A/N:

Tumblr AU challenge - Love Bug. Requested by Seyary-Minamto.

This one exceeded the original parameters of the challenge, but I felt that three sentences wouldn't do this one justice. You'll be seeing more of this particular AU in future installments here.

Enjoy!


- Love Bite -

I


"So, uh… let me get this straight, Aang," said Sokka, his voice strained as Azula wrapped her arms a little too tenderly around his neck, "You're telling me that this giant wolf-spirit didn't, in fact, barf out a swarm of moth-wasps?"

"Yup," commented Aang, looking apprehensive as the princess softly rubbed Sokka's cheek with her own.

"And that, for some reason, it released a bunch of, uh… oh no," Sokka stuttered, tensing up as Azula kissed him, "Oh no, she's doing it again."

"Just tell her to stop," said Katara, narrowing her eyes at Azula, "She's making me uncomfortable every time she does it."

"Says the overly affectionate peasant who practically fawns over the Avatar," Azula hissed, turning her attention once again to the person who's lap she sat comfortably upon, "Ignore her, Sokka, and let me feel your lips on mine."

"Uh… maybe, later?" Sokka smiled awkwardly, hoping that would satisfy her.

"Sokka!" yelled Katara.

"W-What do you want me to do? She's got me in a bind here. I'm practically her hostage! I'm selfish, I don't want to her to hurt me!"

"Oh, I would never dream of hurting you," Azula purred, jabbing two fingers under Sokka's chin, making him look at her, "If that peasant you call a sister even thinks about prying you from my arms, then I'll burn her alive."

"Um, please don't."

"I'd like to see you try, Azula!" Katara yelled.

Aang put an arm out in front of her. "Honey, please, calm down. It's just the effect of the love-bug bites-"

"So that's what those spirit things are called? Love bugs? Seriously!?" yelled Sokka.

"Yes, Sokka," Aang commented, "At least that's what my people used to call them. Pink wings like cherry blossoms in spring, with a sting like prick of a needle. The effect of their bite should where off… eventually?"

"Eventually? How long his that going to take, Aang!? Days!? Months!?" yelled Sokka.

"Don't pretend to act so displeased," Azula added, smiling mischievously as she rubbed Sokka's chest, "Your heart is practically pounding. I know you love me. Frankly, you should feel very fortunate I love you at all. I'm quite the catch you know."

Sokka desperately searched for an answer, feeling his life hang precariously in the balance. "Uh, yeah, sure! I'm just, uh, so happy! Just, uh, so thrilled, you know? Love, huh? Wow, what a thing. Such an honor to be loved by you I guess…"

Whatever hint of sarcasm he used was lost on Azula. Her eyes merely widened at the apparent confession and for a brief moment Sokka saw them glint in the firelight, alive with passion. With unexpected force her lips found his, soft and welcoming. He nearly fell back, cheeks red as Azula deepened the kiss, pulling roughly at his collar.

A string of saliva hung between them as she slowly parted. "I'm thrilled you think that way."

Sokka turned desperately to his friends for support, heart beating in his ears. "Guys, help! Please? She's a good kisser and I don't know what to think about that!"

Katara felt herself grow cold as she witnessed the unnatural sight, her stomach practically churning. "This has got to be some kind of cruel joke."

Aang smiled uncomfortably, finding solace in the feel of Katara's hand, "At least she's a bit more cooperative. Maybe now we can get to Hira'a without fighting, right Zuko?"

As Aang turned to the Fire Lord, still reeling in horror at the sight of his sister going tongue deep into his best friend's mouth, he didn't feel he would find reassurance.

Zuko, feeling utterly exhausted, only had enough strength to groan in anguish. "I'm… just gonna go lie down now."


]|||[


It was deep into the night when Zuko opened his eyes, roused from his sleep by an insistent bodily urge. Groaning uncomfortably, he hastily threw off his blanket and hurried away, searching for a tree in the dark to hide behind.

Sighing with relief, he followed the light back to the campsite, treading quietly across the dirt as he drew closer. With the exception of Katara tending to the campfire everyone else was fast asleep. Squinting, Zuko could barely make out Aang laying bundled in a blanket atop Appa's head, with the lemur scrunched into a ball just beside him.

Sitting comfortably beside the campfire as she listened to the crickets chirp, Katara gave Zuko a knowing smile. "Nature called, huh?"

