The Unpredictable Fire Adventurers [General Iroh II x Reader] [Legend of Korra]

『affronted by his omission

"You are, aren't you?" you press Iroh after making your discovery. With perceptive eyes, you scan the room to see the other's reactions. You take their lack of shock as evidence of another realization. "And all of you knew."

Iroh fumbles his words as he tries to explain himself.  "Listen, [Name], I..."

Fudo notices the whirlwind of emotions in the room, and despite his semblance of Iroh the First, he shows no interest in inserting himself in the mess his nephew has caused. "I'll prepare the towels for your stay."

He zips away, leaving the tense room. You glare at Iroh as he continues his silence. "Answer me, please."

Iroh scratches the back of his head and opens his mouth a few times to say something, but he can't vocalize his thoughts; his fears paralyze his tongue.

"IROH!"

"YES!" he finally answers. "Yes, I am."

The affirmation only causes more distress, and you pace back and forth. "All this time..." you mutter yourself as you continue to pace. Minutes pass and you let out a long heave. "Fine. Does anyone else here have something else they want to say before we continue this journey?"

Silence falls upon the three of them once more as they become riddled with hesitation. They begin to give each other looks, wondering if there were any more omissions. It takes seconds for their walls to crumble under your vicious stare, and Tonraq raises his hand.

"Tonraq?"

He clears his throat and tries his best to look you in the eye. "I'm... the banished prince of the Northern Water Tribe."

You think back to your trip to the Northern Water Tribe and it doesn't take long to piece things together. Anger wracks your system, and you throw your hands in the air. "JUST WHO THE HELL AM I TRAVELING WITH?!"

[_____]

After finally taking a hot bath, everyone eats their dinner quietly. Your arm was graciously healed by one of the White Lotus members, and you were told to restrict as much movement to your shoulder as possible. In front of you sits a fresh bowl of soup and sizzling tea, all prepared by Iroh's uncle.

You glance up from your soup to steal a peek at Iroh but flinch when you notice his hard stare at you. There's a forlong look on him as if he's desperate for your attention. You sigh as your appetite diminishes.

During your shower, you had thought long and hard about this entire situation. Finding an answer to solve all this wasn't easy, but you think you might have found one...

You let out another sigh and excuse yourself from the dining table. "I'm turning in for the night."

You hear Iroh's chair skid across the floor and his quick footsteps behind you. Once you make it to your room, you feel his presence follow behind you. "[Name]," he announces himself to you.

"Close the door behind you," you state as you throw yourself onto the bed. As you wrap yourself in a blanket, Iroh sets himself on the edge of your bed. "Do you want to start? Or should I?"

"I just want to apologize for not telling you," he mumbles. "I didn't want to ruin what we had in this group."

"Well, they knew."

"I didn't want to ruin what I had with you," he corrects.

"Our friendship?"

"...Yeah," he loses his confidence a bit.

"Hmm." You hum to yourself as you drum your fingers against your covered lap. "Can I say my thoughts now?"

"Go ahead," he softly answers.

"You won't lose me as a friend over this... Actually, I find this all to be a blessing in disguise," you bitterly smile to yourself.

"H-How so?"

"Truthfully, I had been in love with you for a while now. It hurt whenever you spoke about Mel, it hurt even more that you were so oblivious to it," you explain as you refuse to look at him. If you had, you would have seen the pleasant shock on his face.

"[Name], I too--"

"But now I know that we were never meant to be together, so I'm giving up on you." Your conclusion slaps the wide smile off of Iroh's face. "I can't ever fall in love with the Prince of the Fire Nation... It was dumb to even think that was possible."

Iroh masks his pain with a tense smile, but he resolves himself to swallow his expectations. Of course, his title would ruin any chances he had with you. For years now, all it brought him was pain and suffering.

And once again, he was reminded of that by having his heart broken.

[____]

A/N: OH NO! THE AUTHORESS HAS HURT HERSELF WITH HER OWN ANGST! IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE! Please give her a few weeks to recover and write a happier outcome for the pair! She appreciates your patience in advance!

Anyways yes, I am taking a 1-2 months off from posting so I can write the next arc. I promise happier feels, we just need pain to appreciate true happiness. And some character growth. So yeah, the story is on hold as I map and plan the next 20-30 chapters. I've never written a story this long and what I've realized is that it will quickly spiral out of control if I don't have things planned each week.

Please look forward to the next chapter in June! In the meantime, I totes implore you guys to reread the entire work again *wink* //hurries off to edit past mistakes