~Cheshire~

Updated: Monday Aug. 17 2020

Most of my work is crossposted on AO3 and Quotev

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Remember Me: (Levi x Reader Modern AU!) Just a one shot in which the Corporal finally finds his long lost cadet. Will she remember him, or was every hardship they went through really just a dream?

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Full Story Expansion: Dream Girl: (Based off my one shot: Remember Me) Levi was convinced his dream girl was nothing more than a dream from his nightmarish head. When one day he finds someone who looks an awful lot like her, talks like her, and even acts like her, Levi is determined to make her love him. If only his cadet could love him again. (Criminal! Levi x Reader Reincarnated! Modern! AU)

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A Silent Love:  (A Bruce Wayne/Batman x Mute! Reader One Shot) Every time Bruce looks at her, all he can see is his failure. But every time she looks at him, there’s love in her eyes and hope in her smile. He doesn’t need to hear her say

Hello! This is a sequel/finale to my one shot: Warlord Yone's Widow. While this can be a standalone piece, it may be a better idea to start there. This story is crossposted to AO3 and Quotev. Thank you for your time!

Masterlist Word count: 2465

You don’t really mind the blue mask. It’s only large enough to cover the upper half of your face. The only real downside is you can’t see your eyes anymore. From the reflection in the water,  you can see a faint white glow emit from the thin eye slits of the mask. There’s a lot of things  you don't really understand about death, this is just one of them.

It doesn’t make sense that your kimono fades in color, turning from blue and white to black and silver. And you don’t know how the sword you abandoned years ago attaches itself to your back, now a vibrant blue glowing light.

“Your spirit blade.” The stranger had explained gruffly, looking at the blade with a strange expression.

He doesn’t seem to like you very much. You hadn’t known him very long, but you know that your presence seems to pain him. But still, the stranger gives you some of his bandages to cover the sword wound that killed you. 

You don’t know why the stranger and you share the same mask. You’ve asked him why that might be and if he’s met someone with the same masks as you two. The stranger doesn’t indulge your curiosity there. Instead, he carries on silently. You stopped asking that question when you realized how quiet the journey became.

“Keep up.” The stranger calls coldly. 

There’s no need to look to know the man with long black hair is folding his arms and glaring at you coldly. The sharp gaze of the man burns at the back of your head and there’s the anger that rolls off him in waves as he leads you to the place where you’ll finally be with Yone. 

You had long since given up on trying to get his name. He tells you things he thinks you need to hear, like how you’re too careless and how you should listen to him more. He’s tightlipped on any and every detail about himself. 

Luckily, he still has the patience to tell you about your Yone.

Bounding after the taller man, mystified by the way your feet don’t get wet as you  cross the river, you ask: “So, what’s Yone like now?”

“Dead.” The stranger snips back, not even facing you as he says it. 

Touchy subject. Maybe you shouldn’t ask more.

“I figured”, You supply with a wry smile,  “I mean…does he seem happy?”

“He seems busy.” The stranger sighs, glancing at you over his shoulder, “But not suffering.” 

That makes you chuckle a bit, “Even the afterlife isn’t a rest for him, his work ethic has always been amazing. It’s one of the things I hated and loved about him.” 

“Hated?” The stranger finally stops walking, fully turning to you. “Why would you hate his work ethic?” His lips are drawn into a deeper frown than normal and it makes you pause. 

Why does he look so concerned?

“Because it meant I had less time with him. And it isn’t easy watching someone you love constantly overwork himself.” You explain gently, remembering all the times you had to practically beg Yone to come to bed and sleep in. 

Most times, you had your way. Even in death, your heart can’t help but skip a beat at the fact you were  the only person who could pull the strict man away from something other than swordplay, studying, or meditation. You loved the way he tried to scold you, but there was always a faint smile pulling at his lips as you pulled him along by the hand.. 

“There’s a lot of things I should be doing right now.” He’d chide. Smooth voice trying to talk its way out of whatever fun thing you had planned.

“Yes, like being a good husband.” You’d grin back and soon Yone would follow you into bed and hold you close. And that was your favorite place to be. In between two strong arms forged by years of swordsmanship, a silver ring glinting on Yone’s left hand. One that matched yours.

“Not exactly what I had in mind, but I suppose you’re right, my love.” And gentle lips would press themselves to your neck, sending shivers up your spine.

“He told me he hated watching you mourn. He wanted nothing more than your happiness. He wanted you to move on from his memory.” The stranger says gently, interrupting you from your memories. 

Bitterly, you remember the old woman’s words, urging you to let go of Yone and move on. As if. 

“That’s easy for him to say,” You scoff, “at least he still got to see me, I was left alone.”

“You were never really alone.” The stranger interjects, a firm hand placing itself on your shoulder. The gesture is too familiar, too much like Yone who never hesitated to place that grounding hand on tense shoulders. In another time, it would’ve made everything so much easier. But now, it just makes your shoulders droop as tears begin to blur your vision. “You know what they say about the Spirit Blossom festival. How it’s when the gates to the spirit world opens and we get to see all of our loved ones. I waited countless festivals for Yone to appear and he never did. So I told myself I’d see him when I die,” Frowning at the stranger, you shake yourself out of his grip, “I’m dead now. But Yone isn’t here.”

You hadn’t taken the stranger for the empathetic type. Black hair flowing in the nighttime breeze as a frown pulled at his lips. You can’t see his eyes under the red mask, only the same white glow that’s replaced yours. But it’s clear as day that your words upset the man.

“Yone couldn’t always be there for you, he’s very busy.” The man says, but even that sounds unsure. 

“Too busy to even be with me at my final moments?”

“No one could have known that would be your last breath and if I knew-” The masked stranger’s voice had been rising until that point, where he quickly shuts his mouth and stares at you with the same frown, “never mind.”

The stranger and you stand in silence. Pulling your eyes away from his, you look down at your reflection in the river. Death had been kind enough to make you look younger. Without the mask, you’d probably look exactly as you did on the day Yone stuttered out his feelings to you.

What was it he said again?

“I-I think you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.” Before Yone’s eyes widened, “Not to say that’s the only thing I love about you. The truth is, I love everything about you.”

“I just..I wonder if he really did love me.” The dreaded words leave your mouth and tears leak from the mask and ripple your reflection in the water. To be able to cry in death is such a cruel thing. Wasn’t it supposed to be nice? Supposed to be peaceful? You were supposed to be reunited with Yone, he was supposed to find you. But instead you’re left with-

A cold hand reaches out and gently tilts your face towards the stranger, his lips parted ever so slightly as he wipes away your tears. It’s the most gentle way he’s ever interacted with you and you hate how much it reminds you of Yone and the way he used to hold you. Of all the guides the spirit world could’ve given you, why did it have to be someone so much like Yone yet so different from him?

“He loved you more than anything else.” The stranger's words cuts through your thoughts before you could spiral more. Maybe it’s the way he says it so seriously or the way he desperately tries to draw your gaze to him, but you find yourself gazing up at him hopefully. Your eyes draw to the way he clenches his jaw and the same glowing light in the eye holes of his red mask. “He died with many regrets-but loving you was never one of them. And if he could live his life again, he’d make it so that you’d never have to question his devotion to you.”

And neither of you say anything for a few moments. You can feel your tears drying and the tension in your heart slowly easing.

“And he told you this?” You ask cautiously. 

The stranger hesitates for a moment and you feel doubt begin to return until he says: “He’s told others.”

“Oh? Yone was never really the vocal type when it came to his private affairs.” You frown, attempting to pull out the strangers grip. But the man with the red mask glances away and still holds your face.

“He’s a different man now.” He finally lets go of your face with a heavy sigh, turning away from you with a hand over one of the azakana masks on his belt. “Are you sure you still want to find him?”

“Of course!” And you find yourself grinning at the stranger’s broad back, “No matter how different he is, I’ll love him all the same.”

The stranger glances at you over his shoulder before nodding.

And so, the journey continued.

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Nestled deep in an Ionian forest is an entrance to the Spirit World. It’s a gateway of light hidden in a lake. The stranger made you step in first, but was always a step behind you. He had been quiet as the journey winded down to an end, not even amusing your questions. 

