#Also Zuko cusses like a sailor

[dunnowho180125]

I absolutely love (Zukka or not) fanfics in which Zuko has very dubious talents like lockpicking or pickpocketing or shady bargaining and being generally good with boats and where he doesn’t always live the lavish lifestyle of a prince and where Sokka is the one who can put shit together in nature and who can actually hunt and know what to eat and whatnot and is super good at geography and-

[nayadoesstuff]

A little sneak peak of the ATLA AU fic I'm working on (I promise I'll commit to this one fr). Aang doesn't find out he's the Avatar till he's 15 - he runs away at that age and gets stuck in the iceberg then. He doesn't arrive until three months after the comet has already come - the EK is basically a pile of ash at that point. He meets up with Zuko, Katara and Sokka while searching for his people across the Air Temples. They've been recovering there since the comet after failing to stop the invasion. Zuko, sick of hunting the Avatar figured out the FN's bullshit and defected, using the Blue Spirit as an alias to basically fuck up shit for the FN. This happened sometime around Book One. Bonus:

[ssreeder]

I just read the new chapter and sksjskssjsjs I have so many thoughts

First of all, how dare u not give us the zukka reunion. You’re dangling it in front of us like a hanging carrot and it’s working. Do u enjoy my suffering, is that it? 😭😭🥺🥺

Jk, love you

Second, Katara baby what are you doing? Ik u wanna help your brother but the boy was kidnapped during a war, he’s clearly gone through hell. Sokka needs to open up about what happened in order to start the journey towards recorvery but at least give a boy a few weeks to mope and process everything. And then she went and lied to Zuko and accused Sokka of lying (he did, but he has the right to right now) and it’s all a big mess.

Although, she IS also a child who’s struggling to keep two boys alive so maybe I’m being harsh on her. I JUST WANT SOKKA TO BE HAPPY OKAY?!! MY BABY IS SO SAD I CANT 😭😭😭😭😭

Anyways, great chapter! Rasu’s stories about him and tiny zuko were delightful and I’m looking forward to what will happen next!

Hahaha hiii!!

Don’t worry you get a bite of the carrot next chapter. :)

There will be some zukka!! & yeah they are all children doing their best to cope with the pressure of war & its impossible for them to each handle it perfectly.

Angry traumatized Sokka + exhausted emotions katara = not good.

I’m excited to give you the next chapter wohooo!!! Thanks for the wonderful ask!!

[tinyphantomsalad]

so you want to tell me Zuko can’t sing sea shanties (or at least know all the words to all of them) because sound travels through metal and those music nights Iroh would host would go on for hours

[sokkagatekeeper]

the gaang + do they swear?

aang: yes. once a month exactly nothing more nothing less, as there is aproximatedly a situation of crisis that pretty much requires it at least twice a month, but aang has a lot of self-control, thank you. he also knows a fair amount of bad words! shame most of them are 100 years outdated.

katara: claims she doesn’t, but it does slip sometimes as she loses her temper, which is quite often! it’s okay though, most of the people she snaps at cuss her right back.

zuko: every single day. not a day goes by without him cussing, and very elaboratedly so. he has a certain fluidity with cussing, kinda like a very aggressive poetry. he does it very casually as well – “anyone want some fuckin’ tea?” sometimes katara sprays him about it. “god fucking damn it, katara– katara stop– STOP SPRAYING WATER ON ME”

sokka: never in front of The Kids. for this, his tongue is clumsy with the fluidity but he loosens up considerably around suki and zuko, occasionally mai and toph. and for this, he categorizes people as “can cuss in front of / cannot cuss in front of” at some point in his life. he enjoys cussing, it is strangely, perhaps... liberating???

toph: surprisingly, learned all of her cussing from aang and katara. overcusses for a couple of months mainly to stress katara out and calms down once zuko joins the group. she doesn’t giggle every time zuko cusses like a goddamn sailor, she does NOT so leave it there!!!!!

suki: has never cussed, and never will.

azula: tried to cuss once, failed, and remained bitter forever about it. how come zuko is better at cussing than her?? her loser of a brother?? that zuko???? and so she never tries ever again.

ty lee: only around mai. occasionally around sokka but it’s a different circumstance, which is that sokka does something... really strange in a very intelligent way and it pisses her off but that’s it!! she cusses no further than that, and that one time she called zuko a slur when they were kids does NOT count.

mai: does she seem to give a fuck. no. thank you.

