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

The Library

"It's no surprise your mother died."

...

Before...

Before, you thought he was calling you powerless.

But now you understand...

You never act. And when you do, someone gets hurt.

You didn't do anything during the final moments of the fight with Azula. Maybe you could've helped Iroh.

You left the Fire Nation. You hurt Zuko and allowed him to be manipulated.

You went on that Fire Navy ship. But you ended up letting your own mother die, and left Katara and Sokka fearing the worst had happened to you.

"Hey." Toph wasn't looking at you, but she was definitely talking to you. "You're freaking out right now. I can sense it." She said, "What's on your mind?"

"I... I'm... Horrible." You muttered, refusing to say anymore than that. If you did, you'd probably cry. And you didn't want anyone to pity you.

"No, you're not. You're a great person, Y/N." Toph said, placing her feet on the table. "I'm not. I've hurt... So many people." You paused again, taking advantage of the fact your head was mostly down. You hid any signs you were about to tear up.

"We've all hurt people, Y/N. Aang froze himself in an ice cube for a hundred years, left the world in a state of peril and war, yada dada. Technically, he's hurt like, a dozen people. But do you hate him for it? Is he suddenly a monster?"

"... That's different. I should know better. Every time I act, I hurt someone. Every time I don't, I hurt someone. I'm dangerous." You whispered.

"Y/N." Toph's neutral expression changed to a vastly different one. It was concern. It was care.

"You haven't hurt me, have you?"

You bit your lip, preventing yourself from saying "not yet."

"You've... Helped me. Y'know... You're the first friend I've ever had. You're like a big sister to me." Your gaze softened as you lifted up your head. "Toph..."
"Ew ew ew! Don't get all weird and sappy on me, okay!?"

You let out a chuckle. "Sorry. And... Thanks." She turned away from you, "You're welcome."

"THE LIBRARY!" You stared at Sokka in shock. Why the heck was he yelling like that? "A vacation with the Avatar?" The man who bumped into Aang, who gave you a very professor like vibe, began to squeal and fanboy.
"Welp. Here we go."

£√|•|¥==°————————°==¥|•|√£

"Sandbenders, shoo! Away from the bison!" The professor scared off a few sandbenders who were getting suspiciously close to Appa. You, Katara, and Toph were resting in the saddle, Sokka was searching for the Library using a telescope, and Aang and The Professor were sitting somewhere near Appa's head.

Uncomfortable with the heat, you formed a thin layer of cool void and placed it on your skin. "Ugh, this heat is unbearable!" Katara exclaimed, fanning herself. She looked over at you, since you seemed to be enjoying yourself underneath your blanket of void.

"Of course you're fine with it, Y/N..." She sighed. "What? Do you think the Fire Nation is actually on fire?" You raised an eyebrow at her, creating a blanket of darkness for her as well. "Wait," Toph sat up straight, eyes wide. "You've been where now!?"

"Hey!" Sokka whipped his head around to grin at you, "You've been to the Fire Nation! You could give us a map of that place!"

"Um, actually..." Sokka's grin vanished at those words and he instead gave you a dirty look of disappointment.  "Uh- Sorry!? It's been like four or five years since then! I didn't exactly have a flying bison like Appa to get a good view of the place. You think I'd be allowed to roam around freely?"