sunrise.
pairing: firebender!renjun x avatar!reader
genre: angst, fluff
word count: 5.7k
author’s note: not me saying i’m not doing any sequels for master of all elements and now here we are almost a year later 😳 this idea has been on my mind for a while because i’ve always felt renjun’s story wasn’t quite finished yet, and now i’m finally sitting down to write it! please note that i do NOT have any plans to also write sequels for the other 00 line boys since i don’t feel that they are necessary. but then again who knows if i’ll change my mind in a year or two 👀
warning(s): violence, abuse, mentions of torture
“I can’t believe you’re up before noon,” a groggy voice says wryly.
You glance up, grinning from ear to ear, as Doyoung trudges into the kitchen. He’s wearing an airy green tunic with some baggy brown pants and straw slippers. His hair is a wild mess, and it’s clear he didn’t even bother to run his fingers through it. If someone were to pass him on the street, they would 100% think he was some beggar. You like to refer to his style as “hermit chic,” though he does not find it nearly as hilarious as you do.
“I made eggs and sausage!” you say proudly, pointing at your mangled attempt at sunny side-up eggs and burnt-to-a-crisp sausage links on the table.
He raises an eyebrow, pulling out a chair, as he examines the food. “Why does it look like lumps of coal?”
“Rude,” you retort, “You should be honored that the Avatar just made your breakfast. I woke up at the ass crack of dawn to make this for you, you know. I even went to the market and bought fresh eggs and meat with my own money.”
“You mean my money,” Doyoung corrects, “you have no money.”
You ignore him and sit down across from him, pushing a pair of chopsticks towards him. “Hurry and eat it before it gets cold.”
Doyoung gives you a look like he would rather eat actual coal but nonetheless picks up the chopsticks, warily poking at the food. “So, why did you do all of this again?”
“Well, since it’s my last day in Ba Sing Se, I wanted to give you a thank you gift,” you answer.
You’ve been training with Doyoung for the past six months, and you’ve finally mastered firebending. You were originally supposed to train at the Fire Nation Capital, but you discovered that Fire Lord Yoo was plotting against you. His son, General Huang Renjun, with whom you fell in love with, helped you escape and seek help from Doyoung—a former Fire Nation citizen that defected to the Earth Kingdom, who currently works as a produce supplier. Though reluctant at first, Doyoung eventually agreed to train you. And now that he’s taught you everything he knows, you are now preparing to return to the Fire Nation and keep the promise you made to Renjun: that you will come back for him.
Thinking about Renjun makes your chest feel like it’s caving in. There hasn’t been a day where your thoughts, dreams, and nightmares haven’t been plagued by him. You wish you could remember what his touch felt like. You wish you could remember his scent. You wish you could remember the little details of his face, like if his eyes had flecks of gold in them. You wish you could remember the sensation of his scars against your lips. You wish you could remember listening to his heartbeat while he slept.
A sob builds in your throat, and you have to fight to choke it down.
“An actual thank you gift would have been not subjecting me to this,” Doyoung says, making a disgusted face as he chews the sausage.
You’re grateful for his comment, since it distracts you from your own thoughts. “Shut up and eat it, you drama queen. It won’t kill you.”
“I beg to differ,” he grumbles, but he reaches for the eggs anyways.
The two of you sit in comfortable silence for a while before Doyoung clears his throat, setting his chopsticks down.
“So, you’ve decided then. You’re leaving today,” he states flatly.
“Yes.”
“You’re going back to him.”
“Yes.”
“It’ll be dangerous.”
“I know.”
Doyoung doesn’t say anything, picking up his chopsticks again and pushing the food around on his plate.
“I’ll be fine.” You reach over and give him an encouraging nudge. “You’re the one who trained me after all.”
“And...if I asked you to stay?”
He looks you directly in the eye and tells you what he wants to say through his gaze. You’ve seen this expression on his face often; it’s a look of deep yearning, but it’s also a look of sadness. Like he knows he’ll never be able to have what he wants, that he shouldn’t want what he wants, but wants it anyways. It’s so clear that you wonder how you could’ve missed it for these past six months.
What a fool you are.
