A/N: sorry this took so long lmao
The Tale of Iroh
For the longest time, Iroh Sozin did not expect to become his father's heir.
He had all the right credentials. He was the eldest, he was a son, he was smart and witty at after-dinner conversations and keen on business decisions. But something was always a bit off. Some missing piece that held him back. Iroh didn't know what it was himself, but he assumed his father would figure it all out and decide that perhaps Ozai was the best fit for Sozin Enterprises.
Iroh lived his younger years like that, doing what his father said; taking the business classes, dating the right women, learning the ups and downs and intricacies that it took to control a powerful technology company in a rising industry. In his free time, he made friends with practically anyone who crossed his path, playing Pai Sho and harboring a borderline unhealthy love of tea. With the pressure from his family reaching a boiling point, with his mother begging him to get settle down, Iroh finally married the beautiful Ilah. She was a nice girl from a nice family that went to a nice school and fit the mold for a Sozin wife perfectly. They got along well enough, Ilan had a dark humor and a snort instead of a laugh, and Iroh quickly fell into a sort-of love (as love as it could be, the relationship having been arranged, after all). Their son was born two years the day after their wedding and Iroh finally understood the idea of true love, the idea that a person could control your life and cause you to give anything and everything. Lu Ten carried Iroh in the palm of his small hand.
However, Azulon kept having Iroh travel across the world, sign documents he didn't know the details of, smile at galas he wasn't informed what were funding. Iroh was waiting for the day when he would get the phone call, or be called into the office, or maybe even get a letter saying that, after careful consideration, Azulon thought it was in the best of interests to make Ozai the controller of the company in his stead and he could finally settle down into a comfortable life with his family.
Especially since his wife, his beautiful wife that Iroh always had in his corner, to lean on, died in a plane crash and the whole ordeal completely gutted him.
But Iroh was still given work. Even when it seemed the world was falling around him, Iroh was given people to talk to, papers to sign, phone calls to make. As Lu Ten grew up, it started to nag at Iroh more and more that he couldn't be there as he signed checks for nannies and the best private schools.
Perhaps, though, through all the tired years Iroh spent putting toward the company did Azulon see something in Iroh he did not see in himself.
Because, in the end, Iroh somehow became Azulon's heir.
It was a perfect storm that caused Ozai to become out of the picture. He had finally had had the mental breakdown that everyone knew he was thundering towards. In a fit of rage, he had scarred his own son over some business transaction that had ended sourly and public eye turned to the Sozins. And that led to paper after paper being written and security camera footage being dug up and screenshots being leaked— all revealing the abuser and skeezy businessman Ozai was.
Iroh believed Ozai to be in some asylum down south, one where the walls are softly painted and the flowers changed every day. But he couldn't be sure, Ursa handled that side of the family. Iroh was not sure if she should, but Azulon gave her the rights when the public viewed her as a symbol of female strength in the face of male abuse. Iroh always thought Ursa to be nearly as bad as a mother as Ozai was a father, but in a different way, where Ozai smothered his children with control and had favorites, Ursa wasn't nearly as active and reassuring to the children as she could have been.
But that was not Iroh's call to make, whether Ursa was a good mother or not
Until it was. Until everything in the company, their lives became his problem.
Azulon died in his sleep, leaving no specific instructions on who his heir should be, but everyone knew it was not the wild man who tried to kill his son.
Iroh braced himself for the future ahead.
The Tale of Hakoda
While Hakoda was being raised, he never viewed himself as being rich.
He remembered having a large house, but everyone at his school and in his neighborhood had a large house. He remembered getting a car the same day he got his permit, but everyone he knew had the same. He always had the new video game, the best toys, but it was the same: everyone he knew had the same.
Hakoda always viewed his parents as hard-working and diligent. His mother had fought her way from a system of century-old families to move to Caldera, where she worked multiple jobs to get a degree. His father had stayed up every night for eight years, all the way through high school and college, to get a scholarship, then a degree, and then his own business and family to run.
Hakoda didn't have to work night shifts to pay for college and he didn't have to fight over a scholarship, even though he could have earned one with his mother's strict policies on grades.
No matter what he did, his parents were always loving and supportive and he had the resources to be the friend you went to if you were in a money pinch. He thought his life was complete.
Then he met Kya.
She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen then and he will say she still is. He never learned much about her family, but that was all Kya's decision. It wasn't his place to decipher if she came from suppressive money or abusive poverty. But it didn't matter in the end.
Hakoda fell in love with her. The way her nose turned up when she smiled, even when her mouth didn't even quirk. He loved her face when they were both obviously in the wrong, but she sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to say it. He loved her laugh, her advice on anything, from the work his father gave him to which car to buy. He loved the way she talked, never talking down to you but only as an equal. He just couldn't seem to marry her fast enough.
