AN: Another chapter. Yay! This is an idea I've had for a while, actually. It was great fun to write.

Disclaimer: Avatar isn't mine.

Chapter 3: At the Cracks of Dawn

Thanks to their involvement with the army, Kuzon's family was somewhat important in the Fire Nation. His grandfather had been a general, his uncle had been commander of a ship, and his father, Zannen, was a high-ranking army officer, just a few steps below the rank of general. As such, the family was nowhere near lacking in money, and it showed in the blankets used on the beds in their vacation house.

Bumi snuggled further into the covers. They were really nice blankets. Fluffy and warm and really, really soft. Sure, the red got annoying after a while, but the color was worth the comfort. Bumi wondered if it was possible for him to buy a set and bring them home with him. It wouldn't be much extra weight for Appa, so he was sure Monk Gyatso wouldn't mind. The only problem would be convincing his parents, because while he might not mind the color, they certainly would. An Earth Kingdom noble's son with a Fire Nation bedspread was more than a little sacrilegious. Still, his parents would probably let him--they were rather used to his antics by now, and after the debacle with the Omashu delivery system, blankets were a pretty tame subject. And he was sure his uptight father would understand once he felt how nice and soft the blankets were. Bumi thought that maybe he'd just curl up under the covers and stay in bed all day--

"HEY, BUMI! WAKE UP!"

"AAH! GAH! WHAT?" he shrieked, launching out of bed and falling to the floor in a tangle of red sheets. Kuzon fell beside him, laughing hysterically. Bumi scowled.

"Okay, what do you want, my good hotman?" he asked bitterly.

Still laughing, Kuzon replied, "Just waking you up!"

Bumi looked around, noting the lack of daylight. He glanced out the window, which, fortunately, was facing the east. He groaned. "Kuzon, the sun's barely risen."

"So? Firebenders rise with the sun."

"Last I checked, I'm not a Firebender," Bumi yawned, crawling back into bed. "Feel free to wake me up when the sun's a good way above the horizon, 'kay?"

"Aww, come on, Bumi!" Kuzon said, his voice bordering on whining. "I can't go back to sleep and it's really boring being the only one awake!"

"Not my problem," Bumi grumbled, adjusting the covers. "What do you do when you wake up back home?"

"I live in a family of Firebenders. We all wake up at the crack of dawn."

"I think I would die," Bumi grumbled.

"You know, I have friends who aren't benders, and they really like that whole 'sleeping in' thing. I don't see the allure of it, myself."

"Of course you don't."

"I mean, the sun's up! You're burning daylight! Yet I have a good number of friends who'd sleep in 'till noon if they cou--"

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP AND LET ME SLEEP?"

Kuzon sighed, but fell silent and stood very, very still by Bumi's bed. Minutes passed.

"Hey...Bumi? You asleep?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Okay." Pause. "How about now?"

"No, Kuzon."

"Oh. Well, you'll let me know when you are asleep, right?" The smirk in the Firebender's voice was audible.

"Oh, yeah, sure, I'll definitely let you know."

"Much obliged," Kuzon said, leaning against the wall and staring out the window. The tiny sliver of light that passed as dawn was slowly growing wider. "You know, one of the best things about the Fire Nation is the sunrises. We have some pretty spectacular sunrises."

"That so?" Bumi grunted.

"Yep. And when you get up as early as I do, you get to see them every single day."

"I can believe that."

Another pause.

"Are you gonna fall asleep?"

"I think you've completely chased away all chance of that with your talking," the Earthbender boy grumbled, sitting up in bed and shoving off the covers. "Forget it. Let's go wake up Aang and Zeph."

Kuzon grinned. "Sounds good."

They made their way to Zeph's room, where she was sleeping soundly in bed. Kuzon and Bumi exchanged glances and, as one, started shaking her.

"Zeph!"

"Hey, Zeph! Wake up!"