“I’m sorry, Doyoung,” you whisper, voice cracking. “I—”
“Don’t,” he interrupts, “I know. I just needed to tell you.”
You don’t know how to respond.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he sighs, “I already feel like shit because of how bad this food tastes. Don’t make it worse.”
You can’t help but smile. “Asshole.”
And because Doyoung is kind to a fault, he still shovels the remainder of the breakfast into his mouth.
“Come on, I’ll walk you to the ferry dock,” he says after he finishes chewing, standing up.
You nod, quickly padding over to your room and grabbing your knapsack. When you walk back over to him, Doyoung gives you a once-over. You’re dressed in typical Earth Kingdom garb, an inconspicuous hunter green shirt and dark leggings.
“What?” you ask.
“The green is a dead giveaway. Take this,” he says, reaching for the black cloak draped across a chair before wrapping it around your shoulders and pulling the hood up over your head. It’s too big for you, but it does help hide your face.
“Give me some money too,” you say, holding out your hand. “I’m broke.”
He laughs in disbelief. “So, you’re finally admitting it now.”
“Please,” you say sweetly, batting your eyelashes.
He rolls his eyes but reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a pouch. “It’s not a lot, but it should be enough to buy some meals and bribes if need be.”
He hands it to you, and you reach up and envelop him in a tight hug. He slightly stiffens at first but eventually relaxes, gently patting you on the back.
“Thank you for everything, Doyoung. Truly,” you say sincerely.
“Be careful, Y/N,” he whispers.
You step back, grinning sheepishly. “Of course, careful is my middle name.”
He rolls his eyes again. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
The two of you leave his house and begin to walk to the ferry dock. As you stroll past a busy market, it finally hits you that you’re actually going to miss this place a lot. It’s always sunny out, but it’s never hot. The spring breeze that blows past you. The loud haggling from the street vendors, who will sometimes give you things for free if they’re in a good mood. The children running around, flying kites or playing hopscotch. The peace. You’ve always wondered if Doyoung misses the Fire Nation, his home, but now you think you understand why he’s been able to live here for so long. You try to soak up as much as you can, since it will be a while before you will be able to return.
A screaming child sprints past you, bumping into you and nearly knocking you over. Luckily, Doyoung grabs your arm and steadies you before you can hit the ground.
“You okay?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah,” you laugh it off. You’re not that surprised, since kids are always running about here. “The little rascals here are like firecrackers—”
Another child runs into you.
And another.
And another.
But it’s not just children anymore. Adults are running too. Rather, the whole street has descended into chaos, erupting with screams. People are trampling over each other trying to escape. You and Doyoung are just barely able to move aside and take cover before there’s a loud explosion. An abandoned vegetable stand erupts into flames before the fire begins to spread, quickly making its way down the whole street.
Fire.
Your heart is going at a thousand beats per minute, and it feels like it’s about to implode at any second. You’re about to just aimlessly run towards the source of the fire, but Doyoung grabs your arm before you can. You lock eyes with him, and he shakes his head.
“We have to help these people first,” he says calmly.
That instantly snaps you out of your trance. You nod determinedly. “You help them escape. I’ll put out the fires and distract whoever’s doing this.”
Doyoung nods too before taking off, scooping up unattended children in his arms and directing frenzied people in the right direction. Cracking your knuckles, you begin to draw moisture out from the ground and plants around you, slowly but surely putting out the fires.
“Avatar Y/N!” A voice calls.
You hear a flurry of thundering footsteps before you’re face-to-face with a squadron of Fire Nation soldiers. Leading a charge is a dark-haired man, no, a dark-haired boy. After all, he still has baby fat on his cheeks. He looks far too young to be a soldier, yet he glares at you with ice-cold eyes.
“To what do I owe this honor, boys?” you ask, placing a hand on your hip.
“You are under arrest.”
“Me?” You feign surprise, gasping dramatically. “You can’t arrest me. I’m the Avatar!”
“You have committed treason against the Fire Lord.”
“Is it technically treason if I’m not a citizen of the Fire Nation?” you ponder aloud, tapping your chin.
“You must come with us at once, or else everyone here dies.”
