Chapter Text
Zuko takes a deep breath in and exhales even slower. The sun is burning down on him relentlessly, and sweat runs down his neck. The air is humid and filled with the far away noises of tropical beasts. His knees are hurting from the forced kneeling position and he gave up holding his head high a long time ago.
At least they haven’t sent him away. At least they haven’t washed him out of the Western Air Temple, over the cliff, down to his impending death, to let him shatter on the earth below. At least he had called off the assassin when he had still been in the Fire Nation. At least they had waited his whole speech out. He had made it worse with every word, but at least they had listened. At least they hadn’t outright attacked him.
Zuko takes another breath in and lets the air leave his lounge in a long sigh. Thinking positive is getting harder the longer he kneels on the hard temple flood, arms and legs bound by earth shackles.
Agreeing to take him prisoner has been one thing, agreeing on what to do afterwards seems to be a totally different ordeal. The shouting that has been a backdrop for an hour finally dies away. Zuko had stopped eavesdropping after the third go around of “we can’t trust him” from the Water Tribe siblings. Seems like the Avatar and his friends finally reached a conclusion.
The Water Tribe warrior is in front of the little group as they return to Zuko. His stride is determined, and he waves his hands expressively. He had started out as ‘peasant’ and ‘odd nuicance’ in Zuko’s mind, and Zuko briefly wonders when he had promoted the other boy to warrior.
“See, he’s still there, he hasn’t tried to escape!”
The warrior’s fake enthusiasm is so blatantly obvious that even Zuko catches it. He doesn’t know what to do with it and looks at the rest of the group for clues.
The Avatar is right behind the warrior, a ball of nervous energy. The earthbender’s expression is unreadable and half hidden under her bangs. And the waterbender… the waterbender is glaring daggers at him with vicious fury. Zuko can’t fault her for that.
He quickly looks back to the warrior who now stops at a respectful distance, or rather a careful distance. Out of reach for Zuko to grab him if his hands were free. Not quite out of reach of his breath of fire, but they don’t need to know that.
Zuko cranes his neck to look up at him and watches as the warrior’s face does something complicated. It looks as if he tries to smile but it is somehow too painful? Zuko keeps his face carefully blank.
“It is a good plan!” the Water Tribe boy suddenly exclaims, loud and rash. Zuko almost winces. It sounds uncertain, at least to Zuko’s ears. His face is still doing that painful thing.
The waterbender snorts. “What if he tries to ruin Aang’s firebending. Then what, hmm?”
The warrior turns to her. This time he does look pained. “Would you just… please give this idea a chance, okay?”
She harrumphs and crosses her arms but does not say another word.
The Avatar fidgets. “I still don’t think this is going to work.”
The warrior groans in exasperation. It is a long and frustrated sound, and Zuko feels for him. He knows exactly what it is like to be questioned, by his crew, his uncle – who had had a point – then Azula and Mai and Ty Lee once he had been back ho—back at the Fire Nation. It is strange to sympathize with the Water Tribe boy whose upbringing and circumstances couldn’t be further from Zuko’s own.
“Oi, jerkbender,” Water Tribe calls, startling Zuko out of his musings, and Zuko stiffens. “You said you’re here because you’ve changed and all that yadda-yadda nonsense, right?”
Zuko nodds carefully, unsure where this is going. “I am here to teach the Avatar firebending,” he confirms.
“Right, that one. You can do it without bending yourself, can’t you?” Is that boldness or uncertainty in his voice? Zuko really wishes he was better at reading people, like his sister. “I bet you can teach him without moving at all, can’t you?”
Understanding dawns upon Zuko, and he blinks. Slowly. “You want me to teach the Avatar? Like this?” Zuko is stunned, and his chest is tight. He doesn’t know what to feel. Is he elated by euphoria because they are letting him fulfill his destiny or is he frozen by dread that he will have to remain like this to do so? Distrusted, scorned, bound by the earth.
The warrior doesn’t elaborate further, and Zuko swallows around a dry lump in his throat. “I can teach him the basics like this.” He will definitely try to.
His words are followed by a sagely nod, as if the warrior hadn’t expected anything else, as if Zuko can’t see his shoulders sag as the tension bleeds out of the other boy’s body.