Right now, Tenzin and Pema have been happily married for 13 years, but how did all this happen? Let's travel 30 years in the past when Pema was a 6 year-old Air Acolyte...
"Look, sifu Tenzin, I'm an airbender!" a six year-old little girl with glimmering green eyes and brown hair pulled back into two little buns said with enthusiasm. The young airbending master couldn't help but to grin at her.
"Look, sifu Tenzin, I can flyeeeee!" she said and jumed of the boulder she was balancing on. Unfortunately, she was higher than she thought and the ground was coming closer. Fortunately, Tenzin saw what was going on and managed to bend an airchusion for her to land. Tenzin lifted her chin to see if she was hurt, but Pema was smiling broadly.
"Again, please do it again!" she pleaded.
"Ooh no!" Tenzin said, a smile prickling at the corners of his mouth. "But I can show you something far more interesting... want to come with me, kid?"
Pema looked up at him and brightened up. She jumped up and took Tenzin's outstretched hand.
"Okay, climb my back. And hold on to my shawl." Tenzin said and took his staff. Pema did as he had told her.
"You holding tight?"
"Yes I am, sifu Tenzin!" Pema said with excitement glowing through her words. Tenzin opened the wings of his staff, picked up the space and jumped. Tenzin had never seen Pema so excited. She was looking up and down and left and right and pointing out things that happened down.
"Tenzin, there's a boat with people in it! Tenzin, there's someone selling cabbages! Tenzin, the statue of Aang is really, like really really big! I didn't know it was this big! Who built it? How long it took building it? Did miss Lin help?"
Tenzin couldn't possibly answer all the questions all at once, so he flew closer to the statue.
"Ooh, can I touch it, can I touch it?!" Pema asked.
"If you are very, very careful." Tenzin said and flew slowly right next to the statue. Pema reached out her hand.
"Careful, I don't want to explain this to your mom." Tenzin warned and loosed the grip of his left hand, ready to catch the young Air Acolyte if necessary. Pema's fingertips met the smooth surface of the Aang-statue and as Tenzin flew ahead, her fingers left distinguishable markings on the head of the statue. These marks would be later wiped away with the process of putting Amon's mask on it. Tenzin flew a bit lower to check the clock and gasped while doing so.
"We really have to be heading back."
"Aww, I had to much fun!"
Back at the temple Tenzin made the landing as smooth as he could. Then he lowered on his knees to make it easier for Pema to jump off.
"Thanks, sifu Tenzin!" Pema said and bowed. "You know, someday I'll marry you!"
"Oh, I think you will, kid!" Tenzin laughed at Pema and ruffled her hair. Their timing was perfect, because just then Pema's mother came.
"Where on earth have you been, child?" she said with a worrying look in her eyes.
"Don't worry, ma'am, she's been with me." Tenzin told her, giving Pema the slightest push in the back.
"Oh thank goodness. Thank you for looking after her, sifu Tenzin."
"Bye bye, future husband!" Pema said and waved. Tenzin waved back.
"Looks like you have an admirer." said a certain someone behind Tenzin's back.
"Lin! I didn't hear you!" Tenzin bursted out and hugged her.
"I have a feeling I'm lucky she's so young." Lin teased her boyfriend. Tenzin laughed and took her hand.
"Come on, she's just a little girl." Tenzin said and the two of them made their way to eat dinner.
'Just a little girl'? Oh, I'll show you... okay, I'm calming down. And no, we're not going that much ahead. We're going only five years ahead. This time you meet the 11-year old Pema...
As Pema grew older, both her mother and people in charge in the Air Temple Island gave her more freedom, and at the age of 10 she was allowed travel in a certain area of Republic City alone. Quite often Pema used this freedom, and used weekly allowance on little objects and exotic food around the world. Back then, Republic City was in great form and non-benders were respected, so people usually let a 11 year-old non-bender pass by.
One regular morning, Pema was bored of the Temple, so she took her money purse and went ashore on the next ferry. She passed by a group of metalbending police, and nodded at Lin, who nodded back. After a small walk, Pema was happy to see her favorite shop was already open, so she stepped in. The shop was located quite near the dock in a side alley and was full of books. Some books were big with small letters, some could fit into Pema's palm.
"Morning, Acolyte!" the shopkeeper said cheerfully as Pema stepped in.
"Good morning!" Pema said, smiling.
"I see you have already read the book I gave you." the shopkeeper said. "I have another suggestion for you. Follow me."
Pema followed the old man behind the biggest shelf.
"I bet you like history. So, here's an exclusive copy of Hundred years of war: endings and beginnings and it costs only ten yuan!" he told. Pema pondered for a moment and then pulled a ten yuan bill out of her pocket.
"Here you go, sir!" Pema said as the shopkeeper took the bill and gave her the book. "I will come back when I need another book."