The water felt cold and as you got closer to the swirling light in the middle of the lake, you could feel the flow shifting and pushing you closer and closer to it. 

“Don’t fight it.” The stranger soothed, a comforting hand on your back helping ease you closer. 

Still, you found yourself hesitating at the edge of the bright white light.

“So this is the final step to death?” You ask, staring at the swirling light beneath the water.

“I suppose that’s one way of viewing this. A fox once told me it is the first step to eternal peace.” The stranger’s reply is soft. 

“And if I step in, Yone will be there?”

You glance behind you at the man covered in white bandages and the red half mask. He nods at you. 

“And…you’ll come with me right? I don’t think I want to take this final step alone.”

“As long as you’d have me, I’ll always be at your side.” The stranger gives you a small smile, stepping next to you and looking down at the glowing light. 

The words spur a newfound confidence and you find yourself stepping into the light and allowing yourself to fall through the portal. 

The Spirit World is bright. Fluffy clouds, a vibrant blue sky, and luscious plants. The trees have pink leaves and the water seems clearer.

When you look down at your reflection, the blue mask is gone. Instead, you can see your eyes again and they’re vibrant and bright.

Standing in a bright white kimono decorated in dark blue floral patterns, you suddenly realize that you aren’t the same person you died as.

“I look like I’m 20 again, maybe 23? Maybe around when I married Yone.” You marvel, gently tracing your sooth skin as you continue to marvel at the reflection.

“I’ve heard that the Spirit World brings you to an age where you felt the most complete.” The stranger chuckles, “I know it’s true for me.”

“Is that so, how old are-” You turn to pose the question and freeze.

Where the stranger stood is a man with long white hair, with strands braided into a blue ribbon. Swords with white ribbon lay crossed behind his black, peaking over his white and blue robes. Where azakana masks lay, are instead a belt of vibrant white pearls. 

Yone stood before you with a gentle smile, a sheen of tears in his eyes, and looking just as young as you. 

“Yone?” You breathed, a hand held over your mouth, hardly believing the sight in front of you.

“You look as beautiful as ever, my love.” He exhaled, closing the distance between the two of you-one strong arm wrapping itself around your waist and the other tilting your face up to his.

Your hand traces his bare chest, gasping as you’re able to feel the warmth of him.

When a tear drips down Yone’s face, you can’t help but break into sobs. You bury your face into his chest and allow years of pain to leave you, Yone’s tears falls into your hair as he holds you close and murmurs sweet words.

“I’m so sorry for making you feel alone. I promise you, I was there. I was watching. And I fall deeper in love with you every day.” Yone spoke fiercely, holding you tightly. 

“You were the stranger. Why didn’t you say anything?” You laugh wetly, wiping away tears as you pull away to look at him. 

It’s then Yone finally tells you what happened to him after he died. And how ashamed he was to be bound to the mask when he found you, how he was so convinced you wouldn’t love him anymore. “It’s my new identity, (Y/n), I’m not the Yone you loved before. The person you see now is the past, the present is the Yone who slays azakana.”

“Mask or no mask, I love you all the same.” You beam, “My love, do you know how much I’ve missed you? Whether it’s resting here or going back out there to fight azakana, I want to be at your side. I’m your wife, after all, and even death can’t change that.”

Yone frowns, “Your life hasn’t been easy. Wouldn’t you prefer to rest? We wouldn’t be separated forever, I’d visit you each time the portal opens.”

“My life hasn’t been easy because you aren’t in it. When I’m with you, even fighting demons will be a breeze.” Breaking out of his grip, you step towards the portal that would bring you back to the mortal plane, “Shall we, Yone?”

For a moment, your husband stands frozen. Yone looks at you with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape. Finally he recovers running to you with a grin before picking you up in a bridal carry. You wrap your arms around his neck and your laughter is quickly silenced by Yone leaning in to kiss you. It’s desperate and breathtaking and you feel your husband slowly walking.

When you open your eyes, the white glow of your husband’s mask greets you. But this time, he smiles at you.

Chapters: 4/?

Preview:

“I have two theories.” Shouta says, paging through his notes and finding the documents for them. “The first one is that the objective is in prison. The second is that she’s not in prison. She’s carrying out the mission somewhere else.”

“Don’t you think you’re going too far?” Hizashi asks worriedly, a steady hand grabbing Shouta by the shoulder, “Do you really think this is happening to (Y/n)?”

Chapters: 3/? Preview:

“You can nap if you'd like, I can wake you up for your next class, and I promise I won’t leave this room.” You offer, trying to give the most placating smile you can. 

But it doesn’t have the effect you want. It only makes Shouta’s eyes narrow in suspicion and it takes everything in you not to deflate. Here you were, with years of knowledge of what your best friend is like, and it still wasn’t enough to get through the walls that Shouta placed around himself. Walls that you forgot existed. 

You want to break down into tears and scream, It’s me, Shouta! Your best friend! I’m right here!

Chapters: 2/? Preview: 

Shouta is sure everyone can see him falling apart. More than once, Hound Dog reminded him that staff were entitled to therapy as well. His students aren't as annoying and even talk quietly to let him nap more during homeroom. And the suspicion only grows when Nezu approaches him at his desk and beams. 

 “Aizawa! I finally found a teacher for next year!”

Chapters: 1/?

Summary:

"Eraserhead is becoming a problem," The Commission's president tells you, "see to it."

The Hero Public Safety Commission took everything from you until there was no (Y/n), only (Y/f/n) left in her place. A new face, a wallet full of yen, and a chance to start living your own life again. All you want is to go back to Aizawa Shouta and tell him you love him. And all Aizawa Shouta wants is (Y/n) (L/n), not (Y/f/n).

Masterlist

Crossposted to AO3 and Quotev

Summary: Yone never visited her during the Spirit Blossom Festival, so (Y/n) stopped believing in the afterlife. On the first day of this year's festival, (Y/n) meets a man who reminds her so much of her late husband.

“You shouldn’t be out so late, (Y/n). This is the first day of the Spirit Blossom festival.”

(Y/n) glanced up at the old woman, she owned a nearby tea shop that usually ran late into the night. Her tea shop could host anything, from trade deals to dates. A pang resonated in (Y/n)’s heart as she thought, Yone would’ve loved it. But the old woman always closed the tea shop early when the Spirit Blossom festival arrived, despite the promise of booming business.

“I’ll be sure to go home when this scroll painting dries.” (Y/n) explained, her painting of the serene lake lay on the bank of its inspiration. The poetry, inscribed in black, was still glossy. The Ionian words reading, “Just as the lake is heavy with water, my heart is heavy with its longing for you.”

“If your words were as beautiful as your art, you’d have more buyers than courters.” The old woman teased.

(Y/n) was bitterly aware of her reputation. She knew of the way lonely, desperate men looked at her. The widow of the Warlord Yone. They began to look at her as a prize to be won, it didn’t help that she was a skilled artist with a surprising amount of wealth.

“Go home, (Y/n), the spirit portal opens tonight. With your house so deep in the woods, the way is treacherous and demons can-“

“Those aren’t real,” (Y/n) sighed, “there is no spirit portal. Otherwise my husband would have visited me by now.”

“Perhaps Yone doesn’t want to encourage you to mourn.”

Anger coursed through (Y/n) and a hateful glare crossed her face, “How dare you disrespect me in such a way? How dare you speak about my husband as if you knew him? Leave me, old hag!” Maybe in the morning she’d regret her tone, but now (Y/n) grinned triumphantly as the old woman hobbled away.

Now left alone with her art, (Y/n) reached out a careful finger and poked the writing of the poem, frowning when her finger stained wet with ink. Her gaze pulled to the moonlit lake, quietly pondering the ways of the Spirit world. She wondered what Yone would be doing there. Meditating? Still practicing his swordplay? Could he watch her?

At the crunch of leaves, (Y/n) turned to scold the old woman for bothering her. Only for her eyes to widen as a man drove a sword into her heart, her world went black. The last thing she heard was her husband yelling her name.

