"Ah," Iroh breathed in deeply just as the ship left the port, "back at sea again." He didn't look too thrilled about it; however, you knew he was simply trying to make the best of the situation. You sighed along with him and leaned against the rails, looking out at the vast ocean stretched before you. It went on forever.
"At least I don't get seasick anymore," You said, staring down at the peaceful water. You knew there was a storm coming; a hurricane to be exact. That explains the sudden tranquility of the environment.
"That is true." Iroh said. "I remember getting sea sick when I was at first sea. It was not a pretty sight." He chuckled. "And my nephew, when he first began this journey, he was seasick for a whole week straight. He couldn't leave his quarters without having to run right back." You pictured Zuko having seasickness. "It's a good thing he is used to the rough waters. We have been through some terrible weather."
"Have you been through storms?"
"Many, but none that were strong enough to destroy our ship or harm the crew."
"You," Zuko's sharp voice interrupted the conversation. You only glanced towards the prince only to have your shirt tugged, and found yourself being led to his quarters. Moments after, the door was closed with a business-like Zuko. "Where's the avatar now?"
"Hello to you, too." You said sarcastically, wondering why he was so rude all of a sudden. Your features softened. "What's wrong? You seem angry."
He ignored you. "Where is the avatar?"
Okay now this was weird. "Zuko? Can you answer my question?"
"I'm not angry." Zuko said stiffly, locking the door with his eyes on you. "Now tell me where the avatar is."
"He's at a port. Just head north." You said, a little nervous. What happened? Everything that just happened—the kiss and all—couldn't have been a dream, could it? "Please tell me if something is wrong. I want to help."
"You will help," Zuko said, "if you stop this."
"Stop what?"
"Someone once told me to never forget who I am." Zuko said, not meeting your eye. "I am the prince to the fire nation."
In other words: I'm not your type. I'm too good for you. You're lower than I am, therefore, we cannot be.
"When my father steps down," Zuko continued, "my country will rightfully be mine. My destiny is in my hands right now and I cannot let you or anyone else take it away from me."
You couldn't believe your ears. Yesterday he seemed so genuine and kind; now he was the old Zuko who was obsessed with his "destiny".
"You are nothing but a prisoner on my ship," Zuko concluded, hiding his expression well, "that will give me whatever information I need."
"Okay, hold on." You said shakily, holding up your arms. "What changed? Yesterday—"
"—I was a fool. I've been spending too much time with peasants that I thought I was one." Zuko said. "I almost stooped to their level, but I cannot forget who I am. I can't." His mother told him that, but she didn't mean it like that. "My country—my father would be appalled if I ever took interest in an airbender."
"Oh really?" Your voice rose to hysterics. "So you kissed me these last few days and acted all happy, and now you're a heartless prince again?" Your hands were trembling.
"You don't understand," Zuko softened up, getting genuine again. He did care about you; but he had thoughts other than his own. "In the future, my country will depend on me. I have a duty, a duty to find someone who is at my same level to, uh, get married to. You don't…exactly meet that category." He winced, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly like any typical teenage boy would do. "You wouldn't understand. There's so much responsibility to me, so much expectations."
"Gee, so you think I'd marry a criminal off the street?" You snapped. "You don't think I have expectations?"
"No," Zuko said quickly, "that's not what I meant. Look, this is, er, really hard for me to explain. I think I kind of find you nice and all, but I had a dream last night."
"You had a dream?" You shot him a sour look and tapped your foot. "Enlighten me."
"I had a dream of someone very special to me." He looked down, away from your gaze. "Of my mother. The last thing she said was to never forget who I am. I'm not suitable for you. I have a whole country set for me, for my control. I have to grow into a fitting ruler in order to keep it the best, as it's always been. I can't escape my duties just because…"
"Because what?" You probed, feeling so insulted that tears were betraying your voice and clouding your vision. Angry tears. "I like you Zuko, even how mean you were to me. Even when you gave me a black eye, I forgave you, only to what? Have you tell me this?"
"What I'm saying is, I can't be selfish." Zuko said heavily, his posture slipping. "I can't think all about myself. I have to think about my country. What's best for it. My emotions, my feelings can't get in the way." He looked you in the eye. "I can't lie and say I don't have feelings for you, but—"
"—but you love your country," you finished for him, "more than me."
"Yes." Zuko said, looking uncomfortable. "It's my destiny to rule my country. I will become the future fire lord."
That declaration brought you to your knees. You liked Zuko more than you ever should, and he just confirmed that he liked you, but he obviously didn't like you as much as you liked him. It hurt. It really did.
