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It was an unusually peaceful night.
There was not one cloud in sight, not a trace of fog, and no smoke burning down forests, villages, or towns.
This was very new for Fubuki, who, for the past few months since leaving the Northern Water Tribe, had only been experiencing the harsh, wet winds of the changing climate or scorching hot fires of the ruthless Fire Nation. Rare was the time when the sky was even visible through an opening in the cloudy sky. Though it was a bit better than the everlasting nights in the North. Sometimes the same night sky for days on end got overly boring. Especially for a prince locked away behind castle walls, simply because of his hard birth.
Which was ridiculous in both his and his brother's eyes. They both knew Fubuki could hold his own in a fight, both with his bending and without. But his parents still didn't care. He nearly died. He was weak as a child. The palest and thinnest of the whole Tribe. A laughing stock to the guards. (All of whom later ended up frozen to the weapon room's ceiling, but that was Atsuya's little secret as to how.) The worry to all healers. A moon blessed child, willing to give up his power to save it not even a quarter of a year ago. His brother nearly killed him when he decided to sacrifice himself to save Tui, tears of fear and sadness leaving his eyes hot and heavy.
(He blamed it on the seasonal cold, but Shirou saw right through it.)
Thankfully, he didn't need to die. Through the new (old? Honestly, he had been missing for 100 years. How was anyone's guess.) Avatar and retired general Hibiki, Fubuki managed to save the Moon Spirit and keep his life and bending.
It left him weak, more sensitive to the cold, and sick for a few days, but as long as the Spirits lived, he could care less about what happened to him.
But his sensitivity and weakness showed him that he couldn't stay in the North for now. Not until he got better. However, his parents and the court didn't get his reasoning. They said he would be fine with the healers of the Tribe. Atsuya understood, though. He knew his twin needed to get out.
So they, with the help of Otonashi (a non-bender searching for her brother), Endou (the Avatar), and Tsunami (a waterbender from the sister tribe), managed to disguise him as Atsuya and sneak him off on the flying bison. When Kazemaru (an airbender, last of his kind, and childhood friend of the Avatar) found him, he chewed everyone and their deceased great-uncle out. But he did see why Fubuki joined, so he didn't make them turn around.
Ever since then, he'd been helping the mismatched group try and avoid masked assassins (why the fuck the guy with an otter penguin mask was following them everywhere hadn't been answered yet) as well as the Fire Nation troops. Most of the troops had been close to killing them, capturing them, etc. Hence, some nights were filled with smoke.
And they couldn't really avoid them. Endou had to learn firebending from them, but seeing as that would mean betraying their nation and possible death, he could only learn from afar.
At least that's what Fubuki thought.
A few weeks ago, a short firebender cornered them at a fire festival Endou had dragged everyone to. Which in itself was a bad idea seeing as they were all wanted fugitives, but Endou wanted to have fun, and Tsunami, who should have been the most mature as he was the oldest, only encouraged it. And one cannot go against the will of the oldest and the Avatar.
No matter how hard Kazemaru glared.
Back to the matter at hand, the short firebender, Shourinji, took them to his camp, where a bunch of firebenders that ran from the war and abandoned their nation resided with Earth Kingdom natives. Endou immediately started asking if he could be taught firebending by anyone, possibly the one who mastered it the most. The best in the camp was his first option, a teen their age. But Someoka, the second-in-command, warned them that he would probably decline due to his own past.
Gouenji Shuuya was the firebending master Endou was looking for.
But he, just like the pink-haired soldier had said, had immediately declined.
However, he had never met Endou before. And his title was 'Most Stubborn Person of the Millenia' first, Avatar second.
Someoka was the one with his jaw closest to the floor when he one day woke up to see Gouenji teaching Endou firebending. Fubuki just patted him on the shoulder.
„This is the biggest miracle the Avatar will ever pull,” Someoka had said.
Fubuki answered, „I don't know. Him making sure I didn't die when I had to give my gift from the Moon Spirit back to revive it from the dead comes pretty close.”
He then proceeded to leave a confused and possibly traumatized ex-Fire Nation soldier and join his friends for breakfast. He ignored the eye roll Kazemaru shot his way and simply dug in (to the thankfully non-spicy food). If he wanted to mess with the opposite element, he had every right to. It was inevitable.
And he was a little shit.
So for the next few days after that, Endou finally got the hang of learning firebending. He picked it up pretty quickly, to be honest. Fubuki guessed it was because of his past lives and it being second nature at this point, but he would keep that theory to himself.
