#Zuko knows that Sokka likes to fidget while he talks so he got Sokka a beaded necklace that he plays with | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

eastofthemoon · 5 months

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

Rating: PG

Series: Voltron Legendary Defender/Avatar the Last Airbender

Summary: After the fight with Zarkon, Shiro accidentally gets tossed into another reality where humans have the ability to bend the elements. His best shot at returning home is with someone called the Avatar, while he waits he might as well take on the job of being the Firelord’s bodyguard.

“Do you think they’re doing alright?”

Zuko glanced up from the paper he had been signing. “They’re speaking to my father, I doubt they’re having a good time.”

Katara sighed. “I know, but they’ve been down there awhile.” Aang winced from his seat. “It has. Maybe we should go check on them?”

“It’s not even been 30 minutes,” Sokka said as he twirled his boomerang in his hands. “Don’t be so nervous.”

Suki raised an eyebrow. “Says the man who fiddles with his boomerang when he’s trying to calm his nerves.”

Sokka paused in his twirling. “I’m not nervous, I am fidgeting. There’s a difference.”

Zuko groaned over where this argument was about to go when thankfully the door opened and Toph appeared.

Katara instantly rose and went over. “So, how did it go?” She then frowned. “Wait, where’s Shiro?”

“In the garden,” Toph said and crossed her arms, “recovering.”

“Recovering?” Aang said. “Is he hurt? Did Ozai do something-”

“No,” Toph said and then sighed. “Well, yeah, he did but Shiro isn’t physically hurt. It’s complicated.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow as Sokka approached. “What do you mean?”

Toph stroked her chin. “It went as expected. Shiro went to talk to Ozai and as we suspected he didn't know a thing and was just trying to see if he could use Shiro to help him regain the throne.”

“Of course,” Zuko said darkly.

“Shiro was going to walk away but then,” she bit her lower lip. “Ozai said something that seemed to spook Shiro.”

Aang narrowed his eyes. “What was it?”

She raised her head. “He said Shiro was a killer, just like him.” She raised her head up. “I immediately felt his heart rate go up, like he was panicking? I’m pretty sure I heard him grab Ozai. He let him go, but it was a long pause and I got to admit I was debating if I should step in or not.”

“But that’s crazy,” Aang said.

“I agree,” Suki added. “He’s a good fighter, but he’s not a killer. He’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve met.” She turned to Sokka. “Right?”

Sokka grimaced as he rubbed his neck. “Well...”

Zuko crossed his arms, “You’re remembering the Agni Kai aren’t you?”

“How can I not be?”

Aang and Suki exchanged baffled looks.

“Are we missing something?” Aang asked.

“Yeah,” Sokka said as he rubbed his neck. “You two didn’t see how he was during the Agni Kai. He was intense. There are reasons people are still calling him’ the dragon’.”

“And his universe is going through its own war at the moment,” Katara replied as she rubbed her arms. “We all know what kind of impact that can have on people.”

Aang frowned and nodded as he gripped his staff. “Maybe I should go talk to him-”

“No,” Zuko said as he placed a hand on his shoulder. “I should.” He turned to the group. “I have a feeling I can better relate.”

The group exchanged glances, but all nodded.

“He should be in the garden,” Toph said. “Probably hanging out with Appa and Momo.”

“Cuddle time with furry critters is good for relieving stress,” Sokka commented.

“Right,” Zuko said as he left. “I’ll go find him. Could one of you fill Uncle in on what happened?”

“I’ll do it,” Toph said as he crossed her arms.

“And in the meantime, who’s up for a game of cards?” Sokka said.

“Only if you’re not dealing,” Katara chided.

“Why?”

“Because you cheat!” Everyone shouted.

Zuko repressed a chuckle as he left and headed for the garden.

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

There was nobody in the garden, which was what Shiro needed. Upon arriving, Momo had jumped onto his shoulder. Shiro glanced up and upon seeing the lemur’s concerned face staring back at him, he gave a small smile.

“Worried about me?” Shiro asked.

Momo chirped at him.

“I’m okay,” Shiro said quietly, although it was mostly to convince himself.

He walked over to where Appa was currently napping and sat next to him. The flying bison cracked open an eye.

“Mind if I join you?” Shrio asked.

Appa gave a snort before shutting his eyes and turning his head.

“I’ll take that as an ‘No’,” Shiro said softly and leaned back.

He breathed in and out. He needed to clear his head. He had to just..not think about what he had just heard. But how could he not?

Because it’s all true, he thought darkly.

He sighed deeply listening to only Appa’s snoring and the light purr like sounds from Momo. Before long, Shiro heard footsteps.

He opened his eyes and saw Zuko.

“I take it you spoke with Toph.”

“She gave us the details more or less,” Zuko said as he sat down next to him. “Are you alright?”

Shiro sighed. “I’ll..be fine.” He shut his eyes. “It just brought up some memories I prefer not to recall.”

“Memories or the nightmares you’ve been having?”

Shiro froze. Momo hopped off his shoulder as he straightened his posture. “You know about the nightmares?”

Zuko raised an eyebrow. “I know from personal experience it’s impossible for a person to get scars like these,” he pointed to his face, “and not get nightmares.”

Shiro opened and shut his mouth. Right, I suppose he would know.

“Do you get yours often?” Zuko asked.

Shiro rubbed his neck. “It’s not as bad as it used to be, but I will admit they aren’t nearly as bad as the…”

“Flashbacks?”

Shiro paused, but slowly gave a nod.

Zuko was quiet as he crossed his arms. “I’m assuming the others told you how I got my face burned.”

Shiro rubbed his neck. “Um, no actually.”

Zuko blinked and looked genuinely surprised. “Wait, really?”

“They told me it was something to do with an Agni Kai, but they wouldn’t tell me any more than that.”

“Huh,” Zuko said softly as he watched Momo dip his hand into the water. “You might as well know.”

Shiro held up his hand. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“You’re probably going to learn it from someone at some point, it’s not exactly hidden information, and I rather you hear it from me.”

Shiro narrowed his eyes, but remained quiet.

“During a war meeting I spoke out against a general’s plan to use newly trained soldiers as bait in a battle.” He turned to Shiro. “Believe it or not, that general was Bujing.”

The man I fought, Shiro thought. He recalled the arrogance of the older man. Yeah, he would be the kind of guy to have that plan.

“You weren’t wrong for speaking out,” Shiro said.

“No, but it wasn’t my place to. I was young and was only supposed to observe quietly.” Zuko took a deep breath. “My father was outraged at my behaviour and an Agni Kai was declared to settle the matter. I had assumed it would be with Bujing, but that wasn’t the case. Ozai was my opponent.”

Shiro’s eyes widened. “You… had to fight against your father?”

“No, because I refused. To ‘teach me a lesson’ Ozai gave me this,” he pointed to his burn. “It was a few days after while I was still recovering that he banished me and said I wasn’t allowed to return home unless I captured the avatar.” He gave a shrug. “You can guess how that turned out.”

Shiro was silent as the gears turned in his head. Zuko was no older than Keith. The war ended three years ago. Did that mean?

“How old were you?” Shiro asked.

“13,” Zuko replied darkly.

Shiro sucked in air between his teeth and shut his eyes to cool his temper.

“I should have killed him,” Shiro said with a growl.

Zuko scoffed. “You’ll need to get in line. Katara, Sokka and Toph instantly started to make ‘murder plans’ when I told them. It took Aang and I days to get them to calm down about it.”

Can’t say I blame them, Shiro thought.

He took his own deep breath. “Okay, my turn.”

Zuko touched his shoulder. “You don’t have to.”

Shiro shook his head. “No, it’s only fair.”

If Zuko felt comfortable enough to tell him the details, how could he not return the favour?

“You know the galra I told you about? I was on an exploration mission when I first encountered them.” Momo came over and sat at Shiro’s feet. “We weren’t a large group. Just me, the pilot, and two scientists; Sam Holt and his son Matt. It wasn’t supposed to be anything other than a mission of scientific discovery, but we were captured by the galra.”

“Because they thought you had information?” Zuko asked.

“I don’t know,” Shiro replied.

He never really understood why they had been captured.

“But the end result was Sam got taken away while Matt and I got sent to the gladiator ring.” His body tensed. “Matt was so frightened. I knew he wouldn’t survive so I injured him so they were forced to take him out of there, but I don’t know where.”

“So, you were left there alone?” Zuko muttered.

Shiro nodded, “I was there for a year before I was able to escape,” Shiro said. “I don’t remember much about that time, but I do know three facts.” He held up his cybernetic arm. “It’s where I got this as well as my scars, every fight was to the death,” his fist tightened, “and I was granted the title of Champion.”

Zuko’s face hardened. “You mean, every fight you won-”

“Had to end with someone being killed,” Shiro finished. “I’ve met former prisoners who remember my time there and they said I was their inspiration, but I’ll admit I’ve yet to understand why.” Shiro lowered his arm as glanced over to the pond. “Your father is right about one thing. I am a killer just like him.”

Zuko scoffed, “Shiro, I haven’t known you for long, but you are nothing like him.”

Shiro’s eyes hardened. “Zuko-”

“You’re not.” Zuko repeated firmly. “You had to kill to survive, meanwhile my father tried to burn an entire nation to the ground just because he wanted to feed his ego.”

Shiro was quiet.

“Besides, that fact that you feel guilt over it is proof enough,” Zuko continued as he touched Shiro’s shoulder. “Ozai doesn’t question it for a second.”

Shiro’s shoulders slumped. “It’s easy to say that, logically, but-”

“It’s difficult to believe it?” Zuko asked.

Shiro nodded.

“Have you ever discussed this with your friends?”

“No,” Shiro said softly as he shut his eyes. “We’re in the middle of a war and they have enough on their shoulders. I don’t want to burden them.”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll just make things worse though.”

Shiro glanced at him, but kept quiet.

“Keeping things in doesn’t help anyone,” Zuko continued. “You probably think you’re protecting them, but all that’s doing is letting things build up inside and trust me, it will come out.” He turned to him. “At the worst possible times.”

“Personal experience?” Shiro asked.

Zuko didn’t reply, but he could tell from his face that the answer was a yes.

“I know you’re right,” Shiro said softly. “Just hard to know when I’m ready.”

Zuko took a breath and then rose. “Well, I know what we can do in the meantime.” He turned to him. “Starting tomorrow, I’m teaching you how to meditate. Uncle taught me when I was first recovering and I can’t deny it was a big help to me.”

Shiro raised a hand. “I appreciate the offer but-”

“It’s not a request,” Zuko said firmly, “it’s an order since you are currently acting as my bodyguard. I’m sure Aang would be willing to assist too.”

Shiro debated if he should argue, but Zuko was clearly not going to back down.

He really does remind me of Keith, Shiro thought. I wonder if they would get along?

Shiro rose and tossed up his hands. “Alright, you win.”

“We’ll start in the morning then,” Zuko said. “Let’s go back and check in with the others.”

Shiro nodded silently as he followed feeling just a little bit better than he had before.

#a paladin in the fire nation #atla #vld #takashi shirogane

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thelastspeecher · 4 years

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Spirit Touched - Chapter 1: Little Prince

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 AO3

Uhhhh so this is the first time I’ve written and posted something for ATLA, and of course it wound up being because of a fanart of a fanfic that I adore. Basically, yesterday I saw this art drawn by my pal @agent-jaselin. And that art appeared to apply one of my all-time favorite tropes (de-aging) to one of my all-time favorite fics (Salvage, by @muffinlance). And dagnabit, I...got inspired.

So, without further ado, here is my interpretation of a theoretical Zuko being de-aged after Chapter 8 of Salvage. Enjoy.

——————————————————————————————

Praying to the spirits for guidance was a mistake. Hakoda could see that now. He pinched the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to dispel the headache already forming.

This is what I get for thinking the spirits might make things easier. Their actions are rarely convenient for us mortals.

“Bring him to Kustaa,” Hakoda said after a moment. Toklo nodded and hurried for the healer’s room, his friend in his arms, buried in a pile of furs. Bato looked at Hakoda. He raised an eyebrow silently.

“That’s new,” he said. The casual tone made Hakoda’s headache pound in full force. Bato was treating this as just another matter of fact. Like seeing the former Prince of the Fire Nation reduced to a toddler overnight was just as common as…

Hakoda’s head hurt too much to even think of something that was common.

“Yes,” Hakoda finally said. “It is new.” He was struggling to align the grumpy teenager of yesterday with the toddler he’d just seen drooling in his sleep.

“How could this have happened?” Bato asked quietly.

“I asked the spirits for help last night.” Hakoda scowled. It was help he’d desperately needed, after Zuko had broken down in front of him and renounced his crown, maybe even renounced his own nation. And it was help he was obviously not getting. “Apparently, they didn’t want to make things easier.”

“The spirits work in mysterious ways,” Bato said. “It’s best to trust in their judgement. Eventually, you’ll understand why they’ve done…this.” Hakoda eyed his second-in-command.

“Since when are you so spiritual?”

“Since meeting the bridge between the spirit world and ours,” Bato said flatly.

“Fair enough.” Hakoda sighed. “I should go speak with Kustaa.”

“I might be best if you were there when the little prince woke up,” Bato agreed. He thumped Hakoda on the back. “At least you’re good with children!”

-----

Unlike every other day since he’d recovered from his illness, Zuko didn’t wake up with the sun. If he didn’t remember how much his own children slept at this age, Hakoda would have been concerned. He sat in the infirmary, having a hushed conversation with Kustaa while Zuko continued to snore. The sight of a toddler swimming in furs was painfully cute and reminded Hakoda of when Sokka was young.

“I’ll be able to get a better examination done once he’s awake,” Kustaa said in a low voice. “But from what I can tell, he’s perfectly healthy.”

“He’s a toddler,” Hakoda said.

“A healthy one.” Kustaa glanced at Zuko. “By my estimation, about four years old. So, almost out of the toddler years.” Zuko rolled over in his sleep, mumbling something. Kustaa and Hakoda held their breaths. Zuko didn’t wake up. “From what he’s told me, he didn’t get that scar until a few years ago, so I’m not completely sure why he still has it.”

“The spirits are testing me,” Hakoda moaned. Kustaa chuckled.

“No, Chief. The spirits are testing all of us with this stunt.” He sighed and leaned back. “Now would be a good time to have a waterbending healer, to examine his spirit and chi. But the odds of finding one of those…”

“Aren’t good unless we stumble across a Northern Tribe ship,” Hakoda said, finishing the healer’s sentence. Kustaa nodded. There was movement from Zuko’s pile of furs. Hakoda and Kustaa looked over. A small hand fought its way out, followed by a head. Zuko’s regular scowl was replaced by confusion as he stared at Hakoda and Kustaa, who most likely seemed larger to him than they had yesterday.

“You’re up,” Kustaa said calmly. Zuko shoved away the furs he was buried in. His eyes widened at the sight of his body. Hakoda grimaced.

There was a split second of dumbfounded silence before the screaming started.

-----

Kustaa wasn’t sure whether he preferred Zuko like this or not. On the one hand, it would be difficult to run the ship with a literal toddler on board. But on the other hand, it was much easier to handle Zuko. He could literally be picked up and carried somewhere else if needed.

“This doesn’t fit right!” Zuko whined. Kustaa glanced over at his young charge. Zuko had insisted on dressing himself in the smallest shirt they could find on the ship. That smallest shirt came down to past his feet.

Then again, so will everything else. Kustaa beckoned Zuko to come. Zuko scowled but walked over. Kustaa fought back an amused grin at the firebender’s toddling gait. While not as severe as it would be for someone younger, it was still evident.

“Nothing is going to fit right until either we adjust clothes to fit you or purchase ones already in your size,” Kustaa said. He adjusted the shirt as best he could by pinning it up and wrapping rope around Zuko’s waist to act as a belt. “Now that you’re dressed, we need to go see the chief.” Zuko’s eyes went wide in horror.

“No! I’m not going outside like this.”

“Everyone knows what’s happened to you,” Kustaa said, getting to his feet. He took Zuko’s hand. It was small and warm. “Most of them saw you already, and the rest were informed by either the chief or Bato.”

“…Fine,” Zuko grumbled. Kustaa led him out onto the deck. The moment eyes landed on him, Zuko dropped Kustaa’s hand to hide behind his legs.

“Wow, you’re barely older than the babes we left at the South Pole,” Panuk remarked. Zuko didn’t move or speak.

“I think he’s adorable,” Toklo said firmly, marching over. He crouched down to Zuko’s eye-height. “I always wanted a baby brother.”

“I’m not a baby,” Zuko snapped. At his high-pitched, youthful voice, Toklo beamed. “I’m sixteen.”

“Four,” Kustaa corrected. Zuko scowled.

“Either way, that’s not a baby.”

“Aw, no need to pout,” Toklo cooed. Zuko’s scowl deepened. “It’ll be fun having a little kid on board.”

“Will it?” rumbled Aake. “We only let men join the crew for a reason.” Zuko let out a small squeak as Toklo lifted him up and held him out for Aake to see.

“Try saying ‘no’ to this face,” Toklo said. Aake’s deadpan expression didn’t change.

“No.”

“Were you saying ‘no’ to Zuko or ‘no’ to saying ‘no’ to him?” Toklo asked. Aake shrugged and continued to sharpen his spear. Zuko squirmed in Toklo’s hold.

“Let me go!” he snarled. He broke loose, falling to the deck with a soft thump. Kustaa waited for the tears that would come from a toddler being dropped. But Zuko didn’t cry. His eyes were glistening in a way that suggested he was holding back tears, but he remained otherwise stoic. Kustaa filed this observation away for now. He walked over to Zuko and pulled him up.

“The chief needs to talk to you, remember?” he said. Zuko nodded silently, allowing Kustaa to lead him to Hakoda’s cabin.

-----

The moment they set foot inside the cabin, Kustaa could tell Hakoda was going to struggle with not seeing Sokka every time he looked at Zuko. At least Bato was there to help mediate things.

“Take a seat,” Hakoda said. Zuko toddled over to the chair he normally sat in. After a moment, he climbed onto the seat with obvious difficulty. Bato stifled a laugh. “Zuko, we’re not sure why the spirits have done this to you.”

“Probably because they hate me,” Zuko muttered, crossing his arms.

“Well, no matter why you’ve been turned into a toddler, the fact of the matter is that it has happened to you. Generally, we don’t allow children your age to be on our ships.” Zuko paled and opened his mouth to make his case. Hakoda held up a hand. “Given your…extenuating circumstances, we won’t be dropping you off at the next port or something like that. Who knows, maybe you’ll wake up tomorrow sixteen again. Until we have a better understanding of your condition, including how long it might last, you’ll be staying on the Akhlut. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Zuko said with a nod, visibly relieved.

“Good. Now, just because you’ll still be on board, don’t expect things to stay the same for you. You won’t be required to do any chores on the ship. If you want to help, you can, but the crew has been instructed to stop you from overexerting yourself or doing something that might hurt you at your current age.” Zuko’s eyes boggled. “Additionally, you’ll be sleeping in the infirmary with Kustaa for the foreseeable future. It will be more comfortable for you.”

“Understood,” Zuko mumbled.

“Another change is that you will be expected to do what a child your age must in order to remain healthy,” Hakoda said. Zuko tilted his head curiously. “In particular, you will have to take naps.”

“What?!” Zuko shrieked.

“We can’t have a cranky, overtired firebender on our wooden ship,” Bato said. Zuko crossed his arms, scowling.

“Those are the major changes. We will adjust things as we see fit,” Hakoda said.

“Okay.” Zuko fidgeted in his seat, an abrupt reminder to the men in the room of how hyperactive toddlers were. “Um, about my clothes…”

“Go see Panuk and Toklo. They offered to try to cobble together something for you until we can make port,” Hakoda said. Zuko ducked his head.

“Thank you.” He slipped off his chair and left the cabin, his head held high in an attempt to maintain any dignity. Once the door closed, Kustaa looked at Hakoda and Bato.

“He’s not going to act like a toddler if he can avoid it,” Kustaa said. “He’s almost certainly going to resist the reduced workload and naps.” Hakoda nodded.

“I agree,” he said solemnly.

“This won’t end well,” Bato said, shaking his head. “There’s a reason we wouldn’t normally have someone his age on board.” There was a loud ruckus from the deck; clattering, heavy footsteps, and Toklo’s voice.

“Come on, Zuko, it’ll look so cute!”

“That,” Bato said, “is the reason.”

-----

Hakoda begrudgingly agreed with Toklo’s assessment. Zuko was cuter than he had any right looking, walking around the ship with a blanket draped over his shoulders like a cape. According to Toklo, Zuko had begun shivering while he and Panuk were working on finding something for the new toddler to wear. Toddlers tended to get cold easier, and Hakoda supposed that being a firebender might make Zuko more vulnerable to cold as is.

“Are you hungry yet, little prince?” Panuk asked. Zuko looked up from his fumbling attempts at making a net.

“Don’t call me that,” he snarled. Panuk patted Zuko’s bald head.

“All right. You hungry yet, Zuko?” he asked. Zuko’s stomach rumbled loudly. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Panuk got up. “Come on. Let’s fill you up with sea prunes.” Zuko got to his feet and eagerly followed Panuk. Hakoda watched Zuko toddle across the deck and to the kitchen.

“You’re getting soft, Chief, I can tell,” Aake, standing nearby, said quietly. Hakoda looked at him. Aake sighed. “But I’m getting soft, too. We left when Sitka was about that age.” A weary and wistful expression settled on Aake’s face. “I miss my son.”

“I miss mine as well,” Hakoda said quietly. Suddenly, Zuko burst onto the deck, his arms full of sea prunes, running from Panuk.

“Hey! You don’t get all of them!” Panuk protested, coming onto the deck as well. Zuko merely sped up. Hakoda and Aake’s eyes widened as they realized the former Fire Nation Prince was giggling as Panuk chased him. Zuko’s lighthearted, childish peals of laughter filled the air. He rushed belowdeck, his blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. Panuk followed. A silence fell. After a moment, Tuluk, who was swabbing the deck, spoke.

“Well, that was adorable.”

-----

Hakoda expected Zuko to hide belowdeck, embarrassed by behaving like a toddler. But Zuko returned to the deck after a while, seemingly unaware of how childish he had acted. He walked up to various crewmen in an attempt to do some of his old chores. Each time, he was turned away. His regular scowl settled on his face, chubby with baby fat.

“Can’t do anything,” Zuko muttered as he stalked around the deck, his blanket trailing behind him. He finally sat down next to the mast, pouting.

“It’s good that you can’t do anything,” Hakoda said, walking over. Zuko looked up. “Leaving a task in the middle of doing it doesn’t usually produce good results.”

“Why would I not complete a task?” Zuko asked. He crossed his arms. “I’m not really a child, I can focus.”

“You’d need to take a break for your nap,” Hakoda informed him. Zuko’s eyes widened. “I saw you yawning just now. You’re tired.”

“No, I’m not!” Zuko said, jumping to his feet. He shed his blanket cape. “I won’t nap.”

“You agreed to take naps.”

“Only if I needed them. I don’t. I’m not tired.” Zuko’s argument sounded eerily like those Sokka made as a child.

“There’s nothing for you to do anyways,” Hakoda pointed out. He reached for Zuko’s hand. Zuko darted away before he could be grabbed. Unfortunately for his millionth escape attempt, Aake was nearby. Aake picked Zuko up as he ran past.

“Let me go!” Zuko said, twisting in Aake’s grip. “Let me go!” A breath of flame escaped from his mouth. He suddenly stilled. Aake handed him over to Hakoda. Zuko didn’t make a peep as Hakoda carried him across the deck and into the infirmary. Kustaa looked up from the book he was reading.

“Is it time for my nephew’s nap?” he asked. Hakoda nodded and set Zuko down.

“Sleep,” he said firmly to Zuko. “That’s an order.” Zuko nodded, visibly cowed.

“Yes, chief,” he mumbled. Hakoda turned to leave. “Sir, I apologize for firebending earlier,” Zuko said suddenly. Hakoda looked over his shoulder at the toddler.

“You firebending on accident wouldn’t have anything to do with agreeing to nap, would it?” he asked.

“Uncle says that sleep works in concert with meditation to control your inner fire. Children who are too young to know how to meditate only avoid burning down their house by taking…naps.” Zuko scowled slightly. “That’s the excuse he gives for being so lazy.” Kustaa chuckled softly.

“Judging by what happened on deck, your uncle might be right,” Hakoda said, feigning a casual tone. Zuko nodded. “Sleep well, Zuko.”

Hakoda poked his head into the infirmary after he had checked on the rest of the crewmen. Some of the crew felt Zuko’s current size was an improvement. Hakoda could see where they were coming from. Zuko was yet again buried in a pile of furs, his minute arms wrapped around Scuttles.

“He went down almost right after you left, chief,” Kustaa said quietly. “I didn’t even need to make him any tea.”

“Hopefully he won’t argue against naps in the future.” Hakoda continued to watch Zuko sleep. The toddler let out a soft snore. “It’s foolish to expect that he’ll ask for a nap, though.” Kustaa nodded.

“I would agree with that.” Zuko rolled over in his sleep with another snore.

“Let me know if anything happens,” Hakoda said.

“Of course,” Kustaa said. He picked up another book, opened it, and began to read. Hakoda left the infirmary, closing the door behind him as softly as he could.

#Spirit Touched #ATLA #Zuko #Hakoda #Bato #muffinlance #agent-jaselin #(idk how to tag the various OCs eek)#I wrote quite a bit more but that stuff will probably wait until more chapters of Salvage are posted #just to keep things as in line with the fic as possible y'know #(I haven't been this nervous about posting a fic in a while hhhhhhhhhhh)#my writing #my stuff #fanfiction #speecher speaks

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rolandtowen · 3 years

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three times Zuko comes into the Jasmine Dragon coffee shop, and one time Sokka leaves with him. Set in the Neurodiverse Zukka AU, but can read as a standalone.

*banging pots and pans together* "Come over here and get yall Neurodiverse Zukka!"

Read it on Ao3 or under the cut!

