This was a time of war, a time of fear and strangeness. Tenzin caught sight of his fourteen year old self in a mirror as he passed it in the hall. He frowned but shook his head. Much strangeness, indeed.
The children were safe with Korra and her friends on another part of the island. Thankfully with the newcomers looking to please him they would not venture off.
Tenzin found Pema napping in the sitting room. He leaned over the back of the sofa and kept one hand behind him. For a moment he watched her sleep peacefully, her shoulders rising and falling gently with each breath and her eyelashes fluttering every so often.
My Pema, he thought with a smile.
The temporarily young airbender dared to press a kiss to his wife’s forehead. “Wake up, love,” he thanked the spirits his voice did not crack, “wake up.”
“Happy Birthday, Pema,” he said, almost sure she had forgotten herself.
