#prince zuko fanclub

[demaparbat-hp]

Oh, Aang, you're really in it now...

This is Zu—I mean, Jian Li and Katara's second meeting in the Kyoshi Warriors AU. The first proper one, anyway.

Once they get through a minor difference of opinion or two (“I can carry my own basket!” “Never said you—” “I'm not weak!” “I didn't—” “Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean—” “Would you listen for once, woman?!” ) they'll become nearly inseparable.

For now Jian Li will carry Katara's basket all the way to the Kyoshi Warriors' dojo and, once there, they'll mercilessly tease Sokka when they see him in uniform.

[just-another-author-i-guess]

Are you still accepting requests? If soo,, can i possible req some zuko x pregnant reader? Or just a zuko x reader with them making out lol. Thank you in advance if you accept this 👉👈

Crap- I am so sorry it took me so long to get to this!! Better late than never I suppose hah

Warning(s): she/her pronounced reader, uhh kinda heavy making out, if you don't like pregnancy stuff probably don't read?? I also didn't edit it through, but are we really surprised

Pai Sho

Ever since Iroh first laid eyes on you, he had been pressuring Zuko for a grand-nephew. Both you and Zuko had been incredibly embarrassed when he casually mentioned it over afternoon tea one day, as if he was simply talking about the weather.

To be honest, the both of you had been trying to conceive, fairly often considering Zuko had a lot of duties as the new firelord and the fact that you kept getting interrupted by none other than Iroh himself.

So naturally it called for a big celebration when you finally announced your pregnancy, it seemed as if the whole fire kingdom showed up in front of the palace to wish you congratulations. Your privacy was invaded even further when the gaang showed up. Of course you were happy to see your friends, cracking a smile every time Zuko would smack Sokka for pointing out that it looked like you had swallowed a watermelon whole. However, it seemed your friends had a special talent for walking in at all the wrong times.

The first time it was poor Aang who had to witness Zuko and you going at it, being too caught up in the moment to even notice the young airbender standing in the doorway with a startled expression.

Your encounter had started innocent enough; you were standing at Zuko's desk in his office, sorting out letters and documents you knew he would just throw on the floor later.

You jumped when you felt a pair of hands reach around your middle, but quickly melted into the touch once Zuko's voice reached your ears.

"Hello there, little one." He mumbled, gently leaning his head on your shoulder, careful not to put too much weight on you. He looked down at your large baby bump as he spoke, spreading his hands over it.

You turned your head and placed a soft kiss to his temple. "What about me?" You pouted.

Zuko chuckled, you could feel his chest move against your back. "Hello to you too, sunflower." He sad and turned his head to meet your lips.

You smiled happily at the nickname, wrapping your arms around his neck as he maneuvered himself to stand in front of you, never breaking the kiss. He squeezed your waist slightly, before letting go and looking down at you with a toothy grin.

He looked guilty as could be and you raised an eyebrow at him, silently demanding him to explain. He blew air out his mouth, making his bangs move slightly away from his eyes.

"I'm hiding from Aang." He said, looking around to check if the avatar was somewhere in sight. "I promised him a game of Pai Sho,, but I actually have a lot of, uh, other things on my mind,"

You giggled, quickly getting his memo. "Oh, really?" You asked, as innocently as possibly despite the thoughts that already began to swarm your brain.

Zuko smiled, a bit guilty but ultimately a bit too horny to care. "Yes, and it seems you're not too busy to entertain my thoughts, milady." His tone was demanding as he spoke, leaving no room for further comments as he bend down to kiss you again.

He squeezed you wherever he could, hungry hands only stopping to gently rub the small of your back where he knew you hurt the most from carrying the load in your belly. You sighed into the kiss, fisting the fabric on his shoulders as you let his tongue explore your mouth.

You gasped, pulling your head back as you felt him grab your bottom and squeeze. hard. His mouth went to your neck, quickly marking you up, gently nibbing and licking over old love bites. Your one hand quickly clasped over your mouth to muffle your moans and whines while the other went to Zuko's mop of dark hair.

He groaned when you pulled, a barely audible noise that you wouldn't have caught had you not been pressed directly up against him. His hand traveled to your waist, stroking and squeezing as his kisses to your neck became feverish and rough.

You whined his name, grabbing his cheeks with both hands, steering his head up towards yours and kissing him again. Your teeth scraped his bottom lip and you gently bit down, pulling your head back a little. Zuko squeezed you tighter, pulling your body impossibly closer as you let go of his lip.

A small string of salvia connected the two of you, you stared up at him for a moment, just admiring the handsome man you married. His forehead and cheeks were dusted over with a rosy blush, pupils blown wide and lips swollen. Truly a sight you would treasure in your memories.

You reached a hand up and gently stroked his cheek, he immediately nuzzled into the touch and you helped guide him as he dipped down to kiss you again. He leaned over you, gently forcing you to lay your back down against his desk. He lifted your legs, making your feet dangle just above the ground as he stepped between your legs. You moaned, spreading your legs further and happily welcoming his hips against yours. His tongue invaded your mouth, tangling with yours in the heated kiss.

His hands had been lingering at your hips, but finally started to travel upwards towards the front buttons of your dress. He popped the first button, you arched towards his hands desperate for his touch, he fumbled with the next and was just about to get it open when-

"Uh- Zuko- is this a bad time?"

You squealed and immediately sat up, fidgeting with the buttons of your dress to cover yourself. Aang stood in the doorway, wringing his hands as he looked at Zuko and you with a slightly revolted expression.

Zuko sighed and stood up straight, quickly smoothing out his shirt and turning around. "Yes, actually. Now is a very bad time-" He started, but you slapped his arm with the back of your hand before he could continue.

"Be nice to your friend. I think you promised him something, no?" You said, grinning as Aangs face lit up.

The teenager smiled wide and nodded enthusiastically, looking back and forth between you and Zuko. "C'mon," You urged your husband, holding onto his shoulder for support as you carefully jumped down from the table. "You have me here all year around, go spend some quality time with Aang."

You sent Zuko a cheeky smiled as he rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. "Fine. But one game only and no sore losers." He said sternly to Aang, hesitant to leave your side.

The avatar jumped in excitement, racing towards Zuko and gripping onto him. "Yeah Zuko, no sore losers." He mocked, dragging Zuko out of the room by his arm.

"Thank you, y/n!" He called over his shoulder, right before disappearing around the corner with Zuko in tow.

You blew air out your nose in a silent chuckle, fondly smiling to yourself as you turned back towards the desk to continue your sorting work.

I hope you liked it!! Sorry it was a bit short- I have a lot of requests to get through 🤯

[captainkirkk]

Currently thinking about an atla au where almost everything is the same except it takes place in the modern world

Just the sheer chaos of blurry photos of the gaang being snapped across the globe. The cabbage merchant has uploaded the most of them and they’re all captioned with full caps, no grammar, boomer-style

Appa must be faster than cars, but what about planes? What the fuck are the gaang going to do against PLANES? The fear of an aerial assault might actually slow their journey down a lot

Also the thought of Aang emerging from the iceberg and not only finding century-old skeletons, but photos from the days/years following the massacre.... Photography was relatively new, so the images are blurred and uncoloured but still fairly clear. Do you think anyone photographed the aftermath? The generals celebrating the defeat. The pillagers ravaging the temples.

A less morbid thought: there would be hundreds if not thousands of forum boards speculating about the Avatar’s disappearance and Zuko would be on ALL of them. His username is well-known on the boards, though no one knows who this weirdly aggressive but well-traveled dude is

The White Lotus probably has a group chat/fb page disguised as a pai sho fan club where they trade information via coded discussions about the game. Bumi communicates almost entirely in gifs.

Information control is already a huge thing in atla, but in a modern au? Ba Sing Se would have insane media control and online filters. Any posts about the war are taken down and the culprit tracked. If there was a rebellion in Ba Sing Se, it would be from the tech savy population who can get around the censorship

Speaking of media: can you imagine the media attention on the royal family in the Fire Nation? The media would adore Iroh and Lu Ten and either ignore or occasionally criticize Ozai - until Lu Ten died, then the press tears Iroh to pieces and becomes Fire Lord Ozai’s unofficial fanclub overnight.

Azula is the media darling of the Fire Nation. Zuko is praised as often as he is criticized. In canon, the pressure already fucked with these kids, but can you imagine if they had tabloids and a 24-hour news cycle? Zuko’s banishment is warped and vague, and yet covered extensively. Photos of the banished prince sold to tabloids for a fortune in the weeks after his exile - until Ozai shuts that down, then he vanishes from the public’s eyes until Aang returns, then Zuko goes through periods of blind, worshipful praise by the press and intense negativity and hate, swinging wildly between the two extremes. The media will always be extremely polarised around him, until he eventually retires and hands the crown to Izumi. Only then will the press drop their hostility and talk about him as if he has always been the Fire Nation’s darling

Also he looks painfully awkward in every single photo the press take of him. His PR person has tried to coach him on body language with limited success

After Book 2, Azula gets a very similar treatment to Zuko. But while Zuko grew up criticised and hated and learnt to ignore it, Azula has always been adored. So when the press starts documenting her downward spiral, starts questioning her perfection, she loses it

Years later, when she’s an adult, she learns how to bait and play the press like a cat toying with a mouse, laughing at every negative article posted about her or Zuko. But for now, she’s fourteen and never been anything other than perfect and the pressure is killing her

Momo has his own insta. It’s wildly popular. Most of the canon characters are following it, including Zuko and Iroh - the former for any possible hints on the Avatar’s location, the latter because he thinks Momo is very cute

He has a twitter too. For some reason. It has 5x the amount of followers as Sokka’s twitter account and Sokka is SO bitter about it

Ty Lee is a very successful influencer

Do you think there’s a “#ty lee is over party” when it’s revealed she committed Actual Real-Life War Crimes?? I’m losing my mind

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 37

Warnings: 10,000 words Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC  

Sunburn Chapter M A S T E R L I S T My fan fiction M A S T E R L I S T

Aang was missing.

The Avatar had gone missing and Sozin’s comet was only two days away.

There really was no time to lose.

Aang’s friends looked for him everywhere, left, right, north and south of Ember Island but it seemed like he had vanished into thin air. Theories of Aang being kidnapped or running away crossed their minds, but he wouldn’t have abandoned his staff or Appa behind. No signs of struggle supported the theory that he had vanished.

Seeking for leadership the group turned to Zuko who – let’s be real – after years of practice was the most qualified at finding the Avatar. They had left Ember Island some time ago. Ominous clouds flickering with lightning approached from the distance.

“Where is he taking us?” Sokka asked Tsai as the rest of the group sat in Appa’s saddle while Zuko commanded the flying bison. The girl shrugged in return. He had that determined look on his face that she knew meant there was no stopping him now.

“Zuko, I don’t wanna tell you how to do your job,” Sokka began. “But why are we heading towards the Earth Kingdom?”

The group exchanged a look. “There’s no way Aang’s there.”

“Just trust me,” he replied mysteriously glancing over his shoulder.

The red head was presently leaning her head and arms crossed on the edge of the saddle. Her eyes fixed on the back of Zuko’s head. She was so proud of him. She had absolutely complete faith in that he would find Aang before the comet. It was then that she heard a loud coughing someone clearing their throat demanding her attention.

“What?” She rolled her eyes towards Sokka rudely.

“So, you two are back. For good?” He poked nosily. An evil grin on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest eyes narrowing mischievously. She was about to respond when Sokka raised his hand.

“You know what- I don’t want to know. Don’t say it.”

The edge of her eye twitched slightly. There wasnoway.

“What?” She deadpanned.

“No, no.” He said jokingly. “Don’t say it.” He repeated his vile grin stretching further.

“SOKKA I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!” She lunged at him grabbing him by the shirt and violently shaking him. Even her brother wasn’t able to hold her back. “YOU SAW US?!” She felt so violated having been caught in such an intimate and PRIVATE moment.

“You two were being so loud! I heard a loud clatter went to check. Saw you two cleaningthe floor.”

Her face resembled more of a beet now. Ughhh how embarrassing. The group couldn’t help but laugh at her mortified expression. Flustered an irritated she turned around and hopped over the saddle and slid down to Appa’s large head bumping into Zuko’s side.

There was loud giggling and sniggering in the back to which she shot a deathly glare at.

“So, where are we going?” She chirped with a smile. He looked at her from the corner of his eye and couldn’t help but smile a little.

“You’ll see.” He responded in an ominous tone.

xxx

Back at the Earth Kingdom, the group approached a familiar looking tavern.

“Wait-“Tsai paused as she stood outside of the familiar building. “Of course!” She slapped her forehead as it hit her now, it made sense for them to come here.

“Now you know why we’re here?” He asked. “Oh! You guys are going to love this!” She said excitedly turning to talk to the group as they walked into the seedy tavern. They all exchanged a confused look. The familiar stench of spilled booze sweat and probably pissed wafted through the air still lingering in the tavern after all this time.

