now or never || an atla fanfic

𝔢𝔳𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔞𝔱𝔢

its been a hot minute but hey people ✨

- ♚ -

"It's practically broad daylight, don't you think people will notice that I'm not home?" Katara asked as she followed Aang down the hall.

The whole ship was rather large, but it had been extended deeper into the thick ice through bending. Metal now lined the walls to provide insulation.

"Not at all," Aang said. "It's a Sunday morning. Everything in the castle tends to be more...relaxed on those days."

Katara quickly caught up to Aang, matching his pace. "And how will I be able to get back inside the castle without being seen?"

"That is for you to find out, as your second challenge."

She raised an eyebrow "And my first?"

"Your first-" Aang stepped into a large room, positioning himself into a ready stance. "Is to beat me in a sparring match." He finished, with a sly look on his face.

"I don't know anything about bending," she said, standing across the room. "How could you-"

"So you're telling me you've never snuck into the royal library to read ancient bending scrolls?" he asked. "It's simply a test for me to evaluate your skills. Nothing more."

"Fine," she hastily agreed, taking her position across the room. She began to pull water from the nearby buckets, encircling herself with the element.

She drew in a shaky breath, eyes glued to her opponent. Her eyes observed his stance, examining for any weaknesses.

That one glance, seemed to have cost her, resulting in a sharp blow inches from her ear. It seemed that he would be keeping a fair game, fighting water with water.

Katara pulled the water to her center, molding it into a ball and sending it directly to Aang's center. He was caught off guard by the sudden movement, and didn't have enough time to retaliate. He groaned as his spine slammed into the wall.

Katara brushed her hands against each other. "I guess the winner is quite obvious," she stated, standing over him.

He raised a hand, pushing his wet hair away from his face and meeting her eyes.

"Your arms are too far apart," she stated. "You should bring them closer to protect your center."

"So you do know the basics of waterbending," he said. He stood upright, bending the water out of his soaked clothes. "You ought to be more confident in yourself."

"I'm not here to be lectured. Can't you teach me how to waterbend?" she asked.

"Hmm," he thoughtfully tapped his chin, looking away for a moment. His other hand went behind his back, discreetly bending water from nearby.

"Think fast!" he blurted, aiming a large ball of water directly at her face.

She was caught off-guard, as the water splashed in her face. Katara rubbed her eyes vigorously to help clear her vision.

Aang was standing right in front of her, a sheepish smile on his face.

Katara folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at him. He could've sworn steam was coming out of her ears.

Run and never look back, his instincts told him. He immediately dashed out the room and fled down the narrow halls and into the main room.

"Oh, look here, the Avatar just got his ass whooped by an inexperienced waterbender," Suki teased, as Aang ran into the room.

"Oh, be quiet," he muttered, walking to the kitchenette and pulling out a towel to dry his hair.

"What happened?" Zuko asked out of curiosity.

"Shouldn't you be asking me that?" Katara asked. She was standing in the doorway with her arms folded.

Toph burst into laughter. "He actually did that?"

Katara effortlessly pulled the small amount of water out of her clothes and sprinkled it on Aang, who was busy drying his hair.

"Hey!" he protested, but Katara already walked out of the room.

He followed after a short while, matching her brisk pace.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, a tinge of disappointment appearing in his voice.

"Unfortunately," she said, sparing a glance in his direction. "I nearly forgot that I have lunch to attend with my family. If I'm not there they'll be suspicious."

"Why can't you stay? Do you have to go?"

A smile grew on her face. She turned around. "As much as I would love to, I don't think my father would like that very much. I promise I'll be back by midnight."

"Don't. It would be too dangerous for you to come all the way over here in the dead of night," he warned.

She adjusted her sleeves, "It shouldn't be that difficult. Plus, what's another challenge? I thought you wanted to assess my skills."

He sighed. No point in insisting further, else she might decide not to show up at all.

"Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "Midnight. Don't be late."

"I don't plan on it," she replied, giving him a warm smile before shutting the door and dashing off.

"Aww, look at Twinkle Toes, getting all mushy and flustered," Toph gushed behind him.

Aang paid no heed to her remark, slipping his coat on and sliding on his gloves seamlessly.

"You're going to follow her, aren't you?" Suki asked.

"Isn't that what he's doing?" Toph said. "It's obvious he's not going out to have tea with the Earth Queen. You can tell by his face all scrunched up."

"I think his face would be scrunched up regardless," Zuko added.

"I can hear you all, you know that, right?" Aang said, looking up.

"That's the point, buddy," Toph said, clapping him on the back. "Have fun following your girlfriend."

"She's not-"

"Well, not yet, of course," Toph said, chuckling.

"You guys are insufferable," Aang grumbled before opening the door. "Just don't burn the place down while I'm away. Suki, you're in charge."

The door shut just as Toph whined. "But Suki was in charge last time!"

- ♚ -

next update when im mentally stable 🤩

no but seriously, this is the happiest i've ever been in a long time 

-even though school's still being a piece of shit

buuut im hoping i can get back to writing soon heheh

plus i might have a lil surprise for yall-