Can you keep a secret?
The satomobile was silent on the way back to Lin's apartment. Neither Tenzin nor Lin spoke as they were driven home. The satomobile stopped outside the apartment and, wordlessly, Tenzin handed the owed money over to the driver. They walked in silence up the stairs to the apartment. Lin fumbled for a moment for her keys and just when she'd pulled them out of her small bag they dropped to the ground. Swearing, she picked them up and pushed them into the lock. The lock was fidgety at the best of times, and today was no exception. Lin struggled with the keys for a few moments, seeming to forget that she was a metalbender. Getting frustrated, she pounded her hand as hard as she could against the metal frame, sending the door flying off its hinges.
"I'll get it later," she grumbled as she walked inside past the broken door. Tenzin walked in and picked the door up with his airbending and propped it against the door so that they would least have a bit of privacy.
Lin flopped onto the couch, exhausted, clad in her captains' uniform. The funeral had taken its toll. Tenzin walked into the kitchen to see if there was any edible food. Seeing that there was none he walked back into the small living area and sat down next to Lin, who was staring at the ceiling with her eyes shut.
"Perhaps we should retire," Tenzin suggested after a few more minutes of silence.
"Ok," she replied some time later, and she made her way to the bedroom. After a few more minutes of nothing, Tenzin followed her in to see that she had already undressed and was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Tenzin got himself ready for bed and climbed in. The sheets were cold and he shivered as he slipped under them. Lin turned away from him, on her side, and Tenzin put his arm around her, pulling her close to his body. He could smell her faint jasmine perfume and heard the soft sound of her breath.
Lin was exhausted. Every part of her body ached and her head was pounding. She had felt like this since the start of the week when he died. She had just been given the rank of captain and own team to go with it. Their first mission went exactly to plan in the beginning but they didn't count on the triads teaming up. They secured the area and arrested the men in charge but not without a casualty. Her first mission as captain, and a life had been taken. Her mother and everyone around her had said, 'It's not your fault.' But that didn't alleviate her guilt and the pain she was feeling.
"Tenzin?" she mumbled softly.
"Mmmm?" was the reply, and Lin turned over to face him.
"Can you keep a secret?" she choked.
Tenzin locked eyes with her and as he did, tears welled up behind her eyes and no matter how hard she tried they wouldn't go back.
She cried even harder as Tenzin wrapped his arms around her and he held her like that until the first light of the morning shone through the sheer curtains.