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Chapter Text

Zuko hated moving to a new place let alone a little dinky town in the middle of nowhere...but at this point, he would do anything to get away from his father.

He was currently waiting for a trial for abuse on him and his family. He finally dared to go against him after years of emotional and physical abuse. He wished he would have gotten the courage to move out to his uncle's before he got his scar His father took a kitchen knife and slashed it down his son's eyebrow to the middle of his cheek. He was lucky he didn't lose his eye. Zuko finally got all of his stuff together to officially move in with his Uncle Iroh.

He owned a popular tea shop/cafe that everyone in the town goes to. His sister, moved halfway across the world to China to stay with his father's side of the family. Zuko couldn't commit to that big of a move, he didn't like his sister anyway. He has two things he cares about now, his uncle and hockey.

He, after all, was a 2-time state champion in Ottowa. To go from a big city like Ottowa to a small town away from any major places was a big deal to him.

"I'm happy you're here Zuko, you can help me with the shop. I need to start hiring more help—he chuckled—these old bones don't work as they used too."

Zuko tied on an apron and grabbed a notepad. "You know I can't make tea to save my life."

Iroh padded him on the shoulder. "I know but you're free help."

Zuko rolled his eyes as Iroh snorted in amusement.

His shift started at 9 in the morning. He might have underestimated how popular his uncle's shop was. Glancing out the window, he could see the shop across from him was also heavily favorited. Kuruk Dinner.

A large group of teens noisily entered the shop.

"Iroh! We'll take our usual!" The guy heading the front crowed out.

Zuko raised an eyebrow quizzically to his uncle. He waved him over to collect teas for the group. He helped him carry them out.

His eyes immediately caught the gaze of another. He never saw eyes that blue before.

"I am always prepared for your orders Sokka."

Zuko was lucky enough to set down the mug blue eyes ordered.

He snapped back to attention when Iroh clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone this is my nephew Zuko."

Sokka and Aang sat up straighter. "You mean Zuko Sozin!—2 time state champ for the Blazers?!" Aang finished Sokka's sentence.

Zuko's eyebrows knitted together.

"Yes? You two heard of me?"

Sokka was about to launch in full detail when Blue-Eyes put a hand over his lips.

"Slow down, we didn't even introduce ourselves yet."

Sokka huffed. "I was getting to that sister."

He holds out a hand. "I'm Sokka Kuruk, baldie over here is Aang Roku, shorty over there next to Aang is Toph Beifong, next to me is my beautiful girlfriend Suki Kyoshi and my sister Katara."

Katara...so Blue Eyes has a name...a very pretty name.

"Nice to meet you all." His eyes only made contact with one person in particular.

Sokka shoved him into the seat with them, which just so happens to be next to Katara.

"Anyway, of course, we know who you are, this is a hockey town you know. Who hasn't heard your name in this state?"

Zuko's cheeks flushed. He wasn't used to getting praise and attention. Thank you for that father. He thoughts sarcastically.

Though when he did say hockey, it piqued his interest. "This place is known for hockey?"

"You're looking at the junior captain of the Qamiit Wolves and rising star freshmen of the team Aang."

Aang leaned over the table. "You have to join our team!"

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know...I was just thinking about having a quiet year."

He felt someone bump into his shoulder. "Come on, you can't be scared of these two skating circles around you, and we all seen your tapes." The soothing voice Katara.

A warm feeling filled his gut. "Oh yeah? Okay then, you guys have a rink?"

He went upstairs to grab his red equipment bag. Katara waved him over to the blue Jeep. "Just put your stuff in the back, we got to practice in 30."

They all piled in Sokka's Jeep, Suki took shotgun. Katara and Zuko in the middle and Aang and Toph in the back.

"Ugh, why do I always have to sit in the back?"

"Height limit Toph!" Sokka called back.

She would have punched him if he was close enough. "Watch your mouth Snoozles!"

"Is your coach going to be okay with me crashing your practice?" Zuko asked.

"Oh please! The coach is my dad, he knows we're always up to something."

Zuko tilted his head and back again in discomfort. "Your dad?"

Sokka made eye contact with him through the mirror. "Hey, I know what you're thinking, just because my dad is the coach doesn't mean I ain't good. Believe me, if I suck he will bench me."

Katara nodded, "It's true, I see him do it."

Chapter Text

When they pulled into the complex he was surprised by the number of cars there. Not only that but the ice rink looked to be the only updated and well-maintained building in the whole town.

"This many people show up to watch practice?"

Toph punched him in the arm. "What did we say Sparky? In a town this small we got to get behind something."

He rubbed his arm before getting his bag. The boys went down the locker room tunnel as the girls made their way to the stands.

"Who's ready for great practice boys!" Sokka called out.

The others answered less enthusiastically.

"Hey, hey I've got the answer to all of our problems, guys this is the recruit Zuko Sozin. Zuko this is Haru our goalie, Jet our starting defensemen, starting winger Longshot, and the rest of the lines."

Zuko waved a hand in greeting "Uh...thanks for having me guys."

"Does the coach know about this?" Jet asked, crossing his arms.

Sokka pointed at him. "No. But he will when he sees him."

The team dressed in their standard practice gear: Marine blue shorts and a gray mesh jersey with the same blue wolf claw logo and helmet.

A well-built man cruised in on his skates observing the boys. The relationship between father and son is uncanny. He blew his whistle once. "On the line boys!"

He did a headcount. "Wait, a minute, we have an extra!" He pointed a thumb at Zuko who stuck out in his own red practice jersey.

