A/N: I decided to write this because I really really love Prince Zuko and I just finished rewatching A:TLA and I'm having problems coping with the fact that it's actually over, so I know this is really going to help.

I know readers of my other fics are going to be pissed, but I am trying to update those as well.

I hope you enjoy! I had a fun time writing it. :)

Gaoling was a boring town for a 16 year old. There was literally nothing to do, but work.

Luckily Dezdemona had found the best job in the world. Two years ago, Dezi's mother had been hired by the Beifong family as a healer and Dezi as her apprentice. Both of them water benders, her mother from the Northern Water Tribe, but escaped to the Earth Nation for a better life for her daughter. Apparently, they oppressed their female benders and that wasn't something she wanted to partake in.

Toph's parents had hired them to help her see, but after the first session, her mother knew it was no good. Despite her mother's lack of faith, she continued to see Toph. Not to scam the rich Beifong family, but because she knew the little girl was lonely.

Over the years, they grew closer and when Toph decided to go into show business, Dezi was hesitant. It took a while, but Toph won her over with a promise of her position as manager and all of the profit she made. Toph didn't need the money anyways, she wanted to fight for fun. Whereas Dezi on the other hand was struggling to help her mother with the finances. She had no father and there was only so many people that needed healing.

Other than that, Dezi needed no convincing. She knew what Toph was capable of. She had beat her butt every time they sparred together. Eventually, Dezi just quit.

So far, Toph had been unbeatable since she started last year at Earth Rumble 5 and Dezi had no worries that this year would be any different. She was so confident, that just minutes before the show, she was sprawled out on the sofa in their makeshift dressing room at the bottom of the stadium. They had to make one especially for them since they were the only girls in the competition. It was barely used anyway. Only for Toph to change out of her white expensive gown and into what she liked to call her "butt kicking" clothes. Or just for them to come back and laugh their heads off about how easily The Blind Bandit's opponents crumbled at her will.

Today Toph seemed really quiet, but Dezi wasn't going to press her about it right before a match.

"Dezi." Toph called even though she couldn't see Dezi's eyes were closed, so made a noise to acknowledge the little girl.

"How does it feel like to kiss a boy?" Dezi's eyes bulged open and her body unwillingly tensed at Toph's questioning. And not being able to lie to her only made Dezi more uncomfortable.

Why would she be asking her that now out of all times? She's just a kid. She didn't need to be worrying about that kind of stuff. Dezi didn't get her first kiss until she was thirteen!

.:Three Years Ago:.

Prince Zuko had just gotten banished and he'd been away from home for over a month. Since then, he'd just turned 13 and his eye still hadn't healed.

His ship was making port in what he considered to be a lousy Earth Nation town because the cooks supposedly needed supplies for the ship, but all the shops were closed until morning which would delay them from departing until tomorrow afternoon.

The Avatar could be anywhere and they were wasting precious time all because they ran out of ingredients to make Miso soup!

Not wanting to be bothered with their culinary troubles, Zuko decided to take a walk along Gaoling's rocky shores.

He could not wait to catch the Avatar and restore his honor. His father was the only parent he had left and unfortunately treated only Azula like his pride and joy.

Even just thinking about home made the Prince's bandage itch.

The waves splashed against his boots as he lifted a hand to his left eye. But before he could even touch it, he lost his footing and tripped into the water. As he stood to recover, he was swept further in by the tide. He tried struggling against the waves, but it was useless because he was caught in the undertow.

The last thing he saw before the waves took him completely under was the sun setting in the west. Home.

Dezi was a creature of habit. She did the exact same thing every day of her life for as long as she could remember. The only thing she actually enjoyed doing was visiting the jagged shore at night when the tide was high.

She was a water bender, taught by her mother once a week because that's all the time her mother seemed to have for her, leaving Dezi to crave more; hence the nightly treks to the beach. The moon was her Sifu and taught her more than her mother ever could.

But bending wasn't the only reason for her visits. Dezi often found herself restless before bedtime and the sound of crashing waves would often ease her mind. And tonight was one of those nights. Only this time, she could make out the sound of struggling amongst the waves.

Standing up, she could see two arms and a head bobbing under the waves. On instinct, her hands went out to bend against the current, but there was no use. She could no longer see the person and she couldn't bend if she couldn't see.

"Damn." she whispered before jumping in.

She spun around once submerged, looking for the victim of her Sifu.

She used water bending to propel herself deeper until she came across a dark figure. She wrapped her scrawny arms around him and used her bending to project both of them up and to the shore.

By the time they got there, she was exhausted, so she just laid there beside the man, both of their legs still in the water.

She took this as her opportunity to get a good look at him. It was dark, the moon substituted as a nice, dim, pale lantern when it needed to be. Which allowed her to see that this was no man, but a boy. They had to be around the same age by the looks of it.