Kya's arm was around his elbow when his father, already so much older by the time they married, died before their son was born. Her hand was the one he gripped when he became CEO, even though she was toddling on her feet at nine months pregnant. Her shoulder was the one he cried on when he first saw little Sokka, wrapped tight in a soft yellow blanket, even though she was the one who had to go through ten hours of labor. Kya was the one who backed him up with every little fight he had with Katara as she began to show signs of that exact stubbornness that both Kya and his mother had. Kya was the one who, even while battling cancer, gave him the final strength to parent his children properly and not to let his life completely fall apart when she finally had to leave.
But he couldn't help when he slipped just a little. After all, his rock was gone. Who was going to support him now if he had to support everyone else?
Katara became the mother of their family, making sure Hakoda got his three meals a day, made sure Sokka washed his clothes, made sure Kanna got all the meds in her system before playing bingo with the other Nayuk mothers.
And Hakoda could not help but feel guilty. He could not control his life, his family. He could barely do it with his wife there, always whispering words of encouragement when he needed it. He could not stop his life around him when he began to lose her… and, like hell, if he'd willingly give up his son or daughter's future but squandering his chances in the company, too. The one thing he hadn't seemed to mess up quite yet.
So Hakoda began to grip Nayuk Industries with an iron fist.
No one knew where the Sozin - Nayuk family fight had originated from.
Sozin Enterprises came from old money and seemed to have enemies nearly everywhere. There were rumors the CEO's family-- the job passed from parent to oldest child-- had ties to the old Fire Nation Royal family and probably some blood cults as well. All those rumors were completely possible, the family sure looked the part: their straight noses, clear skin, and god-like golden eyes. Within the company and by the citizens around the world, but especially in Caldera, the family was revered. And, of course, they were loaded. Innovation was necessary in every generation and technology companies like theirs couldn't help but make mountains of cash.
Nayuk Industries had been in the public light for far less time than the Sozin family. They had always had roots grown everywhere, but hadn't let their exact wealth be known by the world. They had been comfortable, with large houses and friends in high places, but never rich rich like the Sozins were. But, right at the turn of the century, when social media made everything just that much more popular, the various businesses they owned just all became that much richer.
Regardless of if it began by two friends bickering, starcrossed lovers, enemies, or a war, the companies were in constant competition with each other. Both were equally stubborn and were not letting go of this hatred that had been tradition for generations . Employees of each company and even friend-of-afriend whoworked at one, would spit at the opposing people in public. Guns, waterskins, swords, whatever would be drawn whenever a slight disagreement happened to befall them both.
Even when Hakoda came into power and Iroh was forced into it, old habits die hard. But one thing was very clear:
No Nayuk could ever fall in love with a Sozin.
The Bei Fong Marketplace--one of the many in Caldera and one of the many branches of Bei Fong International-- downtown was one of the most popular places in the city. Along with the usual franchise stores, there were mom-and-pop shops, small restaurants, and booths selling fresh food and groceries. Along with woodwork, picnic benches, cement floor, exposed beams, and metalworking, gave the illusion that it was a niche thrown-together building rather than what it really was: a glorified mall.
The homey vibe hid the fact that the marketplace was made to look homey to make crazy amounts of money.
And it did. Make a lot of money, that is.
It was even busy on the Tuesday afternoon that Amok and his coworker, Kimyu, were sent to pick up fish for the Nayuk family's personal Chef Quiliraq. College students had brought laptops, friends were chatting over at the bubble tea booth, and couples walked around pointing out treats and trinkets. It was filled with people, but it wasn't as suffocating as it would be on the weekend.
That made it easier for the interns to spot the Sozin businessmen standing in line at the coffee shop.
Amok bit the inside of his cheek. He knew he could be civil; after all, those Sozin businessmen were just minding their own business and getting coffee. Amok enjoyed getting coffee sometimes, though he knew tea was obviously better for your body. But he couldn't blame some simple folk Sozin men to know such a basic fact.
Amok scoffed to himself and turned back to his job: helping Kimyu remember was Chef Quiliraq specifically wanted for the fish.
Even after they had moved on from the seafood stall and onto a spice vendor, the two couldn't help but turn their heads to keep an eye on the men. And it was hard not to dislike them. They just such a cocky way of holding themselves with their shoulders rolled back and their hair not brushed and suits wrinkled. It was an obvious thing, their egos were so big that those two Sozin scumbuckets didn't think they need to respect themselves, let alone the people they come across. Spirits forbid they were actually doing business dressed like that!
Amok couldn't help his fingers when they itched towards his waterskin, just like he knew Kimyu couldn't stop his fingers spinning around the handle of the dagger he kept at his waist. It was an involuntary reaction. The Sozin businessman just couldn't be trusted.
When one of the men snapped at a fellow customer, Amok flinched.
