Fan 'n' Flame; Earth 'n' Sword

Part 5: An Old Flame: Chapter 1

Summary: Sequel to Unintentional Dating. Suki, having noticed Zuko becoming stressed from his work, sets up a trip to Ba Sing Se to meet a certain Earth Kingdom girl with a crush on Lee. Despite Zuko and Suki's attempts denial, rumours of their attraction have begun to spread among the Kyoshi Warriors, and their feelings towards each other don't make it easy to put a stop to those whispers.

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"You said I'd get the VIP treatment, Sparky. Where's the carriage?!" Toph said as she walked over to Zuko, Suki, and Ty Lee.

"Carriage?" Zuko repeated, giving Toph a confused look.

"To escort me to the harbour? You weren't expecting me to walk all the way down there myself, were you?" Toph crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow at him.

"I promised you a trip home on one of the more lavish ships, but I never said anything about a carriage," he said, grinning. He frowned when she simply shrugged and turned away.

"It'll probably be faster earthbending my way through the city, anyway." Toph dug her foot into the barren stone, and smirked at him over her shoulder. "You don't mind a couple of streets and buildings being destroyed, do you?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't dare."

"Think about who you're saying that to, Sparky." Suki and Ty Lee glanced at each other, rolling their eyes. Zuko let out a slow sigh and turned to them.

"Ty Lee, please show Toph to one of the carriage drivers." Toph grinned as she sauntered after the acrobat, who had began walking on her hands.

"I forgot how stubborn she can be," Zuko muttered. He looked to the sky, trying to spot the small dot that was Appa.

"Did you really believe you'd win that argument?" Suki asked, stepping up beside him.

"Of course not," Zuko said, chuckling lightly. "Although, I didn't expect she'd threaten to destroy my city...at least not straight away." A few silent moments passed between the two of them as they watched Toph be escorted through the gates of the Royal Palace grounds. Ty Lee was lying on the roof of the carriage, her head dangling off the side so she could see in the window.

"I had been meaning to ask you something..." Suki mumbled. She looked around and took a few steps away from a guard near them.

"Is everything okay?" Zuko said quietly, following her. He frowned as she bit her lip and glanced around again.

"Have any of the other guards been asking or talking about...us?" She stared down into the rocky ground.

"Us?" he repeated, raising his eyebrow.

"I guess that's a no then." The Kyoshi leader sighed before looking into his eyes again. "Do you remember how I had to run to my room to talk with Sokka a few nights ago about us going into the Lower City?" He gave a short nod. "Well, ever since then, the guards, mainly the other Kyoshi Warriors, have tried to get me to tell them what happened between us."

"What did you tell them?" he asked, his face beginning to turn slightly red.

"What do you think I told them?!" she hissed. "They won't take 'nothing happened' for an answer." Suki huffed and crossed her arms, looking away from Zuko. The Fire Lord stroked the light stubble along his chin.

"If they won't accept the truth, then you could simply ignore them. If they want to make up their own version of things, let them. It doesn't change anything."

"That's easy for you to say," she snapped, glaring at him. "You're not dealing with Ty Lee and the other girls constantly barraging you with questions. Ty Lee is—"

"Suki," Zuko began, and Suki found herself standing up just a bit straighter. "You are the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors and chief of my royal guard. I would have expected you'd able to deal with this yourself." She opened her mouth to protest, but closed it when he raised his hand. "Next time one of them brings it up, make it clear nothing happened, and if they continue to press, threaten them with some punishment for being unprofessional."

"You're right. I'm sorry for bothering you about this," Suki mumbled, bowing her head. He placed his hands on her shoulders before she turned away from him.

"I needed you to stop and think for a second," he told her, his voice softer. "You've been working yourself hard for the past few months. I've told you this already, but you seem very stressed, and I can't imagine the girls annoying you has helped. I want you to take the next couple days off. Relax and clear you head, and by the time you come back, I'm sure the girls will have moved onto some other drama." He let his hands drop from her shoulders, stepped back, and smiled at her.

"You're right, again." She gave a small laugh and pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "I guess what happened in Gaoling and a few nights ago has just been on my mind. It's a bit unfair. Sokka and Toph can be such good friends, but when we do the same, suddenly everyone thinks we're up to something."

"Well, to be fair, we did kiss in Gaoling, so they have a reason to be suspicious. What do you mean about Sokka and Toph?" Zuko grinned as Suki raised her eyebrow and smirked at him.

"Us kissing isn't exactly how I remembered it. It was more you kissing me while you were drunk." She rolled her eyes when Zuko gave a small shrug. "You saw Sokka give Toph a hug right before he left, right?"

"Yeah. They've pretty much always been that way—at least, ever since I joined all of you back in the war."

"Yet no one assumes they're dating!" Suki said, and looked over her shoulder, lowering her voice. "I'm your bodyguard, and meant to be with you most of the time, yet people still assume something is going on between us."

"As I said, the best course of action might be to simply forget about what happened these past couple weeks. If we show we don't care, then I doubt the girls or anyone else will care either. Well, everyone except Ty Lee." Zuko smiled as Suki let out a small chuckle."I should get back to the Palace. Apparently, Atsushi wasn't happy he had to be the Avatar's—as he put it—babysitter." He gave her a small bow and then walked towards the entrance of the Royal Palace. Suki followed after him until he stopped and turned around, grinning. "I told you to take the next couple of days off."

"Well, I still have to assign a new chief for—"

"I'll let all of them know that you'll be gone for a few days. I'd imagine you have a second-in-command, anyway. Enjoy you time off."

"But—"

"That's an order, Suki," Zuko said, the edges of his mouth betraying his frown. Suki sighed, a slight grin on her face. She placed her left hand, curled in a fist, underneath her right, and bowed deeply.

"Of course, Fire Lord Zuko." She turned and headed for the Kyoshi Warriors' barracks. She couldn't help but smile as she looked back, seeing Zuko disappear into the Royal Palace.

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote and tell me what you thought if you'd like! And follow me so you can keep up with the story!

Huge thanks to Serenity for being my beta for this story, she's amazing!

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