Everyone else also trained in these moments of peace. Otonashi meditated with Shourinji and then sparred against him with her fans, beating him to the ground in two minutes. Tsunami just played around in the water, most of the time getting something wet that shouldn't be. The shouting from Someoka that followed was amusing. Tsunami also helped Shirou out. Or the other way around.
Anything Tsunami showed, Fubuki had already mastered as an eight-year-old. But he still needed to go a bit slow with his progress; his powers were still a bit weird after the blessing of the Moon Spirit left him. At least his healing still worked.
It was very much needed after Endou started training. (And the number of times Tsunami hit his head, but that was another story.)
What Fubuki didn't think was going to happen was that, at some point, Gouenji Shuuya himself would need his healing abilities.
The waterbending prince didn't know how it happened or who did what. Gouenji was tight-lipped about it, but from Endou's regretful stance, he could put at least a part of the story together. But the firebender came to Fubuki, wincing as he held his hand close. Fubuki, while never before nervous around firebenders or anyone from the Fire Nation, suddenly felt like every move was the wrong one. The other's dark eyes were always calculating; his tone was strict and tense, sometimes neutral or more genuine when speaking to Endou or his second-in-command. If he did anything besides heal him, Fubuki felt like he would be a roasted flounder in a matter of seconds.
But apparently the firebender had wanted to talk to him.
As they sat down by the stream and Fubuki took Gouenji's injured hand, everything felt tense for a moment. Until the firebender spoke.
„You seem to be good at this,” he said.
Fubuki glanced up at him as he held the glowing water firmly to the burns. „My parents thought being taught how to heal would be a better area for me than fighting. Considering how fragile I was as a child, I know where they were coming from.”
„But you wanted to fight?”
„Yes. And no. Protecting my family and friends has always been my first instinct, so learning how to fight came naturally. I was better than my twin sometimes, even if I wasn't trained as much as him.” Fubuki turned the hand around to heal the burns on the back of it. „He is honestly the only one from home that trusts me to take care of myself.”
Gouenji looked him straight in the eye. „And what about the no part?”
„No one wants to fight. They would much rather there be no need for it.” Fubuki healed the wrist area last. „But with how things are, fighting is the only thing that can be done for now. And I would rather help the troops and die with them in battle than sit behind. I know healing is a noble deed, but it's not what I was meant to be doing. I will heal when necessary, but I will protect and fight first.”
As Fubuki finished speaking, he let the hand go, watching the other as he inspected it. A bit of awe was in his eyes as he saw that all the injuries, even the one from last morning's papercut, were gone.
„Now take a break from teaching Endou. I don't have enough energy to heal even myself today,” Fubuki said as he looked at the surrounding trees. „And Tsunami still doesn't want to learn how to heal.” He shook his head. „Sometimes I believe an artic hen would have been a more useful companion.”
Dark brown eyes looked at him in interest. The boy joined him in watching the view, agreeing that a break was needed. „What animals do you have in the Northern Tribe?”
Gray eyes looked at him, frowning a bit.
„I've never had the opportunity to learn about the Water Tribe's fauna. And my sister always adored animals, so I want to be able to tell her about them if... when I see her again,” Gouenji said, looking off to a spot, seemingly deep in thought.
Fubuki's eyes softened. He knew the burden of being a brother, and if seeing family again was even an option. So he let go of any belief of this just being a superficial conversation and started speaking about all of the animals he could remember.
So every day passed with the two conversing about random cultural and naturistic differences between their nations. The conversations flowed like water until they sparked new topics. Sometimes it was their time as kids; others it was how much they could annoy Someoka before he turned into a tired mother of five.
Though Someoka did thank Fubuki when they were in private. He hadn't seen Gouenji relax in months since they fled from their duties and homes. Even if that did mean he ended up encased in ice every other day.
The calm had to end, though.
Fubuki couldn't remember what happened or who fired first. Who even came first?
All he knew was that at one moment, he was helping Gouenji explain to Endou how to direct lightning back to the sender (all those 'shocking' run-ins with the Fire Prince were getting on Fubuki's nerves at this point) and in the next...
Even 'chaos' would be too simple of a term for what erupted.
Tsunami had come running first, followed by Kurimatsu and Shourinji. All three were screaming, as something seemed to chase them. That something turned out to be the firebending general Nagumo. He and the Fire Nation prince seemed to have a competition over who could catch the Avatar first. And he came with several troops, and a fight between the two sides started.
