Fanfictionous Goodies - Together (Princess Tutu)

Day 7 of Tokka Week, and I think that this one is my favorite.


“Can you tell us about Gran Gran and Gramps?”

It was the youngest that asked, but instantly the two other siblings were calling out for the same thing. Their green and blue eyes, wide with the sudden excitement, were fixed on the forms of their mother and father, both of whom were sitting across from them at the campfire.

“Please!”

The mother’s smile widened and she laughed softly. “Alright, alright. Settle down.”

Immediately all three children stopped their squirming and fell silent. They all knew the story from heart, had memorized how it began, but each telling still brought just as much excitement as it had the last time.

“Sokka was a brave young warrior from the Southern Water Tribe, who never had any intention of leaving his home. You see, his father had entrusted the safety of the entire village to him, and he his father’s approval more than anything else in the world.

“But in the Earth Kingdom there was a girl by the name of Toph Bei Fong. She was blind, but she was to become the greatest earthbender the world has ever seen. Sadly, she was caged, like a bird, because her parents saw her only through her blindness.

“So, how were these two ever to come together?” The woman’s smile grew.

“Well, you know how fate is…”

August has been deemed Avatar Shipping Month, and there is a different ship for each day of the month. I've decided to take up this challenge.

However, I don't do yaoi/yuri/incest, so any pieces involving ships like that will just be friendship pieces. Also, I'm not editing/researching any of these, so if there's any grammar mistakes or details wrong, that's why.

This piece takes place during Book 2, when everyone is at Ba Sing Se.


Jet was the only customer in the tea shop when closing time came. He sat in the slight shadows found in the corner, idly swishing his wheat from side-to-side and occasionally taking a sip of the tea in front of him. It had grown cold again, but he didn’t notice. No, his attention was entirely focused on the scarred teenager that was helping run the place.

He watched, from the corner of his dark eyes as the person in question walked over to him.

“We’re closing now.”

Jet looked up, swishing the stalk of wheat to the side of his mouth. He smiled up at the scarred worker, then set down a stack of coins. “A few minutes more.”

Zuko stared at the stack, and then up at the young man defying him. Only a few weeks ago, he would have struck out at the offender, and he felt the urge to do so now, but he could feel his Uncle’s gaze on him. He would not ruin his Uncle’s happiness.

“We’re closing,” he repeated.

Jet grabbed a hold of the Prince’s sleeve, and pulled the startled Zuko closer to him. “You’ve been hurt by the Fire Nation.”

Zuko growled and, wrenching his sleeve away, turned his back onto the customer.

“They killed my family.” Jet took a sip of his tea as he stared at the back of the tense worker.

Zuko opened his mouth, but then closed it again, having nothing to say to the Earth Kingdom resident.

“What about you?”

Zuko didn’t answer, but simply took the stack of coins and walked off, letting Jet have his ‘few minutes more’.

Day 2 of the challenge. This one takes place a couple of years after the war is over.


Toph looked around warily, and then glanced down at the small paper in her hands, as if running her sightless eyes over it would do any good. She knew what the invitation said by heart, as Sokka had read it over and over to her. He had wanted to come along, to protect her, but she had insisted on coming alone to Ba Sing Se.

Taking a deep breath, she started on her way again, her bare feet slapping against the pavement. She wasn’t sure of where she was headed, but she was determined to find it on her own. Even after five years of being away from home, she still felt the need to prove to the world that she could do everything by herself.

“There is nothing wrong with letting people who love you help you.”

A smile spilled across her face and she turned, picking out Iroh among the throng of people out on the streets. How had she missed him? But that didn’t matter, as she rushed to him and threw her arms around the chubby old man.

He laughed and gave her a hug back. “You’ve grown up into a beautiful young lady.”

“And you’re still just a fat old man,” the young earthbender said as she released him and straightened back up.

His laughter filled the air again, and her smile widened at the sound. It was something she hadn’t heard for a long, long time.

“Do I get to pour my tea this time?” she asked as they headed for his tea shop.

“Do you really want to?”

