𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒 • [ general iroh II x oc ]

Insubordination

He shook off his surprise and walked towards the ship, his feet moving faster than ever.

As they walked up the ramp of the battleship, Niko couldn't help but stare around in awe, taking in every feature of the ship: from the rows of soldiers, to the canons on deck.

Aria and Iroh walked pretty much side by side, not finding any reason to speak to one another.

Aria had to admit, despite the circumstances, seeing her brother happy mattered more than anything.

A small smile over took her face. "Look at him. I haven't seen him that excited since...I don't even know."

Iroh looked over at her, his eyes following hers to Niko who was staring around the deck, his eyes almost wide enough to fall out of his head.

"He does look happy." He muttered, his eyes lingering on her smiling face for perhaps too long before looking away.

For a moment, the two adults were quiet, both watching the kid explore the deck like he'd never seen anything like it before.

After a minute or so, Iroh glanced back at her before he spoke. "You look..." His eyes briefly glanced down her figure before snapping back up to her face. "Nice today."

"You don't have to be nice to me. After all of this-" She gestured to the boat around them. "You don't owe me any favors."

He looked at her for a moment, a bit taken aback by her statement.

He took a few steps closer to her, his eyes running over her. "You think this is some kind of favor?" He asked, a hint of disbelief in his tone.

She pursed her lips and shrugged. "Isn't it?"

He glanced over to make sure that Niko was distracted, which he was, by a soldier answering his barrage of questions.

He looked back at her standing in front of him. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment before lowering to her figure.

He let out a sharp exhale, trying to keep his voice down.

"No, it's not a favor."

She felt her stomach flip slightly and nodded. "What is it then?" She lifted her eyebrow.

He took another half step closer, towering over her. He couldn't help letting his eyes wander over her again, his eyes lingering on the skin on her legs that the skirt showed.

He lowered his voice again, barely above a whisper.

"It's an apology, for the other night when I was a dick."

Aria parted her lips and waved him off, shaking her head and looking at the ground. "You already apologized, you really didn't have to do all of this."

"Are you complaining?" He chuckled slightly, looking down at her.

He took another step closer to her, practically standing right over her, although he didn't completely close the gap between them.

"Just shut up and accept it, will you?"

"Alright, thanks." She smiled up at him. "I mean it. Sometimes you can be a good guy."

He smirked. "Only sometimes?"

Iroh was standing so close to her now that she could feel his breath on her face. His eyes had a mischievous look as he looked down at her.

"Don't get ahead of yourself general." Aria smirked up and him, her small dimples grazing her cheeks. She walked ahead of him.

A small chuckle escaped his mouth as his eyes lingered on her before he turned to follow behind her.

He watched as she walked away, taking in the way her skirt hugged her hips as she walked.