Spoilers for the series/Season 4 finale. As usual for me lately, hinted Lin/Tenzin, though it could easily pass as friendship for them.

I actually wrote this thing three separate times before I was pleased enough with the flow to post. It's meant to be understated and subtle, fitting for people who just won a hard-fought battle. Hopefully it works the way I wanted it to. Enjoy!

Remnants

"Hey, Tenzin."

The man looked up from his seat at the table, where he had been staring blankly into his lukewarm tea. The kitchen had emptied a while ago. His children, still too high with victory to sleep, had run off with Bumi to make a list of the parts of the Island that would need the most repair as soon as there was attention to spare. Korra and her friends were wandering the city, investigating the damage there – against his better judgment, since he had told everyone to rest hours before. No one had listened, of course.

"Lin, hello." He smiled tiredly, surprised to see her leaning against the doorframe but immensely pleased nonetheless.

She nodded once in response to his greeting, crossing her arms tightly across her battered chestplate. "I don't mean to disturb you, I won't be long. I just wanted to let you know I've settled Su and her family into the vacated acolyte quarters. I assumed everyone would still be evacuated for a while yet and I couldn't think of anywhere else to bring them."

"Yes, of course. That's perfectly all right." Lin didn't move, and he watched her for a moment as she sucked in a deep breath. It had been over ten hours since the war had ended, though it did not appear as if she had stopped moving until just then. She looked utterly exhausted. "Would you…like something to eat? We have some soup in the icebox I can put on the stove for you."

"No, thank you." She paused briefly before meeting his friendly gaze and added, "Something warm to drink would be nice, though."

"Certainly." He grinned brightly at her again, standing from his chair and pulling out the one beside his for her to sit down. She did without hesitation, leaning against it heavily and letting her head rest against the wooden back. "Black tea as usual, or something herbal this time?"

"Herbal. I have no plans of staying awake any longer than absolutely necessary."

Tenzin quickly set to work refilling the kettle and setting the stove alight under it to boil the water while he fetched a clean cup. "Is everything resolved with Kuvira, then?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at her. She had let her eyes slip closed, and could almost be asleep if he didn't know how uncomfortable she found those chairs.

"She's being kept in the wooden cell under the precinct," she answered, her eyes drifting open to stare at the ceiling as she bit her lip and let it go. This wasn't exactly something she wanted to keep talking about, now that the actual battle and everything that came with their triumph – such as the resulting arrests – was over. Perhaps tea was a mistake. Just one more thing between her and rest. But at least Tenzin's presence was soothing, unlike President Raiko's. "She actually seems remorseful for what she did. Most of it, anyway."

"I'm not surprised," Tenzin said softly, measuring out Lin's favorite herbal tea into a bag. "Misguided as she was, Kuvira truly was only trying to bring the Earth Kingdom some semblance of peace. It only took Korra opening that portal to show her how dangerous her actions were. Such a shame how much damage was done before that happened."

Lin hummed her agreement, not wanting to add to the conversation any more than she had to. Her friend seemed to sense her reluctance and let the subject drop. The water, which was still somewhat warm from his own tea earlier, was already nearly at a boil, so he picked up the kettle and filled the new cup. Letting the companionable silence stretch on, he brought it to her, setting it on the table as he sat next to her again.

She lifted her head, lips lifting at the corners the slightest bit. "Thanks."

Tenzin stared at her as she cupped the mug with both of her hands, letting the warmth absorb through her skin. Not only did she look tired, she seemed to be nearing the end of her tether. There were bruises just starting to color one cheek, a large scratch on her neck, and her armor was dented and covered in grime. She had obviously not taken the time to care for herself since the battle had ended, too busy taking care of others.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, reaching across the table to cover her wrist with his hand.

She raised her eyes to his. "Like I was attacked by a giant machine of death and destruction. You?"

"I'm not kidding, Lin," he pressed in concern, moving one of her hands away from the cup to slip his fingers around hers. "Are you all right?"

She shrugged heavily, not pulling away from him yet still not giving him a straight answer. Honestly, she felt pretty rough. Her body was only just starting to feel it, now that the adrenaline was fully wearing off. There were only a few healers not evacuated and they had all tended to the seriously wounded; she was absolutely not going to usurp their time for her bumps and bruises when others needed their attention more. All she truly desired at this point was sleep.

Finding the words again, she grinned thinly at him, squeezing his hand in appreciation. "I'm fine, Tenzin. I'll be just fine."

He nodded, his gaze dropping down to their clasped fingers. Her calloused skin was warm and comforting, and he didn't want to let go. "Will you be going home now, then? I hope Raiko hasn't asked you to return to the police headquarters. You need to rest. We all do."

"I'd be going back there to sleep, anyway," Lin muttered, pulling her hand away and hiding both in her lap, lowering her head at the same time. "My home was destroyed, along with the rest of the city."

"Oh, Lin, I -"

The expression of horror on his face was too much for her to handle right then, and she interrupted his far too sincere condolence with more explanation before he could tell her how sorry he was. She was afraid she would start to cry if she heard him say that. All of this was becoming overwhelming very quickly all of a sudden. "Nothing I can't fix. Once I'm feeling up to the task, anyway. Most of my stuff is buried under piles of – well, I can fix it." She exhaled quickly, looking at him and away again. "I'm just going to stay in my office for a while, that's all."

"Don't be ridiculous, Lin -"

"Have you heard from Pema?" she interrupted again, not wanting him to try to comfort her the way he was trying so hard to do. "Is she all right?"

