Zuko isn't entirely sure how to find Katara again, he realizes. Luckily, he doesn't need to.
The next day, she appears at the teashop they'd parted ways in front of, and he stalls mid sentence as he sees her enter. He hardly recognizes her. She's not dressed in nearly as much finery, wearing the simpler blue toned garb of any Water Tribe member. Whites and blues on sturdy, unglamorous fabric. The ever present canteen at her hip. Her hair has been freed of its braids, but it is still pinned back on the sides to keep the wild mass of it out of her face, two looped strands hanging on either side. He prefers this on her, she looks more comfortable and at home. Her gate is smoother, freed of the weights of excess.
"Zuko!" She calls across the shop, and Iroh turns from the table he'd been bussing to face her. He looks back to Zuko with a knowing look. Zuko rolls his eyes, coming around the counter to see her.
"What are you doing here?" He asks, realizing it's a bit too confrontational after her brows pinch in concern. Befriend them, he reminds himself. If only he knew how.
"Well, we were just passing by, and I thought I'd see if you changed your mind about hanging out with us." She seems to have brushed the concern away, coming closer.
"We?" He questions, seeing the rest of what could only be called an entourage enter behind her. Sokka, Zuko realizes with an internal groan, is trailing her. He too is dressed much less formally, far less furs and silver, but that damned sword is still present at his hip. A girl he'd only seen once, an earthbender that Ozai had quarreled with before getting captured, is behind him. Her face is impassive, unimpressed by the shop's elegance as she slumps heavily into an unoccupied chair. And finally, the Avatar himself.
Zuko had spoken to him infrequently, but they had seen each other often at the Ball. And still, he is humbled by his presence. Beyond that, knowing what he intends to do, it is difficult for Zuko to meet the boy's eyes. He focuses on Katara instead.
"Aw, man, we came all the way over here for him?" Sokka groans, settling into a seat beside the earthbender. Katara pays him no mind.
"I had fun yesterday." She says once she gets closer, out of Sokka's earshot, "I think we could all use a little bit of that."
"Not that kind of fun, right? I'm not taking you back to the Lower Ring after your heroics." He counters. She huffs, crossing her arms defensively.
"No, it would just be here. You're not busy, right?" Oh, how Zuko wants to be busy. He knows he'd made a promise to his father, but the more he concentrated on the idea of it, the more nerves chewed at his gut. He was no savant at making friends to begin with. Now he was expected to not only make friends, but to do so knowing there was an ulterior motive?
It's for your family.
And it was. He didn't care much for the crown, or the throne, or anything of that nature. What he cared about was the safety of his mother and sister. There wasn't anything more safe than being guarded in a palace, having more riches than they could ever hope to spend. He saw how the Earth King lived, that kind of comfort and opulence. He desperately wanted that for his family. He would do anything for it—for them.
So he would figure it out.
"No, I'm not." He doesn't even have to ask. Iroh is practically waving him out the door, that smile never leaving his face. He stiffly follows Katara out, and the rest of the group follows. Once they're outside, there's an awkward pause. No one quite knows what to say to him.
"So, you're a firebender, huh?" The earthbender speaks first. Zuko's blood runs cold.
"What? How did you—"
"Sokka!" Katara yells, shoving her brother, "You told her?!"
"It was an accident! I didn't mean to!" He defends, raising his hands. Zuko backs away from them, fear making him pale. A waterbender, earthbender, and the actual Avatar knew he was a firebender. He wasn't confident he could win a fight with one of them, let alone all of them. He's tempted to run, but he's not even sure where he'd go. They knew where to find him.
"Hey, don't be afraid, it's ok." Aang says as he notices Zuko's palpable fear, "We're not going to turn you in, or fight you or anything. I've been trying to get those firebending bans lifted. They aren't fair." He radiates honesty. He's not even sure if the boy was capable of lying. Everything about him just demands the response of trust. Zuko relaxes slightly, still unsure.
"You are? Even after…" He wasn't sure how much the airbender knew, so he pauses, "That firebender attacked you?"
"Yeah. He had his reasons. But he didn't attack me just because he's a firebender. I've known plenty of firebenders, and I know they have just as many good and bad people as everybody else." He pauses, thinking back to that night as he idly taps his staff on the ground, "He's your father, right?" Everyone's gaze is on him in an instant.
