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[princeinexile]

Zuko has still not come out of his room. Iroh's come and gone and Zuko has hate tea and some broth that was gentle on the stomach. Now? He is good, really. Good! Well, okay, he's still in shock but he's ..sort of cleaning up the suite. It's-- been a while since had hands and he's sort of glad to be picking things up without slobbering on them.

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[alwaysroomforhope]

There's running feet outside. And then the door goes THUD, and then thud, and then Steph swears and has to fish around for her key. Stupid door!

[princeinexile]

And then there is a Zuko at the door, in jeans and a t-shirt, so very normal, if a little haggard from not sleeping well and being a big hungry.

"...hi?"

Did you miss him?

[alwaysroomforhope]

Steph is doing her best limpet impersonation now.

...yeah, you're not getting her off for a while, Zuko. He has arms and legs and face and he's back and she's totally not making little relieved sniffly teary faces into his shirt.

Except where she is.

Steph is very good at being a limpet.

[princeinexile]

Limpet all you like, Stephanie--Zuko stumbles back, flailing one handed to be gripped, held, and then he just-- pets her hair and holds on and, yes, realizes she missed him.

...and then he picks her up.

And he heads toward the bedroom. There can be sobbing and cuddling and whatever follows, by the spirits. He just wants to hold and be held, somehow.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Not much is said for the next little while. There are other uses for mouths, you see. But there's a lot of clinging, and perhaps the occasional muffled you're such an idiot! never do that again! ever!

[princeinexile]

Zuko is--

A little off.

They've clung. They've loved. They're laughed and cried and snarked and--

-- this is a little different.

He's never made the headboard rattle before.

To say the least, he's a little embarassed a few hours later.

Yes, hours.

...there was a lot of that to work out.

And after a collapse, cuddling, and the return of limpet, Zuko finally says, "I'm-- I'm sorry. I don't really know what came over me."

...he's going to blame it on being a werewolf, okay?

[alwaysroomforhope]

There's going to be a lot of limpet. Admittedly it's sweaty, naked limped right now, but he'll get lots of flavours of limpet over the next few days.

She's just - resting her head on his chest, and not letting him go. "Can come over you as often as you like," she mumbles, and giggles a little. Hehe. Come. Funny.

... Hey, it's been a long few weeks.

[princeinexile]

Limpet all you like. Zuko is shortly dealing with his schmoopy darling, and relaxes as if alllllllllllllllllll the tension had just dribbled (or had been otherwise drained in fluid form) right out of him. Possibly through his toes. Maybe through other things. We don't know. Best not to speculate.

"So," he says quietly, a hand stroking her back, not minding the sweaty clinging. "...what did I miss while I was a dog?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Uh."

Things happened? She didn't notice. She was preoccupied with her wolfie boyfriend. And the monster dogs.

"Stuff. Nothing important. Nobody died or anything. You kept not turning back." Limpet power gains a boost briefly. "I kept waiting and you kept not turning back."

[princeinexile]

"I know. I was sort of around for all that," he says dryly, and then kisses her brow. "Back now. Not sure how it's going to work. Arithon-- took the wolf and locked it up... inside. But it's there. IT's--"

He frowns. "It's like the moon's in my chest. I don't like it. But uncle made it back here, and we're going to go try something... else, I guess."

[alwaysroomforhope]

"...oh."

A moment's thought.

"I'm coming too."

[princeinexile]

"...whut?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Well. The last time you went off alone didn't turn out so good, did it." She gives him what would be a pointed look, if it were less shag-silly and clingy. "So I'm coming."

[princeinexile]

There is a long and bewildered stare.

"...how...?"

[alwaysroomforhope]

"I don't know. Where are you going?"

Her plan right now is - yeah. Limpet. That's a good 'how', innit?

[princeinexile]

"The spirit world," Zuko says simply.

She's dead. Wouldn't going there be bad?

[alwaysroomforhope]

"...oh."

It probably would.

Just a little.

"But you're coming back, right? If you can get back I can get back."

[princeinexile]

"I don't even know how to get there in the first place!" Zuko protests. "I have to get taught by uncle, to spirit walk."

