#and when Katara comes into the Ba Sing Se teashop

[soopersara]

For reasons that have everything and nothing to do with the most recent chapters of I&S, I've been thinking a lot about a time travel AU that I will absolutely never write.

Specifically, I want a time travel AU where little-kid!Zuko (age 9-10) travels forward in time and meets angry-teen!Zuko (we're talking like... the Book 1 egghead version of angry-teen!Zuko here). I know that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but the way I envision this playing out is:

Teen!Zuko and kid!Zuko meet, and after a healthy amount of confusion, figure out that they're two different versions of the same person. Kid!Zuko is... not thrilled to be stuck on a rickety old ship with a much grumpier version of himself, but hey! Uncle Iroh is here, and he's got lots of board games and even more free time, so it could be worse. Teen!Zuko, meanwhile, is having a bit of a crisis as he gets slapped in the face with several realizations all at once.

Realization #1: A warship is not a good place for a 9-10 year old boy to live, but there's literally nowhere else in the world where kid!Zuko will be safe. For as long as kid!Zuko is stuck in this timeline, teen!Zuko has to look after him.

Realization #2: Oh, shit. No one has seriously fucked up kid!Zuko yet. His life obviously hasn't been perfect, but this is pretty much the peak of kid!Zuko's sweet-and-innocent phase.

Realization #3: ... as fucked up as teen!Zuko's life has been, he desperately doesn't want to be the person who fucks up kid!Zuko's life.

Cue teen!Zuko scrambling to get his shit together so that he can be a reasonably healthy and stable guardian/big brother figure for his younger self. He starts working on his temper and trying to take Iroh's advice more seriously, and while things don't always go smoothly (kid!Zuko definitely picks up some vigilante tendencies from teen!Zuko. There may or may not be sightings of a tiny Blue Spirit causing trouble up and down the Earth Kingdom coast), teen!Zuko eventually figures out what he's doing. He puts in the work to become a decent role model, he deals with some of his own shit (and his outlook on life improves), he grows to see kid!Zuko as the little brother he never had, and he generally doesn't fuck anything up too badly.

Basically, looking after kid!Zuko teaches teen!Zuko self love (but with extra steps! I don't think grumpy-teen!Zuko could ever learn anything the simple way 😂)

All of that growth makes it harder and harder for teen!Zuko to ever envision himself returning to the Fire Nation. After all, if he wouldn't put his younger self through the pain of going back there and dealing with Ozai, why should he put his present self through that? And on a related note, kid!Zuko definitely has questions about teen!Zuko's scar and banishment. When teen!Zuko reaches a point where he's able to think about the Agni Kai, he can't imagine anything that kid!Zuko could ever do to deserve that kind of treatment, which leads teen!Zuko to question whether he deserved it. And as teen!Zuko starts to come to grips with the fact that he's probably never going back home - certainly not if it would mean putting kid!Zuko through the same pain that teen!Zuko experienced there - he has to start considering what other options he has for the future.

Kid!Zuko may or may not accelerate teen!Zuko's redemption arc even more by befriending various members of the Gaang and dragging his 'big brother' along to meet his new friends/disappearing for a few hours with his new friends only to be 'rescued' by teen!Zuko who is... very surprised and very awkward about it when he realizes who kid!Zuko is hanging out with.

There are obviously lots of time travel AUs out there already, but apparently this one is just going to live in my brain for the forseeable future 😂 As much as I love the standard "post-redemption!Zuko meets Book 1 Zuko and mentors his younger self to accelerate his own redemption/drags himself kicking and screaming toward redemption" time travel AUs that I see around the fandom, I think I'm just hungry for a time travel AU where pre-redemption!Zuko doesn't know what his future could look like. To me, there's just something really appealing about the idea of a time travel AU where his redemption gets accelerated not because he knows his life will get better if he becomes a better person, but because he wants to be someone who his younger self can be proud of.

#atla headcanons #zuko #zuko headcanons #time travel au #now it's time for me to go back to daydreaming #about the Zutara variant of this AU #where either Katara finds kid!Zuko first and has to find him a permanent guardian #which can only be teen!Zuko or Iroh #and since she's bonded with kid!Zuko by the time that she finds teen!Zuko and Iroh #she can't get herself to just drop off kid!Zuko and run #so they all strike an uneasy alliance #OR the other version #where kid!Zuko and teen!Zuko are traveling together from the beginning #and when Katara comes into the Ba Sing Se teashop #kid!Zuko starts playing with Momo #then teen!Zuko tries to get his 'little brother' to stop bothering the customers #Katara sees teen!Zuko #and Zutara-flavored teashop shenanigans ensue #zutara

[peony-pearl]

The Jasmine Dragon - reimagined

So instead of just a teashop, I think the Jasmine Dragon could be a visual extension of Iroh’s continued work through the rest of his life in undoing his and his family’s damage onto the world.

Instead of just a teashop, let it be an inn, or a refuge out in the countryside. A place for the displaced from the end of the war. Let it be where travelers can come and rest, and learn about the four nations through art and scrolls and books. To meditate and find a spiritual center, and learn about spirituality in general.

This could potentially be funded by Zuko, as Iroh wouldn’t accept money, unless a traveler simply looking for a bed insists. And when they do, it’s used to maintain the pantry for those who truly need the help.

Every so often, Iroh hikes the perimeter of the area, seeing if he needs to escort anyone to the Jasmine Dragon. He cooks, keeps fresh clothing, washes the feet of those he would have once ruled over with an iron fist, and ensures they are warm and safe. Eventually, he isn’t the only person tending to the refuge. Zuko sends him a staff of a couple of nurses, a few cooks, and others to help clean and maintain the buildings and grounds, but Iroh is 100% hands on with as much as he can be, and pitches in wherever he’s needed, even if that means babysitting a young mother’s children while she rests, scrubbing the robes of a refugee, or aiding an injured guest to their room.

The Jasmine Dragon, a place of health and healing, would not be hidden in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se; but perhaps outside of the city entirely.

Perhaps more towards the place he once knew as his camp during the siege.

But instead of waging war, he is continuing to learn how to unpack generations of trauma implanted into him, that he then implanted into the generation after him.

The trauma Lu Ten will never be able to unlearn.

Lu Ten will never see the man his father became.

The man he became because of Lu Ten’s death.

He is nervous to display his son’s portrait in the main hall. The portrait of a Fire Nation soldier in the hall of a place meant for healing? The irony that Iroh changed because of this soldier - this boy. His son, and yet he knows full well the circumstances of displaying Fire Nation portraits in a place like this.

I think ultimately it would be Katara or Sokka who would convince him to put it somewhere in view. For Iroh to hide who he is while running the Jasmine Dragon would be to go back on everything he’s both learned and unlearned - let the world know Lu Ten’s story. Let the world know the Dragon of the West’s story, and how he came to buck what his family wanted of the world, and he, instead, became a pariah of the Fire Nation and helped liberate Ba Sing Se; and now he’s here, helping to rebuild the lives of those who need it, little by little. Instead of grand dreams like conquering, he can be a lighthouse in the darkest hours for the everyday person - while still sharing good tea and a game of Pai Sho.

#atla #my writing #Iroh #I'm not trying to write 'Saint Iroh' I'm trying to write 'Iroh who knows he goofed and now he's making up for it #while still trying to be positive about the path he's taking'

[juniperhillpatient]

Lake Laogai

It's not even remotely a secret that I'm incapable of being unbiased or objective about this episode. I love Jet, & I think killing him off was a huge mistake & a waste. I wrote a post explaining in more detail why I specifically think that Jet's death was a writing mistake HERE.

This re-watch has been interesting because it's really nice to re-watch a fave show & re-evaluate my opinions after spending a lot of time engaging with the fandom. I don't know, maybe it's just my annoyance with the fandom's pushing for a Katara/Aang/Zuko love triangle but this re-watch has made me take a firm stance that Jet should've lived, & become part of the Gaang, & dated Katara. "But Rose, don't you prefer Katara with girls?" I mean yeah, I like to write that more, but I'm talking about what I think should've happened in the actual show, which is entirely separate.

[ID: two pictures from different angles of Katara & Jet in the streets of Ba Sing Se]

Katara & Jet have the whole contentious complicated past & I'm always gonna be a sucker for the dynamic where the girl is violently angry & the guy is just like "I'm so sorry I've changed please accept me" like, I'm just being honest that's a good dynamic. Jet's already pretty strong redemption arc could've been concreted & we could've had a new, needed perspective in the Gaang from someone who was a victim of colonization in a similar way to Katara & Sokka but with a very different experience & reaction.

I will try not to spend this whole post being salty though, that's why I made a separate post. The brainwashing under Lake Laogai is very creepy, & it is one of the aspects of the show that stuck with me the most upon first viewing & for good reason. All the Joo Dees speaking in unison is genuinely terrifying. Long Feng is also a well-written villain. He's sly, manipulative, & just creeps me out.

The other thing that I wanted to ponder on with this episode is Zuko saving Appa, & Zuko & Iroh's discussion. I want to make it clear that I think Zuko's redemption arc is incredibly well-written overall. I only criticize Avatar because I love it so much & have thought about it so much. There are a lot of popular Avatar hot takes on Tumblr about how Zuko's redemption arc is poorly written, nonexistent, or whatever, & I simply strongly disagree. I have to get that out of the way & be clear about it or I'll worry I'm being misinterpreted. I also like Iroh, although I feel like I don't always understand what's going on with him & this episode is an example. That's another thing I wanted to clarify because I don't want to come across as anti-Iroh. I don't know, maybe I worry too much about how I come across lol but anyway -

Iroh: And then what!? You never think these things through! [Points at him.] This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!

Zuko: I would have figured something out!

Iroh: No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death! Zuko I know my own destiny, Uncle! Iroh Is it your own destiny, or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you? Zuko Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!

This scene specifically & the entire framing of Zuko's unhappiness about the teashop is very interesting. I have said before that I dislike Zuko as Firelord in the end, but that's not necessarily a firm stance...I guess I just dislike the inconsistency with how it was built up. Others who are willing to be much harsher than I am have often pointed out that Zuko went from following his father's orders & vision to following Iroh's vision of his destiny, & I think there's some truth to that. But what bothers me more than that, is that we don't actually get firm foreshadowing on what Iroh's vision for Zuko's destiny even is.

This is the first time we see Iroh really yell at Zuko & go off on him but it's unclear what he wants from Zuko. I mean, okay, he wants Zuko to be happy serving tea. I guess that's fine, but it doesn't quite work knowing that later, Iroh completely does a 180 on this stance & it's sorta like...What happened? Ya know? It's just inconsistent. And characters can be inconsistent, people change their minds, but we're not really given much information about Iroh's internal struggle concerning what he wants from his nephew so it just comes across as confusing to me.

Zuko's character arc is all about discovering what it is that he wants & acting on it. I've said before that my issue with Zuko's ending on the show is that Zuko always wanted to be Firelord & then he....becomes Firelord. That's not really a change? This scene between Zuko & Iroh feels like it was building to something larger with Zuko's arc, but it really....isn't.

That said, I do love Appa's return! Aang & Appa's reunion & Appa getting to be a badass is just amazing.

[ID: two pictures of Aang & Appa hugging, one from up close & one from a bit of a distance.]

I definitely enjoyed Appa's reunion with the Gaang the most out of all the parts of this episode.

Well, I enjoyed Jet's parts up until his death too. I also wanted to point out that Sokka teases Katara about her thing with Jet, but doesn't seem that angry at Jet himself & is quite willing to give him another chance. And it's Aang who breaks Jet out of his brainwashing by reminding him that they are friends. So, Katara is not the only one in the Gaang with any connection with Jet. Again, they should've addressed --- ah, whatever, I'm done.

That's all I have for this episode.

#oh jet gets...idk...2000 iconic behavior points for BREAKING OUT OF BRAIN WASHING & also using his dying breath to reassure Katara #lake laogai #atla re watch #atla book 2

[attackfish]

Is there an AU for Avatar Ursa?

I am appalled I tell you, appalled, that you would so doubt me. Of course I have an Avatar Ursa AU. And just for that, I say those Ursa left behind in the Northern Water Tribe deserve some attention. Continued from: [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], [Link], and [Link].

1. Kya wakes to cold blankets beside her. She thinks, she assumes, that Ursa just got up earlier. Ursa has always been an early riser. She once told her that firebenders rise with the sun. But Ursa is nowhere to be found. She doesn't come to take Katara to waterbending lessons, she doesn't come for lunch, and Kya frets. When she isn't back for dinner, Kanna nods at her empty place at the table, and says, "Ah, so Ursa has left at last." Kya's head whips around. What does Kanna mean by that? Only that Ursa has clearly been planning a journey by boat, for which she needs children's clothing, for several months. Oh dear, Kya hadn't noticed? Well maybe Kanna just knew what to look for, having once made a similar journey herself.

2. They put the children to bed. They're full of questions and don't want to go to sleep, and are too old to be sent to bed and tucked in anyway, but Kya and Kanna just shush them as best they can and climb up to the roof of the guest house they have been given. As soon as they are settled, Kya hisses that Kanna might have said something, and Kanna says no, that would have just given Kya time to try to talk Ursa out of going, and Ursa was never going to listen. They didn't need to fight about this. She shouldn't have gone, Kya insists. It's too dangerous. and Kanna shakes her head and asks if Kya wouldn't have done the same for her children. And Kya would. Of course she would, but she just lost her husband, and she loves Ursa so much, and she's so afraid, and can't Kanna understand that? (And didn't Hakoda die protecting their children?)

3. And Kanna does. Kanna is a widow who lost her only child. She understands all right. But Kya, even after Ursa get's back, she's still the Avatar. She has a duty to the world, and she's going to fight a war. Kya is going to have to get used to Ursa leaving to do very dangerous things. She can't stop her, and she shouldn't try. It will only bring them both pain. She can't hold everybody she cares about tight to her chest and keep them safe so that she won't be hurt again. And Kya does know that. She does. It's just...

4. The next morning, before Katara goes to waterbending lessons, Kya and Kanna sit her and her brother down and tell them where Ursa went, and how in just a little while, she will be back with her children, and Katara and Sokka need to be ready.

