Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.
A/N: If you are one of my regular readers, I shall apologize to you right now. Recently, I've spammed you with a lot of my Avatar stories. The spamming only has a few more days.
However, more importantly, this work here.
This is a collection of eight prompts that I set in the actual Avatar verse.
I would like to take a moment to apologize to my regular readers, this is no where near as good as my usual stuff. I'm terribly sorry for the sub-par work in this. I probably wouldn't have posted these at all, but I'm more then well aware that often something the writer creates and often hates is at times well liked by other people.
Without further delay, here is the next set of prompts.
Prompt: Unsung Hero
Gusting winds howled through the place. They had tried to close as much of it off as possible, but the temple was drafty and old. Aang suspected that most of that was simply due to the wars fault and the rest to do with time. The temples almost always stood for centuries with only minor repairs requires, but this one was becoming desperately worn down. Aang found himself less worried about the temple and more about the soul nearby that seemed in need of repair almost as badly.
He sat on the ground with his back against the wall in the room next door. The room was empty, but he figured he had less of a chance of begin caught in here then if he just stood in the hall. If anyone did ask, he had already figured he would tell them that he just needed some quiet time alone. He would easily pretend that it had nothing to with the quiet groans and calls from the room next door.
The self exiled prince slept poorly these days. It was easy for Aang to hear. He was sure if the rest of the group took the time to listen they would know too. Toph seemed to unseeingly watch Zuko worriedly. He suspected that she too knew of the things that kept their new comrade tossing and turning in the night.
Aang stopped himself repeatedly from asking. He wanted to know, but he knew that it would only make it harder on Zuko if he asked. He felt that he could guess what the older boy dreamed about. It had taken him lots of time to get to know Zuko and it was as plain as the scar on his face that his life was far from an easy one. In the quiet temple sanctuary, it was almost easy to forget they were in the middle of a war that had cost hundreds of lives. They all seemed to have cause for nightmares. He didn't want to make Zuko relive his in the day time just to talk about it.
In the dark of the night, when the wind seemed to whip the loudest around the place, Aang often found himself back against the wall. Listening to the pillow stifled cries of someone he wanted to help. The desire to do something, anything at all was over coming him more and more each night. He had even thought of drugging his nightly tea to help him sleep, but worried that if a night raid happened, Zuko wouldn't be functional. He would listen to the noise in the next room and plan and think of anything he might be able to do.
Courage or stupidity, Aang didn't know which, but that stormy night, it had reached a breaking point. With the rain pelting down far above them, it was less of a problem then the coursing wind and the thundering sounds that seemed to almost shake the whole temple from the mountain. The rising noise of the storm seemed only to stir the restlessness that resided in Zuko's flailing form. If not for the familiar noises, the increased movement would have led Aang to believe he was awake.
With another sound of thunder, Aang opened the door a crack. He took a small look in and saw the sleeping prince. With no indication that the boy had risen, he crept into the room and over to the other. Zuko lay sleeping sprawled across the bed. His tight tank top stretched across his chest sticking to his skin that was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Aang could see parts of Zuko's bare legs sticking out from under the covers. He swallowed the thoughts that he was in dangerous territory along with the lump that had tried to settle in his throat.
Knowing that he had come this far and was already doomed should he be found out, Aang decided to just go all out. He lightly tugged at the covers and pulled them over the hanging out legs. The distant lightening working to brighten the room at odd moments. It lit up Zuko's face that was still etched in worry. He pulled the covers from around the hips where they seemed to be pooling and pulled them up the chest a bit more. Aang made his way around towards the head of the bed.
The sleeping prince was battling some horror that only he could see. Aang could tell that from the way the prince thrashed about, the covers he had just adjusted were not likely to stay. Zuko's lips formed words that never left them. Aang watched anxiously. Seldom had there ever been a time when he had to watch as his friend fought a battle that he could only stand and support.
He knew he was over stepping his bounds, but small noises that did come from Zuko broke the last of his restraint. His hand reached out and pulled the matted and clinging hair from his forehead. Aang rested his hand against the forehead and felt the warm and damp skin. His own feeling far colder. Zuko turned, but instead of away from Aang's hand, he seemed to seek it.
The stray strands stood up and Aang brushed them down lightly. He quietly brushed down the rest of Zuko's shaggy locks in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. With a few more tender strokes he pulled the hair that was attempting to matte around the older boys ears and brushed it out with the rest. It seemed to calm the restless teen. He offered a few more pets of reassurance as he watched the older boy settle deeper into his slumber instead of trying to fight it at the surface.
Momentarily, he touched Zuko's face. He treated his hand as if he can caress away all the lines of worry that he sees written there and it seemed to work. However, Aang knows he has lingered too long. He wanted to stay longer and wanted to comfort more, but the content sleep the prince now has is enough to make him feel like a hero. He knows as he creeps out of the room that no one will know what he has done and that he shall be just an unsung hero of the moment. As Zuko gives them all a real smile the next day, that seems to dazzle them all, Aang knows, he can happily live with that.
