A/N
Plot from zukos-swig. Written by dream royale.
Characters belong to Avatar the Last Airbender, Nickelodeon Studios.
"No can say can here."
Please understand that "3" is a divider. At deviantART it is actually a heart with a "less than" symbol before the three.
3
Zuko wiped sweat from his brow, and he was conscious of the same salt mixture dripping down his spine and over his sculpted chest. He licked his lips in distaste. He hated the heat, and he especially loathed the dull ground he was repeatedly heaving his hoe into. The wood chaffed his palms, but he'd been working for so many weeks that his hands were calloused over, oblivious to the pain they could be having.
He leaned against the handle, inspecting the sky and hoping for a small amount of rain to delay the labor. Endless blue greeted his amber eyes, winking at him in azure spite.
"I'm taking a break for water," he mumbled to his companion.
Iroh lifted his grey head from his work. "Why don't you go and sit in the shade for awhile?"
Zuko eyed him skeptically. "And… where should I, Uncle?"
"Oh…" Iroh cast his eyes back to the earth. "Maybe in the garden…"
"You've set me up again!" Zuko cried.
"No, no-."
"Who will I find there, Uncle?" Zuko demanded.
"Listen, she is a nice girl, and-."
"No!" Zuko ground his jaw in frustration. "How many times have I told you that I don't like Jin?"
"Plenty. However, I think-."
"My answer is still no." Zuko walked away before the old man could pass any more remarks.
"I just wish you'd let go of her." Iroh said, leaving the name from the conversation purposefully. "It isn't good for you to keep on hoping for something that will never come. Just let her go and find someone else."
"I have let her go," Zuko muttered, more to himself than to his uncle. "I have let her go."
His thoughts drifted, and slowly the ground beneath him shifted in his reverie, becoming the soft, ruffling grass of his childhood memories.
He chased her over the knolls, watching in glee as her gleaming brown locks came closer and closer, her shrieks forming into giggles as he gained distance. Finally he tagged her, grasping her shoulder so firmly that they both toppled to the ground, breathless. Katara beamed at him. He grinned shyly at her. She reached out with one delicate hand and touched his nose.
"Tag," she whispered, her voice just as lofty as the wind.
Katara was his only anchor to sanity. His first year here had been so hard, so lonely. Everything he'd known and loved was gone, save for Iroh, that is. Before coming to Katara's father's ranch, Zuko had lived in Boston with his parents and sister. Eventually the attorney life grew too boring for Zuko's father, and he bought supplies to move his family out into the West to make a new, pioneering life. Zuko's mother had protested fiercely, but Ozai would not listen.
Things would have been alright, had Ozai not proclaimed he wanted to start gold mining.
"We will lose everything," Ursa tried to appeal to his reason. "We cannot-."
In a snarling fit of rage, Ozai swung back his hand and struck her face. The memory would never leave Zuko, and even now, at age sixteen, his blood ran cold.
That night Ursa stole everything she and her children needed to run. As she and Zuko were packing up one of the family's horses, Azula firmly announced that she would not partake in their escape.
"I want to stay with father," she said in a sharp voice. "And if you leave, I will tell him where you are."
Ursa stared down at her, realizing how much alike her husband and daughter were. "Do as you wish, Azula. It is your own life to live." She glanced at Zuko with shining eyes and asked, "And you, my son? Do you want to stay too?"
He shivered at the thought. "No, Mom. Please let me go with you."
She touched his head lovingly and smiled. Wordlessly, she swept him up into the saddle, and the pair took off, hoping to never have to see the other half of their bitter family again.
Ursa took work as a maid at an inn not too far away from where Ozai had proclaimed he'd strike it rich. She and Zuko lived comfortably in a corner room of the establishment, and for once, they were unrestricted. Both of them stayed awake until the twinkling stars outside blended into the streaks of dawn light, whispering their dreams and hopes and fears.
Zuko was only ten when the fire took the inn.
Sometimes Ursa worked late cleaning up the dining hall, and usually Zuko went with her to help, but some horrible twist of fate led him to bed early that night, and when he woke up a few hours later, he was met with a mixture of smoke and screams.
