#so when Agni was offered to go back to the past. he agreed to it. Already expecting that Rak Hatz Isu aren't the same ones that he looks fo

[deiaiko]

#19.3 Unravel

It had been some time since Agni felt this nervous. Not even talking with Jinsung Ha recently had made him feel like this. He fiddled with the mask on his hand as he waited for Grace to come back. He had thought hard on how to deliver the news, but he knew that no matter how he phrased it, Grace would be upset. Velt nuzzled under his palm and Agni gave her a few pats, before deciding that she would be better inside her bowl in his lighthouse, just in case the shinsu acted up around Grace after he received the news.

Grace came back wearing the comfiest shirt and shorts Agni knew Grace liked to wear on lazy days. He joined him on the floor, and they ate dinner together. Agni always finished last, so while waiting for him to finish his meal, Grace told him about his day with Bam. Grace was intrigued by how much his way of thinking had changed, and how glad he was to be able to be by Bam's side when he was having a bad day. It reminded Agni of the hidden floor, when Grace faced his sworn enemy.

They left the used bowls on the coffee table and went to brush their teeth. Afterwards, they turned off the light and went upstairs to sit on their bed. Grace's curious gaze never left him, and Agni curled his feet nervously.

Grace was the one who broke the silence. "So…what is it?"

Agni's breath hitched. This was the part he dreaded most. "I talked with the crocodile earlier. Did you know that he could manipulate stone already?"

"Huh." Grace needed a few seconds to let the information sink in. "Didn't Rak learn it on the Hell train? How does he know it?"

"Turns out our crocodile also traveled back to the past like us. He found the young crocodile and taught him."

"What?!" Grace gasped, wide eyed. "That means our Rak is–!!"

"He's dead." Agni quickly snuffed out that hope. They had been in delusion for long enough; it was time that they faced the bitter truth. "He suffered a fatal injury from the explosion. He couldn't have lasted long without proper help." Agni omitted the actual cause for Rak's death, but still kept his words true. "I'm sorry."

"…Oh." Grace looked lost, just like Agni was. His lips parted a little, but they closed before any sound escaped.

Agni gently squeezed Grace's hand, encouraging and comforting as he let the silence stretch on, giving Grace some time to process the information.

"Agni…" Grace whispered, "do you think Hatz and Isu…?"

Agni bit his lip and avoided his gaze, as the nightmare of that day replayed in his mind. He witnessed Hatz get his arm ripped off when trying to protect him. He could still recall the clang of a sword hitting the floor, and Hatz's suppressed scream that gnawed deep at his guilt. He witnessed Isu get beheaded after being taken hostage, the memory of warm blood painting them both still vivid like it happened yesterday. 

Agni refused to acknowledge their possible deaths, because it felt like a nightmare that one day he could hopefully wake up from. He avoided the topic when Grace brought it up, so he wouldn't have to say it aloud and make it real. He had been so hard on himself, because he couldn't get rid of the feeling that he had failed Grace and everyone else involved.

Agni knew this had to change if he wanted to live better, now that they had gotten a second chance. So he swallowed down the lump in his throat that had built up over the years and asked mostly to himself; "What are the odds of their survival?"

"There's always a chance–"

"Grace." Agni looked him straight in the eye. "They were already severely injured before the explosion hit."

Grace fell silent and went still.

Agni felt a pang of guilt upon witnessing Grace's reaction. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap." Agni fiddled with his hands. He realized that he didn't know how much Grace knew of what happened. "My scar…do you know how I got it?"

"I…was told it was from the family heads' battle." Grace looked thoughtful. Agni knew he was trying to be careful with his words. "A stray attack?"

"It could have been worse." The memory of the scorching heat on his skin felt like it had only happened yesterday. He passed out right when he was about to heal Isu, and only found out later that he also lost sweetfish at that time. The days he spent recovering from the burn, to withstand the excruciating pain every second he was conscious, and finally coming to terms that it'd be a permanent scar, was one of the turning points that had changed him forever. Were Grace not there to care for him, he might have ended up destroying himself even more.

Agni hadn't realized he had his left hand clawing on his cheek until Grace pried his hand off and frowned, "You're doing it again."

"Maybe I should wear the mask…" Agni muttered to himself. After all, Grace gave it to him less so he could hide the scar but more to prevent him from unconsciously hurting himself. The only time he could safely take it off was when Grace was around.

Agni bit his lip nervously when Grace didn't reply. He no longer had the courage to look Grace in the eye that spoke so much concern, so he leaned close and rested his head on Grace's chest. "Rak, Isu, Hatz and Hwaryun were trying to get me out of that damned place. But we were caught while escaping, and…it was a bloodbath. I was…too occupied to react to the incoming heat. Rak shielded us from the explosion. And when I woke up…"

"They weren’t with you," Grace finished it for him after Agni trailed off a moment too long.

Agni nodded dazedly, "I've been telling myself that they're still alive, after a blow that could kill rankers. But…who am I kidding? I was lucky enough to survive with just this little–" Agni vaguely pointed to himself– "inconvenience."

Agni felt a hand gripping his arm, and he pulled away to see Grace looking at him with a pained expression. His eyes were glossy and his lips were pulled into a thin line. Trusting his instinct, Agni reached out to gently trace and cup Grace's cheek with his free hand.

"I'm sorry," Agni muttered. "I'm sorry, for not telling you sooner."

Agni silently witnessed tears that streamed down on his love's face. It was a bitter sight that Agni wished he'd never have to see again, that he had tried to avoid for so long by not telling him. He pulled Grace in and held him close to his chest, as if Agni was trying to gather his own crumbled heart back together.

Grace mumbled their late best friends' names as he held onto him tighter, shaking from each breath he took between sniffles.

Agni felt his own eyes sting with unshed tears. He remembered the years he spent climbing the tower together with his old team. Despite their banter being his source of headaches, Agni knew he too had come to acknowledge them as his cherished friends. Only when they were gone did Agni realize how much he'd miss having them around. Seeing the younger them didn't exactly close the gaping hole in his heart, but at least the emptiness was more filled.

Agni squeezed Grace tighter. "We have their younger selves with us now. We will protect them better this time."

Grace only nodded and sank further into his embrace. And Agni planted kisses on his hair, relishing the thought that after everything he had gone through, Grace was still a constant in his life. As long as he had him, everything would be okay.

When Grace started shaking again, Agni caressed his hair and hummed a comfort song they had known by heart. Still, it didn't make falling asleep any easier for Agni, especially not after admitting that his nightmare was very much real. However, as he had been through grief…this, too, would pass.

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[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Mako x Fire Nation Princess imagine series: Part One

Imagine being Iroh Junior’s daughter, princess of the fire nation and becoming friends with Mako

I read that in book 4 Mako was supposed to have a thing with Izumi’s daughter so that inspired this but I changed it from Izumi’s daughter to Iroh’s to make it a more suitable age difference.

Part Two here

Part Three here

Part Four here

Part Five here

----

Mako paced back and forth on the deck of Asami’s ship, becoming more and more nervous as the fire nation came closer and closer. “How did I get myself into this?” he muttered and Asami chuckled “you made quite an impression on the princess of the fire nation, remember? On your late-night escapades”.

Of course Mako remembered. He’d just finished work when he saw a girl sneaking down the street, clearly trying to avoid the attention of two men who appeared to be searching for someone. Mako didn’t recognise the men but they looked fire nation, so he speculated they could be part of the Agni Kai Triad. Mako didn’t want to just walk away so he discreetly made his way over and offered you his assistance getting away from the men. You were suspicious of Mako’s intentions but once he’d assured you he wanted nothing other than to see you safely away from these men you agreed. He tried to sneak you past the men dressed in his coat and scarf but they spotted you. That’s when things got weird. Rather than being scared you had laughed loudly and pulled Mako into an alley away from them. They persued you but you just kept laughing shooting Mako grins as if this was the most fun you’d had in weeks. After you’d gotten away you finally stopped laughing, thanked Mako for his help and with some basic directions started to walk away. Mako was utterly confused by everything and was reluctant to let you just walk away. Partly because you clearly were new here so would just end up wandering around but also because you’d piqued his interest. There was something so odd about you, he wanted to know who you were and what on earth was going on. So he tagged along, offering to show you around the city and you agreed. Together you wandered around republic city all evening until finally you were cornered by royal guards. Mako recognised them by the fire nation insignia reserved for royalty and paused looking from you to them utterly confused. When they addressed you as the princess Mako’s jaw dropped. You were the heir to the throne and he’d aided you in escaping from your guards to swan around one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Mako was sure he’d be arrested or worse and the guards did seize him briefly before you intervened. You yelled at them to let him go, directly challenging your father who just so happened the be Iroh II, son of Izumi, the future Firelord. You argued with your father and got every last charge against Mako dropped. Your father wasn’t pleased and demanded you board the royal airship so you could go home and face your punishment. You’d just shrugged ignoring your father’s urgency and turned back to Mako. “Thanks for tonight Mako, this was the most fun i’ve had in a while and I won’t forget the kindness you showed me”. Mako blushed unsure what the etiquette was when royalty thanked you for helping them run away. “Er...no problem, princess” he said bowing and you chuckled. “You said you worked for Lin Beifong right? I’ll be letting her know she has an amazing officer in her force”. Mako blushed even more and your father yelled your name. You told him you were coming before turning back to Mako “I should go but hopefully we’ll meet again”. Mako nodded “yeah hopefully” although he very much doubted it. You laughed before waving “goodbye Mako” and you ascended the stairs to the royal airship. Mako watched wondering how something so odd could happen to him.

After that things had largely gone back to normal. You had spoken to Lin about him and his chief was very impressed Mako made a good impression on the future Firelord as were all his friends but Mako brushed them away. He liked you and found the idea you’d be a world leader one day equally comforting and terrifying but he was sure your dealings with one another were now well and truly over. Then he received an invitation to come to the fire nation.  

Mako clutched said invitation in his hand as the airship sailed closer and closer to your realm. Mako walked back inside hoping to delay spotting the capital city for as long as possible and heard Bolin asking Tenzin the same question he’d already asked a thousand times. “So what event are we attending again?”. Tenzin’s eye twitched and Korra smirked. “This event is a royal fire nation ceremony that goes back centuries. It marks the age at which Y/n can partake in her royal duties. It’s a huge celebration officially proclaiming her the heir and future Firelord to the whole world. We are all very lucky y/n thought to invite Mako and he was able to bring us all as his guests”. Bolin nodded “got it, got it...you know I still can’t believe Mako’s dating the Firelord!” Bolin cried turning to him. “You went from dating the symbolic heiress of republic city, to dating to the avatar, to the future Firelord" Bolin frowned "fire nation men really have a way with women”. Asami and Korra rolled their eyes but Mako was almost bursting in his rush to correct his little brother. “Y/n and I aren’t dating! She’s the future Firelord, you can’t go around saying things about her that aren’t true. We’re just friends...well acquaintances really” he shrugged and Korra rolled her eyes. “Sureee that’s why she invited you to her big ceremony, i’m sure she invites all her acquaintances to important events an average fire nation citizen would kill to attend”. “You’re all coming too” Mako pointed out but Korra’s smirk only grew “as your guests! The invite was addressed wholly to you and only you lover boy”.  Mako blushed slightly shaking his head "you don’t understand, I like her but she’s second in line to the throne...princesses don’t just spend their time with commoners". "Well she invited you here, that must mean something" Asami argued and Mako sighed "I shouldn't have come, she only invited me to be nice, not because she wants me there. Me actually going will just make everything awkward". "No way! I want to attend a royal party!" Bolin cried and Asami patted his arm “don’t fret Bolin it’s too late to turn back, we’re here”.

Despite having a mother from the fire nation neither Mako or Bolin had ever visited and the capital city felt wonderfully exotic to both of them but Mako couldn’t enjoy the sights. His friends all talked excitedly about everything they saw but Mako could feel his heart hammering every step closer they got to the palace. Finally it came into view and Mako gaped that this awe-inspiring structure city would all be yours one day.

As Bolin began a game of *punch someone every time you see a piece of art with a dragon in it* Tenzin thought it necessary to reaffirm where they were. “Now remember the fire nation is all about tradition and formality” Tenzin instructed them all “you must bow to any member of the royal family when you first see them and always address them with their title or you can insult their honour”. “But how do I know who’s royal?” Bolin asked “they all look fancy”. Tenzin sighed “just do as Mako does and you should be fine”. Mako frowned inwardly, great more eyes on him! Just because he spent an evening with the princess and looked fire nation didn’t mean he knew anything about the etiquette. The group were guided into the palace and eventually reached a large courtyard at which point their escort paused. “We’re still making preparations for the party, would you like to be shown to your rooms or mingle?”. “Mingle!” Bolin and Korra cried before rushing into the crowd. Tenzin groaned and followed with Asami and Mako trailing. “Relax” Asami smiled “you’ll fit right in around here I mean you already look the part”. Mako was going to try and explain how that didn’t help him when he heard a voice. Mako turned around to see you stood in front of him. "Mako!" you grinned and he froze. 

When you’d been in republic city you’d dressed casually to blend in. Here at the palace you were in traditional royal clothes and Mako blinked. Your outfit was clearly made of exquisite rich materials and the gold hems on your robe caught the sun as you moved. The pin in your hair also gleaming in the sunlight and Mako remembered only royals were allowed to adorn their hair in this way. You looked so professional and well like a princess...the only thing that made him relax was your smile. “Hi” Mako said awkwardly, he could feel all eyes on him and was sure his cheeks were red. He felt Tenzin’s glare and wondered what he’d done wrong when he realised it was pretty much everything. Mako quickly bowed low and made sure to avoid looking you in the eye “my apologies princess y/n”. He straightened and saw Tenzin was nodding approvingly when you suddenly laughed and hugged him. Mako froze as everyone around pretended not to stare. He knew this was not protocol but you didn’t seem to care. “I don’t think my bodyguard needs to be so formal” you smiled “you’re here as my guest so none of that formality...well not with me at least, when my grandma arrives you should probably bow”. Mako nodded “got it...sorry”. “Don’t apologise” you smiled and squeezed his arm. "I'm so glad you could come! I wasn’t sure if work would let you have the weekend off". "I made a deal with them" Mako lied, the truth was the second he mentioned the princess of the fire nation he was excused. “Well I will have to send a thank you to Chief Beifong” you smiled before spotting Mako’s friends “these must be your guests” you grinned “let me guess, Asami, Korra and of course your little brother Bolin” you said addressing each of his friends in turn. Bolin gaped “the Firelord knows me”. “Future Firelord” you corrected him “my grandmother Izumi is Firelord, then my father Iroh II is next in line, then it’s me”. “Wow!” was all Bolin replied still as impressed and Mako frowned but you just smiled politely. Tenzin bowed “Princess Y/n” and they all followed his example. “It’s nice to see you again Tenzin” you smiled warmly “It’s been a while, i believe the last time was your mother’s 80th birthday?”. Tenzin nodded smiling slightly “yes I believe it was”. “How are Pema and your children?”. “All well thank you for asking princess” Tenzin nodded. You looked at all the others and smiled “and how about the rest of you? I take it you’ve all been well cared for?”. Korra nodded “we have, thank you princess but can I ask you something? What are you doing out here? We thought this was all just the preparations for later”. You smiled “it is but honestly I prefer this part to the actual ceremony, so I thought I’d get a good look at this place before it's filled with boring nobels”. Tenzin blinked confused about how to respond to your informal comments and Mako couldn’t help but smile. He knew you weren’t the typical fire nation princess obsessed with titles and that’s what he liked about you. “But you are correct I probably should go and get ready, I can walk you to your rooms if you’d like or you can stay and mingle”. “I think we’d all like to stay and look around but I know Mako was very anxious to get to his room” Asami said and Mako shot her a glare. “Of course, I’m sure the journey was long! I’ll walk with you”. Mako nodded “thank you” and followed you.

“So are you excited for your ceremony?” Mako asked “I don’t know much about the fire nation but even I know this is a big deal”. You chuckled nodding “it is and I am excited but I know I will be relieved when it’s all over! This whole royal business can be such a nuisance sometimes” you admitted and Mako smirked at the way you said that. You noticed and rushed to explain yourself “of course I’m very grateful for the position me and my family are in but sometimes I just wish I could walk into a room without everyone bowing or be able to go somewhere without an army of guards watching me” you said glancing at the guards posted along every hall. “That’s why I invited you here” you admitted “I’ve thought about that evening in republic city a lot since I returned home. It was the first time in five years I was just allowed to run around and be free...I’m very grateful you gave me that Mako, you don’t know how much it meant to me”. Mako was touched at the sincerity in your voice and smiled “the honour was all mine, honestly I’m just glad I kept you from any harm and gave you a well deserved night off”. You smiled at him warmly “that you did, now I’m sorry but this is where I must leave you. Your room is down this hall, fifth door on the right. I will see you later on in the ballroom but please send word to me if you need anything at all”. “Thank you I look forward to your party” Mako said bowing and you chuckled again before nodding and walking away.

Mako reached his room and collapsed in relief that there was nobody around to witness anything stupid he might do. So far it had been good he reflected. You were exactly as he remembered and he was again struck by how normal you were. He felt a draw to you which was odd considering it usually took him a while to trust people but with you there was just something there...he liked you a lot, maybe as more than a friend but he knew better than to entertain such foolish fantasies. Yes you’d been kind to him and he did think you genuinely liked him but being of non-royal blood he’d be an idiot to expect anything more than a friendship could flourish. So Mako put the thought from his mind and started focusing on preparing for the most expensive party he would ever attend.

The party

Mako entered alongside his friends and was glad of their presence. Korra drew a lot of eyes being the Avatar as did Asami being the famous CEO of Future Industries. Bolin was also the famous Nutuk and Tenzin Avatar Aang’s son so Mako was relieved to just sink into the background and be the uninteresting one. Mako listened to the various different conversations, only speaking when someone addressed him directly but he found some people eying him with curiosity. It was slightly unnerving and so Mako excused himself to grab a drink but turned to find the avatar had followed him. “Nervous huh?” Korra asked. “What makes you say that?” he asked and Korra smiled “because you’ve barely said three words all evening which is odd even for you”. Mako sighed “I’m just scared to mess up and offend someone. I know you all think I fit in here but I don’t. Sure I look the part but the nobels can all tell i’m not really one of them...I feel like an imposter”. Korra frowned and went to comfort him when she tensed. “Princess y/n” Korra said suddenly and Mako turned to see you appear in front of them. “Princess” Mako echoed bowing and you smiled “now you’ve done it once you don’t have to bow to me for the rest of the evening” you informed them “I spotted you from over there and thought I would come and say hello. You both look lovely thank you so much for attending”. Mako blushed and Korra smiled “thank you for inviting us you look lovely as well, doesn’t she Mako?” Korra said nudging him. Mako blushed more “yes you look very beautiful”. Mako looked away rapidly but he could have sworn you blushed as well. However when he looked back up you had composed yourself. “You are both very kind, would you care to join me and some of my friends over by the fountain? They are quite excited to meet the avatar and the man who kidnapped me in Republic City” you said winking to let them know you were only joking. “Of course” Korra agreed and you beamed leading them to a group of fire nation youths around your age. “Everyone this is Avatar Korra and Officer Mako, Korra and Mako these are my closest friends Yy, Eiyima, Sai, and...” you paused and Mako saw you look at the last member of the group with distaste “Okum who has apparently joined us”. “I couldn’t keep away, may I say princess you look ravishing”. The man kissed your hand and Mako saw the way you quickly took your hand out from his grip “thank you...” you said sourly. “Wow you’re really the avatar?” your friend Yy cried “that’s awesome”. You smirked as your friend soon had the avatar cornered encouraging the others to join in. They all shot Korra tons of questions and you caught Mako smirking at the panicked look on the avatar’s face having the attention of lots of pretty women on her. You stepped back to give your friends some space and Mako did the same stepping beside you. “So how are you coping? I bet this is all a bit much for your first trip to the fire nation right?”. Mako nodded relieved you’d said it so he could agree “yes it’s a bit overwhelming but your city is beautiful...I wish I’d have visited sooner”. “You should see it on Twin Sun day” Okum cried suddenly joining the conversation and Mako saw the smile from your face drop. “Or during the lily festivals, do you remember the last one we went to y/n?” Okum said pointedly trying to draw you into a conversation but you just nodded before turning your attention back to Mako. “Are there any festivals you’d like to attend here Mako?”. Mako froze lost and wondered if to lie and pretend he knew any festivals but instead he just sighed. “I’m sorry but I don’t really know any fire nation festivals. I grew up in republic city so I don’t know much about the culture".

You opened your mouth to speak but Okum cut you off "don’t you mean our culture? Or do you not recognise your fire nation lineage?". "No of course I do and I respect it...just you usually learn about your culture through your parents and my mother never got round to showing me much before she passed..." Mako explained. You frowned and touched his arm gently. Mako saw the boy Okum glare at that and felt slightly proud, it didn’t matter if everyone else judged or looked down on him as long as you didn’t. "I'm so sorry Mako, i’ll be happy to teach you everything, it's not as hard as you think! Just talk about honour and pride and you'll fit right in". "Honour?" a voice asked and Mako froze as you smiled. "Mako this is my great grandfather Firelord Zuko, great grandfather this is Mako". Mako bowed but the former Firelord smiled "we've met before, no need to bow". "You've met?" you asked and your great grandfather smiled "you're not the only one who sneaks out of the palace from time to time y/n, I met Mako and his brother Bolin when I assisted the avatar a few years ago". You nodded "of course! Why did you never mention it?" you asked Mako and he blushed "I....it didn't come up?". You smiled and Zuko patted your back "i just came to say hello, I’ll leave you to your friends. I'm going to try and find where your great grandmother is hiding...you haven’t seen her have you?”. You smirked "I saw great-grandma Mai heading for the gardens after a particularly long and boring conversation with the treasurer. I think she plans to hide if another one tries to speak with her and honestly I don’t blame her". Your great grandfather smiled "you always had a good eye, i’ll go see if I can coax her out of her usual hiding spot" and with a nod to Mako left. Mako realised Zuko hadn't even acknowledged Okum and smirked.