[casualdadnomad]

since all teenagers curse like sailors constantly, here’s another set of headcanons from my modern au! everyone’s favorite ship, the gaang x curse words (◡‿◡✿)

modern atla masterpost :)

Aang doesn’t usually curse: he’s the guy who’s 15 and still calls cursing “cussing”

he does use replacement words, like frick, shoot, monkey feathers, etc

if Mai hears him say “gosh darn it” one more time she plans to slice right through his shiny bald head with a knife

Katara isn’t exactly known for cursing, but she does when necessary

she can and will call you a little bitch if you’re being a little bitch

she’s gotten in trouble for referring to Holden Caulfield as a “pretentious ass” in a book report for catcher in the rye

Toph pretty much has her middle fingers up permanently

the “let Toph say fuck” movement has been rendered unnecessary as Toph answers to no one and says whatever she wants

Toph: fuck you. fuck you. oh, definitely fuck you. // Katara: you can’t say that in class, Toph. // Toph: really? then fuck you too.

Sokka is quite a fan of swearing

but that’s just because nearly everyone around him is a world class idiot (as all high schoolers are)

and honestly it’s not just students

Teacher: and that’s manifest destiny. questions? // Sokka: if you keep teaching this colonizer bullshit i will riot.

Suki also loves swear words

“what’s the point of talking if there’s no ~spice~?”

it’s honestly barely even a conscious decision it just falls out whenever she speaks

her and Toph are now under close watch during socratic seminars because they will not hesitate to call someone a dumbfuck for making a stupid argument

Zuko is closer to the Katara side of the cursing spectrum

He doesn’t do it often, being raised by Iroh

it’s not that Iroh doesn’t curse, it’s that Zuko doesn’t want to disappoint Iroh in any way possible

Azula is the opposite

she constantly calls Zuko a pussy for pretty much no reason at all

rude

Ty Lee swears but does it in such a happy sweet voice it goes right past people without them noticing

Ty Lee: she’s very pretty for a mean little shit! // Mai: that’s very nice of you to say about her even though she hates us-- wait what did you just call her?

Mai hardly ever curses simply because anything she says is immediately threatening enough without the added fun of swearing

[the-yellowturtle]

ZKDD Day 30: Forever Family

Title: If One of Your Soulmates Told You to Go Jump in the River, Would You?

Rating: T (cussing, mentioned past character death, brief mention of infanticide)

Summary: Zuko always believed his destiny was tied to the Avatar, he just never thought it would be in this way. (Fruits Basket!AU)

Note: A/N can be found on AO3 (including a chart to figure out your atla zodiac lol) Also! I would appreciate feedback because I’m thinking of expanding on this idea more for the Zutara Big Bang :)

@zkdrabbledecember

A long time ago, the Avatar lived together in harmony with their twelve friends: the shirshu, the flying bison, the tiger seal, the jackalope, the dragon, the koi fish, the ostrich horse, the koala sheep, the winged lemur, the turtleduck, the polar bear dog, and the badgermole.

Unfortunately, those idyllic days did not last forever. Strife was brewing between the Spirit and Human Worlds, and only the Avatar was capable of restoring balance. There was no choice, but to leave the Spirit World and to live among the humans. The Avatar was heartbroken to be separated from their closest friends, but they knew they must do so, or great calamity would befall the world.

The Twelve understood why the Avatar must go, however, they could not bear to be parted from the one that had brought them all together.

“We will follow you. We will join you in bringing balance to the Spirit and Human Worlds,” the Twelve told the Avatar.

“Let us be together forever,” the Avatar responded with joy. “May we always find each other in every life.

From that day onward, the Avatar has always been accompanied by members of the Twelve. For there is nothing on this planet that is more powerful than the bond between the Twelve and the Avatar. They are destined to be together. Forever.

___

Everyone had always thought he was a fool for choosing to pursue the Avatar.

Zuko had been given two avenues to regain his honor, and he had opted to search for the mythical figure that had been missing for over a century. His crew detested his decision, and Uncle… Uncle was apathetic towards his efforts at best; most likely disappointed he could not relive his glory days through his nephew.

