Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. I own Saige and Chico.

Run Away

By FyreFlower

Happy Birthday!

Zuko woke first from the sunlight streaming in through the porthole window to shine in his face. Saige shifted in his arms, murmuring sleepily from being disturbed. Zuko smiled, Saige was sixteen today, and they were getting married on the beach today.

Zuko kissed the top of Saige's head to wake her up in her favorite way.

"Happy Birthday." He whispered softly.

"Hmm?" Saige opened her eyes and Zuko kissed her forehead again, "You're sixteen today." He informed her.

Saige smiled sleepily, "and we're getting' married."

Zuko nodded, "This is the best day ever. I get to marry you, love. And start a family." Saige sat up and stretched, yawning loudly, "You're not starting the family tonight I hope."

Zuko shrugged and grinned good naturedly, "You never know."

Someone knocked on the door. Zuko groaned, "Who is it?" (even though he had no doubt who the person was.)

"Uncle."

"What do you want?"

"To wish Saige a happy birthday."

"Not now Uncle."

"Why? Are you giving her her birthday gift now?"

"UNCLE!"

Saige got up and went to the door and opened it, "Thank you General Iroh, for the happy birthday wish." She said to the old general.

Iroh bowed, grinning as he did so, "When will you come to breakfast Miss Saige?"

Saige smiled back coyly, "When I'm done." She closed the door.

Zuko suppressed a smile and Saige smiled exasperated already, "So what's the schedule for the day oh sagacious one." She said, tapping his head in a bored manner.

Zuko pretended to think…..then gave up, "My uncle is the 'sagacious one.' Go with the flow is what he would say. He has everything planned out."

Saige got off the bed and went into the bathroom calling back over her shoulder, "I'm going to change, you might want to also. Unless you plan to go out there only wearing your pants….Which I have no objection to, by the way."

Zuko shook his head , "I'll change because its getting cold out there. Then we'll go eat Brekkers." He used one of Saige's words. He heard her cough with laughter, "F-Fhahah…Fine…alright." She managed to get out.

'You will love your Birthday present…' Zuko thought absently as he changed and washed up.

( Can any of you guess what it is? Here's a few ideas. A. A piece of jewelry. B. A car C. Flowers or D. Other?……………………….Some of the smart people out there are yelling at the screen at me. "It's a you moron!" Read further to find out what it is.)

Zuko and Saige finished and went to the galley for 'Brekkers'. Upon entering the galley, there was a big shout of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAIGE!" (Wouldn't you have loved hearing that 2 minutes after you woke up! I would've fainted from the noise! And I'm partially deaf!)

All the crewmen and friends greeted Saige with a shout, Saige back up, almost falling from the outbursts. Katara ran up and hugged her friend tightly, "16! And getting married! How do you feel?"

Saige blinked, "Overwhelmed." She laughed, then hugged Katara back, "I feel great. Thank you Kat. This is the best birthday ever!"

Zuko smiled secretly, 'I'm sure it will be'

After many "Happy Birthday wishes" Saige sat down to eat with Katara and her other friends. Zuko finished eating first, then he got up and disappeared to go get something…..

;Me;

I was to busy talking to have noticed that Zuko had left the table, he was so quiet. General Iroh came over to our table and Katara scooted aside to let the big man sit down. Iroh smiled at all of us, his jovial figure was enough to make us all smile.

"I've ordered the Pompun fruits for the wedding. The wedding will be at sunset, is that okay with you Miss Saige?" Iroh asked.

"Yes of course. Thank you for everything General Iroh."

Iroh shook his head smiling, "You may now call me Uncle Iroh, we are related now."

I smiled, "Not yet. Thank you."

I heard Katara gasp and I saw that she was looking behind me. I turned and saw Zuko carrying a box to our table. Not a very big box, a medium size one that a Microwave could fit into.

Zuko held the box out to me, "Happy Birthday Love." He set the box on the table in front of me. Aang, Sokka, and Katara crowded in close to see what it was. I looked at Zuko, unbelieving, he nodded, "Open it." He urged.

A noise came from the box on my lap, a snuffling sound.

"Open it." Zuko said again when he saw me hesitate. I looked back down at the box, and removed the lid….I gasped, "Zuko…"

That's the end of the chapter……kidding, here it is…….LOL……..read the story Dang it!

The Panyar looked up at me from inside the small box, its gold eyes gleaming with wariness at seeing a huge person looking down on it. It was a cub, a kitten, but it was the size of a full-grown house cat.

I picked the Panyar out of the box, its black fur felt like satin underneath my trembling hands. Katara, Aang, and Sokka were in awe of the little creature and I was also. It had soft black fur and golden brown spots dotted its pelt around the crown of the head, down to the back. Its tail was fluffy and the tip was shot through with gold streaks…it was beautiful! ( Leave a review if you guessed it please.)

"Oh…my God Zuko!" I breathed, "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Zuko leaned his head down and I kissed him. The little Panyar meowed, snuggling against my stomach, its little nose nudging my arm and licking it. I smiled, petting its satin fur.

"Where did you get it?" I asked, letting Katara and the others pet the little cat.

Zuko sat down beside me, moving the box out of the way, "I got her at a breeders place in the market. That is why I left by myself when we were heading back to the ship yesterday. I saw that you liked the Panyars, so I got you one. She will also protect you whenever I am not around but we will have to wait until she is full grown."

