#but when I pressed CTRL and V Word suddenly stopped working

[lucas-taylor-rpg]

The Second It Began, Part 4

((Previously))

((Circa 85 April 21st, 2143))

He had fallen asleep. He figured that out upon waking up. When he opened his eyes and saw bright daylight, he realized he must have been resting for much longer than intended—and that his father must have returned by then.

He got up from the bed. His head was still hurting, but less than the previous day. It seemed that sleeping had helped, as he had anticipated. Yawning and wiping sleep from his eyes, he shuffled his feet towards the door of his new bedroom. He opened it and found his father sitting behind the dining table, which held a plate of an omelet with fruit and a glass of juice.

The old man looked up at him and smiled—not in happiness or love, but in amusement. “Well, hello, sleeping beauty,” the father greeted, taking in his son’s mussed hair, small eyes and tired frown.

“Did I sleep through the whole night,” Lucas asked, “or is this planet so freaky there’s daylight after sunset?” He was sure he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear a confirmation.

Taylor chuckled. “No, you slept, all right,” he replied. Lucas dragged himself to the table and slumped down onto the chair opposite to his father. “Actually, you slept for almost twelve hours.” Lucas sighed and rubbed his face. Taylor frowned. “You don’t look very rested for someone who slept that long,” he noted.

“In my defense,” the young man said, “I was really tired.” And sick. But he did not tell his father that. “I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”

“Well, lucky for you, today is Sunday, so you can rest as much as you need.”

“Hmm.”

“Hey, I was thinking maybe we could spend the day together. Catch up on what’s happened since we last saw each other. Maybe I could give you a tour of the colony. I mean, it’s not that big, but you should know where to find stuff.”

Without saying a word, Lucas stood up.

“I didn’t mean right now.”

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Lucas explained.

“Oh, right.”

Lucas walked off. Two minutes and one flush of a toilet later, he came back. When he sat down, he realized Taylor had put a glass of milk-like liquid on his side of the table. “What’s that?”

“Your breakfast,” Taylor replied simply.

He took a closer look at the liquid. It seemed just like milk to his eyes, but when he leaned in and its scent hit his nose, he could tell it was something else. It smelled too funny to be milk. “Wait, I read something about that in the manual they gave me,” he said. He remembered it mentioning a drink specifically designed for easier enzyme consumption… or something along those lines. “Is this the only thing I’m allowed to have now?”

“Yup. Just until you get used to the food we have here.”

“How long will that be, again?”

“You have to drink this for three days exclusively. Then you can ease into real food as you see fit.”

Lucas gave a nod. He picked up the glass and took a mere sip of the liquid inside. With a frown on his face, he lowered the glass. “That tastes awful.” For something that looked like milk, it was quite sour. It suited the smell, though.

“That’s just because you’re not used to it, yet.”

“Hmph.” Lucas took another sip and could not help scrunching up his face. He put the glass down. He was not looking forward to drinking it for the next three days, but he figured there must have been a reason why it was required. Then he realized something. He parted his lips and glanced aside. With a thoughtful expression on his face, he looked at his father and watched him eat. “Dad, you didn’t…” he spoke up hesitantly, “you didn’t need this milk when you came to Terra Nova… did you?”

“We didn’t have it back then. The recipe was designed after I came.”

“So why do I need it?” Lucas asked. “I mean, if you got used to food without it, why should—”

“It’s not that you need it per se. It’s just meant to make the transition easier for you,” the father explained.

“Was it hard for you?”

“Well, it was not as easy as it would’ve been if I’d had this,” Taylor replied, pointing at the glass.

Lucas sighed. He just sat there for a few seconds, pondering what his father had told him. Afterwards, he reached out and grabbed a red grape from Taylor’s plate. Before the latter could stop him, he shoved it in his mouth.

“Hey!” Taylor said. “You’re not supposed to eat that.”

“Yeah, I can see why. This is even worse than the milk,” Lucas grumbled with the fruit still in his mouth. He chewed it slowly, a grimace making its way to his face. After he swallowed, he extended his arm to take another one. His father slapped his hand away. Lucas frowned. “Come on, don’t be so stingy!”

“I’m not stingy, you’re just not supposed to eat that.” The commander pushed Lucas’s glass closer to him. “Drink this if you’re hungry.”

