Work Text:
The first time he meets Doyoung is during the weird hours when business at the restaurant is winding down, but it's not quite late enough for the night crowd to start coming in yet. What Taeyong sees is a small boy, with wide eyes darting back and forth between the counter, the worn-down menu in his hands, and the empty table in front of him.
From the rich olive color of his clothes and the intricate gold embroidery decorating his sleeves, the boy stands out like a sore spot in the dull browns and weary greens of everyone else. Taeyong cleans the tables nearby, keeping an eye on the boy as he wipes down with slow, long movements. He waits for a lady with kind brown eyes and vivid green clothes to come walking in, or a tall man with embroidered silk robes, but after half an hour the boy still sits alone.
"Late night snack?" Mark's dad chuckles as Taeyong dumps the noodles from the strainer into a bowl. He gives him a brief nod before scurrying out of the kitchen with the steaming bowl in his hands.
The boy is still sitting alone, face hidden behind the menu as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. It's not. Taeyong memorized the whole menu in two hours one bored afternoon.
"I didn't order this?" The boy asks.
"You've been staring at the menu for a whole hour," Taeyong shrugs, "We also have a no loitering policy."
The boy flushes, but he still pulls the bowl towards him. "My name's Doyoung," he says before inhaling the noodles. Taeyong watches him with unblinking eyes. The boy– Doyoung– flushes again when he realizes that slurping noodles isn't exactly polite.
"I'm Taeyong." He offers, along with the napkin.
"Thanks," Doyoung mutters. Taeyong waits until he's halfway done with the noodles before asking the question that's been on the tip of his tongue for the past hour.
"What are you doing out here? Alone?"
Doyoung laughs. "I ran away from home."
"You ran away," Taeyong repeats dumbly. Doyoung looks around his age, and like he couldn't hurt a fly.
"No, no I'm going back!" Doyoung squeaks. "There's a singing competition in the province, but my parents don't really like that kind of thing. They only want me to focus on school and earthbending."
"Oh," Taeyong says. "You must really like singing then."
"Yeah." Doyoung looks down into his bowl of half-finished noodles, small smile on his face.
He hums to himself, leaving Doyoung to finish his meal in peace because the head chef is calling for his help in the kitchen. When he finally returns, the bowl in front of Doyoung is empty. Doyoung beams at him when he notices Taeyong is on his way towards his table.
"I'm not sure if this is–" Doyoung trails off.
"This time it's on the house," Taeyong smiles, placing the empty bowl on the pile full of other dirty dishes. "Just pay us back next time you come."
He forgets about Doyoung in the whirlwind of excitement that comes with the official start of Mark's training. Taeyong can't earthbend or waterbend, but he spends his spare time pouring over the scrolls so Mark has someone else to help him practice his forms. Pride swells in his chest as he watches Mark master earthbending with unprecedented speed. He picks up waterbending just as quickly.
In his defense, it's a full three years before Doyoung shows up again at his shop and there's the more pressing matter that Mark needs to find an airbending teacher to come to their small town, if they even exist anymore. Taeyong's head has been throbbing, in part because of the late nights secretly spent in the library in attempts to garner information on airbending, in part because he's spent the past two days trying to convince Mark that no, just because the last Avatar saved the world when he was twelve doesn't mean you have to too.
"We've been searching for hours. My feet are killing me." The high-pitched whine cuts across the bustling noises of the shop, and the street.
Taeyong continues to scrub down the tables. "You came here over three years ago. The store may not even exist anymore." A second, calmer voice says.
"Yeah. Are you sure you didn't just dream it up?" The first voice scoffs.
Taeyong loses track of their conversation as he waves in and out of the narrow space between tables to the front counter, wiping down his hands on his apron. Maybe, if the crowd dies down early enough, he'll have time to sneak into the library and study its total of two scrolls on airbending tonight.
"How may I help you today?" Taeyong says on autopilot as footsteps near.
"Here!" A voice says. The owner of the voice slaps something onto the counter.
