Random Village

A grin appeared on Hideo’s face when Shtiya commented on his warmth. The Waterbender wasn’t that warm, so there was a nice balance between them. The only problem was that Hideo had no desire to move, which would be a problem later. Oh well, if he didn’t have to deal with it now, he wouldn’t worry about it now.

Hideo laughed when Shtiya asked if the Earthbender would wake him up or also sleep for a week. [color=midnightblue”I wouldn’t wake you up. I’m not mean,”[/color] he said. As silence followed his words, he realized that Shtiya had already fallen asleep. He smiled, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep, his arm still securely around the Waterbender’s waist.

As the sun rose, so did Hideo. He gently removed his arm from Shtiya’s wait and sat up. A look at his friend told him that the other boy was still asleep. Hideo got out of the bed, slowly so as to let Shtiya keep sleeping. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, he headed out of their room and to the bathroom. There, he quickly stripped and bathed. As he was pulling on his shirt, he stopped to look at his back in the bathroom’s mirror. Shtiya had done a great job, but some scars would remain forever. He sighed. Well, that was the price he had to pay for butting in on the Fire Nation’s business.

He returned to the room. Shtiya was still asleep, and Hideo didn’t want to wake him up. So what could he do by himself? He decided to explore the village. It was small, but at least he’d have something to do for a little while. He turned and exited the room. As he did so, it occurred to him that Shtiya might wake up while he was gone and wonder where he was. The Earthbender shrugged. He probably wouldn’t be gone all that long. It would be fine.

But, as it turned out, he was gone for a lot longer than he had anticipated. While he was wandering around the village, he had decided to stop in a small tea shop, and there had met a very nice man who happened to also be an Earthbender. They got to talking, and time flew by. Before he knew it, it was late afternoon. It was then that he remembered Shtiya and hurried back to the inn.

As he opened the door to the room, he noticed that Shtiya was awake and was looking around, probably for him. Hideo walked over to the bed and sat down, smiling sheepishly. ”Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. ”I found a tea shop, and then I started talking to another Earthbender in the shop, and I lost track of time.”

"Well, yes we are going to the temple. But I wanted to find a marketplace, or anywhere else we could buy supplies. And I noticed there were a lot of people in this way, which could indicate as such. But then I also realized we might find one on the way to the temple. That is why I stopped so suddenly."

"Ah," Tenoko replied, "I jsut figured we might see one on the way to the temple--take out two Fire Nationers with one attack, so to speak."

all in all, Tenoko did not mind where they did and did not go. She felt feiendly towards Hinh, and for her, this was a first in a long time.

"The pride for yourself and for the Water Tribes are not that different." Hinh began explaining while walking forward, towards the temple. "You are a warrior, and maybe the concept is different between nations, but in the Earth Kingdom, being proud of your Kingdom is the same as being proud of yourself."

"I do still possess a certain pride," Tenoko remarked, "just not for myself. I am nothing. The Water Tribes, however, are the only one of the Four Nations that has not fallen into the Fire Nation's control. No matter how close to extinction it may be, it is still a Free Nation. I do pride myself in that. I do pride myself in knowing that my own family is still out there. I may need the world, but alas, it does not need me at this point."

Tenoko wondered slightly if her words would be interpretted as her parents, or as her deceased loved ones. Her parents were the ones she was referring to, but it really could be interpretted either way.

~Tenoko~

It turned out that a few minutes after Shtiya started looking around, Hideo came through the door. The Earthbender looked a little sheepish and he came to sit on the bed next to Shtiya, who was still waking up. When Hideo apologized, Shtiya just laughed.

"I j-just woke up!" The Waterbender ran his hands through his hair and yawned. "What time is it? H---ave I really slept all day?" He thought for a second about what Hideo had said. He'd met another Earthbender? That was great! Tilting his neck to the side, he stretched the tendons along the right side, closing his eyes. He didn't really feel like getting out of bed.

"Did you l---earn anything from the Earthbender?" Shtiya fell sideways a little, leaning against Hideo. "Were they n-n-nice?" He hoped so. Maybe Hideo had been able to talk shop with a very knowledgeable person. It would be good for him, right?