You look around. “The whole street is empty. Don’t tell me you’re going to kill me.”
The soldier boy frowns. You can see the gears turning in his head. You fight the urge to smile. In the end, he’s still a kid.
“We would rather not, but we will if you force our hand.” A different voice cuts in.
Your heart stops.
You watch as the squadron parts, and Huang Renjun walks to the front. He’s in uniform like everyone else, but he has a gold and red chest-plate, shoulder plates, and arm gauntlets that indicates his rank as a general. His black hair is a bit longer than before, falling into his eyes. His hands are clasped behind his back, and his demeanor is calm.
You feel warm tears stream down your face as you cover your mouth in shock. How long have you been dreaming of seeing him again? You’ve waited for this moment for a painstaking six months but—not like this.
“What have they done to you?” you breathe.
Renjun’s face is gaunt, almost skeletal. His lips are pale, nearly blue, like he has hypothermia. His eyes are sunken, and there are dark circles underneath them. There’s no life behind his eyes at all, as if he’s a corpse. They’re soulless, void of the warmth and passion that he once looked at you with. When he looks at you now, he looks right past you. This isn’t the Renjun you know. This isn’t Renjun at all.
“I assure you that I am the least of your concerns right now,” Renjun chuckles, but there’s no emotion in it whatsoever.
He doesn’t recognize you at all.
And you’re certain that Fire Lord Yoo had something to do with it.
“Now then, are we going to do this civilly?” Renjun asks, tilting his head.
“Alright,” you say quietly. “I’ll go with you. Just leave the people of Ba Sing Se alone.”
He smiles, and you want to cry again. He’s smiling, and he looks like Renjun, but it’s not him at all. Renjun rarely ever smiled, but when he did, it felt like basking in the first rays of light during a sunrise. The promise of warmth after the cold.
This smile feels haunting. Like a chill running through your spine.
“Smart girl. That should keep you alive.”
After the soldiers shackle your hands and feet, they lock you up in a jail at the very bottom of one of their ships. You lean against the grimy wall, trying to gather your thoughts. If you wanted to escape right now, you could. But did you really want to? Who knows what they’ll do to you once you arrive at the Royal Palace, but you can’t bring yourself to leave Renjun again. Not until you figure out what’s going on.
The Renjun from earlier...terrifies you.
Your eyes burn with tears yet again, but you furiously blink them away, but not before one stray tear makes its way down your cheek. You don’t have the time to cry. You have to come up with a plan before it's too late.
Firstly, you need to find a way to contact Doyoung. You’ll be in the heart of the Fire Nation soon, and there’s no way you won’t need outside backup. But that’s another problem: you’ll be in the heart of the Fire Nation. How are you supposed to contact Doyoung when there will be soldiers crawling everywhere? You think about the pouch of money still tucked in your pocket. The soldiers took away your knapsack, but they didn’t think to check your pockets. You could try to use that money to bribe a servant in the palace into sending a message to Doyoung. Of course, it’s not guaranteed that they will do it, and you run the risk of being betrayed if you talk to the wrong person.
Unfortunately, that is your only viable option right now.
And that’s if Fire Lord Yoo will keep you alive long enough to do it.
“Did you cry again?”
You gasp, nearly smacking your head against the stone behind you. Renjun is standing in front of you, hands casually tucked into his pockets. He’s staring down at you like you’re a piece of dirt in the ground. He didn’t even look at you like this when you first met.
He smirks, raising an eyebrow. “The Avatar is quite the crybaby.”
It surprises you that he even noticed you cried, and you feel a glimmer of hope.
“Renjun, do you really not recognize me?” you ask desperately.
“Of course I do,” he responds breezily, “you’re the woman that tried to seduce me and turn me against my father.”
“Renjun, listen to me. He’s done something to you. Please—”
“Enough,” he snaps, “you will be properly punished once we reach the palace. I am here to interrogate you.”
“Please,” you say again in a half-sob.
“Why were you in Ba Sing Se?” he demands. “Who helped you?”
You don’t answer, chest heaving up and down as you try to contain yourself. You can’t even look at him, too afraid of what you will see.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Avatar Y/N.”
