Chapter 39

Later that afternoon, Zuko read quietly while Izara dozed peacefully at the other end of the couch. She had barely shifted in her sleep since she'd nodded off, and Zuko had put her book on the coffee table to save her place. He'd kept an eye on her, ensuring she slept soundly for the last few hours. Seeing her so relaxed for a change had been nice since she was usually so on guard. He hoped that the few days' rest would do her good.

She'd slept for at least an hour or two but began to twitch and flinch. Zuko lowered his book in response to her movements, assuming she was dreaming.

Abruptly, she sat upright, her fist clenched tightly, raised and ready to strike, eyes wide in panic and taking shallow breaths. She was frightened and alarmed, and her head snapped towards Zuko in panic. Zuko wanted to reach out to her but waited a moment to ensure she recognised him first, not wanting to terrify her further. Instead, he waited where he was, staying still, and just gave her a gentle smile. When her fist relaxed as she got her bearings, he put his book down and reached out to her, holding his arms outstretched, not knowing what else to do but comfort her.

Izara frowned sharply before relaxing and took the invitation, all but diving towards him on the couch as she realised she was in a safe place. Her head ended up on his chest, and she lay between his legs, with his arms enclosed tightly around her. Zuko nuzzled into her, wanting to make her feel safe in his presence. It was also nice to be able to hold her like this.

"You're okay. You're safe. I've got you. No one will ever hurt you again. I'll protect you. You're safe. I'm here. I'm here." Zuko whispered to her softly, reassuring her that she was alright, running his hand over her hair.

Eventually, after his soft affirmations, the tension in her body began to fade, and Izara nodded off to sleep again. Her cheek was squished against his pectoral muscle, and she breathed softly. Zuko did his best to slow his heart rate, to stop it from hammering loudly in his chest and disturbing her rest. He allowed himself to doze lightly, leaning his head against the back of the couch and keeping his arms wrapped over Izara's back.

Despite the slight awkwardness from earlier, it had come from a place inside him that cared deeply for Izara. It was practically a dream come true to have her so close, wrapped in his arms. Even if she accepted his affection just to feel safe, he would still offer it freely.

Later on, Izara shifted and thus woke Zuko from his light sleep. He roused much quicker and looked down at the woman in his arms, his eyes softening at the sight.

"Hey. You okay?" He asked softly, touching her cheek to wake her fully.

"Mmhmm." She responded with a drowsy, affirmative groan, as she slowly cracked her eyes open.

"Want some tea?" Zuko offered with a smile.

"Please." She nodded against his chest.

Lifting his back off the couch, Izara scrambled off him in a startled fashion and looked at him with wide eyes. She must not have realised she was lying on him until she'd woken up a little more.

"Sorry!"

"Don't be," Zuko replied swiftly and continued, despite his better judgement. "It was really nice." He was too nervous to make eye contact with her, staring at the floor as he rose to his feet.

Shuffling to the kitchen, Zuko filled the kettle and put it on the stovetop. He glanced over to Izara, turning her head to one side as if trying to stretch her muscles as she came down the hallway.

"You must be feeling safe here. You didn't try to kill me when I woke you." He said with a soft laugh.

Izara glared at him. "I still feel bad about that."

"Don't! It's why you are good at your job; you're always vigilant." He said encouragingly, only wanting to poke fun and not make her feel bad.

"Always being ready for a fight is exhausting, though." She replied tiredly, and the meaning wasn't lost on him.

"Hence, why I brought you here to rest," Zuko answered as he prepared the tea and poured the hot water into the teapot.

He placed it on a tray with two cups already on it for them and brought it over to the dining table. Izara tilted her head to one side again when he looked at her. She looked uncomfortable.

"C'mere." He ushered her to turn her back to him, wanting to help ease the tension in her neck and shoulders.

While the tea steeped, he used his heated fingers to massage the tense and knotted muscles. Occasionally, Izara would make a slight noise of discomfort when he was trying to release a knot, and he whispered an apology but continued his motions. Within a few minutes, she seemed much more comfortable. When she made a sound that bordered more on pleasure than discomfort, Zuko's eyes went wide, which, thankfully, she couldn't see.

After reluctantly pulling away, he poured the tea for them both. At the same time, Izara rolled her shoulders and tilted her head to each side to test the movements, appearing to feel better.

"Thank you," Izara said sweetly and appreciatively.

"You're welcome." Zuko's response was even, although he chewed his lip subtly.

"For that. For the tea. For bringing me here. I'm just not used to this." She gestured to the house around them, and he knew what she meant.

Izara was grateful for his overall kindness to her, and after getting to know her, he understood that she wasn't used to people being nice to her. It wasn't that she'd never been in a lovely house or had never had someone make tea for her. It was because she'd never had someone make such an effort to support her. Zuko had brought her here so she could feel safe and finally let her guard down.

"I understand. And you're welcome." Zuko responded with a nod.

She smiled, and he stared at her, unsure what else to say on the matter.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, referring to the nightmare earlier.

"Much better, thanks to you. Normally, I just don't go back to sleep at all. I feel safe with you, though, so it was easier." She smiled bashfully, and Zuko chewed his bottom lip while she stared into her cup.

Her words gave him a rush of hope. He did his best to squish the feeling into a corner of his mind, not wanting to be let down later.

"I feel the same way you do. You've done the same for me on several occasions," he reminded her.

"That's different, though." She scrunched up her nose.