TW: discussions of skin picking and implied child abuse

When Sokka pulls into the parking lot of the Jasmine Dragon, he is unsurprisingly the first car there. Being a freshman in town means getting the worst pick of shifts at local businesses. Sokka was hired on to work the opening shift, which means he wakes up at the ungodly hour of 5am to open the shop before the first round of sleep-deprived college students comes in. The pay isn't bad, Mr. Iroh is an incredibly fair man,

The bell on the door jingles on his way in, and he flips several light switches on, watching as the coffee shop slowly comes to life. He busies himself with getting the beans for the day grinding, pulling his first shot and dialing in the expresso. When he takes a sip, the espresso is spot on for the day, which is a relief. Having to make adjustments as customers start filing in is a nightmare.

Today's brew is floral and citrusy, so he decides to make himself and iced lavender latte - with oat milk, of course, because he's gotta do it for the gays - and he spends the next 20 minutes setting out pastries and fiddling with the display cases, making everything look perfect.

At 6am sharp, Sokka unlocks the front door and flips their sign to open, before retreating behind the bar to nurse his latte. Not even five minutes later, the door bell jingles, and Sokka sees a flash of dark hair, face obscured by a pile of textbooks and binders. The figure runs into one table, and then another, and Sokka is rushing out from behind the counter. He gets there just before textbooks go toppling everywhere, his hands taking a firm hold of the top bundle. As he pulls the books into his arms, he sees the face behind them.

Breathtaking golden eyes.

And.. a massive burn scar.

"Hi!" Sokka says, "I'm the barista on shift today - my name's Sokka." He would reach his hand for the other man to shake, but for the stack of textbooks in them.

Golden Eyes smiles.

"I'm Zuko, Zuko Sozin," he says, setting his remaining textbooks on the table by his side. Sokka follows suit.

"Hey, I think I've seen you before - are you taking Piandao's Intro to Biology class?"

"Uh, yeah - yeah! You sit a few rows in front of me." Zuko laughs. "Your doodles are uh, something alright."

Sokka knocks him good-naturedly on the shoulder. "I gotta keep my hands busy for my brain to focus." He looks down at the stack of books on the table. "What on earth are you studying, to have that many books?"

"Uh, Biology and Chemistry double-major, Pre-Med track." Sokka's eyes widen. "It's really not that much! I got a bunch of stuff out of the way with AP credits."

Sokka raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, it is a lot - but I'm really passionate about it. I want to be a doctor."

"Well, Dr. Sozin, what can I get started for you today?"

"Can I get a iced matcha, with a lot of honey?"

Sokka raises his other eyebrow. "A doctor with a sweet tooth?"

"Kind of?"

"Don't worry, I won't rat you out to your dentist. An iced matcha with extra honey?" Zuko nods and Sokka smiles. "You got it, doc."

ii.

Sokka falls into a routine at the Jasmine Dragon. He opens the shop every morning, and every morning of the fall semester so far, Zuko Sozin comes in at precisely 6:05am. Zuko will order an iced matcha with honey, and sits at a table by the window with his laptop and at least two textbooks open at all times. Then, at 11:50am - Sokka guess he has a class that starts at noon - Zuko leaves the shop, always making sure to throw his spare change into Sokka's tip jar.

He's so beautiful.

On a slow day, Sokka comes out from behind the safety of the counter and works up the courage to ask Zuko if he can study with him. Zuko looks shocked at first, but his lips quirk up in a smile as he gestures for Sokka to sit in the chair across from him, moving his textbooks to make room for Sokka's one book and laptop.

"What are you studying, Sokka?" Zuko appears to be genuinely interested.

"Oh, uh, social work, with a concentration in mental health." Sokka waits for Zuko to laugh at him. It never comes. He looks up at him over their laptops.

"That's really cool."

"You think so?"

"Yeah! I mean, some pre-med majors can be really pretentious, really dismissive of mental illness, but um - not me. I don't really have that luxury." Zuko laughs, as though at a joke with himself. "What's the Intro to Biology for, then?"

"Not all of us got our common core out of the way with AP credits, like some nerd I know." Zuko smiles at that, and looks back down at his laptop screen.

Sokka pulls his keys from his pocket and starts fidgeting with the stim toy he keeps on his keychain as he reads through his latest assignment for his Mental Illness and Society class. He bought it on Etsy, relieved to find a neurodivergent-owned shop after scrolling through a lot of stores that just seemed to be hopping on the 'trend' of selling fidget toys. He flips to the next page in his textbook, popping the buttons back and forth in a steady rhythm. He remembers Zuko's sitting across from him and stops abruptly.

"Is this annoying? Do you want me to stop?"

Zuko just cocks his head. "Why would I get a say in what you do? It's kind of your shop, right?"

"Um, to be polite?" Sokka laughs. "And you would be surprised how many customers I get who think they get to tell me what to do." His eyes settle on the half drunk latte in front of him. "It's not really my shop either, I just work the early morning shifts so Mr. Iroh can sleep in. If you ever get to stay past noon sometime, you'll see him come in. You can't miss him, short guy, talks in riddles. He's older, a war vet I think - I just get that impression from some of the stories he tells me. But anyway, did you want me to stop fidgeting?" Sokka looks back up to meet those golden eyes.

Zuko glitches for a second. "Oh! No, no, go for it - if it helps you to study, I'm all for it."

Sokka smiles, and looking at the way Zuko keeps picking at his cuticles gives him an idea. He digs into his backpack and pulls out another stim toy, an acupressure ring. ""Do you want to try this instead of maiming your hands?"

Zuko hesitantly holds out a hand and Sokka drops it into his palm. "You don't have to."

Sokka scoffs. "I know I don't have to - I want to. Come on, I wear it on my thumb sometimes -" and suddenly he's taking Zuko's hands into his and getting very close to Zuko's face. Zuko can smell espresso on his clothes and Sokka's hands are so warm against his. Calloused, sure, but warm. He holds Zuko's right hand gently, pressing the spiky ring onto his thumb. "And you can rub it back and forth with your pointer finger and it gives you that kind of prickly sensation that you get from skin picking, just without the skin picking." Sokka pulls his hands away and Zuko immediately misses them. "Give it a shot, tell me what you think."

Zuko tentatively rolls the ring over his thumb. Huh. The cute barista's right, the acupressure gives him that same prickly, scratchy feeling that picking at his nails and cuticles does. "Wow," he says, "I think you've converted me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then keep it, I've got a thousand more where that came from, ADHD perks."

Zuko instinctively opens his mouth to protest but the words die in his throat.

"You, you have ADHD?" He stops rolling the ring across his thumb.

"Yup." Sokka's lips popped on the 'p', and he turned to the next page in his textbook. "And I'm pretty sure you've got some spicy stuff happening your brain, too. But you don't have to tell me."

"How are you so open about it?"

Sokka's hand stills around the fidget. "My parents never treated me like I was deficient in any way - my brain just works differently, which means I have trouble with some 'normal' stuff. But I also strengths in areas that others don't have naturally. Accommodations aren't anything to be ashamed of."

"Sounds nice." All of the levity drops out of Zuko's voice.

Sokka levels a look at Zuko. He lets his eyes flit to the right side of Zuko's face and the scar there. He's seen it so many times, and the burns look so concentrated, almost... intentional. His stomach churns at the thought. The scar's old... and Zuko's at college now, he has to be safe - he has to be.

"Like I said, you don't have to tell me." Sokka's hand starts to fidget with the buttons again. "But I have it on good authority that I am a good listener."

"I'll... I'll keep that in mind." Zuko looks down at his hands, fingers rolling the ring back and forth against his thumb. "Thank you."

"Anytime, doc."

iii.

Somehow, fumbling through their collective social awkwardness, they manage to swap numbers.

At the end of the fall semester, Sokka texts Zuko for the first time.

S: hey, im gonna be a few minutes later. don't worry, im still coming.

Z: okay. thank you.

When Sokka finally pulls into the parking lot fifteen minutes late, he sees Zuko waiting outside the door, sitting on a bench, head buried in one of his chemistry textbooks.

"Hey," he puts his keys in the door. "You can just come in while I open, it won't take too long."

Zuko follows him inside, and he closes the door against the chill.

"You didn't have to text me," Zuko says, like it's a question.

"I wanted to," Sokka starts flipping on light switches. "I know you've got your routine, and I didn't want to stress you out when it got messed up."

"Why would that matter to you?"

"Um, I don't want you to be stressed? I kind of care about you."

"You... you care about me?" Zuko stands in the middle of the coffee shop, unmoving.

Sokka smiles. "Yeah, I think I do."

"Why?"

"I think we could be friends?"

"Oh." Zuko's face falls for a second - what Sokka has come to understand is his 'processing' face - and he looks back up a second later. "I think we could be friends too."

"Friendship with a barista has great perks, you know." Sokka laughs as he starts up the grinder. "Although the perks of a social worker friend aren't too bad either."

"How's that going? With your first semester ending?" Zuko sits on a stool at the bar and watches Sokka putter around behind it.

"Well, I'm going to pass Intro to Biology, not for lack of trying on Piandao's part - I swear he's trying to weed out all the humanities kids. It isn't even a weed out course!" He polishes an espresso glass furiously. "How are you doing?"

Zuko chokes. "Oh, I'm - I'm fine, you know it's a hard class and all -"

"You're getting an A, aren't you?" Sokka squints at him from behind a bag of coffee beans. "Curve breaker," he scoffs.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm, what did you call it? A 'burnt-out gifted kid with people pleasing tendencies'." Zuko crosses his arms and huffs at the memory of that conversation. Sokka had read him like a picture book. And it was not fair for one person to be that good at emotions.

"You are correct, I did indeed call you that." Sokka pulls the first shot of the morning. "And it looks like I was right."

"You know what you said the other week, about being a good listener?"

"Sure do," Sokka takes a sip of the espresso, swishing it around in his mouth before spitting it out. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, if we're going to be... friends, I just think you'd want to know that - I'm autistic." Zuko stares at Sokka searching his face for any cues about what the next words out of his mouth will be, waiting for the facade of friendship to drop. He furiously rolls the acupressure ring up and down his thumb.

"Okay, that's great!"

"...what."

Zuko's hands freeze and he squeezes the ring against his skin, feeling the pressure increase.

"That's great, I'm glad you felt safe enough to tell me that. I kind of guessed your parents weren't as accommodating as mine?"

Zuko laughs something sour. "No, no they were not." He looks up in surprise as Sokka puts an iced matcha, extra honey, in front of him. "You're right though, I do feel safe here. I feel safe with you." Zuko looks down at the acupressure ring on his thumb, softening his grip. "You could have totally ignored me, but you didn't. Or you could've been mean about my quirks - but you weren't. Why?"

"Well, for starters, you tip well." Sokka smiles and leans across the counter, bracketing Zuko's elbows in with his own. "But you're also a really great guy - you're passionate, you want to make people's lives better, and you're also like, really beautiful."

Zuko feels his cheeks flush. "You really think that?" His fingers still against the fidget again, but he doesn't feel the need to press it into his skin. He's captivated by Sokka's words. Surely, Sokka couldn't actually mean -

"Oh, yeah. Every bit." Sokka brushes his hand against one of Zuko's, the one with the fidget ring. "Can I hold your hand?"

"Yes, please, yes." After weeks, Sokka's hand is back in his, and Zuko thinks he's going to implode. "Can, can you hold both of my hands? With both of your hands?"

"Of course," Sokka's positively beaming, grabbing Zuko's hands and running his thumbs across his knuckles. "Now you're absolutely allowed to say no to my next question, and there are no hard feelings."

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

"Fuck yes."

The iced matcha is forgotten.

+ i

Sokka's feet hurt like hell. Mr. Iroh had called in him to work a double on Friday, and since he doesn't have any classes on Fridays, he foolishly agreed.

It won't seem so foolish once you see the paycheck, he reminds himself. He and Zuko have a deal. Zuko pays for his medical school with his job shelving books at the University library, and Sokka pays for their tiny apartment by caffeinating all of the other broke college kids in town. By some miracle, they seem to be able to make it work. Zuko graduated into the medical college a year early, which helps with tuition costs, and of course his brilliant boyfriend got all kinds of scholarships.

Sokka is indescribably proud of him.

The door bell jangles just as Sokka is wiping the crumbs off the last cafe table. "Hey, we're starting to close up for the night, so it'd better be a to-go order," he calls over his shoulder.

"Even for me?"

"Zuko!" Sokka drops his cloth immediately and spins around, pulling Zuko into a hug. Zuko taps the small of his back when he's ready to let go, and Sokka lets him go, beaming. "You came to visit me at work?"

"More like I picked up your favorite soup dumplings from Haru's across the street and thought we could walk home together?" Zuko shrugs, gesturing to the brown paper bag in his arms. "How's that sound to you?"

"Baby, that's just what I needed today." Sokka picks up his cleaning supplies. "Okay, I just need to put all of this away and then we can lock up and go home, how's that?"

"Great," Zuko smiles at him. "I may have also picked up some more Doctor Who DVDs from the library," he smirks.

"Oh, you trickster!" Sokka yells from the kitchen, before appearing again. "You used my one weakness, pork soup dumplings, against me in order to get your nerdy way."

"Oh, big talk coming from the guy who watches astronomy documentaries for fun," Zuko laughs as Sokka leads him out of the shop, switching off the lights and locking the door behind him. "If it were up to you, we'd be watching Cosmos all weekend, and I can only take so much of Neil deGrasse Tyson explaining the peculiarities of the moon."

"Hey, the moon is cool!"

"You are correct, the moon is very cool. It's freezing, because it's a rock. In space. With no atmosphere. Or life." Zuko deadpans, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Sokka.

"Fine, you get Doctor Who tonight, but Saturday is going to be all PBS Nova, baby. Brace yourself." Sokka takes Zuko's free hand into his as they start the walk home.

"Well, as long as you're there, I'm happy."

Notes:

fidgets in this work were inspired by those from shop StimBox

51 notes · View notes

themoonandhersun · 3 years

Text

thinking about

a no hundred year old war au where zuko goes the southern water tribe with his family, and he’s grumpy about the cold.

but he’s not grumpy about spending time with katara again. (he’s ten, she’s eight and they met two years ago.)

when they see each other, they get excited and bow traditionally, then give each other a big hug.

and of course, sokka and azula tease them about it.

they tell their siblings to shut up and walk off together.

zuko tells katara about the plays he sees on ember island. “i can take you to go see a play sometime, princess katara—but only if you want to, of course,” he looks at her, cheeks pink, fiddling with his fingers. “you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

“i would love to go see a play with you, prince zuko,” katara tells him, her cheeks pink too.

they make eye contact, and look away from each other quickly, their pink cheeks turning a bright red.

zuko and his family spend a few days at the southern water tribe, and zuko spends a lot of time with katara there, of course. he loves penguin sledding and watching katara waterbend.

(spoiler: he thinks she’s so cool.)

when zuko has to leave, she quickly kisses his cheek and tells him she can’t wait to see a play with him. zuko blushes hard and says he’ll take her soon.

he leaves.

they write letters to each other for months (and they send each other gifts on their birthdays like they always do), then zuko comes with his family again to take katara to see a play. kya and gran gran go along with katara, and they talk with ursa on the ship (hakoda is on a hunting trip with sokka during this time, but he knows it was gonna happen and is okay with it). zuko and katara spend time together on the ship, and he tells her he can’t wait to see the play with her.

a few days later, they’re on ember island.

zuko tells her that he should hold hands with her so he can show her around better (yes, uncle iroh gave him this tip) and katara agrees (she wanted to hold hands with him anyways). he takes her to their house on ember island and shows her around. he shows her where she’ll be staying, and she tells him how excited she is to be spending time with him on ember island.

(she’s only been to the palace before, not ember island.)

she asks about azula, and zuko says that azula is spending time with her friends and doesn’t really like watching plays anyways. but he assures her the play is really good and that if she doesn’t like it, that’s okay. (she jokes that it would be a bummer if she came all this way just to not like the play, and zuko laughs and agrees with her.)

they play together and talk together until they have to go to the theater. they don’t hold hands this time, but katara loops her arm with his. ursa, kya and gran gran sit by them, but not too close—they don’t want to disturb katara and zuko’s little date (even though they both insist it’s not a date).

zuko glances at katara throughout the play just to make sure she likes it, and he thinks she does. he asks at the end of the play (just to make sure) how she felt about it and katara beams. “i loved it! thank you for taking me, prince zuko,” she hugs him.

he pulls away and slowly shows her a bracelet he had in his pocket. “this is for you, princess katara,” zuko smiles timidly. “i thought of you, and i got it...um, for you. well, actually, uh—i made it. i know, i could have done better, but i just really wanted to make you something—“

“thank you, prince zuko. i love it, it’s so pretty,” katara giggles and nudges him gently. she points to her wrist, “so, can i—“

“um—here, let me,” zuko ties it around her wrist securely, cheeks red. it’s a black, cotton string with a charm on it: a silver crescent moon connected to a gold sun.

“do you really love it, princess katara?” he asks quietly, fidgeting in his seat.

“i do,” she nods and kisses his cheek. zuko smiles at her. “and...i may have made you something as well.”

his jaw drops. “wait, what? really?”

“yeah,” katara grins and hands him a bone dagger with blue handle and a fire carved into its side. she looks at him nervously as he holds the dagger.

she rambles: “you mentioned in your letters that your cousin got a really cool earth kingdom dagger and that you wanted one, so i—i made one for you. well, my dad helped me, but—“

zuko hugs her. “this is so cool, princess katara! thank you so much!” she hugs him back, both of them feeling butterflies in their stomachs.

they get up and join their family members, and they all go back to the ember island house. then zuko admits that he has another gift for katara. “wait here,” he tells her when they’re in the living room. he runs up to his room and runs back downstairs.

“here,” zuko whispers as he blushes and holds out a fire lily, “for you, princess katara.”

“oh—thank you, prince zuko,” katara whispers, grabbing the flower as her cheeks get hot.

(yes, she knows what a fire lily means.)

they hug again.

when zuko travels with her and her family on their journey back to the south (with ursa, of course), they bicker about cloud shapes (katara swears it’s a flower and zuko swears it’s a baby turtle duck) and when it gets to be night time, they argue about what a constellation is named.

“it’s the little penguin named tuka,” katara insists.

“no, it’s a baby dragon named eyala,” zuko shakes his head.

“no, it’s not!”

“yes, it is!”

“last person to the other side of the ship has to admit that they’re wrong!” katara calls out and they race to the other end of the ship, laughing as they do so.

they tied, then played a game of elements (the atla version of rock, paper, scissors. idk if that’s the name of it though?) to break the tie.

katara won. (and zuko didn’t mind saying he was wrong all that much.)

when they make it the south pole, and they hug, it’s zuko who kisses her cheek this time. “i’ll write to you soon, princess katara,” he whispers and pulls away.

“you better,” she whispers back, and watches as zuko gets on the ship. she waves goodbye until she can’t see him anymore.

they keep writing to each other.

but then, gradually over the course of a few years (she is eleven now and zuko is almost thirteen), zuko’s letters get shorter and more vague, and they don’t come in as often as they used to.

then he completely stops sending letters by the end of the year, and she remembers how, the last time they talked in person, he admitted to her: “listen, so—um, i don’t know what’s going on with my dad—but if i ever stop sending you letters, katara, please know i had nothing to do with it. you’re my best friend—and i’ll always want to talk to you.”

(then he placed his hand over hers, his thumb stroking her skin. “you’re my best friend, and...i love you, katara,” he whispered it like it was a secret. she whispered it back, and they hugged.)

(and they had a joke only written in their letters to each other—that she was his, and he was hers. she’s gonna be honest: she doesn’t remember how the joke started, but she knows she keeps it going even when he’s not around. mostly because she thinks about it all the time. he’s her zuko, her zuko, her zuko. she’s his katara, his katara, his katara.)

she’s very worried, angry and sad all at the same time. and she never liked ozai in the first place if she was gonna be honest with herself.

as three years pass, she doesn’t hear from zuko. once, she wrote to azula asking about zuko, and azula wrote back with a vague letter that gave no information on zuko. she tried two more times and got vague responses each time. (she gave up writing to azula after the third try.)

all she found out was that ursa left, and she had to find out through her dad.

but why doesn’t anyone know what happened to zuko?

she doesn’t want to think negatively, but she’s fourteen now, and if her dad knew anything about zuko, he would’ve told her by now. she often stares at the bracelet zuko gave her when she was nine. she was six when they met and they wrote to each other until she was eleven.

she misses him.

(a messager arrives and gives a letter to hakoda. he reads it in his office. he doesn’t know how to tell katara, but he knows he has to.)

hakoda goes to katara, and tells her gently that zuko was burned and banished by ozai three years ago, and she feels sick to her stomach.

her zuko?—burned by his own father?

and he could be anywhere in the world right now?

and he could be—

no.

she can’t think like that.

she tells hakoda that she needs some alone time. he hugs her and walks out the room.

she starts writing to her friend, aang—who has an air bison—and hopes that he’ll agree to help her find zuko. and aang is also friends with zuko.

(they can find zuko, can’t they?)

unfortunately, though, hakoda intercepts the letter (the messager dropped it, and it popped open, and he recognized katara’s handwriting.)

he tells her that she can’t just leave and they argue. kya was trying to be the mediator. it did not help.

katara attempts to leave at night on a boat, and sokka catches her. he tells her, “katara, you can’t leave—“

“—oh, not you too—“

“—without me,” sokka finishes.

katara looks at him, confused. “what? you wanna come along?” she notices he has a bag slung over his shoulder.

sokka nods. “yeah, why not?”

“okay, then, come on, sokka,” katara motions for him to hurry up and get on the boat. sokka gets on the boat and informs her that he left a note for hakoda and kya.

she grumbles something like, “whatever,” in response. (she’s still grumpy about the argument with hakoda.)

she uses her waterbending to make their trip to aang’s temple faster. sokka sleeps while she waterbends, and sokka rows the boat while she sleeps. and the cycle repeats until they’re at the air temple.

aang agrees to help them (he’s also very concerned about zuko after katara tells him what happened) and they all get on appa. aang says that zuko once told him that if he ever ran away, he would go to the earth kingdom. so they head to the earth kingdom.

“i think he mentioned gaoling,” aang tells them. “so let’s head there.”

they search for a few days.

and...

they don’t find zuko.

instead, they find toph, an amazing earthebender who didn’t want to be miserable with her parents anymore.

(basically, they went to an earth rumble, and watched toph fight, and aang was like, “she’s so cool, can she be part of our group?” and sokka was like, “if you can convince her to join us, sure, why not?”)

(by the way, sokka didn’t mean it.)

(he also didn’t think aang would do it—or that toph would agree.)

either way, they ended up with a confident, blind earthbender who ‘carries her own weight’ in their group. (at least she brought a bag full of money with her. they were already running low on funds.)

(sokka has a bad spending habit.)

(plus, him, aang and toph have big appetites for their sizes.)

(seriously.)

“i heard there was a good fighter in ba sing se with a big scar on his face,” toph tells them as she picks at her feet. “they say he’s a firebender. it could be this zuko guy you guys are looking for.”

“we can try ba sing se,” sokka nods. “especially since we don’t have any other leads.”

“i hope we find him,” katara mumbles, staring at her bracelet. she’s scared—because he can’t be dead, he can’t be dead, he can’t be dead. she can’t accept that possibility. “i mean, he’s been by himself for three years, and we just found out about him. he—i hope he’s okay.”

“well, you know how zuko never gives up without a fight, katara,” aang says to assure her and to lighten the mood, “after all, you knew him best out of all of us.”

“yeah,” katara smiles a bit. “he’s so stubborn—in fact, he’s more stubborn than me.”

“okay, let’s not go that far, katara,” sokka snorts. “because you are—nothing,” sokka whistles when katara raises a small water whip and raises an eyebrow at her brother. “i mean, i wasn’t—i was just—i think you’re great, katara,” he says quickly.

“i know i am. thank you, sokka,” katara laughs.

they travel for about two months (appa needs rest, he’s not used to traveling for so long.) they make a stop to omashu mostly because aang insisted it would be a good idea (and appa needed a break too), and aang’s friend, bumi, joins them in appa. (toph is more than delighted to meet another earthbender on her level.)

all of five of them head to ba sing se, bumi talking excitedly about ba sing se and the great deserts they have. and this, of course, leads to a discussion about food, and then—of course—everyone gets hungry.

so they have to stop and make camp, and katara goes to get some water for the rice, when she sees someone sleeping on the other side of the river next to a small fire, wearing a—a blue spirit mask.

her heart races.

a blue spirit mask.

it’s—that’s—that’s zuko’s favorite ‘love amongst the dragons’ character.

it couldn’t be.

could it?

katara puts the pot down. she doesn’t hesitate to swim over, with a water whip in case she’s wrong, and quietly gets out fo the river. katara gently shakes the guy awake, cautiously trashing her water whip in case she’s wrong.

the guy sits up immediately and draws his swords at katara. “what are you doing?” he demands. (her heart beats faster—that’s his voice. it’s his voice.) “do you—wait...katara?” he sheathes his swords slowly. “is—is that really you?”

“zuko?” katara whispers, tearing up. “it’s you. oh, spirits, it’s you.”

she bends the water out of her clothes, and moves to hug him, but zuko scoots away before she can touch him.

she frowns, hurt. “zuko, why did you—“

“i don’t want you to see—it.” zuko awkwardly adjusts his mask. “i don’t—you—i want—just...katara. trust me—you’re not gonna like...it. you’re not gonna like me.” his voice breaks with vulnerability, with sadness, and katara does her best not to cry.

how could he think that?

because—

she loves him.

“are you kidding, zuko? i’m your best friend. i’m always gonna love you,” she sniffles, and zuko doesn’t hesitate to hug her tightly. she hugs back, her head in the crook of his neck.

“i love you, too,” zuko tells her softly, holding her. “i missed you.”

“i missed you, too.”

a beat.

“katara, i’ll show you...my scar,” zuko swallows.

“are you sure?”

“yes, but—but i’m just scared. i don’t want you to think i—that i’m...ugly,” zuko confesses, “i’ll show you, and then i’m, um, gonna put the mask back on.”

“okay, zuko,” katara nods and gently pulls away from his arms. she misses his warmth already. it’s been too long.

she sits across from him, watching him patiently.

zuko’s hands shake as he takes off his mask, and puts it beside him. his eyes are closed tightly.

katara gasps softly as she looks at it. her zuko—he—it must have hurt so much.

she leans forward, and carefully cups his cheek. zuko tenses up, then relaxes. he leans into her hand.

