Summary: The hot-tempered young warrior princess of the Imperial Fire Nation falls for a ditzy airbender girl. Brittana/Avatar: The Last Airbender AU
A/N: I'm imagining this happening in an AU where there is no 100 Year War or AN genocide. Most of the FN, especially the Royal Family are still prejudiced/don't understand or respect the Air Nomads and are ignorant of their teachings.
Based on this prompt from tumblr: Santana is a Fire Nation firebender and Britt is an airbender living in the FN. Maybe no one but Santana knows of her airbending. San would be the crown princess and everyone is confused why San hangs out with and protects Britt who's basically kinda the town's weirdo.
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or Avatar: The Last Airbender. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no profit is being made.
FIRE and AIR
Air fans Fire, and causes it to burn more brightly, stimulating enthusiasm and excitement–or inciting passion and anger. Too much Fire can burn up the oxygen in Air, making it difficult to breathe– and too much Air, such as a strong wind, can cause a flame to flicker even more dimly - Excerpt from Linda Goodman's "Love Signs"
Santana sighed, grunting as she wiped sweat from her brow, the last flames from her hands dying out. She panted heavily, leaning against a giant monument of her great grandfather, a previous Fire Lord, in the courtyard. Life in the palace afforded her a level of privilege most ordinary Fire Nation people could only dream of, yet Santana was lonely and unhappy.
As the seventeen year-old Crown Princess and the only child of the Fire Lord, her duty was to constantly hone her firebending abilities in addition to enduring constant lessons in history, etiquette, strategy and politics. One day she would be in charge of the military and her parents never let her forget about her duties as the next leader.
It was so early in the morning that even the servants were asleep as she went through her firebending drills, wearing full armour. A sudden rustling in the nearby bushes and a flash of pale skin moving through them took her by surprise. At first she thought it might be a cat. She was so shocked and afraid that the words were caught in her throat. Could it be an assassin? Who would dare to trespass on her palace? The fierce girl yelled loudly, trying to scare them away... and she knew she could be pretty scary when she wanted to be.
"Who goes there? I'm warning you, if you think… "
There was more rustling as Santana approached with a terrifying ball of fire swirling above her palm as a weapon, just in case she needed it. The figure emerged from the bushes and Santana instantly attacked, pelting torrents of fire as she executed swift kicks and punches with powerful movements.
"Fight me!" She roared, annoyed when the stranger was running away from her and hiding behind monuments or trees everywhere Santana turned.
"Okay, I guess if that's what you feel like doing." The stranger said with a shrug with a soft, feminine voice that was far too pleasing and distracted Santana for a moment. Then she recovered and remembered what she was supposed to be doing.
To her surprise, the would-be assassin just effortlessly dodged every blast she sent their way, whipping and swirling in a graceful fashion. Their movements were pretty to watch and not aggressive like Santana's own. There were constant flashes of pale yellow hair and white skin but it was difficult to keep up.
Santana was so confused because she had never seen anyone fight in this style before with these circular, evasive movements, gusts of wind flowing around them like a whirlwind. Her actions were all defensive and she did nothing to directly attack Santana. Yet the firebender was becoming easily overwhelmed and disoriented as she constantly pumped out waves of fire that kept missing her opponent. The figure stopped moving for a moment, levitating on a spherical ball of air and waving at her with a flirty smile that should have been way more aggravating than it was.
The black-haired firebender now felt completely flustered, heat rising to her face at the realization that the warrior she was fighting was a girl and a very pretty one at that who was somehow fully naked. Santana had never seen another woman naked before and the girl's beauty was mesmerizing to the point where she momentarily forgot how to firebend. She was slightly taller than Santana. Tall, leggy girls were definitely the fire princess' type and if she hadn't known that before, it was definitely reaffirmed to her now.
"Who are you? What do you want?" She demanded in the deadliest tone she could muster, though she stuttered a little, trying to avert her eyes. Don't look down, don't look down whatever you do...
She looked down. She was sure her face would be a brilliant shade of dark red if she could blush.
"I'm Brittany. I'm not sure why we're fighting but this is fun!" The girl answered in a sweet, playful voice in response to Santana's threatening tone. The girl sounded very casual and relaxed, her blue eyes glinting and a little smile on her face as if this was an ordinary thing for her to be doing. Santana huffed, summoning all the strength she had to explosively fire an attack at the girl but she was again too quick for her. "What's your name?"
