DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED THE CHARACTERS IN ATLA. I DO NOT OWN, NOR HAVE I EVER OWNED NICKELODEON. HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH THE WRITERS OR ANIMATORS OF ATLA. I HAVE NO AFFILIATION, NOR HAVE I EVER HAD ANY AFFILIATION WITH NICKELODEON.
I have written prequels to Together Again, they are part of what I call my TAU (Together Again Universe) here is a list of them along with its Summary
A Second First Date; Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… Aang wants to take Katara out for the perfect date, their first date was so bad Aang want's this one to be perfect… You don't always get a second chance.
Nightmares; A One-Shot Prequel to Together Again. Aang saved the world, he faced Ozai on his own. Everyone kept saying that he was a great hero, that he was so brave. He wore a brave face and acted all the hero they thought he was. But at night in his sleep he was a scared boy, scared for his life as he tried to get away from a psycho Firebender. The Battle came back at night.
Anila's Story; She was ready to travel the world the moment she turned 16. Little did she know, life never goes as expected and that a young Airbending Master just starting out on her own is no exception. Will the winds of change bring her happiness and fulfillment? Or will she only to bed led to sorrow and regret?
Together for Five Years; Aang and Katara's fifth anniversary. This one takes place RIGHT BEFORE Together Again, as in "Let's go visit The Southern Water Tribe."
Other stories I am currently working on (Together Again Universe are marked as TAU)
A Warrior's Path; Suki wants to be the best warrior she can be and follow in her mother's footsteps. Life comes with so many choices to make, will she always make the right choice? Will life teach her to be the best leader she can be or is there something else in store for her?
Across the Wastelands; (TAU) Aang is sent on a journey by King Bumi… One that only he can take… To search for something very important, except Bumi wouldn't tell him what he needed to find! What will he find?
Chapter 134
"I… I'm still a little shocked." Taryn sipped her tea, Zuko was crouching in front of her.
He chucked softly. "I can imagine."
"I'm just a simple, middle-ring girl… This stuff doesn't happen in real life… it's something from fairytales… Royal people don't pretend to be commoners, not in real life."
"Well…" Zuko chucked. "I did!"
"Yeah… I guess you did." She smiled.
"Thank you for returning Ursa's new doll." He told her.
"Thank you for inviting me to The Jasmine Dragon." Taryn told him.
"No… Thank you for accepting my invitation." Zuko kissed her softly then stood back up.
"Ok, I think I'm ready to go see my family, to tell them goodbye." Taryn still felt a little dizzy and wobbled as she stood up, Zuko quickly caught her.
"Careful!" He made sure she was steady on her feet before releasing her.
"Thank you, Zuko." Taryn said to her newly betrothed.
"I love how you say my name… My real name." He smiled lovingly at her.
Zuko went to the helm and had them send off a red smoke rocket to inform them that he was canceling his departure, it also meant he needed a carriage. As soon as he returned to Taryn and Ursa they stood outside waiting for their ride.
…
The ride to Taryn's how was silent, Taryn watched out the window. Zuko smiled as he watched her as she chewed on her thumbnail. He could tell she was nervous, he was pretty nervous too, Taryn's mother didn't really like him. She always judged him and his commoner's clothing, she had always called him "the Tea Server" She wasn't really all that happy when Taryn started seeing him every day… some days he didn't see Taryn at all because her mother wouldn't let her leave the house.
A little voice deep down gloated a bit, how surprised is she going to be when she sees "the tea server" is actually The Fire Lord.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Taryn had caught him.
"I was just thinking… How surprised you mother will be to see that "The tea server" is really The Fire Lord." He told her.
Taryn giggled a bit, "Yeah that will be funny to see!" Taryn said as the Grand Royal carriage came to a stop in front of her house.
The driver opened the carriage door and helped Taryn down the couple steps. As soon as her foot touched the ground the front door of her home was thrown open and her mother came awkwardly jogging towards her. "Taryn! What are you doing coming out of that carriage?" She stopped suddenly looking at the dress her daughter was wearing. "Where did you get that dress? Did you steal it?"
Taryn was shocked at her mother's words. "No! I didn't steal it! Why would you think that?"
"I don't know what kind of trouble that tea server would get you into." The plump woman said to her daughter.
"Mother! Don't call him that!" Taryn scowled at her mother.
"Why not? There's nothing he can say or do about it!" Dyna told her daughter, she had not noticed Zuko climb out of the carriage.
"I could have you sent to the Boiling Rock Prison." Zuko said as we walked up to Taryn and her mother.
