The boy kept running, occasionally glancing over his shoulder until he tripped, scrambling on his feet until he had to brace against a tree for balance. Rin dug down and bolted faster until he was snatching at air to grab the boy’s shirt. Just when Rin was about to grab him, the boy harshly swept his arm by him and they stumbled away from each other, backs hitting the trunks of parallel trees.

“I said stop!” Rin said. “I order you to stop!”

The boy did, but with an indignant look on his face. His face twisted into a grumpy frown, trying to appear more menacing than he was. He wasn’t much bigger than Rin, though, maybe just an inch or so, and his hair was dark. He wore earth kingdom clothes, slightly dirtied from play much like Rin. Rin scratched his nails against the bark as he tried to catch him breath.

“Who are you to order me around?” The boy said. “Just cuz you’re fire nation?”

Rin’s mouth twisted angrily. “Not just that! Because I’m – “ Rin bit his tongue.

His mother had warned them not to casually give out their status as prince and princess of the fire nation. Even if the world should know, should bow down, the places she brought them to be free from the constraints of the palace wouldn’t be kind if they knew who they were. Rin’s shoulders slumped.

“I’m…sorry,” Rin said instead. “I didn’t mean to scare you. Or order you around.”

Rin stuck his hand out, trying to smile at the other boy. “Come back to the field play with my sister and me.”

“Play with someone from the fire nation? Gross, no way,” the boy said.

“Gross? How dare you! Don’t you know I’m – “ Rin cursed himself again. He stepped closer to the other boy and stuck his hand more firmly towards him, determined to get him to accept him.

“Don’t be like that.  I said I was sorry,” Rin said.  The boy remained resolute, having crossed his arms. “Shake my hand, darn you!”

Rin lunged for his hand, bracing against the tree the other boy had been leaning against before kicking off and lunging again. The boy scrambled backwards and barely dodged Rin as he came barreling towards him.  

“I don’t want to shake your stupid hand! Go away!” He said.

The boy kept scrambling back every time Rin reached for him until he’d tripped over his feet and Rin had grabbed his hand to keep him from falling. Rin tugged at his hand, content when the other boy was safely back on his feet. He smugly held up their joined hands and made a show of rapidly shaking them until the boy was yelping for him to stop.

“I’m Rin,” Rin said. “Nice to meet you.”

He squeezed the boy’s hand too tightly just to see him wince and started to giggle. The boy squeezed him back tighter.

“I’m Sousuke,” He said. “Let go of my hand now.”

Rin almost reluctantly let go, stepping back a little to give Sousuke some room. Sousuke gave him a side-long glance as his face remained mostly blank. When Rin tilted his head in confusion, Sousuke fidgeted and finally looked away. He shifted his jaw into a lop-sided frown before he sighed dramatically.

“I guess I could play with you. There’s not really anyone else around to play with,” Sousuke grumbled. “But don’t blame me if you get muddy or dirty or whatever.”

Rin puffed his cheeks out, “I won’t! Let’s have a race, I bet I’ll kick your butt.”

Sousuke pointed somewhere in the forest, fixing Rin with a smug look.

“First one back to the field wins,” Sousuke said.

Rin snickered, adjusting Sousuke’s arm to point in the opposite direction. He hummed when Sousuke blushed and shoved him away. Rin rocked on the heels of his feet as Sousuke told him to stop smiling. It was only when Rin’s mother had come to collect him and Sousuke’s older brother was calling him in the distance did Sousuke admit he hadn’t realized that Rin was a boy.

-

Rin felt something cool slide across his face, wiping away sweat and dirt. He shifted into the coolness, whimpering when it went away. He could hear the faint sound of water and then the cloth returned. It sunk across his neck and his shoulders. Rin struggled to open his eyes, but whoever was treating him had taken to stroking his hair. They brushing his hair from root to end slowly, gently, and Rin relaxed into the touch. Rin finally drifted off when the hand cupped his cheek and stroked just beneath his eye.

-

Sousuke was an earthbender, Rin had come to learn. But it didn’t really do him any good when the fire nation had outlawed earthbending in Ba Sing Se. Only a year after his father’s death and his uncle’s rise to the throne in Rin’s place did the Impenetrable City fall. Rin, Gou, and his mother had been forced into the newly vacant palace of the earth king to “oversee” their new subjects. Most of the capital had stayed the same, but now there were fire nation flags everywhere and guards scaring the people left and right. Some nights Rin regretted turning a blind eye back then.

The field was the only place he and Gou could run free without constraint. Technically Sousuke had snuck in the first time he’d met Rin, and it was a secret both siblings were more than willing to keep. Rin had had to beg and bat his eyelashes at Sousuke until he had agreed to show him his earthbending. He had watched then in fascination as Sousuke dug his bare feet down into the dirt, jabbed a fist towards the ground and puffed his cheeks out until he was red in the face, and all that until a small rock had risen off the ground. A few seconds later, Sousuke let it fall back to the ground.

“I’m not very good,” Sousuke muttered. “That’s all I can do.”

“For now,” Rin said without thinking. “It was still really good! When you’re here with me and Gou you can practice all you want. We won’t tell.”

Sousuke looked uneasy, staring down at the rock. Rin bit his lip, kneeling down until his chin rested on his knees. Sousuke slowly sat down, too. Rin drew circles in the dirt with his finger.

“Don’t feel too bad, Sousuke. Gou’s actually much better than me at firebending. All the teachers think so. She’s really good. Me on the other hand…”

Sousuke looked at him then, smiling small. He bumped shoulders with Rin, drawing big squares around Rin’s circles in the dirt. “I guess we’ll have to learn together, huh?”

