An: This was labeled Tenzin Adorableness on my computer for the longest time. Edit: Thank you to Ninnani for pointing out the absence of breaks between periods.

There was a crowd of people obscuring his view. He didn't like that. Crowds were never good. He pushed his way through the crowd, causing people to turn towards him with their mouths open, ready to express outrage at being shoved to the side, only to stare dumbly when they saw the shaved head and blue arrow of the youngest airbending master. But he didn't see them.

No, Tenzin was uninterested with the shocked looks, or the fact that he was being rude. All he was focused on was getting to the reason everyone was there. There had been a big show down between the police and one of the triads.

He didn't really know beyond that. He had heard 'metalbenders' and 'accident' and had immediately forgotten the person talking to him and just left. One thing a crowd was good for was marking where he needed to be, he honestly hadn't thought about asking the location before leaving.

Once he finally broke through into the area around the scene being maintained by police officers, he immediately found the person he was looking for.

Lin Bei Fong was sitting on the edge of a cart, arms crossed over her stomach, looking around impatiently. Tenzin stood frozen for a few seconds, then set off at a sprint. Not a regular one, an airbender sprint. "Lin!" He yelled when he was a few feet away. Her head jerked to look at him, she was obviously surprised to see her boyfriend, and even more surprised to see him running at her while they were surounded by people. Tenzin didn't run in public. Tenzin rarely ran.

"Tenzin?"

He didn't answer, just moved his hands to firmly and gently grip her arms. "Are you alright?" He demanded, not waiting for an answer. His eyes were glued to where ever his hands went over, noting that her uniform was actually off. Lin never took her uniform off in public. "Were you hurt? Tell me if you feel any pain." He ran his hands down her arms to her wrists, checking for cuts, then turned her arms over to check visually before starting a close inspection of her hands.

Lin rolled her eyes, "I'm fine-" she groaned in the back of her throat when he didn't listen, just continued to examine her. "I'm-" she sighed, "Tenzin, I'm fine. There's nothing-I'm fine! I wasn't- Goodness's sake Tenzin," she rolled her eyes as his hands felt up her shoulders and neck, eyes still scrutinizing. She swore, the man could point out every new scar she got, no matter how small, and hound her about it until she told him how she aquired it. His large hands cupped her jaws, and his thumbs smoothed over her cheeks while he stared at her face in concentration, "the healers have checked me out already. I'm fi-" she was cut off as his fingers slid into her dark hair and pulled her closer slightly to press her lips firmly to his. Any and all thoughts of objection left her head as she sighed and leaned in closer. He tilted her head to her left, which was one of the few times in their relationship he took the lead. His lips closed around her lower one and she leaned even more in, holding onto his wrist. Vaguely, she was aware that there was a large portion of her city watching Tenzin- the Avatar's son, Wasterbending master Katara's son, Councilman Sokka's nephew, youngest councilman ever, first Airbending master in over 100 years- kissing Lin Bei Fong- the most ambitious young officer in the history of Republic City, metalbending and Earthbending master, daughter of the chief of police, creator of metalbending, and the greatest Earthbender ever Toph Bei Fong, and heiress to the massive Bei Fong fortune. Well, that's how the news would cover it, but...

It was just Tenzin and Lin.

Tenzin wasn't "The Airbending master", she didn't care who his parents were- she grew up with them anyway- being in a position of political power didn't impress her. He was just her boyfriend. Someone to punch and kiss and laugh with. That's what most people didn't understand about their relationship. They saw "the Avatar's son and Chief Bei Fong's daughter dating", they didn't see "Tenzin and Lin in love".

He released her lip and pulled back, letting his hands go to the cart on either side of her. He looked down at her closed eyes and slightly parted lips. Lin took a deep breath and opened her eyes, "Now I'm perfect."

Tenzin's face split into an amused smile, which she returned. "Can you leave? Would you be able to stay on the island tonight?" She nodded. "Now have you declared this, or the healers said?" He asked in the same way a father might ask his child.

