A loud crack sounded as Zuko appeared in the living room of Ginny's flat. His eyes were nearly bloodshot red, face paler than mormal, and it wasn't hard to tell that the last few days for him had been anything but pleasant. "I'm here," he announced, not sure where she was. While waiting for her he rummaged around his pockets for something.

Ginny, who had just gotten out of the shower after Light left, heard him call her and threw on her robe. She ran out into the living room and hesitated for a moment before throwing her arms around him. "Oh thank gods," she murmured into his chest.

"Something the matter?" he asked softly as he timidly wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head.

"I was worried about you," she said softly, hugging him tightly.

"I'm sorry for making you worry," he told her, pulling her in closer. "Just had to deal with a lot is all."

"I know." She looked up at him. "What happened? You said you'd tell me when you got here..."

"Yeah," he nodded, leading her to the couch. Sighing softly, he sat down beside her. "Mind if I?" he asked, showing her a pack of cigarettes he had and a lighter.

She raised an eyebrow as he sat down, curling up against his side. "No. Just don't let me have any. What d'you need a lighter for?"

"Oh..." he said, glancing down at the lighter. He'd gotten it so he wouldn't have to bend in public places that weren't his own world. "Right," he nodded, hastily shoving it back in his pocket. Something major must have hapened to make him just be so...off. Smirking, he popped out a cigarette and snapped his fingers to light it. After taking a deep drag he looked at her. "Life sucks."

She snuggled closer to him, pressing her lips to his neck. "Tell me what happened, my love," she said softly.

"Whatshisass, the fuckwit who got himself whipped by Azula, tried to trick me to take the city back. Tried to use a letter from 'Father' to bait me into being arrested." There was a pause as he took another drag and let it out slowly, closing his eyes. "Managed to escape without much difficulty, it was just a pain in the ass to knock out I don't know how many guards he had there... Clothes are still stained..." Eyes opening again, he licked his lips. "Though I'm fortunate Mai and Ty Lee weren't dumb enough to go along with it... Actually, it was Mai who tended to my wounds after I showed that jackass I'm not one to be messed with. Everything's fine now, so you don't have to worry."

"...Oh," she said quietly, not sure how to respond. It had to have hurt him, but he was brushing it off so casually... and she really needed to meet this Mai girl.

"It's no big deal, really. I've dealt with worse," he shrugged. "Decided to pay Light a visit earlier too..." It took a great deal of willpower not to a)say anything insulting and b)burst out into a fit of snickering. Keeping his calm, he took another drag. "He's not so bad..."

"So I heard," she said dryly, sitting up a bit as she remembered her annoyance with him. "I also heard you pulled a knife on him."

"Rather I just torch him?" he smirked.

"I seem to recall having a conversation with you wherein you told me you'd make an effort to be more civil to him," she said, her voice icy. "Neither setting him on fire nor threatening him with a knife counts as 'civil.'"

"Wasn't actually going to hurt him or anything..." he rolled his eyes. "Just trying to show him that if he tried anything I could kick his ass."

"And what makes you think I'm okay with that?" she asked sharply, sitting up and glaring at him now.

"Didn't think you would be anyway," he shrugged. "Though it would've been an added bonus if you were."

"...Does it not bother you in the slightest that it hurts me when you can't even respect me enough to do me as small a favour as not setting my best friend on fire?" Ginny snapped at him.

"It's not like that!" he retorted, bristling slightly. "If I was really out to get the fucker I would've done him in already. Ever thought about that, princess?"

She blinked at him for a moment, taken aback. "...why are you acting like this?" she asked finally, her voice low.

After a long sigh, he brought his hand to his face--the one not holding the cigarette--and massaged his temple. "I'm sorry, babe. I've just been in a really irritable mood for the past couple of days."

She bit her lip and reached out to push his hair back so she could see his face. "Zuko... I love you, but I mean it, this has to stop."

"I'll have to try harder I guess..." he sighed again, dropping his hand to rest on her thigh. "Told you when we first started... I'm not good at this sort of thing at all. Already lost my mother... My whole country has me branded as a traitor.... I love you so much, Ginny. Which is why I fight so hard for us.... If I were to lose you...." His voice trailed off and he closed his eyes, fighting back tears that came from starting to think about the pain it would cause.

