A shrill scream rent the air as a body was launched through space, the noise cutting off as the owner slammed into a tree and tumbled to the ground. Standing in a clearing full of unconscious men, only one remained awake. Despite the damage to the area and the other people, his clothes and his cape were immaculate. "Come on!" the man complained, brushing his blond hair back, "You guys suck! I thought with bounties as high as yours, you would've been a better fight, especially you!" He pointed down at a roughly bearded man, who flinched in fear. "You're the leader of these guys, you're supposed to be the strongest!"

The man stammered in surprise, before snatching a handful of dirt and tossing it at the blond man's face and scrambling away. The blond simply closed his eyes and let the dirt bounce off of him, shaking his head afterward and giving the fleeing man a deadpan stare.

Then, he leaned over and uppercut the air, aiming at the other man's back. In response, the earth roiled in a line, bucking as it raced at the fleeing bounty before erupting underneath his feet, launching him through the air and into a tree.

The blond bender huffed and strode towards the man. "These other guys are small fry, but the leader is worth at least twice as much as them combined, which might not make this such a huge waste of time," he muttered to himself, pausing as a loud rustling broke the silence.

A large animal with a long, narrow snout ending in a star-nose burst from the undergrowth, a woman on its back wielding a whip. The animal sniffed and growled at the rising bounty and at a barked command from the woman, flicked a long, pink, barbed tongue at the bounty, marking his cheek and making him fall over stiff as a statue.

"Hey!" the blond bender called, "That's my bounty!"

The woman snapped her whip, fastening it around the bounty and hauled him onto the back of her saddle. "Actually, since I caught him, he's my bounty now. Thanks for doing the legwork, though," she replied with a smirk.

"Uh, yeah, no. Take your thanks back and give me my bounty," he ordered, pointing at her.

"How about, instead-Nyla!" she called. The animal underneath her growled and whipped its barbed tongue at the blond, making him duck out of the way. As he stood up, he saw the mounted woman rapidly disappearing into the trees. Rolling his eyes, he secured a few loops inside of his cape around his arms and threw himself into the air, the wind catching his cape as he flew after the woman.

He tracked her from the sky, flying well above the treetops. Her mount was fast, but had to dodge through the trees and over the underbrush, giving him the advantage in speed. The blond bender noticed that they were coming up on a well-sized hut in a small clearing, a sign reading 'Bounty Office' hanging from the door.

The man spun around and pulled his arms close, diving and twisting through the air at the mounted woman; or more specifically, the paralyzed man on the back of her saddle. He spun around the animal, reaching out and snagging his bounty back, twirling in front of the woman just long enough to give her a mocking grin and a jaunty salute before twisting and landing against a tree.

He pushed off of the trunk strongly, launching himself into another, bouncing from tree to tree so fast he became a blur. The woman grit her teeth and snapped the reins with a shout, spurring her mount on faster, racing after the blond man.

The blond bender jumped from the last tree and landed on the wooden patio, sliding to a stop and flinging the door open, stepping in and dropping his bounty on the desk just as the woman leaped from her mount. She hit the floor at a roll and came up at the desk, slapping her hand down on the paralyzed man, both of them shouting, "First!"

And older man with solid grey hair frowned at them from behind the desk, leaning on the wooden surface. "Why are you shoutin' in my office?" he asked gruffly, "And what's all this 'first' business?"

"Nothing much, old man, just here to claim a bounty that I fairly took down." the blond replied with a terse smile, glaring at the woman next to him.

"Except that I'm the one who caught him," The woman insisted, her dark brown eyes narrowed on the man.

The blond bender shrugged. "True, but only after he was running away from me, after I took down his whole gang single-handedly." He rebuked.

The other bounty hunter nodded. "Yes, thank you for that, but I brought him all the way here!" she said harshly.

"Not all the way," he replied with a smirk.

As she opened her mouth to respond, the old man slammed his hand on the desk loudly. "Hey!" he shouted, "No shoutin' in my office!" Seeing he had their attention, he scooped a sack full of money from under the desk, dropping it on the frozen man's stomach. "Now, here's how I see it: if you can't decide who gets the bounty, I'll just keep it all for myself, savvy?"

The two bounty hunters glanced from the money to each other several times, before nodding slightly and turning to the old man. "We're partners." They declared simultaneously.

"Glad you figured it out," the old man stated, tossing the sack at the blond. "Now get out of my office."

The two walked out quickly, glaring at each other the entire way. Once they stepped outside, the blond flipped away as the woman snapped her whip at him. "That's my bounty," She hissed, her animal joining in.

"Are you really going to fight me over this?" He asked dully. "We both know I did all the work."

"Doesn't matter. No one makes a fool of me!" the woman growled, readying to fight.

The blond sighed and rolled his eyes. "You know what? I don't want to bother with you anymore."

He pulled the bag open and poured half of the contents into his coin purse, tossing the rest at the woman. "There. Half. More than you deserve, but I'm done here."

The woman tilted her head in confusion as the blond strode off. She carefully picked the bag up and peeked inside, finding it to be filled with precisely half of the original bounty. She glanced at the bender's back, before storing the money away and smoothly jumping in her saddle. "Let's go, Nyla." She said, ushering her mount after him.

