In Sickness and in Health (Kyalin)

Where Did You Get That Picture?

Today was the day and Lin had gotten up at the crack of dawn to prepare, but even in this early hour, Kya had beaten her to it. The other side of the bed was rapidly cooling down without another body there to warm it.

Lin glanced out the window and saw Kya look both ways before crossing the street, wrapped up in a light jacket to protect against the morning chill. She silently wondered where on earth she was going but pushed the thought aside. Kya would be back, and besides, she needed this time alone in the apartment to prepare her decoy gift.

She made her way into the kitchen and peered into the fridge. In the far back corner, tucked behind stir fry leftovers, was a neatly wrapped package labeled "Hippo-Cow Tongue." Lin knew Kya would never touch such a food and had cleverly hidden its true contents.

Peeling back the tape, Lin carefully unwrapped the paper to find arctic hen that had been imported from the Southern Water Tribe.

Lin began to prepare the meat by cooking it in a pan along side turtleduck eggs and sprinkled in some chopped vegetables from Soya's stand. While that cooked, she toasted pieces of seaweed bread, another Water Tribe specialty, and once those finished, she spread butter on them.

Just as she was setting the plates down on the table, there was a shuffling noise outside the apartment and Kya appeared in the doorway, a bouquet of brightly colored flowers in arm.

Kya walked up behind her girlfriend and draped both her arms on Lin's shoulders. The bouquet rested inches away from her face and Lin inhaled.

"They smell great."

"Nothing but beautiful flowers for my beautiful girlfriend." Kya guided Lin's head toward her and they kissed. "But enough about the flower's smell. What did you make? I could smell it coming all the way up the stairs. It looks delicious!"

"Arctic hen with eggs and seaweed toast." Lin accompanied her answer with another soft kiss.

Kya smiled. "All my favorite Water Tribe foods. You're the best, Lin. Happy anniversary."

"Happy anniversary." They looked longingly into each others eyes until Lin's stomach growled loudly. She shrugged off Kya's hug. "Are we gonna eat or are you just gonna look at me all day?"

Kya laughed and reluctantly took her arms off. She quickly put the flowers in water and positioned them as a center piece before sitting down to eat.

"This breakfast isn't your real gift, though. That comes later," Lin explained.

"Oh, that reminds me about your gift too! Do you want to open it now or wait until later?" Kya asked eagerly.

"You didn't need to get me a gift," Lin said. "Just being with you is enough."

"That's sweet, but I'm going to go get it now."

Kya got up and hurried into the bedroom. Lin heard rummaging around, probably her looking for whatever weird hiding spot she had concocted this year. A minute later Kya returned with a small rectangular package wrapped in plain white paper. She set it down in front of Lin.

"Open it," she urged.

Lin looked at the gift pensively and peeled back the corner, carefully unwrapping the gift without tearing the paper. Inside, she found a large, leather bound book. The cover was inscribed with the word "Photographs" written in beautiful calligraphy, the characters finishing with a stylized flair.

She opened the book to discover countless photos of the two of them and each of their families, starting with pictures of them as kids going up to present day. In a way, it told the story of their love and lives together.

Lin flipped through the pages in awe thinking about how much time Kya must have put into this project. She knew that this wasn't something Kya threw together last night. Lin speculated that she had gone out last night only to distract her detective skills from figuring out the gift.

"Kya, this is incredible."

"Thanks," she said sheepishly before noticing what page Lin had open. She grabbed the book and let out a laugh. "Oh my spirits! It's a little baby you! Running around naked!"

Lin snatched the book back. "Where did you get that picture?"

"Su. Last time we visited Zaofu she gave me a whole bunch of pictures."

Lin groaned, only imagining what embarrassing stories her sister had told about her. Still, she kept looking through the book and reminiscing on their shared memories.

The two of them paged through the photos, laughing and recounting stories, for nearly an hour, and it wasn't long before the food Lin had made disappeared from the plates.

Unable to sit on the hard chairs any longer, Lin got up to get dressed. After all, she still had the rest of the day to spend with Kya, and everything was going to be perfect.

Just like it had been for the past three years.

——

A/N: What do y'all think about a spin-off of this fic where I do one shots about the pictures Kya put in this album? It would probably be some fluffy Kyalin stories and the Gaang as parents.