Note: Hey. I am sorry I couldn't update in the last... month, probably. Honestly, the last two weeks had been kind of hectic. I had exams all throughout the week, and I don't know why I decided to write this story at such a busy year as my senior year, but I don't regret it. And the week before that, I was working on another story which required me to post a one-shot every day of the week, so that was kind of draining. Now that everything is over though, I can probably go back to updating once a week. And I am sorry that this chapter isn't really that action packed after such a long wait, but it felt like a necessary chapter to write. It is probably the longest chapter I've written, and I considered splitting it, but it didn't make sense to me to do it. So there you go, at least I am able to give you a two chapter long chapter after a month of no updates.
After that long ass note, because I apparently don't know how to shut up, let's get on with the story!
...
As soon as Sozin stepped foot into the palace, he was stopped by one of the guards. "The Fire Lord wishes to see you, Prince Sozin." The man spoke, and it was clear from his tone that the wish was actually a command. "He is in the throne room."
Sozin sighed, having a vague idea about what his father wanted to say. And it most certainly wasn't about his son's birthday. "Fine." He muttered as he walked towards the room behind the guard.
The room was empty besides the two guards, sunlight entering through the tall windows, dancing on the throne made of gold. The Fire Lord was sitting on top of it, a magnificent golden figure of a dragon behind him. He wasn't looking sick and bored as usual, there was a glint in his eyes. Sozin didn't like that at all.
"Father." Sozin bowed, his forehead touching the carpeted ground. One of the stupid rules his father had imposed on him in the last few months. If you can't be respectful, you will show it by bowing down like the rest of my subjects. It was degrading, to be treated like other people as the Prince, and his father knew it very well.
"The Fire Sages informed me about the identity of the Avatar." The Fire Lord said simply, without even congratulating his son's birthday.
Of course they did. Sozin knew that his father would have one or two things to say about this. "Yes, father." He said, lifting his head from the ground, still on his knees.
"Have you thought about how can you benefit from it?"
"No, father." The Prince kept his gaze on the ground, he didn't want to think about benefiting from his friend.
"Foolish child." The Fire Lord muttered under his breath. "Having the Avatar's support can open many doors, Sozin. With him by your side, no one will even think to doubt about the righteousness of your decisions, decisions that normally might not be as beneficial to them as they are to you. People's respect for the Avatar runs deeper than their respect and fear for any earthly ruler. Make sure that your friend is on your side. If the Avatar is with you, you can justify even the most heinous things." His voice sounded tired, but there was a hidden enthusiasm underneath, it was as if something buried deep inside him had been awakened, something sinister. "After years of friendship, he should not be too hard to manipulate."
With that Sozin lifted up his gaze to look at the Fire Lord. "Manipulate? Are you saying that I have to manipulate my best friend?! Forget it." He got up to his feet.
"Sit down." The Fire Lord commanded, his voice was a warning, but Sozin didn't obey. "I am not saying that you must. But it would be wise for you to, if you happen to disagree on... certain topics. But I guess, it is too much to ask, for you to be wise. If you were, you would not speak to me with that tone, son."
"I mean no disrespect, father." Sozin muttered, not bothering to hide the fact that he was clearly angry. "But it is none of your concern how I treat my friends. I am not going to use him!"
"Fine, then be ready to face the possible consequences! You will understand one day, Sozin, that friendships do not last a lifetime." He looked away from his son, hands clenched into fists on the arm rests of his throne. "Now get out of my sight before I do something I will regret!"
Like you could ever regret anything, Sozin thought, but did as he was told, walking towards the gates with irritated strides.
His father was fucking crazy. Did he really think that he would actually manipulate Roku? Of course he wouldn't. He understood what having the Avatar's support would mean, as well as his father did. But he didn't have to lie or trick his friend. He couldn't. Besides, he was sure that Roku would support his decisions no matter what. They would never be against each other. If their friendship were to end, which Sozin hoped it wouldn't, it would be because their duties and lives would get in the way and they would grow apart. It wouldn't be because one of them didn't support another's decision. They were always on the same side, right? Sozin shook his head. Of course we are. He cursed his father for even placing that small shred of doubt inside his mind.
Today has been crazy, he thought to himself as he made his way towards his room. He needed some time to digest everything that had happened today.
...
