Impossible ~ °•Zuko x Reader•°

🏔Chapter Fourteen🏔

Y/n's POV

After walking for a while, we found an Earth Kingdom town. Iroh was immediately taken to a doctor.

"You guys must not be from around here." A young girl said. "We know better than to touch the white jade, much less make it into tea and...drink it." She said, covering Iroh's rashes with medicine.

While Iroh was being treated, Zuko and I were sitting next to each other on a bench, a foot of space between us.

"So where are you traveling from?" She asked us.

I saw Zuko flinch, about to stand up.
I scooted closer to him and put my hand on his leg, looking at him reassuringly. I stood up.

"We started off in Ba Sing Se and traveled all around the world, but now we're feeling homesick." I made up on the spot, smiling at her. "We were trying to head home when my uncle thought the flower plant was edible."

"Do you have names?" She looked at Zuko expectantly.
I moved over to stand in front of him, blocking him from her view.

"Of course. I'm Lin. This is my uncle, Shu, and my fiancé, Lee." I continued.

"That is correct." Iroh smiled, playing along.

I looked back at Zuko, who refused to look at me. His face was tinted pink.
I sat beside him, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Lin, Lee, and Shu, hm?" She smiled. "My name is Song. You three must've been traveling for a while. Would you like to stay for dinner?" She asked us.

"Sorry, we need to be moving on." Zuko said quietly.

"That's too bad. My mom always makes too much roast duck." She sighed sadly.

"Where do you live exactly?" Iroh asked her.

I sighed, closing my eyes and resting on Zuko's shoulder.

~~~~~~~~~~

"My daughter tells me you're travelers." An elderly woman said, putting a roast duck on the table.

"Yes ma'am." I smiled, having a bite of my food.
They had prepared a huge meal to share with us.

"For a while, we traveled a lot." The mother began. "We were once refugees."

"When I was a little girl, the Fire Nation raided our village. All the men were taken away. That was the last time I saw my father." Song said.

"I haven't seen my father in many years." Zuko said.

I looked down at my lap while they kept talking.

I've been here so long...when was the last time I saw my family? I wondered. Do I have a family?

"Lin, did you also lose your father?" Song asked me, seeing that I was deep in thought.

"I've lost both my parents, actually." I said, just loud enough for them to hear. "Uncle Shu is all I have." I smiled at him. "But now, I have Lee." I held his hand in mine and squeezed it comfortingly.
He squeezed back, looking at me.

—————

Zuko's POV

As Y/n spoke, I could see the sincerity in her eyes.
I felt my face heat up. I felt something pounding in my chest.

The feeling felt suffocatingly strong.

Uncle was right. I thought to myself. Y/n does care about me..

—————

Y/n's POV

Soon, it was time to leave.

"Thank you for the duck. It was excellent." Iroh said.

"You're welcome." The mother smiled.

"Thank you for the meal." I said, bowing.
Zuko began to walk away. I smiled softly, turning to follow him.

"Lee, where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people." Iroh said to him.
He turned around and bowed.

"Thank you." He said, turning back around.

"I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is. The Avatar has returned." Song said.

I froze.

The Avatar... I softly bit my lip.

"...I know." Zuko said, walking off.

The two women went back inside their home.

"Hmph. My roast duck was better." I pouted as we walked.

Iroh chuckled. "Now, Y/n. Both yours and their roast duck tasted great."

I smiled, then stopped walking when I realized Zuko was gone.

"What are you doing?" I asked him as he reapproached us.
In his hands were two ropes attached to ostrich horses.

"These people just showed us great kindness." Iroh said, frowning at him.

"They're about to show us a little more kindness." He said. "Uncle, here." He said, leading one to his uncle and handing him the rope.
He hopped on the other.
"Y/n, get on behind me." He ordered.
I obeyed, hopping onto the beast.

~~~~~~~~~~

We had been traveling for a few hours now. Iroh was in front of us. My arms were wrapped around Zuko's waist to prevent me from falling off.

I'm so tired. I huffed quietly, burrying my face into his back.

We soon stopped to rest.
Zuko made a campfire while I tied the ostrich horses to a treebranch.

Iroh slept below a nearby tree.

I curled into a ball by the fire, watching Zuko put more wood on it. The crackling of it made me feel at peace.
I watched Zuko settle down on the other side, laying down facing the fire.

I got on my hands and knees and crawled over to Zuko, laying beside him with my back pressed against his.

He turned over, cocooning me with his body, wrapping an arm around my waist.
I snuggled into him, pulling his arm tighter around me.

"Goodnight, Zuko." I whispered, closing my eyes.

"Goodnight." He replied, burrying his face in my hair.