Disclaimer: I don’t own Avatar or any of its characters.

These are one-shot stories. Now on with the Story!

Roommate:

The night was dark as Zuko entered the dimly lit inn from the abandon streets of the earth country town he was currently in. It was a shabby, dirty little place that usually meant that it was cheap and wouldn’t ask any questions; the perfect place for the exiled prince to rest and feed the stolen Ostrich-horse.

He pushed in the door with a creak and let it close behind him, the ‘Vacant’ sign that hung on the door ratted at the disturbance. Walking across the squeaky floor broads he came to the front desk where a most hideous man sat. He had cobwebs in his hair along with dust particles making his brown hair lighter then it should. His nose was crooked; one eyeball was bigger and sticking out of the socket while the other one was small and being overlapped by the eyebrow.

The man looked up to meet Zuko’s hat hidden face as the exiled prince came to a stop right in front of the wooden box. “What do you want?” The man rasped out.

“A room for the night,” Zuko’s snapped a sharp reply as he set down the right amount of money on the wooden counter top.

Huffing, the man, with practice ease, slide the money off of the wooden surface with one hand while his other hand reached to the side and took down the key to one of the many vacant rooms. “Every ones business is for their own boy. As long as they have the right amount,” The man smiled showing off his crooked, cracked yellow teeth while he handed over the key.

Zuko sniffed in disgust hastily taking the key from the outstretched hand and heading down the only hallway in the joint. He quickly took a look down at the key’s number before mumbling in complaint. “Great, give me the last room in this broken down joint. Its not like you’ll get any other costumers old geezer.”

Growling Zuko quickly took a left at the corner fallowing the arrows pointing to where the correct room numbers were to be found. He walked down the dim hallway to his room’s door, only stopping once he was in front of it and inserted the key. After hearing the designated click of the lock Zuko glanced around him taking in the nearest exits; a window and a glass door leading to the out side.

Growling again Zuko turned his head to face the door before turning the knob and slowing opening it fully, before taking a step inside his sleeping quarters his ears had picked up the sound of moaning. The moaning of a female to be exact, and before he could think of what he was doing his foot was kicking down the door and pushing a fat terrified man off of a body. The fat man gathered up his clothes and ran out of the door yelling about crazy robbers or something. Zuko’s mind, however, was to preoccupied with the naked bluenette spread out before him.

Her shocked looked rapidly turned into one of rage as her aqua eyes glared into his golden ones. She had bruises forming on her hips from where the man was holding her down and several teeth marks across her body, her hands were tied to the head bored by a pillowcase.

“Who the hell do you think you are barging in here and running off my client like that?” She shirked at Zuko’s stunned face, who only just realized he’d been staring at her naked body. She only seemed to get angrier when he didn’t answer but spun around pink faced instead.

“Well?” She screamed again trying to get the other teens attention.

“I… I… I thought… that there was… was… someone in trouble, with all the mo… moan… moaning and all. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.” He gulped after stuttering out a response. Zuko then walked hastily to the door all of his mussels tense by what he had just witnessed. He rapidly stepped out into the hallway closing the broken door behind him missing the calling (“Hey! I hope you know your ganna have to pay for this!”) from the room.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves Zuko retreated back into his own room, not even bothering to turn on the lights. Zuko flopped face first onto the cheep flower pattern covers, he then turned on his side his back facing the door and with his arm under both pillow and head. Closing his amber eyes Zuko let the deaths of his Mother and the day he got his scar fly across his mind.

----

As soon as the morning sun hit the dirt covered skylight of his room Zuko was awake, but today wouldn’t be like waking up and leaving like he usually did when he came to one of these worn out inns. Nope today was the day that the fates were going to give Zuko a traveling companion, whether he liked it or not.

Standing with her arms crossed, looking less pissed then she had been the night before, was the blue haired prostitute, aqua eyes glaring with inpatients, and sandal covered foot tapping on the moss colored carpet.

“What are you doing in here?” Zuko whispered sharp with suspicion as his gold eyes came to rest on her face.

She stopped her tapping and placed her hands on her dark green fabric covered hips. “I’m here to get my pay.”

Zuko studied her for a few more minutes, memories coming back from when he saw her naked last night. He fought down the blush with success, getting up from the bed he slept on last night. “How did you get in here?”

Clearly looking annoyed by the fact that he changed the subject on her, the bluenette strode until she was shoulder and shoulder with Zuko. “Your door was unlocked,” she pointed behind her with her light green painted thumb.

Zuko glared down at her while she glared up at him. This lasted for several seconds until Zuko finally broke the look heading for the wide open door. “Don’t fallow me,” he barked stopping under the arch of the doorway only to continue on his way after he was sure he relayed his hidden message of pain.

Zuko swiftly walked out of the glass door he had spotted the night before and headed to where he had tied the Ostrich-horse. Making sure the animal had gotten plenty of food, water, and rest he sung onto the saddle and was about to ride out of the broken town when a sudden weight settled onto the back. Zuko quickly turned around to yell at who ever it was only to see no one there but a green bag stacked on top of his red and orange ones.

Zuko jerked forward suddenly when the Ostrich-horse started to walk with out him steering. He glanced down see what was going on only to find his reigns in the hands of the bluenette. “What do you think your doing? I told you not to fallow me!” Zuko said his eyes and voice both dangerous.

She didn’t look back at him as she answered with an annoyed voice. “It looks to me as if you have no money. So until you can pay back what you lost I’ll be your guide through the earth country.”

“I don’t need a guide!” Zuko growled.

“I’m Vesta,” she said ignoring what Zuko had said entirely. “What’s yours?” Vesta took a glimpse back at Zuko before turning her head once more to the path through the forest.

Zuko sighed and looked up at the sky thinking before looking back down at the girl steering his ride. He knew that he would never get rid of her now, especially now that he knew her name, even if he did try to ditch her at one of the many poor towns he came to she would find him. Vesta looked like the sort determined enough to track him down even if she had to look over the world twice over until the dept she wanted paid back was in fact paid.

“Zuko,” he said making up his mind and wanting to see Vesta’s reaction hoping it would be the one were she would run away, but she just tilted her head to the side and continued walking.