Prompt: Truth potion
Zuko stared at the familiar sight of his uncle mixing tea. He couldn't get over how happy he felt to have his uncle back in the Fire Nation, even if it was only for a visit. The Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation were on good terms now that the war was over and Zuko was the Fire Lord. Still, he didn't get to see his uncle nearly as often as he wished. They wrote often, but it just didn't seem like enough after all the time they had spent together.
"This is my newest blend. I've been trying it out at the Jasmine Dragon. I've been getting some very good results with it," Iroh told him as he placed a hot cup of tea on the table.
Zuko reached for it and blew on it to cool it faster. It was unacceptable behavior for a Fire Lord to cool his tea, but he was safely away with uncle in the royal rooms and knew he didn't have anything to worry about.
"How is business going," Zuko asked.
"Now that the city is rebuilt, business is doing better then ever. Toph seems to draw in lots of attention from everyone, but I like to think my tea helps. We are actually thinking of expanding the shop, because we get so busy," Iroh said musing as he sat across the table from Zuko.
Zuko sipped at his still warm tea. It was to his preferred temperature, hot, but no longer scalding. When he took a larger drink to get a taste, he had to pause and consider the flavor. It wasn't like anything he had tasted before and Zuko wasn't quite sure he ever wanted to again. It has a sweet fruit taste, but it had a hint of something that made Zuko almost wonder if Iroh had slipped ink in his tea.
"This tea is different from your usual stuff," Zuko said.
"Yes, I'm try to branch out to the newer customers. They seem to like all these different kinds of tea. I'm now making tea even I had not heard of before recently. I was certain I had heard of it all," Iroh said with a laugh.
A small smile crossed Zuko's face. Strange tasting tea aside, this was the best his month had gotten so far. He sipped the tea again and tried not to wince. It really was odd. Iroh caught his face though.
"I hear that it gets better the more of it you drink, but I have not tested that myself," Iroh told him.
Zuko grabbed the cup and chugged the rest. If it would help it to taste better, he was willing to try. The taste didn't get any better. If anything, the inky taste got worse. He couldn't help wondering what sort of tea those Earth Kingdom people liked that his uncle was now trying out and if they all tasted that bad.
Iroh passed his cup over to Zuko saying, "I suppose its an acquired taste."
"You're probably right," Zuko said before taking a sip.
The Jasmine tea was just like he used to drink back at the tea shop. His uncle still brewed it just the same as ever. It made him feel nostalgic. He lost himself in thought of the short time he had spent there between his travels.
He wondered how long he was lost in thought before his uncle called his name and snapped him out of it. He started feeling oddly sleeping, but brushed it off. He refused to turn in early on the first night his uncle was there.
"I suppose I'm just a bit tired, Uncle."
"Should I leave you alone to rest then?"
"No, no. I want to talk."
Iroh nodded in understanding and asked, "Have they been over working you as the Fire Lord?"
Zuko snorted and said, "If by working hard you mean locking me in that with all the old men to discuss politics for hours on end each day only to resolve nothing, then yes."
Mild surprise registered in Zuko's mind, that was far more honest then he had expected to be. The sleepiness had to be kicking in. He reminded himself that it didn't matter though since it was only Iroh that he was talking to. Besides, he had been one of those old men before and knew what it was like. Zuko nodded to himself thinking his train of thought sound.
"Why just this month, I've spent the better part of it talking about if the statue of me should face east to greet the rising sun, or North so that the sun is beside me all the time. Locked away in a room with old men who only care about the direction of a statue. Never mind the rest of policy or the things that need fixed or changed. I'm beginning to see why dictatorship is so popular," Zuko stopped realizing what he said.
Iroh handed Zuko a small square pillow. Zuko took it, smile on his face. He put it on the table and rested his head on it.
"You are good at always seeing what I need. Even when I don't," Zuko more mumbled then said.
"You are easy to read, Nephew."
"You seem to be the only person able to say that. If I was easy to read, I think the rest of the council wouldn't be so inclined to lock me in a room with them for long periods of time."
"Things are still fairly new after the war. Not everywhere has recovered. I think it makes them feel better to have a Fire Lord that they actually talk to at this point," Iroh pointed out.
Zuko nodded against the pillow and said, "Yeah, but I don't want to be there to talk to them, I'd much rather be out on the back of a sky bison, even if the thing isn't as fast as it looks."
"I see."
"I miss traveling. I liked being able to see the world. I was so distracted looking for the avatar, I barely got to take in all those amazing places I visited. I want to see them again. See them this time and enjoy them. Enjoy being away. Enjoy them with someone," Zuko said trailing.
"We did see some amazing places," Iroh agreed, but he went on about his point of curiosity, "You didn't mention going by ship, but by sky bison."
