Possibilities; Avatar: The Last Airbender
Title: Possibilities
Summary: Sokka thinks something strange is going on.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Slight Zuko/Aang
Rating: G
Aang had never thought he could like fire bending. Especially after he had hurt Katara with it. It was destructive. He and so many of the others had seen that first hand. Many people had suffered from it. But he really was beginning to like it. Ever since he and Zuko had gone to learn the real meaning, fire had taken on a whole new significance t him. Not just bending but fire itself.
Each day was a new day to work with the dangerous yet alluring tool. He had to admit, he did hold back a little sometimes. He was still scared about hurting himself. Surprisingly enough, Zuko actually understood his fear.
“Every fire bender gets hurt once by other’s fire. But even by their own. When I was first learning, I actually burned my leg pretty badly. I have a scar there too. It hurt and I was scared to bend. My father was angry with me but even then I still couldn’t do it.”
Aang listened on, his eyes wide with interest. “So, you conquered your fear?”
“After a month, I did.”
“A month? It took you that long?”
“Yeah.” Zuko nodded and smiled a little. Aang liked it when Zuko smiled. It helped him realize Zuko really was a new person. “My fear subsided. Uncle told me I was lucky to be able to bend and that I shouldn’t let it go for granted. I started again. And so, Avatar-”
“Aang. Call me Aang.”
“…Aang.” The fire bender paused shortly and Aang couldn’t understand why. “You shouldn’t hold back. You have talent. Like Uncle told me, be grateful and don’t let it go for granted.”
The air bender smiled. “Tha-”
“Hey, you guys! What’s flamin’?”
Both looked over to see Sokka coming once again to watch them. He always came to observe Aang learn fire bending. Aang couldn’t come up with a precise reason. He could remember Katara watching him learn to earth bend but he was sure she had had different reasons and Sokka really just wasn’t the type to watch stuff like this.
“Let’s just start get started,” Zuko said, some irritation in his voice. Aang guessed Zuko didn’t like Sokka watching. Maybe he thought Sokka still didn’t trust him and that was the reason he watched, the air bender mused. Still, Aang nodded and followed Zuko’s lead, noticing that Sokka sat down to watch them at a safe distance.
There was some difficulty in fire bending. It wasn’t as tough as earth bending had been for him but it still gave him some trouble. Zuko said it was because he held back too much.
“You need passion to fire bend. Not anger. We saw where that got me. But you still need passion.”
Zuko really wasn’t dumb. Toph had said his Uncle Iroh had seemed like a smart man and from the time Aang had been with him, he could agree with that too. Katara never had any opinion on the matter and Sokka said he wasn’t about to say anything on the matter.
The first few minutes of the lesson had been going well, Aang hadn’t been having any problems and so they had flew right through the first moves Zuko had taught him. But the one right now, the avatar just couldn’t seem to grasp.
“Argh!” He flopped down to the ground, annoyed with himself. “I just can’t get it.”
“Don’t say that. If you say you can’t, then you won’t. Uncle taught me that. You have to believe you can and I know you can.”
Zuko always had something that his uncle had said on hand. And Aang had to smile. He really loved his uncle. And with Zuko’s reassurance, Aang rose up to try once more but failed yet again.
“Do it again,” Zuko said. He seemed to be studying him for critique and so Aang did. Again, he wasn’t able to produce the same effect that Zuko had.
“Your stance is all wrong.” The fire bender walked over to the boy, readjusting his posture. His hands were on his arms and his chest was touching Aang’s back. The boy could feel each breath Zuko took and it made him feel a little uncomfortable. Yet not in an entirely bad way. “Like this. Now, try the move again. I believe you’ll get it this time.” He moved away and Aang noticed a lot of warmth disappeared when Zuko had parted from him.
Aang let in a deep breath and that time, he was able to create the same thing Zuko had and he grinned.
“I did it!”
Zuko only nodded with a smile, seemingly proud of him too.
“Now, try it again to make sure you really do it have it down.”
And again, he was able to do the move perfectly. Aang grinned to the fire prince in triumph.
“Great, let’s do some more moves, okay?” Zuko said.
As they continued to practice, they both forgot that Sokka had been watching on.
----
“Thank you, Sifu Hotman for the lesson.”
Zuko sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t call me that. Zuko. Just call me Zuko.”
“Thank you for the lesson, Zuko,” Aang tried again, smiling which Zuko returned before walking back to his own room. Zuko was smiling more and more. But it did depress him that Zuko still wouldn’t hang around with everybody else. Maybe he felt awkward. Katara still wasn’t very accepting of him and she was always taking moments out to pick on him. He’d need to talk to her about it.
“That was interesting.”
Aang jumped and turned around to see Sokka walking towards him. He’d forgotten all about him.
“Sorry, Sokka. Forgot all about you.” Aang scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“I could tell. You and Zuko really get into your lessons.”
“They’re really interesting,” Aang explained, feeling as if Sokka was meaning something more in his words and he frowned just a little from confusion. “Or are you talking about something else?”
“You guys touch. A lot. Like you and Katara did.”
