The five members of Team Avatar dragged themselves up the stairs of the Jasmine Dragon and collapsed onto the comfy couches in the upstairs lounge. Sokka sighed tiredly. "Wow, who knew a simple follow-up meeting on the Harmony Restoration Movement would be this tiring?"
"The generals had lots of reports on how the former colonies were doing after the move, after all," Aang said. "Still, I think I'd like to take a break before doing anything else."
"So, what should we do for our break then?" Toph asked as she reclined lazily on her couch.
Katara scanned the room and saw the Companion lying innocently on a side table. "Why don't we read a story?" she suggested as she picked it up.
Toph raised an eyebrow. "I think you need a redefinition of 'taking a break', Sugar Queen. It means we relax and do nothing, especially reading crazy stories about ourselves."
"Some have been fine though, like that one with the giant Momo," Aang pointed out.
"That's just because you get to go penguin sledding with Katara," Sokka said. "Still, I don't mind listening to one, as long as I'm not narrating it. I'm just too tired to do anything more than sit here on this couch."
"Fine by me; you were doing quite enough narrating before anyway." Katara browsed through the book until she stopped at a certain page. "Oh, this one's about Zuko and Aang! Listen to the summary: When Zuko gets shot by an arrow while rescuing Aang from Pohuai Stronghold, the airbender decides to help him in return. Little do they know that their time together would change a lot of things, possibly even their whole lives."
"Hmm, sounds intriguing. Alright, we'll do this one!" Sokka sat back and sighed contentedly as his sister began the story.
Zuko opened his eyes slowly to find himself in a shady glade in the middle of a forest. There were the smoldering remains of a fire lying near him, still sending faint trails of smoke into the air. And on the other side of that sat the person he had been searching for ever since three years ago, the person he yearned and longed for, the one who would change his life.
The Avatar turned around and saw him already awake. He smiled. "Hey there. Feeling better?"
Zuko looked questioningly at the book's cover from where he sat opposite Katara. "Do I really 'yearn and long' for Aang like that? I sound like some lovesick teenage girl."
"Probably this author's written too many sappy romance stories before," Toph smirked. "Looks like the lovey-dovey lines are going to appear a lot in here."
Zuko responded by attempting to send a few fireballs at him with his fists, only to stop short when he felt a sharp jab of pain in his chest. He clutched the hurting spot and found it bandaged already, then looked up in surprise to find the young airbender standing over him, concern written all over his face. "Does it still hurt?"
"Oh, that's nice. Aang helps to tend to your wound and you shoot fireballs at him as thanks," Katara said drily.
Sokka shrugged. "Hey, we all know he was a jerk back then. This isn't so surprising."
"Don't worry Zuko, I know you've changed since then," Aang reassured his firebending teacher, who smiled at him in return.
He nodded, although he could not remember how he had been wounded. "What happened?"
The boy sat down beside him, staring at him in confusion. "You mean, you don't remember?"
He closed his eyes and tried to recall his last memories. Zhao had captured the Avatar, and he had set off towards Pohuai Stronghold to take him from the newly-appointed admiral. Under the disguise of a blue mask, he had used his twin dao swords in self-defense as he exited the fortress with the Avatar in tow, even holding them to the bald monk's neck as a threat for Zhao to release them. He remembered running away from the walls of the stronghold, holding the Avatar firmly with one arm, when suddenly he felt like someone had stabbed him with a dagger in the chest and everything went black.
"I… I was shot. By one of the archers, perhaps. And… and you rescued me?" He stared at the boy sitting beside him in disbelief. "But why?"
"Because Aang's the Avatar and it's his job to care for everyone and everything on this planet," Toph piped up.
"Or because he just had another of his weird 'compassionate' ideas, like that time at the North Pole when he wanted to bring you along instead of dumping you in the snow," Sokka added.
"Well, it did pay off. I've learned firebending from Zuko, and he hasn't frozen to death," Aang said.
"Yup, it's a win-win solution," Katara concluded.
The Avatar shrugged. "Well, I had to do something for the guy who'd just saved me, right? But I had no idea it was you until I took off your mask. I don't think anyone at the fortress knew either."
"Actually, Zhao realized that I was the Blue Spirit later on when he saw my swords hanging on my wall in my chamber on my ship," Zuko said.
