Avatar One-Shots

The Least of your Worries (Irosami)

"Your Majesties, a Mr. Kuzon is here to see princess Kai Lee," The servant announced. Iroh glanced up from his book and nodded.

"Let him in."

The servant bowed and retreated. A few seconds later, a tall young man entered. The prince examined him from head to toe, eyes narrowed. A rather gangly lad, he decided, with pitch black hair and amber eyes shining with fear. No tattoos, no piercings, well-groomed, and his clothing was casual but nice. Iroh decided that the boy looked perfectly respectable.

But then, so did his older brother, the crown prince. The same brother who shamelessly tried to steal ALL of Iroh's girlfriends.

"So, Kuzon, you want to take my daughter out." Iroh stated, placing his book on the table and leaning towards the boy, who fidgeted, obviously nervous, and nodded.

"Yes sir," He confirmed. Iroh smiled to himself. The kid was scared. Good.

"And where will you be taking her?" He asked, a somewhat scary undertone to his calm voice. Kuzon wet his lips and gulped.

"Just to a nearby teashop. We won't be long," He assured. Iroh considered this. It could be that this kid was playing on the prince's well-known love of tea.

He glanced over the boy, a frightened expression still obvious on his face, and decided otherwise.

Across the room, the princess let out a giggle. Kuzon noticed her for the first time. She had beautiful raven hair and stunning green eyes, just like her daughter. The only difference was, unlike Princess Kai Lee, her locks were wavy rather than straight. She was sipping at a cup of tea and eyeing him, assessing him, like her husband. She seemed much friendlier.

Why can't she be the one interrogating me? He wondered.

Iroh cleared his throat, and the teen's attention immediately returned to him. He took in the prince's disapproving expression and gulped again.

"You aren't going to hurt my daughter, are you kid?" Iroh asked. Kuzon shook his head as if shaking raindrops from his hair.

"No sir, never!" He assured. Iroh's eyes narrowed.

"Are you saying that because you genuinely care about her, or because you're scared of me?" He asked. Kuzon thought about that for a second, unsure exactly how to answer.

"Uh... Both?" He decided. Now the general leaned back with an amused look on his face, which did nothing to help the teen's nerves. Iroh let out a light chuckle before leaning forward again and locking his eyes onto the boy.

It felt as if he were peering into Kuzon's soul.

"Son, let me tell you something. I'm a General of the United Forces and second in line for the throne of the Fire Nation. But if you hurt my daughter, I'll be the least of your worries." The prince's eyes drifted, with Kuzon's following, to the woman across the room, still smiling and sipping at her tea. Those green eyes never left him, and suddenly Kuzon noticed a difference between Kai Lee's eyes and those of her mother. Kai Lee's were filled with joy and love and friendship, while her mother's looked as if they could kill him with nothing but a harsh glare if he ever crossed the line. They were challenging him, daring him to screw up so the elder princess could swoop in like a Lion Vulture and devour him. If he thought Prince Iroh was peering into his soul, Princess Asami was digging through it and determining whether or not he deserved to walk out of there alive.

Suddenly, the rather intimidating man sitting across from him seemed like a saber-tooth moose lion cub.

"Kuzon! You're here!" Kai Lee shouted, running up to him and encasing him in a hug. The lad could barely contain his sigh of relief. Iroh wore a look of displeasure, but Princess Asami was still smiling.

There was no question which worried him more.

"Have fun you two!" Asami called as the teenagers left, and Kuzon swore it was the scariest thing he'd ever heard in his life.

"You think we scared him enough?" Iroh asked once the kids were gone. Asami smirked.

"I'm surprised he didn't wet his pants. He's probably going to have nightmares."

Iroh grinned. "Yeah, about all the methods you'd use to kill him."

Asami's smirk widened as she continued to sip at her tea.