The unexpected element (PG-13)
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The last airbender or any of its characters.
This will be a Ty lokka fanfiction. Even though it's posted in chapters, it is already finished.
" " Speech
' ' Thought
- - Action
Chapter 1
Ty lee was walking through the Boiling rock prison, bored with the sight, the heat and the prisoners. Mai was talking to Zuko and Azula was doing something with the warden. She didn't really pay attention when it came to political matters.
'I wonder why I had to come here. Probably Azula's idea. She takes us everywhere nowadays.'
Walking past one of those smelly guards she suddenly stopped. She recognized that smell. Looking at the guard, she saw the distinctive pale blue aura.
'It's that boy traveling with the avatar. Hmmm... But is it him really? Hey wait! Isn't this the cell from that girl with the heavy make-up? It must be him, I'm so lucky!'
Sokka, camouflaged in the rather itchy and smelly uniform stared uneasily in front of him.
'C'mon, please go! What's that Azula girl, Ty lee or something, even doing here? This could ruin the escape plan.'
Ty lee suddenly tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to back up to the wall and, rather painfully, hit his head on the wall.
"Why are you so jumpy?" Ty lee asks, deciding to take act ignorant until she figured out what to do.
"N-nothing, I just saw a bug... Yeah, that's it, a big scary one!" Sokka exclaimed, waving his arms around describing the vastness of the aforementioned bug.
"I kinda got lost, could you lead me to the outside?" Ty lee begged, putting her grey eyes into full puppy dog mode.
Sokka blushed a little, forgetting that Suki was currently four feet away behind a door, glaring daggers at Ty lee.
Totally dazed, not even noticing the 5 hairs being pulled from his neck by an angry Suki, he responded with a resolute: "Uhm.. y-yeah, ok."
Well, it was resolute in his head at least.
Walking past cell after cell, Sokka noticed Ty lee seemed to act a little strange, checking inside every cell they walked by. After a while he just chalked it up to Azula and her strict regime.
In reality, Ty lee was looking for an empty cell.
Finally after a few dozen cells she found an empty one in the corner of the prison. It was a bit of a run down cell(and that was saying something), but there was no time to find another one. They were getting awfully close to the outside.
"Hmm.. Guard person, sir." Ty lee said with cuteness that could've burned a hole in the door she was standing in front of.
"Could you come closer, I need to ask something."
Sokka was a bit weary, but there was no way he could ignore it if he was to stay undercover, not that he could've resisted her shuffling her feet.
He felt a tap on his shoulder again, but this time, all he heard before he passed out was a very bright and cheerful "Gotcha!".
Chapter 2
- throb -
Sokka woke up.
- throb -
Searing pain raced through his head. He tried to open his eyes, but his head felt like the time he got into Grannies secret cabinet and drank half a bottle of the unmarked liquid.
- throb -
'My head..' was all he could think in this state. He heard nothing but a steady breath.
- throb -
'Is that my breath?' Sokka thought while trying to open one eye.
- throb - - throb -
'Something pink… What would be pink in a prison?' He thought in his still dazed mind.
- throb - - throb - - throb -
His eyes shot open and his hand tried to immediately go to his head from the pain, however they seemed to be restrained.
While the fog seemed to lift from his eyes he looked down. His pants were still there.
'That's good. But what's this wood doing under it?'
Looking up he could finally recognize a smiling face with grey eyes staring at his every movement. He nearly fell down at the realization that someone from the fire nation was there.
"Hi there, cutie."
Ty lee exclaimed in her normal bright voice, as if she was buying a pair of shoes, not interrogating a war criminal.
"Sorry about the pain, I got a little excited."
'Well, at least that part isn't hard to imagine.' Sokka thought while trying to make something out of this situation. 'Why isn't Azula interrogating me?'
"Why am I here?"
Was all he managed to get out of his mouth. But the acrobat started asking more questions than him.
"Are you hungry? What's your name? Do you want something to drink?"
"Why am I here?"
Sokka said a little more forcibly, although futile in this vulnerable position. Plus, some straw seemed to be lodged in very uncomfortable places.
"I'll get you some water, but to answer your question. It's very simple."
Sokka looked up in wonder of the answer. What would she say? Death? Interrogation? She closed the space between them and looked at him. Before he knew it she was forcibly kissing him… hard.
When she finally released him she looked at him with greed and a touch of evil in her eyes.
"Because you're mine now."
While Sokka was still trying to process these words, Our pink warrior already left in search of something to drink. Sokka realized that whatever happens from that point on.