5. After a few months of hide and seek with his brother's forces, Iroh goes to ground. He's done what he needs to, and Ozai will be looking for him, not Ursa. He picks a nice little town in the southern Earth Kingdom, not far from Omashu. It's a pleasant, sleepy place, where the wealthier citizens try to mimic the high culture of Ba Sing Se, and he sets up a tea shop that becomes profitable in almost no time. The problem is, now that he isn't running anymore, now that he isn't tweeking his brother's nose, and with only the teashop to occupy his time, the depresssion and loss that almost swallowed him whole back in the Fire Nation returns full force. His son is dead, and his quiet retirement in Gaoling will always taste just a little like dust and ashes.

#avatar the last airbender #atla kya #atla kanna #atla ursa #uncle iroh #posts i created #do you want to ask a question it doesn't have to be a question #five headcanons #(not) the last waterbender at the south pole #mother bear ursa #i ship iroh/tea

[bard-llama]

Hello! I just wanted to let you know that I love your Zukaang writing and I already read almost all of your stuff about them! You go so deep in their problems and have so much intricate theories. I get so amazed by how well done is all made. I’m still learning how etiquette works here so sorry if this isn’t the proper way :’)

Awww, thank you for this awesome note! Really brightened my day 😊😊😊

I have sooooo many ideas for Zukaang, it's ridiculous lol. I currently have... okay, actually, I'm gonna do a tally of my WiPs that are unpublished lol. (below a cut bc I have way too many WiPs)

Zuko/Aang (29)

Shirtless Sparring: Zuko trains Aang in hand to hand combat and grappling. Naturally, this means frottage

Return to Pohuai: Aang gets to enjoy a fantasy where the Blue Spirit takes him

Our Love Become a Funeral Pyre: Zuko is Kuzon reincarnated and this proves confusing when Aang shows up

Gay Bar: crack fic where Zuko and Aang run into each other in a gay bar in Ba Sing Se

Airbender Blow Jobs: AKA Aang can go down for a long time

Fealty: Aang tries to figure out how to tell Zuko that he wants to pledge himself to him

Aang Approaching Zuko Morning After: after running into each other at Pao's Teashop, Aang goes back to try to talk to Zuko. Unfortunately, Zuko isn't on shift - but his Uncle is.

Dreams/Nightmares: Sokka jokes that he imagines all the villains in his dreams in their underwear. That night, Aang dreams of a very scantily clad Zuko chasing him

Pampering Zuko: Aang convinces Zuko to go to a resort where they can spend time together being soft. All about nonsexual intimacy

Fluff: post-dragons, Zuko retrains himself on how to use love to firebend

“My heart feels like it’s dancing when I look at you.”: Zuko thinks there's something wrong with him. Aang doesn't know how to tell him.

Treasure: sequel to Pearl, Aang has figured out what to do with the black pearl he found.

“I’m in love with your voice.”: Zuko and Aang talk while huddled up in a cave in the North Pole

First Kiss/First Time: Aang panics when Zuko kisses him and runs away to the South Pole. Zuko's wife is the one to come get him and tell him to fix his shit. (everyone is polyam)

Sex Pollen Blue Spirit/Aang: Aang gets dosed with something while in Ba Sing Se. Zuko saves him from some thugs but then has to figure out what to do next

Pao’s Teashop Office Sex: they bone in Pao's office lmao

Rope Burns: different circumstances Aang has experienced rope burn, culminating in him asking Zuko to tie him up

Sexytimes – Voyeurism: Aang ties Zuko up and makes him watch him touch himself

Gossip: Aang can't help but gush to Toph about his new bf

Frottage: Aang pushes Zuko into a closet in the FN Palace to avoid an annoying advisor - and they end up rubbing against each other

Something to Live For: The Avatar is what drives Zuko. Even through unimaginable pain, that goal has kept him going.

Avatar Gossip: the former Avatars watch Aang in the Spirit World and gossip about his life and relationships

PWP Genderbent Aang picks up Zuko without Zuko knowing: what it says on the tin

Blue Spirit x Avatar Aang: The Fire Nation is very invested in the love triangle between Fire Lord Zuko, Avatar Aang, and the Blue Spirit. Zuko is exasperated.

Identity Porn: Aang does not see behind the Blue Spirit mask. He does try to pick up the Blue Spirit when they run into each other in Ba Sing Se. Zuko doesn't know what to think.

“I can’t stop thinking about you. When I wake up, when I’m about to fall asleep…”: Zuko talking to Aang

Soulmate Potential: anyone can be your soulmate, but some people you'll have more resonance with than others. Even if they happen to be your enemy

The Fire Lord and the Avatar: posted the outline here

Airbender Zuko: Zuko first made sparks at 8, but he's been bending air since he was born. How is this possible?

Zuko/Aang/Katara (5)

Inspired by littlegingermochipie's art: Zuko blows Aang while Katara watches. Zuko maintains intense eye contact

Zutaraang: Aang gets hot and bothered watching Zuko and Katara spar

Zutaraang Lap Sex: At the Western Air Temple, Katara decides that the way to make sure they all get what they want is to push Aang into Zuko's lap and then climb into his lap. Aang has no complaints. Zuko is very confused.

“We need to stop dancing around it. All it does is hurt us both!”: Fantasizing about Zuko is safe in a way daydreaming about Katara isn't. Until Zuko joins their side, at least.

Katara and Aang decide to pursue Zuko: Aang talks to Katara about the Air Nomad concept of polyamory

Zuko/Gaang (8)

Retribution: roleplay where the Gaang 'pays Zuko back' for his s1 shit

Crowd Shy: what better way to deal with the trauma of being horrifically burned in front of a crowd than to get fucked in front of a crowd?

"Seduce" you to the good side: Zuko thinks he's dreaming and is very confused

Everyone Wants to Fuck Zuko: Zuko gets to be the Gaang's pet

Consensual Somnophilia: Zuko tells his friends one of his fantasies

“Prisoner” Zuko: Zuko is annoyed with how stupidly his "captors" are debating over taking him, as though he doesn't have a mouth that can be used

Getting Zuko to Sleep: Gaang cuddles with Zuko. If you cuddle up to him, he won't move and can actually fall asleep

Everyone is in love with Zuko and he catches a clue: he's all nervous trying to tell Mai that he's in love with his friends and she's just like "yeah, you have been forever, idiot"

Gen (56)

The Tournament of Kingship: Toph competes to be King of Omashu AKA the Greatest Earthbender in the World

Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Zuko apologizes to the Gaang (and co in Western Air Temple) through actions

Spontaneous Combustion: Ba Sing Se fic where Zuko ends up investigating people bursting into flame

Early s3 AU: After the war council meeting, Zuko panics and runs away to inspect a prison facility in Fire Fountain City. The same prison facility that Combustion Man locks Toph and Katara in a wooden cell in.

Pre-canon AU with Ozai: Ozai is annoyed that his son made friends with some blind girl at a diplomatic conference

Choosing Nonviolence 1: Aang sees Zuko's scars and it challenges his commitment not to harm Ozai. Zuko takes this the wrong way.

Choosing Nonviolence 2: What is forgiveness? It's not easy to forgive and Aang mourns that his friends don't understand that

Truth Serum: Just when the Gaang + Zuko + Iroh back Azula up against a wall, they get hit with pollen that has weird effects

De-aged Zuko: bb!Zuko finds out about the Air Nomad Genocide and has Opinions. Aang does not know how to feel.

Flower Language: Aang weaves a flower crown for Zuko when he's supposed to be training. Zuko gets frustrated and burns what turns out to be Aang's friendship offering. The Duke is the one to point out how he done fucked up.

The Duke Learns to Read: Zuko teaches The Duke how to read at the Western Air Temple

Working Together/Mission Fic: There are thugs abducting benders to sell as slaves in the Fire Nation. It's their great misfortune that they happen to capture both the Avatar and the Fire Prince

Zuko becomes Fire Lord at 13 AU: Zuko fights in the Agni Kai. This changes everything.

Toph Joins S1: she manages to mow through the pirates, and when they're surrounded, Iroh surrenders on both of their behalf. Zuko is not pleased about this.

Muzzled: the Gaang rescues Zuko from Zhao. It isn't pretty.

PAIN: literally an excuse to torture Zuko lol. The Gaang doesn't accept him at the Western Air Temple and he ends up captured, first by the EK, then the FN. They are not friendly captors.

Trusted with Weapon: Zuko realizes that the Gaang trusts him with a weapon

Gifts: the Gaang finds out that it's Aang's birthday on Ember Island. They talk about cultural differences in birthday celebrations

Katara POV Zuko tortured by Fire Lord: What it sounds like lol

Ozai finds out Zuko joined the Avatar: in Ba Sing Se, Zuko chose the Gaang. Now he's with them as they make their way through the Fire Nation. Ozai is displeased about this.

Kanna: Gran Gran's view of Zuko and passing judgement

Gyatso Runs Away With Aang: Aang wakes up from the iceberg with Gyatso next to him

Dad Convo: Zuko asks Hakoda what he would do if Sokka ever disrespected him

Shaking it up down South: Sokka learned his sexism from somewhere. In the post-war rebuilding of their tribes, things come to a head when many of the men are dismissive of the women of the tribe

Earthbender Zuko: Zuko discovers he can earthbend. This changes a lot.

Keeping the Avatar Alive: Zuko realizes he fucked up after Ba Sing Se and dedicates himself to protecting Aang

Pirate Zuko: At the Air Temples, Zuko discovers a philosophy of freedom - and so he decides to embrace it and becomes a pirate who seeks out/salvages Air Nomad artifacts

Self-Harming Zuko: Zuko is not as cautious when fighting with swords as he should be

Haunted Toy: Lu Ten dies... and ends up haunting a toy he once gave Zuko

Animal Transformation: Zuko is a finch-hawk and the Gaang bandages him up when they find him

Time Travel Zuko 2 Electric Boogaloo: future!Zuko goes back in time to tell his s1 self the things he wished someone had told him about how his father sucks ass. s1!Zuko is very confused.

Toph and Zuko’s Life-Changing Field Trip: Toph's parents invite her home and she decides to give them a chance - with backup that turns out to be VERY needed, because her parents invited her back to try to arrange her marriage

Crossdressing Gaang: A conversation about clothes leads to Aang talking about the fun of dressing up - and encouraging everyone to get in on it. They have a contest to see who can walk best in heels (it's Aang)

A Letter from the Dead: I'll be posting this soon, but basically, Gyatso wrote a letter to Aang, in hopes the Avatar would one day read it

Aang loves his friends (probably gen?): Aang misses his friends and arranges a get together for Zuko's 34th bday

Nerd Lords: Zuko sneaks into the Earth Kingdom Royal Library and manages to accidentally make friends with Kuei

Fight Club: Zuko competes in fist fights while they make their way across the Earth Kingdom. Iroh does not approve.

Instinctive Bending: Zuko's always had trouble bending exactly the way his instructors want. But when he lets himself forget that and just move, he's actually pretty good

Zuko's Odyssey: my mashup of the Odyssey and Zuko's years at sea AKA his ship sails the Western Ocean, full of monsters and mayhem (posted some planning here)

Agni's Little Flame: Agni is invested in Zuko's survival

Unyielding: Never Give Up Without A Fight

Zuko adapts other bending techniques: Zuko watches the Gaang spar and train and tries to improve his own bending

Fire Control: Zuko is actually very controlled with his fire - unlike Zhao

Nightmares: Katara hears Zuko having nightmares and tries desperately to ignore the urge to comfort him

Good at Bending: a conversation about bending leads to Zuko sharing how his skill has always been considered disappointing

Healing Fire: Zuko can't heal. It's totally just heat. Heat that makes him heal faster. That's normal, right?

Sibling Rulers: Zuko approaches Azula post-canon and offers a compromise - he needs her help. So he offers for her to be Fire Lady, with equal power to himself. Azula thinks it's a trap, but can't say no.

Azula and her brother: Azula's complex relationship with her brother, who her father has sent her to capture or kill

Crew bonding: First time they see Zuko breathe fire when frustrated. Zhao about shits himself

Katara hating on Zuko: the Gaang learns how he got the scar when Katara implies he deserved it and he agrees.

Thrice Cursed, Once Broken: going to start posting this soon, but Zuko doesn't escape on the Day of Black Sun. After Ozai is defeated, he is crowned - which means he has to deal with the Gaang + Iroh, who are here to end the war

Batman!Zuko: Zuko needs an outlet from being Fire Lord. Vigilantism is just convenient.

Viva la Resistance: Zuko's crew share stories about the Prince across the invasion fleet

Aang in the Iceberg 1: When Zuko dreams, he's in a world where Aang is the only person in existence.

Aang in the Iceberg 2: During his angst coma, Zuko wakes up in a bizarre ice cavern where an Aang who doesn't know who he is is eager to play with him

Punishment: At the Western Air Temple, Zuko expects the Gaang to punish him the way he was accustomed to at the palace. The Gaang is horrified.

Other (6)

Zuko/Ran/Shaw oviposition pwp: what is sounds like

Zuko navigating 10 (billion) relationships: Chore Wheel but it's date nights with Zuko lmao

Sex Pollen Hakoda/Zuko + Kuei/Zuko: a diplomatic conference gets sex pollen'd

A Southern Water Tribe Welcome: The Southern Water Tribe Family x Zuko

Global Leaders Orgy (🚫Arnook🚫): what it sounds like on the tin minus Chief Arnook bc I don't like him

Mai/Zuko + Gaang: Mai ties Zuko up and invites the Gaang to join them

Oh my god, I have way too many WiPs. That adds up to 104 and that's just the ones that are completely unpublished!

Anyway - thank you! I'm really glad you enjoy my writing! Thanks for letting me know! 💖

#ask #wip list #atla #wips

[innocentimouto]

“Jet was wrong in BSS”

I’ve seen a more considerate argument in regards to Jet’s trauma when he tries to expose Iroh and Zuko. They say the irony is that he has no idea that they’re actually there to take down BSS or have harmed innocents, but that he’s also right about it to an extent by accident. This argument is still on the side of Jet being wrong for assuming the worst of people he’s never met solely based on their ethnicity and that Iroh and Zuko are completely innocent of anything Jet was assuming of them.

Smellerbee: “...It doesn’t prove he’s a firebender. And what if he is? I thought we were starting over here, changing our ways.”

