Watching the sun setting on the bay was one of Leia's favorite things to do while walking down the streets of Republic City near dusk. It reminded her of all that she had now compared to what she had before, staying in the south. It was always simply the sun up and running for six months while the moon took over the sky for the duration of the other six.

Sunsets in Republic City were experienced by everyone every day. It was something most people took for granted. Then again, not everyone grew in a place where sunsets and sunrises only happen every 6 months. Sunsets were a blessing to the human race. It signified  that the day was about to end. It also signified that twilight was coming in preparation of another day about to begin anew.

Unfortunately for the scientist, the sun wasn't exactly seen as several clouds covered the sky. There was in incoming front that usually meant nothing too good was about to happen. It was a sad sight, really. Greying whisps of water vapor let only a few streaks of sunlight pass through, dimming the overall outdoor light of Republic City at a time one would usually expect it to still be relatively bright.

How fitting, Leia thought as she sniffed, her nose itchy. It was going to rain. She knew because of both her physiological response to the change in humidity and the waterbender part of herself sensing the general increase of water in the area.

Leia was still holding onto the wrist of the policewoman with her wrapped up hand as they walked towards the general direction of Lin's neighborhood. It was actually quite distanced from the Republic City Police Department station, a fact Leia thought was caused by Lin's want for a breath of fresh air given her line of work, even if it was just about a kilometer away. It wasn't too near the station that she would be constantly suffocated and it wasn't too far that she doesn't need to get up extra early in order to get to work.

Leia never really thought about how much of a toll her own job took on her since it was something she loved doing. Now that she did, her mind simply fluttered towards how much Lin's job affected her own well-being. One of the points Leia did list off to Tenzin was in relation to Lin being the chief of police and how a great responsibility had been entrusted upon her the moment she accepted the role. Someone who lived like that needed a place to destress and wind down. Leia wondered if Lin got to do that in the infrastructure they were heading to. She knew where the woman lived because of the many times Tenzin pointed it out whenever they passed by it on the way to her university campus on times he accompanied her via car.

Every time, it would go something like this:

"Oh, Lin's house!" Tenzin would point out.

"Whipped," Leia would mutter, barely audible.

Of course, Tenzin would still be able to hear it. "Shut up, Leia!"

Leia smiled at the memory before shaking her head. They were nearly a perfect pair in her eyes. The shy and timid personality of Tenzin paired with the strong and bold disposition of Lin seemed like such a compatible match. Alas, in a world as unfair as this, not everything good was meant to last. A frown settled itself on Leia's lips as she thought about the situation of her companion.

Slight annoyance and disappointment flooded her chest at the monk.
You would let go of five years of a relationship with one of the most wonderful people in Republic City for your 'legacy'. Nice going, arrowhead.

She sighed. She couldn't do anything about it. Sometimes things go well, sometimes they don't. It was Tenzin's choice. Perhaps it was for the best, since they had been fighting for quite a while already. Would she rather Lin and Tenzin continue a relationship that was turning out to be unhealthy?

She glanced behind her for a second to look at Lin. The chief had her head down, eyes looking like they were about to produce tears. Leia's chest ached for Lin. She hated seeing people in her life being upset. She barely got to interact with the policewomam, but she had considered Tenzin family, and by extension, Lin was sort of family, too.

Leia returned her glance to the path ahead of her. Another itch on her nose was asking to be scratched and she knew they had to find shelter soon if they didn't want to get caught in the downpour.

"It's going to rain for a good few hours," the girl looking like a student stated. She looked up at the clouds above them growing darker by the second. "Do you mind getting wet on the way to your house? Do you want to wait it out somewhere?"

Leia looked back at her companion with a questioning face and attempted to avoid worry seeping through. She didn't want Lin thinking she was pitying her. Lin slowly lifted her head and met the younger woman's eyes. She clenched her jaw and looked down once more. "It doesn't matter."

Leia frowned at her response. She also worriedly looked at her bag, knowing she had some things that weren't necessarily paper, but she still didn't really want them getting wet. Today was the day she just happened to not have an umbrella with her.

Soon, the rumbling of thunder rang through the air and droplets of water hurriedly started to come in contact with Leia's scalp and she sighed again. She knew she inevitably had to water bend but she didn't know if she even had energy in her to do so. The last time she did was to heal herself and that took a lot of what was left after her squabble with the chief.