Lucas rolled his eyes, then leaned back. He stared at the glass in silence, but he did not pick it up. His head throbbed suddenly, making him wince. Fortunately for him, Taylor, having returned attention to his own breakfast, did not notice.

“So,” Taylor spoke up, taking a grape himself, “how have you been since we last saw each other?”

“You mean since I went to the bathroom?” Lucas asked, even though he knew what Taylor meant. The pain in his head started to ease. That was good.

“No, I mean since I left for Terra Nova.”

Lucas shrugged, quiet.

“Come on, talk to me,” Taylor demanded. “What’s new in your life?”

“Well, I came to Terra Nova yesterday, that’s still pretty new.”

“I know about that. Can’t you tell me something else?” Lucas shrugged. “What’s new with your work?”

“I was relocated from Chicago to Terra Nova.”

Taylor frowned, giving his son a look. “Lucas…”

“Dad…” Lucas replied in the same low tone.

“Will you tell me something I don’t know yet?” Lucas shrugged again. “My, are you in a chatty mood, aren’t you?”

Shrug.

“Oh, come on! Don’t you have anything to tell me?”

Lucas shook his head. “No.”

“So much love for your old man, huh?” Lucas did not even bother to shrug that time. “It’s been, what, almost five months for you since I left, right?” The boy gave a single nod. Taylor sighed. “Well, I don’t know if you heard, but when I walked through the portal, there was some sort of malfunction, and I ended up here completely alone for 118 days. So, to me, it’s been almost nine months now,” he told his son. He looked at his plate and cut off a piece of the omelet.

“Yeah, I heard,” was all Lucas said. Another throb of pain. And another. Lucas raised his hand to his temple. With mouth now full of food, Taylor looked up at him. Lucas quickly brushed his hair behind his ear, then lowered his hand as if that had been the reason he had raised it. He gazed down at the glass, tracing its side with his finger. He squirmed a little when he felt his father’s eyes still on him.

“You know,” Taylor spoke up after swallowing, “when I was here alone, I kept—”

“I didn’t ask.”

Taylor gave his son a look. “Okay, I can see that you don’t want to speak to me for some reason, but can’t you at least listen?”

“I’m not in the mood.” He was in the mood to lie down again. The sound of his father’s voice was making the throbbing worse.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” Lucas lied, “I just don’t feel like chatting.”

“Why not?” Taylor asked.

Lucas shrugged. “Why do you want to chat, anyway?” he queried. He leaned forward and supported his head with his hand, seemingly bored. The throbbing was getting better again. “We never used to chat. Why start now?”

“Because we haven’t seen each other in a long time,” Taylor said. “We didn’t even get to talk over phone.”

“So?”

“Well, I missed you.”

Lucas snorted.

Taylor frowned.

“What?” Lucas said. “It’s only been, like, five months. That wasn’t so long. I’ll miss you when we haven’t seen each other for five years.”

The commander shook his head. He looked down at his plate. While he was cutting the omelet, Lucas lowered his hand and stole another grape. “Hey!” Taylor glared at him. The son chewed slowly, grimacing once again. “You know you shouldn’t eat that.”

“Well, I’m sorry I’m hungry,” Lucas said, the fruit still in his mouth.

“That’s what you have this for,” Taylor said, picking up Lucas’s glass and putting it back down.

Lucas swallowed, then took another one of his father’s grapes. “Good lord, this is bad,” he complained after biting down on it. He reached out and grabbed two more. Taylor just stared at him. Lucas stuffed them into his mouth, even though he had not yet swallowed the one he had taken before.

Taylor shook his head in disbelief. “Then why are you eating it?”

“Don’t want the milk,” Lucas mumbled, his mouth full of grapes.

“Why not?”

Lucas raised his hand, then pointed at his mouth, wordlessly asking his father to wait. After a few seconds, he finally swallowed—only to take another grape. He grimaced through the whole process, but that did not stop him from repeating it.

Taylor could not help but laugh at the faces his son was pulling. “Come on,” he said, “why do you keep eating my grapes?”

“’Cause I like them.”

“You like them? Really?” Taylor asked incredulously. Lucas nodded, even though the scowl on his face as he ate said something else. “Like, a minute ago, you said they taste bad.”

