Chapter Four "The Lantern Festival"

It was a busy morning. The jasmine dragon was abuzz with chatter. Everyone was discussing the much anticipated Lantern festival. That night beautiful floating lanterns would be released into the night sky, there would be music, street food, games, and so much more. Even Zuko was a little bit excited. He had always heard rumours about the annual Ba Sing Se lantern festival.

Zuko cleared a table of mugs, the three teenage boys at the table were too focused on their conversation to take any notice of Zuko, which suited him perfectly.

"Now, I reckon this will work." the one with freckles said.

The short-haired one made a face at freckles. "Dude you've been dropping hints to Yoti for almost four months now, what makes tonight any different?" he said

Freckles grinned "Because Meshaan, tonight is the Festival of lanterns! It's the perfect romantic setting! Yoti loves romantic gestures, she's gonna love it."

The short haired one, Meshaan, shrugged "if you say so, what about you Sheki?"

The one on the other end of the table, who must have been Sheki, he blushed.

"I was thinking of asking Tacci," he said, avoiding his friends' gazes.

Freckles smiled a devil's grin "Tacci? As in tall, hot Tacci?"

Sheki nodded, his face going beet red. Freckles winked at Meshaan. "You've had a crush on them for what two years now?"

Sheki nodded. "They are performing in the tiger-leopard dance. I know they have been practicing really hard for it and I wanted to support them."

"So, you prefer Tacci's masculine looks then eh?" Meshaan said with a grin.

Freckles threw a sweet-bun at Meshaan. "Don't be a dick Meshaan."

Sheki blushed again "I think Tacci looks beautiful no matter what they wear." he said quietly.

Freckles and Meshaan laughed and slapped Sheki on the back. As Zuko walked away to the bench he wondered to himself how this Tacci person they were talking about was a "they". He would ask his uncle about it later.

Sokka brought over a tray of empty mugs and smiled at Zuko. "Busy morning huh?" he said.

Zuko nodded as he cleaned the used cups in a bucket of cold soapy water. Sokka placed the dirty cups onto the tray next to Zuko. Zuko could feel Sokka watching him.

"What do you want Sokka?" he asked without looking up.

Sokka leaned against the bench. "Well the lantern festival is tonight right?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. Here it comes, the "can I leave early?" excuse.

"I was thinking we should go," Sokka said.

That was not what Zuko had expected. He looked up, bewildered.

"What?" he said.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "You know, the lantern festival. You and I should go tonight," He looked at Zuko "if you don't have any other plans."

"I... might..." said Zuko.

Sokka raised an eyebrow "You are a horrible liar Lee, you know that?" Sokka picked something out of his nails and then he looked back up at Zuko.

"if you don't want to go out with me that's okay, just say no instead of making something up," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, he avoided Zuko's gaze.

"No I...I'd love to come," Zuko said.

Sokka beamed at him "Sweet I'll meet you around the corner in front of that noodle place at seven," then he walked away.

Zuko stood there. What just happened? "go out with me" Did Sokka just ask him out? No, no way. Sokka's not into Zuko like that. Why did he think it was?... Was Zuko into Sokka like that? He didn't think he was. Was he?

Am I gay? Zuko asked himself.

Did Zuko find Sokka attractive? Yes, Sokka was definitely attractive, but anyone could plainly see that Sokka was attractive. He had his dazzling blue eyes and his strong jawline, his toned arms that weren't too overly muscly but still strong, his cocky smirk that appeared on his lips whenever he was being a smartass.

Nah, there's no way, Zuko dismissed the distressing thought in his mind. And he carried on washing mugs.

________________________________________________

Zuko frowned at his reflection. He wore a man's dark green tunic with light green accents along the seams and brown trousers. Traditional middle class earth kingdom clothing for a young man like himself. Zuko didn't like it. He looked stupid! Why was he even going?

He tried to comb his hair but whatever way he combed it his hair looked bad. He glared at his reflection.

"This is your fault," he said pointing at himself.

He gave up on his hair and stomped into the living room. Iroh looked up from where he was sitting, he raised an eyebrow.

"You look nice Zuko," He said.

Zuko shrugged.

"I'm planning on trying all the street vendor food tonight, I hear the pork dumpling stall is fantastic. What do you think will be the best?" Iroh rubbed his hands together gleefully.

Zuko hadn't told Iroh yet. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Actually uncle... I made plans," he said.

Iroh raised his eyebrow. "oh? Who's the lucky girl?" he asked.

Zuko winced "... Actually... I'm not going on a date... I'm meeting Sokka... he invited me out..."

Iroh watched Zuko for a moment then grinned. It was an annoying grin, like there was a joke Zuko wasn't a part of.

"How nice, I'm glad my two best workers are getting along," He said.

"Uncle, we're your only workers," Zuko said.

"Exactly why I'm glad you two are hanging out," Iroh said.

Zuko nodded, he went to the door to put on his shoes but then he walked quickly back into the living room.

"Uncle should I be doing this? What if Sokka figures out who we are?" He asked.

"He hasn't yet, as long as you don't give him any reason to suspect us then we'll be fine," Iroh said, he smiled at Zuko.

