(Y/n) swam a slow breaststroke through the water, watching as Aang and Katara practiced their waterbending. They were in a slow moving body of water, with a nice stone archway decorating the area.
She also might've been looking at Sokka occasionally. He laid in a big leaf that he used as a raft, his hair down, and only his undergarments to cover him. She couldn't look at him for too long before her face started to heat up.
"You guys are gonna be done soon, right?" Sokka asked as he drifted through the water. "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Omashu today."
Katara slumped over, annoyed that Sokka was bringing up their time restraints again. "What, like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?"
"I could be ready in two minutes. Seriously. Whenever." Sokka pulled some hair from in front of his eyes to see his sister, then let his arm fall back into the water.
(Y/n) swam up to Sokka's leaf, and began to pet a peaceful Momo that rested on Sokka's stomach. She peeked over to see Katara helping Aang with his form, and his face turning bright red. Katara had no idea what she did to that boy.
She chuckled at the fact that her and Aang were in the same boat— liking one of the Water Tribe siblings, who were both seemingly clueless.
"What're you laughing at?" Sokka asked, almost defensive.
"Nothing. Just remembered a joke I heard once." (Y/n) sputtered.
Sokka pulled some hair from his eyes, one brow cocked up in confusion.
"Wasn't laughing at you. Promise." (Y/n) smiled, petting Momo again before swimming away.
She ducked under the water, and when she rose again, she heard a faint noise. The soft strumming of instruments, and it was getting closer.
"Don't fall in love with a travelling girl. She'll leave you broke and broken hearted." A man sang.
All the kids looked up to where the noise was coming from, and a small group of people came into their view. They wore bright clothes, all sang together, and played their instruments to the tune.
Sokka ducked into the water when they came closer.
"Hey, hey! River people." The man said.
"We're not river people." Katara said.
"You're not? Well then what kind of people are you?" This dude sounded high off his rocker.
"Just...people." Aang answered.
"Aren't we all, brother. Hoo!" The man exclaimed.
Sokka marched up to the group, waving his finger at them. "Who are you?"
"I'm Chong, and this is my wife Lily," Chong introduced. "We're nomads. Happy to go wherever the wind takes us." Chong then started to strum his guitar wildly and sang gibberish.
These guys were true hippies. (Y/n) loved it.
"You guys are nomads? That's great! I'm a nomad!" Aang exclaimed.
"Hey! Me, too!" Chong said.
"I know. You just said that." Aang started to look a little annoyed already.
"Oh." Chong rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, then caught a glimpse of Sokka wearing next to nothing. "Nice underwear." Chong looked at (Y/n), who nodded his head towards Sokka, and gave her a sly wink.
(Y/n) dipped her hands into the water to pretend she was washing her face. Obviously Chong knew that (Y/n) wanted Sokka. How could she not? He was somehow getting more attractive each day. Hard to resist.
Sokka took Momo down from his head, placed him in front of his groin, and scuttled away to cover up. He sent (Y/n) an embarrassed look, his face getting more red by the second.
The kids all got out of the water and got dressed as the nomads made themselves comfortable with Appa. A nomad began braiding Appa's fur, and (Y/n) couldn't deny, he looked very pretty with his fur braided with flowers.
Lily was steadily braiding (Y/n)'s hair while Chong told her, Katara, and Aang about the adventures they'd been on.
"Hey, Sokka! You should hear some of these stories. These guys have been everywhere." Aang says to Sokka, who is finally making his way back to them. Aang had an adorable flower crown on his head.
"Well, not everywhere, little arrowhead, but where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs." Chong said.
"They said they'll take us to see a giant nightcrawler." Aang said excitedly.
"On the way, there's a waterfall that creates a never-ending rainbow!" One of the nomads says, relaxing on his back.
Sokka had a brow raised, clearly annoyed with the company. "Look, I hate to be the wet blanket here, but since Katara is actually enjoying herself, I guess it's up to me," That recieved a scowl from Katara. "We need to get to Omashu. No sidetracks, no worms, and definitely no rainbows."
"Woah! Sounds like someone's got a case of destination fever. Ha. You're worried too much about where you're going." Chong says, laying on Appa.
"You gotta focus less on the where, and more on the going." Lily adds as she tucks a flower behind (Y/n)'s ear.
