Avatar: The Warring Earth

Book Three—Water

By Twins of the Pen

Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.

Something was very wrong here.

The atmosphere in the room was tense, clashing horribly with Shun's sense of elation. They were having their evening meal before Team Avatar would head up to the roof to continue Syaoran's waterbending training, Jin and Nyla already gone for the night, with Jin's promise of bringing back news about Haruto. So it had become painfully evident that, for some reason or another, the two youngest members of Team Avatar were not on speaking terms again. It was not an angry atmosphere, however, just an awkward one. Both Tiki and Syaoran seemed preoccupied, their eating motions automatic. Shun also noticed that Tiki's eyes were puffy, like she had spent a long time crying.

"Uh… Teeks…?"

Tiki didn't respond, staring at nothing as she put food in her mouth, forced herself to chew and swallow, and repeated the motion. Shun tried again, "Tiki...?"

This time, Tiki's head snapped up at the sound of her name, as if he had startled her. "Oh… yes?" she finally responded. Tiki was making a downright pitiful expression, one that made it hard for Shun to ask her what was wrong.

Sighing a little, the giant waterbender asked instead, "Um, can you pass me the soy sauce?"

"Oh…" Tiki handed the bottle to Shun, this movement mechanical as well. "Here…"

"Thanks," he said, though it sounded like a question with the upward inflection he accidentally added. Tiki gave him a brief, sad smile before returning to her food. Yes, something was definitely wrong here. Exchanging a look out of the corner of his eye with ZanYi, Shun decided to target Syaoran next. "So, after we're done with dinner, we'll head up to the pool so you can practice with waterbending again. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Syaoran answered robotically. He continued to poke at and eat his food, which made it even more obvious things were out of sorts. The Avatar never turned down two things: a chance to eat and a chance to sleep. If he wasn't able to eat, something was wrong.

ZanYi caught the look Shun had shot her way and frowned. Something was off with their team—even more than usual. This was not going to bode well. The only way this usually got fixed was if the two were berated separately. Syaoran and Tiki always needed time apart to manage to come back together and make things right.

"Well, while you guys are training up in the pool," the lieutenant began, "Tiki and I are going by the club."

The mechanic reflexes dropped and so did Syaoran's fork. "What?" he asked rather daftly, as if he'd heard the lieutenant wrong. Was she serious? She couldn't be. And yet, all he was seeing was truth on her face.

"There's no point in us staying during waterbending training, so the least we can do is go out and try to help gather some of the intel," ZanYi continued. It would separate Tiki and Syaoran for a bit. Hopefully whatever happened between the two, Shun could take the lieutenant's place and knock some sense into Syaoran. ZanYi would handle Tiki this time; the girl always clamored about needing to get out. This was her chance.

Tiki stared at ZanYi, shock written all over her face. This… was certainly unexpected. Tiki never thought that ZanYi would want to go back to Club Heat. Was the information really worth it? Truthfully, Tiki wasn't really in a party mood; she would just rather sneak out of the city to go visit Bumi and make sure he was safe. But, since ZanYi was offering, and since Tiki rarely got a chance like this…

"I—I'll go get changed!" Tiki announced, rushing back into Nyla's room. The clothes she wore the first time going to the club was the only clubbing outfit she had, but they would do. Tiki was too desperate to get out of the penthouse to worry about wearing the same thing to the same club twice. The sooner she got away from Syaoran, the better.

Shun chuckled, raising his glass to his lips. "That cheered her up quickly…" Glancing sideways once again at ZanYi, the giant waterbender added in an undertone, "I trust you know what you're doing…?" Shun could see what ZanYi meant by this action, and he thought it was a good idea… just not the whole 'clubbing' part when he was not there to keep the men away from ZanYi. Just the thought of her and Tiki being left to fend for themselves had him sorely tempted to cancel practice tonight and tag along, just so the women of Team Avatar wouldn't find themselves in any trouble they couldn't get out of.

ZanYi didn't even look over at Shun, finishing up her dinner—she'd ended up skipping the late lunch earlier, so she was certainly hungry this time. "Ask me that again and I'll show you exactly what will happen to anyone who tries to mess with me tonight," she answered him coolly.

Despite the threat though, Syaoran couldn't help but frown with apprehension. "Are you sure, ZanYi? I mean, we could always go if it's that important…"

The lieutenant shot him a look he knew all too well and heeded it. He shut his mouth. Frankly, the Avatar didn't want to go back to the club necessarily, but he didn't want Tiki going without him. What if another guy messes with her? Would she be able to stop it herself this time? He didn't know how he'd screwed up by Tiki, but he still didn't want any of those club guys messing with her.

"Just, uh, be careful then," he grumbled, picking his fork back up to keep eating. ZanYi rolled her eyes.

"Tiki will be fine and we'll be back before the club even closes for the night."

"Ah. That's good," Shun acknowledged, smirking a little at the threat ZanYi sent him. He knew by now that she was more than capable when she had a job to do. "Have fun, then."

A few minutes later, Tiki emerged from Nyla's room, checking her pockets to make sure she had her fake ID. She let her hair completely down this time, the dark locks pooling around her with her butterfly clips missing. Shun also guessed that Tiki had been dabbling in Nyla's make-up, for her tiny face looked flawless, like she had not been crying at all. When had the little airbender had time to learn how to put on make-up, anyway? Shun had been wondering that for some time now, but now was not the time to ask.

"Uh… I'm ready to go when you are…" Tiki told ZanYi, appearing bashful for some reason—she wouldn't even look at the men at the table. Shun covered his mouth to keep his laughter from escaping; Tiki was downright adorable when she was shy.

ZanYi nodded, rising up from the table. "I'll be back in a minute," she told her, moving over to grab her bag before going to the bathroom to change her clothes.

Syaoran glanced over at Tiki, remembering the last time they'd gone to the club—and she looked even prettier this time, more demure. Looking away, a small hint of rose colored his face. That certainly irked him because right now Tiki clearly couldn't even talk to him after earlier and he was still getting flustered by her looking her own age. Attempting to mend the bridge while he could, Syaoran choked out, "You look good." Thankfully he was spared any other commentary by ZanYi reappearing, the top on from last time, but the shorts from their first time in the city. Looks like she'd also taken a quick moment to put some make-up on herself: a hint of mascara and eyeliner with lipstick.

Syaoran definitely understood now why she dressed the way she did sometimes. The lieutenant was on a mission tonight, and wasn't taking prisoners.

"Ready?" she asked, more to the group at large than just to Tiki as she zipped up her boots on her chair.

Tiki tore her brief, shocked expression away from Syaoran to answer ZanYi. He had just complimented her… Syaoran never complimented her on her looks. What was wrong with him? "Ready," she managed to get out, sighing a little. Please, let them just get out of there already so Tiki could finally relax…

Shun, already finished with his meal, stood up. Already, he was thinking this was a bad idea—shorts and a halter top? What was ZanYi up to? Then again, Shun probably was better off not knowing. Still, that rare jealousy he felt over ZanYi flared up as she laced up those boots… her outfit was a little more than enticing, and it irked him. So he waited until she got to her feet before he seized the lieutenant, kissing her squarely on the mouth. This move shocked and hurt Tiki, and she hurriedly moved to the door so she wouldn't have to watch them.

"Be careful," Shun bade ZanYi, once he consented to let her go. There was a bit of rosiness to his cheeks, but at the moment, he didn't care—he just wanted to remind ZanYi what was waiting for her back at the penthouse, in the unlikely event she happened to forget. ZanYi was surprised, a bit irked at the public display, and amused. The last one is what the lieutenant decided to stick with. Time and time again, Shun was getting bolder and bolder. She was certainly enjoying it, though not so much that it had been in front of the team.

