Disclaimer: I don't own ATLA. Never, ever, ever. Oh, darn it.

Notes: I'm not sure how Everyday Life With Zuko, My New Roommate was actually conceived, but I'm going to be very clear here. After many numerous tries, the light bulb finally exploded in an epic explosion above my fried, bewildered brain. This totally random plotline had me so frustrated for the last few days. Before everything went in the crock pot just right, I'd been staring at so many false starts at how to continue it, and erasing thousands of words just because they didn't seem right. Then I realized my problem. Everything I'd written for this story up to that exact moment hadn't been right.

It's not the author that milks their imagination of creative sets of scenarios that makes the story. It's the story that beautifully extracts the creativity of how someone can endlessly imagine a set of scenarios. A story is a story because it's expressed the way it demandingly urges a receptive person to quickly find ways to express the story before it goes unheard. The strength of the story doesn't matter on who tells it, or the fame of the author. It's how strong the story rings inside people's mind and how well they relate to it.

I now have the pleasurable honor to present chapter five of this story. I hope I delivered just the right doses that all of you enjoy.
-Eralynn

So after having dug up the only logical article of clothing in my house that I knew had chance of fitting his large frame, and having heard him complain tetchily about what little I had to offer him, I'd say it has been a good twenty minutes or so had passed since I'd been wrapped up in a century old curse. Give or take a few minutes or so.

This whacked up curse that I'm wholly caught up in is Zuko's only reality. Somehow, I've become the key he needs to break it. Me of all people. I'm not sure if this was an accident, fate, or ironic coincidence, but my life went from utterly mundane to a total fairy tale. Well, either that or a sick minded nightmare that's just waiting to spiral uncontrollably back into any person's worst dreams.

The trashing rustle of Zuko figuring out how to put jeans on was concerning to me. It really was. Did it normally take someone this long to pull on a pair of jeans, zip up the zipper and button the one and only button over the railroad tracks? Now, while I knew the concept of zipper was new to him, it didn't mean he would get hurt, would it? I mean, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Right?

I was somewhat comforted in the fact that he had wisely taken his fair share of time in front on my television to further advance his understanding of the modern world, but….

Really, to be honest, I didn't watch much television myself. I was aware I was gone for long periods of the weekdays, and every other Saturday. And with that much accumulated time watching modern day trens, history documents, current event, sports, hobbies, and finally the news once I arrived home? Surely there was some tutorial for guys on how to dress themselves for the first time in a hundred years.

Geez. That just sounded too pathetic for my liking.

Hmm… Just how much different were my jeans than the ones I'd handed Zuko?

Surely, if Sokka had owned them, they mustn't be too complicated. My brother was simpleminded at times, but the one thing I'd always been thankful for was that he at least had enough sense to know how to dress himself properly.

Further, I knew this pair of jeans were at least cleaned. (Unlike the mountain of dirty laundry I knew Suki now dealt with.) I'd washed them myself before hanging them up in this small forgotten closet near the well hidden utility room. They looked worn in, with a laid back vibe. Simple, yet I imagined very edgy on a man like Zuko.

Now that I was picturing him with jeans on, I thanked my procrastination. It had been a good thing I'd never mailed Sokka's jeans back. He wasn't going to miss them, so I didn't see why I'd bother now that they were being put to good use.

My thoughts stirred. I could feel a slight irritation from Zuko. Splashes of rising annoyance swam around, suddenly.

And then they were gone.

Had I spoken too soon? He'd become so frustrated that he'd slammed down none to gently on our connection to one another. Oh, well. Then again, he'd also been a wolf for quite some time, and had needed no clothes to cover his thick black pelt. Supposing, I casually wrapped my arms around myself. I was cold, even with after I'd earlier paused in my search to crank up the heater.

But now that I was thinking about it….

This same man that I had my back turned was from the last century, on top of previously been trapped in the form of a wolf. And I knew they didn't have zippers back then, so… Hmmmm……

From the fumbling that I heard, it didn't seem like he was having too many problems, but…

Understandingly, I'd tried to send Zuko instructions from my own well practiced experience with Levi's, but I became exhausted from this immediately.

It was too hard. I felt for him, but there was very little for him to be able to sense. I was reaching for smoke, and it was slipping though my fingers.

This was all of a sudden too. Or at least, that I'd become aware of. Like a partial shadow, he was there, but not as much as before. Where had his warmth gone? And what of the feeling of wholeness as our souls brushed one another? What had happened to the indescribable deep intimacy I'd found myself bound to in the complete package of a sinfully handsome man?

I could barely feel the curse that bound us, humming silently in an inaudible langue of sensations and complex forms of intense simplicity.

How come I was just noticing this? The lack of being able to feel him rousing easily inside of me was newer to me than the whole concept of not having him within a thoughts reach. It was unacceptable. I needed to know what had happened.