The smile he gave Sousuke was incredible. Rin grabbed onto Sousuke’s arm and jumped to his feet. He tugged him towards a shallow brook at the edge of the field. Sousuke stumbled right behind him, half running into Rin as he struggled to follow behind.

“Let’s get started then!”

-

Gou sat on a big rock most days, reminding Rin of his form and pose as he tried to imitate their lessons from the day. When he’d get too frustrated Gou would give him a quick example and urge him to try again. Rin collapsed against Sousuke in dramatic frustration, moaning about how hard Gou was working him and for Sousuke to carry him over to her. Sousuke grunted, struggling under Rin’s octopus arms and loud complaining until they both fell into the brook. Rin shrieked, trying to jump out before Sousuke was drawing him back in and laughing alongside Gou. They wrestled in the water for a bit before Rin finally dislodged himself from Sousuke and was running towards Gou.

“Stupid Sousuke, first one to reach Gou wins!!” Rin said.

A rock jumped up and wrapped around both of Rin’s ankles, effectively stopping him as he indignantly looked over his shoulder at Sousuke. Sousuke slowly rose out of the water and casually walked towards Gou, whistling a tune as he looked smugly over his shoulder at Rin.

“You think you’re so clever,” Rin huffed.

The rock released Rin and he stumbled forward before he tackled Sousuke against the rock.

-

A few months later, Rin and Gou were called back to the fire nation. Despite how thoroughly his uncle had tried to destroy the possibility, the Avatar had survived. Rin had only gotten a few minutes in the field to tell Sousuke goodbye. He had finally admitted to him who he and Gou were, though Sousuke had always suspected, and had told him through tears that they probably would never see each other again. Sousuke took up a rock and pressed it firmly between his hands until a green stone peeked through his fingers. He pressed it against Rin’s chest without looking at him.

“We’ll see each other again,” Sousuke said firmly. “You’re the romantic one. You should be the one telling me this.”

Rin sniffled, ready to cry all over again as he held the warm stone between his hands. Sousuke looked at him, trying to smile as he held a fist out towards Rin.

“We’ll always be friends, right?” Sousuke said.

Rin bumped him back. “Of course, Stupid Sousuke. When I’m Fire Lord, everything will be different. I’ll make you come visit me.”

Sousuke didn’t look so convinced, but he let their fists linger against each other a little longer before dropping it against his side.

“See you later, Rin,” Sousuke said.

“Later, Sousuke,” Rin said.

He put the stone on a necklace when he had the chance.

-

Rin woke up with a start, clothes only in linen pants under a thin blanket. His entire body was sore, but he was no longer wasting away. Rin sat up slowly, biting past the pain as he looked around the little wooden house and the tatty mat he was lying on. A jug of water was by his bedside and Rin greedily drunk from it. When he had drunk all the water, he messily wiped at his chin and struggled to sit up.

“So you’re awake,” someone said.

Rin froze, looking up too quickly until his head throbbed. Rin was sniffling before the tears had even fallen from his eyes. Sousuke knelt down before him, drawing the thin sheets over Rin’s shoulders and trying to nudge him back against the mat.

“Sousuke,” Rin said. “You idiot, what are you doing here? How did you find me? You can’t even find your way out a cloth sack.”

Sousuke rolled his eyes, sitting back when he realized Rin wasn’t going to budge. Rin rubbed his eyes on the sheets. Sousuke laid his cheek in his hand, as he waited for Rin to cry himself out. Some things hadn’t changed.

“Gou wrote me a letter,” He said. “Said you were going through some tough things and that you were hiding out in the earth kingdom. I was hoping we’d get to see each other but then you ran off. This is actually just a coincidence.”

Rin huffed, reaching for Sousuke’s hand. God, how he’d grown. “You know I don’t believe in stuff like that.”

Sousuke shrugged, briefly jostling Rin’s hand in his. “I promised Gou I’d return you to her. But…”

Rin smirked. “Hopeless as always.”

“Also,” Sousuke continued. “I want to help you. I’ll help you capture the Avatar, if that’s what you want.”

Rin huffed again, quieter now and pulled the sheets up around his shoulders until he ducked the lower half of his face in, too. He glanced at Sousuke who was looking at him intently from across the small space of the house. It was run down, now that Rin was getting a good look. Probably had been abandoned a long time ago. There were fire marks on some of the walls. Rin focused his gaze on Sousuke.

“Rin,” Sousuke pressed. “We’re friends aren’t we?”

“Are you saying friends help friends capture the Avatar?” Rin said, wryly.

“If I recall, your sister is also helping you with this stupid mission of yours. But yes, apparently they do,” Sousuke said dryly. “So how ‘bout it? Can I join Team Romantic Maniac?”

Rin held out a fist from beneath the sheets. “Only if you can keep up,” Rin said, a smile growing on his face.

Sousuke bumped back. “You won’t have to worry there, Rin,” Sousuke said. “I’m more than capable of keeping up with you.”

For the first time in a long while, Rin felt at ease, now that Sousuke was there to steady him.

-

AN: I will do a million avatar aus before anything else, except maybe coffee shop and flowershop aus. Anyway, this was actually just a brief daydream snowed balled out of control.

It kind of goes like this: Haru: Avatar/Waterbender, Makoto:  Waterbender, Nagisa: Airbender, Rei: Non-bender, Gou & Rin: firebenders, Sousuke: earthbender, everyone else:????

Haru as an avatar would actually be really fun to write. I think I’ll do more. Esp considering I’m thinking that Sousuke’s shoulder injury will stem from a really bad burn and his “dad’s business” being a rather nice tea house…

//shrugs//