#and he's silent like I said so whenever the gaang is screeching at him that they're gonna crash he simply does not react. Its an experience | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

beifongsss · 4 years

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warmth [zuko]

Pairing: Zuko x reader

Requested?: yes!: “maybe running from fire nation and hiding in a cave with zuko? zuko and reader think they each hate each other but they rlly don’t 👀“

Summary: You and Zuko get separated from the Gaang and things happen :)

w.c. ~3.1k

.masterlist.

The day had started out normally.

You were the second person to wake up, Zuko being the first. You rubbed your eyes sleepily, crawling out of your sleeping bag and walking over to Appa, patting the sky bison before grabbing your bag and reaching for a peach that you had stuffed away. When peaches were present, Momo couldn’t be trusted.

“You really take that whole ‘I rise with the sun’ thing to heart, huh?” you asked dryly, sitting across from the prince. He huffed lightly, crossing his arms before looking away. You smirked smugly, knowing that his silence meant that he couldn’t think of a comeback.

The silence didn’t last long before Zuko turned back to you. “Spirits! Could you chew any louder?”

“I don’t know, let me try,” you replied, chewing obnoxiously. Zuko glared at you before standing and walking away, turning slightly so you couldn’t see the faint smile tugging at his lips. You stared after him, biting back a smile of your own.

The group was already used to the banter between you and the scarred prince. It had started way before he joined the Gaang, back when he still had that god-awful ponytail and thought that capturing the Avatar would restore his honor. He had aimed a plume of fire just a bit too close to you and you had let one sly remark slip, your jaw dropping in shock when the prince responded in kind.

Ever since then, you always made sure that you pissed Zuko off whenever you had an encounter. It was just too easy to rile him up.

That didn’t change when he joined your side. If anything, it got worse. You didn’t miss a single opportunity to get on his nerves and eventually, Zuko found himself anticipating your remarks. It gave him a sense of normalcy. You didn’t treat him any differently than you ever had and as weird as it was to admit, he didn’t mind the attention you bestowed upon him. Of course, he couldn’t deny that you had really gotten on his nerves that one time he had lost his firebending.

It was silent in the clearing after Zuko walked away, and you proceeded to make everyone breakfast. A while later, everyone emerged, mumbling a sleepy thanks as you handed them a bowl of rice porridge. The six of you sat in a circle around the small campfire, enjoying the small moment of peace you had.

“Thanks for breakfast, (Y/N),” Katara said softly, smiling at you over the rim of her bowl.

“Yeah! This is amazing,” Sokka said, tilting the bowl to get the last of the porridge into his mouth.

“I thought it was a little bland,” Zuko commented off-handedly. Your eye twitched as Aang gave a nervous chuckle. Katara looked at you worriedly as Sokka tried to ignore Zuko’s comment. At your lack of response, Zuko smirked and opened his mouth yet again. “I’m certain that Momo could’ve made us a better breakfast.”

“Next time, make your own damn breakfast,” you snapped, slamming your bowl down onto the ground before turning to face Zuko. “Oh wait, that’s right. Poor little Prince Pouty doesn’t know how to do anything for himself!”

“At least I know how to control my temper,” Zuko shot back, glancing at your now-cracked bowl.

“Oh that’s rich coming from the guy who once set me on fire because I accidentally spilled some water on him!” you replied, remembering the unfortunate incident. You now had a very prominent scar on your leg as a reminder.

“Guys,” Aang called out. “Maybe we should save this for later.”

“Really?” Zuko asked, jumping to his feet. “What about the time you almost stabbed me because I accidentally stepped on Momo’s tail?”

“Hello? You stepped on Momo’s tail!” you cried out, jumping to your feet as well. “He hates you now!”

“Well at least Appa likes me,” Zuko said, thinking about the time Appa threw you off his back because you had accidentally yanked his hair.

“Appa does like me,” you snapped, a groan emitting from the sky bison as he agreed with your statement.

“Guys!” Aang yelled loudly, getting your attention.

“What?!” you and Zuko snapped in unison.

“Look behind you,” Sokka said quietly, his boomerang ready in his hand. You whirled around to see a group of Fire Nation soldiers standing amongst the trees. A low hiss escaped you as you smacked Zuko’s arm.

“See what you did?” you asked, your eyes never leaving the soldiers. “Your yelling led them straight to us.”

“My yelling?” Zuko scoffed, getting into a defensive position. “If I recall correctly, it was actu-”

“Guys!” Toph yelled angrily, sending the two of you a harsh glare. “Now really isn’t the time for this.”

