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ONE
Today was supposed to be a normal day for Han. He got up and went to work at the palace. As one of the many cleaners in the palace, he was supposed to dust the paintings. He was fine with it, especially since he didn’t inherit his father’s allergies. It took up his whole shift and he could zone out. Except he didn’t like zoning out in case the Firelord showed up.
Everyone was still getting used to the new Firelord. Firelord Zuko was probably going to be the same as his father and no one really expected anything to be different. The Avatar took away Firelord Ozai’s bending and Firelord Zuko didn’t do anything. And he also sent his sister to an asylum after she went insane.
Maybe insanity runs in the family, Han thought to himself nervously.
He dreaded the day that Firelord Zuko went insane.
Han just wanted to dust the paintings and be done with his shift. His plan was full proof; stay quiet and don’t cause any trouble. You won’t get killed or banished or imprisoned if you stay quiet and do as you’re told.
His plan was perfect.
Except he didn’t account for the candle next to the painting.
Everything was a blur. One moment he was dusting the incredibly large painting of the previous Firelord and the next, the candle on the wall fell and hit the painting on the way down.
Han watched in horror as the painting quickly caught fire. He instantly panicked and grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a plant, and threw it at the painting to try and stop the burning. The pot shattered and the painting got covered in dirt, but it still didn’t put out the flame.
“No, no. No,” Han said in a panicked voice as his hands shook. “No. This can’t be happening.”
He grabbed another plant and tried to put out the fire but only succeeded in making it worse. Han, still panicked, went to pat the fire out with his hands but was grabbed and pulled away at the last second.
Han froze when he realized the person holding him and dragging him away was Firelord Zuko. The Firelord let go once they were away from the painting and stared at the fire.
“Well…um…” the Firelord said with an awkward tone. Han immediately fell to the floor on his knees.
“Firelord Zuko,” Han said as he started to hyperventilate and panic. “I’m so sorry. I tried to stop the flames- I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. My father is sick and I stayed up all night with him to make sure he was okay. This is entirely my fault but it was an accident and I’m so sorry-“
Han couldn’t barely register anything the Firelord was saying before he promptly passed out.
-
When Han woke up, he didn’t know where he was. His memory came back to him a few moments after opening his eyes. Han sat up immediately, expecting a cell or dungeon or something, but realized he was in the medical wing.
Han turned and violently flinched away when he saw the Firelord sitting right there. He stared and felt himself start to panic.
“Woah, woah, breathe,” Firelord Zuko stated. “Follow my breaths, come on.”
The Firelord showed him how to breathe and Han slowly repeated the pattern. A few minutes later, Han could hear everything clearly and not just ringing in his ears.
“My Uncle Iron taught me to breathe when I was feeling panicked,” Firelord Zuko said with a smile. “And to drink tea. It’s all he ever drinks though.”
Han stared and watched as the Firelord got up and poured two cups of tea. Han felt detached and waited for anger or frustration to emerge. He waited for yelling and screaming and shouting but nothing came.
“Here,” Firelord Zuko said as he handed Han a cup of tea. Han’s hands shook but he managed to drink the entire cup.
Firelord Zuko sat down.
“How are you feeling? The healers said you fainted but they didn’t notice anything else wrong with you,” Firelord Zuko said.
Han was confused.
“Firelord Zuko, let me apologize immensely and-“ Han began but got stopped by the Firelord gently grabbing his arm.
“Breathe, you’re not in trouble,” he said calmly.
“W-What?” Han asked, completely dumbfounded and baffled.
“I grabbed you so you wouldn’t get burned,” Firelord Zuko said. Han stared. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I…I burned a painting of the previous Firelord,” Han managed to say. His whole body was shaking with fear.
“I saw it was an accident,” Firelord Zuko said gently. “You’re not in trouble for that. Or anything. It’s okay.”
Han stared and slowly breathed normally again. Firelord Zuko smiled.
“Besides, I’ve been meaning to burn that painting of him for a while now,” Firelord Zuko said. Han stilled and blinked his eyes. “I’ve always hated it. You did me a favor. That’s why I was in that area of the palace today.”
“Huh?” Han asked. He rubbed his eyes in hopes of hearing correctly. “I…I’m not in trouble? I’m not going to be banished or killed or fired?”
“How old are you?” Firelord Zuko asked.
“Sixteen, sir,” Han replied.
“And what you said about your father, was that true?” Firelord Zuko asked.
“Yes,” Han said quietly. He was still nervous. “Are you going to kill him because of my actions?”
“No. You won’t be hurt or banished or killed or fired or abused. Or anything like that. And neither will anyone in your family. I won’t hurt you,” Firelord Zuko said.
