and tilt your head down on the roof of the car before you run your hand through your hair, “I’ll be right back, I forgot something” you told Cinder before you stepped back and walked over toward the Chief of Police as she orders the officer back to their post, “leaving so soon?” she folds her arms as you exhale “uh.. Yeah busy morning at work” you slide your hands in your slack pockets. Lin looks over your shoulder then back at you “is that what you’re calling it?”

You roll your eyes and look away “you can just say it Lin”

“Say what?”

“That you’re jealous for starters.” you smirk a bit as Lin rolls her eyes and shrugs “I’m not.”

“Sure, so you insinuating falsely over the relationship between my colleague and I twice in one night has nothing to do with you being jealous.” you pulled your arms out and folded your arms looking at the chief of police. The night late and a sudden chill with a couple party goers starting to leave and head to the valet.

“I have work to do” Lin snarls as she drops her arms and starts to turn. You step forward and touch her arm but quickly retract it “If you want to talk, really talk. I’m going to head back to my office after dropping Cinder off”

“Cinder?” Lin pursed her lips and you sighed getting the car keys from your pocket “office”. You sternly looked at her before you turned and walked back to the car. Getting in the car and starting it up “everything okay with the Chief?” Cinder looks at you as you slowly let go of the clutch and apply equal pressure to the gas, driving out of the area “yeah, just wanted to check up on former bosses. It was nice to see the chief” you look straight down the road as you drive away from downtown. “That lady scares me. She’s so intimidating.” Cinder taps on the window then decides to roll down the window as you let out a chuckle “yeah, she can be, but once you get to know her she isn’t all that bad” you turn a street and drive down the bridge until you reached Shassa Village. “You had to live in one of the fire nation neighborhoods.” a light chuckle as you looked at the street signs. “Well do I need to remind you that I am a fire nation lady” she ends in a sing-song tone.

“Yeah, but just because you’re from the fire nation doesn’t mean you have to stay in a fire nation borough.”

Cinder shrugs and smiles “it reminds me of home. Is that a problem?”

“No, of course not” you smile back as you pull up to Cinder’s townhome “alright, here we are.” you shift the gear stick in park, “thanks for the ride and for tonight”. Cinder gets out of the car and closes the door “See you bright and early tomorrow morning” she taps your car roof then walks up the steps and opens her door to give you a wave and you wave back, driving off.

-/-

Rubbing the back of your neck as you stare at your drafting table looking over the sketches you drew in the past two hours. Drinking the glass of whiskey you’re holding then rubs your eyes. It’s been the third straight night that you’ve snuck back to your office to work. Stifling a yawn then quickly blink as you set your glass down and grab your brush and softly brush off the eraser shavings from your drafting papers and get your pencil and compass to work on the new satomobile’s curves. You were planning on presenting a new line of satomobile, a luxury line. This new car would be sleeker with curves, integration of phones into the cars into the Public Switched Telephone Network of Republic City, and a better radio system.

-/-

Lin was able to secure and made sure everyone left the area safe and sound while her men checked surrounding areas. Saikhan approached the chief “I saw the state dinner was a success.”

“It seems it had” Lin gruffed back as she watched her men work

“Were my eyes deceiving me or did I catch Cap in the night? Did you request them to help us with the security intel?” He looked at the metalbending officers packing up the squad cars before looking at the chief.

“No, former captain y/n was here as a guest. It appears Ms. Sato couldn’t make it so y/n had to come as a representative for Future Industries.”

“Some snazzy date they had” he commented and Lin glared at Saikhan “apparently they’re just colleagues” she muttered and Saikhan nodded “So you two talked?”

“We ran into each other at the bar earlier in the night”

“Did y/n want their job back? As much as I hate to admit it, they were a damn good detective and leader” he gruffed as he folded his arms.

“No, let’s head back to headquarters. I don’t want to hear a word from your wife about how late I’ve kept you. All because you wanted to gossip.” Lin dropped her arms and started walking away, thinking back to her interactions with you throughout the night. Never forgetting how you looked and worked around the room.

-/-

You looked up at the clock and noticed it was nearing 2 in the morning. “I should leave now and get some sleep on an actual bed”, you muttered to yourself as you stood up from your drafting table and walked over to your desk to grab your jacket. You turned around to look out your office window as you fixed your sleeves and collar. A part of you was upset that a certain chief of police didn’t show up, although you understood. She had a job to do tonight and she most likely had better more important things to do. You sighed then finished off the whiskey left in your glass before setting it down on your counter. As you’re cleaning up your desk you hear the door open across from you “I’m sorry Jed. I know I promised to leave sooner, but-” you shuffle some papers into your portfolio.

“If you’re going to keep Jed up this late. He should get a raise or at least buy the poor boy a coffee. He was practically asleep when I saw him”

Your eyes widened as you placed your palms on the desk and slowly looked up. Lin standing across from you. Slowly stand up straight and walk around your desk “We provide our security with the amenities. I would have to check up on that later.”

For a second there was silence between the two of you and you were unsure of what to say “I wasn’t sure you would show up...”

Taking a moment to take in the image of Lin standing in front of you. You take a stand from your desk and welcome her in. “You always knew how to make an entrance, have a seat.” you smirked as you walked over and placed your empty glass on the bar counter.

“It’s not like I asked for it. I hate the attention” Lin stepped forward as she closed the door and took a seat at the couch adjacent from the desk.  You let out a small laugh “I feel like a small part of you likes it.” you retort back as you prepped some tea and used your firebending to heat up the water. Walking back towards the couch and taking a seat across from Lin on the other couch. Placing the tea set on the coffee table between the two of you.

