disclaimer: Mike and Bryan own the ATLA universe; Mariko belongs to me (: enjoy!

Wild Flower

A small spout of smoke came from his opened palm.

Both of them deadpanned; the girl shook her head slightly, looking down at the scroll in her lap, memorizing the stances illustrated. "I might've forgotten to mention the last time Aang made fire it was an ember moreso than a flamethrower." She pointed out quietly from her spot perched behind him on the railing.

"That would've helped prior." He grated, shooting a look at her, to which she wiggled her fingers in a cheeky wave, exhaling steadily to keep his temper in check.

"Perhaps a demonstration would help?" Aang asked rather meekly, looking up at him.

"Good idea; you might wanna take a couple of steps back." Zuko nodded, watching the boy back away a few steps closer to the wall before he exhaled again and took a stance, left fist thrusting out only to exhibit a small spout of embers, balking slightly. "What was that? That was the worst firebending I've ever seen!" He declared.

Aang clapped out of sympathy, offering a slight smile. "I thought it was… nice."

Mariko snorted and lifted the scroll to cover the lower half of her face, valiantly fighting a giggle, hearing a grumbled oath from her fellow teacher. "Nice try, Aang."

"What're you laughing for? You haven't demonstrated, princess." Zuko glared irritably at her, seeing her blink once.

Rolling the scroll back up, she pursed her lips and stood, smacking his chest with the scroll as she put it in his hands. "Oh yeah?" Mariko flicked her left wrist and summoned a thin whip of flames, turning to look smugly at his irritated glare, cocking a brow. "Well what d'ya know?" She drawled, smirking.

"That doesn't make much sense; if Mariko can firebend, why can't you?" Aang questioned, breaking the staring contest between his teachers, making them both blink once.

"Aang brings up a good point. It might be the altitude; your firebending was always stronger than mine, but still…" She agreed, pondering on the reason why he couldn't firebend as easily as he usually did, tapping her chin with a finger; was it because he'd changed his ways? Or was it really the altitude that was affecting his firebending…?

"Yeah, it must be. Let's move to a lower ledge." He nodded, the assurance not exactly reaching his eyes, gesturing they move.

After moving to an open area on a lower ledge, he tried demonstrating again, only to end with the same results. She tried as well, only to end up with her firebending remaining the same, which seemed to make him irritable.

"That last one felt hot," Aang contributed when he fired again only to end up with another spout of flames.

Zuko snarled back, "Don't patronize me!"

"Sorry, Cifu Hotman!" His student replied, earning a barked 'And stop calling me that!' from the prince.

Mariko slapped her forehead, exhaling. "Aang, noone says 'Hotman' in the Fire Nation. The lingo's changed from over a hundred years ago." She reminded gently.

"Oh, right…" Aang smiled cheesily, to which she smiled lightly.

"Hey jerks, mind if I come watch you jerks do your jerk-bending?" Sokka wondered as he came forward to plonk down next to Mariko's seat (which was the stump of a ruined pillar), biting into an apple he had.

Zuko sent him a scowl as Mariko flicked his ear; he snapped, "Get out of here!"

Sokka rolled his eyes and hopped up to let them be, "Fine, fine." He walked away, muttering in amusement at his own joke.

"Um, Mariko, is this scroll illustrating how to use lightning?" Aang asked, perking her ears.

Mariko looked to see he was examining the scroll she'd given to Zuko, gray eyes innocent and curious. She smiled a little, nodding. "Yeah; it didn't work at first, but I managed to use it the other day when Combustion Man tried to blow the temple off the cliffside." She informed, shrugging.

"That's amazing; maybe you can try and teach it to me, too!" Aang beamed at the idea.

"Once you master firebending, we'll see." Mariko smiled for him, seeing him look slightly deflated before nodding, smiling at the prospect; she looked at her boyfriend. "For now, you still have to master actually producing fire." She added, winking at him when he looked to her.

::::::::dOb::::::::

Mariko scritched behind the lemur's right ear affectionately and smiled, glancing over at him as he stood near Appa and blinking once as he came forward into the amber light of the fire.

