Zutara 2.0

"Uncle Zuko?"

The Fire Lord looked up, noticing two little blue eyes staring at him from across his desk. "Oh, hey Kya. You looking for your Daddy? I think he's still in a meeting with—"

"No, not him, Uncle Zuko. You," she said fiercely. "You have to come, hurry!"

"Why? What's the matter?" he asked as the child dragged him to his feet and across his office towards the door.

"Iroh and Lu Ten are fighting," she seriously.

"Oh," Zuko sighed. That wasn't really surprising news. "Well, where are they?"

"The turtle duck pond." She stopped in her tracks, looking in confusion down each end of the long corridor. "But I forgot the way."

"That's all right," he said, offering a hand. "We'll go together." Kya grabbed his fingers, letting him lead her down the hall. Zuko smiled, thinking what he would have thought as a stubborn fifteen year-old bent on capturing the Avatar knowing the airbender's daughter would someday call him Uncle.

By the time they reached the courtyard, the two Fire Nation princes were wrestling along the bank, each coated in mud head to toe, a crowd of turtle ducks quacking in irritation from the opposite side of the pond. Lu Ten's ponytail hung limp at his neck, while Iroh's had completely come loose of its bindings.

"Woah, knock it off!" Zuko cried, jogging over and pulling the two boys out of the mud by their collars. Even suspended midair, Iroh gave a violent kick towards Lu Ten, who punched at the air as they continued to yell at each other.

"Oi!" Zuko shouted over them, pulling them further apart and giving them both a quick shake to get their attention. "Spirits, what's wrong with you two?"

"Lu Ten wouldn't let me play with Kya!" Iroh cried.

"I was playing with her first!" his brother said adamantly.

"But she wanted to play with me more!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh! You're too boring to play with!"

"Am not!"

"Great Agni!" Zuko huffed. "Why couldn't you all just play together?"

The boys grew suddenly quiet, both looking away in unison. Iroh blew the loose hair from his eyes, crossing his arms in defiance. Meanwhile, a tinge of pink colored Lu Ten's cheeks from beneath the mud. "I—I wanted to be with Kya alone," he muttered.

…Oh, Zuko realized in amusement, fighting back the urge to laugh. "You too?" he smirked, looking over at Iroh. The boy only shrugged, not looking his father in the eyes.

"Well, with the way you're acting, I doubt she wants to be around either of you," Zuko managed with some sternness, even as a grin escaped him. He cleared his throat, letting them both down to their feet. "Now, go clean up and take a breather in your room until I can come talk to you."

The two obeyed, though Iroh grumbled something under his breath as he stormed off past his brother. Zuko sighed, looking back down at Kya who now stood at his side. "Sorry, kiddo. You okay?"

"Uh-huh," she said, unfazed as she looked up at him. "Uncle Zuko?"

"Mmm?"

She looked back where the boys had walked off. "You should tell them not to fight. I think they're both cute," she grinned, before running off herself.

Zuko's mouth fell open. "…Oh boy."

"Hi, Daddy! How was your meeting?"

Aang grinned widely, picking Kya up and giving her a squeeze. "Boring!" he said cheerfully, making his daughter giggle. He looked around the empty courtyard where he'd found her practicing her bending in one of the ponds. He raised a brow. "Why are you alone? I thought you and the boys were going to play today." She hadn't stopped talking about them for weeks leading up to the trip—Aang had figured she wouldn't let them out of her sight once they got there.

"We were playing, but they got in trouble," Kya said matter-of-factly.

"In trouble?" Aang asked curiously.

"Uh-huh. They were fighting over me," she shrugged, as if it weren't unexpected.

"They were—what?"

Aang found himself sweeping through the Fire Lord's palace, footfalls much heavier than normal. He was usually a gentle, light-hearted man, but having a little girl had ignited a new, fierce sense of protectiveness that had just been pricked. Toph probably wouldn't even recognize him with the way he was pounding down the hall.

"What's got your knickers in a twist, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang stopped, cringing. Or maybe she would, he realized sheepishly, looking back to see his brother-in-law with several heavy packs over his shoulders, and a very pregnant earthbender at his side.

"Hey guys," Aang smiled, giving Toph a hug and letting Sokka slap him on the back. "How was your trip over?"

"Terrible," Toph huffed, bending a recliner straight from the marble floors and attempting to sit on it. "I'm gonna pummel Sokka into the ground for doing this to me," she grunted, jabbing a thumb towards her belly.

Sokka only smirked as he helped her down. "She says that every day," he mouthed up to Aang. "Sorry, baby," he went on to Toph, holding her hand while digging through one of his packs. "Want some more seal jerky?"

"No," she huffed.

"How about…chicken pork dumplings?"