Tenzin faltered for a moment at the sudden change in subject, but he nodded anyway, curling his fingers and wishing he could take her hand back. She still had hers in her lap, too far for him to reach. "Yes. She got in touch earlier to let us know she was fine, and was going to continue on with the evacuees to Ba Sing Se. She and the acolytes will be back in about a week."

"Good. I'm glad she made it out of the city safely."

"You are not sleeping in your office," Tenzin told her abruptly. She raised her eyebrows at him, bemused, and he hastened to add, "That old cot you have in there is terrible, you won't get any rest and will probably only feel worse when you wake up. Stay here, with us."

"Where, exactly? I'm not too keen to sleep on the floor anywhere. I'd much rather my old cot over that any day, thanks."

Tenzin's face flushed when she didn't catch his meaning right away. "No, I mean in your room here in the main house. Everything in there is just the way you left it. We've only put a few boxes in the corner and the bed will have to be made, but you can stay as long as you'd like. Especially now."

"If you say so," she muttered under her breath, but the relief was evident in her voice to them both. "Though honestly I find it difficult to believe that space hasn't been requisitioned for something else over the years. Surely you're just saying that now that my home is…out of commission."

"I – no. Why would I lie about something like that?" He stood and took his cup of cold tea to put in the sink, not able to meet her gaze. "My mother gave you that room when you were a child, and it's been yours ever since. I would never let someone else have it."

Lin's eyes began to sting, the weight of the never-ending day finally starting to crush down on her. This simple statement was simply a feather on the stack. She hid her sniff by clearing her throat and taking a sip of her own cooling tea.

Tenzin turned back to her and held out his hand. "Come on, let's get you settled." She paused for only a moment before sliding her fingers back through his and hefting her aching body up to her feet. "Do you want some clean clothes to sleep in?" he asked gently.

"That would be nice, thank you."

They made their way down the hallway lined with bedrooms, stopping only at the closet to extract linens and an extra blanket. The room truly was just as she had left it, with the paintings hung by her and Katara on the walls and her own lamp on the bedside table. It even smelled the same, everything rushing back in a flash of memory. She blinked, instead focusing on the handful of boxes piled in the corner. Tenzin's neat handwriting denoted them as Jinora's baby clothes, Ikki's old toys, and his own schoolbooks.

"Here," he said, setting the folded sheets on the bare mattress in the center of the room. "If you want to go ahead and make the bed, I'll go get you something to change into. Would you like me to prepare a bath or anything?"

Lin shook her head silently, already reaching for the first sheet to unfold. Even that task seemed beyond her strength, and she briefly considered not making the bed at all. But, as he left the room, she sighed and set about getting the sheet tucked under, over, and around. It didn't take very long before she had the top sheet smoothed over it, the blanket spread across neatly. She was just putting pillowcases on the two pillows when Tenzin returned, one of his old sleeping tunics thrown over his arm and a fresh cup of tea for her in his other hand.

He handed her both with a small smile. "I also found some medical salves, if you want any. Since, knowing you, you're not taking your injuries seriously enough to see anyone about them."

Lin just grunted her response, her tea on the bedside table and already shifting her fingers to remove her damaged armor. It snapped off easily, the pieces falling to the floor. She kicked them toward the wall behind her with the side of her foot, knowing they needed a fair bit of repair and not caring enough to pick them up. Tenzin quickly averted his eyes when she continued undressing – not out of modesty, necessarily, but because he wasn't sure his heart could handle seeing just how badly her body had been hurt. She quickly pulled the long orange tunic over her head, not wasting any time getting into bed after that.

"Is there anything else you need?" Tenzin asked, looking at her again to watch as she punched at a pillow to get it fluffed up enough to lie back on.

She let out a long, deep sigh before breathing, "No, this is perfect now." She caught his gaze, a crooked grin pulling at her lips. "Are you doing okay yourself, Tenzin? Tell me the truth."

"I am now," he told her honestly. "Everyone I love and care about is safe. And, like you, all I need at this point is a good sleep – which is exactly what I plan to do next."

"Good," she mumbled, obviously already starting to drift off as she rolled to her side. "I'm glad you're safe, too, Airhead."

Tenzin turned off the lamp and took a few steps toward the door, ready to leave her in the stillness she had been seeking, but paused in the entryway to watch her again. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was still there, and he probably could have gone on staring at her for as long as he wanted. He would be lying to himself if he tried to proclaim it would have been easy to walk away. More than anything in that moment, he did not want to leave her.

"Lin," he whispered into the silence that had fallen.

"Mmm," was the only response he got, but she opened one eye to look over at him, bleary as that gaze was.

"Would you mind if I…if I stayed here with you?"

No response was forthcoming right away, and he almost convinced himself she hadn't heard his question as his heart thudded away in his chest. But then she chuckled, both eyes closed again. "We just saved the world, Tenzin, and almost died doing so. I don't exactly want to be alone, either."

"We shouldn't have to be," he murmured, finishing her thought and closing the door. Any hesitation he may have had vanished as he approached the bed and slid under the blankets beside her. She didn't protest when he wrapped his arm around her waist from behind, his chest against her back. Instead, she relaxed against him, her weary muscles finally giving in to the rest they had been searching for. He hid his face against the back of her neck, able to smell stale sweat and dried blood, and even the steel of her uniform from having been worn for so long.

The remnants of a war, now over.

It felt right, being here with Lin after the end of the world had been averted. They had fought together, side by side, once more – had avoided death together and survived to face another day. After everything, their lives were still entwined, continuing to move forward without hesitation.

So yes, Tenzin decided, closing his eyes with a sigh as he followed her easily into sleep. This was exactly how things were meant to be in that moment. Nothing else would have brought his as much peace.