She did give him a reproachful eye, but allowed her lips to smirk as she lifted the fanged necklace she was still wearing, Zaron's tags safely tucked away in her duffel here. As if ZanYi was about to forget what was waiting for her to come back.

Syaoran was thankful when ZanYi moved away from Shun to grab her leather jacket and head to the door and Tiki. The display made him uncomfortable for multiple reasons. One: he had been the one to like ZanYi before Shun figured out he was in love with her. It was awkward seeing a woman he had only dreamt of kissing being slammed one by another man. Two: since even they were getting along so well, it only emphasized how much he and Tiki were in discourse at the moment.

"Alright, let's go," ZanYi told Tiki, ushering her through the door. When it clicked shut, Syaoran groaned and continued to eat. This was going to be a very long night.

Once they were in the elevator, Tiki allowed herself a drawn-out sigh, sinking to the elevator floor. She almost put her head in her hands, but remembered at the last minute that she could not touch her face or she would mess up her make-up.

"ZanYi… really… thank you," Tiki sighed, glancing up at the firebending lieutenant. "I didn't think I could stay in there another minute…"

This was exactly what Tiki needed: a girl's night out. Even if that girl happened to be ZanYi, it was okay! Anything to get away from Syaoran was an answer to her prayers.

ZanYi leaned her back and hands on the railing of the elevator as she peered down at Tiki. Whatever had happened this time between her and Syaoran clearly was distressing her. There was no animosity between them, no need to talk either of them down. But something was certainly wrong with the two of them, and the lieutenant knew that something had to be done. Unlike her and Shun most times they fought—with a few exceptions—Tiki and Syaoran could draw this out if neither of them talked to each other.

"You want to tell me why you couldn't stand being in there?" she asked Tiki, looking back to the elevator doors. If the airbender didn't want to say right now, it was of no consequence to ZanYi. She'd figure out what was wrong eventually anyway—and girl talk was never a strong suit of hers. Shun was lucky and had the easy nut to crack of the two.

Tiki's face turned red, and she rested her chin on her knees. "…No," she decided with a sigh. The last thing she wanted to do was talk about her unrequited feelings out loud—it would sound trivial to someone like ZanYi, who was already with the man of her dreams. Besides, Tiki had just stopped crying; if she started again, her make-up would be ruined before she even reached the club. And that would just be tragic. If she needed to, Tiki would talk to Shun when she got the chance. This seemed to be more up his alley rather than ZanYi's.

ZanYi shrugged. If Tiki didn't want to tell her, that was fine. Honestly, they were probably the least close on the entire team anyway; the job had just been relegated to her because Shun had to be with Syaoran by obligation. "Suit yourself," the lieutenant told her nonchalantly. "But don't think that I don't know it's about Syaoran."

Tiki grumbled a little, the name making her cringe. "Of course it's about Syaoran—it's always about Syaoran," she pointed out grumpily, rising as the elevator reached the ground floor and stalking away when it opened. Tiki thought tonight was supposed to be a fun night out—so why was ZanYi doing her best to make the tiny airbender think of unpleasant things? It was almost enough to make her want to scream. But she couldn't do that. Blue contacts or not, there was always the chance that someone would recognize her if she drew unnecessary attention to herself.

ZanYi smirked briefly before peeling herself off of the back of the elevator to follow after Tiki. It was always about Syaoran for Tiki. And the lieutenant wasn't oblivious to their more recent behavior. The dead giveaway was catching them in the club slow-dancing. No matter how they may act, there's something there that they were both ignoring like the children they often were.

But for now, the lieutenant would give Tiki a reprieve. ZanYi simply followed after Tiki's emotional steps down the block to 'Heat'—it really was rather close to the penthouse. Again, the bouncer gave them no trouble; after a look at ZanYi, Tiki hadn't even needed her ID either.

It was almost like déjà-vu when they entered the club, but ZanYi had work to do. She wasn't going to just let Jin be the one to try and dig up anything. "Tiki, I'm going over towards the bar, so stay near there. If something happens and you can't find me, go to either Jin or Nyla."

The words were almost painful to say, but at least Tiki would have a back-up then. For the time being, Jin was always in clear sight, since he was mixing the music. It wasn't a great idea, but it was something.

Tiki nodded absentmindedly, drifting off to the dance floor. Jin seemed to spot her and he waved, a gesture Tiki could only return halfheartedly. As if Jin sensed this and was determined to cheer her up, he played one of Tiki's favorite songs. Tiki smiled, her body swaying to the music. All around her, people were talking, dancing, laughing, and having a good time. But even as she stood there, her body moving automatically to the music, all Tiki could think about was Syaoran.

Heaving a sigh, the tiny airbender left the dance floor. She really didn't want to be there after all. She had lost sight of ZanYi in the crowd—just as she was about to go look for her, something grabbed Tiki's shoulder and yanked her back stage.

"Ahhh! Let me go!"

"Calm down, it's just me."

Tiki looked up in surprise. There was 'Miss N', wearing a beautiful red dress, her dark hair pinned up in a cascading ponytail. But her mask was missing, and Nyla's sour face was visible as she gazed down at the tiny airbender. "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought you weren't allowed to come."

"ZanYi came with me," Tiki explained, not realizing how pathetic that sounded until she said it—it was as if she was being babysat. Nyla quirked a brow.

"I didn't see that shrew anywhere…" she grumbled, looking away from Tiki. It constantly surprised Tiki how much Nyla and ZanYi did not get along when they were very much the same. "Anyway, what's your problem? You can't zone out in the middle of a club, you know? That's the perfect way for you to get snatched, like just now."

Tiki made a face. Why did everyone feel the need to scold her for being careless? Syaoran was always—

She shut that thought down. No, she couldn't think about him. She wouldn't. Tiki brought herself out of her thoughts to find that Nyla was snapping her fingers in her face. "Hello? You in there?"

"Yeah," Tiki replied after a moment, her expression becoming miserable. Nyla let out a huff. Clearly her advice from earlier did not help anything.

"Look, I'm just saying you need to pay more attention to your surroundings, all right? I don't know what you're going through right now, but don't let it get you down enough that you become careless." Pulling on the mask she was holding, Nyla concluded, "That was all I had to say. You should get back out there before your 'friend' starts panicking." With a swish of the dark locks of her wig, Nyla headed further backstage, leaving Tiki to move back out into the open.

Nyla was right: just because Tiki was having issues didn't give her an excuse to get careless. Syaoran was not here to save her if she ran into any creeps this time around, so she would have to suck it up and be wary. Team Avatar would never stop treating her like a kid if she didn't stop behaving like one.

Meanwhile, across the room, ZanYi was growling a little under her breath. She'd managed to lose Tiki in the crowd before a guy could even grab at her—not that the latter hadn't happened, just the former happened irritatingly fast. Weaving her way through the hormone-pumped masses, the lieutenant tried to keep an eye out for her, but to no avail. She took a seat at the bar, using the extra height of the chairs to try and help her see over the crowd. Tiki's short stature was making her difficult to find.

"Can I get you something, Sexy?" she heard from behind her. ZanYi rolled her eyes; she was not in the mood to deal with this since she couldn't find Tiki. Turning to tell the bartender to bug off, the words stopped in her throat and her eyes flared for a second. The bartender had the same reaction, only there was more fear than surprise in his face as he muttered, "Crap… Yi."

"Hello, Kai," ZanYi drawled, looking at him with mild irritation. Just how on earth were her and Shun that unlucky? First Hua, now Kai? No wonder the bartender looked petrified; Shun had managed to throw him out on his rear after the last stunt he'd pulled. "He's not here, if that's what you're wondering," she added on, watching his gaze flit furtively about. Some of the tension eased from the guy's shoulders, but the lieutenant could tell Kai still wanted nothing to do with her after last time. ZanYi was going to use that to her advantage.