He frowned as he walked beside the campfire, drawing a long shadow behind him. "Yeah, and I answered."

"You going back to sleep?"

He stopped mid-step. "Why?"

"You'll have the next watch soon."

Groaning, Zuko's eyes looked to the stars glinting above, reluctantly walking away from his bedroll and the warmth of his blanket.

He took his seat opposite from Katara. "I'll stay up then."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Positive. I can't sleep anyway."

"Stomach ache or something? That meal I cooked was far from bad, Sokka practically devoured it."

"No," Zuko insisted, shaking his head, "No, its not that. Something else."

Katara tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. "Ah. Its Azula isn't it?"

Surprised, Zuko grew stiff, pursing his lips tightly. "More than that really."

"Well, if you're worried about her snapping and killing us in our sleep you don't have to worry. Aang and I have been watching her closely. She hasn't even stirred…"

Her face soured in the firelight as she looked over Zuko's shoulder, eyes raking viciously over Azula as she lay beside Sokka, her face buried in the nape of his neck for warmth. Slowly Zuko turned, seeing his sister sleep calmly.

Katara scoffed. "I guess I'd sleep well too if I had a human shield laying next to me."

Taken aback, Zuko raised his one good eyebrow in disbelief. "You see Sokka as fodder then? That's harsh, even for me."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. He's my brother, Zuko. I'd never see him as someone to sacrifice without a second thought. I'm not Azula."

"But you guys get into fights. Bicker with one another. Aang even said that at times, after you two would argue, you wouldn't even speak to each other until you cooled off."

"For someone who has a sister, you don't seem to know a lot about how siblings work."

"Well, you've never had someone like Azula as your sister."

Katara smirked. "Good. I'm very lucky then."

Pouting, the scar tissue under Zuko's eye twitched uncomfortably. "But even after all those fights, you still look after him."

She shrugged as casually as she could. "He throws witty remarks at me, I throw snowballs at him. Its a very good relationship."

"That's a bit unfair. Seems like he gets the short end of the deal."

"I throw snowballs at him, Zuko. They're cold, yes, but they're harmless. I'd never forgive myself if I actually hurt Sokka out of anger. Why would I do that to someone who would gladly take a knife in the arm for me?"

"That's… a very specific example."

"Sokka doesn't like scars. You think he wraps his arms just to look fashionable?"

The words Zuko wanted to say were lost to him. A brief silence fell between them and all he could do was nod in agreement. "You… you have a good brother, Katara."

"I do. The war turned good people into dogs, poisoned them even. The south was a harsh place then. I'm just lucky Sokka stayed the way he is," she said, doing a double take and adding, "Well, I'm glad he's not sexist anymore, but he's still the same."

Zuko nodded thoughtfully to himself, looking over his shoulder. "Yeah. Maybe Azula sees all that in him. I sure don't."

Katara groaned. "The only reason why your sister sinks her claws into him is because of those stupid bug bites. She'll go back to seeing him as scum once the effect wears off. She zapped him before we started this trip to find your mom, she has no love for him."

"I know that Katara, I was there."

She folded her arms, looking grim. "I shouldn't have let him carry her when she fainted from the bites. First person she sees when she opens her eyes and immediately kisses him. Ugh."

"Reminds you of all those bad fairy tales they told us as kids, huh?" said Zuko, looking thoughtful as he stared into the campfire.

"I don't know what kind of fairy tales Fire Nation kids hear, but this is whole thing is just ridiculous."

"So were the fairy tales. An avatar from the days of old, arrogant, mean-spirited, and neglectful, runs from her duty and travels the world. One day she jumps into a mountain spring to clean herself, muddying the water and disrespecting the spirit that guards it."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Oh good. This sounds stupid already."

Laughing, Zuko continued. "So the spirit, angered with the avatar, summons a swarm of flies to punish her, making the avatar flee. These flies bit her as she ran and soon she fainted from the pain."

"And let me guess," Katara interrupted, "These flies weren't just regular spirit flies. They were love bugs, or so everyone likes to call these little spirits."

"Pretty much. A boy from a nearby mountain village, who always paid his respects to the spirit of the spring, climbed the slopes to fill his canteen. When he found the young avatar and tried to nurse her injuries, she opened her eyes and fell in love with him, completely under the bites' influence."

