Zuko and Samyah (third person narrative)
Zuko held Sam's hand as he led her through the corridors. There were a lot of rooms and Sam thought it was bigger than it looked on the outside. They came to a room at the end of the hall. Zuko lifted the heavy metal bar and swung the heavy door open as it moaned. It was a small room, clearly meant for short term travel. There was a small dresser in the room - only three drawers. There were, what Sam assumed, Fire Nation banners hanging on the walls. She'd never seen them before but they had flames on them. There was a fire place and above the mantle hung dual broad swords. Nice decor, she thought. Then there was the object of the evening. The bed. It wasn't huge, but would fit both of them though it would be a bit crammed.
Zuko had escorted her, but left to take care of some things. She thought he did that on purpose, to give her a chance to take in her surroundings. Zuko had lightly brushed her unbruised cheek with his hand and told her he would be back shortly. Zuko thought he saw a hint of relief in her face. She did need a moment. We both do. He'd thought.
Zuko left the room and walked down the corridors. He filled his crew in on what had transpired, only giving them the information they needed. Sam was now their new Fire Lady and that was all they needed to know. The truth would come out eventually. But Zuko thought he could keep it quiet for as long as possible. He knew there would be contention about him marrying an "outsider." He checked on all of the people on the ship before heading back to their room.
He lifted the bar again and walked in. Sam was sitting on the bed, her knees hugged to her chest. She looked up at Zuko and he thought she looked scared.
He carefully walked over to her and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, "You don't need to be scared. I wasn't going to…force you."
She looked up at him and met his gaze, "I know," and said nothing more She smiled but it did not reach her eyes. Zuko sat down on the bed and removed his boots. He then sat up - back straight and his hands on his knees. Sam noticed that he sometimes sat like that before but she wasn't sure why. It was such an odd way to sit. They sat in awkward silence for what seemed like an eternity when she spoke.
"I don't know anything about you. Tell me." She was stalling, but Zuko welcomed it. This was going to be harder than he thought.
"What…do you want to know?" he asked cautiously. It wasn't easy for him to talk about his life. He had made so many huge mistakes, he didn't like to talk about them. Not to mention his childhood wasn't the greatest. Especially his teenage years. Sam, being his wife now, would have to learn it eventually. Not tonight though, he thought. Tonight was just about them.
"Tell me about your parents." Well, there went that idea. Zuko thought to himself. Sam noticed a big change in Zuko's demeanor and she instantly regretted the question. He sat more stiff than he had before, which she didn't think was possible. He closed his eyes but didn't say anything, pinching the bridge of his nose. She felt bad for making him uncomfortable. Clearly there were some bad memories there that he wasn't ready to unpack. At least, not to her. "I'm sorry, Zuko. I…you don't have to." She reached out and placed a hand on his arm. He squeezed his eyes shut hard and opened them.
"There isn't much to tell. My mother left when I was 11 and my father…" he trailed off. His father what? Died? Left too? Remarried? She knew Iroh was his uncle so was this his brother? Iroh was such a nice man, Zuko's father was probably similar to Iroh, Sam thought.
"What about you?" Zuko asked Sam. She wasn't expecting the question which she thought was stupid because she should have. She realized that she wanted to talk about it as much as Zuko did. It was painful. Very painful. And she didn't talk about it. Those who knew treated her like she was…a freak. That's what they had called her. Could she tell him? What would he think?
"My parents are…still breathing." was all she could say. Great articulation, she thought. Zuko didn't ask any further questions. He wasn't stupid though. He knew she had secrets that she didn't want to share. He knew since he met her. He didn't mind though. He had secrets too.
He shifted his body to face her, one leg resting on the bed and the other foot planted on the ground. "Have you ever…?" He shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrow.
That was another subject that was hard to talk about. But this is something he should know, she thought. "I have, yes. Or rather…I'm not a virgin." Wow, she was on a roll with her communication skills. Her eyes slid down in shame.
Zuko didn't know what the specification meant but didn't ask any follow up questions.
"You?" she asked simply.
"Yes. I was…married once before." Yes, he had mentioned that in passing but she wasn't going to ask him about it. Until his mention of it earlier, she didn't know he'd been married.
"What…" she stopped and bit her lip, "I understand if you don't want to talk about it," she said quickly.
It was silent for a long while, she thought he wouldn't respond when he broke the silence, "her name was Mai." Sam looked up at him, catching the word "was." She said as much.
