#dramatic confession

Pairing: Steve Harrinton x female wheeler!reader

Summary: When you overhear a conversation about Steve cheating on you, you are devastated. Steve has no idea why you would act so cold all of a sudden ... until he finds out the reason.

Warnings: dating Steve. misunderstanding. hurt/comfort. hurt/angst. yearing Steve (this man is on his knees for you). no use of y/n.

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"You know they're practically dating now, right?"

You hadn't meant to eavesdrop...really. You were only trying to find somewhere quieter before Lucas' game started.

But the words stopped you cold. Two girls from school stood just around the corner and one of them laughed. "I saw Steve Harrington with her again yesterday."

"The blonde one?"

"No, Katie. The one from Family Video ."

Your heart skipped a beat.

"I heard they stay after work together all the time."

The other girl gasped, clearly amused. "Seriously?"

"Mhm."

"And what did they do yesterday?"

"They were laughing outside his car."

Another laugh from the first girl. "I'd be embarrassed if I were his girlfriend."

Your stomach turned and left you nauseous, because ... you are said girlfriend.

"He clearly moved on from her, duh."

You couldn't hear the rest. Because suddenly everything became too loud and too blurry.

Katie. You'd seen her a few times. She'd waved to Steve from across the mall once. You'd seen them walking out of the store together. She'd even laughed at something he'd said while you'd been waiting for him outside.

He'd introduced her so casually. She's new, he said.

You'd smiled and never questioned it. Until now.

Steve arrived just as the game ended. Still wearing his Family Video vest, hair messy from work, immediately searching the crowd.

There you are. His shoulders relaxed at the sight of you and he smiled just as he started walking toward you.

You looked at him. Then you looked away.

His smile faltered. "…Hey."

"Hi." You didn't meet his eyes.

"Everything okay?" He barely had time to finish the question before Dustin came sprinting across the parking lot.

"There you are!" His expression was panicked. "We've got a problem."

The demogorgon kept everyone busy. Long enough that Steve couldn't ask why you wouldn't even look at him. Long enough that he convinced himself maybe he'd imagined it.

But then it was over. The creature was dead. Everyone was exhausted.

Steve grabbed his keys. "C'mon." He smiled tiredly. "I'll take you home."

Normally you'd already be walking toward his car. Instead you stepped beside Nancy. "I'll ride with her."

Steve blinked. "What?"

"Nancy's going my way."

"…I always go your way."

"I know." Your voice was polite. Too polite. "I just…" You looked at Nancy instead. "…feel like talking."

Steve's chest tightened. "…Okay."

You still wouldn't look at him. He watched Nancy's car disappear. Something was very, very wrong.

"So…" Nancy glanced sideways as she drove. "…Are you going to tell me?"

You'd been crying silently for almost ten minutes. "I think Steve cheated on me."

Nancy slammed on the brakes. The car lurched to a stop. "…What?"

You stared down at your hands. "I heard these girls talking."

Nancy's face hardened immediately. "What girls?"

"They said…" Your voice cracked. "…they said he's been seeing someone from work."

Nancy was silent. Then very quietly… "What's her name?"

"Katie."

Nancy's jaw clenched. "I'll talk to him."

"Nancy, don't."

"I'm going to talk to him."

Steve had slept maybe three hours. He was shelving tapes the next afternoon when the bell above the door rang.

He smiled automatically. "Welcome to Family Vi—"

Nancy Wheeler marched straight toward him and she looked furious.

Steve's smile disappeared. "…Nancy?"

"You've got a lot of nerve."

"What?"

"Cheating on my sister."

Everything inside Steve stopped. "…I'm sorry?"

"Oh, you heard me."

"I…" He actually laughed out of pure confusion. "What are you talking about, Nance?"

"Katie."

Steve blinked. "…Katie?"

"The girl from work? Where is she? Are you hiding her from me?"

Steve stared. Then stared harder. "…Katie?"

Nancy folded her arms. "So it's true."

"What is true?!"

"You don't even deny it! You just play dumb."

"She works with me! And I`m not playing anything, Nance. You sound like a lunatic. What. Are. You. Talking. About?"

Nancy frowned. "…What?"

"She's sixteen for fucks sake! Do you really think that low of me?."

Silence.

Steve blinked. "I trained her."

Nancy's expression shifted just slightly.

