The smell of freshly made food made Kya smile as she walked down the streets of Republic City. She walked towards the police station, stopping to pick up some of those noodles Lin would never admit she likes. She hummed some random song she heard on the radio and pushed open the doors to the station. Kya had run enough late night food trips and last minute healing sessions that she knew the station like the back of her hand. She walked up to her wife’s office, not expecting anyone to be there but Lin.
One of the newer recruits noticed a random water tribe girl just waltz in and got up to question her. “Uh ma’am...what are you doing here?”
Kya stopped in her tracks and turned to look at the man. She held up the bag with noodles. “Food run,” she said as if that was enough explanation.
The recruit raised a questioning eyebrow. “You do realize you are heading towards the Chief’s office right?” Kya nodded and walked off ignoring him. She opened the door to her wife’s office, shutting off the complaints from the recruit.
Lin looked up at her wife, glasses sliding down her face. “Hey babe.” Kya dropped the food on her desk and leaned over to give her wife a kiss. Lin opened the bag. Her mouth curved up into a slight smile before Lin stopped herself and Kya began to laugh.
“Ha I knew it!! You do like them!,” she said gleefully. Lin sighed and shook her head at Kya’s antics, instead choosing to simply open the noodles.
Lin glanced at her wife, noticing she had her worried face on. “Hey what’s wrong? You have your worried face,” she said reaching her hand out.
Kya grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “I’m just scared for tonight,” she said as she touched her necklace.
Lin’s heart fluttered when she realized Kya was wearing her betrothal necklace with the charm. Lin had decided to propose not only with a ring, but by changing her girlfriend’s necklace. She added a small hole in the crescent shaped piece of stone in order to hang her charm. The metal bender spent hours agonizing over the design until she found a simplistic one. It was the simple circle for the Earth Kingdom but with the Water Tribe swirls. Most of the time, Kya wore her necklace without the charm so they could hide their marriage.
The earth bender gave her wife a kiss on the cheek. “Hey babe we’ll be okay. We survived Kuvira, we can survive telling our families about this. Hopefully Su won’t be ashamed,” Lin said allowing her insecurities to creep in.
Kya looked at her wife amused. “Babe, if Su can learn to love Baatar Jr. after all he did for Kuvira, I don’t think she’ll be mad at you for being gay.” Lin smiled at her wife, feeling her heart rate slow down and calm sink in.
The wives sat in comfortable silence as Lin finished eating. Lin gave Kya one last kiss. “Thank you for lunch. Do you want to meet here at the station or at the ferry?” Lin asked.
Kya stood up, knowing her wife had to get back to work. “Let’s meet at the ferry.” Lin smiled and got back to work.
The water bender left the Chief’s office intact, much to the surprise of the recruit. Kya just smiled at him and walked out, leaving the man flabbergasted behind her. She went over to one of the larger markets in the city for some groceries. She was picking out fruit for the custard she was planning on making later this week when she heard a familiar voice say “Kya?”
Kya turned around and saw her sister in law, not that the said sister in law knew that yet. “Su!” she said, rushing over to give her a hug. They were close when they were younger, before Su left to live with her grandparents. “How have you held up?” she said, feeling awkward knowing that they were family now and Su wasn’t aware.
Su gave her a smile. “Honestly, things are good right now. We’re all just excited to get back with everyone. It’ll be more fun eating dinner than fighting a giant robot that’s about to kill us,” she said dryly. Kya rolled her eyes and finished picking out the fruit.
Su noticed a charm hanging from the turquoise stone on Kya’s necklace glinting in the sunlight. “Wait, what’s that on your necklace?” Su asked as she reached for the charm, examining it. Kya blushed and looked away from her sister in law, choosing to stay silent. The dots connected in Su’s head. “Kya...are you married?” Kya’s reddening face only confirmed Su’s suspicions. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked shocked.
Kya sighed. “Well...whenever we’re together we seem to be ready to fight to the death so there hasn’t been time for discussion about my love life,” she said with a snort. She rolled her eyes as the metal bender opened her mouth. “I won’t give you any details yet. You’ll find out tonight,” she said with a wink.
“I’ll see you at dinner tonight,” Kya said as she put the fruit in her bag. Su looked at her questioningly, as if to wonder why Kya couldn’t grab lunch. “I need to take the groceries home,” she said with a smile, knowing Su wanted to catch up and harass her about her marriage.