“my zuko,” she whispers, fingers brushing against his scar.

“my katara,” zuko whispers back, opening his eyes, and placing his hands over hers.

“it’s not ugly,” katara informs him as his fingers curl around hers. “and you’re definitely not ugly. my zuko—how could you ever be ugly?”

zuko stares at her, almost as if trying to see if she’s lying, almost like he doesn’t...believe her. “katara, you can’t be serious,” he gently pulls her hand away, but keeps holding it as he grabs his mask with his free hand.

“i am,” katara says, eyes soft. “i’ve never lied to you before. can...can i heal it?”

zuko frowns. “it’s a scar. you can’t heal it, katara.” a beat. “but it itches, sometimes.”

“can i...?”

“you can.”

katara summons water around her right hand like a glove. she cups his cheek with her left hand, tilting his head to the side. zuko closes his eyes and katara presses her water gloved hand on his scar. she watches as the water glows, and feels the scar change, somehow. (yes, she wishes she paid more attention to her healing classes. she knew enough, but she didn’t know everything.)

when she’s done, she puts the water back in the river. “it feels...better,” zuko admits. “thank you, katara.”

“of course,” katara grabs his hands and squeezes. “anything for you, zuko.”

they smile at each other.

then katara remembers—“i still have to get the water for the rice!” she gets up and zuko looks at her, confused.

“i’ll tell you everything later, just—please,” katara reaches a hand out to him. “come with me, zuko.”

zuko nods slowly, and grabs her hand. he gets up, and puts his mask on. “okay, katara, i’ll come with you. after all, we still have a lot to catch up on, don’t we?”

“we do,” katara smiles brightly, holding his hand, and intertwining their fingers. they go into the river, and katara puts water into the pot.

then they head to camp, both of them smiling like idiots.

_____

this......got way longer than i originally thought it would. (it was supposed to be short and cute)

i promise i can do better than this though. i promise!!!!!

(i might write a fic about this now....but it would be different from this obviously)

also, you can thank @ pokidokies for making me think about baby zutara.

like, i was already thinking about them, and then i saw this on instagram—and oh my god,,,,!!!

i had to! express! my thoughts! i just had to!

baby zutara is just...something that can be so personal, you know?

follow her on tumblr and on insta! :D (her blog name on here is the same as her insta name!)

#zuko #katara #zutara #atla #woo #i love: them #!!!!! <3 #baby zutara #they: are soulmates #they are in love your honor #they are different from canon but i want them to similar to canon too #idk if i did that #oh well #it’s fine #causeeee #it’s an au baby!#zutara au #<3

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stitch1830 · 3 years

Text

CHARACTER DESCRIPTION: KANTO

So this is a character description for the character Kanto that @precious-metal-girl and I created for AUs where he is in a loving and committed relationship with Toph Beifong. Part of this is to help me keep track of all of his features and personality traits, and if others are looking to write about Kanto but aren't sure about how to describe him, feel free to pick and choose characteristics that meet your AU needs! This will (hopefully) be a living document where characteristics are added and changed over time. If you are curious about our AUs or want to know about a particular trait/personality, feel free to ask us questions!

......

Born: ~88/89 AG (summer)

Residence: Republic City

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Green

Element: Earthbending/Metalbending

Occupation: Deputy for the Republic City Police Department, Metalbender Division

Nicknames: Hotshot, Dep (short for Deputy), Slick, Botany Boy, Pretty Boy, Metalbrain, Metalhead, Rockhead, K, My Rock

Relationship: Toph Beifong

Background:

Kanto grew up near one of the Fire Nation colonies close to what is Republic City today (part of the reason why his name has FN influence). His father took many different jobs and tried to avoid fighting in the war as long as possible so he could stay with his family, while his mother was a seamstress for the town. Often, he would help his mother sew clothes, and because of that he was pretty crafty and good with his hands. He lost his parents at age 7; old enough to remember them and his childhood, but all the memories are pretty blurry.

What he does remember is that his family was pretty poor, but they always had something to laugh about.

He loved learning new skills with his dad, and had his mom read the same two books they had every single night. And one thing he always remembers is eating together as a family.

His parents died either in an accident for rebelling against a FN rule (maybe the FN wanted to take Kanto away for being an earthbender), or from protecting Kanto in general.

Kanto was always pretty feisty as a boy, pushing people’s buttons and egging people on. It only got worse when his parents died because he pushed buttons out of anger now.

He also had a lot of friends, but after, he didn’t talk to anyone for a while because he ran away. Most of his fighting skills were learned while on the run, he never got any formal training until he went to the metalbending academy (maybe 17 or 18? Toph managed a different part of the academy so she didn’t know him. That or he went to a different academy branch entirely).

One thing he remembers is that he was happiest with his family, so he cherishes the idea of a happy family unit, and he constantly searched for something that made him feel close to that happiness.

Personality:

The first impression people get of Kanto is that he is a no-good, arrogant, bad boy. He acts as if he’s the coolest person in town and always has something sassy to say in response. More than half of the words that come out of Kanto’s mouth are flirtatious and sarcastic, a combination that initially drives Toph Beifong crazy.

But in reality, Kanto is an extremely loyal man who’s rather selfless, putting himself in harm’s way so no one else has to. His initial personality is a front to protect himself so that he doesn’t befriend anyone too much, because he knows what it’s like to love people and lose them. He hated how he felt when he was orphaned and never wanted to feel that way again.

When his facade finally cracks with Toph and she sees the real him, he’s actually… a dork.

He’s got a very goofy personality, he gets excited about little things, and his passions do not necessarily align with his looks and his first impression. When he loves people, he does so with his full heart, but again, he’s hesitant to do so with many… His family are essentially the only ones that see him this way.

Looks:

Kanto is most certainly a hunk. He’s got a similar skin complexion to Toph, thick and wavy (borderline curly) black hair (Toph loves playing with it), broad chest and shoulders (a fit and toned body overall), a mischievous, slightly crooked grin (left corner turns up higher than the right) that makes all the women of RC swoon, a crooked nose from being punched in the face one too many times, and classic earthbender green eyes. He’s also pretty tall, that’s where Lin gets her height from, well over a head taller than Toph And despite being an earthbender, his hands and fingers are actually rather long and nimble. Some popular fanart interpretations of Kanto can be found here and here and here and here and here.

Interests:

Kanto likes flowers, he often brings new ones home (especially when he’s with Toph) so he can teach her about its qualities and so they have a nice and natural floral scent in their home. He’s obsessed with pro bending like Toph, and often will attend matches with her. Astronomy and biology are also interests of his. Toph and Kanto also have a cool rock collection, both are trying to best each other to find the coolest one. Kanto reads science fiction novels to Toph in their downtime and he’ll play the guitar or pipa.

Fears:

Kanto is afraid of bugs, he doesn’t care for large fires that can get out of control, and big animals make him nervous at first contact. When Lin’s in the picture, he freaks out when there are too many sharp corners in one place. He’s always afraid she’s gonna fall and hit her head. Kanto also doesn’t like those rip tides or currents in oceans/large bodies of water.

Some of his deeper level fears include losing his family. He cannot stand the idea of losing Lin or Toph, especially if the reason they are missing or gone is because of him. He’s lost his family before, and he’ll be damned if he loses them again.

Flaws:

A lot of his flaws stem from his stubbornness and confidence. He’s arrogant, overconfident, prideful, and impatient. He knows he’s good at his job and he’s not afraid to talk about his skills and talents, and unless he’s working specifically with Toph, he assumes he’s the best for the job.

He’s flirty, sarcastic, reckless, and a bit of a slob (just his home, he keeps a clean appearance). Kanto’s constantly ragging on coworkers, has comments for days, and it’s rare for him to speak in a serious tone while on the job. Just doesn’t happen.

He’s protective, reckless, a troublemaker, skeptical, and vengeful. When he actually finds love and has a family, he is extremely protective, to the point where if criminals threaten his family, he’s not afraid to take the law into his own hands to eradicate the problem. One of these would be his fatal flaw, maybe vengeful? His vengeful tendency could be from a need to retaliate to protect his family from a threat, and that ultimately may take him down.

His flaws mainly seem to come from his overconfident front that he gives to the world. He doesn’t let too many in, or, he lets people in, but they don’t see the real him. Kanto doesn’t trust people right away, but it’s easy to get along with everyone if you just have this confident and charismatic face on. But his ‘face’ seeped into his actual personality, so there are times when he shouldn’t blurt out the first stupid comment in his head, but he does.

Gaang First Impressions:

Aang: He’s always extremely happy and excited to meet new partners, so he was thrilled to meet Kanto. They definitely don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but Aang is great at being friends with everyone despite the differences, so there’s no animosity.

Katara: She’s skeptical at first, because Kanto acts like a douche and has a bad boy persona. Katara just doesn’t want to see Toph get hurt, so she interrogates the man a bit (a lot), but even though the things he says concern her, he’s a gentleman to Toph, very attentive to her needs. So, maybe he’s not so bad… Later on, she knows the bad boy look was all a facade and that Kanto is a sweetheart, and she grows to really like Kanto.

Zuko: He gives Kanto a very cold shoulder at first. He’s very protective of Toph because he thinks of her as a little sister. So, he crosses his arms, glares a bit, and Kanto glares back because that’s what he does at first. But then, they start going on double dates, and Zuko and Kanto turn out to have a lot more in common than they realize. They’re buddies now!

Sokka: Sokka’s attitude really depends on ship preference with him, but in most HC’s, he’s Toph’s best friend, so he would also be distant with Kanto. He wouldn’t like how cocky he is, or that he’s super tall and talented at many things… he’s not a fan. However, Toph is always super happy around Kanto, he makes her laugh, and no one is allowed to insult Toph without an ass whooping from both Kanto and Toph, so, he warms up to the guy. He’s been seen buying Kanto a beer after a long day of work as a truce, and he often goes to Kanto if he needs police paper signed and expedited (Kanto does the same with Sokka, it evens out).

Suki: Suki is pretty chill about it all. She’s pretty perceptive about personalities and whatnot, and she can detect a bit of a bad boy mask. So, she treats the introduction casually and is super cordial with Kanto. They never become best friends or anything, but she was one of his first “allies” in the Gaang, and for that he is forever grateful.

Other Facts:

His mannerisms are that he walks with a slow swagger. Often the slowest of the group, he takes his time whenever he walks places. But don’t let that fool you—he can sprint really fast. He leans back in almost all of his chairs, sometimes he leans too far back. Kanto was a notorious manspreader when he would sit down, but since being with Toph, she put a stop to that instantly. When he’s restless, he bounces his leg a lot, and usually only stops if Toph reminds him (usually a hand to his leg to calm him down). Kanto also runs his hand through his hair a ton to either push it off his face, or just on instinct. He fidgets with his hands, too, Toph does as well. Usually, the two will hold hands or play with each other’s fingers to ‘remedy’ their nervous tick. In extremely stressful situations (like an AU where Lin is kidnapped), Kanto usually throws up and doesn’t sleep at all.

Kanto’s voice is a mix of a rural and city accent, once Republic City becomes prominent. He uses slang in his speech often and mainly uses city words (he picked up a lot of city lingo when interacting with criminals and undercover work back in the day). There are a few words and phrases from his childhood that he uses that scream ‘rural kid’ and that is mainly when the distinction in his accent and speech is picked up. His voice is smooth and deep when he casually talks. When he yells, it becomes a bit gravelly and husky sounding. Oddly enough, when he whispers, the same thing happens.

Kanto smells like the earth or something with a forestry scent (cedar comes to mind). He wears cologne, and the scents he usually goes for are ones that smell like earth, wood, or resin. Kanto likes wearing cologne, but he can’t put too much on, otherwise it bothers Toph’s nose, and he typically checks to see which ones Toph likes, and he’ll purchase that cologne again because he knows she likes the smell. He naturally smells a bit like metal and dirt and a bit of smoke (he was a casual smoker before he had Lin). All these scents are not prominent, but by the end of the day, these are the scents that can usually be detected.

Some of his pet peeves include fake apologies, when people kick or shake the chair he is sitting in, any slightly insulting remark toward Toph, close talkers, people that interrupt frequently, and those that correct his grammar.

Kanto canonically only has one daughter, Lin. In this AU, he’s a loving and committed father who emphasizes putting his family first and protecting them. He doted and hovered over Toph while she was pregnant, cried tears of joy when Lin was born, and is very attentive and caring toward Lin. He’s the one that soothes her when she cries out at night, he’ll get up in the morning with her so Toph can sleep in, and when he comes home from work, he smothers her in kisses and gives her raspberries on the belly (affectionate). Even as a baby, Lin was a Daddy’s girl and Kanto spoiled her as much as possible.

In the relatively canon compliant AU, Kanto dies when Lin is about 6 months old. He left for work, had a run-in with a bloodbender (or an accident on the job), and never returned home. On the day of his death, Kanto planned on proposing to Toph, but never got the chance.

Lin knew about her father growing up, but he wasn’t talked about often because it is a touchy subject for Toph (and for most that knew him well). On her 13th birthday, Lin receives the engagement ring on a necklace, along with a handwritten letter from Kanto.

There are many AUs and headcanons related to where he lives, but those are very fluid and change all the time!

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bellatrixobsessed1 · 3 years

Text

From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 30)

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

Nobody does.

Because nobody cares.

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

No wonder she herself is so cold.

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

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

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

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

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

She climbs to her feet anyhow, dizzy, swaying.

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

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

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

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

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

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

She approaches them.

She opens her mouth. She knows that she had.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Still shaking, she rakes her hands through her hair.

Her hair!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Like me?” It is an impulse to ask.

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

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

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

Maybe if she can last that long.

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

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

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

When it will end.

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

The rocking of the cart jars and unsettles her.

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

.oOo.

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

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

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

But Azula hadn’t.

She still hasn’t.

She is still angry with the woman.

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

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

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

“What happened, dear?”

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

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

“I’d rather not.”

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

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

“What about to socialize?”

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

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

“Azula--!?”

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

“You shouldn’t be so mean to your--”

Azula cuts him a glare.

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

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

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

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

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

Azula’s stomach flutters.

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

Caihong’s pout grows.

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

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

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

“But…”

“Is Azula a bad person?” TyLee asks.

Azula cringes at the question coming from her.

“Did she do something bad to you?”

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

“Did she do something good for you?”

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

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

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

“And you didn’t want to hear it?”

Caihong shakes her head again.

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

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

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

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

“A cave adventure?”

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

“Did you find anything in the caves?”

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

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

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

Mom…

Mother…

She could have had so much…

.oOo.

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

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

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

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

“Slept in worse?” He rolls his eyes.

She nods.

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

“Perhaps.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Avatar The Last Airbender #Azula #Sokka #Sokkla #Fanfiction

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miyanom · 3 years

Text

CHAPTER TWO | READ CHAPTER THREE HERE

SOKKA X PRINCESS!READER

WARNINGS: Fighting, mentions of death

NOTES: This is a very Y/N centric chapter, going into how she can’t see herself as Chief.

The Fire Navy flare still remained high in the sky, even after Aang and Katara had returned to the village, resulting in the boy’s banishment.

Sokka and Katara stood on either side of Y/N, the siblings unable to look at each other in their anger. With Sokka mad that Katara would willingly leave her tribe and her family for Aang, and Katara upset that Sokka banished one of the only other benders she had ever met.

Honestly, Y/N was just thinking that Katara’s news of wanting to leave the Southern Water Tribe with Aang couldn’t have come to Sokka at a worse time.

She had just finished saying her own goodbye to the boy, and then they come back to the village and suddenly Katara is wanting to leave too?

Y/N hadn’t even said goodbye to Katara yet, how was she supposed to do it now? Katara would probably try and leave with her, hoping they could catch up with Aang.

“Princess, what should we do?” One of the women questioned, stepping forward to confront Y/N, hoping the Princess would know what to do when the inevitable attack happens.

“I-”

“Princess, what will happen to us?”

“And the children?”

“Where do we go?”

Y/N froze where she stood, unable to get a word out as she was bombarded with questions from the village. She was their princess, probably a few years away from being their Chief, and yet she had no idea what to do in this situation.

Was she supposed to comfort her people? Or plan an attack of her own? How were they supposed to defend themselves, these people didn’t know how to fight… Y/N didn’t even know how to fight.

“Princess, I-”

“For now, return to your homes,” Y/N ordered the people, cutting off a woman who was about to ask her another question. “Stay inside. Sokka, we need a plan. We must be prepared.”

Sokka, who had been staring at Y/N (surprised to see her talking in such an official way), was snapped out of his trance. “Right. Let’s do that.”

Y/N nodded with a deep breath. She needed to be ready for this, because whether she liked it or not, the Fire Nation was coming. And though this may be her last act as Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, she was going to protect her people, no matter what.

Sokka and Y/N headed into a small tent, and while Sokka applied his war-paint, Y/N attempted to come up with a plan. “We have no waterbenders, no one who can actually fight,” she whispered, crossing her arms as she stared at the ground. “We’re doomed, aren’t we?”

“Of course not,” Sokka stood up, his war-paint now applied and his club held tightly in his grasp. “My dad told me to protect everyone, and that’s what I’ll do, Princess. Even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Y/N frowned at that. “No, no, no, no. You’re not risking your life, Sokka. Do you hear me?” She stepped forward. “I’ll deal with them, maybe we can talk things out.”

“Talk things out?” Sokka scoffed. “It’s the Fire Nation! They don’t talk things out!”

She paused, trying to think of a plan that would ensure everyone’s survival. “You know, things would be looking better for us if you didn’t banish the Airbender. We could use his help right about now.”

“Aang is the reason the Fire Nation will be knocking on our front door any second now,” Sokka pointed out. “He was dangerous, he could’ve gotten Katara hurt, or worse-”

“You’re right,” Y/N said softly. Her answer surprised Sokka, who had expected to fight back like his sister did just an hour earlier. “I know you’re right, Aang could’ve gotten Katara hurt. But he’s also capable of airbending, and in a time like this, we need every fighter we have.”

Sokka had seriously never seen Y/N like this, though he had to assume she was always like this back in her own village. Never in his life had he seen her as Princess Y/N, she was always just their friend, just Y/N.

But now, it was like she was a whole different person. Maybe things really had changed over the past year, maybe the girl in front of him — the girl so willing to run away from her duties — wasn't the same girl he used to know.

Maybe there was no going back from this.

Y/N began to fidget with her gloves as she looked down. “I’m scared… so scared of the Fire Nation.”

Sokka wanted to comfort her, to say things would be alright, but it was like he had no control over the words he said. “So… this isn’t convincing you to stay with your tribe? Your people? You’re still going to leave?”

“Sokka,” Y/N sighed.

“Princess Y/N,” Katara rushed into the tent, her eyes widening slightly when they fell onto Sokka. “Oh, sorry, I didn’t realise-”

“It’s fine, Katara.” Sokka pushed past his sister and left the tent, heading out to prepare for the upcoming confrontation.

“What is it, Katara?” Y/N asked, her eyes flickering to the girl.

“Well, everyone’s getting restless out here,” Katara answered. “And I know you told them to stay inside, but they’re scared. And well…”

“It reminds them of the raids,” Y/N whispered.

Katara nodded her head. “My mother died the last time they were here, Y/N.” She raised a hand to gently touch her necklace.

“Katara, we aren’t losing anybody today,” Y/N said confidently, a reassuring smile gracing her features. “I promise. We’ll make it through.”

Before another word could be said, the ground beneath them began to shake. “Oh no,” Y/N gasped.

The two girls ran out of the tent as the shaking got worse with every passing second. Katara came to a stop, staring at her brother who stood on the snow. wall surrounding the village.

Y/N’s eyes followed Katara’s line of sight, just in time to see a large war ship emerging from the fog, headed straight for Sokka.

“Sokka, get out of the way!” She heard Katara shout.

Though Katara’s voice was drowned out by the screams of a child who had fallen over. Y/N immediately took off running, picking the child up from the ground as the large crack in the ice headed straight for them.

With the child in her arms, Y/N ran towards the tents, handing the child off to his mother.

The front of the ship came into contact with the walls, causing the snow to crumble as it brought Sokka safely down to the ground.

Instead of being relieved that Sokka was okay, Y/N couldn’t take her eyes off the war ship that had now opened up, revealing a crew of Fire Nation soldiers as they began to walk down the bridge.

Katara, who had been standing just a few steps behind Y/N suddenly stepped forward, taking the Princess’s hand into her own as they both tried to calm their nerves.

Fear was coursing through Y/N’s veins as she stared the soldiers, continuously opening and closing her mouth as she attempted to speak. But no words came out.

She could remember years ago, during the raid that killed Kya, when her father shouted for the soldiers to leave their home or face the consequences of attacking the Southern Water Tribe.

Y/N had never wanted to be like her father, so distant and cold as the war took a toll on him, but right now… she wished for nothing more than to be as brave as him. To look these men in the face and tell them to leave.

Before she had the chance to do anything, Sokka was lifting himself for the ground and charging at the soldiers as a war cry ripped from his throat.

Y/N’s eyes widened as the crew’s captain simply kicked Sokka off the bridge and continued his way down to the tribe.

This wasn’t going to be easy, she knew that, but Sokka was right, she had a duty to her people. She had to protect them.

Letting go of Katara’s hand, Y/N took a step forward, a determined look appearing on her face even though her hands were trembling as the men got closer and closer.

“What do you want from us?” She demanded, hoping her voice didn’t give away how utterly scared she was.

“Princess,” Katara whispered, her eyes widening slightly.

The Captain of the ship simply stared at Y/N for no more than 5 seconds, before his eyes scanned the crowd.

Had Zuko not been on an important mission to find and capture the Avatar, perhaps he would’ve greeted the Princess with more respect, even answered her question — as a Prince himself, he knew that much.

But he was on an important mission, and these people were the enemy. Especially if they were hiding the Avatar.

“Why are y-”

“Where are you hiding him?” Zuko shot back, cutting Y/N off. Her brows furrowed in confusion as he turned to look at her.

“Who?” She questioned.

“Don’t play games!” Zuko shouted, suddenly reaching forward and pulling Gran-Gran out of the crowd.

Katara gasped in fear as she reached out for her grandmother, only for Y/N to pull her back, not wanting to see the girl get hurt by these foreigners.

“He’d be about this age, master of all elements,” Zuko explained, shaking Gran-Gran back and forth.

“The Avatar?” Y/N stared at him in confusion. “The Avatar hasn’t been seen in decades. Please, let her go.”

Zuko stayed silent for a moment before releasing Gran-Gran’s hood from his grasp, causing Katara to quickly hug her grandmother. Zuko remained stiff in position, before his fist suddenly shot out and a burst of fire was flying out over the people of the tribe.

Y/N’s eyes widened as she was pulled down and out of the flames range by Katara. Y/N’s eyes flickered down to her hands, which were still trembling with fear.

She swallowed the lump forming in the back of her throat, before standing back up, hiding her hands behind her back as she glared at Zuko. “Leave,” she ordered. “I don’t know what you think you stand to gain here, but we don’t know where the Avatar is. He hasn’t been seen in a long time, surely you know that.”

“Stop lying! I know you’re hiding him!” Zuko told her.

“We aren’t hiding anyone!”

Before Zuko could get another word in, Sokka was running back at him. The Fire Nation boy ducked, causing Sokka to go flying overhead. As Sokka landed in the snow, he quickly rolled out of the way before Zuko’s flames could hit him, and as soon as he was at a safe enough distance he was throwing his boomerang.

Only to miss completely.

“Sokka,” Y/N breathed out, staring at the boy with a frantic look in her eyes. Provoking the Fire Nation wouldn’t be good for any of them, they just needed to convince them to leave. That had to be enough, right?

“Show no fear!” One of the younger boy’s called out as he threw a spear in Sokka’s direction.

“N-” Y/N cut herself off as Katara quickly grabbed the hand she was about to raise in Sokka’s direction.

As Y/N turned to Katara, she was surprised by the look in the younger girl’s eyes. A look telling her that even though Sokka wasn’t the best fighter, he was also their only hope right now.

When Y/N turned back to Sokka, he was on the ground just as the boomerang flew back and hit Zuko on the back of his helmet.

Regaining composure, two knife-like flames appeared in Zuko’s hands as he walked menacingly toward Sokka, who had shuffled back toward the tribe in fear.

In the blink of an eye, a boy was sliding past Zuko, knocking the Prince back onto his butt before he came to a stop in front of Y/N, Katara and Sokka.

“Aang!” Y/N grinned, watching as the penguin knocked the Airbender off its back.

“Hey, Princess,” Aang smiled softly as he turned to them. “Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka.”

“Hi, Aang,” Sokka waved slightly, unable to greet Aang with the same enthusiasm as Y/N. “Thanks for coming.”

However, even in their excitement, a shadow loomed over them. “Aang, we could use your help,” Y/N spoke, nodding toward the soldiers.

The soldiers formed a circle around Aang, causing him to use his staff to knock the snow in their direction. “Looking for me?” He questioned.

“You’re the Airbender?” Zuko asked in surprise. “You’re the Avatar?”

“Aang?” Katara gasped quietly.

“No way!” Sokka’s eyes widened.

Y/N stared at the boy in complete silence, shock taking over at the sudden news. Aang was the Avatar? And he didn’t tell them?

Though Y/N wanted to be happy knowing the Avatar had returned to save them, she couldn’t help but realise that Sokka was right. Aang was dangerous to the Tribe, and Y/N had blindly accepted him.

She put her people at risk. How was she supposed to be Chief one day if she couldn’t even see danger when it was five feet in front of her?

This was why she had to leave.

Aang giving himself up for the water tribe had surprised them all, and while it was probably a bad time, it also gave Y/N the push she needed to finally leave.

No matter how hard she tried, she just wasn’t cut out for this. If she became Chief one day, she’d destroy everything her ancestors had worked so hard for. Y/N wouldn’t be able to protect her people like this, she wasn’t meant to be a crowd speaker - someone who could influence others with just words.

No, Y/N was meant to fight. She was meant to be learning waterbending and fighting alongside the Earth Kingdom to put an end to the Fire Nation’s reign of terror. That was the only way she could help her tribe without destroying them.

