Within Shadows (Zuko x Reader)

Chapter 20 Pt. 1

"Hey can I talk to you for a second?" Sokka asked Zuko as the Fire Prince approached the Water Tribe boy with his trey of tea. Zuko complied and you watched his and Sokkas form walk off and out of ear shot. You watched the two of them with concern but trusted Zuko and looked back to the fire that everyone was settled around.

"Zuko may not be trusted all that great, but I gotta say, he has been pretty useful." Toph pointed out as she took a sip of her tea. You chuckled.

"Told you he can be great. Just needed to give him some time." You replied. Katara rolled her eyes.

"Still doesn't excuse or make up for all the horrible things he's done." She grumbled. You let out a sigh.

"Yes, Katara I get that. But at least he's making an effort to atone for it. At least give him some amount of credit and also maybe thank him for saving your ass from Combustion Man."

"She's right Katara. I don't agree with the past things that Zuko has done in the past to us, but we should give him some credit and gratitude for what he's doing for us now." Aang spoke from beside her. She shot him a look but fell silent.

"Trust me. If anything goes wrong, I'll stop Zuko myself and do it as fast as I can. But right now, I don't see him doing anything like that. Once he sets his mind on something, he rarely changes it. And right now, his mind set is to help Aang learn Fire Bending and to take down Ozai." And just as you finished speaking, the two boys were coming back. Zuko sat beside you and the two of you shared a smile before he pulled you close to him and you rested your head on his shoulder. The rest of the night went on peacefully with stories and jokes and funny memories being shared. While most of them were in a conversation, Zuko leaned towards your ear.

"I think Sokka is planning on heading to the boiling rock for his father. I want you to come with me on Appa to wait for him and see if my suspicions are true." He whispered and kissed your temple.

"Is that what you two were talking about?" You asked him. He nodded in response. "If there's one thing I know about Sokka, is that he'd do anything to save and protect his family. He's not just going to let Hakota get imprisoned." You added.

"So we have a plan then?"

"Of course." You kissed his cheek and moved your attention on a conversation.

~~~

"Not up to anything, huh?" Zuko asked as Sokkas head peaked up, startling the teen and causing him to fall off Appa and land on his back. You jumped down and helped him up.

"Fine. You caught me. I'm gonna rescue my dad, happy now?" He asked as he gathered his things that came off his backpack.

"I'm never happy." Zuko replied causing you to clear your throat loudly. "Ah w-well except for when I'm with (Y/n). Other than that, I'm never happy."

"Eh. Good enough." You mutter.

"Look I have to do this. The invasion plan was my idea and it was my choice to stay when the invasion plan went wrong. It's my mistake and it's my job to fix it. I have to regain my honor, you two cant stop me." Sokka explained. You could see the small glint in Zukos eyes at the mention of honor. Sokka pushed past Zuko and was about to climb Appa when Zuko spoke.

"Regaining your honor? Believe me, I get it. We're going with you."

"No. I have to do this alone." Sokka replied half way up Appa.