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active-galactic-nuclei · 5 years ago

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Rewrite Your Memories

Zuko x reader

warnings: none except like Zuko’s tragic backstory

Inspired by the lovely @zukochi who gifted me this wonderful prompt!!

You were looking for a roommate. You were broke, and you could hardly manage to pay the rent each month. As a college dropout, your career prospects weren’t looking too hot, and as a starving artist that didn’t seem like it would be changing anytime soon. So you put out an ad on craigslist. What’s the worst that could happen? If someone tried to murder you then at least you’d have a good story to tell at parties.

Zuko was looking for a house. Or an apartment. Or anywhere to stay that wasn’t the streets tonight. He had been kicked out of his dorm for “dangerous, unlawful and reckless activities.” Of course, he hadn’t meant to set his curtains on fire. It was just a mistake. They didn’t care much whether it was an accident or not. He was as good as gone as soon as his roommates walked through the door. He figured he’d just have to sleep in a crappy hotel for the night or god forbid he’d have to ask to stay with his uncle. Of course uncle Iroh would say yes, but his pride would never survive a blow like that. He was eighteen years old. He wanted to handle it by himself. He sat in his car and started searching for the places to stay.

Suddenly a message came through on your phone. An unknown number. You figured it would be just another spam text trying to sell you something, so you almost didn’t even bother reading it. Then you remembered the room listing. You’d only posted it two hours ago, surely that couldn’t be it, could it?

“Unknown number: I heard you’re renting out a room. When's the soonest I can move in?” it said. Laughing at the bluntness you quickly typed back.

“And just who are you?” you responded.

“My name’s Zuko. I need somewhere to stay asap,” he shot back quickly.

“Well if it’s really that urgent then you can come by whenever. I’m home for the rest of the day,” you offered, puzzled at his predicament.

“Perfect. I’ll be over with all my stuff soon,” he responded. Well that wasn’t weird at all, right? Maybe you would be getting murdered after all. The universe just loved to punish you.

An hour and 35 minutes later on the dot, a knock sounded at the door. Well, time to meet your new roommate (or as you supposed, murderer… or…. both?) Dragging yourself away from the couch, you meandered warily to the door. When you opened it you were expecting a terrifying thug, or maybe a creepy old hag, or any other person that your mind coupled with the word murderer. You certainly weren’t expecting a tall, dark, handsome, young man with brooding eyes and a scar taking up half his face. Well, maybe the scar was a little more on brand with what you were envisioning… but regardless, you were more than surprised.

“I’m Zuko, and you must be Y/N right?” he asked meekly. Wonderful, his voice was gorgeous too. You were starting to wonder if the universe was cursing you in a much different way now.

“Um yeah… That would be me,” you responded hesitantly. Why were you so awkward?

Now the universe really was cursing you.

“Great, I have my stuff with me so if you could, like, show me to my room that would be… wonderful,” he prompted. You had been so lost in his eyes you’d hardly even recognized what he’d said. You quickly snapped out of it, realizing what an idiot you looked like, and started walking toward the spare room.

“Sorry there's still some of my stuff in here. I’ll move it out by tomorrow, it's just that some of the paintings are still drying,” you told him. He started unpacking things from his suitcases and you decided to take the moment to sit down on the floor next to him.

“So uhh… What made you decide to move in with me so fast? I barely had the listing up for two hours,” you asked, trying not to push too hard and make him uncomfortable.

“It’s kind of a weird story,” he trailed off, “Are you sure you want me to tell it?”

“I’m the master of weird stories, Zuko. Trust me, you can tell me anything,” you answered.

“I’m um… kind of homeless I guess. I got kicked out of my dorm for uhh… setting my room on fire…” he confessed, looking embarrassed. He looked down, fearing your reaction. Would you be mad? Scared? Instead you surprised him by… laughing?

“I understand, I got kicked out of my last apartment for painting on the wall and ruining it. It was an accident, I just hadn’t realized I needed to put a tarp up. What about you? I mean… Did you mean to set the fire?” you asked.

“If I'm telling the truth then… yeah. I guess I did. It was just a spur of the moment thing. I was just so angry I started lighting stuff on fire. I didn’t mean for it to spread to the curtains or anything though. That part was really an accident. I just didn’t notice until it was too late,” he explained. You smiled sympathetically.

“I get it. I mean, everyone makes mistakes sometimes,” you told him. “So, what do you do for a living?” you asked, laying back and resting your head on his now empty backpack.