When (Y/n) awoke, she felt nothing. She only heard the screech of a horrible creature and the sounds of blades clashing. She sat up, her jaw dropping at the looming monster that charged at a man with long black hair and a strange mask. His gaze seemed to drift to her briefly, his hands gripping twin blades tightly. Her eyes landed on a blood stained sword on the ground and without thinking, she grabbed it and rushed at the creature from behind. Memories of her warrior days resurfacing, days when her and her husband were a force to be reckoned with.

“No! Don’t!” The man ordered but (Y/n) stabbed the creature anyway. It dissipated into the air and only a blue mask was left, floating tantalizingly in front of her face. (Y/n) couldn’t help but yell as it attached to her face forcefully. No matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t come off.

“It won’t come off, you’ve killed the Azakana yourself so you’ll suffer the same curse I have.” The man snapped, glaring down at her.

(Y/n) stared up at the man helplessly, shuddering at the sight of the bandages that wrapped around his torso and his voice sounding awfully familiar. “Azakana?”

“Why didn’t you listen? Now there’s no way I can put you back!” The man scolded, grabbing her chin roughly and tracing fingers over the dark blue mask. His grip was gentle but firm, sending memories of Yone always pulling her firmly yet gently when she’d turn away from him during a fight.

“What do you mean put me back?” (Y/n) asked, finally forcing herself away from his grip, only to stumble on something behind her. (Y/n)’s breath caught in her throat at the sight of her corpse . Blood still seeping from the wound in her chest and onto the art piece she had just finished. A few feet away, her empty coin purse. “I was murdered…I’m dead.” It’s only then she dares to look down at her spirit body, finally noticing a faint glow to her skin and the sword wound still gaping. She barely had time to feel embarrassed at the way her kimono was open, revealing more than she’d like in front of a strange man. She quickly pulled her kimono together, while looking at the man sheepishly.

“I couldn’t get to you in time…but you should’ve listened to that woman.” The man said bitterly, kneeling down, bandaged hands closing her corpse’s eyes.

“She told me to be careful of spirits, not robbers.” (Y/n) grumbled.

“(Y/n), how careless have you become? You didn’t even have a weapon-“

“How do you know my name?” She snapped, looking at the man suspiciously.

The red masked man looked embarrassed, looking away from her with a deep scowl.

“Who are you?” She continued.

Silence flowed for the longest time. The man seemingly debating within himself. (Y/n) watched him closely, unable to help but pick out similarities between him and Yone. The facial structure, the voice, and even the stoic demeanor. But he didn’t stand like Yone. He didn’t do his hair like Yone. Her husband used to have tenser shoulders that made him look more broad. He kept his hair in a bun, only ever allowing her to see him with his hair unkempt. Her husband also prided his facial hair, always maintaining it carefully with a small blade she had gifted him early on in their relationship.

Maybe that’s why her heart was beating so fast.

“The spirit portal opened today, I’ll guide you to it.” The man finally said, grabbing her upper arm and beginning to walk away. The bandages around his hand rubbing against her skin.

(Y/n) tried to dig her heels into the ground, desperately trying to pull out of his grip. “Why should I trust you?” She demanded.

The man growled, “Your husband would want you to trust me and stop being so stubborn. I’m doing what’s right for you.”

At that, (Y/n) stopped resisting and stumbled after him. Her eyes widening as she stared up at the man with long black hair who seemed to hate every fiber of her. A coldness and rudeness she wasn’t quite used to. But.. “Did Yone send you?”

At that, the man’s shoulders stiffen. “Yes. He did.”

“Where I’m going, will I get to see him?” She chanced, at that the man’s pace slowed to a stop, before he finally stopped and looked down at her. He thought for a while, thumb slowly rubbing a circle into her arm.The frown wasn’t as prominent as before. Not as angry.

“Maybe.” He finally said.

With a grateful smile and determined nod, (Y/n) said, “Okay! Let’s go!”

The man nodded wordlessly, finally letting go of her arm and forging ahead.

And just like she did many times in her life, (Y/n) looked forward to death. And just as he did many times before, Yone wished she’d just forget about him.

Crossposted to Quotev and AO3 under Cheshire

Masterlist

Word count: 523

“You need to fight it, (Y/n)! Don’t let it consume you!” Akshan was begging, desperately grabbing at your arms as the mist slowly corrupted to you.

“Akshan, stand down!” Lucian ordered, but Akshan ignored him in favor of pulling you closer. His heart raced as he watched your fearful eyes meet his, their color slowly corrupted to the bright and misty green he grew to hate.

Akshan desperately tilted your face up to his, his heart dropping at the way your hair gradually faded to white, “This isn’t you, my love, you are a sentinel! You’re Shadya’s greatest pupil! You’re my wife!” 

Akshan was losing you before his eyes.

“The world is more dangerous than ever, Akshan,” Your eyes fixed him with a seriousness he wasn’t used to, “the Sentinels are Runeterra’s last chance.” 

“They’re lucky to still have us on their side.” Akshan mused, pushing away the memories of ruined Sentinels who became soulless slaves to Viego. 

There’s a weary look in your eyes and the tears in your Sentinel attire only hinted at the hell you two had been through. “You know what to do if that ever changes.” You reminded.

“It won’t come to that, Love, I won't let it.” He meant every word. Akshan would do anything to keep you safe. He had already lost Shadya, he wouldn’t lose anyone else to Viego.

Your eyebrows furrowed and Akshan carefully took your face into his hands and pressed a loving kiss to your forehead. 

The memory only made Akshan sick as he watched your fearful features turn to disgust and the hand that had been gripping him desperately began to push him away. 

All the dreams Akshan had of a future with you crumbled as you stood before him with your weapon drawn and hatred.

And still, he begged. “Please, my love, I know there’s still light in you. Come back to me!”

A cruel laugh left you, what once had been melodical now tainted along with your being. “You’re so selfish, Akshan! It’s always about what you want, what’s good for you. I like this version of me, she doesn’t follow you so blindly!” 

Akshan couldn’t help but recoil, a sharp pain in his chest at the implication of your words. If this was no longer you, then that meant…

“I trust you’ll do what needs to be done if I’m ever lost.” You begged, stroking a hand down his cheek. 

The Absolver had never felt heavier than in this moment as he raised Shadya’s beloved weapon against her most beloved pupil. The weapon hum as it began to channel with energy. His hands shook as he saw you raise your own weapon, intent to make this as difficult as possible. Because you were never the type to stop fighting, one of Akshan’s favorite things about you. 

It only made this moment even worse.

Akshan leaned into your palm, his eyes never leaving yours. Even as his heart raced for you, he said the words he dreaded the most, “I’d make it quick, so that no one will ever remember you as a scoundrel.”

Check out this amazing fanart of Xia!!: https://www.quotev.com/story/13081587/fanart

Original One Shot

Previous ----> Next(will be updated once next chapter is up. For notifications, lmk if you want to join my tag squad)

Masterlist

Word Count: 2264

The play is caught up to the present. They had reluctantly accepted Zuko’s actor into their group and Xia’s actress remains dead.

 “So the Fire Nation doesn’t know you’re alive either?” Sokka asks in a lowered voice.

“I don’t know, Zuko, did anyone say anything?” Xia asks.

“Azula didn’t want anyone to know you escaped. So she just ordered the soldiers to say you died in Ba Sing Se.” Zuko explains, and Xia sees him wincing.

Xia turns back to the stage with a frown, she can’t imagine how her father must’ve reacted. She’s glad she bumped into him during the invasion. At least he knows she’s alive now...but she can only imagine how disappointed and angry her father is with her. “Smart.” Xia can’t help but commend. Knowing she was alive could cripple people’s faith in the Fire Nation’s military.

Sozin’s Comet.

The play was touching on the future. Xia knows what she’s seeing on stage isn’t real. The comet illuminating Ozai isn’t real. But something in her stomach drops  and her breath is caught in her throat. Worried eyes make their way to Zuko and she sees him tense with a deep scowl on his face.

She watches as her boyfriend fights for the throne on stage. She watches as he’s burnt away by Azula. Xia thinks they’ll cry for him like they cried for her. He’s their Crown Prince. It just makes sense. Instead Xia feels her stomach drop as the crowd cheers. There’s horror in Zuko’s eyes and Xia doesn’t hesitate to hold his hand tightly in hers as the cheers continue.

How could they cheer for the death of a teenager?

