Avatar: The Warring Earth

Book Two—Air

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.

"What the heck happened to you?!"

Shun let out a breath and turned to face a bewildered Tiki, her hair hanging long and wet with a towel wrapped securely around her tiny frame, fresh out of the shower. She eyed the burns and bruises he sported, astonishment all over her face. "What the heck, Shun? We just got here and you're already fighting with people?"

Shun frowned at this. Why was Tiki admonishing him as if he constantly got into fights? Perhaps it was just the shock of the situation. "It's nothing, Tiki," he assured the tiny airbender, though it did not help his case when he winced after waving a hand at her. "I just had a situation I needed to settle."

Tiki narrowed her eyes at Shun. He was being so vague today. Really, what was his deal? What situation did he have to settle that would cause such fierce-looking burns…? Something in Shun's expression was sheepish, and Tiki's intuition sparked. "You told Zaron you're in love with his little sister, didn't you?"

Shun sighed. It was unfortunate for him to be surrounded by people who knew his business all the time. Not that Shun was a very private man—he just liked to keep certain things to himself from time to time. "I had no choice—he was basically demanding that I tell him," he explained tiredly. Tiki clucked her tongue.

"So he beat you up for it? Jeez."

"No, it wasn't like that. It was more a… test of strength, you could say."

"You mean macho posturing between the brother and the would-be boyfriend?"

Shun frowned at Tiki. "I'm going to go heal myself," he said, letting himself into his room. With a small giggle, Tiki did the same. There was a slam to the door next to him as ZanYi came out of her room. She'd dealt with Zaron earlier, but Shun? Her frustration and anger had been left to boil all day since. And it showed. Workouts with the other firebenders had been impeccably rough today; ZanYi knew she was going to have to get a better grip on her irritation next time.

But before she could move another step, Syaoran came down the hall, fresh from the showers himself. It always felt nice to be clean, even if airbending training didn't physically work him as hard as firebending with ZanYi had. It always left his head feeling either foggy or disturbingly clear, though.

"Hey, ZanYi…" the Avatar's voice trailed and his wave of greeting dropped when he saw the look on the lieutenant's face. And despite the consistent control she had, the edge was only taken off marginally as she looked at Syaoran.

"Syaoran," she acknowledged with a nod. With a look of disdain for Shun's door, she turned away to lean against it instead of entering. "How was training? And Kei?" ZanYi asked, knowing she was due for an update on the rest of them.

"Training was… fine," he answered as honestly as he could, ruffling the back of his wet brown hair. Despite being more relaxed each day, no air had come out of the changes. Syaoran was almost starting to think he was a faulty Avatar, broken or something. "As for Kei," he continued, hoping to derail that trail of conversation, "He hasn't done anything wrong, per se, but he's been clinging to Tiki like one of her little cousins."

And it was obnoxious. That could be another reason training didn't go well. Kei was omnipresent, and it served to irritate him more and more. It was like the nonbender was stuck like glue to Tiki, or perhaps a conjoined twin.

While ZanYi was already on edge, this furthered the frown on her face. "Threat or not, I don't like it," she told Syaoran, crossing her arms. "I don't trust him, and I don't want him getting too close to this team."

"Agreed," Syaoran nodded, in the same boat as the lieutenant. "I'm doing my best to keep space, or at least an eye on them."

"Good. Keep it up." ZanYi pushed off of the door then. "Now, I've got other business to attend to. Goodnight, Syaoran." With an irritated huff, the lieutenant then barged into Shun's room, not even bothering with a knock of courtesy. Syaoran cringed. What Shun had done now, he couldn't imagine, since the whole team had been all over the place today. But, as the Avatar constantly reminded himself, it was not his problem. And right about then, it was a relief.

He moved towards his door, but then thought better of it, putting an ear to Kei's door instead. There were no sounds coming from the room, which wasn't unusual, but it was a bit early in the night to be turning in already. Which left one option…

Taking two steps over, Syaoran went to Tiki's door, knocking only as a notice he was coming in. "Hey, just a warning: it looks like ZanYi is mad at Shun agai—" The Avatar stepped in, expecting to find Tiki and Kei. What he didn't expect to walk in on was the airbender in nothing but her underwear.

So what did he do?

"Ahhh!" Syaoran yelped, jumping back. He closed the door with his back and his hand could only reach back to fiddle for the knob. His jade eyes were shut as tight as possible because despite it just being Tiki, it wasn't the Tiki she'd been expecting. One: there was a lack of clothes. Two: despite seeing her in a towel frequently over the last few months, he definitely didn't expect her to have… well, curves.

Eventually finding the knob, the Avatar fled to the hallway, slamming the door behind him and leaning against it. "What the heck?!" he growled in the hallway, his face flushed.