Which is scary.

And.

Ew.

NO BAD IDEA HE DOESN'T CARE...

He's not asking the AVATAR FOR HELP even if the BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS is IN THE BAR.

Tiny bratling.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Lucky Steph doesn't know or she'd insist!

"He can teach me too, then," she decides, with an air of settling the thing. Argument over! More snuggling now. She just wants to hold him and not have fur under her fingers, or doggybreath in her face. Warm Zukoskin is much, much better.

There's a tiny little seed of worry there now, though. If she - if she goes to the spirit world, will that be it? Won't that sort of mean the end?

But if she doesn't go, she'll be letting him go alone, and that's not much better.

Little squirmy seed of worry.

[princeinexile]

Sadly, Zuko has that tiny seed of worry, too, burrowing in and he Does Not Like It, sir! No! It annoys him! Zuko does not like worrying.

So he solves it with orders! Orders fix everything.

"You're not going."

[alwaysroomforhope]

...oops, Zuko.

She doesn't say anything. BUT NOW SHE'S DEFINITELY GOING. STUPID FIRE PRINCE. She just snuggles. And is quietly resolved.

[princeinexile]

No! No oops! No quietly resolved! No! Zuko is rolling over to look at her and stare. "You think you're going to go. I can't believe this. Stephanie-- you can't-- cross into my world, let alone it's spirit world! We'd lose you!"

[alwaysroomforhope]

Noo, come back, no rolling away. :( She props herself up a little on her elbows to argue.

"It's not my spirit world, is it?" she points out, reasonably. "It's not - behind my door. And what if you need the help? Someone who's already in the next world might be useful if you've got a - a - some sort of wolf demon attached to you!"

...She got a little less 'quietly reasonable' towards the end there, yeah.

[princeinexile]

"But--! That's what uncle is there fore. He's already walked the spirit world before! He'll know what to do!" And Zuko knows this because Iroh ALWAYS knows what to do. Even if sometimes what they're supposed to do is to calmly drink tea and that's really irritating BUT IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION SOMETIMES.

[alwaysroomforhope]

It's occurring to Steph that despite all, Zuko may have the right of it this time. But that ... doesn't sit well with her. She has this Stupidly Noble Thing, where the fact that it might be dangerous for her doesn't matter at all if her presence might be helpful to someone else. (It's a hero thing.)

"But ... what if I'm not there, and you do need me?" she asks now, biting her lip. "I don't - I don't want to lose you again."

[princeinexile]

"And if we take you there, to watch you be swept away by death? No! I won't have it," Zuko snaps grumpily. Aww, the afterglow is all gone! Now it's grumpyface and sulking. Rattling the headboard was so much better.

[alwaysroomforhope]

"We'll ask your uncle," Steph says firmly. "He'll know."

And if HE tells her not to go, she'll obey, even. ZUKO CAN'T ORDER HER AROUND THOUGH. Well, he can, but y'know. It never ends well.

[princeinexile]

HE IS SO TALKING TO IROH BEFORE YOU DO! YOU WAIT AND SEE!

The prince just sighs and says, "Fine." And that is the end of that. Grr, argh. Grumpy!

[alwaysroomforhope]

Siiiigh.

Affectionate sigh, though. He's grumpy. And growly. And human. She can't be angry, because he's back, and she missed his stupid temper tantrums so much.

She wriggles over to kiss him again.

[princeinexile]

This is not the usual reply to grumpy. Zuko does not mind it at all, though, because while he's cranky, he'd rather kiss.

Kissing can be grumpy and irritated too, but that just leads to forceful sex and he's still a little embaressed about the last time.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Kissing is good. It's all lips and tongues and hot firebender breath, and Steph is a little forceful anyway. SHE didn't mind. She rather emphatically didn't mind. If she had, she would have thrown him across the room. He needs to realise that, Steph thinks; she's not sure if he really gets that she's here because she wants to be.

Also, she thinks the little embarrassed moments are adorable, and wants to take photos and keep them for EVER. And possibly show them to Katara. 'See? See? He's SO NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK! Also, isn't he hot?'

