Thanks to all the reviews and favorites, they are all apreciate. Sorry if anyone is confused, this is a time travel fanfiction where Suki and ZUko get in their younger bodies, from before the end of the Hundreht year War
All Those Sweet Words We Heard and Said
They were all lined up in the courtyard, their helmets of shiny dark steel glaring under the sun, while the heavy leather armor, shone with a thin layer of oil, dark and menacing, but not as menacing as the masks. Pale bone carved skulls hid their faces under mystery, leaving to anyone under their gaze to guess the nature of their shape, if whether they were even human.
Walking along the line though, Azula was less than impressed, less so when she caught their gazes behind the mask, and saw them looking away from her. Afraid. It was good they feared her, it meant her reputation wasn't tarnished, it also meant they wouldn't betray her and so, smirking, she climbed a few steps and gazed down upon the men and women in front of her.
"Imperial Firebenders! You are the best our Nation has to offer, the elite, and with that in mind, your role in the coming battle is of utmost importance. You'll be responsible for the personal protection of your Fire Lord, and if any of you are wondering, that means you must lay your lives to rest in his name." She paused, letting her words sink in. "That is your oath, your duty, your sacred motive to be on this earth, and I hope you're all fit for such a greatness."
She turned around, dismissing the assembly with a wave. The firebenders saluted her and, neatly, left the courtyard behind, the sound of their steps diminishing while she turned around to face General Hau and his gray mustache.
"I expect a report on all of our defenses for the day of the eclipse to be delivered to me within the day, am I clear?"
"B-but, princess, the Fire Lord's protection is confident..."
"Am I clear, general?"
She narrowed her eyes, watching the spineless coward gulping before offering her a tight nod in response, his eyes darting to her bandaged hand as if tempted to ask the question, which he never did. Feeling satisfaction coil inside her, Azula walked away to the rest of her duties. It was always pleasant to know her power was still intact, even after losing Zuko, her position was still strong, and people still feared her discontent.
Behind her, she felt her personal protection following her, their steps were almost silent, but her instincts were well attuned to the presence of others.
"How are our preparations, Captain?"
Daruka had been the first men in the Earth Kingdom to ever show loyalty to her instead of Long Fen. That of course, didn't mean anything as far as she was concerned, if his loyalty could be bent, than how long until he turned on her as well?
"The Dai Li is yours to command, princess. Twenty of our best men are now working in your personal bunker."
"Good, and my father?"
He fidget, but answered anyway. "The Fire Lord has not left his personal chambers since the last meeting, Princess."
"Has he called on the Yuan Archers?"
"Yes." She nodded to herself, her father might not trust her completely anymore, but she wouldn't let that stop her, she wouldn't let him push her aside. "Princess, your hand… If I may..."
"You may not" She paused, feeling the coarse texture between her fingers. "And make sure your second in command brings his report of the night."
Later that day she would be hearing more reports from another captain, and maybe tomorrow she would be talking to a lieutenant. It was all part of the game, keeping them guessing as to who she favored, until they were too distrusting to unite against her. It was the same game played all over the Fire Nation, the game her father had taught her so well when dealing with arrogant nobles and officers.
"You mustn't trust such foolish ideals as your uncle, my daughter." He had told, guiding her along the hallways. "If you wish to rule, then you must make sure no one can stand in your way."
That week, she had watched her father the whole time, watched as he showed favor to a man's rival, and the made comment behind someone's back, insinuations, subtle compliments that would rolled down a slippery slope, the same way a pebble might cause an avalanche.
For the rest of the day, she supervised the garrison, inspected the preparations in the bunker, and by night, she was back in her chambers, looking down upon her bandaged fingers, frowning at the consequences of Zuko's letter and the secrets she had found thanks to it.
Apparently, Fire Lord Sozin hadn't let anyone stand in his way either, he had stood up to his childhood friend and let him drown in molten lava. Fire Lord Sozin started an Empire, he was feared, revered and… And Azula could only think of those words Zuko wrote on the first lines of his message.
Ty Lee is all right.
Biting her lip, the princess slowly peeled the bandage away, and glanced down at the paste. She had taken it from the royal healer, after a carefully and clearly worded threat that would keep his mouth shut for the rest of his days. She slowly let the mix of herbs touch the puckered pink skin of her palms, wondering if Zuko did the same once, if he spent his night applying a similar medicine and hoped his appearance would actually recover.
She ignored the mirror of course, it was broken and she had no wish to repair it. Still, she risked a glance at shards that still littered the floor, a distant whisper making her look away, afraid and ashamed. Working dutifully, she cleaned the wound and wrapped it again, moving her fingers to make sure the dressing wouldn't get in the way of her movements.
Ty Lee is all right.
