A/N: Hmm... I seem to be doing a lot with the theme of moonlight and Yue. Anyways, this is for my bingo table, again. The prompt is "the moonlight like flame."

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

Warnings: Set during and post-canon. Sexual innuendos as the end. And, the main pairing would be Yue/La.

Ignite the Flame
By: Nuit Songeur

Upon entering her new life as the Moon Spirit, Yue was nervous, fearful. The koi fish body was alien to her, and it was a startling sensation as soon as she started breathing water instead of air. She would have nearly choked, had her gills allowed it. There was also a strange new pull on her consciousness, as if she were being tugged into two different directions. When she focused on this other pull, Yue suddenly found herself high in the sky, shining down on the world.

The feeling frightened her, and Yue quickly reeled back insider of her new fish body. The body, too, she did not seem to have control over as it swam continuously in circular patterns, muscle memory almost. And for the first few of minutes of this existence, Yue was alone.

Her instinct told her that she shouldn't be alone, that there was supposed to be someone there, swimming alongside her. But there was none, and for what seemed like an eternity, Yue swam in the cold pond by herself. Panic began seizing her small body as the solitude became overwhelming. The humans of her previous life were no longer there, already distant faces in her mind's eye. Now immortal, she was truly alone.

But suddenly there was someone else, swimming with her in his own black body. He chased her and she him as they swam in circles.

"I'm so confused," she told him. "I feel so strange and my mind is being pulled in all directions."

"You have replaced the Moon Spirit Tui," he said. "You've entered this immortal life from a human body. In time, you shall adapt and pick up your duties."

"My duties?"

"As the Moon Spirit."

His name was La— Pull— and he taught Yue the ways of her new life. They weren't always swimming as fish, though. Soon, Yue learned to adjust to her more spirited form as the moon. She would shine brightest full, and on those nights, felt closer to La, who was spread across the world before her as the ocean. He also taught her how to manifest into a human form, a ghostly image of her past self. Yue would occasionally use this form to communicate with the humans of her previous life. La, on the other hand, wasn't as fond of using his human form, having been an immortal being for so long.

"You still feel connected to them," he noted once.

"Yes," she answered solemnly.

"You are no longer human, Yue. You will live on forever. But they won't. You must learn to sever the connection before the pain of your human emotions overcomes you, destroys you."

"Yes, La," Yue responded miserably. La issued something equivalent to a sigh.

"Do not be sore with me, Yue," he said soothingly. "I am merely concerned what is best for you, for us."

"For us?" La said nothing more of the subject.

Eventually, Yue began to see La as more than a teacher or mentor. He was her partner, her equal half, and she learned to trust him. This trust was extended more than she could have originally thought. She relied on him, as he relied on her. Soon, their relationship extended past the mere mentor-to-pupil one. It was of more equal grounding that came with her experience. She learned, as La had said, to sever ties with her weaker human self, but it did not stop her from feeling emotions. Emotions were a part of her, were a part of their precarious relationship. And though she sometimes still shed a tear for the humans she lost over time, La did nothing to scold or correct her. He had long since accepted that the human feelings made up Yue, ever since she was Tui.

This did not mean, however, La himself did not experience such emotions. He did not care for the humans as Yue did. Instead, his devotion was completely concentrated on Yue and resulted in an unyielding, everlasting, and protective love that existed long before Yue was even born. It was his nature, his role. Yue was his, just as he was Yue's.

Yue did not perceive the gravity of such an attachment, originally. She felt it, but she never quite understood it. La only understood that he loved her. Yue loved La too, but she didn't quite know that, yet.

But La also understood that, as immortal spirits, there were duties and responsibilities to tend to. As a spirit, it was his job to help maintain balance in the world. And, as the ocean, he did. He raged storms and great tempests that rocked sea vessels to their demise. But, La did his best to do this when Yue wasn't looking. She was always caring toward the humans, and seeing them killed he knew would hurt her. It already had.

"Why, La?" she moaned despairingly for the humans she did not know. Whenever she was like this, Yue preferred manifesting into a human form. She sat on the bank of the pond, her hands covering her face.

"It's my responsibility," he explained, swimming in circles. "It's the natural order of things." Yue peeked at him through splayed fingers.

"I really wish you wouldn't talk to me as a fish," she mumbled bitterly. La's muscles tensed. Yue with all her frivolous human tendencies. She didn't understand why La didn't like manifesting into a human form; he was more prone to letting the human emotions carry him away sometimes.

But whatever made Yue happy…

Suddenly, he was beside her, colorless human arms wrapped around her as he pulled her into his chest. She continued crying, silently this time, as the dark night of the new moon wore on. La systematically exhaled, so unused to this new form. There it was. He felt it. The painful prick deep within his chest. He was hurt because he had hurt Yue.

To comfort both her and him, he wove his arms tighter around her and began making some calming shushing noises while slowly rocking her as he had done with Tui many years ago.

"Yue," he said gently. "Humans die. That is their nature. Your mother had died, your grandfather, father, and even Sokka had all died. And still, you shed more tears for complete strangers?" His words and motions eventually quieted her and her tears. After a few minutes, Yue looked up, for the first time, into his human face.

It was a handsome face, of pale skin and dark blue eyes that held her gaze with ease. His nose was prominent and his body muscular. Too handsome and unearthly beautiful to be human.

La smiled, reading her thoughts, as he pushed a strand of snow-white hair from her face.

"So are you." He gently held her chin as his dipped his face forward to meet her lips in a soft kiss. His lingered there for a moment before he slowly pulled back to meet her gaze. Something sparked in her blue eyes as she remembered something he had said a while ago.

"For us?"

La nodded and watched as comprehension flashed through her face, shortly followed by a soft blush. "There is no need to be embarrassed, Yue," he said, coaxing her softly. "We are partners, mates in nature. It's almost ritualistic." Yue giggled, in spite of herself.

"So why didn't you tell me before? Why haven't you ever turned human with me?"

"I didn't want you to feel rushed, like you had some sort of obligation. You still had feelings for your old humans. And also, because I tend to get carried away with these emotions when I turn human."

On the nights La manifested into his human form, were the nights when the moonlight produced its own heat and warmth. The moonbeams, some recall, were like the individual flames of a candle, reflecting the state of its wick: the moon. Or rather, the Moon Spirit.

There you are! I hope you enjoyed! Please review!

-NuitSongeur