With the hand that was not holding the chief's wrist, she did a small waving motion, gathering as much of the nearby raindrops in as she could without straining herself and she formed a flat disk with it. The immediate problem she had with the disk of water she made is that it was too small for both her and the woman she was currently dragging alongside her. At this point, their heads were already quite drenched. Lin still had her armor on so it added an extra bit of protection from the rain. It was an obvious decision for Leia.

She did a quick wave and let the water move to cover Lin instead, letting her arm lower to her side with her hand bent and stretched out as if she was asking for something to be put on her palm. She maintained this position as she felt water start to seep in through her bindings. Leia internally groaned. She hated the feeling of having wet cloth cling to her chest unless she was going swimming.

Lin noticed the sudden absence of raindrops on her cheeks. When the rain had started pouring, she looked up to the sky and welcomed the liquid on her skin. That was when she allowed herself to cry, the alcohol in her bloodstream making it easier to be at par with her emotions.

"What are you doing?" Her fuzzy brain allowed her to ask. "You're getting wet. Rain makes you wet. Stop covering me, I'm in my armor. You need-"

"Don't worry about me," Leia assured, looking at her companion who was in a state drier than she was. "I'll be fine."

"But, you might get sick. Tenzin'll be so mad when he finds out I let this happen. He'll tell me how I'm such an irresponsible woman. He-he'll..." Lin seemed to lose her train of thought, her mind beginning to become cloudy. 

Leia felt unsettled with the way Lin reacted. What in the world did you say to this woman, Tenzin?

"You're getting wet, let me-"

"Lin," Leia's sternly called out. She stopped walking, causing the drunk woman to almost bump into her had she not seen her feet stop. Lin managed to still be surprised despite being drunk.

"Is it okay if I call you that?" Leia asked tentatively. She never addressed the woman by anything other than by the woman's whole name paired with her title. It was always 'Chief Lin Beifong'. When she talked about her with Tenzin, she sometimes switched it up with 'Miss Lin Beifong'. Lin was still older than Leia and Leia made sure to keep her honorifics in check since they weren't close enough to be informal with one another. That didn't mean Leia didn't think of wanting to engage in a relationship that merited her the privilege of getting to address the woman simply by 'Lin'. With the monk's tales of how Lin acted when she was laid back and relaxed, Leia had been longing to at least be civil with the woman. She never really got the chance to.

To the younger woman's delight, Lin nodded. Leia's bandaged hand now slid down to hold on to the woman's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Lin, Tenzin isn't here," she reminded the older woman. She willed herself to look her in the eye as she spoke, "Tenzin doesn't need to know. What he thinks of you doesn't matter, alright? You are free to do anything as you please."

Lin nodded again, biting back her tears from continuing to flow.

"You can cry," Leia said, rubbing her thumb across the back of the older woman's palm slowly. Leia was careful because she knew not all people handled breakups the same. She was simply acting upon what she experienced with her friend. She gave the woman a small smile, "No one will know if it's your tears or the rain."

Leia then stepped aside and signaled forward with a tilt of her head, "Let's get you home." She continued walking and Lin followed. This time, Lin was no longer behind her but was now walking beside the younger girl. Leia made sure her makeshift water umbrella kept itself above Lin's head.

When Leia wasn't looking at her anymore, Lin let her tears resume their journey down her cheeks.

Hand-in-hand the rest of the way, the pair walked in silence. It began raining heavier and Leia had to make her water shield thicker in order for bigger and weightier droplets not to penetrate through.

When they arrived at the familiar building that Leia was sure was Lin's abode, Leia led them to her doorstep which was thankfully roofed. She let go of the woman's hand, an act she admitted she was reluctant to do, and bent the water hovering Lin's head away. She then drew as much water as she could from her clothes. She also made sure to bend out any water that may have compromised Lin's underclothes underneath the armor but was pleased to find that it was mostly dry.

She let Lin fish out a group of keys from one of her many pockets and the scene made Leia think. If Lin was a metalbender, why would she need keys when she could easily bend the locks on her door open? Once she reached the end of her question, she gave herself a mental slap in the head.

That's why. Anyone with the power to metalbend could get into her house, and as the Chief of Police, that was a more than likely scenario. The locks were probably made of pure platinum, made fit for an important figure like the chief herself.

Lin struggled a bit to unlock the door due to both being partially inebriated and to the darkness brought about by the night. She was starting to get annoyed that she couldn't even insert the right key through its respective keyhole. Leia saw this went closer to the policewoman, offering, "Let me."

