Fanfiction - Avatar: the Last Airbender - Games
Title: Games
Fandom/Universe: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Character(s): Zuko, Toph, Katara
Rating: Teen
He’s the only one that will play the game with her.
The others, all three of them, will not.
When she first tried it was just to gauge their reactions. Aang had given her a scared sort of look and then laughed it off as if the words would fade away with a happy grin. Katara had wrung her hands nervously and almost burst into tears at the first mention of her mother. Sokka... she’d never even tried to play with Sokka. He wouldn’t have it.
But Zuko.
The first time she tried with him, it’d been with half a heart. From what she knew he was a rock. Stubborn and arrogant - trying to find the cracks in his mask was near impossible. She was ready to give up almost immediately (it didn’t help that she was afraid he’d burn her to a crisp the moment she opened her mouth), but then in a twist he’d surprised her.
He played.
Soon they were sprawled on their backs, eyeing the stars (at least eyeing them as well as a blind girl and a scar boy could) and opening the wounds. They bonded over the fathers that they hated to love and their restricted visions (she could only see the earth and he could only see the reminder of failure). Slowly she began feeling her way through the cracks in him, opening up metaphorical wounds and rubbing salt in them. He did the same to her and she expected no less.
The first night ended with a mentioning of mothers.
There were nights to follow though (always in the night, playing in the day was too harsh, in the darkness they could hide the guilt), nights full of lying side by side as they played the game of tearing down the other and finding within each other horrors more terrible than their own (he’d won a long time ago and they both knew it...fire lord fathers were an automatic trump card...he knew this but he played anyway). They’d lay side by side, one by one and their forearms were almost touching, but not quite and she’d feel older somehow and he’d feel younger and she knew that they could take all of their clothes off and still would never be as naked as they were during the game.
It ended differently each time. Sometimes she was the one who went silent first and sometimes he was the one who would snarl and move away and on the worst nights Katara would find them playing and beat her tiny fists against Zuko’s chest begging for him to stop. She never asked Toph to stop. Toph didn’t listen. But Zuko was always soft when it came to Katara and Toph tried to tell herself that she wasn’t jealous at all.
“He’s a good man...really.” She mumbles. He snorts.
“Yeah and my old man’s a real peach.”
“Maybe he is. Maybe he’s just misunderstood. Maybe -”
He cuts her off.
“He’s understood quite well. He wants power. That’s all there is to it.”
“He’s got a funny way of showing it. As if burning the shit out of babies is gonna to give him power.”
“He had to do it.”
“You defend him still.”
“So do you.”
She clicks her tongue and goes silent. The game is ended. Zuko: a million and two, Toph: zero.
She rolls onto her side to face him.
“If I kissed you right now, what would you do?”
He tenses.
“What are you...?”
“Answer me, princey. If I were to put my filthy earth-bending mouth to your beautiful fire lips what would you do?”
He doesnt answer.
So she does it.
His lips are rough and taste like ash, she thinks about putting a hand on his face,but is afraid to touch his scar. He is motionless beneath her and she thinks that if she could see she’d find a very terrified fire-bender under her lips. She pulls away quickly.
“Sorry.” She mumbles. She moves off of him, only to be pulled back by a strong arm around her wrist.
“Don’t go.” He pleads. She shakes her head.
“I shouldn’t have...I’m done.” There’s a blush on her cheeks, but in the night no one will be able to tell. She blesses the darkmess.
“Its all right.” He tells her as he gives her wrist a squeeze. He probably meant it to be comforting, but all it does is bring pain. “Stay.”
“I....”
“I want to talk.”
The game begins again.
“Your old man is an asshole.” She tells him.
“No,” He shakes his head, “I want to talk about mothers.”
Toph nods.
And the game goes on.
a/n: Zuko/Toph amuses me. Despite the age difference, I can see them bonding and her having some sort of strange affection for him. He...I think he'd flock to Katara and her softness, but there's still that connection to Toph.
