#wait. why is katara looking at him like she's seen a ghost

[discordiansamba]

ough. the implication that if the gaang had found zuko later in the lee from the tea shop au that he'd just be fucked. prince zuko never makes it out of ba sing se.

it's so deliciously fucked up.

like, it's obviously not the path i'm going because like. the slow recovery from the brainwashing? chef's kiss. love that shit. but just. thinking for a moment of a world where katara never visits that tea shop. prince zuko just vanishes from history entirely.

katara and sokka visit ba sing se. they're in their late twenties. they're visiting the middle ring when a little black-haired girl basically just barrels into katara. her father hurries over and scoops her up, and apologizes. i am so sorry. she wasn't watching where she was going. izumi, apologize to these nice people.

katara laughs and assures him it was no big deal. he looks faintly familiar, but not in a way she can place. she tells him that his daughter is very pretty, and he beams with pride. he introduces himself as lee. he owns a tea shop in the middle ring. you two should come by sometime. he'll give you a free cup as an apology.

and well. sokka's never said no to free. so of course they visit the tea shop. he honors his free cup of tea promise. katara is very pregnant with tenzin at the time and is happy to make a new mom friend in the form of lee's equally pregnant wife, jin. they talk over tea, and have a lovely time.

katara recommends the tea shop to everyone. she feels a little guilty the first time she brings aang there. oh. she really should have warned lee first. it's easy to forget sometimes, just how famous her husband is. they end up never visiting ba sing se without visiting the tea shop. lee and jin become their friends- and honestly? they're kind of lifesavers. neither of them mind babysitting at the drop of a hat. their two daughters- izumi and meiko- become friends of their own children in the process.

meiko surprises everyone by firebending.

it's fine, though. everyone knows there's no way jin would be unfaithful. it's probably just one of those weird quirks that happens sometimes. and hey- they know a lot of great firebending teachers who can help her. lee is so proud of his youngest daughter- he's proud of both of his daughters, really. he's a great dad.

("i learned a lot from my own father," lee tells them, "-he was a great man.")

lee and jin have a third child on the way. the gaang makes sure to drop in when she's near her due date. they've just entered the shop when they hear a crash from the back, and they all rush into the kitchen. jin is on the floor, clutching her stomach. katara realizes what's happening and barks out orders. it's a breech baby. don't worry, katara assures her. i can handle this.

it's a boy. his eyes are pure gold. she hands the newborn to his father, and lee takes him and looks at him with wonder in his face. he kisses his forehead and thanks katara. he crouches next to jin, and they marvel at their son together. lee brushes his hair out of the left side of his face and-

-katara abruptly realizes they'd never seen the left half of his face before. he was burned in a house fire when he was a child, she knows.

he does have a burn. it's stretched over the left half of his face, forcing his left eye into a thin slit. his eyebrow is missing. his left ear is crumpled. the patch right around his eye is redder than the rest of it. it's a scar she would know anywhere.

it's zuko's scar.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Under a Full Moon

Summary: ...the strangest things can happen.

Author's Note: Have another Seasons Skirmish Avatar fic! This one I looked at how Zuko would affect the Puppetmaster episode. (Spoiler alert, Hama doesn't like him very much.)

...

It had only been a couple weeks since Zuko had joined with the Avatar and his friends, so he understood why things were still tense.  He’d barely said a word to anyone while Aang was still recovering from Azula’s lightning attack, and he’d gotten the feeling that hadn’t helped matters.  But even after that, he hadn’t really felt it was his place to speak up whenever there was a disagreement about what was best to do.  He was too new to all of this, all of them.  He’d bonded a little bit with Toph, Sokka, and Aang when he helped the three of them pull some scams for money (though he still thought it would have been easier just to steal some), but that didn’t make them best friends, and Katara still glared at him when she thought he couldn’t see her.

For now, he was sticking in the background, which was where everyone seemed to prefer him.  He taught Aang firebending, but it was slow going, and he was still working on Earthbending from Toph too, which took up some of his time.

It didn’t bother him, for the most part.  He understood that trusting him wouldn’t exactly come easy to them.  Zuko was in this to help the Avatar overthrow his father, and hopefully get to see his uncle again.  He didn’t need them to like him.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult on nights like tonight, when he had to sit by and watch all of them casually enjoy each other’s company.

“And they knew, the blade of Wing-Fun was haunted!” Sokka exclaimed, leaping to his feet and ending his story with a terrible attempt at a creepy ghost noise.

There was a second of silence.

“I think I liked ‘The Man With a Sword for a Hand’ better,” Aang said.

“Water Tribe slumber parties must stink,” Toph deadpanned, and Zuko hid a smirk behind his hand.

“No wait, I’ve got one,” Katara said.  “And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story.”

Zuko glanced over, admittedly rather curious, and noticed the fire had died down.  He slid forward, close enough to hear Katara clearly, and shot a couple of small blasts to feed the fire as an excuse.

“Is this one of those ‘a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to’ stories?” Sokka asked, not sounding very impressed.

“No,” Katara said.  “It happened to Mom.”

Zuko shifted back just slightly, hoping no one would notice that he was closer than he’d been before.  The only thing he knew about Katara’s mother was that she’d been killed by a Fire Nation soldier, and he’d badly wanted to know more.  Even if he wouldn’t dare ask.

Everyone else seemed intrigued too, and sat up as Katara started talking.

“One winter, when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks,” Katara started.  “And a month later, Mom realized she hadn’t seen her friend Nini since the storm.  So Mom and some others went to check on Nini’s family.  When they got there, no one was home.  Just a fire flickering in the fireplace.  While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house.  When she was alone, she heard a voice.  ‘It’s so cold, and I can’t get warm.’  Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire.  She was blue, like she was frozen.  Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back, Nini was gone.”

“Where’d she go?” Sokka asked, and Zuko glanced over to realize that while he’d leaned forward, intent on catching every word of the story, Sokka had jumped up to hide behind a tree root.

“No one knows,” Katara said.  “Nini’s house stands empty to this day.  But sometimes people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm.”

There was another long stretch of silence.  Zuko was going to pretend the chill that ran down his spine was from the wind.

Suddenly, Toph gasped.  “Wait, guys!  Did you hear that?”

Katara, Aang, and Toph all rushed into a huddle, but then Toph continued, “I hear people under the mountain, and they’re screaming.”

Sokka scoffed.  “Nice try,” he said, leaning away.

“No, I’m serious, I hear something,” Toph insisted.

“What does it sound like?” Zuko asked, because Toph sounded like she meant it.

“Oh, come on,” Katara said, waving a dismissive hand in Zuko’s direction.  “You’re probably just jumpy from the ghost stories, Toph.”

But Toph turned towards Zuko.  “It just stopped,” she said.

“Alright, now I’m getting scared,” Aang said.

“Hello, children,” came a new voice.

The four of them screamed and ran to grab at each other, and Zuko jumped to his feet and summoned a small fireball as a defense, pretending he hadn’t jumped right along with them.

But after a second, an old woman walked into the clearing.  “Sorry to frighten you,” she said.  “My name is Hama.”  She looked between all of them, and paused for a second when she spotted Zuko.  Zuko thought he saw her eyes narrow slightly, but she turned back towards everyone else before he could be sure.

“You children shouldn’t be out in the forest by yourselves at night,” she said.  “I have an inn nearby, why don’t you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?”

Zuko let out a slow, quiet breath, and extinguished his fire.  The prospect of tea was tempting, though he doubted Hama would make it like Uncle.  No one ever did.

“Yes please,” Sokka said weakly to Hama, as the others in the group nodded.  Zuko went to gather his things, and passed everyone else items to them as they approached, and once they got everything together, the five of them followed Hama out of the forest.

…

Katara had to admit, hot tea and warm beds sounded like a much better alternative over the forest.  Hama even had a stable out back big enough for Appa to sleep in.

“Thanks for letting us stay here tonight,” she said as Hama finished pouring her tea.  “You have a lovely inn.”

“Aren’t you sweet,” Hama said with a smile.  She opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Zuko coughing a couple times from the other end of the table.

Everyone turned to face him, and Zuko’s cheeks turned a light pink.  “Sorry,” he said quietly, looking down.  “I’m uh— just used to— it’s delicious,” he said, holding up the tea and taking another drink, even though he didn’t seem to be a huge fan.

Katara shook her head and rolled her eyes, trying to stop herself from glaring a little as she looked away from Zuko.

“That’s alright,” Hama said.  “I’m told I have pretty unusual preferences in comparison to the rest of the village here.”

“I dunno, it tastes pretty good to me,” Sokka said with a smile.

“Thank you, young man,” Hama said with a smile back at him.  “You know, you kids should be careful.  People have been disappearing as of late in those woods you were camping in.”

“What do you mean disappearing?” Sokka asked, leaning forward.

Hama’s face was guarded as she responded.  “When the moon turns full, people walk in, and they don’t come out.”

Katara suppressed a shiver.

Hama brightened suddenly and stood up.  “Who wants more tea?”

She seemed to pick up on the way she’d unnerved them all, because a second later she smiled and her gaze softened.  “Don’t worry, you’ll all be completely safe here.  Why don’t I show you to your rooms, and you can get a good night’s rest?”

That sounded good to Katara.  Something about the woman put her at ease, and she smiled as she stood up.  The five of them followed Hama upstairs to their rooms, and though Katara wouldn’t say it out loud, she was glad she got a room far away from Zuko.  It was hard enough sleeping near him at a campsite, or on Appa.  She was glad to have a few nights off.

Not that she didn’t appreciate Zuko.  Aang needed someone to teach him firebending, and she was glad Zuko had turned over a new leaf.  It was definitely better than running for their lives from him all the time.  It was just hard to look at him and not see everything he’d done, everything the Fire Nation had done.  She knew that Sokka, Aang, and Toph had warmed up to him a little more than she had, and Aang specifically had told her that she should give Zuko a chance, but…

Katara shook her head to clear her senses and climbed into bed.  There was no use thinking about it tonight.  She needed to get some sleep.  She could think more about Zuko tomorrow.

Or, more likely, avoid thinking more about Zuko tomorrow.

…

Zuko was up and moving by the time Hama and Katara came to get him.  As a rule, he tended to rise early, a habit from when he was traveling with Uncle— if he didn’t get the two of them moving, the day would never get started.

The same apparently applied to Katara, and there had been plenty of times that the two of them had been the only ones awake in awkward silence, when the others didn’t have to be up yet.

Apparently they were going shopping, so Zuko headed down to wait in the entryway as Aang, and then Toph, and finally Sokka came down, the last of the three still looking half asleep.

The walk to the market thankfully wasn’t long.  They bought quite a few seemingly random ingredients, and Zuko stuck to the back behind Aang, Sokka, and Toph as Katara and Hama talked up in front of them, clearly getting along well, even if they were too far away to hear.

Zuko wasn’t sure how to feel about the old woman.  He was no stranger to, well, strangers giving him kindness throughout his travels.  Plenty of people had given him a place to stay free of charge just like Hama had.   But something about the woman still rubbed him the wrong way.  He just couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

“You won’t have any ash bananas until next week?” came the loud voice of a customer at a nearby stall.  Zuko glanced over, only half paying attention until the shopkeeper responded.

“Well, I have to send the boy to Hing-Wa island to get them, and it’s a two day trip.”

“Oh, right, tomorrow’s the full moon,” the customer said, all of the anger dropping from his voice.

“Exactly,” the shopkeeper said.  “I can’t lose another delivery boy in the woods.”

Zuko glanced over at the others, hoping they’d noticed so he wouldn’t have to bring it up, and was relieved to find that they had, and Sokka looked to be thinking about it.

“People disappearing in the woods?” he said, glancing at Aang.  “Weird stuff during full moons?  This just reeks of spirit world shenanigans.”

Aang nodded in agreement.  “I bet if we take a little walk around town, we’ll find what these people did to the environment to make the spirit mad,” he said.

“And then you can sew up this little mystery, lickety-split, Avatar style,” Sokka said with a grin.

Zuko raised an eyebrow.  “Is it that easy?” he asked.  “I thought I remembered you guys saying the spirits give you more trouble than that.”

“Oh please,” Sokka said, waving his hand dismissively.  “Last time people were disappearing because of a spirit it only took him like a day and a half to figure it out.”

“I thought you said you got kidnapped that time,” Toph said.  Sokka elbowed her in the side with a glare, but Toph just grinned back.

Zuko looked at them for another second before shaking himself slightly and turning back towards the direction he was walking in, just in time to see Hama and Katara stop shortly ahead of them.

“Why don’t you all take those things back to the inn?” Hama said.  “I just have to run a couple more errands.  I’ll be back in a little while.”

Zuko nodded, and was about to turn to head back towards the inn when Sokka walked up to Hama.  “This is a mysterious little town you have here,” he said.

Zuko would have smacked his forehead if that wouldn’t have been an even more obvious sign of suspicion.  Seriously, these guys were terrible at being inconspicuous.  How had it ever been difficult for him to find them?

Hama’s response, however, was somehow weirder.  “Mysterious town for mysterious children,” she said with a smile.

Zuko, slightly involuntarily, took a step back.  Okay, so his instincts about this woman were probably on to something.

Sokka seemed to think so too, and he brought it up once they got back to the inn.

“That Hama seems a little strange,” he said, setting the food down, while Zuko was just glad once again that he didn’t have to be the one to bring it up.  “Like she knows something.  Or she’s hiding something.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Katara said, turning from setting her food down on the opposite counter.  “She’s a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay.  She kinda reminds me of Gran-Gran.”

“I don’t know,” Zuko said hesitantly, earning him half a glare from Katara.  “Something seems a little off about her.”

“Yeah,” Sokka said with a gesture at him, seeming glad to have support.  “And what was with that comment about mysterious children?”

“Gee, I don’t know,” Katara said, turning around.  “Maybe because she found five strange kids camping in the woods in the middle of the night?”

“There’s nothing inherently suspicious about camping,” Zuko pointed out hesitantly.  “Especially nowadays.  Plenty of people travel or are on the run most of the time.”

“Well, I guess you’d know, wouldn’t you?” Katara said, turning around with a roll of her eyes.

“I’m gonna take a look around,” Sokka said, ignoring both Zuko and Katara’s comments and starting for the stairs.

“Sokka!” Katara called, running after him.  “Sokka, what are you doing?  You can’t just snoop around someone’s house!”

Zuko brushed his way past her and started after Sokka.  “It’s actually not that hard,” he said.

“That’s not what I— ugh, both of you get back here!”

“She could be home any minute,” Aang said, he and Toph rushing after them as they all made their way upstairs.

“Zuko, you take one half I’ll take the other?” Sokka asked with a nod at the hallway.

Zuko nodded in agreement, and they both started pulling open doors and closets.

“You guys are going to get us all in trouble,” Katara snapped.  “And this is just plain rude!”

The next second, Sokka pulled open a cabinet, and several puppets of Fire Nation soldiers fell out, though their strings managed to catch them before they hit the ground.

“Okay,” Aang said.  “That’s pretty creepy.”

“So she’s got a hobby.  There’s nothing weird about that,” Katara said, moving forward to close the cabinet, though even she was starting to sound unsure.

Sokka ignored her and started up the last set of stairs to the attic.  Zuko followed, and the others came close behind.

“Guys, you’ve looked enough,” she called.  “Hama will be back soon!”

As they reached the top, Sokka walked over to the only door in the attic, but it was clearly locked as he tried to tug it open.

“Just an ordinary, puppet loving innkeeper, huh?” he asked, turning back as everyone else came up the stairs.  “Then why does she have a locked door up here?”

“Probably to keep people like you from snooping through her stuff!” Katara exclaimed.

“Zuko, give me a hand, would you?” Sokka asked, gesturing at the door.

Zuko nodded, and pulled out his swords.  The lock was large enough that he figured they would probably work to get it open, and after a second, the door swung open, revealing nothing in the room but a tiny chest.

“Zuko, how could you break into someone’s private room like that!” Katara explained.

Despite himself, Zuko smiled a little.  “Told you, it’s not that hard,” he said.

Sokka walked forward and picked up the chest, as the rest of them walked into the room.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Aang said.

Sokka didn’t seem to have much luck with the chest, and started looking around.  “Maybe there’s a key here somewhere,” he said.  “Or Zuko, could you open this one too?”

“I’ve got it,” Toph said.  “Hand it over.”

Sokka did just that, and Toph pulled off her meteorite bracelet, then molded it into a key, sticking it inside the keyhole.

Zuko leaned forward in anticipation, and found everyone else, even Katara, doing the same.

After a second, however, Zuko turned to watch the door while Toph worked.  If she could handle that, he could be lookout.

“Come on, come on,” he heard Sokka say.

“This isn’t as easy as it looks,” Toph said, irritated.

“Guys, I don’t know about this,” Aang said.

“This is crazy.  I’m leaving!” Katara snapped.

“Suit yourself,” Sokka said, just before the lock clicked.

Everyone, even Zuko, whirled back to face the box.  The four of them crowded around it, but Zuko hung back, though he strained his neck up just high enough that he’d be able to see.

“I’ll tell you what’s in the box,” came Hama’s voice.  All of them cried out in surprise and whirled around.  Zuko stepped back to the side as she walked forward to take it from Sokka, who bowed his head in shame and passed it over.

Pretty typical for kids who seemed like they had never done this before, but if they were going to keep breaking and entering, they were going to have to stop feeling bad about it.  Not that Zuko was going to say anything.  Especially not while Hama was reaching inside the box, and pulling out… a comb?

“An old comb?” Sokka asked, sounding disappointed.

Definitely their first time with this.  It didn’t matter what it looked like, if it was being kept in a locked box in a locked room, it was important somehow.

A second later, Hama confirmed just that.

“It’s my greatest treasure,” she said.  She looked up at Katara and Sokka as she spoke next.  “It’s the last thing I owned from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe.”

“What?” was exclaimed by several people at once.

“You’re from the Southern Water Tribe?” Katara asked, leaning towards Hama.

Hama smiled.  “Just like you,” she said, putting the comb back in the box.

“How did you know?” Katara asked in astonishment.

“I heard you talking around your campfire,” Hama said.

“But why didn’t you tell us?” Sokka asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.  Zuko could agree with that sentiment, and turned to peer suspiciously at Hama.

“I wanted to surprise you,” the woman said.  “I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big, water tribe dinner.  Of course I can’t get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes, if you stew them long enough.”

“Great,” Aang muttered, sounding about the opposite of enthusiastic.

“I knew I felt a bond with you right away,” Katara said, a bright smile on her face.

“And I knew you were keeping a secret, so I guess we’re both right,” Sokka said, but he was smiling brightly now too.

Zuko crossed his arms but didn’t say anything.

Katara whacked Sokka in the arm, and he added, “But, I’m sorry we were sneaking around.”

“Apology accepted,” Hama said with a warm smile.  “Now let’s get cooking.”

Katara and Sokka both eagerly followed her out, and Aang did too, albeit a little slower.  But while Zuko waited for a second, expecting to follow Toph, instead the earthbender crossed the room and leaned up into his face.

“What aren’t you saying?” she said.

Zuko leaned back, unnerved.  “What?”

“I can feel your heartbeat.  It’s on edge still, and everyone else’s calmed down.  What aren’t you saying?”

“Nothing,” Zuko said, taking a step back.

“And I can definitely tell when you’re lying,” Toph said, narrowing her eyes.

“I don’t want to bother anyone with it,” Zuko said, holding up his hands.  “I just… I still get a bad vibe from her.”

“Hama?” Toph asked.

Zuko nodded.  “But I doubt saying it would go over well,” he added.  “Especially to…” he trailed off.

Toph seemed to consider this for a second and nodded.  “Fair enough.  But if you get any more bad vibes, let me know.  They don’t always mean nothing.”

With that, she turned and walked off.  And though in Zuko’s experience they almost never meant nothing, after another second, he turned and followed her.

…

Katara was still reeling from it all throughout cooking dinner.  Of all the places to find someone from the Southern Water Tribe!  They spent the evening in the kitchen, and the smell of home soon filled the space.  Katara could tell Sokka was enjoying it just as much as her, even if he wouldn’t admit it.  But while Aang was taking a break to go check on and feed Appa and Momo, and Toph was sitting at the table in the other room, Zuko was standing in the corner of the kitchen, arms crossed and watching Hama.  Katara couldn’t tell if it was his normal brooding mood, or something else, but she couldn’t blame Hama when the woman noticed and didn’t seem comfortable.

“Is something bothering you, young man?” she asked, drawing Zuko’s gaze.

“What?  No,” Zuko said.  “Just… I’m not very familiar with water tribe dishes.  I don’t think I’d be much help.”

“That’s alright,” Hama said.  “I think I’d prefer to cook the dish with the fellow members of my tribe anyway.  It’s not exactly something the Fire Nation appreciates.”

Katara thought back to how Zuko reacted to her tea, and found herself agreeing with that sentiment.  She turned away from Zuko and kept working on the ocean kumquats.

Zuko, true to his word, stood quietly in the background throughout their cooking, and exchanging of stories of what it was like to grow up in the Southern Water Tribe now, versus when Hama was young.

Finally, the soup was finished, and Katara helped carry the large serving bowl into the dining room, where everyone else was waiting.  Sokka thankfully took the seat next to her, leaving Zuko to take the seat at the other end of the table.

“Now,” Hama said, walking up to her spot at the head of the table.  “Who wants five flavor soup?”

Everyone raised their hands, but all Hama did was lift her own, and suddenly, the soup flew from the serving dish into the bowls.

Katara lit up.  “You’re a waterbender,” she said in amazement, turning to Hama.  “I’ve never met another water bender from our tribe!”

“That’s because the Fire Nation wiped them all out,” Hama said solemnly.  “I was the last one.”

Katara noticed Zuko start to shift uncomfortably at the end of the table.

Good, she thought, though she turned her gaze firmly away from him.  Serves him right.

“So how did you end up out here?” Sokka asked.

Hama’s shoulders slumped, but her face turned grave.  “I was stolen from my home,” she said.  She sighed, and drew herself up slightly, as if preparing for a battle.  “It was over 60 years ago when the raids started.  They shot huge fireballs at us.  Like the one your friend made when I found you, but enormous and deadly.  They took every waterbender they could before we drove them out.  But then they came again and again.  Each time rounding up more of our waterbenders and taking them captive.  We did our best to hold them off, even managed to strand one of their ships in the ice.  But our numbers dwindled as the raids continued.  Finally, I too was captured.”

Hama turned away, the memory obviously painful to her.  “I was led away in chains.  The last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe.”

Katara stood up and walked over to comfort Hama, wrapping a reassuring arm around her shoulders.  She may not have known the woman well, but she couldn’t help it, and Hama didn’t push her away.

“They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation,” she continued, shaking her head and closing her eyes.  “I was the only one who managed to escape.  Something you know all about, I’m sure,” she added with a glance up at Zuko.

Zuko’s eyes widened, and he shook his head.  “Uh, no, I’m sorry,” he said.  “That was long before I was born.  My grandfather never told me about any of the raids.”

Hama sighed, but didn’t say anything else.

After a second, however, Zuko spoke again, hesitantly.  “How did you get away?” he asked.  “And why did you stay in the Fire Nation?”

Suddenly, Hama stood up and braced her hands on the table with a loud smack.  “Don’t you know better than to ask an old woman about painful memories?” she snapped.  Zuko leaned away, looking startled.

Katara glared at him.  “Honestly, Zuko, she only has to tell us what she wants to,” she said.

But a second later, Hama sighed, and sat down again.  “No, no, I’m sorry,” she said.  “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.  It’s just too painful to talk about anymore.”

“We completely understand,” Katara said, with a gentle squeeze of Hama’s shoulders and another short glare back at Zuko.

“We lost our mother in a raid,” she added, looking away.

“Oh, you poor things,” Hama said, patting Katara’s hand gently.  Everyone was quiet for a moment, and Katara could feel a similar grief shared between her and Hama.

She managed a smile at her.  “I can’t tell you what it means to meet you,” she said.  “It’s an honor.  You’re a hero.”

Hama smiled warmly at her.  “I never thought I’d meet another southern waterbender,” she said.  “I’d like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the southern tradition when I’m gone.”

Katara gasped.  “Yes!  Yes of course,” she said, almost desperately, even though Hama had offered.  “To learn about my heritage, it would mean everything to me.”  She bowed her head to Hama in respect.

“It would mean just as much to me, child,” Hama said, reaching out and gently raising Katara’s chin.  “We can start tomorrow.”

Katara sat down again to eat her soup, feeling lighter than an airbender.  Even though Hama had been through so much, she still wanted to teach Katara.  Tomorrow couldn’t come quickly enough.

…

“So,” Toph said to Zuko as the two of them followed Aang and Sokka to look for anything that would make a spirit angry.  “Still getting bad vibes?”

Zuko didn’t say anything.  The answer was yes, but after seeing how much Hama meant to Katara, and how excited she was to learn from her, he couldn’t take that from her.  Especially if he was the only one feeling like anything was off.  He wasn’t always right about everything— all of them knew that.  You only had to look at the past three years of his life for proof.

“Zuko,” Toph said, drawing his attention again.  “I mean it.  I noticed how she singled you out last night at dinner.”

Zuko turned towards her more, surprised.  “You did?” he asked.  He hadn’t thought anyone else would.

“I’ve met enough sleazy nobles to learn how to recognize when someone’s twisting words on purpose,” Toph said.  “I don’t trust her.”

Zuko frowned a little.  It was definitely nice not to be in this alone, but still…

“We don’t exactly have concrete proof,” he said.  “Our snooping around just led us to an old comb.  And… I can’t take this from Katara.”

“Oh no, I’m with you there,” Toph said.  “I can’t either.  And no offense, but you definitely can’t, specifically.”

“None taken,” Zuko muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.  “I know.”

“Still, I’m gonna keep my eyes out.  You with me?” Toph nudged him a little roughly in the side, but Zuko didn’t mention it.

“Of course,” he said instead.

“Guys, we’ve got a problem,” came Aang’s voice from up ahead, and Zuko turned to see Aang and Sokka approaching.  “Or, more accurately, we don’t have a problem.  This has got to be the nicest natural setting in the Fire Nation.  I don’t see anything that would make a spirit mad around here.”

“Maybe the moon spirit just turned mean?” Toph offered.

Sokka turned very suddenly and glared at Toph with the force usually reserved for Zuko by Katara.  “The moon spirit is a gentle, loving lady!” he snapped.  “She rules the sky with compassion!  And lunar goodness!”

“Uh, okay,” Zuko said.  “Look, maybe we should talk to some locals.  They’re bound to know more about this place than we will.”

“Good idea Zuko,” Aang said, already looking the other direction.  “Look, there’s one now.  Excuse me, sir!”  He ran up to a man that was walking past.  “Can you tell us anything about the spirit that’s been stealing people?”

“Only one man ever saw it and lived,” the man said.  “And that’s Old Man Ding.”

Toph walked over from the man’s other side and pulled on his sleeve.  “Where does Old Man Ding live?” she asked.  “I think we’ll be paying him a visit.”

…

“Growing up at the south pole, waterbenders are totally at home surrounded by snow and ice and seas,” Hama said, as Katara followed her down a rocky cliffside, towards what looked like a field of red flowers.  “But as you’ve probably noticed on your travels, that isn’t the case wherever you go.”

“I know,” Katara agreed.  “When we were stranded in the desert, I felt like there was almost nothing I could do.”

“That’s why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists,” Hama said.

“I’ve even used my own sweat for waterbending,” Katara said, hoping her smile didn’t come off too proud.

“That’s very resourceful Katara.  You’re thinking like a true master,” Hama said anyway, which made Katara’s smile grow.  “But did you know you can even pull water out of thin air?”

Before Katara could say anything, she waved her hand in an arc, and drew water droplets out onto the tips of her fingers.  “You’ve got to keep an open mind, Katara,” she said, and then turned the droplets to ice.  “There’s water in places you never think about.”  She turned and hurled the ice towards one of the nearby trees, as Katara watched in amazement.

Hama met her smile with an amused one, and then nodded her head further down the hill.  “Come on, there’s more I want to show you.”

They ended up in the field of red flowers that Katara had spotted earlier, and she couldn’t help but smile down at them.

“Wow, these flowers are beautiful,” she said.

“They’re called fire lilies,” Hama said.  “They only bloom a few weeks a year, but they’re one of my favorite things about living here.”  She turned to Katara with a smile.  “And like all plants, and all living things, they’re filled with water.”

