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pearlsephoni · 3 years

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This Crazy Youth, Chapter 1: The Train

Can also be read on AO3!

Rating: T

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Pairing: Zutara (Zuko/Katara), background Taang (Toph Beifong/Aang), one-sided Toph/Sokka, one-sided Aang/Katara

Characters: Zuko, Katara, Toph Beifong, Sokka, Aang

Word Count: 4,248

Summary: Life as a runaway prince was surprisingly quiet for Zuko, so when Uncle Iroh signs him up for a hiking trip up Mount Mahedra, he agrees to go, if only for the change in pace. He doesn't expect the change of pace to lead to new friends, revelations, and love. (Or: a retelling of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani)

A/N: Written for Zutara Dhamaka 2021! Thank you SO much to @thebansheeandherboy for beta-reading this, and to @south-asian-zutara for organizing this event!

Zuko knew he should’ve convinced Uncle Iroh to close the tea shop early. Maybe then that loud Water Tribe boy wouldn’t have come in, and Uncle wouldn’t have struck up a conversation with him and learned that he was going on a hiking trip with some friends. Maybe then Uncle wouldn’t have insisted on Zuko tagging along.

“You have been cooped in this tea shop for far too long, Nephew. If you are going to be the future Fire Lord, you must go and see more of the world outside of what the Fire Nation has shown you.”

“Uncle—”

“And you will meet other young people, from all over the world! Think of all you can learn from them!”

“Yeah, Zuzu,” Azula sneered from the table Uncle was having her wipe down. “Maybe then you’ll have some friends.”

Zuko’s glare was only returned with a stuck-out tongue. “Why doesn’t Azula have to come?”

“I have no interest in seeing the rest of this country, thank you.”

“She needs a little more time to appreciate the beauty of Ba Sing Se.” The effect of Iroh’s diplomatic words was diminished by the small frown that flickered across his face. “But never mind. Go, Zuko. It will be good for you. Every young man needs a grand adventure in his youth!”

Zuko would’ve thought that fleeing the Fire Nation palace after nearly getting killed by his father was enough adventure to last him a lifetime. But here he was, on the train platform out of Ba Sing Se, alone with only a heavy sack on his back and a stamped ticket for “Lee” in his hand.

“This is fine,” he muttered under his breath, staring daggers into the ticket as he paced up and down the platform and listened for the announcement of his train. “This is fine, this is fine, this is- ow, watch it!”

His glare shot up from his ticket to land on a girl with short black hair, an impressive scowl, and unfocused eyes with cloudy irises. Shit. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

“‘Watch it,’ huh?” she mused with a sinister smirk. “Y’know, I should start charging a yuan for every time someone tells me that. Maybe I’ll start now!”

“Huh?!”

“Toph, quit extorting the nice man.” Another girl suddenly appeared at the blind girl’s shoulder, followed by a boy with blue tattoos adorning a bald head. The second girl, Zuko realized with dread, was very pretty, with her wavy brunette hair and kind blue eyes and warm smile. “Is this girl bothering you, sir?”

“I’m not a girl, I’m 14!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, is this young lady bothering you?”

“Katara, you—”

Zuko could only watch as the girls bickered and the boy sheepishly tried to calm them down. He felt a little forgotten, and was considering just walking away from the scene, when a new voice suddenly shouted, “Hey, tea shop guy!”

Shit.

There, running from the end of the platform, was the Southern Water Tribe guy from last night. The closer he got, the more Zuko noticed the similarities between him and the pretty girl, though their demeanors felt very...distinct.

“‘Tea shop guy’?” the pretty girl repeated with an confused frown. “What does that mean?”

“He works at the tea shop I went to last night!” Zuko didn’t know how he managed to sound so upbeat while gasping for air. “What was your name, uh…Lee, right?”

“Ah. Right.” Even after a year in Ba Sing Se, the name still didn’t feel like it really belonged to him. “And you?”

“Oh yeah! I’m Sokka”—punctuated with a proud hand on his chest—“this is Toph”—a gentle pat on the head for the blind girl, who suddenly looked a lot more flushed and a lot less sure of herself—“this is Aang”—Bald Boy gave a wide smile—“and that’s my widdle baby sister, Katara.” Sokka finished the introductions with a flippant wave at the pretty girl, who only rolled her eyes in response before smiling warmly at Zuko. They were siblings, alright. “I didn’t know you were going on this trip, too, Lee!”