Steve suddenly understood. He looked back at Nancy. "You are telling me ... she thinks I cheated on her? With Katie?"

Nancy suddenly got very pale. "I mean ... yeah she told me yesterday that you..."

"When…" His voice had gone thin. "…when did she think this started?"

Nancy's anger disappeared completely. "Steve…"

"Oh my God." He dropped the tapes he was holding. Plastic cases scattered across the floor. "She thinks…" He looked absolutely horrified. "She thinks I…"

Without another word ... he ran.

"Steve!" Nancy hurried after him. "Steve!"

He didn't stop.

Rain began halfway home but Steve barely noticed. His shoes splashed through puddles. His jacket soaked through. He just kept running.

Please. Please let her believe me. Please.

You jumped when someone pounded on your front door. Three frantic knocks.

You opened it and Steve stood there, absolutely drenched. Hair plastered to his forehead and his chest heaving. He'd clearly run the entire way.

"…Steve?"

"I didn't." Those were the first words out of his mouth. "I swear to you."

You stared.

"I didn't cheat on you."

Tears immediately welled in your eyes again. "You don't have to explain."

"But I do."

"No, please. I don`t wanna hear it."

"I really, really do."

You looked away. "I heard them, okay? You dont have to get into detail."

"I know you heard them, but it`s not true."

You wiped a few tears from your cheeks. "They sounded so sure."

"I know."

"You've been with her a lot."

"At work, yes. But I would never..."

"You laughed together." You knew how pathetic it sounded, but the image of him sharing these moment with her ... hurt so much.

"Because Robin accidentally dropped six stacks of tapes."

You frowned. "…What?"

Steve looked completely desperate. "Robin slipped."

You blinked. "She what?"

"She tripped over her own feet." He gestured wildly. "There was tapes everywhere and we laughed because Robin started cursing like a sailor."

You tried very hard not to smile.

"Katie laughed. I laughed. Robin laughed. The manager definitely didn't laugh."

Your lip trembled. "I don't…" Another tear escaped. "I want to believe you, but ... I can`t get the idea of you two out of my head."

Steve's face crumpled. Without thinking he stepped forward. Then stopped himself, not wanting to crowd you. "What can I do?"

You looked at him.

"I'll do anything."

Your tears came faster.

"I just…" He ran both hands through his soaking wet hair. "What do you need from me?"

You shrugged helplessly "I don't know."

"I'll prove it."

"How?"

"I don't know but I will find a way." He laughed helplessly. "I'll quit."

You looked up. "What?"

"If working with Katie hurts you…"

"Steve."

He shook his head. "I don't care."

"You can't quit your job."

"I don't care about the job." He looked at you like nothing else in the world mattered. "I only care about you."

Your breathing hitched.

"I can't lose you over something I didn't do." His voice cracked. "I can't."

You covered your mouth. Steve saw another tear fall. And something inside him broke.

Very slowly…he sank to his knees on your porch. Rain soaking straight through his jeans. His hair a wet mess and his eyes full of unspoken emotions.

"Steve!"

"I love you." His eyes never left yours. "I have never..." he shook his head fiercely. "Never looked at another girl and wished she was you."

His voice was trembling now. "I've never wanted anyone else. I've never even thought about it." He swallowed hard. "So please…" His hands shook as they reached for yours. "Believe me."

"I don't know how to make that feeling go away."

"I'll spend every day proving it. I can't lose you because of a rumor."

A car pulled into the driveway. Both of you turned around to see who was intruding this loaded moment. Nancy climbed out. Robin right behind her.

Robin took one look at Steve kneeling in the rain. "…Uh."

Nancy pointed. "Tell her. Now."

Robin looked between the two of you. "Oh." Realization dawned immediately. "Oh my God." She pointed toward Steve. "Katie?"

You nodded silently.

Robin stared for exactly two seconds. Then burst out laughing. Not meanly, just with complete disbelief.

"Oh honey." She walked straight over. "Katie has the biggest crush on our assistant manager."

You blinked. "…Who?"

"Dave. The guy with the mustache."

Steve nodded vigorously from the porch.

Robin continued. "The only reason Steve stayed late was because I couldn't figure out the new inventory sheets."

Steve looked almost offended. "You alphabetized horror under 'S.'"

"'For scary!'"

"That`s not how this works, Robin."

