The date

It was midday. Stunning autumn was pressing on the season and tall oaks had already begun changing their colors outside our window. Zuko and I were just wrapping up a good swordplay lesson and I was feeling optimistic about my progress for once. Turned out I actually didn't know squared about weaponry and I was too reckless when swinging a blade, of course I would never admit that to Zuko. I really wanted to get it down before my looming date of departure (which I was trying very hard not to think about).

Zuko was only wearing loose pants and the light picked up the hot dampness of his back.

I peered at him and then continued wiping my own face in a grin.

"You know… Something occurred to me." He rustled his long hair and wandered over to me.

"Mhm. And what's that." I asked, still staring a bit to hard on his very handsome body, from behind my fluffy towel.

"We've never been on a date together." He said casually.

"Oh. I guess your right." I blinked and thought about it. Well it's not like we'd had the time before now. On the ship we weren't together, in the palace we were dealing with disaster after disaster and then there was the whole captured in a volcano thing while discovering I was a reincarnated intergalactic space and time traveler. Huh. Busy busy.

"Can I ask you out then?" Zuko smiled when I dropped the towel, a little stumped by his question.

"Ehm… Sure?" I blinked some more. I'd never actually 'been on a date'. I thought the whole concept was a little set-up-y and formal, and not to mention, awkward. It always had to be 'dinner and a movie'! Or a romantic ice-skating session! Or some other activity like that, and it really wasn't a part of my way of experiencing romance. But then again, I was horrible at romance in general!

"What... Ehm… What do you wanna do on our 'date'?" I air quoted the word 'date'. Zuko grinned at me and tugged a run-away stand behind my ear. He pecked my cheek.

"What do you want to do?" He asked close to my ear.

"I… I honestly don't know." I cleared my throat.

"Why are you getting all weird?" He drew back in puzzlement.

"I just… I've never really… You know. Been on a date before… I think it's tacky." I winced.

Zuko looked taken aback for a moment.

"I can't believe you've never been asked out before." He stroked my chin with a thumb. "And we don't have to do the tacky stuff then. We'll do something you like."

"… Do you mean that?" I had my hands loosely on his hips.

"Yeah. Of course."

"Then I want to see the royal city. Up close and personal." Walking around the city alone had been fine so far, but if I really had a say so, then taking Zuko with me would be a lot nicer.

"Sure! I'll get the guards to set it up."

"No no no. Like for once going out as a normal couple you know. No parade of people following us everywhere."

Zuko let go and took a step back.

"Well… I don't think you and I are the easiest people to walk around without getting spotted. Exhibit A." He pointed to his scar. "Exhibit B." He pointed to my hair. Being the firelord and the only blonde in the world he made a strong point, but we were also both skilled in the sacred art of ninja-ing.

"Aren't you up for a night in capes and sneaking around?" I wriggled my brows. "Or are you scared you've lost your touch?" I teased gently and threw my hair over my shoulder.

"Hmm… I'm may be getting rusty." He kissed me warmly. "But I'll never loose my touch." Zuko smirked as he pulled away and the amber irises caught the light.

I was braiding my hair and knotting it tightly at the back of my head so it wouldn't flutter about and give us away. My handmaiden Mika was helping me picking out an outfit, and was definitely more giddy about the whole thing than I was. I had allowed myself some giddiness though.

It was my first date. Ever. With the guy of my dreams. And we were doing something I loved! Eat your heart out 'dear diary'.

"You should wear a dress my lady! This one! And these underneath." She pulled out a long robe with golden butterflies and a pair of white thigh high stockings.

"That is a 'I want to get in your pants' outfit. And I can't jump around in it. Next." I grinned at her in the mirror and fastened a pair of needles in my hairdo. Mika blushed and put the stockings back a bit hastily.

"What about this one? You like this one, no?" Mika opened a box of my white and gold kimono folded in thin tissue paper. It was my favorite one that was almost identical, apart from the color, to the one I'd worn on the ship. Iroh had given it to me at the beginning of the year.

