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

♡ Orange Lights ♡

The only location you knew about was the place Hua Lín had showed you, so you figured it'd be a good idea to start there and build up an understanding of the city.

You noticed a small park with many tired, hanging trees. You could only imagine how it used to look in its prime. Perhaps there was a time when the city was happier. Instead of such a dreary environment, maybe there were once people who spent time in there. Adults who finished working and wanted to relax, children who would come in and play with their friends, beautiful scenery and genuine smiles.

You continued walking.

It was strange. Normally, you'd be feeling confused, lost, and scatterbrained. But... Your head was clear. You were supposed to be exhausted, you were supposed to be stressed, but it was like everything you were supposed to be feeling, your mind, was lost in a cloud of fog.

Rain began to fall.

Was the rain mocking you?
Was it mocking everything that had happened?
Was it trying to tell you that nothing would ever change?

Those dead plants would stay dead.
No matter how much rain fell, they would never grow.

Or was it trying to comfort you?
Was it trying to cry for you?
Was it desperately trying to bring back the joy which had been destroyed?
Trying so hard... Only to lose sight of how much those attempts were hurting the world?

If the rain fell to hard, then surely, those plants would be uprooted and taken wherever the water leads.

You found yourself standing in front of the now closed tea shop. You could hear soft sweeping from inside the building.

Maybe... You were like those plants. The rain had led you back to a place you were familiar with. Although it'd be hard to grow... The saplings dropped along the way could grow within the softened soil.

Maybe there's still hope.

You felt a presence seeping into your heart. It was warm... Comforting, even.
A memory entered your head.

"I miss my family. I miss my home, my friends, my happiness, everything! Everything... That I lost
w-when she..."

That day...

"I just feel so lost... So scatterbrained..."

The day you were sitting underneath that tree. When rain and lightning danced across the sky. The roar of thunder and the cry of the wind. The way you felt so small and so insignificant...

Zuko was silent for a while, but wrapped his arms around you and pulled you into a warm hug. Your eyes widened, then shut. He shielded you from the rain. You cried into his chest and hugged him back, sobbing.

That day... And this day. Maybe the rain was trying to teach you the same lesson.

Even where darkness resides, there'll always be...

§€---------------€§

Raindrops hit against the ceiling as I swept the wooden floors. I let out a sigh, knowing we'd have to walk through the rain. I put the broom back in its place. The shop owner was talking to my uncle about giving him a raise, and some girl who made a super generous donation to him. Whatever.

I sat down at the table closet to the front door, waiting for them to finish talking. I listened to the sounds of the wet weather, shutting my eyes. I couldn't help but remember that day...

Her limpid eyes couldn't be torn from the wet soil. I sheltered myself from the rain with my arm, stepping underneath the tree. A morose expression was on her face. A gust of wind shook the trees branches. I could feel the coldness of the rain...