#me every time i draw sokka's hair: what if it was longer

[petricorah]

pose practice but it's just sokka going Thru It

[mustardcustardworks]

Ok listen. Zuko and Sokka are both awkward with physical touch as a love language, IN THE BEGINNING. We know Zuko struggles with physical affection from years of neglect and abuse, but with Ty Lee and Iroh (although Iroh recognizes it and distances himself for the comfort of his nephew) being outwardly affectionate people who just hug at any given moment, Zuko gradually become a bit more used to people touching him unprompted. He's still reluctant about it by the time he joins the gaang, and when Sokka just offers him a high-five for the first time on the boiling rock his brain short-circuits because "we just escaped the literal death that is my sister and you want to touch me right now?" so he just kind of stands there until Sokka hesitantly and awkwardly draws his hand back. More zukka love language splurge under the cut

That's because he prefers spending quality time with people. In doing that, even in complete silence, you could enjoy the company of someone for so much longer. It could be the simplest task of walking through the palace gardens and saying nothing other that pointing out and commenting on random foliage, and that would be Zuko's favorite experience with that person ever. The awkwardness is clouded by a task or contemplative silence, no need for compliments or touch or emotions, just enjoying company.

Sokka on the other hand, LOVES physical touch. Ever since he was a kid. He always tackled his sister and wrestled with his dad and the other men in the tribe, cuddling with his mom and Katara in polar-bear dog hides on nights that were especially cold. He would always compliment people with a touch to the shoulder or initiate any sort of physical contact because that's just who he his. But when his dad and the men left and his mom was gone, the people that he loved to touch the most disappeared. That just left Katara, but he started growing more distant with her the more they grew up and she assumed a motherly parental role and could talk back and make her own decisions and voice her opinions. There were nights where they wouldn't even speak or communicate at all, sometimes for days on end. On these circumstances he would show his affection by doing what he did best, caring for others and being protective and providing, through acts of service. He would silently show up with game that he knew was Katara's favorite because it was the easiest for her to cook, or traded his boomerang sharpening kit for sacks of sea-prunes that shocked his sister and made her gape at the goods he brought home. He would also preform these acts of service to anyone else in his village as the quote-on-quote "residing chief," doing chores for gran-gran and the other elders while they took their naps, taking the children out for adventures so the adults could spend time doing work without distractions. Through this Sokka felt that he was doing the best he could for his tribe, by providing them with things that they needed, but never asked for.

(This is borderline gift-giving as well, which will help further down.

So when these stupid assholes finally get opportunities to have physical touch with one another, even before "shit I got these feelings", its insanely awkward. Neither of them have any recent experience with touch because a: they're in the middle of a fucking war. B: touch has memories of what could have been (Zuko with Mai, Sokka with his parents and the tribe). And c: they so desperately want to reach out and touch because they remember how good it felt.

But Sokka still completes his acts of service, trying to figure out how to make tea because it reminds Zuko of Iroh. Zuko just casually invites Sokka to sit on the cliff of the air temple when neither of them can sleep and they just sit and talk about anything. Some nights they don't but it doesn't make it different, just allows them to enjoy the company of each other even more (if possible). Sokka is the first one to break, softly reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind Zuko's ear when they're sitting on the grass gazing up at the stars near their campsite. Zuko freezes for a moment when Sokka's fingers linger on his scar, but he visibly relaxes when he realizes that no, its fine, its just Sokka. This is nice. This is at the point where they both realize they have feelings that might not be so platonic, but it doesn't seem foreign or unwelcome, so they let it come as it does. Zuko will sometimes reach out for Sokka's hand when something upsetting happens or a battle is set to begin, or even just casually where they're both just standing and listening to someone, or around the dinner circle enjoying what Katara had prepared. Sokka even came up behind Zuko as he was enjoying a tea (prepared by Sokka, obviously) and just hugs him from behind and presses his chin on Zuko's shoulder. Its still not unwelcome. Zuko doesn't say anything and neither does Sokka, and its a complicated tightrope of what is okay and what is too much, but they let it be.

Fast forward 'til Firelord days and they snuggle under the covers of the bed, Zuko getting to spend time with Sokka as they breath in each others scents and are silent, even though each of them are awake, and Sokka gets to complete an act of service by wrapping his hands around Zuko's waist and being protective and comforting of who he loves. Zuko enjoys every single kind gesture Sokka does, accepting each gift with smiles and gratitude, making his stomach flutter in warmth. Whereas Sokka appreciates the time that Zuko spends with him. He knows words don't come as easy as they do to Zuko as the do to him, so when he still continues to make the effort, it makes him know he is loved. Sokka doesn't hesitate to express his words of adoration, but sometimes they aren't needed. Touch, time, and service is all that they really need, and it works for them.

It's always worked for them when you think about it.

[melzula]

A New Battle Begins

pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader

notes: requested by anon

summary: Now that the war is over, Zuko and the Princess can finally live a life of peace together. Or so they think...

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

“Careful now, you don’t want to hurt yourself,” you chide gently as you help guide Zuko’s arms through the sleeves of his robe before neatly tying the sash around his waist. His wound is still tender from Azula’s lightning strike and limits most of his movements, so he’s grateful for your help in his preparation for the coronation. You work precisely and gracefully with no error and no faltering despite the hindrance of your freshly bandaged hands, and though the room is quiet a sense of calm and peacefulness washes over Zuko at your mere comforting presence. Today he will be crowned Fire Lord, and you will be right by his side just like you have been since you were children— Zuko couldn’t ask for anything more than that.

“Thank you for your help,” he says with a grateful smile. “I can’t imagine doing this without you.”

“We’ve come a long way,” you note thoughtfully, “and there’s no place I’d rather be than right here with you in this very moment.”

With the final piece of his wardrobe secured to his body, Zuko takes it upon himself to tie his top knot— you still haven’t quite mastered the hairstyle yet— and complete his Fire Lord ensemble. You smile fondly at the sight of him, leaning forward to grace his lips with a sweet kiss.

“You make a handsome Fire Lord.”

“And one day you’ll make a beautiful Fire Lady,” Zuko counters with a small smirk, one that sends you into an embarrassed fit of giggles.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, mister,” you say with a laugh. “I’m going to join the others out in the courtyard. I’ll see you shortly.”

You bid your love goodbye with a chaste kiss to the cheek before excusing yourself from his presence and making your way back outside. The palace is empty other than the few guards that line the hallways, and you have to remind yourself that they aren’t your enemies any longer. With Zuko on the throne and your status as his girlfriend no one will lay a single finger on you while you are here, especially not with your title as Princess of the Southern Water Tribe. It will take some time to break your habit of immediately going on the defensive in the presence of Fire Nation soldiers, but you have faith that Zuko and Aang will be able to restore balance to the world.

Your path to the outside is suddenly blocked by a woman who stands at the very end of the hall and gazes thoughtfully out the grand window before her. Her hair is graying but the lines that worry her face are kind and familiar. Seemingly sensing your presence, she turns to you with a tired smile, one you recognize immediately despite the many years you’ve spent away from home.

“Mother,” you murmur quietly, eyes welling with tears and breath catching in your throat at the sight of her.

“You’ve grown so much I almost didn’t recognize you,” she replies with a teasing tone. Her arms open to you then, warm and inviting, and with a small sob you gather the skirt of your dress before sprinting towards her.

“Mother!” You cry, melting into her bone crushing embrace as you weep into the fabric of her coat. “I can’t believe it’s you! How- What are you doing here?”

“The Fire Prince sent a messenger hawk to tell me of your bravery and requested my presence in the Fire Nation immediately,” she explains before carefully taking your hands in her own and assessing the bandages wrapped neatly around your wrists and extending all the way to your fingertips. It’s only one layer and it’s mostly just for protection, but it’s obvious that extensive damage has been done to your skin. “Does it hurt?”

“No. The healing took away the pain, but the scars will stay forever.”

“My brave girl,” your mother coos with a tearful smile, hand resting upon your cheek and cupping your face. “Your father would be so proud.”

“Thank you, mom,” you reply. A single tear slides down your cheek but you’re quick to brush it away before it can ruin your ceremonial makeup. “But if I’m being honest, I thought you’d be angry with me... I was afraid when I came back home you’d want nothing to do with me.”

“I was heartbroken when you left,” she admits thoughtfully, “you were my only child and I feared for your safety. I thought of you every day, and when I heard the news of your father’s death I worried that one day I might get the same news about you.”

You look closely at your mother as she explains, appreciating the details of her face and the change of her features. She wasn’t very old, but your absence and your father’s passing weighed heavily upon her through the lines on her skin. She was strong, but she’d also been through a lot these last couple of years, managing her grief while trying to run an entire tribe on her own. You could only hope to be as great of a leader as she was.

“But instead I received news of your bravery, your compassion, and your courage. I couldn’t be more proud to call you my daughter, y/n, and I can’t wait to see what you do next.”

She pulls you into yet another embrace before joining you out in the courtyard to meet your friends, and for the first time in a long time all is right in the world.

~~~

Zuko’s coronation goes off without a hitch, and after successfully establishing the plans for the Harmony Restoration Movement with King Kuei you and your friends decide to visit the Jasmine Dragon to celebrate before the announcement. It’s your last night away from home, and though you’re reluctant to say goodbye to Zuko and your friends you know you’re needed back in the south. You’ve been away for too long, and the Southern Water Tribe is in desperate need of a ruler. With your father gone and your mother growing older it will only be a matter of time before the tribe is left in your hands, so there’s no better time than now to start leaning how to lead.

“Your tsungi horn playing is beautiful as always, Uncle,” you compliment Iroh as Zuko sets your tea before you. He gifts you a chaste kiss to the cheek in passing, an act that has you shyly hiding your smile behind your cup and taking a drink of the jasmine taste you’ve missed so dearly. The last time you’d been in Ba Sing Se you were living under a false identity, settling down into your new life with a reluctant Zuko and trying to start anew. There had been obstacles of course, from the encounters with your midnight stranger to Zuko’s inevitable betrayal down in the crystal caves, but you don’t wish to take any of it back for a second. Because otherwise you wouldn’t be here now, surrounded by your friends as you critique Sokka’s drawing.

“You know the burns are only on my hands and not the rest of me, right?” You ask, pointing out the scars that weave around your arms like vines in the drawing.

“Yeah, but this makes you look cooler!” Sokka defends.

“Well I think you all look perfect,” Toph compliments enthusiastically, and you can’t help but laugh at yet another one of her blind jokes. You’ll miss those once you get back home.

The celebration will be starting soon, and so you join your friends on the back of Appa to fly through the skies and enjoy your time together before the night can end. You sit in the back with Suki who carefully adjusts the flowers in your hair and distracts you from the serious conversation Zuko holds with Aang.

“Are you excited to go back home?”

“Very, but I am going to miss you guys. I’ve spent a whole year with you all, it’ll be so strange being without you.”

“I’m sure we can visit you,” Suki suggests. “And don’t you have that tunnel thing with Zuko?”

“Yeah, we have a tunnel thing,” you nod, a faint smile playing upon your lips. A part of you is excited to see the tunnel again just because it’s been so long, and really it was probably the pivotal force on which your journey began. “I hope my people will be happy to see me.”

“They will. You are the Princess, after all.”

You don’t get to talk any further about the subject before brilliant bursts of fireworks begin to explode in the sky. They’re breathtaking, and by the looks of the crowd down below the Earth King has just announced the harmony restoration movement. Huddling close to Suki, you stare up at the display in awe and with a bittersweet sense of joy. Someone clears their throat from beside you, and both you and Suki turn to see Zuko smiling sheepishly at your pair.

“Mind if I steal my girlfriend away from you for a bit?”

“Not at all,” Suki smiles knowingly before scooting over and allowing you and Zuko some space to yourselves. His arm easily wraps around your frame and pulls you into his side, and already you can feel his warmth beginning to encompass you as you rest your head upon his shoulder.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” You murmur in quiet appreciation for the fireworks.

“It is,” Zuko agrees with a faint smile. You’re too engrossed to notice the uneasiness in his tone, but he doesn’t want you to anyway. If you were to find out about the promise Aang had sworn to you’d surely delay your return home just to try and talk him out of it, and Zuko couldn’t have the Princess of the Southern Water Tribe missing on his behalf.

(At least not again.)

Besides, he’d made up his mind and he didn’t plan on changing it any time soon.

He hopes it’ll never come down to that, so for now Zuko is simply content with holding you close and enjoying your last peaceful night together in Ba Sing Se.

Spirits know it will be quite some time before you ever share a night like this again.

~~~

It’s strange being back home. Everything is so... different. Your tribe had dwindled significantly in number what with the casualties of the war, and the smaller villages that resided outside of the palace walls had been reduced to practically nothing. You could feel everyone’s eyes on you as you walked off the ship alongside your mother, could hear their gossiping whispers about how much you’d changed and if you were back for good this time, and it made you anxious. You reach for a hand that isn’t there and have to remind yourself that you’re on your own now. Sokka, Zuko, and Suki are no longer around to provide you comfort, so you’ll have to rely on your own inner strength to make it through the day.

“Princess,” a snide voice you’re all too familiar with calls from front steps of the palace. “It is so wonderful to have you home again.”

“Thank you, Advisor Koa,” you reply calmly, bowing in respect to the man but never once pulling your gaze from him. The smirk that plays upon his lips has you fuming but you keep your emotions at bay and remain cordial.

Koa was your father’s most trusted advisor, but you yourself never found him to be very trust worthy. His eyes were always shifty and there was something in the way he carried himself that made it seem as if he had a big secret to hide. The way he talked to your father always came off aggressive and scheming, yet the chief said nothing. As unbearable as Koa could be, he had a bright mind and skillful war tactics, so he stayed in his position of power beneath the royal family. You were meant to marry his son Kai but had ran off with Zuko before the marriage could take place, and you were sure Koa must be bitter about the fact that he hadn’t managed to marry his way into your family.

“Did you enjoy your time galavanting with the Fire Prince while the rest of your tribe was left to fend for themselves in the result of your absence?”

“I helped the Avatar bring balance to the world which is more than you can say, Koa. Need I remind you you were the only man who chose to say behind during the war?” You snap back harshly, holding back a triumphant smirk at the man’s obvious annoyance with your insult. Two can play at that game.

“Always a joy,” he mutters with an insincere grin.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I have a tribe to run,” you say, but before you can even take a step towards the palace Koa is blocking your path.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. You see, the Southern Water Tribe already has a leader: me.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” You retort harshly, features falling at the guilty look that forms on your mother’s face. “What is he talking about?”

“I couldn’t run an entire tribe by myself,” she admits desperately, pleading for you to understand. “With you and your father gone I had no choice but to accept Koa’s offer to stand in as Chief until one of you returned.”

“Well I have returned, and as the rightful heir of this tribe I am ordering you to step down!” You demand pointedly, blood boiling at the laugh that leaves Koa in response.

“You’re absolutely adorable,” he coos condescendingly, pinching your cheek before you harshly yank yourself away from his grasp. “Do you really think a little girl is capable of ruling?”

“I’m a water bending master and I helped the Avatar defeat the Fire Lord and end the war! I am not a little girl!”

“You were selfish and ran away from your duties. You left your people in their time of need. You’re lucky you were even allowed back here considering the treachery you’ve partaken in against the Southern Water Tribe.”

“Koa,” your mother interrupts timidly. “I may have put you in charge but I will not allow you to speak to my daughter that way.”

“My apologies, your highness,” Koa utters respectfully before returning his attention to you. A snide smile rests upon his lips. “It really was so lovely to see you again, Princess y/n.”

“Mother, you can’t-“

“Not now,” she consoles quietly, watching his triumphantly retreating form disappear behind the palace doors before glancing around at the small crowd that had gathered to observe the dispute. “If you want to get the throne back you can’t act irrationally.”

Your once hardened features slowly soften as you let out a defeated sigh, collapsing into the comforting embrace of your mother.

Restoring balance to the world hadn’t been enough to save face with your people, and now you found yourself entangled in a whole new fight. With your friends gone and your father unable to help you win the crown what were you to do?

So much for home sweet home...

| tags: @rainteslerrrr @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @coldlilheart @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @zukh03s @taeeemin @titaniafire @dekahg @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @lozzybowe @izzieserra @melacholy @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @djskfkdkkf @xapham @yeetletzgetitjae @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal |

[the-last-cuddlebender]

Blood In A Blacklight

Katara has a criminal empire to run, a family to protect, and plenty of shadows from the past who want to tear it all down.

Part 1: The Wind Howls (1/2) - She has him back, and everything should be perfect now, but it’s not. She’s more worried than ever. And she hasn’t slept in days.

********************************

A/N: Mafiosa!Katara and Gaang™ gang because I want it and am willing it into existence. Basically took “Sokka and I, we’re your family now” and made my take on a bending-mafia-families AU lmao

Words: 1,748

********************************

Katara punished her book for the weather and nearly tore it when she flipped the page. The words blurred again. She glared, hoping to become a firebender and burn a hole through the damn thing.

The door opened without a knock, and the frame of her vision shook, bordering on crimson. Mercy was still a foreign concept, and nearly ninety-six hours awake had mutilated her ‘moral code’ into watery dough. A few twitches of her fingers closed her hand around veins and arteries, but her bending recognized her intruder’s old blood and fresh wounds before she could register why her power wasn’t listening. It was worse than a tranquilizer. Worse than chloroform in a black alley. Aang’s heartbeat pinned her to her seat and ripped out her fangs like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Katara remembered that time was a thing that would still pass whether or not she kept breathing. Fresh rain met the wall of windows behind her. Her thumb dragged over the ear of the page. She crawled into the dull thump of his heartbeat and sank into her chair, hiding in his rhythm like it was a cave.

The soft click of the door startled her like it was a strike of lightning, stuttering her breath and rallying her instincts to probe for the nearest skein of water. She shifted, impatient for him to be closer, waiting for enemies to burst from the shadows.

She re-read the same paragraph until he limped — badly, on the left side — to her desk. He paused, thinned Katara’s sanity, and sat in one of the leather chairs across from her. His silence filled the room with static. The full moon taunted her with power for all the wrong problems. The storm put a distance of hisses and low rumbles between them, bleating her pulse against the drums of her ears.

“What are you doing?” Aang gently asked.

Katara propped her head on her fist, her voice like paint peeling from the side of an old ship. “I’m reading.”

“You’ve been staring at that page for seven minutes.”

“I’m reading slowly.”

“You’re sulking.”

She almost looked up. “I am not sulking.”

“And now you’re lying.”

Something made a spark, and Katara slammed her book, still open, on her desk. “I am not lying.”

