"Prince Zuko, we will be landing at Irashimu tomorrow morning." Said the navigator to Zuko. He nodded and walked down to the deck, where it was music night, but the music was sad and slow. As if saying goodbye to Aiori in her final hours on the ship. Uncle Iroh was squeezing the life out of Aiori in a huge hug talking about how he would miss her. "I was being selfish." He admitted to Aiori, not loud enough for his nephew to hear.
"How so?" she asked.
"Because, I wanted you to stay so bad. I had high hopes that maybe one day you'd choose to stay here with Zuko."
"Why do you wish for that?"
"I am just so happy to see my nephew like this. And if he returns to the throne it will be hard for him to find a companion to sit next to him." Aiori looked at Iroh uneasily.
"But…that's a bit much to hope for, isn't it?"
"I suppose it is." He said.
"Uncle," Zuko walked up to them, "Aiori."
"Zuko," she said, feeling uneasy after what his uncle said.
"Ah, perhaps the prince and the princess should have one last dance before we say goodbye to our young maiden." Iroh suggested. Aiori turned and looked into Zuko's amber colored eyes.
"Um... Aiori," he started, "May I have this dance?"
"Well, I suppose my family will forgive me." She said with a smile and took his hand and they went further away from everybody else. They put one arm around each other and began to dance. Iroh watched and smiled.
Zuko watched as Aiori grinned up at him like a silly little girl. He could feel his palms getting sweaty and hot flashed overcame his body.
"What are you so happy about?" he asked.
"I seemed to have tamed the future Fire Lord." She said softly with a sly smile. "And all it took was some clean floors and dishes."
"You make it sound like I put you through hell." He replied with a smirk as they danced.
"Well the dishes weren't so bad, and neither were the floors, but doing your laundry was terrible."
"Oh? We think we're funny don't we?"
"No not at all, have you smelled your footwear after you've practiced? It's not pleasant!" she said and stuck her tongue out in disgust. He chuckled at her face. "The floors would take me forever though. This may be a small ship, but it's still pretty big."
"I see." He responded. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder as they danced under the stars. He just leaned his head on her and relaxed. His uncle watched from a ways away and sighed.
"Zuko has never been in love before." He said to himself, "Until now."
The dancing and music pressed on late into the night, but after the fun, everyone slept for the most part, except for Aiori and Zuko who laid on the deck and looked up at the stars. They wanted to spend their last hours together with meaning. They pointed out constellations, and the shapes the Milky Way had formed. Soon rain drops began to fall from the sky and pitter patter on the floor. Zuko didn't like the rain much, but Aiori said she did. She lifted out a hand and began to bend the water. She gathered the drops into a ball and spun it on one finger. She looked at Zuko who did the same with a fireball. She tossed the water ball at his fireball and doused it. "Hey!" he complained and she giggled. She was entertaining no doubt about it.
"I miss the voice of my mother." Aiori suddenly stated. "I even miss how she would lecture me about not practicing." And Zuko chuckled with her, "I also miss my father. He was so strong, and I always felt protected around him. He had a deep voice that seemed to shake whenever I ticked him off to a certain level. And I even miss Chumani. And that's hard to believe!"
"Who is Chumani?"
"My little sister. Surely you remember the girl who ran up to me before you took me on board."
"I do remember."
"She's so young; and so annoying at times. But she's still family."
"My uncle is annoying most of the time." Zuko commented and she laughed.
"But he is such a wise and kind man. And he did agree to join you in your hunt for the Avatar."
"I know, but he's obsessed with tea. It gets annoying." Aiori laughed again.
"He wants the laid back life. Nothing wrong with that. It's a sign of his aging."
"He is quite old." Zuko agreed.
"What about your brothers and sisters?"
"I don't have any." Zuko answered.
"Oh? Well, I'm sure you have friends."
"No," he said, "Not anymore."
"That's too bad. But you have me." He looked at her and sat up on his elbows.
"But not for much longer." Aiori got up onto her elbows and smiled at him.
"If it helps, I will never forget you."
"I'll never forget you either." And she leaned her head on his shoulder. Zuko looked down at her and felt more temptation fun through his veins. Her lips were right there! He wanted to, but he just kissed her forehead instead. She smiled at him. "It's not fair that you have to go now that I've gotten to know you."
"I know Zuko." She said with a sigh, "I know."