Serendipity

by Saucerful of Secrets (Drowning_In_Greed)

Summary:

When Katara discovers Zuko working as a tea server in Ba Sing Se, The Gaang decides to confront him, but they make an unexpected discovery.

Notes:

For this story I've aged the characters up by about 4 years, so it's taken Aang approximately 2 years to master each of the elements of water and earth.

It has been 4 years since Katara and Sokka found Aang and Appa in the ice. Since then, they travelled extensively, met Toph, and Aang has mastered the elements of water and earth. Unfortunately, in the process of obtaining knowledge on the Fire Nation at the Knowledge Spirit's library, they got separated from their flying animal companion. After word that Appa might be in Ba Sing Se, the group finds their way to the city, but things aren't what they seem. They finally manage to break away from Ju Dee and paste posters across the city looking for Appa.

After a day of distributing posters, Katara walks by a newly opened tea shop named The Jasmine Dragon and decides to stop by for a cup. When she walks in, to her shock and dismay, she sees General Iroh brewing tea and Prince Zuko working as a server. Just as Zuko is about to look in her direction, she quickly ducks out of the door and frantically thinks of what to do next.

“Be careful,” she hears him speak a few moments later, and realises he's outside around the back of the shop. What shocks her most is how calm and pleasant his tone of voice sounds, not an ounce of the anger she's used to hearing from him. She peeks over the fence to the side of the shop and sees him taking out some trash, but she doesn't see who he's talking to. She hears the faint sound of a child's laughter, but she doesn't stop to look, immediately running back to the house she shares with her brother and friends.

“Guys, we have a problem. Zuko's here in Ba Sing Se!”

“What?! He followed us here too?“ Aang asks.

“Where is he?” Toph enquires.

“At some tea shop, posing as a server. His uncle is brewing tea... it's all very strange.”

“What do we do?” Aang asks nervously.

“We should confront him first before he has a chance to catch us. We have the Earth King on our side, we'll have him locked up.” Sokka suggests, the others agreeing with him.

They put together a plan of action and return a bit later in the evening. Watching him from the shadows when he exits the shop, they see him leaving his uncle and other staff to finish up for the night. They follow him as he walks home, not too far away from the tea shop. When he opens the front door of the house is when things really start to unravel: before he can even get in through the door, a tiny little girl with pigtails jumps into his arms. She's the spitting image of Zuko, minus the scar.

“Daddy!” she exclaims excitedly.

“Hello sweetheart,” he greets her, attacking her with loving pecks all over her face, his voice even kinder than when Katara heard it earlier. It makes her feel as though she's dreaming. Surely this can't be real?

 

The little girl giggles uncontrollably. “Daddy, that tickles!”

Katara realises she's heard this laughter before, earlier that day at the tea shop. She can't explain it, but for some reason, she feels furious. Once he puts the girl down, Katara emerges from the shadows and marches directly towards him, taking water out of her waterskin and whipping him across the back of the head.

“Ouch!” he exclaims, grabbing the back of his head and promptly turning around, “What the-”

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Katara cuts him off angrily.

His eyes widen. “Katara? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

The rest of the group runs over to back Katara up.

“Quit playing games, don't pretend like you didn't know we'd be here,” Sokka adds.

“I really had no idea.”

Sokka and Aang exchange looks, shocked by how unbothered Zuko seems by their presence. His demeanor is fairly relaxed, his eyes are soft and kind, and he seems to have no intention of capturing Aang.

Katara gears up to attack again, but then she notices the tiny hands wrapped around Zuko's leg.

“Daddy, why is the water lady being so mean?” The little girl asks peaking around from behind him, eyeing Katara nervously.

“Everything's fine sweetie, go find your mom okay?”

This takes Katara aback, it brings back memories of the day her mother died since she was about the same age. She remembers her mother's last words to her: It's okay sweetie, go find your father.

“Is this some sick joke?!” she yells again, getting ready to strike him with another water whip, but Sokka places a hand on her shoulder.

“Hold on, let's hear him out,” he suggests, locking eyes with Zuko who nods.

“Let's discuss this over some tea.” Zuko signals for them to come inside.

They enter to find a woman standing on the other side of the room, looking afraid as she holds the little girl. It's understandable that she'd be scared since the only context she got was that a 'mean water lady was fighting with dad'.

“Everything okay?” She asks, sheltering her daughter in her arms.

