anna

zuko sighed, covering his scarred face with one large hand as you got closer to the throne. “there’s just so much to be done to continue rebuilding our relationship with the other nations,” he responded. “and i seem to sit before a council who is still only interested in providing cheap excuses for military occupation.”

you ascended the steps to the throne, the heel of your sandals clicking on the black marble tile. “it sounds like you could use a distraction, my love.”

with a flick of your hand, you lit a line of fire across the throne’s platform and you knelt in front of your husband where he sat, disheveled. he had torn the golden fire nation emblem from his hair hours ago, leaving his long hair to curtain his face, and the top closures of his robes were undone in a way that made you think he felt suffocated.

“spirits, y/n,” he groaned, looking down at you to take in your apearance.

you wore a thin scarlet robe, the silk taut over your bare breasts. zuko could see your underwear through the slit of the robe, already dampening as you knelt before him. your hair was barely gathered out of your face with a red ribbon at the nape of your neck. your sandals had been discarded by the edge of the platform. your skin was freshly washed, all traces of the day’s powders and lip paint erased from your features.

zuko strained against his pants as he thought, this is the most beautiful my bride has ever looked.

“what did you have in mind, my love?” he asked, voice sultry.

he watched you intentely as you unclipped the golden, flame shaped fasteners that held your robe to your body, the thin silk falling to a pool at your ankles. you were now naked, except for a thin pair of satin underwear. the way you knelt before him, zuko could see the arousal that seeped through the silk.

he drew in a sharp breath as you slipped your fingers beneath the silk of your undergarments. “i think we could come up with a few ideas,” you said as you reached to stroke his cock over his pants with your free hand.

zuko’s patience quickly waned thin as he watched you rub yourself under your panties. self-control gave way and he lunged toward you, pulling your hand out of your underwear and bringing your slick fingers to his mouth. he made unwavering eye contact with you as he sucked your fingers dry.

he lifted you up and took your now dry hand, fisting it in his hair as he took you into a passionate kiss. he pushed you back, your back nearly pressing into the wall of flames

zuko wound his hand through the hair at the base of your neck after pulling it free from the ribbon in one graceful tug. he tipped your head back to give himself a better vantage point to suckle the soft skin on your neck. you felt the top of your back warm as the flames nearly lapped at your soft skin.

fostering a flame in your hands, you held it a few inches from zuko’s hair, almost flush against his back. “if i burn,” you mutter breathily between kisses, “so do you.”

in a swift motion, catching you off guard and putting out your flame, zuko swept you into his arms and carried you to the throne, setting you on the edge. small flames extended from the tips of his pointer fingers, burning off your silk underwear until it fell limply from your body.

zuko knelt in front of you, looking up from between your legs through his thick lashes. without warning, he leaned forward and swept his tongue over your warm center, moaning as the taste of you coated his tongue. “mmm- you’re so perfect,” he breathed into your skin as you whimpered and writhed against the plush velvet of the throne. his fingers scorched the inside of your thighs, leaving behind little marks that you knew the royal healers might be confused about. while his tongue worked over you, he slipped two fingers into your opening and began working them in and out at a steady pace. a load moan escaped your lips and you brought your hand up to cover your mouth. it had been your idea to provide the fire lord with a distraction here, but you still didn’t want to get caught by the grand chamberlain. zuko, however, reached up with his one free hand and pulled your hand away from your mouth.

“i want to hear you come undone,” he huffed against the sensitive skin of your pussy.

a breathy moan escaped you and the absence of his tongue was almost painful. you grabbed a fistful of his hair and pushed his face back to your core, his nose rubbing against your clit. he continues to pump his fingers in and out of you, matching the rhythm to the languid strokes of his tongue as you loudly moan his name.

your hand is so firmly wound in his hair that your fingernails are leaving crescent marks behind on his scalp. as you get closer to your release, steam curls from your body and the fiery screen in front of you is inching higher and higher.

“mmmngh zuko,” you moan, grabbing onto the thick arm he’s using to brace himself against the throne, “mgonnacum.”

zuko takes this as an invitation to curl his fingers inside of you, to quicken his pace against your sensitive bud. your climax finds you quickly after that, building in your toes, the sensation pooling in your pulsing center. you writhed against the throne, whining and moaning, and your thighs shook as they clamped around zuko’s head. steam is rising from your sweaty skin and you’re almost certain that somewhere, deep within the palace, the grand chamberlain can probably hear your screaming.

he pulled his fingers out of you and pried your thighs apart to release his head. zuko dipped his head one last time to plant a soft kiss to your slick center before he joined you sitting on the throne. he scooped you up and pulled you into his chest, your sweaty body almost immediately dampening his robes.

you lazily tilted your head up and planted a wet kiss on his chin. “i am so in love with you,” you say, lolling your head back against his chest.

he undoes the clasps on his robe so you’re touching more of his skin, then wraps the robe around you (just in case anyone decides to visit the throne room).

“that was quite the distraction,” zuko said quietly against the skin of your neck where he’d nuzzled his head.

zuko presses a kiss to your collarbone and beneath his robes, you slip your hand into his waistband. “let me return the favor.”

still blissed out from your own orgasm, you erratically stroked and pumped zuko’s stiff cock as he whimpered against your throat until he came in your hand, cum pooling in his boxers and the palm of your hand.

he dropped his head against yours, pulling you in closer still, as much as he possibly could.

“and what was i so worried about before?” he asked, looking down at you adoringly through half-lidded eyes as you wiped your hand on the inside of his robe.

zuko’s chest was warm but not enough to make you any sweatier than you already were.

“how mad do you think the chamberlain will be when he finds out about our debauchery?” you ask with a small smile.

aang found any reason to be near you, which was easy enough since he was the counselor for your brother cabin. you two sat across from each other in the mess hall, surrounded by your eight year old campers.

