#but when sokka realized his feelings he was shoved off a cliff

[hypnoticsphere]

sokka has a sudden realization of his interest in zuko and just short circuits. katara finds him pacing back and forth, mumbling about “I can’t fraternize with the enemy, why him? what the fuck is wrong with me.” and katara decides that this is not her problem to deal with and leaves him to his own despair

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 21

part 1 | part 20 | part 22

a/n: annnnnnd another Day of the Black Sun chapter!! I promise this is the last one. I’m really just putting Y/N through it in these last few chapters aren’t I? writing the chapter like this was not the original plan but i had a dream about it and then a very timely anon asked me if y/n was going to be in a Fire Nation prison and I figured... hey why the fuck not you know?

Also! Haruki is Y/N second oldest brother, and again, Ren is her oldest. 

tw: verbal/physical abuse, fighting. Yes, her dad was always going to be this bad of a guy, I just never planned on them meeting up again.

Y/N huddled between Sokka and Katara as the Fire Nation army dropped bombs over where they hid. Aang and Toph had resurrected a small cliff jutting out of the mountainside to protect them, but even that was cracking under the pressure. 

When the bombing stopped, Katara crawled out first. She pointed out towards the water. “Why aren’t they turning around and attacking? They’re headed towards the beach.” 

Aang joined Katara, Sokka and Y/N at the edge of the path. The four of them watched as the airships seemingly retreated from them, headed in the completely opposite direction. 

“They’re going to destroy the submarines!” Aang shouted suddenly. 

As Y/N watched the Fire Nation balloons fly towards the beach, hurrying to destroy their only way out, the pit in her stomach grew larger. After the rest of the failures of today, Y/N wasn’t even surprised. 

“We’re trapped,” she muttered. 

“How are we going to get out of here now?” Sokka asked no one in particular. He was voicing the same question they all had. 

“We aren’t,” Hakoda said from just under the cliff. He leaned on Bato heavily, still holding his injured side. 

“Then we have to stand and fight,” Sokka furrowed his brow in determination. “We have Aang, we can still win.”

“With the Avatar we could still win, but on another day.” Hakoda, with effort, took his arm from around Bato and pulled himself to his full, brawny height. “You kids have to leave.”

Leave? Y/N’s eyes widened at the thought. Was Hakoda possibly suggesting that they leave the rest of his fleet here to fend for themselves?

“What?!” Katara rushed forward to grab her father’s arms. “We can’t leave you behind. We’re not leaving anyone behind.” 

Hakoda bent down to look his daughter in the eyes. “You’re our only chance in the long run. You have to take Aang somewhere safe. You have to keep hope alive.”

Katara looked away from her father, back to her friends. Y/N could see the tears flooding her eyes at the thought of leaving her father behind–losing him–once again. Y/N’s heart ached for Katara. It ached for Sokka too. He was about to take on so much responsibility. He was also about to shove the full brunt of the blame for the invasion plan not working onto his own shoulders; Y/N could already see the guilt wearing on him with the way he looked at his father.

“The adults will stay behind and surrender. We will be prisoners, but we’ll all survive this battle,” Bato said, his voice morose. 

Y/N felt a rush of urgency roll through her body. As much as she could see that Katara and Sokka didn’t like the idea, they weren’t speaking up against it. No one had an idea that was better. Except for maybe Y/N. She couldn’t let the rest of them stay behind like sitting turtle-ducks, waiting to be picked up and imprisoned. She had to do something.

“No way. I’m not going to let that happen.” Y/N’s voice rang through the troops. She didn’t stop there, not after stunning everyone into silence. She approached Hakoda and Katara stepped away to stand next to him. “I can get you out of here.”

Sokka erupted. “You can’t stay behind! You’ll get thrown into prison. You can’t!” He grabbed her hand like he wanted to plead with her but Y/N was already twisting out of his grip. She didn’t need him to make this harder than it already was. 

“No! I can’t just leave knowing I could have done something,” She shouted at Sokka. Y/N turned back to Hakoda. “I know this island. There are forests and mountains and there are thousands of caves to hide in. I can take us there and then no one needs to get caught!” She stared into Hakoda’s eyes with each word she spoke. 

As much as she wished Hakoda would jump at the chance to save himself, he didn’t look convinced that it was worth risking Y/N’s freedom as well. He opened his mouth to speak, to no doubt turn Y/N’s offer down and send her on her way with her friends on Appa, with the adults left behind in the dust to suffer the consequences. 

But Y/N was faster. She spoke around the lump in her throat. “If you stay behind, you won’t live to see the end of this war. And I know that too.” Her voice was low enough that only those around her could hear her words; Katara gasped at her bluntness. 

Even then, Y/N was surprised when Hakoda gave a curt nod to her, much to Sokka’s disapproval. He didn’t have time to give Y/N the lecture he so badly wanted to because just then, The Duke hollered, “They’re at the beaches!”

Y/N turned around to watch in horror as the Fire Nation airships dropped bombs onto the submarines that they had ridden in not 30 minutes ago. They were completely and utterly decimated with so much excessive firepower that Y/N could smell the burning from where they were. With their only escape officially cut off, a nervous murmuring broke out among the troops, and suddenly Y/N was extremely anxious for herself. 

How was she supposed to get a group as large as theirs around in the jungle silently, looking for a hiding place? What had she just gotten herself into?

---

Their goodbyes were quick. They had to be. Katara hugged her first, squeezing her so tight that Y/N thought she would stop breathing. It was a welcome comfort. 

“I trust that you know what you’re doing.” Katara bit her lip. “As much as I hate the idea.” 

“This is our only chance,” Y/N replied. Because what else was she supposed to say? How could she comfort someone else and when she couldn’t even do that for herself.

Katara squeezed her arm. “I know.”

She left only to be quickly replaced by Toph who gave Y/N a very uncharacteristic hug. “You better come back soon. I can’t deal with all of Sokka’s whining while you’re gone.” 

It was meant to be lighthearted; something that would make Y/N giggle, but there was a seriousness to it as well. Did Sokka really rely on her company so much? They hadn’t been separated for more than a few hours since she had joined them. She didn’t want to think what a few days would do to either of them.

“You got it, Toph. Keep everyone safe for me, alright?”

The younger girl nodded and earthbent herself up to Appa’s saddle. 

---

Aang was still staring off at the burning submarines when Y/N approached him from behind, laying a soft hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Everything is going to be okay. I told you, you’re going to have another chance at taking down the Firelord.”

Aang turned to look at her, his eyes were filled with tears. “Only because I have people sacrificing everything for me.”

Y/N nodded. “Sometimes–” she sighed and chewed on her chapped lips. She didn’t need to give the boy a lecture on the hardships of war. He knew far too much of that already. “We know what we’re doing. We want to do this for you. You’re the most important tile on the pai sho board, Aang.”

He shook his head like he didn’t believe her. “I’m taking everyone to the–”

“No.” Y/N broke in and looked away. “Don’t tell me where you’ll be. Just in case.”

Aang looked at her with sad, grey eyes, knowing exactly why she didn’t want to know the location of where he would be hiding out. He squeezed his eyes shut and hugged her before airbending himself to Appa. Y/N watched as he hid his head in a way so that he didn’t have to look at anyone that he was leaving behind; his shoulders shook with sobs. 

---

When Sokka approached her, Y/N unstrapped her sword from her back and held it out to him.

“What are you doing? You might need this.” He said, surprised. His voice was thick with unshed tears. Y/N could tell he was trying to stay strong at the thought of leaving behind so many. His jaw was set and he couldn’t quite look at her directly. 

 Y/N did the same, looking everywhere but Sokka’s eyes, after realizing that was the only thing that was going to stop her from crying in the moment. “I have my knife. Besides, this is assurance that I’ll come back to you. I wouldn’t let you keep it forever.” Y/N let out a watery laugh. 

She wrapped her arms around Sokka and hugged him like she’d never hugged anyone before. She felt so much more grounded when she was around him. She felt like she was finally accepted. It was so hard to let go of that feeling that she had been searching for her whole life. She wanted to remain there, bathed in warmth forever, but she knew she would have to let him go sooner than she wanted to.

“I’m sorry. I’ll see you later.” She whispered the words into his shoulder, because saying goodbye made it too real. 

A quick kiss to the lips and then Appa was gone, carrying her friends and disappearing in the smoke like they had never been there in the first place. Which is exactly what she wanted. 

Y/N allowed herself to take a shuddering breath in and out. She wiped at her tears with the back of her hands and turned to face the troop of warriors she was meant to lead to safety. 

“Let’s go.”

---

They moved as quickly as they could for a group of 20-some-odd warriors and a young girl at their helm. 

In those early years, before she lived at the palace, she would explore her new home in the Fire Nation with her brothers; before Ren joined the army and before Haruki got mean. That meant she knew the terrain well enough to get them around, but keeping them hidden, well that was a whole other story. 

Every time that Y/N heard a branch snap, her head would turn back expecting to see them overrun with Fire Nation soldiers, but it hadn’t happened. And the farther they got from the Royal Caldera City, the easier she began to breathe. That was until she heard shouting in the distance.

Their words weren’t discernible from where she was at, the wind was whipping too hard in the tops of the trees above her, but it was clear that they weren’t safe yet. She had the men pause and crouch down as she pressed a finger to her lips, signaling them to be quiet. It was a pointless motion, no one had said a word since they’d left the cliffs behind. 

“There’s some large caves about 100 yards ahead through the trees,” Y/N whispered to Hakoda. She clamped her lips together as she heard another yell, off in the trees. Much closer this time. 

“Why are you telling me?” Hakoda shook his head. 

“Because I’m going to go draw those soldiers away so you can take everyone there?” Y/N stood up and drew her knife. 

“That’s not a good idea, Y/N.” Hakoda warned.

Y/N wasn’t sure it was either, but she’d made it her duty to get these warriors to somewhere where they could hide. She made a promise to herself that she would do it. “I’m fast. I’ll meet you back there.”

Y/N took off before Hakoda could say anything else to her. 

---

Y/N found the soldiers. She hid between a fork of trees watching them traipse around making far too much noise to be any good at tracking. It didn’t matter though, if they saw them they’d capture them. Y/N chewed on a nail as she thought of a plan to lure them in the opposite direction just to give Hakoda and Bato extra time to lead their group to somewhere safe. 

Y/N flinched as she heard the snap of a twig behind her. She ducked further down into the brush, hoping that the black of her armor and the setting sun would hide her. 

A hand clamped down on her shoulder and Y/N whipped around with her knife ready to embed it in the poor soldier who decided to mess with her.

She pulled back just in time to save Hakoda’s face from a fresh wound. 

She dragged him down next to her in the brush quickly to avoid being seen. “Why did you follow me?”

“Why didn’t you go with the other kids?” He retorted.

Y/N looked away ashamed. She didn’t know how to answer him. How was she supposed to admit that if she had left she would have felt like she was running away. Even though she didn’t think that of Sokka or Aang, she felt it about herself. She never would have been able to justify leaving people behind for her own sake. She deserved it. It was her punishment to stay behind and risk her life. Punishment for leaving Azula, punishment for even thinking like that still, punishment for asking Azula to come with her, punishment for getting Suki thrown in prison. Y/N couldn’t stop the sins she had committed from filling her brain and swirling around until her ears rang. 

“So what’s your plan?” Hakoda asked, interrupting her from her thoughts.

Y/N hadn’t gotten as far as already having a plan made but she wasn’t going to tell him that. “You shouldn’t have come. You’re still hurt.”

“I’m not going to leave you out here alone.”

“You should,” Y/N muttered. 

“Come on,” Hakoda bumped her elbow. “I’ll go around to the other side and we’ll split up and lure them off in that direction.” Hakoda nodded his head in the direction of Capital City. “Then, we’ll double back and head to the cave.”

Y/N nodded and waited for Hakoda to get in position, then she took off running, cutting directly through the group of Fire Nation soldiers in front of her. 

Y/N made as much noise as she possibly could as she ran away from the soldiers, snapping branches and kicking bushes to make sure they were following her. She could hear the pounding of their boots as they chased her through the thicket and distant yelling as they ordered her to stop. Y/N’s heart raced everytime she slipped in the mud or stumbled over roots, thinking that every second would be the one where she was caught. 

What eventually caught her attention was the sound of silence in the forest. Well, as silent as a forest could get. Sure, she could still hear birds in the trees and the wind blowing, but the only sound of footsteps were her own. 

She spared a glance behind her and didn’t see anyone either and so Y/N began to slow to a jog. She was very suddenly aware that if no one was chasing her anymore, the only other person there was to chase was Hakoda. 

But then Y/N ran into a wall.

Except that wall was a person in Fire Nation armor.

And he was grinning like he had just won the lottery. 

---

Y/N pulled her knife but before she could take a stab at him, he grabbed and twisted her wrist, forcing her to drop it. She shrieked as her wrist popped; any more force and it would have broken. Y/N kicked the soldier in the shin and the man grunted, but never let go of her hand. She pulled and pulled against him, but he was easily twice her weight and it was no use. 

Y/N grabbed at his fingers and began pulling them off of her wrist. “Let go!!”

“Stop!” The soldier made a grab for her other hand and Y/N kicked out at him again, trying to keep him as far away as possible. “Stop kicking me!” He yelled.

“Then let go!!” Y/N growled as she grabbed his pinky finger and bent it backwards.

He did at that, yanking his hand away from Y/N’s fingers hastily. 

Someone grabbed her from behind and spun her around to face them. An orange flame danced much too close in her peripheral. Y/N froze in fear as a voice muttered, “If you keep that up, you’ll lose those fingers.” 

---

Y/N didn’t have much to say after that. She allowed the two soldiers to tie her hands behind her back and lead her to a small clearing where the rest of the soldiers waited. Kneeling in the middle, was Hakoda. 

He looked rough. There was a fresh bruise above his eye and there was fresh blood on his shirt; Y/N thought he might have reopened his previous wound on his side. 

Y/N was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even meet his eyes when she was shoved to the ground next to him. Instead, she focused on what was being said around them. Behind her, she could hear the soldier’s whispering about them. They knew who Hakoda was; that one was apparently pretty obvious with his Water Tribe armor, but her, she was an anomaly to them. 

“It doesn’t matter,” one of the soldiers who had captured her said. “They’re both going to the same place. The commander is going to want to talk to anyone who was possibly involved in the invasion. Then he’ll send them off.” 

---

Y/N wasn’t sure if she recognized the compound or not. She’d visited so many when her father was first moved to the Capital City and all of them looked the same. Large stone walls, look-out towers where guards were stationed, gates with metal bars as thick as Y/N’s arms at every entrance and exit. 

The sun was gone and it was pitch black, save for the lanterns lit around the grounds. The cool air had settled and Y/N shivered as her metal armor did nothing to keep her warm. Her hands were still tied behind her back so she couldn’t even wrap her arms around her torso to provide some windbreak. But then again, she also could have been shivering at the anticipation of what was going to come next. 

They were met outside a set of large doors by someone who was high ranking; Y/N could tell by the way the soldier at her side stiffened up at his arrival. He stood just outside of the lamp light and Y/N’s eyes strained to get a look at him. 

“Sir, we found these two running through the woods near where the invasion force was sighted.”

“And the others?” his voice was gravelly and familiar. Y/N held her breath awaiting the answer.

The soldier shook his head shamefully. “No sign of them.”

Y/N was able to relax for a second. Okay, the rest of them were still safely hidden.

The man took that moment to step out of the shadows and Y/N gasped. She knew him, and he knew her by the smile on his face. She flashed back to stuffy dinners at her house where they entertained army officers almost weekly. This was one of her father’s best friends, and if this man was here, he would be too.

“No matter.” He unfolded his hands from behind his back and grabbed Y/N’s chin gruffly. “Look who we caught.”

Y/N jerked her head out of his hand and glared. He pretended to not be perturbed and motioned for the other soldiers to take Hakoda away. 

Y/N freaked out. She thrashed around and did everything in her power to block the soldiers from even touching him. 

“You can’t take him!” she screamed. “Leave him alone! He wasn’t a part of this!”

It took two of them to hold her back.

“Y/N,” Hakoda said. His voice made her grow quiet, her legs felt like jelly underneath her. The look he gave her was grave and it made her heart thud with uncontrollable worry. “It’s okay. Don’t—“

They were already pulling him in the opposite direction they were taking her.

“I know!” She yelled back. He had to know that she would follow his instructions, he had to know that she would do everything in her power to keep quiet. She wasn’t going to turn on them at the first sign of trouble. Never. 

She chanted the words in her head like a psalm: Don’t say anything about Aang. Don’t say anything about the invasion. Don’t say anything. Don’t say anything.

---

Y/N was led gruffly through one set of doors and then another and shoved onto her knees in an office. She was left alone, which wasn’t at all surprising. She was about to get interrogated by the only man she’d never been able to fool. And he wouldn’t want anyone around to witness his disgrace of seeing his own daughter being the enemy.

The door behind her was opened so forcefully it nearly fell off the hinges and Y/N flinched. He took no time walking around her and leaning on the front edge of the desk in the corner. 

Y/N couldn’t see him though, she’d only heard the stomp of his boots on the floor. She had turned her face into her shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting with bated breath for the yelling.

