Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Messing with Heat ❯ 21 ( Chapter 21 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Messing with Heat Ch21

A/N: Hi guys! Happy Thanksgiving!! Right now my parents are doing something outside, so I decided to write!! XD Cool ay?

Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful reviews you guys gave me! Ya’ll rock out loud! But someone asked me to put some real T rated stuff. I haven’t been giving you guys that much romance, so I’ll gladly put it up in this chapter! Let me know if this part was too ‘hot’ for you, or if ya liked it better than normal. Please review homies!!

PS: No I am not a rapper. :P

YOUR POV

“I’m hungry,” You whispered to yourself, walking behind Zuko. Zuko even looked tired now, since you guys have been wandering the forest for hours by now. Sighing, you trudged on, even though you wanted to drop dead.

“We are all hungry,” Oops, Iroh seemed to hear you. “However, there is nothing we can do but search for a town or someone’s house.”

“There is no way I am getting refuge at a commoner’s house,” Zuko snapped, for he’s been grumpy this whole time. You learned that Zuko doesn’t like the peasant life so much.

“You will have to,” Iroh told him, looking over his shoulder to give the boy a stern look. “Unless, of course, you would like to starve.”

Zuko said nothing.

“Hey look!” You exclaimed, eyes wide. You came across some good looking fruit hanging from trees. They were bright yellow, but they resembled apples from your world. Your mouth watered from the sight, and you ripped one off the tree.

“What is that?” Zuko asked, sounding curious now.

“I don’t know,” You said, with a smirk on your face. You sniffed the fruit and it smelled fruity. (Duh) “But it looks good!”

“Do not eat from unknown fruit,” Iroh suddenly took the food out of your hands and threw it in the brushes, making you sweat drop. “It could be poisonous.”

You pouted and crossed your arms over your chest, sighing. “So what? I think I’d rather get poisoned then starve.”

“I don’t think so.” Iroh commented, moving along again. Zuko gave you a pitied look, but moved on as well.

If you were a fire bender you would shoot fire into the air right now.

Too bad you weren’t.

You said nothing and moved along as well, glaring into the ground. Your stomach felt so empty it was beginning to give you cramps, and you bit your lower lip. Even your lip was dry! Cursing yourself mentally, you kicked a pebble on the ground and into a tree to your right. This wasn’t such a good idea and all. Your pants were beginning to get scratched up from the thorns and plants, and your hair was beginning to get leaves stuck in it.

Gross.

“These berries, on the other hand, look delicious,” Iroh suddenly said, and you looked up. He snapped some dark looking berries and studied them. “These are either the delicious Guabidotes, or the poisonous Jalekinos.” He shrugged, “I am guessing they are the Guabidotes.”

“Uncle, no!” Zuko said, but it was too late. Iroh popped the berries into his mouth and chewed them, and he sighed.

“They taste wonderful!”

“Uncle, are you stupid?” Zuko snapped, his eye twitching. “Those could be poisonous!”

“They sure don’t taste poisonous.” Iroh said dreamily, eating a few more.

Your mouth watered.

Your stomach growled.

Your knees buckled.

“I wanna try some!” You said, as if a drunk, and slowly walked to Iroh as if in a dream state.

“None for you,” Zuko grabbed your waist and pulled you away, giving you almost a stern look. “Seriously, I don’t want you getting sick. Besides, I already think you are catching something.”

“What do you mean?” You coughed, and then sneezed shortly after. “I’m fine, Zuko, I think I’m just extremely hungry.”

“Just hold on a little longer,” Zuko commanded, shaking his head. “I seriously think they are poisonous.”

“Zuko, I think they are poisonous.” Iroh suddenly muttered, and you both looked at him. He turned his head to you, and you let out a strangled scream. Even Zuko’s eyes widened from the sight. Iroh’s face was beat red like a rash was coming on, and giant hives were beginning to form now.

Oh crap.