The show is equally in agreement that Jet is overreacting and should leave Zuko and Iroh alone, regardless of whether or not they’re even firebenders. They use words like obsessed and Zuko even says that Jet needs help, Iroh calls him confused, the citizens call him crazy.

They continue this further when Jet is brainwashed and calls himself troubled and letting his anger get out of control.

Yet something strange happens in “The Guru” with Katara.

This is Katara’s reaction to hearing Zuko’s voice. And then when she sees both Zuko and Iroh, she runs out of the teashop. Runs straight to where the Earth King would be. She sees whom she believes to be Suki and says:

"Thank goodness you’re here, Suki. Something terrible is going on. The Fire Nation has infiltrated the city. I just saw Prince Zuko and his uncle. We have to tell the Earth King right away.”

Terrible. Infiltrated.

Iroh and Zuko weren’t even doing anything. In the past, Katara and the others worked with Iroh and Zuko to face Azula. She even offered to heal Iroh. And she has seen Iroh do good in the North Pole. 

She doesn’t even mention Zuko trying to capture the Avatar. Moreover Aang isn’t even in the city for Zuko to capture him. Her concern is that the enemy nation has made their way into the impenetrable city. And that she possibly wants Iroh and Zuko arrested...

Similar to someone else

I don’t know and this is just a guess, but MAYBE when the enemy nation that has declared war on the rest of the world and has shown no hesitation in wiping out nations

MAYBE when they’ve been trying to infiltrate this city for years

MAYBE when the Earth Kingdom is the only nation impeding them and that this is their last stronghold

Just. Just maybe

It might be safe for everyone to assume any Fire Nation people within Ba Sing Se are there to take it over in order to win the war. And MAYBE that might be a reasonable conclusion to come to for teenagers who have been harmed by these people and is not, in fact, a sign of obsession or inner darkness or incontrollable anger and hatred.

Or maybe Katara just hates the Fire Nation too. It’s not like she spent half her time in the Fire Nation helping people right?

#Atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #Katara #Jet #atla jet #Jet meta #Katara meta

[zuko-always-lies]

i think they were going for iroh finally deciding to stop being subservient to the fire nation in the siege of the north, when zhao tries to, yknow, kill the moon, and then him finally deciding to actively fight against the fire nation when he broke out of prison, thinking zuko "lost his way" in book 3. then him retaking ba sing se was supposed to be his ultimate redeeming moment. however, this doesn't work well if this was what they were going for, because of course doing "one good thing" doesn't automatically redeem him, especially when he doesn't decide to do anything after the war other than profit from the people he once tried to conquer via his tea shop. it could also support him not having compassion for those he doesn't see, as i believe ultranos made a post about how his violent retaking of ba sing se could affect the people more directly and negatively than azula's coup did. thoughts?

So I don't see Iroh's actions in "The Siege of the North" being anything other than trying to stop Zhao from screwing absolutely everyone in the world over. Iroh has not decided to take a general stand against the Fire Nation there. Definitely, afterwards he goes back to hanging out and engaging in hedonism at a Fire Nation resort, and he only becomes a fugitive because of Ozai's orders. Even then, Iroh's reaction is to try to run and hide and live a life as a teashop owner rather than draw on his considerable resources to fight back. This decision to hide persists for the rest of Book 2.

When Azula begins her conquest of Ba Sing Se, Iroh seems to come to some sort of decision that he has to fight back against the Fire Nation, something he sticks to the rest of the series. Honestly, him helping Aang and Katara escape in "The Crossroads of Destiny" is his finest moment in the series.

Yet after that he regresses. He tries to point Zuko in the right direction, but implicit in what he tells Zuko is that Zuko should be the one to teach firebending to Aang and be the one to lead the Fire Nation into a new era, even though Iroh would be better suited for both these tasks. And it only gets worse from here.

You see, Iroh's big contribution toward "saving the world" is gathering the White Lotus to retake Ba Sing Se. On a surface level, that's a very reasonable objective(although the invention of airships probably greatly decreases Ba Sing Se's defensive value). But then Zuko and the Gaang show up, inform him of Ozai's plans, and beg for Iroh's help. At that point, there are several extremely critical military objectives which much be accomplished(in order of importance):

1. Stopping the Fire Nation airship fleet from killing millions of people

2. Defeating the Firelord

3. Defeating Azula and carrying out a coup in the Fire Nation.

All these objectives need to be accomplished in order to win the war. Failing to accomplish any one of them would result in pyrrhic victory at best. All of these objectives all more important than taking Ba Sing Se, and taking Ba Sing Se is pointless if you win the war through accomplishing all three. Iroh has access to five of the most powerful fighters in the world, so he has ample strength to throw behind any of these.

Yet he chooses to prioritize the conquest of Ba Sing Se beyond all reason. He lets Aang face Ozai alone, something which nearly results in Aang's death. He lets Sokka, Suki, and Toph take responsibility for stopping the airship fleet, even though only one of them is a bender, even though they could easily have failed, and Sokka and Toph nearly die as a result. Most importantly, Iroh sends Zuko and Katara into the lion's den alone, something which almost certainly would have resulted in Zuko and Katara being killed or captured by Azula, the imperial firebenders, and the Dai Li if Azula hadn't had her breakdown(and even breakdown Azula comes very close to defeating both of them). Why does Iroh act like?

Iroh: Sozin's Comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord. (Cut to a close up of Iroh) When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. (Camera pans across the various members of the Gaang) Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it back from the Fire Nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again.

...

Iroh: Goodbye, everyone. (Cut to a frontal shot of Iroh looking up at his nephew) Today, (he closes his eyes and lowers his head) destiny is our friend. (he opens his eyes and looks back up again) I know it.

It looks suspiciously like the "liberation" of Ba Sing Se is an ego trip primarily done to "fulfill" Iroh's "Destiny." Taking Ba Sing Se also allows Iroh and the White Lotus to ensure that King Kuai is restored to power, because I can't imagine anyone in the Earth Kingdom and Ba Sing Se actually wanting him back unless he was forcibly imposed from above.

Now, we turn to the question of damage to Ba Sing Se. This raises the question of why the White Lotus attacked Ba Sing Se during Sozin's Comet? The Fire Nation troops they are fighting are strongest then, and the uncontrolled and power-boasted firebending they wielded likely resulted in a lot of collateral damage. Well, I would say that we also get an explanation for that:

Iroh: Only once every hundred years can a firebender experience this kind of power.

So it's another part of Iroh's ego trip, allowing him to experience the exhilaration of fighting while Sozin's Comet boasts his power and allowing him to take the majority of the credit(and if you wonder why the other members of the White Lotus are OK with this, remember that three of the five known members are deeply questionable in their own ways).

Ultimately, the White Lotus's pointless "liberation" of Ba Sing Se likely resulted in widespread destruction in the city. "Dragon of the West" Iroh joked about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground; "redeemed" Iroh's ego trip to "liberate" the city during Sozin's Comet probably resulted in large portions of Ba Sing Se burning to the ground.

So, I don't think Iroh's "one good act" was actually that good an act. This was not the intention of the writers, but the way they wrote Iroh behaving contains so many disturbing implications, and this is probably true in "Sozin's Comet" more than anywhere else.

Edit: I didn’t make this clear, but I’m sure Iroh rationalized his actions as being the “right thing to do” and the “the only possible course of action.” He’s very good a rationalizing his failures and flaws.

Fun fact: Friedrich Paulus actually ended up defecting to the Allied cause after being captured at Stalingrad. In terms of German World War II generals, he seems to have his hands relatively clean and as far as I know was never accused of war crimes. Yet I don't see taking over managing a tea shop in the city he destroyed after the war.

#liberation #Iroh #anti iroh #Iroh critical #anti-iroh #Ba Sing Se

[raewritez]

all that mattered

based on this request: Hello! I love your writing! Can i request a zuko x firebender reader where the reader was a close friend of zuko’s and went with him when he had to go hunt the avatar and she goes w the gaang in the catacombs and is hurt by zuko’s decision but they reconcile slowly @ the western air temple? Thanks!!

word count: 2.8k

You were happy, a cautious glint of hope pulling at your heartstrings as you smiled at Zuko from across the teashop. After all you had been through together; from playing pirates with the young boy who wore his heart on his sleeve to sneaking onto the navy ship to follow your best friend on his seemingly unachievable quest for the Avatar, you had finally grasped the scraps of unabashed content in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se. 

You were so proud of Zuko. He had come so far from the erratic, rage-filled boy you had stuck with the past three years, now growing into the person you always knew he was. The glimmers of your youth seemed so far now, yet closer than they had been in years. The Zuko you knew then; the soft, earnest child who loved his friend unashamedly in the merriments of your pretendings was slowly peeking out of the harsh exterior he had built up in his desolation. 

He found himself aching, yearning for your presence and the unwavering comfort you had always provided him. He could barely remember a world without you, without the familiarity of your laughter and the warmth of your caring touches. He knew he loved you, he supposed he always had. He knew it in the way his heart would speed up at the sight of your grin, how a lovely blush would make its way to his face at the soothing lilt of your voice. He knew he loved you, the same way he had when his hands were small and his face unscarred, when the only problems were the insufficient days that weren’t long enough to hold all your adventures. 

Now, you were smiling at him from across the room of Iroh’s tea shop. Like always, he felt his face heat up and the corners of his lips threatening to lift at the mere sight of your joyful expression. He smiled back, forgetting for a moment the weight upon his shoulders. Again, the Avatar had been preoccupying his mind, the temptation and longing to be back home and to feel the affection of his father overpowering his logic. But now, with his amber eyes locked with yours and his uncle’s jolly laughter ringing over the dulled chatter of the customers, he thought maybe a life like this wouldn’t be too bad.

///

“Zuko!” you cried, launching yourself into his arms.

Iroh trailed behind you, the Avatar in tow. The catacombs shone with an emerald glow, a slight chill in the humid air. You turned your head to see Aang hugging Katara, while you step aside to allow Iroh to embrace his nephew.

“Uncle, Y/n, I don't understand,” Zuko speaks, his brows furrowed. “What are you doing with the Avatar?”

“Saving you, that's what,” Aang replies. Zuko growls and steps forward confrontationally, your arms reaching out to restrain him.

“Zuko, it's time we talked,” Iroh says calmly. 

He tells Aang and Katara to leave, Zuko’s eyes trailing after them. 

“Why, Uncle?” Zuko questions in a hurt tone.

Iroh simply smiles. “You're not the man you used to be, Zuko. You are stronger and wiser and freer than you have ever been. And now you have come to the crossroads of your destiny. It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good.”

You yelp as you feel your body being encased in a prison of crystal alongside Iroh, your eyes snapping up to meet Azula’s golden ones with a glare that could send a man ten feet under. Zuko frantically reaches out to you, only to be halted by Azula’s drawling voice.

“I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle. But Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?” “Release them immediately,” Zuko growls.

“It's not too late for you, Zuko. You can still redeem yourself.” “Zuko, no!” You shout, desperation in your eyes. “You can’t listen to her! She’s lying, like she always does!” Azula chuckles sinisterly. “Am I, Y/n? Or are you just trying to hold him back? He knows his destiny, it seems to me like you’re only preventing him from achieving it.”

“Zuko, that’s not true!” you call out to him, your voice cracking. “I know you, I know that what you want isn’t-”

“Why don't you let him decide, Y/n?” her voice cuts through like a knife. “Zuko, I need you. At the end of this day, you will have your honor back. You will have father’s love. You’ll have everything you’ve ever wanted.” Iroh’s pleads are drowned out by the noise inside your head, the panic setting in and clouding your senses. Please, Zuko. Don’t do this.

Tears roll down your cheeks as Zuko turns his back, following his sister out of the cavern. A choked cry leaves your mouth, desperation for the lost feeling of happiness leaving you feeling empty. 

Iroh tenderly calls out your name, the deep sadness in his expression interrupted only by a glint of determination.

/// You gaze up in horror as the figure of the Avatar falls to the ground, Azula’s outstretched fingers crackling with electricity.

Katara rushes forward, her water crashing over the Dai Li agents and Firenation siblings and pulling them under the waves. She embraces Aang in her arms, a look of hopelessness and despair shining in her tear-filled eyes.

You stare in disbelief at the face of the prince, your heart splintering. Iroh suddenly jumps in front of your frame defensively, his voice booming in the hollowness of the catacomb. 

“You've got to get out of here! I'll hold them off as long as I can!” Fire thrusts forth from his fists, momentarily halting the soldiers. Katara makes her way over to you, her hand outstretched. You look at her with confusion, having been prepared to suffer your fate at the hands of your nation.

“Come on!” She exclaims, grasping your hand and lifting the three of you out of the wretched caves. The last thing you see are his eyes, piercing your soul with the bitterness of betrayal and abandonment. 

///

“Hello, Zuko here.”

You can only stare, shocked into a state of paralyzation by the utter surprise of seeing his figure on the mountainside. He looks different, his hair is longer and his face bears a hesitant smile. 

As the shock fades, it is replaced with a burning anger, the one that has been brewing and festering in the depths of your soul ever since he walked out of that cave with his sister. Your eyes narrow into slits, a hardened glare contorting your features. His eyes flicker to yours as your friends unload their bearings onto him, only to shrink away at the fire in your expression. 

He longs to rush forward, to fall at your feet and beg for forgiveness. The guilt that has been plaguing his mind for weeks bubbling to the surface; the sight of you almost bringing him to the ground. He yearns to be in your arms again, to bask in your wondrous existence and fearless love.

But he knows he doesn’t deserve it. He had hurt you, abandoned you. You, who had stood steadfast beside him through all his troubles and misfortunes, you, who had shown such faith in him that he began to wonder how he deserved it. And for what? For honor? For the approval of his father? He didn’t know, but he knew that walking away from you and his uncle in those catacombs was the single biggest regret of his life. 

He’s sent away, and you don’t argue. Not that he would expect you to. That night, as he curls in on himself by the blaze of the campfire, silent tears stream down his face as he aches for you, as he loves you from afar in the high hours of the night. He at least finds comfort in the fact that you sleep under the same sky.

///

a week later...

It was almost unbearable, having him so near. You saw him everyday as he trained with Aang and conversed with the rest, his gaze always finding yours the second you walked into his vicinity. You kept your distance, the wound of his desertion still raw and painful, building new walls around your heart which had always remained unsheltered. Your body betrayed your logic, your fingers itching to run through his hair, your breath escaping your lungs whenever you heard the rasp of his voice.