-
Han felt exhausted after coming home from the palace and despite wanting to stay awake to be with his father, he slept.
What he didn’t expect was to be woken up by knocking on the front door.
“Han? Can you get that please?” Fao asked before he started coughing.
Han got up and made his way to the door. He opened it and immediately flinched when he saw two guards and a woman standing there.
No, no, no, Firelord Zuko lied to calm me down earlier. He’s going to arrest me, or kill my father or banish us or- Han thought in a panic before the woman started talking.
“Hi. My names Katara. Firelord Zuko sent me. He said your father’s sick,” Katara said with a smile.
Han slowly moved out of the way to let Katara inside and accepted his fate. He held out his wrists for the guards and stared at the ground.
“Please make it quick,” Han said quietly, knowing he didn’t want his father to suffer like he’d been for weeks.
“I’m pretty quick with healing,” Katara said to Han with a smile. Han whipped around and looked at Katara introducing herself. “Hi, my names Katara.”
“Fao. It’s nice to meet you,” his father said as he held out his hand to shake Katara’s. His hands shook subtly. “I apologize for the shaking.”
“That’s okay. My gran gran’s hands shake occasionally too,” Katara said kindly as she smiled. “Firelord Zuko sent me here to heal you. I can help. Is there somewhere you can go to relax? Maybe a bed or the floor?”
Han stared in shock.
Maybe…maybe Firelord Zuko would be different than the others.
——
TWO
Zuko yawned and rubbed his eyes as he sat on the ground next to the pond. He smiled when he fed the family of turtleducks that came over to him.
The throne was…stressful to say the least. He needed to just go outside and breathe sometimes to decompress. Being in the palace again brings up bad memories that he’d rather not relive. Thankfully being outside helps.
Unfortunately two of his guards follow him everywhere he goes, so being in town means that the guards are with him.
Zuko yawns again. He really doesn’t have much privacy.
“Turtleducks!” A little girl squealed. Zuko turned and saw her run over and trip. He immediately grabbed her so she wouldn’t fall in the pond.
“Are you okay?” Zuko asked.
The little girl nodded and he put her down.
“What’s your name?” Zuko asked.
“Ommi,” she said with a smile.
“Do you want to feed the turtleducks with me?” Zuko asked hesitantly.
Ommi nodded and Zuko handed her some food. She threw it in the pond with a giggle. Zuko smiled again.
Less than a minute later, however, a woman, Zuko assumed the mother, ran over. She instantly stopped when she realized who Zuko was and fell to the ground to bow.
“Firelord Zuko,” the woman said anxiously. Zuko winced internally. He hasn’t gotten used to the bowing and the fear from everyone yet. “I’m so sorry about my daughter. She ran away and…I apologize for her.”
Zuko turned towards Ommi feeding the turtleducks and ignoring everything else around her. The child’s attention span made Zuko‘s heart hurt, since when he was a kid, he had to be alert of his surroundings at all times. He wished he could focus on one thing instead of being worried about everything going on around him.
“It’s alright,” Zuko said gently to the mother. “What’s your name?”
“Urela,” she said, slightly shaking. “Please don’t take her away from me. I’m sorry she got away.”
Zuko sighed, knowing that his father would have either banished the mother, screamed, yelled at the kid, or something even worse. Not that Ozai would have been in town feeding turtleducks anyway.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt her, or you,” Zuko said.
Urela lifted up her head. She noticed Ommi ran out of food in her hand to feed the turtleducks and immediately noticed her mother.
“Mommy!” She said loudly as she ran over. “The nice man let me feed the turtleducks!”
“I have to head back to the palace now. Thank you for helping me feed the turtleducks,” Zuko said to the little girl. She smiled before Zuko helped the mother off the ground. “I am not going to hurt anyone. I promise you. I’m not my father.”
The mother stayed quiet and slowly nodded. Zuko walked away but he heard Ommi talking about wanting to feed the turtleducks all the time now.
“Sir, if I may ask…you didn’t hurt her,” one of the guards said hesitantly.
“I’m not my father,” Zuko said.
The guards nodded.
“Back to the palace, it’s late and I want sleep,” Zuko said with a nod.
——
THREE
Zuko shifted in his bed and stared at the ceiling with an annoyed expression. He didn’t expect to sleep much tonight but he still wanted to try. Except now he was going to give up on sleeping entirely.
Zuko climbed out of the bed quietly and his eyes went to one of the chests in the room. He knew what was in there. His Blue Spirit clothes and mask.
And…he really wanted to just go for a walk. Alone. Without guards or people recognizing him.