"Rise and shine, sleepy--MMPH!" Kuzon's shouting was cut off by a sudden slap across the face. A moment later, the same hand connected with Bumi's nose. The two boys staggered back, staring at the still-sleeping Airbender girl. Bumi looked at Kuzon.

"Did she just...?"

"Ow," Kuzon winced, rubbing his face. "My head!"

Not to be deterred, Bumi moved forward and started shaking Zeph again. This time, he was rewarded with a kick in the ribs. "OUCH!"

"You asked for it," Kuzon chuckled.

"Now why couldn't I have hit you without waking up and made you leave me alone?" Bumi wondered aloud, wincing as he held his side. "Man, she really packs a punch..."

"Mmph. What're you two doing here?" Zeph asked tiredly, from the very brink of consciousness.

"Trying to wake you up," Bumi said sullenly. She looked toward the window, eyes barely open.

"But...it's scarcely light out."

"Yeah. That's what I told him," Bumi said, jerking a thumb at Kuzon. Zeph yawned.

"Crazy Firebenders," she muttered, shoving back the covers and slowly getting up.

"C'mon," Kuzon said, choosing to ignore the insult. "Let's get Aang."

Their plan was cut short when they opened the door to Aang's room and were greeted by a forceful blast of air.

"Is he airbending while he's snoring?" Bumi demanded as they tried to shut the door.

"I think so!" Kuzon shouted back. Zeph managed to hold the air still long enough for the boys to slam the door shut, and they all stared at it for a moment.

"Well," Bumi said, "that's going on my blackmail list."

"You have a blackmail list?"

"I do now."

"We aren't gonna try to wake up Monk Gyatso, are we?" Zeph asked, yawning again.

"Nah," said Kuzon, heading toward the kitchen. The other two children followed him.

"Soooooo, now that we're awake, what do we do?"

"I don't know," Kuzon shrugged, slicing into a loaf of ash banana bread sitting on the counter. Bumi felt his eye twitch, and he offhandedly wondered if that was healthy.

"You woke me up without good reason?!"

"Sorry. Wasn't thinking ahead," Kuzon said, all-too-innocently. Bumi growled and was about to launch into a screaming tirade when Zeph beat him to the punch. Well, she didn't scream, but she did talk first.

"So what do you usually do this time of day?" she asked, helping herself to a slice of bread. Kuzon thought a moment.

"Well...hanging out with my family, really. At home the servants would be making breakfast, but Mom likes cooking when we're here at the vacation house..."

"Oh!" Zeph said, struck with sudden inspiration. "We could make breakfast!"

"Hey!" Kuzon exclaimed. "That's a great idea!" Zeph blushed.

"Great," Bumi drawled. "What are we gonna be cooking, exactly?"

Awkward pause.

"I don't know how to cook," Kuzon admitted.

"Same here," said Zeph.

"Fantastic," Bumi sighed. He'd gotten out of bed for this? "So now what do we do?"

Kuzon looked out the window, thinking, and then he grinned. "C'mon. Let's watch the sunrise."

They filed out onto the back veranda, where they had a good view of the mountains. Sunlight rose up into the sky, spilling out in waves of pink and orange and yellow and blue over the dark silhouettes of the peaks. Inwardly, Bumi admitted that the sight was quite worth being woken up at the crack of dawn to see, though he'd never admit it to Kuzon.

Zeph seemed to have no such reservations. "Kuzon," she breathed,"it's beautiful." Bumi noted how close she was standing to the Firebender.

"Yeah," Kuzon grinned, gazing out at the sun. "It'll look even prettier when the fire lilies bloom in the field."

Zeph smiled at the thought.

AN: Waterbenders rise with the moon. Firebenders rise with the sun. Bumi rises whenever he feels like it (Or when his parents or an enthusiastic Kuzon drag him out of bed. Whichever comes first.).

Zannen—Japanese, "regret" (Figure out the foreshadowing, if you can.)

Reviews are, of course, deeply appreciated. Thanks for reading!