Zuko always had the worst luck.
The war was over, and all the treaties were signed. Zuko took a long time just to convince the generals to retreat- he had to throw out words like 'dishonorable' when a few were extremely reluctant to return. He had to locate and shut down all the war factories or convert them into making other materials. Finding all the prison camps and setting free all the prisoners of war was tricky; there were over a hundred and some of them weren't even listed in any paperwork.
He was in the middle of trying to find a proper, non-propaganda-filled curriculum for the schools when he fell asleep.
And wakes up as a baby, cradled in cold arms
Really, it's just his luck. He can't even say it's the most unfortunate thing to happen to him. Maybe just one of the most... unexpected.
. . .
Despite being a baby with almost-adult memories (Zuko never quite reached the age where he was fully grown and where other people looked at him in doubt when he said "Yes, I am the Fire Lord), his early years are hazy, like images wouldn't stick in his mind and even when he concentrated memories being made slipped through like his head was a bowl with a crack in it and soup couldn't stay in.
He can still remember all the things from when he was Zuko (he wasn't sure if he was still technically Zuko. Did he get reborn? He's pretty sure when people get reborn they forget their past life. Just one more thing he somehow managed to mess up. He could practically hear Azula: I know you're a miserable failure. Figures you'd be a mess in the afterlife, too ), but as a baby, he's helpless. He can hardly move, much less get up from this stupid crib and find fireflakes to snack on. But he really doesn't want to cry every time he's hungry. It's best not to mention what comes later: it's humiliating.
Maybe it's best that he hardly remembers anything in this time period.
...But then Zuko sees his new mother's face, with her white hair and slate gray eyes. Feels her cold arms wrap around him. He wonders if she was a waterbender. It feels nice, soothing, like an ice pack pressed to his skin when he has a fever.
Which is when he realizes he can't feel the sun.
He lost his connection to Agni.
. . .
" AA- hic- WAAAAA-"
"Touya? Touya! What's wrong?"
"Shhhhhh - It'll be ok, there there. You've never cried like this before..."
. . .
Relearning to walk with his stubby baby legs is one of the most annoying things ever. Zuko hates it and every time he eats the dirt he feels like a failure.
He's never been one to give up, though. And he's not about to let walking conquer him.
. . .
His mother gives birth to a girl.
Zuko hopes she won't turn out like Azula.
Little Fuyumi has white hair just like Mom, so he hoped she'll take after her.
. . .
His mother's name is Rei. Todoroki Rei.
His name is Todoroki Touya. It's strange. He's never had a family name before. He wonders if he should refer to himself as Touya. He figures he'll grow into it, hopefully.
He's almost two by the time he gets a concrete memory of his father. Todoroki Enji. Endeavor.
He's around more often than Fa- Fire Lord Ozai was. Zuko considers this a good sign. He doesn't smile nearly as much as Hakoda did at Sokka and Katara, but Hakoda was also the best dad Zuko had ever met, so that didn't mean much.
He's tentatively hopeful for the future. And maybe a hug. Or a pat on the head. Or congratulations. Or for him to say I'm so proud of you, son -
. . .
Old habits die hard
. . .
Zuko learns that bending doesn't exist in this world. He almost throws another tantrum.
He figures out he can't be in the same time, everything is too... weird. The strange black mirrors that show the world beyond what a window could possibly show. The things that remind him of the war tanks, except they replace gondolas and carriages and just riding on the back of a komodo-rhino or an ostrich-horse. And, apparently, they are common enough that peasants won't be hard pressed to afford them, if they save enough. There isn't a Fire Lord- that almost makes him go into shock.
But when he never saw any mention of bending in the strange black mirror, called a TV, only something called 'quirks' he knew it.
There are no four nations, just a small country called Japan that is smaller than the Fire Nation, with a population that is definitely at least double, right next to continents that put the Earth Kingdom to shame. No one lives in the poles. No bending. No Avatar.
Zuko wanted to see if Aang has made any progress on restoring the culture of the Air Nomads, even if he can't restore the bending. He wanted to see if the four nations ever reached full peace, if the Fire nation let go of its conquest, if the Water Tribe recovered, if the Earth Kingdom forgave.
He wanted to meet the incarnation of the Avatar and say " Do you remember me? "
Instead he gets a society full of heroes and villains. Zuko has never labeled anyone a hero before, other than Sokka, Katara, Toph, Suki, and Aang. Though he's not entirely sure if Aang counts, since bringing balance to the world was his duty. He would describe a hero as someone who saves someone or something at their own risk, generally without any benefit of their own.
One might argue that the Avatar's group aren't heroes because saving the balance of the world benefited them. But they didn't have to do anything; all of them could have watched the world burn and crumble around them. Toph was almost guaranteed safety due to her noble status. The Fire Nation had already conquered the Southern Water Tribe in all the ways that mattered to them: destroying their dignity by eradicating the benders and eventually every modicum of resistance. Aang could have run away. Yet none of them did that.
Here being a 'Hero' is a job. Something people got paid for- seems counterintuitive to Zuko. They got paid to fight 'Villains.' Zuko would only truly describe the worst of the worst as Villains, like Ozai or the Dai Li or anyone who took advantage of the war. Here 'Villains' meant anyone who broke the law.