'Suki… is going to kill me.
Chapter 3
Sokka, smart as he is(or thinks he is), immediately looked for a way to escape. And although the doors are quite easy to open when they are unlocked, it was quite difficult to so when 2 iron pins held them in place.
That didn't stop him from trying though. Red faced with feet on the wall, he was amazed he didn't pass out.
Finally giving up and looking for another way to escape, he finally took the room in as a whole. It was shabby to say the least. The wooden bed nearly broke off it's hinges and the walls were cracked in multiple places.
'That explains why it was empty, I guess. But now that I'm in a cell, who's going to bust me out? That was supposed to be my job.'
Staring out the window he could see that he was in the same cell as he led Ty lee to.
'That wasn't one of my smartest idea's…'
"Guess who?" a voice said while putting her hands over Sokka's eyes.
Sokka screamed with a cough manly voice and nearly stumbled over, but however he twisted and turned, the hands wouldn't let go.
"You have to guess, you know?" The voice insisted, a little frustrated.
Sokka stumbled against the wall, but Ty lee held him in place now. He decided to just give in, before she got angry.
"Ty lee?"
"Correct, you win." Ty lee says, taking her hands off his eyes… finally.
Sokka turned around and looked at the girl with the big goofy smile, standing inappropriately close to him.
'That girl is nuts… She has nice eyes though. Wait! Where did that come from?"
"What'ya thinking, cutie?"
"Nothing!"
"Well, do you want to know what you won?"
"What.. I won?"
"Yes, by guessing right, silly."
Ty lee brightly exclaimed while doing a handstand on two fingers. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem nor very strange, but she was still awfully close to Sokka, who immediately backed away. While Sokka went through his head what kind of awful and illegal things Ty lee could've concocted up, the person in question was, still on two fingers, walking towards the door. Getting upright again and grabbing a small brown sack she handed it to Sokka.
"Here, water."
Sokka laughed out of relief, thankfully grabbing the bag and taking a sip from the very tasty water.
'What was I thinking? She was just teasing me. Water as a prize, really something she'd think up.'
"You win a bear hug!"
"Wait! Wha-"
Sokka's reply was cut short as the circus girl tackled him into a hug, squeezing him so hard his breath left him, and didn't seemed to be happy to get back while she was there, seeing as it left again just as fast.
"Can't… breathe…"
The swordsman managed to get out with enormous effort. Ty lee however, seemed reluctant to leave and it took Sokka mimicking the pairing cry of a Catgaroo to make her notice what she was doing.
"Oh, sorry. Ghehe."
Ty lee said while quickly releasing him. Air would never be taken granted by the water tribe boy again. Wheezing, Sokka asked the question that had been burning on his mind ever since she said it.
"What do you plan to do with me? Are you going to give me to Azula?"
"Hmm... No, I don't plan to."
The girl with the pink aura said, smiling at him through it all.
"What then? What do you want from me?"
"Your name, to begin with. You haven't told me yet and you seem to know mine."
Sokka raced through thought. Should he say a false name? Should he just keep quiet? She didn't seem to have any evil plans. Maybe if he played along, he would find a way to escape.
"My name… is Sokka."
"Hi Sokka, Your aura is pale blue, I like it. So you come from a water tribe? Is it fun traveling with the Avatar? And who's Suki?"
Me: "Well, that's another chapter done, I suppose"
Ty lee: - tugs on writers shirt - "Cmon, lets play. I'm so bored."
Mai: "When are you not bored?"
Ty lee: "When I'm playing."
Mai: "Azula, can't you say something?"
Azula: "You know I'm a people person, but no."
Mai: - looks at writer -
Me: "Don't look at me; I have to concentrate on chapter 4."
Mai: "Fine, let's go Ty lee. Men... Good for nothing."
Ty lee: "Yaaay!"
Me: "I heard that!"
Chapter 4
Sokka pretty much resolved himself to answering her questions. If he answered them, maybe he could trick her and escape.
"Uhm, yeah. I come from the southern water tribe. Traveling with the avatar is an adventure to say the least, but it can be fun."
Before the blue-eyed boy could say anymore, Ty lee started talking.
"Oh, traveling with Azula isn't really that fun. We're always either traveling or fighting. I had way more fun in the circus."
The bendy girl said while doing one of her upside down stretch movements. Sokka could almost see a longing in her eyes.
"Then why didn't you stay there?"
