Author's Note: I would like to thank the following people for reviewing/following/favoriting my story. (Those people who I have already mentioned will not be mentioned again, but that does not mean that I appreciate you any less). Thank you to: RashestRumble16, Shinigami-Chan17, AnimeBear, Evetjes, IKhandoZatMan, Jhessika, and buddy6o. I truly appreciate you all, and I thank you for the time you took out of your days to help make my story better, or just to tell me that you enjoy it. For all of you reading my story, here are another two chapters! Enjoy! – Fira
Sixteen
It had been about a week and a half since Zuko's Agni Kai with Commander Zhao, and they were back to the ocean. Zuko had been extremely… Zuko-ish when the men that they hired to fix the ship had told him it would take around two weeks to get it done. He'd gone into a rage and threatened not to pay them unless they got it done sooner. They had complied, and it had only taken a week, but Maya was now feeling as if it were not safe aboard the ship anymore. She didn't know how well the men had done, considering they'd cut the repair time in half.
At the moment, she was in her room, which had been changed recently, due to the comment she'd made about the bed at the inn being more comfortable than her cot. Uncle Iroh had exclaimed, "What? Why are you sleeping on a cot? We have plenty of other rooms available. The cots are only for the crewmembers."
"Aren't I a crewmember?" she'd responded.
Uncle had laughed. "No, no, child. I only said that so Commander Zhao wouldn't ask too many questions. You are our guest."
Maya hadn't known how to respond to that. What did guest mean in this situation? She could have chosen to stay behind at the sea town, but, partly because she didn't want to risk running into Commander Zhao, and partly because she was getting used to Uncle's bad jokes and Zuko's slightly better attitude, she decided to go with them once the repairs were made.
So now, she was lying in a much more comfortable bed, about to go to sleep for the night. And then her relaxation was cut off. Because all the nice rooms were in the same area of the ship, she happened to be a lot closer to Zuko's room. And suddenly, she heard, "What? What do you mean we have no idea where the Avatar is?"
Uncle, whose voice was much quieter, said something she could not hear correctly, and then Zuko yelled, "Give me the map!" There was some more bickering between them, and then she heard the distinctive stomping down the corridor that she had learned was Zuko's trademark.
Sighing, she discarded all thoughts of getting a good sleep, and got up to follow Zuko on deck. This seemed to be becoming a ritual between them. Zuko would storm off in a huff, and Maya would sigh and shake her head, and then follow him up on deck to calm him down. Uncle told her he seemed to listen to her more than he listened to him. She wasn't sure what to think of that. Should she be flattered, or slightly nervous? As it turned out, she was both.
She found him standing in his usual place at the newly repaired prow of the ship, staring at the ocean, which looked foreboding this late at night. "Zuko," she said, once she was standing beside him. "You're so impatient. If it really is your destiny to find the Avatar, then you will." She had begun to purposefully use the word find and not capture anytime she was talking about Aang. She thought that maybe if she gave subtle hints, Zuko might catch on without even realizing it.
"Don't talk to me about my destiny," he muttered. "You know nothing about it."
She sighed. "I'm going to bed. Try not to stomp around like an idiot too loudly when you decide you're tired of being angry and come downstairs. I'm beginning to miss my cot. At least it was quieter when I was with the other crewmembers."
"But they probably all snore," Zuko said.
"I'd rather listen to the sound of twenty men snoring than listen to you constantly fight with Uncle about everything. He's only trying to help, you know."
Zuko turned to face her. "I'm getting tired of our little conversations every time I say anything at all to Uncle that isn't yes or no. Why do you defend him? You don't even know him."
"I'm beginning to think that maybe I know him better than you do. You're too busy yelling to actually pay attention to him."
"How dare you say that me, you little bitch? He's my uncle!"
"Right. The one who's been taking care of you for two years despite the fact that you're an absolute asshole."
Suddenly Zuko's fists were spurting flames.
Maya was actually very afraid, but all she did was scoff and say, "Go ahead. Burn me. But I'll be taking that apology back if you do."
Zuko gave a wordless shout and shot a fireball into the air nowhere near her, but she still flinched. And then he was stalking away, back downstairs. Even from where she stood on the deck, she could hear the slam of his door a minute later.
She sighed. So much for becoming Zuko's friend.
Author's Note: P.S. – If I did not mention your name in the above Author's note, I apologize. It either means that I haven't seen your name yet, or that I just missed it when putting it in. It is very confusing for me to go back and forth trying to figure out whose name I did and did not put in the previous thank you note. Please don't hate me. – Fira