Requested by Teoph!
Maang--Meng x Aang
--Takes Place During The Fortuneteller--
And so, I think, how very lucky would I be
If I could get the avatar to fall in love with me?
There he is, big ears and all, his cloak billowing around him as he kneels on a small square of carpet: My true love. Just this morning Aunt Wu foretold that I would marry such a big-eared fellow, and who could she mean but him? The arrow on his forehead sets him off, makes him different, marks him as mine. Well, soon to be mine; we haven't actually met yet, but that's about to change.
My best robes are neatly pressed, never worn, in mint condition. I hope he likes them. Quickly I smooth down my hair with a stray hand, but it does no difference--these horrible, monstrous braids will stick out forever. Lovely reed-and-pipe music twinkles faintly from outside, a good omen, so I prop the back door open for the full effect. My nicest sandals add height, perhaps giving me the appearance of someone older, a tall, thin, fifteen year old young woman instead of a homely, gap toothed child. I groan to myself. The last thing I want the avatar to think is that I'm some inexperienced little girl.
I will just have to show him otherwise.
Oh, he's even more adorable in person! My heart pounds so loudly I can barely hear the words spill from my mouth. We hold a short conversation, in which I offer to get him some snacks and his annoying companion insists on ruining the moment with unnecessary loud comments. I shush the sidekick, grin at the avatar, and disappear into the back room, having successfully left the boys with only a mysterious inkling of the wonder that is Meng.
I listen curiously to Aunt Wu's conversation with a young girl, her latest charge, as they talk across the hall. My ear pressed lightly against the left wall can pick up any hints that this new girl might be the lucky one to land the avatar. Not a chance, I think to myself with a small chuckle, he's already been promised to me--
"You will marry a powerful bender," says a raspy voice, a familiar one, and right now a betraying one.
What? No! 'Powerful bender' couldn't mean the avatar, could it? "Of course not," I reason aloud. "I've already claimed him for myself." Which means she can't have him, even if I have to tackle someone to make sure. And I would. Trust me, I would knock her down in half a second and then wipe the blood on her dress.
"Meng, how could you think such a thing?" I chastise myself. "You're becoming just as bad as the Fire Nation if you're willing to kill for what you want."
That's why I love the avatar. He'll stop the murders, he'll stop the war, he'll stop all the burnings and thefts and lies. I have to work because my family cannot, forced to a terrible fate by a rowdy band of Fire Nation soldiers. My job, and my job alone, puts food in my stomach. When business is slow sometimes I don't eat. When smoke and ash pollute the water I'm unable to bathe. When someone stole my first bed four years ago I slept on the floor for a month until a new one could be salvaged. That's just the way it is in a poor village, but it doesn't always have to be. The avatar will make the entire world better. I trust him. The world trusts him. I want him. That watertribe girl wants him.
And from the way he's staring at her, I'd say he wants her right back.
Floozy.
-----------------------------------------------
joebob: In the Somo fic, in Sokka's world, it was late at night. He was half asleep and had been just scared out of his wits by what he thought was a monster. The way he remembered the creature was as a large, hairy beast that was about to eat his face. So when he looked over and saw Momo, he didn't right away make the connection between Momo and "the monster". So yeah, he thought they were two separate people. Actually, I'd originally written that Sokka figured it out after a split second, threw Momo out, then went back guiltily to get him. Then I erased those last 500 words because I thought they ruined the fluff, and the fic could be stopped right after the monster attack. So I did. Just know that no, I didn't think Sokka was stupid, just a bit too scared to put two and two together right away. That's all.
joebob (continued): Actually, I don't even know the order I'm going to do the pairings in. I have the main list, and I just pick the ones I feel like doing when I feel like doing them. I tried doing them in the order they were requested for a while until I hit major writer's block (at least major for me, it went on for about two days) and chose one of the funnier ones to do. Sometimes I start a fic and don't finish because I don't like it. I've started two Yagnis, a Mai Lee, a failed Zutara, a failed Somo that I finished early but didn't like, and a horribly horrible Jinko that never got past the fifth sentence. There might be more, but I don't have the heart to go back and look at them. So sorry, but if I do come up with a magical list of all the pairings I'm going to do in the exact order I'm going to do it, despite sudden outbreaks of writer's block or boredom, I'll be sure to post it. Until then, I'll keep picking and choosing at random which ones I have ideas for. -sigh- It's all a game of hit and miss.
To everyone: Sorry for not updating as often as usual. Things have been kind of hectic, what with Real Life rearing its big ugly head more than it should. I'll try to write a bit more often, by my muse is incredibly picky about when he stops by. (For those that don't know, a muse is like inspiration.) Anyway, drop a review if you care. Or don't, and enjoy the next fic.