Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ When Ice and Lava Meet ❯ If You Win ( Chapter 13 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: crescentmoon 
Read and Review Please!
Non Anime: Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.01.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 368 | Status: Work In Progress
Read and Review Please!
Non Anime: Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.01.2009 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 368 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Avatar: The Last Air-bender, the very talented team of Mike and Brain own the show and characters. The rating maybe wrong but I did try to get it right.
By: year of the snake (at fanfiction) aka. crescentmoon (at mediaminer). And now Opal-Dreams on DeviantArt.
When Ice and Lava Meet
Chapter Thirteen
Aang asked her if she was crazy and all she said was, “Relax Twinkle-Baby, we’re not here for the alcohol.” She said ‘Twinkle-Baby’ like she thought he was too old to be acting like such a child.
Aang breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re not? Then why are we here?”
‘Mai Ling’ pointed with a dramatically happy smile, “That.”
Two men were sitting at a table of wood glaring at each other and sizing the other up for the game they were about to play. A busty barmaid was leading the cheering for her ‘champion’. But most of the men standing around them were routing for the other guy.
“Arm wrestling?” his eyebrows scrunched together.
“No, to wager our skills for money.” she said sarcastically.
“You mean arm wrestling?”
“Yes, Twinkle-Toes. Keep up to speed.”
She marched up and pretended interest in a game but she already could tell who would win. “Five silver on that Benji guy.”
“Are you sure little lady?” asked the guy she said that to. “The other guy is brawnier.”
“I’m blind, I’m going by the sound of their names and I like the sound of Benji better. Anyway, why are you complaining if you win you’re getting my money.”
“Good point. Okay little lady, I’ll take on that bet.”
She smiled. “Good, you’d be a fool not to.”
Three seconds later she collected her winnings. Then she said, “I’ll give these ten silver coins to whoever can beat me in arm wrestling. You wont even have to place any money against it.” She was doing this for fun not profit, at least not today.
“Mai Ling…” Aang whispered uneasily.
“Not now Twinkle-Toes.”
Aang sighed and watched anxiously. And she won every time.
A bulky man everyone called Frustration sat down for the fifth time, determined to beat the ‘blind brat’ when she stood up. “I’m taking a break. My friend will take over.”
“What!” exclaimed Aang. “I can’t do this. I’m not strong like you…” His embarrassed rant was cut short by ‘Mai Ling’ pushing him into her chair. He swallowed.
Because she wanted to tease her male friend ‘Mai Ling’ leaned down and whispered in his ear. “If you win this, I’ll give you a kiss.”
Aang’s pale face went paler, then it switched to a bright red. Following that a huge smile broke out. Only to be replaced by a doubtful, determined stare when he remembered the size of his opponent.
‘Mai Ling’ was biting her lip to keep from laughing. Aang was so fun to tease, his reactions were priceless. ‘I just hope his defeat doesn’t hurt too much.’ she thought, but she was still trying not to laugh.
While she was still fighting her own laughter the match was happening. And it was the ending of the match that brought ‘Mai Ling’ back to herself.
Aang won. In a quick victory, he won! Aang didn’t win because of his own strength but because of his own determination. And his air-bender approach. He realized that this man’s strength was severely diminished when his arm was at a slightly longer angle than the normal arm wrestling stance. Thus he won by looking at it from a different angle.
‘Mai Ling’ was shaken. It was unlikely for someone to win when all signs pointed to lose. It was unheard of for someone to trick her abilities as a true earth-bender, the kind the watches and listens. Yet Aang had.
Swallowing down the shock was a hard thing for ‘Mai Ling’ but she managed to do so fairly quickly. She noted that everyone else in the bar was stunned still, even the victor.
“Aang you did it!” she crowed, “Go Twinkle-Toes! You the man!”
That snapped everyone out of the shock and they began congratulating him. The big man he had arm wrestled against folded his arms on the table and buried his head in them. He was beat by two young kids in the same day. He would never get the respect he was used to NOW.
