"Hello my friends!" Sokka greeted Team Avatar, twirling his cape in a flourish.
They all stared back at him without a word, only Suki was smiling at him. The rest just looked between each other, exchanging glances of either question or mocking.
"Uh…hi?" Zuko waved back in confusion.
"When do we get to fight?" Toph interrupted, a grin spotting her face at Sokka's disconcerted expression.
Sokka facepalmed. These guys had no sense of flair or presentation. This was already off to a rough start. This was not going to work so Sokka might as well drop the theatrics and head to the table.
"We are gathered here today for…our session 0" Sokka slammed down the dungeon master guide and took his seat. "You'll need to decide how your characters act within the confines of the game and how they respond to certain situations."
Toph looked unimpressed. "So roleplay is nice and all but fighting is what I'm here for."
"And combat is what'll you receive in due time, if you just have some patience" Sokka reiterated through gritted teeth.
Toph grinned and cracked her knuckles, "Whatever you say."
"Hey why are we only doing basic rules?" Aang complained, as the dawning realization of the character that formed in his brain would not come to fruition.
"Cause this is our 1st time" Sokka explained for the 4th time that day, trying to not let the irritation seep through his voice.
"Damn I wanted to be a Water Genasi" Katara sighed in disappointment.
Sokka's eye twitched, this was going to be a long day.
He looked over the already completed character sheets for the rest of Team Avatar. Toph submitted a dwarf barbarian by the name of…Melonlord? Well he supposed DnD was the perfect place for weirdness of all kinds. Zuko had created a tiefling rogue named Lee, which was honestly kinda basic? There's like millions of Lees.
Suki had chosen to play as a half-orc monk named Mingxia which was perfect because Suki's choices were correct as usual. Katara was playing an elf cleric named Huamei and honestly? Kinda figures.
And Aang chose a gnome bard named Kuzon…oh no how was Sokka going to deal with that? Well actually he wasn't going to deal with that at all. Sokka decided he was going to procrastinate and make fun of Zuko instead. The jerkbender made it too easy.
"You chose Tiefling? How edgy are you?" Sokka teases, his arms crossing in a smug fashion.
He laughed to himself, he really was just that funny. He expected Zuko to get mad but instead he just looked kinda dejected.
"I chose Tiefling because they're fireproof," Zuko admitted, his hands clutching his pencil in a nervous fashion.
Sokka froze, a deer in headlights look on his face.
"...oh" Sokka trailed off, looking anywhere but Zuko right now.
It was almost funny really.
Of course Zuko is the kind of DnD player to project their trauma into a character. And daddy issues on top of that for fuck's sake.
Well just comes with the territory he supposed.
"Choosing a race that suffers from racism when the Fire Nation is the one causing racism, that's crazy" Sokka coughs under his breath, pretending to flip through his DM notes.
Zuko turned toward Sokka in mild annoyance.
"This is a fictional game." Zuko flatly reminded him.
Sokka rolled his eyes, "...fine, just roll for a strength check"
"Nat 1"
"Failed"
Zuko slammed his head on the table.
"Fuck"
Sokka had no reaction to his plight and just continued to obnoxiously flip through his notebook even though Zuko knew damn well he didn't write that much.
He should've listened to Azula when she called it a "dumb nerd game" but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction.
Wait he takes that back, what happened to Azula always lies?
Zuko just has to survive one session…which might be difficult considering he just rolled for his strength stats and they suck ass.
Maybe the others will also roll badly and Sokka will have to make the opponents easier.
"Strength check" Sokka called from across the table.
"Nat 20 let's fucking go!" Toph cheered, throwing the rest of her dice across the room.
With that all hope is lost.
"I hate this stupid game" Zuko groaned, his face in his hands.
Speaking of making mistakes, Sokka should maybeeeee make sure Aang knew what he was getting himself into.
"Are you sure you wanna be a bard Aang?" Sokka's face betrayed nothing, which terrified Aang even more.
"I'm sure why?" Aang really doesn't like that look on Sokka's face and can feel the nervous sweat accumulating on his palms.
Sokka grimaces and tries to avoid answering before giving up. "It's just well…bards are typically very promiscuous."
"But characters don't necessarily need to play into the tropes and stereotypes" Aang protested, a dramatic hand over his heart.