Tiki had turned around, her gray eyes wider than dinner plates as Syaoran barged in with just a flimsy knock as a warning. What was he doing?!

As soon as Syaoran noticed she was indecent, to his credit, he immediately shut his eyes. Still, that wouldn't erase what he already saw, and it took him an excruciating amount of time to leave her room. Tiki's tiny heart was pounding, and her face was burning, and she was feeling a multitude of emotions ranging from mortification to indignation.

But mostly indignation.

Throwing on the closest pair of clothes she could lay her hands on, the tiny airbender dressed quickly and stomped over to her door, determined to tell Syaoran off for the stunt he just pulled. She hastily jumped back, however, when said Avatar went tumbling to the floor in front of her, having been leaning against the door a second ago. But, this was fine too: it allowed Tiki to glare at Syaoran from above, her face still burning.

"What the heck, Syaoran?" she basically repeated his question back to him, allowing her embarrassment to shine through. Why on earth would he come walking into her room without being invited, anyway?! It wasn't like they were of the same gender! In Tiki's mind, this incident was entirely his fault.

Even if Tiki was clothed, just her mere presence and the fear of her not being clothed had Syaoran already clenching his eyes shut. "Sorry! It was a mistake!" he insisted. "I thought… well, nevermind what I thought. The point is I was wrong and I'm sorry! I didn't mean to walk in on you…" His voice trailed and the embarrassment hit him again too, causing his face to flush and his hands to angrily smack over said face. The moment heated, Syaoran let out a growl of frustration at himself. "Well, you know what I mean! I'm sorry!"

Tiki groaned. Great, now things were going to be super-awkward between the two of them—especially if Syaoran was going to refuse to look at her. To be frank, Tiki wasn't even sure if she wanted him looking at her right now, considering the situation…

The sound of the door creaking open next door had Tiki's heart sinking. Well, this situation was about to go from bad to worse.

"Tiki? I heard screaming—" Kei stopped just short of Tiki's doorway, taking in Syaoran's blushing form on the floor as well as Tiki's cherry red and disgruntled looking face, her arms crossed firmly over her chest. Kei's eyes began to narrow. "What's going on…?" he wanted to know, looking between Tiki and Syaoran. Something about this situation was very awkward, and considering the look on Tiki's face, Kei wanted to know what it was.

Syaoran smacked his face with both hands again. Could this even get worse? He'd gone in there trying to get Kei out, and instead he'd brought the guy over. Worst of all? The screaming Kei had heard was Syaoran, not Tiki.

The airbender was surely the one to be most embarrassed at the moment, but Syaoran was feeling like he could rival that.

"Nothing's going on," Syaoran answered Kei, sitting up then. The Avatar only had to look at Kei thankfully, while facing that direction. "Just a misunderstanding, another fight. You know how we are," he lied. As far as Syaoran was concerned, it was better than humiliating both Tiki and him to the new guy.

Kei looked immediately to Tiki, who looked away, her face still bright red. This caused the nonbender to frown. Something else was going on here. "What did you do to Tiki?" Kei asked, leveling a piercing stare at Syaoran. The Avatar and Tiki might be a lot closer than Kei and Tiki were, but that was no excuse for Syaoran to make Tiki uncomfortable in any way, shape, or form. And Kei was going to call him out on it.

"He didn't do anything," Tiki sighed, losing her patience. "He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's it. Now would you two please get out? I kind of want to be alone to meditate and try and forget about the fact that Syaoran just walked in on me in only my underwear!"

"WHAT?!" Kei shouted, his face turning red. Tiki, realizing what she had just said, smacked her forehead. As if tonight could not get any worse. Deciding to just avoid the situation all together, Tiki sent a blast of air at the men, pushing them out into the hallway and slamming the door behind them. She rushed over to lock the door and collapsed on the floor right there, her head buried in her arms. If Tiki could just drop dead for a little while, that would be fantastic.

Out in the hall, Kei was windswept, but still very angry. Turning on Syaoran, the nonbender snarled, "You walked in on Tiki in her underwear? What kind of sick pervert does that?!"

"Pervert?!" Syaoran repeated, looking at the raging Kei like he was mental. Scuffling to stand up, the Avatar looked at him in an angry disbelief. "I'm no pervert! It was an accident! Besides, this is Tiki we're talking about! She used to walk around in her towel all the time and not care if Shun and I were in the room! She looks like a child—!"

But then his words caught, reflecting unwillingly that as of now, apparently, it seemed that she wasn't quite the small child he once thought she resembled. Sure, Tiki still didn't have distinct curves quite like the lieutenant possessed, but still… Why was he even thinking about this?!