She looked up and smiled slightly, but it was a sad smile, from a person who's already given up.
"You don't really have a choice when the Fire Princess wants something."
Sokka looked at the circus girl and felt a little sad for her.
'She didn't want this, I'd better change the subject or I'll never get her to let me go.'
"And to answer your last question, Suki… is kind of my girlfriend."
That was certainly the wrong thing to say, as a look of utter defeat came on her face.
'Nice move there, buddy. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.'
'Shut up inner voice, you try to think of something.'
'I can't since the time you drank that Cactus juice.'
But before the blue-eyed wonder had any chance to respond to this, Ty lee sudden jumped up with a look of defiance on her face.
"Suki is that girl in the cell you were standing in front of, right? I'm way prettier than she is."
Sokka and his inner voice both agreed that the smart thing to do now was nod and keep silent. Suddenly the smile came back to her face, although less bright it seemed.
'Oh boy, I could use some of that cactus juice right now.'
"So… Why do you still follow Azula? I mean, you must be smart, knowing all those chi moves, so why don't you figure a way out."
The water tribe boy managed to get out before Ty lee came too close to him again. Although he had to reset the boundaries for too close with this girl, as a few inches seemed like an awful lot to her.
"When I was in the Fire nation academy, I had to learn something. I couldn't fire bed, and knives were never really my thing, so I studied this. I'm not that smart. And going with Azula isn't all bad; Mai is there too, although she's been a bit distant since Zuko left."
"Mai is the bored looking girl with the knives, right?"
"Yup, we've been friends forever. I wouldn't go and leave Mai with Azula, plus they are my only friends. Where would I go?"
Ty lee seemed a little hesitant, like she was telling her greatest insecurities. Sokka however, saw a chance to escape, if he could only convince her.
"You should really make some new friends. I know for sure that my friends would like you. If you would help us escape, you could come with us."
The girl with the pink aura looked up hopefully for a second, but it disappeared just as fast and turned back into the sad smile.
"I couldn't leave Mai behind. I have to show myself to Azula, or she'll get suspicious and find out my little prize prisoner over here. I'll be back in a little while."
She winked at the startled boy and left with the now distinctive click of the lock, leaving Sokka alone with his thoughts for a while. But instead of working on an escape plan, they seemed to be centered around the pink clad girl instead.
Me: "Boy, that sure was tough to write."
Ty lee: "You sure make me look fragile in this."
Me: "You could still kick his ass if you wanted to."
Sokka: "Hey! I heard that."
Me: "Your point?"
Sokka: "Well.. you know.. that I heard it."
Mai: "Would you start writing on chapter 5 already?"
Me: "fine… women."
Mai / Azula / Ty lee / Suki: "What?!"
Me: - gulp -
Chapter 5
Ty lee walked among the halls of the prison. Although she had been away from Sokka for a good half hour, the checkup with Azula only took a few minutes. She had been busy setting up something else, which made that evil grin on her face appear.
'It should be kicking in right about now.'
meanwhile in Suki's cell
Suki sat there fuming. Sokka hadn't been back since he went with that.. hussy. She was glad to see him again, but that didn't mean he could get away with stuff.
Something itched on her foot. Scratching it she noticed her hand was touching something slimy.
"What the?.."
Looking down the warrior girl saw hundreds of naked slugs crawling up to her.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Where Ty lee found all those slugs in such short of time, no one will ever know.
When the circus girl reached the cell she pulled the grin off her face, hard though it may be. Swinging the door open she yelled:
"Hey Cutie!"
Sokka, manly as he is, gave a girly scream and fell off the bed. While others may have laughed at this, Ty lee merely giggled and chalked it up to her "Why I like Sokka" list, which was growing quite large.
Sitting inappropriately close to him she started asking him questions again. She liked to make him uncomfortable; it gave her the assurance that she had an effect on him.
"So what's the southern water tribe like?"
She could see the wheels turning in his head, trying to figure out what she was planning to get out of him. However, she was genuinely interested.
"In the southern pole it's all ice and snow. We live in these igloos, basically they are huts made of ice. It's alright by any measure, but I was the oldest male there, and it could get very boring."
The grey-eyed girl was fascinated by the story. Houses made out of ice, it seemed so unbelievable. Before she could take it all in however, a question came that was quite unexpected. Not the question itself, but the fact that it was asked at all.
"What about you? How was life in the fire nation?"
For the first time he asked a question totally unrelated to his capture. Small talk is what Azula called it. She couldn't help herself from thinking:
'Maybe he does like me, even if it is a little.'
