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we may not appear to be as we were, but we'll make another promise to keep

Summary:

In order to maintain the state of peace between the four nations, the elite spy Moonlight is tasked with getting close to Avatar Aang. To strengthen his cover, Moonlight takes on a new identity as Sokka and adopts Izumi to enroll at the same private school as Aang’s son. However, the prestigious Omashu Academy requires both parents to be present so in comes Zuko, a respectable City Hall employee by day and professional assassin by night.

(or the Zukka version of Spy x Family no one asked for)

Chapter 1: a beloved family in a joyful household is only a burden

Summary:

summary: Agent Moonlight meets his new partner.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The Director of Cabbage Corp was under observation. Based on the pictures he’s currently looking at; it seems he was right to hire that private investigator.

“So, he really does own a cabbage-themed bar. Not the most surprising but the rest of this information—” His meaty thumb flipped through the rest of the folder. He raised his eyebrows but they barely reach his hairline, receding as it is. “Well done.”

The private investigator, dressed inconspicuously in a trench coat, nods. "With this, I can send him back to his life as a lowly merchant and take over his company. That fool won't see this coming." He can’t help an oily grin. "A pleasure doing business with you. Keep up the good work." He slides into his car, a non-descript black Satomobile, and drives off.

The investigator turns to leave. But then, right behind him, he hears a familiar voice. “Hey! Where are you going?” His blood runs cold as he whips around. Before him stands a short man with a receding hairline, two bodyguards eye him menacingly. “But I've already given it to you—" He whips his head to the other direction, where his companion had just driven off.

“I...I was set-up!”

Meanwhile, in the car: "That was easier than I thought." The man tore off the mask he had been wearing, revealing a strikingly young face underneath. "That wig was bothersome though, it would have been bad if I stayed a second longer."

This man is a spy. It is an era when a cutthroat information war was unfolding behind the scenes of the four nations. This man had survived on the battlefield through his mastery of a hundred faces. Unfortunately, not even a hundred masks could hide his distaste for—

"You're late, Jack! Do you have any idea how long you've been making me wait here?"

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. For the sake of the mission, he had to assimilate himself with Tong and the most efficient method seemed to be through his only daughter Camille. Who was still shouting, her voice shrill even though the phone was not on loudspeaker. “—know better than to keep me waiting! As my boyfriend, you're supposed to show no tardiness!"

"Hey, Camille. We should break up."

Simple and blunt. Just like that.

"What? What are you saying, Jack—" The Order would have his head. Tong was a powerful man but Camille was, in many ways, more cunning than her father. He was certain that she would most definitely hunt him down If he didn’t end this amicably.

"Plus, I don't sense any sign of intelligence on you anyway. It's better if we part ways now."

Never mind.

Tong had served his purpose. Some things were just not worth the extra effort and he was sick of being Jack. He switched off the phone and tossed it to the back of the car. It was time to be himself: Moonlight, an elite spy for the Order of the White Lotus.


"The train to Omashu will be departing shortly."

It had been some time since Moonlight took the train. Tong and Camille had insisted on being chauffeured everywhere and somehow, he found himself missing the privacy of the Satomobile. The train was packed with people: couples, families with young children. He took his seat in a corner at the back of the train and reached for the newspaper on the table. His eyes narrowed. Small phrases and keywords were placed strategically within the articles of the newspaper. The front page had a picture of a young family: a toddler in the mother’s arms and two children standing side by side in front of their father, a tall man with distinct blue tattoos.

[Hello, Moonlight.] [Good work on your latest mission. Thanks to your efforts, the CEO of Cabbage Corp has been spared his embarrassing fate. It is essential to keep him within the Order’s circle of protection and you have done a great service] [This may seem sudden, but here is your next mission. Your target is the Avatar. Despite his duties, he has pulled back from the public eye. You will need to get close to the target and investigate his recent activities. And Moonlight, with the current circumstances, your first step to action: get married and have a child.]

