Suki had been imprisoned for days now, maybe even weeks. She couldn't really tell, as being locked in a dark cell with the only source of light being constantly filtered in through the peephole played tricks with one's perception of time. Time was a rather relative concept based on arbitrary perceptions concerning the changes in the surroundings anyway, or something like that, she thought to herself. Funny how setting some personal time for yourself, like being imprisoned in an enemy prison, freed up so much time to consider matters concerning the nature of the universe you'd never had time to consider before, like time. And she had had a lot of it. At first, she had kept track by the meals she received, but as more time went on, the meals started to arrive at increasingly random intervals. Then she had tried counting seconds, but after reaching numbers so large, it took several seconds to just pronounce a passing second, she had given up on it. Besides, muttering consecutive numbers to yourself seemed like something a crazy person would do.
Then one day, or week, it all changed, as she was roughly taken by two large guards, dragged out of her now quaint little cell (what could she say, it had grown on her), and after being lead through several corridors full of other cells, she was thrown onto the ground, into the blazing sunshine, that made her eyes sting for several minutes.
"This is the leader?" an authoritative, cold, female voice asked. Suki tried to focus her eyes on the blur who had spoken those words, because she remembered that voice, from a distant past, a time that felt like years ago. All she could remember though was that the voice was a harbinger of doom. Yet somehow felt amazingly seductive, a voice of a strong individual, a leader, someone who made things happen, maybe even someone who could release her from her imprisonment.
She still couldn't properly focus her eyes, when a hand found her chin, cupped it, and forcefully jerked it up.
"Hmm," the female voice contemplated, "I suppose she'll do, load her onto the ship."
She was then lifted onto the wide shoulder of someone and carried off. After slandering up an incline, she once again passed through several corridors, until she was once again, thrown into a cell. Oddly enough, this came as a slight surprise to Suki, she had hoped things might have turned out better. She sighed, found a corner to slump in, and allowed her eyes to once again adjust themselves to an annoying lack of proper light.
"Why are we here, Azula?" Zuko asked gruffly as he tried to find a comfortable pose to stand in, which would also give any person who saw him the clear image of someone who is both angry and uninterested with the world. He was having a bad day. Earlier that day, one of his numerous attempts at justifying his own actions and questioning those of his Uncle's at Ba Sing Se had proved ineffectual, as Iroh would remain in his pathetic, unresponsive state. It was so infuriating, and the most antagonizing part of it all, was that Iroh's silence was probably far more guilt rousing than anything he could possibly have said to Zuko. He had really wanted to be alone that day, like he did every time he visited his Uncle in prison, but had been dragged onto the bridge of an air ship by his sister, with no explanations given, other than his presence would most likely be needed. Most likely.
"Don't burst a vein, dear brother. Our mission here could yield crucial information concerning the enemies of the Fire Nation," Azula told her brother as she gracefully turned around to face him.
"Some random prisoner will yield crucial information to us? Right..." Zuko said, hoping his unveiled sarcasm would cause some sort of negative reaction from his sister, but Azula was far too composed to allow his brother to unnerve her, in any situation.
"Oh ye of little faith, by now you should know, that I have many ways to achieve what I want, don't you, Zuzu?" She asked him tauntingly as she closed the gap between them with two, elegant strides, and stroked his cheek in a seemingly affectionate manner.
"Want to see me work my magic?" she asked in a playful voice, as she continued stroking his cheek, slowly coming closer to his scar.
"Maybe later, I have things to do," he said as he brushed her hand aside before it could reach his scar.
"On an air ship, flying high above the ground?"
"Yeah," came the muttered reply as Zuko walked off the bridge.
Suki was in the middle of properly inspecting her new cell (it was bigger and colder, she observed), when the door opened, almost soundlessly. A lithe figure in Fire Nation armour entered, and closed the door behind her. As the girl surveyed her surroundings in a casual manner, she imposed an intimidating atmosphere to the room at the same time. Suki remembered her, she had tried to capture Appa, along with two other girls, and to Suki's chagrin, triumphed over her entire squad in the process. It was most likely her who had inspected her like a piece of meat, out on the glaring sunlight on the roof of her previous place of imprisonment.
She was obviously someone important in the Fire Nation, judging by her armour and confident poise. She was practically emitting self-assured power. It was all oddly intoxicating, the hate she felt for this girl and the urge to bend over to such a powerful, demanding will.
