A/N: This was written for the Avatar fandom secret santa on Tumblr. I was afternoonteawithme's secret santa, and this was written for her.
Anju watched closely as a large group loaded the airship with bags. Three people should not need this much stuff for a two week trip. Then again, this wasn't a three person trip. Not really. The Fire Nation royal family couldn't travel alone after all. They'd be murdered and the country would dissolve into chaos. At least that's what the royal advisors made it sound like. Anju would like to give herself and her parents more credit. It wasn't like they were defenseless. She'd bet they were more talented than their guards even, but she'd never dare be rude enough to say so outloud.
As she became lost in her thoughts, Anju fiddled with one of the knives always kept concealed in her outfit. She personally preferred firebending, but her mother insisted that she keep several weapons on her at all times, just in case.
The packing had been going on for hours, and the staff didn't appear to be any closer to being finished. Anju wandered back into the palace once she got bored of watching the many boxes being piled into the airship. The usual bustle of the palace was lacking as most of the staff was outside helping with the packing. It was one of the few times in her life that Anju had walked around the halls and not run into anyone. It was almost eerie.
That might have been why she almost had a heart attack when she entered the kitchens and saw her father. The Fire Lord wasn't exactly someone you expected to see in the kitchens when even the kitchen staff was missing, but there he was sitting at a table with a bowl of food in front of him.
On a typical day, Anju wouldn't have been bothered by this. Today, however, the very sight of her father made her annoyed.
"Shouldn't you be doing something important?" she bit out at him.
Zuko, who hadn't noticed his daughter's presence, startled and dropped the sizzle-crisps that he'd been eating all over the floor.
"Shit," he muttered quietly as he looked around at the mess. He knelt down to begin gathering up the crisps before he began answering Anju. "Not at the moment, no. They wouldn't let me help with any more of the packing, and my business here in the Fire Nation is finished. I didn't think that sneaking off for a quick snack would be judged quite so harshly."
He meant it as a joke, as emphasized by his smile, but Anju's annoyance strengthened as she crossed her arms and pouted. Her father's mere presence had been frustrating this past week, and the closer they got to that dreaded trip, the harder it became to be around him.
Zuko sighed when he realized that Anju's mood had only worsened. He rose up from the floor and dropped the sizzle-crisps back into their bowl. He inspected them, as if to see if they were still edible.
"Anju," Zuko finally began as he dumped the dirty sizzle-crisps out. "I don't know what has gotten into you these past several days."
Anju ignored him as she went to where they kept the fruit. A banana caught her eye, and she began to peel it as she continued to ignore her father.
"This trip used to be your favorite part of the year, and now you're stomping around the palace as if we're dragging you off to the Boiling Rock."
Anju rolled her eyes. The Boiling Rock prison was hardly even used anymore. There were no more prisoners of war, and there were few criminals that Zuko considered dangerous enough to warrant the protection. As far as Anju knew, there was currently only two or three prisoners at the facility.
Zuko rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation. It was clear that nothing was going to get through to Anju, and he was at his wit's end. Anju listened to his footsteps as he exited the kitchen, probably in search of her mother so that he could complain about Anju's behavior. Anju suspected that her mother knew exactly what was bugging Anju, but it was clear that she hadn't filled Zuko in. Anju was sure it wasn't for his lack of trying to wheedle out the information. She'd overheard him complaining about her to Mai twice in the past four days, yet he remained as clueless as ever. Anju rolled her eyes as she went to take her fruit back to her room.
XX
It wasn't difficult for Zuko to find Mai when the palace was largely deserted. She was leaning against the outer wall of the palace with a bored demeanor while she observed the airship being packed.
"I still don't know what's gotten into her," Zuko exclaimed as soon as he reached his wife.
Mai glanced over with little surprise. Zuko typically launched into his rants with little preamble, although Mai usually knew what it was that was bothering him. This particular topic had been the source of several rants the past few days.
"Republic City used to be her favorite place on earth. She looked forward to this trip for months. Why does she suddenly not want to go? What's changed that suddenly makes her hate it so much?"
Mai thought it should be obvious considering Anju's mood had changed immediately after Zuko had made the announcement, but Zuko hadn't noticed the change in attitude until several days later. Maybe that was why he couldn't make the connection.
"If she would just tell me what was wrong, I'd try to fix it."