With an angry growl, Syaoran punched the wall, banging his forehead into it once. It hurt, but that was secondary to his embarrassment. Somehow, he felt like he was never going to live this down.

Kei cared not for the Avatar's anguish. All he cared about right now was that Tiki was probably crying her eyes out in her room, wondering if she was even allowed to be married now, after a man had seen her flesh… well, everything her undergarments did not cover. But even seeing her in her underwear was a crime. The nonbender gave Syaoran a disgusted look as he moved back over to his bedroom door.

"You know, I know that the lady lieutenant commanded you to watch my every move, since I'm a hostile nonbender," Kei said, his words dripping with sarcastic barbs, "but maybe it's actually you that needs watching around Tiki. And believe me, I'm only too happy to take on that role." Kei stepped into his room and slammed the door behind him, wanting Syaoran to stew in his shame. He looked towards the wall he shared with Tiki's room, wanting to tap on it and speak through it, to see if she wanted to talk. But, considering the tiny airbender had blasted him out of her room as well, Kei felt it was safe to assume that she would not be wanting any company for the rest of the night.

That was fine by him. If Tiki wanted to talk, his room was right next door.

Syaoran broke out of his self-berating only to scowl darkly at Kei as he left. The nonbender was like a parasite on Tiki, and now he felt he could preach to the Avatar about proper etiquette with ladies? The best feeling he had towards Kei was one of disgust.

He made a mistake. Syaoran knew that. And he'd apologize again to Tiki tomorrow, let bygones be bygones, and let this matter die. But he wasn't about to let Kei off the hook. Nonbender or not, he was just pushing far too many of Syaoran's buttons, and eventually, he was going to snap.

And at the middle of all of this was Tiki. Why was Tiki even up for this debate? It's… TIKI! It just didn't make sense at all, especially why Kei would be so enraptured by the little airbender.

With an irritable growl, Syaoran punched the wall again, his earthbending leaving a sizeable hole there. Syaoran walked over to his room and slammed the door… only to re-emerge angrily later. With swift movements, he bended the stone of the wall to flatten back out. The rational part of him knew his mother would kill him if she ever learned of him defacing property in his anger.

Trying for a second take, the Avatar then went back to his room and closed the door heavily, ready to leave this night behind him.

The giant waterbender made his way over to his bed, hissing as he sat down. Things had been so busy for him today that he hadn't had time to heal himself—as soon as he had left the training room to head to a late lunch, he was shanghaied by Ransik, who had all the waterbenders on base healing the wounds of firebenders and earthbenders who had been sparring that afternoon. That had taken up the rest of the afternoon, and before Shun knew it, it was dinnertime. He had eaten hastily, not wanting to linger because his battle wounds were getting uncomfortable. Now that he had a moment to himself, he was finally able to pull his sloshing canteen towards him and weave water around his wounds, relishing in the coolness of the water. Thank goodness he had only been wounded in places he could reach—Shun had not been looking forward to the rough treatment ZanYi would be sure to give him otherwise.

However, the peace only lasted but a moment. Entering Shun's premises without any warning, ZanYi strode into the room, unsurprised to find him licking his wounds—or healing them, as it were. At first she said nothing. The frustration she held for the waterbender was starting to bubble up. Leaning up against the wall across from where he sat, ZanYi crossed her arms, her expression stiff and it spelled hapless for Shun. Her golden eyes focused only on Shun's face as her lips demanded, "Start talking."

Shun looked up, cringing at the look on ZanYi's face. She was definitely still mad at him—her anger was pretty much palpable. "About what?" he asked, stalling for time as he inwardly panicked. What was he supposed to say, exactly? He couldn't tell ZanYi the reason of the spar without telling her too much. So what exactly could he say that ZanYi would accept as a suitable explanation without trying to outright lie to her?

ZanYi looked at Shun even darker. "Don't play stupid with me, Shun Jiang," she ordered him, thoroughly irritated. He wanted to know about what? She would tell him about what. "How about telling me just what possessed you to go along with my brother's idiocies? Or perhaps just what got into you in there? Because the Shun I know doesn't like to fight, and he doesn't fight like that."

Shun sighed heavily, bending his water back into his canteen. It seemed that he was not allowed to have a moment's peace today. Running his hands over his face and hair to rest at the base of his neck, Shun looked up at ZanYi, knowing that whatever answer he gave was going to be a painful answer for him—just in different ways.

"…I had a very good reason, ZanYi," he assured the lieutenant before he paused, knowing that she would not like the next part of his sentence. "But… I can't tell you why. Maybe I will someday… just not now. I'm sorry."

Shun hoped ZanYi would understand. He didn't think he would be able to handle any more pain today—and emotional pain was always worse than physical.