Robin looked back at you. "I have spent three weeks watching this dingus talk about you."

Steve groaned. "Robin."

"No." She folded her arms. "I'm finishing." She smiled kindly at you. "He buys your favorite candy every Tuesday."

Steve covered his face with one hand, while the other was still holding onto yours.

"He rewinds the tape of your favorite movie before you borrow it because he knows it annoys you when people don't."

"Robin…"

"He literally refuses extra shifts on Fridays because that's your movie night."

You looked at Steve. He looked everywhere except you and even through the rain you could see how his cheeks got flushed.

Robin smiled. "The only girl he's obsessed with…" She nodded toward the soaking wet disaster kneeling on your porch. "…is standing right in front of him."

You stepped slowly forward. Your hands found Steve's face. Still dripping with rain. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head immediately. "You don't have anything to apologize for."

You cupped his face in your hands. "I should've just asked you and believed you. That wasn`t fair"

"I should've told you more about her. I never thought…" He laughed quietly. "…I never imagined anyone would think…"

"You really are an idiot."

Steve smiled. "So I've been told."

You laughed through your tears. Then pulled him to his feet. The moment he was standing you wrapped your arms around him.

Steve hugged you back so tightly it almost stole your breath. Like he'd been afraid the rumor had already taken you away.

Behind you, Robin leaned toward Nancy. "…Worth driving over here."

Nancy smiled, watching Steve bury his face against your shoulder. "Yeah."

It really was.

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Thank you so much for reading! All interactions are highly appreciated 💙

🩵💗 - i have never felt so inspired in my life (total lie but still - clark kent has me in a chokehold - SUPERMAN WAS SO GOOD) this kind of fic is my fav (i've seen it done so so soooo many times with spidey, and i wanted to write my own little bit for superman!!) corenswet!clark kent, miscommunication trope (im sorry), best friends (idiots in love) to lovers, yearning, MEDDLING LOIS, cursing (not from clark, obvi), secret identity reveal!! word count: 1.6k

"I know you're in there."

Five words that scared the living daylights out of you. You felt horrible, sick to your stomach. Lying to your best friend wasn't something you particularly enjoyed doing, but it had to be done.

For your own sanity.

You couldn't take it anymore, your friendship.

You loved him so much, too much, some (Lois) could say. It was obvious to everyone but him, apparently. You decided on a whim that the best way to get rid of this affliction was to avoid him (by saying that you were sick). From there, you would strategically miss his calls and texts with well-planned-out excuses. That idea alone would last you a month, maybe two.

Or at least you thought so.

⊹₊⟡⋆𝓖𝓸𝓵𝓭 𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓱, 𝓹𝓪𝓻𝓽-3 (𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓮) ⊹₊⟡⋆

Pairing: James Potter x fem!reader

Summary: It had been a month. You no longer saw James every where, and no matter how much you hated to admit it, you missed him gravely. A dramatic confession takes place in the great hall. Happy ending.

Warnings: Swearing, kissing and angst with a happy ending.

Author’s note: Heyhey, this is the FINAL part of the series. I hope ya’ll enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Comment to be added to the tag list, happy reading!

Update (5th may 2025) I changed the confession scene a bit to make it better. I didn’t like the previous one much. Xx

(Requests open 💌)

Part 1 , Part 2

It had been a month. A month of guilt that settled deep in your stomach. Each tick of the clock echoed his absence. Your insides hurt, stained by choices you couldn't undo. His laughter haunted the quiet. You didn’t want to admit it, but oh how you missed his wit. Guilt sat heavy—unmoving, unforgiving, a shadow you couldn't escape.

You didn’t see James that often anymore ; he no longer lingered in the corridors, waiting for you to come around. He didn’t stalk you in the library anymore, you should have been happy- you could finally study in peace- but you weren’t. It felt so wrong; not being immersed by his presence.

Pushing aside thoughts of James, you made your way to detention with professor Slughorn. You had been skipping potions class, dreading working with James. I mean thats how it all started - Potion’s class. So, you decided to bunk it and just read from the textbook, you knew it wasn’t right but you hated confrontation. Obviously, when Slughorn found out, he gave you detention.

You made your way to the dungeons, the musky smell filling your lungs.

“Look who decided to finally join us, take a seat Ms. Y/L/N.” Slughorn greeted.