A seductive curve to her lips, though the danger still in her brown eyes, ZanYi said, "What brings you here? I thought you had a different place of employment."

"Got a new job here," Kai answered shortly, wary of the lieutenant. And with good reason. "Look, you should just get on out—"

"No," she cut him off, leaning across the bar and gripping the front of his shirt to pull him over to her. Leaning in, the sensual curve to her lips never left as she spoke in his ear. "How about we go somewhere to talk a bit more privately?"

"No way," he immediately said, looking around a bit again. "Besides, I figured it out. You used me last time to get on the island. I saw the security footage."

"Then you should know that I really don't play nice, so you might want to come along quietly," the lieutenant urged him and pulling away to look him in the eye. If anyone saw the look on her face, they would have thought her coming on to him. But she knew the truth, and so did Kai this time. He had a frightened look about him, but nonetheless put down his towel and came out from behind the bar, allowing ZanYi to lead him to a quiet corner in the back.

Once there, the lieutenant slammed him against the wall, her forearm against his throat. "I'm not going to play games this time around, so let's cut to the chase," she told him bluntly, much more herself than the flirt she had to play for appearances. "You're going to tell me what I want to know."

"Why should I do that? I could just report you."

"Because you value your life and realize this time I am more than able to take it away."

Kai was silent for a minute, truly absorbing the difference this time around in their encounter. She didn't have to feign a thing, she wasn't wearing any hindering heels, and she didn't have to hide the power that stormed in her veins. And all of that made him pale a bit, despite the rebellious look in the man's eye.

"What do you want to know?"

"Are the Neo-Equalists kidnapping benders?"

"Yes."

"What for?"

"I don't know."

ZanYi rolled her eyes. "Is that the best you've got for me?" she asked him, pushing harder against his larynx. Kai made a bit of a choking sound.

"After last time, my brother won't tell me anything anymore," the bartender informed her through narrowed eyes. "So I don't know what you want to hear, but yes, the Neo-Equalists are taking what benders they can instead of scaring them off. I have no idea why. Now can I go?"

ZanYi stared at him for a minute, added more pressure, causing Kai to struggle for air. Then she let him keel over to gasp for breath, stepping away from him. "Make no mistake: I can and will come back to kill you if you breathe a word about this to anyone." And then she lashed out a good, backhanded fist across his face, knocking him to the ground. "That was for last time."

Leaving Kai to find his own back up, ZanYi walked back out into the masses. Now to find Tiki…

The little airbender was slipping her way through the crowd, easy to do because she didn't take up much space. She bypassed anyone who tried to call out to her, and shook off anyone that tried to touch her. She was just not in the mood tonight to be bothered. As Tiki made her way up to the platform, Jin grinned at her, lowering his headphones to speak to her. "Hey, little dancer!" Jin registered the look on Tiki's face, and his grin slipped a little. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Tiki sighed. "I'm just not in the party mood like I thought I was."

"Aww, that sucks," Jin sympathized; he would have reached over to pat Tiki's head, but his hands were busy mixing the music. "Tell you what: you can just stay next to me all night, all right? Nyla should be coming on soon, so you'll get to hear her sing again."

Any other day, Tiki would be excited about that. But if she really had to hear Nyla sing her heartbroken songs, the tiny airbender would burst into tears. "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'm just going to find ZanYi and get out of here… as soon as I spot her, that is…"

Jin lifted his sunglasses briefly to look with Tiki, spotting ZanYi at the back of the club, making her way through the crowd. "There she is," he pointed her out to Tiki before his hands went back to the mixers. "You'd better be smiling when I get back tonight, all right? There are no frowns allowed in the penthouse!"

"Tell that to Nyla," Tiki joked a bit, earning a grin from Jin. Hopping down from the platform, Tiki lost herself in the crowd once again. Tonight had been a bust… maybe she could convince ZanYi to leave the city and go visit Bumi after all.

Approaching Tiki as she came through the masses, ZanYi put her hands on her hips. "You look ready to get out of here," she observed aloud, starting for the doors with the airbender in tow. Judging from the look on Tiki's face, coming to the club hadn't done anything for her mood. Meaning this was not an easy issue to resolve this time between Tiki and Syaoran. And ZanYi hadn't been able to get anything useful, but despite her threats, ZanYi did not feel comfortable staying at the club knowing Kai was there. The lieutenant didn't think he would turn her in, but with the rest of the team in the city, she wasn't about to take any chances.

Tiki nodded, and followed the lieutenant out of the club. On a normal night, Tiki would have been irritated that they got all dolled up to only stay at the club for twenty minutes, but tonight, she could not care less. ZanYi also looked like she had something on her mind, but Tiki did not bother to ask: she trusted that, if it was important, that ZanYi would just tell her and Syaoran later.

Syaoran…

"ZanYi, can we go check on Bumi really quick?" Tiki requested, her eyes on the ground as they walked. "I just want to make sure he's okay…"

And she didn't want to return to the penthouse just yet. But that part she did not say out loud, for fear of sounding childish.

ZanYi thought about it, but nodded. She supposed visiting the bison wouldn't be a bad idea, and it was away from the club—which was her main priority. Besides, if their new issue was harder to solve than just a little bit of separation, then keeping Tiki and Syaoran apart a bit longer was probably a good thing.

It also meant she was actually going to have to try and talk to Tiki. ZanYi knew that her usual tactics might not necessarily work on the airbender. Tiki was such a… girl. Sensitive. The lieutenant could get Syaoran to talk no problem; it was like talking to one of her soldiers. Shun and her had an understanding. But Tiki? Well, the anger approach worked back on her birthday, but this was not quite the same kind of scenario.

This was why ZanYi had no close female friends: the emotional range they had was not the same as hers.

As they headed out of the city, Tiki kept her eyes peeled. She knew that Bumi was perfectly capable of getting food for himself, but even so, she wanted to bring him something, just in case. To Tiki's luck, she saw someone throw out a perfectly good burger after only taking a bite, covering it in the wrapper before tossing it at a nearby trash bin. The burger missed the trash can, however, but the person could not be bothered to throw it away properly. So Tiki scooped it up, only to keep it with her until they reached Bumi. A short time later outside the city limits, she and ZanYi arrived in the small clearing they had left the sky bison in, him rumbling a greeting as he saw their approach.

"Hi, Bumi! I got you something good," Tiki boasted, smiling as she fed the burger to Bumi. As he munched happily, he allowed Tiki to rest her head on his, her hands petting his fur as she sighed. "You're the only guy I can trust to not break my heart, Bumi…" Tiki mumbled to the sky bison, the sad smile on her face once again. The great thing about Bumi? Tiki wasn't attracted to him at all, so she never had to question his loyalty to her. If only her world could function that way all the time…

ZanYi leaned on a nearby tree, watching. Tiki clearly seemed out of sorts, and if her mutterings were any indication, it was about her feelings for Syaoran, or vice versa. She wanted to smack her forehead. Drama of this sort was the precise reason she generally had not partaken of such relationships previous to Shun.

"You could just tell him how you feel already," the lieutenant suggested mildly, watching Tiki as she buried her face in Bumi's fur.

Tiki sat upright, her face going completely red. "Who told you?!" Tiki demanded to know of the lieutenant, completely embarrassed. How did she know?! The only other person Tiki had told was… "Was it Shun? Did Shun tell you?!" True, Tiki had not asked him to keep it quiet from ZanYi… but it really wasn't his business to air, was it? So how had ZanYi found out?!

