Flameyo Hotman! I was really bored and I had this small idea in my head for an Avatar fic…so here it is. Brought to you by boredom and an insane mind…..
Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Avatar the Last Airbender. If I did, Zuko would have found his mommy before the series ended = (
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I let a groan escape my lips as settled down in the mid-afternoon sun. My limbs were sore from training and my hair was singed from sparring with Zuko. I rolled my shoulder back and winced. A nasty bruise had surfaced on my pale skin. 'Well,' I thought bitterly, 'that's what I get for asking Toph for help with my training'.
I watched Sokka dodge rock after rock after rock after…. I sighed in exasperation. One of these days a rock will hit him and hopefully knock some sense into that thick skull of his.
He had woken everyone up at dawn and had insisted we begin training. Poor Aang was being rushed back and forth. He would spend three hours practicing his earth bending with Toph and another three working on his fire bending form with Zuko. He had finally managed to escape and had begun practicing with Katara. I had watched from our house on Ember Island as the two passed a ball of water back and forth, the peace soothing the stressed Airbender.
Sadly, Sokka had disrupted this peace after a few minutes, dragging Aang off the beach and scolding him. "You've already mastered water bending, Aang!" Sokka snapped as he pulled the poor boy into the courtyard. The Avatar shot me a pleading look, but, all I could do was give him an apologetic look. He nodded and sighed, facing my bossy boyfriend. "We have a few weeks left before the comet, Aang!" Sokka shouted. "We need you to train harder than ever before, and what do you do? Go splashing around in the water with my little sister!"
Well, by then, his 'little sister' had returned to the courtyard and had heard the last part of his speech. She had begun to make her way over to the duo, surely to take off the warrior's head. Normally, I would stop her, but the rage in her eyes could've sent Azula running for her daddy. I cast a warning glance in her direction, which she ignored as she grabbed Aang's hand and started pulling him away as she smacked her brother upside the head. I stepped aside as she passed and I heard her murmur something about going shopping.
That was three hours ago. I knew they were fine. As long as Aang kept his head covered, there would be no problems. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zuko sit down next to me on the steps. He sighed and watched Sokka and Toph spar.
"It's been over three hours," he muttered, watching as Toph summoned another rock from the ground and launched it at her opponent.
"I know." I said, pushing a strand of brown hair out of my face. "But, they'll be fine. They probably stopped at the market to get some food."
Zuko nodded, taking this as a valid answer. "Yeah, you're probably right." He sighed, and then cast an impish glance at me before adding, "How much do you want to bet that they've been making out this whole time?" Toph, who had been in the process of launching another rock, let it drop to the ground, her laughter echoing through the empty halls of the house. She fell onto her back, still laughing, before looking up at a stunned Zuko.
"I was…..going to ask….." she gasped. "Put me down for…30 gold pieces Sparky!" Toph managed between howl of laughter.
"What?" Sokka asked, lowering his sword. "What is so funny?"
"You wouldn't get it." I said, stifling a smile. That was the understatement of the century. He would kill Zuko and then kill Katara and Aang when they got back. Comet or no comet, no one messed with his baby sister.
"Come on, Suki," he whined making his way over to the steps, he gently stroked my face with his hand, and I resisted the urge to shiver. "What's up?" he cooed. I looked at him and smiled before shaking my head. Nope, I wasn't going to let him win that easily. "What is going on?" he asked, sharply, glaring at everyone.
"Nothing," Zuko said innocently. The Water tribe's man stared at the banished prince before pointing at him.
"Aha!" he shouted, causing everyone to jump. "It was you." He leaned in closer and whispered menacingly. "What is so funny?" There was a moment of silence.
"Snozzles, have you been hitting the cactus juice?" Toph asked pushing herself up off the ground.
"I-." Sokka started, but was immediately cut off by the sound of a slamming door. The blind earth bender jumped up and stood still for a moment, feeling for vibrations.
"It's okay," she said, "It's just Twinkle toes and Sugar Queen." She paused for a moment before smiling evilly. "Oh, she is not happy right now." I looked from Zuko to Sokka and an understanding passed between us. Zuko and I jumped to our feet as Sokka made a mad dash for the door and was closely by Toph and Zuko and I. Darkness encased our small group as we crept down the gloomy halls. The candles were covered in dust and the windows were firmly shut making it impossible to see. Luckily, we had Katara's angry voice to follow.
