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Your mind buzzed with nervousness as you prepared for the coronation. Although this wasn’t your first time visiting the Fire Nation’s palace, it was certainly the first time you were actually welcome there. After all, war efforts don’t exactly count as a palace tour, do they?
There was a feeling of excitement in the air, whispers of the new Firelord’s history and what his rule would be like. While most accepted his reign there were still some dissenters, which was common during these transitions of power. However, no matter how many times you tried to tell Zuko that, he wasn’t the most receptive of it.
Honestly, you were surprised you remembered that much about transitions of power. Coming from an upper class family in the Earth Kingdom, your parents always made sure you had the best education. School never particularly excited you, however. You’d rather spend your free time practicing for battle, should Fire Nation troops ever try to attack your town.
Your parents weren’t pleased at the prospect of their son throwing away his education, but when the time came and the Avatar appeared looking for your neighbor, Toph BeiFong, you hitched a ride on Appa and became involved in the war effort. The rest was history. Or, was about to be.
After Zuko’s coronation you would return to the Earth Kingdom as a diplomat and try to smooth some of the post-war tensions. Then you’d be free to do whatever your soul desired- for the most part anyways. Although you couldn’t help but lament the fact that you could never have the one thing you wanted most.
Mentally you scolded yourself. Now was not the time to think about your unrequited crush on the soon to be Firelord. After all, it wasn’t as if you would be spending much time with him after tonight. While you returned to the Earth Kingdom, Zuko would begin his tour of the Fire Nation before meeting with dignitaries of the other nations. It was hard to say when you’d see him again. Your heart sank at the realization.
Picking your head up, you took a steadying breath before looking in the mirror. Adjusting the olive green of your official robes, you nodded. It seemed you did learn something from your social etiquette lessons after all, even if it was just proper formal wear.
A knock resounded at your door, effectively snapping you out of your thoughts. Looking up, you saw Toph standing in the doorway.
“Hey loser,” she joked, “Katara sent me to come get you. Zuko wants us to all meet in the garden before the ceremony.”
You smiled. “Alright, tell her I’m on my way.”
She made a move to leave before turning to face you again. “Oh, and between you and me, this may be your last chance to make any big revelations.” With that, she closed the door and left you to your own internal panic.
There’s no way she could know about your crush on Zuko. Right? A thought flashed across your mind, and you remembered her ability to feel heartbeats. Your own heart gave it away. But that didn’t take away from the fact that she was right. Tonight would be the last time you’d see Zuko for who knew how long. If you didn’t tell him now, you probably never would.
It wasn’t as if you had planned to tell him, but once the idea was in your head, you couldn’t stop thinking about it. What was the worst that could happen? Other than total rejection and a ruined friendship, that is. It would be awhile before you saw him again, so in the case he did reject you time could heal the wounds. Making your way through the winding halls, your heart pounded.
Meanwhile, Zuko paced nervously in front of the pond, mind running a mile a minute. He tossed some breadcrumbs to the turtle ducks, thinking back to his time spent with Ursa in this very spot. Now it was time for him to enter a new chapter of his life, with the people he loved by his side. But it wasn’t his coronation that was giving him jitters. Even though the idea of taking the throne was daunting, the idea of doing it alone was even more so. Sitting down next to the small lake, he stared at the water, waiting for the moment he had planned.
Arriving to the garden, you took a look around at the vast expanse of greenspace. It was gorgeous, with the early afternoon sun shining on the surface of the pond, giving it the appearance of a thousand shimmering diamonds.
Katara and Toph had already arrived, while Aang, Sokka and Suki still hadn’t shown up. Looking over at you, Zuko smiled. The way your eyes reflected your excitement, it was hard not to tell you everything right then and there.
“I see you like the royal gardens,” he said, with a small chuckle.
“It’s beautiful,” you breathed, eyes still taking in the details. While it’s true you had gardens in the Earth Kingdom, none of them compared to this. Glancing at Zuko, you saw him turn away quickly, and butterflies fluttered in your ribcage.
Surely he hadn’t been looking at you, something just caught his eye. That had to be it. You made your way over to the group, and fear built up in your chest. Maybe this was a bad idea. Zuko turned to Toph and Katara.
“Can you guys go see what’s holding up the others? I don’t want them to miss the opening ceremony.”
Katara smirked before walking away, “No problem, we’ll be back later.”
“What? But I wanted to-” Toph’s complaint was cut off by Katara grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the garden. As their footsteps retreated you could hear Toph grumbling under her breath.
As soon as she was out of earshot, however, the realization dawned on you. This was your chance, your big moment to tell Zuko how you felt. And you were just stuck in place, the world spinning around you.
Just as you started speaking, Zuko said your name. Nervously, you laughed at the interruption. “You can go first,” you offered with a small smile.
Zuko smiled back, waveringly. “I wanted to tell you something,” he said, taking a seat at the stone bench near the water’s edge. He motioned for you to sit next to him and you did, blushing once you realized how close you were.
“Ever since I met you, there’s been something about you that I couldn’t quite place. I felt pulled to you, in a sense. Today it dawned on me that after the coronation it will be awhile before I see you again, and that wasn’t something I thought I could deal with.”
Your throat was tight as you asked, “Zuko, what are you trying to say?”
“What I’ve wanted to say for months now.” He gently moved his hand to hold yours, “I love you.” The words were so quiet, so unsure, that you doubted if you heard him at all. But there was no doubting the look on his face.
“I love you too,” you whispered back, leaning in so that your forehead rested against his.
“Come with me on the royal tour,” he rushed out. “There’s many stops in the Earth Kingdom where you can do some ambassador work.”
You didn’t even need to think about your answer. “Yes, yes of course I’ll go with you.”
From somewhere behind a voice yelled out “Now kiss!”
Katara’s unmistakable voice yelled in response, “Toph, no! You ruined the moment!”
Zuko chuckled and looked into your eyes. “It appears we have an audience.”
You felt a surge of confidence. “Well, we wouldn’t want to let them down, now would we?” Zuko shook his head and you leaned forward, your lips meeting his. And in the moment, you both knew you’d never worry about being alone.