She rolled her eyes, "Healers. Besides, your mother is the best healer in the world, even if I did have any injuries at all," she stressed, "Katara would be able to take care of it."

"Lin!" Tenzin shouted, seeing the only feminin figure that wore the metalbender armor. Her head was tilted back slightly, no don't her eyes were closed, her right hand was on her hip and her left arm was wrapped around her ribs. That's how she stood when she was in pain. That was enough to set Tenzin off at a run towards her.

Lin sighed and her head fell forward at the sound of his voice. This is not what she needed right now.

"Lin," he was right behind her. "What happened?" She heard the panic.

The metalbender took a deep breath through her nose. "Nothing," she responded curtly. "I'm fine." She let her hands drop to her sides and turned to glare up at him. Despite his height advantage, she always looked scary when she wanted to.

But he didn't back down.

"No you aren't," his hand reached out to grip her metal clad hip. The fact the he was able to touch her was telling of how hurt she was. Lin's eyes screwed up and something between a scream and a groan came out of the back of her throat. Her grip on his wrist was painful, but he didn't care. Her head was tipped forward again, black hair obsuring his view of her face, but he knew from the slow, deep breaths and rigidedy of her body that her jaw was clenched. His free hand wrapped around the armor surrounding her left bicep and helped her stand straight. She took a deep breath and he asked, "Have you seen a healer?"

Her eyes opened, "I'm fine. They're busy with my officers, and other people that need them more than I do."

"Lin, you can't be serious. You can barely stand."

"That's what comes from being thrown around in a can!" She snapped. "It does hurt, but I'm not injured."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lin. Go talk to a healer."

"I'm fine, Tenzin. It's not your job to babysit me anymore," her tone was icy. They hadn't talked to each other civily in four years, and when he worried about her when they were together annoyed her, it was no surprise that it would be worse now.

"You're coming to the island." It wasn't a suggestion and there was no room for negotiation in his tone. He bent slightly and wrapped an arm around her, then slipped his other under her knees before lifting.

"I can walk, Tenzin!" She yelled in outrage.

"No you can't," he told her. "Not for long without passing out."

"Your mother moved to the South Pole," she reminded irately. "There's no reason for me to go to the island."

"Kya's there," he told her.

She closed her mouth. Lin allowed herself to be carried, though her refusal to talk to or look at him made it clear she wasn't happy about it. When he reached the crowd, it parted for them instantly. Everyone looking at them with gaping mouths. Lin Bei Fong was letting someone carry her, and that someone was the man that broke her heart. Tenzin made his way towards the docks, which luckily weren't that far away from the scene. Both ignored the shocked stares from passing civilians.

In fact, Lin was so good at ignoring people, Tenzin made the list. She supported herself just enough to not be dead weight, but was turned as much away from him as possible and glaring at a random point on the ground. She was so busy being mad at him, she didn't realize...she wasn't in pain anymore. In all their years together, Tenzin had learned how to hold her without causing further pain. He also knew how to cuddle, but he doubted anyone would be receptive to that idea.

They finally got to the docks and waited a few moments for the ferry. He stepped on and stood near the railing. "You can put me down now."

"No." Was his simple refusal.

Lin sighed and looked away again, staring at the water. Her head turned suddenly, "I'm not going inside," she told him.

He looked down at her, "What?"

She suddenly had a panicky look on her face. Swallowing, she said, "I'm not going inside. Kya can come out here."

"Lin, you'll be outside. You have to take off your uniform," he reminded.

"I'm wearing clothes underneath."

"Lin, don't be ridiculous-"

"I'm not going inside," she said firmly. He just sighed and looked towards the island, wondering why she had to be so difficult all the time. The ferry finally reached the island. "Put me down." He looked down and opened his mouth, but she cut him off, "Put me down." Tenzin decided just to listen, rather than argue with her. He moved closer to the railing, making sure she had a hand on it, then slowly and carefully set her feet on the ground and let her weight rest on them.