Lucas nodded. “They do,” he told his father once he swallowed, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t like them.”

“Yes, it does,” Taylor said. “That is precisely what it means.”

“No, it doesn’t. ‘Bad’ means ‘not good.’ It doesn’t mean ‘unlikable.’”

“I think it’s kind of given that when something is bad, people don’t like it.”

Lucas gazed down. “Well,” he muttered under his breath (quietly enough for Taylor not to understand), “people seem to like you.” That was a sure proof of the fact people could, in fact, like bad things. Or bad people. Unless it was because people just didn’t know the commander was bad—

“What did you say?” Taylor’s voice interrupted Lucas’s thoughts.

“Oh, nothing. Just that you have a different dictionary than I do,” the boy lied. He grabbed another grape, leaving only two on Taylor’s plate.

The father sighed. “You know, drinking that would help you get used to the local food,” he said, glancing at the milk.

“That milk tastes as bad as this, I don’t see the point.”

“It’s the enzymes or something that make it taste so bad to you. This ‘milk’ is designed—”

“I don’t want the milk, okay?!” Lucas all but snapped, raising his voice and interrupting his father. The commander frowned. Lucas squirmed a little under the stern look he received, glancing down at the table to avoid the gaze. He was not in the mood for a lecture or an argument.

“What’s your problem with it?” Taylor inquired, studying Lucas with his eyes.

Lucas sighed. “I just don’t like it,” he claimed. It was not the whole truth, but it was not a whole lie, either. He really did not like its taste.

“I don’t care if you like it or not,” Taylor replied. “You’re going to drink your milk, and you’re not going to complain about it, understood?”

Lucas frowned. He reached out for Taylor’s plate again, but the older man quickly grabbed it. He held it up and away from his son’s reach. Lucas pouted like a sulking child, prompting Taylor to smirk. “Fine,” Lucas said. “Keep your food, you stingy… stinger. I’m not that hungry, anyway.”

“Hey, three days from now, you can steal as much of my food as you want, but for now, you’ve got your milk.”

Lucas crossed his arms. “I don’t want the milk.”

“Well, that’s too bad ’cause you’re going to have to drink it, anyway.” The commander put the plate down and proceeded to eat the last two of his grapes. Lucas was not entirely sure about it, but he thought he saw his father smirk for a moment, as if he was mocking him.

Taylor resumed eating the omelet. The young man stared at him in silence for a few seconds. He pushed the glass farther away from himself, then crossed his arms again.

Taylor gave his son a look. Without a word, he pushed the glass closer to Lucas.

Lucas pushed it back.

“Come on, don’t be a baby.”

“I’m not a baby, I just don’t like it.”

“Come on!” Taylor said. “Does it really taste that bad?”

“I don’t know…” Lucas shrugged. “I’m not hungry.”

“Lucas…”

“Dad.”

Taylor let out a breath. “Well, you’re going to have to drink this eventually.”

“No, I’m not.”

“And what are you going to do?” he asked. “Go on a hunger strike?”

Lucas shrugged. “Maybe.” Taylor gave his son a look. The youth just smirked and briefly raised his eyebrows as though he was challenging him.

Taylor shook his head. He was starting to get tired of his son’s defiance. “Lucas, just drink it.”

“No.”

“Drink it,” the commander repeated, his tone turning stern.

“I don’t want to.”

“I don’t care. Drink it.”

Lucas was quiet for a couple of seconds. Afterwards, he leaned forward. “Dad,” he spoke up, “do you know how old I am now?”

“Eighteen,” Taylor replied. “Almost nineteen.”

“Do you know what that means?”

Taylor sighed, already knowing he would not agree with whatever answer Lucas would give him. “Enlighten me.”

“It means I’m an adult,” Lucas explained, “which means that I don’t have to listen to you anymore. I can do whatever I want.”

Taylor nodded, even though he was about to disagree. “Well,” he replied, “as long as you’re living under my roof, you are going to listen to what I say, son.”

“Fine, I’ll move out,” Lucas responded matter-of-factly, as though it would not have been a big deal.

“Oh, and where are you going to go, genius?” Taylor asked.

“I don’t know.” Lucas shrugged. “Anywhere.”

