Pema watched the reunion just staring. "Hello children, Pema. Why don't we go in and put dinner on the table while they, uh, catch up." Tenzin said uncomfortably coming towards them with Jinora on his heels.
Pema was stunned, but managed to nod in agreement because they definitely need to talk. "Yes, come on Ikki, Meelo." She says, finding her voice.
"But who is-" Ikki started to say as Jinora pushed both her younger brother and sister towards the house. Pema followed mutely as Tenzin trailed behind even her. She could see by the look on his face combined with Katara's and his siblings reactions that she had guessed correctly. Lin Beifong was alive and well after 20 years of supposedly being dead. She sat down at the small kitchen table trying and failing to put it all together, how did Tenzin and Jinora find Lin, without having any of the information. Ikki and Meelo stayed standing too wired and confused about what was happening to sit. Tenzin too stayed standing even as Jinora sat across from her with an unreadable expression but Pema swore she saw concern or sympathy in her eyes.
"What's going on Dad?" Ikki asked, rolling slightly on her feet and craning her neck to look out the window at the reunion.
"Someone from my past is back." Tenzin starts awkwardly. "She- We thought she was dead for the last twenty years but it turns out she wasn't."
"But who is she Dad?" Meelo asked, inpatient trying to see them like Ikki.
"Her name is Lin Biefong." Tenzin said, hesitantly glancing at Pema as he did so.
"Like Su's sister?" Ikki asked stopping to turn towards her father. Su had met the kids a hand full of time in the past few years but it wasn't until after harmonic convergence that she had really gotten to know the kids decently.
"Yes, she is Su's older sister." Tenzin taking a deep breath. "And my first wife." There it was out Pema thought, Tenzin hated talking about Lin to anyone that wasn't Su and even then it was usually alcohol induced. She agreed with him that Meelo was a little immature to explain all of it to him, but Ikki was right about the age Jinora had learned about her. Either way that was taken out of their hands as Lin Beifong was standing not 50 meters away from their house, somehow alive well and breathing.
Meelo stilled, "Wait, first wife?" he asked his dad but was looking between both herself and Tenzin.
"Yes, I was married to her before she died." Tenzin explained gently.
"But abbot Jun says people only marry once." Meelo said, wrinkling his nose.
Pema could feel Jinora's eye flit between her parents, unsure of her place in this conversation. "Well, no not everyone is like that." Tenzin started to explain. Pema winced internally, she didn't envy him, marriage and divorce were taboo topics even in modern Republic City and Abbot Jun wasn't what she would call progressive. "Some people never marry and some marriages fail and when that happens, people get divorced. In my case my wife, Lin, died young or we thought she did. So I eventually got remarried." Tenzin was clearly unsure how exactly to explain all of this to a nine year old, but what she was still stuck on was how did Lin come back from the dead.
"Tenzin, I- everyone thought she was dead. What happened?" She asked him finally breaking to the conversation.
"I found her, mom." Jinora said. "When we were on our mission. She was living at the village we were helping, she didn't have any memories before the explosion that supposedly killed her. Opal and I, we noticed a few things that didn't add up and asked Dad about it. Turned out it was Lin." She explained.
"And she remembers now?" Pema asks, looking between her husband and daughter.
"Yes, we went to the swamp and she remembered everything." That only vaguely made sense to Pema, she remembered some story about the swamp helping Korra but frankly she hadn't really believed it.
"Anyway," Tenzin continued glancing at her before plunging on. "You understand that I was married to Lin like I'm now married to mom, right? Well, uhh it turns out that we have a daughter together. Meaning you have a half sister."
Pema was shocked by the news, as were the kids who all started at Tenzin for a solid minute, gapping at him. Pema supposed it would make sense, they had been married for a long time, but she had never thought about the late chief of Police as motherly for everything she had heard about her and because she could barely think of Su as such. She did the quick math and supposed that the girl would be around twenty.
"Asha, she's really nice." Jinora offered breaking the silence.
"Can we meet her? Meelo asked, getting excited again.
"When they come in for dinner. Yes I'll introduce you to both Lin and Asha, but let them catch up with Gran Gran, Kya and Bumi first." Tenzin told him. Pema was still reeling over the new information about both Lin and Asha. She didn't know what had happened or was happening anymore and she decided to give up trying to unravel how Lin survived at least for the moment. She needed something else to focus on to keep her world from absolutely dissolving in the span of 15 minutes.
She cleared her throat, "Come on let's finish dinner." She told the kids.
