Zuko thinks that's rough, buddy (fireprincezuko) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-04-08 22:41:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, azula, draco malfoy, ty lee, zuko |
Who: Draco + Zuko + Azula + Ty Lee
What:A dual proposal. Only half goes well.
When: Saturday night 4/6
Where: The beach, a restaurant
Rating: Low. Some happy some sad.
Status: complete
A nearly private island had been the way to go, Zuko reflected. So far none of them had had to deal with any idiots like they might have at some huge place with resorts and tourist traps. There was something nice about knowing that this little section of beach was theirs for the time being, and that no one had to watch out for children getting in the way, or parents yelling at said children.
It was dark now, and the moon was pretty brilliant in it's reflection off of the water. Zuko had watched it for a while, but then opted instead to settle his head into Draco's lap and enjoy the warm sand beneath them.
As Draco lay on the beach, the warm weight of Zuko’s head in his lap he couldn’t help but think this had been the best idea they’d had in a long time. He brushed his hand through Zuko’s hair as he looked at the moon casting light on them.
He linked his free hand with his boyfriends and twining their hands rubbing his thumb over the back of his hand.
Zuko smiled at that, something that seemed easy to do here -- on the beach, in the dark, with only Draco around. He liked the hair petting a lot, more than he would probably ever admit, and so closed his eyes and let out something close to a purr.
He was being rather silent today -- he had a lot of thinking to do about a topic that his sister had brought up earlier in the day (and very little time to do it in) -- but it wasn’t much different than usual for him, he suspected.
Draco smirked at Zuko’s purring and he continued the petting, enjoying the sounds he could pull from his boyfriend. Bringing Zukos hand up he kissed the back of his hand, “What have you got on your mind?” he whispered softly against the other boys skin.
Most people wouldn’t have noticed the preoccupation that seemed to have been plaguing Zuko that day but Draco wasn’t most people. He knew the difference between Zuko’s silences, as strange as that may have sounded.
Zuko peeked an eye open to stare at Draco for a short moment -- taking the time to bite his own lower lip to stop himself from blurting something out that he was meant to say later on. “I’ll tell you at dinner,” he promised, not wanting to worry the blond. “Azula made reservations somewhere nicer.”
Draco nodded easily, accepting Zukos answer. If he said he’d tell Draco later then he would, it didn’t sound like something too worrying. “That sounds nice” he said honestly, they had all gotten on much better than Draco had honestly expected them too which meant that the prospect of dinner with the girls actually held the potential to be quite pleasant.
Or really terrible, depending just how the night went. But Zuko was trying to be positive about it all, and not think on a way in which it could all go pear-shaped.
“Could be.” he said, instead. “Maybe we should get ready for that,” it came out almost absently, because it was so much easier to just lay in the sand and not change anything about the way things were.
Draco laughed softly at Zukos lack of enthusiasm for that idea, “How long do we have until Azula rounds us up?” he asked in order to know how long they could indulge in laying here.
“An hour maybe,” Zuko said, and it was almost hard not to sound nervous. He rolled over a little, stretching languidly before sitting up completely. “Enough time for a shower. And to make sure our suits aren’t wrinkled.” He made a face at that, but it was mostly just for show.
Draco smiled as he sat up too, “You know you look incredibly sexy in a suit” he told Zuko as he wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed Zuko’s neck, “But I’ll happily help you take it off later” he added lips still on his skin before he stood and offered his hand to his boyfriend so they could head back and get ready.
Zuko could only snort at that in response -- because he certainly did hope that that would be the case.
----
A lengthy shower later, as well as a few moments fighting with the iron in their room to get out any unwanted wrinkles in clothing, and both Zuko and his blond better half were ready for the night.
Zuko was getting a bit testy about things -- like he was wont to do when he got a bit nervous about anything, and glanced at the time on his phone -- not for the first time in the last few minutes, either. Where the fuck was Azula?
Draco noticed the agitation though was unaware as to the nature of the cause, as far as he knew they were just going to dinner with Zukos sister and girlfriend.