She thought about both her great grandparents, about the Avatar and the Fire Lord, and thought about everything she had ever believed, and wondered if she could ever leave Ty Lee or Mai to die like that. They had betrayed her, they had forced her eyes to sting, and yet she couldn't really phantom the idea of abandoning them to molten lava.
Ty lee is all right.
She remembered the night she had the impulse of sinking her hand into the burning coals of her fireplace without the protection of her chi, and how, after a wave of sick thoughts burning through her, she had actually done it.
It was with a sudden ache to his joints that Zuko came back to consciousness, blinking away the pressure behind his eyes at the feeling of something heavy moving atop of him. Idly, the young man stared at the ceiling of his chambers, before bringing his eyes down to the smiling young woman lying over him.
"Suki?"
She peeked at him with one fond eye, blinking heavily. "Hey there, how are you doing, honey?"
"I've been better." He spoke, feeling tired and sleepy, his voice sounded rough to his own ears as he fought to sit straight.
Memories of the battle slowly found a space in his mind, from the purple eyes of the dark spirits to his effort in summoning his chi beyond the likes his young body was ready for.
"That was quiet a scare you gave me." His wife said, pouring him a cup of water which he took eagerly. "What were you thinking?"
Zuko shook his head. "I couldn't risk letting any of them escape, someone could get hurt" the spirits had been surrounding them completely at that point, and watching Aang leaping away to help Katara had been the last drop. "Did anyone..."
"Our healer's ward is full, but nothing serious happened." She smirked. "You big hero, you."
"I'm pretty sure you saved my life a couple of times last night." He frowned. "Wait, was it last night? How long was I..."
"It's morning, don't worry, you weren't in a coma or anything."
Zuko sighed in relief, lying back down on his pillow while his eyes lingered on Suki, jumping from the dressings covering her arms to the small dressing covering her cheek. She would have many new scars from that fight and he wondered to what new ones he might have acquired as well. By his side, he felt Suki moving with him, her head once more leaning over his middle, her smile holding a tinge of mirth as they locked gazes.
"What?"
"Your belly" She noticed playfully, and he felt her fingers nudging his gut. "Your Fire Lord belly is gone, now I'm out of a pillow."
The heat that he felt pooling on his cheeks had nothing to do with his firebending. "You miss my belly?"
"Of course." She giggled. "It was all squish and comfortable."
He shook his head. "I bet you don't feel the same about yours, what was it that you used to say? 'Zuko, we really need to take more time for ourselves, look, I'm getting huge...'"
Her hand hit his shoulder with enough strength to make him stop, and he laughed at her face. "I do not sound like that."
"You do too."
"Idiot."
He could barely hold his laugh when she snickered down at him, and for a moment he let himself be back to those lazy summer days after retirement, when the mornings would stretch out into afternoons and they still wouldn't leave their bed. They had been old then, but their love making never ceased from being passionate, pleasuring one another with hands and mouths, in all the places that felt good. He felt Suki leaning back down, and on an impulse he let his hands run through her hair, the soft threads of red feeling amazing through his fingers.
"It's so strange, I look at myself in the mirror and I don't recognize anything, there are no stretch marks from Izumi, no scars from assassination attempts, no wrinkled skin, nothing." Zuko smiled, slowly nodding his head. He could understand what she was saying, but wasn't expecting what she said next. "I think we should tell them."
"What?"
And just like that, the peace was gone, and he felt his mind moving back to the matters at hand with the sharp experience of a lifetime. In front of him, Suki was doing the same, her features locked in her Fire Lady's face as he liked to call it, her determination and certainty pulsing like the fires of Agni.
"I think there is no advantage in keeping our situation a secret anymore. I know we wanted to ease them into it, but given the actual circumstances, keeping our friends in the dark might actually put them in danger."
"They had no idea what they were fighting." Zuko and Suki were not counting on actually having to deal with such a threat at this time. In his memories Korra alone could turn whole battles around with her experience handling spirits, but last night Aang could barely keep them away from himself. He was still young, and he had so much to learn. "You think he might have followed us, somehow?"
"I dunno, but the facts remain that our mission won't be as easy as we hoped. Whatever that stupid owl knows about time travel, he must have noticed our interference, either that or a part of Unalaq is trying to defend itself with some freaky spiritual skill."
"Both of those are sound amazing." Zuko rubbed his eyes and Suki shifted by his side.
"There is also the fact that you just made dragon fire. I'm not sure about you, but I think they might have noticed it."
He nodded again, sharing yet another tired smile.
He would've loved to go back to sleep, maybe wait a day or two before tackling everything head on, but he knew better. At first he remembered how tempted he was to keep things as they were, to follow the moves of history without a second thought, that was until he remembered the lives lost in coming battles, both in the Day of Black Sun as in the rising rebellion in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko had decided very early that he couldn't just watch, and although he and Suki had practiced caution, hoping to end the war before tackling the future, things were now escaping their own grasp of the reality. The rules were changing.