ZanYi lifted an eyebrow, as if gauging whether the airbender was genuine in her outrage and surprise. It seemed as if she was and it made the lieutenant roll her eyes. "No, Shun did not tell me," she told her. It's not like they spent what little time alone together they had talking about Syaoran and Tiki. It didn't surprise her that Shun already knew though. He was the kind of person people confided in.

"It didn't take a genius, especially after the way you two were dancing at the club the other night," ZanYi revealed to Tiki, as if the airbender shouldn't be surprised. "There's something going on between you two, and everyone can see it probably except for you and him."

And higher went Tiki's embarrassment meter. ZanYi had seen them slow-dancing? Oh, how embarrassing! Tiki wanted to die!

She buried her face in Bumi's fur, much to his confusion. But it was better than burying herself in a hole somewhere, which is exactly what she wanted to do. Did that mean Shun saw them too? Well, Shun already knew about Tiki's feelings, but that didn't make the situation any less embarrassing!

"…Syaoran doesn't feel that way about me," Tiki mumbled into Bumi's fur, the words hurting her as she said them. "To him, I'm just a friend… even worse, I'm like his kid sister. He… doesn't see me as a woman at all." And Tiki had been trying so hard to grow up… not for him, but for herself. But it looked as if her efforts were getting nowhere: still, no one took her seriously, not even Syaoran. Tiki sunk further into her depression. At this rate, she just wanted to sleep out here with Bumi for the night, if it meant she didn't have to face Syaoran again.

ZanYi was already getting frustrated. This romantic mess was worse than Ransik and Sikka. At least, as long as the two of them had circled each other, they didn't mope like love-struck teenagers. Syaoran and Tiki were acting like that though, and it aggravated the lieutenant. This was all because Tiki refused to speak up, refused to speak her mind and say her piece. She was going to continue to make herself miserable if she didn't say anything to Syaoran—which meant everyone was going to be miserable and Syaoran was going to be a wreck to train. Last thing the world needed was the Avatar not able to do his job because of a girl.

"Well if it's going to bother you this much, tell him your feelings so you can move on. Otherwise make peace with it and drop it," ZanYi told her seriously. "Don't make yourself miserable over things unsaid. You and I both know that you don't always get a second chance to say things."

Tiki's shoulders hunched. It was sound advice, but a harsh tone because it was coming from ZanYi. She had a point, and Tiki had tried. It wasn't as if Syaoran's answer to her hypothetical situation was unkind… it was just the wrong answer, and it hurt.

"I can't tell him," Tiki asserted, sitting up to give ZanYi a helpless look. She didn't care if the lieutenant had no patience for this situation: someone had to understand her frustration, and it would be ZanYi by default, since she brought it up. "If I tell him how I feel, because he doesn't feel the same way, things will get really awkward between us! And he'll pity me! I don't want that!" With a drawn-out sigh, Tiki brought her knees up, hugging them to her chest and resting her cheek on them.

"I can't tell him," she repeated sadly, "He wouldn't accept me. I'm not beautiful like you, ZanYi. There's just no way…"

This is exactly why ZanYi didn't get along famously with many females. The lieutenant was fortunate that the ones she dealt with normally were soldiers, so it was fine, but this stuff? These insecurities and hypotheticals? It was the kind of thing that drove her crazy. But she had to reign it in. This was part of the job too: helping the mental and emotional welfare of the team was still protecting them, just from themselves.

So the lieutenant shoved off of the tree and moved to crouch down in front of Tiki, an arm slung across her upright knee. "If beauty is a qualification for a guy, then you shouldn't be pining for him anyway," she told the airbender straight up, serious. "The looks, the hair, the make-up, the clothes—they don't matter. I know it works on the average guy, but it's not most important to the ones that are worth it. Don't let something trivial like that be the reason you don't think Syaoran will accept you. He can be oblivious, but he's not shallow." ZanYi put a hand out on Tiki's shoulder. "If you really care about him, you've got to buck up and put yourself out there. Be bold. Say what you think. And if things go sour, then he wasn't right for you. Maybe it'll hurt, but it's better to have that and move on than to hold onto this pain. So fix it and make things right. Just because you think the ball is in his court doesn't mean you can't make a move." The lieutenant smirked and stood back up, holding down one hand to Tiki. "Now," she asserted, "are you going to go back and face this or what?"

Tiki stared up at ZanYi, her brow already furrowed in defeat. Easy for ZanYi to say: she was made of stronger stuff than Tiki was. And she didn't have to worry about rejection—any man who actually rejected her had to be certifiable. She wasn't Tiki, so ZanYi had no idea how the tiny airbender was feeling.

…But then… because ZanYi wasn't feeling what Tiki was feeling, wasn't it easier for her to take a look at Tiki's problem from an objective point of view…? Maybe ZanYi was right: holding onto this pain certainly wasn't doing Tiki any favors. And when she was finally rejected, at least then she could work towards letting go and moving on from there. Every heartache she felt would make her stronger, so long as she did everything in her power to make things turn out the best way they possibly could. What was the sense in her crying if she wasn't even willing to try?

Then, she and ZanYi were in agreement: Tiki was going to tell Syaoran how she really felt. Reaching for the lieutenant's hand, Tiki allowed herself to be pulled to her feet, her expression determined.

"Let's go before I chicken out, then."

Once the ladies had departed, Shun busied himself with rubbing his lips with the back of his hand to get rid of ZanYi's lipstick. He probably shouldn't have kissed ZanYi like that—especially not in front of Syaoran—but the giant waterbender could not bring himself to regret his actions. ZanYi's half-annoyed, half-amused look had been worth it.

When he was certain all the lipstick was gone, Shun turned to walk back over to the table, resuming his seat in front of Syaoran. "So, what's the matter with you and Tiki today?" Honestly, it was always something with the two of them.

…Then again, Shun could hardly talk, what with the tumultuous relationship he and ZanYi still sometimes shared.

Syaoran looked back to Shun with a groan. Seriously? This was how they were going to play it? The Avatar felt a little duped and was starting to regret that Shun and ZanYi had clearly become some formidable all their own. "I don't know," he answered honestly, aggravated by that answer for multiple reasons. It's not like he knew what was wrong this time; he didn't even know what he'd said wrong! Besides, Shun was asking him, not demanding him like ZanYi always did. Syaoran was going to reserve the right this time to keep his mouth shut. "Can we just get to training already?" Syaoran asked, taking a couple last bites before pushing his plate away.

Shun shrugged, perfectly at ease. "That's fine," he answered the Avatar, rising to his feet once more. "But if you're unable to focus on practice tonight, I'll make you spill your guts, understand?" Shun was smiling, but his eyes were serious—like when Syaoran was learning firebending and airbending, he needed all his focus to learn waterbending. If tonight's lesson didn't go well, it would be because Syaoran's mind was elsewhere instead of focused on the task he was supposed to be performing. Syaoran's grumpy expression soured more.

"Fine," he agreed readily, eager to push the matter away for now. Hopefully Tiki would come back from the club in a good mood, she'd yell at him for whatever he'd done wrong this time, he'd fight back, and then everything would be out in the open.

The Avatar rose up from the table and started up to the pool, stripping of his shirt on the way. For once, he was eager to train—aside from when he was learning firebending during the time of his crush on their lieutenant. He jumped into the pool and shook out his newly wet head, finding that the hair was indeed falling into his face. Syaoran could only hope he'd manage to focus tonight. Because already he couldn't shake Tiki from his thoughts, and that was a bad sign.

Shun followed Syaoran into the pool, rid of his jeans and shirt. The Avatar seemed to be eager to get to work, so the giant wanterbender wouldn't press him further… as long as practice went well. The moon was fuller tonight than it was last night—so it was a waxing moon. Excellent.

"So," Shun began, turning to Syaoran with a smile, "you remember what I taught you last night, right?"

