Way of the Warrior

Chapter 1

The Awkward Underneath

Author's Note: Hey guys, this is a 3-5 chapter Zuko/Suki bonding (not romantic) fic of highly varying chapter length that takes place during different times in late season 3. I'll preface each chapter with the timeframe the scene takes place during. This one is just after returning from the Boiling Rock Prison. Enjoy!

Zuko smiled softly to himself as he watched the group from the shadows. He had started to get along with everyone a bit better, except Katara, but he still didn't feel quite comfortable enough to engage in casual conversation, especially now that the Water Tribe siblings were having their reunion with their father. It made him feel a bit left out, but the fact that they let him join the group at all already made them the closest group of friends he had ever had. He vaguely wondered what Katara would do if he voiced such a thought, and laughed inwardly at the thought of her rage upon being considered one of his best friends.

Reflecting on the trip to the Boiling Rock, Zuko couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for what had happened to Mai. He knew he had broken her heart, even if she refused to acknowledge having one, and the fact that she had still chosen to help him over his sister made the feeling that much stronger. If she cared enough to fight her best friend and betray her country for him, he probably should have had the guts to break up with her face to face.

He sighed, knowing that dwelling on the past would only cause him pain and regret. Especially his past. But even when he did something he considered wholly right, like breaking Hakoda and Suki out of prison to help Sokka, he couldn't manage to focus on the positive feeling of accomplishment and happiness, and instead lingered on the pain and regret he felt from the fight with Mai.

I'm never happy.

Zuko bitterly scoffed as he recalled the conversation with Sokka before they had left, and realized that his statement was all too true. It seemed that no matter the circumstances, his pessimistic nature seemed to shine through, leaving him bitter and lonely when he should have been reveling in the company of the newly rescued companions laughing merrily around the campfire before him.

"Hey."

Zuko looked up at the feminine voice coming from his right, and forced an awkward smile as the Kyoshi Warrior took a seat beside him. "Why aren't you with them?" Zuko asked, gesturing to the group of kids and freed prisoners in front of them. Suki shrugged dismissively, offering no real reply as she leaned back on her arms, watching Sokka begin a clearly exaggerated retelling of their escape from the Boiling Rock.

Silence reigned between them, and Zuko watched Suki smiling as Sokka attempted to reenact the starting of the prison riot with Chit Sang. "How long have you been with everyone?" Suki asked casually, not really bothering to properly address Zuko as she continued watching the antics of her boyfriend.

"A couple weeks. Pretty much since the eclipse," Zuko responded, a bit unsure of why the girl was bothering to make conversation with him.

"You've been here that long and you still sit out here on your own?" she prodded, earning a huff from Zuko in response.

"We had a rough relationship in the past; it's a little tough to get over very quickly," he replied, in less of a bitter tone than he himself had expected.

"I don't know," Suki countered, sitting upright and turning to look at Zuko, who continued staring at the group ahead of him. "Sokka seemed to think you were a good guy, and based on what I've heard, he liked you a lot less than most of the others. Maybe you're just shy," she added.

"Tell that to Katara," Zuko retorted bitterly. He knew that Suki had no idea about what had happened in Ba Sing Se, but the girl seemed to take the hint that Zuko was certain Katara hated his guts. Silence once again reigned over the duo, and Zuko reluctantly realized he was being a bit of a jerk. Trying to keep the girl from hating him more than she already did from their meeting on Kyoshi Island, Zuko attempted to restart the conversation. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Suki asked as they watched Sokka and Katara begin to argue in the distance while the others laughed.

"Everyone here likes you; why aren't you over there talking and laughing and stuff?"

"Eh," Suki started, shrugging as she spoke. "It's a pretty tight group. And with Hakoda back I'm sure Sokka and Katara would rather catch up with him. I'm sure we'll get to talk later." Zuko shook his head, laughing lightly. "What's so funny?" Suki asked, her tone accusatory.

"You clearly don't see how Sokka looks at you," Zuko replied, causing a faint pink to make its way onto the girl's face.

"Well… I mean, Sokka and I like each other, but I don't know that he…" Suki paused, apparently looking for the right thing to say. Zuko wasn't patient enough to wait it out, so he interrupted before the girl could finish.

"Sokka's stupid," he said bluntly, earning a confused glare from his counterpart. "He likes you. A lot. The fact that you don't know that means he's too stupid to get it across."

"He's not stupid," Suki defended, laughing slightly to herself. "He can be a bit oblivious, but he's not stupid."

"Same thing," Zuko responded, the half smirk on his face being the only indication that he was joking.