“I...I wasn’t,” Zuko admitted with an embarrassed cringe. “My uncle thought the trip sounded so cool when you told him about it, he basically forced me to join it. Said I needed to see more of the world...or something.”

“No kidding!” Sokka said with a bark of laughter. “I knew I liked that guy!”

“Can you stop talking like an old man for five minutes,” Katara sighed, “and let us get on the train before it leaves us behind?”

She hefted her bag higher on her shoulder and brushed past an indignant Sokka to stand in front of Zuko with a smile. “Have you met with the tour guide yet?”

“N-no, I wasn’t sure where. To find them.” Sentences, Zuko, full sentences, it’s not that hard.

Katara mercifully didn’t comment on his stammering beyond her eyebrows raising a little. “That should be fine. You can put your stuff with ours and I can introduce you, if you’d like. She should be here soon.”

“Right. Yeah. Ok.”

Katara’s smile faltered a bit at his awkwardness, but she only turned to the rest of the group and jerked her head at the train. “C’mon, let’s go!”

“I call dibs on the aisle seat!” Sokka crowed, bursting forward with his bag thumping roughly on his back.

“Sokka, you ass!” Toph ran after him with malice in her voice and a gleeful smile across her face, somehow able to trace the exact path to the train’s entrance despite not seeing.

“How does she-?” Zuko’s jaw clacked shut when his eyes fell on Katara and Aang’s knowing grins. “Sorry, I shouldn’t—”

“I used to wonder the same thing!” Aang chirped, his grin turning understanding as they began making their way to the train. “She’s an earthbender, and she uses it to sort of sense everything around her. It’s really hard, I still can’t get a handle on it. Guys, wait for me!”

And just like that, he was off, dashing away before Zuko could fully process that a boy with airbender tattoos was learning earthbending. “Wait, he-?”

He looked at Katara, and found her staring at him, stricken. There was fear, real fear in her eyes, fear that Zuko had never wanted to see directed at him. “Katara? What’s wrong?”

“Lee, we…he’s...please don’t…”

His eyes flickered to Aang, to the airbender tattoos, back to Katara and her wide eyes, and finally, the full picture clicked into place. “He’s the Avatar.”

“Please, Lee, please don’t tell anyone, he’s still not used to hiding it, but with the Fire Nation hunting him—”

He could remember when the news had made its way to the tea shop. He and Azula had sought out each other’s gaze immediately, the same thought coming to both of them. If they could find the Avatar, then they could go home. Perhaps their father would see that Zuko was a worthy heir, loyal and hardworking, enough to make up for the fact that he wasn’t a bending prodigy like Azula. And Azula could go back to the royal life she still missed.

The spark of hope had died as quickly as it came. Azula actually understood, on some level, that their father’s ambitions had to be stopped. And Zuko’s nightmares kept the pain and fear of his life in the palace fresh in his mind.

Maybe it was those memories, or maybe it was the panic shining from Katara’s face, that made him say, “I won’t say anything. I promise.”

The tension in Katara’s body visibly melted away in relief, and she grabbed Zuko’s hand with both of hers. “Thank you, really, you have no idea how much that means to me, to all of us.”

“It’s okay. I...I understand. But um…” His eyes flickered to where Aang’s form was disappearing into the train. “Why is he going on a hiking trip?”

Her eyes narrowed just a bit, and she let go of his hand to continue walking to the train. “He’s not slacking off, if that’s what you’re suggesting. He’s already learned Southern Waterbending, he’s found an earthbending master, and he’s on his way to the North Pole to learn Northern Waterbending, too. This is just a short diversion on our way up north.”

“I didn’t mean—” Uncle’s voice suddenly came to him, uttering one of the reminders he had heard so many times after a hard shift in the shop: “Do not be so quick to assume the worst of others, Zuko. You never know what circumstances may have led to their path crossing with yours.”

He took a slow breath, let the fire in him simmer down before he said, “He’s lucky. To have friends like you guys that let him take breaks from the whole...avatar...thing.”

“Avatar thing?”

“I just meant...the pressure and everything. It’ll be nice to get away from that for a little bit.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

Panic crept through him when he met her thoughtful gaze, and he could only hope it didn’t show in his shrug. As far as she knew, he was just the “tea shop guy.” She had no reason to suspect otherwise, no way to know he was a prince on the run. “It’s not hard to imagine.”

“You’d be surprised.”