"Don't move," he said before starting towards his house.

Lin spent the time he was gone focusing on her breathing. She would never admit it, but it was good that he carried her, had she walked to the dock, she would have passed out. She looked up when she felt them coming and saw Kya coming down the slope at a jog, water pouch in hand. Tenzin was already at the ferry by the time she was halfway down the hill. He grabbed Lin's hand with one hand and put the other on the elbow of her free arm to steady her, "Here." He slowly started to lead her towards his sister.

"Tenzin, I'm not getting off the boat," he heard her voice crack from what he thought was pain. He looked at her in confusion. Why was she being so difficult? Lin refused to walk farther, then when he kept trying to lead her, she sat. Tenzin helped her down so she didn't hurt herself.

He knelt beside her, but she refused to look at him. "Lin...you have to. Just-"

"I'm not going in Tenzin!" She'd glanced up when she'd yelled and he saw tears welling up.

He stared at the top of her head, her eyes were glued to the floor. "Lin..."

"Go inside Tenzin," he heard Kya as she went to her knees by Lin. A very pregnant Pema was in the house, as well as her and Tenzin's young daughter. While Kya adored her niece, and couldn't wait for her sibling, Lin didn't want to see them. Tenzin opened his mouth to protest, but she adopted her big sister tone, "Tenzin. Inside." He stood without really understanding what was happening. He glanced over his shoulder after he was off the ferry, Lin looked better already, she didn't look like she was about to cry. "OK," Kya said in her soothing healer voice, "let's just stay down here. It'll be easier, especially since I need you to take off the uniform." The metalbender took a deep breath, then peeled the metal off like a shirt. Tenzin looked away before he could see all of the new horrible things done to her body, but Kya's soft gasp was enough to know that it was bad.

As he walked away, Tenzin heard Lin whisper, "Thank you Kya."

Tenzin stood in front of a window. His hands were behind his back and he watched the city with a kind of fascination. It looked so peaceful. How? He didn't understand how it always looked calm when his entire life he'd known it wasn't. Toph, his "aunt", was chief of police, charged with keeping order in the city. He couldn't count all the times Lin stayed on the island because Toph knew she wasn't going to be home at a decent hour and didn't want to leave her daughter alone, or how many times his mother had been called for healing sessions with the wounded chief. Lin, his girlfriend and best friend, she had had scars when she was young; training accidents, some fights with his older brother or her relatives she rarely saw, and regular damage to be expected with young children. But ever since she had become a police officer, she was covered in them. Some were small and almost faded to nothing, others were long and prominent. They covered her body. He didn't even want to think of the twelve years apart and what traumas those had brought to her.

This was not a peaceful city. The Bei Fong women were more than proof enough of that.

But no one seemed to know that. Not one person in this city seemed to notice. The bending arena incident had almost immediately been forgotten, Amon was known by every resident of the city, but he wasn't a major concern. People just went on with their lives, and Republic City looked as it always had.

He heard her breathe in and ask softly, "You're still here?"

Tenzin looked at the Bei Fong lying in the hospital bed. Her eyes were open, just barely. He knew she was exhausted, it was the middle of the night, her officers had just been taken, and when he had brought her to the hospital she could barely walk. It had not been the best day for Lin. "Yeah," he answered, coming back to the chair he had pulled next to her bed earlier. Tenzin sat and moved it closer.

"Don't you have better things to do than stand in a hospital room in the wee hours of the morning?"

"Had to make sure you didn't use the sheets to escape through the window and repel down the side of the building," he teased.

"Please," she rolled her eyes, "I would've just made myself a door and some stairs."

He smiled. "What about your cables?"

