AN: Welcome back, and thank you for your patience!

Here is the interlude of what Iroh was doing while Zuko was off conquering the Earth Kingdom Palace.

Like I said in the summary, this story picks up right when Zuko left the Jasmine Dragon at the end chapter 6 and pretty much continues that conversation, I really recommend going back and refreshing your memory since that was awhile ago.

The Lotus' Gambit - Part 1: Father

Zuko left through the back door letting it slam behind him. Iroh squeezed his eyes shut repressing the sting of so many words. He heard the door open and close again as Lu Ten went after him.

He restrained a shudder, not wishing to admit even alone with himself how unnerved parts of the argument had made him. Zuko's expression at times had been one of worryingly familiar frustrated ambition, one he had seen burn in Ozai's eyes from a young age and ignored. He may have reacted poorly to it, fearing what that might drive him to do; the boy's stubbornness alone drove him to extremities. But he had pushed too hard and there was no telling what danger Zuko would face in his endeavor to fulfill what he thought he must.

He had tried for years to keep his nephew going after the banishment, unfortunately the only way was to maintain the boy's doomed hope. He had hoped that one day Zuko could move on as that hope faded and he realized the truth of the situation. But the Avatar had inexplicably returned and that only spurred him on with more determination.

The door opened again, and he opened his eyes to see Lu Ten enter. He smiled slightly to see him, partly because he'd momentarily worried he would try going along, and partly because it was a joy to his heart every time he saw his son alive and (mostly) well. The smile fell when the young man turned and the thunder on his face was visible.

"You let him go to conquer a city by himself without so much as your blessing?" Angered incredulity flooded his face and voice.

"This is not the way," Iroh repeated. He received a hard, doubtful look, which was understandable afterall he imagined very few people from before the Siege's end would have believed him capable of refusing to conquer a city in his reach, much less this one. That was something he needed to remind himself, Lu Ten was still back then in many ways.

"Then what is? Would you prefer another siege? We're already in the city. The Earth Kingdom could be brought down and the war brought largely to an end."

"The war must be brought to an end, yes; it has gone on long enough."

"So why are you so against this? This step toward the war's end? He just wants to go home. What was your plan, keep him here until the war took care of itself? That's the worst plan I've ever heard, and I heard Minister Qin suggest that we tame and saddle the Serpent."

"But the Earth Kingdom must not fall." He finished his previous statement. Ignoring for now his son's words, and disturbingly accurate guess at his plan lacking only information he had no way of knowing.

"What?"

"The world is out of balance, it needs the Avatar, including the Fire Nation."

"The Fire Nation needs the Avatar? The Avatar turned against us, and is currently someone with every reason to want the Fire Nation destroyed."

"Restoring balance will bring peace," He insisted.

"Restore it how? The world's been out of balance for a century. The world isn't going to be fixed; one Avatar is not going to restore the Air Nomads. The balance of the world is a lost cause. What was it you used to say? In an off-kilter world, we can only seek balance within ourselves."

His own words used against him. He should feel proud that his son had been listening, but he'd known that; Lu Ten had always listened. And when he didn't understand something or it didn't fit his view, he would think about it until it made sense. He was stubborn despite that willingness to think things through, and it took a lot to turn him from what he'd made up his mind about. Iroh had the suspicion that these very characteristics had not served him well over the last six years.

"Why can we not do both?"

"If you wanted to bring peace, you could've done it yourself by many means. But you didn't. You're leaving it to a child instead. A child younger than the one whose adolescence you're trying to preserve. You could have kept fighting and it would all be over by now. You could have defended your birthright and implemented whatever your goal is as Firelord. But, no, you didn't do any of that; you're living out the world's worst plan that somehow came from the great tactical mind of the Dragon of the West! So why is that? Because you don't have the strength, the heart to? I never thought I'd see my father as such a passive man." He sat down heavily in one of the chairs, not breaking eye contact with a disdainful expression.

There was no doubt that did hurt, to hear such disappointment. "Listen to me, the world cannot be ruled by fire any more than a person can live ruled by passion. It needs to be tempered by water, rebutted by earth, and guided by air, without all these it will burn uncontrolled as it has for decades."

Of course, those relationships had consequential imbalances in the opposite direction as well. The evidence was before him, as Lu Ten hunched in on himself. A bright flame trapped by earth that had worn itself out, become small and clung to the little fuel it had, now uncertain what to do in a forest. Lu Ten was struggling, how had he not seen it before? Was he so blinded by happiness, had Lu Ten been hiding it, or was it both? For the first time in eight years, he wished dearly that Riko had lived, rather than being almost thankful she was not there to worry and mourn, that she could be here to comfort and hold their son.

