Disclaimer: I don't own Legend of Korra
A/N: I actually posted this on tumblr a while back, and I had intended to expand upon it and post it on here once I did, but I just never got around to it. I decided I might as well post this up. I might post up more if I end up writing it.
"Lin, we need to talk."
Tenzin wouldn't stop moving. Not his body and especially not his mouth. He never could when he was nervous. He had adjusted the collar of his shirt almost twenty times in the last five minutes and if she let him, he would blabber on forever until actually getting to the real point.
"We both knew this was coming. I think we were both holding onto something that—"
"Cut the crap, Tenzin." The wind picked up, and she felt a small gust blow across her bare feet until it settled down, the air becoming stagnant around them. She had learned to pick up the small shifts of wind, because no matter how much they have changed, this was something that he could never control.
"Lin. I—" He gave her that look. That weary, worn out, defeated look he always had after he thought that there was nothing more that he could do.
"We've been drifting apart for some time now—"
"Just say it."
It was the same look on his face as when, after so many falls and a broken arm later, he still couldn't lift himself off of the ground. The same look when Bumi asked out the girl of his dreams before he could even say a word about his feelings. The same look when she refused to live at the air temple with him.
It was the same look he had after his father died.
"This isn't working, Lin. It hasn't for a long time now." A breeze past through them, gentle, refreshing, even, on such a hot day. It was the arm that he couldn't place around her shoulders.
She almost shrugged it off, but instead she dug her toes into the ground, grasping onto his vibrations like it was the only thing that she could see. She could feel the hitch in his breath and the rapid beating of his heart. His hands were shaking.
"Leave." The wind was becoming stronger now, but she didn't even flinch when it blew across her face, fast enough to almost feel like a slap against her cheek.
It simmered down, brushing against her in an apology, either for the slap or for him. She was sure that it was both.
"Lin, you have to understand. We both want completely different things—"
"I want you to leave." Her voice was firm. Unyielding. Unmovable. She dug her heels into it, trying to bury herself into it. But even then, she could still see him—feel him around her.
She wanted to turn away, to block him out. She wanted to yell and scream, and demand for the real reason why. Away from all the flowery words and excuses that she knew he was desperately trying to give her.
"I love you. I'll always love you, Lin, but things change and I'm no longer—"
"Save it for something who wants to hear it."
"—in love with you."
She didn't dare look away from him, staring right into his eyes and challenging his words. She narrowed her eyes and kicked the ground, uprooting it to push him away.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
She didn't move, not when the wind whipped around her, flinging her hair about her face. It became strong enough rise her into the air, but she continued to glare at his retreating back. Even when he was out sight, she felt each step he made through the pathway.
She could see him slump his shoulders and grasp at his forehead. He adjusted his collar one more time and looked back at her. He held his hand out, but it dropped to his side as he shook his head. She allowed one hitch of breath when he stepped back towards her. Her breath caught into her throat when he turned right back around and stepped out of her range.
She allowed another when a gentle wind came and buried itself into her hair.
She could still feel his lie.