Work Text:
age 5
Sana smiled at the sight of Mina running towards her. Mina was her favourite person and seeing the younger girl’s gummy smile as she plodded closer in her snow boots and thick winter clothing made Sana feel warm. Her mother said that it was normal to feel warm when you saw your favourite person. When Sana had asked Mina if she felt that warm feeling in her chest when she saw Sana, Mina’s cheeks had gone pink and she had nodded shyly in agreement.
Mina finally reached her and Sana immediately extended her arms for Mina to walk into, which she did. Mina was slightly smaller than Sana, she always had been and Sana hoped that she always would be so that she would always be able to rest her forehead on Mina’s head when they hugged.
“Hi Mina!” Sana said excitedly, pulling back to smile at her favourite person. Mina smiled back, her chubby cheeks making Sana reach out to poke them firmly. “I missed you!”
“I missed you too, Sana.” Mina’s smile was so bright and happy and just the sight of it was enough to make Sana giggle, reaching out to grip Mina’s hand in her own and dragging her to play by the side on one of the canals.
Mina struggled along after her on her shorter legs, Sana making sure to occasionally look over her shoulder. Every time their eyes met, Mina would smile at her and the warmth in Sana’s chest would expand.
Sana stopped abruptly as they reached the canal she had in mind, letting out a soft grunt as Mina barreled into the back of her and sent her toppling face first into the snow. Sana shivered as the cold on her face traveled through to her spine, hearing the sound of Mina gasping behind her. She lifted her head to spit and splutter the snow out of her nose and mouth.
Sana rolled onto her back and peeked up to see Mina’s wide eyes and glove-covered hand over her mouth in shock. Once their met eyes, Sana broke into giggles. “I’m meant to be the clumsy one, Mina!”
Once Sana started laughing, Mina exhaled deeply and giggled herself, reaching her hand down to help Sana to her feet with uncoordinated limbs. Mina began to brush off the snow that had gathered on her shoulders from the fall, but Sana batted her hands away excitedly.
“It’s fine! Mina, I have to show you what I discovered this morning.” Mina cocked her head to the side cutely in confusion. Sana patted Mina on the cheek again, leaning forward to kiss Mina on her other cheek. Just because she wanted to. Mina’s cheeks seemed to be permanently pink around her. People may think that’s from the cold, but Sana knew better.
Sana took a deep breath and widened her stance slightly. She tried her best to focus, to channel what the elders had taught her. Treat the water like it’s an extension of your own arm. Feel the way it moves through the world like blood. Be at one with it.
Sana swayed her arms to the side, feeling… something course through her veins. The next thing she knew, the water surged through the air. Sana watched it with awe, the feeling just as indescribable as it was the first time she had bended. But this was only the second time she had intentionally bended the water around.
Sana jumped up and down and cheered, throwing her arms out in joy. She whirled around to face Mina and to gauge her reaction, maybe to ask Mina to kiss her on the forehead in congratulations, like she had seen her father do for her mother. Expecting to see an impressed, smiley Mina, Sana was perplexed at the sight of a drenched Mina who was shivering slightly with her mouth open in shock. Sana’s brain finally caught up with the actuality of what had happened and she rushed closer to apologise.
“I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to water bend at you, I got excited!” Sana slipped her coat off as she spoke, unzipping Mina’s and pushing it off of her shoulders so that the garment fell into a wet heap on the floor. “I’ll help you. I’m so sorry, Mina-chan!”
Mina’s lower lip was quivering like it did when she was about to cry, but Sana couldn’t tell if she was merely cold or was actually upset that Sana had accidentally water-bended at her. Sana wanted to cry herself at the idea of upsetting Mina. Her favourite Mina. Sana slipped off her gloves, reaching to touch Mina’s cheeks and hopefully provide them with some warmth. The gentle touch seemed to drag Mina from her stupor, as she shook her head and broke into a wide smile.
“Wow! Sana, you have to teach me how to do that! I want to bend like you too!”
Later that day, Mina would happily run to her parents and proudly proclaim, “I want to be a good water-bender, just like Sana-chan!”
Somehow in that moment, even aged 5, Sana knew that Mina would always be the one for her.
age 11
At the height of summer, the contrast between the ice surrounding them and the warmth of the sunshine was something that Mina had grown to love.
The gentle lull of the water under the boat, which Sana was guiding through the canals with her water bending, was soothing and familiar in the best way. Even the occasional rough jerk of the boat when Sana got overly excited about something was intimately familiar. Mina loved these trips, being alone with Sana was her favourite thing. It was fun to be with her alongside the other children, but Mina knew that Sana felt the same when it came to the preference on how to spend time together.