"Santana. What kind of question is that?" The black-haired girl huffed.
"Such a pretty name... it suits you. I'm not really into violence but I can play a game with you."
"This is not a game!" Santana insisted through gritted teeth in a trembling voice. It was difficult to concentrate on fighting when the cutest girl in existence was shamelessly flirting with her.
Everytime Santana moved, Brittany was behind her, or above her, or slipping between Santana's legs or arms effortlessly, simply gliding through the wind as if she was made of nothing. Each time she thought she got her trapped between her arms, Brittany would slip away from her. This was so frustrating that Santana growled in annoyance. She had never heard of any Brittany before and no one had ever got the best of her so easily like this.
"Ooo it's like a dance! I love dancing. Are we dancing?" Brittany cheered and indeed her agile, lithe movements were like those of a very skilled dancer as she mimicked Santana's movements but more gracefully, moving to the left everytime the firebender punched right and vice versa in perfect timing. Santana kept trying to corner her with a barrage of blasts but it wasn't working. Each time Santana took a step forward, Brittany would take a step back then they would do the same thing in reverse, then she'd shift from side to side as if they had choreographed this.
"You're leading it so well too. I'm not wearing my dancing shoes but I'll do my best."
"I'm not dancing with you!" Santana sputtered at this absurd statement, her face feeling hot. Brittany didn't seem to have any qualms about invading her personal space either and her being in such close range made it difficult for Santana to hurl flames at her. "Are you making fun of me?"
Santana was so confused by all of this. Eventually she was too distracted by Brittany's svelte body and tripped on her own feet, Brittany looming over her with a smirk.
She placed her hand over Santana's, somehow extinguishing the final flame that the firebender was trying to ignite. Santana shuddered at the feeling of the girl's hand and pulled hers away, ignoring the little spark she felt when they touched that wasn't from firebending. With one last threatening growl, Santana tried to power up again but she gasped when she felt soft lips against hers for a few seconds and her eyes went wide. She completely forgot about anything else.
"I guess Brittany wins." The girl smiled teasingly when she pulled back, pushing her strands of her long hair out of her eyes.
"W-what are we doing?" Santana stuttered after a while, finally regaining her ability to speak as she continued to keep her eyes averted and crossed her arms over her chest. Then she touched her finger to her lips, tracing them. "You kissed me!"
She was irritated at losing the fight, especially to such a weird opponent who wasn't even fighting her in the true sense. Santana never lost fights but no matter how much power and muscle she packed into her fire attacks, it was useless against the other fighter. If you could call Brittany that. And she had stolen Santana's first kiss! Not that she needed to know that.
"Sorry, I kind of had to do that because you looked like you were going to set me on fire and that wouldn't be fun."
"W-why are you naked, Woman? You're a trickster! Are you a seductress sent by our enemies to take me down - to tempt me away from my duties? Is this part of your battle strategy to use your body to overpower me?"
Part of Santana realized how ridiculous she sounded even to her own ears. Brittany began to giggle at Santana's words and the fierce scowl she was wearing.
"Oh, wait, I'm naked? Oops. My bad!" Brittany looked down at her body with a gasp and covered the important parts, her cheeks turning pink. "Sorry. I guess I lost my clothes somehow when I fell from my glider."
Santana was completely confused by this way too attractive girl with her cat-like blue eyes and long blonde hair who seemed to have flown there. She wondered if this was some kind of dream she was having.
"Glider? What are you talking about? Why are you here in the royal palace?"
"Sorry, I should have introduced myself before," Brittany replied in her friendly, easygoing way, eventually accepting the dark red cape Santana took off of her own back and offered her to cover herself up with. The blonde just shrugged, as if it was no big deal whether she was clothed or not. "Let's start from the beginning. Flameo, Hotwoman! That's what people say here, right? So anyways, I was flying overhead on my way to the Southern Water Tribe but I think my coordinates were off and I got distracted by this really pretty cloud in the shape of a catgator…"
"Can you please get to the point?" Santana begged, keeping her arms crossed defensively as she stood up and trying to ignore the fondness she was starting to feel for this girl even though she wanted to dislike her. It was easier to feign anger than admit she was so attracted to this girl.