He was saved from having to respond when they reached the train, where a slight woman with long, dark hair, and a wide smile was waiting. “Hello! My name is Joo Lee, are you here for the hiking tour up Mount Mahendra?”

“Yes!” Katara held out her ticket for Joo Lee to look over, and Zuko automatically followed her lead.

“Ah...you must be the last minute addition,” she hummed when she scanned over his ticket. “Unfortunately, there are no more beds available, and the regular seats may be uncomfortable for the long ride to the mountains.”

It was a polite way of discouraging him from going. If he wanted to, he could take the excuse to go back to the tea shop, shrug away Uncle’s disappointed questions, and settle back into his comfortable routine. But instead of relief, he felt disappointment. Somewhere between his arrival on the platform and now, something had changed. He wanted to go, he wanted to figure out a way to get on that train with Katara. “Oh, I—”

“He can share with me,” Katara smoothly cut in, before she caught sight of Zuko’s wide eyes. “Oh please, not like that. We’d take turns sleeping in it.”

“Right. Of course.” The relief he’d expected to feel before finally swept over him, making his shoulders relax and a small grin curve his lips.

“Well...alright then.” Joo Lee’s furrowed brows looked strange with her perpetually-wide smile. “If you’re willing to do that, then...welcome aboard, Lee!”

“Thank you.”

With one last pleased nod, Joo Lee hopped onto the train and disappeared into the car, and Katara climbed on close after her.

And Zuko...didn’t. He simply watched as Katara swung herself onto the train and turned to look at him. “Lee? Are you coming?”

“I...I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know if I can do this.” He was 18 years old. A trip like this shouldn’t have been a big deal. But leaving the first place he’d truly felt safe made alarm bells ring in his head, and suddenly he could only think of the worst case scenarios of this trip: someone would recognize him and his scar, would realize he was the lost Fire Nation prince, would force him to go back to his father while Agni-knew-what happened to his newfound friends. Except maybe this group wouldn’t be his friends. Maybe they wouldn’t even like him once they got to know him. Making friends had never been his strong suit, and he’d only gotten worse at it since he’d fled the palace with Uncle and Azula. His life was one of isolation and caution. This trip would have neither of those things.

“Lee? Lee! Are you getting on or not?”

He was distantly aware of a train whistle blowing, was distantly aware of Katara reaching her hand out to him and calling his fake name. But he couldn’t seem to move.

Then he blinked, and suddenly Katara was in front of him. “Listen, I don’t know what your deal is, you seem to have a lot going on, but right now, you’re letting the trip of a lifetime escape you! If you’re going to go, then you need to move it.”

Her hands landed on his shoulders to give him a solid shake, and he could feel himself nodding. “Okay.”

“Good. Now come on!” She scrambled back onto the train just as it started moving, and Zuko could barely throw his bag in after her before the train started to pick up speed. “Lee, come on!”

“I’m trying!”

“Run!”

“I’m trying!” His training with Uncle hadn’t prepared him for this, pumping his legs as fast as he could, hand reaching desperately for Katara’s. He didn’t know running could hurt like this, but he wouldn’t stop, couldn’t stop, somehow pushed himself even more, until his fingers wrapped around Katara’s wrist and his other hand gripped the bar at the train entrance.

“That’s it!” Katara screamed, and maybe he was screaming too, he didn’t know, all he knew was his aching legs and straining arms and Katara’s hair blowing in the wind.

One more push, just one more push, come on, Zuko. With his next step, he lept off of the platform, and sent himself flying into the car...and straight onto Katara.

They fell onto the floor of the train car in a breathless pile. Neither of them said anything, too focused on catching their breaths. “S-sorry,” he managed between gasps of air as he rolled off of her.

“S’okay.”

“Tui and La, what happened to you?” Sokka’s face appeared above them. “You guys know you’re supposed to get on before the train starts moving?”

“Shut up, Sokka,” Katara groaned, pushing herself upright with a wince. “Spirits, Lee, you’re heavier than you look.”

“Oh. Well, you’re…stronger. Than you look.” He flushed under Katara’s amused grin, pointedly looking away as he scrambled to his feet and offered a hand to her.

“Thank you?” Warm fingers wrapped around his, and somehow he mustered a last bit of strength to pull Katara to her feet. “Welcome aboard, Lee.” Her hold on his hand relaxed, but she didn’t let go, and neither did Zuko. Her fingers felt good around his, warm and secure in a way he hadn’t felt in…too long.

