#ozai seems like the kind of guy who would have touched zuko as little as possible
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my issue w believing that ozai held zuko's face when he gave him the scar is that i don't believe that's the type of person he is.
#ozai seems like the kind of guy who would have touched zuko as little as possible#considering him tainted by the memory of his mother and her ''betrayal''#i don't think he would have touched zuko#he was a proud man#touching zuko in what would imply a gesture of comfort would be considered showing weakness#and he's in front of a whole crowd#like??? yeah#i get y'all want poetry and angst and whatever#but like nah#his nature says otherwise#even when zuko went back w azula he didn't even deign to see him until azula lied and said zuko was the one who killed aang#so i'll forever believe ozai stood back when he did that#nana talks tag#notice i'm not using the fandom tags#that's for a reason#edit: this is also something cowards (and some abusers) do! they stand back so you can't swing back at them!#and if ozai was anything#he was A MOTHERFUCKING COWARD SQUARE UP BITCH
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I have a bit of a confession to make. An actual confession this time actually.
I...am a Zuko anti.
I know, it seems odd. I only talked about him directly the one time during my Last Agni Kai post and indirectly during my comic posts. So I'm not going directly out of my way to attack him or anything. And I do understand that he is a popular character that has touched countless of people, so I do need to give him credit for that.
The problem I have with Zuko though is...complicated.
I'll admit, I was kind of neutral to him during the show popular. Knew he was gonna be redeemed eventually, would fight Azula eventually and "win", and knew he was going to be the new Fire Lord to bring about an end to the War. I got that. I think all viewers got that. Though I never really built that much of a connection to the character since I related more to some of the others (Aang, Katara, and Azula come to mind), and I was annoyed that he got away with some of the stuff he pulled during Book 1 and some overall problems with his arc that were left unaddressed, but accepted he was in a good position to do better and mend bridges and all that by series end. That I have no problem with.
My issues came around when the comics were released.
To put it simply, Zuko's flaws were jacked up to eleven. His arrogance and hotheadedness that got him into trouble during Book 1 came back. Now, this alone isn't a problem. Not saying one can't backslide into old habits. The problem comes about when the narrative doesn't acknowledge it. He's supposed to be a good guy now. On the right side, yet he's still doing the same villainous things over and over again. And for some reason, the Gaang doesn't call him out on any of it. That alone is an issue.
Then...there's his relationship with Azula.
Remember how I said there was some problems they left unaddressed? Zuko's rivalry with Azula was one of them. I'm convinced that the more he pursues this rivalry, the more toxic and awful of a person he becomes. Especially since Azula was not Zuko's abuser. That would be Ozai, the one who scarred his face after all. And I wasn't entirely convinced that the Last Agni Kai was his redeeming moment where he showed compassion towards Azula at the last shot. Again...was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Then the comics quashed that.
He became an abusive jackass that physically assaults Azula with very little provocation, allows his friends to harass and provoke her into violence, and blames it all on her when she inevitably snaps. And the narrative supports him.
I...have autism. I have what many would consider to be a mental disability. I know what it's like to have a breakdown. To feel like a burden on my family whether underserved or not. And for a long time I was terrified of coming out because there is a stigma towards mental illness.
So when I see pages like this:
...the comics made me despise Zuko for a long ass time. And we're talking years.
Next thing you know I'm convinced that Zuko was doomed to be his father. To be the next Ozai. And I was so convinced, I started seeing only the worst in him. The monster. How every action he took was just proof that he'd never change and he'd be nothing more than a monster worse than his sister. And how fundamentally broken the narrative was for making excuses for him which genuinely affected my enjoyment of the show.
Cause shit like that? ...I saw myself a lot in Azula, and that made me hate Zuko on a very personal level. To the point I seriously considered writing fics where he'd get butchered just out of spite. It was that. Bad.
Comics!Zuko felt like everything I stood against. And soon everything around him became difficult to even look at. Cause how in the Nine Circles of Hell would anyone see this asshole as a beloved hero?
So why am I telling you guys this? Why tell you I once hated Zuko so bad I genuinely wanted to see him dead?
Easy...I don't want to hate him anymore.
Cause it's unfair both to the character and the fans who do like him. That do accept his flaws and want to see him overcome them. I respect those people and all the more power to them.
And as much as I love Azula, I don't want to harp on Zuko anymore. Even if his most diehard fans want me to tear my hair out, I don't want that spilling over to the character himself. Honestly, I think even he'd be disgusted by their attitude. Since tearing Azula down to make himself look good is...well it's the same as tearing him down to make Azula look good.
Again, I still have a grudge against Zuko, but I'm not asking for sympathy. I'm just giving my two cents and throwing it in the ring. Feel free to unfollow me if you want, that's fine. I figured you guys deserved to know going forward.
And I do hope this post is a step in the right direction at least.
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you're correct about ozai. i only loosely remember the comics, but the additional context there is pretty much that ursa was the grandchild of roku (whose family went into hiding precisely to avoid being roped into fire nation politics), that she already had a lover when ozai's father found her and set her up to be married to ozai (presumed to be zuko's actual father), and that ozai treated ursa as basically a trophy wife, going as far as to tell her that their wedding was the last time she would see her own family because she's "his." the man has a very solid background to be a misogynist, and they just didn't touch on it at all in the show, except to imply he was a bad husband (which...no shit).
i kind of respect the attempts to make more rounded female characters, including a female long-term villain, but i think they dropped the ball when considering misogyny and female oppression as topics (even though the writers clearly had it in mind at some points, they could never seem to commit or go all the way; it was better than a lot of other media, but it was FAR from perfect). i'm not necessarily against fully evil female characters, though i'm not very into wholly evil characters in general, and i'm mostly bothered by the fact that the younger girl sibling was irredeemably evil when the older male sibling was fully redeemable. also, i lowkey think that azulas traits play into some misogynistic tropes (as a little sister who was always accused of being a liar who faked her emotions to "get her way" (but was also "overly emotional," as well??) and was seemingly assumed not to care about anyone or anything else other than herself and her own self-satisfaction, her depiction stung to see quite a bit).
even though the writers clearly had it in mind at some points, they could never seem to commit or go all the way
YES
They wanted the credit of having these themes but were unwilling to give them the full depth that makes people truly appreciate them. While I think Azula's slip of mind was horrifying in a good way, I think it was rushed entirely too much. I think the earliest we see this "slip" is Boiling Rock when she's "betrayed" by Ty Lee and Mai. There's definitely a shock in her expression when Mai basically tells her "you haven't been controlling me with fear the way you think you've been".
But we should have see more. You can't provide to me this calculated queen of battle and then three episodes before the finale be like "oh but naw, she's losing it". Like, why would she be losing it over some bullshit like her hair was fucked up or she JUST started thinking about her mother? She just got everything she's been hounding for!
If you want me to think she's losing it over her new position as firelord (by the way, I love the genderless title of the throne. Kind of like Pharaoh), have her flashback to the betrayal of Ty Lee and Mai. Show me how she's looking around and putting on unnecessary acts of force to keep intact this method of control she's used her whole life. Show me an example of her thinking she's got everyone in the palace under her control of fear but its somehow revealed that they only really follow her because they're more afraid of Ozai.
That is a problem with this franchise in general. If you're gonna do it? DO IT.
I LOVE the ending of Amon's season. There was no redemption! And his brother knew that so he KILLED THEM BOTH. And we don't know what that tear was! Was he crying because he was happy to be reunited with his brother? Was he crying because he, the master blood bender, could sense what his brother was doing? I personally love that ending because they followed through. This guy was indoctrinated by his father but rebelled too far and overall, was just too far gone.
I do not think at any point Azula was too far gone. Yet, that's what they kept trying to sell to me.
Azula wouldn't be some compulsive liar. She would be so brazened in her fear tactics that there would be no need to lie. She'd say "I only lie when I'm afraid, and what do I have to be afraid of?"
They have a better show of female rep, but like you said, I hope people don't hail it as perfect.
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Zutarians, I need some help...
Happy Zutara week, y’all! I’m Lil.
I’ve been working on my fic for...awhile now, and I’m at the point where everything’s kind of turned into word salad. I’d like to finish this thing, soon, but I need editors - badly. So, if you’re one of those folks who can write. (And particularly if you can write Katara or Zuko’s voice really well.) Please, please take a look. Friendly feedback is welcome!
https://archiveofourown.org/works/25653406/chapters/62276836
And here’s an excerpt from a Zutara moment below the cut:
Katara looks out from high up in the north wing of the palace—reserved especially for the royal family and their guests. She can see across acres of bleak concrete pavement leading up to the palace gates and, behind them, the jagged volcano walls of the capital city rising in the distance. It isn’t a particularly comforting sight.
Fifty-six bacui berry, fifty-seven bacui berry, …she counts to herself. Until, finally, she reaches one hundred bacui berry, and turns away from the gray window, back towards Azula’s wide canopy bed. The princess’s mouth hangs open and a trickle of drool spills out, but otherwise, she looks better than she had an hour ago. Katara removes the last acupuncture needle from her wrist and places it onto a gauze pad, which she rolls up and hands to Zuko.
“These need to be sterilized in a white-hot flame for twenty minutes before they can be used again,” she instructs.
Zuko puts a hand up to the bundle. A flame appears at the center of his palm. “Do you want me to just—?”
“Sorry Zuko, but you’re not hot enough,” she says, without thinking.
The corners of his mouth flicker upward into the kind of smirk she hasn’t seen since his ponytail days. Spirits, he’s infuriating, she thinks—grateful that her skin is dark enough to hide a blush. She removes the rest of her supplies from Azula’s bedside and takes a seat by the window, trying to ignore the burning sensation of Zuko’s eyes lingering on the back of her neck. She forces herself to concentrate on the little vials and instruments in her hand, but it’s no good. Everything is in the wrong place. She’ll have to take it all out again and repack it later.
“Katara,” he says, coming up beside her at the window. “Did you ever read Love Amongst the Dragons?”
Katara shoots him a wry smile. “No,” she says. “Funnily enough, we didn’t have a lot of fire nation epics in our village library.”
“Azula made fun of me, but I always liked it.” He smiles a little to himself, then points, drawing Katara’s attention to a spot on the grim horizon. “Do you see that mountain, there? The one that curves?”
Katara shivers, drawing a little closer to Zuko. “The one that looks like a claw?” she asks.
He nods. “I know, it’s scary, isn’t it? If you believe the old story, it’s the claw of the great dragon, himself. It’s where the name of the district comes from — Kaa Garr. Great Dragon. And, right there where the mountain turns in on itself…” he moves his finger up the pane a little so Katara can see a black spot in the distance, “is the prison where I’m keeping my father.”
Katara lets out a little involuntary gasp and presses her fingers to her mouth. Zuko looks down at her, a wry glint in his eye. “If you thought my sister’s arrangements were bad,” he says, “you should see his.”
“I’m sorry,” is all she can think to say.
“Don’t be,” he shrugs. “You know my father isn’t exactly a nice guy. I didn’t get this scar on my face from a training accident, you know?”
“I know,” Katara says, reaching up to touch the edges of his burned skin with the practiced hands of a healer.
In truth, they had never really talked about how he’d gotten his scar, but Katara had heard rumors going all the way back to her time in the Fire Nation with Toph, Sokka, and Aang. Zuko allows her fingers to wander over his scar for a moment, tracing the lines and folds on the puckered skin. He gets lost for a minute in the phantom sensation—wondering if he’s only imagining the gentle pressure. It’s so tender and intimate that his breath catches in his chest for fear that a sharp exhale might disturb the delicate balance between them. But then Azula flops over in bed, bringing Zuko back to himself. He clears his throat, and Katara’s hand drops to her side.
“It just makes me wonder if I should be trying to help my father…you know…the way you’re helping Azula.”
Katara tries not to let her emotions show on her face. She does not believe for one second that Ozai is entitled to the same treatment as his daughter, but she also believes that, ultimately, the decision is Zuko’s to make.
“Do you think your father deserves a second chance?” She asks, trying to keep her voice even.
“No!” he shouts, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s the problem, I don’t think he deserves it! But I can’t figure out why. I mean, he not that different from my sister, is he? But, every day, I felt guilty about Azula, and every day I’m grateful that my father is still locked up!”
Katara watches as Zuko paces back and forth across the antique carpet, winding himself up. “Then you came, and I feel better about Azula—I really do, Katara—but now I’m suddenly guilty about my father. I’m the fire lord, shouldn’t I at least be fair?”
“Zuko,” Katara says, holding out an arm to stop his pacing, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but when was the last time you had a bath? Or slept in a real bed?”
He blinks down at her, “Uh, it might have been a few days. Why?”
“I think,” she says, using her most soothing voice, “that all these big questions can wait for a day or two while you rest.”
He looks skeptical, but Katara insists: “Look at you, Zuko, you’re exhausted. I’m not saying that it won’t be difficult, but I promise it will all seem better in the m-morning.” As she says it, she stifles a yawn, and Katara suddenly realizes that she, too, is exhausted.
Noticing this, Zuko takes the medicine bag from her hand and, after checking all of Azula’s locks, leads her down the hall to her room. It’s hard to tell with Zuko, but he seems excited about something. The corners of his mouth keep twitching up, like he’s trying to hide a smile. The whole of the third-floor hallway smells like fresh paint, even though the hallways look the same as they’ve always been. It makes Katara’s head swim. When they arrive at what she assumes will be her bedroom here in the Fire Nation, Zuko throws open the door for her, and Katara gasps.
The room is in the style of the Fire Nation—a wooden chest for clothes, a low-slung writing table, and an imposing four poster bed, but the details are all Water Tribe. The walls are covered with bright blue paper depicting life in the poles. The furniture handles are all solid, gleaming mother of pearl. The bed is strewn with gigantic, fluffy pelts that could only have come from the south pole.
“What do you think?” Zuko asks, studying her face. “Is it too much? I had rooms made up for the Earth Kingdom and the Air Nation, too. I don’t want you to think I’m abusing your culture, but I do want my guests to feel welcome here. I know the Fire Nation royal palace isn’t anybody’s favorite place.” He winces, thinking about the terrible stain of his father’s legacy.
Katara considers Zuko kindly. He’s hovering just outside the room—neither in nor out. She realizes that she’s never felt more warmly towards the young fire lord.
“You’re a lot like your uncle, you know that?” she says, after a minute.
Katara watches as his guarded features break into a genuine smile. “Thanks,” he says, running his fingers along the edge of the doorframe. “You know I was hoping you or your brother would be the first ones to use this room.”
“You’re lucky it’s me! Sokka would be jumping on the bed, already.”
Zuko laughs, and Katara grins with pride. It’s not easy making Zuko laugh.
“I didn’t even ask!” He says, eagerly. “How is Sokka? And Aang?”
Now it’s Katara’s turn to look guarded. “Sokka’s fine,” she says, trying to keep her voice neutral. “He’s angry because he can’t go to Ba Sing Se without Appa…” Then, anticipating Zuko’s next question, Katara explains everything in a rush: “Aang left for Omashu. He got a letter from Bumi saying that the city was unstable, and he left me and Sokka behind.”
Zuko’s reaction is not what Katara expects. His eyebrow furrows, and he lets out a troubled groan, so sharp and low that Katara can almost feel the reverberations in his chest. “Katara…Bumi is dead. He died about a week ago. Didn’t Aang tell you?”
“Oh,” is all Katara can manage. She plops herself down at the end of the bed and looks up at Zuko, dazed. “No, Aang hasn’t written to me since he left for Omashu.” The admission earns her a sharp sideways glance, but she doesn’t notice. She’s too wrapped up in thoughts of the Earth King.
“What happened?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” he admits, lowering himself down beside her on the bed. “The Fire Nation has…informants…in Omashu, but I haven’t heard from them in a few days.” The way he hesitates before the word ‘informants’ makes Katara wonder if he is uncomfortable having spies in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko had always preferred fair-play and transparency, even at his own expense.
“But you have suspicions,” she presses him.
He nods. “To tell you the truth, I’m glad Sokka’s not in Ba Sing Se right now.”
“Why not?” Katara gasps, “It’s not unstable, too, is it?”
“No,” he says, resting his head against the bedpost and letting his eyelids droop. “At least none of my advisors seem to think it is. I’m the one who has an issue. And it’s only a feeling, Katara…”
“Because of Kai Kozu?” she asks.
Zuko’s snaps to attention so quickly that he sprains his neck. “Where did you hear that name?” he growls.
“Bumi wrote about him in his letter to Aang,” Katara explains.
“Ah, that makes sense,” Zuko says, rubbing the sprain. “Kai Kozu used to keep a pretty low profile. Barely anyone outside the Earth Kingdom had ever heard of him… But lately he’s been moving more and more into the public eye. I don’t like it. He’s already got power in Kyoshi and Chin. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had plans for Omashu and Ba Sing Se, too.”
“Oh no! Zuko!” Katara’s hand flies to the reassuring carvings on her mother’s necklace, and she traces them apprehensively. “What about Toph and Suki? What about your uncle? Isn’t he still in the city?”
“I did write to them,” Zuko shrugs. “I asked them to stay here in the palace, but Toph and Suki are out in the country somewhere. I can’t reach them.”
“And your uncle?”
“Uncle doesn’t want to leave his tea shop. And besides…” Zuko blushes brick red, “I think he might have a lady friend in the city. He’s acting like a love-sick teenager.”
Katara watches as Zuko drags his fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends. “You’re really worried about this, aren’t you?” she asks.
“I am,” he admits.
Katara leans back into the mountain of fluffy pillows and soft white furs, and closes her eyes—too tired to care that Zuko is still watching her. She says a silent prayer for Toph, Suki, and Iroh in Ba Sing Se, and thanks every spirit she can name for her father’s stubbornness. At least she knows Sokka is safe in the Southern Water Tribe—far, far away from the Earth Kingdom capital…
As she drifts off into sleep, she reaches out to feel Zuko’s warm body beside her—his chest rising and falling evenly. She draws a little closer, and he opens his arms wide to make room for her. She pillows her head in the crook of his arm and breathes in a scent like something out of a dream. In fact, she thinks it must have been a dream, because when she wakes up in the night he is gone, and the spot where she imagined he had lain is awash with moonlight.
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Mending
ever wondered what happens when you have too many ideas and want to do them all immediately so you cram them into one story even though it doesn’t make any sense?? this. this is what happens
What if Zuko was the one struck by Azula's attack in The Chase? And what if instead of fire, it was lightning? An exploration of what would have occurred between Zuko, Iroh, and the Gaang in that scenario. Hint -- the Gaang has a LOT of fun messing with him.
word count: 29,650
_____________________________________
It happened so fast. Unbelievably fast.
One second, Azula was standing in front of them, trapped and outnumbered, raising her hands in defeat. They’d beaten her; they’d won. It should’ve been over. Then, with a single sweep of her arm, a bolt of lightning shot from her fingertips, zipping toward Iroh too quickly, too close range for him to react in time to redirect it.
She had been aiming at him. It should’ve been him getting hit, him doubling over, him collapsing lifelessly to the ground. So why was his nephew suddenly flying in front of him? Why did the lightning strike him instead? How could he have predicted what was about to happen, let alone moved in time to take the blow?
Why did the world dip into slow motion as the electricity coursed through his body? Flashing, cracking, sizzling—coiling like neon blue snakes? Why couldn’t he move as he watched Zuko fall? Why didn’t he reach out and catch him? Why did his screams sound distant even though he was right there, convulsing at his feet?
Why did the stench of burning flesh have to smell so familiar?
“Zuko!”
The avatar and his gang threw everything they had at the princess. But in a flash of blue flame, heat and smoke exploded across the battlefield. When the air cleared, she was gone. Zuko lied where he’d fallen, motionless and silent.
Iroh dropped to his knees. “No—Zuko—no.” A large hole was seared through the fabric on the upper left side of his chest. The skin that was visible was red and raw. His eyes were closed and his muscles were slack. He looked asleep—peaceful, even.
It was too similar. Too real. His last day in Ba Sing Se roared back to the present with a ferocious vengeance. With trembling hands, Iroh cradled the boy’s head.
“Nephew...can you hear me? Zuko…please...”
Once they’d determined the threat was gone, the group gazed upon the gut-wrenching scene, stunned. A cold knot formed in Aang’s belly. Zuko had been hurt—bad. Zuko was their enemy. They’d been fighting each other not even thirty seconds ago. But the old general he called his uncle had always seemed strangely neutral. He’d never actively fought against any of them. Back in the Northern Water Tribe, he’d helped them save the moon spirit—and in turn, the entire world.
However evil Zuko was, Aang didn’t want him to die. The old man clearly cared about him. And the sound of his sobs…
He looked to Katara. The war raging in her soul gleamed in the whites of her eyes. She caught his gaze, grimacing bitterly, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
“Katara,” Toph said, the weight of the situation heavy in her voice. The others held their breath, glancing between Zuko and the waterbender. Slowly, the anger drained from her expression.
She stepped toward the old man, extending her hand. “I—I can help,” she said. “I can heal him, if you’ll let me.”
“Katara!” Sokka protested. She ignored him. Iroh looked at her over his shoulder, eyes red and pleading.
That was all the confirmation she needed. Katara rushed to Zuko’s other side, kneeling opposite of Iroh. She streamed a line of water from her pouch and cloaked it around her hands.
“What are you doing?” Sokka snapped. “He’s our enemy!”
“He’s hurt,” Katara retorted coldly. “He needs my help.”
“I d-don’t think he’s breathing,” Iroh stammered, clutching the teenager like he’d disintegrate if he let him go. “Is he—is his heart—I c-can’t tell if he’s—”
“He’s breathing,” Toph assured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I can feel it. His heart’s beating, too.” She closed her eyes. “But...they’re both very weak.”
It tore her up, feeling Iroh shiver against the ground, hearing his voice quake with fear. She’d only spoken to him once, but in their short conversation, he’d proved himself to be a wise, kind person who would do anything for his troubled nephew. They couldn’t let him die, if only for Iroh’s sake.
Katara held her hands over the injury, the water following its path through his body. The damage was deep and gruesome. Streams of burnt flesh fanned out from the entry wound across the majority of his torso, snaked down his left leg, then re-concentrated at the bottom of his foot, where the lightning must have exited.
“This is bad,” she admitted, her gaze shifting to Zuko’s face. He’d never looked so fragile to her before—so small. His weird bald ponytail look was gone; he’d chopped it off and let his hair start growing out. It was short, fuzzy, and—dare she say—cute, comparatively. It also aged him down, making him look less like a scary Fire Nation soldier and more like a teenager.
“It’s going to take me awhile. We should find somewhere safe to move him.”
Iroh sniffled and wiped his eyes, holding Zuko’s head in his lap and running a hand through his hair. “Okay,” he said. “Yes, let’s—yes. Okay.”
It took him a minute to stand. He kept his palm cupped under Zuko’s head, never letting it touch the ground. Once he was on his feet, Katara and Aang helped lift his nephew into his arms.
“Thank you,” the old man whimpered. “Thank you all s-so much...” Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he held Zuko close to his chest. Aang offered him a small smile.
“Let’s head back toward the river,” Katara said, returning the water to her pouch. “Appa should be waiting for us there. We can set up camp in the surrounding forest.”
As she walked past Sokka, he gave her a what is wrong with you look. She shot back with a glare of her own, which shut him up for the time being.
That lasted about two minutes. As Katara led the way, Sokka jogged to catch up with her, keeping his voice low.
“You do realize how crazy this is, don’t you?”
Katara narrowed her eyes but didn’t respond.
“We’re helping Zuko. You know, royal Fire Nation psycho freak? Ozai’s devil spawn? The guy who's been chasing us around and terrorizing us since we first met Aang? The dude who wants nothing more than to kill us all and drag our friend back to the Fire Nation like a prized turkey pig?”
“You think I want to help him?” Katara snapped, holding her shoulders tight as she walked. “He’ll die if I don’t heal him. Are you saying we should just let him die?”
Sokka swallowed and stared at his feet. “I...no. I don’t know. I just...don’t see any version of this ending well.”
“I know it’s weird,” Aang concurred, glancing back at Iroh nervously. “But...we have to help him. It’s the right thing to do.”
“What if one of us got shot full of lightning?” Sokka retorted. “You think Prince Jerkbender would do anything to help us? Of course not. He would exploit the situation to try to capture Aang.”
“His uncle would help,” Toph said.
Aang smiled solemnly. “Exactly. Don’t think of it as helping Zuko. Think of it as helping Iroh not be sad.” He blinked, his eyes darkening. “He seems...really scared and shaken.”
“It boggles my mind that he cares about him so much. That old man’s kindness is completely wasted on a selfish moron like Zuko.”
Iroh moaned suddenly, causing the group to freeze in place and turn around. The Fire Nation general was trailing far behind them, flushed and sweaty. His knees were wobbling under the burden of Zuko’s weight.
“I’m so sorry,” he grated out. “S’my old joints. Please...could someone…”
Slowly, all eyes swiveled to Sokka. It took him a moment to notice the sudden onslaught of attention. He glanced between his friends, spluttering.
“What?” he exclaimed. “Why me?”
Aang shrugged. “Out of all of us, you’re probably the strongest.”
“But I don’t want to carry the angry jerk!” he whined, stamping his feet.
Katara placed her hands on her hips. “You don’t want to, or you’re not strong enough to?” she retorted smugly.
Sokka knew she was baiting him, but with a huff, he decided to bite. All of them were exhausted; Azula and her tank of dangerous ladies had made sure of that. The sooner they got to camp, the sooner they could rest.
“Fine,” he grumbled. He marched back toward Iroh, griping sourly under his breath. “Here—gimme.”
Sokka knelt down and let Iroh drape Zuko over his back. Sokka wrapped his arms under his knees and hoisted his weight forward, bundling the unconscious prince into the world’s most unhappy piggyback ride.
Once he was secure, Sokka rose upright and stomped after Katara, face gnarled with irritation. “Happy now?” he said. “If he wakes up and roasts me alive, I’m blaming you.”
“Please be careful with him,” Iroh said nervously, tailing Sokka with his hands out like he was going to drop his nephew at any moment.
Sokka rolled his eyes but held Zuko a little tighter. “Yeah, yeah,” he murmured.
Ten minutes later, they reached the river. Appa was snoring peacefully beneath a tree with Momo nestled in his fur. The sun poked above the horizon line, casting blood red beams across the water.
As Aang gathered their blankets and sleeping bags from Appa’s saddle, Katara yawned and pointed at an alcove between two evergreens. “Toph, could you make us an earth tent? One big enough for all of us to fit.”
Toph jabbed her fists out then up, forming a large, triangle-shaped structure. The gang staggered inside, blinking and rubbing their sleepy eyes, with Iroh close behind.
“Lay him down here,” Katara instructed. Aang spread their spare blanket across the ground while Sokka unraveled himself from the lifeless firebender.
“You know, you’re a lot heavier than you look, your highness,” Sokka scoffed. “Might want to lay off the fire gummies. And your obsessive rage-fueled quest of evil against me and my friends.”
Iroh hurried to Sokka’s aid. The two of them worked together to gently guide Zuko to the ground. Aang tucked Sokka’s Water Tribe jacket under his head as a pillow.
“But that’s…!” Sokka began, then sunk in defeat. “Oh, whatever.”
“He looks so still,” Iroh breathed. He petted Zuko’s hair and ran his thumb along his cheek, tears glistening in his eyes. “Oh, nephew. How could I let this happen…?”
Again?
Katara re-soaked her hands in water and sat on Zuko’s left. “I’ll help him as much as I can,” she said, expression steely. She stifled another yawn, then got to work.
The moon was high in the sky by the time she was done. The wound was still bad, but edging away from life-threatening. Her friends had fallen asleep long ago; she and Iroh were the only one’s left awake. She would’ve kept going, but at this point, she could barely keep her eyes open.
“He’ll need a few more sessions to heal properly,” she said, streaming the water back into her pouch and rising to her feet, “and a lot of rest. I’ll start again in the morning.”
“Thank you, young lady,” Iroh said, bowing his head. “I owe you and your friends an insurmountable debt. I know how you all must feel about my nephew, but…” He swallowed, voice wavering. “He—he’s very important to me. I know he is capable of great good, he’s just...been through a lot.”
Katara wasn’t sure how to respond. She didn’t want to entertain the possibility that Zuko was or ever could be an actual human being with feelings—not after all the pain and trouble he’d put them through. Regardless of how his uncle saw him, he was still their enemy: a Fire Nation scumbag determined to capture their friend and rid the world of its last emblem of hope. Healing him was a reflection of her own kindness, and a courtesy to Iroh; it had nothing to do with Zuko himself. Having the capacity for good wasn’t enough; he’d never acted on it, which rendered it meaningless.
Katara glared at the ground. “If he wakes up…” she began.
“He will be no trouble to you,” Iroh assured her. “You have my word.”
She trusted him, though she wasn’t sure why. He was just as much Fire Nation as Zuko, but his aura and levelness reminded her of her father. Someone inclined to protect the wellbeing of others, and who never broke their promises. Still, she wasn’t letting her guard down.
She eyed the large red splotch on Zuko’s chest. “Even if I can fully heal him, he’ll probably still be left with a scar.”
Iroh blanched, but kept his expression stony. “I see,” he said. His somber gaze shifted to his nephew’s face. “That is okay. He can handle it.” His fingers carded through Zuko’s hair, lingering around his left eye. “It won’t be his first time being scarred by a family member.”
Something cold coiled around Katara’s heart. Her eyes flickered toward the dark, leathery burn marring half of the prince’s face before quickly jerking away. Someone in his family did that to him? She’d never thought much about Zuko’s scar—just that it marked him as an individual, distinguished him as their enemy, and made him all the more scary-looking for it. She hadn’t really considered how he’d gotten it, or what significance that might carry.
Her curiosity was officially piqued, but she knew better than to ask. She turned away indignantly. What does it matter, anyway? A bad home life doesn’t warrant a lifetime of evil.
No amount of sob stories would ever make Zuko deserving of her sympathy.
“Goodnight,” she said, curling up beside her friends.
“Goodnight,” he replied. He scooted behind Zuko and lifted his head into his lap, periodically checking his pulse as he petted his hair. It didn’t look like he was planning to go to sleep anytime soon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The world that Zuko woke to was bright and painful. A beam of sunlight was shining directly into his eyes, making him squint and blink. He tried to shift to escape the harsh glow, but he couldn’t seem to move.
Maybe it had something to do with the bone-deep agony radiating through his entire body.
It started underneath his left shoulder and pulsed out from there, feverish and nauseating. His foot surged with a similar ache, but to a less heated degree. Every feeble attempt to move made it a hundred times worse. Even breathing was excruciating.
Ugh, he thought, gritting his teeth. His mind was hazy; his skull felt like it was full of stones. Wha…?
He blinked, and a blinding blue flash exploded behind his eyelids. He jolted as the memory returned, his hand flying to his shoulder.
Azula. Outnumbered. Defeated. But...she attacked. Uncle. Had to protect him. Jumped between them. Then…
A cataclysmic thrum of unimaginable pain. After that, everything had clapped to darkness.
Grimacing, Zuko slid one hand underneath his body and pushed against the ground. The effort left him dizzy and gasping, but he managed to lift himself off the floor and into a sitting position, his bare back resting against the stone wall behind him. He sat that way for a while, panting and moaning, gripping his chest where the pain throbbed like a second heartbeat.
Azula had done this to him. Figured. Had she captured the avatar and dragged him home to Father while he was out, taking away his only chance of ever redeeming his honor?
He looked down at his shoulder, lifting his hand away from the skin. A large, red scar lied underneath, blistered and swollen and still relatively fresh. The splotchy, scarlet circle was the only visible evidence left by Azula’s attack, although he could feel its harrowing effect in every muscle of his body. It looked slightly different than the mark on his face—felt different, too. But not different enough.
Another burn. Another scar. At least this one he could hide.
But man, did it hurt.
He tore his gaze away from the wound and scanned his surroundings, blinking the sleepy sheen from his eyes. He was in some kind of tall, tent-like structure made of earth. The ground around him was littered with blankets, bags, and other miscellaneous items. Not Uncle’s belongings, he realized. Zuko’s throat tightened.
He’d have to worry about dealing with Azula later. For now…
Where in the world am I?
Voices reached his ears, making him perk up in alarm. Someone calling from afar, followed by a cheerful laugh.
“Hold on—let me grab my staff!”
Footsteps approached, quick but light. A few moments later, a figure jogged into the tent, silhouetted by sunshine. Zuko squinted against the harsh brightness, his eyes still bleary with exhaustion.
The individual moved out of the doorway to rummage through a bag on the floor. Only when he stood upright, glider in hand, backlit by the sun but no longer blown out, did his bald head, blue tattoos, and chipper smile become distinguishable.
No way.
“Found it!” the avatar cried. Then his gaze fell upon the injured firebender, who was now sitting upright and visibly conscious, and his eyes bugged out of his skull.
“Ah!” he gasped, flinching back and dropping his staff. Before Zuko had time to react, let alone process what was going on, Aang darted out of the tent, shouting: “He’s awake! Guys! Zuko’s awake!”
Zuko blinked. And suddenly, four people were looming over him, their outlines and features fuzzy-looking. Time seemed to be flying by at double the speed while he was trapped in slow motion. His brain felt like a mushy bowl of jook. Fortunately, he managed to identify the individuals surrounding him.
Unfortunately, they were the last four people he wanted to see right now.
“What the—?” he exclaimed, panic blooming in his chest. He tried to sit up a little straighter, but the movement made his chest flare with pain. He clutched it with a groan, slumping limply against the wall.
“Don’t move,” the small earthbending girl said. “You’re hurt really bad.”
Zuko forced his eyes open, leering between the avatar and his gang, sweating bullets and shivering all over. Why was he shivering so much? Why couldn’t he make it stop? He didn’t just feel hurt; he felt sick. The wound was hot and sticky against his palm.
“W-what are you doing here?” he growled.
“Saving you, that’s what,” Aang retorted. The Water Tribe boy—Sokka, if his memory served—stood beside him, holding his boomerang at the ready.
“Azula attacked you,” he explained. “She shot you full of lightning. You’d be dead if Katara hadn’t helped you.”
Zuko’s stomach turned icy. His eyes wandered to the waterbender, who frowned at him with her hand hovering over her pouch. All of them looked ready to kill him the second he made the wrong move.
Meanwhile, he felt ready to puke.
Why would they save me? That meant they needed him for something. Information? Intel on the Fire Nation? A ransom hostage? Fat chance he’d be helpful on any of those accounts. They could turn him over to his father, maybe—he was a fugitive of the Fire Nation. Then again, so were they.
Or they were lying about saving him. Maybe they’d kidnapped him after Azula’s attack just so they got to watch him suffer a slow, grisly death. Maybe this was building toward some elaborate form of payback for all the times he’d tried to capture the avatar. His injury wasn’t even bandaged—no medicine in sight, either. What exactly had they done to help him?
“I’ll go get Iroh,” Aang said, jogging out of the tent. Zuko’s fear-fueled fantasies veered into confusion.
What? Uncle’s here? Why? Was he hurt, too? Had the avatar and his friends captured them both? What was going on?
“His fever’s gotten worse,” the earthbender said. It took Zuko a second to realize she was talking about him, and a second longer to realize she had somehow come to this conclusion without even touching him. It made no sense. None of this did. It felt like he was trapped inside some crazy, lucid nightmare.
