This is my first Avatar The Last Airbender fanfiction thank you to LunaStar07 for helping out with my writing and beta reading my work hope you enjoy the next chapter of Blades and Fans sorry for the long wait I hope to finish more chapters soon
Disclaimer I don't own anything related to ATLA
There was a small ceremony held for the dead; their bodies cremated and stored in jars. The townspeople wanted to spread the ashes in their new home once they were safe from the Fire Nation and behind the walls of Ba Sing Se. Zuko and the Kyoshi Warriors let the townspeople mourn in peace as they continued loading up the supplies for the trip. Zuko felt uneasy seeing the bonfires, seeing the towering flames that consumed the victim of his people's war. He concentrated on work and helping where he could. His unease did not settle as he felt eyes on him; he could tell they were Aikio's. Ever since he woke up, she had been eyeing him all morning, he wondered if giving in and talking was a good idea. It was true that with him able to talk, it made things a little more convenient when communicating, but it also made him look more, suspicious especially with her. Though he had to admit, she looked rather smug when he caught her glancing at him. "What did she and Suki talk about?" he wondered as he gave her a glare under his mask.
Suki then started to give out orders, positioning her Warriors as the ceremony was concluding. Ami was to stay with the healers to help keep the wounded stable and comfortable during their trip while Aikio and Kikki would drive the carriages. She then ordered Tam and the Blue Spirit to remain at the rear of the caravan to make sure there were no stragglers or attacks from behind. Suki would then take up the lead, guiding them towards Ba Sing Se. Zuko followed the orders and mounted upon his Ostrich horse as they trotted off riding down the dirt road. The journey was long, the carriages slowly travelling down the road as not to aggravate the wounded. Though Zuko didn't mind, he enjoyed or rather didn't complain about the travelling. It let him relax once in a while. He let his eyes shut, taking a brief nap as his beast followed the group.
Suki rode ahead, leading the caravan through dense woods and rolling hills. But when her eyes travelled back to the carriages, she could catch the smallest glimpse of the blue demon mask through the crowd. Every time she saw him, even for the smallest moment, her heart stung as the thought of her having to force him out made her guilty. She didn't want him to leave, she wanted him to stay with the group and with her. She didn't want to admit that her judgement was clouded by her emotions, but she knew Aikio was indeed right. They knew nothing about him; he was a faceless man who they allowed to travel with them. Maybe he was as dangerous as Aikio believed, or he was the hero she hoped he was. Either way, she needed to talk to him before they sat down to talk with the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors. He deserved the benefit of the doubt, especially after all he's done for them.
Suki's eyes then glanced up at the sky, watching it as it was overtaken by the orange hue of the setting sun. She ordered for the caravan to stop and set up camp for the night.
The Kyoshi Warriors and the Blue Spirit began setting up tents, which took much longer than usual. Suki noted that for next time. It was already dark once they were finished, and the refugees settled in as dinner was cooked. Bowls of rice and vegetables handed out to everyone who was hungry. Once the Blue Spirit got his own bowl, Suki knew this was her chance to talk to him as he headed alone to his tent.
"So, are we gonna talk to him yet?" Aikio whispered as she watched the Blue spirit heading off after giving him his food.
Suki let out a heavy sigh at Aikio's eagerness. "I think it'll be best if I talk to him alone. I don't want him to think we are ganging up on him. We just want to get to know him, right?" she said raising a suspicious brow as she eyed Aikio.
"Fine, just get it over with," Aikio scoffed as she turned to head to her own tent.
Suki simply rolled her eyes before taking a few calming breaths and turned her gaze back to the Blue Spirit. "Let's do this," she said to herself as she made her way over to him.
Zuko had shuffled over to his tent, the small bowl in his hand. He lifted the curtain to enter his small tent, his hand reaching up to undo the knot of his mask, but stopped once he felt a presence coming up behind him. He turned and met Suki's gaze as she stood at the entrance of his tent. "Ummm, hey Blue can we, can we talk?" she spoke with a nervous tone.
Zuko felt his heart beating hard as he held the loose knot of his mask, keeping it from falling free from his face. "Can it wait till morning?" he tried to ask calmly trying his best to keep his face hidden.
"I wish it could, but it can't," she sighed heavily, her eyes now avoiding his gaze.
Zuko could tell whatever she needed to talk about it was important, and probably not something she wanted to do. "Fine, we can talk but, can you... turn around first?"
"Huh?" she furrowed her brow, but then her eyes went wide as she understood. "Oh, sorry of course," she said with a sheepish smile turning around to avert her gaze.
Zuko waved his hand seeing if she was peeking before turning away letting the mask slip off his face. He set it aside as he reached for his bandanna, wrapping it over his face.