“And what’s there to love about a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern now?” Katara asked eyeing the tavern with a slightly horrified expression.

“June,” Zuko and Tsai said in unison. He pointed a finger across the tavern to the onyx haired woman that was cooly seating down beating a man down with only a kick while enjoying a cup of tea.

“Oh yeah that weird bounty hunter with the giant mole.” Sokka said at the memory of meeting the bounty hunter.

“Mole?” Katara asked. “Her skin is flawless.”

June stood up avoiding an incoming fist ducking and gracefully taking down a man without spilling a single drop of her steaming tea.

“No, she has this giant mole creature that she rides around on.” Sokka continued explaining.

“The Shirshu.” Zuko stated. “It’s the only animal that can track Aang’s scent anywhere in the world. It’s the one shot we have of finding him.” Tsai explained. “Wouldn’t recommend riding in the back of one.” She bellyached remembering the motion sickness stomachache she got that first and last time she rode the beast with Zuko and Iroh.

They all witnessed as June cooly threw her drink up in the air flipped a man on his back and slammed him over a table without breaking a sweat.

“I don’t know who this June lady is, but I like her!” Toph beamed with a wide grin officially joining the June Fanclub.

The group watched as June kicked an empty seat away from a table and took a seat continuing to calmly sip on her tea.

"I remember she helped you attack us!" Sokka said, glancing at Zuko and Tsai accusingly.

"Yep. Back in the good old days." Zuko deadpanned and began walking forward towards June. Tsai was already fangirling at the bounty hunter’s side.

"Oh great," June drawled out sarcastically with zero enthusiasm at the familiar sight of the Fire Nationers approaching her.

“Let me get that for you,” Tsai said politely taking the teacup and re-filling June’s cup. She simply rolled her eyes at the gesture. Turning her attention to Zuko who was standing next to her. "It's Prince Pouty and Fan Girl. Where's your creepy grandpa?"

"He's my Uncle." Zuko corrected her sharply. "And he's not here."

June’s eyes bounced between the two girls that stood on Zuko’s sides.

“Oh hon, you should’ve run.” June said to Tsai shaking her head before taking a sip of her tea. “So, which one of you two is the one with the daddy issues?” June asked her eyes bouncing between both Katara and Tsai. Both girl’s eyes went wide with angry expressions on their faces. Sokka held Katara back. Zuko held the Tsai back while her brother sniggered behind.

“Good to see you worked things out with your girlfriend.” June added with a small smirk before taking another sip of her tea. “Hope I get a wedding invite.”

“Nobodyis getting married!” Tsai protested blushing brightly basically heaving after the double shot kill to her ego. A similar expression on Zuko’s face.

June waved her hand dismissively at them. "Okay, okay, sheesh. I was just teasing…” She took a sip from her beverage. “So, what do you want?"

"I need your help finding the Avatar."

"Hmph." She scoffed and raised her cup to her mouth, "Doesn't sound too fun."

"Does the end of the world sound like more fun?" Zuko demanded stepping forward with a scowl.

xxx

"Nyla." June cooed as she walked towards the shirshu, holding a fresh piece of meat in the air and shaking it enticingly. The shirshu begun salivating greedily at the scent of the raw meat. June tossed the steak up in the air and Nyla caught it eagerly, chewing it loudly. Smiling, June walked up to Nyla and petted its snout, "Who's my little, hmm, Snuffly-Wuffly."

Nyla grunted and jerked his head up, its toxin-coated tongue lashing out and forcing June to step back holding its snout down in a lock.

"Okay, who's got something with the Avatar's scent on it?"

“I have Aang’s staff!” Katara called from the top of Appa’s saddle.

"That'll work." June said, taking the staff from Katara and holding it in front of the shirshu’s nose. Nyla sniffed the glider for a moment gathering its scent then lifted his head and sniffed the air. She began walking around in circles around the group and the its master.

The shirshu walked back towards June and lowered its snout to the ground before laying down and covering its snout with its paws quietly growling as it gently rubbed it.

The group eyed the creature with a puzzling look.

"Well what does that mean?" Zuko asked crossing his arms.

"It means your friend's gone." June replied matter-of-factly, kneeling beside her pet scratching behind its ears in an attempt to comfort the beast.

"We know he's gone." Toph said dryly placing her hands on her hips. "That's why we're trying to find him." She said matter of factly.

"No, I mean he's gonegone." June clarified standing up and facing the group. "He doesn't exist."

The Avatar gang all exchanged concerned looks. Grim expressions on all of their serious faces.

“But that’s impossible.” Mecha cried out in disbelief.

"What do you mean Aang doesn't exist?" Sokka asked in exasperation. There was some hesitation on his voice "Do you mean he's...you know, dead?" He asked tentatively.

"No, we could find him if he was dead. It's a real head-scratcher." June said, shrugging.

"Helpful.Realhelpful." Toph scowled withdrawing her application from the June fanclub.

“So, what are we going to do now?” Tsai asked suddenly feeling that stressful sensation knot in her back shoulder’s again.

“Guess we’ll just have to off the Fire Lord ourselves,” Sokka said dropping his arms to the side.

“What are you nuts?” She looked at him with a bewildered expression. “What?” He shrugged his arms up. “It might even be easier this way since you’re not opposed to you know- taking care of him?”

“Ha!” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Really funny Sokka. Did you guys hear that?”

She looked up and to her surprise saw that nobody was laughing. Everyone was staring at her with a dead serious expression. She felt the blood drain from her face. “Why are you all staring at me like that?”

“You have been the only one to ever strike him and live to tell the tale.” Katara said quietly. “And the fire won’t be an issue.” Suki added.

“Which is a huge advantage.”  Sokka backed up her statement. “We’ll have your back.” Her brother said with a smile.

She looked at them with a horrified look on her face. This wasn’t her destiny. “No, you guys,” She shook her head feebly. “There has to be another way. If Aang’s not in the world- maybe- just maybe- what if he went into the Spirit World. Corporally in body and spirit with Momo?”

“Is that even possible?” Katara asked.

The group shared all shared a shrug giving each other puzzling looks.

“I’ve never connected to the Spirit World, but maybe I could try it? Find Aang bring him back?” She suggested.

“Well if you’re going to do it, you best do it fast,” her brother let out a low whistle and shook his head. “If you don’t want to off the Fire Lord thenI will!”

She turned to look at Zuko with a pleading look in her eyes. There had to be somebody else.

“Well,” June mused arching her eyebrows at the group. “It’s been real.” She said raising her hand up dismissively. Turning to mount her beast. “See ya.”

"Wait." Zuko called out, walking to the front of the group. "I have another idea. There's only one other person in this world who can help us face the Fire Lord." He faced June and held his hand out for her to wait, "I'll be right back with a smell sample."

They all eyed him curiously as he quickly climbed into Appa’s saddle and climbed back down holding a smelly sandal. The stench immediately attracting several flies which started buzzing around it.

"You saved your uncle's sweaty sandal? Ugh." Sokka asked in disbelief, pinching his nose and cringing at the strong scent. Suki, Mecha and Katara’s expressions of disgust mirrored Sokka’s.  

“Iroh does have a terribly strong body odor,” Tsai sighed.

"I think it's kind of sweet." Toph retorted with a sincere smile crossing her arms.

June was taken aback and gasped when Nyla suddenly lunged forward sniffing the sandal that Zuko was holding. She gasped in surprise and held on tightly to the shirshu’s reins as Nyla ducked furiously sniffing Iroh’s sandal.

"Let's do this." June said determinedly and tugged on Nyla’s reins as her beast ran madly desperately trying to find its target vanishing into the dark forest.

“Hey! Wait up!” Zuko shouted. The group quickly ran towards Appa and climbed on the flying bison ready to follow June. Appa flying into the air hot on Nyla’s trail.

The beast ran all through the night until dawn with Appa soaring after it. The teens all took turns between commanding Appa and sleeping. Nobody said much as they continued in their pursuit. Solemn expressions on everybody’s faces as the grim reality of Sozin’s comet arriving tomorrow dawned on them.

“Hey,” Zuko who was wide awake suddenly whispered to Tsai who was dazing off head on his shoulder. “Hm?” She grumbled sleepily. Toph was asleep on the other side of the saddle, Mecha a little next to her, Suki and Sokka in a similar position to them on the other side of the saddle.

“Do you remember the last time we rode the shirshu?” He said against her ear careful not to wake anybody else. “Don’t remind me.” She groaned at the unpleasant memory still with her eyes closed hugging his arm.

“Where…” He let out a small chuckle. “Where you holding on to me because you were sick or because of another reason?”

She opened her eyes suddenly feeling more awake than asleep and glared at him the slightest of smiles growing on her face.

“If I remember correctly,” She said removing her arms from his and slightly inching away from him. “Somebodywould’ve preferred if I fell off the shirshu that day.” She teased remembering how adamant he had been to her letting him go that day. He let out a humorous huff and wrapped both of his arms around again her pulling her close to him.

Both enjoyed the short-lived moment before reality hit both of them.

“Zuko, what are we going to do?” She asked looking at him with a worried expression. “What if we don’t find your Uncle?”

He wanted to insist that they would find him, that everything was going to be okay in the end, but there was so much uncertainty and ambiguity around them with the comet arriving in less than a day.

“We’ll figure it out.” He took her face in his hands. “We always do.” He hugged her.

“Zuko, if we don’t find Aang… What’s going to happen?” She held on to him tightly. Fear in her voice. Unsure of what to say he simply stroked the back of her head. “I’m going to try and enter the Spirit World tonight. See if I can find Aang.”

“We’ll find them.” He repeatedly soothingly.

Moments later they arrived to their destination. It was still nightfall. Great now an entire day had been wasted trying to find Iroh.

Days until the end of the world: 1. Nyla stopped on a gaping area of the outer wall of Ba Sing Se which divided it from the rest of the Earth Kingdom. The beast dug and pawed at the wall indicating that Iroh lay somewhere beyond it.

“We’re going to Ba Sing Se?” Sokka asked as Appa landed near the twitching shirshu.

"You uncle's somewhere beyond the wall." June stated as the Nyla stopped scratching the ground. "Nyla's getting twitch so he can't be too far." She looked up at the group. "Good luck." She said sincerely before pulling on the reins and riding away into the far away hills.

"It's been a long day. Let's camp and start our search again at dawn."

Xxx

It had all happened so fast.

"Wake up, you guys!" Toph called out in the middle of the night waking everyone only to witness a ring of fire surrounding them.

“There!” Toph shouted to an opening in the wall. There was no time to ask questions. No time to stop and look around and wonder what the hell was happening. There was no room to run to, no time to escape as four elderly men wearing fine robes colored in shades of blue and white stepped forward.

Master Piandao, Jeong Jeong, Master Pakku and King Bumi. All of them people whom the Fire Nationers had never met before.

"Well, look who's here!" Bumi exclaimed as he threw his arms out from under his robe, snorting and laughing in a maniacal fashion.

Katara sighed in relief as a a wide smile grew on her and her brother’s face. The rest of the group starred at them perplexed.

"Uh... What's going on?" Toph asked in confusion, "We're surrounded by old people."

"Not just any old people. These are great masters and friends of ours." Katara explained excitedly as she walked towards the four men and stopped in front of Pakku, bowing respectfully to her former master.

"So wait, how do you all know each other?" Mecha asked after the touching the Water Tribe sibling’s touching reunion with their new grandfather. He pointed at the four men in confusion.

"All old people know each other." Bumi joked and Piandao smiled at the boy from the colonies. The old king snorted and laughed as he asked. "Don't you know that?" He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You must be Sencha’s” One of them spoke eyeing the scarred teen before him.

Tsai pushed forward becoming entranced by the mentioning of her grandfather. Coming all the way to the front facing the elders. “You knew our grandpa?”

“Weren’t you listening Apple Hair? All old people know each other.” Bumi cackled once again finishing off with a snort.

“Yes, Sun Spirit.” Piandao responded calmly addressing the spirit that lived in her. She blinked twice taken aback by the knowledge the masters held.

"We're all part of the same ancient secret society." Piandao explained when his friend didn't continue. "A group that transcends the division of the four nations. Your grandfather was a part of our group as well. I lament his passing."

“Of course!” She said and dug into her her pocket to fish out the White Lotus Pai Sho piece that Iroh had given to her what seemed to be ages ago. Pai Sho is Afterall more than just a game.  “The Order of the White Lotus.” Both her and Zuko said in unison smiles of amazement on both of their faces.

"That's the one!" Bumi said comically bouncing in front of the other masters and raising a finger in the air,

"The White Lotus has always been about philosophy, and beauty, and truth." Jeong Jeong stated. "About a month ago, a call went out that we were needed for something important."

"It came from a Grand Lotus." Pakku said, taking over the anecdote from Jeong Jeong. He looked over at the Fire Nation’s former prince, "Your uncle, Iroh of the Fire Nation."

"Well that's who we're looking for." Toph said excitedly from behind Zuko.

