#adenora

Aden

The two of them had been together since they were children. They learned to live with each other’s flaws (though Aden would argue that Jinora was perfect) but Aden still had his secrets. He hated keeping things from her but his time in prison was something Aden wanted to keep buried away in his mind. Jinora didn’t need to know the horrors of what he went through.

A few months ago Jinora had accepted Aden’s necklace. Wedding plans had them both fairly stressed, but Aden probably took it a bit more to heart. Most of Aden’s friends were criminals and Jinora’s parents were still clueless of his past. If he messed this wedding up no one would ever forgive him.

Every morning was the same for Aden. He made sure to give himself enough time to hide away in order to cover the mark he was most ashamed of. Though with all the stress of planning, he just wasn’t getting enough sleep.

When Aden woke up and saw the time, he rushed to get out of bed to get ready. They had to figure out the food choices today. So without a second thought, Aden ran out the door. Forgetting all about touching up the makeup on the side of his face.

Jinora

Punctual as ever, Jinora had arrived at the selected restaurant five minutes before the time she and Aden had agreed to meet, ten minutes before their appointment. A quick glance at the city clock told her they had four minutes left until their appointment, and she wasn’t sure if she should worry or not.

He was generally on time, sometimes early, sometimes a few minutes late, but never this late, it seemed, unless something had happened. Jinora hated the idea of becoming one of those women who worried endlessly over how late their man was, but Jinora knew she was justified in at least wondering about worrying. She was marrying Aden, after all.

They had met young and hadn’t gotten off on the best foot, but things had happened and they ended up as close friends. It wasn’t too long before close friends had turned into a couple, and their engagement happened. Her parents didn’t quite approve (her mother did, her father was still on the fence it seemed), but she was happy they didn’t outright disapprove based off the little she had told them about Aden.

Before her worrying could gain anymore ground in her mind, she saw him. Running up the street like he was, she was surprised he hadn’t knocked anything over. She smiled, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek once he was next to her.

“Morning, Aden. We’ve got three minutes, we should get inside. Unless something came up?”  She asked, subtly prodding.

Aden

Jinora had to be worried by now. He was never this late. His half of the guest list kept him up most of the night. Aden was marrying the most perfect woman in the world and no one he knew was going to be there to see it.

Pulling out his pocket watch to check the time, he picked up speed. The guest list would have to wait, their appointment was in five minutes and spirits be damned if he was going to miss it.

As he rounded the corner to the restaurant, he narrowly avoided a group of people. Tripping and stumbling, but not falling, over a dip in the sidewalk Aden rushed over to where his soon-to-be wife was standing.

“Morning, Jinora. No no, nothing came up. I overslept. I didn’t expect wedding planning to be this stressful” he returned the hug and kiss, smiling at her sweetly. “Let’s get inside. We don’t want to miss it.”

Jinora

“I’m sure they would let us reschedule again..” Jinora trailed off even as Aden led her inside. This was the third time they had set this appointment. First time around Jinora had to cancel due to being called out to the Southern Temple for some spirit issues a few days earlier. The second time hadn’t been their fault, but the restaurant’s for mixing appointment times with several others Jinora would like to keep this appoint, but if they had to change, she as sure they would allow it. Hopefully.

She turned her head to look at him, to make sure nothing was wrong, and nearly tripped at what she saw. She had known Aden for years, knew that he had received a very difficult hand in the game of life, and knew at least the very basics of everything about him. But the tattoo (yes, it was a tattoo, not a wound like her mind first assumed) on his face? She had never seen that before, and it definitely wasn’t new. She didn’t know he even wanted tattoos!

Her grip on him tightened a result from nearly falling and being so surprised. She had stopped walking as well, and had just opened her mouth when the restaurant manager hurried up to them with a greeting. Steeling herself, Jinora returned the greeting best she could, but didn’t let up her grip on Aden’s hand. She had never seen this tattoo on her fiancé, not something she could easily ignore; they were going to have to talk after their appointment.

Aden

“We are not rescheduling again. Especially just because I slept in. We have to get this food figured out.” Aden grabbed her hand and started to pull Jinora into the restaurant. “They aren’t going to keep letting us change days.”

He started to lead her inside over to where the restaurant manager was when she suddenly stumbled slightly and her grip on his hand tightened. “Careful, Jin”

When she suddenly stopped walking, Aden turned his head to face her. She still had a tight grip on his hand. “Is everything okay?” The manager rushed over to them, he returned the greeting before following them. Squeezing Jinora’s hand back, he kissed her head. They would have to talk later.

Jinora

Managing a quick nod, Jinora tried to direct her full attention to the manager. She paid attention to his words for the most part, but she couldn’t get the tattoo out of her mind completely. How long had Aden had it? Why did he get a tattoo there, and why tattoo that symbol? More importantly, why was she only just now seeing it?

The appointment went smoothly. They met the head chef, discussed what they were hoping for, looked at and sampled a few, and selected a few to try as they continued discussing over brunch. Eventually it was all done. Paperwork given for the couple to fill out and return, light notes for the restaurant n the meantime. Pleasantries were exchanged, and the young couple left the restaurant.