Katara studied him for a while, her eyes dark and searching. Then she sighed, coating her hands in water. She walked toward him suddenly, making Zuko tense.
“Stay back!” he shouted, gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering. He kept one palm glued to his wound while the other stayed flat against the ground to prevent him from toppling over.
To his disbelief, the waterbender ignored him, sitting by his side with a level expression. Katara stared at Zuko coldly. She’d never realized how golden his irises were. She’d never been this close to see—not while he was awake. When they caught the sunlight, they glinted and shimmered in an almost supernatural way. The eyes of a hunter.
Zuko glared back with his usual scowl. Brows furrowed, teeth bared. He’d always reminded her of a predator. Something wild and ferocious that prowled after the innocent. But today, something was different. Today, Zuko was the prey: trembling, injured, trapped, and scared. His typically scalding gaze was clouded with fear.
Katara held up her hands as she stared him down. The water encasing them glowed a soft blue. “I’m going to help lower your fever,” she stated. “Either you sit still and let me do it, or Toph pins you down and makes you stay still.”
“And if you try firebending, Boomerang is coming for your head,” Sokka added.
Zuko’s skin bristled with goosebumps as chills shuddered up his spine. After the Agni Kai against his father, he recalled contracting an intense fever in response to the terrible burn. It hadn’t lasted long, but it wasn’t pleasant. Uncle had worked diligently to bring it down and comfort him while the physicians tended to his scorched face. It wasn’t a time he liked to remember, but he wondered if that’s what was happening now—if Azula’s burn was afflicting him just like Father’s had.
“I don’t w-want your help,” Zuko hissed. He had no idea what she was planning to do to him, and he wasn’t interested in finding out. Whatever the end goal to all of this was, their intentions were clearly hostile.
Katara shared a look with her brother, then wrinkled her brow. Wordlessly, she reached forward, placing her palm against Zuko’s forehead.
“Hey! What’re you—?” He squirmed away and made a grab for her wrist, but she caught his first, pinning his arm against the wall without moving the hand on his head. He didn’t realize how weak he was until he tried and failed to wriggle free of her hold. The effort it took just to try left him woozy.
“Just—wait,” she instructed sharply. “It’ll make you feel better. I promise.”
He considered frying her hand to force her to release him, but Sokka was right there, and he knew how much that boomerang could hurt—even with a helmet on. Plus, he was tired, lightheaded, and now that she mentioned it…
He stopped fighting for a moment, panting. The watery glove around her hand felt like it was seeping through his skull and into his brain, sucking all the heat and pain with it. The pulsing ache in his head eased to a small hum. His feverish chills eased away. Slowly, his muscles relaxed. He blinked, stunned by the sudden and extraordinary relief.
Once she realized he wasn’t trying to escape anymore, she let go of his wrist and pressed both palms to his temples. The assuage increased even more, making Zuko release a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“This should bring your fever down temporarily,” she said. This was not normal waterbending; he knew that much. It was cool, tingly, soothing, almost spiritual in nature. When she took her hands away, he was left feeling exponentially better, though the wound on his shoulder continued to throb. Zuko met her gaze for an instant, pressing a finger to his brow.
“What...what’d you just do?” he asked. Katara stood and stepped back, her expression sour.
“Reduced your pain, even if you deserve every bit of it.”
Anger resurfaced in the prince’s chest. Even though he was still reeling with relief, his eyes cut daggers through hers.
“Then why do it?” he remarked. He gripped his injury tighter. “Why am I here? What do you want from me?”
“I’ll see if Iroh has any herbal remedies he could give you for a more permanent solution,” Katara continued, ignoring his abrasive inquiry. “But you’ll need plenty of rest to recover completely.”
“Answer my questions!” Zuko yelled, making Sokka and Toph wince. “Why are you keeping me here? What are you planning?”
The shouting roused his wound, making him fall back against the wall with a strained whimper. At that moment, the avatar skipped back into the tent with Iroh on his tail. Zuko glanced up along with the others. As soon as Uncle’s eyes found his, the old man melted.
“See? He’s awake! Told you he’d be all right!”
Iroh didn’t wait for him to finish. He rushed toward his nephew, tripping over sleeping bags and pushing past Sokka with his arms outstretched. “Zuko!” he cried.
“Uncle?” the young prince answered, looking puzzled. He yelped in surprise when Iroh practically tackled him, wrapping him into the biggest platypus bear hug any of them had ever seen.
“Oh, my beautiful nephew!” Iroh blubbered, squeezing the air from his lungs. “I’m so happy you’re all right!”
Zuko squirmed uncomfortably, inexperienced in dealing with such blatant physical affection. “Uncle! What’re you—ouch! Quit it! You’re—crushing me!”
A few giggles slipped from Aang and Toph’s lips. It was an amusing scene—watching the grumpy Fire Nation prince get smothered by his overbearing uncle. Even the Water Tribe siblings hinted smug grins. Aang swore he saw a touch of pink flush across the firebender’s cheeks.
Despite his nephew’s wriggly protests, Iroh clung on to him a little while longer, one hand wrapped around Zuko’s torso while the other cradled the back of his head. Zuko eventually gave up trying to escape and just sat there awkwardly, squished and pouting as he waited for his uncle to get his fill. The gang was relieved to see Iroh happy after so many hours of anxiety.
Once he finally released Zuko from his hold, Iroh’s attention honed in on his nephew’s wound, his hands hovering around the bright red scar. “How bad does it hurt? Are you in terrible pain?”
More like excruciating, Zuko thought. His muscles felt like burnt noodles, his bones like over-roasted komodo chicken legs. But he didn’t need to tell Iroh that—he was already an erratic pyre of stress as it was. He rolled his eyes and shrugged, trying to evoke nonchalance, realizing his mistake too late. A stabbing ache tore through his shoulder and shot down his arm, making him to wince sharply and hiss through his teeth. He grabbed his chest, groaning wearily.
“Stay still, Prince Zuko,” Iroh said, laying the back of his hand against his cheek. “Your body is very weak, and you’re still warmer than usual. I’ll brew you some ginger root tea to reduce the fever.”
Zuko scrunched up his brow and knocked his hand away. “Stop fussing, Uncle,” he grumbled bitterly. “M’fine.”
“Fine?” Iroh repeated. A beat passed where the old man just stared at him, jaw tight, his lower lip trembling. Then, out of nowhere, Uncle seized Zuko by his uninjured shoulder, his eyes flashing with an uncharacteristic rage. “Are you insane? You call this ‘fine?’ What on earth were you thinking?”
Zuko blinked, looking just as surprised as everyone else in the room. He was still recovering from Iroh’s crushing embrace, followed by the sudden burst of pain. Now he was yelling at him?
“What?” Zuko said, startled.
“Why would you throw yourself in between me and Azula like that?” he shouted. “That lightning should have hit me, not you!”
It wasn’t like Uncle to shout. Uncle only shouted when it was for a very specific and important purpose. He wasn’t like the Fire Lord—or Zuko, for that matter.
“You’d rather I just sat there and let you take the hit?” Zuko scoffed in disbelief. “Azula was trying to kill you!”
“And she very nearly killed you!” Iroh retorted, making Zuko shrink back a little. “If it wasn’t for the kindness of these children, you’d be dead right now! First in the North Pole, and again today!”
Zuko grimaced and turned away, avoiding everyone’s eyes. “I never asked for their help.”
Iroh gave him a quick shake, making the young prince tense. “You shouldn’t even be needing it! You have to stop putting yourself in danger like this!”
Zuko didn’t understand why he was so angry with him. He huffed toward the ground. “This is exactly why I didn’t want us traveling together anymore. You worry too much.”
“Because you don’t worry enough!” Iroh roared. “You seem perfectly fine with throwing your life away over nothing!”
“I was trying to protect you, Uncle!” Zuko exclaimed, shoving his hand off his shoulder. “Is your life nothing?”
“Yes!” Iroh snarled. He cupped his nephew’s face in his hands, his eyes like fire. “Compared to yours, yes! My life is nothing, Prince Zuko.”
Zuko’s scowl fell, replaced by a look of sickly confusion. The tent plunged into sudden silence. Aang and his friends felt like they were intruding on a very private moment, but now they were too intrigued not to see how this ended.
“Why...would you say that?” Zuko asked uneasily. He pulled Iroh’s hands away from his face. “That’s not—”
“I’ve lived my life, nephew,” Uncle insisted. “If I died today, I’d die a happy, fulfilled old man. But you are just a boy, my prince, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. You have so much life left to live. If you died…”
Uncle shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, bowing low to ground, as if the thought physically hurt him. Zuko didn’t know what to say. Tears started slipping down Iroh’s cheeks and dripping into the grass.
“Uncle…” Zuko began softly. A moment later, his eyes lurched up to the four others occupying the room and grew wide, as if he’d forgotten they were there. He leered at them with a mixture of loathing and embarrassment, feeling strange and exposed by their prying gazes, until Uncle listed forward, burying his face into his chest.
“Don’t m-make me endure it again, Zuko,” Iroh wept, hugging the prince with all the love and pain in the universe. “Don’t make me watch another son die...”
Guilt and sorrow surged into Zuko’s throat. He knew Iroh cared for him—knew he liked to pretend that he was his own now that Lu Ten was gone. But to this day, he didn’t understand why. Zuko had done nothing to earn Iroh’s love; he actively pushed him away and treated him like garbage just to prove it, testing how much it would take to get it to break. But no matter what he tried, Iroh’s love persisted: unbending and unconditional. It was perplexing, illogical, infuriating—and wonderful.
Uncle’s love wasn’t like Ozai’s. Uncle’s love wasn’t something he had to beg and fight and compete for. It was just...there. Always. And he had no idea how to deal with it.
As Iroh cried into his shoulder, Zuko placed an awkward hand on his arm in attempt to calm him, wincing at the anguish in his sobs. “I wasn’t—I didn’t—” he stammered, grappling for the words to make him stop.
“It would’ve killed me, Zuko,” Iroh wept, holding him close. “If you d-died saving me, I would have died anyway. I couldn’t bear it. Not again…”
Zuko watched his Uncle sniffle and shake, a lump forming in his throat. He didn’t understand it. He doubted he ever would. He swallowed thickly and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said. He cursed the wobble that snuck into his voice.
“I think we should go,” Toph whispered, jerking her thumb toward the exit. The group nodded in agreement. None of them had ever seen Zuko so vulnerable before—physically, emotionally, or otherwise. He obviously reciprocated Iroh’s love, even if he wasn’t as good at expressing it as him. It was obnoxiously heartwarming.
“No,” Iroh said, sitting up suddenly, running the heels of his hands under his puffy eyes. “No, please stay.” He turned to Zuko, placing a palm against his back. “My nephew has something he’d like to say to you.”
Zuko’s soft expression twisted into a look of disgust. “What?”
“These people saved your life on two different occasions, Prince Zuko—despite all the trouble we’ve caused them. The least you can do is thank them for their generosity.”
The firebender’s golden gaze bore ferociously into his uncle’s, then swept across the four kids standing around them. His signature scowl returned with a vengeance.
“There’s a reason besides generosity that they did it,” Zuko hissed, flinching and grabbing his wounded shoulder. “I just haven’t figured out what it is yet.”
Katara placed her hands on her hips. “We did it because we’re not monsters,” she shot back. “And because your uncle cares about you. Why, I have no idea—but we didn’t want him to lose his nephew.”
Zuko lunged toward her with a growl, but Iroh held him back, which did not take much effort.
“Enough, Zuko,” he scolded him. “The reason they helped you does not matter. The fact is, they helped you. And that alone warrants your gratitude.”
The injured prince glowered at them, gritting his teeth. Iroh was kidding himself if he thought he was going to get a ‘thank you’ to cross his insufferable nephew’s lips.
“Trust me, Prince Zuko—it is far more honorable to thank your rival for sparing your life than to hold your tongue out of senseless pride.” He placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair. “Go on.”
Zuko ducked out of his reach and scratched his scalp irritably. The group waited for him to blow up, to spit fire and fury and tell all of them to go jump in the river. His glare alone could sear clean through stone.
But to everyone’s disbelief, the flames in his eyes were gradually superseded by something else. A lifetime of exhaustion, misery, and defeat. His golden irises suddenly looked dull; his expression grew heavy with sadness. He grimaced at the wall, still trembling a little from his fever.
“This doesn’t change anything,” he spat, squeezing his eyes shut. “But...thank you.”
A moment later, Zuko did a quick motion, placing the heel of his left palm on top of his right fist and dipping his head toward the ground. If someone blinked, they would’ve missed it—but the gang recognized the rapid gesture as a Fire Nation bow, done as a sign of respect and humility. It was fast and awkward, but it was genuine. Then Zuko turned his back to them, frowning at the corner of the tent, hunching his shoulders and kneading his wound with his thumb.
Katara, Sokka, and Toph walked outside, but Aang stayed behind, smiling wide. Even though he wasn’t looking, Aang repeated the movement back to Zuko. Iroh beamed at him delightedly, then patted his nephew’s arm.
“Get some rest, Prince Zuko. I’ll be back soon with the tea and some soup.”
Zuko didn’t acknowledge him as he got up and left with the others. He just stared at the wall, feeling small, broken, and weak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
While Iroh prepared the meal, the avatar and his crew sat around the fire in a misshapen semi-circle, each occupied with their own projects. Aang polished his staff, Sokka sharpened his boomerang, Katara sewed a tear in her dress, and Toph played with Momo, making little pegs of earth pop up from the ground for him to chase.
The silence was suffocating.
Sokka kept shooting looks at his friends, as if to say is no one going to acknowledge how strange this is? They had two Fire Nation royalty with them, one of which was making them dinner, while the other (who had tried to kill them on many, many occasions) was sleeping hardly twenty feet away. When he couldn’t bear it any longer, he cleared his throat, painting an awkward grin on his face.
“So...uh...Iroh. General Iroh? Or—Prince Iroh? Or—?”
The old man chuckled. “Just Iroh is fine.” He swirled a ladle through the steaming broth. The aroma was thick and spicy. “Would anyone care for some ginseng soup?”
Everyone raised their hand, bringing a smile to his face. He filled four bowls to the brim and handed one to each of the kids. Once the group had been served, Iroh sat among them, sipping his own meal while monitoring the tea.
“Wow, this is great!” Sokka said, slurping noisily. He wiped his mouth and eyed the old man with a frown. “Not to be rude or anything, but...you seem like a pretty okay guy. Why do you waste your time trying to help your evil nephew?”
“Sokka!” Katara rebuked him, making him wince.
“What? It’s a valid question! He’s so polite and nice, even if he is Fire Nation. Zuko, on the other hand...”
Iroh rested his bowl in his lap, watching the soup wobble and glint in the sunlight. He sighed softly. “I know you all dislike my nephew. And after everything he’s done, you have every right to. He is a conflicted person who has made many mistakes.” He lifted his gaze. “But I’ve known Zuko since the day he was born, and I know the goodness that lies within him.”
Katara huffed dubiously, sipping her dinner in short bouts. Sokka frowned behind his soup mustache. Meanwhile, Aang and Toph listened curiously, spooning heaps of broth into their bellies. Momo leaned over Aang’s shoulder and lapped up a few mouthfuls from his bowl.
“I was on a path not dissimilar from his for most of my life. Obsessed with honor and power, as well as my place in the Fire Nation. It took immense pain and suffering for me to realize the error of my ways and to start on a new journey. One focused on restoring balance to the world and protecting peace.”
His words struck Katara like an arrow through the heart. “Your son?” she said hesitantly, remembering his words from before. Iroh closed his eyes and nodded his head.
“Yes. Lu Ten.”
“But how is helping Zuko capture Aang protecting peace?” Sokka asked bluntly. “You’d be destroying it.”
Iroh chuckled. “I haven’t exactly been helpful in my nephew’s pursuit of the avatar. That has never been my goal. I travel with him because I’m all he has left.” He lowered his gaze. “Now that he and I have been declared fugitives of the Fire Nation, I suppose he’s all I have, too.”
Aang gawked. “Fugitives? You mean the Fire Nation considers Zuko a criminal?”
He recalled that it had been Zuko who busted him out of the Fire Nation prison Zhao had locked him up in. Zuko, wielding dual swords and wearing a blue mask, had helped him escape. To this day, he never understood why he’d risked his life to free him. Was it really all because he wanted to capture the avatar himself?
Had the Fire Nation found out what he did that night, and branded him a traitor?
“Zuko was banished from the Fire Nation when he was thirteen, and has been living in exile ever since. But only recently has the Fire Lord labeled him fugitive.” Iroh stroked his beard. “Why, I’m not entirely sure—though I have my suspicions.”
Katara and Sokka exchanged a startled glance. Zuko was banished from his own country? At thirteen?
“Why was he banished in the first place?” Toph asked, voicing the question in everyone’s mind.
Iroh finished off his soup and placed his bowl to the side, his eyes dark. He knew Zuko wouldn’t approve of him sharing his life story with his so-called enemies. But perhaps if they knew how he ended up in the place he was today, they could begin to understand the why, and maybe even aid him on his journey to see the light. Iroh heaved a lofty sigh.
“It is my fault, I am afraid. I let him attend a war meeting even though I knew the risks. It is one of my greatest regrets.” He bowed his head. “The Fire Nation is very strict about knowing one’s place and staying quiet in certain social situations. When I granted him permission to join us, I warned him not to speak. But when one of the generals suggested we use a group of new recruits as bait for our next attack against the Earth Kingdom, that we send a bunch of kids into what would very likely wind up a suicide mission—Zuko denounced him in front of the highest ranking war authorities in the Fire Nation.”
His nephew’s words echoed hollowly in his skull. You can’t sacrifice an entire battalion like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation. How could you betray them?
The four friends stared at him in tense silence. Iroh poured himself a cup of tea as the fire cracked and fizzled.
“Zuko was right, of course. But his actions were considered extraordinarily disrespectful. He was forced to fight an Agni Kai—a fire duel—in front of the entire royal court. He thought it would be against the elderly general he’d interrupted. Instead, when he turned around, he found himself standing face-to-face with Ozai, his father.”
The icy claw from before seized Katara’s heart with a newfound frigidness. She had a feeling she already knew where this was leading, but the thought still chilled her to her core.
“His dad...wanted to fight him?” Sokka inquired. “Or he was forced to?”
“Ozai is the Fire Lord—the supreme leader of the country. He could have easily pardoned Zuko and moved on. My brother chose to fight his own thirteen-year-old son willingly and zealously.” Iroh grimaced. “Ozai has detested Zuko since he was a child, always favoring his sister Azula above him. He’s been searching for a way to revoke Zuko’s birthright to the throne since Azula began to overshadow him in firebending prowess. Speaking out in a war meeting granted him the perfect excuse to do just that.”
The air was still. Toph suddenly felt guilty for once believing her parents were the worst the universe could bestow. Momo trilled and pawed at Aang’s ear. The avatar leaned toward Iroh anxiously.
“What happened next?”
The old man sipped his steaming cup, his expression sad and distant. “I thought by this point, the whole world knew what happened that day. Fire Nation parents tell the story to their children to scare them into obedience and allegiance to their country.”
None of the kids spoke up. They just stared at him, wide-eyed. So Iroh continued.
“Zuko threw himself to the ground, begging for his father’s forgiveness. Ozai commanded him to fight, but he refused to attack his own father.”
The cup was suddenly trembling in his hands. His knuckles were stiff and white. “I...I should have stopped him. I should have protected Zuko. He was just a child, you know? And he was so afraid...”
Iroh gazed at the grass between his feet. Tiny flowers shuddered and danced in the breeze.
“Ozai...did not show him mercy,” he said, voice ominous. “After the duel, Zuko’s refusal to fight was pronounced weak and disgraceful—behaviors unfit for a prince of the Fire Nation. And so, the Fire Lord banished him. He was tasked with capturing the avatar,” he noted grimly, turning to Aang. “A purposely impossible mission at the time, since you had been missing for over a hundred years with no sign of returning. It was meant to keep Zuko from ever coming back to the Fire Nation. But Ozai claimed that if Zuko found you and brought you to him, he would restore his son’s honor and welcome him home with open arms.” He looked away, face solemn. “And that is what he’s been trying to do ever since.”
Appa grunted from his shady spot by the river. The air between the four friends suddenly felt cold. It was a lot to process. It explained a few of the things many of them had always been confused about when it came to Zuko, but gave rise to multiple entirely new questions they’d never even thought to consider. Katara lifted her hand toward her left eye.
“Is that…” she began reluctantly. “You said a family member gave that to him—the scar on his face.”
Iroh blinked slowly, miserably. “Yes,” he replied. “His father did that to him. He burned his own son while he lay prostrate before him, pleading for mercy.” His eyebrows furrowed together. “Out of all the horrors I’ve witnessed throughout this war, watching my brother scar and banish that boy is among the cruelest. I doubt the memory will ever leave my mind.”
Shocked silence gripped the group. So that was where Zuko’s scar had come from. Not a training misfire, not some careless childhood mistake—but an intentional brand from his father to mark him as an unwanted outsider. A couple more seconds passed before Sokka scoffed, throwing his hands in the air.
“This is insane! If Ozai really did do all these terrible things to him, then why is he so obsessed with capturing Aang and returning home? If I was Zuko, I’d be relieved to be banished and away from that psycho. The guy’s a total monster!”
Iroh released a slow breath. “It is hard to understand my nephew’s logic from the outside. But please, try to put yourself in his position. He was cast out—renounced and rebuked by his home and his people, those he had been taught to depend on. His own father disowned him. One tiny mistake cost him everything: the crown, his honor, and his family. Now, exiled from his country, where else can he hope to go? The entire world despises the Fire Nation for the atrocities they have committed. As the banished son of the Fire Lord, no nation is safe for Zuko. He believes his only choice is to bring his father the avatar. That only he can restore everything he lost. That if he can complete the mission Ozai bestowed upon him, their relationship will somehow be different. He thinks he is capable of winning the Fire Lord’s love by delivering you to him. It gives him hope.”
The old man withered. “I don’t have the heart to tell him the truth, to take that hope away. Even if I did, it wouldn’t change his mind. He would continue this poisonous path without me, searching and fighting until he destroyed himself. I’m doing what I can to support him until he discovers the truth on his own.”
Iroh’s anecdote hung over their heads like storm clouds. Katara narrowed her eyes in thought, drumming her fingers against her bowl.
“What if he never comes to that conclusion?” she said coldly. “How many more people does he have to hurt or villages does he have to burn down for you to decide he isn’t worth it?”
Iroh met her gaze, his jaw tight. She thought he was going to snarl or shout, like he had in the tent with Zuko. Instead, he relaxed into a smile.
“He will change. I know it. I’ve seen what he’s capable of. He was such a sweet and happy child before my brother got ahold of him and twisted him up.” He grinned at Aang. “He was a lot like you, actually. Bright and joyful and kind. I wish you all could have seen him then. Perhaps you’d understand why I haven’t given up on him yet.”
“Really?” Aang said, beaming. “Wow. I’m having a hard time imagining that.”
The old man chuckled, then stared across the circle of young faces. “I’m not asking any of you to forgive my nephew for what he’s done. I’m not asking you to make excuses for him or to pity him. I just wanted to grant you some insight into the person he is, and why he acts the way he does today. You’ve already been more kind to him than I ever could have anticipated, which shows what honorable individuals you are. I am forever grateful to each of you.” His expression softened. “Zuko is too, even if he doesn’t seem it. Because of the way he was raised, he can’t comprehend the idea that others would show him compassion without it being earned, or without some sinister ulterior motive in mind. Your kindness is entirely foreign to him, so don’t take his aversion to it personally.”
This was exactly what Katara had been afraid of. That if they learned more about Zuko’s past, they’d start to realize he wasn’t the sick, totally irredeemable person they believed him to be. She wanted to hate him—wanted to see him as nothing but an obstacle in their path, a soulless enemy to defeat. But it was hard to do after hearing his life’s story.
“If only Zuko had been surrounded by people like you growing up,” Iroh continued wistfully. “You all have such good hearts.”
Sokka swirled his boomerang in the air. “Yeah—too bad we all couldn’t live it up in the Fire Nation palace together, celebrating global tyranny and singing kumbaya around the fire.”
Iroh hinted a somber smile, then rose to his feet. “I’m going to see if I can get my nephew to eat something,” he said, ladling another helping of soup into his bowl and pouring a second cup of tea. “Have a delightful afternoon, all of you.”
With that, he strolled back into the earth tent, humming a quiet tune to himself. The group was left to wallow in the tsunami of information they now knew about their arch nemesis.
Eventually, Sokka huffed. “Well, if there’s anything we’ve learned from this bizarre little misadventure, it’s that the Fire Lord is literally the worst in every way imaginable, and deserves everything he’s got coming his way.”
“No kidding,” Toph agreed, cracking her toes.
Aang pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but...I kinda feel bad for Zuko.”
“Don’t,” Katara snapped, scowling at the fire. “We’ve all had hard lives. We’ve all been hurt and lost things we cared about. You don’t see any of us attacking towns or terrorizing innocent people.”
“But we were raised by good people,” Aang pointed out. “Even when we disagreed with them or fought with them, we never doubted that they loved us.” He rested his chin on his knees. “Zuko didn’t have that. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of change.”
“A lot of people are capable of a lot of things,” Katara retorted. “That doesn’t mean they’re ever going to do the right thing and actually commit to being better.”
Aang blinked at her, then gazed into the flickering flames. “Not if you don’t give them the chance...”
He considered telling them the truth about that day in the Earth Kingdom. When Zuko had broken him out of Zhao’s prison, saving his life—and, unknowingly, Sokka and Katara’s. If Aang hadn’t escaped and gotten those frogs to them, they could have died. The only reason the three of them were sitting together today, alive and well, was because of Zuko’s help.
But before Aang had the chance to speak, Katara scoffed and stood, marching toward the river.
“Katara?” he called. “Where are you going?”
“Swimming,” she answered without looking back. “After today, I seriously need a bath.”
He watched her stomp away, then exhaled defeatedly. Maybe he was being naive. Maybe Zuko wouldn’t change. But while the Fire Nation prince was stuck here with them, he’d try his best to be patient and kind to him—perhaps to the point where it no longer felt so foreign.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Iroh went back into the woods to forage for more tea leaves and herbs before the sun went down, leaving Zuko alone in the stone tent. While the others were off busying themselves around their campsite, Aang crept into the dark structure. He intended to pop in for only a moment to grab some nuts from his bag, but froze in the doorway at the sight he stumbled upon.
Zuko was facing the back wall of the tent, sitting with his legs crossed and his spine straight. Four small candles were arranged in front of him, their flames rising and falling in sync with Zuko’s steady breathing. Aang immediately recognized the familiar scene.
“You’re meditating!” he exclaimed. Zuko flinched in surprise, the candlelight flaring and rippling, casting wild shadows across the walls. He turned on him lividly.
“Don’t scare me like that!” he shouted. “I almost torched you alive!”
“Sorry!” Aang said, grinning shyly as he stepped closer. “But you are meditating, right?”
Zuko huffed and turned back toward the wall, rubbing his wounded shoulder. “I’m trying to,” he said pointedly, re-assuming his sturdy position.
“That’s awesome!” Aang said, bounding to stand by his side. “I never would’ve pegged you as someone who meditates.”
Aang thought he remembered Zuko mentioning meditation back in the South Pole, but it seemed so out of character for him. He never expected to actually witness the hotheaded prince putting it into practice.
Zuko looked uncomfortable and irritated by Aang’s presence. He tried to ignore him, but the avatar wasn’t making it easy. The twelve-year-old stood over him, smiling from ear to ear.
“I meditate too. Every day, in fact! Meditation is a sacred tradition among Air Nomads. The monks always said it’s a great way to strengthen one’s discipline, inner peace, and spirituality.”
The flames danced and flickered, mirroring Zuko’s aggravation. “Then you should know how important it is to be quiet when someone’s trying to concentrate!” He jabbed his finger toward the exit. “Get out of here!”
Aang was beginning to realize that Zuko yelled a lot, but there wasn’t any real bite behind it. At least, not in his current condition. So for now, he wasn’t going to let it faze him.
Ignoring Zuko’s demands, he plopped down beside him, making the royal teenager start. “Can I meditate with you?”
Zuko blinked, looking appalled. “What?” he gawked. “No!”
“Why not?” Aang asked, settling into his own meditation position with his fists pressed together and his eyes closed.
“Because—because you’re going to distract me!” he cried. “There’s a million other places for you to do it besides here! Why don’t you go meditate with one of your obnoxious friends?”
“None of them practice meditation,” he explained simply. “Back at the Western Air Temple, me and the other monks used to meditate in a group, all of us sitting and breathing together in perfect harmony. I haven’t meditated with someone else for over a hundred years.” He opened one eye and hinted a sad smile. “I miss it a lot. I think it’d be nice.”
Zuko scowled at him, but it seemed more thoughtful than angry. Scowling also appeared to be a thing he did by default, not as an intentional expression of aggression. He could see him searching for a motive, a scheme, some kind of backhanded revenge plot in the avatar’s innocent request. He really did second guess every gesture of kindness offered to him.
The firebender looked ready to blow a gasket, or snag his quartet of candles and stomp out the door. Instead, he exhaled forcefully, growling under his breath like a komodo rhino with a headache.
“If you’re quiet enough that I forget you’re here, I don’t care what you do,” he grumbled.
Aang beamed, flinging his hands in the air. “Hooray!” he cheered. He leaned forward with a grin. “I like your hair, by the way.”
Zuko’s eyes popped open and flitted towards him bewilderedly. “W-what?” he stammered, as if that was the most absurd thing anyone had ever said to him.
“Your new hair! It looks nice. A lot better than the bald ponytail thing you had going on before. It’s so cute and fuzzy now. I like it!”
Again, Aang watched the wheels in Zuko’s head turn, trying to find some convoluted ploy masquerading behind his friendly words. He couldn’t even take a tiny compliment without drowning in doubt and suspicion? It was as heartbreaking as it was endearing.
Once the prince deduced the avatar’s nice comment posed no immediate threat, but was simply a genuine approval of his change in appearance, his expression softened. “Oh,” he said. He stared at the wall, warmth rising in his cheeks. “Well, um...thanks. I guess.”
“Of course!” Aang chirped. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Zuko sweeping a timid hand through his hair, and felt pretty proud of himself.
“I like your hair, too,” Zuko said after an awkward pause. “Did you...do something new with it?”
Aang stared at him blankly. His delivery was so bland and clumsy, it took the avatar a full five seconds to realize that Zuko was attempting to make a joke. Immediately, he busted out laughing—not because the joke was good, necessarily, but because Zuko had actually tried to make one, and his effort was so hysterically ungraceful.
“Ehahaha!” Aang cackled, hugging himself around the middle. “Good one, Zuko! I didn’t know you could be funny!”
The tiniest of smiles lifted one corner of Zuko’s mouth before vanishing without a trace. He made an oval with his hands, pressing his thumbs and middle fingers together, then straightened his spine. “Now be quiet,” he ordered bluntly, inhaling and releasing a slow, centering breath.
Aang grinned and reflected his pose. Zuko was still a little shivery and sweaty from his fever, but both were growing less severe as Uncle’s tea worked its magic. The room fell silent except for the soft flickering of the fire and their synchronous breathing, and stayed that way for the next hour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The avatar was the first one to break their vigil, floating to his feet and bounding out of the tent like a miniature whirlwind. “Thanks for letting me join you, Zuko!” he called cheerfully, then darted outside.
Zuko...didn’t know what to make of their interaction. He and the avatar were adversaries. He’d told him he wasn’t going to stop hunting him. As soon as he was healed, their little game of cat owl and spider mouse would pick right back up from where it had left off.
So what had compelled him to come in here and meditate by his side?
Not only that—he’d opened up to him about his past, his culture, the society that raised him. The very people Zuko’s forefathers were responsible for wiping out. Was he trying to appeal to his humanity, guilt him into abandoning his mission to capture the avatar?
And what was with the whole complimenting his hair thing?
The whole exchange left Zuko feeling off. He didn’t want to think about what would become of that peppy little kid once he delivered him into the hands of his father. Avatar or not, he was so agonizingly young.
But tricky, as well. And conniving, all of them. Just like Azula. He wouldn’t let them get in his head. For however long he was trapped here, he’d avoid interacting with them unless it was absolutely necessary. He couldn’t afford any more distractions.
“How are you feeling, Prince Zuko?” Uncle’s voice asked from behind him. “Have you managed to eat or sleep at all? I found some basil and turmeric to add to your tea. I know you don’t care for either, but they should help settle your stomach.”
Zuko turned toward him, grimacing as the movement sent little sparks of pain zipping through his muscles. “I’m going to sleep outside tonight.”
Iroh raised an eyebrow as he prepared the ingredients for the brew. “I don’t know if the avatar and his friends will approve. They wish to keep you contained and in sight, understandably, and—”
“I don’t care what they want!” he interjected. “I’m not sleeping in here with all of them. I won’t be able to.”
Uncle sighed exasperatedly. “Prince Zuko. They are already being very considerate. They’ve given you space and leave you to your business unrestrained.” He wafted the fumes from the pot toward his nose and breathed deeply. “If I were them, I would have chained both of us up. We aren't exactly trustworthy company.”
“I’m not sitting in this stupid tent anymore,” he growled. He braced one hand against the wall and tried to push himself upright, groaning and straining with effort.
Uncle rushed to his aid, wrapping an arm around his waist and hoisting him to his feet. Zuko wanted to push him away, but there was no way he could stay standing without his help.
“All right—easy now, nephew.”
He took one step forward, and almost immediately collapsed. Pain bloomed across the bottom of his foot and shot up his leg like an explosion going off in his bones. He listed forward, dizzy and nauseous, gasping for breath.
“Do not put any weight on your left side,” Iroh insisted. “Let me support you.”
“Th-this is...infuriating,” he hissed, panting. “Why am I still so weak?”
“It has only been a day, my prince. You must give yourself time to heal.” He slung his nephew’s arm over his shoulder and bore him forward. “Come on. We’ll go slow.”
Any progress toward the exit basically required Zuko to hop on his good leg. The violent motion still jarred him, but he managed to keep going, pausing in between to let the pain subside to a manageable level. Iroh would rather he let one of kids carry him out of the tent, but Zuko would sooner hop himself to death than allow that.
Once they breached the doorway, their little limping routine turned the heads of everyone outside. Katara stood up, hands balled into fists at her side.
“What’s going on?” she said.
“Zuko needed some fresh air,” Iroh explained, grunting beneath his nephew’s weight. He was basically doing all the work required to move him away from the tent. The prince hung off him loosely, grimacing in pain, a line of sweat glistening along his forehead. His face was abnormally pale and blanching whiter and whiter with every cloddish hop forward.
“Do you need…help?” Sokka asked hesitantly.
Iroh forced a smile. “No, we—” he began, but Zuko was sagging lower and lower, a quiet moan rising from his lips. “—Zuko? Are you all right?”
The teen’s head was suddenly spinning like a top. Gravity was pulling on him two times stronger than usual. His wounds throbbed and ached in protest. He’d barely walked two steps away from the tent, but apparently that was all his stupid body could tolerate right now.
“Ugh…can’t…l-lemme...down…” he whimpered.
Alarm pricked Iroh’s heart. “Okay, okay. Here.”
He eased him carefully to the ground. Zuko slumped against the outer wall of the tent, panting harshly, gripping his leg with one hand and his chest with the other.
