Traitor - Zuko X Reader

Chapter 23

She pulled back and wiped her eyes, attempting a small smile, "Thank you, Sokka, you always know what to say."

"I try," I smiled back at her before becoming serious, "Now, I'm going to leave and get you some food .Then I'm going to come back and you're going to eat it, even if I have to force feed you like a baby bird."

She rolled her eyes, "Ew, Sokka don't put that image in my brain."

I laughed and left the room, closing the door softly behind me. I made my way over to the kitchen but was stopped by Toph and Katara on my way there.

Toph spoke demandingly, "So? Is she okay?"

"She's far from okay, but I think she's slowly coming back to being her normal self. We just have to give her time."

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It's been a week and a half and (Y/N) has almost completely returned to her usual self. After I had consoled her, she had spent another day in her room before finally leaving. The first thing she did was visit Aang's room, sitting beside him for nearly two hours before finally joining everyone else on deck. The dull look in her eyes started to fade as the days went by and was replaced by that shine that once inhabited them. She went back to her usual ways, joking around with Toph, braiding Katara's hair, and combat training with me. But, if anyone were to mention what happened in Ba Sing Se or Zuko she would get a far off look in her eyes. I was still worried about her, but knew that she still needed more time.

NORMAL POV

It's been two weeks, two weeks and Aang still hasn't awakened yet. I spent every morning by his side, staring at his face, like I was trying to make his eyes open using my mind. Everyday, nothing happened, much to my disappointment.

I tried to busy myself, throwing all of my energy and attention into my training. I had to drag Sokka out of bed everyday to train with me and when he was exhausted I would then go to his father and ask him to spar with me. Hakoda was a brilliant soldier and an even more skilled fighter. Everytime we spar he would beat me, but he gave me little tips here and there on how to improve my technique and soon, I could last about ten minutes with him in a fight before he would ultimately take me down (this was a win in my book, seeing how I could barely last a minute a week ago).

Besides training, I would spend time with Katara and Toph. Katara was more worried than anyone about Aang, but I tried to take both of our minds off of it by teaching her how to play Pai Sho with a board I had found in a storage room below deck (although there were some pieces missing). Toph seemed fine, but I knew she was worried too but choosing not to show it. She and I would usually wrestle around or simply talk about fighting styles. These tasks kept me from getting too swept up in my own thoughts.

However, there was nothing I could do about the eerie silence that overcame the ship at night. One would think that the sound of the ocean would lull me to sleep, but it had the opposite effect. All it did was remind me of the months I spent on the ship when I fled the Fire Nation palace all those years ago. These memories would cause me to think of my time in the Fire Nation, bringing back now painful memories of my mother and, worst of all, Zuko. Memories of my mother, while painful, were laced with a feeling of nostalgia and love, blanketing me in the warmth of her memory. Meanwhile, memories of Zuko were nothing but painful. Anytime I tried to think of our happy memories as children or the weeks we spent in Ba Sing Se, all that would flash across my mind was Azula's blue flame and Zuko's emotionless stare as he chose his nation over me.

One night, I couldn't take these thoughts anymore and decided to go to Sokka's room. I had fallen asleep curled up in his bed, our backs to each other. Just knowing he was there made me feel safe and was able to finally sleep peacefully. I had been doing this every night since then, most nights I'd sleep in Sokka's room but I had also spent the night in Katara's room a few times as well. (I'd tried Toph's room, but she kicked hard in her sleep and I woke up with bruises).