Avatar Fic!
Part of a longer AU; Haru/Ty Lee. Beware: OCs do appear here
Morning.
The eleven children were just out of sight of the palace city, though they could see the volcano from here. Aang, pulled Teo aside; they’d drawn lots and the Avatar had lost, so now he had to be the one to tell Teo that, thanks to the loss of his wheelchair, he couldn’t participate in the upcoming battle. The young man didn’t take the news well at all.
Zuko, meanwhile, was sketching out a floor plan of the palace in the dust, and talking Sokka through it. When he was about halfway done, he stopped suddenly, and excused himself for a minute to have a private conversation with Katara, who had just passed by. Not that he told her brother that that was the reason, of course; Sokka scowled, but didn't stop him.
Haru had watched them go off and talk, and wordlessly turned to Appa, taking down some more supplies. He’d realised all along that she only thought of him as a friend, but watching her with Zuko, or even with Aang… it hurt. It hurt a lot.
And he wasn’t even certain why. When he pictured his future, he’d never seen Katara there. Sometimes he wouldn’t even see himself.
Aang, busy with Teo, hadn't noticed Zuko pull Katara aside, or he probably would have been having similar thoughts. Now he came to Haru. "I told him. He's not happy about it."
“I didn’t expect him to be,” remarked the earthbender. “Leilani wasn’t too thrilled when Liàng told her the same thing.”
Aang sighed. "I don't know if Zuko's told Minami yet, so..."
“That’s his prerogative,” Haru replied, trying not to take his foul mood out on the Avatar.
"...Is something wrong?" the younger boy noticed anyway.
“No. Everything’s fine.” Haru’s tone left no room for argument.
"...Okay, if you're sure," Aang said, doubtfully, and went over to see what Sokka and Zuko had managed to work out between them.
Liàng had joined the warrior and the prince as well and was looking thoughtfully over the floor plan.
"So, what's the plan?" Aang asked.
"We get into the palace here," Zuko said, pointing to the middle of a wall.
“Over the wall, or through it?” Liàng wanted to know.
"Neither, there's a hidden door. It's the best way to sneak in or out of the palace. I found it when I was seven. It might be a tight fit, but we'll manage. Anyway, while we're going in through the tunnel, someone should be causing a diversion, trying to get in through the front door. I can't promise that none of the other kids living in the palace have ever found that door and told someone about it."
“I can help with a diversion.” Haru had joined them now, his eyes flashing. “I’m good at those.”
"Appa can help," Aang said. Much as he disliked being separated from his bison, Appa probably wouldn't be much use in the palace, assuming he could even fit through Zuko's tunnel.
“What do we do when we’re inside?” Liàng asked.
"We go through this hallway. There's a small storeroom that's probably the safest place to put the non-combatants while we're...doing what we have to do." Here, Zuko stopped, and Sokka took over.
"Obviously, our priority is to get Aang down to the Firelord. The rest of us are with him to keep the guards from stopping him."
“Sounds doable,” Liàng nodded. Then he frowned. “What about her fanclub?”
"Mai and Ty Lee?" Sokka asked.
“Is that what they’re named? Never did find out. Was a bit distracted what with Azula in my face.”
"Well, we didn't see them with her when we ran into her earlier, so we should probably assume they'll be there," Zuko said, quietly.
“Fun. What can we expect from the Groupie Squad, then?”
Haru did not like hearing of Ty Lee’s abilities, and said as such.
"None of us do," Katara said, joining them. "Just deal with them as best you can, and try not to let her get too close."
“This is where I like being an unknown quantity,” Liàng muttered.
"Unknown quality?" Sokka asked, overhearing.
“Quantity,” Liàng retorted. “So far as Short and Bouncy knows, I’m just a smith.”
"...you're not?"
“I’m the bastard son of a Fire Nation soldier,” Liàng reminded him. “I can handle myself in a fight.”
"...Oh, right." Satisfied, Sokka turned back to the plans.
"Anything else?" Aang asked.
“Not that I can think of,” Haru replied. Liàng confirmed this.
Zuko gave Liàng a suspicious look, then turned back to his sketch in the dust. "Nothing I can think of, either."
"Then here's hoping nothing goes wrong," Aang said, recognizing the tenuous nature of their plan.
“Story of our life,” Haru added with a vague smile.
Aang smiled back. "So, you and Appa are going to smash in through the front doors while the rest of us sneak around back?"
“Essentially, yes,” the earthbender said.
"We should probably get moving, then," Katara said.