He didn't tell Roku what he talked about with his father, his friend had enough worries on his own already. He was due to leave in two weeks, and Sozin was barely able to see him anymore. It felt strange, not seeing someone he had seen almost everyday for the last ten years. But he had to get used to it.
Roku was spending most of his time training. They wanted him to try and master fire bending, before he left to learn all the other elements. It wasn't as fun as training with Sozin, his master was strict, and expected only perfection from the Avatar. He had to admit, the extensive training actually helped him to improve more than he ever had in the last few months. His flames were larger and brighter than they ever were, his forms more balanced and precise. Still, that didn't mean he looked forward to his firebending lessons everyday.
Finally, the day before Roku's departure from the Fire Nation to the Southern Air Temple, he was left free to do whatever he wanted. Saying goodbye to family and friends, taking care of some last minute arrangements, and most importantly, having some time to relax and do nothing at all.
His bittersweet feelings about leaving, quickly turned into sadness when the Fire Sages came in the morning and told Roku, who was packing up his stuff for the journey, that he required no earthly possessions.
He sighed, removing all the stuff he had packed from his bag, after the Sages left. He sat alone on his room, staring at the wall. He hadn't thought that he wouldn't be allowed to take his stuff with him. Nothing to remind him of his home, nothing to remind him of his family, while he would be away for... How long would he be away? Months? Years? How much would have been changed when he returned?
So lost in thought, he didn't notice Sozin standing in the doorway, observing him. The young Prince had come to visit and say goodbye to his friend before he left. The earlier the better, he had thought as he was hoping that way they would be able to spend the day together once last time, after weeks of being separate. He was expecting Roku to be feeling kind of down, what he wasn't expecting though, was him sitting on the bed and looking absolutely given up,
"Hey, why aren't you packed yet, all powerful Avatar?" He teased leaning against the door frame, a playful smile placed on his lips, which quickly disappeared when he saw how distraught Roku was actually looking.
"Come on! Show me how it's done using all four kinds of bending." He tried to cheer his friend up, jumping in front of the room and imitating some bending forms jokingly.
Roku didn't do so much as to smile, looking briefly at Sozin before he lowered his gaze once more. "I started packing, but then the Fire Sages told me that I won't need any worldly possessions anymore..."
"Oh." Sozin said simply, not knowing how else to respond. Roku was taking all of these pretty hard. He sat down next to him, as both of them struggled to say something to say. It was unsettling to see Roku this sad and quiet. Conversation used to come so easy, yet another thing to show how things had changed...
"It happened so fast. Everything's going to be so different now..." Roku muttered finally, as if confirming Sozin's fears.
It had been just over a month since Roku was announced to be the Avatar, and now he was leaving, for who knew how long. Everything had indeed happened so fast, and Roku couldn't help but wish he would wake up to see everything was the same as before. He would give anything to just go back to his old life, including and especially this new, and admittedly for some people very desirable, thing that to him was just a burden to carry on his shoulders. The weight of the world...
Though Sozin didn't fully understand the reason why Roku was so upset, he tried his best to sympathize with him. It was clear that Roku was upset to leave everything behind, and not just possessions, he knew that wasn't actually Roku cared about at all. It was the people he didnt want to leave. Even though it was just for some time. He wondered how he would have felt if he was the Avatar instead of Roku. Would he be sad like him? He really didn't think so. Think of all the power you would have... And the only person he would actually miss when he was away would be Roku. Who else did he have? His father? He hadn't been much of a father to him in the last few months, growing more distant each day.
He gathered his thoughts, right now wasn't the time to think about imaginary scenarios, his friend needed something to cheer him up, something to comfort him. What could Sozin give him that would remind Roku of his home back in the Fire Nation, when he would feel alone on his journey to become the master of all four elements?
With a sudden idea appearing inside his head, he instinctively reached for the headpiece that was neatly placed into his bun. He took it off, holding it out to Roku.
"I hope you are at least allowed to have this." The gold headpiece on his palm reflected the light that was shining into the room from the windows.
Roku looked at it for a moment, dumbfounded, then lifted his gaze back up to face his friend, trying to decipher if he was serious or not. He seemed genuine.
"But this is a royal artifact!" Roku protested finally, still not over the initial shock. "It is supposed to be worn by the Crown Prince." He was reluctant to take it, it was certainly more expensive than anything he owned, and it didn't belong to him. He had no right to wear a headpiece that belonged to the Royal Family.