"Then we will take you to him." Piandao said nodding his head slightly.

Tsai noticed how Zuko’s eyes softened at the mention of his uncle. They had finally found him. There was some hope after all.

"Wait! Someone's missing from your group. Someone very important." Bumi declared as he abruptly shoved the masters apart and walked towards the group. "Where's Momo!?"

"Uh..." Sokka cleared his throat, leaning as far back as he could when Bumi pressed his face against his, "He's gone. And so is Aang."

"Oh well, so long as they have each other, I'm sure we have nothing to worry about." Bumi stated calmly stepping back and patting his shoulder forcefully making Sokka bend forward. "Let's go!" Bumi cackled like a maniac as he slammed his fist against the ground making a tall stalagmite of rocks rise from the ground which propelled him over the wall of Ba Sing Se. The other masters shared an exasperated expression.

“Is he… Is he always like this?”

 Xxx

The group was being led down a rocky path that would lead to the Order of the White Lotus’ campgrounds. The group followed behind Bumi, Appa tailing behind them.

"So, Bumi," Sokka began as he walked carefully behind the king. "How did you end up escaping your imprisonment in Omashu?"

"Escape? I didn't escape. Everybody elseescaped!" Bumi exclaimed before throwing his arms into the air. "There I was, back in Omashu, waiting for justthe right moment. I didn't know what or when, but I knew I'd know it when I knew it."

Tsai topped in her tracks a obscure expression on her face. “You waited for the eclipse, didn’t you?” Her brother looked at her with a concerned look.

Bumi cackled and nodded rapidly, a maniacally grin on his face as he remembered how he took back his kingdom after being locked up in a metal box for months.

"Wow." Suki stared in amazement after Bumi had finished sharing his story. "You took back your whole city all by yourself!"

Bumi grinned proudly then glanced over his shoulder, "So what about you guys? Did you do anything interesting on the day of the eclipse?"

The group all exchanged a look.

"Nah." Zuko replied nonchalantly. “No, not really.” Sokka added. Mecha grimaced looking down at his scarred body. Tsai resisted the urge to face palm.

They approached a high hill and looked below from the incline to see dozens of small tents all pitched together at the bottom of rocky terrain. Odd dim lights illuminated parts of the camp. “Well, here we are! Welcome to old people camp.” Bumi said as he lowered a wall made of rock and waved his hand towards the camp.

The group stepped forward following behind the masters, but Zuko lingered behind his eyes scanning the crowd looking for any sign of his lost uncle.

"…Where? Where is he?" He asked stopping in his tracks.

Piandao, the swords master, stopped and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Your uncle is in there, Prince Zuko.” He responded pointing to a large tent at the end of the campsite.

Zuko felt his stomach flipping with unease. His last memories of his betrayal to his uncle, the only man who had ever cared about him, still prodding him like a fresh wound. Part of him had been dreading this moment. He looked down in shame averting his eyes from the tent. He felt the sword master walk away. He stood alone in the camp soaking in the memory of the most dishonorable and treacherous thing he had ever done. Why would his uncle ever forgive him?

He wasn’t worthy of a single ounce of sympathy.

“Come on!” He felt a hand hold his. “Let’s go see Uncle Iroh!”

He looked up and saw the girl from the colonies standing before him beaming with excitement. She was dying to see Iroh. She turned guiding him towards the tent, yet he couldn’t bring his feet to move stopping just a couple of feet outside the tent.

“What’s wrong?” She turned. “Don’t you want to see your uncle?” She asked softly dropping his hand.

Maybe he wasn’t alone, but he was still undeserving.

Of everything.

After all his cruel father never missed a moment to remind him, he had been lucky to have ever been born. His own father had hideously scarred him when he had groveled for his forgiveness only as a thirteen-year-old boy. Why would his uncle be any different?

“What if he doesn’t want to see me?” Insecurity and fear pricked him. Again, he lowered his head, his hands dropping to his sides as he deflated.

“Why wouldn’t he want to see you?”  

“Why would he?”

She remained silent. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for but speaking felt wrong.

“My Uncle hates me, I know it.” He said with certainty. His eyes glued to the ground avoiding her prying worried ones. “He loved and supported me in every way he could, and I still turned against him. How can I even face him?"

She could’ve reassured him a thousand times that Iroh did not hate him. However, that wouldn’t have solved anything. She doubted if he would even believe her.

“I know you’re sorry and I think the most important part is that you’ve grown from your mistakes. Right?”

“I’m more sorry than I’ve ever been about anything in my life.”

“Then he’ll forgive you,” she stated. He looked up and saw her smiling sympathetically at him. “I know I did.”

He didn’t deserve his uncle or her.

She gave his arm one last squeeze while saying something about getting dinner. At this point he wasn’t listening. He clung to her hand, holding her in place.

“Thank you.” He said softly.

She left. He stood outside of his uncle’s tent wounds of regret and scars of shame holding him back. He stood outside with his head lowered, eyes glued to the ground like a coward.

He had to do it.

He let out a heavy sigh pausing in front of the tent flaps that were marked with the White Lotus symbol. It took courage he didn’t have to open the tent’s flap and step in.

"Uncle..."

Zuko was greeted by a familiar loud snoring as he stepped in and looked up. His uncle was heavily sleeping on the other sound of the tent. He couldn’t help but smile affectionately and walk further into the tent. He took a seat bending his knees underneath his body as he waited next to his uncle’s sleeping mat for him to awake.

He knelt with his head lowered listening to his uncle’s snores. Snores he never thought he would one day miss. It was pretty late; he didn’t think his uncle would wake up at this time of night. It was then that the snoring ceased. He raised his head slightly and his breath hitched in his throat when he realized his uncle awoke. He felt his chest swell with overwhelming emotion.

Iroh awoke when he felt a strong presence in the room. He sat up and stretched his aching muscles. Sensing the presence behind him, he turned slightly and from the corner of his eyes caught sight of a familiar face sitting behind him. He straightened up his back and remained silent.

Zuko felt his heart fall when his uncle kept his back turned to him. He swallowed the knot that had formed on his throat as he attempted to find the voice that he had lost.

“Uncle, I know you must have mixed feelings about seeing me.” He paused for a moment and closed his eyes fighting back the tears that had been welling in his eyes. His voice cracked with emotion as he continued. "But I want you to know, I'm so, so sorry, Uncle.” “I am so sorry and ashamed of what I did." He shook his head as the tear that brimmed in his eyes overflowed, sliding down his face. "I don't know how I can ever make it up to you, but I-"

He was cut off. He didn’t see his uncle turn and grab him by the sleeve yanking him forward for an embrace into his arms. He hugged him tightly. Tears slid down his face, the man couldn’t help but smile as he held his lost nephew in his arms.

“How can you forgive me so easily?" Zuko asked weakly as he returned the embrace. He was stunned by his uncle’s reaction. "I thought you would be furious with me."

"I was never angry with you.” Iroh explained his voice gentle. He brought his hand up to the back of his nephew’s head and hugged him tighter. "I was sad, because I was afraid, you'd lost your way."

Zuko closed his eyes and pressed his wet face against his uncle’s shoulder. “I did lose my way.” He murmured quietly; his words still weighted with shame.

Iroh removed himself from his nephew and held him at an arm’s length both of his hands on his shoulders as he looked at the man his nephew he had become with pride. “But you found it again…" He praised with a smile.  "And you did it by yourself. I am so happy you found your way here."

Both exchanged a smile. Iroh hugged him again and Zuko chuckled lightly. "It wasn't that hard, Uncle. You have a pretty strong scent."

Zuko didn’t know how long they embraced for.

“Midnight cup of tea?” The tent’s flap opened, and Tsai stopped dead in her tracks when she caught the deeply intimate scene between the two men. She didn’t want to interrupt such an important event. “Oh, uh- I’ll come back later,” she stammered awkwardly before retreating still holding the tray she was holding with tea and some bowls with dry noodles.

“Tsai!” Iroh greeted her cheerily happy to see the girl once again. He stood up. She looked around the room and placed the tray down on the closest table before embracing him “You did beautifully child.” “It’s so good to see you Iroh.” He hugged her back.

Zuko watched the interaction between the two still with watery eyes. This was his family now. The three of them were back together reunited.

“I hope my nephew didn’t bring you much trouble,” Iroh chuckled slightly. “Nothing I can’t handle,” she flashed him a cheesy grin. It was then that she got something out of her pocket. “Here,” she placed the White Lotus chip on his hand. “You’ll need this for the next time we play Pai Sho.” He couldn’t help but grin back.

Moments later the three sat on the carpet. Iroh enjoying a well brewed cup of lychee tea the two teens before him had their dinner. This meeting was nice, it felt extremely nostalgic, it was what the three of them had been missing.

“Iroh,” Tsai suddenly asked him. “What do you know about the Spirit World?

Iroh lowered his cup of tea and looked at her his lips drawn into a thin line.

“The Spirit World is a world filled with a vast range of immortal supernatural entities and more than often embody different aspects of life and nature.” He began. “I take it you’ve discovered your inner light. The truth about your spirit as being the one of light, fire and most important of all life. The Sun.”

She nodded. Both her eyes and Zuko’s looking at his uncle attentively.

“I’m going there tonight. To try and find Aang.”

Iroh stroked his beard seriously and closed his eyes for a second.

“It is extremely difficult for any human other than the Avatar, who is the bridge between these two worlds, to enter into the Spirit Realm. If you do it will require extreme concentration and you must be wary of your surrounding at all times. Remember, this is very important. There are good spirits yes, like the sun and the moon, but there are also dangerous ones. They will test and try and trick you Tsai.”

She lowered her head nodding in understanding.

“Iroh…” She began softly. “Why me? What is my purpose?”

“That I do not know the answer to.” He sighed.

Zuko placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She raised her head nodding with a determined look on her face.

She had never done it but this time she had to. There was no excuse.

The trio finished their dinner and now Iroh and Zuko knelt on one side of the room. Tsai sat across them with two lit candles at her sides. Her legs were crossed under her body, eyes closed as she attempted the meditation, she had been practiced countless of times. She focused on positive emotions and on her breathing as she sought for some clarity.

“I’m glad you two made up, nephew.” Iroh whispered to Zuko. “How did you get her to forgive you? You know a woman’s heart is like glass, fragile but strong. Once damaged the-“

“I’m still in the room!” The girl snapped becoming a little flustered.

Iroh flashed her a nervous grin. Zuko face palmed embarrassed by his uncle. He would’ve never admitted it out loud, but he had missed this dearly.  

“This isn’t working,” her deflated in defeat, her shoulders dropping as she slouched.

“Stand up straight.” Iroh said in a slightly stern tone. A tone that reminded Tsai of her over-bearing mother. She did as she told. “If you want to reach the Spirit World and maybefind the Avatar you have to do this.” He instructed. “You can’t give up.” Zuko added.

It was late. The three of them had to rest. The comet would arrive later today. She couldn’t keep them up like this. Regaining her focus, sitting up with her shoulders up and back straight. She inhaled a deep breath and awoke in a different world.

“W-Where did she go?!” Zuko shouted in panic rising to his feet walking over to where the girl had been standing a minute ago.

How had she vanished just like that?

“She succeeded. She’s in the Spirit World now.” Iroh said wisely. “When will she be back?” He asked frantically turning to face his uncle. Iroh shrugged lightly and raised his shoulders. “Soon, hopefully.”

Zuko was officially freaking out. How was he supposed to get any sleep with both Tsai and Aang missing when the comet would be arriving in just a couple of hours?

“So,”Iroh began. An impish grin stretching on his aged face. “How’d you get her to forgive you? Did you follow my advice?” He said letting out a coarse chuckle.

“UNCLE!” The flustered teen protested.

Xxx

Tsai screamed uncontrollably as she free fell suddenly appearing in a night sky. She flailed her arms and legs, tears escaping her eyes due to the harsh wind that hurt them.

She braced for impact and landed on a large tree, then a branch and then ungracefully landed on the ground with a loud thud.

“Ugh…”She groaned painfully after being hit in the gut by spirits know how many branches and then slapping against the ground. It took her a moment to come to her feet and dust herself off. Immediately she shrunk as she looked at her terrifying surroundings. All of the trees that surrounded her in this forest had menacing faces that all seemed to look down on her.

“I can’t believe I actually made it to the Spirit World…” She said in awe, her voice trembling as she retreated. She played with her sun stone necklace anxiously.

“Hey! Watch it!” A man’s voice said.

She felt a chill run down her spine and slowly turned but didn’t see anyone. It seemed like she had bumped into a large mushroom that glowed in varying rainbow hues. She sighed hoping to ease her jumping nerves and lay her hands-on top of the mushroom using it to brace herself and take in a deep breath.

“I said- Watch it Red!” There it was that voice again. Looking down she realized it was the mushroom – speaking.

“Ah!!! Talking mushroom!” She leapt back falling on her behind crawling away from the mushroom. “Who do you think you are? Falling in-“ She wasn’t going to stick around and be scolded by a giant talking fungi. Screaming like a mad woman she ran away from the shroom shouting for the missing Avatar.