"Well obviously, that meant if I went on a sky bison I would be going with Aang and why in the world am I even tell this to you," Zuko said and turned to bury his face in the pillow.
Iroh chuckled and said, "That is, because I slipped a truth serum into your tea. Don't worry, you wont remember any of this tomorrow. I'll tell you we were talking about the statue."
Zuko felt torn between calling his uncle something rather inappropriate and wanting to know why. Curiosity won out.
"Whhhhhy?"
"Your not exactly honest in your letters. You only say everything is fine and sometimes ask for advice, while still insisting everything is good. I figured this would be the best way to know," Iroh pointed out.
"Well, I don't want you to worry!" Zuko yell was muffled by the pillow.
Iroh laughed again. Zuko had the sinking feeling Iroh could literally see right through him and had already guessed that and was here poisoning his tea, because of that. He buried his face further into the pillow. Sleepiness washed over him and he guessed it had to be part of the serum working. He let his eyes drift closed. His uncle might think he won by getting Zuko to drink it, but Zuko would have the last laugh and just fall asleep on him.
"You miss them all don't you?"
Sleep wasn't coming faster then Iroh's question. Zuko cursed himself. He wondered if he just mumbled into the pillow enough if he might be able to spill all, but Iroh might not understand.
"Yes. Toph's honesty, Sokka's stupidity, Katara's kindness, and Aang."
Zuko willed himself to sleep instantly dreading what he knew was going to come next. The only good thing was that he knew he wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow.
"And Aang? He is your best friend. I can see why you would miss him, but doesn't he come often enough?"
Closing his eyes, Zuko answered, "He is my destiny. Always has been."
Iroh looked down at his nephew curiously saying, "But you filled that destiny when you helped him to stop the war."
He barely caught the mumbled response as Zuko slipped off to sleep, "Always will be."
Prompt: Discovering a secret about a childhood friend.
Aang kept out of sight as Ty Lee talked to Zuko. He had heard the better part of this conversation before. It was talk about Azula.
Ty Lee was struggling to nurse her back to health, but little improvement had been seen so far. She had been lucky with a few things she had tried, but there just wasn't enough advancement to allow Azula a different type of prison. Ty Lee would often go on to Zuko for hours about how Azula was like a flower and needed sun. His opinion was unaltered.
Aang couldn't help noticing that something was different about Ty Lee this time though. She didn't seem to be giving her usual suggestions and she seemed a lot more down. She gave her usual reports on Azula's health and she had to stop a few times. It took Zuko prompting her, but Aang couldn't shake the fact that she looked lost.
Making his way fully into the room, he realized that she didn't even notice him. Her attentions were certainly not here or focused.
"Is there something wrong," Aang asked her.
She jumped a little suddenly realizing he was there and shook her head. Ty Lee moved to speak once or twice, but just shook her head again.
"It's okay, you can talk to us about it," Aang assured her.
"I don't know if she is getting any better. I'm not sure I'm able to help her," Ty Lee admitted, her voice strained.
Aang walked over and hugged the distraught girl. He could sense Zuko's tension, but pushed it off. Ty Lee was having a difficult time. He wanted to help her if he could.
"You're doing everything you can for her. You go to see her every day. I see you always bringing her flowers. I'm sure they cheer her up. I'm sure you cheer her up. Most people wouldn't even look upon her, but you're not them. You're doing a great job," Aang pointed out.
Ty Lee clung to him. Silent tears falling. Aang wondered how long she had held on to them. She brushed them off quickly though and pulled herself from Aang. Her smile was quickly in place.
"I think I'll go see her again. I got some cake I'm sure she will like," Ty Lee said trying to be cheerful.
Aang smiled at the girl's brave face, but said, "Ty Lee, if you need to talk, you know where my room is."
She nodded to him. Aang knew he cold expect a visit tonight. She gave a quick bow to Zuko and excused herself.
Once she was clear of the room, Zuko motioned Aang over. Aang rolled his eyes, but came over to Zuko and let himself be pulled into a tight embrace. Zuko ran his hands along his back like he was trying to wipe off any trace of anyone else on him. Aang had gotten used to it. He was also sure of the thorough cleaning Zuko was going to give him after his meeting tonight with Ty Lee. He pushed that thought from his mind.
"How did you know that Ty Lee brings her flowers? Or that she visits every day?"
"She visits more then once, some days," Aang replied.
"How do you know this?"
"Zuko, how do you not know this?"
"I listen to her reports, but nothing in them state anything about how often she visits or what she brings."
Aang sighed. Clearly, Zuko had no idea.
"Zuko, she is in love with sister. Why else do you think she sticks around here? She could go anywhere, do anything. Instead, she goes into that dank prison day after day comforting the person she loves. She sees her as often as she can and she brings something, anything that she thinks will brighten her world. Each day Ty Lee struggles with Azula's insanity hoping for even a brief glimpse at that person she cares for," Aang explained.
