(Zuko) To Catch A Thief (24) Help, I'm Being Repressed!

Chapter 24

Help, I’m Being Repressed!

Being injured sucked. Big time.

You weren’t used to getting your butt kicked, much less someone chucking a lightning bolt through your stomach. Things like that just didn’t happen to you, and now that you were stuck in bed with nothing to do but eat and sleep, boredom was making you restless.

Surely it wouldn’t kill you to go out and sit on the deck. You were healing quite nicely, and as long as you didn’t throw yourself down a flight of stairs or something, your wound wouldn’t open again.

So, yes, you would go for a walk.

You just had to make sure Zuko didn’t know.

But as fate would have it, the moment your feet touched the floor, the door opened and in stepped Zuko, your lunch in his hands.

He didn’t have to say a word. The prince just pinned you with a steely glare and you froze guiltily, then crawled back into bed and pulled the covers up to your chin. Jeez.

With a half-hearted roll of his eyes, Zuko plunked the bowl down on the end table and slouched into a nearby chair. “Don’t even think about leaving this room,” he said sternly. “You’re not well enough to be moving around.”

“Of course,” you agreed, and his eyes narrowed.

“I mean it, Fei. You can’t neglect your own health.”

You smiled brilliantly at him, cocking your head as you asked, “Aw, does this face look neglectful to you?”

For some reason, the prince looked as if a lemur-dog had snuck up and bit him in the butt. He stared at you, his mouth open slightly, with the weirdest look in his eyes.

Concerned, you leaned over and flicked his nose. “Hey Zuko, you haven’t been drinking cactus juice have you?”

He jerked at the sting and glared as he reached up to rub the spot. “What are you talking about?” he growled, a bit of red suffusing his cheeks. “And don’t move around so much! You’ll hurt yourself.”

It did hurt a little bit. But really, what was the big fuss?

“I want to go outside,” you stated firmly.

Zuko frowned and shook his head. “I already told you that’s not an option.”

“I’m just going to sit up on deck,” you insisted.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes!”

“No.”

“No.”

“Good.”

“Darn it!” you exclaimed, scowling while Zuko smirked triumphantly. That one had always worked for you in the past…. “Fine,” you said with a sigh. “Have it your way.”

“I always do,” he replied, ignoring the dark look you shot him. “Now before I leave, hand over those lock picks. I don’t trust you to follow orders.”

Hm. He remembered those, did he? The guy was more perceptive than you’d given him credit for. With another dramatic sigh, you pulled a ring of picks out of the pillowcase and placed them in his outstretched palm. But before you could retract your hand, his own hand closed over it. Zuko gazed at you shrewdly and asked, “Is that all of them?”

You couldn’t look him in the eyes. You just couldn’t. Your hand was caught in his firm grip and your heart was hammering something fierce….but you managed a feeble, “Mm-hm.”

Wait, that was it? That was the extent of your acting skills? You, who could fib you way out of anything, were reduced by a simple touch to ‘Mm-hm?!’ Had that lightning bolt addled your brain?

“Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it,” Zuko said dryly, and released your hand in favor of switching from his chair to the edge of your mattress. Then he reached out and threaded his fingers through your hair, and you about had a heart attack before you realized what he was up to. It did feel pretty nice, so you decided not to punch him….

Zuko retracted his hands and dangled something in front of you: two little black lock picks.

“How’d you know about those?” you grumped.

The prince tossed them into the air and caught them nonchalantly before sticking them in his pocket. “Just a hunch,” he said, and then flashed one of his rare grins. “With you, I’ve learned not to take any chances.”

He stood to leave and took advantage of the fact that you couldn’t pummel him for it by patting you on the head condescendingly. “Behave yourself now,” Zuko said before exiting, practically dripping with self-satisfaction. “Uncle will be here shortly.”

The door shut, and you heard the sound of a lock shooting into place.

No. Way.

He dared to trap you in this –admittedly comfortable –metal box?

And what was with the smug attitude?

You shook your head sadly, and with more than a little amusement. Zuko was sure enjoying having the upper hand.

Your smile contained a hint of pride as you reached down to pull a lock pick out of your chest band. Zuko had been thorough….but not quite thorough enough.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

The evening brought with it a cool, fresh breeze that, despite being a tad nippy, was gloriously refreshing. It felt so good to be outside again, surrounded by sky and ocean. You were in a state of bliss –and had been for the better part of an hour –and the only thing the least bit alarming about the situation was the thundercloud of a Fire Prince standing behind you.

“Cripple, get back downstairs before I have to drag you myself.”

You spared Zuko a brief sardonic glance before casting your line out again. Feet dangling out over the choppy water, you reeled it in and grinned when you spotted the quicksilver scales of a glider trout. It was a good catch.

Meanwhile, Zuko was rapidly reaching the end of his patience. Expression darkening, he said, “Woman, you have until the count of three to get your butt down there. One.”

You pulled the fish into your lap.

“Two.”

Working the hook free, you ran a finger over the sleek tail.

“Three.”

You threw the fish at him.

Zuko swore and wiped the salty water from his face as you hobbled away, your slowness caused partly by your injury and mostly because you were laughing so hard.

You yelped in surprise when you were literally swept off your feet by Zuko, who said scathingly, “Idiot, you’re going to hurt yourself.” Then he shook his head so that seawater flew from his dripping hair and splattered your face.

“Zuko, cut it out!” you cried. “And while you’re at it, put me down!”

Besides the fact that he had an ego the size of the Earth Kingdom, the prince was terribly smug that you were in no position to go against anything he said. You could whine all you wanted, but he’d made it perfectly clear that he would always get his way.

“What’re you going to do about it?” he asked haughtily.

While it wasn’t exactly unpleasant to be cradled against his chest like this, you realized with a grimace that it rendered your glares completely impotent.

Zuko headed for the stairs as he continued, “You should not be running around up here. I already know you have no common sense, so you don’t have to go out of your way to prove it.”

“True,” you said, and Zuko glanced down in surprise. Then you grinned and said, “The kind of sense I have is very uncommon. I think you’ve gotten smarter since you started letting your hair grow out. Maybe now your knowledge won’t just evaporate out of your head.”

He just plopped you down on the bed and snatched the pick out of your hand when you held it out proudly, slamming the door on his way out.

The click of the lock drew from you a mandatory eye-roll.

In seconds you were once again in the hallway, stuffing another lock pick back into your shirt. You whistled softly as you made your way down to the barracks where the guys were playing cards.