"You! What's your name son?"

"Zuko Sozin, coach." Hakoda's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'll be damned, Sozin! It's about time your uncle brought you down. Tell me, son, how did you get here?"

Zuko removed his helmet to be able to have a clear conversation with the man. "Katara." He motioned with his head to where the three girls sat in the stands. "...and Sokka and Aang really wanted me on the team."

Hakoda nodded his head in approval. "Alright, if my son vouches for you, we can give you a shot but I already saw some film that your uncle showed me so this shouldn't be hard for you." He cheekily smiled.

He rose his voice to address the team. "Split into your positions for drills and then at the end, we'll scrimmage."

The squad wasn't near the caliber that Zuko was used to play on. They had passion and personality though, something the state teams lacked. He watched his two friends practice on offense. Can he say they're friends? He's only known them for less than a day.

For a center, Sokka was very selfless. He preferred crisp passes to his wingers to get the goals more often than not it was Aang.

Aang's play was fast and fancy stick handling. Zuko's partner was Jet. They thought in common and seemed to have a similar playing style though Jet was more reckless and didn't think things through. Hakoda had him running footwork and shot-blocking.

Coach called a water break. Skating to the bench with the rest of the guys, he took a towel to wipe his visor clear while chewing on the side of his thin red mouth guard. He basically did this unconsciously as he developed the habit to help him focus.

Sneaking a peek at the crowd, he saw that most of them were female students, and over to the other side were adult men. They seem to take pleasure in scouting and betting.

He had no problem picking out the blue eyes. His breathing seized upon him and only recovered when Jet banged on the top of his helmet.

"Let's skate Sozin, we're up against the first line."

Zuko resisted rolling his eyes. This was obviously the test. Aang was placed on his right. The top goalscorer vs top defensemen.

The third line was pretty useless in handling the puck. It left Jet and him always defending in their third.

Zuko had to keep Aang wide so Sokka would have to make further passes. Aang was definitely faster but he had the body mass.

Sokka failed to see Zuko coming up towards Aang. The forward just stood around waiting for the pass, his stick barely corraled the puck by the time Zuko hip checks him into the boards. Most of the girls gasped. Aang was never hit during practice or rarely during games. He crumpled to the ice as Zuko stole the puck to pass it up to the center zone.

He glanced back to see Aang dazed.

"You alright Aang?"

Hakoda blew the whistle. Sokka skated to the both of them, holding his helmet by his visor. "Dude! You got clobbered!"

Zuko unbuckled his helmet. "I didn't think I hit you that hard."

"Great hit Zuko, but take it easy on practice, we can't be injuring our own guys." He leaned down to check Aang's eyes for a concussion. "Aang, you're gonna have to learn to

absorb those hits better." He sighed in relief, "Little dazed but you should be fine. Practice is over, ice up boys for the game this weekend."

Sokka helped up Aang who already had his helmet off, he tried his best to wipe up the slushy residue on his bigger curved visor without a towel. Zuko looked up to see Katara's fiery staredown. He gulped.

Oh boy...

They stripped down and out of their gear. The girls were waiting outside the locker room. Katara had her arms crossed, foot tapping on the carpeted ground.

Once the boys were out she immediately fussed over Aang. He blushed as soon as her hands started checking for broken bones.

"He's fine Katara, Dad says he needs to learn how to take a hit anyway."

Her eyes connected with Zuko. In self-defense he raised his mostly black hockey stick, his black tape still covering his longer shaft and in the middle of his blade. Regardless, she pushed at his shoulder.

"You didn't have to go so hard at him."

Toph snorted, "Says you, I thought it was a solid hit Sparky. I could feel the vibrations through my toes the whole way up to my seat."

"I'm used to playing at this pace, this team has a lot to learn to be on a championship level." He brushed past Katara to head home.

It wasn't until he was in bed that he began kicking himself for being too cold. But he knew it was necessary to get the team where they want to be.

Chapter Text

He's hung out with them for one day and he already knew that Katara mothered everyone; especially Aang and that he had a not so subtle crush on her. Sokka and Suki were fun and excitable, often they are attached at the hip. He could really get along with Toph. She was a realist with a sarcastic sense of humor that he enjoys. And then there was Katara...as he saw her he felt this spark between them. He hoped he didn't fuck it up today. There was always tomorrow.

He wasn't woken by his alarm clock or his uncle. It was a pillow thrown on his head and a pressure on top of it.

Zuko kicked up in bed and used his arms to throw off the aggressor.

"It's about time you got up!" Sokka told him.

"Did you really have to try to smother me?"

Sokka shrugged. "Aang's idea was worse."

Footsteps ran up the stairs. Katara poked her head in the doorway.

"Let's go! Everyone's hungry." She was mostly talking to Sokka before her attention flitted towards him. "Oh La, you aren't even dressed." She spotted a red hoodie and black sweatpants and threw it at his face.

"What is u with everyone throwing shit at me?" He sat up and his covers pooled at his waist, exposing his bare torso.

Pink dusted her cheeks and might have stared for a little longer than necessary at his physique. "Come on Sokka."

The siblings left him alone to change and in peace until he hears Toph shouting downstairs.

"Where are you guys dragging me to today?"

Aang tried his best to swing an arm around his shoulders. The height difference was funny to look at. "We're going to the best diner in all of Qamiit."

They walked across the road to see a nearly packed diner. Men sat on the circular stools at the counter. A tv was shoved into the corner where their eyes tracked. Booths lined the outer sides while tables with some small tables and chairs in the middle. The blue leather that encompassed the seating looked comfortable and worn.