Ugh...rambling.
Fandom/Universe: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Character(s): Zuko, Toph, Katara
Rating: Teen
He’s the only one that will play the game with her.
The others, all three of them, will not.
When she first tried it was just to gauge their reactions. Aang had given her a scared sort of look and then laughed it off as if the words would fade away with a happy grin. Katara had wrung her hands nervously and almost burst into tears at the first mention of her mother. Sokka... she’d never even tried to play with Sokka. He wouldn’t have it.
But Zuko.
The first time she tried with him, it’d been with half a heart. From what she knew he was a rock. Stubborn and arrogant - trying to find the cracks in his mask was near impossible. She was ready to give up almost immediately (it didn’t help that she was afraid he’d burn her to a crisp the moment she opened her mouth), but then in a twist he’d surprised her.
He played.
Soon they were sprawled on their backs, eyeing the stars (at least eyeing them as well as a blind girl and a scar boy could) and opening the wounds. They bonded over the fathers that they hated to love and their restricted visions (she could only see the earth and he could only see the reminder of failure). Slowly she began feeling her way through the cracks in him, opening up metaphorical wounds and rubbing salt in them. He did the same to her and she expected no less.
The first night ended with a mentioning of mothers.
There were nights to follow though (always in the night, playing in the day was too harsh, in the darkness they could hide the guilt), nights full of lying side by side as they played the game of tearing down the other and finding within each other horrors more terrible than their own (he’d won a long time ago and they both knew it...fire lord fathers were an automatic trump card...he knew this but he played anyway). They’d lay side by side, one by one and their forearms were almost touching, but not quite and she’d feel older somehow and he’d feel younger and she knew that they could take all of their clothes off and still would never be as naked as they were during the game.
It ended differently each time. Sometimes she was the one who went silent first and sometimes he was the one who would snarl and move away and on the worst nights Katara would find them playing and beat her tiny fists against Zuko’s chest begging for him to stop. She never asked Toph to stop. Toph didn’t listen. But Zuko was always soft when it came to Katara and Toph tried to tell herself that she wasn’t jealous at all.
“He’s a good man...really.” She mumbles. He snorts.
“Yeah and my old man’s a real peach.”
“Maybe he is. Maybe he’s just misunderstood. Maybe -”
He cuts her off.
“He’s understood quite well. He wants power. That’s all there is to it.”
“He’s got a funny way of showing it. As if burning the shit out of babies is gonna to give him power.”
“He had to do it.”
“You defend him still.”
“So do you.”
She clicks her tongue and goes silent. The game is ended. Zuko: a million and two, Toph: zero.
She rolls onto her side to face him.
“If I kissed you right now, what would you do?”
He tenses.
“What are you...?”
“Answer me, princey. If I were to put my filthy earth-bending mouth to your beautiful fire lips what would you do?”
He doesnt answer.
So she does it.
His lips are rough and taste like ash, she thinks about putting a hand on his face,but is afraid to touch his scar. He is motionless beneath her and she thinks that if she could see she’d find a very terrified fire-bender under her lips. She pulls away quickly.
“Sorry.” She mumbles. She moves off of him, only to be pulled back by a strong arm around her wrist.
“Don’t go.” He pleads. She shakes her head.
“I shouldn’t have...I’m done.” There’s a blush on her cheeks, but in the night no one will be able to tell. She blesses the darkmess.
“Its all right.” He tells her as he gives her wrist a squeeze. He probably meant it to be comforting, but all it does is bring pain. “Stay.”
“I....”
“I want to talk.”
The game begins again.
“Your old man is an asshole.” She tells him.
“No,” He shakes his head, “I want to talk about mothers.”
Toph nods.
And the game goes on.
a/n: Zuko/Toph amuses me. Despite the age difference, I can see them bonding and her having some sort of strange affection for him. He...I think he'd flock to Katara and her softness, but there's still that connection to Toph.
Ugh...rambling.