Your friends, finally done with teasing Korra, re-joined the conversation and Mako enjoyed chatting with them but mainly you. Mako was actually relaxing and having a good time when you had to leave to prepare for your royal blessing. You rolled your eyes explaining how normally four outfit changes were expected but you’d managed to talk your father down to only two. Your friends laughed but Okum didn’t seem pleased. He began lecturing you on how important tradition was and Mako saw the way you glared at him and laughed. You noticed and locked eyes with him. You shot Mako a private smile before turning back to Okum with a sigh. “Yes, yes, Okum I’m aware and I’d love to hear your thesis about it but I really do have to go. Wish me luck” you smiled and disappeared. “Wow y/n is not at all like a princess” Korra smiled widely “i’ve met royalty before and none of them are as normal as her”. Your friends all nodded proudly and Mako did too but he noticed Okum didn’t seem pleased with her comment. “I’m sorry but what exactly does the ceremony entail?” Mako asked. Your friends all assured him he had nothing to be sorry for and explained you would be anointed by your grandmother and then you would dance with a member of the fire nation to show your dedication to the people. “A dance?” Korra asked “thank god I never had to do anything like that”. Everyone laughed but Okum rolled his eyes “it’s not just a dance. Every time this celebration rolls around whoever the heir dances with ends up as the Firelord consort". Mako frowned "every time?". Okum nodded "yep". "But isn’t 18 a bit young to know who to spend the rest of your life with?". Okum snorted "maybe for normal people but not for royalty, y/n has had only the best around her since she was a child and her father has only encouraged good matches....I've been practising my dance for this ocassion". Mako glared, Okum was so confident not only would you dance with him but that you’d also eventually marry him! It made Mako’s blood boil and he dreaded this awful dance. “I should go ensure I get a good spot so it’s not awkward when y/n chooses me” he grinned and with that he waltzed away. Mako glared after him and was relieved to see your friends all glaring too. “Eugh good ridance” your friend Sai growled watching him go. Eiyima agreed “I know y/n’s expected to pick him but I really hope she doesn’t”. “Y/n has to pick Okum”? Mako asked and your friends all frowned. “Well she doesn’t have to” Sai explained “but since they were kids people have been pushing for a match between them and tonights the night his family have been waiting for. The dance is a pretty big deal”. “That’s awful” Korra frowned “y/n seems so nice but Okum....the guy’s a jerk”. Mako worried Korra might have offended your friends but they all only laughed. “Ow don’t worry y/n knows that. She’s smart, i’m sure she’ll find a way out of this” Yy reassured them. Mako nodded sincerely hoping Okum would never get a chance with you.

When the bells sounded signalling the dance would start soon, everyone began to gather around the edge of the ballroom leaving a large space for you and your chosen partner. Mako was going to head to the back so he didn’t have to see you and Okum when firelord Zuko appeared. "Officer Mako, Avatar Korra” he smiled “would you care to stand and watch the dance with me?" the late firelord asked. Mako shook his head "I should probably stand further back..." thinking of titles but Zuko shook his head "nonsense" and led the way. There was no refusing royalty so Mako followed standing beside Korra. "Relax" Korra hissed “y/n will be fine”. “I know I just hate the way that guy was talking about her. I really hope she picks someone else”. Korra nodded “fingers crossed”.

The music began shortly and everyone looked up at the main staircase expectantly. You descended and Mako knew he wasn’t the only one who paused for breath. Your dress was a deep rich red and flowed around you like...well fire. The gold of your jewellery was just as dazzling but it complimented the warm red well. Your long hair twisted upwards and held in place with many shiny gold pins. Everyone was gazing at you and your parents beamed at you. You bowed to your grandmother and the rest of your family in turn. Your grandmother then anointed you with royal oil and placed a gold cloth around your shoulders to symbolise your royalty. Everyone applauded and the music changed to something more suitable for dance. You did a customary walk of the circle smiling at all those who had come to wish you well.  Mako spotted Okum grinning at you and glared at him. He saw Okum was stood right at the front, a little in front of the others to make himself stand out and Mako’s glare turned to a frown. Then you reached the beginning of the circle and everyone held their breath, this was the moment they’d been waiting for.  Mako saw your eyes go straight to Okum before they drifted away. You looked down and then started forwards away from Okum. Mako felt a shift in the crowd as you headed in the complete opposite direction. Mako saw your parents, particularly your father tense in shock and Okum’s face was priceless. Mako was enjoying it so much he jumped when he realised you were coming closer. Mako’s heart hammered in his chest and he heard Korra chuckle. You got closer and closer, muttering following you the whole way, before you stopped and looked up at Mako. You extended your hand "Mako would you dance with me?". Mako was sure he was going to pass out, he’d been in multiple life or death situations but this was by far the most terrifying thing he’d experienced. "Me?" was all he managed and you laughed softly. "Yes, should I have made it more obvious?" you asked and Mako blushed "no....I of course" and took your hand. You smiled and led Mako to the centre of the floor. Mako was aware of the hundreds of eyes on him. No doubt judging him, he was a nobody, they were probably all seething in rage to have a peasant selected. You seemed to notice his nerves and when you took hold you leant into Mako "don’t look at them, focus on me and don’t worry I’ve got this”. Relief swept through Mako and you smiled "follow my lead".

Mako had always disliked dancing, he was too tall and his limbs too long to be graceful but you were an excellent dancer and you pulled him along with you. You made it look effortless and Mako couldn’t believe how you made him seem like a decent dancer. Finally after what felt like hours other people joined the floor. When enough had joined so it wasn’t noticeable you stopped and tugged Mako to the side “want to stop for a bit?”. “Yes please” Mako cried and you smiled leading him from the room. You led him to a private exit onto a balcony that must’ve been reserved for royalty based on the guards that lined it. They let you through, the doors swinging softly closed behind you, before turning to him. “I hope you’re not angry” you said worried and Mako frowned “what?”. “I know that must have been pretty blind sighting. Your face said you didn’t expect that at all, I hope I didn’t make you do something you weren’t comfortable with?”. Mako shook his head “no I wasn’t angry I was just surprised that’s all! I heard this dance was a big deal so for you to pick me...I didn’t even think that was allowed, is it?”. You took a breath carefully phrasing your reply “there are no rules that say the person selected has to be a person with titles, it’s just expected and I guess the fact everyone chosen in history has been a person of high birth doesn’t help that”. “Wow” Mako breathed “those people are not going to be happy”. You frowned at Mako’s face and stepped closer. “Mako this was my decision not yours, don’t worry nobody will blame or attack you. I won’t let them”. Mako blushed at your concern and touched your hand softly “it’s okay don’t worry I’m not scared but can I asked you something? Why did you choose me? Was it just so you didn’t have to choose Okum?”. “No, I could have chosen a number of different people but I don’t know it just felt right to choose you. Which I’m sure sounds very strange considering we only spent one evening together but I...I struggle to get close to people” you admitted “of course I always try to be friendly and respectful to everyone but often I sense they just want to use me and my title. They don’t see me but my royal bloodline and future power, so I struggle to make connections but with you. I didn’t have that issue for some reason and for me that is rare. I just instantly felt comfortable around you and liked you from the start, I knew I could trust you and you’ve been so kind and sweet to me, not just because I’m the princess. That’s why I chose to dance with you, I have a good feeling about you Mako and i’d...i’d like to spend more time with you if you would too”. Mako blushed vividly, the close proximity to your not helping, but he nodded his head slowly “I...would definitely like to get to know you better too...sorry if I’m being awkward this is just very unexpected”. You nodded “don’t worry I totally get it but I promise you’re not tied to anything. We can just hang out and see how things go and if...” you started when you trailed off hearing voices. You spun around and Mako froze to see your whole family storming onto the balcony. You dropped Mako’s hand and stepped in front of him protectively despite being quite a bit smaller than him. Still Mako appreciated the gesture and stood tall behind you.

"Y/n what was that?" your father barked "you were supposed to dance with Okum". You glared at your father defiantly "that's precisely why I didn’t pick him. Did you see how presumptuous he was? He thought this would be a marriage proposal". "Y/n I'm sure that's not true..." your mother started but you shook your head "I heard him say it!". Mako nodded "I did too" and then shrunk away at the royal stares. "Regardless, you should have chosen him!" your father replied. "Why? I've already told you I will not entertain him". "And I told you it was all planned" your father shot back. "All planned?" a voice asked and the whole room froze because the Firelord had spoken. Mako stared at Izumi awestruck at the presence your grandmother had. "What do you mean by planned? Did you tell y/n to pick Okum?" she asked. Your father hesitated "I...I told her it would be best if she did". Your mother gasped and your grandmother shook her head "what was one of the first things I taught you about being royalty?" Izumi asked and Mako saw your father shrink further. "Mothers please....". "No you have behaved like a child so you will be treated as one, what was your first lesson?". Iroh II sighed "to lead with both my heart and head”. Izumi nodded "you have broken that first rule and all subsequent ones as a consequence tonight. Do you know why it is such an important rule? Was the 100-year war not enough to remind you?". "No I just...wanted what is best for y/n". "Yes well while you can certainly have an opinion your say never outweighs y/n’s. My father allowed me to select a partner to my liking, I did the same for you and I expect you to do the exact same for your daughter. I won’t have it any other way, history has shown why meddling does not work and I won’t have my own family repeated our ancestor's mistakes, now have I made myself clear?" your grandmother finished her voice firm and clear. Iroh nodded "yes I am sorry" your father looked to you "I'm sorry" he repeated. You nodded and your grandmother smiled "you are forgiven now please give me a moment with my granddaughter alone". Your parents went to leave as did Mako but your grandmother stopped him "I wish to speak to you as well young man". Mako paled but walked back to stand next to you.

Silence fell and once again Mako was struck once again by how powerful your grandmother’s presence was. He was slightly nervous as Izumi looked you both over and then she suddenly smiled. “Now firstly are you both okay?”. You nodded and Mako could see you relax slightly “yes we’re fine, Mako was a bit shocked but I think we’re better now?” you asked looking back at him and Mako nodded firmly. “Good” your grandmother replied “now the serious stuff, y/n you understand that while I don’t hold the age-old traditions as essential practices in today’s day and age many still hold them to the utmost importance, yes?”. You nodded “yes grandmother”. Izumi nodded “so you understand this might cause quite a stir affecting both of you?”. You paused “Yes but I promised Mako I’d take all the blame and shield him from it”. Izumi frowned “while that is honourable it may not be possible, y/n after tonight his name will be all over the fire nation maybe even further”. You froze “but I...can’t we do anything to protect him? This isn’t Mako’s fault. I don’t want him to suffer”. Mako went to protest it wasn’t your fault either but your grandmother cut him off. “It’s not a mess to be cleaned y/n just a side effect you need to be aware of. As for helping Mako of course we will. We will assess the situation and give him a royal escort home if needs be and of course his job will be protected should the Republic City police see this incorrectly. He will be protected as much as possible”. You let out a large sigh and then turned to Mako “is that okay?” Mako smiled “of course it is! I told you before I don’t want you going through this alone. I can handle a share of the chaos, trust me I’ve experienced worse”. You chuckled but your grandmother made a noise “hmm yes I’ve heard all about you Mako. Ex-athlete and gang member turned detective. The avatar vouches strongly for you as do Tenzin and Lin but I can’t help but wonder if trouble follows you or the other way around”. You both went to speak but your grandmother carried on “regardless if my granddaughter trusts you then so do I. You have the support of the fire nation, if you need anything just ask”. Mako blinked shocked “I...thank you your majesty” and he bowed low. Izumi watched him before nodding “you’re welcome, now I should return to the ball. Come back whenever you’re ready” and she swept away.

The second she left Mako let out a loud breath he’d been holding. "Wow that was...". he started and you frowned. "Intense, awful? Terrifying?" You asked "that was not how I wanted to ease you into fire nation life". Mako chuckled "it was all of those things but it was also endearing. Seeing your family act like normal people... it's nice to witness, I can see where you get your attitude from". You raised an eyebrow “is that an insult?". "No definitely a compliment" Mako grinned and you blushed "so does that mean it hasn't scared you off? You’re not going to run back to Republic City and never speak to me again?". "I don’t scare that easy" Mako replied moving closer to you "I like you y/n and although this will change things...I'm willing to adapt because I...I want to be around you. I want to date you". You blushed vividly but smiled up at Mako clearly pleased “no backing out now" you warned. Mako just smiled "good" and looked down. "I don’t know what the royal dating procedure is but am I allowed to kiss you?". You shook your head "not without announcing your courtship of me to my family". Mako paused and you grinned widely "I'm kidding" and wrapped your hands around his neck kissing him softly. Mako smiled and kissed you back delicately. He was aware he was kissing the future of the fire nation but that wasn’t what made it so surreal. It was the fact he was kissing you, a girl he felt an instant connection with who he liked a lot that made it so amazing. You pulled away blushing and Mako smiled at your reaction. He felt a fierce protectiveness over you and wrapped his arms around you softly. "That was nice" you commented and he nodded "everything about tonight was nice, thank you for inviting me". You smiled "you'll soon stop saying that, in the fire nation we love throwing parties". Mako shook his head "I won't, I'll attend every single one you invite me to". "I'll hold you to that" you replied and stepped out of Mako’s embrace "speaking of which this one isn’t over yet. Are you ready to go back out there?". Mako nodded his head and followed you outside hand in hand.

___

I just want Mako to have a good life so why can’t he be Firelord (or earth king if he married Wu) consort one day?

[atlabeth]

everything happens for a reason part 11 - zuko x fem!reader

Memories, where'd you go?

part 10 | masterlist | part 12

a/n: alternative name for this fic: y/n gets a crush on every pretty girl she meets. yue, katara, and now suki. she can't help it (and she questions why they're all connected to sokka in some way lmaoo)

anyways, this is kind of filler but it establishes some more with relationships and finallyyy gets us into ba sing se at the end. i know it's a lil annoying because there's a lot of episode-to-text writing, but i promise it'll get more freeform as it goes on

also i know that i just posted something yesterday but i have literally zero patience. like i cant hold chapters i have to post them as soon as i write them loll

wc: 5.3k

warning(s): some feels over zuko as per usual, but overall a pretty tame chapter

chapter title comes from memories by panic! at the disco!

Zuko could barely sleep anymore.

He didn’t know when his life became so complicated, but he wasn’t a fan of it.

Back when it was just him, his crew, and the open sea — it was simple. He had a job, a straightforward mission. Find the Avatar, capture him, return home to the Fire Nation and regain his honor.

Now, the waters were more muddied than ever. Now on the run from the Fire Nation just like the boy he was chasing, all he really felt nowadays was anger.

Angry at the world for setting him on this path, angry at the Avatar for refusing to see what was necessary, his sister and her friends for turning against him, angry at the waterbender for making things so damn hard.

He didn’t want to hurt her. A part of him wished that she had never come back into his life, if it meant he wouldn’t have to constantly be fighting against her. He hated himself for the thought, but maybe it would have been easier for her to remain a memory of a lover than his active enemy.

Late at night, when he was reaching fruitlessly for sleep that would never come, he saw her face. The carefree energy from their childhood morphed into the shock and disappointment from both the North and their fight with Azula, and…

It made him wonder what in Agni had happened to them.

He—

He didn’t know. The way he felt about her, it was different than anything he had experienced before. Zuko didn’t know what it was, but he understood that it was special. And now… it felt like he had just thrown it all away.

Zuko couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened with her in that town — what he had done to her.

He had burned her to try and get to the Avatar, and he hadn’t even allowed a glance back at the damage he had done. He had heard her cry out in pain, pain he had caused, and he didn’t even look back.

What had happened to them? What had happened to him?

He kept telling himself that the mission was the only thing that mattered. And it was, wasn’t it? Capture the Avatar, regain his honor, get his old life back and finally be enough for his father. He didn’t have time for friends, or for these feelings he had, or— or for anything but capturing the Avatar. Because the Avatar was the key to everything, to his honor, and that was all that mattered.

But now…

Now, he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He didn’t know what was right, or what was wrong, or what path was the one he had to take.

Zuko just wished things could be like they used to be.

~~~~~~~~~~

She didn’t really know when everything had become a mess again.

It all started out fine, like it usually did. Toph had become fully integrated into the group, any past squabbles put to rest in the name of a stronger friendship emerging between all five of them. Katara continued to work on Aang’s waterbending (oftentimes Y/N joining them in their sessions) while Toph slowly but steadily beat earthbending into him — literally.

They had all been working hard for so long that, by decree of Aang, it was ‘vacation time’. They would all get to pick out places they wanted to spend as a break, and after it was over they would get back to work.

Aang had chosen some sort of field with musical groundhogs, and Y/N had opted to revisit an Earth Kingdom village that she had passed through on her journey to the North. Sokka had complained the whole time about how they were ‘wasting valuable planning time’, but had finally conceded after the promise of ‘all the planning his heart could desire’ from Katara after their mini-vacations were over.

Y/N was actually feeling somewhat relaxed for once, but she had forgotten the golden rule — never let your guard down. Everytime she let her guard down, something bad happened without fail. So it shouldn’t have been any surprise with what happened in the desert.

Because after one trip to the Misty Palms Oasis and a journey into the desert with a professor to a long lost library, Appa had been taken by desert raiders.

It was… less than favourable. During their escape from the library, Professor Zei had insisted on staying behind, and now the five of them were stuck in the middle of the desert with no way out and zero guidance. Add some brewing tensions between Aang and Toph because of her being there when Appa was taken, and they had a recipe for a huge disaster.

And a disaster they had. Multiple disasters, actually.

There was only so much she and Katara could do to hold the group together, but by some miracle, they made it out of the desert with only one Avatar State mishap.

(And an incident with cactus juice, but… she didn’t really want to talk about that.)

....at least they had the information about the Eclipse. That was about the only thing keeping her together at the moment.

They had to get the information to the Earth King so they could formulate an attack with his warriors, but without Appa, they had to resort to more traditional methods of travel. Add in one passport problem, and that was how Y/N found herself braving the Serpent’s Pass alongside a refugee family with a baby on the way.

It was… intimidating, to say the least. Despite being surrounded by her element, Y/N didn’t feel any safer from the challenge that faced them. She took a deep breath, trying to tamp down on her fear the way her mother had taught her, as she followed the group, but her thoughts were soon interrupted.

“Hey.” She turned to see who the voice belonged to and was greeted by the girl that had teased Sokka early — Suki, if she remembered correctly. “I haven’t seen you around; are you with the Avatar or that family?”

“I’m with Aang,” Y/N explained. “I’m from the North, and they offered me a spot with them after they helped us defend our tribe against the Fire Nation. I’ve been with them ever since.” Suki nodded as they settled into a comfortable stride.

“That’s cool. Are you a waterbender?”

She gestured to her waterskin and smiled. “Yeah. I’ve been training with Aang and Katara ever since I left.” Y/N then turned her gaze back to Suki, raising an inquisitive brow. “Your makeup — what’s it for? I heard you talking about the Kyoshi Warriors back there; is that some kind of thing with Avatar Kyoshi?”

Suki grinned, her every expression heightened by the sharp reds and blacks above her eyes. “We’re a group of all-female warriors that use the teachings of Avatar Kyoshi and her partner Rangi to defend our home and the place she founded, Kyoshi Island. I’m the leader of our village section.”

“Wow,” she murmured, her eyes falling to the ground for a moment before finding their way back up to the warrior. “That’s really cool. You’re really cool.”

She laughed and shrugged. “Thanks. I’ve been training as a warrior for almost my whole life, so it just comes naturally. I like being able to protect people, and there’s no better way to pay back my home for all it’s done for me like protecting the whole village.”

“Wow,” she repeated with a small laugh of her own. “That’s really brave. I gotta say, I’m kinda jealous — I would love to see what would happen if Master Pakku met you all. Katara literally had to beat the sexism out of him in order to train to be a master.”

Suki chuckled. “Sounds like what I had to do with Sokka. Guess it’s a thing with Water Tribe guys, huh?”

At the mention of Sokka, she internally laughed. There had to be some kind of connection between the two of them, the way their interests kept aligning. “Sokka… he’s had it hard. I can’t blame him that much for any kind of attitude he had before he met you. Pakku, on the other hand? He had to have had something better to do than fight teenage girls.”

“You would think so, right?” Suki agreed. “And Sokka… I know. He’s got a heart of gold underneath all that, he just needed a little push to get it out.” As Y/N glanced over at the girl, noticing a slight pink tint under the white makeup, she gasped.

“La’s fins, are you two a thing?” she exclaimed with a grin.

Suki flushed even harder as she suddenly became very interested in the ocean around her, but she couldn’t help the smile on her lips. “No! I mean— yes— but… but—” she stopped to gather her thoughts before making eye contact again with a sheepish smile. “We’re not… really a thing, but… I do like him a lot. I didn’t really think I was going to see him again after they left the island, so this is really nice.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Y/N asked. “I can already tell that he cares about you — have you seen how careful he’s being with you?”

“Well—” Whatever kind of excuse Suki would’ve made up was interrupted by a rock falling out just under Than, one of the refugees they were with, saved in the nick of time with Toph’s earthbending.

“I’m okay!” he reassured, but no sooner had the words left his mouth before the Fire Nation ship in the distance started firing.

“They’ve spotted us!” Sokka yelled. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

Aang flicked his glider open and deflected the blast, and Katara grabbed Y/N’s hand as they all began to run. Another blast rocked the mountain, causing several boulders to fall just above Suki. Y/N didn’t even have time to shout out a warning before Sokka tackled her out of the way, but it was ultimately more of Toph’s quick earthbending that saved him.

“Suki, are you okay?” Sokka brushed dust and pebbles off of her uniform as he examined her, and once he was satisfied he grabbed her hand and helped her up. “You have to be more careful! Come on!”

As the two of them caught up to Y/N and Katara, she gave Suki a knowing look. The warrior only blushed once again and glanced away.

After hours of navigating the pass, they were only about halfway through. Sokka made the executive decision to set up camp for the night to give everyone time to rest, and then they would get up at the crack of dawn to finish their trip. It only took a few minutes for Y/N to get a fire going, and soon everyone had settled in with their sleeping bags. Sokka got up from his spot as Suki wandered closer to the edge, and Katara nudged Y/N with her shoulder.

“Hey. How are your hands doing?”

“They’re fine,” she answered with a small smile, flipping her hands over as proof. Where there were once red burn scars on her palms only tiny white marks remained — one benefit to healing via waterbending was that most injuries were able to fade away completely after enough sessions. Her burns weren’t very serious and she was able to heal them almost immediately, so both her and Katara were sure that the marks would be completely gone soon.

The mental scars wouldn’t fade as easily.

“That’s good. And you’re taking care of them, right? Like, you’re not beating up people while we’re not looking?”

Y/N grinned. “No. I think I’ll leave that to Toph.”

Katara chuckled and nodded, turning her hands over in a final examination before nodding. “Good,” she repeated. The silence between them, although comfortable, stretched out for a little too long before she spoke again, this time much quieter. “He did this to you.”

“Katara…”

“I know,” she said. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this from me, or really at all, but… I’m worried about you. Zuko isn’t good for you. Every time we’ve run into him, he’s hurt you. And you deserve so much more than that.”

“You don’t understand,” she countered. “You don’t know Zuko like I do. You weren’t there when I was. I know you think I’m insane for still believing in him, but I— I can’t let go of him, Katara. I know the Zuko I love is still in there somewhere, and I have to try and find it. For me and for him.”

Katara’s eyes were full of nothing but sympathy as she sighed — it was obvious she didn’t believe her words, but in true fashion she was still trying her best to be supportive.

“Okay. I don’t understand it, but… I don’t think I can change your mind.” Y/N chuckled sadly and nodded, Katara’s piercing gaze meeting her own once more. “It’s just… Why are you playing with fire when you know you’re going to get burned?”

And for once, Y/N didn’t have an answer for her friend.