"Oh sorry, I ramble sometimes. Anyway, I kind of fell into your backyard I guess a few minutes ago when I got caught in this windstorm. That happens to me sometimes. Then I saw you training and I wanted to watch because you're so hot, no pun intended."
Santana raised an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. She was sure there was steam coming out of her ears.
"Don't you know who I am?" She was surprised this girl was daring and confident enough to speak in such a way to her. It kind of bruised her ego that Brittany didn't seem to know or care how important she was.
"Not really." The blonde girl deadpanned.
"I've never seen anyone who looks like you before."
"Cool. I've never seen anyone who looks like you before either," Brittany replied with a friendly, disarming smile and winked. "I'm pretty sure I would remember it if I had."
How exactly was Santana supposed to keep her cool?
"Do you realize you're in the Royal Palace of the Fire Nation, Girl?"
"Really? That's awesome." The girl gasped. Anyone else would be intimidated and even embarrassed but Brittany just seemed thrilled.
"So you're not here to kill me?"
Brittany just stared at her blankly and frowned, shaking her head.
"Of course not. Why on earth would I want to do that? I'd never kill anything, even the smallest fly."
"What were those weird twirly, silly movements you were doing when we were fighting? What kind of strange firebender are you?"
"Firebender?" Brittany echoed in confusion. "Oh no, Silly! I'm an airbender."
It was the first time Santana had ever met an airbender and she couldn't believe how eccentric they were. She had only heard of their culture briefly in the geography classes she took but they seemed so unusual that she almost thought they were made up.
That explained the girl's ability to fly and manipulate the winds. It also explained why her eyes and hair were so different from anyone in the Fire Nation. Her own family and the other nobles always sneered at the silly Air Nomads, treating them like they were a big joke.
"Princess Santana? Is that you?" A voice called from inside the palace. "Who's out there?"
"You're the princess?" Brittany asked in an awed voice. Santana nodded, surprised but kind of pleased that Brittany didn't treat her any differently after this reveal. At first she thought she wanted the girl to fawn over her like everyone else did but instead she felt relieved that Brittany wasn't idolizing her. The rest of the nation treated Santana as if she were a god descended from the heavens and found it overwhelming to even be in her presence. "I'm not surprised. You look like royalty and act like you're some empress."
They heard the palace servants moving around and Santana grabbed Brittany by the shoulders, placing a finger to her lips to silence her. If anyone found out there was an airbender here, Brittany would be in trouble.
They might even try to imprison her. Santana couldn't let that happen. Not to mention, the Crown Princess being caught with a half naked girl in public would definitely be humiliating if anyone ever got word of this. She could only imagine what kind of rumours would spread. She leaned in close, staring into soft blue eyes.
"Shh, we can't let them find you here. I can't believe I'm saying this but come with me. We have to hide you." Santana said hastily, quickly guiding Brittany in the direction of her bedchamber on the other side of the palace and slipping them in through a window. There were no arguments from the other girl. The princess' dark eyes darted around nervously, making sure no one was watching. Somehow they made it there without anyone catching them.
"This is your room? Flamin'!" Brittany exclaimed as Santana felt a smile tugging at her lips at her use of the antiquated slang while the yellow-haired girl took in the sight of the luxury Santana lived in. "Is it smokin' or flamin' that you guys say? Sorry I haven't been back to the Fire Nation for a while so I've probably got it all wrong."
"It's fine," Santana responded with a genuine laugh then glanced at Brittany again, clearing her throat. "Um, before we do anything else, we do need to find you some clothes."
Brittany smirked, rolling her eyes as if she found Santana's flustered state amusing. Santana went to her closet then browsed through some of the many expensive and exquisite garments she had been gifted from various noblemen and noblewomen who wanted to curry favor with the royals. She didn't like them and had never worn any of them but Brittany's eyes lit up when she showed them to her.
"Pick any one you want or all of them."
"Oh, I want the pink one!" Brittany insisted. Santana raised her eyebrow when the blonde selected a very soft, muted pastel pink wrap to go over her chest and a matching short skirt. Santana herself preferred much bolder shades of dark red and magenta. She squeaked when Brittany let the cape she had wrapped around herself drop and just started dressing right in front of her with no warning.
