Vintage Gaang
Because before Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko, there was Aang, Bumi, Kuzon, Zeph, and Gyatso.

AN: So, this is an idea that's sort of been floating around in my head for a while. I figure, well, being Air Nomads, Aang and Gyatso probably traveled around a lot. Aang obviously had friends all over the world--Bumi and Kuzon are the two examples given in the show--and, well, yeah, he's obviously close with Katara and Sokka and Toph and Zuko, but he had a life and other friends long before they were even born. So I had this idea about life before the war, when everyone was friends and things were peaceful and the Air Nomads still wandered all over the planet, and this is the result. It's nothing amazing, just a little scene of pre-war life. Currently a oneshot, but that'll probably change as the plotbunnies inevitably crop up. This is also unbetaed, and while I tend to be pretty good with my grammar and spelling, there's bound to be something I missed. If anyone would like to offer their services as a beta, I'd gladly return the favor!

Disclaimer: Avatar isn't mine. I did create the character Zeph and her sky bison Zonpa, so I guess I sort of own them. If anyone ever wants to borrow them for anything, feel free to ask (though I'm not sure why anyone would want to...).

"I have to hand it to you, Bumi--it's a lot easier to build a fort when you have an Earthbender around."

"Why, Kuzon, you're too kind."

Aang looked up towards the top of the tower of earth, which rose about eight feet above the children's heads. It was lumpy and crude-looking, but the point was that it was sturdy. "Okay. So Zeph, you get up there and pretend to be Princess Akemi, and this is the part where you're being held prisoner by Lord Tanran."

"I'll be Tanran," Kuzon volunteered.

"Great," Bumi said. "I call Chijin."

"Okay," said Aang. "Then I'm Masaru."

Zeph frowned, looking at the three boys. "Can't Kuzon be Masaru?"

Kuzon frowned. "Why does it matter?"

"Because I'd much rather be rescued by--" And then she abruptly shut up. "Never mind."

Kuzon looked confused, Bumi glanced from the Fire Nation boy to the Air Nomad girl, and Aang dutifully got them back on track. "Okay, so you get up there, Zeph, and I, noble Masaru, and my trusty friend Chijin shall save you from cruel Lord Tanran!" He struck a pose, trying out the character. Zeph looked up at the pillar of earth meant to be Tanran's stronghold, frowning.

"You know, I just thought of something...didn't Masaru have Ryuu with him at this point?"

Aang frowned. "Well, yeah...but we don't exactly have a dragon around here we can use for that..."

"But it isn't the same if Ryuu isn't here," Zeph said.

"She has a point," Bumi nodded. "It isn't exactly 'Love Amongst the Dragons' if there aren't any dragons."

"Well, do you guys have any idea about what we can use for a dragon?" Aang asked. "Aside from Appa--Monk Gyatso took him to run errands."

"Is Zonpa still around, or did she fly off somewhere?" Kuzon asked.

"She should be close," Zeph said, smiling at the Firebender. "I'll go check." Picking up her staff, she caught an air current and flew off, her loose brown cowpig-tails fluttering in the breeze. Bumi watched until she was out of hearing range, and then he turned to Kuzon. This summer marked his first time in the Fire Nation, the first time he'd met Kuzon and Zeph, and the first time he'd seen the two kids interact, and something had stuck out as quite obvious.

"She likes you."

"What?" Kuzon asked, looking confused. "Well, of course she does. We're friends."

"No, my good hotman," Bumi said, taking the opportunity to show off how well he'd picked up the native lingo. "I mean, she likes you, likes you."

"Maybe you should be Masaru," Aang mused, and Kuzon shook his head.

"Nope. I like Tanran." At his friends' dubious stares, he added, "What? As a villain, he's pretty flamin'!"

"Oh, I see," Bumi grinned. "You're playing a villain, and you're breaking the poor girl's heart!"

"What?" Kuzon yelped. "I am not!"

"But she looked positively downcast when Aang took the role of Masaru..."

It clicked for Kuzon at that point, and he stared at Bumi in shock for a moment before replying, "Zeph's just my friend, okay? With the amount of time her family spends in the Fire Nation, we've practically grown up together!"

"Oh, so you know each other pretty well, then?"

"Yeah..."

"She likes to hang out with you a lot?"

"That doesn't mean she likes me!"

"I think it does."

Aang looked back and forth between his two best friends. Bumi had a smug, teasing look on his face, and Kuzon looked close to panic. Aang didn't blame him. He didn't know what he'd do if he was ever told a girl had a crush on him.

"She's just my friend," Kuzon said as convincingly as he could. "A very good friend."