"No," Lin responded harsh tone almost immediately, letting her frustration get to her. "I can do this. I just need- I can open my own damn door!"

Leia grimaced at the volume of the woman's voice. She reached out a hand to grabbed onto Lin's arm. The blue-eyed woman was glad to see Lin simply stop trying to unlock the door and sigh heavily.

Leia then put a hand on Lin's fist which had her keys bunched up in it and spoke calmly, "I know." She spoke softer when she said her next words, "But you aren't in the right state of mind."

Lin relented and let the keys go. Tears continued to stream down her face. Leia faced the door and proceeded to go through trial-and-error with the keys.

"You're drunk and emotionally unstable as of the moment," Leia stated and smiled as she heard the successful click of the first lock. She headed to the next one and tried the rest of the keys that didn't work with the first one, smile growing wider when she heard the second lock click. She handed the keys back to the policewoman. "It isn't too bad to let others take care of certain things for you."

She pushed the door open and gestured for Lin to get inside. Lin obliged and entered her home. She was halfway on her way to her living room when she realized that the blue-eyed girl did not follow her in and was still at her doorstep.

She turned to look at Leia who simply stood there patiently with her hands behind her back. She shot her a questioning look.

"Um," Leia started, looking fidgety, "may I come inside?" Leia had only told her that she would take her home. She didn't tell the woman of her plans to potentially tuck her to bed and make sure she didn't get any nightmares, that amongst many things, alongside making her ice cream.

Lin looked at her with a raised brow as if Leia asked her a stupid question. Leia noted that she stopped crying. Leia confusedly signaled with a tilt of her head that she really didn't know if she was welcome in Lin's house or not. 

Lin looked at her blankly, alcohol delaying her thought process, before walking back towards the door and opening it wider. "Just get in."

Leia smiled and nodded gratefully, making sure her shoes weren't dirty before crossing through the doorway. She watched Lin shut the door behind her and proceeded to lock it back shut with ease.

Lin went off to go somewhere and Leia took the liberty to follow while also looking around the house with wonder she tried to keep in. The walls were a pretty shade of pale green, an obvious homage to Lin's Earth Kingdom roots. Shelves lined the walls of the living room, the presence of little trinkets pleasantly surprising Leia, who was internally trying to figure out a theme that tied this whole thing together.

Pictures were also present in the house, one of a person whom she knew very well as the renowned Toph Beifong in all her Chief of Police glory, wearing the same armor Lin had on right now. There was another photo of a seemingly younger Lin along with Toph and another girl who Leia gathered to be the youngest in the bunch. This girl had poofy curly hair and an air of mischief in her smile while the two other people in this picture just seemed like they weren't joking around despite their own smiles. That must've been Suyin Beifong. Leia smiled at the thought of Lin having a sister before furrowing her brows. She never had seen Suyin in the city. Tenzin had mentioned that she had to leave the city and live with her grandparents due to certain complications. Leia wondered what those complications were.

Shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts, Leia smiled at the simplicity of the earthbender's home. For someone with a bank account loaded with currency enough to get you through life living on the most basic needs without a job, the home wasn't as bold or showy as you'd expect someone with means to decorate their own house. Leia supposed she shouldn't be surprised, given that Lin never really seemed to make a big deal of her inherited wealth. She thought that maybe that was one of the reasons she looked up to the policewoman all these years.

Leia unknowingly followed Lin into her bedroom and only noticed when she saw the queen size bed amidst the spacious room. She was about to say something when she saw Lin starting to bend her armor off. Mesmerized, Leia watched with a sparkling awe-struck look in her eyes as the metal obeyed every single one of Lin's motions. It was only when the green-eyed woman was left in her tank top and pants that Leia widened her eyes and quickly looked away, doing a 180-degree turn and covering the sides of her face with her hands.

Leia's face grew warm when she realized she had basically just seen the woman in a state of undress people have not, save for maybe people close to her and maybe Tenzin. At the thought of the monk, Leia blushed even harder. Her mind could not help but lead itself to the possibility that he and Lin had done the you know what in this very place.

Spirits, get your mind out of the gutter!

With a few knocks on her head, she could hear her morality, which now oddly sounded like Jihyo, chanting along as she scolded herself, "Tui, seriously? You are one big pabo. Pabo pabo pabo pabo-"

"Why are you calling yourself an idiot?"

