A/N: Hi guys. So sorry it's taken me so long to update...As usual, reviews are always welcomed with a big bear hug (or a handshake if you're not that touchy-feely) Hope you enjoy.

"She's younger than I thought she was."

Tenzin looked at her through weary silver eyes, with a hint of a grimace. He'd half been expecting these words.

They stood in the courtyard, where Lin had led them in silence. Tenzin remained a few feet away from her. It was difficult to believe that he had just embraced her, but he found that he had had to – out of force of habit, a feeling of propriety – which had then been replaced by an undeniable guilt. The gulf between them could have been an ocean and their time had passed, there suddenly seemed no point in maintaining the façade.

"I've got to hand it to you, Lin, you don't miss a beat."

Lin tossed back her thick black hair, sticking out her chin. Sometimes, she could look so like her mother it was disconcerting.

"I'm not stupid – I presume that's what you mean."

Though distressed, Lin cut a noble figure against the gloom of the spring evening. He could remember, now, the moment when he had first thought he loved her. It was on an autumn morning. She had just had her haircut, and was rolling her eyes at one of Bumi's stupid jokes, and she had turned to Tenzin and said,

"Thank the spirits I've got you."

They were so much younger then, so much freer. Their parents had lived, tempering the fires of their relationship with their respective humour and humility. It had flourished when they were young and slaves to passion, without jobs or responsibilities. But not now.

Now, she was trembling and her fists were clenched. Tenzin edged slightly closer, but could not bring himself to touch her. This reminded him too much of that night – the night Pema had professed her love for him. That night, Lin had perhaps been wrong to accuse him of loving Pema , but now-

"What do you expect of me, Lin? Where do you want this…this relationship, to go? You don't want to marry me," he stood his ground, growing more sure of himself, "So what do you want?"

All was quiet. But there was noise in Tenzin's mind. Tenzin swore that he could hear, if not feel Pema's presence. She was keeping him from running away from this conversation, which felt like an execution. It needed to happen – for Pema. For Pema, with her warm, beating heart – so acutely different to the woman of steel who turned to face him now.

"Does it matter what I want, Tenzin? The fact of the matter is, you-,"

Lin stopped herself. For once, hesitating. She took one step away from him, averting her gaze. Her voice was tremulous.

"You don't want me anymore."

Tenzin felt as though the air had been knocked out of him. He gazed at her, almost confused by what she had said. He had expected emotion, a flare of anger, but in all the time he had known Lin, he had seen her cry only once. And yet he watched a tear fall from her face, running down her silver armour.

Tenzin stepped forward, and took her hand. She snatched it away.

"Don't pity me, Tenzin. Tell me the truth."

"The truth, Lin, is that I was unsure of what I wanted." He murmured.

She closed her eyes. "How cliché."

Tenzin shook his head, "Lin, for so long I did love you. Perhaps it surpassed that – perhaps I couldn't imagine life without you." He sighed, "But, and you must see this too, we have been this way for too long, and-,"

"And she's new and pretty and young. And she'll do whatever you want."

Tenzin grabbed her hand, fiercely.

"Pema is only part of this, Lin. You must be able to see-,"

"Perhaps I do, Tenzin-," she spat back. "Perhaps I would rather believe she had taken you than I had lost you."

Tenzin halted. She said nothing more, and began to leave the courtyard, her tough boots heavy on the soft grass. But he couldn't leave it there. He knew it unwise, but as she walked away, the gravity of the decision crept up on him.

"Lin."

She stopped, but did not turn.

"We have long been friends. It may be difficult, but I believe we should-,"

"Fuck off, Tenzin."

Pema's arms had lost all their feeling and she was certain that she had cleaned this part of the floor already. But her head was dizzy with uncertainty. It was as though she was standing on the top of a great precipice, from which she would fall or be saved – and rubbing her hands raw cleaning this floor was the only thing capable of reminding her where she actually was.

Thankfully, she could not hear the two speaking, however much she strained herself. It would have been greater torture to hear her fate through a thin sliding door, she reasoned. It left her, instead, in a state of drawn-out anticipation.

Turning and grabbing for the bucket again, she all of a sudden heard footsteps approaching her. Pema took a deep breath, lowering her head to continue with her work.

"Hey, Pema?"

It was only Imji, who stood by her, grimacing. Pema mustered a smile, batting away the disappointment of not seeing Master Tenzin returning for her.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I was thinking, while I was dusting that ugly old statue, that I'm being a bit of a bitch about this. I didn't even like, let you explain yourself. So yeah. Sorry."

Imji fell to her knees and grabbed Pema in a tight hug, lowering her head. Pema began to laugh.

"Maybe you should do that thinking thing more often, Imji," she teased.

Imji pressed her head into Pema's shoulder, giggling. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

She quickly drew back. "Now, tell me everything."

Pema laughed. She had suspected that one of Imji's motives for being so apologetic was so that she could get all the dirt.

"Okay, not now though. I've got to finish up here."

Imji rolled her eyes, scooting forward. "Pema, this floor is spotless. I would eat my dinner off of it."

"Maybe that can be arranged?"

Imji punched her friend softly in the arm, grinning.

"Okay, pal. We'll talk about this later. But remember, you've got to tell me everything."

She departed, stopping only at the door to wink suggestively in Pema's direction.

"Everything."

Pema threw the brush after her.

In mere moments, the nervousness returned, accompanied by a flutter of heartbeats. But she could no longer be drawn into the monotony of cleaning. Pema instead sat stock still, trying to breathe slowly.

Tenzin had been gone for so long. But she couldn't leave yet – she had to know. She felt, somehow, that he would come find her, and release her from this doubt. Or perhaps he wouldn't, and she just seemed a romantic fool for waiting. Either way, she remained where she was, sitting in the quiet of the empty temple as though part of the scene. Minutes, hours, decades seemed to pass in this silence.

This was how Tenzin found her. His heart skipped a beat when he walked through the door to see her small, solitary figure in the centre of the room. A breeze floated through the hall, making him shudder in the cool night air. There was something sacred in this moment, he thought. All thoughts of Lin and all regrets were siphoned away, dissolving in the evening's sigh.

And Pema turned, slowly, to face him. She had no doubt it was him – his aura was powerful to her, giving her a feeling of delight and peace in equal measure. Throwing caution to the wind, she got up and walked towards him, bare-footed and hopeful. She found there was no need to say any words. She saw it in his face. There were no traces of the weary, confused airbender here. He was younger than she had ever seen him, and smiling. Smiling at her.

Tenzin looked into her eyes and saw what he had been fighting for. Someone bright and golden, who said she loved him, because of who he was. Tenzin took the hand she offered, pulling her closer and grinning. Pema grinned right back at him, and laughed. The laugh echoed through quiet hall, the temple, and in the night air, it must have been audible all over the island – the two shy solitary figures, united.

Pema breathed in his scent, so new yet so familiar. She pressed her hand into his heart, listening to its calm, steady beat. She felt there would be no more interruptions or setbacks – just peace. Gently, she brought her face to meet his, and he smiled once more. For a moment, they simply looked at each other, righting themselves on this new ground.

Then, she kissed him.