After five more hours of tedious paperwork, Lin finally finished the stack of papers on her desk. She smiled, feeling accomplished. The smile faded as she remembered what was happening tonight. She felt anxiety creep over her as she bent her armor off, reaching for the closet in her office. She pulled the gray plaid suit off of the hanger and grabbed her white button up. She quickly changed and put on some heels. She glanced at herself in the mirror, fixing her hair to help calm her rapidly increasing anxiety. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone but Kya, she actually enjoyed being feminine as long as it wasn’t overboard. She swiped on some subtle lipstick and opened her office door.
She felt all heads turn towards her and heard the gasps of shock. “Yeah I know, I wear civilian clothes,” she said waving a hand at her coworkers, knowing they were used to seeing her as just a chief. The metal bender walked out of the station, heels clicking against the floor.
Kya was waiting for her at the ferry, wearing a simple blue dress that hugged her curves. Her eyes looked Lin up and down. “You clean up nice Chief,” she said with a whistle, wiggling her eyebrows.
Lin rolled her eyes at the water bender. “Thanks, you don’t look too bad yourself.” The women got onto the ferry and stood in comfortable silence. Kya grabbed Lin’s hand and squeezed it, just to show she was here. Lin smiled and squeezed back. The women stood on the ferry, hands entwined as the sun set over the water.
The two stepped off the ferry onto the island and were immediately wrapped in a bear hug from Bumi. “Ah, you two clean up! We won’t be embarrassed,” Bumi said with pride. The women glanced at each other, raised an eyebrow and rolled their eyes in synch. “Okay, that was scary. I don’t like that,” Bumi muttered as he walked away from the women.
“Oh yeah Lin, I forgot to tell you earlier. I ran into a familiar face at the market earlier,” Kya said quietly as they walked through the courtyard, not knowing who was nearby. Lin raised an eyebrow questioningly. “I saw Su and she saw my charm. She knows I’m married but not to who. No matter what happens tonight, just know that I love you,” she said, giving her wife a quick kiss on the cheek. Lin smiled, feeling her anxiety fade just a little bit.
The women walked into the dining room, surprised at how many people were here. Korra and Asami were talking with Mako and Wu in a corner. Kya frowned, noticing that Mako seemed worried, but to her surprise, Wu cheered him up with a kiss on the cheek. Huh, loss for the girls in Ba Sing Se, the waterbender thought.
Bolin was dramatically telling a story to the rest of the Beifong family while Opal shook her head at him. Tenzin and Pema were talking with Izumi and Iroh II over a bowl of punch. A blur ran past the women as Meelo sped past chasing Poki and the other lemurs. Kai had an arm wrapped around Jinora as her and Ikki were deep in conversation with the rest of the new airbenders.
Kya elbowed her wife, “Look, even Zuko and Katara are here, it seems like the only person missing is-”
“Is me, yeah I know,” Toph said grumpily. The women turned around, surprised that the elderly woman was able to sneak up on them and decided to show up. “What, a girl can’t see her family after they almost got killed by a giant robot?” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Lin smiled and gave her mom a rare hug. “It’s good to see you,” she said simply. Toph looked at her in surprise. She knew her daughter wasn’t huge on public affection. Lin glanced at Kya, raising an eyebrow in a silent question to which her wife agreed. “Hey mom, can we talk for a minute?” Lin asked.
Toph frowned, feeling her daughter’s heart rate spike. “Yeah sure.” The mother and daughter walked towards the empty courtyard. “So, what’s wrong? I’m sure even your sister could feel how anxious you got asking me to talk,” Toph said, straight to the point as always.
Lin sighed. “Well, I have some big news that I wanted to share with you. I know you and I have a lot to work on, so I thought this would be a nice first step.” Lin took a deep breath, feeling her anxiety crash over her. “I got married about four years ago...to a woman,” she said in a rush. She turned away, fearing her mom’s reaction.
Toph blinked in surprise. “Well, that’s not what I expected to hear but I’m happy for you Lin,” the blind earthbender said, placing a hand on Lin’s shoulder. “You deserve someone who makes you happy.” She sighed, deciding to be honest with her daughter. “I’m sorry that you felt afraid to tell me that you married a woman. That’s my fault for making it hard for you to tell me your sexuality. Now for the big question: do I know her?” Toph asked.
Lin smiled, happy that her mom was being open with her. “Yeah, you do. She’s one hell of a woman. She’s so strong and fierce, despite being a healer.”
Toph’s jaw dropped. “You married Kya? Sugar Queen Junior?” Toph exclaimed in a surprised whisper, not wanting to share the information her daughter entrusted her with.
Lin laughed, surprised that Toph was still insistent on that nickname. “Yeah. I’m lucky to have her,” she said softly.
Toph blinked in surprise, feeling the love her daughter had for her wife. “Well I’m glad she’s going to be in the family. She’ll keep you balanced,” Toph said.