The blond sighed an hour later, as the woman was still following him without saying a word. Finally, he turned to face her. "Is there a reason you're following me?" he asked.

"Most other hunters would've fought me for the whole bounty," she replied, looking curious. "But you didn't. Why?"

"As I said, I'm done dealing with you. I've got other things to do," he answered, walking off without a backward glance.

The woman huffed in annoyance, doggedly following after him. "You're not even going to tell me your name?" She prodded.

The blond sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Sun. Yours?" He replied politely.

"June," she answered proudly, patting her mount with a loving smile. "And this is my baby, Nyla."

"Alright then. June, leave me alone," Sun deadpanned, easily pushing his way through the undergrowth.

"Nah, I don't think so," June replied, with a wide, victorious smirk. "You're interesting. And there's no one else for miles around."

The blond rolled his eyes. "Fine, do whatever you want," he sighed, setting off on a thin trail.

"I usually do," she said smugly, following behind him.

"Clearly."

Night had fallen by the time Sun decided to set up camp for the night, with June and Nyla joining him. As a fire crackled in the center of the clearing they had settled down in, the blond ate a quick dinner of dried meat and fruit, watching the bounty hunter sitting across from him. "How long have you been hunting?" he finally asked, the silence getting to him.

"Just shy of fifteen years," June answered, stroking Nyla's side. "Nyla's been with me the whole time, isn't that right my beautiful girl?" she said in baby voice, scratching the animal's side, "What about you?"

"A few months," he replied easily, relaxing against a fallen log with his hands behind his head. "I'm working to hone my skills and, well, a body's gotta eat."

She nodded understandingly. "Ah, the 'wandering warrior' type. Been on any interesting hunts?"

Sun thought back, tapping his chin. "Yeah. There was this one time, where I tracked down a gang of thieves to their den, expecting a good fight, but they turned out to be total wimps. And after I took them all down, even their leader, this rude woman came out of nowhere and tried to snatch my bounty," he told her with a flat glare.

June sniffed haughtily. "Are you still going on about that? It's water under the bridge, as far as I'm concerned." At his blank stare, she threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine, I can see when I'm not wanted. I'm turning in. Night." She settled back against Nyla, leaning into the animal's warmth and closing her eyes.

June watched from under her eyelids as the blond across from her snorted to himself before going to bed, curling up under his cape. She waited until the fire was mere embers and his light snores were issuing from his form before quietly pushing herself away from her mount, crawling on all fours across the grass. She carefully pulled his cape away from his belt and slowly untied the strings attached to his coin purse, muffling it with her tunic.

Smirking victoriously, the bounty hunter crept away from the sleeping Sun, mounting Nyla silently and urging her away.

Back in the clearing, Sun sat up with a sigh, quietly watching June ride off. "How annoying," he muttered, before taking to the skies with a flap of his cape.

He watched from above as June tied Nyla to a post and entered a two-story building with a curved red roof, a raucous of shouts, laughter and jeers echoing from the within. Landing on the roof, Sun swung himself inside a window, over a table full of surprised occupants. He ignored their questions and peered over the railing to the floor below, catching sight of the bounty hunter slapping a handful of coins on the counter and receiving a few bottles of alcohol in return.

She sat down at table, downing her first cup, smirking at a man approaching her. Sun saw them trade words, before the man pulled up a seat and put his elbow on the surface. June smirked and grabbed his hand, a crowd quickly forming around them. They cheered and made bets as the two arm-wrestled, the much-slimmer June easily putting her opponent's hand onto the table.

Sun slipped down the stairs and through the crowd, standing behind the woman who had stolen his money, watching as she won another match easily. As the people around the table began to surge with bets, he pushed a pair of men into a another, ducking around as a melee broke out. June turned around in her seat to view the fighting, missing as the blond bender stepped past her and yanked his coin purse off of her belt. She spun around at the pulling sensation, a snarl on her lips, catching sight of a white cape fluttering between bodies as the doors swung shut. Patting her belt, she balked upon finding the money missing, jumping from her seat and racing out the door.

Sun didn't turn around as she burst from the tavern. "How did you know?" She called angrily, gripping her whip and preparing to fight.

"Did you honestly think I would fall asleep so easily with someone who tried to steal my bounty in front of me?" he replied, not looking back and not caring to give her any more of his attention, "I had thought you were becoming good company, but then you went and stole from me again. As I said before, June: I'm done dealing with you."

The black-haired bounty hunter cursed to herself as the blond strode away into the night, turning to grab Nyla and chase after him; but was stopped short at the sight of eight men surrounding her mount, tying her down with weighted ropes. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Back away from her!" she shouted, stomping up to the largest man.

He regarded her with an arched eyebrow. "This your beast, eh?" He patted Nyla's flank none too gently. "A shirshu. Very fast, very rare…very valuable," he taunted with a grin.

"She's not for sale, so back off!" She shoved the poacher aside and made to free her mount from the snares, but was stopped when a large hand gripped her shoulder. "Remove your hand, or I will…at the wrist."

The poacher yanked her away roughly, sending her stumbling into the street. "I wasn't asking to buy the beast," he explained gruffly, scratching at his thick beard. "I'm taking it. So, if you want to make it to tomorrow morning with your life, you'd best back off." As he spoke, the other poachers surrounded her, fingering their weapons threateningly.