“miss teacher,” one of them hollered in a squeaky voice. “miss teacher, do you have a crush on anyone?”

aang didn’t miss the way your cheeks flushed at the question. “no, i don’t,” you answered cordially, sneaking a glance at aang’s disbelieving expression. “min-li, do you have a crush?” you asked her back. she looked in the direction of one of the boys from aang’s cabin then vigorously shook her head.

you and aang looked at each other and laughed. when everyone finished eating, you and aang stood at the front of the mess hall and called for your cabins to line up to go out for arts and crafts.

you stood and inch apart, and aang could have sworn to the spirits that there was an electric current flowing between you.

he nudged you with his shoulder. “so you don’t have a crush on anyone?”

“none that min-li needs to know about,” you said, blush creeping across your cheeks.

“and can i know?” aang asked.

your conversation was juvenile, more like one that the girls of your cabin would have with one another, but aang gave you a giddy and childish feeling.

so, you smiled sweetly. “no. you can’t know,” you said as the kids lined up in front of you. “we’re going to be late for our crafts rotation.”

aang sat at a table with his campers in the crafts cabin. while they made sun catchers out of plastic plates, glue, and tissue paper, aang worked on beading a friendship bracelet for you.

while his nimble fingers wove the clear string through pearlescent beads, he thought of the conversation he’d had with sokka earlier that week during his allotted slot with the one phone at camp cypress.

he had looked around the office to make sure you weren’t lurking in the hallway somewhere to overhear him gushing about you. “sokka, you have no idea how beautiful this girl is,” he had said to his friend. “she’s like, i dunno, sunshine. just like, bright and bubbly and perfect.”

“too bad you’ll never see her again after this summer,” sokka had teased him.

the thought had bugged him, because how could someone like you only exist to aang for two short months.

“maaybe she doesn’t mind long distance,” aang had said to sokka. then it occurred to him, he didn’t know where you went to college, or even where you were from.

he could almost hear sokka’s face flatten. “right, because you’re mister long distance.”

aang had scoffed into the phone. “hey, i am faithful!”

“yeah, but imagine you can’t see your girlfriend or touch her,” sokka had dutifully pointed out. “you wouldn’t be able to kiss her or take her out to dinner. if you ask me, you’d be like a puppy who loves to get kicked.”

aang had rolled his eyes. “remind me to tell katara to keep momo away from you,” he said.

now, he watched you as you showed the girls of your cabin how you made a heart out of the tissue paper on your plate. you helped the young girls shape their paper into stars and hearts and fun swirling patterns as aang watched you, enraptured by every word you said. plus, as you bent over the table to help them, he got a decent view of your cleavage through the gap between your shirt’s chopped off collar and your chest, so that was nothing to complain about.

when he finally snapped out of his reminiscence, aang looked up to see that you were standing behind him.

“that’s really pretty,” you cooed. “i love those beads. i thought we were all out of them.” you frowned as you looked at the pearlescent beads on the bracelet he was making.

aang cleared his throat and his cheeks flushed, flustered you were standing so close. “oh, thanks. um, it’s for you.”

he watched as your eyes lit up. “really?” you asked excitedly, gaining a few stares from the girls in your cabin. “awww, thank you aang.”

“miss teacher soooooo has a crush on counselor guy,” you heard min-li say in her singsongy tone to the other girls.

you rolled your eyes. “are you looking forward to flag football?” you asked aang as he tied the completed bracelet to your wrist.

“ready to kick your butt,” aang teased.

you snorted. “i don’t think you’ve seen min-li play any kind of semi-contact sport. that girl is insane.”

aang paused for a minute, watching you admire the bracelet he’d made for you. “want to make a little bet?” he whispered.

“sure, why not?” you chirped. “it’s not like i’m gonna lose.”

he admired your cockiness, amongst other things. “if the boys win, you have to sit with me at dinner and answer all my questions about your life,” aang said. this seemed like a sure fire way to get to know you (because apparently just asking wasn’t an option). “and, well, what do you want if you win?”

quietly, you thought it over. “i get all of your dessert until the end of camp and you have to make me a picnic,” you answered jovially. “and the same, questions and blah blah blah.”

aang stuck out his hand and you shook on it. win or lose, aang would get to learn more about you, and you would either get dessert until your colorful plaid shorts no longer fit, or better company than your eight year olds for dinner.

either way, it seemed to be a win-win for both of you.

later that evening, the elementary cabins met in the large field, surrounded by the forest’s tree line. you helped the girls clip their flag belts on while aang helped the boys. when you were ready, both of your teams lined up facing the other in the center of the field. at the sound of aang’s whistle, most of the campers jetted off toward the perimeter of the field. you followed in the direction of a group of boys as you watched min-li zipping through the field, snatching blue flag belts from the boys as they lobbed the foam football to one another.

soon, it got down to aang, you, and seventy-five percent of your cabin. aang firmly held onto the ball as he expertly dodged the little girls trying to yank the flag from his waist.

you winked at min-li, who dropped to the ground and yelped in pain. aang was closest to her, so he tucked the ball under his arm and started to bend down to check on her.

“actually, i think i’m fine,” she said quickly, as you moved into position behind aang. “i think i just tripped on a root or something.”

before he could run away, you tapped aang on his shoulder. aang spun to face you as you reached out and yanked the belt off his waist. “i win.”

one of the boys screamed across the field. “that’s no fair, these ladies cheated!”

