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The (Cursed) Avatar- Book 3: Heat Circulation

Chapter 2: These outfits are FIRE!

Summary:

The gaang had reached Ember Island and have decided to lay low...

In the Fire Lord's Summer home...

At least they get some cool new outfits.

Oh, and super important Firebending lessons.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Toph, Katara, Sokka, Suki, Aang, and Zuko had just been dropped off at Ember Island, one of the smaller chains of land in the archipelago of the Fire Nation by the giant, metal Fire Nation ship that was led by their small invasion. 

The plan was for the six to stay in hiding in the Fire Nation until The Day of Black Sun which was in three weeks while the rest sailed across the oceans to assemble the team for their force, they would meet up on the day of at the Fire Nation Capital, by the ports. So now all they had to do was wait. 

But the question was where would they hide out during their wait? Toph saw no problem hiding in cave after cave but the others had disagreed, Zuko had suggested his family's old summer home in Ember Island and they all seized the opportunity quickly. 

So now they were standing on the small beach of the island, staring ahead at a short path that zig-zagged up to an enormous house that was much further away from any of the other homes on the island. Appa had groaned appreciatively while Wander stayed quiet, he never cared for fancy things like that. 

Toph ran a hair through her mane of now-recently cut short hair. She liked it enough, it sucked that she couldn't wear her headband anymore while in the Fire Nation but at least she got to have it on her arm. (And speaking of arms, she could lift them now! The wounds on her shoulders were healing well and now her arms didn't feel as though she was tearing them right off the muscle everytime she moved them.) 

The others liked it as well, they thought it was smart if they had to lay low, her large bun and big eyes are her main giveaways- and since she couldn't really do anything about her eyes, her hair was the best way to go. 

She did miss the comfortable weight on her back where her banjo used to be though, but it was broken and gone and she just missed playing music. Maybe she could get a new one? 

"Doesn't it seem kind of weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" Katara remarked as Momo laid on her shoulder, she seemed to be having second thoughts 

Zuko shrugged and began walking along, "I told you, my father hasn't come here since our family was actually happy," He then grumbled, "And that was a long time ago. It's the last place anyone would think to look for us" 

Well that was incredibly sad and messed up, but at least Zuko was coming to terms that his family wasn't normal. 

Toph rested a hand on his back, "At least we get to stay in a super cool house until The Day of Black Sun," She felt him look at her, "We're on a beach , you can make tons of new memories with us to replace those stuffy family vacations" 

She's never been on vacation before (having been trapped inside restrictive family property for six years and then just focusing on Earth Rumble and school for the next six) but she did know one thing about rich families: 

They're boring and kinda have a twisted sense of mortality. 

So she could only guess what could have happened here however many years ago. 

"Yeah, I bet this giant house has a diamond studded toilet" Suki cackled and elbowed Zuko 

"Ooo! I wanna touch it!" The Avatar beamed before darting ahead, "Come on, Twinkle Toes! I'll race you!" 

Aang laughed and followed quickly, leaving the rest in the dust and walking at a regular pace with the animals who could care less about their human companions. 

Sokka groaned and yelled, " CAN YOU TWO QUIT MAKING SO MUCH NOISE!? WE'RE IN ENEMY TERRITORY!"

"Sokka, you're making all the noise now" Katara folded her arms 

"No I'm not bec-...!" The 15 year old started before catching himself, she was right… He huffed and hunched over, folding his arms with a scowl 

Suki patted Sokka's back as Zuko spoke, "Don't worry, this is private property. The beach house is far off and secluded from the rest of Ember Island" 





Toph and Aang chased each other up the gravel path, neither of which using Airbending to increase their speed. Everyone besides Toph, Sokka and Katara believed that Aang was a Nonbender which included Suki and Zuko so he couldn't bend in their presence. And Toph didn't bend the element to make sure he wasn't feeling left out. 

(It was alright though, they'll learn soon enough after they end this war)

He gawfed and managed to run past her, slamming the flat of his hand on her head and shoving her backwards to push himself even more forward. 

The two kids ran until they reached the house with Aang's hand touching the closed, wooden door first, Toph's quickly following, "I win!" He grinned 

The Earthbender sucked her teeth and punched him in the shoulder, "I'll beat you next time then!" 