But ZanYi did not like that answer, just as Shun thought. "Wow," she scoffed, shaking her head, "I never thought I'd see the day that Zaron would be more forthcoming than you." Zaron's actions, at least, made sense, considering his history of being overprotective and overbearing. Shun's action did not quite the same sense. And yet, it was the honest and open Shun that was neglecting to answer her. Normally, the lieutenant could respect secrets. Everyone had them, and everyone had a reason. The rational part of her knew that. But this cut close, and ZanYi knew it was about her. She did not like secrets concerning her being kept.

"Fine," she said, "Don't tell me." Her words were laced with bitterness and agitation, nowhere near as encouraging as it should have been. "But let's get something straight right now."

Crossing the small room to stand in front of Shun, ZanYi glared down at him. She would have grabbed his shirt, but as there was no shirt to grab, she settled for the fanged necklace he always wore. The lieutenant leaned down, steadying one hand on his thigh as she grabbed the necklace to force him to look up at her face.

"Don't you ever agree to fight Zaron again, and don't you even dare try and sideline me again," she growled. It had just about driven her mad to have to stand there and watch as the two of them tore at each other. Her instincts wanted to jump in and fight alongside both of them. She didn't know whom exactly she was rooting for, and that kind of confusion and conflict was not appreciated. Amber gaze focused on his blues, she added, "I mean it, Shun. Don't do it. Please."

Shun stared at ZanYi, speechless. He had known she was upset—he just didn't know how upset. The anxiety she must have felt, seeing Shun fight her own flesh and blood… guilt flooded the giant waterbender, and he placed a hand over the one that gripped his necklace, his other hand moving up to touch ZanYi's face. "I'm so sorry," he apologized, meaning it with every fiber of his being, "Trust me when I say that we had no intention of worrying you, ZanYi. It was just once, to settle the… matter we had between us. And I won, so I'm certain it won't be brought up again. It was just something we had to do."

"No, you didn't have to," ZanYi argued, looking straight at Shun. It was in his eyes, in his expression as a whole, that she could see his sincerity, the clarity of depth in his apology. And later she would appreciate that, but at the moment, it didn't change what Shun and Zaron had done. Her voice grew quieter, but it still held the tension she felt from all of the anger she'd been holding back. "You didn't need to prove anything to him. The only person that you have anything to prove to is me, and I already know you're strong without you fighting my brother. That promise you made was between you and me; Zaron had no right to push you into a fight just to see if he thought you were 'worth' being my company. I choose for myself who stays by my side, and that's you. That's enough."

ZanYi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from slipping into her anger at Zaron again. She could feel the heat starting to collect in her hands, but the lieutenant kept it at bay. Later she could take it out on the bag, but right now she was with Shun and was not going to hurt him.

"That's enough," she repeated, allowing her head to drop and their foreheads to meet.

Shun felt even worse now. He had never wanted to fight, that was true, but he had convinced himself that he was making the right choice, proving to Zaron once and for all that the sergeant major could trust Shun with his little sister. But now, seeing ZanYi so shook up over such an act made Shun feel that his bout with Zaron was just what Tiki had described it as: "macho posturing between the brother and the would-be boyfriend". Words could not express how guilty he felt for forcing ZanYi to watch such a fight. He wouldn't be surprised if she never forgave him: angry with him or not, Zaron was still her brother.

Shun stood up, sliding his arms around ZanYi to hold her close. A little voice in the back of his head—one that sounded suspiciously like Syaoran—told him he was overstepping his boundaries, but at the moment, he didn't care. He had done wrong by ZanYi, and now he was determined to fix it.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again, his head dipping so his lips were at her ear. "Truly, I am. It will never happen again. I promise."

ZanYi offered no resistance as his arms encircled her. She wasn't one for hugging, certainly, but the guilt on Shun's face said he needed this. A part of her wouldn't let her move out of the way, out of his grasp. But because it was Shun, the lieutenant did not mind that. The apologies and vows that filled her ear were more than she would ever get from Zaron; she knew her brother and knew him well. The sergeant major would never apologize, no matter how angry she was with him. ZanYi could probably count on one hand how many times he'd ever apologized to her for anything. Having Shun so readily accept the problem and want to make it right by her was a huge change.

Maybe that was why it was enough to dampen her anger. ZanYi's arms were crossed against her chest, the only thing separating her and Shun's bodies. But she looked up at Shun in only mild irritation, saying, "I'm going to hold you to that, because I don't want to be put in a position to choose again." Especially because she didn't have a concrete answer anymore as to which she would choose.