She thought about his question for a moment, thought about where he stood in her eyes. He was like the father she had never had. “No. I don’t.”

Day 3


He hadn’t expected it to be so easy. He had run from both Azula and Zuko, knowing that they would follow, that his Nomad clothes and the staff he carried made them believe he was Aang. They had cornered him, in an abandoned town, but his boomerang had surprised them both, slicing through the air to whack both of them on the head. They had fallen to the ground, knocked cold, as he had punched his first into the air and screamed for all the world to hear, “Sneak attack!”

Now he sat in the middle of the town, with a small fire burning and with the unconscious Fire Nation royalty tied up on either side of him. His blue eyes scanned the dark sky, searching for any sign of the sky bison. What was taking Aang so long?

There was a grown, and he turned his head to see, much to his dismay, that it was Azula who was waking up. Her dark hair was spilled across her face, moving with each breath she took, and her lips were turned down in a frown. The Water Tribe warrior tensed, unsure if she had awoken. Her long hair, smooth to the touch, hid her dangerous eyes. Though he hated to admit it to himself, she was actually very pretty. She was no Yue, if things had been different, he wouldn’t have minding getting to know her a little better. But she was the enemy, and so he knew that he could never be with her.

Zuko had been watching the scene before him for quite some time, through half-closed eyes, and he didn’t like the looks the Water Tribe boy had been giving his sister each time he had looked over at her. Sokka’s looks towards him were only hatred and distrust, while the distrust towards his sister was slowly melting into a kind of remorse and pity. Could the boy not see what a monster his sister was?

Sokka reached down a hand, to gently tuck some of Azula’s loose hair behind her ear. In the flickering light of the fire, the Fire Nation prince could see that his sister’s eyes were still closed, but her frown was slowly disappearing, and Zuko knew her to be as awake as he. But why did she not strike? She was so much more capable of a bender than he (though he hated to admit it), so surely such meager bonds couldn’t contain her, right?

The Water Tribe boy turned to grab another stick to add to the fire, and Azula sprung to life. With a crackle of blue fire, the princess’s bonds melted away and she was on her feet. Sokka turned to face her, to access what was happening, but already she was there, sending him backwards with a well-aimed punch.

He hit the ground with a grunt and climbed to his feet, boomerang in hand. But by then Zuko was too his feet as well, his bonds on the ground. Both boys shifted into a fighting stance, but still Azula was quicker. She rushed forehead, a wicked grin on her face and a several of the Seven Sins glinting in her eyes. Sokka moved to take a step back, to bring his boomerang in a position to defend himself, but she did not hit him where he expected a blow.

Her lips touched his, and electricity raced through his body. The boomerang slipped from his hands to fall into the dust, and he swayed slightly as she kissed him all the harder. Then she was gone, as was Zuko.

It had all been so easy, for the Fire Nation princess to capture the Water Tribe warrior’s heart.

Day 4


Mai was bored.

That wasn’t anything new, as she was always seen with a bored expression on her face, even as a small child. However, this time it was because she was sitting at a stranger’s table, poking at the food with a fork as her caretaker ate. She wasn’t really paying attention to what she was doing, as her mind was miles away, and so her grip on the fork was rather loose, and rather sloppy.

“Mai.”

The young girl slowly lifted her gaze to the master, but the bored expression remained on her face and her hand kept twirling the fork.

Neither said anything for a moment, but simply watched the other. Finally, the older man leaned forward and put his hand around Mai’s, easing her fingers into the correct hold for the eating utensil.

“The fork is not separate from you, Mai. It is an extension of your body.”

“Like my knives?” she asked, the words coming out before she could stop them.

The master smiled and gave a nod of his head. “Yes, like your knives.”

She nodded and he returned to eating, while she returned to picking at her food—this time with the correct hold on her fork.

Piando finished his food and rose to his feet, plate in hand. He turned to go, but then paused and turned back at Mai’s next question.

“Will you teach me?”

His smile widened as he regarded the young child before him. She was staring at him with such intensity that he found he could not say no.