Aang chuckled and grabbed the door's handle and turned it, he frowned, "It's locked" 

Oh right. People lock their doors and stuff when they're not home. She forgot that's what people do, but come on, can you blame them? It had been a long while since any of them were inside an actual house, okay?

Welp, good thing the lock was metal.

"Don't worry, I got this" The Avatar grinned crookedly, cracking her knuckles

"Are you gonna bend the entire door off its hinges!? Ooo! Or shake the entire house so the door falls off!?" He bounced from one foot to another in excitement 

...

"Uh, no. I think I'll just… unlock the door" She smiled, raising an eyebrow at him 

"Oh! Right, right" 

Toph calmly placed her hand on the knob and focused on the other side of the door, where the rest of the lock was. On the inside, it was just a little turning lock. That's it? You would think the royal family of the Fire Nation would have more security than that. 

The door clicked, signalling it was unlocked and the two stepped inside. The first thing she noticed was the wooden floor so her seismic sense would be useless for as long as they're inside, good thing she had her Air and Water sense. 

"Holy shit," Toph gasped, "This single room is probably bigger than the entire ship!"

She remembered the Beifong estate being large and vast, like this house but with way more land and gardens. But that wasn't her home, her home was that tiny house that her and her dads lived in in Gaoling. And this single room in the summer home was probably larger than her entire house back home!

Aang was already walking around, "Yeah, no kidding!" 

The main room was fucking huge , there was a long couch off to the right of the room, facing a carpeted fireplace, this entire place was the lounge area? She felt a room off to their left- it was a kitchen with heavy metal stoves and clad cabinets. There was another floor above them as well and she guessed that was where the rooms were. And there were a ton. Toph could feel about ten or more, who the hell needed this much space? 

The Avatar felt around, her fingers brushing across the smooth, wooden surface of the table. It was coated in a thick layer of dust and she assumed so was everything else, this place had that old, dusty smell to it. 

How long had no one been here for? Zuko said his family hasn't been here since they were 'actually happy' , but how long ago was that? Have they all been unhappy for this long? 

The house felt like a relic of time, a symbolic representation of the royal family: old, empty and not locked up too tight. 

Toph heard a whistle from behind her, "So this is how we'll be living until the invasion?" Sokka said, glancing around, "Not that I'm complaining, this is sweet" 

The others had finally reached the house and were stepping inside. Karara shrugged, "Beats sleeping on the ground" 

Zuko then walked ahead, passing them all, "Come, there should be some spare clothes in the rooms upstairs. We could wear them to help us blend in if anything" 

Ew, they're gonna have to use the Fire Lord's stuff? 

"Spare clothes?" Suki repeated, "As in clothes that belonged to the Fire Lord and stuff? I dunno…" 

Aang nodded, "That's kinda weird. Plus, those belonged to you guys"

"No, Zuko's right- I can't believe those words just came from my mouth," Sokka said, "It's safer that way if we just look like everyone else when we eventually have to go into town… even if it is really gross" 

"It's not gross- ...Okay, maybe it's a little gross," The Firebender hissed and turned on his heel, stomping away to the stairs, " Let's just go!"





The group followed Zuko up the short flight of stairs. The building had three floors, the third being the attic and Toph wondered what could be up there. Probably just rich people junk or war weapons or even more clothes that Zuko and Azula had outgrown. 

How was Azula anyway? She hadn't thought about her more than what she did to her back in Omashu. How did she feel thinking that she had killed the Avatar? She was probably treated as a war hero for such a big win. 

And even if the girl did put her in a coma, she hoped too much shit didn't hit the fan for Azula when all was revealed that she was alive. 

"You know, I know a lot about Fire Nation slang" Aang stated proudly as they climbed the stairs 

"Oh yeah?" Katara raised an eyebrow as they reached the top and were now being led by Zuko down the stretching hallway, "Like what?"

The Airbender smiled, "Well there's 'flameo' which means hi or goodbye and 'Hotman' which means sir-"

" Flameo and Hotman?" Zuko repeated, "Maybe they used those 100 years ago or something but no one says that here"

...

Well he can't just offer such a perfect opportunity and expect her to do nothing.  

Toph grinned and folded her arms, "I dunno, that sounds pretty right. I mean, it's got the words ' flame' and ' hot' in it, we are in the Fire Nation"

The 16 year old whipped around and growled in her face, "Well it's not right! Do you go around the Earth Kingdom saying 'rock on' or some stupid shit like that!?" 