When Zuko checked his phone again Draco moved over and circled the boys waist with his arms, careful not to wrinkle their outfits, “She’ll be here soon enough” he said before placing a gentle kiss on his boyfriends lips.
Azula was putting the finishing touches on her hair as she waited for Ty Lee. If nothing else, she looked impeccable and elegant in her evening dress and with her hair perfectly arranged to fall just so onto her shoulders. She stepped away from the mirror. All she’d told Ty Lee was that they were going to dinner all together. No mention of flights later, and certainly no mentions of rings.
An icy feeling was in her stomach, though. What if Ty Lee said no?
Ty Lee was extremely glad to be in her relatively sexy dress. Her clothing wasn’t changing on its own anymore, which was a blessing. She had a lot of tanning to do if she was going to catch up to the others! She hummed happily as she adjusted her dress one last time. It was a very cheerful shade of green, because even she thought a pink evening dress was too much. Her hair was down and curled, because it made her look older.
She was looking forward to the fancy dinner with the others. Draco seemed nice, and Zuko was moody, but no more than Azula. They all treated her very well. She looked over at Azula when she finished dressing, a wide smile on her face. “You look great!” She offered her hand to the older girl. “We should go, or Zuko will pout all night.”
He damn well might pout all night, at that. Zuko grumbled a little, but kissed Draco back anyway. It probably wouldn’t do to piss the other boy off tonight of all nights. Not that Zuko had ever really succeeded in pissing Draco off, anyway. Still.
“Ugh,” he said, clasping Draco’s hand in his own and moving toward the door. “Let’s just meet them. They’re only a few rooms down anyway.” He wasn’t a particularly patient boy.
It did take a lot to piss Draco off and he may get frustrated sometimes but Zuko was a long way off from actually pissing him off. He really was very laidback.
Chuckling Draco twined their fingers together as they went, content to follow his impatient boy.
Azula peeled her eyes from Ty Lee long enough to lead her out of their room. Her hand rested on her purse, the rings she’d gotten safely hidden within. She’d have to hand the one she’d selected for Zuko to give to Draco over when they got to the restaurant. She thought he might approve, she’d erred on the side of subtle elegance.
“You took almost as long as we did,” She said, eyeing the boys up and down. She looked several years older than she was.
“Well, they look almost as pretty as we do, so that seems fair.” Ty Lee chirped, giggling behind Azula’s back.
Zuko rolled his eyes, as was customary for him at this point -- more a show than it was any real annoyance. To be fair, Ty Lee was kind of right. He and Draco both looked pretty damn good. Zuko, of course, was sure he could have looked nicer, but there really was no getting around the giant scar on his face.
“We’ve been waiting on you,” he said, sounding impatient (but not pouting, thanks) and glancing at Azula, as if making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.
Draco would have disagreed with Zukos assessment of himself, as Draco thought he looked really really good. In fact he found Zuko in a suit to be nothing but gorgeous.
"Well it looks like we're all ready now" he said with a smile.
Azula glanced at Zuko, then took his arm. “We’ll walk ahead, I need to make sure he doesn’t embarrass us when we get to the restaurant.” And she had a ring to give him, and plans to make that they weren’t aloud to hear. She made sure to inject her voice with just the right sort of casual disdain she was so good at.
Ty Lee nodded, smiling at Draco. “I’m sure Zuko won’t embarrass us, Azula.” She watched the pair pull ahead, then leaned over to Draco, speaking in a low voice. “They’re up to something.” She didn’t know what, but she knew what was normal behavior for Azula and what wasn’t.
“I won’t embarrass us,” Zuko said -- just loudly enough and with a scowl to make a show of it. But once he and Azula were far enough ahead, he brought his head down closer to her, and his bravado was gone. Instead, he felt oddly nervous, a little weird. “Well?” he hissed out, at Azula, a strange little whisper. There was no way Draco and Ty Lee couldn’t be a little suspicious.
