[fic] An Act of Desperation
Title: An Act of Desperation
Author: angelchan_2004
Rating: PG
Prompt: #026 Fight
Warning(s): None, really!
Word count: 1031
Summary: When the question: will we survive? weighs heavy, there is little one can do.
Author's notes: heyyoitsmj, DO YOU REMEMBER THIS?? BECAUSE I FINALLY FINISHED IT. IT MIGHT SUCK, BUT OH WELL. IT IS DONE AND I DO NOT HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
Aang gritted his teeth as he dodged an onslaught of fire.
How were they supposed to know a simple visit to a town in need would lead to this? None of them had expected it; the rebels had been last spotted further south… much further south.
“Look out, you two!” bellowed Iroh as he grabbed the fist of one larger enemy, quickly twisting the arm back.
He could feel Katara inch closer, could hear her breath becoming heavier, could catch the worry in her voice as she said, “This isn’t looking good. Three of us… there’s just three of us.”
“Where’s your optimism, Katara?” Aang tried teasing, his staff held high as he sent a stream of air to his left (and then his right, as well, just in case). “I think I’d much prefer your optimistic rants right now.”
She snorted, water whip taking out four men on the roof of a nearby hut. “Sorry, I don’t think I have one of those in me right now. Check back next week.” The sarcasm slipped as she added, “What if we don’t make it?”
“We’ll make it.”
“Aang… I just… this--”
“We’ve dealt with worse,” he attempted to reason with her. They swayed, arms moving almost in sync as they fended off each attack. “Remember when we forced our way through Ba Sing Se’s palace?” Fingers brushed as he aided in creating a protective ring of water around them.
There was a hint of annoyance in her reply: “We had more people with us.”
She had a point.
“I had more thing planned, you know?” He was surprised at how quiet he sounded, despite keeping his mind focused on the fire and the fists. Part of him wanted to laugh. There they were, having a heart to heart in the midst of a battle. “I--” And he chuckled, almost bitterly. “--I was planning on asking you to marry me.”
Katara tensed behind him. “What… did you say?”
A blaze grazed his shoulder, and he winced. “I wanted to marry you, Katara. I want to marry you.”
Silence followed. Grunts and clangs were only echoes in his ears as he worried his confession had been too soon (or perhaps the thought of what could have been was beginning to weigh down on them both).
“General Iroh…!” The Avatar sucked in a breath at her sudden shout, and his eyes darted to the elder man with worry. “Marry us!”
Confused, Aang turned slightly and tried to catch her expression. Her hair had become loose in the scuffle and blocked her from his view. “What… what are you doing?” he asked incredulously, so caught up in her demand that his bending was forgotten in favor of a swift punch.
Iroh shouted out, “Are you sure now’s a good time?” before he turned his attention back to the men who’d surrounded him.
“So now you don’t want to marry me?” The corner of her lip was curled upward in a sad sort of amusement.
“That’s not it, I just--” But when she turned to him suddenly, his words were lost. Her eyes were strong, if a little wild in desperation. She was grinning, hair sticking to her forehead, dirt patching her cheeks. To him, she’d never looked so lovely.
He swung his staff, the wind pushing back the enemies nearby, and tucked a hand behind her, pulling her as close as he could. “I love you,” he told her through a grin wide enough to brighten the darkest of nights. In the background, he could hear Iroh laughing. “No stopping us now, right?”
“No stopping us ever,” she corrected with a smirk, sending shards of ice flying behind her. Her fingers twitched slightly, and he knew they were both worried and running on pure adrenaline at that moment. Did it matter? Not in the least.
“I’m afraid,” the general called out, “I do not remember the traditional wedding vows!” He grabbed two men by the shoulders, ramming them together with a grunt before dodging flames aimed in his direction. “However, you both love each other, correct?”
Their eyes met, and Katara reached up to touch his face. “I do,” she murmured. He pressed his forehead to hers for a second, taking in the moment as best as he could--then the two parted, weaving through the crowd, knocking out as many of the rebels as they could. Water weaved through the air, the two in harmony.
“And you promise to care for each other, no matter how long?”
“Yes!” the Avatar shouted, his long legs moving quickly as he rounded back to the center of the battle. He could barely make out Katara’s “of course” over the cries and calls of the firebenders, but he could feel his heart skip when it entered his ears.
“Then, my friends, I do believe you to be married!” He had taken some (quite a few, but who was counting?) shortcuts, of course, but they had little time to be dwelling on the details when their lives were on the line. Aang and Katara collided, arms grasping, fingers weaving, lips crashing together, frantic and out of breath and lost in the moment (the end, or is it the end, and oh, how he doesn’t want it to be the end).
The fight was far from over, and with newfound determination, the trio fought on.
--later--
“What happened to you guys? You look terrible!” Sokka demanded, mouth set in worry.
Iroh adjusted his torn shirt and smiled knowingly. “Nothing… we could not handle, as you can see.”
Sokka inspected the group, scrutinizing their bruised bodies and ruined clothing. He noted the way his sister and the Avatar were clinging to each other and raised a brow. “Did something happen? Am I just missing something here?”
“Nope, nothing out of the ordinary,” Aang said rather quickly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need a, erm, long healing session with my w--I mean, Katara. In my room. Alone.” Flashing her a wide grin, the two scampered off.
“Toph. I need you to keep an eye on those two… something tells me they’re not going to do healing with Katara’s magic water.”
