Blazing: An Avatar AU

Chapter Seventy-Nine

        "What are you doing?"

        I picked my head up off the table and glanced at Zuko who was standing in the doorway, "Trying to write an essay. School assignments are so dumb."

        Zuko walked over to my desk and looked at my laptop, "You haven't written a word."

        "I know!" I groaned in frustration, "I'm completely stumped. I have no idea what I'm going to do!"

        "What's the prompt?"

        "You don't know?" I sighed, "Oh that's right, Prince Zuko without the Prince isn't required to take an essay-writing class."

        "Come on, (Y/N), you've been living here for months now, you can drop the nickname."

        "As you wish, Your Highness," I grinned.

        "(Y/N)!"

        "Sorry, Prince Zuko without the Prince," I yawned, "Geez... this is harder than I thought."

        Zuko sighed and sat down on top of my desk, "Come on, what's the prompt?"

        I glanced at him, "Who is the last person that made you feel happy?"

        "Me? Well, I guess-"

         "No idiot," I laughed, "That's the prompt."

        "Oh," he frowned, "That doesn't sound that hard."

         "Maybe," I sighed, "But the only person I can think about right now is embarrassing."

        "Who is it?"

        My face turned red, "I just don't want anyone to get the wrong idea."

        "If you have someone in mind, just write about them, I don't see the problem."

       "But-"

        "Just say who it is, (Y/N)."

        "It's you, Zuko," I said, refusing to meet his eyes.

        I felt his eyes on me, "Oh."

Oh? What's that supposed to mean?

I felt Zuko shift, and then I felt his arms wrap around me, pulling me in for a hug.

        "You were the first person to come to mind too, (Y/N)."

I felt a familiar pair of arms around my body. It felt like I was moving. I could feel the wind hitting my back. I groaned and opened my eyes, blinking a few times to become accustomed to the light. I looked up, seeing Zuko with a determined look on his face as he carried me and ran through the forest. I glanced to the side to see Sokka running alongside him.

      "Zuko," I called out his name softly.

He didn't stop.

     "Zuko," I was slightly louder.

Zuko's head tilted down, and his eyes met mine. The look on his face softened and he stopped running, motioning for Sokka to do the same.

      "You're awake," Zuko smiled.

      "What gave it away, Prince Zuko?"

      "Not the Prince."

      I smiled, "You'll always be the Prince to me," I squirmed in his grasp, "Let me down, I'm fine."