fire & lightning

chapter twenty-two

I woke up to the sound of ruckus and rustling coming from another room. I rubbed my eyes, thinking Sokka could've been up to something or Aang was training. I shot up and looked at my surroundings then quickly realized I wasn't with the gang. I've almost forgotten, I stayed the night at Iroh and Zuko's place. I looked to my left and saw Zuko was asleep, hugging his pillow. I've almost forgotten that too, I slept in Zuko's bed with him. Flashbacks from last night came to mind, and I remembered we've also gotten into an activity that we haven't done in a long time, making me blush.

"I'm going out for a bit, you guys have fun!" Iroh knocked on the wall, his voice could be heard on the other side. That would explain what I heard coming from the next room.

Zuko let out a small grunt, then opened his eyes. I watched him wake up and admired his handsome appearance. He looked up at me and gave me a wide smile.

"Good morn-." Before I could finish, Zuko suddenly pinned me down onto the bed and attacked my neck and jawline with kisses, making me squeal out of surprise and dig my nails into his bare back. "Hey, Zuko! Stop!" I laughed when it began to to tickle. He gave me another long and sloppy kiss right by my chin then wrapped his arms around me, and placed his head on my shoulder.

"Yesterday, Uncle basically predicted that you'd come back. I didn't think it would be true. I thought I wasn't important to you anymore." Zuko confessed, burying his head into the crook of my neck.

"Zuko, you know how much I love you. Not everyone sees the good in you, but I do. Don't ever doubt yourself like that ever again. You know exactly how I feel about you, love." I grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"You mean the world to me. Up until now, i'd never let the avatar or anything else get in the way of what we have."

"That's not how it needs to be. You know that, right? Are you happy living in Ba Sing Se?"

He didn't answer me, instead he let out a slight sigh and hugged me tighter.

"So, why are you in Ba Sing Se?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"You know I like to travel." I didn't want to say anything else, since I didn't know what his true thoughts about Aang were. For all I know, he's still out to get him.

"Is the avatar here? His friends?"

"Not at the moment."

"Anyways." Zuko changed the subject. "You and Jet, huh?" He pulled away from me and rested his head on his hand as he leaned his arm against his fluffy pillow.

"Hey, the guy had a crush on me. I just liked the attention." I winked at Zuko, noticing him get jealous.

"I guess i'm gonna have to pay the guy a visit and let him know he's hitting on someone who's off limits." Zuko playfully bit my shoulder, then I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on his cheek, flattered by his words.

We stayed in bed for another while, cuddling and occasionally kissing each other on random spots of our bodies. Eventually I felt like getting up and doing something instead of wasting a day, but at the same time I didn't want this moment with Zuko to end.

"Do you know where your uncle went?" I started a conversation.

"I don't know, But it's my cousin's birthday today. He might be on his way to his grave."

"That's really sad, I feel so bad for him." I frowned, thinking of how hard it must be for Iroh.

"It was a sad time."