Work Text:
Rangi loved being a teacher and she loved teaching the older warriors in the village. She felt, at times, that it was easier to teach the older girls. That wasn’t to say she hated teaching the young ones but that was really her wife’s job.
When Kyoshi first founded this island by splitting off from Yokoya, she and Kyoshi had a long talk about who were going to be the defenders and who were going to teach said defenders. After much consideration, it was decided that the defenders were to be called the ‘Kyoshi Warriors’, named after the Avatar herself.
That was Rangi’s idea, thank you very much. It was also decided that Kyoshi would teach the younger warriors of the village the basics. Things such as techniques and how to use their fans correctly. Rangi would teach the older girls stances, how to defend and block and how to easily take down your opponent.
Rangi and Kyoshi were taking the long way to the village dojo, waving and talking to people on the way. Auntie Jei–the island’s self appointed Grandmother–was rearranging the flowers in her cart for the market when Kyoshi plucked one Painted Lady and placed it in Rangi’s hair.
When Kyoshi fished through her pockets for some change, Auntie Jei reassured her that “the Avatar doesn’t need to pay for making her wife more than she already is.” Rangi smiled and thanked the old lady. The couple waved to passersby until they reached the dojo.
Once the women set up the dojo for their students, Rangi sighed as Kyoshi fumbled with her robe ties. Sometimes, Rangi thought that as many times as Kyoshi seemed to mess with belt ties, it was just a ploy for Kyoshi to pull her into a knee-buckling kiss. And, of course, she was right. Just as Rangi was pulling away,
Kyoshi grabbed the Firebender by her hip and tilted her chin up for a kiss. Rangi wrapped her around the Avatar’s neck. It wasn’t a secret that they were married, even if it was just in their hearts. The entire island knew of the Avatar’s life partner. So much so that sometimes when Kyoshi was out in the town, people wouldask her, “some flowers for Rangi?” or “Some moonpeaches for the Avatar’s wife?” Rangi couldn’t lie, it was nice.
“Kyo, save it for tonight.” Rangi said as her wife peppered kisses to her throat.
“I just missed you.” Kyoshi pouted, twirling a strand of Rangi’s hair between her fingers.
“What do you call last night? Or even this morning?” Rangi asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do, I’m sorry.” Rangi apologized by pressing a quick kiss to her wife’s lips and then promptly moved and dodged Kyoshi’s hands before the Avatar could pull her back into another embrace.
Finally, they split off into their classes. Rangi with older girls and Kyoshi with the younger ones. There was one particular girl who was really struggling with her blocking. She was always just a second too late, causing her opponent to knock her on her bum. Rangi could tell that it was upsetting her. As she corrected another girl’s stance since her feet were too close together, she kept an eye on the other girl.
After so many failed attempts to block, it was weighing on the poor girl. What Rangi didn’t expect was that her student would take an attitude with her. Rangi stood behind her, ready to fix her stance if needed. As the girl fell into position, Rangi stuck her foot out, hooked it and nudged the girl’s farther out.
“Get off me, Sifu.”
“Watch your tone. Plant your feet.”
“I know, Sifu.”
“Tighten your core.”
“I know.”
“I wasn’t asking if you knew. See me after class, Meeka.” Her other students shared glances. Rangi turned to see all the students sitting on the bench, watching Meeka and herself. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. After class, she stopped Meeka before she could sneak out under her watch.
As a punishment for taking a tone with her, Rangi made Meeka help clean up the dojo with her. It took a few minutes for Meeka to start opening up to her.
“I’m sorry, Sifu Rangi. You didn’t deserve that, especially not in front of everyone.”
“Go on,” Rangi said, picking up a stray fan that resembled Kyoshi. She placed it back in its casing with its twin.
“I just…I just panicked. You are so important to the warriors and the island and I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“Meeka, do you know where I’m from?”