June narrowed her eyes, gripping her whip tightly. A few seconds later, her shoulders slumped and she turned to leave with mocking jeers from the poachers echoing from behind…before suddenly spinning back and lashing out with her whip, the leather cord wrapping around the leader's neck. She pulled him towards her and kicked him between the legs, before grabbing his face and throwing him into another man, in the same motion ducking under a slash from an axe that would've taken her head off.

June spun between strikes, lashing out with vengeance in her limbs and her weapon, scoring hits that made the poachers shout in pain.

One of the more clever poachers snuck out of the fighting and retrieved a bolas from his belt, rapidly spinning it over his head before hurling it at June. The flying snare wrapped tightly around her limbs, locking her arms and legs together and bringing her down.

The leader of the poachers, red-faced and shaking from the blow to his groin drew the massive warhammer from his back and brought it over his head, aiming to smash her skull into paste. "Pleasure doing business with you!" he shouted, swinging it down.

June bucked and tried to roll herself out of the way, frantically sawing at the ropes around with a hidden knife, but it wasn't quick enough.

A blur of white filled her vision and something crunched loudly. Chancing a look, June gaped in surprise. Sun stood over her, easily holding back the warhammer with a bored look on his face. With simple clench of his fist, the stone head shattered into pieces and rained down on the ground. "Eight against one. That doesn't seem fair at all," he stated dully, before punching the lead poacher in the stomach, rocketing him into a tree thirty feet away. "Let me even the odds a little bit."

He jumped and spun, bringing his heel against another man's face, sending him flipping through the air, before deflecting a sword with his bracers and palming a poacher in the chest. A series of loud cracks rang out as the poacher's ribs snapped out of place and he slumped to the ground.

June finished cutting through the ropes around her legs and freed herself, snatching up one of the rock weights and hurling it into the stomach of a poacher. As he knelt, winded, she jumped off of his back and onto her mount, quickly slicing through the snares with her knife. When the last one snapped, June pointed at the remaining foes. "Get 'em, Nyla!" she barked viciously.

The shirshu snarled in reply, lashing out with her barbed tongue, rapidly striking the last three poachers. As they stiffened and fell over, June wrapped Nyla's head in a tight hug, rubbing her face into her mount's fur. "Those evil men won't hurt you anymore, my big snuffly-wuffly," She cooed lovingly, rubbing behind the shirshu's ears.

Sun snorted amusedly at the sight, picking through the unconscious bodies for money or spare equipment.

June faced him with a blank expression, watching him with curious dark eyes. "You came back. Why?" she asked bluntly.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Because I wanted to do something," he replied simply, stepping past her to get close to Nyla who shifted nervously. Carefully, Sun reached out and laid his hand on her head, petting her softly. The large animal rumbled happily, bringing her nose up to sniff his face, the small pink tendrils tickling his cheeks and making the blond smile. "That's all," he said quietly, dropping his hand and turning to leave.

June looked to her long-time companion, who was sniffing after the blond and pawing the ground, whining softly. "Hey, Sun, wait!" She called. Sun stopped and turned to face her with a curious expression. "With the attitudes these guys have, I bet someone put a price on their heads. I can't carry them all with me. I could use some help."

His deep blue eyes pierced through her, looking past her form as if examining her very soul. "How can I trust you to not just take everything, including the credit?" Sun asked softly and suspiciously, "After all, you stole from me when you thought I was asleep."

The bounty hunter licked her lips and sighed quietly. "Look, Sun…I apologize for that. I know I'm not the nicest person in world, but you came back and helped me even after I did that, and that doesn't make me feel good, alright? And you helped me save Nyla. You can get some of the cut for that."

He narrowed his eyes on her, stepping closer. And despite her mounted position, it was like Sun loomed over her. "If I do this with you, it's not as a subordinate. You don't order me around, and we get equal cuts of the profits, understand?" Sun stated firmly.

June smirked knowingly, holding her hand out. "Alright. Partners?" She asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Sun glanced from her hand to her face, staring at her suspiciously. Slowly, he reached out and shook her hand. "Partners. For now."

Present Day…

Sun yawned widely as he sat up, rubbing the bleariness out of his eyes as he woke to the grey dawn. Sunrise was just around the corner, but the blond bender was the only one awake. Katara and Sokka were snuggled up in their sleeping bags while Aang was curled up on Appa's tail and Ty Lee was cuddled up to him, using their shared capes as a blanket.

Smacking his lips softly, Sun gently pried Ty Lee's hands off of him, releasing the clasps of his cape and letting her cuddle it in his place. Carefully stepping over the others, he made his way through the trees towards a burbling stream nearby. He removed his clothes and armor, piling them under a nearby tree and dived into the water, coming up with a gasp. "Cold!"

Sun shook himself out and dunked his head under, vigorously washing his hair along with the rest of his body. Once he was clean, the blond bender stood in the center of the stream in the basic Waterbending stance, his eyes closed to really feel the water around him. Despite his preference for his personal style of Waterbending, after having found the 'original' too rigid despite being all about flowing, it was a good basis to have and a good way for moving meditation.

With his senses so focused on the forms and the feel of the water, Sun didn't notice the presence of another person.