"Rock on?' That's practically my catchphrase!" It obviously was not her catchphrase but Zuko was quickly becoming her favorite person to mess with, second of Sokka 

He blinked and his face contorted into frustration, he shook his fist and growled, going back to stomping off. She heard Aang giggle and he bowed, "Thank you, Hotman"  

"Of course, Hotman" She dipped her head and tugged on her baggy pants like a dress

The two cackle and Sokka trudged past them, "My two months of bliss without your stupid antics are over ..." He whined 





Zuko finally led them into one of the dozens of rooms inside the large summer home, "This was one of the guest rooms, there should be clothes in the closet. Feel free to look through the other rooms if you don't like anything in there though"

"And you're sure we can do this? This doesn't bother you or anything, right?" Suki asked, she was probably the most weirded out about doing this out of all of them 

He shrugged, "I couldn't care less, at least these clothes aren't collecting dust anymore" Toph supposed that was a good way of thinking. 

"Well thanks, Hotman!" Aang grinned 

"Don't call me that," Zuko cringed before walking out the room, "I'm gonna go look for clothes in my old room. When you're done, meet me out in the courtyard so we can start Firebending training, Toph"

Oh shit, Firebending! Her training! 

Toph had been so caught up in trying to heal from her injuries these past few days that she hadn't been able to train at all. Fuck! She had to catch up on two months worth of training and practice Metalbending and begin to learn Firebending! That's a lot but she could handle it, she has her friends to help her get through it- she's not doing it alone.

But this was it, she was going to master her fourth and final element! That was insane on account that she didn't think she would ever learn Fire at this point and her Sifu is Zuko of all people- or, Sensi she means.    

"Alright, Sensi Hotman!"

" What did I say about the name" He grumbled before walking out 

Maybe she can try and create… Fire sense? Seeing with Firebending? If she could see with Earth, Water, and Air, why can't she do the same for Fire? How would that work? Sensing the flames in someone's hands? Or maybe feeling where the sun is? She'll have to work on that. 

But first that meant training in the element, and Toph will train hard. She'll work twice as much as she was doing before this mess to catch up and then some!

____________________

After stepping out of the room where he left the rest, Zuko walked down the long hallway of the house. 

Although he hasn't been here in years, he remembered the home like the back of his hand- like an old memory that was brought back into the light.

 

What if he fucked up? What if he upsets them or something? Uncle had stayed with the rest of the adults and people on the ship, they were going to search for the rest of the members for the invasion team, so he didn't even have him to turn to in case of anything. Zuko was alone...

 

Or was he? He had… friends now. 

Or well, kinda

Toph said they were friends, and Aang didn't seem to mind his company but the rest : Sokka, Suki and Katara, they're all still weary of him. 

They had time to get comfortable with him on the boat for those two months but were only now just starting to trust him after Toph woke up. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't blame them. He's been a giant asshole maniac for months and it was all they've ever known of him. But he's changed , and if Toph was able to see that, then the rest will too eventually, right?  

He reached his room, or the room he always liked to stay in when he and his family used to come here every summer. Don't ask him why he liked this room, he just liked it. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. 

The room was fairly sized, well, to him it was but this whole house was apparently huge to the others? This place was nothing compared to the Fire Nation Palace. 

There was a tall closet on the left wall and a round, fuzzy carpet on the floor. His old bed was in the right corner of the room and he remembered laying there every night when they would come here and Mom would read him stories before bed. He smiled.

Zuko peered out the window and down at the front of the house, he recalled him and Azula always chasing each other around those two large rocks that looked like faces- kinda like how Aang and Toph chased each other here- and further down on the beach, him and Father would go and lay there for hours until the sun set.

His smile twisted into a grimace. 

Things were different now. 

His father didn't love him, he never did and Zuko hated Azula. She wasn't that happy little girl he used to play games with anymore.

She was a monster. 

Zuko shook his head and turned away from the window, on the small dresser by his bed was a small stone. What was that? He picked it up curiously, and inspected it. 

It was smooth and rounded, there was an imprint of his own tiny hand from when he was a child. This was from years ago. He lifted it up and placed his hand on it. 

He's grown so much, and even more so mentally in these past few months. He was still angry, so, so fucking angry about everything but he knew now why and what to do with all that passion. 

