Chapter Text
Ozai paced back and forth, his frustrated exhalations closer to growls than anything else, as he stared daggers at Zhao’s latest missive.
“He evades every attempt to bring him home with all the honors due to a royal prince- why?!” he demanded, as the letter burst into flames in his clawed fist. “He has always been so very loyal- why doesn’t he want to come home?!” The Fire Lord looked the closest to distressed that anyone on his council had ever seen him.
Well, Your Majesty, the fact that you set his face on fire might have had something to do with it, the nobles and generals all pointedly refrained from saying. Ozai must have sensed the (very obvious) thought, so thick in the unsaid tension that it was impossible to ignore. He glared at them through his serpent-yellow eyes.
“I was trying to teach him respect. It didn’t seem to bother him at first- he sent me all those pathetic, fawning letters the first six months, constantly updating me with those silly details about his ‘mission.’” Ozai made air quotes around the word, since it should have been obvious that he was assigning an impossible task, akin to telling his eldest that he could come home ‘when pig-chickens fly’.
But then again, Zuko had never been much for respecting the impossibility of impossible things, as evidenced by his being the first fire lily since the start of the war and, according to Zhao’s letter, bending rainbow flames directly on his skin, not to mention being accomplished enough at heat bending to turn lava back into rock. Oh, and he’d also gone and found the avatar, but now he was refusing to bring him home!
“But he’s done it! He’s actually gone and done it,” Ozai continued aloud, still pacing in front of the war council with a manic, frenetic energy. “Clearly, I have overlooked my greatest asset! And the people adore him as well. I need my son back. I must have him back. How do I convince him to come home? What do you think he would like- a house on Ember Island, perhaps, or maybe a very nice pleasure boat? Or perhaps even his own colony to rule?”
“If you would pardon my impertinence, Majesty…” One particularly brave councilman finally broke in, “But it seemed to me, at least, that the Crown Prince was never overly fond of material things. Well, other than works of literature, perhaps, but-”
“So you’re saying I should give him a library,” Ozai cut the man off.
“Well, no, not exactly…” The noble continued, hesitant.
“Well then for Agni’s sake, what is it?! Tell me, lest I burn your useless tongue right out of your mouth!”
The councilman was deeply regretting his choice. “Well, my lord, it seems to me that what would be most amenable to the Distinguished Crown Prince would be some kind words, and perhaps even an apology for his banishment and the events preceding it.” He flinched, clearly expecting flames to come licking at his face.
But Ozai merely looked pensive. “An… apology?” he rolled the foreign word around his mouth. “And some… kind words? Well, I suppose it’s worth the attempt. The child always was a bit of an odd turtle-duck. Bring forth the court poet, that they may compose such platitudes to my son. And in the meantime, send out the order to start construction on a magnificent vacation home, next to the one we used to go to. Oh, and make sure that one of the colonies is renamed to Zuko-Basho, in case the apology doesn’t work. I want it to be made abundantly clear to my son that he is wanted here, at home. What an oversight on my part, to have overlooked such blatant talent. When he’s back in the capital, the people will rejoice, and with his abilities, why- the war will be won in six months!”
The council looked at each other, sure that the Fire Lord had forgotten their presence. He must have, to admit that he had erred so, and to be actually (somewhat) listening to their advice, for once.
“And what of your brother, my Lord?” Another piped up tentatively, emboldened by the unusual lack of fire being thrown in their direction. “It seems that the boy- that the Crown Prince,” he corrected himself, at Ozai’s glare, “has always been rather fond of General Iroh, and doubtless even more so after traveling with him for three years. It might make the prince more reluctant to come home, if such a thing involves a price on his Uncle’s head.”
“Oh, fine,” Ozai groaned. “Change the arrest warrant to ‘Wanted alive’. Zuko can visit the old fool in prison if it makes him happy. Just bring me my son,” he ground out to the room at large. “And tell Zhao to stop being so damn repulsive- it’s no wonder the boy doesn’t want to come home, what with that ugly mug for a welcoming committee. Order him to shave his stupid mutton chops, maybe that will help.”
Agni save us, the council thought. The Fire Lord’s gone round the bend.
_______________
Blissfully unaware of his father’s deteriorating mental state, Zuko hummed happily as he braided Katara’s hair, his own already threaded with Jasmine flowers, and complete with hair loopies (with green beads, to match the flecks of green in his eyes).
