ZUTARA WEEK 2023: Day 1: HOME

A Warm Welcome

DISCLAIMER: Avatar: The Last Airbender belongs to Bryke but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians.

NOTE: It's that time of year again!

Coming out of my long hibernation to post for Zutara week.

I have not written fan fiction for a while because of reasons. Life and all that. But I somehow dragged myself to put something together for Zutara week. I whipped this little thing up just in time.

Hope I can fulfill all the prompts this year.

Enjoy and let me know what you think. Thank you!

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One of the many battles Zuko had fought over the years was homesickness, and it was a struggle that almost no one saw him endure.

This was yet another burden of his banishment, another cruel punishment imposed upon a young man who had done nothing to deserve it. He had been ripped away from all he had known and forced to embark on a journey that had little to no chances of ever ending. And yet, he held onto the sliver of hope that he would someday be allowed to return to where he belonged or to where he thought he belonged.

The Fire Nation was where he was born. But it was his quest to find the Avatar that made him the man he had become. Not that he understood that until many years later.

All he knew then were the cold nights away from the warmth of his country, the weeks of futile searching, the months of dawning realization that he was doomed to wander the world, away from his home forever.

It was not even that he longed for the luxuries of a life as a royal. His travels had revealed that he could be content to live a simple life on the sea, that he was not some pampered palace brat who needed to be surrounded by material comforts. He did not crave the delicacies and elaborate meals he had once enjoyed. He was happy enough to be dressed in his armor all the time as opposed to ornate, ceremonial robes.

And when he was not obsessing over his quest, he got along fairly well with his crew members, men not from the nobility and some of them exiles themselves. They had been wary of him at first but he had proven himself to be honorable and reliable and so had earned their respect. No mean feat when accomplished among rough soldiers who had seen many horrors in their lives. But despite his temperamental nature, Zuko had never had to deal with a mutiny, after all.

No, the home he sought was more than that, and sometimes, it seemed forever out of reach. And this had nothing to do with the Avatar at all.

Iroh knew it well but he was also wise enough to know that to say it out loud would only cause his nephew more pain. Zuko sought the acceptance and love of his father, above all, and he still did not know that this was a fool's errand. Ozai loved no one but himself.

The days after the siege of Ba Sing Se had done little to ease Zuko's longing for home and he was frustrated with himself for still feeling this way. He was back in the palace, back with his father. Shouldn't everything make sense now? But why did he still feel that emptiness?

Strangely enough, he began to feel less homesick the day he actually left the Fire Nation again and joined the Avatar's group.

After earning their trust and convincing them of his honorable intentions, they had treated him like a friend, almost like a member of their little family. He was so starved for love that small acts of kindness easily overwhelmed him. Such warmth and affection were foreign to him and he did not always know how to deal with it all.

He was overcome with emotions when Katara finally forgave him, that earnest embrace she gave him felt more healing than anything her waterbending could accomplish. Every day since then, he began to feel a freedom he never knew he needed. It was as if a tight knot inside had finally become untangled. It was if he was finally, finally where he was meant to be.

He could never explain to the others what it meant for him to be included in their laughter, how much he appreciated them letting him fight by their side, and how much he treasured the moments when they would confide in him. Aang would share his doubts about his huge responsibility, Sokka his fears about his family, even Toph would sometimes reveal some hidden vulnerability. And there was Katara, who started to seek his company more often and whose company he always warmly welcomed.

She was the only one to whom Zuko found it easy to talk about anything. From fight stances to childhood memories to Fire Nation recipes, they could spend hours just talking and never tire. It was refreshing to have someone with whom he shared so much in common and he sensed that she felt the same way. What began as a small comfort grew into something more.

One day, she came up to him and gave him a bowl of soup she had made for the first time.

"You said this was your favorite and I tried my best to make it the way your Uncle had," she said shyly, "Though I had to substitute some of the ingredients since we didn't exactly have everything here."

Zuko took a sip of the soup and almost burst into tears.

"This is wonderful, Katara, thank you," he said with a smile, before adding gravely, "No one has ever done something like this before."

She returned the smile proudly. "You are most welcome. I was worried I had gotten it all mixed up. And don't be silly, it's not a big deal. All the effort was worth it to see you smile like that."

The last statement made her blush and she walked away, embarrassed. Zuko stared at her and his smile widened.

Of course, the soup tasted nothing like it was supposed to. Not even close.

But that really didn't matter.

Because it was at that moment that Zuko understood that home could be one person.