Chapter Text
175 AG
Lin let her legs dangle off the edge of the upper deck as she watched the sun set over the water. The small yacht Asami had let them catch a ride on was making good time to the South Pole. Lin and Kya had decided the first stop on their vacation would be to see Katara. Although Kya had been going back and forth between Republic City and the Southern Water Tribe for years, the last time Lin had seen Katara was when Amon had taken her bending. She and Kya had spoken briefly while she was there, but Lin had been too caught up in her own grief and the conversation hadn’t gone well. It would be good to mak some happy memories there.
From there they would enter the spirit portal. Kya wanted to explore the spirit world, so Lin conceded to spend some time there. They would exit through the spirit portal in the North Pole. Then they would visit Izumi and Zuko in the Fire Nation before working their way across the Earth Kingdom back to Republic City. They had one stop scheduled in Zaofu but other than that they would go where the wind took them.
It was starting to get cold on the top of the boat, but Lin was enjoying the view. She had a RCPD sweatshirt on but hadn’t thought to bring a heavier jacket. From behind her, she heard the creaking of the roof hatch opening. There was some grumbling, but then Kya pulled herself onto the deck. She was wearing a thick water tribe coat.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” she exclaimed. “Trust the earthbender to find the highest point on the ship.”
“We’re completely surrounded by water, Kya. I’m already further away from the earth than I want to be. What’s a few more meters?”
Kya settled down next to her. “Honestly, I can’t believe you made it up the ladder with that knee of yours.”
“I didn’t take the ladder.” Lin held up the coil of metal setting on the deck next to her. Lin had wanted a better view and wasn’t sure she could navigate through the yacht, so she improvised.
“Oh, it is beautiful up here.” Kya leaned up against her.
“Yes,” replied Lin without really thinking, looking at how the setting light reflected off the silver of Kya’s hair.
Suddenly, Kya’s eyes widened in curiosity and she excitedly wondered out loud, “Do you think we will be able to see the Southern Lights from out here?”
Lin looked out across the water as darkness settled over the ocean and hoped they would, if only for Kya’s sake. She sounded so excited about the prospect that Lin was willing to risk freezing to see it. In theory, they should be close enough to the South Pole to see them. She had seen the Northern Lights decades ago, but hadn’t been this far south since Korra had opened the portals. Lin slid an arm around Kya, embracing her warmth.
While they waited, Lin closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of everything but the night and the woman she loved. She slowed her breathing, trying to mimic Kya’s meditation style. The peace she had been striving for years seemed just within her reach now. Although, she did wish she was a bit warmer.
“Ooo! Lin!”
Lin’s eyes fluttered back open and a small smile crossed her face. Lights gleamed over the ocean. So many colors arched and flickered in the sky. It was breathtaking. Every time she would focus on one color it seemed to change seamlessly into another. The sky was dancing as if it was performing for just the two of them. It seemed this vacation was off to a fantastic start.
“Happy yet?” Kya was grinning like a child on her birthday. Sometimes it felt as if Kya had never grown pass age eight while Lin had been born a sixty-year-old woman. If it weren’t for the gray hair, it would be easy to assume that Kya was the younger of the couple, even though she was four years older.
A kiss on her lover’s lips was Lin’s answer. “Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky, to end up here with you.”
“I’m not sure luck had anything to do with it, sweetheart.”
Kya was probably correct, but Lin was sure she had to have had luck on her side to have ended up on this boat with the woman she loved. Staring into the beautiful lights, she took a deep breath and remembered.