"Lu Ten, I know much has changed and the world is very different." He got a wet, sober laugh from the hunched figure. He got up to squat infront of his son, gently grasping his arms. He was shaking. "I can only hope you can come to understand these changes."

"I don't. Father, I don't understand. I've tried to make sense of it all for the last few days, but I just can't." He sounded so tired. "Everything's so different and I know there's things I don't know, that you're not telling me. We were close, you were all I had for so long, and you—you've changed so much, sometimes it's like I don't know you anymore. Sometimes, I don't know myself, know how old I'm supposed to be. I'm older, but I only really lived twenty years. That lost time feels like nothing and an eternity all at once, and I don't know what to do with that." Then, like he was reminding himself, "It's been six years; I'm 26."

"27." Lu Ten finally met his eyes again with a blink of confusion, and he could see the shadow under his eyes not as prominent as Zuko's, but he clearly hadn't been sleeping well. "Your birthday was two weeks ago; you're 27."

A laugh. "I missed my birthday." Another, more an attempt at a steady breath. "I'm cracking up."

Unlike Zuko, Lu Ten had never learned to cry silently, but three years of looking after the former had made him aware that Lu Ten had instead learned simply not to cry. Growing up in a war camp, he had been taught too early that tears were for matters of life and death, and wailing was a right reserved for dying men, not for the woes of children. It was something Iroh hadn't realized until he was left clueless as to what to do with an armful of crying thirteen-year-old.

"No. You've been through a lot and you haven't let yourself feel that yet. It's alright to feel it." He brought a hand up to cup his son's cheek. "You've been so strong for so long and I'm so proud of you. What happened would've destroyed other men, but you made it through. And I'm so sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

"It's not that—not just that. Its everything since. The life I thought awaited me is gone, and I've come to accept that. I think. Everything is just so far away and yet the last thing I remember. I went in and you were the consummate general, determined to fight to the last for this city, I get out and you're serving tea in the city like there isn't a still a war just outside. How am I supposed to understand that?"

He looked at his son's face and took in the features alive with expression, three dimensional, older and more worn. He had seen it now for days and yet it seemed a marvel each time, a face he'd thought never to see again beyond a worn painting. Lu Ten had his mother's mouth and length to the face, and his hair was black and shined like hers. It had been a very long time since Iroh had seen those eyebrows tilt at him in disappointment, they had belonged to his father-in-law. Despite eating well and getting plenty of light the last few days there was still a hollowness and unnatural pallor to some of his son's features that he'd last seen on his father.

"All I ever wanted since you were born was to see the war ended so that you could live and rule in a world at peace." He could leave out for his own sake that the wish had been at the time to leave the whole world as his son's dominion, that was no longer relevant.

"Then why—"

"Why didn't I keep going and finish the war in your name? That question followed me the whole retreat. That Shirou was a very dedicated friend to you and a bold one at that. I could never give him satisfactory answer, I didn't really have one for myself at the time. I can only say that when you lose your whole world little else matters in the wake of that and the hopes you had for them become meaningless." That feeling of emptiness had led him at last to some clarity both about the world, and what his son had tried to tell him and he had dismissed as the naivety of a young soldier.

During the retreat the only thing that had kept him grounded had been that young man's constant, angry, grieving pestering. Eventually, Iroh had wandered off before reaching the occupation line and wound up in Omashu. From there, he had had a reintroduction to the Order of the White Lotus, a group he had been a member of for years but the old king had seen fit to inform him—in the most outrageous way possible—of the Order's upper-level workings and intentions. It was also during that time that he'd realized why that campaign to break Omashu's border had been unsuccessful all those years ago, the king who had led the defense was unpredictable as the wind and intense as an earthquake. Utterly mad, but possessor of quite an excellent doddering old man act.

"It took—"

A knock came from the Jasmine Dragon's front door, cutting Iroh off. "Hello?" the accompanying muffled voice called.

The words that had been on his lips melted into a sigh, and instead he said, "I'll be back in a minute."

Lu Ten opened his mouth but closed it with a defeated expression and a nod.

He went to grasp his hands in the comforting way they had used to but paused as his fingers felt the gnarled foreign landscape of his son's hands. Iroh smiled weakly in reassurance instead, trying not to think too much about never feeling his son's hand hold onto his own again.

He stood, his knees protesting the former position, and called out, "I'll be right there." He left, reluctantly and annoyed, for the front room. At the door was a messenger, his steed out on the street behind him. "What can I do for you?" As he approached, he noted that everything had been well cleaned and only the floors needed sweeping.

"Are you Master Mushi?"

Iroh blinked, it took a moment for his mind to transition from the family drama that had been occuping the back room. "Yes."