“You can work with him and sort the bats spleen and eels eyes.” The professor continued. Thats when you noticed another figure sitting in the class. His messy black hair looked longer than usual. Merlin’s sake, this cannot be happening. The universe is definitely punishing you. You made your way to James and let out a low “Hey.”

He looked up, but didn’t say anything, and just smiled.

Oh come on. Why was he being so modest. You wanted him to yell, to scream or to at least give you an annoyed look. Maybe then you would feel less guilty, but no. James Potter, being the man he was, remained respectful. You both sat in silence for half an hour, before James finally broke the tension.

“So, why did you get detention?” He asked.

“For not attending any classes from the past month…” you answered , hesitantly

“What about you?”

“For skipping classes…” he trailed off.

Brilliant. Both of you had been bunking classes to avoid seeing each other.

“Blimey Y/N, you don’t need to look so guilty.” James said.

“It’s my fault, I’m the one who should be feeling that way, not you. After all, it was me who initiated the whole thing. I’m sorry for pushing something you didn’t want.” He continued, sounding too mature for his own good.

“Something I didn’t want!?” You exclaimed, exaggerating the ‘i’.

“Yea, you made that extremely clear that night on the staircase.” He defended.

“I never said I didn’t want this. I never said I didn’t want you…” your voice trailed off.

“You do realise how bloody overwhelming you are, right? Especially your friends, don’t even get me started about them.” You said, letting out a bitter laugh.

“Well this isn’t about them, it’s about us.” His voice raised a little too loud.

“If you really thought about ‘us’ ,then you would have done something when Sirius was firing missiles at me the whole fucking night.” You defended.

“Everything all right?” Professor Slughorn asked, intercepting. You had forgotten he was even there.

“Everything is fine professor. I was just leaving.” You spat, storming out of the room.

James had the audacity to think that you didn’t want him? After you spent years and years trying to deny any ounce of attraction you felt towards him, he had the nerve to say you didn’t want him? Oh how you wanted to strangle him right then and there.

It’s fine. This is for the best. You were never meant for someone as flamboyant as James. You knew better than to get sucked into his world. The following night sleep treated you as a stranger. You sat awake, thoughts of James Fleamont Potter stirring in your head.

Sleep deprived and in desperate need of caffeine, you made your way to the great hall for breakfast, half dressed with messy hair and morning breath. It was a bright Sunday morning, most people slept in, so you thought you were safe. But, boy were you wrong. James sat at the Gryffindor table, standing up hastily as soon as you walked in. Before you could turn around and leave, he pulled out his want and cast a spell that locked the doors of the hall. You looked around the room, noticing very few students, so at least your embarrassment was reduced to half.

“What are you doing, James?” You whispered- shouted.

He didn’t respond. He simply looked at you, smiled, and stood up on the fucking dining table. All his friends were gaping at him, especially Sirius.

“Are you feeling all right in the head today , mate?” Sirius asked.

“Oh shut it, Black.” James commanded.

“Y/n… You know, for someone who’s always been told he’s brave… I’ve never been more terrified than I am right now.” He chucked, everyone was staring at him, but he wasn’t taking his gaze off of you.

“I messed up. I shouldn’t have just sat there that night when Sirius ran his mouth. That was fucking pathetic mate, targeting her like that.” He continued, earning a puzzled look from Sirius.

You couldn’t believe it. Was James Potter really standing up to Sirius Black… for you?

“You walked away and I don’t blame you. I knew what I was doing, but I didn’t know it was wrong. I’m sorry for overwhelming you. And I’m so fucking sorry for wasting a whole month avoiding you, when we could have spent it together.” He reached into his robes, pulling out a bouquet of enchanted flowers.

“Accept my apology, love?”

Your heart was racing, your head was spinning and you knew you couldn’t be trusted with any major decisions right now…. But you didn’t care.

You walked closer to him. He stepped off the table as he handed you the flowers. He knew you hated causing a scene. He knew you didn’t like being seen. He knew what he was doing, he was giving you a Gold Rush, and he was enjoying it so much.

You placed a hand on his cheek, not caring who was looking, and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. James wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer, completely engulfing you into the moment.

Cheers and whistles erupted from excited students who got to witness a scene this early in the morning. You pulled away from him, to look him in the eye.

“I hate you, James Potter.” You blushed.

