Disclaimer: Do not own LoK.

At night, she attempted to sleep and not think about the issue, but that was impossible to do because the issue was a nagging presence in her mind. Several nights she had remained awake with a troubling sense of insomnia, and she listened as the wooden floorboards creaked and moan. She imagined that the creaking and moaning would not have been as much as a problem if she had not known what caused them.

It would have been perfectly fine if it was the wind blowing through and underneath the floorboards, but she knew that was not the case. And it wounded her more to know that it was human feet, not the wind, that caused the floorboards to creak and moan. He did not think that anyone could hear him, did not wonder what would happen if someone did, but when she had seen him. Opened a crack in the door while she crouched on all fours, low down and unnoticed; he hovered about and rushed to the back room, opening the door with a few anxious glances.

She counted the minutes, the possible hours, that he stayed inside the room, but she could not bear to look on while she knew that something was going on in there. So, she retreated to her bed, hugging the blanket close to her body, and she waited until she heard the footsteps move out the room, shutting the door without making a sound, and retreating the male dormitory on the other side of the island. She did not ponder on how he arrived without being discovered, and it slipped her mind that his brother possibly would have known.

One night, she decided to leave before he arrived, and she checked that the time was ten o'clock. Rising from her bed, she slipped on a pair of old slippers and a robe, and she observed that the hall was empty and silent except for the crickets outside. Not again, she promised herself, would she listen to the footsteps that crept cruelly into her ears night after night. And it had been just one week since their return.

She slipped out without being heard or detected, and she carried herself with an uncertain gracefulness that vaguely reminded her of her mother. The night wasn't cool, but it wasn't immediately warm. She would've called it, lukewarm, but it was the last thing that she had on mind. With all the security heightened, she had to dodge several guards walking about, and she couldn't believe that Mako had done it with such ease. Eventually, she made a right turn on the fresh cut grass, into where the gardens were, and she let out a surprised squeak when a sudden gust of air came from nowhere, dancing and trembling on her bare skin.

But she had made it to her destination. The gardens were populated with various flowers, indigos and violets, and the aroma helped her forget most of her troubles. However, she kept close to the night as the lighted lanterns let up an ominous glow that meant her discovery to the OWL guards, and she didn't want that. In the corners she remained, rushing about until she came close to an old stone bench that was placed to a corner that was kept from view.

Still on the sides, she hurried to it, seeing it as the perfect place to rest, and she caught her breath when a pair of guards started to walk in the same direction upstairs. She heard their heavy footsteps, their light talk, and she clutched her hand to her mouth, biting down on her tongue. The butterfly panic of her heart settled as the two men disappeared from her hearing, turning to the right where the stairway to the radio tower was. She breathed a relieved sigh and pushed herself against the stone wall that kept her concealed.

Keeping herself from the light, she dropped cautiously on the stone bench remvoing her feet from her satin slippers. The stone grounds were cold beneat her feet, and she giggled lightly at the touch, a giddy sensation going up her spine. But it lasted just for a few short moments, and she was reminded as to why she was in the gardens in the first place. To her right, she craned to look at the inviting, golden mass of light that belonged to Republic City. She recalled the times when she looked out her bedroom window in the late hours of the night, to simply behold the wonderful sight. For many years she had done this, and she was somewhat proud that even at her age, close to eighteen years, that she had not waned in her habit, in spite of recent events.

Though no leaves attached to the trees, blades of grass, or the lanterns that hung about on their tall, wooden posts were disturbed, the wind happened to blow at a steady pace in the sky, running up and down her back. The mass of black curls rustled against her cheeks, and she would have claimed that it tickled her pale skin if she had not focused her eyesight on the disappearing and reappearing shadow. Easy to believe that she was imagining his image, but it popped in and out of the bushes, going unnoticed and unheard by the guards. To the point, where it paused briefly behind the thick leech tree, it vanished into the nearest corridor. The corridor that led to her bedroom.