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, push and pull," he recited, remembering that to be basically the only thing they covered last night. Getting the hang of that was not fun. Seriously, the water would flop about if he was gentle, but go ragged if he was more rigid with it. Waterbending techniques were not on the top of his fun list at the moment. Usually this was where Tiki would start some nonsensical cheering, or encourage him with sweet words. And it made Syaoran aggravated because he wanted her out of his head—and on the side of the pool to yell aloud.

"Right," Shun praised, though he was sensitive to Syaoran's inattention. Better give the Avatar something to do to keep him busy. "Let's practice that for a bit. You remember the motions, right?" Shun demonstrated for a brief moment, working his whole body into it so that the waves became bigger and bigger until they were almost as tall as Syaoran. Shun dropped his arms, and with a splash, the pool water settled back to its normal stillness. "You try," Shun encouraged with a smile. "Remember: balance."

"Right. Balance."

Syaoran said those words, but that was something that was not coming to him right now. The Avatar tried his hand at going gently first. Failed. Then he tried a bit harder. Failed. Syaoran desperately tried to get a movement somewhere in-between like he had by the end of the previous training, and slowly some waves started to shift back and forth.

It was still really ugly though. The Avatar could only hear Tiki in his head, spurring him on, trying to push him to get it right through kind words and cheers. It made him growl that she wasn't going away even in her absence and what little wave he had crashed back down, splashing both men.

Shun shook the water from his face with a sigh. Clearly, nothing was going to get done tonight, if he allowed Syaoran to progress the way he was progressing.

"Syaoran… seriously, what's the matter?" Shun folded his arms, fixing the Avatar with a searching gaze. "Are you still thinking about whatever is going on between you and Tiki?" He had to still be thinking about it—there was no other explanation. Nothing else would have Syaoran this flustered and unable to focus. The question was why? What had happened between them that caused this heavy atmosphere to befall them both?

Syaoran groaned with dismay. He really did have the absolute worst luck: for once he wanted to train, and he couldn't. Then again, part of him wanted to make sure Tiki was okay too—even ZanYi couldn't keep tabs on her all of the time. And Shun and the lieutenant wouldn't have split them up if they hadn't fought earlier, or had a misunderstanding, or…

"I don't even know what happened!" he eventually burst out in frustration, flailing out his arms. As if beckoned, waves spread in its wake. "One minute we're talking while waiting for lunch, and now suddenly she's avoiding me! I don't even know what I did!"

"Whoa, slow down," Shun requested, trying not to laugh at the frustrated Syaoran—only Tiki could evoke this kind of emotion from him.

Syaoran twisted his lip, hands on his sides. Guess it was too late not to say anything—though he supposed he was doomed since he realized he wouldn't be able to focus like he wanted. "Before you got back with lunch, we were hanging out, and Kei's latest speech was on the jumbotron," the Avatar started in aggravation, ruffling the back of his head, "Tiki and I were talking afterwards, she suddenly got upset, and ran off. I don't even know what I said wrong!"

And maybe that was the most annoying part: Syaoran didn't even know what set her off, so how could he comfort her or fix things or set the record straight?

"What were you talking about?" Shun asked curiously. The whole problem seemed to lie in their conversation—and Syaoran had an unfortunate habit of biting Tiki's head off when he was mad at her, as well as Tiki had a tendency to revert to her childish nature when she was angry with Syaoran. Whatever was said seemed to have led the two to another misunderstanding, though Syaoran seemed to have no idea what he had done wrong. Just what had they been talking about?

Syaoran looked a little awkward then, frowning. The question she'd asked had seemed kind of personal, even if it was vague and seemingly from nowhere. But since then, Tiki wasn't talking to him, so personal or not, it was a problem now.

"She asked me what I would do if she told me she had feelings for somebody," the Avatar reluctantly answered, begrudging. "And I told her that I'd ask who, went through the list of guys we knew and rejected each one, and then told her she only deserved the best. I really don't see what I said wrong, but that's when she got all hormonal and left!"

Shun turned his head, covering his mouth as he struggled to remain stoic. Was this really possible? Could the two of them really be unaware of each other's feelings? It was so obvious! Were Tiki and Syaoran blind? It was no wonder they fought all the time: their ability to misunderstand each other was astounding. "Incidentally…" Shun began once he had calmed down a little, curiosity getting the best of him, "were you on this list?" Had the Avatar bothered to include himself? If so, that would confirm what Shun already suspected: that Syaoran did feel something more for Tiki than just friendship, despite the tiny airbender's belief. Poor thing… no wonder she had gotten upset. To her, Syaoran's words sounded insensitive, even if he himself was not aware of it.

Syaoran didn't appreciate Shun's reaction, even if the man was trying his best not to laugh. There was nothing funny about this. This might be worse than having ZanYi talk to him—at least she played it straight with him. A woman of few words. Oh, how he wished for that right about then.

"Yeah, I was. So?" he answered defensively, a bit dejectedly. "Why would she even hypothetically be interested in me? I'm just… me."

Shun no longer found the situation funny. Instead, he found it sad, his sigh illustrating his feelings. This really was so sad. Why didn't Syaoran and Tiki see that they had feelings for each other? Their self-esteem couldn't be that low… Or was it simply easier for them to disbelieve? Either way, such a phenomenon troubled Shun.

"You sound disappointed," the giant waterbender pointed out, his expression kind. "Maybe because you actually care about Tiki more than you're willing to admit…?"

Syaoran's gaze flashed at Shun, wide. Had Shun really been able to deduce that? Syaoran hadn't said a word to anyone. The Avatar could barely handle the idea himself, let alone others realize it and point it out to him.

So his green eyes looked away, back to the gentle waters. "Maybe… I don't know… ish," Syaoran conceded, unable to look Shun in the eye. This was worse than the debacle over ZanYi, and the Avatar wasn't even trying to compete with Shun over it. It just sucked to admit that to the waterbender; he'd already lost one girl to him. And with Tiki, he just wasn't willing to give anyone else even a chance.

"Okay, I do. Just leave it alone, 'kay, man?"

Shun smiled a bit. Now they were getting somewhere. "I can't leave it alone," he asserted, fixing the Avatar with a serious stare. "Don't you remember? I told you that if you couldn't focus during training, I'd make you spill your guts." Shun stepped forward, looming over Syaoran, his aura imposing. "Now spill: how are you going to fix this situation?"

Even though he was used to Shun's size, Syaoran still found the stature rather imposing at the moment. Probably helped that he was standing in a pool full of his natural element. Or perhaps being with ZanYi was making him bossier. Either way, the Avatar actually thought about the question then, mulling it over. How was he supposed to fix this? He wasn't about to tell Tiki that he likes her… But maybe he didn't have to take himself off of the table either…

"I'm going to talk to her," Syaoran asserted, looking up at Shun with determination in his eyes. "I'm going to talk to her, and I'm going to fix this. Time to set part of the record straight."

Shun didn't know what Syaoran meant by 'part of the record'—he suspected, but he didn't know—but he figured that it was best to just let Syaoran figure out that part for himself. Shun and ZanYi could not continue to figure out Tiki and Syaoran's problems for them. Some middle ground had to be reached by the end of the night, or this process was just going to be repeated over and over again… It gave Shun a headache just thinking about the mess.

"Good," Shun approved, stepping around Syaoran to pull himself out of the pool. "Then we'll resume your waterbending lessons tomorrow night, when you're more focused." Grabbing a towel for him and Syaoran, Shun's thought strayed to the women of Team Avatar, wondering how long they would be out. With any luck, not long—the longer ZanYi and Tiki stayed by themselves in that club, the more anxious Shun was bound to get.

