The United Republic: Part 4

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Iroh's POV
I did it.

I asked her.

I asked her to marry me.

She said yes.

She's going to be my wife.

I pulled myself up, trying to make my way to somewhere safer- but as soon as I tried to take a step, I stumbled back down.

I placed my hand on the back of my head, it was still painful.

Everything is going to be different soon. Y/N is back, she's my fiancée now. We have an entire lifetime ahead of us.

Times like this will pass. The same way everything else we encountered had passed.

I had been on the ship for a while, there were no healers to help me recover so I was helplessly laying on my bed, waiting for my fiancée's safe return.

But as people started to flock onto the ship, she was still nowhere to be seen.

Eventually, healers had entered the ship and one of them rushed over to me, clearly concerned, "General Iroh! I'm so sorry I had no- I had no idea that you were here! Wait there! I'll be back with some water."

She pulled a chair beside my bed and a bowl of water before steaming it through the air and over her hands, asking me to turn over.

As she placed her hand over the back of my head she asked, "I'm surprised Private Y/N hasn't fixed you up, I saw her fighting off like four different people a while ago, so I assume she's back in action."

I mumbled, "yeah, she's back. I was wondering where she is actually."

"Well, the attacks are dying down and most of them are retreating, a few of the soldiers stayed behind to hold off the last few that stayed, she might be still fighting."

If soldiers are still fighting, Y/N is one of them. She's someone who keeps fighting until the very end.

Once I had been healed, I made my way through the burning city,  "Y/N!"

Shouting was evidently useless, my voice was drowned out by the explosions and fighting.

I searched for a while with no luck.

Where is she?

Did she get onto the wrong ship?

Then I saw her.

No.

Not again.

Not when everything was finally getting better.

I'd never run so fast in my life, I tripped over dead bodies and crashed beside her. She wasn't even conscious, she looked weak and frail, lying on the concrete ground, stained with her own blood.

"Y/N! Can you hear me!?" I pulled her body up and held her to my chest, feeling her neck for a pulse.

It was still there.

But it was faint.

"Y/N! Hey! It's me, it's Iroh. Talk to me!"

She groaned slightly under her voice before opening her eyes ever so slightly and weakly mumbling, "Iroh? What are you- what are you doing here- I told you to- told you to rest and-" she winced in pain.

I held her closer and stroked her hair, "shh, just breathe."

I felt my clothes dampen as I held her closer, I wiped my hand over the fabric and was horrified to see red liquid dripping from it.

"Y/N! Why didn't you heal yourself? You're losing a lot of blood!"

She slightly turned her head to the side, looking for a source of water. She pulled some from the ground and placed it over her wound on her torso.

I felt relief wash over me as her hands begun to glow, but then she grunted and I felt the water splash onto the ground.

She was too weak to hold it there. She faintly smiled at me and whispered, "I am so sorry Iroh. I wish we- we had more time."

I felt tears rush to my eyes and my body begun to shake as I yelled, "no! No, don't talk like that! You can't. You can't die- you can't leave me on this planet without you. We're meant to go back home, we're going to get married. We're gonna get that little boat and travel the world with our children that we'll have one day-"

I felt her weak hand caress my cheek, "Iroh, shh, it's okay."

I held onto that hand tightly as I felt the tears finally escape my eyes and come rushing down my face, "it's not okay! You like this is not- don't close your eyes!"

I placed her down and ripped the fabric from my shirt, wrapping it around her wound before scooping her up into my arms.

I can't heal her. But I can't let her die, either.

"Just hang in there, my love, okay?

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