Sokka raised a questioning eyebrow. "Why would Zhao be on your ship?"
"He wanted to recruit my crew for the siege of the Northern Water Tribe. In the end everyone went with him except for my uncle, who was sad that the cook left as well."
"Must have been tough on him," Toph grinned.
"Oh." They sat in silence for a moment, while the birds in the trees surrounding them chirped merrily to signal the dawn of a new day. Finally Aang spoke up. "So, while you were sleeping I was thinking about why you came to rescue me, and I think I know now. You were trying to prevent Zhao from taking me to the Fire Nation so you could capture me yourself instead, right?"
Zuko winced. That had been exactly his plan, but having his target who had just saved him actually realize it and say it aloud was not pleasant. "Uh, yeah," he said, not knowing what else to say.
To his surprise the airbender merely nodded. "Well, I can see why. And anyway, I'd rather been captured by you than Zhao. Not that I'd actually want to be captured, of course," he added with a nervous laugh, "but if I got to choose, I'd rather it be you."
"What's the difference, Aang?" Sokka looked towards the airbender. "They're both Fire Nation jerks with hot tempers. At least Zuko was back then," he added hastily after a glance at Zuko's steadily darkening face.
The scarred prince turned to look at him. "Why me?"
Aang stared ahead at the forest in front of him. "I'm not sure. Maybe I thought I could trust you that little bit more than Zhao. Maybe it's because you never tried to employ a whole team of archers to shoot me down."
"Yeah, but he did get a band of pirates to capture you though," Sokka pointed out.
"Speaking of which, how did you even get to know the pirates?" Katara asked Zuko. "I didn't know banished Fire Nation princes associated with those types.
"We met them when my uncle was hunting along the harbor for a white lotus Pai Sho tile, since he thought he'd lost his. He turned the whole ship around for that," Zuko explained.
"The two things Iroh likes most: tea and Pai Sho," Toph summed up.
The two laughed at that, and Zuko realized they were both still shaken from their escapade last night. He took a good look at the person he had been hunting for three years. Aang was of average height for a twelve-year-old, with silver grey eyes that shone in the light of the dawn and a slender figure. His eyes turned to the boy's wrists, which bore red marks on them from the chains that had bound him when he found him the day before. Aang followed his gaze and held up a hand, rubbing the red mark on his wrist with the other hand. "I'm fine. It's you we should be worried about."
Zuko turned to his wounded chest, which he now realized was bandaged with the material from his clothes. He then noticed his left arm was bare, the cloth along the shoulder bearing signs of having been ripped off.
The Avatar grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I had to use your sleeve because I couldn't find anything else to use. I would have used my own shirt, except it's pretty slimy from the wood frogs."
The scarred prince raised an eyebrow. "Wood frogs?"
"Yeah, I got them because a crazy herbalist said they could heal my friends if they suck on them when they're frozen."
Sokka pulled a face. "Oh yeah, I remember them. I haven't completely forgiven you for that either, Aang," he continued as he glared at the unfortunate airbender.
"Well, Aang did do it for us so we could get better. He had good intentions at heart," Katara said as she patted her boyfriend's bald head affectionately. She then turned back to the story, not noticing his faint blush.
Now both of Zuko's eyebrows were raised. "Okay…"
Sokka nodded understandingly at Zuko. "Yup, I know how crazy it sounds."
"But aren't there other ways of curing whatever sickness you had?" Zuko asked.
"Probably, but since it was a crazy herbalist who Aang met we get to suck on frozen wood frogs. It's a part of life," the Water Tribe teen said good-naturedly.
"Yup, I used my shirt to hold them, but they kinda unfreezed themselves when I got captured. The last of them hopped off during the night while I was taking care of you."
The prince cast his eyes downward. "I'm sorry I caused you to lose the cure for your friends' sickness."
"It's okay. They probably didn't want to get sucked on anyway."
"Not like we want to suck them either. Now this author's got the right idea." Sokka pointed a approving finger at the book. "If this story was real, we wouldn't have to get our mouths all gross-like and the wood frogs wouldn't get all covered in saliva. Everybody's happy."
Katara sighed in exasperation. "Sokka, are you ever going to let the matter drop?"