Lin was laughing as she was almost tackled by Bumi and Kya. She let the relief at finally being home wash over her. Since her memories came back the aching to reconnect with that person she had been before had been growing. It was like she wanted to introduce the Kyra she had been with Lin who she was. She had been steadily getting more and more nervous as they got closer to Republic City and then Katara's reaction hadn't helped. She felt bad about that, almost worrying that Su's joke would come true as she watched the now elderly woman cover her mouth and go pale in speechless surprise at seeing her long dead niece and daughter in law back again. Bumi and Kya's reactions had been as energetic as Katara's was emotional.
Kya finally pulled her back and let Lin breathe. "What? What!" she said unable to form a question. Lin laughed as Bumi too released her and she stepped back, able to look at all three of them.
"Well, I survived." Lin said wryly, shrugging her shoulders.
"Really no shit!" Bumi laughed shaking his head at her.
"No, I thought I was hugging a ghost." Kya deadpanned, spreading her hands but a stupid grin covered both of their faces.
"We are very happy to see you alive and well." Katara chuckled, squeezing her arm. "But what happened?" Her voice going serious.
"I lost my memory is the short version." Lin shrugged. She glanced around to see Asha standing around with the other teens supposedly unpacking the bison. "First," She said motioning for Asha to come over. Thankfully Opal seemed to take this as permission to leave and managed to pull Kai and Korra away from the family reunion. "This is Asha, Tenzin's and mine daughter."
Kya's and Bumi's jaw dropped again. "You too had a kid?"
Katara smiled brightly though. "It is an honor to meet you dear." She said, taking Asha's hands. "You look so much like you mom did at your age."
"It's nice to meet all of you." Asha said, but Lin could hear some nerves in her tone. She figured it must be worse for her as she had never been outside of the small mountain villages since she was five. Lin had at least grown up here and all of these people were family not strangers.
"You were pregnant?" Bumi asked a little dumbfounded.
Lin rolled her eyes as she thought that was pretty obvious. "Asha, this is your Aunt Kya, Uncle Bumi and your grandmother Katara." she introduced them all.
"You may call me Gran Gran." Katara told her warmly.
"Okay, explain everything." Kya ordered. "How did this happen?" gesturing between her and Asha.
Lin smirked. "I thought that part was obvious..."
Bumi faked barfed. "I don't need to hear that, but seriously how did you survive that explosion?"
Lin took a breath. "I don't really know. I blacked out for most of it. When I woke up I was in the earth kingdom and an Old woman had saved me and I didn't remember anything." Lin shrugged. "Then I found out I was pregnant, I ran into Toph at one point, she died saving Asha. When Nan, the old woman, died I moved up into the mountains and we lived there until Jinora and the Avatar came to help with the Earth Empire. Then we went to a magical swamp and I got my memory back." Lin summed up nonchalantly.
"Uh wow" Bumi offered first. "That's crazy.
"Well, all that matters is that you're back home now." Katara said. "That swamp is a, special place, I'm glad it helped you." Lin could tell Katara might use a different adjective to describe her time there.
"Anything I missed with you guys?" Lin asked, looking to not talk about herself.
"I can airbend now!" Bumi told her excitedly. They caught up Bumi and Kya telling her about their travels and Katara questioned both her and Asha in what Lin was sure was only the beginning of a very long interrogation of the last 20 years of her life. Jinora came to get them after a little while to tell them that dinner is ready.
"I'm sure Tenzin told you about his family." Kya said quietly to her.
Lin nodded. "He did. We talked, it's fine." she told her but was aware that everyone else probably heard. On her end, she was fine with it but what was actually going to happen that she was about to find out. After all Pema and the kids were definitely going to be thrown for a loop with her being back and Tenzin was likely not going to help on that end.
Pema didn't know what she was expecting Lin and Asha to be like maybe just like they were but both didn't say much all of dinner. Lin had clearly been uncomfortable with the younger kids as soon as she had been introduced to them and Asha too seemed awkwards. Pema guessed that she should have expected them to both be overwhelmed by all of this. Lin in particular seemed put off by Meelo's and Ikki's energy, although she seemed fine when interacting with Jinora. Then again Jinora was far more laid back than her siblings. Asha was just looking around at everything. Kya and Bumi did almost all the talking during dinner saving the other adults from the awkwardness of the situation. They mostly told stories to the kids of their childhood that involved all of them, with Lin and Tenzin correcting them here and there and Katara interjecting ever so often. There were also plenty of questions to Lin about her life the past twenty years but she was putting on a masterclass in defecting and diverting the conversation to literally anything else.
Kya volunteers to help her with the dishes after dinner as the rest of them continued to talk. After dinner, how good Asha was at airbending was the main topic of conversation. Meelo and Ikki had wanted to find out but Tenzin and likely Katara had talked the kids into waiting for tomorrow to see. From there the conversation had devolved into which of the adults were the better fighter. Lin seemed more involved in this arguing with Bumi about who knew more hand to hand combat skills. Pema was slightly surprised to hear Tenzin plead his case but he was alway competitive with his sibling. Bumi, Kya and even Lin mostly ignored his argument though.