She could feel his eyes travel over her short hair, her black armor, the red clothes that she still wore; as if she couldn’t choose between familiarity or blatant treason.

With a stroke of bravery that came from within, Y/N took a deep breath and faced him. “Hi Dad.”

---

Y/N was sure flames were going to leap out of his eyes. He was dressed in all his Fire Nation armor as if he had just stepped onto the base from his ship. Y/N used to think it made him look important and regal, the high points on the shoulders of his chest-piece and the arm guards that had had the Fire Nation symbol up the sides in gold. All of that coupled with his build and height made him an intimidating man. Y/N wanted to be like him for so long; now it just looked like he was compensating for his own inadequacies. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Her father’s voice shook with anger. Each word he said was clipped like a punch to the gut. 

“I’m saving the world.”

He scoffed. “You’ve always thought that you were more important than you ever were.” 

“I’m finally doing something for myself.” For some reason Y/N felt like she needed her father to see the reasoning behind her actions, as if he could understand them, he would be more sympathetic. But he’d never been sympathetic towards her. 

“This is the opposite of for yourself!! You’re working against us! Against your family! You’ve betrayed us all, worst of all you’ve betrayed me.” Y/N’s father began to pace in front of her. 

“It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve ever disappointed you,” Y/N muttered. 

“I always knew there was something wrong with you. I thought when you became friends with the Fire Princess, you’d finally found a purpose, but you’ve always been weak-minded. You’re so easily swayed one way or another by the words of others.” 

“No one said a word to sway me in any direction! I made this choice for myself!” Y/N shouted defensively.

“It’s why you can’t firebend,” He continued, not listening to a word that came out of her mouth. “You’ve never been strong enough, you don’t have an inner fire.” 

Y/N sighed as the same song and dance of her childhood circled around her. Her father had always believed that the only reason she was a non-bender was because she simply wasn’t powerful enough to produce flames, not that it was possible she just wasn’t a bender. 

“Why does the conversation always lead back to–”

“Silence!” Y/N’s cheek stung as the back of his hand collided with it. 

 Her father stood in front of her and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You always make me so mad, Y/N.” he said, almost sadly. “I tried to take care of this weeks ago, the second I learned of your rebellion–”

“What?” Y/N whimpered, she looked up at him through wet eyelashes. “What do you mean take care of this? Did–did you send those men after me? To kill me?!”

“You think I wanted to?!” Her father shouted. “You’re a traitor. You turned your back on your nation. You’ve embarrassed me enough. What are they going to think of a commander who’s 15 year old daughter attempted to stage a coup with the Avatar and the Water Tribe savages?” 

Y/N felt lightheaded. She wasn’t even listening to his words anymore. Azula didn’t try and kill her, her own father did. She had blamed Azula for so many things and this was one thing that she was completely innocent of. 

Finally, he turned his back on Y/N. The action was terminal and unwavering. “No one can know you were involved. It will ruin my reputation and I’ll be damned if you do anything more to tarnish the family name.”

Y/N dropped her chin to her chest and let her tears flow freely, now that his eyes were off of her. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think that her father would do anything as drastic as this. She wouldn’t expect forgiveness from him, that just wasn’t his way, but he was still her father. 

What would he have done if Kaito had been successful in his attempt on her life? How could her father have gone home to Y/N’s mother and acted like he didn’t have a part in her death? Would it roll off like water on a duck’s back, or would he have regrets? 

The worst part was the waves of disappointment that rolled through Y/N’s body. She wrestled with anger and embarrassment for her part in it all. She fought her whole life to gain the approval of the man standing in front of her and with one fell swoop she had knocked down everything she had already built up as if it was nothing, not the blood, sweat and tears she had put into it for so long.

Nothing could ever remedy the choices she had made in her father’s mind. Once he put his mind to something, he wasn’t one to change it. And while Y/N still stood by them for being the right decisions, she couldn’t help but think of the possibilities that could be, had everything been different. The outcomes were endless, but one thing was always certain; her father couldn’t have ever really loved her if he was so easily able to dispose of her.

----

A/N: so where do you think she’s going? lmao, y’all get One Guess. sorry not sorry for the angst. 

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[faangirl101]

Burning Heart: Pt 2

Burning heart masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x reader, Zuko x y/n

Tags: Enemies to lovers, slow burn

Summary: Raised mostly by yourself, you made a living for your youth years as a maid in one of the richest families in Ba sing se, Beifongs. There Toph, a blind young rich girl, taught you earth bending and also became your new family. Not that you would admit that to her. Together you escape Ba sing se on the back of a flying bison with the Avatar, in a mission to take back the world from the fire nation. But on the journey you didn’t plan to team up with the Fire prince himself, and you definitely did not plan to get butterflies around him. But you couldn’t possibly catch feelings for a fire bender right? They ruined your life and took everything of value from you. But you couldn’t lie to your burning heart.

Warnings: swearing

The Western Air temple

The forest was darker than I thought it be. At these hours I assumed that the sun would be swallowing the green moss but the trees prevented most streaks. I didn't even realize I was running until the trees got more scattered, allowing the sun to peek through. I had no real plan how to find him, I hadn't looked for footprints or broken branches. I was like an impulsive idiot. I just rushed into a forest alone. But I had to find him. I had to confront him. I had to kill him. He opposes a threat to the gang, to Toph. I had underestimated him before, I would not do it again. I gave myself a few seconds to take a breath. I had been running for a good while and was out of breath and covered in sweat. Stupid idiot. As I bent forward to allow air into my lungs I detected something. A sting of smoke sipped through my lungs and burned my throat. A fire. He was close. Now more collected and controlled I sneaked forward. With every step i took i made sure to bend the ground under me so moss swallowed any possible noise my shoe could make. The only thing hearable was the chirping of cardinal birds and the drilling of woodpeckers. The scent of burning wood got closer and closer and I quickened my steps in response. Finally it was so strong I suspected it must be in earth bending distance. I peeked behind the tree in front of me to find a camp. The bonfire was put out but still fervor and the ash was still warm. And Zuko.

He looked exactly the same as yesterday but it still made me halt in my steps. The streaks of suns fighting through the thick branches reached across his face glistening in sweat. His hair still had the morning ruff and his scar seemed even more red than yesterday. Every little killing method I imagined in my head on the way here was completely gone. Now when he stood in front of me, it was different. But I had to keep reminding myself of the image of Toph's scorched feet. “Zuko”, I growled and he turned abruptly. He was startled by my presence, but scared of the look in my eyes. In a second of boiling blood and red vision I bend the earth around him to drag him towards me so we’re face to face. This close the details of his sharp features were prettier. He was pretty this close. The two or three freckles across the bridge of his nose. The pink tint of his lip. The softness of his hair. I shook the thought away as I lifted my hand to grasp his throat. Not to stop him breathing, but to make him feel threatened. He didn't seem that threatened by his bored look but I could feel the lump he swallowed vibrate against my palm. “I didn't believe the shit they said about you until what you did to Toph”, I clicked my tongue in denial “burning a little blind girl? that's low, even for you Prince”. He strained against my grip with a scowl “Don't call me that”. I raised an eyebrow “What? Prince? Oh right! I forgot. Banished huh? Why do you think the Avatar would want you when even your own family doesn't”. That seemed to be a soft spot since he somehow with pure body strength broke himself free from the stone cuffs around his feet to push me backwards. I lost my footing but luckily didn't trip all too embarrassing.  But the shame made me furious as I attacked him. I was just about to bend the ground under him when he moved like a panther against me. I groaned loudly in pain when my back rasped against the rough bark of a tree. Both my wrists were locked in a hard grip by his much larger hands. His body heat radiated over to mine as he pushed up against me, preventing me from moving. “Calm down”, his voice was in my hair, forcing a shiver down my spine. I swallowed thickly, unsure what to do. “Look”, he leaned back to look into my eyes, which was somehow worse. Against my will I met his honey pool eyes. “It was an accident, she came in the middle of the night and startled me. It was self defense. I had no idea it was her”. I stayed quiet, trying my best to escape his grip. It was too much, his rough palms against my sensitive skin, his hot breath in my face. Just the knowledge that he was so close set my body on fire. If i stayed here any longer i would do something i would surely regret. “Get off me”, my voice came out chapped and raspy. Instead of it sounding like an order it came out like a plea. His thumb swiped across the side of my palm swiftly before letting go. It was a small motion, but I noticed. It made my heart pound furiously, I bet he could feel it. the rumpling deep in my chest. I licked my dry lips, finally taking a step away from his. It felt like the world lifted off my shoulder when I finally got out of his intoxicating aura. I was happy I didn't faint. I pointed at him “If you ever, and i mean ever, touch Toph again. I will hunt you down, Prince”. I spit the last part and happily noticed he scrunched up his face. Then I turned around and left with my heart still beating twice the normal pace. 

Returning to the Air temples i was relieved that no one noticed i left. It would be too embarrassing and shameful to explain. Explain how Zuko, The fire prince, pushed me up against a tree and gave me butterflies. Butterflies! Ridiculous. I spent the next hour pounding, trying to understand why Zuko even affected me in the way he did. I mean yes, he was obviously attractive, but… he was a fire bender! A person I've been taught to hate since the moment of my birth. The thought about my childhood made anxiety grow like a rock in the depths of my stomach so I decided to make myself busy. I couldn't keep puzzling about this. My thoughts got cut off by loud rumbling followed by ear crushing noises, so loud the ground vibrated. Someone shot something at the temple, and by the looks of it, it was aiming for the gang. On instinct I sprinted in their direction as I saw Aang and Sokka lifting up Toph from the fountain.”Stop!”,I froze at the familiar voice. 

I turned my head so fast it made my neck burn. Up on a cliff a bit away was a huge figure next to…. Zuko. “I don't want you hurting the Avatar anymore!”. Aang groaned as he tried his best to carry Toph away from the scene. “The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop”, Zuko struck his hands in front of the man. He was crazy, the much larger man could snap him in half. the Combustion Man. The man couldn't care less as he with ease shoved zuko out of the way and charged his eye. Another explosion, now much closer, made the entire place threaten to fall apart. If it wasn't for the small stone wall I bent over my friends, we would have been crushed by stone. 

“If you keep attacking, I won't pay you!”,Zuko cupped his hands so fire was aiming against the large man. The combustion man was starting to get annoyed as he easily docked the fire and grabbed onto Zuko’s smaller body. “Okay i'll pay you double to stop!”.

I looked over at Aang “we should move”. He nodded in agreement, peaking over the stone wall. “Okay”, he looked back with frightened eyes. “Zuko seems to be keeping him busy, move now”. My legs almost gave up under me as I stood up with Toph's body over my shoulder. I gasped as I saw Zuko get thrown off the cliff. There were so many feelings in my body it confused me. There is no way he could survive a fall like that. Worry for his life was the feeling finally taking over as I swallowed down the lump rising. But in the last second it seemed, he grasped onto a vine hanging down the cliff. “Go”, Aang yelled and I nodded swiftly. I didn't look back but I could hear the familiar woosh of Aangs air bending behind me. Before I even had time to move Toph we got thrown by a sudden explosion behind us. Lucky us, I bent the ground under us so we didn't fall. “Stay here”, I mumbled to Toph as I placed her behind a wall. She crossed her arms annoyed and nodded to her brunt feet “it's not like I have much of a choice”. As I turned around I saw the rest of our gang run towards me. They had just enough time to jump next to us before the next explosion ruined the temple. “he’s going to blast this whole place right off the cliff side!”, Toph yelled, eyes blown wide exposing her grey glazed irises. Katara took a deep breath before peeking behind the wall only to see another incoming blast. She looked back at us with pursed lips “I can't step out to waterbend at him without being blown up and I can't get a good enough angle on him from down here”. At the world angle Sokka’s entire face brightened up. I swore I could see a lightbulb over his head. “I know how to get an angle on him!”, he shouted. I looked him up and down “really? well do tell”. Sokka fumbles with his belt before taking out his boomerang. After another blast, he sneaks his head out, but has to hide from yet another shot. With his tongue out, clearly in deep concentration, he projects  Combustion Man’s angle with his boomerang. He takes a deep breath “all right buddy, don't fail me now”. With a tensed arm he aims the boomerang and then uses his whole upper body strength to send it flying. In surprise the boomerang hits the assassin in the head where his third eye tattoo is, causing him to hit the ground. Sokka’s face is priceless as he catches the boomerang “yeah boomerang!”. But then the silence is broken by the assassin's heavy body getting up, clearly a bit shaken. Sokka's face fell “Awwww, boomerang…”. this is how we die huh? There was no way a few children could take on a trained assassin. But he seemed to take care of that job himself because his next aim is completely off. He misses, his next blast hits the ground around him. The ground shakes a few times under his feet before it gives up under him, causing him to fall.  As I help Toph up the best I can Zuko appears. Aang looks hesitant at him “i can't believe i'm saying this, but….thanks, zuko”. Sokka clearly took it personally as he turned to Aang “hey! What about me? I did the boomerang thing.” I rolled my eyes at his child's demeanor. 

Zuko looked down before meeting Aang's eyes “Listen, I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday, I've been through a lot in the last few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me. But I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself, by choosing to do what's right. All I want to do now is play my part in ending this war, and I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world”. 

No one was ready for his speech, especially not me. This was a needed side of him I hadn't seen. I recognized myself in his words and I had to turn my head to  clear my mind. 

Zuko turned to Toph with shame in his eyes. “ I'm sorry for what I did to you”, he bows in her direction “It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally”. I didn't know what to do with myself. Everything he said made sense, felt sincere. But it went against everything I had been taught. Every word, scolding, from my father. Everything he had told me. I rarely agreed with my father but when it came to the fire nation we used to be on the same page.  Aang opened his mouth to speak but closed it almost immediately. He looks in thought as if he tries to be careful with his words. He finally collected himself “I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara, and after that, I never wanted to firebend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like you to teach me”. He then slowly bent forward, bowing respectfully to Zuko. I could see how hard he tried to keep that smile back as he bowes back “Thank you. i'm so happy you've accepted me into your group”. Aang stopped him in his words “Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them.”. He turns to Toph with kind eyes “Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?”. Toph shrugs her shoulders. “Go ahead and let him join”, She pounds her fist into her palm jokingly “it'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet”. I meet zuko’s eyes and mumbles under my breath “that makes two of us”. Aang turns to Sokka. Sokka shrugs in response “Hey, all I want is to defeat the fire lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it”. A part of me was excited to see what Katara would say. She clearly loved Aang and trusted him with her life, but she also hated Zuko with all her spirit.  Aang slowly approached Katara. She looked Zuko up and down. Her glare is so hot I could feel Zuko's nervousness. I swore I could see sweat climbing down his forehead.  Finally she drops her walls “ I'll go along with whatever you think is right”. Relieved Aang smiles at her. He gives me a look but I understand the question. All my feelings are conflicted, but this was not my place to speak “Fine”. I look up my eyelashes “On one condition?”. Zuko noods with stiff movement. I smirk sideways “If i can joke about your scar”. The expression on Zuko’s face was hard to read. Either he was extremely offended or thought it was amusing. He gave me a sideways nod which I took as a yes. 

The gang for some reason gave me the job to show him to his room. Probably because they thought I had the least history with him. Little do they know. The walk towards the room was awkward, both of us trying to keep our distance. “Um here we are”, I nodded towards the door and he walked into the room. I glanced toward him “Um, I think it's lunch soon. So, um unpack. um”. He looks up on me and gives me a weak smile. “And”, i weightened forwards and backwards on my feet “And well, keep an eye out. Either eye  works, but for you i guess the choice is pretty obvious”. He snorted “is that the best you can do?”. I was already down the hallway “trust me Prince pretty, i'm only getting started”.

Taglist: @eridanuswave , @Whalerus, @keiko0

[bellatrixobsessed1]

From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 30)

She knows that there is not a soul left in the world that cares for her. She knows it because if there was, someone would have reached out and taken her hand. Someone would have realized that she was slowly dying and they would have given her at least a little sip of water and a small morsel to eat. 

Nobody does. 

Because nobody cares. 

For all of its heat, she is certain that the Fire Nation is colder than the poles. 

No wonder she herself is so cold.

Her body aches and pains in ways she hadn’t thought possible. Dehydration leaves her muscles cramped without mercy. She puts one foot in front of the other, over and over. Her mind has grown numb to all else. Her head throbs and she has run out of sweat. She stumbles and pitches forward. She doesn’t have the energy to pick herself back up and so she drags herself on all fours. Crawling on her hands and knees. 

She doesn’t think of anything else, just of moving limb after limb until she finds herself at the base of a cliff. The Black Cliffs she realizes, faintly. She drags herself to the shoreline, tears welling in her eyes. 

She greedily laps at the water, feeling just as uncivilized as she has become. She thinks that there is nothing left of who she had been. Nothing good anyhow. She is certain that she has still retained and regained all of the most unsavory bits. 

After helping herself to copious amounts of water, she lets her body fall limp. Arm outstretched, her fingers dip into the water. Water that laps gently at the sand. The cliffs tower high above her, shadows washing over her. Atop them, short strands of grass sway and swish. A fuzzy green to adorn the otherwise craggy landscape.She bunches herself up; at the very least she will have a nice view to go with her death.