“I’m uhh… unemployed. I mean I’m a full time computer science student but my uncle pays for everything,” he told you.

“Your uncle pays for everything but you’re homeless? How does that work?” you asked playfully.

“I just didn’t want to bother him by asking to stay with him. I mean I know that he would say yes but… I just couldn’t do that to him after everything he’s done for me,” he sighed. “How about you, what do you do?”

“I work at a bookstore with some of my friends. I dropped out of college last semester. It just… wasn’t what I really wanted, you know? My passion is art. I just want to make the world brighter in that way,” you explained.

“I get it. I’m studying to work with artificial intelligence. I just want to help people. If I can do that with my life… i think everything will be worth it,” he told you.

“No way, my friend Toph is studying AI too! Have you ever met her?” you asked excitedly.

“Toph Beifong? Yeah of course I know her. She’s one of the smartest people in my engineering class. The way she works with metal to build stuff… I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

“That’s Toph for you. She’s always talking about the newest thing she’s built when we’re working together. It’s her and I, and three of our other friends at the bookstore. Katara’s studying business, Sokka’s studying communications, and Aang is working on philosophy. Don’t ask me what he’s gonna do with that degree once he graduates, but he seems pretty happy whenever he talks about it to us,” you told Zuko. He was listening intently, hanging on every word. It seemed like he really cared. Suddenly you realized that you were in way over your head with the mysterious man. The universe was just so cruel that way.

The next day Zuko was in class. He sat next to Toph, hoping to get to know her better. In all his time in class with her, he’d never really taken the time to talk to her. To his surprise, once he got past her sarcastic and calloused exterior she was sweeter than he’d imagined.

“Have you gotten the book we’re studying yet? The annotations are due by Sunday night,” Toph asked him.

“No I… haven’t even thought about it yet,” he confessed.

“You should get on it or else you won’t finish on time. Why don’t you go to Katara's Books? That's where I work. Just tell them Toph sent you and they’ll give you 25% off. I mean, not like you need it, rich kid… but still, you should get it there. The money goes to my friend Katara. She owns it and she’s doing everything she can to keep it running,” Toph explained.

‘Yeah, I'll be sure to stop by,” Zuko said, standing up to grab his things. Katara? That name sounded awfully familiar. Maybe he’d know where he’d heard it once he got there. Making his way across campus, he couldn’t get you out of his mind as he walked.

Walking into the store he looked around, quickly finding his way to the nonfiction shelf.

“Hey, I’m Aang! Do you need help finding anything today?” came a voice from behind making him jump. He wheeled around to see a little bald kid wearing what looked to him like monk robes. Aang… now that name seemed familiar too. He told the kid, Aang, what book he was looking for.

“Ah, I love that book! I love the part discussing the philosophy that metal is alive. It’s definitely great food for thought. It should be right… here!” he said, pulling the book off the shelf.

“Thanks for the help… Aang,” he said, trailing off. He walked up the counter, ready to pay when he caught sight of you. Ringing up the customer in front of him. Of course that’s where he’d heard those names from, you had told him about them last night. He studied your face carefully as you smiled and laughed at the woman buying a copy of The fault in Our Stars. You looked… beautiful. He scolded himself for being creepy. He knew better than to start being vulnerable for you.

“I can help the next guest in li- oh, Zuko! Hey!” you called out.

“Hey Y/N, how’s it going today?” he shoots back.

“It’s good. We’ve been kind of slow so that’s been nice. Oh, I love this book! Autobiography of a Yogi is really amazing. Aang told me about it after he studied it in class. I read it after that and I loved it! I think you’ll really enjoy it,” you told him. You were so adorable when you were excited. Zuko scolded himself again. He needed to get you out of his mind. As he paid and said goodbye though, it seemed an impossible task. A spark had caught in his heart, and he knew it would soon be a raging forest fire. Uncontrollable and insurmountable, too great to ever find his way out of. As he walked back to your shared apartment, he began to realize the thought didn’t scare him nearly as much as it should have.

Walking in the door and setting your keys down, you saw Zuko on the couch. As peaceful as he looked, you needed to ask him about dinner.

“Hey, are you hungry?” you asked, setting your bag on the counter.

“Yeah, are you making dinner?” he responded. He turned around to face you.

“I was hoping you’d help out but, yeah. All I have is macaroni and cheese, is that fine with you?” you asked.