“meelo, let’s not be sore losers,” aang tutted. “these ladies won fair and square.”

you leaned in close to aang and sang in his ear, “and i won your desserts.”

after everyone washed up for dinner, you and aang convinced two of your fellow counselors to supervise your cabins so you sneak into the woods for your picnic. surrounded by the stunning landscape of the forest you and aang interrogated each other for hours.

he asked where you lived (republic city), where you went to school (ba sing se university), if you had any siblings (one sister and one brother), were your parents still married (no, they weren’t). he asked you what your favorite color was, if you’d seen any good movies lately, if you had a favorite number, how did you like your wear your hair most often, did you prefer to shop at a mall or order online.

eventually, when you both exhausted the questions of things you wanted to know about each other, aang leaned across the blanket to kiss you. it was a deep, passionate kiss. the kind your friends warned you might ruin your life when you told them you were going off to be a camp counselor. aang leaned you back on the blanket, his hands exploring your body, slipping under your shirt as the stars twinkled gorgeously so above you.

toph snorted. “sorry i couldn’t borrow one of your hairbrushes, your highness,” she teased.

he leaned toward and pressed a kiss on toph’s cheek. toph and zuko never told anyone they were dating, it was revealed through moments like this; they sat so close that they were always touching, zuko would toy with toph’s fingers when he and aang discussed foreign matters, toph would kiss him on the head or the arm after flicking him in the same spot.

“toph, do you want to hold bumi?” katara had asked her.

she shook her head, tousling her hair as zuko was trying to braid it. “no, but sparky wants to. he couldn’t shut up about it the whole way here.”

“i’ll take him just as soon as i finish my handiwork,” zuko said, exerting all his willpower to not stick his tongue out in concentration. finally, zuko put his hands up, finished with the braid. “how does it look?”

toph deadpanned, “im blind.”

katara looked at the crooked braid with a cocked eyebrow. “come take my baby.” as zuko moved to the sofa and lifted bumi off katara’s chest, she laughed lightly and very quietly said, “this is the one time you get to be grateful your girlfriend is blind, because that braid is terrible!”

“i’m blind, not deaf,” toph shot at katara. “it’s not like i’m letting him do my hair cause it makes me pretty, sugar queen.”

cradling bumi to his chest, zuko looked at toph with an offended expression. “so you know they look bad and you let me keep doing it?”

toph shrugged. “you like braiding my hair,” she pointed out. “plus it’s not like i can see it.”

katara softened, watching as zuko sat beside toph and guided her hand to top of bumi’s head. they were perfect together.

ৡ

as sokka watched toph and zuko sparring, he couldn’t figure out who he wanted to watch more, but it was undeniable that toph and zuko were magnetic. they moved around each other, hands risen in tactical stances specific to their bending styles. when he realized there was no way for him to get in a shot at toph without immediately being countered, zuko propelled himself upward with two flames coming out of his heels, trying to evade toph’s seismic sense.

“you know i can’t see you, baby, but i can still feel how hot you are!” toph shouted, shooting a rock up in the air and knocking zuko down.

sokka watched as zuko fell, his jaw slack open as he was convinced his friend was about to die. just then, toph bent a rock to meet him midair and lowered him gently back to the earth.

she swaggered over to where he limply laid on the ground and pulled him up by the wrists, pulling him to stand up straight. then, toph smacked a kiss on his lips. “you still can’t beat me.”

“i’ll get back at you for that later,” he growled in toph’s ear.

sokka, across the training grounds, cleared his throat. “so, i’m still here.”

toph waved flippantly. “yeah, yeah whatever.”

“i walked in on you once ready to romance suki,” zuko said flatly. “i think you can handle the end of a sparring session.”

“well, we have important foreign affairs to attend to,” sokka aaid. “you know, water tribe business.”

zuko took a bench across the courtyard and pulled toph to sit on his lap. she shifted off his leg and punched him. “nice try, sparky.”

“what’s this water tribe business?” zuko asked.

sokka gulped loudly. “the water tribe really wants me to come see my friends,” he said coyly. “so i’m here, seeing my friends. who apparently can’t keep their hands off each other. when did that happen by the way?”

she shrugged. “the water tribe wanted you to come see us?”

ৡ

aang wasn’t surprised when zuko came to ask him if he would officiate his and toph’s wedding.

“i know it’s customary for the fire sages to officiate the fire lord’s marriage ceremony,” zuko had said, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck the way he did when he was nervous. “but i figure, with the new era of peace, that maybe the avatar would be the perfect person to usher in the marriage of our nations.”

aang clapped his hand on zuko’s shoulder. “chill out, man. of course i’ll marry you guys.”

the ceremony was small, hosted at the western air temple, where zuko and toph had begun to form their bond. as they prepared for the ceremony divided by a thin dressing screen, toph teased him by reminding him about how zuko burnt her feet all those years ago.

soon after, zuko stood at the altar and waited anxiously for toph to make her appearance. aang leaned over. “i was freaking out when katara and i got married.”

“would you shut up?” zuko asked under his breath.

suddenly, the group’s attention shifted to the end of the makeshift aisle where toph and katara were walking down arm in arm. toph, for once, was enjoying wearing a dress. the long sage satin flowed behind her and her hair was done up in her usual bun, but now ornamented with pearls and lilies.

katara handed toph off to zuko. all of the official vows aang was saying sounded like “blah, blah, blah” to zuko as he stared at toph and memorized this moment.

her hands were soft in his and zuko believes that this was the most beautiful that she had ever looked. “i vow to love you forever, to put you over my nation, and to do anything i can to please you. i vow to spend the rest of my life with you,” zuko said, wishing that this moment would last forever.

“i vow all that stuff too,” toph agreed quickly. “do we get to kiss now?”

the gaang laughed as toph jumped forward to kiss zuko.

ৡ

rani, one of the palace staff, had always been fond of the fire lord and lady. when the two of them welcomed their first daughter, izumi, rani was so happy to witness toph and zuko become parents.

she watched from the sidelines as izumi busted into the meeting hall at three years old, trailed by a pregnant toph.