At one point, Nagumo had Fubuki cornered, and while he could hold his own for the first half of the fight, his bending was getting more out of hand. Fubuki had fallen on his back, and the firebender raised his lit hand to give a finishing blow. But ice had his arm frozen in seconds, and Suzuno, Shirou's personal guard, was knocking the teen unconscious in seconds. The two waterbenders shared one look before Fubuki nodded, and his oldest friend ran to shield him from the shadows once again.
The prince stood up and barely made his way behind a tree, his legs nearly giving up from the shock of near death. From there, he saw the rest of his group effectively managing to get the other firebenders away, with Endou tricking them into setting their own ships on fire. A giggle left Fubuki when he saw it happen. Otonashi seemed to be holding her own just fine, while Kazemaru had to help Tsunami get free from one of the nets the enemy had thrown at him. The rest of their acquaintances were creating diversions to get their attention away from Endou.
They were giving them a chance to escape.
Fubuki then gained all the strength he could and ran to Ikki to get him ready for lift-off. By the time Ikki had everything on him and Teishi was secured in the seat, his friends were running towards them, getting on one by one.
What surprised Fubuki was Gouenji jumping on with the others. But he couldn't dwell on that; he just gave the reigns over to Kazemaru, and off they went. He joined the others in the saddle when the flying bison stabilized himself. Sitting down next to Gouenji, he softly voiced his concern.
„Where are the others?”
Gouenji sighed and looked back. „They decided to lead them in the opposite direction. They will send me a messenger hawk when they find shelter.”
Fubuki looked towards the still-rising smoke that was getting smaller and smaller. „With Someoka leading them, it will probably be before they can even handle their injuries.”
It got the firebender to chuckle for a moment. His attention was then stolen away by Endou.
Fubuki smiled at Gouenji. It seemed he would be staying with them for a while.
Which he did. And it was fine with Fubuki.
No, really!
He finally found someone he could keep up with in wit, Pai Sho, and even hand-to-hand combat. They still haven't tried fighting with bending, but Shirou was sure they'd be a match there as well.
He finally found a companion he could closely confide in. Someone who understood his struggles as the oldest and the one to have to take the family burden one day. Someone who could match his sarcasm and childishness.
Having Gouenji on the team was really nice.
But Fubuki might have started taking too much of an interest. He seemed to be just like brother and father, after all. All the Fubuki men seemed to gain crushes in a matter of days. Fubuki was just glad he got a few weeks.
The bad thing here was that he didn't know how to approach Gouenji because of it. Not without being overly awkward towards the end of the conversation, at least. And he knew that at least Otonashi and Kazemaru saw right through him. The two were too observant for their own good sometimes.
Which brought him back to the moment. He had left the camp site to go a bit down the stream and just calm himself down. All the thoughts of liking someone (which has honestly never happened to him before) and how to act were clouding his mind. Questions if Gouenji would even be okay with another guy liking him. How were things done in the Fire Nation? Would he leave the team if he knew, or would Fubuki be the one to leave? Because Endou did need a firebending teacher, and this was the best they could ever get, honestly. Him saying anything to Gouenji could ruin their whole mission.
At least the sky was clear instead. He could finally see the moon—and it was full, too! Tui was saying hi. Or at least he liked to think so. He sighed and stared at the moon, simply enjoying the feeling of at least a small part of his former strength returning with the shine of the full moon.
He soon started speaking. „Moon Spirit. Tui. What should I do?” He looked down at the reflection in the water. „Do you even approve of this? He is Fire Nation and a firebender after all. What if it shouldn't be?” Looking back up, he knew the Moon Spirit wouldn't answer, but he still hoped for something.
After a few moments of silence, he sighed again. His eyes looked off, unfocused, into the distance. Lost just like he himself was.
He was so lost that he couldn't even hear the object of his thoughts approaching him.
Gouenji stared at the Northern Tribe's prince, whose hair and eyes shone in the moonlight, whose skin looked paler than usual in that moment, and who appeared so fragile with his face in a frown and shoulders slumped. Gouenji wished once again that he could take at least one trouble away from the teen. He wished he could give him a bit of his own strength so he wouldn't have to worry about losing him on the battlefield.
Caring for the gray-haired boy had come as a surprise. He never felt like that for someone he just met. But the quick way in which they connected through similar and yet so different experiences, which showed them once again how opposite people can lead similar lives, had made a small piece of him finally think life wasn't so horrible after all. Not when someone like Fubuki was in it.