ZanYi took a deep breath, loosing it slow. "Though I doubt it will happen again. You gave Zar a pretty good whooping," she remarked, a ghost of her usual smirk treading on her lips. It was about time Zaron got a piece of his own medicine—and the lieutenant would have had no one else but Shun be the one to do it. There was justice in the world after all, and she appreciated it. "Not bad, Big Guy."

Shun chuckled, the sound both surprised and uncomfortable. He stepped back from ZanYi, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he looked down at her. "I thought you were upset with me for fighting him, and now you're congratulating me. You're strange," he teased, the comment having no weight of an insult because the giant waterbender was smiling fondly at her. In the back of his mind, however, the little voice spoke again, telling him that the situation was much too intimate right now, and he had to back away before his waning self-restraint was put to an even harder test. Clearing his throat, Shun resumed his seat on the bed, moving a little to the side so he was not directly in front of ZanYi anymore. He pulled his canteen towards him once again, his battle wounds all but forgotten, before he looked up at ZanYi again, suddenly anxious.

"…We're okay, aren't we?" he asked, wanting to check. "You're not going to suddenly ignore me the tomorrow morning, are you? I mean, I understand you're upset, but… I guess I'm just asking for some warning. It's fine if you're angry, because I deserve it. Just… let me know what to expect tomorrow, if that isn't too much to ask."

Shun hated it when ZanYi was angry with him, but he could not deny his fault this time. Though they seemed to be on pleasant enough terms at the moment, he would not be surprised if she gave him the cold shoulder for a month over this.

ZanYi raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, yes, I'm still angry. Don't mistake that. You and Zaron seriously set me off today," she told him, holding back nothing. "However… I'll get over it." As if that wasn't surprising enough, the lieutenant sat down on the bed next to Shun, facing him with satisfaction in her eyes. "Because today, you may have actually knocked some of the stupid out of my brother. He's been asking for that for a very long time. So while I'm mad, you'll be the one more forgiven out of the two of you."

She looked at Shun, looked at him in his entirety. His body was littered with burns, cuts, and bruises—all of which sustained from fighting Zaron, her brother. There was certainly more anger left in her at him than at Shun. Zaron pulled this sort of stunt too many times. The irony was not lost on ZanYi that the one guy she actually thought was important to her was the one that knocked Zaron down on his backside. And surprisingly, this seemed to even possibly please the sergeant major.

So she decided to do something that wouldn't please Zaron, but something that would please herself. "You want to know what to expect tomorrow?" ZanYi asked him, confident in her actions. She'd wanted to do this ever since Shun was sick.

Moving closer to him, the lieutenant grabbed the back of Shun's neck and pulled him to meet her face. And then her lips met his as ZanYi began to kiss him.

Shun's canteen fell to the floor with a clatter, the top popping off and water spilling everywhere. This, however, was irrelevant: the chaos that was occurring in Shun's mind at the moment was far more important than some spill on the floor he could take care of later.

ZanYi was kissing him. ZanYi was kissing him! Every rational part of Shun's mind was in panic mode; this was so daring and unexpected that the giant waterbender had no idea what to do with himself. Every shred of his loyalty to Syaoran screamed at him to push her away, to refuse her. This was not allowed. It was wrong. It was bad. Very, very bad…

But, unfortunately for that part of Shun, the other part that was growing stronger by the second ached to kiss ZanYi back. She had initiated it, after all… didn't that make it all right in her book? To heck with Syaoran, he didn't have to know…

As Shun struggled with himself mentally, his body was already reacting to ZanYi's touch: a hand went around to the small of her back, pressing her closer to him, while the other moved up to cup ZanYi's cheek. As his eyes fluttered closed, Shun knew that the better side of him had lost this battle. He had wanted this for so long… there was no way he could refuse ZanYi now. The last of his self-control had snapped and shattered into pieces.

ZanYi allowed him to pull her closer, wanting more of him herself. And all of the day's emotions—her irritation, frustration, conflict, and concern—went into her kiss. It made her hungry, made her thirst for more of Shun. This time she was going to let herself be happy.

So she said nothing, only focused on the feel of Shun's lips on hers as he began to kiss her back, how they glided over hers. Whether he pulled her or she moved on her own, ZanYi couldn't tell. But soon her body was pressed against his. The feel of his skin and his firm body against her only encouraged her. So when she felt them tumbling back on the bed, she let it happen.

Shun was too far gone to even remember where they were. All he knew was that he loved this woman, and there was no other place he wanted to be than right here. The feeling was almost surreal—ZanYi's skin under his touch, his lips on hers. Shun had dreamed of this moment, fantasized about more times than he would care to admit, and the fact that it was actually happening filled him with an elation that he had never experienced before.

