Uninvited
Lin had been invited to their wedding. It was a friendly gesture and the invitation was showy but elegant. The invitation gushed about the beauty of the scenery. It seemed their wedding on Air Temple Island would be perfect. A beautiful sunset would wash the mountains and trees of the island in an orange aura and the ocean would create music to a wedding Pema had obviously dreamed of and thousands of people would attend. They would have their honeymoon at one of the Fire Nation's famous beaches.
But Lin knew from late nights of no sleep with Tenzin and talks of the doomed future together that he really wanted a private wedding, inside with as little people as possible. That he wanted it to be slightly informal and follow air temple customs. That he wanted lots of flowers at the wedding. That he wanted a small chocolate cake, with papaya filling, but iced in white cream frosting. That he didn't want to have to bother to dress up, because the women he loved wouldn't need him to. That it would be in the middle of the night with the windows open and the stars being the only ones attending the ceremony and the only things casting light. That he wanted her to be the one up at the alter with him.
This wedding wasn't Tenzin and she took a small victory in this when she received the invitation, and some comfort when she accepted. But they had been over years ago, and she had seen them together before, so she would act grownup.
But when Lin attended she never realized how out of place she would feel and how empty she would suddenly feel. She felt very uninvited.
She realized she could still remember everything about Tenzin, his smile, his rare laugh, his stress, his rough lips lightly pressed against hers. How could she be jealous of something she no longer wanted? How could she easily imagine switching places with Pema? How could she wish so strongly that she was the one in the dress? How could she pretend she was the one getting married?
Lin sat in her chair staring at them. Tenzin looked well-trimmed and uptight as usual. But he looked so happy. Happier then he had looked with Lin. Emptiness and nausea welled in her stomach, and she had to force her face to stay worry-free. This wasn't grownup. She was acting like a lovesick puppy and she needed to stop her emotions from getting the best of her. She had promised that she would make that mistake only once, and she would not let herself get hurt again.
And then the ceremony was over. And Lin gave her sincerest smile at the dream she would never have. Tenzin thanked her for coming, looking slightly uncomfortable in his fancy air nomad robes, made some hollow comment about her how nice she looked, and left with Pema, who wore a slightly smug smile, her eyes dancing, and that was it.
A single tear rolled down her face and she got up and left. Who was she kidding? She would never stop loving him. She was noticeably absent from the reception.