“Of course…”

“You think I can’t live on my own? I’ve been living that way for the last two years.”

“No,” Taylor told him, chuckling, “that’s not what I’m saying. But, you see, there are really not enough houses in Terra Nova, so unless you’re planning on living in the jungle…” He chuckled again.

Lucas frowned, seemingly insulted. “What, you don’t think I could live there?”

“No,” Taylor replied, “I really don’t.”

“Didn’t you live there alone for, like, four months?”

“Yes, but—”

“Well, then why couldn’t I live there?”

Taylor just gave Lucas a look.

“What? Why couldn’t I?”

“Because there are dinosaurs out there?” Taylor said, raising his tone at the end to show the answer was obvious.

Instead of understanding the danger, Lucas seemed to shrug it off. “So? You survived those.”

“Yeah, but let me tell you,” Taylor said, picking up a piece of omelet with his fork, “it wasn’t easy. Not something anyone could handle.”

“Oh, I see,” Lucas said and nodded. While Taylor ate, Lucas bit his lower lip. “So, in your eyes, I am just ‘anyone.’” The young man snorted. “Geez, Dad, stop overestimating me…” he said sarcastically.

Taylor shook his head. Once he swallowed, he said, “You’re not ‘just anyone,’ but—”

“Then why couldn’t I handle it?” Lucas cut in.

“Because you’re not a soldier, son,” Taylor answered. Lucas glanced aside. “You’re a peanut.”

Lucas furrowed his brows upon hearing that. “Peanut? Again?”

“Always,” Taylor said, sending his son a strangely fond smile.

Lucas stared down at the glass of milk in order to stop himself from returning the smile. “Well,” he said after a couple of seconds, “I am not a peanut. I am an adult, which is why I don’t need to do or drink anything I don’t want to.”

“No, see, that is precisely why you’re not an adult,” the father claimed. “If you were, you would understand that drinking that milk is going to help you, and you’d drink it. But instead you’re acting like a sick child who doesn’t want to take his medicine just ’cause it’s ‘icky.’”

Lucas shook his head. “No, if I were a child, I would listen to what you say—”

Taylor gave a laugh. “When did you ever?”

Lucas frowned, pressing his tongue against his cheek. “…but because I’m an adult,” he continued, “I can make my own decisions. And while I do understand this milk is designed to help, I also know it’s not necessary, which is why I’m not going to bother drinking it.”

“Oh, you’re going to drink that milk.”

Lucas leaned back and stared at his father. “You can’t make me.”

“Can’t I?”

“What are you going to do? Ground me if I refuse?” he asked. “You can’t do that anymore ’cause I’m not a child.”

Taylor gave a shrug. “Well, maybe I could just pour it down your throat myself,” he suggested matter-of-factly.

“Oh, please! You wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh, I will if you don’t drink it on your own,” the commander claimed.

“I won’t,” Lucas insisted. “And neither will you.”

Taylor gave his son a stern look. The boy’s own stare did not falter at all. Instead, he crossed his arms, then briefly raised his eyebrows. The commander straightened out his posture. Lucas smirked. “Last warning, Lucas,” Taylor said. “Drink the milk.”

Without a word, Lucas uncrossed his arms and pushed the glass farther away.

“Fine.” Taylor stood up. He picked the glass up and stepped over to his son.

Lucas seemed surprised by that. He chuckled nervously, looking at his father with disbelief in his eyes. “Are you serious?”

No. He was not. But he figured the threat of being serious might make Lucas cave. “I told you,” Taylor said, suppressing a laugh to keep his voice steady, “either you’ll drink it on your own, or I’ll pour it down your throat. Now open your mouth.”

Lucas watched him for a moment, then shook his head. “You’re bluffing.”

“I’m not bluffing,” Taylor lied. “Open your mouth. Wide, I don’t want to spill it on the ground.”

Lucas tried to grab the glass, but his father held it away from his reach. “Give it!” he all but whined.

“Are you going to drink it on your own?” Taylor asked.

“No, I’m not.”

“Open your mouth, Lucas.”

Keeping his mouth shut, the boy stared at his father. The expression on the soldier’s face seemed serious.

“Do I have to open it by force?” Taylor asked.