"Bumi that didn't happen." Lin said skeptically at one of his outlandish stories.
"I'm telling you it did." Bumi argued. "With only a toothpick the entire squad."
"Sure, just like that sea monster you wrestled and turned out to be a turtle duck, a net and some seaweed." Tenzin deadpanned.
"I saved you at the southern spirit portal didn't I. Single handedly, I might add." Bumi pouted crossing his arms.
"Yeah we decide that must have been Divine intervention." Kya told him with fake sympathy and Tenzin nodding along.
"I was right about air bending too! Without me you wouldn't have an air nation." Bumi tells them sticking his nose in the air.
"So I get to blame you for ruining my kid. You know she flys 10 feet in the air and talks to spirits now? Gee thanks." Lin says sarcastically crossing her arms at him
"Hey!" Asha cried glaring at her mom.
"Don't worry I still like you half the time." Lin told her but she was smirking as she did so.
"Mooom" Asha whined. Jinora was smiling watching the sparring match between the siblings with amusement.
"Don't worry Tenny is thrilled." Bumi told her.
"Tenny?" Asha asked, amused. Tenzin huffed at his brother.
"Which reminds me," Lin said "whatever your father tells you tomorrow about nonviolence and avoiding conflict ignore it."
"Hey!" Tenzin glared at her.
"I wouldn't have all of my parenting about standing your ground be thrown out. so you can be some flighty airhead like him." She sticks her thumb at him. They are sitting next to each other on the couch but not touching.
"They're good teachings if the world was more like the air nation…" Pema had to hide her smile of amusement as Kya, Bumi and Lin all mouthed his words along with him.
"Too bad. She's a Beifong. She needs to have the attitude of an earth bender." Lin says with an almost mock glare at him.
"My dear, I'm pretty sure that's genetic." Tenzin tells her dryly. She smacks his shoulder lightly and he catches her hand and holds it for a long moment before releasing it. They went on like that for a while until Lin started asking about her old house in the city.
"Su still owns it. I have a key. I can take you there tomorrow if you like." Tenzin told her.
"I'd like to see what's still there." Lin agreed.
"Most of your stuff is in the attic here." Kya told her. "I don't think Tenzin ever got rid of most of it."
"Yes, we can look now if you like." Tenzin offered.
"Sure" Lin agreed, rising and following Tenzin out of the room. The others went back to talking. Pema just listened to it all think about how Tenzin and Lin had seemed so comfortable with each other just now. She wasn't surprised about it per say but it did mean that Tenzin had a choice coming up.
"I'm going to put him to bed." Pema said when Rohan started to fuss for Katara. She gets up and takes him out of the room. She didn't really want to be in there any longer anyways. It was awkward for her now that they or at least Lin and Tenzin had settled in to chatting with Bumi and Kya. She was glad for the reprieve especially after Tenzin had left with Lin to go up to the attic to see if she wanted any of her old stuff for the night. Kya and Bumi were never especially close with her and Katara had been talking with Jinora and Asha. Rohan was easy enough to be put down as he had missed his nap and had been half asleep when he had woken back up in Katara's arms. She passed by the drop ladder to the attic and can hear Lin and Tenzin moving boxes and talking.
"Tenzin, be practical." Lin was saying as she heard the wood creek above her.
"I am." Tenzin responded. "Other people have done it." She is disappointed in herself that she only considers eavesdropping for a millisecond before doing so. Lin snorts and says something but she can't make out what it was.
"I love you." Tenzin said in response, there is almost irritation in his voice. "I'll say that to you everyday until you understand." The response should hurt her and it does but she expects it to. She doesn't think his eyes had left Lin the entire time they had been together after coming in from dinner. She knew he had loved her deeply and always would, this was just proof.
"I do understand." Lin snapped. "But it's not that easy or simple and you know it." That might had been the understatement of the century, Pema thought.
There's a pause. "You know the day you died I never told you I loved you." Tenzin says it is almost too quiet for Pema to hear but she can hear the pain in his tone. "We were running late. You gave me a kiss and told me you loved me while you ran out of the door. And I never kissed you back or told you how much I love you." Pema could feel her heart twinge in sympathy for that, if he had been blaming himself all of these years for that and letting that eat at him.
"Tenzin." she thinks she hears Lin say but can't make it out. "I knew, I know you love me." Lin's voice is soft but there's also conviction in her words. Whatever's said for the next minute is too quiet to hear when she hears them start to move around again she hurries back to the living room afraid they'd see her.