Disclaimer: Don't own A:TLA for god's sake! Jeez!

Note: This is a challenge fic issued by 4EverSleepingDragon.

Warning: mpreg (male pregnancy), possibly OOC-ness, and an AU-fic as well. Also, there is yaoi (slash) in this story, so if you are against that, please leave. Do not say I did not warn you. Mild cursing…

Thank you for the reviews!

Katara yawned as she sat up, shivering a bit at the cool air striking her skin as the blanket slid off of her. Glancing around while rubbing her eyes, she caught sight of the rest of the gang.

Aang was curled up, sleeping soundly in the corner of Appa's saddle, near Appa's head. Sokka was snoring loudly on the other hand, lying on his back and stretched out as far as he could in the saddle. Iroh was snoring as well, sleeping in a half-way sitting position, his head placed against the rim of the saddle. Momo was curled in Iroh's lap. Zuko, on the other hand, was lying on his back at the very far corner of the saddle, an arm slung over his face, another arm resting on his stomach. He had a pained look on his face.

Scooting closer to the Prince, Katara cocked her head a bit. "Zuko? Are you awake?" She whispered, careful not to wake anyone.

The said Firebender shifted his arm a bit so that he could look up at her. "Oh. You're up."

"Mornin'." Katara greeted smiling a bit, but the smile disappeared when the Firebender didn't answer. "Are you okay?"

"No." Zuko snapped, but kept his voice low.

Katara waited patiently for more, but soon realized that he wasn't going to say anything else. "Is it the morning sickness again?" She finally questioned.

"Yes." Zuko hissed. Then, after a moment's silence, "Could you hand me that bag?"

"The one the old healer gave you?" Katara asked, reaching for it. It was lying nearby, strapped securely on top of one of their sleeping bags.

"Yeah." Zuko answered, then groaned as he slowly sat up. "Spirits damn this." He muttered angrily, more to himself than to her. He quickly opened the bag and pulled out one of the metal coated vials. Flipping the top open with his bandaged hand, he took a quick gulp from it and winced. "Ugh…"

"Taste bad?" Katara asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Horrible." A pause. "But it works."

Katara nodded and smiled, before looking over the edge of the saddle. They were high in the sky, the ground below them just a mess of green and brown. "It's beautiful up here."

Zuko glanced down once. "Whatever."

Katara looked back at him and frowned. "Someone's grumpy."

"You try finding out that you're pregnant and have morning sickness and we'll see who's Mister Sunshine."

"Well, it's kinda your fault anyways." Katara chided, giggling a bit.

"Don't remind me." Zuko put his head back onto the edge of the saddle, looking up at the dawning sky. "This stupid sickness is reminder enough. Makes me want to torch the first thing I see."

Katara winced and scooted back. Zuko shot her an amused look. "Oh don't worry. I won't torch you. I'm thinking more on the lines of him."

Katara followed his gaze to Sokka and she giggled. "Yeah, he has that ability to get annoying really fast. I had to live with him for fourteen years."

"I feel your pain."

Katara sighed. "But he doesn't mean any harm. He's really nice you know. A bit sexist and an idiot, but he has a good heart."

Zuko chuckled at that. "If you say so."

Katara shot him a soft glare. "You know—"

But Zuko never found out what she was about to say, because right then, a tired but chipper voice interrupted.

"Hey guys! What 'chya talking about?"

The two benders turned to look at the young airbender, who was sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Morning Aang!" Katara greeted, while Zuko just nodded to him. "'Nothing important."

"Oh." Aang said, now wide-awake. "Okay then." He quickly clambered on top of Appa's head. The bison grunted in response. "Hey, Appa. How're you doin' boy?"

The bison grunted again and yawned loudly.

"Hey Aang?"

The airbender turned to look at Katara.

"When are we going to land? We've been flying for three days now."

Aang sighed. "Soon. Appa's getting tired too."

They landed not so long after that, in the middle of a small clearing in a forest. Aang almost immediately hopped off, eager to stretch his legs. The others, (now all wide awake) waited until Appa settled onto the ground before hopping or sliding off.

Zuko was the last one off, still feeling a bit ill from the morning sickness, but it was bearable now. Hopping off of Appa, he glanced wearily around the clearing. "How close is the next village?"

Aang shrugged. "Don't know. But I was thinking that while you two set up camp, me, Sokka, and Katara could go scouting."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "Why the three of you?"

"Because if we do find a village or something, we don't know if they're Firebender friendly or not. Plus, if the village is a Fire Nation village, we still can't have you two just walk in." Aang pointed out.

Iroh nodded slowly. "True. The Fire Nation is out to capture us."

Zuko frowned but nodded in agreement as well, glancing down at the bison who grunted and was currently nuzzling its nose against him.

"We'll be back in a little bit, 'kay?" Katara said as she followed the boys into the woods.