"I want you to have it." Sozin insisted. "At least you won't forget me while you are away. Besides, I have dozens of other headpieces I can wear, I won't even notice that this one is gone." He decided to joke instead, trying to make him more comfortable about taking it. "Now take it before I change my mind." He chuckled quietly, as Roku finally reached for the headpiece, putting it in his hair, giving a genuine smile to Sozin. It had actually made him feel better, now he could feel like his friend was there with him all the while he was actually away from his home.
Both the Prince and the Avatar got up, bowing formally in front of each other, before Roku actually pulled Sozin in for a hug. "Thank you." He said as they let go, not just talking about the present.
"Don't mention it." Sozin waved his hand. "Seriously though, don't. No need to get sentimental about things." He said as he smiled jokingly, starting to walk out of the door with Roku following after him. "Come on, let's take a walk around. You don't intend to stay in your room and sulk whole day, do you?"
Roku shook his head, trying to smile as well. A walk sounded nice, it was a chance to see the Fire Nation once more before he left. While everything was still the same…
...
"So, when are you planning to talk to Ta Min?" They had been walking around the streets of the Capital for some time, people clearing the way as they lowered their heads in respect for the Prince and the Avatar. It wasn't something Roku was foreign to, he was used to it from being around Sozin for so long, but now, the respect wasn't only for the Fire Prince. And it was something that was so hard to ignore.
"About what?" The Avatar replied with another question, he hadn't really been paying attention. Though he still felt his cheeks heat up by the mention of the girl's name.
"Oh, you know, about how today is such a sunny day and it will be a very warm summer." The Prince rolled his eyes, looking like he wanted to smack his own forehead with his palm. How could his friend be so wise and dense at the same time? "About your feelings, of course! What else?"
"Oh..." Roku was now feeling even more flushed. "I- I can't do that, Sozin. You know I can't."
"Of course you can! You are the Avatar for fuck's sake. How are you planning to keep the balance of the world when you can't even talk to a girl?" He had said these as a joke, but seeing how his friend's face fell, he mentally kicked himself.
"Look, all I am saying is that there is no way you can know if she likes you or not without talking to her." He softened his tone and looked at the boy walking beside him.
"I know that, but—" Roku looked away, feeling uncomfortable. "Why does everything have to be so complicated?!"
Sozin didn't really see what was so complicated about it, but he kept that to himself. He had never been in Roku's position after all, and even if he had been, which girl would be stupid enough to reject the Crown Prince?
"You said you were afraid about her finding someone else before you returned home, didn't you?" Sozin asked as Roku nodded slightly. "Then how is she supposed to wait for you, if she doesn't know there is something to wait for?"
Roku sighed, his friend was right, of course he was, but still he was having trouble finding the courage in him to confess to her. "What if she says no?"
"What if she says yes?" The Prince retorted. "Honestly, Roku, you will never know if you don't ask. And I am sure she won't say no, she likes you, it is obvious even to me! And if she happens to say no, all of these will become a distant memory when you return anyway, neither of you will even remember it."
There was some minutes of silence as the young Avatar mulled over what he should do. "Fine," he muttered finally. "I will talk to her. Now."
"Now that's the spirit!" Sozin hit him on the shoulder, as Roku stumbled forward, both of them starting to chuckle as the people around them gave them some curious looks.
...
You can do it, Roku tried to encourage himself as he stood in front of the door to Ta Min's house. Sozin had went back to the palace to let Roku handle this on his own, saying that he would wait for him there until he was done.
As he was fidgeting with the sleeves of his robes, he was starting to feel like this wasn't such a good idea. He couldn't do this on his own. Don't be a coward, Sozin's voice echoed inside his head. It was now or never.
He took a deep breath, taking in the fresh air, feeling the familiar scent of the flowers nearby, and knocked on the door two times. It didn't open. Maybe this was for the better. He turned away and was getting ready to leave as he heard a creaking behind him. Damn it.
"May I help you?" Came the voice of an older woman, who Roku assumed was a maid. He turned towards the door, bracing himself.
"The Avatar!" The maid's expression suddenly turned into shock as he saw Roku's face, getting ready to bow.
Roku quickly lifted up his hand, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "Please — You don't have to do that." He said awkwardly as he looked at the woman. "I, uh, I just wanted to speak with Ta Min. Is she home?"
