Zuko remains silent as they settle down for the night in spite of the way his heart is threatening to pound its way out of his chest. Toph waits. If he wants to talk, he will. If he doesn't, pushing will only make it worse.
"Is Katara mad at me?" he finally asks, his voice a whisper, because he can't always tell whether someone's angry at him, or he only thinks they should be. Toph doesn't laugh.
"Nah," she says instead, snuggling up next to him. His heart slows just a fraction. The tension in his shoulders loosens just a tiny bit.
"Is she mad at Uncle?"
Toph considers for a long moment before replying. "No. But you know how overprotective she can be sometimes."
"Why?" He sounds confused. "Uncle wouldn't do anything to Aang. He's on our side."
This time Toph does laugh. "I think it's you she's worried about, Sparky."
"Me?" Now he's surprised. "Why would she be worried about me?"
"You're one of us now." Toph yawns, then adds, "Duh."
Zuko is quiet for a while, thinking. "Uncle keeps looking at everyone. I don't know why."
"Maybe he's worried." Toph's starting to drift off now. She wonders how she ever got to sleep at night before she started using him as a human heat pack.
"It reminds me of when we were on the ship." Zuko's voice is somehow even quieter now. "He used to look at the crew that way, sometimes."
Toph's officially too sleepy to figure out what he's talking about, which means she has two options: one, go to sleep; or two, sit up and try to clear her head enough to continue the conversation.
She nudges him with her elbow. "Sparky? You okay?" she asks.
"Huh?" She feels him shift beside her. "Yeah. It's just-they're both being weird, and I don't know what to do about it."
"Maybe it's not your responsibility to do anything." Toph suggests. "Katara can handle herself. So can Uncle. If there's something going on, they can work it out themselves."
"Like when Katara and Sokka are arguing?"
"Exactly. Now go to sleep."
He doesn't, but then again, sometimes he can't. He does start meditating though, which evens out his breathing and slows his heartbeat (some) and allows them both to relax enough that Toph figures it's okay for her to give in and drift off.
It gets steadily colder through the night. Sokka scoots closer to Katara out of habit, because they've been huddling together for warmth at night for as long as either of them can remember, but neither of them lays there shivering for very long before they both come to a silent agreement and get up, dragging their bed things along with them.
Aang has already beaten them to it; the airbender is nestled snugly against Zuko's chest, his head tucked under the firebender's chin. Toph has her back pressed up against the former prince as usual. Katara spares Toph an envious glance that she would never admit to under the light of day and settles next to the girl, throwing her blanket longways over the three of them.
Sokka lays down next to Aang and does the same with his own blanket, fully aware that Zuko will get too hot and toss both blankets aside before the night is out. He also knows it won't matter; by then the five of them will be sound asleep in a toasty pile of bodies and won't need them.
Zuko wakes up in a tangle of arms, legs, and clothing. He's too hot, but he's also not going anywhere. It's difficult enough to get Toph off of him without waking her up, but now, with it nearly impossible to tell where one person begins and the next ends, he has no chance at all. He might not mind waking the others up, but he knows better when it comes to Toph.
Never mind that Aang currently has his face buried in the firebender's chest and Katara looks more at peace than she has in days and Sokka is smiling in his sleep and at times like this Zuko almost feels like he belongs somewhere.
He closes his eyes, content to meditate until someone else wakes up and decides to take their life in their hands by disturbing the earthbender.
If Iroh wasn't sure what to make of his nephew trying to disentangle himself from one sleeping child the day before, he has absolutely no idea what to do with the sight of his nephew buried in a pile of unconscious bodies. Zuko is thoroughly pinned, with no chance of escape, and one of the children currently has an arm draped over part of his face as if its owner doesn't know (or doesn't care) that there's burned skin, a misshapen ear, and a nearly blind eye underneath said arm.
But all of them are asleep, including his nephew, and so for a moment Iroh is simply content to study the five of them.
He startles when Zuko opens his eyes, or at least, the one not hidden beneath a wayward arm. His nephew's eyebrow lifts, and it takes the older firebender far too long to identify the accompanying emotion as amusement.
Iroh raises an eyebrow in reply, and really looks at him.
Zuko frowns in response.
"What?" he asks, but there's no sharp edge to the question. No defensiveness or anger or fear. Just confusion.
Zuko is lying in a pile of bodies, being touched by no less than four different people, currently unable to move, and is not afraid.
His breathing is steady. Even. His voice is calm. Quiet.
Someone-Iroh cannot quiet tell who-has their arm draped across his scar, and his nephew doesn't seem to care.
He's still frowning though, and he's frowning at Iroh. His expression grows worried as he waits for an answer, and the longer his uncle stands there in silence, the more worried he looks.
Iroh finds his voice.
"You look well, Zuko," he says at last. It is not sufficient.
"Ugh." The waterbender stirs, interrupting them before Iroh can find more. "Too hot," she adds, shifting without opening her eyes. Someone else in the pile lets out a soft moan.
Zuko rolls his eyes, but doesn't try to move.
"Why are there so many arms?" The Avatar looks around blearily. "That's too many, even for a sky bison."
"Slumber party," Katara yawns. This time she opens her eyes. She manages to raise her head enough to look at Zuko, and grimaces. "That cannot feel good."
