#azulakatara | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rainesrants · 1 month

Text

One Last Time

Pairing: Zuko/Reader Word Count: 2.6K+ Tags: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Guilty Zuko... Summary: Zuko sees you for the first time in years, but this time, you're on the enemy's side. Unfortunately, he's not here for you; he's there to stop his sister. With you there, will he be able to end this once and for all, or will you remain his weakness? A/N: This is my first time posting one of my works (on this account), so please don't hate! I apologize if there are any grammar mistakes, but I hope you enjoy.

No, it couldn't possibly be. Perhaps he was having a hallucination, his eyes deceiving him. That was the only logical reason as to why you were there, standing right next to his sister as the crowning of the Fire Lord was taking place.

You who he was previously betrothed to, your parents having set you up at a young age for rank. Although it was originally a marriage of convenience, it had quickly blossomed into something more. The two of you were able to cherish your relationship as you grew older, despite the obvious hesitance in the beginning.

You who comforted him the night his mother left, refusing to leave despite his protests. Even with tears blurring his sight, he could see how worried you were. Your arms reached out to him, pulling him into an affectionate hug. He could feel the way you trembled, trying to stay strong as you forced a smile for his sake.

You who stayed with him even when he had lost his honor, his face scarred beyond repair. He could still remember the gentle touch of your hand as you carefully bandaged his wounds and the affectionate forehead kiss that came after.

You who begged to accompany him on his journey to find the Avatar and regain his glory. Alas, he knew he couldn't possibly endanger you, the one last person he held dear to his heart.

You who remained a part of him, even throughout all of his journeys. There were days he'd wish he could crawl back to you, just to get a glimpse of your bright smile.

The warmth you brought with you was unlike anything he had ever felt. It was different from the heat he experienced when he would firebend, much different. It was far beyond that, something he could only describe as soothing. He could feel it in his body as his heart would start to beat faster at the mere sight of you, his lips bending into a clumsy smile as you'd notice the red covering his cheeks.

Even when he had returned to the Fire Nation with his sister, he dared not go back to you. He knew it would only do more harm than good, remembering the feeling of his heart breaking as all he left behind was a letter to you before going off in search of the Avatar alone. He could only imagine your wails as you realized he was gone.

He had always wondered how you were, asking guards to secretly check your condition. It was cowardly, yes, but how could he return after so long? After he had ignored your messages to him during your time apart, after he left without so much as a goodbye, after he had tried to love another just to end up missing you more.

You who owned the title of his best friend and much more. You were the love of his life, someone he could not dare see harmed.

So why?

Why were you there, remaining the only audience to Azula's crowning?

Even with everything happening, he would always recognize you-no matter how far apart you were. With desperation, he ushered Appa to move even faster than before. A heavy grumble shook the ground as the sky bison landed, wind and debris releasing from under him.

With a slow turn of your head, you realized what everyone was staring at. For just a moment, the two of you made eye contact, and it was only then that he realized the true state you were in. An unreadable expression was displayed across your face, a mixture of both confusion and worry. In all the years he had known you, he'd never seen you quite this disheveled. The beaming grin that adorned your face at almost every moment had disappeared, replaced with a sullen frown. Your eyes no longer shone either, only a dull glare and dark eye bags remaining.

What happened to you?

His attention was quickly taken away as he remembered his mission, the real reason as to why he was there. He couldn't possibly allow himself to be distracted, not when countless lives were at stake. Forcing himself to turn away from you, he swiftly stood up, taking a deep breath as he moved to face his sister.

"Sorry, but you're not going to become Fire Lord today," he said, "I am." Stealthily jumping off of Appa, he landed on the hard ground. He could feel your eyes on him, but all he could do was try his best to remain his composure.

"You're hilarious." An eerily large smile creeped up his sister's face, the sound of her mocking laughter ringing in his ears.

"And you're going down," Katara announced. He didn't even notice her as she approached from behind, the both of them now standing side by side.

Azula rolled her eyes, but just as she was about to get crowned once more, he watched as she raised her fist, halting the ceremony. "Wait. You want to be Fire Lord? Fine." Standing up, her entire demeanor changed. She was no longer smiling, an angered look on her face. "Let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

He knew what his sister was trying to do, but as his gaze flickered to you out of habit, he felt his words get caught in his throat. You'd seen everything happen when he had refused to fight his father, but this time, the situation was different. "You're on."