Katara nodded.  “I met a waterbender who lived in a swamp and could control the vines by bending the water inside.”

“You can take it even further,” Hama said.  As Katara watched, she pulled the water up and out of the flowers, then shot them across the field at a rock with such force that pieces where she’d sliced slid off.

“That was incredible!” Katara exclaimed.  But when she looked down at the flowers, she found them lifeless and gray, and her smile fell.  “It’s a shame about the lilies, though.”

“They’re just flowers,” Hama said, waving a hand dismissively.  “When you’re a waterbender living in a strange land, you do what you must to survive.”  She paused, and turned to Katara, looking suddenly wary.  “It’s one of the reasons I was so surprised to see you traveling with a firebender.”

Katara chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck.  “Yeah, that’s Zuko,” she admitted.  “He’s a little… different, from other firebenders.  And you know, Aang needs to learn firebending, so.”

“But you don’t trust him, do you?” Hama asked, her voice dropping dangerously.

Katara hesitated.  “Look, I know it can seem a little unusual,” she said.  “But Zuko’s changed a lot recently.  I’m not saying he’s my favorite person, but I don’t think he wants to hurt us.  You know, anymore.”

Hama didn’t say anything for a moment, but finally, she sighed.  “I understand,” she said.  “It certainly surprises me, but… you are in unusual circumstances.”  She stood up straighter.  “We should get moving.  We’ll want to be back at the inn before dark.  It’s the full moon tonight, and with people disappearing, I’d just want you all to be extra careful.”

…

It was getting dark as they approached Old Man Ding’s house, where he was nailing slats up onto a board.  He was about to start hammering in a nail, when Aang called out, “Old Man Ding?”

The hammer went right down on his thumb, and Zuko winced, remembering what that felt like.

The old man swore for a couple seconds, holding on to his thumb, and then glared at the four of them.  “What?  Can’t you see I’m busy?  Got a full moon rising.  And why does everyone call me that, I’m not that old.”

He bent to pick up his plank of wood, but after a couple seconds of him obviously struggling, he sighed.  “Well, I’m young at heart,” he amended.

Aang stepped forward to help him pick up the board, then helped him carry it up towards his window.

“Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet, at least,” the man said as they did.

“Actually, we wanted to ask you about that,” Zuko said, stepping forwards to pick up the hammer so he can nail the board down.  “If that’s okay.”

The man shrugged.  “Sure, hit me with your questions, sonny,” he said.

“Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?” Aang asked, leaning back slightly to peer around Zuko.

“Didn’t see no spirit,” the man said as Zuko hammered the last nail in.  He stepped away as he kept talking.  “Just felt something come over me.  Like I was possessed.  Forced me to start walking towards the mountain.  I tried to fight it, but I couldn’t control my own limbs.  It just about had me into a cave up there, and I looked up at the moon for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light.  But then the sun started to rise, and I got control of myself again!  I just hightailed it away from that mountain as quick as I could!”

“Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?” Sokka asked.

“Oh no!” Toph exclaimed suddenly.  “I did hear people screaming under the mountain!  The missing villagers must still be there!”

“We have to go get them!” Aang said, turning to look anxiously at the mountain.

But before any of them could start moving, they heard “What are you guys still doing out here?” come from behind them.

All of them turned to find Katara and Hama approaching.  “Hama said people are going missing during the full moon, why are you still outside?” Katara asked, walking closer.

“You’re still outside,” Sokka pointed out, crossing his arms.

“We were on our way back,” Katara said.  “Where you should be already.”

“Katara, we actually need to—” Aang started.

“Katara’s right,” Zuko said, keeping his gaze away from Hama, who he was sure was looking at him.  “Whatever we need to do, we can do it tomorrow morning, when it’s not as dangerous?  Right Toph?”

Toph seemed to pick up on what Zuko was doing, and she didn’t look at Hama either.  Instead, she nodded.  “Yeah,” she said.  “I’m with Zuko.  Let’s go get a good night’s rest and take care of this when we’re not tired and in danger.”

“But—” Aang started, before Toph cut him off with an elbow to the side.  “Okay, okay.”

They all made their way quickly back to the inn, where unfortunately, Hama started working right in the entryway, meaning they were all forced to walk upstairs.

“What the heck was that about?” Sokka hissed, as soon as the downstairs was out of sight.

“What was what about?” Katara asked in confusion.

“We figure out the missing villagers are trapped under the mountain, and you all just want to leave it till morning?” Aang asked in disbelief, though thankfully he kept his voice low.

“I don’t want Hama to know where we’re going,” Zuko said plainly.

“What?  Why on earth would that matter?” Katara asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

“Katara, I think he’s right,” Toph said.  “There’s something off about that woman.”

“No, there’s not, Zuko’s just ashamed to have to confront another horrible thing his family did,” Katara snapped.  Zuko winced.

“Katara!” Aang exclaimed.

“Look, I’ve spent more time with Hama than any of you,” Katara said, narrowing her eyes.  “She’s nothing but a sweet and helpful woman who’s been through way too much.  I can’t believe you’re all still distrusting her!”

“Katara, we just don’t know her that well,” Toph said.

“Oh, you’re right, so you’re going to side with Zuko, who for most of the time we’ve known him, has been trying to hunt us and capture Aang?”

“Hey, stop it,” Sokka said.  “We’re not going to solve anything by fighting with each other.  Let’s just take a break and go look for the villagers tomorrow when we’ve all cooled down.”

Katara glared at him for a couple more seconds, then snapped, “Fine,” and turned and marched off to her room.

Sokka sighed, and turned to Zuko after he watched her go.  “Sorry about her,” he said.

“It’s alright,” Zuko said, looking away slightly.  “She has a lot of reasons not to trust me.”

Sokka sighed, but all he said was “We’ll regroup in the morning,” and then headed off towards his bedroom.

Aang and Toph did the same a second later, leaving Zuko to walk to the end of the hall, where his room sat, slightly away from everyone else’s.

Just as he was about to get ready for bed though, he heard a knock on his door.  He expected it to be Toph, so when he opened the door and found Hama, it took him a second of surprise before he had his guard up.

“Sorry,” he said.  “We weren’t bothering you, were we?”

“Not at all,” Hama said.  “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.  From the little I heard, it sounded like they slung quite a few insults your way.”

Zuko shrugged.  “I’m pretty used to that,” he admitted.  “It doesn’t really bother me.”

“It is a fairly tall order, asking all of them to trust you,” Hama said, narrowing her eyes.

Zuko kept his face intentionally passive.  “I’m not asking them to do anything,” he said.  The two of them stared at each other for a couple seconds.

Finally, Hama folded her hands behind her back.  “Why don’t you take a walk with me,” she said.  “I’d like to speak with you.”

“Thanks,” Zuko said, moving to shut the door.  “But I’m tired.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Hama said, and suddenly, Zuko felt his hand stop moving.  He turned to it just in time to watch, eyes wide, as it slid the door further open against his will.

“I didn’t mean for it to sound like a request,” Hama said, her hand held up by her face with intention.  She gave him a deeply unsettling smile.  “Come take a walk with me, Prince Zuko.”

…

Katara was interrupted from her angry pacing by a knock on her door.

“That better not be you, Zuko,” she snapped, marching over and yanking the door open.

Instead of Zuko, however, she found everyone else, looking worried.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking between them.

“We can’t find Zuko anywhere,” Sokka said.  “Toph went to talk to him and he wasn’t in his room.”  Katara huffed in irritation and went to slam the door shut again.

Aang caught it before she could manage.  “Katara, I know you don’t like him,” he said.  “But he and Hama are both gone.  We need to go find them.”

Katara stood upright.  “Hama’s gone too?”

Sokka narrowed her eyes.  “Katara, we need to focus on finding Zuko,” he said.  “It’s the full moon, remember?  What if he got taken up to the mountain with the rest of the missing villagers?”

“Or what if he dragged Hama somewhere?” Katara said, crossing her arms.

“Katara, you’re being ridiculous,” Sokka snapped.  “Are you coming with us or not?”

Katara grabbed her bending water from where she’d hung it by the door.  “No,” she said.  “I’m going to look for Hama.”

“Katara!” Sokka said, but Katara forced her way past him and started quickly down the steps, trying to come up with where Zuko might take Hama.  He probably wouldn’t hurt her, but if he was angry at her calling him out earlier, he might want to scare her.  Meaning he’d probably take her to the forest people were disappearing in.

Well, she’d certainly have some words for him when she found him.

She heard the others running behind her for a bit, but they were too far away to hear.  When they reached the woods, the others split off towards the mountain, and Katara ran right for the center.  There was a river there.  She could grab extra water in case she’d need it.  Not that she imagined she’d need much help to take on Zuko during the full moon.

As she approached the river, however, she heard voices, and she slowed to a walk, then started moving more stealthily among the trees.

“It’s a pity, that as a firebender, you’ll never understand the power the full moon brings.”  That was Hama’s voice!  She sounded okay!

Katara peeked around the tree she was behind, and found the river in front of her.  And standing in front of it was Hama and Zuko.  But… neither of them looked like they were attacking each other.  Hama had her hands up like she was bending something, but the river did look like it was moving fast, maybe she was speeding it up.  She definitely didn’t look hurt.

Katara hid herself behind the tree again, closing her eyes and feeling a shame curling in her gut.  She’d jumped right to the idea that Zuko was hurting her.  That wasn’t fair of her.  Maybe he’d just wanted to talk to her.

But then, Zuko snapped, “It’s a pity that even as a waterbender you haven’t learned to not destroy everything you touch,” and Katara’s eyes shot wide open.  She peered back around the tree again, but Zuko’s stance hadn’t changed.  He wasn’t even in a position to hurt her.  What was going on?

“Hama?” Katara asked, stepping out from behind the tree, and Hama turned around quickly.

Zuko still didn’t move, but he did yell out: “Katara, get out of here!” which was… deeply bizarre.

“Hama, what’s going on?” Katara asked.  “Weren’t you the one who said it was dangerous out here during the full moon?  Why are you and Zuko going for a walk in the middle of the night?”

“Katara,” Hama said, turning to face her with a smile.  “I was worried I wouldn’t get to show you.”

“Show me what?” Katara asked, taking a step back.

“Seriously, go!” Zuko snapped, except he still didn’t turn around.

“What I discovered in that wretched fire nation prison,” Hama said, ignoring Zuko.  She still didn’t lower her hands.  What was she bending?

“The guards were always careful to keep any water away from us, you see,” Hama said.  “They piped in dry air and had us suspended away from the ground.  Before they let us drink, they bound our hands and feet, so we couldn’t bend.  And yet, each month, I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy.  I began to realize that where there is life, there is water.  The rats scurrying across the floor of my cage were nothing more than skins filled with liquid.  I passed years developing the skill that would lead to my escape… bloodbending.”

Katara felt cold with horror.  She looked from Hama’s raised hands, back to Zuko, who was still facing the river.  But now that she looked closer, she could see his hands twitching unnaturally, and the way his stance was not at all relaxed.

“Hama,” Katara said, her voice shaking.  “What are you doing to Zuko?”

“Katara, once you perfect this technique, you can control anything.  Or anyone,” Hama said.  She moved her hands, and Zuko spun around, awkward and unbalanced and not at all like how he usually moved.  Katara met his wide-eyed gaze with one of her own.

“Hama, let him go!” Katara asked, raising her own hands, though she wasn’t sure what to do with them.

“Katara, they tried to wipe us out.  Our entire culture.  Your mother!” Hama snapped.  Katara felt tears starting to well in her eyes.

“I know,” she said weakly, feeling more than a little off balance herself.

“Then you should understand what I’m talking about!” Hama continued.  “We’re the last waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe.  We have to fight these people wherever we can, but you!   You allowed one of them to join you,” she glared at Zuko like he was something she wanted to smush under her shoe.  “The Prince of the Fire Nation, no less.  You trust him.  He’s tainted you!”

“Katara, get out of here!” Zuko yelled.  “Run!”

“Katara, you can’t let him convince you that his kind are worthy of anything,” Hama said, dragging the words out with bloodlust and rage.  “You have to strike back first!  Strike back harder!  You must carry on my work!”

Katara felt something harden in her.  “I won’t!” she snapped, drawing herself upright.  She pulled two large balls of water out of the river and around to her.  “I won’t use bloodbending, and I won’t let you anymore, either!  Let go of Zuko, now!”

But the next second, Katara’s arms moved of their own accord, strapping themselves to her side, and the river water dropped the ground around her.

“You should have learned the technique before you turned against me,” Hama said with a chilling grin.  “I can control every muscle, every vein in your body.”

Katara tried to force her arms to move, but they’d stopped responding to her, and after a second, Hama forced her to her knees.  Katara let out a shaky grasp, and tried to push herself upright.

“Stop, please,” she sobbed, but Hama had turned her attention away from her, towards Zuko.  She held one hand out to Katara, keeping her firmly in place, and with the other, forced Zuko to walk step by step into the river.

“Hama, stop!” Katara cried, but Hama paid her no attention.  Instead, she jerked her head from one side to the other, stopping the flow of the river and creating two massive waves that built up on either side of Zuko.

Zuko looked out towards Katara, eyes wide and scared in a way she’d never seen from him.  She watched him take a deep gulp in and hold it, looking up at the water above his head.

“Hama!” Katara cried.

“You’ll thank me eventually, Katara,” Hama said, and released her grip on Katara in order to use her hand to bring the waves crashing down.

Katara leapt to her feet and reached her hands out desperately.  “ZUKO!”

…

Zuko felt the moment feeling rushed back into his limbs, and he dove instantly from the dry riverbed, landing on the bank and rolling into a crouching position.  He looked up, trying to figure out what happened, and found Katara, hands raised and tears streaming down her cheeks, with her arms extended towards Hama.  As soon as she saw he was out of the river, she jerked her head downwards, and the water crashed down and started flowing normally again.

A glance over at Hama showed him the old woman twitching unnaturally, and a second later, Katara lowered her hands and brought her down to the ground.

Zuko still felt his hands shaking, though he knew he wasn’t being bloodbent anymore, and it’s not like he’d ever admit it.

“Zuko,” Katara said, and though he could still see the tears on her face, he couldn’t hear them in her voice anymore.  “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Zuko said, glad his own voice was coming out stably too.  “Thank you, Katara.”  He intentionally didn’t look again at Hama, but added, “I’m sorry this all turned out this way.”

Katara didn’t say anything, but a fresh wave of tears poured down her cheeks.

Before Zuko could figure out what they should do next, he heard feet approaching from the forest.  He raised his hands, ready to defend Katara, before he spotted Toph, Aang, and Sokka leading the group, the rest likely the missing villagers.  He lowered his hands.

“Zuko, Katara!” Aang called, the relief obvious in his voice, before he noticed the rest of the scene.  “What… what happened?”

“Someone needs to take Hama into custody,” Katara said.  “And make sure— make sure you bind her hands.”

…

Everyone had been giving Katara some space since they left the last town, which Katara was grateful for.  The issue was, no one was holding her distrust of Zuko over her head either, which should have felt nice.  Katara had learned her lesson on that front pretty thoroughly, after all.  But she was pretty sure she needed at least one person to yell at her about what it had almost led to.  It would have been nice if it could have come from Sokka, but he was apparently convinced she’d gotten it.  Aang was just glad everyone was okay, and Toph was apparently understanding where Katara was coming from.

Which left just one person Katara could conceivably get to yell at her, and she doubted it would work.

But she walked up to Zuko at their next camp site anyway.  He was setting his sleeping bag up a little ways away from everyone else, like usual, and it was pissing her off.  She wasn’t going to lead with that, though.

“Hey,” she said, and Zuko stopped from smoothing out his sleeping bag and turned to face her.

“Oh, hey,” he said.  “Do we need more fire?  Because Aang really needs to practice, you should make him do it.”

“What?  No, we don’t need more fire,” Katara said.  “I— I wanted to apologize to you.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow.  “To me?” he asked, sounding surprised to the point of being unconvinced.

“Yes, to you,” Katara said, putting her hands on her hips.  “What, did you think I wasn’t going to?”

“For what?” Zuko asked.  “You didn’t do anything.”

“I didn’t— Zuko,” Katara said, pinching the bridge of her nose.  “You almost died.”

Zuko rolled his eyes.  “Like I’ve never done that before.  You guys have too.  It’s pretty standard in the lives we’re leading.”

“Still,” Katara said.  “This one might have been avoided if I trusted you.  So I’m sorry.”

“You really don’t need to—”

“Oh for crying out loud, Zuko, will you just take the dang apology?”

“Okay!  Okay,” Zuko said, holding up his hands.  “I accept your apology.  And I forgive you.”

Katara huffed and crossed her arms.  “I—” she sighed.  “I think it’s about time I forgive you too.”

“What do you mean?”

“For all of it,” Katara said, looking back at him.  “I mean you… you’ve proven yourself trustworthy at this point.  And you’ve proven you want to help us.  So I forgive you.”

There was a moment of silence, and when she looked up, she found Zuko staring at her, stunned.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Zuko said.  “Just… wasn’t really expecting you guys to care enough about me to do that.  Ever, actually.”

Katara raised her eyebrows in astonishment.  “Did you think I saved your life because it was a way to pass the time?”

“I mean, the Avatar needs a firebending teacher,” Zuko pointed out with a shrug.

Katara stared at him.  “You think I screamed your name in desperation and taught myself a terrible skill that horrifies me because I was worried Aang was going to lose his firebending teacher?”

Zuko opened his mouth, then shut it, then opened it again.  “Uh,” he said.  “Maybe?”

Katara gaped at him in astonishment, then looked down and shook her head.  “Zuko,” she said.  “Grab your sleeping bag and come eat dinner with the rest of us.”

“What?  Why?”

“Because you’re a part of this group,” Katara said.  “And everyone was worried about you.  And I think we’d all feel a little better if you stopped hiding out on the other side of the campsite all the time.”

“Are you sure?” Zuko asked hesitantly.

Katara gave him her best ‘do what I’m telling you right now’ look that she gave the younger kids back home when they were misbehaving.  Zuko raised his hands in surrender and picked up his sleeping back, then followed Katara back across their campsite until he could set it down around the fire.  Katara settled on hers just in time for Sokka to glance over at them.

“Zuko, thank goodness!” he called.  “I need someone to back me up here.  You liked the sea-prunes-slash-ocean-kumquats from the other night right?”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Zuko said, looking to the side and scratching his neck.  “Delicious.”

“Ha!  See Aang, what did I tell you?”

“He’s lying, Sokka.”

“What?  Come on Toph, no he’s not, he’s—”  Sokka stopped when he saw Zuko’s face.  “Zuko!   How could you?”

“I’m pretty sure Aang warned us away from them for a reason,” Zuko said.  “I didn’t try them.”

“What?”

Katara shook her head with a disappointed sigh.  “It’s alright, Sokka.  There’ll just be more for us.”

“But they’re missing out on so much!” Sokka exclaimed, flopping back on his sleeping bag.  “I just can’t with you three!”

Katara laughed a little as Aang and Sokka burst into another argument about sea prunes, and Toph leaned her elbow on her knee so she could lean on her hand and listen to the show.  And a second later, when Katara spared a glance over at Zuko, she found him smiling a little bit as he watched them all.

She smiled a little wider herself, realizing she didn’t want anyone to yell at her anymore.  And that, for the first time, she felt fully comfortable with all five of them sitting there.

[stella-facem-ducens]

Katara's Betrayal chapter 1

Summary: how much can Katara sacrificed for the sake of Zuko, how many people should betray just to keep him happy. maybe Zuko is worth more than the world for her

Riding on Appa is certainly comfortable, or as Katara’s brother calls “it sailing in the sky,” for Katara is even better because up there in the sky she can feel the tiny droplets around her like dancing stars made of water– around her, up in the sky but nothing can be perfect. her nights had been restless between nightmares and dreams. the attack of the prince of the fire nation brought old memories of her mother, memories of a faceless soldier killing her, but other nights the dreams are the opposite: Katara dreams of flames gently touching her and keeping her warm. she dreams about a master with an absolute control of his element, the element of murder but also the element that gives life. Katara dreams about a boy with glimmering-gold eyes and each time when the dream ends, she repeats to herself as a mantra, “she is absolutely not attracted to an ash-maker no matter how good he looks wielding fire, with his cocky smile.”           

not far away an angry prince is desperate to know where the avatar is.

“Relax, prince Zuko. the avatar can’t be that far away. his bison must eat at some point, if I must guess. and according to the map, Kyoshi Island is surely the avatar’s destination “ says Zuko's uncle, trying to sound as gentle as possible because it is clear Zuko is pissed off beyond limit. he had the avatar right in his ship; his mission was finally complete and then he lost him. years of traveling around the world, chasing a ghost until finally the ghost become real. finally the ghost has a face. Zuko’s thoughts are interrupted by a young soldier, the soldier wondering if he must interrupt his prince.

 “My liege,” says the soldier, giving g a fire nation salute to his prince, “the bridge informed us the avatar is near. he was fighting some sort of giant snake. we are at full speed and should arrive in less than an hour.”

 “You are excused, soldier, you may return to your post. I will be planning our assault on the island and informing my troops. this time the avatar will not escape,” replies Zuko, trying to hide a devious smile. soon he will be at home.

At the beach, still unaware of the imminent battle, Katara is extremely angry with the avatar. not only Aang is fooling around trying to impress her, he also summoned an entire giant Unagi. Aang surely understands they are being chased by the fire nation and a giant unagi can easily be seen from a great distant.

meanwhile her own brother is also fooling around with girls. it appears she is the only one worried about the prince. A traitorous inner voice interrupts Katara`s legitimate worries: “maybe you are the only one always wondering where he is, always remembering his face.'' again she has to remind herself no matter how curios she is about the prince and always speculating why a member of the royal family was in the south pole with few resources at his command. She has to remind herself it doesn’t matter how much she wants those answers; he is still the face of the enemy, so it is better for her to forget him as quickly as possible. besides, what are the odds of a prince hunting them around the world only with a single ship at his command.    

little does Katara know, the prince will be in fact a pain in her ass.

 While waiting for the boys to fail in their attempt to flirt with girls, Katara sits on the beach.  the shores of Kyoshi are beautiful, the waters around it are cold, the currents bringing the cold water from the pole to all around the south sea. but today the sea is not only bringing freezing polar waters, but  is also brining a bringer of fire: the black smoke Katara is seeing is the proof, the prince with glimmering-gold eyes is here.

 Katara runs quickly, avoiding all the innocent people of the island who are unaware of the dangers. The battle for Kyoshi will soon begin. lucky for her Sokka and Aang are together, talking about why meat is better than fruit.

 “Sokka, Aang, Zuko is here. the fire nation is here!” Katara screams. Of course, the young waterbender’s screams are heard not only by her friends but also by the people surrounding them. it is not shocking that havoc quickly breaks out and the Kyoshi warriors take position around the shore, around the houses. you can breathe the tension; you can see the Kyoshi warriors’ makeup trying to hold against the sweet on their faces. Kyoshi’s warriors are without experience of what a real battle is. The temporary peace is finally broken by the commanding voice of the prince.

 “Bring me the avatar and I will spare you village,” Zuko yells loudly, so everyone can hear his order.

Nobody obeys.

 The battle is fierce. Katara is sure the village is at the brink of destruction. the Kyoshi warriors are no match. only Suki and a few can hold their ground, the rest of the battalion decide to help the villagers. Katara is not a coward. even without any true experience, she still a child of the south pole: a cruel place where hunting enormous beasts is the norm. she knows how to escape and the same time trap the enemy because escaping doesn’t mean surrendering. it means choosing a better battle ground.

it works. some Kyoshi warriors are able to capture some soldiers. it gets even better in some places: the Kyoshi warriors are actually winning. sadly for team avatar, Zuko is not just a soldier but also a commander in training with general Iroh as his teacher.

 “You clever girl, I wasn’t expecting urban counterattack.” Zuko’s eyes follow her running around the village giving orders deep inside him a new feeling emerges like a sleeping dragon slowly waking up by the sight of an undiscovered treasure. the dragon growls in pleasure. a worthy natural leader that is what the dragon sees.

“Soldiers,” he says, “don’t follow the girl. she is setting traps along the way. remember our objective is the avatar. we are not taking the village.“

“Yes, my lord,” the soldiers reply to their prince.

The battle continues. thankfully, Aang as the avatar is a powerful foe. the battle reaches a stalemate. the proud prince refuses to accept the outcome: a stalemate means a window   for the avatar to escape.

not this time.

Zuko rushes onto a nearby hill, following the avatar and behind them are Katara and Sokka. it is a miscalculated strategy, for Zuko doesn’t know the hill is in fact a cliff and the avatar, as a good airbender, promptly jumps and leaves Zuko behind. with the cliff ahead, the only option for Zuko is to surrender or fall to his death.    

 “Surrender,” Katara hears the avatar yell, but what worries her the most is her brother. she has seen it before, the posture his brother is holding: his face, those eyes. this is the look of a hunter; this is Sokka fighting a seal-wolf. he is ready to strike his enemy. Katara knows how deep sokka`s hatred is for the fire nation, but adrenaline is clouding her brother’s mind. Sokka is not thinking right; he is not thinking that a strike means Zuko’s death.

for a brief moment Katara loses control of her body and instinct takes over. she lift her head a little, focuses on her objective, and with a swift movement, Katara pulls and pushes a nearby puddle and hits her brother right in the back. it is a strong strike since Katara doesn’t have great control of her bending yet.    

Zuko takes the opportunity and rushes. he runs as fast as he can, leaving the avatar team behind

 “Katara, what the hell? control your bending better! we almost won.”

“No , Sokka, you dumbass, you almost pushed him to his death. he is not a seal-wolf ; he is a human. a strike with your boomerang would ha ve push ed him into the abyss .”

 Sokka just blinks. his sister is right; he didn't think of the consequence. he almost killed Zuko, but that means he would have saved everyone else. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. after all, is not what his father is doing?    

 “Guys, stop fighting. Zuko is still here. we shall drive him away. Sokka, go to  Suki and helps her. Katara, come with me,” says Aang, trying to formulate a decent battle plan.

it doesn’t take long until they are faced with the fire prince one again and once more Katara is captivated by Zuko’s fire and how he masters it. his bending is filled with passion and maybe with some anger, and at the tail end of their match, Zuko is burning the village. Aang notices that too and without thinking he flies towards the sea.      

what the hell is he trying to do? Zuko and Katara wonder, but without the avatar on the scene, the battle is now between Zuko and Katara.

Katara knows she has little battle experience, so she scans her surrounding trying to find a way to escape. she notices behind Zuko a child is about to throw a knife. it is impossible for the prince to notice this attack, a deadly attack. in that instant Katara`s body moves without her permission and the water below the little kid freezes, making him trip and miss his target. Zuko sees something similar: an old man with a bow in his hand behind Katara is about to shot. it is obvious a man  his age has horrible aim and the arrow is about to hit Katara.

 Why save her? her peasant body is a perfect human shield. that would be a rational thing to do on the battlefield, but he is not Zhao.

Not saving her is not an option, especially when there so many questions about her. if this peasant is helping him or not, he must know. after all, having an ally is never a bad thing.

so he punches the air, releasing a massive flame aimed at the old man. as his bow burns, the man feels to the ground.            

from Katara’s perspective everything is a whirlpool of emotions. first she thought she was about to be hit with massive flames, but the flames feel like warm kissing along her cheeks. it feels so good, she forces herself to not lean into the fire and feel more of the warm because fire is dangerous. as soon the flame dies, an awkward feeling of loss confuses Katara. why is she missing the feeling of Zuko’s flame around her?

After everything is done, when the imminent danger against Katara and Zuko’s lives  is  over, an uncomfortable silence surrounds them. Zuko finally is able to look the peasant carefully. her eyes are like the sea they hold the wrath of the ocean.  everyone who looks at her this close surely know this peasant is dangerous. Zuko takes a cautionary step, closing the distance between them. he notices how beautiful her face is. he takes another step, remembering she saved him. in order to save him, she attacked her brother.

