Uncle Zuko

Zuko stepped off of the boat onto Air Temple Island with Mai at his side. He nervously tugged at his clothes and fixed his hood.

"Zuko, stop fidgeting." Mai said. "And take that hood off. It's warm today."

"What if I scare her? What if she doesn't like me?" It's all he's been asking since Katara had asked for him to visit them one month ago.

"Zuko, she'll love you."

"But…" He touched the scar on his face that had once haunted him all those years ago. Ever since he had become the fire lord, the scar hadn't drawn the stares that he was used to. But the his title meant nothing to her.

Zuko looked up and saw Aang waving at the top of the hill. "Come on." Mai pulled at his arm, and he reluctantly followed her.

"Hello, Mai and Firelord Sifu Hotman!" Aang greeted happily.

"Stop that."

"Where's Katara?" Mai asked.

"She's inside with Toph and the rest of the gang. Come on." Aang was practically hopping up and down. "She can't wait to see you."

Zuko made his way to the house a few steps behind Mai and Aang. As they stepped into the room where everyone was, he lingered in the doorway a bit and peeked into the room. Katara handed Mai a small bundle.

"Zuko, come here!" Katara grabbed his hand and dragged him into the room.

"Katara, I-"

Katara pulled him to the couch, and Mai placed the bundle into his hands. Zuko held the bundle away from his body unsure of what to do. Katara laughed amusedly, pushed the bundle closer to Zuko's body fixing his arms so that the bundle was cradled, and gently lifted Zuko's hood off of his head.

"But, I-"

"She can't meet you like that." She explained. "Zuko, meet Kya." Katara gestured. "Kya, meet your Uncle Zuko."

The baby, who resembled Katara in her skin and face, cooed and stirred in his arms; her tiny hand reached up and touched the scar on his face. He recoiled a bit, not used to such soft, tiny hands touching his scar.

"Uncle Zuko." He said in awe.

A woman wearing formal South Pole robes wiped her misty eyes. She could still hear the choir singing.

Little soldier boy comes marching home.

But what broke her heart was the man in front of her who she could hear vaguely singing along with the choir.

The Fire Lord stood stood tall and rigid, masking his emotions as best he could. The fire sages kept murmuring in their traditional speeches given at Royal family funerals. Zuko couldn't even remember the last one that he'd been to. Perhaps the one for his father some years ago.

Mai stood faithfully at his right side, and his daughter clutched his hand tightly at his left.

Aang and Katara stood a few steps behind them with Kya and Bumi close to their sides; Katara held Tenzin in her arms.

The ceremony finished just in time as Kya and Bumi began to get restless. Diplomats and military figures quietly emptied the room. Aang and Katara stayed behind. Mai walked to the fire sages to address them about some other funeral arrangements, and Ursa walked over to Kya and Bumi.

Katara leaned over to whisper in Aang's ear. "I wish there was something we could do for him."

Aang sadly looked at Zuko's shoulders still strong and unwavering. "I don't think there's anything we can do for him, Katara. Iroh was Zuko's father."

"I know, but I just feel-" Her sentence was interrupted by Bumi's signature "Wahoo!". Aang and Katara turned to see Bumi, Kya, and Ursa running towards Zuko.

"Uncle Zuko, Uncle Zuko!" Kya yelled.

"Bumi! Kya!" Katara yelled.

They watched helplessly as the three children tackled Zuko to the ground. Aang and Katara cringed and hoped that Zuko wouldn't be too furious at being tackled to the ground at possibly the worst moment in his life.

She and Aang were surprised to see him stand up with a shocked look on his face and laugh as he began to chase them around the courtyard.

Mai approached them with a small smile on her face as she watched her husband interact with the children.

"Today's the first day I've seen him smile since…" She trailed off. "Anyways, be sure to thank Bumi and Kya for cheering up their uncle."

"I can't believe it. Another airbender in this world." Zuko said as he took a sip of tea.

"You should've seen the look on Aang's face when he came running inside the house carrying Tenzin on his shoulders a few days ago. He looked like…" Katara trailed off, smiling. "He looked like he wasn't alone anymore. He started Tenzin on his lessons first thing this morning."

Zuko nodded and simply asked, "Bumi?"

"Nothing." Katara shook her head sadly; she was worried about how people would treat Bumi, eing a non-bender son of the Avatar. "Aang and I have tried talking to him about it. I think he understands. I just want him to understand that Aang and I aren't going to treat him differently than Kya or Tenzin." She sighed.

"Mai, Ursa, and I won't treat him differently. Neither will Toph or Lin, I'm sure." Zuko reassured her.

Katara nodded gratefully. "I know you won't. Sokka's been a big help. He made Bumi a boomerang and has been coming over everyday to teach him. He keeps talking about how he's going to start giving Bumi sword lessons in a month for his birthday."

"That'll be good for him. Maybe I could give him a couple of lessons on mastering two swords."

Katara smiled at Zuko appreciatively. "Bumi would love that."

Suddenly, they heard a crash and a laugh coming from the courtyard.

"Let's go make sure that they're not terrorizing the air acolytes." Zuko laughed, and he and Katara made their way to the courtyard.

Bumi spotted his uncle and called him over with the hand holding his boomerang. "Uncle Zuko, check this out!"

Katara stayed where she was while Zuko made his way to Bumi. Zuko watched as he threw the boomerang into the air and expertly caught it again. Kya, Lin, Ursa all crowded around Zuko trying to get his attention to watch them do something extraordinary. Tenzin remained as serious as ever and stood at a respectable distance away so that he wasn't crowding his uncle.

Aang walked to Katara, put his arm around her waist, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"He really loves them, huh?" Aang commented.

Katara watched Zuko's face as he watched them perform with wonder. His face especially lit up when he asked Tenzin to perform the marble trick that was so signature to an airbender.

"I'm so proud of you, Tenzin." Zuko ruffled Tenzin's dark hair which hadn't been shaved yet.

"You'd think he was their father instead of their uncle." Katara smiled.

"Maybe those titles go hand in hand for him.

A/N: I always thought that since Iroh played such a big part in Zuko's life, that being an uncle would be just as important to him as being a father would.