You knew he had changed, really changed this time, that much was obvious. The way he and Aang talked like old friends, how he was slowly worming his way into the group’s good graces and affections.

He hadn’t pushed you, hadn’t demanded you speak to him or expressed anger at your coldness. Instead, he waited, reluctantly settling for small acts of atonement and care. He would always ensure you received the first bowl of rice at dinnertime, secretly complete your chores for you. He treated you like an idol, an alter, his actions small compensation for all his wrongdoings and mistakes.

That didn’t mean it was easy for him, though. Zuko starved for your closeness, the feeling of having you so close yet so far eating away at his heart. He feared that he would never again experience the love you so unsparingly served to him, never again bathe in the solace of your friendship.

He found you sitting beneath the moon, Yue’s light cascading through your hair and illuminating your features with an ethereal glow. His breath was ripped away at your unapologetic beauty, a familiar longing consuming his senses.

“Y/n,” he whispered. 

You whipped around, your eyes locking with his. Under his intense stare you were paralyzed, unable to run away like you wanted.

You sighed. “What do you want, Zuko?”

There was a bitterness to your words, but all Zuko could focus on was the way his name sounded from your lips. He hadn’t heard the sound in so long, the melody squeezing his heart with adoration. He knew it was undeserved, though.

When he didn’t respond you scoffed and rolled your eyes, standing up to walk back to the temple only to be gently yanked back by a hold on your wrist.

“No, wait, I...” his eyes were wide, a distressed look upon his face. He glanced down at your interlocked hands, reluctantly letting go so as not to overstep. “I...”

You stared at him, brows furrowed. What? What could you possibly have to say to me?

“I...I’m sorry.”

He sighed, brushing his hair out of his face. “I know that doesn’t mean anything, and it doesn’t make anything better, but....I just need you to know how sorry I am.”

When you didn’t interrupt, he pressed on.

“Not a single day went by where I didn’t think of you. When I was in the Fire Nation, I had everything I’d ever wanted. I thought everything would fall into place...but it didn’t. Every night when I went to sleep I would see your face, how  you looked at me back in Ba Sing Se. Like I was a monster.”

Your features softened at that, that part inside you that you had locked away yearning to reach out to him, to comfort him like you always had. 

“What I did was so wrong,” he continued. “And I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it. But I can’t live with knowing that you hate me, that we can never be friends again because I was so stupid. And, I mean, you’re not just my friend, you’re way more than that! We’ve been through everything together, and back in Ba Sing Se everything was perfect and I ruined it, and now you hate me and now I probably can’t ever-”

He was rambling now, his eyes ablaze with the struggle to salvage the scraps of your relationship. You couldn’t stand watching him in such distress, all of the emotions you had built a wall around slowly cracking through.

“I don’t hate you, Zuko.”

The words were out before you could stop them.

His rant ceased abruptly, his eyes latching onto yours, a question lingering behind his golden irises.

“I never really hated you,” you spoke, shuffling uncomfortably in your place. “I just...”

His wild eyes calmed, replaced with an imploring gaze, urging you to continue. 

“I thought I did. Every time I thought of you I felt so angry, and I thought I hated you but I don’t. I never could.” His lips parted, staring at you with such wonderment you were reminded of the way people beheld paintings. Or how Iroh looked at tea.

“Why?” he questioned. “Why can’t you?”

“I don’t know.” 

You knew.

///

Days passed, and the crumbs of your bond with Zuko were slowly falling back into place. You still bore a scar from the memories, but seeing him acting as the person you had always wanted him to be filled your heart with more pride than you’d like to admit. 

He moved around freely, interacting with the misfits that had become your family and smiled carelessly in the gleams of his content. Seeing the way his eyes lit up, the way his lips tugged up at the corners made your heartbeat irregular. His hair wasn’t bad either, and his insistence to remain shirtless while training Aang certainly wasn’t helping your attempts to remain impassive.

You found him sitting at the edge of the cliff, his legs dangling over the vast expanse of sky. His ebony locks danced around his face, a pensive expression resting on his brows.

He snapped around at the sound of your footsteps, an unguarded grin making its way to his face upon seeing you.

“Hi,” you greeted, your feet carrying you to sit beside him.

“Hey,” he breathed, eyeing your profile as your arm brushed against his, the sensation sending shivers up his spine.

You tilted your head towards the stars, the coolness of the night caressing your cheeks. You remained silent for a few minutes before speaking.

“I missed you, you know.”

Zuko turned to you, finding your eyes closed against the navy curtain of the sky.

“Even when I was mad. I guess spending ten years of your life with someone makes you a little attached, huh?”

His eyes traced your profile, dipping down the curve of your nose and lips and rising back to the delicateness of your eyelashes. Attached, he chuckled. He was long past attached.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Your head swirled to face him, your eyes reflecting the adoration and love they always had, the same look Zuko had passed to you so often in the shadows of your obliviousness. Your fingers rose to tenderly trace the outline of his scar, your familiar touch elicting all of the emotions Zuko had been deprived of in your time apart.

He nuzzled further into your embrace, feeling much like the boy he had been all those years ago. Just you and him, when nothing else mattered. When he was a child, and you were a child, and he loved his friend in the pureness of childhood.

And he loved you now.

Deciding he couldn’t wait any longer, after years of longing built up on a lifetime of friendship, he pushed himself forward until his lips met yours.

Your breath escaped you in a gasp, your palm finding its way to its proper place against his cheek. Your lips pressed against his with fervor, all of the emotions that you had ever felt for this boy disclosed in the desperation in which your hands grasped his shirt in a hopeless attempt to bring yourself even closer.

His arms wound around your waist, his thumbs stroking your sides as he kissed you with all the love and affection he possessed. His raven hair tickled your face as your lips locked over and over again, until the only thing you two were more desperate for than each other was air. 

You breathed heavily, slowly regaining your senses. Your eyes met his with the same hesitant look that was held in his. For a moment you simply stared at each other, gazing, before grins broke out across both your faces. 

Your laugh cut through the night, his own chuckles escaping him. He gazed at you fondly, leaning in to capture your mouth in a short and sweet kiss. You smiled unabashedly, pressing your forehead against his. This was long overdue. You basked in each other’s presence, soft caresses and brief pecks shared under the light of the moon. As you loved one another beneath the stars the world faded away and nothing else mattered.

It was just you and him.

#avatar the last airbender #prince zuko #zuko x reader #atla #fire lord zuko #zuko x y/n #zuko x you #aang x reader #sokka x reader #zuko imagine #zuko fanfic #atla x y/n #legend of korra #avatar #avatar x reader #avatar: tla #katara #suki #the gaang #toph #toph x reader #zukka #zuko

[curlybookwriter0294]

In Sickness and Health

Summary: Zuko knows that Katara is sick but we all know Katara, she is extremely stubborn. Will she finally realize that she is indeed sick and will let Zuko help her feel better?

AN: As always, I do not own anything Avatar related, just the plot of the one-shot. BTW, Katara is stubborn as always lol, Happy reading!!

Zuko wants to do something. He wants to step in, but knew that if he did, he would get an earful about it.

He narrowed his gaze as he watched Katara walking around the teashop, covering her mouth with her elbow after a cough as she wipes down the table after the customers had left after drinking their warm tea. He shook his head, muttering to himself that he wishes that she would just go home already and that he could handle the shop on his own. He has done it before when his uncle would ask him to close the Jasmine Dragon.

He placed the broom that he was using up against the nearby wall, sighing as he walked over to the blue-eyed grad student and grabbed the cleaning supplies from her hands. “Go home Katara,” he ordered.

Katara glared up at him, reaching over to grab the cleaning supplies for the wooden tables from his hands. “I am fine. It’s just allergies. It is nearing springtime after all,” she said, rolling her eyes as she moved to a different table to wipe down.

Zuko narrowed his golden eyes at her as he watches silently cleaning off the tables. He crossed his arms above his chest, shaking his head at the stubbornness of his long-time friend.

He decided to let it go for now and took care of customers that was coming in, asking them what kind of tea they would like to have.

When Zuko first met Katara, he thought that they wouldn’t get along because of her stubbornness mostly and her know-it-all attitude that she would display at times during their conversations together. However, the longer that they’ve been working together, the more he feels like he could read her at times. This time though, he can barely read her at all and he thinks that maybe it was because she was sick was the reason why.

Throughout the evening, Zuko made sure to keep a watchful eye on Katara, making sure that she didn’t fall over against the tables as she was taking customers tea orders. He knew that she was pushing herself because she didn’t want to go home even though she was clearly sick as a turtleduck.

Again, she is stubborn.

He’s not sure why he cares so much about her health though. They were just co-workers and friends working at his uncle’s teashop part-time while studying at Ba Sing Se University full time. He feels like he would do the same thing if it were her brother Sokka and their friends Aang, Toph and Suki.

He looked up from his tiny notepad that he was writing his customers orders on to take a watchful look on Katara who was sitting down at one of the tables, blowing her nose with a tissue. He frowned and tapped the notepad with his pen, walking away from the table to walk over towards her. “Katara.”

Katara scoffed at Zuko, rolling her azure eyes at him. “What are you, my dad?” she asked, shaking her head as she got up to throw away her used tissue into a trash bin, turning around and placed her hands onto her hips. “I said I am fine, Zuko. Just leave me alone already,” she told him hotly, huffing as she grabbed a tray full of tea and brought over to a table that was full of elderly women.

Zuko threw up his hands in frustration, shaking his head as he looked over at the clock that was hanging above the counter. There’s only a couple of more hours left before closing, hopefully by then, Katara would feel better. If not, he will make her go home for the night and he didn’t care if she would fight him.

He wished that the time would move faster though. He doesn’t understand as to why time moves so slow when it was near closing time.

Zuko sucked in a breath when he glanced over to see Katara washing the teacups with a cloth, and he could hear her sniffles from across the shop. He sighed heavily through his nose as he went over to lock the door of the shop. He made his way over to a table and started to place the chairs on top of the of the tables and he could hear Katara walking over to attempt to help him, but he held up a hand to stop her. “I got the rest of this. Go home,” he ordered, not caring if she was sending him a death glare.

“I told you over and over Zuko, it’s just allergies,” Katara said in protest, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Zuko ignored her and just simply looked at her, knowing full well just by one look that it wasn’t just allergies as Katara claimed it was. He rolled his golden eyes and reached out with a hand towards her, scoffing when Katara tried to back away from him. “I’m checking something,” he explained, using a hand to lightly touch her forehead, frowning at how burning hot it was. “You’re burning up.”

Katara reached up to her forehead as if she didn’t believe him and widen her blue eyes after she had touched it. “It… wasn’t burning all day.” She told him quietly, turning her head slightly when she felt a cough come up from her throat. “Great, now I’m coughing.”

Zuko didn’t say ‘I told you so’ even though he secretly wanted to, but instead he just simply walked over around the counter and grabbed a couple of ingredients for a certain type of tea.

Katara walked over to stand next to him, watching him as he put the ingredients together and lifted a brow. “Is that what I think it is?”

Zuko gave her a side-eye glance, waiting for her to continue her guessing games, knowing that him and Uncle Iroh have been teaching her about different types of teas since the first day she had. “Don’t know. What do you think it could be, Katara?”

He watches her looking at the tea bag that he was tying the knot and waiting for the kettle to get done. “Any guesses?” he prompted with a small smirk on his face.

“Is it Chamomile?” she asked him, cocking her head on the side.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Zuko asked her, keeping an eye on the kettle that was on the stove.

“I’ll know it when I taste it.”

Zuko sighed and didn’t say anything more when the loud shriek of the kettle sounded, and he had walked over to turn off the stove. “There’s a spare bedroom upstairs, go lay down and I’ll bring up the tea.” He instructed. He half inspected Katara to protest again, but surprisingly, she didn’t and he could hear her walking up the small set of stairs that would lead her to a spare bedroom.

After mixing the water and the tea bag together, Zuko made his way upstairs to the spare bedroom and he could see Katara laying down facing away from him. The two didn’t say anything when he placed the tea down on a nightstand.

“Feeling any different?” Zuko asked her, breaking the stillness that was between them as he sat down at the tip of the bed, watching her turn around to face him. She shook her head at him and Zuko reached out with a hand to touch her forehead like he had done earlier. “It’s still warm,” he noted with a frown, reaching over to grab the tea. “Here.”

He watches Katara scrunched up her nose at the smell, but she slowly drank some of the tea. “Any guesses yet?”

“It almost tasted like apple, and it also have a honey-like sweetness to it,” Katara said, taking another timid sip of the tea to see if she could figure out what kind of tea she was drinking. “It also has an herbal smell to it.” She observed, taking another sip and licked her lips. “I was right! It was Chamomile!”

Zuko’s lip quirked upwards at the correct answer. “You’re getting better at naming teas.” He told her and Katara scoffed at him. “Just sleep here for tonight, I’ll make sure to call Sokka that you’ll be sleeping here tonight. Get well.” He made his way over to the door to leave the room to leave Katara alone.

“I feel like we are husband and wife, taking care of one another when one is sick.” She said with a laugh. “What is it that they say during a wedding ceremony? I can’t remember.”

Zuko scoff at her with a shake of his head but decided to answer her anyways. “I believe it’s in sickness and in health or something along those lines?”

“Something like that,” Katara agrees, placing the empty cup of tea back onto the nightstand that was next to her and snuggled back into the bed comfortably. “Even though we are not married, thank you for taking care of me. Even though I was a bit stubborn in the beginning.”

Zuko rolled his golden eyes at her and nodded his head. “Just get better soon, Katara.”

“I’ll do my best, Zuko. Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

#zutara fic #zutara #Stubborn Katara #sickfic #AU #atla fanfic #one-shot #zuko x katara

[patchofsunlight]

Warmth | Zuko x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: Avatar!Reader AU | Zuko has made many mistakes and holds uncountable regrets, but maybe Y/N can still love him back. Spoiler: she does.