He can be constructive with his emotions instead of lashing out, he can focus on teaching Toph and befriending the others or even pursue things he liked to do. 

He can be better, he was already better than how he was a couple months ago. His drive to capture and kill the Avatar had changed. He couldn't. Not after how much Toph truly wanted to help him so much to the point that it was annoying. Not after he betrayed Azula at Omashu. Not after he gave up everything to be here right now. 

He's a better person than how he was and he was a better person than Azula. Azula was a monster and she was evil to the core, that would never change- Toph has no idea what she's talking about, Azula can't change. She tried to kill her, she thinks she's killed the Avatar and is probably rejoicing this very second. Azula shows no remorse, she is heartless, she always has been and always will be. 

His ears perked up to the sound of the doorknob turning, " Shit!" He hissed

Zuko quickly put down the stone and leaped over to his closet, swinging open the doors, pretending as if he was looking in there the whole time.

The wooden door creaked open but Zuko didn't turn to see who it was. The person spoke, "Hey Zuko, is it okay if I look for clothes in here with you? Those idiots and Suki were taking all the good stuff"

It was Sokka. 

The Firebender turned his head and tried to act surprised, "Huh? Oh, I didn't even hear you come in," He went back to looking in the closet, "Yeah sure, I don't care"

The 15 year old grinned and walked to his side, the two wordlessly shuffled through the clothes on the rack. It was quiet for a long while. 

Should he say something? This could be his moment to bond with the boy, to try and get him more comfortable with him? Well, if Sokka was able to come in here and be alone with him with no problem, they could be considered on good terms, right?

Or maybe more neutral? Zuko stands next to strangers all the time, hell, it's what he was doing on the ship for those weeks. He didn't know anyone there, Uncle was the one who befriended everyone and then just introduced Zuko as his nephew. 

But he could be like Uncle, he could start conversations just as well. Of course he could, talking is easy, he talks everyday and yells even more so. 

Not really knowing what to talk about on account of knowing virtually nothing about the boy by his side besides he's friends with Toph and has a sister, Zuko said the first thing that popped into his head, "Must be nice having a younger sister who actually cares about you"

A chuckle escaped Sokka's mouth, "Yeah, I dunno what I'd do if I had someone like Azula as my sister. I mean, Katara's annoying and bossy but at least she isn't completely insane

"I know right?" It seemed that if Zuko talked about how much he hates his sister, the words practically fell from his mouth, "When we were younger she used to try and burn my hands and push me into the fountain"

"Yikes, when we were younger, Katara used to accidentally freeze the water I was taking a bath in, it happened way more times than I'd like to admit" He smiled sheepishly, grabbing one of the shirts 

 

Zuko laughed, "Does it still happen?" 

"Well now she's a master Waterbender so everything she does now is on purpose," He said, "She once soaked me for no reason! When I asked her ' what the hell' she said that I looked at her funny! Which was bullshit because I was looking at my map!"

"I once got a squawking toucan-puffin confused for Azula screaming at me" Zuko said which was apparently really funny because Sokka doubled over and howled 

" HAHAHA! A SQUAWKING- CONFUSED- AZULA!" Sokka roared with laughter, when he died down, he wiped a tear from his eye, "Oh, that was good" 

The Water Tribe boy placed a hand on Zuko's upper arm and kept it there, touch lingering. 

So he made him laugh by making fun of his sister, which apparently Sokka could agree with even though he and Katara were much healthier than he and Azula will ever be together. Maybe it was just a universal thing to hate your sibling even if you love them, if that makes any sense? 

Sokka's hand was still on his arm, he hadn't moved it yet (not that he really wanted him to, as terrible as that was). He hadn't even realized they were practically caught in an intense staring contest, neither moving or searching for clothes any longer. His eyes were a dazzling blue and his eyebrows were perfect, he watched the muscles in his forehead twitch ever so slightly. 

He wondered if Sokka knew about that… poly thing that Toph was talking about the other day on the ship. Or if he knew that guys can be with other guys, what did he think about it? Did he think it was normal like the Avatar did or was he leaning more towards Zuko's side? 

It's not that Zuko doesn't think it's normal, it is normal and it isn't something someone could control- who they love. But growing up in the Fire Nation, they make you think a certain way. That specific things are wrong, that there is only one way for someone to be, they force you into this mold. The perfect prince, the perfect suitor, the perfect husband who will attain the perfect… Wife .

