those amber eyes (slow updates)

The Healer

Iroh's POV
I sat alone on the edge of my bed in my cabin before throwing myself back and rubbing my head.

I don't know exactly what I was doing, but I did know that Katara once told me that a good soldier never turns their back on people who need them, and this town needs help.

Maybe I should speak to Lin... She knows more about this sort of thing than I do.

I shouldn't have taken up such a task, it's completely out of my comfort zone, but when I saw that girl cry... I couldn't just do nothing.

I sighed.

I'm not a police officer, I'm a soldier...

Why would my mother ignore their cries for help in the first place? They're from our nation, they're our people.

I don't even know where to start in fixing this.

Y/N's POV
I was somewhat shocked that Iroh had asked me to join him right off the bat.

Once we had arrived in the capital, he had all of us examined by healers from the Water Tribe, the healer who was helping me was an attractive guy with darker skin and ocean eyes, he seemed to be around my age, Tunuk.

I winced as he unravelled the bandages wrapped around my waist and his eyebrows furrowed as his eyes met with the deep wound to the side of my waist,

"Wow, how did you manage to get that?"

He pulled some water from the basin beside him and held it over my wound as the water began to glow.

"I didn't see... it was something metal, I think. They attacked from behind me."

He bit the inside of his cheek and nodded before asking me to roll over so he could see the other side of the wound.

"So... Tunuk, right? You're from the Water Tribe? Which one?"

"Yeah, that's me. I'm from the South- hold on... how does that feel?"

I sighed in relief as the stress surrounding the muscles by my wound lifted and the cool water soothed the soreness where my skin had been split.

"That's... amazing. So, do you only heal or do you know how to fight?"

"I can fight, but I prefer healing, saving lives is my favourite thing about being a water bender."

"That's really admirable."

"What about you? Are you a bender?"

"I'm a fire bender."

"That's cool, so can you shoot lighting out of your finger tips and stuff like that?"

I chuckled before wincing slightly and relaxing,

"Yeah, I can generate lighting, so, do you live in an igloo?"

He chuckled, he had a really contagious smile,

"No, we have huts now, I don't think I've ever seen someone actually live inside one of those before!"

"No way! I thought all of your buildings are made of ice and snow!"

He chuckled again and I complimented,

"You have a really handsome smile..."

His face flushed red before he stuttered,

"O-oh, thanks..."

He cleared his throat before moving the water further down, he was flustered as he tried to ask me how it felt.

"Little sore, but it's feeling okay."

He moved his hands slightly to the left, I exhaled as I felt the relief of the pain being lifted from the area.

"So, Y/N, you're a soldier then?"

I groaned,

"No, why does everyone assume that?"

He cockily raised his eyebrow,

"Maybe because you were found in the middle of the battle grounds?"

I sighed,

"We don't have an army in Shu Jing, as a part of the Fire Nation, we just rely on the Fire Nation Army, we shouldn't need one, we're just a town, after all."

"Can you roll back over onto your back please?"

I did as instructed and he moved around to the side of me with the wound and placed the water back onto my body before continuing,

"So if you're not a soldier? Why fight? Why not evacuate the town instead?"

"There's no point, they've been attacking us for years."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Can we talk about something else? This is depressing."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Sorry..."

"So... uh... how did you learn healing?"

"Master Katara holds classes sometimes, she's the best water bender alive, so I was so lucky to be taught by her."

"Really? You learned from Master Katara? That's incredible! I'm glad that I was assigned to you for healing then!"

"How about you? How did you learn lighting generation?"

"Oh, I'm not as cool as you, I didn't learn from Lord Zuko or anything. My parents taught me."

"Your parents are both fire benders?"

"Yeah, they were really good at it, too."

"Are they on board this ship, too?"

"Oh... no, they're dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, no. Don't be sorry. It is what it is. So, tell me, have you got family back home?"

"Yeah, both my parents and my little brother, none of them are benders, though."

"Woah, you're the only one?"

He nodded.

Tunuk streamed the water back into the basin and informed me,

"That should be it, then. Nice to meet you, Y/N."

As he tried to walk away I grabbed onto his hand,

"Am I... I mean, will I see you again?"

A tint of red brushed over his cheeks and he muttered,

"Oh, I- uh, I suppose I should schedule a check up to make sure that wound heals correctly, here, I should've bandaged that back up for you."

He pulled some fresh bandages from the drawer and told me to lift my arms up as he bandaged around my waist. As he finished up, his eyes looked up at mine and for a moment, our eyes locked, and I felt like he reached deep into my soul.

"Thank you, Tunuk."

He darted his eyes away and looked to the ground,

"You're welcome. I'll see you in a few days then, for your check up."

I warmly smiled at him,

"Awesome."

I followed him out of the door and made my way to the front of the ship, alone.

I felt the salty breeze flow through my hair and breathed it in, letting it fill my lungs with the scent of the ocean.

"It would seem that we've run into each other here, again."

I jumped and turned around,

"Oh, Iroh. Hi!"