Work Text:
I Only See You
Nature/Spirit
Aang/Ty Lee
Aang’s eyes widened.
“Hey… Ty Lee, can you do that again?”
She tilted her head at him, braid swinging behind her. She repeated the move, flipping and flinging herself into the air, gently landing next to him.
He gawked. How had he never noticed before? After all these years, from being enemies to fast friends to sparring partners, he had somehow never looked closely enough.
Ty Lee frowned. “What is it?”
“I…I think you’re air bending.”
They were looking over Ty Lee’s family records in her family’s basement when they finally found it. A dead end.
Ty Lee met his eyes. “So…does this mean my family…”
Aang nodded, whispering, “Your ancestors escaped.”
He collapsed into a chair, feeling his knees weak and his bottom lip trembling. They had escaped the massacre, and hid right under the Fire Nation’s nose. And maybe…this means that more escaped. More Air Nomad descendants were out there, hiding, maybe even having forgotten their roots, like Ty Lee. It had been a hundred years ago after all.
Aang felt a sob break free from his throat, and he gladly fell into Ty Lee’s offered arms.
He was demonstrating a basic bending movement for her when she interrupted, “So can I have air nomad clothes, too?”
Aang blinked. He grinned wide. “Yeah, of course!! I honestly would love to see you wear them.”
He flushed and held up his hands, “Like, not mine, that’s not what I meant!”
Ty Lee giggled, covering her mouth cutely. “I know what you meant, don’t worry.”
He relaxed but still felt his face burning. “Anyways, yes, I can get you robes. But I’ll have to go back to one of the temples—”
“Oh! Can I come with you?! I wanna see them!”
He felt himself blinking again in surprise. She wanted to see? He felt a surge of pride—he’d get to show her the old temples and teach her their shared history. (He had an air bending student! He wasn’t the last one!)
“Of course, I’d be happy to take you and show you around! I’m really glad to see you so excited.”
“I just…” She shrugged. “I am excited. This is my choice, something that I actually want. Maybe I’ll understand myself a little better. And…I guess it’s something that will actually make me unique.”
Aang tilted his head. “Ty Lee, you’re already one of a kind.”
She frowned. “No. I'm part of a matched set. My sisters, the Fire trio, the Kyoshi Warriors. I’ve never been just me.”
“Being a part of something doesn’t mean you have no individuality.” Aang lowered his head slightly to try meeting her eyes. “I’ve never met anyone like you, including your sisters.”
Ty Lee glanced up at him in surprise. But then she frowned again, rubbing her arm. “But what if…what if they can air bend too?”
Aang sucked in a breath—for some reason he hadn’t thought of that. But they did have the exact same lineage. He put that aside, resting his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “Ty Lee, if they do, that’s great, but they might not want to pursue their heritage or even acknowledge it. But I know that you do, and you already have natural talent for it. I know it’s already something important to you, and that’s what makes it more special.
“And besides, have your sisters ever had Azula and Mai as best friends? Are they experts in chi blocking? Did they run away to the circus? Did they chase the Avatar around the world?” He grinned, nudging her until she laughed. She had a pleased smile on her face. Aang always knew how to cheer her up.
They sat across from each other, meditating. Ty Lee peeked her eye open, looking at him.
He must have felt her stare. His lips twitched and his aura brightened. (Ty Lee had been noticing it do that a lot lately.)
“Focus, Ty.”
“Your aura brightens around me, did you know that?”
Aang flushed, his eyes shooting open. “Wh—that’s! That’s normal, we’re friends. Now are you gonna meditate or not?”
Ty Lee giggled, feeling her own cheeks redden. She knew it was a lie, but she let the unsaid thing linger between them.
Instead of pushing, she closed her eyes again. “Yes, Sifu Aang.”
(She could feel his aura burn even with her eyes shut.)
She’d ridden on Appa several times before, she loved the feeling of wind whipping her hair around, the sunshine warm on her face, the clouds within reach.
Maybe she did belong to the sky after all.
“Can I sit up there with you?” She pouted as she hung off the front of Appa’s saddle, not used to being the only one back here by her lonesome.
Aang glanced back at her with a grin, “Sure! I can teach you how to steer a bison.”
That had her scrambling over the saddle to his side quickly. She could learn and fly Appa by herself! Or maybe there’d be more bison and she’d get her own!
She sat beside Aang, taking the offered reigns from him.
“Here…” Aang scooted behind her, allowing him to place his hands on hers from behind. Ty Lee flushed as she felt his chest pressed up against her back, and she realized suddenly how much Aang had grown over the years, into a very attractive man with hands that dwarfed her own. She swallowed, feeling small yet safe within his arms.
“You pull with this hand to steer Appa right and the other for left. Pull back to slow down, and flick to speed up, and of course Yip Yip for take off. Now, Appa is a smart boy and he…”
Ty Lee was only half listening to him, trying as best she could to concentrate on his words. His hands were soft. And his voice was low and soothing, though she could barely hear it over the sound of her own heart racing.
…She was in trouble.
“How do I look?”
Aang’s brain stopped functioning.
Ty Lee stood before him in robes of yellow and orange, she looked perfect. But the reason he was really staring was because her hair was untied.
It was long and wavy, hanging far down her back. It blew softly with the breeze.
He’d never seen her hair down before.
Aang felt his palms sweating, trembling as he tried to shut his mouth and swallow. It felt intimate, to see her like this.
He probably looked like a fish, opening and closing his mouth several times. Ty Lee raised an eyebrow at him.
“Your hair.”
Ty Lee raised her hand, grabbing a strand of long hair. She twirled it within her fingers. “Yes?”
“It’s down.”
Her lips tilted up, “Yes…”
He felt his face burn red. His stupid aura probably matched.
“Uh…it’s pretty.”
Ty Lee giggled, “Thank you. And how about the robes?”
“Perfect.” He blushed and looked at the ground. “I mean, they fit perfectly. You suit them well.”
She bit her tongue to keep from teasing him more, as adorable as he was so flustered. Instead, she cart wheeled with a little umph of air bending and landed next to him.
“Next up, tattoos!”
Aang laughed and lightly shoved her shoulder. “You’re still a long way from that, newbie!”