"I do love it." I got up and unpacked the top layer. I stroked my fingertips over the delicate silk. "But I can't sneak in it… It's white." I smiled and sighed.

"Why do you have to sneak around in the first place my lady?" Mika shook her head and put the lit back on.

"Do I have something in black?" I asked and started tying in my chest -that form of sports bra was something I'd never really gotten used to, but it was better than nothing. The broad gaze held everything where it should be, even though I didn't have that much to begin with.

"Too much if you ask me." Mika mumbled under her breath. "I take it you want pants then?"

"Like reading my mind Mika." I said as she threw a bundle of black clothes at me. Tight and dark and, I would say, quite sexy too.

I pulled on the outfit in a flash, grabbed the travel cape from the back of a chair and proceeded to crawl out the window.

"My lady!?" Mika yelped horrified.

"Oh stop." I waved my hand at her and let go of the windowsill. I plunged two stories and as I landed effortlessly on the balcony right below, I heard my dear handmaiden scream. Poor Mika. I was giving her gray hairs before her time, but it was her own fault for being so uptight. Mika stuck her head out the window above and I did a tiny head tilt at her before walking along.

The balcony was the one I knew a little too well. It was the entry to the grand chamber of the firelord, and because I didn't much care for being seen arriving there every night, I used 'the back door' so to speak. I could just have moved in, but Zuko hadn't suggested it and I liked having my own place in the daytime.

I peeked through the curtain to his chamber and saw Zuko swinging the dark cape over his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of me, and turned a little surprised.

"I was planning on picking you up?" He smiled. Zuko's face was calm and soft in the candlelight.

"I thought you said no tacky stuff." I smirked. "And I wanted to scare the life out of my handmaiden. She was pestering me about looking nice." I felt a little self-conscious and glanced away.

Now Zuko glided his eyes over me, and then back to my face.

"…You look very nice." He cleared his throat and a pinkish tint seeped over his cheeks. I had to laugh at that. For once he was the shy one and it made me less concerned about the night's events.

"Thanks. You do too…" He really did. I'd always liked him in sleek dark clothes. "So. What's our first stop?" I bit my lip in a grin.

Zuko took my hand and we wandered out to the balcony again. There we could see the entirety on the Royal City gleaming and glowing in the darkness below. He pointed at the main street, which was still pretty narrow, and filled with people celebrating life in one aspect or another. The best way down there would be rooftops and sneaking under the wall by the trees.

I nodded, threw on my own cape and pulled up the hood.

Swiftly and soundlessly we crept, leaped and lowered ourselves down to the grounds outside the palace. Zuko had spoken of being rusty, but it didn't show. He was as light and accurate on his feet as always. It was striking, but I caught him glancing a bit often my way too.

The people in the streets hadn't noticed us appear out of the shadows, and luckily our outfits weren't that out of place since there was a chill in the wind. I took a hold of Zuko's hand. It was almost strange to stroll so casually without being observed at all. No guards, no servants, no family or friends or even just speculators, resting their curious eye on our private time. I liked it. It made me feel free and I stroked his hand with my thumb.

"Hey. I want to show you something." He ducked down a shady ally and pulled me along. We jumped up a few stairs and tuned out on a quieter street. A few tiny bars and open food stands were selling their 'good times' and Zuko slowed down.

"I have never really explored the city much, to be honest. For some reason I always used the palanquin, and my early life was very much inside the walls of the palace, but I do know this one place." He said and lowered his voice as a group of young guys past us. I tugged at my hood.

As we went further down the street Zuko stopped to orientate himself. "Ah. There it is." He practically dragged me up a twisted cobblestone slope. I was glad I'd decided on wearing traditional firenation shoos because my gatas would have twisted on these stones a hundred times.