“You know you love me, Y/N Y/L/N.” He smirked, still holding onto you.

“Get a room!” Someone , probably Sirius, shouted .

“Oh, we definitely will.” James teased, making you red.

In that moment, you didn’t care who was looking, you didn’t care that everyone else wanted James potter, because you were the one he wanted.

——————————Bonus —————————

“Y/N! Wait up!” A voice called, as you were walking to class.

It was Sirius Black. Ugh, what did he want?

“Listen…. I’m sorry about being so… for being such a prat. I gave you a really hard time for no reason, well I had my reasons. You see, James is the closest thing I have to family that I actually love, so naturally I tend to be very protective of him. I thought you weren’t right for him…. Your just …. Quite different from us. Can I put it like that? But, seeing how happy you make our Jamie, I realised I owed you an apology. Oh and also, James threatened my life if I didn’t set things right with you. Anyways, catch you later, I’ve got class. Bye!” Sirius walked away, after unloading all of that on you and not even giving you a chance to reply.

Oh how you loved your boyfriend- James Potter.

(All rights reserved, ©)

Tag list 💞

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): Avatar: The Last Airbender/Zuko

Rating: Pg-11/T-

Original Idea: This Imagine

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me)  @welovegroot asked if I’d write more Zuko/A:TLA so I did!

^^^^^

Zuko scooted over to make some room for me on the front bench—which was longer than the back bench. It squished the four of us together, but Katara and Toph only protested a little bit. Toph more so than Katara. Who understood that since there were seven of us, we needed to crowd together to fit.

“Thanks,” I said, sitting next to him.

He and I were the Fire Nation runaways. Him the Crown Prince, me an ex-soldier, drafted at a young age due to natural Firebending prowess. Since deserting the military, my hair had grown past regulation-length. No one guessed I was a soldier anymore. With some of my hair in a top knot and the rest hanging down, I almost looked like a high-society citizen. I knew people knew that the Avatar had two Firebenders travelling with him. A lot of people probably knew one was Zuko. No one outside the military knew or cared about me. And I liked it that way.

“No problem,” he muttered.

The play started. All seven of us were in mild shock. It was so corny and blatantly false that I almost wanted to vomit from disgust. Seriously. What was with this writer? Zuko’s actor was over-the-top (but alarmingly accurate to his emotional outbursts)—Katara’s was too—Sokka’s just… wasn’t funny. Aang’s was just a bit bizarre. Toph’s was hilarious—

Then I got introduced.

“Oh my word,” I muttered under my breath, pulling the ribbon I wore as a headband down over my eyes.

“Oh! My dear Prince Zuko! It has been too long since I’ve seen you, my love!” the actress playing me exclaimed, hands collapsed over her heart dramatically. Blushing like mad, I slid down as far as I possibly could on the bench.

She was dressed in a way-too-revealing and entirely impractical version of a Fire Nation military uniform. Her hair was regulation-length—down to the scapulae being the longest hair allowed—with some of it tied up in a top knot. I reached up and pulled the pin out of mine, letting it fall so fewer people would recognize me.

I peered out from under the ribbon around my eyes in time to see Zuko’s actor grasp my actor into a tight embrace around the waist. “My darling!” he replied, equally as dramatic. “Oh how I’ve missed you!”

I felt Zuko tense up next to me, but neither of us could move since we were all squished together on the bench. No sliding away from each other.

Aang leaned forward on my left side to whisper in my ear, “Hey, I thought you and Zuko never met ‘til you joined us.”

“We hadn’t,” I replied. “But given everything else this play has been wrong about… are you surprised?”

Aang let out a little, “Hmm,” of thought before leaning back to watch the rest of the play.

I wished I could set the theater on fire to get out of this ridiculous situation. Oh my word I was going to cry from how terrible this play was.

After a long and disgustingly audible kiss between the actors playing me and Zuko, I covered my eyes with my ribbon again, folded my arms over my chest, and refused to relax from the cringe in my posture.

It mellowed out a little bit, not so much focusing on me and Zuko anymore—though there were moments that I could feel coming from a mile away where I covered my eyes—to the point where I could emerge from under my ribbon.

At intermission, I practically ran out of the theater and into the rest of the building, desperate to get away from Zuko and the events happening so inaccurately on the stage.

I could swear I heard Zuko calling my name, but I ignored him and found a place to hide.

