Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any related characters. This was written out of enjoyment of the series, and no profit is being made.
Ships: (Friendship) Mostly - Aang/Kuzon. Mentions - Aang/Gyatso.
Warnings: Somewhat mentions a severe burn at the end, but none otherwise. Spoilers up to Episode 13, "The Blue Spirit"?
Dreams
Aang has always had strange dreams. Dreams of faces he's never seen and voices he doesn't remember. They always confused him, until that day where the monks told him he was the Avatar.
He supposed it made sense, the forgotten faces and voices and smudges of memories that were there. When he awoke from his sleep, he would think about this seriously, wondering whether he had forgotten all of them already. Then Sifu Gyatso came in with a warm cup of tea, and nothing really mattered anymore.
Waking up from a hundred year nap after sleeping in a bed of ice wasn't exactly the same. It turns out he hadn't dreamed in a century, and his pent-up memories were determined to catch up with him.
Aang wasn't particularly thrilled.
x
The sunlight filters through Fire Nation trees as Aang rides the air scooter beneath him through the forest. "You'll never catch up with me Kuzon!" he shouts over his shoulder.
Kuzon glares and pinches the side of the ostrich with his heels. "C'mon girl! We can't lose to a bald kid!"
Aang laughs and sticks his tongue out in determination. His air scooter takes on a burst of speed and he hears Kuzon's ostrich run faster over the dusty ground. But it's too late for him. Aang has emerged from the forest into the expansive hills of long grass. He has won the race out of the forest.
"Ha ha!" he shouts, jumping off the scooter into the air, hovering. He sticks his tongue out at the slightly older boy who emerges from the forest. "Too late Kuzon!"
The boy glares. "It's no fair. You airbenders are too fast."
Aang takes on a mockingly thoughtful pose. "Why yes, I do believe we're fast."
Kuzon's glare turns into a grin. "Now come on down. My mom's gonna kill me if we don't get back in time for tea."
x
The ostrich's feet pad quietly and rhythmically against the soft dirt road. Wind blows across the fields of Kuzon's huge property. The older boy's long hair, held in a ponytail, blows softly backwards. Aang likes how he and Kuzon can play games and chase like he and Bumi can, but the two can just sit in silence like he can with Gyatso.
"So," Kuzon says to the boy walking beside him, "how you taking this Avatar business?"
Aang bites his lip. He wished his friend hadn't said anything. "I don't know. I'm worried about it."
Kuzon raises his eyebrows. "Worried? About what? You get to have all kinds of fun." He lets go of the reins and punches the air. "I wish I could airbend."
"It's not just fun!" Aang says more loudly than he means to.
Kuzon blinks, surprise ringing in his eyes. The ostrich tosses its head and stops.
Aang looks at the dirt around his shoes forlornly. The two friends are silent.
"Sorry." Aang takes the reins and pulls gently. The ostrich starts to walk again.
"Aang," Kuzon says gently.
Aang flinches inwardly, and he suddenly becomes interested in a cloud on the horizon. He hears Kuzon sigh behind him. "I know when something is bothering you, Aang."
"I'm worried I'll never have fun again, okay? I know it's selfish and all that, but – but its how I feel!" Aang blurts out, turning and glaring at the Fire Nation boy. The ostrich stops again.
Kuzon is surprised, but he smiles. "Aang, of course you'll have fun." He slips off the back of the ostrich and takes the reins from Aang's hands. "You wanna know why?"
Aang glances desperately up at him. "Why?"
Kuzon can't help but grin. "'Cause when the time comes, I'll teach you firebending."
Aang stares in shocked silence, and misses Kuzon starting to walk away with his ostrich. He jogs lightly to catch up with him. "Are you serious?" His voice betrays his intent to not sound too excited.
Kuzon grins. "'Course."
Aang can't help but smile, and a little hope glints into his dejected heart.
Then why, why, why did his dream have to ruin the happy memory with Kuzon's screams of pain?
Why, two, maybe three seconds, after the gloriously golden memory does Kuzon's face become engulfed in flame?
Why does the left side of his face suddenly become raw and red and hard? And why is he suddenly staring into Prince Zuko's eyes?
x
Aang always wakes up gasping from this dream. He pants, sucks in the air that bends to his will in his huge lungs. Eventually, he settles back down, but before he closes his eyes, he always marvels at how similar Zuko and Kuzon's names are.
AN. Dumped because this was originally supposed to be a series of Aang's dreams. That little intro at the beginning was a prologue, but then I realized I didn't really know what other dreams I could write about.
This is no doubt my favourite scrap so far. I love the Zuko/Kuzon reincarnation theory, because, well... I like to put this way: Friendship is my slash. And the Blue Spirit was the first episode I really saw of this show, so I've been hooked on Zuko/Aang friendship before I was hooked on Taang, my OTP. So when I heard that Kuzon is going to have an important role is S3, you bet I was gleeing. (/rant)
Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think!