~~~~~~~~~

The night went by quickly, which Y/N was thankful for. It meant that the nightmares didn’t last as long.

After a quick headcount to make sure no one had fallen off the pass overnight and an even quicker gathering of their things, they set off to finish their journey.

It went just as well as she had expected — a giant serpent, the namesake of the pass, had attacked them while crossing through an underwater section. Thankfully, she was able to aid Katara and Aang in defeating it with waterbending with no casualties

But in the wake of one disaster there was always another, and before Y/N knew it a baby had been born. She was mostly there for moral support — Katara had it all handled, and Y/N didn’t expect anything less.

But finally, they had made it across the pass, and they were so close to Ba Sing Se that she could almost smell the city air. Sadly, though, that meant it was time for them to part ways — Aang to find Appa, and Suki back to her warriors. After some sad but hopeful goodbyes with Aang, it was time to bid farewell to Suki.

“Are you sure you can’t travel a little longer with us?” Y/N questioned, apparently not above pleading to try and get the girl to stay. “You’re— you’re amazing, and we’d really love to have you with us.”

“I can’t even imagine what travelling with the Avatar would be like,” she smiled, causing Y/N to get her hopes up for just a moment before they fell back down. “But I can’t stay. I have to get back to the Kyoshi Warriors.”

Y/N sighed, her gaze falling slightly downcast. “I get that. I just really wish you could stay. Or that I could meet your warriors. You seriously don’t know how cool you are, Suki.”

“Well, if you’re ever in town on Kyoshi Island, find us. I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out and do you one better than just meeting them all,” she said with a grin. “I think it’d be pretty cool to have the first waterbending Kyoshi Warrior.”

Y/N was unable to prevent the heat rushing to her cheeks as she smiled shyly, once again averting eye contact. “That would be amazing. I’ll have to find my way back there after the war.”

Suki bumped shoulders with her, causing a startled laugh to spill from her lips. “We’d love to have you.”

“Wait, why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye to her?” Sokka questioned as he walked up to the two of them. Y/N winked at Suki and gestured at him with her head, walking off before Suki could protest to find Katara.

The conversation the two girls were sharing was an extremely thinly veiled excuse to eavesdrop on the lovebirds, and when they kissed Y/N actually had to hold back a scream.

Sokka deserved this. She knew how much he beat himself up over every little thing that went wrong, and it was about time he got to relax even for a moment. She only hoped that Suki would be in their corner of the world sooner rather than later.

What could she say? She was already fantasizing about life as a Kyoshi Warrior.

~~~~~~~~~

Although they had parted ways, they soon found themselves reunited with Aang to stop yet another Fire Nation threat.

“For the love of Kuruk,” Y/N murmured as she stared into the distance, her eyes wide at the sight of a large mechanical drill. “That was Ty Lee who just took down all those soldiers. And if she’s here, Mai and Azula are with her too. Guys, It’s one thing to stop this drill, it’s another thing to take those three down with it.”

“The question is, how do we do it?” Aang questioned.

“Why can nothing ever be easy?” Sokka lamented. His gaze remained trained on the drill for a moment before he realized theirs were on him. “Why are you all looking at me?”

“You’re the idea guy,” Aang said.

“Wait, so I’m the only one who can ever come up with a plan?” he protested. “That’s a lot of pressure!”

“And also the complaining guy,” Katara muttered, drawing a chuckle out from Y/N.

“Now that part I don’t mind,” Sokka admitted.

“Well, Sokka— you were a huge help in the North, and you figured out a way to defeat the Fire Nation during that eclipse at the library! Plus, there’s all that stuff that Katara told me you did before I joined.” She patted him on the back. “If anyone can figure out how to take that thing down, it’s you.”

He shrugged nonchalantly, his ego only slightly bolstered. “...okay. I think I can do it.”

“That’s the spirit!” she said with a smile.

Unfortunately, that smile faded as a young guard came running up to the wall. “Excuse me, Avatar and friends — I’ve heard that you’ve dealt with that… that pink girl down there before.” They nodded and he continued. “It would do us a great deal of help if you could come down and look at our injured soldiers, then.”

Y/N and Katara nodded in unison and started to follow the guard, the remaining three trailing after them. They ended up inside the wall, in what looked like an infirmary of sorts with all the cots and soldiers lying around, and the two waterbenders exchanged looks.

“You know what to do?” Katara asked.

Y/N hummed in acknowledgment, and they both knelt down next to separate cots. “This definitely looks like Ty Lee’s work,” she murmured as she bent water up from the pot and molded it over the man’s arm.

“What’s wrong with him?” the general questioned. “He doesn’t look injured.”

“His chi is blocked,” Katara explained. “Who did this to you?”

“Two girls ambushed us,” the soldier said, moving his arm as he regained feeling. “One of them hit me with a bunch of quick jabs and suddenly I couldn't earthbend anymore and I could barely move. Then she cartwheeled away.”

Katara sighed as she bent the water back into the pot. “You were right, Y/N. That was Ty Lee — she doesn’t look dangerous, but she knows the human body and its weak point. It’s like she takes you down from the inside.”

As if struck by lightning, Sokka lit up. “Oh, oh, oh! What you just said — that’s how we’re going to take down the drill; the same way Ty Lee took down all those earthbenders!”

“By hitting its pressure points!” Toph exclaimed with a grin.

The breakthrough brought a steely determination to Aang’s features as he looked out into the distance. “We’ll take it down from the inside.”

~~~~~~~~~

Like everything they did, it seemed so simple on paper. But now that she was actually inside the drill, it felt a lot more nerve wracking. Toph opted to stay outside where she could see and try to slow down the drill with the earth at her disposal, which left the four of them to somehow take it down from the inside.

Sokka led them through a hallway with a myriad of valves and pipes as he thought out loud. “I need a plan of this machine — some schematics that show what the inside looks like. Then we can find its weak points.”

“Where are we gonna get something like that?” Aang asked.

Sokka thought for a moment before he took his machete out and hacked a valve off a pipe. Y/N instinctively took a step back and shielded her face from the hot steam. “What are you doing?” she cried. “Someone’s gonna hear us!”

“That’s the point!” he exclaimed. “A machine this big needs engineers to run it, and when something breaks—”

“Someone will come down to fix it!” Katara finished with a smile at Aang, a sentiment the boy returned happily.

It was surprisingly easy to take down the engineer once he arrived — with a little bit of frozen mist on Katara’s end, they had the plans they needed. Sokka’s expertise combined with the blueprints got them to the beginning of the outer shell.

“Wow,” Sokka muttered. “It looks a lot thicker than it does in the plans. We’re gonna have to work pretty hard to cut through that.”

Katara crossed her arms. “What’s this ‘we’ stuff? The three of us are gonna have to do all the work.”

“Look, I’m the plan guy!” Sokka explained with a gesture to himself. “You three are the ‘cut up stuff with waterbending’ guys. Together, we’re Team Avatar!”

Katara and Aang looked wholly unamused while Y/N chuckled. “Team Avatar. I like it.”

“Thank you,” he smiled. “At least someone appreciates my genius.”

“Tui’s gills, why do you have to keep boosting his ego?” Katara complained. “Let’s just get this done before it gets worse.”

The three of them got in position — Katara and Aang on opposite sides so they could pass the stream of water between them, and Y/N making the point of the triangle to work on the other side on her own. They were hoping it would be more efficient being able to cut through both sides at the same time, but it was proving to be much more difficult than they had imagined — halfway through the three of them were already exhausted.

By some feat of strength they were able to completely cut through the brace, but their hard work didn’t pay off in quite the way they had imagined — when the beam only shifted a few inches she groaned.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she breathed as she wiped sweat off of her forehead.

“At this rate,” Katara paused to inhale deeply, “we won’t do enough damage before the drill reaches the wall.”

“I don’t know how many more of those I have in me,” Aang said sadly.

A large creak suddenly rang throughout the large chamber, and they all looked up for the source.

“Did you hear that?” Sokka asked, already backing up to make an exit. “We took it down! We gotta get out of here, fast!”

Just as they reached the door on the other side, a crackle followed by the sound of a man’s voice dashed their hopes. “Congratulations, crew. The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se. Start the countdown to victory!”

A collective silence hung in the air between them, the threat now even more imminent as their situation sunk in. Mai and Ty Lee had proven effective in taking down any Earth Kingdom threat posed at them, and despite Toph’s skill they knew she couldn’t take down something like this on their own.

They either had to figure out a way to destroy this drill, or the Fire Nation was going to make it into the city.

Sokka ran back over to the brace and pushed against it, putting all his strength into the feat but to no avail. “Come…. on! Move!”

Katara started pacing around in a small circle, crossing her arms again as she tried to think of something. “This is bad. This is really bad.”

“Sokka, that’s not going to work!” Y/N didn’t mean to snap, but the grinding of metal on metal combined with her nervousness got to her. She sighed and ran her hand over her face. “I— I’m sorry. But it’s still not going to work.”

He groaned as he leaned against the brace. “We’re putting everything we have into busting these things, but it’s taking too long!”

Suddenly, Aang jumped up from the ground with stars in his eyes. “Maybe we don’t need to cut all the way through! Toph — she’s been teaching me that you shouldn’t put a hundred percent of your energy in any one strike. Sokka, get in a fighting stance.”

Sokka complied and as Aang talked through his points, he demonstrated it on Sokka. “You've got to be quick and accurate. Hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance. And when he's reeling back, you deliver the final blow. His own weight becomes his downfall, literally.”

As Sokka fell over from the attack, Katara lit up. “So we just need to weaken the braces instead of cutting all the way through—”

“—then I can go to the top of this thing and deliver the final blow!” Aang finished.

Y/N helped Sokka up from the ground, his spirits not dampened at all. “Then boom! This whole thing goes down!”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Y/N asked, flexing her fingers to refresh them for all the bending she was going to have to do. “Aang, Katara and I can handle the braces. Focus on getting up to the top before anyone sees you.”

He nodded and they all met each other with determined eyes. “Everyone inside that wall, the whole world — they’re all counting on us.”

“Here, take this. You need this more than I do. ” Katara took her waterskin off and handed it to Aang. “Good luck. And be careful.”

Y/N noticed a slight blush on her cheeks and she had to hold back her smile. That was definitely something she was going to tease her friend about later — when they weren’t trying to stop the Fire Nation from breaking into Ba Sing Se.

“I will,” he assured. Aang slung the strap of the waterskin around his shoulder and took off, and Y/N and Katara got to work breaking through the rest of the braces.

With the knowledge that they only had to cut through half of each column and the revitalization that came from having a plan, their work went by much quicker. Just when they finished the final brace, it all went wrong.

“Good work, Team Avatar!” Sokka cheered. “Now we— Y/N, duck!”

She didn’t question Sokka as she immediately dropped to the ground, something she was immensely thankful for as a blast of blue fire seared past her. Her eyes snapped up to the source of the attack and narrowed in recognition.

“Of course they’re here,” she growled as she pulled herself back up. “We gotta go, now!”

Katara and Sokka nodded and they all started running. Bringing up the rear, Y/N was able to hear Azula’s words right before they split off into an intersection:

“Follow them! I’m going to find the Avatar.”

Sure enough, when she allowed a glance back, Mai and Ty Lee were closing in on them. She flicked open the cap of her waterskin and bent some out, managing to freeze it at just the right moment to block the incoming daggers from Mai. Still running, she melted it quickly and let it fall to the ground before freezing it again, creating some ice on the ground that would hopefully give them a few more seconds of leeway.

“That should give us some time!” she yelled as they turned a corner, finally turning her attention back to the path in front of them. “Any idea how we’re gonna get out of this thing?”

“Maybe!” Sokka yelled back, slowing to a stop as they came to a dead end, a large hatch the only thing at their disposal. He started tugging on the wheel in an attempt to open it, and when Y/N joined in they were able to wrench it open.

“Slurry pipeline?” Katara frowned as she read the sign on the wall and looked at Sokka. “What does that mean?”

“It’s rock and water mixed together,” he explained as they looked into the rushing liquid underneath the hatch. “It means it’s our way out!”

Katara nodded and climbed in, Sokka following close after. The sound of metal footsteps got closer and closer, and Y/N ducked inside just as Mai’s knives clanked against the hatch. Never before had she been so happy to be floating in a stream of slurry.

The rest of their mission went by surprisingly easy — at least, on their end. All it took was some waterbending — earthbending, when Toph joined them — and encouragement from Sokka (though unappreciated by Katara). Whatever magic Aang was working at the top of the drill had done its job, because soon enough the drill had collapsed in on itself.

And now, they had reunited on the top of the wall overlooking the sunset. After the chaos that had been their day, it was nice to just relax for even a moment. And there was no better way to do so than with her friends.

“I just want to say, good effort out there, Team Avatar!” Sokka exclaimed as he threw an arm around Y/N’s shoulder.

“Enough with the ‘Team Avatar’ stuff,” Katara said dryly. “No matter how many times you say it, it’s not going to catch on.”

“I like it, Sokka,” Y/N smiled. “I’ve liked it this whole time.”

“You always appreciate my genius, Y/N,” he mused. “That’s why I appreciate you.” She laughed and leaned her head against his shoulder as he continued to list off names.

“How about… the Boomeraang squad! Eh? See, it’s good because it’s boomerang, and it has Aang in it—”

“Yeah Sokka,” Toph interrupted. “We got it.”

Aang grinned and scratched his head. “I kinda like that one.”

“The Aang Gang. Ooh, the Fearsome Fivesome!”

“You’re crazy,” Toph muttered as she walked away.

“Wait, Sokka—” Y/N pulled away from him and held up her pointer finger. “Aang Gang — what if we combine it, so it’s just the Gaang? But still with Aang’s name?”

And at that moment, Sokka looked more proud than ever. “Oh, you— you are a genius.”

“Oh, spirits,” Katara groaned. “Why do you insist on encouraging him?”

“You’re just jealous of our name-making abilities,” Sokka said haughtily.

She rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “You two are completely ridiculous, you know that? Let’s just get into the city before the trains stop running.”

Y/N and Sokka winked at each other as they all started walking, unable to keep the smile off of her face. She always thought it was amazing — they went through insane things every day, but at the end of it all she was always able to smile because of them. And as her gaze drifted towards the city in the distance, she hoped it would hold true.

She had no idea what Ba Sing Se had in store for her.

-

shit is gonna happen next chapter so i hope you all are READY bc im not

perm tags: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

atla tags: @marianne1806 @brown-eyed-thang @akiris

ehfar tags: @chandies-sideblog @zacatecanaaaa @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @carisi-sonny @selfship-mishaps @i-belong-in-fandoms @ilistentotayswifttocope @i-make-questionable-choices @3leni

[princecosmosanon]

Zukka Fic Idea: Lunar Phototaxis

Originally I described this one as “Zuko is a sacrifice to the moon god (Sokka) and ends up becoming the consort of the moon god (Zukka)” which is pretty basic. This one is most straightforward story idea I have currently, at least in my opinion.

Warnings: mentions of rape/non-con, child and adult slavery/prostitution, mentions of pedophilia, referenced suicide, suicidal ideation and human sacrifice. Most of these happen before the events of the story and will mostly be mentioned, not happen concurrently with the main story itself.

Background details: In this AU, Zuko was born into a rich family off the coast of a continent still known as the Fire Nation, but they are not royalty. For most of Zuko’s childhood he had a normal life, but after his mother passed away (possible suicide) when Zuko was 14 life changed very dramatically. It turned out, much of their family’s wealth, while being somewhat related to trade, was also brought in by Zuko’s father selling their mother to his other rich “friends” which she agreed to do in order to protect her children.

Once Ursa was gone, Ozai instead switched to selling Zuko. Zuko figured it would only be a matter of time before Azula would be abused in the same way, so he prayed to Agni, the Sun god, to protect her. He figured he could endure it, as long as he could save her; and it seemed his prayer was answered.

His uncle Iroh, who was often traveling and doing actual merchant business, happened to visit and offered to take one of the children with him on a journey to the other continent (Earth Kingdom), and Zuko convinced both Iroh and Azula it was better for her to go. She did, and after a time Ozai and Zuko received a letter saying Azula had been selected to join an order of highly skilled warriors (Kyoshi warriors) and would be sending home some of her pay as time went on, cementing her in a safe place away from their father.

Zuko, though very grateful for his answers prayer, did start to feel bitter towards his situation. He didn’t have to “entertain” often but as he got closer to 18 he wondered how his father would get by after Zuko was technically an adult and could leave.

Turns out he couldn’t leave. Ozai had Zuko locked into his room, and claimed to outsiders that Zuko was troubled/ill in order to secure his claim on him and continue to use him for cash. By this point, it didn’t seem fair that he had no way out; even the window had bars on it to keep him from escaping or taking his own life. No matter how much he begged Agni he couldn’t seem to find the same blessing of peace, and Zuko began to curse his god instead, feeling only hopeless despair.

Then, at the peak of summer during Zuko’s 19th year, there was a solar eclipse. The phenomenon, while not impossible was still seen as a bad omen, as it was not predicted for another 50 years. It seemed the planets had fallen out of alignment, and the seas turned dark and stormy for weeks on end.

The story actually begins here, when Zuko is just past 20 years of age, thin from little to no exercise, pale from lack of sun, and bruised from abuse. His father, supposedly gaining clarity after receiving a strange letter from Iroh, declared the twin deities of the Moon and Sea had grown jealous of Agni and demanded blood. A sacrifice was needed to appease them and bring the warmth of the sun back to their coast.

Zuko, who in his adulthood has “lost his appeal” for many of Ozai’s less than savory friends, was taken from his cage of a room and sent out to sea, alone in a small boat, bound with no way to free himself and swim to shore. Zuko was resigned to the fate awaiting him, figuring it would be better to die than remain languishing in his room any longer.

Despite the harsh rain and rocking waves, the boat seemed to naturally remain upright despite it all, like the ocean were guiding him through the storm until there was not a speck of land in sight. Then, suddenly, the heavens cleared and the full moon shone down upon the abruptly still sea. Zuko’s boat, hitting the moonlight, sunk into the reflection of the moonbeams on the water. When Zuko should have drowned, instead it was like he was hit with a strong gust of air, and like that, he had entered the Realm of the Night Sky.

From there, Zuko meets Yue, the caretaker of the stars, one of the Moon god’s first High Priestesses who was welcomed into the Realm upon her death. She leads Zuko to the heavenly alter room where the twin gods, once known as Tui and La, are overseeing a procession of minor deities and spirits offer up sacrifices. One can only stay in the Realm if they offer something, and Zuko realizes he has nothing to offer but himself. So he does, fully expecting the worst, but the Moon god only takes a kiss.

Being touched by a god is overwhelming, and Zuko passes out only to wake in an empty bedroom. From there, he learns a lot of things, like how the Realm of the Night Sky works, what the other denizens do there, who Tui and La (who now go by Sokka and Katara) truly are, and why he was brought here in the first place.

A few little spoilers; Sokka started taking a male form after he changed his name, but he can change his body’s form after every new moon. And Zuko, despite now being in a godly realm, is still technically mortal though his age is suspended while he lives there as time doesn’t work the same in a world made for gods.

Anyway, shout out to @justaloadofgarbage-blog for being interested in this story idea! It’s pretty dark, especially the background stuff, but the story is supposed to be bittersweet. I have a lot of ideas on how I want to move things forward, but I don’t have any clear “end” in mind, so for now this will remain as notes.

[dannypatrol]

I know none of you follow me for Avatar content but I’ve literally been thinking of a non-bender Zuko!AU for the past three days to the point where I cannot focus on anything else so here we go

As the descendant of Avatar Roku and the son Firelord Ozai, everyone expects that Zuko could be one of the most powerful firebenders in history. Except, he just isn’t. From an early age, it’s clear to everyone that Zuko just is not a bender. Ozai doesn’t except this. He keeps his sons status a secret to anyone outside his family.

Through the years, Zuko goes through countless firebending masters who all come to the same conclusion: Zuko just isn’t a bender. Ozai’s dreams come true when it becomes apparent that Azula is an absolute prodigy. Ursa does her best to protect Zuko, but a childhood with Azula and no form of self-defense isn’t ideal.