“Yeah, I’ll get the stuff out for it,” he said, watching you put a pot of water on the stove to boil. He grabbed the milk and butter from the fridge, trying to put his anxiety to the back of his brain. He was a grown adult, it shouldn’t still scare him. He had zoned out and before he knew it, the pasta was done.

“Hey, move you dork. I need to pour this in the strainer you said. Seeing that he didn’t seem to notice you tried to move around him and pour it out anyway. Evidently, that did not go very well as you accidentally scalded his hand by pouring boiling hot water on it. He let out a yelp, sounding like a kicked puppy. Your heart sank.

“Oh my god Zuko I’m so sorry!” you apologized. You tried to grab his wrist to inspect the burn, but he snatched it away from you with a squeal and sank down against the refrigerator. You knelt down in front of him as he folded in on himself. You reached up to grab an ice pack from the freezer and handed it to him, noticing him start to cry. You sat next to him and tried to calm him down. He sounded like he was hyperventilating, which you didn’t take as a good sign. You knew a panic attack when you saw one, and this was most certainly one of them.

“Hey, calm down. It’s alright. You’re going to be okay, alright? Just breathe,” you reassured him softly. You rubbed his shoulder tenderly as you brought him back down to earth. It took a few minutes, but eventually he calmed down enough to speak.

“Hey, can you tell me what just happened, Zuko?” you asked softly, trying your best to sound reassuring.

“Panic attack… I just panicked… too much like the accident… too scary,” he blubbered almost incoherently.

“What accident? Can you tell me what happened to you Zuko?” you pushed, trying your hardest to stay gentle. Your heart broke when he spoke up.

“My dad… when I was little… my face… he poured boiling water on my face… that’s why I have my scar… It hurt so bad, Y/N, it just reminded me of it,” he explained. You were horrified, but even more than that you were angry that someone could do that to him. To such a sweet person. To a child.

“Is he in jail? Your dad?” you asked, pushing your voice to stay flat.

“He’s… he’s gone now. Thankfully. I don’t know what I’d do if I ever had to see him again.” Zuko explained, wiping his tears on his sleeve. “I’m sorry I freaked out, I didn’t mean to…”

“No, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault. Not at all,” you told him, holding back tears of your own.

“So umm… you think the pasta’s still good?” he asked, a watery smile teasing on his lips.

“Fuck the pasta,” you told him. “We’ll just order out.”

“I’d like that... “ he trailed off.

“We’ll get whatever you want, my treat,” you said, watching his face.

“Can we go eat at my uncle’s shop? He makes great tea and we’ll probably be the only ones in there,” he asked.

“Of course we can,” you told him. You got up to grab your keys, not noticing how his eyes flickered over to you with longing as you turned around.

Stepping out of your car, you looked up at the sign for the Jasmine Dragon. A quiet little tea shop by the edge of campus, sitting alone next to two closed buildings. It was cute, you thought. You were surprised you’d never been before. You walked in behind Zuko, who instantly got called up to the counter by a man you could only assume to be his uncle. You spat out an order to him and he cheerfully wrote it down and handed it to the cooks. You couldn’t believe someone so sweet could be related to a family as awful as the one Zuko had described.

As the only ones in the shop, you got your food quickly. You eyed your soup appreciatively, thanking the server as he walked away.

“This colour is so pretty. I need to paint something with it sometime,” you told Zuko, gesturing to the soup.

“It reminds me of your eyes… they’re pretty too,” Zuko said, instantly kicking himself for it. You blushed as you looked up to see him looking at his food intensely, too embarrassed to look back at you.

“Thank you… You know, your eyes are pretty nice too,” you responded rather awkwardly. The universe’s vendetta for you knew no end.

As you got up to leave, Zuko stayed put.

“I’m gonna stay here to help Uncle close up shop. I’ll be home in an hour or so,” he explained. He watched you say goodbye and walk out, making your way to the car. He walked over to the counter, vaulting over it.

“Zuko! How’s my favourite nephew doing?” Iroh asked him, smiling as he finished drying off a glass.

“I’m… confused. I need help, Uncle,” Zuko responded.

“It’s about that Y?N, your new roommate, isn’t it?” Zuko nodded, “I knew it. I’m always so good at reading you, Zuko.” Zuko sighed.

“I think I really like her, but I don’t know what to do. What if she thinks I’m weird or something. I don’t want to ruin us as friends,” Zuko confessed.