"Yes. We married shortly after I became Fire Lord. We were together for about a year and we were happy. We loved each other. The people loved her. We found out a few months after we got married she was pregnant," Zuko stopped talking to gather himself. Sam didn't know it but Zuko had never told anyone about this either. The only people who know were those who were there to witness it. "During that time there had been several assassination attempts on my life. For a while they were almost daily. There were people who…wanted the previous Fire Lord back. Many viewed me as a traitor. Some still do. During one of those assassination attempts, Mai was killed in a case of mistaken identity along with our unborn child. And…I hadn't been there to protect her. I was away on Fire Lord business." By the time Zuko finished his tale, a tear rolled down his face.
Sam could feel his pain and she hurt along side him but also was touched he so readily shared this with her. She slid across the bed until she was almost touching Zuko and placed a hand on his knee. "I'm so sorry, Zuko. That had to be so hard for you. And to have to carry on ruling a nation on top of it."
"It was. Iroh had come from Ba Sing Se to help me rule while I…grieved. I had lost two of the most important people in my life in one fell swoop. I didn't even want to be a father until I found out I had lost the child. All because I was now the Fire Lord and some loyalists still wanted Ozai back."
Sam didn't know who Ozai was but obviously he was the previous Fire Lord. Then it clicked. That must be his father. He didn't talk fondly of him and his brow furrowed when mentioning his name, so she guessed there was some contention there. What, she did not know.
"I…" Sam began. Zuko had opened himself up to her. She felt compelled to do the same. Not just because he did, but because he trusted her. And she felt more comfortable with him and that she could also trust him. "I…used to be royalty." Her eyes slid down and focused on a spot on the blanket.
Zuko's eyes flew open and snapped his head to face her, "What?"
"Yeah, I know. Go figure." she scoffed at the irony of the situation. "I'm from a country called Kondai. I was 14 when I left. I then found out later my parents had officially banished me." Zuko took in a quick short breath at those last words. She wasn't sure why but he quickly cleared up her uncertainty.
"I, too, was banished." He said simply, his face unreadable.
"What? But, you're the Fire Lord."
He chuckled despite himself, "I wasn't always, Sam."
"Ozai." She said simply.
He scowled. She had seen that look before when he was at the Earth Kingdom palace, "Yes, Ozai. He is my father. He is a cruel and evil man. And he hates me."
"How could he hate you? You're a good person. And he's your father!" After the words were out of her mouth, she remembered the situation with her own parents.
"He sees me as weak and he hates what he perceives as weakness." His hand went up to touch his scar. Sam reached out and took hold of his free hand and gave it a squeeze to reassure him.
His hand dropped from his face, "I was 13. The Fire Nation was at the forefront of the Hundred Year's War. I knew I would take the throne one day as the crown prince so I wanted to learn what I could. Uncle Iroh allowed me in the meeting of the War Council but told me I mustn't speak. I sat silently until one of the generals proposed a cruel plan to sacrifice a group of soldiers. I was mortified. I got upset and spoke out, condemning his plan. My father got very angry at me. I was ordered to fight an Agni Kai." Zuko saw Sam's brow furrow in confusion, "it's a dual by fire. You fight until someone is burned. Anyway, I was confident in my fire bending skills and was not afraid to fight the general. But I had misunderstood. Because it was my father's war council it was my father whom I would have to dual."
"But, that's crazy! How could a 13 year old dual a grown man? And your FATHER no less."
"Exactly. Ozai was the most powerful firebender at the time and I knew it. I became very afraid and begged him for mercy. He told me I must fight, but I refused. I knelt down and bowed to my father in submission. I looked up at him when he approached me. I remember trembling in fear seeing my father's harsh expression and a glow coming from his right hand while he was looking down at me. He told me 'You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher.' Ozai had grabbed my face with his left hand so I couldn't get away and it was then that I felt intense heat on my face and felt my skin…melting." Zuko looked over at Sam who had tears in her eyes. "he'd burned me." He reached up again and touched his scar.
Sam took the hand she was holding and brought it up to her mouth kissing his fingers, "Zuko. That is detestable. No father should ever hurt his son, much less like that. I can't imagine what that was like for you. The man who is supposed to protect you at all costs. Purposely burned you so severely."
