Sweet and fluffy, reviews are highly motivating.
I own nothing.
Headcanon:Lin liked to cook and bake.
The sun rose to shine a pale orange light into their bedroom. Lin's eyes opened weakly as she adjusted to the light. She shifted slightly on the bed only to find a tattooed arm protectively slung around her waist. She smiled as she looked over her shoulder to see her fiancée's sleeping face. She gently ran her fingertips along his arm before wrapping her own hand around his that rested lightly on her stomach. Lin gently pulled his arm away and got out of the bed. Turning back, she kissed his lips softly and went to get ready for a new day to begin.
The airbender awoke around a half hour later to find Lin gone. He sat up in their bed and looked around for any clues as to where she might have gone off to, but saw none. He lifted himself out of the bed and went to get washed and dressed. He finished, smoothing is robes with his hands while walking into the kitchen of their small apartment when he finally saw her.
"You're up early for your day off." Tenzin observed coming up behind her to wind his arms around her thin waist.
"We left the curtains open last night, the light came through the window and it woke me up. Anyway I don't mind, I got to make you this." Lin said while pointing to the breakfast she had made. She grabbed his hand and walked him over to the table and sat him down.
"You made all of this?" Tenzin asked as he sat down and surveyed the full table.
"Of course." Lin said, giving him a kiss on the cheek before running into the next room. She emerged again seconds later with her hands behind her back, walking to stand in front of him.
"Happy Birthday Airhead." Lin said with a smile as she brought the rather tall gift out from behind her.
"What's this?" Tenzin asked with a smile as Lin sat down next to him.
"I don't know, open it." Lin said shrugging her shoulders, matching his smile.
Tenzin opened the gift to find a new glider within the wrapping paper. His eyes went wide at the present, he had been begging Aang for a new glider for almost 2 weeks now. His old one was starting to crack and fall apart but his father had always said that he would get to it eventually. He held the glider in his hands, looking at the intricate details that had went into it - the strong, slightly darker wood material, the defined feel of it against his hands and the small design of green paint residing on the top and bottom stops. He popped open the wings and studied the newer, stronger material before turning back to Lin.
"How did you..." Tenzin asked, not being able to complete his question.
"I may have asked your father if there was something specific you wanted. We made it, well he made it really, but I put my own special touch on it." Lin said, running her fingers across the dark green designs.
"This is amazing, thank you." Tenzin said as he captured her lips in a kiss. Lin leaned into him and reciprocated his actions.
"Well that's just the beginning of your surprises today. You have to go to work today right?" Lin said with a smile as they pulled apart.
"Unfortunately, I have to leave in about ten minutes." Tenzin said, looking over at the clock on the wall.
"Shouldn't you be off on your birthday?" Lin said with a slight pout, she had hoped she could have him all to herself today.
"I wish, but no. Are you going to stay here all day? I feel bad leaving you here all by yourself." Tenzin said, cupping her cheek.
Lin leaned into his touch, "I might go out for somethings, I did say you had more surprises coming your way didn't I? Now you better get going, you're going to be late." Lin said with a wink as they stood.
"I'll get back here as soon as I can, I love you. Thank you again for this." Tenzin said as he held out his new glider.
"Don't mention it, I love you too." Lin said, lifting herself up on her toes to kiss him.
"See you later. Stay in one piece." Tenzin said, closing the door behind him, walking down the hallway.
Lin laughed and watched him walk down the street until she couldn't see him anymore before she got to planning. Lin thought for a while about what else to surprise him with, sure she had one or two more presents resting in their room but Lin wanted to do something a little more meaningful. Suddenly, the idea dawned on her - she would bake him some desert. Tenzin always told her what a good cook she was and how much he loved the little frosting coated treats she made with the recipe her grandmother had given her so she figured this would be a good idea. She had plenty of time before he would get home anyway and plus, she rarely baked - or showed any admiration towards the idea on a regular basis, so he would be totally taken by surprise. Lin smiled to herself as she went to find her grandmother's old recipe to see what she would need.
Lin left the apartment about an hour later with her list in hand. She made her way to the market to get everything she needed. She bought the dough she needed along with the eggs, a small amount of spice, vanilla extract along with a huge can of frosting. She passed by a store with picture frames sitting in the window. She stopped and stared at the window for a second, hesitant about going in, but something was pulling her towards the store - she honestly didn't know why.
Lin got inside the store and started to look around. She ran her fingers across some frames, they were having some sort of sale on them so they were all on display. She almost forgot about the food in her hands and tightened her hands around the bag to keep it from falling on the floor. She picked her head up and she saw it. She gravitated towards the frame that was standing alone and studied it - it was a reasonable size, not too big but not too small, it was painted green and orange, Lin smiled to herself as she thought of if as a mix of their two elements. She picked up the frame and walked towards the counter. She bought the frame and added it to her belongings.
Lin succeeded in getting home without dropping anything - an accomplishment she prided herself on - and dropped the ingredients onto the kitchen table. She set the frame over on the coffee table while she got started on the treats. She mixed the ingredients in the bowl and set them into small square shapes as she gently sprinkled spice into them. She put them in the oven to cook before venturing to the frame again.
She took a long, hard look at the frame in her hands, she had no idea why she was so pulled to it but as soon as she saw it, ideas formed in her head of what to put in it. Something clicked inside Lin's head as she went into the bedroom. She searched through her drawers before finding what she was looking for. The picture was an old one, she was sitting beside Tenzin on the grass of Air Temple Island when they were about nine years old. She smiled when she saw the flower in her hair and reminisced.