Thankfully for both men, they didn't have to wait much longer. By the time that Syaoran got out of the shower a half hour later from washing the chlorine smell off of him, the elevator dinged and the doors parted, revealing the women of the team. It was a relief to see both of them come back at a decent time and neither looking too worse for wear. Even Tiki seemed a little better, in a way. She no longer looked like she wanted to take flight, a bit of determination in her gait. Syaoran felt the same in him. Hopefully this meant they were about to resolve things—it didn't look like he was going to do any waterbending training well during this fight of theirs.

Dropping her jacket on the couch, ZanYi put her hands on her hips, surveying the two younger ones with her amber stare. "You two ready to hash this out now or what?" she asked. To her satisfaction, Syaoran nodded his head, keeping his eyes on Tiki. So the lieutenant looked back to Tiki then. "Tiki?"

Tiki flinched, her gaze on the ground. To be honest, she had begun to panic as soon as they got in the elevator. She had talked big, back in the clearing, but now that she was back in the penthouse with Syaoran, her strength was fading fast, negative thoughts beginning to close in. She couldn't do this. He would reject her for sure. Then he would avoid her. Their friendship would become strained. And they would eventually drift apart…

No! She couldn't think like that!

Tiki slapped her cheeks, regaining herself. "I… I need to go to the bathroom first!" She decided, grabbing her bag and making a dash for Nyla's room. She made to burst into the bathroom, but…

"EYAAAH!"

Shun jumped, whirling around to find Tiki in the doorway, her expression frozen in shock. Shun stiffened as well, extremely thankful that he had just buttoned his jeans when she had burst in, or that would have been terribly awkward. "Hey… so, you're back?" Shun greeted, smiling to keep the situation from becoming disastrous. Tiki's eyes never strayed from his face, but she must have known that, judging from his attitude, he was decent enough, so she relaxed a little.

"Y-yeah… it was boring."

"Boring? I didn't expect that to come from you."

"Yeah, well…" Tiki gasped. She was getting side-tracked. "Shun, if you're done in here, please leave! I need to use the bathroom!"

"Oh," Shun said, looking surprised at the intense expression Tiki wore. "Sure…"

She slammed the bathroom door shut after he left, and Shun chuckled a little. She looked like she was ready to go to war… he hoped that meant that she and Syaoran would work things out soon. He just cursed his luck that he hadn't had a chance to grab his shirt before he left Nyla's bathroom. Not that a shirt would cover up the girly scent he now wore—his sister was a surprisingly elegant girl, she didn't have any normal soap at all. It was both amusing and irksome to the giant waterbender.

"Welcome back," Shun greeted, smiling at ZanYi as he entered the living room. "Everything all right? Tiki all but shoved me out of Nyla's bathroom."

ZanYi let out a huff. "She better not be getting cold feet," the lieutenant grumbled, crossing her arms as she looked at Nyla's door. Tiki was already panicking and she hadn't even tried to talk to Syaoran yet. This was getting even more troublesome than it had already been. Turning to Syaoran, she gave him an appraising look. "At least it looks like one of you is ready to get this over with," she remarked, and the Avatar gave her a nod of confirmation.

"Definitely," he agreed, "though I'd appreciate it if you stopped treating us like kids that have to be put in separate corners."

"Then don't act like kids who have to be put in separate corners."

Syaoran groaned and smacked his forehead. This was what it was like working with ZanYi, yet in some ways, he still preferred it to Shun trying to get him to talk about things in depth. The lieutenant was much easier to deal with.

"Is she going to talk to me?" he asked ZanYi, hopeful.

"Whether she likes it or not, yes."

"Good luck, Syaoran," Shun bade with a well-meaning smile. Somehow, Shun felt that he couldn't be too pleased—although he was—with this development. It would seem like he felt guilty about snatching Syaoran's happiness the first time, and was rooting for him the second time around to appease his conscience. Shun only had Syaoran and Tiki's best interests at heart, however. He hoped they knew that.

A few minutes later, Shun heard the door to Nyla's bathroom creak open. Tiki exited his sister's bedroom, looking much more like Tiki: the make-up and stylish clothes were gone, to be replaced by her usual peasant top and slacks. Tiki was in the process of fixing her hair, parting her bangs and making sure one of her butterfly hair clips was straight. It seemed she wanted to do this without any pretenses between her and Syaoran.

Shun gave her a smile as she passed him, but she did not notice him—she stopped right in front of Syaoran, her face burning, but determinedly meeting his eyes. This was one challenge she would not allow herself to escape from. "Let's talk," she said, not wanting to give Syaoran an option either, on the off-chance that he had changed his mind while she had been gone. No matter what, this had to be hashed out tonight, or Tiki would not be able to sleep peacefully for a while.

Syaoran nodded to the airbender. "Then let's go talk," he agreed, starting upstairs to the roof. Frankly, he didn't want an audience for this talk. Shun and ZanYi were already too involved in this; they didn't need to get any more involved. Therefore, he wanted to be able to talk to Tiki honestly and bluntly without any disapproving looks.

Tiki gulped, but nodded. They were going up to the roof? Good—the balcony or either of the bedrooms would have just made Tiki even more nervous. And she was indeed nervous—her palms were sweating, and her heart was thundering inside her chest, like a caged animal desperate to be free. Tiki concentrated on taking slow, even breaths to maintain her calm appearance… on the outside, at least. Inside, she was already frightened to death. What if she froze up while they were talking? What if she said the wrong thing? What if this caused an even bigger misunderstanding between them…?

'Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it…'

Tiki's hands wandered up to play with her hair, her poker face giving way to defeat. Well, it was time to get this over with… but who should start speaking first…?

Syaoran stood there just as awkwardly as they reached the roof, scratching the back of his head. This was not going to be fun. This was going to be stifling. Neither of them knew what they were doing here, clearly, except that they had to be here. That much was true. They couldn't go on like this. "So…" he started, adding even more discomfort to the air between them. Especially when his voice dropped off there. Syaoran shook his head. He could not fall apart right now.

"So," the Avatar started again, looking to meet Tiki's eyes this time, "we need to talk about earlier, right?"

"Ah." Tiki seized onto this starter topic like a life line, feeling as if it would be easier to lead up to what she had to say rather than just jump right in… there was no need to rush into the pain was there? But then, there was no need to prolong it either…

Oh, whatever! She was just going to play it by ear!

"Um… I'm sorry," Tiki began, her eyes lowering as she turned her head, clutching her hair tightly, "for the way I reacted earlier. It's just… the way you answered me…" Oh no, she was reliving the moment, her body beginning to shake, tears beginning to prick her eyes. This could not be happening right now. "…I… didn't know what to do…"

So her first reaction had been to run. That was how it always was with Tiki: when faced with a choice, she always chose flight over fight. Could she really not do this after all?

Syaoran frowned—so it had been his answer. That narrowed down the window to which he had apparently upset her, but it still didn't help him all that much. He wasn't even quite sure what he'd said that was wrong, that had made her so uncertain and upset. "What part of the answer bothered you?" Syaoran felt bold enough to ask, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Because, I mean it was true, you know." The Avatar hoped that by reiterating the compliment of the prior conversation, it would help him out a bit here. Last thing he needed was Tiki to break down right now. He wouldn't be sure whether to comfort her or stay away from her. "You don't deserve anything less than the best."

Tiki turned to look him in the eye again, needing answers because there it was again: that caring, protective attitude he had towards her. And yet he had been so quick to belittle himself as a choice for her… why? Did he really have no interest in her, but could not stand to see someone else hurt her? Didn't he know what kinds of conflicting emotions that would cause with her?

"Why don't you consider yourself the best, then?" she dared to ask, ignoring the flush in her cheeks, "Why can't I have you?"