But that isn't his future anymore. He didn't need to do or be any of that, and that was both freeing and terrifying. The Earth Kingdom was filled with hicks he was taught… hicks who loved who they wanted. Where men could love other men, where they could love as many men as they wanted and raise a child in the same way any mother and father could, if not better. 

And Zuko was a man- or, he's a teenage boy. He was a boy who spent his years trying to fill this role as the Prince of the Fire Nation that he almost forgot that he was Zuko before anything.  

"You should… take that necklace off, it might blow our cover…" The Firebender mumbled 

"Huh?" Sokka blinked before shaking his head, jerking his hand off Zuko's arm and touching his throat where his white Water Tribal choker was, "Oh! Uh, right" He chuckled nervously and quickly took it off 

The 16 year old made his way away from the closet and to his dresser, he opened the drawer and dug through it for a moment before finding what he was searching for, "Here, you can put this on"

He held up a Fire Nation necklace, it was a pale peach colour with a gold, diamond symbol hanging from it with the middle cut out. He handed it to Sokka who tried to put it on, fumbling his fingers behind his neck for a couple seconds before he grinned anxiously at him, "A little help?" 

"Oh!" Zuko was behind Sokka in an instant, his warm hands wrapping around Sokka's neck and slowly hooking the ends of the necklace together. They stood in awkward silence as he did. 

"There" He took a couple steps back 

Sokka didn't turn to face him, he reached behind his neck and felt the necklace buckle, "Thanks. We should change, the rest are probably done already"

Right, there are other people waiting for them. Zuko was so caught up in his thoughts that he forgot that he had duties to his new student who was most likely waiting outside at this point, "Oh right" 

The Firebender began taking off his shirt and by the time it was off his head Sokka shouted, " WOAH!" He covered his eyes, " Zuko! Don't change while I'm still in here!"

Holy fucking shit. He's a fucking idiot. How could he be so stupid!? The boy's face turned beat red, " Sorry!"

"It's alright, it's alright," Sokka was blushing as he grabbed a shirt, pants and a pair of shoes, "I'm gonna go change in a different room. I'll see you outside"

Then he left, leaving Zuko to soak in the terrible embarrassment alone.

He groaned and face palmed, " I'm an idiot" 





Zuko had changed out of his dingy Earth Kingdom outfit that he's had for two months and into some old Fire Nation clothes that miraculously still fit. He made his way to the back into the courtyard, sliding his feet on the ground as he went.

Outside, the others were all there, even Sokka (he was quick) and they all had on Fire Nation clothes, some he remembered wearing himself, others he remembered Azula. He hoped that Sokka didn't tell the others of their mishap. He knew it wasn't that bad but still, it was embarrassing! 

"Sensi Hotman!" Toph was sitting on the wooden steps with Katara, she beamed in his direction before frowning her brow, "You okay?" 

"I'm fine," He grumbled before going over to her and grabbing her by the shirt, tugging her to her feet and she weightlessly flew ahead of him with Airbending, landing by the small fountain, "Let's just start our training"

Sokka rubbed his hands together and maniacally, he was standing further away next to Suki, "Zuko's never taught anyone before and Toph's been out of commission for two months. I can't wait to see this train wreck!"

"I won't be that bad…" Suki said before adding, "I'm sure"

"Alright, we wanna get to work-" Zuko began before getting cut off

"A coma doesn't count as out of commission! I wasn't awake!" The Avatar argued as if they were criticizing her favorite rock or something and not talking about how she wrecked her body so bad she went into a coma shock, "Besides, I'm no train wreck. I'm gonna be the best Firebender in the world!"

"Hello-"

"You say that about every element" Katara leaned forward in her spot on the steps and rolled her eyes with a playful smile 

"Because it's true!" 

Zuko blew smoke from his nostrils, " THAT'S IT! Everyone get back inside! Me and Toph need to train alone!" 

A series of whines and awes filled his ears from all around him. "Why? Me and Katara- I mean, Katara never minded when we watched when her and Toph trained!" Aang said 

"Well maybe if you guys be quiet, I'll let you stay!" 

"Yeah, shut up guys" 

"You're part of the problem too, Toph"

The others snickered at his last words before shutting up completely, eager to watch their first ever Firebending session. Zuko didn't care that all eyes were on him, in fact, he kind of liked it. It made him feel powerful and filled him with confidence. 

