I was scrolling through tumblr (big surprise there) and found this idea for a Yuri! On Ice - Avatar: The Last Airbender au. Otabek is the Avatar and is in need of a firebending teacher! This is also my first fic for Yuri on Ice, so I hope you guys like it.
Otabek watched the elegant dance of the flames as he sat cross legged in front of his earth-bended tent for the night. Sometimes he was oddly mesmerized by the flames, watching the fluidity that the manifestation of heat possessed. Other times, he could have swore the flames mocked him in their own fire language.
A few sparks flew out of the fire at him.
Yep. The fire was definitely mocking him.
Hopefully his new firebending teacher wouldn't mock him like the flames seemed to. Otabek had mastered the other three elements easily enough so he could travel and learn from other sources outside his chosen teachers. There was so much to learn from the other benders. Some had even learned how to bend vines in a giant swamp he had to pass through to travel through the earth kingdom. That had been the weirdest thing he'd ever seen. The people were nice, however, even if they lacked the urge to fully clothe themselves.
Otabek saw no future need to bend vines and plants, but just in case, he had them teach him for the few days he was there. Since he was the avatar, it was his duty to learn all he could to help others. Should a problem arise that required the avatar, he would need to know how to quickly and best resolve the issue. That had been the only real rule that everyone seemed to agree on: The world was Otabek's concern now. He was to show no preference and keep the balance of the world in order. To keep the balance, he had to learn, so learn he did.
Otabek had learned the other elements easily enough. Earth, his first, was simple; He lived his life surrounded by the earth. Be it the Earth Kingdom's walls or the very ground, there was earth everywhere. He could easily feel connected to the area around him, making earth bending nearly as easy as breathing. The firm and steady motions of the forms seem to come to him naturally, and after years of training, he felt confident in his bending.
Finding out he could waterbend was an accident. He had been practicing his earth bending forms by the small river that passed through the mountains near his home. The sun was shining against his chest and back as he practiced. His parents had said what a skilled bender he was and he didn't want to let them down. While practicing, a fire ferret and her tiny babies crossed right over Otabek's feet. Smiling, he had paused his steps, letting them continue. While friendly, some of the ones in the forests were a little skittish, and he didn't want to frighten them. They passed over his feet, one of them sticking their little noses onto his toes to sniff him.
They squeaked and sniffed at the ground, playing with the tiny rocks that Otabek had bended into the air. Soon after they made their way towards the little lip of the ground that reached a foot above the water. Before Otabek could help it, the littlest one had fallen in and was scrambling to swim as the current (while slow) was still pulling the little creature along. Before Otabek could think, he just moved, arms thrown outward and lifting up.
He wasn't sure who was more surprised by this near impossible feat, him or the little fire ferret. Otabek would bet that it was him. He pulled the ferret back to land, and the little family immediately shot back into the forest.
Stunned, Otabek had stayed there, watching the water before hesitantly trying again. The water moved a little, but he didn't know any forms or the proper movements to bend water so his feats were infinitesimal. They were still definitely feats though.
After that, he made his way back home to tell his parents. Then they headed to the capitol to tell the proper people that Otabek might be the Avatar.
He was. Without a doubt.
Otabek's quiet life of staying near his little Earth Kingdom city was over. Not long after, he was carted off to the north to begin mastering the elements.
The fire nation city that Otabek was headed towards, was larger than he had anticipated. Otabek was used to the earthy tones of his home, and while he knew that the other kingdoms had their own traditions and cultures, he was still somehow taken aback when he reached the hill to overlook the outskirts of the city.
The buildings all formed red-roofed lines to the center of the city where a giant temple sat proudly. A statue of the current fire lord stood outside, proud and strong, with small flames coming out of his hands.
Otabek was supposed to meet with one of the fire nations prodigies. He was highly recommended since his other teachers hadn't panned out well. Breathing while squatting in the sun just wasn't teaching him anything, though he kept with it for a week before moving on with his apologies. Another teacher of his was far too aggressive in his bending, coming at Otabek far too intensely than he was used to dealing with.
Being a more quiet and reserved person, Otabek almost found fire to be a confusing element. He knew that he needed the heat from the sun, could feel it beat down on his back as he practiced, and yet he just couldn't feel a connection to it. Fire was wild, and definitely destructive if unchecked; just about everything Otabek wasn't.
Quietly, with a luke warm sense of hope, Otabek made his way through the city. The people milled about, smiling and happy. Children ran around, some playing while others stopped to point Otabek out amongst the crowd. It was fairly easy to point him out with his earthly colored clothes in the sea of proud reds. Thankfully, most didn't know what the Avatar looked like, so he could travel in peace for a while. He liked peaceful. Once people found out he was the Avatar, his very presence drew too much attention. And while the attention he could deal with, he didn't like everyone crowding his space and clammoring around him.
Once he arrived at the temple, he saw a group of at least ten children getting lessons in beginning forms. Perhaps he'd be put with them. He didn't expect to monopolize someone's time, and it wasn't the first time he had been put into a class with beginners or children. Rather than see it as a negative thing, Otabek was fine with it. The children usually loved getting to learn with the Avatar, and Otabek liked the children's infectious energy. And maybe he'd get to show off just a little...
"Excuse me," Otabek interrupted the lesson as the kids stepped into another form. "I'm here to see Viktor Nikiforov, do you know where he is?"
The teacher turned in a huff, before looking at Otabek closely. Otabek could literally pinpoint the exact moment that the older, stuffy teacher realised he was the Avatar. The older man's face went from distaste to an open excitement and a bright smile. "Of course, of course. He's right inside actually," the man told him, gesturing towards the inside of the temple. Then the man huffed. "Good luck getting him to focus though..." And with that, the man bowed to him and went back to teaching the children.