You nodded sheepishly, readying yourself to fight as well. The six of you quickly realized you were outnumbered and realized that your best possible option in that moment was to escape. You all gathered up your supplies quickly, rushing towards Appa. A guard stepped in front of you suddenly, knocking you down before aiming a blast of fire at you. You rolled out of the way, leaping to your feet before sending a kick to his head and knocking him down.

“Yip yip, Appa!” Sokka yelled, sitting at the reins.

“Wait!” Katara cried. “(Y/N) is still down there!”

“What?” Sokka screeched, looking down at the ground as he tried to locate you. He noticed a group of soldiers trying to surround you as you fought them off.

“Go!” you yelled, waving them away as you began to run the other direction.

“We’re not leaving you!” Aang yelled, getting ready to hop off of Appa.

“I’ll lead them away and then meet up with you,” you replied, rushing off. “I promise! I’ll be fine.”

You were gone before anyone could say anything else, disappearing into the trees as half of the soldiers followed you. The other half turned their attention to Appa, ready to attack.

“Yip yip,” Sokka cried again, receiving disbelieving looks from everyone else. He gave them a shrug, trying to hide his worry. “She’ll be fine. She’s gone through worse. C’mon we can’t lose faith in her.”

The rest of the group nodded softly, sighing in relief as Appa left the ground. Their relief was cut short when Zuko leapt off of Appa, landing on the ground and kicking his leg to send out an arc of fire towards the remaining soldiers.

“Zuko! What are you doing?” Katara yelled, looking over the edge of the saddle in a panic.

“Go,” came Zuko’s rough reply. “I’ll stay with her. I’ll protect her.”

It was silent as the group watched Zuko sprint away. Appa didn’t stop and Sokka made no effort to bring the sky bison back down to the ground, watching as Zuko fought off each soldier effortlessly. He hummed lightly, drawing everyone’s attention to himself as he turned his attention back to the reins. “You know, I’m willing to bet five gold pieces that by the time we find them, they will have smooched at least twice.”

Toph grinned at Sokka’s statement, her fear of flying temporarily forgotten.

“Oh you’re on, snoozles.”

You weren’t sure how you had managed to evade the soldiers for as long as you had. You were out of breath, panting heavily as you sprinted through the forest. Looking around, you knew you needed to find somewhere to hide. No matter how good at fighting you were, you knew that you couldn’t fight off all those Fire Nation soldiers. As you darted between the trees, your ankle got caught on a tree root and you went tumbling onto the ground. You groaned as you laid on the ground for a moment, opening your eyes to get a bearing of your surroundings. Your eyes narrowed when you noticed a gap in the cliff a few yards to your right. It would’ve been unnoticable from any other angle and you silently thanked your clumsiness for leading you to safety.

“She went that way!” you heard a soldier shout. Biting back a gasp, you scrambled to your feet and sprinted to the opening in the cliff. You squeezed inside, pulling on some of the hanging vines around it to better conceal your location. You head faint footsteps coming your way and you stilled, crouching down to get a better look outside.

Stifling a groan, you darted outside, grabbing the person by the collar of their shirt and dragging them back inside the cave with you.

“H-Hey what’s your problem?” Zuko asked as you pushed him up against the cave wall. You shushed him softly, placing your hand over his mouth. His skin heated up under your touch and he froze for a moment before snapping out of it and grabbing your wrist, pushing you away from him.

You stumbled slightly before landing on your butt, scowling at Zuko but remaining silent. You cocked your head to the side as you heard footsteps walking by.

“We lost them,” a gruff voice said, sounding a lot closer to the cliff than you liked.

“They can’t have gotten far,” another voice replied. “We’ll set up camp in the clearing over there. The prince is too valuable to let go.”

A noise of agreement was made before the footsteps faded and you found yourself walking up to Zuko and pulling him down by the collar of his shirt.

“What are you doing here?” you hissed quietly, still on edge.

“Saving you, that’s what?” Zuko snorted, once again gripping your wrist and forcing you to let go of his shirt.

“No! Now they’re going to hunt us,” you replied, turning around and walking away. “They would’ve given up sooner or later, Zuko. I’m not important. But now they won’t leave because you came after me!”

“So now you’re upset?” Zuko asked, whisper-yelling. “I took out half of those soldiers! You’re welcome.”

“Yes I’m upset. Now because of you, we’re stuck in here!”

Zuko’s eyes widened as he realized you were right. There was no way that the two of you could leave the cave, not with the Fire Nation soldiers camping out a few yards away. He cursed under his breath before observing you. You had walked to the other side of the cave, leaning against the wall and sliding down until you were sitting on the ground. He looked outside, noticing the sun going down and walked towards the entrance.