He knew others thought that he had given up, that he had never planned on returning to his place in the Fire Nation, that he was too weak and too much of a coward to hunt members of the Twelve. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

He would gladly struggle and fight for as long as possible because he knew his destiny. His destiny was to capture the Avatar, and the airbender’s reemergence had proven him correct. It was only a matter of time now.

The first few attempts had gone astray, but Zuko had a good feeling about collaborating with the pirates to capture the waterbender to use as bait. It didn’t matter that Uncle did not agree with his methods, and that Zuko had to set off by himself with only a small squadron. He would prove Uncle and everyone else wrong; he had to.

___

When you were one of the Twelve, touch was the most intimate of things. Any form of embrace would trigger the transformation, so most Zodiac members learnt to dance around it; learnt how to get out of the societal norms that would so often lead to falling into other’s arms.

But Katara thrived on it. She patted heads, held hands, bumped shoulders, and kissed foreheads. She loved to touch others; to get as close as possible. She knew it was dangerous, but she loved it. She wanted others to know that she cared for them.

Before Aang, she had only ever been hugged by her family. Some of her favorite memories were of when her mom would let her transform and spend the whole day cuddling together in the furs. (Only under duress would she admit that Sokka carrying her around like a polar dog pup were also some of her favorites).

For her whole life, an embrace had only ever been a signifier of the utmost trust and affection. Hugs and cuddles were sacred, not a thing to be feared.

However, that was before Aang and before leaving the Southern Water Tribe and before seeing the wanted posters of rumored members of the Twelve.

That was before Zuko had snuck up on her, said that spirits awful line, and sent her careening back into the arms of one of the pirates. That was before time stopped for a moment and her stomach dropped and she thought to herself: fuck .

___

Katara expected to see a few things when she opened her eyes:

The puff of smoke from her transformation? Check.

Her pile of clothes on the ground? Check.

Pirates and Fire Nation soldiers charging at her? Check.

What Katara was never expecting to see —not even after a thousand years — was a poof of smoke similar to her own clearing up, and a turtleduck emerging from a pile of red and gold armor.

Before her mind could even form the question of what in the Four Nations just happened, one of the soldiers shouted, “Prince Zuko is a traitor! Seize him and the tiger seal!”

“Oh no you don’t,” the Pirate Captain sneered, “We’ll be the ones gettin’ the reward for the turtleduck and tiger seal.”

And then all hell broke loose.

With all of her might, Katara bounced her way between the fighting pirates and soldiers, biting and tail whipping as she went. She needed to get to the river; outswimming them was the only plausible method of escape.

She was almost there, the water practically touching her flippers, when she heard a familiar raspy voice command, “Get back! I’m your Prince!” followed by hisses of pain.

Zuko.

Her enemy. The boy who relentlessly chased them around the world, trying to kidnap Aang and destroy any chance at peace. And the boy, who apparently was one of her soulmates. One of the people she had shared countless lifetimes with maintaining balance. The boy who was near the water, but was too busy breathing fire at the advancing troops to notice his surroundings.

She didn’t know why he spent so long pursuing them when he could have joined them, but she did know that he needed some help. And Katara never turned her back on people who needed her.

So she screamed, “Zuko! Go jump in the river!”

___

Zuko did not know what was happening.

He did not know why one of his men stumbling into him caused a tiny explosion. He did not know why he’s suddenly the size of a cat. He did not know why he appeared to have a beak and a shell now. He did not know why his men were calling him a traitor.

Zuko only knew one thing: the spirits hated him.

So he ran because the men chased him. He screamed because they further besmirched his honor with lies. He breathed fire because they attacked him.

He was disconnected from reality; the only thing that felt real was the pounding in his ears and the churning of his stomach.

“Zuko! Go jump in the river!”

It was the waterbender. The tiger seal. She called to him from the river bank, slapping her fins against the water for emphasis. “Jump in the river!”

So he jumped.

___

There was a saying in the Fire Nation navy: A decent sailor knows the changes of the tides; a great sailor knows the cycles of the Twelve .

