Make It Right | Zuko

One | 4

It hadn't been long since they had left the harbour but with the ship in a fully working condition, the search continued. Zuko had some minor scorches on his arms and torso from his fight with Zhao and so he lay on Lyra's bed while she used her waterbending to heal them before they could scar. There wasn't much. Simply his forearms and a couple of minor burns on his chest and abdominal area.

He watched the concentration on her face as she used both hands to heal two separate burns at the same time. The water felt cool against his skin. As she focused her own chi energy into the water, the burns began to disappear. With his arms done, she moved onto his torso, hovering one hand over the burn on his chest and the other over his abdomen. Again, with the same process, she began healing the burns.

"You know, it's incredibly distracting with you staring at me like that," she commented, her eyes still trained on the water.
Zuko blinked. "How did you know?"
"I can literally feel your eyes piercing my face. What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about how opposite the expression on your face is now from the time you were healing my face," he replied softly.
She glanced at him for a second before looking back at the small burns on his torso. "It was a scarier time."

After the shocking Agni Kai against his father, Zuko left eye and left side of his face had been brutally burned. Not only that, he had been exhiled from his homeland and only able to return once he had captured the Avatar. Before Lyra could get to him, Iroh had taken him to receive medical attention on the ship. She begged Iroh to let her onto the ship too so that she could stay with Zuko. Knowing how close they were, he allowed it.

When she was finally allowed to visit the unconscious Zuko, she grew frightened of the burn. Plus, she wasn't satisfied with the way it had been left to heal. She cried from heartache for her friend and out of fear of the burn. Once she was alone with him, she used her waterbending and held the water over the burn. She didn't know what she was doing but she could see how much pain he was in even in an unconscious state. She cooled the water over the burn and concentrated. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she focused everything she had on healing the burn.

As she sobbed quietly, she didn't hear Iroh enter the room behind her. Upon seeing her waterbend, he was shocked. Not wanting anyone else to know, he quickly locked the door and went to her.

"You're a waterbender," he exclaimed quietly.
She continued to cry, not caring that he had found out. "I need to help him..."

Iroh watched in amazement as he noticed the change in Zuko's expression. And just seconds later, his right eye opened. The first thing he saw was her crying face.

"Lyra..." he called weakly.
"I'm..." She breathed out shakily. "I'm going to heal you. Okay, Zuko? I'm going to heal you."

With his brows creased together in concern, Iroh stood back and watched. Zuko noticed the expression on his face.

"Please, Uncle... You can't tell anyone about Lyra's secret..."
Iroh shook his head and his expression softened. "This secret never leaves the three of us. But, Lyra, you must be careful when you use your bending."

She nodded but continued to concentrate on the healing. Days later, thanks to the healing, he was able to open his left eye again. For weeks after that, she would use her waterbending to soothe the area whenever he was in pain.

She had finished healing the burns on the torso and returned the water to the bowl. She was about to get up from the bed but Zuko took hold of her hand and stopped her.

He sighed softly. "You cried every time you were healing my face. Why?"
She looked down at him. "Because I was never able to heal it fully. I felt like I had let you down..."
"What you did was amazing." He lifted his other hand to his burn. "This would have been a thousand times worse if it wasn't for your healing."
"I know but I wish I could have done more..."
He sat up and took hold of her hand. "Even if you did nothing, just having you with me is more than what I deserve."