Chapter Text
Yue
Takutown. What a place. She had visited here a couple of months ago but it was still a bit of a chock to walk of the train with one enormous backpack on her back, one smaller on her belly and her aunt Yoni carrying an enormous bag propped full with clothes, books, and her medium sized computer. Yoni, her favourite auntie, who were just a couple of years older than her helped her lift of the heavy bag of the train.
Yoni made the same choice as Yue, study in another city than Northern Water City if you want to get anywhere in life. She had heard all of Takutown from Yoni over the years, and since she decided to start second year of gymnasium* (secondary school) last term, her cousins Sokka and Katara had called over skype every weekend to be sure she was ready for the cultural chock of moving from a small Water tribe town (even though it is the biggest northern water tribe town there is) to the multicultural chaos of Takutown.
It was not as big as Omashu, but it was about a quater its size. Which is big when you compare to the capitol of the United Nations. She had been to Omashu once, and it was way worse than Takutown. She couldn’t even imagine Ba Sing Se, it being the biggest city in the nation, three times bigger than Omashu. Okay. Time to stop thinking about other cities.
Yue, you got places to be and this train is leaving any minute and you need to get of!!!
Anyways, Takutown here we go.
“Yoni, be careful with that one, my computer barley got in the bag and I don’t want my baby to get hurt” she exclaimed as Yoni dropped the heavy bag on the platform.
“First, calling it your baby is weird” Yoni said through a grimace. Yeah, the bag was pretty heavy and making your aunt carry it just because she is 5 cm taller than you was bit of a dick move.
“On second thought it is not weird, I expected nothing less from a damn computer nerd” Yoni said with a smile. “Let’s switch, if you are getting that “baby” to the dorm way up in the gymnasium, you are carrying it by yourself”
“Unfair! You are the older one”
“And you go to the gym twice a week and practice Taijiquan the other five days”
“That is exaggerating, and you also practice Taijiquan!”
“Well I haven’t trained in a while! Either case you are better trained than me, I can even take the backpack you so fashionably wear on your belly”
“Uuuuhh okay”
After the exchange of bags the real challenge began… finding the bus station without being left on the sidewalk mashed down by the mass of people. It was late summer and all the people returning to the city after their vacation seemed to decide collectively that today, the Thursday afternoon one week before the schools started up, was the best day to stroll around in the city with your friends and family. And in the middle of the chaos of t-shirts and shorts stood two Northtribers who both were overdressed in their long-sleeved flannel shirts and work trousers. One of them were completely lost, the other one 100% sure they had built a new bus station since last spring because this concrete hill used to be the place to get on the bus… it also used to be the place where youths could buy alcohol from dealers and at least once a week the police were there to collect drunks or attempting to get a lead the drug network from the many addicts who hanged out there… Yoni looked like she suddenly realised why they tore down the old bus station and built a new one.
An hour later, they had eaten two ice-creams each and stopped several times in order to switch the bags so they both carried the same amount, because justice. Then they found the damn bus station. It was newly built, because no addicts or rebellious youths had dared to start hang around there yet.
They got on a small bus and managed to get a good double-seat in the bus. Yoni was occasionally kicking her in the leg because she had to sit with the bag with the precious baby in her lap, its crushing weight torturing her legs.
Zuko
Reasons no #1 to not ever travel with uncle: he never had idea where there was.
They had both been away the whole summer, living with his mom and his half-sister in Black cliffs. He was now moving to his uncle’s apartment in Takutown because… family reasons.
The solution according to his uncle and mom was to move back to his hometown after three years absence. Last time he had been here his family had been intact, or as good as it had ever been. Their mom divorced seven years ago and moved to Black cliffs, and his dad got worse by the years as greed and hunger for power rooted deep inside him. The big company and the family fortune was transferred to his account and they then moved from Takutown to Caldera city to be closer to dad’s work.
And everything spiralled.
In summary, Zuko got depressed by the constant abuse and the press his father put on him. Eventually he cracked and left, reaching out to his mother for the first time in years and started living with her over the summer. But… it was not a permanent solution. He loved his mom, he really did, but he could see the stress he was putting her through. She had a 4 year old daughter now, and seeing Zuko, her 17 years old failure every day, was too much for both of them.
He decided to live with uncle instead, and visiting mom om the breaks sounded better than living with her. He had finally read up his primary school grades enough to start in the first year of Takutown gymnasium.
A new, fresh start. Moving back to your hometown. With people who used to know you as a child. No pressure. No stress.
Shit.
He actually has to answer for all the stupid things he did and said as a kid.
Whatever case, they were lost.
The whole city was cramped with people and they spent a lot of time walking around because uncle thought he had to ‘take in his surroundings after the years of absence’. He was the one who had to carry the bags either way. Well, his bags. Uncle was kind of a minimalist and only had a backpack with belongings. Zuko to his defence, was permanently moving to uncle’s place and naturally had more stuff to carry. Well, he was only living there on the weekends since uncle’s apartment was really small and he thought it was better if Zuko spent more time with people his own age.
So on the weeks there was the gymnasium dorm life for him. Yippee. Seeing people his age. He felt nauseous just thinking about it.
They finally found what was the old bus station. Which was torn down because of course they had built another one over the summer.
They finally found the new, shiny bus station and got on the bus taking them to uncle’s apartment, which was located in the newly built north area of the city. Not too far away from the gymnasium so he could just walk there tomorrow after a good night of sleep (or a night full of nightmares, that was kind of a Russian roulette by now).
Yue
There was not a lot of people on the bus, but she did spot one especially grumpy-looking teenager who looked like they were in the same situation as herself.