“Where are you going?” you whispered, keeping your eyes on him.

“I’m going to get some firewood. I’ll be quiet.”

“Are you serious right now, Zuko?” you asked exasperatedly. “We cannot start a fire in here. They’ll see the smoke escaping through the entrance.”

Zuko paused for a moment, knowing you were right before walking over to you and taking a seat a few feet away from you. “It’s getting dark out. It’ll get cold soon and something tells me that Aang isn’t going to find us that quickly.”

You looked at the entrance to the cave, knowing that he was right. It was getting darker by the minute and without a fire, you were in for a cold night. Zuko watched your expression, getting a bit worried. As a firebender, he had no issue with the cold; but you weren’t a firebender and he was worried about you.

Silence engulfed the two of you as night fell. The temperature fell ridiculously quickly and you found yourself curled up into a ball as you tried to warm yourself up. You shot a glance towards Zuko, scowling deeply when you noticed him lost deep in thought. He was sprawled out on the ground, not shivering at all as he stared up blankly at the ceiling. You rolled your eyes, looking away before hugging yourself even tighter.

“Can you stop your chattering?” Zuko asked suddenly, turning his head to look at you. “It’s quite distracting.”

You glared at him, shivering lightly. “I’m sorry, is me being cold inconveniencing you? Not all of us can firebend, Prince Zuko. And my teeth are not chattering!”

Zuko didn’t reply, instead standing up and walking over to you. You glanced up at him suspiciously, frowning when he took a seat right next to you. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you close and avoiding your gaze.

“Zuko, what are you doing?” you whispered, unable to move your face from where it was buried into his neck. Zuko shivered at your words, keeping you tucked into him as he tried to control his blush.

“Keeping you warm,” Zuko replied. “What does it look like?”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?” Zuko asked softly, tilting back slightly to meet your eyes. You avoided his gaze, curling into him even more. He was exceptionally warm, and you felt yourself sinking into him to avoid the chilly air within the cave. Zuko’s arms tightened around you as he shifted, bringing you into his lap as he made himself more comfortable.

“You hate me,” you whispered, still hiding your face from him. Your arms snaked around his waist, allowing you to dig your face into his chest and hide even more.

“W-What? No I don’t!” Zuko cried, earning a shush from you. “If anything, you hate me.”

“N-No I don’t!” you exclaimed, pulling away slightly to look up at him.

“Yes you do!”

“Why would I hate you?” you asked, looking at him with a bewildered expression.

“I don’t know!” Zuko said, a confused expression on his face. You thought he looked rather cute. “I get why you would hate me back when I was the bad guy, but I’ve changed! I thought that by now you would like me.”

“Zuko, I never hated you,” you replied. “Not even back when you were the ‘bad’ guy. You were always fun to banter with and I thought that you wanted things to stay that way.”

“What on earth gave you that idea?” Zuko asked, looking at you in shock.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you always had something to say in return to my remarks,” you stated, looking at him blankly.

“Well you always start it,” Zuko accused. You paused for a second, knowing that he was right.

“Well you always reply!”

Zuko let out a frustrated groan. “That’s because you keep teasing me if I don’t.”

“Okay, but that’s becau- mmph.”

Your eyes went wide as Zuko pressed his lips to yours, effectively shutting you up. You froze for a split second, not believing that this was happening. Zuko pulled away, a smirk on his face as he took in your flushed face and dazed expression.

“Not so mouthy now are y-”

This time it was you who cut Zuko off, pressing your lips to his almost feverishly. Your arms left his waist, coming up to wrap around his neck and pull him impossibly close. Zuko responded better than you did, immediately returning the kiss and angling his head just so in order to deepen it. You melted against him, causing Zuko to smirk into the kiss before he began trailing kisses down your neck.

A gasp escaped your mouth as you felt him leave a mark on you before you tangled your hands in his hair, pulling his face back up to kiss him again. You couldn’t remember feeling cold anymore, the feeling of Zuko’s lips on yours and his arms around your waist erasing any thoughts about the chilly air in the cave. Now all you could feel was warmth.

“In case it wasn’t clear, I like you,” Zuko muttered into your ear, pulling away from your lips for a second. You shivered at his words before leaning your forehead against his.

“In case it wasn't clear, Prince Pouty, I like you too,” you teased, giving him a shy smile. Zuko snorted at the nickname before kissing you gently, a stark contrast to the way the two of you were kissing only minutes earlier.

“Toph! They’re kissing!”

