Fireproof

The last few days have gone by in a blur of petty theft in the name of self preservation. At night, Zuko and Kelani head into town and heist their way through the villagers’ pockets. Then, in the light of day, they go back into town to redistribute the wealth by spending it on things they need. 

“Where did you get  all this?” Iroh asks, looking skeptically at their amassed inventory of things. 

“What does it matter where it came from?” Zuko counters, grumbling at his uncle, and walking away. 

Kelani awkwardly smiles at Iroh and follows after Zuko. 

“Maybe he has a point. Maybe we need to be more careful.” 

Zuko spins on his heels to come face to face with Kelani, closer than he anticipated. He huffs out a breath and she can feel it against her face. A blush creeps up her neck and she takes a step back. 

Zuko notices her shying away from him slightly, and tries his hardest to ignore it. The time they’ve spent together in the last week has overwritten any oppositions between them. They’re closer now than they were before. And part of him thinks she might be starting to like him the way he likes her. 

“We’re being plenty careful, Uncle just doesn’t like it.” 

Kelani nods, considering his point of view. 

Iroh has every right to be upset with them. They’re committing crime while trying to maintain a low profile to get themselves to Ba Sing Se. It’s riskier the more it continues, and Zuko and Kelani are getting more comfortable with their actions. 

“Hm, I don’t know…” 

Zuko rolls his eyes. 

“You’re really going to take his side?” 

Kelani scoffs. 

“This isn’t about taking sides. We’re all on the same side. It’s about laying low and keeping you safe.” 

Bravely, she reaches for his hand and cradles it in hers. She’s held his hands plenty of times, but the tingle she feels when they touch is new. She seizes in her movements and wonders if he can feel it, or if she’s lost in the fear of getting caught stealing. 

“I don’t need you to protect me.” Zuko mutters, gulping past the lump in his throat. 

He does feel it too, but he doesn’t dare say anything about it. 

“And what about you? Come on, it’s obvious there’s something you’re running away from.” 

Kelani struggles to breathe. The last few days had been a distraction from the pain she constantly feels in her chest, pumping through her veins at every moment. She let herself bury it and pretend it’s not there, and got caught up in the thrill of her old pirate ways. And it's better this time, because she isn’t operating under anyone else’s orders, and she’s with people she can actually trust. 

But her mind clears and all she can think about is leaving the Northern Water Tribe when they needed her most. She left her people, and her childhood, and in a way, Yue. Guilt begins to swallow her whole and she subconsciously grips Zuko’s hand tighter as a way to tether herself to the earth they’re standing on. Her breathing kicks into hyper drive and it feels like all of the air she takes in immediately evaporates from her lungs. 

Zuko watches her, worried at her sudden shift. Her hand grips his and all he can think to do is hold her by the shoulder as she tries to breathe. 

“Hey, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, I didn’t mean…” 

Kelani drops his hand and falls to her knees, face tucked against her chest. Burning hot tears slide down her cheeks like melting ice, and she takes deep breaths. The sun burns into the back of her skull and she grits her teeth. She’d rather be in the company of the moon. 

A scream bubbles in her chest and she wants to set it free, but decides now isn’t the best time, and tries her best to swallow it. After a few minutes, Kelani slowly stands back to her feet, brushing dried mud off of her. 

She can’t help wondering how Sokka is handling everything. He didn’t know Yue the way she did, but he still loved her and watched her disappear. 

The next day when Zuko announces that he thinks him and Iroh should split ways, Kelani jumps at the chance to go with him. Maybe she can find Sokka and the others if they keep moving. 

Iroh smiles sadly at her as she gears up to leave with Zuko on their ostrich horse. She reaches in her pocket and grabs the pouch from the man at the bar her first night. They hadn’t needed to touch that money yet. She puts it in Iroh’s palm and folds his fingers over top. 

“Come find us, Uncle.” She insists.

His heart swells at her calling him Uncle, and he pulls her into a hug. Zuko watches from a few yards away, secretly overjoyed at the bond Kelani and his uncle have. Kelani steps back and waves one last time before walking over and mounting the ostrich horse. Zuko takes this as his cue and mounts behind her on the saddled ostrich horse. 

“Safe travels,” Iroh calls, waving them off. He grins to himself, well aware of their growing feelings for one another. 

The sun beats down on them as they travel. Zuko’s hands rest against Kelani’s hips as he steers their steed. Kelani’s skin tingles again at the contact, and her face heats up at the proximity of his hands. Her own blush combined with the afternoon sun is enough to dry out her mouth and make her feel overheated. 

“Could we stop in some shade soon?” She asks, sighing and fanning her face. 

Her long braid feels heavier in the Earth Kingdom heat. 

