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Kyoshi woke up from a nap and blinked a few times before taking stock of where she was again. Kirima and Wong sat cross-legged and chatted quietly to each other. She turned her head to see Jinpa in the driver’s seat, keeping Yingyong on track for their next destination. Right next to her was Fox, curled up and snoozing away.
She turned to look the other direction and saw Rangi at the far back of the saddle, sitting upon a large roll of supplies. Rangi had one leg perched up with her arms resting on top of her knee. Her other leg was straddled over the side of the roll, her foot firmly on the floor. She looked out at the sunset with a slight grin of contentment on face.
The sight made Kyoshi sigh with a smile. She was beautiful and Kyoshi couldn’t help but wonder if Rangi knew just how truly beautiful she was. The oranges and crimsons and yellows of the sunset paled in comparison. Rangi was every moment of every day. She was the sun and the moon and the stars. She was the new air and warmth of a sunrise; the calming and settling of a sunset; and the cooling and silence of the midnight hour.
Kyoshi’s eyes wandered down Rangi bit by bit. Half of the soft, dark hair pulled diligently into a topknot and the loose hairs that hung below covering Rangi’s neck. What she adored most was the small strands here and there that always became strays that Rangi spent all day blowing away from her lips or reflexively pushing them back from her face. There was never a moment Kyoshi didn’t love if it involved being able to run her fingers tenderly through Rangi’s hair.
Her eyes looked at Rangi’s as the Firebender gazed forward, lost in her own thoughts. The vibrant colors of the sky reflected off of her dark bronze eyes, bringing out different flecks of yellows and various shades of honey and ginger and cocoa. They held the colors of golden riches only seen by the likes of a thousand Lords and Kings.
Kyoshi grinned, remembering that those eyes used to intimidate her so greatly. But now? Now they held the sunlight within them and warmed her on the coldest nights. They welcomed her home even in the strangest of places. Those eyes could make Kyoshi feel the rawest of emotions even with one glance, but the greatest one of all was the love that she felt radiating from every time the two of them caught each other staring. They brought her back to earth and lifted her all at once, leaving her gravitating in their unfettered beauty.
If there was one thing Kyoshi could lose herself in more than Rangi’s eyes, it was her lips. There wasn’t a moment that went by that she didn’t want her own lips to stay forever pressed against Rangi’s. When they kissed, it felt like the only time Kyoshi wasn’t clumsy in comparison to the always elegant Firebender. It felt sure and strong and there was never an ounce of doubt in Kyoshi’s mind of the intense love and trust they had developed over the years together.
When Rangi’s lips touched hers, the world around them simply melted away. They were soft and sweet and there was always a pause where Kyoshi could feel Rangi smile against her. That pause made Kyoshi feel giddy and every thought in her head melted away, only to be filled with Rangi.
These were the little details only Kyoshi would ever get to know. She got to know that Rangi was particularly ticklish on her sides, just under her ribs.
She got to know that Rangi occasionally drooled in her sleep if she was tired enough.
She got to know the things that the seemingly invincible woman was scared of the most.
She got to hold Rangi in both times of joy and anguish.
There was so much more that Kyoshi knew that no one else ever got to know or experience. And it was in moments like this, when she was so captivated by the gorgeous woman in front of her, that she realized just how much she appreciated everything about Rangi.
Kyoshi appreciated the arms that held her back just as close.
Kyoshi appreciated that Rangi was immensely intelligent and always tried to guide Kyoshi from the genuineness of her heart.
Kyoshi appreciated just how strong and loyal and intense and kind Rangi was and that no matter what they had gone through, Rangi simply loved Kyoshi back without any doubt in her mind, soul, or body. The woman had accepted everything that Kyoshi had been and was now and loved her so immensely that Kyoshi could cry sometimes.
But at this moment, Kyoshi simply felt jealous of the final rays of the sun that kissed Rangi’s skin, as she wanted to do the same at this very moment. She loved the magnificent woman in front of her wholeheartedly and then some. Both of them knew that they could never leave one another, or find anyone else that they loved more than each other.