Chapter 44

The following morning, Izara awoke to the smell of food wafting across the house and upstairs. His side of the bed was cool, so Zuko must have been up early. She slowly got up, feeling a little stiff. Mosying her way downstairs, giving her body time to start working correctly, she saw Zuko in the kitchen, making what looked and smelled like omelettes. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just his pyjama shorts, and she smiled at his back. She strolled over and stood beside him, only keeping a small gap between them.

"Morning." She said so she didn't startle him by appearing abruptly.

"Hey. How'd you sleep?" He glanced at her quickly and smiled.

"I slept well. And you?" She smiled back, surprised that she'd stayed asleep as he got up. His wish for her to relax had come true.

"Better than I have in a long time." His response was charming, which he seemed aware of.

Izara went to assist him, but he made a disapproving grunt that made her laugh. She shuffled closer to him, and he leaned down, kissed her cheek quickly, and casually returned to his task as if nothing had happened. Grinning broadly, she knew she was blushing madly but didn't care. Izara was more focused on how happy she felt. She prepared the kettle to make some tea so that she could assist in some way. Hoping that she did a good job, knowing his standards on tea, she brought the pot over to the dining table after it had finished steeping. She got plates and chopsticks out for them, and he thanked her when he served up the food onto the plates as she held them out for him. They sat together and began eating quietly, and Zuko watched her with interest.

After a few seconds, he made a face and dropped his eyes to his plate.

"What is it?" Izara asked with confused interest.

"Nothing." He said before shovelling food into his face while Izara stared blankly. "Just…I was thinking about the first time I met you."

Izara put her chopsticks down as she waited for him to continue. She could almost hear him thinking about what he wanted to say, his gaze inward.

"I remembered how you looked when we first met, and I just thought about how different you look now. I think you only smiled once then, but it wasn't very…" He sighed and shook his head. "I guess I'm trying to say that you seem more animated…happier."

Thinking back for a moment, she knew it was likely true but hadn't thought about it before. Now, she had friends with whom she talked and laughed, people she could confide in and get support. There wasn't as much metaphorical weight dragging her down in her daily life, and she felt lighter and, as Zuko put it, happier.

"Have I got that right?" He asked with a faint tinge of hope in his tone as he watched her reaction intently.

Smiling at him, she nodded in confirmation. Zuko smiled back bashfully and looked down at his plate while rubbing the back of his neck.

"I hope that I've helped with that." He said with an adorable nervousness she found endearing.

"No, not at all." She joked with a smirk.

Zuko panicked for a second until he saw her face and then rolled his eyes.

"Maybe a little bit. You are the whole reason I'm here, after all." She wasn't quite sure how to express herself, but her gratitude ran deep. "I don't really know how else to say it, but thank you. Truly."

"Thank you." He parroted back at her, and Izara raised an eyebrow in question.

"Why are you thanking me?"

A flush of colour appeared on his unmarred cheek, and she waited for him to answer.

"Aang said you've been good for me. He said I've been more… level-headed." He eventually answered shyly. "Katara said I've been less broody."

Izara couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Katara calling him broody, and it came out in a snort as she tried to suppress it. It wasn't subtle at all, and Zuko huffed at her with a faint smirk.

"More level-headed?" She asked to distract him.

"I was a bit lost for a while after Mai. We got back together after a while, split up and got back together again and eventually agreed it wasn't good for either of us. I was a lot more short-tempered and unsettled." He explained, and Izara got the impression he was putting it nicely.

"I can imagine it was hard. Never experienced it myself." She offered with a shrug.

"I'll do my best to make sure you never find out," Zuko said with seriousness that made her heart skip a beat.

"I might need some help, but I'll do my best, too," Izara said nervously, hoping she could keep her promise.

"We'll do fine." He smiled brightly at her and held her gaze for a moment before abruptly getting up from his chair.

Izara watched as he crouched in front of her. She looked up at her with a vulnerable expression and shifted to face him. He put a hand up to her lap, and she took it in hers, closing her fingers around it.

"Thank you for giving us a chance. I can't promise everything will be perfect, but I'm just glad to have you. I think I fell for you a long time ago." He admitted and squeezed her hand affectionately.

"I admit I'm surprised since I don't consider myself very…charming." She scrunched her nose up.

"You are, even without trying to be." He answered with a soft laugh.

"I don't know where I got it from." She answered with a chuckle.

