Zuko fell back asleep again soon after his awakening, and Kouji carefully put his school things away. Thank gods it was a weekend and he wouldn't be expected to go in for two days. He drew his knees to his chest and smiled as he watched over the sleeping prince.

He seemed to be sleeping quieter than usual, at least.

"Maybe Uncle is right," Kouji told him softly, reaching out to smooth down Zuko's sleep-tousled hair. "Maybe this is the best chance to start a new life." When he woke up the next morning, it was to discover that Zuko, too, seemed to have finally embraced this concept. The teenager was almost disturbingly cheerful, chatting amiably with his uncle as the old man made breakfast.

That... is not my brother-prince, Kouji thought, staring at the scene in front of him, too distracted to even notice the term his thoughts had used.

Iroh, too, seemed to have noticed the change. "Now that your fever is gone, you seem... different, somehow."

"It's a new day," Zuko said, laughing a little. "We've got a new apartment, new furniture, and today's the grand opening of your new teashop. Things are looking up, Uncle."

"You're very... optimistic," said Kouji quietly. He didn't add it isn't like you. He'd never seen Zuko this happy, and for some odd reason it bothered him — it was like that wasn't Zuko at all.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Zuko said, after a moment's thought.

Kouji tipped his head to one side. How do I approach him? This strange cheeriness threw the boy, made him uncertain again of where he stood with the prince. Iroh pressed a bowl of juk into Kouji's hand. He didn't seem nearly as weirded out by the change in his nephew as the eleven-year-old was.

"Thanks, Uncle," the boy said absently, sipping at it.

Iroh smiled at him. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"I dunno. I thought maybe I could help you out today? Most of the messages being run recently aren't being passed on to the kids — they told us to take the weekend off." Kouji was too newly come to Ba Sing Se to realise how unusual this was.

"Hm. I don't see how that would be a problem," the old man said.

The boy brightened and set down his breakfast. "I'll go get changed!" He bolted for his room. A half hour later, the three of them arrived at the new teashop and opened. In his eagerness to help, Kouji only barely avoided being underfoot. He didn't notice that he was partly avoiding Zuko.

Iroh, watching the older boy during a slow moment, smiled slightly. "He's like he was when he was your age again," he told Kouji softly.

The younger looked over at the prince, then up at the old man. "Really?" Maybe this wasn't so odd after all.

Iroh nodded. "Before things started going wrong in his life, he was happy like this. Such a sweet child."

Kouji sighed. "I can't... really imagine ever being that carefree."

The old man nodded again. "He was lucky. For a very long time." He frowned slightly, considering, then said aloud to himself, "Maybe it wouldn't be too much to let her see him..."

"Maybe we should wait a few days?" Kouji commented. "Just to make sure this isn't a... well, a phase?"

"Probably a good idea," Iroh admitted, after a moment.

Further conversation was forestalled by a large crush of people pouring in.

Kouji was quickly run off his feet, but he gamely kept up, working to organise the madness and serving in the capacity of a busboy as well. If anyone brought up the unusualness of a boy his age working in a tea shop, he merely smiled and replied that he was giving his uncle a hand over the weekend.

The rest of the day was equally busy, affording none of their little family to exchange more than a word or two of non-business-related conversation. Toward late afternoon Kouji thought he saw a flash of blue, but when he moved closer to investigate, all he saw was the tail end of a braid vanishing around a corner. He frowned, then shrugged. It was probably just my imagination.

Not long after that, they closed the shop for the day. "That was fun," Zuko said, smiling.

"Yeah. Maybe I can switch to helping out over here instead of running messages after school," Kouji replied hopefully.

"We'll see," Iroh said.

Which wasn't a 'no'. Kouji grinned and hugged him.

Iroh hugged him back. "You can help out when we open tomorrow, at least," he promised.

"Great!" The boy's grin grew broader.

Just then, a strange man came in, bowed slightly to Iroh, and handed him a scroll. "A message from the royal palace," he said, then left, as quickly as he'd come.