His stomach interrupted his thoughts with a very loud growl. Shtiya burst into laughter again. "Okay," he said. "I need to get clean and eat." He would eat anything at this point; his stomach had reminded him that he was quite desperately hungry. The Waterbender peeled himself out of the bed and headed for the bathroom, washing in a quick and efficient way. The muscles in that shoulder would be sore for a little while, probably. In any case, the food was more important than trying to soak sore muscles away, so Shtiya went for a fast bath rather than a long one.

Shaking wet hair out of his face, he appeared back in their room shortly, an impatient look on his face. "I'm hungry," he said, in a rather obvious way. "Really hungry." Poking around in their bags for money, he grimaced as his stomach growled again. "S-see?"

Shtiya turned to locate Hideo again, holding money in one hand. He blinked blue eyes, tilting his head. "Did you eat earlier?" Granted, Hideo was a sixteen year old boy. He was always hungry, right?

Random Village

”Oh!” Hideo was surprised. Shtiya had slept through the entire day. Well, that was good if he had needed the rest, which he obviously had. But the entire day? That was a bit much. Hideo was glad he hadn’t waited for the other boy to wake up; he would have died of boredom!

The Earthbender shrugged his shoulders. ”I’m not sure what time it is,” he said. ”I just saw that the sun was going down, so I came back. And yes, you did sleep all day.” He grinned.

Hideo waited until Shtiya asked his second question to answer. ”Yes, he was very nice. He gave me advice on my stance and told me about a few techniques he invented to stop people from moving rather than just hurting them.” Of course, the other Earthbender had also told him about some purely offensive moves, but he didn’t think it would be a good idea to mention that to Shtiya, considering the Waterbender’s pacifistic nature.

It seemed that Shtiya’s stomach wanted to cut their conversation short. Well, Hideo could wait a few minutes while his friend bathed. ”Okay. See you in a few minutes.” the Earthbender said. Once Shtiya had left the bed, Hideo lay on it, crossing his arms behind his head and staring at the ceiling. He was thinking, both about the Earthbender he had met and about Shtiya. The last conversation between the two had ended on a pretty bad note. The bandit attack had distracted him (and probably Shtiya too), but the issue of their—Hideo’s—lack of communication still remained, and he had no idea what to do about it. The solution was simple; he should just talk more. But why he wouldn’t…that was a mystery – one he wanted to solve. But he couldn’t figure out how.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. Well, the ceiling wouldn’t give him the answers he sought. He might as well let it go and think about it later. But wasn’t his unwillingness to think of his issues part of the problem? He shook his head. If he started thinking like that, he would get nowhere. Serious thinking could wait. Right now he had to focus on everything else, including Shtiya.

Speaking of the Waterbender, there was a creaking sound as he re-entered the room, looking impatient. Hideo sat up, his hands dropping to his side.. He laughed as both Shtiya and the other boy’s stomach proclaimed his hunger. ”No, I didn’t eat. I just had some tea. You’re hungry, so let’s go eat.” He stood, crossed the room, and opened the door. ”After you.”

Shtiya made a face as Hideo opened the door for him as if he were a girl. But, he was starving, so he went with it for now. The Waterbender went right out the door, bolting down the stairs to find the innkeeper and ask her if she was serving food that they could buy or if they needed to seek nourishment elsewhere.

She laughed when she saw him, knowing the look of a famished boy well. "No, I've got stew and bread, lad. Why don't you sit down over there —" she pointed across the main room to where a few benches were placed. "— And I'll bring it out to you momentarily."
"I'm r-r-really, really hungry," Shtiya stated again. "Could I —"
Laughing, the innkeeper waved them off. "I know how to feed a boy! Sit down!"

So Shtiya sat, swinging his feet, and waited impatiently. Resting his chin in his hands, he stared at Hideo, having nothing else to look at and finding the other boy easy on the eyes. "I bet," he said, "that I could eat f-—-ive bowls of stew." Now that he was awake and bathed, his stomach was complaining bitterly about how long he'd slept. He was positively ravenous! It didn't help that he'd been shorting himself on food for a while, anyway, trying to feed the Earthbender more to facilitate healing.

When the innkeeper brought food, she brought a thick loaf of brown bread, heavy and home-made, and two large bowls of a savoury stew. Shtiya thanked her profusely before taking a long, loving look at the food. Beautiful. Just gorgeous. He ripped some of the bread off and stuffed it into the stew, waiting a minute before eating it. Blue eyes closed happily while he chewed. It was delicious — just the right balance of flavour, obviously cooked by someone who grew their own vegetables and knew the value of treating plants well. Chunks of meat and root vegetable thickened the stew and it promised to be both filling and nutritional. This was exactly how food was supposed to be.