"I've known her from my childhood and I always thought Azula ruled over Mai and her with fear. I had no idea," Zuko said pondering.
"It was fear. Fear that maybe one day, Azula might not love her too."
Prompt: A friends unusual pet
Aang knocked on the door hoping for a response. Zuko could pretend he wasn't there as much as he wanted, but the stench told Aang the truth. Aang knew it was less a matter of Zuko pretending he wasn't in and more a matter that Zuko was still ignoring him after the big fiasco.
This had been their first fight where Zuko hadn't even yelled. He hadn't really said much of anything. He just shook his head and walked off. Zuko hadn't avoided him after that, but then again, it's hard to avoid someone when you smell like a skunk. Aang had to admit, the smell did get to him, but he was willing to deal with it, if Zuko would just talk to him. Instead of avoidance, Zuko seemed content to just simply pretend Aang didn't exist.
Which really was a feat unto itself given that they were often locked in a room together for meetings. Aang had tried repeatedly to get his attention and been continually denied it. Zuko wouldn't even look at him. If Aang brought up points in the meetings, Zuko would acknowledge it, but wouldn't give even a glance. He was starting to wish that Zuko would just yell at him. He knew what to do then. This constant ghost feeling was driving him nuts. After the first day, he had felt that Zuko was truly angry with him when he went to open the door and found it locked. Now a week had passed and here he stood outside the same locked door.
Aang had tried laughing it off at first. He knew now that had been his first mistake. You can not bring home a string of strange pets and top them all off with a pet that when it stings people causes their glads to produce a skunk like scent for over a week. The noble Fire Lord also doesn't take to smelling like a skunk in front of all his advisers and all the various people he holds court with and trying to make a joke of it seems to only make matters worse.
Talking had not worked either. He had tried to just drop it and bring up conversations about anything. He had scoured for every tidbit and piece of news he could find to see if he could get a single reaction. If anything, he felt that the constant subject changes just made it even easier for Zuko to ignore him.
That was when he tried fighting. Aang realized quickly that he might as well have been yelling at the wall. He tried to claim that Zuko was neglecting him. Aang realized after a half a day of yelling at Zuko, he was just trying to make all the fault out wrong. Zuko was ignoring him and therefore neglecting him, but Aang had to admit to himself that he deserved it. He had promised after the ooze frog incident he would take better care of his pets. The fact that it was not only loose, but had been found in their bed was inexcusable.
He had pleaded with Zuko to talk to him. He thought for sure that Zuko was going to crack. He could read him and saw it in the body language. He knew it was low to sink to pleading, but a week of Zuko ignoring him felt like torture and he was ready to try anything. Aang was ready to fully throw himself at Zuko, but he was sure if he tried, he would probably get ignored outright for another week.
It was time to try the last thing. He had prepared himself for this, but he still felt bad having it come down to this. He rested his forehead against the closed door. His silver eyes slipped closed.
"I know you are in there, Zuko. I know you don't want to talk to me, but I have some things to say to you. I'm really sorry about everything. I know I messed up. You had already told me no more pets, but I brought another one home. I promise, I wont bring any more home. I will even figure out good homes for all the others, but will you pl-" Aang was cut off from talking as the door swung open.
A fresh wave of skunk smell washed over Aang, but after a week of being around Zuko like this he felt his nose was already half numb. He realized it wasn't fully numb though when Zuko pulled him into an embrace. The direct contact caused Aang's body to go ridged.
"I don't want you to get rid of your pets. I don't even mind you keeping the scorpion-skunk. I just want you to communicate better with me," Zuko said.
"I know, I promised I would take better care of them-"
"Accidents happen, Aang. I don't care about that. What I care about is that there was a scorpion-skunk on the loose in my palace and I had not been warned. If you had mentioned something, we could have gotten the guard to keep an eye out for it. I would have known to not just simply crawl in bed, but to check first. You have to have let people know things. Some things, you don't have to do on your own. There are people willing to help you. When you don't tell me these things, it makes me feel like you don't trust me to help you," Zuko explained.
"Zuko."
"I just want you to tell me these things in the future. I will hold you to your promise not to bring any more strange things home though."
Aang smiled and said, "It's a deal only if we can head to the hot springs. Its already been a week, the smell should be gone soon. Not much else we can do, but bathe you repeatedly."
"Deal."
"What about normal pets though?"
"I've seen what you think normal is, not even a chance."
Prompt: Cursed with the morphing ability
Aang walked into the tea shop with a small boy on his hip. He wasn't worried about anyone noticing him as he was using the balcony entrance on the second floor. The door was always left open in case any of their friends stopped by. Criminals knew better.
Despite the not so secret entrance, Aang wore a heavy Fire Nation cloak with the child wearing a smaller matching version. It stood out in the city of Ba Sing Se, but not nearly as bad as Aang's blue tattoos would have. Today wasn't a day he wanted to be seen. He'd much rather keep the whole trip a secret if he could. The whole Fire Nation council was even trying their hardest to keep things quiet.
