The Ruka Wild ↠ Book 2 > A:TLA

21

Ruka (2)

The rest of the day was a little hectic. Once word spread about how good Mushy's tea was, it was like the whole lower ring came in.

I was so grateful to be back at our little house that we call home now.

Zuko plopped down on the couch in the kitchen right when we got in. I walked over and picked up his legs, sitting down then put them on my thighs.

Iroh didn't hesitate to start making more tea. "Would you two like a pot of tea?"

"We've been working in a tea shop all day." Zuko responded.

"How about you Jade?" He asked. I placed my hand over my stomach and frowned. "I'm okay, Mushy. Maybe tomorrow."

"Uncle, we're sick of tea." Zuko said.

"Sick of tea?!" Iroh quickly turned around with his arms wide. "That's like being sick of breathing!"

I chuckled, "It's not the same thing."

"Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?" Iroh asked. "Didn't you just buy some?" I asked.

Iroh nodded. "I did. But now I can't find them."

"Check the drawer." I pointed to the drawer next to him.

He opened it and looked inside, but shook his head. "Not in here."

"Hm, that's weird." I said.

Iroh walked out of the kitchen then walked out of the house. Zuko and I looked to each other confused, then shrugged.

When Iroh returned, he had spark rocks in his hands. "I borrowed our neighbor's. Such kind people."

As Iroh heated his tea, I turned my head to Zuko and smiled. "What do we do now?"

With his arm over his eyes to shield the light, he yawned, "Sleep."

"Oh come on, Lee." I patted his legs that were still laid on my thighs. "We have so much to celebrate! Isn't that right Mushy?"

"Oh, yes." Iroh nodded. "So much."

Zuko scoffed, "Like what?"

"Like making it to the city in one piece. Being able to sleep in this house and not on the streets like we had to before. Having a job that you and I can maybe enjoy." I listed. "And just being able to actually enjoy each other's company."

Zuko removed his arm from his eyes and moved his orbs down to me. "Who said I'm enjoying your company?"

I rolled my eyes while pushing his legs off of me. Slightly laughing, he brought them back up. "Kidding. Fine, we'll celebrate. What do you want to do?"

"It's a beautiful night. Why don't you two go up on the roof and enjoy each other's company." Iroh suggested with a corner of his lips curled upward. 

"That's a good idea." I nodded before looking back at Zuko. "I'll see you up there."

⇀

Zuko (2)

"Uncle what are you doing?" I asked him while keeping my voice low.

"What am I doing?" He asked, trying to hide his smile.

I rolled my eyes, about to walk away to go with Ruka, but he stopped me by placing his hand on my shoulder. I turned around and faced him.

"It's no secret that you two have something going on." Uncle said. I felt my cheeks warm up. "There's nothing-"

"Like I told Jade: even a blind person can see the tension between the two of you."

There was no point in arguing with him. He knows. She knows. I know.

"Here, take this. It might be cold." He handed me a blanket that was laid on the couch.

I took it from him before walking away. I go out onto the balcony and a small ladder stood next to the sliding door.

I climbed up the ladder and couldn't help but smile at Ruka when I saw. The moonlight shined beautifully on her. The slight breeze swept through her hair gracefully.

"Hey you."

I blinked a few times to remove myself from my gaze on her. She was holding her legs toward her chest and smiled at me.

I returned a small smile and crawled over next to her.

"What took you so long?" She asked me.

"Uncle wanted me to taste his tea." I lied. Ruka nodded before looking up at the sky.

"He was right. It's a beautiful night." She said.

I couldn't remove my eyes off her. "It is."

"I knew Mushy wouldn't have joined us if we celebrated. So I mentioned it because... I-I wanted to be alone with you." She said sheepishly.

I didn't verbally respond. I simply nodded, hoping she knew I was okay with that.

When I saw her shiver, I remembered the blanket I had. "Here." I wrapped it around her shoulders.

She pulled it tighter around herself, "Thank you."

"Yeah."

Finally removing my eyes from her, I looked up at starry sky.

It stayed silent between the two of us, but I didn't mind it. And I don't think she did either. It was comforting in a way.

I saw her scoot closer to me from the corner of my eyes. When our bodies touched, she placed her head onto my shoulder.

Placing my head atop of hers, I whispered, "Thank you."

"For?" She asked.

"Being here."

Side note: I'm not used to writing male POV's at all. I'm going to try to write more Zuko POV's and hopefully I'll get better at it. But I hope you enjoyed it atleast (: