Unexpected
pairing: Zuko x Princess!reader
warnings: mentions of nausea/illness, mentions of pregnancy, fluff
notes: this piece was requested by an anon and has been a long time coming! i think its detailed enough that new readers can enjoy without having read the rest of the series
summary: your sudden bout of illness leads to an overprotective dragon and an unexpected discovery for you and your husband
*part of the fire lilies series
It’s a tranquil day in the palace gardens as you sit beside the pond with Druk strewn lazily across your lap. The juvenile dragon has grown quickly in the time since hatching from his egg and becoming your husband’s companion, but he’s still small enough to get away with contently lounging alongside the Fire Lord’s beloved wife.
You and Zuko have just recently celebrated the one year anniversary of your marriage, and the past twelve months have been nothing short of exhilarating. In spite of your initial fears you’d quickly fallen into your role as Fire Lady with grace, assisting Zuko with his duties to the Fire Nation while continuing to ensure the growth and prosperity of the South as Chief. It isn’t always easy leading two nations at once, but your invigorating leadership and courageous heart allow you to face every challenge head on.
It’s your first day back at the palace after returning from a trip to Ember Island to celebrate your anniversary, and already you find yourself engrossed in your duties as Chief. With your inability to run the water bending school from the Fire Nation and Katara’s absence from the South traveling with Aang, Sokka has sent you a list of applicants so you may pick new instructors to guide the next generation of benders. Such an important task requires your full attention, so you’d requested to be left undisturbed unless another urgent matter arose. Your handmaiden Ara and Druk serve as your only company in the garden.
You’re only halfway through the first application when a sharp wave of discomfort washes over you. The fire lilies that line the garden suddenly smell more pungent than sweet, the scent spurring an instantaneous headache as you swallow down the saliva welling in your mouth. It’s as if some switch has been flipped within you, and you suddenly can’t stand to be in your favorite place of refuge any longer. You set the scroll aside with a labored sigh, piquing Druk’s interest as the sleeping dragon opens his eyes to gaze upon your shaken features.
“My lady, are you feeling alright?” Your handmaiden frets with an anxious frown, attempting to approach you only for her path to be blocked by your companion. She stumbles back with a startled gasp at the sudden change in the dragon’s demeanor, his teeth pulled back into a snarl and his piercing stare effectively keeping her in place. She doesn’t dare take another step forward, but Druk maintains his protective stance around you. He’s never acted in such a way before, but his behavior goes unnoticed in your current state of mind.
“I’m fine,” you assure her with a passive wave of your hand, but the pallidness of your face contradicts your statement and only spurs her sense of urgency forward.
“I’ll get the Fire Lord,” she insists, already darting back into the palace and towards the throne room before you have time to protest.
“Monkey feathers,” you groan when your stomach churns abruptly as if to protest the presence of the flowers. Your face feels unbearably warm, and you reluctantly realize your handmaiden was right to be concerned. You feel awful.
With Druk’s help you manage to make it onto your feet, the dragon slithering behind you so you may brace yourself against him in order to keep your balance. Your hand hovers over your mouth to block the smell and to keep the rising bile from falling past your lips, and you force yourself to swallow it down just as Zuko comes running out of the palace towards you. Acknowledging his master’s presence, the dragon does not attempt to block his approach as he had with your hand maid.
“Y/n!” He calls worriedly, immediately taking your face into his hands to examine you once he reaches you. Your flushed features and trembling lips alert him immediately of your discomfort, and he’s quick to scoop you off of your feet and into his arms without a moment’s hesitation. “I’m taking you back inside.”
“The applicant scrolls,” you whine pathetically, feebly reaching behind him with the little energy you have left. “I have to pick my candidates and send them to Sokka…”
“He’ll understand,” Zuko promises with a comforting smile, though his eyes give away his underlying disquietude at your sudden turn of health. You’d been perfectly fine during your stay at the beach house, and he couldn’t think of anything responsible for putting you in such a state.
Zuko reaches your bedroom in record time, and you allow him to gently tuck you under the sheets with the upmost care. You suddenly feel exhausted, and you struggle to stay awake as you watch him open the balcony doors to fill the room with fresh air. Your eyes flutter shut just as the bed dips beside you and his knuckles tenderly brush alongside your cheek. You can’t see the worry clearly etched upon his features, and for that he’s grateful. He doesn’t want to make the situation worse by frightening you, and all he wants is for you to feel better.
“Get some rest, my love,” he utters quietly, leaning down to press a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll take care of everything.”
It isn’t long before you fall asleep, and after ensuring you’re as comfortable as you can be Zuko quietly rises from his place beside you in bed. He’s cleared his schedule for the remainder of the day to ensure you receive his full attention and support, and his only priority now is seeking the best care for your condition.