She doesn’t expect to wake up but she does. And she awakes to familiar pains. At least she is no longer thirsty, at least the water cools her body. At least she can refill the waterskin. But how terribly her stomach pangs. And the sun burns on her skin sear a bright red. Her skin is already peeling in places, she feels even less human.

She climbs to her feet anyhow, dizzy, swaying. 

She walks for miles, empty headed, reduced to nothing but the aches in her stomach and feet. The throbbing of her head. 

She isn’t going to make it, she isn’t sure why she is trying. 

She wonders if her corpse will be found and if she will be buried respectfully or unceremoniously. Perhaps her body will rot where it falls…

Approaching from the other direction, she sees the first people that she had encountered in days...weeks? 

She wonders if it would make a difference to tell them that she is their princess.

She recalls her haggard state and wonders if they’d believe her.

She approaches them.

She opens her mouth. She knows that she had.

But the blackness overtakes her--she isn’t sure if she had gotten any word out. Her body, spent and at its limit trembles all over even in sleep. She doesn’t wake up for some time. And when she does, she wakes alone. Alone and somewhere entirely new. 

Her heart thunders in her chest; where have they taken her? Is she dead? It’s dark. She chokes out a little sob. She doesn’t know where she is or how she got there. She shivers; what if she has gotten herself mixed up with the slave traders? Agni, can’t the universe at least let her die a free woman?

But her hands, her ankles...they aren’t bound.

Curiously, her middle doesn’t ache quite as terribly. They, whoever they are, must have fed her. 

Azula sits up and the tarp falls away. She looks around and her eyes fall upon a stocky man with a full beard and ample eyebrows. “What…?” She gestures to the tarp. The man catches it before it can blow away entirely.

“It was to keep the sun off of you.” The man says gruffly. He is a soldier. She thinks that she recognizes him. She can’t put a name to a face right now, neither can she put it to a memory.

Still shaking, she rakes her hands through her hair. 

Her hair!

Her dismay must have registered on her face because the man states plainly, “Matted. We wouldn’t have been able to comb it so we cut it.”

She falls back to the floor of the cart. It doesn’t matter. Long, lustrous hair is for the dignified anyways. She bunches herself back up. 

“We’ll take you as far as the outskirts of Caldera City, then you fend for yourself.” 

She manages a small nod but inquires, “why did you pick me up at all?”

“We’re not savages. We’re trying to show the world that the Fire Nation isn’t cruel.” The soldier shrugs.

But compared to everywhere else that she has been, it is. Very much so. 

“But we’re not about to give rewards to someone like you.”

“Like me?” It is an impulse to ask.

“Dirty. Dumb. Useless. You haven’t earned your keep.”

And now she recognizes him. He had been one of Admiral Zhao’s subordinates. Arrogant and dumber than he thinks she. She has earned her keep more than thrice over. It isn’t her fault that the universe keeps stealing it away from her. 

It isn’t her fault that the universe has a vendetta against her specifically. That it is trying to give her the fill of bad luck she had missed. Maybe in another fourteen years--maybe eleven to twelve if the years she has suffered already count--she will fall into another era of fortune. 

Maybe if she can last that long.

“You gonna get a job when you get to the outskirts or are you gonna…”

She doesn’t have the patience to listen to him anymore. Doesn’t have the patience for small minded assumptions and baseless judgements. She doesn’t have the emotional energy to deal with her own former ideals thrown back at her again. And again. And again…

She isn’t sure how many times she has to pay for them.

When it will end. 

When the world will finally acknowledge that she is doing her best. That she isn’t evil through and through; that she is just a woman who wants a home and peace of mind…

The rocking of the cart jars and unsettles her.

She thinks that she has learned it quite a while back but more subtly, kindly; that day she learns not to sneer at those who are down on their luck. She doesn’t know them. They don’t know her.

.oOo.

She is almost overwhelmed by how much attention she is getting. Mostly it is from Sokka who holds her as close as he physically can. But it is from Zuko too, who fixes her some tea (“just the way uncle always makes it!”) and from TyLee who gushes over what a caring mother she is until her cheeks grow red. It comes from Mai who brings her scrolls to read and occupy her mind with. From the servants and Lo and Li...

Caihong hasn’t spoken with her since she delivered the bad news nearly four days ago. 

“Trust me. Children are just like that.” Ursa insists. “She’ll come around.” 

But Azula hadn’t. 

She still hasn’t. 

She is still angry with the woman. 

The woman who had left her feeling neglected and hated for much of her life. The woman who, with uncle in tow, finally made her appearance--and at the worst possible time--two days prior. 

And yet the woman has her hand on the small of her back and rubs in small circles. At least Iroh knows to keep his distance. But really, aside from the lashing of her tongue, there isn’t a particular risk in pestering her. 

Ursa reaches out and grazes her fingers over the scar on Azula’s neck. The princess flinches back and her mother grimaces. 

“What happened, dear?”

“Ask Zuzu.” She is so tired and she doesn’t feel like explaining it again. She really doesn’t feel like dealing with more pity. 

“She’s been through a lot.” Sokka takes his seat at the edge of the bed. “And she can use some fresh air. Let's go for a walk, Azula.”

“I’d rather not.”

“You shouldn’t just sit in your room all day.”

“I’m not. I leave occasionally to get something to eat and have my bath…” 

“What about to socialize?”

Azula crinkles her nose and he laughs. She is in utter distress and he is laughing. “Talking to people isn’t that bad. Look how nice all of the Earth Kingdomers were to you.” He gestures to her journal. 

She takes it in her hands and stares at it for sometime before shoving it into Ursa’s arms. “Talk to me when you’re done reading it.” 

“Azula--!?”

“You haven’t even read the first page yet.” She scoffs. 

“You shouldn’t be so mean to your--”

Azula cuts him a glare.

“Strawberry garden, let’s check on that.” This time it is a nervous laugh. 

She grabs his hand and quite roughly. She doesn’t mean to be so rough, but he doesn’t even flinch. Caihong is already in the garden when they arrive, babbling away with TyLee. She holds Bao up with a delighted squeal. 

Azula sits down next to the child who turns around with a “hmph!” 

“Oh come on, Caihong,” TyLee tries, “Azula really wants to talk to you. She cares about you a lot.”

Caihong folds her arms, “nuh-uh, she makes me sad.” 

Azula’s stomach flutters. 

“Sometimes bad things happen, Cai.” Sokka tries. “She didn’t make this thing happen she was only telling you what happened.” He pauses. “Don’t you think you would have been sadder if that bad guy took you back to WuJing and no one was there?”

Caihong’s pout grows. 

“At least now you have me and TyLee and Zuko and…” He lifts her up and turns her around to face Azula, “you have a mom.”

“My mom died.” She says plainly, fidgeting with Bao’s claws. “‘S not fair.” 

“No kidding…” Sokka mutters. “My mom died too. Sometimes there are just bad people, Caihong. And they take really good people away. But there are lots of other good people and you have to talk to them.” He scoops her up and plops her into Azula’s lap. 

“But…”

“Is Azula a bad person?” TyLee asks.

Azula cringes at the question coming from her.

“Did she do something bad to you?”

Caihong looks up at her with those bright green eyes and shakes her head. 

“Did she do something good for you?”

Another glance is accompanied by an affirmative nod. “Lots of good things.” Caihong mumbles into Bao’s head. 

“So why are you mad at her?” Sokka asks. 

Caihong thinks for a moment, “she told me about the bad people.”

“And you didn’t want to hear it?”

Caihong shakes her head again. 

“Would you have rather heard it from someone else?”

Another head shake. This time her little fingers curl around Azula’s hand. 

“Do you still want Azula to be your mommy!?” TyLee clasps her hands together. 

Caihong pauses, squeezing and squeezing Azula’s hand before nodding once more.  Caihong nuzzles her cheek against Azula’s chest and Azula holds her close. She strokes at the child’s hair. “Bao and I were having a cave adventure.” 

“A cave adventure?”

“Mmhmm, see.” Caihong points at a small hole that she dug right in the middle of Azula’s strawberry garden. The princess sighs. 

“Did you find anything in the caves?”

“Rubies!” She declares, gesturing to the slain corpses of her strawberries. 

“Those rubies weren’t ready to be mined yet.” She mumbles. 

She isn’t sure why, but Caihong laughs. People, she decides, laugh at the strangest things. “You can plant more rubies, mom!” 

Mom…

Mother…

She could have had so much…

.oOo.

Even after tucking a newly happy and babbling Caihong in, Azula is very quiet. Sullen and withdrawn. Sokka sets a platter of roast duck on her nightstand, “you didn’t come to dinner?”

“I’m not hungry, Sokka.”  She doesn’t look away from the ceiling. She absently toys with the curtains draped over her bed. He doesn’t push her this time, though he decides that he will be delivering an extra nice breakfast to her in the morning. He lays himself down next to her. He very nearly springs back up, unsure if they have reached a point where she is comfortable with him laying on her bed. But she rolls over and reaches for his hand. 

“You haven’t even changed out of your day clothes.” He observes. 

She gives a slight shrug, “they’re comfortable enough. I’ve…”

“Slept in worse?” He rolls his eyes. 

She nods. 

“You’re going to be alright, Azula.” He promises. 

“Perhaps.” 

He sighs, they have been so focused on reassuring Caihong that he has forgotten to comfort Azula. He is certain that the princess has been neglecting herself too. “Ya know, everything we said about family applies to you too? Do you want Caihong to be your child?” 

“Of course, Sokka. I wouldn’t have gone through all of that trouble if I didn’t.” 

“Do you…” He swallows. “Do you want a new lover? A new husband?”

She is quiet for a very long time but she doesn’t withdraw her hand. “I don’t want to replace Hajime.” 

“I don’t want to replace him.” Sokka replies. “I want you to talk about him and tell me about him. But I want to be Sokka, I don’t want to take you on the kinds of dates Hajime took you on, I want to…”

She presses her fingers to his lips. “You talk too much. I got the point the first time.” She rolls back onto her back. “I know that you aren’t replacing anyone. You are Sokka. That’s good enough for me.” 

He takes his chances with moving closer to her. Having success, he slides his arm around her waist. She is quiet for another long span. It might have left him feeling anxious had she not let him trace his finger over the line of the scar on her belly. It is rougher in comparison to her otherwise delicate skin. 

“I don’t think that ‘good enough’, is exactly the right phrase.” She speaks again. “It’s…” she trails off. “It’s something new and it’s...it’s just as special.”  

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 27

Warnings:   Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC   Summary:   “You have everything you’ve always wanted.” “No.” He said softly. “Not everything…”  His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. “I guess not.” She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes.

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

Zuko walked silently into his room directly after the meeting of the black sun. He closed the door gently behind him and moved over to his bed removing his headpiece, allowing his hair to fall messily around his face. It seemed to ease his headache slightly. He knew the day of the black sun was upon them. With a silent sigh he removed his armor and placed it on his bed beside his head piece then he turned and walked over to his desk.

He placed a sheet of parchment on his desk and used the two weights to smooth it out flat before sitting down and picking up his brush. With careful and delicate strokes, he began writing, his heart heavy in his chest.

He had everything planned out.

He sneaked out of his room like he had done countless of times and made way for the auburn-haired servant's room.

He stood outside of her door and raised a hand his nerves getting the best of him as he told himself to suck it up and just knock. He shook his head and simply walked in like had done several times before.

His eyes widened at what he saw inside the small room. Papers and scrolls were wildly scattered all over the room and it smelled like burnt paper and smoke. Tsai sat on a chair using the small desk as she burnt what looked like confidential information into a metal bowl.

Her eyes shot wide as she jumped from her chair and shoved a crumbled paper inside of her shirt.

"It's not what it looks like." She said in one breath as her brain racked thoughts of a believable lie to explain this awkward situation.

His golden eyes meeting hers. "You're the one that's been leaking out all the information."

"I knew it." He said softly.

She braced herself ready for his explosion. For the perfect prince to erupt in rage at her lies and betrayal.

"You're the one that left the scroll outside of my door," he said as the realization hit him.

She nodded slowly. Still waiting for the volatile reaction. For him to scream and maybe even immobilize her for capture as a traitor to his Nation.

"I know you're working with uncle. I've known since the beginning. You would never betray him. You would never betray everything you believe in unless he asked you. That's why you bowed before my father. Swore your allegiance to the Fire Nation." He finally managed to connect all the dots and see the bigger picture. It was as clear as water.

Her body was tense. She had been holding her breath. His expression was unreadable. Would he turn her in?

Their eyes met again. She didn't dare move a muscle. Only looked at him like a deer dog caught in headlights. His silence was killing her.

"Let's runaway." He proposed boldly.

She looked at him beyond confused at the bold suggestion. One of her eyebrows arched the other knotted making her bewilderment even more apparent on her face.

"Let's runaway together," he repeated holding her head in his hands. She was too stunned to react to his touch.

"We-We're both of marrying age.” He stammered. “We'll runaway. Get married. Start a new life somewhere where nobody knows us. We'll bring uncle! We've already done it once. We can do it again!"

She had stopped listening halfway through his spiel. Both of her eyes wide. All the blood rushed to her head. Her head was spinning, and she could swear her mind went blank for a moment. She feel forward almost comically feeling dizzy at the declaration. He caught her by the shoulders, and it took her a moment to regain consciousness.

"It's official!" She said stepping away from him cornering herself creating the most distance she could between the two of them.

Her heart had skipped an anxious beat. Face red as a beet.

"Do you hear yourself talk? You have officially lost your mind! We are SIXTEEN." She attempted to snap some common sense into him. "NOBODY is getting married," she spoke tensely letting out a nervous laugh.

"I'm leaving the Fire Nation and I am not leaving without you." He said his eyes blazing with determination.

She looked at him with a defiant glare. She wanted nothing from him. Not anymore.

"Of course… Unless you would rather stay here with my sister…" He added casually.

"When do you leave?" She caved. Not even thinking twice about it.

Little did the two of them know that a pair of prying eyes had been watching the prince enter and exit the servant's room with vile intent.

Xxx

Tsai awoke drenched in sweat at the memory. She heaved as she looked around restlessly. It seemed like it had been ages ago when in truth it had only been days… She breathed harshly looking around the camp and gazed up at the sky suddenly feeling very small.

Shaking her head, she sneaked off to the edge of a cliff where she sat burying her face in her palms in aggravation. It was so frustrating...

Sokka prodded the campfire with a nearby stick, watching the embers float up into the air with a grim expression. Around him, his sister and friends slept peacefully, unperturbed by the discomforting thoughts that had been nagging at him for several days. Sokka glanced over towards the ledge of the mountain cliff where sat had been sitting for most the evening since insomnia had greeted her in the late night.

Without much thought Sokka walked over and took a seat next to her also dangling his feet over the bottomless abyss before.

She didn't turn to acknowledge his presence instead kept her tired eyes facing forward pensively.

"You want to know more about her, huh?" Tsai finally acknowledge and turned to look at him. Sokka sat quietly and nodded his head as his thoughts drifted to Yue, his first girlfriend who had terribly perished…

"She didn't feel any pain… When it happened. And she's happy, I think," Tsai paused for a moment before she cracked a rare smiled which was accompanied by a small laugh. "She knows all about you and your new girlfriend. She thought it was sweet how you didn't kiss her that one night."

Sokka's eyes went wide, cheeks flushed a little red. "S-She told you that?!"

"Of course," Tsai was still laughing. "We're friends. We had a lot of catching up to do. Don't worry. She found it endearing. She really wants you to be happy. Sincerely," she said graciously.

Sokka was quiet and looked up at the moon which was perched in the night sky above them and he smiled knowing that Yue was watching over them. It was then that his thoughts swayed to his current love. Suki… He hoped that she was okay. Prayed that they would find a way back to each other. He was much too distraught to see the smile fall from the colonial girl's face. He turned to say something and then noticed the lost look in her eyes.

"You know you don't have to stay up and keep watch. I'm on guard duty tonight." He said encouraging to return to her sleep. Which as of the late, it seemed like an impossible task.

However, she remained silent and didn't move not wanting to admit to her insomnia.

"He's on your mind, right?" Sokka asked.

Tsai thought of her brother. The uncertainty of not knowing if he was well or not was once again consuming her. If she knew of his fate be it fortunate or horrible, she would've come to terms with it, but not knowing? This was even worse than last time. She cursed him for doing this to her. Making her bear such worry.

"The uncertainty. It's killing me, not knowing if he's well or not," she confessed.

Sokka let out what sounded like an insensitive snort.

"Don't worry. Knowing Zuko he'll be just fine. He's hard enough to get rid of," Sokka rolled his eyes at the thought of his enemy.

"Zuko?" She retorted confused. Right now, he was in a faraway place in her mind. She had bigger problems to worry about. Besides, she hated to admit it but Sokka was right. There was nobody as persistent or determined as the Fire Nation's Prince.

"I was thinking about my brother," she admitted and touched her naked neck suddenly aware that she was free no longer having to wear that humiliating dog collar. She missing her own necklace and found some comfort in knowing that her other half had a piece of her with him.

"I know what you're thinking," she said after a moment. "That I'm probably crazy you know… for dating him. I'm not on cactus juice or anything," she let out what sounded like a humorous huff.

"How could you have even dated that stupid, conniving, evil jerk?!" He asked his expression shocked and border lining in outrage. "Willingly?"He raised both of his eyebrows incredulously as he sat in disbelief.