Zuko agrees and keeps an eye out for shade. Before he can find any, they reach a new village. Kelani points out a stall selling lunch, and they make their way over. 

A group of kids giggle and toss an egg across the road at a group of fully grown men. Zuko doesn’t notice as he talks to the vendor at the food stall. Kelani eyes the children and watches as the large men turn around, ready to fight. 

“Brave little lady, throwing eggs.” One of them pesters. 

“It wasn’t my egg. Maybe it was a chicken.” Kelani folds her arms across her chest and stares down the men. They cackle at her and ready their swords. 

Without thinking, Kelani grabs Zuko's dual swords and readies herself for a fight. If only her and Sokka had practiced with actual weapons, then she’d feel prepared to take down these burly fighters. 

“Are you crazy?” Zuko scolds, taking his swords back from her. 

The men laugh at her, but Zuko readies himself to fight them. They take the challenge and start swinging. Kelani can’t bring herself to do anything but watch. The vendor explains that the three men are soldiers, but act more like bullies around the village. Kelani takes in his words, but gets lost in watching Zuko fight. He’s so quick and agile in his movements. The last time she watched him fight, he was fighting Aang at the abbey where June kissed her. This feels different. He’s not bending, and she’s not thinking about June. 

The fight ceases and the men steal the bags of feed Zuko bought for the ostrich horse. Once they’re gone, Kelani buys more feed and some hot food for the two of them. They sit on the ground next to their ostrich horse and eat their food. A little boy walks up to them and grins. Most of his teeth are missing. 

“Hi!” He says, waving at them. 

Kelani smiles. 

“Thanks for not ratting me out to those guys.” 

Zuko looks up from under the brim of his hat, eyebrow raised at the small child. 

“I owe you. Come over for dinner!” He suggests. 

Zuko and Kelani share a look. Zuko is clearly about to decline. 

“That would be lovely!” Kelani agrees, beaming at the child. 

“Cool!” The kid mirrors her smile. “My name is Lee!” 

Kelani chokes on air and pretends it’s a cough. 

Lee leads them through the village to his family’s farm. They pass the open spaces fenced in with livestock reacting to their presence. Lee makes a comment about no one being able to sneak up on them at their farm. Zuko chuckles and glances over at Kelani. She grins back at him, distracted with cooing at the animals. They squeal in response. 

Lee introduces them to his parents who welcome them willingly. Zuko goes off with Gansu to help with farm repairs, and Kelani offers to help Sela with dinner. They wash the vegetables and prepare the meat to be cooked. 

“So how long have you two been travelling?” Sela asks. 

“Um, well, that’s tricky. We were travelling together for a few weeks, and then I went home for a while. But it didn’t feel the same way I imagined it would and I met up with him again to continue on our way to Ba Sing Se.” Kelani explains, wondering if she gave away too much. 

“Just couldn’t stay away from him too long, huh?” Sela smirks, reminiscing on her own love with her husband. 

Kelani’s face burns and she avoids Sela’s eyes. 

“U-uh what do you mean?” 

Her response makes Sela laugh. 

“You don’t have to pretend you’re not together, it’s blatantly obvious. Gansu used to look at me that way too. Took me a while to pay attention to him, but we got there in the end.” 

Kelani’s mind swirls hearing the woman’s words. She assumes that Kelani and Zuko are dating. Kelani feels the heat in her cheeks intensify with a burst. Her stomach flutters simultaneously, and she wonders when she started to feel like this around Zuko. It’s gone unchecked for a brief period of time, but long enough for strangers to notice. Is Zuko really looking at her in a certain way? 

“Oh, Spirits…” Kelani breathes, setting down her vegetable knife. 

“What? Are you alright?” Sela asks, concerned for the mysterious girl helping her prepare dinner. 

Kelani steps back and takes a seat at the table, her legs too unstable to support her. Sela wipes her hands on a towel and sits next to Kelani, rubbing circles on her back. 

“You might be dehydrated, let me get you some clean water.” 

Sela goes outside to the well and brings back a bucket of water, pouring some into a cup for Kelani. Gansu and Zuko watch her go to the well and pull up fresh water. Lee stands behind them as they work, asking Zuko invasive questions. 

Once dinner is ready, they come inside, and Sela insists Kelani sit and let her serve. Kelani sits next to Lee, across from Zuko. He smirks at her from across the table. Kelani averts her eyes quickly, now more nervous than ever in his presence. 

“You two are welcome to stay the night, and continue travelling in the morning.” Sela offers, dishing out the food. 

“Thank you,” Zuko says with a nod. 

Kelani mirrors his nod but doesn’t say anything, still avoiding his gaze. 

“And you can freshen up at the bath house.” Gansu adds, offering to show them the way before it gets too dark. 