There was a strangled scream in the carriage. Moonlight ignored the stares and stared more intently at his paper. The Order rarely sent in the wrong transcripts. Get a spouse and a child? Was the agency pulling his leg?

[As the Avatar, Aang is more powerful than one can dream of. Since his marriage, he has rarely made public appearances.] [He only shows his face at public gatherings held at his children’s prestigious school, which also has the purpose of inviting the biggest players in politics and industry.] [You are to have your child enroll in this school, so you can have a better chance of infiltrating those meetings.] [Furthermore, there's a deadline for enrollment, so you are given a week to find a child.]

He crumpled up the newspaper, a sudden burst of fury overtaking him and leaving him gasping. There was too much at stake—he’d worked with partners before but a child?

[This is Operation Convergence. This will be the key to maintaining the peace between the four nations.] [You know that agents are shadowless heroes, and your efforts will never see the light of day, and your sacrifices will receive no recognition. But remember, atop your achievements, a better world will be built for the people around you.]

He lowered the paper, glancing outside the window. The train was drifting serenely across the snowcapped mountains outside Omashu. The children were pressing up against the window, marveling at the sight. He sighed. He was certain that Master Piandao had a hand in this composition, especially the last part. No one in the Order would anticipate his exact train of thoughts so easily.

 


For the sake of a better world.

 

“Dear passengers, welcome to Omashu. We will be arriving at the station shortly.”

A familiar face was waiting for him at the station. Clad in a simple green tunic, she threw her arms around him.

“Suki!”

“Jackass, you’re late!” Suki looked the same every time he saw her, with dark hair and shining eyes. To an outsider, she looked like outgoing 20-something years old. Her earrings glinted in the bright sunlight and Moonlight smiled. They were an exact replica of her metal fans, her preferred weapon of choice that she wielded with deadly skill.

“From the look on your face, you know why I’m here.”

“I will not confirm nor deny a thing. But I did go ahead and book an appointment with a local realtor for you. I doubt you’d want to raise a family in some shack.” She shot him a glare but he only shrugged. Her glare melted into a concerned frown. “Listen. I talked to Master. It shouldn’t be a big deal but for this mission, you’re using a specific identity. I have the papers here."

Over the afternoon, they visit several apartments in Omashu. By late evening, the realtor sags by the door, his face contorted in exhaustion. “This is the family unit. It comes fully furnished and— “

"It seems suitable enough. I'll take it." Suki nods at him from across the room. It confirms his initial check: the place isn’t bugged. “When can I move in?”

"Right away, Mr. Imiq! You can sign these documents here and the place will be yours!"

Oh.

His new identity, or rather, his identity as it once was: Sokka. A name he discarded years ago when he put on his first mask as Moonlight. For some reason, the Order named him Sokka Imiq, a psychiatrist working at the Wan Shi Tong Hospital. The realtor’s voice brings him away from his thoughts as he drones on about the apartment.

"—believe your family will love it here. What are your children like? I have two boys and they’re a handful, I say, my wife— “

A beloved family and a joyful household. I never let myself believe I could have that.

He smiled at the realtor. “I’ll decide later.”

“Huh?”

To someone like me, they would only be a burden.


"Hey, get back here! You little brat!"

Sokka stepped aside as a little girl dashed out of the ragged building. A scruffy man ran out after her but he came to a halt in front of Sokka, squinting at him. “Can I help ya?”

“I’m looking for a child. Truth is, my partner and I—”

“Well, keep looking. We ain’t an orphanage.” He hiccupped. The man was certainly well-dressed but he could very well be a crook or a gangster and even if he despised this job, he couldn’t let the kids go somewhere worse. It wasn’t completely his fault that he never had the funds to maintain the building.

Sokka groaned to himself.

The plan was that he adopts a child from an orphanage, the more obscure the better because that meant they couldn’t trace the child’s true parentage. He needed a six-year-old child that could read and write. Omashu Academy was extremely prestigious and the entrance exam was notoriously difficult. He needed a child that could cope with the rigorous structure of the academy.