He probably would, but Anju had inherited Zuko's temper. She would never share what was bothering her unless Zuko figured it out for himself.
Zuko seemed to have run out of things to say. He leaned against the palace wall next to Mai and absent-mindedly watched their things get loaded up.
"I don't want this trip to be miserable for all of us," he murmured softly, and Mai reached out to place her hand on his arm in comfort. She knew that Zuko looked forward to this trip every year just as much as their daughter did. It was one of the few times they got to see many of their closest friends.
"It'll be fine," Mai assured him. "I'm sure she'll brighten up once we get there and she sees everyone. Just try to enjoy the trip, okay?"
She knew her words were useless, as Zuko wouldn't be able to enjoy himself until he knew what was wrong with Anju. Mai wasn't looking forward to the long airship ride with her husband and daughter in constant conflict. She wanted to enjoy this trip too.
"Fire Lord Zuko," someone called from the airship where everyone was gathered. "Everything is ready for your departure. We can leave as soon as you are ready."
XX
They were on the airship and flying away from the Fire Nation within twenty minutes. Anju hadn't seen either of her parents since her mother had fetched her and said it was time to go. The airship was large enough to get away from people if you wanted to.
The lack of people in the palace earlier that day certainly didn't translate to the airship. Anju couldn't walk anywhere without seeing a crowd of people. Few of them paid her any mind as they went about their jobs. Anju found herself watching them, as there was little entertainment on the trip.
Anju knew she would run into at least one of her parents if she kept wandering around. There were only so many places to go on this ship. That didn't stop her from cringing when she laid eyes on her father.
Anju immediately turned on her heel in order to exit the room. She could barely make out her father's loud sigh as he watched her disappear.
XX
Every year they were greeted by a crowd of Fire Nation citizens who now called Republic City home. Zuko figured it was a big celebration for them and one of the few times they felt particularly patriotic. He knew that many of them celebrated traditional Fire Nation holidays in their communities, but they could really brag to the other Republic City dwellers when their Fire Lord was in town.
The entire United Republic Council was also on hand in order to greet the Fire Nation royal family. Zuko spotted Aang at the front of the group. Zuko even spotted Toph, although she seemed busy bossing around her police force who were providing the security for the event.
Anju was at his side and smiling just as happily as she always had upon their arrivals to Republic City. It was quite the turnaround from before, and Zuko hoped that this apparent attitude change would stick around.
The small family made their way towards the crowd, and Toph's police force was busy pushing people farther away. Earth barriers were popping up as people attempted to break free of the crowd. Zuko saw one teenage boy in particular screaming Anju's name and trying to get to them. Anju giggled beside him, and Zuko couldn't help the protective streak that had him ushering her to his other side so that she would be between him and Mai.
A small frown was noticeable for just a second on Anju's face before she replaced it once again with a smile, and Zuko mentally chastised himself. He didn't need to dig himself any deeper. Then the teenage boy got knocked out by one of the police for climbing the barrier, and Zuko decided it was worth it.
It was then that they finally reached the small group not being held back by any police. Aang stepped forward to meet Zuko as the others on the council and several of their friends lingered behind the Avatar.
"Always great to have you in Republic City, Zuko." Aang offered his hand for Zuko to shake before pulling him into a less formal hug.
"Always great to be here, Aang," Zuko replied as he pulled away from the hug. He moved past Aang, who went to greet Mai, and turned towards the other members of the United Republic Council. He didn't know these people well, but they were familiar and good people.
After everyone had been greeted, Aang began leading the way towards the boat that would take them across the water to Air Temple Island. The royal family chose to stay there every trip since it was more secluded than the rest of the city and they could visit with Aang and his family.
Katara and Sokka joined them while the council members, excluding Aang, remained on the , seemingly feeling that her police could handle the remaining crowds, also joined them on the boat. They had just pulled away from the dock when Anju harrumphed and disappeared to the other side of the boat.
Zuko sighed as he watched her go, not knowing how to explain her behaviour to his friends. He had to admit though, he was somewhat proud of her. That had been an impressive display of hiding her anger, a skill that would come in handy when she was Fire Lord.
"What was that all about?" Sokka questioned once Anju was out of earshot.
"I don't even know," Zuko stated before changing the subject. "Where's Suki?"
Sokka appeared to still be curious about Anju's behavior, but he went with the subject change, which Zuko was grateful for.