Draco offered Ty Lee his arm as they walked some way behind the siblings, “They definitely are” he agreed with her, “Though what I admit I have no idea”
Azula made like she was jabbing him, but when her hand pulled away, a silver box was in Zuko’s hand. “Just wait for the right song. Follow my lead.” With more volume, she said, “As long as you don’t act like a Sokkadoofus for brains, we’ll be fine.”
Ty Lee took Draco’s arm, smiling at him. “Me either. It will probably be trouble, Azula’s good at that.” They followed at a reasonable distance. She did wonder what Azula was up to, but they’d all find out soon enough.
Zuko took a moment to actually look at the ring -- and had to admit that it was really very nice. Elegant, not too showy. Not girlish. Draco would probably like it. He snuck it into his pocket, looked oddly pleased for a moment (although he didn’t know why, since he’d done none of the work), and then went back to his awkwardly not-really-annoyed facade. “Ugh, shuttup Azula, I’m not a doofus.”
Draco chuckled, “No doubt we’ll find out soon enough and all get dragged along for the ride” he said with a grin. He didn’t really mind, they were on holiday after all. How much trouble could they really get into?
Plenty of trouble indeed. Azula had splurged on a limo to take them to the restaurant, and settled into a seat, pulling Ty Lee in with her for cuddles holding. “I got a good recommendation for this place.”
Ty Lee laughed at the limo, and settled happily against Azula, resting her head on Azula’s shoulder. “I’m sure whatever you picked would be good, Azula.”
Zuko sat on the seat across from them, Draco next to him. He wasn’t the cuddling type -- he never had been, and he probably never would be. Still, he twisted his hand into Draco’s, their fingers connecting. The little box in his pocket was mentally burning a hole into his leg, and who had decided this was a good idea, because jesus christ, he was pretty sure he might vomit soon.
Still. The limo was a nice touch, and the traffic wasn’t bad and they arrived at their destination at a pace Zuko thought to be Entirely Too Quickly whilst at the same time Way Too Slow.
Being completely oblivious to Zukos inner turmoil Draco simply enjoyed the ride to the restaurant, content with holding Zukos hand and watching the world go by. When they stepped from the car he kept hold of his boyfriends hand and let the girls lead them inside.
Azula walked, hand in hand with Ty Lee. She enjoyed this sort of freedom, getting to display her affection. It was something she was rarely allowed to do, in any life. While Zuko looked like he might vomit, she felt like she might faint. It was not a feeling she was enjoying. This could be a very bad idea, but Azula never had bad ideas. She gave her name, and they were led to a quiet table in the back.
Ty Lee chattered for most of the limo ride, and while they were being seated as well. She didn’t expect any answers, she just wanted to talk. She rushed to get Azula’s chair for her.
Did his sister like that? All that chatting? Zuko only tolerated it with a sense of being terribly distracted. He supposed it was easy enough to filter out. Maybe he just didn’t understand women. Draco never chattered like that.
Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose once they were all seated and then took a little huff of breath once the waiter came round. He thought it only proper to order a bottle of wine for them all. He was pretty sure he was close to panicking. Wait for the right song, Azula had said. But he should have asked for more clarification. What was the right song? When was it going to play? Who was going to ask first? This was all sickly traumatic, and he was kind of wishing he’d just stayed on that beach.
Draco didn't mind the chattering but he didn't really pay all that much attention to it either.
When they sat he could see something was worrying Zuko and he wondered if they'd heard anything from back home. He squeezed Zukos hand, his facial expression silently asking if everything was okay.
Azula could listen to Ty Lee chatter all day. It was one of the things she always secretly liked and only pretended she was just putting up with. She might be a little sappy but she liked to listen to Ty Lee talk.
She glanced at Zuko, and wondered if he would mess things up. She didn’t think he would. It would be pretty simple. The song Marry Me would start playing. He would just have to do his thing, then.
Ty Lee wasn’t bothered by Zuko’s demeanor. She was excited about all of this. The dress, the limo, the fancy dinner with wine. . . it was all new and exciting, and she talked a lot when she was excited. “Oh, there’s a real band and everything! That’s so neat, I wonder if they take requests?” She did stop talking when she opened the menu. For a couple seconds. “Hey, I wonder what’s best here?” Most of the dishes were new to her.
