Chapter Fourty Three

Ember Island

"So, where to now?" Aang's familiar voice floated upwards as he turned and faced us from his perch upon Appa's reins. The setting sun casted an earthly glow on him, hues of gold, red, and pink swirling around his body, his Air Nomad clothing flickering in the wind. The flying bison under us let out a loud groan of fatigue as he slapped his tail against the sky, his body shaking slightly as he climbs in altitude.

I forced my eyes to glance elsewhere as I realized that I had been staring at him. Heat rose to my cheeks as I looked over the edge of the saddle, my eyes resting on the fluffy, white clouds.

Zuko stirred slightly beside me, his movements slow. "Ember Island?" He mumbled quietly, his clenched palms rubbing at his eyes.

"Isn't that Fire Nation?" Sokka inquired from his seat across from me, his cyan eyes studying the firebender wearily upon his suggestion.

The former prince nodded, "Yeah. We can stay at my family's old beach-house." He said.

Aang gusted himself back into the saddle. "What if somebody from your family comes?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he thought this over.

"They won't. Nobody will. We haven't been there since my mother disappeared." He replied dryly, his golden eyes lowered.

Toph threws her hands up in the air, "Fine with me. Let's go."

"We are close to it," Zuko added.

Katara only sigheds, "Whatever."

"So...Ember Island it is, then?"

"Ember Island it is."

Sokka raised an eyebrow as he observed the sandy seashore laid out before us. Appa was slowly descending, and Aang and Katara were bending a cloud around us to disguise the large bison. The Water Tribe warrior pointed to the beach homes, "Which one is your's?"

Zuko glanced over the edge, his brows furrowing together as he searched for his. His slim index finger prodded the air, "That one."

"That one? The mansion?" Olin asked, joining in the search.

"No. The one in between the one you're talking about and the other mansion."

"Oh...are you sure? It's an awfully small house for the royal family." Sokka said upon looking at the house. It is pretty small for the royal family, and I'm pretty sure we were all surprised.

The firebender shrugged nonchalantly, "It's secluded, though. Plus, it's larger than it looks inside. It might be a little worn down, though." He smiled wistfully.

Toph wiggled her toes in the anticipation of landing, "I don't care. I just want to be on good ol' land again!" Her blind eyes stared almost dreamily over the edge.

Aang grinned, giving Appa another flick to accelerate the speed. The bison lets out a sigh as he soared down to the home, "We're almost there, buddy." He cooed, petting him affectionately.

Just on cue, we landed on the sandy beach, right in front of the house. Zuko was right; it was seculded. Nobody would be able to see us despite the two homes beside us, which he said were vacant. And, it had it's own private beach.

The sightless earthbender fell out of Appa's saddle and onto the sand, rolling around on the ground while making happy noises. I chuckled before turning to study the house.

"Well, let's check it out!" Aang exclaimed cheerfully, marching towards the house.

We all followed, Zuko and Aang in the front. The sand sunk with each step, and as we neared, I noticed how beautiful the small house was. There was a courtyard out in the front, facing the ocean. The patio was overgrown with flowers, and it reminded me of the garden back at the Western Air Temple. A smile tugged at my lips at this thought. Columns surrounded the courtyard, each one carved with intricate designs which were worn down by wind and blowing sand.

As we entered the house, my eyes were drew from the courtyard to inside. Inside was rather...empty.

"Will we each have our own room?" Katara questioned, her blue eyes trailing over the hallway and back to Zuko, who was staring at the ground, his lips twisted in a frown.

Zuko looked up, snapping out of whatever thought had been crossing his mind, "Err—" He counted us, "Two of you will have to share."

"Suki and I will!" Sokka volunteered, wrapping a slim arm around his girlfriend, who rolled her eyes.

The firebender blinked, "Uhm, alright. Well...go ahead and choose your rooms."

"I choose the one with the waterbed!" Toph declared, racing off to the said room.

"Aw! There's a waterbed?" Sokka cried, his shoulders slumping.

"And it's all mine!" Toph crowed, slamming the door behind her.

I laughed, and walked off as I chose my own room at random. I opened the door, peeking inside. The room's walls were dressed in gold, the windows facing the ocean, the sunset scattering inside the room, making the walls sparkle. My eyes rested on the bed, which was made with simply, yet comfortable looking scarlet sheets. The room was rather plain, but gorgeous in my opinion.

I stepped inside, officially marking it as 'my room' by closing the door like the other's had. I set the ivory box that had formerly been stowed in Appa's saddle on the dresser in the corner, leaving my few belongs tucked inside. My eyes drew to the mirror on the dresser, and I studied the reflection.

Staring back at me was a girl, her eyes widened slightly, the color of gray swirled in them. Her hair was a brown, mixed with a lighter blonde at some points. The hair was fashioned down for once instead of the usual braids, the curls resting past her shoulders. In the background of the picture stood a young boy, no older than the female—

I jumped as I noticed Aang standing awkwardly in the background of the reflection, and turned around hastily. He blushed, tugging at his collar nervously. "H-Hey. Sorry for scaring you..." He smiled anxiously.

A breathy smile played my lips as my heartbeat slowed to its normal tune. "It's alright. What's up?" I asked, setting down on the bed.