Sokka’s head was poking through the cave entrance, looking at the two of you in shock. In the midst of your confessions, the Gaang had found the Fire Nation soldiers and defeated them, knowing that you couldn’t be too far away. Toph had been the one to find the cave, using her seismic sense, but Sokka had insisted he be the first one to enter.

“Aw man,” Toph called out, pushing Sokka out of the way and forcing her way into the cave. “How many times did you lily livers kiss?”

You and Zuko exchanged surprised looks before looking at your two friends embarrassedly. You were still in his lap, the two of you ridiculously close to one another. Overall, you had been caught in a very compromising position.

“U-Uh, I don’t know,” you stuttered, avoiding Toph’s blank gaze. Even though she couldn’t see you, you knew she was judging you.

“We didn’t exactly keep count,” Zuko drawled. You slapped his chest. “But if you want we can add a few more.”

“No!” Sokka and Toph yelled in unison. Sokka covered Toph’s eyes as Zuko pressed his lips to yours, catching you off guard.

“I’m blind!” Toph grumbled, causing Sokka to look at her sheepishly.

“Oh, right,” Sokka replied, removing his hand and carrying Toph so that her feet were off the ground. “That’s better.”

“Just tell us if you kissed more than two times,” Toph said, hanging limply from Sokka’s arms.

“Oh we definitely did,” Zuko said, a smirk on his face as you squeaked in embarrassment.

“Ha! You owe me five gold pieces,” Sokka yelled triumphantly, accidentally dropping Toph. The small girl landed on the ground, scowling deeply at both having been dropped and losing the bet.

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Snoozles. If you need me I’ll be outside,” Toph grumbled, stalking out of the cave. You shared an awkward glance with Sokka, who had a large grin on his face as he stared at the two of you.

“Uh, anything else you need?” you asked the Water Tribe boy.

“No,” he replied, the smile never leaving his face. “We’ll be waiting outside when you’re done. Have fun, but not too much fun.”

Groaning, you dropped your head onto Zuko’s chest. Sokka let out a loud laugh as he left and Zuko simply rolled his eyes before looking down at you. Using his index and middle fingers, he tilted your chin up, bringing your face up so that he could look at you. A bright blush spread across your cheeks as you met Zuko’s golden eyes, the urge to look away growing stronger as his gaze dropped to your lips.

“Now, where were we?”

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rllymilerlly · 4 years

Note

For the writing prompt. Taang, 19, thank you! :)

19. “What if I love you?” This ended up way longer and in a completely different direction I thought it was going to. So bare with me lmao:

——————-

Aang sat wistfully looking up at the sky. The clouds were painted a dusty pink as the sun was setting in the distance. A soft breeze brushed his face and a faint earthy scent tickled his nose. He smiled. The smell reminded him of his traveling companion, who he could hear chatting up Momo and Appa about Spirits knows what, back at their makeshift camp.

Tomorrow, they should arrive at the Fire Nation. Zuko asked him and Toph to come sit at some boring trade meeting. Unlike Toph though, Aang was ecstatic to go. All of their friends were going to be at the meeting and it’s been too long since he last saw them. Okay, so they were all together last month, but it still has been way too long for Aang’s taste. He missed seeing his friends everyday. He loved traveling and helping people. He also loved that Toph has traveled with him for the past, oh spirits, almost seven? Eight years?

But things were so different now-a-days. They were all so busy with different responsibilities in order to make the world better. So it maintains its balance. Not only that, but Suki and Sokka got married last year and could possibly start a family soon. Fire Nation officials were breathing down Zuko’s neck about having a Fire Lady and a future heir. Which always leads to severe discomfort between Zuko and Katara whenever it is brought up at meetings, but it is amusing torment for the rest of the Gaang.

Then there was him and Toph. He wouldn’t have guessed when the war finished that he’d be spending most of his time traveling with his old Earthbending teacher. It just sort of happened. The rest of the Gaang slowly dissipated to do their own thing, but Toph stayed. At first she said it was because she didn’t want to face her parents. Aang accepted that. But after a year they went and confronted her parents. They made up. He left, while she stayed with them. Aang thought that would be it. That’d he’d be alone for awhile, but Toph came back quickly. She said she couldn’t deal with the stuffy high life anymore. He accepted that too. It felt better with her around anyways. They traveled the world, helped out towns, with and without the rest of their friends.

