HANGING BY A THREAD (Smoke Demons Saga #1)

by Madame Bomb

Zuki Week – Day 2 (March 30th)

Prompt: TRAINING SESSION

Rating: M

Summary: After yet another fight with Mai, Zuko needs to work off some of his frustrations in the dojo. Luckily, Suki knows how to get him to open up. Things take a dark turn, however, when an assassin springs a fiery trap for the two of them.

Notes: This is another entry in the Smoke Demons Saga, and is now chronologically the FIRST story in that series. This is the assassination attempt on Zuko that I've often referenced before, but I had never written out until now. This takes place while Zuko and Mai are still dating, and Sokka and Suki are still together, about a year before the events of "Immune to the Stuff" and Zuko realizing that he was ass over elbow in love with Suki. The clueless idiot. If you haven't read the Smoke Demons Saga, worry not! This can stand on its own.

"I wouldn't," Rin said under her breath, holding out her hand to stop Suki dead in her tracks. Beside her, Tam pulled a face, her nose wrinkling beneath her white paint. "He's in a mood."

"Again," Tam said, rolling her eyes.

Suki lifted an eyebrow, glancing past the two Kyoshi Warriors at the figure in the open air dojo. He was shirtless, covered in sweat. His hair was pulled back into a haphazard bun, little strands clinging to his sweaty forehead as he moved in circles, tossing blazing fistfuls of fire at the air.

His face was a mask of rage, high roses of color in his cheeks that weren't caused by his workout or the hot sun streaming down on him. She watched as he dropped into a horse stance and gathered fire between both of his palms. Then he spun, lashing out a straw target.

The fireball hit with devastating force, blasting the target to bits. Burning straw rained down around him. He kept moving, growling, teeth bared.

"What happened?" she asked the girls, even though she already had a guess. Rin and Tam looked at one another.

"They had another fight. Poor Zuko," Rin said, shifting from foot to foot. She glanced back at him as he did a flip, shooting fire out of the soles of his bare feet. The gout of flame blasted another target, obliterating it. There were twenty targets set up in the dojo and most of them were burned or burning.

"I guess I don't have to ask how bad it was," she said, eyeing the burning straw. Her lips pursed and she squared her shoulders. She looked back at them, her voice sharp. "You didn't listen to them, did you?"

"Hard not to," Tam said. "They were screaming at each other in his suite. He stormed out and we followed him out here. He didn't say a word to us. He just set up the targets and started blasting."

"This is the third fight in a week," Suki mused, watching him blast another target. Straw exploded with a fiery burst, raining down like smoking confetti.

"I think they're going to break up," Rin whispered. Suki looked back at her and pulled a pained expression.

"I hope they do," Tam said, making Suki's brows rise. Tam saw the look and threw out her hands. "What? All they do is fight. I'm tired of pretending I can't hear them all the time. They'd both be a lot happier if they just broke up for good. And we all know it."

"He deserves to be with someone who makes him happy," Rin said with a wistful note in her voice as she watched Zuko. Suki frowned, feeling sadness flooding through her as she also turned her willing gaze on Zuko again.

He was still blasting at targets, his face contorted with rage. Tam was right, but she wasn't about to agree with her. She tried very hard to stay out of the Fire Lord's relationship, but sometimes...

It wasn't easy. Not when she could see how miserable he was. It made her heart ache to see him in so much pain, but she couldn't fix his relationship for him.

She could help him work through his anger without setting half of the palace on fire though.

Whatever Zuko needed, she'd give it to him. It was her job, as his chief bodyguard, but it was more than that. Zuko was her friend. She cared about him. She'd do anything to help him. Even if it meant talking him down when he was clearly in a bad place.

"Take the rest of the afternoon off. I've got this."

"Are you sure?" Tam asked archly. "I think she really pissed him off this time. He may need some space to cool down."

"Yeah, he looks like he's going to calm down any day now," Suki snorted. "If he doesn't watch it he's going to set the topiary on fire."

"What a tragedy," Rin mumbled, and eyed some of the shrubbery that surrounded the Fire Lord's private dojo. The garden had been transformed into a menagerie of impressively carved plant life by Zuko's gardeners. The animals ranged from towering dragons shaped out of trees, to rabbiroos carved from tiny bushes, which bouncing along the paths to the dojo.

The topiary had always vaguely creeped Suki out, and clearly Rin was no fan either. She didn't know how Zuko felt about it, but she wasn't sure if he knew how close he was to setting it all aflame. Someone had to stop him.

These days that someone was usually her.

"Go on," Suki said, jerking her head toward the palace. "I can handle the Fire Lord."

"Be gentle with him, Suki," Rin said tight voice, full of worry for Zuko. Suki watched the two of them head back toward the palace. Rin kept glancing over her shoulder at Zuko, as if she didn't want to leave. They turned a corner, disappearing behind a large bush carved into a platypus bear standing on its hind legs, its arms outstretched like it was about to maul anyone who walked past.

Suki blew out a breath and turned back to face the dojo. Zuko hadn't noticed her standing there; he was too intent on the straw targets and his own raging emotions at the moment. Suki approached the dojo, taking off her half-hem and dropping it beside one of the stone benches that lined the ring. Her wrist guards followed, then her padded leather gambeson.