“How long ago were you staying with me?”

“Five days,” was her quick response.

“Then we’ve got a lot of work to do”

She bit down on her lip, but that didn’t stop the small smile from coming.

Day 5, this one being post-war.



“I heard that you bested Mai.”

Suki looked down through the branches to see the Fire Lord standing there. She blinked. The simple action, in that moment, felt strange and alien. It wasn’t that she had never seen it before, as many people had given her that kind of blink, but it just wasn’t often that she gave it away herself.

When had Zuko learned to move so silently? To be unseen?

But she recovered quickly.

“She wanted a training partner,” the warrior said. She jumped down from the tree, landing just before the Fire Lord. There was no blink from him, and she frowned ever-so-slightly. “But she refused to wear the traditional clothing.”

Zuko didn’t laugh, like she had expected him too, but instead turned away. Suki’s lips turned down in a frown and she took a step forward, placing a hand on the Fire Lord’s shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” She stared up into his face, catching his trouble eyes with her gaze.

“Mai and I…” He paused, looked away from her, look back, and then looked away again. “We’ve grown apart.”
The word was on her lips before she could stop it. It was clumsy to say, just a placeholder until she could think of something meaningful, something kind, and something to say she was sorry. “Oh.”

But she wasn’t sorry. Sokka had torn her heart asunder when he had fallen for the earthbender, fallen for Toph, and it had taken her a long time to get over him. But what had gotten her over it was the visits the Fire Lord had sometimes made to her island, to check up on Ty Lee. She had tried to remain aloof whenever she heard that he was coming, but each time it had grown harder and harder.

She loved Zuko, with all her heart, but like Sokka, he had loved another girl.

Was this finally her chance?

Zuko turned fully to face her. “You’re the reason why I’ve come here the past couple times.”

“Oh.” Again the word came out before she could stop it, but it had a different undertone this time, and the Fire Lord seemed to understand it perfectly. Or maybe the blush on her cheeks was what gave it away. In any case, he smiled at her. And she smiled back. In that instant, her heartache was healed.

Day 6, post-war.


He was painting. It was a pastime he had rather grown to love, though it was obvious to all that he had no skill in it, and most likely never would. He did possess creativity, however, and it was that creativity that could turn an ordinary vase into a squashed Appa with jewelry. Or maybe that was just his poor skill.

He painted one subject more than all the rest.

At first, it was just her knives. Maybe he was just missing his space sword and had tried painting it, only to have it come out way too short. From there, it would be easy to see how he had added more of the small pointy objects.

But the second time, there was no denying that the knives were intentional.

And the third time it was the knives being thrown by their owner.

The fourth time was just her, standing there with a frown on her face.

But he didn’t like the frown, so the fifth was her smiling.

After that, he always painted her with a smile, as if that could somehow cause one to appear on the real her.

It was his fifteenth that had both him and her. It was an epic battle scene, with a banana-looking thing that was supposed to be boomerang in his hand, and carrot-looking daggers in her hands. His face was serious, while she was smiling, but her eyebrows were in what he deemed as battle position, and the result was that she looked much like Azula. He ended up burning that picture as quick as he painted it.

By the twenty-first painting, they were holding hands, and the thirtieth was them watching a sunset and leaning against one another.

At fifty, they kissed.

With the sixty-third, came courage. The painter left his room, and stumbled over his well-rehearsed speech about how much he liked the knife lady (and he even called her that, by accident). When he was done, she said nothing for a moment, and then gave a slight nod of her head.

After that, all of his paintings were done to the echo of her words that fateful day.

“I hate you the least.”

Day 7, post-war.



Iroh enjoyed having tea with strangers.

It was for that reason that he was sitting there, with a fresh pot of tea before him, and two steaming cups. He sipped at his cup, while the other remained untouched. There were no words exchanged between the two strangers, but the first didn’t mind at all. After all, he had his tea.

“Why are you here?”

The raspy voice surprised Iroh, but he continued to say nothing, and continued to sip his tea.

