Lin’s admittance of personal conflict was a brief but welcome moment of relief for Tenzin – it wasn’t going to last long. With every word he had begun to sink into the same dark pool of grief that he had exhausted himself trying to escape. The subject of Pema was a strong and sensitive one for him, yet as Lin began an ongoing struggle to open up to an old friend Tenzin found that he was growing sensitive with Lin as well. The Beifong line begun by Toph introduced to the world strong, impressionable women. Lin embodied many of the traits Toph held – often to her dismay – and the periods of this emotional weakness were few and far between. Always holding herself high, being the beacon of power and dominance that she was, he had asked Lin to lower herself, just for him, so he might understand the nature of her troubles.

He came close to wishing that he hadn’t.

Regret. Jealousy. Tenzin was no stranger to the feelings of negativity and knew how it could impact even the most respectable of people. He had witnessed it firsthand: her anger, pain, and frustration resulting in a violent meltdown that had torn the immediate area asunder. After that, they were unable to speak for a long time. Lin was angry, and he was angry as well. They were both bitter at the results of a relationship both once believed unbreakable– not by Toph, not by his mother or father, not by anyone. The brief pause in her monologue was underscored by her hands pressing against him, to which Tenzin did not flinch nor adjust himself. He stood, as he once did in her eyes, as someone she could be different with. Vulnerable.

His heart steadily pounded away in his chest as the confession continued. Continuing a day-by-day routine of working, then sleeping, then working again had brought his already concerned frown lower. Tenzin was not a stranger to Lin’s brash nature and was one of a precious few that were aware of her issue maintaining close relationships. It was because of their history that he knew it was no exaggeration; Lin was incredibly capable of placing barriers between people and herself. The detail about her home feeling like a holding cell had stricken him with a greater deal of pain than her earlier mention of regret and jealousy. His jaw was tightening, as was the hold he already had on her. Should he show weakness now he knew she’d manage to feel worse about coming clean, and that was something he didn’t want to allow.

Korra was mentioned as the initial instrument of their reunion, something Tenzin didn’t really consider until Lin said it herself. The troublesome young Avatar’s exploration of Republic City had involved the police force, involved Lin. Retrieving Korra from the station was one of the few times he went to see her that did not involve council matters. Everything that they once were had been gone for so long. Business was all that kept them communicating for the longest time, minus the courtesy Lin mustered to ask about his children when she could. Her jaw always tensed when she did, a quality he found cute when they were younger. Whenever she had to resist being too gushy with him in public to maintain her tough demeanor, he would always looked to how her mouth shifted. Her lips pursed and her eyebrow furrowed, with her eyes traveling to something insignificant just behind him, or to their side. Others may have found it discouraging, but to Tenzin it only meant that she was trying to express herself in a way she was unused to. Love had opened her up to a way that Toph never tried to, and he always managed to disturb her emotional wall and grasp at her.

Her regret had been evident long before the pause she took. Tenzin had felt it from her body, and seen it in her expression.

Detailing what the word “regret” meant for her brought him insight; he was understanding more and more that Lin was never the same again after they had fallen out. Becoming her mother, all while keeping her actual mother far out of arms reach, had not done her life any favors. The regret of not speaking to him was another failure on both of their parts. Effort to extend a hand to Lin after he had wed Pema was a trial full of error. Soon he had surrendered the possibility that they might be friends again, allowing her to dwell on the past while he made the conscious effort to do something with the youth and life he still had. When her lips pressed together again he did not miss it. She was struggling even now to come to terms with him, face to face, when he would not permit her to flee from this long overdue catharsis.

To say he had deserved more was enough to make his eyes sting with an onset of tears, yet none had spilled.

And the world had begun to look different to him when Lin had said to him, leaving no shadow of a doubt that she had been in love with him even after Pema. All mention of fears and of her inability to regain control were an immediate afterthought. With his throat beginning to seize, Tenzin had swallowed in somber silence as Lin concluded with a suspicion that his need of her was lacking.