“Aang!!!” She shouted panic ringing through her voice. She did this for some time ducking at night birds that attacked her pulling on her clothes and her hair until she was simply walking exhausted. It seemed like she had been going around in circles. “Aang…” She called weakly now walking in circles.

“I’m pretty sure I’m walking around in circles,” She said out loud to herself. “That’s the same mushroom from earlier.”

“No, I’m not.” The mushroom spoke. She wasn’t fazed by it anymore.

She rolled her eyes irritated of this. She really didn’t have any more time to lose. Not that she knew how time moved in this realm. What would Iroh do? What would Zuko do? I mean he was the true master at finding the Avatar.

“Listen here fungus.” She said standing her ground. “I’m looking for a friend. He’s a boy about yei tall?” She pointed with her hand even though the mushroom did not have any eyes to see. “Bald? Has a blue arrow tattooed on his forehead?”

“Nope, haven’t seen him.” The shroom spoke back dismissively.

With hands on her waist she let out a frustrated sigh. She had already wasted enough time running in circles.

“I can help you with that cherub.” She heard a voice say. Again, she turned around looking for the source of this. This voice was nasal, shrill, it almost reminded her of Azula’s. It sent chills down her spine. It was then that she looked up and saw two massive yellow eyes staring down at her. The eyes closed and the massive creature fluttered down landing before her. The standing creature was larger than her and covered with dark fur. It’s two golden insects like eyes starred at her and it’s bat like wings remained sprawled out where two massive markings that resembled eyes seemed to be fixed on her. It was a batterfly. She knew that flutter bats, pollinating mammals, existed but this looked more to be a batterfly a hybrid of a bat and butterfly. It opened its small mouth the creature salivating as its fangs kept its mouth ajar. Uh-Oh… There was something about this creature that gave her a terrible feeling.

“I’ve been watching you.” The creature spoke.

“Who are you? Whatare you?” She asked raising her arms fearfully, stepping back defensively.

“Don’t be shy human.” The creature said advancing stretching out a wing to prevent her from escaping. She eyed the creature’s mouth with nervous unease.

“Think of me as a mere creature of the night. A silent observer. I have been watching you…” The creature cocked its head to the side still salivating. Something about this creature made her skin crawl. “I can help you. I saw your friend, this Aang… Bald, blue arrow, the Air Nomad, right?”

“Yeah!” She exclaimed excitedly. “That’s him!”

“Yes…” The batterfly drawled out slowly before slurping its own secretions. “I know just where he is. I’ll take you to him cherub. If you just get closer… Climb on my back. I’ll- yes – I’ll take you to him.”

She stepped back nervously looking up at the creature.

“You can just… Tell me where he is. Is that okay? I don’t want to be a bother-“ She inched back further and further until she once again bumped into the talking mushroom.

The batterfly became more agitated. It’s began slurping harder. Saliva soaking its front fur coat as it inched closer.

“Climb on my back. Come on. Just get closer- a little closer-“

Her eyes were frozen as she looked at the creature before her petrified. How did one fight a creature like this off? Her eyes darted around the space as she thought of an exit. “Closer!” Was the last thing she heard the creature hiss loudly. She raised her hands over her face crossing them in a defensive matter when she heard a loud hiss.

A bright light made her come to her senses. She saw the batterfly blinded by the light screech as it flew away hitting several trees and branches as it flew away. She stood in shock heaving with her heart on her throat. She guessed this is what Iroh had meant by saying they were dangerous spirits in the Spirit World.

She looked at her hands and realized she was glowing. Somehow, she had instinctually gone into the Sun State mode. She illuminated the room and noticed a translucent almost red string attached to her chest; her eyes followed the string which lead to-

“A lizard?”She deadpanned. She looked down and a couple of feet away from her stood what looked like a foot-tall red lizard with dragon features.

“Move your bum out of my face Red!”

“Oh, sorry,” She apologized to the talking mushroom and stepped away feeling rather foolish for a) apologizing to a talking mushroom b) did the creature even have a face? Shaking her head she returned her attention to the red lizard before her as the light around them dimmed until they were once again surrounding by darkness without the exception of the glowing mushroom.

“Are you stupid or just plain dumb?” It scolded. The way it spoke it reminded her of Sokka’s voice and tone.

“Excuse me?” She glared at the creature running out of patience. “I will notbe harassed by a talking mushroom, a- whatever that was and now insulted by a talking lizard.”

“Look who’s talking about harassment!” The mushroom below her spoke. This was officially insane. She heard the lizard continue to speak but wasn’t listening. “Watch it. Or I’ll step on you!” She threatened raising up a foot glaring down at the creature. She had had officially enough of the Spirit World ready to go back to reality any second now.

“Insolent girl!” The reptile fumed smoke coming out of its nostrils as it slowly grew larger and larger until its body snaked around her in a crescent moon shape. A dragon with scales the color of blood, massive wings, gleaming golden eyes beard and fur stood on all four legs before her. It’s voice now darker, more menacing as it snarled at her. “Out of all of my hosts you have been the biggest of headaches. Brass, impulsive, emotional, insecure- You are an absolute disgrace!”

It took her a moment to put two and two together. Surprised her jaw went slack and the petty insults went completely over her head at the surprise.

“Taiyo Shin,”She gasped. It was the Sun God. “It’s you.” Was all she could manage as she gawked at the massive dragon standing before her.

“What were you thinking? Everybodyknows never to trust the spirits of the night. It would’ve sucked you dry of your blood. Then again, I don’t think anyone would’ve missed you very much.” It scolded coldly glaring at her.

“Hey!” She protested. “It was my only chance at finding Aang. I had to do something.” She huffed. “Also - you and I need to talk.” She stepped forward with an accusing finger. Today would be the day that all of her questions were answered. There was no more time to waste.

“What do you want to know? And no- I do not know your place in the universe.” He let out a throaty chuckle looking at her with what looked like amusement.

She stood tall attempting to look down at the colossal creature. “Why me? And what do you mean I’m your host?” She looked at the spirit before her with large hopeful eyes.

The dragon looked down at her with an irritated look on his face and rested its head on a propped claw.

“You are familiar with our history. Eons ago dragons-“the spirit began dramatically. “Yeah, yeah, yeah- “She waved off dismissively. “Dragons were hunted, so you became human. I know. Whowas the first human that was your host?” She asked exasperatedly.

The dragon closed its eyes and smoke came out of its nostrils.

“The first was a man named Saisho, the rest are all a blur and then there’s you. Also, the first to come to the Spirit World.” The dragon said after a moment. “We came to humans and hid in plain sight amongst the same people that were hunting us. I have been passed from host to host for some generations now. I have witnessed their lives. Seen their joys, felt their pains. The reason we came to be one is unknown to me. I am simply passed from one host to the next. All hosts select their successors. Just as you will one day when the sun sets on your life.”

She listened attentively nodding her head slightly at everything the spirit had to say.

“So..” she began connecting all the dots. “Someone, chose me?” The dragon nodded. “And I will have to do the same- when I die?”

“No,” the dragon said flatly. “You’re not like your friend the Moon Spirit. You are as strong as all of the others that have come before you, you don’t need to leech of my life like your friend did to Tui.” He spoke referring to the Moon Spirit by name. “You are free to choose if you want this life, but remember…”

The dragon began rounding around her snaking her inside of a smaller and smaller circle. “We are fire, energy, and life.”

It stopped next to her resting its monstrous snout next to her. She raised a hand and slowly placed it on its scaly skin taking in the rough texture underneath her fingertips and brushing its golden beard. “Our purpose is to bring life as well as destruction to the worlds and like all things they must be balanced…”

She nodded slowly, finally understanding. “And you’ve been trapped inside humans this whole time?”

“By choice,” the dragon grumbled. “Now, get on my head. I’ve recon we’re running out of time and you still have to find your friend the Avatar.”

She nodded and struggled to climb on the dragon’s large head. It took her a moment to sit at the very front and grab onto both of its massive horns tightly.

“What’s your name anyways? You know, you can come out now right? Dragons are safe, they live in hiding but they are safe. You can live in the Sun Warrior Island, be happy, be with your kind. You know?”

“Call me Huo,” It spoke after a moment. “And I doubt it’d be as interesting.”

Huo didn’t give her a warning before stretching out its wings and lifting up in the skies which were breaking in dawn. She ducked and let out a breathless gasp as the dragon flew. They flew for some time passing glowing clouds as the searched from island to island.

“There,” Huo spoke and she could feel its body rumble when the dragon spoke. She held on tighter as it dove thru the skies to the island below. Landing on a small clearing in the middle of a jungle forest. The ground trembled at the impact.

Aang was sleeping on a small clearing above what appeared to be some ruins. Momo screeched loudly and hid behind Aang who groggily awoke eyes wide at the massive red beast before him. Aang raised a hand ready to bend at the dragon.

“Aang stop!” He heard a familiar voice shout.

The Avatar lowered his hand when he heard her voice. The dragon lowered its head and Tsai stepped down jumping off the side carelessly.

“Aang! I can’t believe I found you!”

They ran towards each other and embraced. Momo chirped and jumped on Aang’s head and then on her shoulder. It was good to see Momo too.

“Aang, I’ve found you. We have to go back!” She said letting go. “We don’t have time. Sozin’s Comet should be here today. I’ll-I’ll help you defeat the Fire Lord. There has to be something we can do. Maybe I can stop the Sun for just a moment?”

“Like all your other ones, that one too, is a terrible idea,” a throaty voice behind her spoke letting out some flames. Aang looked at the dragon behind her with his eyes wide. “Oh, this is Huo. He’s the actual Spirit of the Sun. He lives inside me.” She said casually motioning over her shoulder. After everything she had seen and lived in the past year and more, nothing seemed to surprise her anymore.

“It’s too dangerous Tsai. One lightning hit- We can’t lose you.”

She looked at him hard. Frowning a little. Both of her hands clenched as exasperated balled fists reflected her frustration.

“Doesn’t matter Aang. We’re out of time. I rather be in the real world than in the Spirit World. This place gives me the creeps.” She shrugged looking at her surroundings with unease.

“No,” Aang said stubbornly. “There has to be another way! I feel like there’s more to know. This feels undone.”

“So, you’re not coming back?” She said throwing her arms up in the air angry.

“Go back Tsai. I will return soon. I’m not running away from this.” He reassured her with a serious expression.

She sighed and lowered her head shaking it. She couldn’t believe this. This entire trip to the spiritual world had been for nothing. “Fine,” she sighed in defeat.

“What should I tell the others?” She said returning to climb on Huo’s head.

“That I’ll be back.” Aang said. Momo now sitting on his shoulder. She nodded and rolled her eyes at his response. “Oh,” Aang said as the dragon flapped its large wings getting ready to lift off. “Can you tell Katara than I love her?”

“You can tell her yourself!” She shot him an irritated look. “Let’s go!” She said to the dragon.

Letting out a rumbling roar Huo took off into the air.

“Little harsh?” It spoke to her.

“This entire trip was a waste of time. After looking for Aang for days and finding him he chooses to stay and do who knows what here all because it feels things feel ‘undone’ or whatever that means.” She huffed grumpily.

“Was it?” Huo spoke. “Was it all really for nothing?”

She marinated on the Sun Spirit’s words for a moment. Had this entire trip been in vain? She had accomplished something that not all humans had ever accomplished. Going to the Spirit World in both body and spirit was no small feat. She had also finally come face to face with her true self. She braced herself as the dragon flew higher and higher into the light ready to cross back to reality.

“I guess it wasn’t for nothing…” She said softly, yet loud enough for Huo to hear.

“As long as I am one with you no harm will come to you Tsai of Yu Dao…”

Xxx

The group sat in a circle around the campsite having breakfast. It had been a rough night. Everybody had a long day ahead. Sozin’s Comet would hit the Earth’s atmosphere in mere hours and Aang still wasn’t back. Neither was Tsai who had ventured to look for him in the dead of the night last night.

It was then that a high-pitched noise echoed off into the distance. The teenagers and some of the elders all turned around uneasily looking over their shoulders.

“Anybody hear that?” Toph suddenly said.

It was then that Suki looked up at the sun. She used her hand to shield her eyes from the blinding sunlight.

“Is that… a bird?” She said slowly eyeing an unidentified object that was falling from the sky.

“Is it Aang?!” Katara jumped to her feet looking up.

“That’s my sister!” Mecha shouted after catching a familiar glimpse of red.

“It’s Tsai!” Zuko shouted in panic.

The group could all hear the distant screaming coming closer. Meanwhile The wind whipped against her hair as she free fell down from the sky. She remembered the last words that the Huo had said to her and believed them to be nothing but lies.

“Is she flying?” Toph asked confused.

“Somebody do something!”

