Ficlet - Shame

[cornerofmadness]

Title - Shame
Author- cornerofmadness
Fandom- Avatar: The Last Airbender
Disclaimer - I don’t own this
Rating - PG-13
Characters/Pairing - Zuko, Iroh
Timeline/Spoilers - Soon after Zuko was scarred so spoilers for how that happened.
Word Count - 293
Warning - frank descriptions of burn wounds
Summary - Zuko feels his shame acutely.
Author’s Note - I am such a sucker for angsty flame throwing men. written for fanfic_bakeoff


XXX

His brain screaming ‘ouch’ dragged Zuko out of fitful sleep. He rolled over, pulling his face away from the pillow. His fingers strayed to the bandage over his throbbing face. It felt damp. He flicked a finger toward the candle on his bed stand, lighting it. His pillowcase was stained. Cursing, he got up, almost smacking his toes against the bed stand. He wasn’t quite familiar with his Uncle’s guest room yet.

Zuko stumbled to the vanity, sitting down and staring at his reflection. He lit the oil lamp and pulled off the soiled dressing. His ruined face looked back at him. His father had used great skill, keeping the flames away from his son’s eyeball. Zuko guessed blinding him would only have made him more useless.

The blackened eschar on his face didn’t hurt, didn’t feel anything at all from the damaged nerves. It was the reddened skin at the edges, blistered and weeping, that screamed a chorus in anguish. With trembling fingers, Zuko touched the badly burned part of his face which had begun to soften and heal from his uncle’s herbal treatments. What would it matter? His looks were destroyed. He would bear the mark of his shame for the rest of his life.

A primal yell boiling out of him, Zuko smashed a fist into the mirror. It cracked but he left his hand there against the broken glass, blood smearing it. It seemed like only a moment later the door opened and Uncle Iroh appeared.

Iroh said nothing, simply resting a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. The boy crumpled against his kindly uncle, his unharmed cheek pressed the man’s chest. Iroh’s strong hand stroked Zuko’s back as he wept for all he’d lost and the horrible thing he’d gained.