Then Sokka’s arm was around his shoulders, and Zuko just barely had enough time to grab his bag before he was firmly tugged away from Katara and down the hallway of the car. “Yeah, Lee, welcome aboard! Looks like you’ll be stuck with us for the trip, huh?”

“Y-yeah, um…thank you, for letting me tag along. I appreciate it.”

“Why, it’s our pleasure! To your left you’ll find our seats, it’ll be a little bit of a tight fit with five, but it should be alright with two shrimps here.”

“Better sleep with one eye open tonight, Sokka,” Toph grumbled, but between her small frown and Aang’s sigh, Zuko had a feeling this wasn’t the first time Sokka had made fun of their heights.

True to his word earlier, Sokka had laid claim to one of the aisle seats, while Toph had the other, leaving Zuko to awkwardly slide past them after he stowed his bag away. There was a waterbending scroll in one of the window seats, and Aang sat across from it. “Is that yours?” Zuko asked as he fit himself between the other guys.

“Huh?”

“The waterbending scroll. Since you’re the Avatar?”

Silence fell over the group just as Katara appeared. “Wha-? How? Who told him?!” Aang cried out.

“You did, Aang,” Katara sighed with a fond, exasperated smile. “You, a boy with airbending tattoos, said you were learning seismic sense from Toph.”

Aang looked ready to argue, before his brows raised and his mouth parted with realization. “…Oh.”

“Nice going, Twinkle Toes,” Toph groaned. “So much for going incognito.”

“I won’t tell anyone! I swear,” Zuko hurried to reassure him.

“Thanks.” The word was muffled from behind Aang’s hands over his face.

“Anyway, the scroll’s mine.” Katara slid around their legs and picked up the scroll before she plopped down.

“…Oh. You’re-?”

“A waterbender.”

Aang suddenly perked up. “She’s basically a waterbending master! She’s one of the best waterbenders in the whole Southern Water Tribe, and she’s one of the only waterbenders who’ll learn both the Southern and Northern waterbending styles!”

“That’s…wow,” Zuko said, a little dumbfounded. Katara’s cheeks were dark with a blush, but when her eyes met Zuko’s wide gaze, she raised her chin with a firm confidence and pride, as though daring him to question her abilities. But all he could say was, “That’s really impressive.”

It turned out the whole group was impressive. Katara was one of the youngest waterbending masters to ever live, Toph was one of the strongest earthbenders in the world, Sokka was next in line to become Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, and Aang was, of course, the Avatar.

Zuko could only sit there and listen as they recounted their travels, laughing and reminiscing about places and experiences he could only dream of having. Every so often, one of them would look over at him with something like expectation in their eyes, as though they wanted him to share some grand story of his own, and he could only try to grin back and murmur, “Sounds cool.”

What else could he say? That he was secretly the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, who fled his country instead of standing his ground against his father. Never mind that his father had nearly killed him - word from the Fire Nation was that the prince was either dead or a coward.

No. Better to simply be Lee from the Jasmine Dragon. Better to be completely and utterly unremarkable instead of despicable.

He didn’t know how long he’d sat there, quietly listening to the rest of the group talk and banter with all the comfort of a found family. At some point, while they shared some buns they’d bought from a hawker, he glanced out of the window and saw that the landscape was bathed in moonlight. “Um, Katara?” he quietly piped up while the others were laughing over something.

“Yeah?”

“Could I take the bunk first?”

“Oh! Yeah, sure!”

“Thanks. Um...good night, everyone.”

He tried to ignore the eyes on him as he slid between the legs on the way to the hallway, even ducking his head when he passed Sokka, who had stood to make more space for him. The stares weren’t mean-spirited, he knew that, especially paired with the quiet “good night”s that murmured out of the group. But the feeling still made him want to crawl into his own skin, hide away from the kind curiosity he could feel from them.

By the time he crawled under the covers of the bunk and heard the chattering of the group start up again, quieter this time, he felt like he could finally take an easy breath.

Sleep crept over him gradually, lulled onto him by the gentle rock of the train. He closed his eyes to the hallway lamps flickering off.

He opened his eyes and found himself on his hands and knees in the dueling hall, all gold and red, the shadow of his father falling over him. “No, please!” he begged, every nerve in his body screaming at him to run. “I’m sorry, Father! I meant no disrespect!”