She was unbelting her outer robe when Zuko spun and came to a stop, looking stunned to see her standing there. He stilled, fire burning around his fists, his chest heaving up and down with exertion. Suki met his turbulent eyes as she pulled her robe open slowly, shrugging out of it.

She dropped it on the stones at her feet and she saw Zuko hitch in a breath, his nostrils flaring.

She was wearing a dark green undershirt beneath the robe, which bared her arms. She still wore her wide-legged pants, and her boots. She left her leather gloves on too; she had a feeling she would need them.

Suki approached him slowly, as if he were a wild animal about to bolt. He didn't move away, or say a word. He just looked at her, that stormy expression on his face that said so much more than his words could.

She could see hurt in his eyes, and frustration. She'd give anything to take that pain from him, to make it better, but she knew that she couldn't. Not really.

Instead she stepped close to him, and reached out, picking a piece of straw off of his sweaty, bare chest. Her lips tilted into a gentle smile.

"You want to talk about it?"

"What do you think?" he said gruffly.

"I think you're going to set the garden on fire if you keep going like this," she said, gesturing to the burning lumps of straw in the center of the dojo. Black smoke wafted across the dojo, tickling her nose and making her eyes water.

Zuko followed her gaze and then looked back at her. "I don't want to talk about it, Suki. You should leave me alone. I'm pissed off and I don't want to take it out on you."

His brows drew together with worry, as if he really might turn on her. Suki smiled at him.

"Come on, Zuko," she said and stepped even closer. Her gloved hand touched the center of his chest, and she saw Zuko hitch in another breath, his eyes widening as he looked down at her. She could smell his sweat; all masculine, full of spices and dark things that filled her up with thoughts she had no right to think. "I'm a lot more fun to play with than some defenseless straw targets. I know how to hit back."

His eyes fluttered closed for a moment and then he opened them, looking at her with flames in his eyes. The flames on his hands went out and he covering the hand lightly resting on his chest.

"I don't want to hurt you," he forced out. "I'm afraid I don't have much control right now. I'm hanging by a thread here."

"You won't hurt me," Suki said with confidence. "You never have. I trust you."

"You shouldn't. I'm a selfish asshole who only thinks about himself," he said, and it sounded like a quote. Suki frowned at him as he opened his eyes.

"That's not how I see you."

"Well, you're the only one then," he said grimly and dropped her hand. He stepped back, swallowing hard, the apple of his throat bobbing. "I'm not good company, Suki. Just walk away."

"Not going to happen," she said, rolling her shoulders to loosen up her muscles. "You're either going to talk to me or we're going to fight. End of story."

Zuko looked struck, his head tilting a little. "Are those my only choices?"

"'Fraid so," she said, and then dropped into a fighting stance. She gestured him toward her with two fingers. "Come on, Fire Lord. Show me what you've got. I can take it."

Zuko paced in front of her, stepping over smoking piles of straw, his bare toes dragging on the stones. He seemed to be contemplating her, his expression unreadable. The way he was looking at her was both amused and pained. The anger hadn't left him either; she could see it simmering in the backs of his eyes, and in the stiff line of his broad shoulders.

She knew how to read his body language. They sparred together three times a week, sometimes more. She was no stranger to the way he moved, or to the way his more turgid emotions translated to the ferocity of his fighting. This wasn't the first time she'd worked him through his anger after one of his fights with Mai.

It wasn't even the first time she'd worked him through it this month. Zuko and Mai's fighting was getting more vicious and more frequent, and the effects of their strained relationship was starting to show on both of them. There wasn't much Suki could do, except be there for Zuko when he needed an outlet.

Zuko's emotions were a ball of energy that sometimes needed a safe place it could explode. Suki had long ago sworn to be that safe harbor for him if she could. No matter how angry he was he would never hurt her and she knew it. His control was too good for that, no matter what he said.

His gaze flicked over her, and then his teeth dug into his bottom lip, the unreadable expression on his face changing to something dark and needy. The force of that look hit her like a battering ram, but she didn't have time to even begin processing what it meant, because Zuko went for her the next moment.

He didn't conjure fire, but she could see it in his eyes, just below the surface, waiting to be called like a faithful pet to his master's hand. He spun, kicking his foot at her in a blow that would have caught her in the chest if she hadn't anticipated it.

She blocked the kick and knocked it aside. Then she went for him, changing the line on him. They danced backward, throwing blows that they blocked in turn. She was better than he was at hand-to-hand, but he was fast, and his weight and height put her at a disadvantage.

She knew how to compensate for that though, and used his size against him. She spun beneath his arm, and his momentum carried him forward past her. She got her foot into the small of his back, kicking him with a heave. Zuko sprawled on the stones, but rolled over immediately. He got to his feet with a snarl and fire bloomed around his hands.

Suki pulled her fan out of the small of her back, where she'd tucked it into her waistband. She flicked it open just in time to avoid the blast of fire he shot at her. She knocked the fireball aside, the heat searing her face as the flames guttered out.

"So that's how it is?" she shot at him, brow arching.

"You wanted to play," he said in a sizzling voice that made her pulse race.