Taeyong quickly counts the coins. There are enough for the noodles. "Excuse me, sir, but have you ordered or paid yet? I don't seem to recall–" He looks up– and it's like one of those cliche scenes from the novels Johnny swears he doesn't like to read– to a boy with a gentle face and warm, brown eyes. Taeyong's hit with the memory of a young boy, still his age, eyes closed as steam from a fresh bowl of noodles warmed his face.
"Oh." he says. The coins drop to the ground.
"I kept our promise," Doyoung grins, the harsh afternoon sun framing his face. Vaguely, Taeyong can hear Doyoung's friends laughing in the background.
"Yeah," he says, knees weak. "You did."
Doyoung's friends snicker from the table across the room, but all Taeyong can focus on is Doyoung's smile. Distracted by Doyoung's large, brown eyes Taeyong fumbles with the coins.
"Um...would you or your friends like anything to eat?" he breaks the silence after Doyoung continues to stand there.
"Oh," Doyoung says.
One of his friends laughs again. The ring reverberates in Taeyong's ears the same way Doyoung's smile is imprinted in his mind. "Our menu hasn't really changed since you've been here last time. Although I suppose that was a long time ago and you might not remember what we had that well." He's babbling the way he always does whenever he's flustered or seeking for someone else's approval.
"Er, thanks." Doyoung laughs. It sounds forced, but his smile is genuine. Taeyong has never been more embarrassed.
Doyoung, Taeyong soon learns, attends one of those fancy international academies located a province away. They're meant to promote international peace so the new generation of benders can learn to cooperate and become top bending masters; noble families and rich families send their children there in hopes of rising in status or gaining more power. However, it's the very last thing on Doyoung's mind and his friends'.
There's Ten, the son of a rich Fire Nation family with an eternally mischievous smirk. His loud laugh and sly comments have a way of drawing all eyes on him. More than once Taeyong has caught Mark listening to his tales of their school escapades with wide eyes. Then there's Jaehyun, a waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe, who caught Doyoung sneaking back into their dorms from a singing competition one time. Although his playful streak isn't as obvious as Ten's, it's apparent in the way he quickly plays along with Johnny's antics despite having met the other boy once before.
Time passes quickly with the arrival of Doyoung and his friends. Taeyong counts the days between their visits; the days until he and Mark can scramble for new stories of an outside world and the days until he's greeted with Doyoung's smile.
Soon, the light spring breeze turns into the heavy summer air. The days have been getting longer and the heat has been borderline unbearable. Even when Taeyong and Mark sneak out in the middle of night to the small clearing in woods he can feel perspiration forming on the back of his neck. However, the hotter days means school is out which mean Mark is at home more which means–
"You're favorite trio is in town again," Johnny hollers through the kitchen door one sunny afternoon.
"Don't know what you mean," Taeyong sniffs. "How's this taste?" he shoves a mouthful of seasoned pork into Johnny's mouth. Johnny moans obnoxiously. Taeyong retaliates by smacking his head with the spoon.
"Amazing as always," Johnny grins.
"New recipe." Taeyong secretly preens at the comment. The smile stays on his face as he hears familiar voices filtering through the restaurant. He grabs the simmering plate of food before speedwalking to the table.
Ten's eyes widen. "What's this?"
"New recipe. On the house." Taeyong announces, and the three boys dive in.
"How come they get the whole dish for free but you only ever let me have a bite?" Johnny whines.
"It's because you freeload from us too much," Taeyong scoffs. It doesn't stop Johnny from snatching Ten's chopsticks and stealing a bite.
"Hey give those back! Taeyong, this is so good. Can I steal you for the rest of the summer and make you cook for us?" Ten sighs around a mouthful of food.
Jaehyun rolls his eyes. "Doyoung and I are perfectly good cooks. I have no idea what you're complaining about."
Taeyong meets Doyoung's eyes across the table. He's flooded with the same warmth that drinking a bowl of ox bone soup on a cold winter day gives him.
"Where are you guys going this summer?" Mark asks eagerly. His eyes shine at the prospect of the trio's summer adventures. "I thought school started earlier for you guys."
