Fireproof

Kelani walks along the river, the sun beating down on her. She starts to break a sweat and discards her fur lined coat. She had kept it on during her journey because it still smells faintly of Yue, and she needs something to bring her comfort. 

Walking through a village forked by the river, Kelani spots a pair of familiar faces. One scowling and scarred, the other sheepish and sweaty as a rude swordsman pokes at him to make him dance. Watching this, Kelani walks over to them slowly. They’re distracted by the rude man who tosses a single gold coin into Iroh’s hat. 

Kelani grins to herself, slyly tossing her entire pouch of savings into his hat. This gets their attention, and they both look up in awe. 

“Kelani?” Zuko wonders. 

He’s surprised to see her, and even more surprised that she isn’t trying to stab him with the other man’s broadsword. 

“So good to see you,” Iroh beams. 

Kelani smiles back at Iroh before taking a seat next to Zuko under the awning of a shop. He’s watching her, shock still playing on his face. 

“How did you get here?” 

Kelani grimaces thinking back on her travels. She used her newfound ice block trick to guide herself from the Northern Water Tribe to the edge of the Earth Kingdom. Luckily, this time, she had the proper clothes to keep her from freezing to death. Then, once she hit land, she walked, following the flow of the river. 

“How’d you get here?” She challenges instead. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, but Iroh laughs. He fishes her coin pouch out of his hat and passes it back to her. She refuses to take it. 

“I came looking for Aang. Well, really I came looking for Sokka, but you’ll do. And if you’re strapped for money we can share.” 

Zuko can’t stop staring at her. He can’t believe she’s here, and acting like nothing happened between them in the North. He notices how tired she looks. Her face slightly pale and her eyes underlined by purple bags to match her purple robes. He also takes note of the large bag she’s travelling with. He’s never seen her travel with this many things before. It looks more like she ran away from home than it does that she went freely. 

At the mention of Sokka, his face burns, and he hides a scowl. 

“Very generous!” Iroh grins, tucking the pouch of gold in his robes to hide it from passersby. 

“So you missed your boyfriend.” Zuko mutters, rolling his eyes and looking past her at the sun. 

Kelani can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up in her chest. He glances at her, confused by her laughter. She laughs so hard tears try to jump from her eyes. She stops in time to wipe them away and let herself breathe. 

“Sokka is not my boyfriend. Cute that you think that though.” 

She didn’t mean anything by it, but his face and neck flush completely when she calls him cute. Iroh chuckles along with her, elbowing his nephew. Zuko glares at his uncle, trying to hide his face under the brim of his hat. 

“I only specified Sokka because he made me promise I would come looking for them in the Earth Kingdom at some point.” Kelani shrugs. 

She’s careful not to mention the promise they made to Yue to protect each other. It’s too early in the day for her to cry at the thought of her first love who sacrificed herself to the moon. 

“Why don’t you show her back to camp while I dance for more money?” Iroh suggests, looking over at his nephew. 

Zuko shrugs, standing and waiting for Kelani. 

“If we need more money, let me know. I was a pirate, I know how to get us money.” 

Iroh nods with a laugh as Zuko guides her to the outskirts of the village. He takes her to their camp set up, and she gratefully sets down her tiger seal skin bag. He eyes her suspiciously as she surveys the camp and then looks up to the sky. She takes a deep breath, soaking in the warmth of the sunlight. 

“Why are you here?” He asks, his eyes practically burning a hole through her. 

She turns her attention to him and gets a good look at him. Something about him seems different. 

“Did you get a haircut?” She deflects again, striding over to him and removing his hat. 

Her mouth falls agape, seeing his extremely short hair. He scowls at her for what feels like the tenth time in the last hour. Avoiding her eyes, he snatches his hat back and places it on his head. 

“Uncle and I had to cut our hair. It works as a good disguise.” He says, not explaining the significance that makes them traitors to the Fire Nation. “Stop changing the subject! Why are you here?” 

Kelani sighs. 