None of the walls were bare. Old Inuit artifacts perched on the upper lip of the diner. An old pair of snowshoes were haphazardly hung to one of the walls accompanied by many black and white photos of their peoples' history. On the wall farthest away from the door was the neatest decorations: hockey memorabilia. Photos of the old high school Wolves and other famous players. There was older jerseys of the Wolves and some vintage Ottawa Senator gear.

The older men greeted the younger ones, mostly Sokka and Katara. It seemed like the majority of them were in police uniforms.

"Well, well it was about time you all showed up." An old woman called out from the kitchen window.

"We're only two minutes later than usual Gran-Gran." Katara rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

The old woman came through the double swinging doors. They waited by the door until she was in front of them. Sokka pointed a thumb to Zuko beside him. "We had to get the new guy."

Gran-Gran cupped Katara and Sokka's cheeks to kiss them twice on each side. Aang, Toph, and Suki each got one. Even though she was two heads shorter than Zuko, he never felt so intimidated.

She wiped her hands on her white apron wrapped around her waist.

"Zuko Sozin, I've had my eye on you."

His eyebrows shot up into his hairline. Katara laid a hand on his bicep.

"This is Kanna, our grandmother, she has this weird connection with hockey and keeps up with teams in Ottawa."

Kanna nodded. "I've had a feeling about you, you play with fire and passion that is rarely seen it is breathtaking to watch."

The compliment struck him in his chest. His playing style was never viewed as something of beauty. His father and old coach always called his play aggressive, rough and uncontrollable.

"Thank you, I've never thought of my playing style in that way."

She wagged a finger at him playfully, "But your temper will get you in trouble someday on the ice."

Zuko snorted lightly, trying to hide the growing smile. "You sound like my Uncle."

Kanna patted his unscarred cheek. "Us old people tend to think alike."

She led them to their usual large horseshoe booth in the back corner, right next to the hockey wall. Toph crawled to sit in the center, while Sokka and Suki took up one side. Aang squeezed in next to her then Katara and finally Zuko who sat closest to the end.

"So what do you guys recommend?"

"Honestly everything is good," Sokka commented.

"That's because you've eaten everything on the menu." Toph criticized him.

Zuko stuck with a spicy protein omelet.

"Can you guys believe school starts tomorrow?" Suki asked.

A groan resigned from the group.

"I don't understand why I need to learn. I'm wasting all of this potential ice time."

"Speaking of class, did you get your classes Zuko?" Katara asked him.

"Yep, I'm not looking forward to starting at a new school."

"Hey, it'll be mine and Toph's first day of high school too." Aang piped up.

Sokka brushed off their concern. "You two will be fine. Students are already talking about how good you guys are."

Zuko leaned his head on his fist. "Great, I was hoping to have a quiet year."

Toph snorted. "Good luck with that, you're the talk of the town."

Soon their food arrived and the talking ceased.

They were done eating and Zuko found his attention on the hockey wall.

He stood up to investigate it more. As he got a closer look, he saw one of the biggest pieces was a hockey stick signed by Daniel Alfredsson on the blade.

The group got up to pay at the counter. Katara was the only one who noticed Zuko wasn't with them. She spotted him enthralled by the wall.

"Impressed?"

"How did your Gran get all of this stuff?" He turned his head to look at her.

"She used to scout players and had the off chance to meet most of them."

Katara pointed to an old photo of the Wolves. "There's my dad, he played center for the team and was going to go pro until a knee injury his senior year."

"I'm sorry that happened."

Katara shrugged in indifference. "If he didn't get hurt he wouldn't have met my mom."

Zuko opened his mouth to ask before she beat him to it.

"My mom died in a car accident when I was little."

He took a half a step closer to her. "That's something we have in common."

Katara hesitantly touched her pinkie with his. The tension broke when Sokka poked his head back through the door.

"Kat! Zuko! Let's go!"

This time around Zuko and Katara had to squeeze the whole way in the back. She was basically sitting in his lap.

The town square wasn't that big but it was bustling with people. Back to school sales were happening in clothing stores. He noticed for the first time that he doesn't recognize any brand stores.

Sokka parked on the side of the street Random strangers either waved or nodded to Sokka. More vocal people told him good luck on the season. Zuko got a few congratulations. There were Wolves memorabilia on various windows and flags hanging from lamp posts.

"I'm surprised at the amount of support you guys have." Zuko mused.

"We might no be championship material yet, but we got passion," Sokka told him seriously. For the first time, Zuko believed him.

Sokka wrapped an arm around each of the boys. "Come on, I'll show you our favorite place."

Aang nearly busted down the push/pull doors and threw out his arms. "Welcome to the gear store!"

Probably the only store with brand gear, it was almost like a warehouse-type building.

"Wow, bigger than the stores in the city," Zuko told them.

"Yea, I needed new sticks." Sokka led them into the stick section. He went straight to Bauer Nexus.

Zuko crossed his arms. "Did you only choose that stick because Bauer is the only company that makes blue sticks?"

The captain narrowed his eyes. "No."

But his tone said otherwise.

They browsed different sections before Suki came in to pull them out.

"Oh boys, how many times can you look at the same stuff?"

"The same way you and my sister shop for clothes." He saunters over to kiss his girlfriend's cheek.

"Katara wants to show you something by the way." She says in a teasing manner to Zuko.

He tried not to get too flustered but headed out in a somewhat of a rush. He didn't see Aang's subtle frown.