When Ozai requests to be made heir in place of Iroh, Azulon has a different request: get rid of the non-bender heir. Ursa, desperate to protect her son strikes a deal with Ozai to kill Azulon in his sleep instead of Zuko. Ozai agrees, still desperately hoping Zuko’s powers are just lying dormant.

Years later, Zuko still disrespects his father in front of the council and he is still challenged to an Agni Kai. Ozai tells Zuko to refuse in order to hide his lack of bending ability from the rest of the council, but Zuko accepts.

Zuko turns at the Agni Kai and stands frozen. It’s Ozai. His father looks at him. He tells him to fight.

Zuko focuses all of his strength and puts a hand out. Nothing. Ozai is screaming. He chose to accept this fight now he has to live with that.

Zuko cannot hear anything over his own heart pulsing. He shoots his arm out with all of his strength.

He is on the ground and he cannot hear anything over his own screams.

Zuko is banished. The heir to the firelord who cannot even control his own element. A disgrace. A dishonored prince.

Iroh begins teaching him self-defense. They practice sword fighting each day while traveling. Apparently a childhood spent hiding from Azula made him quite agile. He’s not just good at combat, he’s great.

So the story goes. Zuko follows Aang across the globe, relying on his fighting ability in place of bending. He becomes a refugee, a nomad, a tea salesman, and one of the best swordsman his uncle has ever seen.

But Azula comes back and maybe it was really her who captured the Avatar but for the first time in his life Zuko’s father looks at him without disdain. Lack of disdain doesn’t mean love. He’s a hero. He knows it’s a lie. He doesn’t have to be a firebender when he can be a hero. If father knew he would lose his good eye.

He waits for the eclipse. The one day he is completely equal to his family, to his father. He has the advantage. He can fight when the sun doesn’t shine. His father is an easy target. He leaves. Zuko cannot look a person in the eye and hurt them while they are defenseless. He will not become his father.

He finds Aang and he wants to help. He may not be a firebender but he’s knows more about learning firebending than anyone else in the world. He’s been to every master. He knows everything he’s supposed to be able to do. And he meets Sokka and Suki. They don’t bend but they can hold their own in a fight against anyone. Suki teaches him about stealth while Sokka is an expert at sword fighting.

It’s a blur and exhausting but they do it. Ozai is powerless and the war is over. Aang pulls him aside after the dust settles and makes him an offer. He’s proven himself to be a better man than his father. Aang can just give him Ozai’s power. He can be the man he dreamed of his entire life.

History books will tell the story of the Fire Lord who ruled without fire. He did not need it, for he carried a strength and balance that brought his nation back to harmony with the rest of the world. Firelord Zuko would show that the thing we see as our greatest weakness can become our source of power.

[marvel-ousnesss]

The one with the boiling rock (Zuko x reader)

Pairing: Prince Zuko x firebender!reader

Summary: Y/N follows Azula after she overhears the Firelord's plan to get rid of his banished son. She fails to warn Zuko and ends up in the Boiling Rock thinking he's dead. Spoiler alert, he's not.

Word count: 4k-ish

masterlist

A/N: For the sake of avoiding any signs of a love triangle, let's throw cannon away and pretend Mai and Zuko are just good friends. Love you all so so much. 💜💜💜

Servants vowed to you as you waltzed through the galleries of the palace, looking for your father, General Yuan. That morning, he had told you to join him in the training arena at sundown, once the war meeting was over. You were planning on taking no detours, but that changed once you heard loud, thundering footsteps coming from across the hall. The Firelord walked with his head held high and his hands behind his back, the princess trailed right behind him, closely listening to his every command. 

"Your brother is a failure and your uncle is a coward and a traitor," he declared. "I cannot risk having them on the loose with the avatar's capture on stake." 

"I completely agree, father, they must be dealt with." She quickened her pace. 

He turned toward his daughter and she lowered her head in an indication of respect. "I've decided to send you, Azula, to effectuate their imprisonment or, be the case, take them out.” The princess’s head rose, proud. “I only trust you to do what must be done."

You hid behind a column to remain unseen while they walked past you, using your hands to silence the gasp that threatened to spill out of your mouth. The Firelord's cruelty had surprised you the day of the Agni Kai, images of Zuko’s crying silhouette curled in a fetal position were still plastered in your mind. And, even knowing he was capable of that, you didn’t find a way to comprehend how he’d not only kill his only son but he'd use his daughter to do so. 

That evening, your head was elsewhere while training. Your flames, usually potent and vibrant, were shining a faint tone of red. Your aim too was sloppy, as evidenced when your fire whip was easily blocked by your father every time you tried to strike.

"Something's in your mind." He lost his stance and approached you, inviting you to do the same. 

"I'm just a bit distracted," you lied, looking down at your feet. 

"We can head home if you want." He offered you some water. 

You nodded.

Your family's house was not far from the palace citadel, as your father was one of the most prominent figures in the Fire Nation army. You walked in silence, not even looking at him but, once you closed the main door, you couldn't hide your concern. You sat down at his study, and, after taking a sip of your tea with a trembling hand, explained what you had heard.  

"Firelord Ozai is sending Azula after the prince and General Iroh.”

Your father's eyes widened for a moment, as he had once fought alongside the kind general, but he regained his serenity immediately. "It is a reasonable move. Getting the avatar was just a way to keep the prince at sea, but now is not the time to let a traitor and a teenager have the power to control the odds of the war."

Your jaw clenched, then you swallowed hard and, unable to speak, nodded. You understood that it was probably what needed to be done, strategically speaking, and that, even if your father personally disapproved such cruelty, he was in no position to defy the Firelord; but it was Zuko whom you were talking about, it felt more than wrong to accept his cursed fate with such ease. 

"Y/N, you have always been kind-hearted, and it hurts me to see you worry, but you need to understand that some sacrifices demand to be made for the sake of victory."

That night, you were about to send a letter to the exiled members of the royal family, but there was a  feeling of uneasiness that made your stomach ache. There had to be something else you could do… That's when it hit you.

Azula and her unit weren't leaving until the following week. So you used that time to gather supplies, dig into whatever scroll you could get your hands in and steal --no, borrow-- some of your father's maps. The day of your departure came, you got up before sunrise and headed to the base from which the princess was sailing, leaving behind a small note for your father to see.  

You waited for her to show and, once her ship lifted anchors, so did yours. You knew how to sail except you had never done it without a crew. The ship you had stolen wasn't big, it was a fishing boat domestic fleets used every once in a while, so it was relatively easy to stay in control and out of the princess' sight. 

The journey lasted but a few days before Azula's ship was pulled to the shore, but the tides were too strong and you weren't as experienced. Hoping for the best, you waited until nightfall to reach the land. You spent the night searching but had no luck, so you made camp near the docks. After you finished setting your tent, you headed toward the ship you'd been following, hoping to get a glimpse of whatever was happening on deck. Luckily, there were two soldiers conversing while standing watch. 

You climbed onto the ship and hid behind reserve boxes, listening to their exchange from within the shadows.

"I can’t believe I’m in the mission to capture the Dragon of the West," one of them practically squealed. 

"Don't get too excited, I heard he’s not the same anymore." The other one laughed gratingly.  "Besides, it's not like there's gonna be a fight or anything; the princess told them Lord Ozai wants them back at the palace. Poor fools’ gonna board voluntarily."

You stepped back, teeth gritted and fists tightened. Making them walk into a trap was a devious move, but it didn't really shock you. Azula had always been ruthless and calculating. You were about to jump off-board when you tripped and made the box tower collapse, leaving you exposed. 

“Hey!” 

The guards immediately turned your way. Instead of reacting, you found yourself frozen on the spot. It was certainly not a time to be panicking. You took a breath and, with a kick, threw a stream of fire at the man in front of you and ran toward the dock while he recovered. However,  the other guard had alerted the rest so, at the very entrance of the ship, awaited Azula, dressed in a wine-colored night-robe.  

She didn’t even look phased; if much, she was mildly annoyed that you had disrupted her sleep. 

"Long way from home, Y/N. I'm guessing you didn't just come to say hello."

You opened your mouth but no words rolled off your tongue. You raised your hands and lowered your head in surrender, to avoid further trouble.  

You were a more than capable warrior, you knew that. Nevertheless, the sole thought of facing her made your body shake; let alone while outnumbered. 

"That's what I thought," she smirked. "You're a coward, just like my idiot brother. And, just like him, you'll get a coward's treatment. Seize her."

Two soldiers grabbed your arms and roughly pressed them behind your back, restraining you with metal cuffs. 

"You know what to do."

They both bowed their heads and yanked you below deck. As you walked to the cellars, one whispered, "what do we do?" 

The other one huffed. "The cooler, dumbass."

————————

Third-person POV. 

Zuko knocked on the door three times, trying not to seem too anxious. It had already been two days since he arrived home as a hero but, as such, he had been busy with appearances and meetings. He took a step back and fixed his robes, his right foot tapping as he awaited a response. 

The door cracked open, revealing a young woman, a few years older than him. He gave her a small smile but she didn’t see it, her gaze fixated on the wooden floor as she bowed deeply. 

“My prince,” she greeted. “How can I be of service.” 

“Hello.” 

She straightened up. 

“Is Y/N home?” 

Her expression shifted, then she cleared her throat. “Not at the moment.” 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck. 

At that moment, General Yuan strolled through one of the doors that connected the main area of the house with the other hallways. His eyes were framed by dark circles and his shoulders fell limp, not the way he carried himself outside. 

He faced Zuko’s and immediately stood taller. “Your highness,” he said. “There is something you need to know.” 

———————

For a moment, you eyed the two guards overlooking the yard from an upper balcony. You gave it no mind when one of them rushed downstairs but gulped when the other one fixed his attention on you, nothing good could come from that. Before he caught your eye, you lowered your head and let your shoulders fall, hoping he'd lose interest. Thinking it had worked, you retired to your cell. However, as you walked, your arm was roughly pulled. 

You tried to break free and struggled for a few seconds, trying to root your feet to the ground. The guard easily overpowered you, for you had too little strength to resist, and threw you into an empty cell.

He still had hold of your arm, but you didn’t fight him. It was better to avoid acting up, you had learned that. However, you knew they appreciated respect, so you lifted your head and asked, "What do you want?"

Even the helmet didn’t conceal his shocked façade. “Y/N?” 

He took his helmet off and tears flooded your eyes. You wrapped your arms around his middle and let out an involuntary whimper followed by an excruciating stream of sobs. At first, Zuko was a bit taken aback by your reaction, as his muscles tensed. But then he too faded into the hug and allowed himself to breathe your familiar scent. 

“I thought you were dead,” you whispered. 

“What?” 

“I- I wanted to warn you about Azula.” You take a deep breath, not ready to let go of him. “When your father sent her after you, I followed, but she caught me when I sneaked into her ship and I-.”

He grabbed your shoulders and stretched his arms so he could look at you. His face like porcelain and his mouth agape. 

“You sneaked into my sister’s ship? Alone?” Zuko let go of you and ran his hands through his hair. “Are you, Y/N, are you out of your mind? You could've ended up dead, no-" Now, he was screaming, his golden eyes blazed with worry."-you could've ended up worse than dead!"

 Your lip trembled as you shouted back, "well, surprise, so could you!" 

"You went on a suicide mission, alone!" He started pacing around the small room. "I can't believe you did something so stupid."

"At least I had to try, Zuko." This time, your voice was tight. 

"Y/N, she's. Ahh!" He stopped pacing and threw his head back with a groan. Without a thought, he stepped toward you and, once again, engulfed you in his embrace. "I’m glad you’re okay."

Zuko's head fell limp on your shoulder while he calmed down, your hand rubbed his back soothingly for a moment before he brought back the distance between you.   

"Listen, we're getting out of here."

"How?"

"Just trust me, I'll come to your cell and get you."

He flashed you a quick, closed-lip smile and walked out. You followed after a few seconds and went back to your cell. A few hours passed and you had no news from Zuko, so you headed down the stairs with the rest of the inmates. 

You were mopping the floor, keeping your work focused on a relatively small area of the room when you spotted the familiar mess of raven hair, only now he was dressed in a uniform that matched yours. He dragged his water bucket toward where you were and began mopping next to you. 

"Are you gonna tell me the whole story now?"

You didn’t know what had driven the banished crown prince to break into a high-security prison, but the response you got was far from what you expected. 

“I kind of joined the avatar.” 

“Weren't you trying to capture him so you could go back home?” 

“I’ll explain later,” he said, looking past you and directly at a guard. Zuko grabbed your hand and guided you to where he and another girl in prison uniform were standing.

They gave you a questioning look. 

“Um, guys, this is Y/N. Y/N, Sokka and Suki.” 

After an awkward wave, you took the time to look at them in detail. 

It was a girl you had seen a few times, from a group of Earth Kingdom warriors; and a brunet, blue eyed boy you had never seen but could guess came from a water tribe. They were slightly shocked but didn’t really question your presence, making you relax. 

After a brief explanation of everything that had been going on since you were captured the four of you came up with an escape plan that would’ve been perfect if it wasn’t for the undesired addition to your team, Chit Sang.

You, Suki, Chit, and another two people he introduced as his girl and best mate would wait for Sokka and Zuko to show up at the blind spot. Then, the all of you would ride the cooler to the other side of the lake. That's where you were now, sitting on a rock with Suki while Chit and his friend discussed over where to go after the escape. 

To be honest, their petty argument was beginning to annoy you, so you turned to Suki, who was using a stick to doodle on the sand. 

“So, how do you know Sokka?” 

Her cheeks reddened slightly so she turned her head sideways. 

“Sokka,” she chuckled, “We first met a few months ago, when he, Katara, and Aang went to my island. The rest of the Kyoshi warriors and I thought they were spies.” 

“Kyoshi, where have I heard…  oh, Avatar Kyoshi,” you recalled. “My father once gave me a scroll about her.” 

You were about to continue, glad you’d found something to talk about, when Chit’s complaint cut you off before either of you could say something else. 

"Took you guys long enough," he scolded Sokka and Zuko, as they slid down the cliff with the cooler. You, Chit and Suki quickly placed yourselves against the cooler to help the others and then the five of you pushed it into the water. 

You were about to go ahead with the plan, when they brought up the following day’s new arrivals. That changed everything. 

“Sokka?” You approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"Rescuing your dad is your chance to redeem your honor,” Zuko noted.

Sokka fell to his knees, deep in thought. 

He looked at the group apologetically. “We wouldn’t be here if I had cut my losses at the invasion,” he sighed. “I think it’s best if we call it quits.” 

You crossed your arms, and stood tall. “No, ” you deadpanned. “I know how it feels to fail, Sokka, specially when it’s someone you really care about.” Your eyes met a pair of golden ones. “It hurts so much not to try. I’ll help you, whatever you need.” 

Without a word, Sokka stood up, and walked closer to the lake with his head low.

Zuko rested a hand on his shoulder. “Y/N’s right, you can’t quit because you’re afraid of failure. How do you know you won't make it if you don't even try.” 

“Well, if you cookies are done, can we get a move on?” Chit glared at you while tapping his foot. 

Sokka shook his head.

“You guys go," you said. 

"Suki, you've been here long enough," Sokka pleaded, stepping closer to her. 

"I'm not leaving without you, Sokka." 

Zuko mimicked Sokka's actions, turning your way. "And I’m not leaving without you."

It was settled. 

"I hope this isn't a huge mistake," Sokka sighed. 

And it wasn’t, the plan failed and Chit and his people were brought back in. He had tried to row the boat and earned a burn, which was followed by a blaring scream. You watched from one of the outer beams of the building while waiting for the new prisoners to disembark the gondola. Your hope threatened to abandon you but, right before you voiced your thoughts to give up, Sokka's dad emerged. 

That's how you ended up in the very place you had started, your cell. You laid on the metal bench provided and closed your eyes, having decided to use the spare time to practice a little. You placed your right hand on the metal wall and outstretched your right, pointing two fingers at the opposite wall. The surface under your palm turned red-hot and that's where you started truly working. 

You exhaled deeply and began absorbing the heat you had generated. Bit by bit so it would efficiently pass through you and leave in the form of a thin trail of smoke. What you were doing required deep concentration so when the door creaked open you didn't even notice the intruder. Your eyes broke open as you retrieved your hands, the wall returning to its initial gray color. 

Sokka was standing in front of the now-closed door, he blinked a few times before finally asking, "were you fire bending metal?"

"Oh, no." You sat up and chuckled, "it's called heat controlling. I project heat into a surface, then let it pass through me and then out, via my other hand." 

"Cool." Sokka's mouth fell. "So it’s like... reversed fire bending.” 

“I guess you can put it like that.”

“Anyway," he spoke with determination, looking through the small window. "I've talked to my dad. We have a plan, be in the yard in an hour and a half. I'll go tell the others." 

“Sure,” you smile. “Thanks, Sokka.” 

The plan was simple: start a riot and use the gondola to escape. Easier said than done, even with the riot, you were still trying to figure out how to grab the warden and, on top of it, had no idea where the fire prince was. Although your uncertainty didn’t last long. Before you knew it, Zuko got his ass to the courtyard, Suki took hold of the warden, and the seven of you ran upstairs to the gondolas.

On the bridge to your awaiting vehicle, you encountered a few guards. You blocked their first attacks but when Zuko announced the warden was coming with you they gave you no more problems. 

"Everyone in," Suki ushered you. 

You let them get in before you as she held the door, then tried to run back and help Zuko, but Suki pulled you in and closed the door. 

From the gondola, you watched him pull the lever and kick it so they wouldn't stop you, your grip on the rail making your sweaty hands pale. He leaped toward you and barely managed to grab Sokka's hand. You let go of the rails and relaxed, knowing you had all made it, but the moment ended when you saw Azula. 

"Shit," you groaned.  

"Who's that?"

"My sister and her friend." 

Suki smirked. "This is a rematch I've been waiting for."

You just huffed and jumped on top of the gondola. As Azula and Ty Lee advanced toward it, you tried to take them down with fire-jabs but Ty Lee was too fast and Azula swung and easily dodged them. They landed on opposite sides, surrounding the four of you. You immediately charged toward the princess, determined not to fall without a good fight. Not this time.

Next to you, Zuko shot multiple fireballs out of his fists but neither of you had luck. Azula redirected every blow and you let out a frustrated growl.

"Even together,” she scoffed, “you’re pathetic."

Again, you tried; opting for a blazing ring to try and knock her out of balance. While you advanced on her Zuko covered you and blocked her blows, this gave Sokka a chance to get near. A blow of his sword took away her balance but she recovered quickly and threw a missile that you managed to dodge by merely a few inches, falling back against the pulley of the gondola. 

You got up once more but Azula's strikes were fast and repetitive, so you and Zuko would wear yourselves down by trying to block each one. You panted, concentrating to maintain your shield well built, but lost your stance when the gondola shook violently. Azula and Ty Lee fled the scene, as the guards were about to cut the line; the four of you jumped back inside and warned the others. But someone stopped the guards, you narrowed your eyes in order to see who and emitted a gasp when you recognized Mai's figure. 

But the situation you were in left no time to ask questions, the six of you sprinted away as soon as the gondola touched land. Zuko stopped after a few yards. 

"Zuko, come on," you urged. 

"Yeah, what are you doing?"

"My sister, she must've arrived here somehow." He ran toward a cliff and smirked when he looked down. He was right, there was a Fire Nation dirigible parked by the seashore. 

To say that you were exhausted after the journey would be an understatement. Not only had the last two days been more draining than the previous few months but you had used your bending to fuel the dirigible the whole way to the Air Temple. You didn’t complain, you were glad to be safe. Not to mention that you finally got a chance to catch up on Zuko’s unlikely adventures.

“We’re here,” Sokka peeped. 

You looked through one of the windows and almost didn’t believe what you saw. You had read multiple scrolls about the magnificent Air Temples and the people that lived in them but had never even imagined visiting one. 

You landed and the door opened. You were hesitant to step outside and Zuko took notice, so he offered you an encouraging smile and squeezed your hand. For a second you had forgotten that he was also a newcomer to the Avatar’s group so he shared part of the nerves you felt; besides, you knew that, whatever reactions you got from them, he’d stand by you. 

A small girl inquired, “did you at least get some good meat?”

“Yup, the best meat of all,” Sokka answered with a beam. “The meat of friendship and fatherhood.” 

That's when the four of you stepped forward, but you remained concealed behind Chit.

The three kids smiled when they saw Suki and Hakoda, and Chit was quick to introduce himself with a matching smile on his face. 

Your hiding place disappeared when Hakoda ran to hug who you guessed was  Sokka's sister, Katara, and the others advanced right after.

When they finished greeting their friends, the group turned its whole attention to you, still standing on the dirigible bridge.

The bald kid, Aang, as Sokka had briefed you, gave you a kind smile; Toph, the little girl, tilted her head in curiosity, and Katara just quirked a brow. 

Zuko cleared his throat, walking to your side. "Everybody, this is Y/N. Y/N, this is everybody."

"Hi, guys," you waved with a shy smile. 

Requests open!

[loversamongus]

On Pink Clouds | Zuko x reader

a/n: so I watched Sleeping Beauty again the other night because that is my favorite Disney princess movie don’t @ me okay anyways I love the Once Upon a Dream scene when they’re twirling by the water and then at the end when they’re dancing on clouds and I couldn’t stop thinking about how Zuko would probably be a good dancer too and this is what happened enjoy. Also sorry what, did you say you wanted an Anastasia “maybe we should stop spinning” moment, too? You got it.

words: 1.9k

fic taglist: @spiritvines​ @protect-remus​ @emeraldpotato

The air was getting warmer. Which isn’t saying much living in the Fire Nation. But the air was getting heavier, the days getting longer, the sun shining brighter. The first day of summer was arriving and the palace was bustling with preparations for the annual Summer Solstice festivities. 

While this time of year is usually exciting, you could do without the superficial and overly posh advisor meetings that came with it. Discussion about educational reforms and foreign policy, your personal passions and areas of expertise, were suddenly sent to the back burner and replaced with talk of exquisite feasts and which foreign dignitaries to invite. Financially responsible as ever, you tried your best to argue for more budget friendly decorations considering the nation was still recovering from 100 years of war, but your older and more traditional colleagues remained adamant that it was in the nation’s best interest to host a genuine, all-out festival. 