"I have an invitation from His Majesty the Earth King."

"The Earth King?" something sunk in the pit of his stomach, unbidden suspicion. "It is quite late for mail."

"Sorry about that." The messenger rubbed at the back of his neck. "I had a lot of deliveries and you're at the end of the route," the messenger explained in embarrassed apology.

"Of course. It is an honor to be recognized by His Majesty, no matter the hour." He bowed and accepted the letter. The messenger disappeared as he opened it. He was being invited to serve the Earth King tea the following morning. How marvelous! If only he knew what was going on at the palace. He supposed he would find out.

Pushing open the door into the backroom, ready to share this news, he found it empty. Lu Ten had gone. Disappointed—not in his son just in the trend of unfinished conversations this evening—but not surprised, he sighed. For how different their approaches to new information were, both boys enjoyed their alone time sitting in a dark room to process. How dearly he hoped that's where Zuko was instead of out doing something dangerous, but he also knew better than to expect that.

With another sigh, he went back out to sweep and finish closing up. That took up some time, and was calming in the repetitive motion clearing things away to reveal the glitter of clean stone floor. Before going back to the apartment, he cleaned up the mess on the stove. The forgotten pot had fallen apart as it cooled, the dregs of tea that had been inside baked onto the interior, the exterior glaze had spider-webbed and the bottom half was soot blackened, the base had bubbled slightly as it had begun to melt. He was shocked by the degree of upset this evidenced particularly with how tenuous his son's bending was at the moment. He swept it up and went home after gathering together a tea set for the next morning.

It was even later than he'd thought, so he entered the dark apartment quietly and was surprised to find Lu Ten not asleep but sitting awake in the open room. A small twinge hit his heart when he noted he was sitting at the altar with its empty jasmine-print vase and empty incense tray. Lu Ten hadn't turned when he entered but a stiffening told him he knew he was there.

"It's late, you must be tired." Iroh said.

Lu Ten didn't face him or respond to his prompt but instead asked, "Do you really believe we deserved everything because of what our family and the nation under its rule has done?"

Iroh took a deep breath, unsure if he was ready for another of these conversations but Lu Ten seemed to want to and he owed him at least to talk. "I believe the spirits' justice is a harsh one. And their lessons can be painful."

"Did Zuko deserve it?"

"No."

"Then why do we?"

"I didn't say—"

Lu Ten finally turned around, exasperation displayed in every inch of his face and posture. "I know you're trying not to hurt me. But, Father, listen to what you just said; that is what you're saying. So what's different? I love Zuko and if this is real, its not like I want him to suffer more, but last time I checked he's part of this family too."

"Ursa was a descendant of Avatar Roku." Lu Ten's eyes widened at the revelation. "Azulon had been told that joining the bloodlines of the Avatar and the Royal Family would produce a line of powerful benders. Such a joining meant something else as well, Sozin and Roku, the feud that began all this. The expansion and its opposition. Those legacies are now combined in Ursa and Ozai's children. Because of that, Zuko is the one meant to lead the Fire Nation into peace with the world. He holds the legacies and struggles of his bloodlines and a battle between good and evil, light and dark; a battle his soul struggles with."

"What does that mean for us, then? That we are so tainted by Sozin's blood that we are inherently evil?"

While a dubious twitch of his eyes had shown skepticism of Roku as the epitome of goodness, Lu Ten seemed willing enough to accept Sozin's malevolency, which wasn't wholly unexpected. Despite the grand perception of the man in the Nation at large, the view in the court was less lofty, largely due to Azulon's efforts. Not that Azulon had been any less ruthless. Sozin had built the new throne room, replaced access to the Caldera with the switchback, and built defenses at the bay; but none of these bore his name and Azulon had built on those defenses and named the greatest after himself. It had been the Royal Family's open secret that however dutifully he paid honor to and continued Sozin's legacy and ambitions, Azulon resented his father for going off on a ghost chase and leaving a 13-year-old to rule in all but name. It seemed to be an unfortunate family tradition, the absence of a parent in some way or another: Azulon's greatest campaigns had coincided with his own early childhood, Mother had passed when Ozai was still young, Lu Ten had never known Riko, and then there was Ursa's disappearance.

"You think we're cursed by the spirits to be punished with sorrow and suffering for our own and our family's sin, because our bloodline is one of undiluted evil? Is that why Mom died? Because of Sozin, and Grandfather, and you, and because I would grow up to be just as bloodstained? As someone who spent some time blaming himself, isn't it better to think she just died, no reason, noone's fault, no karma?"

Iroh blinked at the admission of past feelings of guilt. When had Lu Ten thought that? How had he not known? Why had Lu Ten not told him, not confided this in him?