This is the first time he’s said your name in six months, and he spits it out like it’s poison.
Taking in a deep breath, you gather up what little strength you have left and slowly meet his eyes. The man you love is not standing in front of you, and you have to understand that right now. If the actual Renjun saw you like this, he would chide you for being so weak. He would ask where the woman who called him a son of a bitch and capsized a boat was. He would ask where the Avatar was.
“Kiss my ass,” you sneer.
A muscle in Renjun’s jaw twitches, and he fishes out the key to the jail from his pocket. You watch him step inside your cell, taking a knee in front of you. He holds out his hand, creating a flame over his palm. The fire reflects against his dark, dark eyes. The gold flecks that you once thought were there no longer exist.
“Are we going to do this civilly?” he asks again in an eerily quiet volume.
He doesn’t say it, but you know he’s going to start torturing you if you don’t answer his questions.
“You can burn me to a crisp, you arrogant son of a bitch,” you taunt, “I won’t tell you anything.”
Renjun raises his hand, about to strike, and you brace yourself.
But nothing happens.
You didn’t even realize you had squeezed your eyes shut, but you slowly open one eye. His hand is still raised, but his entire body is trembling. Renjun’s face is contorted in pain, and the flame in his palm disappears. He actually staggers back, falling onto his rear.
His expression is a mix of confusion, fear, and anger. He’s looking at you like you’re some sort of sorceress that just cast a spell on him. For a moment, you see some life in him.
“Renjun—”
But he’s already on his feet, locking the door behind him, and running away.
Renjun is barely able to get out before stumbling against a wall for support. His ears are ringing, and his head feels like it’s going to split in half. A tear falls down his face, and he quickly swipes it away, but his hand remains on his cheek. He can still feel the warmth of the tear on his fingertips.
“What the hell,” he whispers to himself, closing his eyes.
From the moment he laid eyes on you, it felt like someone had taken a dagger and twisted it into his gut. The overwhelming feeling that swells in his chest when he sees you—it’s an excruciating pain that makes his entire body buckle under the weight of it all. He’s never felt anything this strong before, and up until now, he didn’t think an emotion like this was even humanly possible. Seeing you cry is an unbearable sight, and the thought of hurting you is even worse. The simultaneous rage and fear that builds up inside of him when he thinks about you being harmed scares even him. Of all of the violence that he has committed, nothing can even come close to the things he would do for you.
But why?
What have you done to him to make him feel like this?
Just who are you to him?
A sharp pain in his head brings him to his knees, and he sees shards of hazy memories. He remembers his father, with a steel fire poker in his hand. He remembers something burning into his skin. He remembers his conscious fading in and out. He remembers his father saying something to him—
“Where is she?”
“Find her and bring her to me.”
“She is dangerous.”
“Do not fall for her tricks again.”
“General Huang, are you alright?”
Renjun looks up, disoriented.
“G-General Huang, what’s wrong? Are you feeling ill?” Jisung, the youngest member of Renjun’s squadron, is instantly by his side.
“Fine,” Renjun barely chokes out, standing up. “I’m fine. Just a bit lightheaded.”
“Are you hungry, sir?” Jisung asks innocently.
Renjun gives him a strained smile. “Maybe that’s it.”
“We still have some hardtack left,” Jisung offers.
Renjun nods.
“Oh, and um, what about the Avatar?” Jisung glances towards the prison. “Weren’t you going to interrogate her?”
“She is uncooperative,” Renjun states, “but she will be dealt with accordingly once we reach the palace.”
Once you arrive at the Fire Nation Royal Palace, they place you into another jail.
A part of you was hoping that they would just put you in the room that you had had before. But then again, you’re not really a guest of honor this time.
You’re not sure how long you sit in the dungeon for, since you lost track of time, but you suspect it’s been at least an hour once Fire Lord Yoo walks in. He’s accompanied by his advisors, including Renjun.
“It’s been a while, Fire Lord Yoo,” you smirk, “Nice to see that you’re still the same conniving old geezer.”