Their eyes finally met, with Azula giving her a reserved, contemplating look, and Suki responding with a defiant glare. Azula smirked; she was really going to enjoy breaking this one.
Suki gave the smallest of shudders in response to the sadistic stare Azula was giving her. She had done her best to conceal it, she couldn't show any weakness to an enemy, especially to her. But unfortunately for her, Azula had grown up to prey upon signs of weaknesses in others, to best use them against them. It was like a game to her, a game she loved to play.
"So, my pretty, remember me?" Azula asked, certain that Suki hadn't forgotten.
"Yeah, I remember," Suki replied with a look she hoped was more scornful than her voice sounded.
"Tell me, who exactly are you and what is your affiliation to the Avatar?"
Hah, this was her chance! If she played her Pai Sho tiles right, she might get a chance to escape or at least gain some intel on this girl, Suki thought to herself.
"I don't really feel like telling you anything, at least not before I get something that I want first," Suki said while turning her head nonchalantly to the ground.
How interesting, Azula thought, the girl really thought she had the upper hand in this little battle of wits between them. Should she play along and see where this new development would lead, or just crush her hopes swiftly and decisively. Oh decision, decisions, decisions. She wasn't in a hurry, she'd play along, like a cat with a mouse.
"And what is it that you'd like, my pretty?"
Suki was slightly taken aback by this reply, she hadn't thought it would be this easy. She had to take a moment to think of a reply.
"Well, maybe a fresh change of clothes and some food first," she decided to ask. It was probably too early to ask for anything more demanding this early.
Azula was disappointed. She had expected something grander, than... food and clothing. Perhaps this wouldn't be as entertaining as she had first thought.
"I'll see what I can do about it. Now, my pretty little Kyoshi warrior," –a small intake of breath from Suki was heard- "how about you start spilling your guts about everything from your name to what you know about hidden military capabilities of the Earth Kingdom and such to how you know the Avatar, before I spill your guts. Trust me, neither of us wants that, it always gets so messy, and bloodstains are so hard to get out of clothing I'm told, although wearing red probably makes it easier," Azula said as she glanced at her sharp, manicured nails.
Damn, she'd completely lost any footing she might have had within seconds, Suki thought. She'd just have to resort to typical prisoner behaviour. She really hated stooping so low, it was unfitting for a proud Kyoshi warrior.
"I'd like to see you try." Suki tensed her muscles.
"Hmm, if you really wish," Azula said, still with her eyes on her nails.
Suki would never get a better chance than this, her interrogator was distracted, and even though she might be the superior fighter with her bending, Suki knew that any benders greatest weakness was in close combat, where they had little opportunities for bending. Perhaps she could take her as a hostage and walk out of this cell with her.
Suki lunged.
Zuko was indulging in an internal storm of self-pity, doubt and despair. Although, indulging probably wasn't the right word to describe what was going on. No, it was just that it was a familiar feeling to him, oddly it brought a sort of twisted comfort to him in these difficult times.
He had finally achieved what he had set out to achieve years ago. He was the Prince of the Fire Nation once again, he had received his father's acknowledgement and love, and restored his honour. All it had taken was betraying his Uncle... no he betrayed Zuko. That was the way it had gone, the way it had to have gone, otherwise none of it made sense.
But why was he feeling like this? Everything was perfect, just like he had wanted it, yet it all felt wrong. Had something changed in the Fire Nation, or was the change in him? He had gone through a lot of changes, at one point in his life, he had been willing to let go of chasing the Avatar, of regaining his position and honour. But in the end he had chosen to grasp it all, when the opportunity presented itself to him. He had taken it and now he was here... but now what? He lacked a purpose, a direction to walk in, a path to follow. All he felt now were the restraining chains of his position and family, forcing him to be something he wasn't, something he had never truly been.
Zuko arched his back, since sitting against a bulkhead wasn't the most comfortable of positions. He stood up, deciding that something had to be done about the situation he was in. The problem was he didn't know what that entailed. He scratched his head, hoping this stimulus would spark inspiration, but nothing happened. After a moment of silent contemplation, he decided to find out what exactly was going on in this air ship. If he was going to take charge of his own life, at first he would have to take control of the situation he was in, and he couldn't do that without knowing everything he could about his surroundings.
He walked off, determined, to find the kitchen first. All this brooding had made him hungry. And with a full stomach, he would wrest control from the forces that sought to control him.