"My father as always cruel to me. Anyway, the next day, my father declared me a coward and told me I had lost my honor. He banished me and sent me on an impossible mission to find the avatar who, at the time, hadn't been seen in 100 years. Only then could I return home with my honor. It was a fool's errand. He never expected me to find the avatar, but I did. I was banished for 3 years until…I took the throne. During that time, Iroh was always with me. Even when I didn't want him to be." Zuko hesitated during his story and she knew he left something out. She figured when his eyes looked down he didn't mention it out of shame or maybe guilt.
"Well, he's your dad."
Zuko's brow furrowed and he looked at her, "what?"
"There is a saying where I come from. 'Anyone can be a father. But it takes someone special to be a dad.' Ozai is your father but Iroh is your dad." Zuko smiled at that, his eyes dancing with love for his uncle.
"Yeah, you're right. I never thought of it that way."
Zuko noticed that Sam was silent for few moments and looked over at her. She had a small, sly smile on her face looking at him, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. She wanted him. She finally spoke.
"Well, I guess we should…go to bed?"
Zuko looked at her. He hadn't realized but their talk had loosened them up a bit and they both felt more comfortable with each other. The tension was completely gone. Sam slid closer to Zuko. He moved his leg so it was propped up on his foot in the middle of the bed. Sam slid herself between his knees and ran her hands up his arms and rested on his shoulders. They finally found Zuko's face and cupped it with her right hand lightly rubbing his scar with her thumb. It wasn't lost on Zuko this was the first time she had ever acknowledged it. She leaned forward and lightly kissed it. She then found her way to his lips.
They kissed somewhat stiffly at first but then it was replaced with passion. His hand slipped up to cup her face as well. One hand slid behind her head to the nape of her neck and the other at the middle of her back holding her close to him. She reached her arms up and wrapped them round Zuko's neck as they slowly came closer together. He was kissing her lips until he started to migrate to her neck. She panted a bit, enjoying the feeling. She ran her hands down his chest without looking and to his pants, unfastening his belt. He did not stop her. She took it off and threw it on the floor. She then grabbed a hold of the waist of his pants. He stood a bit to let her push them off of him where they joined his belt on the floor.
He leaned forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders laying her on her back. She laid with her hands cupping Zuko's neck on either side. He reached down and slipped his fingers into either side of her pants. She lifted her hips as he slid them down passed her knees and off her legs throwing them down on the growing pile of clothes. He gripped the tail of her shirt and slid it off over her head, her body completely naked. He reached up and grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it off in one swift movement.
Zuko sat back a bit and admired his new wife. She was beautiful. Her body was well shaped and her breasts were firm. They would fill his hands nicely he thought. The somewhat dark tone of her skin glowed in the candle light and her dark brown eyes held a small glow looking almost black. He thought back to their trip to the ship. He had enjoyed the feeling of her body pressed so firmly against his while they rode. She didn't know it but it look all of his will for his desire to not betray him.
She too looked over Zuko. She noticed that his body was firm, admiring the taut muscles that she had felt during their ride on the komodorhinos. He was more firm than she had thought. She saw a rather large scar on his belly right below his sternum. She reached up and ran her hands over his chest, feeling his hard muscles under her hands, flexing with his movements.
Zuko ran his hands down her body and grasped her hips. She opened herself to him and he swiftly pushed his arousal inside her. They both moaned in pleasure. Sam arched her back, accepting him. She grabbed his hands and laced their fingers together. He leaned down and kissed her lips which she reciprocated. She then took his hands and placed them over her breasts. She enjoyed the feeling of his warm hands on her. It surprised her how much she liked him touching her.
Zuko thought that her breasts did, in fact, fill his hands nicely. He squeezed them and resulted in a moan from her. Zuko didn't realize just how much he wanted her until this very moment.
Once they finished, Zuko laid on his back next to her, both relishing in the feeling of each other's warmth and reliving the memory they had both just shared. Sam rolled onto her side, and Zuko lifted his arm to allow her to rest her head on his chest.
"That was…incredible." She looked up at him and smiled playfully at him.
"You said it," Zuko agreed.
She snuggled in closer to him, resting her arm across his body, lightly brushing her fingers over the skin of his chest, tracing his veins. He reached his head over to her and kissed her on the top of her head. She lifted her head and did the same to his chest.
They both lay together in each other's arms, enjoying to moment and the feel of each other's bodies close together. The sound of their breathing, the smell of their skin, the taste of each other still lingering in their mouths. They both lay like that in silence until sleep overtook them.