Amethyst

A/N: And suddenly I realize that my story about Iroh and Asami falling in love has a picture of Loki on it. :/ Thanks for the feedback! We're back for more of our favorite Fire Nation family of awkward turtle-ducks! :3

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Winter

Winter in the Fire Nation was a beautiful thing. Trees stood bare in the cold air, their fingers reaching for the sky. It hardly snowed due to the warmer temperatures, but the air had a nice crisp to it that brought a sense of peace and tranquility to those who wandered outside. Used to slightly colder winters, Asami found that she really enjoyed winter in the Fire Nation, especially after spending an extended period of time there during the colder season.

It had been her idea to visit his family. She had only seen them a few times before and the idea that they would become her permanent family in just a few short months made her jittery with nerves. But, she wasn't the type of woman to let her worries drag her down, so she faced it head-on. She set up connections with her company, temporarily putting her most trusted advisor in charge to oversee the production while she continued to work through the paperwork and company reports in the Fire Nation. It was stressful at times to have to balance her duties to her company while she visited her soon-to-be family, but Iroh was supportive and encouraging, and some days he was the only thing that got her through her obligations.

She didn't think his family could be any more amazing than they already were, but they were almost like a God-send. Patient, kind and sometimes teasing, they welcomed her with smiling faces and open arms just as wonderful as Iroh did, and it warmed her heart to know that she was already so loved by them. As an only child who grew up most of her life with a very busy widowed father, she spent a lot of time on her own. She used to dream about having siblings to play with, or grandparents to tease her and she tried not to show her envy of others who had a whole family. It was a harsh reality to accept that the father she adored- the only family member she could call her own- didn't love her as much as she thought he did. To know that what little semblance of a family she could call her own didn't really exist hurt in a way she couldn't compare to anything else. But, where one failed, another came to take its place.

She really was grateful to Iroh, not only because he was a pillar of support and encouragement for her, but also because he brought her to his family. At first, she didn't know how to react around them. Kind yes, but familial? That was something that had to grow on her, and the Fire Nation Royal family was more than happy to help her with that.

It started with a dinner, a simple moment of meal taking where they all sat at a beautifully carved and polished table and just talked. And not really about anything in particular. They laughed, teased and fought with each other enough to have Iroh apologizing to her in embarrassment, but Asami watched in wonder, unable to pull the amused smile from her lips when she realized just how normal they all were. In the time that followed their arrival, she found the opportunity to speak with all of them on an individual basis, and she really liked what she saw.

Kuzon and Shu were easy to find. They liked to sit with her in the sitting room and create casual conversation while she worked through her Future Industries reports. Kuzon was a quiet intelligent type who carefully planned every word he said and every question he asked. He was genuinely interested in the inner workings of the company she ran and even gave suggestions on what to change to garner more revenue. Shu, on the other hand, was dramatically more interested in the mechanics of the Satomobiles. He was surprisingly sharp with his knowledge about how things worked and asked detailed questions without even seeing a blueprint of how the parts connected. Asami was thrilled and flattered that they both showed such an interest and seemed impressed by the work she had already accomplished. But it wasn't their genuine curiosity for her job that truly touched her heart. It was they way they absentmindedly kept referring to her as "sister" when they spoke to her.

Honora was a wonderful woman with a caring heart and a sharp wit that reminded Asami of Pema. Despite all the duties she attended to as the ruler of the Fire Nation, she was surprisingly quick to smile and offer a hug when somebody needed it. She was a wonderful listener and Asami found that she really enjoyed talking to the older woman. They took long walks around the palace gardens and laughed over tea in the evenings. Honora didn't hide how happy she was to have another woman around. She loved her boys and her daughter, but some things were best expressed between women. She was kind and funny, and the caring way she would tend to Asami reminded the girl of the few memories she still had of her own mother.

