A/N: AU world where everyone is older, the Fire Nation is stronger, and the resistance is like the anti-benders in LoK, though more secretive I guess? I dunno, I don't watch LoK. I've read too many bad reviews on Tumblr. It left me disappointed in the show (though the animation is amazing of course). Also, ignore the plotholes~
Warning/s: AU, OOC-ness, kissing. PS this is my world, please use permission before playing in it. Thank you :)
Day Six: Masks
Zuko's heart pounded in his chest as he listened to Kuzon give a speech to their forces. The resistance's leader spoke with a deep and confident voice, giving hope and faith to everyone who chose to go against the Fire Nation's regime that had been going on for far too long. Hearing those words coming from the tall male whose face was covered in a blank white mask made Zuko's blood rush mostly south. He couldn't help but be aroused by the man's presence. He had always been attracted to those with confidence and power, though he wouldn't openly admit it considering who he was descended from.
Kuzon soon wrapped up his speech, gaining the cheers and applaud of the masked troops. Zuko didn't know who started or suggested it, but everyone in the resistance wore masks to, obviously, hide their identities. The regular troops wore identical plain white masks that covered only half their faces but those in Kuzon's inner circle wore their own customized one. His second in command – Kya – wore a blue and white mask that looked like ice was growing on her face, which fit her water bender status. Her brother, Moon, wore a mask that looked like a wolf. Bandit, no doubt the most powerful earthbender Zuko had ever seen, wore a mask of gold and green that completely covered her eyes, which was a rather good tactic for opponents to underestimate her. Zuko himself wore a mask that look like a dragon made of flames. People assumed that it was to represent his Fire Nation status, but it was for more reasons than that.
Zuko snapped out of his thoughts when Kuzon turned swiftly on his heel and marched down the back of the dais towards the open hallway that led deeper into the resistance's headquarters. Zuko turned towards Moon, somehow managing to catch the other's eyes despite their masks covering them, and they nodded at each other in understanding. With the silent command given, Zuko turned towards the hallways and followed after his leader, knowing that his presence was needed after the little show.
The firebender traversed through several hallways and up a handful of staircases before he arrived at Kuzon's quarters. He knocked swiftly and let himself inside the room without waiting for an answer. Zuko swept his eyes across the sitting room, seeing that Kuzon wasn't there. He walked over to the doorway hidden by a tapestry (one that depicted the resistance's emblem) and pushed it aside, stopping short when he saw Kuzon removing his hooded jacket and revealing the short brown hair, that was usually hidden by the hood, as well as the burnt orange tunic he wore underneath. The shirt was starting to get small, stretching slightly against the man's lithe frame. Zuko made a mental note to get Kuzon refitted for a new wardrobe.
"You okay?" he asked, stepping fully inside the bedroom.
"As I'll ever be," Kuzon shrugged, fiddling with his gloves but not removing it. "I hate giving speeches."
Zuko smirked beneath his mask. "But you're so good at it," he teased.
"Doesn't make me hate it any less."
Zuko dropped his smirk and, instead, frowned a little. Something was up with Kuzon and Zuko didn't know what it was. The masked leader had been like that for the past few days; withdrawn, distant, fidgety. And though it was worrying, it made Zuko kind of glad to see his leader like that; it made the man more human and less... unattainable.
"Kuzon," Zuko started but stopped when said leader flinched. It was a curious reaction, one that Zuko filed away in his mind for later evaluation. "Tell me what's bothering you."
The former prince saw Kuzon take a deep breath before he said, "What makes you think something's bothering me?"
Zuko snorted. "I may have not known you as long as the others, but I'd like to think I know you just as intimately." Definitely not as intimately as Zuko wanted, but he'll take what he got. "Come on," he said, walking up to his friend and placing a hand on Kuzon's narrow shoulder and pulling the man around to face him. "You can trust me Kuzon."
Again, Kuzon flinched and Zuko was close to shaking the man and shouting "just tell me already!" but Zuko had endured many painful lessons just to learn about patience and he was determined to put those lessons to use right now.
Zuko stared hard into Kuzon's eyes, which was quite a feat seeing as the mask the other man wore had no facial features at all, aside from the dark slits that served as eyeholes. There was no color, no mark, not even the resistance's emblem. It was just a smooth expanse of white starting from the top of the forehead and stretching down to the chin. Zuko had always wondered how Kuzon could breath through the mask, let alone see, but he had never asked. He didn't want to sound like a curious little kid who was always asking questions.