Once the three minutes were done you poured the tea into the cup and handed Lin a cup “just like you liked it” you muttered as you looked at her. Watching her reach out and take the cup from your hand before you sit back and take a sip of the black tea.

“It’s been a while…” you begin as you place the cup on your knee. Lin put the tea cup on the table and got up “this was a mistake...I shouldn’t have came”. Walking towards the door when you hurriedly put the cup on the table and rushed over to her, but careful not to lay a hand on her. Respecting her space “why did you. There had to be a reason” you called out to her and watched Lin stop with her hand on the doorknob.

Because I missed you, Lin thought

“don’t know” she stated out flatly

“Right” you ran a hand through your hair as you looked over at your desk and kept cleaning up. Lin took the opportunity to look around. Remember how your office at your shared apartment looked, always messy but you swore that everything made sense.

Flashback:

“How does this make any sense to you. There are papers everywhere!” Lin laughs as she looks at the different piles scattered all over your office. Then looks over and notice you furrow your brows while in a deep concentration on a sketch. “I know...I know...love. It looks disorderly, but I swear there is a system here” you look up at Lin, who is standing by the doorway and give her a bright smile. Lin shakes her head and smiles back...

Lin bites on her lip a bit as the memory came back and she turned away from you. Lin unsure what to do with her arms if to fold them, put them on her back, or keep them at her sides. She looks over at your drafting table where she keeps your plans for what seems to be a new satomobile.

Finishing packing up you glance over to where Lin is and you start to internally panic “uh….it’s not finished” you walk over to her.

“It looks nice...a new project?” Lin sounds interested in your work. She always had whenever you would talk about Asami’s ideas and your creative mind on how it would look. Lin would dabble in painting while you sketch to your charcoal pencils.

“Yeah, a personal project. It’s what kept me busy these past….months.” you muttered as you cleaned the eraser and pencil shavings.

“What is it exactly? I know it’s a car but what makes it different from what we have out in the streets?”

Lin looks down at the schematics, her lips pursing as she reads the notes and admires the details before looking up at you. You glanced away before Lin noticed you looking at her as you cleared your throat “right, umm this is a more luxury model. I modeled after the busy...er... career folks.” you walk closer towards Lin standing beside her as you start pointing out your ideas. “As the busy gets bigger, there is always work to do. So this car will have basically everything our everyday business owner will need. It has a better radio, a phone, for business calls, better transmission, smoother ride, the overall look will be sleeker and sexier” you explained along as you stared at your sketch proud of your work. Lin caught that glint in your eye and noticed how animated you talked and she honestly missed hearing your voice.

“You’re sure all of this will fit in your satomobile?” Lin raises a brow once she realizes you’re done talking.

You nodded determinedly “Won’t stop until it’s like how I imagined it. That’s why I haven’t presented it to Asami yet.  I’m working with an engineer on how to implement a phone and we’re getting close.” you looked over and gave her a soft smile. Lin’s lips matched yours and your eyes glanced down at her lips before you diverted your eyes somewhere else. “I hope it’s to your liking, chief” your tone back to professional. Lin was caught off guard before she blinked and questioned you “my liking?”

“Well you were the general idea” you turned around and walked toward the window behind your desk as you took out a cigarette and lit it. Taking a puff before turning around and facing the chief of police. “I was?” Lin now was clueless as to what you could mean. Did they design a car for me?

“Well as Chief of Police you’re constantly on the job so….” you shrugged a bit “this car could be your personal car with the amenities that can give you what you need to keep working and moving” you leaned back against the window as you folded your arms.

“You made me a car?” Lin raised her brow and dipped her hip to the side in disbelief. “You were in mind but not just you. Other workaholics like you. I seem to remember being upset not being in the constant know whenever you would drive from the apartment to the station.” you teased as you took another drag from the cigarette.

“You’ll be surprised just how much development I can miss from that drive” Lin says dryly as she rolls her eyes, bringing her arms up and folds them across her chest.

“Well hopefully if all things go well with my plans, this car will help.” you give her a smirk before putting the cigarette out on the ashtray on your desk. You lick your lip gently as it dried out from the smoking.

“What does your girlfriend think about it?” LIn asks you and she notices your whole body language changes. “She’s not my girlfriend” you muttered as you looked down at the desk “I’m pretty sure I’ve told you that.”

“Does she? I saw the way she looked at you” Lin says as she thinks back at how Cinder would look at you. The subtle gestures, the hand touching the excessive laughing at your jokes. Your jokes weren’t that funny. Okay, maybe they were but hearing her laugh at your jokes just made Lin....upset. It didn’t feel right....

“She can look all she wants. We’ve already discussed it. It’s not going to-”

“you’ve discussed it?” LIn cuts you off and you look up at her a slight tint appears on your cheeks.

“Yes, she spoke of interest, but I refused” you kept it professional as you stood up straight.

“There’s nothing to stop you” Lin’s face now looked unchanged, emotionless, preventing herself from feeling anything than the anxious feeling that you could be with another. She couldn’t really do anything, you were free to do what you wished. Be with whoever, there was nothing between the two of you any longer. The decision was made and now both of you were living with it.

“Right” you scoffed as you run your hand through your hair “is this how it’s going to be between us?”

You drop your hand as you sighed. Lin turned around and folded her arms “there’s nothing between us”

“It was going so well and now you’ve made it awkward between us, Lin!” you exasperate as grip the back of your leather desk chair. “It used to be so easy to talk. Now the tension is so dry a wildfire can easily be set off” you flick a small flame from your fingers and watch it spark before putting it out.