Which was alone .
One of the aforementioned aggressive rocks of the boat occurred when Sana noticed a fish in the water with intermingled shades of varying reds. Most people in the tribe would have ignored the fish, they had seen the colours before on many fish. Truthfully, so had Sana, but the girl had always had the ability to see the joy and beauty in the most miscellaneous things, something Mina had been on the receiving end of multiple times.
Sana shot to the edge of the boat, the sudden exchange of weight making the boat lean heavily to the right. Perhaps it would have been closer to toppling if Mina hadn’t learnt to expect Sana’s sharp movements whenever she gasped like that to indicate her excitement. Mina raised the water under the boat to keep it upright, smiling fondly as she did so, peeking over the side to acknowledge the fish that Sana was so excited to see.
When Sana had flopped back to her original position opposite Mina, she gradually relaxed the water she was bending.
Sana was smiling at her, unsurprisingly. “Do you not get bored of being so good at everything?”
Mina laughed softly. “That would mean I would have to be good at everything.”
Sana pouted, reaching out her foot to gently trail her boot up the inside of Mina’s calf. Mina startled, but bended the water around them to account for her movement, keeping the boat steady. Sana pointed at her. “Ha! See! Good at everything.”
Mina rolled her eyes playfully. “Since when is being okay at water bending being good at everything ?”
“Since I said so.”
Mina shook her head in slight exasperation. “Why am I not surprised?”
A comfortable silence fell over the two girls for a few moments as Sana watched Mina’s face. Mina was used to Sana staring at her, it was something Sana had always done, recently justifying it with ‘pretty things should be appreciated, Minari, and you’re the prettiest’. Mina had blushed at that. Now, Mina only picked at her nail under the gaze. It didn’t make Mina uncomfortable, it never had, perhaps just a bit embarrassed to always be as loved by Sana as she is.
“Do you like my new scarf? I wanted to try a different shade of blue. Does it go with my coat?” Sana asked, gesturing to her outfit and looking at Mina expectantly.
Mina cleared her throat, not being fond of lying to Sana (not that she was able to lie to Sana). The two blues clashed quite aggressively, and Mina had thought that when she first saw the girl this morning. “Well. Uh, I mean…”
Sana’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline. “You don’t like it?!”
“No no! I do, I do. It’s just…” Mina trailed off.
“Just?” Sana prompted.
“The shades don’t really work together. B-But they’re nice on their own! Just not together. Not that you look bad, it’s just-“
Sana snorted at the rambling, stretching her hand to press her finger over Mina’s lips before she could speak anymore. Mina let out a soft sigh of relief, knowing Sana had stopped an onslaught of pointless words. “Don’t worry, Mina-chan. I’m not offended, I was just curious. Now I can avoid wearing it to school and not look ridiculous in front of everyone.”
Mina nodded enthusiastically, glad to be understood. Mina felt her heart stutter when Sana suddenly smirked at her, the twinkle in her eyes setting Mina slightly on edge, knowing she was about to get teased.
“Do you think that my princess charming would like it? Regardless of the colour clash?” Sana asked smugly, tilting her head dramatically and using the finger that was once on Mina’s lips to tap her chin, as if she were deep in contemplation.
Mina frowned at the statement, glancing down to where her fingers were tangled together in her lap. The idea didn’t sit well with Mina. Since when did Sana want a… Princess charming? Mina thought that she was Sana’s favourite person. Her Mina. The thought that Sana might want someone else in the equation made Mina was to cross her arms across her chest and sulk.
“Mi-tan.” When Mina looked back up, Sana was leaning forward, much closer than she was previously. Mina realised she must have got lost in her own bitter thoughts. “You’re not jealous , are you?”
Mina’s frown deepened at the question. Of course she was jealous.
Sana’s giggles interrupted Mina before she could fall back into her thoughts. “Oh, Mina. Don’t be silly! You’re the only one I need. I was only provoking you. Since when do you have a jealous streak?” Sana teases.
Mina blushed, thoroughly embarrassed at how quickly she had been prepared to push a random person who Sana considered her ‘princess charming’ into the lake and freeze their feet to keep them in there. Okay, well, that would have made Mina feel bad, but the thought had still crossed her mind.
