Chapter 12: Nighttime Relaxation

Rating: T

Chapter 12 of the story for your reading enjoyment. Starting to get less confident with keeping them in character, so tell me if I messed up on this. Weird that I was originally planning this to be like 5 chapters, and now it might actually get up to 20 chapters or so. Planning out the whole end of the series with this new angle in my head. Anyway, this one is just another chapter of (hopefully) sweet moments with the two. Thoughts welcome as always. Enjoy.


Swallowing the small lump that found its way into his throat, Zuko looked down into the girl's soft sea blue eyes, the clear bluish color piercing through the darkness around them with an eerie brightness. Moving his hands from their perch upon her wrists, the scarred teen placed the calloused palms upon her soft cheeks, stroking the smooth skin with his thumbs as his fingers casually ran through her hair.

He could barely see as she nuzzled her head into the soft touch, her lips pulling into an almost embarrassed, shy smile. Gently his right thumb began to trace across the impossibly soft pair of rubies beneath her clear eyes, the soft lips parting ever so slightly at his soft touch.

Eyes locking to one another, he felt his head begin to lean down, intent on closing the short distance between them. Breathing quickened slightly as their lips drew closer together, each set of eyes closing as their warm breaths mingled. Two separate breaths became one, his lips brushing lightly across her own. A short surge of warmth passed through each of them, a moment of sweet bliss in their minds.

A sudden noise rumbled through the room, breaking the pleasant air between the two. A loud, dull growling sound sounded from the young man. Two pairs of eyes shot open, one in surprise, the other in abject embarrassment. The girl's ruby toned lips pulled into a smile, a short fit of laughter beginning to spill from them.

"I guess there's some things all guys have in common," Suki joked, her crimson cloth brushing against the polished wooden floor as she pulled back into a sitting position. Zuko removed himself from atop the younger girl, hand idly clutching at his uncooperative stomach.

"Didn't have any breakfast this morning," he reasoned, a deep sigh escaping his lips as he cursed his stomach for its undeniable honesty. The young man listened as the girl continued to laugh, any romantic mood having been killed by the sudden sound from his emptied stomach.

His laughing picked up where hers left off, a second growling sounding from within the girl's own core. Soft skin flushing red, she rubbed her hand embarrassedly over her own stomach, eyes showing with helpless acceptance at the calls of her own body.

"Guess that makes two of us," she said, offering the young man a smile as he nodded, each settling on finding something to eat. "Don't suppose you can cook anything?" she asked, straightening her clothing as she brought herself to her feet.

"That was always uncle's job. And now I've gotten used to Katara's cooking," he said, the mention of the young water bender dampening the mood between them further. Silence passed between them for a moment, before Suki artificially brightened herself up.

"Well, I know how to cook a little bit. Not as good as her, I'm sure, but it'll get something in our bodies," she said, starting off towards the kitchen. Before he could muster any sort of response, the girl had slipped into the darkness beyond his room. He barely stifled a small chuckle as the girl bumped into a small table lining the adjoining corridor, her muttering of discomfort sounding oddly in his ears.

Taking a few steps forward, the young man made his way past the entrance to his well decorated room. A snap of his fingers produced a small flickering light atop a nearby candle, the girl grumbling unhappily as she turned back towards him. Shuffling her feet, she approached the young man, a slight wince of pain upon her soft features. She nodded in some embarrassment as she took hold of the candle holder before heading back down the hall.

As the crimson clad girl disappeared into the kitchen, Zuko became aware of the encroaching darkness, the soft rays of moonlight disappearing temporarily behind a dark cloud. Willing a small flame into the palm of his hand, he took a deep, calming breath as he headed in the opposite direction from where the younger girl had gone.

His footsteps sounded heavily against the well kept wooden floors, each step bringing another portrait or painting into view. Memories of a wholly different childhood, of loving parents and a merely somewhat annoying little sister. His steps stopped as he came to a painting of his mother, a pang of hurt passing through his chest at the sight of the young looking woman.