Lucas really was not sure anymore if his father would do so or not. In the end, he decided not to risk it. “All right, fine!” he said. “I’ll drink it. Geez…”

Taylor smiled. “Here you go,” he said, handing Lucas the glass. Reluctantly and with a frown on his face, Lucas held the glass up to his lips—but did not drink. He looked up at his father, who was still hovering above him. Somehow, the man seemed even taller than Lucas remembered him being. Sighing in defeat, Lucas finally took a sip. He grimaced when the liquid touched his tongue, but his father grinned and went to sit back down. “See?” the old man said. “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“It’s terrible. Stupid milk…” Lucas grumbled. He drank a mouthful, then put the glass down and scowled. The taste was making him feel sick. “Ugh! I’ve only been here a day, and you’re already making me hate this place.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t mean that.”

He meant it. He definitely meant it. But he opted not to say that. Instead he drank another mouthful and prayed for the strength to keep it down.

(_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_)

Taylor finished his meal, and Lucas begrudgingly drank the remainder of his milk. Taylor insisted he show his son around the small colony as he had suggested earlier. He waited for Lucas to unpack and brush his teeth (Lucas was disappointed to discover that even water tasted funny to him). The boy also needed to take a shower since he had fallen asleep before doing so the previous night. Only about ten minutes in (fifteen minutes at most for sure), Taylor was knocking on the bathroom door, calling Lucas and telling him to hurry. Lucas gritted his teeth, leaning his forehead against the wall in an effort to calm himself down. He had not missed his father’s ‘hurry up in there’ when they had been living separately. He had not missed it at all.

Finally, having left the shower and put on clean clothes, Lucas was ready to go.

They stepped out of the house. Lucas had to squint at the bright sunshine coming from above. And the air… The air outside was even fresher, cleaner than inside.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Taylor said, looking around. “So much green everywhere…”

At least he assumed the air was fresher out there; all he knew for certain was that it stung enough to make him cough, albeit mildly. Lucas cleared his throat to hide the cough from his father. “Yeah, a whole buttload of it,” he muttered in response to what his father had said. He knew his father would not like the word (then again, that might have been a good thing—it would divert Taylor’s attention from that little cough of his), but he was grumpy. Not only because he was sick, but also because he was not looking forward to spending more time with his ‘I’m high and everything is great’ (which had scared him a little as he had not expected it), ‘I’ll pour things down your throat if you don’t hurry up’ (which had made him angry even though he had expected it) father.

Taylor frowned. “A buttload?”

“What?” Lucas shrugged. “I could have used a worse word than that, you know?”

Then he heard a screech. He looked up, only to find two giant bird-like creatures soaring above the jungle, not too far the fence. “Holy…”

“Watch your tongue, young man,” Taylor reminded.

“I wasn’t going to finish that,” Lucas defended himself. He looked back at the birds (which were not actually birds—not that Lucas was aware of that). He knew it. He knew there would be birds in Terra Nova. And birds could fly over the fence… “Those are big.”

Taylor smiled. “Majestic, huh?”

“Could they attack us?” Lucas asked, shifting weight on his feet.

“No, don’t worry. We’re a little too big prey for them. They eat fish from the nearby lakes.”

“I wasn’t worried,” the youth lied—and Taylor knew it. The father gave a chuckle, then asked Lucas to follow him as he set off.

(_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_)

They walked for about five minutes before they came up to the square behind the main gate. A couple of stalls were nearby; Taylor explained there was a market, but since it was Sunday morning, the vendors were not there yet. The commander showed Lucas the place where he would work (a nice, clean place with just enough space for all his equipment, he supposed) as well as the infirmary (“In case you ever need it—let’s hope not,” Taylor said), which happened to be in the same building.

“Come on, I’ll show you my office now,” Taylor said. Lucas sighed. “You know, I think you might be surprised by how nice it is.”

It turned out to be up in that funny-looking wooden hut. While they were still on the stairs, Lucas heard muffled voices coming from above. Taylor entered, exchanging a greeting with the people inside. Lucas stayed in the doorway, taking note of the people in there: Lieutenant Washington as well as two military men he did not recognize.

“Hey there,” Wash said to him.

“Hi,” Lucas replied, while his eyes scanned the room. It did not take long before he noticed the centerpiece of the office.

