Zuko's wife

Bitter Work

Sky's POV

Zuko found me. Iroh had been hurt by Azula so we took him to a broken-down shack up on a hill from what is left of the burnt town. There we bandaged and treated Iroh the best we could. All we could do was wait for him to wake. Zuko insisted he makes the tea for when Iroh woke up. I tried to stop him, but he would just sit me down and tell me to rest. Iroh had then started to wake up.

"Uncle!" Zuko exclaimed with a look of concern on his face, "You were unconscious. Azula did this to you."

Iroh attempted to get up but winced in pain which caused me to rush over to him in worry. The bandage covered the left side of his chest and shoulder. Zuko continued to speak, "It was a surprise attack."

"Somehow, that's not so surprising." Iroh said before I helped him to sit up and lean against the wall as he grunts in pain.

Zuko picked up a steaming cup and handed it to Iroh saying, "I hope I made it the way you like it."

I then quietly said to Iroh, "Fake it."

Which caused Iroh to look at me questionably for a millisecond before he decides to actually drink some of the tea. All I could think was 'I tried to warn you' as I gave him a look that said as much as his eyes widened and he let out a cry of disgust but barely manage to mask it. "Mmm, good." Iroh said as Iroh took another drink and grunted, "That was very, uhh... bracing!"

Zuko handed him another cup and to which he tossed it out the window when his nephew wasn't looking. I started to giggle at the scene causing Zuko to look at me weirdly. I waved him off giggling more and mouthing 'I'll tell you later' that just made him shake is head muttering about pregnancy mood swings. Zuko looked back towards Iroh again to start ranting, "So uncle, I've been thinking. It's only a matter of time before I run into Azula again. I'm going to need to know more advanced firebending if I want to stand a chance against her. I know what you're going to say: she's my sister and I should be trying to get along with her."

"No, she's crazy and she needs to go down." Iroh said as he put down is teacup. Zuko nodded slightly in reply. Iroh grunted as he attempted to stands up and once, he succeeds he said, "It's time to resume your training." I then attempt to stand as well but failed miserably with my pregnant stomach making it harder by the day which caused me to cross my arms and pout angrily. For some reason Zuko and Iroh found my situation hilarious and cute. "I am not cute." I huffed that caused them to go into a fit of laughter.

~This time skip is brought to you by Toph's 'gentle nudge' in the right direction~

Still Sky's POV

Iroh sat in front of Zuko. A pot of tea sits on a small fire between us that thankfully Iroh made after a I finally explained what was soon funny earlier. "Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fuelled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. Some call lightning the cold-blooded fire." Iroh spoke wisely as he took the tea kettle off the fire and poured its content into another pot. He then began to pour it into three cups before continuing, "It is precise and deadly, like Azula. To perform the technique requires peace of mind."

He handed two cups to Zuko who passed one to me carefully as to not spill the hot content onto my pregnant stomach as I used it to balance the cup on it. He then turned back to Iroh to say, "I see. That's why we're drinking tea: To calm the mind."

Iroh smiles as the never came to him as he said, "Oh yeah, good point! I mean, yes." We finish our tea before making our way (slowly in my case) over near the cliff edge for Zuko's lesson to begin.

Iroh began it by saying, "There is energy all around us. The energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy." He held up one finger on each hand to stand for the two forms of energy, "Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance, and, in a moment, the positive and negative energy come crashing back together." He brought his hands together to illustrate the point, "You provide release and guidance, creating lightning."