CHAPTER 2

One by one


Lin and Tenzin arrive early at the island and nostalgia takes over. One by one, everyone else shows up and the chaos begins.


Lin stood at the entrance of the Ember Island beach house, gazing wistfully at the location of so many of her best memories. After Air Temple island, this beach house had been the setting for many milestones in her life. Tenzin and her would celebrate their shared birthday every year here, surrounded by their entire family. They had shared their first kiss on the beach behind her, in the same waves that lapped lazily against the shore. The sands of the shore were witness to her furious attempts at improving her sand-bending. It had also absorbed all her tears, that shed freely for days on end, after her relationship with Tenzin had ended.

"Not going to go inside?" Tenzin came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and planting gentle kisses on her shoulder and neck.

"It's been...a long long time since I came here.", Lin whispered placing her hands on his.

They swayed with the ocean breeze in silence, both lost in the nostalgia that emanated from every part of the house.

"Come on", Tenzin said as he grabbed her hand and walked inside.

They were the first ones there, as per Bolin's master plan. Since they were closer to Ember Island than Suyin, it was decided that they would arrive early to ready the house for everyone, much to Lin's exasperation.

It's just a small weekend getaway. Big whoop!

Jinora and Kai would join them after they were done with the day's training sessions at the air temple island, and bring Mako with them. Suyin and family would be arriving later in the evening. Caretakers came every week to maintain and clean the house, so there wasn't really that much work for them to do after all.

"This room seems fine for Suyin and Baatar, and Wei and Wing can take the adjacent one", Tenzin said as he placed new linen in the shelf.

"I'm sure Huan would want a room far far away so his 'individuality' isn't crushed."

Tenzin let out a hearty laugh as Lin rolled her eyes. They walked to the room across the corridor and began opening the windows.

"Opal and Bolin can take this one." Lin continued her narration.

"What? You must be joking", Tenzin gasped.

Lin looked at him with an innocent look.

"They can't stay in the same room!"

"Who else will Opal stay with…", a smirk began forming on Lin's face. "Jinora will be with Kai after all."

Tenzin's face turned red causing Lin to burst into laughter. He was at a loss for words and Lin took pity on the poor father.

"Relax, airhead. I'm kidding. This will be Opal and Jinora's room. Bolin and Kai can share one of the rooms upstairs. Mako may need a separate room, for the sake of his sanity."

Lin chuckled as she imagined the horror on Mako's face if she informed him to be in the same room as Bolin and Kai.

"Now that we're all done, how about we go to our room."

Tenzin suggested as he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. Lin smiled as she leaned in closer till she was inches from his face.

"Double standards, Master Tenzin? If Opal-Bolin and Kai-Jinora can't share a room, then I believe it's only fair that we stay in separate rooms as well."

Lin's lips lingered near Tenzin's for a brief moment and then she pulled back and made her way out of the room.

"Wait, what?" Tenzin called out to her as she walked up the spiral stairs.

"Don't worry, there are eight rooms here. More than enough for all of us", Lin continued walking with an ever growing smirk.

Tenzin caught up with her just as she was going to enter the first room and stepped in front of her blocking the doorway.

"You know I'm not going to agree to that."

Lin placed a finger on his chest and pushed him backwards into the room.

"I'm sorry Councilman. You don't have a choice. You made the rules, after all."

Tenzin caught her waist and pushed her against the wall and whispered in her ear.

"Well then, I guess I'm going to have to resort to old tricks like when we used to come here with our families."

Lin couldn't control the blush from spreading across her face as she remembered their escapades in every family trip. Even after the family had become aware of their relationship, Katara and Aang's rules forced them to stay in separate rooms. But that didn't stop them from sneaking around. It was also more fun that way.

Her attention snapped back to the present moment when she felt Tenzin press his body against her and felt his hungry lips on hers. She felt a giddiness take over her stomach. After all these years, it was still fun, sneaking around or not.


"Tenzin, they're here", Lin felt the ground by the bed.

"What...who", Tenzin mumbled as he tried to pull her back into bed.

"Tenzin! Jinora, Kai and Mako are here. Get up!"

Before Tenzin could process her words, Lin shot up and began dressing. He groaned and looked out the window.

"Already? Class shouldn't have been over for another hour!"

"Get up, airhead. Unless you want your daughter to walk in on us."