As important as the knowledge contained in the official seafaring manual was, it did not bring glory to their homeland. Any average Lee could spew off the fuel consumption rate of a Fire Nation cruiser; only the greatest of men could present the Fire Lord with a member of the Twelve in chains. And even then, only the best of them would be permitted to carry out the execution themselves.

Captain Zhao had been granted this honor thirteen times. In fact, he was the most successful hunter of the Twelve in the history of the Fire Nation. Not even the Dragon of the West, with a measly count of three kills, could compare to him. There was a reason the old man was wasting away on a dilapidated rust bucket, and Zhao was being heralded as the Zodiac Killer.

Yes, Zhao was quite proud of his accomplishments, but he wanted more. He had brought thirteen members of the Twelve to their knees before the people of Caldera City, but four of those had been repeats. And where was the glory in that?

No one had ever managed a complete set, but Zhao would most definitely be the first. The jackalope, koi fish, and turtleduck were the only ones left.

The jackalope was still at large in the Earth Kingdom, but was most likely under the protection of Omashu’s Mad King. After dealing with the Northern Water Tribe, Omashu would be the next stronghold to fall to the Fire Nation.

The koi fish had always been the trickiest of the Twelve to catch. This was not due to the koi fish being particularly intelligent or skillful, but simply because it was a creature cursed with terrible luck. Most parents were terrified when their newborn transformed into a fish, and by the time they realized what was happening; their fish child had already suffocated. As a result, it was impossible to know for sure how many incarnations of the koi fish had been reborn since the start of the Hundred Year War.

The koi fish of the Zodiac would be an excellent addition to his collection, but Zhao had it on good authority that there’s an even better prize in the Northern Water Tribe. Besides, it’s been at least two decades since the North had presented the Fire Nation with one of the Twelve, perhaps Zhao would come across a pleasant surprise during his expedition.

And then there was the turtleduck. After confirmation that the previous turtleduck had been an Earth Kingdom warrior, Zhao had been scouring the Poles for rumors. He had assumed the next would be of Water descent, but oh how shortsighted he had been.

How could he have forgotten how often Earth liked to mix themselves with others? The warrior had not been an Earth incarnation, but one of Air.

The current cycle was Fire. And after reading the memo on his desk about reports of pirates seeing a scarred boy transform into a turtleduck, he knew exactly who to look for.

Zhao had always enjoyed the hunt, but this was shaping up to be his favorite. It’s not everyday you get to kill a prince, after all.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Kissing Dead Pearls (Part 22)

They have trouble getting him to eat, anything they feed him seems to come back up again until they settle for giving him liquid food in small amounts; apple sauces and oatmeals with a fair amount of tube feeding. She doesn’t like the sight of it.

They tell her that she doesn’t need to be here, that she is well enough to go back to the hotel so long as she takes it easy. But she remains at the hospital, at least during visiting hours.

“No one has claimed him yet?” She hears one nurse ask.

“No, not yet.” Says the other.

“And no ID?”

“All of his IDs and paperwork are probably on the ocean floor with his boat.”

The pair enter, a stout man with a clean shaven beard and a fleshy face and a woman, just as stout but rather petite. The man checks over the feeding tubes while the nurse checks over the patient himself.

“Has he woken up at all?” The woman asks.

“Not while I’ve been here.” Azula replies.

Deciding that everything is in order, the doctors step out once more. She looks at the time, she ought to be heading out herself. She waits another few moments before pulling out her phone, it rings several times before Zuzu answers. “Why are you answering father’s phone?”

“He and Jet went for a swim.” Zuko replies. “Do you need me to tell him something?”

She hears the boy stir in his bed. She lowers the phone for a moment before replying. “Just tell him that the sailor is waking up, so I might be here for a little while longer.” She doesn’t wait for a reply before she stuffs her phone back into her purse.

She wanders over to the bed. The boy squeezes his eyes tighter before opening them. They are tired and gentle and a very vivid blue. Azula swallows, they are a very familiar vivid blue. She takes his hand, wondering how it had taken her this long to recognize him.

“Gee…” he speaks, his voice hoarse and weak. “Guess the town motto is true, ‘all waves lead to Port Tui-La.’” He tries to laugh but his mouth is too dry.