He's just spent 30 minutes on that character sheet, he can't just change it up now…not after all that hard work. He glances anxiously at Sokka for approval.
"Well…That's true, ehhh fuck it." Sokka shrugged and proceeded to scribble more in his book.
What had Aang gotten himself into?
Aang has found himself in an entirely avoidable but still horrific predicament. On one hand he is roleplaying a blooming romantic relationship with Katara who is his best friend and also subject of his romantic feelings, on the other hand he absolutely can't do this because he feels like he will spontaneously combust.
It's ok, he can do this, he can do this.
He sneaks a risky glance at Katara who is currently scribbling some notes in her notebooks. Her face is adorned by a serene smile and she tucks a lock of brown hair that's fallen in front of her face behind her ear. She's so kind and so pretty and he really wants to tell h-
Nope he can't do this, he absolutely can't do this.
The party is currently in trouble. Toph is busy holding off hordes of Nothics that are swarming the village. He knows with an earlier check that Katara's character is currently inside the building that the Nothics are heading towards because he needs to convince her to join the party to defeat the evil king.
He needs to figure out how to impress her within-game and hope he rolls high enough on his charisma check.
Aang clears his throat.
"Since my character has such a high charisma stat I'm going to disguise myself and try to get uhh information" Aang's plan may be a bit risky but it's worth a shot.
Zuko groans as he leans back in his chair, "here we go…"
Zuko was planning on just using his rogue to sneak behind the armies and kidnap Katara's character to force her to help them but noooooo they were going to do things the good way.
Toph leaned forward conspiratorially, "we're so fucking doomed but I need to see how this goes"
Toph hated to admit it but her health was running low after fighting so many Nothics and they needed a goddamn healer.
Aang crosses his fingers and rolls before breathing out a sigh of relief
"18!" He calls out to Solka.
Sokka scribbles some things in his notes "That passes, everyone is now successfully convinced that you are whatever you say you are."
Sokka parses out his notes on the Tavern scenario before giving Aang the necessary description.
"You happen upon a figure in the bar, relatively tall, dark complexion and hair, wearing a blue tunic" Sokka's tone was low and ominous, giving Aang a sense of dread.
Aang took a breath and the charming bard Kuzon proceeded into the bar. Kuzon sidles his way up to the woman in the blue tunic sitting in front of the bartender.
"Hello I am Sir Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis the Third," Kuzon declared, twirling around his flute.
Zuko and Suki exchange shared glances of what the fuck while Toph laughed like no tomorrow. Katara on the contrary smiles back with mischief of her own.
"My name is June Sapphire," Katara declared, her eyes resting on Aang's stunned expression.
Aang might be misremembering things but that is definitely not the name Katara used in session 0 where they described their characters to Sokka. Aang suddenly feels as if he's being tricked, though he can't prove it yet.
"Do I know whether she is lying about that?" Aang asks.
Sokka laughs then, bloodlust entering his eyes "Make a perception check to find out."
Aang trembles in his seat, his fate is in the palm of Sokka's hand. He closes his eyes as he lets the dice fall from his fingertips.
He opens his eyes to see a horrifying number look back at him.
"...9" Aang reported glumly.
"Fails" Sokka gives him a shake of the head.
Aang bangs his head on the table.
"Monkey feathers…"
Aang glances up at Katara sitting next to him, her face remains impassive but there is a gleam in her eyes that wasn't there before. She's winning and she knows it. Katara's always been competitive and headstrong and Aang loves that about her.
Aang smiles then because Katara might have the advantage but he's never been one to give up. He will convince her to join them.
"Say, what are you doing here alone on a Wednesday morning?" Kuzon puts a little of his bard charisma into his wink.
June looks unimpressed. "Can't a girl enjoy a drink in peace?"
Kuzon can't deny that but peace is the last thing they'll have if the demon king gets his way.
"I heard you healed this entire town by yourself, they've been calling you the Painted Lady" Kuzon kept digging, hoping to see what'll get her to waver.
"So what?" June raised an eyebrow at him, daring Bonzu to try something.
"So…join my party, we're traveling to the north to defeat the demon king, you could help save lives"
"Why should I? Why would I join some holier than thou savior complex mission when I could be saving real lives right here?"
