After the coronation, Hakoda has a few matters to settle with his men, and Sokka and Katara want to rejoin their friends, so Hakoda agrees to finish up with his men and then find his children in the palace. The thought of doing so is still a bizarre one, Hakoda has to admit, but he'll have to get used to visiting the Fire Nation capital. It is, at least temporarily, where his children are, along with Aang and Toph and Suki…

And Zuko, the new Fire Lord.

Hakoda isn't exactly sure what he should do when he sees Zuko. Zuko is a good kid, he knows it, but he's also got a deep-seated fear of fathers, and considering what's just happened with his own, he may not want to see Hakoda. On the other hand, however, Hakoda is fairly certain that, during their brief time in the Western Air Temple, he got through to Zuko when he told him that he would never harm him. Hopefully, that means Zuko won't be afraid, but maybe he'll still want space. Hakoda will give it to him if he does. He expects it'll be fairly easy to do, since he intends on spending his time with Sokka and Katara.

And then Hakoda enters the palace and discovers that both of his children are attached to Zuko's sides.

"Dad!" Sokka calls, limping up to Hakoda on crutches. Behind him, Hakoda can see Aang, Katara, and Zuko, but the rest of their little gang is nowhere to be seen. "Did you figure everything out with the other warriors?"

"How long are you staying?" Katara asks, running forward.

"We'll be staying for a few days," Hakoda says. Unable to help it, he pulls both of his children into his arms. "I know I already said it, but I'm so proud of you." He looks over Sokka's head at Aang and Zuko and adds, "All of you."

"Thanks, Chief Hakoda," Aang says, beaming.

"You can just call me Hakoda," Hakoda tells the boy for the millionth time.

"Yes, Chief Hakoda," Aang says cheekily.

"You all did well, from what I heard," Hakoda says. "Everyone is talking about how the Avatar and his friends took down the Fire Lord and his daughter."

"Katara and Zuko took down Azula," Aang offers.

"Zuko was the one who did the Agni Kai," Katara says. "I just jumped in when she broke the rules and he got hurt saving me."

"You defeated her in the end," Zuko said quietly.

"You would have won if she hadn't tried to shoot me with lightning," Katara retorts.

"Shoot you with lightning?" Hakoda cuts in, concerned. "Are you alright?"

"Zuko took the shot for me," Katara says. "And I'm working on healing him, but if he wants to heal properly, he needs to stop moving all the time. You should really be in a bed right now, Zuko."

Zuko looks uncomfortable. "I need to rule. I'll never be able to convince anyone to support me as Fire Lord if they think I'm weak."

"Taking time to take care of yourself after an injury isn't weakness," Hakoda counters mildly.

Zuko's look of discomfort increases. "I have to-"

He shifts and winces. Immediately, Katara is at his side. "If you just stayed in bed for a few days, you'd heal faster anyway," she mutters, picking up a flask of water and waterbending it out and over Zuko's chest. Hakoda watches curiously as the water begins to glow.

"This would be a lot easier if you would take your shirt off."

"Not here."

"You're such a prude."

"No one would mind, Zuko," Aang offers helpfully. "You can take your shirt off if you want."

"Yeah, no one would mind," Sokka agrees teasingly.

"Where are Toph and Suki?" Hakoda asks, trying to change the topic for Zuko's sake.

"Toph is off with Iroh, I think," Sokka says. "And Suki is off with the other Kyoshi Warriors."

"They'll both be back tonight, though," Aang says. "We all eat dinner together. Iroh likes to eat with us too."

"I'd like to meet Prince Iroh," Hakoda says.

Hakoda doesn't think he's imagining the flicker of nervousness on Zuko's face, but he's not sure where it's coming from. As far as Hakoda can tell, Iroh is perhaps the only member of Zuko's family who isn't absolutely awful. It's why Hakoda wants to meet him. He hopes that doesn't make Zuko uncomfortable, although he doesn't know that there's much of another option if it does. If Hakoda is going to stay here for a few days before heading back south, he'll almost definitely have to meet Iroh at some point, especially if his children are spending a lot of time with Zuko.

"We'll have a big family dinner, then!" Aang says cheerfully, apparently unaware of Zuko's moment of worry. "It'll be nice!"

"Do you want a tour, Dad?" Sokka asks. "I can show you around the palace. I know this place pretty well by now."

"Don't break anything," Zuko groans.

Sokka looks indignant. "That was one time!"

"One?" Katara says dubiously.

"Okay, maybe a few more than one."

"I'd like a tour," Hakoda says, smiling. He'd missed his children's antics. "Katara, do you want to come with us?"

