STARLIGHT
by Madame Bomb
Zuki Week - Day 8 (April 5th)
Prompt: RETURN TO EMBER ISLAND
Rating: T
Summary: Suki, Zuko and a hammock on the beach beneath the stars.
Notes: Oh yeaaaaahhhh... Sweet and fluffy time!
"Zuko? Where did you get off to?" Suki called as she slid the patio door open and stepped outside into the twilit gloom. The stones beneath her bare feet were still warm from the day's heat, and she could see the last tinge of sunlight fading quickly from the purple sky. Fireflies were popping out everywhere, little stars flashing with a soft yellow light as they drifted over the dunes, and down to the sea.
She could hear the ocean crashing, and the calls of night birds on the salty air. She breathed in, feeling warm and contented as the warm breeze lifted her hair.
"Suki? I'm over here." She turned toward the sound of Zuko's voice, and saw him wave at her from the hammock strung between two twisting palm trees. "Come and join me."
Suki smiled as she picked her way through the sea oats toward the hammock. The trees were perched on top of the dunes that rose and then fell sharply down toward the beach, where the foamy water glowed with bio-luminescent life the color of sapphires.
"Don't you look comfortable?" she said as she got a good look at the man in the hammock.
The Fire Lord had his head pillowed on one arm, one leg slung out of the hammock, his toe just barely touching the sand. She could tell that he'd been moving the hammock with his toe; it was swaying gently, back and forth.
Zuko looked far more relaxed than she'd ever seen him, and it warmed her heart. He'd been stressed a lot lately, his temper short and his sleep even shorter. He'd needed this vacation to Ember Island.
So had she.
"I'm leisuring. I hear that's a thing people do on vacation," he said, his eyes shining in the gloom.
"So I hear," she laughed. "All you need is a fruity alcoholic drink with a little paper parasol in it and you'd be the picture of relaxation."
"I'd rather have you join me," he said, and his toe dug into the sand, stopping the gentle sway of the hammock. Her head tilted a little.
"You do look comfortable. Is there room for one more?"
"For you? Always," he said in a throaty voice, and then wiggled his finger at her, beckoning her to join him. She didn't hesitate, though getting into the hammock was a lot trickier than it looked. "Easy."
"I know," she huffed, as he made a soft sound of amusement. She put her weight on the hammock; it wobbled and threatened to spill them both to the ground. However, she caught herself and the hammock before it could. "You could scootch."
"Just lay on top of me," he said.
"On top of you?"
"Like a Suki-shaped blanket."
"Why do I think you have ulterior motives other than relaxation here?" she said, hand on her hip.
"Why would you think that?"
"Because I know you," she said, slinging her leg over his and then practically falling on top of him in the hammock. He let out an oof! of air, caught her when the hammock swung back from her momentum, and steadied them with his foot on the ground.
She ended up sprawled across his chest, her head on his shoulder, his arms around her to keep her from spilling off the other side.
"You weigh a ton," he said in a fake strained voice. She smacked his shoulder.
"I do not."
"No, but...here..." Zuko said, and together they wriggled, the hammock swaying dangerously back and forth, until she half-lying across his chest, one leg over his, and her shoulder in the crook of his other arm and cradled by the hammock. Her other arm rested on his chest, sliding into the front of his loose shirt. His skin was warm and soft, despite the hard contours of his muscle. "That's much better. Comfy?"
"Mmm," she intoned, snuggling her head down into his shoulder. The hammock swayed beneath them. It was dark, the last of the sunlight having faded away to nothing while they'd been getting comfortable. She looked up at the sky above them.
It was deep purple and velvet black, and little stars were bursting to life before her eyes like spilled salt and sugar. She found herself trying to find familiar constellations, but she didn't recognize anything. These stars were different than what she was used to, having grown up on Kyoshi Island, which was much further south than Ember Island.
Zuko's hand curled into her hair, stroking softly as they swayed, the ropes tying the hammock to the trees creaking a little. The waves crashed to shore, and the fireflies rose and fell like little stars in the sea oats around them.
"You were right. I needed this," Zuko said softly, his other hand covering hers on his chest. "I needed a break."
"I'm glad you finally saw sense," she said, looking up at his profile, but his eyes were on the stars above them. There was no moon out, but she could see the little smile on his lips in the starlight. "You should just assume I'm always right, by the way."
"Oh, believe me. I do," he said, his foot rocking them again. "But I can be stubborn."
"That's not the word I would use," she teased, causing him to laugh a little. "Ember Island has been good for you. You seem happier."
His fingers combed through her hair, running lightly along her scalp. "It's not the island. It's you."
Suki felt warmth run through her from head to toe. She shifted a little, and kissed the only bit of his face she could reach, which was his chin. "You make me happy too."
"Do I?" he said, and she could hear the worry in his voice.
"You do," Suki said firmly, because she knew Zuko had a hard time believing that, even though she had told him that time and again. Even when he was stressed from the weight of the crown on his head he was always sweet to her, attentive, and awkward in his affections. He always made her feel loved.
Even if they hadn't said those particular words to one another yet.
