A drabble for a contest. Theme was Parenthood and the like.
Just because Ozai is an uncle, doesn't mean he doesn't have any effect. :]
I own nothing. :]
Iroh smiled as he looked into the crib where his new child lay asleep. He wanted to hold his son, but was afraid that he would cause him to crumble into nothingness before him. The lieutenant sighed. He knew how to lead men into war and on the battlefield, but picking up a small child baffled him. Iroh reached his hands into the crib and felt the soft blankets brush against them. He quickly retracted his hands before even touching the child. Iroh frowned. This was much harder than fighting a war. He tried again. He reached in the crib and with all his concentration, pictured himself lifting up the child. Iroh felt his son and began to gently grab him. He took a deep breath.
"Having fun, brother?"
Iroh's concentration broke and he was back where he started. Iroh looked up to see his adolescent brother leaning in the door way. He inwardly cursed him for breaking is concentration. "What is it Ozai?"
Ozai casually walked to the crib and peered over the edge with a bored expression on his face. "Nothing. I decided that I'd pay my dearest older brother a visit." Ozai peered again into the crib.
Iroh raised an eyebrow. "Really, Ozai why are you hear? I'm very busy as you can see." Iroh peered over the crib at his sleeping son. A small smile made its way onto his face.
"It's simple really, I'm bored." Ozai said as he stared out the window.
"What about your friend? Zhao, was it?" Iroh asked. The sooner Ozai was out of his hair, the sooner he could go back to trying to pick up his son.
"Zhao is on Ember Island, visiting his old grandmother or something." Ozai stared at Iroh with a bored expression. He tilted his head to look into the crib. "Why don't you hold him, brother dearest?" He said with a smirk.
Iroh frowned and sighed. He looked into the crib and began to concentrate on picking up his son. He reached into the crib and again felt the blankets. Iroh sensed Ozai's eyes on him, and his concentration shattered. Iroh stood to his full height before the crib and gave a sigh.
"You do know how to pick up a baby, right?" Ozai's nonchalant voice seared Iroh's ears.
"Do you know how to, Ozai?" Iroh retorted. He gave a sigh of relief at the thought that they both were incompetent and unskilled in the art of picking up babies.
"As a matter of fact, I do."
Iroh stared dumbfounded at his brother. "How?"
Ozai sighed and shifted his weight to his other leg. "Zhao. He has five younger siblings and the past few times I went over to his house, he was babysitting." Ozai paused and stared casually at an astonished Iroh. "Well, after being talked down to like a child by a friend of an inferior social class, that voice and the exaggerated hand motions tend to stick."
Iroh stared at Ozai once more. "I guess that would explain things…" He said in disbelief.
Ozai rolled his eyes and roughly shoved Iroh out of his way. The youngest prince glanced into the crib and quickly and gently grabbed the sleeping Lu Ten and stared at his brother. Iroh stared at his brother and son in shock. Ozai stared blankly back at him as if nothing has happened. Ozai suddenly got a face of disgust as Lu Ten began to drool on him. He quickly thrust Lu Ten into Iroh's arms and stared at his sleeve. Ozai sneered and wiped as much of the drool off on Iroh as he could. The youngest prince mumbled incoherent sentences about babies being disgusting as he tried to dry his sleeve.
The younger brother began walking casually towards the door. Ozai stopped at the door and looked back to Iroh. "Don't tell anyone that I know how to take care of babies like a servant." He paused. "Plus, brother dearest, it may taint your status as the Fire Lord's perfect little prodigy." He said with a wave of his hand. At that he strode out the door.
.:.:.
The Crown Prince smiled wide as his young son perfected the simple firebending form. Lu Ten looked at Iroh and smiled his signature goofy grin.
"I did it!" The young second generation prince squealed. He jumped and began redoing the simple firebending form again and again.
Iroh smiled and knelt down so he was at his son's level. "Very good," He started. "But you need to be careful so you don't accidently hurt someone."
Lu Ten nodded vigorously and smiled. "Okay!"
He began to perform the firebending form again. Lu Ten looked around bushes and trees before attacking an invisible enemy. He ran throughout the garden as he attacked small sticks and branches. The child closed his eyes and ran as fast as he could, imagining that he was fighting a great battle with his father by his side. The mental image quickly vanished as he bumped into something hard and heard a splashing sound. He felt the spray of water across his face. Lu Ten opened his eye to see Ozai getting up clumsily in the middle of the pond.
Lu Ten muttered a quiet "Uh oh" and began to run back to Iroh for protection. He didn't look back to see if he was being chased or not. He closed his eyes and ran nearly into Iroh who was standing where he was before. Ozai came stomping angrily short after.
"Why is it that whenever you train out here when I am, I get burned, embarrassed, or more recently, wet?" Ozai growled in a low voice to Iroh.
Iroh smiled. "You should learn to watch out more often, brother."
Ozai shot Iroh a glare and growled again. "I was way over there!" He pointed to the pond where he was previously standing. Ozai used firebending to emphasize his point, but his effort was wasted when the excess water from his hair sizzled out the flames. Ozai stared blankly at where his fire should have been. His face grew red with embarrassment. He grumbled and marched into the palace.
Iroh smiled in Ozai's direction and then looked down to a jittery Lu Ten. He kneeled down to his son and smiled. "What have you learned from this?