"....that's odd," said Kouji, frowning at the man as he left.

Iroh unrolled the scroll and read it through. "I...I can't believe it."

Zuko stopped sweeping to come over and see what was up. "What is it, Uncle?"

Impatient, Kouji tried to pull Iroh's arm down so he could get a look at the scroll.

"Great news!" the old man said. "We've been invited to serve tea to the Earth King!"

It was a measure of Iroh's excitement and this strange new cheer in Zuko that neither seemed to realize the likelihood that one prince or the other might be recognized when they accepted this invitation.

Kouji frowned. "Word has spread that far? Wow. We only opened today."

"Maybe someone from the palace was here earlier and mentioned us," Iroh said, absently, looking through his supplies to decide what to take with them.

"...yeah, I guess so," Kouji replied, looking down at his hands. It still seemed very suspicious to him, but Iroh was the Dragon of the West. Surely he'd be aware of the potential dangers?

Zuko rested a hand on his shoulder, and finally opened a crack in his optimistic facade. "If something goes wrong, I'll handle it. Don't ruin this for him."

Startled, the boy looked up at his prince, then nodded. "Okay," he said quietly.

The older boy smiled, then glanced over at the old man, whose back was turned. The smile slipped. "Maybe you should stay behind. Just in case it is a trap."

Kouji shook his head. "No. I can help."

Zuko didn't argue, just went back to sweeping.

Kouji sighed and moved to finish washing the dishes. Everything was going so right. So why was he borrowing trouble?

"We're going tomorrow, that's what the invitation said," Iroh informed the boys.

"All right, uncle," Kouji replied, drying his hands. "I'll be ready."

Iroh grinned, and went back to making his selections.

I'm faster with the sand, but stronger with the dirt. I'll bring both bags, keep them on my hips, Kouji thought as he helped Zuko to close down the shop. I know how to build walls, and I can do them fast enough that anything that comes at us should be deflected.

Oh, yes. Kouji would be ready.

* * *

When he woke the next morning, he could hear Zuko pacing in his room and Iroh in the kitchen, finishing collecting everything for their audience that afternoon. Quiet and nervous, Kouji rolled out of bed and washed swiftly, then dressed himself in his best clothes. After that came the bags, one of dirt gathered from around the world and the other of sand collected in the desert. These he attached to his belt on either hip before making sure he could draw from them as needed. When he was ready, he slipped out for breakfast.

"Good morning," Iroh said, brightly. Zuko was still in his room.

"Morning, Uncle," replied Kouji, smiling back at him. "How is everything?"

"Very good." Iroh got him some breakfast, then went to knock on Zuko's door and get him to come out.

Kouji picked at his breakfast rather than devour it as he normally did; the butterflies in his stomach made eating rather difficult.

Zuko quietly emerged when Iroh tapped at his door. He was already dressed. "Morning," he said quietly.

"You seem tired," Iroh said, frowning slightly.

"I'm fine. Just didn't sleep much last night."

That makes two of us, though Kouji. I hope I'm just paranoid about this invitation.

Zuko picked at his breakfast, trying very hard to be as cheerful as he had been yesterday.

When he'd managed to consume half of what was before him, Kouji got up to wash his dishes. "Maybe after I can play some football," he said, half to himself, referring to the variant of earthball the nonbenders in his school had come up with.

"That's a good plan," Iroh said.

Kouji gave the former general as big a smile as he could manage; it came out twisted.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Just nerves," the boy replied, truthbending ever so slightly. After all, it was perfectly reasonable for an eleven-year-old boy to be nervous about meeting the Earth King. It was, however, slightly abnormal for that same boy to be nervous about a high potential of a trap. Then again, normal went out the window the day I started earthbending.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Iroh said.

"I don't want to stay behind," Kouji answered. "Besides, it's a great honour, meeting the Earth King." And if I'm right, nobody will expect my ability.

"All right, if you're sure."

"I'm very sure," the colonist promised, smiling.

Iroh smiled back.