"I did," she said, smiling sharply, because she'd wanted him to Firebend at her. He needed to work things out, and the only way to do that was to release all that pent up energy inside of him. Fire and all.

She was no wilting flower. They'd sparred with live flame before. She had insisted on it. Zuko had a lot of enemies in the Fire Nation. She needed to be able to fight against Firebenders at the drop of a hat, and the only way to do that was to learn how to avoid getting set on fire. And the only way to do that was to learn it the hard way.

Zuko hadn't liked it, afraid that he might hurt her, but she'd insisted. Now she was pretty sure she knew how to avoid getting set on fire, if she didn't do something stupid. It helped that she knew Zuko's moves intimately.

And she knew Zuko too. He was hurting and angry at the moment, but she trusted him more than she trusted anyone.

Except maybe Sokka, she thought hastily, flushing a little. She shoved her boyfriend out of her thoughts, however, as Zuko paced in front of her, looking like one of the topiary tigerdillos in the garden around them, poised and ready for attack.

"I don't want to hurt you," Zuko said in a warning voice. "I told you, I'm not in a good head space right now."

"You can hurt me a little, Zuko. I can take it," she said and she saw his eyes close again. "Besides, I know you. You won't hurt me. Even if I let you. Which I won't."

"You're not as good as you think you are, Suki," he said, but there was amusement in his eyes as he looked at her again.

"Yes, I am."

"Yes, you are," he agreed heavily, but there was amusement in his voice.

"Damn right," she said, and then she flung the fan at him. Zuko started, lifting his arms to ward it off. He knocked it aside, but missed her coming for him completely. Her knee smashed into his stomach. He let out a whoosh of air.

She started to knee him again, but he caught her leg and tossed her. Suki hit the stones, rolling across the charred lumps of straw. She came up on her feet, skidding to a stop, her gloves on the stones. She looked up, flicking her hair out of her face.

"Shit!"

She back-flipped out of the way of the flames he shot at her. She felt the heat as it passed and when she landed, he was moving toward her again.

She dodged a blow, and smashed her elbow down into his arm. Her knee jacked up, catching him in the lower belly. She saw the pain in his eyes as he jerked back to protect his vulnerable crotch.

"Dirty move."

"Could of been dirtier," she pointed out. His brow arched, and then he swiped at her, making her dance backward. He was fast and powerful and she had to work to keep ahead of his blows. She caught his arm, intending on hammering her fist into his stomach, but he turned the block, knocking her hands aside and then grabbing a handful of her hair at the back of her head. She was dragged against his chest with a rough yank. She gasped as she felt his breath against her face. Her hands hit his shoulders, stumbling into him.

"Zuko," she breathed, as she saw his eyes flash at her.

"Suki," he said, his voice a rough growl of anger that slid little fires along her spine. She grabbed his hand in her hair, spinning out of his grip and pulling out several strands of hair with a wince. She had hold of his thumb, which she twisted. Zuko gave a grunt as she yanked his arm behind him in a tight hold, jacking it up to put pressure on his elbow. "Fuck!"

"You pulled my hair," she said and then she kicked him in the ass. Zuko skidded on the ground. He smacked the stones and rolled over again, spitting straw out of his mouth. He glared at her. "Dirty move."

"Could of been dirtier," he said as he got to his feet. He rolled his neck and she heard it crack with a loud pop. He blew out a breath and shook his hands, releasing some of the energy raginger in him. But not nearly enough. She knew that he wasn't done, but he paced in front of her instead of attacking again.

She wondered what he was thinking. She stood on the pavement, her head still aching from his rough hair-pulling—and didn't that make her think of a thousand things she should definitely not be thinking about?

She had a lump in her throat that wouldn't go away, and there was a buzz in her veins. It made her feel like she might come out of her skin if he kept looking at her with that sizzling fire on his eyes for one more minute. She was used to the feeling though. She'd gotten very good at ignoring it, because if she didn't ignore it she'd have to face what it meant.

And she was never, ever, going to do that. That way lead madness and guilt, and possibly the upending of everything she knew about herself, her relationships with both Sokka and Zuko, and her own aching, confused heart.

And didn't matter anyway. Because Zuko was with Mai, and even if they fought constantly, that wasn't likely to change any time soon. They were both, seemingly, incapable of changing things between them. And there was nothing she could do about that.

And I'm very much in love with Sokka anyway, and that won't ever change either.

And yet...there were moments with Zuko that made her wonder what it might be like if things were different, if she were brave enough to really look at the strange tension that was between them. She didn't even know if Zuko realized it was there. She doubted it.

And that was why she let it stay where it was. And why she denied it, even to herself, despite the moments of weakness that left her vulnerable, unable to stop her mind from drifting and her body from wanting. To make it worse, she knew that Sokka had noticed. He'd been to the palace for a visit just last week, and she'd seen him looking at her strangely when he thought she wasn't looking.

Sokka hadn't said anything, but she could read him like a book. He could read her too. He suspected that there was something lodged in her heart that she couldn't shake.

She was ignoring that too. She was ignoring a lot of things. It was safer that way.

She dropped into another stance, and Zuko's lips quirked. They came together again, and she danced backward, then spun into him. Her elbow hit his ribs. He caught her arm, hooking around it, and spinning her back into him. Her back hit his chest with a grunt.