Katara sat up in her sleeping bag, yawning and smacking her lips, looking around the campsite with sleep-blurred eyes. Seeing as she was the first one up, she'd take the chance to bathe and wake herself up before getting started on breakfast. Perhaps she'd even rouse Sun so that he could make them some of his relaxing tea, and they could chat without interference from the others?

Still sleepy, the Waterbender gathered her bathing supplies and wandered off towards a nearby stream, setting them near a tree as she disrobed. As Katara was reaching behind herself to pull off her undergarments, the strange splashing that filtered in to her ears made her look curiously around the tree. Her jaw dropped as she took in the sight of a naked Sun waist-deep in the water, the first few golden rays of the rising sun piercing through the leaves to catch the droplets that clung to his skin and his hair, making it glisten softly in the light.

Katara watched awestruck, unconsciously stepping out from behind the tree as Sun smoothly flowed through the forms, the water arcing around his body in response to his movements. Her eyes were fixed on his muscles that flexed and rippled under his tanned skin with every motion; his strength and power apparent through hard planes of his abdomen.

She gasped as he brought his hands over his head, a wave of water rising to cover him like a capsule. Katara could barely make out the shape of his arms as he spun them around inside the cover. With a sharp motion, the wave split around him, splashing into the water. Slowly, his swung his hand down low before bringing it up to his shoulder as if pointing at someone else in the stream, his face a picture concentration. To her amazement, the stream separated in front of him, flowing around the point of his hand and the rest of his body.

The move, while amazing, also confirmed the niggling thought in the back of Katara's mind: Sun was entirely naked under the water, and him splitting the stream revealed the entirety of his lower body to her.

Sun let his hand fall with a sigh, the stream closing back down around him as he breathed deeply…before jumping as a feminine voice muttered, "Wow…"

Katara flushed as she unintentionally spoke aloud and the blond bender whipped around to face her. His eyes went wide as he saw her standing on the bank. It was at that exact moment that the Waterbender recalled her semi-naked state and they simultaneously froze in shock.

Unconsciously, Sun's eyes traveled down Katara's underdressed form and back up. The months they had spent traveling, training and fighting had definitely worked well for the Tribal, adding a layer of muscle to her entire body and stripping away whatever baby-fat remained. She was well on her way along the path of transforming from a cute girl to strong, beautiful woman.

The still atmosphere shattered with an audible snap as Sun made a choked gurgling sound and dived under the water as Katara squeaked and rolled behind the tree. "What are you doing here?!" he shouted, hiding just under the water.

"I was going to take a bath!" she called back, her face burning as the rough bark dug into her back. "I didn't know anyone else was up!"

"Yeah, well, I am! I'm getting out, don't look!" Sun demanded embarrassedly, waiting a few seconds before emerging from the water and stepping onto the bank.

"I wouldn't do that!" Katara yelled in reply, sitting at the base of the tree with her hands over her eyes. She heard water splash as the blond bender exited the stream and bit her lip, her emotions warring inside of her. Her desire eventually won out over her embarrassment and Katara slowly leaned out from behind the trunk, just enough for one of her blue eyes to get an eyeful of Sun's well-sculpted body as he quickly pulled his pants on. Flushing, she drew back, one hand covering her mouth.

"Alright, I'm dressed!" Sun called hurriedly, walking back towards camp while keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the path ahead of him. "I'm going back to camp!"

Katara waited until his footsteps faded before emerging, her face beet-red. She stumbled over to the stream and knelt on the bank, her mind filled with images of the blond bender naked. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her head back and dunked it in the cold water.

When Katara came back to the campsite, her hair still damp, she spotted Sun sitting next to fire, heating a kettle of water with a teapot sitting next to him. They immediately locked eyes and looked away, blushes coloring their cheeks. She sat down across from him, slowly preparing the ingredients for that morning's breakfast. He handed her a cup of tea, deliberately avoiding her gaze.

She took the cup with a muttered thanks and sat back, not enjoying the awkward silence between them at all, not when they usually conversed with ease.

"Sun," Katara spoke up softly, slowly rolling her tea between her hands. "We can't just not talk to each other. We should talk about what happened back there."

"Nothing happened." he replied with a shrug, poking the fire with a stick. "Just an accident, is all."

The Waterbender frowned at the way he was avoiding her. "Sun, why won't you look at me?" As she said that, their blue eyes met. Katara felt blood rush to her cheeks as a naked image of the man sitting across from her flitted in front of her vision.

"That's why." He replied dryly, his own cheeks reddening. "Every time I glance in your direction I see…well, about what you're seeing. That makes it a bit hard to hold a conversation when you look at a person and see them in their underwear. It's probably worse for you since I was, well…not in my underwear."

If it was even possible, Katara felt her face darken even further. "Yeah, kinda…" She gulped quietly, leveling a steady glance at Sun. "I don't want things to be weird between us, Sun. Remember what Ty Lee and I did at the village being attacked by Hei-Bai? Let's do that."

He shrugged blithely. "That was because you two were being hostile, not because you saw each other without clothes on. But fine, whatever." Sun muttered, tossing his stick in the fire.

