The Journey Back Home
Kya woke up first the next morning. She looked at her girlfriend, still fast asleep. She sat up and pulled her into her chest, pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead, not wanting to wake her up. She admired her muscular physique, strong after years of intense training. Lin had admitted that she was insecure about her scars before, but she thought they added to her beauty. She ran her fingers through her short gray hair, admiring how beautiful she was.
The earthbender sleepily blinked and looked up at her. “Morning,” she said, voice slurred with sleep.
She leaned down and kissed her again. “Morning beautiful.” She chuckled at Lin’s blush. “You are beautiful and I’m going to remind you as much as I can.”
She smiled softly at her girlfriend and snuggled in closer to Kya. “I don’t want to get up,” she said.
Kya sighed. “Me neither, but we have to go. When we get back, we can spend an entire day in bed if you want.”
“I like that idea.” Kya swatted her ass gently, causing Lin to blush even harder. “Hey!”
Kya laughed at how easily Lin got flustered. “Come on babe, let’s get ready.” Kya put on her dress and quickly pulled her hair up. She looked over, noticing Lin had just gotten dressed. “Here, let me do your hair.”
Lin looked at her confused but nodded. Kya ran her fingers across her scalp, gently massaging her head. She then grabbed the brush and gently brushed out the tangles. After the gray hair was tangle free, she ran her fingers through it. Lin closed her eyes and leaned back against her, enjoying the massage. Kya pressed a kiss to her hair when she was done.
Kya stood up. “Come on sleepyhead, we have to get going.” The two walked out with a yawn, happily realizing they were the first ones up. They prepared breakfast, wanting to lighten the load on Katara.
The old woman walked out a few minutes later. “Come on, you don’t have to do that. Go relax, you’re guests.”
“No Mom, we’re family and we want to help you. You go relax,” she said with a smile.
Katara shook her head and chuckled in amusement. She compromised by setting a pot of tea to boil, something Lin forgot to do. “I’m happy for you two. You deserve each other. This thing you have is something special, don’t forget that,” she said.
Lin nodded, tears in her eyes and Kya wrapped her mom in a hug. “Thank you,” she said, voice shaking. She was so happy that her mom approved of Lin.
Katara tightly held her daughter, knowing how much she loved Lin. “You two are so cute,” she said as she smiled at the two women.
The two continued cooking as everyone else slowly woke up. They all sat together and ate in relative silence, too exhausted to speak. This exhaustion spell was broken when Korra’s head slipped off her hand and landed into the stew. Everyone began laughing as she blushed furiously, bending the stew off of her face. “Shut up,” she said.
“Well, I have blackmail now,” Asami said with a smirk. Korra reached across the table to gently slap her across the face. “Hey!” Korra simply stuck her tongue out with a smug look on her face.
Mako shook his head while Bolin doubled over in laughter. Conversation picked up easily. Tenzin helped Kya with the dishes while everyone else packed. He looked at her, noticing her humming to herself. “Hey, I don’t know what’s changed, but I’m glad you’re happy,” he said.
Kya smiled. “Well I’ve found who I am. I finally found something that I want to do with my life and I feel like I have a purpose. It feels like I just woke up from a deep sleep and I’m ready to be myself.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “I’m happy for you,” he said, giving her a hug. He smiled and walked to his room, helping Pema with Rohan.
Lin walked in and tossed Kya’s bag at her. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, I am. Let’s figure out where we’re going and then say goodbye,” she said, unrolling the map.
The earthbender walked up behind her, peering over her shoulder. “Let’s stop at Omashu. Then we can cut across to Shu Jing, where Piando lived. I remember Katara had said that it was absolutely beautiful. From there, we can just head home. Does that sound okay?”
“Sounds perfect,” she said, rolling up the map. The two said goodbye to their friends and family and hopped on the eel hounds. They quickly reached the ocean and began swimming. “So when we get back, you were talking about getting a job with the force. Would you serve at the office or go on missions?”
“Well, I’d probably tag along with you most of the time. If someone gets injured on duty, I’d go and help heal them. If you were going to bust one of the Triads for example, I’d tag along because one of you will probably get hurt. Other than that, I guess I can stay at the office. I don’t know who to talk to in order to get the job though.”
“Baby, you’re talking to her. I would give you the job even if we weren’t dating. You’re a fantastic healer with great instincts, I’d be idiotic to not let you serve. I just can’t lose you.”
“Trust me, I know how you feel. It’s how I feel everytime that you go to work, but I also know that it’s something you have to do. If I was there with you, it would at least be easier on me,” she said.