Ack, she said it! Well, not in so many words, but still, the implication! Tiki's face turned completely red, but she forced herself to keep Syaoran's gaze. She sounded like a petulant child that had just been denied a shiny new toy she had seen while passing a store window, but she had to know exactly why he was going to reject her, or she would never get any peace.

Syaoran scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" he asked her, shaking his head. "I'm just me. Why on earth would you want—wait, what?!"

The implication of her question finally hit him. He'd been so relieved just to get an answer that he'd started talking before he even registered the entirety of her words. Why couldn't she have him? Why would she want to have him? Did this mean she did? What?!

"I'm sorry, can you please rephrase the question because I think you just lost me."

Tiki huffed. He was going to make her say it again? Was he that intent on embarrassing her as much as he could? "I like you, okay?" she burst out, unable to take the tension anymore. "I really like you! I've been holding this inside ever since I found you half-dead after we rescued your mom and sister, and it's been really difficult, especially when you only see me as a friend or a kid sister! So when you say sweet things to me like today, it really hurts!"

Ah… she had said more than she had meant to… even so, it felt, briefly, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. A second later, however, it was replaced by an even heavier weight. She had now gotten her feelings off her chest, but that only left Syaoran to reject her now, as he surely would. Like she already said, there was no way he would be interested in her, which was why he was patronizing her for considering him a love interest. He was trying to spare her feelings…

"Just… hurry up and reject me already…" she mumbled, lowering her eyes and clutching her hair again. "I don't want to feel like this anymore… it hurts…"

It did hurt. Even now, it felt like a million needles were pricking at her heart, over and over again, as she stood there, awaiting her judgment from Syaoran. This kind of pain, she did not want to feel ever again.

And Syaoran just kind of stood there for a moment, trying to absorb the words. At first, it wasn't going well. It didn't compute. Tiki liked him? Liked? Him? This seemed very incomprehensible to the Avatar. The words strung together in that sentence just didn't make sense.

But, considering how crestfallen she was, Syaoran knew it was not a joke. She was legitimately saddened, thinking he only saw her as a friend, or a little sister. Admittedly, she was akin to those things for him, but that's not all she was…

"Well, you are my best friend, and kind of like a little sister…" he started awkwardly, scratching his head. With a disgruntled huff, a ruffle of his shaggy hair, and averted eyes, Syaoran also added, "But you're more than that too."

Great. Now he felt incredibly awkward, but he couldn't back out now. Besides, Tiki put herself out there; Syaoran was determined to do the same at this point and carry this through. He didn't want Tiki to keep feeling sad around him, so if he had to come clean, he would.

"Okay, so I might kind of-sort of-possibly like you like that too."

Tiki's shoulders stiffened briefly, before she relaxed and let out a sad sigh. "It's okay," she told him, thinking that she understood. "You don't have to pity me. I already know that there isn't any way you'd be interested in me like that, so you don't have to lie to make me feel better. I don't want you to feel guilty, so don't bother coddling me. Just say what you mean. I can handle it." Worst case scenario, she would just run off crying again, but right now, she had to assure Syaoran that she wouldn't hate him, even though he could not return her feelings. He could not help what he felt any more than she could, after all—he didn't want to be with her, and that was fine. Tiki would not force him to return her feelings at all. She just wanted him to know that she cared.

"I don't feel guilty and I'm not pitying you," the Avatar groaned, smacking his forehead in frustration. How was it that their communication skills sucked so badly? Now it was her who didn't believe him! This was getting to be a convoluted mess and Syaoran wasn't appreciating it. No wonder Shun and ZanYi had tried to talk to them; clearly the misunderstandings came in leaps and bounds. Syaoran let out a growl of irritation and scratched furiously at his head. He was terrible at this, and he hadn't even wanted to admit this to himself. Now he had to convince Tiki just so that they wouldn't fall apart even as friends. This drama was something he could not handle.

"I'm saying I actually like you, okay? Dang it," he grumbled. "I finally say what I mean and you don't believe me!"

What was he saying? Tiki could not process it. He was saying… that he liked her? He really liked her? And he was complaining that she didn't believe him? Tiki raised her head to look at Syaoran, looking like she might cry. "But how can I believe you?" she asked him, her tone helpless. "Why would you be interested in someone like me?" Tiki was messed up. She knew that, and was working to get better as best as she could. Still, her mood fluctuated so much that she felt like something was broken inside of her half the time, and her fights with Syaoran had gotten worse because she was all over the place with her emotions. So for him to claim that he liked her…

A tear escaped Tiki's gray eyes, followed by a few more. Oh no, it was starting. She did not want to do this now, but her body would not listen; she trembled as she wept, trying to hold it in and failing miserably. She pressed her hands over her eyes, trying to hide them from Syaoran. "Why would you like someone like me… I'm a mess… why would you settle for someone like me…?"

Now Syaoran was torn between a myriad of emotions. He was irked because she wouldn't believe him, astounded that she was saying that she liked him, and conflicted because now she was crying about it. Why couldn't this just be simple? Then again, it was Tiki: nothing was ever simple with Tiki and her emotions.

It was enough to start giving the Avatar a headache.

In the end, hating her crying about something so stupid won over him. With quick strides, he closed the gap between him and Tiki to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his chest. This way he wouldn't have to look at her.

Syaoran let out a groan. "You absolutely drive me nuts and you're giving me a headache right now, so just listen to what I'm saying," he told her up front, giving up any hope of having tact. He was no romantic, and he could barely admit this to himself, so Syaoran was just going to tell it like it is. "I like you. You're my best friend and the only one who can get me out of my funks. Your encouragement has gotten me this far, and I've been trying hard so I don't disappoint you because you believe in me so much. So yeah, when I apparently came back from the dead and saw you upset, all I knew was that I didn't want you to do that again over me. You're crazy, you have mood swings more than ZanYi yells, and you're completely oblivious to everything else around you. But you're also kind and thoughtful, and you always have hope. So shut-up and believe me when I tell you I like you."

Tiki's eyes shot open wide at Syaoran's touch, the familiar sensation of him winding an arm around her small frame beginning to soothe her. He spoke roughly, with an air of impatience that she was used to, but even so, the underlying sweetness of his gruff words managed to reach her.

And it made her cry harder. But the tears were slowly turning from the darkness of heartache to the light of happiness, and she lowered her hands from her eyes to wrap her arms around Syaoran, clutching at his shirt. Honestly, she felt bad for the guy, liking someone like her… it was never going to be easy for him. But, as long as he was here, by her side… Tiki felt that, maybe, just maybe, she would be able to take the steps further forward at getting better.

"…Thank you…" she whimpered in between her sobs, hating that she was behaving this way in front of Syaoran, but still so glad that he was willing to deal for her sake. And though she felt so much more for the Avatar, she could not ask for a better friend.

Syaoran huffed. At least she finally believed him—though it almost seemed counter-productive, since now she was crying harder. Seriously, he'd just taken a shower and dried off, but she decides to get his shirt wet all over again. Oh well—she did this often enough anyway.

"C'mon, don't get so weepy over this…" he pitched, using his other hand to pat her head and ruffle her hair. "It's not a big deal."

Okay, maybe it kind of was, since now they knew they had feelings for each other. Did this mean Team Avatar had two couples now? Were they couple? Syaoran still shuddered a bit at the thought. This was all going to get really awkward after the hormone-fest was over with. Still, he could afford to let Tiki get this one out—anything to stall the awkward sentiments this would induce.