Ta Min was nervous around Asami for the first couple days. She was shy and quiet, but Asami could see that she really wanted to talk to her. Eventually the ice broke when Asami saw her struggling to pin her bangs out of her face. She showed the younger girl an easy way to braid them into her hair, and Ta Min watched with shining eyes. And that was it. Ta Min took to Asami like glue, following her everywhere and wanting to spend time with her. Asami obliged willingly, loving that the young princess acted so much like they were sisters already. They laughed and did each other's hair and talked about boys that were cute around the palace and it felt so genuine and easy that Asami couldn't help but feel happy. She had always wanted a younger sister- or any sister at all- and even though it was later in her life, it felt wonderful to have one.

But, above all, Asami found that she liked talking to Zuko the most. The retired Fire Lord was a calm and peaceful man who enjoyed sipping tea and playing Pai Sho by open windows. He always had stories to tell: great battles, great lessons, and occasionally proverbs, which he'd then later admit that he still didn't really know what they were supposed to mean. He always seem to have surprises, like the time she watched him wipe the floor with Iroh in firebending, or the time he tried to do his own family members' voices in one of his stories (she couldn't stop laughing) but when it came down to it, he was a happy man who lived a long, fulfilled life that showed with everything that he did. It was amazing how much he truly loved his family.

They were truly an amazing group of people and despite all the acceptance they showed her, she still felt a small pang of envy. Iroh's family was wonderful, and hers was not. It was disheartening, really, that she could be handed such a horrid situation with her family, only to have the lingering effects affect her still to that day.

It was still bothering her one chilly afternoon as she was visiting Zuko, pulling her lips into an absentminded frown as she contemplated her next move on the Pai Sho board between them. Her mind had escaped her a little bit, catching the sharp-eyed firebender as he took a sip of his tea. Gently placing the cup on the table, Zuko folded his hands.

"Iroh told me about the situation with your father."

She sharply looked up at him, her heart sinking to her stomach.

He grimaced. "Sorry. That wasn't very tactful, was it?"

She shook her head, ignoring the nervous shaking coming to her hands. "No, it's okay. It's just… not really something I like talking about."

He nodded. "I understand."

An uncomfortable silence drew out between them. She placed a Pai Sho piece down on the table.

"You know," Zuko said with a small cough. "I do know what you're going through."

She looked up at him, a little confused when her eyes saw his scar. His scar. Suddenly she remembered all the stories she had heard about Zuko's family: his missing mother, his sister who looked down upon him, and his father. Ozai. The man who had burned his own son's face and banished him from the Fire Nation on a wild goose chase to find a character of a long-lost legend on the fleeting hope that he could restore his honor as a worthy son. It was so easy to forget how horrible Zuko's family had been when she saw how wonderful his family was now.

"For the longest time, I felt so alone," Zuko was saying, contemplating his next move. "Nobody understood how I felt. And I didn't want them to. I was so wrapped up in the idea of finding a way back into the good graces of my father, to have my family back, that nothing else really mattered to me." He rubbed his chin for a short moment before moving one of his pieces into place. "I made a lot of mistakes and trusted a lot of wrong people before I realized that there was no use trying to mend a relationship that never really existed to begin with. But despite my misfortune, I was honestly very, very lucky. I had somebody who never gave up on me, picked me up when I had fallen and pointed me in the right direction, even after I had long stopped believing that there were good things left in the world."

"Your uncle," Asami breathed in realization.

He gave a small, nostalgic smile. "He always believed that I would find happiness in my life. And after all this time, I really do think he was right." He looked up at her. "I believe you also have a person who believes that you can be happy. Am I right?"

She didn't have to think about who he was referring to. A warm, truly happy smile crossed her lips at the thought of her fiancé. "Yes," she said. "Yes, you are."

Zuko smiled. "Good."

A second silence pulled between them, this time much more comfortable. Asami considered her next move thoughtfully.

"You know," she eventually said. "What are the odds that the people who helped us were both named Iroh?"

Zuko smiled secretively behind the rim of his teacup as she slid her piece into place. "What indeed…"

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A/N: Oh Iroh. Where did you run off to? D: Thank you guys so much for reading! I'll be gone again for a couple days, but I promise the next time I update will be worth the wait. :)