"Well, it can't exactly start if there are riots all over the place now can it?" Ten drawls in that lofty way of his. He raises an eyebrow to meet Taeyong's piercing gaze.
The clatter of wooden chopsticks against porcelain plates resounds in the silence. Johnny and Doyoung's chewing are too loud for Taeyong's ears. There's only breathing, Jaehyun's concentrated eyes on the chip in the blue-glazed porcelain in front of him and–
"Can I come?" Mark asks but his eyes are fixed on Taeyong's.
The temperature in the room plummets. Johnny's chopsticks clatter onto the table. Ten pats his back sympathetically. Taeyong bites on his lip as Mark's eyes glitter with hope. They've had this conversation countless of times, even more so since The Water Incident and the rest of the boys found out Mark was the Avatar.
Ten's laughter breaks the silence. "I don't see why not."
Taeyong chews his lip even more aggressively. Johnny meets his eyes. Pause. Inhale. Then, "Mark, the kitchen needs some help washing dishes."
In the kitchen, the two of them fall into a familiar routine: Mark waterbends the water to wash the dishes then Taeyong uses his fire to dry them. Beside him, Mark is bursting with energy. "I could learn things." Mark breathes, setting down a wet plate beside him. Taeyong almost points how it's still wet on instinct.
"Your parents still want you home," Taeyong starts. He takes the plate from Mark's hand and thinks about his mother and about his life in this small Earth Kingdom village. He thinks about the way Mark's eyes light up every time Taeyong teaches him a new firebending move. The boy yearns for travel and adventure.
Taeyong sighs, feeling the weight of something much larger than him resting upon his shoulders. "Can't stop you if I don't see you leave now, can I?"
The water in the sink leaps up with excitement and the kitchen fire flares as Mark throws his arms around Taeyong's waist. Taeyong smiles to himself, drawing Mark closer.
Later that night, Taeyong pretends not to hear Mark in the room next door shuffling around in his room. At one point, he accidentally drops something and lets out a low string of curses. Smiling to himself, Taeyong waits until Mark has (loudly) snuck down the stairs before slipping out of his blankets.
Outside, the air sticks to his skin in more ways than one. Taeyong watches as Mark waits underneath a dim street light for a few moments before someone tall and lanky joins him. It's Johnny. The two of them huddle close together, quiet whispers impossible to hear from such a far distance away.
As the two of them run down the street towards the unknown, Taeyong feels a small part of him leave as well. He watches until their bodies become smaller and smaller but his melancholy becomes larger and larger.
"He'll be okay," a voice next to him says.
"Shouldn't you be with them?" Taeyong snorts.
The streetlights bask Doyoung's face in a soft, orange glow. If Taeyong concentrates, he can make the flames of the lights brighter, see the depths of Doyoung's brown eyes more clearly and the soft curve of his cheek.
Doyoung shrugs. "Wanted to say goodbye first."
Taeyong's chest clenches. "When you say that, it's as if you guys won't come back."
The two silhouettes fade disappear in the dark night sky. Silence fills the space between him and Doyoung but it's not the uncomfortable, stifling kind.
"You could come with us, you know." Doyoung finally says. He smiles slowly, unsure.
Taeyong recalls the few memories he has of his mother. Her smile surrounded by warm red light in the hazy memories he has of the Fire Nation and the tired expression she always had here. He thinks back to the days where not even Mark or Johnny knew about his firebending and thinks about all the ways the world has changed and will continue to change.
"You guys need some place you can always come back to. Take care of him." He says instead. Doyoung smiles at him, this time surer. He reaches for Taeyong's hand, squeezes– and it fills Taeyong with a warmth he's never experienced– before running off into the darkness as well.
Once Mark's parents get over his impromptu disappearance, the excitement dies down and Taeyong's life adjusts to the new rhythm. Alone, time passes slower. Taeyong settles into a daily routine: wake up, train, help out in the kitchens, go to the library, get ready for the dinner crowd, read some more, then sleep. For the most part, the customers are regulars from the village or the town. It's a pleasantly mundane life, and for the most part Taeyong doesn't mind it.
