UNCLE DO SOMETHIIIIING!!!

[soburned]

Who: Iroh and Zuko
What: Iroh and Zuko have their sappy reunion. ♥
When: Right now.
Where: Town hall in Animal Crossing plot.
Rating: I HAVE NO FREAKING CLUE. A FOR ANGST AND... ;_;

Comments

[delicioustea]

Iroh trudged down the street, getting strange looks from the people walking nearby. Perhaps because he looked like a mess, with his hair loose and matted ... perhaps because he wasn't wearing the strange, brightly colored patterns everyone else seemed to be wearing. That journal was right - this was not one of the Four Nations. It was somewhere else entirely. "Another world", it had said - and based on what Iroh had seen so far, he was fairly willing to believe it. After all, any place that had no tea couldn't be somewhere familiar to him. (He'd have to work on making some sort of tea out of the peaches he had found later

[soburned]

At the sound of his Uncle's voice, Zuko craned his neck, eyes wide as he searched for the familiar figure. Once he spotted his Uncle, his jaw fell a bit, staring at him. He wanted to smile, to call out to him, to run to him, to do something, but his body wouldn't budge. It was similar to that of his reunion with his mother, the surreal feeling. His Uncle was really there and he was safe; it wasn't an illusion, it couldn't be. At first, he noticed the face that had appeared in his mind so many times before, only this time, he was able to sense the warm, welcoming glow his smile emitted. It took a while of gawking to finally notice the tattered clothing, the dark colors standing out like a sore thumb against the bright ones of this new world. So Paradisa had taken him from when he was still inside the prison? Guilt washed over him all over again, replacing the relief and happiness he had felt moments ago. After a good deal of scrutinizing him, his mouth began to tremble as he searched for the proper words to express what he was feeling

[soburned]

He spoke fast. "I was disrespectful. I went against everything you taught me for my own selfish reasons. I," he swallowed, "Honor was what I wanted, but I realize now what I did was the farthest thing from honorable. I thought that going home and being the son my father wanted me to be would make me happy. Having a normal life would make me happy. But I-- no one can have a normal life when this world is falling apart. I thought that someone being proud of me and not thinking I'm worthless would be enough to be a purpose. But I had that all along; you. But my purpose is bigger than that, I've realized. To not be worthless. I have to fulfill that bigger purpose. Thank you for all the guidance you've given me because now I know what path I must take, what my destiny is, and that is to help Aang save this world. I've never been so sure of myself before. It was a bumpy road and I made a lot of mistakes but I'm on my way to making up for them. I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't had you by my side all along. I won't let you down ever

[delicioustea]

What happened next was not something that Iroh had really expected. A small chance of it existed, way in the back of his mind, but he had other reactions thought out that seemed far more likely. The one he was being presented with now .... his beloved nephew, down on the ground in front of him, apologizing for his return to the Fire Nation. Apologizing for all the things that Iroh had selfishly ignored Zuko for, instead of continuing to give him guidance as to how to fix the mistake he had made.

Worry and regret creased Iroh's face as he watched Zuko prostrated himself in front of him, asking for forgiveness, for trust. For everything he already had. Silly boy.

With a sigh, Iroh dropped his arms to his sides. "Zuko. Stand up. There is no reason for you to be acting this way." He paused, pushing the matted hair out of his face. "In fact, I owe you an apology, myself, and I cannot deliver it with you lying on the ground like that." He stuck out a hand to help Zuko off the ground.

[soburned]

Zuko blinked in confusion as he listened carefully, slowly looking up as Iroh offered his hand. He gazed at him, before reaching up to accept the offered hand, getting up from his knees to stand in front of his Uncle. He didn’t release the hand, clasping it tightly with both of his as he held tense eye contact with Iroh.

“What are you talking about?!” His eyebrows knitted together in what looked like worry or desperation. “You don’t owe me anything. You’ve already given me so much.”

He stared at him fiercely, his grip tightening, but not enough to harm him. He ignored the stench that surrounded his poor Uncle, and pulled him into a hug, his arms locking themselves around him. He pressed his face against his shoulder, the smell there strong enough to bring tears to his eyes. He felt the familiar sting around the rims of his eyes as they started to water, whether it was real tears or just the smell that caused it, he didn’t know.

“I’m so sorry, Uncle.”