An: The S.S. Linzin has fed off too much angst. We need some fluff for a change. So I am here to contribute. Enjoy all, and have a wonderful day knowing that if you read this, you won't end up crying in the corner (like most other Linzin situations end...)
Also, has everyone seen this fanfiction purge, with FF deleting all of these accounts and stories because they aren't properly rated? I guess 'M' isn't hardcore enough for all the smut we poor out. I, also, guess that means I'm going to have to keep my fingers from writing secret Linzin love affair fics for the time being...
As much as Tenzin loved Lin's emerald gaze, he couldn't deny that she looked unbelievably sexy with a blindfold wrapped around her head.
Watching her was something he always found himself doing, but as they aged together, and the rough, teasing child he knew grew into a gorgeous, untouchable woman, he couldn't seem to keep his silvery gray eyes off her...especially when she was bending. During the weeks when Toph would turn her daughter away from her, and pull a gray sash tight over her eyes, Tenzin couldn't keep himself from finding an excuse to disappear from the island, and hide somewhere where he hoped Toph, or Lin, couldn't sense him. There, he would watch.
Watch as her supple lips pouted, and her delicate feet brushed the ground around her. Watch as she learned to see the world through the eyes of her mother, and familiarize herself with what earth bending was created for. Watch as her mother tested her, and the earth seemed to curve around her like a protective serpent. Watch, as she seemed to emanate beauty in everything she did.
"Wow," he breathed hopelessly, as Lin spun, kicked, and punched earth towards her equally blinded mother. With ease, Toph side stepped and palmed away every attack, before unleashing a fury of her own, that Lin simply danced around with a grace that reminded him of his own air bending training.
Perhaps it was from all the days they spent bending at each other, or perhaps it was Aang's influence on her life, but even though her body remained balanced and sturdy, she was able to hold herself as light as air itself. When she was defending, she had the ability to simply step away from her mother's attacks, or dance around them, but when it came for her to strike, her heels dug into the earth and she struck with power that was rooted deep in her core. She emulated the best of both elements, and the signature smirk on her mother's face told him that she was proud.
"Well," Toph said, straightening her body and allowing the levitating boulder to drop noisily to the ground. "I see twinkle toes has taught you something. It's interesting how you've been able to combine two opposite elements so well into a fighting style."
"It wasn't easy," Lin smirked, pulling the blindfold over her head. "When I trained with Tenzin as a child, Uncle Aang always said that air bending techniques could be helpful to any bender. At first, I was never stable enough to remain so light on my feet, because I was too focused on staying attached to the ground. I didn't understand until he took me aside one night and demonstrated that all of the elements flow into each other, and that they all benefit the other. After that, I thought of you, and did what you always tell me. I listened to the earth."
"Interesting," her mother said, crossing her arms over her chest. "How did that help you?"
"Everything touches the earth," Lin began to explain. "And everything has a specific sound to it. Water sounds smooth, and tranquil, even in the roughest storms. Fire sounds like soft snapping, as it does in the air, and air sounds very light and wispy. When Aang would demonstrate an air bending technique, I wouldn't watch his body, I would listen to his feet."
Chuckling, Toph walked up to her daughter and teasingly ruffled her hair. "I'm proud of you, kiddo," she said, before she tapped her finger under Lin's chin and smiled softly. "You've done well. You're free to have the rest of the day to yourself."
"Thanks mom," she grumbled, instantly going to fix her messed up hair. Running her fingers through her curls, she waited until her mother was far enough away, before she turned to a particular tree off the edge of their training grounds, and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm surprised, Tenzin. I didn't know you could remain perched in one place for so long."
Caught, his face instantly flushed, and he cursed that she still didn't have the blindfold on. Knowing that either way, she would feel his elevated heartbeat, he floated to the ground and cautiously walked closer to her. "And here I thought I found the perfect spot to hide where you couldn't hear me."
"If I can hear your father's feet when he bends, you can be sure I can feel your heartbeat, wherever you are," she said, untying the knot placed in the silk sash. "So, what brings you off the island? Wanting to watch me train?"
"Of course not," he said, turning away from her slightly. "I just wanted some fresh air...decided I would see the town some today. I was flying home, and thought I would just stop by...to say 'hi' and whatnot."
Chuckling, Lin ran her fingers along the silk fabric, and quirked an eyebrow in Tenzin's direction. "I know you're lying. You came because you wanted to watch me."
"Well, I always watch you," Tenzin began, before another flush colored his cheeks and his hand rose to rub at the back of his neck. "Watch you bending...I mean."
"Sure," she smirked, holding the sash up for the young air bender to see. "Wanna give it a try?"
"Uh...not really," he said, backing away, until he felt earth close around his legs and lock him in place. Sighing, he watched as she held onto her playful smirk and stepped forward with the blindfold. Carefully, she placed the fabric over his eyes and brought her hands behind his head, allowing him to breath in the delicious earthen scent that clung to her skin while she tied off the knot behind his head.