"Do you remember when we talked outside all night?" he asked, awaiting her response.

Izara recalled them sitting in the gardens under the moonlight until the guard changed over in the early morning hours. They had talked about the Palace, the Fire Nation, and some of Zuko's adventures after joining with the Avatar and his allies. She had talked about some of the places she had seen in her travels and about the friends she'd made since arriving and working in the Palace. It had been fun, and she'd fallen asleep with a smile on her face.

"Yeah?"

"I couldn't stop thinking about you after that. Suki and Sokka had already been picking on me about taking an interest in you for months. When we got noodles together, I was completely hooked on you." His voice was soft and shy, but sweet and genuine.

She recalled when he'd run into her heading out of the Palace to get something to eat for dinner and suggested they go to his favourite noodle place. Izara's favourite food was noodles; she immensely enjoyed the meal and spending time with Zuko. She couldn't deny that her feelings for him had bubbled under the surface longer than expected. His warm smile quickly worked its way into her heart, and his encouragement gave her confidence she had never felt before.

"I know I wasn't exactly subtle. It's not really my strong suit, and I still feel bad for-" Zuko started, but Izara cut him off.

"No!" She exclaimed a little loudly, making Zuko flinch. "Sorry. I don't want you to feel bad for that. I just freaked out because…I didn't think I could be with you, and it was self-preservation. You didn't misunderstand anything."

Zuko was referring to their brief kiss before she'd panicked and ran away from him after thinking it was stupid to have a crush on the Fire Lord. It had been a mix of her lack of self-confidence and a desire to protect herself from future pain if she couldn't be with him. He observed her before accepting her explanation and nodding. Izara shifted forward in the chair and pulled Zuko into a hug. His arms came around her middle and kept her close as he buried his head in her chest.

"You deserve to be happy, Iz. I want to be a part of it." He said with a slightly muffled voice from her clothing, but she heard it loud and clear.

When her eyes became glassy, she squeezed them shut and sighed contentedly. She tightened her grip on him, and Zuko responded in kind. They stayed like that for a moment, enjoying each other's presence and touch. As Izara opened her eyes, she realised that their food would be cold by now and huffed softly.

"Mmm?" Zuko enquired.

"Our breakfast will be cold by now." She answered with a hint of amusement.

"This is better." He replied with a self-satisfied tone and smirked, releasing her from his embrace. "I'm going to struggle to keep my hands off you."

Izara flushed at the insinuation but was also very much looking forward to it. She wasn't confident in her ability in bed due to a lack of experience but hoped that it was better than her ability to verbally express herself. So long as Zuko knew how she felt about him, that was all that mattered. They got back to their breakfast and ate in between, sharing glances and bashful smiles.

Once they'd eaten, Izara offered to clean up after glancing over at the pile of paperwork Zuko was working through on the coffee table. He thanked her with a kiss on the cheek before sitting on the couch and getting started.

Izara stole a few glances at him while she washed the dishes and got settled in to read a book…

Izara strolled over to the couch where Zuko was, lying with his back against the armrest so he could read the papers in his lap. He wore pants that hung low on his hips and a soft silk robe draped over his shoulders. His smile was warm and welcoming, so she came to sit with him.

"Busy?" She asked softly.

"No." He answered much quicker than she expected.

"Are you just saying that so I don't feel bad for interrupting you?" Her tone became teasing, and she smirked. "You have taken time off from work for me."

He looked up and off to one side as if he was thinking. "No." The upward inflection in his voice indicated otherwise.

"I won't keep you then."

When she went to stand up, his hand shot out and grabbed her, which she had placed on the coffee table, to steady herself as she half-stood. It stopped her from leaving, and he smiled in apology, giving up on the joke since it wasn't going his way. She huffed amusedly and sat back down, only to watch Zuko stand up and carefully put his papers on the table in an orderly pile. Her eyes dropped to his torso, seeing the muscles that were on display. He didn't miss her eyes roving over him, but she didn't bother hiding it anyway. He reached out with both hands and cupped her jaw, tilting her head upwards to meet him in a kiss. It held much more passion than she expected, and she was pleasantly surprised.