"Kyoshi Island," Sokka explained. "She couldn't get here in time to meet you guys, but she should be here in a couple of days."
Zuko nodded along while also keeping an eye on the spot where Anju had disappeared. He was tempted to talk to her, but he was sure that it would go the same way that all of their conversations had as of late. There was no use spoiling the beginning of their trip farther. Besides, he hadn't seen his friends in months, and they were expecting to speak to him.
"I'm sure Anju and Hana are excited to see each other again," Aang spoke up.
Hana was a young girl who had joined the Air Acolytes at the age of three with her parents. Her and Anju had been inseparable on every trip the Fire Nation royal family had made to Republic City since.
"I'm sure they will," Zuko assured with a slight smile. If anyone could cheer Anju up, it would be one of her closest friends.
Anju appeared again just as the boat reached Air Temple Island. She didn't say anything to the adults as she followed them off the boat. Sure enough, Hana was waiting to greet them along with a good deal of the Air Acolytes. Aang and Katara's children, who had not been allowed to attend the greeting in Republic City, also stood by with several of their friends, including Lin Beifong.
All of Anju's surrogate cousins swarmed her as soon as she was off the boat, while completely ignoring the adults. Hana joined the fray and managed to detached Anju from the younger children. Zuko knew that the group would normally spend the following days attached to each others' sides, but this trip would be different. Zuko had informed Anju just last week that he wanted her to take on more responsibility and actually attend meetings with him on this trip. She was sixteen now and needed to learn more about the affairs of the Fire Lord. It was a shame though, as more time with her friends would probably put her in a better mood.
XX
"Are you serious!?" Hana exclaimed indignantly. Anju had known that she could count on her friend to understand her anger.
The two teenagers had managed to get away from the younger kids for a bit. Anju loved the children that she considered to be cousins, but she had to talk to Hana about this privately. The younger ones just wouldn't be able to sympathize.
Hana continued to rant angrily. "He really expects you to spend almost no time with us this entire trip? But this is the only time of the year we ever get to see each other. I have so much to tell you."
"Me too!" Anju shrieked. "I can't believe him. This is the highlight of every year for me, and now I have to tag along to all of those stupid meetings. I won't even be doing anything. Just sitting there and listening. It's so pointless. I already have to do that at home sometimes."
"Why all of them though? Why can't he just make you go to one or two?"
"I don't know. He's acting like he's going to die tomorrow. I'm only sixteen! He may have had to take the crown at this age, but Dad's got plenty of years left in him. I won't be the Fire Lord for decades probably."
Hana nodded along in agreement. "It's ridiculous, but it means we have to make the most of the time we have. Are you staying in my room like you usually do?"
"Of course," Anju replied. "Where else would I stay?"
A loud shriek cut off Hana's intended reply. The group of children they escaped from had apparently found them and were currently hurtling down the hallway. Anju and Hana were forced to put their conversation to rest as they became wrapped up in the children's games.
XX
Government meetings had the nasty habit of starting far earlier in the morning than any sixteen-year-old wanted to be out of bed. As angry as Anju was, she knew what her responsibilities as princess of the Fire Nation were, and one of those responsibilities was sitting through meetings without revealing her annoyance.
Anju knew she was doing well enough to trick her father because he appeared chipper about her seemingly good mood. Then again, it had always been easy for her to trick her father about her emotions. Anju wished he would finally wise up and realize what was wrong. She couldn't believe he still didn't realize what the problem was.
The meeting ended hours later, and Anju couldn't believe she was expected to sit through another one that afternoon. It was enough to make her shun her responsibilities as future Fire Lord and run away. Maybe she could join the circus like Aunt Ty Lee. She was sure circus performers never attended meetings. Or maybe, also following in Ty Lee's footsteps, she could escape to Kyoshi Island and become a Kyoshi Warrior. Anju was pretty sure they had meetings, but they were probably more training than anything. Fighting, Anju would happily do.
Her father waving his hand in front of her face brought her out of her thoughts.
"Lunch time," he stated with a small smile. He appeared nervous, as if he was just waiting for her good mood to disappear.
Anju was quiet as she followed Zuko out of City Hall and into the streets of Republic City. It didn't take long before she realized where they were going. It was a restaurant they had been to during every trip to Republic City that Anju could remember. It served only Earth Kingdom food, and her dad liked to use it as an opportunity to eat some of the foods he remembered from his days as a fugitive with Uncle Iroh.