Toph couldn’t see. Katara didn’t have enough water to create a massive bubble or something to stop her fall. Suki looked around hoping to make a makeshift trampoline or something. Sokka, Zuko and Mecha ran around in circles hoping to catch her or soften her land. The three eventually bumping into each other and falling back.

They all looked up and heard some loud cackling before seeing Bumi rise high on a massive rock pillar and stretch his arm around catching the girl by her shirt midfall. She hung from his hand lamely, breathlessly, her face white in fear and hair messed up as she caught her breath.

“What were you doing in the sun?” The Crazy King cackled while still holding onto her shirt.

She wanted to respond something clever when she heard a tearing. That... was not good. She let out a scream when her shirt tore revealing the bandeau she wore underneath, and she once again fell luckily crashing on top of the tree boys that had been attempting to catch her. “Thanks for catching me guys,” she sat sitting on top of the three.

“Don’t mention it.” Her brother said gruffly catching the air that had been squashed out of his gut.

“What were you doing up there?” Sokka asked pointing up to the skies as everybody rose to their feet.

“It’s a long story. I’m just glad to be back,” she said sheepishly holding the back of her neck. “I found Aang!” She announced.

It took her some moments to explain to everyone what had happened in the Spirit World and that Aang wasn’t coming until he had fixed his unresolved issues or whatever it was, he still had to do. At some point in between Katara lent her an extra shirt.

"Uncle, you're the only person other than the Avatar who can possibly defeat the Father Lord." Zuko said to Iroh as the group had returned to having breakfast all sitting around in a circle.

“You mean the Fire Lord?” Toph raised a brow and pointed at him with her chopsticks.

"That's what I just said." Zuko snapped and Toph smirked a little before continuing to eat her bowl of rice.

"Hmm..." Iroh hummed thoughtfully.

"We need you to come with us." Zuko pressed unwavering.

Tsai’s eyes were focused on Iroh with a concerned expression.

"No, Zuko." Iroh lowered his chopsticks and shook his head lightly. "It won't turn out well.

"You can beat him." Zuko pressed not being able to come to terms with Iroh’s refusal. He gestured to his friends and then to himself. "And we'll be there to help."

Iroh sighed a long exhausting, draining sigh. "Even if I did defeat Ozai, and I don't know that I could."

“Hell, I’ll do it" Mecha shrugged bluntly. “Or my sister. Close your eyes a stab here a stab here. How hard can it be?” He shrugged insensitively earning himself a well-deserved kick from his sister.

“The only way for this war to end correctly without history seeing it as any more senseless violence, a brother killing a brother to grab power, a young man from the colonies seeking revenge,” he rationalized. Iroh looked around at the young adults sitting in a circle before him with a stony serious expression, "The only way for this war to end peacefully is for the Avatar to defeat the Fire Lord."

‘Great and meanwhile Aang is playing ghost back in the Spirit World jungle.’

"And then..." Zuko paused for a moment and turned to look at his uncle with an unsure expression. His eyes filled with hope. "Then would you come and take your rightful place on the throne?"

"No." He drawled out slowly. "Someone new must take the throne.” He said turning to face his nephew. “An idealist with a pure heart and unquestionable honor." Iroh smiled genuinely, almost proudly at Zuko. "It has to be you, Prince Zuko."

"Unquestionable honor?" Zuko asked in disbelief lowering his head. A shaken expression on his features.  He shook his head and raised his shoulders in a little shrug, "But I've made so many mistakes."

"Yes, you have." Iroh agreed lightly, "You struggled, you suffered but you have always followed yourown path, you restored your ownhonor. And only you can restore the honor of the Fire Nation."

"I'll try, Uncle."

The girl from the colonies appeared distraught and brought her knuckles to her lips appearing deep in thought, her eyes glued to the ground. Her other hand mindlessly reached for his knee in a comforting gesture. His expression was similar, his hand also mindlessly reached for hers.

"Well," Toph drawled out after a moment. "What if Aang doesn't come back?”

“He will,” Tsai spoke. “It’s Aang. We have to believe in him.”

"Sozin's comet is arriving and our destinies are upon us. Aang will face the Fire Lord." Iroh stated calmly. "When I was a boy, I had a vision that I would one day take Ba Sing Se. Only now do I see that my destiny is to take it backfrom the Fire nation so the Earth Kingdom can be free again."

"That's why you gathered the members of the White Lotus!" realization dawned upon Suki and she gestured towards the other members of the White Lotus that were wither sitting or standing around the camp.

"Yes." Iroh agreed with a nod then he addressed his nephew once more, "Zuko, you must return to the Fire Nation so that when the Fire Lord falls, you can assume the throne and restore peace and order." He then frowned. "But Azula will be there, waiting for you." He added distastefully.

"I can handle Azula."

"Not alone. You will need help."

"You're right." Zuko sighed softly then looked over at Katara with a small smirk, "Katara, how would you like to help usput Azula in her place?"

Katara smiled, "It would be my pleasure."

“Tsai?” He squeezed her hand and turned to look at her with a confident smirk. He knew he didn’t have to ask her. But her eyebrows were turned up in worry and she let go of his hand remaining silent. He gave her a confused look.

"What about us?" Sokka asked as he gestured towards himself, then Suki, Toph and Mecha. "What's our destiny today?"

Iroh prodded with a slight grin “What do you think it is?"

"I think that..." Sokka rubbed his chin thoughtfully then smirked triumphantly and slamming his left fist into his right palm, "I think that even if we don’t know when Aang is coming back we need to do everything we can to stop the airship fleet."

"And that means when Aang does face the Fire Lord, we'll be right there if he needs us." Toph added and punched her fists together eager to put the Fire Lord in his place.

“I used to think my destiny was getting my vengeance and destroying the Royal Family,” Mecha began. “But I’ve realized I’ve got to save what’s left of mine. I have to return to the colonies. Take them back from our father who will be there waiting.” He said looking up after a moment his eyes meeting his sister’s aggrieved expression.

“Tsai?” Zuko asked again shaking her shoulder lightly looking at her with concern. “You’re coming with us, right?”

She looked at the group and could feel all of their eyes scrutinizing her odd behaviour.

“I-I don’t know.” She confessed lowering her gaze.

“You’re coming with me, right?” Her brother asked.

“I don’t know.” She repeated again this time louder her tone more aggravated as she shook Zuko’s hand from her body.

“Where do you feel like you need to be?” Iroh asked gently. He lowered his bowl and his hands in his sleeves, despite his gentle tone there was a contrasting hard look on his face.

She didn’t want to say ‘I don’t know’ for the third time in a row. She shrugged uneasily. That forgotten dreadful feeling once again knotting in her stomach making her blood run cold. She hugged her body uncomfortably.

“I just feel like I have to be everywhere and nowhere. I feel like I have to be with Zuko to take down Azula, with Mecha to reclaim the colonies and face our father, with Aang to take down the Fire Lord, with you guys to take down the airship fleet, with Iroh and the rest of the White Lotus to reclaim the Earth Kingdom. I know it doesn’t make sense and I know I’m not the most skilled fighter or the brightest so I wouldn’t make a difference anywhere- but I have this terrible feeling...” She finished explaining a fearful look on her expression.

“You might not be the most skilled or the brightest,” Sokka said. “But you’ve certainly got the most spirit.” He added brightly.

She gave him a flat look; she was being dead serious about this.

“If you don’t want to come back to the colonies Tsai, just say so,” her brother glared at her misunderstanding what she was saying.

“But it’s impossible to be in all of these places at once.” Katara mused looking at her with apprehension.

“Is it?” Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“’Wouldn’t make a difference?’”Zuko said leaning to her side in disbelief at what she had just said. “Tsai, you’d make all the difference.” He hesitated before placing a tender hand on her upper arm. He paused for a moment. “Wherever it is that you choose to go.” He said in a strained tone.

She looked into his eyes and for a moment forgot that there were others around them. She thought for a moment deciding where it would be the best place to go. Where she was needed the most.

“Okay,” She whispered nodding sadly having made up her decision. “I’ll go to Yu Dao.” She said slowly. Zuko’s expression was unreadable. “Guess I’ll see you after the war?”  She said to him. She had already caused her family enough trouble to last a lifetime. She couldn’t walk out on them now. Not when they needed her the most.

He nodded understandingly respecting her choice.

“Ugh… There goes my breakfast.” Toph gagged interrupting the scene. Those two were just way too damn sentimental.

Iroh couldn’t help but smile a little at the younger girl, “Then let us prepare.”

xxx

Mecha packed up the supplies and weapons he would need on the back of the eel hound. An eel hound was a hybrid reptilian that could be considered one of the fastest creatures on Earth. Capable of climbing and running long distances on land as well as on water.

He noticed his sister was solemnly starring at the back of the prince’s head with what he interpreted as profound sadness.

“Alright,” he said turning to face her with an irate expression on his face. Growing sick of her moping around. He wanted her to come, he needed her to come, but not like this.

“Go,” He said bluntly.

She looked at him confused turning her attention to him.

“Go,” He nudged over his shoulder to Zuko and Katara who were packing to get on Appa. “You’ve been starring at him for almost an hour and haven’t said a single word. I know you want to go with him.”

“Mecha, I can’t. I’ve already- this entire situation. Everything that’s happened to our family. It’s my fault. I have to make things right.” She said feeling guilty as she mounted some supplies on the back of the eel hound. “I’m done making mistakes. I’m going back home with you. We both know its time.” She said sadly.

“A year ago, I told you to go, a year later I am telling you once again: Go.” Her brother said letting out an exhausted sigh and unmounting her stuff throwing it back to her. “It was my fault, I told you to go. Also, nothing I can handle.” He uttered seriously. If he had survived one of Azula’s thunder blasts he could survive anything.

“You can’t take ownership over my mistakes.” She protested.

“Besides,” He pointed a hand at Zuko and Katara ignoring her objections. “I can give you at least twentygood reasons why you should go to the Mainland with them-“

“Alright, go” She challenged narrowing her eyes crossing her arms over her chest.

“Alright,” He repeated in the same tone holding a finger up. “1) If Aang doesn’t come back, you’re the only one that can actuallylay a finger on the Fire Lord. 2) You’ve got to teach Azula a lesson, for the both of us. 3) Look at him, as much as I dislike Prince Ponytail- he needs you,” he admitted in defeat.

She couldn’t help but snigger a little at the nickname.

“He’s grown on you, hasn’t he?” “Shut up.”

“4) Youwantto go.” He sighed dropping his hand as if that was the only thing that mattered.

“I don’t.” She admitted. “I have a terrible feeling about today…”

“Excuses.” He glared unfaltering. “Also,” He said scratching his nose awkwardly before reaching for a scroll from one of his knapsacks. “I need you to do me a favor.” He said handing her the scroll. “Give this to Mai.” He asked a cheesy grin growing on his face.

She couldn’t help but hit his arm with the scroll. His grin only stretched. “The onlyreason you want me to go is so I can deliver a note for you. You selfish prick!” She hit him once again. God, her brother could be such a tool sometimes.

He shrugged in defeat still a lazy smile on his lips.

“Be well Tsai. I’ll see you after the war.” He grinned and hugged her. “Take care Mecha. I’ll see you soon… Hopefully.” She hugged him back tightly. “I’m so proud of you Vice Royal Governor.”

He was about to inquire on why there was such a sadness to her voice when they both turned when they heard a throat being cleared.

Zuko stood looking rather sheepish standing a couple of feet away from the embracing siblings. “I don’t want to interrupt,” he said awkwardly holding the back of his neck. “I just came to say goodbye,” He said tearing his eyes from the scene that felt much more private to him.

He was taken aback when a pair of arms wrapped around his neck in a strong hug that made him take a step back.

“What are you saying goodbye for?” She laughed a little. “I’m going with you!”

“Really?” He asked as a rare smile grew on his face. “I know Azula’s going to be excited to see you,” he teased. She hit his arm playfully. Both turned to face Mecha who was now on top of an eel hound.

“Mecha,” he said respectfully at the older boy.

The young man from the colonies sighed and steered the eel hound towards the couple. Zuko was expecting him to shoot him a jealous sibling death glare or even threaten him.

“Take care of him Tsai,” he said with a small smirk.

“Aren’t you going to threaten me?” Zuko asked in surprise.

“Nope, she’s yourproblem now.” Mecha laughed evilly. His sister shot him a glare. “Good luck,” he winked at them before riding away.

Typical Mecha.

xxx

Zuko sat on Appa's head ready to steer and guide him back to the Fire Nation. Katara and Tsai both sat back in the saddle they looked down at Iroh and the other White Lotus masters who all wished them good luck on their mission.

"So, If I'm to be Fire Lord after the war is over, what are you going to do?" Zuko asked Iroh.

"After I re-conquer Ba Sing Se," Iroh replied with a confident smirk, pulling a white lotus Pai Sho tile from inside his sleeve and flipping it into the air then catching it with the same hand. "I'm going to re-conquer my tea shop and I'm going to play Pai Sho every day."