Her almost-shout did things that the thunder could only dream of, but before Katara could retreat, Aang leaned forward, onto her desk, mirroring her posture and leaving inches between their faces. It brought the smell of the wind in his clothes, and his element tickled her frayed hair from her cheek. His presence was warm. In every way. Warm hues, warm feelings, warm heartbeat, warm memories—

It took longer for the crimson to leave her vision this time. The thin wound wasn’t the worst, but it was the most noticeable, crawling across his face and over the bridge of his nose like a comet touching from beneath one eye to under the other. It was a bleach-white horizon that his eyes sat just above, but what he leveled her with didn’t allow her the freedom to consider her to-kill list in detail.

Katara had been shot, captured, tortured, ransomed, and used as a bartering chip far more times than she dared to remember, but even oceans would part for the look that Aang gave her when she tried to dance around the truth with him and win. She scowled, not that it helped her. Intensity clouded his eyes in a smokescreen, and grey irises darted in short, sharp glances that wouldn’t have been noticeable if he was any further away.

Katara’s finger itched to turn the page. Aang’s breathing had been steady, but when he exhaled again, closing his eyes, it took the strength out of his shoulders and kicked her in the chest.

“You promised you would stop looking into this.”

Katara snapped the book shut and set it aside. “I told you to stay away from the hospital.”

“I had to see her. And you went there, too.”

He didn’t mention a name, but still, Katara’s nails dug into her hands and threatened to draw blood. She seethed, but her fire didn’t phase him. Always him. Only him. Even in her office she was powerless.

Lips pulled into a tight line, she took a calming breath and held it, waiting for it to start working. Aang didn’t look away. His smokescreen was looking more like a storm and shone lightning like steel blades clashing.

She knew what her glare did to good men, and she knew it didn’t work on him, but she looked away all the same. Her eyes found the book, and the pins and needles from her held breath suddenly became the cold gasps of a child who couldn’t run fast enough. She saw the splintering of ancient wooden doors and the darkness that spilled from them. She felt the ice of new irons and the strain they put on growing bones.

And the screams. There should have been screams…

Katara blinked and was back in her office, greeted by the sheets of bullets on her windows and the warm heat of Aang’s attention. She looked at him. He was the same as her gaze had left him.

She didn’t mean to sound so defeated, but she was so tired of losing. “What were you thinking, Aang?”

“Katara, you’re scared and angry and hurt and I get it, but you don’t have to save me anymore. I’m right here.”

“I can’t sit by and do nothing. If I don’t fight for you, then no one will.”

She had seen men recoil from a bullet through the heart, but Aang caught himself just before the stage of crumpling to the ground. His gaze dropped, staggering to her necklace and then to her desk. “…I guess you’re right.”

Katara scrambled to pick up his pieces. “That’s not what I—”

“I know.” He splayed his palm, pretending to read the lines. “You didn’t mean it.”

Lightning lit up the room, like a picture being taken. Katara combed back her hair, fiddling with her low ponytail, and gave up trying to keep her empty hands occupied. “Can you just—” She grabbed the air like she could hold onto the problem. “Can you just promise me that you won’t do something like that again? Please?”

It was the closest she had ever — ever — come to begging, but Aang kept his eyes on his palm. “I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I’m not one of your goons to boss around,” he said, still without looking up, though his brow furrowed with a small crease.

“At least they know their limits. None of this would have happened if you had just let me handle it. This is my family, and that includes you, whether you like it or not.”

“I don’t belong to you.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because you need me, too,” he said, with a soft voice that could shake a stadium. “And I might just be a speedbump to knock you on your ass and make you think twice before you do it anyways, but you’re my family too.”

The silence yawned, hissing with a thick but fine sheet of rain. If it weren’t for her desk, Katara would have hugged him. Probably. Doubt opened a pit in her belly, and her throat threatened to seal shut. Instinct and intuition went to war and left her with the sinking feeling that touching him would just prove how far away he was.

Aang still didn’t look up from his hand. Katara tried to find the right words and, more importantly, how to say them, but all she could manage after so many years of lying was a tender inflection of his name. “Aang…”

“They made me forget your face,” he said, deflating like saying it out loud finally made the scars real. His voice was watery, broken on the last vowel, and took a sledgehammer to Katara’s chest. “And now you…” He gestured. “Now you’re there and I’m here and…” The word died. He paused, then dragged his eyes up to hers. “You think of them when you look at me, so I see them, too. They scare me. And now you scare me. And I don’t want to be scared of you because I don’t want to stop looking at you. But it scares me. A lot.”

“I…Aang, I’m sorry—”

“I know. I know,” he said as he stood. His eyes roamed her empty desk, trying to find something of hers and settling on the book, which broke what was left of him. “…You didn’t mean it.”

Katara stood, but the desk was still in the way. “Aang, wait—”

“I'm going to take a walk to…,” he trailed, more in his own thoughts than in her office. “…I’ll get Zuko so you don’t worry.”

She should have gone after him. She should have done something, but her legs were pillars of cement. The door bled fluorescent yellow light into her twilight and took him, in his red and orange robes from across the world, with it.

Something cold crawled out of the old attic of where her heart was supposed to be. It cracked, weaving thin white scars — like his — in a web across her vision. She braced herself on the desk. There was nowhere to hide. No heartbeat. Not even a wound to distract her with its pain. She closed her eyes and bared her teeth and wished she had the strength to cry without him. Just this once, without him. She was so full and so empty and on the verge of combustion—

Something broke, something small, like a cornerstone, and Katara plopped into her chair. She breathed just like he taught her and eventually rubbed her face. Her bones ached. Everything ached. She was so tired of losing. She just wanted to sleep without knowing that she would wake up, still stuck in her worst nightmare.

Thunder growled above the city. Katara picked up the book. It was blurry, no matter how much she blinked. She dragged her nail over the scuff marks, feeling the minute pilling of old leather like a topographic map of the past.

Aang’s absence reminded her why she was reading, but she wasn’t sure if she could anymore. The book took on the weight of a planet, her arms even moreso.

Realization dawned slowly, like a dog attack in slow motion. The thought was a shadow bleeding out of the tall grass to fill her stomach with ice.

She peeled open the pages, praying to whoever would answer.

It burned. It burned like fire never could. It ate her away from the inside out, like cinders consuming a dry leaf in the time it took to blink.

The raindrops became smaller, like a mist, and gently brushed the windows. Standing was a miracle, but Katara dragged her feet around her desk, falling into Aang’s chair.

It was warm, like his shadow always was. She crawled into the footprint his life left behind, imagining his heartbeat in the hug of plush leather and the smell of salt and sand that reminded her where home was. Katara told herself to breathe and sank into the reasons why. Her legs curled beneath her, like when she was a girl, back when she wore her mother’s dresses to imagine herself a hero and not in three-piece suits to mask bloodstains.

She read the book slowly, from the beginning again, trying to love even the words that hurt. When lightning struck, she held it closer, trying to protect it, even though she knew that she couldn’t.

********************************

.

.

Don’t know if I described it well enough, but Aang’s ‘scar’ (quotes because it eventually seals up into a thin line) is supposed to be like the bottom arch of the Yu Yan archers’ tattoos.

[beifongsss]

playing with fire pt. 4 [sokka]

Pairing: Sokka x reader

Summary: You’re a Fire Nation citizen who saves Sokka and Katara from some angry villagers. Aang “convinces” you to come along with them, finding your knowledge of the nation useful. Not everything is smooth sailing though as both Water Tribe siblings have their doubts about you.

this will be a series :D this is Toph’s intro!!!

w.c.~5.7k

prologue. one. two. three.

.masterlist.

~

The peacefulness you felt while flying through the air didn’t last long, and soon enough you felt Katara’s gaze burning into you. You glanced up, meeting the pair of narrowed blue eyes that seemed to study your every movement. It was silent for a few more minutes, Aang and Sokka shifting uncomfortably as tension filled the air. When he could no longer take it, Aang opened his mouth, ready to tell some cheesy joke to try and diffuse the situation before it even began.

“So,” Katara spoke first. Aang clamped his mouth shut, looking to Sokka as he tried to get a read on Katara’s tone. “Why is it that literally every single Fire Nation person we run into seems to know you?”

“Sokka didn’t tell you?” you asked quietly, glancing at the boy in question. He shook his head. 

“I didn’t want to tell them your story, (Y/N),” he stated firmly, his tone a stark contrast to the soft stare he was sending your way. “That’s your business, not mine.”

You stared at him for a few seconds before Katara cleared her throat, drawing your attention back to her. Settling against Appa’s saddle, you glanced at Sokka once more before facing Katara and speaking.

“My parents are Fire Nation nobility. They worked with Ozai to plan the conquests of Earth Kingdom towns. As a result of their positions, I spent a lot of time in the palace,” you began, recalling the words you had told Sokka in the Cave of Two Lovers. Katara’s glare lessened, an interested gleam taking its place as she motioned for you to continue. “I grew up alongside Prince Zuko. I was his chosen training partner, even if I wasn’t a bender. I was good with a bow and arrow and I was even better with a sword, which made me useful to Ozai. I joined the army when I was old enough and eventually Ozai realized that I was good at planning invasions and had me revise the generals’ plans. One day I was sent out to battle with my father. When the Earth Kingdom troops surrendered, I took the chance and ran because I had finally realized that the Fire Nation had done so much harm to others. Later on, I found out that they had massacred them either way. I couldn’t go back after deserting so I traveled until I settled into the Fire Nation colony where I met you.”

“So what about the other girls?” Katara asked.

“I told you that I attended the Royal Fire Academy for Girls with them,” you said calmly. “Mai and Ty Lee were the daughters of noblemen. Mai is good with knives and Ty Lee’s a chi-blocker, which is why you couldn’t waterbend after her attack.”

“What about the other girl.”

“That’s Princess Azula,” you said, sighing deeply. “Zuko’s younger sister. Firebending prodigy. She can bend lightning. She’s the most dangerous of them all.”

The group went silent at your words, thinking about the way the golden-eyed girl had conjured up blue fire. Sokka was staring at you curiously, something about your words bothering him. When speaking to Katara, you had told her that you found out about the Earth Kingdom soldiers’s death after you ran away. Back in the Cave of Two Lovers, you had told him that you had run away because they had killed the soldiers. He shook his head softly, realizing that he could’ve easily misheard you. But there was something about the way you had spoken, almost if you were uncertain about some of the things you were saying. Sokka huffed slightly before tearing his gaze from you. You couldn’t be lying to them...right?

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Appa dip lower and lower. He looked at Aang, who seemed to be spacing out, and leaned out of the saddle, tapping the Air Nomad’s shoulder. “Hey, you taking us down for a reason? Aang, why are we going down?”

Aang shook his head slightly before looking at Sokka, confused. “What? I didn’t even notice.”

“Are you noticing now?” Sokka asked as Appa dipped even lower. 

“Is something wrong?” Katara asked, moving closer to the front of the saddle as you followed her. 

“Yeah, why are we getting lower?” you added, looking down below. 

“I know this is going to sound weird, but I think the swamp is calling to me,” Aang said softly, looking down at the trees. 

“Is it telling you where we can get something to eat?” Sokka asked, his stomach grumbling on cue. You giggled softly, earning a proud smile from the Water Tribe boy. 

“No,” Aang replied, not acknowledging Sokka’s words. “I...I think it wants us to land down there.”

“No offense to the swamp but I don’t see any land down there to land on,” Sokka said, peering over the saddle. 

“I don't know. Bumi said to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and now I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it?”

“Yes,” came the reply from you, Katara, and Sokka. Aang scowled. 

“I don’t know,” Katara added, looking uneasy. “There’s something ominous about that place.”

Immediately after Katara’s words, Appa groaned and Momo jumped into your arms, burying his head in your chest. You cradled the flying lemur close to you as he shivered.

“See? Even Appa and Momo don’t like it here!” Sokka exclaimed. Aang patted Appa’s head and turned to look at you and Momo, a conflicted look on his face. You shook your head lightly, causing him to sigh in defeat.

“Okay, since everyone feels so strongly about this, bye swamp,” Aang said sadly. “Yip, yip!”

Your eyes grew wide as you caught sight of a tornado, clutching Momo tighter as it got closer. “You better throw in an extra ‘yip’! We gotta move!”

Appa tried to fly faster, eager to avoid the tornado that was catching up to him. Sokka yelped as he was pulled away by the strong winds, causing Katara to grasp his hand. You lunged forward, connecting your hand to Katara’s as well. Aang created an air shield, causing Sokka to fall back down to the saddle. You let out a loud ‘oof’ as he landed on top of you before he rolled off, turning his head to look at you as he landed on the saddle. 

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Katara replied bitterly, causing the two of you to chuckle. All of a sudden, Appa’s leg broke the air shield, sending you all tumbling down below as the tornado swept you up. Screams left your mouths as the ground approached quickly. You looked around frantically, letting out a yelp when you felt the tree leaves hit you. From what you could see, the swamp water was muddy and you reached for a hanging vine to try and avoid landing in it. You managed to grasp the vine just before you reached the ground, swinging roughly as you used it to hold yourself up. Sokka and Katara plopped into the water as Aang used his airbending to land gracefully. 

Standing up, he looked around for you. “Hey where’s-”

You swung in, letting go of the vine once your feet landed on the ground. “Here I am!’

After making sure that no one was hurt, you began to make your way through the swamp, anxiously looking for Appa and Momo. After a long day of searching for your furry companions and occasionally scolding Sokka for disrespecting the swamp, you all decided to set up camp for the night. By this point, you, Aang, and Katara were extremely unsettled and Sokka kept trying to convince you guys that there was nothing supernatural going on. You set up a campfire, huddling up as you all drifted off to sleep. You sat there silently as you tried to drift off to sleep, eyes still wide open. Sokka was snoring softly into your ear, the sound calming you down slightly. Soon enough, you found your eyes closing and you shifted your weight only for your fingers to brush against a vine. A vine that was moving. 

You yelped loudly, waking everyone else up. They were pulled away almost immediately, wrapped up in the same kind of vine you had touched. You jumped up as the vine lunged for you, wasting no time in drawing your sword and running away. The vines trailed after you, occasionally brushing against your skin. You swung your sword behind you as you ran, breathing heavily as you sprinted through the muddy water.  One of the vines managed to wrap itself around your ankle, making you tumble face first into the water. 

A scream escaped you as you rolled over, stabbing your sword into the vine as you did so. The vines all retreated immediately, causing your eyebrows to furrow as you looked after them. A faint glow caught your attention and you scrambled to your feet, quietly approaching the figure.

“Hello?” you called out, keeping your sword ready just in case. In front of you stood a woman, her back facing you. She was wearing Fire Nation red, her long, dark hair styled into a half-up, half-down style. “Who are you?”

She turned silently and you felt the air leave your lungs. She was beautiful; tall and fair with golden eyes, her topknot secured with a royal Fire Nation hairpiece.

“M-Mom,” you gasped, tears welling up in your eyes. Your sword fell to the ground as the woman stepped forward, raising a hand to stroke your cheek before letting it drop suddenly. 

“(Y/N), my beautiful daughter,” her voice sounded the same and you shook your head, knowing that the swamp was playing tricks on you. “I’m sorry for leaving you. I’m sorry for what happened. But it is important that you always remember who you are. Never forget who you are. You will do great things. I am sure of that.”

You let out a choked sob as you threw yourself at her, hugging her tightly. Your sobs only got worse when you realized you were hugging a tree stump. Shakily, you turned around, pressing your back against the tree stump and sliding down until you reached the ground. You brought your knees up to your chest and hugged them close before burying your head in them, finally letting out all your tears. 

That’s how your friends found you; hair disheveled and sword discarded as tears streamed down your face. Aang had asked you multiple times if you were okay but the only response he had received was the word ‘mom’. Katara’s face had softened, realizing that you must have seen your mother in the swamp just like her. Silently, Sokka had picked you up, holding you close as your hand grasped at his shirt. He had looked at Katara pleadingly, tilting his head towards your sword that laid abandoned on the ground. Katara swiftly picked up the sword, a little surprised at the weight of it before trailing behind Aang as he continued to walk. 

Eventually, you had wiggled your way out of Sokka’s hold. You ignored everyone’s words as you took your sword from Katara and silently trailed behind the rest of the group. After a few more minutes of aimlessly trekking through the swamp, you managed to come across a large swamp monster. Fortunately, the fight didn’t last long as Katara realized that there was a waterbender controlling the vines from inside of the “monster”. The bender, Huu, kindly helped you save Appa and Momo. After eating dinner and thanking them, you set off.

Aang proceeded to tell you all about his vision in the swamp, telling you about how a girl had appeared before him and led him on a wild goose chase before he had finally bumped into Katara. Sokka had talked about how he had seen Princess Yue. At the mention of her name, you felt your heart clench. Sokka told you all about how she had appeared to him, saying that you and him had failed her. You had wrapped Sokka up in a hug after that, murmuring in his ear as you told him that her death was not his fault. His arms tightened around you when he realized that you hadn’t included yourself in that statement. 

Katara told you all about how she had seen her mom briefly before realizing that there was no one there with her. Everyone looked at you afterwards, uncertainty clear on their faces. Taking a deep breath, you proceeded to explain your experience. You told them about how your mom had told you that she was sorry for abandoning you and disappearing without a trace and how she had told you to never forget who you are. The group stared at you sadly, but you just brushed off their concern, stating that you were fine now that you had left the swamp behind. 

The whole time, Sokka couldn’t help but mull over your words. You had never mentioned anything about your mom leaving. You had told them that both of your parents worked closely with Ozai. Much like earlier, he brushed off his doubts. Losing a parent wasn’t something easy to talk about; he didn’t blame you for not mentioning it. 

Your attitude seemed to improve over the next few days. After a few more checkups, Aang and Katara began to leave you alone. Sokka, however, was always by your side. He claimed that you couldn’t be left alone while you were in unfamiliar territory but Aang and Katara knew that he was just worried about you. 

After trying to prove Avatar Kyoshi’s innocence and fighting off the Rough Rhinos, no one doubted that you weren’t fine. You seemed to be back to normal, sitting at Appa’s reins and sending snarky remarks at Aang as the sky bison landed in Gaoling. You and Sokka bantered back and forth as he debated whether or not to buy a bag and Katara convinced Aang to try out an earthbending academy, stating that he could find his teacher there. 

After Aang’s failed earthbending attempt, Katara managed to persuade some of the academy’s students into revealing the location of Earth Rumble VI. And that’s how you found yourself in an underground cavern watching fully grown men as they chucked rocks at each other. You couldn’t help but chuckle softly at Sokka’s enthusiasm, your eyes never leaving him as he cheered loudly. 

One of the fighters, The Boulder, managed to defeat all of his opponents and earn himself a place in the finals. Aang was still hesitant about finding his earthbending teacher, telling Katara that although The Boulder was good, he relied too much on his muscles instead of waiting and listening. 

“Now, the moment you've all been waiting for,” Xin Fu, the host, said. “The Boulder versus your champion... the Blind Bandit!”

A girl stood on the platform, black hair obscuring much of her face as she raised a championship belt into the air. She stared blankly ahead before turning and handing her belt to one of the assistants. There was something oddly familiar about her and you found yourself shaking your head before tearing your eyes away from the small girl. 