Katara looks at Zuko and frowns a little. "Maybe next time," she says. "I think I need to do another healing session with Zuko."

Zuko looks startled. "You can go with your dad," he says quickly. "I'm fine."

"You're bleeding," Katara says, sounding almost like she's annoyed by it. She's right, though; a bit of Zuko's bandaged chest is visible, and the bandages are slowly turning red.

"I'll be fine," Zuko says. "You don't have to stay."

Katara rolls her eyes. "You got hurt saving my life. This is the least I can do. Aang, can you help me get Zuko back to his room?"

"Sure!" Aang chirps. "I'll see you at dinner, Chief Hakoda!"

"Aang, you really don't need to call me Chief."

"Okay, Mr. Katara's Dad!"

Sokka snorts. "Come on, Dad, let's go. For a stuffy Fire Nation building, there's actually some cool stuff here."

"I'll see you later, Katara," Hakoda says, kissing the top of Katara's head before he heads off with Sokka.

"So," Sokka declares as he limps down the hallway, "first I'll show you the garden. It's near here. There's a pond with turtleducks, but you have to be nice to them, cause Zuko really, really loves turtleducks for some reason."

"Turtleducks are gentle creatures," Hakoda says mildly.

"Yeah," Sokka says, "delicious ones. But Zuko doesn't like it when I say that."

"Speaking of Zuko," Hakoda says, trying to keep his tone as casual as possible, "it seems like Katara's warmed to him."

"Yeah, they went on some quest to get back at the guy who killed Mom, and when they got back, they were friends," Sokka says dismissively.

Hakoda stares at him. "They did what?"

Sokka looks like prey that's just spotted a predator. "Uh, they did nothing."

"Sokka..."

"I don't know the details!" Sokka says immediately. "Ask Katara! But don't tell her I told you, or she'll kill me."

"Won't she be able to figure it out herself?"

"I don't know, maybe she'll think Aang told you." Sokka looks at Hakoda with a hint of nervousness. "Honestly, it wasn't that big a deal. They didn't kill anyone. I don't think."

"I'm not angry with you, Sokka," Hakoda says, because seeing his son afraid of him - especially when Zuko's relationship with his father is still on his mind - is something he hates. "I'm not angry with Katara either. I'm just worried about her."

"She's fine," Sokka says quickly. "I don't know exactly what happened, but she seemed better after she got back. And at least she and Zuko aren't arguing anymore."

"I'm glad to see it," Hakoda says.

"Yeah, it's nice to not have Katara yelling at Zuko all the time," Sokka says. "Oh hey, we're at the garden."

The garden is lovely, and as promised, there's a pond full of turtleducks. "They want food," Sokka explains as the turtleducks all swim over to the new arrivals. "Zuko spoils them. He's always out here feeding them."

Hakoda has a pouch of seal jerky with him, but he has the feeling that's not the sort of food Zuko usually feeds to his turtleducks. "I'll bring them bread the next time I come."

"Between you and Zuko, they'll get so fat they can't swim anymore," Sokka mutters. "And Aang's just as bad. I'm the only one who just wants to eat them like a normal person."

Hakoda can't help but smile fondly. "Show me the rest of the palace," he says, and Sokka happily proceeds to do so. A tour of the Fire Lord's palace is nothing Hakoda ever thought he would get, especially one given to him by his son, but the world is changing, and Hakoda's expectations will have to change along with it.

That evening, Sokka leads Hakoda to a large room with a long table. There are lots of people sitting already, all talking loudly to each other. Sokka has to yell to be heard over all of them.

"HEY GUYS, MY DAD IS HERE!"

Hakoda scans the faces that turn towards him. He recognizes about half the people. There's Aang, Katara, Toph, Suki, and Zuko, and then there's an older man who has to be Iroh, as well as a teenage girl sitting with Zuko and a few other teenage girls wearing the same style of clothes and makeup as Suki. They must be the Kyoshi Warriors, and given how close Zuko and the other girl are sitting, Hakoda assumes she's his girlfriend. She looks a little familiar, but Hakoda's not quite sure where he knows her from.

"Chief Hakoda," Iroh says, standing and bowing. "I am Prince Iroh, uncle to Fire Lord Zuko. We are honored to have you visit."

"I am honored to be here," Hakoda says, bowing back. "Please, call me Hakoda."

Iroh beams. "Then you may call me Iroh."

"You know almost everyone here, Dad," Sokka says. "But those are the rest of Suki's Kyoshi Warriors, and that's Zuko's girlfriend Mai."