"Thank you so much Zuko! I love her!" My eyes began to water, this was the best present I had ever received except for Chico. (Who was still in Saige's room, sleeping on the back of a chair)

Aang and Sokka petted her head, Aang looked up at me, "What are you gonna name her? Name her Appaya! Like Appa!" He joked.

I smiled and thought about a name. Then came up with a good one.

"Zukia. I'll name her Zukia." I smiled up at Zuko.

"That's a pretty name." Katara commented, she petted Zukia's fur, "Hello Zukia." She cooed.

Zukia meowed.

The crewmembers came by to see her. Some of them even said that they had Panyars back at home also. Zuko and I took little Zukia to my room. Chico woke from his place on the back of the chair. I wondered how he would react to know that we have a new member to the family. I put Zukia on the bed opposite from Chico and waited.

Chico hesitated, then came forward, his natural born curiosity getting the best of him. Zukia meowed and hesitantly went over to check out Chico. Chico sniffed her and she him.

"This is Zukia, Chico. She's apart of our family now. Be nice." I said, hoping that the two would behave.

Chico reached out a small hand and petted the top of Zukia's head, and Zukia let him. I sighed in relief; they were goin' to get along. Zukia purred and curled up on the bed, Chico nestled in beside her, the lazy monkey still tired.

"Awww!" I cooed at the sight. It was so adorable. Zuko put an arm around me, " I noticed that you named her after me. Why?" Zuko squeezed my shoulder.

I looked up at him, "You are the one who gave her to me. So I named her after you. And plus.." I smiled, "She has your eyes."

Zuko looked at Zukia, who watched us with alert eyes, "She does. Then she will be my eyes, watching and taking care of you whenever I'm away. She will protect you from Zhao."

I winced at the memory of that ape. I've heard of scum of the earth, but he tops it all in my books.

"I'm glad you like her." Zuko said.

"Like her? I love her." I said truthfully.

"She needs a bed, some place to sleep. Zuki is not going to sleep in the bed with us."

I begin to look around either for a basket or something like big blankets. I found a small basket in the closet, just big enough for Zukia to fit in.

"That won't fit her for long." Zuko commented, and picked Zukia up to lay her in the basket.

"Why?"
Zuko explained, "Panyars grow very quickly. She will be full grown in about three months."

"Holy Freakin' Hog Monkeys! How long do they live?"

"They live as long as their master does. Or unless they are killed some other way. They can only have one owner in a life time."

I kneeled and petted Zukia as she purred. She tumbled out of the basket and began wandering around the room, sniffing anything that she found curious….which was everything.

"What do Panyars eat?" I asked Zuko. I bent and picked Zukia up and she purred loudly as I scratched her behind the ears.

"They at fish and meat. We have a never ending supply of fish, so that shouldn't become a problem." Zuko looked at Zukia, "Look, she's asleep." He whispered.

Sure enough, the little Panyar had fallen asleep in my arms, her little nose nestled in the crook of my elbow. Carefully, I laid her on the bed and Zuko and I left the room as quietly as we could.

Outside, the sky was clear and the sun shone brightly, chasing off the morning chilly air. We were getting close to the North Pole. Aang was getting more and more anxious, impatient to learn Waterbending. I'll be with him, I needed to learn Water bending also for mine and Aang's plan.

Zuko and I practiced Firebending out on deck until lunchtime, when it was time for lunch, I went back into the room to get Zukia and Chico and bring them to the galley to get a bite to eat.

Zukia was awake when I got in the room; she was playing with Chico on the bed, wrestling with each other. It was so cute.

"C'mon Chico, Zukia you too." They both looked up and jumped off the bed.

We went to the galley. It was funny to see Zukia trying to race Chico, both of them very competitive I could see. In the galley, I got Chico some fruit and Zukia a fish. We sat at our table where Zuko, Katara, Aang and Sokka were already eating their meal.

Katara looked up when we approached, she looked down at Zukia and smiled, "Little Zukia is following you everywhere, its cute!"

"It is, isn't it? Not much longer till the ceremony."

Aang nodded, then took a big bite out of his sandwich, "How long will it be?" He asked after emptying his mouth.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I don't know how long you people have weddings." Which was true, their ceremonies must be different from ours because of their culture.

Zuko moved aside for me to join him on the bench, "Don't worry. I'll walk you through it."

There you go. I added a new character to the gang. Zukia. The original name was Zuki but I changed it to Zukia so that less people would get Zuko and Zuki mixed up. Some of my friends kept on getting it messed up saying, "Zuko wrestling with Chico on the bed? He would squish him!" I won't tell you who said that, but you know who you are…(evil eye). Oh my GOD! I have a song stuck in my head! 'Desert Rose' By Sting. I love that song, and it keeps getting stuck in my head! First it was the Tootsie Roll song, Then "I'm in love wit a Stripper." Then "Crazy Frog" NOW ITS "DESERT ROSE!" Arrggghhh. Some one shoot me please!

Hey guess what guys! I'm going to PROM! Yes! With my Junior boyfriend CHRIS! I already got my dress, its blue spaghetti straps with a Silver Rhinestone little brooch like thing in the very center. It is so pretty! I kept saying that I felt like Janelle from "The Dark Jewels Trilogy." It looks like something she would wear. If anyone draws Zukia and send it to me by e-mail, I will love you forever. Scan it into your computer and send it in an e-mail for those who don't know how to do it. Or put it on a site and send me a link. I won't be posting the other chapter of Holy Sugar Honeyed Iced Tea for awhile, Its taking me quite awhile to do all my homework and trying not to get grounded again, So I hope you won't hate me. Tata!Bye Bye!