Hi! I love all your Shance fics! If it's not too late, could you do a Last Airbender AU where Lance is a Northern Waterbender and Shiro is trying to make a betrothal necklace for him?
Thank you so much! Also I love this prompt! There is very little Lance actually in the fic…but you’ll see why. Also not in the ask, but I made Lance the Avatar, because I wanted to and I love that AU. Oh and Shiro is an airbender, because again, I love that idea.
You can also read it here on AO3
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Shiro didn’t think it would be so hard to ask Lance to marry him.
Okay, we’ll he pictured it being hard, but because of stuff that was to do with general nerves about find the right place and the right words. Maybe a little fear of rejection. Not that he thought Lance would ever really tell him ‘no’, but still . Like normal people have all the time, just maybe ten times more…because well Lance is Lance, and amazing.
And totally also the Avatar .
But that was something of a mostly minor thing in regards to Shiro asking for his hand.
Well, minor in terms of the dynamics of their relationship. It was just a fact of who Lance was, not the deciding name and title everyone else made it out to be. And it was such a freeing thing for Lance.
Shiro had finally worked it all out.
They were visiting Lance’s home in the Northern Water Tribe. Taking some time off from keeping the peace in the words, about a good week. So Lance could get some needed rest and see his family. And show Shiro all the things of his culture.
Which Shiro admittedly knew enough of already. He was after all a well traveled airbender. Who had been to both North and South Poles and knew enough customs and ways of of life to get by. But Lance was so excited about the idea of showing Shiro around his home. And after the month of political confrontations and stand offs they had face, well, Lance deserved to be humored.
And Shiro worked out how to put the icing on the cake.
But then he had to go at tell Princess Allura his plan for the proposal.
She beamed in excitement at the idea. Eyes sparkling and smile bright. Offering to help where she could with any arrangements and things Shiro might need to make things happen. Wanting to make everything perfect for her friends.
And then she had to blow a big hole in things.
“Oh can I see the betrothal necklace you plan to give him?” She asked excitedly and expectedly.
And Shiro’s heart just sank.
Because he didn’t have that! Was he supposed to have that?! He didn’t know he was suppose to make something for Lance. People in the Air Nomads just asked each other, and kind just got married to each other. He thought he would be good like that. And he was sure that’s how people in other nations became engaged. He never really paid that close attention to things.
No one told Shiro he needed to do anything other that ask.
Allura had frowned disapprovingly, but she didn’t blame him. Rather helpfully pointing him in the right directions of some shops that would have more than things he needed. And more than inform for Shiro of the process.
Which had led Shiro to where he was now.
Alone in the room Lance and him shared in the Northern Water Tribe Palaces.
Staring at the simple disk he bought with no idea what to even do.
It didn’t help that the shop owner of the place he bought it from glared at him when he decided on getting it. That might have been because it was in the discount basket. And everyone knows who Avatar Lance is dating by name and appearance. So they probably that he was being cheap or picking something horrible.
Because apparently it was made of blackened whale teeth. Which was both apparently very hard to carve (something Shiro had no skill in anyway), and just sort of a leftover piece no one really wanted. No one used it to make anything really.
But there had been something about it that called to Shiro.
Shiro had been through enough with Lance to more than trust a pull to something. Don’t question it, don’t trying to explain it, just accept.
It was how the meet in a way.
Shiro decides to rest in an inn, for no practically reason other than a feeling to stop. Stop for the night and just relax with a good meal. Much to Keith’s bemoaning. But a rain storm hit, and Lance seemed to wash up with Hunk at some point. Were short just a coin for the night. Shiro was happy to cover, because it was the nice thing to do, but again there had been a pull that has Shiro grabbing a handful of coins before leaving the room.
The rest was kind of history from there.
And, besides, it wasn’t like Shiro got everything out the discount basket.
He bought a very nice silk ribbon that was the same color as Lances eyes. And fine silver clasps for the pendant he would make, and for the back. As well as the finest quality tools he could get his hands on. As well as lovely box to keep the necklace in when he presented it to Lance.
So he wasn’t being cheap or anything.
However, now Shiro had no idea what to carve.
Allura had explained usually people did something that was important to them. Others just did interesting designs, or a favorite animal of their betrothed. There wasn’t really a rule on what to crave, well aside form it the carving had to be done the one presenting the necklace. But skill really had nothing to do with it. The effort put in was symbol enough of the love and dedication.
Which left Shiro with no idea what to do.
And the longer he had no idea what to do, the sooner Lance was going to return from his day out with Allura.
Maybe Shiro was in over his head.
Lance would totally understand if he didn’t really have anything.
Air Nomads don’t really cling to things. So culturally it made since for Shiro to give him nothing. But the betrothal necklace was part of Lance’s culture. He no doubt grew up expecting one to surface at some point in his life. Either being presented to him, or him giving it to someone. And Lance and Shiro were a relationship of two parts, that shared everything they had with each other. So…
But Lance would understand the effort Shiro tried to put in, even if he came out with nothing….right?
Shiro groaned and he flopped back against the floor.
Why was this so hard?!
Shiro would do anything to give Lance the stars in the sky any given day, yet a simple necklace felt like the more impossible task.
Wait…
The stars in the sky…
That’s a good idea.
Shiro pushed himself back up to sit up and grabbed a tool and got to work.
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AN:I was going to write Shiro actually asking, but I didn’t like how it was turning out. So I got rid of it. But if anyone is wondering it happened under an aurora borealis and it was soft and sweet. And totally not what Shiro had originally, but Lance loved it so much. And he cared stars into the necklace, and filled it with like a white resin.
Again, tumblr got rid of italics, but I am too lazy to put them back in.
Chapter 2 is coming. I intend to make this fic a lengthy one. Definitely more than 10 chapters. I'll try to update regularly every week. I am pretty much working full time while on break so this might be difficult. If I can't get the update up during the week it will be up during the weekends but you'll definitely get at least one new chapter every week!!