That’s why she was here, waiting beside Katara as the girl stared into the distance, still worried about Aang.

“Katara,” the princess spoke up, making the younger girl glance at her.

“You’re leaving too, right?” Katara frowned.

Y/N blinked in surprise. “You know?”

“Gran-Gran told me,” she nodded. “Last night. She said you came to say goodbye.”

“I’m sorry,” Y/N whispered. “I just… I’m supposed to be out there fighting, Katara. You saw me before, I can't protect the tribe like this.”

“Let me come with you!” Katara pleaded. “When we save Aang, we can go North and learn waterbending together, and then we can go find our dad’s and help them.”

Y/N stared at her friend. “Save Aang? How are we supposed to fight real soldiers, Katara? And how are we going to find the ship?”

“I don’t know,” Katara sighed, looking back into the distance. “But we have to try! He sacrificed himself to save the village, we owe him!”

He sacrificed himself for the tribe… Y/N couldn’t help but wonder if she would do the same when it came down to it. Could she willingly give her life for her people? Or would she find herself being a coward, like she was when watching Aang fight the soldiers?

She wanted to fight, but how far was she willing to go?

TAGLIST (JOIN HERE)

@filipinhce @booyakasha516 @kaylove12 @tomshollandz @that-one-padme-outfit @ccosmic-illusion @moistpotatobear @pocky-otp

#sokka x reader #atla x reader #atla #atla sokka #sokka oneshot #Sokka #atla one shot #avatar: the last airbender #avatar the last airbender oneshots #avatar sokka

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kdinthecity · 4 years

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Love Amongst the Turtleducks (Part Two)

@zutaraweek for Day 2: Counterpart. The full story will be posted on Ao3. Hawker Genji belongs to @muffinlance who is my go-to author for Zuko-adopted-by-Water-Tribe and Zuko-needs-a-pet vibes.

They agreed to meet at the turtleduck pond the next evening. Zuko expected Katara had a long day ahead. Dr. Yang was their family physician. What she lacked in bedside manner, she made up for in medical expertise. She would not go easy on her Water Tribe apprentice.

He did not expect to see inquisitive blue eyes framed by a mess of brown curls peeking through the doorway during his midday meeting. Although he might have been daydreaming about her while his financial advisor droned on about tax law revisions. Zuko nodded subtly to his second in command, Lieutenant Governor Jee, and quietly excused himself.

“Katara, did you need something?”

She fidgeted and looked askance. He noted she was wearing red. He liked that.

“I need a messenger hawk to send a message back home,” she eventually said.

Zuko stepped fully out into the corridor, ignoring Jee’s summoning by way of fake coughing. “I’m in a meeting right now, but you can see the hawkery from the courtyard. It’s a tower with lots of windows on the east side. Genji can help you find one that’s trained for the trip to the South Pole.”

“You train the hawks to fly certain routes?”

“It’s more like we breed them for certain routes. The hardier ones fly south because they can endure the cold better. The faster ones go to the Earth Kingdom since it’s so big.”

Zuko wasn’t entirely sure why he was shirking his Fire Lord duties to talk about messenger hawk training. Perhaps because she’s beautiful, and I would tell her anything.

“What happens if they can’t make the trip anymore?” she asked.

“They retire,” he said simply.

“What does that mean?”

“Under my father’s rule, it meant flame broiled messenger hawk for dinner.” She gasped, so he quickly added, “But Genji has a soft spot for them. He runs a hawk sanctuary.”

Her look of alarm shifted into a sly smile. “So they’re like… pets?”

Not this again. “No, Katara. Messenger hawks are not pets.”

She placed a hand on her hip. “Sokka kept Hawky as a pet.”

“Sokka also made friends with a sabertooth moose lion and named him, Foofoocuddlypoops.”

“He told you about that?”

“I get regular visits from Hawky. Spoiled bird,” Zuko mumbled the last part under his breath.

A few councilmen brushed past, casting backwards glances at them. So, the meeting had adjourned without him. Zuko could not say he was disappointed, but Jee’s glare meant he’d have to answer for this later. But for now, he offered his arm and said, “I can go ahead and show you to the hawkery, my lady.”

When she hooked her elbow in his, bumbleflies in his stomach began to dance.

They met later at the turtleduck pond as planned. Katara arrived late with a messenger hawk on each shoulder, and Zuko didn’t even venture to guess. He knew Genji well enough from their years at sea, and he should have never left Katara with him unattended. Stupid Fire Lord duties…

“So, these are your new pets?” he asked casually.

“No, they’re your new pets!”

“Katara—“

“I’m just kidding!” She laughed. “I got one to send a message home and one to send a message to the Earth Kingdom.”

The birds immediately took flight as if they were awaiting the invitation.

“Who are you writing to in the Earth Kingdom?” Zuko was bothered by this, but he couldn’t pinpoint why.

“It’s not important, really.” She shrugged and sat down next to him under the tree. “I learned so many interesting things from Hawker Genji, though! Did you know they have a wingspan of up to five feet? And they can travel from here to to the Earth Kingdom in under a day!”

Zuko handed her some breadcrumbs to feed the turtleducks.

“You named them, didn’t you?” Somehow he knew.

She blushed. “Genji said I could.”

“Did you know that messenger hawks mate for life?” she continued after a beat. “That’s one reason Genji set up the sanctuary. So the bonded pairs could stay together.”

Of course. Zuko would expect nothing less from the hawker who served on his crew and endured his teenage angst with such… grace.

Katara leaned against his shoulder, a gesture from the previous night that felt so nice… and natural. “That’s how they find their way home,” she said in a near whisper. “They’re like… counterparts.”

I’m glad you found your way to me. But that was better left unsaid.

#zutara #zutara week #zutara week 2020

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zi-i-think · 4 years

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17 | Let's Refrain from Throwing Anything at Anyone, Please

Pairing: Zuko x Ama (OC)

Rating: SFW

Word Count: 6200+

Masterlist

.☽☼☾.

~ Ama ☾ ~

The only source of light were the two candles in my room, on my bed stand. And let me tell you, the dusky setting did not help the overly cautious and alert war veterans that were Zuko and I. I sat up in the bed, slowly slipping my legs over the side to prepare for an attack while Zuko was at the door. I had no clue who was on the other side. At this hour especially, it was a bit frightening.

Was it Suh? Was she here to finish me off? My mind jumped to a terrifying conclusion. My heartbeat picked up and my jaw clenched. I held a tight breath as Zuko carefully twisted the doorknob and opened the door enough to just see who it was.

“What are you doing here?” The all too familiar voice of my brother asked Zuko. I let out my breath and almost wanted to laugh loudly at myself for getting so worked up. “Ama!” Sokka noticed me awake and sitting up. He excitedly sprinted over at full speed with the biggest grin. I barely had time to react and could only hold my arms out defensively when he practically jumped on me, pulling me into a tight hug.

Aching pain shot through my body at both the sudden movement and his strong arms crushing. “Ow. Sokka. That hurts.” I grumbled through my teeth. In the back of my mind, I scolded myself. Didn’t seem to mind the pain a few moments ago.

My brother immediately pulled away, and yet again, his jolting movements to push himself off me only hurt me more and I groaned lightly. “Sorry.” He apologized with an apprehensive side smile. He kept his hands on my shoulders, his eyes studying me like I was some sort of extraordinary creature. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” Even though he used his humorous expression, I still saw a tear forming in his eye.

“Me? An idiot?” I faked a bewildered tone and dramatically placed a fanned hand over my chest. “I believe a proper description would be an unimaginably attractive and remarkable nincompoop.”

Sokka scoffed and shook his head at me. “She’s making jokes. Of course, she is.” He mumbled to himself, etched with disbelief, amusement, and a tinge of disappointment. “You had us all worried. Katara and Aang even postponed their honeymoon.”

“What?” My shoulder slumped and I frowned. “They were so excited for Ember Island. They didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh, okay. So the next time someone almost permanently departs from the living, everyone else should just go out and enjoy themselves.” My brother crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a chiding look.

My brother was naturally a grumpy, glass-half-empty kinda guy. I was used to his little taunts and nonsense scoldings, but there was always some humor laced in everything he’d say. But right now, there was none of that. He showed nothing but deep concern. It was starting to anchor me to the gravity of my situation. How I quite literally almost died.

My face softened but the rest of my body tensed up. I inhaled deeply, internally hoping that the subject changed quickly.

Luckily, Zuko was still in the room. With his arms crossed and a perplexed frown, he approached the bed but stood beside us while my brother and I were still seated on the side. “Sokka, what are you doing up?” He redirected the conversation. I wasn’t sure if it was because he saw my dejected look or because he was just curious as to why Sokka was here.

“Couldn’t sleep.” Sokka shrugged. “Spent most of the night tossing and turning. Then I heard some talking in here, thought my big sister had finally woken up.” He ruffled my hair. I just rolled my eyes at him and raked my fingers through my smooth hair. Katara must have made sure I was cleaned and well taken care of. “What about you, mister Fire Lord? What are you doing up? Specifically in my sister’s room.”

Zuko and I glanced at each other. His face flushed nervously and he opened his mouth unsurely. “Uh… just talking,” Zuko answered stiffly. I wanted to slap my own forehead at him. This gorgeous buffoon.

“How convincing.” Sokka mumbled, glancing away from Zuko and I in disgust. His mind probably just went to the worst possible thought.

“Not like that. What I mean to say is that we were just discussing things and then you came in-” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck as he talked quickly.

“I don’t need to know.” Sokka interrupted him, his hand out in between him and Zuko. I chuckled lightly at the interaction. “Anyways, I should go get Katara and the others! They’ll be so happy to know that you’re awake.” My brother excitedly jumped up from the bed.

My hand immediately grabbed his wrist, stopping him from walking away. “Sokka, no.” My firm tone made him look at me with confusion. “Let them sleep, I’ll see them tomorrow and can get the rundown of everything.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, they won’t mind.” He shrugged and tried to leave again. But my grip only got tighter. Sokka wasn’t fighting against my hold, afraid that he’d hurt me.

“Please, Sokka. Just don’t tell anyone I’m awake till tomorrow.” I didn’t want to, but my voice was small and begging. I hated it. And I hated the pitiful look my brother was giving me.

He nodded quietly and when my grip softened he slipped his hand away. “Fine. But if Katara complains, you’re to blame.”

“I can handle that.” I forced a small smile on my lips. I’d rather deal with her scolding than to have to deal with so many people in my room at the moment.

Tapping Zuko’s bicep, Sokka cocked his head towards the door and asked “You coming?”

“In a minute,” Zuko replied. His focus was on me while I placed with my fingernails. Sokka looked like he wanted to say something but instead decided against it. Looked between Zuko and me skeptically while he backed away towards the door without another word. Once the door was shut, Zuko sat down next to me, placing his rough hand over mine, effectively making me stop fidgeting. “What is it?” He asked softly, rubbing small circles on the top of my hand.

“What do you mean?” I asked back, pretending to be absolutely clueless.

“I saw the way you tensed up. How you’re refusing to see anyone. You can talk to me, you know?” His other hand came up to cup my cheek. I nodded gently, fluttered my eyes closed, and leaned into his hand affectionately, adoring the warmth that radiated from his fingertips.

It was a gift and a curse really. How he was able to read me like that. On one hand, it could push me to seek help or to talk it out. But that’s also why it was a curse. I wasn’t ready to talk about what I was feeling. I wasn’t even sure what it was myself.

“I know. Honestly, I just need a moment to myself. If you don’t mind.” I sighed, opening my eyes to directly see Zuko stiffen slightly.

He nodded rapidly. “Yeah, whatever you need.” He stood up, smoothening out his red tunic from earlier wrinkles. I smiled, gazing at him as he nervously did that. No matter how suave he got, there was still a tiny bit of that awkward part of him that I fell in love with all those years ago. Leaning down with a soft smirk he pressed a delicate kiss on my forehead. “Please don’t hesitate to come to talk to me when you need it.” Hid lips grazed over my skin delicately while he spoke, barely hovering over my forehead.

I bit my bottom lip. My heart fluttered at his touch and his vocal expression to be there for me. It was ironic how a few years ago the roles were reversed. “Alright,” I whispered. His tender touch left me entirely, suddenly making me feel so cold. He walked away backward half the way out, keeping a warm gaze on me the entire time before he was out the door.

I was left completely alone. In a dimly lit room. With just my thoughts. A shaky breath escaped me. It’s been itching to come out since I woke up. I shut my eyes tightly and took a deep, quivering breath in.

I… died. But how was I still here? I wanted to ask, but that would mean having to talk about it. Call me selfish, but I’d prefer not to talk about how I died and then was revived only minutes after waking up. Not if I was only just grasping the fact.

My inhales and exhales went on for a while. Until I realized I needed to get out of this bed. Swinging my legs over the side, I stood up. But, I wasn’t prepared to put so much weight on my legs, and stumbled back on to the mattress. I moaned in discomfort. My sore muscles ached everywhere. Like they were being pulled and tugged in every direction. Once the pain subsided, I stood back up, more slowly than last time, and carefully made my way to my bathroom.

A hot bath was just what I needed. I was only in my nightgown. Making it simple to painlessly slipped it over my head and discard it on the floor. Standing there, completely bare and in front of a large mirror, I felt vulnerable.

Even with my clothing on, a person could tell that I was toned. I wasn’t overly muscular, but not scrawny. Overall I looked healthy. But once the layers of clothing were removed, my scars were revealed. The unhealed scabs from when I was a kid, the training mishaps, the acne scars on my back. And now, two new ones decorated my skin. On my upper abdomen, a light pink and sharp oval scar painted my skin. And the second was on the opposite side of my body, on my back.

I had no problem with scars. I liked to think that they told stories about people, whether good or bad. And sometimes they showcased just how beautiful a person was. Zuko’s scar was a prime example. What once made him feel disgraced and like a failure now meant more. It showed how he was able to change into a better man and to lead the world into a new era. He took his father’s horrific mutilation and turned it into a symbol of who he was. It was beautiful in my eyes.

But the new one in the mirror… It made my stomach drop. My fingers hesitantly tracing over the soft skin. The memory of the sword sticking through my body flashed in the mirror. The feeling of blood sticking my clothing to my skin. The knowledge that I was dying and didn’t want to. Trying so desperately to stay alive.

A wave of lightheadedness flooded me. I sank backwards, gripping the side of the bathtub to steady myself. The sound of running water got louder and louder as the truth settled in.

I died.

.☽☼☾.

Just as expected, my room was crowded the very next morning. Extra chairs had to be moved in to provide seating for everyone who was deemed useful to help tell the story of the other night and to discuss the situation at hand. I was almost completely clueless. I still didn’t know how I was alive. I didn’t know what happened to Suh or Azula. There were so many questions and even more sub questions to them. But, I supposed they would all be answered in a minute.

I sat in my bed, leaning my back against multiple pillows while I was anxiously waiting for everyone to get here. Currently, the only people missing were Zuko and Aang. The others made small talk, their voices low like how one would speak at a hospital.

“Are you comfortable?” Katara asked me quietly, placing a soft hand over mine.

I nodded at her with a small smile. “Yes, Kat. I’m comfortable. But we really didn’t have to host a meeting in my room.” I raised a half-amused brow at her.

My sister shrugged her shoulders and avoided eye contact with me. “Just being precautionary.” She mumbled, pulling away from me to stand comfortably, with her arms crossed and leaning on one leg.

A quiet and short knock at the door resonated through the room, Letting us know that either Aang or Zuko was here. Without waiting for a response to come in, the door opened and they both entered. Aang went straight to Katara while Zuko strolled behind him, but instead was trying to get to me. Flashing me a handsome smile and carrying a cup of tea.

Stopping next to Katara, he handed me the ceramic, blue accented cup. “Uncle Iroh made it for you.” He told me. Smiling widely, I gladly took the drink. The heat of it almost instantaneously warmed my hands and the herbal aroma of it gave me instant comfort.

A pleasant sigh left my lips. “He didn’t have to, but I’m not complaining,” I commented as the cup came up to my lips for a sip.

“Alright, now that we’re all here,” Aang got right down to business, clasping his hands together. “We should probably address… everything.” Zuko backed up to the last seat available. It was further from me than I’d like, but it was probably best for Katara to be directly next to me, anyways.

“Yes. I need to know everything that happened.” I enthusiastically agreed. Pushing away the growing feeling of anxiety. It felt like a thick bubble was growing in my chest, making it difficult to pace my breathing. But I managed to play off like nothing was wrong. Keeping a curious expression and keeping an eye on Aang, letting him know that I was listening.

“Okay, so I guess I’ll start with when you threw Azula out of the venue.” Aang’s voice was etched with wariness. Like he was walking on eggshells.

“Honestly, if anything good came out of that night, it was watching Azula get thrown out of the window.” Sokka chuckled. Breaking some of the uneasy tension of the room.

“Other than your sister getting married?” Katara refuted. Her eyes narrowed at our brother and crossed her arms over her chest like she was challenging him.

“Ohhh.” My voice progressively got higher while I brought my tea up to drink again.

“Okay, let me backtrack. It was one of the good things that came out of that night.” Katara huffed at her brother’s poor attempt to save his ass. But she didn’t push it any further.

Aang cleared his throat, getting the attention back. “Moving on. After you went after Azula, the rest of us were left with the others working with Azula. We were able to get most of them outside so that the guests wouldn’t be in as much danger.”

“Were there a lot of them?” I interrupted. Remembering that I didn’t get a good look at exactly how many people Azula recruited. My focus was solely on her. Seeing nothing but red at the time.

Aang shrugged. “We couldn’t get an accurate count. Maybe 30 or so.”

“We have 26 of them in custody, but we’re almost positive that some of them were able to escape,” Sokka added, his humorous personality was put aside to join in on the seriousness of the situation.

The room got silent; perhaps one of the oddest things for this particular group of friends. They were dancing around anything that was related to my death. Like I’d crack at any moment. I realized that I’d need to push them a bit in order to have my questions answered rather than just get them told to me naturally. “Okay, so what about Suh? Was she apprehended?”

“Suh escaped,” Zuko answered me regrettably while no one else wanted to. He hunched over in his seat, leaning his elbows on his thighs and intertwining his fingers.

I held my breath for a moment. On the exterior, I nodded understandably and looked composed. But on the interior, I was stiffening. Fear engulfed me at this new knowledge. The woman that I simply thought was just a weasel snake and posed no real threat, was now someone who’s name made me quiver.

“Cool cool cool,” I responded while softly nodding my head. “Any leads on where she might be?”

A loud and irritated huff came from Toph as the woman lounged in her chair like she had no care in the world. “Nope. The wench disappeared in the snow like the coward she is.”

“She could be on a boat to the Fire Nation or maybe even the Earth Kingdom for all we know,” Sokka added in exasperation. His jaw clenched slightly and his hand ran through his loose hair. Suki took notice in his annoyance, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

My eyebrows furrowed as another question came up. “Why didn’t anyone go after her?” I tried to hide the bothered, hurt tone in my voice, but it still spilled ever so slightly.

“We were kind of preoccupied. Ya know with you dying and 300 plus guests to protect.” Katara looked at me with her eyes narrowed and a frown in a baffled expression.

“Alright, so what are we doing to find her then?” I stressed. My shoulders hardened and my face twisted in frustration.

“We have guards placed all around the South Pole on the lookout for her and we’ve sent out messages to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom that she is to be brought into custody,” Sokka answered.

My first instinct to shout at them, tell them that’s not enough. But reason kept me from doing that. Sokka was good at planning and organizing things like these. I trust that he knows what he’s doing. “And Azula?” I moved on. The room was quiet again. “Oh, for the love of Tui and La, can you all please stop dancing around each subject and just tell me everything,” I grumbled a bit too angrily.

“Ama…” My sister softly started, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Do you need a minute, we can discuss this later-”

“No! I don’t want to discuss this later.” I exclaimed in exasperation. “I died! Okay! Moving on. Give me the rundown, we figure out the next steps and move on with our lives. The sooner this conversation happens, the sooner that can happen.”

“Are you sure? You seem a little… emotional.” Commented Aang in a nervous matter, noting my paler than usual complexion.

“For once, I agree with Twinkle Toes. Ama, you’re acting differently and it’s actually kind of concerning.” Toph repositioned herself in her seat, sitting up more intensively.

I composed myself quickly, burying the boiling anxiety deep inside. “Yes, I’m sure,” I answered calmly, with a light smile. Doing my best to act like I normally would.

Everyone in the room looked a little hesitant, sneaking quick and confused glances at each other. “Alright.” Aang sighed. “Well, Azula’s currently locked up. She’s been interrogated and everything. There’s just one thing we don’t know.”

“What did you say to her?” Zuko finished. His brow curving upwards slightly, matched with a curious but hopeful glint in his eye.

“What do you mean?” My face twisted and my head tilted in confusion.

“Ama, Azula was the one who saved your life,” Katara informed me smoothly, also giving me an inquisitive look.

My jaw fell and my eyes widened. “Azula saved me?” I repeated in a whisper; more to myself than to anyone else. “How?”

Katara sat next to me on the bed, placing her hand over mine. “I was able to heal your wound after you died, but Azula was somehow able to use electricity to restart your heart. Bringing you back to life.”

"I always knew there was a soft side to her." Ty lee commented quietly. She was gazing at the floor in deep thought. Her ever so chipper smile was absent from her expression and instead looked glum and distressed.

"But that doesn't excuse everything she's done," Mai added, louder than Ty Lee, and with more anger and hurt. Her lips were pursed and her eyes narrowed. "Ama, you’re the last person who needs to place your vote in what to do with her. Because someone," she glared at Zuko. "Still hasn't made any definite decisions on whether to do the reasonable thing and put her in an isolated prison or some other absurd idea.”

“I don’t want to do anything drastic just yet,” Zuko spoke with a grumble like he’s explained that a thousand times before. Straightening up in his seat in defense.

“Killing her would be drastic, not throwing her in jail. But then again, it’s not like she doesn’t deserve it.” Toph commented in a mumble.

“How is making Azula pay for her crimes drastic?” Sokka embitterly and loudly wondered. “Not only did she have people murdered, but she also committed crimes against the Fire Nation. Against you, Zuko.”

“Azula didn’t have anyone killed.” I corrected him. Everyone looked at me with worry. To they’re knowledge, Azula ordered for her henchmen to murder my friends and Mulan. And while it was her associate, Suh, who tried to kill me. I was almost positive that Azula didn’t really want anyone dead. “I need to talk to Azula,” I said suddenly, throwing my legs over the side of the bed to get up and leave.

Katara immediately stood up as well, placing her hands on my shoulders to keep me on the bed. “Ama, you need to rest!” She forcefully told me.

“I slept for like 2 days, I don’t need rest.” I countered matter of factly, swiping her hands off my shoulders. I would only admit to myself that my arms ached at the movement. But my stubbornness kept me going and I tried to stand up.

Yet again, my sister forced me to sit down again. “Yes, you do. Your wound might be healed, but we really don’t know how your body is. After all, you were… dead,” She hesitated to say the word. “For a good few minutes.”

“You weren’t like this when Aang woke up after he died.” I pointed out, motioning my hand to her husband and looked over at him. The poor man looked so terrified in his current position. Aang was great at solving problems, being the Avatar and all, but he seemed to have no clue how to help solve this particular debacle between his wife and her headstrong sister. “Sorry to use you as an example, Aang. But your the only other person I know who’s died and came back to life so-”

“Will you stop treating this like dying and coming back to life is something normal.” Katara tensely sucked in a breath and shook her head at me. She may have just exploded right then and there based on how her body shook in frustration and the vein that almost popped out of her forehead.

“Well, it has happened twice in Team Avatar,” I commented, bouncing my brows and shrugging nonchalantly.

Everyone in the room collectively sighed. They were all so in sync I might have thought it was planned. Katara pinched the bridge of her nose and shut her eyes tightly, her other hand resting on her hip. “Snowcone, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut.” I heard Toph sigh deeply. I kept my eyes on my sister, already knowing she had something to say.

"First.” She started, now crossing her arms and giving me a stern look. “Aang was in a coma for weeks in comparison to you waking up after two days. Second. We had Spirit Water. It works and we knew it. We don’t know anything about how the lightning worked or how your body is reacting. You can’t just jump up, go on runs, or in general just use your body like you normally would.”

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened. “I can’t train?” I worried. My breathing was already starting to get irregular and heavy. Beating the absolute shit out of training dummies was my favorite and reliable way to relieve stress. It kept me active and alert. Without it, I was left with what? I didn’t even know.

“Give your body time.” My sister’s voice was comforting and her hands came up to rub the sides of my arms. The simultaneous up and down motion and the small circles she made with her thumb was enough to calm me down before I started to get too emotional. “For now just go on walks, rest more often. Don’t push yourself physically.”

“Fine.” I let out an exasperated sigh and gave my sister a heavy expression. “But, I still need to talk to Azula, though.”

“Why?” Mai wondered dully, but behind her dank tone and her languid face, there was a deep dislike for Azula. Maybe even hatred. I understood why. It was Azula who had manipulated her father to have her brother and many other kids kidnapped. In their childhood, it was Azula who’d tormented her friends.

I definitely still held hatred for the malicious woman. But the other night I saw something else too. A lost woman who had no one to turn to. Guilt was consuming her. So much so that she planned an elaborate suicide attempt. I needed to know more. Especially since she saved my life. “She said something the other night. I just need to know what she meant.” I told them the bare minimum. Because Azula said a lot of things. There were some things she said that were more concerning than others. But overall, her entire plot was loosely lined up. There were gaps that needed to be filled and actions that needed justifications. “After all, if it weren’t for her I wouldn’t even be here right now.”

Toph giggled loudly, shaking her head and resting her forehead on her hand. “If you think Azula is capable of some sort of redemption, you're even more blind than I am.”

Furrowing my brows and crossing my arms over my chest. “I never said that!” And with a light shrug and my eyes softening, I avoided making eye contact with anyone as I focused my gaze at the still-hot tea while I grabbed it off the bedside table. “But perhaps there may some a smidge of hope that-”

“Ama!” Katara interrupted, her eyes staring down at me with concern and her tone a tad bit high-pitched like she was offended by my words. “After everything she’s done in the war, crashing my wedding, she had Mulan killed! She’s also responsible for you dying!”

