A/N: Gah! New chappie already!
I woke up to the noises of Aang moving about the room. Just as I opened my eyes, he was pulling on his shirt. I sighed, sitting up. I'd slept extremely well, but not for long enough. Aang turned toward me, a cheerful grin plastered to his face. Gods, it was too early for that. "Morning Kat." I sniffed in response, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. He wrapped his arms around me as usual. "I'm going to go into town to see if I can find anyone to teach me earthbending basics. I'll see you later." The wooden door clicked shut behind him. Only then did I respond.
"Mmm-hmm." I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Just as I was drifting off, a knock sounded at the door. Just my luck. I jumped up, startled. It was Zuko.
"Morning." he said. Did he always wake up this early?
"Morning." I rubbed sleep from my eyes, all traces of fatigue dwindling away.
"So your brother went to go train with the girls." I stepped aside to let him in. The unscarred firebender took a seat on a green cushion around the table. I sat next to him.
"Did you guys ever get to sleep last night?" I asked. "I could still hear you guys arguing when I was falling asleep." Zuko rolled his copper colored eyes.
"I think I dozed off in the middle of being insulted." I shook my head. "So where'd Aang go?" Zuko looked around the room, seeming to expect the Avatar to leap out of nowhere.
"Looking for an earthbender." My gaze was held on the wall. I suddenly felt warmth on my waist. Zuko smiled and pulled me closer, kissing the top of my head. I guess that's why he asked where Aang was. That would be an ugly scene if he walked in right then… But I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes anyway. I listened to the gentle sound of his heart beating and felt the warmth of his body. Part of me still wondered why I was doing this, but those feelings were suddenly pushed to the far corners of my mind.
His lips covered mine again. It was deep and passionate; better than the first. My arms instinctively snaked around his neck. His strong arms pulled me closer so that I was nearly in his lap. Somehow, he managed to deepen the kiss further. I felt his tongue on my bottom lip and let it in. Our tongues began their dance and I felt faint. How could Zuko make me feel this way? It felt like electricity was running through my veins. The heat of his hands moved lower on my waist and he pulled me into his lap. He moaned, kissing me harder. His grip loosened as he pulled away, laying kisses across my cheek and neck.
"I love you." Zuko whispered, his lips tickling my ear.
"I love you too." I whispered back. He pulled me into another amazing, electrifying kiss. His lips were hot against mine and the more I got of them, the more I wanted. I felt him tease my braid out and run his fingers through my hair. He moaned again and at that instant, the door opened.
"Gods!" Fear coursed through me. I parted from Zuko and whipped around with wide eyes. There, in warrior garb… (A/N: I could end this section here, but I'm nice. : 3)was Suki. I climbed off of a frozen Zuko and stood, taking her hand pleadingly.
"Suki, please don't tell anyone." I said softly.
"Why not? Don't Aang and Sokka--"
"No! They'd kill him if they knew!" Suki just stared at me. "They're overprotective! Aang actually cursed off the last guy that flirted with me!" The warrior continued to stare. "He nearly killed him!" Suki's fingertips massaged her temples as if she had a headache. "Please…" I begged.
Her eyes shut tight. "Listen," she said slowly, "I won't tell them unless they ask. I'm not going to lie to them." I let out a breath of relief. "But they'll find out sooner or later, so don't go sneaking around behind their backs." I gave a small nod though I couldn't imagine actually telling the others about my relationship with Zuko. "Gods, I'm going to knock from now on…"
"So what did you come for?" I asked quickly, changing the subject. My cheeks were burning.
"I was going to tell you that if you and Lee want to learn our fighting style too, we'll be there until two."
"Alright. Thanks." The head Kyoshi warrior turned and shut the door behind her, still muttering and holding her head.
"I don't think we should do that for a while." I whispered, turning around. Zuko was still frozen in place, eyes focused on the ground. He gave a slight nod.
- - - - - - - - - -
Suki came back to the training room to find Sokka and another warrior standing across from one another. Neither moved. At first it was more like a staring contest. At last, the girl stepped forward. In an instant, Sokka struck, sending her to the floor. She looked up, surprised. The water tribe warrior smiled. He held out a hand to help his fallen opponent up. "What did you expect of me, traveling around the world with the most wanted kid of the Fire Nation, Kiko?" The girl smiled, brushing back her long brown hair.
"I didn't know how much you'd learned. I did the same thing to you when you first came here." Kiko said with a shrug, walking back to her place against the wall. She watched Sokka over her shoulder. This simple action did not go unnoticed by Suki.
"Hey, Suki!" Sokka said, waving to the lead warrior.
"Hi." Suki stood across from Sokka. "Let's see how much better you've gotten."
- - - - - - - - - -
"So what was the palace like?" Akuzo questioned, taking a sip of his tea. He and Princess Azula sat in her room at a small table, eating breakfast together. Azula shrugged, setting down her chopsticks.
"A maze of hallways and courtyards. I was still getting lost sometimes before I came here." She paused to sip her cup of tea. "There were always paintings and statues of the past Fire Lords and royal families around. And there were lots of gardens…" Azula trailed off, casting her gaze downward. "My mother planted them every year."
"It sounds nice." Akuzo didn't get a response. "So what was your favorite flower in the gardens?" Azula looked up, gold eyes meeting brown ones. She thought for a moment.
"Probably Fire Lilies." The captain nodded. Fire Lilies. I need to remember that… He thought. "You asked me, but I never asked you: How long have you been bending?"