Azula smiled, pleased with how the situation had played itself out. She had expected an attack from the Kyoshi warrior, but the ferocity of the attack, the unsuspected effectiveness of the warrior's attacks in such a limited space, had been exhilarating. She had come this close to losing, and it had filled her with a high she had only felt once before in her life. It was the feeling she had, at overcoming an enemy, just when they thought they were about to win. Just like killing the Avatar had felt like as he had slipped into the Avatar state, with her shooting him in the back.
"Now tell me, who are you?" she asked as she placed her heel on the prone, lying figure's cheek.
"S-Suki," she told her, spitting blood as she answered.
"Good." The foot came off her face. "See how easy that was? You tell me what I want to know, and I'll reward you, maybe I'll even give you those clothes and food you wanted earlier."Azula gave a little chuckle.
"Don't count on it, my name's all you're getting out of me."
"What a shame, I guess I'll just have to be a little more persuasive." Little blue sparks of electricity on Azula's fingers illuminated a face with a horrifying smirk.
Zuko, with his hunger satisfied for now, marched down a corridor with a couple of extra loafs of bread, just in case hunger once again crept up on him. He'd gone a long time without eating after all. He had been on his way to go eat after meeting his Uncle, but that was when Azula had dragged him away.
As Zuko proceeded down the corridor, a door to his right opened with Azula issuing out from it. Her face revealed nothing of the turmoil inside of her. On one hand she thoroughly enjoyed torturing Suki, but on the other, her persistence was starting to annoy her. Although she did reason that the moment she finally did crack, would be all the more precious after all the effort she had put into it.
Azula then noticed her brother, with a stupid, surprised look on his face as he froze in place. Going around with loafs of bread and running into his sister, who would use any opportunity to torment him, was something Zuko had hoped to avoid. He could already hear her taunting him about becoming a bread vendor or something like that in his head. Her lips adopted that frighteningly familiar smirk of hers.
"Why Zuzu, you have no idea how glad I am to see you." Zuko was slightly taken aback by this. He hadn't been expecting that. What was she playing at this time?
"Zuzu, I just can't seem to be getting through to our guest. She won't answer any of my questions, even though I've been such an agreeable host to her. I had actually promised to fetch her something to eat, and here you are now, with bread to give her. Would you be so kind as to feed her? And see if there's something you can find out about her in the process?"
"Why?" Azula was acting far too kindly, and that always meant bad news for anyone involved.
"Even though I may treat her with the utmost care, she is still an enemy of the Fire Nation, and any information we can wrench out of her could prove to be vital to the continued success of the Fire Nation."
This might be his chance to take back control over his life, Zuko thought. Maybe if he became more involved with stately matters, he could find a clear purpose once again. But this was Azula after all. He had to be careful: "Who is it, this guest of ours?"
"Oh, just the leader of the Kyoshi warriors, called Suki." Azula spotted the flash of recognition in Zuko's eyes. "You know her, Zuzu?"
"No, but I have met the Kyoshi warriors before, burned down their village actually."
"Oh she'll just love getting to know you, brother. Have fun," Azula said as she strode off.
Suki wiped the blood off her chin as her cell door opened once more. This time however, a tall, broad shouldered boy with long dark hair, and most importantly, bread, appeared. The bread drew her complete and undivided attention from the scar on his face that would have immediately identified him to her. She could feel saliva start to gather on her tongue.
Zuko noticed her hungry stare, aimed at his chest. It was rather disturbing until he looked down at his chest himself and realized that she was staring at the bread he was caring.
"Want some bread?" he asked her in what he hoped was a friendly, non-aggravating tone.
"Y-yes please," Suki said, only now realizing how hungry she was. Torture could make you revaluate your priorities.
Zuko tossed her a loaf as he found a corner where he could lean against the wall. Suki immediately started wolfing down the bread. The speed of it was rather impressive, Zuko had to admit to himself. They remained silent, one concentrating on her first meal in several days, the other carefully observing. Soon Suki was finished with it. She raised her head to ask for the other loaf, when she finally noticed the scar.
"You - you're Zuko!" She said withdrawing into the corner opposite of Zuko.
"Hey wait, I don't want to hurt you!" Zuko said a bit too hastily, taking a couple of steps towards Suki, which only caused her too recoil even further into her corner. She was in no condition for another struggle.