She nodded with a small sad smile her heart still ached for him.

"We always thought it was some sort of hostage situation," he shrugged raising both of his hands up. "Go figure."

She let out a laugh at the idea. "No… Not at all," she smiled weakly. "He's not dumb at all, or conniving like his sister, or evil. He can actually be very sweet. Nobody makes me laugh like he does. And he has the kindest heart," she had a lazy day dreamy smile on her face as she spoke about the prince.

"Wow," Sokka's mouth was ajar in shock. He could've sworn he was about to barf his guts into the abyss. He wondered if this was this what girls talked about all the time?

'Zuko? Really?' He could not believe her words. 'She must've drank something stronger than cactus juice or something.'

"But he's so-" Sokka sought out for the proper vocabulary of choice. "He's such a dick." He settled. "He's so angry and overbearing and persistent and did I mention angry?"

He looked at her slightly dazed expression and realized that she wasn't kidding.

This was serious.

"He is all of those things too," she said rubbing the back of her neck nervously. Who was she to deny him his truths? When Sokka was right, he was right.

"You really love him huh?" He mused after witnessing the smiled grow on her pink face.

She felt a chill run up her spine and erect her hair in comically pointed stands at what to her sounded like a most seriously bold accusation. She felt as if she had been struck by one of Azula's lightning bolts.

"Me? What-lov-no-" She struggled with her words her tongue twisting her face burning from the embarrassment of her affections. She let out a huff and shook her head lightly. "I won't give that jerk the time of day, not after everything he's done."

Sokka snickered at her reaction. Without thinking she gave his arm a hard, playful shove which almost made him fall over the cliff.

"No!" She realized and pulled him back into a safer ground just as fast.

The Southern Water Tribe boy's face had turned white in fear at the close brush with death.

"Sorry," she apologized sheepishly with a small laugh.

xxx

Zuko folded his hands behind his head and stared up at the same moon contemplatively, his thoughts storming in his mind. As he thought of just how in the world, he was going to convince the Avatar's group to let them join them.

And just where where Tsai and his uncle? He hoped they had somehow found each other...

Xxx

"This is humiliating." Katara grumbled as she tossed a bag off to the floor in frustration.

Tsai spared her a look over her shoulder and shook her head ignoring her. It was known that both weren't on the best speaking terms. Tsai knew that Katara had a prejudice against her for being born in the Fire Nation which wasn't fair. Her discrimination wasn't cute. Tsai hated how she would walk with this air of superiority pretending to embody a moral compass of goodness when she did ignorant things like this.

Sokka glanced over at his sister amused despite his sore limbs "You mean getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation or having to walk all the way to the Western Air Temple?" He teased as he walked next to her.

Katara glanced at him contemplatively for a moment then answered with dry humor, "Both."

"Sorry, guys." Aang said to the siblings from where he was walking at the back the group and he reached out to scratch Appa's cheek affectionately, "But Appa gets tired carrying all these people."

"It could've been worse," Tsai the eternal optimist offered.

The group continued their trek up in an exhaustive hike to the Western Air Temple. Laments were felt as they mourned their missing people. Bickering and some healthy ramblings were exchanged as several group members (Sokka. It was Sokka) complained about having blisters and walking the long way. Before they reached the temple.

Xxx

Zuko tied the rope he'd brought with him to a rock and tossed it over the side of the cliff before using it to slide down the cliff. He turned slowly to face the cliff and stared at the massive statue of a female Airbender. He swung forward slightly then jumped, landing in a crouch on the platform the statue was on. Zuko straightened and stared up at the statue, remembering the last time he'd been at this temple.

At the time he had been younger, more foolish, more naïve. He was blinded by his ambition of regaining his father's respect and recuperating his honor. Then again, he had only been a child. Having only been thirteen at the time.

"What else would I expect to hear from the laziestman in the Fire Nation?" Zuko whirled around and snarled at his uncle furiously. Iroh sighed and bowed his head while his nephew turned away from him, "The only way to regain my honor is to find the Avatar, so I will."

The memory stung him. Waves of disappointment and regret washed over him as he wondered just how he could've treated his uncle in such a way. He let out a heavy exhale and closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

The familiar rumbling growl of the Avatar's sky bison suddenly flew above in the air, followed by even more familiar laughter. Zuko jerked his head to the left, towards the sounds and gasped in surprise. He quickly darted towards a nearby pillar and ducked behind it, crouching down and watching the Avatar's sky bison soar him past before disappearing behind another of the upside-down pagodas.

He waited a few more moments then stood up and backed away from the pillar without taking his eyes away from where he'd seen the sky bison. Shaking his head, more than determined Zuko spun on his heel and raced towards a flight of stairs.

Xxx

"You guys go ahead, I think we need to talk about some things." Katara urged some of the other people that had escaped the Fire Nation with them. Tsai had no idea who they were nor did she have any interest in knowing.

She had greater things to worry about… Like her brother, her family, Iroh and well Zuko… She prayed they were all well. She- however didn’t want to think about her father. She flinched slightly as his cold eyes flashed in her memory. And what about her being the Sun Spirit? She didn't even want to open that Pandora's box of unanswerable questions.

Aang looked at Katara in confusion, "Why can't I go?" He protested.

"We need to decide what we're gonna do now." Katara replied with a small frown "And since you're the Avatar, maybe you should be a part of this."

Aang huffed and walked over to a piece of a broken stone pillar. He leaned his staff against it and sat down, crossing his arms grouchily in front of his chest, "Fair enough. What's the plan?"

Katara, Toph and Zokka followed him, each sitting down on another piece of the broken pillar.

It was then that Katara noticed the red head that was sitting alone a couple of feet away with her feet grounded. She hugged her knees as she starred off into the distance lost in thought.

She cleared her throat loudly. "I also meant you Tsai," she basically growled out.

The other turned her narrowed eyes at her with an angry expression in them.

"What?" She let out a scoff.

"We are about to discuss some important things in private and I think it would be best if you left." She explained.

"Why don't you want me here?" She stood up shoving her hands in her pockets approaching the group. "Because I'm Fire Nation?"

Katara glared with intense dislike.

"I'm not going to apologize for being born on the wrong side of the pond," Tsai stood her ground. "I can't change who I am and I won't. Just like I wouldn't ask you to change even if you were born in…" She paused for a moment and fought the urge to clap back with a petty insult.

It took every ounce of patience in her not to say. 'Born in some teepee in a snow wasteland in the middle of nowhere.'

"In the Southern Water Tribe," she finished eloquently in a strained voice.

"Katara, Tsai is part of the group now." Aang defended. "She helped me escape the Pohuai Fortress. Remember?"

"Yeah! For her own benefit! After she asked you to surrender! And after she kidnapped you in the Earth Kingdom and then betrayed us back in the Crystal Catacombs." The loopy haired girl barked back aggressively. “I saw you attack Iroh!”

"I think what matters is that I'm here now," Tsai raised both of her hands as a peace offering her eyebrows too feeling beyond irritated. "And willing to help."

Katara grumbled something under her breath. Aang let out a frustrated sigh.

“But if this helps,” she whipped out the White Lotus Pai Sho chip that Iroh gave her what seemed to be a lifetime ago. She held it between her middle and index fingers. “I don’t know if this means anything to you, but I’ve been helping the resistance for months now.”

The group let out a confused “huh?” in unison. All of them taken aback.

“Hey! I have one of those too!” Sokka noted pulling out his matching chip.

“Where do you think you got all of those Fire Nation maps, diagrams and military plans from? I was the one sending the fire hawks to the Resistance.” She put her chip away and nodded feeling a huge weight being off her shoulders. “Iroh and I agreed it was best if people didn’t associate us. Which is what you saw that day in the Catacombs. I would’ve sent more information about the day of the black sun, but got captured and tortured that day… Which is when you found me.” She couldn’t help but be proud of her brave accomplishments. It hadn’t been an easy thing to do, but it had been the right thing.

Tsai was officially Sokka’s hero. Aang was grateful. Toph thought it was a cool story and wanted to ask about the torture intrigued. Katara on the other hand was boiling with anger, her prejudice showing.

Without further continuation the Fire Nation girl was welcomed into the group and took a seat opposite of Katara sitting between Toph and Sokka.

Now that that was over with…

Sokka rubbed at his chin thoughtfully for moment then shrugged, "Well, if you asked me, the new plan is the old plan!" He grinned widely at Aang, "You just need to master all four elements and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes."

"Oh, yeah, that's great." Aang drawled sarcastically and he picked up a pebble off the stone, tossing it into the air and catching it nonchalantly, "No problem, I'll just do that." He rolled his eyes and laid down on the broken pillar, flicking the pebble away from him with a scowl.

She was about to chide in how she had broken his nose-

"Wait," Tsai interrupted. "You still haven't mastered fire?" She raised an eyebrow looking at him judgmentally. "My brother was just with you. He's a great bender. What have you been doing all this time? Goofing around?" She accused as she felt her back knotting in stress.

"I-I didn't want to learn from him." Aang confessed after a moment.

Aang remembered the short lived time they had spent with Tsai's brother, Mecha, and he had been- well... He was troubled.

His sister blinked twice in surprise. As far as she remembered her brother was an adequate fire bender. Yeah, maybe he was childish and could be lazy with his training but he could've still taught Aang the basics.

"Your brother he.. He spoke about vengeance and about hurt and suffering. I hurt Katara once and swore I was never going to fire bend again in my life." Aang explained. "He just wasn't the teacher for me."

That didn't sound like her brother...

"So, you put your own selfish interests before the fate world?" She rose to her feet.

This was unacceptable.

How on Earth had these children managed to outsmart both the Fire Nation and Prince Zuko for more than a year? Having been raised under the stern hand of a governing family Tsai had always been taught never to slack off. Less when others when in peril. Less when your people were in danger.

"Gee, it's no wonder you and Zuko were together," Sokka mumbled under his breath. Both of them had a stick up their asses when it came to these things and the same nasty temperament.

Katara was about to say some snide remark when the girl beat her to it.

"You know what-" Tsai shook her head with her eyes shutting for a moment. "I'll teach you." She said clapping her hands together at the grand idea.

The room looked at her with dumbfounded expressions on their faces.

"Umm.. Can you even fire bend Chili Pepper?" Toph asked in a bored tone giving the girl a new nickname. Aang would've laughed if the current situation wasn't so serious.

"No," She dead panned. "But I've seen my brother do it my whole life." She offered. "Hey, it's better than nothing and beggars can't be choosers." She grumbled before leaning against one of the wall pillars cooly and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll call it non-firebending!"

That was a terrible idea. Sokka slapped a hand over his face and he pulled it down in exasperation.

"Well, it's not gonna even be possible!" Aang exclaimed, leaning back on his elbows and staring at Katara questioningly turning his attention towards her, "Where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?"

Katara's brows furrowed as she thought then she grinned excitedly, "We could look for Jeong Jeong."

"Yeah right." Aang scoffed and laid back on the bench, covering his eyes with an arm, "Like we'll ever run into Jeong Jeong again."

"Who's... Oh never mind." Toph mumbled and crossed her arms irritably, "If it's important, I'll find out."

"Touché." Tsai added.

Aang abruptly leapt to his feet and grabbed his glider, "Oh well, guess we can't come up with anybody." He grinned and jumped over the stone block Sokka was sitting on, "Why don't we take a nice tour around the temple?" He snapped his glider open as he ran towards the edge of the courtyard then leapt off, Momo following after him a moment later.

"Aang wait!" Tsai called as she stretched out her hand. She couldn't believe how not seriously the Avatar was taking all this.

"What's up with him?" Toph asked drily.

"He's just having a hard time right now. Give him some time." Katara said protectively over Aang.

Tsai hadn't been here long, but she figured Katara's motherliness attitude would get old fast.

Sokka tapped his chin, "There's gotta be someone who can teach him firebending." He looked over at Tsai and eyed her thoughtfully.

"What?" She retorted. "I already offered to show him how to non-bend fire."

"Know anyone?" Sokka asked her.

xxx

"Hello..." He raised a hand with an uncharacteristic smile.

"Zuko here, but...I guess you probably already know me, sort of." He winced and rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking off to the side as he let his arm fall back to his side, "Uh...so, the thing is I have a lot of firebending experience, and I'm considered to be pretty good at it. Well, you've seen me, you know, when I was attacking you…"

His eyes widened and the smile disappeared from his face as he pressed his fingers against his forehead in embarrassment, "Uh, yeah...I should probably apologize for that. But anyway," He shook his head and waved an arm to the side dismissively, "I'm good now. I mean, I thought I was good before, but I realize I was bad and that I hurt a lot of people," He fidgeted uncomfortably and his shoulders slumped dejectedly.

"But-but anyway...I think it's time I joined your group and taught the Avatar firebending." He straightened with a sincere expression on his face.

The badgerfrog perched on the log in front of him croaked loudly. Scowling, Zuko leaned forward with a frustrated expression on his face, "Well?! What's your answer?"

The badgerfrog hopped onto his head then jumped away and Zuko hung his head with a sigh.

"Yeah, that's what I'd say too...How am I supposed to convince these people I'm on their side?" He muttered and he straightened, grabbing his head in despair. He paused and stared thoughtfully at the ground, "What would Uncle do?"

Pacing a few steps, Zuko pretending to stroke an imaginary beard as he imitated his uncle's voice,"'Zuko, you have to look within yourself, to save yourself from your other self.'" He turned and paced in the opposite direction and pretended to be lecturing himself, "'Only then will your true self reveal itself.'"

Sighing, Zuko pressed his hand against his forehead and shook his head in exasperation, "Even when I'm talking for him, I can't figure out what he means. What would Azula do?"

"'Listen, Avatar, I can join your group,'"Zuko drawled in a high-pitched voice and he crossed his arms arrogantly, "'Or I can do something unspeakably horrible to you and your friends. Your choice.'"

He groaned and covered his face with his hands before letting them drop to his sides, “Tsai had done it before. How had she managed to do it?”

"'We have to work together to defeat the Fire Lord!'"He spoke in a different high-pitched voice as he imitated the girl's blinding optimism. "'We have something he doesn't have, something worth fighting for!' We can have tea after!'" He scoffed at himself in frustration and sat down on the ground heavily, "I guess I'm not that good at impersonations..."

He stared in surprise when the badgerfrog leapt in front of him and croaked loudly. Zuko rubbed his temples then hung his head dejectedly.

xxx

"So Chili Pepper, huh?" Tsai asked as she sat on the edge of the fountain in the courtyard. Toph sat next to her dipping her fingers on the water.

"It suits you," The blind girl shrugged. "Hot-tempered like one and spicy, just like the Fire Nation."

"Isn't that a little stereotypical?" Tsai laughed. "Not all Fire Nation people eat spicy food. I do prefer sweets myself, but I do love me some jalapeño poppers-" She realized that Toph wasn't listening to her. "But I guess it is fitting. My hair is red like one too."

"I don't know what that looks like," was all Toph responded awkwardly making reference to her blindness. Tsai sweated nervously had she offended her? Befriending this group was going to be harder than it looked like.

Aang landed besides the fountain and snapped his glider shut, grinning at his friends as they jumped off Appa, "Oh, and the all-day echo chamber, you guys will love that!"

"What's he talking about?" Tsai was about to ask. Unsure of what was going on. One moment Katara and Sokka went to get Aang to try and persuade him to change his attitude in regards of mastering fire bending.

"I think that'll have to wait." Toph commented seriously and the others looked at her quizzically. She turned towards Appa and pointed behind him, just as the sky bison shuffled to the side, revealing a shadow.

"Hello," Zuko said awkwardly and he raised his arm in greeting, "Zuko here."

Tsai felt her heart jump to her throat her eyes wide in disbelief at the surprise. He looked at her too. Surprised to have found her here out of all places and with them. The group immediately shifted into an offensive stance their eyes menacingly glaring at the Fire Nation's Prince.

"I heard you guys flying around down there, so I just thought I'd wait for you here." Zuko replied and he shrugged slightly. Appa stepped towards him with a growl. Zuko took a cautious step back, covering his face with his arms. He grunted when the sky bison proceeded to lick his back happily.

Aang stared in surprise and lowered his staff slightly, watching as Zuko lowered his arms and Appa licked his face affectionately.

"Ick." Zuko grunted again and wiped the slobber off his face with his arm then he looked at the group before him, "I know you must be surprised to see me here."

"No, not really." Sokka snapped and he let go of his boomerang, "Since you followed us all over the world."

"Right..." Zuko coughed uncomfortably and glanced to the side, "Well, uh...anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed, and, I, uh, I'm good now."

Zuko's eyes met Tsai's light brown ones. He looked at her with worry. She hadn't said a single word since he had arrived. Her judgement weighing heavily on his pride and honor as a man. He couldn't read the look in her eyes. Was she upset that he had left without her? Still angry at what had happened in Ba Sing Se? Or with Mai?

He cleared his throat and looked away from her as he continued to addressed the Avatar apprehensively, "Um, and, well, I think I should join your group. Oh, and I can teach firebending...to you. See, I, uh..." he stumbled upon his words nervously.

"You want to what now?!" Toph interrupted sharply while the others just stared at Zuko in dumbfounded disbelief, Aang lowering his staff even further in confusion.

