#iroh talking about zuko: he’s just a little tired today and needs some tea

[hyacinths-in-a-storm]

I said it once and I’ll say it again. Iroh is a boymom.

#iroh talking about zuko: he’s just a little tired today and needs some tea #iroh talking about azula: I hope she fucking dies #I think it’s hilarious and weird how this man will defend zuko to his final breath saying he was a product of his upbringing #but states that azula is not redeemable with the same breath #zuko even clearly expresses confusion when iroh says this #it’s the hating on a teenager for me #anyways it’s just textbook boymom #so I’ll say it again #iroh is a boymom #no doubts about it #azula #zuko #iroh #atla #avatar the last airbender

[azucanela]

Hi! i’d like to request a Zuko x Reader oneshot please and it takes place a few years after he’s crowned as the Fire Lord: Zuko is entering suitable age for marriage and yet he has no one that he likes enough to take as his queen, what if Uncle Iroh hired the reader whom is a famous matchmaker that usually arranges the courting & marriage between nobles, but instead of all these ladies that she threw at him he ended up falling for her instead but he’s just so awkward and inexperienced Thank u

INAMORATA | ZUKO X READER

SUMMARY: after a few years of being Fire Lord, Zuko still hasn’t found a companion. so naturally, when Iroh comes upon a matchmaker, he does what he does best and helps Zuko out by hiring her to help him find someone. and inadvertently... iroh ends up playing matchmaker himself. 

WORD COUNT: 12.6k

WARNINGS: mentions of death, death threats, kissing, pining, very mild innuendos, blood, injuries, crying

A/N: this is literally art omg i feel kinda honored to be seeing this ngl and i ended up researching matchmaking and they’re basically therapists that help you find love?? kinda. the profile thing is something that some matchmakers do and idk i have fun analyzing zuko so

in·am·o·ra·ta/iˌnaməˈrädə/

noun

a woman with whom one is in love or has intimate relations.

ATTEMPT ZERO

After years of being the Fire Lord, Zuko had come to realize the job was pretty basic if you thought about it long enough. There were just a few major things to deal with. First, there’s the internal relations, like the civil wars and uprising he deal with at the start of his reign because people disliked his ways. Then there’s the external relations, Zuko worked alongside Aang to repair those, helping the Southern Water Tribe rebuild itself from the ground up, and hosting meetings between the nations, friendly and work related. Those are the more diplomatic aspects of the job, and sadly, even as a ruler who sought to end a war, there was still violence in the world. 

When Aang and the rest of Team Avatar ended the One Hundred Year War, that only exposed a variety of other problems within the world, problems that the team seeked to end. There were people out there who disliked this line of thinking, and similarly wanted it to end, but ending the lives of Team Avatar.

Zuko was used to the death threats, and the assassination attempts. He’d had a security detail in place to ensure he lived to rule his nation, this was especially necessary since he lacked an heir and the only other people eligible for the throne were an old man who ran a tea shop and a psychopathic teenage girl in a mental institution. This is where the social aspect of the job came in, the part that Zuko had never been good at. The Galas and the girls who threw themselves at him, the nobility of all nations that approached him offering their children’s hand in marriage. Zuko was an enigma, a young and powerful bachelor, and now all the nobles with children were lining up for a minute alone with him to try and sell their own kids.

It disgusted him. The way they treated their children like cattle reminded Zuko of his own father, how willing he was to get rid of Zuko since he had a replacement on standby. Though, Zuko sincerely doubted he ever would’ve gotten the throne if Ozai had a choice, even if he hadn’t been banished. 

Alas, even Zuko could recognize the urgency of it, the death threats weren’t letting up, and the assassination attempts were only getting more and more elaborate, leaving Zuko wondering when they’d no longer be attempts. He needed and heir, or at least a wife who could rule alongside him and take over entirely in the event of his death.

The problem was, he didn’t want this.

He was in a unique position, where the person he married would have an immense effect on society, on politics. If it was an Earth Kingdom girl, then maybe the years of violence against their people could be mended sooner, and they could begin working together to combat a variety of issues. If he ends up with a Fire Nation girl, it could be viewed as strengthening the traditional ideals of Fire Nation independence and sovereignty because the Fire Nation is “supreme.”

Dating was political now and he hated it. It wasn’t like Zuko wanted to be alone, it’s just that now everything mattered far more than it used to. Of course, even as a prince it had been the same, but now that he was the Fire Lord, things seemed to be ten times worse. Perhaps it was excessive but Zuko couldn’t help but feel paranoid whenever a new person entered his life, he couldn’t help but assume that they were just using him for some other agenda.

Of course, his friends had tried to assure him this wasn’t always the case, and they’d even made attempts to set him up with girls. All of which had failed. Zuko knew he wasn’t an easy person, much less an easy person to date. As Fire Lord, a lot of his time was taken up by meetings, and diplomatic missions, and not-so-diplomatic missions alongside Team Avatar. That and he was rather awkward when it came down to most social interactions, though he’d improved over time, especially as the ruler of a nation, his speeches were elegant and so was the way he negotiated with other kingdoms. 

And yet he struggled to talk to strangers.

Iroh seemed to be tired of this as well, he’d sent Zuko several letters in regards to his lack of romance, insisting that he was a “handsome young man” that had “lots of potential” and he was “wasting” his prime with so much work. Zuko didn’t consider managing a country as a waste, though he understood where Iroh was coming from, Zuko probably should’ve been spending time with friends, going to clubs. Not saving the world.

Regardless, there wasn’t much he could do about, he didn’t have time for dating, and Zuko wasn’t willing to compromise his morals and beliefs just for an heir in the event that he got brutally murdered. He refused to raise a child just for that purpose. He learnt the hard way that you should only have kids if you intend to cherish them. And the idea of marrying someone just to strengthen his nation felt wrong, though he could see the benefits.

God, he hated being Fire Lord sometimes.

On the other hand, Y/N L/N liked her job. Amongst the nobility of the Earth Kingdom, she was a rather famous woman, Y/N had brought together some of the most powerful couples in the country. A lot of people owed her favors, and the money that came with the job was more than satisfactory. If Y/N had to guess, she was one of the richest people in the kingdom, considering how much people were willing to pay to fine “the one.” Her business had been rather successful since she’d gotten renowned in the inner ring of the city, and now, Y/N was considering expansion, to the Fire Nation. The borders had long since reopened, when the new Fire Lord came into power.

A whole new set of nobles for her to profit from. 

She’d decided to head to a high end tea shop in celebration of her choice to expand her business. Y/N had heard it was only for the best, since the tea shop served the best. One of her clients had insisted that someone of her esteem try the tea there, given that she was the best in her own profession.

So, here she was. It was a nice place, she wouldn’t deny, and Y/N had heard of the shop before. The Jasmine Dragon, run by some old guy who’d appeared in Ba Sing Se just before the war ended with some major talent when it came to brewing tea. The interior was fancy, but not excessive, several people were already seated within. Y/N even recognized one of the couples there, who waved at her enthusiastically, “hello! Lady L/N, how lovely to see you!” One of them called out.

Y/N smiled at them, “how are you two?”

The other beamed at her as she responded, “oh we’re just lovely! Preparing our wedding invitations and one of them has your name on it.” This wasn’t abnormal, most of the couples she’d brought together attributed their love to her. In actuality, Y/N found that if you found two people with compatible personalities, then they’d work things out on their own. All she did was introduce them. 

“I’m excited!” Y/N assured, moving past their table, “now if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to try this famous tea. But, I’m looking forward to the invite.” 

The pair nodded, before returning their attention the friends seated across from them, and Y/N made her way to the front of the shop, bag of coins in hand. An older man stood behind the counter, a smile on his face as he brought his attention to her, “what can I get you today Miss...”

“Y/N. Y/N L/N.” She replied, small smile on her face as she looked at the menu, “what’s your name?” Y/N asked, meeting his eyes to see the flicker of recognition within them before returning her gaze to the menu.

He nods slowly, “I’m Iroh, and you’re a matchmaker, no?” He’d recognized the name, her business had begun gaining traction amongst the nobility of the Earth Kingdom shortly after the war, and she was one of the most sought after matchmakers in the nation. Iroh himself had looked into her business, seeing as his nephew was yet to find love in his chaotic lifetstyle. 

Y/N smiled at him as she nodded, “indeed.” She placed the menu down, “any suggestions?”

“Perhaps, Jasmine tea?” He suggested.

Y/N nodded, “sounds good.” She places extends a hand with coins, dropping them into his palm, “so are you looking for love?” Though she was certainly famous for her skills, Y/N tended to work behind the scenes, and she was surprised to find this man recognized her.

A small laughed escaped him at her words as he shook his head, “no. I believe it is a little too late for that.” He was working on her tea beyond the counter, and Y/N began to wonder how he was steaming the tea pot when she noticed there was no stove beside him.

“Don’t say that! You seem like a fine man that anyone woman would want.” Y/N assured, though she now wondered why exactly this man knew who she was in the first place. It was rare for those outside of nobility to know who she was.

Turning around, his hand pressed to the pot that Y/N was positive had to have been burning his hand in some way, “oh, you’re too kind.” He replies, a small smile on his face as he poured a bit into a cup, “I was looking to help my nephew find love actually.” 

“Really, now?” Firebending, that was the only explanation for the way this man was handling the tea. “I was looking to expand my business to the Fire Nation, perhaps I could help him out.” He didn’t hold himself the way most Earth Kingdom citizens did, and coupled with the possible Firebending, he was likely from the Fire Nation.

Iroh raises a brow at this, “what gave me away?” He stirs the tea a few times, before placing it on the counter for her to take. 

Y/N shrugs, “it’s my job to know people well enough that I can find them a match.” Taking a sip of her tea, she smiles, “so this nephew of yours. He wouldn’t happen to nobility, would he?”

He laughs at this, pouring himself a cup of tea as well as he sighs, “actually, he is nobility. In a way.”

Now Y/N did not expect the nobility Iroh spoke of the be the nobility. As in the Fire Lord, the actual ruler of the entire nation, though this would certainly be great for business. Once the world hears of how Y/N found the Fire Lord, someone who had been notably difficult to woo apparently, a match, her business will be set. 

“Isn’t this exciting, guys?” Y/N exclaimed, looking to her assistants, they were both on the younger side, Marcella and Evelyn. She’d brought them along since this would definitely be a valuable learning experience, and Y/N figured she’d need a lot of help if the Fire Lord was as difficult as they made him out to be. That and Y/N didn’t want to leave them alone in the Earth Kingdom, both of them had been orphaned at a young age. Y/N couldn’t help but relate to them, so when she’d come upon her newfound wealth, brought about by her job as a matchmaker, she’d taken the pair under her wing. 

With a bag thrown over her shoulder, Evelyn simply nodded while Marcella exclaimed, “yes! I’ve always wanted to see the Fire Nation. Do you think we could find a client in one of the Water Tribes next?” 

Y/N couldn’t help but smile at the young girl’s excitement, “if this goes well? We’ll be able to find clients anywhere.” She wasn’t wrong, Y/N had never had the opportunity to work with the actual Earth King, the true ruler of the nation. Now she was working with the ruler of a nation she’d never stepped foot in, entirely new customs and traditions to research, a new social structure, new everything.

What a fun challenge.

With a smile on her face, Y/N followed closely behind Iroh, the palace was stunning, she couldn’t deny it. And compared to the crumbling infrastructure of the lower rings of cities like Ba Sing Se, Fire Nation cities were prospering Fire Lord Zuko’s rule. From what she’d heard, things weren’t always this way.

“Y/N and I are going to wait here,” he gestured to the open space before them, dozens of paintings within it, “these two will take you to your rooms.” He explained to the pair of young girls, nodding to the servants beside them, who began to guide the young girls away.

Y/N’s eyes found their way to the paintings, the newest one being of the current Fire Lord, Zuko himself. She wondered how accurate the painting was, and seeing as she would be meeting him soon, Y/N figured she’d find out as she sighed, turning to Iroh, “so how does the original heir to the throne become the owner of an infamous tea shop?” 

Iroh smiles to himself at her words, “age brings wisdom. And tea is a nice substitute for alcohol.” He jokes, though Y/N can see the pain in his eyes, along with admiration as he stares at Zuko’s portrait alongside her.

“Uncle!” A voice exclaimed, joy clear in his voice as he called out. Y/N watched as Iroh spun around, a broad smile on his face as he moved forwards to embrace the person.

He looked better in person, Y/N quickly decided, though the portrait did its job just as well. She wouldn’t deny he was attractive, but she already knew looks weren’t the issue. Iroh had informed her of the situation, Zuko’s constant rejection of any and every single person that approached him, and the stress he experienced because of the politics of it all.

“Nephew, it is good to see you,” Iroh said, releasing him from the hug, “how are you?” Initially he seemed fairly comfortable at the sight of just his Uncle, but as the Fire Lord’s body seemed to stiffen, Y/N realized she’d been spotted.

So, he wasn’t comfortable with strangers, “I’m alright Uncle... who is this?” He asked. There was an edge to his voice as he spoke, sizing Y/N up, not in the way you did for someone you were attracted to, but for an enemy.

Uncomfortable with new people, clear trust issues, and his mind was always alert. She’d have to write these things down and take them into consideration prior to finding him a potential partner. Though it was starting to look like he was completely unaware of her purpose there as she extended her hand out to him, “Y/N L/N. Professional matchmaker.” She explained with a bright smile, though, based off his personality, that would likely ward him off more.

He was polite though, shaking her hand despite his clear suspicions of her, “Zuko.” Y/N couldn’t help but raise a brow at this, he hadn’t mentioned his title in his introduction. Zuko turned to his Uncle, brows furrowing as he said, “you hired a professional matchmaker?”

With a shrug Iroh responded, “we met by chance! So, it must be destiny.”

Zuko gives him a tight lipped smile, nodding slowly before returning his attention to Y/N who stood away from the pair, examining the decor of the palace. It was minimalistic, truly basic if she was honest, despite the clear amount of riches they possessed, it lacked evidence of them. Bringing her eyes back to him, he spoke, “you don’t need to be here. You can receive your pay, but I personally see no purpose for a matchmaker.”

Iroh frowned at his words, “Zuko, you need to give it a chance! Unlike all those ladies who keep throwing themselves at you. Besides, she seems rather good at her job.” His gaze was on his nephew as he sighed, giving Y/N an apologetic look that she simply waved off.

“Oh, it’s fine. It just won’t be for long.” Zuko raised a brow at her words, and Y/N watched his feet shifted, “no need to prepare for a fight, your majesty.” She hummed, rolling her neck, in the corner of her eye she could see shock flash in his own. “You see, as a matchmaker I do several things, including developing a little... profile of my clients. Now we just met but I can already tell you a variety of things about you that’s making your love life rather trivial.” Even before she had to develop the profiles professionally, in the lower rings of Ba Sing Se, being capable of reading others was a necessary skill.

Zuko’s eyes narrowed at her, “and what have you determined, in the very short time we’ve known each other.”

A small laugh escaped her as she extended her arms and cracked her knuckles, “well. You have major trust issues, which is why you are desperately trying to keep me at arms length. That’s one reason why you have yet to find someone.” Turning her attention to the decor of the large room, Y/N closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Given the lack of interior design, I would say you’re struggling with social aspects of your job, and you need a partner. One that I can help you find.” 

“See! I told you she’s good at what she does.” Iroh exclaimed, moving forward to clap a hand onto Y/N’s shoulder, much to Zuko’s dismay. 

Y/N gave the older man a small smile before looking back to Zuko, who eyed her wearily, “you keep avoiding the portrait of your father. But you can’t bring yourself to take it down.” She said, and Y/N could practically feel the tension building with each word. “He’s one of the reasons you’ve yet to find a lover-”

“Because he gave me the scar?” 

Y/N paused, brows furrowing at his words, her eyes found his, “I’m sorry, was that a joke?” She asked, and Iroh stared between the two, amused. “You’re actually rather attractive, which is why I know this is a personality thing. Probably tired of the whole fancy court thing they have going on here, which I’m going to need to research...” Y/N pursed her lips, failing to notice the clear shock on Zuko’s face at her comment, and red flushing his cheeks. Waving off her thoughts, she looked back to him, “anyways. My assistants should’ve already cleared out about an hour in your schedule each day for our sessions. I’m going to be asking you some very personal questions. So, be ready!” 

And with that, Y/N waved to the two, bowing rather questionably shortly after, before heading off in the direction she’d seen Marcella and Evelyn go in. Effectively leaving behind a baffled Zuko, and a rather satisfied Iroh, who began to laugh at Zuko’s reaction. “I really like her, quite the character she has.” 

“Yeah, quite the character.” He brought a hand to his temple, “is this really necessary, Uncle?” 

Iroh simply sighed, looking to his nephew, “whether you want to admit it or not, she was right. Ruling a nation is difficult, and ruling it alone is even harder.” A small huff of laughter escaped Iroh, “and she figured that out by your lack of interior design!” 

Exhaling deeply, Zuko reminded himself that this was all part of the job, the job that consumed his entire life. The life that this girl had analyzed in a matter of moments. 

Yeah, he wasn’t looking forward to their meetings.

Though his morals and his disagreement with practically selling your own child were a major factor in his lack of a love life. There was also the simple fact that there was no love in many of the interactions he had with potential suitors, much less genuine interest. They all wanted the power he could give them should they get married.

There was also the fact that Zuko had very little relationship experience, a fact he was trying to ignore. At the end of the day, he couldn’t bring himself to approach anyone, and if he did, he wouldn’t know what to do. Zuko also doubted that people would act... genuine around him, especially if they knew who he was. And all he really wanted was something real, considering his entire day was surrounded by fake smiles that belonged to both him and others.

It seemed that Y/N wasn’t prepared to ignore this piece of information though, since the following morning she’d seated him down and begun to speak of it, “so. You’ve been in two relationships.”

His brows furrowed, “one actually.” He and Mai had broken up about six months into his work as Fire Lord, “Mai.”

Raising a brow at him, she leaned back in the seat. Zuko couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to decorate the place in such a short period of time, as he could’ve sworn there hadn’t been a desk here the previous day. Then again, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d toured his own palace. “Well, I’ve heard rumors of you and a Southern Water Tribe member, but I’m not sure which one so I just-”

“Okay! That’s enough.” His cheeks were flushed red as he looked away.

Y/N grinned at him, leaning forwards, “then let’s discuss Mai. You two were pretty on and off, right?” 

Zuko grimaced at the thought, they were. He wouldn’t deny that he’d gone back to her a few times during his time as Fire Lord, “yeah.” 

Y/N began to write into her notebook, “tell me about her.”

“I don’t see why that’s important.” Came his response, looking at her quizzically as he frowned.

Tilting her head at him, Y/N gave Zuko a look, “come on. Let me do my job, I need to know about her to gauge what types of personalities you like while also determining why the two of you broke it off entirely.” She placed the book down, and Zuko could very clearly see the words ‘commitment issues’ underlined. “The goal isn’t just to find you a suitable wife that can help you rule, but someone you can be happy with.”

He’s silent for a moment, eyes on Y/N, her words seem honest. And this was her job, “she was blunt. Honest. Kind of mean at times, but she could be sweet as well. Pretty stoic, expressing her emotions was always... difficult for her.” 

Y/N nodded slowly, scribbling a few more things down, “okay. And what’s your favorite color?” 

“What type of question is that?” Zuko asked, brows furrowing in confusion. 

Crossing her arms, Y/N shrugged, “well. Favorite colors can tell you a lot about a person.” Came her response, “mine is green. Maybe that’s because I associate green with the Earth Kingdom, where I lived. Or maybe it’s because I happen to like nature quite a bit.” Looking around, Zuko could see that she’d already gotten a variety of plants native to the Fire Nation, most were succulents due to the almost year round heat.

At the mention of colors, his mind immediately went back to his first experience with the dragons, when their fire encircled him and Aang. “I.. don’t know how to describe the color- colors?” Zuko’s brows drew together in thought, and Y/N looked at him.

“How would I not understand a color?” The confusion is clear in her voice as she looks at him. Y/N can practically see the nostalgia in his eyes as he looks to the balcony.

Sighing, Zuko shifted in his seat, “these dragons I met ended up making a circle of fire around me and there were just... so many colors. But together it was just,” he paused, searching for the right word, “beautiful.”

Y/N’s mouth gaped open for a moment, “you met dragons?” She exclaimed, nearly throwing her notebook aside. Y/N had never seen such creatures, in fact, the general consensus was that they were still extinct

Zuko seemed to forget about this fact as he straightened himself, eyes meeting hers, “you can’t tell anyone about them!” He exclaimed, “they were hunted to extinction, though I intend to outlaw such things it’s just...” 

She nodded in understanding, “people break laws.” Y/N leaned back into her seat once more, “you owe me a dragon story.” She said, before crossing her legs in her seat and continuing, “favorite food?”

“Well, Aang took me to Avatar Day, and they had these weird Avatar shaped dough things.” He explained, recalling the time he’d gone with Aang and the others. Apparently they used to burn his statue, but now they worship him for some reason.

Y/N brought a hand under her chin, “I have no idea what that is.” She began to scribble something down on her notepad, “but okay.”

“What about you?”

Y/N hummed in response, “what do you mean?” 

Zuko felt his cheeks warm, “this just feels like an interview.”

“Probably because it is an interview.” Y/N said, gesturing for him to elaborate.

Looking away, Zuko frowned, “it’s weird.” Sighing, he spoke once more, “so, what’s your favorite food?” 

Y/N was silent for a moment, staring at Zuko, who was trying his hardest to avoid her gaze. This was a rare occurrence, seeing as most nobles were rather self-centered and liked talking about themselves. She’d never had a client who felt uncomfortable with this portion because it was basically a one-sided conversation. “Jennamite is a good rock candy.”

Zuko turns back to her, a small laugh escaping him, “my friends were nearly killed in Jennamite by the King of Omashu once.” 

“I’m sorry, what?”

ATTEMPT ONE

Y/N wouldn’t deny how odd it was, to be sharing as much information as she was learning about Zuko. She’d never really considered just how personal some of the questions were until she found herself answering them. But, after about a month, she had assembled a pretty good array of potential suitors for Zuko. Along with a few of her own clients, Y/N had found some girls that from the Fire Nation that seemed pretty acceptable.

That’s what she had thought at least.

“What do you mean, you already rejected her?” 

Turns out, Zuko had met half the women, and rejected them. The other half were either from the Earth Kingdom, or yet to attend one of few Galas that Zuko hosted. Seeing as he handed off most of that work to his advisors, it was rare for him to remain at Galas for an extended period of time. 

He grimaced at Y/N’s words nonetheless, his Uncle had informed her of his situation, but clearly not the extent of it. “She was more interested in her guard than me. It was a power grab her parents likely forced her into.” He remembered the girl, she’d been kind to him, but she clearly didn’t want him as much as her parents did.

His words brought about a new level of understanding for Y/N, who nodded slowly, of course it was the parents that Zuko had a problem with. It wasn’t uncommon for nobles to practically throw their children at potential suitors as though they’re a bag of coins. It was something that disgusted her as well, her job found people companions that they liked while these people simply wished for an addition to their power.

Zuko was the ultimate power grab. Y/N could only imagine how many times this had happened to him, random people he’d never met approaching him, offering their child’s hand in marriage. 

Bringing a hand to her temple, Y/N sighed, “but the rest are fine?” 