“What’s wrong?” Iroh asked, kneeling in front of him and cupping his palm against his pallid face.
“He doesn’t look good,” Aang noted uneasily.
Once she realized he wasn’t going to be doing anything threatening in his current state, Katara’s muscles uncoiled. “He shouldn’t be moving,” she said, stepping closer. “Especially if he hasn’t been able to eat anything today.”
“He’s been too nauseous to,” the old man said, fear creeping into his voice. He gave his cheek a few light pats. “Zuko—hey! Talk to me! Tell me what’s going on.”
His eyelids fluttered sluggishly as he fought to stay conscious and slow his rapid breathing. “Just...lightheaded,” he slurred, squeezing his shoulder and gritting his teeth. “Ugh...h-hurts…”
Iroh turned to Sokka. “I’ve prepared some tea for him inside the tent. Please—if you could—”
“Right,” Sokka said, hurrying into the stone structure. He reappeared a few moments later with the kettle and cup in hand.
“Thank you,” Iroh breathed. He filled the cup and held it to Zuko’s lips. “Here, nephew. Drink. It will help you feel better.”
Zuko wrinkled his nose but did as he was told. He abhorred the fact that he was acting so pathetic and weak—and in front of his enemies, no less—but he was so woozy, and everything hurt, and he just wanted it to stop. The tea was hot on his tongue and left a sour aftertaste in the back of his throat. He made a face and found himself missing Uncle’s classic jasmine brew.
“Blech,” he said.
“I know,” Iroh conceded sympathetically. Katara offered him a bowl, and he lifted the edge to Zuko’s mouth. “Have some water.”
Zuko braved a few small sips then pushed it away. He was still queasy and didn’t want to risk overwhelming his upset stomach. The black fuzz pressing into his peripheral vision was slowly beginning to retreat, and the world was no longer dipping and tilting around him. But he was still so tired. He rested his head against the tent, struggling to keep his eyes open, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth.
“You must try to eat something,” Uncle insisted. “A couple bites of bread, soup—anything.”
Zuko recoiled at the thought of food. It was the last thing he was in the mood for right now. “I’m fine,” he grumbled breathlessly, sweat slipping down his face. “Just...lemme sit for a...a minute…”
“You will never recover your strength unless you eat,” Iroh said softly. He tore a piece of bread in half, took his nephew’s hand, and placed it in his palm. “Please, Prince Zuko.”
The firebender stared at the bread miserably. He looked so ill and weak—even Katara was nicked with pity at the sight. He must’ve been desperate to feel better if he was letting his uncle order him around without throwing a fit.
Zuko wished there weren’t so many eyes on him right now, watching him lie half-conscious against the tent, barely able to hold his head up, shivering with pain and sickness as he nibbled defeatedly on the bread in his hands. Azula’s mocking voice echoed in his ears—weak, pathetic, miserable failure. Father’s piercing glare bore down on him, radiating disgust and disappointment.
But Uncle was with him, pressed against his side, telling him everything was going to be okay as he gently guided his head to his shoulder.
“Don’t...wait...” Zuko whined. But once he was leaned against him, he felt himself starting to drift. Sleepiness curled around him like a warm blanket. Iroh pulled the bread from his limp fingers and ran his thumb along his cheek.
“Just rest here a moment. I will help you move once you have the energy to stand.”
But Zuko made the mistake of closing his eyes. It was meant to be for only a moment, but after they slipped shut, he couldn’t get them to open again. As Iroh anticipated, his nephew was soon asleep. He pulled a rag from his pocket and mopped the fever sweat from his forehead.
“Did he just...pass out?” Toph asked.
“He hasn’t slept since last night,” Iroh said, watching his nephew snooze against his shoulder with a tender fondness in his eyes. “He’s always been so stubborn, never resting until he’s completely burnt out or unless it is forced upon him—even when his body desperately needs it.”
Aang found the sight endearing. Katara thought the old man’s concern for his nephew was misplaced but sweet. Sokka narrowed his eyes, opening the tea pot and gingerly sniffing its contents. His jaw dropped.
“Did you drug him?”
Iroh chuckled lightly, his eyes glinting with mischief. “An old trick his mother used to use when he couldn’t get to sleep as a child. Add a tiny dash of dragon thistle root to his tea, and he is out like a light.”
While the others reeled over the old man’s well-intentioned but semi-conniving actions, Katara’s mind honed in on one word: mother. During Iroh’s entire soapbox about Zuko’s past, he’d never once mentioned his mom. What did she think about her son? Was she like Ozai? Cold and heartless, happy to exile her own child in favor of her more powerful daughter? Or was she different? What part did she play in the strange, tragic menagerie of Zuko’s life?
Iroh smiled at the children. “Would one of you please grab a blanket for me, if you don’t mind?”
“Sure!” Aang said, darting past him. Katara stared at Zuko’s sleeping face and decided not to ask about his mother. She already knew more about him than she wanted to as it was. And the more she learned, the harder it was to hate him.
Aang returned with the linens. Iroh gathered his nephew into his arms and carefully laid him down, tossing the blanket over his body and pulling it up to his chin.
“Hopefully he sleeps through the night,” he said. It was funny to watch the person they fought and feared as an enemy be treated like a precious little baby by his uncle.
“I’ll heal him again tomorrow morning,” Katara said, then stalked into the tent without another word.
Her friends hesitated, then followed her inside. Iroh stayed beside his nephew, matching his breathing to his.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zuko woke up screaming.
He’d suffered from night terrors since Mom had disappeared without a trace, and they’d only gotten worse since his banishment. He dreamed of her face being swallowed up in flames, of the ground turning to tar beneath him and dragging him into suffocating darkness, of his father scorching his eye again and again and again, the smell and the pain all too real.
And now, he was dreaming of Azula. Eyes dark and remorseless as she shot lighting into the hearts of those he loved, sending Mom and Uncle toppling to the ground in smoking heaps before turning on him. He was lucky if he got through the night without shooting awake in a cold sweat at least one.
When the lightning struck him, Zuko bolted upright, a terrified shout leaping from his throat. But something clapped over his mouth to stop it from escaping. Whatever it was was shaped like a hand, but it had the texture of rock. Panicked, fire flared from his fingertips. He made a grab for the stranger’s arm, but something caught his hands before they reached it, trapping them at his sides. He squirmed and cursed, voice muffled, heart racing.
“It’s okay,” a girl’s voice said. “Shh. It’s me.”
A young face took shape in the darkness. Black hair and pale, faded eyes. It was the tiny earthbender that had showed up at the fight between Azula, the avatar, and himself. She must have joined their group while they were traveling through the Earth Kingdom. So far, the two of them had avoided direct confrontation—or rather, any interaction whatsoever.
“I heard you. From the tent. And, uh, felt you shaking. I didn’t want you to wake anyone else up.”
Zuko stopped struggling, his breathing quick and his eyes blinking. Slowly, she took her palm away from his mouth. It was shrouded in rock, perhaps in case he tried any breath-related firebending moves. With a flick of her wrist, the earth restraints fell away from his hands.
“Sorry for scaring you. I just figured you wouldn’t want anyone else hearing that, and I didn’t wanna get fried in the process of shutting you up.”
Zuko studied her in a fuzzy, flustered haze, panting quietly. “Oh,” he stammered. “Uh, r-right.” His bones were quaking under his skin. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears. He scrubbed a hand across his face and started when it came away wet. He touched under his eyes and realized his cheeks were damp with tears. Shame burned up his throat as he dried them frantically and turned away. “Um, s-sorry for waking you.”
She stared at him in silence. Well, not exactly stared—not with her eyes, at least. But he could feel her feeling him, gauging his movements, his voice. She probably knew he’d been crying. She barely looked a day older than the avatar, but exuded the power and poise of a master bender, all while retaining the appearance and quirkiness of a child.
Which was weird. Because as far as he could tell, she was totally blind.
“Well...goodnight,” he said, voice brittle. But she didn’t move. And he didn’t lay back down.
“They have them too, you know.”
He glanced at her bemusedly. “What?”
“Nightmares. They get them too. Aang, Katara, Sokka.”
He scoffed lightly, rubbing his eyes. “And you don’t?”
She grimaced at the ground. “Not like they do. I had a difficult home life, but...it’s different.”
He gripped his arms at the elbows and stared off to the side. He wasn’t sure what she was looking to get out of this conversation.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.
Zuko wrinkled his brow. “About what?” he said.
“Your nightmare.”
Heat flushed across Zuko’s skin. “No,” he said sharply, glaring between his feet.
Toph shrugged. “That’s fine. Just thought I’d extend the offer. I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”
The girl grinned. Zuko narrowed his eyes. Was that supposed to be a joke? He kneaded gingerly at his shoulder.
“I’m fine,” he growled, wincing when he touched a particularly sore spot. “You can go away now.”
“I’m Toph,” she said, ignoring him enthusiastically. “I don’t think we’ve formally met.”
Why don’t any of these people ever listen to a word I say? he thought bitterly. Also, I’ve never formally met any of you. He heaved a small sigh.
“Hello,” he deadpanned. “Now get lost.”
“My friends don’t seem to like you, but I judge people for myself.” She flexed her feet in the grass absentmindedly. “And yeah, hunting Aang isn’t cool, but I don’t think you’re as bad as they make you out to be.”
Zuko was caught off guard by her blunt but oddly nice statement. He tried not to let it show, masking his surprise behind a scowl.
“I don’t care what you or your friends think of me,” he snapped, bunching the blanket in his fists. “Just leave me alone!”
“See, you put on this scary, tough facade, but I don’t think that’s really you,” she continued. “It's a defense mechanism.”
Zuko fumed. “Are you blind and deaf? Go away! You don’t know me. Stop pretending like you do!”
“But I do know you,” she insisted. “You try to push others away so they can never get close enough to hurt you. You think by being mean and abrasive and keeping them at a distance, you’re protecting yourself. But really, you’re just making yourself more lonely.”
The firebender’s heart skipped a beat. Toph could tell she’d struck a chord. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish stranded on land, her words bouncing around in his head, freakishly insightful for someone who barely looked ten.
“I know you because you’re like me,” she explained. “We’re not good at feelings and all that dumb mushy crap. We think doing everything on our own makes us stronger than accepting help from others. But I’m starting to learn that’s not always true.”
Was she baiting him? Trying to rile him up to the point that he attacked, granting her an excuse to kill him? Or was she truly speaking from the heart? Her observation stung a bit too deep to not be genuine, and sounded a little too familiar for his taste.
Like Uncle.
But he refused to dwell on it. He wouldn’t; he couldn’t. Stunned confusion was quickly superseded by prickling irritation. He scoffed indignantly.
“You’re crazy,” he spat. “You’re a child. You don’t know anything.”
Toph crossed her arms and smirked. “Then that makes two of us.”
Flames roiled in Zuko’s belly. “What?”
“Hey!” a voice called from the tent. Zuko turned and spotted Sokka peeking out from the darkness, an angry line twitching between his eyebrows. “Some of us around here are trying to sleep! Why are you guys yelling?” He stepped through the doorway with his boomerang cocked behind his head, glaring sleepily at Zuko. “Is Prince Angry Jerk here causing trouble?”
“I’m not doing anything,” he snarled, gesturing to Toph. “Your obnoxious little friend won’t leave me alone.”
“We’re fine,” she assured him. “I was just informing Zuko that his whole ‘bad guy’ charade is stupid, along with his entire mindset about everything.”
Smoke hissed from his nostrils and coiled from his fists. “Why, you little—”
“Ah-ah!” Sokka interjected, waving his boomerang threateningly. “Don’t even think about it.”
Zuko threw his hands in the air. “What, I’m just supposed to sit here while she calls me stupid to my face?”
“Precisely,” Sokka said, sitting beside Toph. His hair was out of its usual ponytail and hanging in his eyes, forcing him to tuck it behind his ears every now and then. Zuko had never seen the Water Tribe boy with hair down before. It was a lot longer than he expected.
Sokka bumped his shoulder against the earthbender’s. “Is this late night insult Zuko hour or something? Because I’m totally in, and very upset I didn’t receive an invitation.”
“I’m not trying to insult him,” Toph insisted. “I’m just telling him the truth.”
“What you’re doing is asking to get fried beyond recognition,” he spat viciously. Sokka leaned toward him and squinted.
“Why are your eyes red?” he asked. His brows shot toward his hairline. “Have you been crying?”
Zuko’s scowl dissolved into a look of panic. He’d tried to push the horrific nightmare from his mind, but the damage it had reaped was evidently still lingering. Drenched in milky moonlight, Sokka had never seen the Fire Nation prince look so scared and distraught before. Humiliation sawed at Zuko’s insides. He grappled for something to say—a quick and scathing retort. But his throat was seizing up, and a fresh bout of tears welled in his eyes.
“I…” he began, voice shivery. Toph punched Sokka in the arm.
“Lay off,” she scolded him. “He startled me when I came out here to take a whizz, so I kicked dirt in his eyes. That’s all.”
Zuko turned to her in disbelief, blinking. She hinted a small smile that disappeared just as quickly. Relief drizzled over his heart.
“Oh,” Sokka said, rubbing his shoulder, glancing between them skeptically. “Right.” He recognized immediately that they weren’t telling him what was really going on, but decided not to press the matter. If Toph thought it important to keep under wraps, he trusted her.
Zuko kneaded his eyes with the heels of his hands and avoided his gaze, feeling sticky and exposed. Why would she lie for me? he wondered. How does that benefit her? Wouldn’t she want to humiliate her enemy every chance she got? To show her friends how weak and pathetic he really was? Maybe she wanted him indebted to her. Or to have something over him to use as blackmail.
Whatever the reason, he was relieved. For now, at least. A part of him wanted to thank her. He stared into her foggy eyes for a moment, hoping she understood.
Toph responded by crossing her arms and grinning wide. “Anyway, back to you being stupid,” she said spiritedly.
The prince deflated with a groan. So much for being grateful. “Seriously?” he exclaimed, his rage blossoming back to life.
“You make no sense to me,” she continued unperturbed. “You're trying to capture Aang and bring him home to your dad so he’ll love and accept you, right?”
Zuko was off-put by the direct address. So was Sokka. The firebender huffed irately. “I’m not talking to you about this.”
“But it sorta seems like he’s been awful to you even before you were banished.”
The prince wasn’t sure how much she or others knew about his situation, but already it sounded like more than he was comfortable with. He gritted his teeth.
“Be quiet!” he barked. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You want a father who cares about you and understands you,” Toph said with a snort. “Trust me: I get it. My parents still think I’m some helpless little blind girl, not a butt-kicking, earthbending champion.”
Zuko glared daggers through Toph. “Our situations aren’t the same. My father does care about me. Once I bring him the avatar, he’ll accept me as his son, and my honor will be restored.”
Toph blew a tuft of hair out of her face and dropped her chin into her hand. Sokka rolled his eyes.
“No offense, Prince Jerkbender, but your dad is kind of the worst.”
Zuko turned away from them, hissing with pain and frustration. “This is why I’m not talking to you about this! None of you could ever understand!”
“What we don’t understand is why you’re set on getting your terrible father to like you when you already have someone who loves and accepts you right now!” Sokka cried, exasperated.
A shock went through Zuko’s system. He swallowed, gripping his wound and hunching his shoulders.
“What...w-what are you talking about?” he murmured.
Toph scoffed. “Um...your uncle?” she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe. “You know, the guy who left the Fire Nation to help you? Who travels around the world with you and supports you no matter how badly you treat him? The man who makes you tea and comforts you when you’re sick and tucks you into bed at night?”
“And who convinced us to help you even though we really didn’t want to?” Sokka added.
Zuko’s chest tightened. Anxiety and confusion and an avalanche of other emotions churned inside his gut. He grimaced at the ground.
“He cares about you. Like, openly, aggressively cares about you. It’s as annoying as it is sweet.” Toph tilted her head to the side. “Why are you so determined to earn your dad’s love, when your uncle already loves you as you are?”
The prince didn’t look at them. He watched a beetle crawl over a rock, his fingers shivering against his aching shoulder. He inhaled sharply, then laid across the ground, yanking the blanket over his head and curling into himself.
Sokka glanced at Toph, then back at Zuko, then sighed. It looked like there was no getting through to him. The earthbender rose to her feet.
“Drink some more of your uncle’s tea,” she demanded, then strode back into the tent. “G’night.”
Sokka was quick to follow her, yawning as he stepped into the darkness, shooting one last look over his shoulder.
Zuko shuddered alone beneath the stars, blinking back tears. A few restless minutes later, he heated up Uncle’s teapot, choked down another cup of boiling, bitter liquid, then nestled against the grass, praying that the rest of his night would be dreamless. That is, if he ever managed to fall asleep again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Is it just me, or is Zuko...kind of awkward?”
Katara stopped fixing her hair mid-braid, scoffing. “What? What do you mean?”
Aang stretched and smiled, the morning sunlight pouring in through the doorway gilding his limbs in a golden halo. “Yesterday, while we were meditating, I told him I liked his new hair. And he totally didn’t know how to respond—as if he’s never been complimented by anyone besides his uncle before. It was hilarious!”
Sokka shot upright, mouth hanging agape. “Wait—‘we?’” he exclaimed. “As in, you were meditating together?”
“Yeah! Zuko practices meditation just like me! Isn’t that cool?”
Katara frowned. “That’s...weird. He’s the last person I’d expect to see meditating. Especially with you.”
“I know, right?” Aang giggled. “The best part was, when I told him I liked his hair, he said he liked mine, too. Like, as a joke! Because I’m bald!” He laughed brightly. “It was so bad, but that only made it funnier!”
Katara huffed, tying off the end of her braid. “Well I’m glad you had fun with the guy who’s going to try imprisoning you the moment he can walk again.”
Aang winced at her coldness. “I’m just saying, Katara. If you’re patient and give him the chance, you’ll see there’s more to him than ‘angry scary firebender prince.’ He’s more human than you might think.”
When Katara simply rolled her eyes, Toph decided to speak up.
“So, don’t tell him I told you guys this, but...I had a chat with him last night. He had a really bad nightmare, and the sound of his cries woke me up.”
Sokka hopped to his feet. “Ha! I knew you were lying! I may not have lie-detecting feet, but I know a fib when I hear one.” His excitement was short lived, however. He backtracked with a troubled look, eyeing the doorway. “Oh...does that mean I was right before? You know...about him crying?”
Aang’s eyes bulged out of his head. “Wait—Zuko was crying?”
Everyone’s gazes veered toward Toph. The tiny earthbender nodded solemnly, her expression grim. “He was screaming in his sleep. I had to cover his mouth to stop him from waking all of you up.” She scratched the back of her neck. “He was...calling for his mom. Begging her to come back. I don’t know what happened to her, or what their relationship is like, but…” she shook her head. “It was really sad.”
Silence veiled the room. Again, Katara felt torn in half by her usual eagerness to help those in pain and her hatred toward Zuko. Sokka put his hair up and placed his hands on his hips.
“The guy’s got a lot of issues, that’s for sure. Do I feel bad for him? Maybe, a little. Does it make me trust him any more than I did before? Absolutely not.”
“Exactly,” Katara said, glad she had her brother were back on the same page. Aang crossed his arms against his chest.
“But he has shown us he has more than one side. You guys saw more of his vulnerable side, and I got to see part of his calm and awkward side.” He snickered into his hand. “Man, you should’ve seen his face! He has no idea how to take a compliment. I don’t think anyone’s ever called him cute before.”
Katara stuck out her tongue. “Who would ever have a reason to?”
“Oh, come on! You have to admit his new haircut is better than his old one!”
Sokka snorted. “I think anything is better compared to that disaster, so you’re setting the bar pretty low.”
Aang beamed between his friends. “You all should try complimenting him sometime, if only to see his response. It catches him completely off guard.”
Sokka blew a raspberry and walked outside, stretching his arms over his head. Katara wrinkled her nose at Aang’s chipper attitude toward all of this. How many times did she have to remind him that Zuko was their enemy who wanted nothing more than to see him in chains. Even if she liked his new look, and had maybe had to stop herself from touching his hair while he was unconscious and no one else was around to see (it just looked so fuzzy!), no way would she ever say so out loud.
“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” she snapped. “Under no circumstances would I ever consider that monster cute.”
At that moment, Sokka popped back into the tent, looking both shocked and delighted at the same time. “Guys, you have got to come see this,” he said.
Katara and Aang exchanged a glance before following him. Toph came along too, although she had a feeling she already knew what he was referring to, based on the cluster of mismatched vibrations her feet were picking up.
The three friends tailed Sokka outside and stopped when they discovered a giant fluffy mountain resting in the sunrise. Appa had moved from his spot by the river and was now lying beside the earth tent. His ears perked up as they approached, but he didn’t raise his head. Aang didn’t understand what all the fuss was about, until Sokka coaxed him forward.
“Look,” he snickered.
Katara and the avatar peered over Appa’s large foot to find a very bizarre sight. A bunch of animals were gathered between Appa’s front legs—a skink quail, a prickle snake, a pair of dragonflies, and a family of turtle ducks, which was strange in itself. But underneath the zoo of wildlife was Zuko, curled up and sleeping peacefully with all the animals snuggled against him, as if they were his babies and he was their teenage firebending mama. Even Momo was there, nestled in the crook of Zuko’s neck and shoulder, purring contently.
“What the…?” Aang said, blinking.
“Right?” Sokka giggled.
“What exactly am I looking at right now?” Katara asked, her hands flying to her mouth in horror. “Oh no. He’s not—they’re not—eating him, are they?”
“He’s not dead, if that’s what you're asking,” Toph assured her. “His breathing and heartbeat actually feel better than they did yesterday.”
“They look like they’re just...cuddling him,” Aang said. He cupped his palms over his heart, melting with endearment. “Awww! That’s so sweet!”
“But why are they doing it?” Katara asked. The prickle snake was coiled into a spiral and resting on top of his belly. The four turtle ducks were pressed against his back, their tails tucked underneath his side. While the dragonflies occupied both of his arms, the skink quail burrowed itself in the bend of his knees. Appa had his nose against his shoulder blades and his toes under his head and feet, his deep breaths stirring Zuko’s hair.
Okay, it was cute. Sue her. It still made no sense.
“Maybe he...smells good?” Sokka suggested dubiously. “From something in his uncle’s tea?”
Aang sprung on top of Appa’s head and petted his fur. “Whatcha doing with Zuko, buddy? Do you like him? Does he smell nice?”
“Maybe it’s because of his fever,” Toph suggested, pressing one hand against the ground. “He still feels a lot warmer than the rest of you.”
“So they’re snuggling him to sap his fever heat?” Katara said, fighting back a smile. It was oddly endearing—watching the prince sleep, his wiry shape buried in woodland creatures. He looked like a spoiled little kid surrounded by toys, or some kind of mystical forest spirit communing with nature.
“Here Momo,” Aang called, hanging off Appa’s horn to try to scoop him up. Momo growled and hissed in protest, pressing closer to Zuko. His squirmy movements roused the slumbering firebender, making him wrinkle his brow and release a quiet moan.
Zuko blinked sluggishly, the grass and the flowers poking up from the earth gradually coming into focus. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, feeling clusters of tiny bodies shift with his movements. Oh, great, he thought. Not again. He pushed himself upright, grimacing from a sudden jolt of pain, careful not to squish any of the little creatures around him. When he lifted his bleary gaze, he was surprised to find four pairs of eyes gazing back, wide with confusion.
“Ah!” Zuko yelped, flinching backwards sharply. The turtle ducks and the dragonflies sprung away from him for a moment, then quickly reconvened, nuzzling against his limbs. Momo hopped on to his scalp, pawing at his messy bedhead, but Zuko barely seemed to notice. His shock shifted to puzzled anger. “What on earth? Why are all of you watching me sleep? Don’t you know how creepy that is?”
Sokka shrugged dramatically. “Huh, gee, I don’t know. Maybe because we walked out here to find you having a giant cuddly slumber party with an entire petting zoo’s worth of animals.”
“Which for some reason doesn’t seem to be weirding you out,” Katara added, watching Momo growl at the dragonflies from on top of Zuko’s head.
Aang and Toph giggled at the peculiar scene. Zuko glared between them lazily, stifling another yawn.
“It happens sometimes when I sleep out in the open,” he mumbled. “I don’t know why.” He winced when Appa nudged him in the back with his nose, as if he hadn’t noticed the enormous flying bison looming over him until now. Momo leapt from his head to his shoulder and licked his cheek.
“Wait—you mean this is a regular thing for you?” Aang floated to the ground in front of him, beaming. “Waking up and being surrounded by a bunch of animals?”
Zuko shrugged, scratching at his disheveled hair. “Sorta.”
The four friends just stared at him. He began to realize how strange this probably looked to people who didn’t have to deal with it on the regular. He cringed when Appa’s giant tongue lapped across the entirety of his back, plastering him in sticky saliva.
“Ugh! Gross!” Zuko shoved the bison’s enormous nose in disgust. “Get your slobbery pets away from me!”
“They like you!” Aang insisted, eyes sparkling. “Wow! You’re like an animal whisperer! Look at you, surrounded by cuddly wildlife! You’re so cute!”
To everyone’s delight, Zuko’s cheeks turned pink. Aang hadn’t been joking about the whole ‘can’t take a compliment’ thing.
“I’m not—it’s not—cute,” he grumbled. “It’s annoying.”
Frowning, he scooped the family of turtle ducks in his arms and placed them to the side, trying to look careless and angry while also being noticeably gentle. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they scurried back up his legs and into his lap with a chorus of quacks and chirps. His look of surprise made all four of them burst out laughing. Sokka grinned smugly.
“Face it, Zuko. You’re a prissy little prince whose angry royal yelling attracts flocks of baby animals to snuggle you to sleep. If that’s not cute, I don’t know what is.”
Zuko’s cheeks went from pink to red. Until now, none of them had ever seen the firebender full-on blush before. Couple that with the dragonflies flanking his sides, the skink quail fluffed against his knee, the prickle snake slithering toward his neck, and the turtle ducks quacking incessantly at Momo, it was a scene all of them wanted painted and framed to treasure forever. One of the dragonflies prodded at his hand, asking to be pet, and he begrudgingly obliged.
“Whatever,” he muttered shyly. “It’s not like I try to make them come. They just show up.”
Toph hummed in thought. “I figured they were snuggling you because of your fever, but if this happens pretty often, then I don’t know what’s causing it.”
“I’m telling you, it’s a royalty thing. Wild animals just really like aristocrats. Especially ones that sing.” Sokka leaned toward Zuko suspiciously. “Can you sing? Come on—belt out a tune for me.”
Ignoring him, Zuko lifted Momo off his shoulder and placed him on the ground. “I don’t feel like I have a fever anymore,” he said. “I think it broke last night.” The lemur warbled in disappointment and scampered away.
His chills were gone, along with the skull-splitting migraine. Now he only had the aches and pains of his lightning wound to worry about. It wasn’t much of an improvement, but it was better than no progress at all.
“You still feel warm to me,” Toph said skeptically. Katara reached forward and held her hand against his forehead, making him wince in surprise.
“Definitely warm,” Katara agreed. Zuko pulled away from her touch sourly.
“I don’t have a fever,” Zuko snapped. “I’m just naturally hot.”
Katara blinked at him. Sokka snorted behind his hand.
“Oh, is that so?” he snickered.
Zuko narrowed his eyes bemusedly. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s a firebender thing. We tend to run hotter than regular people.” He pushed at the dragonfly that was nibbling his ear. “But I’m unusually hot for some reason. Like, more so than normal firebenders.”
Now everyone was giggling. Zuko glanced between them with a puzzled frown, the double-sidedness of his words clearly not registering.
“What?”
Sokka waved dismissively, clutching his stomach. “Oh, nothing,” he chuckled. “That’s just a pretty bold statement to make about yourself.”
One of the turtle ducklings scuttled on top of Zuko’s leg. He stroked its tiny head with his thumb unconsciously, scowling.
“No it’s not,” he insisted. “It’s the truth. My uncle said so.”
Now the four kids were howling. Zuko started, eyes wide, then scoffed, balling his hands at his sides.
“What is so funny?”
“Are you sure your uncle’s not just saying that because he’s obligated to?” Katara giggled.
Toph cackled with her arms crossed. “Personally, I trust Iroh’s opinion. If he says Zuko’s hot, then I’ll take his word for it.”
Aang and Sokka doubled over with laughter, hugging their bellies as their shoulders bounced up and down. Zuko’s face burned as the realization gradually dawned on him.
“No, wait, th-that’s not what I…!” he began, but no one was listening to him. They were all too busy giggling like children at his simple slip-up. He sighed irritably, plucking the prickle snake from his shoulder and placing it in his palm. “You’re all so immature. You know I was talking about temperature...”
“Whatever you say, Prince Hotman,” Aang chuckled, bowing extravagantly. Zuko blushed and avoided their gazes, petting the snake bitterly.
“Aren’t you scared it’s going to bite you?” Toph asked, pointing to the serpent in his hand. “Prickle snakes are venomous.”
Zuko looked down at the small reptile. “They never have before,” he said casually, letting it curl and slither around his wrist.
“I think they like how warm you are,” she said. “That’s why they cuddle up to you to sleep. I guess it was pretty chilly last night.”
Without warning, Aang hopped over Appa’s leg and wrapped Zuko in a hug, making the prince recoil uncomfortably.
“Hey! W-what are you—?” he stammered.
“You’re right, Toph! He is really warm!” Aang nuzzled his head into Zuko’s shoulder, closing his eyes and grinning wide. “No wonder all the animals want to snuggle you! You’re like a big, cozy space heater!”
“Get off me!” he snapped, squirming and pushing the clingy airbender. The dragonflies hissed in protest, the turtle ducks squawked furiously, and the skink quail puffed into an angry little ball, cuing Appa to let out a guttural roar.
Feathers exploded from the skink quail as it took flight, flapping and fluttering in terror. The dragonflies screeched and zipped into the sky as the prickle snake sprung out of his hand and slithered into the brush. Quacking frantically, the turtle ducks scurried out of the prince’s lap, gunning for the river. In a matter of moments, all of the wildlife had fled the scene. Zuko blinked in surprise as Appa licked his hair, satisfied with his work.
“Appa! How rude!” Aang scolded the bison, his arms still curled around the wriggly firebender. “Space heaters are meant to be shared!”
“I am not a space heater!” Zuko retorted, shoving Aang’s face away with both hands. The others weren’t sure whether they should be concerned or amused. It was a pretty funny sight, watching the two diametrically opposed benders squabble like little kids.
To add to the humor of the situation, it was at that moment that Zuko’s stomach decided to release a long, loud growl. He and Aang both froze, startled by the sudden noise. Then the avatar laughed brightly.
“It sounds like the space heater needs some fuel!” he giggled, releasing Zuko from his hold and flitting on top of Appa’s foot. Zuko stared sideways sheepishly, gripping his belly, still rattled by the random cuddle attack. His stomach continued to rumble against his fingertips, pleading for anything besides tea. He’d forgotten that he’d hardly eaten yesterday. Now that he was no longer nauseous, he was really beginning to feel the effects.
“Do you have an appetite at all?” Katara asked. “We have fish and berries and a little bit of bread. You need to get some food in your system if you can.”
Zuko shrugged, trying to look casual. “I guess,” he mumbled. A second later, his tummy practically roared, causing heat to rush to his ears.
“I think the monster in your stomach speaks for itself,” Sokka snickered. His friends chuckled alongside him. Zuko squeezed his belly tighter, as if he could smother it into silence.
Katara tugged on the avatar’s sleeve. “Aang, why don’t you go grab him some breakfast while Sokka and I move him into the tent?”
Aang brightened. “Okay!” He formed a ball of air underneath his body and sprung onto it, balancing on top with one foot and zipping away like some kind of crazy performer in a freaky circus act. Toph followed after him, yawning and stretching.
Zuko looked uneasy as the two Water Tribe siblings approached. Appa nuzzled his back with his nose in an almost encouraging manner.
“Can you walk at all, or do you want us to carry you?”
The prince glowered. “I’m not going back in the tent,” he hissed. “And you’re not carrying me.”
“You need another healing session. I figured you’d want some privacy.” Katara rolled her eyes. “But if you want to do it out here, grouchy pants, we can.”
Zuko thought on it for a moment. He supposed he’d prefer not having eight eyes watching as the Water Tribe girl put her weird glowy healing hands all over him. He looked up at the bison, who had angled his head toward him in an oddly convenient manner.
“Fine,” he mumbled. He grabbed hold of Appa’s horn and used it to lift his body off the ground, straining and sputtering. Once he was upright, he sagged against the fluffy monster, sweat beading across his brow, face flushed with effort. Appa stayed still for him, perfectly content being a two-ton support stand for the tiny, warm human.
Katara and Sokka shared a look before flanking Zuko on either side, wrapping their arms under his and bearing the majority of his weight. They walked him toward the tent, letting his feet touch the ground so he didn’t feel like he was being carried even though that was essentially what was happening.
“Wow, Aang was right,” Sokka observed. “You are really warm. Just like a—”
“If you say space heater, I’m lighting your hair on fire,” Zuko grated out.
Katara gaped. “If you even think about lighting my brother’s hair on fire, your ungrateful butt is going in the river.”
“Yeah,” Sokka chuckled. “The fishies need a turn cuddling Prince Hothead.”
Zuko grumbled something under his breath, but didn’t have the energy to banter. He hated having to be cared for and escorted around by his stupid enemies. The Water Tribe siblings in particular both annoyed and puzzled him. He’d never seen a brother and sister get along so well, let alone be protective of each other. Azula would never in a million years defend him if he were in trouble; she’d be watching from the front row with a bowl of fire flakes, cheering for his demise, if not trying to kill him herself. Similarly, for as long as he’d known them, Ozai and Iroh had always been rivals first, relatives second. Being dual heirs to the Fire Nation throne just gave you another person to compete with, to fear, to suspect of plotting your assassination. Royal Fire Nation siblings were never allies, and certainly not friends.
He and Azula had been playmates when they were kids, of course. As a child, Zuko had protected his little sister whenever and however he could. But that only lasted until they began to understand who they were—what they were. Until Azula no longer needed his protection. Until he needed protection from her.
If it came down to it, if it was life or death, would he still defend her? Or would he let her get what she deserved?
Even after getting zapped into oblivion by his sister, it was hard to say.
“Where’s my uncle?” Zuko asked through his teeth as they led him into the tent.
“He went to a nearby town to get supplies,” Sokka replied. “He said he was looking for ingredients for some kind of burn balm for you.”
Sokka eyed him in a way that screamed you know, because he actually cares about you, unlike a certain son-banishing Fire Lord I know?
Zuko turned away from his gaze and glared at the ground. He hoped Uncle would find what he needed and get back here soon. Whatever medicine he’d put on his eye in the infirmary three years ago had significantly sped up his recovery.
“How are you feeling right now, overall?” Katara asked. She and her brother helped him sit against the wall. He held his shoulder and panted softly, his face gnarled with pain.
“Like I got struck by lightning two days ago,” he muttered.
Sokka barked out a laugh. Katara frowned at him. He withered beneath her glare. “What?” he said defensively. “It was funny! Wasn’t that supposed to be funny?”
“Why don’t you go harvest some nuts or something?” Katara said, pushing him toward the exit. Sokka dug his heels into the ground, narrowing his eyes at the injured prince.