“I don’t owe you an explanation.” 

“You do when you’re giving me and Uncle your money.” 

Kelani stands still, chewing on her bottom lip. She absentmindedly twirls the Water Tribe ring on her finger. She runs through her mind what she wants to say, but can’t bring herself to speak. No matter how she puts it, it all comes back to Yue. And she can’t cry now. She only lets herself cry at night. 

Her lip trembles and she squeezes her eyes shut to keep the tears in. After a few minutes of silence, she swallows hard past the lump that formed in her throat. 

“It’s a long story.” She breathes, shyly glancing at Zuko who’s looking at her, confused and sympathetic. 

He nods, and makes a mental note not to pry, and let her tell him everything when she’s ready- if she’s ever ready to trust him again. 

“I’m sorry.” He says, looking at his feet in shame. 

“What?” 

“For burning you. It was an accident, I really didn’t mean for that to happen.” 

“Oh.” 

Kelani practically forgot about the fleshy pink mark on the back of her left shoulder. The pain went away weeks ago, and everything before Yue’s death feels insignificant to her anyway. 

“I-It’s okay.” She manages, still trying not to think about Yue. 

“Does it hurt?” 

“No, I haven’t noticed it in weeks.” Zuko nods, a flood of relief washing over him. “I haven’t even looked at it, actually. Do you wanna see it?” 

He goes to stop her, afraid to confront one of his most shameful moments. Before he can get a word out, she’s pulling back the sleeve of her robe, revealing her sarashi and her bare shoulder, pale pink and rough around the edges. 

Gulping, Zuko takes a few steps closer to get a better look at the scar. He can’t help getting distracted by the sight of her bare skin. About a foot away from her, he stops. He stares at the scar, his brain thinking everything and nothing simultaneously. He wants to reach out and touch the scar, but he knows he would be tempted to touch more of her skin. 

“It’s pink.” 

His face burns, feeling like an idiot. Kelani breathes out a chuckle. She turns her head to glance back at him. He meets her eyes and his face heats up. He wets his bottom lip, feeling parched and anxious. 

“Pink like yours?” Kelani asks. 

She wants to reach out and touch his face, feel his scar. But she doesn’t want to overstep, or upset him. 

“No.” 

His face scrunches at the image in his mind of his dark, ugly scar. 

“Darn, I was hoping we’d match.” Kelani jokes, smirking at him. 

His face continues to burn. He’s sure he looks like he has a fever. Neither of them say anything for a minute, and Kelani decides to pull her sleeve back over her arm. 

“Your haircut looks nice by the way.” She smiles. 

He’s blushing so hard he feels like he might burst into flames, which may be entirely possible. 

“Why are you being nice to me?” He finally asks. 

Kelani looks at him, confused. 

“Because we’re friends?” 

“The last time we saw each other we weren’t acting very friendly.” Zuko replies. 

Kelani thinks back to the Spirit Oasis. She tiptoes through the memory, not letting herself think about Yue or imagine her sitting on Appa with Sokka, or feel the phantom touch of Yue’s hand against hers. 

“I’m sorry too,” Kelani breathes, trying her hardest to hold back tears. 

Zuko looks up at her, hearing the tremble in her voice. His face softens and he 

rushes to wrap her in his arms like he did the night Zhao hijacked his ship. She sinks into him, letting him hold her up on her feet. For the first time since Yue’s death, she cries in front of someone else. 

She chokes on a few sobs, and feels her tears seep through the fabric on his chest. His arms around her are warm, and even though it’s a hot day, she doesn’t mind. The feeling of being held overrides any discomfort from the heat. 

“It’s okay. We both said things and did things. You don’t have to be sorry for standing your ground.” He tells her, trying to soothe her heartache that he doesn’t know exists. 

“Is everything alright?” Iroh asks, approaching the teens at the campsite. 

Kelani pulls back, wiping her eyes and her face. She looks up at Zuko with a sad smile before fully pulling away. 