REQUEST (by anon): “Could you do a zuko with maybe a f! avatar? Him falling in love with her like how they joked in ember island play. And him being tormented when she 'dies' in cross roads and them having some tender moment of confessing either in the western temple or ember island? maybe the play has the kiss and he confesses idk”

WORD COUNT: 5.3k

WARNINGS: Y/N is the Avatar, so Aang doesn’t exist. kissing, there might be swear words but I don’t really remember, bad editing. lots of mutual pining and some angst. I don’t know if I did this request justice but I really tried?

OBSERVATIONS: there’s a bit of Sokka x Reader bc I’m a weak woman but in the end he’s the main Zuko and Y/N shipper. not having Aang seriously hurt me. I wrote most of the Zuko sad rant in the beginning listening to Words Fail by Ben Platt and I think it would be interesting if you guys listened to that while reading? idk

I hope you all like it!!! feedback is always appreciated, so keep that in mind and thank you very much for reading!!

There was a hole inside his chest that Zuko simply couldn’t get rid of. It hurt him to his core, bringing pained sobs to the edge of his throat and slowly dismantling his soul.

He always thought getting rid of Y/N would quench his anger, rebuild his honor and complete his destiny. Now, his father accepted him again, Mai was his girlfriend, and Azula treated him like a true brother, in her own deranged ways. The Fire Nation considered him a hero, the man who killed the Avatar.

Then why did it trouble him so much? Why did he wake up every night in a cold sweat, with tears stinging his eyes? Why did he have the same nightmare over and over where he was the one responsible for her death, hitting her with lightning and watching as the light inside her disappeared, leaving behind only her idle body and Katara’s desperate cries? Why couldn’t he be satisfied? He had fulfilled his fate. He had done what he was meant to do, sided with his people, and fought against his greatest enemy. Why wasn’t he happy? Why couldn’t he ever be happy?

Back in Ba Sing Se, he saw her at the Jasmine Dragon more than once. He couldn’t believe his eyes when she first entered the teashop, and he was pretty sure she had recognized him, but Y/N managed to send a polite smile in his direction and sit down, greeting “Mushi” with joy. When Zuko served her tea, she asked him what his name was as if she didn’t know. She didn’t confront nor attack him — she simply let him live his new life and went on living hers. It felt like she had washed off his sins, erased the bloodstains he carried in his soul and hands. Y/N freed him of his past and he had thrown it all away.

It was the right thing to do, he had told himself day after day after day. Except it wasn’t, and now Iroh refused to talk to him and the Avatar was probably dead and, in the case she wasn’t, she would never forgive him. She wouldn’t let him be free of himself again and he would never get redemption for his mistakes.

He wished he could go back in time and fight alongside Y/N in that crystal cave, wished he could live up to the trust Katara offered him before they were saved, wished he could have stopped Azula from throwing that lightning bolt. He wished he could do things in the right way, yet he couldn’t. Zuko tried so hard to regain his so-called honor and to bring his father pride but his only real achievement was engulfing himself in guilt and regret, being aware that powerful and forgiving Y/N could be dead because of his lack of dignity and character — this couldn’t be honor. Violence, betrayal, death, and hurt couldn’t be honor, and he wasn’t sure he wanted his father’s pride if it meant feeling like this, like he was no good, like he was not worthy of love or praise or admiration.

Zuko had spent a great part of his life hating himself, but nothing compared to the hate he felt every night after waking up from another crushing nightmare. How dared he make this about himself and his feelings of guilt when the Avatar could be dead? How dared he worry about the Fire Lord’s pride when the world’s last hope was gone? How dared he indulge in self-pity after all he had done? He didn’t deserve pity, didn’t deserve help, he only deserved to wallow in his own pain and die. But that wouldn’t fix anything, neither would it bring Y/N back — he had to act, and he had to do it fast.

Going after Team Avatar was not difficult. He thought he would feel complicated like he had when first betraying Y/N’s trust, thought it would hurt like coming back to the Fire Nation did. Thankfully, leaving only caused a new type of satisfaction to bloom inside his chest, giving him the sensation he was finally walking through the right path. Hope seemed to pour out of every pore in his body and he could somehow think of better, future days when he would have done enough to make up for his mistakes, days when he didn’t feel the urge to scream every time he looked at a mirror. Maybe then he wouldn’t have to despise himself like he currently did, maybe things would be okay and he would be truly happy, if that was even something he had the capability to do.

But then they didn’t want him. He left everything behind, he charged every inch of his hope with the idea of joining the Avatar, and they didn’t want him. Why would they? Why would they, after everything he had done? How could he have even considered they would accept him, that she would trust him again? Of course they didn’t want him. No one did and no one ever would and that was entirely his fault — it was his fault that he was a bad person, took the wrong decisions, and caused pain and destruction. It was his fault he never did the right thing and he should’ve known he would be rejected again, for being rejected was just what he deserved.

But it still hurt. Oh, Spirits, it hurt. She couldn’t even look at him, even after he helped them defeat Combustion Man and was finally accepted in the group. Sadly, it made Zuko realize that, no matter where he stood, he would never be a part of their team, and Y/N would never trust him entirely. For some reason, that was more upsetting than their rejection. He wanted to impress her, wanted her to like him, and she never would.

“Y/N? Can I—can I come in?”

The Avatar looked up from the map she was currently analysing on her bed, studying his figure carefully before nodding with hesitance, “yes. Do you need something?”

He sighed deeply and walked towards her, feeling his heart crack when she brought her legs closer to her body and away from him the moment he sat on the edge of the bed, “I—I just wanted to talk to you about, well, you know, everything.”

Her expression hardened and she averted her eyes back to the map, “we have nothing to talk about, Zuko. You can go back to your room.”

The Fire Nation Prince swallowed nervously, “Y/N, please. I’m so, so sorry. I have made so many mistakes, I—”

“Zuko,” her voice was firm and emotionless, but that quickly changed when she met his gaze, “I thought things could be different. I thought things could be different back in the North Pole, when we first talked to each other and you told me about Azula. I thought things could be different when you saved me as the Blue Spirit. And I was so convinced things would be different when we met again in Ba Sing Se that I—” she scoffed at her own words, “I had a crush on you, can you believe that? That’s why I visited the teashop so regularly, I just wanted to see you. Stupid, of course. I should’ve known.”

Zuko was sure she could hear his anxious heart beating from the other side of the bed. They were less than a foot away, and yet it felt like miles. He didn’t want her to think about him like that, he didn’t want her to be disappointed in him. Damn, she used to have a crush on him, she liked him, and he screwed everything up like usual. “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I’m—I’m here now, I’m on your side.”

“Yeah, but I thought you were on my side back then too. Anyway, it doesn’t matter anymore. You need to teach me firebending and that’s the only reason you’re allowed here. Talking is unnecessary.”

“Please, I—”

“You should leave, Prince Zuko,” he flinched at the title escaping her lips, hating how it sounded bitter coming from her, “I have really important matters to deal with. We’ll start my firebending training tomorrow.” 

“Y/N—”

“Leave, Zuko.”

With a heaviness inside his stomach, he left the room, missing if by a second the frustrated tear that ran down Y/N’s cheek. She wanted to trust him, but how could she? How could she let him in after his betrayal? She had always been forgiving, but she refused to be naive — seeing Zuko side with Azula in the crystal caves hurt her deeply and shoved her little crush on him down her throat. She couldn’t go through that again, it would be simply idiotic to. Y/N had to stand her ground. She wouldn’t be hurt by him again.

-----

“Hey, jerks. Mind if I watch you two jerks do your jerkbending?”

“Get out of—” Zuko was interrupted by the Avatar’s laughter. Sokka smiled softly at her, cheeks blushing. For some reason, that only managed to piss Zuko off even more, “get out of here!”

“Okay, take it easy. I was just kidding around,” the Water Tribe boy winked at Y/N, “see you later?”

“Sure, we still need to see that part of the temple we found yesterday. Exploration partners!”

“Exploration partners!” he agreed with a chuckle and turned away from them. “Bye, Y/N. Jerkbending… Still got it.”

Zuko glanced at her with irritation while she watched Sokka leave. He felt already incredibly frustrated for not being able to produce his fire and not knowing why, he definitely did not need to watch as Sokka and Y/N flirted. 

They would make a cute couple, though, and she smiled so brightly at him it was physically painful to watch. He wanted her to smile like that at him, look like that at him. But she wouldn’t — she was over her crush and had no reason to ever feel anything towards him again, not after what he had done. He didn’t deserve her love anyway, so maybe it was for the best.

“So? Any progress, Sifu Hotman?”

“I told you not to call me that,” he snarled angrily and she sighed.

“Sorry, Sifu Hotman.”

“This was a mistake,” he sat down roughly, ignoring the ache on his legs due to the sudden movement, “maybe teaching you firebending is not my destiny.”

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, not understanding, “what do you mean?”

“How can I teach you anything when I’ve lost my fire, Y/N?” he chuckled sadly, letting one of his hands go through his hair in distress. “I wanted to be on the good side of the war and I can’t even make myself useful.”

“You haven’t lost your fire, Zuko,” her voice was careful, “I think you’re just going through some internal conflict and that’s reflecting on your bending, but if you were meant to teach me firebending, you will. Your destiny is still your destiny regardless, Sifu Hotman.”

“It’s easy for you to say, you’re the Avatar! I’m not even sure who I am anymore, but you have always known what your destiny was.”

“Yeah, and I was scared of it,” she smiled softly, “I ran away and disappeared for a hundred years. People died because of my absence. I have made mistakes, and I have failed many, many times. Sadly, that doesn’t make me less of an Avatar. Zuko, if you must be my teacher, it’s gonna work. We’ll figure things out and you will get your fire back. Okay?”

He stared inside her eyes. There was still some sort of mistrust in them — she was willing to help him because she needed him, but still suspicious. She wasn’t really sure he was on their side, but this was a start. He was going to fix everything and he would make her proud. He would make Y/N happy to call him a friend. Or something more.

Maybe he had a crush on her, too.

-----

Toph’s idea to look for the original source of firebending had greatly backfired (no pun intended, even though Y/N could clearly hear Sokka’s laughter in her head at the joke). They traveled to the Sun Warriors’ ancient city and found an impressive temple adorned with statues. Things were going surprisingly well until they weren’t, and now they were stuck in a disgusting glue because Zuko touched the pretty gemstone. Hours had passed and Y/N was increasingly more annoyed at their situation.

“You had to pick up the glowing egg, didn’t you?”

“At least I made something happen! If it were up to you, we’d never have made it past the courtyard.”

“Maybe, but we wouldn’t be stuck here either, so did you really win?”

Zuko rolled his eyes, “this is stupid. How are we getting out of here?”

“Help!” the girl screamed as loudly as she could, being met with only silence.

“Who are you yelling to? Nobody’s lived here for centuries,” the Fire Prince argued and it was Y/N’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Well, what do you think we should do, genius?”

“Think about our place in the universe?”

Despite her current irritation, Y/N couldn’t help but smile at his words. He instinctively smiled back and she felt warmth spread through her chest.

She was starting to think she wasn’t as over her crush on him as she thought.

They were rescued by the Sun Warriors and judged by the last dragons, and Y/N was sure she hadn’t felt this alive in a while. After burning Katara (it was so long ago it seemed like a different life), she had thought of fire as something destructive, harmful, but she could now see it with new eyes. Fire could be love, life, and power. 

The Avatar glanced at Zuko. Maybe she could try and see him as that, too. 

-----

“You did well today,” Zuko complimented warily, avoiding her gaze, “if we keep up the training, you might become a better firebender than me.”

“Why, thank you, Hotman,” she smiled brightly and Zuko was sure he could pass out right there, “I just have a great teacher.”

“Y/N!”

The Avatar felt Sokka before she saw him, laughing at the way he hugged her from behind joyfully, leaning his chin on her shoulder. “Hey, honey. What’s up?”

“Doing fine,” he mumbled, brushing her hair off his face delicately, “wanna grab something to eat?”

“I think I’m gonna train some more and clean myself later. I’ll meet you after?”

“Sure! I’ll be back inside. See you, Y/N, Zuko.”

They both watched as the Water Tribe boy entered the temple again. There was a weird burning sensation running through Zuko’s blood when he asked, voice slightly raspy and overly quiet, “so, you and Sokka, huh? You make a nice couple.”

She turned her head to him so quickly it almost gave her whiplash, “what? No! I mean—” she blushed at the question, flustered by the fact he would even consider something like that. The Fire Prince waited silently, irritation surfacing at her stammering. He wasn’t sure why that angered him so much, but he decided to be still and listen, “we are just friends,” she concluded, “he means a lot to me, but so do Katara and Toph, you know? We are—we are just friends. He even likes that Kyoshi Warrior, Suki! So, yeah, we are definitely not a couple.”

“I see,” Zuko felt curiously static with that piece of information, “and you don’t have feelings for him?”

“No, of course not. I mean, I had a thing for him when we first met, but now it’s gone. He’s my best friend and I love him, just not like that.”

“Okay. Good.”

“Good?” Y/N turned her head to the side in confusion and he paled considerably, finally noticing the meaning of his own words. “Why is that good?”

“Oh? I—it’s good that you love him! Yeah, having friends is amazing, right? Yeah.”

She smiled amusingly, “it truly is.”

“Yeah.”

The Avatar chuckled lightly, “come on, Sifu Hotman. Let’s do that leg movement again, I think I’m not doing it right.”

Days passed and a lot of things happened. Zuko knew Y/N wouldn’t be happy with Sokka’s suicide mission, but he couldn’t let him do it alone, so he accompanied him to the Boiling Rock. Again, she wasn’t happy when he followed Katara for revenge for her mother’s death, but then at least someone had Katara’s back and was ready to protect her. He desperately wanted to earn Y/N’s trust and friendship, but that was rather difficult when he insisted on doing the stuff she didn’t want him to do.

They continued their training on Ember Island and the whole Team seemed to thoroughly enjoy the place. Y/N was giving her all to learn firebending and was succeeding splendidly. To be honest, Zuko loved to see her get the moves right — every single time she made it, she would look at him with bright eyes and grin. It was the most beautiful sight Zuko had ever seen and he would do anything to have it permanently engraved in his mind.

They stayed up late during one particular night. They were both exhausted after hours of training and ended up sat beside each other on the ground on the back of the Fire Nation Royal Family’s beach house. The air between them was filled with silence and heavy breathing from their previous effort.

“Hey, Zuko?” after a few moments, Y/N called him gently, voice tired and raspy giving him chills. She laid down and stared at the dark sky. “Look at the stars with me.”