He turned the corner until he felt a hand grasp his. He was yanked into a small older shop.

"I thought you would enjoy this more than looking at gear."

An older lady greeted Katara by name. "I didn't think I would see you back so soon honey."

"Hi, Miss Hama. I just wanted to show Zuko around."

"Yes, of course, the defenseman. I'm guessing you know where to take him?" She concluded with a gleam in her eye.

Grasping his hand, Katara took him towards the middle back wall. Tall wood bookcases housed all sorts kick-knacks. The bigger objects sat on the floor, he tried his best to be wary of them. This place reminded him of Kanna's walls at the diner.

"Sokka basically had to drag you away from Gran-Gran's hockey wall so I figured you would like this place instead."

Rows of black and white photos stood up within the shelves. Multiple photo albums were open to random pages.

"These photos are more of the city instead of our high school."

He flipped through some pages. "I actually know some of these players. I looked up to them when I was growing up."

"Why do you like going through these?" She asked him quietly.

"It's an escape, hockey is the only thing that makes me happy." He put back the album to focus on her. "I'm sure you've heard rumors on why I'm here in the first place."

Katara hesitated slightly on laying her thumb at the bottom of his scar.

"I'm guessing this is why."

Zuko took her hand away. He felt like he was suffocating. He's never told anyone this before but every time he stared into her eyes he felt compelled to empty his heart out to her. Zuko took a step back to put space between them. He swore he saw a flash of hurt appear.

Zuko scratched the back of his head.

"Thank you for showing me this...um..." He motioned with his thumb to where the door is. "They're probably wondering where we are."

She didn't say anything but nodded. Katara didn't take his hand this time to lead him out.

He berated himself in his head. There was a noticeable distance between them now.

Chapter Text

All of this was happening way too fast. For fuck sake, he just moved to town not even two days ago and here he is opening up his heart for some girl he barely knows. He never even told his ex-girlfriend how he got his scar, let alone be allowed to touch it. He's known Mai since he was a child and she was around when he got the scar at a young age.

Right now he should focus on school and getting the hockey team into shape.

They didn't say a word to each other the rest of the day, she didn't even meet his eyes when saying goodbye.

Katara just finished getting ready for bed when she received a FaceTime from Suki.

"Heeeey Kat!"

"What's up Suki? You never call this late on a school night." She said, settling down on her stomach near the foot of her bed.

"I know but this is important like money important. How long is it gonna be before you and Zuko get it on?"

Katara sat up quickly, her face instantly heats up. "Suki!"

She marches towards her open door before shutting it quickly, hoping that Sokka didn't hear across the hall.

"How could you even ask that question? And how is that even money related?"

Suki didn't seem fazed by her friend's freakout. "Are you serious? I've known since the day his uncle introduced us that he was practically undressing you with his eyes. And second of all money is involved because I made a bet with Toph and I'll be damned if I'm letting her win another bet again."

Katara was no longer holding her phone up, instead favoring on covering her face with both hands. "What even is the bet you two have going on?"

"Toph thinks you guys are gonna bang in the next two months—"

"Two months?! We just met him practically three days ago!"

Suki smirked, "I said you guys would totally hook up in a month."

"Oh my god!"

That morning Zuko borrowed Iroh's beat-up truck to drive himself to school since his uncle would be at the tea shop serving customers all day.

He wasn't looking forward to the adjustment. He had least had his little gang and the hockey team to hang out with and talk to if he shared any periods with them. Wincing in his head, Zuko recalled the awkward interaction he left with Katara. Maybe he'll be lucky and not have any classes with her and it shouldn't be too hard to ignore her in a group setting.

Walking into the lobby he felt all eyes on him. At this point, he isn't sure if its a good or bad thing. Sokka surprisingly broke the tension he was feeling by corralling him over to their group. Too bad he could still feel the stares burning holes into the back of his head.

"Don't mind everyone." Aang waved them off.

"They did the same thing when I walked in. I think they're just impressed with our hockey skills."

Zuko quirked an eyebrow. "Still, no one from back home would look twice at a hockey player at my old school; not even the good ones."

"Believe me Sparky, when someone good comes to this hockey team it's a Godsent."

Sokka frowned. "Hey now, we aren't that bad."

Toph socked him in the arm.

Suki encased his left arm in her grip. "We lost six years straight to our rivals and haven't made it into the playoffs in over twenty years."

His pouting continued further. "When you put it like that..."

Katara inserted herself in. "But all of that's going to change this year, with you leading the team with the best goalscorer—she glanced at Aang—and the defenseman—she held her gaze longer at Zuko—in the whole league and possibly the state."

"Thanks for the vote in confidence sis."

Aang wrapped an awkward arm around her. "Yeah! I know we can beat anyone with your support."

Zuko could only nod hesitantly since he can't trust himself to speak. Typical that he too would have the worst luck known to mankind. It turns out he shared all of his classes with Katara. They were civil obviously, they sat next to each other but their interactions were limited. Nothing like they have been acting before the fateful day at the old shop. Zuko just didn't know how to make it right again.

Lunch rolled around and Katara showed up the usual table they would sit at. She took extra precautions not to sit next to him but instead sat on the other side of Suki. Toph sat next to Zuko. As soon as she sat down she huffed mumbling under her breath. Kicking her foot out in front of her she hoped to make contact with Suki's shin.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Toph?"

"Yeesh, sorry Snoozles that was for Fangirl." She tried to placate the man holding his left shin in his hands.

Suki turned her attention to her blind friend. "What is it Toph?"

