A/N: Hey everyone! Back with another update, thank god for already written chapters huh? Had a quick read through this so hopefully there aren't too many glaring issues. It's 3am here, so I'm tired, but got a rare free moment so thought I'd post. I had my results earlier this week and thank God I got a distinction in my exams which is a relief. Anyway this chapter is a bit longer so I hope you like it; I had a lot of fun writing this one.
And thank you, thank you for being so amazing. I'm really grateful!
Guest 1: Thank you so much for your kind words! My fav character is Katara, I love her motherly nature and her strong personality. But Aang is a very close second. Honestly I love all these characters so much.
Wednesday Afternoon:
Katara's POV:
"So are you going to tell me what's been going on?" Yue asks as we walk out of our last lecture of the term. I blink at the random question and turn my head towards the girl.
"What do you mean?" I query as anxiety starts to kick in.
"I mean, you haven't been yourself since you disappeared for a week. I don't want to push, but it's obviously affecting you." The white head voices while shifting the book in her arms. I hunch my shoulders and flicker my gaze ahead of us.
"It's just family stuff." I mumble.
"But Sokka seems alright." Yue points out. I purse my lips, deciding to ignore their budding friendship.
"Sokka is good at moving on." I mutter with a touch of envy.
"But you don't want to move on?" She queries with a tilted head. I bite my lip.
"It's not that I don't want to, it's that I can't." I whisper, clutching the strap of my bag. Yue furrows her eyebrows before releasing a quiet sigh.
"You sound like my Dad. He never got over Mum and refuses to re-marry. It's...hard because you want to see your loved ones happy, but they prevent themselves from being so. I don't want that for you." The white head murmurs. My breathing catches at the heartfelt confession and I can't help but feel guilty for imposing my twisted feelings into the air between us.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel..." I start, but she quickly cuts me off by taking one of my hands.
"It's not about me. It's you; I don't want to see you sad. I know you think I haven't noticed, but I have. When you feel no one is looking your smile slips, your eyes glint with pain. I just, I want to know how I can help." Yue expresses earnestly. The lump in my throat bobs up and down as I try to gather my thoughts.
"It's not something that anyone can help. It's just...time." I mutter bitterly. The girl scrutinises me for a moment before shake her head.
"Dad used to say the same when I was little. You're making me worried." The white head voices with obvious distress in her features. I open my mouth, only to close it again. Instead, I give her hand a squeeze.
"Please don't worry. Just...give me the holidays. This term has been intense and I think I just need a break from the constant barrage of lectures." I try to reassure her and watch as she bites her lip before releasing a quiet sigh.
"Alright. If you need anything, I'm just a text away." Yue murmurs as she reaches forward to pull me in a hug.
"Thank you. Remember that goes two ways, if you're bored just call me." I express as I wrap my arms around her in a tight hug.
"Have an awesome Christmas." The girl voices lightly as she pulls back to give me a bright smile. I force my lips to twitch upwards in turn.
"You too Yue. Try not to eat too many sea prunes over the holidays." I joke, making the girl laugh as she nudges my arm.
"No promises!" She voices with a grin before taking a few steps back. "See you in January!" She bids with a wave.
"See you." I return and keep waving until the girl is out of sight. My waving slows to a stop and with a sigh I drop my arm to my side where it hangs limply. Shaking my head, I return back to my dorm and start the long process of packing my clothes and other essentials.
An hour later everything is packed and ready to go. Dragging my suitcase out of my room ends up being a lot louder and burdensome than I realised and I almost cringe when the edge of my suitcase collides with the door. The bang echoes down the small hallway and I bite my lip, hoping I haven't just disturbed the entire floor.
A minute later, I hear the sound of a door unlocking before a small head pokes through the cracked opening. Grey orbs flicker up and down the corridor before landing on me. I give the airbender a sheepish smile as I clutch my elbow in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to be so loud." I whisper, as if it would make up for my previous ruckus, but the boy only laughs and open his door wider until he's leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms.
"You're good. Although it looks like you've packed your whole room there, going on holiday or something?" He jokes, but I furrow my eyebrows at him.
"Well term is over, so I'm going back home for the Christmas holidays." I remind lightly, wiping the boy's good natured expression as he drops his arms to his sides.
