Avatar: The Fifth Element

17. Surprise

The next morning, Rumi woke up with Zuko's heavy arm still pinning her down. Not wanting to wake him up, she lifted it as carefully as possible, and gently placed it back on the bed.

He looked so peaceful when he was asleep, and Rumi just wished he could feel as relaxed as he looked right now all the time.

With a sigh, Rumi made her way downstairs, where she was greeted by Katara.

"So, you didn't sleep on the couch, huh?"

Rumi smiled sleepily and shook her head.

"You were with Zuko!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing at her. Toph joined in by laughing loudly.

"He asked me to stay," Rumi shrugged, acting as if it were no big deal.

"That's rare for Zuko," she heard Iroh speak from behind her and spun around. "He's never asked someone to stay with him, he must be really fond of you!"

For a while, Rumi thought Zuko was going to sleep all morning, but that thought vanished when he came stumbling down the stairs in a sleepy haze.

"Ah, owe, oof," he grunted with every step, his side still incredibly sore.

"Zuko! What the hell?!" Rumi rushed to him and helped him down the last few stairs, "You need to be more careful!"

"S-sorry," Zuko said with a sheepish grin.

When Rumi went to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee, Sokka marched over to Zuko.

"So buddy, how was your night?" he asked, raising his eyebrows a couple times.

"What?! Nothing happened..." Zuko explained.

"You wish!" Toph shouted, and the others laughed as Zuko's face turned red.

Iroh patted his nephew on the back, "Don't worry, you just need to be persistent with her. How do you think I ever got married?!"

This earned a small laugh from Zuko as he fidgeted with his hands.

When Rumi came back with her coffee, she held a plate of food in the other hand and gave it to Zuko. "Everyone else already had breakfast before you got up, so I made sure there was still some left."

"Awwww, isn't that cute?" Sokka mocked.

And for the next few days, things became rather routine. Rumi would spend much of the day helping rebuild the area destroyed by the meteorite. However, she made an effort to keep a low profile. The others were curious about it, but no one asked.

All the free time Rumi had was put to good use by taking care of Zuko. She made sure he ate, and tended to his injury. Often, he would try to resist. He probably resisted food more than aid though, but Rumi was determined, and unswayed by Zuko's defiance. She eventually got through to him, but it was a bit of a battle every day.

She had also taken to sleeping on the couch, unsure of what was appropriate, but Zuko's face when she told him she was going downstairs to sleep, had been almost too much to handle. He was disappointed. Maybe he blamed himself, but Rumi didn't know for sure. It must've appeared as though it was his fault. After all, she slept one night with him, and then hadn't done it again since.

The others spent some time helping with the repairs as well, especially Aang. Sokka seemed to help more so to show off to the ladies. Much to Rumi's dismay, his attempts seemed to work. Girls swooned. Rumi was never one to swoon. At least, as far as she was aware of.

Eventually, Zuko was able to walk without leaning on Rumi anymore. She almost found herself missing it, although it did tend to get difficult at times.