                    ��                                                                             “you saved her too,” a dark voice in his head says with some hint of possessiveness, and finally Zuko takes a final step, leaving almost no distance between them. she is so close to him. her face so close but this time he is not watching how beautiful her eyes are and face is. now this time he is looking curiously, trying to rely on his instincts, trying to figure it out why he is interested in knowing her. Zuko doesn’t realize the black smoke coming from his mouth as he gets annoyed by the sudden interruption. it appears the peasant`s brother is calling her, ruining the moment

 On Appa, Katara finally sees the consequence of her own actions: the black smoke coming from the island. Saving Zuko meant Suki`s village’s destruction.

Did I just betray the Kyoshi people for Zuko?       

 Zuko stands there watching the girl leave with the avatar while he and his men are being covered by spit from a giant unagi. his ride on the rhino means nothing. the avatar is already in the sky. this time the young prince is even angrier he lost the avatar, and now he is plagued by questions about the waterbender peasant. she is untrained but clearly powerful.

 Zuko whispers to the wind so Agni may hear and help him.

“Katara, you should not feel safe. I am coming for you , too . I have questions.”

big thanks to my beta reader @gefionne

art @ WaterMistress

[asciendo]

Secret Mission

Zuko leaves on a mission with Sokka without telling. 

He expects to be. welcomed with open arms when he returns, but you have other plans for him.

I think I read a fic in the past that inspired me for this one!

It’s been two weeks since Sokka and Zuko left on their secret mission. It wasn’t really a secret on what they were doing but the fact that they left without telling anyone was what made it a secret.

Azula’s ships were spotted two mountains down from the campsite and Zuko knew she was carrying heavy explosives for the war. Him and Sokka were adamant on tracking her ships and destroying the explosives, but they all knew that her ships were heavily guarded.

“Look, we don’t even know if the explosives are actually on the ship!” Katara argued. “No, I do know! I was there when they were planning the transaction!” Zuko paced around the camp.

“I agree with Zuko, it could make a huge difference for the war!” Sokka joined Zuko standing up as well. “Knowing Azula she probably changed her plans since you betrayed her.” You stated as you sat near the campfire because you were cold. “But what if she didn’t because she knew she’d be heavily guarded?!”

“That’s exactly my point! It’s too risky for the just a possibility that the explosives are on those ships!” Katara rolled her eyes at her brother. “THEY ARE ON THOSE SHIPS!” Zuko yelled back.

“Katara’s right. It was such a close call last time...I say we should wait it out.” Aang stated as he fumbled with air between his hands. Two weeks ago, Katara and Aang were trying to infiltrate one of Ozai’s camps to get information on their war plans, but Ozai hired extra mercenaries to protect the camp, which almost got them caught.

“That settles it. We’re not going.” Katara stated and headed back to her tent. The rest did too except you and Zuko. You sighed watching him slump on the floor in defeat. Zuko’s been struggling on his place in the group. He still feels like he has to prove he’s on their side and that he was useful. He never told you that, but you could tell it eats him up inside.

It’s been four months since you both were “officially” together after your failed friends with benefits run.

It was great being out in the open, you didn’t have to hide your affection towards each other, and you had more clarity on your relationship. You were honest and knew each other to the deepest core of who you both were. Although, neither of you could never rest when one was out on a mission while the other was back at camp, worrying on what could happen.

The time you and Katara went to steal food from a fire nation camp, Zuko stayed up all night until both of you returned. You remember seeing his shoulders slump in relief as you walked towards him, you simply winked carrying a crate of food, which he then took from you to carry, then placed a long kiss on your forehead. When him and Aang went to search for the fire bending masters you couldn’t sleep till he returned and jumped at him when he entered your now shared tent.

“Zuko.” You sighed as you sat next to him and leaned your head on his shoulder. He didn’t respond but continued staring at the fire. “Zuko, it’s too dangerous...and knowing Azula, she probably changed her plans with the explosives.”

“I know they’re there. I just know it.” he said through gritted teeth.

“Come on, it’s late. We should get some sleep.”

“You go ahead, I just need to think about some stuff.” You stared at him with a worried expression, but he immediately kissed you on the lips as a form of reassurance. You smiled then left. That was the last you saw him before he and Sokka took off on Appa.

2 weeks later, they still hadn’t shown up and the gang was getting nervous. Aang tried to hide it but he spent his mornings pacing around. Katara would stare at sky hoping for signs of Appa, so did Sukki, Toph would throw boulders while at first you wanted to try to find them, but had no idea where they were, would spend your days around the forest hunting and gathering food to distract yourself.

You were all laid out on the floor when suddenly Suki sat up. “Guys, I hear something.”

“So?” Toph scoffed, “No, it’s coming from above!” Suki jumped on her feet. “Yeah right.” You rolled your eyes, there were so many close calls thinking Sokka and Zuko were flying home that you didn’t want any false sense of hope that you’d see him again.

“NO SHE’S RIGHT IT’S APPA!” Aang ran towards you then fell in excitement. Your heart stopped, could it really be them? You sat up and stared at the sky. It was Appa. And you saw two figures on his back, Sokka and Zuko.

“YIPEEEE!” Aang danced around on an air ball. As soon as Appa landed Katara ran to Sokka and hugged him, so did Suki. Aang was next and squished both Sokka and Zuko in a huge hug and Toph high fived them both. Zuko laughed at all the attention then looked at you with a huge grin expecting you to run up to him as well, which automatically dropped when he saw your angry face.

“GUYS I’M SO HAPPY!” Aang continued to dance around the two. “Me too, but that was SO stupid!” Katara placed her hands on her hips. “Well...guess who destroyed two of Azula’s ships including all the explosives?” Sokka gloated as he strutted around the fire.

“NO WAY! I should have gone!” Toph stomped her foot on the ground which made the earth shake. “So there were explosives on the ships...” Katara blushed in embarrassment. “Told you.” Zuko said, but he was still looking at you with worry in his eyes.

“What took two weeks though?” Suki asked as she plopped herself on Sokka’s lap. “Okay, so good news, all the explosives were gone, bad news was we were captured after.”

“WHAT?!” the rest of you shouted in unison.

“BUT! We escaped and torched the Fire Nation camp that captured us.” Sokka winked.

“Sokka! That is so DANGEROUS! You two could have gotten killed!” Katara was yelling in Sokka’s face. “But we DIDN’T! And now we have a higher chance of winning the war.” Sokka smirked.

Katara and Sokka continued to argue while you and Zuko just stared at each other, both not knowing what to do. Obviously, you were happy he was back and safe but so angry he left and didn’t tell you. A few moments passed and you decided you needed some space.

“Well, I’m glad you both are safe.” You stated and walked into the woods. The gang became quiet and Zuko looked like he saw a ghost. “Uhm, I’m sorry man, but...you’re smoked.” Sokka shrugged and Katara hit him. “OW!”

You needed to be alone for a bit so you were taking your usual walk in the forest, forgetting for a bit that the trail was the same one you and Zuko took every night.

“Y/N!” you heard footsteps running behind from you, but you kept walking. “Hey, come on.” He placed his arm on your shoulder, so you turned around.

You looked at him with painful eyes and he softened his grip on you. “What’s wrong?” he placed his arms on your shoulders.

Both of you stood there for a bit, him waiting for you to say something, trying to read you. Suddenly, your soft expression turned into a hard one and you slapped Zuko right across the face.

He stumbled back grabbing his cheek that was now slightly pink. “WH-WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!”

“DON’T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!” You yelled and continued walking. “DO WHAT?” Zuko followed you but now he was mad as well. “LEAVE!”

“I had to leave! Those explosives could have hurt hundreds of people, and we destroyed a fire nation camp as well.” He tried to explain himself but you kept walking away from him.

“I was right, wasn’t I? The explosives were on those ships!”

“That’s not the point Zuko!” you raised your arms in exasperation. “We destroyed the explosives that would be used against us! How could you be mad about that?!”

“That’s not why I’m mad!” you rolled your eyes even though he couldn’t see you. “Then why don’t you tell me instead of us wandering around here like idiots!”

“Y/N, will you please stop walking!” Zuko groaned in annoyance.

“No.”

“You’re impossible.” Zuko growled but still continued to follow you. “Then go back to camp!”

“No, I’m not leaving till we fix this.” You could hear a bit of desperation in his voice.

“Then too bad.”

“Y/N, we did what had to be done! It’s not like we left for no reason!”

“You really don’t get it, do you Zuko?” You stopped walking then looked at him, clearly he was clueless. “No, because you won’t tell me!” you sighed then gave up.

“You could have told me you were leaving!” You pleaded for him to understand but you could tell he wasn’t getting what you were trying to say. “It was my choice and you would have told me not go.” he said through gritted teeth.

“Yes but I would have known where you were.”

“What difference would that make? I still would have gone.” There was a pang in your heart because Zuko still had no idea what it was like wondering if he was alive every single day.

“Zuko...do you know what it was like waking up and you were gone. Not knowing if you were alright, if you were captured or or—“ tears started to trickle down your face. Zuko’s eyes widened and his hard expression quickly turned to softness and worry. The only time Zuko’s ever seen you cry was when you received news that your childhood home was burned down in the Fire Nation as they considered your father a traitor. The truth was, he was like Zuko, he knew what they were doing was wrong and left.

“You just left...without telling me...and I wondered everyday, every night, if you were okay and just hoped that I’d see you sleeping next to me somehow and that this was all just a bad dream.”

“Y/N I—“

“What if you died, Zuko?!”

“I didn’t—“

“But you could have and I’d be here...not knowing what even happened to you!”

“Y/N, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” His eyes were pleading and you could see the remorse in his face.

“Do I mean that little to you?” Zuko’s face dropped and he instantly walked towards you and grabbed your face.

“Y/N...you mean everything to me.” He whispered as he caressed your face. “Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“I-I thought it would be better...because you wouldn’t know what we were doing, so you wouldn’t feel guilty if anything happened...” he looked down, realizing how wrong he was. Zuko suddenly remembered all the times you went on a mission without him and how helpless he felt that he wasn’t there to protect you. He’d spend days with no sleep, pacing around the camp while looking for any sign of you returning. “It wasn’t better! Even if I didn’t like what you were doing but at least have the compassion to tell me!” you tried to pull away from his grasp, but he held on tighter.

“I know... I wasn’t thinking. I was just so sure I was right and I knew it would make a huge difference and I just wanted to—“

“You just wanted to prove you deserve to be on Aang’s side.” You finished and Zuko nodded slowly. Zuko was always skeptical if the team really trusted him, especially due to the fact that he used to chase them around trying to capture Aang.

“Zuko, it’s been months. Everyone trusts you and respects you, remember we’re on the same boat here, I’m from the Fire Nation too, you know.”

“I do...it’s just, I did horrible things to them. I always feel like I have to make up for it.” he turned away from you. “Zuko, you don’t have to make up for anything, I’m so proud of you for all that you’ve done, and how much you’ve changed. I just thought I had a bigger place in your life for you to tell me.”

“You are the biggest part of my life, Y/N. Don’t ever doubt that.” he cupped your face with his hands once more. “I’m so sorry I ever made you feel that way, it was selfish and—“

“And I’m so proud of how brave you are...it just scares me sometimes that you could just be gone...”

“Don’t you think I feel the same way when you’re out on missions?”

“At least you know where I’m going.” You smirked and he sighed but laughed after.

“I’m sorry, I should have been more considerate.” You smiled lightly. “But don’t ever think you mean little to me. You’re the only good thing in my life.” He kissed you on your forehead and you melted into his arms.

[tedturneriscrazy]

Here's Eclipse Lake, an episode that has been highly anticipated! Will it top Knock, Knock, Knockin' On Hooty's Door?

I'll skip the pretense: No. It won't.

You'll see under the cut.

Hmm, that list of ingredients for the Grimwalker...I'll let other people theorize about this (like @sepublic ), but it sure looks like a thing

Guess the mysterious green goo won't cut it, huh?

Belos face reveal already?! Huh, didn't expect it so soon.

Oh, no, he's hot! (And I'm mad about it)

Still an ass, though

Now we know why Hunter was wearing a different outfit (because people fixated on that for some reason)

Amity with the clipboard gives me strong Dipper vibes

GHOST! My beloved!

I need a moment because CAT!

(Also, someone pointed out earlier that Ghost was based on Dana's cat, and that's super obvious in hindsight)

Raine?! Oh, wait, you mean rain. Sigh.

Eda gets training tips from DBZ confirmed

(Also Amity's face when reacting to Eda's explanation is priceless)

Oh God Eda's a weeb I need another moment

Damn, Amity just straight up calling Eda old

Oh, loopy Luz

(The abomination holding the tissue box is adorable for many reasons)

Yeah, don't want Luz to eat the McGuffin

I have several questions about those Tamagotchis that I'll refrain from listing here

Amity your Odalia is showing

Girlfriend counter: 1

(Yes I am introducing a counting gag, deal with it)

Was wondering if they were ever gonna reference the dissection incident. We've come a long way, baby!

Oh, so that's what everyone was looking at

Luz honey your enthusiasm is admirable but no

Luz burrito is quite cute, though

Girlfriend counter: 2

(Damn, still wild to think that that's the case)

Just occurred to me that "Boots" is probably shortened from "Bossyboots" from earlier

Guess the Luz hiss compilation needs to be updated again

Those tunnels ain't the only thing around here that's unstable, amirite?

Oops, guess Kiki was justified, after all

Maybe don't talk so loudly about your plans, dude

That is her son, get it right!

Serves you right for having that stupid strand of hair sticking out like that

Is this just the episode where everyone dunks on White Boy? Because I can totally get behind that.

Already mentioned this, but I am loving the parallels between Katara and Amity with that bottle of abomination goo. Insert obligatory "Two Nickels" meme here about Mae Whitman.

We really are just dunking on the white boy and I am living for it

Hooty had to get it from somewhere, I suppose

Nothing says mother-son bonding like shooting things at each other (see also: Separate Tides)

I'm sure the magic bouncing off the veins won't come into play later at all

Oh well, at least the echolocation looked cool

At this point Amity would kill Hunter for a Klondike bar

Wait why does Hooty need a chair

Willow with the galaxy brain ideas

"A bad but sad boy" Luz is a genius at succinctly summing people up

Kikimora continues to be unhinged. Ironically she's not wrong about Hunter.

Motherfucker stop acting like you know what that says

(Also, projecting much?)

Girlfriend counter: 3

Friendly reminder that Hunter is still an antagonist

Uh oh

UH OH

I know someone mentioned Willow having the brain cell, but honestly it seemed like Luz had it this whole time. And that's not good.

WHY IS FOOL'S BLOOD EVEN A THING

Aaaaand cue the getting screwed over

Further reminder that he's still an antagonist (Apparently there's a vocal segment who's Really Mad at him that seem to forget this fact)

You unhand Ghost right now!! And Amity too, I guess.

(I kid, she's literally my second favorite character)

For what she did to Raine it warms my heart to know Kiki has had zero peace of mind

Wait, the Abomatons are Transformers?! Okay, that's kind of awesome, actually. Alador might be a shit dad but he is a brilliant inventor.

Chucking kids off cliffs is a surpisingly common pastime in the Boiling Isles

Owlbert no!

Eda did spend literal decades fighting the Owl Beast within, so I guess she can't be blamed for not thinking to talk to it

Also hurry up guys I'm very concerned about Owlbert

Fuck yeah Harpy Milf!

Yay Ghost returns!

She's glad they're okay (I didn't need to take this, I just thought it was cute. Also this is surprisingly high quality considering I just took a photo of my TV screen)

Oh, so they do have video games in the Demon Realm. That or Luz introduced them.

Trailer shot!

Oh dear, we about to have a fight over the key

Wow, being so high ranking under Belos is really bad for mental health

Jesus Christ Belos what have you been putting in this poor kid's head?

Leave it to King to give radical recontextualizations

Amity, I'm glad you remembered/realized this about Luz, please don't let the sad white boy play you like that again

Also, I appreciate the gesture you're making, and it's a wonderful summary of your character development, but goddamnit he's gonna go for that key because he's STILL AN ANTAGONIST

"Being nice usually works for Luz!" A) Not always, and B) Amity I love you but Luz you are not. A valiant attempt nonetheless.

Ooh, cool fight scene!

Always lovely to see such superb animation

I was privately griping about not seeing Amity use magic for so long, and now I am fed

Don't think I didn't hear the glass breaking

Appreciate your ass from a hole in the ground, Golden Boy!

(jk I don't actually feel that strongly about him still. That kind of threat still isn't cool, though)

Oh so that's why it's the Common Mold!

It's kinda cute, actually. Or maybe it's just because it's Luz.

TIL Hooty is heat resistant

Apparently Owl Beast just wanted a snack

Girlfriend counter: 4

Also love how calling Amity her awesome girlfriend is literally the first thing Luz says to her upon returning.

Yesssss return the hug! You deserve it!

(I know there are higher quality versions of this screenshot, I just didn't feel like looking around)

King demands huggies, too! (And gets 'em)

Reminder that Amity is smart as hell. I knew that glass breaking indicated something!

So once again I've been had. I let the fandom trick me into thinking this episode would be way more intense. Guess that one screenshot was from the next episode.

Overall this was...fine. Some nice Lumity moments, Harpy Eda strutting her stuff, that gorgeously animated fight sequence; those were all lovely.

I do wish Willow and Gus had a bit more to do. And I'm still rather unenthusiastic about Hunter, to be honest. I've seen his type several times before, and the path they have for him is rather obvious. I may never share the fandom's love for him, and I guess I'll have to deal with that.

Anybody who says this was better than KKKOHD is a damn fool.

Mid season finale next week! I think Yesterday's Lie will finally bring the pain!

[zutarasecrettunnel]

For Zutara Week 2021 Day 6: Spirits

Your Face, I See

Synopsis: The war is over for everyone but Katara, who keeps seeing the scarred face of the boy who sacrificed himself for her and for the world, everywhere she looks. When she finds out why she is experiencing these so-called hallucinations, she may be led right into a trap centuries in the making.

Read Chapter 1 here or on AO3:

After the war, scars were everywhere.

The earth lay scorched, trees stood singed, soldiers returned mangled to their homelands. The blemishes of war seemed to stain every surface, no mark more personal than the other, all a collective memory of survival for a world too long drenched in strife. None except for the mark that constantly haunted the waterbender. That mark was familiar. Each surface seemed to contain the same ragged skin, the same aged trauma, the same golden eyes.

It had been three months since she had escaped war into peacetime physically unscathed but obliterated nonetheless. Three months of seeing the scar that marked him, the banished prince of the Fire Nation, in nearly every object and landscape that entered her vision. It started in the Fire Nation palace only a week after the cacophony of flame and lightning that had ended the 100 Years War for good. Flickering flames cast the shadow of ruined layers of flesh, folded in on themselves like the staggering billows of crimson curtains they would appear behind. For months she stifled gasps as cat-like eyes seemed to watch her from around the imposing columns of the nation's grandest hall. Flashes, like the one that had taken him during the blaze of Sozin' comet, nothing but small jolts appearing out of nowhere like the snapping of a campfire during a ghost story.

The first time she saw him she almost believed he was real. His face had appeared in the blackness of the doorway of her borrowed chambers one night as she sat rocking at the edge of her bed, having only just awoken from another nightmare. In the soft candleglow, she had almost believed he had miraculously returned. This face was the one she remembered - taciturn, loyal, fragmented, handsome. It was not the ashen face of suffering he had held before finally succumbing to his family's dynasty of cruelty while his sister shrieked in her chains. This face, the one she had so long ago described as the face of the enemy, was the one she had begged the spirits to let her see ever since the Fire Sages had whisked his lifeless form away from her in the smoky aftermath of the Agni Kai.

But that's all it was. His face, unaccompanied by a body, and fading almost as soon as she had been able to adjust her eyes to the sight - a one-time hallucination brought on by sleeplessness. Just another aspect to the nightmare she was experiencing while awake and asleep, a side effect of watching a boy who had quickly become one of her closest friends die in her arms. As the plain blackness returned, so did Katara's heartbeat, sputtering back to work as if it had forgotten its role in her body and only just now remembered it had to keep her alive. She blinked again and again, feeling wetness on her cheeks. She would not sleep for the rest of the night.

It wasn't until the next time she saw him that she started to become concerned. His face appeared again ten days later, this time emanating from the bark of the willow tree near the royal turtleduck pond, illuminated plainly by the midday rays of the Fire Nation sun.This time it could not be blamed on candlelight and tired eyes. The waterbender gasped, dropping the rice ball she held. It rolled ungracefully into the pond, immediately being devoured by a small family of turtleducks.Her companions stopped their own consumption at the sound of her sharp intake. Sokka stared at his sister with concern. Suki followed her stare to the willow tree, looking back at the younger girl puzzled. Toph was the only one who continued nibbling absentmindedly on her own rice ball as if she hadn't noticed Katara's outburst at all.

"What is it?" Aang's voice broke through Katara's shock. She blinked, and already the second hallucination of the prince was gone.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, trying to recover, "it's nothing. I thought I saw a cave hopper and I-I-I thought they only lived in the caves!" She felt a reassuring touch on her elbow, looking to see Sokka offering a half-smile. He had noticed the deep circles forming under her eyes, the way any upturn of her mouth never reached them. Unsure of what else to do, he offered his presence as some semblance of reassurance to his sister, trying to impart that he was there for her no matter what.

"Oh," was the only response from the Avatar, hesitation clear in the single syllable. He hated seeing Katara like this, jumpy and anxious. None of them had been the same since Zuko had entered the spirit world, despite how they had all tried to move on. They had gotten everything they had worked for, an end to the century-long suffering of the four nations, but the cost seemed as if it was too great to bear. He worried he would never see the carefree Katara he had spent so much time trying to cultivate in the overburdened young girl again. The world was finally better, finally the way she deserved it to be, and yet he still couldn't make her happy.

The already somber mood of the group's lunch only soured more. It was then Katara decided she would work harder at keeping the ghostly image of the fire prince at bay, or at least keeping her hallucinations to herself. Despite her silent commitment, the visions only got worse. As time went on they became more frequent. First it became every day, then what seemed like every hour. Everywhere she went in the palace, in the streets of the capitol marketplaces, and even on the shores where she sought the healing nature of her element. Every inch of this vibrant and troubled nation was haunted for her, from the planned peace festivals to the pop-up protests of the now displaced ruling class. She stayed to help Aang restore order, working to ensure the stability of the nation her friend had so dearly loved, the nation whose honor he had sacrificed everything for.

With the increase in frequency of the hauntings, so increased the abject panic rising in Katara. It was becoming more difficult to hide her affliction from the others. After months of torment, while floating secluded in the star-speckled waves of a small, hidden inlet not far from the crater's edge, she finally asked for help.

The rising tide sent salt water lapping at her skin, while her eyes caused it to flood her face. She would often seek healing in these waters, but had so far been unsuccessful in drowning her grief. Tonight she basked in Yue's light, and finally got the courage to beg her celestial friend for relief.

She wasn't sure it would work, ignorant to the communication abilities of the spirits, but desperation consumed her. She had heard Sokka try talking to the moon shortly after they had left the Northern Water Tribe, sadness laden in his usually upbeat voice. She suddenly wondered if he had also seen visions of the princess after she had left them.

"Please, spirits. Please, Yue," she began her sorrowful overture to the large lunar surface overhead, floating parallel to the enormous heavenly body. "Why do I keep seeing him? Why do I keep seeing Zuko?"

She swallowed hard in the ensuing silence, trying to wait patiently for an answer. She was met only with a quiet, steady glow. Eyes closed tightly in despair, she listlessly started swimming back to the shore. As she neared the empty beach she heard the velvety cadence of the moon spirit speak softly between her ears.

"I know you miss him."

Katara froze in the water, settling upright, her toes sinking into silky sand. The ocean still covered her up to her shoulders. The voice arose in her again.

"Tui and La must circle each other in an eternal dance. One is not complete without the other. This is not what was meant to be," she explained. "Your anguish has pierced even the spirit world, and many have taken note."

Katara let her body sway loosely in the waves as she listened intently, her sand-covered feet her only anchor to this world.

"There are some that might use-" The sweet tones emanating from the pale night sky were sharply interrupted by a graveled voice. The new voice called out loudly, direct and authoritative.

"Katara!"

At the sound of that voice calling her name, she snapped her body toward the beach, searching the dimly lit shore for it's source. She hesitated for only a split second, taking one last glance at the moon, before summoning a grand swell of ocean to deliver her directly to the dry sands. Once ashore, she continued seeking the source of the voice. Her eyes darting from dark cliffs to jagged palm fronds, her heart beating wildly.

Finally she saw it, and immediately crumpled into the sand.

It was his face again, staring back at her from a rocky, moonlit crag. Just as it had been the hundred times before, his expression was serene, tranquil. Except this time it changed. This time the face curled into a twisted smile, an expression more suited for the deposed Phoenix King than his son. She stared, horrified, watching the distorted lips form the syllables of her name over and over. When it turned, revealing a hulking, segmented body like that of an enormous centipede, she finally screamed.

She could hear Zuko's voice continuing to call her name, begging her to help him, as she quickly picked herself off the ground and darted past the monster back toward the palace, heading recklessly into the heavy night.

[just-jordie-things]

Could you do number 57 and 27 for a Zuko x reader ❤️🥰only if you want to and are still doing the prompts. Hope you have a great day!

why thank you dear I hope you have a wonderful day/night as well <3

prompt 27: a giggly kiss prompt 57: breaking the kiss to say something, staying so close that you’re murmuring into each other’s mouths ___

Maybe sneaking away at a party wasn’t such a good idea, because surely people would notice if she was missing.  She did save the world after all.  She may not be the Avatar, but she was still a well known waterbender alongside Katara, and her name had been plastered on many wanted posters.

Except now her name made the headlines as one of the brave young soldiers who ended Ozai’s tyrannical rule.

Even if it was noticed that she was gone, she wouldn’t be missed.

Zuko however was the Fire Lord now, and his absence at his own even would definitely be noticed.  Probably by his guards first, who would discreetly try to find him.  And then his and her shared friends.

“(y/n),” He says warningly as he lets the girl pull him along the hallways.  “We should probably head back”

“But I haven’t seen the whole palace yet,” She says matter-of-factly, in that sweet voice that she knows fully well he can’t refuse to.  “And that party is so…”

“I know, it’s a bore,” The firebender sighs, and draws her down a new corridor she hadn’t seen before.  “Let’s never go to another event again”

She laughs, wanting to agree, but she knows better.

“Zuko,” She hums, stopping him in his tracks so that he’s standing before her, and she gives him a bittersweet smile.  “You’re the Fire Lord now, you know”

“I was at the coronation, you don’t have to remind me” He teases, just to get a more genuine smile out of her.

She’d been so sad since the war had ended and they’d been staying in the Fire Nation, and Zuko wasn’t so naive to not understand why.  She would have to go home soon, back to the Northern Water Tribe, where her people were waiting for her to rule.

Zuko wasn’t the only one with a Kingdom to uphold.

“You know what I mean,” She sighs, tilting her head at him.  “You’ll have plenty of events like these that you’ll have to-”

“And I’ll be looking forward to every single one of them,” He tells her brightly, before she could allow her despair to take over their sweet private moment.  “Because you’ll be attending all of them, and I’ll get to look forward to seeing you, Princess”

“Don’t call me that” (y/n) says through a breath of air.

“You’re right,” Zuko says, and hooks his finger under her chin so he could bring her face up to look at him.  “You’re about to be Queen”

She giggles, despite feeling flustered at hearing such a title- and maybe even a little anxious that soon people would be referring to her as such- but coming from Zuko it’s so sweet that it sounds pleasant.

He laughs quietly with her, raising her chin a little further, prompting her to lean towards him.

Without hesitation, (y/n) leaned up on the tips of her toes, the both of them still laughing quietly amongst themselves as their lips were sealed in a gentle kiss.

Kissing Zuko before the war had ended always felt like a breath of fresh air.  It was a way to calm her nerves of impending doom and whatnot.  But now, it felt like finally coming home.

She brings her hand up to his cheek as she parts from him, but she doesn’t bother to move away, just lets her lips ghost over his as she speaks.

“I love you, Fire Lord,” She murmurs, her voice lacking in the teasing tone she’d meant to use for his new title.  “And I’m going to miss you like hell”

He brings an arm around her waist as he gazes upon her fondly.

“It won’t be too long, my love,” He breathes out, stealing another soft and quick kiss.  “Just a few short years and then… well, maybe we could join our… uh… kingdoms”

The softness in (y/n’s) eyes flickers out as they widen, and she stares at him with her jaw dropped open in surprise.