Her eyes narrowed and then lessened in their severity, and her manicured nails that had nearly snapped on the stone bench fell flat on it instead. All what could be considered anger evaporated, and she lowered her head in a mixture of shame and hurt. Of course, that's where he was going; she had seen it coming for some time now. And though she found it silly to take input from a seven year old girl, it was obvious that there was some truth in it. Korra was hurt, still recovering in her bedroom where healers and doctors alike attended to her during the day, and it made sense that he would want to observer her, to make sure that she was doing well.

He was her friend, but at the same time, she knew, he was more than that, much more.

Soon enough, she realized that fat tears were spilling down her cheeks, and the wind redirected them closer to her nose. Hurriedly, she swiped them away; no, she would not allow this to happen. If she could not control any events in the world, any ruin that may come to her, she could control this. This would be done, and so, the tears were killed and she remained sitting on the bench in silence. The crickets, the birds, even the thundering, wave rolling snores that came from the sleeping sky bisons in the nearby stables.

Intaking the sounds, she did not hear the cautious approaching figure, and she did not see the rising dark shadow that reflected on the walls, due to the bright lanterns that flickered on.

"Miss Sato, it's late. What are you doing out?" A quick move turn, recognizing the voice instantly, she saw the intimidating figure of Lin Beifong, dressed in her metal bending outfit with her hands folded calmly behind her back.

Flinching automatically, but not rising from the bench, "I-I, Chief Beifong, I didn't know you were here."

"It was agreed that I would remain on the island for added protection," she cocked a curious eyebrow at the young lady, "but as for you, I was present when all tenants were informed of the new curfew."

There was a stark distance between them, but to her relief, Lin did not reveal her destination. Somewhat in the shadows, the guards could see the outline of her back, but they could not hear that she was speaking, could not see who she was speaking to if they did happen to hear.

"Yes, I know." She didn't want to look at the woman's piercing green eyes that appeared to know much more than they should, "I couldn't sleep; I'll leave momentarily."

Lin looked to her right, and Asami watched as her eyes turned into miniature slits. Hushing her mouth immediately, she leaned backwards, not so much that she would fall.

"Men," Lin's voice was commanding and hard, "you may proceed."

"Ma'am!" Flustered at what they would have to say, the one Asami knew as Howl stumbled with his words, "We thought that something was wrong, ma'am. Just making sure that everything is fine."

Slowly, she looked upwards, catching note of their curious faces from the open hallway, "The area is secure, men. You may continue on your rounds, be diligent." Nodding in silence, they did what they were told, and they disappeared down another hall.

It had taken several minutes before she returned her attention to Asami, and she gave her a look that begged no expressions, "Now, I will not ask again. What are you doing out after curfew?"

Plain, it was obvious on her face. She tried her utmost to conceal the emotions within her heart, but it was impossible to do. Looking up at the older woman, intimidated by her, Asami knew that she could see it too. Perhaps, Lin wanted her to speak it out, to finally bring it out to the open instead of allowing it to fester on the inside, but when she opened her mouth, the words escaped her mind. They tackled out her mouth like a wasted inkblot and spilled over the canvas, and she removed eye contact from her, too ashamed to think about it.

But Lin refused to be ignored, and Asami listened as her metal footsteps vibrated softly on the concrete floor. For one moment she paused in her movements, staring down at the girl with eyes that could not be openly read, and a sigh whispered into the night air. Her body still when she felt the gentle shift of weight on the bench, and her heartbeat began to increase sporadically. Lin sat on the opposite end, her back hunched, and her fingers entertained in one another. Her eyesight was not locked on Asami, but outside to the tower, in the direction where the main family slept.

"Once upon a time I was in the same place as you," Lin's voice was remarkably resigned, not as tight as normal, "how I loved a man much more than he ever loved me, or that's what I told myself."

Asami's eyes widened, shocked by the news, but she kept her thoughts quiet, waiting for the woman to continue.