"What were you fighting about?" Suki gasped as Zuko's hand caught her hip, keeping her there. She didn't expect a response, but she got one anyway.

"The usual," he said, and then she jammed her boot down onto his unprotected foot. Not hard enough to break anything, but he'd feel it for sure. He let go of her with an exhale of pain and hopped backward. "Dammit!"

"Should have kept your shoes on Fire Lord," she drawled, and he looked up, flicking a stray strand of hair out of his face.

"Don't rub it in."

"So, the usual?" she insisted, bringing him back around again.

"Yeah, the usual. I spend too much time at work. And when I'm with her I'm too distant. I do everything wrong. She's miserable and I don't know how to fix it!"

Suki didn't know what to tell him.

No, that was a lie. She knew what to say to him to fix it, but he wouldn't want to hear it, and it wasn't her place anyway. Like Tam, she knew for a fact that breaking up would make them both happier in the long run, but she couldn't—wouldn't—interfere in their relationship. No matter how she felt about him, and about his relationship with Mai. No matter how much watching both of them suffer was tearing her up inside.

She'd been watching them do this for too long. They'd broken up half a dozen times over the years, only to get back together, and then eventually break up again. It was a vicious cycle, one neither of them seemed capable of breaking.

Zuko loved Mai and Suki knew that, but she was also a lot more objective about it than either of them were. She had the advantage of perspective and she could see what was causing Mai's unhappiness. It had very little do with anything that Zuko was doing, no matter what Mai said. Mai had the habit of blaming Zuko for their problems, because that was easier than actually confronting those problems.

But she couldn't tell him that. It wasn't her place to explain to Zuko that his girlfriend felt trapped, like she couldn't be herself with the eyes of the world watching her. That she loved him, but she'd love him more if he weren't the Fire Lord. That was the real problem; Mai resented Zuko's crown. She hated sharing him with the world, but she hated that she had no privacy most of all.

Zuko couldn't help but be who and what he was. He gave everything, every bit of his life to the people of the Fire Nation. He could no more change than Mai could change how trapped she felt.

But Mai couldn't tell Zuko that. Suki knew it was the truth though, even if Zuko didn't. It might make things easier if she just explained, but it wouldn't change anything. And it wasn't her place.

It wasn't.

"Aren't you going to give me some advice?"

"No," she said, and then ran at him. He saw her coming and braced himself, but he couldn't stop her; he had never figured out how to counter this move. It got him every time, no matter how many times they sparred. She flipped, landed with her legs around his shoulders and twisted, taking them both down to the ground with a crash.

The air whooshed out of Zuko as he landed on his back and just laid there. She knew that he wasn't injured, as she rolled to a sitting position on his legs, her hands on his chest, pinning him down.

"You don't need my advice, Zuko. You already know what you need to do."

He put a hand over his face. "One of these days you're going to teach me the counter to that."

"No, I'm not," she said with a grin. "The look on your face every single time I get you is too funny."

"This is not funny," he said in a dark voice, dropping his hand. "You know, I should be taking this out on her, not you. But she can't even stand to be in the same room as me."

"If you took this out on her I'd have to put you in a chokehold, Fire Lord or no Fire Lord," she said warningly, brows lifting. Zuko stilled, looking horrified. He sat up on his elbows.

"I didn't..." he started, blanching. All of the fight went out of him like a candle snuffing. "Suki, I didn't mean it that way."

"Relax, Zuko. I know you didn't."

But Zuko's hand rubbed across his mouth. "I'd never lay a hand on her, no matter how mad she makes me! I'm... I'd never do that!"

Suki's heart seized. She could see the horror blooming in Zuko's face as he looked at her. Really looked at her. "I know that, Zuko. And so do you. And so does Mai."

"But Suki, I..." he started forward, looking stricken. "I was so mad I... I was throwing fire at you. I told you, I could have hurt you."

"I wanted you to, Zuko. How long have we been training together? You know I can take it, and you needed to get it out of your system before you exploded."

"It's not about what you can take," he said bitterly, sitting up all the way and grasping her shoulders. "I could have hurt you. I was so mad at her and then there you were and... I took it out on you. I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for, Zuko. You wouldn't have hurt me. I told you."

"I could have."

But she shook her head and reached out, touching his chest again, right over his heart. "Never. I know you, Zuko. I trust you."

"Why do you trust me when she doesn't? She said... She said all I ever do is hurt her, but I don't mean to. I never do anything right. I'm a terrible boyfriend."

Suki looked at him sadly. She wanted to tell that that wasn't it. She'd seen how attentive Zuko could be. He was sweet and romantic, and he tried so hard. He'd learned a lot and grown over the years, from a stubborn and insensitive teenager to someone who tried his best not to lash out. He'd worked on talking to Mai, communicating and learning to be patient. Suki had seen him trying so hard, changing to make her happy.

But there were just some things that couldn't be mended.

"Mai is just..."

"Complicated," he said bitterly. "And I'm taking my frustrations with her out on you. Sorry."

"I came here looking for a fight. You gave me exactly what I wanted. And I gave you what you needed. Don't apologize. It was fun."