You brought your complaints and concerns to the fire lord himself. Ah, the perks of being best friends with the fire lord. Of course, these complaints and concerns were usually filed off-the-record while enjoying what limited downtime the both of you had. After the final advisor meeting for festival preparations, you met Zuko in his room where a seamstress was finishing up his fitting for special Summer Solstice robes. Silently, you made yourself comfortable in an armchair and only quirked a mocking eyebrow in his direction.

“Not a word,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I’m not saying anything!” You threw your arms up in protest. The seamstress took out the last pin on Zuko’s sleeve and packed up her stuff before shuffling out of the room. “Although,” you continued. “If Advisor Ji were here, I’m sure he would say that ‘you look absolutely ravishing, Your Majesty. The very picture of a traditional Fire Lord.” You followed your impression with a gagging sound so that Zuko wouldn’t miss your resounding disgust for the uppity old man.

Zuko offered his arm to you which, standing up, you gladly took. “And what battle did you get into with him today?” he asked with a smile while leading you down the hallway.

“Ugh, we were confirming the seating plan for the feast tonight because Agni forbid we sit this old noble family next to that family, it just simply isn’t done.” Your free hand waved animatedly as you gave the recap of the past meeting. “But the worst part was, I had said weeks ago that we should consider opening up the feast to people from all walks of life in the Fire Nation, not just the nobility. Like the orphanage.”

You heard Zuko try to stifle a chuckle. “Oh come on! Just imagine those cute little innocent faces munching into all the food and running through the palace hallways and their faces lighting up with the fireworks! They would have so much fun, and isn’t that what the festival is all about?”

“Well, actually, it’s a tradition that was started—“

“Not you, too!” You turned sharply to look him in the eyes. “I am so sick of you old, rich people talking about traditions and manners—“

This time, Zuko couldn’t hold back his laughter. You watched with your mouth still slightly open after being interrupted as he tilted back his head to laugh. “I thought it was a great idea to invite the orphanage, which is why I personally invited them to the feast tonight.”

“You did?” you responded quietly but your lips turned into a bright smile.

“Yeah. I figured Aang could use the entertainment.”

The two of you continued to talk about the festival as well as the abhorrently outdated opinions of some of the advisors all the way to the turtleduck pond. The sun was getting lower on the horizon and once it was fully set, the feast would begin. Despite the setting sun, it was still a hot day, so you took your place sitting beneath the tree near the pond to get some shade. Zuko sat closer to the edge of the pond and took out some bread from where he had somehow stashed it in his robes. Leaning against the tree, you looked up at the sky and sighed.

“I love this time of day,” you said absentmindedly. The sky was illuminated by a soft golden glow and the clouds looked painted with a myriad of pastels. “Look at the clouds today, Zuko. They’re pink.” Zuko looked up for a moment and then glanced back at you to smile before feeding the small gaggle of turtleducks.

With the night’s festivities looming over your heads, the pond was the only place to get some peace and quiet for even just a moment. You’d need it anyways in order to gear up for the feast. The palace would soon be packed with Fire Nation nobles, the Avatar and his friends, and now the orphans and their caretakers, all waiting for the young Fire Lord to officially kick off the festival. Large crowds were never your favorite, which was why you had planned on retiring from the feast after dinner was served.

“But you have to stay for the dancing,” Zuko practically pouted when you told him this plan.

“No, no. I don’t dance. But I’ll tell you what,” you sat up from the tree you were leaning against. It was your favorite spot to get some shade as Zuko fed the turtleducks little pieces of bread. “I’ll stay long enough to watch you dance. That’s sure to be a sight to behold.”

Zuko scoffed. “I’ll have you know I am a pretty good dancer.” A turtleduck quacked. “See? He agrees.”

You laughed a little and reached for a piece of bread to offer to the little suck up. “What, did little Prince Zuko have to take royal dance lessons when he was little?”

“Yes actually!” Zuko rolled his eyes as if it was such an obvious answer. You half expected him to let the conversation go at this point and continue feeding the turtleducks. He could only handle your teasing for so long before starting to lose his temper. But he stood up abruptly and held out his hand. You placed bread in his open palm questioningly.

“Not the bread!” His voice revealed a hint of frustration. “Give me your hand. I’ll show you.”

You huffed and moved to cross your arms. You had just said you didn’t dance after all. Zuko’s pride certainly wouldn’t get you to dance. You were about to tell him that he was just fooling himself if he thought he could get you to dance when you felt his hand close on your elbow, pulling you up from your seated position.

“Zuko!” you whined.

“Would you just do this for me, please?” It was posed as a question but his apparent annoyance made it feel closer to a command. “And then you can leave early later if you still want to.”

He didn’t even wait for you to respond before he began straightening your shoulders and back. He took your left hand and held it out to the side and with a finger, tilted your chin up before resting that free hand on your waist. All other protests immediately seemed to die in your throat.

“Now, I lead. Think you can handle that?” He smirked and then began to step forward. After some hesitancy, you stepped backwards with him. You found yourself inching up on your tiptoes to better manage the height difference. But when he stepped again, and again, you felt forced to look down to see where you should be stepping next.

He stopped and adjusted your shoulders again. “Hey. Just look at me.” He gave your hand a squeeze and you looked up again. You couldn’t remember a time you’ve been this close to him. You could practically see each one of the thousands of golden flecks in his eyes. And you knew he was strong, being a master firebender and swordsman and all, but his grip on your waist felt so gentle and safe. He gave you a small smile before starting the dance again. This time, you moved a little better in time with him.

“See? It’s just little steps here and there. Ready to try a spin?”

Before you could say anything, you felt that gentle hand on your waist push you out a little bit while his other hand guided you under his arm. The sudden movement was not something you had expected and so your feet got tripped up a little. Zuko, however, caught your waist again and repositioned you upright before you could completely tumble over.

With a small laugh, he joked, “Okay, maybe we tried that too soon. We could just spin together instead.”

You started dancing again, taking small steps in slow circles around the pound. You were grateful that these steps felt much easier than the spin you had just been forced to attempt. The movement was repetitive and once you felt you’d gotten the hang of it, you went back to counting the flecks in Zuko’s eyes. You also made special note of the small wisps of his hair that had fallen out of his top knot, no doubt from the spinning.

“You okay?” Zuko checked in with you. Suddenly you realized you had not spoken since being pulled up to dance with him. You shook your head to free it from your thoughts in order to respond.

“Yeah,” you managed to breathe out. “I feel like I’m on clouds.”

“Pink clouds?” He smiled.

“Mhm.” The peace and calm you had felt when you looked up at the sky earlier settled in your chest. With a few more trips around the pond, you and Zuko held small conversations here and there. Your replies always seemed a bit hesitant though, mostly because you were concentrating on the steps. Without a doubt, however, you felt relaxed and at ease in his arms. You supposed that turtleduck really did know Zuko was a great dancer.

You lost count of how many spins the two of you did but you did become aware of the sky darkening as well as the spinning in your head.

“I’m feeling a little dizzy,” you said softly. Zuko shifted so that he didn’t lead you into another spin. Instead, you both settled into the small pattern of steps you had started out with before coming to a complete stop. Regardless, you still held his hand and he still held your waist.

“Probably from all the spinning. Maybe we should stop.” His gaze held yours for the entirety of your dance but only now did you notice the seriousness, an intensity, in his eyes. You urged yourself not to let your eyes wander anywhere past the tip of his nose.

“But we have stopped.”

“Y/n, I—“ You felt yourself begin to lean in with him.

“Fire Lord Zuko!” A man, coming around the corner onto the grounds of the turtleduck pond, interrupted. “Fire Lord Zuko,” he repeated again, this time followed by a bow. “The feast will be beginning shortly.”

Zuko did not turn to face the man but he dropped his hand from your waist. His hand still held you and his eyes remained fixed on your face. “Thank you,” he responded in his most regal voice. “I’ll be there soon.”

The man bowed again before exiting back around the corner. The spinning now gone from your head, you cleared your throat and stepped back from him. Zuko held your hand tighter in response.

“You’ll stay for a dance?” he asked hopefully.

“Okay.” You smiled.

[konggodzuko]

ZK Month Day 2: Ambassadors

Ao3 Link More commentary over there! Not really cutesy, just Katara being a badass.

“That is an outrageous idea!” Katara said, swiping her arm through the air, “You cannot possibly think that mass arrests are a good idea! That won’t solve the sickness it will only treat the symptom.”

Justice Minister Shido pushed up his glasses, “We have to make it clear to the populace that such radicalism will not be tolerated.”

“Ultra-nationalism is at a ten year low,” Katara said, “The Black Flame is small enough that we can choke it out without having to resort to state violence.”

“Policy-driven change is slow,” Shido snapped, “we need action. I would have assumed you of all people would understand the need to act against dangerous elements such as these.”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed at this, and moved to say something, but Katara shot him a look, before turning back to Shido, “How dare you use my trauma against me! And you mischaracterize it as well. My resentment for the war and what was done to the Southern Water Tribe does not lay at the feet of every Fire Nation citizen and soldier, most of whom were brainwashed by their own government. My anger is directed at those who engineered the war for power and profit, and those who participated with joy and glee. So I don’t blame the farmers coerced into hiding the Black Flame, I blame the Black Flame!”

The Justice Minister grit his teeth and opened his mouth to say something, but Zuko cut him off, “Shido, that’s enough. Ambassador Katara makes an excellent point. Compassion is how we will handle the situation. Additionally, persecuting civilians will give Black Flame more leg to stand on,” Shido grimaced, but Zuko continued, “I know that you were elected to your position by running on a tough on crime platform, but I also know that you were part of multiple underground groups in the last years of the war, a commendable act. But considering your past, do you really think reckless force is going to solve this problem?”

Shido opened his mouth as if about to object, then hesitated. He deflated, and bowed in his seat, “I apologize, Your Majesty,” he turned in his seat, and bowed again towards Katara, “and to you, Your Excellency.”

Katara gave a slight bow in return, “Apology accepted, Minister.”

Zuko grimaced inwardly, that was her ‘I’m still very mad but I’m being polite’ voice.

There was a sigh of relief from the rest of the ministers (the attendants and scribes stayed professionally silent). One of them, Zuko was reasonably sure it was Gānghuā, the Minister of Education, muttered, “Ten hells, Shido’s such a moron.”

Zuko waved his hand, “That was the last item of the day. We’ll pick this up in the morning. Meeting adjourned. Ambassador Katara,” her eyes locked with his, “stay, if you please?”

She smiled slightly, and nodded as the ministers, attendants, and scribes began to file out.

Once everyone was gone, Katara slammed her hand on the table, “Yue and La what a prick.”

“I know,” Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose, “Agni, I wish I could fucking fire him.”

“Zuko—”

“I know, I know, ‘Will of the People’ and all that stuff,” he sighed.

“You have to keep an eye on him. I don’t think he’s the type of guy to go rogue, but you never know.”

“Ugh, you’re right,” he dragged a hand over his face, “You’re always right.”

She smirked, “Can I have that in writing?”

Katara fiddled with the sleeves of her dress — water tribe style, but of far lighter materials for the heat — before asking, “Are you sure you like having me on the Privy Council?”

Zuko sat up straight, “Of course Katara. You’re not only my closest friend but the most capable person I know. You were the only one here who had the guts to tell Shido why his plan sucked. Not to mention all the other times you helped me help my country.”

“You’re not worried about the optics of having a foreign diplomat in your cabinet?”

Zuko frowned, and reached out to put a hand over Katara’s, “We’ve been over this Katara, we went over it back when you agreed to sit by my side. What’s the matter?”

She shook her head, “I… I don’t know. I think Shido shook me a bit reminding me of what the last regimes did to my people. I guess it’s still weird being here, helping people who just a few years ago would’ve invaded my home if ordered to.” She shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Zuko bit his lip, then said, “Katara, if you ever want to leave—”

“Spirits, Zuko, no! I- I don’t want to leave. I’m just saying it still feels weird. Not bad weird, just… just… surreal, I guess. After the South’s reconstruction ended… this was the best thing for me to move on to. I feel… fulfilled. Just, weird sometimes.”

There was a few moments of quiet as the two of them gazed at each other. Then Zuko stood up and offered Katara his hand, “Well, would Madame Ambassador join me for a drink in my chambers to wind down for the evening?”

Katara covered her mouth in faux shock, “Oh my Firelord, such an offer is so… scandalous,” she took his hand anyway, but gave him big doe eyes, “What would the Ministers think if they heard the Firelord inviting a foreign Ambassador to his chambers?”

Zuko flushed a little, “I, uh, erm, I was actually just inviting you for tea, I just thought it would be funny to be all, um, official, I wasn’t implying that we would um, y’know… unless…?”

Katara smirked, and traced a finger down his chest, “How’s the scar?”

Blindsided by the subject change, Zuko shook his head, “What?”

“How’s the scar? Maybe I should check it, over a drink.”

Zuko blinked.

He blinked again.

Then he grinned wildly and hurriedly led Katara by the hand out of the council room.

[soopersara]

Rebirth

Zutara Week 2020: Day 7

AO3 | FFN

@zutaraweek​

While Katara is resting, a still-injured Zuko wanders off and gets stuck by the turtleduck pond.

Just a few minutes, she told herself. After so much time healing him, monitoring the slow rise and fall of his chest, she could hardly keep her eyes open anymore.

A few minutes of sleep couldn't hurt. In one of his brief moments of semi-lucid consciousness, Zuko had assured her that the palace staff and the Fire Sages—the few who remained—could be trusted. Katara was less than convinced, but Zuko's condition was more stable than before, and her head kept drooping toward her chest for a few moments at a time before she jerked awake again. She couldn't keep watch over him forever.

It should be fine. So long as she stayed close, nothing bad could happen to him. Not in a few minutes. Not if Katara just curled up in the chair beside his bed for a little snooze. She would wake up at the slightest disturbance, ready to protect or heal him at a moment's notice.

Or that was the idea. Instead, Katara let her eyes slide shut for what felt like a single blink, and when they opened again, she found herself staring at an empty expanse of rumpled, blood-red silk.

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no.

She shot out of her chair, bleary-eyed and only half awake. "Where is he? Where did he go?"

She crashed her way into the corridor, then rammed into a timid looking servant woman.

"Where is he?" Katara repeated, a frantic edge to her voice.

The servant fumbled to keep her stack of clean linens from toppling. "Where is who, Miss?"

"Zuko? Where is Zuko?"

"The Fire Lord ordered that you not be disturbed, Miss. I believe His Majesty mentioned fresh air—"

A bit of the sleepy fog lifted from the edges of her mind, and Katara's expression darkened. "Oh, he'd better not."

She took off at a run, careening down one hallway then the next and the next. By the time she realized that the light blanket she'd worn for her brief nap was dragging after her, it was too late to turn back, and she hitched it up around her shoulders like a cloak and kept running. For all the palace's beauty, it was entirely too big. There were too many rooms and balconies and gardens—too many places where Zuko might have wandered in his fevered and dazed state. She ran toward the northern wing of the palace, peeking through doors and shouting for directions whenever she crossed paths with a servant.

At last, she saw a patch of pallor lying in a shady spot beneath a tree. Zuko. She darted out the door toward him.

Zuko lay on his back, one arm bent behind his head like a pillow, bare feet dangling a few inches over the surface of the pond. Katara's heart sat in her throat.

He was okay. He was safe, and he was still breathing.

He was an idiot.

"You were supposed to stay in bed and rest," Katara called as she marched toward him.

Zuko rolled his head her way and blinked, eyes unfocused. "Katara?" His voice came out thin and cracked. "I told them not to wake you up."

She crossed her arms. "They didn't. You wandered off."

"Mmm." His eyes slipped shut, and his forehead creased as though he were deep in thought. "You were tired," he eventually rasped.

She wanted to be annoyed with him. She wanted to fuss about how worried she'd been to find him missing, she wanted to raise a stink about how his servants ought to intervene when Zuko did stupid, dangerous things like wandering the palace alone while injured and disoriented. But even with his forehead creased like it took all his effort to string words into coherent sentences, even with a feverish sheen on his brow and his hair clinging to his forehead in streaks, he looked easier, more peaceful than he had in days.

He was safe. He was going to be okay.

Katara sat beside him, letting her feet dangle over the pond beside his. "I was tired, but I'm not the one who jumped in front of lightning."

His eyes opened a slit. "When was that?"

She studied him. Though his eyes were open, they drifted a bit, struggling to focus. She wasn't sure how she should feel about it. There were hundreds—thousands—of questions she wanted to ask him about the Agni Kai. Why he'd agreed to it in the first place. Why his eyes, his voice had gone so soft when he promised that she wouldn't get hurt. Why he'd taken the bolt of lightning when he knew he couldn't redirect it properly, and why, even after he'd fallen, he kept reaching for her. And yet she remembered all of it. The horrific cry that tore out of him as the lightning burned him from the inside out, the tremors that ran through his limbs even hours after the fight was over, and the weak, stuttering pulse that took far too long to mend. She wasn't sure she wanted him to remember any of that. He'd lived through it once, that ought to be enough. She never wanted to see him in that kind of pain again, even in memories.

"Do you remember it?" she whispered.

Zuko's brows crept downward in thought. "I remember jumping. I remember you coming back. And your hands—" he made a feeble attempt at mimicking her healing stance, and again his eyes closed. "The water felt good. Everything else is—fuzzy." His expression slackened. "Appa is fuzzy."

A small laugh bubbled out of her, and her shoulders eased a bit. "Weirdo." She pushed his hair away from his eyes. "The comet was a few days ago. You've been sleeping most of the time since then."

"I had weird dreams," he mumbled.

"I'm not surprised." She hugged her knees to her chest, staring across the pond at the remains of what must have once been a lush, beautiful garden. "Is that why you came out here?"

Zuko shook his head slightly. With a slow breath, he opened his eyes again. "No, I—" he tried to push himself upright and made it almost to his elbows before a pained groan tore its way out of his mouth. He fell back, clutching his bandaged middle.

"Zuko!" Katara rose to her knees, bowed halfway over him. His breathing came too harsh and too fast, and the sudden shock of pain had drained all the color from his face. She cupped her hand gently around his cheek. "Zuko, look at me."

He only managed to open his eyes for a second before he clenched them shut again and curled inward.

"I know it hurts, Zuko, but you have to let me see it so I can help."

Zuko couldn't seem to respond, but he allowed her to pull his hands away and unwind the bandages. The lightning wound looked the same as it had for days, the same sunken red splotch just under his ribs, the same pinkish rays of burned skin reaching outward. Katara tried not to feel the heavy lump of guilt that settled into her chest. Encasing her hands with water, she pressed them to the wound and pushed past the sunburst pattern etched into his skin. Between the scar and his life, she would choose his life every time.

She poured herself into the work, feeling for the still-raw edges of the lightning's path and for any fresh damage. His heart, thankfully, was as strong as she could remember it being since the comet, and his lungs, though knotted with painful energy, still shrank and swelled with his breath. She kept working, smoothing the tattered edges and drawing out the set to work mending the burned flesh and drawing the knots of energy away until Zuko's breathing finally eased.

Katara let out a breath she hadn't realized that she'd been holding and sat down, suddenly spent. Zuko was paler than before, his forehead creased, and his eyes pressed shut. She rested a palm against his forehead.

"You should still be in bed," she told him.

"Mmm." He drew in a slow, shuddering breath, and his eyes opened a slit. "Too late. I'm stuck here."

She almost wanted to argue with him, to order him back to his bed so he could rest and heal properly. So that she could keep him and the supplies—the fresh bandages, the clean water, the medicines—all within reach. But he had a point. If he couldn't sit without being overcome by pain, he wouldn't be able to walk back to his room. And the thought of trying to carry him was too much for Katara. She was tired too.

"No wandering off without me next time," she ordered. "I don't want you getting stuck anywhere dangerous, understand?"

Zuko gave a small nod. "Mmhmm."

Slowly, Katara exhaled. He was okay. Even if he was a little fuzzy, a little confused right now, he was going to heal, and he would be healthy again.

"Here." She picked her blanket up from where it had fallen behind her and spread it over the prickly, dry grass. "This should be more comfortable."

Slipping her hand beneath his shoulders, she pulled him up just far enough so that she could help him scoot onto the blanket an inch or two at a time. Zuko grimaced and groaned at the motion, but when Katara finally lowered him back to the ground, his face relaxed again. With a contented little sigh, he nestled against her side, and his hand crept out to find hers.

She gave in, squeezing his hand in response before lying down on the blanket beside him. Her head rested lightly against his shoulder, and he smiled, soft and small, eyes still shut.

"I came out here because I wanted to see the turtleduckies," Zuko said, barely over a whisper. His brow creased. "Tlurtleduckings. Turtledluckings."

"Turtleducklings?" Katara offered.

He nodded. "Those."

She smiled and snuggled into his shoulder. "I think you might be delirious."

"Am I?"

Reaching upward, she smoothed the hair back from his eyes. "Maybe just a little."

"Mmm." He let out a small sigh. "The turtleduckies must be sleeping."

Katara couldn't help herself. Hand still cupped around his face, she stretched upward until her lips brushed against his scarred cheek. She hovered there, pressing all the affection, all the care, all the love she could muster into a small, soft kiss. When she finally pulled away, the faintest hint of a smile playing across his lips was the only sign that he was still awake.

"I'm sure the turtleducklings will be very happy to see you when they wake up," she whispered to him.

His mouth twitched into another small smile, then he lapsed into silence, his breathing growing slower, steadier, until he finally dropped off to sleep.

Beside him, Katara rolled onto her back and stared into the arching branches overhead. Someday. Someday soon he'd be well enough to kiss her back.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Ten Sides (Part 25)

Taking Sangyul down is a matter of tracking the man down, which is tricky to do when her attention is torn between three missions; one of the head, one of the soul, and one of the heart. Her mind, her logic, her reasoning--they implore her to find Sangyul and bring him to a merciless justice at her hand. Her soul yearns for her piece it back together; to make amends with family and old friends. And her heart, she resents it the most, so tenderly requests that she allow herself to get close to Aang.