When I looked up from my feet, the first thing I noticed was the columns. One red gate after another made in a short sort of passage to the temple's huge black bells. The place was almost hidden in between the buildings and the greenery that was only just trimmed away to clear a path for the temple visitors. An old woman the size of a child carefully made her way down the temple path and she nodded politely as she bobbed by us.

"Come." Zuko lifted his brow and smiled. At the top the temple was even more intriguing. Ropes thicker than my arms were hanging by the dozen behind the bell, and white paper slips were tied around them. Some crisp and new and some old and torn, but all keeping a secret. Dragons and lions were carved intertwining with the sun on the four pillars that held the pointy roof. The temple had once been magnificent, now it was more of a forgotten relic with plants creeping up the rock statues and rain stripping off the paint. A heavy rosy smell drifted in the air and I figured that the old lady had just lit the smoking incense that stood in the stone dish.

"This is the Light Temple. It is build to worship the dawn and nothing else. Almost all of the old temples were burned down while the war raged, many on my father's orders. But this one managed to survive. I think it's because it represents something everybody can appreciate on some level." Zuko lightly touched a carved lion that had cracked.

"A new beginning." I said and let down my hood.

"Or a second chance." He looked troubled by the words. "To do the right thing."

I drifted over and stroked his arm.

"You should polish it up. Make the nation see that you're ready to take that opportunity." I said softly and then added a bit more dramatic to lighten the mood. "The dawning of a new era."

Zuko smirked at that.

"You're right. I have to show my people that this is a time of peace and reconcile. That belief and change isn't treacherous things." He tuned to me. "And we shouldn't fear the unknown, but embrace the new day with a bright mind."

I blinked. The words hung there in the old temple and he'd impressed me by them.

"… That's a good speech."

"Yeah. I just hope I can live up to it." He said unsurely.

"Hey. Of course you can. If anybody can do it you'll be the one. I've already seen the some of the future and you are going to be doing a heck of a job! You're the hero of this legend!" I enthusiastically punched my fist in the air. Zuko looked stunned for a moment and then he started laughing full on. I didn't quite understand what I'd said that was this funny. He bend over and laughed until his shoulders shook, and it was somewhat contagious.

"I love you!" He said between the ripples of amusement.

I snickered. It was more of and 'oh you're so silly and I love you' kind of exclamation, but it warmed me up just the same.

"But, you are. And you're my hero too." I stroked his hair down in his face playfully. His yellow orbs peered at me from under the dark bangs.

"I really do, you know." Zuko breathed out the remains of a chuckle and tossed the bangs out of his eyes so that he could kiss me. I slid my arms around his neck.

"I really do to." I mumbled in the kiss.

For a few fleeting and gorgeous moments we stood under the giant black wish bells and I would've been completely content if that was to be the rest of the night. As if Zuko read my mind he drew back and said.

"This entire evening wasn't just supposed to be us making out and me getting a pep-talk. We still have some sneaking around to do."

"Okay then. I wouldn't mind spending a few hours canoodling my cute boyfriend, but alright, let's do some date-activities instead." I rolled my eyes in a smile.

"I promise we'll come back to that." Zuko sent me a small devious look.

We put our hoods up and then glided through the shadows.

I had never really had the feeling that there were this many people living in the Royal City, but tonight we seemed to be swimming an a packed stream of the masses down the main street. I was holding on to Zuko's arm and peering up at the warmly lit stands as we passed them. One was selling wooden firenation toys, another imported silks and another again, spices and freshly cut flowers in every imaginable color. It was normal for the stores to be open this late, because they usually had a few hours during the day where they'd closed, but it was a little curious to me that there were so many people out and about. A street-seller bellowed about handmade cedar tree boxes for a low-low-price that was still way too much for a trivial trinket like that. Suddenly I spotted the place I'd been looking for. Right by the busy corner of the main street was an inexpressive-looking opening.