The flavor was perfection, almost like having a small orchestra playing in one’s mouth. And the tsungi horn… Oh, the tsungi horn! Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Everything was there, just the right mixture, just the right amount of time.

His tea hadn’t always tasted so good. He had been nothing but a mere child when he had first experienced tea in all its glory, and from then on it had been his ambition to create the greatest tea in the world—a tea that could bring everyone together, no matter their background.

Yet, he had not been able to repair the damage between himself and his brother.

“Answer me, brother.”

Iroh set his own cup down and picked up the other. He leaned forward and placed the cup of tea through the bars of the cell. With sad eyes, he watched the stranger’s slumped form for a moment, before going back to his own tea.

Only after his cup was empty did he answer.

“You are lost, Ozai, in more ways than one. You have many lessons to learn.” He poured himself another cup and took a sip of it. “And tea is a great teacher.”

Day 8


Longshot released the tension in his bow and slowly—with his dark eyes still scanning the surrounding forest—placed the unused arrow back into his quiver. Both Fire Nation soldiers were down, with a well-placed arrow in their necks, and there was no other movement.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true.

The young boy was moving, scrambling back from the dead men in horror. Blood stained his clothing, and there was a gash on his left arm, still bleeding. His skinny frame was covered in filthy, oversized clothing, and his brown hair was overgrown and tangled. Fear filled his wide eyes.

Longshot took the scene all in at the moment, as his father had taught him to. Then he was traveling along the treetops, aiming himself at the river and the young boy there.

He landed on the grass without a sound and approached the boy. There were no tears, which surprised him, but only a defiant expression on the wounded boy’s face. He was half-crouched, like a wild animal, with his fingers digging into the soft ground.

The archer didn’t say a word, as was his way, but simply pointed to his bow and arrows, then to the two dead Fire Nation soldiers. He held out his hands at the young bo—no, now that he was closer, he could see that the boy was a girl—at the young girl, to show that he was harmless.

He tilted his head slightly to the left. She was rather pretty, in a strange sort of way.

“What are you staring at?” she snapped at him.

He shrugged and held out a hand towards her. After staring at him for a moment, she took his hand, and he pulled her upright.

“Longshot,” he offered.

She gave a slight smile and leaned against him, letting him help support her as they disappeared into the woods.

“Smellerbee.”

Day 9


Yue was a princess.

Sokka felt like anything but the proud and noble wolf warrior who rescued the princess from disaster (not that he placed much stock in fairy tales). But it was hard to believe such a beautiful and kind girl as she would find anything the least bit attractive about him.

He was a clutz, and had very little experience with girls (maybe that was why he had ended up in a dress, with Suki). And he had no royal blood flowing through his veins, didn’t belong to the upper class. His father was the leader of the Southern Water Tribe, but Sokka didn’t feel as if he could even begin to measure up to his father. Sokka was a nobody, a no one.

And it didn’t help that Yue was engaged, to the guy that was the biggest jerk.

Why had he been chosen, for the beautiful princess? Why couldn’t it have been Sokka instead?

The young Water Tribe warrior’s heart felt as if it was going to break. He loved her, more than he had ever loved anyone ever before, but yet she was the one girl that was out of his reach.

What made it even worse was that she felt the same way about him, and he knew it.

Maybe that’s why he had volunteered for the dangerous mission—to forget about her.

But he could still feel the shape of her lips against his.

And the pain in his heart.

Day 10


It was raining, and Momo was wet.

The lemur wasn’t the slightest bit pleased about these two facts. Water splashed off of his body and to the ground, only to be replaced by fresh drops of the cold rain. The lemur sneezed and curled into an even tighter ball on his pile of leaves.

Where was the monk? What was taking him so long?

The ground shook, and Momo shot to his feet in an instant. He was chattering furiously, his fur bristled, but upon turning he realized that it was only Appa moving about.

The flying bison took a few more steps forward, until he was standing above the lemur. Gently, the giant bison knelt down. Momo didn’t move, but allowed the bison to make a protective cave around him.

He chattered happily and gave a shake of his body. The excess water gone, he curled up next to Appa’s legs.

