Hey people of the internet, this is a oneshot, Modern Day AU, based off of a prompt I stumbled across:
''Take me laser tagging and then push me into a corner and kiss me. Then shoot me and walk away.'' - halleydoedog on Tumblr
Of course I couldn't resist. I don't really write these things, and I never really upload them. So if you notice any mistakes that would be why. Hopefully you also enjoy my OTP having a fun time with laser tag.
In case anybody is wondering, everyone can still bend. Although that's not relevant at all in this story. I pretend that all of the Gaang is pretty similar in age for this, with maybe Zuko and Sokka being only one year older than all of the others. Honestly, I haven't really thought this through, and don't recommend that you do. Just enjoy the fluff.
''I can't wait for this!'' Aang said as he sped excitedly towards the arcade.
''Hey! Watch it Twinkle Toes'' yelled Toph as she grabbed onto him, narrowly avoiding his collision with an oncoming car. She held him back by the scuff of the neck and only released him upon hearing the murmured conformation from Katara that it was now safe to cross the road.
It had taken a while to get everyone together; between classes and clubs it seemed the group as a whole had slowly grown apart. After coming to university, the Gaang had all gradually picked up different lives. Katara and Suki would still sit next to each other in Psych classes, and Toph and Sokka would work out in the gym a few times a week. Aang, Sokka and Katara all lived together of course, and had been doing so since their first year. (Zuko had a sneaking suspicion that Sokka had only chosen to live with his sister because of the adoring gaze Aang had continually thrown at Katara since he had hit puberty).
Zuko though, he didn't know quite where he fit in to all of this. It had been months since he had been able to catch up with any of his friends. Between his sister having a mental breakdown, his dad bankrupting the family business and his Uncle Iroh, a steadfast keeper of the sanity in Zuko's eyes, deciding to move to a different city and start his own tea shop; he had felt somewhat lost. His life had turned into a series of big explosions one after another, after another. He had also, upon realising that his feelings for Katara went quite a bit beyond 'big-brotherly-affection', actively encouraged this separation. He couldn't imagine Sokka's reaction to finding out his best friend liked his sister. He didn't even want to imagine Katara's reaction either, he felt shame rise and his cheeks tinged slightly pink at the prospect of her rejection. She was so good and pure and not-fucked-up, and he was so, so, not.
''Ah, feels like old times you know? All of us, back together again.'' Sokka sighed, swinging his arms around Suki and Zuko. Zuko felt a scowl slide onto his face and he crossed his arms at the invasion of space. ''It has been so long since we were all together...'' Sokka trailed off.
''Yeah, well not all of us are getting easy grades for classes where the only thing we have to do is show up.'' Suki retorted elbowing Sokka's side. ''Some of us actually have work to do you know.''
''Hey! I work real hard, I just bench-pressed a new max-''
Zuko quickly tuned out of Sokka's bragging. He knew that his friend had a massive crush on Suki for a while now, Sokka just didn't quite know how to express it to her. Zuko had a certain empathy for that, he figured. Ever since a house party which ended with him supporting a very inebriated Sokka on the walk home, and all Sokka had to talk about was how beautiful he thought Suki was, there was no avoiding it. Sokka was in tears by the time Zuko had dumped him at his front door.
''Hic-, Zu, man, she's just too good for me, y'know. She's too good for anyone. I just want her to be happy, she's so cool man, she deserves it. She deserves happiness. She's amazing.''
Zuko rolled his eyes remembering the incident. His gaze landed on Karata; the brown-haired girl had been suspiciously quiet for quite some time now. He slowly considered her. Usually a happy, talkative member of the group, almost to Aang's level, but in an endearing way rather than straight-up annoying. He wondered if something was bothering her. He felt himself tense inside, thinking that she could be bothered by something he couldn't fix, but he tried swiftly to brush it off. He knew he couldn't interfere. Katara had no idea about how he felt, and he was better to stay at a safe distance from her anyway. He was messed up, his family was messed up, his life was messed up. She was above all of it, he reminded himself.