The girl raised both of her brows before flicking her milky eyes into the general vicinity of Katara and then subtly tilted her head towards Zuko.

Suki got the hint and pursed her lips in thought. Katara was in an animated discussion with Aang while Zuko and Sokka were going over line formations for hockey.

She had noticed the weirdness those too were in ever since they came back from town. When she called last night, Katara didn't seem all that uncomfortable talking about him nor did she really discourage her. She was also distracted talking about the bet between her and Toph and lord knows she needs that money more than her. Whatever the case is Suki will have her spilling everything by the end of the night.

Suki called a mandatory girls night sometime later that evening.

"Why did you call a mandatory night?" Katara asked as the three girls crowded on Suki's bed.

"Come on Sugar Queen you can't be that dense, even I know that you've been acting differently."

Katara scrunched her forehead. "What? I'm fine guys. How am I acting differently?"

Suki tucked her legs underneath her. "You and Zuko? You guys seem awkward all of a sudden."

She avoided her friends' gazes.

"Her heart rate spiked." Toph piped up.

"Nothing! Nothing is going on between us."

"But you want there to be." Suki wiggled her eyebrows.

Her cheeks heated up on their own. "Even if I did want something I don't think he's into me like that."

Toph flopped on her back. "Oh my god and I thought I was the blind one!"

Suki was more sympathetic. "I know we've only known Zuko for a couple days now but there is no way that he doesn't like you like that."

Katara sighed. "This doesn't leave the room got it?"

"Okay..."

"Spill it."

"I took Zuko to my favorite shop." She scratched her arm unsurely. "I showed him the old hockey section and he really liked it. We talked a bit about his past and we got really close to each other at that point. I even touched his scar—"

"Scar? What scar?" Toph interrupted.

"It's on his face Toph." Suki pointed out.

She crossed his arms. "I don't see what the big deal is for a little scar."

Suki shook her head. "It runs from his eyebrow down to the top of his cheek."

Toph raised her eyebrows. "Really...how metal."

"Anyway...I only touched the bottom of it and we just stood there staring at each other. I thought he was going to kiss me until he pulled away suddenly. After that, he's been distant."

"Sounds like he's scared to me," Toph concluded.

Suki placed a calming hand on Katara's arm. "If I learned anything from dating your brother, it's that men are useless at starting things. You need to be the one to woman up and make the first move."

Toph picked at her toes. "Plus, I would give Sparky sometime to adjust to everything, maybe he used to have a girl back in the city."

Katara's eyes widened and covered her face with her hands. "Oh, my La! I didn't even think about that! Now I probably look like some homewrecker—"

The oldest girl sent a glare towards the youngest. "Toph's just teasing, if he did, he would have mentioned something by now."

Katara collapsed onto the bedspread on her back. "I just want the two of us to go back to how it was before."

"Then just talk to him."

Chapter Text

"Alright Wolves! The first game of the season is this Saturday which is two days from now, normally I wouldn't draw attention to this since we would have lost but now with our two new additions we have a chance at a winning record or at least break even." Hakoda stalked up and down the line of players.

"I want everyone to focus and be mindful in preparing for the match-up...that means to cutting back on your greasy burgers Sokka."

Sokka huffed leaning on his stick. "Aw, man."

"Be ready to grind tomorrow boys."

At the dismissal, they skated their way to the locker room. Haru unbuckled his leg pads, massaging his legs as he went. "Hakoda must really expect us to win with you two joining us, he's never worked us that hard before."

Sokka cracked his back. "True that."

Hahn, the second line winger, actually caught Aang when his legs turned to jelly once he got off the ice.

"Woah! Thanks, Hahn, high school hockey practices are harder than what I'm used too."

Jet was already out of his shoulder pads. He sat down on the bench in front of his locker to take the tape off his stick. "Oh yeah, take a look at Sozin,—he motioned towards his partner with his head—strutting in here like practice is about to begin."

Zuko scowled and hit him with the blade of his stick as he passed him on the way to his locker. "I don't strut. I'm just used to more rigorous practice."

Sokka zipped up his duffle bag beside him. "Wait, you're telling me that was easy for you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess it was a little relaxing. My practices with the Blazers were three hours instead of two, and usually twice a week we would spend training solely on endurance. My father also made me do weight lifting on the weekends when I didn't have practice or games."

"Just because we don't to some fancy-schmancy training doesn't mean ours is bad!" Sokka tried to lighten the mood.

Zuko tried to contain his smirk. "Alright, you stick with that." He reached over to slap his thigh. The captain gasped in pain failing at reeling in his reaction to not give Zuko any leverage.

Even though he was the last one in the locker room, he was the first one out of there since he wasn't wincing in pain every two seconds removing his gear.

"Where are the other two?"

Zuko jumped in surprise. His bag slipped off his shoulder and landed on the cement with a thunk.

"Katara!" His cheeks heated up without his permission. He tried to cover it by reaching down and picking up his bag.

"What are you doing here?"

She stood there with her hands casually crossed.

"Sokka is my ride, so I usually just watch you guys practice."

"Oh um, they're probably gonna be in there for a little bit, they're pretty sore from practice."

She raised an eyebrow, "And you're not?"

He shook his head. "No, not really, my father made sure of that."

There was an awkward pause and Zuko scratched the back of his neck. Katara bit her lip. "Zuko—"

Sokka shouldered the door open with Aang holding onto his shoulder to support himself. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Katara!" He whined with every step, "Help me with him!"