He nodded slowly, flipping through the pages he had yet to remove, Zuko skimmed what Y/N had written. Taking note of her handwriting, he wondered if she’d written his profile like this. “Yeah...” Y/N narrowed her eyes at him, and Zuko sighed, removing a few more pages from the binder she’d presented him with. 

Exhaling deeply, Y/N brought a hand to Zuko’s shoulder, “be honest with me. I’m not gonna yell at you for removing them Zuko, this is for you.”

Sometimes he forgot it was her job to be nice to him. 

“Right.” He mumbled, trying to shake off the feeling he got as she removed her hand. “That’s still... a lot of people. Some of which aren’t even in this nation.” Zuko pointed out, a queasy feeling within him as he looked at her.

Y/N plopped down onto the couch in the common room they’d met in, sprawling her body across it, “you’re right, there is a lot. But,” She twisted her body so that she could see him, wiggling her brows suggestively, “it’s been a while since you hosted a Gala.” 

Zuko’s face dropped at her words, in his years of being Fire Lord, he’d had about three total, and hated every single one. But given how rare the Galas were, people got pretty excited when he threw them. “I hate planning those, it’s a waste of time and-” 

A small smile was on her face as she interrupted him, “and you suck at planning them? I can tell by the decor of your palace.” Glaring at her, Zuko watched as she shifted so that her head hung off the couch upside down, “well. This will be the best Gala yet, you’ll impress all the ladies that you can’t meet in the immediate future in about...” Y/N looked to the watch on her wrist, brows furrowing, “eight months. And I’ll help you plan it, since you desperately need help-”

“Alright, I get it, I’m horrible.” He grumbled, crossing his arms as he leaned back against his seat across from her after placing the binder on the coffee table between them. “Eight months isn’t a lot of time,” traditionally, Gala’s took at least a year’s worth of planning and preparation, especially since Zuko was so busy he barely had the time to assist in the process. Eight months was no where near enough.

Y/N was still frowning at his words, “no self-deprecation.” She ordered, taking Zuko by surprise, before continuing, “regardless. I’ve planned Gala in less time with less resources. It’ll be fine.” Pursing her lips Y/N sighed, “now we need to discuss your inability to talk to people in general due to your immense trust issues and constant battle field mentality.” 

Zuko’s mouth gaped open at her words, “excuse me?”

Bringing her hands to rest on her stomach as she laid upside down, Y/N spoke, “when we first met you looked like you contemplated attacking me. And when you met Marcella and Evelyn, I’ve never seen someone so awkward.” Zuko is silent and looks away, only proving her point as Y/N continued, “so we need to practice your people skills, and flirting for future reference, seeing as your first date is in about a week-”

Almost immediately, Zuko straightened his posture, sitting up and looking to her as though she’d thrown a bucket of ice cold water onto him. “A week?” He winced at the way his voice cracked.

“Yeah, I spoke with one of the girls, not her parents, and asked her to meet with you later in the week.” Y/N explained, “her name is Elara, she’s in there.”

Frowning, Zuko reached for the binder and began to flip through the pages, “how’d you know I wasn’t going to get rid of her page?” Only to find the girl’s page, details on her personality, skills, hobbies and more on them.

A smirk spread across Y/N’s face, “she was one of few I was sure you’d keep.” With a sigh, Zuko looked back to Y/N, who still sat upside down, “now. You need to practice your romance skills, so come on.” She twisted her body, her legs falling to the side of the couch, and then moving onto the floor, Y/N stood. As the blood rushed to her head, a wave of dizziness came over her, and Y/N found herself stumbling slightly.

A hand came to her back and forearm, steadying her, “you need to practice walking.” Zuko laughed slightly, a nervous edge in his voice as he eyed her. 

Y/N brought a hand to her head as she laughed as well, “oh my...” Y/N blinked several times as the wave of dizziness passed, her hand gripping Zuko’s arm as she grounded herself. Looking up to him, she quickly realized how close they were and cleared her throat, releasing his arm.

He followed suit, removing his hands from her, “sorry-”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Zuko.” 

The look her gives her almost hurts. Because Y/N can see the shock within his eyes as he nods slowly in response. She wonders what he’s thinking of as he she gives him a tight lipped smile, clapping her hands together as she turns back to him, “practice.” She repeated, mostly for herself.

And maybe offering to be the person he practiced on was her first mistake. 

ATTEMPT FIVE

Y/N had learnt a lot about Zuko in the past four dates he’d been on. One of these things being the fact that Zuko was a wild card when it came to dates, and they seemed to either go very well with the girls contacting Y/N to let her know they wished for a second date, only for Zuko to reject the possibility. Or, they went very bad. And Zuko returned with some sort of drink splattered onto his clothing.

So, Y/N decided that the best course of action was to discover what exactly Zuko wasn’t mentioning, and to follow him with a disguise. Evelyn had suggested it, Iroh supported the idea full-heartedly, though Marcella had believed it would be a huge invasion of privacy, Y/N didn’t really care, seeing as it was her job to be involved in Zuko’s love life. She was getting paid to ensure he found love. 

And she was curious.

That’s how Y/N ended up dressed in some very suspicious Fire Nation clothing alongside her assistants and the apparent Dragon of the West, famous tea shop owner, and member of the royal family. 

What a wonderful assortment of people.

Marcella and Evelyn had separated from Iroh and Y/N, sitting in another booth across from them, it was a feeble attempt to keep them from sticking out. The girl had chosen a rather upscale restaurant, so dressing appropriately while also maintaining a look that prevented Zuko from recognizing them. 

Y/N pulled her hat further down on her face as she looked to Iroh, who was browsing the menu. She wouldn’t be shocked if he entered the kitchen just to make himself a ‘decent’ cup of tea. He’d been rather helpful during the whole process, anything she didn’t find out from Zuko, Y/N had learnt from Iroh. “See anything you like, Iroh?”

He smiled at her, nodding slowly, “I think I’ll just take some tea.” 

Looking to Marcella and Evelyn, Y/N smiles, the two are speaking with one another like they aren’t supposed to be spying on the Fire Lord. But Y/N doesn’t mind, this was more of a recreational activity anyways, and she was glad they were having fun. Since they’d gotten to the Fire Nation two months ago there had been an... adjustment period to put it simply.

Y/N nodded at Iroh’s statement, and her eyes fell back onto Zuko and his newest date, Amaya, she was a simple girl. She’d possessed organizational skills that Zuko lacked, planned dozens of events, had the expressive qualities that Zuko yearned for in a partner. Amaya was one of few that Y/N was sure Zuko would take a liking to. Especially since she also had training in a variety of fighting styles, and was quite the Firebender. She’d been a little skeptical when she first contacted Amaya, the girl seemed hesitant, but she agreed.

And from the looks of it, he had. The pair was laughing along with each other, but Y/N could see the way Zuko stiffened at any physical contact, in general he’d yet to relax. If Y/N was honest, it was basically like any first date, awkward.

Zuko didn’t really know how to feel about Amaya, she was what he should be looking for in a girl, everything he needed if he was honest. She had an interest in the art, something Zuko had never taken to and the main reason his palace looked, ‘dull’ as Y/N had put it. And she was expressive, the main issue he’d had with Mai was her lack of expression. But, for some reason, Zuko just couldn’t see her as anything more than a good friend. There was something... off about her.

“When that Earth Kingdom girl approached me, I was skeptical.” Amaya explained, taking a sip from her glass, “you know how most Earth Kingdom folk are...” She gave him a look as Zuko listened in confusion. “The Fire Nation citizens simply have more class.” Amaya settled for with a shrug.

Oh.

Zuko laughed nervously, “I’m not sure I understand. I find Earth Kingdom citizens pretty pleasant actually, and Y/N, the one you met, she’s actually very resourceful and kind.” His mind went to Toph as well, who had invented an entirely new type of bending. She was an impressive young woman from the Earth Kingdom, and Y/N was as well, she’d started her own business at a young age and turned it into something incredible.

“Really? She didn’t seem too smart when I met her, but who can say no to a meeting with the Fire Lord?” 

Zuko was pretty sure her words were meant to be taken as a joke. But Amaya wasn’t the first person Zuko had encountered with this mindset, she was just more subtle about it. The supremacy of the Fire Nation was still an idea that ran rampant in some people’s minds, though Zuko had dealt with most disputes regarding his peaceful relations with other nations. Many still missed the time when the Fire Nation practically owned the world, where Fire Nation citizens could treat the people who had their homes taken from them however they pleased.

It was a dark time in his nation’s history, nonetheless, several people missed it. This was something rather prevalent amongst Nobles though, they were the ones who lost an immense amount of land when the war had ended. Many of them were bitter about what had happened. 

If Zuko was honest, she’d probably had these ideas drilled into her since birth, and simply hadn’t grown out of them, which was a shame. But as the ruler of a nation, he couldn’t rule beside someone who looked down on others simply because they weren’t from the Fire Nation.

Zuko shook his head, “Y/N built her business from the ground up. And now she’s helping the Fire Lord get dates.” He knows he sounds defensive, as though he’s prepared to fight her, something his Uncle would likely scold him for, but he doesn’t care at the moment.

“All she does is set you up with people.” 

Zuko’s brows furrowed at this comment, and he raised a hand to get the attention of the waiter, “excuse me, could I get the check please?” The young man nodded, heading off to get the check, and Amaya looked at him incredulously. 

Y/N had done far more than set him up with people, she’d helped him begin planning a Gala, she’d tried her best to find a good assortment of people that would fit both Zuko’s needs and the Fire Nation’s, and that list was probably very difficult to narrow down. Zuko had seen the work she put in for formulating profiles of the potential suitors, and throughout all of it she had done nothing but support him. 

“What are you doing?” Amaya asked, shifting in her seat as she stared at Zuko quizzically.

The waiter came over and handed Zuko the check, and Zuko placed a pouch of money on the table, “thanks. Keep the change.” He explained, nodding to the boy, who’s mouth gaped open in surprise as he took the pouch of money, bowing to Zuko repetitively, though Zuko wasn’t paying much attention to him as he spoke to Amaya. “I don’t think this is going to work out, I’m sorry.”

Amaya is still seated in shock as Zuko rises from his table, and Y/N can’t help it when her mouth gapes open at the sight of him simply abandoning his date. She makes eye contact with Iroh, who raises a brow, and they both sit up. She moves to follow Zuko, only to bump into someone. 

“I’m so sorry!” Y/N exclaims, moving down to help them pick up their hat, that had fallen when they collided.

“No, that was my fault entirely!” He responds, shaking his head as they both leaned town to pick it up.

“Aang, come on! He’s leaving.” The woman behind him exclaims.

Y/N’s brows furrow in recognition as she looks up to see a blue arrow tattooed on the man’s head, and her eyes widen in realization. Zuko had described Aang several times during their conversations, he and the rest of his friends came up often. But Y/N did not expect the first time she met the Avatar and his friends to be when they were both following Zuko on his date.

ATTEMPT FOURTEEN

Y/N simply sighs as she opens her door to see Zuko, in the outfit she’d helped him pick out. “What was it this time?” He’d been on thirteen dates thus far, and Y/N was slowly realizing that Zuko was likely one of her most difficult clients. This was purely because he’d yet to get a second date, though there had been offers, Zuko had declined all of them. 

“She was just-” His hands gestured rather broadly, he was practically throwing them into the air, “she was so rude to the waiter.” This had always been a dealbreaker for him, since he’d worked as a waiter in two different tea shops, Zuko had come to understand the importance of treating a waiter with kindness and how difficult the work could be. 

His eyes dart between Y/N and her door, she’s rubbing her eyes due to the exhaustion and Zuko can’t help the guilt that floods him. Nonetheless, she opens the door wider, heading inside her room and signaling for him to close it as she falls back onto her bed. “You were a waiter once, yeah?” He’d told her a fair share about his life in the Earth Kingdom, she’d inquired quite a bit about that part of his life. 

He asked about her life in the Earth Kingdom too, and she’d told him how poor life could be the in the outer rings, something he’d experienced for himself. Zuko listened as she describe living after her parents had died, working for a matchmaker only to discover she was actually good at the job, making a name for herself in the outer rings and then making her way inwards until she was one of the most sought after matchmakers in the kingdom. Y/N spoke of how she’d met Marcella and Evelyn, and how she’d taken them in when she’d discovered they were both orphans, living on the streets as pickpockets.

Zuko wouldn’t help but laugh at this, he could imagine Evelyn as a pickpocket, but Marcella? She was a sweet girl, he couldn’t imagine her in a life of crime. Of course, desperation made people do questionable things. Zuko knew that much from experience. 

“Yeah, I was.” Came his response, taking a seat in the chair by her desk. 

Y/N sat up in her bed, bracing herself with her elbows as she raised a brow at him, “what are you doing?”

Zuko frowned, shifting in the chair, “sitting...?” He moved to get up but Y/N waved him off.

“Just lay with me, idiot.” She allowed her head to fall back onto the bed, patting the spot beside her. Clearly, her suggestion wasn’t bothering her, but Zuko felt his face flush at the possibility.

If he’s honest, he’s not even trying anymore when it comes to dates and women and love. There were three reasons for this, one of which was the fact that he simply wasn’t connecting with any of the women he had met thus far. Sure they were nice, and they probably would be his type has it not been for reason two. The fact that Zuko had realized he had feelings for Y/N, what feelings? He wasn’t sure, but they sure as hell weren’t platonic, if they were he would not be blushing this much. He wouldn’t get that weird feeling in his stomach whenever he spoke to her.

Then there was was reason three, if Zuko succeeded in finding love, then Y/N would leave. It was selfish, but he already knew he wouldn’t find anyone considering he pretty sure he loved someone else already. So now, Zuko was basically procrastinating letting Y/N know that this just wasn’t going to work out, mostly because he didn’t have a plan.

He was debating just firing her, but that likely wouldn’t go over well, and he wanted to see her business succeed. If you get fired by the Fire Lord, that just looks bad. Now Zuko wondered what the best way to go about this was, since there was no point in working for him, even if she was getting paid. He was a waste of time. 

He couldn’t help the smile graced his lips as his own thoughts reminded him of the time she’d scolded him, telling him to quit being self-deprecating. 

Zuko sat up from the chair, making his way over to her bed, Zuko found himself simply plopping down onto it face first, earning a laugh from Y/N.

He rolled over onto his back, turning to look at Y/N, only to find her eyes were already on him, bringing a blush to his cheeks as he mumbled, “what?”

“I’m just trying to figure out why you haven’t gotten a second date yet.” Came her response, propping herself up on her forearm. “You have a nice personality, you’re attractive, I’m sure at least one of the girls caught your eye.” Y/N sighed, running a hand through her hair as she began to wonder if she’d incidentally allowed her own feelings to get in the way of her work. Maybe that’s why this was going so badly.

This was a problem. 

Zuko simply shook his head, his face on fire as he listened to her words, though he couldn’t help the hand he brought to the scar on his face. Y/N had pointed out before that he was allowing his Father to control his actions even now that he was imprisoned, and Zuko was beginning to see what she meant. 

Removing his hand from his face, Zuko sighed. Though he didn’t have much time to dwell on his thoughts as her hand hesitantly came to his face, placing a hand on his cheek and allowing her thumb to brush against the scar. Zuko jumped at the sudden contact, and Y/N moved to withdraw her hand almost instantly, but Zuko’s hand came to hers and held it there. Looking to her, he couldn’t read the look in her eyes as she gazed at him, and suddenly he wished he was as good at reading people as she was. 

“No self-deprecating thoughts.” Y/N mumbled, “bad Zuko.” She removed her hand from his to flick his head, causing his brows to furrow.

He pouted, and Y/N let out a laugh as he spoke, “how come you haven’t found someone?” Zuko looked to her, “you’re beautiful, and smart, and just... perfect.” He didn’t notice when her cheeks warmed, “you’re a literal matchmaker, surely you’ve considered who your perfect person is.” 

Y/N fell onto her back, running her hands over her face as she shook her head, “how have you not gotten a second date?” A sigh escaped her, “I haven’t had time for love before, and I just haven’t found that,” looking to him, she pursed her lips, “perfect person.” Growing up in the lower rings, she didn’t have time for an actual relationship, and her business as a matchmaker grew incredibly quickly. At the end of the day, long term just didn’t work out, Y/N barely had for herself, much less another person.

“I guess we both suck at love.” Zuko said, his tone was serious and Y/N couldn’t help but burst out into laughter as she swatted at his chest.

Too bad they couldn’t suck at love together. 

ATTEMPT SEVENTEEN THROUGH TWENTY EIGHT

Smoothing over her green dress, a sign of her citizenship in the Earth Kingdom, Y/N moved to answer the knock on her bedroom door. Given how long she’d been in the Fire Nation, Y/N wondered if the Earth Kingdom would still feel like home when she returned. The idea of going back felt odd, and though that time likely wasn’t soon unless Zuko met the love of his life tonight, it was inevitable.

And it horrified her. 

Holding the edge of the dress slightly to make it easier to walk, Y/N sighed and opened the door, seeing Zuko. A small smile on her face as she eyed his Fire Nation robes, “you look nice.” She complimented, tilting her head at him as she allowed her eyes to travel over his figure.

Zuko nodded, a blush coming over her cheeks, his mouth gaping open as he looked at Y/N. “You look beautiful.” She did, the dress looked amazing on her, her hair styled just right, and bracelets adorning her wrists.

“Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko.” His nose crinkled at the use of his title, coming from her it felt even weirder, wrong almost. But she continued, “mind helping me out?” She asked, moving back to her desk and taking a necklace in hand. Y/N had been struggling to put it on for the past few minutes, and now she had someone to do it for her.

He nodded, closing the door behind him, he took the necklace from her hand, and when Y/N ensured her hair was out of his way, Zuko brought the necklace around her neck. He secured the clasp, hands lingering as he adjusted it to the center of her neck. Zuko couldn’t help but notice a small scar on her shoulder, hand brushing over it.

Y/N looked over her shoulder and to him, brow raised, “how’d you get this?” He asked, brows drawn together. His hand traced the raised skin gently, Y/n could feel her cheeks warming at his touch, inhaling deeply. 

She grimaced, “a knife fight I almost lost my life to.” Was her explanation. Y/N didn’t like to think back to the days when she’d resorted to several... questionable actions to stay alive. But she pushed those thoughts away as she turned to face him. “You ready?” Y/N asked, they had to get to the Gala soon, considering the fact that Zuko was the host, Y/N was shocked he’d even stopped by her room in the first place.

Zuko was silent, simply nodding as he extended his arm for her to take. And Y/N did, looping her arm around his as she smiled, “you are gonna woo so many Earth Kingdom women tonight!” Y/N exclaimed, more confidence in her voice than Zuko had.

Shame the only Earth Kingdom girl he wanted to ‘woo’ was her.

When they’d arrived at the Gala, descending the stairs together, they were greeted with the claps of the other guests. Zuko would feel the anxiety flood him, but he paid it no mind. Though Y/N could feel the way he stiffened as he ended his speech to the diplomats of all nations, “let this be a peaceful, and joyous night!” 

They all burst out into cheers before the party continued, the music starting once more, and everyone returning to feasting upon the buffet, dancing along the ballroom floor or speaking with one another. All while Y/N led Zuko down the stairs, dragging him by the hand, “come on. Enjoy your own party, meet some girls.” She winked, and Zuko swore his face heated up even more than it already had. 

Y/N wasn’t a fool, she knew that if she’d stuck by his side the entire night, she would serve as a repellant of any potential suitors. So naturally, much to Zuko and Y/N’s dismay, she removed herself from him, playfully shoving him towards a group of Earth Kingdom girls she’d mentioned earlier. Though there were several other clusters in the ballroom.

Zuko simply sighed, giving Y/N a small smile before making his way to the group of girls. If he was honest, he would rather be spending the Gala by her side, but he had to put in some effort. He owed Y/N that much. Besides, this was an entirely new group of girls, maybe he would find someone tonight. 

“Hi there.” Zuko greeted, waving awkwardly at the girls. 

This action earned him a few laughs, and he was unsure if they actually found it funny or felt the need to laugh since he was the Fire Lord. Shortly after they began introducing themselves, speaking like there was no tomorrow. 

If Zuko was honest, the number of women here was overwhelming. So, as he excused himself from the conversation, much to their chagrin, he placed his cup down on the platter of one of many waiters. Making his way outside, Zuko couldn’t help but feel relieved at the fresh air that hit him on the balcony. Though he contemplated heading back inside when he noticed another girl was already there, eyes shut as she faced the sky, she turned to see him, eyes widening a fraction. “I’m sorry, I can go-”

“No!” She exclaimed, cheeks flushing in embarrassment due to her outburst, “no... it’s fine.” She turned back to look at the sky, hand clasped together, fidgeting.

Zuko stepped forward, finding himself situated across from her, leaning against the railing, “so why are you out here?”

A small laugh escaped the girl, and she ran a hand through her hair, “it’s rather stress relieving. You have a lovely view in your palace.” 

He couldn’t help but feel disappointed when he realized she recognized him, though Zuko nodded along, “what’s your name? If you don’t mind me asking?” It was a stupid question, and Zuko nearly facepalmed as he pursed his lips.

“Aileen.” Came her response, and Zuko realized he recognized her name as well. She was the child of one of the more well known members of Fire Nation nobility, her parents had approached him in the past in hopes of arranging a marriage between the two of them. He had declined almost immediately. And now that Aileen turned to him, he had a feeling he made the right decision, “you’re Zuko, right?” 

He exhaled deeply, nodding, “that’s me.” Sometimes, Zuko wondered what his life would’ve been like if he wasn’t Zuko, perhaps things would’ve been simpler. No, things definitely would’ve been simpler. There would be no diplomatic meetings, no wars, no idiots trying to hurt other people, no more assassination attempts, no more fake smiles and no more Galas. Of course, if he wasn’t Zuko, he never would’ve met Y/N.

“I heard you’re looking for a partner in crime.” Aileen prompted, “why aren’t you in there finding that future love of your life?” 

Shrugging, Zuko looked up at the sky, “I found her. She just doesn’t want me.”

He can feel Aileen stare at him, she’s silent for a moment, and Zuko wonders what she’s thinking. Though he doesn’t need to wait long to find out as she responds, “I understand.” Aileen focuses her gaze on the glass she’d placed on the thick railing of the balcony, “the person I love probably doesn’t love me back. And even if they did, my parents disapprove.”

“Did you ask?” He felt hypocritical, Zuko himself had never spoken with Y/N in regards to his feelings, and he likely never would, but he wanted to know. “If they love you?”

Aileen laughs slightly, shaking her head, “I couldn’t bring myself to. I’m scared.” She replied, looking back to him curiously, “did you?”

“No.” He responded lamely, tapping his fingers against the railing with a sigh.

Aileen laughed at this, “I guess we are both cowards then.” She pursed her lips, “I didn’t ask because I was scared, why didn’t you?”

And then the words come spilling out, “whoever I end up with will greatly impact the whole world, whether I want to acknowledge it or not. And she doesn’t deserve that burden, nobody does.” He laughs bitterly as he continues, “she’s also the person that was hired to help me find love in the first place.” Zuko pauses, looking away from Aileen, “and I guess I’m scared too.”

“Ironic.” Aileen mumbles, bringing her eyes back to the sky, “let’s make a deal, Your Majesty.” 