[color=f9ad81][b]“I can immediately tell you that you’re wrong about that Lin,”[/b][/color] he whispered,[color=f9ad81][b] “because were it not for your strength and care, I might be at home right now doing nothing except agonizing over an ailment I had no means of preventing. Instead, I’m right here with you …in a dark alley, holding onto you, trying not to crack under the pressure of a wife who is suffering now, and a woman I care for …who has suffered all this time while I remained ignorant of it.”[/b][/color]

Concealing his heartache at Lin’s revelations was no longer a possibility. There was a strain in his voice no matter how well-mannered and gentle he tried to sound. Yet in spite of a fear unknown, Lin would be surprised to find that his grasp on her was only getting stronger. Tenzin, in the heat of this moment, held her as he did when they were in the prime of their love – as though she was the most precious thing on the planet, and that no harm could come to her. There was more love in this embrace than he knew what to do with, except continue as he was, with hopes that Lin could accept it after over a decade of its absence in her life.

[color=f9ad81][b]“Deep down I always knew you resented Pema for entering my life how she did. Because I saw no way to bring you two together without the very feelings you speak of, I gave up on trying to be someone close to you. I chose what seemed to be the easiest option, at least on the surface, for myself. As long as you had something to look forward to I had faith you would eventually find someone to love you and keep you warm.” [/b][/color]Pausing in the exact manner she did with him previously, Tenzin had quietly began to consider how to address the flying bison in the alley. He wondered if she had realized what she had told him, and if she even cared at this point.

[color=f9ad81][b]“Pema and I managed to marry and have four children, all while continuing to love one another wholesomely. I won’t lie to you and pretend that we didn’t share the hardship or bumps you and I did. The biggest difference between the two relationships was that I had learned from a past failure, and I had no intention of repeating the same mistakes. When Pema was angry or upset, I did not let her taking it out on me stop me from asking the questions. If something I did hurt her, I identified it and made amends once we were in a better mindset. Those are just examples of things I didn’t do with you in our youth – not soon enough.”[/b][/color]

Lin’s regrets were also his, yet after so many years of that past behind them Tenzin had always thought Lin was happier for it. Her passion was always related to the police force. To be Chief was, to her, one of the greatest things she could have asked for. Like a fool he believed that all her frustration with her mother and sister would be alleviated once she continued to advance. Encouragement was a constant part of who he was, and so he pushed her to pursue what made her feel complete. He now discovered it was never the job that made Lin feel empowered.

It was him.

As the night’s temperature began to drop lower and lower Tenzin found his huddling with Lin to be much more instinctive than it was for emotional comfort alone. There was still so much to say, yet they lacked an appropriate backdrop that suited them. This dreary alley in an otherwise beautiful city even under repair was not befitting of who they were as people. But now that he took in this atmosphere, Tenzin begun to wonder if this was an appropriate visual of their relationship now. A cold alleyway in the dead of night should have been a warm plain that was bathed in the glow of a full moon, unobscured by clouds and skyscrapers. Once upon a time he had dreamed of their future. He was even beginning to recall the small case he kept on his person the day that things had begun to change between them. Whatever negative feelings she still held for Pema would have increased a hundred fold if Lin knew that Pema wore the trinket that he originally picked out for her.

[color=f9ad81][b]“I could stand here all night and tell you how much your companionship means to me, but I’ll make myself clear for you one last time: I need you more than you realize, especially now. With this sickness threatening my family and everyone in this city, I should be counting my blessings about Meelo managing to recover, especially as young and vulnerable as he is.”[/b][/color] his expression fell more crestfallen as the subject drew to pain equal to Lin, if not greater. [color=f9ad81][b]“I’m sorry I’ve had to rely on you so much, to the point I couldn’t tell sooner that you needed me a long time ago. As much as I remain optimistic about Pema’s recovery and about the successes we make in learning more about this sickness, I see her growing weaker day by day. Her appetite has disappeared, and maintaining a conversation takes a considerable amount of her energy.”[/b][/color] he barely manages to admit, his face crumpling as this subject continues to darken. He knew Lin’s affection for Pema was miniscule – possibly nonexistent – but if she loved him as much as she admit, she’d understand how much more grim the world was going to become for him if Pema did not make it.

Suffering alone was painful, however losing family as you watch them suffer, being powerless to save them, was anguish that no word he knew of could describe.