Oh. Right. This was going horribly.
"Ah—what makes you say that?"
"He called you son. And you also said something about your mom…and then him leaving or…" Zuko is scrambling to figure out what to say. He hadn't remembered that exchange the Avatar had witnessed. That complicated this.
"Your dad is the assassin?" Sokka waves to the wanted posted hung proudly across the street, Ozai's face depicted in plain ink, "Fire Prince Ozai? That's your dad? I told you he was bad news! He could be working with him right now!" He goes to pull his sword again, but Katara is quick to wrestle his hands away from it. Perhaps he wouldn't even get the chance to execute his father's plan. Perhaps it was unraveling in the very beginning. Zuko can't even get the words out past the lump in his throat.
"They weren't exactly on good terms when I saw them, Sokka. I don't think they'd be working together." Aang looks back to him, "Right?" It's almost too good to be true, to have them so close to the truth and actively deny it.
"I don't even know him. He disappeared when I was a kid and then just came back out of nowhere." Not a lie, he decides. He really didn't think himself a talented liar. Hopefully he could get by on half truths.
"And we're supposed to just believe him?" Sokka demands. His hand hasn't left the hilt of his sword, and Zuko is growing more tired of his opposition by the second.
"He's not lying. I can feel it." The earthbender mumbles. Zuko looks to her inquisitively, but her dark bangs continue to shield the majority of her face from him.
"How do you know that?" Zuko asks.
"I'm his earthbending teacher." She jerks a thumb over her shoulder at Aang, "So I'm kind of the best earthbender ever. And the same way I can see you right now is how I can tell if you're lying. You're scared, so your heart rate is pretty fast, but it's not the same as if you were lying."
"Earthbenders can do that?"
"The good ones can. So Aang can't. Yet."
"Hey!" Aang chides, "I'm getting better at it."
"Yeah, yeah—think fast!" A small chunk of stone rips out of the ground and flies at Aang as the earthbender shifts into a form flawlessly. It slams into Aang's stomach, sending him skidding backwards. He huffs, rubbing his stomach sorely.
"This is…normal for them?" Zuko asks Katara, and she nods. The two of them devolve into a discussion about earthbending that goes far over his head. He simply follows them, hands shoved deep in his pockets. His fingernails bite into his sweaty skin, unable to contain his discomfort. They had a human lie detector with them. If he was going to say anything about Ozai or his family, he'd need to try to keep it as truthful as possible. And when that came to Ozai, that meant not talking about him at all. Everything about the man was a lie, as far as he knew. Even after all this time getting to know him again, he wasn't sure he even knew much about him.
"Zuko!" He very nearly steps in front of a carriage, Katara pulling him back at the last minute. He blinks, broken from his deep thought. He was brooding, and he tended to lose touch with reality when he did that.
"Sorry, sorry." He says as the group eyes him curiously. He was off to a horrible start. So far he'd basically just shown his ignorance and revealed that his father was the ex-Prince assassin. What did friends do? What did they talk about? Why didn't he know any of this stuff?
"Are you okay?" Katara asks him softly as they continue on, the carriage long passed. He shrugs, shoulders stiff.
"Just a little off today, I guess. I didn't think you'd be back so soon." He pauses to see the concern on her face take on a twinge of displeasure, and he quickly continues, "Not—not that I didn't want to see you! Just didn't sleep well, is all." The earthbender glances back at him. Zuko tenses, remembering. Right. No lies. She was still testing him, it seemed, which he supposed was fair enough.
"I'm only here for a couple more weeks while my Dad does some business." She touches his shoulder, eyes soft and voice low, "When I told you my Dad had helped killed the Fire Lord, and you got upset, I didn't…I didn't think it could've been your grandfather I was talking about. I'm sorry. I had no idea—" Zuko stops her, shaking his head.
"Don't be. I didn't know him. I was only two when the Revolt happened. I mean…it probably would've been nice to not have my family overthrown, but…" Zuko pauses at Sokka's drawn out sigh. He spins around to be walking backwards, his eyes on Zuko.
