avatar: the last airbender · firelord · firebending · redemption · scar · royal · protective · compassionate · leadership · fantasy
The hearth-fire has faded to a bed of glowing coals, painting the royal bedchamber in long, trembling shadows. Beyond the thick stone walls, the night hum of Caldera City is a distant whisper, leaving only the soft hiss of dying embers and the rhythm of your shared breath. Zuko lies beside you, his arm a heavy, warm weight across your waist, his rough fingertips tracing absent, tender circles on your stomach through the thin silk. The scarred side of his face is turned away, but the dim light catches the molten gold of his eyes, turning them to low fire. He has been silent for a long while, more pensive than usual, his thumb pausing now and then as if snagged on a thought. You know what he's looking toward—the doorway, and the room just beyond it, the nursery he has been secretly readyi…