Taking a deep breath ‘Mai Ling’ drew herself up to her full, short height, with her hands on her hips. “Hey Twinkle-Toes…” she called loudly as she marched over to the now standing sixteen year old. Everyone quieted and thought that she was going to poke him in the chest and demand a try at arm wrestling him.
She got near him and everyone held their breath, her look was one of determination. ‘Mai Ling’ placed one hand on either side of his face and hauled his face to hers. Then she flipped one hand to the back of his head and crushed their lips together aggressively. She gave him a bruising yet chaste kiss. A kiss that lasted so long it mocked those around them that needed air. Aang’s eyes remained wide with shock for the whole thing.
But that didn’t stop the whistled wolf calls, the rowring catcalls, the homely barmaid from screaming and then covering her mouth and giggling, or the shouts of ‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’ and ‘Get a room!’
When the fifteen year old let Aang go she smiled triumphantly at his dazed, overwhelmed and shocked look. He was also blushing like mad. She could tell this, and the I’m-going-to-faint heart rate of her friend, through her feet and the one hand that was now holding him up.
“Wow!” He now had a goofy grin coving his face. “I didn’t expect that!” Then he slid to the floor with one arm held by ‘Mai Ling’. Thankfully he was still awake.
‘Mai Ling’ licked her bruised and swollen lips suddenly filled with womanly pride and a maidenly feeling that was a mix of enchantment and a little embarrassment and some unknown substance. ‘What an awesome first kiss.’ she thought a small blush forming, not dark enough to alert anyone. ‘I refused to let it be one of those awkward, shy kisses that those giggly, school girls give to their beaus. And I was so right.’ She bit her lip and shifted her sightless eyes towards Aang who was getting noogied by a patron of the bar. ‘Kissing’s great. I should do it again, soon.’ She burst out laughing, it had bubbled and exploded.
While ‘Mai Ling’ was thinking to herself Aang had announced, because his mind was numb, that he never had been kissed before but he liked it. The bar roared with laughter. Aang blushed and was pulled away from his ‘girlfriend’, as the others called her, was passed along to be teased and noogied by the small group.
Soon enough they were pushed out of the building together and were told to ‘Go have fun, you crazy lovebirds.’ And that was followed by raunchious laughing.
The silence was uncomfortable as they walked away.
Eventually Aang got up the nerve to speak. “Mai Ling I…”
“Stow it!” She cut him off with a hand in his face. “I kissed you because you won, that is all. My mother always told me ‘A lady keeps her promises and so will you.’ And that’s what I did.” Then she marched away fast.
Aang jogged behind her. He was hurt but he understood. He declined to lose her friendship over a kiss she felt obligated to give him. Aang caught up to her and caught her arm. Looking into her eyes although that would mean nothing to her he said, “Mai Ling, Mai Ling please say we’re still friends.”
“Of course we are, Idiot-Head.” To push that in she rapped him on the head a few times.
They spent the rest of the day stopping in shops and ‘Mai Ling’ teased some people. Okay a lot of people, mostly Aang.
Katara left the apartment to find Toph about an hour before sundown.
As she walked in the pourer part of town, getting closer to the shops she saw someone she didn’t expect. He was… he looked despondent. “Iroh?”
“Ah young Miss Jen! It is good to see you!” He smiled at her.
She shook her head unable to forget the look on his face moments before. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Please don’t lie to me.”
Iroh sighed. “I wanted better than this for Zuko… He is such a good boy but I fear he is going to get hurt or in trouble… for me. He’s trying so hard to make our lives better, but I don’t think what he thinks is better really is.”
“What do you mean?”
Iroh sighed, “He wants to get us out of this part of town.” He stopped there.
‘Jen’s’ eyebrows drew together as she looked around this neighborhood was a little better off than where she lived but not much. It was still a borderline poverty area. The line was just thicker here than the apartment she and Toph kept. “I don’t see what’s wrong with wanting out of this area… It’s a dangerous place. The homes are rundown, it stinks, most of the people are hopeless, even the children. And everything is in horrid condition. Just look at the building behind you it’s crumbling at the top.” She thought, ‘At lease it’s only the top.’