But then about two years ago he almost died... again. In the long run, it was actually quite a funny story. He was crushed by a pile of metal, which if he would’ve practiced his metalbending like Toph told him too, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But he was stubborn and a little lazy. So he almost died, but Toph saved him. When he woke up about a day later, he was trampled by Toph. She was hugging him, tears in her eyes. Then most surprisingly she kissed his cheek. He was so shocked by it (or maybe it was the concussion) that he barely even felt her punching his already bruised arm. She told him to never scare her like that again, if he thinks he’s ever getting out of metalbending training again he’s got another thing coming to him. Aang barely processed her threats as he came to the realization that maybe there was another reason why she stayed with him.

Aang noticed after that they grew a lot closer, not that they weren’t already close, but it was border- lining uncharted territory for the both of them. For example, they both had night terrors. They both knew about it, but they had an unspoken agreement to never talk about it. (‘Katara’s better at this stuff than I would be’ is what they reasoned themselves with). But then Aang did. He told her about them in the middle of the night, when sleep didn’t seem appealing anymore. Toph didn’t know how to react at first, but she slowly opened up about hers too. They came to a realization eventually that it sometimes helped when they slept right next to each other, Appa and Momo cuddled with them too, of course.

One night he woke up from a bad night terror. Toph held his hand and let him cry silently on her chest. When he finally calmed down he looked into her glassy eyes and and squeezed her hand.

“You’re my Best Friend,” but he said it more tenderly than a friend should. She snorted and rolled her eyes.

“No I’m not. Zuko’s your best friend.” They both knew she was more than that.

Aang’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud clink and a screech coming from behind him. When he turned to look, he chuckled. From what he could gather, Toph was scolding Momo for swiping her dinner. He turned backed to look at the view. He was not about to get in the middle of that again. He leaned his head back on the ground, deciding to count the stars starting to appear above. Enjoy the nature surrounding him. He got to 23 when he felt the familiar vibrations in the ground. Next thing he knew an angry looking Toph was standing over him, hands on her hips.

“Yes, Dear?” He sighed dramatically. Toph scoffed at his teasing and sent a small rock to jut him up.

“What are you doing?” She demanded.

“I mean I /was/ counting stars” Aang said as he rubbed his back.

“Well while you were ‘counting stars’” she mocked him in a high pitched voice, “your lemur stole my food” she crossed her arms and tried to huff her bangs out of her face.

“Funny how he’s always ‘my lemur’ when he does something you don’t like, but when other people talk about how cool he is, he’s suddenly ‘our lemur’” He teased her. He felt another small jolt on his feet.

“This isn’t the time to try to be smart, Twinkle Toes. This is serious. I’m going to starve.”

“T, I hardly doubt you’ll starve. You literally had half of my dinner earlier” Aang stated, patting her shoulder, “Wait a minute. We had breakfast AND two huge lunches, and you even made us get snacks to eat while we rode on Appa. How are you even still hungry?”

“I’m a growing girl, Twinkle Toes”

“Oh Toph, I don’t know how to tell you this” he quickly embraced her, making sure to lift her slightly off the ground, “but you haven’t grown since you were twelve.”

He chuckled as he immediately felt her struggling out of his grasp. Just as quickly as he embraced her, she escaped, and he went flying. He was still laughing by the time he reached the ground again and Toph’s scowl only made him laugh more.

“I hate you,” she tried to sound as angry as she could, but his laughter was starting to get contagious.

“No you don’t” he teased grabbing her shoulders again to ground himself (She was always good at that) “You love me”

There was immediate silence as her shoulders tensed under his hands, her face went pale. Aang cursed himself. His feelings slipped out to much when he said it, he blamed his stupid thoughts from before. That was more than what friendly teasing should’ve sounded like. Because it wasn’t teasing at all, it was an accusation.

“Toph I-“

“What if I love you?” She interrupted barely above a whisper, as if testing the waters.

“What?”

“What if I did?” Toph questioned, more assertive, more herself. She grabbed his hands putting them between them, “Love you?”

Without thinking Aang placed one of her hands to his heart and let go of the other. He used his free hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes. He could see the blush running across her cheeks as she radiates in the moonlight. He couldn’t bring himself to let go. Not now, maybe not ever. She was beautiful, but he knew that already. He could see her pale eyes trying to bore into his soul, searching for confirmation to an answer that she should already know.

“That would be okay” He stated earnestly. Toph started to smile, confirmation settling in.

“Yeah?”

“Yes” And braver than he has ever felt before, he asked in return, “And what if I love you?” She chuckled and nudged him.

“I guess that would be okay too.”

#taang #toph x aang #atla #writing practice #writing prompts #toph beifong #aang #my asks #literally i hope this okay #if its garbage roast me bet

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