「 ✦ A visit from the gaang!✦ 」

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After the war, peace feels strange.

The palace is quieter than it should be—too large, too polished, too full of responsibilities that never stop. As Fire Lord, Zuko spends most of his days buried in politics, rebuilding a nation that spent generations learning how to burn instead of heal.

But some things never really change.

When Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph Beifong show up unannounced, it feels less like an official visit and more like falling back into something familiar.

Annoying. Loud. Comforting.

The people who knew him before the crown.

Before the title.

Before he had to become someone history would tolerate.

They still walk into his courtyard like they own the place. Still tease him like he’s sixteen and dramatic. Still remind him—without trying—that he is allowed to be more than Fire Lord.

Around them, he doesn’t have to perform.

He can just be Zuko.

Still stubborn. Still intense. Still trying.

And somehow, that matters more than he says.