"Ty lee?"
Sokka asked as Ty lee became a little glazed around the eyes. And for the first time she could remember, the pink clad girl blushed.
"S-Sorry. I came from a large family with 6 sisters that looked exactly like me. After a while I escaped to the circus, when I couldn't take it anymore. The circus went all over the fire nation, although it usually kept near green places, to keep the animals contained easier. I was happy there, Until Azula came and.. well, you know the rest."
She hesitantly looked at Sokka, she hadn't said that to anyone but to the gang on the beach. But at that time they had made fun of her. The blue-eyed boy just smiled at her. It made her feel happy inside, and her goofy bright smile came once again on her lips.
"Well, Ty lee, you seem to ha-"
Sokka was cut short as he was tackled upon the very dirty prison floor. The pink aura'd girl clung to his shirt as if he had just saved her from a fire(which were very common here).
"Say, Ty lee, I know you aren't big on personal space and all, but isn't this pushing it a little?"
"Just.. a little longer."
The water tribe boy looked down upon the pink girl stuck to his chest and they both couldn't help but think that it was almost peaceful here, in this dark and dirty cell, on this boiling rock, in the middle of enemy territory, with a single sunbeam coming from the tiny window.
Mai: "That wasn't a very large chapter."
Me: "You try to write one."
Ty lee: "Can I?"
Me: sigh "Sure, Ty lee."
Azula: "Let's not encourage her. She already got to play with slugs today"
Me: "Yeah, where did you get those?"
Ty lee: - shrugs - "Didn't you write yourself that no one would ever know?"
Mai: "Outsmarted by Ty lee, that's quite the accomplishment."
Me: - groan -
Chapter 6
Ty lee woke to an unusual heat under her. Trying to figure out what it could be, she started to visualize them in her head.
'Fire? No, too cold.'
'Bed? No, not cold enough.'
'Water? No, too warm.'
'Person? Yes, seems to fit.'
When her mind had reached this conclusion, she suddenly remembered where she was. Almost jumping up she realized she fell asleep while guarding her cru-.. her prisoner. Looking up slowly she missed the unmistakable glow of bright blue eyes.
He fell asleep as well. A quick sigh of relief left her mouth, only for it to be plugged by a hand.
'I can't make any noice, or he will wake up.'
'So what? He's your prisoner.'
'He's never been just a prisoner.'
The acrobat girl sat there struggling with her own mind. She drew up closely to face level, careful not to disturb him. A peaceful expression was on his face, as if all the troubles of the day flew away within peaceful dreams.
Although she was quite sought after by boys, she had never been this close to any but him. Her breath started to speed up as she drew closer and closer. Gently brushing he lips against his, she couldn't help but feel tingling all over her body. Unlike the first kiss, which had been a kiss of claim, this was done with love.
'You know it can never be as you hope.'
Her inner voice said as she drew back to chest level, snuggling in the warmth.
'I know, but I can still hope.'
With that last thought she closed her eyes and fell into sleep once more, as the midday sun reached its peak.
Unknow to Ty lee was, that when she snuggled, she woke up the blue-eyed boy upon who all thought was focused.
Sokka opened one eye.
Then the other.
Then both of them at the same time and that seemed to do the trick. Looking down at the pink clad girl on top of him he couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked.
'I can't believe I fell asleep. That seems like something… well, something I would do. I guess at least the universe is all right then.'
Trying to move his left arm, he found it being used as a stuffed animal by the still sleeping grey-eyed acrobat. His right hand, on the other hand, was as fine as a moose-lion cub in a field of stuck travelers.
He thought about escape.
He thought about sneakily taking the key from the visible bump in her pants.
He thought about throwing her off and locking her in the cell instead.
He thought about all this and more, but always came to the same conclusion.
Lying in the cell, sandwiched between a cold hard floor and a soft warm girl, he put his right arm around the pink girl and the thought rang through his mind before he dozed off again.
'I.. can't'
Suki: "I finally got all the snails off of me. How could you?"
Me: "It wasn't me, ask Ty lee."
Ty lee: - whistles -
Suki: "I'll get you for this!"
Sokka: "Let's be rational ladies."
Mai: "The chapter still wasn't very long."
Me: headdesks "Why.. me?"
Azula: "Do it again, it amuses me."
Me: - glares -
Chapter 7
Sokka woke up to find two big grey eyes staring at him. Bumping his head on the wooden bed he nearly yelled out in surprise.
