Title: Pining, a Zhurrick Fanfiction
Description: She wanted so badly for him to just let her in, to say something. Well, she thought as she felt heat rise to her cheeks and the hand to quickly conceal it, there were a few things in particular that she wouldn't mind him saying.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: throw me in the garbage where i belong
No, but really — whenever I write new ships, I usually like to start with something rather canon in order to feel out the characters for future fanfiction. I can tell that I am definitely going to be writing more of these guys! I'd like to ask you guys to please tell me if I'm writing correctly or if there's something that you think I could portray better with either of the characters, okay? :3 I'd really appreciate it!
Also, I don't own Legend of Korra, Zhu Li, or Varrick. :)
The small blue box in his back pocket was heavier now than the giant platinum robot heading right for them.
In truth, he'd wanted to shut his stupid trap and just kiss her, hoping that by some miracle of science, it would transfer all his feelings into her by osmosis. But no, he had to bring out the "Mrs. Beaks" story. But nervous as he was, the story had a point.
The point being that he'd been terrible to her, the person that most understood him and cared about him. He had turned her away in a moment he'd most wanted to embrace her, simply for the fact that he'd been nervous. Bolin had surprised him by bringing her back from Kuvira. When he first saw her standing there, he'd wanted to pinch himself. He'd wanted to throw himself under a Satomobile in order to wake up from this wretched dream that tormented him with Zhu Li returning, and smiling at him all the while.
But it hadn't been a dream. She was here and she was alive. She had told him how she felt and even after he'd screwed everything up, here she was, in front of him.
How could she be such a masochist, he wondered.
"I loved ol' Mrs. Beaks…but I took her for granted."
The more words came out of his mouth, the stupider they sounded. He kicked himself internally, hoping that she'd get at least a little bit of the message.
Her face seemed to contort for a moment – he knew that she'd been upset by the derailing of what she had hoped would be a confession, but it seemed like in that second, she might have understood. But as soon as the realization came, it was gone, as Kuvira's huge mech and the army of smaller bots before it had just turned the corner and into range of their electromagnetic pulse.
He smiled sadly, still increasingly aware of the small blue box in his back pocket. His heart retched at the thought of being SO CLOSE to finally being ready to say those words, and having it taken away at the moment of truth.
They would just have to make it out of everything alive, then.
-3-3-3-3-3-3-
She'd finally finished attaching the last few screws, leaving the prototype Hummingbird fully equipped to slice through platinum.
Zhu Li heaved a sigh, her eyes following up the stairs to the cockpit, where she and Varrick would attempt to cut into Kuvira's mech. She instinctively grabbed her elbow with one hand, mind wandering.
Zhu Li may have worn glasses, but she was far from blind. The look that Varrick gave her when they were first reunited meant something – and she was fairly sure she knew what it was – but he refused to speak his mind. And the looks he was giving her all day today only reinforced her theories. The wistful expressions she had caught him sporting only made it harder for her to remain so far apart from him in what very well could be the final moments of their lives.
It took every fiber of her being not to run to him on several occasions, expressing how scared she was when she heard he was dead. Or how her heart raced when Bolin rescued her and told her how much Varrick had missed her. She wanted so badly for him to just let her in, to say something.
Well, she thought as she felt heat rise to her cheeks and the hand to quickly conceal it, there were a few things in particular that she wouldn't mind him saying.
His story about his childhood ostrich horse had struck a small chord with Zhu Li, as she remembered it. He mentioned how much he loved Mrs. Beaks, but "took her for granted". She had briefly wondered whether he had been telling the truth or not, but this was beside the point. Varrick's analogy, along with his "Lately, I've been thinking about you" comment was all that she needed to know.
And she was a firm believer that if her own dedication to her work didn't get in the way, Varrick would have told her how much he'd meant to her right then and there.
But as usual, work came first. Of course, this was a special case, where thousands of lives were at stake, but secretly she wondered if the planets would align and there would be time that work would take a back seat to their personal feelings.
She took a few steps up to the Hummingbird she'd be co-piloting before hearing a voice ever so sheepishly call her name.
-3-3-3-3-3-3-
Her dark mahogany locks swirled around her face as Zhu Li turned to face him, the light catching several pieces of it as well as a glint in the glasses that sat on her nose. A kind of heavenly beams shone around her – oh, spirits, what was he thinking? He had talked himself into being brave before leaving on a dangerous mission and he now found himself more ready to jump into a screaming metal death trap without question than confess his love for the most beautiful and intelligent woman he'd ever met?
"Yes…?" she replied, eyes glittering with curiosity.
Varrick couldn't help but audibly gulp. She was adorable.
"I, uh…" He started, stepping forward and looking awkwardly at the ground. "I have something I need to attach before we take off."
She stepped down off the stairs, looking at him inquisitively. His breath caught in his throat and he thought he might drop the small blue box that he was clutching behind his back.
Her eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted ever so slightly to the side, puzzled. He'd succeeded in having her have no idea what he was talking about.
"Attach…to what?" she responded, turning toward him fully. Her arms dangled precariously at her sides, and her gaze poured over him as she often poured over a blueprint or a book. She was searching for the answer, as Zhu Li often did – hopefully, he thought, she would soon find it written all over his face.
He paused for a moment, placing all of the thousands of hummingbird mechs flitting around in his stomach in the back of his mind. His hands pulled the small blue box open to reveal a glistening green ring, curling around like the woven tangles of spirit vine.
"I need to attach this ring…to your finger."
He knelt, his knee wobbling beneath him as if I would give out any moment. He glanced up at her for a moment – her face was pale except for her ever-reddening cheeks and ear tips; her hand lifted nervously to her mouth.
"Zhu Li Moon."
This is it, Varrick, he thought to himself. Don't screw this up.
"Will you…do the thing…for the rest of our lives?"
-3-3-3-3-3-3-
Her heart almost stopped.
Did he…?
His brown eyes held so much sincerity that she could almost feel it spilling over on to the floor. Her attention darted from his face to the beautiful ring in the box he held, a surprised, yet completely satisfied smile catching on her face. Strange, anxious emotions filled her to the very brim – she let them come full-force, sending her reeling and lightheaded.
Her frantic glances ended with Varrick once more, and the most excited, genuine "Yes…!" breathlessly escape her lips.
His face alighted with something she'd never seen. He stood; his hands balled into fists and he cried out "YES!" at the top of his lungs. His hands quivered a bit as he delicately takes hers, placing the green ring around her ring finger. Her fingers danced about for a moment, feeling the new addition to them that she would never, ever want to remove.
Before she could realize it, he had scooped her up into his arms, and had comfortably placed his lips upon those of his fiancée. She grabbed him close, her hands rested on his shoulders, and leaned into the kiss, unable to stop smiling the whole time.
It was just like she'd always imagined their engagement.
-3-3-3-3-3-3-
Varrick couldn't speak again until they'd actually gotten inside the hummingbird. His lips refused to move from anything but a goofy grin and his mind played nothing but the thought of kissing Zhu Li again and again and AGAIN...oh, spirits, how he prayed he could live through this long enough to touch her just one more time…
But as the Hummingbird powered on, something in him snapped back to reality. There was a war going on, and he would never be able to marry Zhu Li if Kuvira had her way. With that, his grin receded and he pulled his yellow goggles onto his face.
"Are you ready?" He called up to her, placing his hand on the controls.
"I'm ready!" Her voice held conviction, which he always found extremely attractive.
He nodded.
"I love you, Zhu Li." He muttered under his breath, fully expecting her not to hear it.
But then, her voice came again, sweeping him off his feel like it had so many other times before.
"I love you too, Varrick."
Thanks for reading!