“Really?” She asks, her heart thundering in her chest at his suggestion.  “Don’t joke about that Zuko, it’s not funny-”

“Yes, really,” He murmurs before she could start to rant at him.  “I mean, n-not now, of course, we’re far too young for marriage and we’ll both be terribly busy making reparations of peace but… yes, really,”

(y/n’s) eyes grow glossy, and no matter how many times she blinks, she can’t seem to get the damn tears to go away.

“It’s not like there’s anyone else I want by my side”

“Well,” (y/n) swallows the lump in her throat as a grin breaks out on her lips.  “If no one else is interested, then I suppose I’ll have to take you up on your offer”

He laughs at her teasing, and she can’t help but sneak another quick kiss from him.

“That wasn’t a proposal,” He tells her.  “Not yet”

“Alright,” She agrees softly.  “Not yet”

“Mostly because I need Sokka to propose to Suki first,” Zuko said seriously.  “So that I can do it better”

(y/n) laughs loudly, the sound echoing throughout the empty corridor, and filling Zuko’s ears with joy and his chest with love.

“Of course,” She says between her fits of giggles.  “I wouldn’t want it any other way”

It was unorthodox for people in such prominent positions of power to make a grand decision such as marriage in a spur of the moment promise in a hallway while ditching a party.  

But it was going to be one hell of a romantic story to tell your grandchildren. ___

xoxo ~ jordie

[nova-is-a-writer-now]

FOOLS pt.3

[[Zuko x Reader]]

<- previous next ->

Summary: Zuko and Y/N had liked eachother for a while even though neither of them knew it. Y/N tries to get over her crush for him, failing miserably. So just when she decides to let go and embrace her feelings, the new Fire lord finds himself feeling jealous and decides to take matters into his own hands.

A/N: I’m still impressed by how many people have liked this series and I’m so grateful to everyone who reads, it’s getting a little angsty in here so be prepared. (Edit: I wrote that before actually finishing this part, scratch that cause things got REALLY FUCKING ANGSTY. Also this part is a little shorter than the others but believe me, it’s as much as your little hearts will be able to take.) As always if there’s any mistake or anything let me know.

Side note I’ll wait for a request to start writing pt. 4

Warnings: Angst but it’ll end well i promise

-IF YOU HAVE ANY REQUEST DONT HESITATE TO ASK-

You walked up to your friends once again, noticing someone was missing. “Hey... where’s Zuko?” You asked everybody as you saw the packaged dress in Katara’s hand.

“He said he had business to attend at the palace, acted really weird and stormed out the marked.” She replied looking at you with concerned look in her eyes.

“That’s...weird. Maybe he got bad news, firelord stuff.” You said more to yourself than to the others.

Sokka interviened, cutting your thoughts short. “He did say we could stay and eat around here, so let’s find a place, I’m starving.”

———————————

After lunch, you and your friends walked around the market a while longer. You saw the same thing you had seen the day before from the carriage, people were happy. This was a major concern for all of you once the war had come to an end, how would the people of the Fire nation take the new way of things?but Zuko definitely did a great job with it all.

Sokka ended up buying a bunch of junk against Suki’s advice, while you and Katara bought some pieces of jewelry to go with your dresses, Toph bought a set of nunchucks which worried all of you a little bit, and Aang bout a toy for Momo.

Soon enough you were back at the palace, Zuko still no where to be seen. You tried not to pay much attention to it, yet worry still lingered in the back of your mind. It was almost dusk when you proposed the idea of setting up a campfire outside for old time’s sake. It felt like forever since all of you had sat down around the burning flames to talk or eat or simply lay down and look at the stars. So after a while, when everyone went to their chambers to leave the things they’d bought and change to a more appropriate attire for the weather, the group was back outside setting up the fire.

You laughed at sokka who tried to light it up, struggling thanks to the fact that the only wood you had found was very old and affected by the humidity of the Fire nation’s weather. Ever since Aang learned how to firebend and Zuko joined the gaang, he hadn’t had to light up a fire from scratch.

“Hey, Sokka. It’s ok, we get it, it’s been so long since we’ve done this, you’ve kinda lost your touch.” You teased, knowing he was mostly trying to impress Suki with his abilities. Toph who was sitting next to you suppressed a laugh.

“I haven’t lost my touch, Y/N!!” He replied not taking his eyes away from the wood in front of him. “Actually it’s not a ‘touch’, it’s ability and knowledge, ok?”

Your only response was to laugh looking over at Katara. She looked at him worried and said “Are you sure you don’t want me to water bend the humidity out of the wood, Sokka?”

“No, Katara! No bending, just ability and knowledge”

“I could get the flame started for you” interviened Aang.

“Is no one listening to me? Ability and knowledge!!”

All of you let Sokka stay entertained trying to light up the camp fire for a few minutes more, after that you collectively and non-verbally decided you didn’t want to be there all night waiting, so you signaled Suki to distract him while Katara and Aang worked their quick magic. When he turned back around he saw the sparks consuming the wood slowly at first and then turning into a bigger flame. He smiled satisfied with himself and turned to look at all of you. “See? Ability and knowledge.”

“Of course it is , babe.” Suki hugged him from behind while the rest of you held a laugh. 

The laughs and giggles didn’t take long to begin. It had always been so easy to get along with eachother, like you’d been friends for way longer that you really had. Before all of this, you never had any real friends at the Northern water tribe, the boys didn’t like you because you were a girl, and the girls didn’t like you because you liked fighting and bending. But when you met the gaang, it was like you could finally be yourself and not be judged, they were more of a family to you than anyone else had ever been.

You’d been outside for a while when you heard steps getting closer behind you, the night sky already spread above you. You were about to turn around, big smile on your face assuming it was Zuko, when you realized the look on all of your friends’ faces. The smile faded as you turned your head around. In fact, it was Zuko who was approaching the campfire, but he wasn’t alone. Holding onto his arm was Mai, in a jaw-dropping dress, looking as beautifuly dark as ever. You were sure the sound of your heart breaking must’ve been heard through out the entirety of the Fire nation.

Mai? You asked yourself internally making an outworldly effort to take your eyes away from them. Everyone but you greeted them equally as shocked, then he proceeded to take a sit in a log placed right in front of you, pulling Mai into his lap. There were a few seconds of awkward silence before Sokka started speaking again. You could hear his voice, but you weren’t paying attention to his words. Your eyes were glued to the floor, too scared to even dare to look up, your face lacked any color and a now familiar knot in your throat and tightness in your chest were forming again.

You reminisced to the previous months. After Mai and Ty Lee had been released from Boiling Rock, Zuko told you he’d talked to her. They’d left things in good terms, she understood why he did what he did, and he realized how he’d treated her wasn’t the best. But you were sure that didn’t mean they were back together, I mean, that happened almost a year ago, and this was the first time you’d seen Mai since the coronation.

Has he been seeing her in secret all this time? Why keep it from me? Did he know I liked him all along and was simply trying not to hurt my feelings? But why now? And why like this?

All these thoughts ran through your head while you tried your best to keep the tears that were threatening to roll down your cheeks inside. Suki’s touch dragged you out of your head. “Y/N?” She called in a soft and low voice.

“Yeah, sorry.” You replied looking up at her.

“Wanna go get some snacks from the kitchen?”

“Sure, let’s go” You took her hand and walked with her away form the open and into the palace.

Once you were sure you were out of the group’s sight, you let out a deep breath you didn’t know you were holding up until then.

“Oh, Y/N. Are you ok?” She pressed your hand reassuringly

You forced yourself smiled at her. “Yeah, everything is fine. I’m ok.” You lied.

“Zuko is an asshole for doing this. If you want me to punch him in the face I can do that, I’m still training all the time, I’m sure I could kick his ass no sweat.” She tried to lighten the mood while leading you to the kitchen.

“No Suki, thanks. It’s ok. It’s not like we’re a thing or anything, he can go out, be with and do what he wants with whoever he wants. I’m no one to tell him otherwise” you spat, trying to convince yourself as much as Suki.

You finally arrived to the kitchen. Chef Karou took one look at you before noticing something was wrong. “Child, what happened? You’re white as a ghost.”

“It’s nothing Chef, I just got a little dizzy out of the sudden, but I’m ok.”

“Well you’re in luck, I have your favorite dessert freshly made. That’ll make you feel better.”

You and Suki carried each a basket of treats and small snacks Chef Karou had sent for you and your friends. You had to brace yourself before walking back outside, only to realize Zuko and Mai weren’t there anymore, instead a head of white hair filled the space where they’d been sitting before.

“Iroh!” You called handing your basket to Suki and walking up to him.

“Hello, my dearest.” He replied, opening his arms to give you a hug. He’d always been one to give great hugs. Since you met him, the two of you had connected through Zuko. He cared for him deeply for a very long time, and even though you had just met him then, you cared about him too. He’d shared his wise words with you, advising you about your worry regarding the war, and you listened to his stories in return. He was warm and caring and he had a very special place in your heart. Hugging him helped release the tightness in your chest that had been building up for a good while, and that came with a few tears as well. “Miss Y/N, there’s no need for tears, this is a joyful reunion.”

“I’m just...very glad you’re here.” You tried to explain wiping the wetness from your cheeks.

“I’m very happy to be back, and to see this nation be rebuilt and led honorably. Talking about leaders... have you seen my nephew around? I haven’t gotten the chance to greet him yet.” He asked looking around for him.

“I um... I guess he’s back at his office or in his chambers.” You hoped he couldn’t tell the way you were trying not to let Zuko mess with your head.

“Do you mind calling him for me, dear? I’m a little tired from the trip.”

You wanted to say no, specially since you knew Zuko had left with Mai, but saying no to Iroh had always been a hard task for you. “I... yes, don’t worry, I’ll let him know you’re here.”

And with those words you walked off to find him. His office was your first stop, you hoped he was there, sitting on his desk and going through paperwork as you’d seen him do many times before, because if he was that meant Mai wouldn’t be there, and you wouldn’t have to deal with seeing them together anymore. But to your despair, he wasn’t.

Gathering all the strength you had left, you made your way to his chambers. The walk there seemed painfully short, you wished you’d had more time to prepare, although after knocking on the door and proceeding to open it, no amount of time could’ve prepared you for the sight. Zuko and Mai were both sitting on the edge of his bed, he had his hand on her jaw, holding her tightly in her place, while her hand layed on his neck, holding onto the roots of his hair. They were kissing... really kissing.

The sound of the door opening made them realize someone was there and forcefully Zuko pulled apart. He looked at you for a few torturous seconds before saying. “Y/N, what can we help you with?”

We, it was such a dumb thing to notice but you did. Zuko said we, as in him and Mai, as in the girl who’s throat he had his tongue down mere seconds ago.

“Your uncle is here, he wants to see you.” You replied, your voice slightly shaky making you pray he didn’t notice.

“I’ll be right there... anything else?” His tone was one you hadn’t heard before, it was harsh, merciless, out of everything that had happened that evening that small detail was what hurt you the most.

“No, good night.” With those words you turned back around closing the door behind you. You couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, your heart ached in a way you’d never felt before. You cursed yourself in silence for being so dumb, so gullible to even think Zuko would think of you as anything more than a friend, a colleague. You cursed yourself because you knew this was how things were going to end from the very beginning.

Now he was kissing another girl and you were alone in your room, sitting in the dark, thinking about how you were going to pick all the pieces of your heart and put them back together.

A/N: sorry don’t hate me <3

Tag list: @harmlessoffering @zukoshonourr @marvel-ing-at-it-all @booksandwonderlands @bison-whistle @darthsokaaa @royahllty @godoftheabyss @ilovespideyyy @literally-anythin @daddystevee @annie-are-u-ok @whalerus @galacticamidala @mangoberry43 @eridanuswave @katherinethedork @littleninjablake @taeeemin

[welovediaaxx]

ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴏsᴛ ᴅɪᴀʀʏ / / ᴀᴢᴜʟᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

part one // part two // part three

yn stood in her place stunned, teacup in hand, watching the beautiful girl walk to her uncle. iroh quickly embraces her and starts talking to his niece

yn was shocked. she quickly shakes her head and walks over to zuko to give him his tea. “what’s wrong? you look like you’ve seen a ghost” zuko says as he grabs the tea cup.

she may as well have seen a ghost. it’s not every day a random stranger comes up to you and confesses their love to you. this must have been a joke, right? would a sane person actually say something like that? well scratch that because last yn heard zuko’s sister was in fact, not sane.

“well, um your sister just came up to me and handed me my diary that i though i lost” yn tells the boy.

 “you have a diary? what are you, twelve?” toph says as she laughs. 

“don’t laugh toph, sokka has a diary too.” suki  giggled.

“i do not have a diary! it’s a man journal.” sokka said as a blush crept onto his cheeks.

“yes, i’m sure you write all of your manly thoughts in your jurnal. like poems and songs about zuko and all of those manly things alike.” katara teases her brother as the whole table laughs. sokkas whole face gets red while he sends his sister a deathly glare.

“guys! i was talking, remember?” yn said as she sat down

 “right. sorry, y/n. go ahead.” aang says to the girl with a sympathetic look.

“so azula hands me my diary, right? and she straight up tells me ‘hey, i read your diary and- oh by the way i’m in love with you’. like, who does that?” yn looks around the table and all she sees is amused and shocked looks from her friends.

“wait, so did she say it in like a joking matter?” toph asks as she raises her eyebrows

 “azula? saying something in a joking matter? have you even met her?” suki interrupts her. 

“she could be genuine? i mean she probably never learned how to properly express her feelings” aang says

“you guys think she has feelings?” sokka said which resulted in him getting hit in the ribs by zuko and katara. he lets out a yelp “come on! am i wrong? she tried to kill us multiple times!” sokka finishes.

“i don’t know sokka, she really changed.” zuko said as he takes a sip of his tea “wait. i thought your sister was in an institution? how come she’s back in town?” y/n asks

“she’s been out of the institution for about two years. she wanted to explore the world before coming back home. she sent us letters from all over the world every few months” zuko explained

“and she hasn’t killed anyone while on her life changing trip?” toph said as she received a glare from katara.

the topic of azula was dropped after that, but she was still all y/n could think about.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

the next day, yn gets woken up by her alarm clock at exactly 6. her head hurts just from thinking about her early shift. she only forces herself out of bed when she remembers she’s working along zuko today. she quickly gets ready and heads to open up the jasmine dragon.

when she pulls up to the parking lot she can already see zuko standing in front of the big front doors with his arms crossed. “you’re late yn, we were supposed to start getting the place ready 3 minutes ago” zuko said as he glared at the girl.

“calm down salami face. it’s just 3 minutes. i’m sure we’ll still get everything done in time” yn says as she unlocks the door and walks in. “i still don’t understand why uncle gave you the keys, and not me- his only nephew” zuko says as he starts cleaning the counter. he grabs the bag of pastries and starts putting them in the display

“well i’m obviously more reliable than you” yn says as puts everything in its respective place “and he definitely loves me more” she mutters. the next 30 minutes were spent in silence as the pair prepared for opening.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

the day went too slow for yn’s liking. it was about 40 minutes before she could be allowed to clock out. “two ginseng teas to go, please!” yn shouted to zuko as she took a couples order. zuko was on the other end of the counter frantically writing on the paper cups. yn could swear she could see his sweat 6 feet away. “coming, i’m kind of busy!” zuko yelled back.

yn giggled to herself as she turned to take te next persons order. “i’ll just have a black coffee” the voice said. yn put the order in the machine without looking at the person. “alright, that will be 2,50. name?” yn asked as she continued putting the order in. “azula.” the voice said.

the name startled yn. she quickly looks up and, there she is. the strange girl she thought about the whole night. she shakes her thought away “oh-right- um- coming right up” she manages to say as she tries looking anywhere but the girl in front of her.

“i have one more request” azula says while smirking. yn sighs “yes?”

“go on a date with me” azula says. yn is once again stunned. “sorry, no” yn says as she starts walking away, trying to get to zuko to tell him the orders. “why don’t you wanna go out on a date with me? you don’t even know me” azula says as she jumps over the counter.

yn watches her with wide eyes “you can’t be here” yn says as she backs away. “of course i can, my uncle owns this shop. he wouldn’t mind. now, why don’t you wanna go out with me?” azula asks once again.

“look, i don’t date weird girls that read my diary and then tell me they love me” yn says while rolling her eyes “look, my shift’s over in 20 minutes. i would appreciate you going out of my way and letting me go in peace.” yn says as she tries to escape to the back room, azula following behind her.

 “you know i’m a very persistent person” azula says as she sits on the wooden chair next to the back room fridge. “so i’ve heard” yn says as she starts gathering all her things. “i’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that. i’m not leaving until you say yes”

“so, if i say yes, you will leave?” yn asks desperately. “yes, i just said that” azula says as she flashes her bright smile. “fine! i’ll go out with you!”

“excellent! i’ll text you the details.” azula says as she starts leaving. “how do you even have my phone number?” yn yelled to the girl that was halfway through the door. azula turned her head, winked and simply left.

yn huffed as she collapsed on the chair azula was previously sitting on. she couldn’t help but feel a little bit excited for the date. the girl definitely intrigued her.

she quickly gets her thoughts in check and finishes packing her things, not being able to resist daydreaming about the dreaded date.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

taglist: @888-rising​​

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an: this chapter in sponsored by manly journals™

ty for all the positive feedback, comments are very much appreciated :) ily all so much

[clammyhandscayenne]

The next time they met was purposeful.

He had been looking for her, and he had found her.

She was perched in a tree that was large and willow-like, with long draping vines and thick branches.

Her feet were dangling, and she was swaying a little where she sat.

She’s not wearing blue, he thought suddenly.

She was wearing white. A blank color, a mournful color.

It didn’t suit her.

It made his chest pinch tightly.

He climbed until he sat beside her.

She didn’t look at him.

“You’re going to get yourself killed.” He said.

She didn’t acknowledge him, so he continued.

“You’ve gotten lucky so far, but you don’t understand what they’re like.”

Her eyes flashed at him. Almost like anger. No. Fury. It didn’t scare him, though. He had seen that look before in a crystal cave, and he welcomed it. He would poke and prod and push if it made that blank expression go away.

It only lasted for a second.

She caught herself.

He wondered what she was thinking when that happened.

(Did she berate herself for emotions? Did she discipline herself to stop thinking and feeling and caring? I can help, he wanted to say it again because it was true.)

He knew better, though.

“My luck ran out when my brother died.”

They were silent for several minutes after that.

They were paying their respects.

“He wore blue, didn’t he?” Zuko asked.

That felt important for some reason.

Katara looked at him. Really looked.

“It made him stick out too much on the battlefield.”

Oh.

She swayed back and forth again.

“White stands out even more.” He said.

She gave him another look.

That’s the point.

The pinching he felt moved from his chest to his throat.

“There’s a new one, you know.” He didn’t have to elaborate for her to know what he meant.

He could feel her tense, but she didn’t answer him.

She understood.

He understood.

When did we start to understand each other? he wondered.

He spoke.

“They say she’s going to save us one day.”

Her eyes flashed again. Just for a second, but it was there, right underneath. Simmering.

“Saviors always die.”

He understood, but Agni, he wished he didn’t.

“Is that what he was,” he asked, “a savior?”

She laughed without humor.

The laugh scared him more than her indifference.

She gave him a bitter look, like he was naive, like he was thick, like he was exhausting her.

You’re speaking in parables, he wanted to say. Fragments and broken thoughts. I’m trying to piece them all together. Just give me a chance.

Again, he knew better.

She answered him at last.

“What he was was a child.”

She jumped down from the branch, lithely and gracefully.

He jumped, too.

When did he start feeling the need to follow her?

She started to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her hand.

She turned to face him.

He was hoping for the fury again, but she just looked tired.

He didn’t show affection through touch, but he tried. He cupped her cheek, mirroring her own motion from their previous meeting. Don’t you get it? He was trying to say. He raised his other hand and fiddled with her hair, the uneven strands still holding waves. Don’t you get that it’s only us now?

He slipped something in her hand.

She furrowed her brow and looked down.

He had given her two blue beads.

“Don’t you wear those in your hair?”

She had a strange look on her face.

“Not anymore.”

She didn’t say anything, but she stared at the beads for a long time.

“They’re much more your color.” He said.

She looked at him.

Her eyes were very blue up close, and no matter how hard she tried to hide it, there was something, something, something, waiting to burst.

“Not anymore.”

She dropped to a knee and dug furiously in the dirt.

She made a little hole and placed the beads in it.

She covered the hole back up like a tiny, makeshift grave.

He wondered what part of herself she was trying to bury.

The child? The waterbender? The sister?

Who are you? He wanted to beg.

She stood up and started walking away. She looked like a ghost in the forest, a woman in white come to haunt him from the spirit world.

“Wait,” he called out. Why do you keep leaving me? Why is this getting so hard?

“If he was a child, then what are we?” He asked.

He needed her answer.

She didn’t turn around, but she shivered.

“Goners.”

She slipped away.

Again.

But this time, there was a permafrost in her wake. It coated the grass and made a little crunch when he stepped on it.

He might’ve smiled, but he doesn’t do that anymore.

[thatsgay-writes]

Jinora x Reader

Summary: The bison episode with a twist.

Warnings: Light cursing?

You had been around the air bending family since you could walk, much to your mothers dismay. Your mother was Lin Beifong and you were the product of a very drunk one night stand that made her realize that men weren't that great. She loved you either way and was pretty strict on you, remembering how loose her mother had been with her and Su. She also made sure to give you attention when she could, sometimes it was hard with being the Chief of Police. Luckily you understood how important her job is and would spend days on Avatar Island when Lin got too busy with work. You also liked hanging out on Avatar Island for two other reasons. One being that no one made fun of you for being the child of Lin Beifong and grandchild of Toph Beifong, two powerful benders, and being a non bender. Also Jinora lived on Avatar Island. You and Jinora had grown up together and at some point in time your platonic feelings for her turned into something more. Of course you never told her, your mom was Lin Beifong, Tenzin's ex-girlfriend. And if that wasn't bad enough you didn't know if she even liked you back or if you deserved her, being a non bender and all. Even though you were a non bender your mom made sure you could fight and you spent time practicing air bending moves with Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo, you even are able to go through the swinging walls with ease now.

When harmonic convergence happened, you went with the Avatar team to the South Pole. You know you couldn't do anything to help really, but you wanted to be there when Jinora woke up. And you were, after pulling her grandma into a tight , she noticed you over Katara's shoulder and after the hug threw herself into your arms. You buried your head into her shoulder and squeezed her super tight. You almost told her your feelings then and there, after realizing you could have lost her or the world could have ended today. But you refrained from doing so because of the big clean up everyone had to deal with. But you made sure to flirt more with her or compliment her, just trying to get her to blush. You even flirted with her in front of Tenzin, much to his dismay. One day, after Bumi had showed everyone he could air bend, you wished you could do the same too. So you found a quiet patch of grass, away from prying eyes and meditated, which was something you enjoyed doing even if you weren't an air bender. While meditating, your thoughts kept going back to Jinora who was showing Bumi air bending moves with Tenzin, Ikki, and Meelo. When suddenly you felt something in you shift and when you opened your eyes you were in the middle of the training area, Tenzin, Bumi, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo all staring at you in shock. "How did I get here?" you asked, looking around for an answer. When you looked down you noticed that you were blue and floating above the ground. "Ahhh what happened!? Am I a ghost!?" "No your doing spiritual projection! Like I can do, that's amazing." Jinora said in awe, making you blush. "How do I stop? Does this mean I can air bend?"

Turns out you could bend, which led you to where you are now, in the Northern air temple. After releasing all those air benders from the Queen of Ba Sing Se, you didn't like her. You also didn't like this new kid Kai and it's not because of his past or anything like that. It was the fact that Jinora started practically ignoring you and spent all her time hanging and blushing around Kai. What you hadn't known was that Kai was encouraging her to confess her feelings to you, all those blushes you witnessed were over you. After watching Jinora blow up on Tenzin, you waited 10 minutes before going after her, wanting her to calm down some before hand. When you got to her, you saw her and Kai standing on the railing about to fly away. You heart at the fact that Jinora was just gonna leave without you. You turn to leave but accidentally kick a rock making noise. When you look back you see Jinora blushing and Kai sporting a big grin, making you smile back nervously. "Hey y/n, we were gonna go see some baby bison if you want to come with us." Kai offered, taking a quick peek at Jinora with a smirk. "Sure." you say awkwardly, not really wanting to go but you needed to talk to Jinora at some point.

As you flew, you caught up to Jinora before putting your back towards the ground and fly under Jinora. "Did I do something wrong?" Jinora looked down startled to see you right under her, causing her to blush. "No." she said simply with a small smile before flying down towards where the baby sky bison were the day before. "Where are all the bison?" Kai asks and as soon as he does Jinora gets caught in a net. "Jinora!" you yell before turning where to see the net came from. You fought with the bison hunters, while Kai tried to free Jinora from the nets he got caught too. "Kai!" you yelled turning to him as you watch him hit the ground next to Jinora, who's eyes widen. "Look o--" Jinora said before you felt your body get launched into the air and slammed to the ground. Before you pass out, you make eye contact with Jinora, who has fear written in her eyes.

You groan, as you wake up, feeling yourself leaning against something warm. You blink your eyes a couple times to try and clear your eyes. When your eyes finally clear up, you look up to see what you had been leaning against Jinora, which causes you to blush. Feeling your movement Jinora pauses her conversation with Kai to turn and look at you. When she sees you already looking at her she gives a small smile and blushes. "I'm so glad your awake." She says as she wraps her arms around you lightly in a hug. After you hug, you try and sit up only to groan in pain. "What happened?" Jinora bit her lip in worry, "You got practically body slammed into the air and then ground. You need to be careful, you probably broke something." You nod your head in understanding, just now finally noticing the small room your in and the bars. "What the hell? Why are we in a cage?" "It's the bison hunters, they are taking bison to the Earth Queen." Kai says from another side of a wall with anger in his voice. "Does anyone know we're missing yet?" "I sent a spirit to tell Bum-Ju, who hopefully got Uncle Bumi's attention." You nod your head in understanding and you all sit in silence for a minute, before you hear noise from Kai's cell. Next thing you see is Kai's face smiling in front of your cage. Before he can start unlocking your cage Jinora interrupts him, "Get the bison first." You nod your head in agreement before watching Kai get launched away from the cages.

"Crap." You say as you watch Kai get into a fighting stance. You sit up from leaning against Jinora, wrapping an arm around your ribs in pain, to get a better look at what was happening. Jinora sits up as well, still keeping an eye on you. You get a smile on your face when you see all the new air benders come rushing in to aide Kai. While they're fighting, Kai manages to free 1 of 2 other bison before getting to your and Jinora's cage. Before he can even start unlocking it, he gets earth bended away from the truck before the truck takes off. From the break neck speed the truck goes, you and Jinora slam back against the wall, both of you making sounds of pain from the force of the impact. After a few minutes of driving, you peek out and look towards the front of the truck from in between the bars. Right as you did, you saw a full grown bison land in front of the car and slam it's tail against the ground. Before you could think about what you were doing, you turned around fast and pulled Jinora into your chest. You shut your eyes waiting for impact, which means you didn't see Jinora blush at your actions.

When the wave of air hit it caused the truck to flip. After the first flip you tighten your hold on Jinora and feel your back hit the bars over and over again. When it finally stops, you feel like you can breath again. You loosen your hold on Jinora, wanting to make sure she's okay before passing out from pain. When you look down and notice that Jinora had a tight grip on your shirt and her eyes were squeezed shut. "Jinora." You whisper, fighting the black dots that clouded your vision. Jinora loosens her hold on your shirt and looks up, her eyes widen. "Oh my spirits! You're bleeding!" Jinora says, you just smile before saying, "I'm gonna pass out now."