Aden

Aden did his best to pay attention to the meeting. The couple had been dealing with these types of conversations for weeks now and he couldn’t help but zone out every now and then. Especially with Jinora acting so oddly, hopefully she wasn’t getting sick.

As they left the restaurant, Aden couldn’t help but wrap his arm around her as they walked. The rest of their day was mostly free, so the couple just took their time getting home.

Once they had made it to the stairs of Aden’s apartment, he finally spoke up. “Are you feeling alright, love? You seemed a bit out of it back there. I have some tea inside, would you like me to make you some?”

Jinora

“Tea sounds great. I’ll help,” Jinora replied after a moment, following him inside. She put her bag on the coffee table before heading to the kitchen. She got two mugs out and set them down, leaning against as she watched Aden move, her eyes never leaving him. Specifically, never leaving the tattoo.

She knew she would be the world’s biggest hypocrite if she said she didn’t like tattoos. She had gotten her arrow tattoos when she was 11, for spirit’s sake, and she honestly didn’t mind when others chose to have tattoos. It wasn’t wrong, in her opinion, to ink something meaningful onto your skin, to make it a part of your identity. She just didn’t know why this tattoo had somehow become part of Aden’s identity, it seemed so unlike anything he would ever choose.

A tense, awkward silence seemed to settle between them as they waited for the tea. Jinora had no idea what to say; how did one even start a conversation like this and not have it turn into an argument of some kind? As in love as she and Aden were, it seemed they excelled at turning certain topics into fights, and Jinora felt this tattoo would be one of those topics.

It wasn’t until they were settled on the couch, tea in hand, that Jinora dared to start the conversation. She had tucked herself into one end of the couch, facing Aden, her toes tucked beneath his leg for warmth. She wiggled them once, took a sip, and braved herself for whatever was to follow.

“Aden.. How come you never told me you had a tattoo?”

Aden

Unlocking his door, Aden made his way inside toward the kitchen. “You don’t have to help. Just go sit down and relax” He hummed as he dug through his cupboards, getting out everything he needed. Hearing Jinora following behind him. “You’re stubborn.”

She was acting so weird. It didn’t seem like she was sick, maybe all the planning and her airbaby duties were finally getting to her. Aden could feel her eyes on him the entire time he made the tea. Was Jinora having second thoughts? Is that why she wanted to reschedule again, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through with it all.

The silence just added to Aden’s nervousness. This kind of quiet always meant something was up. Probably a hot topic between the two of them. He really didn’t want to fight today.

Aden filled their mugs with tea before leading the two of them over to the couch. Chuckling at Jinora as she got comfortable. As he went to take a sip of his tea, Jinora’s words sucked all the air out of his lungs. Tattoo.. She shouldn’t be able to see it. He covered it up before-No.. No, he rushed out the door before he could. How stupid could he be! That’s the most important thing he has to do!

He was starting to panic, hands shaking and before he knew it his mug had shattered on the floor. “I..I..”

Jinora

Before she realized it, Jinora shot forward, mug still gripped in one hand. Her other hand and landed on Aden’s chest, just under his collar bone and above his heart. Forcefully she pushed him back against the couch, and kept him there for a second. “Don’t move,” she stated, her tone demanding his attention.

Seeing the look she got in return managed to clear her head a bit. Aden had been through so much, she didn’t want to hurt him if she could help it, so in a gentler tone she said “The mug, it’s broken. You’ll cut yourself on the pieces, so don’t move until I clean it up, okay?”

Carefully, she got off the couch and set her mug on the table. Disappearing to the kitchen for a moment, she returned with a bowl, a small brush and a damp towel. She kneeled on the ground and carefully began picking up the larger pieces of the mug.

“I’m sorry I surprised you. I wasn’t expecting to see you with a tattoo, I know how much you dislike them,” she said after a few silent moments. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Aden

Aden didn’t have the chance to run before Jinora pushed him back against the couch. Her voice scared him. She was mad.. She had to be mad. He had left his equalist life years ago but the mark of a traitor still dawned on the side of his head. His widened eyes shot to her face. Her next words sounded nice but that would change. Aden knew it would. She had to be mad.

When Jinora moved, he debated running to the bathroom, going and quickly covering the mark back up. Make up some dumb story of it being marker or something, but Jinora was back before his mind could figure anything out.

His hands were still shaking, while she was away he had managed to adjust his hair to cover the tattoo. “I.. I don’t have a tattoo..” Spirits she was never going to believe him. “I passed out working on some things. I probably just got marker on my head.. I should go wash it off…”

Jinora

“Aden, I’m not stupid. I know that’s a tattoo, and not marker. Marker ink spreads on skin through the tiny lines. Tattoos don’t.” She wasn’t mad at him. Not entirely. A little upset he never told her, certainly, but she wasn’t truly mad.

Jinora knew Aden kept secrets. He had kept them his entire life. From the equalists, for the equalists, from the public, from her. She knew that some of these secrets were okay for her not to know though. She didn’t want to know everything about the equalists, as much as she disliked the actions of the group. She had accepted aden’s proposal knowing about these secrets, and she was fine with it. This secret though, this one hurt a little. He knew she wouldn’t care if he had a tattoo. So why hide it from her?

She finished cleaning up the broken mug and spilled tea, and set the bowl on the table before sitting back down on the couch with him. Gently, she took one of his hands in hers, rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand. “Please, Aden. Talk to me?”