“That best be an invitation,” Tsai smiled at him leaning over Appa’s saddle. Despite the grin on her face Iroh could sense a lingering cloud of worry.

Zuko smiled slightly at his Uncle.

“I expect you two to come and visit.

Suki, Sokka and Toph were ready across the field looking back at their friends on the back of Appa. Their eyes met and Sokka nodded once. It was time. "Goodbye, General Iroh."

"Goodbye everyone." Iroh responded as he looked at the heroes of tomorrow and closed his eyes for a moment bowing his head, "Today destiny is our friend. I know it." He said confidently.

Xxx

Meanwhile in a distant land…

Fire Lord Ozai stood as the Phoenix King, the ruler of an empire that would rise from the ashes. He stood on top of a hill looking down at the Earth Kingdom’s terrain. Gazing at all the land that would soon be his.

“It’s time for this world to end in fire and for a new world to be born from the ashes.”

The skies cried and darkened with blood as they shifted into an unnatural hue. Wind beat strongly against the mountains and howled.  

Sozin’s Comet had arrived.

xxx

Sunburn Chapter

M A S T E R L I S T

NEXT https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/623698183927758848/sunburn-prince-zuko-38 PREV https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/622943347798081536/sunburn-prince-zuko-36

[bendingmuses]

@bndair replied to: Here’s a thought: Zuko with a fanclub.

elaborate immediately !!

Lol okay okay. So there are two instances where we see Zuko being swooned over by women. First in the beach episode when he takes off his shirt to play volleyball, and then next when he is on his way to Mai’s house. The first instance, it’s assumed that those girls didn’t know who he was, and were just swooning over his good looks. Then I assume the second time is due to a mix of his looks and the fact that he’s Prince Zuko. A local celebrity.

I started thinking about Aang’s fanclub, cause he’s the avatar and of course has fans. He defeated Ozai. So it’s not surprising that he has a following. But you know who else is a public figure, helped end the war, and has been shown to have fangirls in the show? Zuko.

There was probably at least on fanclub in the Fire Nation and/or colonies when Zuko first returned home. Where they would all talk about their love for him (even though they’d never met him), stare at pictures, and argue over who was going to marry the prince. Then imagine their disappointment when they heard he abandoned the Fire Nation and became a traitor. Then their excitement when he came back and was crowned Fire Lord. To which the Crown Prince fanclub, became the Fire Lord fanclub, and probably expanded outside the Fire Nation.

The best part? Zuko doesn’t know how to feel about it. He’s flattered that people like and admire him, but not sure if he likes the lengths at which fanclubs, and fangirls will go. So he mainly tries to ignore it. Unless he absolutely can’t. Oh, and have you seen Zuko fans in this fandom (myself included)? How willingly they are to fight on his behalf. Just imagine that in canon.

[gabbaray]

in reference to this post

zutara fanart where you can see zuko’s scar

zutara fanart where you can’t see zuko’s scar

zutara fanart where you can SEE zuko’s scar

[nebula-award]

Betrothed to A Flame: Chapter 5: Fate of the Stars

Summary: Katara has become a master at water bending. This caught the attention of many including Fire Lord Ozai, and he has requested a peace treaty between the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe. However, this requires Katara to wed Prince Zuko. (Zutara) (Arranged Marriage AU)

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Zyun led Katara around the ship, and down to the wardrobe. In the center of the room was a dress. The dress held colors of white, gold, and blue; the sleeves were quite long and hung from the mannequin. Katara reached a hand out to touch the outfit, and she ran her hands through the fabric. 

“Do you like it?” Zyun asked, “It is a traditional royal dress of the Fire Nation; however, General Iroh requested the seamstresses to make the dress include blue in honor of the Southern Water Tribe.” Zyun moved to the table at the side, and picked up golden accessories that had purple accents, “And purple for the jewelry to represent the union between our nations.” 

Katara turned to Zyun to gaze at the accessories, “They’re quite lovely; I didn’t know the Fire Nation had access to such colors.” 

“The Fire Nation has fabric in the color of every nation, but the seamstresses choose to use our proud colors.” A beat. “Shall I prepare you for your meeting today, My Lady?” 

“Today?” 

“Yes, My Lady, we dock in a few hours.” 

Katara looked back to the dress, “Alright… As long as I get to keep my hair loopies.” 

Zyun giggled, “Of course, My Lady.”

--------

“You need to relax, Prince Zuko.” 

“How can I relax when my future consort arrives in a few hours!” 

Iroh sighed, “A woman, such as Master Katara, would not appreciate that her future husband would be unrest at the thought of her presence.” 

Zuko froze, “I am not agitated.” 

“Is someone nervous about meeting the future love of his life?” Azula cackled. “Trust me big brother, you won’t have to worry; I’m sure Master Katara would be head-over-heels if she’s anything like those female peasants you beg at your feet.”

“Don’t speak ill of our citizens.” Zuko narrowed his eyes.

  --------

“Defending your fanclub now, are you?” Azula grinned.

The two continued their death stare until Uncle Iroh thought it would be best to break them up. 

“Princess Azula, please leave me and Prince Zuko alone. We must prepare him for his first meeting. I suggest you make yourself presentable as well.” Iroh said.

Azula scoffed and walked away to find Mai and Ty Lee. Iroh placed his hand against Zuko’s back, and took him to Prince Zuko’s private chambers. In two hours, Admiral Zhao would arrive with Lady Katara, and Iroh would be damned if Zuko didn’t look his best.

--------

Katara was all dressed up by the time the Fire Nation ship docked. She stood on the deck with Zyun behind her. Admiral Zhao approaches her. 

“Master Katara.” He kissed her hand, “May I say that you look as lovely as ever.” 

Katara bowed, “Thank you, Admiral Zhao. I have a question: when do we leave the ship.” 

“As soon as the ship is fully settled and your transport arrives, Master Katara.” He turned his head to the ship’s entrance, “Which is right on time.” 

Katara saw people carrying what looked to be a bed with curtains- a palanquin. She seen pictures of it in her Fire Nation scrolls; they said it was a mode of transportation for royalty. She reluctantly stepped in the palanquin, and made herself comfortable. 

Zyun opened the curtain, “I shall be walking alongside to, My Lady. If you’re in need of anything, let me know. We will be traveling to the palace. Once we are in the palace, General Iroh will reach for your hand for you to leave the palanquin to meet the royal family.”

“I understand.” 

Admiral Zhao pushed the servant away, “Lovely, Master Katara, we will begin to move; just relax.”

--------

Zuko sat down at the Fire Lord’s right side, with Azula following to her father’s left. Zuko stayed silent in hopes to please the Fire Lord- no rebuttal about marrying a water tribe peasant. 

The Fire Lord seemed amused, “You are quite quiet today, Prince Zuko. Are your nerves getting to you?”

 Zuko narrowed his eyes, yet he kept his gaze straight ahead, “No, Father. They are not.” 

“Good, good.” Fire Lord Ozai continued to speak, “I heard Master Katara is quite the politician in her tribe; she will make a wonderful wife and Fire Lady.” 

“As expected.” Zuko replied discreetly. 

After Ozai hummed in response, Azula began to question a Fire Nation guard that stood behind her. “Master Katara will be arriving shortly, correct?” 

“Yes, Princess Azula. Master Katara is traveling through the city as we speak.” 

“Lovely; she’s on time.” Azula smirked, “Of course Admiral Zhao always lives up to his words; Don’t you think so, Zuzu?” She turned her head to Prince Zuko. 

He grimaced, but was forced to speak, “Yes, he does.”

--------

Katara felt the palanquin come to a stop after the long trip. That wasn’t to say it wasn’t enjoyable. She loved waving to all the citizens who were excited to see their future Fire Lady- despite Admiral Zhao’s wishes. She peered through the curtain to see the admiral talking to another man. 

The man patted Zhao’s back before moving toward Katara’s palanquin. He was a short, elderly man with a sweet smile. He stretched a hand for Katara to take. Katara took his hand thinking it must be General Iroh. She stepped out of the palanquin, and Iroh smiled. 

“Master Katara, it’s an honor to finally meet you. My, you look more beautiful than a lily in full bloom.” 

Katara removed her hand and bowed, “Thank you, General Iroh. For both the dress and the compliment.” 

Iroh waved her off, “Please, Katara, you don’t have to bow in my presence. I am but a simple man. I’m proud to call you my future niece-in-law.” Katara smiled and took Iroh's arm to enter the palace. “I’m also very glad you like the dress.” He chuckled. Katara giggled at the notion as the two entered the throne room.

--------

“Presenting General Iroh and Master Katara.” Admiral Zhao spoke. Zuko involuntarily leaned forward as the doors opened. 

And there she was. Her tan hands wrapped around Uncle Iroh’s arm. Large, white sleeves hanging low with gold trimming connecting to a rather lovely white robe garnered with shades of blue. Her dark hair held up in a traditional Fire Nation bun with two strands of hair fastened from her scalp to her bun to frame her fair face. Purple pendants and earrings surrounded her, but the betrothal necklace stood out the most. Blue, oceanic eyes boring into his golden, honey ones. It seemed like a dream. 

It seemed strange. Zuko didn’t know what to think of the fair woman standing in front of him- the one to become his wife. He didn’t like not knowing. 

Katara eyed the young prince with intensity. Zyun was right; he was quite handsome, yet she still didn’t feel at ease with his apparent scowl. Katara released Iroh to bow to the family. 

“Greetings, Master Katara.” Fire Lord Ozai spoke, “It is an honor to have you in my presence.” 

“The honor is mine, Lord Ozai.” Katara replied. Ozai seemed happy at the compliance; Azula appeared amused, and Zuko felt indifferent. 

Ozai first gestured to his youngest daughter, “My daughter, Princess Azula.” 

Azula stood up and bowed to Katara, “I am very excited to meet you, Katara.” 

Azula sat down as Ozai gestured to Prince Zuko. “And my son, Prince Zuko.”

Zuko stood to bow, “It’s an honor to meet you, Master Katara. I hope to get to know you throughout your stay.” 

Katara pursed her lips, “And I you, Prince Zuko.” 

Ozai continued to speak, “You will be given a teacher to teach you of our culture more in depth. General Iroh would also like for you to attend Prince Zuko’s training sessions.” Zuko and Katara widened their eyes at this fact in shock. “As the future Fire Lady, you will attend war meetings and dinner parties. Your personal servant shall give you a schedule for your stay. Understood?” 

Katara bowed, “Yes, Lord Ozai.” 

“Very good. General Iroh will show you to your room, and you will begin your duties starting tomorrow. I expect to see you for dinner tonight. Dismissed.”

Iroh placed a hand on Katara’s back to lead her out. Her eyes met Zuko’s briefly before the doors closed behind her.

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[just-another-author-i-guess]

Boiling rock:

Requested: yup

Warnings: she/her pronounced reader, more gross making out stuff

Pairing: Zuko x reader

A/N: I’m so sorry I haven’t been posting in a while, but I think I kinda killed my creativity or something. Tbh, I’ve just been sleeping a lot. Anyways, I’ll try to post some more from now on, now onto the story! Also, I don’t really remember the exact plot line of the episode, so I’ll just kinda make my own thing up. Anyways, in this you’re a water bender and you’re in the same prison as Suki (boiling rock), when Sokka and Zuko comes to rescue you, and Zuko instantly falls in love.

~

As soon as Zuko’s eyes locked on you, he froze. Never had someone captured his attention like you had, and the only thing he could do was stand with open mouth and wide eyes, as Sokka who came running down the hall, ran directly into him, not expecting him to stop all of sudden.

“Agh! Why are you stopping?” Sokka asked, annoyed, as he adjusted his fire nation helmet on his head.

“You’re going to get us caught, if you don’t start moving soon!” He pointed out, and started almost dragging Zuko in the direction he was previously going.

“Uh, w-who’s that?” Zuko asked, and stopped in his tracks once again, to point out the little window to the courtyard, where you and Suki were sitting.

Sokka squinted his eyes, looking closely out the small window in the direction Zuko was pointing, his eyes following yours and Suki’s move as you talked.

“Oh, her? Besides Suki? That’s (y/n), from the northern water tribe, they caught her and Suki, when they helped us escape,” he explained, and Zuko nodded slowly at every word, eyes still intensely focused on your form.

“You done staring? We got people to rescue,” Sokka said, as he quickly put his helmet back on and dragged the lovestruck prince down the hall.

~

All around you was chaos, people were running around, trying to destroy the prison, while the guards shot fire everywhere.

The word about a rescuing team coming to free you all, were out, which had surprisingly given the prisoners a whole new energy to fight with, and you were no different.

Standing alongside with Suki, your newly acquired best friend, you were doing the best you could at blocking out the guards fireballs, with water from the sea below you.

Blocking fire left and right, you were so consumed by keeping an eye on the prisoners, you didn’t notice a guard quickly approaching you, already readying his fire.

Only when you felt flames lick up your cheek, did you look up, and gasp. The man was standing only a meter or two away from you, and were ready to attack.