[color=f9ad81][b]“I will never be ready to face a world without her, or a single one of my children. But if we are too late to end this madness, if I lose Pema or a child, I know I won’t be strong enough to survive it alone without losing myself in the process.”[/b][/color] The admittance burned his tongue and made his eyes sting with anger. To know that he was weak alone, that he needed support, was not the most pain-inducing part of coming clean with Lin. It was knowing that even when she poured her heart out to him, he continued to ask for more. Never had he felt more disgusted with himself than right at this very moment. To take what brought Lin pain and bury it beneath his own suffering was beyond despicable.

The difference between them was manifest; Lin was capable of opening up over a decade of a horrible lifestyle without drastic physical change, yet there Tenzin stood, stoic in stance, but broken from the neck up. A trail of tears descended from both eyes and dripped into his beard. His eyes were glossy and unclear, and once he blinked them away two drops had fallen onto her chest. In the midst of this turmoil he recalled the last time he was so choked up – his father’s funeral.

[color=f9ad81][b]“I need you Lin…” [/b][/color]

-----

Approaching his ex-girlfriend so strongly might have inadvertently made her feel forced to accept his feelings, which sadly didn’t occur to him just as he finished. Asami had given him no time to fret about it, having muttered his name within the next moment. Combining that with the firm squeeze of her smooth, delicate hand had made him steel himself for the worst possible outcome. She may not expect them to ever be able to move on from this, or she could never offer her complete trust again after what he had done to her. In hindsight he should have prepared for that possibility even further, yet he chose to believe that Asami could see his remorse. The actions in the past deserved her cold shoulder and loathing, Mako would never argue otherwise. He had begun to suspect in the short amount of time Asami remained silent that she was looking for the kindest way to turn his feelings down. It wasn’t until she blinked did he take notice of how wet they were. It gave him hope for what would come next.

Asami had begun to express her gratitude as far as his thoughts went. It had taken much of his concentration and self-control not to jump for joy the very instant he heard her forgiveness leave her lips. The slate could be cleaned, which only meant that his chance at redemption could truly come from here. Forgiving himself was still an important part of their getting back together, because if either of them were still stuck in the past there could be no warm future. A future he was honest about wanting – beside her, holding her, and loving her. Mako would admit to jumping the gun a little with his declaration, yet there was no lie in his words, nor did they waver. Asami’s confidence was strengthening his own. He felt that their hopes were joined just as much as their fears, but it was the hope that they would have to make come alive. 

She loved him too.

Mako inwardly cursed at himself for almost missing it, and once it registered in his mind the image of Asami Sato had begun to grow blurred. Like her, he too had to take a moment to blink away any approaching tears. He was a difficult man to make cry after what he had lived through growing up on the streets. Asami rendered every prior experience fighting back tears meaningless. There was no Bolin to be strong for in this situation. Instead there was only the love of his life taking the time to express just how much she wanted to support him, his brother, as well as Korra and the Airbending clan. 

She raised his hands and kissed at his knuckles before closing the short distance already between them. His heart still throbbed hard within his chest, cheeks turning as deep a red as the cloth around his neck. She then released his hands and cupped his face, making him press his cheek closer into her palm as his free hand slowly came to rest atop it. So warm and ever beautiful, the intensity of her gaze was doubly intensified once she had inched closer to his face. Mako took in her pleasing aroma and desperately counted down the few seconds it would take for her to meet his lips. The free hand not keeping her hand pressed against his cheek wandered to Asami’s hip, and was nearly about to pull her into him so they could close that final inch together. But at the very last second she had stopped with their lips just barely managing to brush together. He was half a second away from finishing it himself, luckily deciding on letting her dictate the terms of this closeness. 

It hurt, yet he completely understood her decision. Her lips would be sweeter, softer, and much more addicting once she gave one hundred percent of herself to him like she used to. Unoffended by the last minute barrier she had placed between their lips, Mako allowed the hand grasping at her hip to fall, fingertips brushing against her clothing until it had come to his side once again. He dare not release the hand he kept pressed against his cheek. Asami’s laughter had brought his denied, neutral lips to a heartened smile. This was the time for him to speak about how he’d protect her from any and all harm, how he’d take on anyone and anything. 

The words didn’t come.

Mako was much too caught in the physical qualities of the situation, completely overlooking any possible verbal contribution in favor of just savoring this – savoring her. There was just too much he had to pay attention to at once when it was about looking at her. Not one piece of Asami was made unremarkable. It was through his eyes that he communicated with her now. Where words failed, that look of longing and admiration would tell her everything. 