She sighed, "That reminds me, I'd have to plan a prison break. They've started holding my uniform hostage," she confessed. "If I'm not well enough to swear vehemently and push the person escorting me in off, they take my uniform and hide it until I'm discharged."

"Why didn't anyone think of this sooner?" He smiled.

She chuckled and tilted her head back against the pillow. "None of my officers will ever tell me where it is."

"I'm surprised you haven't intimidated them into it yet."

"I've tried, but I guess I'm less intimidating after being dragged into the hospital and when I'm not able to sit up in bed."

"You always have lost that edge when you were in bed." There was something in his eyes that made her so comfortable, she was uncomfortable.

"Why are you here Tenzin?" She asked gently.

He was quiet for a long time. "I wanted to make sure you woke up, Lin."

"It's late. You should go home."

He shook his head, "I'll stay. Everyone on the island will be asleep by now, I'm not missed."

"I'll only do the same." Her argument supported by the long blink from her tired eyes.

"That's OK."

She chuckled softly and turned her head away with her eyes closed, "While you just sit here and watch me sleep? You know Tenzin, people could press charges for that sort of behavior." He chuckled, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. Lin turned her head back and opened her eyes, "Why are you here?"

"Making sure you keep breathing," he answered semi seriously. "Someone has to raise the alarm if your chest stops rising."

"Don't worry," her eyes briefly went towards the door, "a little over ten years ago, they started checking on me-" As if the universe was helping prove her unfinished point, a nurse walked in, but stopped when she saw Tenzin.

Her eyes moved to Lin. "Try to wrap this up," she told Tenzin, "she needs rest." He nodded and turned back to Lin when the door closed behind the nurse to see her quirk an eyebrow at him.

"They don't trust me to not attempt to escape I suppose."

"I wouldn't either."

"Of course you wouldn't, you know me too well." He smiled fondly again. "So," she sighed heavily, anticipating an answer she wouldn't like, "have they told you how long I'll be stuck here?"

If there was one thing she hated, it was the hospital. One week into a "sentence" of a month, she was ready to go home and do everything by herself. A week after that, she would swear she was ready to go back on active duty, then glower when she was put on desk duty for weeks after her scheduled release date. "If I told you two weeks, how would that make you react?" Lin groaned silently and rolled her eyes.

"Well," she said after a moment of staring at the wall, "it could always be worse."

"That's a good attitude to have," he commended. "Just to let you know, it is worse." She looked at him with wide eyes. "I'm just repeating what I was told."

"This is ridiculous! I've been stuck here for less time for something like this before!"

"You were twenty-five, wearing a helmet, and you weren't being thrown around by a machine," he said with a slightly arched eyebrow.

"So you're calling me old?"

"I'm calling you older than twenty-five," he corrected.

"This is ridiculous," she repeating. "I'm fine." Lin made a move like she was going to sit up, but relaxed into the matress immediately.

Tenzin's eyebrows raised in that expectant way that always made her want to hit him, "Going somewhere?"

"Not right now. I'm tired," was her explanation.

The airbender started laughing. That was a sound she had not heard in a very long time. "You are so stuborn," he gave her that look again. The very fond and loving look. Lin told herself it was a look one could give their best friend.

"I am an earthbender," she said with a vocal shrug. "What would you expect with my upbringing?"

"I would expect exactly this attitude without my mother around to tell you to stay in bed." Lin rolled her eyes. "And if we're going off of bending stereotypes, why am I immovable when it comes to your recuperation?"

"Because you worry too much."

"Really?"

"Yes," she said firmly.

"About you?"

"About everything. Would you like me to list all the times you-"

He blinked patronizingly at her, he would be able to patronize non verbally, "Go to sleep."

"There you go again."

"I told you to sleep," he said defensively. Where was the worrying in that?

"You're worrying," she put a slight emphasis on the word, "about how much rest I get."

"Go to sleep," he said again.

"You worry too much," she grumbled, eyelids already drooping even more.

"I worry just enough."