Love & Wisdom

Hey, new story! Yay! Although I haven't finished any of my other ones, which is a shame. But I AM planning on finishing them, I'm just having a bit of a writer's block at the moment. Anyway, please read, review and enjoy!

Summary: The war is over, and Zuko is the new Firelord. Iroh, his uncle, is a kind old man whose words have often gone unheeded by Zuko. However, Zuko has a challenging problem: he has a crush on his friend Katara, and he has absolutely no idea how to court her. Maybe Iroh's wisdom and tea are not so ridiculous after all.

X

Zuko was in a bad mood. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep the night before, or the one before that; not to mention his council was being difficult with his decisions plus all the tedious paperwork he had to deal with during the daytime. Anyone would be in a bad mood with all the stress that he had to deal with.

Zuko scowled at his reflection on the mirror of his bathroom. He was not a vain man, but he didn't enjoy his paler and rougher than usual skin; the dark bags under his eyes which only stood out more by his paleness; his bloodshot, dry eyes that glared at anyone unfortunate enough to be in the same room as him; and his messy raven-black hair that was stiff as rock with a greasy sheen to it. And that was only his face. His muscles were stiff and sore, giving him a rigid look and keeping him uncomfortable throughout the day, no matter what exercise, massage, clothing, or stance he took.

Yes, being the Firelord was a major pain.

There was a soft knock on the wooden doors of his bedroom, and Zuko suppressed an annoyed groan as he suppressed the impulse to snap at the poor soul on the other side. "Yes?"

"My Lord," a servant called out respectfully as he opened one of the giant doors ajar slightly. "Breakfast is served. Sir Iroh has arrived and is awaiting you at the main gardens."

Zuko took a deep breath and held it for five seconds before slowly exhaling. His uncle was here. He was the only man patient enough to stand Zuko's bad moods. Plus he was more like a father to him than his own father was. Maybe Iroh could help him with the chaos that he now called his life. "Tell him I'll be right there," he roughly answered the servant. Before the man could bow and leave, he quickly added, "please." The servant paused, not expecting him to say that, but he soon recovered and bowed, then left.

Zuko sighed as he rubbed his temples with his hands. He was content enough for remembering to say 'please,' but he still had to work at saying it without pausing in the middle of a sentence. The reason he was cautious with his manners was simple: he didn't want to be like his former, younger self, or his father for that matter, always just barking orders and not caring that he was speaking to another human being, not an insect.

He splashed his face with some cold water to rub the sleep off his eyes and quickly dried himself before picking some simple clothes out of his closet – a pair of maroon loose-fitting pants, a deep red short sleeved shirt, his Fire Nation style shoes and a black belt. He was going to chat with his uncle over breakfast then do some training, he had no need to put on his fancy Firelord attire.

He paused by a mirror and looked at his hair. It had grown recently so it reached just past his shoulders now. At twenty-one years old, Zuko still hadn't come to terms with cutting his hair. Sure, he was bald before with a tiny little pony tail at the back of his head, but he found he quite enjoyed having a longer hair. It provided a nice protection from the sun, for one. And Katara always enjoyed brushing it whenever she got the chance; not that he'd complain since he enjoyed how gently she worked the brush and her fingers through his black tresses. Not that he'd admit it, of course.

He snapped out of his daydream with a shock. Damn it, he was doing it again. He grabbed an elastic and yanked his hair back into a low ponytail, sighing irritably as he stalked out of his room and headed for the main gardens.

Katara. She was yet another (though far more enjoyable) reason that he hadn't been able to sleep. She invaded his mind with memories of the time they had spent together preparing for the war to overthrow the previous Firelord, his father. They had gotten off to a rough start, a very rocky start, before they finally became friends. After the war, Katara had offered to stay with him until he got used to being the new Firelord when he was a month shy of turning seventeen and getting his country, the Fire Nation, out of the huge mess his father, grandfather and his other ancestors had created for it during the Hundred Years War.

As Zuko turned a corner and neared the gardens where his uncle awaited him, he absentmindedly wondered what would have happened if the exotic waterbender hadn't stayed with him when and for as long as she did. Things wouldn't have been as good as they were, that'd be fore sure. The Fire Nation had all but enslaved, held prisoner and terrorized the rest of the world, and it was thoroughly hated by the other nations. The Southern Water Tribe, especially, held a great amount of resentment towards his country, and with good reason. His father had ordered his army to capture all the Southern waterbenders and kill any who resisted. Luckily, if you could say that, there were few casualties since anyone who wasn't a waterbender or a warrior pretty much hid. Soon without their benders, the Southern Water Tribe was defenseless save for their warriors who fought bravely but were no match for the firebenders. Ever since then, every time there was a rumor of a waterbender being born there, the Fire Nation would go and capture the poor soul.