Iroh glanced wearily at his nephew. "You find some firewood. I'll set up the tents."

Zuko snorted, but didn't complain. He had a faint feeling his uncle was doing this on purpose…giving him the easier tasks…

Soon there was a small but warm fire crackling in the center of the tiny camp. Of course, the camp only consisted of two tents, three sleeping bags, one bison, one lemur, and two Firebenders, but it was a camp.

Zuko sighed in boredom as he watched the lemur run around after a butterfly, trying to catch it and eat it. "They've been gone for an hour, uncle. What if something happened?"

Iroh smiled patiently as he lay on his back, staring up at the blue sky, watching the clouds go by. "The village may be far away, nephew. And besides. The journey there is one thing, but you must come back as well…Oh! Look! A bunny!"

Zuko glanced up at the cloud, not really seeing anything but white fluff. He saw nothing fun about cloud gazing.

There was a sudden crunch to the left and both Firebenders sat up, tensing. But when the three familiar faces appeared out of the woods, they immediately relaxed.

"Finally." Zuko snapped as he stood, brushing off the dirt from his white (now grey and worn) clothes. "What took you?"

Sokka grinned at him. "Aw! Didn't know you cared!"

Zuko snorted at that. "I just don't want to be the one having to save your butts all the time."

Katara laughed. "We've saved your butt more than you did ours, Zuko."

The Prince raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Is that a challenge?"

Iroh hurriedly intervened before anything could happen. "—So, did you find a village?"

Aang nodded, grinning broadly. "Yep. It's a bit far, though, but they seem Firebender friendly. We didn't buy anything though. Just looked."

Iroh nodded absentmindedly as he sat back down in front of the campfire. "Good. Maybe I can finally have some tea."

Rolling his eyes, Zuko turned to Aang. "What do we do now? The bison still needs to rest."

"How 'bout you practice some Waterbending Aang?" Katara piped up.

Zuko nodded in agreement. "Good idea. There is a stream nearby. I'll show you where."

Aang groaned loudly, but followed the two.

Sokka glanced after the three then at Iroh, who shot him a dark look. Grinning sheepishly, Sokka quickly rushed after the trio. The retired General still seemed to be holding a grudge…

"No Aang! You have to push the water not pull!" Katara almost screamed at the boy, who groaned in frustration.

"I am pushing it Katara!"

"No, you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"No you're—"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Both benders jumped and looked in surprise at the Firebender, who was currently in the middle of a fighting sequence.

"I can't concentrate with you two constantly bickering!" Zuko snarled at them, shifting his stance into a defensive one, blocking an imaginary attack.

Sokka glanced down at the stick he had been carving. It now resembled a tiny toothpick. "He's right, Katara. It really is annoying."

Katara shot him a glare, but sighed. "Fine. I guess that's enough for today, Aang—"

"Yippee!" The airbender didn't need to be told twice. "C'mon Sokka! Let's go look for berries! I think I saw a bush way back—"

Katara shook her head slowly as she watched Aang grab Sokka and energetically start pulling him back towards the camp. "What am I going to do with him?" She wondered aloud.

"Nothing."

Katara jumped a little, and looked at the Firebender. She had managed to forget he was there already.

Zuko shot her a grin. "Now, back to the business we started, I'll ask again. Was that a challenge?"

Katara grinned slowly, shifting into a defensive stance. "Whenever you're ready, Zuko."

Both of them were breathing heavily by the time they stumbled back to camp. The sun was already midway across the sky, telling them they had managed to miss lunch.

"Who…won?" Katara gasped quietly to her mock opponent.

"Dunno…" Zuko hissed back. "Tie?"

Katara nodded, still gasping as the others caught sight of them.

"Katara! Zuko!" Aang cried happily. "Where were you guys?" Then, "What happened to you two?"

Both benders grinned broadly. "Just a small challenge." Zuko answered. "It was a tie though."

Sokka glanced at his sister, who looked ready to collapse. "You tied with him? Wow. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Shut it, Sokka." Katara snapped, sitting down by the campfire. "Just be happy that I'm to tired to water-whip you."

Sokka quickly backed off, instead tried to approach Zuko, but a glare from Iroh forced him to rethink the idea. He finally sat down next to Aang.

Iroh settled beside his nephew. "This challenge…was it a fight?"

"Oh no Uncle." Zuko said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "It was an eating contest… Of course it was a battle."

Iroh ignored the sarcasm, but frowned deeply. "I would rather you not fight, even mock battles—"

"Why?" Zuko snapped, feeling his temper flare despite the tiredness.

"Zuko…" Iroh sighed, but got no further as Zuko jumped up.

"Oh for Spirit's sake Uncle! Stop treating me like a child! I can take care of myself you know!"