Well, that was weird. Otabek bowed back, trying to mimic the placement of his hands, and headed towards the temple. The inside of the temple was smooth marble that flickered in the reflection of the small flames that stretched along the far wall. Large paintings of important fire benders in their history hung on the other walls.
In front of one of the paintings stood a lean man with silver hair. He was standing with a hand on his hip and the other hand near his face, pointer finger tapping against his chin. He seemed to be contemplating something deeply, and Otabek stood there for a moment in the silence. He really didn't want to interrupt, but at the same time, this guy knew he was arriving.
"Excuse me?" Otabek said quietly. Maybe it was a good sign that his new teacher seemed to contemplate instead of throwing flames first, and barking at Otabek when he couldn't produce a flame.
"Oh!" he snapped, turning to look at Otabek finally. "I'll just tell him that he's the most beautiful person I've ever seen! Do you think that'd work?"
"Umm..." Otabek hummed, confused. "I don't know who you're talking about. I was sent here to see Viktor Nikivirov so he could teach me fire bending?" The end to his sentence died out in the question. Was Otabek wrong, maybe? Had he gotten the dates wrong? The city?
The silver haired man pursed his lips for a moment, before snapping his fingers. "That's right, I guess I did tell the old man that I'd teach you..." he murmured to himself. "Well, I'm headed into the city, so you can get yourself situated. Do you have a place to stay? There are rooms here in the temple you can use. I'm sure no one would oppose to the Avatar staying here."
Otabek wasn't sure how to take his new potential teacher. He seemed a bit...odd. "If that's fine, I'd like to stay here." He only had his small bag of belongings on his back so he didn't need much space. Plus space was never really an issue if he could earth bend a room from the earth to sleep in.
"Right this way!" Viktor smiled brightly, leading Otabek down one of the halls that was at the opposite end of the room. The halls gave way to a small staircase that went up and up through each of the floors of the temple. After picking a room at random, Viktor said he'd be back in a while and left quickly. Otabek just shrugged and set his bag on the bed and looked out the window. From there he could see the children practicing still, each moving as instructed. They weren't practicing with fire yet, and Otabek almost hoped that he would get to stick with the forms for a while.
He watched the students practice for a while through the window, his mind working out which forms came next in the repeated sequences. He might as well get a head start in his training.
He didn't think Viktor Nikivorov was going to work out either as his firebending teacher.
The man was well trained, and excellent in his movements. However, he just... didn't want to teach Otabek. Not that it was anything personal, training the Avatar was an important assignment. Viktor had tried, and he even taught him some of the basic motions and forms. But Otabek could tell that his heart wasn't in it. Not to mention, the man kept getting distracted, often daydreaming about a mysterious stranger he happened to see in the city a few weeks prior.
Otabek wasn't going to force anyone to teach him, or waste anyone's time, so he told Viktor he didn't have to teach him. He'd rather watch and learn from a general class or from afar than from a teacher who would half-ass his lessons. Otabek needed to learn firebending, even if he was still weary about it in general.
Back to square one.
A flash of fire caught Otabek's attention, a quiet whoosh of noise in the open courtyard. He had been trying to meditate and focus, trying to feel connected to his elements like he was used to. Why was fire so hard to learn?
The first thing Otabek noticed was the bright blonde hair. The second thing was the impressive streams of fire that the boy produced easily, as if it were as simple as breathing. He seemed to move with the fire, his movements still smooth yet concise. Otabek could swear the saw fire in the guy's green eyes.
"What the hell are you staring at?"
Otabek jumped a little, cheeks going warm at getting caught staring. He hadn't meant to stare, but he couldn't help but be mesmerised for a moment. He hadn't seen anything like that since... well, ever.
"Well?" the boy demanded again, arms crossed over his chest. Now that Otabek got a better look at him, the boy was lean yet still muscled enough from what looked to be years of firebending. He also didn't look that much younger than Otabek himself.
"I was just observing," Otabek answered honestly.
"Observing?" the boy scoffed in disbelief. "This isn't a free show. What are you even doing here?"
"I'm here to learn firebending."
Those green eyes looked him up and down, brows pulling down as he looked. "Aren't you an earthbender?"
He nodded.
"...You're the Avatar?" the question came after a few quiet moments.
Otabek nodded again. Maybe he could get this new person to teach him. Something felt right about that, having this man teach him. Everyone else was nice enough, but they didn't have that fire in their eyes. That drive; that something extra.
Green eyes trailed over him again, this time slower. Otabek straightened his spine, pulling himself up to look taller. He was taller than the blond by a bit, more muscular as well.
The bond sighed loudly. "Isn't that lovesick idiot supposed to be teaching you?"
"He was," Otabek agreed. "He's just not the right teacher for me. He is talented, though."
Another scoff, this time more aggravated than disbelieving. "Yeah, he's talented, whatever. That still doesn't explain why you were watching me."
Otabek was unsure how to handle the blond. He was very prickly and had attitdue to spare, a constant frown on his face. "I was practicing, meditating when I heard you. I followed the noise to see you bending," he explained. "I've never seen anything like it before."
He watched a slight blush cover the blond's cheeks as his eyes widened a bit. "Really?" Then he shook his head quickly, slight scowl back on his face. "Well, quit sneaking around here and watching me practice. It's creepy." And with that, he walked out of the courtyard towards the path into the city.
Just who was that? Otabek wondered silently. He was going to have to find out.
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