The fireball dancing in his hands, almost seemed to move in slow motion as the world around you stilled. You realized it was already too late, there was nothing you could do now.

A tear slit down your cheek, mixing with the burning wound on it, as you closed your eyes and braved yourself for the flames to consume you. But they never came.

When almost a minute had passed, you dared to open your eyes, and instantly met the eyes of your mysterious hero.

Quickly standing up form your crouching position, you brushed your clothes off and put a hand against your burning wound, which was beginning to hurt more and more.

“Are you okay?” The stranger breathed, and you noticed a slight redness and something that look like soot scattered across his nose, which made you laugh lightly.

“Yeah, thank you,” you said, a kind smile on your face, as you looked up into his golden eyes, and you immediately felt save.

“I-“ the stranger started, when suddenly you spotted Sokka in the distance.

“Zuko watch out!” He yelled, and instantly Zuko’s attention were on the ball of fire quickly approaching you, and without as much as a second thought, and wrapped his arms around your waist and threw you on the floor.

The fireball missed you, only by and inch, but you had other things on your mind.

Sokka had called the stranger Zuko, which could only mean one thing.

The one and only banished prince Zuko, had just saved your life, twice!

Your cheeks reddened, as you could feel his chest heaving quickly, into your back. He was so so close.

“You’re prince Zuko,” you panted, as he helped you up, and immediately looked down at you with a guilty look.

“I wish I wasn’t,” he awkwardly chuckled, praying that you wouldn’t turn your back on him, like so many others had done in the past.

You furrowed your eyebrows at his words, a look he found very endearing, as you spoke, “Why? I don’t care who you are, you just saved my life, twice! And, once Aang defeats your father, I’m sure you’ll be a great firelord!”

Zuko raised his eyebrows, surprised by your honesty, but let a little smile creep onto his face.

“Oh! I haven’t even presented myself yet! I’m (y/n), from the northern water tribe,” you spoke, and Zuko couldn’t help but widen his smile at your innocence.

“I know, Sokka already told me about you-“

“God damnit Zuko, stop flirting and watch out!” Sokka yelled, as he stormed over to you, and pushed you both down to the ground right as another ball of fire flew over your head.

Instinctively, Zuko wrapped his arms around you again, pulling you to his chest and bracing you from the fall.

The gesture certainly didn’t go unnoticed by you, as another thick blush covered your cheeks and you were once again thankful for the handsome prince you could now call your savior.

~

Later that night, you and Suki where safely back in team avatars camp, Katara tending to your wounds.

When she reached you, she gently put a hand on your scarred cheek. “I’m so sorry (y/n), but I don’t think I’ll be able to make this completely go away,” she said, her eyes filling with worry and sorrow as she spoke.

Your eyes saddened a bit, but you quickly covered it up with a comforting smile. “That’s okay, this will just be a new part of me,” you offered, and she gently squeezed your shoulder, as a layer of water wrapped around her hand.

“I can still try to make some of the pain go away, if you want?” Katara kindly asked, and you nodded gently as she began working her healing powers.

~

“Does it hurt?” Zuko quietly asked, as he bravely let his hand wander up your face to cup your burned cheek.

You flinched a little, but soon relaxed into the careful touch of the prince.

“A little,” you mumbled, and sadly looked down into his palm. “Katara says it’s gonna feel better soon,” you added, more to yourself than to him.

“I’m so sorry,” he mumbled, and stroked the burn gently with his thumb, as a quiet tear slid down your cheek.

“It’s fine,” you sighed, and angrily whiped the tear away, and looked up at him.

“At least we match now!” You giggled, and Zuko quietly admired your ability to turn even the saddest of situations happy and hopeful. A thought struck his mind, you were exactly what him and his people needed in a firequeen.

“What?” You asked and cocked your head to the side, and Zuko realized he had been staring at you.

“Nothing, nothing, you’re just perfect..” he mumbled the last part, and even though you heard it, you decided to tease him a little.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” You grinned, and by the sheer look of cockiness on your face, Zuko could tell you were teasing.

“What about I show you instead?” He said, finally feeling confident enough to make the first move, as he quickly bend his head down and molded his lips to yours.

Instantly, you responded, and wrapped your arms around his neck, as you stood on your tiptoes and deepened the kiss, making a breathy groan escape from somewhere in the back of his neck.

You giggled, as he gently lifted your legs up, one by one, making you wrap your legs around waist, and tangle your fingers in the hair on his neck.

You practically clung to him like a koala, faces so close, your breaths was mixing, as he continued kissing you more needy by the second.

He wanted to prove to you, exactly how perfect he thought you were.

Forcefully, he pushed his tongue against your lips, as you playfully denied him, making him growl into the kiss.

With a breathy chuckle, he grasped your tights a little harder, making you slightly gasp, and he took his opportunity to slip his tongue inside, instantly meeting yours and in a battle you had no chance of winning.

You sighed, and licked at his tongue, as sinful wet noises escaped the two of you, and you wrapped your legs tighter around him, making your hips grind against his lower stomach.

Zuko whined breathily, sucking your tongue into his mouth one last time, before pulling away, resting his forehead against yours.

“We better stop while we can,” he panted, looking hazily into your eyes, and you giggled.

“Do you really wanna stop?” You giggled, and lifted yourself a little higher up in his embrace, so you could look down at him, as you kissed his forehead a little sloppily.

“No, but I think Toph would really appreciate it, if we continued this later,” Zuko cheekily pointed out, and you turned your head, to see Toph standing a few feet away, with a horrifying expression on her face.

Quickly, you unwrapped your legs from Zuko, as he carefully sat you down, and you wasted no time in hiding your face him his hard chest.

“Why didn’t you say that sooner?!” You cried out, cheeks burning up as you lightly hit him in the chest, feeling his chuckle vibrate through his chest.

~

Finally, the war was over, Aang had defeated Ozai, and everyone was cheering. Quickly, you glanced over at Zuko, as you all made your way out into the big balcony, so Zuko and Aang could speak to the crowd.

As Zuko and Aang started speaking, you spaced out a little, as you noticed how big the crowd was. You gently squeezed Zuko’s hand, as you gulped slightly, trying to get the nervousness out of your system.

Suddenly Zuko stopped his speech.

“O-oh, that reminds me-“ suddenly Zuko let go of your hand, and started to fiddle with something in his pocket.

“As the new firelord, it is my responsibility to find a firequeen, a-and I couldn’t have been more lucky to find the perfect one,” as he said those words, he turned to you, making your heart race as his golden eyes met your soft ones, giving you a breathtaking smile.

“And now, I can only hope that she wants to be my firequeen.” Then it finally registered, Zuko was asking you to be his queen, and your eyes filled with tears, as you threw your arms around him and buried your face in his neck, not able to do anything but gently nod into the crook of his neck.

The crowd erupted into yet another fit of cheers, as you engulfed yourself in Zuko’s red and golden ropes, smiling and crying not carrying wether his shirt got wet.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Zuko mumbled into your ear, gently smiling and burying his own face in your hair.

To be continued...?

[just-another-author-i-guess]

Heartbeat:

Requested: yup

Warnings: she/her pronounced reader, mentions of boobs because I’m kinda gross, also I didn’t edit it through

Pairing: Zuko x blind! Reader

Authors note: I’m really sorry it took me this long to do this request, I don’t really have a good excuse or anything I’m just kinda lazy. Anyways, the other requests I got will come up soon, I promise! Okay, so in this you’re a blind waterbender, the only thing you can see are colors but everything is very blurry, luckily you’re able to see better through your bending. Kinda like Toph can see through her earthbending, are you able to feel the blood in other people and therefore know where they are. I hope you enjoy it!

~

The first thing you saw when you woke up was red. Something red standing over you. Or was it someone?

Quickly a blurry, blue form moved in front of the red, and you heard a girls voice. So it was someone.

“Zuko, can you get me some water?”

The girl in blue said, and the red figure let out a little grumble, before disappearing out of your sight.

Quickly, you tried to sit up, scared of what the two figured might do to you, but two gentle hands pushed you back down.

“Calm down, we’re not here to hurt you, actually I’m trying to heal you,”

The feminine voice explained, and you cocked your head slightly as you allowed her to push you down on the bed.

“Heal me?”

Your voice came out a little hoarse, surprising yourself, as you wondered why in the world she was trying to heal you.

Where you hurt?

“Yes, heal you. You it your head pretty bad, back in the village,”

The girl explained, and you closed your eyes again, trying to remember.

You had left the North Pole with your aunt a few years back, and moved into a little peaceful village in the earth kingdom, sadly your aunt died a couple months back and you’d been living on your own. The last you remember was going outside your house when you heard screams, you didn’t see much except some blurry black and red figures, before you woke up here.

“W-what happened?”

You asked, this time a little scared as your head were spinning, desperately trying to remember why you woke up here.

You heard the girl sigh sadly, before sitting down on the bed next to you.

“Your village was attacked by fire nation soldiers, we tried to stop them, but..”

You saw the blurry outlines of the girls head drop, as your eyebrows furrowed.

“Wha- is everyone okay?”

You asked, voice a little hesitant, scared to hear the answer.

“You..”

The girl stopped mid sentence, and turned her head fully to you, her long hair tickling your arm slightly. She swallowed hard.

“You where the only survivor, they’ve become much more ruthless,”

She started, sorrow lacing her voice and instantly you opened your mouth in shock, fists clenching.

You didn’t cry, only swallowed hard a couple times, before tilting your head up again to look in the girls direction.

“I’m so sorry-“

“Excuse me, but who are you?”

You demanded, instantly going into defense mode, fingers already moving, ready to search for nearby water.

“Sorry, I should have introduced myself first. I’m Katara, from the southern water tribe-“

“You’re from the south?”

Your defensive demeanor was quickly changed to overjoyed, when you heard where Katara was from.

“Yes, I’m their last waterbender,”

She stated, voice still filled with sorrow, but you ignored it and beamed up at what your blurry vision identified as her face.

“I’m from the north,”

You stated rather proudly, extending your hand.

“(y/n) (l/n), a bender from the northern water tribe,”

Instead of taking your hand, she instantly pulled you into a bonecrushing hug, a sharp pain erupting from your lower back all the way up to your head, and Katara instantly pulled away once she felt you cringe.

“I’m so so sorry, I completely forgot for a moment-“

She started, and you just shook your head.

“Don’t worry about it, but, what exactly did you forget?”

You tilted your head once again, the sharp pain slowly fading away.

“You got knocked out pretty hard, we saw you being thrown right into a wall, does your burn marks hurt?”

“Which burn marks- shit!”

You hissed when your hand made contact with a rather large burnmark, stretching up your neck, anger returning to you once again.

“Sit still, I’m trying to heal that-“

Katara explained, removing your hands and placing them in your lap, as you sat fully up, the blanket falling completely off you, as you bares your throat for Katara.

The water she bended around it didn’t hurt, quite contrary did it cool and soothe, and you sighed contently as the burning sensations slowly faded.

“Hey Katara-“

Thump.

Splash.

The sound of a bowl full of water being dropped to the floor, hit your ears, and you quickly turned your head in the sounds direction.

Closing your eyes, you focused what little engery you had left to feel the water and the person who had dropped it. You where able to locate the water, but as you focused deeper and felt the persons blood you noticed a male with a rather frantic heartbeat. It was much quicker than your own and Katara’s.

“Zuko, what in the world are you doing?”

Katara’s stern voice snapped at the boy, and you felt him shudder slightly.

“I-I’m- why isn’t she wearing a shirt?”

The boy asked, blood rushing to his head, you presumed he was blushing. And suddenly you knew why.

With a quick squeak you realized you were completely bare chested, except for a small string of bondages covering the most important parts of your chest.

Instantly you felt blood rush to your face, and with shaking hands you quickly covered your chest opting for staring pityfully at Katara.

“Zuko! Out!”

Katara was quick to squeak at him, and it took no more than a few milliseconds before you heard scrambling out, what you presumed was a tent.

“I’m so so sorry-“

Katara rambled on, quickly helping you into one of her shirts, before silently continuing to heal your wounds.

~

It had been a couple days since the incident with Zuko, and thankfully no one had brought it up afterwards.

You had decided to stay and help team avatar, and everyday you, Katara and Aang would go down to a nearby lake and practice waterbending. Katara has already learned you lots of cool tricks, you didn’t even knew existed.

The burn marks on your neck were slowly starting to fade, and you were finally able to be hugged without your back and head killing you.

“Earth to (y/n)!”

Aang yelled, right before a big wave of water washes over you, instantly breaking your train of thoughts as you gave Aang the nasties glare you could muster.

“What was that for?”

You yelled, and splashed water back at the grinning avatar, as soon as you surfaced from the water again.

“We’re going back to the camp, wanna come?”

Aang asked, voice still full of laughter and you couldn’t help but smile.

“No thank you, I think I’ll stay here for a little while,”

You shook your head as you spoke, and it wasn’t long before you felt them leaving the water, leaving you alone.