Zuko gave you a wary look as if saying he was right, and you smiled sheepishly. He then turned back to Iroh and sighed.

“Now what do we do?”

“We can find the Valesko berry that heals rashes,” Iroh suggested, but then looked deep in thought. “No. Wait…. Or did it make skin bleed? I take it that it heals rashes so we need to find it!”

“No more berry eating, Uncle!” Zuko yelled, and Iroh cringed. “We need to find some healer-now!”

“Come on, uncle,” You said softly, helping him walk. Iroh shrugged you off and scratched his face, yelping.

“Argh! It burns!”

“Idiot! I told you not to eat it!” Zuko snapped, storming ahead of you two. “Now what the heck do we do?”

“Excuse me?” All of you looked up to see Song, the girl who helped Zuko. She had dark hair and did look pretty, and she smiled friendly.

“Do you need my help?”

LATER

“Thank you so much for your healing,” Iroh grinned at the table, his redness going away. Even his hives were gone now, only the redness still there. “It helped so much.”

The mother laughed, “No problem. Just don’t go eating random berries from now on. My daughter, Song, prepared a basket full of bread and water for your journey. May the gods help you on the long challenges ahead of you.”

“Thank you.” You told her gratefully, taking another bite of bread. You were confused when Zuko laid his hand on your knee from besides you, and you looked at him.

“Don’t eat too much,” He murmured so only you could hear, he glanced at you from the corner of his eyes. “It could give you cramps.”

“I’ll be fine,” You said back, turning back to get another gulp of water.

“And don’t drink too much,” His hand reached out to snatch the drink from your hand. You blinked innocently. “It could get you over hydrated.”

Laughing caught both of your ears and Zuko and you looked over to see the mother laughing. She was looking at you two and smiled.

“I am guessing you both are a couple?” She asked, tilting your head.

“How’d you know?” Zuko asked quickly, moving his chair closer to yours. You blushed from the attention and looked down.

“Well for one, how you look at her.” The woman said, almost longingly. “The love pours from you whenever you look at her, young man. And you watch everything the girl does, just as if she may die any moment. It is simply adorable. You both are so lucky.”

“Yes, I am lucky,” You said, looking up. Zuko turned to look at you, his eyes shining almost.

“Mother?” Song entered the room holding a basket. “Here’s the basket for the travelers.”

“Thank you dear,” Her mother smiled, and Song put it down on the table.

“I wish you luck on your travels,” Song said, looking mainly at Zuko.

You growled inside your head, your blood heating up.

“Thank you for feeding us as well,” Iroh said, rubbing his large stomach.

“Anytime,” The mother said, “we haven’t had many visitors for awhile now. Ever since the war began, nobody likes to travel anymore.”

“That is too bad.” Zuko said, eyes glancing around the room.

“Yes because my nephew and I simply love traveling,” Iroh insisted, “we love seeing all the different parts of the world.”

“Really?” Song looked interested. “Where have you guys been?”

“A lot of different places,” Zuko said a little bitterly, and I bit my lower lip.

“Well me must be on our way now,” Iroh slowly stood up, and you got up as well. Zuko followed shortly as you all walked out the door.

“Thank you again!” You said, waving as you now walked backwards to smile at them.

“Anytime!” Song’s mother said again, grinning. “Have a good journey!”

You all waved to them as they waved back, and soon, they were back in their house. Zuko walked in front of you all, and you walked in the back.

“Such nice people,” Iroh commented happily.

“Yeah, they totally rock!” You gushed, holding the warm basket closer to your chest.

Iroh gave you a bewildered look. “What does ‘rock’ mean? Does it mean earth rock or…..?”

“It just means whatever I’m saying is cool,” You told him, “its slang.”

“Very….Interesting.” Iroh shook his head, still looking in deep thought.

“I’m glad I told you guys about the truth,” You admitted, smiling a little. “It feels so good not to lie all the time, or make sure I don’t say the wrong thing.”