He walked into the room and gave the floor three quick stomps with his foot. It was a signal to those below that he was here. Only two people knew what it meant and they would probably be joining them upstairs as soon as they could. Until that time, he pulled the boy from his hip and set him on the floor. He sat on the floor at a shin height table that took up the middle of the room. Quickly, he found his lap filled by the boy. Aang unconsciously wrapped his arms around the kid.
It was only a short amount of time before the door opened up and Toph walked through excitedly. Her waitress kimono showed off her legs as she walked. Its jade green color matching the name of the place. Her hair was done up in twin tails with each forming a bun on either side of her head, her feet bare as usual.
"It's been forever, Twinkle Toes. I thought you were going to forget about us," She said trying to sound off handed.
"You know I would never forget you guys. Just been busy with a lot of stuff. A lot more stuff recently, actually. Though, I might be visiting for a little bit this time. Not quite sure how long really," Aang explained.
Before Toph could ask anything more, Iroh rushed through the door. He held his arms out like he was ready to embrace someone, but the greeting and hug got lost as his eyes landed on the child in Aang's lap. He stood there, his face turning grim.
"What did I miss?" Toph asked looking between what she hoped was Aang and Iroh.
"Hello, Uncle. It's good to see you," Zuko called from Aang's lap with his voice befitting his current body.
"That... That... Is a very big thing to miss," Toph said.
"What happened?" Iroh asked and moved to take a seat across from Aang.
"Well, about two weeks ago, I was talking to Zuko back at the Fire Nation palace. We were getting ready to go to bed and-" Aang tried to explain.
"The short version, Aang," Zuko interrupted.
"I had a vision about spirits as I slept and now Zuko is cursed with turning into a child at random. The Fire Nation council are not very happy with things and have decided that a cover up right now would be better, so we came here until we can at least stop that it happens randomly part," Aang said.
"What do you remember of your vision? Did they give you any way to change back? Spirits do not often curse someone without the knowledge of how to undo it being close at hand," Iroh asked.
"I don't remember much of anything, but we did wake up with these," Aang said nervously as he pulled a yin pendant.
Zuko reached under his shirt and pulled the yang matching pendant out. Zuko stood from Aang's lap and moved a few paces away. He reached his hand out and took Aang's yin necklace and matched aligned it with his. The two formed a perfect symbol before glowing and in the blink of an eye adult Zuko stood before them.
"So, its not really a curse then? You know how to fix it?" Iroh asked.
"I'll just let the pendants do the talking. For now, why don't you do a bit and we can catch up," Zuko said.
Iroh proceeded to tell him all about the latest occurrences at the Jade Dragon. Toph joined in at various spots giving her own telling and filling in parts Iroh didn't know. Zuko and Aang found themselves laughing. Talk then shifted to things about the rest of their friends and Iroh had to not leap in shock as he looked over and realized he was once again looking at child Zuko. The yin part having separated and falling off. Aang reached out and grabbed his pendant off the floor. Iroh noticed the guilty look on Aang's face.
"Toph, I'm thinking some fresh tea would be good. I would just ask Zuko to get it at this point, but I think he needs a hand," Iroh said.
"If you just want a moment to talk to Aang, just say so. You are far too obvious," Toph admonished.
Zuko stood and looked from Iroh to Aang and back once before leaving behind Toph. He watched as Aang shuffled about nervously. He had suspected that Aang knew more then he was letting on, but also knew that when the time was right Aang would talk about it.
"Want to actually tell me what is really going on?" Iroh asked.
"I don't know anything," Aang said a bit too quickly.
"Well, if you don't know anything, then I will just have to give my best guess. It seems your two pendants make a whole and when you do something Zuko becomes a child. Since you have a yin and yang pendant, that complete one another, I guess that its when you are having unfaithful thoughts," Iroh said.
Aang looked shocked and almost as if he had been slapped. A bit of color rose into his cheeks at his gathering anger and frustration.
"If that were the case, I would just go far enough away from Zuko that my thoughts wouldn't cause the transformation," Aang pointed out.
"I suppose you might be right about that, but I think you do know. Spirits are not so giving with their gifts. A curse is something you have to earn a reversal to. Not something handed to you. The only curse in this is that someone is not being honest," Iroh said.
Aang flinched. Iroh knew he had been correct in his assumption.
"If you want, I can keep handing Zuko the pendants and watch him as I talk to him about various subjects, but I'm very curious to know," Iroh said musing to himself.
"If you don't know by now, you are getting far older then I thought," Toph said making her way through the door.
She set a cup of tea in front of Iroh, but the man only looked in the tea cup and frowned. Zuko goggled at Toph curious to know what the girl had guessed.
"I wanted honey tea, not lemon tea," Iroh said still frowning into his cup.
"You didn't mention a thing. If you had, I would have gotten you the right kind," Toph admonished.