"In here." I said to Zuko and we ducked under the half-flaps of a traditional teeny tiny bar. There was only seating for five people at the bar and on one of the seats a lovely woman was hanging over the disk chatting with the bartender.

I could see why, because the bartender was a rugged sweet-looking man. He reminded me of a friendly lumberjack, just clean-shaven.

"Welcome travelers. Sit, have a rest." He bid us welcome, we did so and ordered two drinks. As the bartender, Jéin he had introduced himself as, went to get our order Zuko said.

"I don't know this place." He looked around a bit and I couldn't read him. Maybe this was a little too rough around the edges for the firelord? Yeah, he'd slept on straw madrasas and had water for breakfast, but that was a long time ago. The bar was quite dark with sparse lighting seeping from faded red lamps. And all over the walls, in a messy sort of way, there were paintings of places around the world.

"I came here with Iroh once." I shrugged.

The woman leaned over the disk and snickered as Jéin goofed around with the bottles. You could tell that she was very much in love with him from a mile away.

"Here?" Zuko asked a little disbelieving.

"It's nothing fancy, but Iroh said it was the best bar in the Royal City. And I just thought we should get away from all the hassle…" I stopped to rethink if maybe we should just leave.

"When were you out drinking with my uncle?" He smiled and I eased up a bit.

"Oh. Some time ago, we were out shopping and then we came in here for a break. It was a really nice, and a somewhat blurry afternoon." I scratched the back of my head in a grin. I'd had way too much to drink and Iroh was at least as pleasantly tipsy as me when we'd swayed our way back to the palace with grocery bags looping up and down our arms.

"Here you go gentle-folk, may it ease your souls." Jéin put down a tray with a small clay bottle and two cups.

"Thank you. Hey, do you know why there's all these people here tonight?" I asked casually.

"I sure do wondrous vixen, it's the past-summer fest tomorrow. There's going to be fireworks and people have been traveling from all over to get here. I thought you were holidaymakers too? I haven't seen you around before?" He eyed us both and Zuko looked away at an angle.

"Oh. We are! I just… Didn't know that all these people were here for the same festival!" I lied.

"Mhm." Jéin straightened and looked like a man who knows when to keep his nose our of people's business. I exhaled as he stated to tend to the woman again.

"Wups. Listen, did you know about the festival?"

"Of course." Zuko poured our cups full.

"Then why did you ask me out tonight?" I was offered a cup, and sipped.

"You said no typical date stuff. I figured it would be too much if I brought you to a firework show?" He smiled slightly and took a drink too.

"Ah…" I sighed at the realization. He would have been right. "Sorry about being so difficult." I leaned in and puffed him with my shoulder gently.

"I like you difficult." He put a warm hand on my cheek. I glanced at the bartender who was making a lavish-looking drink for his other guest and she looked amusingly self-conscious as he winked at her. They didn't seem to notice us. I sipped at the lukewarm liquor with a blush rising in my face. As soon as I was putting the cup down Zuko stole a quick kiss.

"So much smooching." I whispered in a timid smile when he'd drawn back.

We had our heads low and close together. I'll admit it was pretty thrilling being able to just be a couple without the whole palace holding its breath for our next command.

"It amazing to me how you can be the most ruthless, courageous and powerful creature in the world and still you look like that when I kiss you." He wasn't smug or even cheeky.

Zuko observed me silently and something in his glance gave away his thoughts.

I couldn't decide whether to answer him with something coy or truthful. Instead didn't say anything and looked away while the blush ran over me. I would hope that some of it could be blamed on the alcohol that burned ever so faintly on my tongue, but I was freefalling into desire. I unconsciously bit my lip a fraction.

"Don't do that." Zuko smirked and it was hazed by the same heat.

"You can't tell me what to do." I smirked just as subtly.

We filled our cups a second time, and then emptied the bottle after a third refill. The booze was getting pleasantly to me, and the atmosphere between Zuko and I was hotter than glowing coals. Both were making me even warmer and more lighthearted with every passing moment.