"That's the same family that started a war that went on for almost a hundred years, almost wiped out the Southern Water Tribe, and also killed all the Air Nomads. You guys were asking for it. Just saying." Anger flares to life in Zuko, his fists clenching in his pockets. His mother hadn't asked for it. Azula hadn't. He hadn't. They hadn't asked to have everything ripped from them, turned out onto the world with nowhere to go and nothing to their name beyond a warrant.
"You have no idea what you're talking about." He growls out.
"Don't I?" He's so smug, it takes everything within him not to show him firebending at work, "I've read all about what your family did. You might have Katara fooled but you can't fool me. I know all your firebender tricks."
"My family didn't do anything!" He says, the words exploding out of him in a rage. The group stops, stunned, "Do you have any idea what we went through because of what your father did? What my mom had to do to survive and provide for us? Do you even care?!" Zuko storms forward, reveling in Sokka's shocked expression as he gets in close.
"I—"
"No, I'm talking." Zuko interrupts, teeth grit and fist clenching in the other boy's tunic, "We've struggled for fifteen years just get by. Can you even imagine what that was like? You get to go to your fancy parties, and have your big, shiny swords, and talk down to people like me because you have no idea what you're talking about, and you're so stuck in what you think is true, you're not bothering to learn anything else. And if you don't watch your mouth around me, I'm going to teach you. Painfully."
Dead silence. Anyone passing by stares before scurrying on. Zuko releases Sokka's tunic with a huff, backing away.
"Oh, man!" The earthbender laughs, "I like him!"
Zuko isn't particularly interested in looking at anyone at the moment, embarrassed by his lapse of control. But he catches Aang's gaze for just a moment, seeing the wheels turning behind concerned eyes. A ball set in motion, however unintentional, was progress. Perhaps this wasn't a lost cause after all.
Ozai gasps as he lifts his head from the ornate vase, chest heaving and head spinning. His tongue is bitter with bile, and he sets the vase aside. He grabs the cloth napkin nearby to wipe at his mouth and chin.
Iroh stares, open mouthed.
"As you were saying." Ozai says, his throat rough. He takes a sip of the tea before him to soothe it.
"You are not well, brother." Iroh frowns, "Perhaps we should continue this another time."
"Nonsense." He responds, trying to keep his composure despite the ringing in his ears. He was deteriorating, still. The exhaustion and nausea had become more persistent and invasive. He felt starved, but any meal he attempted to eat ended up being rejected, no matter how much tea he tried to subdue his stomach with.
"If you're so insistent on having this conversation, it must be important, then." Iroh says between bites. Ozai envies the ability to do so. He rubs his face to try and focus his scattered thoughts. Why had he ordered Iroh to meet with him over lunch, again?
"Yes, it is of…upmost importance." He says weakly. He clears his throat again before continuing, "Where did you get that Fire Nation Royal Tapestry in your room?" Iroh blinks, his chopsticks meeting the table in thought.
"That is all you wanted to know? That seems unimportant, as far as your standards go."
"Answer me."
"I purchased it through an underground resistance connection." He continues eating, the words and tone blasé. Ozai sits up straighter, his pain pushed aside momentarily by intrigue.
"What?"
"I have not been idle all these years, you know." Iroh says with a small smirk, and through his wrinkles he can see glimpses of the ambitious brother he had once known, "I have sought to bring justice to our people for many years. I am glad the war ended, and the violence has finally ceased, but that does not mean I agree with what has been done to the Fire Nation, or the firebenders. It is an injustice."
What a rare day. He finds himself finally, after all these years, on the same page as his brother. Ozai can hardly find words, astonished as he is.
"And you've made connection with loyalists?"
"They found me first. It was through their connections that I was granted an opportunity to succeed here. If we had still been in contact, perhaps I could have arranged a meeting for you." Iroh shrugs, sipping his tea with that pointed edge to his gaze that made Ozai's hackles raise, "But you were busy assassinating anyone who was helping our cause."
"I didn't know that's what I was doing—"
"Because you don't think ahead!" Iroh exclaims, pinching the bridge of his nose. It's a gesture Ozai had invoked many times, "Even when you were a child, all you did was act without thinking. I had hoped you would have grown out of that, at some point, but I am embarrassed to see you have not."