"Listen up, everybody; I've got some pretty bad news… I lost my stuff." Zuko informed, slightly drooping his head when he finished his statement.

Lifting her hands in surrender, Toph piped up, "I didn't touch your stuff."

"I'm talking about my firebending; it's gone." Zuko elaborated.

A barked laugh came from Katara, making both firebenders look at her; she smiled cheekily at the prince, "I'm sorry, I'm just laughing at the irony. Imagine how nice for us it would've been if you'd lost your firebending a long time ago?" She snickered, cheekiness shifting to sarcasm.

Mariko glared pointedly, "You're gonna bring that up again, are you? For someone who acts like she's everyone's mother, you just love to act like a bratty child." She said, letting the lemur hop out of her lap to scramble into Toph's as she crossed her arms.

"Like you're so perfect. Besides, what's wrong with mentioning that; you don't have a problem with it, do you, Mariko?" Katara countered snarkily.

"I've got a problem with something…" Mariko bit out annoyedly.

"Both of you, cut it out." Aang spoke up, making both girls blink and look to him, ignoring the mutinous vibe emanating from the two girls.

Mariko snorted in an unladylike way, gesturing to her boyfriend. "Go ahead, Zuko."

"It's not lost, it's just weaker for some reason." Zuko continued, albeit awkward if only a little in regards to the tension.

"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are; either of you." Katara sniffed, unrelenting in her bitterness.

"Ouch." Toph muttered.

"Some of us aren't adept at being preachy crybaby brats, blessedly enough." Mariko sang bitingly, sipping her tea, pouring a cup for Zuko as he sat down at her right side.

"What was that?" Katara felt a vein twitch on her brow, looking at the older girl slowly.

"It might be because you switched sides, Zu. Internal battle outcomes sometimes affect more than just your mental well-being." Mariko offered an answer, completely ignoring the icy blue daggers digging into the back of her head as she looked at her companion.

Zuko tried to ignore the death glare steered in their direction, nodding a little and sipping his tea. "Maybe you're right…" He made a mental note not to piss off Katara; he had a sinking feeling she would wake up half-frozen if they continued their arguments.

"Mariko might be on to something, actually; maybe your firebending comes from rage, and you don't have enough anger to fuel it like you used to." Aang agreed, looking at his teachers.

Sokka piped up, "So all we need to do is get Zuko angry!" He started poking the older boy in the sides and his temples with his sheathed sword.

"Okay, cut it out!" Zuko exclaimed, his voice echoing and making him drop the sword in a cringe, scowling at him. "Look, I don't wanna rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way; if I can't get it back, Mariko's going to be the one teaching Aang." He added with a jerked thumb at his girlfriend.

"You're gonna need to draw your firebending from a different source; I recommend the original source." Toph pointed out.

"How's he supposed to do that, by jumping into a volcano?" Sokka jeered, smirking.

Toph answered calmly, "No; Zuko needs to go back to the original source of what firebending is…"

"So, is it jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asked again, yelping as he narrowly ducked a thrown teacup from Mariko, meeting her annoyed scowl.

"Dunno; with earthbending, the original source is badger-moles. One day when I was little, I ran away and hid in a cave; that's where I met them. They were blind just like me, so we understood each other; I was able to learn earthbending not just as martial arts, but an extension of my senses. For them, the original earthbenders, it wasn't just about fighting, it was their way of interacting with the world." Toph informed, smiling at the memory.

Aang said, "That's amazing, Toph. I learned from the monks, but the original airbenders were the sky bison. Maybe you can give me a lesson, sometime, buddy!" He smiled over at the flying beast that groaned slightly in response.

"The dragons died out long ago." Mariko mused quietly, looking at Aang.

Zuko contributed, "Either way it doesn't help me; they're extinct."

"What do you mean? Roku had a dragon, and there were plenty of dragons around when I was a kid." Aang asked.

