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

For Me, For Me, For Me

"Okay, so I'm from this place called Earth, right? It's like here, but more advanced." I explained to Suki.

She nodded in thought, trying to process what I was saying.

"So one day I was on vacation, and I fell in some water, and I ended up in the South Pole. Zuko picked me up, and helped me get around on his ship."

"How does that work though? How could you just end up here?" Suki asked skeptically.

"I don't know." I replied. "I'm not a wizard, that's for sure."

"Wizard?" Suki asked in confusion.

"It's a guy who does magic." I looked around incredulously. "You guys have nothing here."

"So Zuko, was he mean to you at first?" Suki asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe the first week. I mean, he was very withdrawn. But once he got more comfortable telling me things, we became good friends."

"Does Zuko have any deep dark secrets?" Sokka asked after a while of silence.

His mother and his scar came to mind as to Zuko's most hidden stories. "Don't we all?" I asked. "I know I do, at least."

"Spill one of yours." Toph told me. Suki, Sokka, Toph, Aang, and I were all sitting around a campfire. It was the night after Katara and Zuko left, and we were still waiting for them to return.

I glanced over at Sokka. and shrugged. "I kinda already told Aang and Sokka this."

Sokka seemed excited that he knew what I was gonna say. "Oh wow, you told me your deepest darkest secret?"

"Get over it, I only told you because you were being all gloomy." I said with a scoff. "My father... he used to do experiments on me when I was younger. He would cut into me and stuff, saying he was creating a medical breakthrough. And I suppose he was." I explained solemnly. I lifted a finger and bent a stream of fire, twirling it around.

Suki tilted her head in confusion. "What was the breakthrough?"

I wanted to be dramatic, so I shot a few flames of fire simultaneously into the air and watched the sparks dilute. "He made me a firebender."

"How could he do that?" Toph asked loudly.

I shrugged. "Don't know. He is a pretty good doctor. Not a good father though."

"Wait, so he knows how to go back to your world?" Aang asked.

"Oh... yeah." I said. I forgot that I really wasn't keeping any of my friends up to date with that stuff. "I tried to ask him how to get home, but he didn't help. Instead he broke into my room and stabbed me in the leg."

Sokka cringed. Ok, I admit, I was really trying to get everyone to think I was more tough than I actually am. But I wasn't lying. "Zuko figured out that I got here a month before the Winter solstice. So I could go back a month before the summer solstice. We planned that I'd go there and come back after 6 months and I'd bring my mom and my brother."

"You're gonna come back? That's great!" Aang said excitedly.

"Yeah, it was Zuko's idea. He was so happy." I said with a tiny smile.

"I'm sure he is happy that you are gonna come back. Otherwise he probably would've had to find someone else." Toph spoke up.

I snapped my attention to her. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure it's a thing in the Fire Nation monarchy that the heirs have to be betrothed by 18." Toph explained.

I hadn't thought of that before. "Well, I'm glad I'm coming back then." I said. That made me realize I really had no idea about what was required of a 'fire lady'. Zuko made it no secret to me that he wanted us to get married eventually, but I had no idea what came with that. I could imagine a lot of responsibilities came with it. I shook my head slightly to get out of my thoughts. I didn't need to think about that stuff just yet.