Sana scrunched her nose at Mina, nudging her nose with her own. Mina smiled at the very Sana-like gesture. The kids at school told Sana she was overly affectionate, that it was weird. But to Mina, it was the most natural thing in the world. Sana had too much love for her tiny body, she had to express it somehow . When she expressed it towards Mina, it gave Mina an indescribable comfort, the feeling deeply rooted in her chest, as it always had been with Sana.
Sana pulled back slightly, but then started to move her face back towards Mina’s at a slower pace. As Sana leant forward, Mina expected the usual wet kiss that Sana would press to her cheek at least once a day. Mina closed her eyes and waited for the contact, but when lips met her own, Mina was stunned. Mina was sure she was supposed to move her lips, or something , but Sana seemed content to just keep their lips pressed for a couple of brief moments, before she pulled back.
Sana was positively beaming when Mina opened her eyes, looking far too composed considering Mina knew her cheeks were the colour of ripened apples. Still, Mina couldn’t help but return the smile shyly. If possible, Sana’s smile broadened even further. Sana leant forward again and pressed another kiss, even more brief, to the corner of Mina’s mouth.
“I like kissing you.” Sana admitted casually.
Mina could only nod dumbly in agreement. Mina realised she should probably return the sentiment. She liked kissing Sana too. “O-Oh, I like kissing you too.”
Sana only (poorly) winked at her. “I know. When we get back to the shore, do you want to try painting me? You always catch my good side, Mi-tan.”
And with that, perhaps something between them should have shifted. Perhaps it should have felt more momentous. But it felt homely, just as everything about Sana did.
Nothing had changed, Mina was always going to be Sana’s and Sana was always going to be Mina’s.
They just kissed now, too.
age 16
“Do you want to go penguin sledding today?” Sana asked happily as Mina blinked her eyes open, the sunlight entering through the window past Sana’s head when she moved. “It’ll be fun!”
“How are you in my house?” Mina asked, completely disorientated by Sana’s forwardness considering she’d barely been conscious for fifteen seconds. Whilst Mina should be used to it by now, her sleepiness was perhaps the only thing that could come between her and Sana (it couldn’t).
“Your mum let me in, obviously. Unlike you, she wakes at a reasonable time. Come on, Mina! The sun rose hours ago.” Sana whined, fluttering her eyelashes at Mina, knowing that Mina could scarcely hope to resist those eyes at her strongest, never mind in her sleep-addled state.
“I was up practicing bending all night. I just want to sleep.” If Mina couldn’t resist Sana, then Sana was powerless to resist Mina, not when she pouted in the way that Sana said made her cheeks look ‘unfairly adorable’. Sana whined again, but reached out to gently pinch one of Mina’s cheeks.
“We agreed no more practice after sundown!” Sana chided. “Now I’ve lost my penguin sledding buddy to the necessity of sleep.”
Sana sounded so genuinely affronted that Mina had to giggle. “Sa-tan, the penguins don’t disappear after midday. We can just go later, I promise.”
“Oh, you promise? Well you said that you weren't going to practice after sundown, but…” Sana challenged whilst attempting to raise a single eyebrow at Mina questioningly.
Mina knew she would say that. “I didn’t promise that though! I didn’t mean to keep going, I just got lost in my bending.You know how I get.”
Sana huffed, puckering her lips petulantly. “Fine.”
Mina smiled triumphantly, scrunching her face at Sana cutely. Sana giggled at the sight, scrunching her own nose in response as she watched Mina settle back under the covers and turn away from her. Sana pouted, despite the fact that Mina couldn’t see it, having expected Mina to at least lay where Sana could watch her face. She studied the gentle rise and fall of Mina’s breathing, appeased for a moment by that sight.
But Sana’s impatience and need to expel her energy quickly overshadowed merely watching Mina attempt to fall asleep. Sana groaned dramatically, flopping on top of the bed and Mina. Sana landed comfortably on top of Mina, her girlfriend letting out a soft 'oof' at the sudden weight on top of her.
“Mina. Mina!” Sana probed, poking at Mina’s cheek each time she repeated her name. “Mina, I’m bored.”
Sana watched Mina smile, but her eyes remained closed. Sana wasn’t fond of her affectionate advances being ignored by her girlfriend and decided to up her game. She leant down and pressed a kiss to Mina’s cheek, hardly pulling back after the motion. “Mina-chan. How can you just leave me to rot in my boredom whilst you sleep? You’re a terrible girlfriend.”
Sana was lucky that Mina had the patience of a saint.