"Having second thoughts are we?" he asked.

"No," Zuko crossed his arms.

"Then go! You don't want to keep Sokka waiting. He will get "suspicious"" Iroh put his fingers into air quotation marks.

Zuko frowned and he walked to the door and pulled on his shoes. He said goodbye and started to walk towards the noodle restaurant around the corner from them.

The street was busy, people were dressed in beautiful clothing. There were flashes of gold, green and silver. There were street performers in flashy costumes that sparkly and swayed. The night was filled with laughter and chatter. Zuko hated crowds but even he couldn't help but smile at the excitement of the night.

Zuko reached the noodle restaurant, which was streaming with people. He looked around for Sokka, he couldn't see him and the crowd was pushing and shoving. It made Zuko dizzy, there was too much noise.

"Sokka?" Zuko called, but the noise of the crowd drowned him out.

Zuko wanted to go home but then he felt a strong hand grab his arm. It pulled Zuko through the crowd into a slightly less busy street where people weren't pushing and shoving.

There in front of Zuko stood Sokka. He stood out immediately from the crowd. The crowd was all wearing some variation of Green. But Sokka was wearing blue. He wore his sleeveless watertribe tunic which showed off his muscular arms. Dark blue pants and high leather boots.

Fuck...

Am I gay?

Zuko thought to himself. He couldn't help staring at Sokka. Sokka grinned at him.

"You're looking pretty snazzy, Lee," He said, looking him up and down.

Zuko looked away. "You don't look terrible yourself," he mumbled.

"Thanks buddy. Now come on! There's so much to see!" Sokka grabbed him by the arm and pulled him down the busy street.

The whole city was lit up by bright lanterns hanging on doors and roofs. Delicious smells wafted from the food vendors and street performers danced and sang, swishing the swaying fabric of their costumes.

First Sokka wanted to try the street food. They must have ordered a hundred things and they even bumped into Iroh who recommended the octopus kebabs. When they were full they walked down the entertainment street to watch the performers. Zuko had seen a lot of concerts back in the fire nation but nothing quite compared to the wild choreography and lively music.

Zuko saw three people dressed as tiger leopards and ran over to watch. They were getting ready to start their dance. At first they started off with long, slow, graceful moves. Zuko turned to see the boy Sheki, from the teashop that morning, was standing next to him. He was watching the dancer in the middle.

The dancer Sheki was watching was tall and fit. Zuko couldn't tell if they were a boy or a girl, but it must have been that "Tacci" person. Sheki was right about Tacci being attractive, Tacci wasn't just beautiful, they were stunning. Tacci didn't just dance to the music, the music seemed to be dancing with them. The music stopped and started as the dancers froze and then started to dance again.

"What's happening?" Zuko asked.

The boy Sheki didn't take his eyes off Tacci, "The sudden moves are supposed to represent the power of the tiger, see how they move their feet? That's mirroring the way the tiger-leopard stalks its prey,"

Zuko looked back at the dancers. The music started to speed up, and loud drumming started. The music invigorated something in you. It made you want to dance or fight.

The three dancers spun wildly and jumped high in the air, their feet barely seemed to touch the ground as they moved.

"What's happening now?" Zuko asked Sheki again.

Sheki smiled "They are now representing the wild spirit of the leopard. The way they jumped and spin is mirroring the way the leopard climbs. Soon they will start combing the tiger choreography and the leopard choreography, that is to show the power and grace of the Tiger-Leopard," He explained

Zuko was fascinated. It was a beautiful dance. He had never seen something so wild but graceful before. Sokka now at his side, he watched Zuko.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"Nothing... I think this is the first time I've seen you genuinely smile,"

Zuko frowned.

"Hey, don't stop," said Sokka, he grinned at Zuko.

Zuko punched Sokka in the shoulder. "Shut up and watch the show," he grumbled, his cheeks getting hot.

The rest of the dance was stunning. And at the end the three dancers bowed. The tall one, Tacci walked over to Sheki.

"How I'd do?" they asked, their voice was deep and smooth like honey.

Sheki grinned "Tacci it was amazing! I've never seen someone do the tiger-leopard dance as good as you did,"

Tacci smiled a dazzling smile at Sheki "Aren't I lucky to have such a lovely fan."

Sheki blushed as Tacci leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. They walked away together arm-in-arm, Tacci laughing as Sheki enthusiastically chatted about his night so far.

Sokka turned to Zuko. "Look what I bought," he said as he held up two unlit lanterns.

One had beautiful flower designs on it and the other had a cartoony badgermole drawn on it.

"This is for when they release the lanterns," Sokka said. "This one's mine, this one is yours" Sokka handed Zuko the lantern with the flower designs.

"And I know the perfect place to release them, come with me."

He started to weave through the crowd and Zuko followed after him. Eventually they came to a hill and Sokka started sprinting up it.

"Sokka!" Zuko shouted.

"Catch up slowpoke!" Sokka called.

Zuko grinned and started bolting up the hill after him. He caught up to Sokka and kept pace running alongside him.

"Last one to the top is a rotten koi egg!!" Sokka yelled as he sped up.

