A Work of Art

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Avatar

Aang wasn't sure how he was supposed to be feeling at the moment; he'd never been stood up before. He'd promptly arrived at the tea shop and after knocking back three cups of tea, he knew Zhen wasn't coming. And while he'd only known her for a few weeks, it seemed unlike her to skip out on an appointment without any notice. With a dramatic huff, Aang had made up his mind. If Zhen couldn't meet up with him, then he'd just have to go to her. Finishing off the rest of his now lukewarm tea, he pushed away from the table and hurried out of the shop. The walk to her house gave him some time to think. Seeing her so distressed last night rubbed him the wrong way, she seemed like a confident albeit quiet young woman. That actor Huang really affected her and that did not sit well with him. A man should never cause a woman such grief that she cries, never.

He arrives at her house and with a solid fist, knocks on her door and when he doesn't hear anything for a few seconds knocks again. Letting curiosity get the best of him, Aang peers into a window and he's shocked to see shards of clay on the ground.

"Oh no!'

He opens the door without a second thought and steps over the sharp pieces, his head whipping around searching for the owner.

"Zhen, are you here?" he calls out.

"P-Please go away." She replies from the back of the house so quietly that Aang was forced to strain his ears just to hear.

"Sorry for the intrusion." He says before ignoring her request and making his way to the back of the house. There was obviously a problem and he was going to fix it. He turns the corner and is stuck between which of the two doors to open.

"Aang please, now is not a good time." She mumbles, the sound muffled from a door.

Got ya!

Using her voice as a guide, he ends up in front of the door at the end of the hall. Slowly he opens the door and pokes his head in just in time to see her scurrying away towards the corner.

"Zhen, what's wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing."

"Please don't lie to me, I saw something broken by the door. Did something happen?"

"No, everything is fine." Her voice shakes.

He steps towards her and she turns away from him. With a cautious hand, he gently grabs her shoulder and turns her to face him. She immediately tucks in her chin so her hair is blocking her from view.

"Zhen please…please look at me. I want to help." He pleads.

Aang grasped her chin in between his fingers and calmly lifts her face. Rage settles into his body when he finally sees what she'd been hiding. Her eyes are puffy and red with dark rings lining them, her dark hair which has always been perfectly straight is disheveled and tangled, but her cheek is what truly enrages him. It is swollen and an angry shade of red, someone had hit her.

"Zhen tell me what happened."

With a shaking hand, she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Nothing, I fell."

She looks all over the place, desperate to avoid his gaze but also immediately giving away her lie.

If I ever play cards, now I know Zhen is not a good teammate to have.

"Zhen…I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened. Did someone break in?"

After a long pause, she barely nods her head. "It…it was Huang."

Aang releases her and clenches his fist. He should have known it was Huang, who else besides that big idiot would break into a person's house and harm them, and a woman's home no less. Usually he would have remained calm, but knowing that he'd hit hisfriend angered him. He had to stop himself from hunting Huang down and roughing him up a bit.

"What happened?" he asked after reigning himself in.

"He was mad I caused a scene last night when I left… he broke my father's vase when he left. That's what's on the floor."

He frowns after stealing another glance at the welt on her cheek, it must be causing her so much discomfort.

"Come with me Zhen."

"E-excuse me?"

"Come with me to see Katara, she's a healer and she can help you."

Zhen shakes her head and brushes past him. "Oh spirits no, I can't go out like this."

With a gentle touch, he grabs her hand to turn her around and face him. Her golden eyes dart all over before finally landing on his own grey ones. He can see the panic, it's written all over her face and he can only hope that he can calm her unsettled nerves.

"Please come with me."

"I'll go." She sighs.

Aang waits for her to step into her slippers before leading her outside. He takes charge and directs her towards the inn, going out of his way to keep her hidden from the curious eyes of the villagers. They arrive at the inn and without a word to the inn keeper, pulls her up to the room. But instead of seeing Katara, they're greeted by Sokka who's lounging on the plush sofa, his leg propped up with a pillow.

"Where's Katara?"

"You just missed her, said she was going down to the market for some girl stuff." Sokka explains.

Aang has to resist the urge to slap his forehead, of course she just left. He turns to Zhen.

"I'll be right back, I promise."

Before Zhen could mutter a word, Aang had already dashed out the door leaving her behind with the water tribe sibling she wasn't as familiar with. Discomfort immediately settled into her stomach as she slowly shuffled to a free chair and sat down. The tension did not go unnoticed by Sokka.

"So uh, what brings you to our humble abode?" he asks, gesturing around the room.

"Aang wanted me to come."

Silence settled again, the only sound coming from Sokka's throat when he coughed. He also noticed the angry red welt marring her cheek, but he had absolutely zero intentions of bringing it up, for one it would be rude, but it would also making things weird. Things were already uncomfortable; he couldn't imagine making it worse. Just the thought made him want to cringe.

"Do you want to hear a joke?" he offers.

She looks up from her lap and shrugs; he takes this as a gesture to continue.

"What did the big chimney say to the little chimney?"

Zhen frowns. "I…I don't know."

"You're too young to smoke!"

The small smile that cracks on her lips is a small victory.

"Alright I've got another, why should a window not tell jokes?" he leans forward, a goofy grin on his face.

"I don't know, why?"

"Because it might crack up!"

She giggles. "You're quite the comedian Sokka."

He lets out an exasperated sigh and flops back into the sofa. "I know! You and my girlfriend are the only ones who actually appreciate my jokes; you've got an ear to true talent. I've got a lot more than those though."

Sokka shows no mercy and lets out an onslaught of his best jokes, leaving Zhen in tears and clutching her sides for dear life when Aang arrives with a flustered Katara. Honestly, he was confused. She'd been so upset just that morning and yet here she was, laughing to her heart's content. Katara heads towards the restroom and gestures for Zhen to follow. When the two women vacate the living area, Aang plops into a chair and sighs.

"So, what happened to her?" Sokka questions, seriousness written all over his face.

"I'm not sure if it's my story to tell." He replies.

"It looks like someone hit her in the face with a tree."

"I'm sorry Sokka, I can't tell you. It's Zhen's decision, not mine. It would be wrong to gossip about her, especially when she's just in the other room." He explains.

"Yeah you're right…I like her though. She likes my jokes."

"I noticed, good job on finally finding someone other than Suki who actually laughs."

"Oh whatever." Sokka huffs.

Aang starts making plans to go out and feed Appa who was taking up residence in a small barn near the inn when loud girlish laughter rings out from the restroom. Both men share a look before diverting their attention to the restroom door.

"I wonder what they're doing in there…" Aang muses.

Sokka rolls his eyes and scoffs. "Women… Always doing weird things in the bathroom just to confuse us men. It's unfair."

"No kidding." Aang nods.

Moments later the two women emerge from the restroom, Zhen in much higher spirits than Aang had found her that morning. The mark on her cheek is practically gone, thanks to Katara's healing. It eased his worries seeing a smile on her face; he wanted it to stay there. He didn't notice his face beginning to mirror his, a wide grin falling onto his lips.

"I'm going to walk Zhen home and she's going to help me glaze my coil pot, hopefully it's salvageable. And you know, other girl stuff. Bye guys!" Katara announced, walking with Zhen towards the door.

"Wait can I-"

Aang holds out his hand to stop them, but the front door is already slamming behind him. His shoulders slump in disappointment and he looks back at Sokka with a frown. Sokka shrugs and shakes his head.

"Women."

See ya soon