“I mean that I think he needs to find peace within himself first. Without it the hunger for more and better with never be satisfied. Every time I think he’s almost accepted his true self he takes a step backwards.”
“What happened?”
“He stole this, and gave it to me today.” He pulled a silver spoon, hand carved and glorious, from his robe.
“It’s beautiful. But it’s not right to steal. One shouldn’t take something that belongs to another.”
“I agree. But now I don’t know what to do. If I take it back to where he got it we could both get in trouble but I don’t feel right about keeping it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” She paused. “I’ll pray the spirits grant you with help.” She patted his arm in reassurance. “Or… I could take it back for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I have an idea about how to get it back without suspicion. If you’ll let me.”
“Do you mind if I come and watch?”
“No. In fact you can help.” ‘Jen’ smiled at him.
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Hello everyone, I know I’m a couple of days late. I’m sorry. I was pretty busy.
Thanks to all my reviewers: Kaydreams (at fanfiction(.)net), allyonshinezutara and phili91 (from deviantART). Thank you all.
Kaydreams don’t feel bad, I put both of the last chapters up on the same day. But if you really feel that bad about it you can go back and review that one too. =D hehehe!
Okay I want to announce that I am also starting another contest! (I fell in love with making contests! XD) Anyway this contest is an art and story making contest using couples from Avatar, Inuyasha and From Far Away. To check it out go to http://opal-dreams()deviantart()com/journal/ (take out the () and put .) . I’m sure it will be a lot of fun. There will be many categories and so there will also be many winners (hopefully 3 for every category.). And if you want to participate but you don’t want to compete I am also looking for donations for prizes and judges. It’s a Christmas contest so the deadline is the 25 of December. Please let anyone you know who may be interested know. For Fanfiction(.)net people I will try to remember to put a link in my profile.
Also my I Spy contest finally has a winner (weeks ago). And she/he wanted a short story. It is called The Karma of Metamorphose. I hope to get it up tonight as well. So be on the look out for it.
Bye! I will try to have the next chapter up soon hopefully next week. But if not I WON’T rest on Christmas Eve until it’s up. *Waves*
By: year of the snake (at fanfiction) aka. crescentmoon (at mediaminer). And now Opal-Dreams on DeviantArt.
When Ice and Lava Meet
Chapter Thirteen
Aang asked her if she was crazy and all she said was, “Relax Twinkle-Baby, we’re not here for the alcohol.” She said ‘Twinkle-Baby’ like she thought he was too old to be acting like such a child.
Aang breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re not? Then why are we here?”
‘Mai Ling’ pointed with a dramatically happy smile, “That.”
Two men were sitting at a table of wood glaring at each other and sizing the other up for the game they were about to play. A busty barmaid was leading the cheering for her ‘champion’. But most of the men standing around them were routing for the other guy.
“Arm wrestling?” his eyebrows scrunched together.
“No, to wager our skills for money.” she said sarcastically.
“You mean arm wrestling?”
“Yes, Twinkle-Toes. Keep up to speed.”
She marched up and pretended interest in a game but she already could tell who would win. “Five silver on that Benji guy.”
“Are you sure little lady?” asked the guy she said that to. “The other guy is brawnier.”
“I’m blind, I’m going by the sound of their names and I like the sound of Benji better. Anyway, why are you complaining if you win you’re getting my money.”
“Good point. Okay little lady, I’ll take on that bet.”
She smiled. “Good, you’d be a fool not to.”
Three seconds later she collected her winnings. Then she said, “I’ll give these ten silver coins to whoever can beat me in arm wrestling. You wont even have to place any money against it.” She was doing this for fun not profit, at least not today.
“Mai Ling…” Aang whispered uneasily.
“Not now Twinkle-Toes.”
Aang sighed and watched anxiously. And she won every time.
A bulky man everyone called Frustration sat down for the fifth time, determined to beat the ‘blind brat’ when she stood up. “I’m taking a break. My friend will take over.”