"Please, stay back! Don't hurt me!" Zuko froze in his tracks as he heard the pain in her voice. It was then that he took a closer look at her: she was covered in old bruises, with new swelling points covering her slender body, her hair was a tangled mess, her clothes were ripped and messy and there was blood dripping from her lower lip.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said as he retreated back to his own corner. He didn't know what to do, he'd never met anyone in such a bad condition. He had no idea how to react, no idea how he could help her, as she was now frightened by his very presence. Finally he decided to ask her: "What happened to you?"
"What happened to me? Like you don't already know, and stop pretending you even care. This is good cop/bad cop isn't it? First she comes in, tortures me, and then you come here with food, acting like you care, so I'll go all mushy and gush out everything I know," She stated angrily with a stare that could have melted ice.
"I – no, I – that's not what – I just had some bread when – wait, Azula tortured you?" Zuko asked, Suki's words causing his shocked brain to mutter anything that popped into it.
"Azula? The Fire Nation's Princess? If that was her leaving the cell just minutes ago, then yes. Now leave me alone," she said, still staring at him vehemently.
"Look, please Suki, I had no idea she was torturing you, and I have no intention of hurting you, or allowing you to get hurt any further in the future. I just want to... help you. Want some more bread?" he added uncertainly, offering her the other loaf. He was out of his league here, he had no idea what to do, except that he had to help her.
"Take your stinking bread and leave me alone!" Suki shouted.
"I'm serious, I only want to help you-"
"GET OUT!" Suki shouted as hard as she could.
Zuko dropped the bread and retreated quickly back into the corridor, closing the door behind him.
Suki collapsed onto the floor in tears.
It was several hours after her meeting with Zuko, when Suki heard a hesitant knocking on her door. This was rather shocking, since she was a prisoner and that meant very little privacy. In the last place of imprisonment she had been kept at, the guards would constantly sneak up to spy on her in her cell. This was a vast improvement in her opinion.
The knocking came again, louder this time.
"What do you want?" she shouted from the corner she had been sitting in for hours. The solid walls behind her gave her a sense of protection she desperately needed.
"I brought you a fresh change of clothing and some water and soap so you could clean yourself up," came a voice she recognised as Zuko's through the door.
"Oh, come for a little peep show, have you? That's all you Fire Nation scum ever want, to see what the best of the Earth Kingdom has to offer, well, fat chance perv. You can take your water and boil your ugly face in it!" Suki shouted back.
"What? I – no, I'd never – look, I just want to help, that's all," Zuko said rather timidly. "I'll just slide the stuff in so you can use it if you want. I don't need any hanky-panky."
Hanky-panky, what was wrong with him, Zuko thought. Every time he got close to her, he got so flustered, and tongue-tied he couldn't say anything cohesive or anything that didn't make him sound extremely corny or moronic.
Hanky-panky? Suki thought to herself in turn. What was wrong with the angry yet confident warrior who had burned down her village in search of the Avatar? He actually started to seem sincere in a goofy manner, sort of like Sokka was around her.
Zuko cracked open the door just enough so he could slip the basket full of supplies into her cell, along with a bucket of water, and then he closed it again.
"There's a peep hole in the door, you idiot" Suki replied, her old anger creeping back inside of her.
"Huh? Oh, I swear I'll keep it closed. If you want I can just leave, and, you know, maybe get you some more food, proper food this time," Zuko said. Pleasing this girl would not be easy.
Suki took a moment to consider this. She really could use a wash and fresh clothing, after all, several days of imprisonment did cause quite a stink. But could she trust him? He did appear to be sincerely sympathetic to her dire situation, unlike anyone else she had met in the Fire Nation thus far. But it could all still be a ruse, there was no telling how twisted these Fire Nation freaks were. She didn't really know why, but she ended up concluding that Zuko wouldn't betray his inexplicit vow.
"Okay, get me some food, and if I see anyone's eye trying to sneak a glance at my hanky-panky through that peephole, I'll poke it out," Suki said, throwing as much venom into her voice as she could muster.
"Don't worry that's not gonna happen. Now I'm going to leave and get you some more food, I'll be back in about a half hour, or do you need more time?" Zuko asked.
"No, that should be enough," Suki replied, creeping closer to the basket.
"Okay, I'll be going now, uh, see ya later," Zuko said as he walked off towards the kitchen once again.
When Suki couldn't hear any more footsteps echoing in the corridor outside her cell, she took a look at the basket. It contained everything necessary for bathing; soap, a brush, towels, and even scented shampoo, with a fresh set of red clothes. Wow, scented shampoo, maybe Zuko wasn't as bad as she had first thought.