"Well, at least we're not fighting anymore?" the Avatar suggested, trying to find another bright side. Well, aside from the fact that Tiki had the idiocy to actually like him—or was it the intelligence? Syaoran was better than Kei or Jin. He wasn't about to take advantage of her and her naivety. Okay, despite mutual feelings, these thoughts were still weird…

Tiki sniffled loudly, trying to get a hold of herself. "We… we weren't fighting…" she mumbled into Syaoran's shirt, "we just… weren't talking…" Because Tiki had had no idea what to say to Syaoran after earlier today. She tried to act as normal as she could, but when it came right down to it, she just could not speak to him. Every time she had tried, her tongue would get stuck in her throat, as if her body was rejecting the idea of talking to Syaoran after what he'd said. "I'm… sorry… about that…" she whispered to him, still not daring to show her face until she actually stopped crying.

This was so embarrassing… why did every important conversation she had with Syaoran end with her tears? Tiki wished she could have borrowed some of the lieutenant's strength for this moment.

"Don't worry about it," Syaoran shrugged it away. Sure, she had basically caused a tension-filled evening that required the involvement of their other team members to fix, but at least he knew why now. Apparently she didn't like that he'd taken himself out of the picture for her. How would he have known?

At least the crying was starting to slow—ish. Tiki was still clinging to him as she tried to get a hold of herself. For a moment, the Avatar let himself hang his head back in mild exasperation. Bringing his head back down to look at her, Syaoran patted her head, thinking that would work. "Will you stop crying already? I know I told you to let it out when you have to, but this isn't even a big deal. We talked it out. Problem solved." And then Syaoran sighed. "We have got to get better at communicating."

Another great sniff, followed by a giggle.

"I'm sorry," Tiki apologized again, pulling back to rub her eyes, wanting to be rid of all the moisture they carried. Honestly, if she cried anymore, she would shrivel up and wither away, like a raisin. "I started crying because I was sad… but then I ended up crying because I was happy…"

Tiki giggled again. Syaoran was right, they needed to get better at this communication thing, if all their misunderstandings were any indication. The tiny airbender glanced up to find Syaoran looking down at her, his eyes that inviting green she had seen on occasion, sucking her in every time. Tiki flushed and ducked her head, embarrassed. This wasn't a dream, was it? Were they really standing here together, after professing their feelings for each other? It was way embarrassing… but even so…

Though his shirt was soaked with her tears, Tiki pressed her ear against his chest, wanting to hear his heartbeat. "I like you, Syaoran," she repeated, her arms tightening around the Avatar. This sensation frightened her out of her wits, but it wasn't so bad, knowing that Syaoran was right there with her. Even if he had a crush on ZanYi before, this feeling of someone returning his feelings was all new to him as well.

Syaoran wasn't quite sure what to do then. Tiki was just getting so… cuddly. That was a not word that was a part of his lexicon. But it was the only word to describe this small airbender burrowing into his chest with her arms around him. It was new and bizarre and a little uncomfortable in the fact that it was comfortable.

He was almost starting to think this was going to make him bi-polar: too many conflicting opposites.

"Yeah… um… like you too," he muttered, face heating up, looking away from Tiki. Seriously, how was he supposed to deal with this now? Denial was almost the easier option.

Tiki dared to glance up, finding that Syaoran's face was just as red as hers felt. This made her want to tease him a little. So, just like yesterday, she stretched up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Can you say it louder?" she asked with a shy smile, her gray eyes expectant. Though he had already said it a few times in his endeavor to convince her, she wanted to hear it again… and Syaoran's embarrassed face was kind of adorable. She hoped she was not asking too much of him—the Avatar looked like he would explode from embarrassment at any moment.

That made Syaoran look back down at her again, flabbergasted. Was she serious? She wanted him to say it again? He may admit to liking her, but Syaoran was still Syaoran. And looking down at Tiki, while he found her expression to be perhaps a bit adorable, the Avatar was not going to yield. He was not whipped like Shun, kiss or no kiss.

"How about no?" Syaoran said, though there really wasn't much question to it. It was a statement. He'd already said it—twice even!—and felt awkward enough. Three times would just about kill him.

Syaoran disentangled himself from Tiki, knocking her head as he ruffled her hair and pushed her back a little. "Nice try, but don't push it," he told her, though there was a tiny quirk in the corner of his mouth.

"Awww," Tiki sighed, disappointed. But she appreciated Syaoran's smile, returning one of her own. Finally, it looked as if they understood each other, even if it was just a little. They had finally reached each other.

"So," Tiki began shyly, ducking her head again, "what does this mean for us? Specifically, I mean."

Were they going to start considering themselves boyfriend and girlfriend? Tiki thought about what she would do if she was introduced like that, or if she had to introduce Syaoran like that, and her face exploded with red. No way, that was too embarrassing! Tiki was still trying to come to grips with the fact that Syaoran actually felt the same way about her! There was no way she could call him her boyfriend! Not right away, anyway…

Syaoran realized what she was asking and his face filled up with red. What did this mean for them now? What were they? He liked her. She liked him. But what did that mean? Where did they go from here?

The Avatar realized, with some chagrin, that maybe this was why they were treated like kids. There was no way that he and Tiki would be able to pull off Shun and ZanYi's 'together'. Him and Tiki were not a solid unit like they were. Syaoran even felt it would be too much to say that they were dating, or seeing each other.

Both of those even just sounded weird.

"I… have no idea," he confessed begrudgingly, "um, we have an understanding at least? It's a start, right?"

Tiki thought about it. And she smiled.

"Good enough," she agreed with a smile. Moving towards Syaoran, she shyly took his hand, their fingertips brushing. "We like each other. That's all that matters."

Tiki gave his hand a squeeze. This was one thing off their plate now. They liked each other, and acknowledged it. Hopefully, things would get better for them from then on now that they had cleared up their main misunderstanding.

Syaoran looked at Tiki for a brief moment before looking down to the hands they held. Her hand was so tiny compared to his, so soft and gentle. This was all getting to be a bit much, a bit more awkward. Just a bit ago, he was still having trouble with the thought that he liked Tiki. Now it was suddenly in the open and she was reciprocating.

His head couldn't keep up.

Giving her hand a squeeze in return, he dropped it to ruffle his hair, agitated within his own head. "Yep, so we should probably go inside. It's getting late and we can tell the other two everything's fine," he suggested. But without waiting, he shoved his hands in his pockets and started over to the stairs to go back down.

At the last moment, he looked back at Tiki, quirking a brow. "You coming or not? I'm not dealing with them by myself."

Tiki giggled. "Coming," she agreed, tapping after the Avatar. And that's where she liked to be: by his side or following right after him. A lot of things were going to start changing, especially if they were trying to prevent another miscommunication like this. But at least things, for the first time in days, were looking up. And Tiki would take what she could get.

A/N from DJ: Hey y'all! Back again. Hopefully this won't go bi-weekly, but we'll see how fast we can chop up our original draft. But at least... you guys got this! Hope you guys enjoyed this chappie! Information, girl's night/boy's night, and fluff! Now, to the acknowledgements!

ANewButOldGuest: Well, if you like the TiRan, I hope you enjoyed this chappie! Obviously there's a lot of story left, and we like to show that there is more to a story than just the couple getting together and happy ending. So a good guess: chaos ahead! I won't say much more on it, or about Nyla's backstory. All will be revealed in due time~

Masseffect321: Bahaha, there's such a risk when you get sucked into this story's madness! But I'm glad you're enjoying it, and hopefully everything coming to a head this chappie was satisfying!

No. XIII: Thanks so much! We always appreciate the continued support of readers!

LilacLilyFlower: Thanks so much for the favorite on Fire! I hope you continue to enjoy the series, that you eventually make your way here and beyond!

D C Abnegation from District 4: Thanks for the favorite and alert on Water! We hope we get to hear from you soon; we love hearing what the readers have to say!

Ozai37: I do believe this chappie addressed the issue that is Tiki and Syaoran quite well for you xD It was quite long for you as well, just as warned!

All right, and that's all this time! Again, hopefully we'll be back soon. Until then, revel in this one!