More importantly, now that I knew what I was missing, the need to have it back was overpowering, demanding.

Had it had really only been twenty minutes or so ago I'd been in my shower, with my head all to myself and my soul simply worn from gardening all day long? I was already losing the ability to feel him! My, God.

I guess Mai really had been specific. Was this part of the first condition? Or was it just because Zuko had accidently brought up a shield around himself, blocking me off?

But that was stupid. Why would he do that? And since he hadn't touched me to indicate acknowledgment, and since he hadn't projected his voice…

Even as I comprehended this, I noticed it became harder and harder to sense him. Like a light dimmer, it became a little harder to feel him. I was becoming less and less aware of the man that could very well be my soul mate.

He was just feet away, too. Needing to show myself that I was a worthy enough person, I decided to try for myself to see if I could work my way through the barrier that was cloaking his presence inside of me. I knew he had rooted parts of himself within me, and I in him, but in the brief moment, those roots were nowhere in range. If I wasn't mistaken, they'd either been reeled in, or had become completely invisible to my knowledge.

Trying again, I inwardly searched. I looked for him, but I couldn't quite get a good hold. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was the darkness behind closed eyelids.

Whereas a few minutes ago, I was aware of everything he was. His essence, the rumbling complexity of his emotions… the different colors… the new sounds… smells… and predatory like instincts, his memories….

Timidly, I understood that since we were bound, it should be no problem reaching him. But…

Since I couldn't immediately grab a hold of Zuko through the dimming bond thread that was fraying, wouldn't it be a direct short cut to just find him through the curse that bound us together?

I knew not to play with fire, but surely just a little curiosity with a curse's magic would be too bad. It had been because of magic Zuko had been cursed, but it had also been magic that had set him on the road to unmaking that curse, so….

With my eyes closed, and my focuses inwardly centered, I imagined myself at the end of a hallway. After a long painful moment, I thought nothing was going to happen.

I imagined myself as a small being, and strangely, the feeling of becoming the very bottom of the food chain swamped me. I felt as if I was inching closer towards an awaiting trap.

But that wasn't possible. I was simply seeking my mate's essence. We were both intertwined in the curse's magic, so technically…

Hmmm…I forgot what I was getting at.

Jumpy, I tried to force myself to calm down. In order to reopen what Zuko and I already had, it would be simple. Because I knew it was there. It just needed a quick repair.

Which, I guess I was doing.

A few more seconds passed. I could hear the fumble of hands with a zipper, but I had other things to be concerned about for the moment.

Zuko was ignoring me. Obviously. He was busy with the stupid pair of jeans, and here I was staring at a wall, wondering why our link had suddenly switched off like a light switch. But I wasn't going to let him win. It was a game. That was it! It was just pretend! Oh, wow. So he was testing me? Okay. I'd play along. Did he want to see how I could handle situations like this before they happened? Dang, wasn't it a little soon for that? I mean, we had four months to unmake his curse.

Well, if this was a little competitive game he was wanting to plat, Then I was all for having a little competition. I was going to show him I could outsmart his ploy, and prove that I could see through the magic that I was only just acquainted with.

With his pants on. I wanted to see the fallen angel with a pair of casual jeans. I knew I'd seen him with less, but my curiosity really made me desire to see if he could fit in with the day in age we were in now.

Besides, if our bond-link opened like last time, then we were in for a ride of sizzling hormones. I was looking forward to that. I mean, there was nothing wrong with him shutting me out if he was just teasing. Great minds think alike, I remembered the old quote.

He's just wanting that rush of heat like the first time. I was fine with that. If he wanted to quicken the pace, then I was ready for it, but not for the—

Then something occurred.

Gradually, the symbols on my skin started hurting, biting in a torturous way. Enduring the prickling sensations, I bit back a gasp successfully as sharp aches bloomed, outlining the foreign symbols and then some.

I found a stronger, surer thread—a red line, wavering, lead down to a doorway at the end of my imagined hallway. It had worked! As I focused on this trail, several other colors faded in and out of my mind's eye. They were colors unknown to man—beautiful, serene, rapturous, and captivating.

The same colors a predator—not so unlike a wolf—would see on an adrenaline high.

Before I second guessed myself, I chose the one that felt most like Zuko, and dove after it.

Sucked in, the last voluntary image that blipped through my mind was of a black hole. And I had gone straight down the center.

Déjà vu reminded me instantly that my choice was permanent, replaying backwards as I was snared for the ride until it was through.

What I'd grasped was magic alright. Its hold was enthralling. Just as I was addicted to the man I knew as Zuko, its drug like qualities were dangerously tempting. I was human, but now that I had been exposed and entangled, there was no turning back until the wave was over. I wasn't a magic wielder, but my mate was. And though him and our curse, I had a limited access to inhuman tangles I probably shouldn't be messing with. All I wanted was to have his essence strongly rooted. Was that too much to ask for?

