Mae's gift fic - In Which Zuko Remembers Why He Hates Holidays
Title: In Which Zuko Remembers Why He Hates Holidays
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairings/Characters: Zuko, Iroh, Ursa, Katara, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, random OC maid
Chapter: N/A, complete oneshot
Word Count: 1,139
Rating: PG-13 for mentions of alcohol
Genre: Humor/Family/Fluff
Notes: Christmas gift for a_mae_zing, who requested "...Avatar: TLA fic? With Iroh embarrassing Zuko with stories of tiny!Zuko in front of Zuko's friends at a holiday gathering? (New Year's, maybe?) Fluff/humor, obviously. xD
Bonus points for Toph sneaking cactus juice without anyone else realizing it (simply because she was told it was "for the adults," and gdi, she's more awesome than them so HOW DARE THEY try to stop her from doing anything!) someone (Sokka?) planning to put the newfound blackmail material to good use, or Zuko trying and failing repeatedly to shut Iroh up. ;D"
I kind of fit everything in. Hope you enjoy, darling, and Merry Christmas!
Uncle’s private sitting room was looking unusually… festive. Uncle was always enthusiastic about holidays, but really, this was just overkill.
He must have brought the strange plants hanging everywhere with him from the Earth Kingdom. More strange plants formed centerpieces on the tables scattered throughout the room, on top of brightly colored runners and tablecloths with tassels and fringe in every hue and shade imaginable. It would have been blinding, but the candles were few, reflected by strategically placed mirrors. It lit the room only softly, blurring edges and gentling everything it touched.
Appetizers, punch, and a strange, creamy drink Uncle called ‘eggnog’ filled a large table against one wall. Sokka lingered near the meaty ones at the beginning of the evening, a cup of punch in one hand. Suki leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. Katara and Aang had chatted in one corner, Ty Lee had tried to entice Mai to dance, and Toph had… well, he wasn’t sure what she’d done, to be honest. That scared him a little.
Everyone Zuko loved was gathered in his uncle Iroh’s lounge to celebrate the winter solstice and new year. Iroh himself had come from Ba Sing Se, closing his teashop for the holidays. Zuko had installed him in the family wing, in his old rooms, next to Ursa’s. Toph of all people had come with him. Apparently she’d been staying in the apartment behind the teashop with Iroh, having tired some time ago of traveling with Aang.
“Too much flying,” she’d said by way of explanation. “I want my feet on the ground where I can see.”
Katara and Sokka had met up with Suki, Ty Lee, and Mai on Kyoshi Island and taken a ship west to the Fire Nation together. Aang had arrived on Appa with Momo only that morning, his peace-keeping duties as Avatar having run on longer in one village than he’d thought they would.
They had all been warm receptions, full of hugs and warm greetings. He’d missed them all and had been so happy to see everyone. He’d been joyous, introducing them all to his mother, who had received word shortly after Zuko’s coronation and returned from her exile.
Zuko was ten seconds away from killing them all, starting with Uncle.
“-naked as the day he was born and he managed eluded his nurse for-” Iroh had to pause for the uproarious laughter coming from his belly, and from the rest of the crowd. (Save Mai, who was only chuckling lightly. But that was almost better.) “-twenty minutes.”
Katara wiped tears from her cheeks and asked, “How did he get out of his clothes? I’ve seen Fire Nation clothes. They’re almost impossible to get out of by yourself, especially if you’re two.”
“That’s the thing,” Iroh chortled. “His nurse undressed him and put him in his bathwater-”
“Uncle,” Zuko started. His whole face was a brilliant scarlet. “I’m sure my friends don’t want to hear about me wet and nude as a toddler.”
“Hush up, Sparky,” Toph bellowed. She cackled. “The old man’s trying to tell a story! Don’t interrupt.”
“Yeah, Your Highness,” Sokka added loudly. Suki could be seen wincing at his slurring voice. “Shaddup. Iroh’s tellin’ a story.”
Zuko’s teeth would be blunt by the end of the night if he had to keep grinding them like this. He bit his tongue for the moment, and Iroh continued. “His nurse had him in his bath. She turned away for only a moment to get the soap and-”
“Uncle, please,” Zuko whispered hoarsely. “Stop.”
His uncle either didn’t hear or deliberately ignored him and went on, “Zuko just hopped out of the water and ran off through his bedroom and down the hall! Soaked and dripping water, stark naked-” He had to stop and release his mirth once again. “He was headed to the throne room.”
Silence rang through the room as the implications of that sank in. Iroh cleared his throat, somewhat awkwardly.
Ursa, bless her soul, stepped in. “I seem to recall a significant dip in my makeup supply around the time Zuko turned four,” she said cunningly.