"Yeah. Who's always acting shy around you and smiling dreamily and giggling and--"

"That's it!" Kuzon shouted, lunging at the Earth Kingdom boy. "Shut up!"

Bumi laughed as Kuzon tackled him. And then he began singing. "Zeph and Kuzon, sitting in a tree! Filled with love and happy as can be! First comes--"

"Shut it!"

The boys were fighting in earnest now--Kuzon wasn't shooting fire yet, but Bumi was already using the earth to trip him. The little voice in the back of Aang's head that whispered random pieces of wisdom told him it was time to step in.

"Hey, guys," he said, moving toward the wrestling boys, "calm down, okay? There's no reason to--" He was interrupted by a rogue earth attack of Bumi's. Aang only had a second to scream before the ground swallowed him up to his chest. "BUMI!"

"Sorry, Aang," the other shouted, dodging a small fireball from Kuzon. "Didn't mean it!"

"Get me out of here!"

"Can't!" the other shouted, gleefully evading Kuzon's attacks.

"Hold still, you crazy Earthbender!" Kuzon shouted.

"No thank you," Bumi grinned, sending a small boulder Kuzon's way.

"You two are impossible," Aang groaned, resigning himself to being halfway stuck in the earth for the rest of eternity. Had he the training, he would gladly have bended a nice strong wind and blown his aggravating friends a mile away, but as he was only halfway to being a master, that was out of the question.

"You know, you're pretty good at this," Kuzon observed, sending another set of flames toward Bumi. He didn't have much training yet, so the fire had little harm to it besides some mild heat.

"Why thank you, my good hotman. Your bending's pretty flamin', itself."

"Well, yeah, seeing as I'm a Firebender and all. Fire is a good element."

"So's earth."

"Oh, I don't deny that earth is a flamin' element," Kuzon said.

"It sure is," Bumi smirked, and a moment later Kuzon was stuck in the ground next to Aang.

"Hey! Let me out!"

"Yeah Bumi," Aang sighed, "come on, let us--"

"First, acknowledge earth as the most flamin' element on the planet!"

"What?!" the other two boys demanded.

"It is not!" Aang shouted. "Air's much better than silly old earth--"

"Fire looks cooler!"

"Looks aren't everything! I just beat you!"

"You wouldn't've if I was a master Firebender--"

"So what if I was a master Earthbender?"

"Oh, would both of you just shut up? Bumi, get us out of here!"

~~~~~

When Monk Gyatso returned from gathering supplies in the nearby town, he was quite surprised at the scene that greeted him and Appa. His pupil was encased up to his chest in the earth, along with the young Firebender boy, and the Earthbender was glaring down at both of them. All three children were screaming some sort of argument, with Kuzon's angry shouts emphasized by the occasional fireball and Aang's by some unnaturally strong gusts of wind.

"I'm telling you, air is better than earth! You can't take air away without dying, but if an earthbender is out at sea--"

"Hey, you can make your own fire! Don't forget that!"

"Well, not if it's really cold you can't!"

"You guys are completely missing the fact that I beat you!"

"I wasn't even fighting!"

A little ways off, Zeph sat against her young air bison, watching the show and idly twirling her right cowpig-tail around her hand. Gyatso approached her.

"How long has this been going on for?" he asked, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

"I've been watching them for about ten minutes," she sighed. "We were supposed to play 'Love Amongst the Dragons', but I don't think it's working." She watched the boys for another moment. "They're gonna keep this up all day, aren't they?"

"I would say that is a safe bet," Gyatso smiled. "In the meantime, I have some fruit pies that need baking. Would you like to help?"

She brightened. "Can I lick the bowl when we're done?"

He smiled. "Certainly."

They wandered back to Kuzon's family's vacation house, fully intent on whipping up some mouth-watering fruit pies. Behind them, Appa and Zonpa flew up into the clouds, fed up with the bickering of the nine-year-old boys playing in the dirt. The skies were blue, the Fire Nation was beautiful in summertime, and all the world was at peace.

Life was good.

AN: About the names...

Zeph--Derived from Zephyr, which is a breeze from the west.
Zonpa--Tibetan, "young".
Akemi--Japanese, "bright and beautiful".
Tanran--Japanese, "greed".
Chijin--Japanese, "friend".
Masaru--Japanese, "victory".
Ryuu--Japanese, "dragon".

I know absolutely nothing about "Love Amongst the Dragons", by the way, aside from the fact that it's a play that Ursa apparently likes a lot. I'm pretty sure there isn't a synopsis of it anywhere, or even a general idea of the plot, so I just totally made it up.

I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave a review, be it a quick "I liked it" or a long list of constructive criticism. And if anyone would like to beta for me, just send me a message.

Thanks for reading! ^_^