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Rebuilding	By : voyager Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Slash - Male/Male > Aang/Zuko Views: 2675 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Avatar The Last Airbender is the property of Nickelodeon. I don't own or profit from the characters or settings of this story. Warning: Deals with adult situations, and characters dying

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Chapter 15
Beginning to Write the Next Chapter
(Set 6 years after Ch.14 and the end of the war)
The principle characters' approximate ages are: Zuko & Haru=23; Sokka & Azula=22;
Suki, & Katara=21; Aang & Teo=19 Roku Jr.(AKA 'The Duke')=15
Bells were ringing in the Fire-Nation's Capital; Fire-lord Zuko had ordered the bell towers in every city and town in the Fire-nation to be rung twenty times on this day every year. It was to celebrate the anniversary of the end of the war, and the reestablishment of peace in the world. Zuko was in his private study, which was adjacent to his office, and the formal throne room. He came here when he needed privacy to think, or just to get some work done. In this case, he was working on his address to the people that he'd be delivering, tonight.
Nobody would disturb him here; he'd heard rumors among the household staff that if some bit of news had to be delivered to the Firelord, they would draw lots to see who would be the one to give it to him. He smiled, he wasn't the oppressive tyrant his father had been; but it was good that the staff respected him enough to be just a little bit intimidated by him. For this reason, Zuko was quite surprised when he heard the door open, unannounced. The sounds of children running told him what the interruption was.
Two small children, a boy and a girl, six years old, came running in. A harried looking woman came in after them; saying in an exasperated voice, "Lu-ten, Ilah, you know you aren't supposed to disturb your father when he's working; my apologies for the interruption, m'lord." The Firelord looked up and said, "It's alright, Russa;" then of the children, named for his cousin and aunt, he asked, "Why are you two misbehaving for your nurse, don't you know that that's not appropriate for a little prince and princess?" "Yes father," they said in unison. These were his and Aang's children, Zuko still marveled at it; during their good-will tour, shortly after their joining ceremony, they had become aware of many orphaned and displaced children; victims of the war.
Aang was once again sadly reminded of the fact that he and Zuko couldn't have children. That is, until these two miracles came into their lives. Subconsciously, Zuko reached down to feel the raised line of flesh beneath the thin silk of his tunic. By some miracle, he had been able to conceive. When they asked Uncle Iroh how or why this could be possible, he said that it was the power of the connection between Zuko and Aang that made it so. It had been a grueling experience for the young firelord, and terrifying for anyone who got too close when his volatile temper flared up.
Zuko knelt down between the two small figures and told them, "I've got some more work to do, why don't you go back to your room with Russa, and I'll come see you later; and remember, no bending in the palace." "You should have seen what your father was like when he was your age, he was always singeing one priceless work of art, or another." Azula's voice came from the doorway.
"Auntie Zulie, Uncle Roku" the kids exclaimed and rushed to Zuko's sister and Half-Brother. He smiled when he saw her there, tall, proud, regal and in control; A princess of the fire-nation once again, the lack of the ability to fire-bend notwithstanding. He was also pleased to see the younger brother he never even knew he had until six years ago "Azula," He exclaimed, "I didn't know you were here, I wasn't expecting you until later today." Azula shrugged and told her brother, "My ship got in ahead of schedule." Zuko hugged his sister, and said, "Well I'm glad you were able to make it for the reunion." He asked the children, "Where's your brother, he should be here to meet his aunt and uncle, as well."
They replied in unison, "Tenzin's in gramma's garden practicing ayah-bendin' (air-bending) with Poppa-Aang. Zuko and Aang's youngest son, who they named after Aang's mentor and father-figure, Monk Tenzin-Gyatso; was a five year old air-bender. Unlike his brother and sister, he had been carried by Aang, not Zuko. Like Zuko Aang also had a small scar on his abdomen, he'd also had to delver his son by C-section.
Aang and Zuko spent as much time as their formidable obligations would allow with the three children. Zuko's responsibilities kept him here in the Fire-nation, most of the time; whereas Aang's role as the Avatar frequently kept him moving from place to place. Whenever practical, Aang would take Tenzin, Lu-ten and Ilah with him, so that they didn't feel abandoned. Along the way Aang would teach him how to use their bending, and how to meditate, to calm their minds; and just how to simply appreciate the beauty of the natural world.
Aang and Tenzin were in the garden now, working on such meditation. Aang instructed his youngest son to feel the warmth of the sun, and the movement of the air currents around them. It was going slowly; Tenzin had a great deal of curiosity about the world around him, and he was always itching to explore. This made it difficult for him to calm his mind, and meditate; Zuko claimed that he got this from Aang, who in turn said it came from Zuko. As they were focusing their energies, Aang and Tenzin had their exercises interrupted by squeals of laughter and running feet. Aang opened his eyes but didn't look, he didn't need to see, to know what was about to happen; Tenzin frowned and squeezed his eyes even more tightly shut.
With the lightest touch of his air-bending, Aang lifted himself off of the ground, just as two small burgundy and gold blurs rushed passed. Iroh and Lu-ten were intent on tackling their father; instead they found themselves barreling into their younger brother. As Zuko and Azula came walking around a corner the heard the sounds of children laughing, and were greeted with the sight of Aang looking on with a gentle smile as his and Zuko's children tussled. Playing with his older brother and sister, and just having the chance to be a normal kid, was one of the few things that seemed give young Tenzin genuine happiness. Aang looked up and saw his consort and sister-in-law walking towards them.
