Lin stepped silently across the wood panels covering the floor of the air temple. Carrying her cup of warm tea to her room, she tried her best not to wake any of Tenzin's children. He had been kind enough to let her stay on the island after her house had been recently infested with elephant rats. She had insisted spending the few days overnight in her office, but when Tenzin offered, she couldn't say no. Although she didn't admit it out loud, she missed spending time in the air temples. It's calm, serene setting brought back memories of her childhood visits, Avatar Aang, and of course, spending countless long nights there with Tenzin.
The earthbender stopped when she heard a soft voice coming from one of the girl's rooms. "Lin?"
She cringed as her attempt at sneaking back to bed was demolished. She slowly pushed open the already ajar door, as her shadow fell upon the flannel bedspread. "Ikki, are you okay?"
The tiny dark haired girl sighed, sitting up with her back against her pillow, "I can't sleep."
Lin walked over to her bed, not sure how to comfort, or what exactly to tell the kid. "Me neither."
Ikki looked up at her, with her bottom lip stuck out. "You can sit down if you want."
"Oh, um...okay." Lin abruptly took a seat on the end of the small bed.
They were quiet for a moment, stuck in a block of awkward silence. Ikki sat back against the headboard and crossed her arms, looking off to the side. Lin tapped her fingers on the glass teacup she held. She brought it to her lips and took a sip, trying to somehow break the voicelessness between them.
"I know! You should tell me a story! You probably had tons of adventures growing up with Daddy and Uncle Bumi, and Aunt Kya. And I bet you know a lot of stories about Grandpa Aang and Gran-Gran."
Lin's eyes widened at the child's suggestion. "I don't know...I've never been really good at telling stories."
"C'mon, please?" Ikki asked desperately, leaning forward, resting her chin on her hands.
Lin rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Fine..."
Ikki sat up and squealed in delight, causing Lin to almost spill her tea. "Woah, calm down, kid, or no story."
Ikki immediately controlled herself, and took a deep breath. "Okay. I'm calm, now."
"...alright, so, what do you want to hear about?"
Ikki tapped her chin in thought, then began rambling ideas like crazy. "Can you tell me what the heck a Melon Lord is? Or what about the time Bumi fell in a hole and almost died, or was that Sokka? I don't know! Or what about when Kya joined the singing nomads and came home a changed woman? Or when Grandpa Aang defeated the Fire Lord? What about when Iroh went to the spirit world? And when Zuko accidentally set Gran-Gran's favorite rug on fire, and she beat him with a stick? Also a story about cactus juice that daddy doesn't like to talk about? Wha—"
"Ikki, stop. I can only tell one story. It's getting late anyway, I probably shouldn't even bother—"
"No! Wait! Don't leave. Hmmm...I know...what about a story about you and Daddy? Back when you two DATED."
Lin grimaced, and sighed again. "I don't like talking about that..."
"Please, Lin." Ikki pleaded. "I promise, I won't tell mom."
Lin shook her head and blew a displeased puff of air from the side of her mouth. "You won't tell anyone, even your father, that I told you a story about this?"
"I solemnly promise." Ikki swore, crossing her hands across her chest, and bowing her head in assurance.
"Okay..." Lin crossed her leg over her other, getting comfortable on the tiny mattress. "Let's see..." She mumbled in thought. She had had several memories of her and the young girl's father, although it was difficult to even think of one in particular.
"How did you guys meet?" Ikki asked.
"Oh, we'd grown up together ever since our births. We were the closest in age in our group of siblings and friends, so we attended school together, played games with each other, practiced fighting."
"So you two were like best friends." Ikki commented.
"Yeah." Lin caught herself smiling. "But as time when on, I began to suddenly feel attracted to your father. I don't know why though, he was always kind of a dork." Ikki giggled.
"I tried to hide my feelings for him, so things wouldn't get weird between us, but...that only made things more awkward. And one night, after a sparring match between us, we had our first kiss. We were seventeen, and I can tell you, that it was much unexpected. I thought he was going in for a sneak attack, so I prepared to dominate. And as I turned around...he was right there. A few rocks hit his head, before I realized what had even happened." Lin laughed.