“Your uncle said to meet him here,” Sokka said, pointing to a spot on the map. “That’s about an hour’s flight from here.”
“Mmmm,” Zuko agreed, tying off the end of Katara’s braid. “The port where they’ll dock the Wani is about half an hour’s walk from the town square. There’s a barn where we can board Appa for the night. He needs his rest after yesterday’s craziness.”
“So you’ve been here before, then?” Aang asked, his face eager.
“Yeah, back in the first year of my banishment, before we had to go into hiding in Ba Sing Se,” Zuko replied. “It’s mainly a fishing village, with a secondary economy in weaving. We’ll be able to restock our supplies here, but you should probably let me do the talking. The locals prefer Gwóngdūng wá, and they’ll give us lower prices than if we did our shopping in the Common Tongue.”
“That’s pretty cool,” Sokka mused. “Maybe I should start learning Gwóngdūng wá.”
“I dunno, aningaaq,” Katara teased in alutiiq. “It sounds like you’ve already got your hands full- after all, if you want to court Suki, you should probably learn Kyoshi-wa first.”
A blush fought valiantly to make itself visible through Sokka’s brown skin.
“Shut up,” he muttered at his sister, whose eyes were alight with amusement.
“Speaking of things we’re shutting up about,” Zuko jumped in. “If we could not tell Uncle and the crew about the whole ‘went into Fire Nation waters and blew up a volcano’ thing, I’d really appreciate it. They’re so overprotective, I’ll never hear the end of it. It’s always ‘Zuko, you should wear shoes when it’s cold outside,’ or ‘Zuko, you’re studying too much’ or ‘Zuko, why would you try to climb that cliff face without a rope?’ They’re all such mother goose-hens,” their firebender grumbled.
“We won’t say anything, Zuko, we promise,” Katara swore, tamping down on her laughter.
____
Eventually, they reached the town, and just as Zuko had said, there was a stable very near the entrance. They’d originally wanted three copper pieces to board the bison for the night, but a few words from Zuko in Gwóngdūng wá and they were willing to take two.
“My mother teaches the Gwóngdūng wá classes at the village school,” the stable owner informed them in the Common Tongue. “She would have my hide if I didn’t give a discount to a young man with such an exquisite accent. Are you sure it’s not your native language?” She fawned.
Zuko shook his head ‘no.’ “I’ve just been taking classes for years,” he informed her, the good side of his face blushing scarlet.
“Well, you’ve done very well,” she informed him, patting his shoulder. “Ma will be home for dinner, you must come back then so that you can make conversation with her. She’ll be positively delighted.”
Uncle and Zuko’s crew had docked the Wani in one of the rented slots on the pier, right across from a restaurant advertising their roast duck.
“That’s where they’ll be,” Zuko declared decisively, knowing very well his Uncle’s penchant for roast duck.
And indeed, the whole crew was there, chopsticks moving lightning-quick as the hungry sailors devoured what looked to be half the menu. Several teapots were steaming on spots along the table, and Zuko’s mouth watered, knowing that Uncle would have asked them to bring the tea leaves separate from the water so that he could brew it himself table-side.
The crew cheered when they saw him, and Zuko was swamped with birthday hugs before he was halfway to the table.
“Ugh, guys, we’re in public,” Zuko protested. “We’re blocking the walkway.”
“Oh, hush. We haven’t seen you in weeks,” Teruko protested, squeezing him tighter.
“This looks so cuddly, can I join in?” Aang pleaded, loving nothing more than a group hug.
“Absolutely not,” Lt. Jee rebuffed him. “You stole our kid. No hugs for you.”
Aang pouted, and Zuko pulled him in anyway.
“Jee, be nice,” the prince scolded.
“Oh, so a Great Spirit steals our kid, who we’ve raised since he was thirteen, and we’re not allowed to hold a grudge about it?” Dekku complained. “Can’t have shit around here.”
They all sat back down around the table, and Sokka grabbed the nearest platter of meat and started shoveling it in. Zuko, meanwhile, reached for the nearest teapot while Aang scanned the table for anything he could eat besides plain rice.
“I heard an interesting story, Nephew,” Iroh began mildly. “Something about an exploding volcano destroying one of our fire temples. Would you happen to know anything about that?”