He's busy wiping up the counters one day, secretly putting heat into the cloth so the tables dry faster when a customer barges through the curtains and drops their bags on the ground. Taeyong almost sets the cloth ablaze.
There’s something about the way that Mark carries himself that makes him look older, more mature. Still, his eyes shine with life, the stories of untold adventures are on the tip of his tongue. Before he says anything, he's knocked down to the ground by a large gust of wind. Taeyong hopes none of their bowls break. After all that sweeping he did yesterday too. When the dust finally settles, there's a young boy sitting on top of Mark's back. Underneath the mop of brown hair is a bright blue tattoo.
"Donghyuck get off'mfphf!" Mark shouts into the earthen floors. He slams his fist on the ground. A rock shoots out of wall towards Donghyuck's waist but the boy only presses his wrists together to release a stream of air.
"Sorry Markie," Donghyuck grins. When he lands, he pats Mark's cheek affectionately.
"I just cleaned the kitchen yesterday." Taeyong frowns.
"Oh, you must be the overbearing clean freak Mark talks about!" Donghyuck grins. Taeyong notes how he still extends a hand to Mark, and how Mark accepts the hand to pull himself up.
"Nice to meet you too," Taeyong snorts. "Back so soon?"
"We were passing by the area. I'd clean up the dust but I'd probably make more of a mess." Mark says sheepishly.
Donghyuck scoffs. "It's easy. Just watch." As the young boy spins his hands around, a whirlwind forms inside of his hands. Making a scraping motion with his arms, Donghyuck sends the dust to the entrance of the restaurant with a loud whoosh. There's a high-pitched scream that sends chills to the depths of Taeyong's bones, followed by a resounding smack when the dust hits a large stone wall.
"You almost killed me," Ten shrieks as soon as the stone returns to the ground. He lunges for Donghyuck and the two begin a wild game of chase inside of the restaurant. Behind him, Jaehyun and Johnny cackle. Doyoung follows soon after, eyes crinkled as he wheezes. Taeyong thinks it's one of the best sounds he's ever heard.
As the laughter grows louder and insults are hurled with increasing frequency, Taeyong slips into the kitchen undetected. Methodically washing vegetables and slicing them up on the worn bamboo cutting board brings a sense of calm. Inside the kitchen with the low-burning fires and mix of scents, Taeyong feels at ease. He allows his hands to think for him as take the noodles made earlier and toss the vegetables into the large steel pot. Allowing himself to enjoy the fresh aroma filling the kitchen, Taeyong slowly increases the heat under the pot with a twist of his hand.
"Oh wow, this smells amazing." Taeyong almost falls on the metal counter behind him. He clutches his chest when he sees Doyoung's face peeking out from behind the curtain. He flashes Taeyong a smile before walking over.
Taeyong slaps Doyoung's hand away from the boiling pot of noodles. "No eating before the food is ready," he scolds. Doyoung pouts but doesn't make another attempt of sneaking bites of food.
Silence falls between them. The metal pot vibrates on the stove and Taeyong's tongue weighs down in his mouth. His thoughts stray with the rising steam: to his current life and his life before Mark left. Taeyong sometimes wonders what it must be like– to roam new lands and meet new people. He wonders what it must be like to use his bending abilities freely and–
"Do you want to help?" He asks, smiling.
Doyoung grins back and the easy conversation returns. His eyes light up as they recount stories about escaping out of some labyrinth of underground tunnels and fights with rogue pirates and setting their ships ablaze.Taeyong allows the casual banter to chase away his thoughts and fill the spaces in between.
Riots breaking out along the coast of the southern Earth Kingdom. Old nobles forced out of their homes and elite institutions forced to go on breaks. And in the center of it all, a group of teens with various abilities. News is slow to reach a small village but these are the whispers Taeyong hears when he visits the nearest city or travelers pass through– and there are more and more of them these days.
