Chapter Text
“I win! Suck it Sokka!” You cheered, happily splashing in the water.
“No fair, you got a head start!” Sokka said, pouting about the fact that you had beaten him to the water.
While you, Suki, Sokka, and Katara splashed in the water, and Toph and Aang built sand sculptures, Zuko sat under an umbrella, a blank expression on his face. Apparently, to your shock and dismay, he wasn’t “a beach person”.
“Zuko, come on!” You called from the water.
He didn’t answer, just looking off at some cliffs in the distance. His expression no longer seemed simply blank to you, but tormented.
As everyone else continued to play, you waded out of the water and walked over to him, plopping down underneath the umbrella.
“Is everything okay?”
He didn’t turn to look at you, “Yes. I’m fine.” But his words were stilted and he seemed distant.
“You know you can talk to me, right?” He nodded but didn’t say anything else, didn’t turn around this time either.
“How about you come and join us in the water? It’ll be fun!” You placed a hand on his shoulder, but he whirled around, fire burning in his eyes.
“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” He yelled.
Flinching, you drew back your hand like you had been burned, your eyes stinging with tears. Zuko’s eyes widened and he felt shame rising in his belly. Unable to look at you, he got up and ran away, up the path.
“Y/N, are you okay?” Katara asked, coming out of the water to check on you.
“Yeah, I just need to see what’s going on,” you said, wiping tears out of your eyes as you chased after your boyfriend.
Following his footsteps up the path, you found him sitting on the same cliffs that you had seen him looking at earlier. As you approached him, you heard something that tore your heart in two. He was crying.
You held back, simply standing behind him as he cried, not wanting to intrude.
“I’m just like him, just like Father.”
“No!” You exclaimed, causing him to jump and turn towards your voice.
Taking advantage of his shock, you came towards him, “No, you’re nothing like him! How could you say that?”
His eyes went down to the ground again, his fingers nervously picking at the tall grass, “I reacted just like him. I lashed out at you. You were scared of me!”
Scoffing, you gave him a light shove, “Rude. I wasn’t scared of you. You hurt my feelings. And that’s going to happen. Sometimes you’re going to say things that hurt my feelings and I’m going to say things that hurt yours. This relationship isn’t perfect. But what matters is that you apologize and try to do better. As long as you’re trying, then you’re definitely not your father.”
Looking up, he smiled, but you could tell not everything was okay, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you because I was upset.
“What were you upset about?” You asked, taking his hand in yours.
He was silent for a few moments, but you didn’t press him, just waited for him to be ready, “I used to love the beach. My whole family would come. My father and mother, Azula. My uncle and my cousin. I was too young to see how broken and twisted my family was.”
The waves rippled at the shore below as he continued on, squeezing your hand like a lifeline, “Some of my happiest memories are here. With my uncle and Lu Ten. But now...coming here just confuses me.”
You squeezed his hand back, encouraging him to continue, “It reminds me of my father and what he did to me. Of my mother and how she’s gone. Of my sister...and well, you know that. But the hardest thing is how it reminds me of my uncle. I disappointed him, I betrayed him ! How am I ever supposed to face him again? How could he ever forgive me? How can I forgive myself?”
You let out a deep sigh, “I don’t know how you can forgive yourself. That’s something you have to figure out. But I’ll be here with you for it. But I do know that your uncle loves you, to the point where it is sickeningly annoying.”
Zuko chuckled, “Sorry about that.”
“Iroh isn’t like your father either. His love isn’t conditional or based upon how much you excel. His love is unconditional, always there. He will forgive you, you just have to trust him.”
Zuko squeezed your hand, standing to his feet and pulling you up, “Do you forgive me?”
You laughed, “Of course, stupid. Isn’t that what I just said?”
Laughing with you, he brought his lips down to yours, cupping your face in a kiss as the sun began to dip below the horizon.
“Y/N and Zuko sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Sokka cried from behind you.
As the two of you turned, you saw everyone heading up from the beach.
“We caught you!” Sokka said, pointing his finger.
“They’re dating, what do you mean we caught them?” Suki said, slapping his arm.
“Wait, they’re DATING?” Sokka asked, prompting groans from the rest of you.