"Oh yeah. Wow, term flew by. Excited?" He asks with a small smile. I sigh.
"Not as much as usual." I mumble, but when his features contorts in concern, I quickly change the conversation. "What about you?" I query, eliciting a shrug from the boy.
"Nah, I'll just be here." He answers as if it's no big deal. My hand that was reaching for the suitcase handle freezes as I stare at the boy.
"You...don't have someone to spend the holidays with?" I ask with wide eyes. The airbender shifts in discomfort.
"Not really, but it's ok!" He rushes to reassure me as my face crumples.
"No, that's not ok!" I protest while shaking my head vigorously. "I'm not leaving you here alone." I continue stubbornly as the boy raises his hands in a placating manner.
"Honestly Katara, its fine. I'm used to..." I cut him off before he can finish.
"No way! Just because you're used to something, doesn't make it alright." I retort seriously.
"I don't mind." He utters quickly, but I'm not buying it.
"You're coming with me." I decide on the spur of the moment, making the child genius gape at me.
"What? No, I couldn't! This is a time for you and your family." He protests, but I'm already crossing the small hallway to his side.
"My family has always consisted of four. This year things aren't normal. Nothing is. I...I think it will be good for both of us." I murmur, but the airbender is already shaking his head.
"Katara, I..." He starts, but I interrupt before he can turn my offer down again.
"There's no way in spirits name am I leaving you all alone on the holidays." I insist firmly. Aang's jaws slacken as he stares at me.
"Are you sure you're not secretly an earthbender?" He suddenly asks, making me snort.
"Very funny." I voice dryly while crossing my arms. The mirth in his eyes fade as he averts his eyes.
"You guys need time together after..." He trails off uncomfortably.
"We don't. When I went back for the funeral it was stifling enough. This time we'll be back for weeks. Dad...probably won't be able to take his mind off everything. You'll be a welcome addition, I promise." I pledge, but discomfort radiates off the child genius in waves.
"I...are you sure? I don't want to impose." Aang asks quietly. I reach down and take his hands in mine as I gaze at him directly in the eye.
"You won't. We'd love to have you." I express warmly and finally the boy gives me a small smile.
"Alright, guess I don't have much say in the matter huh?" He teases. I roll my eyes, but a smile tugs at my lips as I squeeze his hands, only for my fingers to be met with a rough patch on his skin. Frowning, I turn his hands over in mine to find his fingers on his right hand sporting a few large scabs. My lips part in shock.
"Oh my gosh how did you get these?!" I demand as I raise my eyes to his face. It's then that I notice red scratches on his left cheek and forehead. "And what happened to your face?!" I gasp as I raise a hand to cup his cheek. My thumb brushes over the thankfully shallow marks in worry.
"I tripped up is all!" He squeaks back. My frown deepens, for some reason not believing him as I inspect the scratches on his forehead. Without another word, I start dragging him to my room. "Wait, what are you doing?" Aang asks in bewilderment.
"I need some more water to heal these." I say as I push him onto my chair and go over to the small sink in the bathroom to bend some water from the tap.
"You can heal?!" The airbender echoes in shock as I go and kneel in front of him.
"Mmm hmm." I hum in confirmation as I take his right hand. "You might want to take off your gloves so they don't get wet." I suggest, but the child genius automatically snatches his hand back and clenches it into a fist.
"No it's fine!" He declines quickly, prompting my eyebrows to shoot up to my hairline at his strange behaviour.
"O-ok? I'll just heal..." I start, but he cuts me off with a head shake.
"No need, they're just small cuts." Aang waves off, already jumping to his feet. Cautiously, I rise to my own as I eye him carefully.
"But you don't need to have them." I argue as I take a step towards him and I only notice how close we are when I spot the light dusting of pink on his cheeks. I lean back slightly in embarrassment as the boy opens his mouth.
"I...fine." He mumbles and returns back to the seat. I stretch out a hand and enclose my fingers around his with the water. Taking a deep breath, I watch as the liquid glows and with a light exhale the glowing stops and the water falls. Aang brings his fingers to his face as a look of awe is painted across his features.