When you awake your on a bed in the air temple. When you sit up you groan in pain and notice the bandage around your stomach and one on your temple. You sit up slowly and grab your glider to use as a cane. (Like how Aang does when he wakes up after getting struck by lightning.) You start heading outside to find anyone but notice that it's night time and head to Jinora's room instead. You knock on her door, hoping she's not asleep, and turn to leave when she doesn't open the door. Right as you turn around, however, the door opens and Jinora pops her head out. When she meets your eyes, hers widen and she opens the door all the way. She pulls you into the room, mindful of your injuries, and makes you sit down on the bed. "Why are you out of bed?" Jinora questioned, arms crossed in front of her chest. You just shrug, "I woke up by myself and wanted to see where everyone else was. "Did all the baby bison get free? You didn't get injured too did you?" You respond, asking your own questions. Jinora just shakes her head in amusement by the fact that you were more worried about everyone else, when you were the one most hurt. "Yes, we got all the baby bison and no one was hurt. Which reminds me... What were you doing!? I know you didn't want to see me hurt but you were already injured! I could have handled being thrown around, you body couldn't!" You had never seen Jinora mad before, but you also didn't see what she was like when you passed out in the truck. Jinora couldn't get the sight of your bloody head out of her memory. "Jinora!" you say as you pull her into you when she suddenly starts crying, the position slightly awkward because you still sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Look I'm sorry I worried you. I know you can handle yourself, I just don't like seeing you hurt when I could have done something about it." Jinora sniffles some, keeping her face pressed into your neck. "Why?" That question was simple, so why did it make your heart beat so hard. You knew why, you were gonna tell the truth. No half-assed because you care about her, nope, you were gonna be completely honest. "Well I don't know how to say this, or how you'll react but just no that you'll always be my friend." Your sentence caused Jinora to sit up, she had never seen you so nervous before. Making eye contact with her, you let out a deep breath. "Jinora... I like you more than a friend. And it's okay if you don't feel the same, I've noticed how close you've gotten to Kai over the last couple of weeks." Jinora was shocked by your confession. You liked her too? Kai would never stop teasing her for how he was right and that your feelings for each other were shared. You on the other hand took Jinora's shock in a bad way. "I should probably see myself out." You said as you untangled from her and grabbed your glider. As soon as you stood up, however, you got tugged back by Jinora. Before you could ask anything, you were pulled into a kiss. Your eyes widened in shock before returning the kiss. Holy spirits, you thought, I can't believe this is happening! As you both pull away from the kiss. "If it's not clear by now I feel the same way y/n." You just nodded dumbly in understanding, still in shock over the kiss. Before you could say anything Jinora yawns, "We can talk more in the morning but we should probably go to bed." You just nodded your head again before grabbing your glider to leave. "Where are you going?" Jinora asked as you moved towards the door. "You said go to bed..." You replied as you mumbled out a few other excuses to try and lessen the blush on your face. Jinora just chuckled at how adorable yo looked rambling.

"Come on just stay in here with me."

[radishaur]

2, 7, and 19 on making a reader swoon with Zuko? 😍

I’d be more than happy to! I hope this lives up to your expectations. :) For those who haven’t read the prompt lists, here are the prompts requested. #2 is “Oh god, how can you manage to switch from cute to sexy in under a second?”, #7 is “The more I look at you, the more I think we need to leave”, and #19 is “If you don’t stop looking at my lips without doing anything about it, I will take you right here on this counter.”

- Zoe

•••

Secrets (Zuko x Reader)

Warnings: Implied NSFW

Genre: Fluff, Implied NSFW

Part: 1/1

Summary: See request

•••

Ever since Zuko had joined the group, we had been having a secret relationship. Well, technically it was more of a friends with benefits situation which was why you two were keeping it a secret.

What can I say? War is stressful and sneaking around with someone takes the stress away. It makes me feel like a teenager for once. It’s quite easy to forget that fact when the fate of the world rests in your hands.

So yes, I was indeed messing around with Zuko. But what did it matter? It was only fun and games. I mean nothing would ever come of it anyways, no matter how much I wanted it to.

No this was simply temporary and I knew that. Allowing myself to have feelings for him was only going to get myself hurt.

“Y/N! Are you listening to a single thing I’m saying?” Sokka asked, scowling at me as I shook my head.

“No, I’m sorry. I got distracted watching Aang train. He looks so graceful,” I said, looking over to where Zuko and Aang were training.

Aang was definitely not what I was looking at. Especially not when Zuko was shirtless. But Sokka didn’t need to know that.

“You’re so easily distracted these days,” he grumbled, clearly annoyed that I hadn’t been listening.

“I’m sorry, Sokka. Really. I promise I’m listening now,” I assured him, turning my body to face him.

He continued telling me about his journey with Zuko to rescue Suki and his father Hakoda and I listened like I promised. Eventually, the sun began to set and everybody made their way inside to eat dinner.

The Ember Island house was unkempt, but it was still a house. Having a kitchen to cook in and a table to eat on was refreshing after so many months of camping. Everybody was talking to each other, engrossed in their own conversations when I decided to go to the kitchen and grab seconds.

It was as I was scooping some more rice onto my plate that I felt an arm wrap around my waist and turn me around. I knew it was Zuko.

“Hello to you too,” I mumbled, biting my lip to fight down my smile.

“Y/N,” he replied, his voice low.

He sent shivers down my spine whenever he spoke like that. It was enough to make my knees weak.

“To what do I owe the pleasure,” I asked him, looking over at the doorway to make sure nobody was coming.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you watching me when I was training with Aang. You’re not very subtle,” he whispered, taunting me by pulling away.

My body instantly missed the heat of his body against mine. I rolled my eyes and smirked.

“Maybe I wasn’t trying to be,” I replied, biting my lip once more.

“You’re getting bold,” he said, stalking closer to me.

My eyes never left his lips as he came closer and closer. I had to resist the urge to kiss him as he brought his boxed me into the counter, one hand on either side of me.

“I always have been. I’m pretty sure it was me who introduced the idea of this dynamic in the first place,” I reminded him, still not looking away from his lips.

“Maybe so,” he smirked, bringing his mouth right next to my ear and whispering so only I could hear, “but we all know who’s in charge when it comes to the actual actions.”

I couldn’t stop the shiver from running down my spine this time. He pulled back enough so that his face was in front of mine. My eyes flickered to his lips once more.

“The more I look at you, the more I think we need to leave,” he growled, bringing his hands to my waist and pulling me as close to him as physically possible.

“They would definitely notice our absence. I guess you’ll just have to wait,” I teased, trailing my hand down his chest.

“I’ll have you when I decide I want you. End of story,” he said, picking me up and setting me down so I was sitting on the counter.

My body screamed at me to leave. It wanted him so badly that I could feel myself pulsating with need. Every cell in my body wanted him. I flicked my gaze back to the doorway and saw that still nobody had come to check on us. I looked back at Zuko and trailed my eyes over his body before stopping back at his lips. Oh, those beautiful perfect lips.

“If you don’t stop looking at my lips without doing anything about it, I will take you right here on this counter,” he whispered, his hands now gripping my thighs and bringing them around his waist.

God I wanted nothing more than to have him do exactly what he just said. The idea of getting caught was both exhilarating and terrifying. I found myself kissing him passionately before I could stop myself.

I only pulled away to catch my breath. Thankfully I did, because not two second after we had stopped kissing, I heard Katara from the other room.

“I think I’ll start cleaning up in the kitchen.”

I shoved Zuko away from me as fast as possible and we both scrambled to fix ourselves up to look normal. I continued piling my plate with food and Zuko pretended to be looking for something in the cupboards.

“Oh, hey guys. I’m surprised to see you two in the same room,” she joked, referencing our tense relationship when he first joined the group.

Turns out all that tension wasn’t from hatred but something else entirely.

“Very funny. I’m over it now. Zuko’s proved that he’s changed and I’m not going to hold his mistakes against him,” I said, picking up my plate from the table.

I could see an expression of surprise cross Zuko’s face at my words. For a second, I could have sworn he had smiled softly but just as quick as I had seen it it was gone. I figured I was just imagining things.

I took my plate back out to the table and sat down to finish eating. I’d be lying if I said Zuko didn’t get me riled up, but that was something that could be taken care of later tonight. For now, I simply enjoyed the company of my friends.

It wasn’t until everybody had finally fallen asleep that I snuck into Zuko’s room. He was in the process of getting undressed when I entered. He smirked as he saw me leaning against the closed door.

“Thanks for the view,” I joked, looking his bare chest up and down.

He rolled his eyes and ignored me. He grabbed the silk robe from the bed and carelessly threw it over his shoulders.

“Always,” he replied as he made his way over to me.

I bit my lip as he came closer, but this time I didn’t hesistate to kiss him. I grabbed the edges of his robe and pulled him closer to me. His arms snakes around my waist and then pulled me into his arms. I continued kissing him until he dropped me onto the bed. He crawled on top of me and I wrapped my legs around his back, pulling him down. I let my hand ghost across his lower area before pulling it back up to his face.

“You’re such a tease,” he said, his eyes filled with lust.

“And you’re not?” I quipped in response.

Zuko and I continued to make out and various pieces of clothing were removed as things amped up. We only stopped when we thought we heard footsteps out in the hall. Zuko fell off of me and laid on the bed at my side as our hearts raced. After a few moments, we both relaxed and figured the noise was probably just the house creaking. Zuko let out a small chuckle that made my heart flutter. He looked so adorable. And then he was looking at me with that familiar glimmer in his eyes that made my knees weak. It was like night and day.

“Oh god, how can you manage to switch from cute to sexy in under a second?” I asked, saying the words I was thinking before I could stop myself.

He immediately blushed a furious red and his eyes widened in shock.

“W-what?” he asked quietly.

My mind raced for answers that never came. Oh spirits I was an idiot. Our relationship was purely physical. It had never crossed the line into affectionate in any way. At least, not out loud. There were many times in my head where I had called him cute or had felt my heart flutter when he laughed.

“I umm....I didn’t-“ I stuttered, stopping immediately when I realized that speaking was only going to dig me deeper into the hole I had dug myself into.

We both sat silently and the tension in the air was practically tangible. I picked at the skin around my nails nervously.

“I’m sorry,” I forced myself to say.

He paused for a minute and I couldn’t stop myself from looking at him. He looked conflicted as he sat next to me. As soon as my eyes met his, he seemed to come to a decision.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” he asked, his eyes searching for an answer.

“What?” I replied, not quite sure what he was referring to.

“When you said you forgave me. That you didn’t hold anything against me anymore,” he clarified, his gaze moving into his lap instead of my face.

“...Of course I did. You’ve shown me that you’re working to fix your mistakes. I can respect that. I mean, I wouldn’t be sneaking around with you if I still hated you,” I answered, laughing slightly at my last sentence.

“Oh,” was all he said.

“Do you want me to?” I asked cautiously, afraid to head his answer.

“No! No, of course not,” he rushed to answer, biting his lip slightly before saying, “It just....makes things more complicated.”

“I’m afraid I don’t follow,” I admitted, cocking my eyebrow at his odd statement.

He gulped slightly before finally looking at me once more. That same expression that I saw earlier was written clear as day on his face. It made my breath hitch and a million butterflies go haywire in my stomach.

“This was a lot easier when I thought you hated me because I......well I......you....,” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before taking a deep breath and saying, “It was easier for me to think you hated me because it made it easy for me to repress my feelings for you.”

I let his words sink in. I blinked a few times in disbelief.

“You like me back?” I asked quietly.

“Wait, you like me?” he asked in shock.

I was silent for a moment before a smile broke out onto my face.

“Yea. I do. I really really do,” I admitted, forcing the butterflies I felt to calm down.

I caught the glimpse of a smile before Zuko’s lips came crashing down onto mine. I kissed him back like I would never get to kiss him again. I let myself go in the moment and things progressed like they usually did, except this time it was different.

This time we weren’t just two teenagers sneaking around to lift the weight of the world off our shoulders. This time we were two teenagers who felt the same about each other. And I liked it much better that way.

[shortkingzuko]

Title: a shared life

relationship: Bato/Hakoda, past Kya/Hakoda

warnings: canon character death

rating: general

summary:  It takes longer than it should for Hakoda to realize how much of his life he shares with Bato.

read under the cut or read it on AO3 for my tomfoolery in the notes/proper tags

this is my submission for the first day of @bakodafleetweek (modern au/with kids)

It takes longer than it should for Hakoda to realize how much of his life he shares with Bato. They had always been attached at the hip since they were old enough to cause trouble but still young enough to avoid punishment. Growing up, they shared nearly everything: food, toys, books, secrets, clothes (only for a few years though, at first Bato would only wear Hakoda’s, and then after they both had ‘boys clothes’, Bato got a growth spurt that seemed to rocket him above Hakoda), and even a car. When he started dating Kya, many people - including her - joked that she was getting two boyfriends for the price of one, considering how often Bato hung out with them, and, often unintentionally on all their parts, ended up tagging along for their dates. Even before Bato got his name, people would say that they were like brothers - and while Hakoda understood their sentiment, he always knew, deep down, that that wasn’t what they were. Bato’s frank and straightforward confession of his love when he was nineteen only confirmed it.

Not that that even changed anything - Hakoda was already three years into dating Kya, and all three of them lived together in a shitty apartment without heat for university (“Feels just like home!” Kya had declared their first winter there when the three of them were bundled in layers of sweaters and blankets because none of them thought they would need their parkas when they moved south together), and, Hakoda quickly learned, Bato had already cleared it with Kya before telling Hakoda.

“I know that nothing will come of this,” Bato said, voice deep and soothing. “I’m not trying to cause a rift or make you feel guilty. I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I’m just tired of holding this in and lying to myself about how I feel.”

Hakoda had been silent for a minute, staring at his best friend, who went from looking nervous to loosening and looking relaxed as the seconds wore on as if he knew that the delay in reaction didn’t denote anything bad. Hakoda cleared his throat. “Uh… thank you, I guess? I didn’t know I was such a hot commodity that I was attractive to the most beautiful girl  and  the prettiest boy of the tribe.”

Bato and Hakoda laughed, and from the next room over, he could hear Kya laughing too. For the longest time, Bato was right, nothing had come of that conversation - Hakoda and Kya continued to date, and eventually married. Bato, for his part, seemed to be more relaxed, like he lost a tension that Hakoda and Kya didn’t even notice he was developing. And while Bato dated a few men, nothing serious ever came of it. When asked, Bato would often shrug and say, “I’m happy as is,” and that would be the end of it.

When Kya was first pregnant with Sokka, Hakoda had a brief worry, laced between all the excitement and overwhelming joy he felt, that things between them (between  him ) and Bato would finally change. Sure, nothing changed after he and Kya married and they finally decided it was time that they didn’t live all together - Bato only lived fifteen minutes away after all, and they often still had ‘sleepovers’ with all three of them - but surely their lives would get thrown into a loop with the arrival of a child. Admittedly, Hakoda was waiting for that moment, the moment where it was clear to the three of them that their trio no longer worked, that Bato would have to be abandoned at the sidelines so that Hakoda and Kya could raise their son.

It took until Katara was born for Hakoda to realize that the moment wasn’t going to come. If anything, Bato had become even closer to them, as he spent more time at their house to make sure Kya had everything she needed, to help them with cooking and cleaning, just to keep Kya company when she was having a tough time taking care of Sokka while being pregnant. When Hakoda was worried about raising two children, about his own abilities as a father, Bato was there to soothe and reassure him. When Kya got worried because her second pregnancy was turning out to be much harder than her first, her husband and Bato were next to her, calming her and helping her quell her worries. Hell, after Katara was born, Bato moved even closer to them - so instead of a fifteen-minute drive, it was only a ten-minute walk from his apartment to the Nootaikok household.

After realizing how much time Bato spent at their house, how much care he held for his children, Hakoda felt bad for assuming that anything that their relationship would suffer from the addition of children. Many times he would come home from work to find Kya and Bato sitting on the living room floor, both speaking Inuktut to a semi-coherent Sokka and a babbling Katara. Then, Hakoda would change out of his work clothes and join them on the floor, kissing Kya on the lips and giving Bato a firm squeeze on the shoulder in greeting, before cooing at his children in their traditional language as well.

And things were good, really good, for a long time. Bato was around for dinner at least once a week, Kya was able to return to work with less stress since there were three adults able to look after the kids, instead of just two, Hakoda and Kya got to go on dates with more frequency than any of their other friends since Bato was always happy and willing to babysit Katara and Sokka for an evening. They went on trips up to their village together, and when it was finally time for Kya and Hakoda to move houses, there was no question of if Bato was going to make sure that he lived close to them. Bato’s name and number were on every emergency contact list, he had a drawer of his things in a dresser in Kya and Hakoda’s room, and the few times that he dated anyone long enough to introduce them to his friends, they had to go through the strict screening process of Katara and Sokka asking, “ Why are you dating our Bato?”

And, silently, Hakoda liked that.  Our Bato.   That’s what he was, in all his 6’6, deep-voiced, long-haired glory. Bato was   theirs,   was   his ; Bato was intricately, intrinsically connected to Hakoda and everyone that Hakoda loved. And he knew, even if he didn’t love Bato the way that Bato wanted to be loved by him, Bato liked being his Bato as well, liked being Kya’s and Sokka’s and Katara’s Bato.

And then. Kya was sick and faster than anyone could comprehend, she was in the hospital and then. Kya died. Painful and sudden, like a bandage getting ripped off and it pulling off the scab underneath, Hakoda was left without a wife and with two children now mourning a mother decades too soon. There’s no sense of cosmic justice or sense in her death and it thrusts Hakoda into a painful fog. There’s no comfort in burying her in their ancestral home, in her family plot, so soon after her own grandfather’s passing, there’s no respite when Kanna agrees to move closer to Hakoda to help him with Sokka and Katara.

It’s in that daze of grief and depression, that Bato seems to waltz in, keeping his family alive in the interlude between them burying Kya and Kanna finally being able to move down. Hakoda tries his best, but often it was Bato waking the kids up for school, making them cold breakfasts, and picking them up when the day was done. It was Bato that made sure the house had a semblance of hygiene, who tried to make sure that there was enough edible food in the house to sustain them. Barely anyone noticed, or if they did, no one questioned when Bato began sleeping in the guest bedroom at night, or how he would only return home to pick up more clothes, before returning to take care of his friend’s needs. When Kanna moved and got her own little house, a little less than a twenty-minute drive away, Bato pushed Hakoda into the car, after helping the kids pack their backpacks, and drove them all to Kanna’s so that the kids could spend a few days there.

In their absence, Hakoda’s house felt empty, desolate, like a mausoleum, filled with the ghosts of a life he no longer had. And in their absence, Hakoda finally let himself collapse fully into Bato’s arms and wailed, nearly crumbling onto the floor in the living room. It must have been hours that they sat on the floor as he clutched Bato’s boney, hunched shoulders, burying his face in his chest, mind not processing Bato’s soothing words or the way that he was rubbing his back. Vaguely, Hakoda considered how cruel this was, demanding that the man who loved him, who had built his life around him, comfort him as he grieved for his wife. The thought was quickly banished, in a moment of clarity, when he heard Bato sniff as he quickly moved to wipe his own tears from his face.

In the days that Sokka and Katara were with their grandmother, Bato and Hakoda got more work done than they had during the three months since Kya’s death. With a herculean effort, they went through Kya’s belongings, picking through them like precious treasure or radioactive material, each item handled with care and love and fear. They went through everything in Hakoda’s bedroom, cleaning everything that Hakoda wanted to keep, packing away things that he thought the kids should be able to have one day, and Bato boxed up everything that they decided should be thrown out or donated. By the time that the two men brought Katara and Sokka home, the house was cleaner than it had been in months, and while Kya’s memory and presence were still clearly seen and felt, it was less suffocating, and all four of them finally felt like they were able to breathe.

Vaguely, Hakoda worried that Bato would leave, now that he was (nearly) back to functioning like the adult he was. The thought worried him, scared him even, the thought of being alone again (years later, he would realize he was never really alone, to begin with), the thought that Bato would start to move on with his life, now that he didn’t have to stick around to take care of Hakoda and his kids. The thought that Bato,  his Bato,  would leave him, not as permanently but just as painfully as his Kya did, was enough to nearly send Hakoda back into a spiral. As if sensing his friend's fear, Bato never made any indication that he wanted to leave, that he wanted to move on or change his life. He was always there to wake the kids up when Hakoda could hardly get himself out of bed, was always there to remind Hakoda about the parent-teacher interview happening the next week, and was always there to wrap his arms around Hakoda’s shoulders, petting his hair as Kya used to, muttering condolences and reassurances in his ear after the kids were asleep and Hakoda could finally let himself cry.

It was nearly two years after Kya’s death when Hakoda finally noticed that Bato had actually moved into the guest bedroom, that Bato’s mail was now delivered to their address. It only takes some mild snooping to figure out that Bato didn’t renew his lease on his apartment. Distantly, Hakoda wondered if he should be upset that Bato took on this life change without asking, but he couldn’t bring himself to even mention it to Bato. It wasn’t like the ‘official’ move in even changed anything, as Bato had functionally been living with them since Kya passing.

In the years that followed Hakoda found solace in the new normal of his family. Hakoda never questioned why Bato remained by his side, in the room just down the hall, for all these years, even though both Sokka and Katara grew more curious as the years passed. In their own not-so-subtle way, they tried to figure out why Bato lived with them now, why he never moved out.

(“Are you going to move in with your new boyfriend?” Sokka had asked once, over dinner, when he was fourteen, and Bato mentioned off-handedly that one of his co-workers asked him out. Bato looked surprised at the question, before shaking his head.

“Sokka, I think that I would rather eat dirt than go on a date with him.” Hakoda laughed at the reply, and he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in,)

Not that Sokka or Katara could complain about the man’s presence; they loved Bato and were happy to have him in their lives, but the lack of clarity about who he was meant to be, what role he was trying to fill confused them.

In the end, it was Sokka who asked the question when he was fifteen. Hakoda had been driving him home from the mall when he sprung the question.

“Are you and Bato dating?”

Hakoda took his eyes off the road to stare at her for a moment. Belatedly, he realized that Sokka had asked him to pick him up, instead of just busing home, because he knew Hakoda wouldn’t be able to escape. He wondered if this was his influence or Bato's.

“What? No, of course not.”

“‘Cause if you  were , that’s fine! Katara and I like Bato, obviously, and he lives with us anyways, and we know he loved mom too and-”

“Sokka,” Hakoda interrupted, making him frown. He hated it when people spoke over him, but he had to amend the situation. “Bato and I aren’t dating. I’m not- I don’t- We. We’re not dating, okay?”

Sokka stared at him for a moment, before crossing his arms and huffing, “Okay.”

As much as Hakoda wishes he could pretend the conversation never happened, it sticks with him, repeating in his mind for days.  Katara and I like Bato… we know he loved mom too.

The idea of his kids being okay, maybe even happy, if they dated made Hakoda’s pulse quicken more than he’d care to admit. A few times Bato had asked him if he ever thought about trying to date again, and his excuse was always some mixture of, “I’m not ready” and “The kids wouldn’t like it” and “I don’t want them to think I’m replacing Kya.”

But Bato has always been in their lives, has always been rolling his eyes fondly as Hakoda, and eventually, Sokka, made bad jokes, always listened to his children’s impassionate rants, always gently corrected their pronunciation of English and Inuktut alike, and always looked at Hakoda desperately when one of the kids misbehaved, never quite sure if he was allowed to speak to them about it or not. Hakoda was pretty sure that Bato had attended a few PTA meetings for him, he was pretty sure that whenever the kids had a question about homework or life or a concern that they were equally likely to go to Bato as they were to go to him or Gran-Gran.

Even before Kya’s death, Bato had always expressed how deeply he loved Sokka and Katara, how much he cared for and adored them, how he had his own complicated relationship with the concept of children, and how he was uncertain if he would ever have biological children of his own - especially after years of hormone replacement therapy - and yet he loved Hakoda and Kya’s kids as if they were his own. At the time, it made him and Kya nearly tear up, so happy to have someone like Bato, with so much love in his heart for them and their children, in their family. Since Kya’s death, it only became more clear that some of the voids that they thought were left by Kya, were also spaces that Bato could fill, and had filled, for years.

Hakoda mulled the idea - of him  dating  Bato - over in his head. Surprisingly enough, to him at least, he found he wasn’t against the idea of being with his best friend. And looking over how much time they spent together, how often Hakoda would invite Bato to watch movies with him in his bed, how many responsibilities they shared, how he always felt a sense of comfort and belonging when Bato was by his side - different than how he felt with Kya, but no less intoxicating - Hakoda found he understood why his kids thought that he and Bato were already together. And he found that not only was he not opposed to the idea, but that it excited him, brought him comfort and a warm flush to his cheeks when he laid in the darkness of his bedroom at night.

Hakoda still found it difficult to think about talking to Bato about it, so used were they to just knowing one another that they didn’t need to have hard talks with one another. But Hakoda found it easy to let Bato know what he wanted without words. When they drove Hakoda would reach over and hold Bato’s hand, earning him a surprised look that would morph into an uncharacteristically shy smile. When Bato cooked dinner Hakoda would join him in the kitchen, joking with him and helping out even when it wasn’t his turn to cook. Hakoda had taken to sitting close to Bato on the couch, even when there was ample room to spread out, and would carefully rest his head against Bato’s broad and boney shoulders, wrapping his arms loosely around Bato's narrow waist.

It took a few weeks until Bato was finally sleeping next to Hakoda at night, hair fanned out on the pillow, shirt twisted from getting comfortable, his thin hand loosely holding Hakoda’s. At first, Hakoda was worried it would feel wrong, would feel like a shoddy and hurtful replacement for Kya, but all he felt was comfort and warmth when he opened his eyes in the morning and the first thing he saw was Bato.

It only took a little longer than that for Bato to softly press his lips against Hakoda’s, face illuminated by the dim bedside table lamp, both of them tired from a day’s work and from raising rowdy teens. He had to lean down to reach Hakoda’s lips, thumb rubbing a gentle circle on Hakoda’s sharp cheekbone. It felt so innocent, so chaste, and so much younger than they were as if they were teenagers still trying to figure themselves out in the back of their shitty shared car instead of in the house that they lived in together with Hakoda’s kids ( Their kids , his brain supplied fondly). It made Hakoda smile. It made him reach up, fingers tangling themselves in Bato’s sleep braids, and pull Bato down for more.

Hakoda had always known that Bato was his, but as he went to sleep with the taste of Bato’s lips on his tongue and with the image of Bato smiling sweetly in his mind, Hakoda was elated to realize that all this time he - and Kya and Sokka and Katara - have always been Bato’s too.

[mystic-kitten-writer]

Limerence [M] ︳32

Pairing: Zuko x OC

Genre: Romance, mainly fluff with future smut, and if you squint hard enough - you’ll find some angst.

Rating: SFW

Words: 14300+

Notes: It’s here! Get ready for the flood of emotions, sorry not sorry. But it's also crazy to see how far the story has gotten now. Did you know that I passed my one-year anniversary for this story (silently cries by myself in the corner). I'm so emotionally attached to this story it's stupid. But I hope you enjoy the story, and thank you for the awesome love and support!

Please stay healthy and safe, take care~!

Masterlist ︳Bonus pt. 2 [M] ︳ 33

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

Limerence: (English/n.) the state of being infatuated with another person.

The moment their eyes locked they knew - the flames within him twisted while the water within her turned. It was a connection, a connection that would lead to love, adventure, and drama.

Tacenda

(Latin/n.) Things better left unsaid; not to be mentioned to the public.

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

            “You know…you have beautiful eyes, Princess.”

            “Awe, thanks, Sokka.”

            “Too bad your face is ugly.”

            “I swear-”

            The immature hoots that erupted from Sokka were loud and clear. His belly rumbled in amusement, entertained at my exasperated expression as I rested over his stomach.

            We were lounging in Zuko’s and I bedroom, munching on cookies on our bed, despite it being early in the morning. Zuko already rose and went for a morning jog – and I would be lying if I said I didn’t use the excuse of me being under the weather to avoid that run.

            It was as Zuko was leaving that Sokka busted through the grand doors, still in his polar bear pyjamas, with a plate of cookies in hand – “I wanted to check up on Princess, see how she’s feeling.”

            And that leads us to where we were now.

            I grumbled under my breath, stuffing another fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookie into my mouth as Sokka beamed down at me. Despite the pointless banter and teasing, Sokka and I were venting to each other; I was beyond happy. I never realized how much I missed spending time with him – he was my partner in crime, the person who helped me learn to laugh again.

            And while Sokka has been by my side from the beginning – we never got a chance to hang out as much as I would’ve wanted. Appreciate the presence of each other, even though ‘sibling time’ means tons of teasing and humiliation.

            A hand rested behind his head as he leaned against the bedframe, stuffing another cookie in his mouth. His hair has grown so much already.

