disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!
Fire XIII
She elbowed the air-bender as she passed by him, "Your fire-bending is getting better, Aang."
He blinked and smiled lightly at her as she plonked down next to his teacher, "Thanks, Mari."
"Yours is just as fiery as a pissy tiger-dillo, though." She added to her fiancé, ruffling his hair.
He pouted at her gesture, tossing the towel at her face, to which she grimaced and knocked it off. "Well excuse me if I'm not a strong earth-bender princess," he sniffed.
She made a face and tapped her right heel onto the ground, knocking him off his perch and onto the courtyard's floor face-first.
Aang, Toph and Katara laughed as Mariko smiled contently.
"That wasn't called for!" He hopped up to scowl at her smug amber eyes.
She kept the content smile on her lips, folding her arms. "I know, I just think it's funny to use some earth-bending tricks on you. Kinda hard to resist, really." She answered calmly.
Zuko made a face that earned a giggle from his petite earth-bender, exhaling and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I forgot how annoying it was to get knocked off my ass by your earth-bending…" He groused.
Mariko giggled, pecking his cheek sweetly and rocking back on the balls of her feet, still smug. "You're cute when you get huffy," she sang, ignoring the slight blush that made his cheeks turn pink.
"Bite me."
"Prat."
"Tomboy."
"Princeling."
"You guys aren't gonna believe this… there's a play about us!" Sokka and Suki entered the stone courtyard then, halting the barb-throwing match, Sokka in the lead.
"We were just in town and we found this poster," Suki contributed as her boyfriend flashed a large poster of said play.
"What, how is that possible?" Katara asked as she, Aang, and Toph neared them to look more closely at the poster.
Sokka started reading the promotional tag, "Listen to this: The Boy in the Iceberg is a play written by Pu Wong Tim, who scowered the globe getting information on the Avatar. From the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se, his sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and surprisingly-knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."
"Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players." Suki added.
Mariko blinked, "'Ember Island Players'?"
"Ugh, my mother used to take us to see them! They always butchered 'Love Amongst the Dragons' every year." Zuko lamented.
"So they're second-rate, I'd imagine…" His fiancé mused, seeing him nod.
Katara piped up, "Sokka, do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play that's written about ourselves?" She looked at her brother.
"Come on, a day at the theater? This's the wacky, time-wasting nonsense I've been waiting for!" Sokka said, putting on a big cheesy grin directed at both the prince and air-bender.
Both boys sweatdropped.
Katara scooted nearer to Toph as Mariko plopped down between her and Zuko.
Mariko blinked when Aang hesitated to sit on their row, offering an apologetic look when Zuko suggested he sit with Sokka and Suki, to which he did, albeit a bit crestfallen. "This should be interesting." She mused.
Zuko rolled his eyes, glancing to see the curtain rising as he noted she'd pulled her hair into a high ponytail, managing to tame some of her curly locks; he smiled inwardly at her attempt to try not to stand out.
Actress-Katara's sobbing about 'no hope' earned a few snickers (mainly from Suki, Sokka and Toph), and a snort to valiantly fight a laugh from Mariko; "Well that's stupid; I don't sound like that!" the real Katara hissed in disbelief.
"This writer's a genius," Toph laughed, folding her arms behind her head and lounging in her seat.
'Water-bend hi ya'? Mariko inwardly repeated with another outward snort, blinking once when Actor-Aang came forward… Only it wasn't a boy. She fought to keep a straight face, burying her face into his shoulder (said prince slapped his forehead) and try to stifle a laugh even as the real Aang blanched in utter horror.
"Prince Zuko, you must try this cake!" Actor-Iroh boasted from the stage after Aang's exclamation of annoyance towards the opening of the play, making both earth-bender and prince perk up.
Actor-Zuko scoffed, "I don't have time for that; I must capture the Avatar to regain my honor!" He claimed.
Mariko sweatdropped.
"Oh Prince Zuko, why regain your honor when you have me?" Actor-Mariko bounced towards Actor-Zuko; the real Mariko gaped at her portrayer's excessively-thick mane of black hair and skimpy Fire Nation outfit.
"I seriously… THAT'S CRAP!" Mariko seethed, pretending the prince next to her didn't snort. "I don't act like that!" She hissed venomously, her teeth gritted.
"I dunno, sword girl, the actor's not far off the mark," Toph snickered, ignoring the growled curse from her fellow earth-bender.
