K A N K A K U {Avatar the Last Airbender, Prince Zuko}

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Hitori didn't last long after that, breaking down in poppy fuled tears. Zuko held her close and let her cry, cradling her quietly shaking body. She'd quickly fallen asleep, Iroh telling the other what's they'd witnessed in the clearing. The ride back was slower, Appa tired for all the sudden movement.

"Soooo..." Sokka twirled his thumbs absently, head facing out but eyes giving a pointed look to Zuko and the girl he held laying against his chest. "How'd you meet your girlfriend?"

"What?" Zuko snapped awake, his drowsy eyes looking up from where he rubbed small circles into her back. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Riiiiight..." Sokka drawled, making Zuko furrow his brows and nearly growl with irritation. "Answer the question anyway."

"She saved me." Zuko answered after a moment of contemplation. "A Dai Lee patrol caught me off guard, I got away but they sliced me open." Zuko would have pressed a hand to the long scar across his abdomen, but Hitori was in his way. His hand pressed to her back instead. "Tori hid me, patched me up, and forced me to rest until I was healed enough to set out again."

"Hid you?" Katara asked, her time cold but not nearly as venomous as before. "From what?"

"Her home was a refugee camp, a small sacred area dedicated to helping those in need, no stings attached. The Dai Lee looked for me there first." Zuko sighed, feeling the steady rise of her chest as he remembered the events in her cottage clearly. "She locked me in a secret room with her sword and went to confront them. They demanded to search the house and when she denied them, they beat her and searched it anyway."

"Oh man..." Sokka spoke quietly.

"If she managed to beat Azula, why couldn't she beat a couple of earthbenders?" Katara questioned quite rudely, making Zuko look up with a glare.

"If she were to fight and win," Iroh intervened for his nephew, his tea held gently between his hands. "They would have only sent more, until they killed her and discovered Zuko. Playing weak was the smart choice."

Zuko went quiet, as did the rest of the group, his finger running lightly over the scar on her hip. He'd gone soft, he knew it. She'd weaseled her way into his heart with kindness, a weakness he didn't know he had. Deciding the group wasn't going to ask any ore questions, he slunk down and rested his cheek on the top of Hitori's head. His arms secured themselves around her waist so that she wouldn't fall off, and slowly allowed himself to close his eyes and rest with her.

The next morning Hitori was still sound asleep, her body curled under the thick blankets of Zuko's bed. Zuko himself had woken up some time before, helping to prepare breakfast with the others. The sun was nearing the middle of the sky when he decided to wake her up. He barely touched the bed and expected her to leap awake, startled like she was on Appa, but found she stayed asleep. It wasn't until he shook her gently did her eyes flutter open. Her deep murky blues looked up to Zuko, his face soft as he tranced her spine through the blanket.

"Zuko?"

"Good morning." Zuko smirked, bringing forth a plate of sausage and eggs. "There's time for you to eat before noon."

"Why am I getting Deja Vou?" She grumbled, but smiled when he chuckled. She sat up slowly and shivered as the breeze drifted through the dimly lit room, the open window letting in a cold draft. "What's this?"

"Breakfast." Zuko placed the plate in her lap, standing and snagging his vest from the floor and draping it around her exposed shoulders. "Eat, I have to change your bandages."

"Look at you," Hitori teased as she popped a piece of sliced sausage past her lips. "Pretending to be me."

"It's only fair." Zuko defended with a shrug. "You want me to feed you too?"