Summary & CW: Fluff, College AU, Pathetic and Yearning Zuko, reader isn't the boggest fan of tea, second person, no use of y/n
Pairing: Zuko x Fem!Reader
A/N: Another piece out of the kiln! Thank you to @kkbooks0813 for requesting and participating i had so much fun writing for zuko <3 (this is my first piece for him help) If this is rushed and a lil different from the rest of my fics I wrote it on my notes app on a road trip LMAO. I hope you guys enjoy <3
You were starting to consider the university library as your primary residence.
It had been almost six hours since you plopped yourself down at the table, not moving unless your bladder was on the verge of exploding. Your professors must have all conspired against you this semester. Because for some reason that not even the Avatar could explain, all your exams took place within 36 hours of each other.
You had barely scratched the surface of the topics for your second exam, when a takeout cup is placed next to the notebook you were tempted to burn.
Glancing up, the first smile of the day smile pulls at your lips.
Zuko was standing next to your chair, awkwardly hunched over with a faint blush coating his cheeks. In his other hand, he had a takeout coffee cup too. If your assumptions were correct, which they often were, it held a warm jasmine tea swirling as the contents.
“What’s this?” You hum, grin still present as the faint smell reaches you.
He was in the middle of sipping his own drink when he attempted to respond. The tea went down before he swallowed, resulting with a coughing fit ensuing in the previously silent library.
The muffled coughs -that weren’t all that quiet- attracted a few eyes as he brings his fist to his chest. The weak punches are a sad try at allowing him to calm his coughs and clear his throat.
Your chair screeches across the stone floor, pushing yourself to your feet. Your palm lands on his back once, twice, and then he finally recovers.
Coming to his senses again, he feels all the eyes on him. And suddenly, his face is as red as his nation’s colors because of the scene he caused.
A poorly hidden giggle escapes your lips. His attention returns to yours with a sideways glare holding no heat behind it.
“The answer you were looking for before,” pausing for a moment, he clears his throat. His voice was still rough from the minor fit. “It’s black tea. I thought you might want something, considering you most likely haven’t left the library in hours.”
Scoffing, you shove at his arm slightly. When he barely nudges, you purse your lips at him. It was frustrating how strong he actually was. He just smirks back at you.
Choosing to ignore his engorged ego, you sit back down in your chair and motion to the one next to you; a quiet invitation for him to join you. “What makes you say that?”
A single raise of an eyebrow gives you your answer.
“Because I know you, I know how you get with exams.” His expression shifts from the smug one he held moments ago to an earnest one when he notices your eye roll. “Indulge me in a break, please. You’ll only work yourself dry if you spend countless hours attempting to engrave information in your head.”
The second sentence halts you. This was a man had never learned how to plead, not even as a boy. He was given everything he asked for if he only requested it. And here he was, almost begging for you to take a break.
As if noticing the intensity of his previous statement, he straightens his back. Breaking eye contact, he moves his wrist in a circular motion mixing the tea with it. “I was also made aware by Sokka that he saw you walking in at eight this morning, while Katara relayed to me that she ran into you an hour ago. Further proving my point.”
“Snitches,” you murmur under your breath.
A breathless laugh sneaks past his lips at your grumbling. It’s the kind that makes you wish you could press pause on life, to truly drink him in. He looked beautiful in this moment. His bangs were falling against his cheek, his hair was neatly tied on the crown of his head, and his smile- oh it was precious. He lacked the wrinkles around his mouth from a childhood spent in misery, but you were set on fixing that. Each time he laughed it was as if a fairy gained her wings or a unicorn was born. It was something so magical and pure, it was like nothing you’d ever seen.
In a split second, it’s over. He’s turning back to you now, and you finally take a sip of your tea.
Ding! Ding! Ding! It was black just like you’d thought.
Another smile creeps on your lips as the liquid trickles down your throat. It was one of the only teas you could stomach that had a substantial amount of caffeine.
Maintaining eye contact over the cup, you see the subtle shift in his expression. It was curious, but his eyes were wider than normal. It reminded you of when children are helping their parents with something, anxious to see if they’ve done it correctly.
When the lid departs from your mouth and he sees your smile, his returns.
“You remembered,” you coo at him and the tips of his ears turn pink. He swiftly looks to his bag, attempting to busy himself with something as he decides on taking his books out.
“It’s hard not too,” he mumbles. “You’ve spend the past two years complaining about the taste of every other tea I’ve managed to get you to try.”
“Awww, so you do listen to me.” The flush spreads to his neck.
“Don’t be me embarrassed, it’s sweet.” Your voice comes out in a sing-song way while your head finds its home on his shoulder. You’re almost positive you can hear the blood rushing to his face.
Fueled by his reaction, you decide to tease him a little more. Lifting your head, your lips find his cheek as they drop the lightest kiss on them before whispering in his ear, “I like it when you listen to me, my prince.”
His face is burning. He never did get used to the title you loved to tease him with. But it was true, he was your prince.
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