A Second Flame: Zuko x Reader

Chapter 43

"Hey, hold on. Not everyone in my family is like that." Zuko defensively replied sharpening his glance.

"I know... I know you've changed."

"I meant my uncle. He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down." Zuko sighed. I clenched onto his hand tighter.

"I think your uncle would be proud of you. Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard." Sokka admitted.

"It wasn't that hard." Zuko crossed his arms looking at me.

"Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?"

"Well (Y/N) was already gone, after she finally admitted we were dating too! I waited for like 3 years to hear her say that.." Zuko blushed.

"I wasn't exactly in a rush ya know? No offense Zuko but your obsession with the Avatar wasn't exactly the most attractive thing in the world." I teased back kissing him on the cheek, "but I guess now you're pretty cute."

"I-umm I-th-thank you." Zuko stuttered trying to remember how to speak.

"My first girlfriend turned into the moon." Sokka sighed.

"That's rough buddy."

~

Night fell upon us. Zuko kept the fire tended while Sokka and I slept.

"There it is!", Zuko spat waking both Sokka and I, "There's plenty of steam to keep us covered. As long as we're quiet, we should be able to navigate through it without being caught."

We entered the steam coming up from the prison. The prison sat in the middle of a boiling lake, sweat dripped down my skin as we got closer. The balloon started falling rapidly as Zuko and I both blasted as much fire as we could,
"We're going down! The balloon's not working anymore!"

"The air outside is just as hot as the air inside so we can't fly!" I chirped trying not to slip.

"So what are we supposed to do?' Zuko panicked as the balloon began to tip on one side.

"I don't know! Crash-landing?" Sokka suggested.

The balloon skated against the boiling water splashing Sokka's arm. The balloon crashed onto the edge of the island throwing us out with it.

"How are we gonna get off the island if the balloon won't work?" Zuko questioned looking at the heap of material absolutely demolished from the crash.

"We'll figure something out. I suspected it might be a one-way ticket."

"You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?" Zuko said shocked.

"My dad might be here. I had to come and see."

"Uncle always said I never thought things through. But this? This is just crazy!" Zuko complained throwing his hands up.

"Hey, I never wanted you or (Y/N) to come along in the first place. And for the record, I always think things through. But my plans haven't exactly worked. So this time I'm playing it by ear. So there!" Sokka pushed the balloon's remains into the boiling water.

"What are you doing?" Zuko questioned rushing over to Sokka.

"It doesn't work anyway, and we don't want anyone to find it."

I watched as the balloon sank into the pits of the steaming water,
"I hope you know what you're doing. There's no turning back now. "

~

After some effort we were able to break into the guard's storeroom. We each put on a guards uniform (of course I changed it a separate area because it would be awkward as all heck if I didn't) and proceeded into the hallway,
"I hope these disguises work.."