Mira would like to think she's a good sister-in-law.
She kept Yue's secret dream crush for years and she even covered for her when Arnook asked for Yue's whereabouts last night, much to Tekka's disapproval.
She was a good sister-in-law. Maybe even the best sister-in-law in the world.
But even she couldn't help Yue when Arnook barged into the dining room that morning at breakfast, asking why Yue wasn't in her room.
Mira's eyes widened as the rest of the group paused, suddenly realizing that Zuko hadn't shown up either.
Sokka spoke quietly, "No way..."
Yesterday, after Tekka stormed out, Mira had left to talk Tekka down and cover for Yue.
It had been a long day and the group was tired so everyone had decided to go to sleep early instead of waiting for Zuko to finish his date.
Sokka figured Zuko would just come back to his room and sleep after his date. Then he could ask him for all the juicy details in the morning.
There's no way... He's in a city of people that hate him... He isn't that stupid...
But as the group looked around guiltily, realizing that no one had seen Zuko or Yue since last night, Sokka realized Zuko may be dumber than he thought.
Arnook felt his anger rise at the silence in the room, the Avatar and his companions looking guiltily away from him.
Well, the Avatar and most of his companions...
Arnook's eyes widened as he realized who else was missing, glaring at the Avatar.
"Where's the Firebender?"
Aang gulped, trying not to think about how he kind of promised that Zuko wouldn't go around unsupervised.
I mean... he's not totally unsupervised. Yue's with him.
Somehow that didn't seem like the right thing to say so Aang tried his best to help Zuko out.
"Uh... Zuko wakes up at dawn, so maybe he left early..."
Arnook glared at the Avatar who was clearly lying to him, trying to hold in his fury.
He snapped his eyes to Mira, who told him that Yue had retired early yesterday.
"Mira, where is Yue?"
Mira gulped as she tried to think of a way to get Yue out of this.
Before she could though her fiancée spoke up, "She's with the Firebender. We haven't seen them since yesterday."
Mira shot Tekka a betrayed look as Arnook clenched his fist in fury, storming out of the mess hall to find his daughter and strangle the Firebender she was probably with.
The group descended into silence as Arnook left, Aang, Katara, and Sokka sharing a look as they shared the same thought.
We have to find Zuko.
.........
Yue woke up, feeling a warm arm around her waist as she lay on the soft grass.
She opened her eyes, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she saw the sun rays spread across Zuko's resting face.
He looks so peaceful...
She traced his cheek, imagining that the sunlight was his old golden tattoo. Memorizing his face when it was free of worry or pain.
I could get used to this.
She snuggled up next to him, deciding that she wasn't ready to wake him yet. She felt his chest rise and fall through the parka he was wearing, still too big on him.
I should get him a better parka. Maybe Tekka will let him borrow one.
She knew that Tekka might not like Zuko but she figured she could convince him to give him a chance.
Mira's on my side too. If she helps me out then I can probably get Tekka to be friendly.
She knew it was going to be tough to get her family's approval but she was willing to work for it. Mom seemed to be a little open to it so the first real challenge would be Tekka. If she could convince Tekka to give Zuko a chance then he could help her convince dad about it.
Dad always listens to Tekka. He'll have to consider it if Tekka says Zuko is a good partner.
Yue bit her lip at the thought.
She hadn't brought up the whole engagement ceremony last night, preferring to talk with Zuko about the years apart rather than the uncertain future they had.
I wonder if he'll say yes... I don't know when people get married in the Fire Nation. Would he think it's too early?
She was pulled out of her thoughts by the feeling of metal shifting under his parka, the ring she knew he held still tightly worn against his chest.
I wonder if his mother would've approved...
She felt sadness creep up at the thought of Zuko's mother.
He had told her about his attempt to find her last night. How he tried to use the ring, the last thing he had of her, but failed. How his horrible family forced her to choose between her son and her life and now she had neither.
At least he had his uncle... I wonder what he'll think of me. Would he approve of Zuko marrying someone from the Water Tribe?
The thought of meeting Zuko's Uncle and getting married to Zuko flashed into her head. Her daydreams causing her to squeeze Zuko a little tighter in embarrassment.
Maybe I should just focus on getting him to say yes for now...
She was pulled out of her thoughts as Zuko started to stir, seemingly pulled awake by her embrace.
Zuko cracked open his eyes, shutting them as sunlight started pouring into them as he woke.
He groggily tried to get up and felt something wrap around his chest, keeping him in place.
Huh?