She sighed, deciding to drop the subject for the time being, and crawled over to wrap herself around him. "I will always love you," she whispered fiercely, knowing that no matter what else happened, that much would be true.

"Ow," he hissed, wincing as he gripped tightly onto her. "Mm... Sorry... Got some bruises..."

She instantly loosened her grip. "Oh -- love -- where?"

"Uh..." he thought for a moment, checking himself out. "Here..." he pointed to his shoulder. "Here." His left collarbone. "Here." Several spots along his ribcage. "And here, here, here too." He pointed to his abdomen, his lower back, and his forearm. "No big deal, really. Just hurts a little."

"Zuko..." she whispered, shocked. "My god. Here, take your shirt off, let me see."

Nodding, Zuko wriggled a bit as he tugged his shirt over his head, balled it up and tossed it to the floor. All over his arms and torso, what wasn't wrapped in dirtying bandages, was covered in dark bruises. "Rocks hurt."

"Oh my god," she whispered again, feeling tears stinging her eyes. She reached out and brushed her fingers along his chest and arms, feeling as though she should do something but having no idea what.

"It's alright," he said softly to assure her, kissing her forehead. "Looks a million times worse than it actually is. Hardly feel anything." Wasn't really true, it did hurt like a bitch, but he'd suffered worse in the past so it wasn't all that big of a deal to him. It was just how long it'd take to fully heal that was irksome.

She cast him a doubtful look. "I don't belive you."

"It's fine, really," he dropped a kiss to the bridge of her nose. "Don't worry about it. Did you have a nice weekend?"

"Yes, it was lovely," she said dismissively. "Zuko, really. You look terrible."

He frowned slightly. Why didn't she ever want to talk to him about what she was doing? If he didn't have so much trust in her, he would've suspected she was hiding something. "I know, I know. But it's fine, really it is. Please, don't worry about it." A soft sigh. "...Why won't you ever really talk to me about anything?"

She frowned at him. "What d'you mean? I talk to you all the time."

"Yeah, but, you never really talk about yourself. What little I do know I practically had to force out of you," he pouted. "I feel terrible because I don't want this to be all about my problems. I love you enough that I want to know all of you. Not just your body and how you feel about me. I don't even know your favorite flavor of ice cream. Talk about sad. I'm a terrible boyfriend."

"...Oh." She thought about this for a moment, tucking herself gingerly up against his side. "I don't mean to. I just don't really talk about myself all that often, I suppose." She looked up at him, contrite. "What d'you want to know? Ask me anything."

"Well...." he thought about it for a moment. "What's your favorite thing to do?"

"You?" she said, and giggled. "No... I don't know. That's an awfully broad question."

He chuckled softly, running his fingertips gently up and down along her side. "Is there anywhere you've always wanted to go?"

"New York," she said instantly. "All the museums, and shopping, and theatre..."

"Really?" he smiled, eyes lighting up for a moment. "I could take you there, if you wanted."

She brightened. "Really?"

"Of course," he nodded, smiling. "I'd love to take you anywhere you'd like to go."

She smiled back at him. "For now, I am more than happy to stay right here and hold on to you."

"That's so sweet...." he beamed, wrapping an arm around her a bit more, ignoring the fact a couple bruises were going OW OW OW at him. Thinking some more, he took another long drag and let it out. "Are you into sport at all?"

"Oh I know you've heard me ramble about Quidditch," Ginny said, blinking. "I play Chaser and Seeker. I was on the House team for a few years, too."

"Oh," his eyes brightened. "That's right! How come you don't play anymore? Afraid you'll break a nail?" He then smirked around the cigarette he brought back to his lips.

"Ha ha," she said sarcastically, though her expression was amused. "No -- there's not any non-professional teams around here that still need players, and apparently the pickup league Sirius was putting together never went anywhere, so--" She shrugged. "I'll play with my brothers and Harry sometimes at family gatherings, but that's about it, really."