Shtiya ate in complete silence for a while, totally absorbed by the food in front of him. After all, when one is hungry, it is an all-consuming state. Deliverance at hand, he could only focus on trying to eat slowly so that he could enjoy the food! Finally he looked up, swallowing, and blushed. "Um," he said to Hideo. "It's really good, isn't it?"

Random Village

It was far too easy to irritate Shtiya, which was why Hideo enjoyed doing it. But really, by holding open the door, he hadn’t been trying to annoy his friend, only get him to the food faster. But if by doing so he also managed to annoy the Waterbender, well, that was a bonus. Grinning at Shtiya’s swift dash down the stairs, the Earthbender followed at a slower pace. He too was hungry, but he, unlike Shtiya, could wait.

Shtiya was persistent, but the innkeeper wouldn’t budge. Well, Shtiya had waited this long; he could wait a little longer, though Hideo wasn’t sure how much longer. He really didn’t want to find out. The Earthbender followed his friend to the table, grinning at Shtiya’s fidgeting. ”Geeze, you can sleep for a week, you can eat five bowls of stew…it sounds like that wound’s done more good than bad.”

Thanking the innkeeper for the food, Hideo turned his gaze back to Shtiya, and wasn’t surprised to see that the other boy was already eating. He watched – stared actually, rather obviously – as Shtiya devoured the food. He almost forgot to eat his own food. When the Waterbender spoke, Hideo was too busy laughing to respond. Eventually, however, he calmed down and spoke.

”Yeah, it is. You certainly seem to be enjoying it,” he said, grinning widely. As enjoyable as it watch the spectacle in front of him, he did focus on his own food a bit. It was delicious. The inn-keeper was a very good cook. As he ate, Hideo looked at Shtiya’s shoulder, his head cocked to the side. It didn’t look too bad. Then again, he wasn’t a healer. So he might as well ask Shtiya about it.

”How’s your shoulder?”

Shtiya looked embarrassed when he realized Hideo was laughing at him. He looked down at his bowl. "I, um. I just, I've been really hungry for a while." He knocked his feet together, suddenly quite shy. Being scrutinized made him feel self-conscious. He ate more slowly after that.

When Hideo asked about his shoulder, Shtiya shrugged stiffly. "It hurts," he said. "The muscles will probably be a little sore for a while. But — d-don't worry! It's nothing I can't h---andle." The boy wiped the bottom of his bowl with bread and ate the last bit, chewing slowly. It had truly been a delicious meal. When he swallowed it all, he glanced back up at Hideo, uncertain.

Shtiya really felt like he could go straight back to bed with no difficulty. Of course, he could think of several things he'd like to do also, including buying food items, making out, talking to the local herbalist and enjoying some nice weather. And making out. Their lack of a physical relationship might not be bothering Hideo — the other boy never seemed like he thought about it — but it was bothering Shtiya. A guy had needs, right?

"Um, d--id I sleep too long that there's no time to do anything today?" he asked, halfway hoping the answer was yes. "Should we try buying things and such tomorrow?" They could also ask around to see if other travellers knew about routes they should take, or to find out if there was any news from the rest of the Earth Kingdom. That was how Shtiya had often stayed ahead of Fire Nation patrols and out of trouble. In most villages, he made sure to stay around long enough to get some good information off the locals and to hear a little trade talk. It was a good way to inform one's travels.

Random Village

Apparently, he had embarrassed Shtiya. That hadn’t been his intention. Hideo frowned briefly as the Waterbender looked down. He had only been joking; Shtiya didn’t have to take it so seriously. Luckily, the awkward moment didn’t last long. Shtiya moved on to answering Hideo’s question about his shoulder.

It was good to hear that Shtiya’s shoulder would be fine in time. He wondered about what Shtiya said last. Had the Earthbender really seemed that worried? Yes, he was concerned, but it’s not as if he thought Shtiya’s arm was going to fall off! But he wouldn’t tell Shtiya that; if he did, chances were they would just start arguing, or lapse into another awkward silence. He just smiled and said, “That’s good.”