She rolled her eyes, moving past Zuko to let Aang put the brunt of his weight against her instead of Sokka. Aang tried his best of not letting his cheeks heat up.

Zuko saw this as an opportunity to escape with Katara unable to chase after him.

"Good practice guys...I will see you all later." He not so subtly booked it to his truck.

Katara had no choice but to watch him go. "Come on guys."

Sokka handed her the keys to his car. "Here, you're driving, I can't feel my legs."

"Oh my god, you guys are such babies."

"How was practice nephew?"

Zuko shrugged as he set his bag down by the door. "Same old, Coach worked us on endurance and the rest of the team couldn't handle it."

Iroh set his cup of tea down on the coffee table in front of him. "How are you feeling?"

Zuko stretched his arms behind him before taking a seat on the leather couch across from his uncle's rocking chair. "Not even sore, father made sure to it."

Iroh nodded in understanding. "I do not question your physicality Zuko, I was referring to your emotional wellbeing."

He turned his head away. "I'm doing as well as I could be."

"Tell me...how are you and that beautiful blue-eyed girl, Katara?"

"I don't have time for this Uncle." He replied sharply, making a move to stand up.

"What do you have to lose Nephew?"

Zuko twisted around. "I can't worry about that kind of stuff when I have to get this team into winning form. Besides—glancing down at his feet—I have too much holding me back in the city."

Uncle bent over again to take a sip of his tea. "You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding back."

Zuko wetted his lower lip, his eyes in a stare before snuffing and turning in to his room.

Chapter Text

"It's game day! It's game day!" Sokka chanted around the house as he got ready in the morning.

"You seem eager to get the season started son, feeling confident" Hakoda teased him. Sitting at the kitchen table and drinking his coffee.

"Of course Dad! We have two of the best players and we have trained harder than ever before."

Sokka loaded his plate with eggs and a half plate worth of bacon.

"Save some for your sister Sokka."

He waved off his father's scolding tone. "Katara won't be up for another two hours."

"Oh really?"

The new voice startled Sokka so bad he almost dropped his plate. "La! Katara! I almost dropped my bacon!"

She rolled her eyes, moving past the player to collect her own breakfast. "I thought dad told you to lay off the grease?"

Sokka ripped through a strip. "Wrong! He said no greasy burgers." He stuck out his tongue and she returned the favor.

"Thank the spirits that I at least get an hour of quiet in this house before I have to be at the rink to watch."

Sokka hip-checked her. "Just you wait until we mop the floor with the Bearcats this year."

"The Bearcats are almost as bad as us," Katara stated.

"Exactly! This means with our new additions to the team we will definitely win!"

"Don't go in there cocky son, we have no right since they've been beating us the past three years," Hakoda warned him.

Sokka sighed, "I guess you're right, I just want a win so bad. I'm the captain now I don't want to have a losing record."

The retired player patted his son's back. "It'll be okay, even if we lose all of our games you'd still be a great captain."

Sokka smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Dad."

He finished packing his hockey bag and collected his sticks. "Suki is picking you up right Katara?"

"Yeah, she has to stop and get Toph first, and then we'll be over." Her voice carried to the other room.

Hakoda kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Be good, stay safe, and don't let Toph get passenger seat. I don't want you to be hurt when Toph out arms the wheel from Suki for fun."

She snorted, "I will Dad, and don't worry Suki has been able to thwart her off for almost two years now."

He shrugged, "You can never be too safe."

The boys waved goodbye before they had to go to the rink for an early practice warmup before the game. Katara had at least an hour to kill before Suki had to pick her up.

Hakoda swooped by to pick up Aang from his place.

"Hi, coach! Hey Sokka! Are you guys ready to play?"

Hakoda chuckled at the younger boy's enthusiasm.

"You better believe we are buddy! We are going to finally win!" Sokka fist pumped.

"We should try to still have fun even if we don't win," Aang stated.

Sokka pouted, "I guess...but I would rather not have a winless record this season."

"Aang's right son, the most important thing is that you're out on that ice doing what you love, not everyone gets that luxury."

Sokka gave him a bittersweet smile. "You're right Dad, sorry."

Hakoda grabbed the back of his neck. "It's alright son, it just gives me the excuse to live through you!"

"Dad!" Sokka whined, hitting him in the chest with the back of his hand.

They pull up to the rink to see they are one of the first ones there except for a lone red pick up truck.

"I have to finalize the roster so I will meet you guys in the locker room later," Hakoda told them.

The two players moved their gear into the locker room, content in just lying around for a bit. Their plans were put on hold when they spotted Zuko doing push-ups in his half-laced hockey shorts. Their home game jerseys were already in each of their prospective lockers.

The home jerseys were all marine blue, a thick dark grey line comes up from the bottom of the jersey to the middle of the chest. Two slimmer white lines are placed on both sides and curve slightly away from the grey line. At the bottom, the white lines curve around the back of the jersey getting thicker and stops at the side seam. Sitting above the grey line and being framed by the white lines was their logo: a close up of a howling wolf with a white face and dark patches that resemble its fur. A thin small grey line hugs the shape of the upper chest where the shoulder meets on the front of the jersey. The same thing on the other side. Sitting right below the collar in white spelled Wolves.

Near the sides of the jersey was a thin grey line that looks like a claw scratch starting just shy of the bottom to the top of the torso. Another thin grey line starts just below the chest gets thicker as it goes down and squaring off at the seam in the side. A thin white line getting thicker as it goes down, nestles on the inside, and ends at the seam also. This side pattern is the same on the other side.