“I applaud your ability to jest in these circumstances, Avatar Y/N,” he responds, “but it would be to your benefit if you take the words I’m about to tell you seriously.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“I am giving you two options. The first is execution for treason, since you dared to seduce my own son into betraying me. The second is that I let you live, but only under the condition that you will become my puppet. Since you are the Avatar, you naturally have more political power than me. You will do as I say and give up all of your power to me.”
You stare at him for a good three seconds before bursting into laughter. The sound echoes, since you’re underground.
“Have you gone senile?” you ask incredulously. “You’ve lost your damn mind.”
Fire Lord Yoo remains stone-faced.
“I would rather you tear me apart limb from limb than ever do your bidding. Kill me if you want. It won’t change the fact that another Avatar will be born, and they will stop you,” you snap.
“Perhaps,” he says, reaching down and grasping your chin, digging his nails into your flesh. “But I’ll still have plenty of time to massacre the entire Water Tribe.”
He leans in even closer, whispering into your ear. “And don’t think I don’t know how you feel about my son. I’ll slaughter him too, and I’ll make sure you watch the life drain from his eyes.”
You bite the inside of your cheek so hard that your teeth nearly go directly through the flesh. You struggle with every fiber of your body to maintain a neutral expression. You refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing your fear.
“Your threats mean nothing to me,” you state.
“We shall see about that, won’t we?” Fire Lord Yoo smiles sadistically before turning to Renjun. “Burn her until there’s no skin left on her anymore, but keep her alive. For now.”
Renjun nods, bowing before his father, before Fire Lord Yoo leaves. There’s a heavy silence between you two once you’re left alone. You try to read Renjun’s expression, but you have no idea what he’s thinking. At this point, you’re not sure if he’s actually going to hurt you or not.
“Ren—”
“What have you done to me?” he hisses, closing the gap between the two of you. He’s so close that you could reach out and touch him if you weren’t handcuffed. And even after everything, his scent still calms you.
“Wh-What?”
“My mind has been so damn muddy the moment I laid eyes on you. You’re my mortal enemy, but I...I think I love you. And I don’t even know how to love someone, but you make me question everything I know. Every fiber of my being wants to protect you, to the point that I would betray my own country for you. Seeing my father lay his hands on you made me want to kill him, and it’s not just that. I would do unspeakable things for you, things that terrify me. But I don't know why. I know you, but I can’t remember you. Who are you? Why do you look at me like you love me too? Please...just tell me what I’m supposed to do.”
You squeeze your eyes shut. You’ve heard these words before.
“Look at me, Y/N.”
It’s as if he’s casted a spell on you too because you do. You slowly raise your head and meet his eyes.
And they’re eyes that you finally recognize.
Renjun’s hands cup your face, and he brushes away a tear from your face. He places his forehead against your own, inhaling sharply, like he’s in pain.
“What am I supposed to do?” he whispers.
“What do you want to do?” you ask softly, echoing words that you’ve said before.
He doesn’t answer, instead, he leans in and kisses you.
His lips are chapped, and he kisses you roughly. The two of you are desperate for each other, trying to remember the sensation of your lips being molded together again. You were already holding your breath before, so it’s not long before your lungs begin to cry for air. It wouldn’t really matter to you right now if you ran out of air and died in Rejun’s arms right here, but he eventually pulls away, burying his face in the crook of your neck.
“I...remember everything now. I’m sorry, Y/N,” he whispers into your skin, “this is all my fault. I...I told him everything. I was so weak and pathetic. It’s all my fault.”
“Stop,” you say, nudging him with your shoulder. “First, unhandcuff me first.”
He quickly gets the key to your handcuffs and unlocks them, and you promptly wrap your arms around him. He cradles you against him like he won’t ever be able to again.
“It’s not your fault. You’ve been physically and mentally tortured by your father your entire life. If anything, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have left you. I was so stupid to think that he wouldn’t do anything to you since you’re his son, even though he was already hurting you,” you mumble, hugging him tighter.
You feel him slightly wince as you do, and before he can even react, you lift his shirt. There’s not an inch of skin on him that isn’t covered in a burn, bruise, cut, scrape, and/or scar. You involuntarily let out a sob, running your fingers against his stomach, which is purple and blue.
