WARNING: You are about to read a novice (...really novice) fanfiction author's first attempts at fluff. Proceed with caution. And then give constructive criticism. Please? :)

I wrote this as a birthday present for my ASN twin, Smellerbee. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! While I wrote it, The Beatles' "Yesterday" was on repeat. I recommend doing the same as you read.

Forever Ago Feels Like Yesterday

In the darkness of night, when she thought no one was watching her, Smellerbee leaned against the cold railing, letting sea-spray find its way up onto her face. It wet the deep blue fabric of her headband, and collected in the wispy tips of her unruly shock of brown hair. The waters they traveled through wound along the edges of the boat, swirling and rushing like the winds she longed to fly away on. Steadied by the humming of the ship, she glanced at her small calloused hands, illuminated by the light of a flickering lantern against a dark and watery backdrop. So many scars. They were all ingrained in her memory. She closed her languid, shadowed eyes and traced one on her left hand with her right, memories resurfacing from under the black, moonlit waves.

A soft, narrow, almost undetectable depression along the length of her palm. She was thrown headlong into the past.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"It's simple, really. We watch each other's backs. Everyone here wants the same thing." The shaggy-haired boy, Jet, glanced at the fires behind her. "I think you know what that is."

She nodded, wiping the soot and tears from her face.

"It's a safe place," he explained as they began walking together. "They won't be able to get you there. I'll make sure of it."

And yet she was still unsure. "You... you promise?"

He smiled paternally. "Of course."

"Alright. But..." She removed a shining dagger, partly stained black with fire, from her belt. Fidgety child-shaped shadows watched with apprehension from the edges of the distant forest. She dragged the dagger lightly along her soft skin, and tiny, spinning droplets of blood bloomed in the creases of her palm.

"There's no need to-"

"Do it. Just... do it."

She shoved the blade at him stubbornly, and he took the hilt in his hand, admiring it. The rising embers of the fires, now a good distance away, were reflected in the curved metal. She winced. He gave her another smile, small and reassuring. When she glanced down again, he had already done what she had asked, and a bloodred line traveled down his own palm. He held out his hand.

"I promise."

She eyed him warily, but took his hand with her own. Their blood mingled, sealing the promise he had given her.

And the children emerged from the forest to greet her, without fear.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The smell of the sea returned her to the present. She longed for those days again; when everything was so simple. Jet had never broken his promise. He worked to keep it, even now. Even now that he had been consumed by hatred, and she and Longshot had been left to watch helplessly as it burned him from the inside, blackening and curling the edges of his mind.

She knew they had to escape, for his sake. For all of the Freedom Fighters. They were just kids. She hated to admit it, but what could they ever have done but ruin themselves? Jet was too far along that path now, and, for once, Smellerbee wasn't going to follow him. But they could not pull him away. She knew he was trying just as hard, but it was too late. He was too far gone. Their best chance was to get him as far as possible from the object of his hatred. So they were headed to the impenetrable city. Ba Sing Se. So very far away from their home.

Her face hardened as she stared blankly off at the dark horizon. The Duke, Pipsqueak, Sneers... everyone. She'd likely never see them again. Her family had been torn from her for the second time. It would have been unbearable if she had also had to leave Longshot behind. She couldn't even think of what it would be like, him not being there to keep her sane. If she was honest with herself (which she often wasn't), she loved him. That's what it was, wasn't it? That feeling? When you can't imagine life without that person?

She had asked Jet what love was once, back when life was a treehouse in a bright red forest. He had simply chuckled. "Something that evades me to this day," he had said amusedly, and twirled the ever-present twig hanging effortlessly from his mouth. "From what I've heard, it's the best feeling in the world." He smirked. "I don't know if I believe that. You'd know what it was when you found it, I s'pose." He gazed off into something Smellerbee couldn't see, lost in thought. "Or maybe it's just been there all along, growing without you ever being the wiser. Until, one day, it just hits you. Smack in the face." He hit himself in the face comically to emphasize this, though almost as an afterthought. He paused. "I wouldn't know. I Get the feeling I'll never be that lucky. But you will, Smellerbee. I'm sure of it. Maybe you already have." With that, he had just nodded, gotten up, and left. Leaving Smellerbee just as confused as ever, but, in a way... hopeful.

