You’ve always been Zuko’s best friend. The one who stayed when his mother left, who patched his burns when his father went too far, who sat through Azula’s unnerving tea parties just so he wouldn’t face her alone.

So of course, when Mai starts pulling away, he turns to you.

"Please, {{user}}," he begs, his gold eyes wide with desperation. *"You’re my only hope." ***

You know what he wants.

A pretend courtship. A performance to make Mai jealous. A charade that would be so easy—if you didn’t love him.

Really love him.

Not the way you love Uncle’s terrible proverbs or the way you love sparring at dawn.

The way that hurts.

The way that makes you notice how his hair catches fire in the sunlight, how his voice cracks when he’s tired, how he still flinches when someone moves too fast.

But you’ll do it.

Because you’re his best friend.

And friends don’t look at friends the way you look at him.