Sporadic letters from messenger hawks from Mark and Johnny keep Taeyong updated on their whirlwind of adventures. Johnny's letters sound the same way he speaks. The first time Taeyong reads Johnny's letter complaining about a ten hour hike up a mountain when Mark or Doyoung could have easily earthbended them up, Taeyong almost doubles over from laughter. Mark's letters rambling about anything and everything. He recounts Jaehyun's waterbending lessons and their escape from Fire Nation government buildings. Taeyong keeps all their letters stashed in the top dresser in his room.
One time, a third note arrives alongside Mark and Johnny's letter. It's a Northern Water Tribe recipe written in an unfamiliar scrawl with the words had this at some restaurant jaehyun brought us to. thought you might like to try it out hastily written at the bottom. Taeyong keeps the recipe on top of all the other letters.
Some days despite how tired Taeyong's hands are from kneading dough and wiping down tables, they itch for something more. It's grown worse with time. Those are the nights Taeyong stays awake until the first rays of sunlight, releasing flames until the itch in his hands have been burned away.
He's bent over the kitchen stove one cold winter afternoon attempting to get the fire to start except the lighter is out of gas and they're out of matches. He doesn't have enough time to run and buy matches or gas before they have to start cooking for dinner. Sighing, Taeyong takes a deep breath and draws in all the heat from the room. On the exhale he directs all the energy focused in the palms of his hands to the logs of wood and coal. The fire roars to life with a loud crackle. Taeyong basks in the flames that warm his face before finally rising up.
"I didn't know you could firebend," Doyoung says.
Taeyong almost screams but Doyoung is quicker. His hand is cold on Taeyong's mouth– a stark contrast from the warm flames five seconds earlier.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Just stop screaming!" Doyoung rolls his eyes. "Please, just shut up so I can remove my hand."
Once Taeyong is done panicking, Doyoung wipes his hand on his robes. The way his eyebrows wrinkle send flutters down Taeyong's chest despite the rising hysteria.
"Why are you back?" Taeyong blurts.
Doyoung narrows his eyes. "You don't get to ask questions first here! You didn't walk in to find me secretly bending now."
Taeyong purses his lips. "Firebending isn't very acceptable unless your family is well off." Especially in rural Earth kingdom towns. Taeyong barely remembers his mother but he's long since buried the dream of finding her.
"Oh." Doyoung says quietly. "Sorry."
Running a hand through his hair, Taeyong lets out a tired sigh. He offers a strained smile as a truce. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"I got you this. It's a recipe from some grandma's house we stayed at while running away in the Fire Nation." Doyoung hands him a crumpled piece of paper.
Taeyong carefully smooths out the creases. It's written in the same scrawl as mystery recipe from last time. He smiles to himself as he reads the recipe. It's some sort of spicy beef stew. Earth Kingdom dishes tend to be mild and lighter and but they're the ones Taeyong has grown up cooking and knows how to make by heart. There are few recipe books in the town library, and even fewer on foreign cuisine.
"Thanks," Taeyong says. His voice wavers.
"No problem." Doyoung replies. He hums softly as Taeyong maneuvers through the kitchen gathering ingredients, his sweet voice filling the empty spaces in between.
He finds out the next day from the new waterbender that's joined Mark and his motley crew that Doyoung came a day earlier than the rest of them. The new waterbender's name is Yuta, and can rival Ten for his brashness and Johnny for his loudness.
"Doyoung, here," Yuta drawls with the ever-present lazy grin on his face, "decided to come down a whole day earlier than the rest of us. Not even Johnny-boy or Mark were in that big of a rush to come down."
"Yeah," Ten miffs, "Do you hate us or something?"
Doyoung meets Taeyong's eyes then rolls his eyes dramatically. Taeyong snorts behind his pork bun. Yuta grins at the exchange but decides to focus his attention elsewhere. He reminds Taeyong of an overexcited dog. Apparently he's from some small southern Water Tribe island and has spent most of his time wandering swamps in the Earth Kingdom. In direct contrast, the other waterbender, whose cheeks are at the mercy of Yuta's fingers, seldom speaks and shies away from the majority of people.
