Chapter Text
Zuko sat on a bench in the garden, staring at the family of turtle ducks swimming in the pond. Fire lilies bloomed around him, and there were birds singing in the trees overhead. Fire Lord hairpiece in his top knot, dressed in a red silk robe, he certainly looked royal. He didn’t feel as royal, though. He was tired of servants waiting on him, tired of staying in one city with nothing to do except paperwork and meetings. He wouldn’t get to leave the city for two weeks, to go to Ba Sing Se for a meeting, and that was simply too long to wait. He was restless.
It felt like he had gone straight from banished disgrace to Fire Lord with zero preparation, and Zuko had no clue what in the world to do. The Fire Nation was in political and physical ruins, and so were the Water Tribes and the Earth Kingdom. The Earth King had just returned to Ba Sing Se, and the Northern Water Tribe still had its leadership, so Zuko could expect at least a semblance of order there, but everywhere else was basically with Wild West. There was a letter from Kyoshi Island demanding materials to rebuild their village that he burned down, and Zuko knew he was a little too afraid of Suki to give them anything less than three cargo ships’ worth.
It had only been two weeks since Sozin’s comet had burned across the sky. General consensus had renamed it ‘Avatar’s Comet’. Zuko was perfectly happy erasing Sozin’s name from anything of importance. The same went for Azulon and Ozai. He hadn’t faced his father yet, and he still didn’t know if he wanted to or not. He had so many questions, but he didn’t think he could stand to face him and take whatever words he hurled in his face from behind those bars just yet. He did have plans to one day see Azula, once the doctors decided she was stable enough. She was still his little sister after all, even after everything. Zuko felt bad for her more than anything.
He and Mai hadn’t gotten back together. She was off traveling, having lived for so long under her parents’ thumb, and then for months at Azula’s beck and call, she wanted to see the world for herself. Zuko was alright with that. She deserved to get out there and see the world, it would be good for her after a life of Fire Nation propaganda. Ty Lee had found herself on Kyoshi Island too, and that was also for the best. She was happy there, and Zuko was happy for her.
But, the more bittersweet part was that Zuko’s newfound friends and allies were mostly gone too. Katara and Aang were up in the Northern Water Tribe homeland, dealing with a rogue spirit. When they were done, they’d be returning to the Southern Water Tribe to help rebuild. Sokka would be leaving soon to go help them, something that Zuko hated thinking about. Suki was of course on Kyoshi Island, and he wouldn’t see her again until the meeting at Ba Sing Se. Only Sokka and Toph were at the palace with him, and only Toph would be staying for any great length of time.
He didn’t even have Uncle Iroh for advice, something that worried him to no end. Uncle Iroh was all the way in Ba Sing Se running his tea shop, when Zuko needed him here to give advice. Messenger hawks just weren’t fast enough, and he was not cut out for this. Being Fire Lord right now was not a task he was ever prepared for. He missed being able to get advice whenever he wanted it.
He heard footsteps coming closer, and his head shot up in order to see who it was.
“Chill, it’s just me!” Sokka replied, walking over and sitting next to him.
Oh. It was just Sokka. Sokka. Zuko didn’t know how to feel about the handsome guy next to him. His tactical skill, his way with a sword, his smile and his damned awful jokes, he lit up a room whenever he entered it. Suki would have nothing against it, she was dating at least a few Kyoshi Warriors and she had a long-distance thing with Jin of all people, but that wasn’t the problem. It just couldn’t happen. Why would Sokka want him? Why would a Water Tribe warrior even want to be with the Fire Lord, especially the Water Tribe warrior he had chased around the world and attacked for months trying to capture his friend. Sure, they were friends now, but that was much different than being together.
“Oh, hi, Sokka.” He said, trying to be cool.
“You seem a little down, what’s up?”
“I’m just bored. My life has been nothing but paperwork lately. I miss being able to go wherever I want and see everything.”
“Yeah, me too. But, I’ve got an excuse that can get us out! One last adventure before we have to do grown-up stuff!”