"O...ma...shu!" Sokka says dramatically.
"Sokka's right. We need to find King Bumi so Aang can learn earthbending somewhere safe." Katara says.
"Well, sounds like you're headed to Omashu," Chong says. Sokka smacks his forehead. "There's an old story about a secret pass...right through the mountains."
"Is this real, or a legend?" (Y/n) asks.
"Oh, it's a real legend. And it's as old as earthbending itself." Chong begins to strum his guitar, creating a nice tune. Lily begins to play her flute.
Aang, Katara, and (Y/n) sway to the gentle rhythm.
"Two lovers, forbidden from one another. A war divides their people. And a mountain divides them apart. Built a path to be togetherrrr...yeah, I forget the next couple lines, but then it goes...Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Through the mountain, secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!" Chong finished the song with his index finger pointed to the air. Everyone except Sokka clapped politely.
"I think we'll just stick with flying. We've dealt with the Fire Nation before." Sokka says, walking to Appa.
"We'll be fine." (Y/n) stands to join Sokka's side.
"Yeah, thanks for the help, but Appa hates going underground. And we need to do whatever makes Appa most comfortable." Aang smiles.
Yeah, flying didn't make Appa very comfortable this time. Or anyone in the saddle, for that matter. Fire Nation soldiers launched tons of flaming catapults their way, making it hard for Appa to get his way around them. They nearly got hit every time. They all clung to each other and screamed for dear life in the saddle.
They went back to the nomads in defeat, ash covering their skin and clothes.
"Secret love cave. Let's go." Sokka said.
••
The nomads lead them down a long path towards the secret love cave.
"How far are we from the tunnel?" Sokka asked.
"Actually, it's not just one tunnel. The lovers didn't want anyone to find out about their love, so they built a whole labyrinth." Chong said, waving his hands.
"Labyrinth?!" Sokka said, turning around dramatically.
"I'm sure we'll figure it out."
"All you need to do is trust in love, according to the curse." Lily added.
"Curse?" Sokka stopped walking as everyone else passed him.
"Oh, come on," (Y/n) grabbed his wrist and dragged him along with her. "You're one for the dramatic"
Sokka only grumbled in response.
They reached a large opening in a stone wall. It was dark all through the tunnel. Vines hung down from the entrance of the tunnel.
"Hey, hey! We're here!" Chong said.
"What exactly is this curse?" (Y/n) asked.
"The curse says that only those who trust in love can make it through the caves. Otherwise, you'll be trapped in them forever." Chong explained.
"And die." Lily said.
"Oh yeah. And die. Hey! I just remembered the rest of that song," Chong walks closer to the entrance, and dramatically strums his guitar. The sound echoes into the tunnel. "And diiieeeee."
"That's it! There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!" Sokka protests.
"Sokka, come on. We don't really have a choice here," (Y/n) says. Sokka purses his lips and the knit in his brows returns. "Stop doing that."
"Stop doing what?" Sokka asks.
"You're furrowing your eyebrows again."
"I don't do that!"
"Hey! Someone's making a big campfire!" One of the nomads says, pointing off to a stream of smoke in the distance.
"That's no campfire, Moku." Katara says.
"It's Fire Nation," Sokka adds. "They're tracking us."
"So all you need is to trust in love to get through these caves?" Aang asks Chong.
"That is correct, master arrowhead."
Aang looks at Katara longingly. (Y/n) pokes his side, and he smiles at her. They understood each other. "We can make it." Aang says.
"Everyone into the hole!" Sokka instructs.
(Y/n) let out a tiny snort. Sokka quickly joined her side. "Get your mind out the gutter." Sokka whispered in her ear. It sent shivers down her spine, but thankfully he walked in front of her before he could notice.
They slowly walked into the tunnel, Appa groaning uncomfortably. The tunnel began to shake, and then it all went dark. They had been closed in by the Fire Nation.
Chong lit a torch, and (Y/n) could see Appa pawing at the cave walls desperately. The poor beast.
"It's okay, Appa. We'll be fine," Katara pet Appa lovingly. "I hope."
"We will be fine. All we need is a plan," Sokka said. "Chong, how long do those torches last?"
"Uh, about two hours each."
"And we have five torches, so that's," Lily strikes four more torches on the ground. "ten hours!"