"Well they aren't around anymore, okay!?" Zuko bit back, scowling slightly as he curbed his tone when the boy raised his hands in defense, looking down. "But maybe there's another way. The first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient Sun Warriors." He mused, standing to leave the circle and look at the fountain.

Aang straightened to stand next to him, "'Sun Warriors'? Well I know they weren't around when I was a kid."

"No, they died off thousands of years ago; but their civilization isn't too far off from where we are, now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around their ruins." He pondered.

He nodded, "It's like the monks used to tell me; sometimes the shadows of the past can be felt by the present."

"So what, maybe you can pick up some ancient sun energy from standing where they used to stand over a thousand years ago?" Sokka wondered flippantly.

"More or less; either I find a new way to firebend, or the Avatar has to find a new firebending teacher." Zuko mused, looking at the boy.

Mariko sighed and hopped up to retrieve the scroll she'd been reading from her bag, straightening. "It's worth a shot; don't think you're going sight-seeing without me, though. If they were the first people to learn from dragons, who knows how cool it'd be to check out where they lived." She mused, bopping Sokka on the head as she plonked down next to Toph and opened the scroll.

"Since when did I invite you?" Zuko scowled slightly at her.

"Since you considered yourself Aang's firebending teacher, and as your assistant, there's obviously no room for me to argue going with you, princeling." Mariko replied absently, studying the second stance in one particular illustration.

Zuko felt his ears burn as Toph snickered next to her, "Don't call me that!"

"How much longer are we gonna keep flying? For some reason I imagined this thing would go faster." The prince asked boredly, scowling at the sea that stretched for miles.

The airbender smiled as the bison groaned a rebuttal, "Appa's right; in our group we usually start the day with a more upbeat attitude."

"I can't believe this…" He groaned under his breath and relaxed against the saddle.

"Aang and Appa have the right frame of mind; you'll get used to it." She mused, checking the dagger she kept in her right wrist guard for signs of scratches or smudges, sunlight winking off the flat edge.

"So what was the real reason you wanted to come?" Zuko asked carefully, lifting his head to look at her, seeing her blink.

Mariko kept her eyes on the dagger, feeling her cheeks burn. "What, you didn't believe me when I said I was obligated to come because of Aang…?" She started to ask.

"No but I do know when you're lying." The prince valiantly fought the smug smirk creeping onto his features when meeting her guilty amber stare; he folded his arms. "Spill."

"Aaaaang…" She began weakly, looking to her friend as sanctuary.

"He's your boyfriend." The airbender shrugged, smiling apologetically when she deflated at being rendered defenseless.

Mariko sighed steadily, placing the dagger back in place in her wrist guard, looking away from his penetrating gold stare. "It's awkward around Katara, mostly because she still won't let what happened in Ba Sing Se drop. I didn't want to risk anything, so that's why I came." She explained quietly.

"So you came for our sakes, then." Aang surmised, seeing her cheeks redden in embarrassment.

"Don't rub it in; just didn't want you to come back and find your girlfriend recovering from a few bolts of electricity." Mariko muttered, folding her arms stubbornly, hating that she was on the spot.

Zuko's eyes softened slightly at her confession, lifting a hand to brush pesky locks behind her right ear, meeting her stare. "You really do care." He mused.

Instead of shooing his hand away like he imagined she would, she huffed and leaned into his shoulder, looking away from his gold eyes. "Shut up."

Aang smiled slightly before looking forward, letting them be.

::::::::dOb::::::::

A yelp came from the airbender as he jumped back; his female teacher, who had been standing behind him, also fell back to land unceremoniously in her boyfriend's arms.

He slightly yelped and caught her, arms fastening around her ribs quickly, blinking when she looked up at him in slight confusion. Both teenagers blushed simultaneously, the prince releasing her as the admiral's daughter scrambled away, dusting herself off.

"Spooked?" He wondered, trying to fight the amusement from showing prominently on his face.