She hands him a cup of water and waits for him to swallow before saying, “we’re not at Port Tui-La.” She wants to hug him with a tightness that will assure her that he won’t leave again. Even if she had both of her arms free to use, she worries about pressing on his sores the wrong way.

“Then where are we?”

“A small resort island called, Su Oku.”

“You think that I could get a pina colada with this hospital banquet.” He gestures to the oatmeal.

“I think that you couldn’t keep a pina colada down if they gave one to you.” She replies. It is unfathomably amazing to hear his voice again. To hear those stupid and poorly timed jokes.

“What happened to your arm?” He asks.

“It happened while I was saving you. You ass.”

“Now that’s no way to treat a guy in a hospital bed. That’s not how you…” he pauses for another drink. “Greet someone that you haven’t seen in months either.”

“It’s a perfect way to treat an imbecile who promised to take you out for a birthday dinner and stood you up for months.”

He makes a gesture as if to slap his forehead but thinks better of it at the last moment, “Ah shit, I forgot your birthday.”

Azula could slap him. “We thought that you were dead, Sokka.” She whispers after the humor fades. And suddenly it is overwhelming. The notion that she is going to have to speak with Jet crosses her mind and mixes strangely with joy and relief.

She feels his hand brush against her cheek, a rough and calloused hand. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not.” She wipes at her eyes.

“Of course not.” He chuckles.

How is she going to tell him about Jet? How is she going to tell Jet about him? But he’s alive, goodness he’s alive. She carefully cups her hand over his. “What happened to your ship and how did you survive?”

“It’s a long story.” He replies, she can tell that he is going to fade out again. “Visit tomorrow and you might get to hear it.”

“Might?!”

He is already out again. She finds herself laughing. Of course he will leave her unanswered. It dawns upon her, as the nurse enters that she probably should have let them know that he was awake.

.oOo.

She finds herself terribly anxious the closer they draw to the hotel. The walk from the hospital isn’t terribly long, she almost wishes that it could be longer. It is a nice day, in the storm’s wake there is a cooler edge to the day. For once her skin isn’t slick with sweat from the walk and jasmine dances within the breeze. “You’re quiet.” Zuko remarks.

“Enjoy your break.” Azula mutters.

“Did something happen to the sailor?”

She shakes her head. “Nothing bad.”

“But something happened.”

“He woke up.”

“And.”

She bunches her hands in her pockets. She isn’t sure why she is so hesitant to tell him. Perhaps it is because she doesn’t want him to slip and tell Jet before she can. “It’s Sokka.”

Zuko comes to a full halt. “What? How?”

She shrugs. She had imagined it time and time again, a reunion, telling Katara that her brother is alive. And perhaps it is because she had truly expected it to be anything but a reality, that it is so hard for her to process that her daydreams have become truth. Truth be told, she isn’t quite ready. “I don’t know, Zuzu. I didn’t that we would actually find him.”

“Well aren’t you, I don’t know, elated?”

She knows that she should be. She should be happy, excited, grateful. And she is, but she is also nervous. It has been so long. He doesn’t know about father, he doesn’t know about Jet, about...she traces the length of the scar on her arm, rather she traces the parts of it that aren’t tucked into the sling. “I am.” She says. “I’m just trying to figure out what to tell Jet.”

“Fuck off, is a good option.”

She elbows him. “I know that you don’t like him but he treats me well.” They pass a merchant selling bundles of hibiscus and bamboos sticks. With the storm well and past, the island is lively again. She spies several bikers and a couple with a picnic basket. There is a child with an armful of shells and a missing sandal, an exasperated woman holds that sandal. Colorful umbrellas are propped open all along the beach that runs parallel with the road. A road that is scattered with palm fronds, branches, clusters of flowers, and other things that the storm had thrown about. She can hear the hum of cicadas and the chatter of birds, mostly seagulls. “I suppose that I should just tell him outright.” That is how she would have wanted it if Jet had fallen for someone else.

“That’s what I meant when I said tell him to fuck off.”

Azula rolls her eyes. “I’m sure it is.” But that doesn’t make it any less daunting, knowing that she has so much to fill Sokka in on. Though she supposes it is, at the end of the day, fair. He has a long story for her and she has a rather long one for him. If he will hear the rest of it after finding out about her fling with Jet. She decides that she will get to that part after talking about how increasingly difficult and lonely things had gotten. She will answer the why’s before sharing what they had led to.

