Lin is snippy because Toph is off having an adventure while she's stuck at Tenzin's house, which means vegetarian for dinner, again. And Lin—well, Lin really likes meat, especially spicy goosechicken with fire flakes. And you can't get that at Avatar Aang's house.

She's arguing with Baldy—Tenzin—about methods of getting around Republic City without getting caught. He says she should just remain home like a good girl while she argues that using metal cables to swing around town would work perfectly well (and may also prove useful in hanging little bald airbender boys upside down). Of course, he reminds her that she can't shoot metal cables across Yue Bay from Air Temple Island and she very well can't swim. So she responds by pushing him and calling him stupid, which has been her favorite manner of dealing with him since she was four. She's twelve now, so she hasn't really improved. Baldy tells her that.

Aang enters the living room and sends them a smile, calling Tenzin to his side. He props down cross-legged on the floor and pats his lap, son scowling and placing his head on his father's thigh. The Avatar produces a thin bamboo stick with a scoop at the end and starts digging in his son's ears.

"Will you look at that? It's a gold mine in here," Aang gasps.

Tenzin giggles but holds as still as a rock. "It tickles."

Lin feels kind of sick watching this but she moves in closer out of curiosity. She's never seen this magical instrument before. Whenever she'd complain about not being able to hear anything, her mother would shrug her off and say, "You took a shower a few days ago, you'll be okay."

"What is that?" she asks Aang.

The older man offers her a warm smile and it looks so much like Tenzin's. "An ear pick."

"What do you do with it?"

"Remove all that gross stuff inside your ear," Aang replies sweetly, returning to his task.

Lin uses her pinky to dig into her ear. It comes out with a bit of dry, yellow stuff at the end. "Huh. Who knew?" She thinks about asking her mother to use an ear pick on her—until she remembers it probably wouldn't work out. Instead, she takes a few steps back and sighs because sometimes she misses her mother and this is one of those times. She wipes her pinky on her tunic.

Tenzin is staring up at her with revulsion but his father just laughs. "Want me to do yours when I finish with Tenzin?"

She gives him a short nod, ignoring Baldy's deepening scowl. When Aang finishes, he welcomes Lin into his arms and tells her to lay her head on his lap. He starts working, Tenzin peering over his shoulder in amazement.

"Lin, it's a never ending supply in here! You could start a candle factory," Aang remarks.

"I'd never buy one," Tenzin deadpans.

She snorts.

Years later, Lin sneaks up to her boyfriend while he sits in her bed, completely invested in a new scroll discovered at one of the other temples. He doesn't give her the time of day as she places her head on his lap, breathing in the scent that clings to his robes. She sighs in content when his hand immediately strokes her hair, occasionally running along the length of her arm in a soft caress. He looks down at her thoughtfully, placing his scroll aside.

"You must want something."

Lin resists the urge to roll her eyes. "You were reading."

A chuckle escapes him. Leaning closer, he lets out a gasp, "My, Lin. When's the last time you cleaned out your ears?"

She shrugs. That isn't the most romantic question Tenzin could ask her, and she's specifically wearing one of his older nightshirts in an effort to entice him into other activities that don't involve historical scrolls. "I don't know."

He reaches for her table, pulling out the drawer to take something out of it. Tenzin returns to loom over her a few seconds later, ear pick in hand.

"Now lay still," he commands, and she pretends that the smile working its way on her lips is a frown. "Or I'm going to pull out your brain."

Tenzin begins his excavation, occasionally shouting at the treasures he finds. He shows them to her and she groans in disgust, but doesn't bother to move away from his warmth. When he asks her to roll over so he can begin on her other ear, she laughs against his crotch just because she knows it will make him uncomfortable.

"I guess this means we're practically married," she comments off-handedly when he finishes. Her head is still in his lap and she's looking up at his large face, his ears so big she used to tease him about using them to fly. Using one finger, she traces his nose and lips and chin and wonders when she became so vulnerable.

He looks at her and smiles widely. "And I didn't even have to ask."