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The palace garden had changed with time in a way that felt almost imperceptible at first, and then suddenly undeniable.
The once-silent paths were no longer silent. Tiny footsteps now interrupted them at unpredictable intervals. Small laughter echoed between stone walls that had once only known the weight of council discussions and war planning.
And in the center of it all, Izumi ran.
Well.. ran was generous.
She was fast in that uneven, determined way toddlers were fast: half stumble, half sprint, entirely convinced she was escaping something important.At this moment, it was a cluster of turtleducks that seemed to have decided she was the most entertaining thing they had ever seen.
They followed her with ridiculous dedication.
Izumi squealed, turning sharply, her little arms flailing as she tried to keep balance.
Behind her, Zuko tensed instinctively.
“Careful..”
But Katara, sitting nearby on the stone edge of the pond, raised a hand without looking up. “She’s fine.”
Zuko stopped mid-word.
He still watched, though.
Always watched.
The garden was warm with late afternoon light. The pond reflected soft gold across the stones, and the turtleducks glided lazily through the water whenever Izumi paused long enough for them to regroup.
Aang was sitting beside Katara, one hand resting lightly near her stomach. Katara was visibly far along in her pregnancy, her movements slower, more deliberate, but her expression calm in a way that seemed almost permanent.
Peaceful.
Sokka lay stretched out in the grass nearby, pretending he wasn’t actively losing a silent war against a turtleduck trying to steal his shoe.
Toph had already declared the entire situation “loud, chaotic, and therefore tolerable.”
Izumi tripped.
Zuko was on his feet instantly, but she caught herself.
Barely.
She turned around, looked at the turtleducks like they had personally betrayed her, and immediately stomped her tiny foot.
The glare she gave them was furious.
Absolutely offended.
The turtleducks paused.
Then continued following her anyway.
Sokka snorted. “She’s got your intensity, man.”
Zuko didn’t answer immediately.
He was still watching her.
Something soft crossed his face, something none of them would have recognized a year ago.
“She’s getting faster,” he said.
Aang smiled. “She’s also getting more dramatic.”
“She’s very expressive,” Katara added.
Izumi suddenly turned and ran back toward Zuko, arms outstretched.
“Papa!”
She collided into his legs with all the force her tiny body could manage.
Zuko caught her immediately, lifting her with practiced ease. She giggled loudly, grabbing at his robes as if she intended to climb him entirely.
He adjusted her carefully against his shoulder.
“She almost climbed the entire staircase this morning,” he said, as if continuing a report.
Aang raised an eyebrow. “That’s impressive?”
“She was trying to fight a pillow when Toph and I arrived” Sokka added.
“It was winning,” Toph said flatly.
Izumi laughed at the attention, clearly pleased with herself.
Zuko looked down toward her, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
“She’s starting to mimic expressions more,” he said quietly. “Especially when she’s angry.”
Katara tilted her head slightly. “Oh?”
Zuko hesitated.. just briefly.
Then, almost absentmindedly, he added:
“When she’s upset with me… she makes this face.”
He paused.
A small, almost private smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
“Exactly like Mai used to when she was bored out of her mind.”
The garden went quiet in a way that wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just attentive.
Zuko didn’t stop speaking.
“She’ll sit there, just like this,” he said, gently shifting Izumi in his arms as she continued to cling to him, “and stare at me like I’ve personally offended the universe. Completely silent. Completely unimpressed.”
Izumi, on cue, narrowed her eyes at Sokka for absolutely no reason.
Sokka leaned back. “I feel judged.”
“She definitely got that from Mai,” Zuko added, still watching Izumi.
Katara studied him carefully.
Because something was different.
Not the grief.
That was still there, in quiet places.
But something had changed around it.
Before, mentioning Mai would have pulled him under immediately, like falling into the North Pole water freezing, deadly.
Now, he just… spoke.
Like the memory was part of him instead of something that destroyed him.
Like it hurt, but didn’t break him open anymore.
Izumi reached up and grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to look at her directly.
Zuko blinked.
Then, instead of pulling away or tensing,
he smiled.
Small.
Natural.
Unforced.
Katara noticed first.
Her eyes softened instantly, her posture relaxing.
Aang followed her gaze.
Then Sokka.
Even Toph tilted her head slightly, like she had just heard something shift in the air.
Zuko adjusted Izumi on his hip, still smiling faintly as she babbled something incomprehensible at him.
“She’s stubborn,” he said.
“She’s a child of two stubborn parents,” Katara replied.
That earned a quiet huff of laughter from him.
Not forced.
Not fragile.
Real.
And in that moment, it settled into all of them at once, quiet, undeniable, simple:
He was still here.
But more importantly..
he was going to be okay.