Road to Ba Sing Se | Zuko

24

Zuko looked on in surprise at the girl's reaction. Didn't she realise that she could make her situation worse if she worked? The Prince didn't understand what the fuss was about. If money was a problem, he could just go out and take up an extra shift. His worry for his friend grew as she continued to panic more and more. Her breathing even started coming out as ragged huffs and puffs, something that he had witnessed for himself a few times now.

"Hey--" He tried to calm her down by grabbing her hands and forcing them down. It didn't work. Next, he gently grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Her eyes were wild with panic. "Hey, just breathe. C'mon, in--" He inhaled deeply, allowing her to follow his instructions like his uncle often did during their lessons. "--and out. Right, again. In--" They inhaled together. "--and out." They repeated this exercise a couple of times until Keya visibly regained control of her breathing again.

With their final exhale, Keya seemed to have calmed down a bit. Zuko took this as the right time to inquire about her reaction. "What was that? I've seen you lose control like that a couple of times now."

To his surprise, tears gathered in Keya's eyes. Her lip quivered as she wept. "I- I don't know," She cried, "This whole thing started right after I left home..."

"Hey- don't- I didn't mean to upset you!" It was Zuko's turn to panic. Despite having seen her cry a couple of times before, the awkward teen still didn't know how to deal with it. The last time he had cried in front of someone was years ago, when his mother was still around. He couldn't hug the girl like his mother used to do, right? That would be highly inappropriate! 

What would his uncle do if he saw the girl crying right now?

"Do you... do you want some tea?" He offered desperately, like a stressed mother offering her child's favourite toy. Keya shook her head, although his offer seemed to amuse her slightly.

"N-no," She sniffled and let out a wet chuckle. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, though. I know I can be a cry-baby sometimes."

Zuko shook his head. His hand rubbed the back of his neck shyly. "I can teach you some breathing exercises for your... problem after you've healed. For now, you need to rest."

Keya sighed and took a moment to focus on her breathing again once he brought up the topic of work. "I'm going to work tomorrow. We need the money." She grit out softly.

"No you won't. We'll be alright. Uncle got a raise." Zuko explained, but the poor Earth Kingdom girl stubbornly shook her head.

"What if it's not enough?" She whispered and looked up at him. Her grey eyes glistened with leftover tears and caution. "What if we lose our home because it's not enough? My family- how would I contact them if we no longer have a place to live? Mister Pao has been good to us, but what if he fires us because of me? All of our hard work would have been for nothing--"

"—No." Zuko interjected her panicked ramble before it could escalate again. "Uncle has been bringing in too much business to be let go now. Even if our boss wants to just fire you, it won't happen." His raspy voice had never sounded so confident and assertive before. Rather than his usual cockiness or the 'big boy' façade he held, this time he sounded different, more mature. Like an actual Crown Prince.

"How are you so sure?" She asked him quietly.

His golden eyes flashed with an unknown drive, like a literal fire had been lit behind his dark lashes. He stood up with the bowl of water and looked down at her. "Because I won't let that happen." 

His words sent a shiver down her spine. Keya gulped.

The two teenagers held intense eye contact for an extended moment, before the tension became too much to bare for the young woman.