Sunburn

22

"You're a coward and a snake and above all a traitor! Get out of my room! I never want to see you again!" She cried out removing herself from him not wanting to even be touched by him.

"That's going to be a little hard," he rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "You're right. Considering I'm your personal slave!" She lashed out in fury.

"You stood by them and did nothing! You choose them over the only person who truly loved and cared for you!"

Zuko's eyes widened. He felt something which felt like hope stir inside of him.

"You.. You love me?"

Her face scrunched up in an even angrier scowl. Her nostrils flaring in fury.

"I am talking about your uncle!"

"My uncle!" He connected the dots in his head. He was also probably the person she loved most in this world. Zuko had no doubt that she would always pick her uncle over him. After all they were both basically the same person. Her sudden betrayal to him and newfound allegiance to the Fire Nation. It still made no sense to him.

"You betrayed him too." He let out in a hollow tone. "Why?" He asked in suspicion with narrowed eyes. Something was off.

She avoided his eyes and shrugged carelessly.

"I don't know what happened between you and Uncle, but I know one thing about you. And you would never go against him. You would never bow to my father like that- and all that talk about honor?" It wasn't her.

She huffed and shook her head. Her dark eyes meeting his concerned ones.

"You don't know me." She paused for a moment. "You don't know anything!" She snapped. Her voice louder. "You don't even know what you're talking about. You really think I would go against my nation? Betray my own family? For what? Because your uncle asked me to?" She lied through her teeth attempting to sound like Azula did when she spoke.

"No," he said softly. "You wouldn't do it because it goes against you. Everything you stand for." He explained calmly.

"Oh, you mean my 'socialist wet-dream' about equality?" She let out a cruel laugh attempting to push his buttons. She wanted to hurt him as bad as he had hurt her. Grab his heart and crush it in the palm of her hand. "I told you long ago. That dream was dead. It's trash. You said it yourself. I am never going to accomplish anything grand and you were dead right. I will now live the remainder days of my life as what you always saw me as - a colonial peasant."

"Tsai, no-" He pleaded. "I- I was wrong." He hesitated looking as if he was being split in two. He appeared distraught.

"Don't- call me that. You have lost the privileged of even calling me by my name. From now on you will address me as a slave or a peasant because that's what I am. That's what you made me!"

Each one of her words was like a ice dagger. Deeply burying and twisting painfully inside of him ripping at his insides slowly, painfully. She was beyond livid.

"Tsai it was-" She interrupted him again.

"After all. That's what you called me in front of your father. You disgust me. I can't believe I- I can't believe I-"

It hurt her. He had hurt her. The only promised he had ever made to her was that nobody would hurt her and how poetic and ironic was it that he had been the only person to do so? She was so hurt. Her heart and mind in shambles and now she had been entrusted with this dangerous mission from General Iroh?

"Tsai! It was the only way of keeping you safe!" He finally snapped his temper flaring to match hers in frustration. She ignored his outburst and continued in her furious spiel.