“she literally fire bent herself out of my arms,” toph sighed exasperatedly, waddling past the line of councilmen and the grand chamberlain. “you can’t stop a girl who wants to see her daddy.”

izumi shot her stubby fists out behind her and bent two tiny flames out of her heels like zuko so often did, propelling herself onto the throne’s platform. “daddy, i miss me!”

zuko laughed. “i did miss you, zumi. i thought i told you to listen to your mommy.”

she pulled his face down with her little hands on his cheeks. “mommy told me to come.”

“did she now?” zuko whispered back.

izumi nodded proudly as toph finally made her way up to the platform. “your baby wants steamed sea prunes,” toph said, rubbing her hand over her belly.

“that doesn’t sound like my baby,” zuko said with a laugh. “council is adjourned for today, i have to get my wife to the southern water tribe for some prunes.”

“master,” the governor spoke, interrupting your thoughts. “are you still with us?”

you nodded absently. “yes,” you responded. “i’ll create the new irrigation system and pull the crops.”

he cleared his throat. “actually, we were saying you should just do the irrigation bending,” the governor corrected you. “we’d like to see how our crops fare without them being pulled up.”

“sounds good,” you agreed. really, it was an idiotic plan. this region of the fire nation had hardly gotten any rain for almost a year, so even with a new irrigation system, it was unlikely that their crops would even break through the dirt. yet, you managed to keep you face impassive. the sooner you got home (which bending a series of tunnels beneath the farmland took considerably less time than using your bending to individually pull each plant through the earth), the sooner you got to see aang.

maybe it was childish, to harbor the hope that you could be something more with aang. you were now both adults with incredibly hectic lives. it was impossible to believe that there was a reality the spirits had fated where you could spend lazy mornings in bed with aang and feed each other firecracker buns, and get to tell him you love him.

you weren’t necessarily avoiding him, or your feelings, but it was undeniable that it was easier to continue doing whatever it was you were doing with him than risking ruining your friendship.

you made quick work of creating the tunnels. your feet dug into the dirt and you clenched your fists together and pushed, leaning your body as far forward as your rooted feet would allow you. you felt the ground shift beneath you as you visualized the exact pattern of the created tunnels. when you finished, you walked around with a heavy step, using the seismic sense toph taught you to make sure the tunnels laid properly beneath the surface.

aang met you and mula at the docks the next morning as you offloaded from the ferry. mula hated riding the ferry, so she rolled around happily on the docks while aang pulled you into a hug.

“it’s been too long,” he said, pressing a kiss to your hair, then one to your forehead. “i missed you.”

you smiled and leaned into his embrace. “i missed you, too,” you said softly into his robes, inhaling the scent of incense and sage that clung to them like it was the sweetest perfume.

you and aang headed toward unity tower, and you caught him up in your travels, complaining about the governor you had just finished working with. aang regaled you with his stories of the travels he had made to the air temples in your absence, and the progress he, katara, and zuko were making in republic city.

“so what are your plans while you’re back in the city?” aang asked.

“i’m probably going to sleep until it’s time to go back out,” you said, dragging your hand through your hair. “i am so tired.”

aang slung his arm over your shoulders and pulled you close to him. momo and mula followed behind you guys, nipping at each other. “do you think you can make time for dinner tonight in that busy schedule of yours?” he asked.

you laughed. “yeah, i think i can manage.”

“and make sure to dress nice, okay?”

you looked at him with a fake expression of hurt. “are you meaning to tell me that i dress horribly every other time we’re together?” his face dropped and you smiled at his reaction. “just kidding! i’ll see you tonight, okay?”

you pressed a kiss against his cheek and said goodbye before heading to your family’s estate in the city while aang headed back to air temple island. though you hardly spent time here with them when you visited and hadn’t lived with them since a few years after the war, you did like to visit them from time to time. plus, your mother was known to have an array of designer dresses and tunics sent to her by emerging fashion designers, so you could get an outside from her for your dinner with aang since he had requested that you dress nice.

you spent some time with your brother and sister, then raided your mom’s closet. from it, you took a deep green dress that looked like it came directly from the earth king’s palace. it had an elegant gold sash and flared long sleeves. your sister painted a thin layer of makeup over your face, concealing your exhaustion and making your lips look extra kissable (her words, not yours).

finally, you met aang at the restaurant he told you to find him. it was a ritzy earth kingdom restaurant, one that may have been found in the upper ring of ba sing se. the maître d’ led you to the table where aang was sitting, nervously tapping his foot. on his lap, he had a bouquet of panda lilies, which happened to be your favorite.

“hey, y/n!” he greeted you, jumping to his feet to pull your chair out for you. “i got you these.”

he thrust the bouquet into your hands, vibrating with nervous excitement. you pressed your nose to the flowers and inhaled. “you know, you forgot to mention that your travels included a trip into a volcano,” you teased. “regular lilies would have sufficed.”

“but regular lilies aren’t your favorite,” he said. “and tonight should be special.”

you hummed in response. you had a feeling you knew what was coming, but you were not going to be the one making the first move. it was one thing to kiss each other on the cheek or forehead and to occasionally share a bed and to hold hands, but it was another thing entirely to ruin your good natured friendship by telling aang how you felt and risking that he doesn’t feel the same way.

your relationship with aang was like a sacred dance, performed while balanced on the blade of a knife; it was a careful motion, afraid of throwing the other off balance. afraid to plummet into uncharted waters. you two were careful; aang never kissed you on the lips and never brushed against sensitive skin. you didn’t always say what you were thinking, because sometimes all you could think about was how badly you wanted to love him.

the waiter came and took your order, giving you a time to digest the uncertainty pooling within you. when you were alone again, aang pulled something from his robes.