He blinked, “really? I mean, shouldn’t we go inside?”

“Please?” her eyes met his and his heart skipped a beat. “Just for a bit.”

“Okay,” Zuko whispered, lying down next to her. They looked at the sky quietly for a bit.

He liked to be around her. It could be the Avatar thing, but Y/N had a calming aura around her that was just unmissable. Being next to her like this gave him the feeling things would be alright, the feeling he was not worthless. It was a lie, of course. There was no way to know how their plans would go, and he was pretty much worthless.

But being beside her was enough to trick his mind. Maybe the little crush he harbored towards her had become something more — Spirits, he liked her so much. Not that it mattered, considering there was no way she would ever love him back, not after everything he had done.

“When I was younger, I believed we became stars when we died.”

He turned his head to look at her, “really?”

She turned to look back and his breath hitched at their close proximity. She chuckled, “yeah. I didn’t even know I was the Avatar back then, I was so young. They told me when I was sixteen, and I ran away shortly after,” there was bitterness to her words, “like a coward.”

“You are not a coward, Y/N. You had no way of knowing how things would go.”

“You really think so?”

“I do. Besides, if you hadn’t run away, you wouldn’t have been stuck on ice for a hundred years, and I would never have met you, which would be awful,” he widened his eyes, completing quickly, “and Sokka, Katara, and Toph, too. I wouldn’t have met them either. Of course.”

Her smile was so pretty he forgot how to breathe, “you’re right, Zuko. I don’t think I would have liked to live a life where I never met you,” she smirked before going on with teasing eyes, “and Sokka, Katara, and Toph, too. Of course.”

“Of course,” he agreed with a blush on his face. They stared at each other carefully and Zuko was pretty sure his heart was performing a professional routine of somersaults inside his body. He definitely was past just a simple crush.

Y/N smiled that dazzling smile of hers before averting her gaze to the stars again and yawning. “We should go in.”

“We should,” the Fire Prince immediately started to sit up, but she held him down with a hand to his chest, and probably felt his crazy heartbeat under her fingers.

“Just a bit more, Prince Zuko,” she whispered, eyes trained to the sky. Slowly but surely, she moved her hand from his chest to his own hand, creating goosebumps on every inch of skin she lightly touched on the way there. Zuko could feel his body burn at the barely-there feeling of her fingertips. She intertwined her fingers with his carefully, giving him the chance to pull away if he so wished. He let out a shaky breath and squeezed her hand. She immediately squeezed his back in reassurance.

In the middle of the quiet and comfort they suddenly found in each other, they fell asleep under the stars, fingers playing with each other until exhaustion finally engulfed them in dreams of pretty smiles and light touches.

It was nice to dodge the nightmares.

-----

“I’ve heard you and Zuko slept outside today,” Sokka had a teasing tone to his voice. Y/N glared at him, “you are together now or something?”

“We are not,” she countered, scratching Appa while they talked. Zuko, Toph, Katara, and Suki had left for the beach already. Y/N still needed to feed her sky bison and Sokka offered to help with the excuse of being a good friend. The Avatar was absolutely sure that wasn’t the real reason he stayed back alongside her and he was currently proving her right, “we were just stargazing and then fell asleep.”

“Stargazing, huh? Real cute. I bet it was an endearing impromptu date, wasn’t it?”

“Since when do you even know the word impromptu?”

“I am always full of surprises.”

“Right,” she rolled her eyes and he laughed loudly, “it was not a date.”

“But you do like him, right?.”

“What?” she turned her entire body to him, furrowing her brows and crossing her arms in a defensive stance. “Why would you say that?”

“Because I know you better than you know yourself and I can tell you have feelings for him,” Sokka copied her movements, staring at her with a smirk, “I also know he likes you back.”

Y/N scoffed and transferred her attention back to Appa, “he does not.”

“So you admit you like him!”

“Shut up, Sokka!” she glared, but quickly gave up under his intense eyes and raised brows. “Yeah, I like him. It doesn’t matter, though.”

“Yes, it does! He feels the same! Look, what about this,” he leaned in closer, that crazy look he had whenever making up a plan taking over his face, “we are going to watch that play about us tonight, right? Well, you guys can sit next to each other! Like a couple!”

“That’s a terrible idea, honey.”

“It’s not! I bet he’s gonna make a move!”

“He won’t, because he’s not in love with me.”

“Wait, you’re in love with him?”

Y/N’s entire body tensed up. She shouldn’t have said that. She wasn’t in love with Zuko! Was she? I mean, she did love to be beside him, and her heart sped up when he gave her one of his rare smiles, and training with him when he had his shirt off was distracting to say the least. Besides, he really seemed to have changed and grown — she felt like she could trust him again, but she could never be sure, and she was adamant on not getting hurt once more. Especially now, when she was dealing with so many things. If he betrayed her a second time… Spirits, it would be just too much to handle.

“I don’t know,” she muttered and Sokka’s cheeky smile faltered, “I don’t want to be.”

He stretched an arm out to hold her hand fondly, “it’s fine, Y/N. Whatever happens, I’m here for you, okay?”

The Avatar smiled sadly, “thank you, Sokka. I’m really glad to have you in my life.”

“I know, honey. I’m great like that.”

She laughed loudly and he grinned in satisfaction, turning her body around and starting to lead her towards the beach, an arm through her shoulders holding her close to his body.

“Shut up, Sokka. You’re so stupid.”

“Yeah, yeah. I love you too.”

Zuko felt a pang to his chest when Sokka and Y/N arrived at the beach holding each other so dearly, but he knew he had no right to complain. She would be better off with Sokka anyway — he was good-looking, nice, funny, smart. Meanwhile, Zuko was nothing but a sad mixture of mistakes and regrets. The Avatar deserved more than that.

“Hey, Hotman,” she walked to him with a smile, planting a kiss on Sokka’s cheek before leaving his side. “Why are you all alone on the sand?”

“Because he’s boring,” Toph answered from some feet away and Katara chuckled. Zuko could feel his face redden.

“He is not,” Y/N argued amusingly, sitting down beside him and grinning. She glanced at him with a happy spark in her eyes, “are you excited for the play tonight?”

“No,” he muttered, but his lack of vivacity didn’t bother her in the slightest, “the Ember Island plays are always ridiculous.”

“I think it’s going to be fun,” she shrugged contently, basking in the hot sun, “if it isn’t, we can always throw food at the stage or whatever.”

He tried really hard, but couldn’t bit back the smile that took over his frown. He watched her attentively, noticing how she seemed to glow in the daylight, giving off this incredible warmth he had only ever seen on her. He averted away his gaze, feeling his neck and face heat up at how unapologetically beautiful she was.

Zuko cleared his throat quietly, “yeah, I guess.”

She only smirked in response.

-----

The play could be worse, he figured. Yes, their portrayal of him was horrible (even though his friends — could he call them friends? Were they friends? He hoped they were — said otherwise) and the actress playing Y/N was not nearly as pretty as the Avatar really was, but Y/N was next to him and, at some point, she had leaned her head on his shoulder tiredly and stayed there. All the training was getting to her and he felt inexplicable joy in the fact she trusted him enough to rest her body on his.

“Look,” her voice was raspy from sleepiness and a chill ran down his spine, “I think now is when you join Team Avatar and becomes our friend.”

He nodded carefully not to disturb her from her position and his heart skipped a beat when she nuzzled closer to his neck. Zuko watched as actor Zuko was accepted into the group and just after a scene with only him and actress Y/N started. Actor Zuko stared at the actress longingly, “my dear Y/N… I know I have wronged you in many ways, but I wanted to apologize for my mistakes and beg for your forgiveness!”

Y/N giggled at that, nudging him affectionately, “that really happened.”

He smiled, eyes following the performers on stage. Actor Zuko continued, “your forgiveness… And maybe your love, Avatar.”

They both immediately tensed up at the words and Y/N moved her head slightly, brows furrowing in confusion.

“My love, Prince Zuko?”

“Yes, my darling.”

They all watched as Actor Zuko and Actress Y/N kissed passionately, earning cheers from the audience. Sokka whistled loudly and Y/N turned to glare at him, receiving a wink in return.

“I have been in love with you since we first met!” Actor Zuko declared excitedly, holding Actress Y/N’s hands. “You are the only one who can make me forget about my teen angst. I love you, Y/N.”

“Well… I don’t!” Actress Y/N moved away swiftly and the crowd gasped in surprise. “I have accepted you in my group, Prince Zuko… But I’ll never accept you in my heart! You’re a bad person that doesn’t deserve my love!”

“What?!” Sokka almost screamed in disbelief. Y/N finally took her head off Zuko’s shoulder, incertitude swimming in her eyes. Before she had the chance to speak, Zuko had already left. The Water Tribe boy widened his eyes at her. “Go after him!”

Y/N nodded her head, getting out of her seat and walking after Zuko, calling his name. He ignored her, feeling anger boil inside him. He knew she would never directly say something like that, but he also knew it was true. She would never love him — he wasn’t worthy of her love, and he was pretty sure she was aware of that too.

“Zuko, wait!” she finally catched up to him, holding his arm and pulling him back. “It’s just a stupid play, Zuko. None of that is true.”

“Really, Y/N?” he turned to stare at her, rage covering his expression. “Because I’m almost certain it is. They said I don’t deserve love, Y/N, and that’s true. After everything I’ve done…”

“No!” she exclaimed desperately, shaking her head vehemently in disagreement. “Zuko, of course you deserve love. Yes, you have made mistakes, but all of us have. You shouldn’t care about what some actress says.”

“But they’re right, Y/N,” he insisted, feeling tears stinging his eyes, “I’m unworthy of love and everyone knows, and that’s why nobody actually loves me.”

“I love you!” she yelled out before she could stop herself, breath hitching at the troubled look taking over his face. Y/N sighed deeply, crossing her arms shyly and looking away, “I do,” her voice was small as she blushed, “I thought I was over my little crush for you but I wasn’t, and it’s—it’s much more than a little crush. I was afraid of admitting it but I know who you are, Zuko. You are loyal and smart and so inherently good and I love you. Spirits, I really do.”

  He stared at her for a second, processing her words. She fidgeted anxiously and he smiled at all her small manners. With certainty to his movements, Zuko took a step forwards and cradled her face in his hands. He studied every inch of her expression, waiting for some kind of rejection. She offered him a hopeful smile and he was quick to smash his lips with hers, feeling the warmth that always surrounded her consume him entirely. He kissed her passionately, happiness pouring out of him — the words “she loves you” echoing inside his mind like a broken record, filling his heart with joy.

She moved away when there was no more air in her lungs, breathing heavily and grinning like a mad woman. Y/N lifted her arm and touched his scar so fondly it physically hurt. Never before had he been touched with such care and it made tears flood his eyes, something she instantly noticed, giggling at his cuteness and drying one running tear with her thumb. She felt like her chest was full. He kissed her thumb lovingly when it rested near his mouth. 

She loved him. She thought he was worthy of love, of her love, even after everything he had done. No matter how many mistakes he had made, she still loved him, and that thought was enough to make Zuko feel some sort of hope towards the future.

Spirits, she really loved him.

“I love you too, Y/N. Very, very much.”

is it good? not really. could it be worse? yeah lmao

taglist: @bottledcostcowater @lammello @coldlilheart @azucanela @samsmultifandomblogs and @knaite-solo that asked to be tagged on this particular piece

thank you all for reading!! I hope you liked it!!

#zuko x reader #zuko x fem!reader #zuko x f!reader #sokka x reader #atla x reader #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar the last airbender x reader #zuko #sokka #avatar #avatar!reader #avatar reader #ember island #the ember island players #requested

[backhurtyy]

9, 16, or 51, whichever you want to do/haven’t done yet 🥰!

9. “You really thought I was dead?”

16. “I want you to be happy…even if its not with me.”

i guess warning for jealousy?? not possessive or anything, more nervous i-really-love-you-and-this-person-unexpectedly-came-back-into-our-life-please-don’t-leave-me jealousy

Returning to Ba Sing Se after the war always felt distinctly like coming home to Zuko. He loved the Fire Nation, he really did, but there were so many bad memories locked away inside empty rooms and shadows decorating blank walls to ever allow it to feel like home. But in Ba Sing Se, strolling into his uncle’s teashop with Sokka’s hand clasped in his and his crown tossed into the bottom of the bag on his shoulder, those memories and shadows slipped away. Instead, there were warm memories of lazy afternoons serving tea to his uncle and friends and the sounds of bright laughter filling the shop, and he felt like he was home.

“You’re awfully smiley,” Sokka laughed as they approached the Jasmine Dragon. “What’re you thinking about?”

“Just that it feels like I’m home, is all. We haven’t been here in a long time, and it’s... It’s really nice. I don’t know if that sounds crazy, but-“

“No, it doesn’t. I feel it too,” he said warmly. “It’s easier here, somehow.”

Zuko nodded, pressing a kiss to Sokka’s forehead as they crossed the threshold of the shop. His uncle was standing behind the counter, and when he saw them come in his face split into a wide grin.

“Zuko! Sokka!” he exclaimed, rushing towards them. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

He dropped Sokka’s hand to meet his uncle’s embrace, sighing at the familiar smell of jasmine tea that hung around him. “Hi Uncle. I’ve missed you.”

“Me too. It’s been too long.”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just got so busy with work and it was hard to find the time to come visit.”

“It’s okay to take breaks, Zuko. You don’t have to be Fire Lord all the time.”

Zuko wanted to say that wasn’t true- that the Fire Nation still had so far to go and that work couldn’t always wait, and also point out that he was the one to insist Zuko take this job- but before he could Sokka was hugging his uncle and proclaiming, “Yeah, that’s why he has me. To make sure he’s talking a whole bunch of breaks.”

His uncle laughed. “I knew he’d be in good hands.”

“Yeah yeah,” he muttered, though he smiled at Sokka fondly and began walking toward the kitchen, where the stairs leading to his uncle’s apartment were. “Can we just drop our bags off, the come back down?”

“Of course. Although this reminds me I have a new employee, and I think it’s someone you’ll be relieved to see! He’s in the back.”