She enters the hotel and holds the door open just long enough for Zuko to get his hopes up before letting it slam in his face. He cusses and she chuckles. It has been a while since she’d got him like that.

“See if I hold it open for you next time!”

She fixes him with a faux pout. “You mean you’d slam the door on your handicapped little sister?”

“I sure would.” He replies.

They reach the hotel room at the same time as her father and Jet. She watches Jet rub his hair with his towel.

“They left you by yourself?” Azula asks.

Katara shrugs. “I could use the quiet time. How was your visit?”

“It was…” she can’t keep the smile from her face. “Surreal.”

“Surreal?”

“He’s alive, Katara. That sailor is…”

“Sokka?” She asks softly.

Azula nods. She has made Katara cry several times throughout childhood, and once as a pre-teen when she’d decided that she was too cool to hang out with the girl anymore. But she had never made her cry with joy and relief.

“You sure that it’s him?”

“He asked me for a pina colada.”

“That’s him alright.” Ozai grumbles. He slings his towel onto one of the racks and makes his way into the bathroom.

“Hey!” Jet calls. “We agreed that I get the first shower!”

“You have things to discuss with my daughter.” Ozai shrugs. “I’ll take an extra long one to make sure that she can cover all of the details.”  With that, the door closes and she hears the lock pop into place.

“He’s alive, Zuko!” Katara springs up and throws her arms around him. “My brother is alive!” She lets go of Zuko and turns to Azula. “You saved him…”

Azula nods. “He better treat me extra special or I’ll throw him right back out there.” She folds her good arm against the other.

“Do you need us to…?” Zuko gestures towards the door.

Azula nods. She waits for the door to shut once more before taking a seat on the bed.

Jet sighs and rubs the back of his head. “I take it, there’s nothing I can do to make you choose me.”

She hesitates before shaking her head. “There’s nothing.”

He blows out through his lips, “the ride home is going to be mighty awkward.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” She answers despite being well aware that she has a solid track record for being awkward as hell.

“Does he know yet?”

“No.” She says. “He will tomorrow.” She just hopes that that will go well.

“Were you using me as a rebound?”  Jet asks.

“No.” She says again. “I was trying to move on…”

“Which is why you went out on a sailing trip to find your boyfriend?”

“I didn’t anticipate anything coming from it.”  

He nods, clasps his hands together and presses them to his lips. “Then why do I feel like I got used.”

“I didn’t use you.” She insists. “If I had I would have asked for a lot more cash.”

This elicits a humored snort. “I’m going to go back to the pool.” He stands. She doesn’t stop him. The soft slam of a door, shut slightly too hard, rebounds around the room. She supposes that he needs to process things. She needs to process things. Good news or not, her head still spins and she finds herself feeling notably drained. She falls back onto the mattress and stares at the ceiling.

[whywouldisayprinter]

Ohhhh yes. But also consider

Sailor are *really* creative witch how they cuss. So Zuko would basically be idk angry about being charged too much for some food and instantly go "I hope next time you come home you find your lover fucking a sheep so they can finally know what it feels like when it's not such a sad bastard as you trying to do the job!"

And the rest of the gaang is like..... wtf

I know we all know that toph loves to cuss, but I just realized

She had an extremely sheltered upbringing, then when she snuck out to fight, she went to the Earth Kingdom version of WWE, which, if it’s like real world WWE, is family entertainment, and she never spent time backstage, she came she fought she left

I don’t think Toph knows any swear words

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Kissing Dead Pearls (Part 9)

The first time she had gotten in trouble, that she remembers is when she had wandered down to the beach without asking first.

It probably wouldn’t have been so bad had she not wandered away from the beach and onto the boardwalk as well. She couldn’t help it, the sights, the sounds, the smells...they were all so enticing. There was a cacophony of them and they each called to her. The first sense that had enticed her to wander further from the lighthouse was the smell of cotton candy and an aroma of grilled hamburgers. This was a time before La-bsters had truly been established. She’d been able to resist until the scent of ice cream added itself to the mix. At this, a five year old Azula was sold.

