[Dec. 8] [Avatar: the Last Airbender] Coming Home

[juxtaposie.livejournal.com]

Title: Coming Home
Day/Theme: 12.15 - Swimming backwards, with your eyes closed
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Character/Pairing: Hakoda/Ursa
Rating: PG-13
A/N: Follow-up (or prelude, actually) to the piece written for Dec. 8th. Hakoda thinks about his wife and Ursa: what they share, and what they don't.

 

            The things that struck Hakoda most about Ursa were the similarities she shared with his late wife; a fact he found very strange, because they were otherwise so different. There was a familiarity in the comfort of her touch, a gentleness in her spirit and a grace in every gesture that spoke of the same quality of character – a quality found in every walk of life, that couldn’t be bought with money or plied with power – that had shown so brightly in Kaya. His wife had been so kind, so unconditionally loving, so fiercely protective of the ones she cared for, and Ursa echoed those sentiments in every word and action.

            The thing that was most similar, though, was also the most different, and he found himself confused, sometimes, sharing Ursa’s bed. She reminded him so much of Kaya that his heart ached, and he knew that if he closed his eyes it would be easy to forget. Pale, snowy skin would darken, black hair would turn brown, and the fire in her eyes would die and cool into familiar, icy blue. He’d looked down at Kaya so many times, loved her so deeply, that he’d been certain he would never – ever – find anyone again.

            He still had those thoughts, but every time he felt the loss and longing washing over him, Ursa would reach out one pale hand to cup his cheek, fingers running through his beard while her bright eyes smiled, and he would forget the pain his wife’s absence had caused. He would feel whole.