-Upstate-
Two weeks before Christmas, the gAang + Yori were in a large van, rented by Zuko, driving upstate to a cabin in the woods. They were still a few hours away. Zuko had driven for the first four hours, but couldn't anymore.
"Hey, I'm pulling over, Katara can you drive now?" he asked, slowing the van down as he stopped the car.
"Of course, you've been driving forever." So Zuko got out of the vehicle and got into the back, taking a seat next to Yori. Katara got behind the wheel and drove.
Zuko put his head in Yori's lap. "Tired?" she asked, petting his hair. Zuko didn't say anything, he just nodded a bit. She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. He immediately sat up and put her hands on her waist and began to kiss her neck. "Whatever happened to tired?" Zuko graduated from attacking her neck and pulled her into a kiss while one hand snaked up her thigh. "Calm down Lover Boy. We're in a car with all your friends. This is the epitome of weird." He pulled away and laughed, his head returning to its previous position.
"How've you been?" he asked, "I haven't seen you since that night we first talked about this and that was like, weeks ago."
"Yeah I know," Yori said. She leaned down and whispered, "I missed you," into his ear.
Zuko rolled onto his back so he could look up at Yori, and his feet were now bent an on the seat.
"I missed you too," Zuko said. They kissed again.
"Oh barf," Toph said from the back row where she was sitting with Sokka. Yori reached her finger behind her seat and gave Toph the finger without breaking her kiss.
Zuko broke away from their kiss first. "I'm hungry," he halfheartedly whined. She reached into her bag and brought out a Cliff cookie and fed it to her boyfriend. A few minutes later, he fell right asleep.
"Zuko," Yori called, shaking his shoulder, trying to wake him up.
"Are we there?"
"Yeah, get up." Zuko sat up and squinted, looking out of the windows of the van.
"Where is everyone?"
"Inside, they all left while I was trying to wake you up." He laughed and apologetically kissed her. They jumped out of the van and walked from the driveway of the cabin to the door. It was unlocked and Yori just pushed it open.
"You're awake!" Sokka said to Zuko. "We all thought you were dead."
Zuko just rolled his eyes.
"Where are we sleeping?" Yori asked, holding onto Zuko's forearm.
"The very last room down the hallway," Sokka said, pointing to the hallway he was referring to. Toph and I made your bed."
"Thanks," Yori smiled and then dragged Zuko off to their room.
It was a small simple room, with only a closet, bed and bedside table. The sheets on the bed were Toph and Sokka's because Zuko hadn't thought to bring any, (as he told everyone in the car) and Yori only had one pair of sheets, and they were on her bed at home. Someone had already brought their bags from the car and they were sitting by the door.
"It's so late," Yori said, looking out the window. They had to leave the city after everyone got off of work, so it was about one in the morning.
"Zuko, go find out if everyone is going to bed now." Zuko nodded and trudged out of the room. A minute later, he came back and nodded again. "Are you still tired?"
"A bit."
"Fine," she said. "Do you think it's warm enough for me to sleep in my underwear? I know it's December and all, but it doesn't seem too cold in here."
"I don't see why not," Zuko said, peeling off his own clothes and opening his suitcase. He pulled out a plain white tee shirt to wear with his boxers.
Yori removed her clothes as well, threw them onto the floor and jumped under the covers. He followed her and immediately began to kiss her. He put one hand on her waist, pulling their bodies closer and the other on her face. Yori sighed a little as he pulled away and began to work on her neck, "All of your friends are in rooms right next to ours."
"Then we'll be quiet."
"I don't think that's a thing that we are able to do," Yori said, her words coming out choppy.
He ignored that and continued to attack her neck. "Stop it Zuko, seriously-" she moaned a little and then the door banged open.
"Hey, Sokka wants to know-" Toph began. Her eyes went wide and she stepped into the room more. "What's this?"
"Go away," Zuko said, detaching himself from Yori.
"This is kind of hilarious."
"What does Sokka want?" Yori asked, rolling to the edge of the bed and jumping from the covers.
"Come here," Toph said, extending her arm.
"Uhm yeah, I'll be right back," Yori said to Zuko, following Toph out to her and Sokka's room.