He wasn’t going to ruin it. Unless he had an aneurysm or something; which was beginning to feel a little bit like a possibility. He calmed himself by returning the hand squeeze and giving Draco a face that was oddly blank. He shrugged. Look. How good. I am. At lying. Is what his expression said, in too many sentence fragments. But what could you do?
“We’re on an island,” Zuko pointed out to Ty Lee, because he was a little rude to her and she probably was about to be his sister in law, so maybe he should be a little nicer, he decided. “Probably fish is the best option.”
Draco accepted that answer but still watched Zuko with concern in his eyes. Something was going on.
He nodded in agreement, "Fish is probably a speciality around here" he smiled.
"I hate the ocean," Azula muttered. "Reminds me of things." But the beach was so nice. She supposed she could ignore water tribe related trauma.
"I wonder if they serve puffer fish." She glanced at her brother. "Unless you'd be scared."
The band started to play a lazy sort of jazz song, but Azula paid no mind to it. Her timing would allow them a bit of time to enjoy the appetizer. She figured Zuko needed to settle his stomach. And she needed to settle hers.
Ty Lee didn’t know the song, but she did know she liked fish. “Maybe next time we can go somewhere else. Oh! We could go skiing.” Or go to a ski resort and cuddle in front of a fire while making snarky comments about the people around them. “They do have a lot of fish on the menu, so I think you’re right.” That made her choice a little easier.
Strange as it was, it was Azula’s stupid barbs that actually made Zuko settle down for a second. It was just so easy to roll his eyes at her, fake a scowl and then shrug. “I’m not scared of a fish,” he said, “not even a poison one.” He still wasn’t going to order it though. Because why order fish when beef is on the menu, anyway?
He made a lazy choice of the menu, and then leaned his elbows on the table in a way that was nearly petulant. There. That was him acting as normal as he got. Now he just needed the wine to show up.
Zukos response made Draco smile, now he was relaxing a bit. It lessened the worry somewhat and Draco placed his order along with the rest. It really was a beautiful choice of restaurant, nicer than any of the others they had been too though none could be called bad really.
"I would like to ski," Azula admitted. She closed her menu, having decided on the puffer fish, and some kind of fried fish for an appetizer.
Once the orders were put in, she smiled, glancing over at the band, and then casually checking the time on her phone.
Ty Lee sipped her water, watching the people around them. “I’ve never been, I think it would be fun.”
Zuko had never been either. In fact, he’d only really seen snow for the first time this year. He remembered it fondly though, since it had been one of the first times he’d hung out with Draco. They’d built a snow turtle. It had been... fun. Something he hadn’t had in a very long time before that. So he shrugged his shoulders in a way that seemed nearly like he was agreeing, and glanced at his boyfriend as if to say he’d do it if he wanted to also. Of course, Azula looking at her phone distracted him all over again until the wine finally showed up, and the server poured them all a glass.
"I've been once before, when I was younger, dragged along by parents who thought it was required" Draco said with a wry smile, "I imagine it would be much more enjoyable now though" he added with a smile for Zuko as his thumb rubbed over his hand where they were still twined together. He too had very fond memories of building that turtle.
“Our next vacation then,” Azula decided, hoping they’d get that chance. She sipped at her wine and smiled to herself. Everything was going according to schedule. She didn’t really know what she’d do if either of them said no. Burn something down, maybe.
Ty Lee nodded, and took a very small drink of her wine. She didn’t drink very much at all, it was never good to relax too much. She was, after all, still acting as Azula’s bodyguard. She felt guilty for a little bit, she wasn’t doing as much work as she should be. Going on a vacation was a novelty, and being able to kiss Azula anytime she wanted was making her forget what she was supposed to be doing. She didn’t know if the wine was good or not, it had a very strong taste to her unprepared tastebuds.
Probably, Zuko would join Azula in that task. It would be properly deserved since clearly these two siblings weren’t the type that people said no to. So obviously if something went wrong, it was more to do with the locale or... you know. Anything that wasn’t them. In some regards they were very similar.
