Torn Heart (Zuko x Reader)

Chapter 20

      *Fair warning—probably terribly innaccurate medical stuff in this chapter*
     
        When I awoke, I first felt like my body was floating, dipping back and forth on waves. Slowly, the sensation stilled and I realized I was lying down. There was a warm weight across my middle. It felt nice.
I opened my eyes, but that was a mistake as my stomach did a sommersault. The support beams over my head were spinning. My ears still rung, but under the noise I could make out two male voices that seemed to be dancing around my head.
"You're awake," a female voice said to my right and reality bubbled together. I was lying on a mat on the floor and a nurse kneeled next to me. Realizing I was conscious, she began mopping my face with a wet cloth.
The dancing voices were stationary now. Right outside the door.
Zuko and Iroh.
"—never think things through!"
"If I had done nothing, she would have died!"
"I'm not saying you should have done nothing, but—"
"Y/N?"
I could feel Zuko's eyes land on me. "Y/N!—Move!"
The next second, his face was in my line of sight. He was grinning, but his gold eyes were glistening with tears. "You're awake. You're alive," he said.
"So it seems," I murmured, eking out a small smile. It took an immense amount of effort, but I turned my head to the doorway. Iroh stood leaning on the frame like he might collapse from relief, "Hi."
He chuckled, mirthlessly, "Hi. I'm so glad you're okay."
"No thanks to your boyfriend," the nurse grumbled. At the her instruction, Zuko took over wiping my face, while she check the wound. We kept our eyes on each other.
I hissed as the last of the bandages was removed. "The heat did stop most of the bleeding and basically removed any chance of infection, but you still needed stitches...What on earth did you use to do this anyway?"
"Erm..." Zuko took his eyes off me for the first time, "There was a lot of fire around...so I heated my sword blade and used that."
"Hm," she didn't sound convinced, but thankfully she didn't press, "Well, you'll live. Consider yourself lucky: the knife missed your organs by a few centimeters. Just a couple days of bed rest and a good few months taking it easy."
           She finished putting on fresh bandages and left the three of us alone. Zuko helped me sit up a bit to drink water, which he held for me. He still had a look on his face like he might burst into laughter or tears at any second. And I still worried that Iroh would have a cardiac.
            "I'm so sorry, Y/N," Zuko said, when I'd finish drinking.
            "For what? I asked you to do this," I gestured to my bandages, "You saved my life...ZuZu."
             He gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes, "I'm only letting you call me that because you almost died."
  
              After a light dinner, the nurse poured me a cup of sour smelling tea, "Drink this. It'll help with the pain so you can sleep."
             I forced down a few swallows, despite the heat in my throat, knowing it would only get worse if I let it cool. The nurse swatted Iroh's hand away as he reached for the kettle, "This is for the patient. It's very strong, you won't want any of that if you're not in pain, trust me."
             "It tastes awful anyways," I assured him.
             The only other thing I said to the pair of them was a hurried goodnight the next second as the nurse ushered them out of my room.
             At least, that I can remember.