"It's better than not acting at all!" Ozai yells back, hands slamming down onto the table in a way that makes the porcelain clatter, "You spend so much time thinking and ruminating that you never act! It's why you were a failure as a General, and why we didn't take Ba Sing Se in the first place. This city should be ours!"
"It's not, Ozai." He doesn't respond to his brother's harsh words with nearly as much vigor, picking up his chopsticks again, "You need to accept the reality in which we live. Once you come to terms with it, and find your peace in it, you can move forward and create a future you will be happy with. It is how I succeeded. I believe you can do that too, some day."
"You are a fool. A weak, sentimental fool, like you've always been." Ozai growls out, aggravated by his brother's platitudes, "Why you were father's favorite, I'll never know." Iroh frowns, pausing with his chopsticks hovering above his plate.
"Father cared for both of us—" Ozai interrupts him with a bitter laugh.
"Oh, please. I was nothing to him. An afterthought. I could never do anything to please him. But you—" A long buried wound, festering and weeping is brought to the surface, and Ozai is concerned to find the real pain in his chest as he recalls, "You could do no wrong. How he adored you. How I despised you for it."
"Ozai…you can't believe that, truly. Our father was…perhaps too harsh with you, but I never believed he didn't care for you." The things Iroh hadn't seen. The words that had latched into his mind and stayed there, the degradation and humiliation, the reminders of not being enough, a constant pestering thorn that had driven him to desperation in his bids to have his father's approval. How badly he'd wanted to be Iroh, in those days. If only to have his father look at him with that kind of pride.
He was dead now, a rotted pile of festering bones buried under the rubble of the palace. It was what the crone deserved. He hopes his spirit is being tormented, ripped to shreds and stitched together again only to have the cycle repeated, in whatever pit of the spirit world it had ended up in.
"You were misinformed, then." Ozai says with deceptive coolness, "This is besides the matter. I want to know more about your connection."
"I'm sure you would." Iroh answers, standing and collecting his dishes, "You should rest. You look horrible."
"Such kind words, brother." Iroh is gone quickly, leaving Ozai alone with his thoughts. He wishes he could linger on them, but an ache pounds behind his eyes. He rubs his temples, trying to clear his head long enough to think. Thankfully, he doesn't have to. The door swings open, and he turns to look. He's glad to see her, taking this opportunity to get multiple important talks out of the way in one sitting.
Azula's grumbling something to herself, ripping the apron off and tossing it onto the couch as she walks by. Unusual of her to want to assist Iroh in the teashop. She doesn't even stop to notice him, hand already on her door when he interrupts her.
"Azula." He calls, waving her over with a quick motion of his hand. He'd been meaning to speak with her, but had yet to find the chance. She was so difficult to catch, constantly coming and going of her own volition. Ursa had voiced her complaints on that, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears with the girl.
"What do you want?" She asks, immediately suspicious as she comes closer. She steals an untouched tempura vegetable off his plate.
"I've been meaning to ask a favor of you." He begins, nodding to Iroh's vacated seat. She settles on the edge of the table instead, arms crossed and brows arched with intrigue. He wishes he was in a better headspace for manipulation, but this would have to do.
"I don't owe you a favor." She says simply, swallowing the last bite of stolen tempura.
"I assisted you in your firebending, that would warrant payment, normally."
"Yes, but then I helped break you out of jail." She's quick witted, sharp and too the point in all things. What a Princess she would make, "Call us even."
"Humor me, then, Azula." He answers, in no mood for debate, "I have tasked your brother with something very important, but I do not expect him to be honest with me about the progress of it. I fully expect him to lie to me about it, or at least hide his failures, and that's what I need you for."
She seems interested, at least. He continues on.
"I have asked him to befriend the Avatar and the Southern Water Tribe Chief's daughter—"
"That's not going to go well." Azula snorts, taking another piece off his plate.
"—in the hopes of convincing them of our family's claim to the throne. Having the Avatar, and even possibly the Water Tribe, working with us could be invaluable. If all goes well, and your brother doesn't mess this up, you would be given your birthright as Princess of the Fire Nation." He pauses to look for any reluctance, any hint of concern or hesitation. She's in thought, but he sees no worry there.