When Aang finally did return, he found the two creatures asleep, each curled around the other, each feeding off of the other’s warmth—the warmth of friendship.

Yes, I am finally finishing posting up all of the stories from Avatar Shipping Month clear back in August! And no editing has been done on any of these.

Day 11


Really, it all started the day Ty Lee joined the Kyoshi Warriors.

Mai pretended that she didn’t miss her friend, but it wasn’t long before Zuko noticed her increased moodiness. Only a few weeks later she and Zuko left the palace to visit Kyoshi Island.

And that’s where Mai met Suki.

“You can’t train here.”

Mai gathered her shuriken from the tree and placed all but one back into her pouch before turning to face the owner of the voice. It was one of those warrior freaks, dressed in green and wearing an entire bucket of pain on her face. No, not just one of them. This was their leader.

“Why not?” Mai asked in her usual bored tone. But from the way she held her shuriken, it was obvious that the question was a threat. She was bored, and this had the prospect for being at least somewhat entertaining.

Immediately Suki had her fan out before her, and her stance had shifted. “You’re not wearing the proper attire.”

No further words were needed; in the blink of an eye, the dance had begun.

To be fair, Mai’s training had become inconsistent with the absence of Ty Lee, and with the world now in a state of peace. Suki still lived in an area of the world that was unstable, and had continued to train and fight every day.

For awhile, the two seemed to be evenly matched. Every thrust of Mai’s shuriken were blocked by Suki’s fans, and every attempt to knock Mai off balance was met by her agile body dodging the blow that would have done it.

They spun around and around, never staying in the same spot for more than half a second. Their movements were quick, abrupt, and smooth. Each end was also a beginning, and each beginning and end. They swayed and twirled, twisted and flew. The land was their enemy, but also their friend.

But Mai’s body wasn’t use to this level of demand, and it was inevitable that she would tire first.

She tried to jump up, to dodge a sweep of Suki’s feet, but her movement was too slow. She felt Suki make contact with her, and suddenly she was falling all wrong towards the ground.

But she never quite made it all the way, as the Kyoshi Warrior shoved her back. It came as a shock to Mai, when she found herself pinned against the tree with Suki’s fan and her own shuriken pressed against her throat.

For a moment, the two warriors stood frozen. Then Suki grinned and stepped back.

Mai stared at the Kyoshi Warrior for a moment, her surprise not showing in the slightest, then held out her hand for her shuriken. “I’m not wearing the make-up.”

Suki handed the weapon back, the smile still on her face. “We’ll see.”

Day 12


The words were spoken slowly, softly. They bubbled up into his lips, forming themselves there, before spewing themselves out. The two words were heavy, but yet they made their way to the Fire Lord’s ears without any problem.

“I’m sorry.”

The Fire Lord didn’t turn. He remained in his upright position, with his head tilted towards the ground, and his eyes closed.

“Fire Lord Zuko, I… I know how much he…”

The Fire Lord shifted his weight to one side and held out a hand, motioning for the speaker to stop. He did.

Silence.

More silence.

The hand fell back to the Fire Lord’s side.

Silence.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” the Fire Lord said at last. “My uncle was a great man, and when he… when he…” He cleared his throat. “He was smiling.”

The Fire Lord turned to face the Avatar. He swallowed again, but still the tears came. “He was smiling.”

The Avatar moved forward, as did the Fire Lord, and the two of them embraced. In that moment, it was no longer the Fire Lord and the Avatar in the room, but simply Zuko and Aang.

The word that described them was there, enveloping them like a fuzzy coat. It was light, like Aang, but also warm, like Zuko. It wasn’t spoken by either of them, but it didn’t need to be. They both knew that it was there, and that was enough.

Uncle Iroh’s death was a sad occasion.

But Zuko and Aang knew that they would always have each other.

After all, this wasn’t the first time that the Fire Lord and Avatar had become friends.

Day 13


“Have you ever noticed that we’re the exact opposite of each other?”

Mai glanced over at her friend, then rolled her eyes and went back to toying with her knives.

