fervenza | a crossover fanfic

two

Shiro's heart was pounding so hard he thought it might burst out of his chest.

Fire Nation flags? Here?

After the war, it didn't seem real. He'd been a child when it had finally come to an end, but he could still remember the faces of those he had lost to the Fire Nation's brutal conquest. His mother, his grandfather, his cousins, many a person he could call a friend—

No. He shook his head wildly, forcing back a tidal wave of grief. He couldn't think about that now, not when his tribe could be in danger.

Not when he could do something to protect everyone this time around.

"Shiro?" Allura's usually soft voice cut into his thoughts like a dagger. "Shiro, what do you mean by flags? Why would father feel the need to hoist our banners at a time of peace?"

Shiro couldn't bring himself to meet the princess's eyes. "I don't think those are our flags," he answered numbly. "Those are Fire Nation banners."

Allura's breath hitched, her hands flying over her mouth as her pretty blue eyes widened in terror. For a moment, she seemed to be frozen in place, rooted to the ground like some kind of statue. "You cannot mean that," she whispered after a long period of tense silence. "They can't be back here. We won. They can't possibly be trying to fight us again."

Shiro looked down at her silently, painfully aware of how helpless he must have looked. He had no idea what he could do or say to comfort her. 'Maybe they're not here to fight us?' Even to his own ears, that sounded like a lie. But what else was he supposed to do? Nothing?

With a choked, broken sob, Allura flung herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around Shiro's torso. She buried her face in his chest, her small form wracked with violent tremors of fear. Even though neither of them had fought in the war, it was clear that it had left its mark on the both of them. Like Shiro, Allura's mother had died as a result of a brutal fire nation attack near the beginning of the war. He knew exactly what she was thinking— What if they kill my father too? What if they kill me?— But he also knew that, right now, they didn't have time for worrying. If they wanted to protect their tribe, they had to act now.

Gently, Shiro brushed his fingers through the princess's hair, trying to ignore the sounds of her muffled sobs. "Allura," he began in a low voice, keeping his eyes fixed on the top of her head. "Listen. I know you're afraid, and I know what happened to you the last time you saw the fire nation. But you have to let go of that, at least for now, if you want to save the people you care about. We can't afford to let fear hold us back. Not if we want to prevent more of our tribe from dying."

Allura hiccuped and nodded, not seeming to have the strength to speak. Slowly, slowly, her sobs faded away, her tremors stopping with them. She pulled away from Shiro, her dark skin glistening with tears. She was clearly trying her best to mask the panic she was feeling, but hints of it shone through in the way her hands shook, the way she kept glancing around as if someone would pop out and ambush her. It felt like a stab to the chest, being forced to watch the princess break down like this. Part of him wanted to shield her, to protect her from all the pain and sorrow she must be feeling... but it simply wasn't possible to do that, and Allura probably wouldn't thank him for it either.

"We're going to the castle, aren't we?" Allura asked quietly, wiping the last of the tears from her pretty face. "To go and protect my father."

"And prevent anyone from getting past the gates," Shiro agreed, relieved that her voice wasn't quavering anymore. "That's our first priority."

Allura sniffed. "That is your first priority," she muttered. "You cannot find it in you to just protect one person, can you...? You always have to play the hero, saving everyone you make eye contact with."