"I know you will." he said with a twinkle in his eye. "Have happy times reading that!"
"I will, thanks! Bye, see you!" Pema said and waved at the shopkeeper, who waved back at his youngest customer.
Pema glanced up at the clock at Aang-statue and decided she still had time for a little stroll. Not for long, and she was completely lost in her thoughts when she noticed she was out of the area she was allowed to go.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." she whispered out loud. Okay, the only thing I need to do is find a sign that says 'to the dock'… But the more she looked for it, the more she got lost. Eventually, she decided to sit down on a bench next to an antique playground, because the playground reminded her of the antique airbending thin she had seen Tenzin practice with sifu Aang. And anything that reminded her of airbending reminded her of home.
"Sifu Tenzin, have you seen Pema?" Pema's mother asked the airbender.
"I saw her leaving this morning to the City... is she still there?!" Tenzin said his eyes wide, because after the curfew time for the kids there were all sort of things in the City. "I'm going there, please inform my father about that."
And with that, Tenzin flew off. Pema's mother ran outside to find Aang.
Hours passed, and Pema knew she was way past her curfew. She was getting cold and it looked like it was going to rain.
"Bummer!" she said as the first raindrops began to fell. Soon after that, she saw a mysterious teenage gang edge closer.
"What do you have in there, Acolyte?" one of them said like it was an insult.
"Please go away." Pema said, her voice trickling with panic.
"What kind of a book is this?" another boy said and took the book.
"It's mine. Look, I really need to go, so if you just gave me my book back, I..."
"Huh! Not a chance." a third boy grinned and took her by the wrist.
"No, let go!" Pema said, now shouting. It was followed by a short fight over Pema's hand's ownership, and a sudden shout somewhere between the houses.
"Alright, what's happening?" Tenzin said. Pema had never been as happy to see him. She jerked her hand free and ran to his side and grasped his robes. Tenzin placed his hand protectively over her shoulder.
"You stay away from my students." he said with a slightly angry face. The teenagers looked at him slightly scared.
"And give me the book." Tenzin said and stretched out his hand. As one of the boys came closer, his grip around Pema's shoulder tightened. He took the book and the kids ran away. Pema began sobbing in Tenzin's clothes. Tenzin kneeled at her level and picked her up. They met Lin on the way to the dock.
"Oh good, you found her. Is she okay?" asked Lin.
"Physically, yes. I need to take the kid to her to her mother. Thanks for helping me to find her."
"No problem, that's what friends are for." Lin said and winked ever so slightly at him. The guy who ran the ferry noticed Tenzin coming and waited for them.
"And she's back! I started to get worried when she didn't return on time." he said.
"We were all worried." Tenzin said. By the time they reached the Temple, Pema had stopped crying. Tenzin walked through the Temple with light steps to find Pema's room without waking anyone up. He knocked lightly on the door and Pema's mother opened the door immediately. Tenzin put Pema down, who looked back at him.
"Glad you're okay, buddy." Tenzin said and smiled, even though he had worry in his eyes. He ruffled her hair and bowed to Pema's mother, who bowed back and suddenly hugged him.
"Thank you! Thank you for saving my daughter!"
"Well, as the son of Avatar, the saving comes naturally." Tenzin tried to joke, but failed. He hugged Pema's mother and then headed back to his room.
We are getting closer to the end... This is where you'll find your answers. We are moving ten years into the future. You will find about the personal troubles of Tenzin, and the certain someone...
Pema had just moved back into the Air Temple one month after spending seven years with her reunited parents. It was hard to get used to life in the Temple and she missed her parents. She had finally become as a 'real' Air Acolyte, as she had wanted ever since she could remember. Reuniting with Tenzin was probably the best thing about returning. He hadn't almost recognized her, but after Pema told that she was the over-enthusiastic kid, Tenzin jumped a meter in the air and just went on how much she had grown and how pretty she had become. And all that time, Pema did her best not to blush, because as she had grown, she had suddenly noticed something she hadn't seen since she was six. Best moment about seeing him again, was just after Tenzin had noticed Lin, he had hugged Pema and then ruffled her hair, like he always did when she was a kid. Pema spent many nights sleepless, thinking about how unhappy Tenzin sometimes looked with Lin, and thinking how he must feel quite pressured because of his father's death and the fact that he is now the last airbender. Pema had also heard rumors of the baby Avatar being attacked. Not the easiest phase of his life.
One gray morning, Pema had had difficulties waking up. She dragged herself to the dining hall half asleep and managed to bump into Tenzin on the way. For a brief moment, all she could see was the yellow of his robes, until she realized to step back.
"Oh, sorry Tenzin!" she said and blushed.
"It's nothing, good morning to you too. You still seem asleep." Tenzin said, his grin looking a bit tired.
"I am still asleep." Pema smiled and rubbed her eye. "Gotta eat something."