“He’s my teacher. Katara was my teacher. What’s the difference?”
Sokka sighed and sat down on the ground. “Okay, sit down. Obviously, we gotta discuss some things. You just aren’t getting this.”
“Okay, um, what’s there to get?” Aang asked as he sat down next to Sokka.
“When Toph is teaching you earth bending, does she touch you?”
“Not really.”
“Now, Katara used to touch you a lot, right?”
Aang smiled dopily at the memories before bringing himself back to reality and nodded. “Yeah. So what? She was my teacher. Zuko‘s my teacher. If I don‘t get some stance right, they position me into it. Toph does it too. But with earth.”
“Don’t you get what any of this means?!” Sokka asked, almost desperately. Aang shook his head no. He could tell Sokka felt like screaming but he breathed in slowly and then out. “Okay, Aang. We all know you and my sister have something going on.” Aang had the decency to blush at that. “She touched you a lot because she wanted to touch you. Toph doesn’t touch you as much because she doesn’t feel the same way. So why would Zuko touch you?”
“I…” He stopped and tried to think about what Sokka was saying. It was true that Katara had touched him a lot and if any of what Sokka was saying was true, then…? “Are you saying Zuko likes me? Like, likes me?”
“I’m not saying for sure! I am just saying, you know, it’s a possibility. And that you have no problem with him touching you. I even saw you ask him a few times if he could get you into the right stance.”
Aang let what Sokka was saying run through his mind. It was confusing and he looked to Sokka for answers.
“Whoa,” Sokka said, putting his hands in front of him. “No way am I getting into this. If there’s going to be some love triangle, I want no part of it. Even if it does involve my sister and the Avatar. I’m not even saying you do like Zuko. I’m just saying it looks, well, a little odd. And if you do, you know, like him, I’m still your friend. Just know that, okay?”
Sokka stood up and walked away and Aang didn’t bother to follow him. He was still perplexed about the entire thing. Him? Liking Zuko? It seemed totally unreasonable. He didn’t like him, did he? He liked it when it smiled but that was just because Zuko had a nice smile. He liked it when Katara smiled too! Then he frowned when he realized what that could possibly mean as well.
He finally got to his feet, still confused but knowing there was no point in worrying about it at that point. Not when there was a tyrannical fire lord to beat and a whole new element to master. And besides, Sokka overreacted sometimes. More than sometimes.
When he got back to where everybody else was (without Zuko), Teo looked to Aang and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Sokka wasn’t looking at him. Everybody else looked at him a little worriedly. Katara seemed to be ready to go after Zuko if the need came up. He smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing at all!”
Summary: Sokka thinks something strange is going on.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairing: Slight Zuko/Aang
Rating: G
Aang had never thought he could like fire bending. Especially after he had hurt Katara with it. It was destructive. He and so many of the others had seen that first hand. Many people had suffered from it. But he really was beginning to like it. Ever since he and Zuko had gone to learn the real meaning, fire had taken on a whole new significance t him. Not just bending but fire itself.
Each day was a new day to work with the dangerous yet alluring tool. He had to admit, he did hold back a little sometimes. He was still scared about hurting himself. Surprisingly enough, Zuko actually understood his fear.
“Every fire bender gets hurt once by other’s fire. But even by their own. When I was first learning, I actually burned my leg pretty badly. I have a scar there too. It hurt and I was scared to bend. My father was angry with me but even then I still couldn’t do it.”
Aang listened on, his eyes wide with interest. “So, you conquered your fear?”
“After a month, I did.”
“A month? It took you that long?”
“Yeah.” Zuko nodded and smiled a little. Aang liked it when Zuko smiled. It helped him realize Zuko really was a new person. “My fear subsided. Uncle told me I was lucky to be able to bend and that I shouldn’t let it go for granted. I started again. And so, Avatar-”
“Aang. Call me Aang.”
“…Aang.” The fire bender paused shortly and Aang couldn’t understand why. “You shouldn’t hold back. You have talent. Like Uncle told me, be grateful and don’t let it go for granted.”
The air bender smiled. “Tha-”
“Hey, you guys! What’s flamin’?”
Both looked over to see Sokka coming once again to watch them. He always came to observe Aang learn fire bending. Aang couldn’t come up with a precise reason. He could remember Katara watching him learn to earth bend but he was sure she had had different reasons and Sokka really just wasn’t the type to watch stuff like this.
“Let’s just start get started,” Zuko said, some irritation in his voice. Aang guessed Zuko didn’t like Sokka watching. Maybe he thought Sokka still didn’t trust him and that was the reason he watched, the air bender mused. Still, Aang nodded and followed Zuko’s lead, noticing that Sokka sat down to watch them at a safe distance.
There was some difficulty in fire bending. It wasn’t as tough as earth bending had been for him but it still gave him some trouble. Zuko said it was because he held back too much.
“You need passion to fire bend. Not anger. We saw where that got me. But you still need passion.”
Zuko really wasn’t dumb. Toph had said his Uncle Iroh had seemed like a smart man and from the time Aang had been with him, he could agree with that too. Katara never had any opinion on the matter and Sokka said he wasn’t about to say anything on the matter.