“She can’t really be blind, can she?” Katara asked, looking at the girl nervously before turning to you and Aang. “It’s just part of her character… right?”

“I think she is,” Aang said quietly. You nodded in agreement.

“I think she is...going down!” Sokka exclaimed, pointing down as he did so. You stared at him, giggling softly as you observed him. Sokka turned to face you, blushing when he realized your attention was on him. He leaned back on the bench, throwing an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into him casually. 

“Hey,” Sokka whispered, looking down at you with a smile.

“Hi,” you whispered back, biting your lip as you tried to hold back a smile. The two of you sat comfortably, watching as The Boulder approached the small girl.

“The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a small girl,” he proclaimed, looking at the young girl uneasily.

“Sounds to me like you’re scared, Boulder,” the girl cried out, cowering in fake fear. The Boulder’s face hardened as he stared as the girl.

“The Boulder is over his conflicted feelings, and now he's ready to bury you in a rock-alanche!”

“Whenever you’re ready, The Pebble!” the girl yelled, throwing her head back and cackling.

Aang’s eyes widened at her laugh and he sat up straight, observing the fight. The way the girl fought was different from the rest of the earthbenders and he found himself remembering Bumi’s words. The fight ended with The Boulder getting thrown out of the ring, causing all four of you to look at the girl in surprise. 

“Your winner and still the champion, The Blind Bandit!” Xin Fu exclaimed. The girl raised her hands in victory. 

“How did she do that?” Katara asked.

“She waited,” Aang said, a smile on his face. “And listened.”

Xin Fu offered up a bag of gold for anyone who dared to challenge The Blind Bandit. Aang, of course, couldn’t hold back and took the challenge as an opportunity to try and talk to the girl. It didn’t end well, the girl storming out after Aang managed to airbend her out of the ring. Aang rejoined your group sadly, a stark contrast to the large grin Sokka was wearing as he held the bag of gold and the championship belt. 

“Way to go, champ!”

~

“I’ve got to admit, now I’m really glad I bought this bag,” Sokka said as you all walked down the streets of Gaoling. “It matches the belt perfectly!”

“Well that’s a relief,” you teased, blushing when Sokka rolled his eyes and reached for your hand. 

“If we want to find The Blind Bandit, the earthbending academy is the perfect place to start,” Aang said, leading the group through the streets. You came to a stop when you felt Sokka pull on your hand, letting Aang and Katara leave without you. You turned to face Sokka, completely missing the wide smile and thumbs up that Aang sent him before he turned the corner. 

“What’s up?” you asked, looking at the Water Tribe boy. 

“I just um, well I wanted to give you something,” Sokka said, avoiding your eyes. “Can you just...close your eyes real quick”

You opened your mouth to say something before you decided not to, instead complying with Sokka’s request. You felt him move around you, letting go of your hand as he rifled through his bag. A weight landed in between your collarbones and you felt a chain shifting around your neck. 

“There,” Sokka whispered. “You can open your eyes now.”

Turning around, you opened your eyes to come face-to-face with Sokka. You reached up to touch the necklace, your fingers brushing against the pendant that now rested against your skin. 

“I hope you like it,” he said softly, watching you as you looked at the necklace. 

“I love it,” you whispered back, looking up at him with shining eyes. He grinned goofily, leaning against the building next to him.

“You do?”

You nodded before leaning up and pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. You grabbed his hand again, swinging it softly before speaking. “Thank you, Sokka.”

He nodded in reply, speechless because from your kiss. He blushed brightly before guiding you towards the street where Aang had disappeared. “Let’s go catch up to them before they get worried, yeah?”

The two of you walked back hand in hand, locating Aang and Katara at the earthbending academy. They were talking to the same two boys from yesterday, although it seemed like they were getting closer and closer to an argument. You reached them just in time to hear Aang mention something else from his vision. 

“That's because we're asking about the wrong person,” Aang said in realization. “In my vision, I saw a girl, in a white dress, with a pet flying boar. Know anybody like that?”

“A flying boar is the symbol of the Beifong family,” you said, walking up next to Aang. The familiarity of the girl now made sense. She looked like a Beifong. The entire group shot you a surprised look.

“How do you know that?” Katara asked curiously.

“The Beifongs are some of the richest people to exist,” you said, turning to face Aang. “You should’ve mentioned that earlier.”

“They’re probably the richest people in the world! But the Beifongs don’t have a daughter,” one of the earthbending students said.

“A flying boar is good enough for me,” Aang said, already walking away. “Let’s go check it out.”

As the four of you made your way to the Beifong residence, you noticed Aang eyeing your necklace. When you gave him a questioning glance, he simply looked from you to Sokka before making a kissy face. Your eyes widened before you looked away, a blush spreading across your face as you heard Katara giggle. 

“That’s the flying boar from my vision!” Aang cried suddenly, running towards the house. “Come on!”

All of a sudden, your group was launched into the air. Aang and Katara landed in the bushes and you landed on the lawn. Sokka, unfortunately, landed on the concrete. 

“What are you doing here, Twinkle Toes?” the girl asked, now dressed in a fancy gown. 

“How’d you know it was me?” Aang asked, looking up at the girl.

“Don’t answer to ‘Twinkle Toes’,” Sokka groaned from the ground. “It’s not manly!”

“You’re the one whose purse matches his belt,” Katara commented, throwing her brother a teasing smirk. Sokka glared at Katara, his anger fading when he heard your laughter. 

“How did you find me?” the girl demanded.

“Well, a crazy king told me I had to find an earthbender who listens to the earth. And then I had a vision in a magic swamp and-” Aang trailed off as he noticed the girl’s disbelief.

“What Aang is trying to say is, he’s the Avatar,” Katara stepped in, trying to get the point across. “And if he doesn’t master earthbending soon, he won’t be able to defeat the Fire Lord.”

“Not my problem,” the girl replied, causing you to snort as you tried to stifle your laughter. She began to walk away from them. “Now, get out of here or I’ll call the guards.”

“Look,” Sokka said threateningly, taking a step forward. “We all have to do our part to win this war, and yours is to teach Aang earthbending.”

The girl looked towards Sokka angrily before she relaxed and took on a frightened expression. “Guards! Guards, help!”

You raised an eyebrow at the girl as the guards came rushing forwards, a smirk playing at her lips. The four of you scattered to avoid being captured. 

“Toph, what happened?” one of the guards asked, looking around suspiciously. 

“I-I thought I heard someone,” Toph said. “I got scared.”

“You know your father doesn’t want you wandering around without supervision, Toph.”

The voices faded as they walked away. You all emerged, brushing off the dirt and grass that was attached to you. Sokka had a scowl on his face as he stared in the direction Toph had gone, Katara sporting a similar look. 

“Well,” you said, drawing their attention. “You can’t deny she’s a good actress.”

~

Three guards led the four of you into the Beifong residence. It was a beautiful house, decorated in a way that showed just how wealthy the family was.

“Avatar Aang,” Lao Beifong said, bowing down before the young Air Nomad. His wife did the same, eyeing you before nudging her husband. 

Lao’s eyes widened as he glanced at you, dropping into an even lower bow than the one he had given to Aang. “Your e-”

“There’s no need for formalities, Master Beifong,” you quickly cut in, bowing dramatically before turning to his wife and doing the same. “Lady Beifong. Please, just (Y/N) is fine.”

Toph’s eyes narrowed at her father’s actions and your swift interruption. Your name rang a bell in her head and she walked forward slightly. Lao noticed and grasped her shoulders, bringing her to stand in front of him. 

“This is my daughter, Toph,” Lao said. Toph bowed slightly. “Please forgive her manners.”

You waved him off, not missing the suspicious look that lingered on Toph’s face. “It’s quite alright. Some formalities are overrated anyways. There’s no need for her to bow.”

Lao and Poppy’s jaws dropped at your words as they exchanged borderline offended looks with each other. Toph, on the other hand, tried to cover up her snicker with a cough. 

“W-Would you like to stay for dinner?” Lao asked, still bewildered by the words you had said. You all nodded, thanking the Beifongs for their hospitality before joining them in the dining room.

Dinner was a tense affair, culminating in what could only be described as a food fight between Toph and Aang. Dessert was just as uncomfortable and soon enough, the four of you found yourselves in one of the Beifong’s guest rooms. Aang had disappeared a while ago with Toph and you were absentmindedly braiding Sokka’s hair, trying to ignore Katara’s nervous pacing.

“Should we go look for him?” Katara asked, glancing out the window.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Sokka said, waving off Katara’s concerns as he leaned into you. 

“Have either of you seen Toph?” Poppy Beifong’s soft voice floated through the air, catching your attention. You all shook your heads, causing the woman to frown.

“She was with Aang, Lady Beifong,” you replied, tying Sokka’s hair back up in a ponytail. “They were in the garden, I believe.”

“Oh!” Poppy Beifong gasped, turning around to leave. “She’s not allowed out without supervision.”

Katara was the first to follow, you and Sokka trailing closely after her. A few minutes later, you stood outside with the Beifongs and Master Yu, staring at the note that had been left behind. 

“Whoever took Aang and Toph left this,” you said, bending down to pick up the note. Katara took it from your hands, reading it out loud. 

“‘If you want to see your daughter again, bring five hundred gold pieces to the arena.’ It’s signed Xin Fu and The Boulder,” Katara said out loud.

“I can’t believe it,” Sokka said seriously, taking the note from Katara. “I have The Boulder’s autograph!”

You swatted at his head, wincing at Poppy Beifong’s loud sobs. Lao turned to Master Yu, a pleading look on his face. “Master Yu, I need you to help me get my daughter back.”

“We’re going with you,” Katara stated. You gave a firm nod. 

“Poor Toph,” Poppy murmured, blowing her nose. “She must be so scared!”

You exchanged a skeptical glance with Katara, remembering the way Toph had taunted The Boulder before destroying him.

“Yeah, she must be terrified,” you said dryly. Sokka snorted. 

~

“Toph!” Lao cried out as you entered the arena. Her and Aang were suspended high in the air, trapped in metal cages. 

“Here’s your money,” Sokka said, placing the bag of gold down onto the ground. “Now let them go.”

Master Yu earthbended the bag over to Xin Fu, who quickly grabbed and examined it. Nodding, he motioned for Toph to be freed. The small girl made her way over to Lao before they both exited the arena. 

“What about Aang?” Katara asked, stepping forwards. 

“I think the Fire Nation will pay a hefty price for the Avatar,” Xin Fu said as he held up a Fire Nation wanted poster. “Now, get out of my ring.”

Many of the other earthbenders who had been fighting earlier popped up out of nowhere, causing you all to exchange panicked looks. 

“Go, I’ll be okay!” Aang called out, smiling encouragingly. 

“We’re not leaving you!” you yelled back, eyeing the earthbenders nervously. 

“Toph, there's too many of them,” Katara pleaded, looking at the small girl. “We need an earthbender. We need you!”

“My daughter is blind!” Lao yelled furiously, tugging Toph farther away from them. “She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile. She cannot help you!”

Toph’s face hardened at Lao’s words and she yanked her hand away from him before turning to face your group. “Yes, I can!”

The three of you watched in awe as Toph took on all the pro earthbenders before snapping out of it and scrambling to get to Aang, who had been tossed aside earlier. Katara and Sokka tried all they could to free Aang, with every single attempt being unsuccessful. 

“Hit it harder!” Aang cried, desperation in his voice.

“I’m trying!” Sokka yelled back, hitting the lock to no avail. 

“Let me,” you said, nudging Sokka out of the way before striking the lock with your sword. The lock fell away instantly, a smug smirk making its way onto your face as you looked at Sokka. 

“I loosened it for you,” he said, puffing his chest out. 

“Sure you did big guy,” you replied, causing him to scowl at you. 

Aang popped out of the cage, ready to fight before Sokka held his arm out and shook his head. He pointed at Toph, who had defeated almost all the earthbenders and stood proudly. Xin Fu was the last one standing. She made easy work of him, sending him flying out of the ring as her father and Master Yu looked on in shock. Aang and Katara ran towards her as Sokka collapsed from shock, leaving you to watch over the Water Tribe boy. 

A while later, you found yourselves back in the Beifong manor. Toph stood in front of her father, the rest of you watching the interaction anxiously. 

“Dad, I know it's probably hard for you to see me this way. But the obedient little helpless blind girl that you think I am just isn't me. I love fighting. I love being an earthbender, and I'm really, really good at it,” Toph said, gaining confidence as the words flowed out. “I know I've kept my life secret from you, but you were keeping me secret from the whole world. You were doing it to protect me, but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend. So, now that you see who I really am, I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me.”

“Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you, Toph,” Lao proclaimed. “It's made me realize something.”

“It has?” Toph asked hopefully, her face brightening up. 

You swallowed harshly as you watched Lao’s reaction. You had a bad feeling deep in your gut as you glanced at Toph, and your instinct was proven right a second later. 

“Yes. I've let you have far too much freedom. From now on you'll be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day.”

“But dad!” Toph yelled, surprised at the words.

“Sir, with all due respect, your daughter is one of the most powerful earthbenders alive,” you said quietly, stepping forwards and dodging Sokka’s hand as he reached for you. “She doesn’t need to be cared for and she definitely doesn’t need guards to protect her.”

Lao looked at you coldly, his lips pressing together into a thin line. 

“We’re doing this for her own good!” Poppy cried, gathering Toph into her arms.

“Guards, please escort Miss (Y/N) out of my house. She and the Avatar are no longer welcome here,” Lao finally said, glaring at you. “Never return. The Fire Nation isn’t welcome here any longer.”

“I’m sorry Toph,” Aang said as you were all led out. You didn’t stop glaring at Lao. 

“I’m sorry too,” Toph replied, tears pricking at her eyes. “Goodbye Aang.”

~

“Don’t worry,” Katara said softly as you all approached Appa. “We’ll find you a teacher. There are plenty of amazing earthbenders out there!”

“Not like her,” Aang muttered. Katara looked at you for help but you shook your head, knowing Aang was right. 

You leaned against Appa, narrowing your eyes when you saw a figure sprinting towards you. You made out the person’s features easily enough and you tapped Aang’s shoulder. “Aang, look!”

“Toph! What are you doing here?” Aang asked as the small girl came to a stop in front of them.

“My dad changed his mind. He said I was free to travel the world,” Toph explained, trying to catch her breath. You smirked at the girl, knowing that she was lying. 

“Well then, we’d better get out of here,” Sokka said, peering over the edge of Appa’s saddle. “Before your dad changes his mind again.”

“You’re going to be a great teacher Toph,” Aang said, smiling at the girl.

“Speaking of which, I wanted to show you something,” Toph said softly. 

“Okay.”

Without hesitation, Toph stomped her foot, sending Aang flying before he landed in a tree. “Now we’re even. Um, I’ll take the belt back.”

Sokka tossed the belt down, frowning slightly. You stifled a laugh as it hit Toph’s head, knocking her down.

“Ow!”

“Sokka!” you scolded, helping Toph up. He simply shrugged before disappearing back into the saddle. Toph took your hand, standing up before picking up her belt. You looked at her amusedly. “Didn’t think you had the guts to run away from home, Beifong.”

Toph gave you an unreadable look before replying. “That makes two of us, Princess.”

“Don’t call me princess,” you said immediately, glaring half-heartedly at the girl.

“Sure. Whatever you say, Princess,” she said, awkwardly patting Appa. 

You sighed deeply before helping Toph reach the saddle. “I have a feeling you and I are gonna get along wonderfully, shortcake.”

Toph let out a sound of indignation at the nickname before rolling into the saddle, glaring at you as you joined her. “Don’t call me shortcake.”

“Whatever you say, shortcake,” you teased, mocking her earlier statement. Toph looked like she was ready to attack you but was stopped as Sokka took the reins. 

“Alright Team Avatar! Where to now?” he asked, looking at Aang questioningly. Aang looked around uncertainly before shrugging.

“I don’t know, but the faster we leave Gaoling, the better.”

Sokka nodded in agreement before facing forwards once more. “C’mon Appa. Yip yip.”

Toph grabbed onto your arm as Appa began to fly and you looked at her in amusement. You looked around at everyone, knowing that things were about to get more interesting. 

~

taglist!

atla: @musicalkeys, @mywigglybaby​, @bubblebars​, @iguessthefloorislava​, @dekahg​, @boxofteenageideas​, @bottledcostcowater​, @butterflycore​, @coldlilheart​, @the-firebender-girl​, @ajediherowitchrunner​, @lammello​, @astroninaaa​, @samsmultifandomblogs​, @sadskater25, @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak​, @eternallyvenus​, @emberislandplayers​, @sunflowerazula​, @moonnei​

pwf: @ilovespideyyy​, @binaryssunsets​, @a----rag​, @existing-but-nonexistent​, @milk-n-cheese​, @itsthatsadbitch​, @nin-tendou​, @honey-ruel​, @reclusive-chicken-nugget​, @teenbiology​, @davnwillcome​, @fandomarchiveilyd​, @minninugget​, @sukifans​, @nugget-barnes​, @vintageroses1014516​, @donteatmycookiesplease​, @fanficdepot​

[sokkabeifong]

Can you write some tokka angst 🙏

ofc I can anon and IM SORRY THIS IS SO LATE but better late than never I guess. this is set in modern times because modern times are fun to write for tokka okay? a bit longer than usual but the more angst the better am I right

Toph had promised Sokka that she’d go to the hospital when it happened, so that’s exactly what she’d done. She hadn’t promised that she’d actually get anyone’s attention. Or check in. Or ask for help.

Although… the contractions were getting more insistent, and she doubted the medical staff would leave her alone if she stripped off the stupid maternity pants and just squatted down right there on the lobby floor.

With a heavy sigh, she waddled her way over to the nearest front desk. Spirits, she hadn’t been in a hospital in years. She wasn’t even sure what the different branches and buildings and desks were all for. But there was no way that she was giving birth at home. Katara was in medical school, sure, but she wasn’t done. And Toph wasn’t about to risk her life and her child’s life for a “practice trial.”

Still, there was something unnerving about the hospital, with its stuffy feeling and too-squeaky floor. It feels clean, clean in a way that you can just sense. She didn’t need sight to tell her just how antibacterial this place was.

A pinging, traitorous part of her wishes that someone was here with her, that she didn’t have to do this alone. But it was her own stupid pride that had taken a cab all alone in a Wednesday night, and the only person she truly wanted present was somewhere she could never get him back from. She’d promised him before he died that she would go to the hospital if she felt even the slightest change. He wanted her to be safe, he said.

And now, of course, Sokka was dead and gone while she was here, swollen belly stretching out her sweater and maternity pants. As much of an annoyance as labor would be, getting the thing out of her was going to be a blessing. She’d spent too long unbalanced and vulnerable to attack.

“Can I help you?”