"It's not that Zuko—" Iroh tried to explain. The others had fallen silent by now and were watching intently.

"Then what is it Uncle? Is it because I'm pregnant?"

Iroh winced at that and fell silent. After a few moments, Zuko snorted, letting smoke curl up from his nostrils. "I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me." He growled, stomping off into the woods.

Iroh watched him go, knowing better than to follow. Once again, he had managed to make his nephew angry, but it was for his own good… Iroh was only doing his job of looking out for him.

Zuko stomped through the woods, trying very hard not to set everything ablaze. He hated this. He had suspicions of what his uncle was doing, but knew why. His uncle cared for him and naturally worried for his well being…but it would be nice if he didn't make it so blatantly obvious!

Seriously. You'd think he was still a child. Well…

Zuko paused. He technically was. In the Fire Nation, a person does not reach adulthood until the age of 21. He was still considered a child.

But he hadn't been a child since he was six! He was a Prince, banished or not. A Prince. He could take care of himself.

But…

He was with a child now. He had to take care of the baby too…

Sighing, Zuko slowed his angry pace. His uncle only wanted to protect him. Him and the baby. He only meant well.

Like he always does.

Sighing again, he turned to go back, but stopped when he heard something.

It was a small whimper, followed by a scratching sound and some tiny squeaks.

Blinking, Zuko glanced around seeing nothing. Looking up, he finally caught sight of what was making the racket.

Up, in the tree, was a small cage-like trap. Inside it, was a small baby fox. It was about as big as Zuko's palm and had the biggest, brightest jade eyes. It was cream-colored, with little pointy ears and two long, bushy tails. It was whimpering pityingly, staring down at him and scratching the cage sadly.

Glancing around to make sure no hunter or trapper was around, Zuko quickly climbed up the tree. Upon reaching the branch where the little fox was trapped, he took out a small dagger.

The fox squealed in fright at the knife and ran around the tiny cage, trying to get away.

Zuko slid carefully forward so that he was right next to the cage. "Calm down." He muttered to the animal, grabbing the rope that tied the cage to the tree. "I won't hurt you."

Quickly cutting the rope, he grabbed the cage before it fell and lifted it onto the branch, sitting up in the process. He would never admit it out-loud, but he hated seeing animals trapped. He found it cruel.

Snapping the wooden cage bars, he smiled a little. "There. You're free. Now go find your mother or something."

The little fox just stared up at him.

Zuko blinked. "What? You're free! Now go!"

It kept on staring at him.

"Shoo! Scat!" Zuko tried, but the fox didn't budge. Finally, the Prince fell silent and stared at the animal a bit.

There was a mini-staring contest, before Zuko spoke up again. "Are you afraid to get down?"

The animal just cocked its head.

Taking it as a yes, Zuko gently held out his bandaged hand for the animal to climb on. The fox took a quick step backwards, hesitated, and then climbed onto the hand.

The small smile on Zuko's face increased a little as he slowly drew his hand, which held the fox to his chest and climbed gracefully down. The little fox glanced up at him once, then looked down at the ground but did not budge.

"There." The Firebender noted as he sat the fox down onto the ground once he saw that it refused to move.

The fox whimpered in protest as it looked back up at the bender. Zuko stared back down at it, feeling a little unnerved by the creature. What did it want?

Feeling stupid just standing there, he finally turned and started to walk back the way he came. But a glance behind his shoulder forced him to stop.

"Why are you following me?"

The baby fox blinked innocently and cocked its head.

"Go away! Go back to your family or pack or whatever it is you foxes live in!"

The fox just sat down on its hind legs and whimpered.

That was when Zuko noticed a rather nasty cut on the creature's hind leg. "Hey…What happened to you?" He asked as he knelt down, reaching to grab the animal.

The fox dodged his hand, and instead trotted towards the left, stopped, and looked back at him.

Zuko stood, not taking its eyes off the baby fox. It was trying to tell him something, he was sure now.

The fox whimpered and trotted into a bush, disappearing from view. A few seconds later, it reappeared, sticking its head through the green leaves and whimpering.

He hesitated for only a second, and then followed the fox. The animal squealed happily, and trotted ahead, stopping occasionally and glancing back to see if the bender was still following.

"Where are you taking me?" Zuko asked after a while, getting tired. The sun was starting to set and he would like to get back to camp while there was still light out. "What are you—" He fell silent as he fought his way through some thorny bushes and reached the other side after the fox.

"Oh."

Now he understood where the animal had gotten the cut. And why it had been alone in the trap. Why its family never came.

There was a small den hid behind a few bushes and in front of it was a grown-up fox. It was about half the size Zuko was, and was a beautiful white. Or it would have been, if its fur had not been covered with blood. Going round it to get a better view, Zuko couldn't help but gasp and close his eyes. The fox's head was gone.