"My heart is too set on honey tea to appreciate the lemon flavor and my own waitress tells me I'm growing too old," Iroh said mostly to himself.
"Honestly, if you can't figure it out, just ask yourself why they didn't just make Zuko a frog or a turtle. They made him a child and not some strange animal or hideous beast. When you think about it like that, it all becomes really clear," Toph explained.
Zuko tried to catch Aang's eye, but the boy refused to look up from the floor.
"I think I shall go get that Honey tea after all," Iroh said and stood.
"Honestly, you are getting more and more see through as the days go by. Maybe I should start calling you old man." Toph said, but she too was making her way to the door.
When the door latched shut, Zuko made his way over to Aang. The airbender still hadn't raised his face. He reached out one of his small hands and lifted Aang's chin to look him in the eyes.
"I want to be an adult when we discuss this, but I have the feeling that I would just end up like this in no time flat. I want you to talk to me about this. I don't want secrets between us and I don't want this to be something pent up inside of you that you are not saying," Zuko told him.
Sad silver eyes stared into gold ones as Aang said, "I don't want you to misunderstand. I think you will only see part of it and not where I am actually coming from."
"Then I will sit and listen till you explain it to me properly. Now, would you please tell me what the trigger has to do with me being a child?" Zuko asked.
"When I saw the spirits, they told me that I had been wishing for something a lot lately. I didn't even really know I was. I mean I wish for ice cream all the time, but I don't get that. So, I had no idea that this was going to happen at all. I guess its just that when you deal with spirits as much as I do, they feel obligated to help you with something you can't do yourself," Aang explained.
"What have you been wishing for?"
Aang pulled his knees up in front of his face and wrapped his arms around them before saying, "For children. I wanted a little you around. I guess they just sort of combined the two."
Zuko felt his face flush. He had known their relationship was very serious for a long time now, but not once had Aang ever even brought up the subject. Let alone to guess that Aang had been wishing for it for some time. When he realized he loved Aang, Zuko had given up all thought of children and decided that he would simply be happy spoiling his friends kids. Apparently, that had not been the case with Aang.
"If you want, we can ad-"
"No. I don't want. I thought of all the ways and honestly, I don't want any of them," Aang interrupted.
A frown covered Zuko's face. He hated to think there was something Aang wanted and he couldn't give him. They had come so far together and managed so much. It felt impossible to think there was anything that could stop them. It hurt him to know that he was holding Aang back from something he seemed to want.
Arms wrapped around Zuko and Aang pulled him into his lap. He cuddled the small boy close.
"I feel so guilty," Aang admitted.
"You shouldn't feel guilty for wanting something," Zuko told him.
"Could you say that knowing I'm happy its like this while you suffer, because of it?" Aang asked.
Zuko turned around the best he could and stared at Aang.
"You are happy about this?" Zuko asked.
"I told you I wished and wanted a little you and here you are." Aang said
"I am not much for having children, but if by actually being a child, I can make you happy, then I can accept this as a blessing and not a curse. Just promise to keep all children thoughts outside the council meetings from now on."
"As long as you promise to let me have days with you like this. At least for a little while each week. I can be happy with that."
"One more promise. Most of all, just promise you wont forget me as the adult you know and love. The person whose mini version you wanted," Zuko said taking the pendant and turning back into his regular self.
"I never could, but I like you small, because then you can actually fit in my lap," Aang admitted with a laugh as he pushed the fully grown Zuko off of him.
(A/N: I thought about doing a lot more for this in the future. A story where Aang becomes so attached to Zuko as a child that he becomes forced to pick and decide, however, I don't do so well writing that much angst)
Prompt: A one time chance to change the past
Aang sprawled out in the overly large guest bed. He buried his face in the pillow and tried to block out the earlier conversations. All the talks recently had been about trying to rebuild and trying to try and get an accurate tally on just how much damage the war had actually caused. Besides the vast amount of paper work and endless hours locked in meetings, it meant the content of them. Aang found it surprisingly uncomfortable. He had known for a while now that the air nomads had been wiped out, but having the cold numbers face him day after day and watching the tally rise with each new discovery was just unsettling.
As a monk he valued life. It was precious. It was why even knowing that Ozai was responsible for a lot of these deaths, he couldn't bring himself to kill the man. The violence he would cause would only beget more violence. His act of mercy, he hoped, would help to shape the future. He just wished that it could do something to fix the past.
Each day this past week, he had gone to bed feeling restless and unsettled. He felt like he was having his past mistakes shoved under his nose and having his face rubbed in it. The councilors were simply trying to do what was best and meant him no harm, but his own past still haunted him. The constant 'what ifs' seemed to be keeping him awake for hours before he would slip off into fitful dreams about the other monks. He knew he was starting to get dark bags under his eyes. All of his friends had been asking him recently if he was alright. The continued replies were making him feel even more weary.