They arrived at the arcade and all went up to the counter to get their chest plates and laser-guns.
''Ha! Look at me'' Sokka flexed in his costume, ''I look like a warrior''
''Sure thing, guess that makes me your Chief! '' Toph guffawed, slapping his back, ''I hope you know I'm going to smoke all of you.'' Zuko didn't doubt it for a second. He knew Toph's abilities and understood enough at this point not to underestimate her, although the cashier was looking quizzically at the little blind girl.
The doors to the dimly lit arena swung open ahead of them, and Zuko peered hard to make anything out of the smog. He recalled the spotty teen who had kitted them out with their guns telling them that the arena ran over a two storied enclosure, with an open space in the middle and various shelter areas to the peripheries.
''Well, obviously, no bending in the arena. That's a given. Another piece of advice, don't get caught on the staircases'' He had told them, a serious look plastered on his pimpled face, ''You have a sensor on the front and back of your chest plate, so if someone shoots you from behind that will be counted too, and staircases are impossible to defend from both sides. You can make alliances if you want, but don't be surprised if you get betrayed, at the end of your time we only count the highest scoring solo person as the winner. The best strategy is always find cover, have a wall to your back, and shoot like mad. And remember, have fun!''
Zuko and the others stepped over the threshold of the door. The doors swung shut behind them, and they were plunged into near darkness.
All hell broke loose.
Immediately, flashing red beams of light lit up from all directions. He distinctly remembered seeing Toph's demonic looking face basked in the bloody glow as she mercilessly aimed and Suki's chest.
''Ha, ha, ha, I am LASER-LORD'' She howled.
He dashed in the opposite direction to where Toph was and dived for the nearby pile of overturned boxes. Popping his head up from his cover he managed to see Sokka sprinting past him, obviously thinking it best to put a lot of distance between himself and Toph as well. Zuko hauled his laser-gun up and caught him with a few well aimed shots to the boys receding figure. He thought it slightly dishonourable to shoot at a retreating competitor, but he shrugged to himself, 'All's fair in love and war'.
A shorter figure emerged out of the gloom, praying it wasn't Toph, he ducked back behind the boxes, clutching his gun to his chest. Zuko realised it was Aang as the other boy's figure slipped quietly by Zuko's hide-out and up a set of stairs around the corner.
Zuko leapt to his feet, remembering what the pimply assistant had mentioned about stairs, he wanted to press his strategic advances upon what he guessed was a less than trigger-happy person in a small, enclosed space. Running up behind Aang as silently as possible, he aimed and shot.
Aang gave a mighty leap into the air as the stairwell lit up with flashes of red, whirling around and seeing Zuko behind him, he broke put into a run. Zuko had obviously under anticipated just how fast the wispy boy could go, because after starting to give chase, Aang was already at the top of the stairs.
Zuko doggedly followed, going hard and fast on the trigger, chasing the younger boy, who seemed to have forgotten he himself also had a gun. Eventually Aang managed to disappear down another set of stairs on the opposite side of the room, and just as Zuko sped to catch him, Sokka leapt from an overturned blockade, gun a-blazing, aiming straight for Zuko's chest. He backtracked quickly, almost slipping over himself in his harried attempt to get away, he stumbled backwards and slid behind a narrow cubby hole in the wall.
Trying to catch his breath, he turned, and found himself nose to nose with Katara. She quietly put her finger to her lips in an effort to silence him, as they both listened to Sokka's heavy footfalls pass them by and down another stairway.
''I guess you found my spot'' She whispered.
''Yup'', he gulped. As every second passed he became more aware of how close to her he was, he could smell her intoxicating scent with very inhale. It was making him feel slightly fuzzy. 'Yup?' He berated himself in his head. 'Yup? You're standing in front of the most gorgeous person to ever exit and you say yup?' She pressed her body against his and for a startling moment Zuko thought she was going to hug him, until he realised that she was pushing past him.
