your love is my oxygen - Zuko x reader

The Blue Spirit

Zuko's POV
She didn't tell me why she was banished that night; and since then I'd lie awake at night wondering what it was she could've done- Y/N appeared to be a good person, she was a little sarcastic and defensive but was always kind and willing to help others, so what terrible thing she could've done, I didn't know.

—

A few days had passed and I found Y/N sat over the side of the ship, dangling her legs over dark waters, upon which the twinkling stars were shining.

"Why is it that you're so secretive about what happened at the Western Air Temple?"

I could feel her rolling her eyes as she huffed and leaned back onto her palms, "why is it that you even care?"

"You know why I was banished, now it's your turn."

"You didn't tell me, I heard it from your uncle. If you want an outside perspective, like what I was given, why don't you just go and ask your best friend, Aang?"

I groaned, "but what did you do? If it's that bad then shouldn't I be concerned about my safety? About my crew's safety!?"

She swung her legs back over to the deck and jumped down, "are you serious, Zuko? Is that some kind of bad joke? After all this time, you don't trust that I won't bring harm to you and your crew?"

I hung my head, scolding myself for my bad choice in words, "Y/N, that's not what I meant, I-"

"No, that's exactly what you meant."

She shoved past me and grabbed her glider that was leaning against the wall before opening it and soaring up into the night sky.

"Y/N, wait!"

But she didn't respond, leaving me alone on the front of the ship.

I punched the air, releasing flames and yelled at myself, "agh, you idiot!" Before storming back inside.

—

The next morning I ran into Y/N in the galley as she was grabbing some food; at first nothing was said between us, but after a few awkward moments in silence I cleared my throat, and she huffed, "yes?"

I scratched the back of my neck, "Look, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday, I do trust you... more than I trust most of my crew... I'm just.... I'm not the best with words so-"

She sighed as she walked past me, flicking my ponytail as she did, "it's fine, don't worry about it, I'm over it. Even if you did mean it, it would've been perfectly reasonable; if I'm honest, I did do something terrible- but trust me when I say the intentions behind my actions were good, that being said, I would never do anything to harm you or your crew, Prince Zuko. Airbender's honour."

I nodded to her as she walked out of the galley.

She had every reason to keep secrets from me, she hadn't known me very long and under usual circumstances we'd be considered enemies. But she decided upon friendship between us, even after what the Fire Nation did to her people.

After the first night that Y/N spent on my ship, what she told me had been playing on my mind.

The air nation had no armies.

If what she was saying was true, then that would mean that the Fire Nation wiped out an entire culture that was completely defenceless, it contradicted everything I had ever been taught.

But I needed to focus on the task at hand, if I didn't succeed in capturing the avatar, then what use was the true history of a nation that I'd never again belong to?