"I pulled your hair," he said sheepishly, and then his hand lifted, sliding into her hair. He rubbed at her scalp and Suki felt tingles rush down her arms.

"Mmm, well, I kind of liked that," she said before she could stop herself, flashing him a grin. She saw his eyes blow wide and heat rushed to his skin again. She felt her own skin heat up.

"You did, huh? I learn something new about you every day, Sukes," he said warmly and then his fingers slipped out of her hair and caressed her cheek. "You're blushing."

"I am not."

"Are too. You let Sokka pull your hair?"

"Shut up," she said, shoving at his shoulder. He broke into a smile, a real smile. His smiles were rare, things of beauty that she loved teasing out of him. It made tingles zip through her from head to toe. "What are you smiling about?"

"I don't know," he said, still grinning. "It's just nice to talk to someone who doesn't scream at me all the time. Why is it always so easy to talk to you?"

"It's because we haven't slept together yet."

They both stilled. Her mouth snapped shut as their eyes met for one hot moment. She couldn't read his expression. Not a single bit of it. She felt heat in her face.

Yet?

Had she really just said that?

"Suki..." he started, but she looked away from him, too afraid to meet those golden eyes of his. She'd said too much. She'd put her foot right in it, and that was dangerous. What was she doing?

She bit her lip and looked up, her gaze on the topiary, as she felt the heat of Zuko's eyes on her.

"Look, I should..." she started, and then stopped, stiffening as her eyes widened. "LOOK OUT!"

"Wha—?"

But she'd already grasped Zuko, tucking her body protectively around his and rolling to the side. And not a moment too soon either.

A fireball exploded on the stones where they'd been sitting. The heat seared them, flames blasting at them as Suki rolled them over again. They landed in a sprawl.

"Stay down and then run when I tell you!" Suki said, as she flipped off of Zuko and got to her feet to face the figure that had materialized from behind the topiary.

The man was a Firebender, that much was obvious. He was dressed in rags, his gaunt face unshaven, with dark circles beneath his eyes. His hair was unkempt and greasy, knotted down his shoulders.

She had just enough time to wonder how such a man could get past the Caldera gates, let alone into the palace, before he threw a handful of flames, not at her, but at Zuko.

She dove to stop the flames, but she knew without her fan she wouldn't be able to block the fireball with anything but her body. Her leather gambeson was treated, making it nearly fireproof just for that purpose, but she'd taken it off to spar with Zuko. All she had on was her undershirt and it was no protection at all against a ball of fire.

She didn't care. She dove to get in front of that fireball, to save Zuko from the hit.

Zuko, however, had other ideas.

He swept her feet out from under her, making her land with a hard bang on the stones. The fireball swept past her and blasted at Zuko. Or it might have, if Zuko hadn't caught it and then, with a wrench of his hand, lobbed it back at their attacker.

It was an impressive move, given that Zuko was still sprawled on the ground. He didn't stay there for long; flipping to his feet without using his hands. Suki did the same thing, putting herself between him and the assassin again.

"Zuko, run!" she said over her shoulder, her eye on the Firebender. The fireball had missed him, exploding on one of the tigerdillo-shaped topiary with a bright burst of flame.

It was high summer. The entire garden was parched, punished and dry in the sun. The topiary didn't stand a chance, and what Suki had been afraid of when she'd walked up to find Zuko blasting at straw targets happened in an instant. The topiary went up like a candle.

"I'm not running," Zuko said, conjuring flames above his hands. "He's a Firebender, Suki!"

She didn't have a chance to argue the point because the Firebender lobbed another volley of flames at them. Suki pushed Zuko back, but he grabbed her, turning and tucking his arm around her protectively. The fireball hit his outstretched hand, bursting, sending waves of flames scattering around them. Zuko's other hand slid around the back of her neck, cradling her head as his eyes flickered with emotion.

"Zuko!"

"Fan," Zuko said, and he let her go, turning on their attacker.

"BASTARD!" the Firebender snarled, spit flecking his lips, anger in his eyes. "TRAITOR! USURPER!"

"Oh, you're one of those, huh?" Zuko drawled, as Suki dove for her fan. It was lying a few feet away, still open. She skidded across the straw-strewn ground, skinning both of her knees. She grabbed it and turned, just in time to see Zuko blast at the man again.

The Firebender avoided the fire, but the topiary took the hit again, and fire exploded with a hot pop. At least three towering animals were on fire now. Suki knew that it would spread, as flames and bits of ash swirled and caught on the dry grass.

She wasn't worried about the creepy topiary, however. The man had clearly come there intent on assassinating the Fire Lord, Suki's worst nightmare. The very thought of something happening to Zuko kept her up at night, giving her nightmares that awoke her drenched in sweat, screaming out his name in fear.

She'd die before she ever let anyone hurt him.

The man spun, launching into a volley of fireballs that shot across the dojo. Zuko avoided them, jumping and blocking each blow, his face a mask of concentration.

"Zuko, no!" Suki shouted, skidding across the dojo, trying to get between the Fire Lord and the assassin in rags. She was too far away; Zuko was closer, and the assassin only had eyes for him.

That was his mistake.

Suki threw her fan while his attention was elsewhere. It was a move that she'd learned from Sokka over the years. The fan wouldn't come back the way his boomerang would, but she didn't need it to. She just needed to take him by surprise.

