"This could be a lot worse, you know?"
"Shut up, Tenzin"
"I'm just saying, logistically speaking, we could have died-"
"Shut up, Tenzin."
They are sitting in the police station's interrogation room. It is 3 o'clock in the morning, they are wet, and it is entirely Tenzin's fault.
'Why did I listen to him?' Lin thought, leaning back into her chair, eyes closing. '10 minutes, he said. It will only take 10 minutes. No one will even notice that the car is missing—'
"I'm just saying" Tenzin says again, breaking Lin out of her train of thought, "Realistically, with all the things that could have gone wrong, this actually is the least of what could hav—"
"Tenzin!"
They had sunk out of their homes that evening and met up downtown for a little sight seeing. Tenzin had heard about a place on top of one of the hillsides just outside of the city. It held spectacular views of the sky, a sight that just couldn't be seen from their homes. "It's a once in blue moon opportunity, Lin" Tenzin had said earlier that week, "We'll never get to see the sky like this, at least not anytime soon." So Lin, grudgingly, agreed to accompany him, because she couldn't have someone as finicky as Tenzin wondering around the outskirts of Republic City alone (because, honestly, people died out there)
So Tenzin, being Tenzin, planned it out to the tee. They would sneak out that night, meet downtown and make their way towards the border of the city. If they kept up their pace, they should have made it towards the hillside just around 2, giving them enough time to look around, take in the view, before making their way back to their homes. Everything was going exactly as they planned: precisely devised, extremely well executed.
Everything was happening exactly as planned until Tenzin decided to alter the plan in the form of his mother's car.
"It will only take 10 minutes this way," he said to her gaping face as he pulled up beside her in his mother's satomobile, "that way, we can get back home quicker, maybe even grab some food on the way back? Mother barely even uses this thing, no ones even going to notice that it's missing."
She didn't know how he got the car off the island without anyone seeing; frankly, she didn't care. All Lin knew was that there was no way that she was going to get into that car with him.
So it was quite a surprise to her when, not even 10 minutes later, she found herself strapping in next to Tenzin in the passengers seat.
They made it a total of 8 minutes. 4 minutes in, Tenzin took a wrong turn. 6 minutes in, a crowlizard flew in front of the car, causing Tenzin to serve out of the way, trying to avoid hitting it. 7 minutes in, they collided with a water hydrant, causing massive amounts of water to shoot up into the air, soaking not only their car, but also themselves. And now, 35 minutes in, they were sitting at the police station.
'Just breathe Lin', Lin thought, closing her eyes, head leaning back against the chair once again. 'Breathe. Do those counting exercises Aang taught you….1….2…3…4—"
"It could have been so much worse, Lin" Tenzin says again, breaking Lin out of her pace. Her eyes opened and she breathed out, her arm coming to drape over her eyes. The glare from the hanging lamp was starting to annoy her.
"It would have been a lot better," Lin says, leaning back further into her chair, "if we did exactly what we planned on doing…"
"It was going to be faster!" Tenzin exclaims quickly, turning in her direction, "I…I don't know what happened! It… I had complete control of the situation, I just got a little overwhelmed-"
"You wouldn't have been overwhelmed" Lin interrupts, draping her other arm over her face, "if we had stuck to using out bending to get there like we planned in the first place. We would have made it there, at the very least. We should have just stuck to something that you knew I was comfortable with."
Tenzin goes quiet for a moment and Lin breathes in, leaning forward and placing her hands on the top of the table in front of her.
'1…2…3…4…'
"You were comfortable when Bumi was driving you yesterday" Tenzin mumbles, looking down at his hands, idly twiddling his thumbs.
"I was comfortable with Bumi driving, " Lin says turning to face Tenzin, "because Bumi knows how to drive. You, on the other hand"
"Ach! – Excuse me! I know how the drive! Our situation was in perfect control! If it weren't for that lizardcrow, none of this would have happened!"
"If we used our bending, like we originally planned, none of this would hav-!"
"Alright, lovebirds, settle down."
As Lin heard these words, she felt all the fight leave her body. She signed heavily and turned away from Tenzin, facing the person who just entered the room.
