Day 7: Warm
Title: an unnecessary evil
Word Count: 1,888
Character/Pairings: Smellerbee, Longshot, The Duke, Katara; Smellershot, mentioned Kataang and The Doph
Timeline/Spoilers: 7 years post-series; No real spoilers, unless you count them winning the war at the end? :p
Summary: Marriage, she scoffed internally. Who needs it? ; Smellershot Week, Day 7
Notes: Now this is a little different because I had most of this formed before I had the themes, so I had to try to make it match with one of them. This idea had been sitting around in me head for a while, and I thought Smellershot week would be the best time to finish it up and see how you guys like it. :)
P.S. Thanks to Redrose for another nice review. It means a lot! :)
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"Smellerbee! Longshot!"
The pair whirled around and came face to face with the source of the noise. Well, more like face to chest for Smellerbee, anyway. She recognized the speaker immediately, and a cheeky grin slid onto her face. "Well, look what we have here, Longshot. I guess someone's had another growth spurt. I'm surprised you're not hitting your head on doorways everywhere you go, The Duke."
Even without his signature helmet, the youngest Freedom Fighter now towered over her by a good six inches. He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, but his smile remained unperturbed. "I've missed your teasing, Smellerbee. I'm so glad you two could make it." And it was said with such earnest enthusiasm that it was contagious. Even Longshot couldn't keep from grinning ear-to-ear – in his own subtle way of course.
. x .
"Hah, you should have seen the look on that idiot's face when I pulled my knife on him!" Smellerbee cried, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Right, Longshot?"
Said archer bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment. His two companions at the table roared with laughter. He closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling.
It had been seven years since the Hundred Years' War had finally come to an end. The anniversary of the memorable event was in a couple of days, and that was precisely why the three had gathered together. All over the world, there was revelry, but allies of the Avatar and his gaang always held their own, more private celebration. This year, all guests were staying at the Fire Nation Royal Palace. Smellerbee and Longshot had been some of the last to arrive, and none had awaited them more eagerly than a sixteen-year-old The Duke.
The three had been exchanging stories of their adventures over the last four seasons for some time now. Or, rather, Smellerbee and The Duke had. Longshot preferred to let Bee do the talking for him. It was simply the way the pair worked, ever since the old days under Jet's leadership. Not to say that Longshot was uncommunicative, just not verbally.
It was late afternoon now, and it had been a few hours since their arrival.
Suddenly, Longshot's large ears picked up a low grumble. He turned, to his right, raising an eyebrow almost imperceptibly. Smellerbee had the decency to blush.
"Oh, shoot! I'm sorry, you guys! I didn't even think to offer you some food. And after that long trip you had..." It was apparent that Longshot wasn't the only one who'd heard.
The archer moved his gaze to The Duke. It was no big deal; they'd been busy chatting and catching up. They would just go get something to eat now.
"Yea, calm down, helmet-head. It's not like any of us are a stranger to hunger," shrugged the only girl amongst them.
The Duke relaxed. "Yea... Sorry about that," he smiled, a touch of embarrassment lingering on his cheeks. He and Longshot both stood.
The latter locked eyes with Smellerbee. We'll be right back, he nodded.
"Hey! Don't treat me like I'm helpless!" she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
Both boys snickered, and her partner planted a kiss on her forehead placatingly, his stubble ghosting over her skin. She muttered a quiet "feh, jerk" under her breath, nonetheless.
"See you in a bit, Bee!" The Duke chirped happily. "We'll let the others know that you two finally made it. I'll try to wake up Pipsqueak, too. That big lug's been doing nothing but sleep since we got here." And with that, they were off.
After a few minutes of tapping her fingers impatiently, the swordswoman heard a pair of feet shuffling towards the door. "Took ya long enough! I'm starving..." she stopped short, seeing a very different face than the ones she'd anticipated.
"Sorry, I know you weren't expecting me," came the sugary sweet voice of Katara. "I passed the boys in the hall, and they told me I'd find you here. Don't worry, though. They'll have the food here in a few minutes."
"Oh. Yea. It's no big deal. I'm fine," was the unenthusiastic reply. Her rumbling stomach, however, said otherwise. "Damn it!"
The Avatar's girlfriend giggled, much to Smellerbee's chagrin. Ignoring the Water Tribe girl and noticing that her legs had fallen asleep, she used the table to push herself up quickly. She stumbled some, still not completely used to this little bump of hers.
"Oh!"
Smellerbee glanced up at Katara's exclamation. The other girl had her hands up over her mouth, and enthrallment was written all over her face. The Freedom Fighter cocked an eyebrow in silent question. (Longshot had rubbed off on her quite a bit over the years; she liked to think that the exchange was mutual.)
"Congratulations!"
Needless to say, Bee was very much confused and the out-of-the-blue kudos, until it suddenly clicked. "Oh, this?" she chuckled, lightening up some around this newcomer. Her hand came down to rest on the slight bulge of her stomach, and she beamed fondly. The glow of motherhood was all about her, the fact not escaping Katara's keen observations.
"How far along are you?" she all but squealed.
Not one much for acting reserved, the shorter of the two noted, though she couldn't hide the pride in her voice when she responded, "About three months and a half months." She could barely believe it herself. This baby had changed her life in the best way possible. Neither she nor Longshot knew how much they had wanted this until it actually happened.
"I'm so happy for you," gushed Katara, pulling the surprised warrior into a tight hug.
After being released from the waterbender's vicegrip, Smellerbee took her seat and murmured a quick, but sincere, "Thanks."