“You’ve got to do what makes you happy, Zuko. If she makes you happy, tell her. If she’s really your friend she’ll understand,” Iroh told him, pulling him into a knowing hug. Zuko let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding as he sank into it. Everything always had to be so complicated.

At home, your mind raced with thoughts of Zuko. Calling your friends, you sighed as everyone picked up.

“What am I supposed to do about Zuko?” you asked dramatically.

“You could always just kill him,” Toph offered, earning a laugh from everyone else.

“I’m serious. He's literally… perfect. I think I’m in love with him or something,” you said to her.

“Let me get this straight: you let him move into your apartment without even knowing him, he tells you he burnt down his dorm room, and now you’re in love with him? Maybe I’m just spoiled by being in love with the nicest person ever but that sounds kind of fucked up,” Katara told you.

“Ok first of all, yes you are spoiled by being in love with Aang, but second of all yes. I know I’m an idiot but I can’t help it. You’d only understand if you were in my shoes,” you responded.

“I think you should just do it. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? He says no?” Aang said.

“No Aang, the worst he could do is be totally creeped out and move out and I never see him again,” you spat out frustratedly.

“If that happens, I’ll yell at him in engineering for you,” Toph offered.

‘Thanks Toph, but I doubt it’ll come to that. I’ll probably just suffer dramatically until the end of time,” you lamented flopping down onto the couch to agonize about life.

When Zuko walked in, he was surprised to find you on the couch. He walked up to the sink and dumped the forgotten macaroni in the trash and rinsed out the pot. Drying his hands on his jeans, he walked over to where you were sleeping. He debated for a second before picking you up and carrying you back to your room. He set you down in bed and turned off the lights in the hallway. He took note of the stacked canvases in the corner, and saw the painting still drying on top. A boy with half of his face obscured by a deep red scar stared back at him. It couldn’t be meant to be him, could it? Surely he wasn’t that beautiful in your eyes, was he?

Waking up the next morning you were confused. You had fallen asleep on the couch talking to Katara. Why were you in your bedroom? Had…. had Zuko brought you in here last night when he came home? Your heart sped up at the thought. He must have, right? As you got dressed and walked into the empty living room, you couldn’t get the thought out of your head. Zuko was already long gone, the crazy morning person that he was. It was your day off, and you knew it was Sokka’s too, so you decided to call him.

“Hey, do you wanna go get coffee or something today?” you asked him when he picked up the phone.

“Of course, dork. Meet me at the coffee house by the campus library in half an hour,” he responded. You smiled as you hung up the phone and went to go get ready.

Half an hour later and you were walking into the coffee house to see Sokka sitting at a table in the corner. You sat down across from him to see your favourite drink already sitting in front of you. Taking a sip, Sokka piped up.

“So about this Zuko character, I know you really like him. Tell me more about him,” he told you, punctuating the sentence with a smile that you couldn’t resist.

“He’s so gorgeous, Sokka. Plus, he’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. Aside from you and Aang. But seriously, he’s amazing. I painted a picture of him last night while I was on the phone and it was just Katara. He has the most paintable face. I just want to get lost in it,” you rambled on. He was starting to overtake your mind, you couldn’t get him out of your brain.

“Look, I’m just saying. If he’s that great, you should just tell him you feel. If anything else, you know I’ll kill him if he breaks your heart,” offered Sokka.

“Good luck,” you laughed, “He’s been training in Tae Kwon Do since he was a baby,” you replied. Sokka groaned, smirking as you laughed at him. You took a sip from your coffee mug. Things were always so complicated.

Walking back into the apartment, you saw all the lights were turned off. That was… strange. Zuko should have been home by now. Maybe he was sleeping? You walked with light footsteps down the hall, making your way towards Zuko’s room. Seeing his door cracked open, you decided to go in and check on him. You found him sitting in the dark, holding a lighter. A little silver Zippo he was using to pass over the ends of his fingertips, and holding to his palm. He looked lost in thought as he watched the flames dance across his skin.

“Zuko… are you ok?” he whispered trying not to disturb him too much. He flinched and dropped the lighter onto the carpet, wheeling around to face you.

“You scared me, I didn’t even hear you come in,” he told you.

“Sorry I just… didn’t want to make too much noise in case you were sleeping or something. Anyway, what were you doing?” you asked.