He opened his eyes fully, seeing Yue's Snow White hair scattered around them and her ice blue eyes looking back at him.
She gave him a small smile, "Good morning."
Zuko froze, his memories of yesterday coming back to him as he gave his own small gentle smile in return.
It wasn't a dream.
"Good morning."
Yue giggled at Zuko's raspy voice, obviously still not fully awake.
"You know, usually you would always wake up before me. What happened to 'Firebenders rise with the sun.'"
Zuko looked at her confusedly before realizing that she was right.
I didn't wake up at sunrise this time.
"I don't know. I guess it was just so comfortable sleeping next to you that I didn't wake up."
Yue felt herself blush at Zuko's honest statement, him obviously not having a filter so early in the morning.
I could get used to that too.
She smiled as Zuko seemed to process what he said, the temperature rising around them as his face turned bright red.
"Uh... I mean..."
Zuko gave up on trying to defend himself as Yue gave him a peck on the cheek, erasing his panicked thoughts as she pulled him closer.
"I get what you mean..."
Zuko gulped, "Yeah..."
His eyes flicked to her lips, the sunlight of the Oasis highlighting her beauty as he leaned in for another kiss.
Yue closed her eyes as she leaned in to meet him, jumping out of her skin as she heard someone chuckle from behind her.
"Well isn't this a surprise."
......
Yugoda was an old soul.
She had seen a lot of things in her time, and she learned to trust her eyes rather than her ears.
That's why she didn't quite believe it when she heard talks of Yue having a secret fiancée from outside the tribe. A Firebender that Tui had set her up with.
Yue has never showed an interest in anyone. I doubt she's been hiding a secret love life beyond that.
Yugoda figured that Yue started showing an interest in one of the Avatar's companions and the men of the tribe panicked, taking it as a secret engagement.
Yugoda figured that Arnook was exaggerating when he burst into her healing hut that morning, demanding to know the whereabouts of Yue and the mystery Firebender everyone was talking about.
But Yugoda was old, and she learned a long time ago when to admit that she was wrong.
So when she saw Yue and the mystery boy jump up in surprise at her words, each sporting a matching pair of blushes as they stood up, she could admit that maybe Arnook wasn't exaggerating.
The boy is definitely a Firebender, his eyes tell me that much. If Tui did introduce them when Yue was twelve then he's probably the reason Yue got so depressed three years ago.
She had a few course words she wanted to tell him about how sad he made Yue over the years, but she decided to keep them to herself.
The burn over his left eye told her that he hadn't had a pleasant life, she wasn't going to judge him for it when she didn't know what he'd been through.
Judging from the scarring it must be years old... It's definitely from a skilled Firebender. It avoided permanent damage to his eye and just stayed surface level.
She grimaced at the thought of a boy having to face that horror. He looked around 17 now so the boy must have gotten it when he was young.
I'm old, I won't get in between young love just because Yue was hurt by it before. They obviously love each other, I'll do my best to help them out.
She got a little excited at the prospect of meeting her favorite student's secret boyfriend. She hadn't had anything to tease Yue about for years, the boy in front of her was the perfect material.
I'll be forgiven for some slight teasing on my favorite student.
She smirked as Yue tried to cover up her blush and pretend like she didn't just catch them snuggling together.
"Uh... Yugoda. What a pleasant surprise. I didn't think anyone would be in the Oasis this early in the morning."
I've been coming to this place by myself for years... Why does she have to be here today?
Yugoda snickered at her pupils slightly disappointed tone, "Oh I suppose your right dear. I was just dropping by since Arnook said something pretty interesting to me this morning. He said something about you, what was the word..."
Yugoda tapped her chin, imitating Arnook's deep voice, "'frolicking around with a firebender.' So I thought I'd stop by the Oasis to see if you were here."
Yugoda laughed at the look of horror that passed the two rule breakers faces.
Ha! Arnook is gonna lose his mind. Serves him right for trying to marry my precious Yue to Hahn.
She snickered at the thought as Yue and Zuko looked at each other, mortified that they forgot to leave the Oasis before anyone noticed.
Shit...
Yugoda clapped her hands, snapping the two lovebirds out of their dilemma.
"Relax dearies, if you hurry you can still escape before Arnook thinks to look here."
Zuko felt a sliver of hope at Yugoda's words.
Maybe I won't get executed on my first day here.
That sliver of hope lasted all of three seconds before he heard a grave voice come from the entrance of the Oasis.
"Don't bother."
He looked in horror as Arnook walked through the entrance of the Oasis.
Fuck...