Someoka had immediately seen the change in him, all thanks to the waterbender. His closest friend did judge him for his choice of friends (seeing as how many times he was victim to their bullshit), but he couldn't judge too hard. He had, after all, gotten the most stubborn firebender to smile, of all things. A gentle smile was directed at Fubuki when he wasn't looking, when he was laughing at something Otonashi had told him.
And Gouenji would like to have him laugh now. A frown was not what belonged on his face. It was a soft, tired smile, at least, that should inhabit it.
And since Fubuki helped him so many times without even knowing, Gouenji would help him. At least to return the favor.
He purposely made some noise with the leaves of the bush that was next to him, just so he wouldn't give Fubuki too much of a scare.
The waterbender blinked a few times before looking over to see the other walking towards him.
„A bit late to be awake, don't you think?” Gouenji asked.
„I could ask you the same thing,” Fubuki said, scooting over a bit on the tree log to give his friend some more space to sit.
„I woke up suddenly and noticed you weren't there. I wanted to come check if you're okay.” And this was the first time that Gouenji looked to see the clear sky. „How come you are awake?”
A small smile appeared on the teen's face. „Waterbenders usually have a hard time sleeping during full moons. It's when we are at our most powerful.” He leaned back a bit to watch the moon. „We're a bit over-energetic, you could say.”
„Is that why Tsunami was more bothersome than usual today?”
A joyous laugh left the prince. „He was like a newborn polar bear dog, yes.” He looked over at the other, just in time to see an odd look on his face. Fubuki didn't know what it meant. He had only ever been taught how to not give his emotions away in court. So he frowned, his head tilted. „Is everything okay?”
The other frowned at him. „Why wouldn't it be?”
„You had this... odd look on your face.” Fubuki winced at how weird that sounded. „I mean. It's not something I've seen you make before, so I just wanted to ask if everything was alright. Maybe you're not feeling well, or you should go back to sleep.”
„Is my company that bad?” Gouenji chuckled at the nervousness the other suddenly gave off.
„No!” Hands raised, and both boys were taken aback by the loudness of the answer. Fubuki blushed and looked away. „No. It's good, actually. I just don't want you to get overly tired because of me. I know you wake up early. If you want to go back to sleep, don't let me stop you.” He looked back at the sky, trying to avoid the tense gaze of the firebender. „You don't have to force yourself to keep me company. I'm fine.”
Things were still for a while, silent besides the wind in the leaves, the croak of a random frog, and the buzzing of the nocturnal insects.
Inside Fubuki, it was an arctic storm. Why had he said all of that? He was never this bad, never this nervous. Tutors had taught him not to be. But, to be fair, they had never taught him how to behave in the presence of a person of potential romantic interest. But still, everything he said was embarrassing.
When the silence continued on, Fubuki thought Gouenji would leave. Especially when he stood up.
Instead. „Let's spar.”
Fubuki looked up at him. An offered hand and welcoming eyes were present. Frowning, Fubuki answered. „Isn't it too late to get our weapons out again?”
„Not weapons.” A flame lit up on the outstretched hand. „Bending.”
Fubuki stared at the flame, frowning for a moment. „You think I can?” He looked back at him.
A small smirk appeared on his face. „It's the full moon. You said waterbenders are at their strongest this night. Let's see if that is true.” The flame dispersed, but the hand stayed in place, waiting for the other's decision. „Besides. Sparing against you with my bending has been a wish of mine for a while now, your highness.”
Warmth washed over Fubuki's face. When Gouenji used his title like that, at first out of respect and then to tease, it was somehow different. Different from others using it, leaving him a bit flustered. Especially at that moment, when the tone of his voice was hushed, as if trying not to spook him.
„Well.” Fubuki took the hand—warmer than anything he could have imagined, firm and gentle as it pulled him up—and stood. „I would have to say the same to you, soldier.”
There was a twitch of the lips. An upward motion. When others called him by that title, it was derogatory, making fun of his still low rank. But Fubuki made it sound like an honor, like the most wanted position in the world.
Gouenji led the two of them to a clearing, making sure it was close enough to camp in case something happened, but far enough so no one would be woken up. There was a small pond in the middle of that clearing, so Fubuki didn't have to strain himself by gathering water from the plants or his drinking supply. Once they came to the middle of the clearing, they let go of their hands (Fubuki blushed when he realized he never let go of the hand) and went to stand opposite each other.