“and i had this made for you,” he said. he wanted to wait until after you had dinner to give it to you, but he couldn’t wait anymore. he handed you a square velvet box. you opened the lid and looked inside to find a gold bangle formed of each of the elemental insignias.

you slipped it onto your wrist to find it was the perfect size; it didn’t slip off your wrist or slide down to your elbow. it was perfect. “what’s this for?” you ask.

“so you have something to remember me by,” he said simply. “i know we don’t get to spend a lot of time together right now, but i wanted you to know that i’m always with you.”

looking down, you traced the crest of the air nomads with your finger. “thanks, aang. this means a lot to me,” you spoke softly. “i love it.”

he left the conversation there for now, changing the subject to an old airbending guru and the collection of poetry and artifacts he left behind that aang had found. eventually, the food came and you two ate happily, kicking each other under the table and laughing with full mouths.

then, aang insisted on taking a walk through the memorial gardens. “it’s a lovely night,” you commented.

he nodded. aang was biting his bottom lip the way he did when he was deep in thought. “can i talk to you about something?”

“of course.”

you watched his throat bob as he swallowed. “when i went to see guru pathik when we all left ba sing se, he told me that to open my last chakra, i had to give up all my worldly attachments,” he said. “i was supposed to give up everything i felt for the people i cared about. i was supposed to give you up.”

you blinked in surprise. “really?”

he nodded. “but i couldn’t do it,” aang said. his voice was low, nearly a whisper. “i couldn’t give you up. y/n, i know we’ve been through a lot together and that neither of us want to lose what we have? but i also don’t want things to stay the way they are now. i gave up cosmic energy for you, y/n and all i’ve ever done is kiss your head.”

“are you like breaking up with me or something?” you asked dumbly.

aang shook his head earnestly. “no, i want you to be my girl. forever.”

“your forever girl,” you said, turning the words around in your mouth. they tasted sweet on your tongue. “i like the sound of that. does this mean you’ll finally kiss me?” you asked him teasingly, toying with the bangle on your wrist.

“you have no idea how long i’ve wanted to kiss you,” he said.

aang’s arms wrapped around your waist and his head dipped low as he pressed his lips to yours. they were soft and gentle, disintegrating your resolve like sugar. the dance you and aang had been doing, the movements you lived by, were done on solid ground. your steps were unwavering, balanced in a way they could only be when the avatar was kissing you and telling you he wanted to be with you.

it was you who deepened the kiss, driven by an insatiable desire to memorize every corner of his mouth, the way his breath felt when he exhaled as you cupped his face, how soft his lips were. aang’s big hands held the sides of you head and he tipped your head back, deepening the kiss.

it was years of unresolved tension. chaste kisses against warming skin, but eventually you both needed to breathe.

you wiped your upper lip and then smiled mischievously at aang. “you kiss like you’ve had experience.”

“i’ve never kissed anyone but you,” he stammered in defense of himself. “i never thought it was worth it to kiss anyone else.”

it was surprising that you didn’t tear up at that. it was probably the nicest thing you’d ever heard. “maybe you want to come with me on my next trip?” you suggested, thinking of aang’s body pressed up against yours on the back of mula or laying side by side in appa’s saddle.

“anything, as long as i’m with you,” he said, kissing your temple.

the rich guy muttered an apology to sokka and then slipped a hundred dollar bill into the waist band of your hi-cut lace panties. “what’s that get me?” he asked, nodding to the money.

you looked at him with your brows knit together. “um, all this gets you is my hand on your arm for another ten seconds,” you said in a saccharine voice. “think bigger.”

“and keep in mind you can’t fuck the dancers,” sokka butted in, giving the guy the ugliest look he could muster. “didn’t you want a drink?”

“get me a scotch, neat,” he spat at sokka, who you shot an apologetic look to. “and whatever the lady wants.”

sokka nodded. he knew you so well, that he knew you never drank at work. whenever your clients ordered a round of shots, he always swapped yours with water. this time, he made you a virgin strawberry daiquiri. sokka slid the glasses to you and your client with a smug look.

you bat your eyes at the man who’s arm you were hanging off of. “will you tip my friend?” you asked sweetly. then you winked at sokka, “his cat is really sick. isn’t that sad? the vets around here aren’t cheap and you weren’t very kind to him earlier. so now he has a sick cat and hurt feelings.”

the man looked between you and sokka, who had plastered a forlorn look on his face. then he scoffed and threw two bills down on the counter. you led him off in the direction of the private dance rooms as toph came inside from the front of the building where aang had taken her spot for her break time. sokka stuffed the bills into the tip jar under the counter.

as toph dropped into a barstool and unbuttoned her collar, she quickly picked up on sokka’s breathiness, and the quickened paces of his heartbeat. “you’re still stuck on y/n?” toph asked. her voice wasn’t judgmental or harsh, but the tone of a concerned friend. toph had worked at the club long enough (and fucked enough of the dancers) to know that dating your coworkers wasn’t a good idea.

sokka’s head snapped over to her, finally realizing that toph had sat down. “shut up, man.”

“there’s nothing wrong with it,” toph shrugged, sticking her pinkie in her ear and twisting it around. “i just think if you want to hate yourself less, you need to tell her.”

sokka poured himself a shot and passed toph a coke. he tossed back the clear liquor and shook his head. “she deals with pervs all night, the last thing she needs is me professing my love to her.”

toph felt around for the straw in her glass. “you don’t have to be a freak about it,” she said matter-of-factly. toph drew in a deep breath. “spirits, it smells like shit in here.”

he ignored her. “so, you think i should tell her how i feel?”

she leaned back on her stool. “sokka, i think you’re an idiot,” toph said. “but i also think you’re well intentioned. and y/n would think that, too. she’s worked here long enough that she can probably separate the nice guys from the pervs.”