"There weren't many sports back home," Zuko shrugged. "As kids we'd kick a ball around or shoot fire or something. The girls liked to do flips and cartwheels. Nothing fancy or organized.... I saw this thing on the internet. Called 'curling.' I want to try it." His face looked serious, determined. Why he was so interested in curling the world would never know. Same as how may licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Rolls center of a Tootsie Pop. It will remain a mystery forever.

"...You do that, love," she said, patting his knee. Smile and nod.

"I will," he said with a sly smirk, pointing the cigarette at her. "And it will be awesome."

"I believe you," she replied, doing her best to keep her expression serious.

"You can laugh, babe," he chuckled, flicking away an ash as he did so. "I do happen to have a sense of humor."

She stuck her tongue out at him, smiling. "Don't get ash on my carpet."

"I won't," he nodded seriously, rubbing off the end with his tumb. "I can just bend the crap. No worries."

"Okay." She snuggled up against him again. "Ask me another, this is fun."

"Hm..." This one took him longer to think of. "Uh....paper or plastic?"

Ginny stared at him for a moment before bursting into giggles. "What?"

"Like...at the store. Do you like paper bags or plastic?" he shrugged.

"...I don't know. You are so strange," she said, still giggling.

"You love me, admit it," he grinned, then looked down at his cigarette. "It's almost gone...." Pout. "Anyways," His expression brightened again. "I like plastic. Paper rips." He was very serious about this too.

"I do," she agreed, deciding to ignore the rest of his comment for the sake of tilting her head up and kissing him softly. "I'm head over heels in love with you..."

"I love you more," he replied, kissing her back, lowering the hand with the cigarette so he could put it out on his leg. "Love you more than you'll ever know..."

"I feel so lucky," she said softly, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair.

"I'm luckier to have someone as beautiful, and wonderful as you," he told her, letting one of his hands caress her thigh. While they were talking he relaxed a bit, color slowly returning to his face. She seemed to have that sort of calming effect on him. It was as if their whole relationship was a heaven and hell for him all molded into one entity.

"Oh, Zuko," she whispered, her hand stilling on the side of his face. "Do you have any idea how much you mean to me?"

"Mind giving me a hint?" he smiled, looking into her eyes.

"...I don't know that I have the skill to put it into words," she said. After a moment a smile spread across her face. "I love waking up next to you in the morning. I love that you know me better than anyone else... I love all the little things you do to show me that you care. I love it when you tell me you love me."

"And I...." Cigarette just went bye-bye as he gently pushed her back on the couch and hovered over her. "Love cuddling next to you. I love it when you laugh and smile. I love having you beside me. I love making love with you and only you. And I love hearing you whisper you love me when I'm so very close to you...." He dropped soft kisses along her neck.

She reached up and pulled him down next to her, melting. "I love you," she whispered into the side of his neck. "I love you so much..."

"I love you so much I'd die without you..." he whispered back, his hand sliding up along her stomach. A pause. "...You're not naked under that are you?"

"Want to find out?" she asked in a low voice, smiling against his shoulder.

"Mmm..." he purred. "Perhaps I do."

"It's up to you," she said, smirking slightly. "Though I'd be happy to just lay here and snuggle, if you'd rather."

"Snuggle naked? Best of both?" he chuckled, trying to tug her robe off.

"Mmm. I like that idea. Even better--" she sat up and climbed off the couch, tugging him with her. "Snuggle naked in my bed. It's more comfortable."

"Okay," he smiled as he was dragged along to the bedroom, wrestling out of his four-inch platform boots in the process. Why he wore them one wouldn't know. Considering they made him well over six feet tall.

When she entered her room Ginny started folding down the covers of the bed, waiting -- it was more fun when Zuko undressed her than when she did it herself. "Can you stay til morning?" she asked him.

"If you want me to," he nodded, then tore off his loose-fitting black tanktop before working on the belt of his leather pants. "I want to stay in this world for a while anyway. Sasuke thinks I should get a car." Zuko smiled when he got himself undressed and climbed into bed.