"You're right."
"I'm always right."
He shook his head, leaning his head on her shoulder, as they squeezed themselves in the tiny bed. She smelled of sweaty and healing herb, and something Suki that he never could quite place.
"So, we tell them everything, then what?"
"Tell what to who?" They were both startled as they turned around to find Iroh entering the chamber, a tray with tea steaming in his hands. "Are you speaking about your little time traveling act?"
A beat was all it took for Suki to understand what his uncle was saying. "You told him!"
"Huh, well." He pulled at his sheets. He knew Suki wasn't really mad at him, but her narrowing eyes made him hesitate. "Look, it seemed like a good idea, I was going to tell you, but… well..."
"What my nephew is trying to say is that he thought I might be of help, and more likely to believe his words. Of course, his delay in informing you is a mystery to me."
Suki was pursing her own lips now. "I was going to tell you! But we arrived so fast, and we were talking about, you know? Sokka and Mai and that whole mess and… It kind of slipped from my mind, I swear."
From the corner of his eye he caught his uncle trying to hold back his laugh, something he was never good at. Or maybe he simply had too much fun to try and hide it. Either way, the old man finally decided to be of help.
"For what is worth, my first impression of you is of a very talented and amazing woman, Suki, I'm glad to have you in the family."
She gave his uncle a fond smile as she accepted a cup of tea. "Thanks, General."
"Iroh, please.
"Iroh" Zuko almost felt like reliving a play for the second time, until Suki remembered he was there. "As for you, this might come around later."
He didn't detect any real anger in her voice, and he was confident that after so many years, he could read his wife quite well. He did however felt her hand sneaking under the blanket to pinch his butt, immediately sending blood to all the wrong places.
"Uncle!" He shouted, startled not only by her actions, but by the flood of heat. Damn this body. He hoped his uncle was too busy to notice anything. "Suki and I decided to tell them about everything."
"Interesting." Zuko took a cup of tea for himself, avoiding meeting their eyes. He knew Suki must be looking very smug at that point. "Well, they've been quite agitated to be here, and I suppose that last night didn't do you any favors in gaining their trust. That was was very beautiful demonstration of dragon fire, by the way, Prince Zuko."
"T-thanks" Something warm and far more innocent put heat in his face this time. "Sadly, in our time we grew quite used to purifying spirits."
His uncle served himself some tea, sipping quietly from the cup."I see."
"How are Aang and the others by the way?" Suki questioned.
"For now, they are all resting in a camp outside, although they trust me well enough, they still seem on edge to be surrounded by fire nation soldiers."
"Can't really blame them." Suki leaned over. "Do you think you could come along? Maybe, let them know you believe us?"
"But of course! I can also make some tea for the occasion." He rubbed his chin, and Zuko could already see the gears turning in his head. "I shall have some jasmine tea prepared. The men were kind enough to bring some from Ember Island and jasmine is always helpful in bringing peace to a conversation."
Sokka grunted, scowling down at nothing as he took a bite out of his komodo chicken, stupid, delicious and from the Fire Nation. Just great. He wasn't even hungry, they had their own supplies, there was no need to accept stupid Fire Nation chicken from stupid fire nation soldiers with their stupid fire nation balloon.
Being reminded of it, he suddenly found that yes, he did have somewhere to scowl towards. The balloon. His design, stolen. One of the things he had been proudest of and now there it was, in fire nation hands, armored and huge, full of propellers and firebenders.
Great.
He took another bite of his fire nation chicken and grunted again.
"Will you stop that!" Toph snapped and he blinked in her direction. She seen really annoyed, munching on her rice. Fire nation rice.
"What did I do?"
"Noises! Annoying noises, so just stop!"
"I'm not making any noises" He said, chewing and making more noises.
"I'm serious, meathead."
"Don't you need noises to see and stuff?" He complained, watching Toph's eye twitching, but he finally had an opportunity to let out his frustration. "Besides, are you really telling me nothing about this situation annoys you?"
From his right, he heard Katara letting out a long suffering sigh, seeming as tired as he felt with the little sleep they had last night. Interruptions, old enemies appearing out of nowhere, then the battle with those freaky spirit monster. Fantastic. Just great. As if planning an invasion wasn't enough.
"Of course we don't like this any better than you Sokka, but for now, this is our best option. Suki promised us answers, remember?"