The woman nodded, moving away from the doorway to make room for Roku. "Come in." She said as she welcomed him inside. "She is in the garden."
Roku nodded politely as he followed after the maid towards the garden. Ta Min was there, leaned over a bush, taking in the scent of the flowers. She turned as she heard footseps behind her, suprised to see who her visitor was, as the maid gave them some space to talk, disappearing back into the house.
"Roku." It wasn't exactly a question, but her tone suggested the hidden one under it. Why are you here?
"You know my name?" Roku asked, this time it was him who was left suprised. He had thought she was oblivious to his existence. With this knowledge, he could feel himself blush and hoped he didn't look like an idiot.
"Well, almost everybody in the Fire Nation knows your name right about now." She replied with a small chuckle.
"Uh, y-yeah, I guess that's true... I— uh..." Yeah, he definitely looked and sounded like an idiot. Great! Roku felt himself getting redder and redder with every passing second. Of course she knew her name, along with a few hundred people.
He took a deep breath before he found the courage to speak again. Now or never... "Look, I know we never really talked before, and I didn't think you knew that I even existed before everyone else learned that I existed as well, but..." He trailed of, he was rambling. Get a grip! "What I am trying to say is that I am leaving tomorrow, and I wanted to say goodbye." He managed finally.
"Oh..." She didn't knew what else to say as she felt her face heating up a bit as well. It was honestly endearing, seeing him at such a loss for words. "But why?" She asked quietly. "You barely even knew me. Why bother saying goodbye?"
There is no turning back now. "Because I like you!" He blurted out. "A lot. I've liked you for a long time now, and I thought I should say that before I leave, I know that you may not feel the same way at all, and you don't have to, of course. Honestly, I wasn't even going to admit it, but my friend pressured me into this, because I might lose all the chance I had if I left without saying anything, and you could have found someone else when I returned and—"
His words were abrutly cut off with a set of lips pressed against his own, in an attempt to put an end to his rambling.
Ta Min smiled kindly at him, her cheeks tinted pink like the flowers in the garden, and Roku's entire face turned into brightest shade of red. "I've liked you for a while too. I was wondering if you felt the same..."
Roku felt a huge weight lifting off his shoulders, sighing in relief. Sozin had been right after all. If he had just talked to her sooner, he would've saved himself from all these times of crushing hopelessly on her.
"I will wait for your return." She said shyly, giving him a genuine smile. "Then maybe we can start what we never got a chance to have before."
Roku didn't know if it was an empty promise that years later would only be remembered as a fond childhood memory, but right now, he didn't care. He was happy, and that was all that mattered.
"You should probably go now..."Ta Min said quietly, sounding a bit sad. "You must have a lot of things to settle before you leave." She leaned in and placed a small kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush again.
"Goodbye, Roku."
Roku finally found the strenght in him to speak again for the first time after she had kissed him. "Goodbye, Ta Min. I will see you soon." And he hoped he would.
He turned away and forced himself to walk slowly towards the door, and it took him an immense amount of willpower to not jump around happily like a little kid.
...
"She kissed me!" Roku announced happily to his friend before he even got a chance to ask how the things had gone. "I was so sure that I had messed everything up, but then she kissed me!" He no longer felt the need to hide his happiness and excitement, now that he was with his friend.
"That's great, Roku." Sozin said, actually meaning it. "But, I am sorry, I have to say this," he paused for a moment for dramatic effect, looking at Roku. "I told you so."
Roku didn't even hear his friend's remark, as he was lost in thought. "She told me that she would wait for me." He murmured dreamily, knowing that Ta Min would be there waiting for his return was exactly the motivation he needed to master the elements as quickly as possible and return home. He was starting to feel better about this whole thing.
"Okay, lover boy. Get a hold of yourself. Do you want to walk around like an enamoured fool all day?" The Prince asked as he chuckled.
"I am happy with being a fool..." Roku sighed, looking at the sky with an absent look on his face, coming back to earth as Sozin hit him on the shoulder. "Ow!"
"Don't make me regret that I convinced you to talk to her." He laughed, amused by how a girl had so much affect on his friend. Yet another reason to not fall in love.
"Okay, okay. Sorry." Roku chuckled, a bit embarassed, as he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
"So, now what?"
Sozin just shrugged. "Whatever you want. It is your day after all."
...
