𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑬𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 (Zuko x Reader)

eight

A/N: this is going to be primarily a bonding chapter between Y/n and Sokka! I had to edit the actual plot of this episode for it to work so just a lil heads up! More Zuko coming soon, I promise :D feel free to tell me what you think of the story so far!

Ps- sorry this one's so long :( I crammed so much in here lmao (it's 3500 words of dialogue oops) 

𝐼 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝒽𝑒𝒹 as the cold water cooled my sweaty skin. The sun felt hotter in the Earth Kingdom than in the Fire Nation, which was surprising, to say the least. We had landed for a brief rest after Aang, Katara and I loudly complained about the heat and Sokka finally agreed. I was floating on my back in the stream with Momo curled up in my lap, Sokka was drifting in a large leaf he had found, and Katara was training with Aang. 

"You guys are gonna be done soon, right?" Sokka broke the tranquil silence. "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we want to make it to Omashu today."

I opened my mouth to retort, but Katara beat me to it. "What, like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?"

I snickered. 

"I could be ready in two minutes," he scoffed, moving his hair to the side. "Seriously, whenever."

I closed my eyes again and relaxed, listening as Katara taught Aang a new waterbending form. After several days of having the sun beat down on me while flying on Appa, swimming felt like heaven. 

The sound of music drifted into the clearing and I sat up, moving Momo to my shoulder. A small group of people wandered towards the stream, singing and playing musical instruments. It sounded kind of nice. 

"Hey, hey! River people," the guy with the guitar called over waving. Sokka fell off his leaf, making me cackle. He glared at me.

"We're not river people," Katara started. I waded over to her and Aang.

"You're not?" the guy looked genuinely confused. "Well, then what kind of people are you?"

"Just people," I shrugged. 

"Aren't we all, sister? Woo!" 

Is this guy okay?

Sokka marched up to him, pointing. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chong," flower lei guitar guy said. "This is my wife Lily. We're nomads, happy to go wherever the wind takes us."

Oh, that explains it.

Aang tried to connect with them and I tuned them out, wading out of the stream and wringing the water out of my hair. Aang, Katara, and I all settled around Appa as the nomads told us stories of their travels. Lily had braided flowers into my hair before moving on to Katara's, and Ming taught me how to braid Appa's fur. The more I listened, the more I liked them.

Sokka strode back into the camp just as Chong finished his story about a huge waterfall they had found somewhere in the Earth Kingdom.

"Hey, Sokka," Aang called to him. "You should hear some of these stories."

"Yeah," I chimed in. "These guys have been everywhere."

"Well, not everywhere half-blind one," Chong replied. "But where we haven't been, we've heard about through stories and songs."

Really? Half-blind one? Couldn't he have come up with a better nickname for me?

Sokka only raised an eyebrow.

"He said that they'll take us to see a giant nightcrawler," Aang said excitedly.

"Oh yeah, and on the way, there's this pond with a huge waterfall," I sighed just thinking about it. "It sounds amazing to swim in."