... But she won't.

[princeinexile]

No one has introduced Zuko to the idea of incorporating cameras into the sexual routine. This is probably Wise; the teenage boy in him would probably be like YAH NAKED PICTURES and then be like OF ME? NO WAY NUH-UH.

So instead, he will just use all his other senses to burn the experience of knockin' boots with his girl into his brain, okay?

... which is what happens next. He's normally not like this, really. Well, he's teenage and hormonal, but still. He's usually not this libidinous.

"... this has got to be a werewolf thing," he says after. "I mean, really."

He's embarassing himself! It's just-- so-- damn-- primal!

Now burying his face into the pillow, he wills his blush to ... .. abate, desist, something. Anything. Go away, please!

[alwaysroomforhope]

"Or maybe I just missed you," Steph suggests, with a fairly silly little smile. After all, it's not all on his side.

"And if it is, then ... heh. It almost makes up for it."

Face out of pillow, Zuko! She will not say she thinks it's adorable, but only because he'd probably be embarrassed. More embarrassed. She just pushes gently at the pillow. It's not as pretty to look at as he is.

[princeinexile]

He trades burying into pillow for burying into hair.

Better?

[alwaysroomforhope]

"If you go away again and get hurt, I'll kill you," Steph says into his neck, just quietly. Just so he knows. Because she's feeling very fond of him right now, and of course threats are the best way to express it, yes?

[princeinexile]

"If you try and follow after me, I'll..." He can't say kill beacuse that bohers him, he won't say burn because it REALLY bothers him, and he can't say beat up cause ...that still bothers him some how.

"I'll kick your ass home."

Because, y' know, that's nondescriptive and therefore, okay!

[alwaysroomforhope]

"I'll be all ninja-like. You won't catch me."

SO THAT'S OKAY THEN. ... as long as they're travelling through a city, because Steph sucks at going ninja in the bush.

"So no kicking." She kisses his nose.

[princeinexile]

"I would so." Because they would totally be in the brush and thus, she'd be caught.

Zuko can ninja no matter the environment! He is multi-talented!

[alwaysroomforhope]

But can he ninja around skyscrapers, huh? Steph would love to take him to Gotham and teach him. If she wasn't dead. Minor problem, though.

"Well, maybe you would," she concedes. "But I'm still gonna ask your uncle to take me. So he wouldn't let you make me go home." Smug!

"But you know, I meant it. I'll be so angry if you hurt yourself. Iroh ... he'll take care of you, right?" She peels herself away just enough to scan his face, looking for some sort of promise maybe. JUST BE OKAY NEXT TIME, OKAY?

[princeinexile]

Zuko would totally ninja skyscrapers if he was taught. Then again, if you left him in Gotham too long he'd probably be a candiate for the Bat to take in. Angry young men with daddy issues seem to be his kink thing.

"I'll talk to uncle first, and we'll see what happens," Zuko says sulkily, but then rolls over and hides from the smug. Stupid girl! Stupid horible girl.

He snorts, though, when he hears her question. "H... he always takes care of me," he says quietly. "But if he thinks you'll be in danger, he'll take care of you too, and that'll be by making you stay here."

There are no words; he cannot say, I don't know what I'd do if you faded away. It's just not his way.

[alwaysroomforhope]

Maybe she senses that, or something like it. "If he thinks I should stay here, I will," she says, and reaches out for him again. No rolling away, Zuko, she doesn't like that! "Okay?"

[princeinexile]

He accepts her embrace, eases into it; his eyes close, his body relaxes again.

"Okay." It's not a thank you, but it's close.

[alwaysroomforhope]

She doesn't want to do anything stupid, after all. She just ... wants to help.

And keep being snuggled. That's up there on her list, too. The puppies are being looked after, and she has no other pressing duties; she can stay here and ease into sleep wrapped around him. He's safe now, no matter what happens later.

[princeinexile]

Zuko is game with being snuggled. He is game with curling up, keeping warm, and not moving.

Happy. Content. Sleeping.