Author's Note: So now that we have the Gaang in the story, things can start getting interesting :) I will be adding a new chapter soon, hopefully this weekend. You know the drill: comments/suggestions welcome and appreciated. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender of any of its characters.
Zuko was awakened by the sound of his uncle entering the house. He could hear Iroh's feet shuffling along the floor, which no doubt meant he was carrying something heavy in his arms. Zuko groaned inwardly; what had his uncle bought now? Last time, he had come home with a highly disturbing pumpkin with a smile painted on its face that made it look like it knew all your darkest secrets.
"Nephew! Are you home yet?" Iroh hollered from the kitchen.
"Coming!" Zuko replied as he got to his feet. He winced as his neck ached, and he instantly regretted sleeping on the couch. He made his way into the kitchen where his uncle was waiting, and was surprised to see a small Christmas tree sitting on the hardwood floor.
"Hello, Zuko!" Iroh greeted with a wide smile, and threw his arms around his nephew.
"Hey," Zuko replied, hugging him. "Umm…isn't it a little early for a Christmas tree, uncle?"
Iroh let go of him and turned around to face the little green tree. "Nonsense! It's never too early to start preparing for the holiday season," he exclaimed, and his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled.
Zuko raised his eyebrows, but murmured, "If you say so."
Iroh patted his nephew on the shoulder before waddling over to the tree. He began examining the sapling, wanting to be sure that the branches would be strong enough to hold a few ornaments.
"We can put this tree in that corner right there," Iroh decided as he pointed to an empty corner of the kitchen, "and we can set up our big Christmas tree in the living room, when we get it."
"Good idea," Zuko agreed. "When will we decorate the tree?" he inquired, motioning toward the small sapling.
Iroh chuckled and declared, "Right now, of course!"
Zuko nodded, then left the room to retrieve the lights and ornaments from the closet upstairs. He walked up the creaky steps to the second floor, then turned the corner and opened the door to the closet. When he entered the room and flicked the light switch on, he was greeted by a cloud of dust that had been collecting since the last time they had used the Christmas decorations. Zuko coughed, then navigated through the haze of dust and grabbed the box containing the lights and ornaments they would use to decorate their tiny tree.
After he arrived back downstairs, Iroh told him, "We're going to make this tree look spectacular!"
Zuko agreed with a grin, "You bet we are."
Iroh opened the lid to the box and grabbed the lights, which were a variety of blue, green, red, yellow, and orange bulbs. He handed the bunch to Zuko, who unraveled the cord little by little as Iroh walked around the tree and stringed the lights.
"There!" Iroh clapped his hands together as he finished. "Let's see how they look."
He leaned down and plugged the cord into the wall, and eagerly looked over at the tree to see how the lights looked. The lights remained off, and Iroh scratched his beard confusedly.
"That's strange…" he muttered as he stared at the lights.
Zuko growled, "We just bought these last year! They should still work."
Frustrated, he stormed over to the wall and yanked the cord out of the outlet, then shoved it back in. Still, the lights remained dark. He sighed heavily, rubbing his face with his hands.
"What a shame," Iroh murmured sadly.
"No kidding," Zuko grumbled. They both stared at the undersized tree for a moment, before Zuko announced, "I'm going to head to the store in town and see if they have any Christmas lights." He huffed and walked toward the front door, annoyance making him grimace.
"Wait, Zuko! Don't forget your coat," Iroh told him with a smile as he rushed to the closet and pulled out his nephew's dark red coat. "You'll freeze to death out there at this time of night."
"Thanks," Zuko murmured with a small smile as he slipped his coat on. "I'll be back in a few!" he called to his uncle as he headed out the door.
Outside, the night air was brisk as he made his way toward the center of town. He zipped up his jacket and shoved his hands in his pockets, attempting to stay warm. As he neared the center of town, there were an increasing number of dark alleys and suspicious members lurking on the edge of the street. Numerous times, he caught hostile eyes watching him as he passed, no doubt trying to decide whether or not he had anything valuable on him. Even for Zuko, this was beginning to get a little freaky. He usually never went this way to get to the store, but since he had been running short on time, and this route was significantly faster than his normal one, he had thought this would be the better option. But he was beginning to regret his decision; as the minutes passed, he felt more and more tense, and got the feeling that he was being watched. In his pocket, his hand kept a firm grip on his cell phone, which he drew a little comfort from. He took it out and pulled the dial screen up, in case he needed to call his uncle or 911 quickly in an emergency. Turning it off and returning it to his pocket, he shivered in the cool fall breeze that blew between the buildings.
As he turned a corner, he heard a sudden swooshing sound and felt a sharp pain in his side. Grunting, he fell to the side and slid down the brick wall of the building next to him. Recovering quickly, he jumped to his feet and turned to face his attacker. Zuko looked into the dark eyes of a boy not much older than himself, with tan skin and shaggy brown hair. He had large, arching eyebrows, which gave him a mischievous appearance. His eyes widened for a moment when he caught a glimpse of Zuko's scar, but promptly resumed their hostile glare.
"Have anything worth my time, punk?" he snarled, nearly spitting the words at Zuko.
Zuko narrowed his eyes and stood as tall as possible, before muttering, "No." Surprisingly, his voice was icily calm, contrary to his thumping heart. It beat so loudly, he was sure the strange boy in front of him could hear it.
"Liar," the boy sneered. He spat on the ground at his feet, before stepping so close to Zuko their noses almost touched. "I saw you using a phone."
Zuko's heart pounded. No wonder I felt like I was being watched! He said nothing, just continued to glare at the strange young man in front of him.
The boy's eyes flickered to something past Zuko's head, and he gave a curt nod. Confused, Zuko started to turn around, but was cut short by two other boys grabbing his arms and roughly pinning him to the wall. The air was knocked out of his lungs, and he fought to catch his breath.
"Let me go!" Zuko demanded as he struggled, but the two boys holding him were strong, and he couldn't break free of their iron grips.
"Sure, sure, no problem. Soon as you give me that fancy phone of yours," the boy that appeared to be the leader said smugly.
In a sudden surge of bravery, Zuko challenged, "Try and take it. I dare you."