Cold Hands - [Zuko x Reader]
Word Count: 1557
Tumultuous laughter echoed throughout the dark, dense forest. Normally, the Gaang would be more careful in order not to attract any unwanted visitors but no one cared at the moment. After a long time of traveling and training; you finally were about to relax. Well, as much as wanted war criminals could relax.
Everyone was circled around a small fire, where everyone retold stories and memories from their time together. Many inside jokes were shared, especially the whole Sokka’s cactus juice incident.
Toph sat across from you, sitting against a rock with her arms rested behind her head. Next to her sat Aang and Katara, who were notably sitting rather close to each other; every once in a while stealing glances. Sokka was seated in between yourself and Katara, sulking due to the teasing and ridicule of cactus juice. A mere few inches from you sat Zuko, the infamous banished prince. Neither of you could deny the chemistry you had together; the stealing glances, brushing hands, unnecessary supply runs, sitting too close to each other, all of the works. Of course neither of you would admit it. The rest of the Gaang would never let you hear the end of it. They rooted for you two. You’d be lying if you didn’t think about being in a relationship with him, but you would never admit it.
A cool breeze blew through the camp, causing the fire to sizzle and crack a bit. It was close to summer and it was still outrageously cold. Maybe it was the mix of the cool breeze and the shadows of the trees, not that it mattered. The only thing that did matter was how freezing cold your hands were. In comparison, they were basically ice cubes even though it wasn’t that cold out. Your hands were just naturally cold you guess, and the cold breeze just made them even more so. As everyone talked, you desperately rubbed your hands together trying to warm them up but they eventually just settled under your thighs for warmth. Your eyes watched an animated Sokka as he explained some things he used to do in the Southern Water Tribe with Katara.
Suddenly, a mischievous smile spread across your face. Zuko turned to you questioningly as you slowly stood up as no one else paid attention to your rising form. You see, Sokka is like the annoying brother you wish you never had; so when you had the chance to pester him you would take it. Silently you ventured behind Sokka, who was way too invested into his story to notice you. The others did, however, notice your obvious form lurking behind the unsuspecting water tribe boy. You quietly and quickly shushed them before they said anything by bringing your pointer finger up to your lips.
You placed your hands on the back of the unsuspecting boy’s exposed neck, “Are my hands cold?”
Sokka immediately screeched and jumped up, trying to remove your ice cubes for hands off of him. However you stood your ground.
“What the hell?! Why are your hands so freaking cold?! Get off of me!” Sokka screamed, the pitch of his voice heightening until it cracked. Everyone erupted in laughter as Sokka unsuccessfully removed your hands off of him, causing him to thrash around sightly.
Zuko watched the scene in front of him. Toph, Aang, and Katara laughed at Sokka’s discomfort while you stood behind Sokka. Your hands still firmly place of his neck with Sokka’s hands placed on yours, trying to remove them. Zuko’s eyes flashed with jealousy as he slightly glared at the poor brown boy. He should be the one holding your hands, not Sokka. Once his golden eyes shifted to your form, the jealousy in his eyes softened to admiration.
Your laugh rang through Zuko’s ears, and a sense of warmth spread through his chest. He loved your laugh. To him, it was the most beautiful thing ever. He knew if he’d tell you that you’d disagree with him because of the occasional snort or wheeze that left you as you laughed. If anything, that’s why he loved your laugh. It was unique and practically radiated happiness. Your laugh never failed to make him smile. The soft smile on his lips was proof of that.
He loved the way your hair flowed, slightly covering your face as Sokka thrashed around in your hold. Oh how he wished he could just run his fingers through your silky locks. Twisting strands of your hair between his thumb and pointer finger while you cuddled up next to him. When you finally let go, you doubled over and laughed. One of your hands resting on your knees as your other hand pushed your (h/c) hair out of your face.
But your eyes, oh spirits, they were probably one of his favorite things about you. The way they practically sparkled as you laughed, the way they glistened in the sun, how the looked in the orange fire, how they softened when you looked at him.
Man, you drove him crazy. But he loved it.
As everyone settled down, you treaded back to your spot. What Zuko didn’t expect was for you to sit closer to him. Almost completely closing the space that was once between you two. Your hand rested in between you and Zuko, as everyone began to converse yet again. After a while, a wave of confidence overwhelmed Zuko. He cautiously placed his hand over yours, expecting you to retract your hand in disgust. You simply looked over at him and smiled, an obvious blush dusted your (tanned/pale/dark/etc.) face. Zuko had a matching blush on his face and the both of you turned, engaging in the conversation with the rest of your friends.
---
After another hour of talking, the Gaang decided to catch some sleep since they would be leave tomorrow morning. With the help of Zuko, you pulled your sleeping bag from Appa’s saddle.
You laid out your sleeping bag next to Katara’s giving her a good amount of space between you two. Zuko placed his next to yours, not looking you in the eye as he shifted his a bit closer; still giving your respectable room but not as much room as you gave Katara. As everyone climbed into their own sleeping bags, Aang put out the fire. Plunging the camp into darkness, the only light came from the stars and moon.
In record time, Aang’s loud snores and Sokka’s sleep talking rang through the camp. You shivered as you snuggled deeper into your sleeping bag. You didn’t understand why you were so cold, no one else seemed bothered by the breeze. Maybe your clothes were a little too thin? Or perhaps it was your sleeping bag? Regardless, you were cold and it was hard for you to sleep. Everyone else seemed to be in deep sleep so you shifted a bit, your sleeping bag rustled a bit as you lay on your side, facing Apparently, your body decided not to agree with you as you continued to shiver; causing your sleeping bag to rustle a bit.
“Are you cold?” Your eyes snapped opened, meeting a pair of gold ones. The golden orbs captured the shining stars beautifully, almost recreating the heavens above. You almost forgot the question that left his lips as you quickly snapped out of your dazed.
You didn’t trust yourself to speak. So you closed your eyes and just simply nodded your head.
Zuko seemed to contemplate with himself as he lay still after you answered. A long ten seconds dragged out until you heard Zuko shift. You reopened your eyes to see Zuko slip out of his sleeping bag. He bent down and picked up his sleeping bag, placing it back down right next to you. The banished prince climbed back into his sleeping bag. The only difference being that he slowly wrapped his arms around you, giving you time to pull away in case he was overstepping boundaries. Seeing that you didn’t pull away, he fully wrapped his arms around you; one underneath you with his hand resting on the small of your back and the other wrapped around your waist. You can tell he slighly warmed up his hands, not to the point where it burned, but to where the warmth caused you to turn putty in his hands.
Immediately, you’re engulfed in warmth. You weren’t sure if it was the natural body heat the fire bender radiated or if it was the blood that ran to your cheeks.
“I-Is this okay?” Zuko whispered. For someone who was bold enough to cuddle you, he was extremely nervous. You looked up at him and grinned.
“More than okay.” You answered.
You nuzzled your face on the crook of his neck, warming up the tip of your nose. Zuko’s hand that was resting on your back moved upward, losing itself in your hair. Slowly he began to twist and twirl stands of your hair around his fingers, occasionally moving up to your scalp softly dragging his nails over it; causing you to hum in approval.
“What if they see us?” You asked, referring to the rest of the Gaang, “They’ll never leave us alone after this.”
Zuko placed a soft kiss on the top of your head, “Let them see.”