Before any of them could even recover, Aang’s actress is already fighting Ozai on stage.

Xia has a sinking feeling she knows what happens next. 

Even then, her heart breaks as Ozai reigns triumphant while her own people cheer for the death of the Avatar and the death of Prince Zuko.

Xia wonders if her father would cheer too.

The walk home is long, quiet, and the air is humid. 

“That wasn’t a good play.” Zuko finally breaks the silence.

“You were right.” Xia can’t help but agree as the rest of the group echoes his sentiment.

“But the effects were decent.” Sokka complimented.

“I feel like they were the only good part of the play.” Xia adds.

“I don’t know, they seem pretty bland to me.” Toph says with the straightest face. 

Xia tosses and turns in her bed for an hour before giving up with a groan. She doesn’t bother to fix her hair. She wears a loose red robe and makes her way to the door. She’s contemplating on checking if Zuko is still awake, maybe they could talk until one of them finally fell asleep. Xia nearly screams when she opens it and Zuko is standing right outside with a fist raised to knock.

A soft smile crosses her face, “You couldn’t sleep either?”

Zuko nods, “I was planning on walking to the beach. Wanna come?” 

Xia happily takes his hand and follows him. 

“How do you always know what I need? Even in Ba Sing Se when I was running away from you...somehow you always know exactly what to do.” Xia muses, looking up at him with a grateful smile. She loves the way he looks in the moonlight. His skin tone really pops against the dark night and the silver light of the moon reflects itself in gold eyes. 

Zuko is really handsome. Even with the scar.

He turns to her with a look of surprise before it melts into a small smile, “I don’t really know anything. But I know you.”

Xia frowns, “You know a lot of things. You just don’t realize it.”

“Yeah well, you always know the right thing to say.” Zuko says before pressing a kiss against her forehead. Xia isn’t sure how many times he’s done that, but her heart still races when he does. 

“That means when we’re together, we’re always right.” She says cheekily as Zuko scoffs with a grin. 

They’ve finally made it to the beach and Zuko puts a blanket down for both of them right in front of a large rock. Xia sits in the space between his legs while leaning into his chest, she loves the way he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight. 

It’s quiet as they watch the waves, minutes pass before either of them say anything. It’s a comfortable silence that engulfs them as they try to piece together everything that happened today.

“Are you okay, Zuko?” Xia finally asks, because she realizes she hadn’t checked in with him.

“I’ve had better days,” Zuko says after a few moments, “it was tough to watch.”

“I was kidding when I said they portrayed you perfectly. You know that, right?” Xia asks, looking up at him worriedly.

Zuko looks down at worried eyes as she pulls away a little bit to look at him. His heart is racing in the same way it always does when Xia gives all her attention to him. He’s still not sure how he could afford such the luxury of being loved by the perfect girl.

“I know.” Zuko reassures, before pulling her back against his chest, feeling her relax into his hold again. 

“What happens to us when the war ends, Zuko?” Xia asked, while tracing circles into his hands.

Zuko takes a deep breath before asking, “What do you want to do? Where do you want to go?” He lets himself sink into her dream of a world where Aang defeats the Fire Lord and they’re both free to go wherever they please. A world where they both live through the war. 

“I don’t know if my father could look at me after everything I’ve done,” His girlfriend says glumly, “after I apologize to him, I need to find Seiko so I can take care of her.”

“So we’re sticking with Seiko after this?” Zuko concluded.

Xia turns and looks up at him surprised, “We’re? What about the Fire Nation, Zuko?”

Zuko looks down at her surprised, “What about it?”

“The Fire Nation will need a new leader.” She’s looking at him with a serious expression, but Zuko can still see the hope shining in her eyes. They both know what she wants. He wants the same thing.

“I think it’s time my uncle takes back his right to the throne.” Zuko says hopefully, “So where you go, I’ll go.”

He sees the surprise cross her face before the happiest smile overtakes her face, “Are you serious?”

Zuko nods, feeling his own smile slowly take over his face as she turns around fully and hugs him tightly. 

“We can take turns following each other...this is everything I’ve ever wanted.” Xia laughs breathlessly.

From his rapid heart beat, the blush on his face, and the lack of regret on his mind, Zuko has no trouble understanding he feels exactly the same way. 

Everyday, Xia trains until she can barely hold herself up. 

“Have you considered, I don’t know, maybe taking a break?” Sokka asks as Xia breathes heavily, hands shaking.

“No, I haven’t. Sozin’s comet is in a few days and-” Before Xia could finish, Sokka is already placing fruit into her mouth before walking away. 

“I feel like we’re the only ones taking this seriously.” Xia complains to her boyfriend later that night as he helped clean her armor. 

Zuko rolls his eyes, “Tell me about it, Aang always wants to take breaks and they all indulge him.”

“We should really talk to them about that. It’s like they don’t realize the fate of the world is literally in our hands.” Xia continues, “The Fire Nation may already have the world. But I don’t even want to know what your father is planning for Sozin’s Comet.”

“You really don’t.” Zuko agrees. 

Xia understands how dire the situation is, but she isn’t sure if attacking Aang is the right course of action. Xia wants to cringe at all the debris that litter the halls of the house she spent hours cleaning. But none of that matters now.

What matters is her boyfriend is attacking the avatar. She loves him but Xia really questions what made him think this was a good idea. 

“But why?” Sokka yelled to her as they followed the path of destruction that was their friends.

Xia brushed her hair out of her face, not even turning as she groaned, “I don’t know!” 

She’s right about to enter the house until she sees her boyfriend fly from the doorway and stumble into a bush. There’s a gaping hole in the balcony where Aang stares down at him and Xia can’t help but sigh in relief. They’re both okay. 

Xia can’t help the anger that seeps to her tone as she says his name, even as relief floods her while she scans his dejected form for injuries. 

“What’s wrong with you? You could’ve hurt Aang!” Katara snaps as the group makes their way over. 

“What’s wrong with me?” Zuko scoffs, “What’s wrong with all of you? How can you sit around having beach parties when Sozin’s comet is only three days away?”

The tension is thick and Xia watches the way his jaw clenches as he glares at their friends. Xia holds his hand tightly and even if the anger doesn’t leave his face, she still feels him squeeze her hand reassuringly.

“Why are you all looking at me like I’m crazy?” He finally asks.

“About Sozin’s comet,” Aang begins, “I was actually gonna wait to fight the Firelord until after it came.”

Xia’s eyes widen and she looks to them in shock. No one mentioned that to either her or Zuko. She can’t help but feel a bit betrayed, especially as Sokka looks at her sheepishly.

“After?” Zuko questions.

Aang nods, “I’m not ready. I need more time to master firebending.” Xia agrees wholeheartredly because even her firebending needs work.

“And frankly, your earthbending could still use some work too.” Toph adds.

“So you all knew Aang was gonna wait?” Zuko asked, looking down at her shocked.

Xia quickly shook her head, “I didn’t know.” Before narrowing her eyes at her “friends”.

“Honestly, if Aang tries to fight the Firelord right now, he’s gonna lose.” Sokka explains, before adding “No offence.” when Aang pouts.

“The whole point of fighting the firelord before the comet was to stop the fire nation from winning the war. But they pretty much won the war when they took Ba Sing Se.” Katara says with an apologetic look to Xia, “Things can’t get any worse.”

“You’re wrong.” Zuko says quietly, and Xia can feel the grip on her hand tighten ever so slightly.  “It’s about to get worse than you can even imagine.”

Zuko tells them everything about the war meeting, from General Shinu’s report (Xia remembers him, he tutored her in strategy) to Ozai’s genocidal plans. The information is enough to send Xia’s stomach churning. She doesn’t want to think of a world under Ozai or the death of thousands. Her hands are shaking as she thinks of the plan, the idea that the Earth Kingdom-her home for the last three years- could fall. That Seiko, Chief Suzu, all of the people she’s met, their lives could be ended so-

Xia snaps out of her thoughts as Zuko’s hand slips from hers while he sits on the ground. “I’d forgotten who I was.” He finishes, not even bringing himself to look at her.  

Xia is barely listening as her panic filled mind tries to think if she has enough time to get back to Ba Sing Se and find Seiko. But then what? She couldn’t defend the entire kingdom on her own, she couldn’t even defend Shú Huí on her own.