The searing kiss deepened, so Izara stood up to reach him better. With one hand holding her against him on the small of her back and the other around the back of her neck, his embrace was firm and demanding in just the right way. Steering her to go where he wanted, they ran into a nearby display table, and Zuko swiped off everything in the way before Izara sat down. Thankfully, none of it was fragile. Not that either of them cared. She tugged Zuko's robe off his shoulders, and it fell to the floor as she simultaneously wrapped her legs around his hips. She ran her hands over his arms, chest and back as they continued kissing, taking the minimum breaths to supply them with just enough air. Keeping one hand on her cheek, Zuko gently tilted her head to one side, allowing him access to her jaw, neck and collarbone, which he kissed and nipped his way across. Izara tangled her fingers in his hair and tried to stifle her moans by biting her lip. It only somewhat worked, but Zuko seemed to be trying hard to repeat what got the best reaction from her, as if he was attempting to make sure that anyone nearby could hear them.

Tugging him closer with her legs, she felt his erection against her and took joy in how she was affecting him. His mouth on her neck muffled his own noise of pleasure, and she tightened the grip on her fingers in his hair in response. He abruptly reached for her shirt, wasting no time pulling it over her head. It was promptly discarded and flung across the room with no care whatsoever. Kissing her again, Zuko released the clip in her hair, allowing it to fall around her back and shoulders. He ran his fingers through it, and she guessed that he liked it and was glad she hadn't bothered to cut it.

Slowing down for a moment, Zuko pulled back to make eye contact with her just to confirm that this was okay. Instead of replying verbally, Izara tugged him back down to her, which seemed to give him all the answers and encouragement he needed. Putting his hand down her pants made it quite obvious that she wanted him, and he chuckled warmly. He ran his fingers over her and leaned back to watch her squeeze her eyes shut and bite her lip when he carefully eased a finger inside her. Dextrous as he was, everything he did felt amazing, and she couldn't help the noises that escaped her. Although it was somewhat challenging to focus, she tugged at the waistband of his pants with one hand and steadied herself with a hand on the dresser. He sped up the pace of the finger inside her, and her body tensed reflexively. Just when she thought he would stop and let her get her breath, he added a second finger and hissed in some air as she ran her fingers down his back, nails digging in.

His free hand came under her calf, and he hooked the leg onto his shoulder, her flexibility coming in handy. Izara brought her arms around Zuko's neck as he moved faster and pushed harder. The different angle was amazing, and the display table shifted slightly in time with their movements, bumping against the wall rhythmically. Izara leaned forward to touch him as best she could from her position, running her hand over him with the soft fabric of his pants as the only barrier. She wasn't quite able to undo the tie while Zuko was far too busy making her a quivering mess, but she did her best to reciprocate.

She whimpered when he removed his hand, and Zuko kissed her again before pulling back, breathing heavily. Tilting his head towards the direction of the bedroom, Izara all but scrambled off the table, ready to race him there.

They smiled at each other before he took her hand, and they moved swiftly to the bedroom, kissing and touching the whole way there. Izara's knees hit the side of the bed while Zuko's pants hit the floor with a soft crumple. She laid down, allowing Zuko to move on top of her. He looked at her for permission, which she gave with an impatient nod. Zuko positioned himself and carefully pushed inside her. Their foreheads touched, and neither could hold back a sound of pleasure. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he pressed himself within her, making her back arch up off the bed in response. A low sound of pleasure rumbled in his chest as they moved together again. Izara rocked her hips in time with him, and her pleasured moans and gasps reassured him that she was enjoying herself, and his own reassured Izara. It didn't take long for them to reach climax, and they clung tightly to each other.

Zuko lay beside her as they caught their breath, and Izara couldn't help but feel such incredible joy in the moment. Her heart felt full for the first time in so long that she couldn't even remember the last time she felt something even remotely close to this. She had never been good at words or expressing her feelings and hadn't really needed to either since she'd been so closed off. Instead, all she could do was laugh.

She laughed loudly and joyously, and Zuko looked at her with a puzzled smile. He didn't seem worried; he was just wondering what caused the outburst.

"You okay?" He asked her with a slightly raspy voice.

"Yeah, I'm fantastic." She beamed at him.

"What's funny?" He asked, starting to laugh with her.

"I don't know! I'm just…happy." She managed to say while laughing brightly.

Zuko joined her and rolled over to hold her tightly, laughing with his head nuzzled into the crook of her neck. She wrapped her arms around him, and they both continued in their happy reverie for a few minutes.

They stayed in each other's arms for another few hours until the call of nature, the need for rehydration, and a snack forced them to get up. Zuko continued on with his work, and Izara settled into the nearby chair and read a book for the rest of the afternoon, eventually falling into a light doze…