"You were the one who saved us on Boiling Rock, weren't you?" Hakoda asks, finally remembering where he's seen Mai before. "I never had the chance to thank you for that. You saved all our lives."

"I wasn't going to let Azula kill Zuko," Mai says, threading her fingers through Zuko's.

"Hey, I helped too," one of the Kyoshi Warriors protests. "Azula would have killed you if I hadn't stopped her."

Mai rolls her eyes. "And I've thanked you for that at least five hundred times, Ty Lee."

Sokka sits down next to Suki, then pats the cushion between him and Katara. Hakoda sits down, and conversation almost immediately goes back to normal. Mai and Ty Lee continue talking, with a few of the other Kyoshi Warriors piping in, while Toph talks to Aang and Sokka talks to Suki. Zuko is quiet, but no one seems particularly surprised by this, so maybe it's usual for him. Iroh seems to be watching everything, a small smile on his face. He meets Hakoda's eyes for an instant and inclines his head just slightly. Hakoda does the same.

"So Dad, did Sokka show you all around the palace?" Katara asks. "Or did he just show you the fighting grounds? He's not supposed to start fighting again until his leg is healed, but he still spends half his time watching other people spar down there."

"Sokka gave me a very thorough tour of the palace," Hakoda assures her. "But I'm sure I haven't seen everything. Do you want to give me a tour of your own tomorrow?"

"Sure!" Katara agrees immediately. "I would have gone today, but someone does need to keep an eye on Zuko. But maybe Aang can watch him tomorrow."

"Does he really need to be watched over that much?" Hakoda asks.

"He won't take care of himself!" Katara complains. "I keep telling him he's never going to heal if he doesn't let himself heal, but he won't rest."

"I imagine he has a lot of work to do," Hakoda says neutrally.

"I mean, he does," Katara says, "but Iroh is helping with that, so he can relax a lot more than he is. And he's not going to help anything if he makes himself worse."

"I assume you've told Zuko all this?"

"Only a thousand times," Katara grumbles. "And he just sits there and lets me tell him, and then the second I turn around he's off trying to rule the Fire Nation again."

"Zuko seems very stubborn."

"He really is."

"Are you talking about my nephew?" a new voice asks. Katara beams up at Iroh, who's moved to stand behind them. "Zuko is indeed very stubborn. He has been for as long as I've known him."

"I'm not surprised," Katara says.

"Your nephew told me a lot about you, Iroh," Hakoda says, inclining his head. "He seems very fond of you."

"Does he?" Iroh asks, sounding pleased. "He told me about you as well. He said you were an honorable man."

Hakoda has heard from Sokka and Katara how much Zuko cares about honor, so he's pretty sure he understands the compliment he's being paid. "Your nephew is an honorable man too," he says. "You must be very proud of him."

Iroh beams. "I am indeed."

"We told you about how Zuko helped rescue my dad, right?" Katara asks. "In Boiling Rock?"

"You told me," Iroh says. "Hakoda, I'm sorry to hear that you ever had to spend time in Boiling Rock. It is a truly terrible place. Zuko is planning to shut it down as soon as he can."

"Sokka and Zuko rescued me before I had to be there for very long," Hakoda says. "And it wasn't your fault. You were in Fire Nation prison too, weren't you?"

"I was, for a time," Iroh agrees. "I escaped during the Day of Black Sun. I understand you took part in that attack?"

"I did," Hakoda agrees. "And my son was one of the leaders."

"Your children are both exceptional," Iroh says. "Both of them were instrumental in taking down the former Fire Lord and stopping his destruction."

"I know," Hakoda says, beaming at Katara. "I'm very proud of them."

Sokka calls down the table at that point with a question for Katara, and Suki asks Hakoda how he is, and conversation flows steadily for the rest of the meal. Hakoda's eyes seek out Zuko a few times, given that Zuko still hasn't said a word. Mai is curled up against his side, and Iroh is sitting next to him, but… Well, there's something about the expression on Zuko's face that keeps catching Hakoda's eye. He should look happy - he's sitting with his family and friends, he's just been crowned Fire Lord, and the world is finally safe - but there's still something guarded in his expression. It reminds Hakoda of the look on Zuko's face when they were flying back from Boiling Rock, when Zuko had looked like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Hakoda didn't know what the other shoe was back then, and he's not sure what it is this time either, but he'd like to find out. Zuko deserves a happy ending as much as anyone else here, and if something is threatening that, Hakoda wants to do his part to stop it.