“You’re okay being alone with him?” Sokka asked. “What if he firebends at you?”
Katara scoffed in Zuko’s direction. “Don’t worry,” she insisted. “I’m more than capable of handling him myself.”
Zuko scowled, even though he knew she was right. Sure, he could get a surprise attack in—two, if he was lucky. But she’d easily counter with a lash of frozen water, rendering him immobile (and possibly eating the floor) in seconds, if not dead. She had gotten obnoxiously better at fighting since visiting the Northern Water Tribe. She was now one of the biggest threats he encountered when confronting their team, even when he wasn’t half-fried and barely able to walk. In his current state, he didn’t stand a chance.
It wasn’t like he was planning to attack her—not right now, at least. Still. These were the anxieties constantly seething through his mind. In the event he needed to overpower her, it was scary to realize he probably couldn’t. Why did Uncle think it was okay to leave him all by himself with these people? The old man was far too trusting.
Sokka wrinkled his nose. “Okay,” he relented, giving Katara a quick hug. Then he jabbed a finger at Zuko. “Don’t try anything funny or fiery with my sister, or you’ll be sorry. Got it?”
Zuko stared between them bemusedly, then offered a short nod. Sokka puffed up his chest and marched out of the tent, leaving the waterbender and the firebender alone inside.
Once her brother’s footsteps had faded out of earshot, Katara turned to the prince with sharp eyes and an expression he couldn’t quite read. She popped open her pouch and streamed the water around her hands, cycling a slow breath through her lungs.
“Let’s get this over with,” she said, and kneeled beside him. She pressed both palms to the wound on his chest and let the water flow over and into the burnt flesh, tracking the damage as it traveled through his body. Zuko tensed at first, the strange, cold feeling taking him by surprise. But as the pain began to ebb away—the stings, the aches, the twinges, all of it—he allowed himself to relax. Well, as much as he could relax with a Water Tribe girl who hated his guts sitting uncomfortably close to him with her hands on his chest.
As the two sat in awkward silence, Zuko considered the possibility that choosing to be alone with Katara while she healed him was worse than being out in the open.
“How long is this going to take?” he asked, shooting brief glances at her hands, but mostly just staring at the ground.
“About twenty minutes, if you stay still,” she answered. Hardly a minute had passed, and already Katara knew she preferred healing an unconscious Zuko over an awake one. When he was asleep, she didn’t have to worry about breaking the tension, or tip-toeing around his injury, or those deadly golden eyes watching her every move. She didn’t even have to acknowledge that he was Zuko, their nemesis. He was just a body that needed to be healed. A broken pile of muscle and skin for her to mend with waterbending. It was like working with one of those dummies the Northern Water Tribe women had practiced and demonstrated their healing abilities on. Treating him while he was unconscious was easier because she didn’t have to think of him as a person. It was more like fixing a machine.
Zuko’s piercing stare lingered on her hands a little longer than she liked. Maybe she should get him to drink more of his uncle’s knock-out tea. Anything to escape the growing balloon of discomfort suffocating the air between them.
“How...are you doing that?” he inquired carefully, the glow from her waterbending glinting in his eyes. She weighed the question in her mind before choosing her reply.
“Some waterbenders have healing abilities,” she said. “Lucky for you, I’m one of them.”
Zuko studied her for a second before looking away. “I’ve never heard of that before.”
“Maybe you would have, if the Fire Nation hadn’t killed nearly every last waterbender in the South Pole.”
Zuko’s eyes flitted wide for a moment before dropping to the floor. He swallowed, his hands fidgeting in his lap.
“I’m sorry.”
Katara’s steady hand movements wavered. She lifted her gaze to his. Now that she knew the story behind his scar—the malevolent forces and people who had allowed the prince to be permanently branded so cruelly—she found it difficult to tear her eyes away from it. She’d never noticed how painful it looked. How the scorched, leathery skin stood out so drastically against the rest of his young, unblemished face. He could be two totally different people, depending on which side of him you were looking at. Staring at him now made her stomach clench. It felt like she was seeing him—truly seeing him—for the very first time.
The apology had caught her off guard. So much so, she didn’t realize how long she’d been gazing at him until he turned toward her. A flash of realization crossed his face.
“My—my sister didn’t give me this one too, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Katara glanced away quickly, feeling rude. “N-no, that’s not…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Sorry.”
Zuko gave a small shrug. “It’s fine,” he said, although his expression told a different story.
She went back to healing his shoulder. Now she was purposely not looking at his face, which somehow felt just as awkward. A full minute passed before either of them spoke again.
“Does it still hurt?” she asked quietly.
Zuko blinked at her. “What?”
“Your eye. Does it still hurt sometimes?”
A line formed between his brows. “It’s a scar,” he said.
“Is that a no?”
He shifted in place, looking thoughtful and uneasy. He reached up and grazed the burned skin with his fingertips. “I guess I sometimes think it’s hurting, but...I don’t think it’s real.”
Katara nodded solemnly. “Sokka has a scar on his back like that. He fell out of a canoe as a kid and landed on a sharp patch of ice. It really rattled him, and he says it still stings from time to time. But he thinks it’s all in his head.”
Zuko looked down at her hands again. “Do you think it’s all in his head?”
The waterbender pursed her lips in thought. Then she lifted her shoulders somberly. “Does it matter? It still hurts him. Except there’s nothing I can do to make it better.”
The prince had a curious expression on his face, like he wanted to understand what she was saying while also knowing he never would. This was the longest she’d ever seen him go without boasting his signature scowl.
“You and your brother care a lot about each other,” he said warily. Not as a question, but a stated fact. An observation.
“Of course we do,” she said, almost laughing. Zuko eyed his shoulder wound dismally.
“Must be nice,” he murmured.
Katara followed his gaze and grimaced. “Oh,” she said. She’d almost forgotten it was his sister who had nearly electrocuted him to death.
“I guess not all siblings were meant to get along like you two.”
Katara couldn’t imagine not being friends with her brother. Sure, they’d had their fair share of spats and squabbles, as all siblings were bound to have. But to honestly, genuinely hate each other? To see him as an enemy rather than her most trusted companion? To not have each other’s backs through thick and thin, in every trial they’d faced together?
And to actually try to kill each other…the absurdity of the concept blew her mind.
But she and Sokka weren’t Zuko and Azula.
“I guess not,” she said softly. Her hands moved to hover directly over the gruesome injury. “Still...I can’t believe your own sister did this to you.”
“Have you met Azula?” Zuko scoffed.
Katara narrowed her eyes. “If you had the chance, would you kill her?”
Zuko lifted his gaze and blinked. A flicker of uncertainty touched his irises—one that scared both of them. Then his expression clouded over.
“No,” he said adamantly, swallowing. “But if she was in danger dying, I don’t know if I’d save her.”
Silence shrouded the room. In that moment, it occurred to Katara that she was doing the exact thing she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do. She was interacting with Zuko like he was a normal human being, not their sworn enemy. Not the person who had tried to imprison her friend over and over. Not the prince of the most bloodthirsty nation on the planet. She cursed herself for so carelessly letting him in, for actually feeling bad for him.
She set her jaw and refocused her attention on his wound. She wouldn’t let herself slip again.
“We saved you,” she pointed out coldly. “Because unlike you and Azula, we’re actually good people.”
She felt Zuko tense and saw his hand curl into a fist out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t react. She continued to begrudgingly heal his injury, moving her palms along his collarbone.
Unbeknownst to her, Zuko was actually glad she’d decided to insult him the same moment her hands changed position on his body. The feeling of the water healing his wound fanned outwards from wherever her palms touched, strange and cool and tingly—perfectly fine when it was just over his shoulder. But as she inched toward his neck, the tingly sensation started crawling up the sensitive skin, spreading underneath his chin. In an instant, the feeling went from soothing and mystical to tickling him like a feather. Zuko soon found himself clenching his teeth and coiling his muscles in attempt not to laugh, a position he had not anticipated being in. When it grew too much to handle, he jerked away, gripping his throat.
Katara winced in surprise, her water-coated hands hanging in the air. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Zuko blinked. “Um.” His face suddenly felt warm. How was he going to explain this? He rubbed his tingling skin nervously. “It just—hurt. I’m sore there.”
“Where? On your neck?” She reached toward his throat, but he flinched back from her touch. A line formed between her eyes. “Let me see. I might be able to help.”
“It’s fine,” he snapped. “I just tweaked it. It doesn’t need your freaky magic hands.” If that tingly feeling was pressed directly against his neck, he was certain he’d fall to pieces in seconds. He was embarrassingly sensitive, as Uncle had recently (and obnoxiously) discovered, and he had no desire for anyone else to find out—especially his enemies. He’d sooner let Azula fry his other shoulder than let that happen.
Fortunately for him, Katara didn’t press the issue. “Fine,” she said, letting her hands fall to her sides. “I’m done with the wound on your chest for now anyway.”
Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. Bullet: dodged.
“Now I can start on your foot.”
A spark of alarm shot up Zuko’s spine. His eyes popped open as she moved to sit by his feet.
“W-what?” he exclaimed.
Katara gave him a questioning look. “Your foot,” she said, pointing. “It needs to be healed, too. You know, the one you can hardly put any weight on?” She gave his sole a light tap, causing dread to rise in his belly. “The lightning entered your chest, traveled down your left side, and exited out of the bottom of your left foot. The scar on it matches the one on your chest—it’s just smaller.”
Just the thought of that tingling sensation spreading across his sole was enough to make him twitchy. Zuko swallowed, worrying his thumbs in his lap. “Do you…have to heal it?” he asked timidly.
Katara frowned at him. “I mean, yeah. If you ever want to walk normally again.”
It took a moment for the change in his demeanor to catch her attention. He looked shy and fidgety all of sudden, as if he was about to give a speech but had forgotten his notes, and he was doing absolutely everything he could to avoid her gaze. His face also had a slight pink tint to it, like he’d been holding his breath.
“Is something wrong?” she finally asked him. Zuko hesitated before shaking his head. He was doomed either way, but he refused to confess what was really going on. If he kept his mouth shut, at least there was a chance he could find the strength to stay composed—perhaps enough for her not to notice.
Katara studied him for a few more puzzled seconds before shrugging it off and getting to work. She used one hand to hold his ankle steady while the other brought the water to his sole. The scar was in the center of the ball of his foot, just above his arch and right below his toes, which was why Zuko was having so much trouble walking on it. His leg would probably be stiff for a while, but she could heal it enough for him to at least start putting some weight on it again.
But barely two seconds into the healing session, Zuko yanked his foot out of her grip. She flinched and looked up at him, narrowing his eyes.
“What are you doing?” she asked irritably. “I told you, you have to stay still.”
Zuko had his hands shoved under his armpits and his lips pursed tight. “Oh, r-right,” he said. His voice was pitched slightly higher than normal. When he didn’t return his foot to her, she grabbed his ankle and dragged it back to its original position.
“Don’t move,” she demanded, and pressed her glowing palm against his sole again.
Easy for you to say! Zuko thought miserably. The tingly sensation revved back to life, sprawling down his heel and between his toes. It felt like his entire foot was being brushed with tiny, magical feathers. Even worse, it hurt to curl his arch or scrunch up his toes, so he really couldn’t move other than ripping his foot away or kicking her in the face, which he was seriously considering.
A flood giggles started building behind his lips. He twitched and snorted and slapped a palm over his mouth before tearing his foot away from her tingly touch. Katara huffed exasperatedly, balling her hands into fists.
“What is your problem?” she shouted. “What part of ‘don't move’ and ‘stay still’ do you not understand?”
Zuko’s ears felt like they were on fire. He hugged his knee skittishly, grappling for an excuse. “I don’t—I’m not trying to,” he stammered, rubbing his heel against the ground.
“Then why do you keep doing it?”
The prince crossed his arms close to his chest. “Because—” he said, biting his lip. “I just—I don’t...like how it feels.”
Katara raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like how it feels?” she parroted mockingly. “You didn’t mind how it felt when I was healing your chest. Why is this any different?”
Zuko didn’t answer. The firebender was noticeably flustered—hands restless, shoulders hunched. Clearly there was something bothering him that he wasn’t letting on about. Katara’s expression softened.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you,” she said, changing her tone. Zuko was in a pretty vulnerable position. Even if he was evil, he still felt pain the same way she and all her friends did. As a healer, she had to acknowledge that. She sighed levelly. “But you need to stay still so I can heal you properly.” The waterbender nodded towards his foot. “Is it hurting when I heal you? Is that why you keep jumping away?”
Zuko shook his head. “N-no, it’s not...” he mumbled, scratching his forearm nervously. His eyes stayed locked on the ground, as if it would disappear from underneath him if he dared look away. “It’s just...weird.”
“Weird?” she said.
“Yeah.”
“Weird how?”
“You know...weird.”
Katara scoffed. “You’re not making any sense.”
“Forget it,” Zuko growled, scowling between his feet. “I’ll let it heal naturally.”
“You’ll have a limp for the rest of your life if you do that.”
A grimace crawled across his face. Zuko shifted uncomfortably, weighing the two evils in his mind.
“Just tell me why you can’t keep still,” Katara insisted. “Use your words, your highness. Does it sting? Does it burn? Is it making your skin pruny? What?”
“It doesn’t matter, okay?” he snapped. “It feels weird, so I’m not staying still.” He turned away bitterly. “Why don’t you learn how to heal in a way that doesn’t feel weird?”
The waterbender stared at him with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. She placed her hands on her hips. “You’re being a spoiled little brat right now, you know that?”
Zuko continued glaring at the wall, his stomach rumbling quietly. Katara sighed.
“Fine,” she said. She stood and walked out of the tent, disappearing into the sunshine. Zuko watched her go, blinking. Had she given up? Maybe she had another way to heal him that didn’t require tingly waterbending magic. He exhaled slowly and stretched out his legs, allowing himself to relax a little.
The moment he did, two bands of earth rose up from the ground and wrapped around his ankles, trapping his feet in place. At the same time, the wall opened up behind him and swallowed his arms from the elbows down, pinning his hands behind his back. Zuko yelped in surprise, straining against the newly formed bonds as Katara re-entered the tent, tailed by Toph.
“Hey! W-what are you doing?” He tugged and pulled to try to free his arms, grunting with effort.
Katara smirked. “Making you stay still so I can heal you, of course.”
Zuko gawked. Uh oh. Trying not to laugh when he could pull away from the tickling sensation anytime it grew too intense was already hard enough as it was. But trying not to laugh when he couldn’t escape it at all? Not good.
“Now I can make sure you’re up and walking again in no time.” Katara grinned at the earthbender. “Thanks, Toph.”
“Sure,” Toph replied, looming over the trapped firebender smugly. Zuko blanched, squirming even more.
“Th-this is absurd! Let me go!” The prince wrenched and fought with all his might, but it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere. He was thoroughly, entirely pinned. Even at his full strength, he doubted he’d be able to escape Toph’s rock-cuffs.
“Relax, Squirmy,” Toph chuckled. “You’re in good hands. Katara knows what she’s doing.”
She most certainly does not, he thought skittishly. Not yet, at least. And I’d really prefer to keep it that way! He twisted and turned as the Water Tribe girl sat by his feet again, reaching for his now defenseless sole. Anxiety leapt into Zuko’s throat.
“Wait!” he cried. “I’ll—I’ll be still. I promise.” He fidgeted sheepishly. “Just...let me out of this.”
Katara had no idea what was causing him to act so strange and frantic. She’d never had anyone respond to her healing sessions this way. But as entertaining as it was, she’d had enough of it.
“I’m sure you would, Zuko,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But this guarantees it.”
With that, she pressed her palm to his foot and willed the water to mend the damaged flesh. It was a lot easier to do now that he wasn’t pulling away every two seconds.
Once she got into her usual healing rhythm, she looked up at Zuko, expecting the assuage to calm his bizarre uneasiness. Instead, she found him with his face buried in his shoulder as his cheeks burned bright red.
“Zuko?” she said, startled. “What’s wrong?”
The prince shook his head, his body shivering like his fever had returned. He was trying his best to hide his face, but she could see enough to notice he was smiling, although it looked like he was fighting it with every ounce of his being.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked, the corners of her own lips lifting in puzzled amusement. She didn’t think she’d ever seen the grumpy firebender actually, genuinely smile before. It was a nice look on him, even when he was trying desperately to conceal it. He was also making a bunch of funny little noises—stifled squeaks and snorts he was struggling to keep at bay. At the same time, he was twitching and wriggling sporadically, as if his pants were crawling with centibeetles.
“He’s smiling?” Toph asked, mirroring Katara’s grin. Curiously, Katara’s gaze dropped to his foot. She moved her hand down his sole and gently fluttered her fingers against the center of his arch. Zuko’s wild reaction confirmed her hilarious hypothesis.
“Ahack!” the prince yelped, his entire body going rigid. He whirled on her bewilderedly. “Dohon’t do that!”
Katara’s face lit up with delight. “No way. You’re ticklish?” She scribbled her nails toward his heel, making Zuko squeak and writhe. “Oh man! You are! That’s why you’re being so weird and squirmy!”
“S-stohop it!” Zuko giggled, a giant smile overtaking his features. Meanwhile, he was absolutely dying on the inside. This was too humiliating for words. His whole body smoldered with embarrassment while his toes twitched in protest.
“Is my waterbending tickling you?” she wondered aloud, swirling one finger against his sole in thought, fiercely enjoying his erratic response. If there were ever a time she’d consider calling Zuko cute, it was now, when he was squealing and squirming beneath her delicate touch, flashing one of his rare (and surprisingly radiant) smiles, his face rosy with shame. She chuckled softly. “Hm. That’s new. No one’s ever told me it tickled them before. You must be really sensitive, huh?”
Thankfully, Katara did stop tickling him, but the evil smirk she drilled him with rendered him no less flustered. The damage was done, and there was no taking it back. Toph placed her fists on her hips and grinned smugly.
“Aw! No wonder he didn’t want to tell you why he couldn’t stay still. The little Fire Princey is embarrassed! How cute!”
For the second time that day, Zuko’s face turned as red as a lychee nut. He pouted timidly.
“Sh-shut up!” he snarled. “It’s not cute!” He didn’t seem to understand the fact that the more he denied it, the less he was helping his case.
“What’s not cute?” Aang’s chipper voice called, causing dread to shudder up Zuko’s skeleton. He and Sokka stepped through the doorway, holding bags of provisions.
Katara giggled into her hand. “Yeah, Zuko,” she said pointedly. “What’s not cute?”
The firebender shrunk into himself shyly. Aang tilted his head to the side.
“Why is Zuko all bound up?” he asked. “Did he attack one of you?”
“He wouldn’t stay still for Katara’s healing session,” Toph explained, a mischievous glint in her faded eyes.
Katara pressed her water-cloaked palm to his foot again, boasting a bright grin. “But we don’t have to worry about that anymore! Right, Zuko?”
If Zuko were able, he’d definitely kick her in the face right now. Unfortunately for him, all he could do was cringe and bite the inside of his cheek, battling back a wall of bubbly giggles while squirming against his restraints.
“Why does he look like he’s about to explode?” Sokka asked, frowning.
“But like...happy explode!” Aang observed.
Toph chuckled, unable to keep quiet any longer. “Because Katara’s water healing technique is tickling him,” she explained, feeling Zuko’s heart leap in despair. “She has to heal the exit wound on his foot, but apparently his feet are super ticklish.”
To Zuko’s dismay, two more pairs of eyes turned on his blushing, smiley self with stunned delight. Other than the Agni Kai with his father, Zuko couldn’t remember another moment in his life where he so desperately wanted to be invisible.
“Zuko is ticklish?” Aang exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. “Aw! That’s adorable!”
Zuko considered retaliating, but if he opened his mouth, laughter was the only thing coming out. Sokka snickered.
“First we discover you sleep with a traveling petting zoo, and now we find out you’re ticklish?” The Water Tribe boy tsked disappointedly. “Man. Your bad guy aesthetic has taken a major hit today, buddy.”
Aang hopped to Zuko’s left side, leaning in close to his flushed face. “If you’re tickling him, how come he’s not laughing?” he inquired.
Katara chuckled softly. “I think he’s putting all his effort into keeping himself from laughing,” she said. “He seems determined not to let us hear it.”
A steady stream of whimpers and squeaks were escaping the flustered firebender, but he was somehow managing to stave off the tsunami of giggles. If somebody wasn’t intentionally tickling him, it seemed he was able to stay quiet, so long as all his focus was honed in on that goal.
Before Aang had a chance to remedy this injustice, Iroh appeared in the doorway of the tent, beaming with excitement.
“Zuko, look what I found!” he exclaimed, holding up his fist. “Feathers from the rare blue skink quail! Legend says if you add them to your tea, they can cure any ailment!” He eyed the long quills suspiciously. “Unless I am mistaken, and they are actually normal skink quail feathers, which are known to cause uncontrollable dysentery if consumed…”
He glanced up from his dilemma to find his nephew pinned down with shackles made of earth, looking extremely red in the face. He was surrounded by the avatar and his friends, who appeared amused by the prince’s pitiful squirming.
“Hey Iroh, did you know Zuko is ticklish?” Aang giggled.
Iroh blinked, taken back by the sight and the question. “What are you doing to my nephew?” he asked bemusedly.
“I’m just healing him,” Katara insisted, pointing to the glowing hand on his sole. “But I guess the feeling on his foot tickles, so we had to restrain him to keep him still.”
Iroh stared at Zuko’s twitchy toes, then at his smiling, blushing face. A stroke of endearment touched his heart. He loved seeing Zuko smile, even if the reason at the moment wasn’t to his liking. Unfortunately, the only way to get his hotheaded nephew to smile nowadays was through convoluted and unconventional methods like tickling. He tried not to use his adorable sensitivity against him too often, knowing it embarrassed the prince tremendously, but sometimes he felt he had to do it just to remind himself that Zuko was capable of joy and laughter, no matter how hard he tried to convince both of them he wasn’t. It was especially nice to see him smiling now, after nearly losing him to Azula’s attack. The thought of never seeing his nephew’s happy face again was too painful to dwell on.
“I see,” he said, the corners of his mouth turning upward. “He’s probably not pleased you found out about his little weakness.”
“Uncle!” Zuko squeaked out before shutting back up again, clenching his teeth behind his lips. The children chuckled in delight. He was really struggling now, snickering and sputtering with his eyes squeezed shut. Not even Katara was immune to the endearing scene. She offered him a sympathetic smile.
“You know you can laugh if you want,” she said earnestly. “I imagine it’s not easy to fight it for this long. It might actually be good for you.”
“Yeah!” Aang chirped. “It’s just like the monks always said: laughter is the best medicine.” He sat down beside him, beaming brilliantly. “Don’t be shy! Go ahead!”
Zuko shook his head adamantly, shoving his face into his shoulder as his whole body trembled and quaked. He had already been humiliated beyond all reason—he would not grant them any more satisfaction at his expense. A wry grin curled along Sokka’s lips.
“Perhaps the stubborn prince needs a little more encouragement,” he suggested. He plucked one of the large feathers from Iroh’s fist. “Could I borrow one of these?”
“Sure,” Iroh said knowingly. “I probably won’t be using them anyway. I don’t have a great track record with concocting teas from strange things I found in the wilderness.”
Sokka skipped between his friends to sit on the firebender’s right side, opposite of Aang. “This oughta do the trick,” he said. Grinning eagerly, he held the soft end of the feather above Zuko’s torso, wiggling it threateningly. “Hey Fire Lord Spawn,” he teased him, “is your upper body ticklish too?”
Something lithe and fuzzy started brushing against his side, causing Zuko’s eyes to fly open. Horror sprawled across his face as goosebumps bubbled up from his skin.
“Ah! W-wahait! Don’t—!” He clamped his mouth shut and tried to angle his body out of the feather’s reach, but Sokka made sure the tickly bristles stayed glued to his side, gliding in the space between his hips and ribs.
Zuko’s steely resolve was snuffed out in seconds. The sensation tickled far too much for the poor prince to take. Add that to the tingly tickles on his foot, and he knew he was done for. In real time, the four kids and the old man watched Zuko’s willpower rapidly crumble away: from whimpering to snorting to thrashing in place, until finally—
“Ehahaha!” he belted out, his cheeks glowing bright pink. He bucked and writhed, bursting with uncontrollable giggles. “Nohoheehee! Stahap!”
“Aww! There ya go!” Aang cheered.
“No way,” Toph gasped. “That’s Zuko?”
Sokka smirked triumphantly as he swooped the feather up and down the full length of the firebender’s side, drawing airy, nervous giggles from his lips. It was a softer kind of laughter compared to the time Iroh had attacked his tummy in the cave, but just as endearing—if not more so. Plus, in his current state, gentler tickling was definitely more appropriate.
“Q-quihit it! Gehet awahay!” His eyes darted around the room, searching feverishly for a way out of this ticklish nightmare. Among the unfriendly faces, he spotted Iroh, who was watching the scene play out from the back, chuckling softly.
“Uhuncle!” Zuko bubbled, his wide smile and bright laughter melting Iroh’s heart. He squirmed helplessly, burning from head to toe. “Mahake them stohop!”
Iroh grinned, stroking his beard. “I think the avatar is right, Prince Zuko. Laughter is a wonderful remedy for a broken body and a troubled soul. Indulging yourself in it for a little while may benefit your condition, especially right now.”
Zuko stopped listening six words in, when it was clear he wasn’t going to help him. His mind was too occupied by the feeling of the feather delicately tracing the right side of his ribcage, causing light but frantic giggles to spill from his throat. Sokka lingered in the spot just below his underarm, teasing and stroking the exceptionally sensitive skin, then dragged the feather back down his side, fluttering the tip right above his hip bone.
Katara chuckled along with the giggly prince, still grappling with the notion that the shrill, happy noise ringing in her ears was coming from Zuko. The typically grumpy firebender had a laugh that was both joyful and shy, like every second longer he heard himself doing it was making him all the more ashamed of it. He continued to try to muffle his giggling but was failing at every turn. The fact he was so mortified by the sound of his own laughter almost made her sad.
“I think Prince Grouchy Butt is embarrassed of his laugh,” she observed amusedly. “Is that why you don’t do it very often?”
The blush in Zuko’s face bled down into his neck. Iroh chortled.
“He has a strict image of hostility and toughness he likes to maintain,” the old man explained. “I don’t think giggling like a child fits into that criteria.”
Sokka cooed, brushing the feather all over his belly. “Poor little Zuko, trying so hard to act tough. Too bad all it takes to shatter that facade is one wiggly feather!” He painted figure eights across his abs, noticing the sharp leap in the prince’s voice. “Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think tough guys typically have such ticklish tummies.”
“Stahap patronizing me!” Zuko demanded between giggles, doubling over as much as his restraints would allow. “Youhou’re all gonna—p-payhay for this!”
“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” Iroh assured him, unfazed by his nephew’s squeaky threats.
“Yeah,” Katara agreed, grinning fiendishly. “Your laugh is super cute.”
The way he looked at her, you’d think she just told him he would never walk again. Katara couldn’t help but snicker, which only made his face heat up more. Zuko fought once again to stem the waterfall of laughter from breaching his lips, but it was hopeless. The feeling of the feather teasing his bare skin was driving him mad with giggles.
“Nohot—it’s nohohot—eheeheehahahagh!”
He was so focused on the soft bristles mercilessly exploring his right side, he didn’t even notice the avatar nabbing a feather from his uncle and floating down on his left until he started swirling the soft end inside his belly button.
“Katara’s right, Zuko! Your laugh is super cute. Now I just wanna hear more of it!”
Zuko threw his weight around and arched his spine. “Nohohahaha!” he squealed, the sensation sending shocks across his ticklish tummy. “Ahagh—s-stahap! Thahat feels so weeheeheird!”
The room buzzed with laughter. “He means it tickles,” Katara translated with a snort. “Weird is his word for when something tickles.”
His hysterical response only seemed to goad Aang’s tickling fervor. The airbender drew slow ‘Xs’ over his navel, skimming the side of the feather along the edges as he stroked the tip back and forth, all while asking in a playfully mocking voice, “Does this feel weird, Zuko? Or this? How about this?”
Meanwhile, Sokka started scratching his midriff with the quill part of the feather, which Zuko didn’t expect to tickle beyond human comprehension. But it did, making him shiver and squirm and peal into shrill, sheepish laughter.
“Ahaha! Ihi’m—ehaha—mhmheeheehee!”
He didn’t even know what he was trying to say at this point. Every ticklish inch of him wanted to beg for mercy, but that would require sacrificing his last leg of dignity, and he was resolved not to degrade himself any further. Unfortunately, that meant he just had to endure their torment until they got bored with it, and who knew how long that would take.
Sokka and Aang could sense the firebender was reaching his limits. They exchanged a look and eased back on their tickle attack, switching to the fuzzy sides of their feathers and giving him longer breaks between strokes. He was still wounded, after all. If this was how he reacted to being tickled by two gentle, innocuous feathers, Aang could only imagine how much he’d lose it if they started using their hands.
The prince’s laughter returned to nervous, airy giggles—the kind that made Iroh want to pinch his rosy cheeks. He twitched and flinched every time the feathers made contact with his skin, which Sokka and Aang were brushing higher and higher up his body.
“Do you think his armpits are ticklish?” Aang wondered, stroking his feather dangerously close to his underarm, making Zuko cringe.
“Good question! Why don’t we ask him?” Sokka did the same, drawing a yelp from the firebender’s lips. “Hey Zuko, are your armpits ticklish?”
Poor Zuko was doing everything possible to guard himself, pulling his arms as close to his sides as he could, but the way he was pinned didn’t allow him to protect them completely. The remaining gaps were the perfect size for two silky feathers to slip right into and destroy him.
“Youhou’re both soho dehead,” he giggled helplessly, straining against his bonds.
“I can confirm his armpits are quite ticklish!” Iroh exclaimed. “In fact, they may be his worst spot.”
Zuko bared his teeth at his uncle in what he hoped resembled a snarl. “Youhou’re dead too!” he snapped, his arm muscles trembling with effort. “Traihaihaitor!”
“How ‘bout, on the count of three, we both go for his pits?” Aang proposed to Sokka with a wink.
Sokka grinned, winking back. “Ready when you are.”
Aang held his feather toward his underarm. “One....”
Sokka mirrored him, swirling the quill tauntingly. “Two…”
Zuko went pink with anticipation. He shut his eyes, squirming anxiously. “Ihi’m gonna—k-kill all of you!”
The two boys giggled at the flustered prince, drawing out the last count just for good measure. Aang smirked in delight.
“Three!”
Both of them lunged toward the firebender without making contact. As expected, Zuko busted out laughing anyway, nervous giggles pouring from his lips.
“What’s the matter? We’re not even touching you!” Sokka teased him.
“We’re not tickling you, so why are you laughing?” Aang concurred. They wiggled their feathers an inch away from his skin, inflicting him with phantom tickling sensations.
Zuko was at his wit’s end with this entire humiliating affair. He continued to writhe restlessly, snickering into his shoulder.
“You jerherks! You’re insane! Ahall of you!” He squeaked as Katara’s hand crept toward his toes, shooting tingly, tickly snakes between them. “Come on! Lehet me go already!”
Sokka cocked his head to the side. “We’re jerks? For not tickling you?”
“Sounds to me like you’re mad that we aren’t actually tickling you,” Aang mused.
Zuko stiffened. “W-what?”
“We were just messing with you with the whole countdown thing,” Sokka continued.
“But if you’re going to call us jerks for not tickling you…”
“Then I guess we better give the guy what he wants.”
The whole scheme was so well-rehearsed, Zuko was almost impressed. But he didn’t get to marvel at it long. A second later, two fuzzy feathers were swishing against his underarms, setting off every nerve ending in his body.
“Ahahaheehee!” He threw his head back, cackling wildly, twisting from side to side. “N-noho! Pfftahahack! Cuhut it ahouhahahaaa!”
Hiccups began punching through Zuko’s giggle fit. It didn’t look like Iroh had been kidding. Aang drew circles in the hollow of his pit while Sokka skated his feather up and down the underside of his upper arm, rendering the prince a wriggly, squealing mess. None of them could get over just how silly and adorable their nemesis was when he was laughing like crazy and squirming away from their tickle attack. He went from angry, scary firebender to giggly little teenager with one stroke of a feather. The happy expression on his face reminded Aang of his old friend Kuzon.
“What was it that I heard Azula’s call you?” Aang said, bopping him playfully on the nose. “Zu-Zu, right?”
“Zu-Zu?” Katara repeated, laughing out loud. “That’s so cute!”
At that point, Zuko’s entire body had turned a rosy red color. The feathers wisping against his underarms were driving him ballistic—not to mention their incessant efforts to make him blush.
“Dohon’t cahall me thahahat!” he giggled shrilly.
“How come?” Sokka asked, fluttering his feather in the hollow of his pit. “Does Prince Zu-Zu not like his adorable little nickname?”
Iroh chuckled lightly to himself, both adoring and pitying his poor nephew. “Are you going to join the fun?” he asked Toph, offering her the last feather.
“You’re terrible,” she snorted. “I love it.”
She snatched the quill from his hand and sat beside Katara. When the earthbender began whisking the soft bristles across his uninjured sole, Zuko’s whole leg jolted violently.
“Whaha—nohoho!” he cried. He curled his toes and flexed his foot, but it did nothing to deter Toph’s delicate and meticulous destruction of the ticklish firebender. She tickled the entirety of his sole, gauging his reactions to see which places and methods made him squirm the most. Sawing the feather between his toes ended up being her deadliest technique, leaving Zuko in writhing, squeaky stitches.
Now all four of them were teamed up on him, and Zuko was starting to lose it. The fuzzy feeling of three wiggly feathers and one tingly hand all tickling the most sensitive areas of his body at the same time was making his brain go haywire. It seemed the longer they teased his ticklish skin, the more sensitive it became to their touch, rendering him more desperate and more giggly with each passing second.
“Thihis—ihis—ehevil!” he gasped. Every word was either punctuated by hiccups, or followed by a stretch of silent laughter—where he was giggling so much, he could hardly make a sound.
Katara scoffed. “Did Zuko just call us evil? That’s hilarious.” She watched her friends tickle the helpless firebender to bits and chuckled at his hysterical flailing. She could hardly believe the cruel soldier she’d fought in the North Pole and the laughing teen wriggling in front of her were one and the same. It was crazy to think she actually used to be afraid of him. She could probably sit here and watch him squirm all day long and never get tired of it.
When Aang realized Toph had joined the fray, he switched to gently tickling Zuko’s neck to give him a breather. Sokka did the same, brushing his feather in the gap of his collarbone every now and then, sending spikes of chills across the prince’s skin.
Zuko’s giggling calmed down a tiny bit, but not as much as they expected. Aang laughed when he stroked the feather towards his ear and Zuko scrunched his head to his shoulder with a squeak.
“You might be the most ticklish person I’ve ever met,” Aang said cheerfully. “And I’m a hundred and twelve years old!”
“You’re definitely the squirmiest person I’ve ever met,” Sokka agreed, copying the movement on Zuko’s right side, making the prince yelp and hike that shoulder to his ear.
“Stahahap it!” he giggled. He didn’t know how much more of this he could bear. His flesh tingled all over, shuddering beneath the soft, silky touch of the three fuzzy feathers, which stroked and brushed and teased his bare skin without mercy. He’d breathe fire at them if he could, but it was impossible to gather enough air in his lungs to attempt the technique when he was laughing this hard.