"Why? Because it's your job?" He guessed, expecting that was what she was referring to.

"Well, I guess so. Isn't it?" Izara offered with a half-shrug, still not looking at him.

"I doubt that offering the Fire Lord comfort after a nightmare is in the job description." He offered with a smirk and a seductive lilt to his tone that he couldn't hide.

"Fair enough." She huffed. "I guess I'm grateful to you. You've done so much for me despite having a country to run."

"Izara, you have no idea how much comfort I take in your presence. You make me feel at ease, encourage me, and give me confidence. I'm grateful to you." He tried to tell her how he felt without pushing too far. He didn't want her to run away again.

When colour flushed to her cheeks, Zuko couldn't resist trying to lighten the mood by teasing her a little.

"Are you blushing?" He asked cheekily.

"What? No. Maybe... How could I not after you said such nice things?!" She turned her face away.

"You're adorable." He laughed from his belly.

"I am no such thing." Her response was intent on being sharp and curt, but it didn't have the desired effect.

Zuko waited until she finally looked back at him and held her gaze until she realised he disagreed. He hoped the warmth in his eyes told her everything without him needing to say it. From their previous flirting, he knew that she could read between the lines and pick up on his subtleties.

"Ugh, I was a mercenary!" She exclaimed, breaking their eye contact as she dramatically threw her hands in the air.

"I tried to kill the Avatar. Big deal." He retorted with a smirk.

Izara groaned and stuck her tongue out at him, and he cracked up laughing, while she got up from the table, headed back into the kitchen and opened the ice box. After pulling out some veggies and a cut of meat, Zuko watched as she started preparing for dinner. Taking his place standing beside her, he helped by washing some rice before putting it on the stove to cook. When she was trying to reach a spice jar on a shelf that was too high for her, he took his opportunity to give her an affectionate nudge as he stood right behind her and grabbed it for her. His chest was right against her back, and she tensed momentarily before she accepted the jar he held out to her, his arm only an inch or two away from her face.

Izara didn't turn to look at him; she just thanked him and continued her task. Once she'd seasoned the meat, Zuko had almost finished cutting the veggies, and he began cooking them immediately. He didn't want to stop her from doing everything, but she did need to take it easy. Katara had done a brilliant job healing her, but Izara was still sore and tired. Her physical healing was well underway, but it was mental and emotional healing that she desperately needed. Judging by the earlier nightmare, it would take some time. Being taken captive had likely just brought up old memories all over again.

They cooked together, chatting about impersonal things. Zuko talked a little about the house's history and how his mother used to come here as a child. He scolded her when she tried to lift the pot to serve the rice since she would need two hands. Izara smiled and stepped back with her hands raised in a gesture of deference.

Once they'd worked together to serve dinner, they ate at the dining table as the sun went down. They watched it set on the horizon, and Zuko lit the lanterns in the pool and garden area with firebending. Izara smiled at the sight, resting her chin on her hand. He couldn't help but watch her, enraptured by her peaceful expression. She felt his gaze and turned to look at him in question, but he couldn't bring himself to look away from her.

A bird's squawk made her flinch in surprise, and Zuko saw the culprit sitting on the fence in front of the house. He restrained himself from flicking a small fireball at it out of revenge for ruining the moment. Since it was getting dark, he didn't want to keep her awake much longer, so he cleaned the kitchen. Izara helped as best she could, and they both headed upstairs to bathe and get some rest. They went their separate ways to their clean up.

Whilst in the bath, Zuko reflected on his struggle to keep his distance from Izara, and it was something that he hadn't adequately considered when he'd decided to bring her here. His reason was solely focused on getting her away from the Capital to somewhere safe, quiet and peaceful so she could unwind. He'd not even thought about the pain it might cause him, not being able to spend time with her as her lover even though they were alone. Izara must have known that he had feelings for her, but they'd not discussed it in any way. In fact, they'd completely ignored it, and Zuko seemed to be the only one having difficulty keeping it that way.

Being in close quarters alone with her presented the biggest problem. Zuko was already flirting with her, and he really shouldn't be. If she rejected him before, why would it be any different now? With all that she'd been through in the last little while, crossing the blurred line between them wasn't right. She was still shaken and vulnerable, so he would do his best to give her space to let her heal, but he would be there to provide whatever comfort she was willing to seek from him. Holding her after she'd awoken from a nightmare, massaging her sore muscles, and anything else he could give her. He would happily accept any physical contact, affectionate or not, that she offered. The last thing he wanted to do was to pressure her, so he would do his best to keep a boundary up.

With a sad sigh that he hoped she didn't hear, he dried off and got ready for bed, pulling on a pair of loose shorts to sleep in. He couldn't hear her footsteps but listened to the doors sliding open and closed, signalling her movement through the house. Moving over to the window overlooking the pool and garden, he used firebending to snuff out the light in the lanterns, letting darkness fall. He did the same for the lights downstairs, and Izara emerged from the bathroom with a baggy shirt and shorts on. She saw him and pointedly kept her eyes on his face.

"Need anything?" He asked to ensure she was alright before he went to sleep.

"Nope. All good," Izara said nonchalantly with a smile. "Goodnight." She went to bow but caught herself and huffed before heading inside her bedroom and sliding the door shut.

"Goodnight." He called out to her and took a steadying breath so that he went into his own bedroom and curled up in bed by himself.

Despite his efforts to get a good night's rest, he couldn't stop himself from listening out for any sounds of distress from the next room...