She had a point. What incentive did Kuzon have to offer that would tear her away from her people here, people whose lives have been so positively impacted by her. Here she can observe the change she has in real time. She's thinking that if she joins their party she might spend years without results, wondering if she could've changed things in the years she'll have wasted joining them.
June doesn't want lofty goals and distant dreams. She wants reality but Kuzon thinks he can make her believe in a dream and a shared promise. He'll have to shed the business talk and head straight for the vulnerability. She'll want real goals, not empty words.
Kuzon exhaled.
"My real name is Kuzon, my people are responsible for the creation of the demon king and I want to fix it." Kuzon's voice is stronger now, and June looks all the more surprised by it.
He sees the gears turn in her head, the hesitancy, the thinking, before she sticks by her original thought process.
"How could you possibly fix years of oppression?" June scoffs as she takes another hard swig of her ale.
Kuzon has wondered the same thing himself.
"I don't know." Kuzon admitted, "but that doesn't mean I shouldn't try."
He's starting to get frustrated. He won't get anywhere without a strong push in the right direction. He might not like provoking people but sometimes it's necessary to get them to listen.
Kuzon sighed and hoped this gamble would play out.
"Do you not care about helping people?" Kuzon asked finally, something akin to a fire lighting in his eyes.
June seems surprised by his determination as her eyes widen and she finally puts the cup down on the table.
"There's more to helping people than defeating demon kings who send monsters to kill" June's gaze narrows and she once again seems far away from him.
"I want to help people, and I don't want to commit the tradeoff of the hundreds of people I could help while I search fruitlessly for the demon king's hideout" June Sapphire's expression was faraway like she wasn't really talking about Aang.
Kuzon exhales in defeat, unable to figure her out. What else is there to say? They are vastly different people but they still have the same goal in mind even if they'll ultimately achieve their dreams in different ways.
"I want to help people too," Kuzon finally admits, as much as he wishes to keep his motives secret, closer to the heart, "but even if there's a sacrifice, even if there's a tradeoff on the people we can help, I still want a permanent solution."
Katara feels her breath catch in her throat, she almost forgot for a second that this was roleplay. Her mind blanked and tried to catch up with the flow of the conversation they just had. Crap what was she doing?
Katara shook her head and recovered "Even so, are you prepared to face the consequences of your morals?"
Aang stared at her, noticed the ways her eyes met his and damn if he didn't want to kiss her now.
"Always" Kuzon promised, his hand resting reassuringly on his trusty flute.
June paused, seeming to deliberate, her eyes seemed to look around the room then at the bracelet she wore and she seemed to come to a decision.
"Then you have a new party member" June was rather nonchalant but Kuzon knew this was gonna be the start of something special.
Kuzon smiles fondly at her.
"My name is Kuzon" He introduced himself with an outreached hand.
June stared back at the hand before taking it. "I'm Huamei."
Huamei is a beautiful name.
"But I have a more important question to ask," Kuzon leans in, calm trying to overrule his terror.
"Yes?" Huamei glanced at him, curiosity in her gaze.
He can do this, he can do this, here goes nothing.
"Wanna go penguin sledding with me?" Kuzon blurts out, rising out of his chair suddenly.
Katara gapes at him and Aang can feel his cheeks burning as the embarrassment sets in.
Sokka turns to Zuko awkwardly "Ok it's your turn, just roll already…please."
It would be so much easier if Sokka didn't write these campaigns himself and just…used the premade ones from the DnD company but where was the fun in that? Right now he has a good villain up his sleeve, not super powerful but will serve as a wonderful distraction while he fixes the 10 mistakes he left behind in his notes.
"So that sums up what the villain looks like…what's your action and bonus action Aang?" Sokka directed at him, staring pointedly while sipping his energy drink.
Aang is already dreading the consequences of his actions, "uh…I cast vicious mockery?"
"Alright well then come up with an insult" Sokka instructs, gesturing to the villain figurine on their table.
Aang sat there for a moment, a bit dumbfounded, he didn't expect the roleplay to get this real. He hadn't been required to sing so why is he being required to come up with an insult on the spot? This is vicious mockery right…so the insult should be vicious.
"You're so ugly your mother had to apologize to the midwife for forcing her to birth you" Aang took a breath to play a single note on the flute, "And ever since then your mother's wanted to kill herself so she wouldn't have to raise you."