“What am I gonna do?” Aang asks softly.

“I know you’re scared. And I know you’re not ready to save the world,” Zuko begins, “but if you don’t defeat the Firelord before the comet comes, there won’t be a world to save anymore.”

Xia sees sudden anger flash in Aang’s eyes before he’s snapping at Zuko, “Why didn’t you tell me about your dad’s crazy plan sooner?”

“I didn’t think I had to. I assumed you were still gonna fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait!”

Aang is collapsing on his knees panicking and something inside Xia reminds her to get a hold of herself. 

“Aang, you don’t have to do this alone.” Katara reminds him gently.

“We always knew this day would come, now we just need to pull ourselves together and get ready for another battle.” Xia agrees. Zuko lays a hand on her shoulder and smiles down at her softly. Xia is still terrified but she beams up at him.

“Yeah, if we all fight the Firelord together, we’ve got a shot at taking him down.” Toph says fiercely.

“Alright! Team Avatar is back!” Sokka cheers, “Air! Water! Earth! Fire! Fan and sword!” Xia can’t help but feel impressed as Sokka seemingly produces a fan made of leaves out of nowhere for Suki. 

“Fighting the Firelord is gonna be the hardest thing we’ve ever done together.” Aang starts gravely, “But I wouldn’t wanna do it any other way.”

Xia doesn’t hesitate to join their cheesy group hug. Grinning as Katara prompts Zuko to join in. The moment is only enhanced when Appa tries to join and they all fall to the ground.

And just like that, training continues. 

A/N: I’m super sorry for the 4 month delay. I’ve kept the tags the same, please let me know if you’d like to join or leave the list! I’ll totally understand. I will do my best to be prompt with the last few chapters

Aiming for this weekend but also my mom just had a major surgery so I’ve been taking care of her and the rest of the house. Super sorry ❤️

Original One Shot

Previous ----> Next

Masterlist

Word Count: 3240

 Out of the corner of her eye, Xia can see her boyfriend genuinely enjoying the horrors happening on stage. A smile across his face as he watches the action intently while Xia isn’t sure if she should be laughing or cringing away. The only person who might be enjoying this more than Zuko is Toph who’s cackling as Aang rages next to Xia.

 She takes back all the feelings of jealousy she felt before, Xia is glad she isn’t in this play. 

She’ll never see an Ember Island Players production again.

Xia almost screams as a Fire Nation prop ship rolls onto stage and her eyes zero in on the actor playing Zuko. A headpiece with a scar (that doesn’t even match the actor’s skin tone) and hair the same length and texture as Xia’s while an Iroh with large bushy eyebrows stands behind him.

Xia laughs because they got the dialogue 100% accurate. 

“They make me look totally stiff and humorless.” Zuko complains.

“Actually, I think that actor’s pretty spot on.” Katara grins.

“Yup, his first line is about honor.” Xia agrees as Zuko shoots her a deadly glare.

“How could you say that?” Zuko demands turning back to Katara.

“Let’s forget about the avatar and get massages!” Iroh’s actor proposes.

Zuko’s actor yells, “How could you say that?” 

Xia is trembling with silent laughter as Zuko practically deflates next to her.

Xia’s smile is wiped off her face when the scene changes to Aang, Katara, and Sokka eating dinner with Chief Suzu. 

Oh no.

She should’ve known. 

The stage is filled with the sounds of a woman making terrible ghost noises and then a person wearing a recreation of her mother’s armor and a fox mask waltzes onto the stage. Xia stares in awe at the fact her actress is wearing high heeled boots and fishnet tights, she’s also still making those ghost noises. “I am the Red Fox Spirit! The second greatest traitor of the Fire Nation!” Her actress calls out, while flipping her straight black hair over her shoulder as she stands on top of the dinner table. The only accurate thing about this scene is Sokka’s actor screaming.

Xia’s character is met with roars of laughter that only make her sink further into her seat.

Her friends are part of the laughing crowd. Zuko is looking at her with the most annoying smirk as Sokka and Toph laugh breathlessly.

“There’s so many things wrong with this.” Xia says deadpanned as she crosses her arms and glares at the scene on stage.

“Ooooooooo, Avataaaaar,” Her character continues while wiggling her fingers in the air, “I will protect you with my ghostly abilities. OoooooOOOooo!” Her actress won’t stop flipping her black hair back and forth. 

Xia buries her face in Zuko’s shoulder. “Make it stop.” She groans.

She can feel him trembling with laughter even as he rubs circles into her hand comfortingly, “Not a fan of the accuracy?” He asks.

Xia huffs and turns her attention back  to the dumpster fire on stage where her actress parades around in her mother’s uniform, a fox mask, and really cheesy ghost noises. 

“I’m just kidding! I’m not really a ghost.” Xia’s character laughs, “I just pretend to be dead to scare the Fire Nation!” Her actress bows exaggeratedly as the crowd cheers. 

“Oh, Red Fox Spirit, you’re such an incurable trickster! We should be best friends!” Aang’s actress jokes as she hugs Xia’s character.

Xia and Aang exchange an annoyed look before scowling at the stage again.

“You and I can adventure together! We’d make the best team, I can even teach you how to hold my boomerang!” Sokka’s character grins lewdly. The crowd laughs wholeheartedly.

“I can’t, my job is to betray the Fire Nation.” Xia’s character says dramatically.

The playwright had even gone the extra mile to cover her first battle with Zuko. Of course, it wasn’t accurate at all.

“You’re alive!” Zuko’s character gasps, “How?”

“A vengeful Earth Kingdom witch brought me back to life! Now I can spend the rest of my life fighting the Fire Nation!” Her character says proudly, Xia can’t help but facepalm. At the same time blaring anger courses through her as she realizes the playwright is implying Seiko is a witch. 

“You are a traitor to the Fire Nation!” Zuko’s character roared, “I’ll kill you for your betrayal!”

“Having one scar makes you look ugly,” Xia’s character smirked, “let’s hope having two fixes that!” 

“Wow, did you really say that?” Sokka whispers.

“Of course not!” Xia snapped. 

The playwright obviously favors Zuko over her, because the battle ends with her character setting a fire before running away. A fire that burns down the village. 

“The playwright really loves you.” Xia said bitterly, crossing her arms as the crowd cheered for Zuko’s character.

“I’m not so sure about that, are you seeing the wig they gave me?” Zuko replies, equally bitter.

“Actually, it looks a lot like my hair.” Xia snorted. 

A few scenes later, Xia can’t help but feel jealous. They portrayed the Blue Spirit much better than the Red Fox Spirit.  Next  to her, Zuko and Aang both cringe. Xia assumes it’s because Aang’s character swoons while Zuko’s character is chased off the stage.

______________________________________________________________________ 

As soon as the curtain closes for intermission, Xia stands up with a stretch and a frown. “I need a snack after that terrible performance.” She grumbles.

“You and me both!” Sokka agrees, “Wanna raid the concession stands with me?”

“Don’t spend too much on food.” Katara warns. 

“And don’t talk to anyone you don’t have to, we don’t need anyone recognizing us.” Zuko adds.

“We’ll be fiiine.” Sokka reassures, “We’ll meet you at the closest balcony!”

Xia and Sokka push through the crowds, between them there’s a silent agreement to spend anything and everything necessary to buy the best snacks. 

Sokka’s eyes glow with delight as they flicker through all the foods in the concession stand. “Okay, Lee, what are we working with?” He asks. Xia frowns at the name he chooses for her, there's like thousands of Lee’s in the Fire Nation.

“Well, Wang, there’s a lot of options. I feel like you’ll enjoy the meaty snacks over there but I’m more of a fire flake girl.” Xia advises. 

“Okay so we buy both. Why? Because we deserve the best.” Sokka says as he takes out the credits. 

“And if we get both, we can do a snack trade.” Xia agrees as she takes the credits and turns to the vendor.

“Sounds good to me!” Sokka grins as the vendor works on putting their order together. 

______________________________________________________________________ 

“What took you guys so long?” Zuko asked as Xia sat beside him on the staircase with a bag of fire flakes. Xia only smiles and places a fire flake towards his lip, which he begrudgingly chews.