When Zuko returned with another basket, full of food this time, a decent forty minutes later, he made sure to knock once again. "Suki? All done in there? I've got some food for you."
Inside the cell, Suki let out a little yelp. She had been enjoying the little wash so much that she had completely lost track of time. She was till naked, rinsing her hair. Her first impulse had been to shout his head off for coming back so early, but at the mention of food, her stomach rumbled. After several days of starving, two loafs of bread had barely soothed her hunger.
"Ah wait a minute, I'm still naked," came Suki's reply from behind the door.
For some weird reason, Zuko blushed at this bit of information, even though he couldn't see anything. Not that lack of visual stimulus was slowing down his imagination. He had seen some of her lithe body's slender curves, as he had quickly inspected her earlier, with his mind now filling up all the blanks. Much as he tried to focus on something far less alluring, like his Uncle sipping tea, his mind kept dragging up that mental image of her body constantly. What was he doing? He had a beautiful girlfriend! Yet his reasoning was helpless before the might of his primal subconsciousness. Now the image had started dancing sensually. Damn it! He had thought that his Uncle had instilled more self-control in him than this.
"Ok, you can come in," Suki said, interrupting Zuko's inner turmoil.
Zuko wasn't sure if he should enter at all. He was still riled up by the mental theatre his mind had presented to him. His heartbeat had increased substantially. He probably still had an embarrassing blush on his face.
"Well, are you coming in or what? I'm starving in here, you know," Suki said, rather impatiently this time.
Zuko took a deep breath, after all, breath control was vital in life, he's Uncle had taught him that, though this probably wasn't what he had meant at the time… or was it?
Zuko opened the door and stepped into the cell. His vision was greeted by a now fully clothed Suki, in loose red clothes, who was still drying her hair with a towel in her little corner.
"Set the food there," she said as she pointed to the centre of the room.
Zuko set the basket down on the ground where Suki had indicated, and once again retreated back to his own corner and sat down.
Suki finished drying her hair, found a place to let the towel dry in, and advanced on the basket. She inspected it briefly, then carried it to her own corner, sat down and began eating with unrestrained fury. Zuko could only gape at her as she devoured half of the basket in a matter of minutes.
After a while, Zuko had an inexplicable urge to break the silence. "Wow, you sure were hungry, eh?"
Suki stopped halfway through the fried leg of some small poultry animal, giving him an annoyed stare.
"Sorry," Zuko was silent again for a moment once more until he added nervously: "You sure do clean up nicely, I mean, you look a lot better now."
Suki gave him another look, but this time replied with a "Thanks".
Zuko scratched his head, not knowing what to say next. Nothing came to him, so he decided to just stay quiet, until he's stomach spoke for him, giving a mighty rumble, which once again interrupted Suki's eating. She once again gave him a look.
"Sorry, I just –" Zuko began.
"Want some food?" Suki interrupted him.
"Uh, you don't have to. I could just go and get some from the kitchen later," he said unconvincingly as he his stomach groaned in protest.
"Don't be silly, here you go," Suki said as she threw him one of those tasty looking legs of hers. The edible kind of course.
"Thanks," Zuko said and took a bite. It was delicious. He could understand why she ate them so ravenously.
They ate in silence, with Suki tossing him a random piece of food from across the room every time Zuko finished eating the last, with him muttering a thank you after each one. Soon they had emptied the basket completely. Suki finally had a content look on her face. Things were starting to improve. She could honestly say that Zuko was the best jailer she had ever had. She decided to give him a proper inspection.
Zuko was large by stature, finely sculpted muscles could be seen on his bare arms. He had a rather handsome face, if you ignored the scar. It was surprisingly easy, even though it covered such a significant amount of his face. It must have been because of his long dark hair.
"So what are you doing here? I thought you were tasked with capturing the Avatar," Suki asked, feeling that something akin to a sense of mutual respect had formed between them.
Zuko almost blurted out that the Avatar was dead, probably, but then he realized he had finally gotten her to open up to him. Telling her something like that would only destroy any progress made between them, so he decided to omit that little detail. "I found another way to regain my honour and position."
"And what position would that be? Bent over on your knees kissing the Fire Lord's ass?'' Suki said, regaining her angry prisoner disposition.
Zuko said nothing, merely glanced at the floor. Suki was surprised by this, it almost felt like he as ashamed.
"Sorry, that was uncalled for, you did bring me food, clothing and bath supplies," she said apologetically.