"Never. Deal with it."
The airbender stared intently at his former nemesis. "You know, that's probably the first time you've apologized to me for what you've done."
Zuko looked up. "Well, I didn't really get the chance to before this, what with having to capture you and all."
They laughed again, but Zuko soon grew solemn. "All those times I was trying to catch you… I did a lot of wrong, didn't I?"
Aang shrugged. "Well, you did threaten to burn Sokka and Katara's village, rough-handled their grandmother, burned Kyoshi Island, and a few other stuff, but that's nothing much." He then fell silent as Zuko stared at him pointedly before grinning sheepishly again as he scratched the back of his bald head. "Wow, I guess that is pretty bad."
"Way to go, Aang," Sokka smirked.
The prince closed his eyes in exasperation and a bit of shame, but opened them again when Aang said, "You've sort of made up for it, though, when you came to rescue me."
"That doesn't count. I was doing it for selfish reasons. Also, you saving me in turn still leaves me it debt to you." He wished he could be anywhere than in this place, with this person. He struggled to get up, but the pain was still in his chest and he could barely hold himself up. He addressed the Avatar with his head turned in the other direction. "How long will it take for my wound to heal?"
The boy moved closer and laid a hand on his chest, startling him slightly.
"Why would Aang touching Zuko startle him?" Toph asked.
"Maybe because this is the first time he's touching him without trying to kill him? Though there was the part about him bandaging his wound though," Sokka mused.
"It's actually not that's serious, as long as you don't strain yourself. A little rest and you should be better in a couple of days."
"What about your friends? Didn't you say they were sick as well?"
Aang smiled sadly. "Well, since I can't exactly leave you here, and I don't have a cure for them anyway, the most I can do is pray for their swift recovery. Right now, helping you is what matters."
"Oh, what a nice friend Aang is, dumping his two best friends behind to help a guy who's been chasing him all over the world," Sokka muttered.
"Relax Sokka, it's just a story. You were the one who wanted it to be true after all," Katara said before continuing the story.
Zuko closed his eyes again, not having the strength to look the boy in the eye. However, they sprung open yet again when he heard a rumble from somewhere in him. His cheeks blushing rapidly, he looked at Aang and saw that he had noticed the complaints of his stomach as well. The airbender grinned at him. "Yeah, I'm getting hungry too. We should eat something now."
The scarred prince sat and watched as Aang foraged among the nearby bushes, even leaping up onto a low branch in a tree with the help of his airbending. Soon he had gathered some berries and a few apples, which made a simple meal but was delicious enough for the two of them, who had not eaten since the day before. Afterwards the Avatar took out a few handfuls of some kind of herb from his pocket. "I found these growing nearby when I brought you here yesterday. The monks used these for wounds back at the air temples." He carefully unwrapped the bandage around Zuko's chest before putting some herbs into his mouth, chewing on them and then rubbing the ground herbs mixed with spit on the arrow wound. The mixture looked disgusting, but as soon as it was rubbed on Zuko felt a cool relief on his wound. The boy bandaged the spot again and then went off to get some water from the nearby stream.
Zuko spent most of the day resting underneath the tree Aang had leaned him against, dozing off now and then again. Aang on the other hand busied himself with collecting food from the nearby plants (which was all they would eat, for he wouldn't hunt animals just for a meal),
"Oh come on Aang, you know a man needs meat when he's unwell," Sokka said. "Even if Zuko was an angry jerk he's still a guy."
"Actually, I don't think I'd care much what I'm eating when I'm not well," Zuko pointed out.
"Right, right. Okay, on with the story."
and searching for more herbs for Zuko's wound. He also saved up a store of water from the stream, which he kept in his flask that was with him when he got captured by Zhao and the Yu Yan archers. He left the flask next to Zuko so the prince could get water without having to strain himself and risk worsening his wound.
That evening, after a meal of more berries and fruits the two sat side by side under the tree. The temperature was dropping, and although Aang tried to start a fire by rubbing two rocks together it wouldn't work. The airbender tried again and again, but the fire would not start no matter what. "Strange. It worked last night."
Zuko raised his head to look at the boy. "Can't you use your firebending to make a fire? You're the Avatar, after all."