"You can't possibly think that any of us would trust you, can you?" Katara demanded angrily and she glared at the prince, "I mean, how stupid do you think we are?"

Triggered that's where Tsai drew the line. "Guys!" She pleaded stepping over in between Zuko and the Avatar and his group. "I don't think you're being fair." She glared at Katara.

"Fair?" Sokka scoffed and then frowned. "Tsai! You're being biased. All Zuko has ever done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang!"

"Yeah and you were there to help him all alongside the way!" Katara added.

The edge of her eye twitched in frustration.

"I've done some good things." Zuko replied defensively and he took a step forward now standing next to the red head. He gestured towards Appa with his arms, "I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free. That's something." Appa rumbled and licked his back again, much to Zuko's surprise. It was then that he looked at his friend and offered a weak smile just like he had that afternoon when they fed the turtle ducks together. She did not return the smile.

Toph tilted her head slightly, "Appa does seem to like him."

Katara and Sokka looked at her in surprise then turned back to glower at Zuko again.

"He probably just covered himself in honey so that Appa would lick him." Sokka stated and he swung his arm out, "I'm not buying it."

Zuko closed his eyes and bowed his head for a second then looked at the five friends remorsefully, "I can understand why you wouldn't trust me, and I know I've made some mistakes in the past." He looked to the side and closed his eyes in shame.

"Like when you attacked our village?" Sokka snapped then he threw his arm out "Or when you burned Kyoshi island?"

Katara took a step forward and clenched her fists, "Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?"

Zuko flinched and looked over at the Tsai, her eyebrows were twisted in worry. It was true he had done many mistakes in the past. As had she. There was nothing else to do but to own up to them.

"I admit that I've done some awful things. I was wrong," He hung his head and pressed his palm against his temples, "I was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry I attacked the Water Tribe. And I never should have sent that Fire Nation assassin after you, I'm gonna try to stop him-"

Tsai turned to look at him with her eyes wide and she face palmed.

'Oh Dear…' She thought. When had he even had a chance to do that?

Sokka unsheathed his boomerang and pointed it threateningly at Zuko, "You sent Combustion Man after us?" He exploded.

"Well, that's not his name but-"

"Not the point," Tsai whispered through gritted teeth rubbing her temples. Zuko’s social skills or lack of them always seemed to amaze her.

"Oh, sorry." Sokka growled sarcastically, "I didn't mean to insult your friend!"

Zuko reeled back and shouted in frustration, "He's not my friend!"

"That guy locked me and Katara in a jail!" Toph snapped angrily and she pointed an accusing finger at the prince, "And tried to blow us all up! Twice!"

Zuko closed his eyes and sighed softly as he opened them a moment later. He turned his head towards Aang, who had remained silent the whole time, "Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends." He watched as Aang looked down and stared at the ground. "You know I have good in me."

Aang frowned and glanced towards his friends. Sokka glanced at him and shook his head slightly.

Turning his head, Aang stared at Zuko with furrowed brows. He then looked at Tsai who looked concerned as she looked at him with large eyes. "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

"You need to get out of here." Katara spat, "Now."

Zuko looked at them in surprise then closed his eyes for moment. When he opened them, he stared at them with determination, "I'm trying to explain I'm not that person anymore." He raised both arms in frustration and he walked towards the group, but Sokka took a step forward and pointed his boomerang at him warningly. He flinched and took a step back, a shocked and dismayed expression on his face.

"Either you leave, or we attack." Sokka threatened grimly.

"Sokka please!" Tsai pleaded with him. "Be reasonable. He's owned up for all that he's done. He's more than sorry."

He glared at her and ignored her pleading words.

Zuko closed his eyes, "If you won't accept me as a friend, then maybe you'll take me as your prisoner." He kneeled and held his arms out with his head bowed submissively.

Katara scowled viciously and bended the water from her canteen, launching it at Zuko with a furious shout, "No, we won't!"

Zuko grunted when the water struck him, knocking him back a few feet. He lay face down on the ground in a puddle of water for a moment then slowly rolled onto his back, propping himself up onto his elbow.

"Hey!" Tsai snapped defensively facing Katara. "Was that really necessary?" She growled out. Tensions already riding high between her and the waterbender.

"You took me in without question before you knew I was helping the resistance, and I've done at least half of the same things he's done to you!" She shot back.

"The only reason we took you is because Aang insisted!" Katara barked back. "I don't trust you anymore than I trust him! I don’t care for however many fire hawks you did or didn’t send." She whipped some of the water that was left on the ground and got ready to strike the girl in front of her.

"Aang?" She turned to look at the Avatar with pleading eyes.

Zuko 's eyes were fixed on her and he stretched an arm forward approaching her.

"Get out of here!" Katara suddenly barked cracking the water whip before him menacingly. She then crossed her arms as she stood between the two parties, "And don't come back. And if we ever see you again...Well, we'd better not see you again!"

Water dripping from his hair, Zuko looked away from the furious waterbender dejectedly. He closed his eyes bowed his head in defeat then he pushed and walked away, Aang and Katara watching him go with irritated expressions.

"Zuko wait!" Tsai rushed over to him. She reached for his arm with worry and was about to ask if he was okay, but he brushed her hand off his person.

"Tsai, don't-" He turned to look at the group that was glaring at him maliciously. It wasn’t the time or place.

She let him go. Her sad eyes tailing after his back as he descended down the steps.

xxx

"Argh!" Zuko growled and grabbed his head as he paced around his camp in the forest on the cliff above the air temple, "I can't believe how stupid I am! I mean, what was I thinking?" He slapped his forehead and shook his head, horrified at himself, "Telling them I sent an assassin after them? Why didn't I just say Azula did that? They would've believed that! Stupid!"

He groaned and slapped his forehead again. The badgerfrog sitting on the log in front of him croaked and Zuko slouched forward. He dropped to his knees in front of the log and bowed his head, groaning in frustration.

"I am such an idiot..."

xxx

"Why would he try to fool us like that?" Katara ranted as she walked into the pagoda that led to the hourglass fountain courtyard "I mean it doesn't make sense!"

"Obviously, he wants to lead us into some kind of trap." Sokka stated as he followed his sister with another sleeping bag while Aang walked after him with some other supplies in their arms.

Tsai glared at all of them judgmentally. Her blood was boiling as she sat with her jaw clenched unable to even look at Katara or say a word to the others. Katara turned towards her brother, "This is just like when we were prison together in Ba Sing Se. He starts talking about his mother, and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings."

"He is an actual human being with feelings!" Tsai snapped irritably as she stalked past Katara.

"Oh, you go right ahead and defend your boyfriend!" Katara whirled around to face the girl from the Fire Nation with an angry expression.

"Listen-" She growled out. "I'm sick and tired of your prejudiced attitude towards us! We are not all heartless monsters. I spent almost a year abroad with him. Months stuck alone with him and his uncle in a raft lost in the middle of the ocean and I can vouch for him he's human he-" She suddenly went quiet when she looked at Katara's judgmental expression. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she glared. She wasn’t going to change her mind.

"You know what?" She finally snapped her lips growing into a thin line. "I'm not going to waste my breath." She angrily tossed the sleeping bag she had been holding in her arms and stormed away. She didn't need to announce just where she was headed.

"How Typical," Katara glared.

"Tsai! Come back!" Aang called with worry. He then turned to look at Katara. "Katara you need to be kinder to her. Like it or not she's part of the team and she's going to help us take down the Fire Lord."

"Really?" Katara arched an eyebrow. "Doing what? Making tea?" She rolled her eyes dramatically and raised her arms up.

"She's the only human to have ever walk through fire and actually strike the Fire Lord and survive to tell the tale. So as of now she's the only one that actually stands a chance fighting him." Aang explained.

Katara crossed her arms childishly and turned away facing her brother and Toph.

"You were saying?" she motioned to her brother to continue with a scowl on her features and a propped hand on her hip.

"As I was saying-" Sokka continued. "No, no, no." Sokka chided and the two girls turned to look at him.

Tsai continued her trek up the mountain in the darkness. The bickering and fighting growing dimmer and quieter the further she advanced. Some moments later she was in the forest. She looked down at some footprints with her squinting eyes and luckily was able to track Zuko's camp down in the middle of the wilderness.

xxx

Zuko slept quietly beneath the war balloon's tarp he'd tied up between a couple of trees as a makeshift tent, a campfire blazing a few feet in front of his shelter. Soft rustling filled the air and he awoke with a soft groan, groggily pushing his upper body off the ground and peering out behind his campfire.

"Who's there?" He called out then he swung his arm out, sending out an arc of fire, "Stay back!"

"Hey," Tsai called out weakly as she popped out from behind some green shrubbery. It pained her to see him, but was still relieved that he had escaped the Fire Nation's grips.

Zuko watched in horror as his flames circled around the girl and struck her. "No!" He shouted in horror as he bent over backwards stumbling on his feet and clumsily rushing to her side. "No! No! No!" He thought in horror at the realization he hurt the person he loved the most.

"Tsai!" he reached her and engulfed her in a rough hug which made her collapse back to the ground. She landed on her behind and looked at him confused before awkwardly patting his back.

"Are you okay? He was frantic. He pulled away and looked at her arms, her neck her face as he sought out any sign of burn or injury. His breath was hitched. Heart racing. It was then that he realized she was perfectly unharmed.

"How?" He asked in disbelief as he slowly retreated kneeling besides her. Her heart hurt, but she couldn't help herself.

"You're cute when you're worried," she said humorously and poked his chest playfully before letting out a weak laugh. He did not return it.

"It's not funny," he rose to his feet and walked away. "I was really worried." He admitted upset.

She frowned lightly and rose to her feet as well following him to his camp.

"I'm fine," she said with an edge of unease to her voice. Her voice hard and tense at the cocktail of mixed emotions she was feeling. She shouldn't be here not after everything he had done to her. She was still wounded.

So, it had really happened. It hadn't been a lucky shot of divine intervention. She really could walk through fire. Part of him thought the spirits had intervened or that he had hallucinated the whole thing.

"I'm the Sun Spirit." She said casually.

He looked at her unsure if he had heard her speak correctly. "Huh?" He retorted confused. "It's a long story," she said nervously. She feared how he would react to it. Would he think she was some kind of freak?

"You're the first person I tell."

His eyes never left hers, he remained silent and she continued explaining.

"The day of the black sun," she began. "When the eclipse began, I blacked out for that same duration and in my absence Yue- do you remember her? The Northern Water Tribe Princess who turned into the moon? It was so weird because when I met her, I felt like we had this connection and so did she and then we spent the whole day together and-" She paused for a brief moment when she realized she was straying away from the point.

"Right," she apologized and cleared her throat nervously. "She came to me and told me I was the Sun and that she was the Moon and explained that's why we were connected."

"How… are you the Sun Spirit?" He asked confused as he came closer to her.

"I-I'm not sure. I don't know. I don't think even my own family knows," she said in a bewildered tone as she remembered both her father and brother's looks of surprised as she walked through fire and lived to tell the tale. "Your sister had me chained up like a dog. After that I woke up, we got in a fight and she tried to roast me alive and I simply walked through her fire. My brother was there too. He stayed behind to hold her back and I don’t know what happened after…" She said rubbing the nape of her neck pinching a stressful nerve. She then remembered plenty of other similar events that would've made her spiritual connection to the sun more apparent.

Zuko was staring at her in disbelief. He felt even guiltier now about what had happened to her brother. He wasn’t strong enough, fast enough to spare her this and many other pains.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

She looked at him surprised. "For?" She blinked twice confused.

"For everything." He said apologizing for what seemed like the first time.

"I'm sorry about what my father did to you. "

"I'm really proud of the way you stood up to him." She commented as they both now sat by the fire conversing. Crickets chirped in the wooden surroundings.

She listened attentively for everything that he had to say. He told her about the confrontation with his father. About how he looked for her all over the palace and prison. How he went to look for Iroh but couldn't find him either…

"I'm sorry," he apologized for what seemed to be the hundred time now. He lowered his head in shame. "Again, I apologize for everything I have done and taken from you. All the pain I caused you and my uncle. I really wish I had been a better man. I regret everything that happened in Ba Sing Se and after." He explained sincerely. "Mai…"

He was silent for a second and noticed she tensed up at the mentioning of the onyx haired girl.

"The things I said in the Crystal Catacombs... I was angry. I didn't mean them. I believe in you. In your dreams."

He didn't dare look at her judging expression. This was the moment when she ran for the hills and as far away from him as possible.

Again silence.

"You were right," he finished looking down at his hands in shame. "About everything."

He kept his head lowered and closed his eyes before he felt a warmth engulf him. She had taken him into her arms and embraced him tightly.

"That's all I wanted to hear," she laughed lightly. Still there was some sadness clinging to her voice. He wrapped his arms around her hugging her tighter as if she would run away from him. He buried his face in her shoulder hiding his face.  He would never allow her to see the tears that had formed in the edges of his eyes as he held her even tighter terrified of the thought of losing her again.

She pulled away from the embrace and his eyes caught hers. Their noses accidentally brushed. In that moment. Magnetized as if in a bewitched trance. He reached for her face fingers caressing over her skin. They both leaned in. Their lips grazed against each other for only a moment. His fingers tangling around her hair. She could feel sparks. She felt herself sitting up-

"I think I'm going to be sick!" A childish voice called out from the bushes.

Both teenagers jumped at least ten feet apart from each other at the intrusion on their intimacy. Both of their faces a matching shade of vibrant crimson red. The kind of shade that seemed to almost glow in the night.

"TOPH!" Tsai roared ready to murder the earthbender.

"Where you eavesdropping?!" She asked still attempting to compose her cool. Her heart hammering against her rib cage violently at the shock.

"You two are SO sappy," she let out a laugh before picking out at some dirt that was hiding behind her ear. "It's not hard to eavesdrop when you two are so loud. And then it got awkward and I simply didn't know when to leave or if I should say something."

"and you chose that moment?" Zuko grumbled in frustration slapping a hand to hide his painfully embarrassed expression

Toph grinned wickedly. "Don't worry Zuko, I won't tell anyone you started crying." Toph laughed.

He looked mortified. Tsai looked at him with a small smile feeling somewhat touched.

"I-I didn't!" He butted in refusal his face growing a darker shade.

"Sure," Toph laughed and kicked herself a seat made out of Earth from the ground. " I just came here to tell you that I believe you. And like it or not Aang does need a firebending teacher. I'm sure anything you can do is wayyy better than Chili Pepper here teaching him how to non-bend fire."

"...What is that?" He asked her confused.

She was quiet for a moment. "I was going to imitate you and Mecha- you know throw some punches, screams and kicks…" Her voice trailed off sheepishly.

Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. "That is not how fire bending works" he groaned at the painfully ridiculous idea.

"The group is biased but you should try again tomorrow." She nodded. "I don't think they have much of a choice and I don't think you have much of a choice but to accept our conditions" she crossed her arms over.

"I'll do whatever you say," he nodded determined.

"Toph's right."

"Also Tsai also doesn't really count as a Fire Nation person. Considering she has no bending powers and what not," Toph said blatantly.

"Hey!" She protested. "I can still do a lot of damage!" She pouted. She then looked down at her naked forearms her hidden blades long gone and forgotten in the Fire Nation. "Or at least I used to…" She said sadly.

"But Toph's right," She repeated again bouncing back with that blind optimism she was famous for. "Nobody's as determined as you. Don't give up!" She touched his arm and smiled at him lightly.

"Gross," Toph stuck out her tongue. She had never met a mushier more gross couple. "I'm leaving. See y’all tomorrow." With that she turned and left.

"Wait Toph!" Tsai called after her in panic. She couldn't be alone with him. Not after all the lingering tension in the air. Specially not after that. She had to have a little bit more self respect. She wasn't about to stay and give him the time of day after everything he had done. Yeah sure, everything was forgiven, but not forgotten!

She began walking away and felt a possessive pair of arms wrap around her from behind holding her back.

"Stay," He said against her ear and she felt a chill run up her spine.

She slapped his hands off her body and jumped away from him he looked at her perplexed.

"Do you not remember what happened earlier today? They already pin us both as their enemies. If I stay here it will only make things worse. This won't help your case." She explained flustered.

"Come on," he insisted and pulled her close burying his nose in her hair.

"No," she groaned and snaked out of his embrace once again. He looked at her with what looked like a small frown. She looked- angry?

"Everything is forgiven, but not forgotten. I'm still angry at you. The thought of everything you've done- it- it" She used her hands to speak allegorically. "It makes me livid!" She snapped balling both of her hands.

"What? But we were just about to-!"

"Shhh!!" She shushed him rudely her face burning and raised her hand up.

"I am still upset." She declared. "So, don't for one second think I'm going to be all- all- warm and welcoming.”

She let out a "hn" back of her throat and and with her nose sticking up she walked away leaving the sixteen-year-old dumbfounded and feeling more than frustrated. He stood there for a good minute pulling at his hair dumbstruck still processing what had happened. It was then that he suddenly heard a croaking sound.

Turning around he saw the badgerfrog perched on a log croaking at him

"Tell me about it," he said to the frog. "Women."

xxx

AN: Brief update. Sorry Zuzu looks like you've got a lot of making up to do. Also *gasps* we are almost at the end of our story.