"ZanYi," he sighed against the lieutenant's lips, his own moving to kiss the corner of her jaw, her neck, her shoulder. He was getting greedy, and that was a problem… though at the moment, the giant waterbender couldn't recall why. All he could think about was how wonderful, how liberating it was to finally kiss the woman he loved. So even if the day hadn't started out as pleasant as he had hoped, he wished tonight would never end.

ZanYi didn't say anything at first, despite having the freedom to move her lips. Instead, she had her eyes closed, wanting to feel everywhere Shun's kisses went. This was even better than she had thought it would be. Was this what it felt like to be with someone she legitimately cared about? Someone she trusted and let in? Her spine quivered at his touch. "Shun…" she mumbled, the sound coming out throaty. ZanYi knew she didn't want this to end, and her hands trailed across his impressive torso, grasp spread wide. And then she felt the burns, the cuts that were there. Those burns and cuts had to be dealt with, and she knew it. They were severe: could cause an infection if Shun left them be.

It was with the utmost reluctance and disgruntlement that the lieutenant pulled her body away from Shun's, putting enough space between her body and Shun that would stop his lips. "Easy there, Big Guy," she teased, fixing her military jacket to cover her shoulder back up. On her side next to Shun, she propped her head up with her hand, breathing hardily. "We can do that again later. You should probably patch yourself up though," ZanYi said begrudgingly, unhappy with the rational part of her that had made it end. But if she wanted Shun to keep his health, she had to remind him before he messed them up worse.

Shun's head was still hazy; at first he couldn't discern what ZanYi was saying, his breathing as heavy as hers. However, once his sense began to come back to him, once he came to the full realization of what they had done, Shun was quite alert. Too alert—he sat up so quickly that it made him hiss in pain, straining his wounds the wrong way.

That was a minor detail, however: chaos was now reigning in the giant waterbender's mind. He had basically just ravished ZanYi, all while being right next door to Syaoran's room! What was wrong with him?!

Blood pooled into his face, which he hid in his hands with a groan. He was not going to be able to look ZanYi in the eye after this… possibly not for the next week or so. How could he have done something so shameless? He had just caused their relationship to jump alarmingly fast from friends to… to…

…Actually, it was only one kiss. Did this really change anything? Shun didn't know. And the worst part was that he thought he might be willing to make this same mistake a second time.

Glancing through his fingers, the giant waterbender let out another groan: his floor was now soaked from the water of his canteen. When had that happened? He didn't remember dropping the canteen… but then again, his presence of mind was occupied elsewhere at the time…

Shun dropped his hands, opting to close his eyes instead. He just needed a minute to gather his bearings again… which would be a lot easier if ZanYi were out of the room. But even as he thought that, he knew he didn't want her to go either. What had just happened, despite it clashing with Shun's moral fiber, was amazing. And she had said they could do it again…

Shun turned to look at ZanYi, silent and wondering. They had just shared what he considered a 'cosmic moment'… was perhaps now the time? To tell ZanYi how he really felt about her?

"ZanYi," he began, his voice still husky from the passionate kiss, "I…"

He couldn't say it. He wanted to—he wanted to so badly—but he couldn't. It wasn't the right time, not yet. With a sigh, the giant waterbender turned to stare at the soaked floor again, a hand moving to rest on the back of his neck.

"…Sorry if I was too… enthusiastic," he ended up apologizing instead, his face flushing impossibly deeper with red. He shouldn't have let his sanity get away from him like that. Even if ZanYi had initiated it, he should have just walked away. Though the kiss still pleased him, because now he knew for a fact ZanYi cared for him more than he had originally believed, it shouldn't have happened. Shun had no idea what he would do if the event were to happen again, but he hoped fervently that he would put up more resistance the next time around.

However, ZanYi seemed unperturbed. "Don't apologize," she told him, sitting up herself. She leaned against the wall the bed rested against, an arm slung over a raised leg. "I appreciate the enthusiasm. That was…" She tried to find words that described it without sounding like a star-struck pre-teen. It was hard. "…Something," ZanYi settled with, but there was a sensual curl to her mouth. Her eyes went over him like a fine-tooth comb, picking up all of the cues she could. The color of his face was the major sign that he'd enjoyed himself—probably as much as she had. ZanYi hoped the way he didn't seem to look her in the eye very long was from embarrassment, not shame. After all, if she had her hunches right about Shun, his first kiss was probably that blonde pool hustler in Republic City. So to jump from that to the past several minutes they had, it was certainly probable he was embarrassed.

"At least I know this is mutual and I haven't been imagining the tension for the past month or so, if that was any indication."

ZanYi knew Shun. He wasn't just the average guy. He was a man, and one that certainly acted accordingly. The waterbender had clearly abhorred the way that bartender in Republic City had treated her. Shun was a gentleman. So to act as he just did was the green light that he was attracted to her and cared for her in some way. Shun wouldn't take advantage of her. She knew that and trusted that.