Suki bit her lip not wanting her curiosity get the better of her again, as she kept her mouth eyes shut. "you can turn back now," she heard him as she slowly turned back, she frowned slightly seeing the black bandanna wrapped around his face.
"What is it you wanted to talk about?" he asked gesturing for her to take a seat as he pushed up the bottom of his bandanna exposing his mouth as he began to eat his rice.
"Well, the girls and I were talking..." she began as she took a seat in front of him. "and since you can talk maybe, we should learn more about you. Since we really don't know anything about you... at all," she said nervously.
"Don't you mean Aikio," he said bluntly as he ate "She doesn't trust me."
"Yeah, but can you blame her?" Suki sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck "We don't know anything about you. You are a stranger, a man in a mask who just so happens to know how to fight."
"Don't you trust me?"
"Of course I do, but it's not about me," Suki said, shaking her head "We are sisters, we are family. If they don't trust you... then you can't stay."
Zuko's eyes went wide as he heard the hurt in her voice. The conflict in her tone at choosing between him and her sisters. Did she really care that much about him? He wondered as he gazed at her through the thin cloth mask.
Suki stared down at her lap as she waited for a reply as she felt her nerves getting the better of her.
"Fine, ask me what you wish."
As she heard his voice a grateful smile crossed her lips as she looked up at him "Really, you mean it?"
"Yes," he said simply. He gave a slight nod as he scarfed down the rest of his bowl. He then set it aside as he turned and gave Suki his full attention hoping this will be over quickly.
"Okay, great ... umm, what's your name?" she started off simply as she began to mentally jot down what he says.
"Li," Zuko replied giving her his other alias. He knew he couldn't tell her his real name, it would only cause problems. But the first answer he gave was a lie, of course, they wouldn't trust him.
"Li huh, hmmm I think I like Blue better," she said with a soft chuckle.
As she laughed, Zuko couldn't help as his mouth curled upward in a small smile. Just the way she laughed and smiled put him at ease and made most of his worries drift away. Suki began asking numerous questions about his travels and his adventures, wanting to learn everything she can. Zuko obliged, though he did leave out a few crucial details regarding himself and the avatar.
"Hahaha, so wait for your, uncle really just laid there, while that bounty hunter was stunned on top of him," Suki laughed into her hand, trying her best to keep quiet as much of the camp was sound asleep.
"Yeah, he can be a creep sometimes," Zuko said with a soft chuckle as he shook his head.
"Well, I don't know about that. From what you told me about him, he sounds very sweet," she admitted. "Though that one story didn't paint quite a... flattering picture of him." she letting out another chuckle.
"Yeah I suppose," he says with a small shrug.
Suki smiled but it began to fade, slowly becoming a look of guilt "Blue, there is something I've been meaning to tell you," she began as her eyes averted from his unseen gaze. "I saw your scar, the one you hide under your mask."
Zuko's eyes went wide in horror upon hearing her. His body becoming stiff and trembled as his hands gripped his knees in an attempt to keep them from shaking. "When... did you?" he could barely finish his sentence as he asked.
Suki bit down on her lip seeing his reaction. "The night of that attack... I heard someone playing a flute and I was curious," she admitted still sounding guilty. "When I saw it was you, I couldn't help myself. I tried to get a look at your face, but when I saw your scar..."
Zuko felt like a pit in his stomach, his hand instinctively reaching up to touch his cheek "... you ran."
Suki saw this which only made her feel even more guilty as she reached up to stop his hand. "I was ashamed, you've been so considerate and kind even if you never said a word," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have spied on you ... it had nothing to do with the scar but everything to do with me prying on something that was private... you didn't deserve that Blue, I'm sorry."
"It's ... it's okay Suki," Zuko said as he lifted his gaze to meet her eyes, his fingers giving her hand a small squeeze as she still held his own.
"No, it's not, but I just thought you should know" She whispered before glancing back at the small gap in the entrance of the tent and looked at the pitch black sky. "I... I think I should head to bed. I don't want to be too drained when we go hunting tomorrow ... unless you don't wanna join me, I could let you sleep in and go alone."
"No, I'll come," He said simply which made the edges of Suki's lip curl upward into a soft smile.
"Thank you Blue, I'll ... I'll see you in the morning then," she said as she reached over and grabbed his finished bowl to put it away. "Oh and don't worry about Aikio, I'll have a talk with her tomorrow after our morning hunt," Suki was about to turn and leave his tent but quickly leaned over and kissed his cheek. After the quick, soft peck, she pulled away, smiling a bit shyly "Night Blue."
Zuko was stunned, his cheeks flushed red, and before he could even reply, Suki retreated from the tent, fleeing into the darkness. He slowly reached up to touch the cheek her soft lips had touched and felt the fading warmth along the tips of his fingers. "Goodnight, Suki," He whispered back into the darkness.