Aden

Aden was shaking his head the entire time she spoke. Why wouldn’t she just let it go. He didn’t want to talk about it. It was painful to remember. “It.. It’s marker. I’ll show you. I’ll make it go away.. If I can go to my room I’ll make it go away..”

He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t tell her how it happened, where it happened. She didn’t need to know he’d had it since he was 16, marked as a traitor at 16. Aden had many secrets and he did his best to not keep any from Jinora anymore, but this was different.

When she made her way back up onto the couch and grabbed his hand, he flinched slightly. “It’s not real..” Aden squeezed her hand. “Please.. I can make it go away..”

Jinora

Returning his squeeze with one of her own, Jinora scooted closer to him. Tilting her head, she tried to get him to look at her.

“Aden,” she said softly. “Aden, please. I’m not mad that you have a tattoo. It’s okay, it doesn’t have to go away. I just… I just want to understand, okay? So can we talk? Please, Aden?”

The repetition of his words and his tone was worrying her. She’d only heard him like this a few times, and every time turned out to be terrible. She couldn’t just walk away though, he was her fiancé. More importantly, he was her friend. She had to help him, and as much as he seemed not to want her help, Jinora felt that he really did need her help, need her.

Aden

He couldn’t look at her. Not now that she saw the mark. He was mad and embarrassed and all the feelings from when the tattoo was forced onto him were coming back. So his eyes closed tightly.

Jinora’s voice sounded so nice though. She always knew what to do. Always knew how to make things better. Maybe Aden should tell her, but.. she would give him that look. The look of pity and regret and no.. She had to know. He had to tell her. They were getting married. She needed to know.

“It.. It’s not a tattoo. Your arrows are tattoos. Mako’s dragon is a tattoo. I don’t have a tattoo” Aden still couldn’t look at her. He was too ashamed. “It’s the mark of a traitor..”

Jinora

Jinora desperately wanted to contradict him on that statement right now, but bit her tongue. She had a feeling that saying anything like that right now would stop Aden from talking, from telling her this. She would have time after to prove him wrong, prove that he wasn’t a traitor. Time to prove that he was just Aden.

So instead she dropped her eyes from his, squeezing his hand again. She curled herself up against his side, leaning her head on his shoulder in a silent display of support. He needed her right now, she though, and she needed him too. So silently they sat, Jinora waiting patiently for him to continue, her thumb still rubbing the top of his hand. Silently telling him that she was still there for him, that she would always be there for him.

Aden

Aden sat in silence for a long while. Relaxing slightly as Jinora leaned against him. Maybe she would understand why he kept it hidden for eight years. Why he couldn’t tell her. She would understand. No.. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t relive all the pain and fear. Couldn’t tell Jinora about all the pain he went through in that hell. Lying was the only way. Stories of him being dumb and vulnerable.

His whole demeanor changed. More stiff. More cold. Less weakness. “The equalists had just fallen apart and I couldn’t accept everything I had done. Everything I lied about. Everything I did to you. Betraying my family…” He couldn’t thank Kason enough right now. Her training did wonders sometimes. “I was young. I was dumb. I wanted to remind myself everyday of all the people I hurt.” Hopefully Jinora wouldn’t see through his lies, but she was always good at seeing the real Aden.

Jinora

If Jinora hadn’t known Aden and his moods so well, she might have missed the subtle change from him. His words sounded true, and anyone else would probably accept them as the truth, but something about them just rubbed Jinora wrong.

She knew that he had been upset, devastated even, when the equalists had fallen. They had been his family, taught him so much. Jinora didn’t know much about his blood family, but she didn’t think he thought of joining the equalists as betraying them. Maybe he meant betraying the equalists by being a bender himself? That didn’t sound right to her, nor did his admission of feeling guilty over everything he had done. Just last month, they had gotten into a spat about the old days of bending versus non-bending. None of this sounded right, and she had no idea what to do.

“You weren’t dumb,” she started, slowly, unsure of what exactly she wanted to say. Slowly, she reached one hand up behind him, stroking his hair by the tattoo gently, hoping he could feel what she was trying to convey to him.

“You were young, yes, and you were hurting, but you weren’t dumb. I don’t know why you won’t talk to me about this, but I know you’re not telling me the truth. Not all of it, anyways. But know that I’m here for you, okay? I love you, and if you ever need help with anything, anything at all, please, just tell me and trust me. I don’t ever want you to feel alone. We’re going to be married, going to spend the rest of our lives together. I want you to know that you can trust me with your life. Your past, your secrets; everything. I’m always going to be there for you, Aden, even when you won’t trust me,” she finished, letting silence fall between them, even as she continued stroking his hair.

Aden

The silence that hung between them gave Aden the slightest bit of hope that Jinora has believed him. She knew he had regrets of his past, but she also knew that joining the equalists wasn’t one of them. Amon and the equalists fell almost a decade ago and the couple still had arguments about their beliefs. Aden didn’t feel guilty about the things he’d done. He did what he thought he has to in order to survive. Spirits why could be never master making up lies.

“You can’t say I wasn’t dumb. I was an equalist living in Triple Threat Triad territory. I became friends with the 3rd in command’s brother. I was threatened daily and never left until I went to.. went to prison” He flinched slightly when Jinora’s hand touched near the tattoo. She was never going to let this die.

