Searching (Zuko x OC)

Chapter 16

"You're the best Uncle," I said, pulling him into a quick hug.

I went down to my room to start drawing up a sign. I had only been able to tell the crew that was in the room with Akemi, but we had two other rooms as well. I figured this way they could all choose wether to come or not based on the sign. As I was writing down all the info, Zuko walked into my room.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he walked over to where I was sitting.

He peered over my shoulder to read what I was writing and made a face of confusion. He pointed to a spot on the paper.

"What's BYOB?" he asked.

"Bring your own bucket. You know, so that they don't throw up everywhere? Maybe I should just spell it out..." I thought out loud.

"What is this all for?" he questioned.

"Story night! I thought it would cheer up the crew to bring back the old tradition just for the night," I answered as I finished writing.

"Who cares what they want. We need to find the Avatar not tell silly meaningless stories," he huffed angrily before plopping down on my bed.

"Zuko," I said, turning to face him in my chair, "I know that you think your life rides on finding the Avatar, but I don't understand why you can't enjoy what life you have now. Enjoy the moment!"

"This isn't a life! This is my banishment. An endless punishment for my actions," he growled.

I sighed. I know how hard this all was on him. I wanted to push further but I knew this wasn't the time. I got up and sat next to him.

"I'm sorry. I know this is important to you and I didn't mean to anger you. I just wish that you could enjoy yourself sometimes. You'll get back to the throne eventually, but right now you should have fun with Uncle. With me," I said softly, putting my hand on his and squeezing it.

"How can you say that? Look what happened the last time we both relaxed?" he snapped.

Immediately I knew he regretted saying it. He saw the hurt in my face as the memories once again played in my mind. To my own surprise, I was able to keep it together but I didn't look at him.

"Don't make excuses for yourself Zuko. You wouldn't have joined even if I hadn't been taken. You don't care that this is important to me. You're letting your search for the Avatar push you further and further away from the people who love you. Just don't ruin this for me," I said sadly before getting up, grabbing the posters, and leaving.

I left him sitting on my bed as I went to go distribute the posters to the crew members. I put one up in each room that the sick crew were in and then one in the dining room the crew ate in. It was almost lunch time, so the remaining crew that weren't sick would see it then. I finished hanging the signs up and decided to meditate.

I didn't want to go back to my room. I preferred meditating outside, unlike Zuko. I always felt more connected to the world and grounded out there then I did inside. The lull of the waves kept me in a calm state and I always meditated better when I could hear them moving and smell the salt in the air. I went up to the upper balcony and sat down. I crossed my legs and placed my hands linked together in my lap.

I stayed there for what felt like minutes, but was actually a few hours before I heard someone approach from behind. They sat down next to me and got into their own meditating position.

"I'm here to apologize," Zuko said.

"I'm listening," was all I replied with, still not opening my eyes and keeping my form.