"But it doesn't really make up for all the harm my Nation and I have inflicted on you and your people does it?"
Suki was shocked into silence, until she gave a hesitant "yeah". Zuko on the other hand retreated into a brooding silence. Suki finally felt the gravity of Zuko's repentant state of mind. He really was sorry for what he'd done, and was trying to do the best he could to remedy the situation. It wasn't enough yet, but it was a step in the right direction, and that was all you really needed. She felt a need to give him an extra nudge though, just in case.
"It's good to see that you feel sorry, but what are you doing to help those you've wronged?"
Zuko said nothing, he just continued staring at the floor, unable to meet her gaze.
"Zuko? Are you ok?" Suki asked timidly.
"No," Zuko muttered to the floor.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Silence once again crept into the cell. Then, after a while Zuko said: "I'm sorry, for everything. I should probably just leave, and not bother you anymore with my stupid problems. You've got more than your own share." He stood up and made his way to the door.
"Wait! I – I could really use the company, I've been practically alone for so long. The only people I've even had a chance to trade words with have been horny guards and – Azula," the last part was delivered with a serving of venom so strong it could have melted the confines of her cell.
"Yeah, my sister can be rather... cruel," Zuko said as he stopped, his hand on the door's handle.
"She's your sister? No wonder you're so screwed up. No offense."
"Yeah my whole family's like that, except for my... Uncle and mother..." Zuko said quietly, still frozen in place, his back facing Suki.
Suki could sense the hurt associated with those two words, a deep lose was imbedded in them. She could relate to those feelings. The war had cost the lives of many of her friends and loved ones. She had to remind herself that Zuko was a part of those who had contributed to that lose. But it had never even occurred to her that there might be similar feelings on the other side of the battlefield.
"We've both lost a lot in this senseless war haven't we?" Suki asked, now with her eyes sneaking a glance at the floor in turn.
"Yeah, I wish I could... just do something about it. I feel so lost, I don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore. I'm so confused. I finally have what I always wanted, but it's not enough, no, it's just not what I thought it was supposed to be."
"Zuko, I... don't know what to say," Suki said as she raised her eyes to see the now slouching figure standing against the door.
"I should just go," Zuko practically whispered as he turned the handle.
"No, wait! Zuko, please," Suki had gotten up and advanced to the middle of the cell, "I - I want to help you...I can see how much you're hurting, and I just can't stand it."
"What do you care? I attacked you, burned your village, I've been chasing the Avatar and his friends since the day he appeared. You should hate me!" Zuko shouted as he finally turned to face her. He looked absolutely wretched, the pain in his spirit was now visible to anyone on his scarred face. "I don't deserve any of this, my status, your kindness. I've lost my honour, all by myself. I tarnished it and then threw it away, betraying the only person who really cared about me as me, not as the Fire Nation's Prince or anything! And for what? My father's approval? Who always thought I was a complete and utter failure! I have everything I thought I wanted but nothing that I needed." He fell to his knees, his head limply downcast after the gut wrenching confession.
"Zuko..." Suki said in a tender voice as she carefully approached him, "I had no idea... Your life must have been hell."
Zuko remained silent, slouched on his knees. He felt terrible, nothing was right, nothing he ever did was right.
"I am a failure," He said with a sombre finality. The coldness of this statement chilled Suki to the core.
"No, no you're not, you can still fix it, all you need is... some help," Suki said as she dropped onto her knees in front of the defeated prince.
"And who'd help me, you?" Zuko said, the hurt inside him making the words sound unfairly sarcastic. He slowly lifted his gaze and met Suki's kind eyes, staring gently back at his. "Why?"
"This war is never going to end if we don't open up, build some bridges, let the hate flow out so the, uh, love can come in. All the pain in the world won't be healed by adding to it. We need to let go of all the hate," she said, while she brushed a single tear from Zuko's good eye.
Zuko stared at her, sensing that he wasn't the only one in pain. There was a certain loneliness in her eyes that he recognized, because he had seen the same look reflected back at him in mirrors. Shame crept into him once again. He had been wailing like a child in front of this strong composed girl, while she was hurting on the inside as well.
"What about you?" He suddenly asked her, to her surprise.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You've been alone for so long, from the people you love and care about, all those warrior friends of yours."
"Yeah, but now I've got you to help me, don't I?" she gave him a furtive glance.
"Yeah," Zuko answered in a slow voice. His golden eyes bore into her dark ones. A deep connection was made. Then his eyes focused on her full lips.