“What!” exclaimed Aang. “I can’t do this. I’m not strong like you…” His embarrassed rant was cut short by ‘Mai Ling’ pushing him into her chair. He swallowed.
Because she wanted to tease her male friend ‘Mai Ling’ leaned down and whispered in his ear. “If you win this, I’ll give you a kiss.”
Aang’s pale face went paler, then it switched to a bright red. Following that a huge smile broke out. Only to be replaced by a doubtful, determined stare when he remembered the size of his opponent.
‘Mai Ling’ was biting her lip to keep from laughing. Aang was so fun to tease, his reactions were priceless. ‘I just hope his defeat doesn’t hurt too much.’ she thought, but she was still trying not to laugh.
While she was still fighting her own laughter the match was happening. And it was the ending of the match that brought ‘Mai Ling’ back to herself.
Aang won. In a quick victory, he won! Aang didn’t win because of his own strength but because of his own determination. And his air-bender approach. He realized that this man’s strength was severely diminished when his arm was at a slightly longer angle than the normal arm wrestling stance. Thus he won by looking at it from a different angle.
‘Mai Ling’ was shaken. It was unlikely for someone to win when all signs pointed to lose. It was unheard of for someone to trick her abilities as a true earth-bender, the kind the watches and listens. Yet Aang had.
Swallowing down the shock was a hard thing for ‘Mai Ling’ but she managed to do so fairly quickly. She noted that everyone else in the bar was stunned still, even the victor.
“Aang you did it!” she crowed, “Go Twinkle-Toes! You the man!”
That snapped everyone out of the shock and they began congratulating him. The big man he had arm wrestled against folded his arms on the table and buried his head in them. He was beat by two young kids in the same day. He would never get the respect he was used to NOW.
Taking a deep breath ‘Mai Ling’ drew herself up to her full, short height, with her hands on her hips. “Hey Twinkle-Toes…” she called loudly as she marched over to the now standing sixteen year old. Everyone quieted and thought that she was going to poke him in the chest and demand a try at arm wrestling him.
She got near him and everyone held their breath, her look was one of determination. ‘Mai Ling’ placed one hand on either side of his face and hauled his face to hers. Then she flipped one hand to the back of his head and crushed their lips together aggressively. She gave him a bruising yet chaste kiss. A kiss that lasted so long it mocked those around them that needed air. Aang’s eyes remained wide with shock for the whole thing.
But that didn’t stop the whistled wolf calls, the rowring catcalls, the homely barmaid from screaming and then covering her mouth and giggling, or the shouts of ‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’ and ‘Get a room!’
When the fifteen year old let Aang go she smiled triumphantly at his dazed, overwhelmed and shocked look. He was also blushing like mad. She could tell this, and the I’m-going-to-faint heart rate of her friend, through her feet and the one hand that was now holding him up.
“Wow!” He now had a goofy grin coving his face. “I didn’t expect that!” Then he slid to the floor with one arm held by ‘Mai Ling’. Thankfully he was still awake.
‘Mai Ling’ licked her bruised and swollen lips suddenly filled with womanly pride and a maidenly feeling that was a mix of enchantment and a little embarrassment and some unknown substance. ‘What an awesome first kiss.’ she thought a small blush forming, not dark enough to alert anyone. ‘I refused to let it be one of those awkward, shy kisses that those giggly, school girls give to their beaus. And I was so right.’ She bit her lip and shifted her sightless eyes towards Aang who was getting noogied by a patron of the bar. ‘Kissing’s great. I should do it again, soon.’ She burst out laughing, it had bubbled and exploded.
While ‘Mai Ling’ was thinking to herself Aang had announced, because his mind was numb, that he never had been kissed before but he liked it. The bar roared with laughter. Aang blushed and was pulled away from his ‘girlfriend’, as the others called her, was passed along to be teased and noogied by the small group.
Soon enough they were pushed out of the building together and were told to ‘Go have fun, you crazy lovebirds.’ And that was followed by raunchious laughing.
The silence was uncomfortable as they walked away.
