Fire You Are (Zuko Love Story)

The Storm

I wake up with a dull ache in my head and the light feeling sharp as it comes into my eyes. I place my hand over them to help with the pain and I start hearing the gentle cracks of a bonfire lit nearby.

"Aida," I recognize Zuko calling my name.

Ugh, his voice echoes and vibrates heavily in my head, as though I had a migraine.

"What the hell is happening to me?" I say quietly.

I remove my hand from my eyes and force myself to get accustomed to the light. When I can see, I notice Iroh sitting in front of me with his large grin and gently waving his hand at me. He's hurt.

"Hello again!" He says.

I jump in my spot and sit up harshly only for Zuko to rush over here and calm me down.

"Easy," he says. "You took a pretty hard hit yourself."

"Hard hit?" I say. "Zuko, what the hell happened? And where did you find Iroh?!"

"You really don't remember?" Zuko asks.

"No..." I say. I look out into space and realize something big must have hit me to make me lose my memory of it.

"We fought Azula," Zuko says. "You were trying to cover me when she shot a building with her lightning and it collapsed over you."

Of course. It's all coming back to me now. Zuko and I followed Azula for a very long time until we caught her fighting the Avatar in a ghost town. Iroh showed up along with a small girl, an earthbender girl. Soon enough, Katara and Sokka were there as well. I remember now when Azula destroyed one of the houses close to me and it fell above me. Iroh must have gotten hurt when I was already knocked out.

I shift in my place to sit in a more upright position. When I do, I place my hands firmly on the ground and put all my weight on them. I feel a soft vibration at my fingertips. I look down at my hands ant notice very small, very thin cracks forming in the earth.

I retrieve my hand as quickly and as quietly as I can. I must be dellusional from that impact on my head...

"How long have I been out?" I ask.

"Several hours," Zuko answers as he hands me a cup of tea.

I take the tea and blow on it gently. Zuko turns around to see to the fire, and I spot Iroh looking at me wide-eyed. I use my eyes to ask him what's up and he discreetly gestures to the tea with his gaze. He then shakes his head as though begging me not to drink it, as if my life depended on it.

I giggle quietly and nod at Iroh. Zuko making tea for us is a beautiful detail, but he must not know the first thing about it.

"Uncle," Zuko says. "I've come to realize the only way I can defeat Azula is if I know how to redirect lightning, and I want you to teach me. Now, I know, she's my sister and you're going to tell me I should be getting along with her."

"Oh, no," Iroh says. "Azula's crazy and she needs to be brought down."

I raise my cup of tea at Iroh.

"That being the case," Zuko says. "Will you teach me?"

Iroh nods slowly. "I will. But be warned, it is a very difficult and even dangerous technique. I want you to be patient and careful when learning it and when using it. It is the same thing I told Aida when I began to teach her."

"I can help teach you too," I say.

"Great," Zuko says with a light smirk. I'm glad to see him determined after everything that's happened.