Story Title: Save me
Chapter: 03
Author: Moor (or 'beyondthemoor' from LJ)
Length: approx. 1300 words
Genre: Humour/General/Romance
Rating: I'll say PG-13 to T
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Summary: After taking his leave of Azula, Zuko sets out on his own to find his mother. The reunion is short-lived as Katara and Toph track him down in turn, and ask for his help in rescuing Iroh. However, no one is prepared when Ursa takes charge…
Disclaimer: I have no ownership of "Avatar".

EARTH KINGDOM

"I just don't think it's a good idea!" insisted Sokka to his sister, observing the pair of fire benders with a hesitant, skeptical eye.

Katara, Toph, Ursa, and a reluctant Zuko had returned to the clearing to meet up with him, Kuei, Aang, and their respective Animal Kingdom comrades.

"Sokka, it's going to be fine – better than fine! Now we have someone with us that Zuko has to listen to! Did you ever think of that?"

Obviously, he hadn't. A light of recognition flickered on in the water tribesman's eyes, and a new era of opportunity dawned on him. A slow smile spread across his face.

"Sokka, I don't like that look…" warned Katara darkly, knowing he was brewing something awful behind his expression.

"Welcome to Team Avatar!" cheered Sokka warmly as he ran over to Ursa and threw his arms around the stately woman.

"Oh, uh, hello there…" Katara heard Ursa reply; the former Fire Lady sounded surprised at the force of his embrace.

"Ugh," Katara face-palmed herself as frustration and embarrassment warred within herself for dominance.

In the near-distance, Katara was sure she heard growling; a quick glance at the pets confirmed it was not one of them; a quick glance in the other direction, however, confirmed it was the ex-pat prince.

(Later on; passing through a village to get supplies...)

"Now, does anyone need anything else before we leave?" asked Ursa as she surveyed the list and the pile of acquired parcels. Having an actual adult with them, and a parent at that, had sped up their usual procurement run exponentially. Even their potty-break had been more organized.

They all shook their heads, and answered to the negative with "no ma'am", "nu-uh", and "did we get enough snacks?"

She glanced up from the list to look over the rag-tag group in case she was missing something in their body language… And then realized they truly did look like a rag-tag group: Their clothes were patched, worn, and re-patched over the patches; their shoes (for those who wore them) were in desperate need of re-soling; and everyone looked like they'd grown at least a few sizes since their last trip to the tailor. Zuko's attire stood out as the best of the bunch, but even his traveling cloak had seen better days by now.

Eyebrows dipping together pensively, Ursa did a quick tally in her head of their current funds before nodding to herself.

"Yes, there should be enough," she mumbled to no one in particular.

"Uh… Mrs… Um… Zuko's mom? Did we forget anything?" asked Aang, unsure if she was addressing him.

"Yes. Where's the nearest clothing shop?"

"Two streets, take a left, third store on the right," replied Katara instantly. There was a glow in her lovely blue eyes.

Sokka and Zuko looked at her in surprise, then with suspicion.

"What?" She shrugged off their speculative glares. "They were having a sale, I just took a quick peek—."

"Lead the way, Katara," smiled Ursa, interrupting the young woman's defensive apology.

"Ok…"

(some time later still...)

"I guess it was a good idea to get some Fire Nation-style clothes now, so we can blend in easier when we get there," said Aang, eyeing his new outfit. "How does it look?"

"Like you've got a 'Go Ozai!' cheer ready and you're willing to use it," retorted Sokka. He preferred his old blue robes, but Ursa had confiscated them. He wasn't adapting well to the red. He really did like his new matching belt, shoes, and bag, though.

Toph, meanwhile, couldn't care less – as long as she had a headband to keep her hair out of her eyes, she was good to go and didn't give a flying cabbage what colour it was. She had accepted the shoes Ursa had offered as a gesture of goodwill, but stuffed them in Aang's bag while no one was looking. She didn't want to hurt Ursa's feelings. She really wanted to keep their latest female companion around, actually. Watching her torture Zuko was better entertainment than anything she could pay for.

"Zuko, honey, how does the underwear fit? Do you need a bigger pair?"

"It's fine, mom," the prince's good manners didn't conceal his gut-wrenching desire to chew glass, and it was obvious he was speaking through teeth clenched very, very hard.

"Are you sure? Do you need a smaller pair? I'm just guessing by what your father used to wear, and--."

"I don't need any more clothes. We're done. Let's go." He paused, amended. "Please."

"Ok, but I just want you to try on these trousers, and let me see you in this shirt…"

The teenager was forced to endure a few more rounds of 'try it on and let me see it first' fun (for the rest of the Aang Gang), much to Toph and Sokka's amusement. Katara held her head in sympathy for both Zuko and his mother. (She had decided to interpret the surprise shopping spree as a gift from the gods, not a criticism on her resourceful mending skills.) She could only imagine how awkward this was for both Zuko and Ursa. Well, maybe more the former than the latter. Aang had gotten bored and wandered off.

In the meantime, Kuei was choosing a new hat for Bosco a few aisles away. "This one would look nice on you," she heard the Earth King say to his favourite pet. Bosco growled positively, and Kuei took the hat down from the shelf to put it in their creaking shopping cart. It looked like it needed to be reinforced, and bulged at the sides.

Cringing, Katara turned her attention back to the mother-and-son fashion parade from Hell. Awkward, yes, but she begrudgingly admitted it was pretty funny to see Zuko, prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne, being treated like an incompetent child.

Suddenly, there was a faint cracking noise from the change room, a stifled hiss of pain, and then silence.

"Katara," Ursa's kind, smiling face peeked around the corner to the rest of the group as they sat in the waiting area (said group trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face), "would you mind coming to help? I think Zuko just cracked a tooth."

Nodding and heaving a small sigh, the water bender uncorked her canteen and went to evaluate the patient.

"Pay up, Toph," gloated Sokka, raising his hand. Toph batted it away.

"It's not over 'til Katara gives the verdict, money-bags."

(that night, flying towards the Fire Nation...)

"You were so right about this bag, Sokka, it is really nice."

Sokka grumbled something bitter under his breath as Toph baited and teased him, eating the snacks he'd tucked away in his bag for himself--she'd gotten custody at the time of the bag-exchange; Kuei, Aang and Ursa discussed polite subjects like the best way to infiltrate heavily-guarded Fire Nation palaces; and Katara continued healing Zuko's jaw and providing him with ice packs for the pain of his multiple cracked teeth.

"How's the left side feeling?" she inquired compassionately. She could tell he was in pain.

He glared at her as if it was all her fault.

"Ok, I'll take that as a 'still not better yet'," she answered her own question, and dipped her hand into some fresh water to carry back to his injured face again. His gold eyes stared off into the distance, avoiding her.

"Hey Zuko, you want any nuts?" asked Toph brightly.

He glared at her as if it was all her fault.

"Oops, sorry, that was really inconsiderate of me, wasn't it?" the earthbender's voice sounded almost penitent. Until she laughed out loud, tossed some nuts into the air and caught them in her mouth, spitting the shells off the side of Appa's litter a crunch-crunch later.

Katara heard snarling. She didn't bother looking to see if it was the animals this time…

AN: Been wanting to write that underpants scene for a while... XD Hope you liked this one, thanks for reading!