The Look - SmellerShot

"The Look"
A SmellerShot oneshot

Smellerbee swung from one tree into another with the ease and experience she had developed over the years.  She effortlessly climbed higher and ran along a thick branch with a nimble quickness that would impress an acrobat.  This continued for about a mile, it was a part of her daily training.  The ability to move through the trees with the style and grace of a cat was an essential skill for a Freedom Fighter to have – and she excelled at it.  

After reaching her usual stopping point, she made a last minute decision to push herself a little further.  After all, one couldn't become better if there wasn't any challenge.  About ten minutes later, when she had neared another mile, the flash of metal caught her attention.  She slowed and came to a stop high in the trees above it.  

It came from the reflection of light refracting off of a Fire Nation helmet.  Crouching on the branch and reaching for her dagger, she prepared to attack.  If it was only one soldier, she could take him out without a problem and would have a story to tell during dinner.

"Liang!"  The sound of a woman's voice stopped Smellerbee before she sprang into action.  She watched as a girl who looked to be only a few years older than her ran towards the soldier.  The man, apparently named Liang, removed his helmet.  He appeared to be not much older than Jet.  His hair was black and tied up into the traditional top knot commonly worn by Fire Nation men. When the girl leapt into the young man's arms, the helmet made a loud clunking sound as it fell to the ground.  He wrapped both arms around her waist and their lips collided in a heated kiss.

Smellerbee quirked an eyebrow at the scene below her: an Earth Kingdom girl with a Fire Nation soldier.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming, Hana," Liang said after breaking their kiss.

"I'm sorry; I had a hard time sneaking away."  The girl, Hana, clung to him.  Smellerbee found herself both appalled and fascinated by what she was seeing.  Appalled that the girl seemed to be in love with the Fire Nation Soldier and fascinated because she hadn't seen such a display of romantic affection since the last time she saw her parents together.  "It's getting more and more difficult to make an excuse to go out.  My parents are beginning to suspect something."

"Run away with me." The suggestion blurt out of his mouth.  "I'll give everything up.  I can't stand being a part of this anymore," he indicated to his armor. "I'll fake my death and then we can go to Ba Sing Se.  The Fire Nation will never follow us there.  We can marry and start a new life together."

Unable to watch anymore, Smellerbee dropped to the ground, landing beside the couple.  She lunged forward, pushing between them, as she brought her blade to the soldier's neck.  He gulped as the sharp edge of the short sword grazed his throat.  

The girl fell back in surprise, landing on her bottom.  "NO!" she cried.  "Don't hurt him, please!"

"If you want to die, I can arrange that for you!" Smellerbee ignored the girl and glared up at the soldier.  In her other hand she had her dagger pointed at his side.

Liang threw his hands up in surrender.  "I'm not one of them," he pleaded.  

Hana was back on her feet and fearlessly held onto Smellerbee's arm. "Please, no!  He's not the bad guy!"

"There are worse things than me in this forest that you should worry about killing him," like Jet… Smellerbee replied and lowered her sword.  When her other arm relaxed, Hana released it and shot to Liang's side, wrapping her arms around one of his and looking around nervously.  

"Are you serious about faking your death and running away?" Smellerbee narrowed her eyes at them after returning her weapons to their sheaths.

"Yes." Liang didn't miss a beat in giving his reply.

"Well, it's not that I don't want too, but we would be going empty handed.  Without even food for the journey, and what about my parents, they deserve to be told something or else they'll search for me forever," Hana reasoned.

Smellerbee looked Liang over as she contemplated the situation.  "You won't make it out of these woods alive wearing that," she gestured at his armor.  "Take it off."  He nodded and was eager to oblige.  When the armor was piled in a heap on the ground beside him, she shook her head, realizing that it still wouldn't work.  His clothing beneath the armor also screamed that he was Fire Nation.  "Alright, both of you stay here.  I'll be back at dusk." When they nodded in agreement she scrambled up the nearest tree and disappeared from their sight.

Making her way back the way that she had come, Smellerbee became lost to her thoughts.  What was she doing?  Why was she so willing to help?  Jet would be disappointed in her if he learned that she had let a Fire Nation soldier live.  Why did she care about what became of the couple?  She was becoming soft, giving in to her girl side.  Everyone would tease her, saying that she was turning into a woman.  No, she couldn't be seen.  The guys wouldn't understand – not that she understood, either.  She would have to sneak in and out of the hideout to avoid their questions.

Something about seeing the couple together had caused her chest to hurt.  For the briefest moment she had envisioned herself in someone's arms, being held and being loved like she was the most important person in his life.  As quickly as the thought came to her she had tossed it aside.  It had been the source of her annoyance when she attacked Liang.  

She was thankful that everyone was at dinner when she returned.  It made it easier for her to sneak into the storage, where they kept their food.  After grabbing a green bag that displayed the Earth Kingdom symbol on its flap, she began to fill it with apples, moon peaches, leechi nuts, and jerky; enough to last at least until they made it to the next town.  She then moved to the building where they stored extra items that they had salvaged or stolen on raids.  Finding a neutral colored set of men's clothing and boots that might fit the soldier, she stuffed them into a separate bag and prepared to return to the couple.  

