☆ yellow ☆ (zukka AU)

chapter 21

zuko's POV

"how is he?" i ask katara as soon as i manage to find her in this huge hospital.

i know i look like shit, i just ran from the other side of town, my face is all red and i'm really sweaty, but i don't give a crap. all i care about is him.

"they're currently running some tests to see if it's anything severe" she informs me with a concerned look on her face. "damn, you look like shit"

"really?" i wonder sarcastically. "i didn't notice! i just ran my ass off, 'tara!"

i take a seat in the waiting room next to her and every fiber in my body is thankful for even a second of rest.

"i'm sorry, zuko, i tried to make them let you come. i yelled at them the entire ride, until i thought they'd kick me out" katara gently pats my back.

i appreciate her effort, but right now it's irrelevant, all that matters is that i'm here now.

the only noise in this bland white room that smells like antiseptic is coming from my foot that is tapping against the floor nervously. i place my elbows on my knees and interwine my fingers while resting my head on my fists. my brain is constantly buzzing with thoughts.

is he suffering? yes, what a dumb question, of course he is, and i'm not there to ease his pain in any way i can.

what if he has to go through a surgery? what if he can never fully recover? what is he has to give up basketball?
what if it's so serious that they have to cut his leg off? well, that's a bit too much, but you never know, it might be a possibility!

i can't stop but consider that this is my fault. he looked at me. he looked at me right before he was tackled by his opponent. he was distracted, so he didn't see him coming. if it wasn't for me, he would have kept his damn eyes on the stupid ball and none of this would've happened.

the wait is killing me, because i'm just stuck with my own thoughts, analysing every possible outcome. i keep staring at the clock and it's barely moving, but it's annoying ticking makes sure to stab my brain repeatedly until i feel like i'm going nuts.

i just want to know if my baby is ok.

after a thousand years, i lay my eyes on a chubby nurse with her hair tied up in a tight bun, who is just coming out of the room where sokka is in.

"you can now see him" she adresses katara, but in less than a second, i jump from my seat.

i almost push her out of the way so i can get in there as fast as i can. katara is right behind me when we enter sokka's room and not only him, but also a doctor with square glasses and a bunch of files in his hands is standing there.

my lunatic eyes meet sokka's at last. he gives me a hopeful smile, but i couldn't return the favour even if my life was depending on it.

"sokka-" my voice sounds like someone just squeezed my vocal chords together and tied them in a knot.

with a few steps, i reach the bed that sokka is laying on and i desperstely put my arms around him, like i'm afraid he might vanish right before my eyes.

"it's ok, zuzu, i'm alive, i'm ok" sokka chuckles and brushes my hair with his fingers, bringing me even closer to him.

i break the embrace just so i can look at his face and stare into his ocean eyes.

"oh, baby, why are you crying?" he puts his palms on my face and wipes some stray tears with his thumbs.

"i was so worried" my voice cracks. "are you in pain? will you be alright? will your leg heal?" i question frantically.