It was clear by the time they had ordered and received their drinks that Anju wasn't planning to provide much conversation during their meal. Zuko endured the quietness until their food was set down in front of them. Anju began eating immediately, seemingly glad to finally have an excuse not to talk.
"What's wrong, Anju?" Zuko questioned for what was probably the millionth time that week. Anju rolled her eyes as he continued. "I really want to know. I'm tired of whatever it is you're doing here. Just tell me, and we'll figure out if we can fix whatever is bothering you."
"Oh, you could," Anju stated bitterly. "But I highly doubt you would considering you don't even care enough to figure out what's wrong for yourself."
Before Zuko could answer, Anju had stood and ran from the building. Zuko called after her, but he knew she wouldn't appreciate the scene it would cause if the Fire Lord ran through the streets of Republic City after his daughter. Instead, he sank back into his seat and looked at the other side of the table where Anju's meal sat hardly touched. With a sigh, Zuko pushed himself up from the table and went to pay for their uneaten food.
He would need to go cancel that second meeting. He needed to see his wife.
XX
Anju made it to Air Temple Island with no problems, but finding Hana proved to be harder. The girl was nowhere. Anju had scoured every nook and crany of the place. The only explanation was that Hana had gone into Republic City because of course she would be the unreachable one when Anju needed her the most.
Needless to say, Anju was feeling pretty crappy when she came across Bumi and several of his friends playing in the courtyard. Even after watching for only a few minutes, it was clear that Bumi had taken charge. Their game served as a nice distraction, and before she even realized it, Anju was smiling as they ran about.
Even though she was only two years older than these boys, it felt like it had been ages since she'd played a game like this one. Maybe Hana would be up for playing something once she got back. Anju could use the distraction.
Anju had been so enthralled by the game, that she almost didn't notice Tenzin standing all alone on the other side of the courtyard. Anju's smile fell into a frown as she noticed Tenzin's own upset demeanor. She began making her way to the opposite side of the courtyard where Tenzin was sitting against the wall.
"Hey," she greeted as she sat down next to him.
Tenzin looked up as if he hadn't noticed her presence but wasn't really surprised to see her. "Hi," he greeted before turning back to watch his brother and the other boys.
The two sat in silence for several minutes and watched the game play out. Bumi's team seemed to be winning, and the boy was very vocal about his happiness. Several of the other team's players didn't seem to appreciate it.
"Why aren't you out there playing with them?" Anju asked. The boys all appeared older than Tenzin's age of five, but several of them couldn't have been much older. Anju saw no reason why Tenzin couldn't join in.
"They don't want me to play. Every time I do, they claim I'm cheating and using airbending."
Anju figured that all of the children must be nonbenders, and they must have used Tenzin's bending as an excuse to exclude him. Anju herself had never really had a similar experience. Firebending couldn't be used for cheating in games quite like airbending could.
"Have you?"
"No!" Tenzin seemed indignant that she would even assume that he had. "I always play fair, but they never believe me."
"That really does suck." She wished she could help Tenzin out, but she didn't think that intervening and forcing the boys to let him play would help all that much. It would just get him made fun of by the others.
Anju noticed then that Tenzin seemed to be looking up at someone standing close behind her. Turning around, she found Aang looking down at them. He was smiling, but Anju could bet that he had spoken to her father. Still, she'd rather deal with Aang than one of her parents.
Aang turned toward his son first. "Tenzin, go play with your brother."
Tenzin looked as if he wanted to protest but thought better of it. He scurried towards the other boys and was accepted into the group with no complaint. Anju wondered if it was because the boys had all noticed Aang's presence.
The Avatar was silent as he sat down in the same spot that Tenzin had just occupied. He watched the boys play their game for a while before he finally spoke to Anju.
"You know your dad means well."
Anju scoffed. It was exactly what she had been expecting to hear.
"He does," Aang continued. "I think he worries about his abilities as a father more than any of his other responsibilities. He was always preparing himself to become Fire Lord, even during his banishment. That's a part of his life that he's confident about. But I don't think he's ever felt confident about his abilities as a father. Sure, he had Iroh to set an example, and he knows he'll never be as horrible as Ozai. Still, I think he's always been a little worried that you'd end up hating him."
"I don't hate him." Anju couldn't believe that her dad would even think that was a possibility.
"He knows that, but worrying isn't always logical."
