Rain had started to fall through the thick canopy of forest trees in the Forgetful Valley. With his warm hand encasing hers, Zuko and Chiyo ran through the dark forest, tracing back the path from where they'd gone through. It started out as a light drizzle when they decided to slowly make their way back to Hira'a. Slowly, the large droplets of rain became more frequent and plenty, soaking their cloaks and clothes.

But the smiles and laughter they shared as they ran made it look as if they were racing through a vast open field under the midday spring sun, hand in hand, smiling from ear to ear. And their responsibilities, their sorrows and guilt were far behind them.

By the time they made it out of the forest and entered the town proper of Hira'a, they decided to head back to Noren and Ursa's old house for a break from the storm. Zuko led the way through the dark, lifeless house with fire in his hand, his arm wrapped around Chiyo's slightly shivering form.

Thankfully, there was some leftover firewood stored inside the house. Zuko shed off his drenched cloak, urging her to do the same, and lifted the logs inside. "Chiyo, are you alright? Where are you going?" He asked as he tossed the logs into the irori and set the firewood ablaze with a wave of his hand. "Chiyo?"

"In here!" She called from a separate room, rummaging through the cabinets for anything useful that the older couple might have left behind. Luckily, there were a bunch of old clothes and faded blankets that they could use.

Zuko followed her in. "I started a fire in the irori. You should dry yourself by the fire."

She was so startled at how close his voice was when he came up behind her that she dropped the blankets she was bunching up in her arms. "Y-you… we s-should get changed… I found some old clothes…"

"Alright." With a barely suppressed smirk, he started taking off his tunic.

"W-wait! What are you doing?!"

"Taking off my clothes."

Chiyo rolled her eyes while picking up the clothes and tossing a faded tunic and a pair of pants towards him. "Idiot." She murmured, blushing deeply, and left the room hastily.

She went back to the spare room she had used for a year, closing the door before changing into Noriko's old robes. "This will do for a while. Once our clothes dry up, we can wear them again." She took the pins and ties out of her hair letting it loose behind her to dry.

"Chiyo! Where do you keep running off to?!" Zuko called from outside, much like how a spoiled child calling after a parent does. Just as she finished tying her robes in place, Zuko came into the room and made a beeline straight towards her. "I thought you'd gone away…" He murmured as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her towards his bare chest, burying his face against the crook of her neck.

"W-where would I go in this kind of weather?!" Thunder rumbled outside as if to agree with her answer, the cold wind lightly rattled the wooden slats of the closed window.

"So… you mean, if there wasn't a raging storm out there right now, you'd leave?"

"I…" Chiyo bit her lip before turning around to face him, cheeks burning brightly as the sight mere inches from the tip of her nose. "I… I didn't say that…"

He had to admit, teasing her like this was just as fun as he had remembered back when they were kids. He enjoyed the way her cheeks flushed crimson and her brows knit together, trying to think of an appropriate comeback. "So, you'd stay? Even when the weather is fine?" He tilted her chin up so that she would look at him and only him. "With me?"

Chiyo had to remind herself to breathe, looking up at his eyes still had the same effect on her, even more so with their proximity, so close that all they could see was each other and nothing else. "Stop putting words into my mouth!"

"Shall I put in something else, then?"

"Y-you—!"

"What?" Zuko blinked and tilted his head innocently.

She lost all restraint in that moment. Chiyo reached up with both hands towards Zuko's cheeks and pinched them hard.

"OW OW! OW! CHIYO! CHI— OW!"

Her laughter was something he seldom heard as they grew older, drifted apart and found each other again. Zuko marveled at the way her eyes were shut tight with mirth, nose crinkled, lips parted with breathless amusement at his pain, deciding the pain was well worth it.

Chiyo released the reddening skin, only a few shades lighter than his scar, and gave it an affectionate pat. "Does it hurt?"

"Not even a little bit."

"Shall I do it harder then?"

"Nononono!" Zuko trapped her hands on either side of his face with his own. He leaned forward, giving her the best pout he could manage. "You enjoy my pain, don't you?"

"You deserve it! You were being… cheeky…" She protested, voice growing quieter as the distance between them closed. "I didn't want to hurt you…"

One of his hands moved to the small of her back to pull her flush against his chest. She could feel the warmth of his fingers through the thin fabric of the robe. Zuko moved closer to whisper in her ear, their cheeks touching. "Then be gentle…"

He smelled like spices on wood mixed with the pleasant sweetness of the rain. Slowly, her thoughts dissipated as Chiyo's focus shifted entirely on him, on his scent, on his warmth, of his hot breath against her ear as he kept whispering words that made her tremble.

"But honestly, you can be as rough as you want, Chiyo… I can handle it." Zuko decided that the teasing was enough. He pulled back to watch her expression, eyes shut tight, she was biting her trembling lower lip hard.