Zuko held Draco’s hand still, pleased for the contact -- the blond was so much better at being calm than him, and it was reassuring even if Draco didn’t know it. With his other hand, he made sure to just keep holding his wine. Because otherwise he might be tempted to check for that little box in his pocket over and over again.
He stared at Azula, and then the band. Soon, probably.
Draco nodded, he’d be happy with that. This vacation had been enjoyable, the girls’ company was actually quite pleasant and they’d had their own space when they wanted it. Skiing had the potential to be good fun and the apres-ski would definitely be more than enjoyable.
As he sipped his wine he saw Zuko looking at the band, maybe he could request a song for them later or maybe even borrow the guitar to play his own.
Azula sipped her wine again, as the band wrapped up the song. She bit her lip, and reached for her purse, picking it up and looking through it faux!casually. She closed her hand around the ring box. Azula was not the sort of person to get on her knees for anyone, but she took Ty Lee’s hand and placed the ring in her palm as the band started to play Marry Me by Train.
Ty Lee looked at the ring in confusion. It was very pretty, and it looked like it would fit, but she didn’t understand its significance. “Oh, it’s so pretty!”
Zuko almost laughed at that reaction. He couldn’t help himself; the hysteria nearly bubbled out of him -- he hid it quickly, with a well timed cough. It was awful, he knew. But he was trying here, give him a fucking break.
He figured, then, that instead of coughing and staring maybe he could help both himself and Azula out in this situation -- clearly if he did this right Draco would catch on a bit quicker than Ty Lee had.
He took the box out of his pocket, and it no longer burned him; a general sense of purpose made him feel less nervous, just more driven. “Draco,” he said, and was so pleased with himself when his voice didn’t go all high and stupid. He didn’t say anything else, though. But he did do his sister one up and get down on his knee - box opened to his boyfriend - like he was pretty sure was meant to be done.
Draco cottoned on to what was going on with Azula and Ty Lee a lot quicker than Ty Lee herself but when Zuko said his name he turned to focus on his boyfriend. His mouth dropped open as Zuko got down on one knee and brandished a ring box to him, “Zuko” he said his voice barely above a whisper as he gazed into his eyes before leaning forward to kiss him, simply because the emotions were clogging his throat too much to let him say anything else.
“It’s very pretty, and it’s for you,” Azula said, smiling to herself. “If you’ll have it. I want you to marry me. I want you to by my equal.”
TY Lee blinked a little. “What? Azula, I can’t marry you.” She met Azula’s eyes, shocked. “I’m not-” She shook her head. “Marrying you won’t make me your equal.”
Zuko, who was now apparently engaged (holy shit holy shit), found himself preoccupied with kissing Draco -- still kneeling on the ground, his hands cupping Draco’s face. Still, he couldn’t help but turn his face awkwardly from the kiss for a moment, golden eyes observing Azula and Ty Lee. That wasn’t the best of answers, he found, and despite his own positive response, he was starting to worry a little bit about how long it might take this place to go up in flames.
Draco, who to be fair was still wrapping his head around the fact that Zuko had gotten down on one knee and proposed - yeah that was going to take a while, also looked over at the girls having momentarily forgotten anybody else was there if he was honest. He frowned slightly as he realised their proposal didn’t seem to be going as well.
Azula looked momentarily mortified, then hurt, before anger surged through her so quickly that she snorted blue fire. "You already are my equal! I thought you loved me!"
Ty Lee scooted back, to avoid the fire. “I do! But I can’t marry you. I’m only sixteen, I’d need whoever my guardian is to sign off on it. And I’m not your equal, not really. As long as I’m part of the organization I’m not able to make decisions about my life, or do anything like this. I’m owned, Azula, I just can’t do this.” She shook her head again. If Azula lost her temper again she was going to block the older girl’s chi and leave.