-
"Tenzin I don't want to play in the grass today." A nine year old Lin whined as Tenzin brought her towards a clearing, both winded from playing all day.
"That's not why we're here Lin." Tenzin laughed as he grabbed her hands and pulled her down to sit beside him.
"Then why?" Lin asked, brows furrowed.
"That's why." Tenzin said, pointing towards the sun setting. The sight was breathtaking and Lin's eyes widened at the sight of it.
"The sky turns orange and sort of kisses the earth in a way. It's kind of a mix of orange and green don't you think?" Tenzin said as he pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.
"Yeah I guess so. It's really beautiful." Lin said looking at him, smiling.
"Like you." Tenzin said with at smile as he kissed her cheek. The young earthbender blushed at his compliment as he picked a flower from the ground and put it in her curls.
"Now you're even more beautiful, I didn't think it was possible." Tenzin said as he made Lin flush deeper than before. She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched the sunset completely.
Both failed to realize Aang watching them, playing with the new camera he just got in the city, taking a shot of the two watching the sky.
Lin smiled wider as she remembered that day clearly. She could still feel him placing the flower in her hair along with the soft kiss he had placed on her cheek. She held the picture with both hands, admiring it. For an older picture, it had really kept it's quality throughout the years. Lin brought the picture back into the room and placed it in the frame. It was a perfect fit in the frame. Lin went to place the frame with her other gifts for Tenzin's birthday.
The timer on the oven went off and Lin walked into the kitchen to retrieve the treats. The sweet, spicy smell of them filled the room as she took the tray out and shut the oven. Lin went to get a plate and put the treats on it. Lin grabbed the frosting and coated the square treats, going into the cabinet to add some sprinkles. Lin lit a candle and looked over at the clock, Tenzin would be home in twenty minutes, she had been successful today and she couldn't wait to see him and give him the other surprises.
Lin went to the bedroom to change, she decided on a simple green silk wrap that ended right above her knees. Lin paired it with a silver bracelet and the emerald necklace. She brushed her hair out and put makeup on, making her emerald eyes stand out and her lips extra red. She walked back into the kitchen and sat at the table, putting the other gifts under the table.
"Lin?" Tenzin said, setting his belongings down, looking around for her.
"In here." Lin beckoned from the kitchen. She moved the contents of the table so that the only things on it were the candle and the treats.
Tenzin walked to the kitchen to see Lin sitting at the table, a beautiful smile displaying on her gorgeous lips and a particularly shiny gleam in her eyes. The airbender walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek before turning his attention towards the table. He froze seeing them there, those small little squares looked as delicious as ever. He remembered sitting with her in her grandmother's house eating the spicy treats, stealing some when they weren't supposed to, stuffing them into their pockets and running off on his air scooter. He smiled and turned to her, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.
"You made these?" Tenzin asked with a huge smile.
"Of course. They're your favorite. I wasn't going to spend all day making some huge cake. And I figured these would be much more memorable." Lin said with a smirk, popping one of the squares into her mouth. She closed her eyes at the taste and swallowed the treat, opening her eyes to look at him, smiling when she saw putting the majority of them on his plate.
"Don't hog them Airhead." Lin said while placing her palms on the table.
"It is my birthday isn't it?" Tenzin argued as he put more of the squares onto his plate.
"Well then, I guess I'm going to have to take these away." Lin said as she took the other gifts out from under the table and started to walk away slowly.
"What are those?" Tenzin asked, turning his attention to her retreating form.
"I guess you'll never know. Shame." Lin said teasingly with a small smile while her back was turned to him. She heard Tenzin run to her and stopped in her slow stride.
"Don't torture me." Tenzin said, hugging her from behind.
"Are you going to share those treats?" Lin asked turning her head to look at him.
"But of course." Tenzin said against the skin if her neck as he buried his face into it.
"Well okay. Come on then." Lin said prying his arms from around her, taking his hand and walking back to the table. Tenzin pushed the plate back into the middle of the table as Lin shot him a smile. Lin placed the bag into the table and Tenzin looked at it curiously.
"What's this?" The airbender asked, looking at her.
"I don't know open it." Lin said, teasingly mirroring her comment from that morning.
Tenzin brought the bag closer to him as Lin scooted her seat closer so that she was next to him. She watched as Tenzin pulled out the new sketchbook she got him with -matching pencils - along with an earth kingdom insignia pin. She explained that he could put it on his robes, so that a small piece of her could always be physically attached to him. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead before putting the pin just underneath the clasp on his robes. Lin saw him go into the bag again and knew what was coming out next. He pulled the picture frame out and stared at it for a moment before speaking.
"You still had this?" Tenzin asked her with wide eyes, knowing exactly how old the picture was.
"It's one of my favorites. I remember that day so clearly, like the sky kissing the earth right?" Lin said while softly smiling, going to sit on his lap.
"Exactly. Just like this." Tenzin said as he set the picture down on the kitchen table as he claimed her lips with his own. They kissed for a few wonderful minutes before pulling back.
"Thank you for all this. This really was the best birthday ever." Tenzin said as his forehead leaned against her own.
"Oh I don't know, maybe it can last a little longer." Lin said with a soft smile as she leaned back enough to trace the arrow tattoo on his forehead.
Lin pulled herself out of his lap and popped another treat into her mouth. She slowly walked down the hallway about a quarter of the way when she stopped and turned around.
"Well it is your birthday, I can't give you the last surprise if you don't come." Lin said teasingly, crooking a figure in his direction, beckoning for him to come. Tenzin made no effort to hold back as he left the forgotten treats on the table and went to spend the remaining hours of his birthday with the woman he loved.