"Wow, you're amazing!" He breathes out in childish excitement, making me flush at the compliment.
"I'm not, I just like helping. Now, let's do your face." I say nonchalantly as I stretch out my hand once more to his cheek to gently rest my palm. The boy's eyes instantly screw up and I withdraw immediately. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt..." I start apologising guiltily, but he simply shakes his head
"You didn't. Just...it's fine. Go ahead." He encourages, his voice small. I bite my lip.
"Are you sure?" I ask, anxiously and at his jerky nod, I return my hand to his cheek, his body stiffening up at the touch. Quickly, I summon the water. It glows for a moment and as soon as it stops, I pull my hand back, not wanting the airbender to be more uncomfortable than needed. "All done." I murmur quietly, prompting the child genius to open his eyes, but his gaze strays away from me in shame.
"Sorry." He mumbles, but I'm already shaking my head as I rest my hand on his shoulder.
"Don't be. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." I voice lowly as I give his shoulder a squeeze. Finally, he flickers his grey orbs to meet my eyes.
"You didn't. You're so kind and affectionate like..." He trails off with a head shake and I automatically presume he's talking about his own Mum. I give his shoulder another light squeeze. "Anyway, I should grab my stuff." He states suddenly, changing the subject and hopping to his feet as if he didn't have a care in the world. But I saw a peek of pain in his eyes, so like that time I caught him in the graveyard and my heart clenches at the thought of him still hurting. I slowly get to my own feet and nod.
"Alright, I'll wait outside your room." Is all I manage to say because he's out of the door before I can even blink. I sigh and massage my forehead, wishing I knew what to do or how I can help. 'I thought knowing his past would help me understand him, but it only feels like I've had a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg that's buried in masses of water'.
I shake my head and exit my room, locking the door behind me as I prepare myself to wait for who knows how many hours till the boy has finished packing. 'Best I text Sokka...' My thoughts are quickly cut off at the sight of Aang already locking his room door with that relatively old-looking shoulder bag that I see him carry to lectures. "Is that all you're taking?" I question in disbelief, eliciting a shrug from the boy.
"It's only for the holidays, besides everything important I have is in here." He replies with a pat of his bag. I purse my lips at him.
"How many sets of clothes do you have in there? The holidays are a month long." I remind and when the boy opens his mouth only to close it a moment later, my expression contorts in amusement as I cross my arms. "Go and pack some more stuff." I usher and watch as the child genius re-enters his room with a series of grumbles, making me laugh. A ping echoes in the hallway and I diligently whip out my phone to find a text from my brother.
Sokka: Where are you? I hate waiting
I roll my eyes as I start typing a quick response;
I'll be right there, just grabbing something.
A light cough tears my eyes away from the screen to find Aang already finished, with his bag only looking slightly more bulky. I quirk an eyebrow at him.
"That was quick." I note sceptically, prompting the boy to shrug.
"I'm a simple boy." The airbender quips with an easy smile. I shake my head at him.
"So you've got your tooth brush, soap, clothes, towels and a laptop in there?" I query in disbelief as the child genius nods.
"And my skateboard, plus a couple other stuff." Aang adds offhandedly. I purse my lips, scanning the boy closely before nodding my head.
"Alright, off we go!" I finally decide and reach out to take the handle of my suitcase when quicker than lightning Aang clutches the handle himself and starts dragging it behind him. I frown. "I can do it." I protest, only for the airbender to shake his head.
"I know you can, but I can't stay at your house without being useful." He throws back. My eyebrows furrow at his wording.
"Firstly, we're not at home yet. Secondly, you're the guest, you don't need to be useful or anything ridiculous like that." I argue. The boy locks eyes with me before averting them. But in those brief seconds, it almost felt like I was looking into the window of his soul.
"I want to do this." Is all he says and I'm tempted to bat his hand and pull the bulky suitcase myself. Instead, I just release a heavy sigh.
"Fine." I mumble as we walk beside each other. My eyes flicker to his set facial expression and I can't help but want to make him smile again. "You're a real gentleman." I joke, bumping my shoulder with his. His lips twitch a little as he glances up at me.
