Zuko x Reader: Love Burns (REVAMPED)

Chapter Three : The Avatar

Three Years Later
ATLA Timeline

(Y/N)'s current age: 15

Zuko's current age: 16

The search for the Avatar was how you'd expect it to be. Terrible. There were a lot of dead ends, and nearly no leads. Of course, that's what I expected.

When I was younger, my mom would tell me stories of the Avatar. A great bender who mastered the four elements. She had hope that one day the Avatar would return and end the war. I often caught her crying at night, when she thought I was asleep. I knew more than anything, she needed the war to end. She needed to return home.

And now, she never will.

My father had quit being a general, and instead became more of a diplomat shortly after his marriage to my mother. He had seen what the war truly was, he had seen her suffering, and he didn't want to contribute any further.

For years, I had held the same hope as my mother. I held it for her sake. Hope that the Avatar would return.

Now? Now I hoped he was dead. I hoped Zuko would never find him, and eventually give up on his obsessive, destructive quest for honor. I hoped he would learn that his father couldn't restore his honor, only he could. That's what I wanted. That's what I needed.

Over the years, I had mastered both waterbending, and firebending to perfection. I learned that water is everywhere. That's what made it so powerful. With this knowledge, I secretly practiced and mastered a new waterbending ability.

We were currently approaching the Southern Water Tribe. I had long dreamed of stepping foot in my mother's home.

But, not like this.

"I used to have so much fun as a young girl," my mother used to say, her eyes always lit up when talking about her childhood, but I could also hear a hint of sadness, "Kya and I would always play for hours on end."

Kya. My mom could go on for hours about her best friend Kya. Kya was like a sister to her. I always wanted to meet her. I wanted her to be the aunt I never had.

I was sitting down next to Iroh, who was playing a card game. Zuko stared off in the distance, brooding. Three years of no luck wasn't kind to him.

"How do you play?" I asked.

Iroh smiled at me, "Let me finish this game, and I will tell you."

Suddenly, a beam of light shot into the air in the distance. The light beam filled me with a sense of hope and awe for a split second, and then dread when I realized what it could mean.

"Finally!" Zuko exclaimed, turning to face Iroh and me, "(Y/N)! Uncle! Do you know what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my game?" Iroh asked, earning a small giggle from me.

Zuko turned around again, facing the light, "It means my search is over."

I tried to look as disinterested as I got up, "I'm going below deck."

"But, (Y/N)!" Zuko called, "this is good news!"

I waved my hand dismissively as I went to my chambers. I looked at myself in the mirror, smoothing out my clothes with my hands. I wore what I always wore, A red top with golden embellishments that stopped right above my belly button, and a long red skirt, the fire nation emblem pinned to the middle of it. I wore golden bangles on my wrists, and my hair was always half-up, my mother's golden hairpiece sitting perfectly on my head.

I was dressed like every other Fire Nation girl, though that wasn't who I really was. Or, I guess it was, but not in this atmosphere. I sighed and sat down on my bed, staring aimlessly at the wall.