"Have you ever..." Kuzon started hesitantly after a short moment of silence and that alone made alarms flare in Zuko's head for Kuzon had close to never been hesitant, especially around Zuko. "Have you ever wondered just who I am?"
Zuko started, not at all expecting his friend to say that.
"Well... Of course I have," Zuko answered. "I would be lying if I said I didn't."
"What have you assumed of me? Where do you think I come from?"
The former prince didn't know what to make of these questions. He almost wanted to brush away those questions and just get straight to the point, but he refrained. He needed to be patient enough to get to whatever was bothering Kuzon so much. He didn't learn those lessons for nothing.
"I assumed you were from the Fire Nation, considering your name," Zuko answered honestly. "You also firebend, and very well too." He shrugged a little. "Still I could be wrong, You could be from one of the colonies, since you want to take down the Fire Nation so much." He tilted his head to the side a little, giving his friend a scrutinizing look behind his mask ."Why do you ask?"
Kuzon sighed a little and stepped away from Zuko to sit on the bed. Zuko followed, standing close to the man and watching as he bent down to remove his boots. Zuko didn't think it was a stalling tactic; it looked more like Kuzon was preparing himself for something. Whatever that something was though, Zuko didn't know yet.
"Sozin's comet is going to arrive in a few days time," Kuzon stated as he kicked away his boots. Zuko caught a glimpse of something blue on the top of Kuzon's feet, but his attention was taken away from them when Kuzon stood up. "This is going to be our biggest attack against Ozai yet. We have decimated his forces enough last time, when he took advantage of the eclipse, but we weren't able to get to Ozai himself, which was bad timing on our part. And even though the comet it going to make the firebenders stronger, it just gives us another reason to go up against the Fire Nation armies for it would be foolish of us to assume that Ozai won't have anything planned."
Zuko nodded, having heard practically the same thing a few weeks back when they had first made their plans to attack. It was a risk, considering the added boost to the firebenders that the comet will provide, but they couldn't let the chance pass them by. Still, it didn't give Zuko any more clues as to what had Kuzon acting so jittery.
"It's going to be our last chance," Kuzon continued, pulling off his gloves and tossing them behind him, onto his bed. Again, Zuko glimpse something blue on the back of Kuzon's hands, but the other man hid them. "When the comet arrives and when we attack, it's do or die. Either we win or Ozai does."
That made Zuko start. He didn't hear this when they made those plans.
"Kuzon, what are you-?" Zuko started to say but he was cut off when Kuzon shook his head.
"My name's not Kuzon," he said, making Zuko blink confusedly behind his mask. "I know that you know that. Kuzon was the name of a good friend of mine who lived in the Fire Nation. I last saw him when I was a kid, when I was about twelve. I went away for a while and I never saw him again after that."
Zuko swallowed heavily, the implications in that sentence glaringly obvious. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked. "What are you trying to tell me?"
Kuzon – or not Kuzon – took a deep breath again, his chest heaving at the motion.
"Lee... I'm attracted to you."
If Zuko could explain the moment of elation and shock he experienced when those four words spilled out of Kuzon's mouth, he would do so in a heartbeat. But he couldn't find the right words to describe just how happy he felt and besides, his brain seemed to have sputtered to a stop at those words which he never would have thought to hear in this lifetime.
"I've been attracted to you since we went to find the Sun Warriors. There's just... something about you that makes me feel... I dunno. A lot of things that I can't even begin to explain. And it's because of that... it's because of that that I want you to know who I really am, what I really mean to this resistance." Kuzon paused and Zuko could hear the other man gulp. "And I hope... I hope that, even if you don't return my attraction, you can at least trust me enough to show me who you really are too."
Before Zuko could get in a word, Kuzon was moving. His hands were reaching up to the clasp that fastened his blank mask onto his head. Zuko went still as Kuzon's hands and mask fell away, revealing a young yet haggard face with round gray eyes that had seen far too much.
However, the one thing that got Zuko's attention, and nearly made him choke on his own spit, was the large blue arrow tattoo on the lined forehead.
"You...You're..." Zuko stuttered, feeling even more shocked from this reveal than from Kuzon's confession.
"My name, my real name, is Aang," the other man said, looking solemn yet scared. "I'm the last airbender and also the Avatar."