Toph was broken out of her musings by the question from someone sitting at the closest desk. She turned her head to where she hoped the person, a woman by the sound of it, would be.

“I hope so,” she smiled, falling back into a generic cover ID face. “I should probably see a doctor.”

“All right,” said the woman. She heard the clicking of nails on a keyboard, then something sliding across the desk. “Why don’t you take one of these forms, fill it out, and bring it back here?”

“Can’t ,” she said shortly. “I’m blind.”

“No worries.” The woman clicked her pen open like she had blind pregnant ladies come into the ER every day. Who knew - maybe she did. “I’ll ask you the questions and you answer, okay?”

“Okay.” Toph winced as another contraction hit her. At least the protruding baby bump gave her something to lean against. She made sure to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth as the woman began questioning her, just as Katara had instructed her to do. I’m a few hours, the whole thing would be over and then - she bit her lip and redirected her thoughts.

She wished Sokka was -

She redirected that thought, too.

“Reason for your visit?” the woman asked, yapping the pen against the clipboard.

Toph waited a moment before she turned around yet again, because she was in the middle of another contraction and couldn’t decide whether she’d rather scream or just go ahead and kill the lady.

“My contractions are about eight minutes apart,” she said.

The lady blinked once and then repeated, “They’re eight minutes apart from each other? So you’re in labor. Are you in active labor?”

Toph smiled sweetly. “Are you asking me to stick my fingers down and see whether or not I’m dilated to seven centimeters?”

To the woman's credit, the crudity didn't seem to faze her, and she plowed ahead with, “Ma’am, this is the ER. We’re not equipped for a birth. I’ll call you a wheelchair immediately, and we’ll get you up to Labor and Delivery. Trust me, it’ll be faster than checking in here and waiting for a transfer.”

“Where’s Labor and Delivery?”

“Fourth floor, and I -”

“I’ll just walk over there. It’s fine.”

“Ma’am, I really must insist. You’ve technically checked in—” she waved the yellow paper “—and you’re our responsibility now.”

Toph leaned heavily against the counter and deftly snatched the page out of the woman’s hand. At least her coordination was still functional.

“There. Now I didn’t check in, and I’m my own problem.”

“Ma’am, please. You’re in no condition to go wandering the hospital, whether you take that against your pregnancy or your eyesight. Let me just call someone to wheel you over.”

Luckily for the woman, another contraction rendered her unable to give a snappy retort. She waited for it to pass, quietly, quickly, then faced the lady once more.

“Fine,” she said tightly. “Fine. Fine.”

“Thank you,” the lady said, obviously relieved. Apparently she did not deal with stubborn blind pregnant women on the daily.

By the time she had been put in a wheelchair and taken through the long halls and winding corridors to Labor and Delivery, Toph had managed to calm herself down. Not because the situation was in any way calming, but because she’d stressed her body and mind out enough that she’d fallen into full-blown mission mode.

Which was fine. It’d probably be easier to give birth with that attitude.

“Well, you seem pretty together, Toph,” the nurse gushed as she checked in yet again at the front desk. “We’ll get you back as soon as possible. For now, if you can just take a seat in one of those chairs, and listen for your name.”

Toph let her real self fade into the background, giving over control to the five other women sitting in the waiting room, and promptly closed her eyes. If she was going to be in pain, she might as well rest while she could.

-

The calm blind girl out in the lobby was already a topic of discussion.

It wasn’t completely unheard of for someone to come in alone. Life was weird and sometimes people gave birth without anyone they knew to help them through the experience. But this girl? The calm young girl with ebony in her hair and in her eyes wasn’t any of the typical stories. She was clean and put together. She was calm and young and looked like the kind of person who would have a dozen friends by her side, even if the father of the child was no longer in the picture.

And yet, there she sat. First in the waiting room and then in her hospital room.

Alone.

Moreover, Miss Toph Beifong had claimed on her paperwork that her contractions were now five minutes apart. However, she was sitting too calmly for that. In fact, the nurse had sat with phone in hand and timed out more than ten minutes, and the girl hadn’t moved once. She’d sat there calmly. No wincing, no cursing, no crying.

It wasn’t until the nurse pulled the woman back and got down to take a look that anyone believe the claim at all.

"Shit,” the nurse murmured.

The doctor startled and glanced up to see if Toph had been offended by the curse. Fortunately, the girl seemed more concerned with how many fingers she had, and didn’t seem to have heard.

“What?” the doctormurmured, more quietly.

“Her cervix is nine centimeters,” the nurse answered.

“Shit,” the doctor echoed.

-

By the end of it all, Toph had decided she did not like labor. She’d made that decision before she began crowning, and nothing that followed did anything to change that. While she had experienced worse pain in her life, she had never experienced that kind of pain.

She had once spent four straight hours being absolutely crushed by a girl at the gym and, at the peak of labor, she was pretty sure she’d trade out that experience for her current one.

Nevertheless, she didn’t scream. She screwed up her eyes and doubled her body up and flexed her fingers. Tears leaked from her eyes from the sheer stress of it all. But her lips remained tightly closed. The skin around them grew white from where she bit them between her teeth, and the nurses were afraid she’d draw blood.

One well-intentioned nurse had advised that she just give in and cry out.

Toph had rolled her eyes, widened her legs, and pushed again.

In the end, nature was inevitable. Toph had always had someone to remind her to take good care of her body, so the whole experience was over in a few hours. She collapsed back against the wet bedding. There was sweat and blood and who-knew-what all over her, and she’d probably never feel clean again.

There was screaming in the background, and her eyes finally focused on the small infant being washed by the hospital staff.

Then her view was cut off by the ring of congratulating nurses.

“It’s a beautiful girl. Do you have the name ready for her?”

“Call it Toph, for all I fucking care,” Toph murmured, too quietly for anyone to make out. She turned over on her side, away from the child, and shut her eyes tight.

-

Later that night, after hours of tossing and turning in her sleep, Toph was awoken by the small mewing sound coming from her bedside. She sighed. She’d tried to have the baby whisked away to some far-off nursery where she wouldn’t have to ignore its presence, but apparently the hospital didn’t “do that anymore.”

Spirits, she felt so empty. Tired and empty and drained.

Deciding she could avoid it no further, Toph feels her way to the other side of the bed. The hospital is quiet, and she can’t even guess what time it is. Probably late at night. She waddled over to the bassinet, and the mewing became a full-fledged scream.

She jumped. The baby continued screaming, but less so, as if it hadn’t realized anyone was there. She found herself reaching down, feeling the child, the blankets, so afraid she would drop it or break it or… worse. For a moment she hesitated.

This is your baby, she thinks. You’re allowed to pick it up. It’s yours. And his. You can pick it up.

Her. She could almost hear Sokka’s voice echo through the room, reminding her that their child wasn’t an it. The thought made her smile.

Slowly, carefully, as though her life depended on it, Toph lowered her arms around the tiny, tiny baby and lifted her up. The baby stopped bawling and snuggled against her mother’s chest.

“Hello,” she said stupidly, like the kid could respond. But her mouth kept moving. “Um. Uh, my name’s Toph. I’m your - Spirits, I guess I’m your mom now, huh?”

The baby gurgled, her lips curled like she might cry again. Toph hurried to keep talking.

“Oh, God, um. What else, what else… uh, you have a bunch of aunts and uncles,” she said. “They’re all gonna help raise you. They’re annoying sometimes, but they mean well. You’re our first baby, you know.”

Our. The word made Toph close her eyes for a second. Try as she might, there would be no more “our.” There was only “she.” The “our” in her partnership was long gone. How was she supposed to tell her child that?

She decided to start with the basics.

“Your daddy was so brave,” she whispered. It hurt to talk about Sokka in the past tense, but she kept going. “He was so, so strong and brave and I just know he would have loved to meet you. He already loved you, you know. He wanted to meet you so bad, kid. He just never got the chance.”

The baby blinked, her eyelids heavy like hearing about the father she would never meet was too much for one night. Toph wholeheartedly agreed and set her down in the bassinet once more, making sure she was secure before plodding back to her own bed and face-planting on the blankets.

The nurse had told her the baby’s eyes were blue. She let that thought sink into her heart before drifting off to sleep.

[just-jordie-things]

14 and 74 for zuko plss

prompt 14: kiss on the neck prompt 75: kisses where one person is sitting in the other person’s lap ___

Traveling and living with your friends full time was fun and all, you went on a lot of interesting adventures, and you were saving the lord for spirit’s sake, you should be more proud of what you were doing.

But being with everyone all the time meant that you didn’t get to have a lot of private moments with your boyfriend.

You weren’t sure that Zuko really noticed this, but you felt like you’d been on edge ever since coming to Ember Island.  You’d only been together a month or so, having gotten together not long after he’d joined the gaang- which they still weren’t too fond of but made less comments about it now since you were both so happy together- since being on the island however, you’ve realized that you craved more alone time with him.

You were a little clingier, grabbing at his hands at dinner, snuggling up against him at the theater, it was impossible not to notice, but you didn’t think that Zuko pieced it together in his head.  The few kisses you’d been able to share lingered, and you always held your breath longer than necessary.

Truth was, you had it bad for Zuko, and you just wanted to sit around all day to kiss every inch of his face.

Finally, today was that day.

Your friends were all busy- Suki and Sokka were off training, and Toph, Katara, and Aang went into town for groceries- which left the whole area to you and Zuko.

So after your friends left, and Toph was far enough away that she probably wouldn’t be able to use her seismic senses, you let your hair down, and happily skipped outside to where your boyfriend was sitting by the fire.

It was fairly early in the morning, the sky was gray and it was foggy, and sitting by the fire brought a comfort and warmth that was best experienced at this time of day.

As you made your way over to him, you saw that Zuko was firebending a little, playing with the flames and watching them dance over his knuckles calmly.  He was sitting on the ground, his back propped up against a log while he rested peacefully.

It was rare to see him looking so content, especially when you were days away from ending a war.  It made you smile.

He looked up at you as you approached, smiling back at you fondly.

“Morning, beautiful,” He hummed, his voice a low rasp that sent shivers down your spine.  “Sleep well?”

He reached his hand up to you, extinguishing the flames so you could take it and sit with him.  But instead of crouching down next to him, you plopped yourself down in his lap.

He cocked his head and opened his mouth to say something- not having expected you to do... that, but no words came out.

“I slept wonderfully,” You sighed, your arms draping over his shoulders so that your fingers could play with the ends of his hair.  “You?” 

Zuko swallowed, which you noticed, before nodding back at you.

“Y-yeah I slept, um, fine” 

You smiled a little at this, because you knew that Zuko had issues with falling asleep and staying asleep, so you felt relieved that he was well rested.

“Good,” You murmur, before leaning in and giving him a short peck on the lips- which wasn’t nearly enough for Zuko- but he didn’t complain as you pulled away.  “I’m glad” 

He chased your lips a little, leaning forward and sliding his hands around your hips to pull you in closer.

“Everyone left” He hummed as his nose ghosted past yours.

“Hm, did they?” You pretended to look around, pulling further back from Zuko than necessary as you scanned the area around you.  “I didn’t notice-” 

“Yes you did,” Zuko muttered, one of his hands flying up to the back of your neck to bring you back close to him, but not kissing you.

Your breath hitched in the back of your throat while his eyes were focused intently on yours.

“You’re so hot when you play coy” He mumbles, and this time he notices your shiver.

You giggle nervously when he smirks, your hands completely delving into the hair at the nape of his neck now.

“You’re so hot all the time” You hum cheesily in response, and lean in closer to kiss him, but he doesn’t give you the satisfaction.

He’s blushing from the comment, heat creeping up his neck and pooling at his cheeks, but he tries not to let his sheepishness get in the way of him trying to tease you.

“I thought you couldn’t go to the market because you had a headache, love?” He questions, his thumb tracing down your jaw.

“You wanna play that game?” You inquire, your eyes flickering up to his.  “Because I thought you couldn’t firebend with Aang because of the lunch you were making us,” You spoke in the same playful tone as he had, and he rolled his eyes affectionately.  “Where’s the groceries for that, love?” 

He couldn’t help but chuckle, before drawing you in and placing a sweet kiss on your lips.  It was soft and gentle- nice- but not what you craved in the moment.

He pulled away too soon for your liking

“Pardon me for getting a little distracted by my girlfriend,” He teased, and now you were the one to roll your eyes.

Again, he gave you a short kiss, and you huffed as he pulled away, resting his forehead against yours.

“How much time do you think we have?” He murmurs, the hand on your hip trailing up to gently cup your cheek.

“Not enough” You breathed, before leaning in and properly slotting your lips over his.

The hand on the back of your neck tightened as he pulled you impossibly closer to him.

A moan died in the back of your throat, your chests flush together and your legs wrapping around his hips tightly.

Zuko’s lips trailed away from you, talking his time as he placed slow, open mouthed kisses along your jaw.  You tilted your head to give him proper access as you let out a shudder.

“Your heart’s beating really fast” Zuko murmurs as he drops his head to the crook of your neck, letting smaller and and shorter kisses across the sensitive skin of your shoulder.

“Yeah,” You said in a duh tone.  “I’ve needed you all week” 

You feel his lips tug into a smirk before he nips playfully at your shoulder, and looking back up at you.

“Needed me, huh?” He muses, and your brows furrow as he gives you a shit-eating grin.

“Don’t you dare start teasing me again” You said as threateningly as you could while putty in his hands.

Speaking of hands- Zuko’s traveled down past your hips, grabbing your thighs and roughly pulling you back against him.

“You started it” He muttered, and captured your lips in a sloppy but butterfly-inducing kiss.

You didn’t retaliate, just grinned almost drunkenly as he went back to strategically kissing down your neck, until he found that sweet spot that made you whimper a little.  Upon hearing the delightful sound, Zuko decided this would be the perfect spot to leave a little mark.

As he nipped and suckled the skin until there was a pretty mark left behind, you melted completely under his touch.

“Zuko,” You mumble, breathlessly, but steal a quick kiss from him anyways.

Your hands grasp at his jaw, kissing him a second time, almost losing your train of thought, but it comes back to you as his hands grasp your thighs a little tighter.

“Put the fire out” You tell him seriously, and he nods back at you.

You scrambled off his lap, adjusting your messy hair as he stomped out the remaining flickering flames.

As he turns back to you- looking nothing but hungry- you grin ear to ear, and open your arms just as he grabs onto you, lifting you up and sliding his hands under your legs to carry you as he stumbled towards the house.

Your arms wound around his neck, and now it was your turn to give his throat the same attention he’d given your own neck while he all but ran inside. ___

xoxo ~ jordie

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

laughter/joy

Written for Day 1 of @aangweek! Read here on AO3.

~*~

1. laughter/joy - after the fire, new maps are drawn / nothing to cry for, new dreams are born / out of the ruins, flowers will grow / people rebuilding, stone by stone

Aang had been… unusually silent during their first few hours at the temple. Well, maybe ‘unusual’ wasn’t the right word. A heavier gravity to him was to be expected, seeing as the official reconstruction of the Southern Air Temple was set to begin in upcoming weeks. Which meant their group of friends was currently working together to create basic blueprints of different areas. Katara would never have demanded Aang be his normal, talkative self as he combed through the ruins of his home, because spirits was that an unfair standard to hold him to.

Still. That didn’t mean she couldn’t worry.

But how could they cheer him up? Katara didn’t want to make light of the turmoil she was certain he was going through, and yet she also just - she wanted to comfort Aang. See him smile or hear him laugh at least once while they were here. Katara couldn’t bear to watch the invisible load weigh heavier and heavier on his shoulders any longer.

At the moment, they were all mapping out the weakest parts of the temple, since reconstruction would have to begin with those more fragile areas. Toph and Zuko were one group, so Toph could sense the areas of unsteady infrastructure with her earthbending and Zuko could draw it out. Aang had gone with Suki, as he could reference his memory to compare what had changed from the past to the present while Suki marked down the most significant alterations.

Which had left Katara with her brother. For obvious reasons, Sokka would be the one examining the rubble while she would be the one mapping it out.

The work was long and tedious, though it was more painful than it was boring. While a formal ceremony had been provided for the Air Nomads a few weeks earlier at Aang’s request - a way to send their spirits off in the traditional Nomadic manner - every now and then a slab of concrete would be displaced and reveal a set of charred bones. Which only made Katara worry about Aang more. If it was nauseating for her to witness, she couldn’t imagine what the experience was like for him.

“We need to do something for Aang today,” Katara said when they’d all stopped for lunch. Aang had momentarily left to investigate a particular room in the temple, so she’d seized the initiative to launch a let’s-cheer-Aang-up plan. Their group sat in a circle on a small striped blanket, Appa stretched out comfortably behind them. “I - I don’t know what, but there has to be something we can do to help him feel more like himself.”

Suki nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. He seemed so…” She pursed her lips. “I don’t know how to describe it. He wants to restore the temples, and it’s clear he’s happy to finally start, but…” She shook her head. “It’s just hard for him, I think.”

“He barely said a word the whole time we were eating,” Toph pointed out. “I mean, he didn’t even jump in when we started making fun of Zuko.”

Zuko rolled his eyes as everyone snickered. “Normally I’d be offended, but I noticed how quiet he was, too. That’s… unlike him.”

“Okay, so we’ve agreed we need to do something,” Sokka said, crossing his arms over his chest, “which means now we have to figure out what that ‘something’ is in the two minutes we have before Aang gets back.”

Katara grimaced. Her brother made a good point, disheartening as it was to admit. They needed to work fast. “Everyone. Start throwing out ideas!” Even a terrible suggestion was better than none at all.

“Er, we could make fruit pies for him?” Zuko offered, brow furrowing in contemplation.

Katara shook her head. “Not a bad idea, but it would take way too much time. Anything else?”

“Someone could play airball with him,” Suki suggested. “Didn’t you and Sokka do that the first time you visited the temple?”

Katara made a so-so gesture with her right hand. “Sokka did, yes, but I don’t know if it’s worth the risk of him mentally reliving everything about our first visit here.” She hesitated, returning her hand to her lap. “He… found Gyatso’s skeleton that day, too.”

Suki’s eyes widened. “Oh. Understood.”

“Guys!” Toph hissed, her palms flat on the ground. “He’s coming back!”

Katara cursed under her breath. They’d just have to suck it up and put something together for Aang later -

“Wait!” Sokka exclaimed. “I’ve got an idea!”

“Save it for later, Snoozles!” Toph whispered, but Sokka shook his head.

“Trust me! Just follow my lead.”

Katara resisted the urge to drag her palm down the side of her face. Great. Sokka’s ideas more often than not ended in utter disaster. Tui and La, she was begging for this to be the exception.

As Aang returned to their impromptu picnic area, Sokka jumped to his feet to greet him.

“Aang,” he said sternly, placing a hand on his hip, “I am very disappointed in you.” He gestured to the rest of them still sitting on the ground. “In fact, we are all disappointed in you.”