When Shtiya glanced at him, Hideo glanced back, wondering what was on his friend’s mind. Obviously it concerned him, but that gave him no clues. Considering that they were together all the time, there was a lot that Shtiya could think about in regards to him. The fact that he had no idea what was going on in the other boy’s head bothered Hideo a little. But it wasn’t his place to know all of what his friend was thinking. Shtiya had a right to keep his thoughts private if he so chose. Hideo would just have to live with that.

Finally, though, Shtiya did reveal what he was thinking, and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as Hideo had expected. He looked past Shtiya, out of the inn’s window. The streets were dark, lit only by a few lanterns and the fading light of the indigo sky. He shifted his gaze back onto Shtiya and shrugged. ”Yeah, we probably should wait ‘till tomorrow to do anything. We could try shopping, but everything’s probably closed by now.”

Of course, he wouldn’t have objected if Shtiya had suggested that they walk around the village. He didn’t like the idea of wandering around alone at night, but he would be fine if he were with Shtiya. Besides, this village gave him a feeling of safety, as though nothing bad could happen within it. Of course, he knew that wasn’t true, but it was nice to feel that way. But if it was too late to do anything, that was fine too. He was okay with just going back to the room with Shtiya.

The sun was setting, which Shtiya had not noticed before due to his overwhelming hunger. When the other boy looked out the window, Shtiya turned to see as well, twisting around to look. It was even later than he'd thought. That must be the price for glorious sleep though, right? Losing a whole day?

But it wasn't like they were on some kind of time schedule. Shtiya didn't particularly care how fast they travelled or when they got to wherever they were going next, just as long as they got there. When he turned back around, Hideo was looking at him again. Hideo had soup at the corner of his mouth and before he thought about it, Shtiya reached out to wipe it off. "S-sorry," he said, pulling his hand back. "You have soup. Um. Here."

He coughed and went back to thinking about what the boy had said. The Earthbender was right, of course. Most places probably were closing up for the night. That didn't mean they couldn't roam about, or have a look around to see where things might be in the morning when they opened up. Night was a nice, peaceful time, good for walking and talking. Maybe Hideo didn't like walking around at night, though. It was certainly true that it was a bit more dangerous. But it's not like they were in Ba Sing Se! Most places didn't have such wretched hives of scum and villainy as the lower ring. Right?

Glancing back up, the Waterbender raised one eyebrow. "There isn't anything you want to do tonight?" He couldn't help it, it just slipped out. Dang! Shtiya fought a blush and kept his gaze level. No. He'd roll with it. Obviously communicating with Hideo required much more directness than he was used to. It was a challenge, but Shtiya could learn to work with that. Right? Resting his chin in his hand, he tilted his head, watching Hideo carefully. "Because I can think of a few things."

Random Village

A crimson blush came to Hideo’s cheeks as Shtiya touched his face, both from embarrassment about the soup and from the feeling of Shtiya’s hand on his face. He wasn’t used to such physical contact from anyone other than his mother, so this came as a bit of a shock to him. He wasn’t sure how to react. It was a simple action, but it still made him a bit uneasy.

Unfortunately, he had quite a bit of time to think about just how uneasy that simple action made him feel, as both of them were silent. Why was it such a big deal to him? All Shtiya had done was clean his face. There was nothing wrong with that, was there? No, there wasn’t. He knew that, but that didn’t make him feel any more comfortable about Shtiya doing it.

Hideo wished that something, anything would happen so he wouldn’t feel so odd. Eventually, Shtiya did speak, but what he said just confused Hideo. What was the Waterbender getting at? What could they…oh! There was that…he blushed. Was that what Shtiya wanted to do? He wasn’t sure he wanted to…

Trying to cover up his embarrassment, Hideo spoke quickly. ”Maybe we could walk around the village?...or something…” He looked away, blushing again. Why did Shtiya have to ask that question? It just made Hideo feel really uncomfortable. He’d had enough of that already.

Right. There was a word for this, and it was rejection. Shtiya knew better than to say anything else about it, so he just pulled away, gathering dishes in his hands. "Th---at's fine," he said, brushing crumbs into his bowl. It was too hard to read other people. The Waterbender had always, always had trouble with this. He wasn't good at figuring out what was the right thing to say, and when. That was one reason why he usually spoke less and let other people frame conversations for him. It was too easy to mess up.

Of course, now his feelings were hurt, but he desperately didn't want the other boy to know that. Maybe it would be better if he went back to treating Hideo as if he had no romantic interest in him whatsoever. Not that Shtiya thought he'd really be able to pull that off, but — argh. He was overthinking things, wasn't he? It was such a curse.