Zuko really didn't know what to say or even to feel. He had heard that, years ago, the Avatar was struck down by his sister Azula and presumed dead even though no body was found. Fire Lord Ozai practically rejoiced and hope for peace dwindled even more. Everyone thought that the Fire Nation will finally take over.
That changed when the resistance popped up a few years later, led by the mysterious masked Kuzon. It had started out as a ragtag group of benders and non-benders who fought to free the people from the Fire Nation. But over the years it grew into an army of its own right, fighting against the Fire Nation and any of it's allies, taking back the land that wasn't theirs, and protecting the oppressed. A large part of the reason why it grew into a formidable army was due to Zuko's efforts to whip everyone into shape.
Zuko had been part of the group who decided that they couldn't just depend on the Avatar to defend and fight for them. He was a person who thought that the people had to step up on their own and fight for their rights and beliefs. He would be the last person to actively depend on the Avatar's powers to restore balance to the world.
And yet, here was the Avatar, in the flesh, leading the people all along. And he was attracted to Zuko! The former prince had no idea what to say about that.
"Lee?" Kuzon – or rather Aang, now – asked quietly, looking apprehensive about... well, everything. Zuko started to shake his head, but stopped when Aang began to look heartbroken, no doubt having misinterpreted the gesture.
"Do the others know? About you being... well, you?" Zuko asked, honestly curious.
Aang nodded. "Kya, Moon, and Bandit know. Kya and Moon have been with me since the start and Bandit's my earthbending teacher."
Zuko nodded his understanding. Those three weren't part of the inner circle for nothing and since they all knew each other, it was only fair that Zuko revealed himself as well, being the only one whose identity hasn't been shared. It was a wonder that they still trusted him.
Coming to a decision, Zuko brought his hands up and unclasped his mask, pulling it off and revealing the burn that marred nearly half of his face, his own mark of shame that turned into his mark of honor and pride. It was also a tell-tale sign of who he was, along with the golden eyes that only one family in the Fire Nation could inherit.
Aang's mouth had dropped open at seeing Zuko's face, recognition in his eyes and shock in his expression. "You...You're," he said, repeating the words in exactly the way Zuko had said it.
"My name's not Lee," Zuko smirked. "I'm Zuko, the former crown prince of the Fire Nation." He paused a moment before stepping close to Aang and grabbing the other man's chin in a gentle but firm grip, bring the Avatar's face in close so that he could press those lips against the other's.
A thousand words and emotions flitted through Zuko's mind like fireworks, making stars and colors explode behind his closed eyelids. Aang made a small sound of surprise before he whole-heartedly returned the kiss, pressing his body against Zuko's and gripping the former prince's hips. It was way better than Zuko could have even imagined, despite it's simplicity.
Before the kiss could get deeper, Zuko pulled away, feeling a stab of delight when he saw Aang's eyes flutter open, looking hazy and dizzy and exhilarated all that once.
"And I'm hoping," Zuko murmured, locking his golden eyes with Aang's silver ones, "that I can also be Zuko, the Avatar's lover."
It took a moment for Aang to smile but when he did it was a beautiful thing to behold. In fact it was less a smile than a full on grin that stretched his lips and cheeks and made him look much younger. The sight made Zuko's heart race more than ever.
"How about Aang's lover instead?" Aang said, eyes hopeful and shining.
"Aang's lover then," Zuko agreed as he wrapped his arms around his new lover.
Aang sighed in delight and leaned into Zuko's embrace, bringing his hands up to grip the former prince's shoulders. The two stood there for a moment, soaking in the quiet and each other's presence. Then Aang said, "I'm really scared about this you know. About the attack and finally facing Ozai after all this time. That's why I wanted to tell you the truth about me, so that, in case I fail, I won't have many regrets."
"You won't fail," Zuko said firmly, his belief in those three words tantamount. "But I get what you're saying. And I'm glad you did it anyway."
"Yeah, me too. Me too..."
The two fell silent again, both contemplating about many things but mostly about what would happen in a few days time. It was going to be a rough battle, rough being quite the understatement, but they were fighting for the world and for the balance and now they can fight for each other more than ever before. Zuko would make sure he will make it out alive and Aang would make sure that he will bring Ozai down.
For the sake of the world, for the sake of their loved ones, and for the sake of each other, for rising out of the ashes of victory and running into each other's arms again.
They were going to win.