Flameheart | Zuko

FOURTEEN

"Are you afraid of dancing, Zuko?"

"I've no idea what to do with my arms," he admitted as he turned to face her and instantly, Suki and Toph nodded. "It's nothing like fighting. I'm good at that."

"It's easier than you think," she insisted with a smile as she attempted to identify any signs of discomfort in her presense. There was none. She thought she was in the clear, beside her bold move earlier in the evening. "You don't need to think to dance, you just feel the music and the rhythm and move your body. I could always teach you sometime."

Zuko shook his head at once, "I'd rather not."

She rolled her eyes with a smile as she turned to face the dancing pairs when movement caught her eye. She turned her attention to the man walking towards them, and soon enough, she recognised the young noble who had wished to rid Zuko of his position. She straightened up at once, Suki's elbow slipping from her shoulder and her smile dimmed as he came to a stop in front of them.

"Fire Lord Zuko," he nodded at Zuko in a show of respect before he turned his attention to Homura. He sent her a smile. "Would you like to dance?"

Homura regarded him closely, her gaze falling from his eyes to his outstreched arm and back up. She could feel Zuko and Suki watching her and even Toph had turned her attention on her. The noble's eyes never left her own, though, and slowly, she sent him a nod as she moved away from Suki and placed her hand in his, choosing to ignore the weight of Zuko's gaze on the side of her face as she let the noble lead her to the other pairs. She turned to face him as she moved the way everyone else did and he instantly followed her lead.

He sent her a smile. "I'm Akio. May I learn the name of the lady that's keeping me company?"

Homura's eyes were sharp as she followed his every move, her body moving to the beat without her paying any thought to it. "I'm Homura."

He seemed to be affiliated with her name but kept quiet, not showing any signs of acknowledgement. He only smiled. "That's a lovely name for a lovely lady."

The smile she offered him in return didn't reach her eyes. "Thank you."

She twirled along with everyone else and took a step closer, mimicking the moves of Katara a few steps ahead. With yet another twirl, she found herself in the same place she had started as she peered up at Akio from beneath her eyelashes. It seemed like he had lost the steps to the dance and embarrassed, he looked around to make sure he had gotten the dance right once more before he turned to face her.

"You're good at this."

Her smile turned sharp, "Dancing is like fighting."

He caught her hidden attempt to offend him and his smile dimmed somewhat as she looked away, took a step back with everyone else and twirled close to him before resuming her position. When she met his eyes once more, he spoke up.

"I feel like you don't like me all that much."

She barely managed to keep herself from raising an eyebrow at him. "What gave it away?"

"Did I do anything to offend you?" he asked, paying no heed to her question. "Is it because I asked the Fire Lord to fight with me? Are you one of his guards?"

"I'm one of his friends and any friend of his would have pointed out that fighting the Fire Lord is not customary behaviour," she replied, a sharp edge in her tone as she twirled quickly along with everyone else, the material of her dress moving up, revealing a portion of her scars on her legs, but hardly anyone was looking. She took a step closer to her partner and stayed there. "Unless you're a friend of the Fire Lord, Akio, asking him to fight with you isn't a behaviour most people would think acceptable."