            Usually, it was up in a messy top knot, but today, he let his hair down. Zuko still had the lengthiest hair out of the guys, but Sokka was starting to prove himself to be a worthy competitor. I was always jealous of how attractive Katara’s and Sokka’s brown hair was. There were natural blond highlights, and it complimented their baby blue eyes.

            “Hey…did Aang bring Momo?” I pondered out loud; brows pinched as I tried to recall the last time I saw that mischievous creature. He was already so infuriatingly elusive, but now that we were in the Kingdom, it was like he vanished.

            “Yeah, but you know how Momo is…” Sokka mumbled under his breath, more focused on chewing the cookie stuffed in his mouth than answering my question.

            “I haven’t seen him once!” I exclaimed, and Sokka snorted, “Join the club. I asked Aang the other day, told me Momo is hiding out in the kitchen.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes hearing that – of course, Momo is there. Appa would’ve joined Momo if he were here and could fit.

            “Explains why the kitchen staff is panicking. They keep complaining that the food keeps disappearing – scared it could be a ghost.”

            “You know what would be really funny…” Sokka considered, and based off the tone alone – I knew he was thinking of something evil. My mouth opened and closed, fighting the temptation to ask because I knew better. There was a reason why Sokka and I got along; we were the definition of dumb and dumber.

            My lips puckered, and the next thing I knew, I turned on my side, facing Sokka eagerly –“What’s your plan?” Sokka grinned, sitting upright. I yelped, body rolling onto his lap, and in a bold move – he put down the plate of sweets on the bed. He means business.

            “What if we covered Momo in flour – make him look like a ghost? The kitchen staff would lose their minds.”

            “Sokka~! I can already imagine the mess.”

            “And I can already imagine the looks on their faces when they see a ghost.” I huffed, crossing my arms. “No, Zuko will kill me if he finds out it was us.”

            “Keyword, if.”

            “Where is Katara when you need her?!” I groaned to myself. If Katara were here, she would’ve shut down this plan before Sokka could even think of it. She was the mother of the group for a reason – she kept us all in check.

            I grabbed a cookie from the plate that Sokka set aside, shoving it against Sokka’s lips. “Lie back down and eat a cookie.” I pestered, the only way I knew how to distract him. Sokka laughed against the cookie I practically stuffed, trying to chew the whole thing in one go.

            “Aren’t you excited? She’s arriving tonight.” He mumbled between chomps. An enormous smile appeared on my lips, brushing my bedhead hair away from my face. “I can’t wait!” I gushed, body sprawling across the bed as I hugged my teddy bear close to my chest.

            My gaze shifted upwards, staring at the wooden lined ceiling above us, with a silly look. It’s been how long since I’ve last seen Katara? It felt like forever, but I knew it was only a few months. Woah…me and Zuko haven’t been dating for that long, have we?

            It felt like Zuko, and I have been together for years – but not in a bad way. I just felt so comfortable with him. Our routines, how open we are with each other, it was surprising to think that we haven’t been together for that long. But also look at everything that happened, everything we have gone through together…

            It’s no surprise we’re as close as we are. We practically went through everything a couple may experience over their lifetime in a span of a few months. Add in the fact that he’s the ruler of a nation – things get a bit complicated.

            “She’s going to freak out when she hears everything that is going on.

            I pouted, snapping my head towards Sokka, “She doesn’t know?” Sokka grimaced, his silliness gone and face stern, “No. We didn’t want to give too much information via messenger bird or attached to Appa. It could get intercepted. It’s not worth the risk.”

            A blue silence fell between us; my gaze returned to the ceiling, lost in my thoughts. Despite all the smiles, the giggles, the sweet moments of bliss – that didn’t change the current chaos around us. Mai is a traitor, Azula is back, and Yakone-

            It was like someone punched me.

            The mere mention of Yakone had a shiver running up my spine, the hairs on my arms rising in terror. Zuko didn’t mention his name once around me, and I wonder if it was because he knew how shaken up I was after the incident. The worst part of it all was I still had the handkerchief Yakone gave me that night when he comforted me, hidden away in my vanity. Gosh, I should’ve thrown it out, burnt it –anything, but keeping it.

            I didn’t know why I even kept the stupid thing. Maybe it was to remind me that Yakone wasn’t that evil as a man? That there was still a little bit of good left in him. Yakone knew my family’s crane story.

            Dumb luck?

            He’s also a Bloodbender.

            But Aang told me that-

            “Princess…how is your ‘Fire Nation Politics’ lessons going?” Sokka asked, his voice cutting my thoughts in half. I couldn’t help but jump slightly in surprise, and Sokka’s hand fell over my forehead, a soothing gesture spotting my uneasiness.

            “Hmm? S-sorry, I didn’t hear properly.” I mumbled quickly, looking up at Sokka. He rolled his eyes at my aloofness, flicking my head before speaking again, “You’re lessons involving politics. Zuko told me you’ve been learning a few things.”

            I groaned loudly.

            Gosh, bloody Fire Nation politics.

            The moment I accepted that stupid Imperial Consort seal, I’ve had to brush up on my Fire Nation knowledge. From previous Fire Lords, customs, family trees, and laws – I wanted to cry. It wasn’t that it wasn’t interesting, it was just so much information thrown at me at once.

            My hands fell over my face as I internally sobbed.

            “It’s so difficult. I understand the basics, but the system here seems so backwards at times.” I whined into my hands, venting all the annoyance I had bottled up. There were so many things going on; at this point, I felt like I was memorizing words rather than understanding.

            But knowing the rules did help out and gave me the chance to fire that meanie of a councilmember…Maybe I did understand more than I was giving myself credit for. But with everything else going on at the moment, my head hurt tons.

            “Why don’t you ask Zuko to help you out, Princess? He is kind of like, the Fire Lord.” My hands dropped from my face, opting to throw my arms into the air in defeat. “I don’t want to bother Zuko. He has so much on his plate. I want to do this on my own.”

            “But Princess, this is his job. He’ll help if you ask– he wants to help.”

            I huffed to myself, biting my lips in frustration, “I know, but...I-uhh-I don’t know. I don’t want to. Have you seen the book I had to read for this week?”

            Sokka shook his head, and I grumbled to myself, “On my nightstand. See that ridiculously thick book? Yeah, try reading a page and not fall asleep.” Sokka laughed at the evident disgust in my voice, grinning madly as he reached to his side. Just thinking about the book had me shivering in fear.

            But I was trying.

            Watching the way Zuko worked on a daily, it made me want to work just as hard. I wanted the prove everyone wrong – that I wasn’t some arm candy for Zuko. That I knew what I was doing… Sometimes, it felt like Zuko was the only one who believed in me in this kingdom. I won the people’s hearts – now I had to prove to the council that I can do this.

            I closed my eyes, letting my arm rest over my eyes, the migraine that I’ve had still dully throbbing.

            It was strange, for the past five or so days, I kept fluctuating from feeling better to isolating myself in bed. My body was hurting; my head felt like a hot mix of heavy and aching. Was having a cold always this annoying? I usually had Katara heal me; I haven’t experienced a full-blown illness in years.

            “I’m gonna read where you have your bookmark,” Sokka spoke, and I merely nodded.

            Although…I don’t remember leaving a bookmark in my book…I didn’t make it far enough to bother putting one. I could hear Sokka snort as if he was trying to sniffle in a laugh-

            “Yesterday, Zuko used the lounging area after our bath, and I couldn’t be happier! He looked sooooo cute sitting there, reading. He almost fell asleep-”

            “OH MY GOSH SOKKA STOP!” I screamed. This asshole was reading my bloody journal!

            Sokka jumped out of bed, the fastest I’ve ever seen him move. I don’t even think he’s moved this fast or much during his times in battles. His bare feet hit the ground with a loud thud, laughing obnoxiously loud as he watched my expression of pure humiliation.

            My eyes were bulging, cheeks a flaming hot red as I jumped in the bed, frantically trying to grab the notebook from his grasp.

            “I love how when Zuko thinks he pouts like a child and-”

            “Sokka STOP – give it back!” I moaned loudly, embarrassment about to eat me alive and be my cause of death. But my cries fell upon deaf ears, Sokka smiling like the cat that got the cream and sliding away from me. I huffed stridently, flying off the bed and flailing my arms stupidly.

            Toph and I were the same height, which meant that everyone was outlandishly taller than us by two heads, minimum. I hopped up and down, trying my hardest to get Sokka to shut up – oh my gosh, I’m going to strangle him. But he just rose his arms high above him, reading the damn diary loud and proud. Please don’t read more, or else he’s going to-

            “It’s crazy to think that it’s those same pouty lips that left these hickies- OH NO. I’m GOING TO KILL HIM!” Sokka raged, his face matching my red face.

            I lunged forward, digging my shoulder into Sokka’s stomach.

            Both of us went tumbling down on the floor, sounding like thunder during a rainstorm. One would have thought we were doing some training exercise at the amount of effort and roughhousing we were currently engaging in. Who needs a morning run when you have a dumbass older brother reading your diary?

            “Give it back to me!”

            “NEVER. I swear, what else has that asshole done? I’m bringing you back home after we figure this stuff out!”

            “OH shut up, Sokka. I’m staying here!”

            “No, you aren’t! HOLY SHIT – you guys did WHAT in his office!?”

            “Sokka, stop reading!” I shrieked, trying to rip the damn book from his hands. I was puffing brashly, Sokka swinging his arms above him, despite me sitting on his chest, trying to catch his hands.

            “No! I do work on that damn desk sometimes. I’ve drunken TEA on top of there!” Oh, screw this, “I swear Sokka, I’ll choke you out if you don’t give me my diary!”

            “You wouldn’t dare.” He hissed under his breath; blue eyes narrowed – the glare of a warrior. I shot back the same look he gave me – I could be just as scary as him if I tried really-really hard. Sorry, Suki – find yourself a new man-

            “Should I even ask?”

            Sokka and I froze, heads snapping upwards, hearing the gruff voice echoing above us.

            Zuko stood at the end of the bed, his arms across his broad chest, as he watched us with a mixture of confusion and amusement. His face was rosy from running, a few beads of sweat running down his temple and neck. I could see the way his chest rose with every breath, still winded from his workout.

            My cheeks flushed at the sight of Zuko’s sweaty body, and at how silly Sokka and I looked. But Sokka seemed just as startled as me. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I snatched the notebook away from his hands, “HA~!”

            Sokka’s eyes widen, stunned at how fast I stole the book, sticking my tongue at him.

            It was like Zuko never entered the room.

            Sokka and I bickered back and forth like toddlers unable to share a damn toy. Our faces were pink, not taking the time to breathe between words, let alone sentences.

            “For fucks sakes, it’s way too early in the morning to deal with this,” Zuko grumbled under his breath, and I turned my gaze back to my handsome man.

            He strolled over to the closet, patting down his face with the towel dangling over his shoulders. I fought the urge to drool over the sight – let’s not check out Zuko with Sokka in the room. Just as fast as Zuko entered the closet, he walked out, grabbing a set of clothing– those are some extravagant clothing he picked.

            Every piece of clothing Zuko owned was stunning, made of the most delicate fabrics. But as he threw a new outfit onto the bed indolently, I saw the golden shimmers that illuminated under the morning sun and the beautifully sewed dragons.

            Sokka opened his mouth to argue, and I just slapped his head with my notebook, muffling his cries. “Zuko, why are you dressing up? Is there a meeting?” I asked, raising my voice so Zuko could hear me over Sokka’s squeals. He perked up, shooting me a look of disbelief.

            “Wow, won’t you look at that. Now my Imperial Consort acknowledges my existence.” He sarcastically spoke. I rolled my eyes at Zuko, bouncing off Sokka’s chest. Ignoring Sokka and his angry rant, I skipped towards Zuko, “You know I love you, Zuko~.”

            “Mhmm – it seems you love me the most during the night when you need a heater.”

            “…I’m not going to deny that.” I giggled, and right away, Zuko shot me a glare. A harmless glare, because I saw the grin that fought to emerge.

            “I advise you, and Sokka, change soon. I don’t think you want to be dressed in your nightclothes when she arrives.”

            Huh? She?

            “You’re talking about Katara? Isn’t she arriving tonight-” Sokka budded in, and I noticed he had the plate of leftover cookies in hand, chewing away. Zuko nodded his head, his amber eyes settling over me, “I got word they’re at Ember Island at the moment, taking a little break. They should arrive in the next hour or two.”

            My face flushed, clapping excitedly.

            “She’s almost here!” I gushed, turning on my heel to face Sokka. For the moment, the fact that he was reading my diary, and was about to kill Zuko was lost to the wind – both us animated at the thought of seeing Katara again.

            “Sokka, get out so I can change! I need to take a bath.”

            “I know you do, you stink.”

            “I swear Sokka-” I hissed under my breath, and just as quick as Sokka was to tease, he stepped forward, his playful grin shifting to a tender smile. His fingers brushed through the tangled strands of hair that fell over my face, combing them out of the way. My body relaxed and a lax smile of my own emerging at the gentle gesture.

            “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Princess.” He whispered under his breath, and I couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. “Thanks for checking up on me, and the cookies…I missed you…even if you annoy me.”

            Sokka grinned, flicking my forehead, “I’m always here, Princess...and…I’m taking the cookies with me.” He turned on his heel, shouting his goodbyes to Zuko before I could fight for my right to indulge in those tempting sweets. The pace at which he bee-lined for the exit, the door shutting behind him in one fluid motion, was unmatchable – leaving Zuko and me alone.

            My shoulders dropped, a content sigh escaping me – I’m happy.

            “Love?”

            My eyes widen, turning to see Zuko with those enticing eyes. He titled his head to the side, nudging towards the bathroom. An innocent giggle escaped me, already knowing what my dear Zuko was asking.

            “Give me a minute to grab some clothes-”

            “Already picked a dress for you.” I couldn’t hide my surprised expression even if I tried. “You did? I didn’t see you grab anything-”

            “I will after our bath. Although naked sounds like a tempting option, I must say.” Zuko sheepishly spoke, laughing under his breath as he waltzed towards me. His arms wrapped around my waist, gazing down at me with a broad smile. My hands fell over his chest, feeling his pulse under my touch.

            “Sokka says I stink…clearly; he didn’t smell you.” I teased, and Zuko leaned in, playfully biting my nose. His teeth grazed my skin, and I giggled at his childish behaviour. It will repeatedly take me off guard how utterly spiritedly Zuko could be – a trait that didn’t seem to pop up often, even with the others.

            “Mmm, stinky and stinky.” He muttered under his breath, “We make a good pair.”

            “Soon, we’ll be clean and clean.” I bantered back, enjoying the dimpled smile that shined brightly on Zuko’s face.

            “What were you and Sokka fighting about?” Zuko asked, his lips pecking my forehead, still holding me close to his body – making no move to head to the bathroom. I groaned to myself, letting my head plop onto his chest with a thud, recalling what had happened.

            “That bum read my diary! It was so embarrassing!” I blew.

            “You know…” Zuko spoke, and I heard the dip in his voice.

            My head snapped upwards, and I wasn’t astounded to see that shit-eating smirk flicker upon those sinful lips. The way my heart pounded, expression naïve hearing and seeing the way Zuko licked his lips mischievously, leaning too close for comfort.

            “I must say – my favourite part is when you write about how much you adore my voice.” Zuko mused, and at that moment – my cheeks turned a red that not even Zuko’s flames could match.

            My mouth dropped, babbling nonsense as I slapped Zuko’s chest hard – as if I could slap the awkwardness out of me. But Zuko didn’t seem the slightest bit flustered; instead, he looked down at me with a glowing grin. I can’t believe this asshole-

            “Does NO ONE understand the concept of PRIVACY!?” I squealed, puffing as I grumbled under my breath. “I can’t believe you read my diary! You’re just as annoying as Sokka!”

            “Who said I read your diary, love?” I frowned, staring at Zuko with confusion, “You-you just said that you knew-” Zuko grinned mischievously, the tips of his fingers tickling my jaw, shutting me up.

            “Oh, my sweet love. I didn’t read your diary. Just a lucky guess.”

            “You were bluffing-”

            “Nice to know what you think of my voice, although-” Zuko smirked, planting a deceitfully sweet kiss on my nose, “I can’t say that I am surprised.” I stood there, rattled, cheeks a flaming red - Zuko always seemed to know.

            That prideful smirk of his didn’t vanish, his delicate fingers leaving my face, arm no longer hugging me close. His welcomed warmth left my body, smugly stepping back, taking in my flustered appearance to the fullest.

            “Shall we get into our bath, love?” he spoke calmly, it was maddening.

            “I’m going to drown you,” I complained under my breath, watching the way Zuko confidently strolled towards the bathroom. But being the oh-so-famous man he was, Zuko shrugged off the threat with ease.

            His long fingers untied his loose bun, looking over his shoulder with a playful grin, “I can think of ten other things I would rather do in that tub than drown.”

            “Zuko~!”

            “And that’s exactly what I indeed to hear from those pretty lips of yours, baby.”

            “Everything is set for Katara’s arrival, Fire Lord Zuko.”

            “Including the extra guard?”

            “Yes, Fire Lord. They are at their post.”

            Zuko huffed under his breath, nodding at the servants' words, although I couldn’t help but notice how empty his tone sounded. My eyes shifted from the chaos before me, feeling the way Zuko was moving his arm, which I tightly hugged. The moment I tilted my head upwards, an amused smile painted my lips. What a manchild-

            The golden stings that decorated Zuko’s sleeves seemed to have unravelled.

            I watched as he puckered, failing miserably at tying the adornment with one hand. The fabric slipped from between his fingers, and it may have been the first time, I dare say, that Zuko was unelegant. For a man with such a soft touch and long delicate fingers – you would have thought he had tree stumps as digits at the way he wriggled.

            “Fire Lord Zuko – let me.” I hummed.

            I grasped his arm, tugging him closer to myself as I tied the flimsy strings together. No wonder he was struggling – it was silk. A small huff, and a tongue biting moment later – I quickly began tying.

            Our pace of walking slowed without me realizing, and I couldn’t help but smile pridefully at how adorable my little knot was. While cute was not synonymous with Zuko for the majority of the population – it was in my books. What was there not to label cute about Zuko?

            “Mmm, what would I do without my lovely Imperial Consort?” Zuko droned into my ear, a deep huskiness causing my cheeks to flush. I could hear the teasing tone with every word, but that didn’t change the touch of truth in his statement. The guards and servants around us giggled softly, overhearing the teasing banter, causing my cheeks to deepen in colour.

            I looked upwards, not expecting to see Zuko as close as he was. It reminded me of the events that happened just a few days ago, us laughing like children down the hallway, close and snuggled. That’s right, Izumi was the name we settled on…

            The way his eyes smiled at me, inspecting the way my touch left his sleeves, opting to embrace his arm close to my body. For a moment in time, I found myself speechless. Zuko looked handsome today, breathtaking. Was that unusual? Not at all – but Zuko made my skin tingle, butterflies fluttering, and breath gone.

            “You would be lost – that’s what you would be.” I chirped back, biting my lips with a tone to match his. The way Zuko’s eyes lit up, surprised that I decided to amuse him. His lips began to move, ready to spit out some witty retort, but the sound of a servant clearing his throat beat him to it.

            “Fire Lord Zuko, you have a lunch date planned today with your mother, in the gardens. I assume you wish to cancel?”

            A lunch date? How sweet! It’s been a while since Zuko and Ursa have spent some time together. But rather than lighting up the way Zuko usually does at the mere mention of Ursa, he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. I pouted, observing his evident annoyance, not seeming as content to hear of such a plan like me.

            “She’s going to kill me for canceling again- Yes, please cancel-” Zuko hissed under his breath. He can’t be serious-

            “Zuko.” I huffed, tugging on his arm without thinking. In a flash, everyone turned their attention to me – and I mentally slapped myself for doing such an act in public. But I pushed aside the regret, focusing on the matter at hand.

            “You aren’t really going to cancel your afternoon plans with Ursa, are you?” I whisper shouted, looking at Zuko with wide eyes. His lips puckered at my words, shooting me a look that screamed, ‘what else am I suppose to do?’

            I swear- this man really is lost without me at times.

            “We arrived here almost a week ago, and you’ve haven’t seen your family once. They’re worried.” I reasoned, and Zuko sighed, gazing around us in frustration. The guards got the hint. They awkwardly turned their looks away, walking briskly in front of us, giving us plenty of space to talk without anyone overhearing.

            “I know that Yue, but when Katara lands, we need to discuss-” Zuko hissed under his breath, lips pressed as he tried to hush his tone. “Zuko.” I pleaded, shaking my head, tightening my hold.

            The large doors that lead outside, where we landed with Appa, was coming into view. I spotted a dash of green running through the doors, most likely Suki. That means everyone is already there, waiting for Katara’s arrival.

            “I’ve been here for how long, and I only got to share one moment with you in those gardens. One walk – don’t do the same thing with your mom. She misses you.” I begged, and right away, Zuko’s stern look shifted to that of genuine regret. His cheeks flushed, stripping his gaze away from mine, his lips twisted to a frown.

            “You know how to make a man feel guilty,” Zuko grumbled under his breath as he strode forward, but I tugged on his arm harshly. He’s trying to run away from his feelings. We abruptly stopped dead in our tracks, turning on his heel to look down at me with narrowed eyes. Zuko wasn’t upset with me – he just sucks at expressing himself.

            Zuko was more of a family man than he let on. He would do anything for them, but it was like he was afraid to admit how much he cared. How much he thought about them and enjoyed their presence. I wasn’t a fool; I caught the sweet stares he sent to his mom or Uncle Iroh, enjoying their company, even if it was just for a few seconds.   

            “What I’m trying to say is this-” I muttered softly, upset that I caused that frown to rise. “We’ve survived this long without someone attacking us. I think the gang would understand and can wait a few more hours before our meeting. Katara is probably exhausted as well; she could use some rest…” I hummed.

            Out of the corner of my eyes, I could spot the servants studying us, curious as to why we halted. I let my hands rest over Zuko’s forearms, squeezing as I smiled up at him, “You’re a man of work, Zuko. And I love that, but don’t forget that you have a family too...”

            “I knew it was a bad idea to let Uncle Iroh and mom keep you company…they taught you their ways of getting to my mind.” Zuko mumbled under his breath, but I spotted that gentle smile of his starting to shine through – my sun.

            “When are you going to learn that I’m always the one in control?” I teased, and in a flash, Zuko gripped my hands tightly. My heart pounded loudly, blood pumping as I watched as Zuko brought my hands to his lips, placing sweet pecks all over my palms.

            “Mmm, I don’t deny such a truth, I pride myself in it.” he snickered, before stealing one last caress. “Let’s go, baby. Based on the ruckus outside, and dirt flying everywhere, it seems like Katara has arrived.”

            “I’m so excited, Zuko. I missed her-”

            “Oh, I’m very much aware of how excited you are. All night you were squirming around in your sleep. It felt like I was cuddling a worm.” Zuko laughed, and I blushed. This tease- I pulled my grip away, playfully punching his chest, not at all caring that we were not in the private confines of our bedroom.

            “Watch yourself, love – you wouldn’t want to get arrested now.” Zuko grinned, and I scoffed.

            “We both know that the guards love me more than you. So if you, Sir, don’t want to get put into cuffs, I advise you be careful.” I smugly retorted, and it was then and there I knew I was treading in dangerous waters.

            The large gap between us felt far too small, watching the way Zuko’s lips twisted to a naughty smirk that had my stomach in knots.

            He leaned forward, his lips grazing my jaw, his hot breath tickling the skin at the base of my neck. That alone had my breath hitching, and the incontrollable response had Zuko clicking his tongue in amusement. His alluring scent had my head spinning, knees on the verge of buckling at his mere presence. But it was Zuko’s damn voice that had me teetering on edge. Fuck him-

            “Mhmm, we both know that you would look delicious in a pair of cuffs, baby. And while I would never think of using such means, ‘cause you’re such a good girl, I’m not against the idea.”

            “Zuko-” I gulped, my hands bunching the fabric of my dress in my hands. I could feel my palms getting sweaty, realizing I’ve been holding my breath the whole time. And at the mere sound of my voice, Zuko let out a low groan in my ear, tilting his head back as he licked his lips. The way his eyes fluttered closed for a moment, rolling back – was it because of me?

            “There you go again, love. Saying my name in that needy tone of yours – it drives me mad.” He purred, and my eyes widened. Does no one see this, hear this? I anxiously shifted my gaze around us, scared that someone would see what was happening. I can’t continue breaking royal rules. I need just one day. One day where I go without breaking a damn rule.

            But my resolved cracked.

            The guards and servants were far more interested in watching the arrival of Appa through the windows, talking amongst themselves than what was going on between us. They have no clue; they’re completely oblivious-

            “Come on, baby, let me hear the sweet voice of yours again.” Zuko toyed, catching my attention. His lips brushed against my jaw once again, a hand falling on the dip of my back. I couldn’t help it – his lips are so close to mine, and no one is watching.

            One kiss. One kiss is all I want-

            “THANK THE FUCKING GODS I AIN’T THE ONLY ONE LATE.”

            If Zuko wasn’t holding on my waist the way he was now, I would’ve fallen on my face.

            We pushed off each other, the looks of two people who got caught painted on our faces. But just like that, Zuko collected himself. His touch left me, crossing his arms with a scowl on his face as he watched Sokka dash towards us in a mad sprint.

            Why is Sokka-

            Sokka’s thick brown hair reflected off the sunlight, droplets of water flying as he ran like a sprinkler. His hands were desperately working on the white buttons that decorated his navy blue top, flaunting his exposed torso to us. Are his shoes on the opposite feet?

            “Sokka? Why are you-” I whispered, but Zuko blew loudly, finishing off my train of thought. “A bloody mess? Come on, man, you’re leaving a fucking trail of water, and you aren’t even a Waterbender.” I stifled in a laugh because Zuko was totally right. There was a damn pond now in the kingdom, courtesy of Sokka.

            But Sokka grinned largely, not at all bothered by Zuko’s expression of disappointment. Aang and Sokka, I think the only two people who are immune to Zuko’s glares. Even I would cower away from such a stare.

            “I had to shower, and Suki had to shower too, and one thing led to another-”

            My cheeks flushed, and before I knew it, my hands fell over my ears, shutting my eyes and trying to push the mental image away. “Too much details Sokka!” I shouted, twisting on my heels, and Sokka let out a petty laugh.

            “HA. Oh yeah, cause that diary didn’t have too much information, Princess.” I frowned, hands falling on my hips as Sokka came to a halt beside us, closing the last button of his top. Oh, I swear, I’m going to kill Sokka-

            “You didn’t have to read my diary, dummy!” I shouted, and I could hear Zuko sigh beside us.“Why is my best friend, a fucking idiot?” Zuko mumbled, his arm snaking around my waist.

            “AWW MAN, I’m you’re best friend?” Sokka spoke, beaming like a child towards Zuko, and I found my jaw-dropping. Out of everything Zuko said, all he got was ‘friend’?

            “You’re an idiot,” Zuko spoke, a touch of genuine fear in his voice. I couldn’t help but snort, shaking my head as I brushed my hair behind my ears, looking forward. But it still doesn’t explain why Sokka is late.

            “We just saw Suki a few moments ago, Sokka,” I spoke, observing him. He had an elastic between his teeth, his hands frantically brushing his hair to a messy bun.

            “Yeah, well, as I said, we had to shower. I was just getting in, and she was just finishing.” Sokka mumbled between clenched teeth. With a free hand, he grabbed the hair tie, wrapping his hair in a somewhat presentable hair-do. “I still think I have shampoo in my hair…” Sokka grumbled under his breath.

            Who needs a damn child when you can have Sokka? I rolled my eyes, reaching forward as I watched the way Sokka struggled to put on the coat that he had swung over his shoulder. I’m surprised it didn’t fall off during his mad sprint towards us. I reached forward, fingers grazing the rough material, only for an animated shout to catch our attention.

            “Come on, slow-pokes! She’s here!”

            My eyes widen, looking in front of us. Suki’s head was popping through the grand doors. She was free of her Kyoshi warrior outfit, opting for a natural look. Her eyes matched the sweet smile of hers, her green dress flowing in the light breeze outside. Her brown hair bobbed back and forth as she eagerly bounced in her spot in excitement.

