Summary: Because she is Lin Bei Fong. She is strong. She is steady. She is unwavering.
Characters/Pairings: Lin, Tenzin, some Aang and Toph, mentions of others; Tenzlin/Linzin, implied Pemzin
Timeline/Spoilers: pre-series; up to episode 6
Note: The wavering between tenses towards the end is intentional. It represents the shift back to the present. Other grammatical liberties have been taken throughout. It's quite possible that this will all be deemed AU by upcoming episodes.
Tenzin scans the room to take a gander at the guests and bites back a sigh. He doesn't catch sight of her.
No, of course not.
He's not quite sure why he expected (hoped for) any different.
. x .
She is the Earth.
Strong.
Steady.
Unwavering.
She was an earthbending prodigy. Truly her mother's daughter.
So, she really should have known better. But people tend not to concern themselves with other matters when they are young and in love.
Air is her opposite.
Free.
Flowing.
Serene.
Who would have thought that the wind would be the one to seep through her cracks and shatter her from inside?
She certainly didn't.
. x .
"Oof!"
"You still fight like a girl."
He grunts. "Again."
She merely smirks and complies.
. x .
"Lin!"
"Uncle Aang!"
She charged at the tall man at breakneck speed, leaping as he swooped her up into a loving embrace.
He set her down gently. "It's good to see you. I hear you've been sparring with my son."
She abruptly looked down, a sudden rush of guilt swarming her insides.
The Avatar laughed uproariously. "Come now, don't look so worried. I didn't mean anything bad about it. I'm glad you two are getting along."
"'Getting along' isn't exactly the phrase I would use."
"Mom!"
"Ah, Toph! Good to see you as well!" She indulged him for a few seconds, allowing him to give her a bonecrushing hug before she bent the earth beneath his feet.
Once more, he merely chuckled, floating back down to the ground effortlessly.
Toph smiled softly at her daughter, who grabbed her hand in response.
"That reminds me. Lin, would you go fetch Tenzin? He's in the stables with Appa."
The young girl nodded and scampered off.
"She's really something, isn't she?"
"Of course! You wouldn't expect any less from the World's Greatest Earthbender, now would you?" Said World's Greatest Earthbender elbowed him rather roughly and gave a cheeky grin.
"She's certainly got your spirit," he agreed.
"But Tenzin, on the other hand - how'd you and Sweetness manage to pop out such a serious kid, Twinkletoes?"
Aang merely scratched the back of his bare head sheepishly. "I'm just relieved he's found a playmate in Lin."
"Yea, she really loves to rile him up. And their bending shows improvement from their little matches."
"Daddy, you're here!" a high-pitched voice interjected.
"I've missed you, my son!" Aang cried, giving the young boy the same treatment Lin had received mere moments ago.
"Daddy?" a voiced snickered sinisterly.
"Sh-shut up, Lin!"
The girl cackled, quite remniscient of another young earthbender (who had been posing as the 'Melon Lord,' or something along those lines). "Oh, just wait until Lu Ten gets a load of this!"
Tenzin made to charge at her, but the elder airbender, ever the pacifist, intervened. "Now, now, kids. Settle down."
They continued making raspberries at each other from behind their respective parents' legs.
"Actually, why don't you guys show Aang some of the moves you've been practiing?" suggested the Blind Bandit.
Both children beamed, excited at the prospect. Aang, sighed playfully, knowing he couldn't stop them now. "Alright, show me what you've got," he prompted.
The Bei Fong daughter wasted no time jumping into the proper stance. Tenzin looked on, determination clear on his face. But when Lin attacked him head on with a boulder twice her size, he couldn't hide the amazement and admiration that showed through, if only for a few ticks of the clock. Just barely twirling out of the way in time, he quickly reverted back to severe concentration.
But not quick enough. Aang couldn't help but smile fondly. He knew that look. And though they were young yet, he sensed an undeniable spark. And, from the pleased look on his longtime friend's face, he gathered that she had felt it too.
As happy as the prospect made him, he couldn't ignore the underlying notion of gloom also present. The experienced airbender pushed the thought aside, however, in favour of relishing in the moment.
. x .
Mentally preparing himself, he muttered the mantra over and over again. Today's the day. You're ready. You can do it. Today's the day.
As a newly recognized airbending master (the ceremony had been just a few months ago, in fact), there was much he'd accomplished during his young life. But, he was pushing seventeen and still hadn't hit the most important milestone yet: asking out the girl he liked.
Contrary to popular belief, the delay in doing such was not because he was far too focused on airbending to concern himself with girls, nor was it due to any lack of female attention. Far from it, actually.
Now, Tenzin was an intelligent young man who prided himself in his mature demeanor. He was often praised for it, in fact. (Though his clown of an uncle did constantly barrage him with attempts to have him 'loosen up'.) So, it was with with this older-than-his-years wisdom that he was able to conclude the following: Wooing a woman like Lin Bei Fong would prove to be rather...challenging.
She was not your average girl, after all. The earthbending master had been handing him his ass in play and fight since before he could remember. And he had been harbouring a hidden affection towards her for just as long.
And now that he was a fully realized airbender (tattoos and all), he was confident that he could finally impress his dear friend and maybe, just maybe, procure a date from her.