Zuko cringes at the use of that title, almost asking her to simply refer to him by his name, though he simply responds, “what deal?”

“We both confess. And if it goes horribly wrong, we can get married.” 

Y/N can’t see the shock on Zuko’s face, but she can see how comfortable he feels with this girl, Y/N hadn’t seen her before, but she was just happy Zuko was connecting with someone. Except she also wasn’t, a bitter feeling enveloping her as she turned away, looking for something else to focus her attention on, something that didn’t hurt. 

She turned to see Marcella and Evelyn in the distance, speaking with each other. Y/N supposed if she wouldn’t be finding love tonight, then at least they would. She was no fool, she saw the way they looked at each other, the glances when the other wasn’t looking. Maybe it was dumb, but Y/N found herself feeling jealous as she moved over to the buffet with a sigh. Food solved everything in her experience, after a client had a particularly bad day, food made things better.

“Perhaps some tea?” Iroh stood beside her, a kettle in his hand, he had insisted he serve tea at the Gala, though Zuko had assured him it would be just as easy to find someone else to do the job.

Y/N smiled at him, nodding as she took a cup from the array of them within the buffet, allowing Iroh to pour her some tea. “Thank you, Iroh.” Her voice is quieter than normal, and it’s clear that Iroh can tell something is wrong.

“You know, you deserve to be happy to Y/N.” His words catch her by surprise, though she doesn’t have much time to consider their meaning before flames lighting the room begin to move erratically, causing her brows to furrow.

Something was wrong. 

Iroh nods to her, placing the tea kettle down as his brow furrow and she nods back, Iroh disappearing into the crowd of people. Y/N’s eyes fall back to Marcella and Evelyn, and she quickly moves to their side of the room, ignoring the hush that had fallen over the room, panicked gasps amongst them. Her hands fall onto both girl’s arms as she nods to them, “Y/N, whats going-”

Y/N is already dragging them in the direction of the exit, “get out of here, find the guards. I’m going to find Zuko.” The girls didn’t have much time to argue, as Y/N was already working her way through the panicked crowd, back to the balcony where she’d last seen Zuko. But, people were already pushing against her movements, making it difficult. Raising her head above the crowd in an attempt to see what’s going on, Y/N realizes whats happening. 

Firebenders were trying to force them together, and Y/N couldn’t help but panic as she wondered if Marcella and Evelyn managed to escape and find the guards. 

This was an ambush.

No, this was an assassination attempt. Zuko already knew as he watched the atmosphere of the party begin to shift, that and the person who stood before him in all black, brandishing several weapons. Alongside four others who stood by her side. 

“You know, it wasn’t until I met you that I realized how bad it had gotten.” Aileen stood beside Zuko, eyes meeting his in horror as they exchanged looks. Zuko simply hoped the nod he gave her provided some semblance of comfort as he returned his attention to the person before him. “I mean, defending some lowly Earth Kingdom matchmaker? What type of career even is that?” 

Her voice is almost maniacal, and Zuko can’t help but wince as he feels reminded of his sister. But he recognizes it nonetheless, Amaya. It had been months since he’d seen her, but he could still remember her voice. Her face was covered by a mask, and she wielded a sword, and if Zuko remembered correctly, she had been trained in dozens of fighting styles and was a talented bender herself. Alongside the four other men, Zuko couldn’t help but panic internally as he spoke, “Amaya, why don’t you put the swords down, and we talk about this.”

She laughs in response, ripping the mask that covered her face off and throwing it aside, “people have tried to talk to you about this. Your-” She grappled for the word, a hand yanking at her hair as she gestured to him with a sword, “your radical ideas!” 

Zuko didn’t find having morals radical, but he wasn’t going to say that, not while Aileen’s life was on the line. Zuko suddenly realized why having an heir was important as he shook his head, “Amaya, look. Why don’t you let Aileen here leave, and then you and I can talk.” 

Aileen looks like she’s going to protest, but Amaya glances at her red robes, a sign of her Fire Nation citizenship, and gestures for her to leave. “Get out. My problem isn’t with you.” 

When Aileen doesn’t move, Amaya quickly grows frustrated, calling out to one of the guards she’d brought along that lied inside, “take this fool away.” 

There’s no response, and Zuko can see panic flood Amaya’s face. And looking behind her, he quickly realizes that most of the guards have been subdued, Y/N holding one of them in her arms as she knocks them to the ground. Moving towards the balcony stealthily as Amaya’s hands begin to shake, fire sparking in her palms as she focused her attention onto Zuko. “You’re going to pay for what you’ve done to our nation.” 

But Zuko wasn’t looking at her as he shook his head, hoping Y/N would understand. There was no way she could overpower Amaya, not with her bending. Y/N didn’t even have a weapon.

Now, Y/N knew for a fact that no matter how talented Zuko was, he wouldn’t put the girl beside him in danger. His priority would be keeping her alive, and given the training Amaya had as a noble, in both Firebending and fighting, she might even be as good as Zuko in a fight.

Meaning she had to be taken out of the fight.

Everything happened pretty fast after that. Zuko was shielding body coming forward to shield Aileens as he extended his freehand to Firebend at the people who’d surrounded them, only for Amaya to move out of the way. The girl was practically screaming bloody murder as she lunged at him, now wielding her sword. 

Zuko didn’t have to figure out what to do next because Y/N moved faster than Amaya did, tackling the girl over the railing and down below as he began to scream. 

THE FINAL ATTEMPT

Zuko’s knee is bouncing rapidly as he sits beside Iroh, who knits a scarf of some sort despite the blistering heat of the Fire Nation. He’s insisted that when Y/N returned to the Earth Kingdom she’d need it, and Zuko didn’t have the heart to disagree. Iroh had started stress-knitting about four hours ago, when Y/N had entered the room they all sat before, anxiously awaiting news of her condition.

Marcella and Evelyn are to Zuko’s left, Marcella’s sobs had quieted down, but Zuko wouldn’t be shocked if he looked over and saw tears silently streaming down her face. The girl hadn’t taken it well. Evelyn remained composed, doing her best to comfort Marcella, but the wait was clearly getting to her as well as she fidgeted with Marcella’s hands.

Seeing as Y/N had fallen from several stories up off the balcony and into the water below, Zuko didn’t really think it was possible to take the news well. But he was trying. 

A pang sounded from inside the room, and Zuko practically shot up onto his feet, moving to knock on the door to discover was was wrong, only for Iroh to grab his wrist, shaking his head. Zuko exhaled deeply, beginning to pace across the hall. He found himself wishing that Katara hadn’t been busy with Water Tribe business, she was an excellent healer. Alas, Katara wasn’t there, and Zuko had to settle for one of the skilled Water Tribe diplomats instead, alongside a few others skilled in medicine. 

As he paced, Zuko could feel Evelyn’s eyes on him, and it became clear she was itching to speak and he sighed, “what’s wrong?” There were dozens of answers to this question, the main one being the fact that Y/N could die today, so he hoped she understood what he meant.

The girl is glaring at him, and Zuko can’t help but feel uneasy. Because maybe she blames him for this as much as he blames himself, and maybe she’s going to tell him off, blame him for everything. Because if Y/N dies, she and Marcella will have no one again. 

Not that Zuko would allow that. He’d grown attached to the girls as well, they were kind, and helpful. They’d help improve the interior decor of the palace, and if he was honest, it looked better than anything he ever could’ve done.

“You better tell her how you feel after this.”

Zuko’s mouth gapes open at the girl’s words, and he swears the breath leaves his longs, and its as though everything hits him then. 

He would never get to tell Y/N how he felt if she died. He’d never get to listen to her try and tell a story just to go off on dozens of tangents, he’d never get to watch as she attempted to cook again, and he’d never get to hold her in his arms once more. There would be no more late night talks, and he wouldn’t hear her laugh, she wouldn’t tease him anymore and they wouldn’t walk through the courtyard feeding turtleducks again.

She’d never know he loved her.

Zuko finds himself nodding to Evelyn’s words, frozen in place as he looks to her and asks, “was I that obvious?” His voice is hoarse, and its probably because he didn’t stop screaming, even when Y/N’s body hit the water. 

Marcella is laughing at his words, blowing her nose into a tissue that Evelyn hands her before she speaks, “painfully obvious.”

“For someone who’s job revolves around love, Y/N is one of the most oblivious people I’ve ever met.” Evelyn grumbles out, rubbing her eyes as she yawns.

It was late, Zuko knew that much, the guests of the party had gone to the infirmary in the palace, being tended to by doctors and any other available healers if injured. Otherwise, they’d all returned to their rooms to sleep, or more likely stay up in fear of another attack. Zuko surely would.

“Go to bed guys, it’s getting late.” 

Evelyn looks at him like he’s one of the dumbest people she’s met, and if Zuko was honest, he probably was. But he simply nodded to Marcella, who had started leaning her head against Evelyn’s shoulder, eyes fluttering shut. “Uncle, why don’t you take them back to their rooms?”

Considering the fact that Zuko’s guards were around the corner, he wasn’t scared for his safety, but their presence just made him want to remain awake. 

“Nephew, you should sleep as well.” His Uncle replied, though he rose from his seat, bringing the yarn and the start of the scarf under his arm. 

Zuko gave his Uncle a smile, “I will. But if anything happens before then, I’ll be sure to alert you all.” He assured, nodding to Evelyn, who eyed him wearily. But she relented, shaking Marcella gently before standing up alongside her and Iroh. 

When they were out of sight, Zuko plopped back down in the seat, his elbows resting on his knees as he brought his hands to his face.

And for the first time in the night he cried, his body racked with sobs as tears streamed down his face and he struggled to breathe. The pain of all that had happened felt almost unbearable. She had to live. Y/N had to live. Because Zuko was going to confess. 

His fear of losing her outweighed his fear of rejection.

Wiping his tears away, Zuko suddenly felt grateful that Evelyn had left the box of tissues as he blew his nose. He sighed, his eyes piercing the door, hoping that something would happen.

As though his stare had willed her to exit the room, the healer came out, a grimace on her face as she looked to Zuko, likely because of his bloodshot eyes. The woman simply sighed, the grimace becoming a more sympathetic look. “Miss L/N lost a lot of blood... several of her bones were broken when she hit the water, especially her ribs. Her internal organs were damaged as well and... well it wasn’t very likely for her to survive.”

She’s dead.

Y/N is dead.

Oh.

“Wow, you look like a mess.” 

Zuko’s head whips up, his eyes meeting Y/N’s, she’s leaning against a wooden crutch, grinning lazily at him. The healer beside her looks rather apologetic as she frantically explains, “she woke up far quicker than we anticipated and only agreed to rest if we participated in her rather cruel prank.”

So, she wasn’t a ghost.

Zuko launches himself up from the chair, nearly tackling Y/N, but the wooden crutch she uses for support serves as a reminder of her fragile state as he asks, “can I hug you?”

Her smile falters at the sound of his voice, hoarse and jagged, so she simply extends are free arm outward. Zuko takes this as an invitation for a hug, gently wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his head in her neck, Y/N wrapped her free arm around his neck, hand finding its way to the hair at the nape of his neck. “Im s-”

“It’s not your fault Zuko. I swear if you say its your fault I will throw myself over the balcony again.” She threatened, hand tightening in his hair.

Zuko laughs quietly, inhaling deeply before he speaks again, “please never do that again.” 

“I make no promises.”

Sighing, Zuko releases her, “I hate you so much.” 

Y/N scoffed, “you love me.” She was limping over to the bed in the middle of the room, blood coating the surrounding area. Though the doctors in the room were moving across the room that they’d placed Y/N on, and dealt with her injuries on, Zuko couldn’t help but feel sick at the sight.

She could’ve died.

“Yeah, I do.”

Y/N pauses, turning to look back at him, her mouth gapes open. Zuko’s looking away, eyes on anything but her as he inhales deeply.

The healer simply sighs, “before we do this, I should inform the two of you that Miss Y/N cannot do any... strenuous activities for at least one month.”

Zuko’s cheeks are flushing red as he shakes his head rapidly, “ma’am-”

“We’ll be taking our leave. Have fun, but not too much fun. Please.” The woman closes the door behind her once the other doctors are out of the room, and Y/N can’t stop laughing at the mortified expression on Zuko’s face, despite the sharp pain she feels in her ribs.

Taking a seat on the fresh sheets of the bed, Y/N sighs, “so you love me?” She’s picking at the sheets, “as a friend?”

Zuko suddenly realizes just how right Evelyn was as he slowly shakes his head, “no. More than a friend. I think I inadvertently sabotaged half of the dates you sent me on because of it.”

Y/N laughs quietly, eyes falling on Zuko only to see he’s looking anywhere but her, she calls out to him quietly, “Zuko. Look at me.”

He doesn’t hesitate to bring his gaze to her, eyes meeting hers as he begins to fidget with his hand. Y/N simply reaches her hand out, and he takes it. “I love you too, idiot.” She mumbles, pulling him closer and wrapping her arms around his waist. “I just wish you had told me sooner so I didn’t waste so much time trying to set you up with other women.” 

A small laugh escapes him as he brings his hand to her hair, “how do I know you weren’t purposely giving me bad matches because you were in love with me?” 

Y/N removes her head from his stomach, looking up at him, her nose crinkles, “unlike you, I am a professional.” Zuko flicks her forehead, and Y/N pouts at him, hand coming up to his face, “can I kiss you?”

She can feel his face warm, but he nods rather enthusiastically nonetheless, and Y/N finds herself smiling at his as she uses her hands to pull his face downward towards her. His lips meet hers, and Zuko finds himself feeling complete, hands coming to Y/N’s face in an attempt to pull her closer while hers move to his ball up his robes that he’d yet to change.

 Zuko pulls away first, forehead resting on hers, “you need to sleep.” 

Y/N scoffed, eyes narrowing at him, “you need to sleep.” Looking to the bed, she raises a brow at him, “wanna lay with me?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, I could accidentally injure you or-”

Rolling her eyes, Y/N yanks him onto the bed, making her way to the other side and getting comfortable, “I’ll be fine.”

Yeah, everything would be fine. Maybe not for the Fire Nation, seeing as Y/N would potentially help rule a nation but...

Everything would be fine.

in·am·o·ra·ta/iˌnaməˈrädə/

noun

a woman with whom one is in love or has intimate relations.

A/N: i hope this was good enough!!! i tried!!! and idk how it ended up over 12k... that’s crazy man um kjhdsajfhjkah omg i really liked this concept though i hope i did it justice

TAGLISTS [lmk if you want to be added or removed via askbox or replies]

ATLA: @bubblebars​ @jada-cleo​ @Art-flirt @the-deli-meat​ @wemissyou3000​ @ajediherowitchrunner​

ZUKO: @outerxorbit @shawkneecaps @lil-lex1 @boxofteenageideas @izzieserra @eridanuswave @bigbuckyenergy @celamoon @savemesteeb @shephard17895 @ijustwannabecanadian @duh-dobrik @anime-simp @lammello  

#prince zuko x reader #zuko x reader #zuko x you #prince zuko x you #zuko x y/n #prince zuko x y/n #zuko atla x y/n #atla zuko x y/n #atla zuko x reade #zuko atla x reader #atla zuko x reader #prince zuko atla x reader #atla prince zuko x reader #atla x reader #x reader #atla #avatar the last airbender #lok #legend of korra

[melzula]

Refined Taste

pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader

notes: an anon requested some more Iroh and Princess content so I delivered hehe

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

The soft whistle of the boiling tea pot is a welcomed sound that brings you a great sense of peace and comfort as you work in the kitchen of the Jasmine Dragon. Few customers occupy the shop as they sit and chat over cups of tea and mini cakes— a limited time only delicacy curtesy of the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe— and with a lull in the crowd after a very busy day at work, you’re happy to spend your free time chatting away with Iroh.

Today marked the fourth day of Zuko’s much needed slumber, so while you waited for him to wake you spent your time revisiting old friends and places in Ba Sing Se. You said hello to Miss Tai and bought three new dresses to help support her small business, you went out for a pleasant lunch date with Jin, and, something you were admittedly embarrassed about doing, you spent your evenings wistfully gazing out your window in hopes of spotting the Blue Spirit. It was odd being back in the place that held some of your happiest and some of your darkest memories, but you loved it all the same. During the day you made sure to check on Zuko as he slept, and when your presence was no longer needed you made yourself useful by helping Iroh run the Jasmine Dragon.

The events that had occurred in Yu Dao had almost been disastrous, but with the help of Katara and the residents of the colony Aang was finally able to see that Zuko had been right all along. You stayed on the sidelines just as you had told Zuko you would, it wasn’t your place to interfere, but now that things had settled and King Kue was willing to negotiate you would be attending the meeting as a representative for the South and to offer any aid you could. However, such a council could not take place until Zuko awoke, and so you found yourself in the company of Uncle Iroh.

“I don’t even want to imagine what my nephew’s life would be like without your courage and support,” Iroh says over the boiling water. “Thank you again for bringing him to me, y/n. Spirits know he wouldn’t have come on his own, he’s too stubborn.”

“Well, I did have some help from Aang,” you admit with a quiet laugh, “but you don’t need to thank me. I love Zuko, and I’ll always look out for his best interests.”

“So you’ve proven time and time again. He is lucky to have you, you know. Very lucky.”

“Thank you, Uncle,” you smile, gazing down bashfully at the sleeves of your dress. “But Zuko’s also lucky to have you.”

“He is lucky to have both of us. I mean, we are an excellent team,” Iroh says with a wink. Your shared laughter quiets at the sound of careful footsteps making their way into the room, and you feel your heart swell with love and adoration at the sight of a sleepy Zuko standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Well, look who finally decided to wake up!”

“Hi sleepyhead,” you say with a smile, rising from your seat to meet him halfway. Zuko is grateful for your touch as you rest a hand upon his cheek and press your lips against his own in a delicate kiss. You taste of honey and ginger, your intoxicating scent of fire lilies invading his senses, and though Zuko wishes he could kiss you with fervency, he settles for one last lingering kiss before finally parting from you; making out in front of his Uncle is something he’d rather not do, so he composes himself.

“How are you feeling?” Iroh asks, watching with an amused smile on his face as you and Zuko immediately cling to each other. Your arms wind around one another and hold each other close, and the love you share is enough to warm the old man’s heart. Yes, Zuko is in very good hands.

“Better,” Zuko notes faintly, “but tired.”

“I’ll make you a nice cup of green tea to wake you up a bit,” the man says as he immediately gets to work.

“Let’s go sit down,” you suggest, taking Zuko’s hand and guiding him towards one of the empty tables in the shop. He seats himself with a yawn and smiles gratefully as you take off your warm shawl and drape it over his shoulders before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Hungry? There’s still some mini cakes left over.”

“Are there any strawberry cakes?” He asks with a meek smile.

“But of course! What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t make my boyfriend his favorite kind of mini cakes? I’ll be right back.”

“Thank you,” Zuko calls after your retreating form, hearts in his eyes as he watches you disappear behind the curtains. Would it be selfish of him to ask you to be his Fire Lady right now?

Iroh leaves the kitchen with a pot of tea just as you walk in to fetch Zuko his cake. You make sure to grab the one with the most strawberries and extra frosting, the way he likes it, and set it neatly onto a plate before returning to your beloved. Aang is now seated across from him, and so you say nothing as you place his food before him and sit down beside Zuko.

“—Since Roku’s my past life, in a way you’re my family, Zuko. And no matter how hard I’ve tried, I’ve never been able to detach myself from those sorts of bonds,” Aang laments. “It’s a flaw, I know, but it’s one I’ve decided to accept, for this life at least.”

“You’re not the one who’s flawed, Aang,” Zuko sighs. “Why can’t the struggle get easier for me? Even just a little? Sometimes I wonder how long I’ll last.”

He doesn’t meet your gaze when the confession leave his lips, but the way in which Zuko reaches over and tightly grabs hold of your hand is enough. Your heart breaks at his words and you desperately wish you could ease his pain and worries, but you know that being here by his side is enough for now. And you’ll be by his side whenever he needs you to be.

“You know, in that dream, a woman stood with us on that mountaintop watching from the shadows. I think she was my mother...”

“Sometimes, dreams are the way a person’s spirit reveals the answer to his own problems,” Iroh notes wisely. Then, with a humorous smile on his face, “but, then again, sometimes they are just the result of eating spicy food before going to bed.”

“Maybe finding my mother would connect me to a part of my heritage that isn’t so murky and confusing,” Zuko notes thoughtfully. “Maybe then I’d finally find peace. I’ve never told anyone this, but right after I became Fire Lord I sent out search party after search party looking for her. I even hired June and her shirshu. They all came back empty handed. What can I do now that I haven already tried?”

“It’s a new world, Zuko. You need to take some new risks,” Aang says wisely.

“We all do,” you agree, your mind already beginning to drift elsewhere as you calculate how long you can stay away from home without being missed too much.

“Speaking of risks,” Iroh cuts in with a smile as he presents three glass of odd looking to your trio, “why don’t you all try this brand-new beverage I invented?”

“What is it?” You ask curiously, taking the glass Zuko hands to you and swirling the odd looking balls at the bottom of it with your straw.

“Well first, I cook tapioca balls until they’re soft and tender. Then I put them in the tea, where they sit like little pearl-sized snacks at the bottom of each cup! Add a little milk and— ta-da!— a revolution in tea is born!”

Zuko and Aang share uneasy glances with each other before slowly taking sips from their glasses only to immediately cringe the moment the tapioca balls hit their their tongues.

“What is that trying to sneak into my mouth?!” Zuko exclaims after promptly spitting out the pearls.

“Wow,” Aang chuckles nervously, “I’ve never had tea that’s quite so... chewy.”

“It seems I am a man ahead of my time,” Iroh says sadly, his eyes casted downward to the floor. However, the noisy sound of a straw directs all attention towards the smiling Princess and interrupts his bout of sadness. Oblivious to the gazes of your friends set upon you, you happily suck the last of your tea from the glass until it’s completely empty. It’s only once your drink is gone do you finally notice the strange looks sent your way by Zuko and Aang.

“What?” You retort with furrowed brows. “It’s really good.”

“Finally, someone with taste!” Iroh exclaims happily at your praise. “It appears I am a revolutionary after all.”

“You actually like that stuff?” Zuko says flabbergasted.

“It’s just tea, but different,” you shrug, grinning when Zuko hands you his leftover drink to finish for him. “However, the only thing I would add is some ice. It tastes better cold.”

“Genius!” The tea maker compliments, watching in awe as you bend ice cubes of your own to plop into the glass. “Y/n, you must come to the Jasmine Dragon more often, I could use your refined taste.”

“‘Refined’ is a strong word,” Zuko murmurs only for you to elbow his side. “Ow! What did I say?”

“I’d be happy to, Uncle,” you say with a sweet smile.

“I think I know who the new favorite is,” Aang jokes only for Zuko to roll his eyes. However, he can’t help the smile that grows on his face as he watches you and his Uncle interact together. It was safe to say you hadn’t made a good impression on his sister or his father, but the only thing Zuko really cared about was his Uncle, and from what he could see the two of you were like peas in a pod. Faintly, Zuko wondered if you would be the same way with his mother.

“What are you thinking about?” You whisper to the Fire Lord, immediately taking notice of his far off look.

“About you,” Zuko admits to your surprise, “and how much I love you. And how I’m really glad you’re here.”