...Zuko just really doesn't know what's going on anymore. Politics are always hard for him, especially when he was the Fire Lord, but generally he always manages to get through it with someone else's help.
Except right now his mouth isn't working.
. . .
Relearning to speak is more frustrating than relearning to walk. But Zuko has never been good with words, so it isn't surprising.
. . .
Father-Dad-Enji (Zuko doesn't know what to call him) is a big man. Taller and broader than Fire Lord Ozai and he often has a stern look on his face. He's intimidating but he doesn't seem cruel or deranged like Ozai.
He is around more often once Zuko-Touya turns three, watching and waiting with a spark in his eye.
Little Fuyumi doesn't like leaving Mother's side, so he considers that a good sign that his sister in this world won't grow up hanging off the false affection of a mad man who wants to destroy the world.
Not that he think Father wants to destroy the world. Endeavor is apparently his hero name, and he is a good one too. Number two, right behind All Might, who apparently is so strong no one has ever beaten him before.
Endeavor scowls every single time All Might was on the news, so maybe it is a sore subject.
(It is a sore subject)
. . .
Apparently quirks are these things that almost everyone gets. Like bending except common and way more unique and specific to each person.
Endeavor has a super strong fire quirk and Mother has an ice quirk.
Zuko hopes he'll get a fire quirk. He wants to feel warm, like Agni is inside of him, gracing him with their presence. The comfort and gentleness of a candle yet the confidence and power of a bonfire.
(Does Agni even exist in this world? Or is there a different Sun spirit?)
He doesn't care if he is strong or not. He just wants to feel the breath of life again.
. . .
Zuko decides he will kill to protect Fuyumi's smile.
She just started to walk on her own stubby legs, hardly able to walk a step before falling down on her butt- a surprised expression on her face like she didn't know gravity existed. Then she just sits there, before giggling a little and crawling over to Mom. She doesn't look affronted when gravity made her collapse, not like baby Azula who immediately began spitting fire in rage that something made her fail -
(Azula wasn't always a psychopath, but she did always hate failing.)
Fuyumi is just so happy. Even when she's crying- which doesn't happen very often- she calms down the moment her problem gets fixed. She stays with Rei, but she doesn't shy away from Touya. They play with each other, mostly small building blocks that they inevitably knock over just to rebuild again. Zuko isn't nearly as entertained by it as Fuyumi is, but he suffers through it. All for his little sister.
. . .
Touya is small for a baby, not that Zuko knows anything about how big a baby should be. He knows it from the nurses and the maids gossip. From Mom's concerned glances whenever he falls.
Father occasionally glanced at him with something else in his eyes. Something cold contrasted with the normal burning conviction that's apparent.
. . .
Touya comes down with a fever close to his fourth birthday.
He lies in his bed without any covers, covered in rags and ice packs that melt far too quickly. Mom refuses to leave his side, letting her cold hands run over his face in an attempt to soothe him.
The family doctor comes to visit, but can't find anything wrong.
. . .
He wakes up on the fourth day to a squealing noise, a ringing ear, stinging lungs, and painful heat.
. . .
He was born prematurely. A sign of weakness.
His quirk manifested early. A sign of strength.
Zuko has learned, through trial, error and experience, that positives do not cancel out negatives.
. . .
The doctor tells Rei that he needs to sleep with a humidifier in his room to clear his lungs. He also says his body's temperature has naturally risen and his body should get used to it within the week. He recommends being careful in the summer.
The quirk specialist tells Endeavor that his son is lucky to have such a powerful fire quirk. Then he suggests that Touya should wear quirk suppressors at night while he learns to control his quirk. Endeavor growls at the mere idea and Zuko wholeheartedly agrees.
Zuko is a skilled firebender, if not a master. He does not need to sleep with some sort of device that seals away his connection to fire.
. . .
Touya gets used to his body's new temperature on the 5th day after his quirk manifested.
. . .
"Touya."
He groans, blearily opening his eyes. Darkness, except for a square of light. His door? The hall light is on. Except... He squints and shakes his head. There is a large silhouette blocking most of the light. Father. Endeavor.
Touya kicks his thin sheet- he can't stand a full comforter anymore- off himself and sits up. His vision clears somewhat, and he can finally see Father is in his hero costume: his lips are curled in an approximation of a smile and his eyes are bright.
"Get up, Touya. It's time for your hero training to begin. Get dressed and go to the kitchen."
Father flicks on Touya's light switch and closes his door.
Training? Like... katas?
Zuko didn't start learning to firebend till he was seven. Even then, he was only ever taught by his tutors. Fa- Fire Lord Ozai took one look at his son, who barely even developed the spark in the first place, and decided to ignore Zuko's existence. Ozai never sought him out, never humored him. He nearly threw Zuko out as a baby. Azula was born lucky while he was lucky to be born.
It took Zuko far too long to learn that he didn't need the validation of his Father. He didn't need to make Fire Lord Ozai proud of him: he was reaching for something he could never grasp.
Now his new father, Endeavor, wants to train him. Personally.
(Maybe Touya can have what Zuko never did)
Touya is between the age of 0-4
Fuyumi is 0-3