The older girl glared cold daggers at the stage before slouching in her seat, slugging her fiancé hard.
"Ow, what the hell was that for!?" He hissed, scowling at her.
"Shut up and watch the play." She ground out, folding her arms across her chest.
It was a few events later during which the trio –that is to say, Aang, Sokka and Katara—had their first run-in with Jet that she mellowed out; of course she'd elbowed the infamous 'Blue Spirit' a couple of times during the event where he'd saved Actress-Aang from Zhao's fortress.
"Don't worry, baby, I'll destroy that village just for you!" Actor-Jet proclaimed as he held onto a weepy Actress-Katara, a wave of water washing over the cardboard village as the rope they were on rose up.
"Oh Jet, you're so bad…" Actress-Katara purred.
Mariko coughed, smirking slyly over at the real Katara. "I had a feeling something fishy had gone on between you two," she hummed, chuckling at the blush that colored her cheeks, looking away when the younger girl sent her a glare as she looped her arm with Zuko's.
Zuko sweatdropped when Actress-Yue rose up with the fake moon; Mariko slapped her forehead at overhearing the watery remark the real Sokka uttered to Suki behind her.
::::::::x-x::::::::
Well, he hadn't been too wrong about the intermission; at least they could vent about how crappy the first part of the play had been.
Toph was the only one not disappointed in her portrayer, which happened to be a buff guy.
"…I see everything that you see, but instead of seeing, I release a sonic wave from my mouth." Actor-Toph demonstrated this by releasing a scream-of-sorts that made the audience cringe and cover their ears.
Again, Toph wasn't disappointed.
Mariko barked a laugh when Actress-Azula showed up, quieting when the prince elbowed her, snickering at how crappy she looked. "And I thought I looked bad," she chortled.
Zuko sweatdropped when the event of Lake Laogai happened and Actor-Jet crawled pathetically under a cardboard rock. "Did Jet just… die?" He asked Sokka, glancing at Mariko.
"I think so…" Mariko mumbled.
"Not sure." Sokka chimed.
Katara wanted to slap her forehead when the Imprisonment in Ba Sing Se event started.
"I must say, Prince Zuko, I find you really attractive…" Actress-Katara drawled.
"Don't patronize me!" Actor-Zuko growled.
"But I mean it! I've had eyes for you since you first captured me." Actress-Katara purred as she drew closer to him.
Mariko glowered at the actress, snorting, feeling the real Zuko declaw her hand from the crook of his right arm and place her hand on his knee, his own hand squeezing on hers reflexively.
"Wait, I thought you were the Avatar's girl!" Actor-Zuko snapped as he stood up to get away from her advances.
Actress-Katara laughed haughtily, "The Avatar? Why, he's like a little brother to me; I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way! And besides, how could he ever find out about this?" She said as they clasped hands and snuggled up to each other.
"Why I aughta…" Mariko's reaction to the scene was a bit more livid than Aang's; she had the sudden urge to find the writer and bury him under a mountain of flaming rocks, detaching herself from the prince and scooting away a smidge, folding her arms over her chest.
Zuko sent her an odd look before glancing at the stage and inwardly sighing, slapping his forehead. He knew she trusted him enough to not cheat on her –he'd have to be an even bigger idiot to do that, though—so the mere portrayal of a tryst that never happened was enough to leave him annoyed and irritable.
Aang stood and left to go get some air, ignoring Sokka's requests for Fire Flakes and Fire Gummies.
"Well, what's it going to be, Brother?" Actress-Azula demanded as Actor-Zuko stood between her, Mariko and Iroh onstage, Mariko and Iroh under the Earth Kingdom banner and Azula under the Fire Nation banner. "Your nation, or a life of treachery!?"
Actor-Zuko looked conflicted, before he stepped over to Iroh and Mariko's side, only to knock Actor-Iroh off his feet and push Actress-Mariko away. "I hate you, Uncle! You smell, and I hate you for all time; and you, Mariko, you're nothing to me!" He shouted as he crossed over to Azula's side.
The real Mariko straightened to leave the box, perking up when his hand snagged her wrist; she looked down at him and offered a faint smile, slipping away to get some air.
"You didn't really say that, did you?" Katara asked the slightly sullen prince.
Zuko looked at where his fiancé had left, looking forward at the stage and scowling. "I might as well have." He mused, feeling like an idiot all over again.
::::::::x-x::::::::
"I thought you'd gone back to the beach house."