They also travelled with what looked like a family member, judging by the similar hair styles and facial features, the older grey-haired person was reading a book about… tea?. The teenager sat on the other side of the corridor, turned in the opposite direction, but next to Yue.
She found the teenager looking strangely at her, as if they recognized her. She thought about it a moment and then stared back and lifted her eyebrow as if to say ‘Why u looking, creep?’, somehow the teenager actually got her silent words and looked away suddenly, getting a little red in the face.
That was not an expected reaction. Shit.
Yoni actually had the audacity to claim a tiktok break and shoved the baby-bag in Yue’s lap only to plug in earbuds and start scrolling the endless feed of frog-themed videos and silly dances.
The other teenager who had looked at her suddenly locked their eyes on her again. This time she was a little pissed, why did they keep looking at her? she hadn’t been watching them at all.
When she now took a closer look, the teenager only had one functioning eye, the other one being covered by a nasty burn scar. If she had to guess what caused it she would go for industry child worker, even though it was twenty years ago both the new laws in the colonized areas against child and teenage labour and the union-rights act had fully settled. That idea was quickly discarded, they were way too young to work in a factory with that time line… and they didn’t look like they were from the colonized areas, the pale skin and the high hair bun indicated west coast, formally fire nation.
Well, that culture had a lot of traditional ceremonies involving fire, maybe that is where they got the burn.
The stranger continued to stare at her, but this time Yue stared at them even more angrily than last time. She could practically see the teenager panic and, actually not blush, instead they whispered just loud enough for her to hear,
“I’m not staring; you just remind me of someone I used to know”
“Yeah sure you look like you know many Watertribe chicks, an ex or something?”
Sure she was a little irritated. But she instantly regretted saying that. Her impulse control was the worst. She saw the other teenager panic and could practically see their brain spit out...
“No you are getting it wrong, I’m gay” They turned extremely pale and quickly covered their face as soon as those words was out.
It didn’t look like this conversation would go on. But Yue felt her gut drop, she had been really mean, even if she was right about feeling uncomfortable when a stranger stared intensively at her.
She patted the teenager on the shoulder and said, with a kinder tone: “What a coincidence, me too. Sorry I was rude, that was kinda shitty of me” she smiled a little as the other teenager looked at her in shock and she could physically see them relax a tiny bit.
“Well this was the weirdest way ever to come out, talking to a stranger on a bus I mean” they said and chuckled a little.
She could tell this situation was extremely awkward. But also, she didn’t care.
Growing up in a small society where you were related to a quarter of the people who lived there and your dentist was also your hairdresser and biology teacher, meeting other LGBTQIA+ people was a small chance, even though she knew some queer people back home. Their ‘Higly Advanced Intergay Communication’ proceeded with classic no impulse-control Yue talking without social filters:
“Girl we got to work on your style to make it more obvious, coming out all the time is exhausting” she said and then pointed at her earrings, traditional Northtriber earrings with a rainbow pattern fully visible, the colours melting naturally into the design.
She really just said that. Stupid impulsive brain. She watched the teenager register her bold statement, then they replied:
“Well I could need so-“ they was suddenly interrupted in their small talk as the teenager’s family member looked up from their book and announced that this was where they was getting off.
The teenager looked baffled by the interruption and scrambled to quickly carry all the luggage out the door and sent Yue a small wave before they got of the bus.
What just happened.
The rest of the ride was extremely boring. Yoni ignored her attempts to give back the baby-bag and they finally arrived on the final destination, at the gymnasium, where she was spending the next two years.
“This is a big moment. These years will determine the rest of your life. Don’t screw them up as I did, actually studying and reading epic fantasy until three in the morning” Yoni said in a ceremonial tone.
Yue turned to Yoni and made the formal hand greeting of her tribe and said in an equally formal tone: “I solemnly promise I will not waste my time here actually studying and reading epic fantasy until tree in the morning. I will only study what I think is worth learning and… also play Minecraft until four in the morning”
“I have taught you well” Yoni said in their native language and wiped a fake tear from her face.
She returned the formal hand gesture and Yue felt warm inside, knowing at least one person in this new weird city had proper humour. She hadn’t actually met Sokka and Katara in person since they were children, when they still lived in the north. Then Kya died and they had to move… but she was glad they kept talking over skype, especially the last half year.
Sokka definitely shared her and Yoni's strange sense of humour. Katara she wasn’t sure with. Well, what could go wrong?
A lot her brain said.
Shut up.
She ended up having to carry the baby-bag all the way to the dorms because Yoni ‘couldn’t feel her legs’.
Zuko
On the bus the strangest thing happened. He set eyes on a person who so painfully reminded him of his elementary school crush/bully victim Sokka. This person, or girl… or queer… not entirely sure… had the typical watertribe skin tone and facial structure, with piercing blue eyes.
This person also had completely white hair, opposite from the black hair he was used to. They had noticed him staring and what followed after that was... extremely awkward and a little bit fun.
He didn’t even want to think about it, but the fact that that just happened made his mind go blank. He somehow made a LGBTQIA+ connection within a day of moving back there, with a stranger on the bus.
Who he probably would never see again.
Wait.
The person looked like his age. And had lots of heavy bags, just like himself. And the only place where everyone went to school and took with them heavy bags full of belongings… was the dorms at Takutown gymnasium.
Shit.
Small towns sucks.
That means he will probably meet this person the next week, when the schools started up.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Hopefully their dorms weren’t close, it was a risk of 1/6 that they were going to live in the same dorm.
That was not a high probability right?
He hoped he didn’t have to live with anyone he had ever met before.
Was that too much to ask?
To get a fresh start?