"Alright Toph, the most important part of Firebending is breath control-" 

He began but was cut off by the short Earthbender, "Oh yeah! And you practice by meditating in front of candles! You focus your power into the flames of them!" 

Zuko blinked, "I uh, that's right. How... did you know that?" 

Has she been to the Fire Nation before? Was he not her first option for a master? Were there other Firebenders who were willing to teach her? That was surprising.

"Oh, there was this guy named Jeong Jeong, he didn't really like company but he told me that it all came from your breath" 

Joeong Jeong? The Jeong Jeong? The first man who escaped from the Fire Nation military and lived? The little twerp met him? When the fuck was this?!  

Whatever, he didn't have time to ask any questions, "Yeah, so the breath becomes energy in the body, which is released in the form of fire- have you meditated before?" 

"Whenever I enter the Spirit World I do, but I've never focused on candles or anything like that before," Toph shrugged, "Are we gonna meditate?"

Aang, who was now sitting by the steps next to Katara, flopped down on his back with a loud groan, "Aw whaaaat? You guys just gonna sit and breathe all day?"

Spirits, he was going to ring the neck of whoever talks again. 

If they know they're gonna talk, they should just go inside!  

"The invasion is in three weeks, we don't have any time to waste. So I'm gonna combine a couple exercises in one," Zuko said to them all. Toph was strong and an incredibly skilled bender, she was like Azula, she could handle anything. He turned to the girl, "Hold out your hands, Toph" 

She cupped her hands in front of her and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by combining a couple exercises- HEY, WHAT'RE YOU DOING!?" 

She yelped as he carefully lit a small fire in her outstretched hands, the others were standing in attack mode in an instant (holy shit, were they all just waiting to see if he would try something?)

"Calm down!" He shouted, not to just Toph but to everyone, "You'll burn it out if you move too much. Breathe and release"

Toph stopped moving and focused on the tiny flame in her hands, she inhaled through her nose and exhaled out her mouth, nodding, "Alright alright, sorry. But you could warn me next time" 

"I'll keep that in mind," He watched the others visibly relax as their friend calmed down, they sat back down, "Now keep that flame alive for as long as you can. This'll work on your breathing and your concentration on fire" 

Zuko and Toph sat down facing each other and crossing their legs in front of the fountain.  

The Avatar sat there in silence, she kept as still as she possibly could, her attention fixed on where her hands were. She had better focus than he ever did when he was learning Firebending, he guessed it was either because of her drive or her patience, maybe both. 

When Zuko was younger, he was even more impatient than he was now. He hated sitting for hours on end, meditating in front of those stupid candles. He just wanted to make the biggest and brightest flames ever! And since he discovered he was a bender late in life, he was eager to get strong and as a result, he was careless. 

He couldn't name how many times Mom had to bandage his hands because he ended up blistering them or how many fires he had to stomp out because his flames had grown too big for the measly bushes in the garden to handle. But he grew to force himself to focus on the candles, more so after his banishment, he needed to get good fast if he wanted to slaughter the Avatar. 

But he might have slacked just a little bit after he found out about her reputation: the Cursed Avatar, born small and blind as a result of her previous incarnations failures. But he went right back to training hard after he realized she might just be a little harder to kill than he initially thought. 

And not just a little harder- fucking impossible . Toph was plain out unkillable. She survived a short ranged lightning attack from Azula and was back to training as if nothing happened only a couple days after a two month long coma.  

"If you need to talk, then talk. Don't worry if you can't focus as much on your first try" He said 

"Jeong Jeong said fire was alive, he's right. I can feel it, it's like… pulsing," She was smiling and shifted the flame from hand to hand, "Kinda like how I see you guys, how a body moves and shifts. Fire's just like it. Like a tiny body" 

That was a weird comparison and he swore he's never heard anyone compare fire to anything but power, not a tiny body, "If that's what helps you get it, fine. It's like a tiny body" She seemed to understand holding the fire enough, maybe he should step up the game a little

Zuko gets to his feet and begins walking off, "Alright, you keep focusing on that. I'll be right- HYA!"  

FOOSH!

He hoped this doesn't get him killed. 

