Lotus Flower: Book One|ZukoxOC(Avatar the Last Airbender Fanfic)

Looking Good!

"Good morning Ms. Liena!" I hear Iroh's singing through the metal of the door.

I rub my eyes as I invite him in. I sit up and stretch, wiping the drool from my chin in the process.

The jolly man enters carrying a box.

"Good morning Iroh." I grin.

"How did you sleep, young one?" He asks.

"Pretty well, if I do say so myself. How about you?"

"Quite well. We made an early stop at a port today, did some shopping and those nasty men are finally out of here." He smiles.

"That's great news! I'm sorry I slept through all of that. I wouldn't have minded getting out and stretching my legs, oh and helping, of course." I rub the back of my neck.

"We didn't want to wake you. The entire crew is really grateful to you for what you did last week, saving the helmsman and all."

"It was nothing. I'm happy to help!" I clasp my hands together in embarrassment.

"Liena." Iroh's voice takes on a sterner tone, making my eyes widen. "You were reckless. I haven't yet had the chance to talk to you about it. You were all alone and you went to save the helmsman. What were you even doing out there in the first place?" I look down out of guilt. Iroh searches my face for any clues. "You could've both lost your lives that night." He trails off, emotion seemingly overcoming him.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. It's just, there's no way I can sit back and watch something bad happen to someone when I know there's something, anything, I can do to help."

"I understand that. But still, you made me very worried. Promise me something, Liena," he looks me in the eye.

"What is it?"

"Promise me you won't be so careless with your own life. You are a beacon of light in this world. We can't afford to lose you during these dark times." His voice is unwavering, his tone the most serious I've ever heard it.

This is when I realized how my love for this crew isn't one sided. These people have become somewhat of a family to me. "I promise I won't be so careless."

"Good!" Back to his cheerful self. "Anyways, the prince and I have gifts for you." Iroh's face lights up.

"What? Gifts? From you and the prince? I don't think I deserve this.. I..."

"Take them! You do deserve them." He pauses and catches the doubt on my face, "also, it's non-refundable!"

I give him a knowing look. "Well, alright."

Iroh giddily hands me the box and sits at the end of my bed watching as I remove the lid. I wasn't sure what to expect but I don't think I would have guessed it being Fire Nation clothing.

A beautiful explosion of red and gold. Golden thread seemed to be the go-to in their culture.

"It is beautiful. Thank you so much!" The fabric is insanely better than what I usually wear. "I will say, the Fire Nation has some incredible craftsmanship."

"I'm happy you like it. You should probably pull it out of the box to know for sure, though." Iroh laughs.

"That's probably a good idea." I say sheepishly.

I lift one of the garments out and hold it up to see it better. It's a red tank top with roses all over, the outlines of them are in gold. "Wow." I muster.

Setting aside, I pull out the next thing. A pair of red pants, that'll stop above the ankles with little cutouts at the bottom and a black belt. Definitely going to be comfortable. After that, I pull out a red kimono. "You guys know me too well." I grin.