Thoughts?

xxx

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CHAPTER MASTERLIST

[splendidlyimperfect]

I’ve never written for ATLA before but I rewatched it a while back and have a bunch of feelings about Zuko so here’s a bit of fluffy Sokka/Zuko angst. ^-^ 

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar) Additional Tags: Canon Universe, Fluff and Angst, Scars, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Stargazing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Holding Hands, Enemies to Friends, Short & Sweet, Zuko's got baggage and Sokka wants to help, They're both adorable dorks

Summary:  Sokka finds out how Zuko got his scar.

-----

Sokka can’t sleep.

It’s not like this is something new, but it’s getting really goddamn annoying to close his eyes every night and stare at the inside of his eyelids until eventually he gives up and goes to look at the stars. Every time he thinks he’s ready to fall asleep, his mind starts running in circles again – the war, his father, the failed attack, guilt, guilt, guilt.

At least the stars are pretty. He’s found a new place to watch them from – a little outcropping that hangs out over the vast expanse of the ocean. It’s tall and terrifying, and being up here makes Sokka feel significant, somehow.  

He’s lying on his back, staring up at the constellations, when he hears rustling in the bushes behind him. He’s immediately on edge, boomerang in hand, crouched and ready to attack.

“It’s just me.” It’s Zuko’s voice, and Sokka relaxes. A month ago, he would have kept his guard up and reminded Zuko about what a jerk he was. But Zuko’s been nothing but kind (and honestly kind of adorably awkward) since he joined them, so Sokka’s pretty sure he’s not about to be pushed off the cliff.

Continue reading on AO3

“What are you doing up here?” Sokka asks. It’s meant to sound like a demand, but it comes across as curious.

“What are you doing up here?” Zuko replies. He crosses his arms over his chest, then drops them to his sides, then moves them in front of him like he’s not quite sure where they should go. “I come out here every night.”

“Oh.” Sokka scoots over and gestures to the ground next to him. “I didn’t know, sorry.”

Zuko shrugs, moving cautiously toward Sokka and settling down on the grass. Sokka studies the scar that covers half of his face – ridged and red, interrupting Zuko’s otherwise smooth, fair skin. Then he realizes he’s staring and quickly looks away, focusing on the starry sky instead.

“It’s okay,” Zuko says quietly, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He glances at Sokka, then gestures to his face. “Everyone stares.”

“I didn’t—that’s not what...” Sokka puts his hands up defensively, then sighs and drops them. “Sorry.”

Zuko shrugs. “I know it’s ugly.”

“It isn’t,” Sokka says quickly. Zuko makes a face like he’s raising an eyebrow, except he doesn’t have an eyebrow on that side, just marred, red skin. “It’s badass.”

“Badass,” Zuko says slowly, then shakes his head and rests his chin on his knees.

“Yeah,” Sokka says, crossing his legs under him. “Scars are cool. I got a sweet one when I fought off a dolphin piranha that attacked our fishing boat one time. Check it out!”

By the time embarrassment catches up with him, he’s already pulled up his shirt to show Zuko the round, bite-shaped scar just below his ribs. He sits there for a second, cheeks pink as Zuko stares at him, then quickly tugs his shirt back down and crosses his arms over his stomach.

“I don’t like my scars,” Zuko says quietly. He doesn’t elaborate, just stares up at the stars.

Sokka’s brain takes too long to catch up to his mouth, so before he can think better of it, he asks, “How’d you get it?” Zuko’s shoulders tense and Sokka mentally smacks himself. “Sorry, that’s not my—”

“My dad,” Zuko says.

The words sink in slowly, like they’re filtering through water, or in another language.

“Your... what?”

“My dad,” Zuko repeats, voice flat.

“That... how...” Sokka stammers, hands moving uncertainly in front of him.

“I spoke out of turn and he challenged me to an Agni Kai – a firebending duel.” Zuko’s voice is flat and something uncomfortable twists in Sokka’s stomach. “I didn’t want to fight him, so he...” He gestures to his face.

“What?” Sokka says, and he knows it’s not the right thing to say, but his mind is stuck on my dad burned my face. “How old were—”

“Thirteen.”

The silence that hangs around them is thick and uncomfortable, and Sokka feels like he can’t quite breathe. He thinks of his own father, of him teaching Sokka to fish, of hugs and laughter and stories under the sky.

No wonder Zuko’s so angry all the time.

“I’m sorry,” Sokka says eventually, because there’s really nothing else to say. Zuko shrugs, and Sokka’s brain finally catches up to the earlier part of the conversation. “Wait, scars? Plural?”  

“Mm.”

“From... your dad?”

Zuko tips his head noncommittally and suddenly Sokka feels way, way out of his depth. He’s never been good with emotional conversations – that's what Katara is for. Sokka’s just the funny one. But Katara isn’t here, and Sokka is, and Zuko’s trusting him.

“Do you... wanna talk about it?” Sokka says eventually. His voice feels out of place in the soft night air – there's nothing around them but trees and the stars and the dark.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Zuko says, playing with a loose thread at the bottom of his pants. “It happened. He’s awful, and I’m...” He swallows. “I’m trying to be better than him. I know you don’t trust me, but—”

“I do.” The words surprise Sokka, but he quickly realizes that they’re true. Thinking about the pain Zuko’s gone through is enough to make everything slowly start to make sense. “You aren’t your dad.”

“I hurt people.”

“People hurt you.”

“That’s not an excuse.” Zuko says, and he somehow manages to sound grown up and like a small child at the same time. There’s a softness to his words that make it far too easy for Sokka to picture him as a scared little boy.

“Maybe not,” Sokka admits, and before he can stop himself, he shifts a bit closer to Zuko. “But you’re helping now. Doing the right thing, y’know?”

“Mm.” Zuko sighs, then flops onto his back, staring up at the stars. A strange sense of longing stirs in Sokka – a desire to somehow make this better even though he has no idea how.

He shuffles down next to Zuko, very conscious of how close they are. Zuko doesn’t move, so Sokka follows his gaze upward and searches the constellations until he finds the one he’s looking for.

“See those three in a row?” he says, pointing at a group of bright stars not far from the moon. The movement of his arm brushes his shoulder against Zuko’s. “That’s my favorite one – Nunki.”

Zuko frowns. “Uncle always...” He hesitates, shaking his head. “He said it was the Mulu-izi.”

“Huh.” Sokka drops his arm but doesn’t move awake from Zuko. He’s sure he’s imagining it, but it feels like Zuko’s leaning against him, just a little. “I guess everyone has different names for them. What does... Mulu...”

“Mulu-izi.”

“What does it mean?”

Zuko sighs, and this time Sokka’s sure he’s moved just a little bit closer. Their knees are touching now, and Zuko is so warm against him. “The lost child,” Zuko says quietly.

“Oh.” Sokka doesn’t say anything for a second, just listens to Zuko’s quiet breathing and the sound of the waves crashing against the cliff, hundreds of feet below them.

“What does ‘Nunki’ mean?” Zuko asks eventually.

“The Heart of the Ocean,” Sokka says. “My dad said it guides sailors away from danger. It shows them the...” He hesitates, trying to remember the way his dad had phrased it when he was little, sitting on his father’s lap in the middle of the night and staring up at the sky. “The true path,” he says. “Like... the way out of darkness, or something.”

“Very eloquent,” Zuko says, and Sokka can hear a tiny hint of a smile in his voice.

“Shut up,” Sokka grumbles, nudging Zuko with his shoulder. Zuko retaliates by kicking his ankle, and then they both move to shove at each other at the same time and their hands touch.

Sokka’s breath catches. He feels like he’s been shocked, and he’s immediately glad that it’s dark enough that Zuko can’t see the redness that rushes to his cheeks. He’s about to yank his hand away when he feels the tentative brush of Zuko’s knuckles against his – purposeful this time, not an accident in the dark.

For some reason, instead of pulling his hand away, he returns the touch, stomach twisting at Zuko’s soft exhale. They don’t move for a second, and then somehow their fingers slide together, and they both move until their joined hands are resting against Zuko’s bent leg.

A charged silence fills the air and Sokka isn’t sure what any of this means, but it feels right, somehow. He tips his head against Zuko’s and gestures up at the sky again with his other hand.

“What’s that one called?” he asks, voice surprisingly steady.

“Szak-khash,” Zuko replies, and before Sokka can ask him what it means, he squeezes Sokka’s hand and says, “A New Beginning.”  

[jaxsteamblog]

Moonbeam

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

Katara ran over the top of the lake. Her frozen footprints melted as soon as she lifted her feet. Fog rose from her pace alone, but she pulled more around her to shroud her appearance. Trying to keep her breathing steady, Katara focused on sliding instead of whatever galloping her body was presently enacting.

The spirit she was impersonating was a graceful lady after all.

For the past three days, Katara had posed as the Painted Lady to gather information from the small diseased town they camped in. Their quarry was not a prison, which frustrated her, but she and Sokka owed the Warriors a favor after getting their help in crossing in the Fire Nation.

Instead, the Kyoshi Warriors had found a small military factory that was being used as a treatment plant. The ugly iron building sat on stilts like a belligerent toad, belching out toxic waste that ran off from the chemical treatment the workers used on Fire Nation sheet metal. It wasn’t a tactical hit by any means, but the impact on the attached village would be a huge morale boost for the resistance.

So now Katara was tasked with using her disguise to bring vengeance down upon the wayward Fire Nation.

It was as she ran that Katara realized she had turned sixteen.

Sixteen and she was running full tilt toward a massive hive of enemy soldiers. Sixteen and wearing the face of an ancient spirit with none of the ancient power. Sixteen and she had only kissed two boys, both of whom wooed her in the middle of high risk missions.

Pushing a massive wave of fog before her, Katara slipped underneath the belly of the factory. Katara let the fog curl upward but made a clear chimney that gave her access to a small platform that hung under the building. Making steps in the fog, Katara climbed up and grabbed onto the railings of the metal patch. Taking a moment to spin up more fog to cover her, Katara then looked up to the hatch.

And found it already open.

Curious, but feeling the cold knot of dread form between her shoulders, Katara climbed the rusting metal ladder up to the hatch. Her conical hat raised into the building first, and nothing called out at the sight of it, so she continued up. Katara parted her wispy veil and looked around.

Two guards lay on the floor. She checked them, feeling sick at the sight of their bodies, but relaxed as she found them still breathing.

Continuing on, Katara focused on her plan. There were a number of structural beams that kept the building aloft. She could cut them down, sending the plant into the river, but that would risk dumping more of the toxic sludge into the water. So instead, she had to get rid of the equipment and then sink it.

However, as she ran into the first open space of the factory, she saw the major kink in her plan.

A single man was engaged in combat with a group of eight soldiers and he was armed with only two swords.

Each of the soldiers were Firebenders, Katara could tell from their stances, but she feared the running she heard. Any one of them could bring a rifle and this fight would be over.

Desperate, Katara looked around the room and found a large vat, steam whistling out of leaky pipes. Praying that it wasn’t under too much pressure, Katara took a deep stance and pulled.

Steam shot out in a column toward the group of fighters with scalding water following quickly after.

Katara had learned to control her breath. She knew that her energy was tied to the energy of the water and as she slowed, the water cooled. The steam obscured the fighters but didn’t burn them and the water was tepid by the time it whipped around each of the eight soldiers. Turning, Katara pulled them in different directions and then used water to freeze a path she could properly glide on. Heading toward the sword fighter, Katara stopped and rose on a column of fog and water.

“I shall abide this desecration no longer!” Katara said in a booming voice. “You who have brought pestilence unto my river shall now suffer my wrath!”

Katara sent out massive spikes of ice, piercing walls, equipment, and platforms in shrieks. The sword fighter, a man in a blue Oni mask, hopped up the trunks of the spikes till he got to eye level.

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice muffled by the unmoving mask.

“I am the Painted Lady, Spirit of the Jang Hui River.” Katara replied. Movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention and she sent more water at  a platform, knocking back two more soldiers. Their guns went flying and Katara’s heart fluttered.

“You’ve been healing the villagers.” The Blue Spirit said.

“I never turn my back on people who need me.” She said. Gunfire erupted from the platform and Katara could feel the impact of the bullets on the water around her.

“I would be glad for the help of your ladyship.” The Blue Spirit said and Katara gave a curt nod.

“Find what pollutes my waters and I will help you.” She said. The man nodded back and jumped down, brandishing his swords and running off. Katara poured after him, pulling more water in from waste pipes. She flooded furnaces and shoved soldiers back into hallways or small rooms, freezing doorways shut.

A klaxon went off, shearing through her head but not slowing her. As long as she could see the shooters, the bullets were caught with relative ease, while the Firebenders couldn’t risk too large of a fire in close quarters. So she went through the factory, like a sentient hurricane, and destroyed everything she could.

When she got to a narrow doorway, Katara froze the metal and then shoved it, bending the now brittle metal back to allow her space. Still she had to send thick tentacles of water before her, sweeping a clear path, and trailed a tail of water behind her, beating back any pursuers.

Deeper into the factory, she found what she was looking for. A large tank that reeked of chemicals had multiple spray nozzles running from it. The Blue Spirit stood on top of it, hacking each of the nozzles off.

For each one that he removed, Katara froze the hole it left. But when it came to remove the tank from the metal supports, the Blue Spirit sheathed his swords. Katara prepared two sharp arms of water to begin sawing through the supports, but paused as an explosion pushed her off balance. A large man stood in a glowing, smoking hole in the wall.

“I’d get promoted by just capturing the Blue Spirit. But two? I’ll become an advisor to the Fire Lord himself with this!” The man exclaimed and broke into booming laughter. Katara snarled and surged forward, sending out whips of water. The Firebender brought up a wall of flame, sending back scalding steam that Katara had to reabsorb before it hurt her. Then, two more soldiers appeared.

Holding assault rifles.

Swearing to herself, Katara threw a shield of ice in front of the Blue Spirit and the bullets sunk deep into the surface, sending out long cracks. The moment the shield broke, the Blue Spirit shot back with fire of his own.

Frowning as she thought, Katara still put out a road of ice and the Blue Spirit started running. He leaped upward and caught one of the soldiers with the gun and used it to strangle him. Still so close to the others, the Blue Spirit pulled back and kicked fire upward as he flipped, sending the soldier tumbling out of the hole while retaining his hold on the gun.

Katara had to trust him and she turned her focus back on the machine. She swiped at the metal supports with blades of water, sweat pouring down from her hairline. She cut them free and caught the machine in water, sinking as she lost some of her own support.

“Let’s go!” Katara called and turned just in time to see the Blue Spirit dive into the Firebenders flame, split the tunnel with his hands, and then headbutt the man directly in the face. As the large Firebender staggered backward, Katara again sent out a lane of ice and the Blue Spirit ran to her. He jumped on top of the machine and sent a large blast of fire up to the metal ceiling. Punching it with a boulder of ice, Katara rent open the metal and launched the machine through it, following after on the remains of her collected water.

Now in the open, Katara pulled more water to her.

“What now?” The Blue Spirit asked.

“I have to make landfall. There’s a place I can bury this till others can deal with it.” Katara said.

“How much can you carry?” He questioned. Katara pulled herself up to her full height.

“More than you can, mortal.” She said haughtily. The Blue Spirit bowed.

“Of course. Pardon me, my lady.” He said. Katara made a noise in displeasure but pulled the water around the machine and then perched on it. Giving it legs, Katara formed a headless water spider and the Blue Spirit pulled himself up, sitting on the bulbous body.

More fire erupted from the hole as two soldiers shot upward to follow them.

“That’s enough!” Katara shouted, pulling up two separate columns of water and slamming them over the hole, ramming the two soldiers back down. She froze the water and then urged the water spider onward.

“Huh.” The Blue Spirit said and Katara smiled to herself, hidden behind her long veil.

They made it back onto land where the factory clung to a cliff face like a parasite. It didn’t take much for her to bring up a swell from the river and yank the whole thing free. It bobbed in the water and Katara could see people begin to spill out, finding lifeboats tucked here and there.

As for the spirits, they continued up the cliff nearly without incident. The Blue Spirit couldn’t hold himself to the water and nearly fell off until Katara made a hold for him.

When they reached the top, Katara headed for the woods. The water body sloshed and she could angle it, letting the legs prop on tree trunks as the machine was lifted and tilted to pass through narrow pathways. When she felt she was deep enough, Katara halted the water spider and lowered them. When the machine hit the ground, she and the Blue Spirit hopped off. No longer needed, Katara pulled away the water and sent it back toward the river, trusting the incline to finish her task when the water extended past her reach.

“For how impressive that was, I would almost be convinced you were a real spirit.” The Blue Spirit said as he walked up to her.

“And why do you presume I am not?” Katara asked. His hand moved quickly and she flinched, but he pulled it back slowly to show the red paint on his black gloved fingers.

“I don’t think spirits can sweat off their stripes.” He said. Katara swatted his hand away and stepped back.

“And who are you, to hide behind an Oni mask while betraying your people?” She demanded.

“Just that, a traitor.” He said and made a flourish of his bow.

“So what will you do now?”

“I’d like to ask for a favor.”

“I think I did you enough favors.”

The man laughed and it made Katara blush. He sounded ardent, like the heroes from the movies she used to watch with her mother.

“But a benevolent spirit such as yourself would surely find it a minor thing to give this poor mortal just one small favor.” He said and Katara turned away, feeling her face burn.