Ty Lee walked closer to Mai, moving on her hands instead of her feet. “I never realized it before. I mean, I always knew that we were different, but… we’re way different.” She flipped herself up onto her feet and stuck her face into Mai’s. “Are you listening?”

The knife wielder simply growled and shoved Ty Lee back. “Could you maybe leave me alone, for a few minutes?”

Ty Lee straightened back up. She opened her mouth to respond back, but found that she had no words to say. Mai didn’t need words right now. The acrobat sat down next to her friend, and put an arm around Mai’s shoulder.

For once, Mai didn’t push Ty Lee away.

The happy-go-lucky kid was the only friend she really had, now that Zuko had been sent away.

Mai bit her lip, but still the tears came. With a sob, she dropped her weapons and buried her head into Ty Lee’s side. And Ty Lee simply held her closer.

Day 14


She was crying when Suki first saw her.

Ba Sing Se was a big city, with refugees like herself pouring in at a constant rate, and the place was made up of layers and layers of buildings. But that didn’t stop the two of them from finding one another.

The night was dark, except for the ring of candles around a small pool.

It was that light that first drew Suki there, coupled by the soft sobs.

The warrior walked forward, into the light. Her eyes landed on the dark shape of the girl and a slight frown came to her face. The setting looked almost romantic. So why was she crying?

“Are you alright?” Suki placed a gentle hand on the girl’s back.

She started, and rubbed once at her eyes before looking up at the warrior. “I’m fine,” she whispered.

Suki sat down next to the girl. “Broken heart?” she asked softly.

The girl nodded, and Suki carefully helped her to sit up next to her. “He… He just l-left m-me…”

Suki’s expression hardened. “Where does he live? Who is he?” She knew what a broken heart felt like, she knew what it was like to have the guy one loves just vanish, and she was not going to allow this jerk to just get away with it.

The girl mumbled out the information, and the warrior climbed to her feet. “I’m Suki.”

“J-jin.”

Day 15


“What are you doing here?”

“I want to fight.”

“Then you’re in the right place.”

That was the conversation that started it. Haru had gone searching for a more active role in fighting the Fire Nation, and the Freedom Fighters had given him the opportunity to do just that.

Jet kept Haru in the dark about things. After the issues with Katara and her friends, he didn’t want to risk more damage being done to his plans. And there was something about Haru that worried him. He was just… too good. Like Katara, he would not understand the sacrifices that needed to be made.

Haru was trusting, but not enough that he couldn’t tell something was wrong after being fed half-truths for several weeks in a row. Finally, he felt that he had no choice but to confront Jet.

“Something is going on. I don’t know what it is, but I can just tell. You all have been lying to me.”

“My dear Haru…”

“No. Tell me the truth.”

That was the conversation that ended it.

Day 16


“I know that you and Suki have each other, but for what it’s worth…” The girl in pink twirled the flower around in her hand. “I like you. A lot. I think that you’re cute, and funny, and… and well…”

She sighed and let her arms droop down. Who was she kidding? She was just a circus freak, a nobody.

No.

Her arms came back up and a determined glint came into her eyes. She would not give up on the man of her dreams so easily. Suki was a warrior of grace, but so was she.

Ty Lee’s grip tightened on the flower and she leapt up into the trees. The sun was just rising, and Suki was still gone helping out at a nearby village. If she hurried, she could reach the sleeping form of Sokka before the Kyoshi leader did.

“Sokka’s mine.”

She spoke the words out loud, believing them with all her heart.

Day 17

They held each other close. Neither wanted to be the one to let go; neither wanted to be the one to ruin the moment. This would be their last embrace.

No tears fell, but each could feel the breaking heart of the other. The two hearts beat in unison, and cracked at the same moment. This was it.

She loved him, with all of her heart, but she loved her own son more. That was an unspoken fact.

He loved her, with all of his heart, but he loved power more. That was an unspoken fact.

Why else would they be saying their goodbyes?

His lips pressed against her forehead and he held her ever closer. His head bowed and his eyes closed. She responded in kind, and a single tear fell from her golden eyes.