He tries to recall the events of your vacation to see if he can pinpoint the exact moment you’d caught whatever bug was plaguing you now. You’d arrived at the beach house for a romantic dinner, spent the next day lounging by the waves, attended a show put on by the Ember Island Players that poorly attempted to convey your love story, and enjoyed several romantic evenings in the privacy of your chambers. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to stand out to him, but Zuko is determined to get to the bottom of it.
You wake hours later feeling excruciatingly hungry and nauseous all at once. The dry heave of your chest spurs you to sit up in bed with panic, and you don’t even register Zuko’s presence beside you until you feel a comforting hand resting upon your back while a bucket is placed upon your lap. He carefully pulls the hair from your face as you expel the contents of your stomach with a groan, and he does his best to mask his discomfort so as to not make you feel any worse.
“You’re alright,” Zuko soothes gently as you finish, taking the bucket from your grasp and replacing it with a cup of water. “A servant should be here any minute with ginger tea to settle your stomach, but the water will have to do for now.”
You take languid sips of the liquid as your eyes drift towards the balcony. The sun hangs lower in the sky, bathing the palace in vibrant gold hues that reflect off of Druk’s scales. You only now become aware of his presence, his body draped along the marble railing and his watchful gaze meeting your surprised face. A low rumble leaves his chest before he shifts to face the horizon, earning a soft chuckle from Zuko.
“He hasn’t left that spot all day,” he tells you fondly as you set your now empty cup aside. “I heard he gave Ara quite the scare earlier.”
“He was being protective,” you explain in the dragon’s defense. “I think he sensed something was wrong before I did.”
“I’ve been racking my brain all day trying to figure out the cause of this but I can’t seem to think of anything. Do you have any idea what might have brought this illness on?”
“Maybe the seal jerky I packed for the voyage home went bad. I’ve seen it happen to Sokka before,” you recall with a grimace, the mere thought of your favorite snack immediately prompting your stomach to churn with disgust. You feel nauseous all over again, but you manage to keep it down for Zuko’s sake and your own.
“Well, whatever the cause may be, I’ve asked the palace’s most trusted medicinal advisor to come see you.”
“Zuko,” you protest with a frown only for him to silence you with a doting kiss to your forehead.
“I know you like to handle things on your own, and I know you don’t want to fall behind on your work as Chief, but I just want to make sure you’re okay for my own peace of mind. Will you please humor your poor husband?”
It’s hard to maintain your displeasure when he looks upon you with a tender smile and loving warmth shining in his golden irises, the same look he always wears every time his eyes meet your own. You sigh, allowing your head to fall forward in defeat and land upon his firm chest. His arms find their way around your figure immediately, and you savor the comfort of his warm touch.
“Alright,” you finally relent, a faint smile pulling upon your lips when he nuzzles his nose along the crown of your head in a show of his appreciation. “Only for you, my husband.”
After giving you time to freshen up and relax with a cup of ginger tea, you allow Zuko to escort the medicine woman into your chambers to examine you. You would have preferred a healer, but no one from the South could come on such short notice and a messenger hawk wouldn’t have reached Katara fast enough for Zuko’s liking. He’s promised to request her presence to the Fire Nation first thing tomorrow, but for now this will have to do if you wish to alleviate his worries.
“You’ve given everyone in the palace quite the scare today,” the elderly woman scolds lightheartedly as she approaches your bedside. “What is it you feel?”
“Exhausted,” you profess with a sigh, stiffening when she abruptly places her weathered hands upon your face and begins to examine you for any signs of discomfort. You raise a brow at her abrupt demeanor, and from the corner of your eyes you can see Zuko struggling to withhold his protest against her methods.
She hums thoughtfully, releasing her hold on you after deeming your physical appearance displays nothing out of the ordinary. “I could understand why you’d feel that way; balancing two nations isn’t for the faint of heart, but I don’t believe such troubles to be the cause of your ailments.”
“She’s also been feeling nauseous,” Zuko mentions fretfully. “I gave her ginger tea to settle her stomach, but I worry the relief will only be temporary.”
“It must be food poisoning,” you deduce passively, clearly not sharing your husband’s worry. “We’ve just recently returned from a trip to Ember Island, and I ate dishes I normally tend to avoid.”
“Dishes you normally avoid?” The woman repeats with a raised brow.
“Y/n’s always hated smoked sea slug, but on this trip she couldn’t seem to get enough of it,” the Fire Lord notes with furrowed brows as he attempts to recall your unusual food pallet. “She didn’t even want the sea prune stew I had the chefs make for our anniversary dinner.”