Zuko smirked as he sped up. They were racing now, running up the hill as fast as they could. Sokka was whooping and yelling and Zuko even caught himself shouting for joy. They jumped over logs and bushes and avoided the trees until finally they broke out into the clearing on top of the hill.

There were no lights on the hill but you didn't need any, Zuko could see clearly. The city was bright and you could see for miles. Sokka grinned at him.

"I win," He said.

"You had a first start," Zuko said.

Sokka waved his hands "Excuses, Excuses," he said.

He walked to the edge of the hill and sat down on the grass, he patted the ground beside him. Zuko sat down next to him. They looked out at the sparkling city and they had a good view from where they were sitting. It was a warm night and Zuko could hear a cricket-fly buzzing as well as the hustle and bustle from the city. It was nice, almost peaceful in a way. Zuko let himself relax, he felt happy.

Sokka pulled out a small parcel wrapped in white paper from his pocket. He unwrapped it and handed a small green lump to Zuko. Zuko looked at him suspiciously.

"What is it?" Zuko asked.

"It's called mochi, a rice cake made with bean paste. They are delicious," Sokka ate a red one.

Zuko took the rice cake from Sokka and took a bite. It had a weird texture but it tasted good and Zuko liked it. They were silent again. Neither of them spoke for a while, they just enjoyed the evening air and the sounds of the city below them.

"When do you think they will release the floating lanterns?" Zuko asked.

"Pretty soon actually," said Sokka. "Speaking of which we should get the lanterns re- Oh shoot!!"

Sokka facepalmed. "I forgot to get a lighter," he groaned.

"Oh..." Zuko looked down at his hands. He could light the lanterns, but that would mean sacrificing his and Iroh's lives here. He didn't want that, he liked living in Ba Sing Se. Zuko bit his tongue instead.

Sokka sighed, "Sorry Lee, I guess we won't be able to release lanterns after all." He sounded upset.

Zuko clenched his fists. Don't blow your cover, he thought.

"I can light them,"

What the fuck are you doing Zuko?

Sokka looked at him confused. "You can?" he asked.

Shit, shit, shit, what have I done?

"Uh... yes... I can..." Zuko looked around for anything that would help him.

He saw two small stones in the grass beside him and grabbed them. "With these," he said, showing them to Sokka.

Sokka frowned as he looked at the stones in Zuko's hand.

"With those?"

"Yes, with these,"

"They don't look like flintstone,"

Zuko quickly withdrew his hand "...It's a different type... of flintstone..." he said.

Sokka looked at him suspiciously. Zuko had to do something to convince Sokka. He brought the two stones together with a small click. He focused his energy on his fingertips and made a small spark when the two stones collided.

"Hm, you're right," Sokka shrugged. "You really know your flintstones, Lee," He added.

Zuko, feeling incredibly proud that he pulled that off, nodded. From the city a horn could be heard playing. Sokka smiled.

"Ah that's the signal," He said.

Sokka held up his badgermole lantern to Zuko and Zuko lit up the lantern banging the stones together again then Zuko lit his own. They waited for the horn to finish it's tune, when it finished they released their lanterns into the dark blue sky. As their lanterns floated away the whole sky started to fill with floating lanterns. It was a beautiful sight. There were just so many!

Sokka lay back into the grass watching the lanterns. "See why I choose this place?" he asked Zuko.

"Mm-hm," Zuko said as he lay back into the grass himself.

All the noise in the city below them seemed to have stopped as the Ba Sing Se watched the lanterns fly. Music could be heard, a soft beautiful tune from guitars. It echoed throughout the city. Beautiful and clear. When the guitar song ended everyone cheered. And the city went back to it's excited hubbub as the lanterns floated higher and higher. Zuko was in awe. The lanterns dotted the sky like stars.

"Amazing, isn't it," Sokka said.

"Yeah," Zuko breathed.

They were silent for a couple minutes until Sokka rolled onto his side to look at Zuko.

"Whatcha thinking about?" He asked.

Zuko shrugged.

"Come on, what's going on in that brain of yours?"

Zuko took a deep breath. He was getting too comfortable around Sokka, that was bad, he could be found out... but he didn't care.

"... I was thinking about how I was wrong," he said.

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Wrong? About what?"

Zuko gestured to the sky filled with lanterns and the city below. "Everything!" he said.

"All my life I was told what to think, what to do, what to say, who to like and who to hate. I was taught to hate the other nations, they were my enemies," Zuko said.

Zuko glanced at Sokka. Sokka was still on his side, turned to face him, he was still listening. Zuko continued.

"And then one day... I got in trouble and I had to leave... I wanted so badly to get back home that I looked for something... for over two years I looked for it... I thought it would fix everything... but I'm not so sure now,"

Sokka was quiet. And then he said "I'm sorry for what the fire nation has done to you."

Zuko's heartbeat was thumping in his chest, sirens and warning lights were going off in his head.

"I've never met the fire nation," he said quickly.

Sokka reached out and with his hand he gently turned Zuko's head towards his. He was closer than Zuko had realised. Sokka smiled but his smile was full of sadness.

"You are a horrible liar, Zuko."