Dyna whipped herself around to face who, by the sound of his voice, she thought was the tea server. "You keep your tea serving self…" The woman immediately dropped herself down to her knees, "Fire Lord, please except my apologies! I… I thought you were someone else." She was trying to pull her daughter down to her knees to show him proper respect. "Kneel down you stupid girl!"
"Don't call me stupid!" Taryn said.
"Don't call her stupid!" Zuko repeated her.
From just behind him little Ursa peaked out "Taryn not stupid! I love Taryn."
"Who… Who?" Dyna stammered.
"Can we go inside to talk?" Zuko asked Taryn's mother. "We could stay out here and draw all sorts of attention," Zuko pointed to the crowed starting to grow larger, "But I think it is in your best interest for us to speak inside."
"Y… Yes, your highness, please follow me?" She stood and led the way into a nicely furnished parlor. "I… I'll go… go make us all tea." She hurried out of the room.
Zuko, Taryn, and Ursa waited patiently in the parlor; Dyna had left the door cracked on her way out, they could hear Dyna's voice in the hall. "I thought it was the tea server but it's not, it's The Fire Lord! Why is the Fire Lord here?"
"I have no Idea, Dyna." Taryn's father said. "I'll go see if I can find out."
Zuko and Taryn were quietly laughing at her normally smug mother run around like a pig-chicken with its heads cut off, frantically trying to figure out why Zuko was there. Taryn's father wasn't rude to 'Lee' like her mother had been. The door was pushed open and Taryn's father came in.
"It is an honor to have The Fire Lord grace us with his presence in our humble home. I'm Tuvock, Dyna's husband and Taryn's father.
"I would like to ask you what business brings you here." Tuvock asked as he bowed low to Zuko. Dyna came bustling in bowing again, then she set the tea on the small table in front of them; her hands were shaking as she tried to pour the tea.
"I can pour that." Zuko said to Dyna.
"Oh no, serving tea is well below your station Fire Lord Sir." She told him.
"Really?" Zuko asked her. "You spent the last couple months calling me 'the tea server'"
Dyna's hand shook even harder, causing her to drop the cup in her hand. It shattered on the floor at Zuko's feet. The woman had no clue what to say, her heart pounded, she dropped to her knees touching her forehead to the floor. Her body began shaking.
"I KNEW you looked familiar!" Taryn's father said. "What brings you here today?" He asked Zuko again.
"Well Sir," Zuko took Taryn's hand in his, she squeezed his lightly. "As you know, I have been seeing your daughter for quite a while now… I love her so very much. I want her to go home with me, I have already asked her to marry me and she has whole heartedly accepted."
"Sir," Taryn's mother looked up from her place on the floor, "I have other daughters that were groomed to marry men of importance, and perhaps you would be happier with one of them."
Zuko was getting angry with the woman. "I said I LOVE Taryn. I am taking her home with me whether you like it or not! Coming here was merely to tell you my intention to marrying Taryn, I did NOT have to ask your permission."
"Shut up Dyna! You stupid woman!" Tuvock said to her. "I give you permission to marry my daughter… But I must insist, as one father to another," He gestured to little Ursa, "I cannot let Taryn leave with ANY man before they are married, OR she must be accompanied by a chaperone."
"Yes Sir, I completely agree with you on that." Zuko chuckled as he looked down at his own beautiful daughter.
Dyna's head came up quickly, "I should accompany her! It must be me, I have to give her The Talk the night before the wedding."
Taryn turned bright red quite quickly, her face felt so hot. Zuko rolled his eyes at this suggestion, "Okay…" He grumbled. "You may come with us." Zuko never really liked Taryn's mother, not at all.
…
Taryn was sitting next to Zuko as the Airship crew brought trunks upon trunks of both Taryn and her mother's belonging, most were actually Dyna's belongings.
"Be careful with those trunks, I have valuables in them!" She hollered to the crew.
"I'm sorry…" Taryn shook her head, "My mother is…"
"Crazy? Bossy? Pushy? Demanding?" Zuko asked as he shook his head.
"I know… But it's not like it's going to be forever." Taryn comforted him.
"She must think so! Did she even leave anything behind?" Zuko said.
A crew member from the galley brought out a cart of food for their dinner.
"Oh, that smells so wonderful!" Dyna said as she came over to see what was brought to them. "You must have some of the finest chefs in the world on your air ship!"
Zuko just smiled awkwardly and quickly stuffed his mouth with food, gesturing to his full mouth, it is rude to talk with his mouth full.