Author: angelchan_2004
Rating: PG
Prompt: #026 Fight
Warning(s): None, really!
Word count: 1031
Summary: When the question: will we survive? weighs heavy, there is little one can do.
Author's notes: heyyoitsmj, DO YOU REMEMBER THIS?? BECAUSE I FINALLY FINISHED IT. IT MIGHT SUCK, BUT OH WELL. IT IS DONE AND I DO NOT HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
Aang gritted his teeth as he dodged an onslaught of fire.
How were they supposed to know a simple visit to a town in need would lead to this? None of them had expected it; the rebels had been last spotted further south… much further south.
“Look out, you two!” bellowed Iroh as he grabbed the fist of one larger enemy, quickly twisting the arm back.
He could feel Katara inch closer, could hear her breath becoming heavier, could catch the worry in her voice as she said, “This isn’t looking good. Three of us… there’s just three of us.”
“Where’s your optimism, Katara?” Aang tried teasing, his staff held high as he sent a stream of air to his left (and then his right, as well, just in case). “I think I’d much prefer your optimistic rants right now.”
She snorted, water whip taking out four men on the roof of a nearby hut. “Sorry, I don’t think I have one of those in me right now. Check back next week.” The sarcasm slipped as she added, “What if we don’t make it?”
“We’ll make it.”
“Aang… I just… this--”
“We’ve dealt with worse,” he attempted to reason with her. They swayed, arms moving almost in sync as they fended off each attack. “Remember when we forced our way through Ba Sing Se’s palace?” Fingers brushed as he aided in creating a protective ring of water around them.
There was a hint of annoyance in her reply: “We had more people with us.”
She had a point.
“I had more thing planned, you know?” He was surprised at how quiet he sounded, despite keeping his mind focused on the fire and the fists. Part of him wanted to laugh. There they were, having a heart to heart in the midst of a battle. “I--” And he chuckled, almost bitterly. “--I was planning on asking you to marry me.”
Katara tensed behind him. “What… did you say?”
A blaze grazed his shoulder, and he winced. “I wanted to marry you, Katara. I want to marry you.”
Silence followed. Grunts and clangs were only echoes in his ears as he worried his confession had been too soon (or perhaps the thought of what could have been was beginning to weigh down on them both).
“General Iroh…!” The Avatar sucked in a breath at her sudden shout, and his eyes darted to the elder man with worry. “Marry us!”
Confused, Aang turned slightly and tried to catch her expression. Her hair had become loose in the scuffle and blocked her from his view. “What… what are you doing?” he asked incredulously, so caught up in her demand that his bending was forgotten in favor of a swift punch.
Iroh shouted out, “Are you sure now’s a good time?” before he turned his attention back to the men who’d surrounded him.
“So now you don’t want to marry me?” The corner of her lip was curled upward in a sad sort of amusement.
“That’s not it, I just--” But when she turned to him suddenly, his words were lost. Her eyes were strong, if a little wild in desperation. She was grinning, hair sticking to her forehead, dirt patching her cheeks. To him, she’d never looked so lovely.
He swung his staff, the wind pushing back the enemies nearby, and tucked a hand behind her, pulling her as close as he could. “I love you,” he told her through a grin wide enough to brighten the darkest of nights. In the background, he could hear Iroh laughing. “No stopping us now, right?”
“No stopping us ever,” she corrected with a smirk, sending shards of ice flying behind her. Her fingers twitched slightly, and he knew they were both worried and running on pure adrenaline at that moment. Did it matter? Not in the least.
“I’m afraid,” the general called out, “I do not remember the traditional wedding vows!” He grabbed two men by the shoulders, ramming them together with a grunt before dodging flames aimed in his direction. “However, you both love each other, correct?”
Their eyes met, and Katara reached up to touch his face. “I do,” she murmured. He pressed his forehead to hers for a second, taking in the moment as best as he could--then the two parted, weaving through the crowd, knocking out as many of the rebels as they could. Water weaved through the air, the two in harmony.
“And you promise to care for each other, no matter how long?”
“Yes!” the Avatar shouted, his long legs moving quickly as he rounded back to the center of the battle. He could barely make out Katara’s “of course” over the cries and calls of the firebenders, but he could feel his heart skip when it entered his ears.
“Then, my friends, I do believe you to be married!” He had taken some (quite a few, but who was counting?) shortcuts, of course, but they had little time to be dwelling on the details when their lives were on the line. Aang and Katara collided, arms grasping, fingers weaving, lips crashing together, frantic and out of breath and lost in the moment (the end, or is it the end, and oh, how he doesn’t want it to be the end).
The fight was far from over, and with newfound determination, the trio fought on.
--later--
“What happened to you guys? You look terrible!” Sokka demanded, mouth set in worry.
Iroh adjusted his torn shirt and smiled knowingly. “Nothing… we could not handle, as you can see.”
Sokka inspected the group, scrutinizing their bruised bodies and ruined clothing. He noted the way his sister and the Avatar were clinging to each other and raised a brow. “Did something happen? Am I just missing something here?”
“Nope, nothing out of the ordinary,” Aang said rather quickly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need a, erm, long healing session with my w--I mean, Katara. In my room. Alone.” Flashing her a wide grin, the two scampered off.
“Toph. I need you to keep an eye on those two… something tells me they’re not going to do healing with Katara’s magic water.”