Heat spreads its way across your face and you smile bashfully at his profession, resting your head upon his shoulder as you converse with Aang. Though Zuko hates to keep you away from home longer than you need to be, he knows he’ll need your help with something else. But before he can ask you, there’s one person he still needs to see before he can begin his next journey.

He needs to talk to Azula.

| tags: @rainteslerrrr @simpinforsukka @sirkekselord @protect-remus @oddment-niwit-blubber-tweak @thebluelcdy @royahllty @the-firebender-girl @coldlilheart @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @knaite-solo @draqondance @taeeemin @user12345321 @just--artemis--with--ghost @titaniafire @dekahg @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @lozzybowe @izzieserra @melacholy @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @djskfkdkkf @xapham @yeetletzgetitjae @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @neighborhoodpansexualdisaster @noodlesfluffy @moon-spirit-yue @bubblegum-bee-otch

#avatar: the last airbender #zuko #prince zuko #zuko x reader #prince zuko x reader #zuko imagine #prince zuko imagine #uncle iroh #iroh #aang #aang x reader #zuko and the princess #avatar the last airbender #atla #atla x reader #atla imagine #the promise #fire lilies

[grouptalekindnesssoulstories]

Prince Lee? Zuko the Tea Server

@fyrelordzuko i got some inspiration from your post. It sounds adorable. 

I decided as writer that I wanted more homosexual pining/tension. So I edited events to make it so! (Also Jet’s accusation was hard to find. Like, seriously you’d think there’d be more clips of it but noooooo)

Warnings: There’s some switching of perspective and names. ~ <- means a change in perspective (--) <- means time passes. When Sokka is the focus, Zuko is Lee. Otherwise I think I called him only Zuko?? IDK

“Uncle, that’s one of the avatar’s friends” Zuko tugged on Iroh’s arm, pointing to the customer who had just walked in. 

“Yes, so?” Iroh sighed to himself. He’d just gotten Zuko to stop obsessing over the group. 

“So, do you think he’s here to attack me?” Zuko’s voice was so scared and raw, and Iroh wanted nothing more than to just hug him. The banished prince acted so much older than his 16 years that hearing him just be 16 was good. Iroh wished it were something other than fear, but he’d take it as it came. He settled for calming his nephew’s nerves for now. 

“It’s broad daylight. He won’t do anything, and besides he hasn’t confronted you. He seems like the type to use the others for witnesses, so if he hasn’t said anything, you’re fine. Now, go take his order before he starts to get suspicious” Iroh gently pushed Zuko towards the table where the other kid sat. 

~~~~

“What can I get you?” A quiet voice interrupts Sokka’s thoughts. He looked up and his mind went completely blank. There was another boy around his own age, with black hair that looked so fluffy. One of his eyes had a burn mark over it, and Sokka immediately trusted him. It looked like the fire nation was no friend to this guy either. 

“Recommend?” Sokka croaked out after a second. That stupid face crinkled in the cutest way. 

“Huh?”

“What do you recommend! I’ve never had much..tea” 

“Oh. Jasmine tea is my favorite, and my uncle is the best at making it in my opinion” Sokka nodded and the boy started to walk away. 

“Wait, what’s your name?” 

“Oh, I’m Lee” The boy moved too quickly for Sokka to introduce himself. Lee comes back half an hour later bearing a teacup, placing it in front of Sokka. 

“I’m Sokka” 

“I know” Lee acknowledged that fact with an almost familiar smile. Sokka couldn't place it, but it set his heart on fire. Lee retreated once more, and barely reappeared until Sokka paid and left. 

~~~

“Zuko, are you alright?” Iroh asked after the shop was closed for the night. There was a small smile on his face, but it looked like he had aged several years. 

“I’m fine Uncle. Just....tired” Iroh pressed a hand to his nephew’s forehead worriedly. No sign of a fever. 

“Well, get some rest. I’m sure it was a one time occurrence” Iroh soothed, getting their apartment tidied for the night.  

----It wasn’t----

“Uncleeeee he’s baaaack” Around the same time the next day, Iroh was interrupted by Zuko tugging on his arm. Spirits, was this going to happen every day now?

“Well, go ask his order. This is a tea shop after all” Iroh was far less gentle pushing Zuko out from behind the counter this time.  

“What can I get for you today?” Zuko approached the water tribe kid awkwardly, repeating his standard customer greeting automatically. 

“Lee! you were right, the tea was amazing” Sokka visibly brightened the moment he heard Zuko’s voice. It was nice for once to see him not react defensively. Made Zuko smile a little wider. 

“Yes, like I said, Uncle is very good at what he does” 

“Well, can I get the same thing” Zuko nodded, turning to deliver the order. When he came back, Sokka was hunched over a map and a schedule, muttering to himself. 

“What’s that for?” Zuko asked, leaning over as he set down the tea. He had some time to just sit and talk, long as it remained this quiet. 

“Huh? Oh. I’m trying to get in to speak to the king, but we have a deadline. Plus, we haven’t seen Zu-someone in a while. And Appa is still missing.” Sokka was too distracted to notice the nervous half-stand Zuko dropped into.

“Maybe the person you’re looking for is on vacation? And the King is uh...private. So good luck with that” Zuko eased down again, glancing towards his uncle. The former general gave a slight nod, face uncharacteristically serious. 

“Maybe he got his honor back at last. It was restored by Azula!” Sokka huffed a laugh, shifting to pay attention to his companion. Zuko was gaping, his mouth open like a fish’s. After a moment he started to laugh from the sheer ridiculousness. His sister restoring his honor? She was the one who’d driven him to come here. Though his uncle was so much happier now, and it was nice without the pressure of being Prince Zuko. 

“...Perhaps-” he tried to suck in some more air “-anyway, you mentioned someone named Appa is missing?”

“Yea, my buddy’s air bison. It’s how we’ve gotten around since I left the south pole” Sokka shrugged, not realizing the mess that was Zuko’s mind. Because, first of all, damn those muscles were fine. Second, the avatar didn’t have his spirit guide and the bison had a name. 

“That’s-that’s ummmm”

“I have to get back anyways. See you Lee” Sokka stood up before Zuko could do more than stammer a vague response. 

He came back every day after that. Sokka lit up Zuko’s entire day, and he never wanted to go back. Iroh began looking forward to closing time since that was when his nephew truly lived. It was, to put it simply, the best thing for his heart. Until it wasn’t. 

“We’re making plans to invade the day of the black sun. We’ll have the advantage, especially if I can figure out this last piece” Sokka was busy writing situations in his messy shorthand as Zuko leaned over his shoulder, listening and pointing out flaws. He’d figured out they planned to attack the fire nation capital, but he found he didn’t care. For the first time in his life, he felt happy and there were no strings attached. He and his uncle had found a place to carve out a life, free of the fire lord. There was the problem of who would take over, but that was a problem for future Zuko. Then that hotheaded prick walked in. 

“That old man is a firebender! I saw him heat up his tea!” Jet yelled, glaring at Iroh. All of the patrons swapped glances. A pair of soldiers were the first to speak up. 

“Kid, he works in a tea shop. That’s his job” 

“He heats the tea with firebending! I saw him” 

“You’re confused. How about you come with us...” the other soldier said, rising slowly from his chair. 

“No! Fight me old man, and i’ll prove it to you” Jet drew his swords, ready to fly at Iroh to prove his point. 

“You want a show? I’ll give you a show” Zuko straightened completely, drawing the closest soldier’s swords. 

~~~

“Lee, be careful!” Sokka called, drowning out Iroh’s cry of “Zuko, no!” Sokka tried to jump in and help, but the pair were moving too fast and too precise. He didn’t dare jump in and risk Lee’s life. And damn was it hot. Lee ignored all of Jet’s taunts, using those swords as if it were his only weapon. Finally some more guards intervened, taking Jet away. Lee returned the swords and slipped into the crowd. 

“Uncle, can I get some of your special tea? Seeing him again was nerve-wracking” Sokka heard Lee say. He sounded so conflicted and tired. Sokka wanted to run in there and hug him. 

“Of course, we’ll close the shop early today. We both need to lie low for now. Hopefully that’s the end of it, but we should pack just in case” The old man’s voice was muffled. Sokka couldn’t remember his name. Wait, they knew Jet? Was...could Lee have been an old flame of Jet’s? Before he became so...back-stabby. Sokka decided now was not a good time to run to the other boy. He’d think over this and process whatever was sitting so heavily on his heart. 

----

“Uncle, I haven’t seen Sokka in days” Zuko paced the floor a few days later. After what had happened with Jet, Sokka hadn’t returned. 

“Maybe he had to go do something. You said he was looking for the avatar’s sky bison. Or is it buffalo? I can never tell...” Iroh mused, a cup of tea in his hands. 

“Uncle, this is serious. He hasn��t been here in a week! He never misses more than one day!” Zuko’s pacing increased as his panic rose. 

“Zuko, take a deep breath. We just got through a scare about someone figuring out who we were. I’m sure you’ll get a letter soon saying he had to leave for his invasion” Iroh beckoned the teenager to the table. he sat reluctantly, taking his uncle’s hand. Iroh guided him through some de-stressing methods. As they were finishing, a knock came at the door. Iroh stood to answer.

“The king has requested your presence. He would like you to serve tea to him. He wishes you to come now” A soldier stood there stiffly, his face expressionless as he delivered his message.

“Serving tea to the king? What an honor. We will be ready in one moment. I must grab my good pot!” Iroh beckoned Zuko over, handing him the pot and leading the way after the soldier. 

~~~~/-----

“Zuko, get out of here! Make sure the Avatar does too!” The old man pushed his nephew towards Sokka and his friends. Azula had taken over the castle and they needed to get the king and get out now. 

“Follow me. I know a way out” Lee, no Zuko, pulled Aang after him. 

“No! We need to get Katara!” Aang pulled back, stopping the escape. 

“Fine! But stay close to me” The prince turned around, running deeper into the compound. “Uh, Miss-, whatever I need you to see if you can find her with your earthbending!” 

“Turn left and then I can dig down!” Toph yelled, pointing towards a patch of grass with flowers sprouting out of it. 

“Hurry! I can hear pursuit!” Sokka yelled, pulling out his boomerang. 

“Twinkle toes! Help me dig a hole!” Toph yelled and Aang began pushing dirt out beside her. 

“They’re coming from the opposite way now. Azula won’t be far behind, Uncle’s only one person and she seems to have an army” 

“You would know, wouldn’t you, Prince Zuko!” Sokka yelled, turning on the prince. He didn’t miss the way his expression crumbled. Not the time Sokka, not the time!

“Get in! Now!” Toph yelled, breaking up their fight. Zuko hesitated as the rest jumped in.

“Go, I’ll hold them off. I can do that at least” Zuko’s face had that sorrowful smile that Sokka had gotten to know so well in those first few weeks with Lee. 

“That’ll give them a hint. Get in idiot!” Toph yelled and Sokka grabbed Le-Zuko’s arm by instinct. He pulled him into the hole and Toph covered them again before digging again. They finally reached Katara a few minutes later. It was too late, Azula had beaten them to her. 

“Oh Zuzu, I thought you were better than this” She sneered. 

“...go. Sokka, please. Take your sister and run. Run far away and do your plan. Make it the best damn plan. Wipe the whole group out. Start all over” Zuko turned to Sokka, eyes already tearing up. Katara didn’t hesitate, and ensnared her brother’s arm to drag him away. The last view of Zuko that Sokka got was him fighting desperately. He dodged every lightning bolt his sister threw at him. One bounced off, hitting Aang in the back. Sokka turned away to make sure he could get Aang out alive. Zuko could rot for all he cared. 

---

“This entire time, he was PRINCE ZUKO?” Sokka yelled, tempted to crawl into a hole and die. He had flirted with Prince ZUKO. 

“His scar’s pretty distinctive Sokka. Who else looks like someone tried to blind them?” Katara groaned, totally done with the whole ‘I like the guy whose been chasing us around the world’ thing. 

“Lee! Who I guess is just an alias for Zuko” 

“Ok Sokka, we’re done. Time to move on” Toph groaned, stopping her vigil over Aang for a moment. He had barely stirred. They knew he was alive, but who knew if he’d last long enough. All they could do was keep him healthy, and hope. 

(To Be continued?)

#zukka #atla fanfic

[cottage-babe]

Burning Scars part VIII

Previous | Chapter 8 | Next

Masterlist

Awww im watching LOK and why do people hate it so much?? I get that its different than ATLA but on it’s own its pretty good. anyways they just talked abt the first avatar and hmm, i didn’t really think abt who the first would be

Summary: Y/n, a werewolf from a hidden village, comes across Zuko and Iroh after being exiled. How has fate intertwined the wolf into the avatar’s destiny?

*****This chapter takes place on Season 2, Episode 14*****

___

It's been a week since they'd made it to the beloved city of Ba Sing Se. 

It was rough at first; they learned about the sections of the city and had to find a home in the Lower Ring. Although Zuko hated the city, Y/n found it quite beautiful. Of course, some parts of it weren't flattering, there were dirty animals around and some of their neighbors weren't the nicest, but there was something mystical about it. 

Maybe it's because it's the first city she'd been in or the fact that the culture was so different, but she couldn't find it in herself to hate anything in Ba Sing Se. The crowded streets just seemed cozier and full of life; their run-down home above a shop just had personality! The wolf couldn't help but love even the worst parts. 

The only thing that couldn't ease itself out of Y/n's mind was the feeling of being watched. It sent shivers down her spine whenever she was out in public and she thinks she knows why they're staring. 

It's the scar on her leg, of course. 

She stopped covering it up the day they came to the city. Something about having to hide it for their entire time of residence just seemed so inauthentic. If she was going to be here for a while, then Y/n was going to be her truest self, scars and all. 

They were walking through the marketplace, buying the last remaining essentials that they needed for their new place. Iroh had wandered off somewhere when his eyes set on a furniture store, but Zuko, not wanting to accept the fact that they were actually living there, just stormed off angrily in the opposite direction. Y/n followed the teen to make sure he didn't do something he’d regret. 

“You know,” the wolf began, “this city isn’t that bad when you stop judging everything about it.”

He glared at her harshly. “I’m not judging it.” Then, Iroh appeared next to him, the pot of orange flowers he was eyeing in his hands. The boy’s stare somehow got meaner as he looked at the bright flowers. “This city is a prison.”

Y/n rolled her eyes and moved to stand in between her two friends, smelling the ends of the flowers and letting the aroma surround her. There was hardly any nature here, another thing that she had to look past, so seeing any sign of greenery was welcoming. 

“They’re so pretty!” Y/n smiled at Iroh. 

“I know,” the uncle smiled back at her, “they were a little expensive, but its fine because I found us new jobs, and we start this afternoon!”

Zuko and Y/n blinked at him in surprise. Neither teens had ever had a job before, much less one that they were thrown into without a warning. So they all traveled back to their apartment and left the things that they had bought that morning. The time to go to their new ‘jobs’ was approaching, so they made themselves presentable and set off. 

Iroh had, of course, gotten them a job at a small tea shop. When they entered, it was nearly empty, except for the man that introduced himself as their boss. 

The people in Ba Sing Se probably only drink their tea in the mornings! That must be why it’s so empty!

It turns out she was wrong. 

After doing their introductions, the owner, whose name turned out to be Pao, left to the back room so he could find a string to extend the back of Iroh’s apron. He left them three cups of tea while they waited. 

Y/n took a sip from her steaming cup, happy to be offered some tea that’s actually warm. Unfortunately, just as it had happened before, the tea was spit out onto the floor. 

“Ugh!” She exclaimed. “What’s wrong with all of the tea in this city!”

Iroh took a sip, but, with way more control than her, swallowed it quickly. He looked at his cup disgustingly. “This tea is nothing more than hot leaf juice!”

Zuko deadpanned and looked between the two, “Uncle, that’s what all tea is.”

Suddenly, right there in the moment, a long shiver reached Y/n’s spine and spread throughout her body. And it definitely wasn’t the tea. The werewolf tugged on Zuko’s sleeve.

“Someone’s watching us.” She whispered and cast her eyes around. 

She had been feeling this, how could she be so stupid? She misjudged it and thought the attention was on her leg, but now? They were in a completely empty shop and she could hear Pao digging through boxes in the other room. Someone is looking at them from the outside. 

The boy looked around cautiously as well. “From where?” 

“I don’t know.”

Iroh was talking while they whispered, something about needing to make some major changes in this shop. He threw the tea pot out a window and the feeling drained from the wolf. Y/n sighed in relief.

“They stopped, maybe it was just someone passing.”

Zuko hummed, but still looked at her curiously. 

Pao came back with the string and helped Iroh tie his apron on. Once all three of them were in their attire, the man trained them on their new job; waiters and waitresses. They learned the basics of their job; collect orders, give customers their cups, then collect the cups. It was a lot simpler than she thought it would be. They barely had any customers, but the few that did come sat quietly and didn’t really disturb them. 

Then, their shifts ended and they turned in their aprons. When they left the shop, the sun had already set and the sky was dark.

The citizens had lit lanterns to glow on the street. It was quite pretty to see the contrasts; it almost reminded her of the rebellious times with her siblings. Y/n pushed that thought out of her head, though. 

The entire walk back home was filled with Iroh’s complaints on the tea. He started talking about how starting tomorrow, he was going to tell Pao that he was going to make the tea. He thought that Pao’s tea was lacking and Iroh was going to fix that. Zuko let out a few sarcastic comments here and there, but Y/n was quiet. She was focused on the roof tops, the dark alleys; any place where someone could be hiding. Just in case, of course.

Then, they made it home. The apartment was empty and Iroh lit candles with matches so they could see. He probably would’ve used his bending, but Zuko had warned him many times against using it. The boy was so paranoid. 

As soon as Y/n entered though, she smelled something off. 

She never mentioned this to the boys (in fear that it would freak them out), but the wolf had memorized their scents. Each had a distinct smell and it had grown very mixed and strong throughout their week of living here. It was another werewolf thing that transferred to her human skin. 

But what she was smelling now definitely wasn’t one of them. 

It smelled strangely familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. The scent was so minute and faint that it eventually blended away into the other smells. 

Well, that’s weird.

So they all settled down to relax, tired from the day’s work. Y/n laid on the bed by the windows and Iroh went straight for the teapot.

“Would you both like a cup of tea?” 

“We’ve been working in a tea shop all day!” Zuko groaned out. “I’m sick of tea!” 

Y/n laughed at his antics and watched as the boy sat at the foot of the bed. This wasn’t her bed; the boys decided that the one room in the apartment should belong to the only girl. She wasn’t totally against getting her own privacy, but she still felt incredibly spoiled. 

Zuko lifted her feet and moved back against the wall, placing her legs in his lap. The werewolf blushed at his intimate touches, but just looked off at Iroh and stated that she would like a cup, just to try and ignore her feelings. Y/n had decided before that she would never fall for Zuko, ever. 

“Sick of tea? That’s like being sick of breathing!” Iroh looked over at the two and smiled softly before searching through the cabinets. “Have you seen the spark rocks to heat up the water?” 

Y/n shook her head. “No. Do you want me to go ask the neighbors for some?”

She almost began to stand up, but the old man quickly declined her offer. 

“No, no. You stay there.” He smiled, “I’ll go ask.”

Iroh walked out the front door, leaving Y/n and Zuko alone. They were silent for a moment before, surprisingly, the boy broke it.

“So,” he began. “What was up with earlier?”

She knew what he was talking about; how she could sense that someone was watching them. She didn’t really have much of an answer, so she tried to explain it the best she could. 

“I don’t know... it’s just a feeling I get sometimes. Most of the time it’s just random people looking for no reason, so I ignore it. But it felt a little different today; it was weird.”

Zuko nodded and started playing with the fabric of her socks. The light touches tickled her slightly. 

“Can you always feel it? When someone’s looking at you, I mean.”

“Well yeah,” she spoke. “But it’s feels different when I’m in danger or when it’s about nothing. I don’t know how to describe it; it’s just a werewolf thing.” 

Y/n covered her eyes with her arm, hoping to cover her warm face slightly. The pink in her cheeks never seemed to disappear when he sat next to her. 

His fingers stopped moving and she was so so thankful for that. The poor girl didn’t know how much she could take. 

“And now?” Zuko whispered, “What does it feel like now?”

Y/n removed the arm from her face and met his auburn eyes, the iris’s staring deep into her.

Spirits, how was she supposed to describe this feeling? 

Everything about Y/n, her hearing, her smelling, her brain, it was all muddle with him. Was this danger she felt? Or something else? Her senses didn’t seem to work; the scent of him just overcame ever-.

“I borrowed from our neighbors!” Iroh happily spoke as he waltzed into the room. “Such kind people!”

Y/n cleared her throat and sat up, removing her feet from the boy’s lap. She almost shook her head to wipe the fogginess from her brain. Iroh looked between the two teens, wondering if he should say something, but instead turned toward the wood under the teapot and used the rocks to light it. 

Y/n and Zuko didn’t talk much more that night.

During the next few days, they set out to work in the early afternoon and made it back by nightfall, when the shop closed. Iroh had taken over the tea making; something Pao had fought against until he tasted the uncle’s delicious cup of tea. Slowly, more and more people started to fill up the tables, just waiting for the notorious cup. Y/n didn’t mind. It only meant that she’d see more faces and meet all kinds of people (she also got a lot of tip money, but that’s beside the point). Zuko, on the other hand, only saw it as more work. 

“This is the best tea in the city!” One customer stated as he sipped Iroh’s tea.

Iroh smiled and held the pot up. “The secret ingredient...” He paused to waft the scent up into the air with his palm. “...is love.”

The uncle walked back to the main tea table where Pao was standing. Y/n bumped arms with Zuko, who had to quickly try and grasp the cups in his hands tightly so they wouldn’t fall.

“What’s with the face?” The werewolf smiled at him. “You know your Uncle is just having fun.”

The grimace from hearing Iroh’s ‘secret ingredient’ was still engraved on his face. “I know, but he’s having too much fun.”

The girl rolled her eyes. “You’re such a-”

The front doors of the tea shop burst open. Zuko instinctively dropped the porcelain cups and jumped in front of Y/n.

Standing in the doorway, Jet glared at Zuko menacingly. 

“I’m tired of waiting! These two men are firebenders!” Then, Jet pointed at Y/n. “And she’s a werewolf!”

The lunatic boy unsheathed his two swords, right in the middle of the tea shop. Y/n’s eyes widened and she shared a look with her fellow waiters. How does he know? 

Jet took a step closer to the trio. “I know what you are! I saw the old man heating his tea!”

“He works in a tea shop,” A random customer muttered bleakly. 

“And I heard her say what she was one night in their apartment!”

Y/n gasped; so that’s why nothing seemed right. The smell, someone watching them; it all must’ve been Jet. 

“Did you say you’re stalking her?” Two customers stood from their seats, both having a sword attached to their belts. They must be guards of some sort. “Drop your swords boy, nice and easy.”

However, Jet didn’t bother listening to them. “You'll have to defend yourself. Then everyone will know. Go ahead, show them what you can do.”

“You want a show? I’ll give you a show.” Zuko growled. 

Y/n reached out to stop him, to tell him to let the police handle it, but the boy already walked toward one of the standing customers. Zuko grabbed their swords and clashed them against each other, signalling the start of the battle. 