Zuko walked over and grabbed the clothes. Once changing into his clothes and slipping on the mask, he felt…calm. He didn’t have to be Firelord Zuko or Ozai’s son or any leader when he was wearing this. He could just be…free for a lack of words.
Zuko opened the window and left. What he did not expect was for Aang to be sitting on the roof nearby.
He climbed over.
“What are you doing here?” Zuko asked. Aang got startled and then laughed when he saw Zuko dressed as the Blue Spirit.
“Why are you wearing that?” Aang asked as Zuko took off his mask.
“I needed some air,” Zuko said as he settled down on the roof next to Aang. Aang, being the child he is, blew some air in Zuko’s face.
“What? You wanted some air,” Aang said with a smirk.
“Hilarious,” Zuko said, but his mouth twitched slightly into a smile. “Why are you here?”
“I’m…getting some air too,” Aang said awkwardly.
“Yeah…” Zuko said slowly. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m the Blue Spirit.”
“I won’t tell anyone. I promise. And I haven’t told anyone since I found out,” Aang said.
“Thank you,” Zuko said with a smile.
“Uh…I saw you…with that mother a few days ago. The mother and the daughter. She…she thought you were gonna hurt her daughter,” Aang said hesitantly.
“I know,” Zuko said quietly.
“Wanna talk about it?” Aang asked.
“No,” Zuko said stubbornly. Aang laughed quietly.
“Wanna go for a walk? Or flying? We can take Appa,” Aang said with a smile.
“I don’t wanna take Appa,” Zuko said. He took a breath. “But…a walk sounds nice.”
Zuko slipped the mask back on and followed Aang.
-
Zuko and Aang continued walking through the forest.
“She thought I was gonna hurt her daughter. I’m not…I’m not like my father,” Zuko said quietly. “He would have done it. Or banished them. Or worse. But I…I won’t hurt someone defenseless. And she didn’t even do anything wrong. She was a child. She doesn’t deserve…”
Zuko huffed and groaned. Aang stayed quiet.
“I didn’t deserve to be hurt and banished and abused and everything he did to me. I didn’t deserve that. And neither did my sister,” Zuko said. He took off his Blue Spirit mask. “I hope she recovers and is healthy.”
“Me too,” Aang said with a small smile. “I know she’s done a lot of bad, but…I hope she gets better. Not everyone deserves to be a parent but every child deserves good parents.”
Zuko rested his head against one of the trees. He sighed.
“No, don’t!” Aang said in a panicked voice.
Zuko quickly looked around for a threat but realized that tree sap had gotten stuck to his face.
“Oh, disgusting,” Zuko said as he squirmed. He tried to get the tree sap off but only succeeded in smearing it around his face and mouth. He groaned in annoyance.
“Someone’s coming,” Aang said quietly.
Zuko quickly put on the mask again and Aang airbended them into the trees. They stayed quiet as they watched a few guards walk by below them.
Aang sighed and accidentally touched another tree sap. He made an uncomfortable face and tried to wipe it off.
“I guess…I didn’t really need to hide,” Aang said awkwardly to Zuko. “But you did. Obviously. Um…you know, you should probably pardon the Blue Spirit for everything you’ve…uh…he’s done.”
Zuko sighed again.
“Wanna go back to the palace?” Aang asked. Zuko nodded, too tired to talk anymore.
-
Zuko climbed in through the window with Aang.
“You okay?” Aang asked tiredly as he rested his glider against the wall. He stumbled. “Uh…I think…I read about certain tree saps that can be…wobbly.”
Aang stumbled and leaned against the wall.
“It’s like poison but it makes you all dizzy and…” Aang said as he blinked his eyes. “It’ll wear off. Sokka got affected with this stuff before. It’ll wear off in a few hours. It’s different from the tree sap that you touched, which is…is good.”
Zuko tried to pull the mask off but couldn’t. Aang realized it was stuck and tried to get the mask off too. Aang only succeeded in falling back into the desk.
“Ow, okay. Uh…” Aang said, suddenly more panicked. “Zuko, say something. Are you okay?”
Zuko tried to say something but it only came out muffled. He groaned and banged his head against the wardrobe, causing it to tip over and crash on the floor.
“Come on, we gotta-“ Aang said as he tried to pull the mask off. He crashed into another object in the room. “Maybe airbending will-“
Zuko and Aang got startled when the door opened and two guards came in.
“The Blue Spirit!” One of the guards yelled.
Zuko instantly panicked and grabbed the two swords on his back. He grabbed Aang and put the swords to his neck.
“Remember how this went last time?” Aang whispered. He stumbled and felt his eyes closing.
“Let him go!” One of the guards threatened.