“It’s our reality now” Lin takes a step towards the center of the room

“It didn’t have to be and you knew that” you stood up straight as you turned to face your former lover.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know exactly what.”

“Then say it”

“That our relationship didn’t fail because of lack of love, Lin. It was forced to break because of fear.”

“I wasn’t scared” Lin said matter of factly as she folded her arms

“Then what was it?” you scoffed in disbelief

“I was being cautious”

Shaking your head at the reasoning you grabbed your bag and coat before heading to the door.

Lin put her hand on your forearm to stop you “where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m leaving”

You head towards the door when Lin gently tugs your forearm to stop you as she looks right into your eyes.

Hold me, Even For A Moment, If Possible (Lin Beifong x Reader)

“Y/N, why do you have to go?!” Lin huffs as she paces in her living room as you’re leaning against the wall holding onto the bridge of your nose.

“I already told you, Lin. The United Forces were recruiting and I think it would be a good opportunity for me.”

“Bull Shit” Lin spat as she stands looking at your with her glaring green eyes.

“Lin, I know it’s hard, but we can write, exchange wires, I’ll call you when I’m stationed somewhere.” You try to reason with the chief of police.

Hold me.

It’s all Lin thinks about is your arms around her. She didn’t know it was something she craved until the first time you hugged her after walking her to her car after closing down the bar for the night. She was taken aback by the sudden action but she warmed up to it and returned the gesture.

____

The thought of going around the world helping people has always been a dream of yours. The army wasn’t really the ideal place since you don’t agree with the politics. Your mind changed when visiting Air Temple Island and got introduced to Commander Bumi. “Don’t believe a word he says. It’s all hog-monkey shit” Lin leans over to you and whispers as the group listens in. You chuckle as you shake your head while you watch how animated the commander got. He had a bunch of stories to tell and since you were always willing to listen no matter how exaggerated or dramatized he told it. You were more fascinated that even remotely 20% of the story was true. Your bug to travel was instantly bit and you had the itch to alleviate it.

During that time, you and Lin started developing a friendship. Closer that you ever imagined. It started when she stumbled into your bar one night and you shared a couple of drinks while manning the service. Exchanging crazy stories, Lin taking down triads and you, bar fights. One particular night Lin manages to tell you the story of her scar. She didn’t mention who did it, but that it was during a car chase in her twenties. You gave her a smirk as she downed her shot glass, then proceeded to roll up your sleeve. Showing her the scar across your forearm from a drunken patron who cut you with their beer bottle when you tried to cut him off then proceeded to throw him out of your bar. It seemed that after that particular night Lin would frequent the establishment in her free time and the conversations would last throughout the night.

It was a nice friendship. That’s all it was, right? There are people more worthy for Lin’s attention or affection. Lin Beifong, the beautiful and mysterious Chief of Police sitting on a bar stool in front of you. Normally quiet, is talking about how her officers are a bunch of idiots but that she wouldn’t change a thing because of her men, her family in a way. She cares for her officers. There’s an exchange of jokes between the two of you. Some days when you wake up early enough you arrange to go out for lunch with her. The friendship developed outside of the bar.

____

Even though you know I’m leaving. Show me all the reasons I would stay. You think as you look up and see Lin.

In all her anger and her sense of betrayal for you wanting to leave. Enough silence as passed between the two of you that you needed to fill the air.

“It’s not a goodbye, Lin”

Lin raises her hand to stop you causing you to sigh as you fold your arms.

please don't go. Let me have you just one moment more

____

Lin had grown to care about you and she’s come to gotten used to your constant presence in her life. She was glad to have came across your bar from one of her detectives recommendation. Whenever she left the office early she would swing by for a drink. It would always end up with her leaving the early hours of the morning. Losing track of time because she was engaged in conversation with the attractive bartender. It seemed like she could talk to you about anything and she didn’t have to worry about any judgements. Lin thought it was just part of your job to be that attentive since she’s a patron.

That changed when you invited Lin out for lunch whenever she was free. One lunch turned into a weekly thing, then it developed to outings to pro bending games. Once Lin let it slip that she enjoyed and partook in art the bartender brought up that there was an upcoming art exhibition in the city. Lin was happy, for once, of the friend she made. That’s all it was though, a friend. No way the bartender was attracted to her.

____

You and Lin are just staring at each other at this point having an inner conversation with glances and head tilts. You can barely hold your inner turmoil and have to voice it out.

“I’m sorry. I can’t” you push off the wall and walk towards the Chief.

“I’m not gone. Don’t you dare think I’m leaving you. I’ll be returning once my tour is done” you looking into those jaded green eyes that you’ve come to love to get lost into.

Lin stays quiet as she tries to fight her own inner turmoil of what to say. She doesn’t know what to say. She’s never been one to know or how to formulate her words right. So she does what she does best. She uses her actions. A tear forms on her inner eye and she pull you close and holds you. Your arms snake around her waist as you hold her close and tight in your arms.

“Even though I know you're leaving.” Lin mutters before her voice slightly cracks,

It was the first new year’s celebration you were going to spend in Republic City, and you weren’t sure if you were excited or treating it as a normal day. Walking up to Air temple island and seeing Bumi and Meelo carrying boxes of fireworks “Ahh I see the island is going to have their own show” you smile. Both men give you their shit eating grin and nod “of course, It’s going to be huge!” Meelo jumps excitingly as he hurries over to the safe location to set up. “You are going to keep it safe right, Bumi?” you give him a glare as you fold your arms, and he smirks. “Of course, plus if things go south Kya can use her bending to wash it out. Wouldn’t want the chief to fine us” he laughs, and you shake your head. “there is only so much leeway I can do to not get you arrested, Bumi.” You exasperated and slid your hands in your pocket.

