The Commander's Daughter (Zuko X OC)

Chapter 14 ~ Hot Springs and Nakedness

The sleeves were too long. 

The thin black material covered her hands, trailing down the tips of her fingers and hanging significantly off of the edge.  With a small sigh she rolled the material up her arm until her whole hand was exposed, the air rushing to the open skin greedily. 

No. That looked stupid too. 

A knock on her door signalled the presence of someone else, causing her to unwind the sleeve and make her way to the door. It had been five days since Zuko had found her in the prison, when they had apologised and... 

Karina could feel a blush spread across her cheeks at the very thought of her embrace with Zuko. He had been good to her since the prison, far better than he had been when they originally met, but something had changed in his character. He was almost, softer. 

Pulling the door towards her Karina was greeted with a very shy looking Zuko.

"My Prince?" Zuko held a cough in his throat at her words, and prayed that she could not see the blush that had risen in his cheeks. He observed her new outfit with keen, greedy eyes,  the black material of the sleeves was too long, and the robe far too big. Zuko supposed that, he could not see her scars this way, and that it would be more difficult for anyone to tell it was her. 

Karina had informed Zuko and Iroh of the bounty over her head. Both men were worried to say the least. 

"My uncle has requested to stop in the hot springs," His eyes pulled away from her trying to look anywhere else but her eyes, "He was wondering if you would," He trailed off the blush on his cheeks reddening. 

"I think I shall pass, but thank you Zuko." He nodded observing her kind smile as she waited for him to say something else. His hands hung limp by his side, wanting only to reach out and embrace her yet again, but they did not. Karina and himself had reached a comfortable stage in their friendship, and he didn't wish to ruin it. He had already ruined it too often. 

"That is all."

***

His eyes watched the walk way nervously, his uncle said he would be back by now. With another anxious shuffle Zuko could feel a well growing in the pit of his stomach.  

The anxiety was soon replaced with annoyance at the old man and his lateness.  Muttering under his breath he began his journey down the walk way in order to find his tardy uncle. 

"Prince Zuko!" He paused as he heard the solider call his name, a hot fury evident in his golden eyes. The mans posture turned sheepish but soon regained his confidence, "You should not travel alone, if your Uncle is in fact in danger then you should want back up." 

Zuko can feel his left eye twitch at the soldiers words. Not only is the man questioning Zuko's ability to handle himself, he is also implying that he would be better at fighting off any potential danger. He feels heat start to rise in his hands, the small crackle that accompanies the birth of a new flame echos from his palm. He his halted however, and his snarl shifts to a smirk as a new idea comes to mind. 

"Very well," he turns away from the soldier looking down the walk way " Go and tell Karina that she will be accompanying me."

***

"Uncle! It's time to leave! Where are you? Uncle Iroh!" Karina walks quietly behind the yelling Zuko, still confused as to why he ordered that she come with him. She observes him walking ahead, on the surface he seems angry at his uncles lateness, but she can see that he is really worried about him. It makes her wonder how many times she missed this second emotion hidden under his anger, if any of the times they argued he was really trying to say something else other than the rage written across his face. 

"Zuko looks," He follows her finger slightly to the left of where they are stood, a fire nation uniform hangs limply from the branch of a tree. The two start to make their way towards it when they hear a familiar voice. 

"Over here."Iroh calls too them happily, the fear is removed from Zuko's face now only annoyance remains.  Karina holds in a chuckle as the older man sits in a hot spring his body naked from the waist up. Zuko is not so amused.

"Uncle? We need to move on, we're closing in on the Avatar's trail and I don't want to lose him!"

"You look tired, Prince Zuko. Why don't you join me in these hot springs and soak away your troubles?" He gestures to the water and then looks to Kariana, "You could too use the relaxing remedy of a nice hot spring." the older man sends her a wink before closing his eyes and settling back into his relaxed position.  

"My troubles cannot be soaked away. It's time to go!" Zuko clenches his hands at his sides, trying to push down the slight blush that had risen in his cheeks at his uncles proposal of Karina entering the water, it reminded him too much of when he had walked into her bathing. 

"You should take your teacher's advice and relax a little. The temperature's just right. I heated it myself." Iroh shifts position slightly, and places  his hands together, breathing steam from his nostrils. The steam swirls before the two of them creating a sort of opaque barrier between them and Iroh. Zuko huffs lightly and swats the steam away.

"Enough! We need to leave now! Get out of the water!" Karina chuckles at the two of them, always bickering, sometimes she believed that Iroh liked to rile Zuko up just for fun. 

"Very Well", Without missing a beat Iroh began to rise from the water, a small squeal escaped from Karina's lips as she whisked around hoping to avoid any sight of a naked Iroh. Zuko quickly raised his hands in a similar fashion blocked the ungodly view from his until now innocent eyes.

"On second thought, why don't you take another few minutes, but be back at the ship in half an hour or I'm leaving without you."

A smug smile made its way across Iroh's face as he lent back into the hot spring .