Aden finally opened his eyes. Finally looked at her. “I love you, Jin, and I trust you with everything. But this. I just.. I never wanted you to see it. No one out here has seen it. ”

Jinora

“Then you can’t say I wasn’t dumb either. Look at the family I was born into; I’m certain no one would have guessed I would become best friends with a group of street kids. I got into trouble, even caused some. I fell in love with an equalist. I still love him, and I’m going to marry him, criminal record and all,” Jinora responded, turning her head to press a kiss to his shoulder before looking at him.

“I know you hated prison, I know your time there hurt you, in ways I can’t even imagine. You can’t just leave it in the past, though. It’s a part of your memories, part of you. I know you think that what I believe sounds silly and stupid sometimes, but you need to accept those memories. Not all at once, but maybe start with the tattoo? You can’t hide it forever; one day, you’re going to forget about covering up, just like today.”

Aden

“You’ve never been dumb. You saw a bunch of street kids and instead of treating us like the garbage we slept near, you got to know us. No one would give us the time of day. I don’t want to even imagine where I would be if it wasn’t for you” Aden let out a shaky breath and pulled Jinora up into his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

“I have to leave those memories in the past.. You just. You don’t get it, Jin. I was a kid and I was in prison.” He buried his face against her. “They found I was an equalist. The guards put me with a triad. The triads… They.. I..I couldn’t get away.” His breathing had sped up and his eyes were starting to fill with tears. “They pinned me in my cell, pushed my face into ground.” The tears had started to flow, shaking his head. “Carved that bloody symbol into my head. Marked me as an equalist. Marked me as a traitor.”

Jinora

She let him pull her closer, her hands automatically linking together loosely behind his neck. Feeling more than seeing the change in his breath immediately made Jinora feel terrible for causing him to relive so much pain, but she knew that he would have to deal with it sometime. Better now, with her in the privacy of their new home, than some other time in public, with who knows watching and judging.

Pulling herself closer, bringing his forehead down to rest on her shoulder. Pressing a soft kiss to his hair, she hugged him, stroking his hair and rubbing circles on his back as she murmured in his ear. “I’m sorry, so sorry you had to go through all that. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, couldn’t get you out of there. But you’re not there anymore, you’re here with me. You’re safe, and none of them can hurt you like that anymore. I’m sorry. You’re okay, you’re okay..” Her voice trailed off, murmuring the words again and again, even as she fought to keep her own tears from falling. He didn’t need to see her crying, not when he had been hurt so much.

“You’re okay, Aden, you’re safe..”

Aden

His body had started to shake again. All the memories of the years he had spent behind bars flooded his mind. The years of freedom he lost. Years of torture he endured. “I made my mistakes. I..I had to live with them. There was nothing you could have done. Mako got under my skin and I got caught. I hurt everyone that day. Ruined everything.”

That time was done. He was free, happy, engaged. Aden had to stop this, had to be strong. Stay strong. He pulled away from Jinora slightly, wiping his eyes and looking at her. “You find friends when you’re hurting. I found someone. I had my protection after I was marked. Protection from the guards, the triads. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. I don’t remember most of the attacks. Just the pain. Hok'ee protected me the best he could.” She didn’t need to know who Hok'ee was. Didn’t need to know that when Aden’s eyes glazed that it was just Hok'ee checking in. She had met him more times than Aden could count. Jin didn’t need to know the truth.

“I’m safe with you, but this mark.. No one can find out. No one can see it.”

Jinora

“I would normally say friends in prison aren’t good friends to make, but I’m glad you found this Hok’ee,” Jinora attempted to joke. It sounded pathetic, even to her ears. She let out a sigh, before pulling herself closer for another hug.

“Still, I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you. And the tattoo, don’t worry about it so much. Cover it if you still want to, but don’t worry if you forget, okay? No one’s going to notice it, no one looks at anyone’s faces on the streets.” She pulled away, enough to kiss his cheek before tucking herself into his arms, head beneath her chin, their arms around each other.

“I’m sorry I made you tell me, but I’m glad I did. I’m always going to be here for you, Aden. I love you.”

Aden

“Finding people is the only way to survive.” Hok'ee’s name had been hidden for so long. Actually saying it calmed both their nerves. “Hok'ee is a life saver”

“It’s hard for you to help me when you all hated my guts.” He gave a small smile, squeezing her tight. Face-dropping again slightly at the mention of the tattoo. “No. It.. It has to stay hidden. I’m not going to be invisible once our wedding hits the papers. If anyone sees it. They’ll… I.. No one can see it. No one needs to know that I was an equalist. ”

The kiss helped him relax. “I love you too” with that. He just held her, humming lightly to himself.

Jinora

“They never have to know that you were an equalist. But you never have to hide it from me. I know you’re not a traitor,” Jinora mumbled into his shirt, eyes closed. She cracked one eye open after a moment, mischief evident in the brown color.

“Even if they do find out, I’d like to see them try and stop me from loving or marrying you. They won’t know what hit them, I can promise you that.”

