Fan the Flame (Zuko X Reader)

secret tunnel :)

    The six of us hiked through the trees, Sokka leading us along with his map. We travelled towards the rendezvous point for the invasion force, where we planned to meet Sokka's Father and his crew. Mairu had proved himself during the short time that he had been with us. He'd managed to give us valuable information about the Firelord that will help us with our invasion.  

  Sokka stopped in his tracks and glanced at his map. We stood at a cliffside overlooking the ocean, the glowing moon reflected on the water. 

    "This is it, you guys." Sokka grinned. "This is where we'll meet them!"

    "Why this place?" Toph asked.

    "Before we split up, my dad and I found this point on a map." Sokka explained. "It's uninhabited, and the harbour surrounded by cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place." 

    "Nice choice, Sokka!" Katara said before sitting down against a boulder.

    "Not to mention we're here four days ahead of schedule!" Mairu added. "It'll give us enough time to rest and do the planning we need." He turned to me and gave me a soft smile.

     "Four days!?" Aang exclaimed. "The invasion's in four days??"

     "It'll be alright, Aang" I told him, giving him a smile of reassurance." We're here and we're ready. The best thing we can do is get plenty of rest." 

    Aang hesitated, his face plastered with worry. "I guess." He said before setting up his sleeping back and crawling inside. Katara, Sokka and Toph began doing the same. I reached for my sleeping bag as well, but Mairu grabbed my arm.

   "You should come explore the island with me." He said, his signature smirk growing on his face. Although I was tired from travelling, I did want to explore a little bit. The island did seem pretty interesting.

   "Alright. Not for long, though. I have to sleep eventually." 

     Mairu gestured for me to follow him before sprinting towards an array of stone cliffs. I couldn't understand why he had still had so much energy after our exhausting day, but I tried to keep up with him anyways. 

    "Do we really have to run?" I called out to Mairu, who was far ahead of me. He stopped for a split second in front of an opening in one of the cliffs covered by a cascade of vines. He pushed the vines aside and ran through as I followed after. The opening led into a dimly lit tunnel. I could just barely make out another opening on the other side that contributed to the small amount of light in the tunnel.

    "Running is faster." was all he said as we hurried through the tunnel. I wondered why getting to wherever he had in mind quickly was his priority. Regardless, if he needed to get there fast, I could help with that. I send a gust of air out of my left hand, pushing me towards Mairu, and grab his wrist with my right. I keep using the blast of wind to propel us forward, through the tunnel. The light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter and the exit grew closer until finally we were out.

   "You should drag me around like that all the time!" Mairu teased, adjusting his headband that had been pushed to the very back of his head.

   "No way!" I grinned. I heard the sound of rushing water from behind me, realizing that I hadn't taken in the scene around me yet. I turned around to face a small waterfall running down into a silvery pool that gleamed in the moonlight. The cliff's surrounding the waterfall were covered in green and amber moss. My heart leaped. This was beautiful.

   "Wow..." I said under my breath. 

   "I agree." Mairu said, awestruck. "This is amazing!" He took a step closer to me and gently grabbed my hand. He lead me over to the pool and sat down in front of it, gesturing for my to sit beside him. I gazed into the shiny pool of water, my reflection staring right back at me.

   "(Y/N), I hope this doesn't upset you but..." He paused, nervously looking for the right words to say. "Uh...did you have something going on with Prince Zuko?" I caught my breath.

   "What do you mean?!" I asked, my question sounding a lot more panicked than I intended.

   "I was working one night in the Palace, a couple weeks before I met you. I heard two of the servants talking about how he had fallen for the airbender girl, and that luckily, the princess had been able to talk some sense into him. Is...that true?" His eyes surveyed me. My heart raced. However, I trusted Mairu and I knew he had good-natured intentions. I let out a slow, drawn out breath. 

  "It is." I told him, staring at my shoes. "But he's a jerk. More than a jerk, actually. I don't want anything to do with him." I glanced up at Mairu to see that he had a slight smile on his face.

   "Is something funny?" I asked. Mairu's smile quickly vanished, his eyes widening.

  "No! No. Not at all!" He grinned sheepishly. "I'm just glad that you've realized that. You deserve so much better than some hot-headed prince who doesn't treat you right."

    I smirked. "You're probably right." I stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of my dress. "We should head back before it gets too dark." Mairu stood up, beaming.

    "Can you do the speedy air thing again?" He said. 

   "...Fine." I agreed, grabbing his hand before rushing out of the tunnel.

A/N: it is currently 5am as I'm writing this so there might be a few mistakes. sorry about that, besties.