(Untitled)

[princeinexile]

"Uncle? Are these--"

Going anywhere? No. There is a boy-- a smiling, happy boy-- blinking over an armful of papers and scrolls. "Uncle?"

The door clicks shut behind him and smooths away into flat wall.

Zuko blinks.

"Oh. Well, I guess it's okay to take a break."

He's never sounded that chipper before. Ever.

Comments

[allican_do]

Uh, yeah. Hi, creepy face.

Katara, who had just been walking up to the bar, had already stopped in her tracks upon seeing Zuko walk in. But it's his words that really startle her and there is a Waterbender a few feet away, staring at him like an alien is about to pop out of his skin and eat her.

[princeinexile]

And then he smiles at her. "Hi."

And orders a cup of oolong tea and some curry, and sits down.

Scandalous!

[allican_do]

Yes, actually, it is!

Still staring, Katara is keeping her distance. Seeing Zuko smile is unnerving. Smirk, fine; grimace, normal; smile?

No way.

"...Hi."

She was coming down to get something but she's forgotten what it was now.

[princeinexile]

He's smiling as he enjoys his tea, even.

Yup. He must be thinking thoughts of genocide and maiming! Or maybe he just likes his tea.

[seeswithherfeet]

Toph is not buying this for a minute. "Okay, what is this? Reverse-angst? Any minute now you're gonna start talking about how terrible life is, right?"

[princeinexile]

"Actually, things are going very well."

Zuko's never sounded that polite before as long as Toph's known him.

[seeswithherfeet]

Her mouth hangs open for a moment. This isn't Zuko. This is some... cheery, weird, annoyingly happy Zuko.

"...What? Did the Dai Li get ahold of you?"

[princeinexile]

"No." In fact, he kicked the butts of a few.

In another life, anyway.

[i_spoiled_it]

You know, every time he disappears, Steph promises herself she won't tag around after him like a kicked puppy. And every time he comes back, all those good resolutions go straight outta her head.

At least she held off long enough that he could talk to Katara and Toph - and thus now she has some warning that he's going to be HAPPY AND CREEPY AND SMILEY.

So: there is a small blonde person putting herself in a chair near his.

"Hi."

[princeinexile]

"Hi," he replies as if nothing at all is odd about this, or, y' know, his ex may have been watching him deal with Katara or get insulted by Toph.

"How are you?"

[i_spoiled_it]

"I'm fine."

Except her ex is totally turned into a puppet.

"... You feeling okay?"

[princeinexile]

No, the puppet was a few weeks ago.

"Fine," he replies.