Liàng fetched a sulking Teo and nodded for Minami and Leilani to come with him - his primary task would be to get those three somewhere partly safe before joining the others.
Minami followed, ever obedient.
"Remember what you promised," Zuko murmured to Katara, as they were getting ready to move out.
"I will."
"What did you promise him?" Sokka demanded.
"None of your business," his sister shot back.
Haru, behind them, sulked.
"Are we ready, then?" Aang asked, joining them.
Zuko nodded. "This way."
At the designated spot, Haru split away from the rest of the group with Appa and began a one-man-one-bison assault on the front gates.
It seemed to be working--a large portion of the soldiers, accompanied by one small, athletic girl, ran for the gates.
Haru smiled slightly, bending a massive boulder into the air and then launching it at the incoming troops.
Predictably, the troops scattered. The girl dodged much more artfully than the heavily-armoured troops.
Haru launched three more boulders with the intent of scattering the soldiers further, then bent the ground under his feet and hauled himself some yards backwards, giving him more room to work with.
Appa, meanwhile, was living up to his purpose: as a magnificent battering ram. He also may have crushed a few of the soldiers, but no one was really keeping track.
The little girl kept dodging, moving to get closer to Haru.
Haru focused most of his attention on her - this had to be Ty Lee. He stomped the ground, causing lots of little rocks to fly up, then sent them flying at the girl, making dodging hard.
The girl--who was, in fact, Ty Lee--was fast like a freak and more acrobatic than Yù Lóng. Only two or three of the rocks managed to hit her, and she kept coming.
Haru swore quietly and tried to get out of her range.
The girl smiled prettily up at him--she was close enough to him for them to see one another's expressions--and kept coming.
Eyes narrowed, Haru planted his feet and pushed his hands out, bending the ground under her feet now, intending to trip her up.
Ty Lee used the momentum of his earthquake to leap closer to him. "Hi!" she said brightly, aiming a quick jab at a pressure point on his right leg.
Haru only barely managed to avoid her, and his greeting was a startled curse.
Not dissuaded, she tried again, this time on the other leg. "What's your name?"
This time she hit. Haru swore under his breath as his leg became dead weight, breaking his root.
A few more quick jabs took out his other leg and ability to bend. "I'm Ty Lee. What's your name?" She was still smiling.
On his back now, Haru could only stare up at the pretty, deadly girl. “H-Haru,” he said at last.
"Hi!" She sat on top of him, straddling him. "So, I guess you're here with the Avatar again?"
Katara would never be so forward. The thought flashed through his mind, barely there under the heat rising to his face. “Uh,” he said, eloquently.
"Well, I mean, you must be. The giant fluffy beast is a bit of a giveaway. Oh, well. There're people in the palace to deal with him. Besides, I have a prisoner to take care of!" This seemed to delight her. She titled her head. "A very cute prisoner, too."
His blush only darkened. “What will you do with me?” he asked, managing not to stutter.
"We-ell..." She tilted her head again, considering. "I'll keep you here on the wall until all the confusion's died down. Then...I guess I'll have to turn you over to Azula and her father." She frowned.
So did Haru. He didn’t particularly want to die writhing in agony.
"Sometimes being a minion sucks," she said, pouting. "I'd much rather keep you."
That threw him for a loop. “Keep me?”
"Well, instead of turning you over to Azula," she said. "I mean, she's not really nice to her prisoners." She paused, biting at her lower lip. "I suppose...well, if you guys win...then I'd be your prisoner. And you could do whatever you wanted with me. Whatever you wanted."
The subtext was all but audible there, and made Haru blush so hard he thought his face might bruise. “Uh,” he said again. He wasn’t thinking straight anymore.
Ty Lee grinned, and disabled him again, just in case he was starting to get feeling back.
“Um. Would you mind terribly getting off me? I can’t think.”
"If I get off you, and I'm too slow to disable you again, you might attack me again. You're still my prisoner, so I shouldn't let you do that," she pointed out.
“…then could you not sit there?”
“Wh--oh. Oh, okay!" She grinned at him, and scooted forward a bit.
He sighed. “Thank you.”
"You're welcome. Besides, this is a better angle for me." She leaned down and kissed him.
Haru froze, his eyes shooting wide open. Any lingering thoughts of Katara flew from his mind, which was demanding he focus only on his pretty captor.
Ty Lee grinned as she pulled away, and disabled him again. "You have a nice mouth."
It took the startled earthbender a moment to gather his thoughts. “Um… thank you?”
