Summary: In which Zuko learns the true meaning of Christmas, while wearing a red nose. Absolute FLUFF.Category: Avatar, the Last AirbenderFanFictionCharacters: ZukoIrohTimeline: Season 2, in Ba Sing SeDisclaimer: Not mine, I make no $$ from this work and have no affiliation to Nickelodeon. Though I'm hoping if I ask really really nicely, Santa will bring me a Zuko for Christmas. Rating: G"Explain to me again why we have to do this, Uncle?" The former Fire Nation prince asked, giving the small, red object in his hand a look of disgust."It's a tradition here! Plus it will be good for business, solidify our place as Earth Nation refugees, and", Iroh added with a small smile, gingerly doing up the buttons of the red suit he had borrowed for the occasion "it will be fun". 'Fun' was not the word Zuko would use to describe the act of strapping twigs to either side of his head, placing a red ball onto his nose and dancing around pretending to be one of the mythical creatures in some earth peasants' holiday tradition. Who had ever heard of a reindeer anyway? A buffalo-deer or an elephant-deer certainly, but a reindeer; such things only existed in the simple minds of common people. "You may have more in common with your character than you think, Prince Zuko"; now he was placing the matching red cap on his head, gently pushing the fluffy border out of his eyes "he was rejected by his own kind for the very characteristics that made him a strong leader". Only Iroh could get away with saying such things, and even after the humility Zuko learned working in the tea shop, he still needed to tread carefully. Zuko merely sighed, refusing to let anything - including himself - get in the way of Iroh's good mood. He had been talking about the legend for months, ever since he'd first heard it shortly after their arrival in Ba Sing Se; and while Zuko still thought the only appeal of a fat man coming down your chimney was the possibility of bending the fire underneath and burning him alive, he was willing to concede to his uncle's desire to dress up as the character. It didn't mean he had to be happy about the nose."Ho. Ho. Ho!" Zuko broke from his reverie to find his uncle practicing in the mirror. "Are you sure that's what he's supposed to say, Uncle?" "I am sure, now put your antlers on so we can go, Rudolph." The look on Zuko's face as he attached the twigs to his head with the accompanying velvet ribbon was one that Iroh would remember for a long time to come.The two spent the next several hours in the front room of the teashop, with Iroh pulling the youngest refugees in the lower circle into his lap and patiently listening to their secret wishes while they tugged on his beard to see if it was real. Zuko had been put in charge of serving tea to their parents while the children waited their turn, sucking on minty sticks of red and white stripped candy. He occasionally stole peeks at his uncle, attempting to hide a smile as the old man slipped seamlessly into the roll of 'jolly old elf'."And what do you want for Christmas, Taku?"The little girl on his lap looked up at Iroh, wide-eyed; "you know my name?"Iroh gave a cheerful laugh that shook both his belly and the bells on his hat "of course, I do! Now, what would you like for Christmas?"Zuko watched as the girl motioned for Iroh to lean down so she could whisper something in his ear. He nodded as she spoke in the most serious tone a girl of five years could muster and then gave another hearty laugh. "And have you been a very good girl?"Taku nodded with the energy given only to the youngest of people. "Ho, ho, ho, then I will see what I can do!"At first the parents in the lower circle had been reluctant to bring their children to the teashop that night. After all, many of them were struggling to support their family's day to day needs; and being uprooted and moved to Ba Sing Se left little funding for presents. Why build up their hopes only to see them disappointed on Christmas morning? Zuko still wasn't sure how he had managed, but Iroh had pulled every string he'd made in their time in the city, and together with the owner of the shop had managed to put together a gift for each child in the neighborhood. Granted, they were meager at best: an orange here, a new set of socks there, some small ostrich-horses made from leftover scraps of wood that Iroh stayed up late many nights to carve. He couldn't help but compare them to the fine presents of his own childhood: a suit of armor for his fifth birthday, gold and silks for his robes, toys and games for every possible occasion, and an ever-increasing collection of exotic treasures his Uncle Iroh sent him from various battlefields. Still, he had experienced enough in the last few months to know that these children would treasure the surprises and their time sitting in the lap of their own personal Santa Claus in a way that he never thought to consider in his youth. As the sky grew dark, and he went around the room lighting the lamps with a match, watching his Uncle attend to the last of the waiting young ones, he started to realize that he would too.