She finds that this is significantly easier now that he has let her say her piece. Now that he has admitted that taking her bending was a mistake. By Agni, she is still pissed--likely she always will be--but she can’t hate him. Not at all. Not when he has been so supportive. Not when he has decided to help her with her other two missions. Not when he sits with her and offers to teach her how to cook traditional air nomad dishes--she thinks that he just wants an excuse to bake himself some fruit pies.

Azula supposes that she could use something trivial and pointless like a cooking lesson. She supposes that she can invite Zuko along and perhaps give whatever she makes to Mai and TyLee as a good will gesture.

“Go on, Azula, invite him to join us.”

Azula folds her arms over her chest. He was supposed to come to her waving an olive branch, not the other way around. “You do it.”

“It would mean a lot more if you did it.”

Azula furrows her brows, lips fixed more or less into a pout. Before she can declare that they can just start cooking he gives Zuko’s door a swift and quick knock.

“Seriously, Avatar?” She hisses.

He flashes her a goofy grin as Zuko pulls the door open.

“Morning, Zuko! Azula has something she wants to ask you.”

“What do you want to ask?” He sighs.

She gives him a grumble in response.

“What?”

“Do you want to come cook with us?” She repeats.

After the initial shockwaves wear off, he rubs the back of his head and answers, “sure, what are we cooking?”

“Something that probably won’t be edible by the time we’re done with it.” She still speaks in a grumble. Aang laugh quite loudly next to her.

“We’re making fruit pies and they’re going to taste great!”

“Maybe to people who have no tastebuds.” She mutters.

“How can I pass on side commentary like this?” Zuko asks.

She supposes that they are off to a good start; the tension she had anticipated has been snuffed out and buried by her grumpy remarks. And, for once, said remarks seem to be doing her favors. Likely because they aren’t deprecating anyone in particular.

“You can pick out the filling flavor.”

“Cherry.” Azula replies in an instant.

“You okay with cherry, Zuko?”

“Cherry’s fine.” He agrees.

At least Zuzu has a good taste in fruits, she supposes. “Okay, so first we’re going to create the dough.”

“We have to make it?”

“Where do you think dough comes from, Zuko?” Aang asks.

“I don’t know, the servants just bring me the finished dish.” He looks at Azula and she shrugs.

“Wow, you guys are clueless.”

.oOo.

He hadn’t anticipated Azula being right. Not about this, but the fire siblings truly are horrible chefs. With hours of work behind them, flour smudges on their faces, and globs of mashed fruit staining their aprons, they only have a lopsided and concave lump of crust and fruit to show for it. It is quite badly burnt too and smells comparable to charcoal.

“Maybe if we add some cream to it, it’ll fix it?” Zuko suggests.

“This pie is like your honor, Zuzu, beyond salvation.”

“It’s not that bad. Hey wait a minute! I salvaged my honor.”

Azula shrugs.

“It’s not that bad.” He insists again.

Aang winces, “it’s actually pretty bad.” Truthfully, this is the worst fruit pie he has ever seen.

“I take it that this won’t pass as an apology gift?”

“Unless you’re going for ‘it’s the thought that counts’, probably not.” Aang replies.

“Who are you trying to apologize to?”

“I would like to patch things up with Mai and TyLee before I go after Sangyul.”

“Don’t give this to them.” Aang says.

“They’ll think you really hate them.” Zuko adds.

Azula scratches the back of her head, dirtying her hair with a dusting of flour that stands out starkly white against her deep locks. “So what do I give them then?”

“An actual apology?” Aang suggests. “You’re really good with words, whether you know it or not.” When she doesn’t reply he adds, “you made some progress with Zuko today. Right, Zuko?”

“Well, I didn’t have a horrible time. Except for the whole baking part.”

“But Azula wasn’t the problem?”

“No.”

.oOo.

And yet she feels as though no progress has been made. That they are only avoiding the real subject just as she had done for so long with Aang. “That’s only because I didn’t bring up Sangyul and that institution.” She props herself up against the counter and folds her arms across her chest. “I didn’t get an apology.”

“You didn’t get an apology? I’ve been waiting for years. Where’s my apology?”

She thinks to tell him that it’s where he wants him to shove it; right up his self-righteous ass. She thinks to tell him many unsavory things, many angry things. But instead she finds herself muttering, “it must have gotten lost somewhere in my mind when they were sifting through it.”

“Azula…”

“Forget it.” She grumbles. She has already done this with Aang, she doesn’t have the energy to do it with Zuko. She doesn’t feel particularly motivated to do so anymore. Not when he doesn’t seem to understand how truly ravaged she had been. How residue of having been so ravaged is still flitting about in her brain. She snatches a towle and begins scrubbing the flour and batter off of her cheeks.

“Azula.”

“Drop it, Zuzu!” She snaps, slapping the towel onto the countertop.

He sighs, “I really didn’t mean to leave you with him. I didn’t think that he was going to do that.”

“So?”

“So, you’re right, I should have checked on you. You’re my sister, I should have visited you.”

Somehow, that isn’t good enough for her; though she isn’t sure what else she is looking for. Maybe that is it, maybe that is all she wanted to hear. And for what? She isn’t sure that she would have taken kindly to him suddenly showing up. She thinks that the next logical question would be why he didn’t. But she already knows. And she supposes that she can’t blame him. “I didn’t want to be alone.” She confesses instead. She still doesn’t want to be alone.

Zuko’s expression softens. “You won’t be alone, Azula.”

“I know.” She replies. “Aang already agreed to help me take Sangyul down. I just need to find him first.”

“Azula…”

“I’m finding him, Zuzu! And I’m executing him, with or without your permission.”

“Executing?”

“Yes. Executing. I am the princess, he is a traitor among other things. And he will be punished as a traitor.”

“I’m trying to move away from…”

“Don’t try to stand in my way, Zuko.” She scowls. “This time the Avatar is on my side.” The Avatar in question cringes. She prepares herself to have to fight him again and pursue her mission alone. “You are on my side, right, Avatar?”

Aang hesitates too long for Azula’s tastes. But finally he replies, “I promised that I would help you bring him to justice.”

“Do you really think that killing him is justice?” Zuko asks.

“I really do, Zuko. I showed your dad mercy, but I’m starting to think that it would have been more merciful to...to kill him. It’s...you don’t know what messing with someone’s spirit energy can do to a person. It’s inhumane and cruel.”

“Are you going to help me or are you going to get in the way, Zuko?”

“I need time to think.”

She supposes that is as good of an answer as she is going to get for now. She shoves past him and out into the hallway. She doesn’t need to spare a glance over her shoulder to know that Aang is following her. “Azula, what was that? You guys were making progress!”

“It wouldn’t have been real. No more real than what we would have had if I didn’t initiate that long talk with you.”

Aang sighs, “well, we actually resolved our issues.”

“If Zuzu gives me some support then we can go from there.”

[cottagecorewhore420]

Zukka Fluff <3

Protective!Sokka, Fluffy Zukka

Just a short drabble of these two lovelies being emotional on main; also, Sokka finds out how Zuko got his scar.

I hope you like it! Please lmk what you think, I’d love to hear!! <3

They were laying out under the stars, Zuko’s head cushioned by Sokka’s chest, laying contendlt as Sokka carded his hands through the elder’s hair.

“It’s hot,” Sokka complained. Not because he was truly bothered, but he wanted to break their (albeit comfortable) silence.

“Do you want me to move, because I can-“

“No!” Sokka held tighter to Zuko, wrapping both arms around him to prevent him from leaving. Zuko laughed, reorienting himself in a new position, accepting the aplogetic ‘please-don’t-leave’ kiss from Sokka with a grin.

“I was just observing, is all.”

“oh.” There was a beat, before Zuko continued. “Well...You’re hot.”

Sokka looked down at Zuko, who was grinning cheekily up at him from his new position of laying with his head on Sokka’s lap.

“Just observing, is all.” The fire lord said flirtatiously, before turning and looking out to the ocean.

Sokka chuckled quietly, so happy that they had made it to the point in their lives that Zuko was happy and  felt safe enough to joke and flirt like he did. It wasn’t suave, by any means, but the attempts at seduction were so Zuko that it was all the better.

Zuko was idly tracing patterns on Sokka’s calves, when he noticed a scar, about three inches long, shining white in the moonlight. It was obviously old, and long-healed, but he hadn’t ever seen it before.

Admittedly, though, they had only been dating for a few months, during which time Zuko had been trying to make reparations to the rest of the world on behalf of his nation and family.

He wanted to know what it was, wanted to know everything there was to know about Sokka, but additionaly, he knew how hurtful it was to always be asked about a scar; how it reduced you to nothing but some messy looking skin tissue.

Sokka had noticed the traced patterns starting to zero in on the old wound though, and unbothered, decided to tell Zuko.

“It’s from a fishing accident when I was a kid.”

Zuko jolted slihghtly, worried that he had somehow made it too obvious he was interested, but Sokka pressed on, obviously still content and not upset at all.

“Me and Katara were going with our dad and Bato to the ice-holes, to go fishing. Me and Katara had one hole, and then Bato and dad had one each. Me and katara were, predictably, arguing back and forth, and we started pushing each other and arguing- we hadn’t caught any fish, and we both were convinced it was the other’s fault. Anyways, I decided I was gonna make my own fishing hole, to prove that it was her fault we weren’t catching any fish. So, I stomped about ten feet south of her, and then realized I needed something to make the hole. So, being the stupid little kid I was, I yelled at Katara to throw me the bone-dagger we use to skin the fish. And, being the stupid little kid Katara was, she threw it. It, uh-,” Sokka sheepishly cleared his throat, before continuing. “It detached from the holder mid-air, and went right through my leg. It slashed my calf really bad, but that’s all that’s left, at this point.”

“Does it hurt?”

“Nah, it’s all healed up now. Besides, I’ve heard scars are sexy. They apparently help pick up cute guys.”

Zuko sat up, quirking his non-scarred brow at Sokka, who laughed and just grabbed Zuko, moving him towards him until they were hugging, stomach to stomach, Zuko in Sokka’s lap.

“I’m just kidding- I really only wanna pick up one guy.”

“Hmmph.” Zuko looked away playfully, ignoring Sokka’s attempts to kiss him. “Is this mystery guy a cute guy?”

“Oh, the cutest.”

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s got this really hot teen angst, brooding vibe, but once you get to know him he’s a total softie. It’s really quite endearing.”

Zuko’s cheek colored, blush matching his other cheek’s red.

“Well… seems like a lucky guy if he’s managed to catch you.”

“Oh, I’m definitely the lucky one.”

“Yeah?”

Sokka was in Zuko’s face suddenly, breathing in the same air, hot puffs of breath hit Zuko’s lips. Blue eyes met gold, both blown wide with lust.

Leaning forward, centimeters away from his lips, Sokka whispered “yeah.” Before leaning forward, capturing Zuko in a heated kiss, grabbing Zuko’s thighs and moving him higher up on his lap, stabilizing him.

The movement and flippant showing of strength from his insanely hot water-tribe beefcake of a boyfriend made Zuko moan brokenly into the kiss, which just allowed Sokka access to lick into Zuko’s now-opened mouth.

~

They laid there, panting, Zuko completely atop Sokka, his non-scarred ear pressed against Sokka’s chest, listening to the beat of his heart, allowing it to comfort him.

Despite laying fairly-openly on the beach, he hadn’t felt this safe and protected in a long time than when he was here, right in this moment, basking in the afterglow with Sokka.

“I have a scar from a family member too.”

“Yeah, baby?” Sokka’s tone was light; he didn't want to pressure Zuko into sharing his scar’s story. 

Even when Katara had pressured him when they began dating, he had remained firm that if Zuko never wanted to discuss it, it was his own prerogative, and that was fine, too.

“Yeah… I was thirteen, and my uncle had talked the war-room guards into letting me sit in on my first strategy meaning. So, we went in, and this general was talking about how he was going to move an entire division of troops into a suicide-mission, purely as a distraction.”

The night around them was quite, still except for their voices, as if Yue was watching to make sure nothing interrupted them from this obviously-important moment.

Sokka was sickened at the horrifically brutish militia tactics the fire nation used to employ- to willingly sacrifice hundreds of lives, just for a slight strategical advantage? Disgusting.

“I… I didn’t agree, didn’t think that was right. I spoke up, even though Uncle had warned me not to. But I went on and said how reprehensible that was, how those were real people, with families and lives, and a loyalty to our nation. I was quickly rebuked, and in a show of anger, I agreed to an Agni Kai.“

“Oh my god- at 13?!”

“Yes. And I was stupid enough to take the offer.”

“Oh my god- baby, I’m so sorry.” Sokka curled an arm protectively over his boyfriend’s form. Sokka ached for 13-year-old Zuko, scared and desperate to please his father, to please his nation.

“When I got to the arena, and prepared for the Agni Kai, it was revealed to me that I wasn’t going to be fighting the general. Because I had spoken out of turn in the fire lord’s war room, my slight was against the fire lord, not the general.”

“No-“ Sokka gasped, heart clenching at what he suspected was going to come next.

“My father was there, and said he would be who I battled in the Agni Kai for my honor. I- I had no idea it was him I would be fighting. I dropped to my knees, in front of the whole stadium, crying, pleading. I refused to fight my own father, and I told him as his humble and loving son, I refused to do so. I was so sorry, I was so scared.”

Zuko at this point had sat up, staring out at the ocean, legs crossed in a meditative-esque pose, hands on their respective knees. His voice was small, almost drowned out by the gently cresting waves. 

To hear him, Sokka had moved so he was sitting directly behind him, purposefully not touching his boyfriend despite a visceral want to do so. He  knew this was a hard thing for Zuko to discuss, and he also knew physical touch was something his boyfriend struggled with.

“My father… he told me I had brought dishonor to myself, and in punishment held his hand over my eye, and shot a burst of flame into my face. He banished me that night, and Uncle went with me… he said I would only be allowed back, to restore my honor if I brought him the avatar.”

Sokka jumped up, and started aggressively pacing back and forth, parallel to Zuko.

As if pulled from a dream, the thousan yard stare Zuko had adopted broke, looking shocked at the tensed body of his boyfriend.

“Sokka?”

When he didn’t get a response, Zuko worriedly stood up and approached his stony faced boyfriend, shocked to find tears rolling down his dark cheeks.

“Where is he?”

“Wha-“

“Where is Ozai?!”

Zuko was shocked at the aggressive tone of Sokka’s voice. He had never heard him this… feral sounding. And, pushing past the thought that is was insanely (I mean, really, insanely hot), he was worried.

“Why do you need to know where my father-?”

“Don’t call him that, Zuko! That disgusting animal doesn’t deserve any relation to you.” Sokka looked like a mongoose-viper, coiled and ready to strike. His growled words and obvious anger were very confusing to Zuko, who just watched warily. He didn’t think Sokka would hurt him, but he was confused at the anger literally emanating from Sokka in waves.

“Why are you mad?”

“Why am I- Because I am trying to stop myself from building a ship, sailing to mainland, and hunting through every prison cell in the fire nation until I find your deadbeat father.”

“What- why?!”

“Tui and La, Zuko, because that vile excuse for a human had the audacity to lay his hands on you, his own fucking son with such a sick fucking intent- I just. That shit isn’t okay. If this were back home, I would have his fucking head, for doing that. To a- to a kid, Zuko!”

Sokka was crying now, tears illuminated under Yue’s averted gaze.

“Baby, I’m okay.”

“But it’s not okay. I am- I’m so sorry Zuko. The hand that you were dealt was so fucking unfair. I am so sorry, I wish I could protect you from that fucking monster. I just- I want to rip his head off. How dare he-“ Zuko brought his distraught boyfriend into his arms, who slumped down into the smaller framed man.

Sokka’s tears were steadily flowing, soaking Zuko’s bare chest.

“It’s okay, Sokka. I’m sorry I said anything, I-“

“No, please- I’m- God, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be the one being comforted right now.” He pulled away from Zuko, scrubbing his face with his hand. His form, now fully matured, towerd over Zuko. (Holy shit that’s hot Zuko thought staring at his jutting muscles in the moonlight, before admonishing himself that now was not the time to be horny on the beach.)

“It’s just- the mere thought of someone laying a hand on you, baby, especially with such an evil purpose, it makes my blood boil. I love you so much, Zuko, and I know you probably aren’t ready to say that, which is fine, but I love you so fucking much and all I want is to protect you, and heal you, and save you from-mmhph!” 

Sokka was silenced by Zuko’s fervent kiss, hungrily moving his lips against his boyfriends.

When they both needed air, the pulled apart regretfully, panting in sync.

 “I love you too.”

They fell back into the sand, and back into each others arms, languidly kissing, feeling blessed to be with the other, in their small, personal realm of love and safety.

~

“Iroh.”

“Hello, Sokka. What an unexpected surprise!” The reitred war general regarded his nephew’s boyfriend warmly, if not slightly appraisingly as he stood outside Iroh’s quarters in the palace.

“Is it?”

“Ah, well, perhaps not entirely. My nephew mentioned he has told you the story behind his scar.”

“He did.”

“When he came to me, he seemed very shocked to find your reaction so… visceral. I had to explain to him that anyone who loves him truly and deeply will react much the same. He still has trouble realizing his worth, how his treatment as a child was so flawed. He’s still accepting that the world’s treatment of him wasn’t right, and wasn’t deserved.”

“I… I haven’t felt that kind of anger in a long, long time. Maybe ever.”

“Hmm. That is just the price of love, Sokka.” he mused. Turning his wizened eyes to the younger man, “Now, I’m sure you’ve come to see me for more than a hello, yes?”

“Do you know where Ozai is being kept?”

Iroh regarded the man, studying him, not letting the shock show on his face.

Far from the young child-soldier with traditional face paint on who he first saw many years ago; Sokka had grown so much.

In place of that lanky, pubescent boy, stood now a full-fledged southern water tribe warrior, who had the traditional tattoos, battle scars, and hard-earned wisdom to prove his standing in the world. He had fought for all he had, and he protected what he saw as his.

With a deep sigh, Iroh moved aside from the doorway. “Hmm... this may be a bit longer than I thought. Do come in, Sokka… won’t you play me in a riveting game of Pai Sho?”

[deiaiko]

#17.3 Wind up

"Crocodile, come with me for a moment," Khun heard as Agni approached Rak.

Rak gave Agni a thoughtful look, but he agreed. They walked away until they were out of sight, though not too far since Khun could still feel Rak's presence.

Khun sat down on the ground next to Ran, legs spread to avoid cramps after the workout. He didn't expect Agni to be that powerful. His moves were calculated and precise enough that he could still last after sparring with everyone one-on-one for five minutes each. His attacks weren't too destructive but aimed to subdue, which meant that he was serious when he said that this was just a mock battle and not a way to eliminate them. Agni could see everyone's weak points and use it to his advantage, and Khun was sure that everyone had at least one thing they could improve after this.

One thing Khun could confirm was that Agni did live up to the rumors. He had proven himself to be an excellent lightbearer, spear bearer and a negotiator, and it was kind of scary that he was also a part of FUG.

Although, there was something about him that made Khun wonder. It was really subtle, but after analyzing his fights with everyone else, Khun realized that Agni seemed to be favoring his left leg. Upon a successful hit, Agni's reaction was just as expected of a normal regular, and there was little to no change to his attack speed. Though from the way he didn't notice the surprise attack itself, Khun had a suspicion that his mask-covered eye might be partially blind. But he had no proof to back it up, since Agni's eyes both looked functional.

Footsteps approached Khun from behind. Something cold touched his cheek, and Khun instinctively reached out for his knife, especially because it reminded him of Agni's ice and some unpleasant memories from his past.

"Here, drink up." Isu offered him a cold can of juice. "Ran, I got yogurt for you too."

Ran took it silently with a straight face, but his eyes showed satisfaction.

Fortunately for Shibisu, Khun was too drained to be mad and instead just took a long sip of the juice to cool off his head, only to realize how thirsty he was. "You will get yourself stabbed if you do that to me again."

Isu blinked, then raised both hands in surrender. "Sorry, I won't do that again."

From the other side of the field, Endorsi groaned loudly, "I'm going to kill him." She got up to her feet and dragged Anaak with her. "We're going to spar, c'mon."

Anaak also groaned in response, but surprisingly complied. They were the first two to challenge Agni, so they had the longest break already. Hatz and Ran joined them on the sparring field not long after.

Khun took out his lighthouse and did a quick search. "The fish earlier…he didn't lie that it might be dangerous for E-ranks since it can only be found on the 24th floor or higher."

Shibisu gulped.

"it's possible to tame one…" Khun read aloud as he skimmed through the article, "but it's not built for fighting or tracking, so it’s low in demand among animas, making the domesticated electric eel rare in the market."

"Huh." Shibisu knitted his eyebrows, "So: One, Agni has at least reached the 24th floor to get his hands on it. And two, considering that he's from the Khun family, he wasn't born an anima, and that should have limited his ability to control shinheuh. So it's likely that he specifically picked this species for its abilities. Which are–"

"The ability to stunning their enemies and hide their shinsu presence," Khun recited. "They're a good choice for defending against a surprise attack. The major downside is that they can only release an electrical shock once every few days before having to recharge."

"Yeah, no wonder they're low in demand," Shibisu muttered. "So he's planning to give it to me?"

"Maybe he saw you as the weakest and in need of extra protection."

Shibisu groaned, "You didn't have to call me out like that. But I guess…it's not a bad idea to have a secret card."

Masterlist

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[carnistcervine]

Haunting AU

Hey everyone, it’s ya gurl Carnist with another AU that she came up with instead of sleeping.

*The Avatar is an ancient spirit amalgamate that is reborn into a new mortal body every time it's current one dies.

*However, since the attack on the Air Temples 100 years ago, no one has encountered any trace of the legendary being.

*It is with this knowledge that Ozai banishes his gravely injured son, sending him on a quest to find the Avatar.

