"I'm home," Zuko called, opening the door to his bedroom. Instantly, he was ambushed by three pairs of arms, and three small bodies jumping on him. Simultaneously, they all screamed "Daddy," in excitement, as they wrapped their small chubby arms around him. This caused the Leader of Fire Nation to laugh as an overwhelming feeling filled within his heart. The Firelord felt utter joy fill within him, because of the feeling of being wanted. Finally, after all those years of feeling nothing but despair and despised, he finally had people that cared about him, wanted him, and needed him. That was all what Zuko wanted. He wanted to be loved.
Zuko laughed and spun around with his three offspring in his arms, causing them to all burst out in a fit of laughter. Then, he settled them down on the ground on their small stubby feet as they let out a whine in protest.
"Now, now, don't be like that Zuisha, Iko, and Izumi. I'll play with you all afterwards, okay?" He said, flicking each one's forehead. The young children yelped in surprise, causing Zuko to smile.
"Anyway, where is your mother?" Zuko inquired, as he took off his royal robe, leaving him in his normal Fire Nation clothes.
Zuisha opened her mouth to reply to her father, but she was unable to because a soft silvery voice, which sounded extremely strained had already spoken.
"Right here, your majesty," [Name] answered, as she stepped out of the bathroom and nervously smiled at her spouse. Then, she strolled towards Zuko, and pecked him on the lips. However, Zuko wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in him, deepening their peck into a kiss. This action caused a shiver to run down [Name]'s spine, as she hesitantly kissed him back. Zuko opened his eyes and stared within [Name]'s eyes, whom eyes were etched with nervousness, which made him furrow his eyebrows in confusion. Their small make-out session was interrupted when their kids began to whine and make gagging noises.
"Ewwwwwwww," The three children said, as they looked away from their parents with a disgust expression on their faces. Instantly, [Name] pulled away from Zuko and looked at her children with a small smile on her face. Then, she picked them all up causing them to yelp in surprise, as she began to tickle them and mimic their previous dialogue in a mockery voice.
"Ewww," She said in high-pitched voice, mocking her children. The trio were too busy laughing, to get angry at their mother for teasing them. Meanwhile, Zuko observed the scene with a minuscule smile on his face. However, when he glanced towards [Name] his smile flipped upside down into a frown as a churning feeling appeared in his stomach. For some strange reason, his wife was acting strange today.
[Name] felt someone burn holes at the back of her head. This caused her to look at the direction from where she felt the stare from, only for her eyes to meet contemplative amber eyes. She gulped before she sent a nervous smile towards her husband.
~**~
"Good night," [Name] whispered, kissing each of her children on the forehead. To her response, they merely yawned before they rubbed their eyes with their small chubby hands, and muttered "Good night mother."
[Name] giggled at the cuteness of her children, before she switched the light off in their room, and walked to her bedroom, which she shared with her husband, Zuko.
Upon her entrance, she was instantly pulled into someone's arms, as her lips were captured into a soft kiss. The young Queen of the Fire Nation froze in surprise; not kissing him back. This caused Zuko to furrow his eyebrows in confusion as he pulled away from [Name] and stared at her with perplexed eyes. The said female returned his stare with an anxious expression on her face.
"Why are you acting so strange?" Zuko inquired, glaring at her in annoyance.
"I-I'm not acting strange," [Name] replied, averting her eyes away from him, as she glanced at the ground.
"Then, why are you looking away from me?" Zuko asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
[Name] looked up at him once again, while she opened her mouth to reply. However, she gave him no response. Instead, she furrowed her eyebrows in frustration as if she was fighting an inner battle within her, before she sighed heavily.
She glanced away from Zuko once again, as she nervously tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. "It's just that..." She began, trailing off.
"Just what?" Zuko asked. The [H/C] coloured female did not answer him. Instead, her fingers began to fidget, and she could feel sweat forming on her forehead. Her unusual behaviour caused Zuko to raise an eyebrow at her, before he sighed and gently grabbed her hand. He drew circles at the back of her hand, which caused her to relax slightly.
"What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything. I love you, and I will do anything for you," Zuko whispered to her in a calming voice, as leaned his forehead against hers. His words caused [Name] to stop fidgeting all together, as she relaxed slightly. She glanced at Zuko through her bangs, before she gulped and began to speak.
"I went to Lady O'baba the other day and she spoke to me about my future and my case of amnesia," [Name] began in a soft voice, causing Zuko's eyes to widen a fraction. He narrowed his eyes at [Name] before he said, "And?"
"And, she said that you're the cause of it. She said that you're a bad omen in my life, and that I should take our children and run away from you while I still can. She told me that I need to leave you if I don't want to experience what I did in my past lives," [Name] answered, looking at him with skeptical eyes.
"Did she?" Zuko muttered mostly to himself, then to [Name]. A frown tugged itself on his lips as he brushed [Name]'s bangs away from her eyes.
"And did you believe her?" Zuko asked, anger clearly evident in his voice.
"I-" [Name] began, but the ravenette cut her off.
"Tell me [Name], have I ever tried to hurt you?" Zuko inquired.
"N-No but-"
"Then, you have nothing to worry about. I have never tried to hurt you, and I will never hurt you. You know how much you, and our kids mean to me. I could never think about laying a finger on any of you because I don't want any of you to feel what I did - out-casted and hated by your own family," Zuko said, lowering his gaze.
[Name]'s eyes widened, and she gasped as a guilty expression crossed her face. "Zuko, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up your past-" She began, but he interrupted her.
"That's okay. Don't worry about it," He began, looking back at her, while he lifted her chin with his index finger. This caused a small red hue dust to appear on her cheeks, resulting in Zuko to smirk at her. "It's all in the past now," He whispered huskily, before he connected his lips with her. And unlike before, [Name] instantly kissed him back, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
This sweet minuscule moment where both of their hearts were settled in peace, was perceived in different perspectives.
For her, that moment was perceived as a comforting promise he sworn to stick to. He sworn to never hurt her.
For him, that moment was perceived as a contract she signed, swearing her loyalty solely to him, and promising to be obedient to never question his motives.
Of course how could she, when she continuously forgot his sworn promise, his same words that he had whispered to her a thousands time before.
