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

Bismillah! No!

"So, how was your mom doing?"

"Why would you care?" I asked.

"I knew her for 15 years, thats why." Liang answered.

"Well clearly you didn't care that much, huh?" I crossed my arms and just kept sitting next to the cell door. It had been a day since I'd been locked in here, and frankly, I was just surprised I hadn't tried to kill myself yet. He wouldn't shut up. And he knew it was annoying me. I had been practicing my whole thermal bending theory, but I came to the conclusion that I was too weak to freeze someone to death. Quite unfortunate. I wasn't able to bend that much energy for a long period of time.

"Did she ever get with anyone after I left?" My father asked.

I looked over at him. "No. She was probably scared she would end up with another psychopath."

"She probably still cares for me. That's why."

I frowned in disgust.

"Believe me. I treated her well. That's what made it almost annoying to have to leave.." He trailed off slightly, and I noticed he got a bit quiet.

I looked down at the ground, suddenly getting a bit emotional. "Don't act sorry. You ruined her chance of a happy life."

"And hows that?"

"Well, last I checked, our condo isn't exactly the cheapest option. And you left her with all your debts, she had to work way more hours because of it." I said with a sigh. "You ruined her life and mine."

"If I ruined your life then why would you want to go back?" Liang asked. "You seem pretty happy here."

I came up empty for words. "Mom and Ben need me." I explained.

"You've been gone for almost 4 months. I'm sure they've learned how to live without you."

"You wouldn't understand." I responded. "They are my family. And family is supposed to stick together, but ours doesn't have a good history of that, now does it?"

He nodded and crossed his hands. "I would've told you how to get back, if only you didn't cause me so much trouble."

I blinked in thought. "Tell me, what does leaving involve? Can you do it often?"

"No, not often." He stated.

"How often?"

"I'm not telling you." He replied childishly. "You don't deserve to know."

"You should want me to leave. If I leave, you can get back to your normal business."

He crossed his arms. "Except I can't. My reputation is rock bottom. I'm assuming so, anyway. I can't imagine being in jail does it any favors. It's all your fault. And now my old friend from Ember Island is speaking out against me for no good reason."

I raised an eyebrow. "Old friend from Ember Island?"

He glared at me, and it took a second for him to realize. "You talked to him, didn't you?"

"That's a wild accusation. I'm only 16, how could I think to do such a thing?" I questioned.

———

The guard opened the cell door, and I stood up, stretching my legs. He put handcuffs on me and geustered for me to step out. I did so and he closed the door, then we started walking down the hall. "You have 10 minutes to talk." The guard said briskly. "Then you're back in the cell."

"What about 11 minutes?" I asked.

"Take it up with the Fire Lord." The guard said, giving the usual guard response.