A couple stray hairs fell into her face—as they were starting to do more and more often these days, it seemed—and the lieutenant sought to change that. "I'm going to assume that I answered your question from earlier, yes?" she asked him, fixing her ponytail as she did.

Shun swallowed. "Mm-hm," he affirmed, not trusting his own voice at the moment. She hadn't answered it in a way he had expected, but at the moment, he wasn't complaining. He had asked her what he could expect for tomorrow, and she…

…Wait. Oh no, this was bad. She wasn't planning on greeting him like that tomorrow, was she? To just stroll up to him while he was having breakfast and just kiss him, in front of everyone? Shun imagined the look on Syaoran's face and cringed. There was no way Shun would be able to brush that off, though he wasn't sure whether or not ZanYi would be that shameless in front of everyone else. This whole situation was so new to him, which made it equally as confusing.

Shun turned to glance at ZanYi, his expression sheepish and confused. "So…" he began, and then paused, unsure of how to ask this question. Clearing his throat, he tried again, "Um, ZanYi… what are we, now? From what you said, I gather this won't be a one-time thing." Shun cringed a little at that, but he could worry about what to do about it later. "So, are we… together?" The giant waterbender felt a little foolish for asking, but needed the boundaries to be clear. He wanted to know what ZanYi was looking for before he told her what he was looking for.

ZanYi dropped her hands and just her black hair fall, looking at him nonchalantly. "Depends on who's asking," she answered, straightening up. Clear boundaries here were a good thing to have, so ZanYi wasn't going to shy from this now that she'd started this. "Look, Shun," the lieutenant started, crossing her arms, "let's not beat around the bush: I care about you. You care about me. We know this. And this is between you and me, just like everything else is."

If he thought she was going to parade around with this information—or let him do so—then Shun didn't know her as well as she thought he did. "So if somebody asks, no, we're not. But you know and I know the truth. I'm not putting this out there. My business is my business."

Shun sighed in relief. "Good," he agreed, much more at ease now that that was cleared up. He felt a little guilty over the thought of lying to anyone who asked—especially since he was a terrible liar—but ZanYi was right. No one else needed to know her—their business.

His mind now clear, save for that constant thrumming of guilt he was bound to feel for a while, Shun beckoned some of the spilled water on the floor towards him, deciding that he was calm enough to attempt healing his wounds once again. A smile was beginning to form on his face as he worked, feeling happier than he had in years. Was this what being in love felt like? If so, he would take it.

ZanYi let her head fall back to the wall with a content sigh. That was easy. Thankfully Shun did not seem to want this to get out, which suited her best anyway. Sure, Zaron may figure it out, but he would deal with it. No one else needed to know. Not her AKs, not the other soldiers, not even the rest of Team Avatar. Everything was going to be about as normal as usual—the only thing that was changing was her and Shun's dynamic alone.

Satisfied, she watched Shun work at his wounds, but instead of the look of honed concentration he usually wore, there was a huge smile on his face. ZanYi snickered. The waterbender looked like he had just gotten the best present ever. "You're happy about this. Good," she commented, a corner of her mouth lifting. The lieutenant shifted on the bed and rose up behind him. Putting her hands on his shoulders, ZanYi whispered in his ear, "You're mine now."

Shun shivered and lost his concentration once again—the water he was bending splashed onto the leg of his jeans. Aside from a brief cringe, Shun paid it no mind and turned to eye ZanYi. "You're not gonna put a collar on me, are you?" he teased, grinning. In reality, he relished the thought of belonging to ZanYi… and her to him. He also enjoyed the fact that she wanted them to be a private couple. Considering the alarming amount of couples that went about nowadays sucking each others' faces off in public, Shun was all for keeping quiet about their relationship. He hadn't made up his mind whether to keep this a secret from Syaoran or not, considering the Avatar's feelings for ZanYi, but ZanYi seemed to believe it was okay for them to keep things quiet for now. So until he figured out what to do, keeping silent about his relationship with ZanYi seemed like the best way to go for Shun.

"Oh, you can only wish to be that lucky," she taunted him back with a roll of her eyes. Climbing off of the bed, ZanYi rose to her feet and stretched her arms up and out, working out the kinks of the day. She'd certainly worked hard—harder than she'd thought. But then again, the lieutenant knew those that had been sparring against her were probably hurting a lot worse tonight.

"There's a meeting tomorrow with Zaron and the other team leaders. So we'll know more about our next move after that," she informed Shun, turning back to him, all business. "Chances are we'll have to stay here for a bit until we figure out a way to clear my name." She was certainly thankful that Zaron had somehow managed to get everyone who supported her on one base; it gave her refuge for the time being. It was time to get back to work, and it felt great. ZanYi was in about as good a mood as she was capable off. "But I'm going to go get some sleep before training with the AKs in the morning."