She grinned. "You're welcome. Can I kiss you again?"
“Yes,” said his mouth, short-circuiting his brain entirely. Still grinning, she did; this time, Haru kissed her back.
***
Haru was rather enjoying being “at the mercy of the bouncy girl”. He almost didn’t mind that she kept disabling his legs and his bending every fifteen minutes.
Sokka eyes widened when he saw them. "Uh...maybe I'll just...leave them be."
Yù Lóng swatted him.
"...well, what else am I supposed to do?"
“Maybe inform them that the position of captor and captured has changed? Ask them if they want a room?”
"...you can do that," Sokka said. "I'm not interrupting them.”
“Coward,” Yù Lóng told him.
"Have you ever fought Ty Lee?"
“No. But I have heard of her.” A grudging tone of respect entered his voice. “From what I hear, she’s a better acrobat than me.”
"Yeah, and she hits you, and then you can't move! I don't want to interrupt her!"
Yù Lóng rolled his eyes, and approached the two young people. Standing just far enough away that he’d have time to react, he cleared his throat.
Ty Lee looked up, annoyed. "What?"
“I thought I should tell you the fight’s almost over,” Yù Lóng said, smirking. “And that you should probably let him get up.”
Haru glared dazedly at Yù Lóng. “Get lost,” he said. “I don’t like you.”
"So, we lost?" Ty Lee said, puzzled.
“Yes. You lost,” said Yù Lóng. “And while I actually have no authority here, the coward behind me does. Sokka, come here.”
Sokka joined them. "Hi. Yeah. Um, we basically won. So...yeah. I guess...Haru, if you want to keep--yeah, you can do that. If you want. Um."
“Translating from cowardspeak,” as if Yù Lóng had room to talk, “what he means is, bouncy girl, you’re effectively our prisoner. So if you could get up off the nice bender who is quite wise to not like me…”
Haru said something rude.
“…we can move you both somewhere a bit more private.”
"...fine," Ty Lee sighed, and got off of Haru.
Yù Lóng reached down and pulled the Earthbender over his shoulder. “Sokka, lead the way,” he said.
The younger boy nodded, and led the way back to the others.
“What was that bison-leavings about you not having authority here?” Haru asked Yù Lóng quietly.
“I’m very good at bluffing,” was the equally soft response.
Morning.
The eleven children were just out of sight of the palace city, though they could see the volcano from here. Aang, pulled Teo aside; they’d drawn lots and the Avatar had lost, so now he had to be the one to tell Teo that, thanks to the loss of his wheelchair, he couldn’t participate in the upcoming battle. The young man didn’t take the news well at all.
Zuko, meanwhile, was sketching out a floor plan of the palace in the dust, and talking Sokka through it. When he was about halfway done, he stopped suddenly, and excused himself for a minute to have a private conversation with Katara, who had just passed by. Not that he told her brother that that was the reason, of course; Sokka scowled, but didn't stop him.
Haru had watched them go off and talk, and wordlessly turned to Appa, taking down some more supplies. He’d realised all along that she only thought of him as a friend, but watching her with Zuko, or even with Aang… it hurt. It hurt a lot.
And he wasn’t even certain why. When he pictured his future, he’d never seen Katara there. Sometimes he wouldn’t even see himself.
Aang, busy with Teo, hadn't noticed Zuko pull Katara aside, or he probably would have been having similar thoughts. Now he came to Haru. "I told him. He's not happy about it."
“I didn’t expect him to be,” remarked the earthbender. “Leilani wasn’t too thrilled when Liàng told her the same thing.”
Aang sighed. "I don't know if Zuko's told Minami yet, so..."
“That’s his prerogative,” Haru replied, trying not to take his foul mood out on the Avatar.
"...Is something wrong?" the younger boy noticed anyway.
“No. Everything’s fine.” Haru’s tone left no room for argument.
"...Okay, if you're sure," Aang said, doubtfully, and went over to see what Sokka and Zuko had managed to work out between them.
Liàng had joined the warrior and the prince as well and was looking thoughtfully over the floor plan.
"So, what's the plan?" Aang asked.
"We get into the palace here," Zuko said, pointing to the middle of a wall.
“Over the wall, or through it?” Liàng wanted to know.
"Neither, there's a hidden door. It's the best way to sneak in or out of the palace. I found it when I was seven. It might be a tight fit, but we'll manage. Anyway, while we're going in through the tunnel, someone should be causing a diversion, trying to get in through the front door. I can't promise that none of the other kids living in the palace have ever found that door and told someone about it."
