Traitor - Zuko X Reader

Chapter 18

"Zukooooooooooo!" I called out into the expanse of the main courtyard. I had been looking for the boy for the past hour, no idea where he had gone. Earlier that day I had waited patiently in my room for him to meet me so we could play after his training. But after thirty minutes passed and there was still no sign of him I began to grow suspicious. I had checked everywhere, the library, his training room, and even the kitchens.

I was beginning to fear I would have to give in and ask Azula where he went. Until I heard sniffling behind a nearby bush. I rounded the side of the plant and behind it was Zuko. He had his face buried in his knees and his body shook as he cried. I knelt down beside the boy and placed a hand on his back, before he abruptly jerked away.

"(Y/N)," he sniffled, wiping his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"We were supposed to meet an hour ago, remember?"

Zuko looked at his knees, "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," I waved my hand, dismissing his apology before questioning, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's nothing, just training," he tried to rid his face of any evidence of tears.

"It's obviously not 'nothing'. What is it?" I smiled, reassuringly, "You can tell me Zuko."

"I just . . . I feel like I'm not good enough," I nodded for him to continue and he took a shaky breath, "I have never once bested Azula in training. I know my father thinks I'm weak, I can tell how disappointed he is in me. The worst thing is that I know I'm weak and I hate it. I'm scared that I'll never be good enough for him, let alone this entire nation. Afraid that I'll always fall short, never being enough for anyone."

My heart broke for the boy in front of me. He had been having a rough past few months since his mother had left and this wasn't helping him at all. I hated seeing him hurt this way. If I could take all of his pain and give it to myself, I would in a heartbeat.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at me, "Zuko, your worth is not measured by how good you are in a fight, but by your actions. You are kind, smart, and the best friend any girl could ask for. If your father can't see your worth or how absolutely amazing you are then he's a fool," Zuko's eyes widened at my words, "You are strong, Zuko. To me, you are more than good enough and always will be."

He pulled me into a big hug, making me stumble as he did so. I buried my face in his shoulder, taking in his citrus scent. He whispered, "Thank you, (Y/N). I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll always have me."

I shot up in bed, the sun burning my eyes as I looked around the room. It was the day after the whole fiasco at the palace. We had all decided to simply bide our time in Ba Sing Se until we could come up with a better plan to see the Earth King. The whole situation had rubbed me the wrong way, especially the new replacement 'Joo Dee' that had dropped us off back home. I pushed the eerie feeling I had to the back of mind. I didn't want to worry about it too much, as it was already giving me a headache.

I noticed that it was already past noon and internally scolded myself for sleeping in so late. I shuffled my way into the bathroom and got ready for the day. After washing my face, doing my hair, and getting dressed, I felt refreshed and was ready to make the most of our time in Ba Sing Se. I exited the bathroom and my stomach growled loudly. I took that as a sign to go ahead and make some food. I looked around the pantry, but there was hardly enough to make anything. I must've used all of the ingredients we had when I made breakfast the other day.

I grabbed my bag off of the table and grabbed the few coins we had left before walking to the backyard. The kids were all out there, relaxing in the sun. Katara was waterbending with Aang while Sokka and Toph sunbathed. I went up to Sokka and lightly kicked his side, "Hey."