“She had my brother kidnapped!” Mai added. This time she wasn’t expressionless when she looked at me. Her lips curved down and slightly parted in disgust, her brows curved up like she was puzzled. This may have been one of the few times I’ve seen her express multiple emotions at once.

“Suh attempted murder, not Azula. And it was Azula who saved my life!” I defended the woman who I never thought I’d advocate for. “As for everything she’s done years ago, she was still a teenager. At her age, Zuko was still a bratty and spoiled prince. She just didn’t have the guidance he did with Iroh.” I scanned the room. Each person had their own expression. Whether it be contemplative, like Aang, or irritated, like Mai.

There was only one person who I couldn’t read. Zuko.

The Fire Lord sat at the edge of his seat, back into his hunched over position. His elbows rested on his knees and his chin rested on his intertwined hands. His eyes were kept on me and when I looked over, our eyes met. He didn’t look expressionless or dull. Maybe calm. Maybe hiding disgust. Maybe something else.

My sister's long, tired sigh broke the silence. My eyes tore from Zuko’s to give Katara my attention. “Well, I suppose if you need to talk to Azula, I’m okay with it.” She caved. “But not now. This morning has been draining enough and you need to rest.” I rolled my eyes and huffed at that. But if I argued against her, I don’t know if she’d still clear me to even leave the room. “If everyone else is okay with it, you can go after lunch.”

I looked towards the group with begging, hopeful eyes. “I think it’s a good idea to talk to her.” Aang nodded, giving me a kind smile.

“Fine.” Sokka irritatedly answered, crossing his arms and leaning back into his seat. “I’ll be ready to say ‘I told you so’ when the time comes.”

“Mai?” I shrugged my shoulders curiously at her.

The reserved woman let out a long sigh and her long, black nails tapped the armrest while she rolled her eyes. “Whatever. As long as you’re just talking and not pardoning her for all the crimes she’s committed.”

“Of course not, Mai,” I assured her. I may have been able to give Azula a chance at redemption, but no way was I about to forget everything she’s done. From tracking down Aang and the rest of the team to ruining Katara’s special day, Azula was guilty. Yet despite all of that, I wanted — no — needed an explanation from her. To hear Azula express her intentions in full detail.

Ty Lee jolted out of her seat, her chair made a painfully cringing screech as it rubbed against the floor. “Excuse me for a moment.” She said meekly, avoiding all eye contact while she walked towards the door. Just before stepping out, she looked over her shoulder. “And I think talking to Azula is a great place to start.” She quietly made her input and left the room.

Everyone stared at the closed door in surprise. Ty Lee was a small person with a big personality. To see her act so shy was completely out of character. Something was bothering her. And it had to do with Azula. But what? That was the question. Ty Lee adored the firebender since they were kids. She valued her relationships with others wholeheartedly. But Azula betrayed that friendship long ago. I wondered what Ty Lee was feeling. Seeing her old friend again. It must have taken a toll on her just like on everyone else.

Mai worryingly stood up moments after Ty Lee left. “I’ll go see if she's okay.” She mumbled hastily, walking the steps Ty Lee took out the door.

“Well that was weird.” Toph commented, bouncing her eyebrows and then slouched in her seat. “I suppose you need my blessing now. Sure, go talk to the crazy lady. Tell her ‘Toph sends her regards’ and throw a rock at her for me, would ya?”

I couldn’t help laughing at the thought of chucking a rock at Azula. “Tempting, but I think she’d be less inclined to talk to me if I threw a rock at her.” I replied while my laughter died down.

“Do it after.” Toph shrugged, completely unbothered.

Suki giggled slightly and Sokka snorted a laugh, looking at the ceiling dreamily. “That would be a sight.”

“Let’s refrain from throwing anything at anyone, please.” Katara sighed and rolled her eyes. “Zuko, Suki. We’ve still yet to hear from you guys.”

“You guys know me.” Suki shrugged her shoulders, giving us all a thin smile. “If taking to Azula is the best course of action for the time being, I’m okay with it.”

All eyes were now on Zuko. He kept his eyes on me, rather than paying anyone else any attention. A small smile played on his lips. “Azula is my sister. I know that what she’s done is inexcusable, but I’d like a more in depth explanation from her. So yeah. I think you should go.” His eyes flickered to his hands and then back at me. He wanted to say something else, I knew it. Maybe it was the fact that there were still so many of us in one room or maybe he was still mulling it over. Either way, he held back. And left his words at that.

“Alright then. I guess, it’s settled. Ama talks to Azula later today and a definite decision on what happens to her will come short after.” Katara concluded the conversation. “Did we miss anything? Is there anything else we need to know?” She pondered glancing at everyone.

My lips parted slightly. Do I mention that I bloodbended the other night? Without the full moon? Yes, it was important information, but it still felt so surreal to me. And no one really needed to know about it, right? It’s not like I’d use it ever again. But then again. The rush I felt when I had full control over someone else. It was exhilarating. Made me feel powerful. But I shouldn’t feel that way. It was a horrid thing to do. The other person went through excruciating pain. But I still revealed the feeling I got. Would the others judge me for it? No one would hate me for bloodbending, I knew that much. But for enjoying it…

“Nothing? Okay, good.” Katara spoke before I even had the chance to speak. I let out a relieved sigh. I didn’t have to come clean about anything just yet. “Alright everyone, out. Ama needs to rest.” I rolled my eyes in a playful tone at her overcautious procedures. But I appreciated it deeply.

Zuko took the few steps to the side of the bed, beside me, with a gentle smile. I beamed at him as the tall man leaned down, pressing a short and simple kiss on my lips. “I’ll come by for lunch.” He told me, pulling away from me.

“Would you? I hate eating alone.” My fingers intertwined together and went under my chin as I looked up at him with begging eyes.

He chuckled lightly at me, never letting his eyes leave mine. “Can’t think of anything else I’d rather do. I’ll see you soon.” I could hardly contain my smile at the promise. Walking around the bed, Zuko headed to the door, where everyone else had been watching with wide eyes, smirks, or grins.

Katara’s jaw was dropped, her eyes flickering between Zuko and I as a light blush found my cheeks and the Fire Lord grinned. “Haha! I knew it!” Suki triumphantly punched her fist in the air.

“Next time wait until we leave the room.” I heard Toph grumbled, following Suki out.

Katara’s surprise face morphed, and she now looked at us with amusement. “Maybe a warning next time you guys get back together.” My sister giggled. “Was not expecting that.”

Zuko just shrugged at her and then looked over his shoulder to wink at me before he walked out the door. Aang also chuckled at the scene, but right before he stepped out with everyone else be pause. “Actually.” He mumbled and then looked over at me with his brows slightly furrowed. “Ama, may I talk with you for a minute. Won’t last long.”

“Yeah, of course.” I smiled at him positively. The door closed behind him as he walked over to the stop that Katara spent most of the meeting.

His grey eyes and smile were soft as he looked down at my sitting figure. “I just want to say how much I admire your ability to try and give Azula a chance to change. I know it’s hard given everything she’s done. But it shows a lot of growth on your part.”

“Thank you, Aang.” I nodded appreciatively. “Means a lot coming from you.”

“As the Avatar, I know.” He grinned proudly.

I huffed a laugh and shook my head, “As a part of the family.”

Aang’s face turned crimson. “I’m family?” He goggled, his smile only getting wider.

“Aang.” I chuckled, lightly punching his arm to avoid hurting myself. “You’ve been family for years.”

“Yeah, but now it just means more.” He rugged the back of his neck, still as red as a tomato. “Anyways, I’ll let you get some more rest. And just let me know if you need anyone to talk to. Like you said before, I’m the only one who’s died and come back to life before.”

I bounced my eyebrows at the reminder, giving him a forced, flat smile. “I’ll keep it in mind, Aang.” I told him.

Flashing me one more smile, the Avatar left the room. Leaving me alone. At least, until noon. Biting my bottom lip, I felt my face heat up at the thought of Zuko coming in later for lunch. Our friends just found out we’re back together and we’ve made it pretty clear that our old feelings are back. And while Suh was still out there, she was no longer a part of the equation. There’s nothing stopping us from being together.

.☽☼☾.

Here she is! College is kind of a pain. I really tried to post last week but I got a lot of wok and given that I haven't done schoolwork in months, it's been rough. Let me know what you guys think! I love feedback and constructive criticism. Please don't be shy!

Hang loose, amigos 🤙🏼

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patchofsunlight · 4 years

Text

Backyard Boy | Sokka x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Mordern!AU | Sokka goes out on a date with his best friend, and it goes as perfectly as he longed it to.

REQUEST (by anon): “In my Sokka feels so I thought I’d request! Could be modern or not but the reader would be in the gang and is best friends with Sokka (who has a fat crush on her). One day he asks her to go on a picnic, just the 2 of them, she doesn’t know if it’s a date or not so she asks her gal pals for help getting ready. She and Sokka have fun (piggyback rides, eating food, making eachother laugh) at the end of their date they cuddle, look into eachothers eyes and kiss. Their friends called it! Thank you!💕”

WORD COUNT: 2.6k this is the first thing I’ve ever posted here with less than 5k I’m proud

WARNINGS: yes I made Jin from Ba Sing Se Y/N’s friend. I think there’s one swear word near the end? also just teeth-rotting fluff. a bit of angst if you squint but like just a little. bad editing as usual. kinda rushed? idk

PLAYLIST (songs that help set the ~vibe + songs that inspired me): Backyard Boy by Claire Rosinkranz ; Electric Love by BØRNS, I Do Adore by Mindy Gledhill ; Lucky by Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Caillat.

Hey! I had a lot of fun and smiled a lot while writing this, so I hope you guys like it too! It’s not perfect, but I tried my best. Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you for reading!

(not my gif)

“You know what? Maybe this was a bad idea, Jin. Maybe I got it all wrong. I should just cancel.”

“Absolutely not. If you cancel, I’ll be forced to punch you in the face, and no one wants that.”

“You don’t even have the guts to punch me in the face.”

“True. Well, I’ll just get someone else to do it.”

Y/N smiled nervously at her friend’s words, fidgeting.

Sokka and she had been best friends for a long while. They had met years ago and clicked instantly, falling in pace with each other so easily that “impressive” was a big understatement — friendship at first sight, he called it. And yet Y/N yearned for more, trying miserably to conceal her dazed smiles and flushed cheeks whenever he as much as looked her way. Her feelings were obvious, but she was too afraid to act on them: it was easier to just leave it alone, pretend the pounding of her heart when around him was ignorable, and maintain her dear relationship with pretty boy Sokka secure. Y/N would choose never having her feelings returned over losing him any day of the week, and it was probably for the best.

She couldn’t lose him, she refused to — he was more important than whatever love she gathered in her chest, than letting go of the suffocating confession always lingering on the tip of her tongue, and she simply wouldn’t let herself lose him.

Y/N was finally settling for the friendship and painful longing when the Water Tribe boy came to her during one of the Gaang’s movie nights, scratching his neck shyly and avoiding her stare.

“Hey, Y/N,” his voice was slightly high-pitched and he cleared his throat, blushing lightly, talking quietly so as to not disturb the others around them, “I—I was thinking—maybe we could, I don’t know, hang out? Tomorrow?”

“That sounds great, Sokka. Didn’t Toph want to try that new restaurant that opened near the Jasmine Dragon?” she replied almost absentmindedly, eyes trained on the scene playing on the television.

“No, Y/N, I—I thought—Well, what if it was just the two of us?”

Now that had caught her attention, “oh.”

“Yeah. It’s okay if you don’t want to, I—”

“I’d love to, Sokka.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” she smiled softly, cheeks reddening, and Sokka wondered if she could hear his heart skip a beat inside his chest.

“That’s great. I—” he couldn’t stop his own face from blazing pink, a grin taking over his lips, “I was thinking of a picnic?”

Cue to the present moment, in which Y/N freaked out about misunderstanding Sokka’s words because he had never really called it a date and she had gotten all excited about it as if that’s what it was but what if it wasn’t?

“I don’t know, Jin,” she peeked at her own reflection, noticing how pretty she looked and how flawlessly Jin had styled her hair. Spirits, Y/N had overdone it, hadn’t she? “Maybe he just wanted to spend some time with his best friend and I just projected what I wanted onto that and—”

“Y/N, stop,” the Ba Sing Se girl held her forearms to intercept the frantic movements, “I’m pretty sure he sees you as much more than a friend, okay? You guys have been dancing around each other’s feelings for years now, everyone sees it,” she widened her eyes to emphasize her words, “so stop being crazy and just go meet him! Even if we’re all wrong and he wants nothing to do with you romantically, you can still go and have a good time, right?”

“Right,” Y/N muttered in response, breathing deeply, “right, you’re right. I’m just—I’m just gonna go.”

“Yes! Good luck! It’s gonna be great, I’m sure of it!”

-----

Food, drinks, flowers, extra sweatshirt, the comfy blankets he had stolen from Katara’s apartment, all the courage he could muster, her favorite candy, the blue shirt she had said looked good on him. Yeah, it seemed like he had it all pretty much covered.

Sokka was nervous, yet confident. She had accepted to go on a date with him and he had done the best he could to make sure it would be a lovely afternoon Y/N would absolutely adore. Everything would go as planned and, if he was lucky, he would leave Y/N’s favorite park with a girlfriend.

However, nothing could have prepared him for finally seeing her. She looked as beautiful as always, but there was something about her shy smile and sparkling eyes that made his heart jump around so quickly Sokka thought it might just break through his chest and run towards her.

His best friend walked to him with hands behind her back, endearingly bashful in that old manner that had slowly creeped its way into Sokka’s thoughts and heart. He beamed at her when she reached him, and moved for a hug she gladly returned.

“Hey,” her voice was quiet and shy and it made the Water Tribe boy melt on the spot, “did I make you wait for too long?”

“No, of course not,” Y/N took a step back from the hug and he immediately missed her warmth. Spirits, he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. “Do you want to sit down? Katara helped me make those sandwiches you like.”

Her eyes widened in excitement, quickly remembering how easy it was to be around her best friend and how pointless it was to be shy with him, “yes! Sure!”

Their banter was lighthearted while they ate their sandwiches and sipped on some orange juice, laying on Katara’s soft blanket. He couldn’t help but admire her figure, her smile, her eyes, her voice, tuning out from her anecdote momentarily and simply appreciating her presence. He liked her so much.

Y/N paused when she noticed Sokka’s stare, gaze filled with affection sending chills down her spine. She stared back at him, feeling her face blush, “I feel like I should have brought something,” she complained, touching the candy bar the boy had taken off his backpack and smiling — it was her favorite one. “You put so much thought into this, didn’t you?”

He scratched his neck, embarrassed, “is it too much?”

“No, no!” she was quick to deny, lifting a hand up to touch his upper arm in reassurance. “It’s—it’s kinda charming, really.”

Sokka smirked teasingly, “oh, you think I’m charming?”

“You know I do, dumbass.”

Their eyes met and the Water Tribe boy could feel his whole body tense for being the subject of her attention, heart beating so loud he could hear it by his ear, unable to not ask himself if maybe she could hear it too. She smiled — her hand was still on his upper arm, but she moved it carefully until their fingers brushed. He smiled too, his thumb drawing gentle circles on her palm. As best friends, they had always been very touchy and loving with each other, yet both knew this was different. It was not like their friendly touches and hugs: it was softer, more hesitant, new. And they loved it.

“I’m glad you came,” he declared, finally letting his fingers fall in between hers, “I… I like to be around you.”

Y/N grinned, squeezing his hand lovingly, “I like to be around you too.”

Their small staring contest ended when she took the last bite of the sandwich and got her phone from her purse, turning on some music and positioning the object next to them in the blanket. Sokka grinned at her, aware of how much she just loved to listen to music while doing everyday things — he loved to be included in that little habit, loved to know she felt comfortable enough to let him be a part of it. It was a small gesture, but Y/N had once told him she avoided listening to music around others so as not to be a bother. He loved the fact she didn’t worry about that when next to him.

Spirits, he loved her. He had known it for a while now, yet being with her like this served to set it in stone: Sokka was in love with his best friend, and there were absolutely no doubts about it.

They talked softly over the nice melody, occasionally falling into laughter with crappy jokes and inside references that always got them cackling, fingers unconsciously playing with each other by their sides, finding comfort in the simple but intimate touch.

“Sokka! Listen!” she lit up suddenly, making him shake his head in confusion. Y/N stood up, pulling his hand with her until he did the same. Her eyes shone with agitation while she dragged him until they were standing on the grass, off the blanket.

“What?” his voice was as incredulous as he felt. “What happened?”

“I love this song,” she smiled brightly and his heart skipped a beat at the beautiful sight. The girl slowly but surely positioned his hands on her waist before circling his neck with her arms. “Dance with me, pretty boy.”

Sokka was entirely sure that wasn’t exactly a song you could slow dance to, with the funky rhythm and all, yet he didn’t have it in him to disagree. She swayed from one side to the other in a way that would give Zuko, who was trained in dancing, an attack of sorts, but he still loved it, letting her lead him wherever she wanted to. They danced in silence — Sokka kept admiring her features, watching as she hummed the song’s tune and gazed at the sky behind him. Sunset was nearing closer and the shades of blue were slowly being exchanged for oranges and yellows that she loved almost as much as she loved the boy in front of her. With that thought, she turned her eyes back to him.

“This is nice,” she muttered, content, and he smiled, planting an affectionate kiss on her forehead that killed every coherent idea in her mind, “really nice.”

Sokka snickered, “I agree, pretty girl.”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows and stepped backwards, crossing her arms defensively, cheeks reddening immediately, “don’t call me that.”

“Why not, pretty girl?”

“Because it makes me blush! Stop it”

“But you look so cute when you blush, pretty girl.”

“Stop.”

“Oh, come on, pretty girl.”

“I’m gonna punch you.”

“You could never, pretty girl.”

“You better run. One…”

He laughed out loud and she did her best to ignore both the pinkness to her face and the smile fighting to reach her lips.

“Two…”

Sokka couldn’t stop laughing while he took off, running away from her as fast as possible. His laughter was light and cheerful and her chest fluttered at the sound, extasiated by the fact she was actually responsible for it. Y/N ran after him with a big grin on her face, intent on catching her best friend. Laughing made it harder for him to take deep breaths so it didn’t take long for her to be able to jump on his back, creating an impromptu piggyback ride between the two lovers. Sokka was still wheezing when running with the girl on his back, making her scream in excitement.

He made sure the blanket was right underneath before throwing himself to the ground, bringing her along. She giggled as he turned around so she was laying on his chest, not on his back. He held her tightly in a hug and she rested her head on his shoulder after kissing his neck so softly Sokka was certain his soul momentarily left his body, pulse so accelerated he truly feared a heart attack. They waited for their frantic breaths to calm down, holding each other dearly, entangling their legs together. He could hear her sigh happily next to his ear.

They stayed in that position for long minutes, too stubborn to let go just yet, to give up on the indescribable feeling this type of touch caused them. Never before had Y/N felt this safe, her best friend’s erratic heart beating against her chest, his warm hands keeping her in place so firmly and still so gently — she always knew she had feelings for this boy, but now she couldn’t help but think of how she wouldn’t mind staying by his side forever. She wouldn’t mind listening to his stupid voice forever, wouldn’t mind being next to him forever. That realization was enough to stir her from her spot atop him, moving under his reluctant arms until her forearms supported her upper body and she could lift herself to look at him.

He was so beautiful, and, Spirits, she loved him so much.

Y/N ran her hands through his messy hair, making him hum in delight. She smiled.

“I love you, Sokka. So much.”

He smiled back, heartbeat picking up under her skin, “I love you too, pretty girl. More than I could ever put in words.”

They leaned in at the same time, lips molding together tenderly. She tasted like candy and he revelled in every second of it, bringing a hand to hold her neck as he deepened the kiss — nothing had ever felt so right.

Sokka followed her lips blindly when Y/N distanced herself and she chuckled, pressing an endearing kiss to the tip of his nose before blurting, absolutely embarrassed, “you know, before I came I was freaking out because I thought maybe you asked me out as a friend.”

He laughed and she loved the way his chest rumbled underneath her, “you’re unbelievable! Are you kidding?”

“I’m not! Ask Jin, she wanted to kick my ass because of it.”

“You’re an idiot. I have been in love with you for so long, I thought it was obvious!”

“It probably was, but we both know I’m bad at taking hints.”

“Not just bad, you’re the worst at taking hints.”

“Okay, now you’re overdoing it.”

“Shut up and kiss me again, Y/N.”

“Well, if you insist…”

“I do.”

The girl giggled and smashed her lips to his again, feeling her heart full with happiness and love. She questioned herself why she had been so nervous about this in the first place — Y/N should have known there was no way something could go wrong if she was accompanied by her favorite boy in the whole world.

-----

The phone rang twice before Jin’s voice came on, “hello?”

“Hey, I just got home.”

“How was it? Did you have fun?”

“Well…”

“Oh, no,” she was immediately worried out of her mind, afraid of any bad news her friend could possibly deliver after what was supposed to be a great date with the guy she was in love with, “did something happen?”

“Yeah, kind of,” Y/N bit her lip to hold back a snort, heart not entirely calm yet, excitedly remembering all the sensations Sokka made her feel.

“What, baby? Talk to me.”

“I got a boyfriend.”

One second of silence.

“OH, I FUCKING CALLED IT! I TOLD YOU HE WAS IN LOVE WITH YOU! I TOLD YOU!”

“That’s true.”

“I TOLD YOU IT WAS A DATE!”

“You surely did,” Y/N had a large smile on her face, skin still tingling with the reminder of his touch against it, lips itching to be pressed to his again.

“I love being right,” she could hear the grin in Jin’s words and it made her smile grow ever larger, “now you know to never doubt me, stupid ass.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

that was it!! I hope you liked it!!

ATLA taglist: @bottledcostcowater @lammello @coldlilheart @azucanela @samsmultifandomblogs @officiallydarkgeek @20coldhearts

all taglist: @stfukie

thank you for reading and see you soon!!

#sokka #sokka x reader #sokkagang #sokka x fem!reader #sokka x f!reader #jin from ba sing se #atla #atla x reader #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #avatar #modern au #avatar modern au #atla modern au #sokka modern au #sokka imagine #atla imagine

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thelastspeecher · 4 years

Text

Spirit Touched - Chapter 3: Little Warrior

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 AO3

Holy heck, look at this. A regular update TWICE in a row! Here’s some more smol Zuko for you all. Some smol Zuko and a bit of the Northern Water Tribe.

Again, this fic is inspired by @muffinlance‘s fic Salvage and fanart that @agent-jaselin did of it.

——————————————————————————————

“I hate laundry again,” Toklo muttered as he scrubbed a dirty shirt.

“It was nice to have hot water,” Panuk agreed. Enough time had passed that Toklo was no longer giving Panuk the cold shoulder for not telling him about his brother. Panuk had tried to hide how relieved he was when Toklo finally started up a conversation with him again.

Zuko hadn’t bothered to hide his relief. He’d been the only person Toklo would talk to for a while. Given that most of Toklo’s interactions with him had changed due to his young age, it was obvious the firebender wanted someone, anyone else to be the subject of Toklo’s attention. Panuk looked over at the toddler in question.

Since becoming four years old, Zuko had been unable to heat water or dry clothes. Apparently, those tricks required more skill than someone his age had. He had been relegated to scrubbing again, but after falling into the washtub three times, demoted further. Now, he handed Toklo dirty clothes and Panuk clean clothes.

At least, that’s what Zuko was supposed to be doing. At the moment, his arms were out before him, a tiny flame hovering above his cupped hands.

“I’m working,” Zuko said quickly, noticing Panuk’s eyes on him. The flame disappeared, his arms fell to his side, and he stood. He toddled over to Toklo, took the clean shirt from him, and brought it over to Panuk.

“Why have you been doing that so much?” Panuk asked as he inspected the shirt for holes.

“I’m a firebender. I’m supposed to firebend,” Zuko said in a sulky tone. He went over to the pile of dirty clothes and brought a pair of pants to Toklo.

“Aw, don’t get upset, Zuko,” Toklo said. He patted Zuko’s head, wetting his hair. “We’re just not used to you doing that particular kind of firebending all the time. Is it like meditating?”

“Not really.” Zuko sat down again. He kicked the backs of his heels against the floorboards, seemingly without realizing he was fidgeting. “It’s an exercise in control. One of the first that firebenders learn. I need to make sure I maintain control of my inner fire, even while I’m stuck like this.”

“What sort of other things do little firebenders learn?” Panuk asked curiously. Discovering the shirt to have no holes, he hung it up to dry.

“If you’re a regular firebender, some easy forms to generate fire, but mostly just manipulating fire that already exists.” Zuko scowled. “If you’re Azula, forms used in combat,” he muttered, crossing his arms. Toklo handed him the cleaned shirt. Zuko took it and brought it over to Panuk.

“I wonder if the Chief would let you do any of those forms,” Toklo remarked as Zuko handed him a pair of socks. “I mean, you can’t cause as much damage as you could when you were bigger. Right?”

“I…don’t know,” Zuko said after a moment. He crossed his arms again, his lower lip jutting out in a pout. “I’m certainly not coordinated enough right now to do advanced or intermediate forms. But even beginner forms can produce a lot of flames. Especially if the firebender lacks control.”

“But you have control,” Panuk said.

“Yes.” Zuko looked at his feet. “…For the most part.”

“If you do the forms you mentioned that just involve controlling fire, not making it-” Toklo began. Zuko’s head whipped up. He scowled at both crewmen.

“Why do you want me to do actual firebending forms so badly?” he snapped.

“Watching a baby firebender dancing around the deck would be adorable,” Toklo said. Panuk nodded. Zuko’s scowl deepened.

“But the Chief probably won’t let you practice,” Panuk said. “You’re a little kid now, but we’re still on a very flammable ship.” He thumped the wooden boards with a booted foot for emphasis.

“I’m not a little kid,” Zuko mumbled. His fingers twitched.

“Go run around the deck for a bit,” Panuk instructed.

“No. Why?”

“You’re fidgeting again. The Chief said that you need to run off your extra energy, remember?”

“But-” Zuko started.

“Seal Jerky could use the exercise, too,” Toklo put in. Zuko sighed, but stomped away.

