Sam

I woke up laying in a bed I didn't recognize. I sat up quickly and looked around the room. Then I remember. Oh, right. I'm Zuko's wife now. Still no clothing on though. I got up to find them on the floor that were now laying on the foot of the bed. Zuko's clothes were gone and so was he. I wondered what time it was.

Thinking back to last night, I couldn't help but smile. I recalled our intimacy fondly and I felt my cheeks heat at the thought of him. My favorite part of last night, though, was our conversation. Really getting to know my husband for the first time and him opening up to me was really special and I felt honored that he would confide in me so readily.

I stood up going to reach for my clothes at the foot of the bed when I noticed a small, familiar trunk. I opened it up and took some fresh clothes out of it and put them on. How had he gotten my belongings? He must have gone back to my apartment. Or probably had one of his men do it.

I heard the door open and a familiar head pop in to see if I was awake and clothed. When he saw me, he smiled and came all the way in.

"You're awake I see. You slept a long time. It's well past noon," he said, smiling, "I suppose you needed it though." he said, gently stroking my bruised face. I reached up and grabbed his hand, holding it down at our sides.

"How long have you been up?"

"Oh, since daybreak."

"What?! You let me sleep that long?!"

"You needed it," he repeated, "besides, we haven't arrived to shore yet so there was no reason to disturb you."

"You always get up that early?"

"Yes. Most of the time. Especially if I have meetings with my councilmen."

"But there are no councilmen here." I observed, holding my hands out gesturing to the whole ship.

"Well, no. But I like to make sure my crew are taken care of and have what they need for the day."

"Is that…your responsibility? You don't delegate it to anyone?"

"I could. But I like to make sure their needs are met personally. This is my ship. They are my crew. My responsibility. At least in my eyes." He said. That was honorable. Most people in his position would have servants to do this kind of bidding. I admired him for that. He looked up at me, "you must be hungry. Let's go get you some food." It wasn't until then I realized that I was hungry.

He led me to the mess hall and the cook served me some food. I thanked him and sat with Zuko.

"So when do we get back to the Fire Nation and to the…home?" my voice caught on that last word and I hoped Zuko didn't catch it. If he did, he had a good poker face.

"Well, we are in Fire Nation waters right now. We should reach the shore by daybreak tomorrow. Depending on how…we all feel…we may reach the palace sometime tomorrow." We all feel. He was referring to me. How I felt. If I felt I could take the journey. He knew I was still sore. Last night certainly didn't help it much I mused, however, I did not mind.

I reached over to Zuko and placed my hand on his forearm. He looked at me, his golden eyes dancing with curiosity. "About last night." His shoulders tensed but I ignored it, "It was really nice, Zuko." His shoulders lost their tension just as quickly and he smiled softly at me.

"Yes, It was. Thank you," he said. HE was thanking ME? Why? He's the one who sacrificed everything to save ME. I said as much to him. He waved his hand at me dismissively, "Will you do me a favor?" he asked placing his hand atop mine.

"Of course," I said.

"Stop thanking me."

I was taken aback by this request. I thought about it for a second and realized it probably would get annoying.

"Sorry. It just…it means so much to me. I had no idea you cared about me so much to sacrifice your future for me," I said despite his request.

"If I didn't want to do it, I wouldn't have. Besides, I don't' see it as a sacrifice" he said simply. He got up. "I have to go above deck. You have free reign through my ship. Our ship. Explore if you want to. It might help pass the time."

I felt my heart sink a bit when he said he was leaving me again. He saw my disappointment, "don't' worry, I won't be long." He kissed my forehead and left the room.

I wasn't sure of what his definition of "not long was" but clearly it wasn't the same as mine. I thought it must be at least a couple of hours. I had explored the ship although there wasn't much to see. I introduced myself to his crew and they all bowed respectfully. While I was wandering, I heard Zuko's voice. I opened the door and the sunlight hurt my eyes. I came out shielding my eyes and saw him and his firebenders on the deck. He no longer had his tunic on but a sleeveless shirt as did his firebenders. It didn't escape my observation how good he looked in it. Suddenly a blast of fire came my direction and I jumped despite myself. Zuko, faster than I realized he was, came between it and myself and disbursed it. Shock must still have been on my face.

"Oh my goodness! My lady, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you come through the door! Are you alright?" Shen came running over to me, panic in his eyes. Zuko glared at him, clearly upset he had almost burned me.

"You've got to be more careful and in control of your bending, Shen! You could have hurt Sam and badly!" Zuko raged at his firebender. Zuko stood between Shen and myself, clearly protective.

"Of course, you're right, my lord. Please forgive my recklessness." he bowed apologetically to his ruler.

Zuko was still angry, his hands balled up into fists.

"Zuko, it's alright." I said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"And you!" Zuko shouted, turning his anger on me. "You can't just walk out here when we are sparring like that! You could have been hurt!"

"How was I supposed to know that's what you were doing! Until last night I didn't even know you WERE a firebender!" I shouted back but he wasn't having it.

"It doesn't matter! You're my wife now! I'm to protect you and then you just walk out here and almost get blasted! You both were reckless!"

"Excuse me?! You TOLD me to explore the ship, did you not? So I explore the ship and now you're pissed at me for it? Get over yourself, Zuko!" I scolded him. "and besides, I WASN'T hurt so you can stop overreacting! Shen didn't do anything wrong and neither did I and you know it!"