"Alright, I'll go first." Katara cleared her throat, feeling it tighten in anxiety. "Sun…I really like your blond hair. It matches your name and makes me happy when I look it at. That's…not weird, is it?"

Sun wiggled his hand. "A little weird, but not that bad, I guess. Okay, my turn." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Katara, I really like your dedication. It can be troublesome, but when you want something done, you get it done, and I like that."

The Waterbender smiled slightly. "I like how you can be mature but still have fun…unlike me," she muttered to herself-, "I'm glad to have someone else who's responsible with me on this crazy journey."

"Heh, you wouldn't have liked me as a kid, then," he replied with a small grin, "I like your eyes. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and with you, I really believe that. I like how open you are with how you feel, even if it's not exactly good feelings."

"I like your eyes, too," she responded shyly, playing with one of her hair loopies, "They're so bright and full of life, but also deep and intriguing."

"I like how you play with your hair when you feel shy," Sun said with a smile, making her drop her hair and blush, "I think it's really cute."

Katara blushed, before she bit her lip, hesitating to bring up the next feature. "I like how warm you are. It's like sitting next to a fire I know won't burn me and…well, I miss it. Ever since we…we haven't been as close as we were, you know?" She peered at him from lowered eyes that contained a glimmer of sadness and hurt.

The blond bender sighed and stood up from his spot and circled the fire, sitting down next to Katara with a warm smile growing on his lips. She quickly scooted closer to him, ending up almost halfway on his lap, leaning her head against his shoulder. What went unsaid was that they stopped being as close when Ty Lee had joined them, for what should be obvious reasons.

"I miss it too." He said quietly, settling his cheek on her hair. "You know, Katara, I'm not going to lie. I find you very attractive."

She blushed heavily, burying her face in his shoulder. "You're just saying that," Katara muttered into his vest.

"No, I'm not. Why do people say that?" he asked himself. "Look, if I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it. I think you're attractive Katara, and not just because of how you look, but all those other qualities I talked about earlier."

She sighed sadly. "I'm no one special Sun, I'm just a Water Tribal from the South Pole."

Sun shifted, pushing her up so that he could face her properly, frowning. "No, you're not just 'a Water Tribal.' You're Katara, a smart Waterbender, a responsible sister, a good cook and someone very special to me." He coughed in embarrassment, looking away with a flush to his face. "Since we're trying to not be awkward and stuff…"

Katara giggled nervously, feeling her heart race at their closeness. "I don't think that helped, exactly," she coughed lightly, "But, since we're being honest with each other…I've always thought you were handsome Sun. I mean, how couldn't I, really? You're so kind and caring and I just…I really like you, okay? I like being with to you like this and I want it to stay this way."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face in his shoulder, taking in his warmth and his scent as Sun did the same. "Now that we know this about each other, where do we go from here?" The blond bender asked quietly.

"I…I don't know, Sun," Katara murmured, pulling back to face him, "I like you, and I know you like me, but…you and Ty Lee…"

As if on cue, Ty Lee sat up with a wide yawn, stretching her arms over her head and blinking cutely. Hey sleepy eyes fell on them and she rose, dropping Sun's cape and stumbling over to them. "Cuddle time?" she asked tiredly, pushing Katara fully onto Sun's lap before sitting on top of her and wrapping her arms around both of them with a happy sigh.

"…It's complicated," Sun replied in a whisper.

The acrobat rubbed her cheek against Sun's with a small hum. "Hmm. What's complicated?"

"Our relationship," he said quietly.

"Meh," She groaned, grasping his chin and turning his face towards hers to peck the corner of his lips. "As long as whoever your betrothed is gives me a chance, I'm not going to waste my time holding myself back."

Katara glanced from Ty Lee to Sun. "Betrothed?" she asked in a small voice.

"That's what I mean by 'complicated,'" Sun answered dryly, before sighing, "Let me explain. A few years ago, I ended up in the North Pole while there was trouble going down. A splinter faction wanted to ally with the Fire Nation and save themselves, while the rest wanted to fight. I discovered that the splinter faction was being egged on by Fire Nation spies who wanted to push the Water Tribe into a civil war, leaving them wide open for an invasion. I did some investigating, exposed the whole thing to the chief, and ended up fighting all four spies at once when they attempted to assassinate me, the chief and his daughter."

…

"Look, Chief Arnook, the evidence is irrefutable," Sun stated patiently, tapping the unrolled scroll on the desk. "The splinter faction is being supported by Fire Nation spies who want to start a civil war, it's all right here in writing."

He stood in front of a large wooden desk, the front carved with the symbol of the Water Tribe. Large furs and pelts were draped artistically around the room and on the floor, the soft white light of the moon filtering in through the windows. Chief Arnook stood behind his desk, leaning on it with a dark look, while his daughter sat on a pile of cushions behind him, carefully touching the leaves of a small flowering plant next to her.

"And how am I supposed to know that this evidence is real and not something you forged, stranger?" The chief rebuked, leaning on his desk with a suspicious face. "How do I know you aren't a Fire Nation spy yourself?"

Sun rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Because a spy wouldn't give away his own plans, obviously." He replied.

