I really wish we had seen more of Lin and Tenzin's friendship in the show-but that's what we have fic for! Shoutout to braigwen_s for the idea, you're the best. I hope you enjoy, please read and review :)

Lin knew even before she opened her eyes that the day had come.

After one excruciatingly long year of traveling to the various Air Nomad temples to show off his new arrows, Tenzin was finally coming home.

She launched herself out of bed and threw on the ao dai she had been airing out specifically for the occasion. The billowy pants were cut from black silk, and the green high-necked tunic fit against her in such a way that she thought—

She thought—

Well, who cared what she thought? Tenzin was coming home today and this was the set of clean clothes she had and that was that. She shoved her feet into the corresponding flats as a sleepy Suyin, who had somehow heard her from down the hall, mumbled for her to be quiet. Lin responded by slamming the front door shut.

The stars were still in the sky as Lin made her way onto the first ferry. She nodded her hello to the acolyte steering the ship and settled into her favorite seat: the very front, perfect for watching Air Temple Island come into view. A gentle tinkling caught her attention and she looked up to see strings of delicate lanterns decorating the boat. Lin grinned. Leave it to Aunt Katara to decorate everything possible.

Within minutes the boat docked. She stepped off and strode through the island, past the halls, past the courtyards, past the orchards, all the way to the cliff.

Their cliff.

It wasn't much—just a grassy part of the island jutting out into the sea—but it was the one part of the island where they were never disturbed. They had found it as children when Tenzin had taken her around the island on his first air glider, and they had gone back ever since. This cliff hosted some of her favorite memories, of deep conversations as the sun rose or set. She dropped into a cross-legged position as the first rays of light began to streak across the sky and sighed. "I'm so glad this is the last sunrise without you."

"Me too."

Lin turned around in alarm to see a bald teen leaning on an air glider. He wore maroon pants and a yellow high-necked sleeveless tunic, which showed off both blue tattoos and a surprisingly muscular physique. Her breath caught in her chest and she threw herself into the teen's outstretched arms. "Tenzin," she mumbled into his chest—was he taller than her now?—her voice tight with emotion.

"Lin," he whispered, his voice equally strained. He held her for a couple beats longer, then released her. His gaze flickered over her, as if he couldn't believe that she was in front of him. "I missed you."

Lin pulled him back into a hug. "I missed you too." She let him go, her gaze lingering on his muscles. "When did you get those?"

"What, the arm muscles? That's what happens when each abbot wants you to demonstrate your mastery. And by demonstrate mastery, I mean demonstrate every. Single. Move. I don't blame them, though, there's not exactly a whole lot of air benders around."

"No, that there's not."

Tenzin sighed, then did a double take. "Are those—is that—new clothes?"

Lin blushed. So he had noticed. She shouldn't have ever doubted. "Oh, yeah. Yeah they are. Do you—"

Tenzin's eyes widened, and he nodded. "Uh, yeah, Yeah, yeah, I do."

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thanks." She looked up to see that the sun had fully risen. Already she could feel the tingle of a bustling island kicking into higher gear. Ugh, she didn't want them to be disturbed, not yet. "Hey, you wanna go for a walk?

"Same path?"

"As if there'd be a different one."

Tenzin grinned, and the two began to walk side by side down towards the temple library at the center of the island. If they so happened to meander through the orchards, well, that was just a coincidence. "So," he started off, plucking a couple apples for them off a low-hanging branch and offering one to Lin, "what have I missed?

"Nuh-uh, I ask the questions first," Lin replied, biting into her apple. Crisp and not too sweet-he knew just how she liked them. "First off, when did you get back? I thought you were supposed to arrive at noon today!"

"Yeah, so did I," Tenzin said. "I thought we were supposed to arrive at 12 noon…turns out it was 12 midnight instead. Not sure if that was an accident, or intentional on Dad's part."

"Well, good thing math wasn't required for getting your tattoos," Lin said, playfully nudging him with her shoulder. "But I'm sure your family was thrilled."

"Of course they were. Mom cried. Kya and Bumi actually seemed thrilled by my presence."

"Speaking of Bumi—"

Tenzin raised an eyebrow as they walked up to the temple library, then looked around conspiratorially. Satisfied that no one was around, he turned to Lin. "Yeah, speaking of things I've missed, can we talk about how Bumi proposed to the Izumi?"

"And she said yes! I mean—"

"Right?"

They leaned against the doors, laughing until their stomachs ached. Lin had missed this.

More than that, she had missed him.

"C'mon, let's get to the bookbinding room," Tenzin wheezed, opening the door for them both. "Because—"

"Oh I know."

They raced down the same old library aisles to one of their favorite spaces: the bookbinding room. With the events of the day, it was completely empty.

Nice.

Tenzin shut the door behind them, then settled into a nearby chair, Lin next to him. "I just—not that I don't love my brother—"

"Of course—"

"But this is Izumi we're talking about. She's the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation! She speaks a ton of languages, she's helped run the nation since she was 16—"

"And Bumi's crowning glory for far, far too long was that he could eat more stewed sea prunes than Uncle Sokka."

"No kidding." Lin chuckled to herself. "Speaking of Uncle Sokka, I'm almost afraid to see what he has planned for the bachelor party. You have any idea?"

Tenzin groaned. "No, but I'm already dreading it. You know it's going to be over-the-top and embarrassing."

"Ha! As if it would be any other way."

"Was it like that when they got engaged? Mom wrote and said that it was understated engagement, but Dad and I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not."

"She wasn't, actually. I also thought it was going to be a huge over-the-top affair in front of everyone, but apparently he proposed to her in the dead of night when she was up late in the throne room. Uncle Zuko didn't even know until he saw the betrothal necklace on Izumi's neck the next day at breakfast. There was a red ribbon and everything. Even carved the pendant out of obsidian and not seashell, apparently."

"Wow. Kudos to Bumi. That may be the one thing he has ever been able to keep under wraps."

Lin shook her head in agreement, then paused to look around the room. "Do you remember sneaking back here when we were kids? Bumi and Kya were always sneaking off the island, but not us."

"I do. No one could pry away from making these." Tenzin walked over to a shelf and opened a box on an empty worktable. He motioned to Lin to look at the contents. Tiny books, with spines two inches high.

"You kept them?" Lin breathed, palming one. "I thought you had forgotten."

"You always said you need an excuse to keep visiting the island." Tenzin shrugged shyly. "It couldn't hurt to keep them."

Lin looked at Tenzin, his fingers skimming the cover of another copy. Her fingers reached out to brush against his.

"No," she said, interlacing their fingers. "It didn't hurt at all."