The 16 year old turned on his heel and punched the air mid-sentence, sending a hot ball of Fire right in the Avatar's direction, who was on the floor, back still facing him. He heard her scream and jump into the air, flipping away as if gravity didn't apply to her and dodging the attack. Toph landed on her feet, her hands still holding the flame, good

The others were standing up and Katara yelled, " ZUKO, WHAT THE FUCK?!"  

"The next part of our exercise combination: knowing how much fire is enough! Focus on your flame, don't let it burn out!" He shouted over the deafening sounds of his attacks, he shot a wave of eight fireballs at Toph, to which she narrowly avoided all, the fire in her hands grew smaller, "Give it more juice or the tiny body will die!"

Toph was now on the opposite side of the courtyard, she had to shout for him to hear her, she turned her attention back down to her flame, "Right!" 

The Avatar took in a deep breath, pushing more energy into her fire and it started to grow. It grew and grew until it was the size of a large bonfire. 

Oh fuck. 

"Alright, that might be too big right now so just push it back down and-!" 

BOOM! 

The giant flame exploded in Toph's hands and it caused her to fly back, she went soaring and skitted against the hard stone pavement until her body came to a stop, she laid motionlessly on her back. 

Oh shit, don't tell him he sent her into another coma on their first day. 

"Toph?" 

...

The Avatar leaped to her feet, face black with ash, "I'm okay!" She grinned and wiped her face which only just smeared it more, "Let's try that again! I think I can get it this time!" 

Spirits, this idiot is going to be death of herself . How did she ever manage to get away from him so many times? 

____________________

Hours have passed and Zuko and Toph have been training all day (with breaks obviously) with the rest watching. After their first bump in the road, the rest of the lesson went relatively smooth. She proved to be a very fast learner and with concentration, Toph was able to control the size of her fire and even shoot a couple flames. Though she admitted to having trouble with positive and negative jing, she was working on it, having practiced with Waterbending's mix of positive and negative to help with Firebending's pure positive. 

But now night has fallen and the moon and stars were out, curious of their progress, they've really been doing this all day. Zuko stepped out of his fighting stance and stretched his bare arms, he had taken off his shirt a while ago. 

"Alright, we'll stop for tonight. Uh, good job" He said

"Thanks, Sensi Hotman" Toph gave him a crooked grin, before walking over to Katara, who was sitting on the basin of the small fountain in the middle of the courtyard

Zuko hummed in frustration, he prayed that the nickname wasn't going to stick. He walked over to the steps of the house, where Sokka, Aang and Suki were sitting. Sokka was holding his shirt for him. 

"You're a natural teacher, Zuko!" Aang complimented, Momo was perched on his shoulder, tugging lightly at the boy's ear with his gross, tiny hands

"Yeah I guess you're pretty okay" Sokka shrugged nonchalantly, handing him back his shirt

The Firebender put his shirt back on, "Thanks, Toph's a pretty good student but she still has a long way to go if she really wants to become the 'best Firebender in the world"

"Well I'm sure you'll teach her well," Suki smiled at him before scotting over and patting the spot in between her and Sokka, "Wanna sit?"  

He nodded and sat down in between the Nonbenders. Sokka seemed to trust him and certainly didn't mind holding his shirt for him, did that mean that he was okay with him? What did he think of him? Did he like him? Maybe he should ask Toph to ask for him… 

What? It would be weird for Zuko to just go up to them and ask if they like him! He supposed that if they haven't killed him yet it was a good enough sign. He's going to have to keep working to gain their trust, he thinks that training Toph would help in his favor considerably. 

His eyes drifted to where the Avatar was. She was sitting next to Katara on the fountain now, they were talking and giggling, sitting very close together. He watched as the Waterbender used her thumb to wipe off a piece of ash from Toph's forehead that must have been there since her explosion from earlier. 

Katara gently cupped her face, laying a quick, flustered kiss on her red cheeks. Toph cackled nervously and held her hands tightly with a large grin. 

Katara kissed her cheek and now they were holding hands? Were they..?