Toph seemed to consider that one for a moment, rubbing her bulging stomach absently. "Mmm, I don't know," she muttered, her irritation dissolving into indecision.

"Maybe a foot rub?"

To Aang's shock—and frankly, horror—tears suddenly started streaming from Toph's face as she nodded. As a father of two and a third on the way, he wasn't a stranger to the effects of pregnancy on a woman's emotions, but for some reason he'd never expected them to apply to Toph.

"Ah, baby don't cry," Sokka said gently. "It's okay."

"I'm not crying!" Toph sobbed.

"Of course not, of course not. Hey, tell you what—let's go find Suki and see if she can't point us towards the royal spa. Gotta take advantage of the perks while we're here," he grinned.

Toph sniffled. "…'Kay," she agreed, letting him tug her to her feet.

Aang, now forgotten, watched in utter bewilderment as they moved down the hall. He'd thought Sifu Toph was as bad as things got—but he was starting to wonder if Pregnant Toph wasn't actually more terrifying.

Bending Toph's chair back into the floor as best he could, Aang moved with a bit less drive towards his original target. Within a few minutes he stood outside Zuko's office, pausing as he heard voices drifting through the door.

"All right, boys. Do you know what you did wrong?" the Fire Lord spoke calmly.

"Fought."

"Got muddy."

"Well, that's true," Zuko went on. "But that's not what I'm most upset about."

The boys remained quiet. Aang, curious, pulled the door open silently and slipped inside to watch from the narrow entryway to the room. Zuko sat at his desk while his sons sat across from him, hands folded in their laps.

"Who do you think decides who Kya gets to play with?" Zuko prodded, acknowledging Aang's presence as he waved him silently into the room.

"Um, you, Dad?" one of them asked.

"No, not me."

"Aunt Katara?" Lu Ten tried.

"Uncle Aang?" Iroh added.

"Well, maybe, but someone else too."

The boys pursed their lips in unison, staring into their laps as they thought. "She does," Lu Ten said quietly, looking up. "Kya does."

Iroh's mouth formed a little 'o' before he nodded in agreement.

"That's right," Zuko said, satisfied. "All right, give me a hug, you little buggers—then go find Kya and apologize, okay?"

"Okay, Dad!" they said at once, jumping out of their seats and running around each side of the desk for a quick hug before dashing towards the door. Spotting the Avatar, Lu Ten stopped in his tracks. Iroh ran into him, nearly knocking the two of them to the floor.

"H-hi, Uncle Aang," Lu Ten said, giving a little Fire Nation bow.

Iroh followed suit, before grinning up at him eagerly. "Can you show us that ball trick again, Uncle Aang?"

Aang sighed. I was supposed to be upset with them, he thought absently, giving in and grinning a bit as he crouched down and tucked his hands in his robes. Producing a fistful of little silver balls, he bent them quick as lightning between his palms, to the boys' utter delight.

A minute later, they ran off laughing. "Looks like you've got the Dad Lecture down," Aang chuckled, turning back to his friend.

Zuko snorted. "Yeah, well, I've lost count of how many times I've had to do that. For some reason, my uncle finds it highly amusing. Something about…karma." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway, sorry about, um…that. They've been getting really competitive lately. It's probably worse because they're twins," he sighed.

"Mmm, yeah, that makes sense," Aang agreed.

"But they care a lot about your kids. Izumi too. They haven't stop talking about you guys coming for the past month," Zuko admitted.

"Yeah, neither have Bumi and Kya. I'm glad they're all friends," Aang smiled, a memory suddenly bubbling in his mind.

Aang opened his eyes as the footsteps approached. Zuko stood a few paces away, dressed in formal robes with only the Fire Lord's royal headpiece missing.

"I can't believe a year ago my purpose in life was hunting you down," Zuko said seriously. "And now…"

"And now we're friends," Aang said firmly.

"Yeah. We are friends."

Aang looked up. From the look on Zuko's face, he seemed to be thinking the same thing. "It's funny how things work out, huh?" he grinned.

Zuko smiled a bit. "Yeah. It is."

A/N – As usual, things got deeper than I meant for them to. Oops. And about the title…well, considering Kya is basically a mini-Katara and the twins mini-Zukos, I couldn't resist.

Also, given this is all my own AU built on the back of my Masks series, yes Toph and Sokka are married and Lin and Suyin will both be theirs. Cause I'm the all-powerful author and do what I want, haha! (Guess that kinda ruins the Linzin ship though…no kissing cousins please.)

Last thing – I've been focusing most of my writing time on a new Beauty and the Beast fic and would love if you would give it a look (titled Mirrors on my profile). More updates will come to Fatherlord Zuko as well – maybe a part 2 of this reunion with some Izumi x Bumi cuteness next time?