A/N: Just wanted to say thanks for all the comments/reviews! I don't always respond to everyone but I do appreciate each one of them! (Also I'm better at responding to comments on AO3 than here on FFN, just fyi. My username is the same there as here.)
Burn
"Careful," he mumbles to a little girl who only comes up to his knees before she scrambles on top of the wobbling chair. Far too small and young to be handling the breakable (and hot) teacup she reaches for.
"I'm very careful," she tells him seriously, in a voice that reminds him far too much of Azula, a lifetime ago, when her hands were capable of little more than sparks.
Those brave words don't stop the girl from crying out when she touches the hot porcelain. The cup wobbles and spills in her chubby hands, steaming liquid splattering across her palms. She isn't a firebender; her hands have no protection from the heat.
Her mother's rushed consolations are white noise. All Zuko can hear is the beginning of sniffling sobs.
His feet rush him back to the kitchen. Uncle asks something that is drowned out in the rushing tap, the splash of his wrung-out rag.
"Here," he says when he returns, kneeling in front of the girl. Her eyes are ringed in red, much like the irritated skin of her palms. It's nothing serious—nothing permanent—but it doesn't stop him from quickly shoving the damp cloth into her hands.
Her mouth forms a small o as she grips the cool rag.
"Does that feel better?"
A quick, shy nod. Nothing like the brash confidence from before.
(Burns can do that to a child.)
"Next time wait for it to cool first."
She clutches the rag tighter and nods again. Her mother thanks him with a bright smile—which is stupid, since it's his fault for putting the steaming cup within her reach.
When they leave, a thumb-sized silver coin glints from the sticky table. Most likely a mistake. Who would leave a tip like that after their child got injured?
(Unless the mother didn't care. Unless it was to teach her a lesson.)
He pockets the money. It'll let him afford to stock burn salve.
