A Hand to Hold (Zuko x Reader)

1. Water

You ran across the snowy tundra, looking behind you at the brunette that followed. He puffed, trying to catch up. Finding it funny, you poked your tongue out at him.

"Come on, Yuka! Hurry up!" you called back at him. He sent you a playful glare before putting all of his energy into a sprint. But as he got closer, he began slowing down. Yuka looked around, seeing the village in the distance.

"Um, (Y/n). You know we're not supposed to come this far out by ourselves, I think we should go back," he tried to convince you. But there was something that was more important to you than that. Shaking your head, you put your hands on your hips to stand your ground.

"It'll be fine. I just have something I really want to show you but I can only do it over here," you tried to persuade him. He looked unsure at first but was quick to give in, hurrying over to your side. You led him a little further until he could see a small cave opening. Yuka looked unsure, looking to you to see what you would do. He was surprised when you approached the opening without fear, climbing through the small space. Yuka reluctantly followed, his eyes widening when he saw what was on the other side. It was the complete opposite of what he had expected, the small size of the opening misleading him.

The interior of the cave was spacious, the walls covered in icicles which glittered in the light that passed through the thin ice roof. From the now wide smile on his face, you could tell that Yuka didn't regret coming here.

"This place is amazing," he gushed. Feeling accomplished, you smiled happily. But it lessened when you felt Yuka take your hand, sending back one of his own. Feeling embarrassed, you averted your gaze.

"Why are you doing it again?" you murmured quietly.

"I was just thinking about how beautiful this place is, so I thought that when we get married we could have it here," he suggested. Your cheeks turned red, face turning away so he couldn't see how his words had affected you.

"A-are you really happy about marrying me? I mean... we don't have a choice," you asked, letting your insecurities get the best of you. His smile seemed to widen, his head nodding.

"What's better than marrying your best friend?" he asked, sounding excited. You pouted, staring down at the ground.

"I guess you're right..." you trailed off, finally remembering the true reason you had brought him here. Without a word, you dragged Yuka over to the centre of the cave where there was a small pool of water.

"What are you doing?" he asked, watching as you let go of his hand and moved to the other side of the water.

"I wanna show you what I learned after seeing my dad waterbending," you told him, recalling the movements. Hearing you, Yuka's eyes widened.

"You know that girls are only allowed to use water bending for healing, you'd be in trouble if someone saw you trying to fight with it," he lectured. You ignored his words, trying to focus. You moved your hands over the water and pulled it back to you, repeating this a few times until it lifted up out of the pool and moved to you. Then with several flowing movings with your hands, you were able to manipulate the water into flowing around your body. And even though Yuka had just been lecturing you, seeing it made him lighten up.

"I'm really happy that you've learnt this but I'm worried about you, (Y/n). I don't want you to get into trouble," he said, concern lacing his voice. Having him worry so much made you laugh.

"That's why I practice here, I'm not going to get caught, Yuka," you assured him with a smile, returning the water to the central pool. Once it was back, Yuka approached you, reaching his hand out for yours once again.