"It doesn't work like that if they're all lit at the same time!" Sokka grabs the torches and stomps them out on the ground.
"Oh! Right."
These nomads were something else.
Sokka pulled out a piece of parchment from his bag in the saddle, and explained his plan to make a map of where they've been.
They slowly walk through the tunnels, (Y/n) holding a torch for Sokka so that he could see the map. It was just lines of rough sketches of their direction so far. It had felt like they had been walking for way too long.
They reached another dead end, and Katara spoke up. "Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've led us to."
"This doesn't make any sense. We already came through this way." Sokka says, tracing his finger on the map. He was frustrated, and (Y/n) could tell.
"We don't need a map. We just need love. The little guy knows it. So does she." Chong points to Aang, then shifts his finger to (Y/n), who only looked up from picking her nail to hear her name called out.
Thanks for letting everyone know her desperate attempts, Chong.
"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind a map also." Aang says.
Sokka walks over to the cave walls. "There's something strange here. There's only one explanation: the tunnels are changing." Sokka looked dead serious as he turned to the rest of them.
The cave rumbled around them softly. It startled everyone, and they all looked around cautiously.
"The tunnels...they're a-changin'! It must be the curse. I knew we shouldn't have come down here." Chong said, pressing his hands to his head in worry.
"Right. If only we'd listened to you." Sokka said sarcastically.
"Wait!" (Y/n) said, hushing everyone. "Listen."
Everyone waited for a moment. Momo fly off of Sokka's shoulder into Katara's arms. (Y/n) leaned her torch into the darkness, and a wolf bat flew towards her. She ducked, and it ended up making Sokka stumble backwards.
"It's a giant flying thing with teeth!" Chong cried.
"No! It's a wolf bat!"
The animal flew around them, and Sokka swung his torch at it to protect Katara. He lost his grip on the torch, making it fall to Appa's feet.
Appa had enough. The bison started to jump around the cave, groaning as he bouldered into the cave walls. The tunnel rumbled around them dangerously.
(Y/n) didn't have time to see what was going on, she only saw rocks falling towards her. She felt a gust of wind push her back, and she skidded to a stop on her side. She felt the scrapes on her knees and elbows start to trickle with blood.
The mountain had caved in. She could only hear the rolling of a few more rocks coming to a stop, but she couldn't see anything. She rubbed the dust from her eyes, and the dust was settling everywhere around her.
She heard groaning and pulling at the rocks. She tilted her head up to see a familiar figure digging his hands into the rock and pulling. The torch on the ground was enough for her to tell it was Sokka.
"It's no use. We're separated." (Y/n) said, pulling herself up.
Sokka turned to her, and the look of relief on his face was priceless. He came to her side, torch and map in hand.
"Thank the Spirits, I thought I was alone." Sokka sighed.
They heard a small chirp from behind them.
"Momo!" (Y/n) cried, scooping the lemur in her arms.
"You're more excited to see Momo than me." Sokka grumbled.
"Of course I am," (Y/n) smiled. "Kidding. Do you have a plan to get us out of here?"
"Well, this is a whole new area so i'll kind of have to restart the map."
"Great." (Y/n) rolled her eyes, and Sokka only frowned at her.
They started their walk through the tunnel, unsure of what to talk about. Until they heard a soft strum from somewhere behind the walls of their tunnel. Sokka and (Y/n) both looked at each other, and listened to the noise.
"Oh, don't let the cave-in get you down. Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown. When the tunnels at its darkest thats when you need a clown, hey!" Chong sang. It was quiet and muffled, but they were nearby.
"At least we know they're close." (Y/n) said, relieved that they couldn't be too lost.
"But far away enough for me to drown them out." Sokka said, continuing forward. Chong had a way of hitting every one of Sokka's nerves, even more so than she used to.
They continued to walk through the tunnels, with Chong's love songs growing louder and softer as they walked. It felt like they had been walking forever until Sokka stopped in his tracks and groaned, throwing his hands up in the air.
"I don't get why I can't find us a way out of here!" Sokka said, stabbing his finger on the map.
"Creepy cursed love tunnel. The tunnels changing would actually make sense. It's not your fault," (Y/n) took the map from his hands, and set it on the ground. "Just take a moment to relax. We'll think of something. Sit."