His mouth felt dry as he saw you react, moving with your hand out towards him-as if it were an instinct. You had look conflicted, as if you wanted to say something to him. As you were about to take another step forward, Azula began to approach you, reminding you of her presence. He could only watch from a distance as you turned to face her, your arms going limp at your sides as you paused. It seemed you had made your decision, but he could only feel hurt.

"What are you doing? She's playing you." The sound of Katara's voice snapped him back to reality, but her words went through one ear and out the other as his expression hardened, his eyebrows furrowing. "She knows that she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us."

At her words, Azula began to cackle maniacally. "Oh, how precious, but I'll manage. After all, I have a special guest with me tonight, don't I, Zuko?" She placed a hand on your shoulder and at her signal, you raised your arm, but this time, it was different. Before he could say anything, he watched as you flicked your wrist, shooting fire towards them, just barely missing the poor waterbender.

You hadn't missed.

That was a warning.

He could hear Katara gasp from beside him, not expecting you to attack. She was about to pull out the water beside her but stopped as he held his hand out in front of her. She could see the way he looked at you, and whispering underneath her breath, she asked, "Who is that?"

He hesitated for a moment, clenching his fists tightly as he said, "It doesn't matter." For a moment, he watched your eyes widen in surprise. He bit the inside of his cheek, looking at you one more time before turning back to his sister. "Let's get this over with, just me and you. This way, no one else has to get hurt."

As they both went to opposite sides, Zuko couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. Why were you with Azula of all people? Throughout the years you'd known each other, you may have been close with the both of them, but you would always choose him over her. Had his absence truly changed you this much?

He rolled his shoulder back as the sound of a gong echoed through the arena, announcing the beginning of their fight. Stranding up to face his opponent, he slowly turned around. Thankfully, he was able to catch a glimpse of you, and you were too far back to be accidentally hit by any attacks.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother." Azula took off the jacket wrapped around her shoulders, dropping it onto the floor with a light thud.

"No, you're not." He lifted his hands, getting into a proper fighting stance.

No other words were said as Azula's lips shifted into a deranged smile, forming her own battle stance. Before he could blink, he watched as his sister shot blue fire from across the arena. He quickly retaliated, sending his own in an even bigger wave to counteract her attack. The temperature had quickly dropped from the intense heat, their fires clashing together in a fight between red and blue, creating a wall between them.

Azula continued to stand on the offensive, leaping forward as she used her skills to send multiple attacks his way. Knowing this was a time for no hesitance, Zuko shot even larger flames in order to defend himself. Her fire missed him, going straight to his right. There was no mercy between both sides, the two of them ignoring the way they had set the surrounding buildings aflame.

He could hear his sister panting from afar as she continued her relentless attacks; the amount of power she was using was too much. This was the time to strike, so he sent the strongest wave of fire he could. She just barely jumped out of the way in time, using her bending to send herself propelling towards him as she fought back his attacks. It was like a tornado of heat as Azula circled her brother, but as he carefully predicted her next destination, he was able to knock her back. She crashed to the floor with multiple grunts, her breathing getting heavier and heavier. She could only get up with a groan, an agitated look on her face.

He felt his confidence gain a boost, his lips turning into a smug grin. "No lightning today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?"

Her brother's remarks seemed to make her more furious, watching as her expression became enraged. "I'll show you lightning!" Without so much of a thought, the air quickly became electrified as she summoned forth countless lightning bolts around her. He quietly prepared himself for her attack, shifting his feet into a better stance, getting ready to take whatever she gave him. He watched as his sister's eyes darted around, looking for a weak spot, but what he didn't expect was for her to turn around, her eyes focusing on you.

No.

He immediately jolted forward, praying he could get there in time to save you. He couldn't care less if he had to stop his sister and get hit himself, as long as you were safe. With a scream of desperation, he watched as the lightning shot through the air in record-time.

But he was too far.

