Title: Shirts
Author/Artist: D_Artemis24
Fandom: Avatar the Last Airbender (AtLA)
Pairing: Zukka
Rating: PG/PG-13 for slash undertones/slash, any way you want to look at it.
Warnings: Slash, also called Boys Love. Besides, two very blushy boys. I guess what some might consider OoC, although I can picture both Sokka and Zuko blushing. And an angry Katara -no violence, though, I promise-. ALSO: MINOR SPOILERS FOR THE LATEST EPISODES IN CANADA SO FAR, WHICH IS THE 13TH EPISODE. YOU WERE WARNED WITH CAPS.
Disclaimer: Okay, let's work this out logically, shall we?

• If p represents "D_Artemis24 owns AtLA and all characters in it," and


• If q represents "AtLA is actually a show about a big orgy," but


• It is given that q is false, then it logically follows that


• Not p, or "D_Artemis24 DOES NOT own AtLA and all characters in it."

I rest my case.





"Well, someone's got to give him something to wear." Aang said as he looked around.

"I would gladly give my clothes to you, firecrotch, but I think it would be a little too small." Toph, who was leaning back on a rock a bit far back, said with unconcealed humor in her voice.

Firecrotch?

Zuko almost sputtered at the nickname, trying not to glare at the water tribe boy -Sokka-, who stifled a laugh a bit too late.

Oblivious to the implications of Zuko's nickname, Aang's eyes lit up as he suggested, "What about Katara's? She has some spare water tribe clothes!"

Zuko did sputter this time. Aang continued, not hearing distress signals Zuko was giving.

"Besides, Katara, it was you who drenched him in the first place."

"Hey, I just thought he was attacking you!" Katara said defensively, pointing at Zuko at the word he.

"We said we would be training firebending, Katara."

"He's got a point, sugarqueen." Toph quipped. Katara started to step forward toward Toph, her mouth opened as if to protest, but stopped and smirked instead.

"You know what, Aang? You're right. He should have my clothes." Her voice, honey-sweet laced with poison, sent a chill down Zuko's spine. As much as Zuko didn't want to admit it, the waterbender scared him, especially after the episode in his room in the Western Air Temple. Trying his best not to look intimidated, Zuko tried to intervene, but was quickly silenced by the threatening look in the waterbender's eyes.

Still talking, she dugged into her bag as if nothing happened, producing a thick - and obviously a girl's- water tribe clothing. "He must be freezing. Here- have it, Zuko. It's my fault."

She closed in on him, wielding the blue and rather girlish clothing as if it was a powerful weapon. And by the look of Zuko's face, it might as well have been.

"Really, it's okay. I'm a firebender, remember?" Zuko backed away, desperately trying to avoid Katara. Hastily, Zuko stripped off his shirt while still backing away from the fearsome girl. Holding his shirt in one hand, he made a small fire on the other, holding the wet clothing over his fire. The dripping water, however, quickly doused the fire. Slightly frustrated, Zuko made a much bigger fire in his palm, pleased when the fire didn't die out and the clothe was beginning to dry rapidly. Zuko faced Katara again, with what he hoped was a not a relieved smile with a hint of fear.

"See? I can just- Aaah!" He yelped in surprise as his shirt caught fire, being destroyed in an alarming rate. Trying to gather his wits, he attempted to control the fire. It wasn't so hard, as the fire was relatively small, but upon a quick inspection, it was evident that the fire had thoroughly burned through the right side of his shirt.

Oh, shit.

"So, Zuko, do you want my shirt now?" The girl- Katara- began advancing toward Zuko again, smelling fear and victory to come. Her eyes had a devilish glint Zuko had formerly associated exclusively with Azula.

Zuko, now even more desperate, looked around the campsite for an ally. Aang, who couldn't see what was wrong with wearing a Water Tribe clothing anyways, was nodding encouragingly at Zuko. And the others- the blind earthbender Toph, the Water Tribe boy Sokka and the other three Earth Kingdom- were enjoying the show too much to stop. And Zuko could swear, for a moment, that even the damned lemur had an amused glint in its eyes.

Backing away slowly and eying the waterbender cautiously, Zuko fell back to the last desperate resort.

