Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender or any of its characters.
The Revenge
"Happy birthday, Scarface!"
From the corner of his good eye, Zuko saw the earthbender carrying a shirt. He took the gift and stared at it.
It was a shirt two sizes too small, but that wasn't the problem. The shirt was a blaring fuchsia pink. It seemed to vibrate, to be alive as Zuko held it at an arm's length away from him. But the color wasn't all.
On the back was a large, goofy sun. On the front, in gold, luminous lettering read:
Princess SunshineFrom the other side of the campfire, he heard Aang trying without much success to hold back a laugh. Beside her, Katara looked as if she'd snorted soup up her nose. Sokka was thankfully not present.
Being a former Fire Nation crown prince, he was trained to cope with any situation the world managed to spit at him.
"Uh…" was his articulate reply. Just in time, Sokka came stumbling into the circle, bringing an armful of firewood with him.
"I brought the-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"
"It's my present to Zuko. You know, for his birthday."
Aang, being the peaceful intervention(er?) he usually was, told Zuko that he didn't have to wear his gift, to which Katara staunchly replied that in order for the ex-prince/fugitive/tea server to redeem himself, he would have to wear the shirt.
"Anyways, it would be rude to Toph if you didn't wear it, wouldn't it?"
Katara evidently was still angry about the Ba Sing Se incident. And the pirate (but I was the one who saved you!) incident. And the North Pole (I was trying to stop Zhou!) incident. And many more such incidents.
Meanwhile, Sokka noticed Toph stifling a giggle. He squatted down beside her.
"…You know, Toph," he sighed, "if I ever did anything that deserves…" He looked over his shoulder at the scene "…something like that, you'd tell me, right?"
Toph blinked innocently at him. "What? What does the shirt say? I'm blind, remember?"
"Toph, you're giggling." She punched his arm.
"Don't worry Snoozles. You haven't done anything. Yet. Damn bastard burnt my feet."
As the group began to calm down, Zuko had a vague idea of why the Earth Kingdom noble (as had been pointed out when he had let an insult slip) gave him such a…an eccentric gift. His vague idea had vague connections to the day he offered to help the avatar and his friends.
He still had no idea where Toph actually got the shirt.
Then he had another idea. An awful idea. He had a wonderful, awful idea.