He certainly sounded like the actors from those movies.

“And what is it that you want?” She asked.

“I’d like to say I’ve earned the kiss of a spirit.” The Blue Spirit said.

Katara whirled on him and he laughed again. Still as ardent, still as clear and deep as the first. He was a trickster spirit, surely, and Katara bit her lip.

“I’m only human, same as you.” She said. The man lifted his mask, though he still wore a black sash across his eyes. It was then that some cloud passed and the light of the full moon shone down on them like a spear of light.

In the moonbeam, he stood like a shard of obsidian.

Fog curled up from the ground and it swirled at his feet as he stepped toward her again. He parted the veil and water droplets clung to the netting, shining like diamonds in the moonlight.

“Oh, I don’t think you’re like me at all.” He said and cupped her cheek.

Fog twisted around them as he leaned in, softening the moonlight.

She shielded herself from Yue’s judgement, standing suddenly bare in such stark light. She closed her eyes as the man’s lips met hers.

Taking a breath, she could smell soot, fire, and blood on the man. Around her was the rich scent of wet earth and rotting leaves. Through it all was the mist that cocooned them, turning the moonlight gauzy.

Then he pulled back.

“Thank you, for saving me.” He said and replaced his mask.

“You’re welcome.” Katara replied and watched him.

“Maybe we’ll cross paths again and I can return the favor.” He said.

“Which one?” She quipped and he laughed. This time softer, more his own.

He had a nice laugh.

~

“You?!” The word came out strangled and Katara nodded. Zuko stood and walked away, pacing back and forth while putting his hands in his hair.

“I couldn’t sleep for days without thinking of you.” He said, pausing to look at her before resuming his walk.

“What are you two doing?” Sokka asked as he and Suki came up the stairs.

“Your sister was the Painted Lady?” Zuko asked, turning to Sokka, who looked confused.

“Yeah?” He replied.

“He was the Blue Spirit.” Katara stated in a panic.

“What?” Sokka squawked at the same time Suki said slowly,  “Oooooh.”

“We met,” Katara said. “At the Jang Hui river.”

“What?!” Sokka repeated, sounding more alarmed.

“Did something happen?” Suki asked, and then, looking at both Katara and Zuko’s pained faces, brightened. “Oh spirits, something happened.”

“Wait. Wait.” Sokka now started to sound alarmed. “Zuko, do you like my sister?”

Zuko’s jaw dropped and his hands fell down to his sides.

“How are you both so dense?” He asked.

“Hey!” Katara interjected just as Sokka sputtered, “Dense?”

“Oh this is absolutely the best way this week could have gone and it hasn’t even gotten to the good part.” Suki said to herself, laughing.

Katara glared at her and Suki sniffed, rubbing her nose.

“Good for me.” Suki said and then shrugged. “And hopefully Sokka.”

“I’m not going to be happy until Zuko promises to leave my sister alone!” Sokka retorted.

“Enough!” Katara shouted, finally standing. “I’m going to bed.”

“Katara…” Zuko started.

“Nyeh!” She said and waved her arms above her head. “Bed.”

The moon glowed above them and the ocean crashed behind them, and Katara felt herself being yanked back and forth.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

[popsunner]

Moonlit Champion: Part One, Fire

@cubedleo ITS FINALLY HEREEE (lemme know if y’all want on a taglist ig??)

A/N: I have finally managed to bs a first chapter to the Spirit Sokka AU are y’all proud of me. AO3 link!! 

Summary: Death by fire was a horrible thing to watch, and Sokka realized then that the raging element would take him one day too.

Sokka had imagined what dying would feel like since the day his mother was killed.

He used to sit by the fire at night and stare into the flames, wondering what it would be like to be engulfed by them. To feel the heat slowly inch up his body, smell his own flesh burning, taste the smoke from his disintegrating skin.

It was… never very accurate when he was little. His father never let him see his mom’s body, and Katara never talked about it.

Like everything else, that changed after he met Aang.

The first time Sokka saw fire kill someone, he froze. He could hear Katara screaming behind him, telling him to hurry, Momo tugging at his arm.

Death by fire was a horrible thing to watch, and Sokka realized then that the raging element would take him one day too.

When Katara asked if he was okay, he lied and said yes.

Funny, how things come back to a person in times like this.

Sokka sees the world in slow motion, his limbs too heavy to move in time. The only thing moving in real time are Katara’s screams, and the flames.

Sokka wonders what his mother was thinking about before she died.

Because all he can think about are the three little kids he’s leaving behind, and that just might burn more than the fire.

Well, not really. The fire burns a lot.

Sokka doesn’t realize he’s screaming until Aang’s hands are cupping his face, saying something Sokka can’t understand. For a second, cool relief sweeps through his body like dipping his blistered and tired feet into a cold lake after a full day of walking, and his mouth clamps shut. Just as quickly as it comes, it’s gone again.

“Not enough,” Katara says, and she sounds angry. Sokka tries to turn so he can see her, tell her that it’s okay, that she’s doing great, but his body won’t comply.

“Dad? What does it feel like to die?”

Hakota raises an eyebrow, eyes rimmed red. “I don’t know. And hopefully neither of us will for a long time.”

“Do you think mom was scared?”

“Get some sleep Sokka, we’ll talk in the morning.”

His chest. That’s where the fire bender got him. He’d meant to shield himself, but his brain sort of stopped working when he saw the fire on its way towards Aang.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been a human shield, but it’s probably the last.  

“Sokka?” That’s Toph, definitely Toph.

This time, Sokka manages to turn and find her, he pretends he does it on his own, and that it isn’t Aang’s hands guiding him. “Oh, hey guys, we win?”

“Always do,” Aang says. Which is, obviously, a lie. They lose a lot.

Sokka smiles, and his face crinkles and cracks like walrus jerky left in the sun too long. “Word to the wise, if you wan’ a tan, don’t ask a fire bender.”

Katara snaps at him to stop joking around. Probably, at least. He doesn’t really hear her. There’s an ocean in his ears, he thinks it wants him to sleep.

It’s loud, everything is loud. Sokka wants to sleep.

He closes his eyes, and the sounds stop.

“Hello, my love.”

Sokka exhales, and the burning fades to nothing.

“Mom?”

***

“Katara! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Gran gran made dinner.”

Katara sniffs and wipes her sleeve across her face, turning away from her brother. “I’m not hungry.”

“Oh.” She can hear Sokka sitting down next to her, scratching the back of his head. “Well I’m not either.”

Scoffing, Katara reaches back blindly to shove him. “Liar, you’re always hungry.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yes it is. Go eat, Sokka.”

“Fine.” Sokka doesn’t get up. “After you tell me what’s wrong.”

Katara whips around to glare at him, hands clenched into fists. “Mom is gone, that’s what’s wrong. And now- and now dad left too!”

Sokka’s nose is red from the cold, but his eyes are red from crying when he thinks Katara can’t hear. She wants to punch him when he smiles. “You’ve still got me!”

“Until you leave.” Katara hugs her knees to her chest and huffs. “Everyone leaves.”

Sokka throws his arms around her haphazardly, almost knocking them both over. “Not me!”

Faking annoyance, Katara glares at the wide expanse of snow surrounding them. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Katara’s hands shake with the water she’s pressing against her brother’s chest. He doesn’t move. “You promised.”

“Katar-”

“I need to focus!” Katara snaps, and Toph falls silent. Katara’s eyes sting and she prods deeper, further into the jagged burn that she’s trying not to think about while focusing all her strength on it at once. “Wake up, Sokka. You promised.”

Sokka doesn’t wake up.

Aang is staring at her desperately, his hands cupping Sokka’s face, sitting crisscrossed under his head. Katara realizes how young he looks. Like a scared twelve year old who doesn’t want to lose a member of the only family he has left.

When she looks at Toph, gray eyes wide and feet dug a few inches into the ground, searching for any sign of life, Katara sees the same thing. A scared child.

If she was brave enough to look at her reflection in the water under her hands, she thinks she’d see it in her own face too.

“Don’t make me lose you,” Katara whispers, and her voice breaks. The water falls from her control, and her brother doesn’t move.

Katara blinks and she’s home, and her mother is on the ground, and her mother is dead. She never told Sokka what she looked like that day, no matter how many times he asked.

She blinks again and she’s sitting in a puddle across the world from her home, and her brother is on the ground.

And her brother is dead.

***

Toph doesn’t remember how long they flew for. It’s hard to keep track of anything up in the sky even on a good day, and today wasn’t a good day.

Today was the farthest from a good day she’s ever had.

When they land, everyone disappears. Toph can still see them, still sense them. Aang is on a big rocky overhang with his back to the horizon, Katara is in a nearby cave with… with-

Toph props her feet up on a rock so she can’t see anymore.

“Hey, not that it matters to you-”

Toph inwardly groans. Whenever someone starts a sentence that way it usually ends with ‘you kind of stink’ or ‘your manners are terrible’ or even ‘your parents must be heartbroken’.

“-but I’m proud of you,” Sokka finishes.

Under her, the soft dirt turns to rock. “What?”

Sokka shrugs. “You grew up being told you couldn’t do anything, and look at you! You’re the best earth bender I’ve ever met, and probably will ever meet, and you did it all on your own. That’s pretty cool.”

“You’re a sap,” Toph says with a scoff, leaning over to punch Sokka in the arm. She smiles when he falls over.

They’re quiet for a while, and Sokka doesn’t sit up again. “I’m proud of you, Toph.”

Toph lays down next to him, and pretends she can see the sky. “Whatever. Thanks.”

A wave of hot air blows through her clothes and Toph doesn’t need to have her feet on the ground to know it’s Aang. She shakes her head. “We could all use some cheering up right now.”

Next to her, Momo chirps. Toph nods. “I know. Hard to do without him.”

Her eyes sting and she growls, clenching her teeth and daring the tears to fall.

They do.

Toph looks up and pretends she can see the sky.

“I’m proud of you too, Captain Boomerang.”

***

Aang runs.

There are still Fire Nation soldiers lining up to fight them, there are still burning buildings that need to be put out. There are still people watching, waiting for the Avatar to help them.

He drags his family to Appa and he runs.

The thing he’s running from -the person he’s running from- comes with them.

Aang doesn’t look back. At the town, or at Sokka.

When they land, he sits on Appa and stares at the fading sun until no one is around, and then he runs some more.

He’s hit with a wave of deja vu when he ends up on a cliff, his eyes scan the horizon like he’s waiting for something. Something that will never come again.

Air whips around him and he turns, falling to his knees with the sun at his back. He closes his eyes.

“Why don’t you ever stop to have fun with us?”

Sokka looks up from his maps, raising his eyebrow at Aang. The wind is wilder up on the cliff edge, and his hair threatens to fall from its ponytail. “What do you mean?”

Aang shrugs, counting off on his fingers. “Whenever we stop to go swimming or climbing or riding you always sit out, unless money or food or information is involved.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Sokka gestures to himself and winks at Aang, “I’m the fun guy!”

“Well… you give us fun ideas.”

“Exactly!”

“But you never do them with us.”

Sokka smiles at him softly and sets down the map. “Aang, what’s your job?”

“To restore peace to the four nations, defeat the Fire Lord, and master all four elements,” Aang says automatically, then adds, “But probably not in that order.”

“Yep!” Sokka nods over his shoulder, “What are Katara and Toph’s jobs?”

“To teach me water and earth bending?” Sokka grins at him like he won a prize, and Aang goes red. “So what’s your point?”

Sokka stands up and bonks the top of Aang’s head with a rolled up map. “Those are pretty high stress jobs for two twelve year olds and a fourteen year old.”

“I guess so?”

“So what’s my job?”

It takes Aang a second, but when he gets it he smacks his fist into his palm and nods. “To make sure we have fun!”

“To make sure you know you’re still kids.” Sokka shrugs, “And also plan all our attacks and travel. Plus keep you guys alive so you can actually do your jobs.”

“That’s a lot for a sixteen year old. You know you’re a kid too, right?”

That seems to surprise Sokka, and he frowns. “Well yeah, I guess. But sixteen is basically an adult.”

Aang stares at him, and then pulls a mock mature face. He jumps over Sokka’s head and sits down in the middle of his pile of maps, dangerously close to the cliff edge. “Come on! Let’s finish this together!”

“I thought I just explained to you why you don’t help with this stuff.”

“Hey, if you’re going to make sure we get to be kids, I’m going to make sure you get to be a kid-that’s-basically-an-adult.”

Sokka pinches his nose, and then sighs. “Okay, fine. If that’s what makes you happy.”

“It does, very much. Now! Teach me how to plan, and I’ll teach you how to surf a bear fish!”

“That sounds insanely dangerous.”

“We fought a whole fleet of soldiers six hours ago,” Aang deadpans.

“Okay, good point. But please don’t sit so close to the edge.”

A whole fleet then, and they couldn’t manage eight guards today.

Aang is never going to forget the look on Sokka’s face when he pushed him out of the way of that blast.

“You’re a kid too,” Aang grits out.

No one answers, and his stomach churns and bile burns his throat.

He slams his hands into the ground and screams, and a wave of fire engulfs the sound.

Aang stumbles back, staring at the burnt patch of ground in front of him. The dead grass he killed with his anger. The brother they killed with theirs.

“Why?” Aang whispers.

No one answers, and his stomach churns and the remnants of his fire burns his throat.

***

“Hello, my love.”

“Mom?”

The voice giggles, eerily familiar and warm. “No, silly. It’s me.”

“Yue?”

“You sound surprised, did you think I’d left you alone?”

The inky white around him ripples, Sokka had just meant to shrug. “You’ve been looking out for me?”

“How could I not?”

Sokka wants to hold her, wants to brush his thumb across her cheek and kiss her. He doesn’t even try. “I have to go back, Yue.”

“Why?”

“Are you really asking that?”

She giggles again, and Sokka thinks she sounds more confident than she ever did when he knew her. “Wouldn’t you like to see the people waiting for you? Wouldn’t you like to stay with me? Wouldn’t you like to see your mother?”

Ahead of him is a little house made of ice, and Sokka knows it’s his. “She’s in there?’

“We all are.”

“Mom?” Sokka whispers. He moves forward, then freezes.

“You promised.”

“Yue? Was that you?” Sokka spins in a circle, and the house stays in front of him the whole time. “Yue?”

“You promised.”

Sokka’s fingers move, and he jumps at the sudden control. “Katara.”

His surroundings ripple again, and he thinks he sees a flash of blue. He tries to take a step towards his house, but his feet aren’t there. Despite that, the igloo seems to move closer.

Katara.

That’s the face he pictures when he tries to imagine what he’ll see in that igloo. If he goes, he could finally see his mother's real face again.

“The burden I put on her was never fair,” he says to the igloo’s dark doorway. “Maybe… I could take it away.”

“Neither was the burden you put on yourself.”

Sokka wishes he could close his eyes. “Mom?”

“You could leave yours behind too.”

For a moment, Sokka considers it. Would it be so bad? Maybe if he was his sister, or Toph, or the Avatar, sure. But he’s just… Sokka.

His surroundings shake and he stumbles onto his feet, knocking pressure through his ankles. “I’m proud of you too, Captain Boomerang.”

If Sokka wanted, he could reach out and touch the igloo.

When they first met, Toph barely said anything to him. She dismissed him, didn’t give him the time of day. It pissed Katara off, it frustrated Aang, it didn’t bother Sokka. He’d been ignored his whole life. Not on purpose, but gran gran, most of the villagers, even his mom always gravitated towards Katara.

One more person was nothing.

Then one day she asked him if he thought he was weak because he didn’t have bending, and Sokka said no, and she huffed and punched his arm, and never ignored him again.

It feels like a lifetime since he’s seen her or the others.

One step. He has his feet now. All it would take is one step, and he’d be with his mom again.

“This is what I want,” Sokka tries to convince himself.

“Why?”

Aang's voice sends him to his knees, pain rips through his chest and he screams through his teeth, clutching the front of his shirt.

Tears prick at his eyes and he looks up, into the igloo, his home. One foot more and he’s inside, and the pain will go away.

If he does go, will he still be haunted by the look in Aang’s eyes when he realized Sokka sacrificed himself for him?

Doesn’t the kid have enough weight on his shoulders?

Don’t they all?

This time, when Sokka wishes he could close his eyes, he does. “Yue? I can’t… send me back, princess. Please.”

“My brave warrior, all you had to do was ask.”

When Sokka opens his eyes again, the igloo is gone, and the moon is all he can see.

***

They’re on the beach, and the sun went down an hour ago, and the remaining members of Team Avatar haven’t said a thing to each other since the battle. Sokka lays on the sand, and he looks so peaceful Aang can almost pretend he’s asleep.

He never thought he’d miss Sokka’s snoring.

“Are you sure about this?” Toph asks, breaking the silence, hands clenched at her sides.

Aang watches Katara set Sokka’s helmet on his head gently, her shoulders stiff. “We have to move on in the morning, you know that.”

Toph sniffs. “Yeah, I know.”

“Hey Toph?” Aang whispers, his voice still hoarse from fire bending on the cliff. “Can I hold your hand?”

Wind whipping through her hair, Toph looks like she’s going to say no, and then she reaches out and grabs Aang’s hand in both of hers, and presses her body against his side. “Sure, Twinkletoes.”