"Still," Suki started, "that whole group is so close; they're like a family. And Hakoda is their family. They all really care about each other, and I just… don't really fit into that."

Zuko scoffed, earning him another glare before he responded. "Again, you clearly don't see how Sokka looks at you."

Suki rolled her eyes. "Alright, fine. How does he look at me?" Zuko could tell she was a bit nervous to hear the answer, but he was impressed by the way she managed to hide it. Perhaps this girl was stronger than she looked.

"Well, when he sees you, it's really obvious that he cares. It's like…" Zuko tried to elaborate, unable to think of a good way to put a look into words. "It's the same way I look at my mother," he finally concluded. This earned him an incredulous look from Suki.

"That's… just disturbing." Zuko's good eye twitched when he realized the comparison he had just made, and he quickly elaborated on his simile.

"Not like that," he assured before taking a deep breath to try and explain more clearly. "It's like, when he looks at you, you can tell he's happy. Like he doesn't have to worry about anything else… I think that no matter what happens, with the war, or anything else in life, as long as he was with you, he'd be happy. And when he sees you smiling, you can tell that he would do anything to keep it that way." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck as he finished his explanation, hoping it wasn't quite as bad as his original attempt. He was a bit surprised at how terrible he was at holding casual conversations with people.

"Oh," came Suki's lame response. Zuko looked at her, worried he had said something that offended her, but the look in her eyes and the blush on her face told him that she was just a bit overwhelmed. He sensed that the girl was a bit hesitant to believe him, so he decided to try again.

"I'm usually pretty bad at reading people, but it's obvious that Sokka really cares about you. And while I don't know them terribly well, I'm sure his family would too."

Suki laughed a little at this, but didn't turn back to him, making Zuko think she was either still unsure or just fighting with her blush. "Doesn't that just mean that you could be wrong?"

"Uh," Zuko sputtered, a bit shocked that he hadn't seen the obvious flaw in his previous argument. "I mean, it's like, really obvious. I mean, even I can figure it out. But I'm sure everyone else sees it too, and-"

"I get what you meant," Suki interrupted, cutting off his rant before he could make himself look even dumber. "You know, I used to think you were just angry and mean," Suki said, angering the prince and damaging his pride. "But you're not," she added, reflating his demeanor.

"You're angry and mean on the outside, but underneath, you're just awkward."

And his pride was shattered once again. Apparently his expression showed his discontent, as the girl beside him began laughing. Zuko couldn't help but smile slightly as he realized the girl was only teasing him, and he decided not to bother trying to defend himself.

"I'm kidding," Suki said after her fit of laughter finally came to a close. "I mean, you are awkward," she continued, though Zuko wished she would just stop. "Awkward, but sweet," concluded. Zuko fought to keep heat from rising to his own cheeks, as sweet was not a word commonly used to describe the young firebender.

"Whatever," he replied indignantly, turning his head away from the girl, who simply stared at him in silence. Eventually her gaze was too discomforting, and Zuko was forced to re-engage the conversation. "What?!" he demanded, wondering why she was still merely staring at him with a smile on her face. She laughed at his frustration, which did little to help his temper.

"So awkward," she said, laughing to herself. Zuko realized once again that the girl was merely teasing him. "But, maybe you're right." Suki stood up and stretched, leaving Zuko to assume that she was going to go rejoin the others. She started off in that direction, but stopped after a couple steps and turned back to him.

"Maybe you should try taking a bit of your own advice," she said, looking at him with a far more serious expression than before. "I bet the reason you aren't as close to them is because you're afraid to try. The way Sokka was talking about you at the prison and on the way back, I think they all think pretty highly of you, despite what happened before." Zuko looked down at the ground, wanting to believe what she was saying, but unwilling to risk getting his hopes up. "I think if they could all just talk to you for a while, they'd like you."

Zuko shrugged nonchalantly, trying to keep up a façade of apathy, despite how much he wanted to believe what the Kyoshi Warrior was saying. "And Zuko," Suki said, drawing his attention back to her once more. "Thanks." With that she turned and joined the others, immediately being grabbed by Sokka and forced to do a reenactment of her fight with Ty Lee on top of the gondola.

Zuko smiled and shook his head as he went back to watching the group from the shadows.

A/N: I know it's short, but each chapter is going to effectively be a single scene, as they take place over random intervals of time. I guess this is almost a drabble series. I actually really liked writing this, so thank you to BlueWinterMoon who told me to give it a shot. And sorry it took so long to actually get started. Hope you all enjoyed it, lemme know what you thought or what I could do to make it better!

Thanks,

-Boredone32