The silence in the room is deafening. Aang then plays another two notes.
Sokka gapes at him from behind his screen before crossing out some notes.
"Yeah…your opponent is safely dead."
The party finds themselves at a tavern for the night to drink and relax before heading into more battle. Lee has decided to retire upstairs to sharpen his weapons. Melonlord and Mingxia are having a drinking contest which leaves Huamei and Kuzon by the stage with the rest of the patrons listening to the performances.
"You wanna dance?" Kuzon's gaze is inviting and that smirk is oh so enticing.
Huamei wants to wipe it off his face and then kiss it better.
"Better buy me a drink first handsome" Huamei retorted with a cheshire grin of her own.
Huamei offers out a hand and Kuzon blushes before taking it. Huamei's palms are trembling as she feels the heat of Kuzon's hands holding hers tightly.
Kuzon is taking the initiative for now, as they spin around each other. He can feel himself sweating and hopes it isn't too obvious. He never really imagined this would happen.
Aang can't believe Katara is actually going along with this roleplay. He thought there would be more resistance to the clearly flirty vibes the characters were showing. He thinks maybe…they could take it a step further, be braver with it.
Kuzon pulls Huamei in closer, the dance steps overlapping. They're so close now, breaths intermingling while the music plays in the background and the soft lights illuminate their gazes.
"It's scary, sometimes I look into your eyes and I think…" Something in Kuzon's eyes wavers, "I'd let the world burn for you, if you simply asked."
Katara hangs onto Aang's every word, every shaky breath, as they go deeper and deeper into their roleplay. She knows this isn't real yet she can't help but indulge herself anyway.
"I wouldn't be able to refuse you anything in this existence" Kuzon whispers, his voice trembling on every word.
"You can't possibly be that devoted," Huamei scoffs and glances away, "You have a plethora of girls fawning after your every glance and you choose me…why?"
"You're the first person to look at me as a human and not a weapon, to treat me with a gentleness I've never known" Kuzon whispers, his hands making their way to hold hers once more.
Katara feels like she is burning, Aang's warm palms enveloping her fingertips.
Katara huffs out a laugh. "You act like that's such a privilege."
Aang smiles sadly, "it is to me."
Katara hugs him then and wonders where the lines between roleplay and reality have started to blur.
"The demon king has sent one of his top generals to stop you, the villages have failed to stop him, everything seems lost. What do you do?" Sokka narrates, a gleam in his eye as he describes the scenario.
"Fucking finally I get to fight!" Melonlord screeches out a war cry as she brings out the fake hammer she got for her cosplay.
Lee sneaks around the back to take out the calvary in stealth. Mingxia braces her fists and goes to take out the frontliners.
"I cast bardic inspiration!" Kuzon declares, courage filling him up until he shone.
Huamei looks back at him in wonder, a beacon of light that she looked to in the darkness. She feels the comforting glow of his energy alight her with strength.
"How does it feel, Huamei?" Kuzon smiles at her then, with the force of a thousand suns.
Huamei smiles back, warmth settling in her chest, "For once it feels like I've got hope."
"Are we even players anymore? I feel like this is just the Katara and Aang show" Toph complains, slumping back in her chair until she slides under her table.
She receives glares from Katara, a sheepish apology from Aang, and silent agreement with Zuko.
"Let them have this" Suki smiles to herself, hoping that their moment of triumph distracts enough to receive healing from Katara without facing her wrath.
"Shit I've run out of Ki points" Suki's expression soured as the realization dawned on her.
"Suki…" Sokka tries to placate her knowing his efforts are fruitless.
"Babe don't do this to me" Suki pleads with her eyes, her hand tightening on the dice that just delivered her fate.
Sokka would love to bend the rules for his girlfriend but he is nothing if not fair. He is a dungeon master and he takes that role very seriously, no room for cheating.
"I'm so sorry" Sokka apologizes, ignoring Suki's repeated "please don'ts" as he delivers the final verdict.
"Mingxia's body hits the ground, you guys watch as the light in her eyes dim and her body ceases to move, as the final breath she takes is carried away by the air." Sokka 's demeanor takes on a solemn air, as he desperately avoids eye contact with his distraught girlfriend.