On stubby and wobbly toddler legs, she shuffled alarmingly fast towards the bustle of the piers where she was greeted with an almost overwhelming bombarding of sensory cues. The clang of a bell on the hour as sailors changed shifts and docked and hustled about. She heard the spray of water on wood as teenage boys hosed and scrubbed the piers down and the ruckus of rope sliding and frustrated cussing while a team of girls and boys helped anchor and clean newly home boats. She could hear waves smacking against the columns holding the boardwalk up and the shouts of merchants as they fought for tourist money. She could hear the bickerings of lost tourists and the cheerful yelps one one of them spotted a dolphin that had swam too close to the summertime traffic. She heard the sizzle of a grill and the rush of a bike as it whizzed past.

It was a myriad of brand new sights as well. Palm fronds, she first heard the earthy rustle of them brushing against one another, flapped in a hot breeze. Strings of light in all colors, but mostly a golden-yellow illuminated restaurant patios and curled around palms. There were dancers in beaded skirts with shell anklets and men and women eating fire. There were fireworks that blotted out loud reggeaton music and a large and slowly turning faris wheel. There were bikes and rollerskates of many brands and toned teens carrying surfboards, discussing final summer plans and how they weren’t quite ready to go back to Port Tui-La High. Vendors sold rapidly blinking, flashing lights of blue, green, and red. The LED contraptions were hats, wands, and cheap jewelry. The same vendor sold glow sticks and wore two arms full of them and several necklaces of them. All across the boardwalk she spotted kids with them and she wanted one of her own.

But she hadn’t the money, she hadn’t even the conception of money. Not that it was much of a problem. The vendor patted her on the head and handed her several glow sticks. He told her to thank her father for running the lighthouse and looking out for the sailors. His son was a sailor.

In retrospect, it was probably he who’d phoned the lighthouse to let her parents know that she was wandering the boardwalk unattended. He bribed her to stay put with a large ice cream cone and a plate of onion rings. She’d sat their kicking her legs on a stool that was much too tall for her.

That was how she met Toph. Evidently, the girl also stumbled away from her parents. Though this was an accident. The three year old, born blind, had lost hold of her father’s hand and then lost all bearings.

The poor vendor had his hands full that night. Azula doesn’t remember what they’d talked about but she remembers not quite grasping what it meant to be blind and kept trying to show the girl lights with different brightnesses, hoping that if she found something bright enough, Toph would see it.

Ursa showed up before Poppy BeiFong and refused to let her stay and talk, because she was in a lot of trouble. Once home Zuko chuckled as she received her second scolding and Ozai sent her to bed with a promise that she’d be spending the next several days in her room instead of on the beach with Zuko and Ursa.

She probably wouldn’t have gotten in so much trouble had she chose to take her excursion in daylight hours.

.oOo.

His arms are folded over his chest and he wears a decent scowl. Zuko can tell that she wants to shout at him, to tell him that, maybe if he’d been home she would have been able to tell him that she was leaving. She knows, as well as he does, better than to talk back to him.

“When was I supposed to have done that?” She mutters despite her knowing. “Perhaps when we had lunch?”

Their father’s face is split between hurt and anger.

“I’m going to find Sokka. Zuko can’t stop me and you can’t stop me either.” She pulls out of his embrace. He is reminded again of how close she and Ozai used to be, it is in her posture and on her expression. They fold their arms the same way, they shoot the same glare at each other, with the same creased brows and the same frown. The same, sturdy and stubborn stances.

Stand offs between the two, though rare, never end well. Especially not for Azula. Zuko firmly grips her shoulder and mutters, “please just let him have the last word for once.”

She shrugs him off. “No. Not this time.” Azula grumbles. “I’m tired of doing his job for him while he goes off and fucks around in some soddy bar! I don’t want to spend another summer upkeeping the lighthouse instead of going to pool and beach parties. I don’t want to manage his finances…”

“Azula.” Ozai growls. It is a warning. The one Zuko usually receives before earning himself a solid slap.

“You made me a promise.” Azula declares. “You said that we’d spend the day together, like we used to.”

He can hear the hurt in her voice and suddenly he understands why she is so eager to leave. He doesn’t think that it is just about Sokka. If things can’t be how they used to, she’d rather forget them entirely and start something new.