A small smile crossed his lips as thoughts of his kind hearted mother washed over him. How he would run to her for nearly any inconvenience thrown in his way, usually relating to Azula in one way or another. The pang of grief grew as he recalled how hurt he had been to discover that she had disappeared into the night so many years ago.

Tearing his vision from the darkly inked painting, Zuko stalked down the hall further, sliding open the door to the outside as he reached the end of it. Taking a few steps, he dropped into a sitting position at the edge of the wide porch, his feet brushing against the soft blades of unchecked grass that grew right up to the home.

Turning to his right, he leaned against a nearby post, one leg pulled up near his chest as the other hung loosely over the edge. Wind ruffled his hair and loose fitting pants, as well as the grass at his feet. The harmless vegetation tickled the soles of his feet, yet no smile found its way to his lips as he gazed up at the endless night sky.

The familiar pricks of light joined with their larger brother, looking down on the Earth beneath them with an imagined superiority. To look on them, Zuko felt as though he could simple reach out and pluck the tiny lights from the sky, remove them for anyone but himself to look at.

Cool breezes continued to whip at his bare top half, small goose pimples dotting his skin as he basked in the slight chill. Golden eyes closed, his mind trying to recreate the image of the vast expanse of sky against his eyelids, to no affect. Hanging his right arm limply off of his knee, he shifted his gaze downward, watching the blades of grass sway back and forth along with the breeze.

For only a moment, the first he could recall in a long while, the young man allowed himself to forget all about the war, or his homeland or anything to do with the Avatar. He let the peace and tranquility of the moment fill him, the fire of anger and frustration dulling, leaving only the natural heat of his element in his blood.

Slowly, a smile crept along his face, his stomach's growling echoing loudly in his ears as he awaited the bit of food from the young Kyoshi girl. Zuko wondered mindlessly what kind of food the girl might prepare, but found that he was simply hungry for whatever might put a stop to his stomach's annoying growl.

Scanning around the widely opening view, he let his gaze rest on a soft almost imperceptible glow from the distant beach. Soft black smoke billowed from the orange-yellow glow, and he figured that would be where the Avatar and his friends were enjoying their time on the beach… away from him.

That thought sent a short bit of guilt through him, his face seemingly throbbing in response to the memory. The way the Water Tribe boy had pounded him had surprised him, but he could understand it. He had nearly done a similar thing, and for far less serious an offense. So he could not begrudge the younger boy some uncontrolled emotions.

"Dinner's ready," he was brought from his short lived thought by the girl's soft voice, followed by a warm plate of food pressed against his forehead. A small wince of pain sounded from his lips as he took possession of the plate, the girl giggling a bit as she leaned against the post opposite him.

"Looks pretty good," he said, appraising the dishes covering the plate. A small serving of meat and some assorted vegetables, nothing too fancy or complicated. Taking hold of the fork held in place beneath the food, he took s careful bite of the food, eyes wandering a bit to the side as he waited for the poison to kick in.

"Well, how is it?" she asked, a bit of nervousness on her voice as her brows fell wider apart, eyes alight with worry as he went silent for a moment. For another moment, nothing was said, Zuko's soft chewing the only sound between them. Finally, he swallowed before dropping the fork in for another serving.

"Tastes fine to me," he said, offering the girl a reassuring smile as he took a bite of the small leg of meat. He felt a bit of surprise that there was any meat left in the house, Sokka's tastes being well known among the entire group. The young man found the meal to be quite to his tastes, not too spicy but not too bland. Casting an appraising glance at the young warrior, he thought that she held quite a talent in many areas.

The pair of teens ate in silence, their feet occasionally bumping against one another's as they stretched them out in front of their bodies. After a few minutes, they both finished, setting the plates atop one another a short distance away.

"Thanks for that, Suki. I didn't even realize how hungry I was," Zuko said, smiling as he pat his stomach in appreciation. The girl nodded simply, a small smile crossing her face at the easily offered compliment.

"No problem. It wouldn't be very good if you were to starve yourself or something," she joked, nudging him playfully with her foot. Zuko smiled at the young girl, before his gaze shifted off back towards the beach. He noticed that the orange glow had died down, a small trail of smoke billowing upward then disappearing as he figured the group had gone to sleep for the night.