Mina merely cracked one eye open and tilted her head upwards slightly to meet Sana’s expectant gaze. “If I’m so terrible, Sana-chan, then I suppose you had better find some better company.” Mina shrugged her shoulder. “If that’s what you really think.”
Sana frowned down at Mina petulantly. “Hey, you don’t get to use my words against me. That’s unfair.”
Mina shrugged again, her smile still on her lips as she placed her head gently back on the pillow and shut her eye. “Come on, Sana. You’re fifteen now, I’m sure you can find a way to entertain yourself alone.”
“Being alone isn’t fun! We can’t all be weird hermits who come out only to practice bending.”
“Well, that’s on you for choosing to date a hermit. Goodnight now.” Mina buried herself further into the pillow, effectively ignoring Sana’s weight on top of her. Sana rolled her eyes, knowing she had lost the debate. And besides, Sana didn’t choose Mina to date Mina. They had always been each others’, there was no room for choice , Sana wasn’t prepared to argue with what the universe clearly wanted.
It wasn’t all bad, at least Sana could see the moles dotted across Mina’s face and could feel the girl’s warmth radiating from under her. But, still. For now, Sana contented herself with tracing her eyes across Mina’s face and gently stroking her back in soothing circles to help her fall asleep.
When Sana had finally come to terms with Mina leaving the plane of consciousness (and her) to catch up on sleep, Mina whined slightly. “Sana, I can’t sleep when I know you’re staring at me.”
Sana laughed at that. “Mina, I stare at you at least once a day, and I have done since we were, like, three years old.”
“Yeah and you know it still flusters me, so stop being mean.” Mina’s lips formed a pout without even opening her eyes.
Sana groaned again, asking incredulously, “Well, then what else am I supposed to do!”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“Can I braid your hair?”
“Sure, if it’ll keep you quiet.” Mina teased. “And if you sit behind me so you can’t just stare at my face.”
“It’s a very pretty face, Minari.” Mina blushed at the compliment, throwing her hand out blindly to shove Sana off of her by her shoulder.
“Okay, okay, grumpy. I’m moving.” Sana sat behind her, her hand petting Mina’s hair slowly, gently combing through the tangles there until Mina completely relaxed into the pillow and her soft breathing was the only sound filling the room.
age 18
Sana felt the exhilaration of the water shielding her, bending the water so that it formed a tight layer to her form, not quite touching her skin. She sent ripples through water, knowing it made her look like she was shimmering. It was a technique she had been working on. Not only was it beautiful to look at, Mina had told her so, but it also provided a protective layer around the entirety of her body, including her back. The shimmering was distracting, it made it hard to tell exactly where she was moving to if she moved in time with the ripples.
Sana noticed the elder’s face contort into a scowl at the performance and felt her heart drop.
“Enough, Sana.”
Sana panicked at that, letting the water she was bending drop without returning it to where it was meant to be, a rookie error. It splashed with a harsh slap on the ground. Not only that, but Sana soaked herself in the process. She shuffled on the spot, embarrassed, not knowing whether she should bend the water so that she wasn’t wet anymore. Breaking from her stupor, Sana hurriedly bowed, realising she had forgotten to do so. If possible, the elder’s scowl deepened even further.
“And what, pray tell, was that, Miss Minatozaki?”
“I-I thought you might like to see how I had been progressing with my bending, sir.” Sana stuttered, regretting the decision to call this meeting more and more as the seconds passed with this agonising tension.
“I thought that would mean you had stopped with your silly little patterns and over-enthusiasm. Where in the teachings did I tell you to try that little stunt?” His tone was ice cold, each word threatening to make Sana flinch with the harshness of them.
“N-Nowhere, sir.”
“Then stop attempting it. Or rather, perhaps you had best consider to stop attempting water bending. You’ll never be a good water bender, Sana. You’re far too clumsy, too fantastical. Maybe that works for an air bender or an earth bender. But you are supposed to be a water bender. Elegance, grace, discipline.”
Sana felt the tears form in her eyes, but refused to let them fall, refused to embarrass herself any further. Sana gave a swift nod and bowed low to cover her face.
“Thank you, sir.” With that, Sana turned on her heel, forcing herself to walk at a normal pace instead of fleeing and crying into her hands like she wanted to. Sana ignored the sympathetic faces of the people that she walked past, merely attempting to muster a smile at them that she knew lacked her usual warmth.
By the time she had walked to the edge of the village, she was emotionally and physically exhausted. Planting herself down at the front of a house, Sana struck at a flint to try to light a flame on the twigs in front of her. She swore as she failed a couple of times, her hands too shaky to catch the right angle and force.