Producing an "eep!" like a child caught red-handed, Leia froze and quickly turned around to face Lin with her face almost as red as a Fire Nation flag, hands pulling at each other's fingers behind her back. I was saying it out loud? She gave herself an internal facepalm. Of course she understood, Leia thought disappointedly af herself, she's an Earth Kingdom person herself. As if it couldn't get any worse for Leia, Lin was halfway through putting on a robe, meaning that one side of her body had yet to be covered and Leia couldn't help but glance at the prominent muscles that lined the earthbender's arms. Leia could compare them to the many statues made to depict the ideal men in very masculine poses that showed off their own muscles. 

Freakin' daebak. San said that a lot when he saw someone who looked really attractive, most especially when they were muscular. For Leia, she probably would settle with naming all of the Spirits she knew of as an expression to rival San's. His was much more brief and concise so she uses it more often than her own expression.

The muscular build of the woman didn't stop there, as Leia could see the pronounced shape of Lin's shoulder muscles right next to her neck.

Leia cringed and put her hands over her face, hiding her eyes in order not to look at anything any more than she has already.

"I'm sorry for intruding! You were taking off your armor when I got in and I think I saw you in a state that I think you don't appreciate being stared at. I looked at your muscles! They're great! I mean- I'm sorry, I didn't really mean to! It'll never happen again." Leia explained, panicking and desperate not to have the woman angry at her. She supposed that she could have lied but she didn't really feel as if anything she did right now was appropriate and lying just seemed to be the cherry on top of that. Leia was smart, but that didn't mean she could be dumb at times. Leia took a peek through her fingers and when she saw that Lin wasn't angry at her, she dropped her hands from her face.

Across from her, Lin looked at the girl confusingly. She had not noticed the way the younger girl had basically checked her out. She was finished putting on her robe and she thought over Leia's words slowly.

"It's fine. It wasn't like I was naked," Lin said calmly. Leia hadn't detected any slur in her voice. Was she sobering up? The calmness in the older woman's voice scared her slightly. Leia's blush had started to fade.

"Oh, and thank you," Lin added as she walked nearer towards the dumbfounded girl.

"For what?" Leia asked, growing increasingly confused by the second. The flustered tint in her cheeks was nearly gone.

Lin came face to face with the girl who now stood nearly at the same height as she did. "Your compliment on my muscles."

Leia's blush was back and she avoided Lin's gaze. Lin then reached out and put a hand on Leia's shoulder, the sensation of the hold doing wonders for the waterbender. "I'm sorry for taking out my anger on you," she apologized and this made the younger girl look at Lin's face. She looked so disappointed in herself. "I really thought it was you who he..."

Leia frowned at Lin's distressed expression. She reached up with the hand opposite the shoulder Lin held onto and lay it on Lin's hand, giving it a soft squeeze. Leia was grateful Lin was okay with this and wasn't pulling away like she had expected her to do the first time she held the earthbender's hand. Actually, Leia was really surprised Lin didn't pull away the first time she did it. She reckoned it was maybe because of her emotional and mental state. Lin seemed to be much more stable now.

"It's alright," Leia replied, smiling at the woman to know that she didn't hold anything against her. She then laughed when an idea came to her. "Actually, I think it's quite fair. You throwing me to the ground, well, wall at first and then the ground, without any warning?"

Lin was able to produce a small smile.

"I mean, I know you told me the whole 'letting me fall to the ground 3 feet above' thing five years ago was payback, but it never really felt fair, even for me," Leia explained, smiling fondly upon the remembrance of her first pleasant memory with the chief. "I guess that means we're even."

Leia's bright blue eyes met with Lin's brilliant green ones.

"You did give my friends a good scare though," Leia added.

Lin smirked at that."I did, didn't I?"

Leia laughed and stepped sideways, letting Lin's hold on her shoulder fall, and positioning herself in such a way that she wasn't facing Lin head on. It made her feel strange having to look at the older woman for extended periods of time. Not necessarily uncomfortable, just a foreign sensation. It made her slightly nervous and she could hear her own pulse in her ears. It was not very pleasant but wasn't too unpleasant of a feeling either.

"You have very loyal friends," Lin remarked and Leia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Loyal? Pfft, there isn't anything money can't buy," Leia attempted to joke before ultimately failing to even make it through the end of her sentence, chuckling to herself and immediately losing her composure. Leia smiled fondly upon the thought of her friends. "Yeah, no, they're amazing. I love them to bits! I'm pretty sure I'd die for them as much as they would for me."

