The Unpredictable Fire Queen [Fire Lord Zuko x Reader]{ATLA}

... and the ultimatum

Your fingers tapped against the wooden table as you waited patiently for the man of the hour. After the confusion of being offered the lucrative role as Fire Queen had settled, you felt an enormous amount of pressure, especially now that you were in the Royal Palace.

Currently in the dining room, you tried to think of the many ways to greet Lord Zuko. You could be polite and mention how delightful it would be to become his wife. Or you could tell him a thing or two about how rude he was the last time you saw him and that he should stick that proposal up his ass. Or—

"Sorry for the wait," Lord Zuko called out as he entered the room.

You abruptly shot up from your chair, body tensing at the sight of him. Your eyes ogled him, marveling at how fine of a man he had become over the years. His childish features were gone, and he seemed so regal and manly. You caught yourself staring at him and hastily greeted him. "Hello! Uhh... [Name] here."

So, you went the awkward route and said something incredibly cringe-worthy. So what? You knew your social skills weren't on par with normal people. After the disappointment Zuko gave you years ago, you had decided that fire would ultimately become everything to you. You knew how to firebend and that was all that mattered.

It seemed that your greeting gave the Fire Lord some sort of nostalgia as he gave you a lopsided smile. He opened his mouth but snapped it shut when somebody walked up behind him. Their bald head and blue markings almost made you faint. "Wow! I didn't know you were going to a meeting for your arranged marriage, Zuko."

"Go back to your Avatar duties, Aang," Zuko growled.

Aang sent you a wide grin as he waved enthusiastically at you. You returned his gesture with a small wave. Since you couldn't trust what you might say to the Avatar, you opted to remain silent.

Aang noticed this and gave in to Zuko's demand. "Fine, fine. We'll talk more tomorrow."

When the door closed behind Aang, Zuko let out a small sigh of relief and traveled over to the table. He sat in the chair in front of you, and with the flick of his wrist, the servants began bringing in trays of food. Your mouth watered, but you refrained from touching anything. Not until Zuko at least cleared the air.

"I'd figure we'd eat first before talking."

Eh, works for you! You threw whatever your stomach desired onto your plate and began to devour your food. Zuko watched as he gingerly ate his own meal.

"How's your mom?"

You were by your second helping, food stuffed in your mouth when you realized that NOW he wanted to talk. "She's over the moon with this arrangement. How's your mom?"

You froze when you realized what you had said, though Zuko sent you an apologetic smile. "Not here. She would have been happy to see you."

"Oh."

"So my advisers informed me that you have questions," Zuko changed the subject.

"I just want you to explain why you requested me as your wife. I'm pretty sure there were a lot of girls who would have loved the position."

Zuko set his utensils down as his hard gaze pierced into your thoughts. "I know that I wasn't a good friend to you when we last met, but in the pool of candidates, you're the only one I know I can trust."

"We haven't spoken in over ten years."

"I don't understand it myself, but I feel like you are the only one I can turn to," Zuko admitted as he became flustered with his words.

You too felt your cheeks become rosy from embarrassment, and you glanced down at your unfinished meal. There was a moment of silence until you finally spoke up. "I'll try this out, though under one condition."

Zuko's eyes widened. "Anything."

"Fight me."

.

.

.

"What?" Zuko gawked. "Like Agni Kai?"

"No way! Like a good sparring match!" You laughed at his suggestion, "Unless you want to do an Agni Kai with your fiance?"

He couldn't even burden himself to laugh, not when he was in complete shock. It seemed that little Fire Lord Zuko forgot how unusual of a person you were.