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Chapter 9

"And that's why you should never get between a badger mole and a pot of honey." I finished, swinging our joined hands back and forth slightly as we walked. Zuko shook his head, chuckling. "I'd be scarred for life! How does Eun feel about them now? Does he like them again?" I giggled, shaking my head as we kept walking. "Nope! He's still afraid to eat honey outside."

Zuko laughed loudly, barely covering up the sound of the guards boots behind us. They were talking and marching loudly, breaking the romantic air that we were trying to build. One was swearing while telling a loud, raunchy story about a girl he met.

I wrinkled up my nose when he cursed again, glancing over my shoulder at them. Zuko followed my gaze, making the same face. "We could ditch them." He whispered to me, smirking deviously. "Are you allowed?" His grin widened, and he pulled me closer. "Nobody can tell us no! You wanna?" I bit down on my lower lip, grinning like a mad woman.

"Let's."

Zuko turned his face towards me, but was subtle watching the guards, a grin on his face the entire time. "They're not looking, c'mon!" He pulled me into an alley, into the shadows, and pulled me against his chest. The guards just kept walking, not even noticing that we were gone. As soon as they were out of ear shot, we left, wandering the lovely streets of the upper ring in comfortable silence, just enjoying being together.

"It's beautiful here." I whispered, leaning closer to Zuko. "You've never been up here?" He asked, leading me into a large garden, a few other couples milling about. "Until today, I hadn't been to the middle ring." Zuko's eyebrows rose, stirring me around an older couple walking towards us, the couple smiling kindly at all of the younger couples around them.

"Well, I'm glad I can show it to you." He said, stopping at a jasmine plant, plucking off a small cluster of flowers. He fidgeted with the end of the sprig for a moment, seemingly having an inner debat before holding them out to me.

"Here." I took the flowers, tucking them behind my ear. "Thank you, Zuko. They're lovely."

Zuko grinned and puffed with pride. "You're lovely." he muttered, blushing darkly as he did. "Thank you!" As we began to walk again, something popped in my mind. "Zuko, how do you feel about weddings?" Zuko's head whipped towards me, face pale. "Ji, I, it's a little soon." I laughed at the look on his face.

"Not us, Sweetie. My friend, Sunan, is getting married, and she knew all about my date with you all those months ago, when I still knew you as Lee. She told me that you could come, too, if I saw you again. If, if you want too, that is." Zuko relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good. I was worried that you meant us for a moment! Not that I don't think it'd be great to marry you! We just haven't gone out very long, and I really like you, and I."

I covered his lips with my fingers, drawing him out of his panicked rambling.

"I didn't mean to spring that on you, I'm sorry. Would you like to go with me." He smiled under my fingers, nodding slightly. "Would you like for me to go with you?"

"I'd love for you to come with me." I said, taking my hand off his lips. "Alright, I'll go with you." He said firmly with a bigger smile. My chest tightened at his smile, warmth spreading all through me.

"Thank you." I whispered, bouncing up on my toes to give his cheek a kiss.

"Anything for you." He muttered, taking my hand again in his.

We started walking again, not paying attention to any of the other couples in the garden, completely focused only on each other. I started swinging our hands back and forth again, humming under my breath.

"Are you happy?" He asked, relaxing his arm more to allow me to swing freer.

"I am. Happier than I've been in awhile. Are you?" he stared down at me with a small smile. "Y'know something? I am. I really am." Zuko took my other hand in his, giving both of them a gentle squeeze.

"I like being with you, Zuko." He leaned down, kissing me softly. "I like being with you too. You make me feel whole."

I kissed him this time, and when I pulled away, his smile was bigger, reaching his eyes and making them crease on the sides.

Zuko began to say something, but my sudden yawn cut him off. "I'm sorry!" I said through it, and he simply laughed me off, hands sliding up from my hands to my elbows. "You're fine, Jin. It's getting late, we should find the guards and get you home." I nodded, leaning against him. Zuko wrapped his arm around me, and we walked back towards the restaurant.

We found the guards outside it, panicking over losing us. Zuko told them that, no, they weren't terrible guards, and were in fact, good soldiers. We had simply wanted a bit of privacy. The soldiers seemed content with that answer, bringing the carriage around for us.

Zuko and I settled back down inside the carriage, his arm still wrapped around me. The entire carriage was warm, which only made me sleepier.

"Are you free tomorrow?" He asked, allowing me to lay my head back against his shoulder. "Not till about three. I work tomorrow." Zuko laid his head on top of mine, holding me tightly. "Alright. May I pick you up after? You could show me more of the lower ring, if you'd like. Where do you work?"

"I'd like that. I work at Ba sing bakery."He let out a low sound of understanding, playing with my fingers.

The drive home seemed faster than the trip there, and before I knew it, Zuko was helping me out of the carriage. He walked me to the front door, before holding me tightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Jin." He whispered, kissing my forehead gently. "I'll be waiting." Zuko chuckled, leaning down and kissing me once more."Goodnight, my darling." I said, finally finding the strength to pull away from him. "Sleep well, fire lily." He waited till I stepped inside before heading back to the carriage. I waved as they pulled away, not closing the door till they were completely out of sight.