“Here?” That made Rangi smiled. Most of the children of Kyoshi Island were born on it. This meant that they had only known this place for most of their lives, some had never left it. Some children asked her where she was from and when Rangi told, they stared at her, confused.
For most of these kids, Rangi was the first and only person from the Fire Nation they had met. She was really the only one who looked out of place. What with her gold eyes and dark black hair and armor with her clan’s emblem. The rest of the townspeople wore Earth Kingdom outfits, extremely different than Rangi's clothing.
“The Fire Nation. My mother was a military commander who didn’t take someone’s best. She wanted perfection. Even from her own daughter. I followed in her footsteps and became a lieutenant to the Fire Lord’s army. I never wanted to disappoint my mother but I did question her motives at times. She was a powerful person in our country. Despite being her daughter, I was never given that same respect. No matter how hard I tried. All of this to say, I understand not wanting to disappoint an important person but you cannot and will not speak to me the way you did. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sifu.”
“If you have a problem with me or my teachings, tell me after class. Do not disrespect me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Rangi nodded. It was getting late and she knew Kyoshi was already home since her class ended a lot earlier than hers. Knowing her, Kyoshi was probably making Auntie Mui’s dumplings. She wouldn’t care if Rangi was a few minutes late. Rangi turned to Meeka, “Let me walk you home. It’s late.”
Meeka waited outside the dojo as Rangi closed the place up for the night. Rangi held out her hand for Meeka to take and hold as they walked, letting Meeka lead her. They walked in silence until Rangi could practically feel how much Meeka was itching to talk.
“You can speak, just so you know.” Rangi said, looking over at her student. The second she said that, the girl exploded.
“Why did Miss Avatar Kyoshi split the island?” She was definitely not expecting that. How in the world was she supposed to explain this one? Splitting the island was something that caused a huge argument between Rangi and Kyoshi.
She could remember coming home and seeing her wife removing her makeup with a strange calmness. She thought she just felt an earthquake happen. Rangi crossed her arms over her chest as two strands of hair fell into her face.
“I killed Chin and split off from Yokoya.”
Rangi pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the temperature of the room rise. She was pissed. “Are you actually serious, Kyoshi?”
“Chin was a tyrannical moron and stubborn. He wouldn’t move so he fell to his death. That was his fault.”
“Are you-”
“He was going to take our home. I did this so our people would be safe from people like him.” Kyoshi stood up, facing the Firebender. “I was not stand by and watch as someone forced us out.”
Rangi huffed. “To protect us. My wife is very set in her beliefs. She didn’t want to sit by as a horrible conquerer took over our home. So, she split the island from the mainland.”
That answer seemed to satisfy Meeka enough. The girl seemed to really be packing the punches tonight because she asked another difficult question. “How are you and Miss Avatar Kyoshi married?”
Rangi pulled her lips to the side, racking her brain. “We cannot be married the way your mother and father are. For us, we’ve been together for so long that we know we are married in our hearts.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“You already are.”
The girl laughed. “When people tell stories about Avatar Kyoshi hundreds of years from now,” Rangi hummed absentmindedly.
“Do you think they’ll remember that she had someone waiting for her at home?” The question stopped her in her tracks. The breeze stirred the grass around them. For a long moment, Rangi didn’t answer. Everyone remembered the Avatar.
But legends had a way of sanding away the quiet parts. The mornings Kyoshi slept in because she’d been awake comforting refugees all night. The way she absentmindedly reached for Rangi’s hand in crowded markets. The evenings when the Avatar was just a tired wife complaining about sore feet while stealing bites of Rangi’s dinner. Those weren’t the stories that survived.
Finally, Rangi spoke. “Probably not.”
Meeka frowned. “Does that make you sad?”
“It used to but history will only remember victories. No one will remember who made sure the hero ate dinner. Or slept. Or even laughed. But those things mattered too because they mattered the most.”
“I think if I ever tell stories about Avatar Kyoshi,” Rangi raised an eyebrow. “I’ll tell people she had someone waiting for her at home. The best Sifu ever.”