"We shouldn't have to take their shit, Kimyu," he whispered under his breath. In his hand, he inspected a collection of dill.
Kimyu looked up from the bottle he was reading the ingredients off. "No, cause then we'd be plumbers."
"If they do anything out of the ordinary--"
Kimyu nodded. "You'll draw your water and I'll draw my dagger."
They went back to searching for ingredients, keeping their eyes out as a public service to protect every innocent civilian.
Just as they were leaving the spice stand, waving goodbye to the pretty cashier that helped them find ingredients, the Sozin businessman walked up.
Amok and Kimyu did not jump at them. After all, Nayuk employees and watertribe men alike were raised to be polite and always know when to admit where there are wrong.
If they were ever wrong.
The men stood in a stand-off, neither seeming to breathe or make a move.
Amok, taking a deep breath to calm himself, nodded at the men and continued out the shop. Even if they were Sozin, everyone deserves at least a little respect.
Amok and Kimyu had made it outside the store when he heard a light scoff. He turned his head slightly, trying to hear what they said.
"Can you believe those Nayuk guys? Think they're better than us. Think they're better than everyone," One of the Sozin men laughed to himself. "Sozin is a better company, Sozin is a better family, and Nayuk's will always be the Water Tribe peasants kissing the Fire Nation's feet."
With just a flick of his wrist, Amok threw the water he was gripping at the back of the man's head.
Iroh Sozin had to be pulled from a meeting by his son and sister-in-law, sent down to hopefully break up the fight-- and to make sure none of her children were involved.
Hakoda Nayuk had a phone call interrupted by his mother to make sure his son wasn't somehow involved in that fight.
The first thing Iroh saw was his future niece-in-law, Ty Lee, pinning a Nayuk man to the ground and beating him senseless. And though he couldn't see his niece anywhere, wherever Ty Lee was Azula was close by. His nephew was nowhere in sight. The rest of the marketplace was filled with either his employees or the Nayuk's, who had come to join the fight when they heard of a good brawl and citizens who would cheer on their favorite. The crowd was bloodthirsty. If someone didn't do something and fast… Iroh jumped in to separate the fight as best he could.
Though Hakoda did not see his son or daughter, he did see one of his friend's sons, Hahn, being beat senseless by some Sozin woman pinning him to the ground. Even if Hakoda never cared for the boy (he was so awful at his previous job that the board decided to put him into a more honorary position, one where he had virtually no impact on the business) Hahn was still a Nayuk Industries employee and a water tribe man.
As Hakoda speed-walked through the brawl unfolding in the marketplace, he saw more people he somewhat recognized. There were his chef's assistants, the intern that brought him coffee, and his daughter's driver throwing punches and kicks. How could his own employees act so rashly? Could he not control them long enough to keep a fight from breaking out?
Just as the two men were really getting involved in the fight, as gust of wind cut through the crowd and blew people apart.
Gyatso sighed from the second floor. "Why am I even surprised? When Aang told me there was a fight downtown I should have known it was the Sozin-Nayuk crowd." Just behind him, Aang shook his head. "Why are you both so insistent on disrupting peace? At this point, I don't even know if there ever was peace. Nearly every day there is some fight or the other and it is always your company! Again and again! Hakoda, Iroh— and don't even bother to hide, I know you are both here—answer for your families."
The two men stepped up.
"Who started this fight?" Gyatso continued, eyeing both the men.
Behind Iroh, a Sozin man roze his hand. "They would not know, Gyatso. They just got here."
"And do you know, young man?"
He nodded. "Ruon- Jian and I were minding our own business when two Nayuk ruffians pounced us--"
From behind Hakoda, Hahn, looking smug even with a bleeding cheek and black eye, laughed loudly.
Hakoda prepared himself for a migraine.
"Gyatso, supreme peacekeeper. This Sozin filth is lying to your face! Ty Lee and those two men were attacking my two Nayuk brethren--!" Hahn started.
"I told you, I was trying to keep the peace--!"
A bickering fight began to rise between the parties involved and soon the entire companies were nearly fighting again as others described how they joined the fight.
Another gust of wind shut the crowd down. "This is exactly what I mean! You two need to stop fighting!" He massaged his temples for a moment before looking back at both of them. "The next person caught fighting the opposite company will be banished from Caldera." He took a deep breath. "End of story, no appeals, no pleading, no matter who it is. Let's hope that finally satiates you both."
No words were spoken, no fists were thrown, the crowd only stood there in shock. He couldn't be serious, could he?
But Gyatso did not stutter, did not take back his words, stood there until Aang came up behind to tell that the chauffeur was ready.
The crowd did not speak again. As they picked themselves up, fixed wounds and brushed off dust, the same thoughts were running through their heads.
Would this finally be the end? Could this satiate them both? Should this be how it ends? No one knew at that point, not yet.
review please and maybe the next chapter won't take years to publish