Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire [Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic]

Chapter 44

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."