Chapter Text
"Zuko, can you at least calm down?" You spoke, in a semi-harsh tone. With Zuko, you had to sort of speak up instead of back down, or you'd never be heard. Zuko walked around camp, his temper flaring up, quite literally. He paced around in a wide circle on the Earth Kingdom's grass, the trees waving in the wind.
The two of you were in, well, the Earth Kingdom. It was sort of a desultory journey, without a destination; aimless. You suppose you were headed for Ba Sing Se, but being in such a large city with two wanted criminals was probably not the best plan.
"You're going to burn a hole into your trousers if you don't stop pacing!" You yowled, upset. His sharp golden eyes pierced your gaze as they met your eyes, but suddenly softened. His balled-up fists loosened and he let out a sigh, a flicker of flame emitting from his lips.
"How can you be so composed in a situation like this?!" He said in his usual acute tone, but you were so used to it that it was a second-nature sort of thing to you.
"So what? Our map was lost in the river when we ran into soldiers, remember?" You sighed. You recalled your previous adventure with Zuko, and how the two of you defeated a large group of Fire Nation soldiers on the bank of a river. It just so happened that you dropped the map into the river, and it was swept away by the current before the two of you noticed later in the day.
"And now we're lost!" He shouted, flaring up again. His palms grew red and so did the tips of his ears, but you knew which body part was the one to be the most wary of, and which would shoot fireballs at you in any given moment.
But, you knew Zuko. You had for a solid month, when you first ran into him. You recognized him, and he attempted to escape, but you asked if you could join his journey. He immediately disagreed, eluding you, but not for long. After bothering him for quite some time, he finally gave up and agreed to have you join him. You then explained to him why the two of you should stick together, which convinced him. Besides, he was a lonely teenage boy out in the woods. He would need a companion sometime soon, right?
It must've confused him, at first, why you insisted on befriending him, even when you knew his true identity. It turns out, you could relate to him so closely, especially the 'outcast' part. You smiled to yourself as you watched him angrily pace around again, looking down at your hands. If anything, it was your mother who taught you to love everyone, and give everyone a chance before you decide if you want to be around them or not. So, you followed her advice, and it got you to the happiest place you've ever been in. With Zuko.
God, that sounded corny. You shook the thoughts from your mind, sighing softly to yourself.
"Look, let's just follow the river, and I'm sure we'll find a town soon." You said, and he tensed up. Well, it was at least good that he stopped walking around, but when he looked at you, you felt your chest tighten. You quickly stood up, looking at the camp fire to your side that was dwindling slowly.
You smelled smoke, and normally it wouldn't be unusual, but it was different. The fire you ignited last night was with hickory wood, which smelled sweet, sort of like ham. But, this smoke that wafted in the air, was burning, and made your throat itch. You frowned, whirling around, and seeing a thin column of smoke rising above the treetops.
"Shit," you cursed, stomping on the hickory fire and causing it to die out. You looked to Zuko, picking some of your bags up and holding on tightly to them, strapping them to your back. "Fire Nation soldiers, again. Zuko, hold onto my hand."
"What? Where are we going?"
"Up." You said, taking his arm. He gripped you so tightly that you felt your hand turn numb, but you hauled him upwards into a tree.
"I can't climb a tree!"
"Today's the day you learn." You said gently, handing his bags to him. He quickly put them around his torso, and you eagerly aided him climbing up the branches, determining quickly which ones are suitable for the weight of two humans. Zuko was hesitant, but as you looked back down at the campsite, all you saw was the fire pit and your food supplies.
You turned to Zuko, who clung onto the branches for dear life, and you saw him leaning over like he was going to fall. You felt cold sweat run down the side of your head, but you looked back down through the branches and leaves and heard rumbling in the distance.
"Look, Lieutenant, a fire, and food supplies." One male voice rang in the air, and you bit your tongue to keep yourself from making any noises.
"Yes, and the fire was recent. Looks like someone heard us coming and quickly ran off." The so-called Lieutenant said, leaning down and examining the fire, then walking to the food.
"Do you think it was Zuko and the thief?" Another voice asked.
"Possibly. Could've been the Avatar, though. You never know in these woods." The Lieutenant replied, picking up the food. "Whoever it was is gone now, might as well take their food."
Zuko clenched his fist visibly, and you watched him with narrowed eyes, non-verbally telling him off. But, a glint in the sunlight caught your eye. You watched as his dual blades began to slide out of their sheath slowly, but surely. One of them stopped sliding, but the other didn't threaten to halt. You knew it was because Zuko was angled awkwardly, leaning over, but he didn't even notice his blade.
You tried to wave to him, but his eyes were trained on the soldiers. Then, his blade finally fell out of the sheath completely. You gasped, suddenly loosing your grip on the tree branch and falling. You quickly dove, stretching out your arm, and grabbing the handle of the blade. Suddenly, you jerked upward, feeling your other arm get pulled rather uncomfortably. You glanced upward, seeing Zuko, wide-eyed, gripping onto your hand. He pulled you up, wrapping his hand around your waist as he held onto the branch. You flushed and quickly sheathed the blade back.
You waited until the soldiers slowly left the campsite, but until then, you felt Zuko's breath on your ear, and his heart was slow and steady. You weren't sure if he felt yours, but yours was racing, hammering against your chest. When everyone had left, Zuko let go of you and allowed you to drop down onto the ground. He fell by your side, his fists tightened again.
"You could've gotten caught." Zuko said sternly, glaring at you.
"Yes, but if I just let your sword to fall, we both would've gotten caught. The Fire Nation wants me dead and you alive, I wouldn't allow that to happen."
"It was a stupid maneuver."
"But it worked, didn't it, Prince Zuko?" You teased, sticking out your tongue at him. He frowned at you and flicked his fingers, a little burst of fire spouting at your face. You leapt backwards, nearly tumbling and falling. You felt your stubborn anger bubble up inside of you.
"What was that for?!" You said, raising your shoulders and stiffening your arms by your side.
"I've told you not to call me that." Zuko said, looking at the camp. "Great, now all of our food is gone, too."
"Y'know, sometimes, I'd rather starve than be with you. It's like you're on your man period all the time." You bickered, crossing your arms. Zuko rolled his eyes, walking away from you. You quickly followed in his tracks, walking closely behind him.
"I thought you said you don't want to be with me." Zuko spoke without looking behind himself.
"W-Well, you're good company. So, you know." You said, not finishing your sentence. Suddenly, you felt a searing pain on your arm. You frowned and looked at it, seeing that something had ripped through your clothes and deeply scratched your arm.
"Dammit," you sighed, sucking in air between your teeth. Zuko looked at you, pausing, and then to your arm.
"Are you alright?" He asked, taking your wrist and turning your arm awkwardly.
"I'm fine."
"Obviously not. I can't heal you, and we don't have medicine, but we can get some."
"Look, it was probably just a tree branch, when I fell. It's nothing I won't get over."
"Don't be stupid." Zuko said dangerously low, leaning in closely to your face. "It could get infected, we'll find that town. Besides, we need food and a new map."
And just like that, he turned back away from you and began walking into the woods again. You frowned, following, and you knew that your heart was racing for a reason. Some reason, right? Surely... it couldn't be... love?