Iroh brightened again. “Oh, yes! The lip paint moment,” he exclaimed jovially.
“Uncle, no!” Zuko cried desperately. “Please, for the love of my sanity, no!” He was not above begging on his knees to keep this story from ever being told. This feeling increased exponentially when Sokka began rubbing his jaw.
“Y’know,” he said thoughtfully, “these stories could come in handy later…”
“Uncle.” Zuko’s voice cracked pathetically. He was ignored.
“Lady Ursa took Zuko into her room one evening to prepare for a gala,” Iroh started. “She stepped into her privy, trusting that her maid would keep an eye on the child. When she returned, she found the maid gone and Zuko elbow-deep in her face paints.”
“He had seen me put it on,” Ursa explained. She at least was making an effort to spare Zuko’s dignity. It was a bit backhanded, since she was the one who’d mentioned this story in the first place. “He didn’t understand why he couldn’t do so as well.”
“I only glimpsed him in the mirror for a brief moment when I dropped by with my wife,” Iroh added. “All I saw was red.”
“He’d gotten into my deepest rouge and darkest lip paint,” Ursa said. Her voice trembled with suppressed laughter. “He was wearing a solid coat of rouge all over his whole face, and it was all smeared with the-” she couldn’t hold it back any longer, breaking out in her tinkling laughter “-lip paint.”
Shouting broke out on the other side of the room. It was Toph. Since when had Toph gotten sneaky, or lost interest in a blackmail goldmine? “You!” she shrieked. She sounded like she’d been betrayed by something. “You did it!” She was pointing at the snack table, where the tray of komodo chicken skewers was empty.
“Oh, no,” Zuko mumbled, as a maid who had come to refill the punch bowl dropped the platter she was holding. She had a horrified look on her face.
She flung herself on her knees into a bow so low her forehead touched the floor. “Please,” she begged. Everyone looked at her, bewildered. “I tried to tell her that it was just for the older people, I didn’t know she would drink some anyway! I’m sorry.”
Toph babbled about something in the background.
“Come off the floor, my dear,” Iroh said, soothingly. “Tell us what happened.”
“‘It’s the quenchiest,’” Sokka muttered. “She’s had cactus juice.”
Oh, Spirits. This would be a fun clean up. Zuko could only pray that everyone got so drunk tonight on the spiked punch that they’d never remember this later.
It was his only chance at surviving this evening.
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairings/Characters: Zuko, Iroh, Ursa, Katara, Aang, Toph, Sokka, Suki, Mai, Ty Lee, random OC maid
Chapter: N/A, complete oneshot
Word Count: 1,139
Rating: PG-13 for mentions of alcohol
Genre: Humor/Family/Fluff
Notes: Christmas gift for a_mae_zing, who requested "...Avatar: TLA fic? With Iroh embarrassing Zuko with stories of tiny!Zuko in front of Zuko's friends at a holiday gathering? (New Year's, maybe?) Fluff/humor, obviously. xD
Bonus points for Toph sneaking cactus juice without anyone else realizing it (simply because she was told it was "for the adults," and gdi, she's more awesome than them so HOW DARE THEY try to stop her from doing anything!) someone (Sokka?) planning to put the newfound blackmail material to good use, or Zuko trying and failing repeatedly to shut Iroh up. ;D"
I kind of fit everything in. Hope you enjoy, darling, and Merry Christmas!
Uncle’s private sitting room was looking unusually… festive. Uncle was always enthusiastic about holidays, but really, this was just overkill.
He must have brought the strange plants hanging everywhere with him from the Earth Kingdom. More strange plants formed centerpieces on the tables scattered throughout the room, on top of brightly colored runners and tablecloths with tassels and fringe in every hue and shade imaginable. It would have been blinding, but the candles were few, reflected by strategically placed mirrors. It lit the room only softly, blurring edges and gentling everything it touched.
Appetizers, punch, and a strange, creamy drink Uncle called ‘eggnog’ filled a large table against one wall. Sokka lingered near the meaty ones at the beginning of the evening, a cup of punch in one hand. Suki leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. Katara and Aang had chatted in one corner, Ty Lee had tried to entice Mai to dance, and Toph had… well, he wasn’t sure what she’d done, to be honest. That scared him a little.
Everyone Zuko loved was gathered in his uncle Iroh’s lounge to celebrate the winter solstice and new year. Iroh himself had come from Ba Sing Se, closing his teashop for the holidays. Zuko had installed him in the family wing, in his old rooms, next to Ursa’s. Toph of all people had come with him. Apparently she’d been staying in the apartment behind the teashop with Iroh, having tired some time ago of traveling with Aang.