If only he could do this mission on his own. It’d be difficult to disguise himself as a child but raising a child didn’t seem easier than that.

“I can!” A small voice piped up behind him. He turned to see the girl from earlier. She was a tiny thing with dark hair and small horn-like ornaments on her head. She was pretty adorable but she couldn’t be six years old.

“I’m six!” Sokka glanced at her. She was small for her age then. She looked to be smart but from the way the other man looked at her, it looked like he couldn’t get rid of her fast enough. Was there something he should know here?

The little girl had run into the building and beyond the door, he saw several small faces peek at him. All of them looked tired and sullen and the little girl almost seemed to glow as she bounded back to the front door. She held a newspaper and a pencil as if she was about to do the crossword.

Surprisingly, that was exactly what she did.

Sokka glanced over her shoulder as she crouched down. It was a simple puzzle but still difficult for a child. Yet, she was scribbling furiously as he mentally went through it.

1 down is Homeostasis and below that is Symplectomorphic—by La’s fins, she’s actually completing it!

“I’ll take her!”

He winced. He sounded a little desperate, even to himself.

The other man waved his hand. “Okay, she obviously likes you so just skedaddle.”

Sokka crouched down in front of the little girl. “Is that okay with you?”

She grinned. 

As he had anticipated, there were no records of her birth and the man only says that she’d arrived by herself at the orphanage about a year ago. She didn’t have many belongings either and Sokka noted that he would have to take her shopping for new clothes. Near his apartment, he stopped by a bookstore to pick up some books on parenting. Clearly, he needed it otherwise Suki wouldn't have been so adamant about it.

“Adventure?” The little girl quizzed him as he scanned the shelves. “Are we going adventure?”

She must really like those action cartoons, he mused. If she knew I’m a spy, I wonder how she’ll react.

“I wanna pistol. Silenced pistol.”

He added another book to his basket. “If we can find one.”

That's what the essence of a spy is—we must not stand out. I must act the role of father appropriately.

She was weaving around the bookshelves and he forced himself to pay attention. “Hey, come here. Don’t wander by yourself.”

One of the store assistants approached her. “Come now, young one. You must hold your father’s hand otherwise he might leave you behind.”

To his horror, her eyes welled up with tears. “No! Don’t leave me!”

We are definitely standing out.

Sokka was aware that she was only a child but still, it was hard to understand her. He needed to make her feel comfortable around him if they were going to do this mission together. He was a master tactician and strategist in one of the most elite spy organizations among the four nations. Understanding the other party was his literal job and this was crucial to world peace, wasn’t it? He could totally do this.

It was only then he realized that she was now holding his hand. She had stopped crying and was looking at him determinedly. “I like chips! Sizzle chips!”

She must have spent some time in the Fire Nation, Sokka confirmed. Sizzle chips were a spicy snack found exclusively there. He squeezed her hand. “I like them too.”

The foundation of raising a child is trust.

“My, your daughter is adorable! Hello, sweetheart!” The shop clerk chirped at her as she scanned his books.

“This is my papa!” She declared, letting go of his hand to clench the ends of his coat.

“Yes, hello mister?”

“Imiq. My name is Sokka Imiq and this is my daughter. We just moved into the neighborhood.” He gave the clerk a charming smile.

“Nice to meet you! And what is the young one’s name?” Sokka’s heart raced. Of all the stupid things he could do, he never asked for her name! How was he supposed to claim his own child when he didn’t even know her name? He glanced around, hoping for a distraction but the little girl piped up.

“Izumi! I’m papa’s own child!”

Izumi.

Sokka willed himself to calm down. He paid for his books and they bid farewell to the clerk.

“Izumi?” He said out loud, testing the name. Izumi, skipping cheerfully ahead of him, glanced back. “Izumi. Don’t run ahead.”

Don’t get attached, he scolded himself. If all goes to plan, she will return to the orphanage once the mission ends. Yet there was a strange welling sensation in his chest when Izumi ran back to grab his hand. “Yes, papa!”

Izumi Imiq.

This was his daughter.