Two hours later, a carriage came from the palace to collect them.

Here goes nothing, thought Kouji as he climbed in with Zuko and Iroh.

Zuko seemed slightly uncomfortable, curled up next to the window, watching the streets roll by.

"Are you all right?" Iroh asked him.

"It's just...different."

The old man nodded.

Kouji looked over at the older teen, then turned back to look out his own window.

After a half-hour of winding through the streets, they were deposited in front of the palace.

"Many times, I imagined myself here," Iroh mused, quietly enough that only the boys could hear, "at the threshold of the palace. But I always thought I would be here as a conqueror. Instead, we are the Earth King's personal guests, here to serve him tea. Destiny is a funny thing."

"It sure is, Uncle," Zuko said, having somehow mustered up his eerie cheerfulness.

Kouji nodded, and let his hand brush against the bag of dirt.

They were conducted to a small building on the palace grounds, where Iroh quickly set everything up.

Then they waited.

"What's taking so long?" Zuko asked, the cheery mask slipping a bit.

"Maybe the Earth King overslept?" Iroh suggested, though he looked a little concerned, too.

"Until the afterno—" Kouji began, only to cut himself off when he felt a number of slight vibrations under his legs. "What...?"

The footsteps were audible before Zuko or Iroh could ask why he'd interrupted himself.

Two lines of men in long uniforms, one in front of them, one behind, slipped into the room, forming a circle.

"Something's not right," Zuko muttered, unnecessarily.

"It's tea time."

"Azula!" Zuko shot up.

Kouji was right on his heels, pivoting so that his back was to Zuko's and so he could keep an eye on the men — the Dai Li! he realised, growing pale — behind them.

"Have you met the Dai Li?" Azula asked, sweetly, tilting her head. "They're earthbenders, but they have a killer instinct that's so firebender. I just love it."

"Lee...?" Kouji said, his voice trembling slightly with uncertainty. The cultural police of Ba Sing Se were bad enough in their own right, but under the command of the Fire Princess?

"I think the time for fake names is past," Zuko said, quietly, dropping all pretense of cheer and reaching for swords--that he had conveniently decided would be too conspicuous that morning. He resisted the urge to drive his head through a wall.

"Did I ever tell you how I got the nickname, 'The Dragon of the West'?" Iroh asked, pleasantly, reaching for his cup of tea.

What the—? Kouji turned his head to glance at Iroh as the old man rose to his feet, tea in hand.

"I'm not interested in a lengthy anecdote, Uncle," Azula said, examining her nails.

Maybe he means to buy me and Zuko time? Kouji's hands dropped to the bags on his hips.

"It's more of a demonstration, really," Iroh said, taking a sip.

Zuko smirked a little, and grabbed Kouji as he dropped flat, just as the old man opened his mouth and shot fire out, turning in a slow circle to aim at the Dai Li. Startled, the boy yelped, then Zuko was dragging him back upright again.

The teenager shot a fireball through the wall, then dragged Kouji out, followed closely by his uncle and those members of the Dai Li who'd managed to keep or regain their feet in the face of Iroh's assault. These last shot darts of rock at the three of them, who were only saved by having just enough of a head start to get around the corner.

Iroh got to the outer wall first, shot through it, and jumped. "Come on!" he shouted up at the boys. "You'll be fine!"

Zuko stood at the hole for a fraction of a second, considering, then called back. "No. I'm tired of running. It's time I faced Azula." He turned back to the inside.

Kouji, at Zuko's side, hesitated, and then made his choice.

*cackles* Oh, dear! What will Kouji choose? Will he choose to run with Iroh? Or to remain with Zuko? Guess you have to wait until next week!

SURPRISE! We couldn't figure out which storyline we liked better, if Kouji went with Zuko or if he went with Iroh, so we decided to do both of them. ^_^ Small Flame now has alternate paths; you may choose which one you would like to follow.

Zuko | Iroh

Current Location: my bed
Current Mood: amused
Tags: au, avatar, fanfic, small flame

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