"Remember to breathe…" Closer and closer he drew until their lips were almost touching…

"ACHOO!"

And that was all it took to bring them back to where they are.

They laughed it off as they held each other close, grasping at the other, both silently wishing this moment to never end. "Someone's probably talking about me behind my back." Chiyo giggled in embarrassment.

Zuko bent down and reached for the back of her knees, lifting her up with ease and taking her back to the living room. "Let's get you warmed up at the irori. You already caught the cold."

The fire in the pit had warmed the room nicely despite the cold winds that blew against the house. It was as if the world outside did not exist. He set her down on the heated floor, then retrieved the blankets, spreading one across the floor before settling down and patting the space on the floor between his legs.

"What?" Chiyo raised a brow.

He repeated the motion, getting more impatient. "Come here."

Unsure of it, she chose to sit next to him instead, but he was having none of it. With hands on her sides, he wrestled her so that she was seated between his legs, in front of the fire. "Lean back."

She couldn't explain why she kept doing as she was told. Her head rested against his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her together with another blanket. She could clearly hear the heartbeats next to her, and her own mimicked the pounding.

If only living were this simple. If only being happy was this easy. If only the storm outside would never end, and they could stay there. If only they weren't Fire Lord and entertainer.

It was amazing how warm a blanket could be when shared with someone you love.

While Zuko was busy running his fingers through her hair to dry it off, Chiyo decided to make a request. "Tell me a story."

"What story would you like to hear?"

"I dunno… something fun… like an adventure!"

"Hmmm…" He thought carefully. "Alright… How about that one time I lost my firebending?"

"You WHAT?!"

His deep chuckle resonated between them. He kissed the top of her head once to comfort her before starting his story. "After the day of Black Sun, I decided to help the Avatar defeat my father. It wasn't an easy feat, but eventually, they accepted me and let me become Aang's firebending teacher."

"Ah, Aang told me about that, Sifu Hotman!" She giggled at the nickname that will forever be remembered at his expense.

Zuko groaned. "He keeps coming up with more nicknames every time we meet!"

"Have you tried calling him grandpa Aang, yet?"

"Wouldn't that be weird?"

Chiyo shrugged. "He is 114 now."

"I guess… Anyways!" He prompted. "Just when I was about to teach him, my chi felt weak and the fire I created wasn't as strong as it used to be. That time, I was so scared even if I didn't admit it. Uncle wasn't there to help me, and I didn't know what to do. For so long, my firebending was fueled by ambition, anger and hate… And when I ran away from those feelings, I lost my drive… and myself."

Chiyo squeezed his hand between hers. "Zuko…"

"I was prepared to be rejected again, then Toph had this idea, to go back to the original source of firebending and re-learn it from the masters."

"But… for firebending… dragons no longer exist…"

"That's what I thought as well. But actually, there's an ancient tribe of firebenders in the west that had preserved their origin and identity, along with their masters Ran and Shaw. They were dragons, Chiyo. This might sound unbelievable, but Aang and I danced with the dragons. And they taught us the true meaning of firebending."

He took his hand out of the blanket and from his palm, a flame was brought to life. But it was different from the fire that was in the irori. This was the same fire that she had seen Zuko make when he defended his family from the ambush of the New Ozai Society. Fire in every color, more than hues of red, yellow and orange. It was so mesmerizing that she almost ached to touch it. "It's so beautiful…"

"To the Sun Warriors and to the dragons, fire wasn't just power, destruction and dominance. It was life. It was harmony." The fire slowly faded as Zuko curled his fingers against his palm into a fist. "And we were humbled that the masters deemed us worthy of learning from them. We really thought those dragons were gonna burn us to ashes!"

They silently stared at the fire in the pit for a while, letting the story echo in their minds as they watch the flames and felt its warmth. Eventually, they were stifling yawns and rubbing the sleep off their eyes.

"Do you think… that someday… I can learn to dance with dragons as well?" Chiyo mused, half-asleep as she shifted to a more comfortable position on Zuko's lap.

He chuckled and kissed her forehead tenderly. "Why don't we pay them a visit soon? I haven't thanked them properly yet for helping us win the war. It will be my first official visit as Fire Lord to pay my respects."

"Mmm…" She mumbled out her reply before finally surrendering to sleep, lulled by the beating of his heart. Zuko laid back down on the blanket, resting Chiyo's head on his shoulder and pulling the blanket over them.

Minutes turned to hours, watching over her as she slept in his arms peacefully. A feeling in his chest swelled in contentment as he bore witness to the slow rise and fall of her breathing.

"It would be the dragons' honor to dance with you, Chiyo." He whispered before he, too, closed his eyes and followed her to sleep