Aden

Aden

Well over a decade had passed since the unlikely pairing had taken the next step and wed. The years had brought the couple two children even with Aden’s fear of passing on his ‘curse’. Everything seemed to be going well, but as the children grew and eventually went off to school, Aden’s worries grew.

The children would bring home Republic City history books and homework that included lies about the ‘terrorist’ group that attacked the benders of the city. Years of keeping his past a secret was starting to wear the former equalist down. No one, but his loving wife, knew the truth of Aden’s past. Of how his parents died, of his few years in the Threats, and especially not of his time as an equalist. Everyone had to learn the truth. Jinora’s parents, their friends, their kids.

One night after a trying day at the docks and an afternoon of helping the children with their homework, Aden spoke up. “I can’t handle this anymore, Jin. I can’t keep lying to everyone.”

Jinora

“So stop lying and tell them that you still hug the kids each and every morning. No one will think that’s a bad thing, they’ll think ‘oh, such a good dad,’ which you are,” Jinora responded tiredly without looking at him. Instead her attention was on the basket of clothes by her feet, which she was steadily folding and sorting into piles. She had meant to get to them earlier, but the day’s events hadn’t allowed it until she and her husband managed to get the kids to bed.

The couple’s lives had always been hectic it seemed, and being married with kids was no different. It made her wonder just how her mother and father managed four kids during everything that had happened. She always made a note when she thought of it to tell her parents she loved them and was thankful for them and all their help. Having someone who loved the kids and loved to watch them was always nice when she and Aden needed some down time.

Today hadn’t been one of those days. The entire day had been hectic and busy, both at home and work, and she was glad to just sit and do something mundane without serious thought for a few minutes. When she realized he hadn’t responded to her words, she looked up at him, brow furrowing slightly.

“You’re not talking about morning hugs , are you?”

Aden

His wonderful wife was so busy with her own work that she really didn’t know what he was talking about. Most afternoons it was Aden’s job to make sure homework got done while she finished whatever air duties she was tasked with. As Jinora spoke he responded with a shake of his head. “My boss knows I have to help with the kids in the morning, that’s not a problem anymore.”

Grabbing the extra basket, he started placing the folded clothes that were to be taken up to the couples bedroom inside. Jinora was in her own mind right now, she looked exhausted. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head while she finished folding the clothes.

Maybe now wasn’t the best time to start this conversation. They could talk when she wasn’t so out of it. “No. It’s not the morning hugs. Just when you have some free time, look at Navid’s latest lesson.”

Jinora

Jinora paused in her folding, giving her husband a curious look. “Navid’s lessons? What about them?” she asked, folding the shirt before pausing completely. She leaned back into the couch, looking at him carefully.

“Aden, talk to me. I probably won’t get to look at his homework tomorrow morning, and I’d like to avoid talking to his teacher. The man doesn’t know his gurus from his Water Tribe leaders,” she muttered offhandedly before putting the shirt in the basket. She covered one of his hands with her own, tangling her fingers with his.

“What’s the deal with the lessons, honey?”

Aden

As Jinora wrapped their hands together, he brought them up to kiss the back of her hand. “It’s not Navid or the teacher.” He sighed. This stuff should not bother him. Amon and the Revelation fell over 20 years ago, and he still couldn’t help but feel something when his old cause was brought up. Especially when everything he had read earlier in the day was completely false.

“They’ve started looking into a little more recent history. They’re going to start getting into Avatar Korra’s arrival to the city. You remember what was happening then..” He looked up at Jinora, face showing the slightest bit of sadness.

“I don’t want to lie to everyone anymore.”

Jinora

Automatically Jinora moved closer to him, her free hand reaching out to touch his cheek as she leaned in to kiss him. She pulled away after a moment, squeezing his hand as she looked at him seriously.

“So don’t,” she said simply. “Don’t lie about this. I know, and I love you. We can tell the kids, and they’ll both love you. Navid will think you’re the toughest, coolest dad ever and Sesi will think you’re even more amazing than before. We’re not going anywhere, and no one can make us leave you. You don’t have to keep the truth a secret anymore.”

Aden

Aden can’t say he wasn’t a bit shocked by the kiss. As Jinora broke it though, he pulled her up onto his lap and returned the kiss. The former street rat was definitely blessed with such an understanding wife, but it didn’t help with his worries.

“You didn’t read the stuff he brought home. It’s all lies. Everything was so exaggerated. And what about your parents? Sesi and Navid are with them so often. And the people at school and they’re gonna learn about what w- what the equalists tried to do to you. Your family.”

He closed his eyes for a second. “I’m scared, Jin”

Jinora

She settled in his arms, cuddling to him as she thought. Admittedly they had never really planned something like this happening, or discussed it much. Telling her parents about the past had always been something they’d disagreed about on some level, but these were their children. They couldn’t be arguing about what to tell their kids.

“No need to be scared,” Jinora muttered, lifting their joined hands to kiss the back of his hand. “The kids will still love you and my parents.. they’ll understand, they’ll be okay. I can talk to the teacher and tell him I don’t want him teaching Navid about the movement, tell him I’ll take care of Navid’s history lessons. I can teach Sesi history when her class gets there as well.”

“We can do this, Aden. We can be us, we can be honest, and it’ll all be okay. No need for fear.”