He struggled out of his room, blindly rushing down the choking hallways calling as best as he could to his mom. A doorway opened to his left, and a man pulled began to pull him away from the dining hall.
"Come on!" the man persisted. "Get out of here!"
"No!" Zuko shrieked, trying to pull himself away from the stranger, "Get off of me! My mom! My mom… She's in there!"
The older man gave Zuko one painful and hopeless glance before he muttered, "I'm sorry… I tried to save her, Zuko. She is gone."
Zuko froze, his mind tripping over the influx of information. He decided to stick with something simple, something his mind could cope with. "How do you know my name?"
"Let's get out of this building. It's collapsing."
"No," Zuko's heart stilled, and he stared forlornly down the hall. "Leave me with my mom. She's all I have."
"To save you was her dying wish!" The man bent on one knee, staring into the boy's earnest face. "The last thing she ever said in this world was 'save my son', and I intend on doing that!"
The man's face blurred in front of Zuko. "She left me." He gasped, choking on the smoke. "She left me."
"She couldn't help-."
"She left me!" Zuko screamed and finally tore away from the man, bolting down the enflamed hallway to where the dining room should have been.
A beam cracked and fell on the crazed boy, slashing his left cheek, leaving him scarred and totally, utterly alone.
The man who had saved Zuko and tried to save Ursa was named Iroh, and as Zuko discovered later, he was Ozai's brother that lived in an apartment just down from the inn. Apparently, Ozai had not agreed with Ursa's disobedience, and for that, as he told his brother, he would kill her and his son with arson. Iroh had done his best to save the woman and the child.
He had taken Zuko away, hiding him from Ozai, lest he choose to finish his revenge. Together they moved to the plains, where extensive ranches were being raised faster than farmhands could be found to tend them. They found Katara's father, Hagoda, and had stayed there ever since.
Zuko paused his distracted march to stare in the distance at the sprawling, whitewashed house the estate owner lived in. He sighed, reminding himself that a good life was over. He would live forever as a tenant. A scarred, lonely, disowned tenant.
He stooped to the water bucket, dipping the cup to scrape the bottom. Before it reached his lips, a shadow fell across his dirt-stained palms, and he met the owner with a narrowed-eyed stare.
"What?" Zuko spat.
Sokka frowned down at him, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves with a pompous disdain. "You know I would never ask anything of you unless it couldn't be helped."
Zuko stood, towering over the other boy. "What do you want, Sokka?"
He handed him a thick envelope. "I need you to run this to the estate just south of here. Aire. You know the place?"
Zuko nodded, fingering the letter in his hand curiously.
"Good. Run it over there. Make sure it gets to Aang. Don't stop along the way." Sokka turned to leave, but he paused, inspecting Zuko's labored clothes. "And clean up a bit, will you? You look like a-."
"Like a worker?" Zuko challenged. "I've nothing besides these clothes-."
"Fine, then. Go into the house and find Katara. Tell her to get some of mine for you to wear."
Zuko swallowed uncomfortably. "But-."
"I said you know I would never ask you unless it couldn't be helped." Sokka flashed a warning glare. "And don't be too friendly with Katara."
"Only if it can't be helped." Zuko mocked, returning a half-hearted grin. He watched Sokka hurry to the stables before his grin slipped into a grimace.
He hadn't spoken to Katara for almost a year.
3
Toph picked up a rock and threw it at a cherry tree, effectively knocking a clump of leaves to the ground.
"How many?" she asked.
"Five," Katara answered absently, tugging at the lace around her waist.
"You didn't even count." Toph scowled. "Are you going to watch me or are you going to mope?"
Katara scoffed. "I've every right to 'mope', I'll have you know."
Toph waved an empty hand. "Betrothal isn't a big deal. Now pay attention this time."
"Do you even know who I'm betrothed to, Toph?" Katara continued bitterly. "That Aire boy-."
Toph froze mid-launch. "Aang? You're getting married to Aang? But he's-."
"Twelve!" Katara exclaimed. "I can't believe Dad would want me to marry him."
A servant girl walked briskly down the path, pausing where Katara and Toph sat. She nodded respectfully to them both. "Excuse me, but have you seen anyone else in the garden today?"