The Water Tribe boy and the avatar started working in tandem to tickle whichever side of his neck was left exposed while Zuko struggled to guard himself, turning it into a fun little game of back and forth. He fought so hard not to shrink up every time they switched sides. Unsurprisingly, he failed every time.
“You’re so cute when you try not to squirm!” Sokka laughed, stroking the feather against the back of his ear. “Go ahead, keep fighting it. I’m sure it’ll work eventually.”
“Eheehee!” Zuko squeaked helplessly, jerking away and making Sokka smirk. “Y-you—rahat vihiper!”
The prince was spiraling. Just when he figured things couldn’t get any worse, Aang and Sokka jumped back down to his ribs and belly, gliding the feathers all over his torso and making him want to disintegrate.
“I think this is the most fun I’ve ever had with a firebender,” Toph said, poking the quill between his toes.
“Me too,” Katara agreed. “Look how smiley and blushy he is! It’ll be hard to ever take you seriously again after I’ve seen you like this.”
Zuko shook his head feebly. It was bad enough they were tickling him to humiliating extremes, making him erupt with high-pitched laughter that he was powerless to quell no matter how much he tried to shut up. Did they really have to make fun of him as well? He couldn’t even move, let alone cover his stupid, blushing face! Talk about fighting dirty. All he could do was wriggle and squeal as they tickled him senseless, his smile as wide and bright as the sun.
“Ahahaha! Guhuhuys!” he howled. What he would give to be an earthbender right now—or to temporarily have one on his side.
“Based on his heart rate, he gets even more flustered when you tease him while you tickle him,” Toph observed with a grin. She stroked the feather from the bottom of his heel to the ball of his foot, wiggling it for extra effect. “Coochie-coochie-coo, Zu-Zu! Doesn’t that tickle so much? It’s okay—laugh all you want! It’s not like you can make yourself stop.”
Aang snickered as Zuko’s ears turned a shade pinker. “Wait ‘til the whole world finds out how adorable the Fire Nation prince is when you tickle him!” he said, flitting the feather below his belly button, tickling the skin along his waistline. Based on the way bucked and yelped, he was exploring an extremely sensitive spot. But to be fair, there didn’t seem to be a lot of places on Zuko that weren't extremely sensitive.
The kids giggled in unison with the hapless prince, the joy on their faces making Iroh’s heart soft. As he watched his helpless nephew get teased and tickled out of his mind, he wished he could snapshot this moment in his memories and save it forever. Seeing the five of them laughing and goofing off together just seemed right, even if it was at Zuko’s expense. How he hoped Zuko’s time with these selfless children had changed him in some way, however small, for the better—offering him the chance to seize a new outlook on his life and his destiny. Iroh sensed the prince’s future was intertwined with the avatar’s, just not in the way he’d always imagined. Perhaps this could be his first step toward that realization.
Meanwhile, Zuko was in giggly shambles. He couldn’t handle another second of this teasy, feathery torment. He’d sworn they wouldn’t get him to beg, but that was the only way out of this he had left in his arsenal. He doubted it would work; it would probably just give them more fuel for their ‘let’s humiliate Zuko’ party. But he was out of options, and his head was starting to spin, and Uncle obviously wasn’t going to save him. He had to try.
“Ohokay!” he cried, breathless and defeated. He barely had the energy to twitch anymore; he was basically just lying there and taking it, tears glinting in the corners of his eyes. “Pleehease—please stahap! I cahan’t… m’g-gehetting…dihizzy…”
Iroh stepped forward to say something, but thankfully, he didn’t have to. All of them immediately stopped tickling Zuko, dropping their arms to their sides and watching the firebender sag with relief, airy giggles still slipping from lips as he fought to catch his breath.
“Gah...heh...uhugh…” He hung his head low, panting lightly. Even though the feathers were no longer tickling him, his skin itched and tingled in all the places they’d perused, and bubbly butterflies continued to dance in his belly. He was also mortified to his core, and probably would be for the rest of his existence, which wasn’t great. He couldn’t wipe the goofy smile off his face just yet. “Myhy…sihides…” he whined.
“See? All you had to do was ask nicely,” Toph said, grinning.
“Poor Zuko,” Sokka cooed, poking one of his bright red cheeks. “I’ve never seen anyone blush so much for so long before.”
He lolled out of his reach skittishly, fuming with embarrassment. “Stohop,” he whimpered. “Y-you’re all...psyhychos…”
Aang giggled with his hands on his hips. “We really got you good, huh? It was nice to see you look so happy for once. Maybe all that laughing will help you recover faster!”
“If the laughing doesn’t help, hopefully my healing will,” Katara said, holding up her glowing palm. Zuko winced.
“Ugh...pleehease tell me you’re done with that,” he said weakly. Katara chuckled.
“What, healing your foot?” she asked. She dragged one finger up the side of his arch. “Oh, yeah. I finished that, like, eight minutes ago.”
A startled giggle leapt from Zuko’s throat, making the four friends cackle and the prince’s ears burn. The moment they settled down, Zuko's stomach let loose a pitiful roar, causing them to crack up all over again.
“Oh man! You still haven’t eaten yet, have you?” Aang poked at his rumbling belly, making Zuko squirm and squeak. “Aw! You’ve got to be totally wiped! That was mean of us. We should’ve fed you first.”
“Quihit messing with me!” Zuko snapped, twitching and snickering beneath the avatar’s tasering fingertips. “Just...lehet me go already!”
“Are you going to attack us if we do?” Sokka asked dubiously. “You did say you were going to kill us before. Like, a lot.”
“Ihi’m seriously considering it!” he growled between giggles. “It’s whahat you deserve!”
Aang clicked his tongue in disapproval. “You might want to rethink your answer on that, your highness.” He sat beside the fettered prince and reached around his back, curling his hands around his tummy, grinning mischievously. “Because if you don’t promise you aren’t gonna hurt any of us after we let you go, I’m not going to stop doing this.”
To Zuko’s horror, the avatar started squeezing both sides of his bare torso, drilling his fingers deep into his flesh, jumping between his hips, his belly, his ribs, his pits, holding absolutely nothing back. Zuko jolted and shrieked, twisting and bucking uselessly, his laughter shooting to an entirely new octave of hysterical.
“AHAHAHAHAAA!” he screeched. “GAHA—S-STAHAHAHAP! IHIHEEHEEHAHAHAGH!”
“Whoa,” Toph whistled. “That’s new.”
“Let’s try again,” Aang said, feigning innocence. “Are you going to attack us once we release you, Prince Zuko?” He needled between each individual rib bone with deadly precision, then burrowed into the dips of the firebender’s hips.
Zuko thrashed and hiccuped, frantically trying to get the words out between bouts of wild cackling. “NOHOHAHAHAY—I WOHON’T! AHAHAHAY PRAHAHAMISE!” He didn’t think anything could ever tickle as badly as Aang’s ten fingers digging into his upper body did at that moment. The fact he couldn’t do anything to guard himself or wiggle away made it so unimaginably worse than any other time he’d been tickled. As carefree and goofy the twelve-year-old avatar could be, this was downright cruel. He was certain he would die if he didn’t stop. Laughter erupted from the teen like adorable, desperate lava. “PLEEHEEHEASE—NOHO—MOHOHOREHAHA!”
“That’s more like it!” Aang said jubilantly. He lifted his hands off the prince’s tummy and floated to his feet, grinning with triumph. “You can let him go now, Toph.”
Toph punched her fists toward the ground, and the rock restraints retracted from his ankles. A second later, she pounded her heel against the earth, freeing his arms from the wall. Zuko celebrated his newfound freedom by immediately shrinking into a tiny ball, hugging himself around the middle with his knees pulled to his chest, giggling dazedly as he fought to tame his breathing. The others watched him with smiles on their faces. They couldn’t help but be endeared.
“Are you all right, Prince Zuko?” Iroh eventually asked, crossing the room to kneel beside him. He laid a hand on his shoulder, which was beginning to bounce less and less.
“Myhy everything hurts…” he wheezed, but the smile refused to leave lips. He looked up at Iroh, woozy and flushed. “Why didn’t you...hehelp me…?”
Iroh smiled and wrapped him into a hug. Zuko groaned into his shirt but didn’t have the strength to pull away.
“I’m sorry,” Uncle said, rubbing his back. “But you know how much I love hearing you laugh. When Azula’s struck you, I thought I might never get to hear it again.” He squeezed him a little tighter. “Seeing you happy fills me with so much joy. I try to soak it in every time I get the chance.”
“I’m nohot happy,” he grumbled, voice muffled by the fabric. Iroh chuckled.
“I know you’re not,” he said, giving his side a gentle pinch. “But I hope one day you will be, so I can hear you laugh without resorting to this.”
Zuko flinched and squeaked, shoving him away with as much muscle as he could muster. “Ahack! Uncle!” He clamped his palms over his sides, blushing furiously. “Ehenough! I am so done with all of you!” He pouted at the ground, shoulders hunched, ears pink with embarrassment. “Just...leave me alone...”
“Sorry, Zuko,” Katara giggled. “We may have gone a little overboard. We’ve just never seen that side of you before. It was sweet.”
Zuko didn’t feel like acknowledging or interacting with any of them right now—maybe for the rest of time. He was too flustered and humiliated by what had just transpired to even begin to decide how to handle it. The sound of his laughter blared shrilly in the back of his mind, mortifying him to no end. Even after being tickled by Uncle not too long ago, he could still hardly believe how loud and hysterical his own laughter could get—that that silly, squeaky noise he was hearing was somehow coming from his own body. It was as if he was possessed by some girly-voiced ghost every time someone tickled him. It was relentlessly embarrassing.
“Don’t feel bad,” Toph said, swiping her arms toward her feet. Two hands made of earth stretched down from the roof and grabbed hold of Sokka and Aang’s wrists, hoisting them over their heads.
“Hey!” Aang cried.
“What the—?”
Toph stepped between the boys and tickled their exposed sides, making both of them squirm and laugh shrilly. “They act all high and mighty now, but they’re just as ticklish as you are.”
“Ehahaha! Tohoph!” Aang squealed.
“GAHAHASTAHAHAPIT!” Sokka shrieked, flailing around like a beached elephant coy.
“Or perhaps even more so,” Toph corrected herself smugly. She released them from her hold and shoved them both aside. They staggered in opposite directions, blushing deeply and thoroughly chagrined.
Zuko stared between the avatar and the Water Tribe boy. He had to admit, seeing them flustered did make him feel slightly better about this entire nightmarish affair. It also helped that he’d finally caught his breath and was no longer bubbling with giggles. He decided if he had to pick someone in their group to hate the least, it was Toph. Even if she kind of terrified him.
She scooped one of their bags of provisions off the floor and tossed it into Zuko’s lap. “Here—eat,” Toph said. “The sound of your stomach growling is driving me insane.”
Zuko flinched in surprise and eyed the offering warily. He dug around inside and found some bread, a couple strips of salmon jerky, and a weird, round fruit he didn’t recognize. His mouth watered at the prospect of finally getting to eat without yesterday's queasiness holding him back.
“What’s this?” he asked, holding up the fruit skeptically.
“Honey plum,” Toph answered. “Have you never had one before? They only grow in the southern Earth Kingdom.”
Zuko shook his head. Iroh plucked it out of his hand with a grin.
“A honey plum! What a treat! These are delicious, Prince Zuko. You must try it.”
He handed it back to him excitedly. Zuko frowned at the bluish-purple fruit before taking a hesitant bite. As he chewed, a sparkle of surprise touched his golden eyes.
“Wow,” he said, swallowing. “That is really good.” He bit into it again, this time with far less reluctance, munching eagerly to qualm his ravenous hunger. It was sweet and juicy, the swirl of bright flavors bursting like firecrackers on his tongue. He was so focused on feeding the monster in his gut, he didn’t look up for a while. But when he did, he was startled to find everyone staring at him.
“Why are all of you...watching me?” he mumbled over his mouthful, shrinking uncomfortably. “I feel like some kind of zoo animal.”
“No reason,” Aang said, grinning. “We’re just happy you like it!”
“You eat like Sokka at the Glacial Spirits Festival,” Katara giggled. “I expected the Fire Nation prince’s manners to be a tad more dignified.”
Warmth rushed back into the firebender’s cheeks. “I’m hungry!” he retorted defensively. “I haven’t eaten in almost a day and a half! What do you want me to do—stick out my pinky and curtsy with every bite?”
“Yes,” Sokka said enthusiastically. “Absolutely yes.”
Zuko huffed, nibbling at the plum self-consciously. “Why do you people insist on making me feel weird about everything I do?”
“Cuz it’s fun,” Toph snickered. “You’re so easy to fluster.”
Zuko bristled. “No I’m not!”
Katara tapped her chin in thought. “When you say ‘weird,’ do you mean the normal definition of weird, or do you mean your definition of weird, which is that something tickles?”
The prince reddened and avoided their gazes, knowing there was no answer to that question that worked in his favor.
“See? Like that,” Toph laughed, noting the spike in his heart rate. Zuko crossed his arms and stared sideways, hating having all their attention focused on his blushing self for so long.
“Don’t feel weird,” Aang insisted, cramming a handful of berries in his mouth. “Eat as much as you like—and as messily as you like! You deserve to porcupig out a little.”
“I’m sure he’s just tickled by our kindness and hospitality,” Sokka said, wiggling his feather at him teasingly.
Zuko grimaced and jabbed two fingers forward. In a puff of flame, Sokka’s feather disintegrated in his hand, making him gawk.
“Hey! No fair!”
Katara watched her brother mourn the loss of his new weapon amusedly, then stepped toward the skittish firebender. “Come on,” she said, offering him a hand. “Let’s see if you can walk any better after your healing session.”
Zuko glanced between her palm and her face uncertainly before accepting her help, letting the waterbender pull him to his feet. Iroh stood with him, holding out his hands in case he fell.
The prince wobbled a little once he was upright but didn’t need anyone’s support to stay that way. He flexed and stamped his left foot, delighted by the lack of pain that followed.
“It’s better,” he said, pleasantly surprised. “A lot better.” He braved a couple steps forward. He still had a limp, but he could finally walk on his own again, if only for a little while.
“Good,” Katara said. “I can heal you again if anything starts hurting badly, but you mostly need lots of rest.”
He met her gaze gingerly. He didn’t want to say it, but he felt like he had to. “Thank you,” he murmured, the words grating his throat as they left his lips.
The girl smiled and nodded. Toph pounded her foot into the ground, making the tent collapse around them and sink back into the earth, startling Zuko tremendously.
“I’m hungry too now,” she announced, lifting their campfire off the ground and placing it in the center of their group with earthbending. She snatched the bag of berries from Aang and gobbled down the rest. “Iroh, would you mind making us some more of that jasmine tea?”
Iroh beamed. “Yes! Of course!” He ran and grabbed his pot and the leaves. “Tea always tastes better when it is brewed and shared with others.”
While Zuko watched his uncle enter his tea-making trance, Toph grabbed the honey plum from his hand and shoved it in his mouth, making the firebender grunt in muffled surprise. “Eat, Princey,” she snapped. “Food doesn’t last long around here. Take what you can get before someone else horks it down.”
Zuko pulled the plum out of his mouth and chewed sourly. He hadn’t realized just how tiny the earthbender was until now, when he was standing over her, practically craning his neck to look her in the eye.
And suddenly, everyone was settling down around the fire, taking and eating and acting like this whole bizarre situation was perfectly normal. At least he wasn’t the center of attention anymore, though it felt like he should be; they were being far too trusting, letting him stand so close so freely now that he had some of his strength back. He swept his gaze around the circle with a puzzled frown. Hesitantly, Zuko sat among them, listening to the criss-crossing conversations as he finished off the honey plum and started in on the bread.
“When do we start my earthbending training?”
“You sure you’re ready, Twinkle Toes? Being an earthbender takes guts and grit like you’ve never seen.”
“Definitely!”
“Pass me some of that sun melon, Sokka. Momo’s getting fussy.”
“Sure. Here, Zuko—have some too.”
Sokka casually handed Zuko a slice before giving the rest to Katara. Zuko took it reluctantly, gave it a sniff, then munched on the fruit, glancing warily between the others, feeling odd and out of place, like an unacknowledged elephant rhino in the room.
But also...strangely content.
As he tended to the tea, Iroh watched his nephew with a small smile. He wished Zuko could see how well he fit with these kids rather than in a toxic palace in the Fire Nation capital. He wished he could see how relaxed he looked here versus how tense he was beneath the scrutinizing gazes of Azula and his father. He wished he could stay with them, reject the false path Ozai had set him on, and find his own destiny with these kind, goofy children.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You must leave tonight—all of you.”
The four friends stood before the old man in disbelief, the setting sun reflecting in their wide eyes. Behind them, Zuko slept by the fire, his back rising and falling steadily.
“Leave?” Aang said, blinking. “What for?”
“What’s going on?” Toph asked.
Iroh bowed his head, his voice grim. “Now that he is getting better, there’s a possibility my nephew may try to pull something unfavorable against you and your friends. I want you all gone before he gets the chance.”
Katara took a step back, her eyes clouding over with rage. “What? Did he tell you he was planning something?”
“No,” Iroh insisted. “He hasn’t mentioned anything like that.” A grimace gnarled his features. “But I know my nephew. He needs more time before he is ready to fully realize his destiny. He is still extremely lost, hurt, and confused, and I do not want any of you to suffer because of it.” He sighed softly. “I don’t believe he will try anything, but...I’m not willing to risk it. Not after everything you’ve done for us.”
Sokka eyed Zuko’s slumbering form, then turned back to Iroh. “So...we should just...go? Right now?”
The old man nodded somberly. “I think that would be best.”
“But what if he needs more healing sessions?” Katara asked. “He’s still really weak.”
“I can take care of him,” Iroh said, his expression softening. “I’ve done it before. I am more than capable of doing it again.”
Toph shifted her weight between her feet. “He’ll be upset when he finds out we’re gone.”
Perhaps in more ways than one, she considered. They had only just begun to peel back the layers of the person they knew as Zuko, peering into the heart of the troubled but not entirely unsalvageable individual he was. Leaving now felt like dumping all of that progress down the drain, reverting back to their old shtick of pursuer and prey. Oddly enough, it almost felt...treacherous.
The old man hinted a smile. “He will be okay. Do not worry yourselves for my nephew’s sake. You have all already helped both of us more than we deserve.” He bowed respectfully, his hands clasped inside his sleeves. “Good luck on your journey, young avatar. May the spirits guide you and your friends. I sincerely hope we meet again soon, under more desirable circumstances.”
Aang hesitated for a moment before bowing back. He didn’t know how Zuko would react if they told him beforehand that they were leaving. Probably not favorably. Still, it felt strange, abandoning the two of them without a proper goodbye.
“I hope so too,” he said. He raised his head and met Iroh’s gaze. “He’s lucky to have you.”
Iroh glanced over his shoulder. “I’m lucky to have him, too,” he said. Icy sadness tugged at his chest. He fought not to let it bleed across his face.
“Keep trying to, I don’t know, ‘lead him into the light’ or whatever.” Sokka shrugged. “For what it’s worth, I have way more faith in him than I do Azula.”
The old man shuddered. “Me too,” he breathed.
Katara stared at her feet. “I hope...he changes,” she managed to say, looking awkward and conflicted.
Iroh nodded once, his expression warm. “He will,” he said. Then he exhaled slowly. “Go. I wish each of you the best this world has to offer.”
The four kids smiled sullenly, then dispersed to pack their things. They left on Appa thirty minutes later, the two firebenders shrinking smaller and smaller before vanishing behind the horizon, a collective ache hanging over them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You let them go?”
Iroh sat by the edge of the river, legs crossed with a cup of tea in his hand. Zuko stood over him, boiling with anger.
“I did not ‘let them go,’ Iroh assured him, breathing in the dewey morning aromas. “They were here when I went to bed. When I woke up, they were gone.”
It wasn’t lying, technically. Just strategic withholding of information. Zuko groaned in frustration.
“I can’t believe this!” he yelled, stomping in circles. “Why would they just leave like that?”
Uncle sipped his tea calmly. “Why wouldn’t they? They healed you, fed you, gave you a place to sleep. Now that you are doing better, there was no reason for them to stick around.”
Zuko buried his face in his hands. “The avatar was sleeping right next to us! We could’ve captured him and dragged him off without any of them noticing!”
“Another valid reason for them to leave,” Iroh pointed out. “I’m sure they feared you would try something like that, even after they saved your life.” He sighed contently. “We’re lucky they simply left us in peace, rather than taking us prisoner.”
He hated how well his uncle was taking all of this—and how accurate all of his rebuttals were. Zuko kicked a pine cone into the river.
“It could take weeks to track them down again! Ugh!” He sunk to the ground, griping and grumbling incoherently.
“I am surprised you are so shocked that they left,” Iroh said, raising an eyebrow. “We are still their enemies, after all. They never had an obligation to help us in the first place. What reason would they have to stay with us after they healed you?”
To be honest, Zuko wasn’t sure why he was so stunned by it, either. Of course they had left. That was the smart thing to do. If he were in their position, he wouldn’t have stayed, either. Now that he could walk, he was capable of committing all kinds of malicious crimes against them—as he’d done many, many times in the past.
But the weird thing was, he hadn’t planned to do anything like that.
At first, sure, maybe. When he was hurting all over and seething with anger and resentment. But after speaking with each of them, forming those little connections he never thought possible, things had changed. His usual appetite for causing them pain had gradually dwindled away. Capturing the avatar and hauling him back to his father was starting to sound more like an unsavory obligation rather than something he actually wanted to do.
He was still mad at them for that mortifying stunt they pulled in the tent yesterday, but not in the way he expected. It was beginning to feel more like a “you got me, now I’ve got to get you back” kind of mad—the innocent, playful kind he and Azula had for each other whenever they pranked one another as kids. Now, he would never get the chance.
“I guess there is no reason,” Zuko admitted bitterly, hugging his knees. “I’m just...frustrated.”
“It’s okay to be angry,” Uncle said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But it’s important that you recognize why you’re angry, because I don’t think the reason is what you believe it to be.”
Zuko eyed him suspiciously. “What are you talking about?”
Uncle’s hand moved to his back, steadying him in the comforting way it had done a thousand times. “Why are you upset they left, Prince Zuko?”
The young firebender frowned. He didn’t know why Uncle was asking him this—the answer was obvious.
“Because now I have to find them again to capture the avatar,” he said, although it sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
Iroh hummed thoughtfully. “That’s it? No other reason?”
“What other reason would there be?” Zuko shot back.
Uncle stirred his tea, the spoon clinking against the sides of the cup. “They were kind to you. Rather than ignoring you or berating you, they chose to interact with you in a warm, friendly manner. They didn’t treat you like a dangerous Fire Nation soldier; they saw you as a person who needed their help. They are all very good people.”
Zuko scoffed. “They were not kind to me. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You have rarely ever been around kids your age outside of the Fire Nation—especially ones that care so openly about one another.” He sipped his drink and stared across the river. “You fit in well among them.”
“What are you trying to say?” Zuko snapped, feeling hot and nervous and furious all at once. “That I miss them? That I want to be friends with the avatar and his obnoxious cronies? You’re insane, Uncle. I—I hate them! They’re the most insufferable people in the entire world! And my enemies!”
Iroh didn’t react to his tirade. He simply laid his hand on his nephew’s head, scratching at his short, fuzzy hair. Zuko went stiff, startled by the affectionate contact, debating whether or not to jerk away. He hated to admit it, but it felt...nice.
“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to befriend good people, regardless of your past or theirs. Not everything is as rigid and definite as you might think.”
Zuko blinked. His entrails felt like a bundle of knots. His throat grew sore and tight. The ache inside him was sickening familiar, and he hated himself for feeling it in this situation. He tried to will it away, to loathe it out of existence. But it was there, cold and stinging.
The pain of being left.
He hadn’t had a head of hair to pet since he was thirteen. All Zuko wanted was to lean into Uncle’s touch and let him scratch his scalp forever. Instead, he ducked out of Iroh’s reach, clambering to his feet.
“You’ve officially lost your mind,” he growled, running his fingers through his hair irritably. Uncle stood by his side, a somber smile on his face. His nephew’s walls held strong, but they were weakening every day. He still needed more time, more patience, but the old man had hope.
“Come, Prince Zuko,” he said. “Now that you’re feeling better, it is time to resume your firebending training.”
Zuko turned to face him, his scowl melting into a look of excitement. “Wait—really?”
Iroh nodded. “It is time you moved on to the advanced set, and learned how to defend yourself against people like Azula.” He assumed a steady stance and pointed two fingers toward the sky. “Do this motion with me.”
The prince stepped in front of him and mirrored his movements. He still couldn’t fully extend his left arm, but he tried his best to copy Uncle’s form. “What are you going to show me?” he asked eagerly.
Iroh grinned. “A firebending technique that I developed by studying waterbenders, one that neither Azula, Ozai, or any other firebender except me can do.” His eyes twinkled defiantly. “How to redirect lightning.”
#zuko#iroh#atla#ticklish!zuko#ticklish zuko#sfw tickle fic#sfw tickling#Avatar The Last Airbender#gaang#zuko fic#lee!zuko#atla fic#atla tickle fic#atla tickling
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Interior Decor
Hello! I started this blog because I wrote a Zuko x Reader fanfiction and I wanted somewhere to post it that wasn’t my main blog.
I came up with the idea for this fic randomly one day and I thought I’d write it down and share it with you all. It’s going to be 4 parts with a possible epilogue, but I’m not sure yet. Please let me know what you think!!
I’ll be updating every Sunday with a new chapter! Hopefully you guys really like this and keep reading!!
I’ve also posted it to AO3 if you’d prefer to read it there
Thanks!
Zuko X Fem!Reader
Warnings: Fluff, Slight Aangst(heh), and some implications
Word Count: Almost 3k
Summary: Iroh felt it was time for the Palace to reflect the time of Peace and Love that Zuko promised five years earlier at his coronation. He takes it upon himself to hire an interior decorator to help his nephew out and work together. What he didn’t expect was for Zuko to possibly find his own peace and love in the process.
Chapter 1: Feng Shui >> Chapter 2: Tchotchke
Walking into the grand entrance of the Fire Nation Palace, (Y/N) couldn't help but stop and begin mentally jotting down the changes she would make to the décor. It was very dingy, dark, and drab, as though the Palace had been sitting in it's own dusty iceberg for a hundred years, keeping it's hatred preserved with each speck of dirt. The windows were covered in black-out fabric, the walls had pictures of past Fire Lords glaring down at those who dared to enter their sacred home of destruction, plants wilted and dead, no life left within them, and the carpet looked as though it had seen millions upon millions of feet within its lifetime.
Now, (Y/N) wasn't trying to be rude, but it was her job to notice these things. She had been hired by General Iroh to redo the interior of the Fire Nation Palace. This meant every single room from the throne room to the dining hall, the ballroom to the Fire Lord's private quarters, everything needed a refresh. She expected this kind of thing to be done back when the Fire Lord had first taken over, however, her services weren't requested until five years after his coronation.
Which is why she stood at the entrance, questioning why it took them so long to get someone in here. The poor Palace staff and the Fire Lord must be drowning in darkness and discomfort. Not to mention cowering in fear at Sozin, Azulon, and Ozai's deep glares within several portraits throughout.
She was busy having a staring contest with Ozai, which she was undoubtedly losing because he was terrifying to look at, when Iroh walked up and greeted her with a warm smile. The look immediately lit the room up, sending a comforting feeling from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes as if she had just dipped herself into the warm ocean to cool off.
"Ah! Miss (Y/N), thank you for your patience," he bowed causing her to return the sign of respect back, "I was just making sure my nephew was ready for our meeting today as well. He's just finishing up with the council, so we'll go on ahead without him and he can catch up," the older man winked before guiding her further into the Palace, "Please, tell me what you think so far, first impressions may not always be accurate, but they do tell quite a lot, especially when it comes to decoration," Iroh said as they walked.
Clearing her throat, (Y/N) tuned into her interior decorator mode. "I feel like I'm living in the Fire Palace from Sozin's time," she said, bluntly, however still with a hint of hope. "I feel like this Palace has most likely been causing the Fire Lord nothing but stress, as though it's a dark cloud looming over his head, watching his every move, almost like Ozai never left." Her voice calm and diplomatic, she had dealt with several Fire Nation officials before and no matter how often she tried to soften the blow, she was usually always dealt with backlash and anger over her honest opinion of the look.
Iroh, however, surprised her, and laughed with his whole body, resting his hands on his stomach for a moment, stopping their stride. "My dear, you are spot on!" This immediately caused (Y/N) to smile brightly, grateful that she was with a client who didn't seem to want to fight her every move. "Even when Ozai and I were boys growing up in the Palace here, we always felt as though we were living during Sozin's reign. Not that we believed that to be a bad thing at the time," he chuckled before continuing on down the hall.
The hallway led into the throne room, which was one of the biggest rooms in the Palace according to the layout that Iroh had given her during her interview with him. The only other room that was as large was the ballroom followed closely by the dining hall.
"This is where my nephew holds council with everyone in all four nations, whoever wants a seat with him. My brother, father, and grandfather stopped using it for that purpose and just became a place to dish out their royal decrees, banishing visitors that were not worthy." (Y/N) frowned listening to the history of this room. "My nephew likes this room to be where he listens and does very little talking, which I think is a wonderful sentiment to have." She nodded and began jotting down notes on her parchment.
There needed to be more light, some greenery added to liven up the place, possibly a little less fire around the throne itself, to seem more welcoming. Overall, the layout of the room was beautiful, it just needed some acceptance instead of deterrence.
Iroh led her toward the next room which appeared to be the ballroom. It was gorgeous, high ceilings with chandeliers, ready for their candles to be lit and make the glass sparkle, tall windows that went nearly from the floor to the ceiling providing a glorious view of the garden outside. Other than a couple of touch ups here and there, this room was incredible. However, it looked like it hadn't been used in centuries. Webs and dust littered the vast room, sheets covered small tables and seating areas and were yellowed with age.
"When my father took power, dancing and parties became nonexistent. He loathed people enjoying themselves, obviously because he did not. My nephew would like to throw a celebration after this redecoration, allowing all nations to come together and dance." Iroh smiled.
"Obviously it was more of a strong suggestion by the Dragon of the West, who rumor has it, excelled in dancing due to his bond with the dragons," a husky voice behind them added, causing the two to turn and find the Fire Lord standing behind them in his royal attire, with a small smirk on his face.
(Y/N) had seen beautiful interiors, gorgeous landscapes, sunsets, flowers, paintings, structures, and everything in between, however, her breath left her body the moment her eyes landed on the Fire Lord in person. He was a very handsome man, defined features and golden eyes that pierced any girl's heart.
This admiration, unfortunately, caused her to stare at him longer than normal, creating an awkward tension within the room. Beside her, Iroh cleared his throat, waking the girl from her trance on his nephew. She blushed furiously and bowed properly to the Fire Lord.
"Your Highness, my apologies, I wasn't expecting you this early," she whispered quickly attempting to cover her ogling with a valid reason, "I'm grateful that you have allowed me the opportunity to work on your home and make it something that you'll enjoy living within and celebrating for years to come." He smiled at her before turning to Iroh.
"It wasn't exactly my plan, as I said, the Dragon of the West is a very convincing man and deemed it necessary that since I was bringing a time of new, the Palace should reflect that." Iroh smirked.
"Please Fire Lord Zuko," Iroh said with a hint of snark in his voice, "I just couldn't bear to see you glare at the paintings of your father strewn everywhere and decided it was a time for change." Zuko blushed and sent a small glare at Iroh. "Plus, you're never going to woo any ladies with a Palace looking like this!" His statement caused (Y/N) to cover her mouth quickly and let out a giggle. Hearing the noise from her, Zuko's face burned darker, matching the Fire Nation red of his robes. "Anyway, my dear nephew, I must leave you at this time, you see it's nearly noon and I have a Pai Sho game to play with an old friend," he stepped back and bowed to both his nephew and (Y/N). "I'm sure you can take care of the rest of the tour and inform her on any changes you'd like. She's brilliant and really knows what she's doing so take everything she has to offer into account."
"Wait, you're not staying?" (Y/N) stopped him, nervously. Iroh smiled and shook his head.
"This isn't my home, it's his, he should be first hand in working with you. You're both smart and will definitely come up with something great together." Zuko's eyes were daggers as he looked at his Uncle. Iroh merely smirked before stepping away and back down the hallway she had originally met him in.
"I apologize for my Uncle, he's… eccentric, to say the least," the Fire Lord said with a frown. "I guess we should move on with the tour," he mumbled awkwardly before shuffling toward the room after the ballroom. The dining hall.
They traveled through the dining hall, the council chambers-as Zuko refused to call it the war room anymore, the spa rooms, a few bedrooms though they all looked the same according to the Fire Lord, several various hallways, where they finally ended, his bedroom.
(Y/N) had filled several parchments with notes and ideas for the Palace. She was already growing excited about the new plans and was ready to bring some life back into the Fire Nation's symbolic building.
"Not much needs to be done in here, to be honest, I don't use it for anything other than a place to sleep," he grumbled as he had essentially the entire tour. After Iroh had left, Zuko seemed unenthusiastic about showing her around and even less excited about her decorating anything.
"With all do respect, your Highness," she started, unable to bite her tongue this time, as she had the previous dozen times he said that he didn't need much done to the room, "that's a problem. Your bedroom should be a safe haven where you go to escape, especially with your job," her (Y/E/C) eyes narrowed in his direction, attempting to convey her seriousness about the situation. "This room is a comfort to you, not a grave to your father's previous sins." His single eyebrow cocked.
"With all do respect Miss…" it was then he realized he didn't know her name. Iroh had handled all the details, Zuko simply nodded his head and did as his uncle said.
"(Y/N)," she whispered somewhat defensively, ready for his retort.
"(Y/N)…" he repeated, "I have an escape in the Palace, though it may not be my bedroom like it seems to be for several of your clients, I can assure you, I'm not like them." He began to walk out of the bedroom, stopping only to turn back at her and nudge his head, signaling her to follow.
Confused, the decorator followed him back toward the ballroom and out into the garden. This view had caught her eye earlier when she was first in the ballroom with Iroh and now, finally getting a thorough look, she couldn't help but stare at the area in awe.
A large tree sat in the center of the zen place, a tiny pond full of quacking turtle ducks swimming happily within. Several other trees and flower bushes littered the area, with small fountains and statues around. It was serene and tranquil, calm seemed to wash over her instantly as she took in her surroundings, admiring the wonderful atmosphere that the garden provided.
Zuko led her toward the pond where he crouched down to rub the head of one of the turtle ducks with the back of his index finger. The duckling quacked and nuzzled closer to his touch instinctively. As the other turtle ducks saw this, they began swimming toward, looking for their own affection from the Fire Lord as well.
(Y/N) couldn't help but stare at the interaction before her, amazed at how the Fire Lord's demeanor changed rapidly. He seemed at peace and happy in this moment just spending time with ducklings in the garden.
"You see, miss (Y/N), while others escape to their bedrooms, I find myself coming here where I can be calm with my thoughts," he smirked up at her as he pat the last turtle duck on the head and then straightened up. With a sigh, she nodded her head, understanding what he meant now. "I do, however, agree, that my room needs more of a makeover than I initially suggested. You're welcome to do with it as you will, just make sure my belongings are taken care of properly." She looked up at him hopeful that he was okay with her being there.