She snorted, smacking his chest, "No, Aang made me fall." She looked at the statue that had spooked their pupil, hearing them inspecting the other statues on the right side of the room, looking to the one on its left, and the next, and the next, before a light came on inside her head… "Is this what I think it is?" She wondered softly.

The same light seemed to shine on Aang as well before he beamed at the ingenious idea, zipping over to latch onto his teacher's arm, "Zuko, get over here, I want you to dance with me!" He chirped, pulling on his arm.

"What?" He balked slightly, looking at the boy in surprise, distinctly hearing his girlfriend fight a laugh from the other side of the room. "This isn't funny, Mariko!"

"Just do it!" At further insistence, and pretending the prince didn't grunt in reluctance, they both shifted to stand on either side of the statue formation, Zuko on the left and Aang on the right. "Let's follow the steps of the statues." Aang suggested, arms spread on either side.

Mariko looked at the pout on the prince's face and snickered, crossing her ankles from her perch on the stone pillar for the first statue on the left side of the room. "Play nice, now." She teased.

"Bite me." Zuko seethed, ignoring her giggle, hearing Aang muttering aloud of his theory regarding the stances as he followed his movements with his own, looking down in mild surprise to see the places where his footing was were lowering with each step. Well I'll be damned.

She watched with curiosity and bemusement as both boys followed the stances, perking up to see a tall pillar rise up from some compartment below the floor in the center, holding up what appeared to be a large golden egg. Her eyes sharpened in surprise and she hopped down to go examine it, hearing Aang cheer in the background at their prowess. "This is so… pretty." If she didn't know better, and if she hadn't done some digging in the past on dragons, she would think this egg wasn't an ordinary jewel, but a dragon's egg.

"No, this can't be…" It wasn't possible, right? Uncle Iroh had been the one to supposedly slay the last dragon before either she or Zuko were born, so there couldn't be an egg still present after sixteen plus years… Right?

"What's up?" Aang poked his head over her shoulder, stirring her from her reverie.

Mariko blinked once before smiling assuringly at him, "It's nothing, Aang."

"It must be some kind of mystical gemstone," Zuko noted more to himself as he had come forward to examine the egg, making her slightly jump before she scooted away to stand by Aang, pouting at him. "What?" He asked, giving her an odd look.

"Well don't touch it!" At the confused question from the prince, Aang gestured to the spiked booby-trap from earlier, "Remember what happened out there with those spikes? …I'm just very suspicious of giant glowing gems sitting on pedestals."

Despite his words, curiosity got the better of him; the airbender's eye twitched as he extended his hand to pick up the egg. "It feels almost alive…" Zuko murmured.

As he started to put the egg back, a geyser of green gunk shot up to glue him to the grate at the top of the ceiling, making the prince yelp in surprise.

"Tui and La, you're worse than me…" Mariko slapped her forehead and sighed, summoning her fire-rockets to get to the ceiling and help him out of the glue prison. "Hold still." She started to pull on the glue, blinking once before trying to yank her hand off the glue stuck to his right shoulder, groaning. "Aang, a little help!" She beckoned, yelping as a gust of wind came from the airbender and flipped them both so her back faced the daylight outside, seeing Aang leap up to cling to the sticky bars before he tried to pull his hands free; she groaned. "Damn it…"

"Zuko do something!" Aang barked as he tried again to get his hands free.

"Me!? I can't move, either!" Zuko bit back, stifling a yelp when the glue rose to stick to both his and Aang's back, distinctly feeling something warm pressed to his lower belly… "Mariko?" He asked, practically feeling the color drain from his face to stain his cheeks scarlet as it clicked.

"Yeah…?" Mariko blinked once and then a second time as she realized they were both stuck together, and that her groin was pressed so very close to… She blushed beet red. "Crap. D-don't… whatever you do, don't move." She threatened lowly, her face staring at his collar bone, making it just the slightest bit easier for her to not stare into his eyes. She silently thanked the spirits that she was a few inches shorter than the prince she was glued to (literally and figuratively).

This had to be one of the worst days of her life.