"I can't believe you, Aang!" she snapped, her voice echoing down the dismal halls. "I swear you are worse than Sokka!" I scanned the dark hallway, and saw something move at the other end of the hall. I motioned for Zuko to keep quiet. He nodded and relayed the message to Toph. We crept closer and a light flickered in the door way, briefly illuminating Sokka's face. We inched towards the light, flinching every time someone's foot found a squeaky floorboard. Finally, we reached Sokka, who was peeking around the door nervously. I pressed myself up against the wall next to the doorway as Zuko darted across to stand next to my boyfriend on the other side of the door.
"It wasn't my fault," Aang said simply. I heard someone slam a clay pot against the wooden table. Taking a deep breath, I peeked into the room. Aang stood with his back to us, his arms full of fruits and vegetables. He placed them on the table and took the white hat off his head, revealing a blue tattoo. I looked away from the Airbender and focused on Katara. Her face was flushed and her eyes flashed as she cast another annoyed look at her friend. She dropped a bag onto the table, and apples rolled out. I glanced in the mirror behind her, and saw that Aang was studying a sea prune in disgust.
"Yes, it was!" she snapped. "Those boys weren't fire benders!" I looked over at Zuko, whose eyebrows were arched, disappearing under his dark bangs. "I am going to kill Zuko for teaching you that trick." It was my turn to raise my eyebrows. I mouthed 'What did you teach him?' He shrugged his golden eyes wide and fearful.
"Zuko didn't teach me that trick." Aang replied coolly. Before Katara could respond he added, "The person who showed me that trick is already dead, Katara. No use getting worked up about it." I blinked, amazed. Aang has never really been able to talk about his past without his temper flaring. It bothered me that he was so calm. I looked at Sokka, who also looked worried. Toph tugged on my sleeve.
"Sparky has been teaching Twinkle toes to keep his temper under control." Toph mumbled, keeping her hand firmly pressed against the wall. "Good thing too. If Twinkle toes has another mood swing, the entire house might get burnt down." I nodded, that made sense. Mood swings equals bon fire.
"I don't care who taught you!" Katara screamed. "There was no need to singe those boys!"
"Yes, there was," Aang replied his voice even. "I had tons of friends their age. You learn pretty quickly what goes through their minds." I made a face. He had a point. Most of the boys on Kyoshi had sick minds. I looked up at Sokka, who nodded in approval.
"Good boy, Aang." He whispered. Zuko made a face, and I stifled a giggle.
"Okay, so they were looking at me! Is that not allowed?"
"I never said it wasn't," came the reply. Katara's jaw set and I bite back a smile. His serenity was annoying her to no end. "We just don't have time for those distractions."
"Distractions?" she fumed. "Well, you didn't seem to mind all those girls looking at you. Aren't they distractions too?" She crossed her arms, a look of triumph plastered on her face. Aang sighed and sat down in one of the wooden chairs surrounding the table. He propped his feet up and grabbed a mango from one of the many bags on the table.
"They didn't approach me, did they?" he said smoothly, tossing the mango in the air and making it float.
"Maybe because they didn't want to get burned!" Katara screamed. "My point is I am more than capable of taking care of myself! I don't need you, or anybody else to do it for me."
"And if I hadn't interfered you would have gone with them, wouldn't you?" he said, looking up and giving her a hard look. She squirmed under her gaze and she flushed, her olive skin reddening.
"How would you know?" she snapped. "How is it fair that you get to judge me, as though you do no wrong?" I didn't need to look at the mirror to tell that she had struck a nerve. Aang's feet fell to the floor, his large grey eyes wide. She ignored his shocked pain and continued. "You run around here, like you are all important, like nothing in the world matters to you." I saw her eyes brighten as she blinked back tears. He stood, his body clearly shaken.
"That's not true." Aang said his voice shook as he spoke. "You know that's not true."
"You know what," she snapped, turning on her heel, "I don't know what to believe anymore." She stormed out of the room, using the door on the other side of the room. I looked at Sokka, who quickly motioned for us to leave. I turned Toph around, facing the gloomy hall and told her to head back to the court yard. She nodded, waiting for Zuko to walk past her before following the sound of his footsteps. Sokka followed behind her. I chanced one more glance inside the room before I raced after them. The image of Aang standing in the room alone, his head bent in anguish, was burnt into my eyelids, and was permanently fixed in my mind.
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TADA! Hope you like it! PLZ REVIEW!