The Unpredictable Fire Adventurers [General Iroh II x Reader] [Legend of Korra]

『a canyon to conquer [2]

It's been a long and tedious road so far. You already have blisters decorating your feet, and as painful as they might be, you can only trudge through the rocky path to reach the Northern Water Tribe.

"Iroh, the debris here is bad. I'd feel more comfortable if we went left instead of forward," you call out, taking an acute approach to your role as guide.

He glances over his shoulder, and you spot beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His neat hairdo is now a forgotten sight, his dark strands now shaggy with a layer of dust on them. The rugged appearance suits him though, but such thoughts have no place in your journey.

"Didn't we go left last time?" he counters.

"No, we veered right yesterday," you say, causing him to feel defeated. 

A heavy sigh rolls out his mouth, and he walks up towards you. Wordlessly, you hand him the flask of water. He drinks a scarce amount in order to conserve it for the turmoils to come, an act you very much appreciate.

"Thanks," he sends you an unintentional heartthrob smile. However, you have spent so much time with him that your heart is immune to his allure.

"Yeah, no problem—"

Without a word of warning, his hand slips around your waist as a cheeky smile tugs on his lips. "Hold on."

You aren't able to utter a word as he kicks the ground, fire shooting out from beneath his feet and propelling you two into the air. It's a juvenile attempt to fly, but it gets the job done as you both crash land onto the top tier of the canyon.

"Ugh I really wished you stopped doing that," you groan while lifting yourself up from the ground. "You okay?"

"I'll manage," he replies in a hoarse voice. You offer him your hand and he takes it, allowing you to pull him back up. Once he's on his feet, he shakes his head to rid himself of the dust, "It's faster this way."

"But it's reckless," you rebut. "We can't have you breaking a bone in the middle of nowhere with no resources."

His smile fades while a perplexed expression mars his handsome features. "I guess you're right..."

"Use your head, Iroh," you continue to reprimand him. With that, you turn on your heel to travel forward.

He scratches the back of his head and sighs, opting to remain quiet and follow you down the dusty path.

[_]

After a few hours of heading straight, your path begins to curve downwards. It's a thin path, and any wrong move can lead you tumbling down hundreds of feet to your death.

You both decided early on that you would set up camp at the end of this path. You just didn't think you'd run into trouble before then.

"Iroh..."

Iroh notices your tense state and is quick to catch up with you. "What is it? More debris?"

You shake your head, your body trembling with fear. "W-What is that?"

Iroh gazes in the direction of where you pointed, eyes narrowing for a better view. "It's a small bug."

"But... If we can see it from here—"

Iroh understands the implications and places a hand on your shoulder, pushing you behind him, "I guess it's not exactly small."

You sense his form tensing and you manage to grab his shirt tightly. "You aren't thinking of fighting the thing. It hasn't even spotted us."

"I can take it on."

"That mentality will get you killed!" you whisper harshly. "The fire nation can trample a few Earth Kingdom villages but you don't see us doing that."

"So you want to run?" His tone expresses disgust for the idea.

"Let's avoid danger as much as possible," you explain, ignoring his semi-pout.

Your logic holds reason, and he can't help but listen to it, "Fine, let's do that."

Exhaling with relief, you return to the path before you, albeit in a stealth-like manner. "Okay, let's not make a lot of noise—"

Having said that, a beautiful piece of rock knocks you off your balance. You trip forward onto the floor, a few pebbles escaping your path and causing a racket as they fell to their death. The creature releases a sound of alarm, and you feel a weight encase you. The heat of Iroh's clothes causes your heart to flutter, but you write it off as adrenaline.

"Iroh—"

"Shush," he whispers as he allows his coat to cover you both from the creature's prying eyes.

You hear rustling from the distance, and after a few minutes of waiting, Iroh peeks out from under the coat. "... Okay, it's gone."

He lifts himself off of you with a triumphant smile plastered on his face.

"What?" you croak out while you pat off the dust.

"I thought our trip was going to be boring with you being cautious and all," he laughs,"but that was a rush."

One thing you've learned during your time in the canyon: Iroh was such a careless boy.