"What the fuck, don't go," Zuko groaned.
Yori smiled, "We couldn't have anyway, this is good!"
"You're not even wearing clothes!"
"All my bits are covered," Yori said, "Just get ready for bed, I won't be long," she turned to Toph, "Will I?"
Agni, stop your talking and lets go."
"Yeah, go to sleep, alright?" Yori said, now being dragged from the room by an annoyed Toph.
The two girls trudged down the hallway and into Toph and Sokka's room.
"Hey," Yori said to Sokka. "Thanks for the sheets."
"Yeah, no problem," Sokka said, sitting up. He was lying on his bed.
"Do people usually have multiple sets of sheets?" she asked.
"Yes."
"How strange."
"It's not really," Toph said.
"Ponytail, what did you want?" Yori asked, still hovering in front of the door.
"Uhm, why aren't you wearing clothes?" Sokka asked.
"When I went in there, she and Zuko were totally doing it!" Toph said, jumping into bed next to Sokka.
"What?"
"We were not!" Yori squealed. "Sokka, what'd you want?"
"I just wanted to know-You guys were doing it?"
"I'm leaving, goodnight," Yori said, closing the door on her way out.
"Took you long enough," Zuko said, waiting by the door for her.
"Go to fucking bed!" Yori said, pushing past him and walking to the bed. "Are you usually this horny?"
Zuko blushed. "N-No."
"Are you lying?"
Zuko snorted. "No. If you're not going to do anything, you might as well go to bed."
"Oh, so you're going to let me sleep, how gracious of you, oh masterful host."
They both huffed and dove under the covers.
"You're not actually mad, are you?" Zuko asked.
Yori rolled around to face him. "Of course not!" They quickly kissed and the then she laid her face on his chest as she tried to fall asleep. Zuko kissed the top of her head and wrapped his arms around her, pulling them closer together.
Yori woke up and tried to remember where she was. She woke up and looked to Zuko, who was still sleeping. She pulled her phone from the bedside table and checked the time. "Shit," she muttered. It was nine thirty. She could hear everyone else moving around the old cabin with its creaky floorboards. She hit Zuko in the chest. "Hey, Zuuks, get up." He tried to roll away from her, "Get up! It's nine thirty!"
"Shut up," he muttered.
She got out of bed and pulled the blanket off of him. "Stop it."
She crawled onto him, straddling him, "Zuko!" she whined, bouncing up and down, causing the bed to shake. He sat up, causing him to slide back.
"Oh for fucks sakes!"
She laughed, "Are you up?"
He glared at her, "What does it look like?"
She laughed, "I'm afraid to look at the door, 'cause I think Toph might be there."
"I'm not there!" she yelled from the other side of the door, "But we all heard you!"
Yori laughed loudly. She rolled off her boyfriend and grabbed a dress from her already open suitcase and shrugged it on.
"Morning," Yori said to anyone who would listen. She walked into the kitchen.
"We heard you and Zuko," Katara said irritably.
"Oh," Yori said, reaching into one of the bags and taking out a plastic cup. She filled it with water from the tap. "I was just trying to wake him up. He sleeps like a log."
Zuko walked out of the bedroom and into the overcrowded kitchen and took the cup of water from Yori and downed it all.
She glared at him, "Fill it," she hissed.
He walked over to the sink and filled it, handing it to Yori.
The other two girls gaped at him.
Yori smirked, sipping her water, "And that is how feminism works." Toph grinned.
"So what are we doing today?" Yori asked. She was sitting in between Toph and Sokka on the couch, far away from Zuko, for no reason other than to bug him.
Toph, Sokka, Aang and Zuko all looked to Katara for the answer. It was just like her to have every moment of everyday planned.
"Well I was thinking-"
"Snowball fight?" Sokka suggested. There was a ton of snow upstate, much more than in the city they lived in.
"Yes!" Aang and Zuko roared.
"Acting like kids? Cool!" Katara said, sounding genuinely excited.
"Even though could single handedly take all of you on, and win, I don't think I should-you guys play rough."
"Oh," Sokka said, visibly upset, "I guess I should stay with you-"
"No! I'll stay, I hate snow!" York offered, glad there was someone who would stay.