"Don't you mean gentle-boy?" He teases with a grin. I laugh, but my chest is doing summersaults at having succeeded in wiping away his previous melancholy.
"There's no such thing." I say while nudging him in the side, widening his grin further.
20 mins later:
I spot Sokka impatiently tapping his foot beside his car as he glances down at his watch. I roll my eyes as I go over to him while Aang lags behind me.
"Hey Sokka!" I call out, making the man jerk his head up.
"Gosh girls really do take ages with packing. Well, except Toph but she's not your standard girl." Sokka jokes with a smile. I wrinkle my nose.
"Yeah and boys are very impatient." I fire back, making the man laugh as he shakes his head.
"Can't argue there. Come on, Dad's looking forward to have us back." My brother says as he leans towards me with a hand by his mouth. "I think he's a bit lonely with..." He stops suddenly and his eyebrows furrow. "...Aang?" He echoes in surprise, presumably spotting him over my shoulder. I glance behind me to find the airbender waving awkwardly, before returning my gaze to my brother.
"Aang's joining us for the holidays." I announce casually, only for the ponytailed man to stare at me. A second later he's grabbing my arm and pulling me over to the other side of the car.
"Katara, what?! Stuff at home are hard enough as it is! This...this makes things harder!" Sokka whispers loudly. I frown at him.
"What? How? Christmas has always been the four of us." I demand. I watch as the man raises a hand to slap his forehead.
"Precisely! Christmas was just Dad, Mum and us. It's family. Plus, we'll be having private conversations with Dad about you know what. You don't want anyone to hear them, do you?" The engineering student clarifies in frustration.
"Well Mum's not here!" I yell, making the man jump as he stares at me with wide eyes. My throat burns at admitting it so brutally like that, but I push on. "Everything was so hard when we last went back, I thought you'd welcome the idea of having a friend around." I clarify, dropping my previously loud tone to make the man understand.
"Aang's not Mum." He fires back. I clench my hands.
"I know that! But Aang was just going to stay on..." I start, but I'm broken off by the sound of wheels on gravel.
"It's ok! You guys don't need to fight, I'll go back to my room." Aang cuts in as he parks my suitcase right by the boot with a guilty expression. "I didn't mean to get in the way." He continues before bowing low in apology. I widen my eyes and go to grab his forearm.
"You're not in the way!" I protest, but the boy gently extracts my hand off him as he shakes his head.
"Honestly it's fine." He utters lightly with a small smile, but I shake my head.
"No it's not fine! I'm not letting you spend the holidays alone." I express stubbornly, ignoring the way that my brother glances between me and the airbender.
"I appreciate that Katara, but Sokka's right. This is a time to spend with your family." Aang murmurs and starts taking a step back. The backs of my eyes burn, knowing that the rejection wouldn't do any good for his low self-esteem that I've slowly been picking up on.
"Woah wait, don't you have someone to spend the holidays with?" Sokka echoes back in surprise, making the airbender squirm.
"I'm fine!" He insists, prompting the man to take a step forward towards the child genius.
"That wasn't my question." Sokka mutters seriously. Aang flickers his grey irises away.
"Not really." The airbender mumbles. My brother shares a glance with me before hooking his arm around the boy's neck.
"Well then, we engineering students are pretty much family. Come on, dump your bag in the boot." Sokka says as he claps Aang on the back. My jaw drops simultaneously with Aang's, but the child genius recovers before me.
"No, no. I don't want to get in the way." Aang states firmly, but Sokka is already taking the boy's bag and opening the boot.
"Nah, Katara's right. It will be nice to have four at Christmas. I...I'm sorry for what I said. I was being a sentimental jerk." My brother apologises while scratching the back of his head. Aang shakes his head.
"Don't be sorry, but are you sure? I really don't mind." Aang reassures, but Sokka has already closed the car boot with his bag inside.
"Does that answer your question?" The ponytailed man queries with a quirked eyebrow which elicits a smile from the boy as he nods.
"You do realise my bag still needs to go in the boot, right?" I remind and watch as my brother opens his mouth and raises one finger. His digit wilts a moment later as he turns his back to me and re-opens the trunk.