"You know, Ty lee, I think it's about time you moved away again, I've lost all feeling to my legs."
"You know I would, but something is keeping me here."
Sokka looked down again to find his arm still locked in place behind her back. Retracting as if by fire he blushed(all manly in his opinion), only to find the acrobat girl doing the same.
The sun was getting low and although the morning that Ty lee had caught him seemed weeks away, it only happened hours ago. Sokka was beginning to grow anxious, as the breakout plan was supposed to start soon, and he still had to organize the riot.
Turning to the pink-clad girl she seemed to be thinking along the same lines, staring at the late afternoon sky.
"Ty lee.."
He said the name, although there was no one else to confuse with, but it reassured him somehow, as if the name spoken by itself was a warm blanket wrapped around at a cold night.
"Ty lee, what happens now?"
The pink acrobat woke to find something pinning her down. Trying to move a strong arm held her close. She could have wriggled or forced herself out of this, but the arm gave her a far better feeling than she expected.
'He didn't need to place it there, he wanted to'
Looking up at the face under her, the big blue eyes opened, startled at the sight of someone looking at him while he slept.
"You know, Ty lee, I think it's about time you moved away again, I've lost all feeling to my legs."
"You know I would, but something is keeping me here."
Ty lee was a little saddened by this, because it meant there was a possibility he didn't realize he put an arm around her. She looked out the window seeing the sun falling against a pale blue sky.
'I have to get back to Azula soon and I don't think I'll be able to get back.'
A voice calling her name brought her out of the daze. She turned to those warm blue eyes and posted a nice innocent smile until she was thrown off guard by a simple question.
"Ty lee, what happens now?"
A million thoughts raced through her head. Wasn't this what she had been thinking about? Wasn't she supposed to have prepared for this? Wasn't she supposed to live happily ever after when she finally got him?
No fairytale lasts in this world, not even a simple one.
Sokka couldn't believe his eyes when the always bright and happy girl started tearing up by such a simple question. A few seconds ago he was dreading the answer, fearing torture at worst and prison at best. But it all changed that second. No longer was she the warden of his cell, even though she held the key.
Even through all his commitment to Suki, he couldn't stand by doing nothing. Walking over to the once so happy girl he stared in the teary grey eyes and wrapped his arms around her.
Ty lee couldn't be happier when the arms enveloped her into a gentle hug, but the tears couldn't stop flowing. So she just stood there, a tiny smile on her lips, sobbing into the shirt of her so called enemy. Could she just forget everything? Could she just let it go?
When the tears stopped, she pushed herself away; putting on the innocent smile she always had on, and walked quietly to the bed.
Sokka thought she would leave when she walked near the door, almost screaming for her to stop, but was perplexed when she walked to the bed instead. Reaching for something he couldn't quite see she walked back to him.
She placed the fire nation helmet on his head once more. Opening the front she looked at him once more with a careness he had never seen before in her.
"I guess you were never really mine, were you?"
"I guess not."
Was all Sokka could say. What more could he do? He had a task and everyone counted on him. He had to leave and treat her as an enemy once more. But could he even do it? Could he just forget everything that had happened?
Ty lee didn't wait for him to make up his mind. She pulled out the key from her braid and opened the lock.
- click -
Although it seemed as if the key unlocked something, in reality, it locked the door to the pink acrobat's heart again. Opening the door Sokka could hear a small voice saying three little words that broke his heart.
"I.. love you."
He didn't respond, acting like he hadn't heard it, he walked away. He had a duty, he had a job, he had people counting on him. But he couldn't help but thinking the same.
Walking into Suki's cell, noting how slimy the floor seemed to be, he looked up at the question of his girlfriend.
'Yes.. Suki is my girlfriend.'
"Sokka, what happened? Are you okay?"
He knew he couldn't answer truthfully, but he would be as honest as he could.
"I ran into a... unexpected element."
Mai: "So you finished the story without me ever coming up?"
Me: "Well, you just weren't that important in the sto-"
Azula: "This story was far too sappy for my taste. Mai! Stop throwing knives at the writer."
Mai: "…fine."
Ty lee: "cries I thought I got to be with Sokka!"
Me: "It isn't a perfect world I'm afraid. But we'll see what happens after 316."
Ty lee: "Really?"
Me: "Really really."
Ty lee: "Really really really?"
Me: Really really really rea-"
Azula: "Mai! I thought I told you to stop throwing knives!"
Mai: "It slipped."