The moon is high in the sky before Hakoda finally gives in to the fact that he's not going to be able to go to sleep easily tonight. With a sigh, he climbs out of bed and leaves his room. Everyone else is no doubt sleeping already, and he doesn't want to disturb them, so he moves down the hall as quietly as he can and heads towards the garden Sokka showed him earlier. If nothing else, it'll be a pleasant and peaceful place to spend the night.

What he doesn't expect is that someone else will be there when he arrives.

"Zuko?"

Zuko turns quickly, his unscarred eye going wide. "Chief Hakoda!" He scrambles to his feet. "Is something wrong, sir?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Hakoda assures Zuko quickly. "I was just having some trouble sleeping, so I thought I might come here for a while. Please, sit down."

Slowly, Zuko sits back down on the grass. He's sitting at the edge of the turtleduck pond, and there's half of a roll on the ground next to him. Hakoda sits next to him, looking out at the flock of turtleducks that are all clamoring for attention. He thinks about the look on Zuko's face at dinner and his resolution to figure out what it meant. He's not going to jump into the topic immediately, but maybe he can figure out a way to bring it up.

"Was there anything wrong with your room?" Zuko asks. "I can have it changed, if you want."

"No, nothing was wrong with the room," Hakoda says. "It's just hard to get used to sleeping on land after a long time at sea."

"I know," Zuko says softly, and Hakoda remembers hearing stories about how the Fire Nation prince was sailing the seas in search of the Avatar, unable to return home until he found him. Hakoda always thought the stories must have been an exaggeration, but after meeting Zuko and hearing about his father, he's not sure he does anymore.

"After a day or two, I'll be used to it," Hakoda says, because the silence between them is practically screaming to be filled. "But for tonight, I'm content to sit in the garden and watch the moon."

"I can leave, if you want to be alone," Zuko offers.

"It would be very rude of me to ask you to leave a room in your own palace, especially since you were here first."

Zuko fidgets with the edge of his sleeve. "Do you want me to go?"

"I like the company," Hakoda says. "If you leave, I'll be stuck with only the turtleducks."

Zuko looks out at the pond, where the ducks are clambering for his attention. "I was feeding them," he says, picking up the roll and pinching off a bit of bread. He tosses it into the pond, to general acclaim from the pond's inhabitants.

"Sokka told me you like to feed the turtleducks."

"My mother and I used to feed them together," Zuko says. "When I was little. It was the only time I ever felt…"

He doesn't finish the sentence, but Hakoda can think of a dozen possible endings, all as probable as the next. At peace. Safe. Calm. Loved.

"After that, I liked to come here whenever I could," Zuko continues. "It helps me think, sometimes."

"And what are you thinking about tonight?"

Zuko tosses another bit of bread into the pond. He still hasn't looked over at Hakoda. Perhaps it's easier for him to talk this way, when he can almost pretend he's just talking to himself, or to the turtleducks. Maybe, as long as he's not looking at Hakoda, he can almost pretend he's talking to the mother he clearly loved so much, the mother who disappeared years ago.

Or maybe Hakoda's reading into this too much, and Zuko just likes to watch the ducks.

"I'm wondering how long this will last," Zuko finally whispers.

"How long what will last?" Hakoda asks, his voice just as quiet.

"All of this," Zuko says. "Things are… good. They're going well. And things never go well for me." He shrugs and tosses more bread into the pond. "I'm wondering how long it'll be before things go wrong again."

"Maybe things won't go wrong this time," Hakoda suggests.

"They always do," Zuko says, sounding far more resigned than any sixteen year old boy ever should. "I just don't know when it's going to happen."

"Even if something does go wrong, that doesn't mean that everything will be ruined," Hakoda says gently. "No matter what, you'll still have your friends behind you."

"I've never been good at having friends," Zuko says wistfully.

"Your uncle will always be there for you."

"I don't deserve him."

"I have the feeling he wouldn't like to hear you say that."

"Probably not," Zuko says, pulling his shoulders in a bit and tossing more bread into the pond. "It's still true, though."

"I disagree."

Zuko is silent.

"Zuko," Hakoda says quietly, "just because things have gone bad before doesn't mean they're going to go bad now. And even if they do, you won't be alone. Your friends will help you."

"Maybe."

"Definitely." Hakoda puts a tentative hand on Zuko's shoulder. When Zuko doesn't flinch, he keeps it there. "We won't leave you, Zuko. You don't have to do things on your own anymore."

Zuko doesn't say anything, but Hakoda doesn't think he's imagining the slight lean into his touch. For a moment, he considers speaking himself, but he knows that actions speak louder than words, so he keeps his mouth shut, and he stays.

If Hakoda has his way, nothing will ever go wrong for any of these children, Zuko included, ever again.