When she finally succeeded, she remained on a log by the flames, staring into the deep red flickering in front of her eyes.
She silently willed Mina to hurry back from her healing lesson.
Sana heard the soft crunching of snow approaching her. She didn’t need to turn to know it was Mina, no-one else’s steps would be that delicate, and no-one else would bother to attempt to console an upset Sana. Sana knew she had been a dramatic crier when she was growing, all snot and loud wails when she would trip and hurt herself. The kids at school had never cared enough to learn that Sana had grown out of those habits as she had matured, her tears falling silently and hushed, often to the feeling of Mina rocking her back and forth and singing gently to her.
Sana didn’t need to look, yet she still did so that she could send Mina a watery smile as she approached. Mina met the smile with her own, reaching out to hold Sana’s hand as soon as she was near enough and pulling her into a standing position, before pressing onto her tiptoes to press her lips against Sana’s cheek. Sana smiled at that, despite the sadness in her heart, because she couldn’t not smile when Mina was giving her affection.
Or when she was around Mina in general.
“What happened?” Mina whispered, guiding them both to sit back down on the log, no space between their bodies. Sana silently thanked Mina for knowing that Sana wanted to speak about what was on her mind, but often struggled to make herself initiate conversations about her own internal battles. Sana hated dragging people into her negativity, especially when she fought so hard to be so optimistic.
Sana sighed. “Elder Mako said I would never be a good water bender. He’s right, I don’t know how I was born into the water tribe. I don’t... fit.”
Mina took a moment to reply. Instead of speaking, she brought up their joined hands to rest them against her forehead. “You know that isn’t true, Sana.”
“I thought it wasn’t true. I thought it didn’t matter that my bending was unconventional, but no-one has ever been that blunt with me before. It was embarrassing, in front of everyone.” Sana’s lower lip began to wobble at that, remembering the shame that had seeped into her bones at being told she wasn’t a true water bender in front of all of her friends, in front of the elders that had watched her grow.
The tears began to fall silently from her eyes. Mina let their joined hands fall into her lap, before she rested her head against Sana’s shoulder. Sana let her cheek rest on top of Mina’s head.
“He’s traditional, Sana. It doesn’t matter how you reach a destination, as long as you get there with a good heart. You always have a good heart, and your bending is beautiful. It reflects you.”
“Isn’t that worse? If it reflects me, then that means I’m not good enough either.”
“Sana, he’s one person. There are thousands of water benders who won’t be biased by tradition. There are so many different styles, so what if you’re not suited for this tribe’s specific method? You are a good water bender. You’re unpredictable because of your style, do you know how helpful that is in a battle? Anyone who has studied basic water bending can predict my movements.”
Sana considered Mina’s words. Mina would never lie to her, frankly, was unable to lie to her because Sana could see straight through it. There was also a blatant logic to what Mina was saying, Sana didn’t often lose fights, in fact, she had a good record. Perhaps her bending was a bit overzealous sometimes, unorthodox, but Sana always knew what she was doing, even if the elders didn’t understand her thought process.
Sana sighed, not feeling much better, but still conceding that Mina was probably right. “You’re too smart for your own good.”
Mina laughed. “I’m just honest.”
Sana hummed, shutting her eyes and enjoying Mina’s closeness. A few moments passed, before Mina began to lightly sing, something like a traditional water tribe song that Sana didn’t think she recognised.
It didn’t matter, the soft lilt of Mina’s voice was enough to soothe her, caressing her aching heart where it resided in her chest.
age 19
Sana watched as Mina’s head perked up at the sound of the slow raps on the door. Mina placed her knitting needles to the side of her lap and looked to her left to where Sana was organising her candles by height. Mina smiled at the sight. Sana smirked, her obsession with candles steadily growing by the day, only heightened by Mina being distracted by her knitting. Sana met her questioning gaze and shrugged her shoulder nonchalantly, nodding in the direction of the door. Mina rolled her eyes fondly, pushing herself up to open the door despite Sana being marginally closer to it.
Sana decided to stand off to the side of the door, glancing out of the window noted Mina’s mother with an older man. Sana herself smiled as she watched Mina’s reaction to seeing her mother, a smile gracing her girlfriend’s lips. Sana couldn’t help but wonder why she was back home at such an early time in the morning.