Before Taeyong can further question Doyoung, he gets pulled away by Mark to see a live demonstration of his improved bending. Watching Mark flip through the air as rocks rise at his fingertips and water collect in the dip of his palm is a sight to behold. He grins as Mark blows out a strong gust of wind.
"So, what do you think?" Mark pants, eyes glimmering.
Pride swells in his chest along with another feeling Taeyong can't quite place his finger on. "You've grown a lot. But your firebending could still use some work."
"Maybe you should come with us so you can teach me again." Mark bites down on his lip, shifting his weight between his feet. "Er...I think Hyuck is calling me. Gotta run!"
Taeyong sighs as he's left standing alone in the clearing. This was the place where he taught himself firebending. The same clearing where he taught Mark the basics and watched his first attempts at waterbending. (Mark ended up drenched in water because he'd lose control at the very last second.) If he ever left, he'd probably miss this place the most. Inhaling deeply, Taeyong focuses clears his thoughts before he releases a whirlwind of flames.
"I saw you practice firebending the other day." Doyoung says the last morning they're here.
Taeyong almost drops the bowl of congee in his hands. That was embarrassing, he had thought he was alone and practicing new moves and-
"You're pretty good." Doyoung tosses the scallions into the pot. "Probably better than Ten. Actually wait, definitely better than Ten."
Taeyong laughs but it grates on his ears. "I highly doubt it."
The soles of Doyoung's feet hit the metal counters in time to the song he sings. It's not an Earth Kingdom song. Taeyong's skin prickles and there's the familiar tug. He focuses on stirring the broth in front of him.
See, the thing, he knows that after Mark, Johnny, and Doyoung leave this time, they won't be back for awhile. He's overheard snippets of conversation when he was back in the kitchen last night.This is also the longest they've been here. There's the way their bags are stuffed to the brim and Johnny and Ten keep making runs downtown to buy more supplies.
Soon, it'll be just Taeyong and his thoughts again. He doesn't mind he solitude but he finds himself missing Johnny's chatter, Mark's enthusiasm, and Doyoung's banter more and more between their visits.
"Hey." Doyoung taps his shoulder. When Taeyong turns around he's met with a pair of soft lips on top of his own. They're a bit sticky from the pastries they shared earlier. He closes his eyes and lets out a soft sigh.
"What was that for?" He asks once Doyoung finally pulls back.
"Been wanting to do that for awhile." Doyoung shrugs.
Taeyong flushes. He turns back towards the stove. Maybe if he tries hard enough, he can achieve a new form of firebending and shoot lasers out of his eyes. Once the food is ready Taeyong shuts the fire off with a snap. He and Doyoung file out with pots and bowls in their hands to a table full of ravenous teenagers.
A solemn air hangs over breakfast. Johnny and Yuta both attempt to crack jokes but they fall flat on Taeyong's ears. He smiles and pretends to laugh along but the tug grows stronger along with the apprehension at the foreboding loneliness.
"I'll miss you," he whispers into Mark's ear once breakfast is over. He draws the other boy into a blinks when Mark hugs back.
When it's Doyoung's turn, Taeyong arms freeze mid air. He slowly wraps them around Doyoung's torso, drawing the other boy closer. In the background, he hears Johnny snicker but Taeyong ignores him like has been for the majority of his life. When they draw apart, Taeyong reaches for Doyoung's hands. They're a comforting weight inside his own.
"When– next time you come back, there are some places I'd like to bring you." Taeyong barely chokes out.
"Just say it's a date, you weakling!" Johnny shouts.
Doyoung laughs and Taeyong memorizes the way his nose scrunches up and his eyes crinkle. His hands worm their way out of Taeyong's grasp only to land on his cheeks instead. Doyoung pulls him in for a kiss and as Taeyong's eyes flutter shut he can hear the rambunctious shouts from his friends in the background coupled with Mark's horrified gasp.
"I'd say yes," Doyoung laughs once they've pulled apart, "but come with us instead?"
Right now, Doyoung’s smile could light up the world. The tugging sensation in his stomach grows stronger. Taeyong squeezes Doyoung’s hands, lips curling upwards, before he opens his mouth to answer.