The Secret Bender (Zuko x Male Reader)

2

What a nice boy. Iroh got to work, getting out the (h/c) boy's tea choice. He lit the fire under the tea pot, turning to his nephew.

Zuko had his usual unpleasant look. Iroh knew he could be happy when he wanted to. Too bad when they where in public, the ravenette put up a wall tougher than the one that surrounded the city.

Iroh sighed and poured the tea into into a cup. He put it on a tray and handed it to Zuko. "This goes to the (h/c) haired boy in the far left table" He said. The tables had numbers, but there where only six of them and Iroh found it easier to just tell who the tea belongs to.

Zuko nodded before walking towards (Y/n). Iroh watched the two while cleaning out one of the tea pots. As usual, Zuko gave the (h/c) haired boy his tea and left as fast as possible. Iroh let out an inaudible sigh. He was really hoping that his nephew would at least try to talk to a boy his age.

"His name is (Y/n)" Iroh said once Zuko was close enough to him. The ravenette frowned at his words.

"Why would I need to know that?" he asked though, it was obviously rhetorical. That didn't stop Iroh from answering him, "I just thought you'd like to know". Zuko glanced towards (Y/n). The boy was currently gulping down his tea with a satisfied look on his face. Zuko let out a grunt, turning towards his uncle, but didn't say anything else.

~(Y/n)'s pov~

(Y/n) let out a satisfied yawn. I get why this place is so busy. He looked down at the now empty teacup. That was so good! He reached into his bag, pulling out enough money to pay for the tea, plus tip. He easily found the boy who gave him his tea.

"Hey" he said, getting the taller male's attention, "This should cover the tea and a bit of a tip". "Thanks" the ravenette responded, taking the money. "So," (Y/n) started, secretly not wanting to leave the other just yet. Could you blame him? The boy hadn't talked to anyone his age in forever! "What's your name? Mine's (Y/n)". 

(Y/n) couldn't stop the happy feeling he was getting from their conversation --as short as it was. "I'm Lee" He said. (Y/n) nodded and tried to put the name to memory. He was never the best at names, but he tried. "You don't talk much, do you?" The (e/c) eyed male stated.

It's not like he had any room to talk. (Y/n)'s conversations tended to only consist of returning a greeting or answering the occasional small talk question. It's not like he minded talking to others. It was more the fact that he spent so much time alone, he was out of the loop.

He didn't even know there was an Avatar until a few months ago. Although, it would be helpful if I knew what an 'Avatar' even is. He guessed it had something to do with some kind of prophesy, based on how people talked about whoever or whatever it was.

"Not usually. My uncle is a lot more of a conversationalist" Lee said. (Y/n) nodded. The two where soon enveloped in an awkward silence. "Well," (Y/n) started, when the silence proved to be too much, "I'm gonna go. It was nice meeting you, Lee". He waved, sending the ravenette one last smile before turning to leave.

~Zuko's pov~

"Nice meeting you, Lee" (Y/n) said before leaving. Zuko opened his mouth then promptly closed it, not knowing what to say. He didn't know why he wanted to keep the conversation going. He usually was trying to end conversations as soon as possible, but for some reason, he wanted to keep talking to the (h/c) haired boy.

Zuko let out a grunt. Why should he care about what some random guy had to say? Zuko looked to where the (h/c)ette once stood, only finding an empty space. Even if he did want to continue talking, the boy was already gone so there was no point.

It was time to head home anyway. He took off his apron and waited for his uncle. The two walked home in silence.

~(Y/n)'s pov~

(Y/n) knew it was never a good idea to walk the streets of Ba Sing Se alone at night. Even though he was exhausted, he stayed alert. He kept his head up, hoping he appeared as threatening as he was trying to make it seem.

(Y/n) knew he wasn't the first person someone thought of when it came to physical strength. He knew he was small. He was 16 but looked 14. A loud crash sounded from an alleyway, making (Y/n) jump.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to spot the cause. A cat scrambled out of the darkness. It looked at him for a few seconds before darting away. Okay, so maybe I'm a bit on edge.

He looked up at the outer wall. It would only be a few more minutes until he was out of the city. Only then could he relax and let his guard down some. Don't get him wrong: he loved the city and it's residents, but that didn't mean he was naïve of it's dangers. 

He felt eyes on him. His movements faltered for a split second before he continued like nothing was wrong. It wasn't uncommon for someone to be watching another from the shadows, but to be safe, (Y/n) tucked his knife into his sleeve.

"Hey," A voice called from behind him, making him jump. He turned around, knife at the ready. The owner of the voice was a boy who looked about (Y/n)'s age. He had puffy brown hair and was wearing a weird armor-like outfit. (Y/n) couldn't see his face in the dim light.

"Erm.. H-hello" he replied, mentally scolding himself for stuttering. "Where you at a tea shop earlier tonight?" The stranger asked. The (h/c) haired boy furrowed his eyebrows at the other's words. Suspicious much? "Why do you ask?" (Y/n) asked, fully creeped out. "You need to be careful around those two. The boy with the scar and the old man are Firebenders" He answered.

(Y/n) felt a twinge of annoyance. He didn't blame the other male. (Y/n) didn't know all of what the Fire Nation had done, but he knew it wasn't good. "Why do you say that?" He asked, scrunching his nose. "I saw them do it. Just-.. Be careful" the stranger said with a sigh. So you were stalking them? I'm pretty sure that's a crime. And if it isn't, it's defiantly not moral. "Okay.." (Y/n) said, not fully convinced. He didn't even know this guy and now he's supposed to just listen to him?

"Oh, I'm Jet by the way" The other male said, pointing to himself with his thumb. "I'm Bohi" He lied, mimicking Jet's actions. He wasn't about to tell this guy his real name. To (Y/n)'s relief, Jet seemed to believe him. "I'll see you around, Bohi" Jet said before disappearing into the darkness. Well that was... Interesting? Defiantly not normal. So, sure. Let's go with interesting.

(Y/n) honestly didn't care if the two where Firebenders or not. Actually, it sent a jolt of thrill down his spine. He met plenty of Earthbenders and Waterbenders, but he had never met another Firebender before.

His mother couldn't bend. (Y/n) had always guessed that his father could, considering he could Firebend. He never met his father so he had no idea. His mother acted like Firebending was a curse and for a long time, (Y/n) thought the same thing. He thought he had been cursed to carry these flames. It wasn't until he learned how to read that he realized what was happening.

One of the merchants where selling scrolls about the different tribes. It was then that he found out about Firebending and the war. (Y/n) let out a sigh as he came across the outer wall. "Night," He said, waving to the guard as he opened the wall. He started to hum a song he heard echoing from a tavern one night as he made his way through the forest.