The Blue Spirit ღ (Zuko x OC)

ⅩⅩⅤⅠⅠⅠ: Return

Zuko stood at the end of the gangway. The ship had been loaded and was prepared to sail, everyone was ready to depart for the Fire Nation but him. He looked over his shoulder, hoping above hope to see her come flying down the hill behind him, ready to skin him or beg him not to leave, and any excuse would do. But there was nothing. The hillside remained empty and the gangway awaited. He stepped onto the metal, working his way up and promptly made his way to his assigned room.

Mai had appeared in front of him at some point as he'd been staring at his feet.

"Come with me." She said, grabbing his hand.

He followed along to the kitchens and watched her bark orders at one of the chefs who retreated into a storeroom, emerging with a platter of glistening cherries. Mai snatched the bowl from the chef, then led Zuko out to her quarters.

"Now you get to enjoy the perks of royalty again," She said, sitting down on a cushion at a table. "Ordering around servants, eating only the best food . . . I bet it beats traveling around however you were."

Zuko thought back to days journeying through the Earth Kingdom with his Uncle, how he'd been starving for days, sleeping on rock hard ground, walking until he had blisters. It hadn't been terrible once he'd gotten to Ba Sing Sei. They were always able to manage a hot meal, and their beds were comfortable, and . . .
His shoulders sank for a moment.

"I guess." He mumbled, taking a seat across from Mai.

"Try one." She said, moving around to sit beside him. She plucked a cherry and held it to his lips, letting him bite into it.

"I forgot how much easier it was to eat fruits without pits." He mused.

"Azula wouldn't be caught dead with pitted fruits." Mai laughed and leaned against him.

His skin prickled for a moment, but Zuko found himself too exhausted to protest or do much else. He leaned against her, letting her weight hold him up.

*✧*

The ship home seemed to take an eternity. Zuko had spent every night sprawled over the bow of the ship, unknown hours pouring over the charcoal waves, searching the depths, hoping the blackness would swallow him. Oh, to cast his heart into the see. How sweet the release it would be.

He let Azula's words fill his head, like water into the punctured hull of a ship. 'A peasant? In the royal palace?' That way she moved about all too wary of the world, the way she had to sniff something before she ate it, her love of climbing and dancing about. It wouldn't be any kind of way for a lady of high stature to move about a palace . . . His father wouldn't have it. If she didn't fit . . . what about him? There was all possibility he no longer moved like a nobleman, let alone a prince. Maybe he, too belonged in the woods, skulking about the night like a feral cat.

He heard Mai appear behind him at some point.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked, but Zuko was trapped in his own head and launched into rambled musings.

"I've got a lot on my mind. It's been so long, over 3 years since I've been home. I wonder how it's changed . . . I wonder how I've changed."

"I just asked if you were cold, I didn't ask for your whole life story." She yawned, moving toward him to throw an arm around his shoulder. She held his face with one hand, forcing him to turn to her in spite of his frustration with her response. Zuko felt reminded for a moment of the way Nala would hold his face, always dancing her fingers over his scar as if she were admiring a fine fabric. He melted into the gesture for a moment, almost forgetting where he was. "Stop worrying."

The crumb of reassurance eased him. Mai had always been around, and he'd entertained once or twice giving in to her chasing, he'd mostly never bothered. Now, it was a comfortable numbness to exist here. As they kissed, he felt a twist of regret, but told himself to push it away, to malaise to resist or toy with the weight in his limbs any longer.

He was going home, now, and whether it felt like home or not was beside the point. He was returning as Prince of the Fire Nation, and as such he'd have to act like it. Mai at his side would be invaluable to ensuring a smoother transition, and to help numb the aches of what had transpired in the Earth Kingdom. She was the kind of girl with noble family who acted directly beneath his father, and he was sure his father would approve of them as a couple. He'd return, and this time, he'd do it right. be the perfect Prince.