::::::::dOb::::::::

Despite the deep thrum the chanting and drums in the background gave her, she couldn't help but bite her lower lip in apprehension as her traveling companions stepped up the tall stairwell to the long rock bridge that connected two cave mouths on either side of the bridge, concealing spirits-knew-what.

She instinctively shifted her weight from one foot to the other, suddenly recalling that egg they'd found the day prior, and her theories on whether it was a gemstone as Zuko had said, or if it truly was a dragon egg.

"Those who wish to meet the masters Ran and Shao will now present their fire." One of the tribesmen behind her announced, his voice projected loudly from what appeared to be a strange-looking Sunghi horn.

Mariko watched both boys stand back to back, Zuko on the left and Aang on the right, a mirror image of the Dance of the Dragon that they'd performed in that temple-room.

"Sound the call!" The Chief commanded, prompting a horn-blower on a higher ledge near the tip of the left cavern to blow into a long-nosed horn, making a small flock of birds fly into the air in shock and eliciting a slight jump from the girl.

Loud rumbling sounded from Aang's cave, making the boy flail in surprise and inadvertently lose the ember he'd held in his hands; she forgot her surprise momentarily to slap her forehead when he hissed nervously to the older boy to lend his fire to him, resulting in a small quarrel before low rumbling sounded from Zuko's cave next.

Lowering her hand from her face, Mariko didn't fight the gasp that escaped when a shrill screech sounded from Aang's cave as a long blur of red scales slithered out, loud growling coming from Zuko's cave as a second blur much like the first one save that it was blue followed suit.

Dragons… Tui and La, they were alive! Dragons!

And then both Zuko and Aang were performing the dance again, bodies swerving and shifting into the stances from the temple-room's statues, resulting in not only connecting their extended fists at stopping on the opposite sides (Zuko on the right, Aang on the left), but also in the dragons' swirling and slithering bodies to come to a complete halt, the blue dragon facing Zuko and the red dragon facing Aang; her heart clenched into a cold thing and fell into the pit of her belly at feeling the ominous vibe coming from the scene above them.

With a deafening roar both dragons opened their fanged maws and unleashed twin flamethrowers upon her companions, the flames funneling into a tornado-esque form that completely shielded them from the onlookers below.

Mariko flinched and wanted to look away but stopped short when seeing the rainbow of colors that showed instead of the normal red and orange, eyes widened and jaw slack. "Tui and La."

Coiled serpentine bodies relaxing, Ran and Shao rose up and crossed over the other to return to their respective caves, leaving a deafening silence in their wake.

Zuko and Aang descended the stairwell, reveling in the revelations they'd gotten while being in the masters' presence, and she felt her heart soar in relief at seeing them intact.

"Their fire was beautiful; so many colors, colors I hadn't even imagined!" Zuko said in awe as they neared the Sun Warriors plus Mariko waiting on them.

Aang contributed, "It was like firebending harmony."

"Yes, they judged you, and gave you visions of the meaning of firebending." The Chief stated as both boys came to a halt infront of him.

Zuko confessed, "I can't believe there're real dragons. My uncle Iroh said he defeated the last dragon and killed it."

"So your uncle lied." Aang surmised quietly.

"Actually, it wasn't a total lie. Iroh was the last outsider to face the masters, they deemed him worthy, and passed the secret on to him, as well." The Chief admitted, seeing both the prince and admiral's daughter's eyes widen in surprise.

"He lied to protect them, so that noone would hunt them again." Mariko guessed softly, smiling in spite of her surprise and feeling newfound respect for her future uncle.

"All this time, I thought fire was destructive. Since I hurt Katara, I've been too timid and hesitant… But now I know what it really is: it's energy, and life." Aang concluded, looking to his two teachers.

Zuko nodded, adding, "It's like the sun, but inside of you… Do you guys realize this?" He asked, looking at the Chief.

Said man smiled wryly, "Well, our civilization is called the Sun Warriors." At the prince's slight embarrassment, he added, "So yeah."

