𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐒 • [ general iroh II x oc ]

goodbyes

Those few days in the Fire Nation had passed, and Aria was waiting in the docks with her bag packed to go back to Republic City.

Iroh walked up next to her, he was staying in the Fire Nation and leaving with the United Forces in a few days.

He looked out at the water and then down at her bag, noticing how prepared she already was to leave.

"You're all ready to go?"

"Yeah, I am." Aria sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She bit the inside of her lip. "I'll write you as much as I can."

Iroh nodded silently in response, his heart clenching in his chest.

He stared down at her for a long moment, studying her face.

He wanted to say so many things, but nothing seemed like enough.

He exhaled deeply and took a small step toward her, his voice quiet.

"You better."

Aria looked out at the ocean, chuckling and shaking her head. "This is ridiculous, it's not like we're dying. Is there any estimate when you'll be back in the Republic?"

Iroh thought for a moment, his mind wandering to the military plans he had seen for the next few months.

He exhaled slowly and spoke, his voice serious. "I'm not sure of an exact date, but probably a couple months at the earliest."

Aria sighed and nodded. "We'll be okay." Her voice was low and hopeful. Her eyebrows arched up at him and she shrugged. "Right?"

Iroh looked at her, his heart clenching at her hopeful expression.

He reached out and gently took her hand in his, his fingers gently wrapping around it.

"Yeah," he said softly, his voice firm. "yeah, we'll be okay."

Arias's heart fluttered as he pressed his lips gently to her forehead, the tender gesture a mixture of affection and reassurance.

He held her hand lightly as she closed her eyes, his other hand coming up to gently brush a strand of hair away from her face.

"Thank you again for bringing me here, this trip was great."

Iroh smiled gently at her words, his heart warm.
"And thank you for coming. It meant a lot to me, having you here."

She smiled warmly at his words, her eyes soft and affectionate.

"You don't have to thank me," she said gently, her voice a low murmur.

She took a small step closer to him, her body almost brushing against his.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you. You took me to your home, showed me your family, opened your world to me. It was... it was something I'll always remember."
She bit her lip and smiled at him. "You really do like me don't you?"

He looked at her intently, his gaze locked on her face.

"Of course I do," he said emphatically. "I more than like you."

She fake gasped. "You like like me?"

Iroh chuckled again, his heart skipping a beat at her reaction.

"Yeah," he said quietly, his voice soft and sincere. "I like like you."

He smiled and gently ran his thumb across the back of her hand, the action tender and affectionate.

The ships horn went off and she sighed, the noise was dreadful and couldn't be ignored. "That's me."

Iroh's smile faded slightly as he heard the ship's horn, his heart becoming heavy once again as reality set in.

"Yeah," he agreed reluctantly, his voice quiet.

He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes drinking in her face, as if trying to memorize every detail.

Aria saw his eyes run over her face and she cupped his face, being his face down to hers.

They kissed tenderly for a few seconds before Aria pulled away and straightened his hair. "I hope you don't get too bored without me around."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find plenty of ways to keep myself occupied," he teased, his voice soft.

"I love you." She hummed, running her hand over his cheek then putting it on his chest.

"I love you too," he whispered in response, his voice low and filled with sincerity.

Aria picked up her bag and kissed him on the cheek. "See you later, General. Try not to miss me too much."

Iroh watched as she picked up her bag, his heart heavy with emotion.

He smiled softly at her kiss on his cheek and nodded.

"Yeah, see you later smartass" he said quietly, his voice a mixture of fondness and resignation.

He watched as she turned and started to walk away, his heart clenching with each step she took.

...

The end of part one 😈 time for things to get interesting.

Comment what u thought of part one pls, I love connecting with u guys through comments. Like what was ur fav chapter, fav moment, least fav moment, I love to hear it.

Also, something that needs to be said-

Being #1 in the general Iroh hashtag and number #5 in the korra tag is actually insane and I actually can't thank you guys enough. I started this book for fun and u guys made the whole process so much better.

Thank you guys so much, I'll stop talking for now, but seriously I love y'all. ❤️