The Girl and the Fire Lord

9 Kissed - Zuko's POV

I'd been sleeping less as of recently, but I wanted to keep seeing Hiromi. That first morning I felt something kind of unexplainable - like in some way her and I were supposed to meet. I like the idea of controlling your destiny, but that meeting felt very out of my control. It seemed like someone out there wanted us to meet and made it happen. Ever since then I'd been trying to get back that feeling. I was determined. I took another turn around the path by the cherry blossoms and finally saw her. She was pretty in a sleek way. Every hair was pinned perfectly in place and her dress looked expensive. It was certainly an interesting choice for a morning walk in the garden. 

"Good morning!" I said, smiling and looking at her feed the turtle ducks. She threw in a big handful of fire flakes and they all gathered around. Some of the smaller ones in the back couldn't reach the food. I wondered if she was going to sprinkle some around so all of them could get breakfast. 

"Good morning, Zuko." She said, flashing a sultry half-smile and turning to meet my eyes. Her makeup looked very sharp and well drawn. I wondered how she got the lines so straight. I lifted my arm for her to take, and she did, holding my bicep firmly. She seemed to like how strong I was, and I started to feel just a little bit nervous.

"What are your plans for the day?" I asked her, trying to strike up a conversation. 

"Well, I'll get breakfast with my friends after our morning walk, then work until lunch, eat with them again, finish out the work day, and then I'll probably get into my evening wear and head down to the lounge." She said calmly. Her voice was so steady. It made me overly aware of how unsteady my voice was. 

"That sounds nice. So, what do you usually do at the lounge?" 

She stopped by a bench underneath the red maples. We both sat down, and she leaned into me.

"I usually play a couple games of chess with whichever guard thinks he can beat me. They never do." She said, and we laughed a bit. She definitely seemed smart. "I also like to hear my friend Hana play the piano. She's got a real talent for it. And my other friend plays the violin. She's fantastic." 

Just a few years ago playing music for personal enjoyment was highly looked down upon in our nation. It made me happy to hear about people playing and loving the instruments in the lounge. I made sure to find a great variety so all of the palace staff could spend their evening listening to music and learning how to play.

"Do you play any instruments?" I asked, hoping she would play a song for me sometime. She shook her head. 

"No, I just listen. Hana and... my friend have offered to teach me though, so I could learn." She suggested. 

"I think you'd be good at it. Music requires a lot of intelligence, and you seem to have that in spades." 

"Thank you, I know you do too, Zuko." She said. 

I usually loved being called by just my name, but it felt strange. So few people called me that any more it felt wrong. 

"I appreciate that. So your friend Hana, is she the girl you live with?" 

"Yes. She and I are very close and we work together most days. She's quite the opposite of me - more outgoing, loud, and bubbly - but we get along well." She said. Hiromi was so even-tempered. It seemed interesting that her and her roommate got along. I suppose opposites attract. Hiromi turned to look at me and leaned in closer. I suddenly felt very aware of myself and my breathing quickened. Was I supposed to kiss her? She seemed kind of close to be just wanting to talk, but if I kissed her and that wasn't what she was trying for it could get awkward very quickly. Plus, did I really want to open that door? I was still trying to find the connection I felt on the first morning again. Before I really had time to come up with a plan she leaned all the way in and pushed her lips on mine. 

She kissed me.

Now very nervous, I moved one hand to her face. That seemed like a good place to put it. My eyes were closed, so I tried to relax into her. She wrapped her arms around me and opened her mouth as she kissed me. She was a great kisser. 

I brushed my thumb against her soft cheek and rested my other hand on the middle of her back, careful not to let it dip too low. She turned her body completely toward me and leaned into my chest, pushing me back. One of her hands slid down my chest and grabbed a fistful of my shirt. I felt hot all over. She pushed me all the way back until I was laying down on the bench which was really too small to be making out on and moved over me. 

"Um, maybe we should take a little breather." I suggested, and she opened her eyes. Her face was flushed and her hand moved further down my body, tugging at the waistband of my pants. 

"Are you sure?" She whispered in my ear, giving my pants another tug. My body urged me to grab her by the hips and move her on top of me, maybe even letting her pull my waistband further down, but I knew that wasn't wise.

"Uh, yeah, I think I need to stop before I do anything I'll regret later." I said, swallowing down the heat in my body. She stood up and smoothed out her skirt. I'm not very good at reading people, but I could tell she was upset. 

"That's fine. That's probably the wise thing to do anyway." She said smoothly. I nodded, trying to ignore the weird feeling in my stomach, and stood up. "Here, let me fix this." She said, brushing a loose strand of hair out of my eye. Her hand brushed my scar a little, making the feeling in my stomach worse.

"Okay, thanks. I need to go in now, but I'm sure I'll see you around." I said, trying to calm myself. I felt badly about how far things had gone between us. We'd only just met a couple of days ago and I'd let myself get worked up. I needed to be more careful. 

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow." She said, and without adding anything else, I turned to leave. 

I don't know if it was the fact that we kissed or how we'd kissed that I didn't like. Either way, we did, and I needed to figure out what that meant.