“Yeah, she does,” Lin said. The pair walked back inside to the party, not saying anymore. The mother and daughter both knew that huge steps had been taken tonight, and were content with starting to repair their broken relationship.
Lin made her way across the room to her wife, standing near her brothers. “How did it go for you?” Kya asked her wife. “Mom was happy.” Lin smiled, telling Kya all she needed to know. The waterbender put an arm around her wife’s waist, drawing her in. Much to Kya’s surprise, Lin didn’t push her away. Kya’s heart fluttered as she realized her wife was trying to get more comfortable with attention in public. Kya walked over to her brothers, interjecting herself in their conversation.
“Hello Lin. How has work been at the station?” Tenzin asked, noticing that his sister had an arm around his ex’s waist. He wasn’t going to say anything, but if the two had gotten together he was happy for them. Lin deserved someone like his sister. He also thought that if anyone could help the metal bender become more relaxed and less abrasive, it was his sister.
“Since Kuvira destroyed half of the city with her robot, it’s been hectic,” the metal bender said dryly. “My days are either filled with paperwork or cleaning up the city.”
Tenzin snorted. “Trust me, I know how you feel. I’m either stuck with paperwork or dealing with Council,” he said in agreement, heading to the table.
Everyone found a seat at the long table and began passing around the copious amount of food at the table. Su managed to grab a seat across from Kya and Toph sat across from Lin. The room was filled with comfortable chatter as they ate delicious food. Eventually, Su decided to ask the question that had been with her all day.
“So, who is it?” she asked loudly. Everyone went quiet, looking at Su confused. “We all see the new charm on your betrothal necklace and you even told me you were married at the market. So, who’s the lucky one?” All eyes turned to Kya, making the waterbender feel the immense pressure on her. Lin grabbed her hand under the table, offering silent support.
“Well, she’s pretty amazing,” Kya said, voice full of love. “We got married about four years ago. After Zaheer almost killed both of us, we realized that our time together could end at any moment. As soon as we both recovered from the battle, we got married in a simple courthouse wedding,” she said.
“Stop avoiding the question, who’s the lucky turtleduck?” Tenzin said, looking at his sister.
Deciding not to answer outright, Kya just leaned onto Lin. “I mean, she looks pretty hot in that armor. Those muscles are so sharp, they could kill someone. Trust me, they’re as tough as they look. Those cables are so sexy too. One time we-”
Instead of letting her wife ramble, Lin shut her up with a kiss. “Keep talking, and I’ll throw you in the bay,” she said glaring down at her wife leaning against the metalbenders chest.
The waterbender laughed, not intimidated by her wife. “You love me,” she said tapping Lin’s nose with her finger.
“Yeah, I do,” Lin said softly, everyone else seeming to fade away. All that she cared about was the beautiful woman leaning on her.
Toph gagged. “Well, this is sweet and all but my teeth are rotting from that sweetness you two are exuding,” the blind earthbender said. Kya rolled her eyes and reluctantly stopped leaning against her wife.
“Well, I’ll be the first to say it. Welcome to the family Kya,” Su said. Kya smiled at her friend, feeling the love pour over her.
“Any other declarations of love for tonight? Everyone knows Asami and I got together recently” Korra said loudly, subtly elbowing Mako under the table. Mako glanced at Wu, both silently agreeing to announce their relationship.
“Yeah, I have a boyfriend. He’s hot as hell,” Wu said loudly. Everyone turned to look at him. “Well I mean it’s no surprise I’m gay, but he might surprise you.”
Mako sighed. “Since he’s not going to say it, I will. Wu and I started dating a few days ago,” the firebender said.
Bolin elbowed Opal. “I told you so,” he said in a not so quiet whisper. Opal handed him five gold pieces, just wanting her boyfriend to shut up. The tension around the table dissolved and everyone went back into their normal conversations.
After a few more hours of chaos that can only happen with their large group of friends and family, Kya and Lin slipped out of the party for a moment of silence. The wives stood in the courtyard, looking up at the moon and stars.
“I love you. I still can’t believe you’re with me sometimes. I’m afraid I’ll wake up and realize this is all a dream,” Kya said softly.
Lin gave her wife a kiss. “I love you too. I still feel like I’m dreaming as well. The only reason I know this isn’t a dream is that my dreams aren’t this kind to me,” she said, voice dripping with love.
The wives stood together in silence. Music from the party drifted out into the courtyard. Kya grabbed her wife and dragged her into a slow dance. The pair danced together slowly, knowing they had all the time in the world together. They shared a soft, loving kiss under the pale moonlight, feeling their love wash over them.