Believing that everything had gone smoothly, Smellerbee made her way back through the trees, unaware that she was being followed.  When she came to a stop in the trees above where she had left the couple, she found Liang sitting, with his back against the tree, and Hana snuggled against his chest.  They appeared to be sleeping.  Wondering how stupid they could be, she dropped down and landed with a silent thud in front of them.  

Liang was awake and stared, surprised by her sudden appearance.  He was reaching for his weapon before recognition registered in his mind.

"Too slow," Smellerbee sneered at him.  "If I had been anyone else, you'd be dead already.  You have to be more alert and quicker if you want to live.  Especially if you want to protect her," she nodded at Hana, who stirred at all of the commotion and sat up quickly upon opening her eyes to see Smellerbee.  "Go change into these," she instructed and threw the bag of clothing at him before handing the second bag, with the food, to Hana.  "This should hold you over for awhile."

While Liang moved behind the tree to change, Hana checked the contents of the bag.  "Thank you," she told Smellerbee, "but may I ask why you're helping us?"

Smellerbee was taken back with the question.  Why was she helping them?  "I guess it's just refreshing to see that not all of them are bad," she answered after a moment, referring to Liang as being a Fire Nation soldier.

Hana smiled knowingly.  The wild girl before her hadn't looked her straight in the eyes even once.  "Are you in love?"

Smellerbee's look shot to her.  "What are you talking about?"  Love… the image that had come to mind when she first found the couple, returned.  She shook her head vigorously to rid herself of it.  "Anyway, in order to make it through this forest alive, you are going to have to head in that direction," she pointed as Liang reappeared.  The clothes seemed a little big, but they would make due for now.  

"Do you have any suggestions for faking my death?"

Walking over to the discarded Fire Nation armor, Smellerbee kicked the helmet into the air and caught it.  "I have an idea.  Leave it to me.  You two should go now.  If you continue the way I suggested, you'll miss the sentries."  Before she could protest, Hana was hugging her.  

"Thank you so much for everything," the other girl said.

"Yeah yeah…" Smellerbee stiffened at the gesture and pushed out of her arms.  It had been a long time since she had such physical contact with anyone.  "Now get going, before I change my mind."  However, her bluff was called when another pair of arms, much stronger then the first, slipped around her from behind with a hug

"Yes, thank you.  I am grateful," Liang said before releasing her.

"Alright, enough with the touch feely stuff already!  Save that for each other!" Smellerbee huffed in annoyance and turned to leave, but before disappearing she looked over her shoulder to say, "Good luck."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

From her position, crouched on a low tree branch, Smellerbee studied the ground and waited.  She knew that the animal would come this way.  It was only a matter of time before it would fall into her trap.  It was dark, now, and her stomach growled at her in anger for having skipped dinner.  'come on… come on…' she thought, anxious to get this done and over with so that she could return to the hideout.

The bush shook and two long, taupe colored ears poked through its top branches.  'That's it… that's it… just a little farther.' In her excitement, Smellerbee leaned too far forward on the branch and flipped forward.  Though she managed to keep her hold, the motion scared the rabbit and it scurried away.  In the next second, she heard the familiar whistling sound of an arrow and watched it strike her prey.  

There was no mistaking who had fired the arrow.  Smellerbee released her hold on the branch that she was now dangling from and looked around for him.  How long had he been there?  How would she explain herself?  His tall and skinny form dropped from the tree across from her, and she wondered how she had missed his arrival; or had he been there the whole time?  Had he seen her help Liang and Hana?

Longshot retrieved the dead rabbit and walked towards her.  As soon as she saw his eyes, she knew that he had seen everything.  "What? Don't look at me like that," she immediately defended her actions.  He held the rabbit out to her, imploring why she needed it.  "Thanks," she muttered and snatched it away.  

He stood there, watching as she retrieved Liang's helmet from the spot where she had dropped it.  "You must think I've become weak," she said while walking away; he followed.  "It was just refreshing to find a soldier who sees how wrong everything is.  He wasn't a bad guy, Longshot, just someone who wanted to start over, with a new life, away from all of this." While she continued to ramble he walked up beside her.  He didn't have to say anything; she just seemed to know that he understood.  She didn't need to explain herself.  Longshot always stood beside her.

Together, they made their way to the main trail that the Fire Nation soldiers took through the forest.  Smellerbee sliced her dagger across the rabbit's throat and spilled its blood over Liang's helmet.  With Longshot's help, they made a fake trail of blood and then continued to drain the animal in the spot of Liang's hypothetical death.  

Once they were finished with their task, Longshot's stomach let out a loud rumble.  Smellerbee glanced at him.  "Didn't you eat?"  He shook his head, when she hadn't shown up for dinner he had gone out looking for her.  "Well, no sense in letting this go to waste." She held up the rabbit and he nodded in agreement.  

After heading deeper into the forest, away from the trial, Smellerbee finished butchering their dinner.  She skewered the meat on sticks and proceeded to roast the meat over the fire that Longshot had built.  