“I’m so sorry, Renjun. I’m so—”
He places a finger against your lips. “No more blame game. It’s not your fault. It’s neither of our faults. It’s my father’s.”
You nod as he wipes away your tears. “I’m going to kill your father.”
Renjun laughs, and it’s music to your ears. “There’s the Y/N I know.”
“Renjun, you have to find a way to contact Doyoung.”
He beams proudly. “I knew you’d be able to find a way to get him to teach you.”
“Renjun, are you listening?” you demand.
“Yes, sorry. Why do you want me to contact him?”
“Because we won’t be able to fight off everyone on our own. We need him to bring some backup,” you explain impatiently.
Renjun stares at you. “Y/N, we’re not fighting anyone. You have to escape.”
If you weren’t so happy to be truly reunited with him again, you would’ve punched him in the face. “We are not playing this game again, Renjun. I’m not leaving you again. We’re going to get out of here together.”
“I can’t—”
“Leave your men. I know. That’s why we’re going to kill your dad and liberate the army.”
“While that is a great idea in theory—”
“Why is it that we can’t be together for more than five minutes without you contradicting me? Listen to me, I’m going to do this with or without you,” you say matter-of-factly. “So, unless you don’t want me to die, you’re going to send a message to Doyoung for me.”
Renjun looks amused. “This feels familiar. But alright, you win. I’ll send for a messenger as soon as possible.”
“Good. Okay—”
You don’t even have time to blink before you feel the heat of a blazing fireball hurtling towards you. Renjun, somehow, manages to react in time and throws himself in front of you. The fireball hits him squarely on his back, burning through his clothes, and searing his already-damaged skin.
Fire Lord Yoo reaches down and grabs him by his hair, flinging him aside like a ragdoll. Before you can call out for Renjun, Fire Lord Yoo slaps you across your face so hard that you hit the ground with a thud. Your cheek throbs, and you taste blood in your mouth, but you’re only focused on Renjun’s still body across from you.
“I knew this would happen. That insolent failure of a son of mine,” Fire Lord Yoo sighs, shaking his head. “You did well reporting to me, Jisung.”
The young soldier from before steps out from behind him, shaking like a wet puppy. Jisung looks like he’s on the verge of crying, clearly not expecting what just happened.
“Bring these two to my throne room. I will deal with them there.”
Another soldier walks over and throws Renjun over his shoulder, while Jisung grabs you by your arm and lifts you to your feet. His grip isn’t strong, and you could knock him out if you wanted to.
“Listen to me, Jisung,” you mutter under your breath, “Find Kim Doyoung in Ba Sing Se and ask him for help. Please. Renjun is going to die at this rate.”
Jisung looks at you with wide, watery eyes, and he doesn’t answer. But he also doesn’t alert Fire Lord Yoo either. He simply quietly walks you to the throne room before leaving. All you can do is hope that he listens to you.
“Now then,” Fire Lord Yoo says once the three of you are alone, “what shall I do with you?”
You scan the room. There’s not enough water for you to waterbend, which is your strongest element. Obviously, you won’t be able to beat him using firebending. You haven’t learned airbending yet. So, earthbending is your only option.
Your feet are still shackled, so you won’t have much mobility. You don’t have much strength left either. But it doesn’t matter. You have no choice right now.
You stomp your foot three times, creating three boulders from the ground, and kick them towards Fire Lord Yoo. He evades them pretty easily, but you can tell that his center of balance is off. You begin to raise pillars of rock, trying to shackle him down, but he’s too fast. With one swipe of his arm, he creates a flame underneath you. The fire burns the soles of your feet, and you fall to the ground with a cry of pain.
Now that he’s immobilized you, he makes his way towards the still-unconscious Renjun.
“No!” you scream.
You helplessly watch him lift his own son by his neck. You can see the crazed expression of Fire Lord Yoo’s face as he turns towards you. “I told you I’d make you watch him die, didn’t I?”
“Stop!”
Crack.
Renjun falls to the floor, and Fire Lord Yoo’s agonized howl rings throughout the throne room. His arm is twisted in an unnatural fashion. He’s jerkily walking backwards, as if someone were controlling him, and there’s a grotesque sound of blood and crushed bones coming from his body.