Arnook waved his hand dismissively. "I personally know the men and women you name in this scroll, and they're all good people. I won't have some mysterious stranger debasing them, especially one who has been meeting with my daughter on her nightly walks." Behind him, a girl with long white hair in an elaborate bun blushed heatedly, as did the blond in front of his desk. "Did you think I wouldn't find out? That I would just let my only daughter walk around unsupervised, even in my own tribe?"

"That has nothing to do with this." Sun denied quickly.

"Oh, but I think it has everything to do with this," The Chief replied with a dark look. "I think you want ingratiate yourself to my daughter, and what better way to do that then by looking like a hero? Well, I won't allow it."

The blond scowled. "Just like you won't allow her to learn Waterbending, despite knowing she could be even more powerful than Pakku?" He returned harshly.

That took Arnook aback. "What?" He glanced back at Yue, who refused to meet his gaze. "You know I forbid you from the Bending arts for your own safety, Yue - no, this is not what this discussion is about!" The Chief slammed his hands on his desk. "You are the issue here, stranger! I'll not have you besmirching the name of my friends and filling my daughter's head with dangerous ideas! I'm calling the guards."

As Sun opened his mouth to protest and Arnook to call the guards, a bored voice spoke up. "By Agni, would you two shut up?" Someone complained, stepping around the entrance to the Chief's large office. He was a lean man, with dark hair and dark eyes, wearing tight-fitting dark clothing. "Listening to you idiots argue is giving me a headache."

"What the - Kota?" Arnook asked in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" The now-named Kota sneered, pulling a pair of long knives from the inside of his clothes. "I alway knew you were an idiot, but to be this much of a dullard? And to think, we thought the Northern Water Tribe more dangerous than the South."

Sun entered a fighting stance, cracking his knuckles. "This might not be the time to say this, but…I told you so." He muttered to the Chief.

Arnook stared at the Fire Nation spy with horror written on his features, his daughter sharing the expression. "Why would you do this, Kota? We've been friends for years!" He pleaded for understanding, but only found contempt.

"And they've been the most painful years of my life, listening to you prattle on about your daughter and the strength of your tribe. By Agni, my self-control wouldn't have lasted another week the way you go on!" Kota exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "I should thank you, Goldie. You're giving me a chance to take all my pent-up rage out on an idiot without all that running around and subtlety crap I've dealt with these past couple of years. Even though you managed to do that because one of my idiot subordinates forgot to burn his damn orders!"

A large thump echoed through the room as a wide figure uncoiled itself from the roof and dropped to ground. "I said I was sorry, Kota." The large man grumbled, drawing a sword from the sheath on his back. "It all worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"Not the point, you fat sack of komodo-rhino dung!" The spy shouted irritably, "It's common sense, and don't think you're escaping a reprimand!"

Arnook slammed his hand down on his desk, seething with rage and betrayal. "Do you think I'll let you get away with this?!" he shouted, "This will not go unpunished!"

Two more shapes dropped from the high windows, landing on the floor and unsheathing blades that gleamed in the moonlight. "Bluster all you want, you're not leaving this room alive." Kota replied blithely. "The words of a dead man mean very little. Now, make this easy for us; don't struggle and it'll be quick."

The four spies lunged, making Yue cry out in fear and cover her face. A loud clang rang out, and the Princess peeked out from behind her arms to find the weapons wielded by the spies held up by a long golden rod that stretched across the room.

"I'm not going to make this easy," Sun stated firmly, having pulled his staff out and extended it to protect both the Chief and Yue, blocking the sword from the fat spy at the same time.

There was a moment of stunned silence at the appearance of the other-worldly weapon, before Arnook grabbed his paper weight made of carved blue stone and smashed it into Kota's face. Sun pulled his staff back, knocking the spies off-balance and shoving the end in the fat one's stomach before spinning around to kick him in the chest, dropping low to avoid a slash from another assassin.

His staff shrunk to normal size as he spun it, deflecting blows from their blades with loud clashes of metal and sparks. Sun dodged around a stab, catching the sword under his arm and ripping the weapon away, jumping and spinning to knee the assassin in the head, sending him into a wall. As he landed, the blond turned and launched his staff, the pole zipping through the air to impact into Kota's chest, making him collapse to the ground.

Arnook and the last assassin paused in surprise, but the Chief recovered first and disarmed the woman, throwing her knife aside before spinning her around and snapping her neck with a brief but brutal action.

The fat spy pushed himself to his feet, grabbing his dropped sword and charging at Sun's unprotected back completely silently. He stumbled as the ice making up the floor melted underneath his feet, a tendril of water rising and wrapping around his body to freeze him in place. Yue, her face a picture of fierce concentration, flowed through the motions and whipped the spy in the face with a water whip, knocking him unconscious.

The blond bender saw these events play out and gave the Princess an appreciative smile and a thumb's-up, making her blush and stare at her hands in wonder.

"Yue…" Arnook muttered, seeing his daughter use Waterbending for the first time. "What about your health? You know bending is dangerous, due to your condition."

The Water Princess fingered a lock of her white hair pensively, before dropping it and fixing her father with a firm glare. "I won't let it rule my life, father. If I'm not willing to put my life on the line for the people I care for, then I don't deserve to be Chief of the Northern Water Tribe." She stated, before giving Sun a small smile. "Sun taught me that."

The Chief gave the blond a cautious look, before sighing. "It seems I owe you an - look out!"