Opening them again, Zuko glanced around and immediately regretted it. Nearby lay another fox, this one female. Its fur was gone and blood was everywhere.

Near it laid two teeny tiny bodies. Baby foxes. All dead.

The little fox Zuko had saved trotted over to its siblings and nudged them with its nose, whimpering pityingly. It then glanced up at Zuko and sat down on its hind legs, hanging its head as it whimpered silently.

It must've managed to escape… Zuko thought. Only to be caught in a trap. Suddenly feeling very sorry for the creature, he walked to it and knelt down. Holding out his bandaged hand again, he waited for the creature to climb on.

The fox gazed up at him then down at the hand and climbed on. Standing up, Zuko cradled the baby fox to his chest. "C'mon. You can stay with me."

The fox, as an answer, nuzzled against his palm affectionately before glancing back at the bodies sadly.

"Zuko! There you are!" Katara greeted when she caught sight of him. "We were getting worried."

Zuko smiled a little at her. "I had a detour." He said quietly, revealing what he cradled in his arms.

"Is that…" Iroh gasped as he stared at the little animal.

Zuko nodded as Aang and Katara cooed at how cute it was. "I found it caught in a trap. It's family is dead, though."

Sokka stared at the little animal. "Who'd be cruel enough to hurt such a cute thing?" He asked as he reached over to touch it. The fox squeaked in surprise and bit him. "OW!"

Aang and Katara laughed, and even Zuko couldn't help but chuckle at Sokka as he sucked his hurting finger.

Iroh smiled as well. "Foxes are said to bring good luck. Perhaps it could give us some…"

Katara just smiled at the fox. "Who cares? It's adorable! We can keep it, right?" She asked, glancing at Iroh.

Iroh sighed. "Seeing as it is now an orphan, I suppose so."

"YEAH!" Aang yelled happily. "What are we going to name it? Um…I got it! Rin! No…wait! How 'bout Lim? Or—"

"What if Zuko names it?" Sokka piped up. "He's the one that brought it…"

Four pairs of eyes now fixed themselves upon Zuko, who flushed a bit at the sudden attention. "Well…I was kind of thinking…" He paused, staring down at the little fox. It had really been lucky to live… Lucky to have survived… Lucky… Luck… "Yun."

"Okay!" Aang yelled energetically. "Hey Momo! Appa! Meet Yun!" He rounded to the two animals. Appa just grunted and kept on chewing grass, but Momo approached them, staring up at the little fox. Quickly jumping onto Zuko's shoulder, Momo cocked its head to the fox, who just stared right back. The staring contest didn't last long, with Momo getting bored and jumping off of Zuko's shoulder, going back to trying to find nuts to eat.

Katara giggled. "That's it then, Yun's in the family!"

That night, Sokka found he could not sleep. Finally, after a lot of twisting and turning, he crawled out of the tent he shared with Katara and Aang. Glancing around, he caught sight of Iroh sitting by the fire, watching the flames as if in deep thought.

Looking around a bit more, he was surprised to see Zuko laying against Appa with Momo curled around his neck and Yun curled up in his lap. For a moment, he thought the Firebender to be awake, but then saw that he was fast asleep.

Appa let out a yawn right then, almost making Sokka jump. The huge bison glanced down at the Firebender resting against him and nuzzled him gently, before curling its tail around the bender as if shielding him.

Protecting him. Sokka realized as he stood up, not taking his eyes off of Zuko. A sudden thought entered his mind. Was it possible?

"Iroh?"

The retired general turned his head slightly to show that he was listening.

"Do animals know if a person's pregnant?"

Iroh blinked at the strange question. "What do you mean?"

Sokka sat down near the fire, but made sure to sit opposite of Iroh, just in case the general decided now would be a good time to murder him. "Look at him." He hinted towards Zuko. "Appa seems to be shielding him."

Iroh glanced over and smiled a little at the sight. The smile faded though as he looked back at the fire, not willing to look at the Water Tribe boy. He still had not forgiven him completely for making his nephew pregnant.

"I do not know. I would not be surprised if they did though. Animals know things that many times a human does not realize." The retired general said slowly.

"But wouldn't they wonder why Zuko's pregnant? I mean, he's a male…"

"Animals don't always need a reason. They do not always need to wonder why. They accept it and move on in life."

Sokka listened quietly, thinking. It did make sense what Iroh was saying. Appa and Momo were acting a bit more careful and protective of Zuko now. But now that he thought about it, they had been acting like that ever since two weeks ago…after…that happened.

Yawning, Sokka glanced back at Zuko. He couldn't help but think that the Firebender looked cute. Even with that nasty scar, he looked almost vulnerable. Smiling a little, Sokka fought another yawn. Somehow the fact that Appa was watching over Zuko gave him comfort.

End chapter three. Whew.

R&R please.