Besides, I think at this point, I won the round. The prize was a supernatural kiss, one that would be exhilarating for the both of us.

These frightening senses of unknown origin whirled through my confused mind, seeping from my mind into my nerves and traveling outward to the tips of my hands and feet, instantly becoming part of me.

Breathing in, I already knew what I'd find.

Like before, Zuko's scent was the first thing my temporarily heightened senses discovered. The air was saturated with the most heavenly smell I'd ever come across. A content exhale escaped my lips as I shivered.

My heart was pounding, thundering in slowest beat, and I couldn't breathe right. A moment or so passed. Slowly, my heart thudded against my ribs. My mind cease to coherent thought. Nothing made sense. The colors in my vision blurred, split, and finally resettled. I blinked furiously as I heard noises—pitches of sound that shouldn't have been heard by human ears— that grated against my ears, then eased into practical nonexistence. Just in seconds, the smell of no explainable words made me quiver in delight, and emotions crested in a way I couldn't describe.

Icily, a plunge of searing cold froze every parts of me.

Then splotches of sparkling tingles pulsed behind my eyelids, as if I'd changed the channel of the television and landed on the mystery channel with no reception.

Oh, God.

I'd picked the wrong thread of magic.

I'd picked a definite source to Zuko, but not the original link. It wasn't familiar, and a completely different depth of terror filled me.

Behind the privacy of my eyelids, a painful flash of blinding light numbed me. My ears rang, and my head throbbed. I felt as emptiness became a huge gap in my immediate conscious.

When I opened my eyes, the first thing that I was aware of was that something wasn't right. The thudding inside my tender skull subsided in chorus.

Something was really not right. Oh, God. Why was there this terrible feeling inside of me? This feeling of writhing dread that pitted deeply inside my stomach seemed to have lassoed a constricted hold on my rib cage, crushing my frantically beating heart.

Why—

Oh, my god. I couldn't remember the things he'd showed me. Nothing. I knew he'd showed me his life, but I could even remember the smallest inkling right now. I'd known everything about him just seconds ago. Oh, my God. What had happened?

They simply weren't there. It was just me and the thread bear link that held our bond together.

Wait. Hold up. How had we become bonded?

As I realized this, my limbs became heavy, and I became drowsy.

He was totally oblivious.

Wait. Who was he?

And where was the grumpy, shaggy wolf I knew would surely be wandering around, lurking somewhere as he impatiently for me to provide dinner? And why was I standing in the hallway near the basement? Hadn't I just taken a shower a little while ago?

A few minutes ago, the man I suddenly felt separated from would have been able to pick up on this. I couldn't feel him at all now. I was alone again, with a since of depravation so strong that my eyes watered, and several tears slipped down before I recognized the wetness that was rolling down my face.

Shouldn't he be sharing this sudden loss of…something, too? But…wait. I was missing something big here. How would he have been able to? I knew he couldn't speak physically, by why wasn't he able to?

Alarmed at the loss of energy and the sluggish soreness that enveloped me, I bit back a moan. I reached out for the support of the wall, leaning against it. My head hurt, as if someone were knocking for frantic entrance.

I slouched a little, my shoulders tensing as I wished the pounding away.

The pounding became harder. It echoed inside my head, and an aguish of my own inner irritated protests made me choke on my own breath.

There was no migraine medication that could cure this monster of all headaches.

My legs weren't going to hold me up. And I was going to faint.

I curled into myself, falling on my knees to the plush carpet.

When I became aware again, my head still hurt. Not as badly, but it was too bright for me to open my eyes.

A sharp inhale alerted me I wasn't alone.

But there wasn't much I could do.

Something was lightly pressed to my lips, and cool liquid flirted with my lips. Parched, I greedily accepted the water, protesting weakly when it was taken away. It eased the dryness in my mouth, but I wanted more.

I was gently shifted, and I realized how comfortable I was. This took my attention from the water to whatever I was resting against. Lying against the warmest source of delicious heat, I curled sideways into it, distinguishing that I was safe. Turning my face to breathe in the wonderful smell, I breathed deeply, relaxing into the comforting firmness that I fit perfectly into.

When I went to sleep and relinquished to the lingering headache, I didn't comprehend that it was a man that I was laying against. He had propped himself against the wall so he was supported as he encircled me with his body, pulling the sheets of my bed so that I was covered. Nor did I recognize that we made a picturesque contrast, him cradling my sleeping form only as a lover would.

Had I been awake, I would have seemed how devastated he was.

And had I recognized him, I would have understood what my foolish had cost us.

My short term memory.

Of him.

TBC….