“Too much flying,” she’d said by way of explanation. “I want my feet on the ground where I can see.”
Katara and Sokka had met up with Suki, Ty Lee, and Mai on Kyoshi Island and taken a ship west to the Fire Nation together. Aang had arrived on Appa with Momo only that morning, his peace-keeping duties as Avatar having run on longer in one village than he’d thought they would.
They had all been warm receptions, full of hugs and warm greetings. He’d missed them all and had been so happy to see everyone. He’d been joyous, introducing them all to his mother, who had received word shortly after Zuko’s coronation and returned from her exile.
Zuko was ten seconds away from killing them all, starting with Uncle.
“-naked as the day he was born and he managed eluded his nurse for-” Iroh had to pause for the uproarious laughter coming from his belly, and from the rest of the crowd. (Save Mai, who was only chuckling lightly. But that was almost better.) “-twenty minutes.”
Katara wiped tears from her cheeks and asked, “How did he get out of his clothes? I’ve seen Fire Nation clothes. They’re almost impossible to get out of by yourself, especially if you’re two.”
“That’s the thing,” Iroh chortled. “His nurse undressed him and put him in his bathwater-”
“Uncle,” Zuko started. His whole face was a brilliant scarlet. “I’m sure my friends don’t want to hear about me wet and nude as a toddler.”
“Hush up, Sparky,” Toph bellowed. She cackled. “The old man’s trying to tell a story! Don’t interrupt.”
“Yeah, Your Highness,” Sokka added loudly. Suki could be seen wincing at his slurring voice. “Shaddup. Iroh’s tellin’ a story.”
Zuko’s teeth would be blunt by the end of the night if he had to keep grinding them like this. He bit his tongue for the moment, and Iroh continued. “His nurse had him in his bath. She turned away for only a moment to get the soap and-”
“Uncle, please,” Zuko whispered hoarsely. “Stop.”
His uncle either didn’t hear or deliberately ignored him and went on, “Zuko just hopped out of the water and ran off through his bedroom and down the hall! Soaked and dripping water, stark naked-” He had to stop and release his mirth once again. “He was headed to the throne room.”
Silence rang through the room as the implications of that sank in. Iroh cleared his throat, somewhat awkwardly.
Ursa, bless her soul, stepped in. “I seem to recall a significant dip in my makeup supply around the time Zuko turned four,” she said cunningly.
Iroh brightened again. “Oh, yes! The lip paint moment,” he exclaimed jovially.
“Uncle, no!” Zuko cried desperately. “Please, for the love of my sanity, no!” He was not above begging on his knees to keep this story from ever being told. This feeling increased exponentially when Sokka began rubbing his jaw.
“Y’know,” he said thoughtfully, “these stories could come in handy later…”
“Uncle.” Zuko’s voice cracked pathetically. He was ignored.
“Lady Ursa took Zuko into her room one evening to prepare for a gala,” Iroh started. “She stepped into her privy, trusting that her maid would keep an eye on the child. When she returned, she found the maid gone and Zuko elbow-deep in her face paints.”
“He had seen me put it on,” Ursa explained. She at least was making an effort to spare Zuko’s dignity. It was a bit backhanded, since she was the one who’d mentioned this story in the first place. “He didn’t understand why he couldn’t do so as well.”
“I only glimpsed him in the mirror for a brief moment when I dropped by with my wife,” Iroh added. “All I saw was red.”
“He’d gotten into my deepest rouge and darkest lip paint,” Ursa said. Her voice trembled with suppressed laughter. “He was wearing a solid coat of rouge all over his whole face, and it was all smeared with the-” she couldn’t hold it back any longer, breaking out in her tinkling laughter “-lip paint.”
Shouting broke out on the other side of the room. It was Toph. Since when had Toph gotten sneaky, or lost interest in a blackmail goldmine? “You!” she shrieked. She sounded like she’d been betrayed by something. “You did it!” She was pointing at the snack table, where the tray of komodo chicken skewers was empty.
“Oh, no,” Zuko mumbled, as a maid who had come to refill the punch bowl dropped the platter she was holding. She had a horrified look on her face.
She flung herself on her knees into a bow so low her forehead touched the floor. “Please,” she begged. Everyone looked at her, bewildered. “I tried to tell her that it was just for the older people, I didn’t know she would drink some anyway! I’m sorry.”
Toph babbled about something in the background.
“Come off the floor, my dear,” Iroh said, soothingly. “Tell us what happened.”
“‘It’s the quenchiest,’” Sokka muttered. “She’s had cactus juice.”
Oh, Spirits. This would be a fun clean up. Zuko could only pray that everyone got so drunk tonight on the spiked punch that they’d never remember this later.
It was his only chance at surviving this evening.