"I've never used my firebending before, and I don't think it's a good idea to try now. If the fire got out of control, this whole place will burn and we would be in danger."
"Not to mention you might accidentally burn Zuko alive," Sokka added. "Although that wouldn't be too bad at the time – not that I'll want you burned alive now, of course," he said as he gestured to the unburnt Fire Lord.
"I see." Zuko stared at the small pile of sticks intended for firewood. "Why don't I try and make the fire?"
Aang shook his head hastily. "You're still wounded. I don't want you to exhaust yourself."
"I'll be fine. I already spent the whole day resting, and you've taken wonderfully good care of me." The prince smiled assuringly at the Avatar, who slowly smiled back in return. Zuko then reached out his palms, focusing his energy inside him and breathing deeply. After a couple of seconds, the wood burst into flame.
"You did it!" Aang wrapped his arms around the surprised teen and hugged him. "You're going to get better really soon! I think you'll be all right by tomorrow!"
Zuko's initial happiness at his recovery, and the airbender's relief for him, turned to worry as night fell. If he would recover completely by tomorrow, would he have to leave Aang already? He looked at the soundly sleeping boy next to him, head resting on his shoulder. If they were to separate the next day, would they go back to what they had done before, hunting and being hunted? He once thought catching the Avatar would bring back his honor, but now he couldn't bear to hurt him anymore.
"Oh wow, the pain of realizing that you don't hate the guy so much after all," Toph smirked. "I can feel something big is coming in the next line."
It wasn't just because he had saved him; with a start, Zuko realized that he had fallen in love with the Avatar.
Amongst her friends' gaping faces, Toph laughed triumphantly. "Ha! I was right!"
"I'm in love with Aang?!" Zuko cried.
"And how do they go from cat-chasing-mouse to falling for each other over a day?!" Sokka added. "This doesn't make sense at all!"
"Well, I don't think much of anything in here makes said," Aang said wisely.
"I'll just finish the story quickly, okay?" Katara said, thinking that this was not the first time she had been in such a situation, reading a story with a surprising pairing.
If I have to leave you soon, at least tonight I can be by your side, he thought as he rested his head against Aang's and fell asleep as well.
"I don't think I can stand any more," Zuko groaned weakly.
"There there, Zuko. Why don't you get some nice warm tea for all of us?" Sokka said in an attempt to comfort him.
"Yeah, and give me a double portion," Aang added. "I'm going to need a lot of tea to get over the idea of being loved by my firebending teacher. Wonder if I'll love him back in this story?"
"By the looks of things, I'll say yes," Katara said grimly as Zuko got up to get the tea and calm his nerves.
The next morning, they ate their berries and fruit in silence. Aang had changed from his happy mood last night to a solemn demeanor; he must have realized that they would separate soon as well. After the silent meal, the airbender knelt in front of Zuko to unwrap his bandage, preparing to add more herbs to the wound. But he was stopped by Zuko pulling him forward and their lips meeting.
Sokka's mouth dropped open wide and Aang fell backwards in a dead faint. "Good thing Zuko's not here," Toph commented.
"It's okay Aang, just one more line, just one more line…" Katara muttered as she slung an arm around her unconscious boyfriend.
As they broke apart gently, they were both breathing heavily and their cheeks were flushed. They stared silently at each other for a moment, then they both smiled and leaned in again, immersed in their new love.
Katara closed the book hurriedly. "Okay, finished."
"You might wanna do something about Aang though," Sokka said, pointing at the comatose Avatar.
Katara pondered over him for a second before pressing her lips to his. Aang immediately opened his eyes. "Wha… what?" he stuttered.
"While normally I'll be making disgusted faces at this, I think I'll let it go this time, considering what's just happened," Sokka said. "And I think we've had enough stories too," he added as he took the Companion from where Katara had left it on the low table when she finished the story. He set the book down on the side table next to him and pointedly ignored it.
Toph simply shrugged. "Well, I did say things were going to get interesting."
Whoo, finally published my first AtLA slash fic! Very different from my previous slash works from other fandoms, so any opinions or reviews, even criticism if it's constructive, would be greatly appreciated! I might feature a few more slash pairings in later chapters (I'm currently having my eye on Tyzula) but in terms of preference I think I'll still stick to Wolfstar. Enjoy the show, folks!