“This is my son, Lucas,” Taylor said to the two men Lucas did not know. The two said hello to the boy, but Lucas was too busy to listen—busy staring open-mouthed at a giant dinosaur skull with a glass panel on top of it. Taylor noticed what his son was looking at and smiled. “Pretty nice, huh?”

“What is that?” Lucas asked when he found his voice.

“That’s my desk,” Taylor explained. “I found the skull nearby. I figured it would look neat in here. What do you think?”

“That…” Lucas finally entered the room, taking a couple of steps towards the table. “Okay, I hate to say this, but… this is the coolest desk I have ever seen.”

Taylor chuckled. “Why do you hate to say that?”

“Because it’s yours and not mine.”

“I see.” The man gave a laugh.

Lucas slowly walked over to the chair that stood behind the table. He traced the glass panel’s frame with his finger, gently, carefully, as though he was afraid it might break. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Washington started talking to his father; he did not listen to the conversation, focusing his attention on the piece of furniture. He knew his father was like a king of the colony, but he had not expected his father to own something so extraordinary. He had not seen much of the colony, but he was sure there was no other table like that anywhere. It really amazed him. The only thing it was missing was an actual throne behind it instead of a regular chair, which paled in comparison with the desk.

The young man looked up at the four soldiers. They seemed to be engaged in a conversation about… something important he did not care about in the slightest, surely. Taking advantage of the fact their attention was not directed toward him, he silently pushed the chair back and took a seat. He smiled. Somehow, just sitting behind the desk felt empowering. He touched the glass with his hands, then folded his arms on it.

The chair, while not as cool-looking as the desk, was actually really comfortable. After a moment, Lucas leaned back. He glanced up at his father, but the man was still talking to his soldiers. The kid grinned. Pushing the chair back just a little bit, he lifted his feet off the ground and put them up on the desk. Oh, it was glorious! Comfy chair, awesome table, feet up… He felt as though he could spend the rest of his life in that very spot. He did not understand why his father ever bothered leaving the place. With a content smile on his lips, Lucas closed his eyes. He could easily fall asleep in that chair, he was sure of it. It wouldn’t—

“Hey!” his father’s raised voice interrupted the moment of rest and glory he was having. The young man’s eyes snapped open. “I’m glad you like my desk, but get your feet off it. Now!”

Lucas looked at him with eyes resembling a puppy dog. “But this is so comfy!”

“I don’t care. Put them down.”

Frowning, Lucas did as he was told. “Killjoy,” he muttered under his breath.

“Listen,” Taylor said, “there’s something I need to go take care of now. I won’t be gone long, I promise.”

Lucas gave a slow nod, knowing that Taylor saying so meant that he would, in fact, be gone long.

“You remember the way back to the house, right? Or maybe you can go look around the colony on your own if you want.”

At that moment, Lucas got an idea. Fighting back a smile, he said, “Or maybe I could just wait for you here.” Taylor narrowed his eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t want to get lost, you know, going somewhere…” His father eyed him, but Lucas feigned innocence. “What?”

“Fine,” the commander told him, “you can stay. I’ll be back soon.”

‘You won’t,’ Lucas thought, but he did not mind. If anything, he was glad. The four soldiers turned away from him and went toward the door. Lucas watched them leave—and as soon as they did, he grinned and put his feet back up on the desk.

Three seconds later, Taylor came back.

Lucas put his feet down, but it was too late. His father had seen him. “I—”

“I knew it!” Taylor said, going over to his son. “I knew that was why you wanted to stay. Come on, I’m taking you back to the house.”

“No, come on!”

“Well, I’m not leaving you with my desk. You’re dishonoring it.”

“I promise I won’t put my feet up again.”

Taylor frowned, narrowing his eyes.

“Please!” Lucas gave his father the most adorable puppy eyes he managed to make.

“You promise?”

“I promise! My feet will stay on the ground the whole time,” he claimed. “I just like this place and want to stay here. And I really don’t want to risk getting lost.”

“Fine,” Taylor said. “But keep your feet down. This is a nice desk, and it deserves respect.”

Lucas nodded. “I completely agree. I don’t know what I was thinking when I put them up before.”

“Mm-hm. You’re going to put them up as soon as I leave, aren’t you?”

