Avatar Reader Insert

~23~

A/N so.... i haven't updated in a while.... whoops. i'm sure you saw the apology post (which is probably down by the time this goes up), and i thank you for being patient. hopefully i can get back into the rhythm of things soon and start writing more, but until then, enjoy the chapter :)
* * *

You and Zuko had spent the rest of the evening and into the night arguing. What to do next, how to convince them you were really on their side, what to eat, why your brother is such an idiot. Stuff like that. Finally, after a large and hearty meal of bread, you managed to drift off to sleep.

You awoke to the sound of a scream, it wasn't loud, but it was definitely a scream. You sat up, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes and looking around in the dark. Zuko was standing, walking after someone. The closer you looked, you realized it was one of the Avatar's friends—the earth bender.

"I'm sorry," Zuko was saying. "It was a mistake!" You had no idea what he was apologizing for, but judging from the ring of slowly fading fire on the ground, it wasn't something to be easily forgiven.

"Get away from me," She replied non to kindly.

"Let me help you," Zuko continued to say, dodging the rocks being throw at him. "I'm sorry!"

You decided to help—though who you were helping, you weren't sure—and stood up, making your way over to them.

"Get off me!" She was yelling at him, and you ran up to your brother, pushing his arms off of her and pulling him back.

"Zuko," You said. "Don't be so pushy."

"I'm only trying to help," He protested as she began to crawl away. "I didn't know it was you," He added, telling in the earthbender's general direction.

"I know that, she probably knows that, but sometimes you just need to give people a little space."

He flopped down in the ground, letting out a frustrated groan, "Why am I so bad at being good?"

***

The next morning was spent organizing ways to apologize to the Avatar and his friends. I really need to learn their names, You thought to yourself.

"How about we offer ourselves up as prisoners again," Zuko suggested.

"No. That's not really an apology," You put your head in your hands. "I suck at apologizing." The only apologizes you had made back in the Fire Nation were ones to say sorry for disobeying your father. And you never meant what you said then.

"Me too," Zuko agreed.

The two of you eventually decided to walk back to where the Avatar and his friends were so they could try to form a semblance of an apology, when you saw a figure of a man on a turret.

"Uh, Zuko," You said, tugging on his sleeve and pointing to the figure. You heard him curse under his breath, before he set off into a run towards the man. You followed after him, a series of questions in your head, but they were all answered when you saw the man clearly. He had a circle on his forehead—a third eye. It was the assassin.

"Stop," Zuko yelled, blocking the assassin. "I don't want you hunting the Avatar anymore! The mission is off. I'm ordering you to stop."

The assassin pushed Zuko away and fired towards the Avatar's camp. You ran to your brother, screaming his name, and helped him back up.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," He said. "We need to stop him." You nodded in agreement before hurrying off.

You ran at the assassin, jumping in front of him so he couldn't blast at the Avatar.
"If you keep attacking we won't pay you," You yelled. He just pushed you away. "Fine! We'll pay you double to stop!"

He didn't move.

"Y/N," Zuko yelled, tackling you out of the way. The assassin had turned to you and was about to fire, but your brother saved you just in time. Though you were both knocked off the edge—it could've been worse.

You struggled to climb back up, using all your effort to cling to both the vine you were using as a rope and Zuko. By the time the two of you managed to get back up the assassin was gone, blasted off somewhere. Probably dead.

You turned to your brother, a spinet question in your eyes and he nodded in response. You walked to where the Avatar and his friends were standing and greeted each other awkwardly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," The Avatar said. "But, thanks Zuko and Y/N."

"Hey, what about me," Said the Water Tribe boy, flexing his muscles and making is arms into a boomerang shape. "I did the boomerang thing."

"Listen," Zuko said. "I know we didn't explain ourselves very well yesterday, we've both been through a lot in the last few years, and it's been hard. But I'm realizing that I had to go through all those things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor, and that somehow my father could return it to me."

"I didn't think that," You said. "I was stuck in the palace, being feed horrible lies about how amazing the Fire Nation is and how the war was our way of sharing that greatness with the world." You shook your head. "I can't believe I even thought for a second that any of that was true, I was truly an idiot, and I'm sorry."

"And now we both want to do what's best and help you stop the Fire Lord—our father—and restore balance to the world. That's our true destiny," Zuko finished. He then turned to the earthbender and took a bow. "I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident. Fire can be dangerous and wild, so as a firebender, I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally."

A couple moments passed with silence, and you feared the rosy before the Avatar spoke up.

"I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher," He said. "Both of you. When I first tried to learn firebending, I burned Katara, and after that I never wanted to do it again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love. I'd like for you to teach me."

Your eyes widened with excitement, they had finally accepted you!

"Thank you! I'm so honoured that you decided to give us a chance," You said.

"Not so fast. I still have to ask my friends if it's okay with them," He turned to the earthbender. "Toph, you're the one that Zuko burned. What do you think?"

The earthbender—Toph, he had called her— pounded her hand into her fist. "Go ahead and let 'im join. It'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning my feet. His sister too, for all the times she tried to kill us."

"Sokka," The Avatar asked the Water Tribe boy.

He shrugged, "Hey, all I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it, then, I'm all for it."

"Katara?"

"I'll go along with whatever you think is right." She said it calmly, though she had a glare in place in her face. And it was directed at Zuko.

"We won't let you down!"

***

Later that day, once you had gathered all your things from your makeshift tent, the Water Tribe boy—Sokka— was showing you to your room.

He walked you down a hallway and whistled a light, happy tune as he walked. It must be odd, you thought, to be treating people that you were raised to hate so nicely. It was odd for you as well.

"So," He said, coming to a spot in front of an open door. "Here's home sweet home, probably doesn't compare to the Fire Nation palace though." You winced as he said the words, they were teasing but laced with a bit of venom. You weren't mad though, you deserved it.

"Might not compare in the comfort," You said. "But it's definitely got a more homey feeling. Thank you for letting us stay, for giving us a chance."

He gave you a curt nod before walking down the hall and out of sight. Leaving you alone with your thoughts.