She felt that same brand of hope bubble up within her now, and stood tall, still gripping the railing in the soft light. She graced the sea with a tiny smile and removed her dagger from its sheath, spinning it in her hand. The paddles at the back of the boat churned at a steady rhythm. She suddenly, inexplicably, felt like dancing.

What would people think, if she just danced? If they woke to the sound of her feet sliding along the wooden spaces between their sleeping bags and mats? She discovered that she wouldn't care. Longshot had taught her that, hadn't he? It didn't matter what others thought about her; it only mattered what she thought about herself.

As she watched the waves rise and fall, she questioned what he had said. She realized that she only really cared what one other person thought of her; Longshot himself. Did he feel the same way as she? Did he feel the shocking warmth when she touched him? Did he watch her when she wasn't looking? Did his breath quicken when she came too close?

She wanted to know. Was it so wrong to want to know? She briefly thought that she was getting soft; girly, even. She quickly dismissed this. That was unlikely, and, even if she was, who gave a damn? She sure didn't. This was how she felt, and the rest of the world could just... deal with it. Or, at least, they would, if she were able to tell them.

She sighed and ran her thin fingers through her damp, misted hair, returning her dagger to its sheath again. Why did this all have to be so confusing? Everything was confusing to her now. Things she thought she had always known for certain were now thrust into the front of her mind to be questioned. There were so many new shades of gray that she just couldn't place. She had liked it better when the world was black and white, with stark contrast to reassure her. But now everything was so... twisted up.

Suddenly, the wooden boards of the deck creaked nearby and she jumped, instinctively reaching for her dagger. Then Longshot was standing beside her, and he placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She sighed in relief, and blinked briefly as the pleasant warmth traveled through her from his touch, always unexpected.

"Warn me next time you decide to play secret agent. I just about cut your face off," she said snarkily.

He smiled, amused, and turned out to watch the ocean as she had been doing for a while. After a long pause, she spoke.

"Thanks. For what you said earlier. I really needed that."

He squeezed her shoulder gently, stoic as ever.

"I'm just on edge because... I- I'm so confused. Everything's so... backwards. I'm not sure of anything anymore. Not even myself," she explained.

Longshot nodded and dropped his hand from her shoulder, gazing up at the dimmed pinpoint stars, his pale face tinged with melancholy. Smellerbee could tell he was just as pained and confused as she was. She grasped his hand reassuringly, and he turned to give a fleeting smile. His eyes deepened, and she understood.

No matter what changes, I'll always be here next to you.

Her worries faded, and now she was the one smiling.

"I know. Same goes for me. We'll always have each other's backs. It's what Freedom Fighters do."

He winced visibly and gave a weak smile, half illuminated by lamplight. He turned to the rolling ocean again and sighed almost unnoticeably. Smellerbee frowned slightly, getting the feeling she had missed something vitally important.

Longshot nodded in the direction of their small corner of the deck. He was going to go get some sleep.

"O- Okay. I'll be there in a while. 'Night, then."

He hesitated for a second, but turned and began to walk off, boards creaking softly under his feet. Smellerbee watched him go, puzzled. What was that about?

And then, suddenly, something unseen slapped her in the face. She gaped for a second, then shook herself.

"Wait! Longshot- wait!" She ran after him, and he was only half-way turned around when she reached him, landing her skinny arms on his shoulders and kissing him deeply, knocking off his hat. His eyes widened with surprise, but he quickly reciprocated, wrapping his arms around her slowly, feeling her warmth through her many layers of armor. She broke away as his hands found their way up to the back of her neck, fingers reaching up into her unruly hair. He smiled, happily dazed.

"I'll be here next to you, too."

"Good to know," he replied, and with his arm around her, they walked across the deck, away from the sea and from painful memories of the past.