“No, I’ll wait for a few seconds in case you come back again,” Lucas admitted. Taylor scowled. “Hey, you want to take me back to the house? Fine. I know the way here, I can come back on my own.”

Taylor smacked Lucas’s head; it was only symbolic and did not hurt, but Lucas still let out a small “ow.”

“Keep your feet down, smarty-pants.” After those words, Taylor left. Contrary to Lucas’s expectation, he did not come back a few seconds later to check if the boy listened. He probably realized there was no use.

When a whole minute passed, Lucas leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head and put his feet up on the amazing dino-desk. It felt really comfortable…

((Continue here))

[picassho-18]

Art of Fire (V)

 Zuko x Fem!Reader; Part 5; 1.6k words 

Series summary: The recently crowned Fire Lord Zuko meets a new friend of his Uncle’s, a special fire bender that quickly grabs his interest over a cup of tea and the discussion of the arts.

A/N: I am so sorry for how long this update took! Most likely the last part :) thanks for reading my dudes <3

CATCH UP HERE: Part 1   Part 2   Part 3    Part 4

As you stood in front of the closed tea shop, hand in hand, you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing as Zuko looked sheepishly down at you.

“How did neither of us realize that my Uncle wouldn’t be here because he was running the Capital instead of me today?”

You began to laugh louder, shocked that you hadn’t even thought about his Uncle not working at the tea shop, even though Zuko told you this very morning that Iroh was stepping in as temporary Fire Lord for the day.

“Well, I guess we aren’t getting tea today!” You managed to say in between laughs, wiping away a few tears as he began to chuckle softly.

Suddenly, he looked up again, as tugged at your joined hands, pulling you to the side of the shop.

“If memory serves me right, my Uncle usually forgets to close up the side windows…” he said, as he looked down the alley and saw the open window of the tea shop, “And my memory is immaculate” He said with a cocky wink.

“I promised you tea, and that is what you’ll be getting. You’ll just find out that I am just as good as my Uncle when it comes to making tea.”

Offering his hands, you leaped up into the windowsill, as his fingers gripped your hips, helping you up. Your breath caught a little at the contact, the warmth of his palms something still so shocking yet calming at the same time.

After you were straddling the windowsill safely, you offered Zuko your hand. He jumped up, hand clasped tightly to yours as he made it to the window. However, neither of you had thought it through, and now you were both tightly tightly cramped into the windowsill, faces very close to each other.

You giggled lightly, making eye contact with Zuko’s shining golden eyes, before you meanuvered your way through Zuko’s long legs and managed to land onto the familiar tea shop floor, Zuko right behind you.

Looking at the shop, it was very weird to see it not open and full of people, but Zuko quickie led you to the back, to the kitchen and storage room.

Still in your damp clothes from swimming in the lake, Zuko started to look into some of the many boxes in the back, and began muttering, “We usually keep some spare clothes in the back, and I can’t seem to find them… Oh. Found some!” 

You chuckled lightly, watching as he pulled out a pair of pants and some shirts. He lifted two shirts up, “Okay you got two opinions, a very oversized tan shirt that I’m pretty sure is my Uncle’s or the tea shop uniform.”

“Oh my, what a decision I have to make” you said with a smirk, “I may have to pick the huge shirt, even if it will be like a dress on me, simply because I have to see you in the uniform. Iroh has told me too many stories of you at the Jasmine Dragon for me to pass up this opportunity!”

“Oh you cruel wicked thing” Zuko teased, before handing you the shirt.

The pair of you stood there for a couple of seconds, just shyly looking at each other. Suddenly Zuko moved into action, “Oh, sorry yeah I’ll uh turn around so you can change first.”

You grinned at his awkward behavior, still stunned by how the shy man in front of you actually ruled the Fire Nation. “Thank you Zuko.”

You quickly peeled off your damp clothes, the cold air sending a shiver through your body as you peeked at Zuko’s back, as he stared firmly at the wall.

You shrugged on the large shirt, reaching your mid thigh, and very loose on you. Looking down, you realized you didn’t need the pants, it quite literally was a dress on you.

Zuko still had his back turned, so with a small surge of courage, you walked behind him quietly, and suddenly pressed a kiss to his check. He tensed at the contact, before a large smile graced his face as he turned around.