Wordlessly he carried his dishes to the innkeeper and paid her for the food, making sure to mention how good it had been.
"It was r---eally good," the boy said, offering his dishes to the woman.
She smiled as she took them. "Thank you! And thank you for clearing your table, bless you. Are you boys just passing through?"
"Usually so." Shtiya tilted his head. "D-does your village have a h---ealer?"
The woman nodded, smile lines deepening near her eyes. "Sure, she lives down at the end of the street," she informed him. "Are you needin' something healed, then?"
The Waterbender smiled and shook his head. "I just like to learn. Thank you!"
That done, he went back to the table and waited for Hideo before going outside.

The weather was cool, but not yet cold. Some sort of soft floral scent — maybe night-blooming jasmine? — carried over on the air and Shtiya smiled as he became aware of its presence. He really liked small towns. He liked their sense of presence and lazy passage of time. He liked small families and gossiping housewives and hard-working husbands. The Waterbender rubbed at the back of his neck, looking down the road a ways. "W-which way do you want to go?" he asked.

[OOC--sorry I took so long =P]

Hinh couldn't help but chuckle a little at this way of saying things. She wasn't used to these kinds of sayings, and Tenoko could tell. Then again, it took the waterbender only a few seconds to realize why. Being raised a priestess probably didn't have Hinh on the front lines whacking Fire Nationers left and right like the life of a warrior did.

"Then maybe my help will not appear that important, in the end."

Not important? when why waste the time? No, Tenoko knew it would be more important than she could really explain, but in reality, any help for Tenoko at this point was help that would be very important. She was a lost and broken soul, with nothing really worth living for in her eyes. She was not about to go and explain this, but it had a profound meaning to her.

"I must disagree," she answered, "When you've sunk as low as I have, the only way out is up. Any good deed I recieve is never forgotten, and always appreciated."

she smiled--it had been a long time since she had smiled, and yet here she was, smiling.
"Oh, my... It seems I was wrong. The temple is outside town." She said, looking back at the buildings, then ahead at the ocean and the horizon.

Tenoko did not see it as a problem, but then again, she was not fully thinking about it, and how Hinh was likely hungry, unlike her. Tenoko could use a little food, but she was used to just going hungry out of lack of caring.

Hinh's stomach then made another noise, that Hinh tried stifling by holding her body with her arms. "Could I have missed the sight of a shop while we were walking and chatting ?" Hinh asked Tenoko.

"you might have," Tenoko answered, "I will confess that I was not looking too hard. Very selfish of me--I apologize. If you wish to backtrack, it would not bother me any. I've seen woman of a higher class do worse."
~Tenoko~

Random Village

Somehow, Hideo got the feeling that his frantic suggestion wasn’t as fine as Shtiya said it was, but he knew better than to comment on that. Shtiya had chosen to accept his suggestion, so it was his problem if he wasn’t happy. Hideo couldn’t allow himself to worry about every little nuance of what they said to each other; he would go crazy if he did. He wouldn’t let his concerns about Shtiya’s temporary unhappiness ruin what promised to be a very enjoyable walk through a cozy village.

Hideo watched as Shtiya took the dishes over to the innkeeper and the two conversed for a brief moment. Shtiya was probably asking about where to buy supplies, or where to find the healer, or something else related to their travels. The Earthbender was glad he was traveling with such an informed companion. Were he by himself, he knew he would just be wandering around the Earth Kingdom with no idea of where he was, what he was near, where he was going…it would just be one big mess. Shtiya prevented that from happening, for which Hideo was extremely grateful.

Once Shtiya had returned, the two walked outside. Instantly, Hideo felt at peace. There was something about being outside in a village at night that he liked. Or maybe it was just the fact that this village wasn’t crawling with Fire Nation soldiers. Well, whatever it was, he liked it. When Shtiya asked which way he wanted to go, he looked out at the road and shrugged. ”Ummm…” he pointed in a random direction. ”That way.” With that, he started walking, eager to discover what the chosen path held in store for them.

Shtiya didn't say anything. When Hideo picked a direction he smiled shortly and went that way, idlly following some fireflies. Their soft light was soothing; he had loved them ever since he first saw some. They led him to pause by a flowering plant, which turned out to be the one the beautiful fragrance was coming from. He had been right; it was night-blooming jasmine. The Waterbender leaned down, breathing in the smell. It was a scent filled with memories of love for him, and he came away feeling very nostalgic, bringing some of the small blossoms with him.