"Do you think it would have been the same if we'd gotten together earlier?" I murmured happily and rested my chin in my palm. Zuko considered that with a tap to his chin. I could see that the drinks were having an effect on him too.

"Yeah. I think we would have been here right now either way. But I regret wasting the time we could've had… Tell me something, that time where you walked in on me, was that really an accident?" He smiled crookedly and one of his corner teeth showed. I got my drink down the wrong pipe.

"Of course it was!" I almost squealed but then smacked a hand over my lips as Jéin and the woman stopped talking to see what had caused my outburst. I covered my face mortified.

"I- I- I would never-" I lowered my voice to a rushed whisper. "Walk in on you on purpose! I mean, you're hot, but do you think I'm some kind of pervert?!" I'd felt how the liquor was loosening up my inhibitions but not all of them.

Zuko chuckled cheekily with his tongue between his teeth.

"Forget it. I'm drunk." He said and waved his hand.

"Seriously, did you think that?!"

"You were walking around in your underwear half the time we stayed on the ship, so I figured you were a little bit of a pervert." Zuko teased.

"AH! I only did that when I was going to bed! I was exhausted!" I flushed and slapped my cheeks.

"… I didn't mind." He rolled his eyes.

I breathed a deep sigh.

"If anyone's a perv it's you. You the one flaunting yourself about, and pulling your shirt off at every chance you get." I finished my drink, the blush lingered, and now it was Zuko's turn to look a little embarrassed.

"Eh. It's a tropical climate. I get warm?" He straightened in his defense.

"In the winter? Riiight." I grinned and struck my tongue out at him.

"Can we get out of here now?" He smiled and dropped a few coins on the disk.

"Yeah I need some air." I wafted at my red face.

Before long we were out of the bar and more time had past than I would have thought. The moon was high and the masses of people were dwindled to a much smaller crowd. The shops were closing up and a woman gathered her street theater from the side of the curb.

"Looks like we missed out of all the fun." Zuko said but he didn't mean it.

"Yeah…" I held on to him and leaned my head against his shoulder. "I don't wanna go back to the palace right now though." I muttered. The alcohol made me sway a little on my feet.

Zuko glanced down at me.

"Then I know just the place."

The walk was short and we took it slow. Lights were getting turned off in the windows and soon only a few houses had a lantern or two glowing. We exited the city through an iron-gated path and Zuko led me further out to a grassy field resting on the volcanic slopes.

A splendid view was overlooking the shadowy ocean.

Autumn had only touched its fingers to the south, but there was a distinctive crispness in the air. The grass went up to my knees and the only lights were stars, moon and ships floating far out in the horizon. I let my hood down and sighed at the shear beauty of it all.

Zuko unclasped his cape and lay it down in the meadow. I did the same and as we sat down I tugged mine over our knees. Quiet waves crashed on the shore deep down.

I stared at the view and started undoing my hair.

"I'm gonna miss it…" I murmured as I unraveled the braids. Zuko held a hand on my waist and made sure we were close.

"Ssh." He hushed at my thoughts.

I nodded quietly.

Not yet. Don't think about it yet. I'll have all the time in the world to be sad later.

I twisted around to Zuko.

"Can I sit on you?"

"Of course." He opened his arms and I snuck up in them and settled with my legs on either side of his lean body. The pale rays of moonlight made the grass around us glow and it cast a shadow over our faces. I leaned in and pecked his cheekbone.

"Sit still." I said close to his ear. "Put your hands here." I whispered and led Zuko's hands to my hips. I licked his ear the tiniest bit and saw the goose bumps crawl on his neck. I kissed it, then pulled at the collar and drew his skin in between my teeth.

"Kai…" He hissed when I sucked. The grip on my hips tightened, he moved me against him and I yanked at his dark hair. Zuko's moan tickled against my shoulder. I sat back and watched the hickey I'd given him. A small part of me wondered how long it would stay there, and thought it comical that he would have a hickey from a parallel world sitting on his neck.

