ZUTARA WEEK 2010.
DAY I PROMPT: FAMILY

(Takes place between TSR and EIP)

It was strange, really. Once, he had chased these people across the world – from the farthest, most desolate reaches of the southern polar caps, up and down what sometimes seemed the length of the entire Earth Kingdoms, and all the way to the elegant brilliance of the North. But now, they were his friends. No, not his friends. He hadn't really had very many friends in his short life, but he knew that these people weren't his friends. They were...

Family.

Not usually a title that was usually smiled upon, considering who his blood family was. No, these people were family like Uncle, and Mother, and, to a lesser extent, his crew. Often, late at night, he would think about Jee and the others, and wonder if they'd survived the disaster at the North Pole. If they hadn't, he would personally go to each of their families and break the news personally. Assuming that he survived the coming conflict, of course, and there was no guarantee of that.

Zuko watched as the others went along in their normal routines that they had settled into once they had arrived at Ember Island. It had taken some work, but he had finally managed to force himself into their little world.

Aang was like the little brother that he had never gotten the chance to have. In retrospect, their relationship was a lot like his had been with Lu Ten, except this time, he filled the role of the world wise older sibling. Aang did all those things that one expects from a little brother, from the random (airbending) pranks, to the goofing off, and even the complete lack of talent in the kitchen. Heh. After what had been dubbed the "Noodle Incident" by Toph, Aang had been terrified not of the kitchen, but more by the prospect of Katara-in-the-Kitchen. That was the only time that Zuko had ever seen Katara completely furious at Aang. He was eternally optimistic, and while it angered him to no end, he accepted his "Everybody's worth saving" lectures with the patience of a father, all the while subtly rubbing at the mess of angry red tissue that covered his face. Because he knew that not everybody was worth saving... but he didn't want to have to be the one to break his heart by making him realise that fact.

Toph, on the other hand, was everything that a little sister wasn't. She acted tougher than most guys Zuko knew (although, to give credit where it's due, she was tougher than most guys that Zuko knew), and her punches were stronger than Sokka's. At times, she completely amazed him by how perceptive she was, but at the same time, she bewildered him with her blunt (and often downright disgusting) habits. But he loved her no less for it – instead, it only made him love her all the more fiercely. For it had been Toph who had accepted him first wholeheartedly into the little family, and Toph that had judged him for who he was, not what he was. When he got depressed, it was always Toph that got him out of it, whether by making him laugh or by making him forget about what troubled him in the first place. Of course, the fact that she didn't want to kill him was definitely a point in her favour to being his favourite sister, considering how the alternative was Azula...

Sokka was like the eccentric uncle that is always fun to play with as a child, but as you grow up, you realise isn't quite right in the head, but you still love dearly. The first few times that Zuko had met Sokka, chasing him across the planet and especially after their first meeting, he had thought that Sokka was an idiot. He eventually began to respect the water tribesman. His ideas, no matter how zany or contrived they may seem, always seemed to work out. Zuko had eventually concluded that he must be a mad genius, sort of like this "Bumi" character that seemed to pop up in a lot of the group's stories about the Earth Kingdoms. The first time that he had said this, one dark night around the fire back at the Western Air Temple, everybody had burst out laughing as Sokka's jaw moved of it's own accord, trying to come up with a suitable comeback.

Suki was the person on the team that he understood the least. Not only could she stand to be around Sokka all the time, but she apparently didn't hold a grudge against him for burning her village to the ground. After that one dark look at the Boiling Rock, she hadn't brought it up. They spent a minimum of time together, but that was starting to change. Not too long ago, he and Suki had started sparring, hand to hand, on the beach just after dusk. She had been complaining that her skills were getting rusty because Sokka was always holding back when they trained together. After the first time, she started hounding me for more until it became a regular thing. They had to get Toph and Katara to distract Sokka whenever they trained, however, because of the possible ramifications that would happen if he saw Suki get hurt.

Katara... Zuko didn't know what to call her. There were slight elements of sisterly affection from her, like the hug that they had shared after Yon Ra, but there was also the mothering instinct that she unconsciously forced on everybody... except me. Of all the people in the Avatar's group, she was probably the one that he understood the most. He understood her pain of losing everything that matters to you in this world, and they had both seen the best and worst in each other. Her worst, when they were hunting for Yon Ra, and her best; when she had offered to heal him, the enemy. His worst, when he betrayed them, but especially her, under Ba Sing Se, and his best; when he had offered her the chance to get closure for her mother's death, a wound that had been festering for years upon years, and accepting her judgement, no matter what it was. She was the first woman that he had really respected as both a fighter and a person, and that made her special, or maybe even dear, to him somehow. Zuko could hear his Uncle's voice in the back of his mind, asking him if respect was the only thing that he felt for the beautiful waterbender. But his Uncle's voice refused to be ignored. If Aang was his little brother/son, Toph his little sister, and Sokka his uncle/brother, what did that leave Katara as? Horrified, Zuko scrambled think of a role for Katara other than the only one he knew to be true. Mother? No, she doesn't act like my mother. Sister? Not really... only one role fit how they reacted to one another, and his semi-latent feelings for her. Finally, Zuko accepted the inevitable and bowed to his uncle's wisdom.

You want her to be your girlfriend, Zuko.

Holy Hells, that turned out way longer than it was supposed to be. This was supposed to be a drabble. I don't really like how the Suki part turned out, nor the Toph part, but I like the Aang part and I kinda like the Sokka. Not too sure how I feel about the Katara part, though. Anyways, credit where it's due, here:

Suki/Zuko sparring: shamelessly stolen from SpyralHax's awesome Zuki (Zuko/Suki) fic series, beginning with "Nighttime Sparring"

The Noodle Incident: Not sure if its canon or not, but it's a Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) from X-men: Evolution joke. It's never actually explained, just hinted that it was horrible and that he's never allowed to cook again.