"I always want you to," she said, watching him for a moment before giving up and shrugging out of her bathrobe, letting it drop to the floor. "What d'you need a car for?" she asked as she crawled into the bed next to him.

"I want to drive," he said very seriously, tugging her closer to him. "It looks fascinating."

"Mmm," she agreed, snuggling up against him and enjoying the feel of his skin against hers. "I like cars. Especially when they go fast."

"The kind I'm looking at go really fast," he nodded, nuzzling against her. "I want to take Sasuke around in it to help him pick up chicks. He's a very attractive boy, I'm sure all the little ninja girls would go nuts if he showed up in a hot ride."

She giggled and pressed her lips to his shoulder. "Let's not talk about Sasuke, hmm?"

"Then what shall we talk about, my dear?" He murmured, letting one of his hands wander up and down along her side.

She shivered at his touch. "I don't know..." Her eyes closed as she tucked herself against him. "You're warm and nice for cuddling."

"I could make myself even warmer," he whispered, smiling as his hand rested on her hip.

"Mmkay..." she murmured.

"Let me show you..." He purred and took in a deep breath. The palm on her hip heated up slowly and he ran his hand up along her side, around to rub against her back, and then to her front again where he splayed his fingers across her breastbone and let the heat stay there.

She gave a contented sigh as warmth suffused her body. "That feels good," she said softly, reaching up to twine her fingers through his.

"Want me to put it anywhere else?" he whispered in her ear.

"'f you want..." she replied, half-asleep already.

Smirking, he lowered his heated hand to between her legs and pressed in slightly. "You...like that?"

She jumped, her eyes snapping open. "Zuko..." she said, a slight smirk spreading across her face.

"What?" he jumped too, slightly startled, pulling his hand back as well.

"Mmm..." her eyes drifted shut again and she tucked her head down into the curve of his neck. "Surprised me..."

"M'sorry..." he murmured. "I just like touching you..."

"S'okay." She kissed his shoulder. "Love you..."

"Love you too," he whispered, letting his hand go back down to where it was once more.

She made a pleased sound and relaxed against him, one hand resting lightly against his chest.

Smirking, he pulled his hand back and licked his fingers. "You're the most beautiful person in the world, y'know that?"

One eye slitted open and she offered him a small smile. "I'm not. But you're sweet for saying it."

"You are," he said, kissing behind her ear. "Every last bit of you is."

She opened her other eye and looked at him. "If you won't believe me when I tell you you're attractive... I don't have to believe you when you tell me I am."

"That's because you are attractive and I'm not," he told her, giving her rear end a good squeeze to get his point across.

"Well, I think you are," she said, smiling.

"Awww thanks babe," he smiled back at her and kissed her cheek. "Know what'd be really nice?"

"What's that?" she asked.

Chuckling, he tugged on her so she was sitting on top of him and leaned back, crossing his arms behind his head. "There. I'm at your mercy. Do to me what you will, my queen." He grinned.

She smiled at him and leaned over to lay against his chest, her hair sliding over her shoulders as she tilted her head to kiss him softly.

He kissed her back, leaning into it to deepen it the best he could from his position.

She twisted a hand into his long hair, content for now keep the kiss fairly chaste.

Kissing her tenderly, he pulled his hands out from behind him to hold onto her shoulders.

She smiled against his lips, sliding her other hand up to brush her fingertips along his cheekbone. "Love you," she whispered when she broke the kiss, still smiling at him.

"Love you too," he whispered back and tilted his head slightly so his forehead rested against hers. "More than anything."

She closed her eyes, her nose brushing against his as her smile widened slightly. "I am so glad I have you," she said softly.

"I wouldn't want anyone else in the world," he replied, letting one of his hands slide up to cup her face.

She leaned into his touch, still smiling. "I am so in love with you," she said. "I know I've said it a million times, but..."

"Shh I know..." he murmured, smiling, placing his fingers on her lips. "And I never get tired of hearing it either."

She opened her eyes, regarding him seriously. "Zuko... you know that whatever happens, I will always, always love you, right? Nothing can change that."

"..." His hand fell from her face and dropped to the bed so he could brace himself as he sat up slightly, giving her a very worried look. "...W-What are you getting at...?"

