Disclaimer: the characters and places in the following work of fan-fiction are the intellectual property of Nickelodeon and, as such, they reserve the right to remove this story at their sole discretion.
Author's Note: As promised, here is the first installment of the rest of my 'Fire' series, no longer in 'episode' format. If you have not read the previous TWELVE stories, I strongly suggest you do so before reading this.
Things just never seem to go as planned for Zuko.
He had been so elated when his mother said she would return with him to rejoin the Avatar and his friends. But he should have known that it wouldn't work out that way. It was the story of his life, after all.
Less than a day out on their journey, they caught wind of a military blockade further up the road. All travelers were being thoroughly searched and interrogated. While Ursa's identity wasn't at risk, the banished prince's most certainly was. So after some discussion on how they should proceed, they both decided it was best to part ways for the time being, and she would meet them in Port Shukumei instead.
But if having his reunion with his mother cut short wasn't bad enough, Zuko had also discovered, quite belatedly, that Katara's necklace had somehow been damaged during his travels. He was furious at himself for not noticing it sooner, preferably at the time it happened so that he might at least have been able to recover the broken half of the carved stone.
Unfortunately, he had no idea when it broke or where to find the missing piece. For all he knew, it could be back in Kawa'Gin where he'd been arrested and nearly beheaded. Those guards hadn't exactly been gentle with his shackles.
So it was with a heavy heart that he made his way back to his friends, hoping against hope that Aang the others managed to avoid detection as well, and guided only by his instincts and Momo's keen senses. Even then, it was almost dumb luck that he found them. Truth be told, were it not for the fact that he'd had to leave the road to avoid the blockade, he'd have never stumbled on to their camp.
But there it was, just over the rise of the hill upon which he stood. Even from this distance, he could feel the slight tremors in the earth from where Aang and Toph were practicing their earth bending a fair ways from camp. And, despite his recent frustrations, he couldn't help but to let a small smile light his features; the only testament of his joy at finally being back among his friends…his family.
Toph was midway through an attack maneuver when she felt the familiar footsteps approaching their camp just over the hill. Her sightless eyes widened with a gasp.
"He's back!"
She didn't even wait for Aang to remove his blindfold before she took off in the direction of her returning friend.
Katara was struggling to get the harness fastened to their cantankerous rhino, grumbling under her breath as she fiddled with the complex series of latches and straps that Iroh made look so easy to manage. For what had to be the umpteenth time, she wished he were still with them.
But it was the decision of the entire group that he alone would covertly shadow the path of the troops that Sokka had 'joined', in the hopes that if the opportunity ever presented itself for the boy to escape, someone would be there to assist.
So engrossed was she in her frustrating task, that she didn't even hear Zuko approach, or have any awareness of his presence until he spoke.
"Need some help with that?"
Startled half-witless by the unexpected voice, Katara whirled around, still holding a length of leather. Shocked registered only briefly on her face before she dropped the strap and dashed forward.
"Zuko!"
Before the smiling prince could react, his water-bending friend had thrown her arms around his neck in a delighted embrace. His welcoming grin was immediately replaced by an expression of utter and complete surprise, and he blinked several times in shock at her uncharacteristically familiar greeting…well, uncharacteristically familiar for him to be receiving from her anyway. It was pretty standard as far as the Avatar or her brother was concerned.
His hands were still held out at his sides as he tried to calm his alarmed heartbeat. But just as he began to accept (and rather enjoy) the unprecedented display of affection, the moment was interrupted by the clearing of a tiny throat.
"I know you're a touchy-feely kind of person, Katara," Toph remarked idly, "but you're kind of freaking him out."
At the caustic wisecrack from Toph, Katara hastily stepped away, a flush of embarrassment rising prettily to her cheeks.
"Sorry, Zuko," she mumbled.
He merely rubbed the back of his neck with awkward shyness as he sheepishly replied.
"It's okay."
"Besides!" declared the earth bender, not missing a beat, "It's my turn!"
Once again, Zuko was left with no time to react as, twice in as many minutes, he was engulfed in a surprise, and surprising, hug. His eyes popped open wide as the deceptively small girl practically crushed his ribcage, electing a strangled yelp from the prince's lips.
He was still trying to catch his breath when Aang's voice broke into fray.
"Hey, Toph! Why didn't you wait u-"
He stopped short the moment he saw what was going on. His jaw dropped then snapped shut right before he threw his arms up in the air with an ecstatic shout.
"ZUKO!"
If Toph's bone crushing embrace hadn't already left the prince a bit off-balance, then the Avatar's joyful inclusion in the hugging session certainly tipped his stunned emotions over the edge. The only thing that kept him from laughing outright at the cheerful absurdity of his situation was a painful lack of air.
"Okay, okay!" he gasped with jovial exasperation, a smile wider and happier than any expression Katara had ever seen on his face, "Let me breathe!"
The two young benders finally stepped away, both of them grinning from ear to ear. Momo, who was awakened by the excitement and eager to get in on the action, finally wiggled his way out of Zuko's traveling bag, and flew over to his master's shoulder.
"MOMO!"
Now it was Momo's turn to squeak as the boy hugged his pet lemur with all the joy and love his small frame could contain.
"I hope you kept Zuko out of trouble," Aang laughed to his furry companion.
"The little nuisance actually saved my life," Zuko admitted with a wry chuckle, reaching over to scratch behind Momo's ears and eliciting a delighted purr from the lemur.
Aang didn't seem the least bit surprised by the confession, for he merely beamed up at the prince with a knowing grin. He knew what he was doing when he insisted Zuko take him along, but now his impulsive and intuitive decision felt completely justified.
Zuko was still petting Momo when he looked around and noticed that two members of their group were missing.
"Where are Sokka and my uncle?"
The smiling faces around him suddenly turned somber, and the sight of it dropped a dread pall over the fire bender.
"Sokka got drafted," answered Toph sadly. "And Iroh is working on a way to get him out of the army."
When no further explanation was immediately forthcoming, Zuko spoke up with quiet resignation.
"Tell me what happened."
As they began to launch into their tale, Zuko had only one overriding thought: so much for happy reunions.