Oh, this would not go well. For all Sokka’s genius, his plans usually failed spectacularly. The last time they tried to do anything together, he had knocked over a candle and set a restaurant on fire. Thankfully there were five decent firebenders in the establishment, Zuko included, and the blaze was contained in about two seconds. Still, the owner had given them a dirty look before realizing she was glaring at the Fire Lord and his guest.
“Uhm.. what are you planning?”
“We never found my sword! I lost it when we were fighting those airships. So, why don’t we head over and look for it! We’ll camp out, maybe head to a town and lie about our age to get some drinks, it’ll be like old times!” Sokka replied.
That didn’t seem like too bad of a plan. It’d be a day out of the palace, a night under the stars, and the weather on the shores of the Earth Kingdom was usually good.
“Plus, I didn’t get my field trip with you! Even if Sokka has to come along too.” Came Toph’s voice out of nowhere.
Of course Toph would be coming along too. Well, if they were looking for a metal sword, there was nobody better to track it down than the best and only metalbender in the world. Zuko was very glad he was in the Fire Nation and later on Aang’s side while Toph was out there metalbending, because he wasn’t exactly a fan of having metal and rocks thrown at him. Zuko really liked Toph, actually. She was like a little sister that didn’t want to kill him. Usually.
Toph bent the metal of her armband into a dagger, sticking it in her belt.
“Plus, I have some of the same metal the sword’s made of. It should be easy to find it.”
“Okay, let’s get packed then. I’ll get us a boat. We have to go to that meeting in Ba Sing Se in two weeks anyway, we’ll just be getting there a bit early once we’re done with this.”
Zuko would be glad to see his uncle again, and he would love the chance to disappear to be Lee the Tea Guy again. Plus, now he could enjoy Ba Sing Se without the Dai Li, and with his new friends on top of it. Aang and Katara would be there too, as long as they could finish dealing with that rogue spirit in the Northern Water Tribe, and Suki would be making the journey from Kyoshi Island as well. There was even a Swamp Tribe delegate coming along. Zuko desperately hoped she would wash off the swamp stench before entering Ba Sing Se, though.
“Ugh, what if I don’t want to be polite for a whole day!” Toph complained.
“If you want to live at the palace, you’ll have to at least try to act respectable, Toph. I’m already fighting off messenger hawks from your parents. And anyhow, I could use those lie-detection skills of yours.”
“Fine. But I’m not wearing a dress.”
“Nobody said you had to wear one.”
“Yeah, Tui and La know I’m showing up in whatever isn’t dirty.” Sokka chimed in.
Sokka could show up in a potato sack and still look beautiful, Zuko thought.
“Katara’s gonna drag us all to that spa, isn’t she?”
“I dunno, Toph, I could use a spa day.” Sokka replied.
“I’ve been pampered enough in my life.” Zuko commented.
“Agreed.”
Toph got up from where she was sitting and started to make her way back to the palace. Zuko had given her one of the biggest rooms, considering he had no use for most of them. She had filled it with rocks and crystals. His mother’s room was left untouched, and Azula’s too. He didn’t want to see them, not now. Even his own room still felt empty. He didn’t have too many trinkets, since he never had room for them on his travels. He wondered if he could pick up a few nice things in Ba Sing Se, and maybe convince his uncle to move his tea shop to Caldera City too. Agni knew the Fire Nation beat out the Earth Kingdom any day in terms of tea consumption.
“I’ll grab my backpack and some supplies.”
Sokka smiled and got up as well, following Toph into the palace. Zuko was glad his back was turned so the warrior couldn’t see the bright crimson blush across his face. That smile was going to be the death of him.
Zuko got up once the others left, strolling back into the palace and dodging the servants. He walked into his room, grabbing a bag and throwing some clothes into it. Formal robes for when he made it to Ba Sing Se, and some clothes for their travels. He also took some paper and ink, in case a messenger hawk found him, and a tea set. He knew he wasn’t as good at it as Uncle Iroh, but Sokka didn’t know that yet.
He wondered just how much his uncle had told Toph about him when they had met a few months back. Did he tell her about the Agni Kai? Toph must have known about it by now, if not from Iroh, then from Aang or Sokka or Katara. They were too chatty not to have brought it up while he was off with the Sun Warriors, or at the Boiling Rock, or off with Katara to bloodbend the Southern Raiders into submission- seriously, that girl was scary, when did she learn how to do that?