Zuko furrowed his brow, wondering who he could possibly be talking about considering all the people he would want to see were very much not in Ba Sing Se. Well, except Sokka, but it wasn’t like he was his new employe. Still, he just shrugged and pushed aside the curtain to go into the kitchen- only to stop when he saw a tall figure with shaggy black hair, a persistent stalk of wheat sticking out of his mouth. Suddenly, he felt like he was on the ferry to Ba Sing Se all over again.

Sokka, not noticing that Zuko had stopped, crashed into him. “Zuko, wha-“ He stopped too, staring at Jet with his jaw hanging open. “Jet?”

He looked up them, one eyebrow raised and smirking. “Hey Sokka,” he greeted coolly. “And if it isn’t Lee... Or I guess Fire Lord Zuko, I should say.”

“I- What?” he stuttered, not entirely understanding how, much less why, Jet was in his uncle’s tea shop. The first because last he’d heard Jet was dead, and the second because last he’d checked Jet hated him and his uncle. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I work here? I’m the new hire,” he said, crossing his arms and cocking his hip out.

“You- How?” Sokka asked, his face wrinkled in confusion. “At Lake Laogai you died. I mean, you got crushed under the rock and you-“

“Wait,” Jet laughed. “You really thought I was dead?”

Sokka and Zuko shared a confused glance, then looked back to him. “Yes?” Zuko asked. “I mean, we’ve seen Smellerbee and Longshot since then and they never said anything so...”

“Yeah, I told them not too. I needed time after I recovered to figure myself out, and wasn’t sure I could handle seeing any old flames- no pun intended- or enemies,” he said, pointedly sliding his eyes from Zuko to Sokka. “But I didn’t think you’d actually think I was dead… I told Katara I’d be fine. That wasn’t a lie.”

Zuko... Zuko didn’t know what to do. He had spent the past five years feeling so guilty for being the reason Jet ended up in Lake Laogai and blaming himself for his death, that seeing him in front of him brought on an overwhelming onslaught of memories and emotions and confusion. But with it was also a huge sense of relief, and he smiled at him softly.

“I’m really happy to see you, Jet,” he said honestly. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

“Don’t think I’m not still pissed at the fact that you lied to me, or for the pain the Fire Nation has caused me and my friends,” he said evenly, though his mouth ticked up in a smile, the wheat jumping as it did. “But I’m glad to see you too. You look good.”

Zuko rolled his eyes but smiled and leaned into Sokka, who had shifted to stand at his side rather than behind him. Sokka grabbed his hand immediately. “Thanks. There’s a lot that’s happened, recently, and if you were willing to, I’d like to catch up and... Well, I know there’s a lot of history, but maybe we could try to be friends?”

There was a slight twinkle in Jet’s eye as he watched Zuko and Sokka, one that reminded him of sneaking around the ferry and running down the streets of Ba Sing Se, and Zuko knew he’d realized they were together. He didn’t say anything though, just smiled. “Yeah. I’d like that. And you too, Sokka. I think I owe you a few apologies.”

Sokka snorted, though Zuko recognized it as one of begrudging amusement rather than actual anger. “Yeah, whatever man.”

Jet nodded and turned away, apparently satisfied with that, and Zuko tugged on Sokka’s hand to lead him up the stairs.

“So…” Sokka said nonchalantly when they had shut the door to the apartment. “Jet. Your ex. He’s downstairs.”

“Yeah…” he hummed, setting down his bag and turning to grab Sokka’s. “That was not at all what I was expecting, gotta be honest.”

“How do you feel about it?” There was something odd to his tone, something curious but also apprehensive, as if he didn’t really want to know.

He shrugged, stepping into Sokka’s space to pull him into a hug- although Sokka would never say it, he knew his boyfriend. After what happened with the village during the war and then later seeing him die- so they thought- that Jet’s presence had to have shaken him. He wondered if that was why his tone of voice was so odd.

“I don’t know yet. But he seems… He seems alright. Happier than he ever was when we had our thing, at least. And I think maybe… Maybe I’d like to try to be friends with him.”

Sokka hugged him back tightly, nodding thoughtfully. When he spoke, it was careful and deliberate. “If you ever decide you want to date him again, I need you to just tell me, okay?”

He pulled back, staring at him in confusion. “Sokka, what?”

“I mean it! I want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me. So… If you ever decide you’re into him-“

“For spirits sake,” he rolled his eyes lightly, realizing what was up with his tone of voice- he was nervous that now Jet was back, Zuko wouldn’t want to be with him anymore. “Sokka, that’s not going to happen. I love you, and I’m going to keep loving you for the rest of time. I already know that you’re it for me, love. Plus,” he dropped his voice into a conspiratorial whisper, “when I kiss you it doesn’t taste like wheat.”

Sokka laughed, shoulders relaxing. “I love you. And you’re it me, too. I’m sorry for being weird about him, it’s just… I don’t know how to explain it. Seeing him and remembering you had a thing and just... I got jealous, I guess.”

“It’s okay, love, I understand,” he said as he smoothed his palm over Sokka’s cheek, before kissing him softly. “Now, come on. I’m sure Uncle is dying to make us some tea.”

#i love how these are supposed to be short and then my brain decided..... no 💖 #also i felt like david tennant writing this... ‘just this once everybody lives!!’ #anyways yes. jet didn’t die but got healing and then went on a long adventure to get some therapy and made a point to stay away from zuko #and the gaang for a while and then went to ba sing se again and had a long conversation with iroh about stuff and then decided to work there #or something like that idk #anyways #yeah hopefully this is okay as i am once again chucking it on here without reading it over and writing it in one sitting #n e ways #i’m slowly working my way through..... i have three more??? #ellen’s 400 follower celebration #zukosadragon ace writes #zukosadragon ace speaks #lesmiserablol

[pinetreeinlatin2]

Zukka: "At The Party"

Modern highschool au

(I can make a part two)

the gaang, Suki, Azula, Zuko, Ty lee, Mai and Yue, all are in the same highschool in Ba Sing Se,

Sokka is a Junior and Katara's a Sophmore,

Aang and Toph are Freshmen,

Zuko is a Senior,

Azula and Ty lee are Sophmores,

Suki is a Junior, Mai and Yue are Seniors

(Kyoshi warriors are cheerleaders (everyone refers to them as Kyoshi warriors)),

Sokka and Katara still live with their father- Hakoda, and with Bato (2 years after Kya's death Hakoda and Bato started dating and now they're engaged),

Zuko lives with his uncle Iroh, who runs a great teashop- the Jasmine dragon, Zuko works there so he can have money for collage,

(Zuko's has a scar because his father- Ozai after years of abusing him throw hot water onto his face, so he ran away to his uncle),

Azula, still lives with her (and Zuko's) father. Ty lee lives with Azula in her house (she sleeps in Zuko's bedroom (she actually sleeps in Azula's bedroom, she only have her stuff in Zuko's bedroom)) since she ran away from home,

Mai's parents are rich, Mai, Azula and Ty lee are the highschool meangirls,

Toph lives with her parents, she argues with them a lot, but she loves them (they're overprotective because she's blind). Toph also is the first person who has ever stood up to the highschool meangirls (she done that defending Sokka because they were making fun of him),

Aang lives with Monk Gyatso since he's parents died, he has a white dog named Appa and a white lemur named Momo,

Yue is a daughter of a very rich businessman, before she went to a private school but she decided she wanted to be like other kids, and now she's in a public highschool of Ba Sing Se,

Suki lives with her mother, she's a leader of cheerleaders in highschool and she do martial arts,

Sokka comes to Jasmine Dragon everyday after school to get some tea and do his homework, sometimes he comes here with Katara, Aang and Toph,

Zuko has a lot of school so he can't work at the Jasmine Dragon everyday, so he don't see Sokka there often (but he has a little crush on this boy becase his smile is so pretty),

one saturday the gaang is at the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko notices them, and he remembers Toph, she's the one who stood up to his sister in school, which means Zuko and whole gaang are probably in the same highschool,

Zuko's too shy to ask them if it's true,

a day after that, at lunch Zuko notices gaang at a table with leader of Kyoshi warriors, she was sitting next to this boy with a beautiful smile, he assumed they're a couple,

Zuko sat with Azula, Ty lee and Mai because he doesn't have any other friends.

Zuko instead of eating lunch stares at Sokka totally zoomed out, Ty lee notices it, it was obvious that Zuko has a crush on Sokka so she starts to make a plan how to help him,

she knows that Sokka's a Kyoshi warrior, so she decides to one too, so she can have some informations about him (Ty lee also tried to make Azula and Mai join the Kyoshi warriors but they didn't want to),

after Ty lee joins the Kyoshi warriors, she becomes friends with Suki, Suki tells Ty lee that Sokka is single, and after talking with Sokka a few times she knows that he's bi,

one day Ty lee mentions to Sokka about Zuko and that he's single, turns out that Sokka has a crush on Zuko too,

now Ty lee needs to figure out how to get these two dummies to start dating. She came up with an idea to make a party in Azula's house (technically it's her house too), she invates Sokka and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors, Mai, Yue, gaang and Zuko (he didn't want to come at first, but after Ty lee told him that his father would be out of town he changed his mind),

at the beginnig of the party everyone was dancing but then someone brought alcohol,

Aang refused to drink alcohol, Katara drank a little but then stopped and strated dancing with Aang (Katara was visibly drunk),

Azula drank A LOT of vodka and started complimenting Ty lee, everyone was suprised (not because Azula liked Ty lee (everyone knew that already) but because Azula was nice),

Toph drank a little but then she stopped because alcohol was messing with her senses,

Yue and Mai get a little to drunk and they end up making out in the bathroom,

Sokka is freaking out in the living room's corner, because he let Katara get drunk, but then he noticed that Zuko isn't here so he started look for him,

after finding Katara and Aang dancing in the kitchen and Mai and Yue making out in the bathroom he finally found Zuko sitting in his old bedroom holding a mask and staring at it,

Sokka sat next to Zuko:

-"Why aren't you at a party?" -Sokka asked

-"It's too loud there" -Zuko answerd

-"What's that?" -Sokka pointed at the mask

-"This? Oh.. It's the Blue Spirit mask" -said Zuko

-"You're Zuko right? I'm Sokka"

-"How do you know my name?"

-"Ty lee told me about you"

-"How do you know Ty lee?"

-"Well.. I'm a Kyoshi warrior. Just like Ty lee"

-"You're a cheerleader? I thought they were only girls"

-"I'm the only male Kyoshi warrior.. Do you know who's room this is?"

-"It's Ty lee's room"

-"Really? It doesn't look like it's her room"

-"Well.. it used to be mine"

-"Your? But you don't live here"

-"I ran away.. Because my father done that to me" -points at his scar- "Now I live with my uncle"

Sokka was muted, he didn't knew how Zuko got that scar, he thought maybe it was an accidient, but it wasn't, Zuko's father done this to him..

-"And this mask.. It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me before she died" -said Zuko

-"I'm really sorry.. I know how it feels.. my mother, she's dead too" -Sokka noticed that Zuko looks really sad- "I know what would make you feel better.. playing 20 questions!"

they started playing 20 questions, and both realized how many things they have in common,

it was Zuko's turn to ask a question, his last one:

-"C-can I kiss you?"

Sokka was visibly shocked, he didn't expect that question,

-" I.. uhh.. y-yes"

so Zuko kisses Sokka, it was a short kiss, but after the kiss they stare each other in the eyes and Sokka just says:

-"Wow"

-"How did your mom died?" -Zuko asked Sokka

-"What? Ohh.."

and Sokka told him the whole story about his mom,

they were talking until 3 am when both fell asleep still sitting on the floor,

in the morning Suki and Ty lee found Sokka sleeping with his head on Zuko's shoulder

You can use it for you're Zukka fic, but if you do please give me some credit I've spent 5 hours writing this, thank you <3

#zukka #tyzula #bakoda #kataang #atla #zukka au #atla gaang #ty lee atla #sokka of the southern water tribe #prince zuko

[bucky-blogs]

Rising of the Sun

Pairing: Zuko x Reader, Zuko x Pregnant!Reader

Word count: 1,983

Warnings: Pregnancy, morning sickness

Synposis: “Hello can we have a pregnant reader with zuko’s baby??” - requested by @aqua-the-mermaid26​​ . Sequel to this fic

A/N: I love this so much bc this kind of fluffs are my weakness!! Hope you guys enjoy it. I really enjoyed writing this. Feedback is much appreciated. Requests are still open, just send an ask

The day you married Zuko was one of the happiest days of your life. After being crowned as fire lord, he proposed to you 2 years later in the turtle duck pond, where you spend most of your time while he was in meetings. 

It was a magical night. You were both chilling under the tree while you watch the family of turtle ducks swimming around when he suddenly popped the question and, of course, you tackled him and said yes. 

That was a year ago, your wedding day was on the day of the first full moon. That day, all of Fire Nation was invited to witness your union of becoming one, the gaang was there too, dressed in their best outfits but no one compares to your beauty that night. You were like a sun goddess that everyone worshipped. Zuko, being Zuko, forgot to write vows until the last minute, you just laughed at him and he poured his heart out for you and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Now things are going back to normal again, you just got back from your honeymoon in Ember Island where Zuko remodeled their old family home to relive some of his favorite memories of the past. 

“Good morning, my love” Zuko whispered in your ear groggily as he tightened his embrace on you. You giggle, having been awake for a few moments now. “Good morning, husband” you replied sweetly. 

He suddenly tackled you and is now above you peppering your face with kisses, “My wife, my queen” he said with every kiss. You started laughing and trying to push him away but he continued tickling your sides as well. “S-stop it, Zuko!” you tried to tell him while laughing and pushing him away.

“I’ll stop if you say it again”, he replied with a smile on his face as he sees your happy expressions. You knew what he was talking about. He loves it when he hears you say ‘husband’, it makes him weak in the knees. 

“S-stop it, h-husband!”, you tried to say in between laughs. 

He stopped, a smile adorning his face from ear to ear. It was a rare sight to see Zuko smile, and you cherished every moment you see it. You pulled his face down for a soft kiss, wanting to give him all the love in the world.

As you were kissing him, you suddenly felt a sense of nausea. You got up fast and raced to the bathroom to vomit. “Well, I didn’t know my morning breath was that disgusting for you to immediately throw up.”, he joked as he followed you and held your hair as you continued to puke. Once you were done, he helped you clean up. You smiled weakly at him and tried to ease the worry evident on his face. “I’m sure it’s just something I ate yesterday” you assured him as you caress his face. 