“where is the chief anyway? She is not with you?” Bumi looks behind you as he holds up the box and you shake your head. “no, why would she be with me?” you look at the eldest son of the cloudkids and he gives you a knowing look. You and Lin have been dating for a couple months and so far Bumi has been the only one catching on. As far as you knew Bumi was the only one…. The island sure loves to talk even if they are all about peace and quiet. It gets really noisy with the gossip. You sigh as you rub the back of your neck

“Actually no, she had to work tonight. You know because crime spikes up in the holidays.” you stress, and he rolls his eyes “hey I got this. It’s not my first time dealing with these beauties.” He smirks as he walks over and helps Meelo set up with the help of a few acolytes.

*

Lin has never really given an ounce of care for the new year celebrations. If anything it gave her more work and paperwork since it seems there are always crimes. Busted windows, drunken fights, disturbance calls, noise complaints, just to name a few. But this was the first new year since Tenzin that she was going to have someone, you. A part of her felt bad that she had to work, but duty came first. You of all people understood and for that she was grateful. You had told her that you were going to spend the evening alone, but Lin suggested to head over to the island with the airbending family instead. Once the shift was over Lin would head over, but the both of you knew that Lin would return in the wee hours of the night, after the festivities would be over.

Lin sighed as she glanced down at the paperwork in front of her and got back to work as her officers answered calls.

*

After a couple of hours playing with the kids you told them to run off and let them give you a chance to get something to drink. Kya walks up beside you as you sip some water and gives you a smile. “Fancy seeing you here. Actually I’m glad you’re here. No one should be alone for the new year.”

You gave her a soft smile and nod “yeah, I suppose that is true. I’m glad too. I love the family as if they were my own.”

“I’m sure everyone loves you too. Sad Lin couldn’t make it through.” She sighed as she folded her arms, and you looked a way for a second as you nod. “yeah, you know Lin. Always working to keep the city safe.”

“yeah, but I’m sure the city won’t crash and burn one night.” Kya huffs and you softly laugh “that may be true, but who are we to stop the chief from doing her duty”

A snicker is heard from behind the both of you and Kya rolls her eyes “really Bumi, how old are you exactly? You still snicker over that word”

You smile watching the banter back and forth from the two siblings. You slip past them as Bumi gets defensive at how funny the word sounds.

Stepping outside and feeling the cool breeze as some citizens couldn’t contain their excitement and started already setting off their own personal fireworks.

No one should be alone for the new year.

Kya’s words repeated into your mind and you glanced back at the temples. She does have a point, but who were you to just step into headquarters at this time of night. There is just two hours until midnight.

*

“you know as much as we love having here. I’m sure there is a certain chief of police that will love to be brought into the new year.” Bumi sits beside you at the wooden gazebo as you look out towards Yue bay and you playfully scoff “is this your way of kicking me off the island? And only with an hour left of the year”

“No, but what Kya said had some truth. No one should be alone during new year’s” he smiles softly as he nudges you before standing up. You look at him puzzled before looking back towards the direction of where headquarters would be before looking back at the eldest brother. “Go, I’ll come up with some excuse to give the family.” He nudges you before you finally give him a smile and stand up. Lifting your sleeve up you look at your watch and see you have less than an hour to head over. “Traffic is bad. I’m not sure I’ll make it” you mutter as you purse your lips. “well you better get going. Isn’t that why you have your motorcycle to begin with?” he smirks, and you return the smile. Giving him a hug “happy new year, Bumi” he returns the gesture, and you climb over the railing and earthbend down the island.

*

Lin looked over at her clock on her desk, 11:40 P.M., she groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. There would be no use to call the island, all the lines are busy with everyone else trying to call their loved ones. It’s just a day, tomorrow everything will be back to normal, surely you did understand and aren’t feeling out of sorts.

*

You were revving your bike weaving and bobbing through other cars and vehicles that were trying to do the same that you were going. Trying to get to your loved ones to wish them a happy new year. You almost collided into a guy balancing boxes of baked goods on the sidewalk when you swerved past a satomobile. You yelled out your apologies while he yelled out exploitative at you. Looking ahead at the road with the cold wind blasting in your face causing your cheeks to turn a rosy pink. Glancing down at your watch, 11:50 pm, “I can make it. HQ is right down the road.” You mutter under your breath as you revved and sped quicker.

*

A knock on the door brings Lin back to the present as she files a report in her cabinet, “Better be important” she calls out as she metalbends the door open. “Hey chief, with five minutes left to the new year I was wondering if you want to celebrate in the bullpen” Officer Zan talked to the Chief. Lin looked over and indeed the clock had just turned 11:56 P.M. since the question. “thank you for the offer, but I have work that needs to get done.”

“of course, Happy New Year, Chief” the officer bowed

“Happy New Year, Zan” Lin nodded at the officer and he closed the door.

“just 3 minutes until the sky is bright and the noises” Lin muttered as she looks into her cabinet for her stashed bottle of sake.

*

“10!”

You jump off your cycle at the front of the building as you start to sprint inside the building.

9

Running past the front desk as the secretaries were watching the television watching the broadcast. You hear the muffled counting.

8

You run up the stairs as you reach the top floor towards the bullpen. You’ve come here once or twice to visit Mako and in turn was a way to see Lin. Which was how you met the chief and got introduced to her, the start of that relationship. A smile appears on your lips as you think back to that moment.

7

No, this is not the time.