"No peeking," she whispered in finality, before she walked away from him and flicked her fingers to set him free from her bonds. "Now...first things first. Since you can't see, what are you focusing on?"
"Everything," he answered, his pulse rising instantly now that his sight was gone.
"What is everything?"
"What I hear, what I feel, what I smell," he said, his fingers clenching nervously.
"Relax, Tenzin," she laughed, from some place he couldn't pinpoint. "You don't have to be scared, I promise."
"I'm just...not fond of this idea," Tenzin muttered, breathing in and out evenly in hopes of calming his racing heart. "Continue."
Instantly, she was behind him, and he jumped as he felt her hands rest on his tensed shoulders. Softly, she slid her fingers along the lines of his muscles, and waited until he relaxed under her hands before she continued to speak. "When one of your senses are taken away, your others automatically heighten. Earth benders benefit from touch mostly, but we always listen, and we always take in every scent that lingers on the wind. Try to imagine how the badgermoles see the world, and how they have managed to survive. Do you feel your senses heightened?"
Throat instantly dry, he simply nodded and rooted himself in a stance to keep himself from melting under her soothing massage. He could smell her, all around him, and every time she spoke, it felt as if her lips were brushing right against his ear. Yeah, his senses were heightened, and they were filled by her.
"Good," she said, walking from behind him and moving to stand before the calmed air bender. "Now, try to direct your focus into feeling. Try to feel where I am, where I am connected to the earth. When you think you've targeted me, direct an attack towards me."
Quietly, she walked back, and slightly to the left of him; her breathing inaudible and her body still. Still in his stance, he closed his eyes behind the blindfold and breathed deeply, focusing on the feeling of being connected to the earth, and searching for that connection somewhere around him. His picture of the world was vague, but he managed to see something, and going out on a limb, he turned and sent a burst of air in that direction.
Much to both of their surprises, the wind hit her square in her chest and ruffled her hair softly. Smirking, she nodded and shook her head in disbelief. "You learn quickly, Tenzin. How did you find me?"
"I thought about what it felt like to be connected to the earth," he answered truthfully, trying his best to describe his method in words. "There is something...substantial about being on steady ground, but searching for that wasn't enough. I thought further, and even though touching earth is substantial, it is also temporary. We always move, and I attempted to see if there was anything else around me that was...temporary."
"How poetic," she smirked, deepening herself into a fighting stance. "Ready to try something a little more fast paced?"
"I...I don't know," Tenzin said, backing away, before he felt the earth shift under him and was sent stumbling forward from one of Lin's attack's. Unable to see her face, but certain she was smiling, he sighed, and straightened out his hands in preparation for a fight. Sucking in a calming breath, he focused his attention into the ground, and trusted his body to react accordingly.
Waiting until he was prepared, she slammed her foot into the ground and spun as she sent the rock speeding for his feet. Listening to both the earth, and the air, he circled around the attack and extending his hand to blow furious gusts of air in her direction. Earth rose to protect her, and she used the slab to send out a wave of rolling rubble in his direction. Jutting his hand out, air pushed the wave away, and once more, he countered her. Move after move happened like this, she sending out the attacks, and he dodging them before bending the air around her. Sweat started to appear on her brow, and her attacks became stronger and more steady as she attempted to knock him down, but even then he remained light, and even managed to get so close to her that he grabbed her wrist before she bent at him and swept her feet out from under her.
Listening, he could hear the breath leaving her lungs at the unexpected attack, and he quickly extended his hand to grab her waist before she hit the ground. Lowering her slowly, they ended up with her lying in the dusty arena, and him knelt beside her with one hand holding her wrist, and the other clasped firmly around her waist. Fleetingly, his eyes closed as he could feel the racing of her heart through his hands, but seconds later he let her go and simply remained silent.
Sighing, she rested a hand on her stomach, before she sat up and gently pushed the fabric up to his forehead. Underneath the sash, two wide gray eyes stared into her own, and she could feel his pace speeding up before the pink tint highlighted his cheeks. Swallowing hard, the lump in her throat disappeared, but her stomach continued to quiver, and her eyes darted about.
Smiling, he could feel the barely there beat of her heart underneath his fingertips, and noticed that the pulses reached him as quickly as his own heart was beating. Her irises sparkled, her pupils were wide with fear, and he knew she was close to running. Instead of allowing her to flee, he pulled the sash off his bald head and used it to cover her eyes once more. Blinded, the world came to her in full color, but after a few seconds she felt Tenzin disappear, and a visible frown pulled at her lips.
"Tenzin?" she asked, digging her fingers deeper into the ground, before she felt the soft brush of air bender feet behind her. Turning over her shoulder, she parted her lips to call his name, but was instantly silenced when she turned into a soft kiss.
She sighed as the tender brush of his warm lips sent electricity pulsing through her veins, but as quickly as he was there, he was gone and all she was left with was his gentle whisper on the wind.
"Thanks for my lesson."