Aden

This is something Aden should have been able to leave in the past. The movement was dead and he had nothing to do with it or his former allies anymore. He was happy. Finally actually happy but for some reason he still felt attached to the dead cause. Maybe he should have listened to Jinora all those years ago and told her family. Everything would be so much easier.

“I can’t ask you to do that just because I’m sensitive of my mistakes. You’re far too busy to be adding history lessons to your plate.” He sighed laying his chin against her. “How to you know your parents will understand… That they’ll be okay knowing that their eldest daughter became friends with and married an equalist”

“I hope you know what you’re doing, love, cause I sure don’t.”

Jinora

“I know they’ll be okay because you’re family to them now,” she said confidently, lightly shaking their hands, as if in triumph. “You’re not just some guy who married their daughter, you’re their son-in-law, a third son. Father of two of their grandkids, you are family. Family makes mistakes, it happens, but there’s forgiveness for everyone. Family, friends, rude neighbors, mean shoppers, thieves, equalists; everyone is deserving of forgiveness, and you’ve had it for such a long time, even if you didn’t know it.”

Jinora shifted in his arms again, making it so she could comfortably rest her head on his shoulder. “I don’t know what I’m doing wither, but I know we’re doing it together. Marriage is a team, and you’re my partner- I’d bet on us in a parenting competition against the other parents from school.”

Aden

Aden stayed quiet for a few minutes as Jinora spoke. She was right. He had long since become a member of the airbending family. Everyone treated him so nice and even Tenzin didn’t act like he was just someone who took his daughter away. The news would probably come as a shock, but they would understand. Jinora was always right.

Squeezing her hand, Aden finally spoke. “After a life of mistakes, I don’t know how I got so lucky with you. You’re just.. You always know what to do and say.” As Jinora adjusted, Aden released her hand so that he could wrap his arms around her with a little laugh. “You’re weird sometimes, Jin”

“And I know that you’re right.. But I’ve kept this hidden from them for so long. I can’t help but be a little scared.”

Jinora

“Not always,” Jinora responded, stifling a yawn. “I’ve made plenty of mistakes, said and done the wrong things; Ikki and Meelo will attest to that. And you love my weirdness.”

“I’m a little scared too, but I’ve got you. I know we’ll make it through it all together. We always have, remember?”

Aden

“Seems like you always do and Ikki and Meelo just love proving you wrong.” Aden kissed her cheek. “We somehow keep making it through to the other side. Don’t know how we keep doing it.”

“I do love your weirdness. Now why don’t you head up to bed? I’ll finish folding the laundry and we’ll figure out how to bring up this topic tomorrow.”

Jinora

“I’m the lucky one,” Jinora muttered with a grin. “Two great kids and a loving husband that sends me to bed so he can finish the laundry; how did I get that lucky, hm?”

She let out a light chuckle before moving so she was next to Aden instead of in his lap, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she did so. She then leaned forward to grab another shirt and folded it. “Team effort, honey. Team effort.”

Aden

A smile crossed Aden’s face. “You gave a street rat, who would do anything to make the ones he loves happy, a chance. Your kindness is how you got lucky.”

Aden sat back up as Jinora moved off his lap. Returning the kiss as she folded a shirt. Once the shirt was set down, Aden stood up in order to pick Jinora up. “You are not folding any more clothes. I am taking you upstairs to bed and I’m going to finish these.”

Jinora

“Aden!” Jinora laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck as he picked her up. “Aden, put me down. You lift heavy things at the docks all day, no reason you should be picking me up at home,” she argued, even as she lifted her feet so she didn’t knock a vase of flowers down as Aden walked past it.

She let out an exaggerated sigh as he started up the steps, making sure her legs were tucked down to avoid scraping against the wall. “You should come to bed with me; laundry can wait until tomorrow.”

Aden

“Shhhh Jin. You’re gonna wake the kids and I don’t want to have to tell Sesi another story.” Aden stated in a hushed voice. “Exactly. I lift heavy crates at work. You’re far from heavy, love. Plus you deserve a little spoiling sometimes.”

“Do you really want it to wait until tomorrow?” He asked as he carefully set Jinora down on the bed. “I can go down and finish it so we don’t have to worry about it.”

Jinora

“Stay- you get up early for work too, you need sleep more than I do,” Jinora responded, refusing to unlock her arms from around his neck.

“Laundry can wait. It never goes away, and Navid would probably knock the basket over in the morning anyways and I’d refold it all tomorrow. Stay, sleep.”

Aden

“Everyone in this house wakes up early. I do not need more sleep than anyone else. You deal with all the air acolytes from all the different temples daily. Along with training and household stuff. You’re always so busy.” Aden kissed her head with a smile.

“You will not. I’ll fold it. I told you that I would so I will in the morning.” He shifted slightly so that he was laying next to her. “Okay? Now you sleep. I won’t go anywhere.”

Jinora

“You lift heavy crates all day, said so yourself. You need rest and relaxation at home, not carrying your wife and staying up to finish folding clothes,” she muttered, rolling onto her side and snuggling up to him.

“Hey,” she mumbled after a few minutes of silence, her voice sleepy. “We can make the kids fold the clothes. Try to fold, anyways. They can sort at least.”

Aden

“I don’t need rest and relaxation. I’m perfectly fine. Plus I enjoy carrying my beautiful wife and helping her with stuff around the house.” He waited until she got herself comfortable before wrapping his arms around her.

