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

Rebuilding

You knelt down on a patch of flowers and luscious green grass. Part of the temple had a circular hole in its roof allowing a few plants to grow around a tall apple tree. A rushing river flowed through the room and down to the bottom of the mountain the Air Temple was built inside, evaporating and adding to the mist which formed at the crevice in the landscape.

As a zephyr wind blew through, you heard footsteps behind you. You weren’t surprised, you had a good idea of who it was.

“What do you want? Come back to yell at me some more?” You asked, keeping your back turned to her.

“That’s not what I—” Katara sighed, “I’m sorry. I was being a jerk back there. I’m just scared that you might get hurt or disappear again because that guy… All I’ve ever seen him bring is trouble.”

She sat down beside you, sitting on her knees and saying, “I know that he’s done a lot for you.”

“He’s saved my life, multiple times, honestly.” You muttered.

“But even then… He’s done a lot of bad things, too. I’m just afraid that if he doesn’t make up his mind on the kind of person he is, you, Aang, Sokka, Toph… Everyone might get hurt, or betrayed somehow.” Katara explained.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, the only noises being the soothing, slow whispers of the wind and the splashing of the river’s tears.

You hummed, “He’s trying to become a better person. I can’t just… Leave him, you know?”

“But—” Katara paused and tried to reword her sentence, “Even with the risk? Even though you might get hurt?”

You let out a ghost of a chuckle, “I think I’ve learned a lot about risks.”

You glanced to the side, “...I’m sorry, too. I, uh, said some pretty mean things to you. It’s just… You remember how Sokka tried to kick Aang out of our home?”

“Home…” Katara nodded, “It was because he thought Aang was some kind of dangerous villain, right?”

“Yeah. And even though it was dangerous, I mean, Aang’s the number one enemy of the Fire Nation, you guys ended up becoming super close.” You said, 
“Zuko and I… He’s my Avatar. And even though it’s risky, and there’s some stuff he has to learn to improve, I’m not going to just abandon him, especially after the things he’s done for me.”

Katara sat still before asking, “That toy butter-fly… The one you got from the Fire Nation… Was that…?”

You reached into your glove and pulled it out, holding it close to your heart, “It's a gift I gave him. He still has his, I still have mine.”

Stunned, Katara’s eyes widened, “Y/N… You’ve had that for years. You’re telling me he still kept it?”

You smiled, “Yeah. He did.”

Katara was silent with surprise. “...Before everything he did for you, what was your reason for being around him?”

“It was him who came to me, actually,” You said, “The day we really became friends, he helped me after I was attacked by Zhao. There was no big, crazy reason. He just chose to help.”

“We’re talking about the same Zuko?” Katara questioned.

“Same Zuko.” You chuckled.

Katara folded her hands in her lap, a dubious look on her face. You noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I understand how much he means to you, but I just… I don’t think I can just welcome him into the group with open arms.” She stated, furrowing her eyebrows, “After he just flipped sides in Ba Sing Se, I feel uncomfortable with the idea. Not as much as before, but… I don’t think I can trust him.”