The Fire Within - an atla fanfic (Zuko x OC)

Easy Come, Easy Go

I woke up in the middle of the night and peeked under the covers, seeing my leg was still bandaged up. I was hoping everything that had happened was just a dream, another cruel nightmare. But it wasn't.

I sighed and started to think. I was plotting of a way to get back at him for what he did.  I was drawn from my thoughts as I felt my thigh start to hurt again. I took Zuko's arm off from around my waist and sat up.

I looked at my leg with curiousity and gave the area a tiny tap. Immediately, I regretted doing that, and made a wince of pain.

I heard Zuko wake up. "Ash, what's wrong?" He asked in his sleepy voice.

"Nothing, my leg just hurts." I answered. I would've said I was fine, but I wasn't really.

"Are you gonna be able to fall asleep again?" He asked.

"Probably not. But you should go back to sleep." I suggested.

"No, I'll stay up. We can talk." Zuko said, sitting up next to me.

I made a tiny smile, grateful for the company. "Watch this." I made a finger gun and shot a little flame at a candle a few feet away, igniting it.

"Impressive." Zuko stated. "I bet I can do it." He added, giving it a try, and igniting a candle a bit further from mine.

"I wouldn't expect that you couldn't." I replied. "Let me have my moment." I added sarcastically, elbowing him.

"You are becoming a great firebender." Zuko acknowledged.

I smiled slightly. I was a bit touchy on the subject after my father claimed he made me one. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to believe it, but it made sense. Why else would it take me so long to figure it out?

"Hey Zuko, when did you start firebending?" I asked.

"I don't know. I think most people start bending when they are around 6." Zuko said, avoiding the topic of him being a late bloomer when it came to firebending.

I did some quick mental math and pouted slightly. I first firebended 6 years after my father experimented on me. It was definitely seeming like Liang didn't lie after all. I debated whether to tell Zuko or not.

"Why?" Zuko asked after a moment.

"Something he told me." I explained. "He said... well, when he did all those tests on me, he was making me a firebender. I wasn't born to be one."

Zuko's eyebrow was furrowed. "That isn't possible. It's something you are born with."

"That's what I said. But doesn't it make sense if I first firebended 6 years after whatever he did?" I questioned.

"Well, for some people it takes longer to first start firebending." Zuko said. "And you never even knew firebending was a thing so it makes sense that you never did it."

"I guess so." I replied. "I guess I'll never know."

"It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, it was your destiny to be a firebender."

"So, what did you find in the dragonbone catacombs?" I asked. "That's where you went, right?"

He went silent for a moment. "Yeah. I just had to read about Sozin and Avatar Roku." He said slowly.

"Tell me." I said, eager to learn some Fire Nation history.

"Well, Sozin started the war. He was friends with Roku growing up, but once Roku found out about his plans for the war, they became sorta enemies." He summarized.

"Why did Sozin start the war in the first place?" I asked cautiously.

"He thought that the Fire Nation was so great that all the other nations had to experience it too."