No matter how fast he moved, no matter how much fire he used to send himself flying face first towards you, he couldn't possibly stop the attack in time. He could only watch as your eyes turned to Azula, then the lightning being shot straight toward you, then him. You barely had a moment to process what she was trying to do, a look of pure shock visible on your face as you scrambled your thoughts together. You knew that you couldn't escape in time, so with as much strength as you could muster, you prepared yourself to take the hit. You tried your best to take a firm stance on the ground, but no amount of preparation or experience in firebending could ever help you get ready for the searing hot pain that hit your chest.

The vision of you reaching out to him with both of your hands was engraved into Zuko's mind, your eyes darting toward him. The only thing that he could hear was the sound of your strangled scream, calling out to him one last time before you crumpled to the floor. He completely ignored the way Katara yelled at him in bewilderment, only to realize his intentions. Running to reach you, the smell of burnt skin engulfed his senses. He kneeled to the floor beside you, only being able to watch as you twitched uncontrollably from shock.

He wanted to embrace you, to hold you in his arms, but he knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't help relieve the pain. Instead, he grabbed ahold of your hand in support, his grip tight and worried.

The sound of fighting continued behind him and as he turned back to check the commotion, he realized he had left his sister and Katara alone. He wanted to get up, to help her fight back, but he felt the way you had gone limp, your energy quickly fading away.

He couldn't possibly decide between the both of you, but as he locked eyes with the waterbender, she gave a reassuring nod. "I've got this. You help them." With one last look at the sight of water and fire clashing, he moved to get a better look of you. Thankfully, you were no longer spasming, but you were lying unnaturally still.

You weren't moving at all.

He was unsure of what to do, watching as little by little, your life had slowly started to fade from your eyes. He didn't even realize how tightly he was holding your hand, but if you noticed, you didn't seem to mind.

"I've missed you, Zuko." You forced yourself to speak, your voice raspy and hoarse. It was the first time in a while he had heard you say his name, the sound of your cheery voice gone. He could only be glad to hear it, remembering how he wished to listen it every day, to see you every day. But now, he was unsure if he'd ever get the opportunity to.

"I've missed you too, (name)." You tried your best to curl your lips up into a small smile, your eyes gazing deeply into his. "Why are you here, after all this time?"

You tried to inhale, your breath coming out as ragged. "Azula had said you'd be here, and knowing how reckless you are, I wanted to keep you safe." Once he realized you were always on his side, he felt the knots in his stomach loosen. Of course you didn't betray him, he was a fool for even thinking you would. Pulling you closer, he could feel your heart beating through your chest, moving at a slow, unnatural rate. "I never would have come if it meant you'd get hurt."

"But I didn't get hurt, you did," he whispered, holding you as close as possible without hurting you.

You rolled your eyes at his words, using all the strength you could muster to playfully pat his arm. "You know what I mean."

For a moment, the two of you had gone back to how you used to be. To the power couple that were bound to be the best leaders the Fire Nation had in a long time, to being the best friends that were attached to the hip, to being the childhood friends who teasingly messed with each other every opportunity they could.

But that was quickly taken away.

You felt a strong pain strike your chest, the wind being knocked out of your lungs. Zuko could see the hurt you were in, only able to watch as you tried your hardest to fight back the way your eyelids got heavier and heavier. Trying to speak, your words came out almost completely breath-like, practically wheezing. "I'm really glad I got to see you one last time."

"One last time?" He asked, but he knew what you were implying.

"I love you dearly, Zuko." You could barely speak, using the remaining strength in your body to pull him closer. The feeling of your lips meeting together was just as familiar as all the other times you had kissed, the years not changing the affection in them. He held you close, his other hand squeezing your hand tightly. He didn't even realize that he had been crying, your face being soaked with his tears.

As you finally pulled apart, he looked at you one last time to see you crying as well, allowing him to catch one more glimpse of the smile he adored so much. "I love you, too."

When he watched the color drain from your face, all he could do was hold you. When he felt the way you had gotten abnormally cold, all he could do was use his bending to try and warm you up. When you closed your eyes, all he could do was gently push the hair out of your face. When he finally felt the way you crumbled in his arms, going completely limp, he knew he couldn't do anything more.

You were gone.

#prince zuko #zuko #atla zuko #avatar the last airbender #zuko x reader #zuko x y/n #zuko x you #x reader #atla #azulakatara #katara

346 notes · View notes