A soft breeze pulled through his damp hair, drying it slowly. Shtiya ran a hand through it, sighing. He didn't feel like himself at all. Melancholy settled over him like a fog. Why hadn't he just kept his mouth shut in the first place with Hideo? He regretted how much he'd talked over their entire time together. He regretted talking about his family, and his arms, and ever admitting that he liked boys. He regretted putting himself so far out there. It wasn't like him, and if anything, it was more proof that talking wasn't his expertise. Swallowing roughly, he twisted the small flowers in his hands. Maybe he should just go back to focusing only on healing for a while.

They passed a house where a small dog came out and barked briefly at them. Shtiya knelt down, offering a hand to the animal. It sniffed him warily for a moment before wagging its tail and bumping up under his head. The Waterbender laughed softly and scratched behind the dog's ears. "Do you have a home?" he asked softly, leaning his head to the side. "Does somebody love you?" The dog was a bit scruffy and unwashed, but it didn't look particularly thin. It liked people well enough. "Or are you a stray, too?" The dog looked up at him with soulful eyes and licked the end of his nose. Shtiya laughed and scrubbed at his nose with one hand. "I'm sure someone loves you."

The boy messed around with the dog for a moment or two more before standing and continuing in the direction Hideo had chosen. Really, he'd rather go the other way, or go back to bed, but this direction was nice. It was pretty and calm. He couldn't complain about that.

Idlly Shtiya wondered how much of the Earth Kingdom was left. He was almost itching to leave it, because as vast and varied as it was, the Earth Kingdom was beginning to seem all the same to him. He knew it was likely due to going from village to village, and that was the nature of gathering folk remedies — but the promise of a new land with new secrets was bright, and he looked forward to it.

Random Village

As he walked, Hideo tilted his head back and stared at the night sky. There was something incredibly calming about staring at the moon and the stars. And at the moment he needed as much calming influence as he could get. He could tell that Shtiya was unhappy, and though he had told himself that was Shtiya’s problem, it still bothered him. He hated it when he made other people unhappy. It made him feel so guilty, like he’d done something horrible.

But had he? When Shtiya had spoken, Hideo’s mind had gone to a place better left undiscovered. He hadn’t wanted to think about that, so he’d said the first thing that came to his mind. At least it had been a decent suggestion. He could have said something much worse, and he was very glad he hadn’t.

Still, this walk was not turning out as he had hoped. He was leading the way, which he didn’t like, and he was doing so in silence. When he put those two facts together, it made for a very depressing evening stroll. Then, of course, his thoughts returned to the ever-present issue of his lack of speaking. If he wouldn’t speak in the Earth Kingdom, where he felt at home, how would it be in the Fire Nation, when he’d probably be jumping at every bit of red he saw?

He tilted his head forward to its regular position and focused on the ground in front of him. Maybe he was just feeing so off because he was wearing the stupid shoes. He felt like someone was trying to squeeze his feet until they popped, and he couldn’t feel the ground through the soles. How did other people live like that? It was ridiculous. In his opinion, shoes should be banned altogether.

Wait, why was he thinking about shoes? They had nothing to do with anything. But they did serve as a much needed distraction…gah, he hated this. For the past…while now, all of his thoughts had been about how his and Shtiya’s relationship was, to put it lightly, an absolute wreck. And it was his doing. He wouldn’t allow himself to just talk freely, and so they didn’t talk at all and things between them just grew more and more awkward. The Earthbender ran his hands through his hair and sighed deeply. His stomach felt odd and his throat felt constricted. It was terrible.

Okay, enough. He couldn’t go on like this. He needed to change—now. He stopped walking and turned around, his eyes seeking Shtiya. Seeing the other boy a few feet behind him, Hideo walked up to him. He placed his hands on the Waterbender’s shoulders and, without saying a word, leaned in and kissed the other boy on the lips. The kiss was brief, but it left him feeling much better as he pulled away. He stared into Shtiya’s eyes and spoke, his words rushed so as to say all that he wanted to before Shtiya could interrupt.