"Actually, it doesn't feel like anything at all?" Zuko's response is uncertain, and when she gives him a look, his eye widens. "I mean, it feels weird, but it doesn't hurt?"
"Hmm." Katara somehow manages to get an arm free and uses it to grab the offending limb. She lifts it just long enough for Zuko to turn his head. "Ready?" she asks, letting the arm go.
She receives a muffled reply from Iroh's nephew and jabs a still unconscious body in the side. Hard.
"Ow!" Sokka jerks, his hand smacking Zuko in the face-and his good eye.
"Ow," the firebender echoes, with less conviction.
"Shut. Up." The earthbender shifts, and everyone freezes. When she shows no further signs of waking up, Sokka raises his head to study their current situation.
He looks over at Zuko, whose good eye is watering. "Sorry."
"At least it's not a black eye this time," Katara points out.
Zuko snorts. "I've had worse."
Neither sibling so much as bats an eye. Iroh wonders if their reaction is to their credit, or if they simply don't know any better.
"I swear I'm not trying to blind you," Sokka says. He wiggles experimentally, to see if he can shift some bodies. Toph's breath hitches, and for another long moment no one moves.
"I believe you?" Zuko replies, like he's not quite sure what the appropriate response is. "Aang."
The Avatar mumbles something and shoves his face farther into the older boy's chest. Toph rolls over and wraps her arms around him. Zuko looks toward Katara.
"Help."
The waterbender laughs at him and manages to escape the pile. Sokka shoots a reproachful glance in her direction.
"Well," Katara drawls, grinning as she stretches. "I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go start breakfast."
Zuko looks alarmed. "Wait."
"Kataaara," Sokka whines.
Aang mutters something in his sleep, and suddenly Zuko looks pained.
Toph sits straight up. "Get off him." She shoves Sokka unceremoniously aside and grabs the Avatar.
Aang sits up, blinks, and looks down at Zuko, who hasn't moved. "You okay?"
He looks around, eyes wide, and now that every muscle is suddenly rigid Iroh realizes how comfortable he must actually be around these children, to have allowed himself to relax as much as he had.
"Sparky. Breathe," the earthbender says just as Iroh realizes he isn't.
Zuko nods, and takes a breath, and keeps breathing. "Just. Need a minute."
His voice sounds slightly strangled as he clambers awkwardly to his feet. The others are carefully not not looking at him, except for the blind girl, who looks as if she's staring right at him.
"See you at breakfast," she says, and then he's gone.
Aang winces. "I think I called him Sozin. I was dreaming about riding dragons. I used to, you know." He stops and frowns. "I mean, Roku used to?"
"Sparky's fine," the earthbender says. "When's breakfast?"
Katara watches Iroh as he watches Zuko sit down. The younger firebender looks at his uncle, then at everyone else.
"I'm okay," he says, and sounds like he means it. Toph pokes him in the ribs, and he jerks away, bumping his uncle and making him nearly spill his tea. "Sorry," he says, eyes widening in horror. Iroh waves him off and takes a sip as if they haven't all heard about the man's tea obsession in excruciating detail, courtesy of his nephew.
Toph cackles and takes a bite of her breakfast only to immediately spit it back out on her plate.
"Too hot," she snaps, and Zuko ducks his head in an attempt to hide his smirk.
It doesn't work. Toph tackles him, knocking both of them away from the table, cackling as she ends up on top of him, jabbing and poking and pinching while he tries to figure out if he's allowed to defend himself.
Katara sighs and goes back to her breakfast. Across the table Sokka does the same.
Iroh turns from the spectacle and raises and eyebrow in the waterbender's direction. A silent question.
Katara shrugs. "I don't know why he keeps provoking her like that. He should know better by now." She says it with a completely straight face, somehow.
Aang laughs. Sokka nearly snorts porridge out his nose. Zuko's uncle relaxes, and in that moment it becomes painfully obvious exactly how on guard he's been the past two days.
His expression is fond as he turns his attention back to his nephew, if still a bit uncertain, and Katara figures he's not used to Zuko having friends.
Toph wins, as she always does. Katara can tell by the way Zuko suddenly starts shouting at the sky.
"Toph Beifong is the greatest earthbender in the world! Maybe the best bender in the world-ouch!" Toph is sitting on his chest, grinning.
"Toph is the best bender in the world. And the best fighter. And the toughest. And the best in general. Happy now?"
Toph smiles sweetly down at him and pokes him in the shoulder one last time before scrambling off him and rejoining the table.
Zuko sits up and takes a moment to collect himself.
"That wasn't a fair fight," he complains as he sits back down as well.
"I know," Toph agrees, and he looks surprised until she adds, "I am blind after all. What's the matter with you?"
Zuko reddens, and looks away. "That's not what I meant," he mumbles.
Sokka chuckles. Toph elbows the firebender affectionately in the ribs. Katara allows herself a smile. Across the table Iroh does the same.
Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Airbender does not belong to me.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! They are always appreciated, and often fuel for my next bit of work. I really like this kind of thing, with not a lot of plot, but room for the characters to just be, and I know I've said it before, but Zuko joined them so late in the series that it felt like he didn't get a lot of bonding time with the others, so here I am, letting them bond.
Also, if you're interested, I just started a new Encanto piece, Open Your Eyes. It's a sequel of sorts to one of my other fics, Just Happy You're Here.