AN/ I don't write in this fandom much, and I like to make Aang a little bundle of confusion. He's cuter that way.
01 – Air
As the wind blew around him, the prince shivered and he couldn't tell if it was in anticipation, or if it was because the breeze felt like a lover's caress.
02 - Apples
Zuko bit into an apple, secretly his favorite fruit, and thought that the Avatar probably liked apples too before deliberately taking another bite and pushing the thought away.
03 - Beginning
It all started with a capture and chains and brutality, until he made the Avatar cry, cry bitter tears devoid of hope, of life, of freedom…and then he realized exactly how old the Avatar, savior or the world, really was.
04 - Bugs
Sokka made a face at a bug perched on him, and before Aang could say that it sort of reminded him of Zuko (because of the funny eye patch and all) he squished it between gloved fingers; and Katara couldn't figure out why he was so horrified.
05 - Coffee
What's this, Aang asks, and takes a sip before swallowing morosely and making a face, and Sokka scoffs and tells him it's coffee, from the Earth tribes, and even if it is from the earth country, Aang thinks it reminds him of the prince, with it being as strong and bitter as it is rich, and Sokka looks confused when Aang snatches the cup and runs off.
06 - Dark
Zuko was never cold, it was almost physically impossible for him to be so, with fire coursing through his veins, but sometimes at night he shivered slightly as he wondered about what he would actually do when he captured the Avatar.
07 - Despair
Aang shivered, in the cold dark, chained to a wall, captured by traitorous earth benders, when the masked boy who saved him before appeared, the masked boy who was Prince Zuko, carried him to safety, Aang pressed a tight lipped kiss upon his bare neck and fell unconscious—Zuko was glad he had a mask, else he worried about what the Avatar would do if he saw him blush.
08 - Doors
In his dreams, there were no borders, no hatred and no lies, and when people embraced there was no fear, and when Aang woke up, silent childish tears would run down his face as he clenched the covers as he wondered why.
09 - Drink
Zuko took a sip of the fire whisky laid before him, the decisively deceiving cool light amber reminding him of a skin tone best forgotten.
10 - Duty
It is my duty to my country, my people, and Aang interrupted Zuko with a quiet 'your father,' and as the boy before him quivered, lip trembling and eyes squeezed shut waiting for his abuse, Zuko turned around and walked out—not shaken in the slightest, of course, and if he kept muttering that to himself maybe he'd believe it.
11 - Earth
Earth is a peaceful element to learn, Aang thinks, sturdy and true and faithful, but Aang loses focus when he thinks of his pursuer and tries to blend earth bending with fire.
12 - End
That's all, no real fight, no nothing, you're giving in—yea, Aang says, now many years older and the world a more peaceful place but Zuko still chases him, the one certainty besides his elements and Appa (Momo and Sokka and Katara and Jet and everyone is dead), and steps into Prince Zuko's arms, and waits for it to end.
13 - Fall
His mouth twists into a scream, and he struggles in mid-air, screaming in his head that he does not want to die, and his savior is his enemy, who is chipper and tells him that it'll be ok, and to hold on to his body as he slowly climbs higher in the air, and Zuko is confused.
14 - Fire
Aang has been entranced by fire, and he has entranced the flames.
15 - Flexible
Zuko pondered, slightly flustered, how it was possible to move so well with air.
16 - Flying
When Zuko asked Aang what it was like to fly, he felt butterfly light pressures shyly against his lips, and suddenly he understood.
17 - Food
Food was a delicacy, and so was the younger boy seated next to him, and Zuko fidgeted slightly and ordered the guards to make everyone leave so he could eat in peace, but they only took Aang, as usual.
18 - Foot
Aang blushed profusely as he felt a leer trained on him and a boot climbing up his leg.
19 - Grave
Aang touched Zuko's headstone, and his tears mixed with rain.
20 - Green
"You are such a greenhorn," was whispered in his ear, and Aang almost threw a childlike tantrum till he felt a warm heat nibble at his neck.