A thick, blocky grey line goes up the sleeves to the white and grey collar. At the top of the biceps, a thin grey line goes across and up to hug the inside of the shoulder and outline its shape.

The back is almost identical to the front of the jersey but the three center lines; the big grey line and the smaller white lines only go up the lower back. Above it is the white numbering. The design on the sides is the same so when looking at the jersey sideways the grey line connects to the grey line on the back to form an open square. The same goes for the white line above it.

The shorts were marine blue with a single thick straight line going down both sides. Their socks were marine blue as well with three small white lines wrapping across.

The away jerseys are similar but with the colors inverted the body is white and the grey is now the smaller lines in the center while the marine blue is the thick line on the front of the jersey. The lines on the arms and shoulders are all marine blue and the lines on the sides of the jersey except for the innermost one which is now grey instead of white. The Wolves logo is now in grey and the collar is grey on the outside marine blue on the inside. The numbers are grey. The shorts are the same as their home and the socks are now white with three marine blue lines.

The A or C is embroidered white on the home jerseys and grey on away jerseys. The helmets also remained the same for both home and away jerseys as marine blue.

Aang's eyes widened, "Zuko! What are you doing here?" 

Chapter Text

Startled by his exclamation, his hands slipped off the bench and his chin just grazed it face planting to the floor.

"Holy shit, a little warning next time?"

Aang rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry."

Grasping his jaw, he moved it side to side; checking out the damage. "I always had to be the first one on game day, it was expected of me."

"It'll be cool, you can just chill with us until we have to get ready for warm-up."

Zuko shook his head, "I have to finish my routine and then do some laps on the ice."

He left Sokka and Aang to their own devices. He pulled on his shoulder and chest pads loosely and slipped his practice jersey over his head. He left his helmet hanging on the peg in his locker.

It was ingrained in him from a young age to have the same routine day in and day out for games. He would get to the game two hours early, starting with free form stretches until moving on with a band. After, he only puts on his hockey pants and socks, followed by 50 sit-ups and push-ups. He would put on his upper pads but left them undone under his practice jersey. It made it easier to do his 13 laps around the rink. As a cool-down session, he would meditate for 20 minutes on the bench. When it was closer to game time he would listen to his hockey playlist and finish tightening and taping up his pads starting with his left side.

Zuko took his time skating his laps, usually, he would blast right through them under his father's watchful eye but this time he allowed his mind to wonder. Rarely would he ever skate for fun, it was always about getting from point A to point B. He spun around gracefully to skate a lap backward. He chuckled lightly as he sprayed snow onto the plexiglass.

"You look like you're having fun."

A new voice startled Zuko, losing an edge and tumbling onto the ice.

The rich voice laughed. The younger player rolled onto his forearms to see Hakoda leaning over the players' bench.

"I didn't think anyone would be using the rink at this time."

"I'm sure you found my son and Aang in the locker room."

Zuko grunted, rising to stand back on his skates to make his way over.

"I did, normally when I was back in the city I would be the only one who showed up earlier."

"That's dedication for you."

Zuko shook his head. "No, it was always punishment."

He flipped over the boards to make his way into the tunnel.

The rest of the team should be filtering in by now. Zuko finished his meditation and was fully strapping down his equipment.

"Those all the pads you wear Zuko?" Aang asked.

He was in the middle of taping his socks. His shoulder and chest protector was already strapped and he taped up his elbow pads. He eyed the younger boy's equipment. Aang wore a long-sleeved white compression shirt with built-in pads to protect the ribs. The shoulder pads were also much bigger than Zuko wore.

"Aang has a point, you don't even wear a shirt under your pads." Sokka butted in the conversation."

Unlike Aang, Sokka wore a grey compression t-shirt without the pads. Zuko shrugged, "I've never worn anything more than necessary, my father found no point in it and felt it would toughen me up to take a puck in the ribs or two."

Sighing, Sokka took a seat on his own bench which happened to be beside Zuko. "I'm glad you're not with your dad anymore."

Zuko slapped his shoulder. "Come on, let's get warm-ups started."

The whole team skated out from the tunnel. Zuko kept his helmet unbuckled and titled his visor up out of his field of vision for the time being. Zuko was sporting number 13, Sokka was number 77, and Aang wore 21.

He practiced some passing and shooting before heading over to the bench. Hakoda was drawing on his little whiteboard some play scenarios. Some of the guys looked on with confusion as Coach explained their power play. Zuko's eyebrows scrunched together. How were they not getting this? He was learning these types of plays when he was on middle school teams back home.

He spotted Aang waving into the crowd, he zeroed in on the girls in the stands. They were in the student section near the top, decked out in school colors. Suki even had Sokka's number in blue paint on her cheek. He tried not to think about what it would look like if Katara sported his number proudly.

Not long, the referee blew the whistle signaling puck drop. Zuko sucked in his mouth guard snuggly to his teeth. Sokka was quick in the draw and sent the puck back to Zuko who passed it up the line to Aang. He was fast and caught the defense flat-footed in their own third. Zuko set himself up at the point. Aang did some fancy footwork long enough to pass the puck over the slot onto Sokka's stick for a deflection on the back post. The defense was so enamored with Aang's stickhandling they forgot about Sokka who cruised his way to the net unguarded. The deflection went in and the horn sounded for the home team.

Sokka skated on one foot, twirling his stick in his hand before pretending to holster it. Aang came up to hug him, while Jet and Longshot gave him pats on the back and a fist bump. As Sokka made his way towards the bench to go down the line, Zuko knocked their helmets together.

