Kya stepped into her house, the smell of food cooking hitting her in the face.
"Smells good, Mom. What is it!?" She yelled through the house as she took her shoes off.
"Don't ask me, I'm not the one cooking!" Her mom yelled back from the kitchen.
With a confused look, Kya walked to the kitchen.
"Are you sure I'm doing this right?"
"You're doing fine, Lin. Just trust that it'll turn out well." Katara gave words of reassurance.
Kya was surprised to see Lin standing in her kitchen, her hair pulled back, an apron tied around her waist, and Katara guiding her through the recipe.
"Hey." Lin gave a quick smile.
Kya just stared at her. It seemed like she was seeing Lin more and more.
At her home and work, Izumi talks about her. But instead of being so angry about it like she used to be, Kya looked forward to it.
"Kya, help her really quick, I'm going to go check on your father." Katara said.
"Oh- yeah, okay." Kya said.
She washed her hands quickly and then took the spot where her mother was standing; next to Lin.
"Yeah, like that. Just dip it in the egg, then cover it with flour." Kya said.
"I uh- I yelled at Tenzin the other day." Lin spoke quietly.
Kya, slightly surprised Lin was opening up to her, just nodded her head. "About what?" She asked.
Lin sighed. "He- he saw my face... under the bandage." She said.
Kya furrowed her eyebrows. What was Lin about to tell her?
"I was in the bathroom. I took the bandage off to get a good look at the scars, and Tenzin knocked on the door. I didn't know he was even coming over. Without thinking about it, I just opened the door. Like an idiot. And," Lin took in a deep breath.
"And it was like he was horrified. He just... stared at them."
Kya's face saddened.
"When I opened the door again he was sitting on the couch. Everything felt awkward. I told him I wanted to be alone and he just insisted we spend time together."
"Yeah... Tenzin's made a bad habit out of doing that..." Kya said, knowing firsthand that the severity of other people's emotions tends to fly over Tenzin's bald head.
"I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, and I knew he meant well. I'm just so frustrated. Everywhere I go people are staring at my bandages, and I know once I take them off-" Lin threw her hand up and accidentally threw flour into Kya's face.
Lin gasped and backed away. "Kya! I'm so sorry!" She apologized.
"I was talking and getting distracted I didn't mean-"
Kya threw a pinch of flour into Lin's face.
Lin kept her eyes shut and her brows furrowed for a second before spitting flour out of her mouth.
She and Kya started laughing and Kya grabbed a cloth.
She wiped the flour off of her own face and then reached for Lin's.
Not thinking about it, Lin smacked Kya's hand away.
Kya was taken back.
"I'm sorry. I thought you were reaching for..." Lin didn't have to continue.
Kya knew what she meant.
"I'm gonna clean the flour off of your face, alright?" Kya told Lin what she was doing before attempting to reach for her face again, only doing so after Lin gave her a nod.
As Kya wiped flour away from her unscarred cheek, she could see the embarrassment pooling in Lin's eyes.
"Do you want to wipe off the other side yourself?" Kya asked.
"I- It's alright. It doesn't hurt anymore. You can do it." Lin said.
"I'll make sure to be gentle." Kya said before softly pressing the cloth under Lin's eye.
Lin couldn't shake the feeling that Tenzin would never see her the same way again.
She's tried telling herself that it's all in her head. Her boyfriend is going to feel the same way he did before once she stops wearing these bandages.
But she didn't believe it.
She took the bandage off and threw it in the trashcan.
She turned the water in the shower on and waited for it to warm up before stepping inside.
Lin hummed a tune from her head as she rinsed the soap in her hair.
She paused momentarily, feeling the water run down her cheek.
She shut her eyes.
"Oh, what are you gonna do, Officer? Arrest me?"
"Don't even think about taking one more step!"
Shing
Lin's whole body shook with a cold chill. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and continuing with her shower.
She stepped out and dried off. She put on clothes she'd be able to relax in, then reached for the cabinet for a bandage.
"It looks like it's all healed up. Not enough for footwork, of course. But, there's no need to wear a bandage anymore." Kya said.
Lin could feel her expression sadden.
"Although... continuing to wear one wouldn't do any harm." Kya gave her a light smile.
Lin knew what she meant.. if she still wasn't comfortable showing her scars, she didn't have to.
But Lin figured sitting around her own house was fine. Besides, the feeling of tape stuck to her face was starting to get annoying.
She pulled her hand back from the cabinet and left the bathroom without her cheek covered.
She went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, but when she opened the container of coffee grounds, it was empty.
Just my luck.
She's showered, has sweatpants on, and her face is uncovered. Of course, she would have to leave the house to have one good evening.
But she decided against it. She figured coffee wasn't that important and grabbed a water out of her fridge.
As she walked back into the living room, the box sitting in the corner caught her eye.
The cables.
Those stupid cables.
She picked the box up and carried it to the closet in the hallway.
She placed the box on top of the shelf and shut the door.
"You two have put me in an impossible position."
Maybe it was Lin's fault.
Maybe she should've let Suyin walk away. Pretended like nothing even happened.
At least then her own boyfriend wouldn't be disgusted by her.
Every day she passed by the picture of her and Suyin. And every day it made her madder and madder.
Her phone rang and she went to answer it.
"How's your face?"
"Good to hear from you too, Chief." Lin deadpanned.
"I need you back on the job." Lin could feel her mother rolling her eyes through the phone.
"You haven't called me since Su left. And now you only want to talk when you need something from me?" Lin retorted.
"As the Chief of Police, yes. That's exactly why I'm calling my Sergeant." Toph said.
"Well, maybe you need to find a temporary replacement. I can't go back to work yet." Lin said.
Even though she desperately needed a distraction, she didn't think being back on the job was the best choice for her right now.
"Oh come on, your sister didn't cut you that deep!" Toph said.
Lin's jaw clenched in anger.
She slammed the phone down and stopped for a second.
She brought her fingertips up to her cheek and grazed her scars.
Lin ripped the phone line out of the wall.
She turned her head and looked at the picture of her and Suyin.
As she approached it, tears filled her eyes.
She picked it up and slammed it against the wall as hard as she could, the sound of glass shattering coming soon after.
Lin walked past the shattered frame and into her room.
She stared down at her bed for a moment.
It's only six thirty...
She didn't care though. She climbed into bed and pulled the blanket up to her chest.
She didn't want coffee, or to sit in her living room and watch television.
Lin just wanted to lay here.