She then mentally took a step back to reanalyze her sentence, putting a finger on her chin out of habit. "No, wait," she said seriously, "I think I'd die for them even if they wouldn't do the same."

Leia hadn't noticed the sad look that once again settled itself on Lin's face.

"How about you, Lin? Any friends?"

Lin looked at the questioning eyes of the girl before looking away. She spoke through gritted teeth, "I did, once."

Leia's smile immediately fell once she noticed the tone the older woman spoke in. "We all grew up and apart." Then, unexpectedly, Leia saw the tears start to fall once more on Lin's cheeks. "Tenzin was one of them."

The moment Leia heard the name of the monk slip past Lin's lips, an unnamed spark of determination lit up behind her eyes. Alright, time to get to work.

She moved to grab onto the earthbender's hands and held them together. Leia then proceeded to get on her knees. She stared blankly at the cloth of Lin's robes dangling just in front of her. "Lin, you've gone through so much today," she said, kneeling and thinking of the words she was about to say and weighing down the possible implications it might on her current relationship with the woman. "So much hurt, betrayal, disappointment, confusion, and maybe everything in between."

What were they even? Were they friends? Acquaintances? Mutual friends? Well, not so mutual anymore given the current situation.  They weren't even properly acknowledging one another before until a few hours ago. "I know I'm hardly qualified to be asking this of you," she squeezed Lin's hands a bit in her own, palms starting to sweat in her nervous state. "But no one deserves to go through this type of pain alone."

"So please," Leia said as she looked up at the woman with pleading eyes before bowing. "Let me take care of you!"

Taken by surprise from the straightforward request of the girl before her, Lin grew silent, not knowing what to say.

Leia on the other hand was terrified. She was scared that what she had said was out of line and she crossed boundaries she wasn't supposed to. She inhaled and prepared to word vomit.

"I can treat you out on a girl's day or night out- " Crap, I have class tomorrow. Oh, well, I guess I could call in sick due to my blood loss incident two days ago. That should do it. "If you're not free tomorrow, I could start now! I could make you ice cream from scratch, get you some soup, hold your hand if you just wanna cry, or we could do none of those and do whatever you want instead. They were just suggestions anyway. You could also kick me out and ask me to never talk to you again, that's fi-"

Leia was abruptly cut off when Lin shoved her own hands out of the younger woman's grasp. The earthbender then grabbed onto both of Leia's wrists and pulled her upwards so the girl would stand up and be face to face with her.

As overused and unbearably cliché as it sounded for Leia, she could not help but describe that time seemed to dilate as she rose to meet the policewoman's gaze. Once more, green met with blue, and the unsettling feeling Leia had the moment she entered Lin's bedroom had become a burning sensation. It was no longer unpleasant and Leia could compare it to the burning feeling she felt when downing a shot of strong liquor. Along with that, her pulse started pounding in her ears almost uncontrollably.

The intensity of Lin's gaze made something Leia could only describe as sparks erupt everywhere. A tingling sensation emanated from her wrists which were held onto firmly by calloused hands.

The earthbender's face was unreadable, almost looking like she was in some sort of daze. Leia could almost feel Lin's breath due to their proximity. They were so close. Leia never imagined herself being so close to someone other than her family and close friends. Even then, it was rare that they would be right in front of her face like this.

Then, she was being pulled even further in. Lin's cheek brushed lightly against Leia's own and she could feel her face warming up. Lin's head had settled in the crook of Leia's neck and Leia had her own head settled on Lin's shoulder.

The arms of the older woman went above Leia's shoulder and met at her back. Leia only now recognized the gesture and proceeded to hug back, letting her own arms travel below Lin's and placing them on the woman's back.

Lin's body shook as she sobbed, holding onto the younger girl like her life depended on it. Leia proceeded to hug the woman tighter, as if somehow the added pressure would make Lin feel that she wasn't alone in this endeavor.

"Yes, please," Lin said and sniffed. Leia kept her hold on the woman. "I'd like that very much."

-

"Floral or citrus?" Leia muttered to herself questioningly as she tried to decide which essential oil she was about to put in the water of the bath she drew for the woman whose house she was currently in.

"Floral."

Leia turned to the sound of the voice which answered and saw the policewoman standing in the doorway, clad in a bath robe not too different from the one she had worn earlier. The waterbender had instructed Lin, in the most professional way she could without stuttering, to strip and put on a towel or robe while she drew her a bubble bath. Leia supposed that she ended up sounding like a doctor telling her patient to get ready for an examination.