"I was seven when I found out I could bend but I didn't get lessons until I was ten. My family didn't have the money." Azula nodded and a silence ensued. The captain tried to remember the last time they'd shared a silence… He couldn't remember. He and the princess had always found means of conversation.
"Akuzo, I don't mean to be rude, but what did my uncle say to you that day in the prison hold?"
Akuzo froze. "Captain Akuzo, what are your feelings about children?" He wished he could disappear into the floor. "Oh…uh, nothing, Azula." A faint blush crept over his cheeks. He focused on eating for the time being. The princess only grew more suspicious.
"Did he say something…" she trailed off. "About us dancing on Music Night?" Akuzo looked up. "Because somehow it got back to him and he was bugging me about it…" A small blush stained her cheeks as well. "Forget it." They continued their meal in silence. Akuzo couldn't help but wonder why Azula was blushing. Did her uncle say the same thing to her? In a rush, isn't he? The captain thought.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Aangy, can you do the marble trick again?" Coco asked, pulling on the Avatar's sleeve. Aang beamed and did as she'd asked, surrounding the marble with water. The small crowd of girls around him squealed in delight. Coco took his hand and pulled him toward the ocean, the others trailing behind. "Come on Aangy, I want to show you something!" The monk was curious but kept walking while the other girls pushed him forward from behind.
"Coco, what is it?"
"You'll see!" the girl said brightly. They came up to the shoreline.
"What--"
"Look!" Coco squealed, pointing out to the water. A Giant Koi fish burst from the water, gold-orange scales shimmering in the sunlight. The rest of the girls jumped up and down, marveling the creature. Several more fish broke the surface of the water. "Aangy, are you going to ride one?" The Avatar beamed.
"You bet!"
By the time Aang had had his fill of Koi riding, it was nearly noon. The girls welcomed him back to land with cheers and a suffocating hug from Coco. He dried himself with airbending and the group made their way into the town. Coco clung to Aang's arm like a duckling to its mother. She sent the other girls death glares every time they tried to get closer.
The town was bustling with shoppers, all smiling and happy. The airbender caught his eye on a blue skirt. Katara! He managed to pry himself away from the girl on his arm. "Hey, Kat!" Aang said, hugging her from behind.
"Hi, Aang." Katara continued to look at merchandise, Aang chattering on about how he'd rode a Giant Koi in the bay. Katara nodded, barely paying attention. Needless to say, neither of them saw a steaming Coco standing off in the distance, other girls edging away from her. Floozy! She thought.
- - - - - - - - - -
At two, the warriors were dismissed from their training. Several girls smiled and said good bye to Sokka, who was enjoying the attention greatly. He got several thumps on the back and quite a few compliments on a job well done. Kiko was the last to leave, wiggling her fingers in a wave on her way out. Sokka smiled and waved back. The only two left were he and Suki. "You seem popular." the lead warrior said, a hint of jealousy in her voice. Sokka shrugged.
"I guess."
"So do you want to go back to the house for a late lunch?"
"Yeah!" Sokka smiled ear to ear.
"Come on." Suki took his hand and led the way back to the house. Sokka blushed at first. Then he remembered what had happened with Suki before. The way she'd kissed him… He just smiled and kept walking, gripping Suki's hand a tad tighter. The lead warrior was the only one of them that noticed the looks she got from the other girls- especially Kiko.
- - - - - - - - - -
Aang and Zuko sat in the living room at Suki's house. Aang sat on the floor while the refugee sat on a bench near the window. The young Avatar was digging through his bag, looking for something. He pulled out a piece of wood and began whittling, cutting the wood with airbending. Zuko arched an eyebrow at the boy, but he didn't see. "So did you find an earthbender?" the exiled prince asked suddenly.
"No." Aang replied, not looking up. "I went to Suki's dad this morning to ask him if he knew any earthbenders on the island. He said there weren't any." Zuko's eye twitched as Momo leaped onto his shoulder.
"Then what were you doing all day?"
"Oh, I hung out with this group of girls and rode a Giant Koi in the bay." Zuko stared at the young boy. So he'd wasted his whole day? "What?" Aang failed to notice what he'd done.
"You played with your fan club instead of training? We could have started firebending!"
"But the Avatars have to master the elements in a cycle: water, earth, fire, and air. In my case it's air, water, earth, and fire." Zuko shook his head.
"Then why are we wasting our time here?"
Aang shrugged. "Appa needs rest. We can leave the day after tomorrow." He went back to his whittling without another word. Shaking his head, Zuko stood and left the room. There was no point in arguing over it. What was done was done. He couldn't help it if the kid was wasting time.
- - - - - - - - - -
Akuzo woke to a pecking noise on his window. His brown eyes shot open and he ran to the window to see a messenger hawk sitting outside. He opened the window and took the note, reading it quickly.
Dear Akuzo,
I received your letter and I am very happy to hear you have made friends with Princess Azula! I will make a book for her with the finest cover and pages I can afford. I'd be happy to do it for the princess. I'll have it to you in time for her birthday. Sending my wishes and regards to you both.
Love,
Your Baby Sister
Akuzo smiled broadly and fell back into his bed, clutching the note.
- - - - - - - - -
A/N: That's what Akuzo was running to his room for the day Iroh talked to him: to write a letter to his sister to ask for a book for Azula. Yeah. I hope you liked it!