“Just strategizing an order.” Xia says gently as Sokka laments how the playwright thought he was an idiot with bad jokes. 

It’s how they end up talking about how bad their portrayals are.

“Listen friends. It’s obvious that the playwright did his research.” Toph says with a smirk as she crosses her arms, “I know it must hurt, but what you’re  seeing up there on that stage is the truth.”

Xia can’t help but grumble, “I don’t remember standing on Chief Suzu’s table and making ghost noises.” 

“You’re supposed to be dead, Xia, it was probably the only way he could convey it.” Toph laughed.

Before Xia could snap back, Zuko pushes a fireflake towards her mouth with a look that says, ‘you’re not winning this one’.

______________________________________________________________________ 

Toph’s actor is almost as ripped as the Boulder she met during the invasion. Xia leans over in her seat and glances from the hulking man on stage to the petite girl sitting at the end of their row with the brightest smile on her face.

“Accurate my butt.” Xia grumbles as she leans back in her seat with folded arms, not even flinching as Toph’s actor lets out a devastating shriek to show off their alternative vision. The saddest part is that Toph’s actor wears an outfit almost exactly like Toph’s. Xia’s actress couldn’t even hold a candle to her accuracy (“You two do look alike- but you’re obviously prettier!” Zuko had yelped when Xia sent him an immediate glare laced with daggers).

And then it hits the cave scene with Katara and Zuko. 

It’s the same time Xia realizes she doesn’t really know what happened in the cave. She knows Zuko gained Katara’s trust, but Xia didn’t know how it happened. 

Xia can’t help but feel a little sick as Katara proposes her love towards Zuko and cuddles him. It’s the first time Zuko’s character smiles in the production. Out of the corner of her eye she sees an uncomfortable look on Zuko’s face and the pieces fall into place, a little more clear than they were before.

Suddenly the arm draped over Xia’s shoulder feels too heavy and Xia can’t help but shift uncomfortably. The betrayal Katara was talking about...did it have to do with what she was seeing on stage? The sinking feeling in her stomach continued as more things began to make sense. Zuko’s willingness to kill someone. Katara’s heightened hurt over Zuko’s betrayal. How quick Zuko was to protect Katara at the Air Temple. All of it makes more sense. 

She tries to tell herself it’s the past but the past is very recent. It’s more recent than Mai and it might even overlap his claimed love for Xia.

That terrifies her. 

But she doesn’t pull away from his grip, instead Xia leans in closer and places a hand on his thigh. There’s so many questions on her mind but Xia reminds herself that the Zuko on stage isn’t the Zuko holding her in his arms now. She’s watching one of the worst plays in the world, it’s littered with inaccuracies.

The Zuko holding her had never lied.

“You’re shifting too much.” Zuko mumbles, pulling her a little closer.

“You’re flirting too much.” Xia shoots back, pointing at his character accusingly.

“He’s flirting too much. That’s not what happened at all.” Zuko complains.

The panic leaves her heart and Xia feels even safer than she did before. 

Xia watches Zuko betray Iroh and doesn’t hesitate to rub his shoulder as he slouches forward with a scowl. His character continued to shout “I hate you” to the greatest general Xia had ever known. It’s a play, she reminds herself, this didn’t really happen.

“You didn’t really say that, did you?” Katara asks worriedly.

“I might as well have.” Zuko admits.

Xia only frowns but squeezes his shoulder reassuringly. 

She wants to tell him it’s just a play, that he shouldn’t let it hurt him like this. But the next scene renders Xia mute. 

It’s her “death”. 

Even with the lightning her death is a quiet one. One moment she’s fighting Azula gracefully, dodging and sending fireballs without mercy. Her actress performs beautiful acrobatics and there’s not a whole lot of dialog in the scene.

“You could’ve been great! We could’ve fought side by side!” Azula’s actress says in a bland tone.

The lightning gets darker until Azula’s lightning bolt is illuminated and sent into Xia’s heart.

Xia knows what she’s seeing isn’t real and it isn’t accurate. The girl being struck by Azula’s lightning on stage isn’t her, and that never happened. 

The theater is dead quiet as her body lies in the middle of the stage, unmoving with black hair fanned around her.

Xia hears the hitch in Zuko’s breath and can feel him stiffening next to her. Her heart melts and she doesn’t hesitate to hold his hand tightly and lean against him. “It’s not real, I’m right here.” She murmurs as his hand clutches her tightly.

“You’re right here. You’re alive.” He repeats quietly.

“Yup, and you haven’t been able to get rid of me yet.” Xia teases. 

Zuko relaxes slightly and Xia allows herself to remember that she didn’t die in Shú Huí and she didn’t die in Ba Sing Se. She’s more alive than ever, surrounded by her closest friends and the love of her life.

______________________________________________________________________ 

The intermission is a more somber one. Sokka and Suki go to hunt down Sokka’s actor to give him some tips. Aang is nowhere to be found so Katara looks for him. Zuko contemplates his betrayal and Xia finds herself thinking about her death. Specifically, the crowd’s reaction to her death.

Truthfully, she expected cheering. Not the somber eyes of strangers watching her death with wet eyes. Xia had done the unthinkable and she knew she could never really go home to the Fire Nation. Not after everything she had done. Xia had made peace with that ages ago.

So why did the crowd cry for the girl who chopped off her topknot? Why were they crying for the Red Fox Spirit?

“I’ll be right back. I need to do a bit of investigating.” Xia tells Toph and Zuko, as she redoes her ponytail. 

“Are you finding your actress too?” Zuko asks, finally looking up from his lap.

“Not quite.” Xia says, leaning down to press a quick kiss to his forehead before making her way into the crowd. 

Her ears desperately tried to pick up on conversations, searching for any mention of her death. When she thinks she finally finds one, she forces herself to lean casually on the wall with her eyes closed.

“I wonder if General Arjun has seen this play.”

“I highly doubt it. He’s only taken one vacation since his daughter’s fake death. It was to visit his wife’s family personally to deliver the news of her passing.”

“It’s really such a tragedy, he’s lost the most to this war.”

“I hear that his only breaks from work are to buy flowers for a small shrine he keeps for his daughter.”

“That’s an improvement, when he first learned about her wandering spirit, General Arjun spent almost all of his credits on people who claimed they could commune with her.” 

“Imagine, he finally finds out his daughter is alive only to be taken away in an instant. Hasn’t he been through enough?”

“If there’s anyone who deserves the happiest ending, it’s General Arjun.”

“Sadly, it’s impossible for him. I think his daughter really did die this time.”

Xia can’t bring herself to listen anymore. Suddenly the somber silence that fell over the theatre makes sense. Her eyes sting with tears as she rushes to the nearest empty balcony and finds herself burying her face in her hands trying to slow her breathing and will away falling tears.

The selfishness of her actions truly sinks in as she realizes her father didn’t move on in the way Xia hoped he would

She hoped he’d be angry, hateful, unemotional, she even hoped he’d remarry and start a new family. Anything but the empty and depressed man she has to hear about from the crowds. Not the man who’s nation cries for him as they watch her dance on stage like the disappointment she-

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Zuko’s voice is alarmed as he quickly rushes over. Gentle but firm hands wrap themselves around her wrists and pull her hands away from her face. Worried gold eyes meet hers and it only makes Xia cry more. “Are you hurt? What happened?” Zuko presses as he scans her for injuries.

“I left him alone, he’s suffered so much because of me.” Xia manages to get out, looking away from her boyfriend shamefully. 

“Who?” He asks alarmed, suddenly taking her face and tilting her head up to his.

“My dad. I heard some other people from the audience talking, I didn’t realize how much he was suffering.” Xia hiccuped, and she tries so hard not to imagine her father sitting at a shrine for her.

“When you and your friends win...come home for dinner. You know I don’t like to eat by myself.”

 Her father’s voice resonates through her head. Knowing everything she does now, she realizes it was more than just an empty dinner table that haunted her father. 

“I should’ve done more to come home or at least tell him that I’m alive.”

Zuko’s eyes soften, “Xia, is there really anything you could’ve done? There’s a lot of things wrong about this play, but they still managed to show how all of this was against your will.”