“And we can play games before bed!” Lee adds, grinning. 

Kelani smiles at the young boy, wondering if he ever gets lonely being an only child. It’s clear his parents work hard, and he must help where he can, but his excitement to have company makes it clear that he doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with his friends in the village. 

Sela smiles warmly at her son as they eat. Kelani’s mind echoes back to what Sela said to her, that she and Zuko clearly have feelings for each other. She doesn’t know how to approach the topic, or if she should bring it up at all. It’s not clear whether or not Zuko does feel anything, or if he’s aware of her feelings. 

Gansu guides them to the bathhouse and explains how everything works. He offers them towels from his house and leaves them a torch to help guide them back once they’re done. Kelani goes first, thinking that while she waits for Zuko, her hair can dry. 

Her mind continues reeling while she lets the water wash over her. The revelation of her feelings for Zuko have yet to leave. It’s clear now that that’s why she wants to be around him so much, and why her skin tingles when they make contact. It makes sense and doesn’t all at once. Part of her feels like she’s shedding her sadness of losing Yue and moving on as someone completely different. But she’s not ready for that yet. 

While she waits for Zuko, she rests under a tree, staring up at the sky. The stars twinkle and Yue’s light beams down on her. She sighs. This is the longest she’s been alone since finding Zuko and Iroh, and it feels weird. But she knows she’s safe to let her emotions flow freely in this lonely space. 

So she cries. 

Her body shakes with sobs, and tears glide swiftly down her face onto her fabric covered knees that are tucked under her chin. She lets her heart break all over again, allowing her to truly mourn Yue. She gets so caught up in her emotions that she doesn’t notice Zuko leave the bathhouse and stand a few yards away, watching her wracked with guilt and heartache. 

It hurts him to see her this way, so vulnerable and so broken. He feels intrusive watching her, and can’t decide whether to go interrupt, or walk off somewhere else to give her some space. 

“I’m so sorry, Yue.” Kelani cries, a second wave of fresh pain coming over her. 

She cries for everything they lost together, and everything she thinks she could have done to save Yue, even though she knows deep down there was nothing. Each sob erupts in her throat as a reminder of the eight years at sea that she didn’t get to spend making memories with Yue. All the time she spent trapped in the bunk of a ship, scared out of her mind, waiting for the next time they would force her into using her body to distract scummy men at taverns and inns, and on the streets. 

She cries, her thoughts echoing back to Zuko. Her understanding of her newfound feelings for him makes her feel guilty. She doesn’t want to move on from Yue and forget about her and her sacrifice to save the world. But she can’t ignore that being around him makes her the happiest she’s felt since Yue’s death, and that Yue would want her to be happy. That’s all they ever wanted for each other. 

“Kelani?” Zuko finally finds his voice and slowly approaches her under the tree, torch in hand. 

Kelani freezes, immediately wiping her face free of tears and forcing back her sobs. He looks concerned, his eyes highlighted in the flame of the torch. She forces a smile in his direction, standing and brushing off the dirt. Her hair falls around her shoulders, free from its usual braid. 

“Sorry, I um-” 

“Why are you apologizing? I’m sorry I interrupted something. I just got worried…” 

“I feel like all I’ve done lately is break down in front of you…” Kelani admits, gnawing on her bottom lip. 

“There’s nothing wrong with that. At all. I’m sorry you’re hurting so much.” 

His words hang in the air as they stand within a few feet of one another. Kelani stands still, caught between wanting to be alone and wanting him to hold her. 

“I…” Kelani starts, but doesn’t know how to continue. 

Zuko steps closer, slowly, as if waiting for her to back away. 

“Can I ask- who’s Yue?” He hesitates, but waits for her response. 

Her eyes dart up at him and her face falls slightly. Her lip quivers and she takes a deep breath. 

“She was the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe. We grew up together. When she was born, the Moon Spirit gave her life, and when Zhao killed the Moon Spirit, Yue had to sacrifice herself to keep the world and the Spirits in balance.” 

Zuko’s breath catches as Kelani tells him everything he missed. The last thing he remembered before fighting Zhao, was getting knocked out by Katara in the snow storm. He had no idea any of this happened. Not even that Zhao tried to destroy the moon. 

A few fresh tears slip down Kelani’s face. 

“I’m sorry you lost a friend.” Zuko says, stepping a bit closer. 

The torch starts to illuminate her face, and he can see the stains of streaked tears on her face now. He reaches for her hand the way she did his before they separated from Iroh. Again, he can feel his skin tingle against hers, and his palm starts to sweat.

Kelani lets her hand rest against his, but shakes her head, looking up at him. 

“I loved her.” 

“ Oh …” Zuko nods. 