Lin smiled at her. “Welcome to the force then. I’ll talk with Saikhan when we get back to the city, but I’m sure he’d approve of you.” The two traveled in comfortable silence until they reached Omashu. The two walked into the city and began looking for a small hotel room.
A small hotel called the Iron Lotus caught Lin’s eye. She elbowed Kya and the two walked in. They were immediately hit with the comforting scent of homemade food. The woman behind the counter turned excitedly. “Hi there! How can I help you today? My name is Ke and I own this little place,” she said, holding her hand out for a handshake.
Lin gripped her hand, giving a nice handshake. “Hello, we’re looking for a room to spend the night. We were wondering if you had any spare rooms open,” she said.
“Of course we do! Would you two prefer to share a bed or to have two separate ones?” Ke asked.
“We can share,” Kya said with a smile.
“Okay, that’ll be five gold pieces for just the room. If you spend ten, you get food here and some preserved for the road. Which would you like?”
“We’ll take the food,” she said, handing Ke ten gold pieces. “We also have two eel hounds with us, is there a space for them?”
“Of course! We have a stall included in the back, free of charge when you book a room. Follow me to your room,” she said, grabbing a key from behind the counter. “This is your room key, please give it to someone on the staff here, we’ve had too many attempts from people trying to take the keys off the desk. We begin serving breakfast soon after sunrise and dinner will be ready in about an hour. Let me know if you have any questions and enjoy your stay!” she said, opening the door. “I will have someone take your eel hounds out back and feed them. When you are ready to leave, just let us know and we’ll get them out for you.”
“Thank you,” Lin said with a nod. Ke left with a smile and closed the door, leaving them alone. She slid up to Kya. “Hey beautiful,” she said, pressing a kiss to her neck.
Kya looked back at her. “Hey gorgeous.” The two stood in each other’s embrace for a minute, Kya leaning her head into Lin’s chest. “Can I touch you a little bit? I won’t go too far, but I just need your body next to mine.”
Lin pulled her down onto the bed. “Go for it.” Kya pressed a kiss to her lips, pouring all of her love and affection into the kiss. She ran her hands up and down her girlfriend’s body, enjoying the blush she got as a response. “Someone’s reactive,” she noted, sliding her hands under her shirt to trace her stomach, fingers running over each ab.
“Well with someone beautiful like you touching them, it’s not hard to see why,” she said, running her hands through Kya’s hair. The two simply held each other tight, hands memorizing each other’s body. Lin ran her hands down Kya’s muscular back, memorizing each dip and divot. Kya ran her fingers down the earthbender’s arms, admiring her muscular physique. The two just kissed each other senseless. Lin eventually pulled away, admiring Kya’s lips puffed from kissing.
“We do have to look presentable at dinner babe, so let me do your hair.” Kya nodded, surprised but appreciative of the gesture. Lin gently brushed out her long silver hair, fingers running across her scalp. She began to pull the hair into sections, letting herself do the braids she used to do on Su.
“Come on Linny, braid my hair!”
“I don’t know how to do that,” she admitted embarrassed.
“Well you won’t learn unless you try it. Here, let me guide you through it. You split the hair into three and cross the sections over,” Su explained.
Lin nodded and focused on doing her sister’s hair. After figuring out the pattern, Lin quickly finished the braid and earned a nod of approval from Su. “You can practice on my hair anytime you want!” young Su said with a toothy grin.
Lin smiled. “Deal.”
“How did you learn to braid?” Kya asked surprised.
“When we were little, Su wanted me to braid her hair. She knew how, but she could never do it on herself. She taught me how to braid, we used to sit and talk while we waited for Mom to get home. A lot has changed since then,” she said, letting her voice trail off.
Kya placed a hand on her girlfriends. “Thank you for telling me.” She knew Su was a sensitive subject for the earthbender and she was happy Lin trusted in her.
She smiled, tying off her braid. “There you go,” she said, pressing a kiss to the silver hair. “Let’s head to dinner.” The two walked to the eating area and Ke handed them a plate heaped with food.
“Help yourself to seconds if you want any! If you two need anything, just ask,” she said, quickly moving to serve more customers.
Lin looked at her plate of roast duck, pau, soup and Omashu’s signature jennamite. “I am pleasantly surprised,” she said.
Kya nodded in agreement. “Everything looks delicious, dig in,” she said, grabbing her tea. The two ate, surprised by how delicious everything was. They went back for seconds and ate in peaceful silence. After handing their dirty dishes to the staff, they headed back to their room.