Pressed into the cool pillow, Aang relaxed. He didn't even bother to change clothes or pull down the covers. He simply wanted to take a few moments to rest his too heavy body. He found his eye lids slipping shut and decided not to fight them. His last moments before sleep were thinking on simpler times in the southern air temple.
"Come here," a voice inside Aang's mind whispered.
Aang looked around, but found himself floating among the stars. He turned about looking for the source, but found himself suddenly surrounded by a purple sphere. He recognized it from before. Aang couldn't tell if the sphere moved or if it just seemed the space around it moved. He watched the stars passing by, but felt no movement. It was over too quickly for him to make any guesses.
A large presence loomed. Aang turned around and saw the sphere clutched in the hands of the Avatar Spirit. Its glowing eyes and arrows intimidating, but some how also reassuring.
A voice spoke once again in his head, "Aang... You've been having nightmares."
Aang nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. If the spirits were concerned about him, they usually just sent Roku or one of the other past Avatar incarnations. This had been the first time the Avatar Spirit had sought him out and not the other way around.
"Your dreams are troubling. War and strife has stricken the planet before, but never to such a degree. Never was life so carelessly taken. Seeing your reports and dreams, we see now just how much life. Too much life."
Quietly Aang listened. He felt so many questions bubbling up inside of him, but wanted to know the biggest answer and knew the only way to get that was to just keep quiet and let the spirit talk on.
"Since the beginning of the Avatar, never had the world gone so long with out one. Never in a time of war was it allowed to go unchecked. The disaster has passed, but only now can we see what its sheer destruction has caused. Time can be fixed. The mistakes of the past can be changed. Thousands can be saved. An opportunity can be made now."
"What are you saying?" Aang asked anxious to see if the spirit meant what it was saying.
The spirit ran a hand over the sphere Aang resided in on the back half. Aang turned around to look. A small window seemed to form and Aang could see visions of his past unfolding on its surface.
Monk Gyatso smiled fondly at a younger him. Little him grinned back and Aang felt his heart ache. He reached out to rest a hand against the vision and watched it play. It was a memory. It wasn't his favorite nor a time that he hated, but just a time that he treasured. It was enough to knot his stomach.
"This time. If you go back to this time, you can change it. You can stop the war and save the air benders. You can undo hundreds upon hundreds of deaths. This is your opportunity. Go back."
Staring at the memory playing out before his eyes, Aang felt his eyes begin to well up. If he went back, he would be able to save his people. He moved his rested hand along the vision of his mentor. His mind filled with all the things he wanted to tell him about the life he had made for himself and the thing he had done and most of all the people he shared his life with now. His heart skipped a beat.
"I …. I can't," Aang said with a shuddering breath.
"Why?"
"If I go back now, I can save them. I can save so many people," Aang looked at the image of Gyatso and pulled his hand away. He faced the spirit fully saying, "If I do though, I will have stopped the thousands of people who were born only, because this war happened. The war took so many people, but it also gave a lot of them too. Without the war, people like Katara and Sokka wouldn't have suffered the loss of their mother, but would they even exist if there wasn't one. What about Zuko? His entire existence and that of his father are totally shrouded in the existence of this war. No matter how horrible the loss of those people are, we can't just sacrifice the people now to get them back, it would be just as equally horrible," Aang explained.
"That is a wise choice, Aang."
"-ng... Aang," A voice called.
Aang's eyes snapped open and he looked up at Zuko. The Fire Lord stared down at him worriedly.
"Are you ok? You seemed to be have a some of bad dream. I know you haven't been sleeping well, so I came to check on you."
"I've been having a lot of bad dreams recently," Aang admitted.
"I'm sure this is just something you wish you could change, but don't beat yourself up about it. These things have a way of working out. Try and get some real sleep tonight," Zuko said before leaving.
Aang managed to pull the covers over him before falling into his first peaceful sleep in a week.
Prompt: The bigger they are, the harder they hit
The western air temple was the best place to start. It had seen the worst of the damage and was closest to the Fire Nation. Aang refused to admit that it was the last part that held the most sway. He also tried to pretend like it wasn't the fond memories he had of the place that made him so desperate to want to fix it up and get it back up in running condition.
Toph had suggested it as a sort of base for him in between travels. His own little home. Aang didn't like to think that he had gotten so used to life at the Fire Nation Palace, he hadn't even given a proper home a thought, but he knew he needed to. He didn't want to be a burden to the servants there, but it was more then just that. It was the desire to have a proper and functional temple for the Air Benders. The past, the present, and most certainly what ever future ones might come.
Getting supplies brought in was easiest thanks to Appa. A lot of workers had come down on behalf of Zuko, who was also there. They helped to clean up what ever rubble and debris seemed left about. Aang directed the thing as if he were the General in battle. Zuko found him most amusing to watch at times like then.
Then came the troublesome report.
