A Kindred Spirit [Reader x Zuko]

Chapter Nine

A Kindred Spirit
Chapter Nine

You were left with only your thoughts for company when Zuko left the room. It was something you were actually quite used to. Most of your life in Ba Sing Se has been spent alone. So it was the most familiar moment in the last hour. The only difference was that the door had been left completely open behind him. You could hear the sounds of the ship as they echoed down the hallway, sliding in through the open doorway. You turned slowly and raised your head to look out into the dark ship corridor. By the time that you had done that Zuko had long since gone.

When the sound of footsteps echoed down the hall, you fought with yourself over lowering your gaze once more. Zuko had told you that you needed to look people in the eyes. He had commanded that you raise your eyes up. It was probably something that came natural to him. He was a prince after all. For you it felt wrong and every nerve in your body wanted to lower your head as he came back into the room. You managed to keep your eyes up but you couldn't bring yourself to meet his gaze.

"These is an extra shirt and pants from Mai. They're her under layers but it'll work while you're on the ship. It's better than wearing a robe everywhere..." he said as he held them out for you. "There's something from Ty Lee too."

Slowly you reached out for them, moving cautiously as though he would bite you. Zuko waited impatiently for you to take them but he didn't say anything. At least you weren't flinching and apologizing for needing clothes or something stupid like that. It was a start.

As you took the clothes you noticed that there was a small, tight looking top. Your gaze fell to it curiously. The construction seemed really precise and it wasn't what you were used to seeing. There was some type of lacing that kept it together in the front and from what you could tell the hand width strap connected down into a stiff area that would stop at your upper ribs. There was an area of fabric between the hardened material, the lace up front, and the wide shoulder strap that seemed much looser than the rest. It took you more than a few minutes of awkward silence for you to understand why there was a loose area where your chest would be. It wasn't like you had a piece of clothing like this before. You had been taken when you were a child after all and it wasn't like you had ever seen your mother get undressed or dressed for that matter. At least not for as long as you could remember. But it was a piece of clothing that either Zuko or Ty Lee thought you would need.

"Hurry and get dressed we need to start your training."

You nodded in understanding slowly as your mind tried to figure out how to put the smallest, lace up shirt on. It wasn't like you had ever done it before. Did it go on the outside? No that didn't seem right or else you would have seen it on Ty Lee, Mai, or Azula if it did. So you figured that it was meant to go under the other shirt. After you figured out the order that the pieces were meant to go in you started to untie the robe you had on, never giving it a second thought. At least not until you heard Zuko slap his own hand to his eyes.

"Are you hurt?" You asked quietly. After all that's basically what you had done a few minutes ago when you had hurt your eyes.

"What are you doing? Your supposed to get changed in your room not in front of me!"

You lowered your gaze to the floor at his outraged tone. Instantly you closed your mouth and tried to take up the least amount of space possible. There was an urge to move back but you only allowed yourself to take a few steps back, keeping your head down and your ears trained on every sound that he made. You didn't want to anger him even more.

You practically felt his frustration just as you felt your hands shaking. You knew that you had done something wrong as far as he was concerned, though you weren't sure why it was wrong, so you waited for whatever punishment he decided to dish out. Precious seconds passed and nothing happened, though that didn't mean too much. You flinched when you heard him sigh, even if the sound was more resigned than angry.