Zuko knew how to block the fan. The assassin did not.

The fan sliced at the man's face and then careened off into the burning bushes. Smoke rose heavy and thick, billowing as the fire spread from one bush to the next and then caught on the trees. Suki paid the fire no mind.

Her eyes narrowed on the assassin as she skidded beneath Zuko's arms. She caught hold of the knife tucked into the top of her boot, pulling it as she hit her feet again. The fan had smashed into the Firebender's face, slicing a ruby red gash right across his nose and opening his cheek down to his chin.

Blood poured out of the wound as he stumbled back, clutching at his face and screaming in pain.

"On the ground! Now!" Suki snarled, brandishing her knife. It was a small knife, one that her blacksmith mother had made for her. It was sharp and wicked, but it wasn't a throwing knife. She couldn't hit him with it from a distance with any accuracy, and she didn't want to get too close.

He was fast and he had good aim. He'd have her in flames before she'd see the blast coming.

"Painted whore," the man snarled, blood flowing down his face in a red gush.

"Call her that again and I'll burn you alive," Zuko said in a dark voice at her elbow.

"Zuko, go," Suki said, trying to put herself between them again, but Zuko caught her arm.

"I'm not leaving you."

She started to say something to him, something exasperated—but the Firebender's hands dropped, moving into a familiar form. The next moment a blast of light came sizzling toward them, so fast that Suki didn't have time to even gasp, or tense her muscles.

She saw her death coming in that moment. And all she could think about was Zuko.

She expected the lightning to blast her off of her feet, but the pain never came. She blinked and found herself staring in disbelief at Zuko's back. He'd moved into a form, his fingers outstretched. She knew the move; she'd seen him practicing it over the years, but she'd never actually seen him redirect lightning before.

She'd heard the tale of how he'd taken the blast Azula had meant for Katara before though. He hadn't redirected Azula's lightning. That blast had nearly killed him. For a moment she was afraid that he had done the same thing he'd done then to save her, and fear shot wild and painful across her aching heart.

"ZUKO!"

Zuko spun, dropping into another form as sparks danced along his skin and his long hair rose. He grunted and then moved his arms, and with the smell of ozone and another white-hot blast, he threw the lightning back at the stunned Firebender.

The man tried to run, but like Suki he wasn't fast enough. The blast of sizzling electricity rocked him off of his feet and sent him sprawling into the burning topiary. The lightning set more of the bushes on fire, and they went up with a whoosh.

Zuko dropped out of the form and turned on her, eyes wild. She stared at him in shock, mouth open.

"Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" she burst out incredulously. Then she shoved him in the shoulders, making him stumble back. "Don't you ever do that again! If an assassin attacks you, you RUN! YOU IDIOT!"

She didn't give him time to retort. She pushed past him, still holding her knife. The assassin was down and he wasn't moving. He'd landed in a clump of azaleas that had been shaped like rhino-lizards. The bushes were on fire, and smoke roiled into the air, thick and hazy.

Suki put her hand over her mouth, coughing as she caught the stench of blood, and the unmistakeable scent of burning flesh. She spotted the man in the burning bushes and winced. He wasn't going to get up anytime soon. He wasn't going to do anything ever again.

"Is he dead?" Zuko asked, coming up behind her.

"Yeah," she said, coughing on the scent of charred flesh. "Dammit!"

"Isn't a dead assassin a good thing?" Zuko asked, brows lifted.

"Only if you don't want to know who sent them to kill you. Now that he's dead, we can't ask him any questions. He might be working with someone else," she said, worry in her gut. "We should put him out."

"He tried to kill you. Let him burn," Zuko said in a hard voice.

"No, he tried to kill you. We need to get you to safety, Zuko. There could be more."

Zuko ignored that, looking around the burning topiary garden. "The gardener is going to kill me."

"I'd be more worried about assassins, you idiot," Suki said, turning on him. She found that she was still angry, the adrenaline from the fight surging through her. "Don't ever do that again! Never get between me and someone who wants to kill you!"

But Zuko's expression was dark, and determined as he turned to her. "He could have killed you. Don't think I didn't see you try to dive in front of the first firebomb. He could have set you on fire, Suki! You'd be as dead as he is now!"

"I'm your bodyguard, that's my job! You should have run when I told you to."

"He was a lightning-bender, Suki. You're fast, but if I'd run he would have lit you up. You would have died. Period. I won't apologize for fighting. I'm not a coward."

"I know you're not, that's not what I meant!"

Zuko took a breath and his hands landed on her shoulders. "I know that's not what you meant, Suki. I just... I won't let anyone hurt you if I can stop them. Okay?"

She wanted to argue some more, to tell him how stupid that was—didn't he understand what her job was, that it was her duty to throw herself in front of blades and fire and lightning to save him?—but she was interrupted by the arrival of an entire squadron of palace soldiers, headed by Seneschal Jiang.

The Seneschal skidded to a halt, staring at the raging fire in the garden which was spreading unabated from one topiary animal to another. At this point there would be no saving the gardener's carefully pruned masterpieces.

Suki couldn't find it in herself to feel too bad about that. She'd always hated the creepy things.