"Hey! You can't just do that… I'll just… I won't look, don't worry…" Santana cleared her throat again awkwardly, turning her back to Brittany as she slipped on the garments. Brittany just giggled at how flustered Santana was. "I don't know if... nudity is part of your culture but you just can't do that in the Fire Nation."
"Why not?"
Santana tried not to but her hormones got the best of her and she chanced a peak at Brittany through the corner of her eye. She saw the same expanses of freckled, white skin and soft curves she had seen when she was fighting her but somehow it was different in this context and with them standing so close. She took a deep breath, forcing her eyes shut and flinched when Brittany tapped her on the shoulder.
"You can look. All done."
Her face felt hot when she turned around again and Brittany was finally dressed. The tall girl's slim waist and flat abs could be seen in the revealing garments, along with her curvy thighs and endlessly long legs. Aside from her colouring, she now looked just like any other upper class Fire Nation girl.
"How do I look?" She asked, batting her eyelashes.
"Stunning…" The word slipped out before Santana could help it and she cursed herself for not being more careful. Brittany just turned an adoring blue gaze on her. She sat herself on Santana's bed casually, crossing her legs under her.
"So, what should we do today?"
"What should we do? It's Saturday. I'm expected to read the longest most boring scroll ever known to man about war tactics, then attend my family's banquet with leaders from the Earth Kingdom tonight." Santana grumbled.
"That's boring. I think we should go out instead. Hey, there's a Fire Festival on today... that should help to turn your frown upside down!"
"You're seriously asking me to go to the festival? For one thing, we only just met. I'm not even allowed to go out anywhere without my guards and chaperone for security and besides, royalty don't go to ordinary places like that. It's unheard of."
"Why not?" Brittany tilted her head to the side as Santana frowned nervously, in disbelief that the girl was asking her something like this. "Wait a minute, Santana, don't tell me, have you never been to the Fire Festival before? Don't worry, I'll show you what to do."
Santana sighed. She had never heard of such a thing before but she felt embarrassed to admit it. It was so tempting to go with Brittany, especially when the girl seemed so excited. Truth be told, the princess had always been rebellious and despite her token protests, the thought of defying her parents' rules was appealing to her. It would be far from the first time she had blatantly rebelled against authority. How could they really stop her? She was the princess.
"Why would you want to go anywhere with me anyway? I just tried to attack you and accused you of trying to kill me."
"Cause I like you, Santana. Can we be friends?"
The sides of Santana's lips curved upwards and her entire expression softened. It had been such a long time since she had a friend who she genuinely liked and who somehow liked her, instead of being forced to entertain the stuck up teen children of her parents' noblemen friends.
"You like me?"
She didn't mean to make herself sound so vulnerable and insecure but the words came out before she could stop them. Someone actually liked Santana just for being her.
"Of course I do. You're cute. Especially right now when you're smiling that extra special ultra rare Santana smile and your dimples are showing."
Santana nearly erupted in flames at these unexpected words delivered so flirtatiously, almost singeing them both in her flustered state as she scowled at Brittany. The airbender girl fanned herself to help with the heat as smoke was left behind.
"Don't say that. I'm not cute!" She whined. "I'm supposed to be strong and badass."
"Whoa, that's hot. But you are strong and badass. Am I allowed to say you're pretty too or would you set me on fire for that?" Brittany giggled. Santana pointedly ignored Brittany's flirtations, crossing her arms. She finally gave in to Brittany's pout and puppy eyes but realized she'd need to protect the girl from those in the Fire Nation who weren't so fond of air nomads.
"Fine, Brittany, we will go to this festival you speak of but whatever you do, you can't use airbending anywhere in public. I mean it."
"Aye, aye, Captain." Brittany saluted her cheerfully, floating around on a spherical ball of air she used like a scooter.
Brittany spent the day hiding in Santana's bedchamber, giggling behind her hand whenever the black-haired girl made excuses to whichever servant or cook came to her door about why she couldn't let them in her room. Later that evening under the cover of darkness, the two of them sneaked out under the cover of darkness, wearing red cloaks for disguise. Santana wasn't sure why she was doing this for a strange, bubbly girl she had just met but she couldn't resist the urge to follow the girl.
To be continued…