“It didn’t taste right,” you argue with a frown, your nose scrunching with disdain at the mere memory of the dish. Your stomach twists with nausea once more, prompting you to quickly reach for the cup of tea beside you. The old woman watches on in curious silence as she mulls over the information provided by you both.
“Have you found yourself to be particularly sensitive to tastes and smells? Even those you’ve never minded before?”
“Well, yes, actually… The fire lilies in the garden were unbearably pungent today. I believe it’s what triggered the nausea.”
“Nausea, aversions to preferred foods, sensitivity to smells,” the medicinal advisor lists pensively, spurring Zuko into immediate panic.
“Well? What is it?!” He demands uneasily only for the woman to raise a hand and effectively silence his panicked outburst.
“Pardon my asking, but how often do you tend to each other’s more physical needs?”
You nearly choke on your tea at her invasive line of questioning, and Zuko doesn’t seem to fair any better judging by the red that spreads across his face in response. Awkwardly clearing his throat, the Fire Lord uncomfortably grasps the back of his neck and refuses to meet her gaze as he answers honestly, “Very often…”
“Zuko!” You gasp only for the woman to laugh at your clear mortification.
“Why, you have nothing to worry about. The Fire Lady isn’t sick at all.”
“She’s not?” He sighs with genuine relief, already beginning to feel the tension dissipate from his body at the news.
“Of course not,” she says with a pleased smile, “she’s simply with child.”
You blanch at her proclamation, your eyes widening with disbelief and mouth hanging open in utter shock. All the color has drained from Zuko’s face, and neither of you dare speak a word as the news hangs silently in the air. You feel like you might throw up again just from your nerves alone, and you worry your husband is mere seconds away from collapsing to the ground.
“I have just the right herbs to provide you some relief from your symptoms. I’ll give you both a moment while I prepare the mixture.”
The medicinal advisor takes her leave, and suddenly it’s just the two of you alone in your chambers once more. You watch apprehensively as Zuko wordlessly sinks onto the bed beside you, his eyes shining with an emotion you can’t quite decipher and his features frozen in shock. The silence begins to grow unbearable, so you take it upon yourself to speak first.
“I’m pregnant,” you breathe with finality as you come to terms with the truth.
“It’s why Druk was so protective,” he murmurs faintly, both of your gazes shifting towards the balcony where the dragon sleeps peacefully knowing you’re safe in Zuko’s care. “He knew.”
“We should have known. I mean, it’s not exactly a surprise considering how often we spend our evenings ‘tending to each other’s physical needs’,” you recount with a playful smile. A faint chuckle falls past his lips at your teasing, and you feel your heart skip a beat when he gently takes your hand in his own and intertwines your fingers together.
“We’re having a baby,” he states with quiet disbelief.
“Maybe even two if that fortunate teller in Ba Sing Se was telling the truth about us having twins all those years ago,” you point out with a reminiscent laugh. A moment passes before you carefully squeeze Zuko’s hand and shift in bed to meet his stare. Tone more serious now, you ask, “Are you okay with this?”
His brows furrow as if confused by your question before relaxing into a smile. Cradling your hand close to his chest, Zuko looks into your eyes with the upmost sincerity and care to ease your worries. “I’m more than okay. This is the best posible news I could have been given today.”
“You really mean that?”
“Of course I do,” he says with an elated laugh, eyes shining with blissful tears. “I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting this so soon into our marriage, but I couldn’t be more excited to begin raising a family with you, y/n.“
“I’m terrified,” you admit with a tearful laugh of your own as you throw your arms around him in a tight embrace, “but I can’t wait to begin this new journey together.”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you comfortable and happy,” he avows in earnest before pressing a kiss to the crown of your head. “I love you, Princess, and I’m so glad to have you by my side after all these years. I can’t think of a more perfect mother for our child, and I vow to be the best father I can be.”
“I love you, Zuko,” you coo affectionately as he leans down to press his lips against your own. You know how much this means to him, and there isn’t a single bone in your body that doubts his capability to be a loving father for your baby. You’ve dreamt of this moment for years, and it’s just as perfect as you always imagined it would be.
You have no idea what’s to come these next few months, but with Zuko by your side you know you’ll be taken care of. There’s much to work to be done in terms of preparing for the birth and announcing the arrival of a new heir to your people, but for now you allow yourself to enjoy your peaceful moment alone with your husband as you soak in the joy of your pregnancy.
You’re going to make wonderful parents, and the twins will know nothing but the unconditional love and joy from the moment they’re born.
~~~
fire lilies tags: @a-dizzle77 @animelover100 @bibimysoul
zuko tags: @livelaughlovekuni @rosieposiediditagain @radicaldualism @peterparkersgirlf @heartfully10 @moonflowergirlsworld @bibimysoul @kxkuma @maee67