She pulled Sokka to the ground with her, and he laid on his back on the cold stone. He sighed, then sat back up again, taking the torch in his hand to study the map.
He looked up at (Y/n), who was just watching him look at the map. She rested her chin on her hand, with a small smile on her face.
"What're you smiling about?" Sokka asked, sitting up a little straighter. Did he have something on his face?
(Y/n) hadn't realized she was smiling. She was probably totally gawking at him. Smooth moves, (Y/n). "Sorry. Just trying to read the map."
Sokka studied her a little more. He could never really read her well. She confused him.
Sokka got up, and pressed his ear to the wall. He must've been listening for rumbles through the mountain. He walked to the other side of the tunnel, and listened in on that side. He heard nothing.
(Y/n) could practically see the gears turning in his head. He was trying so hard to figure it out. She saw his brow furrow again, as he stood in the middle of the tunnel; pondering.
(Y/n) got up, and walked towards Sokka.
"You're doing the thing that you don't do again." She used her thumb to gently rub the space between his eyebrows, alleviating the furrow and setting his brows straight. She then rested her hands on his shoulders, and he looked at her a little dumbfounded.
The torch light flickered on his face, sharpening his features. She looked to see his grip tight on the torch, until he bent to set it down.
The air was heavy between them. They stood onto inches apart, unsure of what that small act of affection did to them.
"Sokka?" (Y/n) whispered. The two were slowly moving closer to each other, almost unaware that it was happening. (Y/n)'s heart quickened as he moved closer to her.
"(Y/n)?" Sokka whispered back. They were close enough to feel each other breath on their faces. (Y/n) reached her hands up to his face, resting then on his jaw. She just needed an excuse to touch it, even if it was just this once.
Sokka put his hands on her waist, and the two were still moving closer to one another. His eyes were scanning her face, waiting for some kind of sign. Some kind sign that what he wanted to do was okay.
(Y/n) saw his eyes searching, she craned her neck to the side ever so slightly, leaning into him.
When her lips hit his, she suddenly felt Sokka in every place she could think of. He suddenly clouded her mind, and his touch on her waist sent jolts of electricity through the rest of her body.
Sokka wrapped his arms around her back, and she threw hers around his neck. When his grip tightened, she smiled into the kiss.
When she brought one of her hands up to the back of his head and into the short hair, he groaned into her. The deep noise sent her heart hammering, she could feel her heartbeat in her fingertips.
Holy shit.
She was making out with Sokka.
This is what she had wanted for so long, but was too afraid to do. Every time she was close enough to kiss him and didn't, she made up for right now. And he was reciprocating it. Little sounds of pleasure rose up from her throat and she couldn't stop them. Each time one came up, his grip on her would tighten, like he couldn't seem to get her close enough.
A rumble came from the walls, and the ground beneath them shook. They didn't have time to pull away to look at the sight before a tunnel wall burst open. The two scrambled away from each other, looking to the crumbled wall, and the dust settling around it.
Another wall behind them burst, and they whipped around to see what happened. On either side of them, stood two large badgermoles, staring at them. Their noses were coated in dust, and their eyes cloudy. Their claws were long and sharp, and she took a tiny step back to avoid them.
"Sokka? (Y/n)?" Chong's voice was clear. They were on the other side of the wall.
"Come here, slowly." (Y/n) said in a quiet tone.
The nomads came through the hole, and around the badgermoles as quietly as they could. They all stood together, facing the badgermoles that blocked their paths.
The badgermoles earthbended the tunnels closed, locking them in. They made a crack in the ground, separating the nomads and (Y/n) from Sokka. She was knocked to her knees, and she watched as Sokka was thrown backwards by a badgermole. He screamed as he flew through the air.
Why did (Y/n) always leave her arrows with Appa when she needed them most?
Sokka stumbled back, and landed on Chong's guitar. An off-tune note played as Sokka braced for impact.
The badgermole tilted its head in curiosity.
Sokka looked back to (Y/n) for help.
"Play it again!" (Y/n) whispered, hurriedly pointing her finger to the instrument.
Sokka wasn't very musically gifted, but it worked for a moment.
"Hey, those things are music lovers!" Chong said.
"Badgermoles coming toward me. Come on, guys help me out!" Sokka looked back to them with pure panic on his face.