“I think that’ll end up being more trouble than it’s worth” he stated with a yawn. “Now sleep. You sound exhausted”

Jinora

“Worth a try,” she chuckled. It felt like a perfect golden moment, both of them sleepy and in each other’s arms. A perfect shining moment to be added to their growing collection, and despite all the dark and scary moments, Jinora wouldn’t have traded any of them in. They simply added to the happy times in their life, partnership, marriage. It was simply them, and it was perfect.

Aden

The day at work had been a particularly long and hard one. The company had mixed some crates up and sent them to the wrong customers, leaving Aden and his coworkers to fix the mess. He didn’t get off the docks til late, leaving him to walk through the triad territory in the dark.

Sweat and seawater throughout the day had caused the makeup to run and reveal his tattoo. By the time he got home, he had a swollen lip, a bloody nose, and a few other injuries, but something else seemed off. His walk, more calculated. Stance, more stiff. His eyes seemed much darker than their normal gold.

“Jinora, Aden needs your help. He had some trouble with the triads”

Jinora

“Hm?” Jinora murmured, slowly pulling her gaze from the pages of her book. When she did lift her eyes, the book fell from her hands and her mouth dropped open. She sat frozen on the couch for a moment before seemingly flying out of her seat towards her husband, worry written all over her face.

“Aden, what on earth? What happened to you?” She said quickly, hands brushing over him. She hadn’t seen him this bloodied and bruised in a very long time, and it worried her. Things always seemed.. off somehow after he had been hurt, and while the feeling never made her worry for anything, it was a feeling she didn’t quite understand and that made her worry even more.

“Aden?” she repeated when she got no response. Her hands moved to cup his face, intending to do a neural check, but she paused when she saw his eyes. That wasn’t her husband looking back at her.

“What happened?”

Aden

Her murmured response resulted in ‘Aden’ repeating himself, “Aden needs your help.” Followed by him taking a cautious step back as Jinora rushed toward him. His eyes scanned the room for anymore danger as the airbender to quickly checked him over, his stance still stiff.

As Jinora’s hands moved to his face, ‘Aden’ pulled away slightly. “Careful, his nose is definitely broken. Don’t know about anything else.” He had not had full control in so long, he had forgotten about his eyes and how to act. When she froze, the waterbender just stayed focused on the task.

“Make-up ran off the tattoo. Triads saw it on the way home. Aden got attacked. He needs help dealing with the injuries.”

Jinora

Jinora stared at her ‘husband’ for a moment longer, thoughts racing. This was her husband, she’d recognize Aden anywhere but at the same time, it definitely wasn’t him. This was someone else in his body, controlling his actions, keeping Aden hidden for the time being.

Her hands left his face and moved to his arm, moving to his side as she gently motioned for him to move. “Come on, into the bathroom, we can clean up in there,” she said, guiding the way to the couple’s bathroom. She kept most of the their first aid equipment in there, though they rarely needed more than a band-aid. She was glad she kept it full, though, for situations like this.

Once in the bathroom she guided him to sit down before moving to pull out the kit. “Take off your shirt,” she instructed, filling the sink with cold water and wetting a cloth. She helped him after a few seconds, and dropped the bloodied shirt on the ground; she’d worry about the bloodstains later. Now she stood before him, one hand gently holding his face still as she tried to wipe away some of the dirt and blood.

“You’re not Aden,” She stated quietly, calmly, after a few minutes. “I know you’re not, Aden doesn’t talk in the third-person. So who are you?”

Aden

‘Aden’ kept his guard up as Jinora stared at him. He trusted this women. Aden trusted her, loved her, but one could never be too careful right now. As her hands moved, he kept an eye on them before nodding and following her to the couple’s bathroom, still scanning the surround rooms for danger.

He checked his face in the mirror before sitting down and carefully removing his shirt. Slowly let his guard down as the first-aid kit was brought out only finally starting to relax as Jinora started wiping the blood off ‘Aden’s’ face.

When the silence started, ‘Aden’ started to go through the memories to see what both he and Aden saw before deciding when he would go back into hiding. After a few minutes, Jinora spoke. He forgot how Aden acted, how he was supposed to act. He fucked up.

“I am Aden.” He responded calmly. “I’m just a little confused, Jin.” Aden called her Jin, right? “I got hit in the head quite a few times.” Maybe he fixed this? Aden was gonna be mad. Hok'ee knew he had to stay in control now.

Jinora

“I’ll believe that you got hit in the head a few times, but I won’t believe that you’re confused,” Jinora responded, shaking her head. The lie probably would have worked, but it just felt wrong. She couldn’t describe it, but she just simply knew that he was lying and that she wasn’t speaking with her husband.

“Please, just be honest with me,” she asked softly, letting go of him for a moment to rinse out the rag. She glanced at him for a moment, taking in the darker gold of his eyes before looking to where she was carefully cleaning the blood off. She suspected it wasn’t all his, and she wasn’t quite sure what to think of that.

“You’re not Aden; do you..” she paused, biting her lip in thought before continuing. “Do you have a name?”

Aden

Of course it couldn’t be that easy, Aden had to marry someone smart. If this was anyone else violence would have worked wonders, but no. Hok'ee had to try to talk his way out of this.