"That's why my firebending was so weak, before!" Zuko declared, looking at Aang, "because for so long, hunting you was my drive, it was my purpose. So when I joined you, I lost sight of my inner fire… But now I have a new drive. I have to help you defeat my father and restore balance to the world." He turned away to take a stance and prove that his fire was back, sending twin small blasts of flames into the air.

Aang smiled, spurred by his teacher's declaration and demonstration, doing the same and beaming when a likewise blast came to life.

Mariko threw her arms around the both of them with a grin and hugged her companions as the trio faced the Sun Chief.

"Now that you know the secret, and about our tribe's existence, we have no choice but to imprison you here forever!" The Chief stated gravely, hesitating when seeing the matching balking expressions on the teenagers' faces, grinned lightly and added, "Just kidding! But seriously, don't tell anyone."

The trio said their goodbyes as the sun was dying to the night once again and were soon flying back to the temple, Aang steering with Zuko and Mariko in the saddle.

"The dragons were gorgeous," she lamented softly from her seat next to the prince on the left side of the saddle, looking at the dying sun in the distance.

He couldn't help but smile at her, watching her shuffle closer out of reflex, his arm stretched out on the ridge of the saddle lifting to wrap around her shoulders, seeing her hand rest on his chest; he smiled a small smile.

Clapping sounded from the audience as both teacher and student finished the Dance of the Dragon for them, straightening to bow slightly.

"Yeah, that's a great dance you two learned, there." Sokka commented from his seat between Katara and Mariko.

Zuko was quick to rebut, "It's not a dance! It's a firebending form!"

"We'll just tap-dance our victory over to the Fire Lord," Sokka chuckled, gesturing with a hand a dancing figure, earning a chuckle from Mariko.

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!" Zuko barked, flustered.

Katara huffed, "Oh yeah; what's your sacred form called?" She drawled sardonically.

Shoulders slumping, he deadpanned and looked down in embarrassment, "The Dancing Dragon…" He made a face when the others laughed quietly.

Mariko straightened to peck his cheek, smirking at his gold eyes. "Dance with me, then, Dragon Prince." She teased, shrugging past Aang to take a stance opposite the prince.

Zuko blinked once before a small grin formed at her confidence, following her lead and shifting his stance to start the dance, watching her mirror him with fluid ease.

Bodies twisting and shifting, throwing a few blasts of fire in between, the prince and admiral's daughter connected their fists together at the end, panting slightly.

He didn't know if it was because of the dance that sparked the inner fire in not only himself but in her as well, or if it was because of their awkward situation back at the Sun Warriors' temple, but Zuko could swear that she looked so beautiful dancing –no scratch that, firebending.

Why didn't he notice it sooner?

Mariko smiled at the clapping from their friends, easing her stance to poke his chest with a finger, a cheeky smirk on her pretty face. "You can stop drooling, y'know." She purred softly.

Zuko made a face at her teasing, seeing her eyes soften as she chuckled, shaking his head a little and smiling fondly. "How does that lightning technique go again?" He wondered.

Grinning, she bounced over to grab the scroll from her bag, zipping to leave the group. "C'mon, Zu," she beckoned.

"Oi if you two are gonna do what I think you're gonna do, keep it away from the virgin eyes and ears!" Sokka declared, slightly flustered on the sudden shift in gears.

Zuko rolled his eyes as Mariko shot him a rude hand gesture and smirked, following her as she took a detour and led the way to a clear patch of land between the first break of the trees that led to the wilderness beyond the temple and the temple wall.

"So which technique did you want to learn first?" She asked, failing to keep the excitement from reaching her voice, looking up at him imploringly, her amber eyes bright.

He smiled a little at her excitement, looking at the scroll's illustrations, thinking of an idea. "Actually, Uncle taught me a technique that noone knows of because he invented it himself." At seeing the childlike awe scrawled on her face, his smile stretched and he continued, "how to redirect lightning."

"Whoa, really?" She gaped in surprise and new respect for his uncle, looking at him pleadingly, "Can you show me how he did it?" She asked, nearly bouncing up and down in place in further excitement, her heart thumping at the prospect of not only wielding lightning but being able to redirect it.

