Burnt Out - Zuko x OC

The Assassin Network

"What? I'm wearing trunks." He said back, and folded his hands behind his head.

"I know, it's your tattoos I'm worried about. What if someone sees you?"

"There are walls all around us." Katara said, as if the blind girl couldn't sense that. "It's completely safe."

From behind them they could hear Momo's speechless chittering and the next thing they knew, he and Aang were both gone. They'd darted down a water chute that led to god knows where, seeking out fun and adventure on the otherwise serene day. Sokka grumbled to himself as he struggled to do calculations in his head. He'd also chosen to strip down to his swimwear, even though he had no intentions of entering the water.

"What's his deal?" Katara asked with her voice cast down.

Kai and Sokka hadn't spoken much since their playful duel in the valley. An awkward tension lingered between them. Sokka still felt the embarrassment of rejection whenever he stepped too close to the girl and Kai's head was a messed up Rubik's Cube of confusion. It hurt now that she felt him pulling away, regardless of the fact that she was the one stopping him from coming closer.

"I think he's mad at me." She told Katara. "He hasn't been talking to me much, he even pulled his bed roll away from mine and Toph's."

That'd thrust a real sword into her heart. Kai didn't like empty space around her when she slept. It was the reason she slept surrounded by branches when she was alone and why she'd cuddled up so closely to Nero when they were together. Even sleeping next to strangers in years past brought her more comfort than sneaking into a hut rental alone for the night.

"What happened?" Katara asked, but Kai wasn't about to tell her that she and Sokka had almost locked lips after chasing each other around like sparrowkeets.

"I kicked his ass during our spar. Does he usually hold a grudge for this long?"

The water bender giggled remembering how long it took her brother to come around to Aang. Hell, even Jet he'd never really trusted. "Maybe it's better if you just apologize. He can be a little.. stubborn."

Kai glanced across the small beach at Sokka while she rang out her hair. He was leaning over his map, scratching his head and basking in the hot sun.

"Right.. Apologize."

ZUKO

The beach on Ember Island was hot and crowded. Zuko felt his pale skin beginning to bake as soon as he stripped down to his trunks. His hair felt too warm on the back of his neck.

Kai was right.. I need to cut my hair. He thought internally, and then immediately tried to push her out of his mind. He laid out their beach towel and umbrella and joined Mai in the sand. She'd been acting extra sour since he met her at the ferry. But that was just Mai, she got like that sometimes. Zuko didn't think twice about it.

Teenagers just like the lot of them ran across the landscape. They played games of soccer and volleyball, some tried their hand at surfing, children built sandcastle forts close to the shore. Azula's destroyed one of those masterpieces, she'd done it with a dominating smile on her face.

"Here, this is for you." Zuko said to Mai as he handed her a conch shell, lazily trying to appease her poor mood. She paused to look at it and her brows contorted with confusion.

"Why would I want that?" She asked.

His grip tightened around the shell, it threatened to crumble in his grasp. "I saw it and thought it was pretty. Don't girls like stuff like this?"