"Katara, look!" Zuko pointed over the girl's shoulder, successfully diverting her -and the whole group's- attention away from him. Seizing the only chance for his escape, Zuko sprinted toward the forest, away from a certain fate that would destroy what was left of his man-ego.


After sprinting into the safety of the woods, Zuko stopped. He was sure that Katara wouldn't go after him. Almost. Feeling the chilly temperature for about the first time, he shivered. It was unusually chilly and moonless summer night, and it was even colder in the dark shadows of the woods. His heavy pants clung closely to his leg, leaving a cold and clammy feel behind as much as he tried to unstick his leg from the fabric. And as much as he didn't like the cold and the wet feeling, he was reluctant to try to dry his pants, especially after his previous accident. He could go shirtless, but going pantless is something he didn't plan to do.

"Why does this kind of things always happening to me?" He muttered as he used the breath of fire to warm himself up internally. He was starting to warm comfortably when he heard someone coming.

Oh, no... please don't let it be her.


He turned slowly, preparing to submit to his horrible fate. Zuko was startled, however, as he saw the person he was least expecting- Sokka, the water tribe boy, shirtless. Sokka was holding his shirt with his right hand.

"Hey," Sokka said awkwardly as he thrusted the blue shirt in Zuko's general direction, "You can have my shirt."

Surprised at seeing Sokka, offering him a shirt, no less, Zuko stammered, mentally kicking himself. "N...no- I don't need to wear a shirt." Against his will, Zuko shivered again, a bit more noticeably this time.

"Don't worry, I washed it yesterday. It won't smell."

"I really don't-" Zuko stopped as Sokka roughly handed him his shirt. His hands were surprisingly warm, even warmer than a firebender's.

"Hey, I grew up on a block of ice, remember? I'm used to the cold." Sokka's expression got a bit humorous. "Besides, it was my sister's overreacting that got you wet. She's a good kid, really. Just a bit protective of Aang."

"I... Thank you." Zuko put on the shirt. It was rather tight around the shoulders and didn't help much, since it was a sleeveless. But he was getting warmer, although neither his breath of fire nor the shirt was the cause. Well, maybe the shirt did help, but probably not in the way Sokka intended.

"No problem." The Water Tribe shrugged and walked toward the camp. The moon suddenly shone through the clouds and the trees, lighting the Water Tribe's figure. Zuko noticed for the first time that Sokka had grown the hair on either side of his head, probably for the Fire Nation disguise. He had shorter hair when he first met -fought- him in the Southern Water Tribe.

Wait...

"Hey, don't you have a thicker shirt, the one you used to wear in the Water Tribes? I can wear that..."

Zuko paused as he noticed the slight red tint on Sokka's ears and back of his neck as the Water Tribe boy walked slightly faster toward the camp.

"...or not."

Zuko blushed, glad that he wasn't in the camp, where others would've seen his embarrassing reaction. Some minutes later, after making sure that his cheeks weren't still warm, Zuko walked toward the camp, feeling surprisingly warmer.

As he entered the lighted area of the camp, Toph, who was still leaning on the rock, suddenly asked, "Why is your heart beating so fast, firecrotch?"

"Wo-What?"

"Your heart, firecrotch. I could feel it beating fast since few minutes ago. Something interesting happened?" Toph asked innocently, though the subtle smirk on her lips told otherwise.

Zuko wondered then, for the first time but not the last, exactly how far -and how much- the blind earthbender could hear.


[PERSONAL NOTES: I'm so nervous to post my first fan fiction that I deemed worthy - as humble as it is- to post online. And it's Zukka, my current favored pairing. Let's just hope I don't get MiST'd. Phew.]

[EDIT 1: I just noticed how the spacing's really weird. I'll fix it this weekend... I should be studying for Japanese Finals now. Okay, got to go.]

[EDIT 2: Spacing and wording fixed, addition to various scenes. Still sucks, but at least editing makes me feel better about myself. Yeah.]

[EDIT 3: It turns out that it's "clothe," not "cloth." Dang, I knew it was one of the two. :( Thanks to esprix for pointing out my rather embarrassing mistake.:)]