You & I

New Life

Y/N's POV
Weeks had passed, in the time that I had been staying at the palace, I'd rejoined the United Forces.

We stayed in separate rooms, which at first felt really lonely, Iroh was always up before me, the first time I'd see him in the morning is when I'd stand up beside the other soldiers as he marched down the line before stopping beside me,

"Good morning, private."

"Isn't it always, general?"

Then he'd flash me a bright smile, and that was my favourite part of the day, his simple acts of saying good morning followed by his breathtaking smile- I'd often find myself wondering how I'd gotten so lucky...

I'd grown up in a patriarchal society, surrounded by people who'd belittle me and underestimate me, I had abandoned any hope of living freely, because eventually, I'd be forced into a relationship that'd just weigh me down for the rest of my life. Then I met him; he changed my life for the better, he saw potential in me and believed in me, he motivated and inspired me, on the contrary to my acceptance of my predetermined future in a relationship that would do nothing but weigh me down, I'm in a relationship that has finally set me free, and all I want is to experience that freedom with him, I want him to feel the happiness that he's given me.

After our private training, I returned to my room to change out of my sweaty clothes and as I was fixing my hair, I heard a knock at my already opened door,

"Knock, knock."

I turned to see the love of my life leaning on the door frame, sending me a cheeky smirk.

"Hey, you!"

I grinned as he cleared his throat and awkwardly held his hand out in my direction and asked,

"Might I bother you for your company?"

I giggled as I pushed my last hairpin into place and walked over to him, taking his hand,

"Wow, so formal! What's the occasion?"

He scratched the back of his neck,

"Oh, no occasion, I just- well- I thought you might've liked-"

I squeezed his hand slightly tighter, to reassure him, as he led me to a balcony before letting go of my hand and climbing over the railing and onto the roof above us.

"Iroh? What are you doing?"

I peered over the railing and Iroh offered his hand, I shook my head chuckling before grabbing onto him as he pulled me onto the roof with him. Our hands stayed intertwined as he led me across the roof tiles until he covered my eyes and led me a few more seconds across the roof.

As he removed his palms from my eyes, I gasped, he had laid out twinkling candles and bowls of food overlooking the beautiful lights of the city. I turned to him and placed my arms around his neck, gazing into his eyes,

"Thank you, my love"

And I pressed my lips against his, feeling a smile crawl onto my face before he whispered,

"I love you."

"I love you too."

We sat down, overlooking the shining city of Azulon and eating our favourite foods together. In a way, this is all I'd ever wanted, this feeling, I looked to Iroh, how did I get so lucky?

I found that I was always smiling when I was with him, no feeling of happiness I had experienced in my entire life could compare to the way he made me feel.

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder,

"Hey, Y/N."

"Mm?"

"You promise me this is forever? You and I?"

"Well, I can promise to love you forever, but..."

"But what?"

"I was reading into the laws of the Fire Nation, just trying to understand more about your family and the way it works, you know, so I can behave accordingly..."

I watched a faint smile find it's way to Iroh's face, but it was disrupted by the anxiousness in his eyes, wondering what I was going to say.

"And..."

"And then I realised that it isn't very... proper... for the crown prince to be romantically involved with a water bender..."

He sighed in relief before ruffling my hair.

"Hey! I literally just styled that!"

"You really had me worried just then! Is that all?"

I nodded before continuing,

"What does that mean for us though? When the time comes, what if we can't be together?"

"Y/N... it doesn't matter to me if you're a water bender, my heart burns for you, I'm yours, for the rest of our lives, my heart belongs to you."

I felt joyous tears threaten to fall from my eyes, I grabbed his face and pulled him into a deep kiss, he was the one, my soul mate, the love of my life.

"Iroh, I promise, you and I are forever. My heart also belongs to you."

Then we laid beside each other, on the roof of the palace, staring at the stars.

I felt his hand crawl into mine, I had never felt so safe and loved in my entire life.

"So, General Iroh, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, since we've returned from our travels I've only ever seen you work! You're either training your butt off or doing royal stuff, tell me, what do you do for fun?"

"For fun? I dunno... I don't really get much free time, I've dedicated so much time to my work in the United Forces, although my mother helped me become a General at such a young age, I had to work hard for it, so I don't really get much free time..."

"None at all?"

"Well... my grandfather sometimes plays pai sho with me..."

"Really? That's cool, you should teach me to play!"

"Yeah... I'd like that..."

I grinned to myself. Then I found myself wondering:

I wonder if I could ever meet my grandparents? Did they even survive the war? There are so many things I wish I knew about my family...

"Iroh..."

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm ready to visit my parents."