They hadn't been dating long, only a few months. Telling him that she was in love with him hadn't seemed right yet, even if she'd been feeling it long before they'd even kissed for the first time. She thought she knew how he felt too, but Zuko was hard to read sometimes, and he didn't let out his feelings often, not even with her.
She could tease them out of him though. She knew how, but she didn't want to pressure him into saying something he didn't mean. She was willing to wait for him, however long it took.
Zuko kissed her forehead and she relaxed back onto his shoulder. The hammock swayed beneath them, lulling her into relaxing into his warm, strong arms. Their fingers wove together on his chest, lacing and rubbing, caressing softly and then tickling. She bit her lip and smiled against his shoulder at the playful touch.
She looked up at the sky, studying the stars slowly turning above them.
"What are you thinking?" he whispered after nearly twenty minutes of silence, filled with the sounds of the waves crashing in the night, and the distant call of night birds.
"I don't know the stars here," she said softly. "I was trying to find some familiar constellations, but I think all of my stars are further south."
"They are at this time of year," he whispered, untangling his fingers from hers and pointing toward the dark bit of sky where the ocean met the stars. "But you can just see Avatar Quyen's belt there on the horizon. This time of year he's over the Southern Hemisphere. If you were on Kyoshi right now you'd see him right over your head."
Suki peered at the three stars just visible on the horizon, and realized that she did recognize the shape, including Quyen's upraised arm and the vague rock-shape above it. The rest of him was hidden on the horizon, too low to see.
"You're right. There he is," she said and for some reason seeing those three familiar stars all in a line made her feel homesick. She didn't often miss Kyoshi Island, but sometimes homesickness came on her sharp and strong. She missed her own stars. Her family was so far away. "How do you know so much about constellations?"
"I lived on a ship for three years. It didn't take long to learn how to navigate by the stars. I doubt I could get lost on a starry night on the sea, no matter where in the world I found myself. "
"So you know the names of all of the constellations?"
"Not all, but most. Like that one, see there? That's the Wain," he said, lifting his arm and tracing the line of the stars above them. "It's shaped like a wagon. See the tongue, the wheels, the flat cart..."
Suki squinted; she could kind of see what he meant. "It does look like a wagon."
"And there... That's Druk the Great. He's my favorite," Zuko said, tracing a long, curving line of stars that ran from one end of the sky to the other. "Druk is the dragon who first breathed fire into the world. He's always out in the summer in the Fire Nation. Legend says Druk created the islands of the Fire Nation, and the spirits were so angry with him that they flung him into the sky."
"I've never heard that story."
"My mother told it to me when I was a boy. She also told me a contradictory story about how humans used to live on the backs of the great lion-turtles. Beside Druk there, that's one of the lion-turtles." He traced a vaguely domed shape beside the long, twisting dragon.
"Well, that's kind of true, isn't it?"
But Zuko shrugged. "Who knows. They're just stories. My mother told me a lot of tales. So did Uncle."
"My mother told me stories too," Suki said, and then she let out a sigh, feeling that sharp pang of homesickness again.
"What's wrong?"
"I was just thinking about Kyoshi Island. I miss home. It's been a while since I've visited my family," she said, tilting her head to look at him. Zuko's hands caressed her hair, softly, stroking and sending little swirls of pleasure down her skin.
"You've told me so much about them, but I've never met any of your family," he said thoughtfully. "I think I'd like to."
"You would?"
"If you're not ashamed of me, that is."
"Oh, deeply," she said with a laugh. Zuko hooked his finger around hers and wiggled it teasingly. "But I'd like you to meet them, if you want."
"Maybe we could add another week to this vacation? If you'd like?"
She was stunned, drawing back a little and lifting. "You'd do that?"
"Of course," he said seriously. "I'd do anything for you, Suki."
She went to kiss his chin again, but Zuko tilted his head down, sliding a smooth kiss across her lips that was warm and needy. She kissed him back, trying to tell him without words how touched she was at his suggestion. The thought of seeing her family after so many long months made her heart soar. They didn't even know that she was dating Zuko. She hadn't been sure how to tell them she was dating the Fire Lord.
Wouldn't they be in for a surprise?
She smiled against his mouth and pulled back, but Zuko held her there, his hand cupping her face. She could see his eyes glistening in the starlight.
"I've been wanting to tell you something for a long time, Suki. I just didn't know how," Zuko started, and then he took a breath. "I love you."
Suki smiled slowly and then she dove for him, slamming a rough kiss to his mouth that took him by surprise. She shifted her weight, intending on straddling him, or just get closer to his sweet, warm mouth, but she overbalanced them.
The world upended as the hammock tipped to the side and flung them out into the sand and sea oats. Suki landed with a thump, Zuko on top of her.
"Suki! Are you okay?"
But Suki lifted up out of the sand, kissing the question off of his lips. Zuko grinned against her mouth and then he kissed her. Really kissed her.
Her head spun as she slipped her hands into his hair, holding him to her tightly there in the sand, with the hammock swinging above their heads and the stars twinkling like diamonds on black velvet far overhead.
When they finally broke apart, both of them panting, hearts soaring, Suki whispered, "I love you too."
But she was pretty sure he already knew that.
(end)