Lin stretched. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Alright, I’ll wait until you’re done,” she said, grabbing her clothes. She heard the water turn on and felt an impulse to join her girlfriend in the shower. Kya, no. You promised yourself you would respect her boundaries.
In the shower, Lin wished her girlfriend was with her. “Okay, you two need to have a serious discussion when you get done,” she muttered, shaking her head. She quickly dried off, just donning her wraps and some shorts. She walked out, hair dripping.
Kya looked at her, silently appreciating how gorgeous her girlfriend was. “Look, when we get back to the city we need to have a serious conversation,” she said, toweling her hair dry.
“Okay, did something make you uncomfortable?” the waterbender asked, determined to make her girlfriend feel safe with her.
“Quite the opposite actually. In fact, you make me very comfortable,” she said, pressing a kiss to her head. “Well I guess we can have this conversation now,” she said nervously.
“Let me shower first and then we can talk. I want to give you time to get your thoughts together,” the healer said, grabbing a towel. Lin admired her girlfriend as she walked into the bathroom. Okay, it’s going to be hard but you have to be honest with her. Adults are perfectly fine with sex, so why is it hard to talk about with her?
Kya stepped out of the shower and quickly dried off. She put on her wraps and shorts and walked out of the bathroom. She sat on the bed and Lin crawled into her arms. Lin placed her head on her chest and cuddled into her. Kya wrapped her arms around her. “Are you okay to talk?” she asked gently.
“Yeah. Look, I’m not good with feelings so just give me a chance to try and figure this out.” She pressed a kiss to Kya’s hand, making her heart swell with affection. “I love you. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone before. It’s weird for me because I’m attracted to you physically. I want to have sex with you and it scares me, I’ve never felt this strongly about someone before,” she said, hiding her face in her chest in embarrassment.
“Oh baby,” she said, voice full of love. “Thank you for being honest with me, I know it’s hard for you. Look, I want to have sex with you too, but I want to wait until we get back to the city. After all, I still need to wine and dine you,” she said, pressing a kiss to her head.
The two held each other tightly and quickly fell asleep in the same position they talked in. Lin woke up to the sun shining in her eyes. She groaned, peeling her eyes open. She happily noticed that she was still perched on Kya. Kya’s arms were wrapped around her and she closed her eyes, feeling safe in her embrace. “Morning,” she said, pressing a kiss to her head.
“Morning,” she said with a kiss. The two quickly got changed and packed up their bag, making sure they didn’t forget anything. They walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. They grabbed breakfast and quickly ate, wanting to get on the road.
Ke came over to them. “Good morning, are you two leaving after breakfast?” At their nod, she handed them a bag. “Here, this bag is filled with some sugar cookies, lychee nuts, and some cakes. I’ll take you to your eel hounds after you finish eating, take your time,” she said, grabbing the key from Lin’s outstretched hand.
After finishing breakfast, they followed Ke behind the hotel. She opened the door and woke up the eel hounds. They walked over to Kya and Lin, ready to travel. “Thank you for everything,” Lin said with a smile.
“My pleasure. You two take care,” she said, turning to go back inside. The two loaded their bags onto the eel hounds and quickly hopped on. They began traveling towards Shu Jing, hoping to make it there before nightfall. They traveled in comfortable silence, each lost in thought as the eel hounds swam across the ocean. The sun was close to setting as they finally arrived in Shu Jing.
The two quickly headed into the village, hoping to find a room for the night. The two admired the beautiful scenery in the city, and understood why Piando would choose to live here. The women walked into one of the few hotels in the town called the Roaring Fire. “Hi, I was wondering if you had any rooms available for the night,” Kya asked the man at the desk.
“We have just one, are you two okay with sharing a bed?” At their nod, he smiled. “Fantastic! Would you two like food as well or do you have enough with you?”
“How much would it be to add food?” Kya asked.
“Well, you two just missed dinner but I can grab you some leftovers. The room is just five gold pieces and the food will cost you five silver,” he said.
“We’ll get the food as well,” Lin said as she handed him the coins.
“Wonderful! You two have the room furthest down the hall on the left. Someone will bring the food to your room soon. We all tend to head to bed when the sun goes down, so we try to keep the hotel quiet during the night.”
“Thank you. We have two eel hounds, is there a place for them to stay?” Lin asked.
“Of course, we have a pen out back. I’ll take them back for you, you two enjoy your stay,” he said, walking outside.