"You and Longshot must be so excited!" Katara began fumbling. "I mean, it is him, right? I didn't mean to assume, I just thought since you're always together... I, uh..." she trailed off, smiling hopefully.
The light blush dusting her companion's cheeks was more than enough confirmation. Her grin widened."I didn't even know you two were married!"
Somewhat awkwardly, Bee replied, "We're not."
The waterbender's expression dampened but quickly lit up again. "So you're engaged, then?"
"No."
"Oh," exclaimed Katara, who was desperately trying to keep from appearing every bit as scandalized as she was.
Smellerbee resisted the urge to roll her eyes and merely let out a sigh. "Look, I know what you're thinking," she started, fighting to keep her irritation at bay. Though they hadn't been on the best terms after that first encounter in that forest near Gaipan years ago (had it been that long already?), and understandably so, Bee had since come to accept the Water Tribe girl and even admire her skills. There was certainly no denying the pivotal role Katara had played in stopping the Fire Nation's advance. (Not that she and her partner had just sat on their asses during that final battle.) They were far from being bosom buddies, but there was a mutual respect that ran between them and a distant sense of camaraderie.
"I know it may not seem 'proper' to you," she went on, "but Longshot and I don't need some phony marriage ceremony to validate what we have. It's great if that's what you want for you and Aang, but it's not for us. Hell, this baby solidifies our relationship more than some dumb wedding certificate ever could. What I'm trying to say is that we love each other, and that's all that really matters." Her voice had begun to stutter towards the end of her address. Smellerbee wasn't the most comfortable with sharing her feelings with others, but this was something she felt she had to make the other girl comprehend.
Katara stared at her for a moment more, then nodded. Although the gesture signified that she acknowledged her reasoning, Smellerbee could tell that the thought still didn't sit well with the waterbending master. Well, the petite swordsmaster conceded to herself, it wasn't her fault she was raised on different values – what with her two loving parents (though one had been tragically torn from her) and a family bound by blood, while the Freedom Fighters had no one but each other and struggled just to survive. There was no time or need to instill such beliefs as the sanctity of wedding vows into their young minds. Marriage, she scoffed internally. Who needs it? An unnecessary evil at best.
A cough tore through the awkward silence that had ensued.. "Well, the boys should be back any minute now, so I'll leave you guys to yourselves." The speaker seemed to be very interested in her feet just then. "I'm sure you have some more catching up to do."
"Yea," Bee replied shortly.
Katara rose and made to leave but delayed for a second longer. "Smellerbee?"
"Huh?"
"Congratulations, again," Katara mumbled, not unkindly.
"Thanks, again," Smellerbee smirked as the other girl walked out the door. She knew that they had an understanding.
A few moments later, more footsteps could be heard and Longshot made his way into the room. He greeted her with that loving gaze that never failed to fill her insides with butterflies. She scowled at the thought of such girly attributes.
He moved to stand next to her and placed their meals on the table.
'I see someone made a new friend.' And it would have been a completely innocent and unnoteworthy comment, had his partner not spotted just a tinge of deviousness in his eyes.
"You heard that?" she croaked, blushingly, averting her eyes.
In response, he pulled Smellerbee to her feet, and his hands quickly found her waist. Leaning his head down, his look conveyed another message to her. 'I had no idea you felt so strongly about us, Bee!' he 'said' playfully.
She socked him in the arm. Ah, he'd been expecting that. "Shut up, you jerk."
'Never thought I'd hear that,' his eyes seemed to say, laughing silently.
Bee's own eyes narrowed dangerously, and she tugged his ponytail sharply in retaliation, forcing his head down to her level. Unruffled, he brought a hand up to brush her cheek affectionately. That ever present facepaint of hers was one of the many things he loved about the warrior. A pair of arms snaked their way around his neck. And then suddenly, there was no longer any need for words.
Not too much later, a groan was elicited from the doorway. "Oh come on, guys." The Duke cried, slapping a hand over the upper half of his face to block vision. "You're already pregnant, Bee!"
No answer.
"Guys!"
Grudgingly, Smellerbee moved her mouth away from Longshot's and flashed a wicked grin in the younger boy's direction. "Don't act like you're not doing exactly the same with that little Bei Fong girl of yours. Three years older than you, too! Who says you don't got game?" she winked.
That shut him up quick. "What- How-" he squeaked.
"You should know better than to think you can keep anything from the great Smellerbee an' Longshot!" she crowed. And this time, the sound of real laughter escaped the archer's lips. This warm feeling inside... He wouldn't trade it for anything.
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owaranai
A/N: I really liked how this turned out! Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys had a great Smellershot Week! :D Even though this is the final fic, it was actually the first one I wrote. As mentioned above, I got the idea before I got the themes.
I left all of their future occupations ambiguous, so that you can decide for yourself what these guys are up to – whether they're still in the Freedom Fighter's or have maybe settled down somewhere, etc. I still referred to them as such, though, because hey, once a Freedom Fighter, always a Freedom Fighter. They just might not be on active duty. But, we all I know is that they're still kicking ass no matter where they go. :)
Btw, Smellerbee and Longshot are both 21 and 22, respectively. I pegged them at about 14 or 15 during the series. If you want some visuals, this lovely fanart by Doodlebuggy on deviantart is how I imagine our favourite pair when they're older:
/art/Older-Smellerbee-and-Longshot-70985828
Thanks so much for all of the support! Please let me know what you thought. :)