A hallway with a corner at the end that led to nowhere.

There, I leaned against the wall and fixed my hair, smoothing out my ribbon headband and the odd waves from taking out a top knot. I was panting from my jog to get away from the theater. “Oh my word,” I muttered again, burying my face in my palms.

The floorboards creaked.

A callused hand wrapped around my wrists and gently pulled my hands away from my face. “Hey,” Zuko said quietly. “Are you alright?”

“No,” I retorted. “I'm embarrassed.”

“Well no one else knows that we’re here and we’re us,” he said. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed yet. If we are visibly embarrassed, it could give us away.”

I took a deep breath, trying to get a grip. “You’re right,” I said, shaking my head.

Zuko nodded once. “Take a minute. Get yourself together or whatever. See you back inside.”

“See you back inside,” I said.

When the intermission was over and I crammed myself back onto the bench, I did everything in my power not to look at Zuko.

It went well for all of five minutes before the forced love story between he and I got overdramatic and sappy again. We glanced at each other and made faces in apology of how ridiculous the whole situation was.

At the end of the play, when he went down with a cry of, “HOOONNNOOORRR!” the actress playing me wept profusely and promptly lit herself on fire, declaring that she wasn’t going to live without the love of her life. I sank down in my seat again, wishing I’d been born as a bush on the edge of the beach.

Thankfully, when it was all over, we went back to the Fire Lord’s summer home on Ember Island and no one even noticed or recognized us.

Everyone turned in for bed. Except me. I sat out in the yard where Aang, Zuko, and I did Firebending training together and looked up at the stars. It was a warm summer night and the comet was approaching. We didn’t have a lot of time…

“Hey,” a familiar voice said behind me.

I whirled.

Zuko was standing just under the covered porch, one hand awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He was in his usual clothes, the dark cloak he’d worn to the play nowhere to be seen.

“Hi,” I replied, scooting over as a cue that he was welcome to sit by me.

He did so, plopping down next to me casually. He wrapped his arms around his bent knees and looked up at the stars. “Beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Yeah,” I agreed quietly, following his gaze.

After a moment, Zuko sighed and shoved his hand into his scruffy hair. “Listen. I'm sorry about today,” he said. “About the play making you uncomfortable. I knew it was going to be a disaster. I tried to talk the others out of it—”

“It’s not your fault, Zuko,” I said, wrapping my arms around my knees as well, copying his position.

“About, uh… about their portrayal of us…” he began.

“It was definitely over-the-top,” I said.

“That’s an understatement,” he grumbled. After a moment he seemed to steel himself for something, taking a deep breath. “They may have been dramatic but… well… they weren’t wrong how I feel about you.”

The world came to a screeching halt—my brain slammed to a stop and my heart skipped a beat.

“What did you say?” I whispered, looking away from the stars to focus on him.

“I, uh… I really like you. Maybe… even… ah man. Maybe even love you.”

I felt my jaw drop open. For several long moments I just stared, my feet sliding away from me, straightening out my knees as my hands fell to my lap.

“You’re going to punch me, aren’t you?” he asked apprehensively.

Impulsively, I reached out.

My hand slid around the back of his neck and pulled him to me.

I kissed him with complete reckless abandon. The others were all asleep by now, surely, and who else would see? Who else would have to know?

I felt his fingers find the back of my head and neck, threading into my hair. He kissed me back with the passion I was fairly certain was unique to Firebenders. The kind that willed tongues of flame into being.

I don’t know how long the kiss lasted. It wasn’t long enough. When we pulled away for air, our foreheads rested together. I could feel his hair against my skin.

“I… honestly thought you were going to punch me,” he whispered.

I couldn’t help but smile. “No. I wasn’t. It’s about time you admitted you like me, Your Highness,” I replied breathlessly.

“Don’t call me that,” he mumbled with no real malice or menace behind it, chin tilting forward. Our mouths searched each other out again, sealing together hungrily. I could taste the fire on his skin and I was certain he could taste it on mine.

“Hey Zuko have you seen—what the—?!” Sokka exclaimed, quiet but startled.

Zuko and I pulled away from each other with an audible suction noise. “Sokka!” I hissed.

“Never mind. G’night!” Sokka replied, turning on the ball of his foot and skittering away.

Zuko sighed. “I’m going to go talk to him,” he said, moving to get up.