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

Siege of the North

You... How could you?

Were you the bad guy for trying to...?

No... No...

Then why did you feel so guilty?

Zuko... Even though Zhao hurt him, he tried to do good.

He was so strong...

You didn't deserve him.

You had made your decision.

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You were inside a Water Tribe ship, laying in bed. You couldn't sleep.

You glanced to your side. Katara and Aang were sleeping just fine, although Aang was tossing and turning around a bit.

You glanced in the opposite direction, squinting. Sokka had his back turned to you and was mumbling something underneath his breath.

"Sokka?" You whispered, unsure if he was asleep or not. "...Yeah?" He replied, rolling around to face you. He looked exhausted. "How come you're not sleeping? Normally, you'd be snoring your butt off." You asked, lifting yourself up and sitting down.

"..." He looked up at the ceiling. "You didn't see it, but Yue... She sacrificed herself to save the moon spirit. To save the world. And while I'm glad no one's in danger anymore, I can't help but feel..." He shut his eyes and allowed a shaky breath to escape his lips, agitated. "Like I failed. I failed to protect her."

You brought your knees close to your chest and faced forward. "I get that." You huffed, lowering your head. "Do you really? Or are you just saying that to try and comfort me?" He muttered.
"I do. Why do you think I ended up on that Fire Navy Ship?" You hummed.

Sokka jolted upwards, staring at you in a mixture of surprise and confusion. "I... I always thought they captured you because they saw your power. Who were you trying to save...?"

"I thought they found out Katara was a water bender. I couldn't find you guys, so I entered the ship, planning to find her and get out." You explained.

"...But you didn't find her." Sokka sighed, hanging his head. "...Yeah." You placed your hand on your necklace.

"I thought I had failed. But honestly... I'm glad I got on that ship." You hummed. "Why would you be glad? That was when you realized what happened to mom..." Sokka whispered.

"Because... Even though I failed to save her..." You clutched the plastic butter-fly hidden in your gloves. A soft, small, smile appeared on your face. "I think I might've saved someone else."

Sokka was silent, staring at the ground. You placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's true... Yue did sacrifice herself. But that doesn't mean you failed. Because through her sacrifice... I'm sure you'll come to save thousands of people." You stated.

Sokka froze, then let out a chuckle. "I don't know if I'd be able to make Koizilla or something to start beating up some Fire Nation soldiers." You laughed. "I'm sure you'd come up with something just as great."

Sokka let out a gasp, grinning. "Boomerang-zilla!" He exclaimed, whipping out his boomerang.

"Sometimes it feels like I'm the oldest sibling." You sighed, laying down, closing your eyes.

You heard Sokka scribbling something down on paper, (probably his Boomerang-zilla idea), and hitting the hay.

You were still having a hard time falling asleep. You took out your plastic butter-fly and held it in your hands. A song was playing in your head. It was the song Iroh sang during music night.

"Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall..." You hummed, stroking the butter-fly's wing. "Four seasons, Four loves..."

You recalled basking in the gorgeous moonlight, dancing with Zuko. The way his hazel eyes lit up, reassuring you that everything was okay.

"Zuko..."

You felt your heart beating faster.

———

He let out a huff of air. It was hard for him to fall asleep. The cry you let out as you rose into the sky shook his heart. The pain you were in... For a moment, everything on the battlefield stopped. Everyone looked up at you in fear, in horror.

But all he could feel was sorrow. Sorrow, and guilt.

And at the same time, a strange longing to hold you in his arms, telling you that he was there for you. Lending you a shoulder to cry on.

But, that wasn't possible. You had made your decision, and he respected it. When he saw those spears shooting towards Zhao, he understood. He understood the pure rage, pain, and hatred you felt.

He wanted you to be with the people you loved. So he decided that he wouldn't get in your way.

He pulled a small plastic butter-fly out of his pocket. No matter what, he wouldn't let it go.

He held it close to his heart.

He recalled the way that the moonlight illuminated you, the way your hair flew in the wind, the way the water danced along with your movements... And the way you smiled.

The simple fact that... You were happy by his side.

"Y/N..."

He felt his heart beating faster.

Did you make the right decision by choosing them over him? Did he make the right decision to let you go?

No, he would respect your choice. They would be there for you. No, you definitely did. You didn't deserve someone like him.

But, even then....
But, even then...

He was always there for you.
You were always there for him.

He always made you smile.
You always made him laugh.

You made each other feel loved.

There was an odd feeling in his heart. There was an odd feeling in your heart.

One... You didn't want to discard.
One... He didn't want to discard.

            BOOK 1: UNDISCARDED
                              END.