The two threw their bags down. “I am so exhausted from all of this traveling. I can’t wait to get back to the city and relax,” the earthbender said.
“I feel you there babe,” she said. She heard a quiet knock at the door and opened it. The man from behind the desk was standing there.
“Hello, I just realized I forgot to share my name. My name is Lee and I’m the owner here. Here is your food, let me know if you need anything,” he said with a smile, handing her the bags.
“Thank you!” Kya said with a smile. She turned around and heard the shower running. She opened the bags and placed the food on the table while she waited for her to finish showering. When Lin was done, Kya quickly followed. The two sat in their wraps and shorts, eating on the bed. They were too exhausted to even talk, both agreeing to eat in silence. After finishing dinner, the two held each other and fell asleep quickly.
Kya woke up to Lin sprawled out on top of her. She smiled, realizing Lin must have rolled onto her during her sleep. She gently kissed her on the forehead and tapped her nose to wake her up. “Morning baby, we have to go or else we’ll miss breakfast.”
Lin grumbled, but rolled off of her and began changing. The two closed the door behind them and walked out to the main room. Lee walked over to them. “Good morning! We have breakfast out on the table, feel free to grab whatever you like. Are you planning on leaving after breakfast?” he asked. At their nod, he gestured behind him. “Behind the building is a pen. Just open the gate and let your eel hounds out, be sure to close it when you’re done. Thankfully, we’re so remote here we don’t have to worry about thieves,” he said with a smile.
“Thank you for this nice stay,” Lin said. He smiled and walked away, quickly going to talk with another guest. The two women loaded their plates with dumplings, hotcakes and fruit tarts.
“So, when we get back, how soon are you going to work? Are you even allowed to go back, did you ever join again?” Kya asked, taking a bite of her fruit tart.
“Well, Saikhan told me as soon as I had rescued the metalbenders, he would approve my application to rejoin the force. I’m not sure if I’m going to be Chief again, but I’ll figure it out once we get there. I’ll probably take tomorrow off and go in the next day,” she said, eating her dumpling.
Kya leaned across the table and planted a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek, knowing the Fire Nation was more accepting. “Sounds good to me,” she said with a smile. “If you want, I can take you to dinner when we get back. I need to wine and dine you,” she said in a jokingly seductive voice.
Lin rolled her eyes at her antics. “That would be nice,” she said, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Let’s get ready to go.” The two walked out back and let the eel hounds out, careful to close the pen behind them. They quickly hopped on and began to head back home towards Republic City.
They had been traveling in silence for an hour when Kya cursed. “Spirits, I forgot we have to have a place for these eel hounds when we get back.”
“We can take them to Air Temple Island, I’m sure Tenzin won’t mind,” she said.
The two continued talking as they traveled. The sun began to set as Republic City came into view. They guided the eel hounds towards the island and hopped off. Kya walked over to one of the Air Acolytes. “Hey, would it be okay if we left our eel hounds here? Tenny can use them if he needs to, I don't mind,” Kya said.
He smiled. “Of course! I’m sure we can use them instead of taking the ferry everytime we need groceries,” the acolyte said with a grin. “I also have this armor for the Chief, it was left here after Amon,” he said, handing her the metal armor.
“Thank you,” she said, placing the armor in Lin’s bag.
“The pleasure is all mine, enjoy your night,” he said, taking the eel hounds from Kya. The two quickly boarded the ferry with their bags, ready to get back to the apartment. After a seemingly endless ride, the two walked to the apartment.
Lin unlocked the door and opened it. She stepped into the apartment with a yawn, letting her bags drop to the floor. “I will deal with this in the morning, I just want to shower and sleep.”
Kya smiled softly. “I feel you. Go shower, I’ll make sure the fridge doesn’t have any rotten food.” As Lin headed towards what was now their room, Kya checked the fridge. She tossed out some chicken that had gone bad along with some rotten fruit. She placed the food from Ke in the fridge and placed their bags on the floor. She walked into their room with a yawn.
Lin walked out, water still running in the shower. “I knew you’d be back here quick, so I left the shower on for you,” she said. Kya nodded in thanks and hopped into the warm shower. She quickly rinsed off, just ready to sleep.
She changed into her sleepwear, wraps and shorts, and joined Lin in her bed, wait, now. their bed. Lin pulled her close and Kya simply pressed her head under Lin’s. “I love you,” she said softly.
She pressed a kiss against her silver hair. “I love you too,” she said with a smile. The two fell asleep in each other’s arms, ready to face the next steps in their relationship tomorrow. For now, they just held each other tight while they slept.