"Nothing really," she said, trying to sound reassuring. "I just want to make sure you know how much I love you." She wrapped her arms around him, pressing a kiss to the edge of his scar.

"Don't scare me like that..." he whispered, holding onto her tightly. After sighing, he kissed along her shouder and rested his head there as he held her. Breathing heavily, a few small tears welled in his eyes. "I love you too much... Don't want to lose you...ever."

"I'm sorry." She placed several kisses along his hairline. "I don't want to lose you, either."

"You're the only person who has ever made me this happy," he told her, letting his eyes drift closed for a moment.

"I'm glad I can do that for you," she said, lifting an arm to run her fingers through his hair.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck and nuzzled against her, sighing softly. "You make me fell like I'm worth something."

"You are worth something," Ginny protested. "I just wish you could see that."

"I can't see what's not there," Zuko said softly. "I have nothing, I am nothing. All I've got is you. And yet...that's enough to keep me content for an eternity."

"You aren't nothing," she said stubbornly. "Zuko, we've had this conversation a thousand times. And you--" her voice broke. "You do have me..."

"I want to have you forever," he said, and then shifted himself slightly so he could turn his upper body. "See?" He pointed to the back of his right shoulder.

She blinked, running her fingers across the fresh tattoo on his back. "What's it say?"

"It's your name," he told her with a smile.

She fell silent, not knowing what to say, instead tracing the letters with the tip of a finger.

"I love you...and I wanted a way for you to be a part of me..." he said. "Always."

Instead of responding she bent her head and pressed her lips over the ink, leaving a lingering kiss on his shoulder.

"Hey...." he said after a moment, his voice low. "There's a few things I think I should tell you."

"...Like what?" she asked, looking up, a troubled expression on her face.

"It's of no real importance now," he told her, petting her like a favorite cat, and flashed her a small smile. "But... During that awkward, slightly-angry time during that fight we had... Actually it may have been just before, when I was really, really, upset with you.... I went out with Aang, as you know because I told you....and I slept with him." His voice lowered even more when he hit that last phrase and he glanced away, the strong sense of guilt clearly showing on his face.

She let go of him, sitting back a bit. She wasn't sure how to react to this. "...You did."

"Yeah...." His voice cracked slightly. "I was just really...really upset and angry and confused and all I wanted to do then was something for myself, to get back at you for hurting me..... Wasn't thinking.... I feel terrible... Been haunting me ever since...."

"...And you shouted at me about cheating on you," she whispered, not looking at him.

"I only did it once and that was after I found out about you..." His eyes narrowed for an instant before he gave up with a sigh. "You're the only one I look at."

She opened her mouth to retort and thought better of it. "Let's not argue about that again. Please." It would be beyond hypocritical of her to push him away, so instead she put her arms around him again, resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for telling me," she said softly.

"I don't like hiding things from you," he said, nuzzling against her. "There's something else too... Not really related but it's something you ought to know..."

"What's that?" she asked, almost dreading the answer.

"When the girls and I were tending to our injuries," he paused then to take a deep breath. "Mai actually talked to me...Which, well, she hadn't really done since I was banished. So it was kind of a shock. She knows about us thanks to Ty Lee and what she's...heard around. She sounded upset about it, I'm not sure why. Well, her tone was as flat as ever, but I just got that feeling that she was angry.... Not sure if that makes sense. Anyway, she also thinks I'm an idiot for being with you. That I shouldn't get myself involved with things that are out of control." He sighed heavily. "It's stupid, I know. She shouldn't have a say in anything. But I listened because, well, I hadn't heard her voice in so many years... You know?"

"...What are you saying?" Ginny asked after a moment, feeling somewhat bewildered.

"I knew her when we were kids..." he explained, glancing away for a moment. "She'd always been pretty quiet. Though when she did have something to say she was either stating the obvious or it was something really important. But I think she's wrong about this... I trust you. She just doesn't know you the way I do. But I don't get why...why..." He bit his lip then, silencing himself.