Well. This was awkward. Zuko sort of subtly got himself off the ground -- finding Draco’s fingers in his own -- but couldn’t seem to gather the will to actually sit back down. He wondered if in all of Azula’s other research she’d figured out a way to deal with this part of the equation. He hadn’t realized Ty Lee was so young. He glanced at Draco, and then the girls again. “Er.” He said, because he was an eloquent motherfucker, “we can -- uh. Go outside if you guys need to, uh, talk.”
Draco stood when Zuko did, finding his hand at the same time Zuko found his. He nodded in agreement with Zuko, “Yeah, you guys should talk about this without us here. Talk and listen, calmly” he added, already knowing Azula could be as hot headed as Zuko. He tugged on Zuko’s hand but stopped, looking at Ty Lee for a moment, “This right here” he told her, “This is your choice, she’s asking you and whatever answer you give needs to come from you and you alone” He cared, he realised as he walked away with Zuko, about both of them which meant he just couldn’t keep quiet.
Reigning in her anger, Azula stood too. Her expression had hardened, and instead of fire in her eyes there was a familiar coldness. Her knuckles were white as she tossed her card on the table. Her voice only wavered once. "I'm going back to the hotel."
Ty Lee didn’t know what to say, too much was going on at once. She stood as well, but didn’t say anything. What could she say? Azula would be safer if they weren’t married, anyway. Her father would go ballistic if Azula married a woman, especially one of the bodyguards. She couldn’t see Azula get hurt again, but there was no way to avoid it. “I’ll-” She started, then sat again, shaking her head. “I’ll make sure you get your card back.”
“Fuck,” Zuko said to Draco from their slight distance away, because it seemed like a fitting thing to say. He wasn’t even really sure why. He didn’t speak again until they were both outside, leaning against the little railing of the outdoor seating section. “That-- uh. Hi.” Maybe things weren’t working out very well for his sister (which, yes, he felt a bit bad about), but he still wanted to get fucking married, man. Now that he’d made the decision, he wasn’t about to turn away from it.
Draco felt bad for Azula and Ty Lee too but it was up to them now, they had to work it out between the two of them. Crowding Zuko against the railing he smiled, “Hi” he replied, “So did you really just get down on one knee and propose or was I dreaming?” knowing it was corny but not giving one flying fuck right now.
Whatever her father thought, Azula had stopped caring after her dreams. Whatever her father thought, wouldn't matter if Iroh pulled through. She didn't say any of that. She was upset enough that she might say things she'd regret later. Or lose her mind, which was her greatest fear at this point. So she said nothing.
Grateful that she hadn't humiliated by kneeling, she walked out of the restaurant and hailed a cab. They could have the limo. She just needed to get out of there.
Ty Lee waited patiently for the waitress to come, and paid. When the card was returned she took it and the ring to the hotel lobby, and put them in an envelope to be returned to Azula when she came out again. Then Ty Lee left the hotel and decided to wander until she knew what to do.
Zuko watched both Azula leave, and then Ty Lee. Separately. He bit his bottom lip, thoughtfully, but decided that probably they both needed time to cool off. Think things over. Figure it out. It was a little hard to feel guilty, though, considering.
Instead, he looked at Draco then at the limo that was still waiting on them. “I guess I did,” he said, just now deciding to be shy about things. He gave a pause, shrugged a little stupidly. “So. Wanna find somewhere that’ll do the honors, already?” He was kind of a jerk of a brother, apparently.
“You have no idea how much” Draco told him, hands still on Zuko’s hips, “But what about your sister? Should we go after her?” he asked, though not truly wanting to, and didn’t that just add to the guilt.
Zuko considered this for a short moment, but then gave another little shrug. Not exactly nonchalant so much as just -- well. Something he did when he wasn’t sure what else to do. “No,” he said. “Not if you value your life at the moment.” He and Azula were similar after all. Except for the fact that Zuko brooded (and yes pouted) when he was angry, whereas Azula tended to lash out a bit more. He had no desire to have an accidental show-down on the beach tonight.
Draco nodded, “Okay” he replied understanding that there was currently nothing they could do to help the girls. “Then let’s go” he smiled, “Let’s get married.”