A/N – Hey guys here's chapter 3. Dedicated to my Beta Reader and long time fan of my work, Doggi-chan. You're pretty fucking awesome ^_^
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Chapter 3
When the ship finally pulled into the docks and the crew had all disembarked, Xiang grabbed his sea bag and carefully hoisted it over his shoulders and left the ship. Save for a few dock workers, not many of the crew members stayed behind. Many were tired from the long journey and wanted to get home to see their families. Xiang walked casually as he made his way to the dock's local stables. His family's home was on the other side of the capitol in the upper class districts along with many of the other nobles. He thought briefly of Meena, whose own family also lived in the districts, though they were of a lower nobility.
-Last Night-
Katara had chosen to be silent again for the evening and wasn't feeling well. Xiang tried to get her to eat something but she just turned away from him stubbornly. Wanting to let her rest, he told her he was going to go out for a bit. Kneeling in front of her he patted her head, ruffling her hair a bit. "Try and feel better ok?"
She nodded sleepily before crawling underneath his bed. She had somehow taken to sleeping underneath the bed anytime he was not in his quarters. The one time he had asked her why she always hid under the bed like that, she had stated simply that it made her feel safer to be in the dark where no one could find her. He didn't question it too much after that, knowing it was actually a good idea. In case for whatever reason someone managed to get into his rooms when he wasn't there. When he was there, he had the room locked at all times. Katara had grown accustomed to climbing into bed with him when he slept. Often times she waited until she thought he was sleeping before peeking her head above the footboard. When she felt he was asleep she would tip toe to his empty side of the bed and crawl on the bed snuggling up against his back. Xiang didn't know why, but for some reason it felt completely natural to him.
Sometimes he could hear her crying in the night. Soft quiet tears barely audible, even to his ears. Nights when this would happen he would soundlessly turn over and wrap her in his arms. She hardly ever hesitated to let him, choosing only to bury herself deeper in his warm embrace. It sometimes worried him how attached he was becoming. But on the days that she smiled brightly at him his worry would bury itself deep in the back of his mind.
He grabbed a pillow off his bed, passing it to her. When he seen that she was settled he left and headed towards the kitchen hall.
It was quite late and he hadn't expected anyone except the guards on duty to be awake. When he entered the hall Meena was there. She was sitting at the bar flipping through the pages of a book. A tankard was resting by her hand that she occasionally took a drink from. Xiang had meant to grab a drink and just go but it had been awhile since he had talked to her so he thought he might stay. She was one of the few crew members that he liked being around. They had gone through training together and had become close friends over the past few years. He sometimes found himself wanting to tell her about Katara, but then the fear of something happening to her or Katara would remind him it was a bad and risky idea. So, he had taken to avoiding her all together. As he walked up to the bar, taking the stool next to hers, he tried not to notice how tight fitting her training clothes were. She was dressed in black pants with a tightfitting red robe over top. "A fire whiskey please," he ordered. 'just to take the edge off,' he thought to himself as a tankard was placed in front of him.
"Well look who's decided to emerge from their black hole of darkness." She was looking at him with a smirk as he turned to face her. "What drives you to come down and drink with the common people oh great dark one."
Even after avoiding her for so long nothing felt different. She made him feel relaxed…amongst other things. "Dark one? What exactly is the meaning of that?"
"You know, because you've been oh so broody these days. Staying holed up in your rooms more than you normally do, always looking so serious all the time. Some people think it makes you seem dark and mysterious." She tipped her tankard up finishing it off and ordering another one. The bartender, also one of the ships cooks set down a tankard in front of her as Xiang took a drink from his own. "Though, I have my own theories."
"Oh really? And what exactly might these theories be?"
She took a long drink before completely swiveling towards him a dangerous look in her eye. "I don't know if you can handle it Xiang. It might be a little too close to the truth for your taste."
"I'm all ears Meena." He said looking at her with a smirk of his own.
"I think you've taken a gay lover from one of the ports and you've hidden him in your rooms. Wouldn't be the first time it's happened on this ship you know."
His eyebrow quirked up as he smiled at her saying, "I can assure you Meena, if I've taken any kind of lover to my bed, it would have been a woman."
"Care to prove that?" She asked, her voice low.
Xiang hadn't noticed how close they were to each other. He leaned back just a little before shaking his head. "I think I should disprove some of your other theories first. I feel my character has been misjudged and I have to set the record straight."
Meena leaned back as well taking and finishing off her other drink. Xiang did the same ordering another one. Meena was quiet for a moment before she spoke. "The other one…If I didn't know any better my theory would be that you were avoiding me." She didn't turn back to look at him. Meena was always joking around but there wasn't any joking in her voice this time.