One wall was where it should not be. Aang couldn't figure out for the life of him why it wasn't on the blue prints he had managed to find. He had triple checked with Zuko to make sure it wasn't something that he was looking at wrong. The stubborn wall was just were it shouldn't have been. Aang was prepared to tear it down.
They tried to go at it with hammers, but the brick stood solid. It was just as solid after several minutes of their continued hits. Aang searched over the documents again, but still couldn't come up with anything. Zuko and Toph neither had ideas and insisted that Aang was probably correct in trying to knock it down. Reassured, he went back to the wall at hand.
Given the surrounding walls, explosives were a no go. Any amount of explosives that would be required to take the wall out would end up taking the other ones out and it was already in a horrible condition. The blast waves from an explosive might very well knock the whole thing down.
The next trick was synchronized bending. Aang attempted to blast away at the thing, but it was mostly to no avail. He felt like the wind howling at the mountain. Zuko joined him then and they tried to melt the wall, but it seemed made of tougher stuff. They couldn't even seem to blast through it with their combined efforts. Zuko then brought in a team of his best fire benders and had them take on the wall. The forced they used seemed to shake the whole temple.
Appa seemed to wail and groan at having been waking from his sleeping spot during this event. At Aang and Zuko's secondary attempt at the wall, Appa walked over and joined them. Aang was shocked at first as the wall began to give way. After Appa's continued force, the wall was no longer a problem.
Zuko looked at Aang as they took a short break after the fiasco.
"I guess its true what they say, 'the bigger they are, the harder they hit'."
Aang went a little red in the face and mumbled, "Actually, I probably should have thought of Appa in the first place. The sky bison were used to build these places after all and its only natural they should be perfect for tearing them down too, but I like what you said better."
(A/N: This one escaped at only about 650 words, but it was probably the toughest one for me to come up with an idea)
Prompt: "Just before he died..."
Gently the breeze washed over the wafting grass. Zuko watched it sway and bend in the autumn breeze. The air gusting over the Fire Nation. He let it wash over him and took in the fresh scent it brought with it. It whispered in his ear a promise of far away places that he had once been. It held the only promise that was yet to be fulfilled.
Slowly, Zuko put one foot in front of the other. He was only middle aged and the start of his muscles beginning to cramp on some cold mornings wasn't slowing him now. It wasn't the reason he struggled to continue walking. His thoughts heavy, holding him better then even the best weights. Pushing them from his mind he continued his slow, but steady, trek up the grass hill.
He had wanted it on a hill. It had seemed proper. The thought that he should have to work to get there. That he could blame it on not being just his thoughts, but the climb that was daunting him and slowing his very steps. He tried to force the blame there, but knew all too well at this time that he wasn't even fooling himself.
The thought of stopping occurred to him. It always did when he reached the half way point. He had made this trek every day, but it didn't matter if he made it multiple times a day, it was always here. Here that his steps would falter. His thoughts telling him it was okay to simply go back. It told him that he could just go back to the palace and that everything would be okay, that there was nothing to worry about. When he still placed one foot in front of the other, it tried to tell him to just take a moments rest. Delaying him, while his thoughts tried to keep telling him to just go back. He ignored them all and put one foot in front of the next.
Then his heart joined in with his thoughts. The top of the hill was just coming into his line of vision and his heart knew what waited at the top. It felt broken into a thousand pieces and each piece seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. It made his chest ache. It caused his breathing to become a bit labored, but that he was willing to just brush off as part of his trek up the hill. He had learned from harsh experience in the past that leaving from here only hurt far worse then making it to the top.
Each next step seemed to numb his heart. The feelings and the aching becoming a dull pain that he had grown used to these last few years. There was only so much agony the heart could take before it began to numb itself for self preservation. Zuko often felt he had past that point on that fateful day. The empty feeling each day as his life passed him felt like proof enough.
Reaching the top of the hill, his feet carried him to the gravestone. Not for the first time, Zuko's steps from here seemed to go on their own. They carried him forward. He stood in front of it. The knowledge that under his very feet lay the remains of his friend, lover, his everything. His eyes threatened tears, but Zuko knew he had none left to cry. The sight was the reality check he needed each day.
He dropped to his knees and stared at the engraved words. It was only four simple words, but it was a reminder. It reminded him why he got out of bed each morning. It was the reason he found himself able to go on each day. It made the nights stop being endless. His fingers traced over the words, feeling the stone beneath his fingers. Even in the numbness he found a trace of hope.
Zuko was never sure how much time passed on his trips, but knew that no one would ever say anything about it. He rose to his feet and turned to leave and looked at the four words again. 'Just before he died...' Zuko knew he was the only one who was there at the time when the man had passed. He was the only one that knew what they meant. They were his promise. He echoed that promise as his goodbye.
"I promise, we'll meet again."
(A/N: At just under 750 words, that closes the short prompts.)
FN: Hopefully that wasn't too terrible for anyone. If anyone decides to review, be sure you point out which prompt your talking about so I know what you mean and thank you for reading.