They sat in silence once more as Tenzin scored a goal and his teammates swarmed around him in congratulations. The boy who had just been sulking seemed to be having the time of his life. Even Bumi, who was probably the biggest reason Tenzin hadn't been out there before, was now patting his little brother on the back and cheering him on.
"Family is a funny thing," Aang commented. "I didn't really get to understand it fully until later in life because of my upbringing with the monks. There's usually some sort conflict going on in a family, but there still manages to be unconditional love in most of them. It takes a lot to break a familial bond. Somehow, they tend to stand strong through a lot of damage. That doesn't mean we don't sometimes worry that we've broken the bond for good."
Anju sighed. "Maybe I should go talk to him and actually tell him why I'm upset since he seems unable to figure it out on his own."
"That might be a good idea," Aang replied with a smile.
XX
Zuko had lost track of the amount of time that he'd been pacing. He knew that Anju was somewhere on Air Temple Island because Katara had reported seeing her searching for Hana. Since receiving the information, Zuko had been torn about letting her be alone and going to find her.
Mai, having become used to Zuko's moods over the years, didn't even appear annoyed with his constant grumbling. She did, however, keep casting him small looks here and there as if wondering if she should intervene.
"Do you want to know what her problem is?" Mai finally questioned. She'd been hoping he'd figure it out for himself, but he clearly wasn't. She was getting tired of this.
"Yes!" Zuko exclaimed while spinning around to face his wife.
Mai stood up to take Zuko's arm, and she led him to sit on the bed where she wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"What about this trip is different than the others?" she asked.
"Nothing," Zuko replied shortly. "Nothing is different. That's why I can't figure it out. The only thing is that I had Anju come with me to meetings but-Oh..."
Mai sighed as the realization finally hit Zuko. "Took you long enough."
Zuko's shoulders sagged as he sunk closer into Mai's embrace. "I can't believe I didn't realize. I just assumed that it was no big deal, so I never thought that would be the source of her anger."
"You can't expect a sixteen year old girl to sit through several days of meetings instead of seeing the friends she never gets to see."
"I know. I wanted to help prepare her, but maybe I went a bit overboard. I'll go talk to her."
"Finally." Mai smiled slightly as she leaned over to kiss Zuko. "Hopefully, I won't have to listen to you two bicker anymore."
Zuko leaned down to kiss Mai once more. "I hope you won't either."
XX
It was surprisingly easy for Zuko to find Anju. All he had to do was head down the hallway towards Hana's room, and he ran into Anju hurrying down the hallway in his direction. They both stopped and hesitated in front of each other. Had she not stormed off angrily just an hour or so ago? Anju did not seek out people she was angry at.
"Anju," Zuko greeted. "I was just coming to look for you."
Anju nodded. "I was looking for you too."
Zuko motioned down the hallway that he knew led towards one of the covered outdoor walkways, and they began walking in that direction.
"I was just speaking to your mother," Zuko explained as they looked out at Air Temple Island. "She finally made me realize my mistake."
"Mistake?" Anju questioned. She had hoped she could reason with her father, but she hadn't been expecting him to so openly admit that his order had been a mistake.
"Yes," Zuko nodded. "You're only sixteen years old. I need to prepare you, but you're not Fire Lord yet. You still need time to spend with your friends."
"Thank you, Dad. It's not that I want to shun my responsibilities. I'm just not ready for full days of boring meetings yet."
"And it isn't right of me to expect that of you," Zuko assured her. "You're still a kid. Maybe you're almost an adult, but you're not quite there yet. And, with any luck, there are still many years left to prepare you to be Fire Lord. You deserve to enjoy your childhood. You don't have to go to any more meetings with me on this trip."
Anju hugged Zuko excitedly. "Thank you, Dad!" She pulled back and smiled up at him. "I'm really glad, but I was actually thinking that maybe I'd go to at least one more? As long as I can spend time with my friends the rest of the time we're here."
Zuko laughed. "Of course that will be okay. If that's what you want?"
Anju hugged Zuko once more. "I do. After all, I want to spend time with you too."
Zuko was smiling widely as they pulled away from each other once more.
"Well then," Zuko turned and began walking back towards the room he and Mai were staying in. "Why don't we go get your mother and go back to have some of the delicious food that we abandoned this afternoon?"
Anju laughed as she followed after her father. "That sounds like a great idea."