“you say that, but she’s cozied up to that guy right now,” sokka said, re-fixing his gaze on you and the client you were schmoozing across the crowded club.

toph leaned forward and swatted at him, somehow managing to make contact with his skin. “you dumbass, i’m blind,” she spat at him. “but if it’s the guy i think you’re talking about, that’s exactly her type. rich asshole, big wallet and even bigger wallet.”

sokka’s face fell. “you’re not helping. and how do you even know that guy is rich?”

“well, i could smell his cologne from a block away and it was not a cheap one,” she said. her sense of smell was incredibly refined, and sokka and aang liked to poke fun at her about being a fragrance snob. “plus he walked all entitled. not to mention that if he wasn’t rich as fuck, y/n wouldn’t even consider entertaining him in such a way that you’re this worked up.”

he leaned over the bar and flicked toph square in the center of her forehead. “so why are you encouraging me to confess my feelings to y/n if that’s her type, not me?”

toph finished off her soda with a loud slurp. “because that’s her *work* type. don’t you remember that guy she dated that used to pick her up?” she questioned, then let out a burp. “he drove a beat up car and worked with his own two hands. that guy probably couldn’t even by a drink in here, let alone get to talk to her.”

across the room, you sat on li’s lap and pretended to laugh at his awful jokes. “li, has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?” you flirted, a faux grin pasted on your face.

you glanced around the bar, stealing a glance at sokka, who was behind the bar chatting with toph, whom you had grown very close with over the years.

“i could stand to hear it more,” li said smugly. his hands snaked down your back. “you’re the prettiest girl i’ve ever seen.”

if you weren’t already in lace panties and a push up bra, you probably wouldn’t have minded his hand moving toward your ass. as it stood, you were completely uncomfortable.

you squirmed away from his touch. “aww, thanks,” you gritted. “let’s go get a drink.”

“i’m thinking we go in one of those rooms and i put on a show for you,” he said with a lewd smile. you could smell the scotch on his breath and supplemented that the drink he had with you wasn’t the first one of the night.

you jumped off his lap quickly. “umm no,” you said, praying for someone to call you over before things could get any worse.

sokka, now withdrawn from his conversation with toph, watched you closely. you gave him a helpless look and it didn’t take him long at all to jump into action.

“hey, sugar!” he called, shouting your stage name across the club. “you’ve got a call in the back. it’s your fiancé,” he lied.

you gave li a ‘what can you do’ look and darted off toward the bar, which led back to the dancer’s dressing rooms (your boss figured the bar might serve as an extra line of defense). you plopped onto the plush velvet couch, absolutely drained.

sokka snuck back to see you. “hey, you okay?”

“if you get caught back here you’ll get fired,” you anxiously pointed out, worked up from your encounter with li. “don’t get fire because of me, sokka.”

he shrugged. “nah, it’s cool. i won’t get caught, toph is watching the door.”

you blinked at him. “she’s blind.”

“gah, you know what i mean!” he said, throwing his hands up. “but seriously, y/n, are you okay?”

you nodded. “it’s just been a long night.”

sokka nudged your shoulder with his. “well, you know i’m always here when you need me. if you need me.”

what sokka didn’t say was how bad he wanted you to need him. how he wished to be the only person that could touch your gorgeous body, and how he wanted to tell you he loved you while he did. it took a lot of sokka’s waning energy and patience to not blurt everything out right then and there.

then, you elbowed him. electricity blossomed under his skin at the contact. “so, what’s this about my fiancé?” you asked with a melodic laugh, mesmerizing him even more.

“i apparently have a sick cat and crazy vet debt,” he returned. “what’s the big deal with a few little white lies?”

you giggled. “dark spirits must be at work here,” you joked.

later, after the club closed and the bar was scrubbed down, sokka walked out out to your car. you always happily welcomed the end of the shift, when you could peel off your lace panties and replace them with sensible boy shorts and a pair of sweats, and when you could go braless under a giant hoodie. you carried your large heels in your hand, a bright pink duffel bag slung over your shoulder.

as you walked, sokka continued to joke around with you, soaking up every laugh he drew from tou. when you got to your car, he opened the door for you and stood in the gap between the body of the car and the door.

“i guess i’ll see you tomorrow,” you said, a smile still playing on your lips from one of his jokes.

you reached over and slid your key into the ignition, groaning loudly when the car wouldn’t start. “are you kidding me?” you half-shrieked, careful to sound like you weren’t in any actual danger in case toph was still nearby. “ughhh, this night couldn’t get any worse. now i have to call mai.”

your roommate was probably long since asleep, and would not be happy at you calling her at three o clock in the morning. especially because she told you three weeks ago to have someone look for the cause of the check engine light, but tips hadn’t been good for the last few weeks, and you swore that your were going to take in tomorrow.

“let me give you a ride home,” sokka immediately offered. his heart thumped excitedly at the prospect of spending more time with you. “it’s not far out of the way.”

if anyone else had offered you a ride home this late outside of a strip club, you probably would have insisted on calling mai. but you knew sokka, almost as well as he knew you. and sure, he might crack a few ill-timed jokes, but he was harmless. so you agreed, following him over to his icy blue sedan and sliding into the front seat.

he turned on the car and heat flowed through the vents. you were surprised, just then, at how cold you are. being nearly naked in the club was one thing, because so many people crammed themselves in there that it had to be a violation of some fire code, and you were moving around. but now, even though you were in sweats, the biting cold stung your skin.

sokka noticed how you softened at the heat. without speaking, without asking if you were cold, he reached into the backseat and grabbed a knit afghan for you. he draped it over your lap and then pulled out of his parking spot. you traced the knitted design with your finger.