“Thank you.”
The house sat at the edge of the village where the road narrowed into packed earth and the lanterns grew farther apart. It wasn’t impressive, but Rangi knew it was very much cared for.
The front door slid open before the girl could even call out. A young man stepped onto the porch. Ji-Yoo couldn’t have been older than twenty-two.
He was tall with broad shoulders that seemed to show years of hauling lumber and sacks of grain rather than formal combat training. His black hair had been tied back into a loose knot, though several strands had already escaped to frame his face. His skin was lightly tanned from working outdoors, and a faint scar crossed one of his eyebrows.
The instant he saw his little sister, his serious expression dissolved. “There you are.” Meeka grinned sheepishly.
“I know, I know. We stayed late.”
“You said you’d be home before sunset.”
His voice carried the familiar exasperation of someone who had repeated those exact words dozens of times before. Then his eyes shifted to Rangi. Recognition flashed across his face so quickly it was almost imperceptible. He straightened instinctively.
“Your sister worked hard today.”
“I never doubted it.” Without thinking, he reached over and brushed a streak of dirt from her cheek with his thumb. It was obvious he had been taking care of her for years. “Go wash up,” he said gently. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
As Meeka disappeared into the house, he turned back to Rangi. “Thank you for walking her home.”
Rangi shrugged. “It was on my way.”
“She talks about training every night,” he admitted. “I’ve never seen her this happy.” Rangi glanced toward the warm light spilling from the doorway, hearing the girl’s laughter echo through the house.
Rangi made her way home that resided on the very top of the islands hill. She found a note in the kitchen.
I made some leftover dumplings for you. It’s Auntie Mui’s recipe, obviously. You already knew that. Come to bed when you’re done.
─ K.
Rangi ate her dumplings and cleaned up after herself and then made her way to her shared bedroom with Kyoshi. She found her wife in bed, sitting up and pouring through Earth Kingdom scrolls.
“Look who it is.” Kyoshi said, her eyes raking over Rangi’s body. The Firebender started to undress which made the Avatar abandoned her scrolls completely. She got up and wrapped her arms around Rangi’s waist, her hands resting on the shorter woman’s sides. “Where were you?”
“Walking Meeka home.”
“Hm.” Kyoshi hummed, pressing a kiss to Rangi’s neck. “Missed you. Wanna go to bed?”
“I’d like that.” Rangi turned in the Avatar’s arms and crashed her lips to Kyoshi’s. Her wife picked her up, falling into bed with the woman she loved. Rangi straddled Kyoshi’s lap. A stupid grin spread across the Avatar’s face.
° ᡣ𐭩 . ° .
After, Rangi began to trace the scars on Kyoshi’s hands as the taller woman watched, her face buried in Rangi’s hair. Kyoshi was laying on her back, her robe untied so that her wife could see her bare skin that was peppered with freckles. Rangi was laying on her stomach, the blankets covering her lower back, the top half of her was bare.
“What’s wrong?” Kyoshi asked, pressing a kiss to Rangi’s hair as her free hand snaked under the covers to rest on her wife’s back.
“Meeka asked me something today.”
“Which was?”
“If when people tell stories about the great Avatar Kyoshi, will people remember she had a someone at home. I told her, probably not.”
“I like to think they will. You are training the very first Kyoshi Warriors. You have been by my side since we were kids. If they don’t remember my wife, I’ll make them remember. You will be remembered, my love. You have my word.”
Rangi held eye contact with her wife until Kyoshi pulled her into a deep kiss. Rangi gasped softly as she felt Kyoshi’s hand that was under the covers shift even lower. Kyoshi ran her fingers up and down the shorter woman’s spine, making Rangi surpress a groan. Kyoshi knew what that did to her.
The last thing Rangi remembered before Kyoshi practically turned her legs to jelly was, “History will remember you, Rangi Sei’naka. I’ll make sure of it.”