…
Once all of Dyna's trunks were loaded and dinner was cleaned up the ship was finally on its way back to the Fire Nation. It had been a long day and poor Ursa was so tired she had crawled up on her Daddy's lap and fell asleep listening to the soothing sound of his heart beating. Taryn was exploring the unrestricted area of the giant balloon. When she came back to the main area and saw Zuko and Ursa, it made her smile. He is such a good father, which was one of the first things she noticed about him; his daughter was the most important thing in the world to him. "Hey," She whispered as she sat down beside him, "It's been a long and eventful day."
He smiled back at her. "Yes, but some of it was wonderful!"
"And some of it was stressful." Taryn unclipped Ursa's tiny flame hair piece and brushed her hair out of her face. "I love her so much!"
"I love that you love her… and I think Ursa would agree with me on this, we love you so much too." He told her. This little moment was a very sweet moment between the three of them.
"Excuse me!" Dyna said ruining the precious moment they were sharing. "Where do I find the kitchen? I need a snack."
"Mom!" Taryn said, tired of her mother not giving them any alone time. "You don't need a snack! We just ate a little while ago."
"I'm going to go put Ursa to bed, then I'll go laydown… Like you said Taryn, It's been a long and eventful day." He kissed the back of her hand. "I love you so much! Goodnight."
…
Zuko was drained but he couldn't sleep he was staring up at the ceiling of his room when he heard a soft knock. The door opened a crack and he heard Taryn whisper, "Are you still awake too?"
He couldn't help himself and smiled, "Yeah I'm still awake."
"I'm a little scared… Can… can we talk?" Taryn asked him.
"Yeah! Of course, come in." He told her.
She quickly slipped into the room and quietly closed the door behind herself. "My mother would kill me if she knew I was in here."
"Don't worry, I won't tell her if you don't." Zuko chuckled softly as he got out of bed. Through the faint light coming in from the windows, Taryn could see his defined muscles, she turned around quickly hopping he didn't see her looking at him.
After Zuko threw on his robe he sat down on the couch in his room, he smiled at Taryn then patted the spot next to him. He watched her as she nervously walked over to the couch, sitting where he had just patted. "Okay now, why are you scared?"
"Well… I've never left home before… I mean, I have but I was always with my father." She told him.
"You have your mother with you." He shook his head and let out a short laugh. "But that is part of the problem isn't it?"
"I never really clicked with my mother, she couldn't give my father any sons, so she started grooming us to marry rich and important men… I hated it so much." Zuko took her hand in his and kissed the back of it, encouraging her to keep going. "It was horrible, she paraded us around at all the fancy balls, and party's I was miserable. After one particular event," Taryn shook her head. "It was one of those strange parties that The Earth King threw for his bear… I was there to watch my sisters and learn how to behave around the elite men."
"Oh hate the elite men." Zuko joked with her, causing her to smile. "They're so stuffy!" Taryn laughed her cute laugh.
"Anyways," She calmed herself down. "Somehow The Avatar ended up being there, he caused a commotion and well my sister's dress was ruined, I thought it was funny but when we got back home she started yelling at me for laughing…as if I was to blame for the dress. My Dad rescued me from her wrath, telling my mother that since he didn't have a son I was to become his favorite. "
"So you have seen him before!" Zuko said.
"Seen who?" She asked him.
"Seen my best friend." He repeated. "Aang… Avatar Aang!"
"I suppose I have!" Taryn began laughing again.
Zuko grinned widely, "I love the way you laugh!"
"No! It's a stupid laugh." She said covering her mouth.
"Don't do that," he gently pulled her hands from her face. "You have an adorable laugh and a beautiful smile."
Her pale cheeks turned pink in the dim light, the corners of her mouth pulled into a wide grin that she could not make go away.
"I love you!" He told her, kissing the back of her hand again.
"I love you too!" She told him.
Zuko brushed her hair out of her face then slowly leaned in to kiss her. The kiss started off sweet and innocent until Taryn leaned in for more, both of then began to breath harder, their hearts pounded harder, bringing them to a level of kissing the had never gone before. She moaned softly as she leaned in further her hand came up, softly caressing his scar. This continued for a few minutes until Zuko suddenly froze.
"Is… Is there something wrong?" She asked him, not quite sure why he had stopped.
"No… well… Yes, but not bad. You should really go back to your room before your mother wakes up… Ursa is too young to rule the Fire Nation." He kissed her once more softly. "I love you so much, goodnight."
Taryn smiled back, "I love you too." Zuko stayed seated as he watched her sneak out of his room, quietly closing the door behind herself.
…
This story continues in my new Zuko/Taryn (Zutaryn) Fic Embers
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