He winced. There was a time when the Southern Water Tribe hadn't had a waterbender for about twenty or thirty years when Katara was born. Her bending skills didn't show until she was about six or seven, so she was safe since her tribe was especially cautious to not let any outsider know about her bending. However, one way or another the Fire Nation got a whiff at the rumor and a group was dispatched to go retrieve her. His heart dropped low as he remembered Katara and Sokka, her brother, tell the story of the day the black warships arrived. While they were out exploring and playing, just being kids really, their mother had been cornered and ordered to reveal the identity of the waterbender or face the consequences. Her mother sacrificed herself and told the man that she was the waterbender. She was executed.

Zuko could empathize with her. He himself had lost his mother, although for different reasons. His mother just disappeared one day; no one knew where she went or why she left, although Zuko suspected his father had something to do with it. Katara had promised Zuko to help him find his mother, and she had kept her word. Only two years after he became Firelord, when he was nineteen, Katara had sent him a letter saying that she knew where his mother was. To make a long story short, he was finally reunited with his mother. She now lived mainly in the Fire Palace with him, but she enjoyed traveling so she wasn't there right now.

"You know, nephew, as much as you enjoy meditating it isn't healthy to be so deep in thought when you're walking. You could hurt yourself."

Zuko snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his uncle, who was sitting on the wooden platform with a cup of tea in his hands, giving him a small, warm smile.

"Uncle, I wasn't –"

BAM!

Zuko let out a string of barely concealed curses under his breath as he rubbed his nose, backing away from the golden pillar that he had walked into.

Iroh just smirked at his nephew and sipped his tea. "I told you so."

"Uncle, as much as I enjoy your company, I resent your attempts at humor," Zuko snapped moodily at him as he sat down beside him, crossing his legs instead of leaving them dangling like the old man.

"Who says I was being humorous? It was the truth. I did tell you so." He poured some tea for Zuko on a separate cup before filling his own cup again. "And I don't attempt to be humorous. I already am."

Zuko groaned. "Uncle, please."

Iroh chuckled. "Come now, nephew. Tell this old man what so thoroughly occupied your mind that you didn't see where you were going."

Zuko suppressed a blush as he took the little white porcelain cup in his hands and blew at the steam coming out of it. "I was reminiscing. About the war." It was the truth. He was thinking about the war. Just that he mainly thought about a certain girl he met during those dark times. But he couldn't tell his uncle that. Nosy old man that he was, who knew what conclusions he would jump to?

"Ah." His uncle nodded, sipping his tea gingerly. There were a few seconds of calming silence when Iroh spoke again. "Thinking about lady Katara, are we?"

Zuko spit out the mouthful of tea he was drinking, thumping his chest as he coughed out the bits of tea he had inhaled, while unsuccessfully trying to deny it between coughs. Iroh just looked on, amused. He was merely guessing, seeing what a good relationship those two have and how Zuko would quote her (unknowingly or not) when he was feeling down, training or in the council. He would also smile more widely when he received a letter from her than when he received a letter from their other friends, like Sokka, Aang and Toph.

After a few more seconds of coughing, Iroh patted Zuko's shoulder. "There, there, my boy. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Uncle, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't," Iroh soothed, trying hard not to let his amusement show on his face. It wasn't hard to tell Zuko was lying. His face was red, he had his arms crossed and he was looking away from him, his back straight as an arrow. "All I asked was if you were thinking about her. She is, after all, your closest friend outside of the Fire Nation and had a great influence to you and everyone else who knew her during the war." He shrugged, turning his attention back to his tea. "I don't see why you were so upset about that. What did you think I was implying?"

Zuko's eyes widened as he realized he had fallen in his uncle's trap. He cursed again, louder this time, before glowering at his uncle who was having a hard time not laughing into his tea.

"Very mature, Uncle," he snapped as he put the tea cup back on the plate and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go eat something before I go training. I have a busy day today." He paused, not wanting to say what he did next but knowing he had no choice if he wanted to keep practicing his manners. Through clenched teeth he asked, "Would you care to join me?"

"Certainly, nephew. Thank you for asking." Iroh set down his cup beside Zuko's on the plate and stood up, picking up the plate with the cups and the pot and taking it with him.

"Now Zuko, here's my advice. 'Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage'."(1)*

Zuko raised an eyebrow at the old man. "I'll keep that in mind, Uncle, although I have no idea what you're talking about."

Iroh just smiled complacently at him as they kept walking towards the dining room. "It's just something nice to know for the future," he said. Especially if that future includes lady Katara.

Uh-oh! Iroh is scheming a little bit, is he? Anyway, hope you enjoyed and tell me what you think. This is just the beginning, so I promise the next chapters will be better!

(1)* "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage" ~ Lao Tzu

If I use more than one quote in a chapter, I'll number them like I did here so you know who said which quote.