The werewolf ran toward Iroh and clung to his arm, scared of what was going to happen next. She shouldn’t interfere; she could get badly hurt from their swords and she shouldn’t reveal her identity. The safest bet would be to watch from afar and hope that Zuko made it out of this okay. 

Zuko had kicked a table at Jet, but he sliced it in half and pushed it to the side. He charges at Zuko, who dodges the attack by jumping onto a nearby table.

Y/n sees a family near the side and runs over to grasp onto the mother’s hand. The woman looks at her in fear before relaxing. The werewolf slowly guides her and her children around the battle between the boys; using her instincts to guess their next moves. Eventually, they all make it outside and the mom lets out a shaky breath.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” The mother says in relief, her children clinging to her legs in fear. 

“Your welcome, just try to get away before-”

She was interrupted by the thing she tried to mention; both boys jumping through the tea shop doors and out into the open street.

The family ran away to safety as Y/n turned to see what was happening. Iroh and the rest of the customers joined her to watch the outcome of the fight.

“Please, you’re confused! You don’t know what you’re doing!” Zuko’s Uncle shouted in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. 

Instead, they just kept fighting. 

They swung their swords at each other, never quite hitting, only getting close enough to be parried. The closest Zuko got to Jet was when he swung at his head, only for Jet to bend backward, the tip of the sword inches from his face. Jet jumped backward to a platform and stood on top of it. 

“See that?” Jet yelled out to the audience that had formed. “The Fire Nation is trying to silence me! But that’ll never happen.” 

Jet jumped back into the fight and they repeated a lot of what they were doing before. It was odd to Y/n, but it almost seemed like Zuko was... holding back? Jet’s techniques were good, but definitely not the best, so there’s no way Zuko could lose. Maybe he was just waiting until the crazy boy gave up.

Something that also stood out was the taboo around the Fire Nation. All of this was because her two friends were Firebenders? Why? After all of this cools down, she was definitely going to get some answers. 

Iroh grabbed onto Y/n’s shoulder and gently steered her to the right. She looked to see why and saw two men with hats parting the group. They both were decked out in green and had a circle across their chest. 

“Drop your weapons.” One stated authoritatively. They must’ve been some high-ranking police men. 

Zuko and Jet stepped away from each other and lowered their swords. Still, however, Jet didn’t settle down. 

“Arrest them!” He yelled. “Those two are Firebenders and she’s a Werewolf!”

Okay, this is getting a little annoying...

What’s so wrong with werewolves, anyway? These people don’t even think they’re real. 

Y/n was pouting, she knows she was. Iroh looked at her with an amused look before returning to the scene.  

“This boy is confused!” Iroh explained to the police. “We’re just simple refugees!” 

He was playing a pretty convincing part, so Y/n decided to join in. 

“Yeah, and he watched me while I was in the privacy of my own home!” 

“This young man wrecked my tea shop, and assaulted my employees!” Pao defended from behind them. 

One of the customers from before spoke out as well. “It's true, sir. We saw the whole thing. This crazy kid attacked the finest tea maker in the city.”

While Iroh blushed and thanked the man, the two police men walked up to Jet and arrested him. The boy struggled at first, but they put him in handcuffs to still his movements. They took him away and the crowd slowly dispersed. 

There were so many people walking around that Y/n didn’t see Zuko at first. She left go of Iroh to pushed past the group toward the spot he was before, but came up empty handed. Then she looked off to the side and saw him as he returned his two swords to the customers that he took it from. 

“Zu- err, Lee!”

Zuko turned around confused, but let out a small ‘oof’ as Y/n jumped at him and wrapped him in a tight hug. He couldn’t even process what was happening before she mumbling into his chest. Y/n didn’t even fully understand what she was saying; only snippets of how worried she was peeked through.

Her mind was jumbled again, just as it had been a couple nights ago. After Jet had gotten arrested, the reality of it all set into her. Jet had actually followed them for who knows how long, listening to every conversation and watching every movement they took. Iroh and Zuko were in real trouble for a moment; she didn’t know why Fire Benders were so bad, but it was enough to get arrested for. And then her... what if she had been alone? Would Jet have ambushed her? Would she have defended herself? What about Iroh; would he? Would Zuko, if there was no weapons around?

Everything was so complicated, so overwhelming, that she didn’t even know that she was crying. It wasn’t until Zuko wrapped her arms around her that she became aware of her surrounding and felt the wetness on her face.

And so they just stood for a moment, wrapped up in each other’s arms as the girl’s sobs rang out into the night.

___

Previous | Chapter 8 | Next

Masterlist

Taglist: @bucky-blogs @hopefuloperaangelnerd @simplyfandomish @oddlypointlessescapes @lozzybowe @woohoney @whalerus @cece-lives-here @bwndito @kiaoizz @lrmilikepie

#zuko #zuko x reader #atla #lok

[randomfandomimagine]

Shared Secrets (Zuko x Reader)

Characters: Zuko, Iroh

Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender

Tags: Reader Insert, Male Reader, Earthbender Reader

Warnings: None (a bit of awkwardness)

Word Count: 1,9k words

Requested by anon: hello! i was wondering if you would write an imagine or ficlet for a male!reader x Zuko. i was thinking that Zuko is working for his Uncle Iroh in a tea shop in an town that is being controlled by Fire Nation, but almost all residents are Earth tribes. And the reader is an earth bender but has to hide it and Zuko grows and interest to the reader and wants to save the reader when he gets captured by fire nation because he’s an earth bender? i hope that makes sense! :) 

Zuko x Male Earthbender Reader

-

You took a deep breath as you stopped at the corner and only once you knew you were safe. Being an earthbender in a Fire Nation controlled town wasn’t easy, especially not when you were constantly showcasing your skills.

When your accelerated heartbeat finally regained a normal pace, you continued walking, trying to pretend like nothing had happened and you hadn’t just escaped from the Fire Nation army. Finding a refuge from that stressful moment, you arrived to that familiar tea shop you frequented.

“Ah, my boy!” The owner, an older man named Mushi, gave you a warm welcome as always. “It’s good to see you again!”

“Thank you” You tried to hide your restlessness and exhaustion as you sat down.

“Get comfortable, we’ll be right back”

“Great”

As Mushi left, you exhaled another deep breath. Your racing heart had almost completely calmed, yet it picked up its quick pace at the sight of someone else. Lee, the young man who was also in charge of the tea shop, was heading your way.

“Y/N” He gave you a polite smile as he stopped by your table. “The usual?” 

“Yeah” You thought for a moment, leaning back in an attempt to rest your tired muscles after so much bending and running. “And something to eat? I’m starving”

“Sure” Lee nodded his head at you. “It’ll be a moment”

You smiled back at him, watching him as he walked away. 

He had always caught your attention, and it wasn’t the first time you thought about asking him to take a walk with you some time. You wanted to get to know him, to see him outside of the tea shop. It must have been the adrenaline still cursing through your veins, but for the first time you suddenly felt courageous enough to do it. Your fingers impatiently tapped on the table as you waited for him to return. 

After one minute or so Lee came back, carrying your tea and a small plate with apetizing snacks. With the corner of your eye, you saw his uncle looking your direction with great curiosity and no subtlety at all.

“Here you go” No matter how moody you had seen him, Lee always seemed to be the nicest to you. He put your order on the table and smiled when you hungrily reached out to pick up a bread roll.

“Mmm...” You happily hummed, already feeling better when the warm food spread the delicious taste on your mouth. 

“Is it good?” Lee asked, watching you closely and still smiling a little.

“Yes, and I bet so is the tea” To confirm it, you took a sip and nodded your head to assure him you hadn’t been wrong to believe it. “Give my compliments to the chef”

Much to your surprise, Lee laughed. You had never heard him laugh, and he seemed quite flustered by his small outburst as well. His cheeks tinted with pink.

“Hey, are you... doing something later?” You suddenly asked him before you could think too much about it. 

“What? Uh...” He lowered his head, hiding behind the short tufts of dark hair that didn’t quite cover his eyes. He soon looked back up and shrugged, giving you a soft smile. “I don’t know, why are you asking?” 

“Maybe we could take a walk later” Noticing how he watched you in shock, you tried to play it off a bit. “So... so you can tell me about Mushi’s recipes”

“I... heh...” He awkwardly scratched his nape, too bashful to hold your gaze. “Well, I... uh...”

“He would love to” Mushi was suddenly beside him, giving you the biggest smile you had seen him compose, which was saying a lot. “You boys have fun!”

“Uncle...” Lee muttered under his breath, hanging his head low. That didn’t help to cover the blush that reached his ears and his neck.

You exchanged a quick glance with Moshi, who eagerly nodded his head to give you his blessing. Giggling a little, you tugged at Lee’s wrist until he looked up at you again.

“Meet you here after lunch?” 

“Really? I-I...” His uncle nudged him in the back, pushing him out of his stuttering. “Sure!”

-

You wouldn’t have expected the moment to be so awkward. You had spoken with Lee many times before, and conversation used to flow naturally, but now that you walked together, complete silence reigned. Was it because you were alone? Because you liked each other too much? Because you couldn’t let your voices lose themselves amongst the chattering of the tea shop?

“Um...” You took a good look at him as you rummaged through your head in search of something to say. “The weather is nice today”

You had to supress the urge to slap your forehead in embarassment. Talking about the weather? You really couldn’t think of anything else to say?

“Y-Yeah...” He hesitantly replied, gazing up into the sky. When he looked down again, he averted his eyes and twiddled his thumbs. “It’s warm”

Hoping to come up with a better thing to ask him, you stared at Lee. His scar was very noticeable, and although you were curious you didn’t want to bring attention to it. It surely was a reminder of a very painful and tragic past. Quite possibly, Lee and his uncle Mushi had escaped the Fire Nation after paying a big prize. Another family destroyed by them.

“How long have you been here for?” You asked instead, hoping that created more conversation.

“Uh... not long” Lee nervously answered. “We are refuges”

“I see” You smiled at him, being endeared when he smiled back. “Are you liking it here?”

“It’s kind of dull, but...” He took a deep breath before finishing his sentence. “It’s been better ever since you started coming to the tea shop”

You laughed a little, equal parts surprised and endeared. Lee blushed slightly, and you squeezed his arm fondly to reciprocate his kind words.

As you continued to walk the peaceful streets, something caught your eye. Lee’s voice faded in the background as he continued rambling, but you weren’t paying attention anymore. 

Not far from you, a group of children were playing with a ball they tossed between them. They were laughing and running, but a couple of Fire Nation soldiers were far too close to them. Knowing their kind, you assumed only the smallest spark would be enough to send them into an explosive fiery rage.

“Y/N?” Lee asked when he noticed you weren’t listening.

You turned your head slightly, still watching the soldiers, and opened your mouth to reply. As you feared, though, the children’s ball flew out of their reach. Forgetting about replying to Lee, you headed their direction.

“What’s wrong?” Lee asked you just as the ball hit one of the soldiers in the head. Seeing this, your companion followed after you. “Oh, no...”

The soldiers were already shouting at the children, who clumsily apologized while the scary men faced them. You weren’t going to wait any longer, even if this was your second encounter of the day. Throwing all caution out the window, you extended your hands towards them. The earth under their feet shifted, elevating them as your arms rose and dropping at your command, sending them to the ground with a violent thud.

“What the...?” One of them exclaimed, searching his surroundings.

The other one soon spotted you, pointing a finger at you as he rushed to his feet.

“He is an earthbender!” He announced to his partner, and the both of them hurried your way. You stood your ground.

“Run!” Lee yelled, reminding you of his presence after his awed moment of quietness. “Move, Y/N!”

Seeing that you were determined to face the soldiers, he took you by the wrist and tugged at it until you were following after him. The two of you ran as fast as you could, trying to lose them. 

They were on your tail, however, and refused to give up. Trying not to fall or slow down, you used your bending to throw boulders at them and try to hinder their advance. It wasn’t working, as they retaliated with their fire. 

One of their attacks was suddenly directed at you, making you gasp.

“Watch out!” Lee pushed you out of harm’s way, with so much force that you fell to the floor. You instantly tried to stand to your feet, but before you coud move something froze you in place.

Your companion was throwing fire against them. That awkward but sweet boy from the tea shop was from the Fire Nation. Your hands turned into fists as you watched how he successfully held them back and made them retreat.

Gawking at him, you let him pull at your arm until you stood once more. 

“Get up” Lee said, although that probably wasn’t his real name. “We need to keep moving!”

He didn’t let go of you as you took advantage of their moment of hesitance to escape. You ran in silence for what felt like hours. The sound of your feet against the ground, your racing heart and breathless panting made your ears whistle. Somehow, though, your thoughts were louder than any of that. 

He was a firebender. His uncle probably was as well. He had been lying to you.

Just as you dwelled on those discoveries, he carefully pushed you against a wall and took refuge there with you. Hidden in a lonely alley, the soldiers ran right past you. You barely noticed this. Your mind worked faster than it ever had as he set his amber eyes on you. Ready to confront him, you opened your mouth.

“I know what you’re gonna say” He quickly said. “I am a firebender. I’m sorry I lied to you”

“Why did you?” Your voice came out weaker than you wanted it to be.

“We are refugees, that part is true. We’re hiding from the Fire Nation...” He took a deep breath, breaking the eye contact. “My name is Zuko. Now you know who I am”

“Prince Zuko?” The pieces clicked in your head as you realized he was saying the truth. The scar, his uncle, how secretive they were about their past... It all made sense now.

That changed everything, however. He wasn’t just an escaped firebender, he was the banished prince. And he seemed to truly care about you to some capacity.

“You... put your secret at risk just to save me...”  You found yourself saying, earning a cautious look from him. “Why did you help me?”

“I know what it’s like being rejected by what you are... by who you are” He absently looked at his hands, weapons just like yours. Then he shrugged a little. “Besides, I like you... you’re nice”

You paused for a moment, realizing that his secret wasn’t bothering you as much as you thought. Not anymore.

“Lee?” When he opened his mouth to correct you, remind you that his name was Zuko, you shook your head and smiled at him. You had accepted him as Lee, not as the person everyone else saw and rejected him as.

“Yes?” He whispered, even if a hint of a smile grew on his lips as well, touched by your response.

“I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine” You held your hand out for him to take.

Zuko... Lee stared at it for a moment. Then he sighed in relief, and as his smile grew bigger, he nodded his head.

“Deal” You shook hands in mutual understanding, the gesture implying many thank yous and a secret expression of your fondness for each other. Especially so when you two lingered a little bit in the touch.

-

Tag list: @call-me-harley-quinn​ / @lotsoffandomrecs​​ / @lotsoffandomstoimagine​ / @undercanonthots​ / @bubblebars / @coldlilheart / @inkai-ghost / @xionroxas / @emmacata​ / @bucky-blogs​ // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, let me know!! // Reblogs and comments are appreciated!

#rfi writings #zuko x reader #ficlet #atla #atla ficlet #zuko #zuko ficlet #iroh #reader insert #requested #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender ficlet

[zuzu-firequeen]

Fire Queen

Fire Queen Masterlist

~Zuko X OC~

~ Sickness ~

Zuko’s arms tighten around me, pulling me to his chest. I nuzzle my head into him but pull my head back quickly. He’s shirtless… I furrow my brow looking down at his skin. His body covered in a light coat of sweat. I place my hand on his head and gasp. He’s burning up! “Zuko.” He moans, thrashing his head. I place my hands on his cheeks in worry. “Zuko, wake up.”

His eyes peel open and he looks at me. He grabs my wrists taking a breath. “Stay here.” He swallows and huffs out a breath. “Don’t leave.” His arm wraps around my waist halting my motion. “Zuko, you need some water. I’ll be back.” I kiss his cheek and stand up. “Hurry.” He mumbles in the quietest way possible.

I walk into the kitchen and fill a bowl with water along with a cup. “Iroh, I think he’s sick,” I say stricken with worry as I soak a cloth in cool water. His hand clasps on my shoulder as he takes the bowl. “This is no regular sickness. I fear he is at war with himself.” I look at him with confusion fill eyes. “Yeah. Okay.” Crazy Iroh.

I take the bowl back and enter the room. “And that’s when I knew something was going on. You never looked like a Lee anyways.” Zori sits at Zuko’s side as she tells him how she knew his plan all along, but of course not telling him how. That’s my job.

Zuko lays back with his eyes closed listening to her words with no choice in the matter. “I knew you did. I’m not a great liar.” Zuko mumbles. I sit on my knees next to him on the bed. “Drink.” His eyes open and he rests on his elbows downing the water. I ring the cloth out and rest it on his forehead. “Rest, Zuko.” His hand grabs mine. “You should stay.” I smile lowering my face to his. “I have things I need to do. Like working your shift today. Zori can keep you company.” He huffs looking over at her. “Perfect replacement.” Zori laughs cuddling close to him. “I think so too, Z.” He tries to fight the smile overtaking his lips but fails. He laughs weakly. I kiss his cheek, and Zori’s head before getting up. “Take care of him now.” I point to Zori. “We’ll be fine,” Zuko assures himself more than me.

~

-Katara-

In the Earth King's palace, we stand in a vast hall. Behind us, the passage is choked with rubble and wreckage. Sokka climbs atop the debris to look past it. “Now that's an impressive door. It's gotta go somewhere.” He coos in success. Leaping down and sprinting down the hall, Sokka launches a flying kick at the colossal doors. His foot impacts with absolutely no effect. He jumps up and begins pushing ineffectually at them, just as Toph and Aang close in behind him. They strike the doors with their bending, causing them to explode off their hinges. With a startled cry, Sokka is flung inward with the doors. I couldn’t help my small grin.

“A little warning next time!” Sokka rubs the back of his head as he rises. We rush past the fallen doors into a vast chamber lined with ornate pillars and lit by hanging lanterns. Then draw to a stop before a large dais, my water at the ready. Seated upon a golden throne is the Earth King himself. Long Feng suddenly interposes himself in front of the king, followed by a protective line of Dai Li agents.

Aang rushes urgently. “We need to talk to you!”

Long Feng turns to the king with a glare. “They're here to overthrow you.” “No, we're on your side. We're here to help.” I speak appealingly, “You have to trust us.”

The Earth King rises with an aggravated tone. “You invade my palace, lay waste to all my guards, break down my fancy door, and you expect me to trust you?”

“He has a good point.”

“If you're on my side, then drop your weapons and stand down.” One by one, we each drop our weapons to the floor. Aang smiles attempting his charm. “See, we’re friends, your Earthiness.” The King, unimpressed, continues to frown grimly. With a wave of his arm, Long Feng signals for the Dai Li to attack. They project their stone gloves at us within seconds, binding our arms behind our backs.

“Detain the assailants.” The Dai Li skate forward to take up positions behind each of us. Sokka calls out, “But we dropped our weapons. We're your allies.”

“Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see daylight again. Keep searching for the terrorist.” Terrorist? They couldn’t be talking about Truble could they? All she’s done is help us.

Earth King’s eyes widen, surprised. “The Avatar? You're the Avatar?” He points at Sokka. “Uh, no, him.” “Over here.” Effortlessly escaping his bonds, Aang raises his arms, then allows them to be bound behind him again. Cheeky.

“What does it matter Your Highness? They're enemies of the state.”

“Perhaps you're right…”

The Earth King's pet bear walks up to Aang, sniffs, and then licks his face, causing Aang to giggle.

“Though Bosco seems to like him. I'll hear what he has to say.”

Aang approaches the throne. “Well, sir, there is a war going on right now. For the past 100 years, in fact. The Dai Li's kept it secret from you. It's a conspiracy to control the city, and to control you.”

“A secret war? That's crazy!”

“Long Feng didn't want us to tell you, so he stole our Sky Bison to blackmail us. And blackmail is the least of his crimes, he brainwashed our friend!”

Long Feng turns to the King. “All lies. I've never even seen a Sky Bison, Your Majesty. Frankly, I thought they were extinct.”

The King sits on his throne pondering. “Your claim is difficult to believe, even from an Avatar.”

“These hooligans are part of an anarchist cell that my agents have been tracking for weeks. If you listen to them, you're playing right into your own destruction.” The Earth King resigned. I have to trust my advisor.”

Sokka suddenly turns with a look of inspiration. “Wait, I can prove he's lying. Long Feng said he's never seen a Sky Bison, ask him to lift his robe.”

“What?! I am not disrobing!”

The Earth King looks thoughtful again. Aang and Sokka smile and nod knowingly at each other. The Avatar draws in a mighty breath of air, and blows a powerful gust of wind at Long Feng, blowing up his minister's robes. The teeth mark bruise he received from Appa can be clearly seen on his left leg.

“Right there! Appa bit him.” Sokka smirk at him smugly, “Never met a Sky Bison, huh?”

Long Feng pushes down his robes, feigning embarrassment. “That happens to be a large birthmark. Thanks for showing everyone.”

“Well, I suppose there's no way to prove where those marks came from…” The king trails off.

“Of course there is!”

Appa stands behind the four of us in the throne room. Appa gapes open his huge mouth. Aang points to one of his large teeth, then slides over to point at the matching bruise on the minister's leg.

Earth King nods convinced. “Yup, that pretty much proves it. But it doesn't prove this crazy conspiracy theory. Though, I suppose this matter is worth looking into.”

We all shrug uncertainly, “Uh, ok, we'll take it. Yeah.” An apprehensive looking Long Feng exits the throne room, followed by his Dai Li agents.

~

-Zuko-

Behind a screen of golden flames. Rows of fire nation soldiers genuflect towards the throne, and they bow towards me. Clad in the raiment and crown of the Firelord, my serene face is without scar or blemish. As I sit impassively, two sinuous dragons, one blue and one red slither down nearby pillars to address me.

“It's getting late. Are you planning to retire soon, my Lord?”

“I'm not tired.”

“Relax, Fire Lord Zuko. Just let go, give in to it. Shut your eyes for a while.”

“No, Fire Lord Zuko! Do not listen to the Blue Dragon. You should get out of here right now. Go! Before it's too late!”

Both dragons are poised to either side of me. “Sleep now, Fire Lord Zuko.” The throne room is swallowed by inky blackness, and the four pillars crumble and fall into the void. As the room falls dark, the soldier's armor collapses to the floor, empty. I searched the darkness, eyes wide with distress. Two golden eyes appear, then the face of the Blue Dragon, which closes rapidly. “Sleep, just Like MOTHER!!” The dragon's jaws gape wide, swallowing me in complete darkness. Within that darkness, we draw closer to the figure of my mother, who drops her hood as I draw closer. “Zuko, help me!” She cries. A sea of blackness and a hole seems to open up beneath me, swallowing everything.

I jolt up in a breath. Iroh sits next to me, “You should know this is not a natural sickness. But that shouldn't stop you from enjoying tea.” He supports my head as I drink. “What? What's happening?”

“Your critical decision, what you did beneath that lake...it was in such conflict with your image of yourself, that you are now at war within your mind and body.” I take a second sip of the tea.

“What's that mean?” I suddenly collapsed in a fit of coughing.

“You're going through a metamorphosis, my nephew. It will not be a pleasant experience, but when you come out of it, you will be the beautiful Prince you were always meant to be.” I close my eyes again, sighing. “When will Truble be here?” Uncle chuckles as he mops my forehead with the damp cloth. “Two hours.” I huff in annoyance.

~

Far in the Kingdom, the Earth King sits on his throne in front of three new faces. A time shift out of the order, and they knew. She knew this would rupture the line. The King grins at the three. “In our hour of need, it is with the highest honor that I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kyoshi warriors.”