Zuko told you to go to the infirmary immediately but you dismissed him, “I’ll go if it happens again, I’m sure it’s nothing” you keep assuring him. He reluctantly let you go so he can start his duties for the day. 

Okay, you were wrong, you puked two more times that day and it’s made you weak for the rest of the day so, you visited the infirmary. As the healer checked you, the thought of being pregnant was on your mind. It brought a smile to your face, you and Zuko definitely talked about having kids. He was reluctant and scared of turning in to his father but you keep telling him that he was not his father and he’ll be a better father than Ozai was before. 

The healer went to your quarters a few days later while you were resting and told you what they found. You were beyond ecstatic when you heard what the healer said. You were going to be a mother! Happy tears start to fall on your face as you basked in the great news. Of course, you were excited and you can’t wait to tell Zuko. 

In that evening, you invited Zuko for a relaxing time in the turtle duck pond as you talked about your day. “I went to the infirmary a few days ago when I started throwing up and I just received the news today”, you told him softly.

A million thoughts already surfaced in his mind, what if you contracted an incurable disease? Were you terminally ill? Were you going to die? His breathing started to race and you turned to face him. “Zuko, stop panicking. Nothing’s wrong with me, in fact, it’s good news” you told him, trying to ease his panicking mind. He looked at you confused, how can throwing up be good news? He lets you continue, “The healer came to our quarters today and told me what was going on” you continued and looked at him smiling wide, “Zuko, I’m pregnant” 

Words can’t explain the happiness Zuko was feeling that night, he was beyond shocked by the news. He never imagined himself being a father but now that he was with you, the thought of having children isn’t as scary as it was before. He hugged you tightly as happy tears stream down his face, “Thank you so much, Y/N. I promise to protect you both with all I have.” He kneeled in front of you and softly held your still flat stomach. “Hey, there bean, I promise to be good to you and mommy. I’ll protect you and give you the best life possible.”, he kissed your stomach, his lips lingering there and you feel tears in your skin.

You kneeled with him a few moments later and kissed him, wrapping your arms around his neck. You went back to your room and celebrated the night with love and care. You knew that Zuko was going to be the best father to your children.

FIRST TRIMESTER 

Every morning, Zuko would wake up before you and kiss your stomach as he whispers sweet words to it. He always helps whenever you have morning sickness. He will hold your hair up and whisper encouraging words to you as you puke everything in the toilet. He’ll wash you up and kiss your head. Whenever you feel cramps, he’s immediately there to heat his hand the right amount and massage you where it hurts. He’s such an attentive husband and father.

He told the gaang the news via messenger hawk and he received letters back, congratulating him. He would announce to every person he meets, that you were pregnant. He can’t get enough of saying, “My wife’s pregnant”. Telling Iroh the news was the best, you traveled to Ba Sing Se to Iroh’s teashop to personally deliver the news to him. Iroh was ecstatic with the news, “I’m going to be a grandfather!”, he would say this to every customer that goes there, “And I’m going to be a father!”, Zuko would shout after he hears his uncle say it to each customer.

Eventually, the whole Fire Nation, nay the whole Four Nations, knew you were pregnant just because both of them wouldn’t shut up about it.

“Zuko, I’m pregnant, not ill”, you always tell him whenever you try to join meetings and he tells you that you need to rest. That doesn’t stop him from always preventing you from doing heavy work but you manage to convince him that you can still do it.

SECOND TRIMESTER

When your bump started to show, Zuko would always talk to it. “Hey bean, it’s your daddy here. Be good to your mommy while I do my Fire Lord duties alright?”, he would say this every morning.

There’s no day that he won’t talk to your growing bump. The morning sickness is gone now, you feel the baby kicks! 

One evening while you were trying to sleep, you felt a flutter in your stomach. You sat up quickly and grabbed Zuko’s hand while he was reading beside you. He was confused at first but then he felt the sudden kick of your baby and oh boy, his face was just priceless.

“Was that our baby?”

“No, it’s some turtle duck living inside me” 

He laughed and the whole night his hand stayed in your stomach, wanting to feel his baby’s kicks. 

Every time you have an appointment with the healer for your pregnancy, he was always there. There’s a meeting at that time? Meeting postponed, you always come first. He’s there in every appointment and asks a lot of questions to the healer about you and your bean.

“Are you sure bean’s okay?”, he would ask this at least 5 times until the healer would get annoyed. “Why don’t you just live inside your wife’s womb and see that your baby is healthy?” the healer would reply to him. 

He would just shrug it off and caress your growing bump.

THIRD TRIMESTER

If you thought Zuko was overprotective in the last few months, you were wrong. Now that you’re nearing your due date, he wouldn’t leave your side. 

“Here let me carry that for you”

“Zuko, it’s just a blanket”

Foot rubs at night were amazing, he would massage your feet whenever it aches. The panic came as you near your due date, he wants everything to be perfect. He refused to have his baby’s room far away from him, so he told the maids to set everything up in your room. You didn’t know the sex of the baby yet so everything is in the traditional fire nation colors. You already received gifts from your friends and other people from the council, wishing you and your baby well. Katara went to visit you during this time. She felt your bump and gleamed, already knowing that your baby is healthy. 

Zuko was against you going out of the palace but you were so cramped up in the palace and you convinced him to take a palanquin ride to town to visit the market and buy some stuff. 

You should’ve taken Zuko’s advice, you suddenly felt a wet sensation down there and you gripped Zuko’s hand tightly.

“Zuko, I think the baby’s coming”, his eyes widen and he ordered the guards to take you back to the palace. You’ve never seen how fast a palanquin can go but now you saw it. Once you were back, you were immediately put to the infirmary as the healers’ fussed over you. 

When it was time to push, Zuko was beside you holding your hand and whispers words of encouragement to you.

“You can do this, my love, I’m proud of you. Our bean is just a few pushes away” 

A few moments later, you heard the cry of your baby.

“It’s a girl, my lord, and lady!”, the healer announced.

Tears of joy stream down your face as you hold your baby girl in your arms. Zuko was beside you, the same mess as you are as he looks at your baby. You gestured for him to hold her and his eyes widen. He got scared, afraid that he would drop your baby, thoughts ran in his head, what if he wasn’t good enough? But you already started to hand her over to him. He immediately held her like he was his world and all those scary thoughts inside his head vanished if you could just paint this moment, you would.

“What would you like to name her, Fire Lord Zuko?”, the healer asked. You talked about names before one for a boy and one for a girl.

“Arpina”, Zuko softly replied.

“Just like the rising of the sun”, you softly whispered. Zuko turned towards you and kissed your head. 

This was the start of a new chapter in your lives, you wouldn’t trade for anything in the world because the sun rises with you. 

#zuko #zuko x you #zuko x reader #zuko x y/n #prince zuko #prince zuko x reader #prince zuko x you #fire lord zuko x reader #atla #atla zuko #avatar #avatar the last airbender #team avatar #avatar the legend of aang #fire lord zuko #zuko request #zuko imagine #zuko fanfic #avatar gaang #iroh is the best #iroh is such a cute grandfather #atla imagine #atla x reader #atla x you #zuko x pregnant reader

[heavensenthearty]

Avatar!Jin AU for the ask game

This is one has a clear beginning but there's little beyond that as of now. Jin is still an Earth Kingdom commoner that gets a crush on the cute waiter from the nearby teashop, and when she finally gathers the courage to ask him out... they are spotted by the Dai Li after curfew, which prompts Lee (harrumph, Zuko) to use his firebending and Jin to discover her Avatar powers.

Her family is shocked, they were always simple people, they never had any relevance in politics for someone to suspect the Avatar could be born into their family. Jin's three older brothers are fuming at Zuko, saying their precious little sister never had any trouble until she met him, but of course they decide to help her in her Avatar journey.

Zuko is still a banished Prince that had to go into hiding along his uncle, Iroh, but he still has some contacts that could help with Jin's current situation. He becomes her first firebending teacher, although he feels he is more of a bother than he is help. Jin assures him he is a distraction, but not a bother.

Her brothers still aren't very happy with Zuko's presence but they have to put up for the time being. They decide to flee Ba Sing Se which gives Jin and Zuko more time to bond. When the time comes for her to learn the other elements, Zuko uses his contacts — his childhood friends Aang, Katara, and Sokka — for helping her out. Jin becomes a bit insecure when she sees Katara and Zuko's friendship, but Katara seems to have a thing for Jin's brother (who is very cute, by the way).

So, that's that.

I still haven't gotten to the end, but don't worry, I'm a Happily Ever After kind of girl 😉. It's mostly a Jinko / Katara x OC story. I would love to make it Jinkotara but I haven't figured the chain of events yet, I don't know if I will make it work for all the relationships in the throuple to develop properly.

#jinko #angel writes 🖋️

[ao3feed-zukka]

These Things Known

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3mWzQ2u

by Erisenyo

[Aang cuts him a quick, guilty look. “I didn’t mean to imply that you…”

Sokka raises his eyebrows. “That I…Focus on the present to the point of blindly committing to enormously questionable courses of action with significant long-term ramifications because they’re gratifying in the immediate moment, which is particularly concerning as our chief Maker of Plans?”

“Uh—That’s basically…Yeah.”]

  Surrounded by danger and doubts, separated by war and one irrevocable decision—after the world of just-Sokka-and-Zuko crashes into the world of everything else, what comes next?

Or,

What happens when trusting someone suddenly means something far different out in the world than it did in the space of a Ba Sing Se teashop?

Words: 9992, Chapters: 1/28, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of Burning Bright

Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Underage

Categories: M/M

Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Iroh (Avatar), Azula (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Ty Lee (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), Toph Beifong, Suki (Avatar)

Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & The Gaang (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)

Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, ish, (The ish is going to start to come out more), Zuko's firebending continues to be interesting, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Zuko's Canon Typical Childhood, Consensual Underage Sex, This will continue to be pretty smutty, And very plotty, The end game is a happy ending, And guys the end game is here, Along with so many heart to hearts, No beta we die like our best bud Jet

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3mWzQ2u

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #zukka #avatar: the last airbender #atla #zuko #sokka

[bard-llama]

ATLA WiP List

I’m bored and need a break from work, so I’m just gonna list out all my different WiPs because why the fuck not. Warning: this list will NOT be short 😬

We’ll start with the big universes that got their own doc, because I have them ordered based on when in the chronology it goes AU lol

Accidental Shaman Zuko

Zuko’s Odyssey

Multi-bending Zuko (airbender Zuko, but also potentially Avatar Zuko????)

Earth and Air (the sequel to Fire and Water)

Two Lovers, Forbidden from One Another (The Pebble That Causes an Avalanche)

Seduction of the Innocent

Ba Sing Se Boyfriends

(Going) Down and Out in Ba Sing Se

The Fire Lord and The Avatar

Hope for the Future

Zuko’s Terrible, No Good, Very Bad (Yet Kinda Awesome) Destiny (AKA Dragon Mama Zuko)

Justice, Served Cold with a Side of Vengeance (The Unlearning of Fear (And the Acceptance of Love))

All the Politics

A Royal Heir

Okay having only 14 series makes me feel like I need to come up with another one to make it a nice solid 15

Anyway, here are the random fics that don’t get their own doc because they were supposed to be short and haven’t gotten so ridiculously long that they really need their own doc

Agni’s Little Flame

Unyielding

Zuko adapts other bending techniques

Fire Control

Those Who Tell Stories Rule the World (AKA Storyteller Zuko)

The Consequences of Breaking The Rules

Nightmares

Good at bending

Healing Fire

Sibling Rulers

Azula and her brother

Crew bonding

Bounty Hunter Zuko

Katara hating on Zuko

Imprisoned DoBS!Zuko becomes Fire Lord and has an awkward conversation

Zuko stops chasing Aang, so Aang chases Zuko

Batman!Zuko

Viva la Resistance

Aang in the Iceberg: Dreams

Angst Coma Time Travel

Punishment

The Tournament of Kingship

Zuko Asks Forgiveness Through Action: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

I'm Your Fire, Your Desire (this one probably should have its own doc, tbh)

Domtara

Shirtless sparring

Retribution

Crowd Shy

“Seduce” You to the Good Side

Serious Take: Come to the Good Side, We Have Cookies

Roleplay Pohuai: Return to Pohuai

Oviposition PWP

Our Love Become a Funeral Pyre

The Haunting Reminder of You AKA Pining

Spontaneous Combustion

Early S3 AU 

Gay Bar

Airbender Blow Jobs

Toph and Zuko Bonding AKA Ozai is a dick

Reading Lips AKA Everyone Wants Zuko

Fluffy Zuko/Aang for Cricket

“My heart feels like it’s dancing when I look at you.”

Zuko blows Aang while Katara watches

Fealty

Choosing Nonviolence: Aang sees Zuko’s Scars

What Is Forgiveness?

Aang Approaching Zuko Morning After

Dreams/Nightmares AKA Aang pictures Zuko in his underwear bc it’s a nightmare... right?

Pampering Zuko

Commitment to Balance AKA Gaang Marriage

Zuko navigating 10 (billion) relationships

Truth Serum

De-aged Zuko

Treasure (sequel to Pearl)

“I’m in love with your voice.”

First Kiss/First Time

Sex Pollen Hakoda/Zuko + Kuei/Zuko

Southern Water Tribe Family/Zuko: A Southern Water Tribe Welcome

Global Leaders Orgy (🚫Arnook🚫)

Mai/Zuko + Gaang

Sex Pollen Blue Spirit/Aang

Everyone Wants to Fuck Zuko

Consensual Somnophilia

“Prisoner” Zuko

Working Together/Mission Fic

Pao’s Teashop Office Sex

Zuko becomes Fire Lord at 13 AU

Toph Joins S1

A Scarred Foundation 

Rope Burns

Demonic/Ghostly Possession

Trusted with Weapon

Gifts

Katara POV Zuko tortured by Fire Lord

Zukaang Western Air Temple

Sexytimes – Voyeurism

Ozai on Trial

Gossip

Ozai finds out Zuko joined the Avatar

Frottage

Wan Shi Tong’s Uninvited Guests

Ugh, again, so close to a nice round number... guess I need to start 4-9 more fics lol

#atla #my fics #wip list