Zuko just nods in response, and she relaxes.

“This is Aang, Katara, Sokka,” Zuko introduces the people he's met before. He looks at Toph, then asks “And...?”

“And I'm Toph.”

Zuko turns to their guests. “Right. This is my wife and daughter, Jin and Izumi.”

They all awkwardly nod as a form of greeting, not knowing what else to do.

“Tea?” Jin offers with a kind smile, putting Izumi down on the ground. The little girl is still weary of Katara and doesn't want to let go of her mother. “It's okay sweetie, mom and dad are both here. You're safe, okay?” Jin reassures her, and she finally loosens her grip, running to her father instead. Zuko scoops her up, and she hides her face in his neck as he rubs her back in a soothing gesture.

The group takes a seat around the kitchen table, and an odd silence ensues as everyone tries to make sense of the situation.

“I think it's time for bed,” Zuko states, using this as a way to get the girl out of the way so that they can talk without her being around to hear. He walks over to Jin with Izumi still in his arms, “Say goodnight to your mom.”

She gives her mom a kiss on the cheek. “Night mommy, love you.”

“I love you too, dearest.”

“...and say goodnight to our guests,” he says, but Izumi is less enthusiastic about it. She mumbles something unintelligible and gives them a limp wave, after which Zuko takes her upstairs.

Sokka jumps into interrogation mode as soon as they're out of earshot. “You're his wife?”

“Yes,” Jin confirms, still busy preparing the tea.

“And the mother of his child?”

“Children...”

“There's more than one?!” he exclaims.

“We have another on the way,” she explains, placing a hand on her barely there belly.

Now it's Katara's turn to interrogate. “Do you realize who he is? I know 'there is no war in Ba Sing Se' and all that, but surely you know about some of it?”

Jin's face becomes somber. “Yes, I know of his real identity. He was born prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. What of it?”

“Do you know of all the terrible things he's done?”

“He told me everything, yes.”

“And you're okay with that?” Sokka questions.

“He regrets all the terrible things he's done in the past. Please, just give him a chance. He's a good person, you'll see.”

Katara crosses her arms incredulously, eyeing Jin with suspicion.

“I have no interest in chasing or capturing you, I have other priorities now,” Zuko adds as he walks back into the room, having seemingly overheard some of the conversation. “I'm not the man I once was, I'm sure you can see that.”

“You really expect us to believe that?” Katara asks bitterly.

“I have a wife, daughter, and a child on the way. I'm also not actively trying to capture you right now. What other proof do you need?”

“What happened to prince Zuko, who would do anything to restore his honour?” Aang asks, finally breaking his stunned silence.

“Prince Zuko died a long time ago. It's just Lee now,” Zuko answers, placing the freshly brewed tea on the table and pouring them each a cup.

“He's not lying”, Toph confirms.

“Listen, I'm sorry for everything I did to you. It was wrong, and I was... misguided,” he explains sincerely. “I should've never done what I did, but I was basically still just a child trying to get back to the only home I ever knew. I've found my real home now, and I don't want to go back to what I had before. I won't bother you any longer, I promise.”

A stunned silence follows, and when no one responds, Zuko cuts to the chase. “You need a firebending teacher so you can defeat my father, don't you? I can teach you, but I won't get involved any further than that. I've left that all behind me,” he explains, placing an arm around Jin and his other hand protectively on her stomach. “I just want to continue the life I already have here in peace.”

 

---

 

With Zuko's help they find Appa, and after more than a year of training, Aang eventually masters firebending. Upon the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, over 100 years of war finally comes to an end, but the topic of succession quickly becomes an issue. Aang, Katara, and Sokka, knowingly share glances when Prince Zuko and General Iroh are presumed dead, not saying a word and keeping their new identities a secret as they promised. With Ozai's only heir being Azula they have no one to crown as Fire Lord, an unprecedented occurrence in Fire Nation history. The fire sages ultimately decide to declare a distant relative with an honourable disposition as the new Fire Lord, and work together with him to bring the world back to an era of kindness and peace.

Upon future visits to Ba Sing Se, the group frequently enjoys the company of Lee and his family, along with some delicious tea at The Jasmine Dragon, grateful that a fortunate stroke of serendipity helped them save the world.

Notes:

A/N: I've got a few more Zuko x Jin fics on my account if you're looking for more!