He looks down at their hands, and then up at the moon. It shines brightly down on them. He looks over to Kelani and she, too, is staring at the moon. 

“I still love her. But everything is different now. That’s why I left home. It’s why I need to find Sokka.” 

Zuko tenses slightly at her mentioning Sokka. 

“Why?” 

“He loved her, too. And we promised her we would look after each other.” 

Zuko nods, wanting to pull her close to him, and hold her against his chest. He wants to find a way to make her pain go away, or at least subside. Instead of pulling her, he walks a few steps closer, and wraps his arms around her. She doesn’t pull away. Slowly, she brings her arms up and around his torso, holding him close to her. 

“Thank you for telling me, and trusting me.” 

Kelani tightens her grip on him. 

“Of course.” She hums into his chest, taking in his scent and listening to his heartbeat. 

They walk back to the farm house, hand in hand to keep each other from getting lost on the way, and because neither of them wanted to let go. Lee gets excited to see them and asks if they can play games. Kelani offers to play a few rounds of Pai Sho before Gansu insists that Lee has to go to bed. 

Sela grabs blankets and leads Kelani and Zuko out to the barn to sleep. 

“I’m sorry we don’t have an actual guest room. We don’t get very many guests.” She explains, handing the blankets over to Zuko. 

“We’ve slept on the ground, this is perfect. Thank you for letting us stay.” He replies, with a gracious smile. 

Sela gives the pair a knowing smile, and leaves the barn. Cold night air leaks through the panels of the roof, making Kelani shiver. 

“How is it so fucking hot during the day, and so fucking cold at night?” Kelani grumbles, stealing a blanket out of Zuko’s arms. 

He chuckles, watching her wrap herself up. 

“Well, I’m always warm, so…” 

Kelani sticks her tongue out at him, but laughs. 

“Not that time we saved your ass from freezing to death in a blizzard. But, sure.” 

Zuko can’t stop the laugh that falls out of his mouth. His face heats up in embarrassment, remembering the way he stole Aang from the Spirit Oasis after burning Kelani. 

“Yeah, thanks for that, by the way.” 

“Don’t thank me.” Kelani says, plopping herself down on a cluster of hay. “Thank Aang. He insisted we bring you back.” 

“Oh, wow, you didn’t care about saving me? Ouch.” Zuko teases, taking a seat next to her in the hay. He grins at her. 

“Hey, I would have suggested it if Aang didn’t, I was still groggy from our fight and the searing pain in my shoulder, thank you.” 

Zuko’s face falls at the reminder of him burning her. 

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m fine. You’ve seen it. It’s fine.” Kelani shrugs, and decides to remove her arms from her sleeves to show off her scar again. 

Her skin erupts in chills as she has less to cover her, but turns slightly for Zuko to see her scar. 

“I saw it in the mirror at the bath house. It’s healed really well, I think.” She says, craning her neck over her shoulder to look at Zuko. 

He sits behind her, eyes darting over her bare shoulders, face pink. Her stomach bubbles with flutter bats. She starts wondering if he’ll touch her, and her face heats up. She tries to shake away those thoughts and watches his face change as he looks over her scar. She wants to turn completely and kiss him, which startles her. She’s never had that impulse before. Not with Zuko. 

She could recognize that he brought her comfort, and she liked being around him. Especially now that all they have is each other in a war-torn world. But she didn’t expect that to morph into attraction . She can’t even remember the last time she was attracted to someone of the opposite sex. 

Her mind races, thinking up new ways to be close to him. She’s overcome with the urge for physical contact. His eyes flick up to catch her staring at him. She turns her head away, and pulls her sleeves back over her shoulders. While shifting, she scoots herself closer to Zuko. He doesn’t move away. She moves closer and rests her head on his shoulder, nuzzling herself into him. 

“I’m still cold.” She decides to say, feeling him tense up. 

She looks over at him and his face is redder than she’s ever seen it. 

Maybe that’s a good sign?

She giggles, getting his attention. He looks at her, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“What?” 

“Have you never cuddled before?” She asks, grinning.  

“Actually… no.” 

She shifts to get a better look at him, not believing him. 

“Seriously?” 

He shrugs, his intense blush still coloring his face. She snakes her arms around his torso and pulls him closer to her. 

“Well, you said you’re always warm, so we’re cuddling.” She says, resting her head against his chest. She can hear his heart pounding. Hers is beating just as fast. 

Zuko lets her snuggle against him. He had gotten used to her platonic affection before, but this feels different. It makes his chest tight with anticipation. But he’s sure that he’s reading too much into things, and she really is just trying to stay warm. 

Kelani hums as they settle into the hay pile for the night. She keeps her head tucked against his chest and breathes in his comforting scent. 

“Goodnight, Zuko.”