You & I

What is love?

Iroh's POV
She looked at me quizzically,

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

I gulped, this was my chance to tell her everything.

"So... as you are aware, I don't want to marry someone chosen for me by the royal advisors, that I actually-"

She interrupted me, and monotonously stated:

"That you actually have someone in mind, a pretty water bender back home that you're in love with. I suppose you want my advice?"

Ouch. Although her tone was monotonous, it still felt really cold.

"I, uh- well..."

"Iroh, I don't know what you expect me to say. I told you, she's lucky, if anyone should be asking for advice it should be her. You're amazing."

I felt heat rush to my cheeks and tried to cover my blushing face with my hands before asking her:

"So what if you were in my situation? What if you were in love with someone who wasn't interested in love at all?"

She sighed and hung her head,

"I dunno, Iroh, I mean, I think she'd be crazy not to be in love with you. You're perfect. I think that if she can't see how great you are, maybe she's the wrong girl..."

Ironically she was talking about herself, and I was going to tell her but my gut told me that it was the wrong time. We sat in silence for a while, staring at the stars that now lit the sky before I asked,

"Have you ever been in love?"

She looked at me, blankly,

"I don't know what love is..."

"Oh, so I'll take that as a no then?"

"Actually, I think I could've been, once. I don't know if it's love or if I just have an attachment to him but I do know that I can't bear to be away from him, but it doesn't matter if I love him or not anyway, his heart belongs to someone else..."

So there's another guy? I thought she wasn't interested in anyone at all.

She broke the tension between us by smiling brightly at me and suggesting:

"I suppose we should call it a night then?"

I agreed, she jumped up and pulled me from the ground, we carried the picnic that she'd prepared back to the kitchen and washed the dishes together before returning to the bedroom.

It was so awkward.

Again, she dissolved the tension in the air by stating:

"Well, practically speaking, if you say my body temperature was too low in the night when I was alone then it'd be best for my health if I were to sleep next to you, and if we were to sleep together then there's no reason for either of us to be on the floor either"

I felt my cheeks flush again and quickly nodded.

She looked at me and patted my shoulder:

"Don't worry, I won't get too close, I know I've probably made you so uncomfortable, especially since you have a girl on your mind back home. I'll respect your boundaries, just make them clear to me, okay?"

If only I could tell her that the girl I was talking about was her. That she was the one on my mind. I don't have any boundaries when it comes to her, I want to feel the warmth of her embrace, I want to hold her hand and kiss her lips.

My heart spoke words that my tongue was afraid to say. What if telling her meant I lost her as a friend? She was my best friend, she meant more to me than anyone else in the entire world. I'd do anything for her, I'd give my life for hers.

But again, I nodded and we both went off to change into our nightwear.

I am fully aware that she's from the fire nation, but since she's a water bender I've always associated her with the Northern Water Tribe, her father's home. She always wore traditional water tribe colours and clothing, unless she was wearing her uniform for the United Forces, except the first time I met her, on the day of the parade, but when she came back into the room, she was wearing a red, silk nightgown from the Fire Nation, we were still in Fire Nation waters, therefore, when we stopped for food there was an expensive stall selling traditional fire nation garments.

So I picked up a few articles of clothing for Y/N and myself, since all we actually had were what we were wearing when we ran away.

She was wearing her blue training gear underneath a pretty blue dress with a darker blue ribbon tied around her waist.

I was in awe when I saw her wearing the red night gown, it had gold edges and she looked absolutely breathtaking, even though she was only dressed to go to sleep.

I suppose it was just seeing her wearing something from the Fire Nation, the country that I was supposed to rule one day, that had attracted my attention, I've never seen her wear traditional Fire Nation clothing before, but wow, she really looked beautiful.

I cleared my throat,

"I hope the new clothes fit you alright."

She smiled, sending the butterflies that were already fluttering inside me spinning,

"They're absolutely perfect! Thank you so much, Iroh!"

"You're welcome, they really suit you, I don't think I've ever seen you wear actual Fire Nation clothes before"

"Oh... yeah I never felt like I identified with the part of me that is Fire Nation very well, considering the way my village treats me for being a girl, I always felt a lot more proud to be a descendant of the Northern Water Tribe, especially now that they've abandoned their sexist ways."

"Oh..."

"But now that I've met you, Prince Iroh. I've never been prouder to be from your country."

Ha, I don't think she's ever used my royal title before, she's referred to me as General Iroh, Sifu Iroh, just plain old Iroh, but never Prince Iroh. I usually hate people calling me that, other than my Grandfather, but any title she calls me by sounds perfect with her voice.

"Well it's not my country yet. It might never be mine at all, if I get my way I'll be able to give it to my sister."

"Well, I'll be proud to come from her country too, she has a heart of pure gold."

I smiled before climbing onto the bed, she followed but shuffled over leaving a clear gap between us. I was disappointed but I respected her boundaries.

"Goodnight, Iroh."

"Goodnight, Y/N."