“Guards! We need more guards! The Blue Spirit is here!” One of the guards yelled. “He took the Firelord! Firelord Zuko is kidnapped by the Blue Spirit! Avatar Aang is being taken by the Blue Spirit! He’s been drugged!”
Drugged? Zuko thought to himself. He realized that the tree sap effects look like he’s been drugged.
Zuko knew the guards would kill him or capture him and then everyone would find out that he is the Blue Spirit. He dragged Aang near the window and pulled Aang out.
“I don’t…I dont like this plan,” Aang said quietly as they climbed on the roof and escaped.
-
Aang stumbled again. He tried to get the mask off Zuko’s face again but fell back onto the ground.
“Okay, okay, we’ll…water!” Aang said as he grabbed Zuko’s hand and jumped into a nearby pond.
Zuko instantly struggled but Aang grabbed his shoulders.
“Trust me,” Aang said seriously.
Zuko stopped struggling and went underneath the water with Aang. Aang slowly pulled the mask off and scrubbed the sap off. They both resurfaced and Zuko coughed.
“You okay?” Aang asked.
“You could have waterbended the water and not thrown us both in a lake,” Zuko said. Aang awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
“This is why Sokka comes up with the plans,” Aang said suddenly. Zuko groaned and fell on the ground. “You okay, Sifu Hotman?”
“Fantastic,” Zuko said sarcastically. “The guards think I got kidnapped and that you got kidnapped too. They think you got drugged by the Blue Spirit. It’s all my fault.”
“You panicked,” Aang said. “I…I understand that. We just need to come up with a plan.”
“What plan?” Zuko asked tiredly. “I’m not telling anyone about me being the Blue Spirit. I…I don’t want to tell anyone.”
“Okay. That’s fine. Let’s…” Aang said as he rubbed his eyes. “I have a plan.”
“What is it?” Zuko asked.
“Do you have any clothes underneath?” Aang asked.
“Yeah…” Zuko said slowly before getting defensive. “It’s been cold, I wanted layers. I don’t have to explain myself to you. What’s the plan?”
“Maybe we could call Appa and then have him pick us up. We can come up with a lie about how we both got kidnapped and drugged,” Aang said. Aang reached into his pockets and froze. “My whistle. I must have lost it in your room.”
Zuko yelled and blasted a tree with a blast of fire. He took a few breaths to calm down.
“Maybe the guards will find us,” Aang said.
Zuko started taking off the black outer layers of his clothes. He stared at the mask.
“We can just leave and say we that escaped,” Aang suggested. He fell on the ground and rubbed his eyes. “I forgot how wobbly everything was.”
Aang and Zuko turned when they heard voices.
“Guards,” Aang said quietly.
Aang quickly grabbed the Blue Spirit clothes and mask and hid them in a nearby bush. He made his way back over to Zuko and sat on the grass next to him. They both lied back on the ground.
“Thank you,” Zuko said quietly.
“For what?” Aang asked as his vision started to swirl.
“For being my friend,” Zuko said.
“Always,” Aang said with a smile.
“We found them! We found the Firelord and the Avatar!” Someone yelled.
-
Zuko didn’t get the chance to clean his room over the past few days, since everyone insisted on keeping an eye on him and Aang.
Finally he was now back in his room and finished cleaning it up after the incident.
“Present,” Aang said as he climbed through the window holding a bundle of clothes.
“Thank you,” Zuko said.
Zuko stared at the mask and stuffed the clothes in a chest. He moved the chest over to a painting and opened it, revealing a secret room.
“Woah, you have a secret room in your room?” Aang asked in awe as Zuko put the chest inside. “That’s so cool.”
“Yeah. They’re built all around the castle. Secret passageways too,” Zuko explained. “I had to clean this one out when I first moved in.”
“I had an…idea…” Aang said nervously.
“The last idea you had got both of us kidnapped by the Blue Spirit,” Zuko said with a laugh.
“Technically my idea was to go for a walk and then after we returned from the walk, then we got kidnapped,” Aang said.
“Oh, I apologize, Avatar,” Zuko said sarcastically. Aang laughed. “What’s your idea?”
Aang smiled.
“So the Blue Spirit is a criminal, and you could pardon him for his crimes,” Aang said.
“I might have to do that,” Zuko said with a nod.
“Or you could send Ozai on a wild turkeyduck chase,” Aang said hesitantly.
“What do you mean?” Zuko asked as he turned around.
“I mean…you could say…that I’d restore his bending if he brings the Blue Spirit to you alive,” Aang said. Zuko snorted.
“I’d rather keep my father in prison for the rest of his life, but I think your way of thinking,” Zuko said with a smile.