All three drop to hands and knees, pressing their heads to the ground. When he finishes, they raise their heads, and we can see that "Suki" is none other than Azula in disguise. She is flanked by Ty Lee and Mai, similarly dressed in the garb of the Kyoshi warriors.

Azula rakes out in a steady voice, her eyes cool and deadly. “We are the Earth King's humble servants.”

~

I open the door and walk in sighing. The room is dark, not a soul awake. I lean against the wall watching the moon shine brightly. I twirl the gold coin in my fingers. Something’s not right, I’ve felt it all day. Like someone has taken notice of my presence here, and is now changing fate. I feel every second of the day, present, past, and future. I know when something is not in correction. It’s like a sting on the back of my neck.

Yes, someone knows…

But who?

“You’re late.” a hoarse voice rings from the bedroom. My eyes graze at Zuko’s tired eyes as he walks towards me. “You should be in bed.” His arms encase me completely. His head hangs in my neck, he sighs, pressing his lips to my skin one single time. Letting the flesh burn seconds before letting go. “You’re late.”

I press my hand to his head feeling his tempting fever. “You’re burning up.” “Bend some water then.” I smirk at him, “You think I’m a water bender?” His eyes bore into mine. “Are you not?” I kiss his cheek. “Oh, Zuko. My handsome man.” I peck his cheek once more and pull him towards the room. “You have a lot to learn,” I whisper laying down comfortably with him at my side.

#prince zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x oc #fire lord zuko #zuzu #zuko imagine #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar the legend of aang #avatar aang #the avatar returns #aang #air bender #katara #sokka #water bender #water tribe #toph #earth bender #ba sing se #suki #kioshi #azula #fire nation #fire bender

[privatefire]

Maiko Fluff Week 2019 - Day 4

COFFEE SHOP

 “Next.”  

 Zuko stepped up to the counter.  

 Mai said a silent prayer. Keep it together, Mai. “Aren’t you in the wrong place?”

 “I thought I’d have a coffee today.  Besides, I have to hurry back to campus for a class.”

 “Class was cancelled,” offered Ty Lee, ever helpful.  “Professor Zei hasn’t turned up yet.  Funny, don’t you think?”  She stepped up to the counter to the left of Mai and called out, “Iced Cocoa Cloud Macchiatos for Ruon-Jian and Chan.”

 Mai stared blankly at Zuko. Zuko rolled his eyes, then stared at Mai, his lips drawn thin.  

 “Hey, Mai,” called Ruon-Jian.  

 “Hey,” she replied flatly, eyes never leaving Zuko.  

 Chan stepped up to Ty Lee, while Ruon-Jian leaned over to talk to Mai.  “We’re having a party this Friday . . .”

 Zuko maneuvered himself so he cut off Ruon-Jian’s view of Mai, and then nudged him over against Chan.

 Mai pretended nothing happened.  “What’ll it be?”

 “I’ll just have a coffee.”

 Mai smirked.  Newbie.  “In case you haven’t noticed,” she said pointing up and behind her to the posted menu, “We don’t have ‘just coffee.’  So, what’ll it be.”  

 “It’s a coffee shop, you should have coffee.”  

 He was rewarded with a glare.  

 “We have coffee.  We don’t have ‘just coffee.’  Pick something from the menu.”

 Zuko scowled and stared at the menu.  Mai shifted her weight from left to right. This was going take a while.  

 “You’re holding up the line.”

 Ty Lee came to Zuko’s rescue, “I’ve got it.  Next!” She leaned over towards Mai, and spoke out the side of her mouth, “Be nice.  He came to see you, not to get coffee.”  

 Mai frowned.  

 Zuko sighed.  “I’ll take a tea.”

 “Iced, or hot?”

“Hot, of course.  Who would want iced tea?”

 “You’d be surprised.” Mai grinned at the thought of Iroh’s reaction to an iced tea.

 “It’s nice to see you smile.”  

 “Yeah, well.  What kind of tea will it be?”

 “Jasmine?”

 “Nope.”  Mai pointed back to the menu.  

 Suki, the manager, joined them just then.  “Oh, just save him, Mai.  The poor guy doesn’t know what to order, and he’s probably not allowed anywhere near a coffee shop.”  She winked at Zuko.  “Why don’t you take your break now and walk him back to his own turf.”  

 Mai’s input on the idea was immediately cut off by Ty Lee.  “Suki and I have it. Sokka will be back shortly.  Go on you two.  Catch up, you know?”

 If a look could kill, both girls would be dead.  Not having the decency to drop dead on their own, Suki and Ty Lee only smiled broadly, while Zuko, unseen by Mai, mouthed ‘thank you’ to them.  

 “I’ll treat; employee discount, and all,” he said as he opened the door for Mai.

 She huffed.  “Don’t you get tired of everyone trying to create opportunities for us to get together?”

 “No.  I . . . well . . . you know.”

 “I know, Zuko, but . . .”

 “We did agree that we would talk about it — about trying again.  We don’t have to do it now.  It can just be tea and sweets.  Uncle’s added a few fruit tartlets you might like.”  

 “I do want to talk. It’s just that everyone is acting like we just need to kiss and make up.  There’s more to it than that.”

 “I know,” he said dejectedly.  

 She put her hand on his arm. He stopped and turned to her.  

 “Zuko, I do want to talk.” She got serious.  “I really liked us in the beginning, when we were happy. Back then it was enough just to be with you.  As we got older, though . . . you took on more responsibilities, we drifted apart, and now it’s just not enough.”

 He took both her hands in his.  “I know; I know.  I see that now.  I shouldn’t have shut you out.  We should talk about it more, and, I know that we can’t cover it all during your break.”

 “I don’t think we can talk at all while everyone is pushing; and especially with your Uncle doting over us and asking us to try his latest blends, do you?”

 “You’re right.  Maybe we can set aside some time for us just to talk?”

 Mai brightened.  “Well, I know of a party this Friday night that will probably keep everyone busy.  If we skip it, that’ll give us some time and privacy.”

 He smiled and kissed her forehead.  

 “Come to think of it, I don’t feel like sampling Uncle’s latest attempt at bubble tea.  Why don’t we go back to the coffee shop and you can teach me how to properly order a coffee, hmm?”

 She laughed this time. “Forget the coffee.  You have to try the Cinnamon Dolce Crème.”

 “Okay, I trust you.”  

 Trust.  The word struck a chord in her.  

 “I love you,” she said impulsively.  

 He was left breathless. “Mai.”  

 He took her in his arms and held her a little before releasing her.  He had since learned to go at her pace; and he didn’t want to jeopardize the chance she was giving him.  He offered his arm and she took it.  

 The others covered for Mai, while she and Zuko sat in a corner talking for the rest of the afternoon.

#maikofluffweek19 #@idonthatemaiko #Maiko Fluff Week 2019 #ATLA Maiko #Coffee Shop #Mai and Zuko #Zuko and Mai #Zumai

[theotherace]

Day 17

“I think you are wise to choose happiness and love.” – Iroh

[Before reading this, please know that this is incredibly rough and at some points a little weird and mainly dialogue and cuts off very abruptly. It’s a very first, only almost finished draft of an OS, a dump of my thoughts on the matter, that I will almost certainly come back to in the future. Probably next month, when I’m done with all these prompts, because I like the premise, but this isn’t really it. Toph also isn’t in it, this is a talk between Aang and his youngest kid, so the Taang is somewhat implied in that Kavi is Toph’s son as well.  Then, I just have to say that I really hate that quote. I hate that Iroh says it. I hate that Aang gets to live by it. I love that boy so much, but his character developement in Book 3? Shitty. Don’t like it. Writing AU-Fanfic, because they botched it.  Also, slight criticism of Kata*ng (specifically of Aang’s treatment, for lack of a better word, of her), because it’s one of my NOTPs and I couldn’t help myself. I almost could see it working, but, like Aang’s developement, they ruined it. Sunk their own ship. (In my opinion. Everybody’s entitled to their own. I’m just tired and therefore cranky.) Draft under the cut.]

Aang lifted his gaze from the letters he'd began sorting through hours ago, and still the pile didn't appear to have shrunk at all – all enthusiasm to deal with his mail had left him quite a while ago, as it always did, and he mused once again that maybe, just maybe, a secretary wasn't such a bad idea, now that they didn't travel all the time anymore.

Now that they had chosen a home that wasn't Appa's back.

Kavi, leaning on the wall next to his desk, peaked at him from behind the book – The Extensive History of the Dai Li – he hadn't set down since Bumi had sent it to him last week, always scribbling in it and marking passages and making notes, a brush in hands, his fingers inky, and Aang quirked a brow.

"I can feel you staring. What is it, Kavi?"

The brush turned between the boy's nimble fingers.

"I don't wanna keep you from your ... correspondence", he said slowly.

"Keep me from my correspondence, please. I've had enough of it today; it's mostly just people telling me that it hasn't rained in too long or that it's been raining too much. Which I can do nothing about, anyway. What're you thinking about?"

He turned in his chair.

Kavi tilted his head, as if thinking it over again , before he asked: "What's the worst mistake you ever made? Like ... really the worst. I've been thinking about mistakes and regrets and all that a lot lately, 'cause, y'know, Avatar Kyoshi founded the Dai Li and that certainly wasn't a good decision. Obviously, they're not as bad anymore, but that's because they're back to what they were  supposed to be. They're protectors again, instead of ... a weird, brainwash-y secret organisation."

He painted a wet, black line on his face while gesticulating and ignored it in favour of drawing his brows together and adding: "Though I think I already know what you think your biggest mistake is."

"Do you."

"Yeah. You ran away. When you were a kid. I know you regret that. I would. Even though I think I would've run, too, if someone threatened to take me away from you guys. I'd rather leave on my own terms."

The brush twirled around, around, around.

Aang fiddled with one of the letters.

"That was ... is ... indeed my greatest mistake. And I will never not regret that I ran, but ... I have come to accept it as a part of my past that I can't ever change. I will never quite make up for what my absence ... the Avatar's absence ... did to the world, but ... I can try, you know? Try to make this world better place, a more peaceful place, not because that's my job or because I feel guilty, but because that's what's right. Try to be a good friend and husband and father. So that's what I've been doing, every day for the past fourty years ... Well, I haven't been a dad or married for quite so long, but I think you get what I'm trying to say."

Kavi nodded pensively, brows still furrowed.

"I think I do."

He lifted his free hand and rubbed over the ink on his cheek, smudging it.

"Kinda. I don't know if I'll ever really ... understand understand. But I ... understand."

"Hmm", hummed Aang. "My journey to becoming a fully realized Avatar was ... a rather rocky one, I suppose. I was stubborn. And I couldn't've possibly comprehended what fighting a war would mean before I woke up at the South Pole and ... fought a war. So I wouldn't expect you to fully understand. I don't want you to. It's bad enough Bumi's joined the Air Force."

"I don't really remember him not being in the Air Force. How old was I when joined up? Five?"

"Just about, yes."

"He's a Captain now. Aren't you proud of him?"

Aang sighed deeply.

"I am. I'm incredibly proud of all of you. Tenzin's about to become a father, Asha's teaching with your mother, Norbu's an architect, which I know nothing about, but I'm glad he's enjoying doing what he does. You're on your best way to achieve mastery. And Bumi is a Captain. Of course I'm proud of him. I just wish he would've chosen a different career. Something safer, that wouldn't result in him being on the frontlines of a war, should there ever be another one."

He shook his head.

Kavi pulled his knees closer.

"I lived through barely the last year of one, and it was terrible. I don't want any of you to experience what I did. The same goes for your mother. But you're your own people, you make your own decisions. We can't stop you from doing that and we wouldn't want to, either. I can just ... try to lead you a bit as long as you'll let me. Give you some advice, if you ask for it. You want to know about the worst advice I ever got, if we're already talking about mistakes and regret?"

"Oh. Sure", Kavi said, hesitant for just a moment.

"I met Guru Pathik – I've told you about him?"

"Yeah. The guy who helped you master the Avatar State. An old friend of Monk Gyatso. He must've been ancient when you met."

"He was ... a very, very wise man. A mentor when I was in desperate need of someone to look up to and guide me. Unfortunately, when I first met him, I wasn't very ... accepting of everything he tried to teach me. In order to control the Avatar State, I needed to open my chakras. And there were some ... minor ... hiccups, I had to confront myself, my mistakes, my shame, the ... the guilt I felt, ... like I'd ... never had before. And I did it. The problem ... was the seventh chakra."

"The Thought Chakra", Kavi mumbled.

Aang brightened a little.

"That's right. Do you remember how to unlock it?"

"By ... letting go of ... of earthly attachments."

The boy's frown deepened and his hand closed tightly around the brush that had stopped wandering over his fingers when he'd tried to remove the ink from his face – it was still blotchily staining his pale skin.

"I never really thought about that. That's terrible. And you still have attachments. You've got Mom and us. So, ... you haven't mastered the Avatar State?"

"I have full control over the Avatar State, don't worry. Letting go of attachments ... that's not about not loving. It's not about detaching yourself completly from everything. It would be, if you tried to reach true enlightenment, but that wasn't my goal. My goal was to not be controlled by my emotions. You need to be the master of your emotions, not the other way around. With something like the Avatar State at your expense, you can't afford that. Rage can end in a massacre. Grief could as well. No."

He looked at the ceiling for a moment, thinking about how to best continue, then said: "In this case, letting go of attachments meant to learn to not depend. To stand on my own. My friendships with Mom and Sokka weren't a problem; my crush on Katara absolutely was, because I depended on her too much. I relied on her to pull me out of the Avatar State when I couldn't control myself. I wanted her to be my forever girl, because ... well, she was the first girl. She became my everything much too quickly when she should've never been that at all. And that just wasn't fair to her. I placed her on pedestal when I barely even knew her name, and wouldn't let her step down. And when it came to make the decision between her and controlling this ... great power, ... I chose her. And she wouldn't have wanted that, but I didn't understand that, then."

Kavi chewed on his lip.

"So, who gave you bad advice, then?"

"General Iroh."

"Uncle Zuko's Uncle? The guy Iroh's named after? He's supposed to have given the best advice, though! Mom always talks about that and his tea and how he was the original owner of the Jasmine Dragon and stuff. He's supposed to be this super wise guy", he said. "I don't understand."

"Nobody's infallible. Not even Uncle. When I told him of my dilemma – we were on our way to safe Katara and Zuko, right under Ba Sing Se, he told me ... he said that power was overrated. And that I was wise to chose happiness and love instead. And I'm sure he meant well ... and I don't remember how well I explained what I was trying to master. We were also on a rescue mission, and I wouldn't have listened had he told me to go back to the Guru anyway. But this wasn't about taking power, choosing it over love. It was about controlling something dangerous that I already possessed ... His advice was quite dangerous, in retrospect ..."

#Avatar: The Last Airbender #Aang #Implied Taang #Taang Month #Taang Month 2020 #Avatar: The Legend of Aang #Kavi #tired ramblings #i don't know yet what i'll do for awkward #and i wanna write for kummi/taang but it'll just end like this #not enough time #at least i wrote something i guess #family's already safe though #it's just gonna be a sketch dump #and i like sketching them all

[asamisaht0]

A Series of Firsts

Here’s my piece for the Zutara Exchange! @zutaraexchange

My giftee is @beealexageek I hope you like it! I combined “pregnant”, “first kiss”, and a tiny bit of “wedding” for the prompts.

Wordcount: 2k

Pairing: Zuko/Katara 

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18808570

The first time Zuko kissed Katara -or, technically, Katara kissed him- they were in an alley behind some seedy Earth Kingdom bar. They were tipsy, too close, and still teenagers. Katara still held her cup in her hand, though she had long since lost interest in its contents. Zuko was just beginning to realize the full weight of being Fire Lord and he had desperately needed a break. Uncle Iroh, in typical Uncle Iroh fashion, had conveniently (almost too conveniently) invited the whole gang back to the earth kingdom for the grand re-opening of the Jasmine Dragon the week later. Something about a brand new tea recipe. Whatever. They managed to escape the group and ended up at a bar, watching the Earth Kingdom locals entertain themselves now that they were free of Fire Nation rule. They each had had a drink, maybe two, and Katara suddenly decided the bar was too stuffy. “I can’t breathe in here. Let’s go outside?” she had said. Something along those lines. They decided to loiter in the alley behind the bar, because it was close but secluded. 

Katara took one more sip of her drink, mostly because Zuko had paid for it and she didn’t want to waste his money. He seemed to sense that, and scoffed. “Don’t worry about it. The Fire Nation has more money than we’ll ever need.” His words seemed a little more slurred than usual. Maybe it was just the background noise. “Still. I appreciate it, Zuko. Thanks for everything.” She didn’t quite know what she meant by that. What did “everything” encompass? Thanks for helping Aang save the world? Thanks for turning the Fire Nation back into a respectable entity? Thanks for taking a literal lightning bolt to the chest for her? Somehow, “thanks” just didn’t seem like enough. He smiled. Their eyes met. He looked back down. Zuko sighed and brushed his hand through his hair. Katara was confused. “What’s wrong?”

Zuko looked back up at her, then frowned at the contents of his cup. “I just- um. I really want to kiss you right now.” She blinked. “So….what’s stopping you?” she meant to think, but somehow ended up saying it out loud. Oh well. His eyes shot back up. His head kind of tilted, like when a dog hears a noise they don’t quite understand. Katara’s brain took about .002 seconds to make up its mind. She lifted up on her toes and kissed Zuko before either of them could change their minds. Later, she’d say something poetic like “he tasted like smoke and spices” or whatever. But right now? He tasted like the bottom of whatever barrell their drinks came out of.

The first time Zuko realized he was in love with Katara, she was teaching him how to pack snow into the holes of his igloo to help keep the warmth in. “No, Zuko,” she had said. “You can’t just start a fire inside a house made of ice that’s literally the opposite of productive right now,” she had said. They were in the Southern Water Tribe, solidifying arrangements for Katara to be the official ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe and hold a seat on Zuko’s council.

Honestly, Zuko would have done anything if it meant he got to see Katara every day. The idea of her actually living in the palace made him downright giddy. Giddy enough that he was willing to spend nights in a house made of literal ice in order to ensure he got to spend more time with Karara.

She turned around to make sure he was comprehending her lessons. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t. “Zuko, what did I just say?” she asked, but her tone was way less condescending than her words. He coughed to buy time. “You, um. You said I can’t make a fire here.” She chuckled. “You realize you’re going to freeze tonight if you don’t make this work?” Zuko had not, in fact, realized that yet. He ran a hand through his hair. “So I’m just supposed to survive for an extended period of time in here by myself? Without my bending?” He hoped he sounded as incredulous as he felt. Apparently not, because she was laughing even harder now. "You wouldn't have to fight to survive if you'd just listen to me. Here, do it yourself." She gave him a handful of snow. He took it, and it immediately melted.

He wrinkled his nose.

“I think I might die if I have to stay in here alone tonight.”

“You know what?” she said, freezing the snow back. “I think you’re right. I’ll stay in here with you,”

Zuko’s breath hitched.

“-Just to make sure you survive the night. Would that be alright?” He could hear her smile in her voice. Of course that would be alright. That would be amazing. That would be-

“Perfect! Please! Yes- I.” he stumbled. “I don’t want to die tonight.” He still wasn’t completely convinced that he wouldn’t die, but if he did, he wanted to make sure it was by her side.

The first time Zuko told Katara he loved her, they were watching the fireworks on the first anniversary of the war’s ending. There was a huge festival in their honor, and it was the first time Katara had been surrounded by all of her closest friends in a very long time. The sun had just set, and the cool summer night was a relief from the sweltering heat Katara had endured for most of the day. She supposed she should start getting used to the heat. Just in case. They were alone for the first time that day, atop some hill Zuko knew about that awarded them the best view in the city, he’d said. She’d never admit it, but he was right. They could see the city capital for miles and miles. She could see each individual light from each house. The Fire Nation looked nothing less than gorgeous. The fireworks were just starting, and Zuko took it upon himself to name every type and how they were made. Katara honestly couldn’t care less, but she was happy just to hear him talk about something he enjoyed.

A particularly large firework burst, and spread beautiful orange lights over the sky. They could hear the crowd’s reaction far below them. Katara really, really wished this moment would last forever.

“Zuko, this is amazing. I love it!”

His hand found hers in the dark. He squeezed it.

“I love you, Katara.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you, too Zuko.”

The first time (yes, there were multiples) Zuko asked Katara to marry him, they were out by the turtleduck pond, watching the new baby turtleducks learn how to swim. It was a spring morning, and the breeze brought with it the scent of freshly-bloomed fire lilies. Katara was playing with the turtleducks, giving them gentle waves to splash in. Zuko had been drowning in work just a half hour before, Katara had had to drag him out of his office for a much-needed break. Zuko was leaning against the big tree in the garden, and Katara was leaning against him.

She was a well-seasoned ambassador for the Southern Water Tribe, and had managed to negotiate peace and trade not only between the Fire Nation and her tribe, but the Northern Water Tribe as well. She had carved out a place for herself on the Fire Nation council, and Zuko supported her through it all. She, honestly, felt at home here.

“I could honestly stay here forever,” she mused aloud.

Zuko grabbed her hand, stroking the back of it idly with his thumb.

“How would you like to?” he almost whispered.

She craned her neck to look at him. “What do you mean? I live here already.”

“No, like... forever forever. How would you like a permanent home in the palace?”

Katara narrowed her eyes. “Zuko, are- are you asking me-”

“Yes! I mean, yeah, I suppose so.”

“You suppose you’re proposing to me.” she deadpanned.

He cleared his throat. “Katara, I’ve loved you for years. I wish I could say I’ve loved you since we met but we both know that isn’t the case.” Katara chuckled.

He took another deep breath. “It would be my honor to ask you to be my wife.”

Katara felt her heart fill, and couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face.

“Yes, Zuko. I’ll marry you. But you know your mother will be upset that she missed the proposal.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I guess we’ll have to make sure she’s here next time.”

The first time Zuko and Katara kissed on their wedding day- way, way before they were supposed to- they were giggling like children, hiding from the prying eyes of the fire sages and Katara's ladies in waiting. It was still early morning; the sun hadn't risen yet. The palace was already bustling with servants preparing for the ceremony. Zuko should have been tired, but he wasn't. He was too excited. They met up in Zuko’s office, having judged it the last place anyone would look for them today of all days. Zuko got there first, and sat on his desk, idly playing with his hands. There were so, so many things that could go wrong today. He ran through a mental checklist of everything he needed to do. He was on his third run-through when the doorknob jiggled slightly, and Katara slipped in the door as quietly as she could.

They met eyes, and burst into quiet laughter. “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Zuko said.

“I’m sneaking around my own palace.” He felt like a teenager all over again.

“You know the fire sages wouldn’t approve. It gOeS AgAinSt TrAdiTiOn” she said, mocking the ancient Fire Sages’ voices. That only made them both laugh even harder.

“Everything about this goes against tradition!” He grabbed her waist as he said that, bringing them closer. “That’s part of what makes it so great.”

He tilted her chin up for a kiss. The first of many, on this special day. They locked eyes for a moment.

“Honestly, you’ve been my wife for a long, long time. This just makes it official.”

She snorted. “It was official to me when you took that lightning all those years ago.”

