Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra.
A/N: I just wrote my view of Lin and Tenzin's breakup. I have no problem with Pema nor do I think that she broke Lin and Tenzin up. R&R. Let me know if I should continue this or not. Thanks for reading.
Lin Beifong waited patiently for Tenzin, her longtime boyfriend and lover for the majority of her life, to arrive. Tonight, they were going to a local restaurant to have dinner. She hasn't been able to have alone time with the air bender in months. Not only was she working hard on the police force, Tenzin had been working hard with the council. The only time that they conversed freely was brief encounters in the city that they both loved. The stress of the job has been leaving a strain on the couple's relationship for a long time. Lin was actually happy to have the same day off as Tenzin and relieved to be spending that time together. She missed the relationship that they had in the past.
Lin sensed Tenzin at her door before she heard his soft knock. She slipped into the shoes she would be wearing for the evening before opening the door. There on the other side stood Tenzin. Her air bender. Her first friend, love, and lover. He wasn't dressed formally like he did on other date nights. His appearance wasn't the only thing she noticed was different about him. He wore a sullen expression over his naturally calm and serious face. Lin seismic sense could sense picked up on the change in his heart beat as their gazes met.
"Lin." He said finally after a few moments of silence. His voice mirrored the look on his face. "May I come in please? We need to talk." Lin dreaded those four words: 'we need to talk.' The only time they left Tenzin's mouth was when something was seriously wrong. That statement was normally followed by a heated argument between the two. The couple had been drifting apart as of late, but tonight was supposed to be the glue that brought the couple back together. She allowed Tenzin to come in and sit on her couch. She noticed that he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. That was rare for her air bender. Normally she couldn't get Tenzin to take his eyes off of her.
"Lin you know that I loved you since childhood. You have always been my best friend." He paused when Lin left the doorway to sit next to him. "I just don't know how to say this-but I-"
"Just say it already." Lin demanded. She knew the direction that this conversation was heading in. She was ready to face it head on. She had pushed him away after all.
"Lin I have a duty to my people. I cannot remain in this relationship any longer."
Although Lin's heart was broken, she told herself that she wouldn't cry. Not in front of him at least. Tenzin finally locked eyes with her. He looked away almost immediately. Lin could sense that there was more that Tenzin needed to say.
"Pema confessed-"
"That bitch! She's the reason you're doing this! I know it." Lin accused.
"No Lin. Pema had no say or anything to do with this. Please understand."
"Get out!"
"Excuse me?" Tenzin asked shocked and confused. He had always been welcomed and comfortable with Lin. The fact that she was kicking him out was completely foreign to him.
"Get the fuck out Tenzin!" Lin screamed pulling him up from her couch and pushing him towards the door. Tenzin grabbed her wrists and pulled her into him. Lin rested her head into his chest as he gently stroked her hair. He could tell that she was hurting. He was too. He just had to fulfill a duty to his people. He was the last air bender now that his father was gone. He had to continue the legacy. "Why her? Does she make you happier than when you were with me?" Lin could understand the fact that their careers pulled them apart. The other woman completely threw her off guard. Tenzin was just head over heels in love with her a few months ago.
"It's not about being happy. I have to fulfill my duty to my people. Tenzin said pulling himself away from her and out of her grasp. He walked out the door leaving Lin alone and standing in the middle of her living room.
For the first few minutes, Lin couldn't believe what happened. Tenzin had left her. And for a younger woman at that. Finally realization set itself into Lin's mind. She lost her lover and friend. She rushed to her bedroom ripping off the dress that he bought her. She ripped off the lingerie that he liked so much. She sat alone on her bed. She was alone and by herself now. Only then did she allow herself to cry.
Lin recognized what the orange and brown envelope was before she opened it. Tenzin and Pema's wedding invitation. Everyone in Republic City talked about Tenzin's proposal to Pema for months now. Being chief of police Lin heard more than what she should have. Even gossip of how soon the wedding came. Only six months after he had broken off his relationship with a certain earth bender. She understood why she received an invitation. She had been friends with Tenzin for the entirety of their lives. Even though she realized the relationship that she had with Tenzin was over, the fact that he was happy with another woman hurt her more than losing him. She tried to conceal her emotions when she opened the package. The invitation was written in a hand writing that Lin couldn't recognize. It must have belonged to Pema.
You are cordially invited to the wedding of Tenzin and Pema.
Lin did not read the rest of the message. She held it above the candle that burned on her kitchen table. She watched it turn to dust with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.