He took hold of the hand she still kept on his cheek, settling it just in front of his own lips and planting soft kisses along its surface. One became two, two became four, and four had resulted in seven, nearly becoming eight. Mako reluctantly released her hand and let his eyes wander below her face for the first time since this conversation all started, settling at her feet. Somehow, he was still managing to smile.

[color=f7976a][b]“I …want to cook for you,”[/b][/color] Mako sheepishly began. [color=f7976a][b]“I don’t know what I’ll make yet, or if it’ll be any good, but sometime real soon I just want to come home and make you something special. We dine out a lot – I just really want to show you that we don’t have to be the couple that have to eat at the finest places around.”[/b][/color] Just managing to look her in the eye again, his expression reflected that of when he first laid eyes on her: absolutely smitten, and undoubtedly caught off guard by her majesty.[color=f7976a][b] “It’ll take some time for me to find the right recipe, so how about …say … a week from now? We can call it a date.”[/b][/color]

-----

They were going to be okay. 

Korra still had to see it to believe it. Bolin’s response was genuine, as she both hoped for and expected of him. The Avatar shuddered to think about how she might have felt if he said otherwise. Thankfully Bolin left no amount of time for her to dwell on what could have been, rather than what was happening in the now. He smiled at her, causing her cheeks to grow warm and her heart to flutter. The reassurance was made ten times better when he placed his charm behind his words. When the topic jumped to Mako and the matter of the feelings Bolin had himself, her smile waned. Korra knew it would never be a subject of comfort for the both of them, nor would it just be something they could laugh about. Even after what she had done he was willing to care about her and respect her, something she didn’t know she was big enough to do herself if the scenario had been different.

On the outside Korra was still engaged with Bolin’s explanation, yet in her mind she was thinking about certain pieces in particular, one of which was the subject of Bolin’s affection for her. It was more than clear through words and actions that the Earthbender still cared for her, but the question now was: did he still see her as he did before? 

Bolin had paused, making Korra jolt slightly as soon as she took notice of the break.[color=6ecff6][b] “Y-yeah,”[/b][/color] she tried to recover uncomfortably. It might have been made obvious that something had been on Korra’s mind – a subject the Avatar didn’t think she was prepared to confront so soon. The most she could do now was confess that the idea of someone wanting her the way Bolin did was sending chills down her spine. Just sitting there was making her anxious, especially with him. [color=6ecff6][b]“I can’t always put it into words very well, but I’ve taken something away from all of this. Don’t worry about that.”[/b][/color] She offered a smile to complete her own response. 

There was nothing more she could say in response to his feelings, only that she was sorry. It couldn’t be easy looking at her face, not after the dismissal of the feelings she barely understood him having at the time. What Korra knew now was that she owed it to Bolin to move on, just as he was trying to. No more holding onto the fear in her heart that he might always despise her for what she had done. All that was left now was finishing the remains of her dinner and nodding in understanding. After every last scrap was devoured, Korra had picked herself up and took care of the remaining dishes left behind – including his. She had rinsed them out hastily, setting the last dish inside the sink. Turning to Bolin and returning to his side, there was a brief reflection period for them. The city was no longer at risk of a hostile takeover, which left them time to heal. 

Bringing his arm around her neck as they headed for the kids room, Korra had nestled closely against him during the connection, but had quickly moved an appropriate distance immediately afterward. To her relief it didn’t seem like he noticed how close she went in. She didn’t know what brought that response on, but was willing to chalk it up to fatigue and the desire for a bed within the next hour or so. Issue being that she didn’t belief herself when she thought that. From the corner of her eye she stared at Bolin and wondered if he ever got that urge. Upon wondering about that, the Avatar shook her head rapidly. With the quip about becoming a supervillain being the perfect escape from her awkward silence, forming a smile was easier than ever as long as he was there.

Her eyes widened by just an inch.[color=6ecff6][b] “I don’t think you’ll need to go that far for me—“[/b][/color] he would, she knew he would.[color=6ecff6][b] “—but if I ever need you, I’ll come running.” [/b][/color]

She’d come running. Simple as the sentence was, she was abound with familiar warmth at the idea of hustling towards him if things ever became too much to handle. And, much like her question of if he’d see her like he did before, Korra had begun to think about what she had just said, and if Bolin would ever truly count on her like she was counting on him.