Zuko grinned in that familiar way he would when they were little and getting themselves into trouble, rolling the scroll up and tucking it in his sash, facing her properly. "He said to channel it through your left hand's fingertips, up the arm, down into your belly, and then out your right hand's fingertips." He watched her try to illustrate the form and shook his head slightly, stepping forward to come from behind and maneuver her posture.

Mariko blushed when he took her right hand and positioned it to point to the trees, the same hand that moved her right hand tracing his index finger along an invisible V-shaped formation from her shoulderblade to her abdomen, his free hand raising her left arm so she pointed at the cliffside beyond the temple's ledge, distinctly feeling the heat between them radiate, whether it was because it was the beginning of summer or because they were so close, she wasn't sure. But it was starting to make her dizzy.

"Got it?" He asked quietly, his voice at her left ear, gold looking at her amber.

She nodded, smiling up at him. "Mm." Before she could register what she was doing, she had lowered her raised arms save her left hand, stroking his scarred cheek gently, her face tilting to meet his, another blush burning her cheeks, seeing he was slightly blushing as well, letting her guide him even though he normally would've become flustered and turned into the turtle-duck with two left feet he'd been around her when they met again in Ba Sing Se.

Zuko pressed a slow kiss onto her lips, making her freeze slightly before he felt her hand at his left cheek lift to bunch her fingers in his shaggy hair, his right hand at her back finding her lower waist as she reciprocated warmly, relieving the tension between them as he found himself kissing back, his hand at her waist pulling her to face him wholly, his free hand digging his fingers into her upper back, holding her tight.

Mariko couldn't fight the grin at the relief in his kisses and she realized it was easy being with him, sighing against him, her fingers tugging at his hair gently, knotting in the locks, leaning onto his body, distinctly feeling his hand at her waist drop to grapple for her left hip, fingertips burning, nibbling lightly on his lower lip, challenging, teasing.

He groaned under his breath at her challenge, shifting her so he pinned her to the wall nearest them, kissing eagerly and digging his fingers into her side he held onto as she growled slightly and kissed back defiantly, the two warring flames sparking and clashing vibrantly, making both teenagers dizzy and hazy.

Zuko drew back from making his mark that much more visible, panting, looking into her flushed face and feeling his insides melt at the aroused light in her amber eyes, his knee he'd pinned her to the wall with by her right thigh lessening the hold, feeling her fingers comb through his hair absently, no longer knotting. "Sorry." He mumbled, feeling slightly awkward again once reality settled in around him, his surroundings, their friends that were only yards away in the temple.

Mariko sighed softly and fought the bitter sting reality hit her with, dropping her gaze to the gold lapel of his crimson tunic. "Don't be, it was worth it." Trust me, it was worth it, she inwardly added, blinking when feeling his index finger tip her chin back up so their eyes held, blushing shyly. "Zuko."

He pressed his forehead to hers, a fond light brightening his gold eyes at seeing her shy blush. "You're supposed to be the princess someday, right? Don't lower your head." He pointed out quietly.

She felt a fond smile form before sliding her eyes closed, tilting her chin up a smidge, confidence resurfacing. "For a turtle-duck with two left feet, you dance well." She mused in the same manner, reminding him of the earlier embarrassment.

His lips settled into a thin line, a vein starting to twitch on his brow. "You just had to ruin it." He groused.

"I mean it, Zu." She chuckled, smiling happily at his slightly confused expression, "I'm glad you've got your fire back… You weren't the same without it." She admitted.

He started to open his mouth and say something but for the honest light in her eyes, he looked away briefly, his cheeks coloring. "T-thank you." He mumbled, starting to feel like an awkward turtle-duck again.

A/N: not much to put, but just a small shoutout to Distant-Moon for the recommendation on her FB page regarding this fic. it means a lot, Moon, believe me (: again, thanks!

* Wild Flower - L' Arc-en-Ciel