"Princess Azula does have a nice ring to it." He smiles in response, relaxing into his chair. Perhaps this would be easier than he thought. He wasn't needing to do much manipulating with her at all.
"My thoughts exactly. And if you wish to ensure that you are given the title you deserve, you will do as I say." She sighs, propping her chin on her hand.
"You take a really long time to get to the point." Ozai pauses to send her a weak glare.
"Get Zuko to be truthful with you. I will come to you periodically to compare what he has told me, and what he's told you. And when you can, try to integrate yourself into their meetings so you can further our goal. But keep my involvement in your interest secret. Don't let Zuko know of it, or he won't be honest with you either." She only needs to consider it for a moment before she nods. He realizes then how closely their ambitions align, and feels a sense of pride in his daughter. She would be invaluable in the future, if she continued this way. An asset to both himself and their nation.
"Alright. I'll spy on him. But I want something out of it." She picks up his plate entirely, settling it on her lap and picking through it as she speaks.
"And what is that?" Ozai inquires, amused. She glances up at him, her gaze calculated.
"When we get our power back, I want to be next in line for the throne. I want to be Crown Princess." That takes him by surprise. He chokes out an astonished laugh, shaking his head. Truly, she was his blood.
"A Crown Princess? Never in the history of the Fire Nation has there been a female Fire Lord. Besides, it's Zuko's birthright as my first born." She doesn't take well to that, glaring and setting the plate aside, "But I suppose I could allow you to duel him for the right. As Fire Lord it is within my right to declare an Agni Kai between the two of you once you are both of age. Whoever won would have claim to the throne with my blessing."
"Agni Kai?" She questions, momentarily distracted from her demands.
"A firebending duel. It is a longstanding tradition in the Fire Nation. It's been used to settle all manner of disputes since the very beginning of our people. No one can challenge the results of an Agni Kai, so if you were to defeat Zuko—"
"Define defeat."
"Well, that depends. I always considered a decisive victory be one where the loser is killed or horrifically burned, if I'm being generous, but there are some who consider a knockout or plea for mercy a defeat." He shrugs, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on the table, thinking back to his own experiences. He'd never ended an Agni Kai without some kind of bloodshed. That was nearly the entire point for him.
"I wouldn't hurt Zuko." She says firmly. He shrugs.
"Then I cannot promise you your place as my successor. Bypassing Zuko's birthright would most likely upset my loyalists, as many are also traditionalists. I'm sure they'd rather Iroh be on the throne anyway. We can only upset the natural order so much. We'll need their support once we are given our power." They lock eyes, but he refuses to bend. She was bold, he'd give her that, but she knew nothing of the politics he was contending with. Such an upset wouldn't bode well in their current situation. She grits her teeth, turning to look away.
"Alright, fine. We can put that aside, for now. But you'll still owe me." She insists. He nods in response, understanding. It was frugal of her to never do anything without the promise of payment of some kind, whether that be in coin or favor. He would encourage that.
"You have my word that I will honor that, daughter." And with an emptied plate, she hops off the table and heads into her room. Ozai is left alone again, and he sits back heavily, deep in thought now that the ache has slightly subsided. He had many things to consider, many silk strings tying together into an intricate web that he had to handle with delicate care. Every member of his family—his son, daughter, wife, brother—were all interconnecting parts. He had set his children into the proper order, and even started to connect his brother into the slot he was meant to be in. His wife was slowly, if unknowingly, bowing to his influence once again. Everything was coming together nicely.
When he goes to stand, he staggers, gripping the edge of the table for support.
Almost everything, at least.
"You were kind of taunting him, Sokka." Aang says with a huff, the breath leaving him as he slumps into the overstuffed sofa. His accommodations were the most overbearingly opulent of them all, no comfort or expense spared. Beautifully gilded and engraved decorations, plush furniture, high ceilings and ornate lanterns casting a homey glow across delicately swirled marble floors. It was all too much. A gaudy and overwhelming display. Katara had agreed, but Sokka and Toph seemed to bask in the comforts of it, most of the time.