“No,” Zuko said, nearly choking on his tea.
“Is that so?” Genji piped up. “Well, perhaps you could hazard a guess as to what did happen, then?” The smile he hid behind his glass of sake betrayed just how much he was enjoying Zuko’s squirming.
“Well, I mean, we totally weren’t anywhere near there, but if I had to guess, I’d say Agni saw Zhao’s ugly mug on Their sacred space and blew up a volcano about it.”
“And how, pray tell, did you know Zhao was involved?” Iroh prodded, slyly.
“Damn it,” Zuko swore under his breath in Alutiiq, so that Uncle could not scold him for his language.
“Indeed,” Uncle continued. “That was very dangerous of you children. I’m not mad, but I am concerned. I only have one child left to me in the world, Avatar Aang, and if you cannot take care of him properly, I will have no compunctions about revoking your access.”
“Uncle, that’s not fair,” Zuko groaned. “Avatar Roku made him go.”
“Hmm, is that so?” Uncle did not look at all assuaged.
“I also thought it was dumb, for the record,” Sokka butt in, his mouth full of kabab.
“Uncle, we’re trying to save the world, here- it’s gonna be dangerous sometimes,” Zuko protested. “The Avatar Spirit gave me a mission, and I can’t ignore it.”
“I do not care if Agni Themself gave you a mission- I refuse to see you get hurt, Nephew. So I am telling you now, Avatar Aang, in hopes that the Spirit is listening- if you pull such a stunt with my Zuko again, I am taking him right back to Ba Sing Se, and you can find yourself another firebending teacher.”
“See? This is what I was talking about,” Zuko mumbled to Katara in Alutiiq, rolling his one good eye. Katara merely hid a laugh behind her left hand as her right idly played with the liquid in her teacup.
“Good tea is meant to be drunk, not played with,” Iroh scolded her mildly, and she startled, letting it drop back into her cup before muttering an apology.
“At any rate,” Uncle continued, the sternness in his voice abating. “We figured that since you children are trying to travel lightly, it would be best to give Zuko money instead of cumbersome birthday gifts, but I do hope you’ll forgive your old Uncle one sentimental item,” he said, reaching for a package he’d hidden under the table.
Zuko peeled back the paper carefully before gasping reverently.
“Uncle,” he breathed, switching to Firetongue without even meaning to as he looked at the dual dao. “These are Lu Ten’s… are you certain?”
“I have been certain for years, Nephew, I was just waiting for you to grow into them. You’ve had your old set since you were thirteen, and it is getting a bit small.” It was a practical answer, but it didn’t hide the tears shimmering in Iroh’s eyes, both of sadness and pride.
“You are growing into a fine young man, Zuko. And I am so proud of you. Lu Ten would have been proud of you as well.”
Even though they couldn’t understand what was being said, the rest of Team Avatar still looked away awkwardly, feeling like they were intruding on a private moment.
Eventually, however, the moment passed, and Zuko strapped his new swords to his back, giving the old ones to Uncle to take back to the Wani.
Eventually, and after many more hugs to Zuko, Helmsman Kyo had Sokka point out the next planned supply stop/meeting point on their way north. As wanted fugitives, it wasn’t safe for them to stay too long in any one place, and they’d already been here overnight. Besides, their old ship wasn’t quite as fast as Appa, so it was a good idea for them to get a head start.
“Thank you for the meal, General Iroh,” Katara said politely. “The tea was very good.”
“You’re welcome, child. Zuko, I’ll see you soon,” Uncle said, pulling him in for one more hug. “Be careful, and make sure that you at least buy some extra food so that you will be able to eat on days when the weather is bad.”
Zuko rolled his eyes, but promised to do so as he returned the hug.
“We better be heading out too,” Sokka piped up, as the crew headed out. “There’s an old lady waiting back by the stables who wants to fawn over Zuko.”
“I hate you,” Zuko muttered in Alutiiq, smacking Sokka’s arm as he blushed deeply.
“No you don’t,” Sokka replied back, laughing.
“Tui help me, you’re right. Ugh.”
The noise of the Water Tribe siblings’ laughter rang through the busy streets as the sun descended towards the horizon, joined quickly by the giggles of a young Air Nomad who, although he did not understand what was being said, refused to be left out of any merrymaking.
And so another day ended for Zuko, surrounded by people who loved him.