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Zuko stood on the small balcony of his uncle’s apartment, taking in the place he would now call home. Ba Sing Se: the crown city of the Earth Kingdom. So far, Zuko didn’t see what the big deal was. The streets were narrow and crowded, and the air was so dusty and full of smog -- when he had gotten off the plane, he told his uncle that it felt like he was choking . He only chuckled in response, saying a calm "It's hard right now, but I'm sure you'll get used to it." Zuko loathed how obnoxiously optimistic his uncle could be. Sometimes he didn't need wisdom...sometimes he just wanted to complain.
Zuko barely been in the city for five hours, and he already knew he was going to hate it here. All he could hear were the not-so-soothing sounds of cars and traffic. The city had a distinctive smell of, what could only be described diesel and piss.
“Ah, there you are nephew,” it was his uncle, Iroh. The elder man smiled warmly at him, “how are you feeling?”
Zuko sighed. He really should be grateful. If his uncle hadn’t taken agreed to take him in, and on such short notice, who knows where he’d be right now. Halfway around the world was better than being homeless.
“I’m fine,” he said, “it’s just...a lot to take in.”
Iroh nodded in understanding, perhaps sensing that his nephew wanted some space. Tomorrow, Zuko would start his first day of work in Iroh’s tea shop: The Jasmine Dragon. Iroh had wanted Zuko to take a few days to relax and adjust to his new surroundings, but Zuko insisted. Iroh had done so much for him recently, it was the least he could do. Besides, if he stayed home all day, he'd be trapped with his anxieties and thoughts. He wanted to do anything he could to prevent his mind from dwelling.
Besides, as much as he missed Caldera, he knew it’d be better if he could just accept his new reality. The sun was starting to set, and a hot breeze blew gently onto his skin. It actually felt kind of nice...he took a deep breath. He had to learn how to be happy here.
Zuko took his backpack off his shoulder, and set it down on the ground. He was almost done unpacking his things, as he had left most everything behind back home. He didn't have much time to think about what he needed, so he only packed the essentials. Zuko dug inside the backpack, shuffling through various items until he found what he was looking for: a small black speaker. It wasn’t anything fancy, he’d gotten it for ten dollars at the airport. He used to have a nicer one -- Mai had given it to him for his birthday last year. However, like everything else, it had been left behind.
Still, one cheap speaker was better than none at all. It chirped to life, beeping to let Zuko know it had connected to his phone. Perfect.
He pulled up his music - and pressed shuffle. The song started with a chill, grooving bass -- accompanied by an easy drumbeat. Soon, the dreamy vocals of the lyrics washed over him. The song was a mellow, psychedelic dreamscape -- it was the perfect thing to relax to. Zuko took a seat, and focused on the music as he took in the sights.
He just had to learn to appreciate this place.
Then, he saw him -- a boy around his age cruising down the street in rollerblades. He had brown skin, and his hair was tied back into a short ponytail. He wore blue shorts and a tank top, and Zuko wondered if he was from the Water Tribe. Zuko found himself clutching onto the rails of the deck -- this boy, whoever he was, was striking. One might even describe him as handsome.
The Boy suddenly skidded to a stop, just below the balcony. He looked up at Zuko, and smiled a big toothy grin. Zuko felt his pulse start to race. Then, the boy started to wave, and Zuko felt like his heard would beat out of his chest.
“Hey!" the boy called out to him, “I really like that song! What’s the name of the band?”
Zuko stood up, leaning over the balcony.
“Oh it’s..." He paused...this was such an easy question to answer, why was he getting tongue-tied? He took a deep breath, ready to try this conversation again, " The band is called Sugar Candy Mountain,” he yelled back. The boy nodded, grinning up at him.
"I've never heard of them before!" The boy exclaimed, "Are they new?"
Zuko shook his head, "No...they're from the Fire Nation!"
"Oh, awesome!" The boy replied. “The name's Sokka! I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before?”
“I just moved here," Zuko called back...realizing that the boy had introduced himself. Sokka...what a cool name. "I'm Zuko, but the way..."
“Sokka, come on!” Zuko heard another voice call out. He sees someone else rolling down the street, a brunette girl flies past Sokka, barely stopping as she yelled at him. "We're gonna be late!"
“Suki, wait up!” Sokka yelled, starting to take off. But before he was gone, he looked up at Zuko one last time, calling out, “Welcome to the neighborhood!”
Zuko smiled. Maybe he could learn to like it here.