But for all his knowledge in worldly affairs, the boy really was still sixteen and, therefore, naive to the ways of women.
. . .
Two destroyed airbending relics, a traumatized and near bald Oogie, and one woman in labour later, Tenzin plopped down in a chair outside the birthing room, head in his hands and utterly humiliated.
The day had not turned out one bit like he had meticulously planned. It had been nothing short of a disaster. And worse! He'd made a fool of himself in front of Lin.
Well, moreso than usual.
The sound of footsteps brought him back from his state of intense brooding. When he caught sight of who it was, he felt his shame swell to twice as large. Sinking deeper into his seat, he silently willed her to go away.
But Lin always was one to do just as she pleased.
"Tenzin." She sat down next to him, an oddly cheerful lilt present in her usually passive tone.
He didn't dare look up.
"There's no use trying to run from your problems, so you may as well face them head on."
He sighed heavily. "What is it, Lin?" he spoke tentatively.
She was quiet for so long that he finally forced himself to look up and ask what was the matter, only to find that his heart had leapt up into his throat.
There sat the tough as nails, no-nonsense Lin Bei Fong with rose petals blooming wildly on her cheeks. She cleared her thoat, nervously (if Lin Bei Fing could ever be described as being nervous).
Hesitantly (she certainly was full of surprises today), she coaxed out her words. "Was that all for me?"
Still dumbstruck by her complete change in demeanor, Tenzin didn't know what else to do save for nodding vehemently, feeling a small warmth stain his own cheeks.
"You know...all you had to do was ask."
His eyebrows shot up, his jaw stubbed his toes, and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Had he heard right? Could it be? Was she suggesting that..?
The swarming bees' nest of questions immediately subsided when he felt a pair of lips upon his own. Noticing her attempt to pull back quickly, he stopped her in her tracks, wrapping his arms around her lithe waste and pulling her close.
The tender moment was ruined by the sound of his mother's voice.
"Tenzin! Come meet the new baby!"
"Coming, mother!" Katara's son looked down at the woman in his arms, letting the corners of his lips tilt upward in bliss. The look on his face mirrored her own. Gently placing a hand around one of hers, they headed into the adjacent room.
A tired, young mother smiled at the two figures in her doorway.
"Say hello to Tenzin and Lin, my little Pema."
. x .
She had walked off, head held high, trying to retain the sense of grace and dignity as best as she could.
She does not cry herself to sleep that night. She does not show remorse. She does not ever look back.
Because she is Lin Bei Fong. She is strong. She is steady. She is unwavering.
She is better than this.
She did not beg. She did not ask why. She did not even utter a final goodbye.
This was her fault to begin with. She should have known better than to let her stone walls come crumbling down all because of a few breaths of warm air.
So she walked off like it was nothing. Because that's what this was. Nothing at all.
. x .
She knows what this is. Without even having to open, she knows. How can she not? Inside, she will doubtless find, intricately scrawled in his precise and flowing handwriting (he always did have a knack for calligraphy), the words: You are cordially invited to join in witnessing the union of Tenzin and Pema...
The rest doesn't even matter.
The unopened envelope finds itself thrown uncerimoniously into the nearest wastebasket. It isn't even worth the effort to toss it into the fire pit. She is well aware that she would feel no satisfaction in seeing it burn.
The words she knows to be embedded into that parchment by a few venemous drops of ink will forever remain unread, though they shall always haunt her. Those few, swift strokes of his pen leave deep, jagged wounds on her heart just as visible as the ones on her face.
.
.
.
.
.
owaranai
Note: Did you guys catch all the little Easter eggs about episode 6? :)
Anyway, I'd been meaning to write several Korra fics as soon as the series came out. I just didn't think my first foray would be a Tenzlin fic, but, from the moment Pema mentioned Tenzin loving another woman, my mind started working furiously, developing headcanon for these two. When my speculations were confirmed, you don't know how excited I was. xD (I CALLED IT KJDALF;KJADSL;FKJDAS.) I'd been itching to put this together ever since. Bryke really does leave no ship untouched. Though I love me some Pemzin, I find Tenzlin a bit more enticing. I tend to torture myself with angsty ships. I'm eternally cursed to fall for them, it seems. ;-;
Oh, and just to clear things up. If you were confused, the first section is Tenzin at his wedding, hoping Lin will show. The majority of what's left is told in flashback sequences. The parts where they're sparring take place when they're both quite young, probably around 5-7 years of age. The Gaang lives in Republic City (except for Sokka and Suki in the Southern Water Tribe and Zuko and Mai in the Fire Nation). Aang had just gotten back from a trip having to do with his Avatar duties or something or another. The portion after that is obviously when Tenzin is sixteen and Lin is fifteen. (Pema is sixteen years younger than her husband.) The next is the aftermath of their breakup. And, the final passage is when Lin receives an invitation to the wedding.
Along with all this, Lu Ten is Zuko's youngest son and their other best friend (in my headcanon). And, both kids very much idolize their parents. Personally, I like to imagine that Lin's father is the Duke, seeing as he and Toph got along rather well towards the end of the series. You'll also find a fleeting snippet of Tokka mentioned in here if you squint hard enough.
Well, thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed and that you'll take the time to leave a review! Seriously, any little smackerel of input or criticism you can muster means the world to me. I'd really appreciate it.
always,
sora