A Prisoner

Book 1; Chapter 6

Tête-à-tête

"Hey, Z." You said to him when he took a seat beside you.

"Hey." He replied, staring at the green flames in front of the two of you, "They really are gorgeous, (Y/N), maybe you can teach me this someday."

"I'd love to." You smiled and looked over at him, "I'm sure you have a lot of questions..."

Zuko nodded, then spoke, "Why did you lie?"

Was the first thing he asked, voice barely louder than the sound of the running river in the distance. You frowned sadly as you answered, "Your dad told me to, he said he didn't want you to feel the shame of knowing a traitor who was sent to prison instead of being banished."

"You could have told me the truth, you came to my room alone that night."

You shook your head, "There were two guards waiting for me outside your door. They would have heard me."

Zuko was then silent as he pondered his next question, "...did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

"That you wanted to marry me someday."

You nodded shyly, face flushing red, "Yeah, I meant it. With my whole heart."

"Do you... still feel that way?"

Again, you nodded before speaking, "Yes, but I don't think I deserve you." You whispered, "I'm just me, Z, not that being me is a bad thing. Don't think I'm a hypocrite, I have a great deal of love and respect for myself, what I mean is: next to you, I'm just a peasant. That's all I'll ever be in the eyes of everyone but you. Even if I had grown to be a war hero, nobody would remember my name, because history isn't kind to people who come from nothing and their only notable thing is they were young for their accomplishments."

"Stop that." Zuko said firmly, taking your hands in his and making you look at him, "I've spent my whole life worrying about other's opinions of me, I don't care anymore. I would leave the Fire Nation behind forever if it meant I could stand beside you."

"Why...?"

"Because I love you and I've loved you since we were seven years old."

You blushed deeply and hid your face behind your knees, "But-"

"No, (Y/N), I've waited ten years for you, if you don't want me I can wait even more." Zuko said, holding your hands firmly, "But, if you do want me, please don't make me wait another ten years."

You let out a shuttering breath and squeezed his hand, "Of course I want you Z..."

"But...?"

"But, don't you think we should wait to see if Aang defeats your dad?"

"(Y/N)..." Zuko whispered, "If Aang doesn't defeat my father, there won't be a world left for us to live in."

"What do you-?"

Zuko stopped you,  "Trust me when I say, what my father has planned is not good."

You nodded slowly and turned to face him, "So, if the future isn't certain, the only thing we have left is the present and our hope."

Zuko gently grabbed you chin and pressed a tender kiss to your lips, "And us."

"Us?"

"Mm-hm," Zuko hummed, then whispered, "we're certain. The feelings I have for you are certain, and I can only hope that it's the same way for you."

"You better believe it."

...

The two of you talked all night long, cuddling close to each other in front of the wall of green flames as you voiced everything you had wanted to say since you were children. He told you about the Agni Kai with his father and explained how he had gotten the scar on his face, you told him that you thought the scar was kind of sexy, he shoved you lightheartedly and rolled his eyes. He asked if you had been through a lot while you were in prison, to which you answered honestly and told him about how you often caused trouble just to go to the solitary coolers for some quiet.

It had seemed that Zuko was still beside himself, now that you were there, next to him, holding his hand. He could sit there and hold your hand forever, just listening to the beautiful sound of your voice as you told him all about the new firebending techniques you had been developing, techniques he couldn't wait to see in action. He still wasn't sure if this was even real, beings how the last memory he had of you was of you disappearing, but he could feel your warmth in his palm and the subtle thrum of your pulse; you were real, you were there.

"Z?" You asked, frowning, "I lost you there for a second, you okay?"

"Hm?"He asked, then he smiled down at you, "Oh yeah, I'm great."

You smiled back and nodded, "That's good."