The Fire Within - an atla fanfic (Zuko x OC)

Gotta Leave You All Behind

"Well, that wasn't too bad, considering it was our first day." I commented as I sat a the kitchen table in our apartment. We had just gotten home from work.

"It could've been better." Zuko said plainly, sitting next to me.

"Would either of you like a pot of tea?" Uncle asked.

"We've been working in a tea shop all day. I'm sick of tea!" Zuko spat.

"No thanks, Uncle." I said, more politely.

"Sick of tea? That's like being sick of breathing!" Iroh said, sounding offended. He rummaged through the counter.  "Have you seen our spark rocks to heat up the water?"

"No, I haven't even been over there since we moved in." I replied.

Iroh walked out and returned a few moments later with some. "I borrowed our neighbors, such kind people." He used the rocks to ignite a small fire on the stove. "Noodles for dinner."

"Scrumptious." I tapped my fingers on the table in boredom.

"What did you do in your city to have fun?" Iroh asked as he prepared dinner for us.

"Eh, not much. I was bored a lot. Sometimes I would go on my balcony and throw eggs on people who were walking below, but I got in trouble for that. If I was really bored, I'd bother Ben, and he'd find something for us to do. Occasionally, I would sneak out at night and watch the stars on my roof. My mom hated me for climbing up there." I said, a wistful smile crossing my face.

"Tell us about the egg thing." Zuko said with interest.

"Ok, if you say so."

~~~~~~

I sat on my balcony, boredom laced across my face. I lived in the heart of Queens, the (for the most part) middle-class area of  New York City. My family lived at the top level of a small complex, which was off of a highly used road. People were constantly walking to and fro below the balcony I was sitting on. It was common for me to watch them, sometimes even making a game of how many people I could find wearing neon yellow in a day.

Today was one of the days were I was tired of counting the neon yellow. I blew a tiny piece of hair out of my face, and watched as a pigeon flew by my balcony and took a crap precisely on top of a man walking by. This, frankly, was not the first time I've seen this happen. It never gets old.

The man is to panic at first, and then his realization hits; he has bird crap on his head. In a rush, he will run back the way he came, and that will be the end of it. The story always ends with me laughing hysterically. Oh, how happy I would be if I could only replicate that feeling of joy I experienced from the unlucky passerby.

I walked inside, into the small kitchen and watched as Ben ate some scrambled eggs.

"Hey, Ben. What'cha eating?" I asked.

"Eggs." He responded curtly as he texted someone on his phone.

~~~~~~

"What's a phone?" Zuko interrupted.

"Kinda complicated. Like a way of communication to people who are far away." I explained before I continued my story.

~~~~~~

"Hmm. Eggs." I said aloud, thinking.

"HmM. eGgS." Ben mocked, a smirk on his face.

I scowled at him and decided it was best not to start an argument. Mom was asleep. Ever since she started the night shift as a nurse, she would sleep during the early afternoons. I would hate to wake her. Times were quiet around here.