Lin shrugged once they make eye contact. "It's easier on the nose."

Leia blushed slightly upon the realization that the woman before her was nearly naked. She was surprised Lin wasn't embarassed nor opposed to having the younger woman see her in such a state.

"Gotcha," she managed to respond and put in a fair amount of the corresponding fragrance into the water. Setting the bottle of oil down, she proceeded to give a few circular motions to mix in all the contents of the bath and ended up with a decent bubble bath that smelt of roses and slightly of lavender.

Standing up from her crouched position next to the tub, she turned to Lin and gestured to the bath, "It's all yours. I can't tell you what the exact temperature is but I can tell you that it's somewhere between lukewarm and hot."

"Thanks," Lin simply said. She walked towards Leia's side and started to undo the knot around her waist.

Leia's blush seemed to darken as thoughts of the woman before her in nothing but a robe that was soon to be discarded floated in her mind. Before anything else, she excused herself and proceeded to quickly walk outside the bathroom, closing the door behind her to give Lin some privacy. She could feel her heart's unmistakable pounding in her chest and put her slightly damp hands on her warm cheeks.

Was Lin about to strip in front of her? Why?

Then Leia thought again. Well, she was a woman, and so was Leia.

She remembered that back in the South when she refused to be in the bathroom the same time as her younger sister, her mother often said, "Tele, it's fine. Senna's your sister and you're both girls. Seeing one another naked and bathing together won't do you any harm." Leia smiled at the small memory. Senna and her mother always preferred called her 'Tele' even though she called her 'Leia' on occasion, which was a name her father and Katara preferred.

Returning to the point of the memory, she wondered if maybe that was what Lin thought. Since they're both female, she should have no problem seeing her naked, right?

So why was Leia making such a big deal about it?

Feeling the beginnings of a headache, Leia pushed those thoughts aside. That wasn't a very important topic to be thinking about now. All she was supposed to do was make sure Lin was comfortable and got through the aftermath of her breakup just fine and without a scratch.

Bubble bath, check!

Leia then went to the kitchen and proceeded to raid the woman's refridgerator politely. She bit her cheek as she rummaged through the contents of the appliance.

She needed two main ingredients: milk and cream. She also needed some flavoring, but she needed the first two ingredients more than anything.

Skimming through reading the labels of each product, her eyes brightened once she saw the milk.

"Bingo," she muttered to herself and proceeded to stretch her hand. She reached in to get the carton of milk and was happy to find out the cream was just behind it. "Bingo-bonggo!"

She found a pot large enough for her intended amount of ice cream simply by opening the first cabinet directly under the chief's sink. She set it on the island and stepped back to look at her setup if she had all she needed, thankful of the space she didn't usually get when she did this all on her own.

After worrying about the flavor for a good few minutes, Leia was pleased to know that Lin had a bottle of vanilla extract at the ready. She didn't know why the woman would have any particular reason but at this point she wouldn't even question anything anymore. This wasn't her house. She was simply a guest. But she really needed it for her ice cream and she was just satisfied with knowing she would be able to make at least vanilla ice cream. Maybe she adds it to the bath as well? Leia gave up trying to think of another reason after that.

Putting a pan she had taken out prior on the stove, she lit up the fire in the stove with a match she also found lying around in the kitchen and proceeded to pour in a decent amount of milk. She adjusted the heat and proceeded to add the other ingredients she already had set aside before she scoured the older woman's refrigerator. After butter and sugar were added, she mixed it with a wooden spoon instead of her bending due to another process later into the procedure she knew would need it more. She focused on mixing it, making sure no lumps of the butter were left unmelted and that all the sugar would dissolve into the mixture.

When the milk reached the thick consistency she desired, she turned the stove off and set the pan of now condensed milk aside. Leia poured out all of the cream from inside the container and into the pot she prepared, taking note that she'd have to replace all of these products in the future.

Leia faced the pot on the island and took a deep breath to hype herself up. You've still got some juice left in you. Better make it worth it.

Proceeding to take a stance Katara would be proud of, Leia put in all of her focus in feeling for the liquid that now rest in the pot, closing her eyes. The ingredient she currently had in the pot was quite viscous, meaning the concentration of water was lower than milk which was easier to bend. She had done this before, but the last time she had done it was at a smaller scale, simply trying it out for the first time.

This is still mostly water. Particles of fat are simply suspended in it. I just need to get that water under control.