"So what happened from there?"

"Well, she was completely smitten with him. The boy just so happened to be something of a warrior in his village, the only person foolish enough to fight against a group of bandits terrorizing his home. All the boy had to do was ask the avatar to help him, something that she did very reluctantly in the past."

"Oh, I see where this is going then," said Katara, unimpressed, "So the hopelessly love-struck avatar obeys his request, defeating the bandits and redeeming herself by doing so."

Zuko laughed. "You sure you haven't heard this story before, Katara?"

She shrugged. "Its just that predictable I guess."

"Good point. Eventually the effect wears off in the story. By that time the boy had fallen in love with the avatar too, wanting to marry her and travel with her wherever she went. The avatar, well… she disappeared before he could pop the question. So the boy set out into the world searching for her."

Katara shook her head. "Well, its a good thing this isn't a bad fairy tale, as ridiculous as this whole situation is."

"Yeah… there is one good thing about all this though," admitted Zuko.

"Oh? What's that?" asked Katara.

"Azula doesn't seem… unhinged anymore," he said, managing a smile, "Suki and the other Kyoshi warriors had to get me up in the middle of the night to tell me how she would wake up in a cold sweat, wandering the palace halls and muttering about out mother."

Katara nodded reluctantly, "True. That's probably because of the bites. Might be an otherworldly effect of some kind. Now she's just a regular killer princess."

"I don't understand though. That spirit wolf summoned a swarm of those things. Shouldn't we have been bitten as well?"

"Aang did say that aggravating the swarm by trying to attack it would only make it worse. She's the only one that attacked them."

"All she did was summon lightning to scare them away."

"Well, maybe the lightning hurt a bug. Maybe we just got lucky. All we can do now is deal with her condition and make our way to Hira'a."

Sighing reluctantly Zuko nodded his head, attempting to accept the new circumstances they found themselves in. Things could have been worse after all.

He stood up from his seat by the fire, walking toward his bedroll. "You should rest now, Katara. Its my turn to take watch."

She folded her arms. "Looks to me like you want to go back to sleep."

"Its a bit cold tonight," he said, folding up his blanket, "Sokka and Azula look like they could use this."

Katara grew uneasy at the thought, her face twisting in disgust. "Its not that cold. I'd rather see where she's putting her hands on him."

"You actually want to see where she touches him?" Zuko smirked.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You're sick, you know that?"

"I don't like it either, Katara," said Zuko, unfolding the blanket and covering the unlikely pseudo-couple, "But we just have to deal with it. Its like you said, right?"

She sighed. "Fine. Just yell if she does something, okay?"

"I think we'll hear Sokka yell before I can say anything."

Katara stood up from her seat by the fire, making her way to her bedroll. "Great. I won't get much sleep knowing that. Thanks a lot."

"Don't mention it."

As Katara bedded down for the night Zuko made sure to tuck the blanket comfortably over his sister's shoulders as he thought a good brother would do. She wasn't even muttering to herself, laying completely still, her lips and nose just grazing the back of Sokka's neck. Whether it was the bug bites or Sokka or a combination of both Zuko couldn't tell, but it all seemed to be a balm on her troubled mind. He couldn't remember seeing her like this before.

Just as he was about to walk away, Zuko realized he forgot to cover her feet with the blanket. A worn and folded letter caught his eye, tucked into her boot.

His heart began to race. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He saw her burn away their mother's letters, turned to ash in her hands. The only shred of information they had in finding her.

Fingers drummed anxiously in his palms. It was tucked so temptingly into her boot, begging to be plucked. His mind raced, ruminating on the reasons as to why his sister would decide to keep this particular scrap of paper.

His hand slowly reached out. He had to know.

Gently he took the letter, eliciting nothing more than a twitch in his sister's foot. Unfolding it, he stood up to read it, holding it to the light as he read voraciously.

He felt the blood drain from his body as he read the last, dreadful lines. "… our son?"


A/N:

As mentioned before, you'll be seeing more of this AU in future installments. As you can probably tell this takes place during "The Search". Hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all in the next update!

If you want more Sokkla romance please check the riveting "Dishonored" by Purpleplatybusbear21. If you're looking for intrigue and conspiracy, then try Clarielparke's excellent "Phoenix Rising".

See you all later!