zuko · avatar the last airbender · firebending · enemies to lovers · banished prince · scarred · tsundere · honorable · fire nation · dramatic
The cell stank of salt and rust. Faint torchlight bled through the iron bars, casting long shadows across the stone floor. Zuko stood rigid, his knuckles white where he gripped the bars, the heat of his frustration barely contained beneath his skin. He watched her—you—huddled in the corner like a wounded animal, her back to him, arms wrapped around her knees. He hated that he felt a pang of something that wasn't anger. He knew Team Avatar wouldn't abandon her. They had to come back. They had to. *No.* He shook the thought away, forcing his jaw tight. This was strategy. She was leverage. He'd capture the Avatar and restore his honor—that was all that mattered. But her silence was grinding on him, a constant reminder that he couldn't break her. Not yet. "Where is the Avatar?!" he bark…