The first few minutes of the lesson had been going well, Aang hadn’t been having any problems and so they had flew right through the first moves Zuko had taught him. But the one right now, the avatar just couldn’t seem to grasp.
“Argh!” He flopped down to the ground, annoyed with himself. “I just can’t get it.”
“Don’t say that. If you say you can’t, then you won’t. Uncle taught me that. You have to believe you can and I know you can.”
Zuko always had something that his uncle had said on hand. And Aang had to smile. He really loved his uncle. And with Zuko’s reassurance, Aang rose up to try once more but failed yet again.
“Do it again,” Zuko said. He seemed to be studying him for critique and so Aang did. Again, he wasn’t able to produce the same effect that Zuko had.
“Your stance is all wrong.” The fire bender walked over to the boy, readjusting his posture. His hands were on his arms and his chest was touching Aang’s back. The boy could feel each breath Zuko took and it made him feel a little uncomfortable. Yet not in an entirely bad way. “Like this. Now, try the move again. I believe you’ll get it this time.” He moved away and Aang noticed a lot of warmth disappeared when Zuko had parted from him.
Aang let in a deep breath and that time, he was able to create the same thing Zuko had and he grinned.
“I did it!”
Zuko only nodded with a smile, seemingly proud of him too.
“Now, try it again to make sure you really do it have it down.”
And again, he was able to do the move perfectly. Aang grinned to the fire prince in triumph.
“Great, let’s do some more moves, okay?” Zuko said.
As they continued to practice, they both forgot that Sokka had been watching on.
----
“Thank you, Sifu Hotman for the lesson.”
Zuko sighed and folded his arms across his chest. “Don’t call me that. Zuko. Just call me Zuko.”
“Thank you for the lesson, Zuko,” Aang tried again, smiling which Zuko returned before walking back to his own room. Zuko was smiling more and more. But it did depress him that Zuko still wouldn’t hang around with everybody else. Maybe he felt awkward. Katara still wasn’t very accepting of him and she was always taking moments out to pick on him. He’d need to talk to her about it.
“That was interesting.”
Aang jumped and turned around to see Sokka walking towards him. He’d forgotten all about him.
“Sorry, Sokka. Forgot all about you.” Aang scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“I could tell. You and Zuko really get into your lessons.”
“They’re really interesting,” Aang explained, feeling as if Sokka was meaning something more in his words and he frowned just a little from confusion. “Or are you talking about something else?”
“You guys touch. A lot. Like you and Katara did.”
“He’s my teacher. Katara was my teacher. What’s the difference?”
Sokka sighed and sat down on the ground. “Okay, sit down. Obviously, we gotta discuss some things. You just aren’t getting this.”
“Okay, um, what’s there to get?” Aang asked as he sat down next to Sokka.
“When Toph is teaching you earth bending, does she touch you?”
“Not really.”
“Now, Katara used to touch you a lot, right?”
Aang smiled dopily at the memories before bringing himself back to reality and nodded. “Yeah. So what? She was my teacher. Zuko‘s my teacher. If I don‘t get some stance right, they position me into it. Toph does it too. But with earth.”
“Don’t you get what any of this means?!” Sokka asked, almost desperately. Aang shook his head no. He could tell Sokka felt like screaming but he breathed in slowly and then out. “Okay, Aang. We all know you and my sister have something going on.” Aang had the decency to blush at that. “She touched you a lot because she wanted to touch you. Toph doesn’t touch you as much because she doesn’t feel the same way. So why would Zuko touch you?”
“I…” He stopped and tried to think about what Sokka was saying. It was true that Katara had touched him a lot and if any of what Sokka was saying was true, then…? “Are you saying Zuko likes me? Like, likes me?”
“I’m not saying for sure! I am just saying, you know, it’s a possibility. And that you have no problem with him touching you. I even saw you ask him a few times if he could get you into the right stance.”
Aang let what Sokka was saying run through his mind. It was confusing and he looked to Sokka for answers.
“Whoa,” Sokka said, putting his hands in front of him. “No way am I getting into this. If there’s going to be some love triangle, I want no part of it. Even if it does involve my sister and the Avatar. I’m not even saying you do like Zuko. I’m just saying it looks, well, a little odd. And if you do, you know, like him, I’m still your friend. Just know that, okay?”
Sokka stood up and walked away and Aang didn’t bother to follow him. He was still perplexed about the entire thing. Him? Liking Zuko? It seemed totally unreasonable. He didn’t like him, did he? He liked it when it smiled but that was just because Zuko had a nice smile. He liked it when Katara smiled too! Then he frowned when he realized what that could possibly mean as well.
He finally got to his feet, still confused but knowing there was no point in worrying about it at that point. Not when there was a tyrannical fire lord to beat and a whole new element to master. And besides, Sokka overreacted sometimes. More than sometimes.
When he got back to where everybody else was (without Zuko), Teo looked to Aang and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
Sokka wasn’t looking at him. Everybody else looked at him a little worriedly. Katara seemed to be ready to go after Zuko if the need came up. He smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing at all!”