She peered out into the foggy room and seemed to be satisfied that they weren't in any immediate danger, because she turned back to him. She clocked her head slightly to the side and considered him for a moment. Zuko cringed under her gaze, and then realising through his stupor that she might be considering him as an ally. He straightened himself up and tried to reassert his calm and collected game-face.
What she did next would never have registered in his imagination for a second. Pushing him further into their hide-out, she brought her hand up to his face, pulled his body flush against hers, and leaned up and kissed him.
Zuko's brain short-circuited. His mind went blank as his eyes widened. Somewhere deep inside he heard a tiny voice, that at the time he didn't realise sounded slightly like his Uncle, saying 'kiss her back you moron!'. He didn't need to be told twice. Closing his eyes, he pressed his lips firmly back to hers taking a moment to appreciate how soft and large they felt. His every sense was on fire, he never could have believed this would happen. Tentatively, slowly, he slid his tongue across her lower lip, begging to be allowed entry. He didn't even feel her hesitate before she parted them and passionately deepened the kiss.
Zuko didn't notice how his hand tangled itself in her hair, how he brought his other arm around her waist, pulling her in as close as humanly possible. All he could register was her, her fingers tracing up his jawline and across his scar. Her breasts pressed into his chest. Her leg hitching up and around his hip and across a swelling in his –
'Oh.' He broke the kiss. He was breathing heavily, as was she, and his mind spun.
'Katara, I-' he stumbled to explain himself, and all of the blood that was currently rushing southwards.
She took one step backwards, a fiendish smile on her face.
''You have no idea for how long I've wanted to do that'' She paused, ''And this.''
She fired two shots into his chest before he could even blink. Darting out from behind their cubby, quick as a fox she was gone disappearing into the haze.
Zuko blinked stupidly. He blinked stupidly for a long time. He then realised his mouth was hanging open, and promptly shut it. His mind, which had been so blissfully blank a few moments earlier, kicked suddenly into overdrive. He spent the rest of the game looking for, no, hunting, that wily waterbender, but just like her element she seemed to have adapted to a new strategy, a new mode of being, effortlessly. She was constantly in motion. He would hear her laughter from across a room or see the end of her leg darting upstairs. But always, always there was someone in the way. At one point he honestly considered throwing down his gun and stalking across the room to her, pinning her against the wall to finish what she had started. But he knew this game would end, one way or another, and she would have nowhere to hide when it did.
Zuko suffered an embarrassing and extensive failure for the rest of the game. His head was not in the zone, which was so not his fault, but he soon became an easy target. His aim was sloppy and no matter what, he just couldn't focus. By the time the game did end he was not surprised to see his name at the bottom of the leader board. Most shots taken, least hits. He sighed, even Aang had beaten him. He looked at the board again, noticing that despite his prior assumption Toph had not won.
''Guess I'm the best'' Skui smirked.
''Hey, how did she win?'' Sokka questioned aghast.
''Nice going'' Toph smirked, and gave Suki a hefty punch to the arm.
''Well,'' Suki smiled, ''I am an elite warrior, who's trained for many years in martial arts and stealth. I figured I'd be pretty good at this.''
Zuko allowed his gaze to slip past the trio, and he immediately locked eyes with Karata. Aang was bubbling away excitedly next to her, obviously more than a little pleased that somebody had ranked below him. Katara stepped away from the younger boy slyly and stood next to Zuko. Her hand dangled next to his. She looked off towards her brother, who was now arguing that Suki had an unfair advantage and shouldn't have been allowed to play. Still looking in the opposite direction, she curled her pinkie finger around his. His eyes flickered down to her face, and he couldn't help himslef but he could feel every single cell in his body falling for her impish smile.
Walking out of the arcade and onto the street he felt the sun shine on his face, just for a second, he let out a ridiculously large, goofy smile. Somehow, he knew, that things could explode in a good way too.