“I can help with a diversion.” Haru had joined them now, his eyes flashing. “I’m good at those.”
"Appa can help," Aang said. Much as he disliked being separated from his bison, Appa probably wouldn't be much use in the palace, assuming he could even fit through Zuko's tunnel.
“What do we do when we’re inside?” Liàng asked.
"We go through this hallway. There's a small storeroom that's probably the safest place to put the non-combatants while we're...doing what we have to do." Here, Zuko stopped, and Sokka took over.
"Obviously, our priority is to get Aang down to the Firelord. The rest of us are with him to keep the guards from stopping him."
“Sounds doable,” Liàng nodded. Then he frowned. “What about her fanclub?”
"Mai and Ty Lee?" Sokka asked.
“Is that what they’re named? Never did find out. Was a bit distracted what with Azula in my face.”
"Well, we didn't see them with her when we ran into her earlier, so we should probably assume they'll be there," Zuko said, quietly.
“Fun. What can we expect from the Groupie Squad, then?”
Haru did not like hearing of Ty Lee’s abilities, and said as such.
"None of us do," Katara said, joining them. "Just deal with them as best you can, and try not to let her get too close."
“This is where I like being an unknown quantity,” Liàng muttered.
"Unknown quality?" Sokka asked, overhearing.
“Quantity,” Liàng retorted. “So far as Short and Bouncy knows, I’m just a smith.”
"...you're not?"
“I’m the bastard son of a Fire Nation soldier,” Liàng reminded him. “I can handle myself in a fight.”
"...Oh, right." Satisfied, Sokka turned back to the plans.
"Anything else?" Aang asked.
“Not that I can think of,” Haru replied. Liàng confirmed this.
Zuko gave Liàng a suspicious look, then turned back to his sketch in the dust. "Nothing I can think of, either."
"Then here's hoping nothing goes wrong," Aang said, recognizing the tenuous nature of their plan.
“Story of our life,” Haru added with a vague smile.
Aang smiled back. "So, you and Appa are going to smash in through the front doors while the rest of us sneak around back?"
“Essentially, yes,” the earthbender said.
"We should probably get moving, then," Katara said.
Liàng fetched a sulking Teo and nodded for Minami and Leilani to come with him - his primary task would be to get those three somewhere partly safe before joining the others.
Minami followed, ever obedient.
"Remember what you promised," Zuko murmured to Katara, as they were getting ready to move out.
"I will."
"What did you promise him?" Sokka demanded.
"None of your business," his sister shot back.
Haru, behind them, sulked.
"Are we ready, then?" Aang asked, joining them.
Zuko nodded. "This way."
At the designated spot, Haru split away from the rest of the group with Appa and began a one-man-one-bison assault on the front gates.
It seemed to be working--a large portion of the soldiers, accompanied by one small, athletic girl, ran for the gates.
Haru smiled slightly, bending a massive boulder into the air and then launching it at the incoming troops.
Predictably, the troops scattered. The girl dodged much more artfully than the heavily-armoured troops.
Haru launched three more boulders with the intent of scattering the soldiers further, then bent the ground under his feet and hauled himself some yards backwards, giving him more room to work with.
Appa, meanwhile, was living up to his purpose: as a magnificent battering ram. He also may have crushed a few of the soldiers, but no one was really keeping track.
The little girl kept dodging, moving to get closer to Haru.
Haru focused most of his attention on her - this had to be Ty Lee. He stomped the ground, causing lots of little rocks to fly up, then sent them flying at the girl, making dodging hard.
The girl--who was, in fact, Ty Lee--was fast like a freak and more acrobatic than Yù Lóng. Only two or three of the rocks managed to hit her, and she kept coming.
Haru swore quietly and tried to get out of her range.
The girl smiled prettily up at him--she was close enough to him for them to see one another's expressions--and kept coming.
Eyes narrowed, Haru planted his feet and pushed his hands out, bending the ground under her feet now, intending to trip her up.
Ty Lee used the momentum of his earthquake to leap closer to him. "Hi!" she said brightly, aiming a quick jab at a pressure point on his right leg.
Haru only barely managed to avoid her, and his greeting was a startled curse.
Not dissuaded, she tried again, this time on the other leg. "What's your name?"
This time she hit. Haru swore under his breath as his leg became dead weight, breaking his root.
A few more quick jabs took out his other leg and ability to bend. "I'm Ty Lee. What's your name?" She was still smiling.