“I’ll bet.” Iroh muttered, and it was then that you realized Zuko wasn’t in sight.

“Zuko!” You turned around only to gasp. He had an ostrich-horse next to him and held it by the reins, looking dark almost. You widened your eyes and Iroh gasped as well.

“Nephew!” Iroh took a step closer to Zuko. “Are you mad? Those kind people helped us, and you’re thinking about stealing not only one of those creatures, but two?”

You then saw another ostrich horse trot up to the one next to Zuko, and he was tied with the other animal.

“Well they’re about to do something else for us,” Zuko said in his quiet voice, giving the animal he was next to a pat on the neck. “Besides, we need them more than they do.”

“Don’t be so selfish!” Iroh said in a hushed tone of voice. “This is cruel!”

“I call this one!” You grin and run to the one next to Zuko, hopping on it easily. You put the basket on the side so it was hanging over the saddle, and you gripped onto the reins. Remembering how hard it was to ride that rhino thing, you knew you could ride on anything by now. Besides, the animal wasn’t that big and it was easier to stay on.

“Fine.” Iroh sighed, giving in. He walked to the other one and climbed up on it.

“Come on, Zuko!” You called, reaching our your hand so he could have some help to get on. “Ride with me, dude.”

Dude?

Zuko froze a moment to give you a crazed look, but climbed easily on right behind you. His lower body came in contact with yours instantly, and you blushed. You felt his chest touching the back of you and you scooted forward a bit, giving him some more room.

Iroh was, of course, oblivious to all of this.

“I’m not going to ask what dude means,” Zuko muttered behind you.

“That’s good,” You grinned and kicked the animal, going off in a trot. It was fast and so unlike the rhino, but you got the hang of it. Shockingly, Iroh was a very skilled rider, and was right besides you the whole time.

Laughing into the wind like a kid, you turned to give Zuko a sly look. He was blushing by now and lifted a brow, even though he never met your eyes.

Wonder what go him so flustered.

Oh well!

“So did they tell us where the town was?” You ask, now slowing down to look around.

“Yes, that wonderful lady said to follow the trail and it leads to an earth nation town of some sort.” Iroh said, and you looked to the ground.

A barely visible line was on the ground, and you had to lean forward to see it. However, you caught sight of it and you followed it without another word.

“I wonder how long it’ll take to get there,” Zuko wondered aloud, and right into your ear. You blushed from his breathe, and shivered.

“I have no idea.”

“Are you cold?” He asked, moving closer since you slowed down to a cautious walk. You glanced in Iroh’s direction and saw him whistling a tone and looking to the other way, interested in something else.

“No.” You said, letting out a deep breathe. Song gave you this herb that cleared your lungs, so you haven’t coughed in awhile now.

“Liar,” He teased in your ear, and you heard the mischievous part of him in it. The thought made you bite your lower lip and blush even more. “I know you’re cold. It’s getting dark out now.”

“What are you going to do about it?” You challenged, letting him hear the teasing in your voice as well.

Zuko said nothing but did wrap his warm arms around you, and now had you tightly against him. His hands were wrapped like a cage around your stomach, and he inhaled sharply in your ear. Just from the feeling you shivered again and leaned your head back under his neck, letting him hold you for once.

“Zuko?”

“Hmmm?”

&# 8220;Hold me?”

“Gladly.” He whispered hotly, burying his head in the back of your neck. You smiled from the child- like gesture and your hands covered his in the front.

“Zuko?” Iroh was suddenly looking, and you jumped. Zuko did nothing, though, he did look over to Iroh. “I am getting tired, can we make camp?”

“Are you sure?” Zuko asked, “If we stay traveling we might get there before day break.”

“I’m getting tired, too,” You admitted shyly. “can we set up camp?”

“Well we don’t have much to set,” Zuko confessed, but sighed. “Fine. Go ahead and find a clearing that’s flat and good for camp.”

It actually took you awhile to find a flat piece of land, but you found it nevertheless. Stopping the animal, you waited for Zuko to get off. Zuko walked into the middle of it and nodded, giving you a smile.