Both had thoughts racing through their minds, both had questions they wanted to ask of the other, but both knew what the other’s response would be. There was simply nothing left to say, except for one single word.

They drew apart, looked each other in the eye, and then she turned away from him.

He stared at her for a moment longer, and then turned away as well. His lips formed the word, but no sound came out. How could this be happening? How could he lose the only woman he had ever loved? How…?

“Goodbye.”

The word was hers, and then she was gone.

For the first time in his life, Ozai fell to his knees and cried.

Day 18

“Mai hates you.”

Zuko looked up at the usually cheery girl, to see instead that the wide smile she wore on her face was forced and unnaturally. “Mai hates everything,” he answered back. Was this about his outburst at the fire last night? But he hadn’t been the only one to yell.

Ty Lee fidgeted slightly, and her smile wavered. “That’s true,” she agreed. “But…”

“But what?” he asked her, rather abruptly. She wilted even more, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize, or even care, really. His entire life was falling apart; nothing was working how it was supposed to.

“Zuko… I…” More fidgeting. Suddenly it stopped and she turned fully to face him. Her mouth opened. “I… I have to go.”

She turned and ran away from him then. He didn’t look at her fleeing form, but instead at his own hands. Because of that, he never saw the tears that were streaming down Ty Lee’s face.

“I love you,” the acrobat whispered through her tears. “I just wish…” She stumbled, but kept right on running. “Wish that you would take the time to notice.”

Day 19

“Did the Fire Lord send you down here?” she sneered. “Or maybe it was the all-powerful Avatar.”

“Nobody sent me here.” Katara knelt down before the bars of the cell. She wore the simple blue robes of her tribe, and her hand rested on a pouch full of water at her side. Her gaze was focused on the crouched form of the once powerful Princess Azula. “Nobody knows that I am here.”

“Hmph.” The figure shifted a little, but still didn’t turn to face her visitor. “Foolish peasant.”

Katara carefully slid her free hand through the bars and placed it on Azula’s back. The princess did not move.

“I’m here to help you.”

“Help?” the prisoner spat out. “Help? My own mother…”

“I know,” Katara answered. “I know. But… things don’t have to stay this way. Let me help you, Azula. I’m a healer. I can…”

This time it was Azula’s turn to stop Katara’s sentence. “You cannot heal me when there are no physical wounds.”

“I can help… If you’ll let me.”

Slowly, Azula turned. She stopped halfway, and stared down at the cold ground of her cell. “Leave me.”

Katara rose to her feet and was almost out of room when Azula spoke again.

“And you better be here this time tomorrow.”

Day 20

The sky was on fire. The air shimmered with the heat, and every surface bled sweat. Nothing could escape the gaze of the comet, nor the sweep of the bended flame. Everything was red; everything was turning to ash.

In the midst of the destruction, two hands held onto one another.

Both hands were sweaty and slick, but neither wanted to let go of the other. He was water, and she was earth. Together, they were life. Separate, they were death.

But the earth was slipping, falling. She had given her all, and now there was nothing left but to say goodbye. Each moment her hand slid down his; each moment death drew nearer.

Fire surrounded them, and saltwater fell from the earth’s eyes.

This was it.

Her hand slid down further, and she let out a yell of terror. “Sokka!” So much was contained in such a simple cry—her fears, her doubts, her will to live, and her love for him.

Her hand slid further down his.

“Toph!” he screamed back.

“Yes, Sokka?” She looked up at him with her light green eyes. Tears still streaked down them.

“I… I love you.”

Her hand slid out of his, and she fell.

Day 21

Two kids crept through the forest, both covered in war paint. Their faces were painted black, with white highlights along their eyes, and the clothing they wore were little more than rags that matched the greens and browns of the trees and bushes.

“Should we really be doing this?” the second figure asked.

For an answer, the first simply turned around and put a finger to her lips. “Shh!” She then turned back and peeked through the bush she was currently hiding behind.

“But…”

“Shh!”