“Yes, Uncle.” Zuko grumbles, rolling his eyes. 

“I brought some dinner. Dumplings, tea, and some moon peaches.” Iroh smiles, holding up his haul of food from the village. 

Kelani smiles, immediately sitting by her bag, eager to accept a nice hot meal. Zuko joins her, sitting beside her and taking some of the food from his uncle. They sit together and eat, and Kelani feels comforted by the familiarity of it. It almost lets her forget the events of the last month. 

“Thank you, Iroh, this is delicious.” Kelani compliments, savoring her dumplings. 

“Thank you.” Iroh parrots. “Without you I wouldn’t have been able to afford more than one moon peach and some tea.” 

Kelani giggles at the old man and his love for tea. 

“I can head out tonight and get us some more money.” She offers. 

Zuko arches his brow at her. He doesn’t understand her plan to get them money, or why she would want to wait until nightfall. 

With full bellies, the three settle into camp for the night. Kelani unrolls one of her coats, and uses it as a blanket. She rests her head on her tiger seal skin bag. Iroh snores softly a few yards away. Zuko sits upright against a tree, wide awake. Kelani isn’t asleep yet, so she retreats from her Water Tribe resources and walks over to the tree. She sits, sliding down against the bark of the tree, peering at Zuko. 

“What are you still doing up?” 

“Waiting for you to sleep.” He grumbles. 

“Why?” She asks, not willing to explain that she was doing the same thing.

He glares at her slightly. He doesn’t want to explain his plans to go into town as the Blue Spirit. 

“Nothing that concerns you.” 

She cocks an eyebrow at him, smirking. 

“As your friend, and closest travel confidante, it does concern me.” She tries. 

He smiles at this, trying not to laugh. 

“I was going to get us some things from in town. It was going to be a surprise.” He explains. 

Kelani nods, mirroring his smile. 

“Let me go with you.” 

He’s about  to say no, but she’s already standing, offering him her hand. His heart starts racing and he knows he’d be a fool to deny her now. With a grin and pink tinted cheeks, he takes her hand and stands up from the dirt. They head back into town still holding hands. 

“So, where to, Prince Zuko?” Kelani asks, wiggling her eyebrows at him. He freezes, making her stop walking. 

“Uh, it’s Lee.” 

Kelani’s face splits into a smile, and she tries to stifle laughter. 

“Lee? Why?” 

His face burns again. 

“Part of the disguise. Uncle and I have to pretend to be simple refugees on our way to Ba Sing Se.” He finally admits. Kelani’s face drops. 

“Something tells me this is more than just an elaborate plot to capture Aang.” 

Zuko sighs, dropping her hand and looking at the ground. 

“My sister is after us. She nearly tricked us into returning to the Fire Nation as prisoners.” 

Kelani’s eyes widen. 

“Prisoners?” She breathes. He glances at her. She looks worried and scared for him and Iroh. 

“We’re traitors.” He says so matter-of-factly it surprises Kelani. She’s taken aback, and confused. 

His complicated family life just got ten times more complicated than Kelani could imagine. She feels her chest tighten and she reaches for his hand again. He jumps slightly, surprised at her actions. Another blush creeps to his cheeks as he examines their hands. He loves how soft her palm feels against his. 

“So, where to, Lee?” She tries again, grinning. 

He grimaces at the way she says his fake name. He prefers hearing her say his real name. He loves how his name sounds in her voice. But ‘Lee’ doesn’t sound the same. It sounds like the lie that it is. 

He leads her back to the center of town. Most of the stalls are closed up for the night, but the taverns are still bustling with activity. Kelani’s eyes glow at the prospect of a drink. Zuko notices her excitement and chuckles. 

“Your inner pirate is showing.” He teases, watching her. 

She pulls him slightly towards the bar. He stops her and she turns to look at him. She glares at him in a playful way, trying to continue pulling him to the bar. 