Sokka looked relieved, his face returning to its usual brightness. "Thanks!"
"No problem," Yori said.
And with that, everyone got up to put on their gear. Yori followed Zuko into their room to help him get ready.
"Did you bring snow pants?" she asked, sitting down in front of his suitcase.
"Why would a grown man own snow pants?" Zuko asked, pulling of his t-shirt.
She giggled, "Touché."
"Hm, should I take a shower now or later-?"
"Take one later. You'll be cold and want one. And if you don't freeze to death, you'll sweat."
Zuko nodded, "Smart."
She dug through his bag, ignoring to embarrassing things she found around his clothes, and pulled out an undershirts, an over shirt, and a sweater.
"Did I pack my any sweatpants?" Zuko asked, putting on all the clothes she picked out for him.
She nodded and tossed the sweatpants onto the bed. She stood up watched him dress.
"That's weird," Zuko said, pulling on the sweater. "You stare at me way too much."
She giggled again, "No I don't!"
"Yeah you do."
"I only stare at you because you're so perfect."
He blushed furiously. "Shut up."
"You are. Now, go and snowball fight until your fingers turn blue," she handed him his gloves. "Have fun, Sugarplum."
"Sugarplum?" Zuko asked, taking the gloves and kissing her.
"Sugarplum." And then a few minutes later, everyone was outside picking teams and getting ready to destroy their enemies.
Yori and Toph were sitting in the living room bored out of their minds and trying to find something to say.
"Hey," Toph said, "What were you guys like in high school?"
Yori giggled. "How old are you?"
"I'm two years younger than you," Toph said, snorting audibly.
"What?" Yori almost screeched. "You're only 24?"
Toph nodded.
"But you're a baby having a baby!"
"Shut up!" Toph hissed at her.
"So you're going to raise it with Sokka?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's good, Sokka is all kinds of wonderful."
Toph nodded. "Now get on with the story."
"Oh, oh yeah. So when Sokka, Zuko and I were in high school, we were all pretty much gangly, awkward, nerds. Well, not Zuko. Zuko was hot. He looked pretty much the same but shorter, less muscular and more emo. So, on my first day of school, Sokka and I were in the same class, and we sat next to each other in two classes. So, you know, we became friends. He was really nice and totally goofy and I couldn't help but smile when he was around. But then one day, it was lunch, and I generally didn't eat lunch with Sokka, but he was sitting with another kid with a massive scar, and I was bored and lonely, so I went over there for the last few minutes of lunch to say hi to him, since we didn't see much of each other that day. So I threw out my trash and stuff, and then I went over to his table.
"Now, let me tell you, I wasn't a strange looking girl. I was a normal girl with brown hair and brown eyes and I was kind of tall when I was younger, and a little big boned looking, and it's not like I was fat or anything, but I was sorta, and I had bigger tits than pretty much every girl in my grade, so I had that going for me. So, I went over to Zuko and Sokka and sat down and said, 'Hey Sok.' And then Sokka was kind of blushing and looking uncomfortable and Zuko looked to me and gave me this really emo look, like he was trying to bore a whole into my soul. So, Zuko stared at me, but I tried to ignore it and talk to Sokka, and the first thing I said to Zuko, honest to Agni, was 'What the fuck are you staring at?' He looked at me again but this time the look looked more like, 'Who put you on the planet?' And that was it.
"Then, the next day, Sokka invited me over, and I kinda hoped he would tell me he like me or something-"
"What?" Toph slipped in coolly.
"I was fourteen. So anyway, Sokka and I are getting ready to walk to his house, and Zuko comes out of nowhere and then somehow, Zuko is now coming with us too. So we get to his house, and no one else is home, and he three of us go into Sokka's room. At first we were all just sitting there, wondering what to say to each other and Sokka finally said something, but it was just that he had to do some chores and stuff around the house and he was going to leave us there by ourselves for like twenty or so minutes.
"After he's gone, Zuko and I just kind of sat there on other sides of the room not talking to each other. After a few horrendous seconds I turned to Zuko and said, 'Sorry.' He shrugged and muttered, 'I've heard worse.' And we sat there for a while and I introduced myself and we started talking about what middle schools we went to, and then I started talking about my family a bit and he didn't talk about his at all. You know I've never met anyone in his family?"