Sana frowned as Mina’s smile faltered and she gave a polite nod, presumably at the sight of an unfamiliar elder. Sana glanced back out of the window and noticed he was dressed in the fire nation colours with the fire nation emblem. The man had a kindly face, deep set wrinkles around his eyes, indicating a life of smiles.
As was often the case now that the world was closer to peace than it had ever been.
The sight of the fire nation emblem didn’t strike fear into Sana’s heart like it may have for her mother, but the discomfort on Mina’s face made Sana, too, feel uneasy.
“Darling, would it be okay to speak to you for a moment?” Mina’s mother sounded even more gentle than usual, Sana’s discomfort deepened at the knowledge.
Sana watched Mina nod slowly. “Of course, shall I make some tea?” Mina asked, stepping back and gesturing towards the teapot by way of an invitation into the house.
“No, darling. I think it’s best if we have this discussion alone.” At that, Mina tilted her head, turning to look at Sana in confusion. Mina’s mother had never tried to separate Sana and Mina, not even when Mina got the news that her father had passed away during a hunting trip.
Mina turned back to her mother and shook her head. “No, anything you want to say can be said in front of Sana. You know I’m just going to tell her anyway.”
Sana heard the woman sigh, but she soon stepped through the door and sat on a cushion in the middle of the floor, her legs tucked politely underneath her. The man followed closely behind, Mina making a show of bowing low as he passed her. If he noticed Sana, he gave no indication of it. Mina glanced nervously at Sana as she followed behind him, reaching out her hand. Sana stepped closer so she could tightly grasp Mina’s hand in her own and give it a firm squeeze.
“Sana, dear.” Mina’s mother spoke from her seat. “Would it be okay if you brewed the tea whilst we had this discussion? You can listen, but I think this conversation will need tea after.”
“Of course.” Sana confirmed, squeezing Mina’s hand once more and trying not to hug her at the panicked glance Mina shot her. “I’ll be right here.” Sana nodded in the direction of the teapot, but the words were solely for Mina, to attempt to settle the nerves Sana knew would be thrumming through Mina’s veins.
Sana wandered over to the teapot, spooning the tea leaves into the pot and bending some water from a basin into the pot. Whilst Sana worked, she heard the man speak. “Mina, this is a very important visit.”
“Okay.” Mina had only spoken two syllables but they were enough to inform Sana that Mina would be lightly trembling if Sana turned to face her. It would perhaps be unnoticeable to the elder, but to Sana it was as clear as the water she bended.
“As you know, Avatar Aang unfortunately passed from this world almost two decades ago.” Sana frowned as she watched the leaves boil on top of the fire. Sana chewed nervously on the fingernail of her thumb, feeling apprehension form in the pit of her stomach.
What a peculiar thing to bring up.
The elder continued. “Since then, the world has searched for his next incarnation. We have reason to believe that this may be you. There have been reports from people in your tribe.”
Sana whipped her body around to face the trio of people gathered in the centre of the room. Sana couldn’t see Mina’s face from where she stood over the teapot, but she didn’t need to in order to feel the tension that had fallen through Mina’s body.
“S-Sir. With all due respect, that doesn’t make any sense. All I’ve ever been able to bend is water.”
“At this stage we cannot be sure. But we have to attempt to validate the reports. Perhaps this is nothing, but we have to rule the alternative out first.”
“B-But, why me?” Mina asked, voice openly shaking now. Sana clenched her fists, knowing she shouldn’t interfere.
“Tell me, Mina. Have you ever noticed that when your emotions get the best of you, you may lose control of your bending?”
“W-Well, yes. But that’s perfectly common. Isn’t it?” Mina sounded doubtful of herself.
“Yes, it is. But it is often a trait found more within fire-benders, due to the passion that comes with the art of fire-bending. The reports state that often when you are speaking and getting impassioned, the flames of fires rise greater. Perhaps not by a great amount, but enough for it to be noticeable.”
Mina received the news in silence, so the elder continued. “The source said that they monitored the situation, not wanting to make false assumptions, but it appeared to happen too many times to merely be a trick of the eyes or a misunderstanding. I am simply here to investigate whether you can be taught to fire bend. If you can, then evidently we have found our next Avatar.”
Mina suddenly rose from her seat, beginning to lightly pace around the room, her fingers running through her hair in clear distress. “This cannot be real. Surely, I would have noticed this happening. My mother would have noticed it. My girlfriend . This is a massive misunderstanding.” Mina wasn’t addressing anyone in particular, her words quiet and serving as a gentle internal monologue.