Facing the both of them with a blank expression was none of other then the current Chief of Police, Toph Beifong.
As Lin faced her mother, she felt Tenzin straighten up in his seat besides her. She sighed heavily again.
"So, from the looks of it," Toph said, walking over to the table, placing her hands squarely on the surface of it, "We have destruction of public property, numerous permit infractions, and curfew violation. I must say, when you guys break the rules, you go big!"
"We understand the circumstances, Chief Beifong. Lin and myself are fully prepared to accept the full consequences of the situation at hand" Tenzin said, his voice edging into a passive tone, his whole figure leveling out completely. Beside him, Lin sunk further into her chair. As her left hand came to rub her eyes, she sighed again.
"That's very astute of you, Tenzin" Toph said, her mouth curving up into a playful smirk, "However, given the situation and the pure gravity of your crimes, I actually have to thank both of you at this point. You've just won me quite a lot of money."
Even without looking, Lin could feel the confused look etch over Tenzin's face. Lin sunk even further into her chair '..1…2…3…4…'
"Money? I…I don't understand"
"You see, Tenzin, me and your father have a bet going on how long it was going to take the pair of you to actually do something. I told him it was going to happen this month. He had the both of you pegged for at least another 3. Your brother and sister each have a wrap sheet twice as long as the ones you two paired up! We were all waiting for you two to do something!"
Ending her count at 42, Lin groaned, moving her hands to cover her face. She was never going to live this down…
"So… ahh… the charges?" Tenzin said, meekly glancing up at Toph
"Oh these? It's fine. All taken care of . Were writing it up as a first offence. Just don't do anything within the next few weeks and you'll be fine."
" That's fantastic. Thank you so much, Chief Beifong-!"
"Now, don't thank me just yet. There is still protocol to keep in mind. I have to hold you for at least 2 hours. But seeing the situation, you will be allowed to stay in here."
'2 hours,' Lin thought. She could handle 2 hours. '1…2…3…4…'
"Tenzin" Toph said, nodding to the boy as she turned to the leave the room, "Lin…"
Lin opened her eyes and stared up at her mother.
"….see you at home kid." Toph said, her face spreading into a brilliant smile, as she laughed loudly, leaving the room with a bang.
Lin closed her eyes and sighed. Yep. Never going to live this down.
Tenzin slowly breathed out, his posture sinking as he leaned back into his chair.
"Well… that wasn't so bad!" he said, turning to Lin with a small smile on his face.
Lin looked at him, then glanced at the door in front of the table they were seated at. 2 hours. She could make it 2 hours.
She closed her eyes and began counting. '1…2…3….4'
"Are you mad?" Tenzin asked, breaking her out of her rhythm.
"…no."
"Are you sure?" he pressed again, edging closer to her this time, "Because it sounds like you're mad."
"No Tenzin, " Lin said, breathing in. She was doing a lot of breathing in such a short period of time. Maybe she was doing the exercise wrong… "I am not mad."
"Father says, if you're mad, you should just say that you're mad. Keeping things bottled in isn't good for your health." Tenzin said matter-of-factly, edging even closer towards Lin.
"Tenzin," Lin says her eyes snapping open as she turns to face him, "I'm telling you for the last time I'm not mad—"
It was then that Lin felt something grasp her hand.
Looking down at the table where her hands were settled, was Tenzin's hand intertwined with hers. He had laced up their fingers and was making slow, steady movements across her knuckles with his thumb.
"Thank you, " Tenzin said softly, his eyes connecting with hers, "for coming with me today"
As Lin looked at the their interlaced fingers, she exhaled out softly and leaned back into her char. As she closed her eyes again, she gripped her fingers against his, paying careful attention to the movements his thumb was making on her knuckles.
'2 hours' she thought, as she felt Tenzin's grip slowly grow tighter, the pace of this thumb slowing down. 'I can make it 2 hours…1…2…3…4…"
"So what do you want to do for 2 hours?"
"Tenzin!"
AN: I dont believe when someone is described as serious, that means that they're boring. if anything, it means that they're plans are just well thought out. Tenzin could be rebellious, but a very organized rebeller. These two are about 15-16 here.