"Well, I'm not going to stop you." Tenzin said and stepped aside. Pema smiled and took her breakfast plate.
A month later Pema was sitting in the lounge reading her Hundred years of war: beginnings and endings that she had left at the Temple. The book was in an excellent condition, Tenzin must've taken care of it. She had been reading for a while, until she heard the voices of a fighting couple, who was coming her way. She looked around her, finding a place to hide because she didn't want them to notice her. Suddenly she saw the place to hide. It was behind a bookshelf where she had hidden before, when she had been playing hide-and-seek with the other kids and Tenzin and occasionally with Tenzin's siblings. Especially his brother had loved playing with the kids. Pema could hear the footsteps and voices come closer. Alas, they stopped right next to the bookshelf.
"I know you need to rebuild the nation, all right! But the way you want to do it... I'm not sure if I am willing to do it." Lin said. Pema almost gasped out loud. Uh'oh. Trouble in paradise.
"Wait... what? Do you have any better ideas for new airbending babies? I can't babybend out of nothing and you know that! Or are you waiting for a miracle to pop out, like new airbenders coming out of nothing? I don't know if you listened at school during health education, but with this kind of... babybending, I will need a female here too!" Tenzin said. He sounded tired and frustrated.
"Babybending? Babybending! You were supposed to see me as an individual, not as a babybender."
"I didn't mean it like that and you know that. You know what, if you don't want to waste your time on - I dunno - helping to rebuild a nation, because sure, you must have something of so much more importance!" Tenzin said. Pema had seen Tenzin angry before, whether it was his siblings, or a mean teenage gang, and she could almost hear his challenging look his sister said he had inherited from their mother.
"Obviously keeping this city safe isn't important for you. Remember what happened to that Acolyte kid of yours a few years back? Now that is my job!" Lin said between her teeth.
"There are others to take care of the city. Don't be to focused on your career, don't be your mother!" After Tenzin's burst there was a moment of silence.
"Too far, airbender." Lin said quietly. "Too far." And Lin stormed away. Pema heard the sound that usually follows the act of someone hitting their head on a concrete wall. Tenzin then sighed and walked away. Pema returned on her place quietly and tried to continue reading, but couldn't, because her mind was wandering on the conversation she had just overheard. Lin didn't want to start a family with Tenzin... Pema felt as though this was wrong, Tenzin should find someone to found a family with, someone more like... Pema. She quickly shook her head. Tenzin was so much older than her plus he had been dating Lin forever! A memory rose to her mind, the one in which she promised to marry the airbender. And he had said yes. Probably to please the six-year old kid who adored him with all her might. Pema laughed inside her head to the thought of being engaged to him. The more she thought about it, the more she liked it. Eventually she stopped dreaming about her and Tenzin and continued reading her book.
Months passed, and Tenzin seemed to tense up more and more every day. Pema overheard the 'happy' couple fighting many times, and she didn't even have to hide. Every day she felt more compassion towards Tenzin, who only wanted to found a family and continue the traditions. Until one day, three months after she had moved back into the Temple, Pema couldn't take it anymore. She gathered her courage and prepared a speech to give to Tenzin. She knocked on the door of his study.
"Do come in." Tenzin said with a steady voice. "Oh hello Pema. What brings you here?"
Pema looked him in the eye, blushed and forgot all she had planned to stay. She stared blankly ahead, and Tenzin stood up and came round the table.
"Are you okay, kid?" Tenzin asked.
"I am in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." she said and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, can I start over?"
Pema was already facing the door, when she heard a sigh.
"Oh, Pema. Oh, my sweet Pema." She turned around and saw Tenzin holding his face in his hands. "I hoped this day would never come."
"Umm... what is happening? I am confused, embarrassed and a bit offended." Pema said.
"Oh no, don't take it personally, I've had... problems with Lin, I don't know if you have noticed..."
"Who hasn't?"
"Thanks. And I knew the day would come we will have to go on different paths. I just... never thought it would be you. Not that you're not great, it's just that..." Tenzin groaned. "What am I trying to tell you? I was so glad to see you again, you just walked up here like an adult all pretty and with your hair like that and you smiled at me and you were so happy to be here again... And now it's been a year and you've fallen for me."
"It was quite hard to adjust living in here again. But I am happy to be here. And don't tell me you haven't been looking at me like that." Pema said edging a bit closer to Tenzin with a smirk on her face. Tenzin smiled at her with his sad face and hugged her. Pema squeezed him hard, like she had squeezed him as a kid.
"You've gone stronger." Tenzin said when they separated themselves.
"Thanks." Pema smiled at him.
"I have to talk to Lin, she must be somewhere here, we agreed upon a meeting today. I think it's for the best that you stay out of sight, Angi knows what she will do." Tenzin warned her. Pema nodded and informed that she will go to her room. Right before she left, she got up on her toes and pecked Tenzin on the cheek, something she hadn't done in 15 years. She left, and this time it was Tenzin's turn to blush.
