Searching (Zuko x OC)

Chapter 3

I was awoken my a knock at my door.

"5 minutes till we leave. Don't be late," someone called.

I shot out of bed, realizing that I had almost overslept. I quickly put my clothes on and grabbed my things. I didn't have time to do my hair so I simply made sure it was presentable. I ran down to where I knew they would be leaving and found Uncle Iroh and Zuko standing there. I slowly walked up to them. Zuko wasn't facing me, but I could tell there was a bandage on his face where he had been burned. I gave Uncle Iroh a hug.

"I hope you don't mind that I requested you join us," he said, still in the embrace.

I pulled away but kept my hands on his arms.

"There's nowhere else I would rather be than with you both," I replied, looking at my uncle and then at Zuko.

"I don't need your pity," he said coldly without looking over his shoulder.

"Sooner or later, you'll need your friend. And then where will you be?" I retorted angrily.

I bowed to Uncle Iroh and proceeded onto the ship. I was so angry. I spent so much time worrying and caring for him and he still had the audacity to pretend like I don't exist. I understand he's been through so much but that's no excuse to be like that to me. I did nothing wrong.

I found one of the other crew members and asked where my room was. He told me where to go and I followed his directions. My room was right in between Uncle's and Zuko's.

"Great," I thought to myself.

I opened the door and began to unpack my things. This room was, once again, nicer than the other servants rooms. It made me wonder what I would actually be doing on the ship. It was clear Uncle didn't expect me to actually be his servant.

Once I was done unpacking, I went up to the deck. Zuko was also standing there. I joined him and watched as the boat sailed further and further away from home. His hand was gripping the railing. I could tell he was upset. I decided to give one last ditch effort. I put my hand on top of his. He didn't stop me. I looked at him as he stared at the horizon. You could barely see the fire nation anymore.

"I'm here for you. And before you snap at me again," I said, "It's not because I don't think you can do it alone. It's because I don't want you to."

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He simply hooked his fingers with mine on the railing. I knew he understood. I put my other hand on his shoulder before leaving him to be alone with his thoughts. I went to go find Uncle Iroh.

I found him in the captains roo sipping on some tea. He was playing Pai Sho with another soldier and winning. When he saw me, he motioned for me to join him. I sat next to him and watched him play until he had finally won. The soldier cut his loses and went to join his other friends somewhere else.

"I know you must be feeling a lot right now," he said.

"Yes. But I'm mostly just worried for Zuko," I sighed.

I turned to face him and he did the same.

"That's why I asked you to be here. Zuko will need someone to guide him. I know that he cares for you, but I also know that he is too proud and hurt to ask for you himself. I wanted you to be here for him," he explained.

"So you do want me to be a servent then," I joked.

He laughed heartily. Oh how I had missed him.

We continued talking and the servants brought us dinner. We simply enjoyed each others company and he even started teaching me how to play Pai Sho. Soon enough though, it was time to go to bed. I walked down to the room with him and waved goodnight. I noticed that Zuko's room was empty and decided to go find him. I looked on the dock and didn't see him, so I assumed he would be in the map room.