Aang blinked, taken aback. “You - what? Why?”

“Because.” Sokka shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “How could you not tell us that it was Appa’s birthday?!”

Aang stared at Sokka in total confusion, and Katara didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Of course her brother would come up with something that toed the line of believable and improbable.

“It’s… what?” Aang finally said.

“Appa’s birthday!” Sokka repeated. “C’mon, Aang. Did you really think we wouldn’t find out?”

Katara decided to throw her brother a line. Admittedly, he wasn’t floundering just yet, but she didn’t want to leave him treading water alone. No one could ever say she wasn’t a merciful person. “We had to find out from Appa himself!” she said, standing to move next to the sky bison. She scratched Appa’s cheek. “Isn’t that right, Appa?”

Please play along. Please play along.

Appa gave her a dubious side-eye before roaring, and Aang’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t know you knew your own birthday, buddy!” he exclaimed, airbending over their picnic area to land beside Appa. The breeze blew Katara’s hair back. “I’m sorry!” He gave the sky bison a tight hug. “How can I make it up to you?”

“He, uh, he actually already told us how he wants to celebrate,” Zuko stammered. “He thinks… He thinks we should…”

“Braid flowers in his fur!” Suki finished, and Zuko’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Like - Like when you guys first met those nomads in the… Earth Kingdom, right?”

“Yes, exactly,” Katara confirmed with an aggressive nod. Tui and La, she prayed they weren’t coming off as too emphatic. “And he told us we can - we can make flower crowns for each other, too!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara could see Toph pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. She couldn’t blame her friend for such a response.

For a moment, Aang didn’t speak, and Katara was terrified their ridiculous ploy would crumble to pieces.

Then he shrugged. “I like flower crowns.”

Katara was barely able to contain her sigh of relief, and she knew her shoulders had visibly dropped at his words. Ah, well. If Aang was suspicious of their rambling, at least he’d decided not to press the issue.

They spent the next half hour collecting flowers from around the Southern Air Temple. There were more than Katara had expected, especially considering the high altitude. She nearly cried tears of joy to see Aang passing through his home with a gentle warmth to his eyes rather than the previous quiet sadness. When they all began braiding Appa’s fur and weaving a rainbow of flowers into them, Aang smiled, too, complimenting his bison about how stylish he’d look when they were done.

There was nothing more beautiful than Aang’s smile.

It didn’t take long for their group to begin reminiscing about different memories with Appa. In honor of his “birthday,” after all.

Toph talked about how the very first time she’d flown on Appa, she’d been certain death was a more pleasurable experience. Suki recounted the story of when she’d found Appa and nursed him back to health, which prompted Zuko to tell the tale of his own Appa rescue mission.

Aang pulled them both into a tight hug before braiding strings of flowers in their hair, too.

Sokka was the one who brought up the cave of two lovers and his experiences of being trapped with the nomads, and Katara couldn’t resist the urge to tease Aang about his ever-so-romantic I’d rather kiss you than die! compliment. That particular story earned laughter from all, Aang included, who made a teasing remark about how clearly it worked before pressing a kiss to the tip of Katara’s nose. She dropped a pink flower crown on his head as he pulled away.

Joy was in the little things, Katara knew. And sometimes, joy was in the things that hurt, that ached, like the ruins of a once-beautiful air temple.

No. It was still beautiful. Because they were here, breathing life into death. Because out of these ruins, flowers were growing. Because out of loss, joy could bloom, too.

Aang laughed at some offhand comment from Sokka, and Katara smiled.

It was their favorite sound.

~*~

honestly this is my least favorite ficlet of what i've written for each day lmfao. but that does mean we can only go up from here! see you tomorrow for day 2 - family/gyatso :)

[not-all-dead]

angstpril day twenty-three, part two: alone

CW: very bad mental health issues, intrusive thoughts, depression, death, more death, the second being a su*cide, super super super super long (again)

part one is here, and the sequel short is here

fic under the cut

She was at a party, but she wasn’t really there. She’d been feeling like that for a while now, months, years, she couldn’t tell anymore. It was an odd feeling, like she was disconnected from everything around her. People moved and talked and danced and her body went along with them, but she was nowhere to be found, not really anyway.

So there she was, at yet another party, there in body but not in mind. She was standing by the drinks table, sipping a strong, clear liquid from her glass, when someone she didn’t recognize came up to her.

“You’re Kya, right?” they asked.

she nodded, staring into space and only half-listening to what they were saying. That is, until they mentioned her father.

“...and I heard about Avatar Aang taking ill and was all like ‘No way! That’s terrible!’, because he’s like, the Avatar and everything, but then I remembered seeing you around and thought ‘Hey, isn’t she the Avatar’s kid?’, so I decided that whenever I saw you around next, I’d say something. So yeah, I’m so sorry to hear about your father, and I wish all the best for you and your family,” they smiled at her despite her distant expression, waiting for a reaction for a long moment before their expression changed.

When Kya noticed them raising an eyebrow in confusion at her silence, she shook her head and forced herself to focus.

“S-sorry, I uh- my father’s sick?” she stuttered, meeting their eye cautiously.

“Oh, you- you didn’t know, I’m so sorry, uh-,” they paused and looked around, pretending to see something across the room.

“My uh- my friend just came in, I think, I think I should just,” they stopped and scurried away, leaving Kya alone to understand what had just happened.

“Avatar Aang taking ill.”

“I’m so sorry to hear about your father.”

“You didn’t know.”

Kya downed the last of her drink and wove her way through the crowd, easily avoiding bumping into people without really having to look.

“You didn’t know.”

She broke out into the cool night air and took in a deep breath.

“Taking ill.”

She rushed down the steps of the venue, starting on her walk back to the hotel.

I didn’t know.

She made quick work of the walk, arriving back at her room in under a half an hour.

Dad’s sick.

She collapsed backwards onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling, her head spinning.

Dad’s probably dying.

She gasped, her own thoughts surprising her. She closed her eyes and pushed the thought away, trying to convince herself he wasn’t that sick. That he’d be alright.

Her eyes remained closed as she sifted so that slightly more of her was on the bed. Once she was relatively comfortable, she sighed heavily and let herself give in to the alcohol for the night. She slept deeply, but couldn’t keep herself from having nightmares about her father, standing in her bedroom, a corpse rather than a living man.

She woke in the morning with the sun streaming through the hotel’s large windows and the sound of voices in the halls. She rolled onto her side and gazed at the carpeted floor, but didn’t move to actually get up. Her mind was blank, her eyes unfocused as she stared at nothing in particular, unmoving on the bed. She drifted in and out of a light sleep, her father’s face consistently appearing behind her closed eyelids as she did.

She wanted to cry, wanted to sob like there was no tomorrow, but she couldn’t. Her body was too tired, her mind too lost. She could see what was around her, and knew she should be going back to Air Temple Island, but… but first she had to get out of bed. And that was seeming more and more impossible with every passing minute.

Get up.

Get up, get up, get up.

She rolled over again, curling up so that the now very bright sun coming through the windows hit her back. Her eyes traced over the clothing she’d thrown on the floor days before, quickly becoming heavy again. This time, she fell back into the deeper sleep she’d had before.

“You should have been there.”

“How could you betray me like that.”

“I never really loved you, anyway.”

Her eyes opened groggily and she blinked away her father’s rotting face. She sighed quietly and ran a hand over her face before turning to look out the window. This time she pushed herself up so that she sat cross legged in bed, though she still couldn’t bring herself to actually get up.

The sky had darkened again, the dull night creeping up on her quickly. Her stomach growled in disagreement with her having not eaten since the party… however long ago that had been. She sighed again and let herself fall to the side, her head landing heavily as she did.

Everything felt so out of reach. She knew there was a buffet downstairs, where she could easily satisfy her hunger. A train station in town that could bring her more than halfway home. Paper and a pen in her drawer that she could at least write home with. But the longer she stayed in bed, the farther away everything seemed.

The drawer was miles away every time she’d look sideways at it, hoping this time the effort of opening it wouldn’t be too much.

Smells from the buffet would occasionally waft up, reminding her of how long it’d been since she’d had any food or drink. Each time her nose caught one and her stomach complained, she felt more and more deserving of the hunger.

She could hear the trains going by reasonably often, and began to count them for lack of anything else to do. The higher the number climbed, the more and more she saw Aang’s sunken face watching her with disappointment.

She counted the trains silently, her arm falling asleep under her. She lost count every once in a while and had to start over, and the entire time her eyes continued to close, periodically pulling her into nightmare-ridden sleep. The sun rose and fell again, and then again a third time, before anything changed.

First, there were voices outside her room’s door. New voices, familiar voices, not just the cleaner or the cook.

Then, there was her door opening. She kept staring into space, not bothering to look at who it was. It wouldn’t matter soon anyway, so what point was there?

But then there was a man crouching in front of her bed putting a hand gently on her cheek. She forced her eyes to look at him, recognizing him as soon as she did, but still not saying anything. Still not finding the will to get out of bed.

“Kya…” he said quietly, looking at her with a great deal of sadness in his eyes.

She couldn’t help but be jealous of her uncle at that moment.

At least he feels sadness.

At least there’s something more behind it all.

She turned her eyes away from Sokka, who sighed and stood to his full height again. He left her as she was on the bed and began moving around the room, opening and closing drawers and packing all her things into her suitcase. It didn’t take him long, her limited belongings helping with the quick cleanup. He set the packed suitcase on the bed and walked back around so he could look Kya in the face.

“We have to go home, Kya,” he started gently, trying not to be too forceful to the clearly distressed woman.

When she didn’t respond, he crouched in front of her again. He pushed her hair out of her face and then placed his hand over hers, pressing slightly in an attempt to get her to look at him. Her eyes remained glazed over, though, and she still said nothing.

“Can I please bring you back to the island?” he asked.

Still, no response. Kya wasn’t sure what she was waiting for, if she was even waiting for anything. She didn’t want to go back, because that meant accepting the reality of what was happening. But she didn’t want to miss saying goodbye to her father, either.

Saying goodbye.

She blinked a few times and looked at her uncle, her eyebrows drawing together. Her eyes flitted around the room and she pushed herself into a sitting position, pulling her knees to her chest and hanging her head.

“Kya?” Sokka asked, moving so that he was seated on the bed next to her.

He put a hand on her back, watching the minute changes that danced across her face. When she settled back into her blank, seemingly emotionless state from before, he spoke again.

“Almost everyone is already on the island. I-,” he sighed before continuing. “I know how hard it is, Kya. I know how much it hurts. But believe me, it hurts more when you don’t get to say goodbye. So, so much more, because then there’s a regret that you can’t get rid of. My mother- your grandmother, neither Katara or I got to say goodbye. Her death was so much harder than dad’s, because we had the chance to talk to him before he went. I would hate for you to have to live with that regret, Kya. So please, let me take you back to Air Temple Island.”

Kya looked down and nodded, taking a moment before letting her legs fall over the side of the bed. She let out a long, heavy sigh, and Sokka placed his hand over hers again.

“We’ll get through this, alright? All of us, together,” he said before standing.

Kya stood slowly after him, closing her eyes against the dizziness that suddenly hit her.

“Woah, there,” Sokka said, grabbing her around the shoulders to steady her.

Kya mustered up a weak smile but kept her gaze down, straightening herself and nodding to signal that she was okay to stand on her own. Sokka walked around the bed and grabbed her suitcase, turning back to her and watching her walk slowly after him.

“When was the last time you ate something?” he asked, eyeing her frail and unsteady form as she walked.

Kya shook her head and looked up at him, a hint of guilt gleaming in her eyes. Sokka pursed his lips then smiled, throwing his arm over her shoulder again.

“Let’s get you some food before we head home, yeah?” Sokka looked at her out of the corner of his eye as she gave a single nod.

They walked down to the buffet on the main floor and Sokka got himself a plate of food alongside Kya. Kya was absolutely ravenous and ate more than even she had expected, not leaving room for herself or her uncle to say anything. Once they finished Sokka went to the desk up front to pay before going back to Kya so they could leave. He held out his arm for Kya to take, which she did tiredly after a moment.

Neither of them spoke on the way to the train station. Sokka talked to the person at the ticket office to buy their passes home, but then fell back into silence as they headed towards the platform. They found two seats when they got on the train and took them, Sokka looping his arm over Kya’s shoulders before they both fell asleep. They slept for the majority of the train ride, Kya not having nightmares for the first time since she’d heard that Aang was sick.

“Tickets, tickets please,” Kya heard a nasally voice calling, pulling her out of the dreamless sleep.

She looked over at Sokka, who was gazing quietly out the rolling hills they were speeding past. He turned his head to her when he felt her shift, a small smile tugging at his mouth. He reached into his pocket and grabbed their tickets, giving them to Kya and looking behind them at the ticket master.

“You okay to give those to him?” he asked, looking back at Kya.

Kya nodded and he turned back to the window, letting out a sigh. Kya fiddled with the tickets in her hands, keeping her gaze cast down as she waited for the ticket master to get to them. When he did, she failed to notice until he cleared his throat above her.

“Tickets?” he asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

She jumped in her seat and looked up at him, blinking a few times before realizing what he was asking. She handed the two tickets to him and he scrutinized them, stamping them reluctantly before handing them back to her and moving on.

The train pulled into Republic City’s main station a little under a half hour later and practically everyone got off. Sokka led Kya outside to where a taxi was waiting for them. They got in and sat wordlessly for the entirety of the drive, raining silent as they rode the ferry over to Air Temple Island and then walked up the long path to the temple. Just before they got to the temple, Sokka stopped Kya, pulling her in for a hug.

“Your dad will be so happy to see you, Kya,” he said against her head before drawing back to look at her.

She looked like a shell of herself, the bright and energetic girl she’d once been lost deep in the numbness that now encompassed her. She met her uncle’s eye briefly before looking at the ground, turning and walking the rest of the way to the temple. She heard Sokka following her, but didn’t turn back to him. She hardly even looked up when her mother came running down the hallway to greet her.

“Kya!” Katara cried, wrapping her daughter in a tight hug.

Kya stood stiffly, not returning the hug or greeting her mother back. She closed her eyes after a few seconds, sinking slightly into her mother’s embrace, only for Katara to pull away all too soon. Her mother cupped her face in her hands, forcing her to look up at her.

“Oh, baby…” she murmured, glancing at Sokka who was standing just behind them.

Kya pulled away from her mother and hung her head, walking to a nearby pillar and leaning lightly against it. She stopped listening as her mother and uncle talked for a minute, though she did notice how often they looked over at her. Katara hurried down a long hallway when they finished speaking, while Sokka turned to Kya.

“Katara’s going to see if Aang’s awake, so we can go in and talk to him,” he said, taking a few steps towards her.

Kya kept her eyes trained on the ground, wrapping her arms around her stomach. She didn’t want to see her father dying. Not now, not ever. Even so, she followed her mother and Sokka when Katara said Aang was awake and wanted to see them. She remembered what Sokka had said to her the night before in her dingy hotel room, and figured she could at least say something to her father. When they stopped outside his door, though, she suddenly felt as if she couldn’t breath.

Katara had left them at the start of the hallway, wanting to give them space to see Aang on their own. Sokka had been about to open the door when he noticed Kya’s sudden change in demeanour, turning to her and placing his hands on her shoulders right away.

“Hey,” he started, glancing around them.

“Kya, hey, it’s alright. Let me go in first, okay? It’ll be okay, you’re okay, just… sit here for a minute,” he stepped away from her and grabbed a metal chair from a few doors down, placing it by Aang’s room for her.

She took the seat gratefully, bouncing her leg and clasping her hands tightly in front of her. Sokka went into Aang’s room and she tried to listen to what they were saying, but kept losing herself in worry.

Dad’s dying.

He’s really dying.

I’ll probably never see him again after today.

When her mind finally became too much to sit alone with, she shoved up from the chair. She stopped briefly before opening the door, peeking her head in just slightly. She watched her uncle crying into her father’s shoulder for a long moment before Aang noticed her, pulling back from Sokka. Sokka wiped his cheeks before he turned and saw her, smiling and waving for her to come in.

He put his hand on Aang’s shoulder as she took a single step into the room.

“I’ll miss you,” he said to her father, just before turning and gliding past Kya.

Kya dragged herself over to the chair by Aang’s side. She paused for a second and looked at her father, huffing lightly before sitting down. She didn’t care if he noticed something was wrong or not, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. That is until he turned his hand so his palm was up and looked at her with an overload of concern.

“Hold my hand?” he asked, as she looked up to meet his eyes.

She lifted her hand and curled her fingers in with her fathers, her face practically going slack as she stared blankly ahead. She tried to focus on what was going on in the moment, but found it impossible with her thoughts criticizing her so loudly.

“Kya, what’s wrong?” Aang asked, the sound of his voice distracting her from her mind for at least a few seconds.

She opened her mouth to respond and took a deep breath, but couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Finally, after what felt like hours to both of them, she found her voice.

“Dad,” she whispered, looking up at him again.

He looked back at her sadly and she couldn’t help but beat herself up for it. She didn’t want him to feel bad on her behalf, and yet here they were.

She watched as he tried to take a deep breath but instead started to cough, getting himself under control after a moment but still wheezing slightly. She felt her eyebrows draw together almost imperceptibly, but had too little energy to show her concern any more. She could tell by how he looked at her how empty her eyes were, his own eyes dulling with each passing second.

“Tell…” he trailed off, trying to muster up enough strength to finish his sentence before continuing.

“Tell everyone I love them,” he said, barely louder than a whisper.

Kya furrowed her eyebrows as Aang slid down in the bed just barely, his eyes watching her with sadness.

“Dad,” she whispered again, panic growing in her chest.

“Dad,” she said louder as he closed his eyes, his face relaxing.

She pushed out of the chair and leaned over him, putting her hand on his cheek. Her eyes were wide with shock and she grabbed his shoulders, shaking him harshly. When he didn’t respond, she whipped her head around the room for some source of water, only to come up dry. She turned back to her father, breathing far too quickly, and raised her shaking hands to his chest.

He’s dead because of you.

She started making compressions on his chest, trying hard to keep his heart beating. With every compression, she felt more and more panicked, her vision blurring with tears.

They’re all going to blame you.

They’re all going to hate you.

She let out a sob and her elbows gave out, and before she knew it she was kneeling on the floor by the bed. Her hand slid back over to his, grasping it tightly as she sobbed. She had no idea how long she was there before someone called to her from outside.

“Kya?” they asked just before opening the door.

Kya turned her head to see a shocked Tenzin standing there.

“No…” he whispered, looking between his father and sister.

Kya watched as her little brother became quickly very pale, only finding the strength to move when his eyes closed and he went limp. She caught him just in time, sinking to her knees with him, sobs still tearing through her body.