With his bag packed, he was off to find his advisors. With how much the Fire Lord was expected to travel during this unsteady peace, he had picked a few trustworthy people to run things back home while he was away. One day, he hoped Azula could be one of those people- when she was ready. Ozai had destroyed her in those years he was gone. He wanted his sister back, even after all of it. In the weeks following that comet-powered Agni Kai, he had realized how badly she had it. Katara had too. But not even a great healer like Katara could instantly fix years of trauma and hurt like that. Not that Azula would let her close enough to try. At least, not for a long while.
Once his advisors were notified of his early departure, he made his way out of the palace and into the town square. He had secured a small boat for them, and he had promised to return in time for a newly de-weaponized balloon to take them to Ba Sing Se. They’d only be gone for two nights tops. That left plenty of time to sword-fight with Sokka until they had to leave.
Toph and Sokka were already waiting for him, bags packed and ready to go. Sokka had a new boomerang strapped to his back, he had made a new one in the forges a week ago. Zuko had watched while he worked, silently enjoying the sheen of sweat on his arms- no, stop thinking about that, he doesn’t want you like that.
“Let’s roll! I wanna get out of this city and back on the road where it’s okay to rip rocks out of the ground and throw them!” Toph exclaimed.
“Our ship’s right ahead. Toph, it’s metal so you’ll be fine, Sokka, you’re navigating.”
“Why me! It’s your ship!”
“And I don’t know where you dropped that sword. Plus, just because I lived on a boat for three years doesn’t mean I know how to drive one!”
“Did you learn nothing trying to capture us?”
“I mean… I learned how to make tea?” He offered.
“My dad would have a field day if he knew you couldn’t even drive a boat. All leaders should know how to drive a boat. I should teach you someday.”
Zuko wouldn’t be opposed to that.. just to spend some time with him. Even though Water Tribe sailboats were much different than Fire Navy warships, or even Fire Nation civilian vessels like the one they were taking today. All Fire Nation ships used coal, even civilian ones. They hadn’t used sailboats in more than a hundred years.
“I’d like that. But for now, I’d rather not crash us all into the rocks. The only thing I’ve ever driven is a war balloon. And we crashed that into the Boiling Rock.”
“You know, you’re gonna have to tell me about all the stuff you did there! You never told me!”
“That’s because you were sleeping, Toph. We tried to wake you up. You told me to eat a boulder.” Sokka replied.
“Then don’t wake me up in the middle of the night! Using earthbending to see is a lot of work, okay? I get tired!”
They soon made it down the steps out of Caldera City, and they were at the docks in about ten minutes. They were faced with a small ship, dwarfed by the massive Fire Navy ships that were being decommissioned in the nearby dry docks. The Fire Nation had agreed to downsize its military, and the metal would go to the rebuilding of Caldera City and the surrounding towns and villages. Two dock workers greeted the trio as they walked past.
“Sir, are you sure you don’t need a driver?” One asked.
“Sokka will do just fine. Right?”
Sokka nodded. “Hey, I’ve invented enough stuff that I can probably figure out these controls.”
“Well then, have a safe trip, Fire Lord Zuko. And you both, too.” The worker gestured to Zuko, then to Sokka and Toph.
The two workers bowed as the three boarded the small ship. It would be a day’s drive to the shores of the Earth Kingdom, and they’d be there by late morning, with a short break to anchor and let Sokka sleep. The ship was laid out with an enclosed driver’s cabin up top, and a bunkroom and the furnace below deck. The driver’s cabin was big enough for the three of them to camp out in while they drove, though, so they dropped their stuff below deck outside the bunkroom door and congregated in the cabin. Sokka sat at the helm, staring down at the controls.
“It can’t be that different from the airship, right?”
“Fire Nation controls are standardized, so yeah. It should be the same. Minus the altitude lever, of course.”
Sokka grabbed a lever, pulling it down. Instantly, the ship lurched backwards, the furnace switching on. They pulled out of port, Sokka quickly getting the steering under control. With a quick trip below deck to make sure the furnace had plenty of coal, they set a course for the Earth Kingdom. Zuko returned to the driver’s cabin.
