Chang Ai [ENG] [zukaang/ zuko x aang fanfic]

Chapter IV: The Deserter

Zuko was sitting in front of his ship window looking the sunset behind the horizon, his eyes could be fixed on the sun that descended little by little until it gave way to dusk but his hands were tightly closed in a fist, that same afternoon, Admiral Zhao came to his ship with the message that he was organizing an expedition to the North Pole to capture the Avatar himself and that he planned to take the Fire Nation prince crew with him... that bastard! how could he dare to take his entire crew without their consent? Also, there was nothing he could do, Zhao's decision was already made and he had already informed everyone to join him on his expedition, including the cook.

He could not help but feel his blood boil with rage, so he tried to think of something else to calm himself and his thoughts led him to the person who was present in his dreams at night and haunted him during the day, a person he could not have, the person he was destined to capture to regain his honor and that person was nothing more and nothing less than the Avatar himself. Aang, that twelve-year-old boy full of life and joy, he could not believe it, but yes, he had started to develop a strong feeling for him, at first he thought that he was just confused and that it was not possible, but after they had met, after their first kiss, he realized that what was wrong with him was not a simple confusion, he was not imagining things, he loved him, he loved Aang, he no longer had any intention of capturing him to win his father's approval and acceptance, he wanted to capture the Avatar but this time he would keep it just for himself.

"Oh, Avatar..." Zuko sighed as he rested his head on one of his hands without taking his gaze away from the sunset that was gradually disappearing; however, he snapped out of his thoughts when he heard someone knock on bedroom metal door.

"Prince Zuko" the unmistakable voice of his uncle, General Iroh, sounded from the other side of the door "I just came to tell you that there will be a Fire Nation festival in a village not far away from where we are docked" Zuko did not reply, he just sat there, sitting at his place listening to what his uncle had to say to him "and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me, local Fire Nation festivals are more entertaining than the ones in the capital, well I can't say Fire Flakes taste the same but you know what I mean" there is still no answer from the teenager "please, nephew. You will make an old man very happy, you know that I haven't went to a Fire Nation festival since Lu Ten died" silence invaded the already tense atmosphere that was between them "or if you want you can stay here, I will leave you in peace"

Zuko heard his uncle's footsteps walk away from his bedroom, he remained seated in his place with his hands gripping the fabric of his pants tightly, closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and finally he made a decision.

"Uncle, wait!" Zuko said to the old man before he left the corridor "I think... I think I'll go with you"

"Perfect! thank you for accepting this invitation" Iroh told him "but first..." Zuko blinked in surprise when his uncle looked through his tunic and brought him a small mask "you have to wear this"

"What's that?" Zuko asked looking at the mask that his uncle was holding in his hand, the mask was finely crafted, much better than the masks that someone could buy in common festivals, it was made of fine porcelain, some details decorated the top and wore a serious facial expression, Iroh had also placed a mask around his head.

"Everyone must wear a mask at the festival, you can't join if you're not wearing one."

"Okay, I'll do it" Zuko said taking the mask and then closing his bedroom door so he could change his clothes and put that mask around his face.

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Meanwhile, Aang, Katara and Sokka were walking along a path in search of the nearest village, the three of them were exhausted but Sokka, in addition to being exhausted, was also hungry. After walking around for a while, the Avatar team stopped in front of a stone post that had some posters stucked to it, they approached to them and began to look at them.