“I am your father, I give the orders. You life in my house and under my rules.”

She gives a sarcastic and bitter laugh. “Is it your house?” She asks. “I work for it, I pay the bills.” She looks to him, “we pay the bills. Right, Zuko?”

Zuko swallows, he doesn’t want to get on either of their bad sides. No matter what he says he will find himself on someone’s bad side and if he says nothing at all, both of them will look down on him. So he supposes that he might as well state the truth. He nods, “we’ve been keeping the lighthouse together.”

Ozai’s upper lip twitches into a scowl. “The both of you wouldn’t have that lighthouse to live in if not for…”

“Great grandfather Sozin.” Azula cuts him off. Both he and Katara flinch as Ozai’s hand lurches forward. He must not have had that many drinks because he doesn’t strike her. Though he grabs her wrist with a much stronger grip than necessary.

Katara seems to relax but he is no less tense. He has seen Azula take on their father before. She’d done it when he was in one of his drunken rages. And she’d done it on his behalf. Mostly Zuko took the brunt of Ozai’s drunk aggression. That time Azula had taken it for him. They’d gone to a party...snuck out to it. At first he’d claimed that he had been worried when he’d come home to an empty lighthouse. But that worry turned to anger all too quickly. Words that he can’t quite recall had been exchanged. But he does remember one thing. He remembers Azula yelling, “maybe if you did make her mad, she wouldn’t have gone sailing that day.” Something had snapped and soon Azula was on the floor, the corner of her mouth split and her jaw already swelling. Zuko remembers her shaking and Chan coming to step in front of her as Ozai loomed closer. Chan could only do so much, he found himself on the floor next to her before she was yanked to her feet and practically dragged across the beach in front of the entire party.

Azula hardly ever cries. And never in front of people. That night she was weeping as he tugged her along, she’d stumbled and tripped in an attempt to keep him from dragging him any further.

He was arrested that night and he’d very nearly lost custody of them.

Everyone knows better than to talk about it. Azula likes to pretend like it hadn’t happened at all.

Zuko knows that this is why Azula has gone quiet. Why her hand his shaking in their father’s hold. Why she is looking up at him with dread and anger. Something flickers in his eyes and he drops her hand. She hastily retracts it and rubs her wrist with her other hand. Zuko can tell that it is already reddening, that it will probably be bruised by tomorrow.

He can now tell that their father is at least a little intoxicated. But not enough for it to not register, that he’d hurt her. “Azula…” he begins.

She is athletic. She is fast. When she runs, she won’t be caught. Zuko has never seen her run so fast, even the sand doesn’t hinder her as she kicks up clouds of it. He doesn’t know where she is going and he isn’t sure that she knows either. She just wants to get away from Ozai.

Katara wraps her arms around Zuko, her eyes are tearful.

.oOo.

Ozai watches her bolt down the beach. He thinks to give chase but decides that it is better if he doesn’t.  He rubs his hand over his face. He was only angry because he thought that he was going to lose her. He couldn’t lose her. But he has.

He loses everything he loves and maybe he should just let her go.

He tries not to think of the night that he was arrested, but that night is etched into his mind. He thinks about it more often than not. Her face; how utterly shocked and horrified she had looked, staring up at him from the floor.

There was no sense of pride or power in seeing that terror on her face. There was only shame. But at that time, shame turned to anger and he was yanking her across the beach as she kicked and screamed. He is certain that she had pleaded with him to stop, told him that he was hurting her, but most of the night is a blur.

He recalls having dragged her across the beach.

It was after that night that she began looking at him differently. With mistrust and sometimes barely concealed fear. She mostly avoided him in the months to follow and she hasn’t entirely warmed back up to him, not that he has made it easy.

“I can go after her.” Katara offers.

Zuko nods, “Yeah it’s probably better if you do it.”

Ozai rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands. He wishes that things could be the way they used to be. He wishes that his children wouldn’t look upon him with dread. Katara makes her way in the direction that Azula had fled.

“Zuko.” He begins.

Zuko only shakes his head, “I’m going to visit Mai or TyLee.” He doesn’t look him in the eyes as he stuffs his hands into his pockets and starts for the pier.

Ozai looks at the boat bobbing in the water. Is he really so bad that they had to run?