in which zuko proposes to you on a trip to ember island II
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"There."
I looked at my reflection as Katara finished styling my hair. She had braided small white flowers in a crown around my head, letting the rest of my hair fall naturally. It was beautiful.
I turned to Katara and smiled, "You're the greatest."
"You're perfect," she hugged me, "Zuko and everyone will think so, too."
I glanced down at the coral colored dress I was wearing. It was made of light fabric and the sleeves hung off my shoulders. My white sandals were strapped around my ankles.
Katara frowned, studying my appearance once more.
"You're missing something."
She was right. I felt pretty, but my outfit seemed incomplete. I went to my bags on the other side of the room. When I reached for the one containing my jewelry, a small red box was placed there instead. It was tied with a black bow and a note.
Thank you for being my shining sun.
-Zuko
I opened the box and pulled out a dainty golden necklace. At the end of the chain was a stone swirled with multi-colors. The colors in the stone resembled that of true fire energy, like the style Zuko and Aang learned from the Sun Warriors. I'd always found it especially beautiful, and Zuko captured it perfectly.
It reminds me of you, Zuko had told me once. Beautiful and full of life. You're my sun.
I smiled to myself, and Katara helped me fasten the chain around my neck.
"I'm ready now," I nodded, "but where are we going?"
"You'll see," is all I managed to get out of Katara. She must also be playing in Zuko and Aang's secret game.
I started down the stairs when I noticed another note tied to the bottom banister with a black bow.
I untied the small piece of parchment to find Zuko's perfect handwriting.
Look in the seashells, the note read.
-Zuko
There was a bowl of seashells decorating the table in the dining area, and I crossed the room over to it. Katara was snickering behind me; I was right to be suspicious.
At first, I thought I was faced with ordinary, completely random seashells; there's no shortage of shells on Ember Island. As I sifted through shells of all different sizes and shapes, I noticed one near the bottom of the bowl that stuck out to me.
Out of every shell in the bowl, it was the only one that was a spiral. A small note was tucked away inside it.
Meet me back where it all began.
-Zuko
The spiral.
Zuko and I had our first kiss in the crow's nest on top of the house: which could only be reached by a spiral staircase.
I giggled, looking to Katara.
"He wants me to meet him where we had our first kiss."
-
The breeze coming off the ocean was refreshing on my skin as I climbed the spiral stairs. The stairway was lit by lanterns, and rose petals had been scattered about. I smiled to myself, shaking my head.
What is Zuko doing?
I had been with the now-Firelord for nearly five years, but I was nervous to meet him at the top of the stairs.
When I saw him, I caught butterflies.
He was waiting for me at the landing, wearing an ear-to-ear grin. His hair was pulled up out of his face, and his golden eyes shone in the lantern light. Though there was a man standing in front of me now, I still saw the sixteen-year-old boy I shared my first kiss with all those years ago.
"What do you think?" Zuko took my hand, leading me up to him.
I gasped, taking in the space before me.
The entirety of the landing was lit by candles, and arrangements of flowers had been placed around a large square of velvet cushions and rugs. It was the perfect pallet for stargazing.
"Zuko, it's beautiful."
I crossed over to the edge of the nest, and looked out at the ocean over the railing. Zuko wrapped his arms around my waist, my back to his chest.
His lips brushed my ear, "Did you enjoy your treasure hunt?"
"I did."
I turned to face him.
"What did I find?"
He smiled as he took both my hands, his eyes fixed on mine. I blushed.
"When we were kids, this place was always special to us," he winked, "for obvious reasons. This is where it all began. Where we began."
I gazed up into those beautiful golden eyes.
"This is where you first kissed me," I added, unsure of where this was going.
"Y/N," Zuko said, "this is where I learned how to love."
Before I could process it, he dropped down to one knee, still holding my hand.
"You taught me how to love. You taught me how to care about someone else's life one million times more than you care for your own," he continued.
"Without you, I wouldn't be half the man I am today. I have you to thank for everything, because you are the love of my life."
He pressed his lips to my hand.
My eyes widened, "Zuko—"
He produced a small black box from inside his sleeve.
"I love you, Y/N. I always have, and I always will," he popped open the box, revealing a beautiful diamond on a gold band.
I gasped.
Zuko fixed his eyes on mine.
"Will you marry me?"
It seemed as though fireworks had gone off in my mind; I loved Zuko more than anything in the world, and being his wife would be a dream.
My eyes pricked with tears as I smiled at him.
"Yes!"
Zuko slipped the ring on my finger, and I threw my arms around his neck. Our lips connected, and it felt just as magical as the first time. He spun me around, his laughter like a melody.
My new fiancé looked down to the beach.
He shouted, "She said yes!"
I looked down to find my brother and our friends dancing around, slapping high fives and cheering.
"I knew all of you were up to something," I called down to them.
Aang shot me a thumbs up.
Zuko chuckled, pulling me close to him.
"And so she goes from crazy girlfriend to crazy wife."
I rolled my eyes and tip-toed up to kiss his cheek.
"When's the wedding?" I asked, moving to sit on the pallet he had made.
"I think I'll leave that part up to you," he slid down next to me.
He put a hand behind my back, lifting me closer to him.
"In the meantime," Zuko smirked, "would my fiancée like to do some... stargazing? For old times sake."
I giggled, "She wouldn't say no for the world."
His lips met mine yet again, and we stayed that way for a long while.
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FINAL PART!!
this was such an amazing idea and a great request. i couldn't have carried it so far without the suggestions that i got from @Polli2123 !
i tried to incorporate the treasure hunt aspect while keeping it a little quicker paced, and i really like where this ended up for the reader and zuko. i really enjoyed the twist on the reader being aang's sister, because it helped me a lot with character and plot development a great deal.
i really hope you guys enjoy this!! as always let me know what you think, and if you have any requests PLEASE let me know, they really help me write!
xx,
sophie