Eventually Aang got up the nerve to speak. “Mai Ling I…”
“Stow it!” She cut him off with a hand in his face. “I kissed you because you won, that is all. My mother always told me ‘A lady keeps her promises and so will you.’ And that’s what I did.” Then she marched away fast.
Aang jogged behind her. He was hurt but he understood. He declined to lose her friendship over a kiss she felt obligated to give him. Aang caught up to her and caught her arm. Looking into her eyes although that would mean nothing to her he said, “Mai Ling, Mai Ling please say we’re still friends.”
“Of course we are, Idiot-Head.” To push that in she rapped him on the head a few times.
They spent the rest of the day stopping in shops and ‘Mai Ling’ teased some people. Okay a lot of people, mostly Aang.
Katara left the apartment to find Toph about an hour before sundown.
As she walked in the pourer part of town, getting closer to the shops she saw someone she didn’t expect. He was… he looked despondent. “Iroh?”
“Ah young Miss Jen! It is good to see you!” He smiled at her.
She shook her head unable to forget the look on his face moments before. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong.”
“Please don’t lie to me.”
Iroh sighed. “I wanted better than this for Zuko… He is such a good boy but I fear he is going to get hurt or in trouble… for me. He’s trying so hard to make our lives better, but I don’t think what he thinks is better really is.”
“What do you mean?”
Iroh sighed, “He wants to get us out of this part of town.” He stopped there.
‘Jen’s’ eyebrows drew together as she looked around this neighborhood was a little better off than where she lived but not much. It was still a borderline poverty area. The line was just thicker here than the apartment she and Toph kept. “I don’t see what’s wrong with wanting out of this area… It’s a dangerous place. The homes are rundown, it stinks, most of the people are hopeless, even the children. And everything is in horrid condition. Just look at the building behind you it’s crumbling at the top.” She thought, ‘At lease it’s only the top.’
“I mean that I think he needs to find peace within himself first. Without it the hunger for more and better with never be satisfied. Every time I think he’s almost accepted his true self he takes a step backwards.”
“What happened?”
“He stole this, and gave it to me today.” He pulled a silver spoon, hand carved and glorious, from his robe.
“It’s beautiful. But it’s not right to steal. One shouldn’t take something that belongs to another.”
“I agree. But now I don’t know what to do. If I take it back to where he got it we could both get in trouble but I don’t feel right about keeping it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” She paused. “I’ll pray the spirits grant you with help.” She patted his arm in reassurance. “Or… I could take it back for you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I have an idea about how to get it back without suspicion. If you’ll let me.”
“Do you mind if I come and watch?”
“No. In fact you can help.” ‘Jen’ smiled at him.
112811281128112811281128112811281128112811281128112811281128112811281128 11281128112811281128
Hello everyone, I know I’m a couple of days late. I’m sorry. I was pretty busy.
Thanks to all my reviewers: Kaydreams (at fanfiction(.)net), allyonshinezutara and phili91 (from deviantART). Thank you all.
Kaydreams don’t feel bad, I put both of the last chapters up on the same day. But if you really feel that bad about it you can go back and review that one too. =D hehehe!
Okay I want to announce that I am also starting another contest! (I fell in love with making contests! XD) Anyway this contest is an art and story making contest using couples from Avatar, Inuyasha and From Far Away. To check it out go to http://opal-dreams()deviantart()com/journal/ (take out the () and put .) . I’m sure it will be a lot of fun. There will be many categories and so there will also be many winners (hopefully 3 for every category.). And if you want to participate but you don’t want to compete I am also looking for donations for prizes and judges. It’s a Christmas contest so the deadline is the 25 of December. Please let anyone you know who may be interested know. For Fanfiction(.)net people I will try to remember to put a link in my profile.
Also my I Spy contest finally has a winner (weeks ago). And she/he wanted a short story. It is called The Karma of Metamorphose. I hope to get it up tonight as well. So be on the look out for it.
Bye! I will try to have the next chapter up soon hopefully next week. But if not I WON’T rest on Christmas Eve until it’s up. *Waves*