That was enough motivation for Tenzin to airbend his clothes to him and don his robes in a hurry. Lin was already making her way to the door when she felt a hand grab her by the wrist. Tenzin spun her around and placed his hand behind her head, pulling her in for a deep, intense kiss. It lasted only a few seconds but left her breathless.

"One last one before the chaos descends."

Tenzin smirked and headed out, leaving a dazed Lin behind. She heard him greet the new arrivals and shook her head and followed.

"Chief", Mako gave her a nod as she came out to where they stood near Pepper, Jinora's bison.

"Aunt Lin!" Jinora hugged her and stood by her side. Lin felt her step closer and whisper in her ear.

"The hair at the back of your head is all mussed."

Lin froze to her spot as Jinora ran her hand over hair to smoothen it down. She coughed and cleared her throat, willing her blush away.

"Uh..let's get all the stuff inside", she cursed to herself unable to avoid the flustered tone.

"Yep, we have everything that was on Bolin's long, long list." Kai chimed in as Jinora chuckled and Tenzin and Mako looked at the two ladies in confusion.

Once they had brought everything inside, the kids headed to their assigned rooms.

"Jinora, this is your and Opal's room", Tenzin pointed, "and Kai, your room is upstairs with Bolin. Right next to mine." Tenzin added with a subtle but stern tone.

Both Jinora's and Kai's faces turned red as Lin shook her head, more in amusement at Tenzin than the kids. But Jinora quickly recovered from the insinuation.

"Don't worry, Dad. My hair won't be mussed like Aunt Lin's."

This time both Tenzin and Lin froze to the spot.


"The picnic table has been set at the back and decorated just the way Mr. Bolin wanted." Mako sighed as he joined Lin in the kitchen. She let out a light laugh and patted him on the shoulder.

"I know, I know. Why do you think I'm hiding here. Tea?"

Mako nodded and leaned against the counter as Lin poured hot tea into a cup and slid it towards him.

"I could use something stronger", he muttered as he took a sip.

"Don't worry, I brought back-up. Let's save it for later, though, when we'll really need it."

They smiled as they clinked their tea cups. "Cheers." They said in unison.

"The other Beifongs are here", Jinora announced as she entered the kitchen.

"Here we go", Lin let out a long exhale. Soon enough, they heard the commotion caused by Wei and Wing as they ran all over the house. Lin grunted as Jinora dragged her by the arm.

"Lin!" Suyin strode towards her beaming. "So they convinced you to come. I must say I am a bit surprised. But I'm so glad to see you!"

Lin let her hug her although Suyin held her for longer than she would have liked. She patted her on the back as she pulled apart determined to end the hug.

"Come on, let's get you all settled in before the birthday girl and her babbling buffoon of a boyfriend arrive."

She glanced at Mako, "No offense."

"None taken, Chief."

Tenzin joined them followed by Baatar and a sulking Huan who headed straight to his room that Lin pointed to.

"Where's Baatar jr?" Jinora inquired.

"Oh, he couldn't make it. He wanted to stay back and help with the rebuilding projects in Zaofu", her tone saddened. "I think he feels guilty still, and is overcompensating for all the damage Kuvira…"

Baatar put his arm behind her and rubbed her back in understanding.

"It's alright, dear. He needs time."

"I need a new room", Huan stood in his doorway, leaning against the frame. "This room's energy doesn't match mine. It's affecting my aura."

Lin and Tenzin looked at each other and curled their lips inwards in an attempt to stifle their laughter.


Opal held Bolin's hand tightly, her anticipation growing with every second. The journey on Juicy seemed never ending especially since Bolin refused to tell her where they were headed.

"Come on, Bolin. Pleaaaseee. Tell me! I can't wait any longer!"

Bolin smirked and shook his head, putting his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

"Patience, my fair air nomad."

Opal huffed and pouted much to Bolin's amusement.

"Maybe this will make time go by faster."

He leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips. Opal blushed and turned her body closer to his, deepening the kiss. Bolin was right, time suddenly was flying by.


A/N:

So far the writing is going steady. Last week, I was concerned my well had dried up and even though I had the idea for this storyline, I wasn't sure if I could build it up into a rich, fun, interesting story. Any suggestions, comments and feedback will be MUCH appreciated to keep me going!

It was fun referencing old dialogs like 'Big whoop!' and 'You're crushing my individuality!'. I also wanted to dig into Bopal because they're such a good couple and the relationship unfortunately didn't have a more definite conclusion in the show!