*So, a freshly burned Zuko is send off with his uncle and a motley crew with a half-trained medic.

*At first Zuko's fever fueled nightmares are centered purely around the agni kai and his father burning his face away.

*However, it's not too long before the dreams evolve. The dark figure that looms over Zuko changes in shape, instead of burning him, it gently cups his chin.

*The figure is not Ozai, no, it looks barely anything like his father, it's hair is much too white, and the beard is too large.

*It is gentle with him, but he finds himself afraid anyway. Zuko eventually finds the strength to push away from the figure and run, but he finds that he's surrounded by familiar, yet unfamiliar figures.

*They loom around him, closing in on him, chanting his name.

*Thankfully when he wakes up, he's safely by his Uncle's side.

*By what is considered a miracle of Agni himself, Zuko recovers from his injury. The only reminder being the scar that now mars his face.

*Once he's well enough to stand, he demands to search the air temples.

*Iroh tries to get him to rest, as the old man knows Zuko will never find the Avatar, and needs this boy to take this time to rest and recover. But Zuko is too stubborn to listen. So Iroh assists the boy in getting around until he's well enough to walk on his own again.

*There is a heaviness in the temples that Zuko cannot ignore.

*He tries to anyway, leaving as soon as he's able to see the Avatar isn't around.

*He pushes himself to get back to firebending as soon as possible.

*Much to his dismay, he's developed pyrophobia. His terror over his own element drives him up a wall. Iroh is patient with him, but Zuko can't stand his lack of progress and nearly re-traumatizes himself trying to force himself to get over it.

*The Iron Slug roams from place to place as Zuko runs his crew(and himself) ragged tracking down every hint of the Avatar.

*He pours over any information on the Avatar or Air Nomads to find any info he use to locate the Avatar.

*He's absolutely obsessed determined.

*It's been three years, his crew have grown resentful of him, and his Uncle just keeps trying his best in the hopes that he can help his nephew.

*One fateful day, he spies a strange light while sailing through the south.

*"It must be the Avatar." He tells himself.

*His Uncle however, believes it to be nothing more than the southern lights and encourages him to get some rest, maybe drink some calming tea.

*Zuko persists and tracks the lights down to a small Water Tribe village.

*The village is nothing more than women and young children.

*Well, there are two slightly notable exceptions, a teenage boy and girl who hold the most vicious, venomous gaze towards Zuko.

*He simply brushes them off as he talks to the village's leader.

*The woman holds a firm glare at him, telling him that his people have already taken the last of the waterbenders, that their village has /nothing/ left.

*Zuko remarks that he's not interested in waterbenders, or warriors, or anything of the like. He's looking for the Avatar or information on the Avatar.

*The woman makes an odd expression, and tells him that the Avatar has been gone for a hundred years.

*Zuko knows that the woman is hiding something and threatens her at flamepoint, when suddenly his target comes out of hiding.

*A small boy, eyes burning with the purest light comes in from seemingly out of nowhere.

*The Avatar offers himself up if Zuko leaves the village alone.

*Zuko accepts these terms.

*He doesn't see the strange, pitying looks the villagers give him as he leaves.

*Zuko tells his men to lock up the Avatar, and they just look at each other, only opting to move when he yells at them to quit dawdling.

*Uncle looks very concerned and asks Zuko if he's feeling alright, Zuko says that his journey is finally over and he can finally go home, he's never been better.

*Iroh looks even more concerned at this, but Zuko brushes him off to go to his room.

*He's not surprised when he finds the Avatar sitting on his bed, head tilted like a curious puppy.

*Zuko's not really surprised that the Avatar has essentially been allowed to roam loose on his ship, his crew are a bunch of useless good-for-nothings and he has to do /everything/.

*The Avatar doesn't even so much as flinch as he approaches him, but the second he's on the stupid arrow head, he's all the way across the room.

*Like he teleported or something.

*Zuko pinches his nose. He should have known that catching and containing a spirit would be hard.

*The Avatar offers a friendly smile and calls himself Aang, he extends an offer of friendship to Zuko, but Zuko turns the spirit down.

*Aang frowns, glumly saying that he won't play along with Zuko's game if he doesn't wanna be friends.

*Zuko angrily yells that none of this is a game, when two new voices catch his attention.

*It's the Water Tribe teens from before.

*They're pretty pissed at him, ranting at him about how terrible he and his country are.

*Zuko yells and argues back until he's as blue in the face as their clothes.

*Eventually, he just yells at them to fuck off, and just like that, they're gone.

-Now for the other side of things-

*Iroh's already tired when Zuko goes on an impassioned rant about the southern lights. Like sure, they're very beautiful, but they've been down this road before.

*The Avatar is GONE. If they go and check out the lights, they won't find anything.

*They end up coming upon a tiny village, a remnant of the once might SWT. Iroh can barely bring himself to look at the place, seeing what his country has done to these innocent people hurts him deeply. But he needs to keep an eye on Zuko and make sure he doesn't get himself hurt.

*Iroh notes that the only people in the village are grown women and small children, and no one else.

*Iroh and the crew are very surprised at how easily Zuko agrees to leave the village.

*That surprise turns to muted horror when Zuko tells his crew to take the Avatar below deck.

*They want to ask Zuko exactly who he's referring to, as no one was taken aboard the ship, but Zuko is quick to get angry and yells at his crew to get on it.

*Not looking to get yelled at some more by the clearly agitated Zuko, the crew disappear below deck. They opt to gossip in the engine room like they usually do when Zuko is behaving strangely.

*Iroh tries to ask his nephew if he's feeling alright. He worries that some of their food might have gone bad or that the boy had caught something.

*Before Iroh can press further, or check for fever, Zuko disappears below deck to go to his room. He specifically requests that no one disturb him.

*Iroh hopes that Zuko is going to finally lie down and get some rest. He clearly needs it.

*The crew have grown used to tuning out Zuko's yelling, so they don't bat an eye at the shouting match coming from his quarters.

-Basically, Zuko is being haunted/possessed. The Avatar is pretty much a person that's possessed by a spirit amalgamate. Zuko is the Avatar.

*Aang is one of Zuko's past lives that's reaching out to him.

*Katara and Sokka are ghosts from the SWT that came to torment Zuko because they’re mad about being dead.

*Aang gets Katara and Sokka to slowly mellow out and chill a bit, and be a bit nicer to Zuko.

*Aang also convinces Zuko to go to all sorts of places in an effort to get him to have fun.

*He convinces him to visit Kyoshi, where Zuko is assaulted by the ghosts of the Kyoshi Warriors.

*When he inevitably gets captured by the locals after getting beaten and tied up by ghosts, Iroh has to come in and rescue his nephew.

*In fact, quite a few scenarios end up like this, where Aang somehow convinces Zuko to do something or go somewhere and Zuko ends up knee deep in ghost shenanigans, meanwhile Iroh's blood pressure could kill a komodorhino.

*Zuko has always been a bit off, but lately his strange behavior has taken a frightening turn. As no one else can see the ghosts(except Iroh, on few occasions) the crew go from near mutinous to deeply worried over Zuko and his mental state.

*Once they learn the truth of his scar, they want to go and kill Ozai themselves.

*A few times the Iroh Slug will dock at a port and a mysterious entity will be spotted. At first it's assumed to be a glow-eyed jiang-shi, only to be later identified as the lost Avatar.

*During these times, Zuko is overtaken by the Avatar Spirit and takes on one of his past live's appearances. Usually Aang's. He'll move in an unnatural manor, like something that isn't used to controlling a human body, or some limp, corpse being.

*It's not until Iroh realizes that he hears other distinct voices coming from Zuko's room, with no evidence of anyone coming in or out, that his nephew is being haunted.

*Slowly but surely, Aang drags Zuko northward so that they can "teach Katara waterbending". *wink wonk*

*It's only after they end up at the North Pole, fighting off waterbenders that Zuko goes into the Avatar state in front of his crew and they realize that /he's/ the Avatar.

*But the NWT also know that Zuko is the Avatar and they're like: 👀 so Zuko's crew is gonna have hell keeping custody of him.

*Especially when the ghosts keep trying to drag him away too.

*Speaking of ghosts, Yue is fairly ghost-like in appearance, with her pale brown skin, supernatural blue eyes, and snow white hair, but very decidedly physical and alive.

*But she is haunted/possessed by the Tui, and can empathize with Zuko on the being harassed by ghosts or possessing spirits.

*I'm still deciding on whether Toph should be a ghost or someone pretending to be a ghost.

*On the one hand: Ghost!Toph who kicks just as much ass and causes even more trouble than normal Toph, and haunted the shit out of the underground earthbending ring before she decided that harassing Zuko would be more fun. On the other: Little blind girl who dresses up as a spooky spirit and beats everyone's ass teaming up with a ex-prince who's possessed by an evergrowing, all powerful spirit amalgamation and constantly haunted by a pair of Water Tribe ghosts.

*It does eventually get back to Hakoda that the spirits of his children are haunting the Avatar and he just:  👁👄👁

[avatarnao]

A Million Dreams CH. 5

Pairing: Zukka, Kataang

Soulmate AU, College AU, Roommate AU

First, Previous, Next

A03

******

After the initial shock seems to wear off, Suki and Aang manage to wrangle Katara, Sokka, and Toph into their seats. Toph can’t seem to stop laughing and Sokka won’t stop staring at Zuko like he’s grown a second head. Katara won’t stop glaring. Aang seems to be halfheartedly trying to talk her out of committing murder in broad daylight.

Zuko wouldn’t mind any of this so much. In fact, he’d be completely okay with ignoring their presence while he works. If only Jin hadn’t sat them at the only open table left in his section. Now he has to talk to them and interact with everyone and Sokka still won’t stop staring at him.  

He disappears into the safety of the kitchen, if only to have a moment to himself. Unfortunately, his uncle never seems to leave the room, busy making tea and treats for everyone. Zuko huffs and stalks past his uncle to the back door. Iroh’s worried inquiry goes ignored as the door slams shut behind him.

Out behind the teashop, away from customers and his uncle’s prying questions, he can actually think a little. So… Sokka, his roommate, is apparently the same Sokka Aang mentioned in the few times he came to practice with Katara. He’s not sure if he should feel guilty for not picking up on the names… then again, he also didn’t want to assume everyone from the Southern Water Tribe knew each other… or were related. Sokka could’ve been a common name and maybe that’s just how he justified it.

Only Sokka and Katara are related and Katara hates his guts. Zuko presses his back against the wall and slides to the ground with a groan. Of course she would hate him, and he doesn’t exactly blame her but… Sokka’s never said anything about his sister. He’s definitely never mentioned being friends with the avatar of all people.

…

Has Sokka ever mentioned knowing the avatar? No… no, he’s sure he’d remember something like that.

Why doesn’t Sokka hate him for nearly hitting his sister? Surely, she told him about that… but Toph is also their friend apparently. Maybe she vouched for him? No… that’s dumb. Why would she do that?

And then he just… walked away…. Shit… why did he just walk away? What if they complain about him being rude? Uncle doesn’t need that sort of negativity….  

No… that’s stupid. They definitely won’t complain to Uncle of all people. Besides, the tea is already free to students.

Zuko blinks, frowning. How… how does Sokka know about this event? Wasn’t it only meant for his uncle’s students?

“Oh, Agni, ” he hisses, eyes going wide. Does that mean Sokka’s taking his uncle’s class? No wonder Sokka was giving him funny looks… wait, no… maybe he doesn’t know they’re related yet. Maybe Sokka isn’t even in his class. It could just as easily be Toph or Katara or Suki…. Only… what if they’re all taking the class together?

He jumps to his feet at the thought. If none of them know, they sure as fuck are about to find out. Especially if Uncle decides to venture over to the table. Which he most likely will the moment someone tells him the avatar is visiting.

The door swings open just as he steps up to it, smacking him in the face.

“Oh, nephew,” he hears his uncle say. “ There you are.” Zuko glowers at the man, rubbing his cheek. The smile on Uncle’s face drops. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing…” he grumbles. “Did you need something?” Uncle hums thoughtfully, perking up as he seems to remember what he came outside for.

“Oh, yes,” he replies. “I’ve been told the avatar is joining us today. You must come and meet him!” Zuko hesitates. He hesitates because the avatar is hanging out at the exact table he’s trying to will out of existence. Maybe he can just force himself to throw up and go home for the day. That would probably be rude though and he can’t do that to his uncle after everything the man’s done for him.

Zuko reluctantly follows his uncle back inside. They pause in the kitchen to load up a couple trays with food and tea, then head out to the dining area.

Toph’s howling laughter greets them as they step out of the kitchen. Sokka’s hunch over with his face pressed into the table. Zuko eyes him, curious as to what transpired but remains quiet. Uncle perks up the moment he takes in everyone sitting with Aang.

“Suki! Sokka! What a pleasure to see you here!” Uncle greets. Zuko swallows a groan. Of course those two would be in the class. He quietly sets the tray of food on the table and begins helping Uncle serve tea. Suki’s watching him with a sort of smug amusement as he places a cup in front of her.

“Is he your uncle?” she asks, mirth glinting in her eyes. Zuko stares at her for a long moment and he just knows . Suki must know too because she smiles softly and says, “Thank you for the hot leaf juice.”

“ Uncle ,” he hisses, turning on the man. Said uncle just gives him a sheepish look as Zuko presses on. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” That seems to knock Sokka out of whatever dilemma he was having. He slams his hands on the table and looks between Zuko and his professor like they’ve both grown an extra head. Okay so maybe Sokka’s crisis is still ongoing.

“ You’re his nephew?” Sokka snaps, voice loud enough for the whole shop to hear.

“Honestly, Sokka,” Katara scoffs. “Do you know anything about the person you’re living with?”

“ Me? ” Sokka retorts, turning on his sister. “How did you not know Zuko was my roommate? It’s not exactly a common name!” Zuko wants to argue that he’s standing right here, but decides against it as the siblings launch into a passionate argument. Instead he continues giving everyone tea. He wants to argue that he probably should have known too considering Katara’s brought Sokka up at least once. He didn’t want to just assume though, that everyone from the Southern Water Tribe was related…. Or that they knew each other.

“Oh yes,” Aang is saying by the time Zuko gets around to him. The avatar and his uncle are deeply engrossed in a conversation of their own. Aang takes the offered cup with a grateful smile as he says, “Katara’s my soulmate so I’m staying here with her while she’s in school and travelling when I need to.”

Once all the tea is passed out, Zuko quickly makes his exit under the guise of tending to another table. He spends approximately ten minutes checking on other customers and filling orders when Toph loudly calls him back over. Doing his best to conceal a grimace, Zuko drags himself back over to the one table he’s been avoiding as much as possible.

Toph’s giving him a shit-eating grin by the time he comes to a stop at the table.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asks. Toph pulls out an empty seat and gives it a pat.

“Iroh says you’re on break now, so have a seat.” He stares at the seat, then at Toph. Back to the seat, and then at everyone else around the table. Katara still looks like she wants to murder him but that’s not exactly new.

“Um…” He glances over toward the kitchen. “Let me just check with him first…” And leaves before anyone (Toph) can force him into the seat.

Sure enough, his uncle insists he go spend the afternoon with his friends. Zuko reluctantly agrees to the break, unable to stop the feelings of guilt from weighing on him. He’s supposed to be working today, not having tea with practical strangers. Well… Sokka’s not a stranger. He’s probably the closest to friend out of any of them, and Toph and Katara are his teammates… and Aang would probably be sad if Zuko didn’t consider him a friend. Not that Aang would say anything about it, but he’d be sad deep down and that just makes Zuko feel even more guilty. Okay, and Suki is definitely a sort of friend. They spend enough time together during meals and study sessions for it to count, right?

Now that he’s thinking about it, Katara might be the only questionable one at the table.

Giving himself over to his fate, Zuko returns to the table and takes a tentative seat between Toph and Aang. Katara sits next to Aang and next to her is Sokka, then Suki. Sokka slouches in his seat, stirring his tea with a pout on his face. Zuko gives Suki a questioning look but she just smiles and shakes her head.

“Sokka’s just upset because he didn’t know you were such a talented bender,” Aang explains easily. He leans closer, shielding his mouth with his hand. “You know, because roommates don’t keep secrets or whatever.” Zuko frowns. He wants to argue that he’s not really that good. Wants to tell them he knows of others who are far more talented than he’ll ever be. His sister is a prodigy for Agni’s sake.

“I guess it just never came up,” he says instead. “But it’s only because I learned from the best.”

“Well it just so happens that Aang needs a firebending master to teach him,” Katara chimes in. “So if you could point us in their direction that would be great.”

“I don’t think he’s taking new students right now…”

“Oh,” Katara scoffs. “So he’ll teach you but he’s too good to teach the Avatar?”

“It’s okay, Katara,” Aang replies. “I’ve already spoken with Zuko’s teacher and he’s a little busy at the moment.” He perks up. “In fact, he suggested someone who should be just as good. I’m going to see him in the morning.”

“When did this happen?” Katara asks.

“Just a little while ago, when Iroh was over here he-”

“ Iroh taught you?” Katara turns her attention back to Zuko with a strange look on her face. Sokka scoffs, waving her question away.

“Of course he did,” Sokka says. “Iroh is his uncle. Why wouldn’t he teach Zuko?”

“He runs a teashop, " Katara points out. Toph snorts, and sits up in her seat.

“Don’t you know anything?” she asks. “Or are you too low class for something like that?” Katara gasps and slams her hands down on the table. All the dishes on the table rattle dangerously. Zuko quickly reaches into the center and stops the teapot from falling over. His uncle would be upset if such a valuable set were to break. Zuko doesn’t even know why he uses such fragile tea sets to begin with, and at this point there’s no point in asking. Only he’s turning back into the conversation and Toph’s still talking.

“Iroh is very well respected in the upper crusts of society,” she says. “He’s from a very well respected family in the Fire Nation. You might have heard of them in fact since he-” Something jumps into Zuko’s throat, and he’s leaping from the table before he knows it. Anxiety spikes through him, fear sending sparks of electricity into his fingertips.

“Toph,” he snaps, voice pitched high and far too tight to come off as anything less than tension. “I think my uncle wanted to see you in the kitchen.” He shoves the teapot toward her. “Would you mind getting us a refill while you’re there too?”

“Fine.” She snatches the teapot from his hand, and pulls him close. “But just so you know, I can tell when people are lying.” He watches her stomp away from the table, trying in vain to steady his racing heart.

“Uh… Zuko?”

“Sorry,” he snaps, turning back to everyone else. “My uncle just doesn’t like talking about his family is all.”

“Unless it’s about you, right?” Suki teases, grabbing a cookie off a plate.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “We’re very close.”

“You should hear the way he talks about you in class,” Sokka adds, grinning a little.

“He’s very proud of you, that’s for sure,” Suki agrees. Zuko finds himself smiling a little despite the near slip.

“I don’t know where I’d be without him,” he confesses, because Uncle helped him through the lowest lows of his life. He was there for Zuko when… everything happened, and he was there for him afterward too.

Eventually, Toph returns with fresh tea and treats for everyone. The conversation turns to lighter things, and even Katara loosens up enough to joke around with Zuko.

By the end, everyone’s leaving with smiles on their faces and Zuko’s returning to work feeling like he’s gotten closer to calling their small group friends.

Despite the rocky start, Zuko would have to say this ended up being a good day.

A really good day.

There’s heat. Heat and fire everywhere. A roaring sound rushes through his ears. He flinches as something flies towards him.

Pain, blinding, sharp, and hot stabs through him. It burns at his flesh, eats away at his mind. He distantly hears the sound of screaming and belatedly realizes it’s him.

The burning fades but the pain doesn’t.

It consumes him until darkness washes over him.

The screaming never stops.

[thelastspeecher]

( ; w ; ) > I would love more deets about Stan's pro bending team, and more about his (and their!) reaction to the revelation that he's the avatar

All right!  Like I said, there’s a lot of stuff involving my nonsense, which means that my McGucket OCs come into play here, and there’s a callback to my OG Stan McGucket AU in the form of the McGuckets once again taking Stan in.  Oh, and as a frame of reference, we decided that Stan is the firebending avatar after Roku.  So Aang and Korra and the earthbending avatar that would follow Korra (dubbed Priyanka by @vulpixen) have all happened.  And now it’s a firebender’s turn to be avatar.  I don’t know exactly how technology would have progressed in the elapsed time, so I’m just sort of operating off of the technology we see in LoK, even though it’s definitely advanced since then.

When Stan left home after his agni kai with Filbrick, he just sort of wandered around, trying to figure out what to do and how to best manage his fresh burn.  Eventually, he stumbled across two people about his age, who were obviously siblings, complaining that they needed a third for their pro-bending team.  Stan had been obsessed with pro-bending for some time, so he snuck a bit closer to eavesdrop better, and overheard that they were an earthbender and a waterbender, and they needed a firebender for their team.  So Stan spoke up and introduced himself, saying that he was a firebender, and that he would love to be on a pro-bending team.

Stan figured that these siblings would just scoff and ignore him, but they actually seemed interested.  They then introduced themselves, saying that they were indeed siblings: Angie and Lute McGucket.  Before the conversation could get much further, they noticed the wound on Stan’s shoulder and said that he should probably see a healer.  Of the two of them, Lute was the waterbender, but he wasn’t as good at healing as their father, a native of the Foggy Swamp Tribe who had moved away from the swamp and settled down with their mother, an Earth Kingdom noble, to start a farm and a family.

Stan wasn’t that willing to go to some stranger’s house, but Angie and Lute insisted, and Stan found himself at the McGucket farmstead, where he was healed and invited to stay the night.  Stan didn’t plan on staying more than one night, but as per usual for my AUs, he got roped in by the friendly McGuckets, and they offered him a job on their farm while he got back on his feet.

After Stan had been healed sufficiently that Pa McGucket decided it was safe for him to train, he, Angie, and Lute began to train in earnest together, learning how the others fought and doing their best to compliment each others’ strengths and weaknesses.  Lute had learned waterbending from his father, so he followed the Foggy Swamp Tribe methods, while Angie had learned how to utilize seismic sensing from their mother.  It was a struggle for them to work together at first, since they had similar tendencies in battle: go in guns blazing and give it your all.  Eventually, they figured out how to strategize better, and once they did, they began to rise up in the ranks.  Their team name was the Swamp Catgators, after the family pet, a catgator named Snappy.