But Lu Ten continued before Iroh make any response. "If you want something to blame for your pain when you thought I was dead, blame me for my rashness, blame the Dai Li for not sending a ransom. Blame Uncle Ozai for what happened to Zuko. See, it's just people and consequences. Morality is not passed by blood, Dad.

"And if you don't want to be FireLord, fine; just say so, don't hide behind the claim that it's all destiny."

Iroh had forgotten how ordered things had been, how planned out, before it all crumbled into constant uncertainty, when after his victorious return from Ba Sing Se he would stay in the palace retired from the military and slowly take on more duties in the time that remained to his father. And he'd very nearly forgotten that half-jest he'd made at Lu Ten and Lai Ming's engagement party about abdicating once the next generation was secured. Memory of it had lived only in the pang of the idea of grandchildren that would never be.

They sat in silence for a moment, then Lu Ten nodded. "There, I've said my piece. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try to get some sleep." He stood up, still something of an effort, and began walking to the bedrooms.

"Lu Ten."

"Hmm?"

"You're not evil, I never thought that for a second."

"Good to know." He deadpanned. "Neither are you. Goodnight, Dad."

"What I meant is that it's not just punishment, we can learn from the hardships put upon us." He paused, at a lose for what to say next. How to explain this? For his losses, in addition to the pain he'd learned the value of family and then a clearer understanding of the war and, lessons learned, the world had rewarded him with the return of what he'd thought irrevocably lost.

"Well, I certainly learned caution. I wasn't aware I had been in need of such harsh lessons in it." His heart stung, the hard look in his son's eyes spoke to many other hard lessons the experience had instilled. "Forgive me if I don't see how I'm better for it. Goodnight."

The worst part was he couldn't either. His boy had learned a reserve and how to hide his emotions more than any exposure to active battlefields had, he'd learned resentment, and become set in a mindset that required victory for peace. That last was his fault, he knew; their last conversation outside Ba Sing Se had been a point of regret and reflection for himself, and he feared his own words had been similar for Lu Ten. His heart sank lower at all that had happened and the prospects of the future. If he could not overcome a father's words instilled by fear and hope, how could he hope to overcome a father's words ingrained by a need survive?

But not everything Lu Ten said tonight was wrong. He had not thought much beyond himself when viewing his experiences. For each tragedy he'd found a silverlining, something gained for the loss, and he'd internalized the correlation. It was not true for all, and he'd seen more than enough evidence of that. From the gapping holes left in the palace by loss and the devastation of the Southern Water Tribe. He would not discredit the lessons and rewards he had gained, but that approach had been less than useful for Lu Ten and perhaps the lack of progress with Zuko should have been his clue. He'd been talking in riddles too long, straight forward advice was something he'd lost his touch in.

Feeling his age and then some, he retired to bed with comforting thoughts of tea unable to make the night entirely peaceful.

Morning dawned and he rose before the sun had crested the city's walls. He dressed nicely and went out, planning to make a pot that would give him a good start to the day and keep well for other occupants. He found Lu Ten already awake, waiting seated on the floor in a space the sun would paint through the window once it appeared. Neither spoke, though Iroh did set a second cup next to his son, until Iroh was approaching the door.

"You're going to stop him aren't you?" Lu Ten asked, opening his eyes from his meditation.

"No."

"Are you going to help him?"

"No. I've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King. Hopefully, there still is one when I get there."

Lu Ten looked sad and took a breath in preparation of what he was about to say, as though he were nervous about his words in a way he'd rarely ever been to speak his mind. "You want to build a life here. However this ends, you'll have to do that without me.

"For eight years, this city has been my obstacle to building any sort of life. For the first two, it was fighting 'til victory, then I would marry Lai Ming and start a family. Then after I could only dream of getting out, and making a life where I never have to think about that hole again. If there's a path out of here, I'm taking it; if it leads home, all the better."

"I understand."

"I'm sorry I can't return the sentiment."

AN/PS: Yep, that was a rollercoaster, and very angsty I know, it calms down going forward.

Ok, so hear me out, I love Iroh, I do, but some of his decisions and actions needed questioned and Lu Ten has those questions and more. Also, I spent like 2 months trying to figure out what Iroh's plan was during season 2 and it still doesn't make a ton of sense, so Lu Ten's frustration with that is very real from a writer's pov too, lol.

Part 2 will be posted next Thursday night.

The interaction I got since posting the final chapter of Book Earth was amazing guys! I loved hearing from all of you readers, your thoughts, hopes, and speculations, and would love to hear what you think of this and the next book as well.

Have yourselves some great days!

Btw if you're looking for this on AO3 it's its own story listed as The Lotus' Gambit (since series can be set up there easily).