"Childhood romance." She chuckled bitterly, "You're led to believe that those are the ones to last forever. You grow up together. You know each other better than anyone, but even those entangled bonds can fail. Can crumble, break, and die."

"How did it happen?"

"We started to drift, and so did his interest. Well, his interests never drifted, but his sights did onto a younger woman," she passed a cocked, unamused look at the girl, "but I didn't want to believe it because I held so much trust in him. So much trust, and I was wrong for doing it. Even our most beloved ones can harm us, much worse than any enemy or stranger."

The words struck withering chords in her chest, and she grasped at the area where her heart was hidden, "I know the feeling."

Lin nodded, "I know you do, and that's what makes you stronger than the rest of us, Miss Sato. The art of letting go and moving on is knowing the point when it must be done. Don't hesitate, and don't think twice."

"Were you the one to end it?"

At that, Lin's face turned grave, hard, "No," she said with the smallest hint of bitterness, "I didn't, and that was an irrevocable mistake."

Attempting to imagine a much younger Lin was not as difficult as Asami thought it would be. Her skin was a lighter shade, less wrinkled, and her hair was no longer the dull gray but the vibrant, charcoal black. She didn't believe that eye color changed with age, and so, the mint-green tint that belonged to her eyes was the same. Possibly, the scars on the side of her face was a fresh pink color, not the brownish pink that nearly etched into her natural complexion.

But crying, no. Asami could not see the tears of rejection and betrayal swim down like koi fish on the older woman's face.

"As long as memory persists, the scars of the heart will be as permanent as the ones on my face," Lin said with momentum, "you learn to live with them, and soon, they become a makeup of your person. Though they remain tender, they will no longer burn, and they will no longer quake inside you."

"Chief Beifong." She had not realized the tears had began to fall until one happened to splash on her right hand, and she tried to stop them for the woman's sake. This time, the tears were persistent, and her eyes began to tremble from their ferocity. And without thinking, or maybe she was thinking that the woman would not mind at all, she opened her arms to the woman, breaking down in terrible, muffled sobs.

The metal was uncomfortable, but it failed to be a barrier to separate them.

Yes, Lin paused, stiffened, at the contact, but soon, she sighed and returned the sudden embrace. While they silently hugged, she carefully smoothed the girl's hair up and down, waiting for the hiccuped sobs to end.

"I'm sorry," Asami whispered as she removed herself, "I didn't mean for that happen." Her eyes were now red-rimmed, part from the lack of sleep and part from the crying, "Next time, I'll restrain myself."

"Don't mention it, kid, we've all been there once in our lives." Once more they were distanced, and Lin decided to stand up, stretching out a hand to the girl. Asami quietly grabbed a hold of it, observing that her hand was still warm in spite of the amount of metal around it, and she sadly smiled.

"He's probably with her right now," she sighed and laughed with no humor, "it'd be odd if I walked in there."

"Don't worry, he left about ten minutes before I made my way down here."

"Oh."

"The freshness might linger for about a month or so, give it time," she explained coolly, "now, it's time to return to your room. I don't feel the need to explain why I'm out here with you to anyone."

For the first time, Asami sincerely smiled, a light chuckle skipping on her tongue, "Thanks, Chief Beifong."

"I'm no longer Chief of Police. It's Lin, Miss Sato."

"Well, if you're Lin, then I'm Asami." She opened out her hand, and Lin gazed at it before shaking it firmly. Asami swore that she saw the ghost of a satisfied expression in the older woman's eyes.

Returned to her bed, Asami snuggled in, and her eyes lasted about an hour and a half. Yes, the pain was still quite fresh, but she knew what must be done to cool it down into a dull throb. And it would be done, as it had to be. That comforted her, and gradually, she slipped into a sleep that was filled with fragmented past shards that claimed no lies, no scars, but promised a future thriving in dawn.

A/N: Lin and Asami have something in common, and I would like for this to happen. I know it won't, but it's nice to dream. Reviews are stellar, and thank you.