Currently, the Water Tribe boy was pacing the space between the furniture. Aang sat on one, Toph laid sprawled out on another, and Katara was watching him from her perch on one of the less obnoxiously decorated chairs.
"Taunting him?! I was not!" Sokka denies with a wild flail of his arms before they're stubbornly crossed over his chest, "Besides, he threatened me! Just like I knew he would!"
"I've given you worse threats, Sokka." Katara sighs.
"Me too." Toph chimes in, stretching out languidly on her dedicated cushion.
"Yeah, I know, but you guys aren't…"
"What, Sokka?" Katara's eyes narrow. Sokka pauses, looking anywhere but her. He rubs his neck, mumbling out half-explanations, trying to pull back from where his sentence had clearly been going.
"A firebender. Is that what you were going to say?" Katara finishes for him.
"Okay, yeah, it's because he's a firebender. But that's not unfair for me to say, Katara, firebenders killed Mom. Are you forgetting that?" He insists, and Katara's shoulders slump slightly as she looks to the floor.
"They killed everyone I ever knew, Sokka." Aang says quietly, drawing his attention away from his sister, "But it's still not right to judge him because of it. We're no better than they were if we do that. I think he just wants to be friends with us."
"But how can we know that?" Sokka counters, settling into a chair of his own. They're gathered in a wide semicircle, the fireplace in its center crackling loudly.
"Because I told you he wasn't lying." Toph reminds him, rolling onto her stomach to stare in his direction, "We asked him if he was working with his Dad, and he said he wasn't. Wasn't a lie. He doesn't even know where his Dad is. End of story. Now can we stop talking about him? You're just mad because he got in your face and you choked."
"Wha—I did not choke! I was—I was making a tactical decision to not engage!"
"Choked." Toph repeats.
"You kind of choked." Katara mumbles, hiding a smile with a shift of her hair over her shoulder.
"A little." Aang says apologetically.
"Ugh!" Sokka cries, "Ok, maybe! So we're just completely letting our guard down around a firebender who could totally be some master liar working with the ex-Fire Prince who tried to kill Aang? That's what we're doing?"
"I think we should give him a chance. That's what we're doing." Aang decides.
"But why?"
"Other than him deserving a chance like everybody else?" Katara asks.
"I think it's important." Aang says, leaning back and fidgeting with the trim of his pants, legs crossed beneath him, "And I think it's what I'm here to do. The Fire Nation is one of the four nations I'm supposed to be keeping in balance. From what I've seen, nothing about this is balanced. Getting to know someone like Zuko could help me figure out how to balance everything out again."
"You're not saying—" Sokka starts, and Aang quickly shakes his head negatively.
"No, I'm not talking about undoing what the Revolt did, I'm just…I don't know." Aang huffs, head tilting back as he tries to put his thoughts into words, "Knowing a firebender will help me at least work out the situation in Ba Sing Se. We'll start there. I haven't even been to the Fire Nation yet. Maybe it's fine without a royal family, and they don't need my help. But they definitely do here."
"And we'll be right here with you." Katara affirms, "Just ignore Sokka."
The two quickly get in a fight of thrown pillows, and Toph is quick to get up and referee. Aang settles back, pensively watching the space above them as thoughts distract him from what he would normally gladly join in on. He knew he was the Avatar, and it was his duty to keep the world balanced. He was the uniting force of all four elements, and suppressing fire was inherently against what it meant to be an Avatar. It wasn't right, that he knew, and he would fight to get the rights of those born with that gift returned to them.
But what then? After his stay in Ba Sing Se, he would travel to the Fire Nation. He would see the changes the Revolt and being without a royal family had brought to them, and decide then if his help was needed. Perhaps, if he was lucky, they had prospered somehow, and Zuko's difficulties were unique because of his heritage. His job as an Avatar would be fulfilled, for the time being, and he could focus on mastering the elements.
How simple that sounded, when he put it like that.
Just go against over a decade of social order to change something nobody wants changed, fix an entire nation while also making sure they don't want to start a new war, and then maybe master the other three elements at some point. Easy.
Aang sighs, dragging a hand over his face.
Easy.
N/A: This chapter was just.
A lot of talking.
And I am sorry.
