A/N: I'm surprised I didn't post this sooner! I thought I had.... Ah, well! A friend had requested some Zuko and Aang BFFness, so that's what I attempted! It's been a while since I really worked on Avatar fics, so please tell me what you think. I hope you like it~
Sighs and Advice
It was after the twentieth sigh that Zuko decided to have Aang cease in his hotsquats. The young Avatar let out another sigh (twenty-one) and slumped forward; his eyes looked distant, as though lost in thought. With a grunt, the prince found himself shifting slightly uncomfortably before asking a simple question:
"What's up?"
Aang bit his lip. "I'm not sure," he muttered.
"Well, you're just not really focused–and you've been that way the past week or so." Frowning, Zuko leaned against a nearby rock. The whole thing made little sense to him, and really, answers as vague as that helped so much.
Silence. A soft breeze rustled past, skimming the skin of Aang's head and dancing with Zuko's unkept locks. Finally, there was another sigh (twenty-two). "I don't think Katara likes me."
Where was this assumption even coming from? "Why do you think that?" Zuko asked, confused. "I mean, isn't she your best friend?"
Letting out a frustrated grunt, Aang fell onto his back and jammed his eyes shut. "That's not it, Zuko," he groaned. "I think I messed up bad."
Brow raised in question, the older boy watched his friend expectantly. "You... messed up?"
And with that, Aang airbended himself to his feet and began to pace around animatedly as he rambled, "I wanted to win that day, but I was also afraid of not coming back, you know? She just believed in me so much... and I don't know, but I ended up kissing her and now it just feels like everything is the same and I have no idea how she feels and I guess she's trying to forget it or hates me or–"
"Wait," Zuko interrupted. The boy in front of him pausefd, mouth still wide and eyes swimming with worry. "You kissed her?"
"Um... yeah. Back when we invaded the Fire Nation," he admitted sheepishly, twiddling his thumbs. Why he was being shy about it when he'd just mentioned it seconds ago made no sense to Zuko, but he kept that to himself.
With a sigh of his own (which, if he were just counting the sighs between them, would have been number twenty-three), the firebender brought a hand to the back of his head. Like he really knew what to say to ease his friend's worries. 'Oh, don't worry, she likes you enough to threaten to kill me!' Yeah, that would be a great pick-me-up. Instead, he opted for a quiet, "Give her time. Some girls just... need to think things over. You probably surprised her."
"I guess I did... I mean, I didn't even let her finish talking." Weak laughter bubbled up from him as he recalled the moment; and he brought a hand to his lips, sighing again (twenty-four). After a few seconds where he seemed to be mulling it over, Aang asked, "I should give her time...? But... I might not have much more time. I just want to know how she feels...."
Zuko nodded. "I understand. Really, it's hard... when you don't know." His thoughts drifted of when he'd been banished... not knowing how Mai truly felt and unable to disclose his own feelings. Of course, he wasn't really going to talk about that, so he shifted his weight to his other foot and offered: "Love is like this long string that connects people. The string is pretty strong, so it takes a lot to break it. So I doubt your surprise kiss broke that or anything." He furrowed his brows. Where was he going with this...?
By the look on Aang's face, he didn't quite get it either. "I guess that kind of makes sense," he said, and clearly he was still thinking over the 'advice' as he began his hotsquats again. After a minute or two, the Avatar let out a long-winded sigh (twenty-five).
Perhaps, Zuko thought as he continued to count the sighs escaping his friend, he should refrain from giving advice after all....