Avatar The Last Airbender Reader Insert Book One: Water

The Boy in the Iceberg - Part 3 (2.0)

Katara crawled over to speak to Aang, "Hey..."

"Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"I guess I was wondering, you're being an airbender and all... if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar." Y/n perked up at this.

"Uh, no. I didn't know him. I mean I knew people that knew him. But I didn't, sorry."

"Ok. Just curious. Goodnight."

"Sleep tight."

Disappointed with his answer, y/n sighed. She scooted over beside Sokka, in search of heat. She took note of the furrow of his brows. He didn't bother looking at her, instead taking in the monotonous landscape of ice around them. Though, the setting sun provided a nice change in the scenery. His frustration sent a shot of guilt through her.

She didn't always use to give him a hard time. They were once inseparable, learning to track, hunt, and fish together. Survival training with him was once the highlight of her day. They'd follow Chief Hakoda across the snowy plains, taking in the landscape, each moment an adventure she never wanted to come home from. Especially when they would sneak off during group hunts and go penguin sledding instead.

Everything was better when it was just her and Sokka. And she figured he felt the same. But he didn't. He made that much obvious shortly after the Chief set out to fight in the war against the Fire Nation.

He started fishing on his own, sneaking out earlier each morning before she had time to wake up and join him. Similar instances followed concerning hunts and even boomerang practice. With Sokka out on his own, anytime Katar asked, y/n would take her out and teach her what her father once taught them.

Now, she and Sokka barely spoke to one another, only as needed and with increasing amounts of sarcasm and spite. She never understood what happened between them but with any snarky comment he threw her way, she learned to send one right back. This continued until she barely recognized herself and who she once was in his presence.

The only conclusion she could come to was that he only passed the time with her as a favor to his father. Sokka admired him more than anything in the world and if Hakoda asked him to walk through burning coals he would, no questions asked. But once his father was no longer around to tell him what to do, Sokka no longer needed to waste his time with her. The pity he once felt for her, parentless and alone, had probably worn off over the years. She supposed she couldn't blame him if that was the case.

With another sigh, she tried to shake away her wandering thoughts and the dull ache beneath her ribs. The nostalgia was making her sick. She wanted to sleep. Not thinking twice about it, she slumped back. Though she couldn't look at him quite the same anymore, the feeling she got sitting next to him hadn't changed much over the years. Not that she realized. The bit of heat he put off next to her was enough to ease her to sleep.

While he'd been watching the setting sun, he was well aware of the girl's presence beside him. It was odd for her to choose to be so close to him, he wasn't sure how to react. So, he ignored her. She sighed, probably annoyed with him. She was only ever annoyed by him anymore it seemed. It surprised him when a weight fell on his shoulder. He didn't look to see, he just hoped she was getting well-rested while they had the time.

Instead, he accidentally caught his sister's gaze. She gave a knowing look and he huffed, brows furrowing again as he turned his attention back to the setting sun, ignoring the heat fluttering dully in his chest.

***

Aang awoke with a startle, a voice calling to him, "Aang, Aang, wake up!"

He was breathing heavily. In an attempt to catch his breath, he sat up.