Ok so I've got some major writers block. Only solution that seems to work, write more. So I'm writing a short little oneshot for my two favorite and totally under publicized characters, Longshot and Smellerbee! No I don't own avatar, cuz if I did, these two would be a lot more active in the show.
Winters in the forest suck. There's no denying it and there's no way to get around it. The ground hardens and ice covers the rivers. But most of all, watch duty, those long three hour shifts, sitting in the cold, with nothing to do but try to find two identical snowflakes. Smellerbee was thinking on none of those things though, as her shift drew to a close. The horrid mugginess and freeze your ass off temperatures were far from her mind as she descended from the branches to the small path, passing Sneers on her way back home.
No, Smellerbee was thinking of her roommate, Longshot. The last few weeks, being around him had gone from comfortable silence, to something else. She wasn't quite sure what it was, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Around him, her brain got all fuzzy, and her mind didn't work right. Her stomach twisted itself into knots and her hands shook. Nothing like this had ever happened to her before, not once during her many years around the silent archer.
She knew he had noticed, because she often caught him looking at her, puzzlement on his face, and he sometimes asked her, not with his voice, but with his eyes, what was bothering her. And how could she answer, when she didn't know herself.
"What is wrong with me?"
"Our little Smellerbee's got a crush!" The voice came out of nowhere, almost giving her a heart attack. Glaring up, her eyes found Jet, grinning from ear to ear as he hung suspended from the thick limbs above.
"What are you talking about scarecrow?" Jets smirk widened with childish delight, recognizing the name Smellerbee had given him for the wheat that was always sticking out of his mouth, no matter what season it was.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about Bee. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you act around Longshot lately. It's one of the first signs you know. I never thought it would happen to you though. Guess I'm pleasantly surprised." He smirked again and dropped out of the tree, landing gracefully on his feet.
"You never thought what would happen to me Jet? What the hell is going on in that little almond shell of a head you have?" Smellerbee rolled her eyes. At fifteen, Jet was always trying to find a way to agitate the younger freedom fighter, simply because she was one of the only girls there was in their little family.
"What is your hearing on the whack now to is it? You must not have heard me when I told you the answer to the question you asked."
"What question? Jet I don't have time for this, I'm cold, and it's freezing out here." She started to brush past him but he just blocked her.
"What's wrong with me? Remember, you were talking out loud and nobody else is around here, so you must have been talking to me. What's wrong with you, or not wrong I guess, is that you are now officially a girl." He smirked again, and easily side-stepped the fist Smellerbee had launched at his head.
"Gee, now that we've covered that, can we please move on to something that we don't already know." Jet was seriously starting to irritate her, and despite her best efforts, Smellerbee couldn't help but let a little bit of sting seep into her words.
"Well someone's defensive. What I mean is you're finally a real girl. You got your first crush! Isn't that sweet" This time Jet wasn't quite fast enough, and Smellerbee managed to land a fist in his gut, causing him to double over.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about Jet. Your making yourself look like even more of an ass than usual." Brushing past him, Smellerbee continued walking, a slight blush on her cheeks. Jets footsteps crunched under the ice as he ran to catch up with her.
"Hey I'm just trying to help you out here. So you have a crush on Longshot, big deal." He dodged again. "Okay you really need to stop doing that. Look Bee, I know you like Longshot, and I know he likes you." Smellerbee stopped, and turned to glare daggers at Jet.
"You have forty seconds to explain what the hell you are talking about before you find yourself to be one with the snow bank. Go."
"Well you always start acting differently then you did before around Longshot, and he acts the same way around you, I always catch him staring at you, with this weird, kinda happy expression on his face and I, being the smart dumpling that I am, put two and two together. You like him and he likes you. And it's also obvious that neither one of you is going to do anything about it, so I felt the need to intervene before you both wind up confused and start questioning your friendship." He stopped, and took a deep breath.
Smellerbee was just staring at him, with a mixture of embarrassment and fury on her face.
"Jet it's none of your business what I do, or who I like." Her face was slowly turning pale. "Longshot is my friend, and I've known him for years. Just because he looks at me weird doesn't mean he likes me. Why would he like me?"
"Well since I don't hear you denying it, I'm going to go ahead and assume that I'm right. As for the other part of your answer, why wouldn't he like you? You're smart, and athletic and fun. Why do you think I keep you around here? And he doesn't just look at you weird, he looks at you like he's trying to decide how to word something. Like he's trying to figure out how to tell you something. To tell you he likes you as more than just a friend. And we all know how long he takes to think some things threw. So what I would do is plant one on him. Just give him a big old, smacking kiss, right on the lips. Nothing says 'hey I like you' like a kiss." Smellerbees face was completely red by now and none of it was from the weather. Jet just grinned his cocky little grin and took off into the trees before she could plant him into a tree.
"Hey Longshot? Can I talk to you?" Smellerbee asked after dinner that night. Raising his eyebrows, Longshot stood and followed her, out of the pavilion, across the bridges, and into the intertwined zip lines of the living quarters. Stopping in the darkness, Longshot turned to face Smellerbee. Her cheeks here red again, but he didn't know if it was from the cold, or something else.
"Well…..jet talked to me earlier today. He said some weird things and, well I guess what I'm trying to say is…."
Longshot's eyes widened, realizing exactly what talk Jet had had with Smellerbee. It was probably the same one or some revised version, of the one he had given him a few hours ago.
So Jet had been right, she did like him after all. That was a relief. Knowing that he didn't have to pretend. He smiled and was so caught up in relief that he didn't realize she had moved closer to him, not until he felt her soft lips on his.
Longshot's eyes widened again and he stiffened an involuntary reaction to being in such close proximity to another person. She blushed more ferociously and stepped back stammering.
"Oh jeez Longshot I'm so sorry. I guess I just…..and he said….im just going to go and" she turned to leave but stopped when he reached a hand out and held her shoulder. Turning her around, he almost laughed at the embarrassed look on her face.
"I didn't say I didn't like it." His voice was warm and inviting, and she loved it. He pulled her close to him again, and cupping her face in his hands, kissed her lips in the cold, dark, empty row of houses. He wound his arms around her neck and felt hers wind around his waist in response. Her lips tastes sweet and warm, inviting him in and making him never want to let go.
"Wow I didn't think you guys would actually listen to me." Jet laughed, startling the couple out of their own world. "I thought I'd have to work much harder. Guess I was wrong" he winked and dropped out of sight before either one of them could get him.
Longshot sighed and Smellerbee rested her head on his chest. He knew she could hear his heart pounding, but didn't think she'd really mind. She chuckled and looked at Longshot in the rising moonlight. Smiling down at her, he brought her to him again and both enjoyed the moment, savoring it.