“this is really nice, sokka,” you said. “thank you.”

he glanced over at you with a smile playing on his lips. “you’re welcome,” he said. “katara made the blanket like forever ago.”

you giggled and covered your mouth. “no, i meant the ride,” you corrected. “but the blanket is pretty. give katara my compliments.”

sokka’s face twisted into something you couldn’t quite understand. pensiveness, maybe. his eyes fixed on the road as his mind swirled with thoughts of every time he made you laugh, how you got the rich asshole to tip him handsomely earlier, the way you winked at him.

eventually, after a quiet ride, sokka stopped outside of your apartment. “this is me,” you said dumbly. obviously he knew this was your place, hence the reason why he stopped outside of it in the first place.

you went to get out of the car, popping the door handle and shifting out from underneath the blanket when he stopped you.

“can i tell you something?” he asked softly.

you nodded. “of course. you can tell me anything.”

like a water rushing out of a dam to the tailwater, sokka started speaking quickly. “i like you, y/n. as more than just a friend, and toph told me that it’s not a good idea to date your coworkers—well, date isn’t the word she used—but i really, really like you and i think it’s worth giving it a shot. and i won’t be like that last guy you dated who tried to force you to quit your job. i think it’s great that you love your body enough to show it off. wait, i think that came out wrong,” he rambled. “i just really like you and i wanted to let you know. it’s okay if you don’t-“

you had gotten back in the car and leaned over the center console to press a kiss to his lips, effectively ending his nonsensical rambling. “i like you, too, sokka,” you said simply. “and toph told me the same thing when i told her how i felt about you.”

“wait, toph was playing matchmaker this whole time?” sokka asked, his jaw slackening.

you nodded simply. “but she told me not to tell you how i felt,” you told him. “i think she wanted you to make the first move.”

he shook his head slowly. “that sneaky asshole.”

you paid a glance toward the clock on the car’s dash. “do you want to spend the night here?”

“i’m not having sex with you,” he said quickly, despite the way his cock twitched at the possibility. because he really, really wanted to have sex with you, but his gran-gran raised him to be a gentleman.

you shook your head with an airy laugh. “i just meant it’s late, and despite your lie earlier, this was really far out of your way,” you said. “i just don’t want you to drive home if you’re too tired.

he considered it for a moment. “and mai won’t mind?”

“no, she’ll most definitely mind,” you said with a shrug, “i just don’t care.”

sokka nodded coolly. “and for the record, i don’t find you like appalling or anything,” he said.

“i hope not,” you laughed as he killed the engine and you gathered your things off the floor of the front seat.

“i just mean, i said i don’t want to have sex with you tonight,” he said. “if we have sex, i want it to, i dunno, be special.”

you placed your hand on his arm and slid your keys into his hand so he could open the door for you. “when we have sex, it’ll be perfect.”

you gave her a skeptical look she couldn’t see. “you were standing on them,” you pointed out. “i think they’d had enough.”

“i’ll decide when *my* students are finished training,” she shot back at you. she hoisted her training bag over her shoulder and stalked off.

“well, maybe that’s why none of them can bend to save their lives!” you shouted behind her frustratedly, mouthing a silent ‘sorry’ to penga after, who looked back at you with a hurt look.

during the war, you and toph had an easy friendship. you were unworried about jobs or parents, and were in fact two girls freely traveling the world with your friends. but ever since you agreed to help her “wrangle” her students and accepted the assistant instructor position at her academy, things had tensed between you.

you let out an annoyed huff and gathered your things from the courtyard. you dropped them off in your room in the instructor’s quarters and grabbed your towel off the hook on the back of the door. you stomped to the bathhouse the sat behind the academy, replaying your interaction; toph’s terse tone and how she never even turned to face you. you peeled off your clothes and sunk into the steaming water of the bath.

the hot water worked out the knots in your muscles and washed away the exhaustion from the day. you closed your eyes and leaned your head back against the edge of the large stone pool you rested in. the water felt charged, as if katara was there, channeling the power of the spirits through the water and healing every ache and pain your body carried.

it felt so good that you almost didn’t hear the door to the bathhouse open. your head snapped up as you rushed to cover your bare breasts with your arm. when you realized it was toph you allowed your hand to fall. it’s not like she could them anyways, you thought.

“um, hello? i’m in here,” you said, snapping your fingers as you spoke.

she shrugged. “i didn’t know you were in here.”

“right, like i believe that,” you said, rolling your eyes. “i’m willing to wager that you sensed me coming in here, and you just want to make a point.”

she hummed and started unclasping her belt. “and what point would that be?” she asked.

you shrugged. “that you can still stand you be around me.”

toph pulled off her tunic, and your gaze trailed over her chiseled abdomen and bare arms. “i never said i couldn’t stand to be around you.”

“not in so many words,” you replied tersely. you watched as she removed her pants and then put your lust aside as realization set in. “you’re not seriously getting in while i’m still in here, are you?”

she shrugged and reached behind her back to undo the clasp of her bandeau. you watched, eyes wide and jaw slack, as her full breasts fell free of the constraining undergarment. “we’re both adults, aren’t we?”

you leaned your head back, intent on not being a pervert as she stripped herself of her underwear and dipped into the water. you ignored, or tried to at least, the warmth that pooled between your legs.

“why do you insist on torturing me?” you asked, pressing your eyes closed and willing yourself to ignore the way your heart stuttered.

toph sat down a few feet away from you, but neither of you were oblivious to the electric current that seemed to consume the distance.

“why do you insist on undermining my authority?” she fired back sharply. “this whole good cop bad cop act is seriously annoying, y/n.”

you scoffed. “come on. you, a cop? i was going more for a teacher and ruthless conqueror motif.”

toph smiles crookedly at that. “i haven’t conquered everything,” she says, and you don’t miss the uneven quirking of her lips as she waits for your response.

you blink dumbly. maybe you weren’t oblivious to the electrical feeling between you and toph, but you were completely oblivious to whatever she meant by that.

