disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!

Fire II

"I don't know about this… these clothes belong to somebody." He muttered.

"I call the silk robe!" She hopped over the ridge to go snag the intended article of clothing.

Both earth-benders shook their heads before following with the boys joining in.

She tilted her head to the side briefly before grabbing a pair of pants, a longsleeve shirt and a maroon tunic plus gold sash, scampering off after her friends back to the cave.

Friends… It sure felt weird having friends.

Changing quickly, she reached into the inner folds of her old tunic and pulled out her still-usable hair tie, tying her hair back into a small ponytail like Sokka.

Ayu meowed when she spotted her, hopping into her arms.

"You look comfortable." Katara pointed out as she came forward in the silk red skirt and blouse that only had a sleeve on the left shoulder, fixing her mane of brown hair.

Mariko smiled wryly, "You look pretty; it's a wonder you're from the South Pole," she returned, folding her arms at her chest, setting the cub down to go play with the lemur and bison.

"Is it irony that one of you looks girly and the other looks like a boy?" Sokka wondered blandly.

His sister made a face; the earth-bender rolled her eyes and stomped her left heel into the ground, making a bump shoot up from the earth and throw him off-balance. Both girls laughed as he fell over.

"It's a lot easier if I look like a boy, trust me; I'm still considered a fugitive to the Fire Nation, y'know." She mused dryly.

"Hm, I should probably wear shoes, but then I won't be able to see as well… Sorry, shoes!" Toph forced the soles out from her shoes, one hitting Sokka right in the face. "Finally! A stylish shoe for the blind earth-bender."

"So, how do I look?" Katara wondered of the trio.

Aang blushed at noting how pretty she looked, before noticing her necklace. "Your mother's necklace." He said.

"Oh, yeah. I guess it's pretty Water Tribe, huh?" She mused, pulling it off and looking at it with a sad expression.

::::::::x-x::::::::

He smiled lightly, "I enrolled in a Fire Nation school."

She spat out her tea, making the cub at her side growl and scamper off to hide with the bison. "You're not serious…" She began, wiping her mouth gingerly.

"There's nothing wrong with getting to know them, right? Besides, didn't you go to Fire Nation school too?" The boy shrugged, meeting her amber eyes.

Mariko nodded slightly, rubbing her temples. "I was forced to, there's a big difference. And anyway, it's not exactly a safe environment, especially for air-benders posing as Fire Nation kids. Aang, please tell me you don't intend to go back…" She'd barely scraped by in that damn school, and now he was thrown into it?

"Aang, I'm trying to be really mature about this and not shoot down your idea, but it sounds terrible." Sokka chimed in from having fallen over comically moments ago as they seated themselves around the campfire.

Toph added, "Yeah, we got our outfits; what do you need to go to school for? You coulda had sword girl here teach you on Fire Nation etiquette or whatever it is they're teaching instead of going there."

"Every minute I'm in that classroom I'm learning so many new things about the Fire Nation. I even have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai," he showed them a painted portrait of the Fire Lord, and then another one made out of noodles. "And here's one I made out of noodles."

"It's a damn shame an evil jerk like that is my future father-in-law…" Mariko grumbled, scritching the back of her head.

"WHAT!?" All four teenagers exclaimed, overhearing her.

She blinked before her cheeks turned dark pink and she took a generous sip from her tea, saying nothing.

"H-hang on, your father-in-law… You're engaged to Zuko!?" Aang broke the stunned silence first, balking at the idea.

Mariko put down her tea cup. "It was an arranged marriage; we were betrothed when we were seven. Why, what the hell's wrong with it?" She asked cattily, glancing at him.

"Nothing's wrong with it. It's just… Are you two still engaged, even though he's… y'know, and you're here?" Again the air-bender questioned, sweatdropping at the slightly annoyed look she sent.

"Uncle Iroh said the laws didn't change; unless one of us dies or demands the deal be cut off, we're legally engaged." She informed quietly, looking at the flames.

"All this time, I didn't know… That's why you took it the way you did, when he left." Katara said on a slightly gentler note, looking down as well. "I'm sorry, Mariko."

"Don't feel pity for me, I'm fine with it. And anyway, how'd this turn on me? Aang's the one who enrolled himself in How-to-Dominate-the-World-101 school." Mariko waved it off, looking to said air-bender again.

"Right; taking a detour from Fire-Nation-Dramacon, I still think it's too dangerous." Sokka took the lead, following her gaze (and ignoring the glare from said earth-bender).

"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river, then," Aang mused, looking down, "It goes right to the Fire Lord's palace; we were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow…" He looked to the older boy hopefully.

"I am a fan of secret rivers… Fine, we'll stay a few more days." Sokka complied after thinking it through.

"Flame-o, Hotman!" Aang beamed.

Mariko slapped her forehead, shaking her head. "Aang, noone says 'Hotman' in the Fire Nation. You're gonna stand out like an even bigger sore-thumb if you keep that up." She reproached patiently.

"Really? Oops… Um, thanks for the head's up, Mariko." He smiled sheepishly.

She sighed, getting another cup of tea. "Don't mention it; just don't blow your cover, whatever you do."

Inconspicuous wasn't really his middle name, if she thought on it…

"Forget it, I'll solve this myself!" He glanced back to see his back was still facing him; he stormed out of the prison cell and down the hall.

'You know you can't do it alone.' Her voice hummed softly in the back of his head.

Shut up, Mariko, he inwardly snapped, shutting his eyes tight.

Her warm amber eyes gleamed happily in his mind, her pale face smiling, framed by the shoulder-length mane of curly hair he always liked…
No, not now. Not when he had turned his back on her.

'Zuko.'

The prince continued back to the palace, feeling more confused and alone than he had since coming home.

"He's actually a good dancer," she noted, sipping her drink, watching the kids dance, swerving and moving and seeming to be having fun while doing it.

Both earth-benders had decided to sit on the sidelines and simply observe; Toph for obvious reasons, Mariko because she didn't want to be known… Not really.

"Wow, they look good together." Sokka noted as they watched the air-bender dancing with a brunette girl from school.

Katara shrugged, pretending she wasn't slightly miffed, "Yeah, if you're into that kinda stuff."

Shaking her head, Mariko patted her shoulder, meeting her blue eyes. "Quit pouting and go dance with him; he's your boyfriend, technically." She smiled when the girl blushed slightly, looking at the rest of the kids as they were soon dancing like how he'd demonstrated, "Trust me on this; don't let him go, no matter what, Katara."

Taking her word and nodding slightly, she stood to go "assess" the situation.

"That was actually good advice." Sokka mused as she took his sister's seat, elbowing her.

Mariko shrugged. "Just speaking from experience. Even though things are the way they are, I have no intention of leaving. Zuko will find his way… I know it." She smiled fondly, fighting the inward shiver at saying his name for the first time in weeks.

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Glad to hear it." He said.

short chaps again from here to another few more chapters in.. sorry guys. anyway, feedback is loved as always, and thanks to whoever was the 12th follower of this story (: later!