"Fire Lord Zuko, what happened?" Jiang asked, his mouth agog. Suki's jaw hardened as she glared at the man. Jiang was in charge of both the palace's security and that of the Caldera. He oversaw the palace and Caldera guards and had a place on Zuko's council.

Suki didn't care for Jiang, and the feeling was mutual. She thought he was bad at his job, he thought she was a mouthy peasant from the Earth Kingdom. He wasn't the only one in the palace who thought that about her, but he was the one she had to deal with the most. The Kyoshi Warriors, while not technically beneath Jiang's incompetent command, worked closely alongside him to protect Zuko and the palace grounds.

It was not an easy relationship. Suki wished that Zuko would fire him and hire someone with common sense, but it wasn't her place to say so. Usually. She suddenly found that she couldn't be diplomatic though. Not after nearly getting lit up from an assassin's lightning bolt.

"What happened is an assassin somehow slipped past your men and attacked the Fire Lord in his own dojo," Suki said hotly, glaring at Jiang. "There's been a major breach in your security, Seneschal."

Jiang took the rebuke like he'd been slapped. His face paled as Zuko looked at him expectantly. He didn't have to say so; she knew that Zuko completely agreed with her assessment of the situation.

"An assassin..." Jiang mumbled. "Are you sure?"

"He tried to kill us and he set my garden on fire. So yes," Zuko said, glancing at Suki.

"I..."

Suki had heard enough. She gritted her teeth and stepped forward, turning to the guards goggling at them. "Lock down the palace and the Caldera. I want the guards doubled on all of the gates. No one in or out. I want a head count done of the staff, the guards, and any guests in the palace at the moment. I want everyone accounted for. And someone get some Firebenders over here to put out the garden before the flames reach the palace!"

The men stared at her. Jiang's face grew red and he looked like he was going to argue with the orders she'd just issued.

It was Zuko who spoke up though, his voice an angry growl. "Well? You heard the Captain! MOVE!" The men glanced at Jiang and then scrambled to obey her orders, leaving Jiang standing there looking like he'd been blasted with lightning too. He stayed rooted there for a long moment, staring at them until Zuko sneered at him. "I believe the Captain gave you an order, Seneschal."

Zuko pointedly turned his back on the man, his angry expression fading into a soft smirk. Suki saw Jiang start, then he dashed away, practically running after his men.

"I ought to fire that idiot, but I have no one to replace him."

"A hog-monkey could do a better job."

"I ought to hire you," Zuko said. Suki gave him a withering look.

"But then who would be here to save your ass when you need it?"

"Good point," he said, bumping his shoulder with hers. He glanced at the burning body in the topiary. The flames were growing, towering higher and higher as it spread. "Who do you think he was working for?"

"I don't know," Suki said, peering at the body. It was on fire, charring black, the skin splitting. She thought she could see something on the body's ankle, a black tattoo. She couldn't make out what it was through the haze of smoke and as she watched, the fire completely engulfed him. Whatever the shape had been, it was gone, obliterated beneath the hungry flames. "We'll find out."

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked, and his hand landed on her back. She looked up at him and then surged forward, throwing her arms around him, unable to stop herself. Zuko hesitated and then his arms went around her too. He rubbed at her back as she pressed her face to his bare chest.

"Don't ever do that again," she mumbled, as she felt Zuko's hand stroke down her hair. Then he spread his fingers on the back of her neck.

"I'm not sorry," he mumbled against her ear. Suki squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"I know you're not. You stubborn ass."

He let out one of his rare laughs, and the sound rumbled through his chest and into hers. "You like that about me."

I love that about you, she thought, her skin tingling as he rubbed at her back.

"Zuko?"

Suki gasped and pushed away from Zuko's chest immediately, stumbling back with one hand on her mouth. She flicked her eyes toward the woman who had skidded to a halt in the entrance to the dojo, her oil-black hair flying, her pale face pinched with shock.

"Mai," Zuko said, glancing from Suki to his girlfriend, as Mai also looked between them, then at the towering fire spreading throughout the garden.

"What happened?" Mai asked, eyes narrowing.

"An assassin attacked us," Suki said, backing up again. Mai started forward, just as more soldiers poured into the dojo.

After that everything was noise and confusion, as the guards starting fighting the fire spreading throughout the topiary garden. By the time they got the fire under control the assassin's body was nothing but a smoking, charred ruin.

The topiary garden was a total loss, leaving nothing but ashes and charred trunks and branches behind. Suki saw one of the gardeners staring mournfully at the ruins, muttering under his breath about "stupid Firebenders with their stupid fire" and then something about "not appreciating true art when they saw it."

The rest of the afternoon was a blur. The lockdown Suki had ordered of the palace and the Caldera went off without a hitch, but nothing was found to be amiss, and though a thorough search was done of the grounds, the assassin appeared to have been a lone actor. No one, including Jiang or the guards on the gates and in the Caldera knew how the man had gotten into the palace grounds in the first place.

That no one had witnessed a dirty man in rags enter didn't sit right with Suki, not in the slightest, but Jiang was in charge of the investigation, not her. No one wanted her opinion anyway. She'd done her duty protecting Zuko.

Or rather, Zuko had protected her.