Without taking his eyes off the two girls, he leaned over and asked, "Uh… Katara and Toph… are they, you know"

"Dating? Yes and it's disgusting" Sokka cringed as he squinted at the two flirting, unaware of their audience 

"No, it's cute!" Aang leaned on the Water Tribe boy's lap to get closer to Zuko, "They've been dating since we went to this secret love cave, we almost died and we got to see your sister. It was fun" 

Suki nudged the Firebender, "Don't listen to Sokka, he loves Katara and Toph's relationship. He's just being a typical sibling with hating everything his sister does," She smiled, "He loves Katara" 

"No, she's stupid and annoying! And I can't stand her and Toph's flirting!" Sokka growled before pushing himself to his feet and pointing at the girls at the fountain and screeched, " YOU GUYS ARE GROSS! GET A ROOM!" 

Katara's face went redder than he's ever seen it turn before and he wasn't sure if that was from embarrassment or anger, " SHUT UP, SOKKA!"

They continued yelling at each other back and forth. 

So Sokka cared for his sister and she cared for him just the same, that was obvious. Zuko believed Suki when she said that he loved their relationship, he was just being an annoying older brother. So that meant he was okay with same sex relationships (why did he care so much about what he thought?) And the others were too if they didn't mind Toph and Katara's relationship. 

He remembered that back on the ship, he would always attend Sokka's sessions when he would go over the invasion plan. At first, it was just because Uncle went (Sokka's dad always served tea to all those who attended) but then it became going just because. He had nothing else better to do on that ship and it was a good way to try and get the others to trust him. 

Sokka didn't really mind him, none of them cared but they were all weary and that included the Water Tribe boy. But Zuko was determined- is determined to get them all to trust him. 

"Alright, I think it's high time to go inside now guys" Toph said, dragging the Water Tribe siblings by their hands into the house 

The rest followed her inside and they stopped inside the large main room.

"I guess we should decide rooms, huh?" Suki asked 

"There's ten bedrooms, we have plenty of room," Zuko said, "Just pick any room" He began walking away and to the stairway, hearing the other's conversations 

...

"Well we could go our separate ways and sleep in separate rooms…" Katara said 

" Alone... " Aang added 

"Even though we're all probably used to sleeping close together..." Suki stretched her words 

"But the rooms are sooo far away, it might just be easier to sleep down here tonight..." Toph suggested 

Zuko waved a hand at them, one foot already on the first step, "That's nice, I'm going upstairs-"

He gasped when he felt a tiny body zoom over to his side and latch their arms around his arm, "You can't sleep alone upstairs while we're all down here, Hotman!" Toph shouted 

His other arm was taken by Aang, holding it in a similar, tight fashion as the Avatar, "Yeah. Think, you'll be so lonely! Stay!" 

"Come on Zuko, the couch is comfy! I'll save you a spot next to me!" Sokka grinned, already flopping down on the big red chair

He hummed, "I dunno. I don't wanna make anyone uncomfortable"

"Who're you making uncomfortable? If you try and hurt us in our sleep, I'll just kill you" Suki spoke with a smile but he knew she was completely honest 

Katara nodded in agreement, "It's true"

"Come on, Hotman!" Aang begged

"Hotman" Toph tugged on his arm, bringing his body towards the left

"Hotman" Aang then repeated, pulling Zuko to the right 

"Hotman" They kept pulling him back and forth like a game of tug-o-war

"Hotman"

"Hotman-"

" ALRIGHT! Just stop with the stupid name!" He shrieked, "AND LET GO OF ME!" He jerked his arms away from out the two 12 year olds hold 

Neither seemed fazed by his outburst, they only cheered and ran back over to the large couch, jumping on the cushions and sitting next to each other. 

"Come on, Hotman" Sokka churned his head behind him to the Firebender, gesturing for him to come

"Don't you start" He growled

"You know, it's kinda catchy. Maybe we should all start calling you that" Suki suggested innocently 

Katara shrugged, "It'd be nice payback for chasing us around the world"

He's going to have to deal with these people until the war's end? Spirits give him strength. 

Notes:

I told you this fanfic was gonna have some Zukka, there's a LOT more moments coming your way!!!!

Zuko is slowly realizing and adjusting his point of view when it comes to queer stuff! Seeing the gaang acting so normal about all of it, Katara and Toph dating, it's helping feel more comfortable in his own queer identity!!!

And they're staying in the SUPER COOL AND RITZY SUMMER HOME!!! FUCK YEAH!!!! WITH SOME COOL DISGUISES WHILE ALSO LEARNING…

FIREBENDING!!!! YEAH BABY!!!!

I hope you're excited for some stupid crap to happen in the summer home until they have to leave for the invasion!!! Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a comment!!