"I'm sorry," Zuko whispered, and it only made it worse. The tears slipped past your eyes, landing quietly on your hands. You cried silently, your shoulders shaking.
The door opened and closed shut, leaving you alone.
All you could think about was Zuko. You remembered yesterday on the beach while he talked about his sister and how you two held hands. The day before that you went out to eat lunch, and he told you about his cousin, Lu Ten. Now it was like he didn't want to get to know you anymore. He didn't want anything to do with you.
In Season 1 you knew Zuko was a mess. You knew perfectly well he was confused more than ever. In Season 1 he would choose anything for his father, for his return to him. Even you. You should've known. This was partially your fault. With this knowledge given to you, you should've been patient and waited later when Zuko was less confused. Right now wasn't the right time.
It was too fast.
Heck, Zuko probably didn't even like you. He probably just…
You stopped crying at that. Things did seem to go fast the past few days. You went from being a complete prisoner, to his kissing buddy and friend, and back to his prisoner. These were dangerous times to mess with.
All you had to do was try to keep your distance from Zuko, and respect him being confused, like Iroh was doing. If you played your cards right, Zuko would finally get over his "duties" and let his feelings flow later on.
"I have a question," You said when Zuko stormed into his quarters, looking beyond pissed off, "what do we do now?"
"Don't talk to me." Zuko snapped.
You cringed. He must've came in because the argument with his crew member. The whole talk about the safety of the crew.
"Can I still sleep on the bed?"
"As long as you shut up." Zuko went quiet. You could hear his breathing from where you lay. You wished Zuko would magically stop being so confused and realize that his father was a big jerk, and that joining the avatar was the best thing and be all nice. But you knew that time would only make things right.
Still. You couldn't help but feel sad and broken. I thought he liked me.
Zuko did get a lot of girls who liked him in the show. Jin, Song, Mai…You couldn't blame them for liking Zuko.
Silently you walked out of the room, relieved to find the door unlocked. You were met with an empty deck, with thick clouds rolling in front the distance.
Danger was approaching.
"The Fire Lord," Iroh said from your side, scaring you for the sudden noise, "is a very close minded man. I should know, I'm his brother."
You walked towards him, and you knew Iroh overheard the talk you and Zuko had earlier. "So is his son."
"No. Zuko likes you. Not much, no offense," Iroh smiled sheepishly, "but he likes you nonetheless. My nephew does not have that much experience with girls, and he isn't very interested at the time. His little sister made it worse by playing tricks on him and such. Unlike my brother, I support the idea of liking whoever you like, whether or not they are part of the royal family. My brother has taught my nephew that you must marry someone with fire nation blood or else it's a bad example for the country." Iroh winked mischievously. "When I was younger, and bound to be the heir of the throne, I ignored my own father's rules and had some relationships with people who I liked. I remember this one servant girl who I had spent some time with, she was extremely nice. We ended it shortly because my mother found out, and she forbade us from seeing each other. I was broken hearted, but unlike Zuko, I still thought it was right for me to like whoever I wanted. So even now, whenever I see a pretty face I cannot keep myself from admiring it."
"He obviously doesn't like me." You admitted. "It must be hormones. I mean, a week ago me and Zuko were at each other's throats. The past few days we were the exact opposite. Now we're like strangers all over again."
"My nephew is loyal. He's the most loyalist person I know. He is loyal to his country, to his morals, to his father." Iroh smiled. "That is an honorable trait, I believe. However, following what you feel is sometimes for the better. He finds this whole 'relationship' going against everything he stands for."
"You're wrong," You said, shaking your head, "he just doesn't like me as much as I like him."
"Well," Iroh said, looking over at the storm clouds, "we'll have to see about that."
The door to Zuko's quarters opened, and you heard Zuko walk across the deck, looking at the storm clouds. The soldiers all walked up to the desk, noticing the clouds as well.
Lieutenant Jee was the first to speak. "Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all."
Iroh quickly stepped in. "Lucky guess."
Zuko crossed over to Jee, glaring at him threateningly, "Lieutenant, you better learn some respect, or I will teach it to you."
As Zuko walked away, Jee said, "What do you know about respect? The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard working crew to your esteemed uncle shows you know nothing about respect. You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?"
You and Iroh both cringed at that, especially when Zuko stopped shortly.
Both of the men turned around, positioning them into fire bending stance, ready to fight at any given second. Iroh quickly broke them apart.
"Easy now." Iroh said, holding up his hands to calm the men.
He broke apart their movements, saying, "Enough! We are all a bit tired from being at sea for so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles everyone will feel better."