You sighed contently, and laid back in the water to look up at the sky. Even though you couldn’t see much, one of your favorite activities was to stare at the sky. For you, all the colors blended together creating a beautiful mess of white, yellow and blue.

Suddenly, your ears perked up, upon hearing footsteps approaching the lake. Your body relaxed, once you caught onto Zuko’s heartbeat, but quickly a warm blush spread across your cheeks when you realized that once again he would see you in only undergarments.

“O-oh, hi (y/n), I didn’t think anyone was here,”

He stammered, sounding more flustered than startled.

“Y-Yeah, where do you think we go to practice, dummy,”

You joked back, becoming a stuttering mess yourself, quickly folding hour arms over your chest in attempt to cover it even the tiniest bit.

There was silent for a bit, before you heard a little rustling and suddenly felt Zuko approach you in the water.

“Mhm, there’s tons of lakes around here,”

He grumbled, righ behind you, and a little startled you turned around to face him, chuckling.

The water around him was already starting to heat up, due to his high body temperature, and you couldn’t help but enjoy it, slowly moving closer to him.

“Why is it, you’re never wearing prober clothes when I’m around?”

He jokingly asked, and poked the hand you held protectively over your chest quickly, making you shudder and look up to look at the blurry outline of his face.

“Hm, what do you look like?”

You wondered out loud, smoothly ignoring his joke, when you felt a gentle pair of hands grip your wrist.

“You can feel,”

Zuko mumbled, and before you knew it, you were placing your hand over the scar he had told you about a couple days earlier, the other one moving down to place itself right over his heart. It was beating more frantically than ever before, you noticed.

You took you time, gently brushing your hands over his face, and before you knew it, you had come to the conclusion that he in fact was pretty handsome.

“Thank you,”

You muttered, feeling flustered, as his heartbeat sped up.

“Your heart, it’s beating very fast,”

You informed him, before gently removing your hand, sliding it down his stomach slowly.

“Y-Yeah I know, it does that a lot around you, you know?”

He said smoothly, and you let out a little squeak at his attempt at flirting, face going even redder and you playfully hit his chest.

“Stop that,”

You mumbled, voice just above a whisper, when you felt his hands come to rest on your hips, and before you knew it, a soft pair of lips was pressed against your own.

Your eyes widened, but you still leaned into the kiss, placing your hands on his shoulders and standing on your tiptoes.

His careful kiss, soon turned heated, and when you pulled away for air, he had your legs hoisted up around his waist and both your hands cupping his face, as you both were sat on a big rock in the water.

“Is my heart still beating fast?”

He wondered, leaning his head on yours and gazing into your white orbs, trying to imagine what you were seeing.

“Not anymore,”

You breathed, chest pressed against his, and you felt his increasingly slowing heartbeat against your own.

“Good.”

He mumbled, before bowing his head down and capturing your lips again.

[just-another-author-i-guess]

Bets:

Requested: yup

Warnings: she/her pronounced reader, mentions of hickey’s because I’m gross

Pairing: Zuko x reader

A/N: so this was a request, and I’ve been really excited to make it! I hope it turned out okay! In this, you’re Zuko’s secret girlfriend, you’re also Katara’s twin. Even though you and Zuko have been acting like two fools in love lately, the gaang still seems completely oblivious to the fact that the two of you are dating. You get tired of the gaangs obliviousness, and decides to make a bet. Who will win?

~

“When the war ends, I swear, the first thing I’m gonna do is buy us a sofa,” Zuko complained, back tired and bruised from having laid on the hard dirt all day. You giggled at his statement, and shifted your legs, trying to make him lay a little more comfortably in your lap. He hugged your leg tight, pouting into it at the discomfort.

“You’ll buy us a sofa? Wouldn’t that mean we’d have to live together?” You cheekily replied, heart beating as you looked down to meet his soft eyes.

This was the first time, he had ever really brought anything with the war up. You both knew it was coming to an end, of course, you both believed in Aang to end it. But never had any of you discussed what to do after, you couldn’t keep your relationship a secret forever.

Zuko would have to go back and claim his right to the throne of the fire nation, and you had to go back to your village. Of course you missed gran gran, and all your old friends, but the thought of having to leave Zuko was almost unbearable.

“Of course we’d have to live together, don’t think you can escape that easily,” Zuko replied, tone soft as he looked up to meet your sparkling eyes.

He wanted nothing more than to marry you, he wanted you to be his fire queen, but he didn’t know how his people would react. After all, you were a water bender and you were from the southern water tribes, and not only did he have to worry about his people, he had to worry about your family too.

He knew your relationship with your siblings, especially your twin sister, was very strong, and he wasn’t ready to get his ass kicked by the water tribe siblings just yet, even though you had been acting awfully much like a couple lately.

You saw the furrowing of his eyebrows, and gently reached a hand down to cup his cheek, making him look up at you.

“What’re you thinking about? You look so worried..” you trailed off, brushing your thumb gently over the burned skin of his cheek.

“Do you think they’ll accept me?” Zuko asked lowly, eyes nervously searching yours.

“I have done so much damage to your village and your people, if it was me I wouldn’t be ready to forgive me just yet-“

“Zuko,” you interrupted, making him stop his little rant.

“It’s fine, I could forgive you, so can they,” you said, determined to keep the worry away from your handsome prince’s face.

Zuko let out a grumpy sigh, indicating he didn’t believe your statement to be completely true. You merely chuckled at his antics, and gently brushed some hair out and away from his forehead, to plant a light kiss there.

“We can’t keep it a secret forever,” he mumbled, as you gently kissed his cheek.

“I know,” you sighed, when suddenly an idea lit in your head.

“Tell you what, we could make a bet out of it? Who do you think will notice first?” Zuko sat up, hair a mess from when you had buried your fingers in it earlier, and another pout stretching his pretty lips out.

“y/n, that’s a stupid idea,” he complained, and you rolled your eyes at the grumpy prince.

“Don’t be such a party pooper, it’ll be fun! Now, who do you choose?” He narrowed his eyes, knowing he had already lost the battle to your stubborn self.

“Choose?” He asked, a slight whine to his voice as he talked, and you rolled your eyes yet again.

“Who do you think will notice first, dummy,” you said, tone slightly annoyed as it was now Zuko’s turn to roll his eyes.

Zuko sighed, but finally gave an answer, “I choose..Toph and, uh, Sokka-“ you had to keep yourself from laughing too loud, at the mention of your older brothers name. He couldn’t possibly be serious, could he?

“What?” Zuko asked, shooting you a glare, but quickly changing his frown into a little smile, when he saw your laughing face.

“You can’t be serious, Sokka wouldn’t even know love if it slapped him in the face,” You wheezed, waiting for the moment Zuko would say he was joking, but it never came.

“I’m just saying, the guy has a girlfriend and all, I’m sure he’ll catch on to it soon enough,” Zuko tiredly explained, and you held up your hands in mock surrender, while still giggling like mad.

“Alright then, that leaves me with Aang and Katara, be prepared to loose,” you teased, thinking Zuko had already given up, you could never have been more wrong.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear you over my victory,” he teased, a cheesy grin breaking out, making him look oh so adorable.

“Fine then,” you giggled, leaned forward to plant a sweet kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Let the game begin.”

~

Next morning, had started with Zuko going out of his way to make you sit next to him at breakfast, even going as far as draping his arm lazily over your shoulders.

Not even a single stare had been thrown your way, as everything just went on as normal. Both you and Zuko decided, that it was time to try something more risky, and so you did.

After dinner, you practically glued to Zuko’s side, you cleared your throat.

“Goodnight guys, we’ll head to bed now, sleep well..” you awkwardly said, stretching your limbs as you talked, Zuko quickly standing up to wrap his arms around your waist.

“Goodnight guys! See you tomorrow!” Aang happily waved goodnight, innocent as ever, and you groaned in frustration as you turned to walk away, still with Zuko’s hands and arms all over you.

Nobody even questioned why you were going together, nor did they seem to notice the hungry stare Zuko had been sending you the entire evening. This was going to be way more difficult than you originally thought.

As the two of you entered his tent, Zuko let out a frustrated groan, falling onto his sleeping mat.

“How can they be so dense? We’ve literally done every single thing, and there they are, just waving goodnight to us like nothings happening,” he buried his face in his pillow, as you let your body drop down next to his, and bury your face in his warm back.

“Mhm,” you answered, eyelids already feeling heavy, as you relaxed into him.

Zuko tiredly sighed again, and turned around, to cuddle you, wrapping his arms around your waist and letting you bury your face in his hard chest.

Suddenly your lips were moving, smirking into his chest.

“Sokka and Aang sleeps in here too, right?” You asked, looking up at him from under your eyelashes, hoping he was catching on. The smirk that stretched across his lips, told you he already knew what you were saying.

“Yeah, it would be a shame if they were to walk in on something,” he said mischievously, just as he bend his head down, so his lips could catch yours.

~

The next morning, you had woken up snuggled tightly and comfortably in Zuko’s arms. The sunlight had hit your face, and you had realized that both Aang and Sokka were in the tent.

Quickly, you removed yourself from Zuko’s sleeping form, hearing his small sleepy protests, as you red faced went out to help Katara with breakfast.

“You and Zuko seem to be getting awfully close,” Katara mumbled, as you were standing besides her, washing the dishes in a river nearby.

“W-What do you mean?” You asked cheekily, thinking you were about to win the bet, you and Zuko had made earlier.

“You know, you didn’t use to be alone together this much, I’m happy that you’re becoming friends and all-“

“What?” You interrupted your twin, making her shoot you an annoyed glare, you knew how much she hated getting interrupted.

“You think we’re becoming friends?” You asked, eyes wide, as the realization sank in. They all just thought you were good friends. How ignorant can they be?

“You guys aren’t friends?” She asked, head tilting as she talked, confusion lazing in her words, and you realized how your sentence must have sounded to her.

“No-I mean, yeah, but no,” you began to explain, almost choking down your own words, as she looked at you funny again.

“What?” She asked, and stopped cleaning the dishes for a while, when she was too busy trying to figure out what you were saying.

“Just-I’ll- nevermind,” you said, cheeks aflame, as you started to wash the dishes in a furious pace, almost breaking a few plates.

~

Sitting by the campfire, everything went on as it normally did. Nothing more.

That was until Aang accidentally touched your hand, when shifting in his seat. Instantly Zuko’s not so discreet jealousy shined through, and he almost growled at the poor avatar, before pulling you into his lap, your back flush against his chest.

Your cheeks flushed with red, but quickly died down again, when the others didn’t even lift their gaze to look at you, except for Aang, who gave you a funny look but soon brushed it off.

At the ignorance, Zuko let out a low, frustrated growl into the junction where your neck meets your shoulder. The little action, cause shivers down your spine, as you looked nervously around at the others.

Your reaction didn’t go unnoticed by Zuko, and soon he was gently kissing at the spot, causing more shivers to run through you.

“Z-Zuko,” You rasped, trying to get his attention, and trying to stop him before he got carried too far.

It was already too late, and after hearing your little protest, you could feel him smirk as he bit down a little harder on the spot, causing a slight whimper to escape you.

That whimper would be the doom of you, as Sokka’s ears instantly perked, and he looked over to you and Zuko. It was already too late, and when he pulled away, there were already a big, dark hickey forming, very visible to everyone who would even dare to look your way.

“Flameo is dating my little sister!” Sokka wheezed out, face instantly going red and expression changing from everything between happiness and devastating horror.

“Seems like I won, then,” Zuko said, tone cocky as you glared at him and quickly pulled your hair in front of you, to try to cover the hickey as best as you could.

“y/n, is this true?” Katara asked, tone slightly panicked and a judging look resting on her features.

“Uh-I-I-“ You stuttered, suddenly loosing the ability to talk, as you could feel Zuko let out a huff off air behind you.

“Yes, that is true, I’ve known for a couple weeks now, they’re really getting at it guys-“ you slapped a hand over Toph’s mouth, looking at her with shocked eyes, face turning redder by the second, as you felt Zuko stiffen behind you.

“You’ve known?” He asked, horrified, and Toph licked your palm, making you quickly retreat it as she answered.

“Yep, it’s impossible not to know, considering how much you guys-“

“Okay, I think we heard enough!” Katara cut her off, looking at the two of you with a horrific expression, you and Zuko looking back at her with equally terrified expressions.

The rest of the night was spend teasing the two of you, until your faces were so red, they could very likely explode. Actually, the next few weeks were spend that way, but hey, at least you didn’t have to keep it a secret anymore.

[just-another-author-i-guess]

G u y s

I completely forgot about Zuko for a while there, I have no idea how it happened but now I feel really bad and I need to write something about him sooo bad hshshshs pls send me Zuko or atla requests, pretty please 🥺

[gabbaray]

there are three types of zutara art:

where you can see zuko’s scar

where you can’t see zuko’s scar (profile of the unscarred eye)

where you SEE zuko’s scar (profile of scarred eye)