Katara shrugged. "Sorry, Jin. We haven't seen anyone. Who are you looking for?"
"He works in the fields, and I thought he'd be coming for lunch…" Jin looked around the area unsuccessfully. "He's a little taller than I am…. Black hair…Well, maybe you know him; I'm looking for Zuko."
Katara started and avoided her gaze immediately. "Um… no, I haven't seen him."
"Well, if you do, will you tell him I've been waiting?" Jin asked kindly.
"Sure," Toph acknowledged, "We'll let him know."
Jin nodded again to them before walking back the way she had come.
"Shall I hit her? Or would you like to?" Toph muttered.
"No one will hit anyone." Katara admonished. She sighed. "It's his choice to see whoever he'd like to see."
"Hmph. That's bull-… Hey, someone's coming from the other direction…. He's a littler taller than Jin…." Toph grinned. "Wonder who that could be?"
Katara groaned and cradled her forehead in her hands. "Oh, just kill me."
Zuko stopped awkwardly before the two well-dressed girls and finally cleared his throat when no one looked up.
Katara raised her eyes uncertainly. "Jin's looking for you."
Zuko furrowed his brow. "I wasn't looking for her… I was looking for you."
Katara's face glowed pink. "Oh."
"I think I hear someone calling my name." Toph cocked her head to one side. "Nice seeing you again, Zuzu." She trotted away, enjoying the small bit of torture Katara was swimming through.
He clenched his jaw and muttered the same. Katara still hadn't looked into his face.
"Well… What…. do you require?" Katara asked, concentrating on smoothing a fold in her cerulean skirt.
"Your brother asked me to deliver a letter." Zuko waved the object for proof. "And he said I should change into some of his clothes. He…" Zuko flushed slightly. "suggested I find you to help me."
Katara found his eyes finally, but he rather wished she hadn't. There was a buried pain there, almost akin to the one he carried around behind his own set of eyes. "What letter?"
He flashed it again. Her face fell.
"That one." She muttered.
"Do you know what it is?" He asked.
"Do you?"
"No."
"Then you don't need to know." She replied haughtily. "Come on. I'll get you dressed."
She stood briskly and marched down the lane, churning dry leaves in her wake. Zuko followed hesitantly.
"He said it goes to Aire…" He called. "There's only one person I know from there." He had a guess what it was for. He could only imagine why they would send a letter to Aang.
Katara stopped and spun on her heel to face him. "Yes."
Zuko closed the distance between them, so that her trapped eyes were forced to rivet on his face. "What have you to say to Aang?"
Shining, unshed tears formed in Katara's lower eyelids. "I've nothing to say to him, Zuko… Now, please follow me so I can get you dressed."
He trailed her into the cool house, up the winding staircase to Sokka's large and plush room. Furs lined every inch of floor and seat. Various weapons were strung on one wall, and a large window opened up onto the fields. Katara waited until Zuko was done gawking before she opened up her brother's bureau and began to sort through it.
Zuko watched her tense back, pity welling in him. "If I'm correct in my guess as to what's in this letter… then I'm sorry, Katara."
Her hands paused their flurry. "I don't want your sympathy."
Zuko flinched. "I believe that's what I said to you a long time ago, isn't it?"
"Maybe in both instances it was right to be said."
"Well… whether you want it or not, you have my sympathy." Zuko frowned and sank into an armchair. "What do you think of such a proposal?"
"It's not a proposal. It's an arrangement."
"What do you think of it?"
"I don't think anything of it, Zuko! I can't think anything of it." She stopped attempting to search and stared at him. "Why is it you want to be chatty all of a sudden? After all this time, you expect me to just be friends with you?"
"I thought it was for the best that we separate." Zuko argued. "After all, it's not as if… We can't…"
Katara rolled her eyes. "This is the part where you say, 'It isn't possible, Katara. We have to stop dreaming.' Look, I get it, okay?"
"No," he narrowed his eyes. "I don't think you do."
"Oh yes," she flung a random pair of pants onto the floor. "I understand it perfectly."
"Oh?"
