Falling For You ✰༄ ѕσkkα

Water || Passing The Blockade

After a little bit the chief came back with supplies for our trip, and he was joined by a few other villagers. We were quietly chattering among ourselves, accepting gracious comments of gratitude about Aang freeing them from the Hei Bai's threat.

Aang's voice rang out from behind, "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!" I turned to see him pulling on Appa's reigns, only to fall forwards after he stretched them out.

"I think his big butt is trying to tell you something."

"Please don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to loose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I." Katara's light confession of liking Aang (that's my theory, anyway) caused him to rethink his choice for a moment. It didn't last long though, because he rose to his feet with a look of determination.

"But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means. I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the solstice. That's today!" he airbends onto Appa's head, taking the reigns in his hands once again. Appa starts walking but we all run in front of him, blocking their path.

"We're not letting you go into the Fire Nation, Aang. At least, not by yourself," I declare, hitting the end of my stick on the dirt.

"Yeah, we got your back," Sokka adds while Momo leaps onto Aang's shoulder and a smile grows on his face. Appa licks Sokka, drenching him with spit from head to toe, and I laugh at his discomfort.

The siblings climbed on Appa's saddle, and Sokka extended his hand over the edge. I chucked my cane up near him before I used both hands, gripping his forearm to be pulled up. The chief informed us that we need to hurry if we have any chance of getting there on time. The bison launches into the air, and we star soaring through the dark sky. I take a seat near Sokka and start subconsciously running the braided threads of rope between my fingers.

"Hey! You found it," Sokka's sudden excitement made me a tad bit confused. I follow his gaze down to see the braid between my pointer and middle finger.

"Oh, yeah! When the Hei Bai took you, you dropped it when you threw your boomerang. I saw it on the ground so I picked it up to give you when you came back. I completely forgot about it until now. Here," I hold it out to him, and he has a small grin painted on his lips. He takes it, gingerly brushing his fingertips against my palm.

"Thanks, I was afraid I lost it. Could you maybe, um, tie it for me? I wanna make sure that I don't drop it again," he lays the rope on his thigh and puts his wrist on top, looking at me expectantly.

"Y-yeah, sure," I can feel my cheeks warming as I move towards him.

I reach out for the rope and knot the two ends together, and his eyes focus on my hands. I caught him peering at my face once or twice. I finish tying the new bracelet on his wrist, sitting back on my heels. The dusty brown stands out greatly against his navy blue sleeves, which I always thought were a little bit odd since the fabric reaches halfway up on his thumb and first two fingers. It doesn't cover his pinky and ring finger, leaving a half of his hand exposed.

He holds out his arm, moving his wrist this way and that. He's smiling, and I do the same. "Thank you! It looks great!"

"Of course, I'm glad you like it."

Thank the stars its dark out so he can't see how flustered I look. My face is probably bright red at the sight of him being so cheerful.  It's little moments like these that make my heart flutter, but then it crashes back down when the thought of the Kyoshi Warrior flash in my mind. I brush it off though, because it shouldn't matter. She's back on the island, and I'm the one that's here.

I feel Katara nudge me on the shoulder, and I see she's smirking at our small interaction. I try to bury my face behind my hands, to keep them from seeing my reddened cheeks.