“Mina, you must understand that if this is true, then your training must begin immediately. I think it would be fitting if we began your fire bending training as promptly as possible.”
“T-That makes no sense!” This time, Mina spoke in the direction of the man, her tone unlike anything Mina had used before. Not only that, but Mina’s voice was steadily growing in volume, louder than Sana had ever heard her speak. “In no world would Aang’s spirit reside in me. Never me. This is insane .” Mina threw her hands up in frustration and whirled around in Sana’s direction.
At Mina’s outburst, the flames under the teapot ignited further, raising larger and angrier. Similarly, the remaining water in the basin shot into the air. Sana swore, quickly bending the water that had been in the basin to douse the growing flame. As the sizzle of the aftermath filled the air, the steam quickly forming, the room fell into a stunned silence. Sana’s gaze drifted from where Mina’s mother was covering her face in shock to Mina’s shaking form standing in the middle of the room. She silently willed Mina to look at her, but Mina’s eyes were transfixed on the steam next to where the flame had once been.
Mina’s mother stood, wandering tentatively closer to her daughter and placing a hand on her shoulder. At the touch, Mina jolted and backed herself against the wall, shaking her head in disbelief. “Mina, darling.” The words caused Mina to flee from the room, flinging the door open so aggressively that Sana was concerned it would fly off of its hinges.
Sana stepped forward and rested a comforting hand on the shoulders of the woman Sana had grown to see as a second mother. “I got her.”
Mina sat with her eyes shut, feeling the gentle lull of the waves as they lapped against her ankles. She tilted her head back, basking in the caress of the sun entwined with the chill of the morning air. She let her legs kick back and forth against the weak current, willing her mind to calm down. Mina’s hands drummed a rhythm against her clothed thigh mindlessly, a distracted habit she had picked up over the years. In her reverie, the water began to ebb and flow in time to her rhythmic tapping.
As Mina realised what she was unknowingly causing, she flinched, the water that had been steadily rising whilst her eyes were shut launching away from her and landing heavily with a large splash. Mina whimpered slightly under her breath, unable to escape the reality of the situation no matter how she tried.
As she felt the panic begin to rise in her chest, the water around Mina began to swirl, creating small whirlpools that distorted the peace of water. Mina whimpered again, trying to calm herself enough to stop the growing vortexes. This hadn’t happened to Mina in years, not since her father had passed away 6 years ago and Mina’s feelings had become too much for her, the emotions reflected in her bending.
Mina felt a soft touch at the nape of her neck, underneath her scarf. Mina momentarily panicked, before registering the warmth of the hand despite the lack of a glove. Sana’s hands were always strangely warm, a contrast to Mina’s own which always seemed to be cold regardless of how many layers of cloth separated them from the chill of the air. Sana enjoyed using Mina’s poor circulation as an excuse to hold hands (not that Sana needed an excuse).
“Minari.” Sana’s voice was soft, as it always was when Mina was upset. The sound combined with the warmth of her touch did little to calm the fear piercing through Mina’s chest, but it was comforting nonetheless, as Mina had come to associate with Sana. Mina relaxed fully into the touch as Sana began to stroke her fingertips soothingly over Mina’s bare skin, gently combing through the baby hairs at the back of her neck. Mina sighed, tilting her head up to look at Sana’s face. Despite it being upside down to Mina, she could see the caring smile gracing her girlfriend’s features and she tried to return it tiredly.
Sana moved so that she was sitting next to Mina, their thighs pressing together firmly enough that Mina could faintly feel the warmth radiating from the girl besides her regardless of the thick trousers they both had on. Sana didn’t speak, merely placed her hand comfortingly on Mina’s leg and gazed out at the expanse of the water in front of them, blinking slowly. Mina knew Sana was waiting for her to speak. She also knew that the girl would wait for hours if that was what Mina needed, not speaking a single word.
Minatozaki Sana was devastatingly misunderstood by the world. The world saw an overly energetic and loud girl who needed to grow up faster, Mina saw a woman with the purest heart who had so much love and happiness to give to the world. The elders saw a clumsy, reckless girl who didn’t care about their traditions, Mina saw a woman who radiated optimism and respected tradition but refused to be constrained by it when it was harmful to others.
To the outside world, Mina and Sana should never have worked. But in Mina and Sana’s world, there was no universe where they wouldn’t work.
Mina took a deep breath, willing herself to speak. Mina could spend the rest of the night wrapped in her own thoughts, trying to organise them in a way that was perfectly put together, and Sana would let her. But Mina knew that Sana didn’t need her perfect thoughts, only her honest feelings that they could traverse together.