She exhaled and opened her eyes, moving each of her arms above and around each other. Leia felt the movement of the liquid in the pot and internally smiled at herself. She then brought her hands together and pushed up, feeling the cream follow the motion.  She then proceeded to move her arms together in a circle, leading it downwards as its radius became smaller, reaching about the level of her hip before repeating the motion, as if she were forming a whirlpool. A vortex in the center of the pot had formed and Leia continued doing the same set of motions, also leading the vortex to different parts of the pot to ensure it was evenly mixed. With the motions she doing, she was introducing air into the cream in order for it to fluff up. She did this for about five minutes before her arms started to burn. She looked and saw that the volume of the cream had nearly doubled in the pot, telling her that she was close to her goal.

She continued for about two more minutes and saw that the cream was a little more than twice the original volume. Leia slowed her motions before coming to a full stop. Both of her upper extremeties ached and she shook them to get some feeling back. She panicked a bit when the bowl moved with the movement of her arms and she was quick to hold it still. La, you'd think after being a 'Master' waterbender for so long, I'd be able to control it perfectly. She sighed. I'm very rusty.

Knowing not to waste time, she then poured the condensed milk into the pot of now whipped cream and placed the empty pan in the sink. She got the small bottle of vanilla and dropped in a small amount, knowing a little goes a long way.

Taking a spatula from Lin's reservoir of utensils, she began to gently fold in the condensed milk into the cream, careful not to mix to hard as that would simply erase all her progress with the cream. Her arm still ached as she did so but she persevered, feeling a bit of sweat roll down the side of her head. She wiped it off by simply tilting her head and letting the cloth of her white shirt catch it. Bending it away by simply flicking her wrist was risky since it might've just whisked everywhere and maybe land in the cream-milk mixture. Leia thought that anyone wouldn't appreciate having someone else's sweat in their ice cream.

Once she was pleased with how the beta ice cream mix turned out, she took a peek in the chief's refrigerator to check how big the sectioned-off freezer part of the appliance was. Leia pouted when she saw that the pot was a little too big for it. She closed the refridgerator door and proceeded to scour the rest of Lin's kitchen cabinets and drawers. She eventually settled with a medium sized container that could house the soon-to-be ice cream mix with a bit of space to spare.

For good measure, she did her best to kickstart the curing process and coated the outside of the container with about an inch thick of water and froze it in place. Leia took another deep breath as she tried to visualize the particles of water now rearranged and frozen in the ice. They were still vibrating slightly, so with what little she had left of her willpower, she tried to take out the energy stored in the water particles. She could feel a significant amount of heat radiating off of the ice which was odd, given that it was ice, but she continued until the familiar tremble in her hands erupted. She took this chance to motion for it to get inside the refridgerator and let go of the breath she didn't know she still held.

Leia closed the door and stared at the appliance with victorious smile on her face.

Ice cream, check! Chilling, chilling.

The young scientist then decided she would wash all the materials she used before anything else so she did just that. What she didn't expect was for her to do it quickly and now she was blankly staring at the counter of the sink.

Out loud, she asked herself, "What now?"

Leia looked back at the fridge in thought. She scrunched up her forehead, as if increasing the number of wrinkles she could form would let her think better.

Her eyes then travelled to Lin's room.  In her mind, she decided that she would try to piece together where Lin was at in terms of her progress in her aftercare program. She enumerated all that she knew:

a. Lin had changed out of her armor.

Leia was glad she was out of something was probably uncomfortable to have to wear nearly the whole day.

b. Lin already had cried quite a bunch.

Leia knew she was going to be reluctant to cry. People like her thought it was weak to be vulnerable. This was no doubt not only due to the current event of being broken up with, but rather an opportunity to have the dam of pent up frustrations over a period of time break and have the waterworks flow. This leads to the next point.

e. Lin was surely under a lot of stress and

f. Lin was sad.

Crying is a physical response of the human body to the chemical imbalance in the brain. When a particular stressor triggers a stimulus to the brain, it produces the hormone cortisol. Too much of it can cause an imbalance in the normal order of your brain. It needs to be flushed out, hence, the tears. The same happens when one gets a stimulus from something that would make you sad. The hormone produced is serotonin, and needs to be flushed out if it gets too much.

g. She was currently steeping in a warm bubble bath

Warm water helps relax the muscles and relieves tension. Being a cop is not easy, especially when you're the one expected to look out for a whole city. By now, Leia thinks that she has said this several times already. Her main point behind this is that Lin needs to wind down and relax.