It takes you a moment to realize that you’re the one controlling him. You didn’t even realize your hand was outstretched until you lower it, and Fire Lord Yoo falls onto the ground like a crumpled mess.
“Bloodbending,” he says hysterically, face crushed in the carpet. “You’re bloodbending, Avatar Y/N.”
Bloodbending has always been a myth to waterbenders, having been completely outlawed by society. You didn’t even really believe it existed...well, until now.
However, bloodbending is the least of your concerns right now, and you immediately crawl over to Renjun. When you reach him, you can see that he’s stirring. His eyes flutter open, and he lets out a soft groan, slowly sitting up.
“Y/N? Are you hurt?”
“Don’t move too much. You’re hurt really badly,” you say quickly, holding him by the arm to keep him upright.
“What happened?” he asks, looking over at his father.
“Bloodbender!” Fire Lord Yoo continues to laugh like a mad man, still a pile of limbs on the floor.
Renjun glances back towards you.
“I bloodbended,” you confirm. You say it nonchalantly, but it’s because you haven’t truly processed it yet. You’re sure the repercussions of it will hit you later, but you have other things to worry about right now.
Surprisingly, instead of looking horrified, Renjun looks impressed. “Damn.”
“I don’t know how long I can keep him on the floor, so let’s tie him up,” you say hurriedly. The two of you remove the shackles from your sheet and shackle his arms around a pillar.
“Kill me, Avatar Y/N! Bloodbend and kill me! Or have me murder myself!” Fire Lord Yoo continues to scream. “Didn’t you say you were going to kill me? Do it!”
You ball up your fist and deliver a right hook across his face. It knocks him out cold and also breaks his nose in addition to his already-broken arm. Shaking your hand, you let out a huff.
“That was refreshing.”
“Looked like it too,” Renjun nods.
“Now then. How do you suppose we’re going to get out of here?” you ask. “You’re severely injured, and I’m running on fumes here.”
“This is why I told you that your plan was great in theory.”
“Are you really saying ‘I told you so’ right now?”
“It felt appropriate.”
You get ready to give Renjun a right hook to the face too, but the doors of the throne room are suddenly opened. The two of you both get ready to fight, but you almost faint from relief when you realize it’s Doyoung and Jisung. Behind them are the rest of Renjun’s squadron as well, but you can tell they’re on your side now.
“Guess you didn’t need us after all,” Doyoung says flatly, furrowing his brows when he sees the unconscious Fire Lord Yoo. “What the hell happened?”
“A lot,” you answer, too tired to explain.
“So, what do we do now?” Jisung asks meekly.
Doyoung walks over to Fire Lord Yoo and snatches the red crown from his head before walking over to Renjun and placing it on him. Before Renjun can say anything, Doyoung takes a knee before him.
“Fire Lord Huang.”
There’s a beat of silence before Jisung and the squadron follow suit. Renjun is so shocked that all he can do is sputter.
“Wait! I can’t be the Fire Lord!” he protests.
“The former Fire Lord has been forcibly removed from power by the Avatar, which means you are next in line for succession,” Doyoung says.
“I don’t know anything about running the country—”
“With all due respect, sir, you are more fit to rule the Fire Nation than anyone. I strongly believe that a general who treats his soldiers with as much respect and loyalty as you do will do the same for his citizens,” Jisung proclaims.
Renjun whips his head towards Jisung. “I will deal with you later, you little shit.”
Jisung makes an eep noise.
“Does that make me a queen since you’re the Fire Lord now?” you pipe up.
“You’re already the Avatar and you want to be a queen too?” He raises an eyebrow.
“The Avatar Queen. Nice ring to it, don’t you think?” You waggle your eyebrows.
“You’ll have to marry me if you want to become a queen, you know.”
“Hmm. I’ll think about it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Laughing, you take his hand. “It means I’ll think about it.”
He raises your entwined hands to his lips and kisses your knuckles.
“Gross,” Doyoung gags.
“Okay, now someone take me to the infirmary please. My back is killing me,” Renjun complains.
The two of you are ushered to the infirmary just as the first rays of the sunrise peek through the windows.
