your love is my oxygen - Zuko x reader

The Firebending Masters: Part 2

Y/N's POV
I was abruptly woken up that night by a hand clasped over my mouth and Lee kneeling beside me with his finger over his lips, signalling for me to keep quiet.

I pushed him backwards, but before I could ask him what was going on, he grabbed my glider in one of his hands and my hand in the other, and rushed me down the stairs, shoving a few stacks of hay to the side.

I whispered, "Lee, what the-"

But he clapped his hand back over my mouth and shook his head.

The fact that something very bad was happening was made apparent to me the moment that I heard a woman screaming, "please! Just leave us alone! I swear, I've never seen an air bender in my life!"

Lee used earth bending to open up a hole in the ground where he had moved the hay and jumped down, offering me his hand.

I didn't even know he was an earth bender.

As the barn door slammed open, I grabbed onto his hand and jumped in after him, and everything went pitch black as he sealed up the hole above us.

"What's going on? Who are those people?"

"Fire Nation soldiers, someone in the town must've given them information on you."

I felt my heart drop.

That poor family who took me in.

"What's going to happen to-"

He squeezed my hand, "hey, don't worry, they'll be fine. You'll be fine. Just trust me."

I was blindly following him through the cave until he opened up an entrance a little way out of town; he pulled me out of the hole and handed me my glider.

"There are some things I should tell you, but keep up with me, there are soldiers looking for you everywhere."

I nodded, "okay, what do you need to talk to me about?"

He stopped at a tree and jumped up onto one of the branches, reaching for something before jumping back down. He kept walking, holding a piece of parchment in his hand as he explained, "I've known that you're not the avatar since you first came to this town."

I almost choked on the air as I replied, "what are you talking about?"

"I've traded for the farm all over this side of the Earth Kingdom, your name is Y/N and you were on the run with the Dragon of the West and the Fire Nation's prince a while back."

I felt my heart race, I went to open my glider but he turned around and grabbed my hand, "wait! I promise, I'm not going to turn you in, I'm trying to help you!"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "why do you want to help me? You just said it yourself, I lied about being the avatar, I took advantage of your town's kindness and I was running around with the Fire Nation's royal family."

He rubbed his thumb against mine in reassurance and muttered, "it's okay. I understand why you did it."

Then he let go of my hand and held out the piece of parchment for me to take, "I've marked where we are heading right now on the map, I noticed you looking around for one when we were back in town. The Western Air Temple isn't far if you keep heading west from here, or it's a little further, but the North Pole isn't too long a journey either. I didn't have time to prepare any food or supplies for you, but you can take my water bottle- here."

I let him place the map and water bottle in my hands as I muttered, "I don't understand why you're doing this for me..."

He placed a hand on my shoulder and sighed, "to be honest with you, I have absolutely no idea myself, but hey, here we are! Let's get you to the forest before someone finds us here."