Ikki's eyes glowed. "Awwww, that's so romantic."
Lin cleared her throat, breaking the daydreaming child from her thoughts. Ikki gasped, "What was the best date he ever took you on?"
Lin raised her eyebrow and smirked. "Hmmm..." She crinkled her forehead, thinking. "That would have to be our midnight picnic on Xitanis Peak. The stars were beautiful that night. I can remember it perfectly. We went there on the back of Oogie and he had brought an entire basket of fancy foods. He had even prepared meat for me. We shared the most delectable tea I have ever had. None to this day even comes close to it's flavor." Lin swirled the remaining drops of tea around the cup, smiling slightly at the memory.
"I thought the night wouldn't get any better...I thought my life would be one never ending midnight picnic with Tenzin." Ikki suddenly looked solemnly at Lin.
"That night, your father gave me the most beautiful woven band constructed from metal, that had the words, "To My Love, Lin" engraved inside. Even though I would never wear jewelry, I wore it around my ankle everyday...until we separated."
"Do you still have it?" Ikki asked her hesitantly.
Lin shook her head. "No, I... threw it at his head, when I destroyed the island... It was most likely crushed to thousands of pieces."
Ikki scratched at her wrist, for once, taking a break from talking. "So...why did you and daddy break up anyway?"
Lin felt a chill run up her spine. She closed her eyes in pain, opening them slowly to meet the big brown orbs of the young airbender.
"Did you stop loving each other?"
"Uh...no, Ikki, we just um..." Lin cleared her throat. "We both got caught up in our work, he was Councilman, I was Chief of Police...there wasn't a lot of free time for us. And your father, being the last airbender after your grandfather, meant that he had to settle down and start a family. I had thought about having children with him, but my job kept me from that dream. And as a result, your mother came into his life and...you know the rest."
Ikki looked down. "But if you wanted to have children, then why didn't you quit your job, or just not be the chief?"
Lin sighed. "Because...I wanted to do what would make my mother happy. I thought if I followed in her footsteps, and kept the title of chief, she would appreciate me more... But it didn't make a difference." She turned and looked at Ikki's downcast expression. Lin placed her hand gently on the little girl's shoulder. "But at least something good came out of us splitting."
"What's that?" Ikki asked, looking up to meet Lin's eyes.
Lin pushed Ikki playfully. "You, silly. You, and your brothers and your sister... None of you would be here if I would've stayed with your dad."
Ikki smiled and got out from under her blankets. She crawled over and put her arms around Lin's neck, pulling her into a tight hug. Lin grunted, but put her arms around her tiny body, smiling, as her face pressed against Ikki's cheek.
They pulled apart and Ikki's eyes were still shining. "Do you still love daddy...even though you broke up?" She asked quietly.
Lin's smile quickly disappeared, as she raised her brows. She spaced her glance toward Ikki, and rubbed her shoulder. "I never did stop loving your father, and...I suppose I never will. I've never met another man like him before. And every now and then... I still find myself falling for him all over again." Her face flushed.
"Then I see him and your mother, you kids...and I have to distance myself. It's like a reminder that we can never be..."
"I'm sorry." Ikki replied silently.
"It's not your fault." Lin smiled softly and touched Ikki's hair.
Ikki looked up at her. "I think you are an amazing story teller."
Lin smiled, then began to stand up. "I'm going to go back to bed now."
Ikki crawled back under her blankets and tucked them up to her chin. "Sleep well." Lin said, turning to walk out of the room.
"You too..." Ikki replied. "Lin?" She asked softly.
"Yeah?" Lin asked, turning around.
"Does...daddy still love you?"
Lin's heart dropped, and a lump rose in her throat, making it difficult to speak. She swallowed. "...I don't think so, kid." She whispered, as all images of Tenzin and Pema together filled her mind.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Lin."
She closed the door behind her and walked down the desolate hall, as a tear fell to the wooden floor.