Katara heard Kya’s cries as she walked down a perpendicular hall and immediately knew what had happened. She rushed to Aang’s room, bursting through the half open door and taking in the scene before her. She knelt down beside Kya, taking Tenzin off of her lap before looking over at Aang. Kya saw her mother’s eyes fill with tears and had to hold her breath against a loud sob.

Just then, Sokka came rushing in, along with Bumi, Suki, and Izumi. Suki dropped to her knees next to Katara while the other three gathered around Aang. Kya pushed herself up from the ground and all but ran from the room, trying to escape the chaos of the others and of her own mind.

They all already hate you.

Shut up.

They’ll never forgive you.

Leave me alone.

You killed your own father, you monster.

I didn’t- I didn’t kill him.

But you couldn’t save him either, and what is that if not just as bad?

She ran across the courtyard in front of the temple, finding her way to the trail that led up the mountainside. She kept running until her lungs burned and her face was dry of tears, the view from the edge of the mountain’s tallest cliff filling her with an incredulous sense of awe. She didn’t realize someone had followed her until she heard the sound of fabric shifting behind her.

“Don’t,” she warned through gritted teeth, stepping closer to the cliff’s edge.

“Kya,” her mother’s voice said softly, a thickness to it that told Kya she was crying.

“Mom, please, leave,” Kya rasped, not looking back as she inched still closer to the edge.

“Kya, no, just-,” Katara cut herself off with a blood curdling yell as Kya stepped from the cliff.

“Kya!” She shouted, running to where her daughter had stood moments before and falling to her knees.

Kya looked up at the sky as she fell, an odd peace spreading through her body. It dissolved when she heard her mother’s scream, her heart abruptly shattering with the realization of what she’d done.

“Mom,” she whispered into the wind, just before her body slammed against the rocks below and her mind went black.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 33)

The fog of sleep still clings to her. She isn’t sure for exactly how long but it must have been a while. Even in waking, she is so deeply exhausted. Tired to her very soul. Each and everyone of her limbs seems to pulse with a dull ache. A dull ache that is sharply contrasted by the lavish softness of an expensive mattress and a dozen plump and fluffed pillows. But her head hasn’t quite caught up with her body yet. The comforts are thwarted by momentary confusion. Still, only half-awake, her tummy begins to flutter. She is indoors, in a room. Someone has taken her. Her breathing quickens, but only for a moment--the moment before she remembers that she has made it to the palace.  

It is finally over. Her physical strife has finally come to a close. Her eyes flutter shut once more and she stretches her arms.

She isn’t aware that Zuzu and Sokka have remained at her bedside until she senses a hand hovering just over her throat. Her belly flops and she opens her eyes once more. She holds his stare. “Zuzu, is that you?” Her speech is slurred with sleep. When he doesn’t answer she says, “I’m thirsty, Zuko.”

This time she has been coherent enough to earn herself a, “tea or water?”

She doesn’t have any preference whatsoever, her throat is once again dry and she doesn’t intend to let it stay that way again. She sits up as Zuko leaves the room. Curtains of hair fall into her face. Sokka is quite lucky that she noticed him reaching out, her stomach flutters all the same as he moves the strands out of her line of sight.

“Don’t touch me.” She says quietly, almost numbly. He mutters an apology before making inquiries of her whereabouts. Questions that she is not ready to answer. Not when she has only just found sanctuary. Not with so much history between them. And yet he is treating her as though there is no bad blood at all. She repays this small mercy with a diplomatic, and vague, “it is probably easier to tell you where I haven’t been.”

“You’ve been in the Earth Kingdom!” He guesses. She confirms as much. His enthusiasm does little to alleviate the nervous tickles that still dance in her tummy. “A long while, I can tell.” He adds with just as much spunk.

“How?”

“Your accent.”

She furrows her brows, she hadn’t realized...hadn’t even considered that she would have picked one up, “I don’t have…”

“You do!” He insists.

And with the confirmation, her cheeks grow delicately pink. Moreso as the man continues rambling about his own travel experiences. Her head only grows dizzier--she has been gone for so, so long that it has morphed even her speech. She dreads to think of what others will think of her newfound dialect. “It’s a good thing!” He interrupts her thoughts. “I mean I like it.” She shifts, wishing that he would stop drawing attention to it and just let it go.

“Nevermind. How long have you been back home?”

“However long I’ve been asleep.” Her tone is level. She is too tired for biting remarks. She doesn’t think that she wants to make one even if she could. It isn’t as though he is trying to antagonize her. Most likely he is simply stumbling his way through an awkward reunion.

“I mean, when did you get back to the Fire Nation?”

She thinks for a moment. “A few weeks ago. I had enough coin to buy myself a trip from Chin Village to Yon Rha’s Village. I walked the rest of the way.” Frankly it could have been much longer than that. Or maybe it had been significantly shorter. And technically she hadn’t walked the entire rest of the way… But there is no sense in overcomplicating a story that she isn’t ready to share. “That explains why your shoes are so worn.”

She nods, wondering what he must think of her. What Zuzu had thought. Do they think that she is dirty and uncivilized? Do they think that she has no semblance of elegance left? She feels as though she is reverting. As though all of that time spent learning that there is no shame--rather there is a peculiar sense of dignity--in worn shoes and hardwork. But the palace...it makes her feel so...unclean. Unworthy.

“What were you doing in the Earth Kingdom?”

She shrugs. “I guess that I just wanted to find somewhere quiet to stay.” That is the basic gist of it. A diluted truth.

“Did you?”

She nods again. Her stomach is absolutely reeling. She thinks that if he keeps pushing the dam might break. “Did you like it there?” Another nod. And she craves it. Craves it so very much.

“Then why did you leave?”

She grits her teeth. She can tell that he means well; his curiosity is so innocent, perhaps a way of displaying that he is willing to put the past in the past. But she has to shut it down before it breaks her all over again. “You ask too many questions.”

“You answered them all.” He points out.

She doesn’t have a witty retort, neither can she deny it so she offers only a shrug and lays back down. The pillow is so heavenly, so inviting.

“Does it have to do with that?” He points to her neck. She hastily pulls the blanket up to cover it. “It does, doesn’t it?” And she rolls to face away from him. She is a question away from curling in on herself and covering her ears.

“Okay, fine. Different topic…” But he still bombards her with painful questions. Each pierces her like a dagger to the soul.

“Why do you care what happened to me?” She mumbles.

“I don’t know, I guess because it’s been so long and we thought that you...you know…”

“Died.” She could inform him that she almost did, several times over. Could tell him that she had yearned for it many times. She could tell him that she still does. But she realizes that, that isn’t true. She doesn’t want to die. Despite it all and despite his onslaught of questions, she thinks that she has found something to latch onto. His chatter makes her think that there is a chance. A chance to reconcile. A chance to face her past once and for all and make something of it. He rubs the back of his head, “yeah.”

“And that would be preferable, yes?” She tests.

“No!” He answers right away. “I think that it would have been kind of sad if you did.”

“It wouldn’t have been all the tear jerking.” She replies quietly. “I think that I have more waiting for me in the Spirit World than I do here.” She has said too much. Agni, she isn’t ready to get into this yet. She hopes that he won’t put two and two together. But she knows that he will, he always had been the brains of the Avatar’s group. And she given him a critical hint. He leaps upon it, “you lost someone, didn’t you?”

She doesn’t trust herself to answer without choking up. Agni, she wants someone to reassure her. She hasn’t had reassurance in ages...

“Sorry.”  His gaze lingers on her neck and she thinks to conceal the scar once more.

“Well, it’s good to have you back.”

“Is it?” She asks. She is happy to be back, relieved to be out of the merciless sun, relieved to have a comfortable place to sleep and meals waiting for her. But she isn’t sure that anyone else will benefit from her surprise homecoming. She had parted on horrid terms...

He seems to study her face. Seems to take in each detail. She thinks that he might be trying to find her story in her eyes so she closes them. She feels his hand on hers and when she opens her eyes she is greeted with a warm smile. “I think so.”

The fluttering in her belly becomes more pleasant. It is still jittery and skeptical but the tingles aren’t quite as unpleasant. He is offering her a second chance--or maybe it is more appropriate to call it a third. She does her best to return the smile before fatigue grips her once more. She lowers herself back to the pillow and nuzzles her face into it. At the very least, he has given her something to latch onto, a small hope to cling to just when her stash of it had been depleted.

That day she learns that even the worst of her deeds can be reconciled. That she isn’t a lost cause.

.oOo.

Sometimes she thinks about her first night back at the palace. Sometimes she wonders what would have happened if she had gotten snappy or aggressive. She wonders if Sokka would have been patient with her or if he would have written her off entirely. She thinks that her musing is pointless. It is pessimistic and she hasn’t the need for it. Not while she is laughing, face and clothing smudged with clay. Clumps of it cling to her locks. Not while the man is chuckling harder still as he tries to wipe some of the clay off of her cheeks.

As it would turn out, long nails are no good on a pottery wheel unless the goal is cleanly slicing cups and bowls in half before they have a chance to become something useful.

Sokka’s cups and bowls may be lopsided and asymmetric but at least he had managed to craft them at all. She has only managed to ribbon her own and has resigned herself to admitting defeat.

“I’ll heat those up for you.” She mutters as she snatches up those hideous ceramic structures.

“Once they’re done we can use them for dinner.” Sokka grins.

“I’d rather starve.” She deadpans.

He slings an arm over her shoulder and barks out a laugh. She quite likes his laugh as unrefined and obnoxiously loud as it is. She frowns and plucks a few particularly large chunks of clay out of his beard. “You need a bath.” He blinks and gestures towards the clay dirtying her entire persona. “I never implied that I didn’t need one.” She shrugs.

“Alright, we’ll just let someone else heat up the clay and finish it and we can take baths.”

.oOo.

When he had suggested that they take baths he hadn’t expected her to suggest just one bath. One bath, wherein she is massaging shampoo into his hair with a look of steely determination. “Your hair is a tangled mess.” She comments every now and again. “When was the last time you combed all of this?”

He shrugs, “I just let it do it’s thing.”

She sighs, “that’s how you get dirty hair.” With a good yank, she manages to get one of the more serious knots untangled. She adds more shampoo and conditioner to her palm. Mostly her fingers are gentle and he enjoys the sensation of them in his locks. He finds himself disappointed when her hands retract. “There, I think that that’s most of them. I’ll have the servants do the more laborious grooming.”

She holds out the small bottle of perfume, “do mine.”

He studies her for a moment; the water has mostly washed away the smears of clay but some of it still holds onto strands of her hair. Hair that clings to her neck, shoulders, and collarbone--it hasn’t yet grown past that. Her skin is still very sunkissed and her scars stand out more starkly for it, particularly the ones upon her throat.

Their occasional sparring matches have done her well, muscle definition is beginning to take the place of malnourishment. It is reassuring to see her in a more solid state of health.

She clears her throat and gestures towards the shampoo. His face flushes and she turns around. It is his cue to put the shampoo to use. He takes a curtain of hair in one hand and pours an overly generous amount of shampoo upon it with the other. He runs his fingers through her hair until her locks are impeccably silky and the water comes back clear.

“Thank you, Sokka.”

“Any time.” He reaches for the bar of soap, “do you want me to…?

She takes the soap from his hand and shakes her head.

.oOo.

Azula holds the soap to her chest, cleaning herself, only for a moment, with thoughtless sweeps of her hand. Her shoulders have a decent layer of foam by the time she hesitates. She casts a look at Sokka and quirks a brow.

“We only have one bar of soap.” Quickly he adds, “don’t worry, I can wait.”

She brings the bar away from her body anyhow and runs it along the man’s well sculpted arms, her fingers over the lines of his biceps. She glides the soap across his chest, wondering just when the man had gotten so strongly built. She supposes that the soap is just an excuse to run her hands over his abs. He reaches out and strokes her hair again. Satisfied for the moment, she hands him the bar of soap and turns around again. She moves her hair and lets the man lather the back of her neck down the curve of her spine. Her rinses the bubbles away and offers her back a trail of kisses. She closes her eyes and feels his lips on the crook of her neck and her arms around her torso.

“I think that you’re mostly clean now.”

She nods, “yes, mostly.” Though she isn’t particularly interested in the bath anymore. “You can…” she takes his hand that holds the soap and holds it against her chest. “You can finish up.”

“Yeah, I think I can do that for you.” He smiles.

She must say that this is the mostly lovely, relaxing bath she has had in ages. He is good to her.  Good to her in a way that is uniquely his and with a touch that is uniquely his. A touch that leads her to decide that it is safe to remember but move on.

[dancingkirby]

Shipping

I’m sorry, but it had to be done.  Do y’all think this would work better as a Short Story, or just a oneshot on its own?  

DAY 1

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of his ascension to the throne, Zuzu and Mai were off on a world tour.  Azula had been left in charge of ruling the country.  While Azula was glad that he was finally realizing that she wasn’t always thinking about world domination all the time, so far her regency had been extremely boring.  Now, she was more than halfway through it, and absolutely nothing of note had happened.  

Today had started out like all the others.  She hadn’t slept great the night before because of the high winds that had battered Capital Island, and they hadn’t ebbed down very much by morning.  She’d had trouble getting her hair to stay in its topknot while training.  But the morning council meeting had proven as tedious as ever.  Azula was paying the exact minimum amount of attention required as the ministers droned on about tax brackets; most of her brain was occupied on what she would have for lunch that day.  Noodles were always nice, but she’d had them for two days in a row now. Anytime she ate any food on multiple consecutive days, there was always the risk of speculation among the courtiers that she might be pregnant.  Never mind that she hadn’t even done any sex acts that could result in pregnancy for years…

The door to the meeting hall abruptly swung open.  An out-of-breath messenger stood in the doorway, blushing deeply as nearly twenty pairs of annoyed eyes scrutinized him.  

“You do realize that you are intruding on a confidential council meeting, correct?” Azula inquired of him.  

“I’m t-terribly sorry, P-princess,” the messenger managed to get out.  “But I was told that this needed your immediate attention.” Could it be…that something interesting was about to occur for a change?

“All right. What is it?” she asked.  At her hand motion, the messenger climbed up to the dais and whispered in Azula’s ear.

“Okay.  I’ll be right there.  We will continue this meeting at a time to be determined later,” Azula stated.

So here she was on a tugboat, looking at the enormous cargo ship that had somehow gotten wedged into the Strait of Azulon.   Azula turned to the old salt who was leading efforts to remove it and said, “Explain.”

“That ship is called the Agni-Given, Princess,” the man said somewhat stiltedly; it appeared that he was trying to rein in a sailor’s natural tendency to use copious foul language.  “It’s one of the largest cargo ships in the world.  Today, it was passing through the strait when the high winds pushed it off-course and into a sandbar.  It also got tangled in some old nets from the Gates. We’ve been trying out dam…darndest to free it, but no luck.”

Azula took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly out of her nose.  “And what have these initial attempts included?”

 “We attached every tugboat in the harbor to it to try to pull it out, but it didn’t work, Princess. That fu…freaking thing is stuck deep into a sandbar.  Next step would be to try to dig it out.”

“Explain how that would be accomplished.”

“Yes…well…”–the old man paused–“We ain’t sure yet, to be honest.  The problem is that the place where the bow is stuck is seventy feet underwater.  All of the excavating machines available were built for use on land.  We was thinking of trying to get some of those new forklifts, try to extend their reach, and bring them out on boats, but…that would take time.”

“Forklifts?  Is that the best you could come up with?” Azula demanded.  She found herself imitating her brother’s famed nose-bridge pinch.  This would not do at all.  She needed an ingenue, someone who could design a whole new kind of machine if need be. And she thought she knew exactly where to find one.  

 DAY 2

It had been the end of a long day, without much progress being made.  Azula was just about to demand that the larger, more comfortable boat they’d made ready for her today take her back to the harbor when, at long last, the other ship that she had been awaiting arrived.  After this watercraft was tethered to hers, a figure came running down the gangplank, arms outstretched.  

“Azula!” Sokka exclaimed.  “How’s it going?  We haven’t seen each other in forever…hey!” His attempts at embracing her had been thwarted by the princess grabbing his shirt at arm’s length.  

“Not in public, remember?!” she hissed.  Then, just as formally as if he were any old dignitary, she added in normal tones, “Councilman Sokka.  It is good to see you here.  I trust that your journey here was uneventful?”

“Yeah, except we had to go around the long way because of…well…that,” Sokka replied, gesturing at the still firmly-entrenched Agni-Given.  “So how do you want me to assist, O Princess?” He did a little bow, and could not quite manage to keep a straight face.  

“Watch it,” Azula reprimanded again.  Whenever they encountered each other, she always needed to remind him that their relationship was a melding of intellects and occasionally flesh; romance had absolutely no place in it.  

“I recall that you designed a vehicle that could travel underwater,” she explained.  “Would it be possible to modify this concept and attach equipment for shoveling?  Or perhaps even the capacity for finer manipulation to untangle the net remnants?”

Sokka took a few moments to consider as he beheld the enormous ship.  Finally, he replied, “Yeah, I think that’d be possible.  It’ll take a while to draw up plans and get everything built, though.”

“Very well,” Azula told him.  “I suppose we shall have to simply endure each other’s company for a little longer.”

“’Endure?’  Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Sokka gave a wink that was obviously meant to be seductive, but in fact only made him look ridiculous.  Azula elbowed him in the ribs.

They did, in fact, end up fucking that night, after Sokka had eaten what seemed to be about half of the palace’s food supply for dinner.  They hadn’t seen each other in more than three years, and Azula was scrupulous about taking her contraceptive tea, so why not?

Sokka tried to kiss Azula after, but she didn’t let him.

DAY 3

Zuko had sent a message asking if he should cut his celebratory tour short and come home to help with this problem, but Azula quickly scribbled out a reply that they had everything under control.  

Today was the day that Sokka would first meet with the team of engineers assigned to resolve this problem.  

“And I’m sure that all of you will give him the respect that he deserves,” Azula told them in the most pleasant voice she could manage.  Some of them were obviously pissy about being forced to consult with a man who was half most of their ages.  Well, too bad.  Anyone who tried to ignore him would be upbraided with the utmost harshness personally by her.

DAY 10          

The manufacturing process had begun.  Sokka informed her that he had dubbed this new invention the “shovelmarine.”  He did not attempt to conceal his sheer glee at this horrible pun.  Azula threw a pillow at him.  

While the two of them worked by day and screwed by night, things were starting to get out of hand in the Harbor District.  The plight of the Agni-Given had captured the imagination of the public, and kiosks had sprouted all over the piers selling miniature models of the grounded ship. It seemed that every single street musician in the city had composed his or her own ballad about the situation.  Fan magazines had been established simply for the purpose of publishing the flood of stories and art that the more creatively-minded citizens had concocted.  Azula had gotten a hand on one of these volumes, and her favorite story was a somewhat graphic recounting of a speculated liaison between the Agni-Given and the statue of her grandfather.  Apparently, the statue was the dominant partner in this relationship…just as it should be.

