Armada
. helium lost .

Author's Notes: After seeing the clips on YouTube of the shipping panel at Comicon, I felt the sudden, strong, and insane urge to write a drabble for each of the ships mentioned. Yes, each and every one of them, no matter how much crack they're on. XD As always, any and all feedback and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. :)!

Ship #1
Hatara
"Two Years"

Two years.

Haru lay on his bed, playing with a couple rocks in one hand. He'd toss them up, catch them, make them twirl around each other like some sort of dizzying vulture dance.

Two years.

He remembered the day vividly—Katara's rallying speech, the disbelief on everyone's faces... He had almost given up himself, but seeing Katara so passionate, fighting for a bunch of strangers... Something had kindled inside him; some sort of beast had broken out of its fragile cocoon, tearing out and filling him with a strange sort of energy, a strange sense of—rebellion.

There was a knock on his door. He quickly stopped earthbending and set down the rocks, though there was really no need to—the fire nation no longer had very much of an interest in their town—but it was still a reflex, conditioned by many years of hiding, and that continuous, gut-wrenching terror of being found.

"Haru?" said his mother, opening the door just a crack. "There's someone here to see you."

He sat up quickly. Could it be...? He shook his head—No, Katara was busy, helping the Avatar restore peace and order in war-torn nations... He had heard of their deeds through word-of-mouth; they had been helping the Fire Nation to reforge alliances, helping places destroyed by fire to rebuild... They couldn't be here; they had already done their part here.

But some voice inside him continued to hope, continued to say that maybe, just maybe, Katara and the Avatar were passing through this area and decided to drop by...

"Who is it?" he said at last.

"A girl," his mother replied. Haru's heart lept.

Maybe, just maybe...

He jumped off the bed and shoved his feet into his slippers, flinging open the door, much to his mother's surprise. He took quick, long steps over to the front door—his mother still never invited anyone inside, still wary of anyone wishing to rekindle the war—and opened it quickly, face beaming.

"Kat—" he began, but his face dropped. Standing before the door wasn't Katara, but rather, Kano, who lived across town. Disbelief gave way to crushing realization. His arm, which had been gripping the door, relaxed and fell to his side again as he looked at her face, then lowered his eyes to the ground. "Oh, hi, Kano," he said, voice dulled.

Kano smiled gently. "Haru, there's a festival in town this weekend, as I'm sure you know," she said. "And I was wondering—well—" She blushed, pausing as she diverted her eyes to a spot on the ground. "Would—would you like to go with me?"

Haru frowned, wracking his brain for a believable excuse, one that he hadn't used yet. He didn't want to hurt her feelings—he hated seeing girls sad—but, all the same...

"...Sorry, but I'm busy this weekend," he said at last, looking back up at her. Kano's smile dropped.

"Oh, I see..." she said softly. "Earthbending again?"

Haru nodded, snatching up the excuse. "I've been having difficulty with a particular stance, and I need to figure out how to do it properly." Not a complete lie, really—out of all the earthbending maneuvers, there was bound to be one that he'd have difficulty with. He'd find it soon enough.

Kano nodded. "I see... well..." She looked up. "Don't hesitate to tell me if you work it out and have time, hmm?" She smiled again, but her eyes still held a tint of sadness. Haru nodded.

"I will."

He closed the door and slowly walked back to his room.

That had been a complete lie.

Even if he found and mastered a new earthbending move and had time left over, he wouldn't pay a visit to her. He would, as always, be in that spot where he first saw Katara, heart thumping as he looked into her blue eyes, before dropping the boulder and dashing off...

Besides, he would've only made the two of them more unhappy if he had gone with her.

It had, after all, been two years since he'd last been happy with a girl...


Author's Notes: Hmm, I dunno... Could've been longer, I think, but I didn't exactly want my original premise of a 500-word drabble to turn into some heaping Goliath of a fic XD So, I hope you liked it, and remember, feedback is always, always welcome ;)! Just no bashing of pairings, please.