Thinking back to much earlier, Leia concluded that from Jessi's statement at the diner, coming in 'looking like hell',  she must have already unleashed hell to Air Temple Island. She lashed out and she was tired. She also remembered Lin not being able to even touch her food.

Leia's eyes widened upon this realization.

h. Lin had not yet eaten dinner.

The Chief Of Police was getting a bubble bath and ice cream, but was not given food that would properly sustain her? What type of maniac would let that happen?

Leia groaned. She didn't know how to cook decent food for herself and heavily relied on instant noodles most of the time and the occasional benefits that came with working at a diner. You can make ice cream but not cook food? She simply didn't know how to make anything other than sweet stuff. She looked towards the direction of the living room where the door going to the outside world. It was still pouring.

The diner was open for 24 hours. There would be no trouble for her on that part. Lin was currently still in the bathroom but Leia doesn't know how long she would actually stay there.

Leia kept thinking until she wasn't. She went into the living room to fetch a couple of yuans she knew would suffice in her endeavor. She ran to the door leading to the outside, unlocked it, closed it, contemplated for a while, froze it to its frame, and ran to the diner.

-

The moment Leia arrived and unfroze the door, she was met by Lin who had her hands on her hips, now clad in sleepwear. The green-eyed woman had her eyes narrowed at the drenched waterbender, a brow raised in question.

Leia bit the inside of her cheek. Guess she's done with her bath.

"You froze my door to the doorway."

The way Lin said those words sounded so much like a mother who caught one of her children sneaking out. Despite being out of breath due to running to and back from the diner in the pouring rain, Leia felt small under the older woman's gaze.

Yikes, the bath was supposed to calm her. Now she was stressed all over again. What a joke.

"Yes, I did?" Leia answered questioningly. She didn't know what she was supposed to say. She had to make sure no one could break in through the door without locking herself out. She thought about just letting herself get locked out and wait for Lin to get the door, but she also considered that Lin might still be in the bath by the time she arrived.

"You could've asked me for the keys," Lin stated flatly, still scowling at the younger woman.

"And disturb you while you were at the bath?" Leia answered with a chuckle, disbelief that Lin was really asking her that. "No thanks. I've inconvenienced you too much and the bath was only a small portion of me trying to make up for it."

Lin's face became one of surprise and annoyance, her eyes wide and face scrunched up in a way that was enough to give Leia the urge to laugh. "There's more?"

Leia let herself laugh and she shook her head. "Lin, I told you I'd take care of you." Leia felt herself blush upon saying that. She really didn't know why she suddenly so flustered about this when she was the one who insisted on it. "This is a whole package. Unfortunately, I don't really have a program I could give you if you want an outline of tasks." Finished with her explanation, she then asked Lin with a sheepish grin, "So, may come in?"

Lin looked like she was about to burst in annoyance. So much for not wanting to inconvenience me. She gave the younger woman a dismissive wave, starting to back away from the door. "Dry yourself first. Maybe then I can start considering to let you back in."

Leia knew there was something else underneath the obvious jest, but let herself grin. She then remembered the food she had brought with her. "Oh! Hold up, could you please bring these in while I do?"

Leia then presented the bags she held with both her hands. Lin looked confused.

"What's this?" she asked, still slightly annoyed.

"Your dinner, ma'am," the younger girl answered promptly. "You didn't eat a thing the whole time I saw you at the diner." She pushed the bags closer to the face of the older woman, willing her to get a whiff of the soup she had ordered along with the meal Leia knew from her former co-worker was the one Lin was eating back then. "I mean there was the alcohol, but that was a drink. And bad things happen to people who drink alcohol on an empty stomach." Leia then huffed, feeling slightly guilty at her actions. "It was my mistake to even give you an alcoholic beverage without considering that. Slipped my mind."

Lin's expression seemed to soften at the girl's explanation and simply sighed. "You didn't have to-"

Leia shushed the woman. "Nope! None of that." She pushed the bags to Lin's chest, forcing the older woman to grab ahold of them so they didn't fall. "Now go and bring this in unless you want a wet mess of a woman in your house. Please and thank you."

Lin rolled her eyes at the younger woman but complied with her request. "Just make it fast. The cold's rushing in."

"Actually, it's the heat that rushes out." Leia was already bending the water out of her clothes when she spoke, struggling slightly. "You see, the way heat transfer works, it's always from hot to-"

"Just shut up and hurry up, please."

Soup, check!