At the pro-bending championship finals, the opposing team knocked Angie off the court, in a way that could severely injure her.  Stan instinctively airbended to save her, the arena went silent, and Stan ran away, upset by what it meant.

Stan is terrified.  Sure, he loved being in the limelight.  He loved being a powerful bender and kicking ass.  But he’s scared of the responsibility that is involved with being the avatar, and convinced that he won’t be able to properly do what he is expected.  He’s happy with where and who he is, a kick-ass pro-bender who may or may not be developing a crush on one of his teammates.  Traveling might be nice, but he doesn’t want to do it if it’s just to learn how to master the remaining three elements.  He’s also concerned that he’ll have to do more formal training in firebending, now that he’s the avatar.  Sure, he got lessons as a kid, but he doesn’t think he’s got the rank of master in it.  He’s also upset about the spiritual aspect of being the avatar.  He doesn’t want to be the bridge between the two worlds, to be an ambassador.  And he sure as hell doesn’t like the idea of having past lives, all of whom might be judging him when he fails, which he’s sure he’ll end up doing.

Eventually, Angie and Lute find Stan, wherever he ran off to, and sit down next to him and talk.  They were stunned when Stan airbended, but neither of them are half as surprised as Stan is.  They both had the feeling that there was something special about him when they first met, something Lute says is probably due to their Foggy Swamp Tribe heritage.  Swampbenders are in tune with the natural world and its spiritual connections due to the nature of their home, and Pa McGucket made sure that his children could also tap into the connections that the world has.  Mentioning spirituality makes Stan get twitchy, so they tell him that if he’s nervous about the spiritual part of being the avatar, they’re more than happy to help him get started.  After a little bit more sweet-talking, they convince Stan to come back to the McGucket farmstead, where the White Lotus has already been summoned to help Stan begin his journey to becoming a fully fledged avatar.

As for more of Angie and Lute’s reactions to Stan being the avatar, they’re freaking out.  They keep it calm in front of Stan, since he’s obviously a flight risk but he needs to come see the appropriate authorities to help him.  But on the inside, they are losing their minds.  Yes, they felt like there was something different about Stan when they first met, but they didn’t expect it to be that he was the avatar.  They just assumed it was because he was a particularly powerful bender.  And they’re a worried that Stan being the avatar means that he’ll have to leave them.  They’ve grown very close, but Stan has to learn a lot now.  He won’t be able to be a pro-bender and goof around on the farm with them anymore.  He has to travel the world to master all four elements.

Luckily for them, when Stan agrees to travel to be formally trained, one of his requirements is that Angie and Lute come with.  And Stan ends up needing the moral support when they set off on a sky bison for the closest air temple.  He might be the avatar, but he’s still scared of heights.

[cozy-possum]

How I Became Yours: Prologue

Summary: A re-write of the classic How I Became Yours, Zutara comic

This can also be read over at my Ao3 account

The war is over. The war is over. You can rest. You can rest. Aang sighs draping himself against the bench he’d found outside of the council meeting. He tries to brush off Roku and the rest of the avatars humming in his head.

Aang, you need rest. Rest. The war is over. Aang swats out with his hand trying to shove his past lives from the room but ends up smacking Zuko in the face.

Aang “You need rest.”

“Zuko..” Aang looks horrified; he knows he’d hit the scar, the way the skin under it had felt, almost like dragon scales.

“Stop waxing poetic about it; I can hear you thinking.” Zuko laughs a little, a small chuckle and Aang looks nervous but releases the breath he was holding.

“We have a lot to do.”

“Yes; for the moment we all need to be together; to plan our next moves; to pull my nation’s ruling back to its own shores.”

“So you’re saying we’re all going on a trip around the nations? Like old times.”

“It was two weeks ago Aang.” Zuko’s face is back to his usual neutral expression, the faintest hint of a smile on his face.

“Yes; we do need to; mostly the Earth kingdom; Agni knows my people have destroyed much of it.”

“The water tribes?”

“Later; they; the North was able to resist us, Katara and Sokka would be better suited as go betweens.” Zuko gestures to them as they walk up, Toph following with Iroh who drags them all back from the council meetings to the garden for tea.

“Not the Avatar?” Aang looks a little hurt and resigns himself to quietly sip his tea.

“You and Toph need to help the Earth Nations that were devastated by mine. Suki would also be a good ally to have; anyone who knows Earth kingdom traditions, and anyone who can soften the blow of what’s to come.”

“What’s to come?” Sokka furrows his brow.

“The lies and manipulation in Ba Sing Se need to be destroyed if we want to rebuild peace.” Zuko states drawing his gaze to his Uncle who narrows his eyes back at him.

“While I’ll be your council I am not one to rebuild a city I tried to lay siege to.”

“I’m not asking that; I’m simply reminding you how traditional tea brewing is vital to Ba Sing Se; there’s a tea shop that needs it’s owner back.

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”I kissed Katara” Aang’s nervous about leaving; Zuko can tell just from how he shifts on his feet, let alone the fact Aang is giving him a recount of the only two days that had passed while they hadn’t been constantly together in the palace.

“Did you like it?” Zuko shrugs a little curling inward unsure of how Aang wants him to react.

“No; it was like kissing you.” Aang laughs; Zuko knows he must have looked offended.

“Sorry; I’m sure you’re a wonderful kisser; but it wasn’t anything I thought it was; we’re friends, we’re meant to be that way I think...” Aang chuckles to himself and Zuko shakes his head fondly.

“I’m wounded, Avatar Aang; I thought us two were meant to be together!! Two halves of the same whole; two nations able to restore peace!” Zuko offers a half smile and a wink; throwing his arms up and dramatically twisting around in front of the ornate mirror in his bedroom. He can hear Sokka laughing and he tenses up; knowing that if Sokka is around not only will Katara be but so will his advisors. He wonders how relieved they’re feeling to be leaving the Firelord's den. Zuko had asked Sokka and Hakoda to step in on advising; besides his Uncle’s council he wasn’t sure how trustworthy many of the generals' words were. His lingering suspicion of them from before the war made him uncertain; he never knew if they would advise something to unheedingly sacrifice more lives to make him look bad. With the war over they didn’t have to worry much about fights or keeping control of colonies; but Zuko was most concerned about releasing the varying prisoners and some of the towns that were being destroyed under the Fire Nations rule right away.

He knew there was a long way to go but with everyone having discussed plans and the smaller changes he’d already been able to make he knew it wouldn’t be long before they would all see each other again.

With Toph and Aang agreeing to work with the Earth king, and Katara and Sokka agreeing to work with their father to bridge the north and south tribes; Zuko relaxes a little. Enough to assure his Uncle that he can return to running the Jasmine Dragon. Iroh seems reluctant to leave but Zuko refuses to let him stay, even threatening him with making all of his tea. Iroh rebuttals he’d happily put up with it if it meant being near him and Zuko shakes his head reassuring him that he’ll be visiting as often as he can.

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Aang writes letters every week; at first Zuko had gotten swarmed with three days worth of mail, small half scribbled updates of everything Aang and Toph were doing; the poor messenger hawks he’d given them were exhausted; and after a refueling and two day rest did he respond, in one multi-page letter, requesting they do the same; if not to spare the poor hawks, to spare his servants from thinking something was wrong if the Avatar was sending in seventeen letters a day.

Aang responds later that week two tubes on the messenger hawk’s back detailing everything that had been happening that week; which was to say Appa had eaten at least five new fruits, and that Momo stole someone’s hat. That Toph was improving her sandbending, using it to clean up towns that the Fire Nation had tried to dam and redirect rivers from. She’d also been working on her metal bending, all of the factory pieces and parts that the Fire Nation wasn’t bothered with retrieving was giving her plenty of practice with sculpting tools and other items for the villages and towns to trade and use in rebuilding. 

They’d met up with Suki and Sokka, who were travelling to the north pole with Katara, although Katara had trailed behind checking up on a river town they’d helped before.

Zuko knows it’s silly but he writes each of them letters; well he tries; he combines Aang’s and Toph’s as they’re travelling together, as well as Sokka and Suki’s; they’re a couple anyways is how he justifies it. Which means he has to write a letter just to Katara, it's a good excuse for the first few letters which cover at least three months of travel. He doesn’t blame anyone; he’d been swamped with his Firelord duties as well as trying to rekindle his relationship with Mai, something he was nervous about, now that he was the firelord, and he’d abandoned her to his sister, he’s not sure how she’ll feel about him. By the time he figures out she forgives him; that she’s more than happy to be by his side, although she hates the meetings and council members that drag him away; their false pretenses of peace and caring for the firelord annoy her; she discusses this with Zuko more than often and he’ll laugh it off, assuring her no one but her knows the best ways to take care of him. He’s not sure why he dreams of a soft blue light and a cool touch that night. 

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Mai always laughs when he reads Aang and Toph’s letters aloud. They’ve moved on from the earth kingdom villages; they’re working at restoring some parts of the air temples and improving the structures that hold them upright. Which means Toph is flying most of the time to reach them and Aang details her reactions to returning to the earth. This usually involves her covering herself in a layer of rocks and then letting Aang use them as target practice for his air or firebending. Toph notes he’s gotten better at his control; she’s able to make nail sized pieces of rock that he can hit and splinter without damage to anything around it and only a few misses compared to the disaster he’d used to be when it came to targets. Sometimes they’ll do it while they’re flying, an excuse for practice they both know they don’t really need anymore with the war finished. It’s a good distraction for Toph, while her dislike of flying never changes, having earth to focus on helps .Aang comments in the letters that she’ll often warp the meteorite bracelet when she gets nervous which is usually whenever they’re flying. While the restorations are underway; increasing the structural integrity is a slow delicate progres that calls for carefully fortifying the pillars and rock structures from the inside; Toph has developed a side project. Her quest to create Toph statue’s in every place they visit. So far they’ve been small palm sized sculptures of her, as she didn’t want to bother the townsfolk or scare any of the wildlife. Since the air temples are uninhabited by humans for now Aang assured her she could make them bigger; they’d visited each temple deciding that the Western one was in need of the most repair and help. Moving the debris and damage that was caused from combustion man was a surprisingly easy task; most of the pillars were scattered around the temple and very little of it had fallen from the cliff face below. Aang knows the restoration isn’t as simple as that; that Toph can really only help with the structural things; that the artwork and murals might not be things she can construct; he wonders if he’ll be able to find everything to mix the paint with.

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He grows to enjoy Suki’s updates, matter of fact reports that hold very little personal information. Just details about the towns they visited and rankings and tallies of which ones appear to need the most help. Which towns need which supplies. Areas that need the fire nation troops to stay; their influence part of the economic growth and removal could cause worse devastation than leaving them. He’ll often interspersing these reports with Sokka’s humour. Trying to avoid the overwhelming darkness that his family has caused dragging him down. Most of Sokka’s attempts at humor were jokes that reminded him of Uncle and Zuko would try to return the joke with one of his own; or borrow yet another half remembered joke from Iroh. Sokka also includes a string of training and sparring ideas for both of them; they’d been trading tips and tricks after both finding out they’d studied under Master Piandao, Sokka offering moves he would use his boomerang for or fighting moves he’d seen earthbenders repeat. Zuko offered firebending stances and the meditation he would use; as well as the training he’d use for his broad swords. Sometimes he would find Suki’s handwriting in the margins, adding tips from her use of fans or noting some things Sokka was saying were things she had taught him. Both Sokka and Suki were enjoying the weather, the clear skies and fresh air proving to be good for training and practicing sparring with their weapons of choice. Sokka also includes drawings of what Zuko assumes are the animal’s or scenery they’ve been seeing. It was mostly various hills and the occasional house; but he’s tried to draw what Zuko guesses is a gilacorn.

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Katara are his favourite updates; he claims it's due to her discussions as a budding diplomat, as well as the doodles of waterbending forms she includes; things he can relate to being the firelord and moves he can try to incorporate into his fire bending when he spars. He explains to her that the palace staff is slowly warming up to him; they’re less stiff and he’d even managed to avoid a reaction of terror when he called one of the older chefs by name. He tells her that the turtle ducks have returned to the pond, not that they ever left but they had been hibernating and he includes a crude drawing of a turtleducking with a note in case she’s never seen one. He sends a second letter scrambling after he’d sent the first one; realizing that she’d spent plenty of time around the pond, practicing her waterbending. Mai rolls her eyes lovingly as he grumbles about the mistake of sending the letter too early and making a mistake; she laughs a little, chiding him about using the royal scribes.

Katara  writes back almost instantly, the turtleduck drawing he’d done is included, but there’s another one beside it, obviously drawn by her, Zuko keeps it folded in his robes to laugh at. Her drawing is almost real life, his is a little more impressive than Sokka’s. A doodle he gets weeks later, Katara having no doubt shown him Zuko’s attempt.  Her actual letter is just as impressive, Zuko’s a little amazed Hakoda hasn’t named her chief successor; and then he’s panic stricken that he doesn’t actually know any watertribe customs.  He resolves to brush up on their traditions when they meet next. She is slowly working on teaching some of the northern waterbenders the other styles of water bending, mostly the bending of water in plants; while they’re surrounded by snow and ice she worries one day they won’t and she’d never want any of them to feel cut off from their bending.

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He doesn’t receive letters for another few months; then it becomes a solid year. He finds out when a swarm of messenger hawks show up that the birds had been through a storm and had gotten turned around twice before finding their way back to the original senders, and once they’d been refed, they’d made their way to him.

He replies to each letter individually; it takes him three days to get through them all; and before Mai can drag him to bed, he’s offered a meal and a seat in the Council for the weekly meeting they have. He gets through the meeting and falls asleep the minute he curls under the tree by the turtleduck pond.

The letters continue for the next two years; a comforting back and forth habit for all of them to keep in touch. It doesn’t replace actually seeing them; and while he has Mai most of the servants and palace staff still avoid him in a social context. The letters stop for a full week. Zuko asks some of his staff to be on the lookout for the messenger hawks.

They bring him one a day later; he pulls an invitation out; obviously done by Hakoda, but the doodle signature is Sokka’s, he grins, laughing a little but responds immediately.

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Hakoda is bringing everyone back together in Ba Sing Se for Sokka and Katara's announcement as councilpersons for the water tribes. He also includes a note about the celebration of Aang's achievement in the complete restoration in the Western Air Temple. Sokka has added a note about it being Katara’s birthday as well, and that Zuko will need to get her a present. This information brings the resurgence in his lack of knowledge about water tribe customs. He knows a few earth kingdom ones but assumes those don't translate and he resists the urge to send a frantic letter to Sokka or even their father and settles for researching everything in the library and asking any of the palace staff to inquire about water tribe customs for an eighteenth birthday celebration.

He finds the water tribe scrolls on his desk the next morning, and three pirates in the jail awaiting sentencing. He also finds one of the scribe's notes about necklace making, and he reads over them, noting that apparently hand crafted items are the biggest compliment to pay to someone you admire; and a necklace is the ultimate expression of that. He stores that idea content that the water tribe scrolls and bending formations will be good enough as a gift. He thanks his servants and makes sure everything is prepared for his trip to Ba Sing Se. Mai declines to come and he assures her he won’t be long; she assures him she’ll survive without him; he knows it’s as good as her saying she’ll miss him. They share a kiss before he leaves on his trip. He didn’t tell his Uncle he was coming, hoping to surprise him, it had been two years since they’d seen each other.

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When Zuko gets to the entrance to Ba Sing Se he’s not really sure where to go; his feet try to make him return to the house he’d lived in with his Uncle but the carriage he’s riding in brings him to a sprawling house in the uppermost ring; the avatars home; the guide tells him.

He’s not surprised that Sokka is the first one to hug him; Aang follows, slightly taller than the last time he’d seen him. Toph offers him the usual shoulder punch and he sweeps her into a hug, carefully keeping her feet on the ground so she doesn’t lose her bearings. Suki grins pulling him into a hug twisting her face so she doesn’t smudge her warrior face paint.

“Do you have a mission?” he smiles a little and she grins back.

“Of course; I’m in charge of security.” She laughs and Zuko shakes his head. She leads him back into the house; where he greets Katara; surprised by the hug she gives him.

“Missed me that much then?” He grins at her and watches as she looks away slightly. She looks older; he’s sure they all do; but her hair hasn’t changed; it's down a natural wave to it, save for the bun and looping strands that frame her face. He wonders how different he looks. He knows his hair has grown out more; it’s not the length he had it when he was banished but it’s long enough where he no longer has to force it into a barely long enough ribbon.

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“Now before the party later today we have to stop at this wonderful tea shop we never got the chance to visit.” Toph grins as the rest of the group move to follow. Zuko leads the way, they’ve all chosen to walk and he’s surprised how many people seem amicable to him, he reasons it’s because of who he’s walking with but he jerks slightly when Katara nudges him forward when a few people call his attention.

“Yes?” He’s grateful he’s been able to master the neutral expression because he wants to frown when they bow to him. He resists the urge to bow back; his advisors had informed him it was unheard of; still he inclines his head smiling when they gasp a little.

“Firelord Zuko; it’s so wonderful to see you out in our city.”

“Well it is home to one of the best tea shops in any of the nations; the Jasmine Dragon.” He grins when they look excited and nod.

“We’ve been there; the service is wonderful.” He laughs a little recognising one of the older members as one of the guards he had served. They make it to the Jasmine Dragon uninterrupted. Zuko figures he deserves to be childish as he hides behind the rest of them, making shushing noises as they enter the tea shop.

“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon.” Zuko swears he can feel his Uncle looking for him; how his voice waivers at the word dragon; Toph leaves the group first moving to hug Iroh; Zuko can feel the ground shifting slightly and he rushes past while his Uncle’s eyes are closed. Grinning as his apron is still on the hook after these years. He ties it automatically and can’t keep the smile from his face as he stands to the side watching the group finish greeting him

“Uncle- um Iroh.” Katara nods to the empty seat and he shakes his head.

“Please; we insist. Excuse us.” Katara waves her hand as she pulls Iroh into the seat. Iroh looks amused and Katara smiles at him saying something Zuko doesn’t hear beyond the blood rushing in his ears.

“Welcome to the Jasmine Dragon; I’m Li, your server-” He’s surprised he got that far before his Uncle hugged him. He gets them all their tea; he’s about to let his uncle make it when Katara shakes her head offering him her seat as she assures him she'll supervise Zuko.

The tea tastes almost exactly like when his Uncle makes it and it’s enough to make Zuko sigh in relief. 

Zuko serves everyone and settles into the seat between his uncle ant Katara. He’s watching Katara as she flicks her wrist; he knows most of the table misses it. He knows his uncle didn’t but when he complements the mixing her face lights up.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were spoiling him.”

“So what if I am? The man who freed Ba Sing Se deserves his tea made exactly how he likes it.”

“Ohhh, and here I thought;” he holds his hands up with a sly smile creeping on his face, it drops for a second when Katara makes eye contact with him, her eyes shimmering at whatever comment he’s going to add.

“I see what you’re doing; making us depend on you for our tea first; and then what; it’ll never end Ms. Water nation diplomat; pretty soon we’ll be having trade routes and intermingling of cultures.” Zuko chuckles.

“Conspiring with the Dragon of the West himself! Truly a stroke of genius.” Zuko’s chuckles fade nervously at Katara’s now unreadable face.

“Sorry. Was that inappropriate?” Zuko curls inward slightly.

“Oh no; it just wasn’t funny.” Katara’s smile and Sokka’s bark of laughter make him grin, until he feels the flick of cold tea against his neck and finds that the tea in his cup has turned to ice.

“And here I thought teaching those kids waterbending would have improved your sense of humour from being around them for years.”

“But I wasn’t with Sokka?” That makes him laugh again and Katara smiles back at him, hiding her continued laughter by turning to check on everyone else, she starts to ask about some diplomacy meeting and Sokka jerks her chair.

“No working on your birthday missy!” Sokka grins, Katara scowls and Zuko nods along with Aang who has a solemn look on his face.

“Yeah, listen to your brother; you can’t work on your birthday; save that for tomorrow, when he’s passed out from a hangover.” Aang laughs at Zuko’s joke so Zuko counts it as a win.

“Oh I was wondering where I should bring the present I have for you.”

“Present?” He can see Katara’s eyes turning towards Sokka and narrowing.

“Uh yeah; it’s your birthday; you get presents on that day; I mean in the fire nation you do.” The terror strikes through him as he realizes Sokka may have been joking about the gift.

“That’s really sweet Zuko; thank you; I guess I’ll have to open it later?”

“You can open it whenever we get back to the house; it’s there with all my things.” He can see Sokka narrowing his eyes at him and he shifts slightly backwards in his seat.

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”They were in the library I thought you would have more use for them; and they’re yours by right anyways; this doesn’t seem like a very good gift now that I think about it…” Zuko hangs his head slightly; Katara doesn’t seem to hear him; she’s focusing on the scrolls, waterbending forms and movements he’s assuming she’d seen before but with how delicately she’s holding the scrolls he thinks maybe she hasn’t.

“If it’s stuff you’ve…” he trails off looking confused when Katara grabs Sokka’s hand and pushes him towards the scrolls she’s holding.

“That’s..” He doesn’t finish instead pushing Katara aside slightly to just stare at a corner of the page. He cranes his neck, noticing they’re looking at the notes written in the margins. He hadn’t bothered reading the waterbending notes; he barely opened the scrolls themselves just to check they weren’t anything cruel on them. He reads it now; understanding dawning and his throat tightening in empathy, he tries to swallow it away but the thought of finding something his mother had left just for him; is suffocating. He understands why both her and Sokka are tearing up. He’s struck with a sinking feeling as well; these must have come from the raid; from the day she was killed. Zuko feels a little sick but brushes it aside for now; his friend's happiness comes first. In addition to the fact he has a party to attend in a few hours and refusing would be seen as rude at the least and an act of war at the very worst.

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