“I’m terrified.” Mina admitted, pulling one leg out of the water and tucking it underneath her body as she turned to sit facing Sana, finding the words easier to speak when she could see her girlfriend. “I’m not cut out for this.”
Sana hummed, angling her body so that her and Mina fully faced each other. “Why wouldn’t you be cut out for this?”
Mina sighed. “I’m too timid. How can the Avatar be timid ? There has to be a mistake, Sana. I’m just…” Mina trailed off, afraid of her next words, knowing Sana would be upset to hear her say them.
“Just what, baby?” Sana prompted gently, her features still entirely soft and accepting.
“I’m just me. The world deserves better than that.” Mina felt tears form in her eyes at the admission, the reality of the situation slapping her in the face again. She felt her lower lip begin to wobble and tilted her head to stare at her hands in her lap. “Wow, apparently the Avatar cries when she hates herself.”
“Oh, Mina.” Sana’s voice was high and sultry, closer to Mina than it was before. Then, arms encased Mina’s shoulders and pulled her closer until their foreheads pressed together. Sana’s hands moved from her shoulders to rub soothing circular motions between her shoulder blades. Mina felt the phantom movement, knowing there was no way she could actually feel it with the thick layers separating Sana’s hands from her skin.
Yet, the action was so familiar that Mina’s imagination was more than detailed enough to feel the comfort that the action brought. It was the same motion Sana used to bring Mina down from a high, the same motion she used when Mina was feeling nauseous, the same motion she used to encourage Mina when she was nervous about showing the elders a water bending move she had worked on.
“Mina, you’re more than enough. The universe doesn’t make mistakes. Whether you see it or not yet, the universe knows something that you don’t. You’re worthy of being the Avatar.” Sana told her firmly, but not unkindly. The condensation of Sana’s breath puffed out with her words, causing a pang of guilt to hit Mina that she had forced them to have this conversation in the chill of the early morning rather than under blankets and in front of a fire.
“Sana, I’m not even the best water bending in our tribe. Aang wasn’t timid. He was charismatic and lovable, energetic.” Mina pondered her own words and sighed again. “You should have been the next Avatar.”
Sana giggled at the words, the warmth of her breath hitting Mina's lips and causing shivers to go through Mina’s spine. Mina pulled back slightly to look at her girlfriend in a silent question. Sana merely pouted, before using her grip to pull Mina’s forehead back to her own. Mina couldn’t suppress her smile at the motion. “If I was the next Avatar, it would be a disaster, Mina. We both know it. I’d do my best, but I’d probably accidentally earth bend a mountain onto a village.”
Mina giggled despite herself at the mental image, imaging Sana’s shocked face in that scenario. Sana’s face lit up fully at hearing Mina’s giggle, smiling brightly at having made her girlfriend laugh.
When Mina’s giggles had calmed down, Sana continued. “Why do you have to be like Aang? The world is in an entirely different state now. Maybe what the world needs now is someone who is more reserved, more willing to take a step back and empathise, without rushing into action. I think you’re a beautiful Avatar, Mina. The world has always been lucky to have you, but now it’s lucky to have you as its protector. I wish you didn’t have to hold this burden, but I’m willing to hold it with you.”
Mina found herself lost at the words, Sana’s eloquence never failing to render her starstruck. Sana articulates with such genuineness, such reverence when she spoke about what she was passionate about. Mina had been on the receiving end of that reverence for her entire life, had watched Sana stop to compose her thoughts perfectly many times, yet the comfort that it provided Mina had yet to dampen. Mina wasn’t entirely sure that it ever would.
“I guess you’re not wrong. I don’t know what the universe needs. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m terrified I’m going to let the world down.”
“I know that. That’s because you’re so angelic, Mina. You understand the weight of what this means, and that’s why you’ll never fail the world. Your best has always been enough, that won’t change now. We can get you through this,” Sana pulled back and kissed the tip of Mina’s nose. “Together.”
Mina took a moment to admire Sana’s features, the slope of her nose, the softness of her eyes, the line of her jaw, the ginger that she had insisted on dying her hair, regardless of if it was the colour of the fire nation. Sana spoke in such earnest that Mina found it hard to deny her anything.
There was a long way to Mina being able to accept the meaning of Sana’s words for herself but, for now, it was enough to know that Sana meant them.
They would complete this journey as they had started it.
Together.