"I like it when you say my name like that…" The words sounded a little breathless on my lips as I watched him looking slightly disheveled with the warped collar and the messy dark bangs covering some of his pink face. Zuko looked almost lewd. It made me lick my lips faintly. The fact that I was tipsy gave me a courage I hadn't necessarily felt before in this kind of situation.

I leaned in again and this time I kissed his lips. It was a deep and sort of damp kiss. Zuko grabbed the back of my neck with one hand while he let the other one mindlessly roam. His mouth tasted like liquor and something more that made my legs spread further apart. My uncontrollably urge for us to be undressed ignored the chill in the breeze. I undid his shirt buttons while Zuko slid my silky top off my shoulders. He didn't much mind the cold either.

"Oh." I said as I looked down at my tightly bound chest. The white gaze was covering the entire area and oddly enough I hadn't ever been undressed with that in the way.

"… What?" Zuko murmured and started loosening the knot without taking any issue.

"… I just… Feel like a patient with gaze up to my ears." He glanced at me.

"Ah. Let me take care of you then. Lift your arms a little." Zuko said it so seductively that the power balance shifted in a split second. I lifted my arms hesitantly over my head and Zuko, with his secure fingers, leaned in closely and started unwrapping me. Rolling up the fabric as he did so.

The bound had restricted my bosom tightly and it was a liberating feeling when the gaze gave way.

"Have you done this a lot?" I asked with a curiosity that was asking something more.

"… It's not my first time." He caught my eye tentatively. Neither of us was playing modest virgins, especially since we'd been together, but we had never discussed our 'number' either. Not that I had one per say. I knew was not the time for it, but the interest kept tugging at my mind's sleeve.

"What do you want to know?" Zuko sensed my intrigue as he unwound the fabric behind my back. When he spoke his mouth brushed the nock of my neck.

"Am I the best you've had?" I shivered. His fingertips had grazed the skin on my ribs.

Zuko stopped for a moment. Then finished the last bit. I was bare and I crossed my arms over my chest. There was no chance of anyone seeing us here, even if someone had decided to take a witch hour stroll to this particular off-road slope, the tall grass was an enclosure around us in the night. But I felt the need to cover up for the conversation's sake. Zuko lifted the abandoned cloak over my shoulders and snaked his hands under it. His light touch made my nipples hard.

"You are the only one that can make me forget my thoughts. You make me loose myself." He whispered alluringly to my cheek.

I gasped when he squeezed them.

"You're unmatched." Zuko kissed my lips greedily.

In the kiss I took a hold of his shoulders and moved in slow and gliding shifts over him. Our clothes obstructed the act but it felt exciting nevertheless. Zuko sighed quietly. Swiftly and strongly he'd curved us around so I was lying on my back. His hands and hot lips kissed and grabbed my breasts, and I closed my eyes while chasing my breath.

Zuko undid my pants and slid them down my legs. He sat back on his knees and watched me with those hungry amber eyes. I watched him just the same. Zuko's chest was bare and the pale scars caught the moonlight. He looked so powerful and it made my blood rush. I would guess it showed.

He smirked and blew a little orb of fire, then dove down to lick my inner thighs with a burning hot tongue. Teasing me mercilessly until he brushed my clit. I bit back a cry.

My body moved on its own when my hips lifted from the ground, as if they were being magnetically pulled to his wicked kiss.

I gasped in fulfilled desire when Zuko sank two fingers deep inside me. His fingers stirred rhythmically in me and my heart pounded in its tact. It was is if he was starting a fire in my body, stroking the same sport over and over until it became scolding hot. It was the most plausible form of torture. The alcohol made everything spin faster, and the sensation was pushing me over the edge.

"Ah… Please…" I muttered silently, not having to say anymore than that to express my plea.