Lu Ten blinked in confusion. "Watch out for Uncle Ozai by the pond?" He paused. "Water makes fire go out? I knew that though." Iroh motioned him to continue. "Uh… Don't yell about the little things?" Iroh nodded in approval. Lu Ten smiled. "Maybe I should take lessons from Uncle Ozai some time."
Iroh smiled for what seemed the thousandth time that day.
.:.:.
A twelve year old Lu Ten was escorted out of his new cousin's nursery by his father. They walked in silence around the palace gardens. Lu Ten sighed and looked up to Iroh. "Where do babies come from?"
Iroh stopped suddenly and looked to his growing son. "Babies?"
Lu Ten nodded. "Yeah. Aunt Ursa had a baby, but where did it come from?"
"Firstly, your cousin Zuko isn't an it." Iroh scolded. Lu Ten shot an apologetic glance. "Secondly, I'll tell you when you're older."
"Aw, but I want to know where babies come from…" Lu Ten pouted as he walked.
"So my nephew dearest wants to know the origin of life…" Lu Ten turned quickly to see the owner of the smooth silky voice. Ozai casually walked past Lu Ten as if what he said meant nothing. Lu Ten quickly ran to catch up to his uncle.
"When he's older, Ozai." Iroh stated with a warning undertone in his voice.
"Come now brother dearest, now is a perfect time." Ozai said with a smirk. He casually shrugged his shoulders.
"You know you're clearly undermining my authority as Lu Ten's father, correct?" Iroh scolded.
Ozai rolled his eyes. "Where babies come from is much more important than whatever tea related nonsense you fill that boy's head with." The new father smirked. "Lu Ten, babies come out of a—Ouch!" Ozai rubbed his head where a long stick made impact. He looked to see his brother smiling sweetly by a tree. The younger of the two brothers picked up the stick and smiled. "Yes… Pictures would explain more clearly."
"Ozai!" Iroh ran over to his brother before his authority could be undermined any further.
Ozai sketched shapes into the dirt and pointed at them for Lu Ten. Iroh quickly walked over the sketches and grabbed the stick from Ozai. In the dirt he wrote 'when you're older' in bold characters. He glanced at both Lu Ten and Ozai.
"Aw…" Lu Ten looked into the dirt and walked away with Iroh into the palace. He looked up to his father. "I guess it's for the best…" Iroh smiled. "Uncle's drawings all looked like squashed bugs anyway. What do squashed bugs have to do with babies?"
Iroh sighed. "Those weren't bugs, Lu Ten."
Lu Ten was quiet. "Well… Uncle Ozai is a really bad artist then."
A wave of relief rushed over Iroh as the fact that Ozai's bad art skills sunk in more than the original question.
.:.:.
"Look out behind you." Lu Ten quickly turned around to see Ozai standing mere inches away. "You'd be dead by now."
Lu Ten backed up to give space between him and his uncle. "Pardon?"
Ozai rolled his eyes. "Naïve nephew, do you really think those barbarians in Ba Sing Se would give you a fair warning like I did?"
"Uh… I guess not." Lu Ten stammered. "But, I didn't expect you…"
"Foolish boy." Ozai growled. "Hasn't that father of yours ever taught you anything about fighting?" Ozai knocked on Lu Ten's forehead as if seeing if anything was in there.
"Yes." Lu Ten said with more confidence. "Father said that I was a prodigy and…" He stopped as Ozai sneered at the word prodigy.
"Even special little prodigies get stabbed in the neck." Ozai pressed on the back of Lu Ten's neck as he walked passed. Ozai turned and looked to his shaken nephew. "Have fun in Ba Sing Se," He paused. "And don't forget to look behind you." He walked briskly down the hall and disappeared from Lu Ten's sight.
Lu Ten stood in the dim corridor and stared into the nothingness as Ozai's words repeated over and over again in his head. He quickly looked behind to see if Ozai was standing there ominously. He sighed in relief to see that there was nothing there.
The fact that he was going off to war frightened Lu Ten. He went off on smaller excursions, but never a mass invasion. He believed his father when he said that it would be a long and tedious effort to conquer Ba Sing Se. He always believed his father and hung on to every word. A smile made its way across his face as he imagined conquering the great walled city alongside his father.
'If Iroh was leading the siege, then of course it would be safe.' Lu Ten thought. He walked into the front courtyard where everyone was waiting and saying their goodbyes and wishing them the best.
Iroh put his hand on Lu Ten's shoulder and pulled him into a tight hug. Lu Ten patted his back in return. He looked to his family in which he waved and said good bye to. They got into the carriage that would take them to the harbor. Lu Ten continued to lean out and wave behind him. He looked behind him until his family was nothing but dots and smears against the palace. The gates opened and he regained his composure and glanced at his father. Iroh wore a grin as they rode down to the harbor to meet up with some of the invasion force.
During the campaign in Ba Sing Se, Lu Ten looked to Iroh for guidance and advice. As much as Lu Ten went to him, Iroh always gave an acceptable answer along with a cup of calming tea. Even if later in the siege, the tea turned into flatly flavored water. Lu Ten leaned on Iroh for support, and Iroh did the same, and that's how it was throughout the entire siege.
Sadly by the end of the siege, Lu Ten didn't remember Ozai's advice.
Iroh was devastated and the siege ended.