They sat in silence, watching the flames crackle and dance; it had a hypnotizing effect.  Neither noticed Jet's approach until he spoke.  "So this is where you two have been."  Both Smellerbee and Longshot startled and looked away from the fire, towards him.  "I've been looking for you both for awhile now."  He surveyed the scene.  "What, is this supposed to be some sort of a date, or something?"

"That's right," Smellerbee admitted, much to the surprise of both males present.

"Oh, really?" Jet replied with interest.  He had always known that they were close, but he had missed when their relationship moved on to this level.  "Well, then I'll leave you two to enjoy it," he turned to leave but stopped to add, "Just don't be out all night."

Ignoring Longshot's questioning look, Smellerbee decided to check the food.  "Sorry about that.  I just didn't want him to get suspicious.  I did it for Liang and Hana's sake."  She blew on a piece of meat to cool it before taking a bite.  "Dinner's ready," she said after swallowing her mouthful.  When she finally looked towards him, he was standing only a few feet away.  Her cheeks warmed at the way that he was looking at her; or was it the heat from the fire.  Either way, she found that she couldn't read what he seemed to be telling her.  He closed the last of the distance between them and stared down at her with an intense look that made her stomach flutter.  "He…..here," she stuttered, holding a second stick of meat for him to take.  

Rather than taking the one that she offered, he took the same one that she had taken a bite from.  At the same moment, his hand brushed against hers making her breath quicken.

"Wh…what are you doing, Longshot?"  

He took a bite of the meat before raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yes, I know you're eating.  That's not what I meant."

He tilted his head, asking what she meant, then.

"Nothing, never mind," she grumbled.  Was she the only one whose heart was pounding?  She blamed it on seeing Liang and Hana's interactions together.  Grabbing up another stick of cooked meat, she walked away from the fire, leaving Longshot to stare after her in confusion; wondering if he had done something wrong.  Knowing her the way that he did, she wanted some time to herself.  

Longshot sat, watching the red and orange embers of the dying fire as he ate and pondered his next move.  It seemed like every time he tried to show her how he felt, she misunderstood.  This floored him, because she didn't have any problems understanding anything else that he wanted to say.  While it was true that their lifestyle wasn't very conducive to the concept of love; after all, they were in the middle of a war, her willingness to help the Fire Nation soldier and his Earth Kingdom girlfriend told him that she was at least open to the possibility.  She even admitted to Jet that they were on a date.  Though it wasn't true, and she claimed only to have done it for that couple's sake, she hadn't been able to look at him and the glow in her cheeks had been unmistakable.

Having finished his last chunk of meat, he kicked dirt over the glowing coals of the fire and walked in the direction that she had gone.  It didn't take long to find her sitting beside the banks of the river, staring up at the star filled sky.  He approached her silently, being careful not to alert her to his presence.  She must have been lost in her thoughts, because he managed to sneak up on her without a problem.  He sat behind her and reached to touch her shoulder.  To his surprise she didn't move.  She must have known that he was there.  

After several moments past, she finally spoke.  "Earlier, when I returned to give Liang and Hana the supplies, the look that he gave her after I told him that he needed to be more alert and quicker if he wanted to live; especially if he wanted to protect Hana,  I recognized his look. I didn't know how to react to it.  I still don't know how to react to it."

Longshot had no idea what she was talking about, so he waited for her to continue.

"It was the same look that I've seen you give me, Longshot."

His breath caught at this stroke of luck.  Surely, this was the way he would finally get her to understand that his feelings for her had grown.

"What does it mean, Longshot?  I don't understand, why me?

Why me?  Her words echoed in his head.  Was she serious?  This wasn't like her.  He supposed that he didn't have any other choice.  Pulling her into his arms, he hugged her.  "Because you're confident with who you are, I love you."

Smellerbee stiffened and turned around to look at him in shock.  "You… spoke?"  It was the first time that she was hearing his voice.  It was deeper than she had imagined.  He raised an eyebrow and smirked at her.  After confessing his feelings, her only reaction was because he had said it out loud?  Her look of shock turned to one of wonder as she realized what he had said, both the spoken and unspoken.  "Are you serious?" she narrowed her eyes at him.  "If you're teasing me, it's not funny.  I'll hurt you, you know."  

Longshot burst into laughter.  It was such a typical response for her.

Misunderstanding his reaction, Smellerbee tackled him, ready to give him a good beating.  "This isn't funny!  I believed you!  I…I…," her anger nearly gave way as the threat of tears welled up in her eyes.  "I… wanted to believe you…"

Longshot took advantage of her rare moment of weakness and caught her hands.  Flipping her over on her back, he glared at her to show that he was being serious.

"Really?" she asked in disbelief.

To prove his point, he leaned down to kiss her.  It wasn't much more than just a peck, but it was all that was needed.  She flung her arms up around his neck and hugged him tightly.  He sat up with her still in his arms, and adjusted their position so that she sat between his legs.  

"So, this is what I've been feeling," she said after they had been sitting for awhile.  "Love…"