“Smart,” Panuk said with a nod. “Turning into a kid made him even more attached to the dog.” Toklo grinned.

“I have my moments.”

-----

Zuko sat on the deck, idly playing with Seal Jerky as the members of the crew did actual work around him. He’d prefer to join in, but according to Hakoda, none of the tasks were ones he was allowed to do.

“Ahoy, the boat!” a voice called. Zuko’s head jerked up. That voice didn’t come from anyone on the Akhlut. He got to his feet and hurried to the side of the boat. Unfortunately, he was too short to see anything.

“I got you, little prince,” Ranalok said, lifting Zuko and propping him on his hip. Zuko’s instinct to argue angrily against the humiliating moniker was wiped away by what he now saw. A ship, also Water Tribe by the looks of it, approaching.

“Is that…?” Tuluk asked, joining Ranalok and Zuko. Bato came over as well.

“It is,” said Bato. “That’s a ship from the Northern Tribe.” He glanced at Zuko. “Wonder if they’ll have any healers.” He cleared his throat. “Ahoy!” he called back in response. Faint cheering echoed across the water, as the sister tribes rejoiced at reunion.

Hakoda was fetched, and the Akhlut waited eagerly until the ship from their sister tribe was close enough for the boarding planks to be laid across. Zuko got Ranalok to put him down, then hid behind Bato’s legs. He didn’t enjoy giving into childish urges, but at the moment, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself.

The first person to board the Akhlut was an elderly man with a severe face. Zuko peered around Bato’s legs curiously.

“My name is Master Pakku,” the man said, bowing to Hakoda. “Myself and some other members of the Northern Tribe set off to assist in the rebuilding of the South Pole.”

“Chief Hakoda,” Hakoda replied, inclining his head in return. Pakku nodded.

“Your children told me of you.”

“My…”

“Sokka and Katara.”

“You met my son and daughter?” Hakoda asked. Pakku nodded again.

“As well as the Avatar. I’m more than happy to tell you about their stay at the North Pole.”

“Please,” Hakoda said.

“Do you have a cabin where we can speak in private?”

“Yes. Follow me.” Pakku followed Hakoda only a few steps before he caught sight of Zuko watching from behind Bato’s legs. Zuko quickly hid again, but it was too late.

“You have a child on board?” Pakku asked, aghast. “This is a warship, is it not?”

“Nuktuk is a special case,” Hakoda said. Zuko fought back the instinctive scowl at the fake name.

“We found him in a Southern village that had been completely destroyed by the Fire Nation,” Hakoda continued. The lie had been spoken so many times by now, it came out without hesitation. “He was the only survivor. Whatever soldier found him chose not to outright kill him, just wound him. Most likely because he’s, well…” Hakoda turned to Zuko. “Nuktuk, come say hello to Master Pakku.” Reluctantly, Zuko emerged from his hiding spot. He walked over to Pakku and bowed. Pakku crouched down to look more closely at him. Sympathy and understanding sparked in his ice-cold blue eyes.

“Ah. We have some children sired by the Fire Nation brutes, as well,” Pakku said after a moment. He stood. “Why have you not dropped him off at a village to be cared for?”

“We were unable to return to our own villages to have him be cared for by Water Tribe. And given his trauma, we thought it best to not leave him in some Earth Kingdom town.”

“You’re probably right,” Pakku said after a moment. He smiled at Zuko. The smile felt forced and cold. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nuktuk. We have women aboard our fleet who will be more than happy to take care of you.”

“Do you have healers?” Hakoda asked. Pakku nodded. “Excellent. While I speak with Pakku, could someone bring Nuktuk to be looked at by a healer?”

“I think someone would be willing to wrangle the kid,” Bato drawled, eyeing Panuk and Toklo, who just now had come to the deck to see what the commotion was about. Panuk strode over to Zuko and picked him up.

“Of course, Chief,” he said. Hakoda and Pakku disappeared into the chief’s cabin. “Come on, Nuktuk.”

-----

The healers Zuko was brought to were all women, something that befuddled him. Didn’t the Northern Water Tribe have male healers? The Southern Water Tribe did.

Zuko was instructed to remove his outer clothes and then gently placed in a tub of water. He laid back, keeping his breathing steady, hoping against hope that they might find out what was wrong with him. Being a toddler wasn’t something he enjoyed.

“Hmm,” said the woman bending the glowing water in the tub. She’d introduced herself as Yugoda. “Nuktuk, you’re a bender, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Zuko said. Responding to the fake name was humiliating, but he’d become resigned to it at this point.

“You don’t seem to be a waterbender…”

“He’s a firebender,” Panuk said. Yugoda stopped bending. She stared at Panuk. “He’s a, um…” Panuk leaned in to whisper. “War bastard.”

“I figured that out just by looking at him,” Yugoda said dismissively. “We have some at the North Pole as well. But none of them firebenders. They all pass away before their first birthday, once the dark winter starts.”

“…Oh.” Panuk cleared his throat. “Well, Nuktuk’s special.”

“Evidently.” Yugoda resumed bending. Being surrounded by water was harrowing, but somehow, Zuko felt his eyes beginning to close. “Ooh, looks like someone’s due for a nap. Don’t worry, I can finish checking him over while he’s sleeping.” Zuko snapped his eyes open, only for them to drift shut again as he dozed off.

-----

“I’ve never been so glad to pack more than I need,” a voice said. Zuko’s eyes opened. He sat up. “Oh! Hello, Nuktuk!” A young woman entered Zuko’s field of vision. She beamed at him.

“It’s about time you woke up,” said Bato’s voice. Zuko looked over. Bato was sitting nearby, cross-legged. “You slept during the healing session and being carried off the boat and everyone pitching tents and dinner.” Zuko looked around. As he slowly woke up, he could now tell he was in a tent.

“Yugoda said that the healing session might have caused you to sleep deeper and longer than normal,” said the woman. She smiled apologetically. “Sorry.” Zuko’s stomach rumbled. “I’ll go get you something to eat!” The woman dropped the clothes she was holding and left the tent.

“That’s Yuka. She’s got a kid your age back at the North Pole,” Bato explained. “The second she saw you, she insisted on watching you.” Bato nodded at the clothes Yuka had dropped. “And adjusting some of her kid’s clothes to fit you. Just before you woke up, she was telling me how she packed clothes for her kid, only to realize she didn’t need them, since he was staying behind.”

“…I’m getting more clothes?” Zuko asked, deciding to respond to the last thing Bato mentioned.

“Yep. Water Tribe clothes, not the Earth Kingdom stuff we bought.” Bato leaned back. “Hakoda had me watch you, just to make sure Yuka didn’t try to steal you or anything.”

“Would she do that?” Zuko asked quietly. After a moment to think, Bato shook his head.

“Probably not. But better safe than sorry.”

“What were the results of the healing session?” Zuko asked.

“Yugoda’s talking to Hakoda about that right now. Oh, and he wanted me to remind you to be on your best behavior.”

“I always am!” Zuko protested. Bato snorted.

“Sure. But in this case, best behavior means acting like a regular toddler, okay? Don’t say or do anything that would make anyone think you’re something other than a Water Tribe four-year-old,” Bato said. Zuko looked down at his lap. “Not saying anything is an option, if you have no idea how someone your age talks.” Zuko nodded silently.

“I heard you like sea prunes,” Yuka said, entering the tent again with a plate of the aforementioned food. She handed it to Zuko. “Eat up! A growing boy like you needs a full tummy!” Bristling at the cloying and condescending tone, Zuko nevertheless did as he was told.

-----

Yuka worked fast. By the time Zuko finished his dinner, she had finished altering an entire outfit to fit him.

“I can dress him, if you’d like,” she offered. Bato shook his head.

“Nuktuk can dress himself.”

“…Oh.” Yuka deflated. She recovered quickly, beaming at Zuko. “You’re such a smart boy!”

“Would you mind turning away?” Bato asked. “He likes privacy.”

“Oh, of course.” Yuka and Bato turned away, allowing Zuko to dress himself without being watched.

“Done,” Zuko said, once he had pulled on the last article of clothing. Yuka squealed.

“You look so much like my little boy, Kota. Except for your hair…” Yuka patted her lap. “Come here, Nuktuk.” Zuko looked at Bato, who shrugged. Reluctantly, Zuko walked over and sat in Yuka’s lap. “A young warrior like yourself can’t have such messy hair,” Yuka said.

Zuko’s hair had been getting long lately.

“It’ll only take me a second to fix that up for you,” she continued, pulling Zuko’s hair back. “And…done! Now you’ve got a proper warrior’s wolf tail.” Yuka patted Zuko’s head. “No one would be able to tell you weren’t full Water Tribe.”

Something uncomfortable uncurled in Zuko’s stomach. Hakoda popped his head into the tent. He did a double-take at the sight of Zuko in Water Tribe clothes and with a Water Tribe hairstyle, but masked his surprise quickly.

“Bato, Nuktuk, come with me.” Zuko hopped off Yuka’s lap.

“Nuktuk, what do we say?” Bato said, stopping him from leaving the tent. With a soft sigh, Zuko turned to Yuka and bowed.

“Thank you,” he said. Yuka beamed.

“No problem.”

“Now, let’s see what the chief has to say,” Bato said. He took Zuko’s hand and led him out of the tent. The two walked through the sea of tents that had been pitched for the night, allowing the sister tribes to spend time together. The women from the Northern Water Tribe cooed at Zuko as he walked past, commenting on the “little warrior”.

Zuko wasn’t sure whether he preferred “little warrior” or “little prince”.

He and Bato arrived at Hakoda’s tent and entered. Hakoda and Kustaa were waiting for them. Kustaa raised an eyebrow at Zuko.

“I like this new look for you, nephew,” he commented. Zuko flushed. Kustaa patted a spot next to him. Zuko walked over and sat. Bato sat next to Hakoda. “Healer Yugoda told us what she was able to determine from her healing session, as well as what all she healed in you.” Zuko swallowed nervously.

“And?” he asked. Before he could get a response, someone entered the tent. All heads turned to the man stepping inside, Pakku.

“Master Pakku, we were going to talk with Nuktuk in private,” Hakoda said. Pakku sat across from Zuko.

“I know.” His eyes bored into Zuko. Zuko met Pakku’s steely gaze in return. “I wanted to speak with Nuktuk as well. Yugoda just told me that he is spirit touched.”

“We were hoping to tell Nuktuk this ourselves,” Hakoda said firmly. Pakku raised an eyebrow.

“I think he knew he was spirit touched without me saying so.”

“Master Pakku-”

“I received word from an old friend some time ago,” Pakku said, talking over Hakoda. “He informed me that he had lost his nephew at sea.” A chill passed through Zuko. “He was hopeful that his nephew may have been able to save himself; the boy was very stubborn and strong, after all. Though every day that passed, he felt less and less certain. All he could do was pray to the spirits.” Pakku placed his hands in his lap and leaned forward. Zuko sat straight, fighting the instinct to lean back. “He’ll be pleased to find that they stepped in.”

“What are you trying to say?” Hakoda asked. Pakku continued to stare at Zuko.

“You need to contact Iroh, Prince Zuko.” A stark silence fell.

“Master Pakku, this is incredibly-” Hakoda started. Zuko leapt to his feet. His hands, clenched in fists, burst into flame. The fire in the lamp lighting the room surged. Pakku merely straightened, satisfied to have been proven correct.

“How do you know my uncle?” Zuko snarled. He heard Hakoda and Kustaa sigh.

“It’s a very long story, Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“If you insist, Prince Zuko.”

“Just- just Zuko,” Zuko said quietly. The flames wreathing his hands faded. The lamp dimmed, returning to normal. He sat down. “I’m not a prince anymore.”

“Hmm.” Pakku looked Zuko over thoughtfully. “Then what are you?” Zuko looked away. “The women in the camp are calling you a ‘little warrior’. That seems an apt enough description.” Zuko felt his face turn red. “Regardless of your title, you need to write to your uncle.”

“…No,” Zuko whispered. Pakku’s eyes narrowed.

“He is beside himself with grief, boy. He has the right to know you’ve survived, regardless of your own embarrassment over your current situation.”

“I can’t.”

“Either you tell him or I do,” Pakku said firmly. Tears sprung to the corners of Zuko’s eyes. He hurriedly wiped them away, trying desperately to feign a casual air. “Will you write to your uncle, telling him you’ve survived with the help of the spirits?” Zuko shook his head. “Really? You won’t tell your beloved, grieving uncle that you are alive?” Pakku snarled. Hakoda stood.

“Master Pakku. It’s his decision to make, and his decision alone. You may contact his uncle if you feel you can do so without risking lives or safety.” Hakoda gestured for Pakku to stand. Pakku got up. “Please. Let us have our conversation with Zuko in private.” Pakku reluctantly bowed.

“I will write Iroh for you, then, little warrior.” He exited the tent.

-----

“Bato…” Hakoda started.

“I can keep an eye on him,” Bato confirmed. He followed Pakku out. Hakoda turned to Zuko.

“I can’t write to Uncle!” Zuko burst out. The tears he’d been holding back began to stream down his face. Hakoda strode over to the young boy and sat in front of him.

“I understand,” he said softly. Kustaa was patting Zuko on the back, but the gesture wasn’t calming him whatsoever.

“No, you don’t!” Zuko covered his face with his hands. “I- I want to. I miss Uncle. And if I write the letter, then I can cut out the humiliating details. But I can’t write to him. I can’t- I can’t write to anyone!” Kustaa’s gentle pats stopped. He and Hakoda exchanged an uncertain look.

“What do you mean?” Hakoda asked, keeping his voice calm. Zuko pulled his legs to his chest and buried his face in his knees.

“I can write. But only- only some things. And I can’t write it very well. I physically can’t write to Uncle and explain what’s happened to me.” Hakoda nodded slightly, feigning an unperturbed air. This wasn’t good news. It was the opposite. But it was in line with what Yugoda had told him.

“Yugoda told me that the way the spirits touched you disrupted your chi. She felt that it might reduce certain capabilities of yours until you are balanced again.”

“How do I get balanced?” Zuko asked, his voice choked with tears.

“I don’t know. Yugoda could only do so much.” Hakoda thought back to the very first thing the healer had said.

“Maybe if I had been there when he was first burned, I could have done something,” Yugoda said, visibly distraught. “But when one heals, the body is set in that way. It can only be righted by reinjury.”

“What are you referring to?” Hakoda asked.

“The damage caused by his burn. I cannot rid him of that scar, nor restore all abilities of his ear and eye. Nuktuk will have to learn to adapt to his handicap. I’m sorry.”

Hakoda hadn’t realized until then that some part of him hoped a waterbending healer could do something for Zuko’s burn. He had never seen waterbending healing in action; it seemed magical. How could magic like that fail?

But it was for the best. It would only serve to distress Zuko further if he woke up to an unblemished face and unencumbered sight and hearing. Yugoda’s failed attempt to heal the old wound would be kept a secret from the boy.

For now.

“Great.” Zuko raised his head. He wiped away the tears spread across his face. “I was put in water again for no good reason.” Guilt twanged in Hakoda’s heart. Of course the boy was hesitant to be submerged. An adult that barely survived drowning in the ocean would avoid the sea. To a child, it might feel torturous to be submerged in even a small pool for healing. Hakoda hadn’t considered that.

He should have.

“Not quite. She did heal a few injuries that you apparently still had from going overboard,” Kustaa said. “As well as some scrapes and bruises from your time on the Akhlut. The most prominent injury she healed was what she called ‘a rather stubborn concussion’. Once you’ve gotten a full night’s sleep, you should feel much better.”

“…I suppose that’s good,” Zuko said begrudgingly. He rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn.

“You should probably go to bed,” Hakoda said. Zuko yawned. “Little warrior.”

“Don’t call me that,” Zuko muttered.

“Why not? It’s what you are.” Hiding his serious thoughts behind a playful smile, Hakoda flicked the short wolf’s tail Zuko’s hair had been put into. Zuko scowled at him. “You’ll be sleeping in this tent with me tonight.” Hakoda nodded at a corner, where he had put the pile of furs that had become Zuko’s bed while he was a toddler.

“Okay, Chief,” Zuko mumbled. He yawned again. Kustaa stood and pulled Zuko to his feet.

“Come with me. Let’s have you hit the latrines before bed,” the healer said. Zuko nodded. Kustaa exited the tent, Zuko toddling alongside him.

Hakoda let out a tired sigh.

------

Iroh,

I know how you desperately hope that the spirits intervened when your nephew was lost at sea. As such, I am glad to share the news that they did.

During our journey to our sister tribe, we came across a Southern ship. On board was a boy, clearly Fire Nation, with a large burn on the side of his face. Our healer informed me the boy was spirit touched. As a leader of my Tribe, I take care to interact with spirit touched individuals and determine why the spirits intervened in their lives. After speaking with the boy, my suspicions about his identity were confirmed.

Your nephew, Zuko, is alive. The crew of our sister tribe’s ship has taken care of him as though he were their own, and he seems pleased enough to be with them.

Our sister tribe asked that I not give you their location, for their safety. I must acquiesce to their request for the sake of tribal unity. But you may know that they have been traveling along the Earth Kingdom coast. The same coast you were traveling along when Zuko went overboard.

The boy seems very invested in maintaining his dignity. That may be something to keep in mind, should you cross paths with him.

Best,

Pakku

The letter trembled in Iroh’s hands. He stared down at the loosely elegant handwriting of his old friend, unable to believe what he had just read. Zuko…was alive?

“Thank you, spirits,” Iroh whispered, his head bowed. He had been ridden with guilt since the events at the North Pole, when his inaction had resulted in a young woman giving her life to save the Moon Spirit. That guilt, combined with the grief over losing Zuko, had caused him to part ways with the Wani, its crew, and the Fire Nation as a whole. The knowledge that the spirits hadn’t held the incident against his family was humbling.

Starting my own tea shop will have to wait. Iroh tucked the letter into a pocket. …But that doesn’t mean I can’t visit someone else’s. Tracking down Zuko will require the kind of planning I can only get while enjoying a nice ginseng.

#Spirit Touched #ATLA #Zuko #Hakoda #Bato #Pakku #my writing #my stuff #fanfiction #speecher speaks

68 notes · View notes

the-last-cuddlebender · 4 years

Text

Bigger Than the Bad Guys

“Bumi, I am very disappointed in you.” “I know…” “You could have been killed. You deliberately disobeyed me. And what’s worse, you put Kya in danger.”

...Even Auntie Toph had told them to stay away from the bad-place in the city. And Auntie Toph never told them not to do something. Bumi just wanted to be brave like Daddy and make his Mama smile again…

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

A/N: This is exactly what you think it is because f*ck me if DadMufasa!Aang and ToddlerSimba!Bumi in post-atla/pre-tlok are not so wholesome that I damn well might perish.

(very lightly edited because I was in a mood but mehhhh)

Rating: G (W for wholesome)

Words: 4,572

ArchiveOfOurOwn

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

Kya was having second thoughts, and Bumi would be lying if he said he wasn’t, too.

They’d been walking for forever in the almost pitch-black. It was really stinky, too, even by his standards, and the heavy air pressed against him like it was squishing him smaller and smaller as the tunnel got bigger and deeper. The damp stuck to his skin in a greasy film.

He couldn’t count how long they’d been walking—he couldn’t count a lot at all since he didn’t know all his numbers—but it was long enough to make him hungry.

It was also long enough for Daddy’s concerned face and Mama’s teary shouts to become clearer and clearer in his memory. The mind-picture made his chest itch like something was stuck there, and he kept swallowing and itching it like he might be able to dig it out.

It didn’t work. But for Kya, he pretended it did. He tried to walk like Daddy.

He wasn’t second-guessing their mission, of course. That was the utmost priority. Mama and Daddy had been worrying over the bad guys from ‘the underground’ for so, so long…

It made Bumi almost as frustrated as it made him sad.

He didn’t understand for the life of him why their parents didn’t go to ‘the underground’ with Auntie Toph and Uncle Sokka to beat the bad guys up and get it over with.

They were the bravest heroes ever.

And it wasn’t like ‘the underground’ was hard to find.

It was underground.

Duh.

Granted, he and Kya had to go through the old bad-place that Daddy had been helping Auntie Toph ‘clear out’.

Mama had told him—before his and Kya’s planning phase—that they weren't allowed to follow Daddy to his Avatar-work near that place.

Bumi didn’t understand why she was so serious.

Her or Daddy.

Especially Daddy.

The even worse part was that their father had smiled while he made them promise not to go to the bad-place. Then he had taken them for ice-cream, and Mama let them jump in the deep end of the oasis to practice their swimming.

Then Daddy paced throughout the night, and Bumi heard through his door (if he pressed his ear so hard it hurt) that Mama stayed up with him and talked with him in the gentle way she did when he or Kya had nightmares.

It made Bumi’s heart hurt in the ache-y way his lungs did when Kya dunked him in the water for too long and got in trouble for it.

He didn’t want Daddy and Mama to hide frowns with fake smiles anymore.

They were being brave, though. They always were.

‘The underground’ was a really, really big bad, after all.

But Bumi and Kya could be brave, too.

And their mission would help their parents way more than the extra hugs and kisses they’ve been giving them.

Maybe, after he and Kya return as brave heroes, Daddy and Mama will sleep instead of fidget and whisper when he and Kya curl in bed with them.

Bumi sighed. Kya held his arm a bit tighter. His sister didn’t care what people thought; if she was scared, she showed it.

Bumi wouldn’t admit that he was, though. Mama and Daddy wouldn’t. Especially not to Kya. Especially especially when his Sissy held his arm with both hands as their torch burned to its wick. He was teetering on a razor’s edge between thrill and terror, and he made himself smile at her even when his stomach felt all float-y.

Because even Auntie Toph had told them to stay away from the bad-place. And Auntie Toph never told them not to do something.

But Bumi could be brave like her, too. And Uncle Sokka.

He will be.

He and Kya were brave just like Daddy and Mama.

Plus, Bumi had his new knife that Uncle Zuko gave him for his birthday, so he was prepared for anything.

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

Bumi lost his knife and their torch as soon as he saw the first bad guy. His hands shook so much—the bad guy was so big—that he dropped them.

Kya could at least waterbend. He saw her (try to) push and pull the water with Mama the last time they swam in the deep end of the oasis.

If there was any water down here, then maybe she could have made them slip.

They ran. They hit a dead end. Bumi’s limbs were long enough. He could climb up into the next tunnel.

His sister’s weren’t. Kya’s whimpered panting—her lungs weren’t as big as his, either—broke free her first sob as she clawed the wall and kept slipping down.

She looked at him like Mama had when she watched him fall off the roof without knowing until she raced to the bottom that Daddy was there to catch him.

It made his insides turn to slush, and Kya’s small cry put daggers in his lungs.

His Sissy was terrified.

Bumi was almost just as scared, but he jumped back to the enemy-laden ground and glared like he was about to beat their butts all at once, just like Mama did in the stories Auntie Toph told them when their parents weren’t watching.

His Sissy’s tight grip on the bottom of his shirt—she had only ever held on to Daddy’s robes, and only if she was really, really scared—gave Bumi the strength to hold on to the last string holding his shaking limbs together.

His sister was smaller than him. He would not leave her, and he would not let the bad guys hurt her.

No matter how big the fourth bad guy was.

Or the eighth.

Or the twelfth.

Kya’s back hit the wall before Bumi’s did, and she slid to the ground. Bumi stood in front of her. The bad guys painted the wall with the inky cloaks of their shadows. Bumi was a broken leaf between his sister and a pack of devils who jeered new no-no words that, even though he didn’t know what they meant, by the way they said them to his Sissy gave him the feeling that even Auntie Toph wouldn’t use them.

The bad guys stepped closer. Bumi tried to stand like Daddy did a year ago when the other bad man and broke a hole through Kya’s wall and hurt Mama.

Daddy had stood over all of them in the middle of a storm of stone and fire and arrows and didn’t move an inch. He broke apart boulder after fireball like they were nothing as they waited for Auntie Toph and Uncle Sokka to get there.

Bumi’s legs shook, and he sucked in a breath and held it like maybe the air would keep him afloat and on his feet when his legs gave out.

Auntie Toph and Uncle Sokka weren’t coming this time.

Or Daddy and Mama.

Bumi and Kya were alone.

Bumi’s heart raced so fast that it felt like it was vibrating more than it was beating. He stopped breathing a while ago. His lungs were shriveling up and hiding in his throat like they were even scared-er than his Sissy.

Kya was crying on her knees behind him. She was shaking, too—he felt it from where she grasped his calf.

One of the bad guys had grabbed her arm the first time they cornered them. Bumi had bitten him and ran as far as he could while he dragged Kya behind him.

Now the bad guy was earthbending a boulder the size of Bumi six-times-over, and they all glared at him and his Sissy with smiles that were hungry to kill them.

They were big. So, so much bigger than him. Bumi barely reached his head to their mid-thigh on his tip-toes.

He was small.

Too small.

Bumi wanted to cry. His eyes did, too. They were hot and sting-y, and tears made his picture of the bad guys all blurry.

He couldn’t cry. He made a vow with Uncle Sokka not to cry unless he deserved it.

Kya was crying because she was hurt.

He had gotten them into this mess. He had no right to free himself of the sea-prune-sized sob choking him.

Bumi bared his teeth. His voice broke, but he didn’t let his tears fall.

“S-Stay away! I-I—‘M w-wa’rn’ yous!”

Kya held onto him tighter like she was deluded by his voice into some feeling of reassurance.

“Or what? You gonna throw dirt at us?”

“Daddy’s not here to save you, brat.”

Bumi swallowed. He would have been sick if he had eaten lunch.

One of the bad guys had his knife. He reached to grab one of them, and Bumi used the last of his strength to move in front of him and puff out his chest.

He still didn’t cry.

The wall adjacent exploded in a shower of earth.

The howling boom and hiss of all elements clashing were terrifying enough to bring more tears to Bumi’s eyes yet familiar enough to keep him from crying.

Bumi threw himself over his little sister. Kya held him so tight it hurt. Dirt and rocks hit his back, and heat threatened to blister his skin even through his clothes. His Sissy screamed, and it sounded like she was calling for Mama.

He held Kya tight. He closed his eyes even tighter.

He didn’t open them even when Daddy, out of breath and smelling of ash and earth, slid to his knees before them and herded his whimpering, shivering children into the protective circle of his arms with soft coos and gentle assurances.