6

You push past the door and look around trying to remember if it was a left of right to the bullpen. You close your eyes as you try to visualize the floor plan. “Crap, ok focus…. Once you go up the stairs you make a….. right” you look in that direction and hurried over.

5

“followed by a left” you voice out the directions and then the first door to the right will open into the bullpen. Sure enough the bullpen comes into view

“Hey, you’re Mako’s cousin right? He’s not here” Tan looks at you as the guys are all holding cups to cheer in the year.

4

“I’m not here for Mako, is the Chief in? I need to report something” you urged to the officer and he shakes his head “She doesn’t want to be disturbed”

3

“It’s fine. She knows me” you brushed him off and l remembered where her office is, but Tan stands in front of you. “She’s busy” you glare at him and push past him

2

“Stop!” Tan shouts out as you grab the handle and open the door to Lin’s office.

Lin looks up and her eyes widen when she sees you and then looks at Tan “What is the meaning of this?!”

1

“Happy New Year!!!” the cheers coming from the bullpen as the three of you are looking at each other. “I’m sorry Chief, I tried to stop them” Tan quickly explains and Lin raises her hand up to stop him “It’s fine. You’re dismissed Tan, enjoy the festivities in the bullpen.”

“yes, Chief” Tan bows and he gives you a look before walking out as you closed the door behind you.

“What are you doing here, y/n?” Lin stands up and walks around her desk as she looks at you. Her voice laced with a slight anger that you caused a commotion at her place of work and surprise.

“Happy New Year to you too” you smile as you stepped closer to the metalbender.

“Still haven’t answered my question” she smirked as she leaned against the desk folding her arms.

“No one should be alone on New Year’s, Lin” you spoke softly to her as you stepped right in front of her. “if you couldn’t be with me where I was, then I figured I should come to you.” you gave her a smile as you looked into her eyes.

“it’s just like any other day, y/n” Lin muttered as she looked away to hide her slight blush.

“That maybe but I wanted to start the year with someone I love” you smiled more as Lin’s eyes widened slightly before looking over at you.

“what?”

“I love you Lin Beifong.” You confessed, looking right at those pale green eyes that you love to lose yourself in. A blush appears on your cheeks as you turn your eyes away from the slight embarrassment.

“Do you really mean it?” Lin looked up at you, this isn’t the first time you’ve dropped the word, but it still surprised her that someone would come to express it towards her. She didn’t think she would be able to find someone else to share those emotions with. She looked almost hopeful that you wouldn’t have doubts or regrets from saying it, doubts about you not really loving her. It all vanished instantly when you looked back at her and smiled. The love of your face is evident to anyone who looked at you.

“Of course, I do.”

Lin heard the fireworks setting off in the background followed by the cheers. You and Lin missed the countdown, but the most prominent sound that was going off was her own heartbeat. She was glad that you didn’t develop the skill to have seismic sense or else she was done for.

“Isn’t there some sort of tradition between couples?” you smirked as you stepped closer resting your hands on either side of Lin’s waist.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean” Lin breathed out as you looked at each other’s eyes. 

“well the tradition is to kiss the one you love. Since here you are”

“Here I am” Lin smiles as your eyes glancing down at her lips. Your head came down to meet hers, and you kissed her.

The kiss started off slow and sweet. A slight uncertainty at first, each unsure about how far either one could go, but it slowly became more and more confident. Lin wrapped her hands around your neck as your arms made their way around her waist, and you pulled her even closer to you than Lin thought possible. Lin felt herself relax against you; she has never felt anything more... Right. You opened your mouth, hoping to deepen the kiss which Lin responded eagerly.

After a couple of moments, Lin reluctantly broke off the kiss, to get some air. Both of your faces flushed as you rested your forehead against hers. Slowly opening your eyes and looking into each other's eyes, each with a smile imprinting on each other’s faces. You brushed your hands down and held her hands into yours as you stepped back. Lin’s brow raised wondering what you were doing, and you smiled as you tugged her towards the window.  

You spun her around once and Lin let out an amused laugh before you pulled her close to your embrace. Wrapping your arms around her waist as her back is pressed against your chest. A soft kiss on her neck as Lin’s face is illuminated by the bright lights of the fireworks. The other of you stand there a moment to enjoy the quiet moment and the sound of the city celebrating the new year.

"y/n," Lin muttered against you as she looked out in front of her.

"Yes, dear?" you muttered back, rubbing her waist as the both of you slightly sway side to side.

"Happy New Year," she looks over her shoulder to look at you watching you smile. How she loves your smile, it causes her to turn to face you as you cup her cheek.

You dodge a slab of metal sheet coming your way and run before sliding across the floor and pushing yourself up. Bringing up your fist you slam your earth gauntlet on the ground causing a wave of earth to barrel towards Lin. Lin bends up a wall of earth to block, jumps over and sends a punch your way. You lean back to dodge when Lin swings her leg under you knocking you down on your back and you groan out. Lin walks over towards you and straddles you putting your arms above your head as she pins you down. “Yield?” she smirks as she looks down at you as you admire Lin’s body on top. You nod your head after bringing your eyes to meet hers “Yeah, I yield”. Lin blushes as she catches you looking at her body and stands up and smirks then lifts her shirt to wipe some sweat off the inner corner of her eye “What’s the matter, rookie? Can’t keep up?”

As you get up your eyes look down at Lin’s amazing abdomen flexing and glistening in sweat, slightly biting your lip. Lin catches you looking again, and scoffs putting her shirt back down forcing you to focus back on “I’m pretty sure I’m no longer a rookie” you laugh as you unwind your wrappings from your arms.