"Well...uhm—apparently there wasn't as many rooms as Zuko originally thought...and all the others are either sleeping or doing...er, something...and there isn't enough rooms...and your door was the only one that was unlocked so maybe can I maybe sleep maybe here tonight?" his words rambled together, intermixed with the overused 'maybe', and his cheeks had heated up even more as his gray eyes were trained abruptly on the floor.

I blinked, running my fingers through my hair, "You can have my room if you want, I can probably sleep in Katara's room or Olin's—"

"They're already sleeping." Aang said quickly. He let out a nervous breath, "I'll just sleep out in the hall or something—"

"No," I cut him off gently, "You can sleep in here." The sun had already set and darkness had settled over the Island.

He smiled briefly, "Thanks, Vinca."

I nodded nochalantly, "I'm really not that tired, so I'm going to go to the beach for a little bit. You can have the bed." I motioned towards the bed, and before he could protest, I exited the room.

The stars are bright tonight. I absently thought as I sat on the shore, my feet buried in the sand. The tide was low and it barely even reached me. The stars overhead twinkled in the ocean waters, and I found myself staring upwards at them. They circled the moon, which was almost full.

I exhaled softly, drawing my hands through the silky sand. I was growing awfully tired, and I decided that I would head back. I stood, dusting the sand that stuck to me off and began to head back.

I ran into my brother, "Olin? What are you doing out?" I asked as I saw him sitting in the sand closer to the house.

He tiredly glanced up, "Wha—? Oh, Vinca. I'm just sitting out here."

I snorted, "Obviously."

He made a face, nudging me, "Don't get smart with me, sis." he laughed lightly.

"Why are you out?"

"Just thinking."

"About?" I prodded.

"Siera." he said quietly. His soon-to-be-wife.

I frowned, "You miss her?"

"Yeah."

There was an essence of sadness surrounding my brother and I thought that I better leave him to his thoughts. "Well, I'll see you in the morning. Don't stay out late, okay?" My smile was small as I patted my brother's shoulder, turning and entering the house.

Aang was asleep on the bed, not even bothering using the blankets. His chest was bare and his head rested on one pillow, yet his limbs were sprawled out everywhere. I giggled seeing this, and slowly took the other pillow. After making a make-shift bed, I fell into a deep slumber.

A hard knocking on the bedroom door woke me up the next morning. I yawned, getting up and stumbling. My back ached from sleeping on the stiff floor all night long. I stretched, my eyes wandering over to Aang, who was just waking up, a still-tired look on his face.

I rubbed my eyes with closed palms before opening the door. There stood my brother, a rather cheerful look on his face. Apparently, thinking about this almost-wife cheered him up.

"Hey," I mumbled sleepily.

Suddenly, his entire demeanor changed as he glanced inside my room. His face instantly turned an angry red as he shakily pointed to Aang, who was sitting on the bed, half-awake, "What...What is he doing in your room on your bed?!" He demanded to know, his eyes wide.

I blinked, "Uhm...sleeping...?"

My brother's palms clenched into fists, and he stepped inside my room, taking a threatening step towards Aang, "Get out of my little sister's room, you...you...!"

I gasped upon realizing what Olin thought Aand and I had been doing. I blushed, at the thought, "O-Olin! We...we didn't...!" I stammered, at lost for words.

Aang seemed to realize what Olin had been motioning towards as well, as his face suddenly turned a shade of red matching the bed's sheets, "I would never...not at this...I-I..." he pulled on his shirt, stumbling slightly as he realized how bad the situation looked.

Olin was fuming.

"See, look! I was sleeping on the ground!" I pointed to the pillow still on the floor. "There wasn't enough rooms for Aang so he stayed in here!"

"I can't believe I trusted you!" My brother was oblivious to my comment, "Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean you have the right to deflower my sister, she's only thirteen, Spirit's, y-you...s-she's...s-she's my little s-sister, how c-could you?" Olin looked faint, yet even more enraged.

Aang was blushing furiously and couldn't seem to say anything, his face flushing even more.

"We didn't—!"

"But he was on your—!"

"Oh, shut the hell up already!" Toph yelled, causing everyone to turn at look at her. Her raven black hair was a mess and she looked absolutely furious, even more angry than Olin. "Twinkletoes and Sparkles didn't do anything last night other than sleep! Which I should be doing right now!" She prodded my brother's chest, a deathly expression on her face, "Believe me, I'm pretty sure I would've felt their heartbeats! So, nobody is 'deflowered', so drop it." And with that, she turned on her heels and stormed back to her room.

Olin blinked, "O-Oh." He looked flustered, "Well...uhm...bye..." he ducked his head, and shuffled out of the room.

I sighed, plopping down on the bed, shaking my head. "A simple 'good morning' would've been great," I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair.

Aang's face had still to cool down, "Y-Yeah." he looked embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it," I assured him, "Olin was just caught up with everything."

"You're right," Aang said, letting out a breath, "But I would never do that unless we were marr—"

I abruptly cut him off, "Let's not talk about it. I've had enough talk of what happens behind closed doors for today."

AN: Yup. There you have it folks. I'm sorry for these filler chapters. My goal is to reach fifty chapters exactly. So, chapter fifty will be the final chapter.

And, for those asking if I will be writing a sequel...

I'm not sure! Does the idea of a sequel sound good? I was just thinking about doing a series of oneshots, of different points in the Gaang's life, mostly around Vinca and Aang. What do you guys think?