Everything seemed to work okay with Tenzin and Lin. Until the next morning when Pema looked out of the window. She ran out on the yard with other Air Acolytes to check the damage. The Temple was injured, and the yard looked like it had been run over by an angry tornado - or an angry Beifong. Tenzin came to the Acolytes and told them not to worry.
"Why do I have a feeling I'm responsible for this?" Pema demanded from Tenzin.
"No, not you. It's me. Me and Lin. Like I said, we have way too different goals in life." Tenzin said and placed his hand over Pema's shoulder. Pema leaned onto his shoulder and they walked away.
"Thanks for getting me out." Pema said to Tenzin, who glared at Lin with a pout.
"You did nothing wrong." he said, eyes still on Lin. "Go wait outside with Oogi, I'll be right there."
Pema smiled and went out. Tenzin crossed his arms and looked at Lin with a reproaching face.
"Pema? To jail? Are you being serious, Lin?" Tenzin said. "She did nothing wrong!"
"Don't you 'Lin' me! We had been dating for nearly 15 years when you broke up with me to be with a 16 years younger girl!" Lin shouted, pain visible under her thick cover. "We were in love."
"And that was all it was. We didn't have a future together. Pema is ready to spend her entire life with me."
"She just met you!" Lin said looking frustrated.
"She is the girl who was in love with me about 16 years ago and promised to marry me."
"She's that kid? Damn, she was adorabl... and that is not the point!"
"And she moved back in the Temple a year ago. She had all that time to develop a huge crush on me. And the other way around."
"Et tu, Tenzin?! I was in love with you!" Lin shouted.
"Maybe my survival instincts turned on. She is ready to start a family with me." Tenzin said. Lin almost had smoke coming out of her ears.
"Listen to me airbender..."
"No. Be glad you're still dear to me, Beifong. I'm going to let you out of this this time. Goodbye." Tenzin hit her table with his palm with the last word and left Lin in the office her mouth wide open. She shut her mouth followed by the sound of her teeth hitting together. Lin glanced the door with a pout and collapsed on her chair. She breathed in and then sighed and let her face fall on her palms.
"Did you hear us?" Tenzin asked Pema once they were up in the air on Oogi's back.
"Umm..." Pema actually considered lying to the airbender, but changed her mind. "Yes, I did. Lin did put up a fight, didn't she?"
"Yes, she did." Tenzin snorted. "But don't worry. It's all right."
He looked at Pema and smiled slightly. Pema curled as close to him as she dared. The tension between them was breathtaking, until Tenzin broke it by linking his arm with Pema's. She strategically looked away, so Tenzin couldn't see her blush.
Four months later Tenzin's mother payed a visit. She was very happy to see that Tenzin was finally with someone who was ready commit to him, and that Tenzin was happy. She also told them about the new Avatar, Korra, who was already bending every element, but air.
"You might have to teach it to her." Katara said cheerfully.
Two years later it was the time for a wedding. It was to be the second traditional airnomad wedding after the genocide. Even though everyone was nervous, everything went great. Lin was invited, but she managed to at least look happy for them. Bumi didn't make a scene of him shoving a whole egg custard tart in his mouth, even though he did have a contest with his uncle of who could eat one the quickest. Kya befriended Pema's parents, and Pema's mother was happy to know her daughter was in safe hands with Tenzin. She was a bit terrified of their age gap, but eventually admitted that Pema could have not found a better man, which left Tenzin quite speechless and a bit embarrassed, but he managed to laugh it out and run away. In general, everybody had a nice day.
That evening Pema and Tenzin were exhausted. They spent the entire evening opening gifts and sharing thoughts about the day.
"Oh, look, we got a... penguin skin... how nice." Tenzin said, surprised.
"And a boomerang. Must be from your uncle!" Pema laughed. Tenzin leaned onto a wall with a sigh, grabbed Pema with him and embraced her while doing so.
"So, it looks like you kept your promise after all." Tenzin said and looked at her with affection.
"What promise?" Pema asked half-asleep. Nothing made a better pillow than Tenzin's chest.
"When you were six, you said that someday you'll marry me. And I said yes, you will." Tenzin grinned.
"Oh, that promise." Pema looked up at him. "Didn't you know, I always keep my promises!"
Tenzin laughed and pressed his other cheek onto her hair. Not long, before she was fast asleep. Tenzin held her for a moment, then carried her into their bed, swiping aside gift wrappers, decoration bows and a toy lemur. He stood by the window thinking about his life and that the future of the airbenders rests above their shoulders. When Tenzin finally crawled into bed he thought, that if he was going to repopulate the air nation, there is no one he would rather do it with.