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

I Will Never Give Up On You

Iroh remained silent for a while before sighing. "Today is the anniversary of my son's passing."

You brought your knees to your chest, "Oh... I know what it's like. I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. I've come to terms with what happened. All I can hope to do now is to better myself and the lives of those around me in his name." Iroh said.

You bit your lip and placed your palms upon each other. "How... How do you do that? How did you overcome that pain?"

"The way I overcame it... Might not work for you. The beast advice I can give is to look inward and question the source of your grief. It's not just a death. It's also the cause of it."

"My mom died protecting us. My dad's not dead, but he's been away for so long... For the same reason." You narrowed your eyes, staring at your pitch black, trembling fingers.

"How does that make you feel, Y/N?" Iroh inquired.

"I mean, I get why they did it, but—But by doing that, it–It hurts us! It hurts them! It hurts everyone who loves them, and I would know! I-I.... Ended up doing the same thing." You gripped your blanket and buried your face in it.

"It's not fair. It's not fair how we have to keep hurting each other out of love."

Iroh put a hand on your shoulder, "What do you want to do about that?"

"I... I want to bring peace to everyone. So we never have to suffer like this again. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I know it's the only way I'd be able to change things."

"I'm sure it'll come to you in due time. Don't give up on that vision, Y/N." Iroh stood up and gave you a smile, "Now then, make sure to be careful and get some rest."

You gave him a weak nod as he exited the room. You rested your eyes and sighed, sinking further into the bedsheets.

After a while, you heard someone, most likely Zuko, shuffling over to your bedside and felt something poking your cheek.

"HEY! I'm sleepin' 'ere!" You yelled blocking his finger with your palm.

"Wh-I didn't even do anything!" Zuko exclaimed.

"You poked the cheek of a sleeping woman! Non-consenually, too! You need to be punished for your actions!" You huffed.

"P-Punished?" Zuko muttered. He looked as if he were recounting the many horrendous things his character had been through.

However, in this story, you aren't allowed to break the fourth wall.

So to you, all you saw was the flushing of his cheeks.

"Wh-Why are you b-blushing you... Perv!"
You sat up and struck him with a (100% gentle) karate chop on the head, "I'm not ready for that kinda thing!!"

"See, if I hit you, that'd be assault." Zuko sighed.

"Eeeeeexactly." You smirked.

You smile dropped instantly as you began to cough again.

"Y/N...!" Zuko made you lie down in bed again.

"Ah... Sorry for making you worry." You gave him a wan smile.

"Don't apologize to me, I'm sorry for bringing you there. It was my idea, and... And now you're hurt." Zuko whispered, running a hand through his dark locks to ease himself.

"Actually...", You looked up at the ceiling blankly, "I'm not really upset about this pain. I mean, it sucks, but..."

"But there's someone counting on me right now. It's the reason I wanted to start training. Right now, I don't know what kind of horrors she's being put through. And honestly, I almost don't want to know." You said.

You lifted up your ungloved hand and stared at it.

"You don't want to give up on her. I get that. I mean, you didn't give up on me, even when I was being... Well, a prick to you." Zuko chuckled.

You met Zuko's eyes, and for a moment, everything paused.

When you first met him, his eyes were bright and full of life. Then, when you were reunited on his ship, they held darkness and a cloudy, despair filled fog.

And now...

You smiled, placing your hand on his cheek.

"Hey, you're non-consenually touching my face!" He laughed, giving you a karate chop of equal strength.

"That's assault, y'know." You giggled.

Zuko playfully rolled his eyes and kissed you on the cheek.

"Heh... It's funny, isn't it?" You blushed,
"If you hadn't helped me when Zhao acted out his role as the child abusing cow, we probably wouldn't have become this close."

"Yeah, that's... Actually true. Guess he was good for something." Zuko murmured.

"Thank you, Zuko. For... For everything."

Zuko held a tender, yet somewhat sad countenance. He pulled you into a warm embrace.

"Don't-..." He mumbled, "Don't say things like that. It makes me worry."

You shut your eyes and played with his hair, chuckling, "Sorry."

Eventually you were lulled to sleep by his warmth. Zuko sat on your bed and let you rest on his shoulder, bending a small flame to keep you warm.

"Y/N..." He closed his eyes, "I'll never give up on a girl like you."

The neckla-