Summary: In which Hope is a very irritating stalker, at least to Tom-Tom.

Characters/pairings: Hom-Tom; implied Kataang and Tokka if you squint

Prompt: Philomath (n.) – a lover of learning; a scholar (2-8-11 dictionary [dot] com word of the day)

Word count: 196

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own; I pwn. Big difference there.

Author's note: Set just before "Effluvium," twelve years after the war.


A rather plain girl hurried through the massive labyrinth of the National Library at Ba Sing Se University with a mission. Her tousled black braid whipped back and forth as she flicked her head, seeking her target. She ran over the polished marble floor past a blue-clad man with a beard who was standing next to a woman scowling at nothing in particular, as well as a bald man with tattoos donning yellow robes. Beside him, a young woman flipped through a volume of ancient Water Tribe texts. The girl with the braided hair darted through the library, ignoring people's annoyed glares while she glanced down every aisle till she found what she was looking for: a short, skinny boy hunched over a voluminous tome of Fire Nation history. His light red robes were rumpled, as if he had gone to the library the minute he rolled out of bed.

Flipping her braid over her shoulder, she tiptoed silently toward the boy. When she was within arm's length of him, she flung her stringy arms around her "best friend," as she called it. Tom-Tom let out a yelp of shock and screamed, "What the fuck, Hope?"


END.


A/N: And that's why they're not allowed in any libraries anymore.