They bowed to one another and got into a fighting stance, ready for the first move.
Gouenji was the one to do so. He flipped through the air, sending lines of fire at Fubuki through his kicks. The waterbender put them out before urging the water to form a circle around him. Gouenji sent a bigger flame, this time throwing a few punches before shooting one with his kick.
Three times, the water was put out, but at the last flame, stronger than the others, Fubuki made a wall of ice to stop it from getting any closer. The ice shattered upon impact, but the ball of fire was gone as well.
Everything was quiet for a moment; Fubuki couldn't see Gouenji anywhere.
Then a flame wip came from behind him, ready to grab him by his ankle. Fubuki jumped out of the way, turned around, and, conjuring up a water wip of his own, tried to hit the firebender back. When he heard a hiss come from the other, he knew he had knicked him with the ice tip he had put on the end.
He saw a bit of blood on Gouenji's cheek, and he lit up his hands to shoot more fire at him. He'd heal that later. In that moment, he had to dodge a stream of fire coming his way. He sent four ice spikes towards him in retaliation.
The fight lasted like that for about 2 minutes. Shirou, for once in the past few months, finally felt well enough that he could fight just like he did with Atsuya when they trained together. Except maybe it was more extreme. There was no eternal ice and sea, no endless supply of water, and the opponent was his opposite element. He was smiling. Grinning. He finally had the opportunity to fight someone who was his equal and so much more. No more hiding his power or his mind. Gouenji was the last step he needed to take to finally be free.
He laughed as Gouenji ended up in the pond after he had frozen the ground beneath him. Fubuki himself was on the ground after being hit by one of the flame wips Gouenji had conjured. Before Gouenji could rise back up, he froze him (besides his head) to the spot.
Fubuki got up and went over to his friend. „I win?” He had an innocent smile on his face.
Gouenji snorted, but soft eyes and lips smiled back at him. „This time.”
With a grin, the gray-haired boy unfroze the firebender and helped him up. He removed any excess water from him, the other already heating himself up to make sure he didn't catch any cold.
„Your Tribe were idiots to put your focus on healing,” Gouenji said after a moment. „You would be one of the most feared waterbenders in the Fire Nation's eyes.” His eyes were on him—sincere, dark, and inviting.
Fubuki felt warmth in his cheeks; that wasn't from the previous sparring session. „Flattery will get you nowhere.” He then caught sight of the scratch he had given Gouenji earlier. „Let me heal that for you.”
Gouenji nodded and stood still as Fubuki stepped closer. He called the water from the pond to him and gently put his encased hand on the firebender's cheek. The water glowed bright blue, and Gouenji's eyes couldn't leave Fubuki. The way the moonlight and the glow made his eyes appear almost soft blue, his hair shone as if it were the moon itself. He had only seen snow once, and he thought of it as soft, pure, and blinding, and so was the other's skin.
Fubuki decided to take a look at Gouenji's eyes and gasped at the sheer intensity of the gaze. He let his hand fall, sending the water back to the pond now that the imperfection was healed. The dark brown of the eyes was foreign to the Water Tribe's, but the endless warmth in them made Shirou sad that he had never seen them before. The tan skin of the other also felt warm on every touch, making the lingering feeling of the northern cold leave him just by standing next to him. The soft blonde of the hair was the only colder physical feature of the firebender, but it somehow worked with everything else.
The prince didn't know what to do next. His heart said to lean in, but his mind warned him of the consequences that may follow. What if he was reading him wrong? He didn't want to ruin it. He didn't want to ruin them.
Fubuki looked away and made to step back. This is for everyone's sake. That was his reasoning. His princely code never really left him.
But Gouenji stepped forward at the same time, with his hand reaching for the other's cheek. „Don't run.”
Gray eyes met dark brown again.
„What if it doesn't end well?” Fubuki whispered, too tense to speak louder.
„We forgive each other and ourselves and move on.” Gouenji leaned his forehead on the other's.
Fubuki bit the inside of his cheek. „I've never felt this before.”
Gouenji smiled. „Neither have I.”
The prince finally relaxed a bit, a shaky laugh leaving him. He hugged Gouenji then, holding on tight. The soldier returned his embrace and held him closer than possible. A small promise was shared, unspoken, between them.
They'd fight in this war, figuring out their feelings as they went.
And they'd do it together.