Oh, he remembered all right. He remembered his girlfriend carrying Zuko in her arms while giving out orders like it was nothing, he also remembered how unreal it was to see all those grown men in fire nation armor moving to obey. It was crazy, it was down right insane, but he would've been okay with it. Of course he would. Who doesn't like having a girlfriend controlling your enemy's army like that? The problem was the way she disappeared inside with barely a word beyond a promise to see them today.
"Yeah, yeah, I get that, and I trust Suki, and I'm glad the other Kyoshi Warriors are here. I just feel like pointing out that they are working with the Fire Nation!" He said, gesturing to another part of the field where a Kyoshi Warrior was helping repair the airship. "No offense!"
"None taken!"
"Sokka, do you think I like this?" Katara's eyes were just like his own, ocean blue, the way you would find when the waters were clear and bright. This time though, he was slightly reminded of a angry tide brushing over the coast.
He looked down. "No."
"The best thing we can do now, is to figure out what is happening. We can't afford to rush anything as much as we might wish it."
It was Katara speaking, but Sokka heard Aang's words in there too. Those two seemed somehow really close lately, or maybe it was the fact that two almost died. Again. Great. From his side, Toph finished a cup of juice and burped.
"Honestly, I don't know what the problem is. Zuko's uncle is with us, and he literally sacrificed himself to let Katara and Aang escape once, remember? Besides, if anything happens I'm pretty sure we can take them down."
"I don't know." Aang said for the first time, on his shoulder Momo chirped, earning a piece of some fire nation fruit. "Did you guys see what Zuko did last night? I never saw firebending like that before."
"Me neither."
Sokka glared at Toph's smirk, before turning to Aang. "So what, what is so special about a bunch of colors anyway?"
"It wasn't just the colors Sokka, did you forget all those spirits last night?" Katara blinked, looking back at Appa who still bore a huge gash to his side. "They would've killed us!"
"No they wouldn't, Aang would've pulled one of those crazy Avatar stunts and everything would be fine."
"I-I don't know about that."
Sokka frowned, taking in the airbender in front of him. He was used to see Aang feeling down about something or other, but never before he remembered seeing him this hesitant. "Well, we can agree to disagree then."
"Hello."
Toph's compliment almost made Sokka jump, startled to find Zuko's uncle smiling down at them.
"Hello to you as well, I was wondering if you and your friends would agree to have some tea after your meal. It would also be an opportunity for, what I judge, will be some important conversations."
In a moment they were all on their feet, both eager to follow and weary to follow Iroh's inside the airship. Exchanging a look with his friends, Sokka slowly moved his feet ahead, and into the belly of the beast. Inside, it was like being again in the Mechanist's dwelling, with metal walls and floor, pipes running up and down and rooms that seemed to whirl with the music of some mysterious mechanics.
"This is so amazing!" He caught Katara's jaded stare and backtracked. "I mean, those thieves!"
Zuko was waiting for them inside his room, still in bed-rest. Suki was sitting by his side, her face revealing nothing, almost like the girl he had met before, so confident and open, was gone. He wondered at that, he wondered about a night of a kiss and warmth and so much more, to a point that he almost didn't notice the two other presences inside the room, but sure enough, Ty Lee and Mai were both there, seeming as unsure as he felt.
"Easy boomerang guy, they are friends" Suki exclaimed, and Sokka realized he had his weapon at a ready.
"And how do you know that?"
"She obviously does." Toph said walking past him and finding a chair that she promptly used to rise her dirty feet over the sheets. "Hello there, name's Toph, I kicked your butts once or twice."
Mai narrowed her gaze, but Ty Lee smiled. "Hi Toph, I'm Ty Lee, I kicked yours and your friends' butts too."
It should come as no surprise that Toph laughed out loud at that point. "Good one, but I wouldn't brag about those guys, they loose all the time."
Sokka frowned. "What is that suppose to mean?"
"She might be talking about how you get capture a lot." Suki said, smirking.
"Not all the time!"
"I captured you guys some times, and I was horrible at it" Zuko interrupted, and Sokka had to blink, wondering if that was really a joke that he heard there, and if it was all that good considering Toph, Aang and Suki all laughed at it.
"Oh, well, remind me again, who got captured by Azula?" He stared straight at Suki, but she just kept laughing and suddenly his come back sounded a lot better in his head.
"Sorry..." Suki managed through giggles. "I just, I really missed you."
Whatever he wanted to say, suddenly rolled back down his throat. Suki had only just been to prison, it shouldn't strike him so hard, the way she sounded so… Wistful.
"Sorry to interrupt the fun, but there is a reason we came here." Katara said, cutting to the chase, and looking at Suki. "You made some promises."
"And we need to know about those spirits, it looked like you two knew what that was about." Aang followed, indicating he wasn't about to budge.
In front of him, Zuko and Suki shared one brief look.
"Uncle, would you please close the door?"
One more chapter, please read and review.