"I knew that! I was just making a point." He grumbles as he hauls my massive suitcase. A snicker escapes both the airbender and I as we exchange knowing smirks. "Very funny. Now get in the car the two of you!" Sokka orders as he shuts the boot once more and marches over to the driver's seat. I glance at the airbender and give him a wink as I slide into the passenger's seat. The airbender barely holds in a snort as he slides into the back seat. "If the two of you don't cut it out, I'm leaving you both here." My brother mutters as I smile innocently at him.
"We're not doing anything." I say sweetly, earning a stink eye from the man as he starts the engine.
"Then stop smiling." He voices, clearly miffed at us laughing at his forgetfulness.
"Aye aye captain Sokka!" Aang expresses with mock seriousness. My face splits into a grin as Sokka glares at the boy in his rear-view mirror.
"I can see why you two are friends now." He mumbles as he pulls out of the university car park and onto the open road. The next few minutes pass in silence as we head into the motorway, but Sokka has never been one for the quiet and when he starts tapping his fingers on the car wheel, I know he's going to say something oblivious.
"So Aang, don't you have a relative or something?" My brother asks. I internally groan as I smack the man across the bicep at the insensitive question. "Ow!" Sokka yelps as he throws me a quick glare before returning his eyes on the road. I give him a disapproving stare before glancing at the rear-view mirror to see Aang's eyes looking everywhere, but at the front. Understanding dawns on the ponytailed man a moment later as he quickly follows up his question with an explanation. "Not that I want to shove you off elsewhere! Just curious." Sokka adds hastily, but if anything Aang just seems to sink further into his seat.
"No relative. My, er...guardian isn't home much. So I just stay on campus." The airbender mumbles. My heart falls at the sad confession and even Sokka appears guilty for asking.
"Wellll, I bet you've never had a Water Tribe Christmas before! We usually go all out with decorations and lots of meat which is the best part might I add!" My brother voices in an upbeat tone, trying to swerve the conversation away from murky waters. The airbender opens his mouth, before closing it a moment later as hesitation crosses his features. In the end, his lips twitch into a half smile.
"Sounds great Sokka." The boy expresses politely, until my eyes widen in memory.
"Ah wait I almost forgot! You're a vegetarian, right?" I query while twisting around in my chair to face the child genius, ignoring the way that Sokka scrunches his nose up in displeasure. I watch as Aang shoots me a grateful expression.
"Yeah, but it's ok. You don't need to cook anything special. I'll just buy..." I cut off the boy before he can finish.
"No way! I know a few vegetarian dishes I can cook; sea prunes is a traditional dish we always have and its meat free." I reassure with an encouraging smile. The child genius looks ready to argue, but changes his mind at the last moment.
"Thank you Katara." He murmurs warmly with bright eyes, making my heart swell as I beam back.
"Aurgh would you two cut it out?" Sokka complains. I furrow my eyebrows and turn to face him.
"Cut what out?" I echo back in confusion. My brother spares me a glance as he motions at me and Aang with his thumb.
"This. Cut this out." He clarifies, as if that explains everything. I quirk my eyebrow and cross my arms.
"That's real specific." I voice dryly.
"Good." The ponytailed man utters back, completely missing my sarcasm which elicits a chuckle from the airbender sitting in the backseat.
"I think she was being sarcastic Sokka." Aang points out, making the man splutter in embarrassment.
"Forget it." He mutters. I share a glance with Aang before shrugging while the boy simply grins. 'This is going to be a weird holiday.' I think to myself as I rest my elbow against the window sill. 'In more ways than one.' I realise glumly as Mum flashes in my mind's eye. An inaudible sigh escapes past my lips, but with the open windows and the rushing wind, it gets lost outside.
A/N: Sooo I love these two, (as you can prob tell) their dynamic is so heart-warming! And I thought it would be fun to have a bit more of the original trio since they made up a third of the show. Some of you may think Sokka's behaviour is a bit OOC and I won't blame you for thinking that, but remember Sokka didn't like Aang initially and as much as we love him, he can be pretty insensitive. He has this 'protect your own' persona and at the moment Aang is still kind of an outsider to him, a friend, but not family. Yet. Next chapter is really short so may be able to post that next week if there's time. Keep well everyone ;)
1/8/21