The young Prince felt his lips fall into a frown, the memories of the day once again weighing heavily on him. But he did not get a chance to start feeling down, as he felt the girl's warm, soft hand on his cheek. Blue green eyes watched him sadly, unasked questions glowing behind shimmering sapphires.

"Oh, sorry. Guess I'm still feeling a little woozy," he said, gently taking her hand from his face, their fingers entwining as she took a seat next to him. Her warmth filled his body, a strange feeling for one whose element was the very embodiment of heat and life.

"More like you're feeling bad about what happened," she said, Zuko sighing at how easily she had already seen through him. "Have you thought about what you're going to do now, Zuko?" she asked, his good brow rising as he turned to look at her fully.

"What do you mean?" he asked, a momentary sense of confusion passing over him at the auburn haired girl's question. He was not one to make plans on every little thing, often going with the flow in almost any situation.

"Well, about Aang," she said, as though it should have been obvious what she was referring to. A veritable moment of clarity passed over the young man at the mention of the younger boy. He had nearly forgotten all about the kid, and the role he was to fulfill.

"I don't know. What can I do?" he asked, looking for honest guidance from the young girl at his side. She drew her lips together as though in thought, her fingers thumping against the firm wood beneath her.

"Knowing you, you'd still try and teach him fire bending even if he says no, right?" she said, her lips parting in a bright smile as she leaned her head lazily against his shoulder. Looking up at the sky, she watched the gentle twinkling of the stars above, their faint light lost in the flood of pale glowing from the moon.

"You know me so well. I promised I would teach Aang fire bending, so I will teach him fire bending," he said, wrapping a comforting arm around the girl. His natural warmth prevented the chill of the beach night from affecting them, the pair sitting together as though at a simple picnic beneath the stars.

"Even if that means having to deal with Katara and Sokka?" she asked, a bit more hesitance to her voice at the mention of the two Water Tribe siblings. Zuko fell silent for a moment, like he was actually considering what he would do about those two.

"Yeah… I can't avoid them since they are his best friends. I think I'm a little lucky, though," Zuko said simply, a bit of a sarcastic grin crossing his lips as he thought out his next statement.

"How are you lucky? I mean, aside from all this," she said, nuzzling a bit closer to the young man to illustrate her point. His fingers dug gently into the soft flesh of her shoulder as he kissed her forehead, the sarcasm dropping from his smile as he held the girl close.

"No. Well, that too, but that wasn't what I was getting at. I guess I'm lucky that Aang is a talented bender, probably because he's the Avatar," he said, Suki still not quite getting how that made Zuko lucky.

"I don't get it. Seems like that would irritate you more than make you feel relieved," she reasoned, partly based on her initial impressions of the young man, and partly on his natural competitive spirit which made him such a skilled warrior in multiple disciplines.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you how uncomfortable it would be to hang around Sokka and Katara right now," he said, Suki cringing a bit at the thought, her blood heating up as she recalled the vicious things that Katara had said. How vengeful and angry she had sounded when she referred to the pair of teens.

"No kidding," she said simply, feeling an odd tension in her fingers as they involuntarily curled into fists.

"Well, for Aang to take out the Fire Lord, there's really only one more technique that I can teach him that he needs," he reasoned, Suki again not sure where he was going. The young man rolled his eyes a bit as he continued. "Aang needs to learn how to redirect lightning," he said, the girl's eyes shifted a bit.

"Redirect lightning? You can do that?" she asked, surprise clear on her voice as she shifted in his arms, looking up into his bright golden eyes.

"Yeah. Otherwise I'd never have a chance against Azula," he said, Suki's eyes narrowing at the mention of the Fire Princess, thoughts of her cruelty and her evil laugh all flooding back at once.

"Anything that helps you beat that wench sounds good to me, but wouldn't it also be useful to teach Aang how to make lightning?" she asked, mildly regretting asking the question at the sorrowful look in his eyes.

"It's alright," he said, catching her regret as he gazed at her. "My uncle tried to teach me the technique once, but I could never master it," he explained. He told her how one needed a lack of emotions and peace of mind to use the technique, the second condition immediately flagging as the reason he could not perform the technique at that time.