The first time Katara realized she was pregnant, she was sitting at a long, long dinner table in between her husband and an old Fire Nation nobleman with a long, silver beard. She remembered his beard specifically, because the sight of a small crumb that had gotten trapped in the wispy hairs suddenly made Katara very, very nauseous. She excused herself politely, the picture of an ever-graceful Fire Lady. Ursa taught her well. Katara held her posture perfectly all the way until she rounded the corner and was out of eyesight- then she all but sprinted to the bathroom. Her handmaids shared a look with each other.

After Katara cleaned herself up, she looked at herself in the mirror for a long, long time. She thinks, deep down, she’s known for a while now. Being a healer, she had become very in tune with the details of her own body. She’s been noticing a change for weeks, at least. But she guessed it was finally time to acknowledge it. She knew her handmaids were probably wondering why she hadn’t asked for her monthly supplies yet. She’d better tell Zuko before the rumor spread faster than any of his flames would.

She waited until the night. They were in bed, but not asleep. Zuko was writing something down on a scroll, and the small candle he lit cast his face in a warm glow.

“So what are you writing? Is it names?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “Names? What? No, it’s-”

“Well you should start.”

“Start what?”

She smirked. “Start thinking about names.” “Names for what? Katara, I don’t un-” his mouth closed. Then opened again. Then closed.

She smiled. “I’m pregnant, Zuko.”

His face lit up. Zuko flung his arms around his wife, and she swears she hadn’t seen him smile this wide since their wedding day.

Katara took everything in, reveling in just how she ended up here. If you had told her at 14 that she’d be the Fire Lady, and carry the Fire Lord’s child, she would have definitely written them off as insane. But right now, in this moment, she couldn’t be happier with how her life turned out.

#zutara #zutara exchange #zutaraexchange #beealexageek #my writing #fanfic #a:tla

[bellatrixobsessed1]

A Flame For A Cabbage (Part 6)

“Oh, Spirits, not again.” Sie looks down at the script handed to him. “Another lengthy monologue.” He groans and turns to the Dailluminati agents. With a deep sigh he beings, “] The Earth King and the Council of Five do not trust the Dai Li. They imprisoned your leader, Long Feng. Soon they will turn on all of you and eliminate you. Seizing power today is a matter of life and death. This coup must be swift and decisive. The Earth King and each of the five generals must be taken out simultaneously.” He pauses to catch his breath. “Long Feng has placed you in my command while we overthrow the government...oh forget this!” He tosses the script aside. “I’m your leader now, we have to overthrow the government, please don’t do anything backstabby.” He gives them all fingerguns. All of them return the gesture. 

All of them save for a man with a small vertical scar on his cheek. 

He knows who the group fuck up is.

“Good talk, good talk.” TyLee nods. “Pretty and poetic and with great improv.” 

“Yeah. That one guy was shitting bricks.” Mai remarks. 

“There are still a few loose ends.” Sie says.  “The Avatar, and my brother and uncle. And that Agni damned bear.”  They all shudder. 

Except for the man with the vertical scar. 

Sie’s suspicions of him double. Could it be that the bear has taken over the man’s mind? 

.oOo.

“So how did it go with the guru? Did you master the Deus Ex Machina State?” toph asks.

“Uh …” He begins. 

Pathik If you leave now, you won't be able to go into the Avatar State at all!

It is as though the man is speaking right into his ear. “Pathik, go back to your mountain, please, you’re not supposed to be in this scene.”

The guru coughs, “sorry, sorry I just think that I should have a little more screentime!” He declares. “Do you think that if I partner up with that cabbage merchant that I will get more screentime?” 

“I don’t know, master Pathik…”

“I think that onion and banana juice would go well with cabbage.”

“Yeah sure, mater Pathik but I really think that I should…”

“I can make onion and strawberry banana juice too.” He says.

“Sounds great but I…”

“Or onion and orange juice….”

“Master Pathik…?”

“Onion, orange and toothpaste juice!” 

.oOo.

“I think that it is time that you reveal your *~really cool~* part of our deal.” Long Feng declares. 

Azula shakes her head. “Not yet, I need my cabbage business to flourish first. After I see some gold pieces I’ll give you my *~really cool~* surprise.” 

“Look, merchant, I have no time for your games.”

“Oh, you think that this is a game.” Azula’s eyes narrow. “I will have you know that I take my cabbages very seriously…”

“That’s true.” Jet remarks. “Did you know that she has never done an activity that didn’t involve cabbages until last night.” 

“Jet!” Azula hisses. 

He holds up his hands in surrender. “Sorry!” 

Long Fang pinches the bridge of his nose. “Alright, fine. You can borrow our mind control devices, just don’t go completely ham.” 

“Can we go pork?” Jet asks.

“No.” 

“Steak?”

“No.”

“Peperoni?” 

“Absolutely not.”

“Oh so this mind control device is for vegans only?” Jet nods. 

“Correct.”

Azula blinks. “What does that even mean?” 

“It means that it is the perfect device to begin making people enjoy cabbages.” Long Fang declares. “Now get to it before my Dailluminati agents need to use it again.” 

“Where are they now?” She asks. 

“With my other business partner.”

Azula’s eyes narrow. “Your other business partner?” She folds her arms across her chest. “Well that person better not get in my way or you won’t be getting your *~really cool~* prize.”

.oOo.

“What's taking so long?” Zuko grumbles. “I have to go to the bathroom.” He adds through gritted teeth.

“Nephew, why didn’t you go before you left?” He asks. “I journed once knew a courageous and powerful man. He was intelligent and valiant. He rode into all of his battles with his head held high but with a humbleness. He had seen many great victories. He fought at Ba Sing Se, that was the first battle he had ever lost. And do you know why that is, nephew?”

“Why is that, uncle?”

“It is because he did not go to the bathroom before he set out to battle. And so instead of preforming his firebending forms, he did the pee dance.” 

“Oh.”  Zuko replies. “That isn’t good.”

“No. It is not.” Iroh agrees with downcast eyes. “That man, Zuko, was me. It was not a proud moment. If you are going to ride into battle do it with a humble and merciful heart and an empty bladder. And then you will see conquest.” 

No sooner does he finish speaking does the Basco show up. 

“Something's not right.” Zuko notes.

The bear looks him directly in the eyes and he goes rigid. Something primal takes over, an instinct to perhaps play dead and hope that, that thing falls for it.

 Princess Sie comes to stand before them, Dailluminati agents in tow. “Quick, catch it!” The princess points at the bear, contorting into a full body cringe. “It’s disgusting in a way that I can’t explain.”

The Dailluminati exchange glances before cautiously approaching Bosco. With the Dailluminati agents after the creature, Sei gives an awkward cough. “They were supposed to arrest you but that thing is a bit more pressing.” 

For once Zuko agrees with his sister. 

“Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname ‘the Dragon of the West’?”

Sei frowns, “I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle.”

“It's more of a demonstration, really.” He replies. Zuko flashes him a smile as he drinks his tea. He then clears his throat and unleashes a hideously loud pterodactyl screech. “They meant to say dinosaur, not dragon!” He calls as he dashes into the hallway. Unfortunately his absurdly obnoxious noise had distracted Zuko too. But the prince tries to play it off with a manly, “no! I'm tired of running! It's time I faced Sei!”

Iroh lets out another pterodactyl screech, but this one is made not as a power move but rather an expression of both dismay and disappointment. Knowing he can do nothing more for his stubborn nephew he  makes his escape. 

“You're so dramatic. What? Are you going to challenge me to an Agni Kai?” Sie taunts. 

“I was actually hoping for a rap battle.”

“No thanks.” Sei says, he much prefers rock, paper, scissors. 

.oOo.

“I think you’re supposed to move it counter clockwise.” Jet suggests.

“Less talking more abs.” Azula mutters. 

“But…”

“You’re gorgeous and I think that we are perhaps in some sort of relationship which means that I...love you?” She pauses. “Not more than my cabbages, but I believe that I have some degree of affection for you…”

“Is it just because you like my abs?” 

Azula ponders the question. Truth be told, she isn’t sure. She thinks that this might be the first time that she has had love for anything that wasn’t a cabbage. And for that, she cannot quite place the origins of the feeling. She clears her throat. “You’re gorgeous and I love you, but you should remain quite because you don’t know what you are talking about. I am, in fact, operating the brainwashing device correctly.”

“Okay, I just...well I’m not sure if that was what was supposed to happen.” 

“He’ll be fine, it’s just a little blood. I’m pretty sure that’s normal. I sometimes bleed from the ears.”

“When?” Jet asks. 

“Well my other business partner, the man who runs the Jasmine Dragon, he sometimes does this really loud shriek when someone tries to dine and dash…” 

Jet nods. 

She nods back, she needs to stop letting him distract her. The avatar and the fire prince can only keep Sei and the Dailluminati distracted for so long. “Pull the lever, Jet.”

He gives pulls it up and a lantern begins moving around the track. “You like cabbages.” She states in a soothing coo. “And you want to buy my cabbages.”

#Avatar #Azula #Cabbage Man #Jet #Zuko #Jetzula #Long Fang #Iroh #Fanfiction

[jaxsteamblog]

The Love of Tea

A short glimpse into an older Zutara. I humbly submit this to @zutaraweek for Day 3- Tea!

“Tea!” It was one of the first words his children learned. They often asked for sips of his own, so Zuko started to drink the bitter, fermented pu’er. The children retaliated by demanding their own cups. Then they got old enough to want different types of tea and ceased to agree on anything ever again.

After thirty years of marriage, four children, and one grandchild, Zuko had made an obscene amount of tea. He knew that Kya had acquired his taste in the strong, bitter teas that came pressed in pucks. Lu Ten liked matcha with a little lavender. Kozin preferred white tea, and Riza liked coffee. She usually drank whatever was being made at the time, downing cups with no comment on taste.

He and Katara were in their late sixties now, but unconcerned about aging. After all, there were a growing number of people he knew who were over one hundred. But that was thirty years of boiling water, whisking powder, and cleaning tea cups and it wasn’t age that made him tired.

It wasn’t that he hated it. The experience had strengthened his knowledge, and he felt closer to his uncle when he prepared tea. When Iroh had passed away, Zuko had taken in most of his teapot collection and made a point of using them all throughout the year.

There just had to be more of his time that was something other than making tea.

“Papa.” Kya called before she actually knocked on the door. She didn’t wait for a response before she opened the door and Zuko huffed out a laugh. His eldest, his heir, his perfect mirror. She looked stern, had looked stern since she was a small child, and yet still called him ‘Papa.’

She walked into the room looking down at a handful of papers, her pince-nez glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. Kya had her hair pulled back in the traditional style, the traditional headpiece pinning up a topknot. Looking forever like the quintessential Fire Nation royal, Zuko wondered where his little princess had gone.

“Yes daughter?” Zuko greeted as he set down his book on a small side table.

“We need to talk about the exposition.” Kya said as she walked over to the small work table in the corner, still looking down at the papers. “We need to decide on a teapot for the ceremony.”

Zuko paused, trying to figure out a tactful way of asking her if this was meant to be an important matter.

“I was thinking one of these fifteen from Grandpa’s collection.” Kya said, spreading out some of her papers. Zuko squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and collected himself. His daughter was certainly detail oriented.

The pair discussed teapots for twenty minutes. Ultimately, Kya dismissed his suggestions of a tetsubin iron pot, finding it too reminiscent of their warring past. She instead went with a clay pot Iroh had found in the Earth Kingdom, but cast with a red and black glaze. To his horror, she had wanted to snap off the handle and create a new one, and Zuko wondered if she was still going to do it despite his warnings of disowning.

With an exhausted sigh, Zuko walked back over to his chair as Kya left with her papers. He sagged into his seat and put a hand on his book, not wanting to read anymore. Setting his other elbow on the arm of the chair, he braced his head and closed his eyes.

He heard the door swing open again and Zuko didn’t move. His children often came in groups. Since the new person hadn’t yet said anything, he assumed it was Kozin. Or possibly Riza, if she had decided to not speak today.

When he did hear the clatter of a cup being set down and smelled the aroma of tea, Zuko opened his eyes. Moving up a little, with the smallest gap between his fingers and his temple, he looked up.

Katara’s face was lined and weathered - the harsh unending sunlight in the summer at the Poles was damaging - but she still looked beautiful. Even now, he was still stunned by the strength of her beauty and he paused for a moment.

“Did Kya settle on a teapot?” Katara asked. Thin wisps of steam curled up in his vision and Katara ran her fingers through it, making it curl into hearts. Zuko had yet to figure out if she did that on purpose or not.

“I fear for the fate of Little Red.” He answered and finally sat up. Gesturing down at the cup, he went on. “You made tea?”

“Iroh asked for some. I thought I would take care of it for once.” She said and Zuko felt a surge of love for her. He went to grab the cup but his fingers shot away at the temperature. Katara frowned.

“I made it too hot.” She stated.

“It’s fine, I can-” Zuko started to reach forward for it, to bend away the heat, when Katara grabbed it instead. Raising it up, he watched his wife purse her lips and lightly blow on the tea. As she handed it to him, he was still watching her lips.

“Thanks.” He said absently and took a sip. Zuko focused when he noticed that it had been cooled to the perfect temperature. Her breath bending was phenomenal.

“Better?” She asked.

“You scalded the ever living hell out of the leaves my love.” He said and ducked as she swatted at him. With a laugh, he set down the cup and stood up, taking her into his arms. “Thank you.”

They kissed and Zuko rested his forehead against Katara’s. They stood for a while, taking rest in each other’s arms.

“Iroh didn’t seem to mind it.” Katara murmured.

“Iroh is five and he loves his grandmother.” Zuko retorted softly. They met eyes and started to laugh.

The tea, untouched, cooled.

#zutara week #zk week 2k18 #steam canon #the next generation #jax writes #i have so much planned for riza #she's my new favorite steam baby #why is riza's hair green #why does riza do anything #riza disappeared for a week and came back with a tattoo and a lizard #the lizard escaped and katara found it two weeks later #in her closet

[atomicpen]

Just

Chapter 4

fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender POV: Katara wordcount: ~3999

ff.net ao3

With Just Waves as Witness

Salt spray coated her face and threaded her hair, and nothing had ever felt or tasted so good. She wondered if this was what freedom tasted like, or if she was being dramatic about it.

Katara stood on the prow of the Fire Nation ship and stared out across the undulating blue horizon. They had left the Earth Kingdom just under a week prior, and it’d been four days since they last saw land of any sort. It would be at least another week or so until they saw the first of the Fire Nation islands, and even longer than that before they reached the capital. For now, blue stretched out all around—scattered across the sky were a few clouds, and the sea was deep and clear. In talking with the captain, she’d learned that there were several sea lanes that followed strong currents between the nations, and the Fire Nation had many of them mapped and regularly utilized them to a ship’s advantage.

It felt like they were making good time, but from what Zuko told her, they were actually sailing leisurely. It was so different from a cutter ship, where they might make this kind of speed only for a short while if the winds were very kind. Her mouth pulled into a frown and she leaned on the rail. It felt like a long time since she’d traveled by sea, with as much time as she spent on Appa after the war was over; with as much time as she spent traveling with Aang.

A pang of guilt and disquiet twisted in her stomach. Was this the right choice, what she was doing? She knew she could help—she wanted to—but was going to the Fire Nation as ambassador from the Water Tribe enough to outweigh her accompanying Aang as he did his work? Her frown deepened. It felt a lot like running away.

“Good afternoon, Master Katara.” A pleasant voice broke up her thoughts.

She smiled and glanced back over her shoulder as Zuko’s uncle joined her at the prow. “Good Afternoon to you, too. Another nice day, isn’t it?”

“Yes! The weather has been very kind to us this trip. I must admit,” he continued, standing next to her and looking from her to the sea, “I am quite surprised that my nephew has decided to make our journey back with more leisure than is his custom.” A smile spread across his face and the corners of his eyes crinkled. “But, I am not complaining—whatever the reason, I welcome it.”

A soft noise cousin to a hum signaled her agreement. “Me, too. I love sailing, and it feels like it’s been a long time since I was out on the open sea.” Katara’s shoulders relaxed as she followed Iroh’s gaze. “And sometimes it’s just nice to take your time.”

“You are right, and very wise to understand such a thing at your age. It is a bit of wisdom that I often worry my nephew will never quite take to heart.”

Katara laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. Once Zuko’s put his mind to something, he follows through to the bitter end. Maybe you just need to convince him slowing down is something he needs to learn to do.”

“Ah, that is something that I have been trying for years now, I’m afraid.” His eyes were merry, and focused on her in a way she might have thought calculating had it occurred to her. “Perhaps it is a thing better left in another’s hands at this point.”

Before she could think to say anything, he continued, “Would you join us for lunch, or shall I leave you to the sea for a while longer?”

Katara hesitated, but then pushed off the rail. “The sea will still be here, I’m pretty sure. Lunch sounds great.”

Lunch turned out to be on the observation deck, where she could see the ocean anyway. Iroh brewed a ginger and orange blossom tea, which he declared would compliment their food marvelously. Katara was pouring it when Zuko joined them.

“Ah, Nephew. I am happy you could join us,” Iroh exclaimed as Zuko took a seat at the end of the table, where he could see both of them.

“The food should be up soon,” Zuko told them, taking a cup from her with a nod of thanks. He lifted it beneath his nose. “Is this a new blend, Uncle?”

The old man in question lost half his face to a grin. “You are developing quite a good nose; it is.” He gesticulated gently as he spoke. “I wanted something simple, yet complementary to go with our lunch.”

“We’re just having leftover curry,” Zuko said. “It’s not anything to make a special blend for.” Still, he took an appreciative sip of the tea.

Two crew members brought up their food and Iroh turned his attention to thanking them. Katara took advantage of his distraction and leaned close to Zuko. “I think your uncle just likes experimenting,” she said in a quiet voice that did nothing to hide her amusement.

The way his mouth curved made part of her chest fill with warmth. “I know. It reminds me of the years we were on my ship. He was always having us make port for different kinds of teas… and anything else interesting that caught his eye.”

The dip in his tone made Katara giggle. “I sense a lot of stories there.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”

Bowls were placed before them and a thick curry ladled into them, accompanied by smaller bowls of rice. The curry smelled like it was going to be spicy, and she found herself looking forward to the heat. Katara peered at it, wondering just when she had developed a liking for spicy foods.

“It’s not too hot,” Zuko said suddenly. She blinked up at him, and his cheeks tinged with color as he shifted his gaze away from hers. “I mean—I know you’re not as used to spices as us—you know, hot spices.”

Katara could not resist a little affectation. “By now I’ve gotten used to dealing with heat,” she said, and he looked at her again, bemused. “Zuko, you remember I’ve been on the ship the whole time, right? And I was in the Fire Nation for several weeks, living off the spicy land.”

Iroh chuckled across the table from her, and Zuko’s face reddened more, but he didn’t back down. “Should I see if the cook can whip up some east island dishes for you then? Those even make me sweat sometimes.”

His challenge made something winch a little tighter in her belly. “You’re on. I bet I can handle it just as well as you can.”

The smirk that he sent her way stoked the competitive spark in her, and she suddenly wanted to drag him down to the deck and go toe to toe with him. She hadn’t had much chance to stretch her bending since the war ended, and never with Zuko. She wondered if they sparred as well as they fought together.

“Zuko,” she began, idly twisting her wrist to stir her curry, “what do you think about getting a good workout in while we’re still on the ship?”

Almost as soon as she asked, he started coughing, slamming the porcelain spoon in his hand down on the table. Katara glanced worriedly at Iroh, who seemed unperturbed.

“Nephew, are you all right?”

Zuko waved them both off and reached for his teacup. After a few sips, he calmed down, though his face and neck were still flush.

“I didn't realize an offer to spar would be so surprising,” Katara droned.

“Sparring!” Zuko echoed. “Yes. No, it wasn’t—yes. I would very much like to spar.”

Katara took a spoonful of curry to hide her smile. It was spicy, but not so much that it burned the subtleties of flavor away. While in disguise during the war, she had tasted a few foods from Fire Nation markets that she couldn’t even tell what they were supposed to taste like, they were so spicy. This was good, though—a nice heat down the back of her throat while still allowing her to savor it.

“How about later today, then?” she offered.

“No, no, no. That won’t work at all,” Iroh interjected, quite adamantly. Both Zuko and Katara stared at him. “It’s the end of the week,” he said, as if that were a fitting explanation.

At a loss, Katara looked to Zuko for some sort of elaboration. Instead of giving her an answer, however, he closed his eyes and his shoulders slumped.

“I forgot,” he groaned. “Can’t we just… skip it this trip?”

Iroh gasped, utterly aghast. “Nephew, how could you even suggest such a thing! The crew has come to expect—no, anticipate it!”

Tired of not knowing what they were talking about, Katara pressed, “Anticipate what? What’s going on?”

“Music night, of course!” Iroh beamed at her; Zuko looked as if he wanted to dunk his head in the curry. “Once a week, the crew all gathers with instruments for song and dance.” He lifted his spoon in a vague salute. “It was our custom during the war.”

“That actually sounds like a lot of fun,” Katara said, rousing another beleaguered sigh from Zuko. Ignoring him, she looked, bright-eyed, at Iroh. “Can anyone join in?”

“Of course,” Iroh told her, sounding delighted she had taken to the idea. “Do you play?”

“If there’s a morin khuur, I just might.”

Zuko perked up, just a little, with curiosity. “A what?”

“It’s a string instrument of the Water Tribes,” his uncle answered. “But, I’m afraid we do not have one—I have not seen, or heard, a proper morin khuur in many years.”

“Oh.” Katara tried not to allow disappointment seep into her voice, but she sounded crestfallen even to her own ears. She tried to pick up the pieces and brighten her tone. “That’s okay, I can just listen.”

Iroh stroked his beard, already lost in thought. “Even though we don’t have a proper one, we do happen to have a kokyū on board. It is not the same, but quite similar. I am sure that its owner would be delighted to have you play.”

An old aching hollow settled in her chest, but she smiled and nodded as if it hadn’t. She had years of practice pushing back any of the sorrow she felt from the loss of her culture, so the suppression was second nature. Of course there weren’t any morin khuur on board. Katara wondered if they would find her khoomei singing to be barbaric, or simply exotic and different.

Those were unfair thoughts to have, she realized, and did her best to quell them. So, she deftly changed the subject and they finished out lunch with pleasant conversation; Iroh seemed just as happy to talk about something else, and she guessed Zuko was probably glad for the change in topic.

Afterward, Katara excused herself to return to the rail again. Her thoughts wandered back to music night and she chastised herself for falling back into old, bad habits. Letting out a breath in a rush, she leaned out over the edge of the rail, her hair stirring in the wind.

Closing her eyes, she breathed in deep the brine smell of the sea, and let the spray in the air settle into her skin. It helped her find her center again. She felt so off-kilter lately, from her decision to stop traveling around with Aang to the faded traditions of her Tribe still digging hollow within her. She wasn’t entirely certain going to the Fire Nation to be a Water Tribe Ambassador was the right thing for her to do, but it was something that she chose to do. It was her suggestion, it was her choice to offer herself for that role, and that, at least, felt right.

She felt warmth, as if someone had brought a torch into her proximity, and didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“I’m sorry,” Zuko told her.

Now she did look at him, casting a glance back over her shoulder amid her curling hair. “For what?”

He leaned against the rail. “You don’t have to come to music night if you don’t want to, let alone participate.”