"Not even Iroh?" Toph asked, yawning.
"Who?" Yori asked.
Toph furrowed her brow. "Really? But Zuko loves Iroh."
Yori looked down and pouted a bit, and then Toph said, "Continue!"
"Yeah, sorry. So, we were talking and we were getting off well, and then Sokka came back, and then later we left. Zuko offered to walk me home, and then we kind of stumbled around like teenagers. It was kind of late, and it sort of felt like we were on a date and I wanted to kiss him so bad, and then you know, he dropped me off at my door, and then he left. So then, a few days later Zuko and I have this sort of ritual where we go to Sokka's house and then we walk to my house together. So, one day, a couple of months later, Zuko and I had to leave early because Sokka's sister came home early from her dance class, and we bolted.
"So we walked home but it was really cool and Zuko wasn't wearing many layers, and he wasn't wearing and gloves, but I was wrapped up like a present and I kept on asking him if he was cold, and he said he wasn't. We were like, seven blocks from my house at that point, and I took off one of my mittens, and put it on his hand as quick as I could, and held his freezing, exposed hand in mine, 'cause I saw it in a shojo manga and it was so cute. So, we got to my house and we were still holding hands and no one was supposed to be home at that time so I just invited him in. So we hang out and I made tea, and even though he didn't drink it, I thought he was the cutest thing on earth, and hen, before he left, I gave him my other mitten to wear home, and then I totally kissed him right before he left, and then slammed the door in his face, ran upstairs, and wrote about all of that in my diary."
Yori looked up at Toph and she was sleeping on the couch, and she rolled her eyes. Yori stood up, and went into her room and grabbed the blanket from the bed and draped it over her sleeping friend.
Yori didn't know what to do after that. She decided to take a shower and change. After her warm and lovely shower, Yori walked into the kitchen. She was getting hungry, but Agni, she did not want to cook. Yori had lied to Zuko a bit. It's not that she couldn't cook, she could cook rather well, but she hated cooking. It was time consuming and made your clothes smell and wasn't all that rewarding.
But she did cook, she found a box of cake mix in one of the food bags and a cupcake pan and cups, so she decided to bake some cupcakes to occupy her time.
The cupcakes took way more than the allotted prep time and got her clothes totally messy and she had to take another shower while they baked to get the batter out of her hair.
Everyone trudged into the house while she was in the shower. She walked into her room to see Zuko wiping his face with a washcloth.
"Hey," she said, reaching into her bag for clothes (she brought her underwear into the bathroom). "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, Aang and I ruled out there."
"I told Toph how we met and stuff in high school."
"The mitten story?" he asked, putting it down to get ready for a shower.
"Yup. It's even cuter now. It was quite adorable. Anyway, I made cupcakes while you guys were out there. I should go check on them. Have a nice shower."
He nodded and then she left the room. Katara was in the kitchen peering into the oven.
"Did you make these?" Katara asked.
"Yeah," Yori said, getting a glass of water.
"Do you mind if I ice them?"
"'Course not. I don't want to because I'll probably fuck them all up."
Katara winced at the language. "Thanks."
They stood in the kitchen awkwardly for a while and then Katara pushed past her to 'Go to the bathroom' even though Zuko was taking a shower, and the water wasn't exactly quiet. Yori placed her water cup on the counter and walked into the living room.
Aang was sitting on the couch wearing a pair of glasses, reading something from his laptop. Sokka was sitting on the other couch across from Aang. His face was red and he was still wearing gloves.
She sat next to him and placed her hands on his face. He turned to look at her. "What're you doing?"
"You're cold."
He blinked once, twice, a third time. "You're nice."
She giggled. "Yeah, I know." They sat like that for a few seconds. "I told Toph about how we always used to go to your house after school and stuff. It was fun."
"Oh yeah?"
"She fell asleep."
He laughed, "She's always tired nowadays."
"It'll only be like that for a few more months. It'll be done soon." She kissed her best friend on the cheek and then put her hand back onto his face. It wasn't even cold anymore. He kissed her on the cheek too.
"You two are weird," Aang said, not even looking up from his work.
Yori and Sokka laughed.