"Well, do you think you could do it now?" she asked, his eyes widening a bit at the question.

"What do you mean?" he asked, knowing what she was getting at.

"Well, you seem to have a lot more peace of mind recently than you did in the past. So, do you think you could create lightning if you tried it now?" she asked, the thought traveling through his mind almost visible behind the glowing yellow toned eyes.

"I don't know… I guess it's possible, but for right now I want to focus on teaching Aang the last technique I actually do know," he said, somewhat jokingly. Suki shrugged against him, figuring that there was plenty of time for him to get mentally prepared for something like that.

"Whatever you think is best. Do you think I should come with you tomorrow?" she asked, the implication clear as she thought about how harassing Katara and Sokka might be to the once banished Prince.

"Do you want to? I'd hate for you to get into another argument with either or both of them," he responded, thinking he had gotten her into enough trouble by dragging her down with him.

"No way am I going to just let them lay into you. Last thing we need is you losing your cool and burning the whole island down," she teased, smirking at the light growl that emanated from deep within his throat.

"Give me a little more credit than that," Zuko gruffed, knowing that in his younger days such a thing might have been a distinct possibility.

"Aww come on, lighten up Zuko," Suki said, listening to the barely audible sound of the rolling surf, imagining the white foam as it washed up on the sandy beach. The sound of his beating heart began to replace the soft sound, the rise and fall of his chest relaxing against her slender frame.

The two sat in comfortable silence, each imagining the awkwardness that was likely to ensue at Zuko's next fire bending lesson with the Avatar. Two bodies leaned in together, their warmth increasing as skin came into contact with skin. Hard, toned muscle brushed against soft, supple curves increasing the shared warmth.

"Zuko?" Suki asked after a moment, her voice trailing off a bit as she spoke.

"Hmm? What is it?" he asked, feeling the silky softness of her reddish brown hair against his bare skin. The short hair looked so tantalizing as it caught the faint rays of the moon's light, the celestial light continuing its steady race across the sky. Black illuminated by pure white, the night passed undisturbed beyond the beach house that the two found themselves sharing all on their own.

"How did you get to be, you know, good?" she asked, not ever having been clear on how such a transformation had come about. The girl looked into his golden toned eyes as she awaited a response, hoping it had not been a bad question to ask.

"My uncle," he answered simply, a wry smile pulling its way across his lips with the memory of the older gentleman. "He was always trying to help me, even when I wasn't willing to accept it. I guess it just took a little bit of time for his lessons to get through to me," he spoke, his voice dropping to a steady pitch as he spoke, his words ringing pleasantly in the girl's ears.

"Do you think you'll ever meet him again? I assume there are all kinds of things you want to say to him," she reasoned, her arm finding its way around his waist as he leaned back. Soon she found herself lying atop the young man, his hands folded behind his head as her head rested against his strong chest.

"I'm sure I will. Destiny is a funny thing, but it's something we make for ourselves. I always used to think that someone else could restore my honor, or that I was held to some destiny decided for me by my father, but I know better. If it takes me forever, I'll find my uncle, and make peace with him," he answered resolutely, his eyes focusing on a random pin prick in the night sky above him.

"That's a nice sentiment," she said, placing her face right above his, the locks of auburn tinted hair falling around her face blocking his view of the sky. Shifting his eyes, he looked into the barely visible blue spheres, his body warming a bit as she pressed down a bit harder against his body.

"I can't take credit. My uncle is the one who always said it," he responded, removing one hand from behind his head, stroking the girl's cheek softly before cupping her chin. Tilting it down, he let the appendage wander across the exposed skin of her back, pulling her body down further on top of his.

"Well, it's still a nice sentiment. And I'd love to help you find your uncle, Zuko, even if it takes forever," she said, her bluish eyes shimmering a bit with the light layer of tears coating the bright sapphires. Zuko felt himself smile as he leaned up, closing the remaining distance between the pair as their lips drew together.