“No one forced me to stay, I could’ve escaped. I could’ve sent a letter. I could’ve done anything but leave my dad in the dark.” Xia said tearfully closing her eyes in pain. 

She hears Zuko take the shakiest breath before he gently wipes away tears from her cheeks. It’s quiet, save for her sniffling and occasional wimpers. Xia’s mind is racing with all the ways she disgraced her own father. The father who would give her anything she asked for and treated her like a princess. The father who loved her unconditionally and did everything he could to protect her. 

“It’s funny.” Zuko finally says.

Brokenly, Xia’s eyes meet his as she whispers, “What?”

“Wait, I, hang on.” Zuko takes a deep breath, “It’s funny how we’re both in the same boat. Of all the people in the world, it’s us.”

Xia almost thinks he’s talking about Firelord Ozai. Then she remembers the last hug she shared with General Iroh.

“I guess no matter how you spin it, we both betrayed someone who meant the world to us.” Xia admits, “You didn’t have much of a choice either.”

“I had more choices than you.” Zuko sighs, pulling her closer and leaning his chin on the top of her head. “How did you feel when I betrayed you? What did you want from me?”

Xia can hear Zuko’s heartbeat in her ear, a faint smile crosses her face when she realizes it’s racing just as fast as hers. She allows herself to remember the days that followed after their fight, wondering how her best friend could become so..heartless. 

What did she want from Zuko then? What did she want during those sleepless nights? Why did she allow herself to dream of the past when the present tried to burn her?

“I wanted to know your part of the story. I wanted to know if you regretted anything.” Xia finally says, “Even if it wasn’t an apology, I just wanted to speak to you as you. Not as an enemy, not as the crown prince, just you.” 

Zuko hums above her, she can feel his fingers running through her black hair. “We can try giving it to our families then.” He says softly.

“If it doesn’t work?” Xia asks quietly, gently pulling away and looking up at him worriedly.

She sees the same fear in gold eyes as a frown pulls at her boyfriend’s lips. 

“I don’t know, Xia,” Zuko confesses, “but we’ll figure it out. Together.”

She nods before wrapping her arms around Zuko’s neck and pulling him into a hug. Their problems are far from over. After they step from this balcony, the play will mock their lives, the war will be in the back of their minds, all while they try to figure out how to tell their truths to the ones they’ve wronged.

Xia is scared. She’s still flooded by guilt. But with Zuko holding her tightly, she doesn’t feel like she’s drowning. 

A/n: Thank you so much for your patience and lovely messages! I didn’t realize how much I could write about the Ember Island Players episode lol. If you want to join or leave tag squad, let me know!

For me I thought it illustrated how easily corrupted police can become as well as how dangerous influential voices can be. It also taught the importance of balance and equity which I loved.

Even better I love how Amon’s core argument/stance was pretty understandable.

Original One Shot

Previous -----> Next

Masterlist

Word Count: 2546

Xia had only visited the royal family’s vacation home on Ember Island a few times. More often than not, her family’s vacations didn’t align with the Zuko’s. Where royalty could take vacations when they pleased, Xia had multiple Ember Island vacations get cancelled because one of her parents got called away to a battle, training troops, or just other military duties. Xia hadn’t minded too much, it just meant they would get to spend more time vacationing at her mother’s village during the colder months. 

But unlike her visits to Zuko’s vacation home before, this time she spars with Zuko. 

Xia loves how easily determination ignites Zuko’s eyes as they spar like it’s life or death. She loves how easy it is to trust each other. They can go at each other’s throats with full confidence the other person can evade or counter attacks, there’s no fear of injury or burns even as they push each other’s limits. 

“I thought you guys were dating!” Katara cried from the sidelines, “This is too dangerous, you two need to-”

“HIT’EM WITH THE ONE TWO, XIA!” Sokka cheered.

“NO MERCY, SIFU HOTMAN, FIREBALLS ALL DAY!” Toph cheered.

Xia’s eyes narrow at her boyfriend, she can see the sweat running down the side of Zuko’s face as intense golden eyes meet hers. His pale torso is covered with light sheen of sweat as well, Xia had stopped blushing over the fact he was shirtless after it allowed Zuko an opportunity to try and break her root. 

“Ready to give up?” Zuko challenges.

“You wish.” Xia taunted before launching herself towards him.

It’s an exhilarating match, only heightened by Toph and Sokka’s yelling while Katara frets and Suki reminds Aang to take notes. Xia loses her footing as Zuko sends a burst of flames towards her feet. Just as she feels herself stumbling backwards, Zuko’s arm immediately wraps around her waist and his other hand grabs one of her flailing arms. 

The serious look is still on his face as asks, “Well?” 

“You win.” Xia agrees with a light laugh. In the background she can hear Sokka complaining as Toph cackles. “Here’s your prize!” Xia stands on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to Zuko’s cheek before backing away with a laugh. 

Zuko’s face melts into a soft smile.

_______________________________________________________________________

“You should start training, Aang, I’ll clean this dusty house.” His girlfriend grins as she pulls away from Zuko.

“I can help you after!” Zuko insisted as she turns away, long curled black hair bobbing while she walked away. Xia flashes him the sweetest smile over his shoulder and Zuko can feel his heart skip a beat as his eyes zero in on that smile directed just for him.

Zuko has no idea what he did to deserve her. 

“I’ll be okay, don’t go too hard on him.” She warned, patting Aang on the shoulder as she made her way into his home.

“You two really go at each other’s throats.” Suki notes with surprise, “I actually got a little worried for a minute.”

“No need.” Toph says nonchalantly, “They’re too in love with each other to really hurt the other.”

“Besides, Xia is great at dodging things. She dodged Zuko’s lovestruck look for days.” Sokka smirked. 

“Did you see the way he was looking at her on the way here?” Katara giggled, “Xia was looking at the clouds but Zuko wouldn’t look away from her. It’s a miracle we made it here without getting lost.” 

Zuko finds himself blushing because he didn’t realize how painfully obvious he was. He can’t help the smile on his face as he remembers how Xia felt in his arms as she talked about what different clouds looked like to her. 

“Are you ready, Aang?” Zuko forces himself to regain composure, his attention shifting to the young Avatar. 

_______________________________________________________________________

Xia huffs out a breath as she removes the white cloth mask from her face. She still has a couple of hallways and rooms to clean, but she allows herself a break as she glances around the spotless guest room that had housed her parents numerous times. 

Xia sits on the bed and glances around the sunlit room. It feels emptier now, without her parents bags left near a closet or her mother’s favorite hand fan sitting on the low table near the window. Bittersweet memories of being the royal family’s guests emerged. Delicious meals, her father’s booming laughter mingled with Zuko’s parents as Xia’s mother would scold him for his foolishness. Even then, Xia would always see her mother’s fond smile win out. 

Xia doesn’t know how long she sits there, remembering her days spent on Ember Island and the times where her parents paused their military lifestyle. Times where Xia could go out in public and refer to her parents as something other than “General Arjun” or “General Lijuan”. 

“I thought I’d find you here.” Zuko’s voice said softly. He’s standing in the doorway, leaning against the edge, still shirtless and lightly glistened in sweat from training. “Katara made me give Aang a break.” 

Xia leans into his embrace when he sits next to her on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. 

“Are you okay?” There’s worry in her boyfriend’s voice. 

“I have so many bittersweet memories about this place,” Xia admits, “but when I think of you..everything just feels sweet.” She looks up just in time to see Zuko’s cheeks glow as he looks at her embarrassed. She can’t help the laugh that leaves her as Zuko just pulls her into a tight hug, hiding away his face in her hair.

“I don’t know how you do it.” Zuko grumbles.

“How I do what?” Xia asks with faux innocence. 

“You know what!”

They sit in silence for a little longer, just enjoying the other’s presence. She still can’t believe they’re a couple. Zuko is her boyfriend. The thought is enough to send her heart racing as bliss engulfs her, almost as warm as Zuko’s embrace. How did she get so lucky? She’s in love with her best friend, her best friend loves her back. Zuko loves her back. 

“Well, the past doesn’t really matter.” Xia concludes, pushing away from him lightly to look at him, “We get to make new memories now.”

Zuko smiles softly before tilting her head up gently and pressing the sweetest kiss to her lips. 