This magazine had also included a drawing depicting her own activities with Sokka.  She knew that she should be furious about this; that the culprit should be tracked down and executed, but she found it just too amusing.  The picture was even surprisingly accurate, except that Azula had not actually handcuffed Sokka to her bedpost.  They had improvised with the sash from her nightrobe instead.  

DAY 16

“Okay, lets see what these shovelmarines can do!” Sokka said as the contraptions touched the open ocean for the first time.  The two of them watched from the boat that was by now almost as familiar to Azula as her own suite of rooms at the palace were.  

As it turned out, the shovelmarines (Azula had grudgingly accepted this terrible name) could do quite a bit.  Over the next several days, they worked steadily at the problem.  Finally, three weeks to the day after the Agni-Given had first gotten stuck, it once again floated freely, although it would be have to be drydocked to repair all the damage.  

In his excitement, Sokka had tried to kiss Azula.  She had initially resisted, but he had used his ultimate weapon: polar bear dog eyes.

“All right, but only once.  And on the cheek,” she cautioned him.  

DAY 25

Sokka had departed two days ago, and Azula hoped that he wouldn’t try to send love letters or anything stupid like that.  He should know how it worked by now.  Whenever they happened to meet, they would rekindle their affair for the duration of the visit, and then they went their separate ways until their next encounter. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to keep this up forever, but it would be fun while it lasted.  

And today…Zuzu and Mai made their triumphant return from their tour.

“Wow,” said Zuko as the two of them stood at the harbor, observing as the last of the debris was carried away.  “You and Sokka took care of that whole mess all on your own!  Thank you, Azula.”  At this point, he obviously knew from experience not to make any comments about her relationship with the nonbender.

“Why do you sound so surprised, brother?” Azula asked, turning toward him and raising an eyebrow. “It’s almost like I am, in fact, a competent ruler and don’t spend all of my days dreaming of bloodshed and destruction!  Who would have ever guessed?”

“That’s not what…” Zuko began, but he could say no more as Azula caught him by surprise, got him in a headlock, and began inflicting a merciless noogie on him.  

“Admit it, Zuko,” she crowed.  “I’m awesome!”

“Okay, I surrender!” he squeaked out.  “You’re awesome.”

She released him. “There.  That wasn’t so hard, now, was it?  Now let’s go get some ice cream.”

And so they did.

[blkgirl-writing]

"The Cafe Cutie" Sokka x Reader Modern!au

Requested: Yes! With the prompts "why are you looking at me like that" & "you're beautiful"

A/n: bare with me as I figure out how to tag all of my works. As previously stated, I'm writing all of my works as woc or poc readers, but sometimes it just doesn't need to be stated. So while I had a WOC in mind for this piece, the color of their skin or their gender us never said. It's a good piece, anyway! So enjoy.

The little tea shop always had a waft of kindness floating around the air. Maybe that's why you were drawn to it. Even though it was more of a walk than you usually put into, it all seemed worth it.

It didnt help that a cute boy seemed to be working on his own nearly every single time you showed up. With a stack of papers he always seemed to ignore, and an endless cup of coffee. It was only when the shop was full one afternoon, that you talked to him. Awkward strangers forced to share a table, just trying to get some work done. Though, the shops popularity seemed to grow, and the event of sharing a table became very consistent.

Even when the shop was empty, and it was the Sokka and you, you shared the little table in the corner. Somehow, the energy of another person helped the work go by faster.

Little bits of information came out. His name was Sokka, he used to live in a small town on the ocean, but moved to the city to explore his career. He found out that you were born in a nearby city, but moved here to start a new life of your own. You had been in your second year of college, and worked at a nearby sports bar.

That's how it was. Exchanging a small hello, sitting across from the dark haired boy, and stealing a few glances every once in a while, when you couldn't particularly focus on the work in front of you.

You sighed, closing the last of the windows on your laptop. Done, after what seemed like hours of endless boredom. Only a sip or two left in your ceramic mug to comfort you.

You eyes drifted up as you closed the lid of your computer with one hand, sipping on the last drops of the drink in the other.

It took all your might to not choke on the small amount of liquid. Sokkas eyes had been on you, scanning your form with a glimmer of curiosity.

The man across from you matched your gaze, a small smile on his lips. He made no effort to look away, even when "caught." You felt like you couldnt look away. His deep brown eyes drawing you into his soul. Sure, he had always been attractive, but somehow the mysterious mans features glowed, hair perfectly messy, long fingers tapping a soft, calming tune on the wooden table.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" You spoke, lips ever so slightly parted. You leaned on the table, face coming just a bit closer to his, searching for the unknown.

"Because you're beautiful-" Sokka replied, shrugging his shoulders. He said so simply, like, of course I'm looking at you. Of course you're beautiful. "I like your face."

"You like...my face...?" You repeated, slower, unsure. He blinked a few times, a very light blush appearing on his face.

"Yeah."

"I like your face too." Heart beating a thousand miles a minute, you risked it. You reached out for his hand, placing yours on top of his. "I'd like to see it more."

"Can I get your number?" He asked after what seemed like an eternityof staring blankly,finally lacing his fingers with yours, squeezing your hand gently. He was warm, comforting, but had an underlying strength.

"Like I would say no," you muttered, a smirk playing at your lips. Sokkas face lit up, pure joy blessing his features, before he realized he should play it cool, biting down on his bottom lip to suppress the smile. He gave you his phone with his free hand, unwilling to let go of you.

"Cafe Cutie~" was the contact you put in, along with your number. Smiling to yourself at the name. You handed him back the phone, also letting go of his hand, which had been caressing the skin of your knuckles. You were fairly sure you'd melt if he touched you any longer. You muttered something about it being late as you packed up your bag.

"I'll see you soon then, yeah?"

"Definitely."

[toosicktoocare]

Still playing with this ATLA Benders College AU, and still just rolling with it. 

ATLA Benders College AU

Snippet 2: And They Were Roommates

Setting: Junior Year, Sokka and Zuko 

Find Snippet 1, Warmth Beyond a Bonfire, here! 

The bursting heat inside Zuko is diminishing as the sun begins its slow descent below the horizon, casting the sky in a swirl of orange and pink. The heat, once all encompassing, is slowly being replaced with cold fatigue, and he knows he should stop before it gets too dark, but his muscles, though tired, are prickling with a burning need, so he keeps bending, sending bursts of flames from his hands and his feet across the water.

“Zuko.”

He pretends he doesn’t hear, pushing his muscles harder, sending hotter waves of fire forward. He can feel his bones twinge, trembling under hot exertion, but he keeps going because his mind is a mess of fear, regret, and shame, and bending is the only thing he can do to quiet his inner voice, if only temporary.

“Zuko, I saw the letter with the dorm assignment.”

His lungs swell hot, and all at once, they expel icy air as he sends one, final ball of flame out toward the water, watching the reflection of harsh oranges and reds ripple atop the water. He drops to the ground with a huff, hands and feet tingling as if asleep, and he extends his bare feet forward, just close enough where the tide can brush cool water against his toes.

Iroh slowly lowers himself to the ground beside Zuko, groaning of the aches and pops of his old bones the whole way down. “The water bender’s brother.”

Zuko draws his knees up to his chest, sighing softly, and he drops his head atop one knee, his hair dropping forward to cover his face. “And Aang’s best friend.”

“Ah, yes, I do remember Sokka taking quite a swing at you after the Bender Tournament. Though, his technique was rather poor, if you ask me.”

“Uncle,” Zuko groans, squeezing his eyes shut as the memory of Sokka’s screaming and cursing whips almost painfully across his mind.

He remembers Sokka’s shaking, raised fist flying toward his jaw, and he recalls how easily he dodged it, moving on autopilot. That’s when things get a little jumbled. He can vaguely make out Aang, bruised and bloody, pulling Sokka away from him, and then he remembers his father, a looming, dark cloud of smoke billowing before him, and then, everything grows a little fuzzy around the edges, as if his mind is trying to rewrite the past from the outside in.

“Well,” Iroh starts, leaning back to take in the ocean view, “it could be worse. They could have put you with Aang.”

“Uncle!” Zuko whips a sharp gaze up to see Iroh laughing beside him, a warm sound that gets lost along the ocean breeze.

“I can’t see how this is even remotely funny.” Zuko spits out, pulling his gaze back toward the dipping sun. “I’m going to drop out.”

“Now, Zuko, there’s no need for the dramatics. I’m sure it will all work out just fine.”

Zuko drops his head back down to his knee with a groan. “You always say that, but I don’t see how that’s possible, not with what I’ve done…” His voice cracks, and he clears his throat, swallowing thickly, wincing as shame tastes vile on his tongue.

“Well, dropping out is certainly not an option.”

He lifts his head. “Transfer?”

“Kindness, Zuko.”

Zuko rolls his eyes as Iroh gets to his feet and pulls Zuko up with him.

“Being nice isn’t going to fix what I’ve done to them, Uncle.” Zuko falls into step with Iroh as they start back toward the small beachside shack Iroh’s taken up as his new home.

“You think that for every problem, there’s an immediate solution, but that’s not the case. It’s not a scratch you can slap a band-aid on and call it day, Zuko. Think of it like a tea bag instead.”

Zuko slips into a chair at the small kitchen table, annoyed confusion painted across his face as Iroh pours hot water from the kettle into a teacup and places it before him.

“Think of this hot water as Sokka, who’s steaming, angry, and quick to hurt you if you get too close.”

“Okay,” Zuko draws out slowly, both brows arched as Iroh drops a tea bag into the cup.

“Now, this teabag needs to steep until all the flavors fully come out, and that takes time. In that time, the water begins to cool down until it will no longer burn if you drink it.”

“Am I the teabag in this metaphor?” Zuko teases lightly, and Iroh gives him a light smack on the back of his head.

“You can’t put a teabag in a piping hot cup of water and expect it to immediately taste good, right? It takes patience, just as it will take patience with Sokka. You shouldn’t walk into this dorm assignment expecting to apologize and put the past behind you. You’ll need to earn Sokka’s trust, and you can start by showing him kindness. You can’t erase your past, Zuko, but, for the first time in a long time, you’re the one holding the pen to your future.”

Zuko reaches out to grab the teacup in front of him, drawing his hand back with a sharp hiss when Iroh smacks it with a dish towel.

“Patience, Zuko! It’s still too hot!”

A warm smile pulls at Zuko’s lips, and he absently rubs at his hand while looking over his shoulder to Iroh. “Thanks, Uncle.”

***

Zuko’s nerves are shot, ripped to pieces, as he paces the length of the dorm’s living room, his bags neatly piled beside the couch because he wasn’t sure which of the two rooms Sokka would prefer, and he didn’t want to assume in case he assumed incorrectly. He rubs up and down his arms, feeling oddly chilled, and he moves back and forth, back and forth, the repetition being the only thing that’s keeping him grounded in the present.

He pauses beside a window, glancing out just beyond the quad. He considers leaving to find a wide, open area free of students where he can bend, wishing to chase this mounting fear with fire, but the thought, though already short, comes to an abrupt halt when he hears an all-too familiar voice growing closer and closer until it’s just outside the door.

“Be kind,” he mutters to himself. “You are a teabag, and you are kind.” He smooths his hands down his shirt, swallows thickly around the tight lump that’s made itself at home in his throat the moment Iroh pulled up to the campus hours ago, and cards his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs away from his eyes. “Kind,” he reminds himself as he spins around just as the door opens, a small, hesitant smile pulling at his lips.

Sokka’s expression is unreadable. Zuko tries to dissect how the almost perfectly rounded ‘oh’ form of Sokka’s mouth fits in with the sharp furrow of his brows, the two contradicting each other and leaving him rather confused.

“Hi,” he tries, voice cracking slightly. He clears his throat. “Um, hey,” he takes a few, hesitant steps forward, “can I help you with your bags?”

Sokka remains almost frozen in place, and Zuko spares a glance down toward Sokka’s feet, briefly considering some water bender pulling a prank and icing Sokka’s feet to the floor, but the floor is dry at Sokka’s feet. “Um, Sokka,” he presses, reaching one hand out but stopping short, “are you okay?”

Sokka finally closes his mouth, and Zuko can’t help the muted sigh of relief that puffs from his lungs.

“What room is yours?”

“I haven’t picked,” Zuko starts quickly, motioning toward his own bags. “I wanted to wait and see which you preferred.”

“I want the one closest to the door,” Sokka mutters, and Zuko nods, understanding, though, he can’t help the small bite of hurt that flicks at his chest. Still, he gets it, and he wordlessly steps aside as Sokka struggles with his bags to the first room down the small hall, flinching when Sokka slams the door closed with his foot.

He waits for a few minutes, listening, unsure what to do, until he hears music blaring from inside the room. He takes that as his cue and begins moving his bags into the second room at the end of hall. The hot, prickling itch to bend through his frustration spikes up his fingers, but she shakes the pushing heat out of his hands and starts unpacking.

***

New Message From Uncle: Well, how did it go?

Zuko starts typing, stops, deletes everything, begins again, stops again, a pattern he’s struggling to free himself from. He first considers lying, but he knows Iroh will be able to read right through it, even through text. He considers the truth, but he’s not even sure what the truth is.

It’s been two hours since Sokka showed up, and he’s only heard Sokka leave his room once, for about thirty minutes, before returning. He starts typing again and almost drops his phone when Iroh’s call startles him.

“Hi, Uncle,” he says into the speaker, dropping his head back against his headboard.

“I was getting tired of watching you type and stop and type and stop.”

“Sorry,” Zuko mutters, throat suddenly dry. “How are you? Did you stop for the night already?”

“I didn’t call you to talk about me, Zuko. How’s it going with Sokka?”

“Honestly,” Zuko draws out, “I don’t really—” A knock on his door has his mouth snapping shut tightly.

“What was that?”

“Um, hey, Zuko? You in there?”

“I’ve got to go, Uncle,” Zuko spits out quickly, words tumbling off his tongue. He ends the call and stumbles off his bed, tripping over his own feet as he quickly crosses the room. He doesn’t mean to all but throw the door open, but he does, and Sokka jumps back, startled.

“Shit, sorry,” he mutters, swallowing around the crack in his voice. “What, um, what’s up?” He makes to lean against the doorframe, hoping his posture screams casual since his face and voice are currently betraying him.

Sokka drops his back against the wall opposite Zuko’s door, and he crosses his arms, eyes narrow, studious, and Zuko wants to shrink away from the scrutinizing gaze, wondering how come the wall he’s leaning against has yet to open up and swallow him whole.

“What are you doing?”

“I was just on the phone with my uncle,” Zuko sputters out, coughing absently into his shoulder.

“Iroh?”

Zuko doesn’t know how to take the sudden look of surprise that’s washed over Sokka’s face, yet, still, he nods as his answer, not at all surprised that many people are familiar with his family, with all sides of his family. “I stayed with him over the summer, and he dropped me off earlier today. He was checking in.” He’s not sure why he’s prattling on, but he can’t seem to stop.

“You didn’t go home for the summer?”

“I… I didn’t want to… after the tournament.” Zuko cast his eyes to the floor, his bangs masking his eyes. He wraps him arms around himself tightly, his fingers digging into his arms, and for just a moment, he’s pulled back to May, to the end of the tournament, back at his dorm where his father was shouting at his uncle, something about how much of a disappointment he was and how he could have had it all had he not thrown the tournament.

“Earth to Zuko.”

He pulls a quick gaze up to see Sokka looking at him with the faintest hint of concern. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted to watch a movie.” Sokka starts down the hall, and Zuko stumbles after him, pausing at the opening of the living room to see that Sokka’s taken the bare-bones room and turned it into, what feels like, a real living room, with pillows on each end of the couch, an impressive movie collection displayed on a shelf beside the TV, various pictures and posters hung up on the walls, and fairy lights draping across the ceiling.

“You did all this?” Zuko asks quietly, and Sokka grins at him, a wide grin he’s only seen reserved for Katara and Aang, and he feels a warm heat coating his cheeks.

“Unpacked, decorated, and ordered pizza.” Sokka motions to the pizza box on the coffee table. “Felt good to stretch after a long flight.” He starts toward the movies, plucking a few off the shelf. “Are you thinking classic or modern?”

“Sokka.”

“Yeah?” Sokka doesn’t look at him, and Zuko sighs quietly, arms hugging himself once more.

“Should we talk about—”

“—about how you terrorized me, my sister, and my best friend for an entire year and about how you almost killed my best friend at the Bender Tournament? Probably.”

Wincing, Zuko backs into a wall, a small shudder running through him. He watches as Sokka makes a choice and moves to some gaming console he doesn’t recognize.

“But, I don’t think we need to unpack all of that right now.” Sokka slips the disc into his PS4 and finally turns toward Zuko, frowning at Zuko’s hunched in posture, looking as if Zuko’s intentionally trying to fold into the wall at his back.

“Look, we’re both tired, and while this is definitely a conversation we need to have, I don’t think we need to have it tonight.”

Again, Zuko can’t quite pinpoint the look on Sokka’s face, and if he wasn’t so conflicted, he’d be a little annoyed that he can’t get a read on Sokka’s mood or intentions. He watches as Sokka sags against the couch with a loud sigh, briefly leaning forward to snag a slice of pizza.

“Are you going to watch the movie from back there? Because that’s a little creepy, dude.”

Zuko shuffles over to the couch, his heart and mind warring without his permission. He slides down onto the couch, a loveseat, and his knee brushes against Sokka’s. His cheeks grow warm once more when he mutters an apology, and when he catches Sokka’s eye, Sokka smiles at him, soft, warm, and a little hesitant. He mirrors the smile with flushed cheeks and calm eyes. Feeling relaxed for the first time in hours, he snags a slice of pizza and leans back against the couch as Sokka starts the movie.

[radishaur]

12+19 from 100 ways to say “i love you” with zuko :)

Absolutely! I love the prompts and I’d love to do more prompt requests! :) For those who haven’t seen the list, #12 is “Take my jacket, it’s cold outside“ and #19 is “Can I hold your hand?”.

- Zoe

•••

I’m Cold (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff

Part: 1/1

Summary: The nights get cold on Ember Island. You shivered slightly as you looked up at the stars. You usually spent this day alone, but not tonight. Now you didn’t have to be.

•••

Ember Island was indeed beautiful. You had always wondered what the beach would look like if you ever got the chance to go. You didn’t expect to ever be able to, let alone with the present company you had.

Appa grunted slightly as he landed on the beach and laid down to let everyone get off. Aang jumped down first and immediately began playing with the sand. Sokka got down next and walked up to the house in search of food that wouldn’t be there. Katara scolded him before hoping off herself and helping Toph down. I was next and began taking in every detail. My breath hitched slightly when my eyes landed on Zuko.

Zuko got off next and stood awkwardly by my side. I smiled slightly before turning my head so he couldn’t see my slight blush.

“It looks exactly the same as I remember it,” he said as he looked up at the house.