“So, am I gonna hear about the Boiling Rock?”
“Okay fine, but I wish Suki was here to tell you how she kicked the snot out of those guards- it was a thing of beauty. And Zuko fought Azula on a moving gondola! Above a lake of boiling water!”
“Nice. I had to keep Katara and Aang from coming after you two idiots. They were gonna hire June and her whatever-that-thing-was.” Toph replied.
“I pardoned her, by the way. We’re gonna pay her to solve missing persons cases now.”
“Uhh.. good use of talent, I guess.” Sokka replied.
“I also got thrown into a freezer for a bit while we were there. But, after swimming at the North Pole.. it wasn’t really that bad.”
“Speaking of, how did you get in? That’s gotta be a security breach they’d want to know about.”
“The seal tunnels. They open up into the city.”
“I wonder what Yue thinks of us now? She’s gotta be at least a bit annoyed that I’m friends with you now.”
“If Katara could get used to me.. I’m sure Yue isn’t holding any grudges. And for the record, I did not know she actually turned into the moon. How did the Ember Island Players know more about you idiots than I did!”
“Eh, that Sokka guy was pretty knowledgeable. He learned from the best, after all.” Sokka joked.
Toph elbowed him, causing the ship to veer right before he corrected it.
“TOPH! Come on, I’m trying to get us to the Earth Kingdom, not Kyoshi Island! Even though I would totally love to see Suki again… we have a mission here!”
“Sorry!”
If there wasn’t another reason he would never want Zuko. He already had Suki- she was a woman anyone would fall head over heels for.
After a few hours, they were in the middle of the ocean. Zuko dropped the anchor, and the three made their way down to the bunkroom. .
“Uhh.. we’re a bed short.” Sokka observed.
Zuko had forgotten to mention how many people were coming. The advisor must have assumed it would just be him and Sokka, and that Toph would be staying behind. The three looked to each other.
“Agni, they must have forgotten Toph was coming..”
“Hey, who forgot I was coming! I’ll—”
“Toph, please don’t terrorize my advisors when we get back. I’m sure it was an accident.”
“But.. what are we gonna do about the beds now?” Sokka asked.
“I’m not sleeping with either of you. Or on the floor.” Toph stated, throwing herself onto one of the beds.
They were big enough.. surely they could share one and keep a bit of distance. Zuko looked at Sokka.
“You wanna..” Sokka started.
“We can share one. We're friends. We’ve slept in worse situations.”
“Yeah.. we’re friends. It’ll be fine. We’ll just stay on our sides.” Sokka replied.
Zuko moved as far to one side of the bed as he could. He didn’t want to intrude on Sokka’s privacy- even if in another situation, this would be a dream come true. He doesn’t want you like that, Zuko reminded himself as Sokka took the other side. Zuko didn’t bother pulling up the blanket. The room was only a little cold, and he could keep himself warm just fine. He let his inner flame burn a little harder, and the warmth returned to his fingers and toes.
“Dude, you’re like a heater! That's cool!” Sokka observed.
“Mhm.”
Zuko replied, turning to look at the wall. He didn’t want Sokka to see him if he was blushing. Toph was snoring on the other side of the room, and the waves were gently rocking the anchored boat. It was calming, in a way.
“It’s like old times.. except we’re in a ship and not on a balloon.” Sokka said in a hushed voice, so as to not wake Toph.
“Yeah… and we’re not headed to a maximum security prison either.”
“I wish I still had the submarines.. you would’ve loved them.”
“No, no I wouldn’t. I’ll take the sky over underwater any day.”
“But they were cool.. you would’ve appreciated the engineering at least.”
“Goodnight, Sokka. You can talk to me about submarines in the morning.”
He smiled slightly. He did want to hear Sokka talk. He knew that listening to Sokka talk about his inventions made him happy, and Zuko was happy when Sokka was happy. It was why he agreed to come all this way for his sword in the first place.
“I’m holding you to that.” He said before falling silent.
Zuko stayed awake for ten more minutes. Soon enough, Sokka’s snoring joined Toph’s. He closed his eyes, confident Sokka still knew nothing about what Zuko truly thought of him.