His hand rose to tenderly caress her cheek. She didn't back away, she didn't even flinch. She actually allowed her head to lean on his hand.
They were both in pain, seeking comfort. Suddenly, from despair, desire had been born. They had both been so lonely for so long, and this was their chance to break the cycle. They decided to risk it all, held each other gently, and kissed passionately.
Later that evening, Zuko emerged from the cell. He had mixed feelings about what had happened between him and Suki. It had felt so good, so right, but now after it was all over he also felt ashamed. Not only did he feel like he'd used her, she was a prisoner after all, but he had basically cheated on Mai. What had he been thinking? He hadn't, and that was always his problem. He had betrayed Mai, for nothing but a quick reprieve from a pain he should have been able handle by himself.
He had also promised to look after her, after their shared moment, but how could he possibly accomplish anything of the sort. Ultimately Azula was in charge of all matters relating to prisoner transportation and interrogation. At best he could somehow manage to keep her away from Suki, until they arrived at the prison they were transporting her to, whatever it was. After all this time, he hadn't even found out where they were going! He really had to-
"Hey, Zuzu, enjoy your interrogation?" Azula's voice pierced his thoughts like a javelin.
"What? I, uh," Zuko started. He hadn't noticed her at all, as he'd been making his way down the corridors, deep in his thoughts. Amidst the confusion spawned by the fear that Azula knew more about his evening than was letting on, he couldn't think of anything to say.
"Let me guess, you got nothing out of her," Azula said, sizing him up and down, "Somehow I'm not surprised, you always get so... easily distracted. But it doesn't matter, we've arrived."
And as if on cue, Zuko felt a slight shock through the floor as the air ship docked.
"Now, be a good boy and get to the bridge to prepare the ship for another take off, we need to get this ship back as fast as possible. Meanwhile I'll see to it that our prisoner is transferred properly," Azula told him as she strode off without even bothering to see if her orders had been acknowledged or not.
Zuko let out a little sigh, at least Azula wouldn't get any more chances to torture Suki. He made his way to bridge, relieved at least in that regard.
Suki was also feeling a mixture of happiness and guilt. She had enjoyed her time with Zuko immensely, but now that he was gone, all she could think of was Sokka. How he would make her laugh, make her feel awkward in that quaint way of his and her heart pound in that exhilarating manner. But now, a feeling of shame accompanied those warm thoughts of Sokka.
Her exploration of her feelings was interrupted however, as a shock reverberated in the floor. As she wondered what could have caused it, the cell's door opened.
"Zuko, is that you?" Suki asked.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but it's only your second favourite interrogator," Azula said as she stepped in. "Here to take you away."
"Second interrogator?" Suki asked, rather timidly.
"Why of course, what do you think my brother was doing, except pumping you for information?" Azula smirked.
Suki held herself closely while closing her eyes, unwilling to accept this, while feeling used at the same. Zuko wouldn't do that to her, would he? He had seemed so sincere... Yet what had she told him? She couldn't recall properly. Had she revealed her link to the Avatar or any information about the Earth Kingdom? She wasn't sure of anything anymore.
"Now, get a move on, we've arrived. And I intend to enjoy every second we'll be spending here together."
Zuko was standing on the bridge with his hands crossed, labouring over the heavy burdens he carried within. Ordering the flight crew around was like second nature to him now, he hadn't needed to use up much of his concentration to make sure the air ship was once again ready for flight.
"Sir, we've just received the signal indicating that the prisoner transfer has been completed," one of the crew members informed him.
"Good, let's get going then," Zuko ordered, eager to make as much distance between Azula and Suki.
And with that, the air ship's engines flared to life, causing a deep rumbling as the air ship lifted off. Zuko remained in his thoughtful pose, occasionally giving out a mandatory order. It was only after more than half the journey back had been completed before Zuko noticed the lack of an actual authoritative force on the bridge.
"Where's Azula?" he asked the room in general.
"Sir? Didn't Princess Azula inform you that she would personally escort the prisoner to the prison?" one of the crew members hesitantly informed him. Royalty generally reacted badly if information was shared with them a good time after it should have been shared.
"WHAT?! Turn this ship back around immediately!" Zuko shouted.
"But sir, we don't have enough fuel for that,"
This can't be happening, Zuko thought. Azula had taken Suki with her, most likely to torture her again, and he was forced to return home. Refuelling would take a day and it was unlikely that he could commandeer another air ship. But he had to try to do something.