They decided to continue their walk around a busier street of the Fire Nation, most people staying out of their way in respect, while sons and especially daughters of some noblemen tried to approach, striking a conversation with Roku, while they had never acknowledged his existence at all before, except for being a close friend of the Fire Prince. Roku was uncomfortable the whole time.
They had tried their luck with Sozin long time ago, but quickly realized he wasn't easy to approach and retreated, wondering how Roku had done it. Sozin saw through each of them like glass, they were only interested in power that he had, being the friend of the future Fire Lord. Not that he had anything against it, but it was so annoying to have all those fake people around him, agreeing with anything he would say, constantly flattering him to gain his favor. It was pathetic.
Now it was Roku's power as the Avatar that they were attracted to. And he didn't seem to know how to make them go away, since he didn't want to be rude. Finally, Sozin had enough, and fended off all of them as Roku sighed in relief. He didn't appreciate them stealing his last time for a while with his friend.
"Glad that's over. For a moment I thought they would never leave." Roku rolled his eyes, they were walking towards his house while the day was coming to an end.
"You should be assertive, Roku. Those people are just trying to take advantage of you. All they want is power."
"But I have none. They all have as much wealth as I have, some of them even more." Roku protested, confused. "I don't have anything they could possibly want."
"You are so naive sometimes." Sozin replied, rolling his eyes. "It is not about money. You have a respectable position as the Avatar now. They want to be in your good graces, so that they could benefit from you." With him by your side, no one will even think to doubt about the righteoussness of your decisions. The Prince grimaced as his father's words echoed in his ears.
"How could they possibly benefit from me? I might be the Avatar, but I don't have the same power as you have. I don't rule the nation or anything."
"Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they would be attracted to your title as the Avatar for the very least." He explained. "The prestige it would bring being the Avatar's friend." He just shrugged, he was used to people's bullshit by now.
"I see..." Roku nodded slowly. "Well, if I have to be honest I am not really interested in being their friend anyway. They seem to be not my type of people."
"And what is your type of people?" Sozin probed with a questioning tone.
Roku shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He said simply. "People who are not power hungry and selfish like them."
Sozin snorted but didn't comment since they had already arrived in front of Roku's house and it was time to say goodbye.
"So... I guess this is it, then?" Sozin said quietly.
Roku sighed, nodding, as he looked down on the ground.
"You will master the elements in no time, and come back to marry Ta Min." He tried to lift up his friend's mood, despite not feeling very happy himself.
Roku just pulled him in for a hug. "I'll see you soon." He said, sounding like he was trying to convince himself.
The two friends remained there for a moment, before Sozin eventually pulled away. "You should go home now..."
Roku nodded, trying to seem happy, as he turned his back and walked over to his house, turning back to wave at Sozin one last time.
...
Roku was now on the deck of a ship that would take him to the Southern Air Temple, waiting for it to take off. There was an unexpected crowd at the docks, people had come to see the Avatar's departure, leaving their duties and responsibilities. It still felt weird that they cared.
And of course, his friend was there too, the crowd was divided in half to make way for their Prince. He gave Roku a reassuring look, and Roku tried to relax a bit. Everything was going to be just fine. If all those others had done it before him, he could do it too. Besides, maybe it would be a fun adventure. He would have many stories to tell once he was back.
These was his thoughts when the ship started to make way amongst the waves with a loud siren. He looked at the shores of his nation one last time before he turned his gaze towards the horizon.
Things were going to be different now. Better or worse, only time would tell…
...
End Notes: Okay, I am realizing that this story has become pretty Roku-centric in the last few chapters, but with Roku gone, I will focus more on Sozin. Though I am still debating on if I should also write about Roku's time away, even if it is brief. So do let me know what you think.
Another thing is that, it didn't really make sense to me that Roku got married to Ta Min right after he returned, so I figured they must have had some kind of conversation beforehand. And honestly, it was fun to write a nervous Roku trying to talk to his crush lol.
Lastly, I already have the next four chapters written out, I just have to edit them, so maybe there might be more frequent updates. Though I honestly think editing is hundred times harder than writing and it honestly is the most stressful part for me since I am giving my writing its last form before I actually post it. And I can't help but cringe when I find a stupid grammar mistake or a sentence that just doesn't make any sense. That's why I keep procrastinating and just keep writing new chapters instead of editing the already written ones.
Anyways, thank you so much to everyone who read this far, and don't forget to let me know what you think!