Chong pulled out a banjo, and started strumming s tune that was much easier to listen to. Not that it mattered what the music sounded like when they could be killed.
"The big bad badgermoles, who opened the tunnels, hate the wolf bats but love the sounds." Chong soothed the animals, and it calmed them enough to let (Y/n), Sokka, and the nomads on.
Sokka and (Y/n) sat farther away from each other than she would've liked. She didn't know what the kiss meant. She wasn't about to ask, either. She didn't want to embarrass herself any more. Maybe the kiss was just a way to get out of the tunnel. It was a secret love cave, after all.
"What happened to you two?" Chong asked.
"The uh...badgermoles freaked me out." (Y/n) said. She could feel Sokka's eyes on her.
"Oh, yeah, These things are freaky." Chong said, petting the fur of the badgermole they sat on as it walked through the tunnels.
Sokka could see that (Y/n)'s eyes were downcast, focused on her fidgeting fingers. Her lips were still beautifully swollen. He had done that, and he was proud of it. Was he? He didn't know. He didn't know how she felt.
The badgermoles blew open two holes in the rock, allowing the sunlight to pour in. Their eyes adjusted to the light, and they saw Appa, Aang, and Katara already on the outside.
"Sokka!" Katara cried.
"(Y/n)!" Aang cried.
Sokka and (Y/n) slid down the badgermoles, running to the kids.
Katara and Aang swarmed (Y/n) in a hug before moving to Sokka.
"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asked.
"Just like the legend says—we let love lead the way." Aang says.
(Y/n) needed details. She'd get them from one of the kids later.
(Y/n) and Sokka looked at each other, then quickly looked away again.
"Really? We let huge ferocious beats lead our way." Sokka said. Everyone turned to wave goodbye to the badgermoles as they went back into their tunnels, earthbending the holes closed behind them.
Momo flew over to Appa, and started chirping. Appa laid down, like he was listening intently.
Aang dashed over to the nomads to talk to them.
"Why is your forehead all red?" Katara asked Sokka, who had a red spot on his forehead.
"Nobody react to what i'm about to tell you," Chong said, sliding over to them. "I think that kid might be the Avatar." Chong pointed his thumb behind him to Aang.
Sokka smacked his forehead with his palm, answering Katara's question. (Y/n) snorted, and tried to cover it up with a fake cough.
Everyone walked to Appa, getting ready to board.
"So, are you guys gonna come to Omashu with us?" Aang asked.
"Nope." Moku said bluntly, but with a big smile on his face.
"Okay. Thanks for everything, Moku." The kids waved the nomads goodbye.
Chong gave Sokka a flower wreath to wear around his neck. "Sokka, I hope you learned a little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey." Chong wrapped Sokka in a tight hug, while Sokka's body remained stiff, his arms at his sides.
"Just play your songs." Sokka grumbled.
"Hey! Good plan!" Chong exclaimed, and began strumming notes as he followed the other nomads. "Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love because it's in your heart. Oh, oh, oooohhhh..."
(Y/n) saw Aang look to Katara, a little love stricken. She also saw Katara look away from Aang, but she was smiling.
When they were finally up in the air again, (Y/n) pulled Katara aside to get the story of what happened in the cave.
"He said what?" (Y/n) whispered.
"Yeah. A choice between kissing me or dying. He said he'd rather kiss me, and that it was a compliment. Totally not." Katara huffed.
(Y/n) nodded.
"We...we almost kissed though." Katara explained. She told (Y/n) how the crystals lit up the cave as soon as their torch burnt out, but they didn't even kiss. (Y/n) wished they had. She knew how big Aang's crush on Katara was, and seeing the colour on Katara's face, she might've started to reciprocate Aang's crush.
When they got to Omashu, they climbed up a hill to get their view of the city.
"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about: the destination," Sokka said as they reached the top of the hill. "I present to you, the Earth Kingdom city of O—"
Everyone else got to the top where Sokka was. His mouth was agape, still stuck on the word. They saw the once great city of Omashu, plumes of smoke rising from it, and a large, bright red Fire Nation flag hanging on its walls.
"Oh no."
°
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wooooo!! hi friends!! there it is! the moment we've all been waiting for has finally arrived! we did it, we made it!
once again, thank you so much for reading. your support is so uplifting and wonderful :,)
love youu!
~sage <3