Bad Word

"My lady, thank you for coming," the headmaster said calmly, standing and bowing deeply before motioning to the unfilled chair across from him. In the other sat an irritated-looking Sifu, and on a small couch along the wall sat six year-old Lu Ten, hands buried in his lap, eyes glued to the floor.

Suki frowned—she'd been expecting yet another instance of Iroh being sent to the office. For Lu Ten to be in trouble was nearly unheard of. Ignoring the headmaster, Suki went and sat beside her son, noticing the dampness in his cheeks, the quaking in his arms as he sniffled.

"Lu Ten, what's wrong?" she asked quietly, wrapping an arm around him.

He only pursed his lips, shaking his head. He continued to tremble, clearly fighting back tears as he pushed his fisted hands further between his legs.

Suki's frown deepened as she looked up at the adults. "Can you please explain to me what's going on?"

"My apologies, Fire Lady," the headmaster began, "but your son is here because he said something inappropriate—"

"Inappropriate?" the teacher scoffed, turning around in her seat and scowling at the boy. "More like vile. We do not tolerate such language at this esteemed academy, especially from a prince of the Fire Nation."

Suki furrowed her brows. Lu Ten, of all children, certainly didn't know any terms that could deserve such ridicule. Perhaps he heard it from his classmates, and didn't know what it meant? she wondered. "Well, what did he say?" she asked plainly.

The woman's mouth fell open, looking affronted. "I cannot repeat it," she said, nose in the air as she turned away.

"Well…can you think of any synonyms?" Suki asked irritably.

The teacher huffed, pursing her lips before going on. "It's…a man part," she whispered almost inaudibly.

Suki raised a brow. "Penis?" she asked in disbelief.

The woman gasped, unable to respond in her horror. The headmaster was staring pointedly in his lap, cheeks bright red.

Ignoring them, Suki looked back down at her son. Hands pushed into his lap, eyes filling with fresh tears, she finally made the connection. "Sweetheart…does it hurt?" she asked anxiously.

He glanced up at the teacher nervously before his eyes slid back to his lap. He nodded quietly.

Fury burning in her chest, Suki looked back sharply at the others. "Sifu Masa, did my son tell you he was in pain, and you did nothing but punish him for it?"

The woman's eyes grew wide. "My—my lady, we simply c-cannot tolerate language such as—"

"What else do you want him to call it?!" Suki snapped. "If I'm not mistaken, that is its anatomical name. And I can certainly think of several cruder terms which he might have selected to use in its place."

Sifu Masa's eye was now twitching, looking extremely uncomfortable as Suki picked up Lu Ten and moved towards the door.

"I'm taking my son to a healer. He'll be missing school for the rest of the week," Suki said firmly, not bothering for their response as she swept out the door in righteous anger.


"Zuko, please stop laughing. The poor kid has a UTI*, after all."

For the umpteenth time that evening, Zuko made a half-hearted effort to quell his chuckling, though the amusement in his eyes never faded. "I'm sorry—I do feel bad for the little guy. But I just—I just can't stop imagining Sifu Masa's face when you said—" He couldn't finish as he burst out laughing again, propping himself against the tall bedframe.

"Penis?"

Zuko nearly snorted. "You're probably the first Fire Lady in history to say that out loud," he said, eyes now wet with amusement as he slipped under the covers.

"That's what it's called!" she cried, falling irritably onto the mattress. "A child should have every right to use correct anatomical language to describe their symptoms. I don't care what's 'acceptable'—my children are going to have a proper health education whether Sifu Masa likes it or not!"

He rolled over, laughs quieting down as he grinned at her. "I love when you get like this. You're usually so easy-going about things—it's kind of fun to see you angry at someone." He stopped, eyes brightening. "Like a mama armadillo bear in action."

Suki couldn't stop the corner of her mouth from twitching up at that. "Well…maybe I am."

[end]

*UTI = urinary tract infection. Not uncommon in kids, but sure not fun. Poor Lu Ten.


A/N - For the lovely guest who requested it, I've updated my profile with my current projects if you're interested!