Emptyness is inflammation (zuko/oc fic)

The Siege Of the North P1

It's been a week since Zuko and I have been stuck hiding in the luggage room with few updates from Iroh. He had found us on the shore next to all that was left of our ship-wreck. Sealed between Iroh's luggage, we were able to sneak in. Iroh had sneaked some guard outfits to us, so we could come to speak to him if we needed to, but he warned us to not do it often, so we spoke to him twice. Tomorrow should be the day Zhao invades the Northern Watertribe. We're not sure what the plan is, well, Zuko is not sure.

Its night, I'm currently looking through the luggage as I open a suitcase. I grin as I hold my find up. "Hey, Zuko," 

Zuko turns to me with a stoic look on his face as I hold up a breast hold with a note inside it.  Zuko scrunches up his nose as he frowns. I laugh as I start reading the note aloud. "Dear Shiu, I will wait for the days you will return to me and put me in a better place, I long for your wide-" "STOP IT!" Zuko yells angrily. Yet, he cannot contain it, "Pffft" He blurts. I smirk as I continue looking through stuff. 

Zuko's interest has now peeked as he also opens up some luggage, he holds up a bag of plants. "What's this?" He asks me. "That looks like goldenseal, it's used against diarrhea," I say.

Zuko immediately drops the bag back into the luggage as he wipes his hands frantically in a suitcase. 

"You eat it, moron, you don't put it in your ass!" I laugh as I shake my head.

"Don't speak to me that way! I still hold authority." Zuko warns.

"Yes, of course, Prince Zucchini, you hold authority as a stowaway on the admiral's ship. My mistake," I say sarcastically.

"Don't- ugh!" Zuko quickly gives up on making his point.

He lies down on a big sack, when he lays his head down he immediately perks up. "Ugh! Why does everything have to be so disgusting? It all smells so sweaty in here" He complains "You could put your head on the goldenseal, the plant itself smells pretty pleasant, actually," I say.

"In no way am I going to put that near my face," Zuko grumbles. 

When I move to sit down a sting of pain goes through my back. I make a guttural sound as I close my eyes. "How's your back?" Zuko asks. "It's fine, I'm just not very flexible right now. Don't really wanna rip my skin, eh?" I say.

"How's your arm?" I ask.

"It's fine, it just hurts," Zuko says simply.

"We'll have matching scars though," I  say, trying to put light on a positive aspect. "Whoop-tee-do. Another scar," Zuko rolls his eyes.

My back once again stings and I grunt as I lay down on a soft bag of wheat. "Did you have any poppy milk yet?" Zuko asks me. "No, I was waiting to use it until I'd go to sleep, which is now. But I don't really like it, it makes me feel all woozy and stuff." "You don't need to tell me," Zuko says.

"What do you mean?" "You act like an idiot on that stuff," Zuko says. "Like what?" "You thought the luggage was an earth bender invasion. Then you thought you were a Waterbender and tried to convince me you froze them."  "Ah," I say, kind of remembering that. 

"Let's just act like that never happened," I suggest. "Maybe," Zuko replies.

 "Actually, I think I'll skip the medicine today," I say, yawning. 

"You do that."

The next day we were walking through the hallways in our guard disguise trying to find Iroh before the ship would dock at the North Pole.  Iroh suddenly joined as he had noticed us. "We'll be landing soon. Do you have a plan?" He asks Zuko quietly. "I'm working on it, Uncle." "I think we'll be taking a raft," I tell Iroh. "Go do that, I'll meet you there," Iroh replies as he quickly pushes some snow gear into our hands, and passes us.