“Then what are you?” Lin asks, causing you to look at Lin confused “Did you get hit hard back there? I’m a lieutenant”

“Not anymore”

“What?” your eyes widen as you drop your binding wrap on the bench. You try to think of any reason for why you’re no longer in your position. “wait...If this was about that bust on the Agni Kai last week. It’s not my fault Shin blew our cover and made it ten times more work than it needed to be.”

Lin smirks and lets out a laugh as she folds her arms, she loves making you sweat “You’re being moved up to Captain”

“Wait, I’m being… promoted?”

“You passed your civil service promotion to captain exam. Though I didn’t like how you and Mako handled the Varrick case. You chose to listen to your instincts and trust a low ranking officer rather than be blinded by your title and rank. Putting your jobs on the line was reckless, but you chose to keep going anyway. I need more people like that in my team, especially in the higher ranks.”

“Thank you, chief.”

“You deserve it”

“Captain…it is easier to say. It just rolls off the tongue.”

“It sure does”

Your eyebrows perk “Chief?”

“Captain?” you walk towards Lin and both look over at the door to make sure it was closed before putting your hands on her waist and both of you lean in and share a kiss.

“Is this why you wanted a private sparring match with me?” you pulled back a bit and grinned

“I had to knock you down a bit before giving you the news” Lin shrugs as she wraps her arms around your neck and smirks “You can knock me down as much as you want” you whisper brushing your lips against hers as you lift her up and kiss her deeply. Lin softly laughs against your lips and urges you to put her down so you both can freshen up and get back to work.

           “Oh, can you get Mako so I can give him the news that he’s being promoted to detective” Lin asks as she walks out towards the door. “Sure, chief” you smile as you pack up your gym bag, and Lin smiles back “Thank you, Captain ”. Your eyebrow raises as you bite back a grin and your cheeks redden. Lin is going to be the death of me .

*

Walking down the hall after your shower and changing back to your uniform you look for Mako at his desk. “Mako, chief’s looking for you” you give him a stern look as you put your arms behind your back. Mako starts to look nervous as he slowly gets up looking around at the other officers who are snickering. “Did she mention anything” he asks as he walks around the desk and starts walking to Lin’s office. “Nope, but… good luck” you whisper but don’t look at him keeping a straight face. Once you reach the door you open it for him allowing him to step in first before closing the door after you. “Chief, Mako is here for you” you announced as Lin puts her glasses down and leans back in her chair, “Do you want the good or bad news first?” Lin looks at Mako in a cold stern face. Mako shoots you a look and you shrug “I would probably start with the bad news you’ll end it with a good note”. Mako sweats a bit and nods “Good idea.. uh the bad news chief” Lin groans slightly and leans forward in the desk “Well unfortunately you’ll no longer be needed as an officer.” Mako’s eyes widen as he hears the news “What?!?  But I thought…I thought I was doing a good job on the force”. Lin waves a hand and eyes him “Well you thought wrong”. Mako looks down defeated and upset “Oh…thanks for the opportunity, chief” he turns towards the door grabbing the door handle. You turn to him and stop him putting your hand on his shoulder “Don’t you want to hear the good news?”. “No, I’m good. I don’t think anything will be good after losing a job” Mako looks down and you smirk letting a laugh escape your lips “Who said anything about losing a job? You’re not fired” Mako jerks his head over to you confused “What?”. You look over at Lin and give her a look to end the ploy and she groans standing up from her chair “Your paperwork got processed and it’s been finalized. You’re officially a Detective.” Lin gives Mako a gentle smile. Mako lets out a sigh of relief and bows to Lin “Thanks, chief. I won’t let you down”. Lin gives him a wave to dismiss him and he leaves out the office and you close the door after him. “That was good, chief” you look over at her and she gives you a look before smiling a bit “Get back to work”

“Yes, chief” you coo as you give her a salute before walking out the office closing the door after you. You walk over to Mako and give him a smile “Well congratulations are in order here, Detective.” Mako sighs and smiles “You two really had me there. How did you know?”

“Chief told me the news after promoting me to Captain. Consider yourself lucky, she told me after sparring me.”

“Oh…congrats, y/n”

“Thanks, let’s just hope we don’t have to do any more secret sting operations anymore. I would like us to keep our jobs” you give Mako a stern look as you rub the back of your neck.

“Same”

“Alright well I got to head back to work. Keep it up” you dismiss yourself and head back to your office.

*

After Harmonic Convergence you and Lin made the decision to take the chance and see each other romantically, sort of dating but you both decided to keep it under wraps for now. Your apartment was part of the buildings that got taken over by the spirit vines so you’ve been sort of living with Lin. Tenzin and Asami both offered you a place to stay, you figured with a lot of bodies at the air temple it would be best to stay with Asami plus it would be easier to keep the secret going and get to Lin if you stayed inside the city. After a couple of nights of not showing up to your room at the Sato estate, Asami had growing suspicions of how far the relationship had developed between you and Lin.

After kissing Lin goodnight you decide you should head back to the estate and spend the night there. Stepping into the grounds you sneak inside the mansion and creeped back to your room. A light turns on “You might as well have stayed over at this point” Asami laughs as she folds her arms sitting on a recliner. You looked over at the clock on the wall and saw it was three in the morning, you tried to keep your cool “Oh hey, Sami…I was just getting a glass of water” you stood up and rubbed the back of your neck. “Really? Seems awful like you’re trying to sneak in after spending time with your girlfriend.” She laughed some more and shook her head. “Whaaaa?! Wait…. how’d you know she’s my girlfriend?” you blush then your eyes widen and you try to backtrack “Wai--”. “Aha, I knew it! I didn’t but you just confirmed it” Asami jumped out the chair and pointed at you. “Shit…” you muttered as you hung your head down “Okay, you caught me” you put your hands in the air. “You really weren’t that slick to hide it. You come home late with your clothes all disheveled than when you left even when it looks like you try to smooth it out.” you both exchange a laugh “You happy huh?” Asami quiets down and you smile sliding your hands in your pockets “Yeah, very much so. Haven’t been this content in a while”. “Well nice going, Beifong is a catch.” She smirks. As she folds her arms.