21 - Head
Aang bit on his fingers, trying to keep quiet, as he used his other hand to pretend it was Zuko giving what he would.
22 - Hollow
Even as he spouted off facts about the Avatar, Zuko felt that burning feel of emptiness inside him.
23 - Honor
He told himself it was for his honor, but now he was not so sure the Avatar was entirely disassociated from his own wants.
24 - Hope
Aang was running out, and Zuko never had any.
25 - Light
The avatar glowed in a crowd, full of life and happiness, but Zuko thought it just made him easier to catch.
26 - Lost
They are both stuck in a labyrinth, with their feelings for each other at the centre.
27 - Metal
The cool and heavy iron around his wrists made him sad because he would be given to someone else, but for now, Aang belonged to Zuko.
28 - New
The feelings were strange and foreign and less familiar than flames on skin to a water bender, but Aang didn't mind, he kind of liked the heat.
29 - Old
As the prince aged and became a king, the Avatar succumbed to the time told cycle of selecting the next avatar, and chose Zuko's son, in hopes of healing old wounds.
30 – Peace
One day, he hoped, there'd be peace among nations, and if he could bring it, he could have Zuko.
31 – Poison
To kiss him would be deadly, and to resist would simply result in a slower death.
32 – Pretty
Zuko brushes coarse fingertips against the brow of a sleeping Aang, and damns him for being so pretty.
33 – Rain
They stood in the rain, wind keeping them dry and fire keeping them warm, lost companions in a world that needed and hated them both.
34 - Regret
As the Prince handed the Avatar to his father, Zuko felt burning regret and guilt for giving up Aang.
35 - Roses
"Roses are red and violets are blue, fire is hot and I miss you" and Aang pouts as he realizes he's the world's worst poet.
36 - Secret
Stolen kissed and forgotten squeezes, those were the marks of their game.
37 – Snakes
Aang, surprisingly enough, loved snakes, especially ones with amber eyes.
38 - Snow
As Zuko carried Aang through the blizzard, he was glad the Avatar was out cold otherwise he might've done some rather unwise things.
39 - Solid
Zuko was here, was solid, was real, and Aang held on even though he was unconscious.
40 - Spring
Zuko relaxed into the hot spring, very pleased with himself till he heard the sound of a landing bison and suddenly he'd rather be anywhere but near the one whom he was just thinking of.
41 - Stable
Aang brings Zuko to the ground, stabilizing him even as he's being chased.
42 - Strange
The experience was strange, since they were both new and fumbling and unsure, but passionate nonetheless.
43 - Summer
Aang giggled and stretched out like a cat in the sun, feeling the warmth spread from his belly up at thoughts of someone else who made him warm.
44 - Taboo
It was wrong, it was forbidden, it didn't even make any sense, but that never stopped either of them as wind whipped around fire.
45 - Ugly
Zuko spends an hour in front of the mirror some mornings, fingers ghosting over the scar, and remembers Aang looking perplexed at him and saying it's not so bad.
46 - War
"This war needs to stop," "I know," "If you know why don't you do anything?" "I can't—" "Why not?" "I need you to do it," and Zuko's hoarse and harsh whispers cease as Aang gives himself over.
47 - Water
Cool and wet, lapping at his sides, Zuko calms himself in the deep, thinking of a boy four years younger than him and a hundred years elder to him, and the water evaporates in a hiss of steam.
48 – Welcome
Zuko tugs Aang off the boat by his cuffs, and Aang bites his lip when Zuko mutters, "Welcome to your new home."
49 - Winter
A season without warmth was always unpleasant, and Aang hated it because it reminded him of people he shouldn't think of, and Zuko hated it because it reminded him how cold he was even when he had liquid fire racing through his veins.
50 – Wood
Aang laughed lightly as he poked Zuko's belly and said it reminded him of a log, and Zuko wasn't sure if he was supposed to be angry or flustered.