“But…”

She turned to glare at the boy. “Would you just…?”

“What have we here?”

The young girl spun on her heels to see a Fire Nation soldier leering at her from over the bush. Her heart leapt into her throat, and she was off, racing through the forest as fast as she could. Her partner in crime ran right beside her, with her hand wrapped around his wrist, pulling him forward.

“Hurry!” she hissed at him, imagining an entire army of Fire Nation to be at their heels. But, that day, nobody gave chase.



Suki stared at the young man that was standing before her. She tried to listen to the nice speech about peace Fire Lord Zuko was giving, but… there was just something about that man…

Feeling eyes on him, he turned, and both sets of eyes widened in recognition.

“Suki.”

“Haru.”

Amidst the cheers accompanying the end of Zuko’s speech, two old friends came together in a kiss.

Day 22

He held out the tiger lily and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. For how I acted last night. I… I shouldn’t have run. Away. Like that.”

The flower wilted in his hand. The thing hadn’t been in too good of shape already, after two hours of delaying the apology, and so it was in no shape to withstand the glare that was being aimed at the outcast.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as the seconds passed in silence. “So sorry, Jin…”

“Was it you, or me?” she finally asked. Her tone wasn’t as icy as her glare, but still it made Zuko flinch.

“It was me,” he admitted softly. “My last… relationship didn’t end very well.” Did he still have feelings for Mai? That was what he had been asking himself all night.

“Oh.” Her expression softened, and she took the flower from hands. “Ba Sing Se is a place of new beginnings, Lee.” She placed her free hand in his and stepped closer. “The past doesn’t matter. I’m here now, and I’m not going to let you down.”

He looked up at her, and again was mesmerized by her. Jin wasn’t the most beautiful girl in the world, but her personality was just so likeable, so relaxed and carefree. She was nothing like Mai.

“Close your eyes.” She moved closer to him, smiling shyly. “I have a present for you.”

This time, when they kissed, he didn’t run away.

Day 23

Everyone knew that Aunt Wu was the best fortuneteller around. It was for that reason that she was watched, and that a Fire Nation soldier came to her every so often. When the last soldier had reported back at the Fire Nation, Azula was sent out.

“I’m here to have my fortune read,” the teenager said.

The fabled Aunt Wu looked up from her desk and folded her hands before her. She didn’t look the least bit intimidated by the Fire Nation princess. “What can I do for you?”

Instantly Azula was leaning across the desk, her expression deadly. “I’ve already told you. Or do you need me to give you some motivation to remember?” Her left hand exploded with blue flames.

Aunt Wu didn’t look the least bit impressed, but simply leaned back and picked up a stack of her cards. She spread them out and offered them to the princess. “Pick three.”

And that was what had brought her to the freezing South Pole.

“You’re from the Northern Tribe?” Sokka asked her as the two of them walked across the frozen landscape.

She nodded. “I am. We haven’t had contact with our sister tribe in so long, and I just had to journey here to make sure that you all were all right.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

The only problem was, Azula had not counted on falling in love with such a clumsy oaf as Sokka.

Day 24

Katara told everybody that it was because she didn’t trust him. Aang took it at face value, as she had known he would, and even Sokka didn’t question her actions. Toph, however, knew that she was lying, but between a combination of threats and bribes, she said nothing of it.

Every time Zuko left the Gaang, for whatever reason and for however long, Katara always followed.

At first, it really was because she didn’t trust him. She had already offered him her heart once, after all.

But it wasn’t long before she realized that he really had changed.

Soon, Zuko was coming up with silly reasons to leave the others, just so that he and Katara could be alone together. Neither was willing to be the one to tell Aang of their affections for one another.

So, each night, Zuko would wake up from a nightmare and would head off to be alone. Katara would follow after.

They never spoke during those times, but simply lay side-by-side in the grass and stared up at the stars. Their hands were always intertwined, and they would always share a single kiss before heading back to the others.

They never thought that it would get better than that.

But as Princess Katara kissed the lips of the new Fire Lord Zuko, she realized something.

It had.