Unfortunately, when he finally reached the capital after several anguishing hours, he was greeted by Mai, who had been ordered by the Fire Lord to make sure he attended a war council meeting. And after that, Mai herself had planned out an entire evening for them to spend together, as they hadn't had a lot of time together lately. Returning to save Suki would prove to be extremely difficult, seeing as he had no legitimate reason to release a war prisoner as the Prince of the Fire Nation. All these plans were foiled however, as his father ordered him on an important mission, right after the meeting. Zuko couldn't disobey his father, could he? Could he? But if this mission was for the safety of the Fire Nation, during the eclipse that left them all vulnerable, he could hardly refuse. He couldn't risk letting innocent people being hurt, even if it meant abandoning both Mai and Suki.
A lot of things had changed when Zuko and Suki met once again. Zuko had renounced his position, betrayed his father in order to join the Avatar, and was now helping Sokka locate and possibly rescue his father. Suki had endured great physical and emotional pain from Azula. She had given up on Zuko a long time ago, knowing now that his word couldn't be trusted. But she hadn't given up on Sokka yet, he was the only stabilizing force keeping her going.
When they eventually came face to face once again, they were both mopping the floors of the Boiling Rock.
"Suki? It's me, Zuko, I came here to –" Zuko began but was interrupted by a furious reply.
"What the hell are you doing here, you lying piece of scum?" Suki snapped, gripping her mop tightly.
"What? Suki I'm here –"
"Save it Zuko. I don't care whether you're here to further humiliate me or if you're really a prisoner here as well. I want nothing to do with you," the last syllable contained so much hatred in it that it made Zuko take a step back.
"But – "
"I said I – "
"I'm here with Sokka!" Zuko interrupted this time.
"What?" came the incredulous reply.
"We came here looking for Sokka's dad, but then we found you here. Remember that scuffle outside your cell as Sokka visited you? That was me keeping an eye out," Zuko told her, eager to gain her trust once again.
Suki recalled that someone had knocked on her cell's door, in order to warn her and Sokka. Sokka was working with someone, but could it have been Zuko? She couldn't think of any reason for him to try and carry on, trying to fool her if he already knew about Sokka. If he was working with the enemy, why bother with this subterfuge when he could have gone straight to the warden and have him lock up Sokka. She was reluctant to trust Zuko again, but apparently he was an ally now.
"I've joined the Avatar, to teach him firebending so he can overthrow my father, and restore order to the world," Zuko added, hoping this extra clarification would help.
Suki was silent for a moment, staring at the floor she had just mopped until: "What about what happened earlier, when you... interrogated me? Used me? You promised you'd look after me."
"Suki, I swear, I was trying to help you. I didn't even ask you questions about the Avatar and the Earth Kingdom. The only questions I asked were about you. And as for my promise..." Zuko looked down at his own reflection in the now cleaned floor, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep it, I really am."
Once again Suki could sense the sincerity of his words and the pain in them. But this time she wouldn't let them get to her, she couldn't risk it again, especially now that she had Sokka again.
"I believe you, but what happened between us in that cell, no one must ever know of it."
"Huh, why?"
"I didn't tell you this earlier, but I'm involved with Sokka. I can't jeopardize it for anything, he means too much to me. What happened between us was a lack of judgement on my part, probably caused by all the torture and isolation. And I still can't help but feel like I was used by you."
"Please believe me, that was never my intention. And if you want us to pretend like we've never met, so you can be happy with Sokka, then that's fine by me. He's a good guy, better than I am. More like something a girl like you deserves."
Neither one of them had raised their eyes from the floor throughout the remainder of the conversation, but now they once again shared a glance. But that was it; neither of them could allow anything more to happen between them, so they went back to mopping.
Soon Sokka arrived, crossing his arms. "Oh, good. You guys have met."
"A…actually, we met a long time ago," Suki said, remembering that saying they'd never met could result in future problems. After all, all three of them had been together at one time.
"We did?" Zuko asked, surprised, since Suki had told him not to mention their last meeting.
"Yeah, you kind of burned down my village," Suki said, mustering enough anger to make it appear like no deeper understanding had been reached between them.
Zuko stopped for a moment, hesitated until he realized what Suki was getting at. "Oh, sorry about that. Nice to see you again."
Zuko and Suki put their mops away, sitting down, eager to hear what Sokka had to tell them. It was an escape plan. Although since this was Sokka, it would take a moment before it became apparent to all parties involved.