Smiling, she moved toward the tree next to the pond and plopped down. It wasn't quite as ladylike as Zuko expected, like he had witnessed his mother, Mai, Azula, and Ty Lee do, but he couldn't help but smile and follow her lead, sitting down beside her. As she began handing him papers with notes, he watched as she animatedly talked about what she was going to do with each room and how it was supposed to make him feel more comfortable.
"For a Nation about light and the sun, your Palace has very little of it," she started, pointing at sketches she had apparently made as they walked of the different rooms, "I think removing the coverings on the windows and allowing more light to come in will be great. Plus, the sun makes Firebenders feel better, so why wouldn't they want more of it?" Zuko nodded, realizing that it made a lot of sense. "Then your people will be able to see you better instead of the dark shadow that Ozai assumingly was previous." Her casual use of his father's name seemed to shock him, but he didn't say anything and continued to listen. "If they see your face, they'll feel they can trust you more, you're not a bad man to look at either and that could possibly help you in the department General Iroh was requesting which was a new lady friend." She rushed through quickly.
Zuko held up his hand to stop her, "Contrary to what my uncle says, I don't need a woman to make me happy." He said, "I'm doing just fine all on my own." This caused her to stare at him for a few moments in deep thought and Zuko couldn't help but wonder what was going through her head. She seemed to be lost in herself for a moment before her vision returned and she realized she had been staring intently at the Fire Lord.
With a small shake of her head, she focused normally back on him, "I'm sorry, um… yes you're right, you don't need a woman, I was just trying to help." She mumbled before looking down at her papers awkwardly. Zuko handed her back the ones that he had been given and smiled.
"These look great (Y/N), why don't we start tomorrow on it? I will approve anything you want to do," he said trying to reassure the girl who had what felt like an emotional moment from his words.
"No, let me do this right, especially with the Palace. I will return with better sketches tomorrow and then if everything is approved I can bring in a team to start clearing out rooms. We'll do them one by one so you're not without the entire Palace for a couple of weeks," she said, watching as he stood up and held out his hand for her to take. Gently she pressed her palm to his and goosebumps ran up her arm at the shockingly warm contact. He smiled as he helped her to her feet, waiting several moments before leading her hand back to her side and slipping it from his grasp. "Thank you for this opportunity your Highness, you have no idea how excited I am to be able to help you feel like this is your home," she repeated her earlier sentiment with a long bow.
"Zuko," he said bluntly, causing her to look up at him from her bow. Her eyebrow cocked slightly and he couldn't help but smirk at the emotion written across her face. "Call me Zuko, none of this your Highness formality."
With reddened cheeks she smiled and nodded her head. He led her back into the ballroom and toward the entrance to the Palace. "Tomorrow then?" she asked as they reached the grand doorway.
"Tomorrow," he said, looking at her intently. "I'm interested to see what you bring me (Y/N)," he bowed to her.
She returned the bow with one final word for farewell, "Zuko." Her lips formed a smirk that Zuko couldn't stop his eyes from studying for as long as he could before she turned and made her way down the steps, internally wondering why this job made her feel all fuzzy inside.
I hope you guys liked it! Please let me know! Thanks!
Master List
#zuko x reader#zuko x fem!reader#zuko#Fire Lord Zuko#zuko fanfic#avatar the last airbender#avatar#atla#atla fanfiction#avatar fanfiction#Iroh#x reader#after the war#interiordecor#fanfiction#fic#fan fiction#writing#zuko x y/n#zuko x you#atla x reader#atla fluff#zuko fluff#x y/n#firelordzukohere#general iroh
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May I request headcanons for Azula (avatar: the last airbender) with a female s/o who’s a lot like Mugen from samurai champloo pwease
fem!s/o like Mugen from Samurai Champloo
[a/n: Samurai Champloo had been on my watchlist for the longest time now and when I got the request, I binge watched half of the season in a night and when I tell you I fell in love with that man 🥵 thank you for being my first ATLA request anon! enjoy ! -yours truly, bunnyy-`ღ´-]
ϟ you had been friends with both Zuko and Azula during your childhood, well you were more friends with Zuko than her
ϟ it irked her that you were always so sweet and kind, you were by no means a pushover but you had a soft spot
ϟ she would bully you just to see if she could make you snap, it never worked but you did snap when she was pushing her brother around and bothering him
ϟ the only reason you had ever played with them was because your mom was good friends with Ursa and your father was an adviser on General Iroh’s war ship
ϟ once Ozai was in power, both your parent mysteriously vanished just like Ursa had
ϟ you had set off on your own, determined to find them and that’s when you learned off what was going on outside of the fire nation. cities being burned to the ground, people being hustled by the soldiers for “protection fees”...it was infuriating
ϟ you were still searching for your parents but you definitely knocked some heads along the way, your talent had been wielding the dual swords. something your dad taught you when you were younger
ϟ you had used up all the money that your parents had left for food, shelter, and other things
ϟ you had just finished an odd job and made your way to some dingy bar to look for some food, you liked being a traveler because in places like this because no one cared if you were fire nation or water nation...no one cared
ϟ “how are the two of you such idiots?! How could you lose their trail?!” That shrill and condescending voice was all too familiar, you cringed and hoped that none of the three saw you
ϟ “Hey Azula, isn’t that-”
ϟ “(Y/N)!!” Mai was cut off by Ty Lee’s excited squeal. You grit your teeth and slowly turned around to face their table
ϟ “Well, well, well...if it isn’t little (y/n) all grown up. So this is where you ran off to, a place for degenerate wash-ups? Pathetic.” She picked at her nails apathetically, she barely had time to react to the ringing of your sword as you had positioned yourself behind her, knife at her throat
ϟ “Don’t think for a second that just because you’re royalty means that I won’t hesitate to take you down a notch!” You growled, rousing an almost nervous chuckle from her
ϟ “Oh yeah?” Her voice was strained. “Well I’d like to see you try, especially with them around.” You looked up to see the rough rhinos not too far off as they tried to shoot you menacing glares
ϟ “Don’t tempt me princess, I’d love an excuse to get rid of the riding idiots.” it was something about the way you called her ‘princess’ in such a vile tone, the way your sword was just as cold as your words, and the way your breath felt against her neck
ϟ her heart skipped a beat
ϟ I think being in a relationship with Azula would be quite difficult at first
ϟ both your personalities clashed, you were pretty laid back for the most part and she was a bit high strung, not to mention very socially awkward too (we all remember that beach episode...)
ϟ but once you get past the daddy issues, trust issues, and want for control then I think she’d be a very attentive girlfriend
ϟ she’d be very good at reading you and knowing when something’s off, especially if your being very stressed instead of your usual ‘go with the flow’ vibe
ϟ being with you definitely makes her a more relaxed person
ϟ your playful nature definitely frustrated her, for example:
ϟ she’s the type of person to give long, sensual kisses
ϟ she likes the feeling of your soft lips against hers, the feeling of your body under the palms of her hands, the way your breath hitched when she slipped a bit of tongue into it, she loved leaving you breathless
ϟ your kisses were deep but you pulled away too soon for her liking, you basically had her chasing for your lips at times, nipping at her bottom lip playfully. she would pout before pulling you in once more, your confident quips had her blushing
ϟ “you really want to kiss me that bad?” “Are my lips that sweet?” “Running back for more? It’s almost like you’re addicted~”
ϟ she’d be very apprehensive about showing affection, her family never was affectionate, she never saw her parents hug or kiss...so it’s strange for her but when you guys cuddle for the first time, she’s hooked
ϟ she’s definitely little spoon, this touch starved sweetheart would love the feeling of your chest under her head, big or small, she loves to lay on ‘em
ϟ there’s definitely moments where she gets insecure about the relationship you’ve built but if you hold her and press kisses all over your face AND whisper sweet nothings and reassuring words, she’d melt under your touch
ϟ Zuko absolutely loves you and so does Iroh
ϟ they often invite you to have tea at the jasmine dragon, which you 7 times out of 10 drag Azula along with you
ϟ they love seeing the two of you interact because Azula seems much happier
ϟ and you’re definitely happier too
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What it Ursa took her children with her? - Pt.2
As we were saying:
Little over year has passed since the family arrived in Hira’a, and fateful news gets to them: Ozai remarried. His new wife is someone who is honoured to marry the Firelord and doesn’t mind the fact that his head is so deep up his own arse- anyway, and they are expecting a child, who is to be the Firelord’s legitimate heir.
Azula’s hopes and dreams are shattered. At age ten, she is quite literally being replaced in her beloved father’s life. It’s like she’s never even existed, and she can’t help but wonder what she did wrong.
Zuko is also upset, of course. All those years when Ozai told him he was unfit and worthless come flooding back. But somehow, he already expected things to turn out like this. Unlike Azula, he wasn’t so deeply feeding on hopes that things would go back to normal. He sees it more as a situation that was out of everyone’s control.
He convinces Azula it’s not her fault, and these kids will still be trying to understand and defend their father later down the road. There must be a reason for all of this, right? They start thinking of a reasonable scenario…
Ursa just feels sorry for the poor woman who has to deal with Ozai now.
So we get a timeskip: about three years came and went. Zuko and Azula – treated as kids and not as weapons – lead a peaceful and happy life whenever they’re not thinking of their father and everything they could be doing out there.
They have become known local troublemakers in their spare time. Kids know better than to challenge them, people know not to leave flammable goods out in the open – a strict policy regarding fireworks has been established after a chaotic incident – and failure to keep an eye on them this one time led to… well, let’s just say that the town is still unsure of whether or not they’re is being haunted by evil spirits.
They aren’t allowed anywhere near Forgetful Valley, but bold of you to assume they never tried. In-jokes arise.
‘No, I’m serious: that tree’s face looked exactly like yours, Zuzu. You really should befriend it,’ Azula mocks, remembering a particularly ugly tree they encountered in their adventure.
‘Sorry, I wasn’t looking at it. I was busy looking for whoever it was that asked you,’ Zuko retorts. ‘Since Forgetful Valley has all the kinds of crazy stuff.’
‘Maybe we should go back and look for your impulse control, then.’
‘None of you are going back in there,’ Ursa reprehends. ‘It was very irresponsible of you. Forgetful Valley is a dangerous place, you could have gotten hurt!’
‘Your mother is right, you know?’ Noren comments. ‘I’ve been to that jungle before, and it’s definitely not a playground. But I swear…’ He makes a dramatic pause. ‘I once saw Ursa’s sense of humour in there.’
The kids burst out laughing while Ursa sighs. ‘Since you can find such amazing things in the valley, dear, why don’t you go back there and find yourself actual funny jokes? I’m sure my sense of humour will be around the same corner.’
*More laughter*
(IDK, I write crappy comedy, ok?)
They still have a bit of a hard time making friends. I wouldn’t say they are shy, but they definitely have a talent to say the wrong things at the wrong times, and it’s hard to make deep connections. Sure, they would play with other kids from time to time, but in the end, Zuko and Azula are each other’s best friend.
They’ve cleared an area by the beach that any Hira’a resident knows to stay away from when they’re training.
Azula discovered a great passion for theatre. Not only are her acting skills fantastic, she also seems to be naturally aware of what makes a good scene. People say she’s Noren’s Little Assistant.
She hates being called Noren’s Little Assistant. She would much rather be called Ursa’s Little Star, because goddamn is she a good actress and she needs everyone to know that.
Zuko is more of a plant-lover guy. Unfortunately, he hasn’t inherited his grandmother’s green thumb, and despite Ursa’s best efforts to teach him, it seems like everything he touches dies.
He has grown to show a way with animals, however. Any variety of frogs and toads love him; lizards of all kinds are attracted to him like he’s a magnet; furry animals big and small adore him and any type of bird-like creature seems to think he is the best human being in existence. But his favourite animals are still the turtleducks.
Back in the palace, Iroh eventually learns of Ozai’s bullshit and how he got the throne in the first place. And you know what? The time has come for Iroh to draw a line in the sand. He confronts his little brother, who confronts him back by telling him that, should he try to tell anyone in the Fire Nation the truth – that Ozai was a top-grade traitor who actually had no right to the throne –, no one would believe him. Since his brother won’t be sensible, Iroh decides that’s it: he’s fucking out.
Now a fugitive from the Fire Nation, he somehow winds up owning a lovely traveling tea shop called the Jasmin Dragon. Most people don’t even suspect he is the fearful Dragon of the West, because he’s just so nice?
You can bet he serves blends of tea from all across the nations.
The tea shop is also a good cover up for his exchanges with the Order of the White Lotus. He gives and receives information, and does his best to help villages to either defend themselves or evacuate during Fire Nation attacks.
One day a member of the White Lotus travels to Hira’a for one reason or another and finds Zuko and Azula. This person then sends a letter to Iroh.
Iroh comes to Hira’a to visit the family. He’s glad to see they’re ok, even if he can’t stay for too long. But long enough for some Quality Time – these kids have grown so much!
Iroh doesn’t know of Ursa’s part in Azulon’s assassination, and only assumes she knew of Ozai’s plan. But now, it’s time that her children learned a couple of things, and he is willing to teach them, so that when the time arrives for them to meet their destiny, they should be able to choose wisely and face whatever comes their way. So he asks the children to accompany him in his travels.
Ursa doesn’t want to let them go. They’re children, they should be here living a peaceful life, not meeting some grand, dangerous destiny! What if something horrible happened to them?
Iroh understands the pain of losing a child. He doesn’t want to make Ursa spend her time worrying about losing two, so he respects her decision and soon leaves the town.
But the siblings are not about to just sit here when they know they’re destined for something greater. What incredible knowledge did their uncle hold? Did their father have something to do with this? They always knew there was more to their fate than just living in Hira’a for the rest of their lives, and this is their chance; it’s now or never.
Zuko and Azula are about to sneak out and follow Iroh when Noren spots them. But instead of trying to stop them – he is well aware that he can’t – he gives them two masks and some advice about never forgetting who they were.
Why yes, I am saying that they eventually take the masks and become partners in crime, Zuko as the Blue Spirit and Azula as the Red Spirit, because parallels.
They catch up with their uncle and adventures and shenanigans issue as Zuko, Azula and Iroh cross the Earth Kingdom.
Now imagine this trio: two of the most awkward firebending teenagers travelling with their old tea-loving uncle, who spits proverbs like he’s made of them. The possibilities for both hilarious and heart-warming moments are endless.
Iroh thinks himself a matchmaker. Whenever he thinks he sees some romance going on, he encourages his nephew or niece to make a move. His flaming cupid arrows do more damage than good, yet he only has good intentions at heart. Teens all around the kingdom encourage you to stop, sir.
Their new life is even more humbling than in Hira’a, since they are constantly travelling. But they manage, and they know their uncle is nothing but wise… even if Azula is still quite arrogant and manipulative, and Zuko is impatient and hot-headed, which can lead to a lot of conflict.
Iroh teaches them both how to create and redirect lightning. Zuko is better at redirecting than Azula. Creating it, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated, and both of them get their fair share of explosions while learning. Neither of them really gets a hang of it – although Azula is better at it than Zuko, that’s not saying much – for they still have a lot of identity-related turmoil inside them that won’t let them grasp the energy.
Guess who else teaches them? Other members of the White Lotus. Both Zuko and Azula get some swordsmanship Skills™ from Piandao, some different (and somewhat unwillingly taught) firebending technics from Jeong-Jeong and a lot of things from Bumi, including but not limited to: creative thinking, the art of patience, strategic planning, dealing with pirates and a surprising amount of rocks-related knowledge.
Bumi adopted Zuko and Azula and gave himself the role of Second Uncle. You cannot convince me otherwise.
So one day, little over a year after the siblings joined Iroh, they wind up in a city where this big circus is performing. Uncle Iroh decides to take his niece and nephew to see it. And oh, aren’t they surprised by who they see performing?
Even though Ty Lee was essentially the only one between her sisters to befriend Azula – and consequentially, the only one to periodically spend time in the palace with her –, Zuko and Iroh still have a hard time distinguishing her from the six other girls who look exactly like her, uncertainly calling her all different names before Azula snaps ‘you idiots, that’s Ty Lee!’.
The acrobat is so glad to see her friend again, because damn: it’s been nearly four years since they last saw or even heard from each other! And Zuko, I thought you were dead? This is such a neat reunion, there’s so much for them to talk about! And sure, the circus has to leave soon and so do the siblings, but Ty Lee reassures them that, if they ever needed her, she wasn’t hard to find. This isn’t the last we’ll see of Ty Lee.
Azula doesn’t let it show, but she resents Ty Lee a little bit for choosing to abandon her noble life. She really wishes she could have had a choice.
Uncle Iroh tells the siblings stories about the war that would have some day mesmerized them. But now, his opinions about those events and what he did as a prince general have changed; that, along with what the family sees in their journey – all the horrors brought to innocent people – gives Zuko and Azula a new perspective on what they used to think was a greater good. It will still take a while for Azula to understand that no, these people are no lesser than her and for Zuko to understand why any of that matters.
Iroh eventually tells them the truth about Azulon’s death. Or at least, what he knows of it: their father killed Azulon, banished them, took the throne by force and planned to gain more power at the expense of everyone. This is a lot to take in, and the siblings don’t quite believe it.
After four years thinking about it, Zuko and Azula decided to take their mother’s early words – they went to Hira’a to be safe – and formulate what for them was a reasonable scenario. They believe that Ozai never actually wanted any of this to happen. The whole family had to have been in danger, be it due to some political, social or personal threat, and Ozai wanted to take it all by himself to protect them. So he sent his wife and children away, concocted a plan with Azulon to cover for them and, once Azulon died and left him the throne, remarried to keep appearances. To Zuko and Azula, this makes perfect sense. And they thoroughly convince themselves of that.
They initiate an argument, thinking that Iroh is jealous of Ozai.
Their uncle sees these children are starting to stray from their path, but he knows this is a necessary journey for them. They will never be able to deal with reality unless they face it.
The siblings leave Iroh, planning to head straight to the Fire Nation capital and find out what really happened. Maybe now that they are older, it would be a perfect time to come back home; they surely could defend themselves from any threats.
Of course, they’ll be very disappointed to know that Ozai was just a bitch and never actually cared for any of them.
I don’t have a full formed idea about how their reencounter with their father would go down, but I say Ozai would officially banish both his children from the Fire Nation for trying to cause a commotion – which could easily be perceived as a threat. Not only that, but Zuko and Azula are the children of a traitor; cue for Ozai revealing what happened that night four years ago, confirming that he was the one to kill Azulon with Ursa’s help.
I also think that, after that day, the Firelord would have discreetly helped spread rumours about Ursa that would drag her name through the mud in the Capital – was she cheating on Ozai? Was she selling Fire Nation information to the Earth Kingdom? Was she planning a coup against the Firelord? Her crimes change from mouth to mouth. In the end, no one would take Zuko or Azula back unless Ozai wanted it. But he doesn’t. Not now, at least…
But Ozai also decides to play with his options: he plants a seed of doubt in his children’s minds; should they prove themselves useful later on, it would only take pulling a few strings for them to come crawling back to him. So he tells them that they needed to prove themselves for everyone to see that they weren’t traitors like their mother. They needed to prove their worth so that he could accept them.
Ozai goes a step further with Azula and tells her that, before his demise, Firelord Azulon had a plan. A plan to bring her back and put her in the leading, prestigious role she was always meant to get. But they needed to wait for the right time. There is a right time, Princess Azula. Your hopes were right all along, they will come for you eventually if you prove yourself.
The siblings have a lot to think about while they’re leaving the Fire Nation. They idolized Ozai so much all these years. But the undeniable truth came crashing down on their heads, spoken by the man himself. What would they do now? They didn’t think it possible, but their harsh actions made things so much worse: they couldn’t come back to their mother, they didn’t have many hopes of running into Iroh again, they can’t even set foot in their homeland anymore; Zuko and Azula are all on their own.
Maybe it’s time to turn a new leaf. It starts with them being fairly neutral, not completely loyal to either the Fire Nation or to the rest of the world. During this period, they would argue a lot about what to do or where to go next, getting separated and going their own ways before destiny makes them stick together again, over and over.
They manage to get a few deals and own a few favours here and there, become known thieves as the Spirits, and maybe meet up with Ty Lee’s circus every now and again. Life is hard.
But there is one thing that is about to be a beacon in their darkness…
Time to catch up to the show. Oh, you thought I wouldn’t go there?
Part 3 coming right up!
(I know I said this would be a two-parter, but it got ridiculously long, so I split it again. Three-parter now.)
#I planned on posting this much earlier#But I've been having some technical issues#I suppose it happens#This is still messy#And it will only get messier#It would be one long fanfiction#Avatar the Last Airbender#ATLA#canon divergence#Zuko#Azula#Ursa#Firelord Azulon#Firelord Ozai#(Bitchlord)#Uncle Iroh#Ty Lee#King Bumi#Order of the White Lotus#Part 3 should be up in less than a week if I get time to post it
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Balance Part 7
Part 1 ✧･ﾟ: * Previous - Next
Masterlist
A/N: omg hi yall~ I’m so sorry I haven’t updated this in soo long… I had no idea what to do and I had little motivation to write… i took a short break but i’m back!! ALSO requests are open, so if you have something you want me to write, rules are in navi!
Taglist is open! Thank you guys for the support ahhH I LOVE YOU GUYS!!
💜, morosis~
Sokka x reader
Warnings: Mentions of abuse, death, drowning & my writing skills (i’m warning you 😔)
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
After that night, Y/N couldn’t look Zuko in the eyes anymore. She had never revealed her secret to anyone, ever. Although it seemed like Zuko would never tell anyone, she had never been so vulnerable with someone before. She never had the chance, and she was stressed every second afterward. She didn’t want her new friends to find out about her true identity; especially not when they were being so gracious to her.
She tried her best not to make it obvious, but she tried to avoid him at all costs. If she was talking to Katara about something and Zuko came over, she found a way to excuse herself to go talk to Toph. If she was helping cook breakfast and Zuko got up to help, she instantly made Sokka take over. She just couldn’t deal with him right now. She could practically feel all of the questions coming her way in the future. She could imagine Zuko asking, “Where are they now? What are they planning?”
Although he had said that he believed her, she was still a bit skeptical. What if he decides to turn on me? What if he tells all his friends? Why does he trust me?
Other than that, day three of living with the Gaang was going okay. Even during the course of three days, she’s never felt closer to anyone before, other than... No. She pulled that thought away from her mind.
After eating some lunch, Katara gestured for Y/N to follow her. Although she felt completely fine, Katara insisted on healing her completely. Katara was an amazing healer; there was pretty much nothing left of her injury except for a scar. Katara started applying cool water with her waterbending on her scar, and it slowly faded away a bit. Y/N was so grateful for her. She would probably be dead on some beach if it wasn’t for Katara and her healing.
After a while, Katara looked satisfied and allowed Y/N to leave, so Y/N pulled her shirt down. Of course, she had to leave her sleeves on; Katara would probably have some questions if she ever found the scars. No matter how hot it was outside, she kept her long sleeves on.
Y/N decided she would take a walk on the beach. She walked along the tides as they weaved in and out from underneath her feet. Every time she looked at the ocean, she couldn’t help but be reminded of how she had almost drowned a couple days ago. Since she was literally living on the beach, she was slowly getting over her trauma, but she couldn’t help but think of the water that had closed in on her.
Her eyes scanned the horizon. She thought of her life before she had met the Gaang. She didn’t care too much about the people she affected. Why did it change?
Ah. After the Gaang showed her kindness, it was harder to listen to the supporters. Zuko had been more understanding than she expected. Katara also healed her, when she didn’t have to. Aang had been so kind towards her. Toph had shared many laughs with her. They let her stay with them. Why did they have to make everything so much more difficult?
If she didn’t do what the supporters told her, she would be severely punished. If she ran away and stayed with the Gaang, she was putting them in danger. She couldn’t do that to them, could she? Oh, Cam would know what to do. He would help.
All of a sudden, it struck her hard. She missed Cam. So much. He had always been there for her.
When she had to leave her sister, he was there, comforting her. When she was sobbing at 3am in the morning, he was there, giving her a shoulder to cry on. When she was burned for failing in assassinating the fire lord, he was there, tending to her wounds. When she planned to run away from the Ozai supporters, he was there, supporting her and even promising to stay with her no matter what. When she actually got a boat to escape from the Ozai supporters, he was there, steering it. When they found out about their plan, he was there, holding her hand for comfort. When the supporters burned down their boat, he was there, still holding her hand, until he wasn’t anymore.
What happened? Why couldn’t she save him? Why couldn’t she be there for him, when he was always there for her? She would give everything to be with him one more time. Tears stung her eyes. Why was she crying? She’s been crying too much lately. She hated it. Y/N wished things would go back to before: where she knew exactly what to do…. She wished she could go back to where she had Cam.
Stop crying, you idiot. Stop it. Tears were running down her cheeks. She wiped them away with her sleeves as fast as she could, but they kept coming. Stop crying, stop crying, stop crying. Why did everything have to be so confusing? Why couldn’t she just do her job? Cam’s not here… what’s the point? Why don’t you just capture the Avatar? Why not just do what they say? There’s nobody you have left.
Stop crying, stop crying, stop crying.
Y/N felt someone’s hand on her shoulder. She winced at the unexpected touch and quickly wiped her tears away as fast as she could. Sokka was behind her, looking at her with concerned eyes.
“Y/N?” he asked, gently.
“I’m fine,” she said, although she didn’t look nor feel fine. “Seriously, I’m fine.” She tried to convince him with a smile. Who was she trying to convince? Him, or her? She didn’t want him to worry about her. She didn’t want anyone to worry about her. She. Was. Fine.
Sokka suddenly pulled her in for a hug.
“Aang got me into hugging,” he mumbled. “It looked like you needed one.” Y/N just stood there, speechless. She barely knew him, but here she was, getting a hug from Sokka. Something about him reminded her of Cam. She hugged him back.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
A/N: i’m sorry this KINDA made zero sense but I guess it works? Hope you liked it anyways!
Taglist: OPEN!! Just send me an ask!
@vintage-jupiter @maruchan77 @kaylove12 @comicgeek @noodlesfluffy
Thank you for reading!!! Again, im so so so sorry it took me so long to write this.
Part 8 is out already!! ahaha posting two chapters in one day :)
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#sokka x reader#sokka x you#sokka x y/n#sokka imagine#sokka#atla#atla imagine#atla x you#atla x y/n#ilygsm
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Some deleted scenes from my latest atla fic!
#1: In which Zuko adopts a dragon, and Mai really should be used to this by now
Just when she thinks he can’t surprise her anymore, Zuko goes and does something that proves her wrong. Like bringing home a baby dragon.
“I’m going to call you Druk,” he coos at the little coiled lump in his hands. “You’re lucky I’m here, otherwise Sokka might have called you something like Firebreather or Noodle.”
Mai has been introduced to Zuko’s turtleducks both before and after his banishment. Sokka’s not the only one who would be tempted to name a dragon Noodle.
“When Ty Lee said you wanted some time away,” Mai says conversationally, “I don’t think this is what she meant.”
He starts badly at her voice, but when he spins around to face her, he’s beaming widely. Spirits, he could light up the entire Fire Nation with that smile. “Mai! I thought you were coming back next week.”
“I got bored,” she repeats, smirking. “I missed Ty Lee, and gave my parents the slip when they said they were taking a detour. Seems like I wasn’t the only one who ran away. You’ve been up to a lot, hm?”
He chuckles. “Kind of,” he admits, and his expression turns serious. “The palace was getting to me, so I needed a break. I wasn’t intending on bringing Druk back, but I don’t mind.”
“Do the turtleducks like him?” she asks dryly.
“They love him. It’s weird, they’ve never actually seen a dragon before.”
“And you have? Before… Druk, I mean.”
He flushes, opens his mouth to speak, and closes it again.
“Zuko, that’s a yes or no question.”
“It’s… confidential?” he squeaks, flicking his gaze to the tiny hatchling winding around his hand, weaving around the limb before lying across Zuko’s shoulders like a very short scarf. It’s adorable.
She exhales. “When it stops being confidential,” she allows, “let me know before the others? And by that I mean the Fire Nation officials. I’m going ahead and assuming the Avatar and your other friends know.”
“Aang knows, but the others don’t,” Zuko corrects. “Of course I’ll tell you the whole story first.”
“Good.” She walks up to her best friend and embraces him tightly. He stiffens momentarily but hugs her back, careful not to dislodge Druk. “I didn’t just miss Ty Lee, you know.”
She can feel his smile against her shoulder. “I know. I missed you too, Mai.” He pulls away and holds her at an arm’s length. There’s a wicked smile on his face that’s somehow also completely devoid of malice. Not that she could ever see malice on him. “But you mostly missed Ty Lee.”
“One more word and you’ll find a knife on your royal person,” she warns.
#2: In which Sokka takes Zuko into the towns outside the Caldera to show him how much the place has changed
“You know what I think?”
Zuko hums and looks over from a scroll to his friend, who’s lounging on the bed with a map held above his head.
“I think the council members are jealous,” Sokka says.
Zuko raises his eyebrow. “What of?”
“Huh?”
“What would they be jealous of?”
“Oh,” Sokka exclaims, blinking in surprise. “They only have a few supporters among the nobility. Mostly in Caldera City. The people love you and your reforms, and your latest repeal of Sozin’s marriage laws won you even more favours among them.”
“There were more dissenters,” Zuko says with a frown. “I thought it was massively unpopular, even if it was the right thing to do.”
Sokka turns over and waves a hand vaguely at him, grinning like a fool. “See, that’s what I mean. You don’t care about popularity. You saw the marriage laws and knew that you couldn’t put boundaries on love, so you changed the rules. You found out why the war was wrong, and you ended it. Not without help, of course, but you did it all. You care about your people, and they know it.”
Zuko doesn’t know what to say to this, so he resorts to throwing a cushion at his friends face for having him confront feelings. His indignant yelp is a sound that leaves him chuckling for a good minute, so he lets it slide.
But the matter isn’t done yet, at least according to Sokka. On the last day of his visit, Zuko finds that there are no meetings scheduled for the day. He thinks he’ll spend some time in the gardens with his friend, like old times, but Sokka seems to have other plans.
“You guys have fun,” Suki says with a kiss to Sokka’s cheek and a clap on Zuko’s shoulder. “I’ll catch you later.”
Sokka pulls Suki into a proper kiss on the lips before he calls out a quick goodbye and drags Zuko out of the palace.
“Have you been to the towns and villages before?” Sokka asks as they make their way down the slope of the inactive volcano housing the capital city.
“Not nearly as much as I’d like,” Zuko admits. “I’ve been around the capital and Ember Island, but there wasn’t any reason for me to go down to the rest of the Fire Nation.” By reasons, he trusts Sokka understands that he means Ozai had strict rules to stay within the city limits.
“Huh. That’s not great.”
“I went to one of the towns once with my cousin, though,” he adds, expecting the familiar pang in his heart at the mention of Lu Ten before it hits him.
“He’s one of the good ones?” Sokka guesses.
Zuko smiles sadly. “He was like an older brother to me. You know, he was the one to tell Mom and Uncle that I was good with swords?”
“No way.”
“Ozai knew that I was leaving for a change in instructors,” Zuko continues, “but he never really cared either way at the time. He only really became a problem when Uncle and Lu Ten left to fight.”
“Ah.” Sokka rests a hand on his shoulder and squeezes lightly, and Zuko knows to draw comfort from the gesture. He misses Lu Ten dearly, but the sting of loss is numbed, now. He can think of his antics with his cousin during his early childhood without the accompanying sorrow threatening to overwhelm him.
They’re at the base of the volcano now, so Zuko slips up his hood. His hair is free of its topknot and falls over his scar so that he can blend with the crowd unremarkably. There’s no sign that he might be discovered, though, and no repercussions even if he is (except perhaps from his guards, but Ming won’t really mind once she understands why).
The first thing he notices are the sounds. There’s laughter, chatter, and the occasional yelling interspersed with off-key music. He’s already taken aback by how different it is from when Lu Ten helped him sneak out one night when his parents were away with Azula.
“I…”
Sokka smiles and loops an arm around his shoulders. “You haven’t seen anything yet, buddy. You’re going to love this.”
The wind blowing around them is cool enough to be uncomfortable, so Zuko tugs up his collar and raises his internal temperature to compensate. Sokka seems to be unaffected by the chill, which is only to be expected considering his friend spent most of his life in harsh southern winters. They stop every few paces to look at what the roadside stalls were selling, and more than once Sokka actively considers the merits and demerits of buying something they sell before deciding against them, moving forward, and darting back only to walk away again.
The fifth time this happens, Zuko finds a permanent solution in the fire-dancers performing in the streets. It’s his turn now to haul his friend over to them, and Sokka is all too willing to oblige as Zuko watches the performers exaggerate their movements with graceful bending.
“You know, this was pretty cool in the Fire Days Festival too – spirits, are you okay?”
From how distressed Sokka suddenly looks upon seeing his face, he automatically reaches up to touch the scar only to find his cheeks wet. He hadn’t even realised he was crying, but he scrambled for an explanation to keep the other boy from panicking.
“I used to watch the fire-dancers with my mother every year when we went to Ember Island,” he says, swiping at his eyes. “I always wanted to learn their bending style, it’s much more flowy than any other form of firebending. And… it’s been a while since the Fire Nation was this happy outside of festivals. And, well, Ember Island.”
Sokka nods slowly, but he doesn’t look any more placated.
“I guess it never really felt real to me,” Zuko mumbles, ducking his head as his eyes start to burn and glaze over once more. “I’m always stuck at meetings or fighting the council to pass a reform that would help my people, but…”
There’s a lump in his throat that stops him from speaking further, but Sokka leads him away from the crowd gently and finishes it for him.
“You never saw how your decisions impacted your people.”
Zuko manages a strangled chuckle. “They’re happy,” he whispers.
Sokka holds him an arm’s length away, hands firm on his shoulders. “That’s what I wanted to show you,” he says. “They’re healing, and they’re happy. I know most of the people you see are the ones who benefitted from the war, but when we were making our way to the capital before the eclipse, we noticed that it had left its mark on the Fire Nation too.”
Zuko nods, thinking about how he’d received news of an important weapons factory suddenly stopping production because of some problem with the river it was located on. He’d investigated it further and had declined to deliver that information to Ozai once he heard how badly the nearby town had fared.
“We’re the ones who instigated the war,” Zuko says, slumping against the wall of some building. “There were so few people who didn’t suffer for it.”
Sokka slides down next to him wordlessly. It’s not self-deprecating for him to say this – it’s the truth, and Zuko’s doing his best to make up for his ancestors’ terrible choices. They weren’t mistakes, not when each tragedy piled up on top of each other with the sickening, deliberate motive painting them red with blood.
He’s going to help the world heal, and if that starts by healing the Fire Nation? Well, that’s all for the better.
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1 | Just Chill Out
Pairing: Zuko x Ama (OC)
Word Count: 5400+
.☽☼☾.
Ama was the kinda girl that fought hard. Her persistence is what made her a great waterbender. She and Katara were both very competitive and dueled together for practice. And while it was often a close tie, it didn't change the fact that Ama was older by two years and usually won.
Usually, Ama styled her hair with a half ponytail and the hair by her ears was tied. Her kimono-like tunic was a light blue and sleeveless. Her loose pants were a darker shade of blue, ending at her shin to make room for her dark brown warm shoes. Lastly, her forearms and her palms were wrapped with white cloth.
