|•|W I T 卄 E R||•| Zuko X Reader ⚠SLOWBURN⚠

Around and In the Air

"Y/N? Am I a good fire bender?" Zuko questioned, laying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. "Woah. Existential crisis much? Why'd you ask?" You replied. "Azula's mastered a ton of fire bending forms. More than I have. Not to mention, it feels like she has more power than me." He sighed. "I think your fire bending is great! If you were bad at it, training with you wouldn't make me feel like I'm slowly dying from heat exhaustion." You smiled. "Yeah, but if you fought Azula, would you feel more like you're dying from heat exhaustion?"

You let out a soft chuckle at his question. "Probably? Probably not? I don't know, I've never really allowed her to fight me." You said. "What if I became a sword master instead? I've been practicing with the weapon my Uncle gave me. Would that mean I couldn't be the Fire Lord? Would I be... The Sword Lord™ or something?"
"C'mon, as long as you keep working hard, you'll be the best fire bender in history!" You exclaimed, grinning. "Actually, maybe not in history. But still really good!"

"Hello, Zuzu!" Azula entered the room. "And... Y/N, was it? Well, who cares. This isn't about you. Anyway, Mom received news about how things are going in Ba Sing Se!" Azula smiled from ear to ear. "Azula, don't insult
Y/N." Zuko sighed and stood up. "Are you going to stay here?" He asked, turning to you. You have him a thumbs up and grabbed a nearby piece of paper. Azula and "Zuzu" left the room.

"I hope those people in Ba Sing Se are alright..." You whispered, drawing tiny butter-flies.

§∆---------------∆§

You decided to train for a bit while Zuko was gone. Just as you were about to head into your room, you bumped into someone. You looked up, using one hand to hold on to a wall, preventing yourself from falling. "Mrs. Zuko's mom...?" You paused for a moment, then realized what you just did. "Oh gosh, I- I'm so SO sorry! Please don't execute me-"
"It's alright, you didn't mean to bump into me. It's my fault for not watching where I was going." Ursa let out a soft chuckle.

"You look... Worried. Is everything okay?" You noticed that she seemed to be stressed about something. "It's... Ah, I'd better give you some context. General Iroh... You've heard about his plans to conquer Ba Sing Se, have you not?" You gave her a nod, "Well, things have taken an unfortunate turn. General Iroh lost his son... Azula and Zuko's cousin, Lu Ten." Your eyes widened. "Oh... I'm sorry." You mumbled, unsure of what to say.
"It's fine, it's not your fault. What I'm worried about... Is Zuko and Azula. Azula seems to feel no remorse about what happened. And Zuko seems a bit more... Distant." She explained, "This is the second time I've come to you about my worries... I'm sorry. You have a very comforting aura, Y/N." She gave you a soft smile.

"Maybe I could help them out..." You said. "Uh... But I don't know how to help with someone not caring about death. I don't think hugs and kisses can solve that." You awkwardly laughed, rubbing the back of your neck. You were starting to feel a bit concerned about Azula. "I've tried talking to them, but that didn't work..." She sighed. "Then... I could get them something to lift their spirits!" You grinned, but your grin turned into a frown. "...I have no money, though..."

"I can help with that. It's a small amount, but I'm sure it'll be enough. Will you be alright going out on your own?" Ursa questioned, placing a few coins in your hand. "I'm sure I'll be okay. What could possibly go wrong?"

Everything. Everything was going wrong. No, you weren't in a crazy amount of danger, but instead...
"So... Many... Things...! And such... Good... Deals!?" You felt pretty lost. You already had a few ideas of what you could buy. Azula would probably like a sword or knife. Or multiple. But, honestly, she needed something to help her calm down. Something to help her act like a kid without hurting anyone around her.

Something that everyone would like...
Oh, food!
But they could be allergic to certain things...
"Ugh, I don't know why I thought this was a good idea..." You groaned. Suddenly, a large group of people started crowding around you.
"Um, people? Why are you all surrounding me?" You asked. "Pssh, not everything is about you, brah! I'm tryin' to get myself some nice gadgets for my gadgets lovin' gurl." A weird teenager said, making weird hand signs every time he said a word with a vowel. Oh, they weren't crowding you...