Katara stands and lifts her arms. Her stance is off, one of her feet too far behind her, her posture twisted and sagged.

“Do you want help?” Aang asks.

“It’s water tribe tradition for families to send off their loved ones.” Aang slumps, and then Katara’s voice switches into some resemblance of familiarity. “I’d love some help.”

Only using one hand so he doesn’t have to pull his other from Toph’s iron grip, Aang exhales slowly, and the two water benders convince the tides to lead Sokka out to sea.

It hits Aang that this is the last time he’s ever going to see his friend.

Something roars inside him. Roku, Kyoshi, any Avatar who’d ever lost a friend, who ever let their family die. It burns like fire and crashes through him like a landslide, swaying him like the wind and drowns him like the ocean that will be his friend’s grave.

Katara takes his hand, and the glowing he hadn’t even noticed fades from his tattoos.

“Don’t let anger be your last memory of him,” Katara pleads, her voice cracks twice.

Toph’s grip on his hand tightens. “This is it?”

Eyes fixed on Sokka’s limp form, bobbing up and down slowly, Aang takes a breath. “This is it.”

Everything goes white.

Is this grief? Aang wonders as the sand makes contact with his knees.

When he found out his people had all died, he was so caught up in so many other things that he only had time to feel the loss for a moment, and it sent him into the Avatar state. Now, with a full day to let the truth sink in before he has to let Sokka go, he can’t help but think that is what losing someone is really like.

“What’s going on?” Toph asks, and her voice is scared.

“There’s a light. Aang, what-”

Before she can finish, before Aang can process that he’s not the only one seeing this, a wave of calm washes over him, like the first time he tried water bending.

“Do not worry, just as you look out for the world, I have been looking out for you.”

“I know that voice,” Katara whispers, he still can’t see her. “Princess Yue.”

“Who?”

Just as soon as it came, the white is gone. Aang squints as his eyes adjust and focus on one thing.

The moon. More brilliant than he’s ever seen.

“Sokka!” Katara shouts, and she’s running, pulling her hand from Aang’s. She stumbles through the shallow water, sloshing forward instead of using her bending.

Aang tugs on Toph, “Come on. Let’s go see what she’s doing.”

He winces at his choice of words, but Toph doesn’t snark back like she usually does. Now is not the time.

Katara splashes around frantically, shoving water back and forth and soaking herself head to toe. “Where is he? The tide isn’t that strong, he should still be here!”

Toph closes her eyes, and after a few seconds, she shakes her head. “He’s not on the ground, as far as I can tell, at least.”

“Where is he?”

Aang feels dizzy. He puts a hand to his head, stumbling back. Toph holds him steady. “Twinkletoes?”

“Something’s happening.”

Katara stops looking for her brother, stepping back so she’s closer to Toph and Aang.

Aang isn’t sure what’s going on, he’s not even sure it’s bad.

His breath evens out.

The ocean explodes.

A boy bursts through the surface, silhouetted by the moon's light. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, or maybe it really is Sokka.

Katara takes a step forward, the water lapping against her hips. “Sokka?”

The boy’s hair is pure white, and even though he was just submerged in water, it doesn’t look wet at all.

“I think it’s a spirit,” Aang says.

“Who is?”

“Aang, it looks like Sokka.”

“Who does?”

“I know, but-”

“Can someone please explain to the blind girl what’s going on?” Toph shouts.

Katara shakes her head, “I’m going to get him. Even if it is a spirit, he looks unconscious.”

“Who does?”

Aang pulls Toph’s hands from his own, guiding her so she can latch on to Katara. “Let me go. Bridge to the spirits, remember?”

He needs to do something before he breaks.

Toph growls. “You guys suck. Sokka always tells me what’s happening.”

“Well he’s not here, is he?” Katara snaps, and then her eyes widen. “Toph, I’m sorry. I’ll- go, Aang. I’ll fill Toph in.”

Aang nods, reaches out to squeeze Katara’s hand, and dives into the ocean.

It doesn’t take him long to get to the boy, who’s still floating upright in the water despite being knocked out. When he finally gets a good look at the boy's face, Aang’s control of the water around him slips, dunking him underwater suddenly. He resurfaces, coughing and gasping.

It really is Sokka.

[disneygirl2202]

The Banished Commander (Zuko x Zara) Chapter 4

Prologue 1 2 3 

Zara’s P.O.V.

“Thank you so much King Boomy.” I say

“My pleasure to help an old friend.” He says 

I look back at Aang and he just smiles. I bow to Boomy then walk over to Appa, climbing in. 

I watch as Aang says his goodbyes then we take off. 

-~-

“Guys, look, its an earthbender.” Katara says 

I walk over and look through the bushes, to see a boy earthbending. 

“Guys, we need to be careful.” Sokka says “We don’t know if he’s an enemy or not.” 

“Hi!” Aang says, showing himself 

I laugh softly then see the boy run off. 

Aang looks back at us and we shrug. 

-~- 

We walk into the village, seeing people everywhere. I follow Katara and Aang into a shop and freeze when I realize that the same boy from earlier is standing there. 

“Hey, we saw you earthbending.” Katara says 

“Haru, they saw you what?” The woman says 

“They were the only ones.” He says

“Don’t worry. His secret is safe with us.” I say 

“How can I be so sure? You’re one of them.” She says, motioning to my clothes 

“I was banished by the Fire Lord himself almost 4 years ago.” I say 

“She’s trustworthy, I promise.” Sokka says 

“Why would you keep your bending hidden?” Katara asks 

“If army here were to find out that Haru had the ability to bend, they would take him away, just like they did with his father and the others many years ago.” His mother says 

I look out the window and see some of the Fire Nation men coming this way. 

“Speaking of them, we have some coming this way.” I say 

Zuko’s P.O.V. 

I shoot one of the men back as he comes running at me. I look at him as he gets back up, ready to keep fighting. 

“That’s enough for today.” My uncle says, walking out 

“I can continue training. I feel fine.” I say 

“I said that’s enough for today. You can continue tomorrow.” He says 

“Fine.” I grumble, walking to my room 

I sit on the bed, looking at the ceiling. 

-~-

I walk into the courtyard and see Zara, standing in her stance, facing away from my uncle, sweat dripping down her forehead. 

I stop at the fountain, watching her as she tries bring up a wall of fire again, only for her fire to sputter out. 

“Why does it keep sputtering out?” She groans 

“Are you breathing correctly?” My uncle asks 

“I think so.” She says “This is one of the simplest moves, yet I can’t get it.” 

“Try again, but try to straighten you stance.” He says 

She takes a deep breathe, taking stance again and tries again, this time, getting it to about her head then it dies out. 

“There you go Zara. It just takes concentration and practice.” My uncle says 

She nods and grabs the towel and wipes her forehead, taking a deep breath, looking around. 

“i’m never going to live up to my father’s name. He was one of the best firebenders and commanders this nation has had.” She says 

“Zara, don’t worry about your future, you will be great as you practice and learn more.” My uncle says 

“You’re right. I should get going. I have homework to do before tomorrow.” She says 

She runs past me, holding onto her school bag, not noticing me as she is in a hurry. 

“So this is where she rushes off to after school every day.” I say 

“There you are Zuko. Your father was looking for you.” He says 

I nod and walk inside, heading towards the throne room. 

-~-

I look out into the sea, watching it as it all blends together as we continue our search for the Avatar. 

“I don’t want to hurt it, but it’s about to the point where I’m going to have to.” I say 

“We all know this Zuko. But we are leaving it up to you to make that choice.” My uncle says 

Zara’s P.O.V. 

“Thank you so much for letting us stay here.” I say to Haru’s mom 

“It’s our pleasure.” She says 

I look over at the cliff and see Katara talking with Haru as they were looking out towards the village. 

“I think I am going to head to bed if that is alright with you guys.” I say 

“Yeah. We’ll wake you up when it’s time to eat.” Sokka says 

“Thank you again ma’am.” I say 

She nods and I walk into the building that we are staying in and get into my bed, closing my eyes. 

-~-

“Hey Zara, how is everything coming along?” Zuko asks 

“What are you talking about?” I ask 

“Your training.” He says 

“Oh, right. They’re coming along. Just have to work on my breathing when I get frustrated.” I say 

“Don’t we both.” He laughs 

“Shut up. It’s not my fault that I have worse anger problems than you.” I laugh, giving him a light shove 

“I know. You got it from your father.” He says 

“Exactly. Who knows which one.” I say 

He nods then sits next to me on the bench as I am looking at my hands. 

“How are you holding up?” He asks

“I’m getting along, just wish they were still here to help guide me down the right path.” I say “What if I’m not meant to go this way?” 

“You’ll figure it out on your own. Just follow your instincts.” He says 

-~-

I wake up to hear Katara come in yelling. I sit up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. 

“What’s up?” I ask 

“They took him.” Katara says 

“Who took who?” Aang asks 

“The guards took Haru in the middle of the night.” She says 

I stand up and see Haru’s mother come out. I walk past her and set my hand on her shoulder, watching her as she looks up at me, tears in her eyes.

“We’ll get him back.” I say 

-~- 

I watch as the guards take Katara away. I bite my bottom lip, hating having to watch this. 

“This better work you guys.” I say 

“You know she’ll be fine.” Sokka says 

I glare at him then walk towards where Appa is, getting into the saddle. 

-~-

I look at Katara in shock then nod. 

“I know the warden, he hated my father. He doesn’t know that I was banished, so I can come up with a lie and watch over everybody until you two are ready.” I say 

“That should work. Just be careful.” Aang says 

“You know it.” I say with a wink 

-~-

“Warden, this girl claims to be General Jian’s daughter.” A solider says 

I watch as the warden turns around and looks at me, crossing his arms and sighing. 

“What might she be doing here?” He asks 

“My father wanted me to train to lead under you as he could not be here to teach me the strings to being a leader.” I say 

“Hmph.” He says 

I shrug, crossing my arms, studying him. 

“Bring her to the watch tower by the prison yard. She can watch over the runts.” He says 

The guard nods and leads me towards my new station. I walk past where Katara and Haru are standing and I see Haru’s shocked expression. 

I motion for him to be quiet and nod at Katara as she goes on her tip toes and whispers something in his ear. 

I reach the station and look around and watch as the guard walks away, leaving me be. I shut the door behind him and lock it, heading to the glass, trying to spot Katara from my area. 

-~- 

I watch as Haru finally gets the courage to throw a piece of coal at the warden and I smile as I move out of the way of the other soldiers, standing next to Katara. 

“Oh, so you’re working with them?” He asks, looking at me after he tries to attack Haru 

“Maybe you should stay updated on the banished ones.” I say 

“Only if your father could see you today. He would have been so proud as you made the choice he died for. As I am jealous that Zhao was the one who took the pleasure of killing him, he had it coming though.” He says 

I summon some fire to my hand and throw it at the warden. 

“Don’t ever talk about my father like that again. He has done more than you ever will.” I say

-~-

I watch as the warden struggles to stay afloat, I laugh and look back, walking over to Katara and Haru with his father.

“Thank you for everything Katara. If it wasn’t for you, all of us would still be stuck there.” Haru’s father says

“It was nothing.” She says

“You did great back there Sweetie.” I say, setting my hand on her shoulder

“I hope you realize that you had me nervous back there when you first showed up.” Haru says

I laugh and rub the back of my neck, looking at the ground.  

“Yeah. Sorry about that, that was just the best way for me to contribute and protect Katara here.” I say

“How did you even get them to let you do that?” Tyro says

“My father was one of the Fire Nation’s better commanders, Commander Jian.” I say

“Commander Jian?” Tyro asks

“Yeah. He was killed a few years ago, before I was banished.” I say

“Father, wasn’t he the one who tried to keep you at the village?” Haru asks

“I think that was his name. He never told me his name.” Tyro says “But if I remember correctly, when the other fire nation man killed him, he did say something about his daughter back home.”

I look at him, a little shock on my face.

“I didn’t know he was stationed here. The Fire Lord sent him somewhere and he wasn’t allowed to tell me or my mother.” I say

Tyro nods and takes my hand, looking me in the eyes.

“He was a good man. He would be very proud of you.” He says

“Thank you Tyro.” I say

“Guys, my necklace is gone!” Katara yells

I look back at her and see her hand where her pendant should be.

Zuko’s P.O.V.

I walk through the prison and see a piece of blue fabric on the ground. I pick it up and see that it is the water tribe girl’s.

“Uncle we barely missed them.” I say, holding the necklace towards him

“Iroh, that student of your’s has gotten out of hand.” The warden says, storming up

“You mean Commander Jian’s daughter, Zara?” He asks

“Exactly! Did you not teach her she is not allowed to mess with this place. She came here and helped all of the prisoners escape.” Warden says

“Well, maybe you should stay up to date on who is currently banished.” I say “Uncle, we should leave.”

“She’s just like her father.” He says

“And that’s a bad thing? She’s better than you.” I say

“I still wish that I was the one who got to kill her father, not Zhao.” He says

Before my uncle can grab me to hold me back, I attack the warden, knocking him onto his back.

“Don’t talk about her family like that, or next time, I will do much worse.” I say

“Somebody is rather sensitive when it comes to the girl.” He says

“Zuko, that’s enough. If we want to catch up with them, we need to go now.” My uncle says

I get up and nod, clenching my fist around the necklace and head back to the ship.

“If you don’t want people knowing about your feelings for her, you need to hide them better than that.” He says

[bellatrixobsessed1]

In Perfect Silence

She kissed him that night with a sparkler in her hand and a swam of fireflies lifting from the grass. On the night of the dragon with her kimono fluttering in the summer breeze.

 He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she gazed upon the festival lights. A bunch of paper lanterns were being hoisted into the air, bobbing there like warmly colored jellyfish in a sea of stars. That was always Azula’s favorite part of the festival. Seeing the paper lanterns drifting on balloons towards the sky as festival goers sent candles floating down the river. And then they’d reveal the large dragon lantern—the very same one she’d seen since she was a child—and fireworks would burst behind it dazzling the sky with hot and colorful showers and glittering tails.

 She led Sokka away from the bustle of the food stands and festival games. Away to somewhere quieter. Somewhere where the view was unbelievably stunning. A place Azula had discovered so long ago. It was a quiet beachside hideaway nestled far from the harbor and near the base of a cliff. It had a surprisingly perfect view of the fireworks and more often than not, the candles would wash up or drift down to its shores. And if she waited long enough, she could always count on seeing the paper lanterns drift down onto the sand right before her eyes. She had a growing collection of the intact lanterns she harvested as keepsakes. She took Sokka’s hand and silently lead him to her hidden beach. She shoved away a tuft of long rustling beach grass and lead him into what at first seemed like a cave dug into the cliff by the ocean. What she came to show him was merely an arch that lead into a wide open space with a view of the cosmos through its cone like structure. The cliff, as Azula had discovered, was completely hollow. Down from the cone hung a tangle of vines, Azula could still see a few of the lanterns that had gotten caught in them three years ago. She watched the ocean flow in and out of the hollow. The water was only ankle deep where they stood, but Azula knew that it grew deeper as it reached the other wall of the cliff.

 “It’s…” He didn’t finish, he couldn’t find words adequate enough to describe what he was feeling.

 Azula smiled, Sokka caught a glimpse of it in the moonlight that poured over her face. She pulled out one of the sparklers she had bought from one of the stalls and lit it for Sokka. It blazed a brilliant blue for a brief second before it began exhaling gold sparks. She handed it to him and lit one for herself. His faded out first. And as hers began to sputter out she pulled him in for the kiss. It went by too fast for him, but he realized that she had pulled away so she could watch those fireflies drift skyward. He followed her golden gaze, she looked unusually serene. He brushed her bangs behind her ears.

 She moved away from him and let her hair down. Before he knew it her kimono was slipping down her arms and being tossed off to the side. Her body slides into the water where it runs decently deep. She still faces the sky, watching as the fireworks continue to explode. Sokka could see them reflecting in her eyes and on the mostly still water. She motioned for him to join her in the water so he discarded his clothes and the shoreline and swam over to her. She still didn’t talk but he almost didn’t want her to—words would ruin the moment. Instead she took his hand and pressed her lips to his once again. He saw her eyes close as she deepened the kiss. He could see the first of the candles rushing into the hidden swimming hole. He closed his eyes too, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed comfortably against his. And neither of them wanted anything more than that. Neither wanted anything more than soft kisses and holding each other close as the water ebbed around them. When Azula opened her eyes she saw a bunch of the candles floating around them and the first of the lanterns beginning to descend. Her lips grazed over his again as more lanterns rain down. Sokka believed that she must have known that they would. It had definitely enhanced the mood. Once again Azula pulled away and cast her eyes downward to stare as a candle began to sink. Her expression is warm and inviting. A gentle smile softens her face. Sokka put his arms around her, rubbing her back. Her hands come out of the water, holding the candle that had just sunk. She offered it to him and he took it. Her hair fanned out around her body, over the water as she swam a little deeper. He watched her swim beneath the surface and then return. She was back at his side, watching as the lanterns bobbed overhead. He put his free hand on her back, between her shoulder blades. When she didn’t protest he moved it down to just above her hip. They stayed that way, quietly watching the festival reach its peak. Fireworks mingling with the lanterns, raining sparks around them.

She takes his hand.