"Zuko... what did she say to you exactly?" she asked, feeling as though there was something he was trying to tell her that she wasn't grasping, and hating it.

"She kissed me," he said, his voice breaking again with the shame of the confession. "And said she hopes I live the rest of my life without regret for my mistakes. I don't understand what that means or why should say that... Then she just left... I don't understand..." He balled up, like a scared turtle. "I hate myself."

She froze for a moment, outraged -- not at Zuko, but at Mai for having the audacity to think-- She reached out and wrapped herself around Zuko, tangling her limbs with his. "Don't say that," she begged him, her voice low. "Don't ever say that. There is no reason for you to hate yourself."

"I can't help how I feel," he said softly, hugging her. "I know I'm so in love with you I'd die without you... I don't care what anybody says or what anyone else thinks... You're the only person made for me."

"So then she doesn't matter," she said fiercely, holding him as tightly as she could. "Zuko..." She bit her lip. After a moment she lay back down, pulling him with her until she was holding him cradled against her chest, his legs woven with hers. "You are mine," she whispered. "And I love you."

"Just like you're mine," he replied in a low, heated tone, kissing her softly on the lips. "And I love you."

She kissed him back, sighing happily as her hands went up to cup his cheeks.

"I think about you every day," he whispered, pressing a warm hand against her shoulder, heating her up as he did so.

She smiled broadly, tugging him back down to lay next to her. "You're wonderful."

"You're wonderful," he replied with a smile, running his hand down her stomach.

She snuggled into his side, closing her eyes. "...Zuko?" she asked after several minutes of comfortable silence.

"Yeah?" He raised a brow at her.

She opened her eyes again and looked up at him. "I hate to bring this up again..." she began hesitantly. "But... about you going to see Light, earlier..."

"I know you don't like him, but he is my best friend... Can you maybe just try ignoring him?" she asked beseechingly. "It bothers me that the two of you are always feuding over something."

"I'll ignore him when he pulls that stick out of his fucking ass," Zuko snapped, frowning and crossing his arms across his chest. "But yeah, I'll ignore him like the little fucking speck in my life that he is."

"Zuko, please," she said, clearly unhappy. "I mean it, it hurts that neither of you is even willing to try, even just for my sake."

"I can try," he said after a long moment of silence. "But that's all I really can do. Sometimes people just can't get along, babe."

"I know," she said. "So just pretend he's not even there, or something, I don't know, I just don't like seeing you fight."

"Fine," he agreed, but his tone held bitterness to it. "I'll think of something." Still a bit annoyed at the fact it had to be brought up again, he slunk down and did the turtle thing again. In fact, if he were an animal he'd probably be a snapping turtle. A snapping turtle that breathed fire. Which would've been awesome, by the way.

She chewed on her lip for a moment. She could tell she'd upset him. "Thank you," she said softly, running a hand down his arm and twining her fingers with his. "I'm going to say the same thing to him, too, so don't think it's just you getting yelled at."

"Glad to know you're an equal opportunist," he said slyly, then flipped over a bit so he was on top of her. "Spank him too, I bet he'd like that."

"Zuko," she said, her tone scolding, though she didn't mean it.

"What?" he shrugged.

"I know you're not serious," she said, reaching up to tug playfully on his hair.

"I'm not," he replied with a smirk, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "But what if I was?"

"Mmm, well." She smirked back. "You know I like it rough."

"You can spank me too if you'd like," he grinned, wiggling his butt a little.

She pulled on his hair again, giggling. "Or I could just leave you hanging."

"No...." he whined softly, pouting. "Please don't."

Her expression softened. "How about if for tonight you just hold me and I tell you I love you a million times?"

"I'd like that..." he purred, nuzzling against her neck. "As long as I can touch you."

"Sounds like a deal," she said, pulling him down next to her and curling up against his chest. "Mmm. Love you."

"Love you too," he whispered, trailing his hand down her shoulder, along her side, and then rested it on her hip.

Ginny gave a catlike yawn and closed her eyes, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "G'night, lover."

"M'night..." he replied, closing his eyes and snuggling up against her, letting her fall asleep in his arms... Where he felt she will forever belong.