He sounded so deflated that Katara had to laugh. When he shot her a confused look, she turned, putting her back against the rail. “Why don’t you like your uncle’s music night?”

“It’s just…” He let out a breath. “So frivolous. I was so intent on finding the Avatar that any unrelated distractions just made me angry, I guess.”

“So why are you still moaning about it?” She leaned over and nudged his shoulder with her own. “You might end up liking it now that you’ve got real free time.”

Zuko snorted. “I’m not sure anyone in the Imperial Palace actually knows about this mythical ‘free time’.”

“You’re not at the palace now,” Katara pointed out. She craned her neck back almost enough to see the ocean stretching out behind her. “We’re out in the middle of the water with a week or more left before we rejoin civilization. So why not live it up a little?” She lifted her head to look at him again, only to find his gaze already on her. It made her feel warmer.

The smile he offered her was soft at the edges, and while not wide, it reached his eyes in a way that made the heat in her spread.

“Maybe I will.”

Later in the afternoon, one of the crew approached her with a worn case in hand. The helmsman turned out to be the owner of the kokyū Iroh mentioned, and he was more than happy to show her the fingerings along the neck and let her handle it to get a feel for it. It was all at once familiar and strange in her hands—the body was smaller, the neck shorter, and the timbre of the whole instrument was much higher than the fiddle her mother had taught her on, but the basic mechanics were the same. It took her a little to get used to the different spacings of the notes, but she could play it passably. Well enough for an informal music night on a ship in the middle of the ocean, anyway.

It wasn’t until after the sun set that the crew gathered on the foredeck. Katara didn’t notice at first, sitting perched upon a crate and plucking quietly at the kokyū strings. When it became nearly too dark to see, she joined the crew, surprised by how many had come. It seemed only a skeleton crew was left to run the ship.

Feeling a bit awkward carrying an instrument not actually hers—or even of her culture—Katara took an empty spot to settle in. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, she found herself thinking. She didn’t know how one of these things actually went, and what if her music was too strange for all the Fire Nation sailors, or she didn’t play this instrument as passably as she thought she did…

A swell in the conversation around her interrupted her worrying, and she refocused her attention. Several torches and a few grated canisters had been moved to form a circle of light in the center of the deck, illuminating the deck for everyone to see. A group of three men settled not far from her, each with a different sized drum nestled in their laps. One of them idly began a beat; she presumed this meant it was starting.

Iroh’s laugh came from one side, and she craned her neck to find him. He was talking with a man carrying a gekkin, and they both made their way into the circle of light. Katara hadn’t yet seen Zuko, and she wondered if he was going to sit out after all. Part of her was glad—he wouldn’t have to see if she did fumble her song—but another part was disappointed; she was hoping she’d play well enough that he might enjoy hearing a song from her Tribe.

It seemed all the other crew members were far more relaxed than she felt, and she wondered if they were all part of Zuko and Iroh’s old crew. She soon was drawn out of her thoughts when the gekkin player began. The other drummers joined in, handing out an upbeat tune to start off the night.

The gekkin wasn’t alone—after the first song was over, another joined in with a liuqin to complement and pluck around the more melodic wanderings of the gekkin. By the time they went into their third song together, several of the crew were dancing to the cheers of others. Everyone that passed by Katara had rosy cheeks, and it dawned on her that they were drinking, as well. It reminded her a lot of Aang’s dance party in the cave, only more raucous.

Listening from her seat, Katara plucked along with some of the melodies she knew or could pick up quickly, and only partially out of nerves. She hadn’t played—or sang—in a really long time, and while she was honestly looking forward to it, she also worried about how she’d sound. She did not think of her mother or the nights in their home around the cooking fire she spent learning to play the morin khuur.

She was so determined not to be lost in thought about the past that she wasn’t aware Iroh had come up to her until he put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Startling a little, she looked up at him.

He smiled, cheeks rosy and the wrinkles around his eyes deep. “Are you still willing to play for us?”

One fortifying breath was all she needed to give him a firm nod. She was ready. Sitting a little straighter, she nestled the kokyū between her knees and picked up the bow. The drums quieted, waiting for her to play. She started slow, languidly reminding her fingers of the different fret spacings this instrument had. Despite being an octave or so higher than it should be played, Katara found the winding melody she was searching for. The dancing crewman slowed to watch her, and she kept her eyes on her fingers, coming to a pause with the bow. She couldn’t stop her grin as she leaned into the next part, lifting up the melody into an easy, faster rhythm; the drums picked up after only a few repeats. It was a simple tune, the melody played overtop the drone of the other strings—there was one more than she was used to—but it was driving and she could forget that she wasn’t playing around a Water Tribe communal fire. Almost unbidden, her voice came bubbling up through her throat and she hummed the melody line before mustering the last bit of her courage to sing Tribe words to this crew of Fire Nation sailors.

She was rusty, she knew that, and it was by no means perfect—especially to her own ears. But she sang. In the ancient words of her Tribe, she sang the joy of her people finding land beneath the ice and building a home there, and the Fire Nation sailors thoroughly enjoyed themselves. How much of that enjoyment was augmented by alcohol, she couldn’t say, but if it was, she was grateful for it. It was pleasant, having such an enthusiastic audience.

When she finished, she could feel the last notes reverberating in her bones. Finally looking up from her fingers, Katara was taken aback by the sudden burst of applause and foot stamping that commended her. Her face hurt and she realized that she was grinning; even if it wasn’t the traditional instrument or people listening, it felt good. She felt good.

Bowing deeply to the helmsman, she handed back his kokyū with breathless thanks. He asked her to show him how to play like that, and laughing, she agreed. She searched for Zuko, then excused herself and looked for him. Maybe he would dance with her if she could find him, informally.

“I didn’t know you spoke another language.” Zuko said a little bit away from her, once more leaning on the rail and looking out at the salt-dark of the ocean.

Smiling halfway, Katara shook her head. “I can’t. I only know a few songs in the Tribe tongue. We don’t really speak it anymore.”

No sharp sorrow tinged her voice; it was not something she personally forgot, but that had been lost before she was ever born. A slow erosion from her culture the way that water carved away ice over the course of years.

“What’s left of ours is mostly in old poems,” Zuko said, and she was as surprised by that as she was grateful it wasn’t an apology.

“Really? Do you know any?” She joined him at the rail and absently wondered how many times during this trip they would find each other here.

He was silent for a long while. Then, so quietly she almost didn’t hear him over the sound of the music and laughter and waves, he said, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

She lost no elation from the music; she felt herself soften. He didn’t have to explain himself for her to know what he meant; she felt the same way.

“You can,” she told him earnestly.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Zuko—” The way he looked at her when she said his name made her breath hitch for a moment in her throat. Her cheeks warmed and she angled her head to look out over the waves. “You know, I don’t know if this is even something I should be doing,” she said, subdued but not timid. “It makes me feel like I’m abandoning Aang, like I’m running away from my responsibility to him.”

“You’re not—” Zuko shook his head. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. You’re not wrong, but you’re not entirely right, either. I’m his friend and teacher, and I’ll always feel responsible for him. He’s still a kid in a lot of ways.”

Zuko snorted softly. “We’re all still young. I’m not the youngest Fire Lord ever crowned, but I’m the youngest to rule without a regent before I officially come of age.” He let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “Now that we’ve established we both don’t know how to do something we’re not even sure we should be doing in the first place…”

Katara laughed. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. Look,” she said to his incredulous glance, “we’ve overcome a lot of things I would have never thought possible, that I used to question a lot.”

“Like stopping my family?”

She reached out and gave him a playful shove. “Like becoming really good friends. I didn’t know if trusting you again was the right thing to do, or even something that I could do.” Her hand came to rest on his arm when he cast his gaze down at his hands and she knew his memory was in the catacombs. “But we did anyway, and I’m really, really glad that we did.”

He looked up at her then, hope and vulnerability and something a little too raw drawn clearly across his face. “You are?”

Swallowing the sudden thudding of her heart, Katara nodded. “I am. I’m also really nervous about being an Ambassador, but I’m going to do it anyway, too.” She paused for a breathless moment. “And I think it’s something I really want to do.”

Zuko shifted until his hand found hers, and then her fingers were encased within his. He gave her hand a warm squeeze. “I’m really glad you’re going to be there.”

“Me, too.”

He smiled then, and it was soft and wound between her lungs. It made her wonder if she wasn’t running away, but rather headlong into something.

#avatar: the last airbender #atla #avatar the last airbender #zutara #fanfiction #atomicwrites

[zuzu-firequeen]

Fire Queen

Fire Queen Masterlist

~Zuko X OC~

~ The Truth ~

After a week of moving all of our things to the new apartment, Zuko was starting to feel a little better. His fever broke and he could sleep all night for the first time in a while. Zoir cartwheels in the new spacious living quarters as Iroh and I stand in the kitchen and stir the pot of jook. “Mother makes this a lot. I assume you taught her everything?” Iroh smiles, “I can not take credit for that. She simply learned everything from Ursa.” I narrow my eyes. “Who?” “Zuko’s mother. They were close. Very close.” “She never mentioned it.” Iroh flashes a sad smile.

Zori runs up jumping onto the counter. “I’m glad I have my own room.” She stretches her arms groaning. “Me too, you’re a kicker.” I pinch her nose lightly, laughing.

“What's that smell?” I turn to see Zuko entering. He smiles at me, wrapping his arm around me and kissing my head. “Good morning.” “Hi.” I bite my lip begging my cheeks not to flush. Iroh smiles at the action. “It's jook. I'm sure you wouldn't like it.” Zuko bows over the pot, inhaling, as Iroh steps back.

Zuko smiles surprisingly. Someone slept well.

“Actually, it smells delicious. I'd love a bowl, Uncle.” The banished Prince picks up and holds out a bowl. I smile watching as Iroh eyes his nephew in suspicion. “Now that your fever is gone, you seem different somehow.” Iroh ladles some jook into the proffered bowl. Zuko takes the bowl and holds my side again. His smile grows as he looks to Zori, then down at me, then to Iroh. A wide smile plastered upon his lips.

If my father and mother would’ve stayed in this timeline would I have met Zuko naturally? My family lived in their home. Our mothers were close. My father was a trusted General up until the Fire Lord asked him to perform unspeakable acts. In a perfect world… were Zuko and I meant to be?

“It's a new day. We've got a new apartment, new furniture, we have Zori and Truble in our lives, and today's the grand opening of your new tea shop. Things are looking up Uncle.” Zuko high fives Zori before moving to the table and kneels, sipping from the bowl and looking out an open window. I smile as I watch him gaze at the city. Iroh bumps me with his elbow lightly. “You did that, you know.” I shake my head. “No, there was always good in him.” “He needed your help to get it out, Truble. Thank you.” Iroh sits next to his nephew and speak as Zori and I stay put at the counter. “You’re staring.” Zori teases as she brings the bowl to her lips. “Yeah, I am.”

~

The King is seated on his golden throne. His bear Bosco rests his chin on one of the throne's arms. Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai are kneeling at the foot of the dais, still disguised as the Kyoshi warriors.

“Look, Bosco, the Kyoshi Warriors are here to protect us. Aren't you excited?” The King speaks gleefully as he tugs playfully on Bosco's cheeks, who yawns. “It's been a difficult week for me. My most trusted advisor, Long Feng, and his Dai Li agents tried to take control of Ba Sing Se from me. Plus I heard a rumor from them that a terrorist is slumming in my kingdom. Fire nation blood running in their veins.” The king shivers at the thought.

“It's terrible when you can't trust the people who are closest to you. We will risk our lives to rid the kingdom of this worry.”

“But there is good news. As we speak, the Council of Five is meeting to plan an invasion of The Fire Nation this summer. On the day of a solar eclipse.”

Azula's eyes widen slightly at these last words. “Really? Now that sounds like a fascinating and brilliant plan.”

~

-Zuko-

Uncle and I overlook the business inside the tea shop. Truble talking to citizens and earring bright smiles in return. “Who thought when we came to this city as refugees, that I'd end up owning my own tea shop. Follow your passion Zuko, and life will reward you.” His eyes never leave Truble’s figure bustling around. He nudges my arm, winking.

“Congratulations Uncle.” He smiles around the shop. “I'm very thankful.”

“You deserve it. The Jasmine Dragon will be the best tea shop in the city.”

“No, I'm thankful because you decided to share this special day with me.” He puts a hand on my arm. “It means more than you know.” I reach over to give him a hug, mostly to his surprise.

“Now let's make these people some tea.” He chuckles. “Yes! Let's make some tea!”

~

-Truble-

“I need two honey leafs, and one jasmine,” I say as I pass Iroh and clip the order to the sting. “This is great!” He chuckles as he brews several pots at once. “Did I have all this before?” I place droplets of honey into the cups and pour the tea. “No. It was about this time where your journals stopped before you burnt the thing.” He hums smiling. “Good choice too.” “Whatever you say, old man.”

I walk over to the table setting their tea down as I glance at Zuko at the table across from mine. His eyes lock with mine as he makes his way towards the back. I follow him with a small smirk. I giggle as I jump on his back as he passes through the doorway. “Hey!” He chuckles laughing.

I get back on my feet and lay my hands on his shoulders. “I want to tell you tonight.” Zuko’s eyes widen. “About you? Are you sure?” He runs his finger over my golden pendant. I place my hand over his kissing his hand. “I do. I want to tell you as much as I can.” Zuko leans down connecting our lips.

“It’s a date.” He whispers as he backs away.

~

Inside a room of the palace, a smiling Ty Lee is looking in a mirror. She is wiping the last traces of her Kyoshi makeup from her face. Mai is seated next to nearby, still working on her own face. Azula paces the floor behind them.

“We have been presented with an extraordinary opportunity, girls.”

Ty Lee smirks at her friends teasingly. “Mai finally gets to wear makeup that's not totally depressing?”

Mai rolls her eyes followed by a deadpan voice. “Ha. Ha.”

Azula walks to a window. “I'm talking about conquering the whole Earth Kingdom.” The two girls turn with shocked looks. Azula starts again, staring out the window. “For a hundred years the fire nation has hammered away at Ba Sing Se from the outside. But now we are on the inside, and we can take it by ourselves.” Ty Lee bites her cheek. “Aren't we here to find that girl though? Your dad was… really really mad about that.” Azula rolls her eyes. “You don’t think I can do both at once?”

Ty Lee smiles, “Gosh, you're so confident. I really admire that about you.”

Azula smirks looking out the window again. “From the inside, we're in the perfect position to organize a coup and overthrow the Earth King. The key is the Dai Li. They know where Savrar Kamie is hiding. Whoever controls the Dai Li, controls Ba Sing Se.”

~

I flatten out the white silk with the golden dragons smiling. “I knew this would look amazing on you.” Zori smiles as she snuggles in the bedsheets. “It’s the nicest thing I’ve ever worn.” Zori smiles at my figure. “You’re really going to tell him?” “Not everything. He can’t know about the timelines, but everything else? This?” I flick my hand letting the purple flames dance in my digits. “I’m tired of hiding it.” Zori walks up hugging me. “You’ll make the best Fire Queen.” I laugh, “That’s a stretch.” She shakes her head.

I walk out of the room seeing Iroh and Iroh only. I furrow my brows looking around. “Is he showing me up?” Iroh smirks, shrugging his shoulders. “I hope not. I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of those flames.” I smirk blowing fire at him, a rare talent he taught me long ago. “Watch out little dragon.” I beam laughing. “You called me that when I was little.” Zori jumps on the counter next to Iroh. “You sure you don’t want this?” She pushes the Fire nation emblem towards me. “Maybe next time. I feel overdressed already.”

~

-Zuko-

Down in the tea shop I set up the table awaiting her arrival. What will she say? Where did she come from? Who she really is? What four elements is she gifted with?

“Well, now I look very out of place.” A soft voice rings through the empty shop. I turn on my heels to see Truble, and my jaw nearly reaches to the floor. I graze over her figure. The beautifully crafted silk and the golden accents dance upon the silk with grace. The end of the gown flowing as loose flames each step she takes. Fire Nation. I knew that much. Leaving me with more questions now than before.

“Truble.” I breathe out as I walk to her. I grasp her hands and admire her again. “You’re so beautiful.” She smiles bringing her hands to the collar of my robes. “And you, my Prince, look very handsome.”

I look down at the dress and draw against the golden and red stitches. “This is a Fire Nation dress.” “It is. I told you. There is a lot to learn.”

We sit and as we continue our night she begins unraveling the story. “Savrar and Killo Kamie are my parents.” I open my mouth to say something but close it in confusion. “My father… He had abilities the Fire Lord needed. He asked him to… get rid of a child. A baby, but he refused. That’s when your father ordered both him and my mother to death.” “The tale the nation knows of is they vanished.” She grabs her necklace. Her family crest. I stare at the pendant realizing what this is. “But that’s not what happened, was it?” She smirks letting a small laugh go. “I didn’t expect you to know of other tales.” I nod. “My father does hate yours.”

She laughs, “Trust me. I know.”

A thick silence fills the shop. I grab her hand as she stares down at the floor. “Truble, it doesn’t matter what has happened in our pasts. Given they have brought us here, but when we met I felt like it was the start of a new life. So please tell me everything, love.” Her eyes swell and her smile grows.

“Are you sure, Zuko?”

“More than anything, Truble.”

She stands up and walks to me, lowering to the floor and resting on the chair next to me. “Do you trust me?” She asks with worry. I kiss her lips quickly and run my thumb against the pale skin of her cheek. “Of course.” She bites her lip sighing. “Okay, okay. So, don’t freak out, just relax, and if you want me to stop just… Well, I don’t actually know how to stop it. So just… trust me.” “Stop what- ah!” I gasp as she places her hands on the sides of my head. I feel as I’m falling and when I stop I see two figures dashing down the halls of the palace. “Mother.” I gasp, reaching for her, but she passes through me. She’s accompanied by another woman with a swollen belly. “You know she’ll have your looks.” My mother laughs hooking arms with the other lady. “Sav is convinced she’ll have his hair.” Mother laughs, throwing her head back in joy. “She’ll be trouble that one.”

The setting falls into a violet smoke, fading into the throne room. A beaten and bloody man is forced to kneel in front of my father. A man with blazing fire hair identical to Truble’s. “Savrar, I trusted you to come back with my prize, but you arrived empty-handed. I demand to know.” The Fire Lord stands, towering over the General. “Did you slaughter him,” He states, in no way was he asking. He was simply demanding what he wanted from thin air.

Savrar looks up at my father with eyes hard as stone. He stands, meeting my father’s height. The men glare at each other. “You dare defy-” Savrar spits in the Fire Lord's face before throwing him on the ground.

He sprints away down the hall as I run after him. He’s caught by Uncle Iroh and pulled into a room where they shuffle around in chaos. "Hurry darling, please." He pushes his wife as she grabs a few belongings. She turns to Uncle in thanks, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you for all you have done." He nods holding her at arm's length. "Now go. Good luck."

Killo places her necklace around her neck and holds her husband as he closes his eyes and rotates his hand in a circular motion in front of him. The pendents glowing a deep purple, winds pick up in the room, blending loose papers and such in with the current. In a split second everything stills.

The setting has once again changed and all I can see for miles is black trees and smog covering the sky. Fire blazing the treetops, and the air close to non-existent. “Can’t I take a break? I’ve been doing this since the sun rose.” I turn around to see a little girl in tattered Fire Nation clothes. “Truble, you must do without question or complaint. That is the only way you will achieve this fate.” I know that wise voice. I peer over and see a weak old man hunched on a log, his hand shaking as he sips tea. He looks so broken. “Uncle.” I gasp walking over to him and looking at him closer. His hands… His palms are burnt, and scars line his arms. He looks up meeting my eyes and smiling. I gasp falling back in my butt. “Tea?” Truble walks through me and takes the cup. “You can do this, Truble. You can save everyone.” The little girl sways her feet. “Maybe.” He pats her back with a shaky hand. “Back to it.”

They fade away and an older Truble stands across from me. I look behind me and see Savrar standing strongly. Uncle leans on the cane nodding. “Begin.” Truble rushes towards her father, turning and pushing her arms forward and releasing the most beautiful violet flames I’ve ever seen. In no time she takes Savrar down.

Iroh and Savrar stand in the moonlight gazing at the fire lit city. “She’s ready you know.” Savrar nods, “And your nephew?” What? Where was I? Iroh looks at the sky with tearful eyes. No. “She will save him, but for now, all I can do is remember him.”

The sunlight rips away at the setting and Truble stands at a cliff. I step away from them to the edge of the cliff. "I'll see you soon, Iroh." "I'm sure I'm looking forward to it this moment." He steps forward, struggling as he does. He places his hand on her arm squeezing in assurance. "Truble, you have a destiny greater than any of the souls in this land. Go back and save him."

"Wait! I'm coming! Don't leave yet, Truble!" Zori runs over with packs on her back. "I'm going with you." "Zori, no. You could get hurt, I'm sure your mother-" "She knows. Now shut your trap. Let's go fix this."

She pulls out her own golden pendent and clips it on her shirt. "Well then. I guess this is... goodbye." Savrar nods with a sad smile. "Only for now my trouble maker. It will only seem like a minute for us when you succeed."

Truble grab Zori's hand and look down at her. "Are you ready, kid?" She nods excitedly. "Let's go find the Avatar."

I feel ground under my feet and I open my eyes to see the green grass under my shoes.

"Zori... we did it." Truble smiles, picking a blade of grass. "I've never seen grass before." She says running her fingers over them.

"This is beautiful!" Zori cheers looking over the vase environment. "Now let's see where we are,"

"This way to Ba Sing Se."

I gasp, opening my eyes. I stare into Truble’s eyes in confusion. “What… are you, Truble?” She removes her hands and fiddles with them. “My father calls it Time Bending. He was the first to open a bridge between time and venture into their timeline. I’m able to do the same.” I look at her hands and grab one. “And your fire?” She ignites a small flame in the middle of her palm. “It’s hotter than regular fire.” I start feeling the intense heat from a foot away. She closes her hand nodding. “Truble. What happened to me?” Her eyes meet mine and sorrow fills them. “You were killed in turn for Iroh’s freedom.” I shiver to look at the table. “I see.”

My destiny truly means nothing. How could my own blood think so little of me to slaughter me once they ran out of prison food. Pathetic. I bite my lip in anger. “I’m sorry, Zuko.” She mumbles. She grabs my hands kissing my palms. “I can help you, Zuko. We could do this together.” I look at her with suspicion. “End the war?” I scoff watching her nod with a small smile of hope. “Overthrow the Fire Nation with the Avatar, and you take your rightful spot as Fire Lord.” I let out a huff. “And… I could be your Queen.” I look up at her with a growing smile. “My… Fire Queen?” She nods, a blush coating her cheeks.

“I love you, Zuko.” I stop breathing as she finishes her sentence. “I know you might not feel the same and that’s-” I pull her close, catching her lips. I put my hand on her cheek keeping her close. “Say it again.” She grins against my lips. “I love you.” I peck her once more smiling. “I love you, Truble.”

#prince zuko #zuko x reader #zuko x oc #fire lord zuko #zuzu #zuko imagine #fire bender #fire nation #azula #aang #avatar aang #avatar the legend of aang #avatar #avatar the last airbender #the avatar returns #air bender #water tribe #water bender #katara #sokka #suki #kioshi