“What was that for?” he asked.

You pulled away, rocking on your heels, the shirt flowing around your legs. “Did I need a reason besides simply wanting to?”

The fiercest blush crept over his cheeks, before grabbing his own new set of clothes, “No. You don’t.”

It was your turn for your cheeks to heat up, and you looked away at the floor, a soft smile on your face. You turned around, and gave Zuko the privacy to change himself.

You heard the rustling of his clothes coming off and dropping on the floor, and you just hoped that he couldn’t hear how loud your heart was pounding. You were so focused on not freaking out at the situation you were in, or the fact that you were literally currently being courted by the Fire Lord, that you didn’t even notice Zuko creep up on you. At least until he wrapped his arms around your torso, and kissed your cheek. The warmth poured off him, even more noticeable now that you were both in dry clothes.

His lips hovered over your ear, “Just returning the favor. Because I wanted to.”

Your breath completely froze in your chest, as you slowly turned in Zuko’s arms, spinning to face him. 

Tenderly, you rested your hand on his face, just below his scarred eye, as his arms tightened around your waist, pulling you flush against him in a snug embrace. 

Quietly, as if your next words might shatter the moment, you asked, “What are we doing?”

Zuko’s eyebrows scrunched up as he replied, “We are going to make tea…?”

“No, I mean, like what are we doing? What’s going on between us?” As you began to talk, Zuko’s hands fell from your waist, withdrawing from you slowly. You continued, starting to ramble slightly, “It’s just… you’re the Fire Lord! And I’m some commoner and I just, and we only met a week ago, and we don’t really know each other, and somehow in the few conversations since first seeing you in this tea shop, I’ve started to really feel something for you, but I have no clue what I’m doing. I don’t know what we’re doing...”

Slowly, as if he didn’t want to scare you away, he rested both of his hands on the sides of your face. His thumbs slowly rubbed your cheeks, the warmth soaking into your face, settling your nerves slightly.

“Y/N.” He spoke quietly, his eyes peering deep into your own. He sucked in a breath, before letting it out and spoke. “I know we barely know each other, yet I have never met another person that has had an effect on me like you. Somehow in just a few days, you burrowed your way into my soul. And I know the Fire Lord thing complicates things, but we can figure that out later. For now, I just want to learn everything I can about you. I want to be around you, and I want to listen to you laugh, I want to be the cause of your laugh… And I want to kiss you whenever I possibly can.”

Your breath hitched at his words, but you couldn’t pull your eyes away from Zuko’s searing gaze. Your brain turned to mush as you tried to process his words, but you could only truly think about him, right now, in front of you, staring at you as if you were his entire world.

His golden eyes glanced down to your lips, before looking at your eyes again, “May I kiss you?”

Words couldn’t form from your mouth, so all you could do was nod.

Your eyes fluttered shut as he stepped closer to you, your body flush against his as he closed the gap and pressed his lips to yours. One of his hands slid to your neck, cradling it closer to him, as the other slid around your lower back, holding you tightly. Your arms settled around his neck as you arched into him, fingers finding his hair.

His mouth wandered away from your lips, and started to pepper kisses against your jaw and then your neck. Your head fell back, as a soft moan escaped from mouth at the tender feeling of his lips against the bare sensitive skin of your neck.

At the sound, Zuko’s arms tightened even more around you, and a rumble sound in his chest.

You pulled back suddenly, a laugh bubbling up in your chest, as you smirked at Zuko, “Was that a growl?!”

His eyes widened, and stared at you sheepishly, “Maybe…”

You laughed, pulling away from his embrace, but gripping his hand firmly, “Don’t worry. I found it very hot, but let’s not forget the real purpose of this trip.”

You glanced down at his tea shop uniform, appreciating the look of the new clothes on him, “You promised me tea, and I plan to drink some of your finest”

Zuko chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around your waist, then steering you towards the kitchen.

“Why of course. You deserve nothing less. Plus, my Uncle would be very disappointed in me if I didn’t make you the very best of tea.”

You laughed, smiling widely at Zuko, your heart warmed, filled to the brim with happiness. And excitement for a good cup of tea.

***

This was most likely the last part! Thank you for reading :)

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