“It’s beautiful. A little old looking, but beautiful,” I commented, taking in its appearance.

“We should probably get inside before Sokka tears the whole place apart,” Toph joked.

I laughed slightly before picking up my load of stuff from Appa’s back and lugging it into the house. I dropped it in the entry way before beginning to explore. The house was huge and before I knew it I found myself walking into a bedroom upstairs that caught my eye. It looked nicer than the others but more importantly, it looked lived in.

“That’s my room.”

I spun around in shock to see Zuko looking over my shoulder at his room. He had an expression of nostalgia mixed with melancholy.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” I apologized.

“No, it’s ok. You can have it if you want,” he said, looking down to meet my gaze.

“I’m ok. It wouldn’t feel right. I was just looking anyways,” I said with a shrug.

We both stood there silently and I didn’t know what else to do. My heart began racing when I realized just how close he was. I fidgeted with my nails as I waited for something to say to pop into my head.

“Alright Sifu Hotman! I’m ready to train,” Aang called as he walked over to Zuko.

“I told you not to call me that!” Zuko scolded with a frown and a slightly blush.

I laughed and watched as he walked away. He looked at me slightly over his shoulder and I waved as he disappeared. I spent the rest of the day mostly on my own as I was in my thoughts.

Today, unknown to the rest of the group, was the anniversary of my mom’s death. She had died a few years ago in a hunting accident. I still remember the groups faces when they returned to our small village.

I brightened up around dinner time when we all sat around the fire and told stories once more. It was around midnight before everybody got tired and went to sleep. I tossed and turned in my bed, waiting until I was sure that I was the only one awake before walking outside. I made my way down to the beach and sat down so that the water licked my bare feet.

I didn’t realize just how cold it was outside until I had already walked all the way down. I didn’t feel like going all the way back just to come down again so I simply rubbed my hands up and down my arms. I sat down and looked up at the stars, shivering slightly as a breeze blew around me.

“I miss you mom. I hope you’re proud of me,” I said quietly.

It wasn’t long until I heard footsteps behind me. I turned and to my surprise, Zuko was making his way down to where I sat.

“I see I’m not the only one awake,” he teased quietly before sitting down next to me.

“Apparently not,” I replied, a smile ghosting across my face.

I looked up at the stars and shivered once more. Who knew a Fire Nation island could be so cold at night.

“Here. Take my jacket, it’s cold outside,” Zuko insisted, already wrapping his jacket around my shoulders.

“Oh. Thank you,” I mumbled, a slight blush dusting across my face.

I was glad it was dark outside. Otherwise, he would have obviously seen it. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. The jacket smelled just like him. A mix of jasmine tea and firewood. I saw him looking at me out of the corner of my eye.

“I guess you’re probably wondering why I’m outside so late at night,” I asked, glancing at him before looking back up at the stars.

“You don’t have to tell me. I don’t want to pry,” he rush to say.

I giggled at his nervousness and it made me feel somewhat better about my own nerves. I kept the smile on my face as I watched the stars twinkle.

“4 years ago today was the day my mom died. I always come out at night to look up at the stars for her. She used to star gaze with me all the time when I was little,” I explained.

He stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say. His brows were furrowed lightly and his forehead creased as he thought. It was endearing that he cared so much.

“My mom used to feed turtle ducks with me before she disappeared,” he finally spoke.

“That’s rough buddy,” I joked, giving him a knowing smile.

“Sokka’s the worst,” he groaned, letting himself fall into the sand.

I smiled down at him before scooting myself closer and laying down next to him. I felt a small amount of warmth radiating off of him that seemed to draw me in. I turned my attention back up to the stars.

“Do you see that cluster of stars up there?” I asked, pointing so that he would know where to look.

“The one that looks like a pot?” he asked, laughing slightly.

I couldn’t help but giggle in reply.

“Yes, the one that looks like a pot,” I answered before continuing, “It’s called the Big Dipper.”

“Do all the stars have names?” he asked curiously, his head turning to look at me.

I turned my head to look at him as well and was immediately awestruck by the sight of him. His amber eyes were absolutely radiant, especially up close. His hair blew in the breeze and the moon illuminated his scar. I had always thought he was good looking, but this only confirmed it.

“You have really pretty eyes,” I told him.

His face flushed almost immediately and he looked taken aback by the compliment. He looked up at the sky as the blush took over his face.

“Oh. Um.....thank you,” he mumbled, his hair falling lightly across his face.

I smiled and looked back up at the stars. I pointed out at few more constellations and told him their names. When I let my hand fall down to my side again, my pinky grazed his hand. I moved it just slightly so that I wasn’t on top of him, but I kept it against his skin.

“Can I uh.....Can I hold your hand?” he managed to ask.

My heart was pounding out of my chest and his words sent butterflies throughout my chest. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.

“Yes, you can hold my hand,” I answered, giggling slightly.

His hand felt warm against my own. It was surprisingly soft as well. He was hesitant at first, but eventually our fingers intertwined. I blushed slightly before turning to look at him. He was staring at me with a blush of his own on his face.

“Thank you for staying out here with me,” I said quietly.

“Y-Yea. Of course,” he answered, just as quietly as I had.

I stated at him for a second longer before we both started moving closer. He kissed me softly and I let my free hand cup his face slightly. When I pulled away, he had a blush on his face before looking back up at the stars. I did the same and let a soft smile break out over my face.

Usually, I spent the night alone. It felt nice to have someone by my side this time.

[southslates]

(i would die for you in secret)

[zutara]

And the penultimate problem is that she doesn’t want to want him. She should want Aang, someone nice, not him.

He’s terrible and she despises him. And he has tried to kill her so many times and he treats her with respect and like an equal and he is obsessed with something as inane as honor and he looks terrible — and she can keep lying to herself. That’s easy. Easier. It’s easy to refuse to acknowledge things. When mother had died she had stepped up to task and she doesn’t want to do that again. She’s older and ignorance isn’t just her bliss.

She hates him. She hates his stupid smirk and the way his hair falls over his eyes, the way he draws himself into his cloak when they’re outside like he can hide within himself, the strange jokes with the absent punchlines he keeps pulling up. She hates how he’s crawled up inside of everyone else and she hates how hard it would be to also fall. Everyone else wants her to do that. He’s Aang’s master and he helped Sokka rescue Dad and even Toph doesn’t mind him after he burned her feet. So now she’s turned into the nagging mother again. To all of them. But not to him.

And the way that he looks at her doesn’t help. It makes her blush, turns her pink inside-out. He looks so genuinely respectful, so curious. He isn’t like Aang or Sokka who jumps to making excuses. And no matter how absolutely worthless honor is practically she’s starting to see some of its applications here. He owns up to what he does because he’s grown out of immaturity. She also detests that. 

When she can’t insult his character anymore she jumps to his face; and the issue with that is that aside from the burn mark it’s impeccable. He’s angled perfectly right, every curve of his skin fitting into the other, and the scar enhances and doesn’t detract. That should have been an easy point in her favor because it’s mottled and should be disgusting. But it’s better and now she looks at it with a healer’s eyes. It is the result of a great tragedy and he has come past it, tissue has regrown and let him become someone new. She has to allow herself to respect that.

So what’s left? His past, which everyone else here has forgotten. He may be kind and awkward and handsome now but he wasn’t for the longest time. She still remembers a boy in a ponytail shooting out flames and she wants to laugh because it’s ridiculous and even if she was terrified at the time she now knows that was a show. And then she holds herself back because she couldn’t be laughing because Zuko had held her grandmother even if he had no intention of hurting her. And he was just misguided. But that’s not an excuse or a reason to do the wrong thing. It never is.

And then he’d taken a bounty hunter and found them again and left her useless, paralyzed her until she was a shell of herself, and then he’d fought Aang. And all she can think about is his hand on her back and the way he can bend far better now, after the dragons. She keeps seeing growth. She doesn’t even want to see growth. She needs to hate him, she wants to. 

She can leave this behind. She can let . . . Aang kiss her again and all thoughts of the stupid prince will leave her head and that will be all. That will.

Yet she can see the sun rising ahead of her. She’s been up the whole night contemplating this strange feeling in her stomach and she wants to laugh at herself as well. Great job, Katara. Smart, Katara. You definitely feel nothing for him. You haven’t spent an entire night thinking about him.

The sun is rising. Her head turns at the thought. What is she missing here? Sun . . . firebender. I rise with the sun. There’s a shock of black hair heading out of the circle inside of the temple. Of course, of course, of course.

And now, of course, she has to go after him because he’s evil, and he chained her to a tree (she’d been terrified at the time but now she almost looks back at that memory fondly), and he’s bad. He’s bad and she hates him, with his stupid sunny eyes and strange and barely comprehensible anecdotes.  

“Hi,” she says breathily, wishing she could take the word back when she hears how it comes through her mouth. He turns and his face is genial and it makes her heart pound. She should kiss Aang.

“Hey,” he responds throatily. His vocal cords are deep and she can’t tell if that’s just because he’s older, almost an adult and out of puberty, or because he spent years on a ship, or because he once screamed so terribly loud it disrupted his vocal cords. She wants to put her hand on his throat and find out. She wonders if he would be warm. “Good morning.”

Then he looks like he’s bracing himself to be attacked — because she should yell at him and claim something about betrayal. That would be the right thing to do. She can feel his body shudder as she falls into step with him instead. “I don’t want to see you,” she lies through her teeth.

When they round a corner, far away from the rest of the group, he grabs her hand and moves her towards the fountain in the corner. His skin is rough, marked with tiny healed over scars and bruises and even small areas that are burned. They mark him for what he is; a swordsman, a sailor, a bender. His fingers wrap against hers, longer and lither and smooth, caressing her wrist. “You hate me,” he whispers quietly as he guides them to sit down on its rock outerface. 

She lets him move her down until they’re both settled against the stone, calves thudding the material. At least nobody else will come here because only he rises so early; and sleep suddenly hits her, all of her worries coming to light. She leans to the side and he catches her and places her head on his thighs. He catches her like he always does.

“I should kiss Aang,” she mumbles into red fabric which smells like smoke and the Fire Nation. It’s not a good scent. She feels his arm contract around her shoulder.

“You won’t kiss me,” he responds.

“Is that sad?”

“You’re the Avatar’s girl.”

“It is sad,” she finalizes. Then she turns her head until her forehead is on his shoulder, firmer against him. She’s closer but his grip still tightens. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats and whispers, and her eyes are downcast but her fingers raise to press against his scar, thumb brushing the lips she can’t kiss. The lips she hates and the face with the terrible mark and the boy who makes jokes that don’t make sense, the boy she’s lost too many times and will lose for the rest of her life.

His lips are dry and so she admits her eternal struggle. “I don’t want to want you.”

“That’s fine. You’ll have me.”

Something sounds from the corner, either Toph or Haru or Aang. He rises and leaves.

[panda-noosh]

Hello! I saw that you might be taking requests, and I really hope that’s true because I don’t want to seem annoying or as a pest. You’re writing for ATLA is my favorite, so I was wondering if you could do a zuko x reader where he joins the gaang, but the reader still really hates him for what he’s done. Something happens, and unknowingly the two start falling for each other. Hope I’m not being annoying, and I hope you and your family are doing well!

  It’s quite difficult being forced to work with someone you can’t stand.

   It’s for the good of the world. You know this. You’re reminded of it constantly, Katara in one ear, Aang in the other. They try convincing you that Zuko isn’t that bad, that he’s changed and he’s a new man, and all of that might be true - you know it to be true, but that doesn’t change the fact he’s the most annoying person on the planet.

   You don’t hate him because he’s a bad person. You hate him because he’s him.

   He teases you to no ends, jabbing you in the side, taking your seat around the campfire just because he knows it’s yours. He makes noises outside your tent just so he can later laugh when you spring into the night wielding a weapon, only to find him kneeling nearby, bent double.

    He makes your blood boil.

   He’s also really attractive.

   Katara’s told you on multiple occasions that the only reason you feel such distaste for the prince is because you have feelings for him. She says the signs are there. You’ve never really humoured her, considering it’s the truth, and it’s messed up that it’s the truth. It was his nation that ruined your own, his people that ripped the world to shreds, and the entire time he was in support of it all. He stood behind his monster of a father and he nodded along, pretending everything was going to be alright as long as the Fire Nation reigned supreme.

   Just because he’s turned a new leaf doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t erase the damage that’s already been done. 

    You watch him now, because that’s all you can do when the others are out scavenging. You swear they do it on purpose, leave all together just so you and Zuko will be alone, forced to acknowledge each other’s presence. He’s stood in the river, trousers rolled up, hands submerged in the water as he tries his hardest to catch a fish. Steam rises off the surface, Zuko cursing when he pulls his hands out and cools them down.

    You lean back on your elbows. “Struggling?”

   “Yes.”

    “That sucks. I thought princes were meant to be good at everything.”

   Zuko scowls at you before dunking his hands back in the water. “You know, you could help me out here a little bit; you need to eat, too.”

    “I’ve already got my dinner sorted,” you reply, gesturing to the deer you and Sokka were able to hunt down a few hours prior, agreeing to split the meat for dinner tonight. 

    Zuko stares at the lump of meat for a second, and you can nearly see his mouth watering. He bites his lip, ducks his eyes back down to the water and continues his search for a meal of his own.

    “Can you not control your powers?” you ask, ripping grass from the floor, sprinkling it over your shoe.

    Zuko shrugs. “I can’t really feel my hands too well when they’re in the water.”

   “Why not?”

   “It’s too cold, makes my fingers numb so I can’t even tell when they’re coming to the surface.”

   You frown, clambering to your feet. Honestly, you should just let him suffer. He’s just going to tease you, and you can’t be bothered with that right now, but you also can’t just let him starve to death. And so, you clamber down the hill, roll the hem of your trousers up past your ankles before wading into the water.

    “What are you doing?” he asks. “The water’s too warm-”

   “Do you want to eat tonight or not?” You nudge his shoulder, very nearly toppling him over. He manages to catch himself only seconds before falling. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

    Zuko growls low under his breath, but you ignore him as you dunk your hands beneath the steady flowing waves and feel around. Zuko stands beside you, arms folded over his chest, eyes heavily lidded, because he’s doubting you. Of course he is. For his entire time with the group, he’s done nothing but doubt you. 

    But now he’s going to see just how wrong he was to do that. You know what you’re doing, have been doing it for much longer than him. You never had servants running to fulfil your every wish and desire. Not like he did.

    It takes only a few minutes for you to make a catch. The scales are rough against your fingers, but you recognise the feeling immediately. You curl your fingers around it, pulling with all your might-

    And that’s when you slip.

    It happens so fast. One minute you are breathing like a normal person, and the next you’re submerged, water filling your open mouth, stinging your eyes, and you try to scream because that’s all you can think to do when you’re in danger-

    Hands wrap around your waist and pull you back to the surface

    You gasp, flailing hair out of your face, swiping it back with trembling hands. Zuko stands over you, his own eyes wide, his mouth dropped open as he struggles to find anything to say that can comfort you as you wriggle in his arms, panic coursing through you.

    “I’ve got you,” he finally manages, pulling you closer. “What the hell happened there?”

    “I slipped. I just slipped.” You try pulling away from him, but he keeps a tight hold on your body, and suddenly the fact that you nearly just drowned doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. His arms are around you, fingers burning into your waist, and it’s all you can focus on, and you hate it. You hate that he can have such power over you, that he can conjure such feelings from you when all you’ve ever done is give off the illusion that you will and can never forgive him.

    But this is what Katara meant all along. There’s something there, something that’s been there from the day Zuko broke through that tree line and apologised for his wrongs. It scared the shit out of you, but now it’s rising again, and you’re too shocked to push it away.

    His thumbs come up, gently brushing the water droplets from your cheeks. You close your eyes, swallowing deeply.

   “I lost your fish,” you mumble. 

   Zuko shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

   “You - You can have a bit of the deer if you want.”

   “Are you being nice to me, Y/N?”

   You groan. “You just saved my life. I have to do something.”

   Zuko tilts his head to the side, a tiny smile playing on his face. That breaks you. You’re going to kiss him if you don’t get away now.

   You finally push away from him, for real this time, and start wading for the shore again. Zuko calls your name, almost a desperate plea, but you don’t turn back. Yes, he’s just saved your life, but how embarrassing will it be for you to run into his arms after spending months pretending you hate him?

    “Y/N! For gods sake, wait!”

    He grabs your wrist, whirling you around to face him.

   “What? Let go!”

   “Why are you storming off?” he demands, sounding almost angry. His brows are furrowed, lips pulled into a thin line. His grip is slack on your wrist, but it’s there nonetheless, fingers once again burning into your flesh.

    “Because I have - I have things to do,” you reply, refusing to meet his eyes. “The whole world doesn’t revolve around you, Zuko. Not any more.”

    “Why do you always have to give me some snarky response?” he asks. “What did I do to piss you off so much?”

    You scoff. “What did you do? Zuko, it was only a few months ago you were in full support of your father ripping the world to pieces!”

   “I didn’t support him! I explained everything to you! I apologised-”

   “Oh, an apology! Aren’t you a little Angel?”

   He scowls, dropping your hand. “What more do you want?”

   So much more. So much more. So much more.

    “I want you to leave me alone.”

    And then suddenly it’s silent, and neither of you are moving, which reveals the lie almost immediately. He’s no longer holding you. He’s no longer talking. The conversation is over. You have every opportunity to just. . . leave, to run in the opposite direction and do exactly as you always said you craved - to never see Prince Zuko again.

    But you don’t budge.

   “So go,” he says, voice soft. “I’m not stopping you any more. If you really want to leave, then leave.”

    You take a step back. Just one, testing the waters. It feels weird. He’s still standing there, and how can you possibly leave without kissing him first?

    He steps forward, gently grabbing your wrist, drawing your hand to his chest where you let it linger beneath his collarbone. 

    “Leave, Y/N. Nobody’s stopping you.”

   You kiss him.

    You kiss him because you need to. You kiss him because he’s him, because he’s Prince Zuko, the tainted little prince who was once locked under the spell of his father, just like every other little boy in the world. He’s Prince Zuko, the one who was able to break free, the one who suddenly grew a mind of his own and saw the light in the end of it all.

    He pulls you closer. Your hips crash against his, your hands trailing through his dark locks, pulling him closer, closer, closer until you just seem desperate, and he’s laughing against your mouth because he knows. 

    “How long have you been holding back on me?” he asks against your lips.

   You roll your eyes and jump. He grunts, catching you just as you wind your legs around his waist and the two of you stumble back into the water, Zuko hissing when the cold water laps at his ankles. 

    You pull away shortly after, dropping your forehead to his. You can’t even open your eyes, trembling in your excitement, your confusion, your nervousness all rolled into one.

    “I knew it!”

    Aang’s voice comes out of nowhere. Your head whips round just in time to see him leap in the air, throwing his fist up in victory.

    “Our plan worked guys! They kissed!”