Through their adventures with the Avatar, the Water Tribe siblings learned and grew both together and individually. Sokka and Ama were more similar in their humor, taking it from their dad. Katara and Ama were similar in many ways, but not when it came to who was more stubborn. Katara held the most grudges. It was why it was harder to accept her mother's death.
So when Zuko arrived, Ama was quick to try to give him another chance after the night in Ba Sing Se. He was the only person that was actually her age and the two were quick to get along. Especially after he helped Ama and Sokka rescue their dad from the Boiling Rock Prison. So after Katara and Zuko went on their little field trip to avenge their mother and came back actually tolerating each other, Ama felt more at ease.
The 16 year old girl didn't acknowledge her little crush on the firebender. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach when he sat next to her and the way they would touch while they were sparring with each other. After all, the last time she had a crush on someone, it ended in a less than ideal way.
"He's just a friend." She would tell herself while they rested after sparing.
This leads to the present. Team Avatar stayed at one of Fire Lord Ozai's houses on Ember Island. Aang and Zuko practiced their firebending in the courtyard. Toph laid on the ground while Katara and Ama watched the boys. Ama would never admit it, but she couldn't take her eyes off the fire prince. And him being shirtless didn't help.
Considering they were in the Fire Nation, Ama's clothes consisted of a red, sleeveless crop top and loose pants that ended at the calf of her leg. Her shoes were simple black flats that she had to tie round her ankle with a string. The only difference in her hair was that her half ponytail was a half bun and her hair wasn't tied at the front.
"Doesn't it seem kinda weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" Katara wondered, looking around the courtyard as the boy's finished their bending.
"I told you, my father hasn't come here since our family was actually happy." Zuko responded by the fountain and wiped his hair with a yellow towel. "And that was a long time ago. This is the last place anyone would think to look for us."
"You guys are not going to believe this." Sokka announced, jogging towards them with Suki following behind. "There's a play about us."
"We were just in town and we found this poster." Suki said and Sokka unrolled the poster in his hand. The poster showed Aang in the middle with Sokka, Katara and Ama behind him. In the background there was a close up of Zuko's eyes, except his scar was on the wrong side. Then there was the information written and playwright.
"What? How is that possible?" Katara asked, everyone crowded around to look at the poster.
"Listen to this." Sokka began to read the poster. "The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu On Tim who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources including singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."
"Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players." Suki finished.
"Ugh." Zuko had a disgusted look on his face, already opposing to the idea. "My Mother used to take us to see them. They butchered "Love Amongst The Dragons" every year."
v"Sokka, do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?" Katara already considered how bad the idea was.
"Come on, a day at the theatre? This is the kind of wacky time wasting nonsense I've been missing." Begged Sokka with a huge grin.
"I'd actually like to see it." Ama took the scroll from her brother's hand and examined the actress playing her. It wasn't that accurate. The actress was too pale and had too much makeup on. Plus the clothing was a more sexualized, the tunic being a little too low cut. "Might be fun to see how we're portrayed."
.☽☼☾.
That night, the Gaang headed to the theatre. They sat in a private viewing box on the second floor facing the stage. Toph and Katara and Ama took their seats in the first row while Zuko walked in the opposite direction wearing a hooded cloak and sat in the empty spot between Ama and Katara as Aang confidently tried to sit next to Katara. Aang stood up and rubbed his neck.
"Hey, uh... I wanted to sit there." Aang sheepishly pointed at the seat.
"Just sit next to Sokka, what's the big deal?" Zuko said a bit aggressively and he took off his hood.
"I was just... I wanted to..." Aang couldn't get a sentence in before giving in and going to the second row. "Okay."
"Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section? My feet can't see a thing from up here." Toph complained as the lights dimmed.
"Don't worry, I'll tell your feet what's happening." Katara assured her.
The curtain was drawn up to reveal a prop of a canoe surrounded by moving set decorations of water and the backdrop was a crude painting of icebergs. The Water Tribe sibling actors rowed the fake canoe with their oars.
Ama felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked back seeing her brother point to her and back to himself rapidly. Ama chucked at his reaction to the play and then looked back at the stage.
Katara's actress was similar to Ama's in that they both had more revealing clothes and had too much blusher on their cheeks. Actress Katara sighed deeply. "My dear siblings. We constantly roam these icy South Pole seas and yet never do we find anything fulfilling."
"Katara, must you always be so dramatic?" Actor Ama spoke, almost lazily paddling the fake canoe. "Just chill out a bit. Like the ice around us." She made a pun so that the audience would get a laugh.
Actor Sokka was buck-toothed and thinner than the actual Sokka and his wolf-tail ponytail was way too large. "All I want is a full feeling in my stomach, I'm starving!" The audience laughed loudly at the low-quality joke.
The real Water Tribe siblings looked at each other in disbelief. Katara and Sokka seemed very disappointed, but Ama was making a mental note to use that pun for the future.
"Is food the only thing on your mind?" Actress Katara asked.
"Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind and into my mouth. I'm starving." Actor Sokka made the same joke twice.
"This is pathetic" Sokka whispered to Ama and Katara. "My jokes are way funnier than this."
"I think he's got you pegged." Toph laughed.
"Everyday, the World awaits a beacon to guide us, yet none appears." Actress Katara melodramatically spoke as Actor Sokka paddled the canoe. "Still, we cannot give up hope. For hope is all we have and we must never relinquish it. Even," She sniffed. "even to our dying breath." She pretended to cry loudly.
"Well, that's just silly." Katara commented while Sokka and Suki snickered. "I don't sound like that."
"Oh man, this writer's a genius." Toph giggled and clenched her stomach.
On stage, a white-blue light illuminated and actresses Katara and Ama looked up at it in a dainty way. The iceberg prop slowly moved to the centre of the stage with a cut out of Aang swaying from side to side on a stick inside the iceberg.
"It appears to be someone frozen in ice. Perhaps for a hundred years." Actress Katara gaped with hands on her cheeks for dramatic effect.
"But who? Who is the boy in the iceberg?" Actor Sokka asked.
Aang grabbed the railings in anticipation with an excited look. Zuko looks bored, resting his cheek on his hand.
Actress Ama climbed to the top of the iceberg prop while the other two actors were still climbing up. "Waterbend, hai-ya!" Actress Ama yelled and performed a chopping motion and a crack appeared on the iceberg. It opened with the interior smoking where a lady dressed as Aang jumped out, winked and posed.
Aang was repulsed.
"Who are you, frozen boy?" Actress Katara asked.
"I'm the Avatar, silly. Here to spread joy and fun." Actress Aang grinned from ear to ear.
"Wait, is that a woman playing me?" Aang wondered with a distraught tone.
A shaggy, white Chinese lion get-up meant to portray Appa popped out from the remnants of the iceberg and moved from side to side before it circled round the iceberg and made a gruff animal noise.
"An airbender." Actress Katara gasped. "My heart is so full of hope that it's making me tearbend." She fell to her knees and hugged actress Aang's leg as she cried loudly.
"My stomach is so empty that it's making me tearbend." Actor Sokka dropped to his knees and grabbed actress Aang's other leg and sobbed with Actress Katara. "I need meat."
"But wait is that a platter of meaty dumplings?" Actress Aang pointed up.
"Ooh. Where? Where?" Actor Sokka looked around desperately.
"Did I mention that I'm an incurable prankster?" Actress Aang giggled uncontrollably.
"I don't do that." Aang got irritated. The others turned around to look at him while he glared at the stage. "That's not what I'm like! And... I'm not a woman!"
Toph thought otherwise and laughed loudly. "Oh, they nailed you, Twinkle Toes."
Then on stage, Zuko's ship entered with actor Zuko poised near the front of the ship, looking through a telescope.
"Prince Zuko, you must try this cake." Actor Iroh offered.
Actor Zuko wore his Fire Nation armor with a long, exaggerated ponytail. His scar most definitely on the wrong side. "I don't have time to stuff my face. I must capture the Avatar to regain my honor!"
"Well, while you do that, maybe I'll capture another slice." Actor Iroh stuffed his face in the cake prop.
"You sicken me." Actor Zuko said with his raspy voice and then looked back in the telescope.
"They make me totally stiff and humorless." Zuko crossed his arms and critiqued.
"Maybe that's because you are stiff and humorless." Ama crossed her arms and sent him a smirk. "So, I'd say it's pretty spot on."
"How could you say that!" Zuko got offended, but Ama just chuckled at him.
"Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages." Actor Iroh suggested happily.
"How could you say that?!" Actor Zuko shouted.
Real Zuko looked defeated and slouched in his seat as Ama started to laugh at the irony of the moment. And while her eyes were closed and she wiped her tears of laughter, Zuko looked at her with a slight smile.
The scenes were all incredibly over exaggerated. Katara hated the melodramatic portrayal of her, Sokka hated the jokes, and Ama hated how overly sympathetic but competitive they made her.
In one scene with a pirate ship in the backdrop. The leading characters slid out from underneath a pirate's skirt as the six pirates fought and slowly moved offstage. Actress Ama clenched a large scroll.
"Why did you have to steal that waterbending scroll?" Actor Sokka complained.
"Because, all I want is to help with waterbending." Actress Ama responded defensively. "And I must be better than Aang." The actress sent a glare at Actress Aang and stomped off.
Real Ama was unamused and rolled her eyes. "I'd say it's pretty stop on." Zuko whispered to her. The waterbender gaped offendedly at him, but also was amused at how he threw her comment from earlier back at her.
In one scene, Actress Aang was tied on stage while Actor Zuko stood proudly. "The Avatar is mine!" Actor Zuko shouted then pointed to the side. "Wait, who's coming?"
An actor wearing a large tiki Blue Spirit mask that covers his whole body stepped out with duel swords. "I am the Blue Spirit. The scourge of the Fire Nation here to save the Avatar." The actor "fought" off the Fire Nation actors.
"My hero." Actress Aang jumped off the platform and sits on top of the tiki mask and the Blue Spirit walked offstage.
Zuko and Aang who looked at each other with slight "sweatdrop" expressions.
The next scene showed the Freedom Fighter's. Actress Ama and Actor Jet with a rose in his mouth and a heavily exaggerated anime-like hair were lowered into screen on a platform.
"Oh, Jet." Actress Ama dramatically and slightly seductively said. "I know my sister likes you as well, but I'm just so much better than her."
"I know that, baby." Actor Jet pulled the actress close to him. "And to show my love, Jet will wipe out that nasty town for you." A blue sheet of cloth representing water came across the stage and covered the village backdrop. The platform holding actress Ama and actor Jet raised to get them off the stage.
"Oh Jet, you're so bad." Actress Ama leaned on him and had a flirtatious tone.
Toph and Katara giggled while Ama held her head in embarrassment. Wondering when the torture would end.
The first act of the play ended with Actress Aang in an ocean spirit costume destroying Fire Nation ships. Portraying the battle in the North Pole. The crowd cheered and hooted while the Gaang has an opposite reaction and groaned.
.☽☼☾.
For the intermission they went outside the theatre and on a flight of red steps on a balcony. They were away from the rest of the crowd in order to speak freely.
"So far, this intermission is the best part of the play." Zuko rightfully complained. He leaned on the stair railing beside where Ama sat.
"Apparently, the playwright thinks I'm an idiot who tells bad jokes about meat all the time." Sokka criticized. Ironically, he was holding a bag of meat.
"Yeah, you tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics." Suki quipped with a knowing smirk.
"I know!" Sokka agreed, taking large bites from his strips of meat.
"At least this Sokka actor kinda looks like you. That woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all." Aang's tone was distressed while he buried his head in his hands.
"I don't know, you are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys." Toph teased him for a reaction from him. And Aang did growl angrily.
"Relax, Aang." Katara spoke up. "They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving over emotional speeches about hope all the time." Everyone looked at her skeptically. "What?"
"Yeah. That's not you at all." Aang said sarcastically.
"Listen, friends. It's obvious that the playwright did his research." Toph spoke. "I know it must hurt but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth."
"The scene with Jet is definitely not the truth." Ama said defensively, pointing to the inside.
"You're right there." Sokka shrugged. "Cause you definitely can't flirt with guys." He chuckled knowingly and Suki elbowed him, making him stop. Ama's face turned red and avoided looking at Zuko, who indeed looked a little curious.
.☽☼☾.
Back in the theatre for the next act, the four characters stood in the Earth Kingdom set. "Well, here we are in the Earth Kingdom." Actress Katara announced.
"I better have a look around to see if I can find an earthbending teacher." A rope pulled Actress Aang off the ground to fly and around the theater.
"This is it! This must be where I come in." Toph whispered excitedly.
Actress Aang landed back on the ground. "I flew all over town but I couldn't find a single earthbending master."
"Here it comes." Toph clenched her fist while there was a drumroll.
On the stage as a rock prop was lifted by a well built man wearing Toph's outfit who appeared from a trap door under the prop. "You can't find an earthbending master in the sky, you have to look underground." He threw the prop rock to the side.
The Gaang broke into laughter and Zuko drops his parchment in shock.
"Who are you?" Actress Aang pointed at the buff actor.
"My name is Toph because it sounds like tough." He flexed his muscles. "And that's just what I am."
"Wait a minute," The real Toph used her pinkie to clear her ear. "I sound like... a guy. A really buff guy."
"Well Toph, what you hear up there is the truth. It hurts, doesn't it?" Katara leaned on the earthbender with a smug look.
"Are you kidding me?" Toph grinned from ear to ear and giggled. "I wouldn't have cast it any other way. At least it's not a flying bald lady."
"So, you're blind?" Actress Aang waved her hand in front of Actor Toph's face.
"I can see you doing that." The actor laughed. "I see everything that you see except that I don't see like you do. I release a sonic wave from my mouth."
He turned towards the leading characters and screamed. Cut to actor Toph's face. The audience cringed and covered their ears. The Gaang were also cringing but Toph couldn't be happier.
"There. I got a pretty good look at you." The actor said one he finished.
The next scene showed actor Zuko and actor Iroh. "Zuko, it's time we had a talk." Actor Iroh pointed. "About your hair. It's gone too far." Actor Zuko's hair was very long and no longer in a ponytail.
"Maybe it's best if we... split up." Actor Zuko dramatically turned his head and walked away. The long hair flowing behind him.
A few scenes later, the actors stood around Actress Azula caught in a corner. "Azula! My sister. What are you doing here?" Actor Zuko pointed at the actress in heavy makeup and pink clothing.
"You caught me. Wait. What's that?" Actress Azula pointed at the ceiling. "I think it's your honor."
"Where?" Actor Zuko question. All seven actors turned around while Actress Azula used a secret door to escape.
Real Ama giggled and Zuko looked over at her. Ama caught him looking and covered her left eye. "Honor." She said seriously and with a deep voice before going right back to giggling. The firebender frowned at leaned back in his seat.
"She escaped. But how?" Actress Katara wondered when they realized she escaped.
A few scenes later Actor Jet slashed his hook sword arm prop, wearing a pair of crazy eye glasses as the tiny black beads representing his pupils swirl around, portraying that he's insane.
"No, Jet!" Actress Aang said. "What did they do to you?"
"Must. Serve. Earth King!" He swung his arms chaotically. "Must... Destroy!"
Actor Jet made various agonizing noises and acted as if he were having a fit. The rock prop slowly floated into the stage and onto the actor
"Did Jet just... die?" Real Zuko was really confused.
"You know, it was really unclear." Sokka responded, only half caring.
It got to the scene where Ama and Zuko were in the cave in Ba Sing Se together. Where Azula had tricked them both.
"I have to admit, Prince Zuko. I really find you attractive." Actress Ama spoke.
"You don't have to make fun of me." Actor Zuko grumbled.
"But I mean it." Actress Ama got a bit more seductive and sat next to him. "I had eyes for you since the day you first captured me."
Real Ama and Zuko glanced at each other and blushed a deep red, sinking into their seats. Ama could hear Sokka and Aang snickering from behind them and looked back at them. The two were definitely pointing at the blushing teens.
"I must admit." The Zuko actor spoke loudly. "I have also had eyes for you!"
Actress Ama dramatically put her hand on her head. "Oh, but if the others would find out!"
"They won't!" Actor Zuko pulled the actress into him. "This will be our secret." Ama sighed in relief that they didn't kiss, but just embraced each other.
"Well, my brother. What's it going to be?" The Azula actress asked in the next scene. "Your nation or a life of treachery?"
"Choose treachery, it's more fun." Actor Iroh drank a cup of tea and threw a thumbs up.
"No way!" Actress Azula called when Actor Zuko walked next to the old actor.
But then Actor Zuko shoved Actor Iroh to the floor and walked next to Azula. "I hate you, Uncle. You smell and I hate you for all time."
Ama looked next to Zuko, who leaned on the railing. "You didn't really say that, did you?"
"I might as well have." Zuko responded regrettably and turned away.
.☽☼☾.
Soon the second act ended with Actress Azula "killing" actress Aang. Team Avatar hung out inside the theatre this time. Zuko kept his hood over his head, sitting on the floor and leaning on the wall. Ama made sure that Toph was between the two before sitting on the floor, still feeling embarrassed by the scene from earlier.
"It seems like every time there's a big battle you guys barely make it out alive. I mean, you guys lose a lot." Suki commented.
"You're one to talk, Suki. Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right, she did." Sokka shot back.
Suki frowned and acted serious. "Are you trying to get on my bad side?"
"I'm just saying." Sokka said matter-of-factly.
"Does anyone know where Aang is?" Katara wondered, walking up to the small group.
"He left to get me fire gummies like, 10 minutes ago. And I'm still waiting." Sokka said impatiently.
"I'm going to check outside." Katara announced and walked away from them.
"Wheeee." A little boy in an Aang costume zoomed past the five teens.
"Suki, what are the chances you can get me backstage? I got some jokes I want to give to the actor me." Sokka asked his girlfriend.
"I'm an elite warrior who's trained for many years in the art of stealth." Suki said seriously then gave Sokka a large grin. "I think I can get you backstage."
"Jeez. Everyone's getting so upset about their characters." Toph commented as the couple walked away. "Even you seem more down than usual and that's saying something."
"You don't get it. It's different for you. You get a muscle-y version of yourself taking down 10 bad guys at once and making sassy remarks." Zuko responded.
"Yeah, that's pretty great." Toph agreed.
"But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face." Zuko felt ashamed of himself and turned away a bit. "My Uncle. He's always been on my side even when things were bad. He was there for me. He taught me so much and how do I repay him? With a knife in his back. It's my greatest regret and I may never get to redeem myself."
"You have redeemed yourself to your Uncle." Toph sunk onto the floor. "You don't realize it but you already have."
"How do you know?" Zuko asked her.
"Because I once had a long conversation with the guy and all he would talk about was you."
The fire prince smiled and put down his hood. "Really?"
"Yeah, and it was kind of annoying." Toph said.
"Oh, sorry." Zuko apologized.
"But it was also very sweet." The young girl told him. "All your Uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud." Zuko smiled until Toph punched his arm
"Ow." He rubbed his arm in pain and Ama burst out laughing. "What was that for?"
"That's how I show affection." Toph smiled.
"Haha, oh Toph. I love you so much." Ama leaned on the girl for some support while cracking up. Then blind girl punched her too. "Ow." It was Toph and Zuko's turn to laugh while Ama rubbed her arm.
The little boy from earlier came running back around the corner and stopped in front of Zuko. "Your Zuko costume is pretty good but your scar's on the wrong side." He pointed at the scar and then ran off. Zuko's mouth dropped in shock and Ama burst out laughing.
"The scar is not on the wrong side!" Zuko shouted angrily, pulling his hood over his head again.
Ama chuckled at him. "You're adorable." She mumbled, not realizing she said it out loud.
"Thanks, you too." Zuko mumbled back. Both teens froze completely and Toph failed at hiding her giggle. No one spoke after that. But Ama's thoughts began to race.
Did I hear that wrong? Are my feelings not as one sided as I thought? How do I respond to that? Damn it, where's Sokka's bad jokes when I need them?
.☽☼☾.
Spoiler. The play was terrible. Ending with actress Aang's death and Fire Lord Ozai winning the war, everyone realized that the entire show was bad all around. Once the theatre lights came on, they walked back to the house glad it was over.
"That... wasn't a good play." Zuko broke the silence. Everyone vocally agreed with him.
"But the effects were decent." Was the only good comment coming from Sokka.
Before they entered the house, Ama stopped and stepped aside so the others could enter. "I think I'm gonna go on a quick walk." The waterbender pointed towards the forest with her thumb.
"Are you sure? It's kinda late." Katara said with a worried tone.
"Yeah, I kinda need to clear my mind and forget that terrible play." She chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Alright, stay safe." Katara shrugged and went inside.
Zuko stayed back, watching Ama walk down the steps and heading to the thicket of trees. He considered walking with her. He also needed to clear his head. But also wanted to talk to the water tribe girl. He took a quick glance at the inside of the house, then Ama before running after her. "Hey! Wait up!"
The brunette stopped walking and looked back at the boy running towards her. "Uh. Can I help you?" She wondered and he stood next to her.
"I just thought, you might like some company." Zuko responded, nervously rubbing the back of his neck while they started walking down the path again.
"It's not what I necessarily had in mind, but I'd like that." A light smile tugged on her lips as she looked at the floor anxiously.
The walk was pretty quiet at first. Neither of the two knew what to say. Ama looked around. Her eye's had adjusted fine to the dark path and the moon lit everything also. So she could get a good look at the flora of Ember Island.
"Look." The girl gasped excitedly, pointing at an area that strayed a few feet from the path. She jogged over to the patch of flowers that caught her eye and Zuko followed behind curiously. "Fire lilies." He watched as she admired the patch, her fingers delicately running across the petals. "They're so pretty."
This is my chance. Zuko thought. Gathering up his courage and ignoring the teenage boy tendency of being awkward and silent, the boy took his shot. "Almost as pretty at you." Still, he could only muster a whisper. Ama watched as he took a seat next to her and reached to snap a flower off the stem and moved to place it behind the waterbender's ear, moving some of her hair to the side.
"Thank you." She couldn't hide her blush or the smile. Her heart was racing. The girl wondered what she should do or say in response. After all, the only "experience" with boys she had was with Jet. But even then, it was more like they just talked and he turned out to be insane.
Then a spark of confidence was lit inside her. The girl reached for another flower. Snapping it off the stem and placing it behind Zuko's ear, just as he did to her. "You look beautiful, Prince Zuko." She grinned while he just chuckled.
"Look, Ama. I think it's time we talked about," Zuko started. His tone was a bit timid, which was pretty out of character for him. "Well, us."
"What about us." Ama asked, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Look, I always thought you were really pretty. Even during those months where I was chasing you all." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the flowers. "And during that time in the Ba Sing Se caves, you showed genuine kindness and actually cared about me. I realized that you're probably the prettiest girl I've even met."
"Not even just that, but you're so strong and independent and smart." He started to ramble a bit and Ama chuckled. "And being with you all after leaving my father and the Fire Nation, you still believed in me. Even after all those horrible things I've done. I think... I think I really like you, Ama."
"I think I really like you too." Ama responded, fiddling with her nails. "You're one of the bravest people I know. Leaving behind your entire life. Realizing and admitting your wrong doings. I admire you so much for that. Just getting to know you more made me like you more." Ama chuckled nervously. "Just seeing you gave me butterflies."
"Is that why you always watched Aang and I practice?" Zuko lightly laughed.
"Well it didn't help that you're attractive." Ama laughed back.
"So you think I'm attractive." Zuko smirked.
"Eh, only a little." Ama shrugged and giggled at his playful glare. Then it got quiet. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence like earlier. It was more content and peaceful.
"Can..." Zuko started to ask and Ama looked back at him after staring at the moon. "Can I kiss you?" Ama blushed, but nodded. Zuko leaned in most of the way until Ama leaded up as well. It was short and sweet. Barely lasting a second. Ama and Zuko stared into each other's eyes for a moment before leaning in again for another, still sweet but more wistful kiss.
One of Ama's hands wound up in Zuko's dark hair and the other on his cheek. Zuko grabbed onto her waist, to pull her closer to him. Considering that the two were still sitting on the ground, the teens looked a little awkward. But the waterbender moved, not breaking the kiss to straddle him.
Pulling away, the two smiled and stared at each other again. The girl's blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight as Zuko looked into them. Her blue eyes were like an ocean. And the prince didn't mind drowning in them. Meanwhile, Ama felt drawn to his fiery gold eyes. And she didn't mind being burned by them.
"So, uh." Ama bit her bottom lip. Her hands moved from his hair down to his chest. "Does this mean we're together?"
"You mean does this make me your boyfriend and you my girlfriend." Zuko clarified and Ama nodded. "I don't know if I see you that way." He said teasingly, earning a light punch on the arm. "I'm kidding. I'd like that. A lot."
"Me too."
.☽☼☾.
Cool. I just posted the first chapter. My writing does better in first person so just hang in there. Or if you want to wait for chapter eight where there is a plot and better writing (in my opinion) that would be fine. I don’t believe you’d miss much. This is mainly to set a baseline for Ama’s placement in the Avatar Universe.
I hope you all enjoy. Hang loose, amigos! 🤙🏼
#zuko x oc#fire lord zuko#fire nation#firebender#zuko fanfic#zuko#fire and water#her sun his moon#avatar the last airbender#avatar#atla#atla fanfic#fanfiction#katara#aang#sokka#suki#waterbender#waterbender oc
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Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise Part 2
One part filler, two parts bad mindsets
Katara and Aang being all love dovey. It's still a little weird but less weird than the pet names
How does Toph sense the ground from on Appa? Could Toph always smell trees and differentiate the trees based on location as opposed to breed? Was that always a thing or did her senses get better with age?
There's dirt on the bottom of Toph's feet and I love that detail.
If Toph found her calling as a teacher then why did she became police chief of Republic City. The yelling and bossing people around thing makes sense but Toph really doesn't seem like the kind of person to go around enforcing rules that aren't her own. Admittedly, there is a large gap of time between now (13) and Legend of Korra so anything could have happened to turn her into a police chief, but still....
Okay, it being a firebending dojo that had to move as part of the Harmony Restoration Movement makes sense. Kunyo's still a fool for questioning Toph, though
Sokka.... Just Sokka. A match to the sit? I assume he means whoever can knock the other student off their feet and onto their rear first rather than just sitting.
This metalbending school plot feels slightly more like a side episode, not quite a filler because it does involve the affects of the Harmony Restoration Movement but it doesn't feel as politically important
Does the Earth Kingdom palace not have the ability to house guests, especially guests here on diplomatic missions?
Aang has a fan club. Considering how Kyoshi has a state of herself on Kyoshi Island (and an island named after herself) and I do know that Yangchen was regarded in an almost diety-like way in the books that I swear I'll get to someday, this isn't all that surprising. This better not be "The Kyoshi Warriors" all over again.
Katara seems to remember Kyoshi Island rather well. Unfortunately, she will now have to deal with some of the worst aspects of having fans -- the delusional fans who want to date their favorite celebrity and refuses to realize that they have no chance even when said celebrity is already taken.
Aang wants to see something that looks somewhat reminiscent of his culture, and also likes the attention and is just all around a friendly enough guy that he would genuinely love to see their clubhouse. Having said that, don't stay at the houses of strange children when Iroh and the Earth King are right there.
Turtle-crabs are literally just hermit crabs.
"I dove in myself" - Ozai. As opposed to.... Nice to see that Ozai is still a terrible parent. Is the whole family vaguely cryptic on purpose?
Toph's magic metalbending sensing space rock bracelet. Okay. At least it's acknowledged that her students are kinda one off emotional 2d cutouts.
Sokka the Motivationalbender
I like that Katara admits (to herself) that she may have jumped the gun just a little in not seeing any other reason Aang would be excited about his fan club taking him to their clubhouse loosely modelled off of the Western Air Temple to ask questions about his culture and share old relics that seemingly anyone can just buy from a random traveller.
Ozai is trying to spin this as Zuko being so indecisive that it harms him -- and he's right, in a way. Zuko is indecisive; he's had his problem back in Ba Sing Se when he's torn between his honor and his morality. But he also isn't. Not really. He makes a choice; his problem is committing fully to a grey choice. Siding with the Avatar is an objectively good choice; this problem with Yu Dao is a grey one where both sides have a bit of a point (Zuko's moreso). All in all, he should really stop talking to Ozai.
Oh look, combo attacks consisting of different elements, almost like harmony can be achieved despite the differences. I wonder what Yu Dao and similar colonies were doing during the war.
I wasn't going to comment on Kori and Sneers but the conversation is important. Sneers sees her as a member of the Earth Kingdom and is shocked and appalled that she's training with Firebenders despite the fact that they're her cousins. Does he even really acknowledge her Fire Nation heritage? At least Kori doesn't take his attempts to make her choose a side and him leading the protests against Yu Dao. Either he accepts her as she is or they're though.
Moo-Chee-Goo-Chee-La-Poo-Chee the Third is a terrible name. What were his parents and his parents' parents thinking?
Oh...Kuei is exactly as Ozai said (tired of being seen as weak and so overcompensates with military might instead of talking things out with Zuko). I hate when Ozai's right.
Aw, Toph fears that she's being too much like her parents in regards to her students; expecting them to be something their not and getting upset because of it.
Aang's fan club is going to unintentionally cause more problems in Yu Dao
Props to Kunyo for turning that weapon Toph bent around his head that he clearly can't get off into hat. Remove props for "dirt-people" though
Huh, no one ever believed in them. I can see it. A touch cliché but heartwarming nonetheless
[Mai leaving] Well, that was quick. This was probably a longtime coming thing with a lot more build-up offscreen over the year long time skip but still; it feels kinda sudden. I figure Mai's going to be back in the comic or in future comics, not necessarily back with Zuko but back in general otherwise that's kinda a lame way to send Mai off. Mai, Ty Lee, and (I think) Azula are the mainish characters we don't hear what happened to in LoK. At least we know Sokka got into politics and Ty Lee's chi blocking became a widespread thing but we never knew what happened to Mai. Azula can be guessed at seeing as how she was imprisoned or implied to be at the end of the first show. All we have to go on is Izumi's assumed parentage.
Good thing I'm me and don't fall for this relationship drama bullcrap. Suki's with Sokka and that's not changing
When did the Earth Kingdom get war balloons?
Zuko looks like he's wasting away under the stress.
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I Still Love You - A Zutara Fic 2020
Hey y’all
So I’m in my feelings about Zutara and decided to write out a fic I had in mind dealing with post-Ozai defeat and Zuko going out to look for his mom with Katara. I think it’ll be a few chapters if anyone’s interested but I’ve been playing around with this idea for a lil while now and being reconnected with my love for ATLA really pushed me to write it out.
I’d like to make a disclaimer: I love KatAang, really, I think their relationship made the most sense to end with and I appreciate their character development and how it developed their relationship! But I have such a soft spot for ZuTara and they’re honestly my favorite. I’m trying hard not to make this a ship war kind of fic and more of a different development, if that makes sense.
Anyway, here it is under the cut! I really hope you guys enjoy what I’m making
“Thank you Katara.” he said weakly as the water began to slowly dissipate from his wounds.
Zuko slowly sat up but was stopped, gently yet abruptly, by two cold hands pressing themselves against his chest.
“Please Zuko, I need you to lay down and rest. Your wound is healing but it’s still going to be another day before you can get up.”
Zuko took a hold of one of Katara’s hands and pressed it to his mouth before nodding and sliding down against the pillows beneath him. He peered up at her with half lidded eyes and managed a soft smile.
Katara reached up and pushed Zuko’s dark hair out of his face and peered back, mirroring the soft smile and allowed herself to be taken by the peace and quiet surrounding them.
For the first time in what must have been forever, there was serenity and calmness around them. Both benders took a deep breath, soaking in as much as they could before Katara pulled her hand away, slowly but all too soon.
Zuko sighed softly and looked to the wall beside him. Katara faced the opposite direction and leaned some of her weight against Zuko’s side, being careful not to disturb his wound too much. Zuko winced for a moment and the pain subsided quickly. They sat in silence for a while.
“I know we can’t be together” Zuko spoke up after what felt like an eternity which actually only amounted to two and a half minutes. “And I know you love Aang more than the world itself. You two suit one another and I’m happy you’ve been able to work through the confusion and hurt that the world has thrown to you. I don’t want you to feel as if you’re abandoning me. I know you’re worried, but, Katara, you and I have gone through a world of pain and suffering; we battled our way through the lowest points and I’ll never be able to repay you for all you sacrificed and gone through because of and for me. I’ll always have a special place for you as I know you’ll have me. You’re making the right choice and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
He turned his head to face her but she didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them tightly. Zuko continued.
“You and Aang have been side by side since the very beginning, you and I both know this all too well. I see how you look at him and worry for him and I understand, I do.”
Katara let go of her knees and slowly turned to face Zuko, a small smile on her face as she reached back to brush his hair back again. Zuko took a hold of her hand and held it to his face while his other hand rubbed her other arm.
“I love you Zuko, I do. After everything we’ve done and gone through, I’m glad we could have the time we did. But you’re right. Aang is everything I need and want. You helped me realize this. Thank you for helping me understand and thank you for understanding. I’ll always love you, Zuko. And you’ll always be part of Team Avatar. You’ve truly shown your worth and I know that you’re going to help bring peace back to not just the Fire Nation, but every nation.”
Zuko propped himself on one arm and pulled Katara down for a long, much needed kiss. She was surprised at first and moved a hand quickly to his wound to make sure it was okay. Slowly, however, she melted into his arms and savored their final kiss which ended too soon as well.
When they parted, Zuko forced himself fully upright and began to stretch his arms, grimacing as he felt the skin tighten at his wound. Katara sighed in irritation.
“If you’re going to disregard my instructions, at least do so when I leave. It’s frustrating to see you slow your healing.”
Zuko continued his stretching, bending an arm behind his head and placing a hand on his elbow to assist. “I’m alright Katara, really. It doesn’t hurt as much as yesterday. Besides, if I wait until you leave, I won’t be able to move until morning.”
He smiles at her cheekly as a blush forms over Katara’s cheeks.
“One last night together? Please? We can sleep separately, but I’d like to savor just a few more hours of peace.”
Katara rubbed her arm a little, hesitating to answer at first but then nodded and agreed to stay the night.
“But we won’t sleep separately.” she said softly, pushing the blanket off of Zuko’s lap so she could slide in beside him. “I want to make sure you won’t try anything dumb at night that will open or expose your wound anymore.”
She gently pushed him back down and pulled the blanket over him then laid down against his shoulder. She placed a soft kiss onto it and hugged his arm. Zuko leaned against her kiss and touch and closed his eyes, allowing himself to fade into her touch. He sighed softly and drifted away into a calmness in his mind.
She said one last thing to him before also allowing herself to follow him in the calm.
“When you wake up, I won’t be here to greet you. I hope you understand.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, he brushed her hand softly and laid in the quiet again.
--
Six years have passed.
They weren’t the quickest years but they weren’t the slowest. Some days seemed to drag on as they tried to regain the trust of the separated and damaged nations. No one blamed anyone who was frightened and skeptical, but the team managed to reach several agreements to help move progression along.