            “Some siblings you are – both of you guys are late.” She laughed before shutting the door behind her. Katara is here! In a flash, I gazed up to Zuko with doe eyes, ready to babble in anticipation, but I found myself stopping. The smile on Zuko’s face – it didn’t reach his eyes.

            I’m an idiot.

            “Come on; Katara’s going to give us a damn lecture if she doesn’t see us in the next ten seconds.” Sokka huffed, striding ahead of us. Zuko merely nodded, the arm wrapped around my waist thrusting me forward to match Sokka’s pace.

            Zuko didn’t utter a word; he just kept his gaze forward as we walked towards the doors. His lips were pressed tight despite the smile on his face. It was those fake smiles of his, I’ve seen them before whenever he was tired, or annoyed but had to show face in the name of politics.

            Zuko and Katara.

            I never did ask, but did they ever talk about what happened in the Southern Water Tribe? Things just happened so fast, and as reasonable as Zuko was, he was as stubborn as Katara could be petty.

            Did they make-up, did Katara apologize to Zuko? Zuko flat out admitted he wanted Katara to help heal me, but was it because he trusted her, or because he was desperate to see me better?

            The servants in front of us quickly opened the door for us, and for a split moment, I saw the slight scowl on Zuko’s face.

            Zuko…

            Awkward was a word I would have never used to describe Katara’s and my relationship.

            We were many things – but above all, we were sisters despite not sharing the same blood. It was funny; she was born in November, me in July, the same year, but she was more of a big sister to me than I was to her. She just had this motherly aura about her, even making Zuko seem like a child to us all.

            A silence fell over us as we stood side by side.

            My fingers twirled around each other as we walked along the hallway, me admiring the view of the gardens before us. It was a beautiful day, the sunlight shining, the flowers seemingly reaching their peak in beauty. I could only imagine the sweet scents the flowers were producing should we have been walking outside instead.

            Awkward.

            The others were busy working on their tasks, Aang with his new Nation, Sokka, Toph, and Suki regarding a battle plan. And Zuko- I smiled. I could see him and Ursa, sitting under the large cherry blossom tree that towered above all. The pink blossoms created a blanket-like cover for Zuko and Ursa to sit on, something straight out of a fairytale.

            Even from here, I could see the contentment on Ursa’s face as Zuko poured her some tea. But the same emotion was evident on his, and while I couldn’t prove it, I was certain that those heart-throbbing dimples of his were most likely present on his face.

            Katara carefully brushed a brown braid behind her ear, her fingers playing with the flimsy envelope in her arms. I figured she would’ve used the time Zuko is spending with his mother to rest, but instead, she said she wanted to spend some time with me. I was beyond delighted to hear her say that, but now that she was here-

            Awkward.

            Why were things so awkward between us right now?

            The sound of Zuko’s laughter caught my attention, a tinge of pink dusting my cheeks. His smile was wide as he shook his head in amusement, his mother nodding eagerly as she spoke. The way Zuko studied his mom, listening to her every word like it was gold. He loved his mother to the moon and back; there wasn’t a doubt about it.

            “You and Zuko…you two seem happy.” Katara hummed softly, the first one to speak in the awkward silence that somehow managed to fall between us. I froze, unable to move my feet as I sharply turned to stare at Katara.

            Her blue eyes were round and filled with admiration, a genuine smile on her face. “Suki was right; you do stare at him a lot.” My mouth dropped, cheeks flaring up as I found myself speechless. Katara’s smile soon turned to an almighty grin, laughing at the reaction she got out of me, “Has Sokka declared himself as the ‘almighty cockblock’ yet?”

            I snorted, “The first week.”

            “He’s so overprotective.”

            “Tell me about it, that dummy read my diary today!”

            “He did not.” Katara huffed, her cheeks matching my red ones once I told her the news. But as the words left her mouth, I noticed how close we had gotten. Both of our bodies were leaned towards each other, eagerly talking as if the awkward silence that was consuming us never happened.

            The awkwardness…

            “Yue…?”

            “Katara…”

            “I missed you.”

            At her final words, I found my arms quickly flying over her shoulders, a happy smile painting my face. “I missed you, too, Katara,” I whispered, not at all caring that I was wrinkling the important paper pressed against her chest. Katara let out a giggle as she snuggled her head into my neck, cuddling me back to the best of her abilities without dropping the letter.

            The awkwardness was not because of some ill feelings, but because we didn’t know where to start.

            I’ve never been away from Katara and Sokka before; it was usually them leaving me for work. But now…it was different. This wasn’t a matter or us leaving for a few weeks or months and coming back. I lived here now, forever, this was my new home.

            My new life with Zuko.

            “It’s been so long; I don’t even know where to start.” I gushed as we pulled away. Having her in my arms briefly, I noticed that not much had changed between us despite the time. The only reason difference is that while she wore blue, I wore red.

            But she’s still my exasperating sister.

            “Well, you can start with, you know.” Katara laughed, wiggling her eyebrows towards the window. I blushed, looking over my shoulder, and at that moment, Zuko’s eyes locked with mine.

            It didn’t matter that we were a distance away from each other. The fire that ignited in me the moment Zuko’s gaze settled over mine was undeniable. He shot me a devilish smile as he tilted his head cockily. The way his ember eyes studied me, it was like he was looking into my soul – leaving me gasping and knees shaky. And just like that, he turned back to his mom, resuming his conversation.

            Oh, this man, the definition of sin itself.

            “Where do I even start?” I breathed, hands falling over my chest to get my heartbeat under wraps. But despite the flustered state, Zuko seemed always to leave me in; I couldn’t pull my eyes away. Gosh, Yue. You’re literally creeping him through the damn window.

            Have you really stooped that low? Yes, yes, I have, and I have no regrets.

            The confidence that seemed to ooze from him without a single effort, how did Ursa manage to give birth to such a fine specimen like him? Those pouty lips, long fingers, his hot breath along my neck-

            “Yue, do you love Zuko?” Katara blurted, cutting my thoughts in half.

            I jumped in my spot, my whole body heating up in embarrassment. Not only did Katara just catch me gawking at Zuko within minutes of her arriving here, but she also didn’t know. Everything that has happened between us; the kisses, sweet confessions, she didn’t know a single thing.

            “The way you’re staring at Zuko, the way he looks at you…it’s just like Aang and me; it’s …love.”

            “I-”

            “Do you-do you love him, Yue?” Katara sternly spoke, stepping forward. Her hands fell over my shoulders, her fingers digging into my dress with a serious expression. I nervously bit my lip, trying to understand her sudden outburst, but the expression she wore was serious. I swallowed hard, nodding my head.

            “I love him, Katara. More than anything in the world.”

             “I can’t believe it…” She whispered under her breath.

            I pouted, tilting my head to try to comprehend her words. Was she…was she mad? But Katara just snickered, her shoulders slumping in ease as she shook her head. “Zuko didn’t need someone to break down his walls; he needed someone to help him rebuild.” She muttered to herself. What is she talking about-

            “I’m so happy, Yue; I’m so happy you found each other.” She exclaimed. “Dad has been worried sick about you; I can’t wait till I tell him how happy you are.”

            Hakoda-

            “How is dad, Katara?” I questioned, and Katara shot me a sad smile. It was something that ate away at me. I still remember the look on his face when I told him I was leaving with Zuko. He tried to play it off cool, saying how he was happy that I was leaving the nest, spreading my wings again. But I could still remember the small sniffle that I heard the moment I shut the door behind me to leave.

            “He’s good, but sad…he misses you. Keeps on saying how his daughters are being swept off their feet.” Katara spoke as I let my gaze wander back to the window. Ursa was standing tall, dusting off her dress with a happy smile that reached her eyes. But Zuko was nowhere in sight.

            “But, he has you at home, at least,” I replied.

            “About that…” I frowned at her tone, pulling my gaze away from the gardens and back to Katara. She let out a heavy sigh, shuffling back and forth between her feet. “Dad has been acting weird lately,”

            Dad was always weird; that was a fact, but for Katara to say it spoke plenty. He was a serious man, for the most part, but Sokka got his playfulness from someone. And it didn’t take long to learn from who it was.

            “Dad has been pushing at the thought of Aang and me finding a home for ourselves.”

            “He’s thinking about your future.” I tried to reason, but Katara shook her head. “That’s what I thought, but since you left, he’s been insistent. Keeps saying that I’m an adult now, that I have to think of the bigger picture. And…”

            “And?” I pushed, and I spotted the way Katara’s cheeks flushed.

            Katara was blushing.

            She hugged her body, eyes darting side to side before she finally found her voice. Katara and Aang have been together for years – it took a lot to make Katara blush. This is going to be good.

            “A few months ago, I saw Aang talking to Dad in his office. But whenever I bring it up, Aang says he wasn’t there – when I saw him. I even confronted Dad about it, but he denies everything.” I rose a brow, trying to piece together what Katara was telling me.

            Why Would Dad lie about that, better yet – Aang doesn’t lie. Aang is the definition of purity, never uttering a lie or harming a soul. For Aang to lie to Katara…

            “I think…I think Aang may propose to me, Yue.”

            “Oh my gosh, Katara-”

            “And I wanna say yes!” She blurted, her hands falling over her mouth at her honest confession. I couldn’t stop the squeals, jumping in my spot at the thought of Katara and Aang tying the knot. The first marriage in the gang!

            “Katara, I’m so HAPPY!” I chirped, clapping like a fool at the thought, and that just seemed to worsen Katara’s blush. “I love him, Yue. We won’t have kids for a few years, we agreed on that, we’re both too busy with our jobs. But we’ve always wanted to be married. But maybe I’m overthinking things?”

            “Overthinking? KATARA. He went to Dad, and now Dad is trying to find a house for you~! He’s going to propose!”

            “Have you heard anything funny from Sokka, or maybe Zuko? Maybe Zuko would know what Aang is thinking. Aang always says how Zuko is his best friend; he would know something, right?” Katara insisted, and I thought.

            She had a point.

            Just like how I spilled my guts to Suki or Kima, the guys would do the same with each other. But I never heard anything from Zuko…but he’s good at keeping secrets, Yue. I huffed, that’s right. Which means…if I want to find something I have to do a little bit of snooping.

            I grinned, “Leave it to me. Sokka doesn’t call me a curious cat for nothing!” Katara frowned, shaking her finger at me, “Don’t go doing anything stupid, Yue. I don’t want you to get in trouble with Zuko because of me.”

            I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms, “Zuko wouldn’t dare, I have him wrapped around my finger.”

            “I can’t believe it, Yue. You really tamed the untamable.” Katara spoke in amazement, shaking her head as she watched over me. I smiled proudly, shifting my attention back outside. Ursa was calmly sitting under the tree again, a book in her lap as her eyes scanned back and forth. Smart woman, enjoying the warmth to the fullest.

            But Zuko still wasn’t there. Where did he go? He was just there a moment ago-

            “Looking for someone, love?”

            I jumped, a pair of arms snaking their way around my body. The heat emitted from his touch had me purring, snuggling against the hard torso pressed against my back. Zuko nuzzled his face into my neck, his hands firmly planting themselves on my waist as he hummed pleasantly in my ear. “Mm, how is my baby?” he droned, his lips nibbling my skin before stopping abruptly.

            His body tensed, and I saw the way Katara’s eyes widen in surprise. Zuko pulled his face away from me, standing tall, fingers digging into my skin.

            “Katara.” He spoke bluntly, but I could feel the coldness in his tone. I’m right. He was upset with her still, and Katara seemed to notice it too. Katara’s lips pressed tight, taking a deep breath as she nodded her head, “Zuko.”

            Awkward – this was what real awkwardness feels like.

            The tension in the room was thick, Katara’s blue eyes locked with Zuko’s golden ones. “How was your lunch with Ursa, Zuko?” I blurted, trying to ease the tension, it was unbearable.

            “Great.” He hissed, and I stiffened. This is bad, really bad.

            Do something, Yue.

            Do something-

            “I forgot to give these papers to you earlier, Zuko. These are from the Earth Nation.” Katara spoke, and Zuko’s eyes narrowed.

            “How did you receive it?” He asked, and Katara cleared her throat before answering. “Ember Island. The Earth King sent this there, thinking you were still residing in your vacation home. But I was told it was urgent and they sent it with me. Faster with Appa. It’s to be opened as soon as possible.”

            Zuko merely nodded, not saying anything else. Zuko not speaking was scarier than him yelling. Katara outstretched her arm, Zuko meeting halfway as he touched the envelope. The flimsy document looked small in Zuko’s hands, but as his fingers curled, ready to take it, Katara's voice stopped him.

            “Actually, I thought Yue could take it to your study.”

            “Why? I can do it myself; we’re on our way there now-”

            “I-I want to talk, just us, for a minute, Zuko,” Katara exclaimed, and I noticed the way her voice wavered. Her eyes met mine, almost pleading with me to go along, and I nodded. Before Zuko would say anything else, I reached forward, taking the paper from their grasps. I looked upwards, shooting Zuko a sweet smile, “I’ll meet you at the study with the gang. Be quick!”

            I could hear Zuko click his tongue, and like water, I slipped from his grasp.

            Temptation ate away at me, swiftly gazing over my shoulder at the two, and they were exactly where I left them seconds ago. They stood across each other, a large frown on Zuko’s face as Katara took a deep breath. And as I turned the corner, I found myself stopping for a moment.

            “What do you want, Katara? We have stuff we need to discuss-” Zuko grumbled under his breath, undoubtedly pinching the bridge of his nose.

            I knew it was wrong.

            I knew I shouldn’t listen, eavesdrop. But it was like no matter how hard I tried; I couldn’t move. I wanted to know what Katara wanted to talk so desperately to Zuko about. I wanted to know what Katara wanted with Zuko. Was she going to ask Zuko about the marriage thing? But the words that flew from Katara’s mouth had me holding my breath.

            “I want to say I’m sorry.”  

            Silence.

            I bolted as fast as I could, a goofy smile on my face.

            Katara had guts.

            And while Katara was undoubtedly hard-headed like Zuko, the friendship between Zuko and her was far more important than her ego. Thank you Katara, Zuko really needed to hear that.     

            “What’s taking them so loooonnngggggg~.” Toph complained under her breath, lounging on the rug that covered the floor of Zuko’s office. Her hands were comfortably tucked behind her head; legs crossed over each other as she impatiently blew. Should she have been a Firebender, I was certain there would have been flickers of fire leaving her lips, much like Zuko.

            I giggled, shrugging my shoulders as I happily sat in Zuko’s grand chair. It was super comfy, might I add. The padding was making it feel like I was sitting on a cloud. No wonder Zuko didn’t mind doing paperwork, I would to if it meant sitting on a comfy chair like this.

            My curious eyes wandered about, scanning the array of documents that decorated his study. There were so many projects happening under Zuko’s care, notes filled with his scribbles containing details. But as interesting as everything was, I was more fascinated by the green document that I brought here.

            While it was light, the envelope was thick; the Earth Nation seal prettily stamped in the center with ivory coloured wax. A letter from the Earth King…I wonder what it is about? As if the emerald green hypnotized me, I found my mind wandering.

            I wonder how Kayto was?

             No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t wipe the image of the happy smile on his face as he walked away from me. The cherry blossoms falling around him in the sweet breeze, how clear his eyes seemed that day. Even his steps seemed lighter than air, practically hovering along the ground.

            It was like he was a changed man…but despite the delighted smile on his face, my heart swelled with sorrow. There was something about that moment that had my eyes teary, something that made my stomach rise to my throat.

            “I gotta say, Princess. You look good, sitting there. You look like a real Queen.” Sokka mused. I blushed at his words, pushing myself back in the chair. My gaze snapped forward, watching the way Sokka lounged in a chair that was placed in front of the desk we were currently huddled around.

            “You really do, for someone as cute as you – you can look pretty scary when you focus.” Suki giggled in Sokka’s lap. I whined under my breath, shyly combing my hair in front of my chest, twirling the strands around. Me ruling a whole Nation? I could feel my whole body shaking.

            The thought alone was beyond terrifying. How does Zuko do it? Thousands and thousands of people looking up to you for guidance. You’re the face of the Nation. The person people praise or curse. Overnight you can be the publics' favourite person, their beacon of hope, or their worst enemy.

            “Sorry we’re late.”

            Zuko busted through the door hastily, and I couldn’t help but smile. The tension in his shoulders was gone, his feet light as he beelined towards his study. He looked like a man on a mission – ready to get down to business. Katara coolly walked towards Aang, but even I could tell she seemed more at peace, her breathing calm.

            They’re okay; they talked it out.

            “FINALLY. Can we get this done and over with already?” Toph groused, sitting upright in a flash as she crossed her arms. Zuko rolled his eyes at Toph, merely walking where I sat. He placed a small peck on my forehead, earning a bashful smile from myself, before spotting the green document on his desk.

            “Where do we even start?” I pondered under my breath as I watched Zuko. He leaned against his study, a hand combing through my locks as if to soothe himself, as he swore under his breath. The letter from the Earth King was dense – he’s going to have a fun read.

            “Maybe with Kayto and the Earth King?” Suki proposed, but Toph gave her two cents. “Further. The waterfall. That’s where Yue first saw Azula and Yakone.”

            “Azula? Yakone?” Katara gasped, Aang nodding his head as he ran his hands up and down her, comforting. “You’re all wrong,” I announced before realizing what I had said. Right away, Zuko’s attention shifted to me, eyes narrowed as the grip he had on the paper tightened.

            “What do you mean that we’re wrong? You said you saw Azula at the waterfall.” Zuko spoke, a certain edge in his voice. I puffed, “You’re right, but that’s not the first time I saw her.”

            “You lied? Why would you lie about that-”

            I frowned at Zuko, realizing that he thought I was hiding information. “Yeah, Princess. Why would not tell Zuko you saw Azula?” Sokka butted, leaning forward, nearly pushing Suki off him. Her hands fell against the study, catching herself, shooting Sokka a glare.

            “Because I didn’t know it was her!” I puffed, throwing my arms up in the air frustratingly. As much as I was part of the gang now, they seemed to forget that I wasn’t friends with them as long as they have been. “I didn’t know it was her! You don’t think if I knew, I would’ve said something? She disguised herself as a maid. I didn’t know better.”

            “Did you not tell Yue about Azula, Zuko?” Aang asked gently, and I saw the flustered look on Zuko’s face. His gaze shifted back to the fancy writing of Earth King, grumbling under his breath. “N-no.”

            “It’s not Zuko’s fault; he doesn’t have to tell me about that.” I started, but Zuko slammed the paper on the desk. I was startled, not at all expecting the outburst of anger. His forehead was scrunched together, a scowl on his face as he stared the crimpled paper.

            “It is my fault; I should’ve been smarter; I let my guard down. I figured Azula was no longer an issue – stupid wishful thinking.” Zuko hissed under his breath.

            “Zuko…” I hummed softly. My hand fell over his forearm, giving him a gentle squeeze. “I should’ve told you about the maid. I was stupid…I didn’t want to worry you.”

            “But I already worry.” He ranted.

            “Oh, for fucks sakes, talk about your damn feelings another time!” Toph swore loudly, standing upright as she stomped her feet on the ground. She swiftly shifted her posture, her head in the direction of Katara.

            “Look here, Sugar Queen, this is what is going to happen. I’m going to tell the damn details, and everyone can keep their mouths shut till the end. Got it?”

            I found myself zipping my mouth shut, Sokka nodding his head frantically, hearing Toph’s stern voice. Aang straightened up his posture, Zuko shooting Toph an amused look, seeing her take charge. “Please go on, Toph. Saves my breath.” Zuko muttered, before raising the documents back to view.

            And boy, did Toph tell the story, alright.

            It was an experience I didn’t know I needed to experience until today. I figured Toph would gloss over everything, cutting corners due to her unsurprisingly impatient nature, but I was pleasantly surprised.

            Despite her blunt and quick to the point, attitude, she hit the nail in every aspect. She didn’t leave behind a single detail, Katara’s eyes growing wider and wider by the second. In fact, even though most of us were there to experience the whole ordeal, we found ourselves silent. Who knew Toph could be a fantastic public speaker when she wanted to be? She would make an amazing investigator.

            Zuko’s hand went back to petting my hair, reading the documents sent from the Earth King, as Toph ranted. But his attention wavered when Katara spoke up.

            “Azula burnt Aang?” Katara repeated, her hand softly caressing Aang’s arms. Aang shot her a caring smile, catching her hand with his, “Don’t worry about it, Sweetheart. I’m all healed.” I could tell Aang was trying his best to ease any concern of Katara, but I couldn’t blame her.

            She was thrown into a pit of lions. Everything that happened, we’ve gotten to process one way or another over time, but Katara was learning about everything now. It was a shock, but Katara just huffed furiously at Aang, shaking her head in annoyance.

            “And you- are you crazy?” She shouted; a slender finger pointed towards me. My jaw dropped, face going white as I saw the way her eyes narrowed heatedly. It reminded me of the times she would lecture Sokka and me whenever we got into trouble. “You fought Azula like in that state, you fought Yakone. You could’ve died Yue; your chi is all messed up. This is dangerous!” Katara lectured.

            “I had to save them-”

            “Aang could have gone in the Avatar state.” Katara retorted.

            “He was tired.” I fought back, pushing myself off the chair. I knew Katara had a point. It was stupid of me, and this ‘flu’ I had, which was evidently something else, was worrying. It was dangerous for me to bend, but the thought of any of them getting hurt was scarier. “I had to save them. Yakone was going to kill them.”

            “And this is why Bloodbenders are disgusting.” Katara spat, running a hand angrily through her locks. The outright hatred in her voice had my breathing hitching, not at all expecting those words to leave her mouth. But the way she spoke, it came naturally, like the fact that Bloodbenders were some vial creatures was a truth, not an opinion. Disgusting-

            “Those are some strong words, Katara,” Aang said speedily, and Katara pursed her lips.

            “You know how dangerous Bloodbending is. You can control someone without their consent. Kill them from the inside out.”

            “That’s not true, Katara.” I blurted without much thought. Aang’s eyes widen at my comment, shooting me a warning glance, but Sokka spoke up before Katara could. “No offence, Princess, but as much as you are a lover, you have to admit. Bloodbending, that’s some next-level human shit right there.”

            “If you can even call them human,” Katara grumbled under her breath. Sokka frowned at her comment, but regardless, he nodded his head in agreeance to her words.

            “Honestly, they’re more like monsters to me. Manipulating blood? That’s disgusting and dark.” Suki added, shaking her head as she looked at Sokka. Suki was a warrior, but even I noticed the way her voice wavered at the thought of Bloodbending.

            “Well, once we get rid of Yakone, no more Bloodbenders to worry about. Problem solved.” Toph grumbled, falling back onto the floor with a thud. She crossed her legs, resting her chin on her elbow as she listened to everyone trash talk.

            “We shouldn’t speak ill about Bloodbending; we don’t know much about it…maybe it can be used for some good?” I reasoned, trying to add some positivity to the conversation, but Katara snuffed. “What good could Bloodbending possibility have?”

            “M-maybe you can heal? Right, Yue? Maybe you can do some more powerful healing, better than regular Waterbending?” Aang proposed eagerly. His eyes were light, scanning the room desperately, wishing for someone to work with him. But Sokka shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know Aang. When you have that much power…it's tempting to do more evil than good, in my opinion.”

            “But Aang is strong; he isn’t evil!” I retorted, hands falling on the study before me harder than I intended. Everyone jumped slightly at the sudden noise, but the beating of my heart in my chest was louder. “That’s like- that’s like saying that everyone with power is evil. That’s not true; there are plenty of good people with power.” I panicked, desperately trying to defuse the situation.

            “Why do you care so much, Princess? Why are you trying to defend Bloodbenders? It’s like you feel bad for Yakone or something.” Toph huffed.

            “That’s not what I’m trying to say.” I whimpered under my breath. What was I trying to say? It did sound like I was trying to defend Yakone. But that wasn’t it – hearing the way they disregarded a whole sub-bending skill because of a bad-bunch? What about all the good that came from Bloodbending during-

            “The next thing you know, Princess over here is going to go give a hug to Yakone, maybe offer him some cookies.” Toph mocked under her breath. My lips puckered, eyes wide hearing the taunting tone in Toph’s voice.

            “Watch it.”

            For the first time, I heard Zuko speak. His voice was low, a deadly tone laced with his simple warning as his hand fell over my shoulder. I could feel the heat radiating from his palms. Zuko didn’t say a damn word during the whole conversation. Did he think Bloodbenders were monsters too? Despicable and less than human?

            “It was a joke, Zuko. Relax.” Toph huffed, her bangs flying upwards for a moment before falling back over her eyes. “This isn’t a time for jokes. We have two wanted criminals, and damn spy inside the kingdom.” Zuko lectured, and Katara stepped forward.

            “We’re just talking about Bloodbenders-”

            “But why? Whether or not Bloodbenders are evil is beside the fucking point. We need to focus on the important things. Healing Yue, so her chi doesn’t kill her, and capturing Yakone to ensure the prosperity of the United Nations.”

            “Zuko is right; we’re falling off track here,” Aang spoke, his voice sounding calmer. Zuko ran his hands through his bun, causing hairs to fall and frame his face. “We can pick up the rest tomorrow; we’re getting nowhere for today,” Zuko muttered under his breath.

            Suki let out a sigh, standing off Sokka and outstretching a hand. He grabbed it, letting her pull his body upwards before wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “Fine. Let’s call it a day then. We can pick everything back up tomorrow in the morning.”

            “Fine with me…” Toph grumbled before abruptly standing up. She kicked the air underneath her before storming out of the room without another word. Aang nodded meekly, bowing quickly towards Zuko and I. I saw the way he smiled at me sympathetically before linking arms with Katara. Pity.

            The sound of their soft voices and feet pattering against the room was the last sound heard before the door shut behind them, leaving Zuko and me alone. The room suddenly felt far too large and lonely, missing the company of everyone, despite them being the cause of anxiousness.

            I let out a shaky breath, hands rubbing my face roughly. Why did I have to say anything? I should have just agreed; I should have kept my mouth shut. They’re right-

            Bloodbenders are monsters.

            Disgusting creatures – less than humans.

            I’m a mon-

            “Love?” Zuko hummed softly, squeezing my shoulder and catching my attention. I jumped, hands falling onto my lap as I looked up at Zuko. I felt so jumpy today, uneasy, even around Zuko. But why? It was like darkness was looming over my head.

            “S-sorry. I’ll go now so you can work. See you for dinner-”

            “Wait.” Zuko breathed, and I noticed how soft his amber eyes appeared. The furious leader that called off the meeting was gone; only Zuko was here, no Fire Lord. “Let’s get out of here, love,” Zuko spoke tenderly, brushing my hair behind my ears as his fingers carefully traced my jaw. His touch had my body easing, breathing relaxing as I weakened under his touch.

            “But your work-”

            “Mother told me some interesting advice today during lunch.”

            I bite my lips. That was random, even for my standards. But the look on Zuko’s face, he was serious. I opened my mouth before shutting it, unsure how to respond to his unexpected statement. “What…did she say” I clumsily questioned.

            The way Zuko leaned into me, I could see my reflection in his eyes. He had such long eyelashes; I never did notice. I figured that the burn would’ve prevented much growth, much like his eyebrow, but that didn’t seem to be the case. His eyes were like endless pools of gold, flickers of sparks scattered randomly. The longer we stared into each other eyes, the larger his pupils dilated.

            His thumb traced my bottom lip, Zuko biting his lips, “She told me to be selfish more often.”

            I rose a brow at his words. “Selfish?”

            “Mhmm…and I think…today I’m going to listen.”

            “Which means…?” I pushed, and Zuko chuckled. “So impatient, curious.”

            A flush coated my cheeks, but I couldn’t pull away from his grasp. Hypothesized by the intense stare, the way he rolled his bottom lip under his teeth as he cheekily studied me up and down. “I’m spoiling you rotten today. Care to go on a date with me? Ice cream for dinner?”

            “Really? You aren’t playing around with me, are you?” I wisely asked, not trusting Zuko completely. He was not only a tease but a high-key sadist. Zuko sniggered, pinching my nose before planting a sweet kiss on my lips, “Of course, beautiful.”

            Beautiful.

            Zuko felt the way my body tensed at the word, and he pulled away. A painful frown suddenly emerged on his face, eyes watching over me, “What’s wrong, love?”

            “Can a monster be beautiful?”

