Firelord Zuko x Assassin Reader

Chapter 31: Flip A Coin

There is no excuse this time. Yinz have permission to beat me up for taking six centuries to post. Omfg I've been so busyyyy. Good news is I should hear whether or not I'm approved for this new apartment tomorrow and my hot coworker and I are going on a mimosa bar crawl Saturday. Oh, I forgot I have tea! There's this grad student that's literally so creepy to me 💀💀💀 Long story short he asked me to lunch, I told my hot coworker about it and he's been on my ass to make sure this guy leaves me alone. Thank god. So for now, we're basically "fake" dating around the office until this guy gets the goddamn hint. Omfg yinz should read the creepy ass email he sent me.  

Anyway, I'll be posting a Mako chapter in a week or so. Gotta mull over a few things before it all comes together, so enjoy Zuko for now 🖤

-A

Taro's office

"You ki–oh my god!" Thomas coughed uncontrollably, "You did– You did what!?"
"Please don't make me repeat it," Taro groaned with his head in his hands,
"Oh, I'm actually praying I didn't hear you correctly," Thomas gasped, pouring himself another shot before downing it quickly, "What on earth would compel you to kiss her!?"
"Ugh. Do you really need an answer for that? The fact is. I did. Now where do we go from here?"
"We!? Oh no. No. No. There's no we here," Thomas panted, "This is all on you–
"Hey, you're the one who kept prying–
"Because I wanted to know what you gave to her,"
"If I had told you that, you would've pried anyway," Taro scoffed,
"And you thought admitting this would ease my suspicions!?"
"No, I figured you'd yell but more importantly, I figured you'd help me fix this,"
"Fix!? Oh, you're far from fixing this. He's going to kill you! He's literally going kill you!"
"Not if he doesn't find out," Taro hissed,
"And how in the hell do you expect him not to?" Thomas questioned, "He's bound to notice something when you can barely be in the same room as her without drooling,"
"I paid her off okay?" Taro sighed frustratedly,
"Paid? Paid as in money?"
"More like let her have two of her weapons back," Taro admitted sheepishly,
"You did what!?"
"I'm not repeating that either–
"That's what you gave her!? Y-You're telling me she's armed? Again!?"
"It was the only way to get her to keep this a secret,"
"Wait a minute," Thomas blurted, stopping mid-pace, "Why two?" he asked curiously,
"Huh?"
"You said you gave her two of her weapons back. Why two exactly?"
"I...I–Ugh. I-I may have kissed her twice,"

Zuko's room

You had gotten used to waking up in Zuko's arms. So when you didn't feel his warmth beneath the blankets you got suspicious and rolled out of bed earlier than usual,
"Mmph. Zuko?" you called as you sat up and wiped the sleep from your eyes, only to notice the fresh rays of sunlight creeping in through the open balcony, "Ugh. Firebenders," you sighed, "Always up way too early,"

You had debated on sleeping longer, maybe all the way past lunch considering how late you had gone to bed, but the red handkerchief half-covering two of your favorite knives on the floor eventually caught your eye,
"Hmm. I guess he really does want my silence" you breathed before tucking your switchblade beneath your pillow and groaning frustratedly, "Ugh. Why the hell did he kiss me?" you questioned out loud, completely annoyed with the fact that you had to keep this from Zuko, "And...A-And why the hell was it so...good?"

Taro's office

"You kissed her twice!?" Thomas shouted in disbelief, "Have you completely lost your mind!?"
"Hey the first one was an accident–
"Oh, yeah I'm sure that little detail will make a huge difference when your friends and family are weeping at your funeral," Thomas scoffed, "Why would you ever take the advice of that idiot thief?"
"For your information, I didn't take Pen's advice okay?" Taro snapped, "I...I fell for her," he admitted softly,
"Great. So, you fell for her," Thomas nodded frustratedly, "Wonderful. Now, I'm going to need you to pick yourself back up, take a good long look in the mirror, and come to your damn senses," he hissed as he paced back and forth, "Taro, you cannot have her–
"I know that–
"Do you!? Because if you did, you wouldn't have crossed him again–
"Who says I did this to piss him off?"
"The second kiss that's who!" Thomas barked before recollecting his temper, "Y-You have to tell him–
"Absolutely not!–
"Taro!–
"Look! I'm already hiding the fact that Scythe and his goons came here to kill her on top of stashing her father in the North Wing from him. What's one more thing?" Taro questioned,
"Hmph. Fine. Do you plan on ever telling him?" Thomas sighed,
"Eventually–
"Then why can't it be today–

Hallway

"Oh, good...morning," Rushang nodded at Pen who was down on his knees with his ear pressed up against Taro's office door, "Who are we spying on?"
"Not sure. I was walking by when I heard my name, then I heard shouting," Pen answered softly, "And typically those two things together aren't necessarily good,"
"Why can't you just knock on the door?"
"And blow my cover? Yeah right,"
"Alright then," Rushang sighed before knocking loudly, "So sorry to interrupt, and not that I was personally eavesdropping, but we'd like to know what all the shouting is about,"
"Ugh. Let him in," Taro sighed when he recognized your father's voice,
"Ahh. I figured it'd be you two," Rushang smiled lightly once he and Pen stepped inside, "Mr. Thief here wants to know why he heard his name earlier. I on the other hand want to know why we're drinking at 8:00 in the morning," he grinned when he spotted the liquor bottle on Taro's desk, "And more importantly why I wasn't invited,"
"Uhh. We were just having a friendly debate about...pudding," Thomas lied,
"Pudding," your father smirked, swiping the bottle from Taro's desk and pouring a few shots into his hot coffee, "Interesting. And would pudding be code for Taro kissing my daughter last night?" he questioned,
"He knows!?" Thomas gasped,
"He saw," Taro answered defeatedly,
"Hmm. Look who finally took my advice," Pen chuckled with his arms crossed,
"I did not take your advice," Taro hissed, "I didn't kiss her to steal her from him. I kissed her because...I...I like her,"
"Oh, I think it's way more than like," your dad teased,
"Fine. I'm in love with her. Is that what everyone wants to hear?"
"Hmph. I'm just glad to hear you admit it," Pen smirked, "Mr. Stethoscope here said you couldn't stand her,"
"I can't. She's loud, she's rude. She threatens and injures me far too much for my liking–
"But," Pen smiled from ear to ear,
"I can't get her out of my goddamn head,"

Arena

"Are you sure this isn't too many targets sir?" E asked Zuko once the other guards finished setting them up in the distance,
"It's plenty," Zuko grinned after finishing his stretches, "Did you bring it?"
"Ahh. Yes. One blindfold as you requested," E bowed,
"Perfect,"