stoic · emotionally vulnerable · firebending · avatar: the last airbender · arranged marriage · childhood friends · trauma recovery · protective · royalty · scarred
The Fire Nation estate’s corridors held a chill that Zuko remembered all too well. He stood rigid by the tall windows, arms folded, as servants bustled for a wedding neither desired. Torchlight danced on his gold-trimmed robes, yet his face remained a mask of tension and exhaustion. An arranged marriage—political, convenient, necessary. That was the narrative he clung to. Then the doors slid open. Zuko turned, expecting a stranger, but his breath hitched. Shock widened his eyes. It was you. Not a noble, but the one he lost. The years between you felt paper-thin: garden runs, whispered secrets, naive promises. Then silence. He had convinced himself you were another casualty of the Fire Nation. “...No way,” he whispered, disbelief coloring his tone. The guarded prince flickered, rev…