collision → atla, reader insert

chapter four

     "We don't get a lot of visitors here," he continued like nothing happened. "People usually pass our island."

     [Y/N] half-heartedly hummed only half-listening. "Why is that?"

     He shrugged. "Nothing to offer, I guess."

     [Y/N] sipped her tea to fight back the light scoff traveling up her throat. There wasn't anything special about the town. Anything she's seen so far, at least. It seemed normal to her. People weren't really attracted to normal anymore.

     "The outer islands don't get much traction," he took a sip of his tea. He boasted about the flavor the entire time until they received their orders. [Y/N] couldn't remember what kind it was. "Travelers usually visit the inner islands—sometimes even Capital City."

     Her stomach churned with recognition, but she wasn't quite sure. There was a feeling she knew exactly what place he was talking about, but she couldn't picture it in her head. She had to figure out how to push him towards revealing more without showing she was uninformed.

     Her eyes flickered back to him and her lips evened into a straight line. "Sorry," was what she managed to say in response.

     "It's not your fault." He said. "Everyone wants to live in Capital City, not just Fire Nation. I know I would if I could."

     Her stomach turned again. "Fire Nation" was familiar—very familiar. Was she from the Fire Nation? Was this her home? Surely she didn't live on this measly island. Maybe one of the inner islands that Reo mentioned . . . or maybe even Capital City. She didn't know what Fire Nation meant to her yet, but at least she knew where she was.

     "Yeah," she said distractedly, trying to connect dots that weren't there. "Why can't you live in Capital City?"

     "Mostly nobility and the Royal family live there. I have no business there," he said like it was obvious. [Y/N] sipped her tea again to hide her expression. She definitely wasn't from Capital City. "Besides, I'm . . . waiting."

     [Y/N] set her cup down in curiosity. "Waiting?"

     To her surprise, Reo shrank into himself. It was a strange sight for [Y/N] to see after knowing him for not even two days. He'd been shy, yes, but was usually very open with her. His eyes were trained on his tea.

      "I've never left the island. No one in my family has." He said, his voice getting so quiet where she almost didn't hear him. "Except my dad."

      [Y/N] hesitated, debating whether it was a good idea to have him spill more. This was clearly a touchy topic and maybe did feel a little honored to be told this even though they were basically strangers, but she didn't really care about his father, just the information that might come with it.

     She opted to remain silent, choosing to bring her cup to her lips, allowing him to decide for himself whether to continue or not.

     "He was drafted into war."

      [Y/N] choked.

      It took every muscle in her body to stop herself from repeating his words in utter disbelief. A war? She couldn't believe it. There is a war going on? What could she have possibly gotten herself into?

      A few coughs later and she was fine again. "I'm so sorry," [Y/N] said sincerely. Now she refused to look at him, opting to look at her tea instead. A little heat crept onto her cheeks, she didn't even want to look and see if anyone else in the shop was staring. She could feel their eyes. Few, but they were there.