Later that evening, after Zuko had informed his council of the attack and the investigation, Suki, Rin, and Tam accompanied him and Mai back to their suite. Mai had been very quiet since she'd come into the dojo, staring at Zuko and then at Suki with an odd expression on her face.

Suki knew that Mai had seen Zuko hugging her. She didn't know what Mai was thinking, but the look in her eyes made her sure that Mai, at least, had not been surprised to see them embracing.

It was just a hug, she told herself again and again, because it had been. Hadn't it?

But it hadn't felt like just a hug between two friends who had just survived an assassin's attack. It had felt... Different. Or maybe she had just wanted it to feel different.

She was afraid of pulling on that thread though, for fear of what would unravel.

Rin and Tam went into the suite to make sure there were no nasty surprises inside, leaving Suki standing there guarding Mai and Zuko.

"Is this necessary?" Mai asked, an impatient look on her face. Suki knew how much she hated the security protocols on a normal day, but Mai was on edge now, and her patience was long gone, despite how worried about Zuko she clearly was. She turned to Suki, brows rising beneath her heavy black bangs.

"I'm afraid so," she said and glanced at Zuko. "We'll make sure to guard you all night, Zuko. I'm not going to let anyone make an attempt on you again."

"All's clear," Rin said, opening the door and looking up at Zuko. "You'll be safe, Fire Lord Zuko."

"Just Zuko, Rin," Zuko said lightly, smiling at her.

"Just Zuko," she said, blushing a little as she stood back to let Zuko into the suite. Mai followed him, glancing back at Suki with a frown on her face.

"I'm going to shower. I smell like the fire," he said, but Suki knew what he really meant. She too smelled like burned flesh from the assassin's body. The unmistakable smell clung to her skin, soaking into her clothing. She wanted a shower too, and a long soak in a hot tub.

And some tea to calm her nerves.

Zuko turned to Suki, framed in the doorway. "Suki..."

"Don't you dare thank me, Zuko. You saved my life today. And don't think I'm not still mad at you for it," she said, as Zuko slowly smiled.

"You're welcome," he said. "You'd be lost without me."

"She wouldn't have a job without you," Mai said flatly, cutting through them. She glared at Zuko. "You were going to shower?"

Zuko blew out a breath and then glanced back at Suki. "Yeah. Later."

He walked away, rubbing the back of his neck. He went into the bedroom, closing the door behind him, leaving Suki standing awkwardly in the doorway. Time for a hasty retreat.

"Goodnight, Mai."

"Hold on," Mai said, pulling Suki into the suite. She closed the door in Rin and Tam's faces with a snap. Suki's brows rose as Mai wheeled on her.

"Mai?"

"Thank you," Mai said, and then she surged forward, pulling Suki into a tight hug. "For saving his life."

Suki awkwardly patted Mai's shoulder, feeling a tremble of fear go through Mai. "He saved me, not the other way around."

"If you hadn't been there... He was only out there because we had a fight. It's my fault," Mai said, pulling back, her mouth a thin line, her eyes full of worry.

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. All we do is fight, and I... I make him miserable."

Suki didn't know what to say. Mai was not the spill her guts out or hugging type. Suki saw a lot, guarding the two of them the way she did. They also hung out a lot when she wasn't on duty. She counted Mai as a friend, but they weren't that close. Not close in the way that she and Zuko were.

"He knows you love him. And he loves you."

Mai glanced at the closed bedroom door. "I don't think that's enough anymore, Suki. I don't..." But Mai wiped at her eyes, looking away, as if afraid to show Suki the naked depths of her heart. "It's just been a very long time since he looked at me like that."

Suki frowned. "Like what?"

Mai turned back to her and looked her right in the eyes. "The way he was looking at you when I walked into the dojo."

Her stomach dropped to her toes. "Mai..."

But Mai turned her back on her. "Goodnight, Suki."

Suki wanted to tell her that she'd imagined it, that nothing had happened, it had just been a hug, nothing more. But the words stayed glued to her tongue. She couldn't speak. She had no defense, only retreat. She left the suite feeling shaky and afraid, adrenaline coursing through her.

She left Rin and Tam on the door, her hand over her mouth as she walked away. She went down the stairs at a run. She felt tears in her eyes a moment before they fell, hot and warm down her cheeks.

She didn't know why she was crying. All she wanted to do was go back up to Zuko's suite and make sure that he was safe. She thought about the way he'd held her in the dojo. She hadn't seen his face. She didn't know what Mai had seen.

She was afraid to guess, afraid to pull that thread, because if she did, her entire life would unravel before her and she knew it. The carefully constructed lies she'd been telling herself for months would tumble down in an instant, scattering her life at her feet, and what would be left at the end?

She loved Sokka. She knew that. And yet...

She wanted to grab that thread with both hands and yank. Maybe one day soon she would, maybe she'd be unable to stop herself. Maybe she wouldn't be the only one pulling.

She didn't know. She was afraid to find out, because then everything would change.

But, as she thought of the way Zuko had smiled at her, his hands stroking her hair, and then of the hard look in Mai's eyes, as if she'd come to a sudden decision there would be no coming back from, Suki thought maybe things already had changed.

Only time would tell.

(end)