You smiled back and hopped from the animal, landing silently on the ground. Tying the animal up to a nearby tree, you turned to look back at Zuko. He had three blankets laid out on the ground, and that was it.

“Can we have a fire?” You asked, looking around. “It already feels cold out; it would be nice to have something burning in front of me.”

“Sure,” Zuko made sure to lean closer and whisper, “even though you have me to keep you warm.”

Blushing deeply, you watched as Zuko laughed to himself and made a fire quickly. You sat down on the mat and closed your eyes.

Sleep then overtook you.

LATER THAT NIGHT

You awoke to feel someone on you, and you opened your eyes. Zuko was lying over you with his face in front of yours, staring into your eyes. For some reason you felt kind of wet in the face, and you realized, Zuko was just kissing you when you woke up.

“Hey,” You greeted shyly, looking up at him from your eyelashes.

“Hey,” He replied back, with a boyish grin on his face. He leaned down to kiss you again right on the lips, and you gladly returned the gesture. He was then in between your legs and you found yourself enjoying the feeling, and raised your hand to cup his cheek.

“What are you doing?” You asked, jokingly.

“Kissing my girlfriend,” He said, giving you his famous, cocky smirk. You smiled from the sight, and pulled him closer.

“I’m yours,” You told him gently, reaching up to nibble on his chin.

“Yeah that’s right,” Zuko said with a small chuckle, lowering his head more to nibble on our bottom lip. You groaned quietly and ground your lower body into his, making Zuko inhale sharply.

“Do that again,” He begged.

“Sure.” You smiled when you did it again, but this time, you pressed closer. Zuko closed his eyes, and started to get a little bit rougher with you. His kisses got sloppier and his hands started crawling all over you. However, it was when he gripped onto your chest when you jumped.

“Zuko?” Your eyes were wide and for some reason, tears rang in your eyes.

Zuko saw them and his gaze softened. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” You whispered, lips quivering.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Zuko asked.

“I think we’re going too far,” You admitted, looking away.

“Well I don’t,” Zuko insisted, but then lowered his voice. “You’ve never done these kind of things before, have you?”

You couldn’t think right then. “I don’t know! But I don’t think we should…”

“Well fine then.” Zuko growled and moved away, leaving you in the cold and alone. “I’m your boyfriend, remember? Couples do these kind of things.”

“I know that.” You whispered, feeling dirty now. “I just want ‘us’ to be more than just this…”

“What do you mean more?” Zuko hissed, eyes twitching. “This is as far as you can get?”

“Love isn’t all about sex!” You hissed back, feeling violated. “Don’t you understand that? I don’t want to move too fast.”

“No. That’s not it.” Zuko had smoke coming from his nose, and you sniffled from the sight. “What it is that you’re too scared to do anything. Are you scared of me? How can you be scared of me? Is it my scar?”

“No!” You moved towards him and wrapped him in a needed hug. “See? I like this much more than just doing all that stuff. Don’t you agree?”

“…” Zuko said nothing as you hugged him, but soon, he was hugging you back. “It’s just…. Everyone in my nation get a concubine on their 16 birthday to make them…” He paused. “Unclean. But, I wasn’t there to get that. I was out on my journey for the avatar, so I feel stupid since I haven’t done that yet.”

“Well you don’t have to do it to be smart,” You said teasingly, poking Zuko in the nose. He grinned a little from the motion. “ Silly. I think it’s stupid just to go ahead with those actions instead of getting to know the other person.”

“You’re right.” Zuko murmured, nodding. “I am sorry for doing that to you, and for snapping at you like that. You have my word that I will never force anything like that on you unless you tell me so.”

“Thank you.” You said, honestly. “Goodnight, Zuko.”

He said nothing but held you to him, lying on the ground. Even though you were on him, he did nothing sexual to you, but held you to him.

Thank God he’s a gentleman!