“Asami!” you gape at her and point a finger at her eyeing her

“You can’t tell anyone. we’re keeping it quiet right now - no one can know. Especially not Team Avatar, Korra and Bolin will never shut up about it if they find out.” You groan then smile and let out a laugh.

“Why? it’s a good thing. We’ll all be supportive of it.” Asami walks towards you and puts a hand on her hip.

“It’s new, we want to enjoy it before being put on the press or hearing it from the group.” You shrug and run your hand through your hair before resting it on the back of your neck.

“I understand and respect that, and my lips are shut.” Asami assures you as she puts her hand on your shoulder.

“Thanks, I should head for bed. You should too. No more busting me….” you give Asami a glaring smile then groan rubbing your face “I should let Lin know about this… she’s not going to be happy.”

*

Walking up the steps and taking a deep breath before knocking the door and waiting for an answer. The door opens and Lin looks around “You were supposed to be at the station.” Not waiting for her to greet you when you step inside and close the door after you, “We need to talk”.

Lin folds her arms and looks at you “What’s wrong y/n” she looks at you concerned. You pace around the room a bit before looking up at Lin “I know we agreed to keep our relationship a secret, but—”

“I knew you weren’t okay with it - why didn’t you say something?” Lin snapped as she rubs her eyes. You shake your head and hold her hands into yours “I wanted our affair quiet, but Asami figured it out” you look at Lin sorry for blowing your cover. “how?”

“She caught me… she was waiting in the sitting room to catch me sneaking upstairs. Apparently she’s been keeping tabs on how many times I’ve been coming home late.” You sigh and look at Lin.

“Asami isn’t going to say a word, Lin” you assured her even though you could see in Lin’s face that she was upset and scared of being found out. “We need to talk to her. Make sure she isn’t going to say anything” she looks at you.

••

The past eight days with you have been the most fun Lin’s had in years and the blooming relationship sometimes has her feeling like a teenager. Lin asked you to keep the relationship a secret and you’ve been more than understanding and even agreed to keep it from everyone else for the time being. It surprised Lin at first at how maturely you handled it, your age did come into question as she thought you would want to show off since most young adults like to go out and be seen. She thought you would have to be convinced, but you accepted no questions asked. “Let's just enjoy ourselves first before bringing people into our affairs”. Lin heard you say as you took her hands into yours. Lin blinked surprised at how quick and easy that conversation went.

••

“Sure, I think Asami is still home” Lin grabs your wrist and pulls you out of the house and both of you go to the Sato estate.  

Butler opened the door “Madam y/n…Chief Beifong” he addressed the both of you “Did you forget something madam?”you greet him as you and Lin step inside to let the door close “No, Butler we’re actually here to talk to Asami before work. Is she still here?”

“Yes, Miss Sato is in her study. If you can follow me” he starts to walk the both of you before you stop him “It’s okay Butler. I know the way to the study” you bring your arm out and guide Lin to the study up the stairs. “Before we go in there. Please tell me you’re not going to go fists in the air” you whisper as you grab the door handle looking at Lin. Lin rolls her eyes and gives you a huff before you sigh and open the door with a smile “Sami, hey, how are you doing” you force a smile as you look at Asami then look at Lin.

           “Hey y/n, um Chief Beifong. Nice to see you too” she greets the both of you. “Let’s cut to the chase,” Lin butts in and your smile drops as you groan, putting your face down. “Cut to what chase?” Asami looks from Lin to you as you bring your face up and look at Asami, “We’re here—mostly Lin—to talk about the new development you’ve learned about the two of us” you motion between Lin and yourself. “Oh…” Asami sets her pen down and puts her hands on the desk as she stands up. “Well if this is about me telling anyone. Like I told y/n, I will not expose your relationship.” she speaks assuring Lin. “You’ll swear to secrecy?” Lin glares at Asami to which both you and Asami share a weird glance then back at Lin. “Excuse me?” Asami looks at Lin as she folds her arms slightly amused by the situation. “Honey is that really necessary?” you speak out only receiving a glare from Lin when you call her honey in front of Asami and you step back hiding a smile. you cover your mouth as you look at Asami and give her a soft nod to continue to play along. Asami inhales and nods “Yes, I’ll swear to secrecy” she puts her hand up and promises. “If I ever find out anyone finds out that they heard it from you I will arrest you for treason.” Lin peers over Asami in an intimidating tone. Asami looked over Lin’s shoulder, and you shook your head quickly assuring her that Lin was bluffing. When Lin looks over at you, you quickly stop and just give her an innocent smile. Asami got the gist and assured Lin that she will not speak a word about your relationship to anyone. “Oh so Raava help me” she gave Lin a soft smile.