“Go ahead without me, I’ve got other stuff I came for.” He explains, slowly letting go of her hand, and missing its warmth instantly. “I’ll meet you back here. If I don’t see you I’ll come in there looking for you.” 

Kelani grins and nods, excitedly skipping off to the bar. He shakes his head at her and goes off in the opposite direction, readying his mask. 

She walks into the bar and breathes in the heavy air thick with sweat and alcohol. The rowdy customers shouting and shoving each other around. She beelines to the bar to order a drink. Her plans to get them more money are moving forward with ease. 

To her dismay, they don’t have any of that spicy Sorghum liquor. All they have are beers and wines. She settles for a strong beer and leans against the bar, watching everyone else. 

A man approaches her with a sloppy grin on his face. She straightens up as he walks over to her. Once he’s close enough, she notices he’s nearly a foot taller than her. His breath reeks of whatever he’s been drinking. 

“Hey, there, Handsome.” She greets, already regretting her decision. 

She should have just gone with Zuko. 

“Let me buy you a drink.” He slurs, looking half asleep. 

This is going to be easy. 

“Well, sure! But buy yourself one too!” 

The man’s head bobbles as he tries to nod. He waves his hand around shouting about more beer. One more would be all it takes. 

Kelani thanks him and leaves her beer to sit on the bar, still working on her first. The man chugs the remainder of his and starts on the fresh one. Kelani feigns surprise when he chugs the first and encourages him to chug the fresh one. Clearly wanting to impress her, he accepts. The beer froths, dripping down his chin as he chugs. Within a minute he belches. 

Pretending to not be disgusted, Kelani cheers him on. He grins, but his eyes start to look heavier than ever. 

“Let’s head to the back where it’s more… private.” She suggests, whispering to him. 

He grabs her arm and yanks her to the back of the bar. He stumbles on his way, making her slosh her own drink all over the floor as he pulls her along. There’s a bench underneath a wall torch. He breathes heavily. 

“You should sit down! I could always sit on your lap.” She grins at him. His face is red from the beer and he looks sweaty under the dim lighting. 

He obliges, taking a seat on the bench, and continues panting to catch his breath. 

“You seem parched, want the rest of my beer?” 

She offers her mug to him and he takes it without arguing, gulping it down while holding it in both hands. Kelani grins. 

“Thanks, princess.” He sighs, leaning back against the wall. 

He belches again, and his eyes stay closed. Kelani pauses, waiting for him to open his eyes again. Instead, he begins to snore. She takes this as her window of opportunity, and eyes his robes for the compartment with his money. Once she finds it she ever so slowly slides her hand into the pocket and retrieves his money pouch. 

The fabric of the pouch is damp with sweat, which disgusts Kelani, but from the weight of it there’s a decent amount innside. She pulls it open to peek in, seeing at least twenty gold pieces. 

Quickly, she darts to the front door of the bar, and waits outside in the fresh air. It feels nice on her skin, slightly warm from the muggy air of the bar, and the one beer she got to finish. She leans against the wall, taking deep breaths. The moist pouch sits in her hand and she hates how it feels, but would rather hold it than let it touch her skin in one of her own pockets. 

She can hear footsteps approaching, rapidly, and turns her attention down the road a bit. It’s Zuko in his Blue Spirit mask. 

There’s no one running behind him, so he stops when he sees Kelani. As soon as he stops, he removes his mask and pants. 

“Ooh, more vigilante shenanigans?” She teases, watching him catch his breath. 

“No.” He breathes, glaring. 

“Okay, well, take this. I don’t want to hold it.” Kelani says, plopping the stranger’s coin pouch into Zuko’s gloved hand. 

“Did you steal this?” Zuko asks, wide eyed. 

Without his mask and his hat, Kelani gets a good look at his face and the way it’s framed by his new haircut. Yue’s moonlight shines brightly down on them, and his eyes sparkle as he looks at her in disbelief. 

“Maybe.” She grins, shrugging and walking past him. 

She catches him smiling at her, and feels a flutter in her stomach.