Bumi knew it was him; he heard the smile in his voice.

Daddy’s shadow swallowed them both like a too-big cloak. He patted them down from head to toe, muttering to himself between kisses to their faces and dozens of jumbled concerns before relaxing, a mountain leaving his shoulders as he sagged over them. He smiled like he might cry—Bumi felt it from where Daddy pressed his trembling lips against his cheek.

Daddy rubbed their backs and kissed their foreheads as he gently, but urgently, pressed between their shoulders to encourage them to his chest. Bumi and Kya were too filled with panicked goo to move on their own, otherwise.

Daddy crouched closer, as unmoving and safe as an iron shield but inviting like his smile would blind anyone who would do them harm. He curled deeper on his knees and bent around so he had to look up at them. He made himself small, like them, and he was smiling that smile that drove instinct to herd themselves into his arms.

Bumi still hadn’t opened his eyes, though. He heard the smile in Daddy’s voice. It was safe.

Bumi clutched his father’s robes, and he breathed again. Daddy was safe. His scent and his voice and his touch wrapped them in a bubble that unwound their grip on each other and massaged away the primal fear that had them flinching wherever he had first touched them. Now they leaned into him like they were trapped in a frozen shell and his hands were torches. Even the air around Daddy bled comfort into them; it was as potent as the sleepy-shots Mama used to help people feel better.

Bumi and Kya latched onto him like they were built to be there, and Daddy cradled them like he was made to hold them.

Bumi melted against his chest like he was sinking into warm water. Daddy’s arms were stronger than the ones that had hurt his Sissy.

Daddy was bigger than the bad guys.

He was stronger and braver, too.

He was their hero.

Bumi fisted Daddy’s robes so tightly that his hands shook and his fingers tingle. Beside him, Kya shook even harder and hiccuped little sounds that made his chest hurt and his arms itch to hug her.

Bumi still hadn’t opened his eyes. He didn’t want to open them and be in front of the bad guys again. He didn’t want to open them and suddenly be out of Daddy’s arms.

He held his father tight. Daddy held him even tighter.

Bumi didn’t open his eyes even when he smelled fresh air and heard the sounds of outside again. He tasted metal, sharp and cold, before he heard Auntie Toph. She was yelling so many no-no words that it made him cringe, and metal clanked as dozens of police-people ran by and around them.

Uncle Sokka yelled his relief and then an alert, and Mama’s voice was far away and then in his ear before Bumi took his next breath.

Her warmth hit his back and wrapped around him in a force heavier and tighter than an iron net. Mama hugged Daddy and pressed Bumi and Kya between them so snugly that all Bumi knew in that moment was his Mama, his Daddy, his Sissy, and the warm-fuzzy feeling that bubbled under his skin and felt like home.

He and Sissy grabbed tight handfuls of her dress. Mama grabbed them even tighter.

Her soft coos and million kisses lassoed his heart and broke it tame. Daddy rubbed his back and scratched his beard on his neck as he kissed his hair, Mama’s face, and Kya’s hair over and over again.

Daddy was big enough to hug them all. His voice was soft, even for him. It wound around Bumi like a warm breeze on a cold day.

Bumi kept his eyes closed. He tried to focus on Mama’s heartbeat. It was fast and light like Momo’s. Her face was wet when it pressed to his, and he tasted salt when he kissed her cheek on instinct.

Mama’s arms were comforting. Daddy’s arms were safe. Bumi wanted to have both of them again, like when Mama first appeared.

Kya whimpered. He got his wish.

He wished he hadn’t.

His Sissy was hurt.

Daddy’s arms were shaking when they held him again. His lap was warm as they rode Appa home.

Bumi’s eyes were still closed.

He only opened them when he tripped.

Mama tried to help him up, but Daddy lifted him to his feet before she could.

Bumi looked up and wished he hadn’t.

Mama was sad.

She looked hurt.

Sissy was in her arms—she looked a bit better, but she held her arm close to her chest and bit the inside of her cheek.

She was hurt, too.

Daddy’s hand was on his back and between his shoulders when Bumi could hear again.

“Katara, take Kya home.”

Bumi flinched. He’d never heard Daddy talk like that. His voice was hard and flat and forced like a piece of measured timber sawed out of the corpse of an ancient tree.

“Aang, sweetie, maybe right now isn’t—”

“Katara.” The hand on his back urged his shoulders to turn away from Mama. “Please. Take Kya home.” His voice lowered to something even more foreign. “I need to teach our son a lesson.”

His tone struck Bumi like a whip. Mama didn’t say anything. It was quiet for a while. Bumi wished he could see her, but he couldn’t think enough to even move his eyes off of the grass and setting sun that framed the ocean opposite the city.

The soft crunches as Mama walked away made the silence even heavier. The hand on his back didn’t move until she was far beyond the courtyard.

Bumi wished it wasn’t so quiet. His Daddy stood behind him, and the awareness of where he stood increased gravity ten-fold.

His father ground his teeth so hard that Bumi heard it, and he exhaled a breath that burned the air and poured smoke over the back of Bumi’s tongue.

The hand left his back. Daddy walked ahead of him. His shoulders were raised like a bristling tigerdillo, and waves of heat leaking from him and rolled over and into Bumi like thick licks of lava.

Daddy clenched his jaw and didn’t look at him.

The Avatar was mad.

“Bumi.”

His spoken name wound around him and tugged him along like a leash. The sky was pinker now, bordering on purple. Daddy’s face was bordering on red.

Bumi swallowed, but his throat wouldn’t move. The wind whipped around them and bent the tall grasses in an amber-green wave. It was cold. He hugged himself, wishing for his parents’ arms again.

The wind blew harder as they neared the cliff. Bumi slowed down. He had to lean into the wind. He had to fight it.

Daddy was unmovable even when a violent gust hit them. He didn’t even break his stride. Bumi had to crouch to keep from being blown over.

He looked up. Daddy was so much bigger than he was.

Bumi’s chest rang hollow, and something cold blossomed from his stomach and crawled into his chest like creeping fingers of ice. It curled around his heart in an unforgiving fist.

His limbs ached, filled with frozen webs. Even his breath came out cold from his closing airway.

His Daddy was a hero.

Bumi couldn’t protect his own Sissy.

“Bumi.”

Bumi flinched. He hugged himself tighter and walked towards his father, who was sitting facing the ocean with his arms and legs crossed.

Bumi swallowed. His throat burned. He crept around Daddy, passing through his shadow, to curl up beside him. The few inches between them yawned like a few oceans.

He hugged his knees and tried to think he was bigger than he was, but he had to tilt his head all the way vertical to see his father.

Daddy was tense like a loaded bow and drawn to his full sitting-height like he was ready to jump up into a fight. His arms were still crossed, but his face wasn’t bordering on red anymore. The sky had settled on a navy velvet, and Daddy’s eyes looked up instead of at him.

But then he looked down.

And Bumi wished he hadn’t.

He wished his father would have kept looking at the sky.

He wished his father would have stayed angry at him.

Because the laughter and warmth in Daddy’s eyes were muted by something sad and caged behind something upset. A frown had moved in where his smile should be—where it always was.

The hot coal in Bumi’s throat made his eyes wet, and it threatened to sear a hole in his neck.

“Bumi, I am very disappointed in you.”

His words were arrows, and Bumi hugged his legs so hard that the bony bits of his knees hurt his chest.

“I know…”

“You could have been killed.” Daddy got louder, and his words bellied something like he was choking on a hot coal, too. “You deliberately disobeyed me. And what’s worse, you put Kya in danger.”

Bumi’s tummy flipped. The night had swallowed up the day, and his father’s shadow blended into the inky night that covered Bumi and all that he saw and knew.

“I—I-I wa’...w-wa’ ju’t—” Bumi’s lip trembled, and he wiped his eyes in hurried swipes, rushing to speak his defense before Daddy yelled at him.

Daddy had never yelled before.

But Daddy had never been this angry before.

Bumi wanted to wake up already so he could sneak into Mama’s bed and fall asleep in his parents’ arms.

The Daddy beside him curled over, just a bit, making himself smaller. He waited for Bumi to catch his breath and his words; though the searing heat of his stare burned his head, his shoulders, and everywhere else he looked.

Bumi’s voice was little more than a gasp, a leak of air from a broken pipe.

“I-I was just trying to be brave like you.”

Daddy uncrossed his arms. He looked down at him in every sense and meaning of the words. He was so much bigger than Bumi. His eyes looked down at him as distant and as powerful as the stars beyond him.

“I’m only brave when I have to be. Bumi...” Daddy sighed, and he suddenly looked like he had been beaten to within an inch of his life and slapped into manacles heavier than mountains. Bumi looked away. Daddy’s eyes were still upset and sad, and the gentle bass that leaked into his voice—the deep sound that cooed him after bad dreams and whispered their inside jokes behind Mama’s back—as he said his name nearly made Bumi break his warrior-vow to Uncle Sokka to never to cry unless he deserved to. “...Bumi, being brave doesn’t mean you go looking for trouble.”

Bumi looked up and couldn’t look away. Daddy’s eyes had locked onto his own and held him like a too-tight hug.

Bumi couldn’t curl up anymore, either. His knees were bruising his chest.

He wished so badly to crawl into his father’s arms.

“B-But you’re not scared of anything.”

Daddy hesitated. Bumi didn’t notice that the wind had long since died until his father’s voice became quiet. It was hardly above a whisper.

“...I was today.”

Bumi hesitated, too. He looked at his father, who had curled over a bit more and made himself a bit smaller. Their eyes were almost on the same level. The tension in Daddy’s shoulders unwound into an almost relaxed position, and Bumi would have thought they were just sitting there and talking like they always did if not for the lack of smile on Daddy’s face.

“You...You were?”

Bumi’s voice cracked, and the small break of his words shattered the cage holding Daddy’s eyes prisoner. They were clear grey and rippled with a thousand unspoken words.

Bumi almost cried for him.

“Yes.” His father bent down some more. The hand Bumi hadn’t realized had been wrapping behind him gently curled around his shoulders. His father kissed his hair. He held there for a few seconds while he rubbed his arm.

Bumi unwound and leaned into the touch on instinct; his father lifted him into his lap. He was small, but Daddy was big, and Bumi grinned and hugged his father’s light-y-blue-arrowed arms as they pulled him close to his chest. Daddy curled over him like he was trying to mold himself into armor around him.

His warm voice was soft and small, like Bumi, and rumbled like smooth stones against Bumi’s back when he spoke. “...I thought I might lose you.”

“Oh…I’m...’M sorry, Daddy...”

Bumi dared to glance at his father. Sunshine curled across Daddy’s face in a small grin that called Bumi’s lopsided one out to greet it. His Daddy smiled wider. Grey eyes softened to a wordless ‘I love you’. He touched his brow to his and held him even tighter.

Bumi’s squirmed like he was tickled. He fiddled with one of his father’s hands like it was taking the place of his habit of twisting his shirt. Their grins fed off of each other until they were both smiling stupidly. A giggle bubbled into Bumi’s next breath and shyly bled into his words. “I guess even Daddys get scared, huh?”

“Mhm.”

Bumi sank dramatically into his father’s robes and hugged tighter the arms that were curled around him like shields. “But ya know what?” he whispered, glancing about like he was hiding behind enemy lines.

Daddy looked around just as dramatically, matching Bumi’s theatrics step-for-step like he always did. (No one else ever did, and no one else ever could.) “What?” he whispered back.

“I bet those bad guys were even scared-er.”

His father laughed, and color came back to Bumi’s world. The night felt less like a shadow and more like a blanket, especially when Daddy pulled him closer and smiled like playing with Bumi would be the only thing that would ever matter.

“That’s because nobody messes with your dad.” He laughed evilly. “C’mere, you.”

Daddy roughed his already roughed hair, but Bumi wiggled away. They were both on their feet, and the chase was on. His father’s laughter was loud and airy like happy thunder, and Bumi’s choppy giggles raced after him like sheets of rain.

The cold night became so bright with his Daddy’s smile and so warm with his father’s hugs that Bumi thought he might cry without breaking his warrior-vow to Uncle Sokka.

“Gotcha!”

And even though his Daddy was bigger—much bigger—Bumi somehow managed to catch him. He rolled him over with his little arms and sat on his shoulders like a lionbear over its kill.

They laughed some more. They laughed until it hurt to breathe, and they kept laughing until it ached to move their faces into anything but a smile.

Bumi hugged his father’s neck and smiled like accidents could never happen. He forgot why he was ever upset. There was no reason to be upset—to ever be upset.

He had his Daddy.

Bumi was small, but his Daddy was big.

And when Daddy was with him, Bumi didn’t feel small.

He felt big.

He felt bigger than the bad guys.

And besides, he had won! He had captured the Avatar and winded an airbender!

He couldn’t wait to tell Mama and Kya and everyone else this story.

“Hey, Daddy?”

Daddy caught his breath, and Bumi could hear his smile. “Mhm?”

Bumi plopped his head on his father’s and hugged around his chin. His beard scratched his hands in a familiar way. “We’re pals, right?”

Gentle thunder rumbled beneath him. “Right.”

“And we’ll always be together, right?”

His father hesitated again.

Daddy pushed up on his arms, making Bumi slide down his back. A gentle hand reached around and found the scruff of his coat, and Bumi, all-to-familiar with this maneuver of theirs, climbed around his father’s torso while Daddy sat cross-legged again. He curled his arms around his neck and tried to wind his legs around him even though they were too short to reach across his chest, let alone meet up behind his back. He was too small.

But Daddy held him close and held him up, all with one arm. His free hand rubbed his back with a few swirling scratches before hugging him close.

Bumi hugged him even closer. He pressed his face into his father’s neck and smiled into the robes that smelled like home and felt safer than a steel wall. Bumi heard his heart just like he’d heard Mama’s heartbeat earlier. Daddy’s was slower and harder, though. Like Appa’s.

“Bumi, let me tell you something that Gya—that my father once told me.” He nudged his head up. They both looked up at the sky. “Look at the stars. The bravest heroes of the past—like Mama’s mama and Uncle Zuko’s uncle—look down on us from those stars.”

“Really?” Bumi shifted his weight and held on tighter.

“Yes.”

Bumi looked at the shiny brave people. He liked the stars before. They were pretty.

Now he loved them. They were safe.

And they were always there.

They would always be there.

...But they were also so far away.

“So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those brave heroes will always be there to guide you…” Daddy held him tighter and gently rocked them.

Bumi’s eyes drooped. Daddy’s breaths were slow and strong and lifted him against his chest like the beats of large wings.

He smiled through his yawn.

Something sad moved into where the smile in Aang’s voice should be.

He kissed his son’s hair again.

“...and so will I.”