On his back now, Haru could only stare up at the pretty, deadly girl. “H-Haru,” he said at last.
"Hi!" She sat on top of him, straddling him. "So, I guess you're here with the Avatar again?"
Katara would never be so forward. The thought flashed through his mind, barely there under the heat rising to his face. “Uh,” he said, eloquently.
"Well, I mean, you must be. The giant fluffy beast is a bit of a giveaway. Oh, well. There're people in the palace to deal with him. Besides, I have a prisoner to take care of!" This seemed to delight her. She titled her head. "A very cute prisoner, too."
His blush only darkened. “What will you do with me?” he asked, managing not to stutter.
"We-ell..." She tilted her head again, considering. "I'll keep you here on the wall until all the confusion's died down. Then...I guess I'll have to turn you over to Azula and her father." She frowned.
So did Haru. He didn’t particularly want to die writhing in agony.
"Sometimes being a minion sucks," she said, pouting. "I'd much rather keep you."
That threw him for a loop. “Keep me?”
"Well, instead of turning you over to Azula," she said. "I mean, she's not really nice to her prisoners." She paused, biting at her lower lip. "I suppose...well, if you guys win...then I'd be your prisoner. And you could do whatever you wanted with me. Whatever you wanted."
The subtext was all but audible there, and made Haru blush so hard he thought his face might bruise. “Uh,” he said again. He wasn’t thinking straight anymore.
Ty Lee grinned, and disabled him again, just in case he was starting to get feeling back.
“Um. Would you mind terribly getting off me? I can’t think.”
"If I get off you, and I'm too slow to disable you again, you might attack me again. You're still my prisoner, so I shouldn't let you do that," she pointed out.
“…then could you not sit there?”
“Wh--oh. Oh, okay!" She grinned at him, and scooted forward a bit.
He sighed. “Thank you.”
"You're welcome. Besides, this is a better angle for me." She leaned down and kissed him.
Haru froze, his eyes shooting wide open. Any lingering thoughts of Katara flew from his mind, which was demanding he focus only on his pretty captor.
Ty Lee grinned as she pulled away, and disabled him again. "You have a nice mouth."
It took the startled earthbender a moment to gather his thoughts. “Um… thank you?”
She grinned. "You're welcome. Can I kiss you again?"
“Yes,” said his mouth, short-circuiting his brain entirely. Still grinning, she did; this time, Haru kissed her back.
***
Haru was rather enjoying being “at the mercy of the bouncy girl”. He almost didn’t mind that she kept disabling his legs and his bending every fifteen minutes.
Sokka eyes widened when he saw them. "Uh...maybe I'll just...leave them be."
Yù Lóng swatted him.
"...well, what else am I supposed to do?"
“Maybe inform them that the position of captor and captured has changed? Ask them if they want a room?”
"...you can do that," Sokka said. "I'm not interrupting them.”
“Coward,” Yù Lóng told him.
"Have you ever fought Ty Lee?"
“No. But I have heard of her.” A grudging tone of respect entered his voice. “From what I hear, she’s a better acrobat than me.”
"Yeah, and she hits you, and then you can't move! I don't want to interrupt her!"
Yù Lóng rolled his eyes, and approached the two young people. Standing just far enough away that he’d have time to react, he cleared his throat.
Ty Lee looked up, annoyed. "What?"
“I thought I should tell you the fight’s almost over,” Yù Lóng said, smirking. “And that you should probably let him get up.”
Haru glared dazedly at Yù Lóng. “Get lost,” he said. “I don’t like you.”
"So, we lost?" Ty Lee said, puzzled.
“Yes. You lost,” said Yù Lóng. “And while I actually have no authority here, the coward behind me does. Sokka, come here.”
Sokka joined them. "Hi. Yeah. Um, we basically won. So...yeah. I guess...Haru, if you want to keep--yeah, you can do that. If you want. Um."
“Translating from cowardspeak,” as if Yù Lóng had room to talk, “what he means is, bouncy girl, you’re effectively our prisoner. So if you could get up off the nice bender who is quite wise to not like me…”
Haru said something rude.
“…we can move you both somewhere a bit more private.”
"...fine," Ty Lee sighed, and got off of Haru.
Yù Lóng reached down and pulled the Earthbender over his shoulder. “Sokka, lead the way,” he said.
The younger boy nodded, and led the way back to the others.
“What was that bison-leavings about you not having authority here?” Haru asked Yù Lóng quietly.
“I’m very good at bluffing,” was the equally soft response.