Dezi leaned closer, squinting at his attire that caused him to sink like a rock. He was wearing a fire nation uniform!

Quickly, Dezi sat up, ready to run. That is, until she noticed the bandage over his left eye. She knew it wouldn't heal propery if it was wet, so she used her bending to take the water out of it. Then she would leave.

But her escape didn't go as planned because as soon as she was finished he began to stir, it was as if he could sense her hovering over him. And in the blink of an eye, he sat up, his lips crashing onto hers. She sat there stunned as his eyes began to open and he slowly pulled away from her.

"Are you a mermaid?" He asked her. Out of all the things you could say to the person that saved your life and that's what he chose to ask?

Angered and confused, Dezi asked him her own question. "Are you a pirate?" She retorted while looking at his bandage.

The boy stands up, absolutely fuming and pointing a pale finger at her. "Stay away from me!"

This causes Dezi to stand up too and point a darker finger at his chest. "I was here first!" She exclaims childishly.

And in retort, the Prince set the nearby bushes ablaze and Dezi rapidly changed her demeanor. She didn't know he was a fire bender too! "But I guess you can stay for a little bit."

The boy stalked away from her, but not before glaring at her once more over his shoulder.

Dezi sighed at the smoking bushes and before the boy got out of her sights, took the water that was still in both of their clothing and doused the bushes while mumbling "They didn't do anything to him."

Apparently the fact that he went from soaked to dry in the matter of seconds didn't go by him unnoticed. Dezi cringed when she saw him stop in his tracks.

"You're a water bender!" He yelled, making his way back to her.

Dezi stood her ground and quietly asked, "Yeah, and what're you gonna do about it? Kill me?"

The boy looked down to his feet ashamed. "No." He whispered as an answer.

"Well, good." Dezi spoke louder, feeling content that she got the last word.

Despite being at each other's throats earlier, Zuko decided to stay when Dezi said that she would be making a fire. She thought he probably didn't have anywhere else to be at the moment, but the truth was, Zuko thought it'd be entertaining for someone to light a fire without bending. He was trying to rack his brain, but he honestly could say that in all his life, he'd never seen it done.

After minutes of rubbing two thin rocks together over a poorly made pile of sticks she'd gathered, she finally had a little flame going.

Zuko had caught on that every few minutes or so, she'd take a good look at the horizon for a few seconds before returning her gaze to the fire. So with perfect timing, when she wasn't looking, Zuko decided to make her fire into a real one.

When she turned back around, he had to force himself not to smirk, so she wouldn't know he did it.

"So what's your name handsome?" She boldly asked.

"Zuko. What's yours?" He answered even though he could feel his cheeks getting red.

"Dezi. It's short for Dezdemona. When she was pregnant with me, my mom thought maybe if I had an Earth Nation name, I'd fit in more, but it's not fooling anyone." She was right. Her name did nothing to cover up her dark skin, piercing blue eyes and long brown curly hair.

"So what brings you so far from home?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"I could ask you the same thing." He stated, looking at her skin as if he'd never seen anyone like her before. He probably hadn't.

"I asked you first." Dezi demanded.

It took only about 15 whole minutes, but Zuko spilled his entire life story to her. He didn't know why. Maybe because she was a stranger and he'd never see her again, so he didn't care what she thought. He just needed to get it off his chest.

And after all of his talking of his trials and tribulations, the only thing Dezi had to say was "You're a prince?"

He didn't answer. Just scoffed in reply and said "So what about you?"

Figuring it was only fair, she told him everything from her mother escaping from the Northern Water Tribe to her boring life in Gaoling. Her story was only about 5 minutes and she seemed relieved to finish it. After that, they just sat in a comfortable silence by the fire and Dezi dozed off despite her efforts to fight it.

Zuko on the other hand couldn't sleep. He didn't know if it was because he was used to a bed or cot of some sort or because today had been one of those hectic days that shook him enough to prevent him from sleeping. He did almost die after all.

Eventually, the sun began to rise, their fire became nothing but embers and the waves were finally quiet. "I should be getting back." Zuko said before standing up as Dezi finally began to stir.

Once her mind digested exactly what he said, she shot up too. "It was nice to meet you, Zuko!"

She shuffled her feet in front of the boy, not really wanting him to leave. "Good luck finding the Avatar."

That was a flat out lie, but what else was she supposed to say? And as if she wasn't awkward enough, she quickly gave Zuko a peck on the lips as a means of goodbye.

He smirked and said, "Goodbye Dezi." before walking away towards the stone shore from which he came.

This is my first third person fic, so if the writing seems off, let me know. I wanted to try something new for a change.