When he pulls away, Zuko presses his forehead against hers, “I should probably continue training Aang, wanna watch? You’ve been cleaning for so long.”

She still has a lot more to do but Xia would much rather prefer the view outside rather than another dusty corridor. 

“Sure, Sifu Hotman.” She teases, laughing as he rolls his eyes and takes her hand gently in his.

_______________________________________________________________________

Xia sits in the shade with Toph and Katara as Zuko and Aang work on their firebending forms. 

“I thought Zuko had it bad.” Katara suddenly said.

Xia immediately frowns and looks to the waterbender, “What do you mean? His form is perfect and-”

“No, I meant the love struck look he keeps sending you. But you’re doing it too.” Katara laughs, “You’ve been smiling at Zuko this whole time.”

It’s then Xia realizes the mild soreness in her face. It’s not from fighting or frowning, it’s from looking at Zuko and just smiling. The revelation only makes Xia’s eyes widen and a blush to paint itself across her cheeks. She’s confident she’s never felt this way about anyone else. She’s never just sat, stared, and smiled at a person long enough for her face to feel sore. Xia finds she loves that bubbly feeling in her chest and she loves that it only feels stronger as she turns back to see Zuko deeply immersed in helping the avatar. 

“I guess I have been.” Xia admits and she feels herself smiling again as she tries to will her blush to go down when she catches Zuko’s eyes on hers.

“Wow, even your heart is beating like crazy.” Toph snickered. 

Xia’s hand drifts over her chest and feels it beating rapidly, she’s almost scared that her heart will crash through her chest. 

“Is it at the same pace as Zuko’s?” Katara grins. 

“Now that you mention it-”

“Okay, okay, I get it!” Xia laughs, burying her face in her hands while the other two laugh.

“What’s so funny?” She hears Aang ask.

“Just Xia and Zuko being dorks for each other.” Toph grins, punching Xia on the arm.

Xia’s eyes drift to Zuko and the amused glint in his eyes.

She sees his face break into a soft smile before regaining his composure and giving Aang a stern look, ordering him to repeat the moves again because he stumbled earlier.

It goes that way for a little longer before Aang nails the steps and they both take a break. Xia brings a towel for each of them and sits next to Zuko. 

“Doesn’t it seem kind of weird that we’re hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?” Katara muses.

“I told you,” Zuko says as he’s wiping himself down, “My father hasn’t come here since our family was actually happy.” 

Xia can pinpoint the last time. 

It was before Ursa disappeared. 

“And that was a long time ago.” Zuko confirms, “It’s the last place anyone would think to look for us.” Xia places a comforting hand on his back as he leans forward, she can feel the tension on his back. She should probably remind him to remember his posture, but Xia refrains since he had been training so hard today. 

“You guys are not gonna believe this!” Sokka’s voice echoes through the courtyard. He’s holding a large scroll in one hand and Xia is worried that it’s a wanted poster for all of them. “There’s a play about us!”

“We were just in town and we found this poster!” Suki grins excitedly as Sokka whips out the scroll poster.

Decorating it are drawn portraits of Aang, Katara, and Sokka with details about showtimes and the cast. 

“What? How is that possible?” Katara asks, as she reads through the poster. 

Xia’s eyes are drawn to the way they portrayed her friends. With a heavy layer of blush over Katara’s face, insanely long and accentuated eyelashes for Aang, and Sokka with more toned arms and chest. In the background of all, intense gold eyes were illustrated, a scar burnt over the left eye. But even with those inaccuracies, the poster is still a pretty good representation of her friends. 

“Listen to this!” Sokka continues with gleaming eyes. He reads the description of the play, The Boy in the Iceberg, created by Puan Tin. The playwright had adventured all over the world and collected stories of the avatar. Xia had to bite her lip to hold in her laugh as the sources included singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war and a cabbage merchant. The diverse sources only showed how much of the world her friends had touched. 

But then Suki mentioned it was performed by the Ember Island players and Xia immediately broke into laughter while Zuko groaned. 

“That’s great!” Xia managed to say, wiping a tear from her eye as Zuko gently bumped her with his shoulder. The irony is too great. A play starring Zuko with his “favorite” actors.

“It’s not!” Zuko complained, “My mother used to take us to see them. They butchered Love Amongst the Dragons every year.”

“I’m such a fan, they really aren’t that bad!” Xia protested as her laughter died down. 

Zuko gives her the most bewildering look, “They really are! Didn’t your mother hate them?” 

“She hated them with a passion.” Xia agreed with the fondest smile, “But Dad and I loved them! That’s so cool that they made a play about you guys!” Xia can’t help but feel a little jealous that her friends get to be portrayed by the Ember Island Players, but she’s really just glad there’s a play about her friends. 

“Sokka, do you really think it’s a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?” Katara asks worriedly?”

“Come on, a day at the theater?” Sokka begs as he holds up the poster again, “This is the kind of wacky time-wasting nonsense I’ve been missing!”

“Please, Katara, seeing the Ember Island Players used to be my favorite part of vacations!” Xia begged.

“What about the two of us playing at the beach?” Zuko demanded, putting a hand over her knee.

“Not now, Zuko.” Xia reassured, gently squeezing his hand before turning back to Katara with pleading eyes. 

“I think it’ll be fun! A play about us, that’s crazy!” Aang grinned.

“Oh alright.” Katara relents and the group cheers as Zuko groans. 

 _______________________________________________________________________

“Aww! Lighten up, Zuko, it can’t be too bad. You’re in it.” Xia teased. 

The play hadn’t started as Xia sat with his arm around her shoulder and Aang on the other side of her. She couldn’t see her boyfriend’s face fully with the black cloak he was wearing, but she could see the edge of a scowl on his face. 

“That’s exactly why it might be terrible.” Zuko grumbles back. 

Xia immediately frowns and gently turns his face to hers, “Don’t be so mean to yourself.” She murmurs before placing a light kiss against his jaw and feels him hug her a little closer.

“Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section? My feet can’t see a thing from up here.” Toph complained.

“This is the safest spot for us.” Xia reminds gently, “Also this is a great spot! We get to see the entire stage, not like the chumps in the first row who have to keep turning their heads.” 

“Xia, we used to sit in the first row.” Zuko says deadpanned. 

“I know, look how much we’ve upgraded.” Xia grins.    

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell your feet what’s happening.” Katara smiles as the red curtains draw upwards.

_______________________________________________________________________

It takes every ounce of self control for Zuko not to laugh at his girlfriend. They’re only minutes into the play and Xia is sitting next to him frozen. Black eyes widened with horror and a hand covering her mouth. 

Truthfully, Zuko isn’t even surprised. It’s exactly like the Ember Island Players to ruin things, he even told Xia.

He lets himself turn his attention away from the trainwreck on the stage and instead focus on the way black eyes followed every movement and the stage light glimmering in bright black eyes. It’s dark, but Zuko can’t help but think how beautiful Xia looks even in the dim lighting. 

“Zuko.” She suddenly whispers, leaning closer to him but still watching the stage.

She has no idea how much of his attention she’s captured, the amount of influence she holds. 

“Yeah?” He whispers back.

“You were right. This is terrible.” Her other hand is reaching for his and clutching it tightly. She’s probably still trying to comprehend what they’re all seeing on stage. A female Aang who acts more like a trickster, an overdramatic Katara who always sounds near tears, a Sokka who makes even worse jokes than usual, and a feral acting Appa.

“It just started, maybe it gets better.” He teased and smirked as she shot him the most unimpressed look.

A/n: First and foremost, I’m super sorry for the delay. A lot of stuff came up and I had to put my own happiness on hold and pause writing this story. When I finally had the motivation to write, I was finding it difficult to insert Xia into the play’s narrative. I have most of the next chapter drafted up so it definitely won’t take me 3-4 weeks like it did just for this chapter. Thank you so much for sticking around guys, really sorry again for the delay. Some people’s names in the taglist changed, so I’m not able to tag everyone. Please let me know if you’d like to leave or join the tag squad.

100% I am! Right now I’m working through the ember island episode.

College classes and my on campus job just started this week so I’ve been super busy with that. Ontop of that, my grandpa has been sick lately so I’ve had to take up a lot of head of family duties 😅