“you haven’t conquered anything,” you ventured to correct her.

she shrugged, her massive arms rippling the water, a smug grin on her face. “a few girls in yu dao might disagree.”

your face twisted in confusion, then morphed into realization as it sunk in what toph had said. “don’t say that, it’s crass.”

“but true,” toph said, biting her lip and closing her eyes, head lolling back like she was fondly remembering the girls in yu dao. “and there’s something… someone i’ve yet to conquer.”

you shifted nervously. sure, you had thought about toph fucking you like this before late at night when it was just you and your own fingers toying with your clit. you imagined that she would drop you roughly onto your bed and force your legs apart, her fingers digging into your knees in such a way that was sure to leave behind bruises on your skin as she dove into your dripping pussy. but it was one thing to imagine fucking her than her saying she wanted to fuck you while you were both naked and slick with your shared bath water.

when your breathing hitched and your puke quickened, toph moved toward you. your legs parted if their own accord under the water and she stood squarely between them. her tits were level with your eyes and you greedily drank in her supple appearance before her lips crashed down on yours in a possessive kiss.

she bit down on your bottom lip and you whimpered as she began to drag her calloused hands over the smooth skin of your chest. when her fingers found your nipples, already hard and peaked, she laughed into your mouth. toph took your nipple and rolled it between her thumb and index finger, cataloging the way your back arched and your heart rate quickened.

toph’s other hand found its way to your hair, grasping firmly at the base of your head and tilting it back. suddenly, you regretted not taking in the sight of her body while you were talking, when you had the chance to appreciate her effortless beauty. now, as she licked the shaft of your throat and bit your collarbones, you were too stimulated to think of anything more than the slick pooling between your legs and the way her body felt against yours.

“toph i-“ you gasped.

“you what, angel?” toph asked condescendingly. “you want me to fuck you? you want me to destroy this pussy of yours?”

toph’s hand flexed around the base of your neck, momentarily choking the air out of you. you simply nodded, unable to speak. she smirked. “i’m gonna tell you what to do, since you seem to think you can get away with telling me what to do.”

you nodded eagerly, wanting to feel her mouth on your swollen, achy clit and her fingers working in and out of your core.

“good girl,” she said, pulling away from you completely. “sit up on the edge.”

you did as you were told, keeping your feet in the water, but smacking your bare ass against the warm stone of the bath. “okay.”

toph sunk back into the water and you watched the way her tits bobbed, how her hand ventured to the mound between her legs. “now touch yourself,” she instructed. “and remember, i can’t see, so i’ll need to hear you.”

you nodded dumbly and slid your fingers between your soaking wet folds, moaning at the friction. you kept your eyes focused on toph’s crooked smile and her full, bare breasts. your finger circled your clit and you moaned even louder, aching for her mouth to take your place.

“who’s in charge here?” toph asked, her tone harsh as she quietly touched herself.

“you are,” you managed to whimper. “you’re in charge, master.”

your pace quickened and you could feel yourself slipping, on the verge of cumming, but just as your pace quickened and you moaned loudly, toph’s hand firmly gripped your wrist and yanked your hand away.

“you don’t get to come yet,” toph tutted in that gravelly tone that drove you crazy. “you’re going to beg for it.”

her mouth covered yours again, kissing you possessive while her hand wove into your hair and tugged. she pulled away from you. “you think you’re so perfect, don’t you angel?”

you tried to object; to explain that just because you were kind didn’t mean you thought so highly of yourself. but before you could, three of toph’s thick, calloused fingers sunk into your opening and all you could do was let out a warbled cry.

toph roughly kneaded your breast with her free hand. she could feel every writhe of your body as she worked you over with her hands.

“you’re taking me so well, angel,” she said, a smirk playing on her lips. she quickened her pace inside you, then dipped her head and licked a languid line through your center. “mmm, you taste so good.”

her tongue flicked over your clit quickly, in short lapping motions. you cried out, your eyes closed and your head back, mouth open in a perfect ‘o’ as moans ripped from the back of your throat.

you roughly pulled her face deeper into your pussy by yanking on a fistful of your hair.

she obliged, but her strokes against your clit got slower, and her fingers stopped moving.

“please, toph. i need to… i need you,” you whimpered, still pushing her face into your pussy.

“say it,” she muttered against your clit and your back arched as the vibrations met your sensitive bud.

“make me cum, toph,” you cried out. “please master, please make me cum,” you pleaded.

she resumed her ruthless pace, fucking you with her calloused fingers and greedily sucked on your clit, like she was trying to pull all of the disobedience from this sensitive spot on your body. you wound your hand in her hair, sharply yanking it with every convulsion of your body which made toph moan against your clit, driving you over the edge.

as you came, you screamed her name loudly enough that, despite the distance between the bathhouse and the academy, most of your students could hear you. your body convulsed and twitched, and your juices pooled messily over toph’s palm as she kept sucking, determined to draw out every last tremor.

“spirits, toph!” you cried as she fingered you through your climax.

once your body relaxed, she pulled her fingers out of you with a pop. she roughly grabbed your jaw and squeezed it to open your mouth, stuffing her fingers in your mouth.

“suck,” toph instructed and you did as your were told, lapping up your cum from her fingers. she watched you as if she could actually see you. “good girl.”

toph sunk back into the water, pulling you onto her lap easily. she peppered your chest and collarbones with soft kisses, ran her fingers through your hair, traced small circles on your hips.

you giggled as toph’s fingers trailed up your spine. “what, so you make me orgasm and then you get all soft?”

“would you prefer i bent you over my leg and spanned that pretty little ass of yours?” toph asked, her sightless eyes boring into yours.