           Driving back to the station you peer over to Lin as she sits in the passenger seat, “Well I think that went well…. everyone made it out alive, unscathed.” You joked softly as you turned back into the city limits as Lin doesn’t say anything. “Lin, if anyone had to find out from the group. I say we were pretty lucky that it was Asami. Anyone else and news would have spread faster than we could take a breath.” You look over at Lin again and she seems to be calming down and sighs deeply “you’re right, Asami is the least of our worries in that bunch”. You smile reaching over to give her hand a kiss, hearing Lin give in as you pull up to her apartment and get out to get to your cycle. “I’ll make it up to you for my mishap” you give Lin a smile as she rolls her eyes and slides over to the driver’s seat. “I’ll see you at the station” she calls out as you say it back while you put your helmet on and give her a thumbs up as you follow behind.

*

Looking over at the new recruits as they train and you’re barking out orders watching out for their stamina and agility through the course. You sigh at how many of them aren’t any better than the ones the previous day. “Alright head to the showers. You all are pathetic.” You bark out as an officer hands you a clipboard, “These recruits aren’t ready to go out onto the field” you mutter going down the list of recruits, writing down notes besides ones that caught your attention and others who were a mere disappointment. “Captain, the Chief is looking for you” an officer salutes standing at attention and you pinch the bridge of your nose “Very well”. Handing the recruits over to another colleague to beat them into shape you make way over to Lin’s office. Some officers acknowledge you and greet you as you step into the office before closing the door with a soft click. “Chief” you greet Lin but notice she’s on the phone and puts her finger up to quiet you. You stay standing while putting your hand behind your back as you hold onto the clipboard. Another minute and Lin finishes the phone call and returns her attention to you “Captain, how’s training with the new recruits?” You step up and hand her your clipboard “It’s hell. It seems like every time we let recruits join they get worse”. “You just have to train them harder” she reviews your comments and notes, “what about this one…uh Sheng, it says he shows promise.” You nod as you take a step forward towards her desk “Yes, he’s one of the better ones. smart, agile, still needs improvement though.”  

“With these spirit vines we’re going to need more officers” Lin groans then puts the clipboard down “These recruits just need to get whipped into shape. They’ll be ready for the field” you reach down and get the clipboard. “You seem to be fitting well into your new rank” Lin looks over at you and smiles. “It’s an adjustment but I’m fitting in well” returning her smile.

*

Peace and tranquility fill your mind as you breathe in the evening air of Republic City from Lin’s terrace. “Evening, Captain” you hear your girlfriend’s voice coming up behind you waking you from your meditation. You smile then open your eyes to lift your head up and look over to see Lin walk to your side as she sets down a cup of tea on the table, “Evening, Chief”. Looking over at the cup you reach over and take it close to your lips and smell the aroma

“Spearmint?” you look over at Lin before taking a sip. “Figured you’ll want to end it with some stress-reducing tea”.

“Thank you. that’s considerate of you.” you take a deep breath before looking over at Lin “Funny story…. Bumi is planning to knit his spirit pet a sweater”

Lin scoffs a laugh “really? Do spirits even get cold”

“I don’t think so, but it’s sweet”

“It’s dumb”

“It gives him something to do. Tenzin mentioned he’s retired from the United Forces”

“Tenzin isn’t all glad about it. He still wishes Bumi rejoins.” Lin smirks causing both of you to chuckle while continuing to enjoy the night.

“You should join me for a session. It would help with the stress you’ve been having.” you smirk into your cup as you take another sip. “I have other ways to relieve stress if you want to join me for a session” she gives you a sly smirk as she leans against the doorframe “If it’s under my responsibilities then who am I to refuse my beautiful girlfriend” you eye Lin and watch her movements. She turns away from you and slowly walks away bending off her armor as she makes her way to the bedroom, “I’m waiting, Captain”. You bite your lip as you watch Lin walk away and set your cup down on the table. Quickly stand up, stepping inside the apartment and close the door before rushing after Lin. You step in the bedroom and grab Lin’s waist and turn her around to face you and kiss her deeply. Lin wraps her arms around your neck before bringing her hands down and starts grazing her nails up your abdomen lifting the hem of your tank up. The sensation of her nails causes you to gently bite her lower lip and a soft moan escapes her lips. She lifts your tank up and pulls it off of you before she plants her palm on your chest and pushes you back with a knowing smirk on both of your faces.

*

Sitting up in bed swinging your legs over the side as you look for your tank, Lin looks over and softly brushes her fingers up your back causing you to shiver as you fix your tank to put it on. “Just when they’re about to heal I end up opening them back up” she smirks as she looks at the scratch marks she’s left along your back “I wonder why” you deadpan “You should get them healed by a healer.” She mutters as she brushes her fingers along a fresh scratch mark “And say what? That I got attacked by a possum-chicken?” you laugh “Besides I like the burn, it’s a reminder of who put them there” you bite your lip as you turn over to look at your lover and lean towards her “You,” you growled as you dip your head to catch her lips, “Are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.” you kissed her again, lingering for a moment before searching for your tank and slipping on some boxer style underwear letting out a groan as you get up. “I’m going to get us some water, feeling quite parched from that backbending session” you smirk and quickly duck out of the room before Lin can throw a pillow at you.

Sitting back in bed after quenching your thirst and handing a glass to Lin then looks down at the cup before speaking “It’s nice that at least someone knows about us and they that support it…it makes it feel more real” you bring the cup back up to your lips and take another sip. “Real?” Lin peers over at you as she sets the glass on the nightstand which causes you to nod “Yeah, like this isn’t some sort of evil dream that I don’t want to wake up from”. You gently tap on the glass before setting it aside. “It’s not a dream” Lin whispers as she looks at you and you return her glance, the both of you lean in and share a kiss “Thank the spirits it’s not” you mumble before cupping her cheek and deepening the kiss. Lin licks your bottom lip before pulling back “I need to clean up” she mumbles as she gets off the bed and walks to the bathroom.