He stayed silent for a few minutes as Jinora spoke. Hok'ee was no Aden. He didn’t know how to act around people who Aden loved, only knew that he had to protect them. Jinora knew Aden. She was never going to believe anything he said. “Being honest isn’t as easy as you think.. Aden is not going to be happy when he finds out about this…”

“I’m not Aden..” She seemed nervous. She cared for Aden. He sighed. “My name is Hok'ee.”

Jinora

“Add it to the list; there seems to be quite a lot Aden doesn’t like me finding out about,” Jinora responded, brushing off the excuse quickly. Aden might be upset, but they’d get past it, they always did. And she wouldn’t back off without some kind of answers, it just wasn’t in her nature to learn something and then completely drop the topic.

“Hok’ee?” She echoed, her face scrunching slightly in thought. She’d heard that name before, somewhere… but where? She began to mentally flick through her memories, trying to place the name.

“You obviously know who I am, and that Aden and I are married. How long have you.. been with Aden?” she asked awkwardly, turning away to rinse the rag again and grab a bit of medical ointment. It might be an awkward conversation, but it was better than the awkward and tense silence that was the alternative.

Aden

“He’s been through and done so much. He doesn’t want to worry you. Aden just wants you happy.” Hok'ee didn’t know how to do this, talking wasn’t something he did a lot of. He was just supposed to get Aden to safety and get out. Jinora was not gonna be happy if he just left right now.

He nodded as she repeated the name. Face turning to one of slight confusion as her’s scrunched up. Deciding to ignore it, he checked over his hands.

“I know you well. You were one of the only people to trust Aden after everything he did.” How long had he been with Aden? That wasn’t something Hok'ee thought about. He had been with Aden for so long. Protected him for so long he lost track of time. “I.. I’m not sure.. Aden was in love with someone else when I showed up. I don’t remember her name. She hurt him though, cheated on him while he was away.” His eyes closed while he tried to remember, days and years had all mixed together. He just remembers important things and when he showed up wasn’t one of them.

“He was in trouble. Some triads hurt him really bad.” He motioned to the side of his head with the tattoo. “They carved that onto him. I woke up after that.”

Jinora

“Sai,” she said immediately, before softening her voice. “Her name was Sai. We- we were all friends, when we were younger, before you came. Things happened and everyone went their own ways for a while.  You- Aden, I mean, ended up going to prison and from there you’d know more than I do, I guess.”

She was silent for a few moments, rinsing the cloth again and setting it down. Picking up the medical ointment she turned back to face him, a sad little smile on her face.

“I wish..” she started, before shaking her head. That was a train of thought she didn’t need to discuss, it wasn’t necessary. Instead she asked “Is Aden happy, do you know? He tells me he is, but I just know that there are times, days even, where he isn’t. I just… I just want him to be happy.”

Aden

Jinora responded so quickly that Hok'ee almost didn’t register the name. The repetition of it started to bring the buried memories back. “Yes. Her. She hurt him. He didn’t know how to handle it. I was around for days when he found out, but he wouldn’t let me deal with her. I don’t like Sai.” At the mention of prison, he nodded. “I know Aden’s time there well. Probably better than he does. I didn’t want him to be hurt anymore than he had been. I tried to keep him safe.”

He watched as the cloth was set down and the ointment picked up, then noticing as her face changed. “What is wrong? Is it something I said?” Aden was already going to be upset with him about letting their secret out. Upsetting his wife would not help the situation. “Is Aden happy?” He smiled shaking his head. “If Aden was not happy, I would not have came here. I would not be speaking to you. Is he happy all the time? No. He misses his family a lot, Misses his friends. He wishes you could meet them.”

Jinora

She keeps quiet but nods understandingly. The silence sits between them for several minutes, not quite pleasant but not uncomfortable, as she gently applies the ointment to his cuts and scrapes.

“I wish I could have met some of them. “ She says with a little smile after a few moments. She seems amused at the thought of meeting Aden’s friends. “I think a few of them snuck into our wedding reception, but I never got to meet them. Too much attention is on the bride, but Aden did slip off for a bit, I remember. He came back a bit happier, I think.”

She starts bandaging where she can, but for as bloodied up as he was, it didn’t appear to all be his. She refuses to think of the alternative sources. Setting all the equipment on the counter, she gives Aden- no, Hok’ee - a careful once over, checking for any other injuries. ”Do you feel okay? Any other injuries I should know about right now?”

Another pause, and her brow scrunches a little. “Are you happy, Hok’ee?”

Aden

He stayed quiet and allowed Jinora to apply to ointment to the cuts he had received. His time was done. He had to let Aden come back soon. When she started speaking about the wedding, Hok'ee turned his attention back to her. “Inia was in the crowd of photographers. Only Kason snuck in. She gave Aden a photo album. You should ask him to show you some of those pictures.”

As the bandages took their place, Hok'ee grabbed the discarded rag to wipe off his hands. “I think he’s okay. He’ll definitely be sore for a couple days, but I think that he’s good.” When she paused, the next question stumped Hok'ee. “I..-” Was he happy? That wasn’t something he ever thought about. He only ever focused on Aden. His happiness wasn’t something important.