Burnt Out - Zuko x OC

Roots In The Forest

Note - I know you all are probably v tired of dream sequences but I needed to add just one more, so enjoy a smut chapter in return for putting up with my shit.

*****

A flash of metal blazed past Kai's face, cutting off the ends of a few stray hairs and blinding her as the moon reflected off of it.

"Watch it! You almost got me, dummy!" She slurred. Her words came out slow and lacked any malice entirely.

"Watch what?! I'm sword fighting BLIND!" Toph grasped wildly at the air until Kai's blade returned to her hand.

Playing pirates had been Kai's idea. With half a handle of snake wine sitting on their empty stomachs, Kai was as carefree as she wanted to be all the time and the fact that Toph was hundreds of feet off the ground couldn't stop her from believing in herself. Appa was flying on pure memory, as the girls had wasted almost the entire day drinking and napping and speculating on what would happen after Kai was free from her mortal restraints.

"You can't kill me anyways!" Kai swung her blade through the air haphazardly, laughing like a maniac and striking Toph in the shin with the dull side so as to not seriously injure her. "I've got exactly two and a half weeks until my date with death, and I think I'd like to know how it feels to get stabbed by then."

Kai dropped her sword onto the floor of the saddle and held out her arms. She hopped around a few times so that Toph could catch a quick, albeit blurry, map of her body. "No major organs though!"

Toph had always wanted to stab someone, especially ever since she'd witnessed Kai stab Azula back in the volcano. The fact that Kai was so willing took some of the fun out of it, but beggars can't be choosers.

She pretended to concentrate, as if she could see where she was going anyways (her spinning, intoxicated mind convinced her that she needed to at least act like she knew what the hell she was doing). She held the sword up using mostly her metal bending abilities and just as her heels lifted off of the ground —

Appa landed on the first solid surface he'd seen all day, jarring both of the girls off of their wobbly feet and into the railing of his saddle.

"Hey! What gives?! I was just about to do my first stabbing!" Toph yelled.

Kai pulled herself up and peered over the edge, they were back at the temple. Appa had landed at the end of the commons and just a few feet from him sat the rest of the gang, huddled around the fire post-dinner and very confused as to why both of the girls were on the floor of the saddle.

"Oh, hello." Kai greeted them with a drunken smile and glazed over irises. "Get up, Blind Bandit, we're home."

She collected her swords, strapping them back on her shoulders, and held the jug of alcohol dear to her heart. It was only by chance that the bottle didn't shatter when she hopped down and lost her footing, slamming her knee against the hard concrete beneath her.

Zuko knew there was no use in running to her rescue. He remembered how long it'd taken for her to let him help her back at the palace, and she was much more drunk now than she had been then. He simply walked, stopped in front of her, and helped her up.

"Want some sssssnake venom?" Kai asked.

Zuko smiled over how silly she became when she was out of her mind. "I think you've had enough for the both of us."

She leaned in close to his chest and pouted the best she could, grumbling something about Zuko being "no fun", but the overwhelming aroma of spirits that melted off of her breath overshadowed her words. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hers draped behind his back as she snuggled up to him.