They were crowding a shop with a few very interesting things which probably help progress the plot.
Nice.

There were a ton of weird doo-dads nick-nacks and scoove-dooves spread out on a table. "Oh my, aren't you a fine young lady..." An old woman approached you, "Welcome to my shop, love." She smiled. "Are you... Just going to talk to me? There's a ton of other people here as well." You muttered. "Yes, you're correct. However, there's something different about you. You've been blessed." The woman stated. She walked farther back into her shop and picked up a small box. Then, she placed it in front of you with a grin. "Here, take it for free."

"Wh-What? But I don't even know what's in there!" You exclaimed. "Yes, you're correct. You don't. But you can." Had this woman smelt the stink of Sokka's socks? Why was she acting so... Strange?

"Focus. Meditate on your surroundings." She said. You didn't know why, but something in the back of your head was telling you to trust her. So, hesitantly, you did. You shut your eyes and focused. "Can you feel your surroundings? Can you see them? Let yourself connect with it, let yourself merge with it." She whispered. You could feel energy within yourself. You could feel it around you. Taking shape, creating a form for itself. You could feel the thing which allowed that energy to exist. You felt the void. You felt it pulsing through your veins.

"Now focus on this box." The woman said. You could sense the box. You could... See it. As you focused more and more on it, you realized what was inside. "Toy butter-flies?" You opened your eyes. "Not toys. Give it to someone you can trust and keep one for yourself. It'll protect you." The woman placed the box in your hands. "Who... Are you?" You asked, squinting at the woman. You didn't recognize her appearance or voice. And somehow... She knew about your power. "Just an old lady with a good eye for things."

You glanced at the ground, then back at the woman. "Here." You placed four gold coins on her table. "Oh? But I told you, it's free!" She raised an eyebrow. "The butter-flies were free. Not the lesson." You smiled, walking away.

"Yo, old lady, give me some free rad gadgets for my gadget gurl, too!"
"Old? OLD!?" The woman smacked the boy with a newspaper. "That'll cost you five gold coins!" She yelled. "What do you mean, brah!?"
"I just taught you the very important lesson of not being braindead, boy! Each hit increases the cost by five!"

...Wow.

What a nice woman!

§•----------------•§

"Helloooo? Pricko?" You knocked on his door. "Y/N?" Pricko opened the door, confused. "The one and only! What's on your mind?" You asked, entering his room. "Well for starters, why do you always call me Pricko!? I'm not a prick!" Zuko crossed his arms. "Honestly... You're right. You aren't a prick at all." You sighed. "..." Disbelief was plastered on his face.
"Who are and what have you done to Y/N?" He shifted away from you, horrified. "Aw, don't worry, you're the whole cactus. Anyway, is your nickname really the only thing on your mind?"

Zuko let out a sigh, "No... I don't want to get too deep into it or anything, but... I lost a relative, and I was acting like a jerk to my mom because of it. I probably really upset her." He admitted. "I see. Y'know, your mom wasn't actually angry at all." You said. Zuko let out a hum of confusion. "She snitched on you... to me!" You grinned.
"And when I heard about what happened, I wanted to cheer you up, so...!" You placed the "toy-but-not-a-toy" butter-fly in Zuko's hand.

"Why do you love butter-flies so much?" He chuckled. "H-Hey! You're not allowed to judge me, I'm here to judge you!" You pouted. "Right, right. Go ahead, your honor. Am I guilty or innocent?" Zuko laughed.

"Well, I would say... You're guilty for being a jerk to your mother, and a jerk to me." You stated. "Huh? How was I a jerk to you?" He asked. You gave him a glare. "W-What?" You stroked an invisible beard. "Oh. Forgive me, your honor, but what have I done to be a jerk to you?"

"...You... You've been there for me, so... Let me be there for you."

Zuko looked at you in surprise. "You... Do you mean that?" He asked, looking to the side. "Of course I do. I don't say something unless I mean it. Mostly." You gave him a smile. And he gave you one back. "I'm glad I met you, Zuko." You said. "I'm glad I met you too, Y/N."