The men glare at each other, and then walked away. You watched Zuko grumble something to Iroh, and then his eyes flicked to you. You quickly looked away, over at the clouds. They were closer now than before.
Only minutes later, the sky was dark and everything was a mess.
The ship was rocking with so much force that it was hard to stay upright. You held onto the metal railing with as much strength as you could, praying your wouldn't go overboard. Lighting raged above, and the rain was thick and heavy, matching the waves that wrecked havoc on the poor ship. The wind itself was strong enough to knock it all over.
A wave of water drenched you. Again. Couching, you tried to blink, but the salt water made your eyes burn. Your vision was blurry, but you could still recognize Zuko right across from you.
"Where were we hit?" You vaguely heard Zuko shout, his voice drowned out in the wind.
"I don't know!" Jee replied.
"Look!" Iroh shouted.
"The helmsmen!" Zuko said, heading right to where the man was hanging.
You watched along with the other crew members as Zuko climbed up the ladder and saved the man's life. It was the most honorable thing you had ever witness so far, and it made you smile, despite how much Zuko hurt you. Even though he was rude and always angry, he still had compassion. He just didn't know how to show it. Yet.
Then you heard someone scream, but only you seemed to hear it.
The solder, the one whose birthday it was, was hanging off the railing. You didn't hesitate to grab his wrist and try to bring him up, but he was heavier than you thought. Or, more likely, you were weaker than you thought.
"I'm slipping!" He said, his hand slipping from yours. Gritting your teeth, you pulled with as much strength you possessed and managed to pull him high enough to where his feet could catch the railing. He pulled himself over, diving onto the floor without a care.
He didn't even have time before a strong gust of wind knocked you off your feet, and the ship took an unexpected dip in the water from a wave. You were in the air, and hit some compartment of the ship roughly. Your shoulder screamed in pain, and you tried to regain your position. The ship leveled out again, and you fell back to the deck on your back, the wind getting knocked out of you.
"Namiko!" Iroh's voice caught your attention.
Your vision swayed. Everything seemed distorted.
Iroh's face was hanging over you, looking over you in worry. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." You said, your voice scratchy.
You were shocked to see Iroh roughly shoved to the side, and Zuko taking his place. He looked worried. Very worried. "Namiko, what happened?"
"Nothing." You lied. "I'm fine."
"Don't lie to me!"
"I'm—" You started coughing violently. Covering your mouth, you rolled onto your stomach as you coughed. Your throat felt dry.
The ship tilted, and you and Zuko slid to the railing. You were too weak to even sit up, and your shoulder felt like it was knocked out of place. It probably was.
Zuko looked a mess. He looked like he was panicking. There was nothing he could do. He couldn't just magically stop the storm and make things all better. You would just have to withstand it.
However, he did do one thing that surprised you. He crouched over you protectively, shielding your body from harm. You couldn't believe it. He did like you. If he didn't, he would leave you to fend for yourself. But here he was, taking care of you when you couldn't take care of yourself.
After awhile of accident after accident, the ship reached the eye of the storm. All was calm. The waves were nonexistent and the sky was partially sunny, even though the clouds surrounded you.
"The avatar!" Zuko exclaimed when Appa burst out of the water. He and Aang shared a stare-down.
"What do you want to do, sir?" Jee asked.
"Let him go." Zuko said, looking back down at you. "We need to get this ship to safety."
"Then," Iroh spoke up, "we must head directly to the eye of the storm."
Once the ship was safe, you slept for awhile, and Zuko hasn't bothered you once. Maybe he was still set on staying away from you and all.
Iroh had bandaged your shoulder. It was knocked out of its socket, but he knocked it back. Of course it was a very painful process, and you screamed and cried. That was why you did it with just you and him in the room—no soldiers or Zuko. Surely they would think you were weak for crying, but to be honest, you never felt pain like this before. No hospitals, no luxuries. Nothing but a ship and Iroh.
The door opened, and somehow you knew it was Zuko. You kept your back to him, your eyes still raw from crying from the shoulder.
He sat on the bed in front of you, catching your attention.
"Hm?" You uttered, giving him a confused look. "Let me guess. You want to know where the avatar is."
"I'll find that later." His voice said, softly. "But right now…I just wanted to say I'm sorry." You couldn't even blink before you felt him kiss you, and then he was gone.
A/N:
Okay, so I was worried sick over the story. I thought I had ruined it from the last chapter D: So I HAD to write up the next to somehow fix it, and I think I did^^ Let me know what you think people! I stayed up late, really late, even though I have school tomorrow, to write this :)