His eyes squeezed shut at the sight of a large hand glowing orange above him, but the searing pain never came. When his eyes opened again, the lights were gone, leaving him squinting up from a soft bed at the silhouette of Uncle Iroh. “Zuko. Zuko, my boy, we must go. We need to get your sister and leave.”

“Uncle?”

“I will explain when we leave, I promise. I have your belongings, come with me.”

It felt too familiar, too much like when his mother disappeared, except this time he was doing the running.

He blinked, and he was in Ba Sing Se, in the kitchen of the first dingy cafe they’d managed to scrounge up work at. He stood just inside the doors that lead outside, and could hear the voices of his uncle and sister arguing quietly.

“I hate this, Uncle! We had a good life in the palace, I don’t know why—”

“You do know why, my dear. Your brother would have been killed in that place if we didn’t escape. And I was not going to leave you in that monster’s hands without anyone else to watch over you!”

“I’d rather a monster than a coward!”

Azula burst through the doors, and froze at the sight of Zuko. He didn’t know what his face looked like, but whatever was there made the fury in Azula’s eyes ebb into something like guilt…if that were an emotion she were capable of feeling. “Zuzu—”

“Your table’s order is getting cold.” He retreated into a dark corner, letting the tray clatter to the counter and squeezing his eyes shut to focus on his breaths.

Except there was a voice quietly calling his name. Was it his name? It didn’t sound right, but some part of him responded to it.

“Lee…hey, Lee.”

His eyes felt heavy when they opened this time, nothing like the last few times. He couldn’t see anything, and he couldn’t remember where he was. Before his brain could catch up with him, he instinctively let the tiniest flame light up his palm, just enough to illuminate the space around him…including Katara’s shocked face. “Katara?!”

“…You’re a firebender.”

“No! I mean, yes, but I can explain—”

“You’re Fire Nation.”

“Yes, but I haven’t…my family left years ago. Katara, please—”

“Just…I just wanted to see if I could have the bunk.”

“Yes, of course. Here.” He was clumsy and overeager as he scrambled to get out, landing on the floor with an overloud thump. “Sorry.”

She stared at him for a moment, and then, before he realized what was happening, her fingers were around his wrist and she was tugging him back to their seats. She only let go after she fell into one of the seats and stared pointedly at the seat across from her. Zuko had little choice but to obey her unspoken command.

“Um…”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I…” His voice cracked, but he was more grateful for the excuse to stall an extra second than he was embarrassed. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. My family, we…left the Fire Nation a few years ago, and we’ve been in hiding ever since. I…I forgot where I was when you woke me up, otherwise I never would’ve…firebended. In front of you. I’m…I’m sorry.”

“Why are you in hiding?”

“Ah.” He was suddenly thankful for Uncle Iroh’s overly cautious preparations of cover stories. “My uncle didn’t believe in the Fire Lord’s ambitions of creating an empire, and he deserted the army. He brought my sister and me with him so we wouldn’t be punished on his behalf.”

“Your uncle is your guardian?”

“Yes…he’s more of a father to me than my birth father.”

Katara was silent for a moment, her eyes surprisingly alert in the dark as she watched him. And he let her, his hands fidgeting on his knees in his fight to stay still under her gaze. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so nervous - she didn’t have any power over the tour, couldn’t kick him off the train on their way to the mountains.

But he was nervous, because if the group turned on him, then he’d be as alone as he was before. Nothing would change. And he didn’t…he couldn’t…

“Okay.”

His eyes snapped back to hers, and found her nodding. “Okay?”

“Okay. I’m still going to tell the others, so they don’t get a heart attack if you bend around them, but…it’s fine.” She sat up and brushed herself off before she caught Zuko’s surprised expression. “Relax, Lee. I was only upset because I thought you would betray us, or report Aang to the Fire Nation.”

“Oh. I wouldn’t- I mean, I would never betray you guys like that. I meant it when I promised you I’d keep it a secret. I know we don’t really know each other, but…”

“You’re hiding from the Fire Nation, too.”

There was a surprising relief in looking up at Katara and finding understanding in her eyes instead of accusation. “Right.��

“If we’re safe with you, then you’re safe with us. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get some sleep. I dunno how you look so awake this early.”

Zuko stole a glance out the window, at the horizon that was starting to turn a deep shade of pink. “It kind of makes sense. You rise with the moon as a waterbender, I rise with the sun as a firebender. I’ll be alright.”

A bemused grin quirked at Katara’s lips. “I guess you’ve got a point. Good night, Lee.”

“Good night, Katara.”

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