            Zuko’s snorted, rolling his eyes at my unexpected remark. “You think I’m attractive, and I was called a monster my whole life…so I guess so. A monster can be beautiful.”

            But Zuko was handsome – whoever called him a monster, they were wrong. He was a product of misfortune, who rebuilt themself, became something better. Zuko eyed my expression as I absentmindedly nodded at his words, but I wasn’t satisfied. Because that wasn’t the question, I really wanted to ask.

            “Ask it, love. You’re itching to ask.” Zuko mused, seeing right through my act. And I did just that, asked him the question I wanted so desperately to know his answer for.

            “Can you love a monster?”

            “…the better question is, do you think a monster is worthy of love?”

            Is it selfish for me to say yes?

            Waking up to the beautiful smile of Zuko’s was the best way to start the day.

            Our limbs were messily intertwined with each other; Zuko’s arms were hugging me close to his body. My face was flush against his chest; his hands combed through my locks. He was always so careful, not wanting to yank at a tangle, relishing the way the silky strands slid between his fingers.

            “Mm, good morning, love,” Zuko whispered between hushed lips, pressing the top of my head with chaste kisses.

            There was a certain raspiness in his voice that had me mewling, purring as I snuggled against his pec, hearing his steady heartbeat. His voice was low, almost drunk-like, as he let his lips brush by my temple for one last peck. “How did my baby sleep? Feeling better?” He hummed. I felt the way his hand trailed down my hair, following my spine, stopping at the hem of panties.

            “Perfect, warm.”

            “I should start charging you.” Zuko pestered, and I gazed upwards, a grin on his face. “A kiss per half hour?”

            “That’s a pretty steep rate.” I bothered, and Zuko laughed.

            “You’re right, just for you, I’ll give you a better rate.”

            “So, there are others you warm like this?” I pouted, failing miserably to mask the bubble of jealousy that suddenly emerged. I knew that my statement was false; the thought of Zuko sneaking off and having some side affair was more of a joke than a possibility. He was far too devoted, too loyal to be the type to cheat.

            But despite the obvious, Zuko smirked, “Of course not, baby, that’s why I’m giving you the best rate. For my one and only customer.”

            “And what would that be?”

            “Two kisses per half an hour.”

            “Zuko, that’s even worse than the last rate you gave me!” I laughed noisily, snorting at Zuko’s logic. He chuckled, chest rumbling underneath me as he stole another kiss on my head. “You caught me red-handed, love.”

            “I swear, one day I’m going to freeze you,” I grumbled under my breath, trying to hide the fact that I was enjoying this way too much. “Temperature play? You really are a kinky one.” Zuko teased, and I blushed.

            “T-that’s not what I meant, Zuko!” I shrieked, infuriated that I let Zuko get a rise out of me this early in the morning. But the smile on Zuko’s face grew the more flustered I got, cheeks a baby pink as I blew. How can I stay mad at him when he looked so damn cute?

            A knock on the door caught our attention, stopping our tantalizing banter short. Zuko shuffled, and I rolled over, letting him sit up. “Come in,” Zuko spoke loudly, the door creaking open just a bit. I pushed the heavy blankets off me, reaching for my robe and letting my arms slip through before standing up.

            “Good morning Kim-oh.”

            “My apologies, Fire Lord Zuko, Imperial Consort Ying Yue. Kima and Lia took the day off today; it seems they are tied up at the moment.” A lady spoke. My breath caught in my throat, staring blankly at the lady before us.

            Her hair was short, highlighting her sharp angular facial features. Her eyes were tapered, a stunning violet colour, pupils like slits. A tea tray was carefully balanced in her grasp, as she thoughtfully walked forward. The whole time her eyes were locked with mine, a sinister smile on her face.

            “I bring you your morning tea. To help with your illness, Imperial Consort, doctors' orders.” The lady spoke, a deliberate hiss towards the end. I felt myself on edge, unable to finish slipping my arm through my robe as I just stared.

            “Thank you; you can leave it on my side,” Zuko spoke, snapping me out of my haze.

            His coarse voice seemed to catch the lady’s attention, too, shifting her eyes to him, licking her lips without a care in the world. “As you wish, Fire Lord Zuko.” The way she purred out his name, the seductive tone, it had my skin crawling.

            She shuffled forward, letting the tray fall on his nightstand with a loud clank. Hastily, I put on my robe, tying it to my body as if it was a layer of armour. “I’ll take my leave. Enjoy the tea.” She spoke, forcing a crazy smile on her face wicked, matching her eyes.

            I observed her every step. She was light on her feet, and I noticed how ill-fitting her maid's clothes were. They were far too tight, highlighting her toned physic. With one last crooked smile, the door shut behind her, the air filling my lungs.

            “Fucking weirdo,” Zuko muttered under his breath before reaching over his nightstand. He grabbed the ceramic teapot, pouring the hot liquid into a teacup. The steam filled the air, and his large hand cupped the small teacup before eyeing me, “Here, love.”

            “Give me a minute; I’m going to brush my teeth. I feel yucky.” I glowered, and Zuko rolled his eyes. “Come on; I like your morning breath.” He teased cheekily, pulling the teacup back to his chest.

            “Eww, you’re so gross, Zuko.” I giggled; the uneasiness of that maid’s presence long forgotten.

            “Some would call that romantic,” Zuko shouted as I waltzed my way to the bathroom. I look over my shoulder, shooting him a look of disbelief. “The Almighty Fire Lord Zuko a romantic?” I said, biting my lips as I rose my brows.

            Zuko hummed, bringing the teacup that he had originally poured for me to his lips. The way he looked over at me while taking a slow sip, “Mmmm, are you trying to say I’m not?” He challenged. But I saw the way his nose scrunched up for a moment, taking a whiff of the tea.

            “This smells gross…and tastes just as bad.” Zuko muttered under his breath, and I rolled my eyes. “It’s medicine Zuko, my medicine, not some breakfast tea.”

            “Tea is tea, but fuck – this is really gross.” Zuko groused, and I laughed at the way Zuko complained under his breath. Yet to my amazement, he took another swing. “You just said you don’t like it!” I snickered, shaking my head.

            My hands pushed the bathroom door open, letting the natural light from the windows light the space. I winced slightly, feeling the cold tiles against my feet, wishing I made Zuko get ready first. His natural warmth always managed to heat the cold tiles.

            “Yeah, but I don’t want it to go to waste.” I heard Zuko grumble loudly, voice sounding rougher than usual. “Zuko, don’t worry. I’ll drink it all.” I reasoned, searching for the toothpaste. Where was it? My eyes frantically scanned the marble counter, spotting our toothbrushes, face towels, cleansers.

            “Hey, Zuko. Did we finish the toothpaste?” I asked, my gaze darting all over the place. He must have forgotten to tell me we ran out last night. A small pout fell over my lips, hands falling over my hips as I stood tall.

            “Zuko? Hey Zuko-”

            The sound of glass hitting the ground had my blood running cold.

            My feet moved without me thinking, dashing into our bedroom frantically, “Zuko? Are you ok-”

            Zuko’s face was red, hands desperately clawing at his throat. He was heaving, sweating, veins popping as he was hunched over, coughing. I could see the deep red marks etched into his skin as he tore at his throat, “Zuko!” I cried, and at the sound of my voice, his head snapped upwards.

            My heart stopped, seeing how wide his golden eyes were.

            They were bloodshot, tears bubbling up as he wheezed.

            “Help.”

            He’s choking. He can’t breathe- I ran.

            “Zuko, I’m here, Zuko, relax! You need to try to breathe.” I panicked, running to his side. My feet slipped against the wooden floors as I dashed, but I found myself stopping abruptly. Ceramic littered the floor. The teacup was shattered into a dozen pieces, small fragments of herbs littering the floor-

            The tea.

            “Guards!” I screamed, jumping into the bed as I hastily crawled to Zuko. His chest rose and fell frantically, shoving him back as my fingers trailed to his neck. The bedroom doors flung open, the sound of heavy footsteps entering the room, “Imperial Consort- What happened?!”

            “Call the doctors, Zuko is poisoned. He needs help!” I cried, not bothering to turn to face them. I shut my eyes, trying to find his pulse, hands shaking. His heart was pumping, throbbing piercingly as he struggled to breathe.

            He’s dying.

            Something abruptly grabbed my wrist, my eyes snapping open, and I couldn’t stop the sob that erupted from me. Zuko’s eyes met mine, and I could see it.

            “I-I love you.”

            “N-no-no Zuko. You’re not going anywhere.” I sobbed, hands frantically touching his throat. His pulse was dying. I need to do something. I need to do something-

            That’s it.

            If it’s the tea, it’s a liquid. I can bend the tea from his skin like sweat. I yanked my hand away from Zuko’s, grasping his chest and pushing my arms against his heating skin. My eyes shut closed, tears overflowing as I focused.

            I can’t feel it.

            I can’t feel the fucking tea.

            “I can’t bend it!” I shouted in frustration, moving my hands up and down his body, trying to find a fucking drop of it in his system. His body can’t have ingested the tea into his bloodstream. For something like that to happen, a few hours would have had to pass. It’s impossible – unless.

            My arms stiffened, freezing in my spot, hands no longer frantically searching his body.

            The tea wasn’t tea.

            I dug my fingers into his skin, breathless as I realized what was happening. I could feel it, it was there, in Zuko’s body, in his blood.

            If the tea was mixed with someone’s else blood – poisoned, then it’s possible- the poison is already in Zuko’s bloodstream.

            He’s going to die.

            I can’t save him.

            I can’t bend that; I can’t- My heart pounded loudly in my ears, pulling myself away from Zuko’s body. I couldn’t stop the tears that fell down my face.

            I can’t; I shouldn’t-

            My feet wobbled as I crawled off the bed, steps stomping against the hardwood floor as I dashed to the array of dual swords that decorated the wall. A weak sob left my lips as I pulled the guard off the sharp blade, throwing it across the room.

            A quick twist of my feet, I felt my heart shatter, watching the way Zuko withered in our bed. His face was purple, hands desperately clenching the blankets underneath him as he wheezed painfully.

            I shouldn’t-

            My hands were shaking as I slowly inched towards Zuko.

            His golden eyes lined with mine, seeing as I eased my way to him with a sword in hand. “I’m sorry, Zuko- I’m sorry.” I cried, pulling my gaze away from his. I couldn’t face him; I couldn’t look into those sweet eyes. I didn’t deserve it, not a single part of him.

            I winced as I stepped on the shattered teacup, cutting the soles of my feet as I leaned over Zuko’s dying figure. The sharp blade pressed against Zuko’s throat, sniffling as I shook my head.

            “I wanted to tell you, Zuko. I really did. But-but-”

            I pressed, Zuko wincing as the blade easily sliced his soft skin, droplets of scarlet tainting his neck. I threw the knife away, jamming my fingers into the open wound. I sobbed, feeling the pain that Zuko was in, “I wanted to tell you the truth Zuko, I wanted to. But I was selfish.” I cried.

            I shut my eyes, and I could feel it.

            The poison, it was mixing with his blood, and I panted heavily. It was starting to fuse; if I don’t do this now, it’ll be too late.

            I reached the point of no return.

            Fingers jammed into Zuko’s wound, feeling his veins pulsing, blood pumping frantically in the pace of his struggling heart. Zuko’s life was far more important than the consequences I would face.

            I can do this.

            I will save Zuko.

            My fingers twisted, earning a painful groan from Zuko. “Bare with it Zuko, I’m sorry!” I cried. Just a little bit more-almost- got it.

            I yanked my body back, wrist snapping and Zuko inhaled loudly.

            Relief.

            I twirled my hand, panting heavily as black spots flooded my vision. I was pushing myself too much, just a little bit more- I felt the way Zuko’s blood separated from the foreign blood, tainted with poison.

            My eyes widen, taking in the disgusting sight.

            Dark liquid, almost black, floated in the air as I bent. My other hand weaved back and forth, trying to separate Zuko’s blood from the poison. The muscles in his body eased instantaneously, and with one giant huff, I balled my hands, the poison collapsing in itself, freezing into a ball in the air.

            Zuko sat upright, his hands falling over his chest as he dry heaved. Spit fell from his lips as his body shook with each cough, air squeezing past his sore throat and filling his lungs.

            He’s breathing.

            I saved him, and at that moment, I made the fatal mistake of looking at him.

            His eyes met mine between forced pants.

            “You’re- you’re a- Bloodbender.”

            His hand lunched forward as if he was trying to grab me, and I stepped back. With whatever power I had left in my body, I swung my hand forward. His eyes widen, I could feel the way he tried desperately to fight against me, but it was useless. He let out a tired groan, and his body fell limp.

            Letting gravity take over, Zuko’s body fell into the bed with a thud.

            “Yue!”

            The doors burst open, a pair of arms wrapped around me as doctors and nurses flooded the room. A numbness filled my body. Arms falling limp to my side, only noticing then I had Zuko’s blood on the tips of my fingers still.

            Blood…

            “Yue.” Aang breathed heavily in my ear, and I fell to the floor, on my knees. I watched as Katara checked over Zuko’s body, “He’s okay, he passed out, but he’s breathing, he’s okay!” she shouted.

            Aang shuffled in front of me, dropping to his knees with me on the floor as he cupped my face. His fingers brushed the tears that fell down my face before pressing his forehead against mine. “He knows…doesn’t he?” Aang whispered, voice pained.

            “It was the only way to save him, Aang.”

            “He loves you, Yue-”

            “You can’t love a monster.”

Copyright © 2019 Mystic-Kitten, inc. all rights reserved. No reposting, modifying, or translations of any kind allowed. Thank you for your cooperation.

Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters portrayed in this story besides Ying Yue Jiang, Lia, Kima, and any future creations.

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

[flickityfics]

Ch.10 A Day Without Zuko

a/n:Warning: smut

Hi, Gaang! The construction is going to take another six months but it's coming along nicely. I've met a lot of people and they're all use to me being around, they've helped me as well so it's been great knowing everyone and being a regular here. I learned things down here doing laundry, cooking and I'm always doing my training of course, gotta stay sharp you know! Katara, I'll never underestimate women ever again. I've seen first hand how hard it is for girls to be taken seriously or respected, its brutal and outrageous. Let me know how you  guys are doing by the way, its taking a long time to see you guys again and I wish I could be over there helping you but as long as I know you guys are okay, I don't mind staying longer to help out over here so just take care of yourselves .

-Sokka

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Suki its so hard being a girl. So many creepy guys hit on you or don't think you can do a job on your own, its annoying. Then they're the girls who starts fight with each other or looking at you with disgust and pure hate, you just can't win with anyone when I'm just trying to mind my own business here. Anyways I'm working different jobs here, still searching on how to turn back when I can, mostly stuck at the library with no answers and just crossing things off that don't make sense with my situation. I'll probably have to look into some spirits like you mentioned before. Oh and what could really help me is if you can tell me different parts of my body and what it does? Maybe even draw me a diagram as a reference please and thank you, so sorry for this uncomfortable favor. I'll keep my head up and keep trying to work this out. Hope you're doing fine on your side, write me whenever you have the time, take care.

-Sokka

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Sokka mailed off the letters deciding to use his free time before work to put up the posters he made earlier of Appa around Ba Sing Se. He just wanted to do his part in helping out the gaang however he could. It took about twenty-five minutes to get all the posters everywhere before taking a snack break. After a small meal he headed to his new job.

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Sokka came into the Jasmine Dragon exhausted and ready to vent at Zuko but caught Iroh instead by himself in the kitchens.

"Hey uncle, where's Lee?" he asked curiously looking for the scarred teen.

"Ah, my nephew went on an errand getting new tea sets and tea." Iroh expertly lied.

Sokka couldn't help being suspicious since it was late to be getting stuff at this hour but he also didn't know how businesses do there whole delivery system so he'd just question Zuko later and see if their story matches up.

"Guess I'll just have to settle with talking your ear off old man." He grinned to the elder.

Iroh grinned back, "Well you know this old man is a big talker so go right ahead." He waited curiously knowing the young girls story will be interesting from the conversations he's overheard from her and his nephew.

"I just can't seem to find a job that I enjoy or liked to stick with. This is already my seventh job and I want a new one already but I'm limited to jobs because of stupid men not thinking I'm capable or not deeming the workplace fit for women. On the other hand I can't be too picky either because I have living expenses and don't want to come off as unreliable from switching jobs so much, I'd like to find my calling and enjoy a job I'm passionate about. I have skills but they can't be utilized because dumb men don't want to hear opinions from women. I know how to fish, somewhat fight, I'm good at planning, being a strategist, fast learner, strong, learning how to take charge and great with organizing and planning. I've just got all these good ideas and things to invent but no one wants to hear me out or to take me seriously." Sokka was frustrated with these types of problems, he realizes what a complete jerk he's been himself towards his sister and other girls but he's definitely gonna try being a better person seeing all the efforts they put in but don't get the same efforts back.

"What do you think uncle? Am I asking for too much?" He asked.

Iroh stroked his beard, "Let me get us some tea." He then left the young girls side to prepare the tea he had in mind.

Sokka could only lift his brow at the old man, watching impatiently as he took his sweet old time with the tea.

"Now it's not bad trying out different things to find what you're good or passionate about but I do see where it'll be difficult since most people are set in their ways and not wanting change. You are young and strong-willed, I believe you have the courage and strength within to make these changes possible no matter how slow the progress may be so long as you do not give up." Iroh really believed in his words about Miyuki, she was quite stubborn and willing to tell people off for any injustice she felt towards herself or others. It's why he's liked her so much near his nephew.

Sokka really thought about the uncle's wise words, it seemed so simple hearing it out like that. All it takes is small steps and he knew he wasn't one to give up....well, maybe only when things are really looking bad. In all honesty Sokka was sure he could keep up and handle being a girl a bit longer even though he'd really like his body back but he's gotta do what he can to live comfortably as is for now. It may not to be as freely as when he was a boy but he could handle putting some rude men and or women in there places if need be.

"Thanks for the pep talk geezer, that actually helps clear my mind, guess I just needed someone's perspective on stuff." He was happy talking with Zuko's uncle, it really helped him get things off his chest and feel heard. Normally these would be talks with Zuko but the jerk bender just had to be off on an errand.

"I'm gonna take off now, can you let Lee know I stopped by?" He asked.

"I'll let him know. I'm glad you drag him along places, thank you." Iroh was really grateful towards Miyuki always taking his nephew out, she brings more life into him he noticed.

Sokka waved off the old man as he left the tea shop. The sun was down and already the streets were lit. It was a nice, calming walk with the light buzz of late night activities. He really did enjoy the weather here in Ba Sing Se instead of being in layers, he had loose pants with a dark green tunic. As he kept walking he noticed off to the side a wanted poster that caught his eye, he walked over seeing a vaguely familiar mask but not really remembering, scanning the words he mumbled to himself, "Blue Spirit wanted blah blah may be a ghost? uh..Kidnapped Avatar, hmmm... feels like something I should know." The poster piqued his interest for a short while before he shrugged it off as no importance to him and went his merry way towards the inn.

Back at the inn Sokka felt like a nice hot bath would be perfect to relax at the end of the day. He went straight for the bathroom as he got back in his room, did some cleaning around the room as he waited for the tub to fill. He still felt awkward with his body but today he felt sure to do some more exploring.

The warmth of the water relaxed him to the bones, it felt like such bliss to feel the nice heat incase his whole body. He splashed around a bit making ripples in the water. This was the first time he took a bath with his eyes opened, he tried to avoid washing for two to three days and when he did it was only a quick rub down and rinse with eyes closed the entire time. But now? Now he watched himself as he slowly moved his hands on his new girlish thighs, he could feel hairs along the way, they were actually quite long, he knew Katara and Suki kept they're legs smooth but not how and now there's another embarrassing question to ask Suki later.

He tried again groping his chest just going for it, squeezing and moving them in all directions, it didn't really feel much to him still. He just kinda bounced them but couldn't feel anything sexual, he was sure if he had a girl in front of him and not his own body that it would be more exciting. Going a bit more down, he played with his soft little plump of a stomach, he definitely missed his flat stomach that he was working so hard on for nice abs. Eyes scanning further, he thought his feet were kinda cute not to say he checked out feet but he totally lucked out in cute feet as a girl.

                  --Warning: smut--

Now for the part he was anxious to explore more thoroughly. With a deep breath he ran his hand down feeling the dark course hairs covering his newly made vagina. He split the wet hairs just twirling them and rubbing between his fingers just curious at how they felt and looked. They felt much the same as his so no difference there...well besides the obvious missing usual protrusion. It was kind of fun playing with it and sorta felt good to. Closing his eyes he slipped a finger in his folds noticing it wasn't as wet as the other times he felt awkwardly aroused as Suki embarrassingly explained through letters. Sokka rubbed at the nub he felt and added pressure realizing the pleasure it caused, he pressed down harder rubbing slow circles. As he rubbed himself he could feel his wetness making the pleasure easier. After feeling the fun sensation for a bit he then lowered his fingers again feeling a dip into a small hole, it felt tight but once he tried to dip his finger in he flinched from the dry pain he felt. "Okay, that definitely didn't feel nice." It was actually quite scary he thought, he waited til his body relaxed once again before foregoing that area and sticking with the pleasure he got from the small bud up top. He didn't think of much besides building the pressure towards this nice pleasure he felt, it was like a nice slow yet intense build up to an amazing uncontained burst. He couldn't stop himself from speeding up his fingers and thrusting his hips slightly to catch that release, his fingers were aching with the pleasure that was sure to come. It felt completely different from his own body but totally awesome still. His hand was cramping, he could hear the splashes in the water but all he cared about was that sweet peak and nothing else, he was so close, so close.

"Ah, ah right there. " Sokka let out his moans as he felt his hips shake and hand move faster finally falling into an amazing orgasm. He had to catch his breath and remove his hand gently now feeling the unpleasant cramping. "Oh that was different but so so amazing." He tilted his head back enjoying how relaxed he felt and finishing up in the bath. He emptied the tub and rinsed once more getting out on slightly shaky legs.

                       --End smut--

He was back in his room relaxed and feeling good. He did feel kinda weird about the whole self pleasure with the new body of his but it was great once trying it. Before heading to bed, he did some light combinations of kicks and arm movements along with some breathing techniques he's learned form Zuko. He started doing them every night and morning as Zuko suggested, 'dang, that violent jerk is actually giving him good habits to learn from.' he realized. Everytime he tried to repeat how dangerous and horrible Zuko is it just gets overruled  by the Zuko he's been getting to know now. And that's how the tanned teen slept, with thoughts overflowing with prince Zuko.

[amixiifish]

Heat- Chapter 36: Capture

They all met in the main yard, all with news to share.

“I know how we’re going to get out,” Sokka said.

“There are no war prisoners here that are Water Nation,” Jet said sorrowfully, filling Sokka in.

“But there are Earth Nation prisoners!” Zuko said excitedly.

Sokka looked upset but asked, “Who?”

“Suki!” Zuko exclaimed. 

“Suki! Really?” Sokka said.

Sokka looked like someone lit up the night sky. Zuko felt a flash of irritation- he knew that they had dated for a little while, and though they were long over, he didn’t know if Sokka would light up that way when he was mentioned. 

“Yeah. She told me to visit with you guys,” Zuko flushed as he said that.

“What’d she say to you?” Jet teased, smirking as the blush grew.

“Nothing. Shut up!” Zuko hissed back.

They walk over to Suki’s cell. Zuko pauses hesitantly outside.

“I’ll be outside,” Zuko said, promising to stand guard. Jet looked like he wanted to argue but Zuko shoves the two alphas inside.

“Sokka!” Suki cried, hugging the alpha.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Sokka whispers into her hair.

“Yeah,” the Kyoshi Warrior replies.

She hugs Jet as well and frowned when she noticed Zuko wasn’t there.

“Where’s Zuko?” Suki asks.

“Standing guard outside,” Jet replies.

Suki lets out a sigh. “I was hoping to see a pretty omega, not two dumbass alphas.”

Sokka was about to retort when a rapid two knocks on the door caused him to panic slightly.

“Look, we’re running out of time, but is my dad here?” Sokka whispers harshly.

Suki shook her head. “I haven’t seen him. The other Kyoshi Warriors are locked in a prison near the palace.”

Sokka seemed frustrated but panicked when he heard yelling outside. He opens the door carefully and Jet quickly leaves calling out a promise to visit Suki soon.

The pretended as though they just heard the other female guard calling for help.

“You’re under arrest!” Jet declares, pinning Zuko.

“I’ll figure it out,” Sokka whispers to the two.

“You better! I just got arrested ‘cause of your dumbass,” Zuko hissed.

The two of them drop Zuko off in a room.

The warden throws the door open and walks in.

“Ah, Prince Zuko. How nice to see you in person,” The Warden leers.

“How do you know me?” Zuko asked, slightly panicked.

“How could I not? Princess Azula wanted you, and Mai did too. But you broke Mai’s heart.”

“Wait. You’re Mai’s uncle? I never meant to hurt her, I swear,” Zuko said.

“Be quiet omega. You wouldn’t want anyone to hear of your status as an omegan prince if you misbehave. Step out of line, and I'll have a room full of alphas in rut waiting to use you,” The Warden sneered.

Zuko panicked but cooled himself off- he had to show no signs of submission and fear. 

The Warden looks as though he’s about to leave, but turns around the last minute.

“Azula will be coming soon to visit. Hope your heat will have started by then because she has turned a lot rougher.” The Warden croons.

The Warden looks at the two guards that had brought Zuko in.

“If you would like, you can have the omega,” The Warden said.

The two alphas nodded.

“That'd be nice,” Jet said.

“I can work with that,” Sokka smirks.

The Warden nods curtly and watches them go into the room.

The two alphas rush in to see their omega looking like he had seen a ghost.

“C’mon, you can tell us about it later,” Sokka whispers, trying to help his omega up.

The omega seemed to be frozen.

“We know an alpha that would be able to take care of him. Could they be put in the same cell?” Jet asks the Warden.

He seemed to be about to say no, but when he sees Zuko slightly trembling, he reluctantly nods.

Sokka thanks Tui and La that the Warden isn’t too much of a douche. They drop him off at Suki’s cell.

The second Zuko goes in, Suki wraps the omega in a tight embrace.

“Are you ok?” Suki asks and the omega breaks down.

“I don’t want to be near Azula again. She’s going to do it again, and I don’t want to and-” Zuko said, body shaking.

His vision was tunneling and he felt as though his mouth was filled with cotton.

“Hey, shh. It’s ok, pretty thing. You’ll be fine,” Jet coos.

“She isn’t coming close to you, ok?” Sokka reassures.

“Guards, let's move!” A male voice calls from the hallway.

Sokka and Jet curse but rush to follow, leaving Suki and Zuko in the cell.

Suki gently holds Zuko and they lay down on the bed. The bed is only made for one, so most of Zuko was on Suki. Zuko was wrapped up in the comforting arms of the female alpha and his crying became worse because he really missed Katara.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Suki gently asks after Zuko’s sobs subside.

Zuko shakes his head.

Suki sighs, though most of her knew she would get a response like that.

They stayed in the silence for some time before Zuko starts to talk.

“Katara and I have a guardian bond,” Zuko begins.

“Oh?” Suki says, mildly surprised since those bonds were very hard to attain.

“That’s why I stayed close to you. You remind me of her.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

“You wanted to know about the panic attack.”

“Oh, Zuko, it’s fine, really, you don’t have to-”

“Azula raped me.”

Suki felt taken aback.

“Isn’t she your sister?”

The deafening silence made Suki’s stomach twist up in knots.

“I’m sorry,” Suki finally says, knowing that the words were severely inadequate.

Zuko just curls closer and something in Suki opens up to the small omega.

She hugs him closer and presses a kiss to the top of his head.

Suddenly a strange feeling made Suki’s nerves stand on edge. Given by Zuko’s sudden tensing, he felt it too.

Then Zuko laughs.

Suki stared dumbfounded at the male omega laughing in her lap.

“Why are you laughing?” Suki said, alarmed something was wrong.

“Nothing. But I do think we may have a guardian bond. This is what happened to Katara and me,” Zuko said, trying not to laugh.

Suki smiles after she realizes what was happening. 

“So, I get to hold you like this more often?” Suki crooned, pulling the omega so close, she could feel his heartbeat.

“Yup,” Zuko said, popping the p.

As Zuko drifts off, Suki can’t help but whisper;

“Guess everyone wants some bond with the cute omega prince.”