The young Prince felt the girl's strong legs on either side of his waist, her light frame grinding almost playfully against his. Sliding his other hand from its perch behind his head, the scarred Fire Nation royal let both sets of fingers roam across her impossibly soft body, delighting in each curve and each new expanse of silky smooth softness as much as he had the first time.

As his hands rested upon her inviting hips, Zuko let his tongue slip past her velvety lips into her warm mouth. Her own tongue offered its resistance, rubbing easily against his as her lips opened further. Soft moans began to escape from deep within the younger girl, each sensual sound caught in his mouth as they lost themselves in the intense warmth and pleasure of the other.

His strong hands traveled up slowly along her back, her body seemingly attempting to lean into him further as the warm digits traced each small bump along her spine, brushing against the surrounding muscles at the small of her back. Up past her shoulders, his fingers finally rested once more in the thick locks of rust tinted hair, gently pulling her lips harder against his own.

After a few breathless minutes, the two pulled apart, cheeks mutually flushed as the girl found herself in a most precarious position upon the young man's waist. Zuko let his fingers linger across her soft lips, the full bits of flesh parting slightly as he teased her knowingly.

"I've been meaning to ask, but how did you get so good at this? It's almost unfair," she said, feigning frustration at the way he was able to draw even the smallest pleasures from her body.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday," he teased in return, eyes sparking with mirth as he moved to stand, the girl refusing to move until he answered. Golden spheres narrowing, the young man gathered a firm grip on her hips, holding her tightly against him as he pulled himself to his feet. It was a more difficult task to manage with the girl in his arms, but he smirked as he managed the feat.

"No fair," she said, more honest frustration as she slipped from his grip, rubbing a bit of soreness from her legs' disuse over the preceding bit of time. Zuko took a single breath before leaning down, taking the dishes in hand.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said gently, offering her a sweet, chaste kiss as he disappeared into the beach house. As she watched him slip into the darkness, Suki had a near wicked moment of thought, hurrying into the house towards the future Fire Lord's bed chamber.

Dropping the dishes into the sink with a loud thunk, Zuko washed a bit of water over the food covered platters. Not wanting to really do any cleaning at that moment, he decided to let them sit in the clear water overnight, and worry about them in the morning.

Throwing his arms over his head, the young man felt a yawn hurryingly extricate itself from his lips, filling the hall with the sound of exhaustion as he walked down the corridors. Knowing the structure as he did, he managed to navigate well enough without preparing a light to walk by.

A surge of relief washed over him as he clicked the door closed behind him. Leaden footsteps sounded heavily on the polished floorboards as he approached the dresser. Opening a black toned drawer, he pulled out a simple shirt for sleep before closing the drawer.

"Aww, but you look fine without a shirt on," Suki's silky smooth voice sounded from his bed, drawing his attention right towards her. The girl had removed most of her clothing, her slender frame draped in one of his own shirts. He was a bit speechless at the sight of the girl, drawing a light giggle from her.

"But… why are you…?" he began to ask, the girl pushing the satin sheets from over her body, slender fingers tracing small circles on the bed next to her.

"Come on, Zuko. I don't bite or anything," she teased, shooting the boy an honest smile as she settled into bed. With a sigh of defeat, the young man instead dropped the shirt on top of the fine black dresser, making his way back to bed.

Crawling beneath the blood colored sheets, he felt the girl's distinct curves press up against his back, her arm snaking around his waist as she pulled him closer to her. Her breaths tickled the back of his ear, a mirthful smirk apparent on her ruby lips as she molded herself against him.

"Good night, Zuko," she whispered in his ear, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek as she closed her eyes.

"Good night," he whispered in return, a smile gracing his lips as he too closed his eyes. He knew the next day would be a chore to deal with, but he was used to difficulties of a much harsher nature.

'Besides,' he thought to himself with a smile, ' she'll be there to help out.'


Just wanted to end this one with a sweet little moment. Next chapter Zuko teaches Aang the technique for redirecting lightning, and another night of sweet conversation between Zuko and Suki (just can't get enough of it) before getting to the events in Sozin's Comet. Please don't hesitate to tell me if I am ruining the characters and stuff like that. Until next time, good readers.