She looked to see he had found her looking out at the darkened trees beyond the amber glow of the outside lanterns from the theater, nearing her side; she shrugged, reaching to pull her hair free of the ponytail, letting it become wild and curly again. "Why, so Katara's portrayer can sweet-talk you while I'm gone?" She mused blandly.
"You know that's not what happened; I told you, nothing happened!" He stated, glaring at her amber eyes that were turned away, reminiscent of the night she'd come to see him back at the Western Air Temple.
"It's not just that, you idiot!" She exclaimed, glaring hard at him before cutting her gaze away, her hands curling into fists on the rail.
"What else is bothering you, then?" He asked slowly, keeping his gold stare fixed on her.
Mariko slid her eyes closed. "I just… Seeing the Ba Sing Se incident being replayed for everyone else to see, to watch the humiliation and pain and anger coming back to smack me in the face… It hurts. I told myself not to be mad at you, that you were confused and lost and you didn't know what the hell you wanted, that I can't be mad at the boy I worried over for three years. But it hurt when you left, it hurt like if I was the one to get shot by Azula's lightning instead of Aang… And I hate that it hurts!" Her voice rose to a shout on the last six words.
Zuko felt his insides ache again as they had the last time he'd imagined her with him back home, but it felt worse now that he could practically feel her pain radiate towards him; he had hurt her, he realized, just as if he'd stabbed her in the back in Ba Sing Se… He didn't want to hurt her, not again, for as long as he lived. "Mariko," he reached to gently place a hand over her slightly shaking right hand that gripped the railing tight, his fingers squeezing on hers. "I don't think there's enough apologies I could make that would erase what I did… But I'm here now. I told you before, back at the Western Air Temple, remember? I'm not leaving you, no matter what. You were at my side all this time, and I was a complete idiot to take you for granted. I'm grateful that you're still here, even if we butt heads or argue, I'm glad you took me back." He smiled at her slightly misty eyes, his hand leaving hers to cup her right cheek in his palm.
She exhaled, uttering a soft groan. "Your scar's on the wrong side in the play, you know." She muttered.
His gaze softened and he chuckled, smiling again. "Your skirt's too short in the play." He returned quietly, scooting closer to wrap his arm around her shoulders and let her snuggle closer.
She blushed, smacking his chest gently. "Prat."
"Brat." Zuko smirked, pressing his forehead to hers, seeing her smile up at him from beneath her brow. "You look good in green, by the way. I like it." He added, making the blush on her cheeks deepen.
Mariko huffed in her familiar tomboyish way, looking away shyly. "Piss off, princeling." She grumbled, the embarrassed look faltering when she saw him pout out of the corner of her eye; she giggled, smiling at him as he smiled wryly back, tracing her fingers gingerly along his scarred cheek. "Honestly, though, I don't act like that actress. I don't think, anyway." She mused.
He rolled his eyes and sighed, "For the hundredth time, you're not like that. She made you seem like too much of a clingy cheery brat, which isn't you. You're too stubborn and proud to act that girly." He smirked wryly.
She chuckled, poking his chest with a finger. "Prince Zuko, is that a compliment?" She teased softly, amber eyes coy.
He huffed, holding her hand to his chest, smirking again. "And if it is?" He drawled.
Mariko smiled, tugging on his tunic to kiss him happily.
Zuko grinned a genuine grin at the kiss, releasing her hand to knot his fingers in her mane of hair, kissing eagerly, distinctly feeling her free hand be placed on his chest.
"Oh there you two are… Oi, this ain't a romantic getaway!" Sokka's voice interrupted the moment then.
Both teenagers jumped and looked to see said boy scowling patiently from the doorway of the hall, arms folded over his chest.
Mariko blushed brightly and glared at him just as Zuko did, slipping away to retreat back inside, slugging him hard in the shoulder; he followed her retreat stiff-leggedly, sidling to her side and taking her hand in his.
"Ow! Geez that hurt!" Sokka griped before he scampered off after the couple.
"That… was not a good play."
"I'll say."
"Horrid."
"Really horrible."
"You said it."
"But the effects were decent!"
just a head's up, i'm going to combine my takes on two of the four episodes of the Sozin's Comet finale arc in the next chapter. there's only four, i calculated, so next chapter is going to be a prologue of sorts and getting the pieces in motion, and the chapter after that is going to be action-y plus the epilogue.. geez, i can't believe this is almost over! i'm gonna miss working on it, too.. but anyway, reviews are love, people. thanks, and later~