“Oh I was just messing with my lighter. You know, typical pyromaniac behavior,” he smirked.

“I knew you were an amateur arsonist, but I didn't peg you as the masochist type,” you giggled.

“It’s just in my blood I guess. I’ve always been fascinated by fire as long as I can remember. So was my sister, and my parents, and my cousin. My uncle is too. I guess that’s just how it goes with us,” he revealed.

“I didn’t know you had a sister. I’m assuming she uhh… wasn’t the best?” you said knowingly.

“She was sick in the head. It wasn’t her fault. An upbringing like we had would make anyone crazy. She’s in a mental hospital now. I still visit her sometimes but… not as much as I used to. It’s just hard to see her like that. It just reminds me too much of my mom,” he confessed.

“Is that… bad?” you asked, trying hard not to sound rude.

“I loved my mom, she was the best part of my life when she was in it. After my dad disowned me and kicked her out though… it’s just too hard to think about…” he trailed off, his voice cracking with a sob at the end.

“I’m so sorry, Zuko. I can’t imagine how you feel,” you responded, pulling him into your chest as his body shook with sobs. You held him as he let out strangled sobs, and you stayed like that until his breathing evened out.

“We’re gonna get through this. We can rewrite your memories together,” you told him.

The next morning as you clocked into work, you couldn’t stop thinking about the night before. The way he’d been so vulnerable with you. You had grown so fond. It was impossible to stop your heart from racing every time you thought about him. Walking over to where everyone else stood sorting through books, you sighed.

“I need to do something about Zuko. I can’t keep thinking about him like this. It’s all I can think about,” you said, punctuated with a groan.

“Ok well, your only options are to either tell him or die miserable and alone. I don’t know about you, but I would take the first option,” Sokka told you, turning around to face you.

“Seriously. I know Toph isn’t here but I’m sure she’d agree: we all want you to be happy. The only way that’ll happen is if you just tell him how you feel,” Katara remarked.

“I guess you’re right. But what if he thinks I’m creepy or something?” you asked self consciously.

“Y/N, you’re gorgeous. Zuko would be lucky to have someone like you. Trust me, if he says no he’s delusional,” Katara responded.

“I think I’ll tell him tonight and get it over with,” you stated.

“Finally! I’m sure it’ll go well,” Aang told you, smiling from behind the book he was occupied with.

Zuko couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid to be so vulnerable with you last night. Once was more than enough, but twice? You had such an effect on him. It was like he could really be himself around you. It was the first time he’d ever felt that way, and he knew he’d have to capitalize on it. He knew he had to tell you how he felt. He sat down next to Toph, as had become his routine in class everyday.

“Toph, I need to ask you something,” he said, setting down his backpack.

“If you’re going to ask me on a date, just know that I’d rather kiss Momo,” she said, motioning to the dopey eyed guide dog that sat at her feet.

“No, it’s about Y/N. It's just… they make me feel so different. I’ve never felt the way I feel about them,” Zuko confessed.

“Happiness. You’re describing happiness,” Toph replied sarcastically.

“Yeah, I guess I am. I guess what i'm asking is… would you be alright with me asking her out?” he asked.

“Of course, idiot. As long as you don’t break her heart. Then I’ll have no choice but to kill you,” Toph said, raising her eyebrow. Zuko shuddered. If there was anyone he was truly scared of, it was Toph Beifong.

Sitting on the couch, you turned your head at the sound of a key turning in the door. You smiled inwardly when you saw Zuko’s face emerge from the door frame.

“How was class?” you asked him.

“It was… good,” he responded, walking over to you, “I uhh… really need to tell you something,” he said meekly.

“What’s up?” you asked as he sat down on the couch next to you.

“I just… you’re the first person that’s made me feel loved in so long. You’re always so happy to see me, and you always know just what to say, and you’re so gorgeous, and you have the most beautiful laugh and… I guess what I’m trying to say is… I really really like you, Y/N,” he confessed. He had no idea what to expect but he certainly hadn’t expected you to… laugh?

‘I know, Zuko,” you giggled, cutting him off with a kiss. He was taken aback, but he relaxed into it before you pulled away, keeping your hand on his cheek.

“How did you know?” he asked, breathless.

“You think Toph can keep a secret? Of course she told me,” you smiled.

“Of course she did,” he laughed, pulling you in for another kiss, “So, can I call us official?” he asked.

“Of course, my love,” you told him, sinking into his arms.

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