"You've…." She tugged on a shirt, stuck in a door of the bureau. "You've got a thing for someone… else… now..." She gave one final pull on the shirt before the sleeve ripped off, sending her flying onto her backside.
Zuko jumped out of his seat to help her. "That's insane, Katara! I'm not interested in anyone else!" He grasped her arm and pulled her to her feet. They stayed awkwardly close before she jerked away.
"Oh. Sure. And you and Jin just have lunch-."
"Uncle sets that up! You should know better." Zuko scowled.
She glared sternly at him for a few more moments before brandishing the sleeve and proclaiming, "Here's your outfit."
Zuko lifted an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to be facetious?"
"Oh, yes, I'm in such a joking mood." Katara sighed, rubbing her temple with her free hand. "Zuko… Just please take the letter to Aire, and forget about it, okay? We're… we're done."
She brushed past him, but he grabbed her hand involuntarily, releasing it almost as soon as he had touched her soft skin. She swirled around to face him, confused. He flushed.
"I… think about you… a lot…"
"Thinking isn't action, Zuko." Katara mumbled before she rushed away.
3
The walk to Aire was unbearably hot and sticky, but luckily enough for Zuko, the family had let him borrow a horse to run his errand. The little stable boy, Li, who had handed him the huge brown stallion, had said proudly, "We call this one Komodo!"
Zuko spurred Komodo faster. Against his will, he was very anxious to meet this boy Katara was supposed to marry.
Aire was a bigger estate than Katara's family's. It was also more lavishly landscaped, and there was so much shade that it made Zuko ache for a few more minutes to nap in the cool. Before he could even glimpse the house through the trees, a small boy and a little cream-colored dog dashed in front of Zuko, making his horse reel back and threaten to knock him out of his saddle.
"Hey!" Zuko shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Sorry!" The boy exclaimed, grabbing Komodo's reins and shushing him into calm. "My dog… Momo… He took off with my apple, and I had to get it back… Say, you aren't from around here, are you?"
"I'm from an estate just north of here." Zuko frowned. "What's your name?"
"I'm Aang." The boy grinned.
Zuko's frown deepened into a scowl. "You're Aang?"
"Sure am! And this," he scooped his dog off of the ground. "is Momo."
Zuko grunted, examining the frail canopy of leaves above their heads. "This has to be a joke…"
"Nope! When I tell a joke, I'm usually laughing, but I'm being serious this time. What's your name?"
"Look…" Zuko subconsciously touched the letter in his breast pocket. "I…think I made a wrong turn…"
"Where are you headed?"
"That's not necessarily the problem… It's who I'm meeting there."
"Oh. Who are you meeting?"
"You ask a lot of questions."
"Yeah, that's what people say. So who are you looking for?"
"Someone older than you, and someone-."
"I knew I couldn't trust you." Sokka said snidely from behind him.
Zuko twisted in his saddle, staring at the other, on his horse, at his rear. "When did you get here?"
"Well, after I found Katara sobbing in her room, I came after you, and what do you know?" Sokka rode forward, snatching the letter from Zuko's pocket. "You failed both me and my father. I should have you fired."
Zuko shifted uncomfortably. "You can't give your little sister's livelihood to this little… child, can you?"
"It's not my decision." Sokka snapped. "I trust my father's opinion, and so should you… Aang, this is for you."
Aang took the letter wearily. "If it would really bother you all that much, I won't read it."
"No, please, take it." Sokka said warmly. "I think you'll like it. And we'd like to have you at our house for supper this evening, Aang, if that sounds alright."
"Really? That'd be great." Aang beamed.
Zuko flashed a pained expression towards Sokka. "Really… do you have to do this?"
"Don't question me again." Sokka replied sharply. "And stay away from the house. Katara doesn't need any more of you." He flipped the reins of his horse and trotted back down the lane.
Zuko ground his teeth as he watched him go. He glanced at Aang.
"I'm…getting married?" Aang gasped, eyes flicking over the letter. "I'm getting married! To Katara!" He cheered and raced to his house, the dog trailing pathetically behind him and yipping his own excitement.
Zuko groaned. There was nothing he could do now.