Shen was standing to the side, eyes downcast, looking like a scolded child but his eyes raised in surprised. I realized he probably had never heard someone talk to his Fire Lord this way. Zuko did not say another word.

I walked over to Shen and placed a hand on his arm. He looked up at me and I smiled, "it's ok Shen. See, no harm done." I said holding my arms out to display there was, in fact, no harm done.

Zuko was still silent. "Zuko, you owe him an apology."

His eyes flew open at me, his eyes alight again glaring at me with full force, "What?!"

"Zuko, there was no good reason for you to react that way to Shen. He didn't do anything wrong, and you know it." I repeated. "You were out of line." I said jabbing my finger at his chest. Zuko's eyes were still alight. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself. When he opened them, they were calm.

"You're right. I'm sorry Shen. Truly," he looked at Shen and bowed to his friend. Shen nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing.

"Good, now, do me a favor, Zuko?"

"Hmm?" He mumbled.

"Show me your firebending. I want to see it. I promise, I'll stay out of your way."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Fire is dangerous and wild. It isn't safe for bystanders."

"I trust you," I said, not just referring to Zuko. I walked backwards until my back was against the wall. No one knew the secrets I carried but I really WAS intrigued. "Look, you're my husband now and you're a firebender. This is a big part of you. You don't need to do anything special. Just carry on with what you were doing. Please? For me?" Zuko looked up at Jok and Shen and they both shrugged.

"Fine." He looked at his firebenders, "pick up where we left off."

They started shooting fire at each other back and forth. It as stunning to watch. I had never seen anything like it. The fire was bright and I could feel the heat all the way back here. Zuko dodged the fire blasts with ease and grace. I had no idea he was so agile. If this was sparring I wondered what he looked like in a real fight. They continued for a while, kicking, punching and arching fire at each other. When the sun started to set, they stopped.

"Why are you stopping?" I said, surprised at how disappointed I was.

"Firebenders draw our power from the sun. Even though we can still firebend at night, it is weaker, so we usually stop at that point."

I was definitely more interested than I thought I'd be. It wasn't the first time I was…exposed to firebending.

"I liked watching you." I said meekly.

"And I liked you watching me." he admitted sheepishly although it seemed like he didn't want to. "I'm sorry. I owe you an apology too," I knew he was referring to his behavior earlier.

I reached up and put my hand around his neck pulling his head down so our foreheads touched, "Think nothing of it." He smiled at me, grateful for the quick forgiveness. I arched my neck so our lips met.

Zuko

We didn't make as good of time as I had hoped. We were still at sea, we were hours from shore and it was well passed midnight. I didn't want to spend another night on the ship, but it looked like we had no choice.

"Looks like we will be spending another night out here." I told Sam. She looked at me and gave me a small smile.

"I don't mind." she said simple. It was dark out and we both were ready to turn in. We walked back to the room hand in hand. We both sat down on the bed. We removed our clothes and put on our sleeping clothes. I looked over at her and was perplexed by what I saw. She wore a pare of pants and a top. Strange. Men usually just wear pants to bed and woman, gowns. She saw me and knew what I was thinking.

"I don't wear gowns to bed. Not sure how, but I usually end up with them around my neck or on the floor."

"I wouldn't mind the latter," I said under my breath and instantly regretted it. She heard me. Her eyes widened a little and blushed but smiled shyly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

She chuckled, "it's ok, Zuko. No apology needed." I saw her blush again and wondered if she had thought similar things about me.

I noticed that she sat down and was leaning over a bit and wrapping her arm around her grimacing. Her ribs I thought.. "Are you alright?" I asked concerned walking over to her.

"Just…a little sore yet. I'll be ok." She said. I sat down on the bed and took her hand. I laid back and brought her to lay next to me. I wanted her. Of course I did. But she was clearly in pain and I wanted more for her to be comfortable and heal. Now that our marriage was official we didn't have to rush into anything. She should heal before we attempt any more…physical activity.

We laid in each other's arms for a bit, just enjoying each other's company. She was laying in the same position as last night, head on my chest and her free arm gently caressing my chest, playing with my chest hair. Suddenly the caressing started to work it's way further down until she was at my pants and working her fingers under the band. I reached down, grabbed her hand and pulled I back up to my chest.

"No. You're sore."

She started to sit up, "I'll live." She said. Before I knew it, her pants were off and she was straddling my hips. She reached down with both of her hands and caressed my chest, squeezing my pec and I couldn't help but feel aroused. I closed my eyes and focused on thinking about something…not her.

"Zuko" she whispered. I opened my eyes and started. Her face was inches from mine. She kissed my lips and pressed her body against mine. She reached down and slipped my pants down. She guided me inside her and we continued to make love. Agni, how did she do this to me? I gave into my feelings and reached up embracing her. My hands exploring her body. We were becoming more and more passionate, the stress of our argument earlier melting away. I sat up and pressed her body against mine hard. After our fight we both were feeling a bit rough. I flipped her around and was ontop of her. I kissed her hard on her mouth and she kissed me back. I grabbed her wrists and put them above her head so I could get to work on her. Suddenly she stopped reciprocating and laid still her hands now balled into fists. I looked at her and her eyes were wide with terror. She looked at me, scared. She pushed me off, grabbed her pants, quickly put them on and ran out of the room.

What…what just happened?