One of the assassins had risen from the floor, clutching his chest and coughing, He glared at them with infuriated brown eyes, drawing his hands back. "For Fire Lord Ozai!" He shouted, unleashing twin streams of flames from his fists.

Sun exhaled harshly and hopped forward, throwing his arms up and spinning them in front of himself. Air swirled violently in front of him, sucking the fire into itself before dispelling in a blast of wind, reducing the fire to so much smoke.

Arnook dived to floor, taking a dropped knife before popping back up and hurling it. The blade spun through the air before piercing through the spy's eye and into his brain, his body collapsing to the floor a second later. His gaze turned to Sun, who was smiling and brushing his hands off. "You…you're an Airbender."

The blond bender shrugged, still smiling. "Not a very good one. The air shield's one of the only moves I can successfully do." His eyes flickered behind the Princess, his eyes going wide. "Yue!"

Kato grabbed her roughly around the shoulders, the edge of his remaining knife pressed against her throat. "Move and the girl dies!" he shouted, although it was somewhat muffled by his bruised and swollen face.

Arnook paled and put his hands in the air. "It's over, Kato, you lost. Let my daughter go." He tried to order, though it came out as more of a plea.

The Fire Nation spy spat in contempt. "Ha! I know as soon as I let her go, you'll kill me before I can even drop my knife. So no, I'm not letting her go." He panted, his eyes flickering between Sun and the Chief. "The Fire Lord will have my head for this failure, and you'll kill me anyway…might as well make you suffer - what in Agni's name are you doing?!"

His shout was directed at the blond bender, who was waving his hands in a vaguely mystical manner, almost as if he was bending, though there were no indications that he was. "Nothing important," Sun replied easily, still waving his hands. "Don't worry about it."

"What, are you trying to-to 'Mindbend' me, or something?" Kato asked, unaware of the rustling behind him. "This all your fault, you blond bastard. Everything was going according to plan until you showed up!"

Sun shrugged, his arms going still. "Yeah, I have a way of…entangling the plans of others," he quipped, throwing his fingers open.

The Fire Nation spy looked confused for a second, before shaking it off and moving to slit Yue's throat…only to find that he couldn't move his arm. He glanced down to find long, thick vines slithering around his entire body, constricting him to the point he could barely twitch. The vines pulled his arm back and away from the Princess, allowing her to slip out of his grasp.

Yue darted away from Kato, pausing to turn and kick him in the groin before diving into her father's arms. Sun had his vines tighten to the point that the spy could no longer breathe, before letting them grow slack and dropping the unconscious man to the floor.

Arnook glanced between the now-overgrown plant and the blond bender, his eyes wide. "I've never heard of anyone Plantbending before," he muttered, mostly to himself. "And you were Airbending just before…who and what are you, Sun? Are you…the Avatar?"

Sun shook his head. "No, I'm not the Avatar. I'm something else entirely. It's a long story." He replied briefly, his staff zipping to him from the floor with a flick of his hand.

The Chief frowned as his guards piled into the room, leveling spears at the one who had tried to warn him and defended him and his daughter. "Point those somewhere else and take these men into custody!" He ordered, waving at the unconscious and dead Fire Nation spies. Turning to Sun, he said, "You have done me a great service, even though I acted like a fool and accused you wrongly. I need to deal with the fallout of there being spies among my village, but if you and my daughter will head to the living room, I will be there in due time. There's a very important conversation we need to have."

…

"After we talked and I explained who I was, where I was from and why I'm here, he realized that since I can bend multiple elements without being the Avatar, it's possible for that to be passed down to my children; unlike the Avatar." Sun explained with a shrug. "He offered me anything I asked for after I saved their lives. I asked that he let Yue learn how to properly Waterbend; not just the bastardized version I barely saw when I spied on the Master."

Ty Lee hummed in thought. "He seemed so against it when you talked about it earlier. How'd you get him to let her do it?"

"Well you see, when Yue was born, she was premature and on the verge of death. Her mother actually died giving birth to her. Arnook, not wanting to lose all of his family in one fell swoop, beseeched the Spirit of the Moon, Tui, to save her life. She accepted, and had him dip Yue into the water of her home, blessing her with a portion of her own life force, saving Yue's life and turning her hair white." The blond bender relayed, before coughing and reaching for the waterskin. However, both Katara and Ty Lee were sitting on his lap, making it hard for him to do more than wave his arms fruitlessly.

Katara reached over and grabbed the water, passing it to Sun, who downed a good portion of it. "You were saying?" She asked interestedly.

Sun cleared his throat. "Anyway, with Yue being blessed like she was, it gave her immense chi. She was a natural when it came to Waterbending, much like you, Katara." He pointed out. "With her being pretty much the first-ever recorded case of being saved by a spirit like that, no one knew exactly what would happen if she took up bending. They figured that the bit of life force Tui gifted her was finite and if she used it to Waterbend, it would shorten her life."

Ty Lee frowned, "Chi doesn't work like that," she muttered, "it's not like stamina or anything, it's more like blood."