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

Hope you enjoyed!:D

~~~~~EL FIN~~~~~

19 notes · View notes

soopersara · 4 years

Text

@thecrazyone42 I’m sorry I can’t answer your original ask because Tumblr is a hungry little jerk and ate it, but I finally got around to finishing this request for you!

Secret

AO3 | FFN

Prompt #25 from this list, originally Day 4 of Zutara Week 2011

Katara doesn’t want to let anyone know that she’s been having trouble with nightmares, and when Zuko finds out on his own, she struggles to accept his help.

⁂

She paces from one end of the terrace to the other, heart in her throat. She is the strong one. She is the one they all rely on.

She can’t go back to them.

Not yet.

Not when it’s all so fresh, when she can still hear the screams, when she can still see Aang plummeting to the ground, lifeless. Not when closing her eyes, even for a second, brings it all rushing back.

It’s better for all of them this way. If she tries to sleep, the dreams will come back. If the dreams come back, she might wake them up. It’s too great a risk. The war is drawing to a close, and if they mean to win, they all need their rest.

It’s better if Katara faces this alone.

She keeps pacing. East to west and back again, measured steps and measured breaths. Twenty times, thirty, fifty—she loses count every time her mind twists the shadows into the shapes of her friends, her family in danger again.

She can do this. She can handle this alone, she has to.

Her throat stays tight and her eyes burn. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. She’s checked on them all, she knows that they’re safe, but her pulse refuses to calm and her eyes continue playing tricks with the darkness, turning shadows into scenery and glints of blue-gray moonlight into lightning.

A shadow shifts, and Katara tells herself that it’s just another cruel trick of her mind, but this shadow is different. This shadow speaks.

“I don’t want your sympathy.” The words tear out of her, hot and bitter. “I don’t need your help.”

Though he is little more than a pale smudge in the dark, Zuko manages to look awkward when he runs a hand through his hair. “I—if you don’t want to talk to me, I can get one of the others.” The usual harsh edge of his tone is softened somewhat by fatigue and he comes a little closer. “The Avatar or your brother—”

“No. I’m fine on my own.” She folds her arms tight and plants her feet. She would keep pacing, but she knows better than to turn her back on him.

“Okay.” His rasp is almost gentle, and this time, he doesn’t come any closer. He hovers at the threshold of the terrace, half-lit by the moonlight.

“I’m fine,” she repeats. Her eyes still prickle and burn and a knot of dread settles in the center of her chest when her mind replays the dream again, but she is fine. “They all need their rest. I’m not going to bother the others over something this—this stupid.”

“You do this a lot, don’t you?” It isn’t a question, not really. Zuko’s gaze is steady, his expression unchanging.

Katara bristles anyway. “I do what a lot?”

“You don’t let the others know how much weight you’re carrying on your own.” His voice is soft as ever and he looks away.

She wishes it weren’t. Arguing with him, hating him is easier than whatever this is. “I do what I need to do. They need me to be strong, so I—”

“You pretend that you’re okay because the moment you stop, everything else falls apart,” Zuko finishes for her. Silence hangs between them for a moment before his eyes widen and he flushes a shade darker. He meets her gaze again. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

A harsh laugh claws its way out of her throat and she perches on a piece of a fallen column. She hates how easily he reads her, how he sees the depths she keeps hidden from all the others. As though the softness she saw in Ba Sing Se has been there all along.

“It’s your fault anyway.” Katara gives him a look fit to turn his blood to ice. “I wouldn’t be having nightmares about Ba Sing Se if you hadn't—” She breaks off. If he hadn’t offered her that threadbare truce. If he hadn’t been kind enough to convince her. If he hadn’t changed his mind and let his sister steal Aang’s final breath away.

Katara takes a deep breath. It’s okay now, she reminds herself. Aang is alive and safe and healthy, sleeping in the next room. They’re all safe. He doesn’t change that. She won’t let him.

Zuko steps a little farther onto the moonlit terrace and lowers himself onto what might have once been the base of a statue.

“In that case,” he rasps, “Maybe I should be the one losing sleep over it.”

For an instant, Katara agrees. This is his fault. He should be the one to fix it. But she sees that look in his eyes, that stupid, almost-sincere look, and she scoffs.

“Don’t act like you care.”

“I—” He stops himself mid-protest and something almost like sorrow flashes across his face. He rubs the back of his neck before he begins again, a little slower. “I want us to win this war. We can’t do that if we’re not all at our best.” His eyes, faded almost to silver in the faint light, pierce her. “I know how important you are. Without you—without you, we don’t stand a chance.”

An uncomfortable sensation settles in her stomach and she frowns. A small, nagging part of her thinks that he might have a point. A more irritating, insidious part thinks that he might even be talking about her rather than the endless support she lends the others.

“So—what? You want me to tell you all about my nightmares?”

Zuko nods. “If it helps.”

Katara takes a deep breath. The last thing she wants is to hand her secrets over to Zuko. He doesn’t deserve them. He doesn’t deserve her trust.

But she is tired, so unbelievably tired, and every time she closes her eyes, the dream comes flooding back. She can’t go on like this forever.

Her brow hardens into a scowl. “This doesn’t mean that I trust you.”

“I know.”

Another slow breath.

“I was in the catacombs again,” she begins, staring into empty darkness. “Fighting against Azula and the Dai Li—”

⁂

The next morning, she catches him watching her. While she serves breakfast to the group, his eyes follow her, even as he tends the cooking fire and serves the tea. Katara straightens her spine and tries to ignore him. He knows about her nightmares, but that means nothing. They aren’t friends. The secret he holds for her doesn’t change that.

By midday, even Sokka seems to notice the weight of their silence. He brandishes Space Sword and swipes at the air between them.

“Stop it, Sokka,” she tells him. “No swords around the cooking fire.”

Sokka waves Space Sword again. “Not a chance. Me and Swordy are doing a very important scientific study.”

Zuko’s sigh sounds nearly as irritated as she feels. “What kind of study involves waving that thing around like an idiot?” Zuko grabs Space Sword by the hilt and rams it back into its scabbard.

Sokka yelps and twists out of the way. “For your information,” he says loftily. “I wanted to find out if the tension between you two was actually thick enough to cut.”

Toph cackles and Sokka folds his arms, looking pleased with himself.

“Maybe there wouldn't be any tension if you all hadn’t decided to invite the enemy into our camp.” Katara levels a glare at Zuko and catches a glimpse of the same unreadable expression he’s been giving her all morning.

“Yeah, yeah, we all know what your problem is, Sugar.” Toph waves a dismissive hand in the air. “You’ve made that pretty clear. I want to know what’s going on with Princey-Pants.”

Zuko grunts at the nickname. Either he likes that one better than the others, or he’s becoming accustomed to Toph’s never-ending supply of them. “Not enough sleep.”

Katara expects him to go on, to explain everything, to claim credit for his flimsy “help"—anything to prove that his presence is worthwhile—but he stops there.

“Awwww, Hotpants misses his nice, fluffy royal bed.” Toph pulls her finger out of her nose and flicks what comes out into the fire.

Zuko’s fiery gaze flicks toward Katara, but his expression doesn’t change, and he turns back to Toph just as quickly. “More like I can’t stand the snoring. Seriously, you all put my uncle to shame, and that's saying something.”

Sokka lets out a stream of creative, high-pitched protests, and Toph cackles some more, her small face scrunching into a mess of gleeful creases. But Zuko doesn’t smile, and his gaze finds its way back to Katara once again.

⁂

“Katara?”

She isn’t surprised by his almost noiseless approach. She scowls at the ground, knees pulled to her chest. Why does it have to be him? Out of all the people who could have taken an interest in her nightmares, Zuko is her last choice by far. Too bad that doesn’t seem to dissuade him.

He pauses a few strides away and shifts his weight uncomfortably. “Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?”

Katara scoffs and swipes a hand over her eyes. “Great guess, genius. How did you figure that out?”

She peeks up long enough to see his forehead crease and his brow furrow. But he doesn’t take her bait—he’s good at that. Or getting better, at least. She wishes he weren’t.

Zuko rubs the back of his neck. “Do—do you want to talk about it?”

She shrinks into herself even further. This time is even worse than the last. The moon is nearly full, and she can feel its power in her veins, calling her the same way it did that night with Hama. A bitter laugh forces its way up.

“Don’t strain yourself, Zuko. This one didn’t have anything to do with you, so you can go back to sleep with a clean conscience tonight.”

Zuko is quiet for a moment before she hears him move. She looks up, expecting him to leave, but instead he slides down against the wall, sitting a few arms’ lengths away. He doesn’t speak. He doesn’t watch her, he just sits alongside her, staring into the darkness and waiting.

The silence hangs heavy between them and Katara fidgets with the hem of her tunic. The darkness isn’t quite so unbearable when there is someone else with her. Even if it’s him. Even if it’s still too quiet.

She stares straight ahead and tries to count her pulse, but it’s too quick, and she can’t focus with the moon heightening both her bending and her senses. She can feel every drop of water, even the ones she wishes were still invisible. She can feel Zuko, the blood in his veins, his steady pulse, his even breaths. It calls out to her—she could take hold of his blood if she wanted and squeeze—

She jolts back to reality with a gasp, and Zuko leans forward, concern written across his face.

Katara lets out a shuddering breath. This is worse than last time. So much worse. If she keeps it bottled up, there is no telling who she might hurt.

“Do you know how much of the human body is made up of water?” she asks.

Zuko looks surprised and takes a moment to school his expression back to normal. “I guess I’ve never thought about it before.”

She shakes her head. “Nobody does. I mean, I always knew. But I never really—knew. Not like this.” Her hands tighten into fists. “I couldn’t feel it before. And now I can’t make it stop.”

Zuko doesn’t speak, doesn’t seem to react. He is quiet and watchful, and eventually, it is enough to pull out the words Katara has been holding back.

She tells him about the spooky night in the forest and how Hama frightened them at first, then took them in. She tells him about their discovery in the attic and how Hama took Katara on as a student. How Katara was elated to learn the bending traditions of her own tribe. How everything seemed perfect until the awful moment when nothing was right anymore.

She watches Zuko for a reaction, expecting shock and horror on his face. She is not disappointed. But when Katara tells him how she took hold of the old woman’s veins and brought her to her knees to keep the boys alive, he doesn’t leave despite his stricken expression. Instead, he leans forward.

“Are you okay?”

Katara swipes at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Perfect. Thanks so much for asking.”

Zuko frowns. “I know you’re not.”

“Then why ask?”

Zuko scratches behind his scarred ear and shrugs. “Isn’t that just what people say?” He sighs. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”

“You’re really not.” Katara takes a steadying breath and stares down the empty corridor. “You’re probably scared that I’ll bloodbend you off the cliff by accident or something.”

“No.” His voice is quiet, almost gentle. “I don’t think you could ever do something like that by accident.”

She freezes. She is so used to—so sick of—the others telling her that she would never hurt them. That she could never cause any harm. But this—this is different. And as much as her mind rebels against anything that Zuko has to say, she can’t help but latch onto his last sentence.

“What was that?” she asks, barely over a whisper.

Zuko’s brow furrows slightly. “I’m not afraid?”

Katara shakes her head. “The other part.”

He watches her, expression inscrutable. “I don’t think you could do anything like that by accident.”

She swallows back the painful lump in her throat and looks away. “You really believe that?”

“You’re one of the strongest benders I’ve ever met. I’ve never seen you lose yourself to your element.” His tone is soft and certain. “Of course I believe it.”

The lump in her throat rises again and she swipes at her eyes. It’s silly that she is so relieved, but his certainty anchors her.

She manages a wobbly laugh. “So you’re just afraid that I’ll bloodbend you off the cliff on purpose, then?”

Zuko shrugs. “Maybe a little.”

Katara laughs again, and a weight lifts. Her shoulders lighten, and all at once, she can breathe again.

“I’m not going to bloodbend you off the cliff.”

“Thanks.” Zuko’s voice is soft, with no trace of his habitual dryness.

Silence hangs between them for a few long minutes, and it is easier, more comfortable than she expects. She can still feel Zuko’s pulse, the quiet ease of his breath, but with his words echoing in her ears—I’ve never seen you lose yourself to your element—its call is gentler. She can match her breath to his without the crimson glow blinding her.

Slowly, her eyelids slide closed. When they open again, she finds herself in her own bed, a blanket tucked around her shoulders, and Zuko making a silent retreat out the door.

She thinks she smiles.

And in the morning, he finally smiles back.

⁂

It isn’t the first time she’s heard him jolt awake in the dead of night, but after he waits outside her tent and follows her across the sea on a quest for justice, she can’t ignore it any longer. After he stands at her side in silent support, after she finds relief and safety in his embrace, she doesn’t want to.

His strangled gasp rouses her and by the time her eyes manage to focus, he is seated upright, fighting to control his breathing. His hair sticks up a little in the back and clings in jagged streaks across his forehead. His shoulders heave, and by the faint light of the waning moon, she thinks she can see patches of sweat on his tunic.

She sits up, but before she can say his name, Zuko bolts, the airy draperies trailing in his wake.

She finds him a few minutes later, perched on the steps overlooking the beach. His shoulders are hunched and she thinks she can see him shaking ever so slightly.

“Zuko?”

He starts and jerks around to face her. An almost feverish sheen glistens on his forehead, and his jaw clenches and unclenches.

“How—how long have you been there?” His voice is strained and he refuses to meet her eyes.

“Not long.”

He gives a stiff nod and turns back toward the ocean.

It isn’t an invitation, but Katara sits beside him anyway.

“Are you okay?”

He lets out a shuddering breath. “Not exactly.” His hands clamp on the top of the step and he closes his eyes as if steadying himself. “I’ll manage. You might as well go back inside,” he says after a pause.

A few days ago, she would have obliged. A few days ago, she wouldn’t have even made it this far. But now she can’t force herself to entertain the thought. She turns her gaze out to sea and times her breath against the lapping of the waves. She can feel the roar of his pulse, the frantic rush of blood in his veins. She could take hold of it if she wanted, could slow its beating back to normal, but instead she only listens.

Gradually, Zuko’s pulse evens, and Katara feels his gaze flicker her direction a few times. She keeps her eyes on the water, waiting.

“Why are you still here?”

Katara wraps her arms around her knees and refuses to turn his way. She knows exactly what he means, but she doesn’t have an answer yet. Not even for herself.

“It’s even more beautiful here at night.” She draws in a deep breath of cool salt air.

The weight of Zuko’s gaze doesn’t lift. “That’s not what I meant.” His voice is a soft, small rasp.

“I know.”

“You don’t have to sit with me just because—” He lets out a puff of air and waves his hand in the air. “You don’t have to help me.”

Katara chances a look in his direction. “Neither did you.”

He freezes, his lips slightly parted. For a second, she loses track of his pulse before it roars back, a little quicker, a little louder than before.

“That—” He pauses to clear his throat and turns his eyes back toward the sea. “That was different.” “How?” She watches him now, the tension in his shoulders, the set of his jaw. “You came to sit with me when I had a nightmare. How is this different?”

He pulls his knees up, mirroring her, and crosses his arms on top of them. His hands clench and unclench. “Because I—” He swallows and doesn’t finish.

“Because you felt guilty?”

“Not just that.” His voice drops so low that she scarcely hears it, but he can’t hide the way the blood rushes to his cheeks.

Briefly, Katara wonders if this is anything like the way Toph sees the world—the inner workings all laid bare, even in the dark. His pulse quickens, but there is something softer than panic beneath it.

He runs a hand through his hair, a few damp strands standing on end. “It—it’s nothing. I’ll be fine.”

“Good.” She leans back on her hands and stares up at the stars. She is almost near enough to rest her head on his shoulder, and part of her wants to. Very much.

She feels him watching her, his gaze nearly as warm as his touch.

“You really don’t have to stay with me.”

She turns toward him. There is a familiar look in his eyes, a thread of loneliness that runs clear down to his core. He expects her to leave. He must expect everyone to leave.

“And what if I want to?”

His eyes widen, and she can feel his pulse skip. For a moment, he struggles for words.

“Then—” he finally begins, “—I think I should at least make you some tea.”

Katara smiles and lets her hand brush against his. “I think I’d like that.”

#zutara #zutara fanfiction #zutara week throwbacks #zuko #katara #soopersara's scribbles

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theotherace · 4 years

Text

monkeyfeathers

ao3, ff.net

In his dreams, it goes something like this:

He's a little bit taller.

A little bit more confident.

With broader shoulders and dry palms and ears he would grow into, thank you very much, Jet.

And he'd grin the crooked grin Gyatso says makes him look so dashing, ever so charming, and say something clever and profound, and not at all stutter, and she would smile back, heart-meltingly, and reply–

"I can't believe I'm sitting in space jail with you of all people."

The boy blinks.

Katara's face is scrunched up in what he can only assume is a mixture of amusement, exasperation and utter confusion.

He mostly feels the latter, if he's being quite honest, and decides, not for the first time, either, that this sort of daydreaming has to stop when he is around other people – his friends don't seem to have noticed his mind having drifted this time, but he's had to stammer and stumble his way through more awkward explanations than he can count already, and that's always something he'd much rather avoid in the future.

He fiddles with the hem of his too big hoodie and glances at Sokka, who, next to him, stares at Katara with his brows raised expectantly.

"Why ... is it space jail?", she asks, very slowly. "No, you know what, scratch that. Why jail at all?"

"Why not?", Sokka retorts. "It's not supposed to make sense, it just has to be unique."

Then grabs a pillow from his untidy bed and flings it at his sister – who catches it without effort, of course, and sticks out her tongue.

"Can't risk anybody but me saying it, right?"

Aang tilts his head.

"But don't you want it to mean something? Don't you want to say something nice?"

"Yeah", Katara adds, pillow hugged to her chest. "Imagine walking around your whole life with something about space jail on your forehead, just because your soulmate's an idiot. I'd just turn right around and leave you without telling you my name."

"First of all, nobody's got their words on their forehead; that's just a myth. Second of all, what do you want me to say instead?"

A grin tugs at the corners of Sokka's mouth, mischievously, as he puffs himself up, hand on chest, a smolder only half in place, but ridiculously over the top just the same, and he says: "All my soul yearns for is your presence. Please, take it, and never let it go. I am yours – now and forever."

His laugh is loud, and Katara rolls her eyes, and Aang pulls a face.

"Well, why not say that?"

"'cause, dude, it's stupid. I can't go around greeting people like that – nobody would take me seriously if I did, just look at that weird little friend of yours–"

"Bumi's not weird."

"Yeah, he is. He's an absolute weirdo. And the fact that you immediatly thought of him when I said weird–"

"Because you always call him that!"

"–just further proves my point. He's weird."

"He really is, Aang", Katara agrees, her face almost apologetic, though Aang knows that there's not much love lost between her and Bumi, either. "In a good way, ... I guess. He's ... pretty clever, as far as I can tell, just also ... well, ... very ... odd."

"You attract people like that, you always have", Sokka sighs.

He shakes his head and leans back against the bedframe.

When he raises his hand to push loose strands of hair behind his ear, the sleeve of his shirt slides down his arm to expose bold, white letters, impossible to miss, on the inside of his forearm.

Quick, catch that cat, it stole my wallet!, they say, Aang forgets sometimes, and he thinks that Sokka's soulmate surely would do nothing but smile, should he start talking about space jails, if these are the first words they've chosen to speak to him.

Unless a cat really would steal their wallet.

Which is rather unlikely, he reckons.

"I don't attract weird people", he says and, before Sokka can even open his mouth, adds: "And even if I did, what would that say about you guys? We've been friends forever, wouldn't that make you the weirdest of the weird?"

"Nah. We picked you up, not the other way around, remember? Well, Katara did, anyway. Maybe she attracts weird people, too."

"I'm not weird!"

"I do not!"

They exclaim, almost in one voice, and Sokka snickers at the twin looks of indignation on their faces.

Aang crosses his arms over his chest.

Sokka falls over when Katara hurls the pillow back at him with as much force as her body possesses – it hits him right in the face, and he lies on his back, muffled laughter and completely still, the words on his arm bright against his swarthy skin.

He rolls over after a moment or two, grunting like he really has to make an effort to do so, and lets his head rest on the pillow.

His light blue eyes sparkle with mischief.

"I just remembered your words", he tells his sister.

She drags the second pillow from his bed.

He rolls away before she can throw it.

Aang's mind begins drifting again. "So?", Suki says, and though she can't see it – of course she can't see it –, Toph knows, just knows, how broad the grin on her friend's face must be. "Didja ask her?"

Zuko squirms in his seat.

She can hear his apron rustle.

His fingers clink against his tea cup's handle.

"Well ...", he says, avoiding eye contact, no doubt, and then inhales and exhales very deliberately. "I mean, ... I guess. Yeah. Yeah, I think I did ... She's gonna come over Saturday to watch a movie, so ..."

Toph whoops loudly and – when Uncle reminds her from over at the counter that they aren't alone in the tea shop, though he sounds more amused than annoyed – a little quieter the second time, while Suki laughs.

"How are you not sure if you asked her out if you've got a date this weekend?", she wants to know.

Zuko sighs.

"I was nervous, alright? I ... Well, I'm not entirely sure what I said. My heart was beating really fast, and I ... I was a little light-headed ... But she kissed my cheek and said she'd come over on Saturday and to pick a good movie, so I guess I must've done something right, ... right?"

Suki, still laughing, pats his shoulder.

Toph leans against him.

"You're such an idiot."

He sighs again.

"Yeah, I know."

"Mai's one unlucky lady."

"Don't be mean", Suki admonishes good-naturedly, and the clinking of fingernails against porcelain stops, letting Toph know that Zuko has taken to tracing the letters in his right palm again, as he's wont to do when he is thinking about his soulmate, or nervous, or both – most of the time, it's both.

They spell: I'm Mai., and they've been spoken to him so many years ago that he'd hardly remember, had they not caused such a ruckus amongst the adults who'd heard them said.

He'd only been five or six years old, then, and when he tells the story about how he met his soulmate, he's always a little embarassed to admit that he'd only properly realized what had happened that day while washing his face the next morning, when he'd seen the dark red letters in his palm again, just to come running from the bathroom, water dripping from his eyebrows, and demand of his mother to know if she was sure he'd met the girl (his soulmate), or if maybe, just maybe, it had all been a dream.

Suki thinks it's cute.

Toph does, too, but she'd never admit that to him.

They've been waiting for him to ask her out – or the other way around – for forever, and him actually doing it (doing the inevitable) is a big deal; Zuko's so painfully awkward around other people and especially Mai, since he's realized what "soulmate" almost always means, and Mai likes to play her cards close to her chest – as far as they can tell, anyway, it's not like they regularly hang out –, they'd never had any hope for her to make the first step.

They ought to celebrate, really.

... Teasing Zuko is more fun, though.

"So, what movie are you two gonna watch?"

"I don't know, yet."

He's fidgeting again.

"I don't wanna mess this up, guys. I can't mess this up. I mean, ... we're destined to be together, and I still don't know what to do, how is that even possible? Shouldn't there be signs all over the place? Shouldn't this be easier?"

Zuko is possibly the only man in the world to think he can ruin destiny, simply take and break it, even if he must've had this talk a thousand times over with his uncle and mother, and them, too, and so Suki says, the same way she's done so many times before: "You want this to work, right?"

"Of course I do", he answers quietly.

"Well, then it will."

"It's not like you're a terrible person", Toph adds, and thinks for a moment of his father, and how destiny is such a stupid thing, anyway. "Just ... well ... a bit of an idiot. But in a good way, y'know?"

He snorts.

"You've such a way with words, Toph."

"I try."

He moves, and jostles her, still leaning against his shoulder, a bit, and then his nails clink against the cup again.

"I actually do always feel like a really big idiot when I'm talking about this stuff, because ... I guess ... well, I've met her, haven't I? I've practically always known her, and I probably should feel really happy about that. I mean, I am. Happy. I was pretty lucky."

Just this once.

"And you guys haven't met ... your guys, yet."

It's Toph's turn to snort.

"I'm not sure I wanna meet a guy who says 'monkeyfeathers', anyway. What's that even supposed to mean? Nah, I think I'm fine without him."

She makes a dismissive gesture and cold, cold fingers wrap around her hand – Suki, then, because Zuko runs so hot, it's hard to believe he doesn't have a fever sometimes.

"You're such a liar", her friend says. "Of course you wanna meet him. I mean, I'm doing fine without Cat Guy, but I still want to know who he is. But keep telling yourself you don't care. Just gonna be all the more funny when you actually do meet him."

"That's not gonna happen for another ten or twenty or thirty-seven years."

"Thirty-seven?", Zuko murmurs, like he can't fathom waiting for so terribly many years to meet his soulmate – he probably can't, as he's never waited a day for her.

Suki talks over him.

"Betcha he's right around the corner."

"Betcha he isn't." But he is.

He stumbles into her the very next day, when she's about to step inside the tea shop they spend too much time in, cracking voice and the smell of apples, and he spills something cold and sticky over them both, but mostly her front, and mumbles: "Monkeyfeathers."

She blinks.

He rambles.

"Oh, I'm so, ... so sorry. Really, I am. I ... didn't see you ... and ... oh, you can't see me, really, I'm sorry. Aw man, I'm ... such a klutz. Sokka always tells me to stop daydreaming ..."

He trails off, perhaps realizing that she hasn't said a word to him.

"Uhm ... are you alright?"

She can't help but grin.

(Though the smallest, tiniest part of her is annoyed at Suki for being right.)

"It's you. Didn't think I'd meet you so soon." This isn't how he's imagined this to go.

And for a moment, he's not sure if he knows how to breathe, or what his name is, because he's awkward and not at all confident, and still his gangly, big-eared self, and he's spilled his drink over her, and he's not grinning, and this isn't how it was supposed to go, but ...

But.

At least she is.

Smiling, that is.

And here.

So he breathes in, because it seems he hasn't forgotten how to. "I'm Aang."

"Toph."

#Avatar: The Last Airbender #Aang #Toph #Taang #Sokka #Katara #Suki #Zuko #Maiko #(Implied)#Sukka #(If You Squint)#Soulmate AU #Modern AU #No Bending #destiny fate and what's written in the stars

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jaxsteamblog · 4 years

Text

Matchmaker Iroh

Click here to read the full fic on AO3

Suki and Sokka wouldn’t allow her to call the beach trip a bust, but it was definitely not as relaxing for Katara as she had hoped. Zuko was called away every night to eat dinner with his sister at the royal family’s beach house. Katara, having not talked to Zuko about what she had overheard, was anxious about it every time.

It didn’t help that he didn’t seem to have much to say each time he returned.

On their last night in the beach house, Zuko ignored Azula’s summons and stayed with them. Suki found a closet where a bunch of old board games were stashed and they gerryrigged a system to make a drinking game out of Capitalism!

In the morning, as Katara cured everyone’s hangover before rushing to clean everything up, they realized that may have been a bad idea.

Going through the airport was easier this time since they were leaving the country, and Katara relaxed. She was able to enjoy first class, burying herself under everyone’s blankets and wearing the facemask that came in a sealed cellophane bag. Zuko got them champagne again and Katara heard the sound of the instant camera before a wave of laughter.

Smiling, Katara ignored them and attempted to move her arms over the bulk of four blankets to drink from her glass.

Customs in the Earth Kingdom gave her anxiety, but that was normal for any time she crossed a border. Still, they passed quickly and they moved together out of the airport.

“Did we want to get dinner?” Katara asked.

“No offense Katara, but I would like to spend some alone time with my bride-to-be.” Sokka said, putting his arm around Suki’s shoulder.

Katara rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine.”

“Want to go to the Jasmine Dragon with me?” Zuko asked. Feeling small, and unable to really say no without making it awkward, Katara nodded.

“Sure.” She said.

The taxis pulled up and Sokka and Suki waved as they grabbed one. Another followed and Zuko held the door open for Katara. Despite sending so much time with him, and sitting next to him during the flight, Katara felt cramped when Zuko slid in beside her and shut the car door.

His presence was much like his clothing, larger than she assumed and far too comfortable. He seemed relaxed and Katara put her elbow on the armrest inside the car door. Propping up her chin, the highway traffic passed over her eyes as she thought.

But to be fair, she wasn’t really thinking about anything. It was as if a neuron in her brain would suddenly go “Zuko!” and the others would nod sagely, as if coming to agreement over the concept of him as a being. Other thoughts like “I should see a therapist.” or “Spirits, what does being Queen even mean?” were met with similar chemical murmurings.

Zuko just sat next to her like one of those salt rock lamps. He felt calming, but his actual calming properties were yet to be determined.

When they got to the teahouse, Zuko pulled out their luggage and Katara started to fidget. Zuko, as he typically did, always looked casually formal. His jeans alone cost more than her whole outfit and his shirt came from a store Katara had never heard of. He would be fine strolling into the teahouse regardless of his standing as a prince.

Katara on the other hand was wearing hand cut jean shorts, a tank top that she picked up at a music festival, and tattered sandals.

Iroh’s comment about her youth clothing her in something enviable was falling flat at the moment.

“Ready?” Zuko asked, rolling her suitcase to her.

“Sure.” She replied, grabbing the handle.

They walked in together and Zuko smiled at the hostess before immediately diverting to the right. Walking past the main tea room, Katara realized there was a hall that fed to multiple rooms, even turning a corner.

“What’s in there?” Katara asked.

“Let me show you.” Zuko said and stopped at a door, opening it gently.

“Oh.” Katara peered in, looking at the neat little space.

“They’re for private events. There’s some temporary walls to open them up in a bunch of different configurations.” Zuko explained.

“How come I didn’t notice them at the party?”

“A lot of them were open, and they don’t actually fill the length of the main building. A lot of the nobility actually had their tables in here.”

“There was nobility?” Katara asked, half-laughing with shock.

“I’m telling you, there’s almost no difference between rich people and nobility except that rich people can make a vague claim to having an actual job.” Zuko replied and smiled.

“So where are we going?” Katara asked.

“To the last one.” Zuko said, shutting the door and continuing on. When they got to the last one, Katara could smell the cooking meat before Zuko even turned the handle.

Katara smiled as she saw Iroh, dressed in a kimono, crouched next to a grill with his sleeves tied back.

“Welcome back. You are just in time.” Iroh said, glancing up at them briefly before flipping over cuts of meat with his chopsticks. Katara and Zuko rolled their suitcases to stand next to the wall before kneeling at the table.

“Thank you for doing this Uncle.” Zuko said, picking up his own chopsticks and flipping over meat.

“After you had such a stressful time, I was glad to offer some respite.” Iroh replied.

“Stressful? Suki and Sokka got engaged.” Katara remarked.

“Yes, I heard! That is very exciting news.” Iroh said and sat back. As Zuko took over the cooking, Iroh freed the sleeves of his kimono while looking over at Katara and smiling.

“Do you suppose he will supply his own flowers?” Iroh asked her and Katara snorted.

“Are you kidding? Sokka is a meticulous planner, he wouldn’t let anyone else near it.” She replied.

“When do you think they’ll have the ceremony?”

“I’m not certain. It was a surprise to find out they wanted to get married.”

“Seriously?” Zuko interjected as he added vegetables to the grill. “Sokka has a domestic streak a mile wide.”

“Yeah but neither of them seemed the type for the frill.” Katara replied. Zuko shrugged and focused on his basting.

“Not every wedding needs frills.” Iroh added and Katara sighed.

“And not everyone gets the wedding they want.” She said, leaning against the table and resting her cheek on her fist.

“Are you engaged, Katara?” Iroh asked. Katara raised an eyebrow but shook her head, awkwardly as she didn’t move it from its stand.

“No, just prophesizing.” She said idly.

“Which we already established you are bad at.” Zuko stated and Katara rolled her head back to glare at him.

“Well, I will go and get the tea. Maybe it can help part the veils of the future for you.” Iroh said and huffed as he pushed himself up.

Katara smiled and blinked leisurely, looking around the room. It was nicely decorated but reminded her of a hotel room. It lacked personality.

“Are you doing okay?” Zuko asked.

Katara leaned back and flopped onto the table, watching him remove the food from the grill. He delicately laid everything out on plates and started to stir little dishes of sauce.

“When did you learn how to cook?” She asked instead of answering.

“Like I said, I lived with my uncle for a good number of years. Some of that time we were marching with his army down the western coast of the Earth Kingdom.” Zuko said. “Some nights if I wanted to eat, I had to make it myself.”

“You don’t sound like either nobility or rich people.” Katara said.

“And look at you, your royal highness, slouching all over the table.” He quipped.

Frowning, Katara sat up and took up her chopsticks, tapping them on the tabletop.

“Zuko there’s something I wanted to ask you.” She started.

Zuko looked at her, sliding over a plate.

“What’s up?” He asked.

“Did you ever-” Katara jumped as the door opened and Iroh returned with a tea tray. Setting it down, she helped him unload it as Zuko slid over his own plate.

“Tell me Katara, did you get to enjoy Ember Island? I know it is one of Zuko’s favorite places.” Iroh said.

“Is it?” Katara asked slyly, casting her gaze back to Zuko.

“We used to take family trips there when I was a kid.” He said and shrugged one shoulder up, picking at his food with his chopsticks.

“His mother had a fondness for the local theatre troupe there as well.” Iroh paused to chuckle. “They were awful.”

“It’s a shame we didn’t get to take in a show.” Katara said and picked up a grilled green onion.

“I had wanted to.” Zuko said with a sigh.

“Did they not have a show?” Iroh asked.

“They did. They’re doing a run of ‘Tales of the Avatar,’ but Azula kept calling me up for dinner.” Zuko said.

“Did you get everything sorted?” Iroh asked.

Katara narrowed her eyes as she looked between the two men.

“Solved enough. I’ll have to wait and see.” Zuko answered.

“What-” Katara began but stopped as Iroh picked up the teapot.

“My goodness, I haven’t even poured the tea. Here, Katara, let me have your cup.” He said.

The tea was good, a tangy sort of sour that went oddly well with the grilled meat. They talked and Iroh told stories of Zuko as a child. There was an incident with a turtle crab that, from Zuko’s face, didn’t seem like an accurate retelling.

To make him feel better, Katara related how, when she was first learning to control her bending, she had soaked Sokka while out fishing. And that for a long time, she would often have to change her direction so that her water went where she wanted it.

It was then that the conversation turned to bending in general, and the benefits of using other elemental styles. Katara agreed that it might work in principle but that the elements were too different to see any real use out of the other styles.

“Zuko, show her the Wyvern form.” Iroh said and gestured with his chopsticks. Zuko smiled and put his hands down on the table as he stood.

“Here.” Zuko said, holding out his hand. “It’ll look familiar.”

Katara felt her face warm as she looked at his hand but placed hers on his palm. His hand was warm and dry.

Helping her up, Zuko got into his stance and Katara tried to mirror it. Firebenders were light on their feet and displaced their weight differently, so it was an awkward placement. Zuko chuckled and walked to her, gently moving her feet by pushing on them with his. Then he held her waist as he angled her hips. Then he pushed out her arms, patting them when they were in place.

“Okay, so the movement is just based on circles.” Zuko said as he took his stance again. “Just follow me.”

She watched his movements, trailing her arms like a weird after image. When she fumbled, he stopped and approached her again.

“Here. It’s like your water whip.” He said and took her hands. Pulling them through some motions, Katara did recognize the feeling. But the water whip needed a deeper stance since she would have to pull the water around her. This form worked because the Firebender could produce their own flame.

“It’s not useful. It wouldn’t be able to hold much water.” Katara said, stepping quickly away from Zuko.

“But it could hold a nice array of ice shards.” He replied and sat back down at the table. Katara blushed and returned to her seat, taking up her teacup and drinking.

“Are you enjoying the tea, Katara?” Iroh inquired.

“Yes. But it’s,” Katara looked down into her cup, tilting it. “Different.”

“It’s sakura tea. The cherry blossoms are pickled.” He said.

“Uncle!” Zuko sputtered and Katara looked at him.

“I’ll go and get some more.” Iroh said, smiling in a grandfatherly way.

Zuko sighed and rubbed his face.

“What’s sakura tea?” Katara asked as Iroh rose and picked up the tray. He chuckled as she shuffled to the door.

“It’s served at weddings. It’s a lovers’ tea.” Zuko answered.

Katara spun around to see the door shut.

“He does know you have a girlfriend, right?” She asked.

“I don’t actually.” Zuko said and Katara turned back to him. “Not anymore.”

“What?”

“Mai and I broke up. It wasn’t going to work out the way we had thought it would.”

“Oh?” Katara asked, her voice shaky and lilting upwards to make it a question.

“She showed me that I deserved better than just living a repeat of my parents’ marriage.” Zuko shook his head and reclined on his cushion. “When I get married, I want it to be for love.”

“Right. The future.” Katara said. She frowned and nodded. “That makes sense.”

“It’s what we’ve got to deal with right? As royals?” Zuko said and Katara groaned.

“Don’t remind me.” She muttered.

“Hey, I’ve got your back. Anytime you want to talk about statecraft, you can give me a call.” Zuko said.

“Statecraft?”

“Sure. But we’re friends, you could ask me anything.” Zuko said and Katara blinked. “Except for anything about school.”

“School?”

“Summer’s almost over, Katara.”

“Right.” Katara said flatly. It was like her lungs couldn’t take in enough air.

“Did you need help moving?” Zuko asked.

Katara looked at him, feeling like her body was moving slower than the rest of time.

“Uh, no. Sokka and I usually make a day of it.” She answered. Zuko nodded and picked up his teacup to examine the contents.

“Well you’ll have to let me know if there’s a goodbye party.” He said.

“Yeah.” Katara drifted but caught herself and shook her head. “Yeah, no, of course.”

What just happened?

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#zutara #fanfiction #jax writes #modern au #zutara month 2020 #the fic that prompts built

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