A Solemn Camper
Here’s my submission for day 1 of Lin Beifong’s Week. You can also find it on AO3.
Pairing: Lin Beifong x Iroh II
Rating: T
Find a surprise at the very end😉
This was not working. Nothing about this made sense. But spirits, if she wanted it to.
Tenzin made it look okay. He made it look decent, like love was the only thing that mattered. That souls were meant to be bound and—ugh, she groaned internally.
This was not working.
The rapid, whirring sound of a zipper separating broke Lin out of her thoughts. She quickly looked to the front. It was Iroh, looking pale as ever. She knew he had been feeling it too.
If it wasn't going to work in Republic City, it sure wasn't going to work in the middle of a forest.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hi," her reply was softer.
"If you want to sit by the fire, it's warm..."
Lin stood up. The tent wasn't lacking in any amenity. The royals knew how to camp but they were far from roughing it out. The only thing she really needed was some warmth and closure. In retrospect, she had decided that she wouldn't need her space heater since Iroh himself is one but seeing as things were going, she probably should've chosen differently.
His eyes followed her as she walked past the young prince. He had so much to say and not one word to express his thoughts.
"Lin, I want to apologize."
She sighed. She was merely but a step outside the confines of their tent.
"I'm sorry that you feel like this isn't working. I really wanted to do right by you and—"
"Iroh, it's not your fault we’re not compatible,” she said quickly.
He placed his hand on the small of her back, forcing her to turn around him and face him. When she did, he placed his other hand around her waist and took the vision of her in. She was beautiful. A spectacular woman and even better partner. He couldn't piece together what was amiss.
Lin stroked his cheek with her thumb slowly and he melted under her touch.
It all came spilling out right then. "Lin, I've loved you since I barely understood what love was." His words were choking. "I can't let you go."
"Why don’t we talk? We never talk," she whispered hollowly.
“We should talk.”
“By the fire, though." She smiled meekly. "I am freezing."
The crescent moon was enchanting, and the silver light shone with all its might over the mountains. The city lights always hid the beauty of the night sky but in Iroh's eyes, Lin was still the most ethereal being there. He thought about verbalizing this but quickly realized how desperate he'd sound like.
But as if she was reading his mind, she said, "You need to speak your thoughts out to me. I need to hear from you what you're thinking."
She rose the stoned ground and turned it into a makeshift bench in front of the fire. She took her seat and pulled the blanket over her. Iroh took the seat beside her and gave her a look she didn't know the meaning of.
"Really, speak," she almost begged. "I need to know why you think I'm unhappy."
Iroh exhaled. "I often feel like I'm not enough for you. That I'm not the mature but younger man you signed up to be with. It's like you see me as the child you used to babysit all those years ago."
Lin chuckled despite herself. Iroh was the only child she would ever agree to babysit. He was a good kid. Clean and easy to care for.
She cleared her throat before rubbing that smile off her face. "I don't see you that way at all. I feel the same exact way, like I'm too old for you and that you would very much like to be with a woman closer to your age."
Iroh scoffed at that. "In what world would I choose anyone over you?"
"A world where pretty thirty-something year olds are wooing the handsome prince of the fire nation?"
"Of course, I don't care about those phonies! I only talk to them because—"
"I'm not jealous!" Lin said quickly, waving her hands. "Believe me. I've come a long way from feeling like I have to compete with younger women. I love you too, Iroh. I don't know that you love me."
"What? You barely let me kiss you when we’re out and you never have time for me! I would follow you to the moon if you let me and—"
"That is insane! You know I don't care for public displays of affection and why do you think I keep bringing paperwork to bed? It's so can sit with you while I work. You're the one who never voices anything out!"
"I don't always know what to say or how to put words to my feelings!"
"How hard is it to just say what you're thinking?!" she retorted. "It's not like you're speaking a different language, Iroh."
Realization hit the firebender like a satotruck. "Of course, I am," he murmured, meeting her eyes with his. He extended his arm out and gestured for her to sit in his embrace.
"What?" she whispered, moving closer.
"We speak different languages. We're not not compatible. We are just speaking different languages. Different love languages."
Lin tilted her head upwards and gave him a confused look. So, he continued, "You try to spend your time with me even though you have none of it. You need to hear my affirmations for you, but I never say them. Like, I'd never say that I cannot decide if it's the gleam of the fire or the moonlight that's making you glow right now, but it's making me fall even more in love with you."
"So how do we speak the same language?"
"Like this," he whispered and kissed her lips gently. He felt a smile creep against his mouth and despite himself, he pulled away to look at it. He decided that she was radiant beyond the brilliance of the sun and the moon. "Your smile is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."
She gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled his mouth back onto hers. His arms tightened around her back and she felt him breathe in her mouth. It felt surreal.
"Do you feel loved right now?"
"I do," he whispered against her lips. "Do you?"
"I do."
This art is made by the fantastic JadeLotus. Her AO3 is linked here.
