"Councilman Tenzin and Pema are expecting their first child," the newspapers all read.

"Will it be an airbender?"

Lin kept herself on office duty all day to avoid the media. She showed up to work early and left late; it was the only way of having any modicum of privacy. She thought after the wedding, the humiliation would stop, but it just kept going. Everyone wanted to know how the jilted ex felt about everything. Sometimes, she felt like she was nothing more than Tenzin's ex-lover or the girl who Pema replaced. She wished she was just Lin.

It was so unfair. How did he keep her identity yet she lost hers? She still had a photo of her and Tenzin at her desk. He hugged her when she first joined the force. Uncle Aang took the photo. Even he didn't see this coming when he died. He did tell Tenzin to start getting serious, but he didn't even realize how Tenzin would take those words.

Aang watched from above. He wanted his son to be happy, but he loved Lin too, and it was unsettling how sad she still was after all this time. He just wanted her to find someone.

Sokka was watching someone from above too. His son, a man Sokka must admit he never met, wandered around aimlessly, looking for somewhere to belong. The man deserved more than the hand he got dealt, but for reasons beyond his control, he was alone in the world, away from the women who raised him, estranged from his only sister and had never even seen his only niece except for in photographs that were published in the paper.

Suki was with her husband and her good friend Aang in the spirit world. "Maybe we should help them along?"

It was a Friday. Lin was headed home like she usually was but on the way, she saw a bar she had not seen before. She wasn't sure why, but she could hear a voice telling her to go inside, so she did. She got to the bar and there was a tall man drinking alone on the side. She was about to find the other corner to sit by herself, but he turned to her and smiled. His hair was raven black, his eyes gold, and he had nice, strong looking cheekbones. His nice jacket all but swore he was Fire Nation nobility.

"You should try the fallen lady."

"What?"

"It's a drink here. I think it's more interesting than the swill you usually find in bars."

Why not? Lin ordered one and sat down near him.

"You weren't waiting for someone, were you?"

"Oh no. Can't say I have anyone to wait for these days."

"Did you ever?" That sounded rude. She didn't know why she said that.

"Well, my mother was always late picking me up from school, so I used to wait for her everyday."

She snickered. "My mother didn't always remember at all. By the time I was eight, I could walk home by myself."

"I was far enough away that my mother drove me to school on her motorcycle."

"She didn't have a car?"

"Nah. Motorcycles are 1/3 the price and cheaper to fuel."

"You hardly look like someone who is low on money."

He shrugged. "I'm nouveau riche in a way. I had humbler beginnings."

Lin's drink arrived. "It was boozy and had dark chocolate. I think I'm in heaven."

"I thought you might like it."

"Because it's chocolate?"

"Yeah and it has whiskey. It was also a test. If whiskey and chocolate were a problem for you, I'm pretty sure that's a deal breaker."

She rolled her eyes. "It sounds like a rule my mother would have, although she might prioritize meat over chocolate. I wouldn't."

"Me neither."

A few rounds later and Lin was officially too drunk to drive home. A few rounds after that and she showed him her rarely seen goofy side.

"I never had a father to take me to work, so my "uncle Sokka" took me with him. I was all excited to see what a Councilman did all day. I swear that he had the most boring job I ever saw. I was so bored that I started practicing my metalbending and somehow I managed to destroy the entire electricity system in City Hall. They had to fly in the world's experts to get it running by the next day. My mother says she never got such a big bill in her life. She contested it of course. I was too young to be sued, but it was a story I didn't get to live down, well, she still makes fun of me for it. How did a vandal like you make Police Chief? I swear she's an old bag."

He laughed. "I never knew my father either. I was actually adopted, but I met my birth mother as she was friends with the woman who she gave me to."

"What was she like?"

"She did her best, but I quickly understood why she gave me up. She had PTSD after the war and she got psychiatric care, but it didn't work so well, and she ran away, struggling to make it on her own. When she found out she was pregnant, she knew she wanted something more stable for her child, so she gave me to her best friend."

"Did your father know about you?"

"He did, but he was married and my mother didn't want his wife to leave him, so she decided for him that I would live with her friend instead. He didn't contest it, and before I could try to meet him as an adult, he died. I have a sister, but I don't know if she knows about me. I didn't want to destroy the image she has of our father or her parents' marriage, so I never contacted her. I saw her in public once. I even saw her with our dad, but she was also with her mom, and they all looked so happy. I just turned and walked away."

Lin couldn't believe how similar this guy was to her: no father, shaky relationship with his mother who probably was never meant to raise kids and a sister who's out of his life. On the outside, he looked perfect, but somehow, he was just as broken as she. Before she knew it, she slipped her arms around him. He returned in kind. He was clearly a firebender. Only firebenders got this warm without being sick.

It felt good to be held like this, and not out of pity like she felt almost every hug she got since Tenzin left her had been. His lips brushed against hers, a kiss light enough not to be offensive if she didn't feel the same way. Lin did nothing lightly and pulled his head to hers, crashing their lips together.

Kuzon's mouth was sweet and spicy and it was so warm, almost too warm, but right now he was perfect. Her hands ran through his long locks. His hair was longer than hers and prettier too. His arms found their way around her body. They were strong. He had been a member of the United Forces before he retired out and went into business.

He offered to share a taxi ride home with her. She couldn't drive, so she accepted. Their hands touched, and they ended up making out the whole way there. He had been expecting to go to his home after she got dropped off, but then they stumbled out of the cab together, fumbling as they got to her door. He picked her up, unsure of where her bedroom actually was and she had to direct him.

Her home was gorgeous, courtesy of being a Bei Fong, but he could admire the architecture later. Right now, he had a more pressing matter, and it was pressing into her stomach.

He was the first man in her bed since Tenzin and the two were nothing alike. Lin always had taken charge with the airhead, but Kuzon was different. He moved quickly and confidently, lips searing into her neck and poker like fingertips exploring her body intently. She would keep fighting him for control, but she would only let him win in the end. She wanted him on top of her, and it wasn't just because he was gorgeous. Somehow, she completely trusted him and she didn't trust anybody.

She wrapped her legs around him. He whispered something just for her in her ear before he leaned forward. This was it. There was no stopping now.