Xiang didn't know how he should answer. She was right after all. He was avoiding her but if he was completely honest with himself it wasn't just because of Katara. He had started to feel something more than friendship for Meena and he wasn't sure he wanted to do anything about it. They were really good friends and they worked well together. He sometimes thought that she might feel the same but was never really quite sure because she was always making jokes. He didn't know if he could take her seriously or not. He tried to laugh it off but even he could tell it was dry and forced. "Don't be ridiculous. That's just as awful as your other theory…" It was quiet for another moment before he finished off his drink and stood from his stool, his back turned to her. "I should get back. I still have some…stuff I have to get done before we dock tomorrow."
"Xiang wait!" Meena called out to him, her stool falling to the ground as she stood abruptly tripping over herself. Xiang turned around just in time to catch her before she crashed into him. She looked up into his face, her cheeks flushed. He felt his own face heat as he became very aware of her breasts pressing into his chest. He cleared the lump in his throat as he helped right herself. They stood awkwardly before she asked in a quiet joking voice "Escort a lady to her room?"
"Sure," he said. The tension making him nervous as he held his arm out to her.
She grabs a hold of his arm swaying on her feet a little. They walk in silence.
When they reach her room, she waits a moment before slipping her arm out of his. When she does he says, "Well here you are. It was fun catching up. I'll try not to be such a hermit on our next raid."
He is about to turn to leave when she pulls his head down to hers roughly. Her mouth over his for only a second before her lips are moving against his. His eyes widen before he slowly returns her kiss just as hungrily. He backs her into the wall next to her door. Their bodies pressed against each other as she lifted her leg and wrapped it around his waist. Xiang moves his hand up the side of her thigh. How long has it been since he'd been with a woman, he thought to himself. He groaned into her mouth as she grinded her hips against him. They broke the kiss coming up for air for a brief moment before he moved his lips against her neck.
"My bunkmate is on top deck duty for the night," she whispered gruffly in his ear.
Her voice made him pause. The weight of the situation finally breaking through his sex induced thoughts. Slowly he lowers her leg extricating himself from her body before giving her a slow kiss on the mouth. "Meena, I should get back to my room. You've had quite a bit to drink tonight."
"Xiang," she said her eyes smoldering at him. "Even if I had not one drink tonight I would still want you in my bed." She had her hands on the front of his shirt as she spoke quietly. "I have for a while now."
He took her hands in his and removed them from his chest. Remembering Katara he dropped her hands in front of them. "I'm sorry Meena, but I have to go." He quickly pulled her head towards him planting a soft kiss on her forehead before turning to walk down the hallway. She watched his retreating back slightly confused.
It took every ounce of his will power to continue walking down the hall and to not run back to her.
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"Her name's Grey."
"Huh?" Xiang snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the man in front of him holding out a pair of reins.
The old man sighed loudly. "The ostrich horse. Her name is Grey," he repeated impatiently.
"Oh yes, right. Thank you sir. Here," he said as he handed the man a small handful of coins. He took the reins from his hands. "I'll have her returned sometime tomorrow." The old man waved him off before taking his lantern back into the stable with him. Xiang carefully slid his sea bag to the front of his body before awkwardly mounting the animal. As he set off, he made sure to take the back alleys and side streets as he pondered what exactly it was he was going to tell his mother.
'Hi mom. So the latest mission we got sent on was to go get rid of the last waterbender of the southern water tribe. Well the thing is, my boss thought he had killed her, you know, but as it turns out the last waterbender wasn't the woman whom he had killed it was actually this cute little girl whom was her daughter. You know, I just couldn't bring myself to kill her. So, I kind of kidnapped her. Yeah, I know I could have left her there, but I wasn't exactly thinking the whole thing through. I know I'm a disappointment and a huge screw up and this is kind of huge but could you please just help me figure out what I should do? I really care about her you know. She's like the little sister I never had. Why is that anyways? Why have you and dad never tried to have more kids? Maybe if you guys had more kids, father wouldn't hate me so much, because you know, he'd have other kids to hate-'
Xiang's thoughts drifted and he snapped his head back up as he felt his body slipping out of the saddle. He hadn't realized he was falling asleep. He slapped his cheeks a few times, trying to wake himself up as he approached the gates to the upper district neighborhood. His mother was the kindest person he knew but as he nodded to the guards at the gate he wondered if the situation was beyond fixing and understanding, even for his saint of a mother.
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A/N – What did you guys think? I know this seems like a lot of backstory but it is part of the story I wanted to tell and since this is my story I can do that. Hope you guys like it. There should only be a couple more chapters before we actually get to meet Zuko. So bear with me ok.
Also please review, even if it's a flame or critique. I like any kind of feedback as it helps me grow as a writer.
On another note I do promise to never hold this story hostage. I write for myself but if there is even one person out there reading and enjoying my work I promise to keep updating. *Looking at you Doggi-chan* ^_^ Next chapter should be up in hopefully less than a week since I have already begun to work on it. Also the first two chapters have been edited as of this update. Please see my profile for other notes about this story.
Ta-Ta for now!