They reset in the center though this time they lost the draw. Zuko kept an eye on the winger in front of him. Predictably, he received the puck next to the boards. Just in time for Zuko to hit him with a hip check. The hit sent the other guy sprawling on the ice as the crowd went wild. Zuko calmly collected the puck and sent it across to his partner Jet. The second line was up in front of him. Jet passed up back across the blue paint. The goalie was able to block several shots coming his way by the time Zuko's first shift was over. He hoped the boards to take a seat next to Sokka. He flicked his guard out of his mouth with his tongue to chew on the end of it.

Sokka passed him a bottle. "Great hip check."

"No big deal, just how I like to play." He shrugged.

"Kind is man, no one else on the team can execute a hip check without getting called for interference."

Turning his face, he shot him a perplexed gaze. "Seriously?"

Sokka was unable to answer as his shift was up. Aang scored a wrap-around goal to make them ahead by two. At that point, the first period was over.

Chapter Text

Hakoda clapped once all the guys surrounded the bench. "Good period boys, the key was puck possession, they barely got any shots on Haru. Now let's try our entry into their zone a bit differently. They started to pick up on us always giving the puck to Aang..."

Zuko nodded along, he'd seen this play done in the professional league. Aang gets the puck before the blue line while Sokka would follow directly behind him. Aang leaves the puck at the blue line for him to take. This creates a diversion long enough to leave the other winger open or defensemen for a pass.

The buzzer sounded to get ready for another period. Sokka won with a clear draw, back to Zuko. He passed it to Aang who carried it up but left the puck too soon. The whistle blew for offsides. The puck was placed just outside the opposing third.

Zuko received the puck and blasted it around the boards. Longshot stayed too far behind the play and instead of touching it to receive, another offside he let it go past him. A move that Jet didn't anticipate, he scrambled to position himself correctly for the incoming rush. Zuko swore in his head as he skated to get in between a passing lane. He was able to poke-check the pass to Haru to cover the puck. The goalie gave him an appreciative nod as he was almost caught in a two-on-one situation.

First-line was over and they headed to the bench before the puck drop.

Hakoda slapped him on the shoulder, "Great hustle back."

Zuko for the most part ignored him in favor of staring down Longshot. "What the hell was that?"

Longshot threw his arms up. "I didn't want to get called for offsides again."

"So you'd rather have defense clean up the mess for you?"

"How was I supposed to know you were just going to slap the puck?"

"We were all bunched to one side and needed to get on their side fast. It's a basic play."

"Hey." Sokka snapped, "Cool it both of you."

Zuko clicked his mouth shut and faced forward. Longshot was still grumbling under his breath.

Out on the ice Hahn got slashed. He made a show of flicking his wrist dramatically to get the call.

"Power play unit let's go," Hakoda called out.

On power play, it was Sokka, Aang, Duke, Zuko, and Bolin.

They stayed in the opposition's third, Zuko kept a mental count down on how much was left in the power play. He moved to the point just in time to receive a pass from Sokka, he wound up and shot it at the net. Aang's skate came in to deflect it left and in the net. Zuko swiftly skated back to the bench without indulging in the celebration.

Up in the stands, Katara frowned slightly. She noticed that Zuko always shied away from the team's comradery. He didn't even so much smile when they did score.

The Wolves were up a comfortable 3-0 when Jet was called for a high stick. Jet, of course, argued with the referee the whole way to the penalty box. Zuko played on the second line of the penalty kill. He watched as the line scrambles to cover the free man. They didn't even set up in front of the goal to help out Haru when they executed a backdoor pass for the goal.

In the final seconds of the second period, the Bearcats scored again and now only trail by one goal. At the start of the third period, Zuko was constantly in his own third. Some of the players have gotten tired and their skating became lazier with hustling back and forth to help cover their man.

"5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" The horn sounded when he was still on his shift. The home crowd went wild as this was the first time in six seasons that they won their season opener and it happened to be at home.

The older members of the team including Sokka threw their sticks and gloves in the air and embraced each other. Zuko took off his glove and unsnapped his helmet. They lined up and shook hands with the opposing players and afterward the majority of the team stayed out on the ice to bask in the cheers of their first victory.

He spotted Hakoda with a satisfied smile on his face. His eyes were mostly on his son. Chewing roughly at the mouthguard he popped out, he silently went back into the tunnel and into the locker room.

As he expected, it was silent. He placed his helmet back on the peg and set his gloves into their cubby. He got to work unwinding the tape on his wrists.

"You really are a loner aren't you?"

Her voice startled him out of his mind. "You shouldn't be in the men's locker room."

She rolled her eyes, getting closer to him by leaning against the locker across from his. "Don't try to change the subject."

He sighed, "What do you want to talk about?" He sat down on the bench to remove his skates.

"I watched you all game."

His heart lurched and his chest warmed. Zuko tried to look unaffected by raising an eyebrow. "Okay?"

"You aren't team person. You're never involved with team celebrations after goals and you're not out there celebrating the win now."

"Why would I celebrate something thats expected of me?" His voice took a harder edge, "In fact, we barely won. That's not good enough."

When Zuko stripped out of his hockey pants; Katara had at least looked away with a blush.

No Katara, don't try to peek no matter seeing his strong shoulders or his large hands…or…or his thick thighs….LA KATARA SNAP OUT OF IT.

She cleared her throat. "It's not all about winning you know?"

Zuko snorted and finished packing away his gear bag. "Winning is all I got."