”I like you. A lot. And I know I do a horrible job of showing it, and that I never talk and that bothers you, and that I just make things awkward between us because I don’t talk, and I’m going to try to change that, honestly, I am, because I don’t want our relationship to be this uncomfortable, and…um…yeah, that’s it.”

The Earthbender rubbed the back of his head, suddenly embarrassed by both the kiss and his rambling. But he had told himself he needed to change, and what he’d just done was proof that he could change. Now he just had to wait for Shtiya’s reaction. He kept his eyes on his feet, avoiding Shtiya’s gaze at all costs.

Shtiya was wiping puppy saliva off his nose and scrubbing his hand on his tunic when Hideo suddenly was right in front of him, grabbing his shoulders and kissing him. It was all very out-of-the-blue, and when the other boy pulled away, the Waterbender was sure he probably looked a little confused. Words tumbled out of Hideo's mouth quickly, about how he really liked Shtiya, and he was sorry things were so awkward. But then the other boy looked away, as if ashamed.

Shtiya had thought that the Earthbender had said his parents hadn't taught him to be homophobic. So why did Hideo do that? Why did he act like kissing Shtiya and talking to him was so embarrassing? To be frank, the way Hideo dealt with Shtiya in general was very disheartening. One minute he was sweet and cuddly, and the next he was rejecting him quite out of hand. He did things like this, like kissing him very suddenly, but then he acted as if contact with Shtiya was entirely embarrassing, or like he was ashamed.

Those things put together made the Waterbender feel like a very ill-kept secret. It wasn't very nice. Hideo was the one who had said he didn't want to pretend like they were just friends, but any time Shtiya tried to move forward with anything involving the two of them, the other boy just shut him down. He couldn't even flirt with him, not really. Letting out a soft sigh, the Waterbender swallowed before saying anything.

"I really l--like you too," he said, even though Hideo already knew that. The older boy tilted his head to the side and paused for a moment before reaching out to place gentle fingers on Hideo's chin and tilt the boy's head back up. When their gazes met, one corner of Shtiya's mouth quirked slightly, a questioning look on his face. "Why do you d-—-o this? Act like I'm embarrassing?" He wasn't going to hide that it hurt his feelings. Shtiya glanced off to the side for a moment before continuing.

"I'm sorry that I don't know h-how to read you," he said. "And I know I somehow always say something wrong, or upset you. I don't mean to. It's just —" the slender boy shrugged, unsure of how to articulate his meaning. "You act one way one minute a-—--nd another the next. I can't keep up with you." And he didn't like being brushed aside so quickly, or at least, being treated in a way that gave him that impression. Shtiya sighed. He knew Hideo was painfully shy. It probably wasn't the other boy's fault. You know, except for when it was. Maybe Hideo hadn't thought about the way he acted.

"I want you to feel comfortable talking to me. About — whatever, you know," he was casting around for words, "about how much you hate wearing shoes. Or if you — if you h---ated what we had for dinner. Whatever. I just feel like... you don't want me to know who you are." Shtiya looked very sorry about that. “I’m n-not used to being with someone even more sh-—--y than me. I’ve always been the younger, shy person. The way this is working out, it’s – it’s new for me, too.”

Random Village

As Hideo had expected, at first Shtiya looked confused. But then the Waterbender sighed. That didn’t bode well. Hideo had a feeling he didn’t want to hear what his friend was about to say. But it was fine; Shtiya just restated his feelings for the Earthbender. Hideo allowed Shtiya to raise his head, and let his eyes find the Waterbender’s. Unfortunately, then Shtiya continued to speak, and Hideo’s face fell. His friend completely had the wrong idea.

He wanted desperately to speak, to defend himself, convince Shtiya that he was wrong, but the Waterbender kept speaking. At first what he said was understandable – Hideo hadn’t noticed that he was a bit sporadic in his moods, but he could fix that. But when Shtiya spoke of Hideo not wanting him to know who he was, the Earthbender felt as if the breath had been knocked from his lungs. Was that really how Shtiya felt? But Hideo hadn’t meant to give that impression at all!

After taking a deep breath, he spoke, his voice shaky. ”You’re not embarrassing. I just worry about how you’ll react to what I say or do, that’s why I act like this. You’re not doing anything wrong, I’m just making things difficult for you. I do want you to know who I am, but I feel like if I said something about dinner or the shoes I would just annoy you. I’m so afraid of saying the wrong thing I just can’t speak. But I will try to get over that.”