Suki's gaze sharpens as she glances at Katara from across the table, "Katara please I'm begging you."
"Yes I can resurrect you" Katara sighs with all the annoyance of an overworked cleric.
"Huamei" Kuzon has sauntered up to the rock which Huamei sits on.
Huamei looks forlornly into the distance, "What do you want?"
Kuzon knows that although Mingxia is alive thanks to Huamei, she's still affected by her loss. If Huamei had failed, Mingxia would be lost to them and that isn't lost on Kuzon. He thinks maybe he's asked too much of her since coming on the journey with them. She's had to heal and sacrifice and the fate of their friends is put in her hands every time they fall in battle. Even so, he can't bring himself to be unhappy about her joining, selfishly he thinks he wouldn't change a thing.
"I just want to say thank you." Kuzon sits next to her, making sure to keep a comfortable distance. "I never would've made it this far if it wasn't for you."
"Thank you for asking me so obnoxiously" Huamei quips back so naturally it takes Kuzon off guard.
Kuzon laughs and the sound fills Huamei up with joy. Huamei is not good at opening up, doubt she ever will be but she is not so hardened to ignore Kuzon's endless compassion. The way his kindness hollows her out and makes her want to be more gentle with him. She treats her relationships with trust and camaraderie but not softness but she finds that she doesn't hate it.
Huamei is ready to do something she wasn't sure she had the courage for and Kuzon is ready to do the same. Katara and Aang lock eyes before both looking away awkwardly.
"Huamei walks over to Kuzon and gives him a peck on the cheek." Katara is hesitant but her face betrays nothing but determination.
Aang immediately blushed, his hand moving to touch his cheek where he imagined receiving the kiss. That was a bold move and Katara knows it.
"And Kuzon returns that kiss" Aang feels light, like he could float to the edges of the world.
Zuko, Toph, Suki, and Sokka watch on, finally bearing witness to the conclusion they all predicted ages ago.
They finish their session with plans next week to do another session, hopefully getting closer to finding the demon king's fortress and killing him. All of them pack and leave, except Sokka, Katara, and Aang.
Sokka goes upstairs to turn in for the night, leaving Katara and Aang alone in the kitchen. The atmosphere is awkward, few words traded between them as they grab snacks.
In the end, Katara breaks the silence.
"Aang all this in-game flirting we've been doing…I wanna know" Katara tries to get the words out before exhaling and looking away.
This is harder than she expected, to be vulnerable and admit the feelings she's been harboring for a bit. But there is something she can no longer ignore and it's the warmth he makes her feel. She wants to take her chance to hold onto it even if it ends with rejection.
"I need to know this roleplay isn't just pretend, that maybe some of it was real," Katara confessed, the weight of it threatening to crush her.
Aang's hand stills over the mango he was reaching for. He wasn't prepared for this but he supposed this was the consequence of unabashed flirting in roleplay. He just…wasn't prepared for the
"It is real," Aang's eyes softened, "I would never play with your feelings."
Katara feels her breath catch in her throat as her chest tightens and her mind tries to play catch-up. Aang would never be cruel to her and lie about this, all the more reason that this was real.
"Did it…make you uncomfortable?" Aang asked, scared of what her answer may be.
Katara huffs exasperatedly but it wasn't a hateful expression. Aang breathes out a sigh of relief. He might have been bold but he didn't push too hard and he didn't ruin everything with his best friend.
Silence reigned once more, both of them anticipating the other's reaction to the new information, if a bit unsure of their budding feelings.
"Honestly the whole time…I wished you did it more" A playful smile adorns Katara's lips.
God he loved this woman. She's so smart and strong and she makes him feel like melting into the salt of the earth, like his pain will disappear with the wind.
Aang turns away from his mango and walks to where Katara is leaning against the counter.
"Should we kiss for real this time" Aang smirks as he wraps a hand around her waist.
Katara smiles back as she snakes a hand around his back, leaning in, looking into his eyes.
"I thought you'd never ask" Katara whispers into his ear, her lips grazing the edge of his face.
Aang smiles then and Katara knows she'd never want to be anywhere where she can't see him smile.
She leans forward and their lips meet, as sweet as peaches ripening in the summer and thinks she could live in this moment forever.
As long as she could ignore Sokka yelling at them to "Get a room!" from upstairs.