With a light burst of air-bending he went to them faster than any normal person, and with a glowing smile lifted Azula off the ground and hugged her. He was now a good bit taller than she was, and just about equal in height to Zuko. "It's good to see you, too Aang," Azula said, and then asked, "When are the others arriving?" "Haru, Katara, Teo and Toph should be arriving from the Earth Kingdom sometime this afternoon, as well," Aang told Azula; "And, we're expecting Sokka and Suki tomorrow morning." Azula smiled and said, "It'll be good to see them all, again, though it's hard to believe it's already been six years, isn't it." Her brother who had a hand on Aang's shoulder smiled, and said, "It is amazing, that we got this far, but it's been one hell of a ride, hasn't it?"
Zuko, Aang and Azula smiled, and stood there watching the children play. These kids and all of the kids of their generation would be the first ones in a hundred years who would grow up without the specter of war hanging over their heads. After a little while, a servant came up to Zuko, and handed him a piece of paper.
Zuko read it, and said, "Aang, the ship from the earth kingdom has been sighted, and should be here in another hour, or two." Aang grinned at the news, even though he was now grown, he still had the youthful exuberance of the twelve year old kid Zuko first met on a glacier, after Aang had knocked him on his butt. It seemed like a couple of lifetimes ago. "Do you hear that, kids," Aang asked Tenzin, Ilah, and Lu-ten; "Your aunts, uncles and cousins will be here, soon; inside, all of you, and get cleaned up." Aang, Zuko, and Azula watched the kids run off, and then went indoors to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the family.
Aang and Zuko; Tenzin, Lu-ten and Iroh waited at the dock with an honor guard made up of soldiers from the Fire nation, Earth kingdom, and Water tribes as the ship carrying Haru, and Katara, Toph and Teo; along with their young families pulled up to the pier. Haru and Katara came down first with their sons; five year old Paku, named for Katara's mentor and step-grandfather, who was a water-bender; and Ty-ro, aged four, named for Haru's father, and who was a skilled earth-bender, like his father. Toph and Teo came down with their four year old twin daughters, Lin and Su-Yin, who were giggling like crazy as they sat on their father's lap and rolled down the ramp on his wheelchair. To them, it was the world's greatest roller-coaster ride. The Avatar and the Firelord smiled down at their own kids, who could barely contain themselves from rushing to greet their 'cousins'. "Go ahead," Zuko sighed, releasing his grip on their hands. "So much for royal decorum," whispered Aang; as they walked up to give their own welcome to Teo, Toph, Haru and Katara.
There was a small luncheon waiting for them in Lady Ursa's garden where she and Iroh were waiting. Iroh was getting on in years, and had gotten a little forgetful and hard of hearing; but the years seemed to drop away as he scooped up his great-nieces and nephews in a big bear hug. They collapsed in a heap, and the old general feigned begging for mercy as they tickled him, and searched for the sweets they knew he had hidden, somewhere. While Iroh kept the children occupied, the rest of them ate and reminisced. Katara asked Aang, "So, what do you have planned for the anniversary festivities?" Well, Zuko and I have a surprise for everyone, but we thought it would be better to wait until Sokka and Suki get here, then we can tell you all at once. Katara hadn't heard from her brother, yet, and asked "When are they supposed to arrive?" "Their ship is scheduled to dock sometime tomorrow morning," Zuko informed them.
Later that evening, after the children had been put to bed, although no one had any illusions that the seven of them were actually asleep; Aang, Zuko, Katara, Haru, Toph and Teo gathered in the parlor and talked about their adventures, and all the unusual circumstances that had brought them together, as a family. Occasionally the conversation was punctuated by a low rumbling growl coming from a chair in the corner. Zuko looked over to where Uncle Iroh had fallen asleep. Zuko looked at Aang, and winked his unscarred eye, and they both smiled.
The next morning everyone again gathered at the royal harbor to greet the ship carrying Sokka, Suki and their four year old daughter, Kya, named for Sokka and Katara's late mother. They walked down the ramp, with Sokka carrying little Kya; he and Suki were glad to see the rest of their extended family waiting there. Sokka was particularly pleased to see Aang and his sister; it had been too long since they had spent time with each other.
That evening, Zuko kicked off the anniversary festivities with his address to the people, which he originally planned to give the night before, but decided to wait until the whole family was assembled. He called on the people of the fire-nation, and the other three nations, to continue to work together to rebuild the world. He thanked his extended family, for all of their efforts, without which the new era of peace would not be possible. In particular, there was one person he wanted to thank, without whom none of it would have been possible, the avatar. With unabashed affection and pride, Zuko yielded the podium to Aang. After the thunderous applause died down, Aang made a few brief remarks, and called for a moment of silence in honor of those who never made it home.
Zuko then had a special announcement for his people. He had been corresponding with King Kuei, Chiefs Arnook and Hakoda, and Sister Karmala, leader of the Air-Nomad assembly; they had decided to form a council of nations, to serve as a means of cooperation between the four lands and where disputes could be resolved with diplomacy, rather than force. He also said that there would be a ground breaking in the next week for an ambitious construction project, dubbed Republic City, where the council would meet, and people of all the lands could live and work together in harmony. Again cheers erupted in the plaza, and fireworks filled the air.
That evening, there was a lavish banquet commemorating the anniversary of the war's end, with live music and bending performers from all four nations. Zuko and Aang, Azula and Roku (The Duke) Katara, Haru, Toph and Teo, and Sokka and Suki sat at the head of the main table and enjoyed the festivities, and the good will of their friends and family, and assembled guests.
- 14
- 15
- 16
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Rebuilding