"Sleep sounds good," Shun acknowledged, a note of longing in his voice. But when he looked down at himself and recognized all the work he still had to do, the giant waterbender knew that sleep was not in his future any time soon. He gave a little sigh and stood up to see ZanYi to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow then…" Shun paused, looking down at ZanYi. She had taken her hair down, and Shun noticed for the first time that it had gotten noticeably longer. It was pretty. Very carefully, he ran a gentle hand through her hair before it rested on her cheek. This was okay, right? He was allowed this, wasn't he? To kiss her goodnight?

As Shun lowered his head and pressed his lips tenderly to hers, he came to a sudden realization: he no longer cared what was right. All he wanted was to be with ZanYi.

The kiss was short and sweet, and when Shun pulled back, he smiled softly, savoring the fact that he could finally do such a thing. "Good night, ZanYi," he whispered, his thumb stroking her cheek. He could definitely get used to this.

ZanYi stared back at him, resigned. Even if they were acknowledging something between them now, that didn't mean she was going to be huge on affection. Yes, she enjoyed kissing him. That was something she knew at this point; there was something innate inside her that wanted that. The lieutenant knew she trusted him with her life, to have her back. And Shun had proven to be by her side for the hard times: the memories, the woes, the sickness.

She could do all of that for him as well. But the way he was so gentle with her… That was something she wasn't going to be able to replicate right off the bat. And being the recipient of such affection brought an awkward, small, rosy hue to her cheeks.

Taking a deep breath, the lieutenant moved from Shun's tender hand and gave his solid chest a pat, letting her hand linger there. "Goodnight, Shun," she returned, looking him in the eye once more. Then ZanYi slipped out of his room to return to her own, hoping and praying that she hadn't made a mistake and jumped the gun on this.

Shun returned to his bed, a little smirk forming on his face. ZanYi was adorable: he hadn't missed the slight blush on her face before she stepped back away from him. For a moment, he had been afraid that he'd done something wrong, but considering ZanYi's usually stoic persona, of course this was as new for her as it was for him. Shun would have to tone it down a tad if he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

Gazing at the mess on the floor, the giant waterbender sighed and walked over to pick up his fallen canteen. With smooth movements of his arms, Shun managed to get most of the water off the floor and back into his canteen, leaving the floor only slightly damp instead of sopping wet. The third time always being the charm, the giant waterbender set to work on his wounds once more, actually able to concentrate this time. He loved ZanYi more than she knew, but she was definitely a distraction sometimes.

Still, things were beginning to look up for him, after weeks of stressing out about Syaoran and Tiki and ZanYi… maybe their mutual interest in each other—Shun's a little more than ZanYi's—was a sign of good things to come.

A/N from Eva: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! On this joyous day of tricks and treats, DJ and I bestow unto you, our dear readers, the latest chapter a couple days early! And what a chapter, right?! It was so exciting, knowing that this was coming up! We're anticipating an explosion of fangirling, so don't disappoint us! XD

TsubakiTwilight: Hello, and thank you for the favorite/follow extravaganza! It means a lot to us! We're so glad you're enjoying our work, and we hope to hear your personal thoughts soon!

the-new-avatar: Ha ha, now I'm curious about how many people ship TiKei. Don't worry, though: whoever Tiki chooses, it'll be for the right reasons! She may be spacey, but she knows what's best (most of the time, ha ha...)

Same Guest: Hahaha, Zaron's not psychotic! He and his sister are just...very close. :P If you read "Behind The Scar", a lot is revealed about Zaron's character as well as his past with ZanYi, so things make a lot more sense from that perspective. You should go read it! (End Shameless Plug Here). XD

Revolution but Civilization: Hahaha, we always love your reviews. :D As always, we're glad you enjoyed the chapter! You have nothing to worry about, though: Shun may be strong, but he knows the limits of his strengths, and he's always very careful about it. (Besides, even if he had seriously hurt Zaron, he probably could have healed him in no time, ha ha.) Ah, Tiki and Kei. Again, I'm wondering who ships them and who's still holding out for TiRan, now that we know that ZanRan is never going to happen. XD ShunYi all the way! XD We're so glad you're still enjoying our story, and we hope you'll continue to keep reading!

So this was an exciting chapter! Awkward things happened as well as awesome things! It seems like we can never have everyone be happy at once, though. XD Poor Syaoran and Tiki, ha ha ha... Well, let's hope that things get better for them in the next chapter! Once again, Happy Halloween! Don't eat any opened-wrapper candy, and have a great week!