The team made sure to keep in as much frequent contact as possible especially when regarding peace treaties and celebrations but of course, they had a lot to take on even as a team. They each helped to rebuild and restore many of each of the nation’s ancient ruins and destroyed cities and brought villages and cities together to create joining forces along the way. But as time passed, they saw less of one another so they could focus on leading and helping their nations and allies and mostly relied on postage from one another.
During this time, Zuko made sure to keep his father and sister far away in safe containment and abandoned his mission to find his mother when his father provided him with misinformation that nearly got him and his teammates killed. He hadn’t lost hope in finding her but of course, there were several pressing matters he had to attend to as Fire Lord to his nation and a friend of the Avatar.
Things began to calm, however, in the sixth year and after a long, boring day of sitting in on plans of restoring some old ruins and planning new trade routes between the nations, Zuko made his way to his sister’s containment with a book from their childhood and some cooled tea. He requested his guards stay outside, as usual, and he sat in front of a glass wall that separated her space from the visitor space [compliments to Toph and himself for discovering what happens when you burn sand just right after a rather difficult encounter along a shore].
Azula sat slumped against the wall, staring angrily at the ground. She didn’t speak and hadn’t spoken since the night her father had been defeated. She also rarely moved despite the freedom she had to do so [with proper supervision, of course].
No one really knew why the Fire Lord did this and no one felt as if Azula understood or appreciated that her brother would continue to visit her and read to her; yet, they felt no need to stop him from doing so and kept their opinions to themselves in hushed voices.
“I’m here, Azula.” he began as he slid the tea through a small opening made for her meals. “I brought you another story book. It’s the Tales of the Turtle Duck and the Kola Otter.”
Azula perked up just a bit at the mention of the book and she pushed herself up a little bit so she could see the book better. She said nothing and maintained intense eye contact with Zuko’s hands and the book.
Zuko sighed and began reading the first fable of the book to her.
Once he reached the fable’s conclusion, Zuko carefully placed the book in a pocket hiding in his coat and stood slowly, observing his sister and her surroundings carefully. Even after six years of visiting and constant renovations to the cooled chambers that surrounded them, he was always on guard around her and ready for any attack. When he was fully upright, Azula stood up and began to slowly step towards the glass, an eerie smile creeping onto her face once she was at the wall. She pressed her hands against the glass and began to laugh softly under her breath before bursting into a fit of righteous laughter.
Zuko jumped back at the sound and watched in shock while his sister began to claw at the wall between them, laughing and screaming in hestarics. The guards rushed in at the sound and called for someone to sedate her while they rushed the Fire Lord out and escorted him to the palace.
Zuko’s heart was pounding fast during the whole escapade and he found it difficult to walk and breathe as he was forced out of the chamber. He hadn’t seen his sister move or heard her make any sound [other than the occasional grunt or sigh] in six years and he couldn’t imagine what had triggered that response. He also couldn’t figure out what caused him to just stand there, unable to move at first until a guard nearly dragged him out. He couldn’t look away either; the image of his sister smiling at him as one of the servants charged with caring for her grabbed her arms and forced her into a drowsy state.
Once he reached the palace, Zuko was taken immediately to be checked on by the palace medical staff, despite his protests and was made to stay in the medical chamber for the night to monitor his shock response.
--
It was another sleepless night for Zuko which he had become accustomed to throughout the years but this time it was different.
Most nights he would busy himself with work or reading or even walk through the villages but the night he spent in the medical chamber left him staring at the ceiling the entire time with no shift in his gaze.
When the palace medical staff came in, they were shocked to see the Fire Lord in the same position as they left him, his face unmoved and they hesitated to approach him. The head staff member made their way to Zuko but jumped back when he suddenly sat up and began to put his robe back on.
“Your majesty, won’t you let us help you?” She asked, moving towards him again until she reached his bed.
Zuko looked up at her with a gentle but indifferent face and shook his head. “I’m fine, really. Thank you for your care.” He then stood up and began to tie his sash.
“I just needed to read my head. I’m ready to take on the day.”
The staff looked at one another and nodded before bowing and stepping outside. Zuko began to make his way to his personal chambers with his guards at the lead but was stopped halfway down the hall by a familiar chirping sound.
He turned slowly to look behind him and was greeted by a furry belly smashing into his face, knocking him to the ground. The animal’s tail swished around Zuko’s neck as it began to crawl around the Fire Lord’s shoulders and chest and his guards ran to his side.
Zuko let out an uncharacteristic belly laugh and pulled the lemur off of his chest, holding him above his head. His guards stared at one another in surprise before watching their Fire Lord jump to his feet.
“Momo, good to see you too.” Zuko said with a smile, placing Momo onto his shoulder. “Am I to assume the Avatar will be joining us too?”
Momo rubbed his own face vigorously and Zuko’s attention was caught by another familiar noise. Or rather, a voice.
“Well, you’re almost right,” Aang said as he rushed down the hall with a small fleet behind him. “The Avatar and his team will be joining”
Zuko opened his arms and braced for the crash of bodies that ensued as Aang, Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Katara threw themselves onto him. They crashed at the feet of the guards, who all sat puzzled yet delighted at the sight of the nation's saviors laughing and tossing around trying to stand back up.
Team Avatar, reunited physically after some time.
“This is such a surprise. I can’t believe you’re all here” Zuko said with a smile saved only for his dearest friends. He looked around at all of them but kept a very special and lingering stare at Katara as she stretched her back and arms, laughing.
“Well, of course we’re here,” Aang remarked, holding his arm out for Momo to perch himself on. “It is the Fire Lord’s birthday celebration this weekend, isn’t it?”
Zuko looked away from Katara and looked up at the ceiling with a puzzled stare. “Oh, is it? I honestly forgot”
The team shared a small laugh and Zuko looked back at his teammates, joining in.
“That’s just sad, Zuko” Toph teased, folding her arms over her chest as a smug smile formed over her face “Are you getting so old that you’re already forgetting?”
The team laughed again and Zuko stepped passed them, urging them to follow him. “I guess I am. Let’s go to the dinning hall. I’m sure you’re all tired from traveling.”
They all followed, making small conversation with one another as they made their way through various halls and stairs.
--
A variety of tarts, fruits, breads, meats, and teas were laid out for the visitors as they sat on the floor at a round table, catching up with one another about their journeys. Zuko remained silent, listening contently to the laughter and clinking of glasses and looking over his friends fondly.
His attention was then caught by a gentle hand on his shoulder that caused some tension in his muscles. He turned his head slowly and slightly and made eye contact with Katara, who gave him a small but worried smile.
“You okay?” she asked, retracting her hand when she felt Zuko become tense.
Zuko sighed softly and nodded. “Yea, I’m just surprised. I know we all talk and see each other when we can but it’s so rare to see everyone together like this. And, it’s weird that it’s for me. Ever since Mai and Ty Lee left, I’ve been really alone.” He rested his hands against the floor behind him and began to look around the room again with a warm smile. “ Now, hearing so many people and seeing the laughter and warmth, it’s kind of jarring. I’m happy and sad all at once.”
Katara frowned a little and looked around the room before turning back to Zuko. “I didn’t know Mai left. I’m sorry to hear that.” She hesitated for a moment then placed her hand on his shoulder.
Zuko leaned into the touch this time and looked over to Katara, frowning when he saw her expression.
“I guess it just didn’t come up. I’m not upset by it at all. She had a lot of things she came to terms with and I was glad she found herself. Ty Lee came back from Kiyoshi island and they worked out some feelings they had for each other. It was kind of sweet.” He turned his attention to Sokka, who was poorly imitating the events of Boiling Rock, and chuckled softly shaking his head. “Everyone comes and goes and I’ve learned to hold onto their memory and move on. I’m lucky that I have a lot of work to keep me busy and honestly, a life of solitary is more my style. I focus my energy on helping my country heal from the scars left by my forefathers.”
A loud crashing of plates and cups caused heads to jerk at Momo and Aang, who were now covered in pastry curd and custards, laughing. Zuko sighs with a tired smile and motions for a servant to bring the Avatar a cloth to wipe himself with.
Katara let out a small laugh and moved her hand away from Zuko’s shoulder to his hand, giving it a soft squeeze. “Well, I’m glad you took it so well and I’m glad it all worked out. But Zuko, you should really try to be more social. Of everyone, you’re the one we all talk to the least and it’s been concerning us. It’s one of the reasons we came this weekend aside from Mai’s invitation.”
Zuko’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of Mai and her invitation and he turned his attention back to Katara. “Mai sent the invitation? Are you sure?”
Katara stared back at Zuko, a bit shocked by his reaction. “Uh, yea. She always sends the celebration invitations. That’s why I was so shocked to hear you say she left. But I figured maybe you guys stayed in contact or something.”
Zuko looked down at the ground and thought for a moment before sighing deeply and looking back at Katara. “Maybe she was worried too,” he concluded. “It’s been awhile since she’s planned any of the celebrations, usually I have a staff for that.” His eyes softened and a sad smile found its way to his mouth. “I’ll have to thank her, I guess.”
--
The team decided to wind down after dinner at the springs just behind the palace. Their boisterous laughter and stories were now soft chats and whispers as to not break the ambience of the springs.
“So, what’s the celebration plan, your majesty?” Aang asked teasingly, floating over to Zuko’s side. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of food and shows.”
Zuko kept his eyes closed and his head back as he spoke to Aang. “Honestly, I don’t know how they plan the celebrations and this year, with you guys invited, it may change but they’re usually the same each year.” He reached over to his tea cup which sat close to the edge of the spring and took a sip of his tea before resuming.
“The village lines up to greet me in the morning, people from other nations come with lavish gifts, music is played all day, people dance and play games throughout the day, and we end it with fireworks and a big feast. But if I’m being honest, I haven’t had a birthday celebration in the last few years. The town still holds the festivities but as far as the feasts and gifts, I haven’t really taken a part of them.” Zuko then opened his eyes but kept his face directed to the sky. “I’m not ungrateful to them, but these celebrations are kind of overdone. I let them plan it mostly for the village and servants since they really enjoy it.” He shut his eyes again.
Aang leaned his back against the wall of the spring and looked up at the sky. “I get it. The parties seem like a lot, don’t they?”
Zuko nodded. “Yea. Whenever the anniversary of the day we defeated my father, I get tense. Those are really big here and I can’t escape them. The first year was fine especially since we celebrated it together, but after? Ugh.”
Aang let out a small laugh and they turned to face each other.
“Maybe we can get you out of the palace this year for your birthday.” he suggested, a big grin on his face.
Zuko shook his head and chuckled. “No. Clearly they planned something bigger this year since Mai invited you guys. I wouldn’t want to ruin anything for anyone.”
“Well, I don’t see why you’re being so gloomy about it. I mean, I’d kill for any recognition honestly” Sokka chimed loudly “Most people don’t even recognize me and when they do, they always tell me to congratulate you guys and Katara. I mean, come on! I was the mastermind!”
Everyone let out a hearty laugh at Sokka’s commotion and Suki made sure to give him a big kiss on the cheek as congratulations from the nations.
After some time relaxing in company, Zuko stood up and slid into his robe.
“I think I’ll retire now” he said as he began to take a step out. “I’ll have the guards escort you to the guest chambers.” He turned to face Aang and held out a hand to help him out. “I usually mediate in the sand gardens in the morning if you’d like to join me before dawn.”
Aang took Zuko’s hand and pulled him back into the water with a hearty laugh. “Sure thing, pal.”
Everyone roared with laughter and quickly hopped out of the spring as it became boiling from Zuko’s irritation. Aang jumped at the heat and floated upward, still laughing at Zuko.
Zuko groaned and began to stand up, removing his robe. As he strained it, he caught a glimpse at Katara, who was watching him giggling and blushing slightly. He felt his cheeks turn red and quickly focused on straining his robe.
His heart skipped a beat.
#Zutara#zuko#katara#avatar: the last airbender#atla#fan fic#zutara fan fic#romance#aang#sokka#suki#toph#azula#mai#ty lee#ozai
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Kissing Dead Pearls (Part 28)
For someone who wears a sling, Azula is strangely unintimidated by the prospect of going back to sea. Sokka isn’t particularly surprised though, she always has been the resilient sort. The type to brush things off and get back to whatever task she had been doing before tragedy struck. It is one of the things that had drawn him to her in the first place.
If he isn’t mistaken he would say that she is rather eager to get back to sailing.
He can think of several other things that he’d rather be doing. “Wouldn’t it be quicker to just take a plane back home.”
Azula tilted her head, “we can’t just leave the boat.”
“I dunno, that thing looks pretty banged up, I’m sure that you guys could get a newer and better one.”
“Sokka, it’s not even our boat.” Zuko points out. “We’re borrowing it from that ex-pirate who runs the town bar.”
Sokka cocks his head. “Why would he lend you a boat?”
“He and dad have gotten close.”
Sokka furrows his brows.
Azula sighs and scans the beach for her Ozai before whispering, “I already told you about father’s drinking problem.”
He flushes as the pieces click. “Oh, yeah. Bars. Drinking. Talking to the bar owner.”
Azula swats him, “not so loud!”
“Ow! Blisters!”
Azula rolls her eyes. “Your days of being babied are over!” She declares. “And besides, most of your blisters are gone now anyways, you’re just trying to get special treatment.”
“And that takes the attention away from you?” He quirks a brow and gestures to her arm.
“I,” she draws the syllable out, “am not complaining.”
“Hey, Sokka!” Katara calls. “I found a piece of your raft.” She holds up a bright yellow strip.
“Anyways, I still think that we should travel by plane. Ozai and Jet can sail the boat back and the rest of us will meet him there.”
Azula fixes him with a dull stare. “Sokka, that’s a terrible idea.”
Looking equally as unentertained, Zuko adds, “I’m not going to leave my father unattended.”
“And your father isn’t going to leave you unattended either.” He mutters. “Not after the fiasco with the souvenir shop.”
Zuko flushes, “that wasn’t even my idea.” He flicks his gaze to his sister.
She gives one of her faux innocent stares. “I can’t do much damage like this.” She strokes her sling.
“It only takes one hand to pop several blisters.” Sokka grumbles.
“Gross, Sokka!” Katara exclaims.
“Our luggage is on the ship.” Ozai remarks.
“What about Jet?” Katara asks.
“He has been on the ship avoiding me.” Azula crosses her arms.
Sokka can hear the hurt in her voice but she says nothing more of it. He feels another onslaught of guilt for finding relief in Jet’s avoidance. If he is angry with Azula, then he won’t have to worry about the other boy getting in the way of things. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times Azula assures him that she has chosen him over Jet, he still can’t shake away the paranoia. He isn’t sure how close she had gotten to Jet and he is afraid to ask.
Just as he can’t shake his dread of the sea.
“Come on, Sokka. Everyone else is on board.” Her touch is much gentler this time, less playful.
“I’d really rather…”
“Take a plane. You’ve said so.” She nods. “It’ll be fine, we got here in one piece.” He doesn’t miss the split second glance she makes at the sail. It might be that he is over thinking things, but he has a suspicion that there was a mishap with that sail. “And you won’t be alone this time if we get lost.”
“Unless…” he lifts a pointer, “we get separated by a storm.”
“We’ll be fine, Sokka.”
“How do you know?”
“Because it would be absurd for the universe to hand you back if it was just going to kill you a few weeks later. Why would it when it could have just killed you in that storm?” She shrugs.
“Gee. That’s reassuring.” He rubs the back of his head. Her humor has always been somewhat dark but her delivery has never been this dry. Dry to the point where he thinks that she is only half joking. It is just one more glimpse into the damage he has done in disappearing for so long.
And then it dawns upon him--and he swallows a lump in his throat--that in the time that he had left, she has changed. It wouldn’t make sense if she didn’t. But what if she has changed into someone that he doesn’t particularly love...could she have changed that much?
Could he have changed as well?
“Come on, Sokka.” She says softly, more sympathetically. “I have something for you.”
He bites his cheek. There really is no sense in drawing this out, he knows that he is getting on the boat one way or another. It is probably better to spare himself of Azula fetching her father to carry him aboard kicking and screaming. He also can’t deny that she has piqued his curiosity.
He follows her onto the ship. It is a lot sturdier than his was. And bigger.
“Khozen says that this ship has survived a few decades of storms.” Azula points out as she leads him below deck and to the cabins. “And, just so you know, we tested that. Overall, it is a well built ship.” She sits down upon what he assumes is her bed and she pats the spot next to her.
He takes a seat. He looks the girl up and down as she shuffles around a suitcase. Now that the novelty is wearing off he is noticing more things. More changes; mostly his gaze is glued to the scar on her chin. He wishes he didn’t, but every time he sees it he imagines her with cloudy eyes and none of that fiery spirit standing at the edge of a cliff.
He sees a different person entirely. A more dismal person.
The real Azula is much different than the one in his mind’s eye. She is grinning, holding something behind her back. “I’ll give you three guess. If you don’t get it then you don’t get the thing that I am holding.”
Some of his anxieties wash away as a memory drives the darker images out of his mind. Now he is picturing a much smaller Azula with big eyes, chubby cheeks, and a missing front tooth.
He can’t quite get the voice right in his head, but he remembers her declaring, “what am I holding, Sokka!? If you get it right, you get a prize.” She only gave him unlimited guesses because she knew that hadn’t stood a chance. Usually with this game, other kids held was coin or a toy. Azula...she was always different. After guessing, “a coin? A stick of gum? A dollar bill? Five dollars!? A rubber duck…” She held out her fist and opened it to reveal a cherry pit.
So that is what he goes with, “it’s a cherry pit, isn’t it?”
She shakes her head. “Good guess, but now.”
“A pumpkin seed?”
Azula rolls her eyes. “Pumpkins aren’t in season.”
Her eyes, they are the same, but they are different. He thinks that they aren’t so care free anymore. There is a knowingness to them. A hardness that goes beyond any physical changes.
And there are plenty of those too. He had expected her to have grown taller, but she really hasn’t. But her face has lost a little more of its softness, he thinks that her cheekbones are more pronounced. He thinks that her muscles are more defined...that would explain the iron grip that she’d had on him.
She wears her hair differently too, it is somewhat more tousled and is no longer bound up.
“Stop thinking so much and just start throwing guesses. I’ll give you a hint.”
Sokka pretends like that is what he had been thinking about. “Shoot.” He forces a smile.
“It has seen better days, but it’s still kind of cute.” She pauses. “Sort of like you.”
His smile becomes more genuine and he tries not to laugh. “It’s my clownfish isn’t it?”
Azula blinks before chucking it at him. “You cheated.”
“It isn’t my fault that you gave such an obvious hint.”
She turns her head and folds her good arm against the other. “That was a pity hint.” He is glad that she does. It reassures him that she is still there. Even if her eyes are more tired, even if her body bares the scars of a rough period, her smile is still the same. Her mannerisms are the same.
He puts the stuffed clownfish to the side and puts an arm around her. He can’t fault her for her changes, not when she has probably observed some within him.
.oOo.
He has lost his spunk.
His adventurous spirit.
The ocean stole that from him and dragged it to its depths alongside his cargo.
His posture isn’t quite right. At first she thinks that it is because he is physically frailer. The doctors had warned that it might take several months for him to re-attain a healthy body weight. And that it might take longer for the patches of discolored skin to even out again.
But they hadn’t warned her that his mind might be frailer. Though she thinks that it was probably implied. He still jokes and quips. He still makes her laugh. But he always seems weary and on edge. As though the sea will flood and snatch him back from wherever he stands.
Azula can’t hold it against him. She can’t imagine it is all too different from the fragility that had gripped her own mind some time back. She lets him hold her but she feels as though she should be holding him.
“When did you start wearing your hair down?” He had inquired a few hours ago.
“I think the month after you left.”
“Why?”
She hadn’t had the heart to tell him that it was because she had simply stopped seeing the point in putting so much effort in. Instead she told him that she needed change, and it wasn’t a complete lie. It was simply a small fragment of a whole truth.
“When did you decide to grow a beard?” She had tried to lighten her own mood.
“It wasn’t a decision.” They both laughed at this. And just as she had begun to stop laughing, he flared his nostrils and gave his beard a few pretentious strokes. “Do you fancy it m’lady?”
“You’re shaving tomorrow.” Secondhand embarrassment had spread color upon her cheeks.
The conversation had died away three hours ago. She pretends to be asleep, she isn’t sure if he wants to be caught crying. She wonders if she should get Katara, it seems somehow more appropriate to have a sister comforting a brother. That is how it has always been between she and Zuko.
Azula looks at the bed over. Katara is sleeping soundly. Pictures of events that Sokka has missed are still sprawled out on her nightstand. One by one Katara had been going through them, catching Sokka up on everything.
Azula doesn’t know how the pair had spent the alone time she’d given them, but Katara had went to bed extra cheerful.
“When did you wake up?” Sokka asks as he wipes his eyes.
“A few minutes ago, I guess.”
“Oh.”
“Why are you crying?”
She notices that he is shaking and comes to a few conclusions. The boat rolls and bobs as it makes its way through the waves. “The ocean is very calm tonight. Do you want to go on deck?”
He shakes his head abruptly. “I don’t like how open it is.”
Azula nods. She takes his hand. She could tell him that it really isn’t that bad, but what good would that do? It would only be entirely dismissive. And a simple, ‘it’s going to be okay’ seems insufficient. Instead she says, “you were strong enough to find sleep on an unstable raft, you’re strong enough to get used to this.”
Though she thinks that these words might only be comforting to her.
She thinks that words might not mean much at all right now. Her grip simply needs to be stronger than the pull of the sea. So she holds him close and waits for his anxious trembles to pass.
If he falls asleep in her arms then she will just deal with the earful that her father will give her.
“You used to love the ocean. You can’t fear it now.” She tries. “You beat it. You shouldn’t fear something that you have defeated.”
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Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure Speculation: Varian and Vex Shipping
Though Varian has often been shipped with Cassandra, lately it has been a mixed bag of very strong opinions regarding the ship, especially some negative ones about Varian being too young for Cassandra who is in her 20’s while he’s in his teens. Personally I don’t have a problem with them becoming a couple, so long as they wait until Varian is legally an adult (such as it was with Ferb and Vanessa in “Phineas and Ferb”). I could see them as a couple if the creators of the show flashfoward to the future with an older Rapunzel and Eugene are telling their story and the fates of their friends to their children.
Personally I want to keep out of the arguments, and talk about this from a purely fictional opinion. While I do think Cassandra and Varian had great chemistry together in “Great Expositions”, so far Varian’s feelings for Cass are just an innocent crush (I even heard a rumour that Chris Sonneberg said it wouldn’t go any further than this) which Cass doesn’t requite. So I think the chances of these two becoming a couple, even when Varian’s older is pretty slim. Still, I do hope these two become friends again.
Anyway, the point of my topic is to bring up a potential new love-interest for Varian, and while I am pretty open about his love life and who his future girlfriend could be, I’m pretty keen on this ship I’m about to suggest.
The ship is between:
Varian
and
Vex
I imagine this ship is going to have a lot of mixed feedback. Some may not like it because they’re strong for the ship between Cassandra and Varian, while others won't like the ship because they simply don’t like Vex. Hear me out though, here are some good reasons why I think Varian and Vex could make a good couple.
1. The two appear to be close in age to each other. I imagine they’d be some cute teenage romantic tension between these two. It would be adorable to see the growing puppy love (which may eventually blossom into true love) between them.
2. Vex seems to me like a younger counterpart to Varian’s old crush, Cassandra, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Varian becomes attracted to her. Plus the fact that they both look up to her could give them something to bond over (though it might also cause some jealousy too if Vex develops a crush on Varian).
3. I get the feeling that Varian is attracted to tough women. While his crush on Cass was partly to do with her saving his life, I also think it could be that he admired her for her strength and courage. I reckon if he got to know Vex he would come to admire her own strong qualities. Perhaps like Cassandra before her, Vex could also learn to admire Varian’s compassion and smarts (though she may find his optimism annoying at first). I reckon in time these two opposites could attract.
4. Both are former juvenile delinquents of sorts, what with Varian taking over and almost destroying an entire kingdom, stealing a precious ancient relic, not to mention kidnapping Queen Arianna and later attempting to murder her and Cassandra. While Vex as far as I know hasn’t done that, she had her fair share of crimes including bribery and playing part of a kidnapping. Plus who knows what else (her selling weapons suggests a few possibilities). Over time I can see these two learning to empathise with each over their past crimes and connect over their desires to redeem themselves in their current roles, e.g. Varian in helping Princess Rapunzel and Vex in being Deputy to Captain Quaid the Sheriff of Vardaros.
Fun Fact: I reckon their ship name could be V.V (Varian and Vex). Unless of course Vex isn’t Vex’s real name. I believe she could have changed her name, much like two other former criminals we know (Eugene and Lance).
-
Here are several movie and TV couples that I think could be good examples of how these two could interact as a couple and/or even friends:
Zuko and Mai from “Avatar: The Last Airbender
The one thing I have noticed is that Varian and Zuko’s falls from grace and eventual redemption stories have a lot of similarities to each other, especially since they both had something to do with their estranged relationships with their fathers’ (though I am no way saying that Quirin is cruel and abusive like Lord Ozai was). Both are also rebellious risk-takers who want to do the right thing but often take misguided actions which have terrible consequences to them, though both are eager to make up for their past mistakes and help their respective main character (Rapunzel/Aang) in their destiny. Of course, nerdy alchemist Varian is much more friendly, optimistic and clumsy compared to the hot-tempered, moody and athletically-inclined Fire Prince turned Fire Lord, Zuko. Still, he certainly has his angsty moments which are very similar to Zuko’s.
I think it makes sense that Varian gets a girlfriend with a lot of similarities to Zuko’s girlfriend, Mai. Mai and Vex are certainly similar in the sense that both are moody, cynical action girls who both seem to have trouble expressing their feelings. Maybe Vex’s cynicism is the result of growing up in her rough town. She had to be tough in order to survive, plus there is a hint that maybe she’s an orphan, so there’s potential that she could be carrying a lot of emotional baggage and even fears of abandonment. She probably pretends not to care about anything because she’s scared if she does she’ll get hurt, similar to how Mai pretends not to care because she was taught to repress her feelings from a young age by her controlling mother.
Either way, like Zuko and Mai, I think both Varian and Vex could bring the best out in each other. Varian could help Vex to open up more, while Vex could help Varian recover from his past wounds (in her own Vex way). I’m sure she can empathise with Varian’s dark past as she wasn’t always on the right side of law herself, or at least her neutral siding didn’t exactly make her stand out as a good guy, until she made the decision to become Captain Quaid’s deputy and therefore firmly planted herself on the good side.
I can definitely see Varian and Vex having a fight similar to Zuko and Mai’s during the party scene of “The Beach”. Also I can also see Vex wearing the pants in the relationship like Mai does (Mai’s warning to Zuko in the series finale never to break up with her again sounds like something I imagine Vex saying to Varian). I believe they will show affection to each other in the same way Zuko and Mai do. This confession of love from Mai sounds like something that Vex would definitely say herself: “I don’t hate you.”
-
Wednesday Addams and Joel Glicker from “The Addams Family Values”
A lot of people have compared Vex’s looks and personality to Wednesday Addams from The Addams Family franchise:
While I certainly won’t deny the similarities, I believe that Vex was inspired by Mattie Ross from the 2010 version of the film True Grit:
Nonetheless, I can’t deny there are similarities between Vex and Wednesday. I just hope Vex isn’t quite as morbid, lol. Still, I do wonder if the writers do bring in more of the similarities into later episodes (if Vex does make future apperances).
Personally I don’t find that Joel Glicker was the most well-developed character ever. He was more the overprotected nerdy boy who fell for the dark gothic girl. Still, I guess that Varian has similarities to Joel in the sense they are both nerdy characters who are a little insecure and intense (though I do hope Varian has better self-esteem than Joel). I think it would be funny if Varian had a reaction to seeing Vex for the first time similar to Joel’s when he met Wednesday. Somehow I doubt it will happen, but it’s still funny and kind of cute at the same time
Wednesday meets Joel. See 1:59 to 2:17:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us3JQh-m2FM&list=PLlXqHikVVQDQerwZg0GuBzJPXel5MIPHi&index=6&t=142s
I wouldn’t call Wednesday and Joel’s relationship the best, and I certainly wouldn’t want the ending of their relationship to happen between Varian and Vex, but underneath all the morbidity and insecurity, I think there’s a lot of cute moments between these two. They are definitely an interesting example of opposites attract, plus there is some adorable awkwardness between them that I think could be brought to Varian and Vex’s relationship. I personally see Wednesday and Joel’s relationship being an example of how Varian and Vex’s friendship and eventually relationship starts out, perhaps even hinted at as spoof material within the show.
Some examples could be Varian attempting the “yawn and stretch move” on Vex, but she holds up a knife and says “Touch me with that arm, and you’ll lose it.” or simply “Don’t even think about it.” causing Varian to fearfully back away from her on the seat. Though perhaps Varian does something that really impresses Vex, whether it’s showing his braver, angsty side (which I believe that Vex would find attractive) and/or he uses one of his inventions to help the town of Vardaros. Because Vex is a little reluctant to show she’s impressed, she simply says thank you and a half-hearted comment to Varian for his good work. Though Varian can tell that how moved Vex is from a small smile she shares with him and a sign that she’s warming up to the possibility of being affectionate with him, as shown by Wednesday here:
Even Wednesday and Joel’s farewell and first kiss I could see Varian and Vex spoofing, though in their own individual way.
Wednesday and Joel’s first kiss
https://youtu.be/ZibUVA54BWY
So while I hope they’re not exactly like this couple, it would be cute if we saw some spoof references like this. :)
-
Arnold Shortman and Helga Pataki from “Hey Arnold!”
I’ll be honest with you guys, I’m probably one of the few people who hasn’t seen the most of the Hey Arnold! TV series and movies. I’ve only seen a few episodes. Still, from what I’ve seen of these two, they seem to have similar personalities to Varian and Vex, plus I imagine their relationship being similar too.
Like Arnold, Varian is friendly, optimistic and always there to help out his friends. While Helga and Vex are similar in that they are both tough, aggressive girls who don’t like to open up about their feelings.
I could definitely see Vex being rather mean to Varian at first, calling him “dork” or “nerd”, but overtime maybe she’ll start to lessen up on the insults and starts to respect Varian for his smarts and the positive affect his inventions could possibly have on Vardaros, though she still keeps him at an emotional distance due to trust issues, and it will probably take a bit of time but perhaps Varian’s mixture of kindness and tough love towards Vex could eventually be the thing that slowly breaks down her emotional walls.
I could probably see Vex developing a crush on Varian (though perhaps not as obsessively as Helga though) but has a hard time showing it. She’ll probably show him affection by punching him in the arm, which is meant to be friendly but hurts because Vex is stronger than she looks.
Maybe she might convince Captain Quaid to give Varian a job as the Alchemist of Vardaros, saying that he can help the people of Vardaros with his inventions and alchemy. Though this is possibly true, I believe she would more suggest the idea to Quaid so she can convince Varian to stay in Vardoros. Varian considers the offer, partly because he believes he can be helpful to the people of Vardaros and the other half because he’s starting to fall for Vex and wants to stay with her. I think he turns down the offer at first (which will probably hurt Vex) but promises he’ll return to visit once he’s helped Rapunzel achieve her destiny and reunite her with Cassandra. Though he may even decide to stay in Vardaros as their professional Alchemist after the mission is finished, eventually becoming Vex’s boyfriend.
-
A bonus unofficial couple I could compare them to is:
Hiro Hamada and Karmi from “Big Hero 6: The Series”
There’s no denying that Hiro and Varian are very alike. Both are intelligent and creative child prodigy inventors who are both adorkable and clumsy. Both have lost and/or almost lost family members, and as a result have almost committed murder in order to avenge their loved one’s, though have tried their best to make up for their past mistakes. They are also the one of youngest in their respective group of friends (though not quite with Varian as Keira/Angry and Catalina/Red have now officially joined the group and are a few years younger than him).
While Karmi is rather different from Vex, they do share anti-social and moody tendencies. Deep down underneath their moody exterior though, both have the drive to do the right thing.
Like Hiro and Karmi, I could imagine Varian and Vex having a rivalry of sorts during their first meeting. Perhaps Varian gets jealous over Catalina (Red) and Kiera (Angry) looking up to Vex over him as an older sibling/mentor figure due to them respecting her “tough as nails woman” exterior. Also maybe Vex could get jealous if Quaid starts paying more attention to Varian and his inventions, e.g. maybe he could invent a special smoker to calm Quaid’s bees, impressing the Captain of Vadaros greatly and gaining Vex’s envious resentment.
Over time though, like Hiro and Karmi, these two could learn to respect each other and their talents, eventually forming a friendship, which over time shows signs of romantic attraction between the two teens.
-
Even if Varian and Vex don’t become a couple, I would still love it if somehow they did meet on the show and eventually become friends. I’m sure it would be cool to see how they interact with someone in their own age group.
What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your feedback, but please refrain from harsh negativity.
#tangled: the series#rapunzel's tangled adventure#Varian#Shipping#Speculation#RTA Varian#RTA Vex#rta season 3#Varian/Vex#Film/TV Couple Comparsions#tangled varian#tangled vex#tangled cassandra#tangled catalina#tangled captain quaid#tangled angry#disney#wednesday addams#joel glicker#avatar zuko#avatar mai#hey arnold!#big hero 6: the series#hiro hamada#bh6 karmi#avatar: the last airbender#rta rapunzel#rta eugene#Rapunzel#Tangled
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Welcome to Boku no Hero Academia
We have:
A clearly american silver-age superman in Japan, who is literally the best person ever.
Kid Iron-fist, but without the increased skeletal endurance. or the money. Also, probably has super-tears.
cute pink floaty girl who manages to be more than just the cute pink floaty girl
frogy girl, frogy girl, does whatever a frogy can. is the best
fan of the alien franchise.
guy with tail. nice guy
guy with tape
how did she become a teacher?
the personification of the artificer class from the Eberron Campaign Setting
Calvin from calvin and hobbes, if he found himself with the power to make anything he touched explode.
the Flash with the personality of Uryu Ishida from bleach, the appearance of Drift from the Transformers, and the hand gestures of C-3PO. also is the best. shares the title “the best” with frogy girl and silver-age superman
Ice Zuko
Firelord Ozai. Except not a villain, which almost makes it worse.
a teacher with the personality, energy level, and level of brooding anger of a college student cramming for finals (i know the feeling well)
creepy hand guy
shadowy guy who we all though was the main villain for about 15 seconds. Still evil, but not more in a “i follow whatever this guy says” kind of way
rock head
electric idiot
inverse of the girl with earphones always plugged into her head. except she also has that
the quiet sad guy
the grape who no-one likes
insecure Russian doll maker
what would happen if rocket raccoon settled down to become a principal
is... is that McCree?
ominous overpowered villain who hasn’t done anything yet, but still SEEMS like has done a lot regardless.
the punisher with swords and a blood fetish
Geddy Lee
HAPPY BIRD FRIENDS
seems like a stupid edgy sonic OC, but actually a good character
i guess someone who’s always invisible wouldn’t need clothes, but still...
Yoda-tigger
the twilight fangirl who took it way too far
the frankenstein fan (with fire powers? seems a little...)
guy with a debilitating sweet tooth.
ALL THESE MOMS NEED HUGS. BE NICE TO THE MOMS.
#boku no hero academia#my hero academia#rush#punisher#geddy lee#all might#deku#iida#ochaku#calvin and hobbes
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