"Not yet." Zuko rasped and flicked his wet tongue over me again.

"But I-" I trailed off in a sigh as I couldn't find the words anymore. The only word I could seem to think was 'yes'.

Me knees sought each other as the sensation pulled at my nerves, threatening to undo something fragile and trembling that was hidden within. Zuko seized a firm hold on one of my thighs and pushed it to the ground while he kept working me over. I held my face in my hands and moaned.

Words and sounds flowed jumbled from my lips, urging him to keep going. It only took a few more touches for me to fall over the threshold.

I took the deepest of breaths as the beating heat washed over me and reached all the way to my fingertips. It rolled and rolled like warm waves in my body even after Zuko was kissing his way back to my lips. I shivered when he licked my jaw.

He paused and I peeked out through my fingers.

Zuko grasped my wrists and held them over my head and rested the hardness between my legs. His yellow eyes dug into mine. He was waiting for me to ask for it. I bit my lip and looked away.

"… Don't torment me…" I moved my hips. He bent down to my ear.

"But you look so good when I do." Zuko murmured.

Without another word he took me. Rigid and ravenously and it made the world fade away.

"Uuugh…" I fell face first back into the bed. Zuko was sipping his morning tea and eyeing me. "I'm never drinking again." I muffled in the sheets. Even thought I'd taken a hot shower and washed down gallons of water this morning, I was feeling the hangover sitting like a stone on my head.

I weakly turned to look at him. Zuko was surprisingly unaffected and I blamed his incredible metabolism and the fact that he'd been drinking this sort of local moonshine since he was fourteen.

"Eat something." He smiled at me and offered a bowl of rice.

"No. I'll never eat ever again." I wined and curled to a ball. The sheets rustled and then he heaved me up besides him, like something you would do to a kid. Well, I was the one acting childish so…

He tugged me under the duvet and I was warm and loved in my misery.

"… It was fun." I slurred against his ribs.

"Very." Zuko agreed and picked up his tea again. "I can hardly remember how we got home. I know the sun was up." He laughed in a breath.

"Me nether… I would have guessed you dragged me half the way. I was sloshed man..." My head was throbbing and everything seemed to be ever so slightly whirling.

"That sound about right. I was drunk out of my wits too."

"You're cute when you're a little tipsy." I kissed his stomach. It twitched as if it tickled.

After a moment he said.

"I should go to work." Zuko scratched his head and yawned.

"And I should train with my swords, but that's not going to happen. So, stay in bed a few hours. Nurse your lovable girlfriend back to health." I tried to poke him again and he jerked. I had never known he was ticklish and I grinned with my tongue between my teeth.

"Hey, Kai. Cut it out." He smiled.

"If you promise you'll stay a few hours." I dove under the covers and poked him some more. Zuko laughed at tried to protect himself from my attacks. We fought under the covers. Finally he got a hold of me. Our heads we under the duvet and we panted happily.

"You're so annoying." Zuko kissed me and let me go. "You win."

I snickered very pleased with myself.

"You better get used to it because…" I trailed off. I was going to say 'because I'm not going anywhere' but that was untrue. The hangover and the world's troubles seeped back into my mood and broke a fragment of my heart. I emerged from the duvet and sat up. Zuko followed. The fact that I was leaving was so bittersweet I couldn't bear it.

"I'm not staying in bed with you of you're planning on being this depressed."

I frowned at him.

"I'm kidding. Kai come on." He kissed my cheek.

I closed my eyes and leaned my back against his firm warm body.

"I wish I could just not think… " I breathed. I hated how sadness kept tainting my last few days with him. I just wanted to enjoy it and be light-hearted, but the separation was coming up no matter how much I distracted my thoughts.

"… Do you want me to help you with that?" Zuko's hands drifted over my chest.

"Yeah…" I sighed and he kissed my neck.

The sun crept over the sapphire sky and for the first time we ended up spending the entire day in bed.