"Exactly," the blond bender nodded in agreement. "After I explained how chi actually works, he allowed Yue to learn Waterbending, along with myself. I was there for several months, and while we trained, we closer and closer until Arnook betrothed us. He recognized that some people would want, if not myself, then my children to be used as weapons, and wanted to head that off. Yue realized that it's more than likely I'll be declared some sort of lord after we take down Ozai, because we will take him down, which would lead to many offers for political marriages."

"And she sent you out to go find suitable women that would marry for love rather than a political advantage." Ty Lee finished knowingly. "Which is why I think she'll give me a spot."

Sun sighed quietly. "Yeah, hopefully."

Noticing his discomfort, Katara voiced a statement, "You don't sound happy about that."

"It feels unfair to me." He replied with a stony face. "Why should Ty Lee or another woman have to share me with someone else, just to protect me?"

The Water Tribal and the acrobat grew quiet. "What if they think you're worth it?" She asked softly, staring into Sun's deep blue eyes.

Sun chuckled in a resigned way. "Then who am I to say no? If you really wanted to be with me, even knowing of my situation, I wouldn't be able to deny you." He said truthfully.

Katara turned as best she could with Ty Lee in her lap and hugged Sun tightly. "I don't know what to think, Sun. This situation is so strange…can I have some time to think about it?" She asked.

"It's not a big issue, Katara," Sun replied softly. "Take all the time you need. I want you to know that I don't blame if you don't want to be with me, I completely understand. I just hope we can still be friends."

The Waterbender gently pushed the acrobat off of her, before turning back to the blond bender and kissing his cheek. "I'm not saying 'no', Sun, but I'm not saying yes, either. I just need some time to think." She got up off of his lap and bustled around the campsite, preparing breakfast.

Ty Lee took Katara's place, throwing her arms around Sun's shoulders. "You know I love you, right?" She asked quietly.

"I do. You know I love you, too." He replied, settling his hands on her waist. "I have since I was young."

She leaned in close, her lips next to his ear. "I think you're worth it, Naruto," she whispered, kissing his cheek. "I want to be with you, and I don't care who I have to share you with as long as you love me back."

Naruto cleared his throat quietly, his eyes wet. "I love you, Ty Lee. I won't try to change your mind because I want to be with you, too. All I want is to be worthy of you."

Ty Lee kissed him tenderly, trying to convey all that she felt through her lips. Pulling back, she wiped her thumbs under his eyes, clearing away the droplets. "You already are." She whispered, hugging him tightly.

They embraced for a several minutes as Katara focused on making breakfast, her mind lost in her thoughts. As his emotions settled, Sun kissed Ty Lee softly before taking her in his arms and standing, setting her down. "Do you want to help me wake Aang and Sokka up?" He asked, smirking mischievously. "There's a stream nearby with very cold water."

She bounced out of his arms, smiling. "I'll get Aang, you get Sokka!"

Katara watched as they carefully dragged the other two members of the group away, shaking her head in amusement. Seemed like the day would start with a splash.

…

…

…

A/N: So yeah, that all happened. There was a bit more depth to the explanation about Sun's situation, a flashback about the beginning of his time with June, some hijinks that turned all serious and shit, and another flashback! Yay!

Kurogane7: Well, nothing like a few flashbacks to deepen the story.

Funny story: I actually 'finished' this chapter about three weeks ago. I wasn't super satisfied with it, and it was half as long, but I was tired so I thought, 'fuck it, that'll do'.

And then I accidentally deleted most of it.

Kurogane7: I will give you props Sol, you are deserving of being, as TVTropes puts it, a Determinator.

So, that pissed me off something fierce and discouraged me at the same time, so I cooled off by writing the next chapter of The Life With Monster Girls (which is out now, go check it out!) I came back a couple days ago and started on this chap again; funnily enough, I actually like how this chapter has turned out now. Accidentally deleting it was a good thing. I added a bunch more stuff, like the Water Nation flashback (which was summarized in one long as paragraph in the first draft), and an ending that wasn't somewhat dark and discouraging.

As I said, I was tired.

Also, I always wondered why Yue wasn't a Waterbender. You'd think being given part of the Moon Spirit's, that is, the whole reason Waterbenders can bend, life-force, would make someone a good bender. As such, Yue is a Waterbender, a good one, because her not being one was stupid.

Have you ever noticed that she's always referred to as 'Princess' Yue, even though her father is the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe? And that Katara, being in the exact same position (daughter of the chief) is never called a Princess?

Shit's weird. Or just poorly put-together.

Also, I skipped over the Divide, since it was a filler episode and completely unnecessary, as well as the Storm and the Blue Spirit, since Sun and Ty Lee have money, so no need to get a job, and both know of medicine, so the fevers Sokka and Katara got were taken care of short order. I thought I'd make some filler of my own, so here you go.

Kurogane7: I can agree on that. I'm not exactly a fan of filler episodes unless they're done good and proper…and that is why I prefer the manga to the anime.

You and me both.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, with a big thanks to Kurogane7 and NorthSouthGorem for being my unofficial and oft-used betas. Why not check them out? We all work on our stories together, because us authors gotta stick together.

Kurogane7: True that.

Stay Awesome.

~Soleneus

P.S.: I'm just about entering my finals week. Surprisingly, I'm not sucking at Math this quarter, which is half a miracle in itself. Yay for me! Time to go drink alcohol!

Stay Awesome Some More.

~still Soleneus