Façades [A Zuko x OC Story]

32 - Prison Break

"No one can make tea like Uncle," Zuko holds a tray full of cups of tea, "but hopefully I learned a thing or two." He hands me a cup and I put it on the ground without drinking it, "Would you like to hear Uncle's favourite tea joke?" Zuko asks.

"Sure."

"I like jokes."

"Bring it!"

"Okay." Zuko serves Haru and The Duke, "Well, I can't remember how it starts, but the punchline is 'Leaf me alone, I'm bushed!" The group sits in awkward silence and I let out a snort.

"Well, it's funnier when Uncle tells it," Zuko explains

"Right... Maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing." Katara comments and the rest of us laugh. Zuko smiles faintly.

"It's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens." Toph takes a cup from Zuko's tray.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Sokka asks Zuko once the older boy finishes serving. The two of them walk off from the rest of us.

"What do you think that's about?" Toph asks in reference to the two boys.

"Could be anything." I shrug my shoulders, sparing a glance at the two of them.

-

The sound of voices wakes me up, "I'm never happy." I hear Zuko's voice.

"Look, I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea, it was my decision to stay when things were going wrong." Sokka replies.

I pull myself out of my sleeping bag and slink closer to the sky bison where the two of them stand.

"It's my mistake, and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honour. You can't stop me, Zuko."

"You need to regain your honour? Believe me, I get it. I'm going with you."

"No. I have to do this alone."

"How are you going to get there? On Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison daycares. We'll take my war balloon."

I emerge from behind the column I was hiding behind and clear my throat. The two boys whip their heads around, "Going somewhere?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Uh... Just a late-night cruise." Zuko smiles awkwardly. I nod my head slowly, "Right... A late-night cruise that requires your war balloon." I stare at him and I can see him cracking under the pressure.

"We're going to the boiling rock." He blurts out.

"Dude!" Sokka hisses and smacks Zuko's arm.

"The boiling rock?" I raise my brows, "Do you want to get killed?" I look between the two of them and they stay silent. I pinch the bridge of my nose, "I'm too tired to deal with this." I wave my hand, "Just don't get caught." I walk back to my sleeping bag, not before turning around one more time, "If you let Sokka die out there, I will kill you, Zuko." I warn.

I slip back into my sleeping bag and fall back asleep.

-

I creep my eyes open and light floods into them. I sit up and crack my shoulders and back. Sleeping on the ground really sucks. The others around me also seem to be getting up. I look around and see that Sokka and Zuko really have both left.

Our morning starts out normal and I choose to stay quiet about the two boys. That's when Katara bends down and picks up a note tucked under Momo's arm.

"What does it say?" Toph asks.

"Need meat. Gone fishing. Back in a few days. Sokka and Zuko." She reads, "One more thing. 'Aang, practice your firebending while I'm gone. Do twenty sets of fire fists and ten hot squats every time you hear a badger-frog croak. Zuko." I shake my head at the boys' excuse. A badger-frog croaks and Aang sighs,

"Nobody else has homework." He begins his hot squats, "One hot squat, two hot squat, three hot squat, four hot squat..."

I walk over to the edge of the temple and hang my feet off the ledge. I hope those two idiots will be okay.

-

"It's getting late. Shouldn't they be back?" Katara asks as she washes our dishes in the fountain.

"Maybe they caught a really big fish." I shrug my shoulders, not making eye contact with her. She crosses her arms and stares at me, "Do you know something?"

"What? No." I rush out, grabbing one of the dishes and scrubbing it.

"Ok... I'll trust you for now," She says with uncertainty. I let out a sigh and keep scrubbing, trying to ignore the look she is giving me out of the corner of my eye.

But from the other side of me, I notice a large Fire Nation airship lowering next to the temple. I draw up my hands and my golden flames begin to glow.

The door to the ship opens and I drop my arms when I see who's inside. Sokka stands next to Zuko in the large ship.

"What are you doing in this thing? What happened to the war balloon?" Katara asks.

"It kind of got destroyed," Zuko explains.

"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip." Aang comments.

"Did you at least get some good meat?" Toph asks.

"I did." Sokka replies, "The best meat of all. The meat of friendship and fatherhood." Several people appear from behind the two boys.

"I'm new. What's up, everybody?" A large man says as he exits with a wave.

"Dad?" Katara has tears streaming down her face as she runs over and hugs the other man that comes off the ship.

"Hi, Katara." The man embraces her.

"How are you here? What is going on? Where did you go?" Katara asks all at once,

looking at Sokka.

"We kind of went to a Fire Nation prison," Sokka says sheepishly. He gets pulled into their hug.

"Seriously? You guys didn't find any meat?" Toph complains from beside me.

I walk over to the grumpy prince and pull him into a hug, "I'm glad you're okay." It doesn't settle in my mind what I had just done until I look at Zuko's face when I pull away from the hug. I retract my arms in a flash, "That meant nothing."

Zuko nods his head slowly. He then leans over and speaks quietly into my ear, "I have to talk to you."

"Okay?" I look him in the eyes, "Aren't we talking?" I question. He looks around and back at me, "Alone."

"Fine." I follow him away from the rest of the group. He leans against one of the columns and I stand in front of him, "What do you have to say that is so secretive?"

"Mai was there... At the Boiling Rock"

"Okay..." I raise a brow, "And?" His eyes widen slightly, "I just thought you would want to know."

"Zuko... I don't care if you saw Mai... You could've gotten back together for all I care... I'm not your girlfriend anymore. I don't care about anything you do." I leave him alone leaning against the column and I go to introduce myself to the girl that was on the ship.

I tap her on her shoulder and she turns around and looks at me with a smile. I extend my hand out to her, "We haven't met yet. I'm-"

"Li Mei." She finishes my sentence, "You've made quite a name for yourself." She gestures to Zuko and Sokka, "Those two never shut up about you." I chuckle along with her, "I'm Suki." She shakes my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Suki." She grabs my arm and pulls me closer to her, "So..." I can hear the smirk in her voice, "Are you two a thing?" She turns my body to face Zuko.

"Definitely not," I reply. I squirm my way out of her strong grip, "We're not even friends."

"Alright." She shrugs her shoulders, "I was just wondering. For how much he talks about you I would have thought you were more than friends." She pats me on the back before walking off.

There's no way we're more than friends.