Notes:

Consider this a prologue rather than the first chapter cause we still have to see badass new dad Sokka make all the scary people cry. I just wanted to set the stage first.

A/N: This is my first fan fiction so please be gentle with your comments. If you're friendly, find me on tumblr!

Chapter 2: tag, you're it

Summary:

The first step of working with a partner is to gain their trust. Izumi is enjoying her time with her new father but does he feel the same?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"There's no need for such childish pursuits. Subject Rising, do you understand that? Stop this tantrum. You don't have time to cry."

"Izumi."

She wanted to play. 

"Izumi. Wake up."

The voices were too loud. Her head hurt.

"Izumi."

 She opened her eyes. Papa was standing above her, a frown on his face. What was wrong? He reached down. She closed her eyes, expecting a hit but he only peeled off a sticky note on her forehead. "You fell asleep, Izumi. Lunch is ready. Go wash your hands and let's eat."

It had been a week since they moved into the apartment. It was big and there was even a TV. Papa let her watch cartoons in the afternoon. He made her little cookies and they would sit together and eat while watching Spy Wars. Sometimes, he laughed when Bondman said something funny.  But he made her study.  Every day, before lunch, he would sit with her in the living room and they would study Math, History, and Science. And if she couldn't anwer the question, even if she tried her hardest, Papa didn't get angry. Instead, he would be very quiet and after a while, he would explain the subject to her again. Once, he glued a string to a ping pong ball and tied it around his head. 

"Look at this." He said, spinning faster. "As I spin, the ball is not falling. It's flying with me. This is gravity and velocity working together. This is how the Earth spins around the sun. And you know, Izumi, in front of the  Sun, the Earth is so small. But look at how I am making the ping pong ball fly around me. But when I stop," he stopped and the ball fell, hitting him lightly on the chest. " Without velocity, now the ball has stopped flying. Do you understand now?"

She must study well but I would never make her do something I wouldn't do myself.

Papa cared. He was loud and impatient and he frowned a lot but he made her delicious food and he read her stories at bedtime. He cared for her. 

Papa also had a friend, Miss Suki but she wasn't Mama. 

"Oh no, honey. I think Sokka likes dic-"

"Suki!"

"I was going to say he likes his privacy."

"That wasn't even close to that, you little shi-"

"Sokka!"

They yelled a lot but they didn't yell at her and Papa said Miss Suki was a very good friend. Miss Suki brought her cute toys and she helped decorate Izumi's room. Sometimes, Papa would leave for a few hours and Miss Suki would come over and they would pretend to be Bondman.

"Izumi. Are you done eating?" Curry today, it seemed to be Papa's specialty. But he didn't make it as spicy as she liked.

"Yes, Papa!"

"Then, I'm going out for a few hours. Suki can't come so you'll have to stay home by yourself."

"I wanna come!"

He shook his head. "You can stay here and study." She's improving but she's still weak. The test is tomorrow. 

"I don't need to study! I can just read everyone else's-" Minds.

"You can't get by with pure cunning. And you must pass this test." Because if she doesn't pass, I'll fail the mission. "Stay here. if you're not going to study, then just watch the house. I'll be back in two hours."

She nodded. 

"And don't even think of following me this time!" 


"So, you barricaded her in the house?" 

Sokka didn't understand why Suki sounded so incredulous. Izumi was a lovely child but she had a knack for getting into trouble to get what she wanted. Just fifteen minutes ago, he spotted her in the vents as she attempted to follow him outside. He'd finally blocked the front door and trapped her in. 

"Aren't you worried the neighbors are going to report you for child abuse?"

"That's why I have to get back soon. Did you get the papers I asked for?"

She scoffed. "I got you the application form for the exam and the question sheet. So yes, I think I can get a simple record of her living situation before she arrived at the orphanage." 

"One of those is not like the other."

She tossed a pathetically slim envelope towards him. Izumi had no records of her birth, it was as if she never existed. However, there was a brief mention of a child matching her physical description in a newspaper article.

[Little girl is the only survivor of a gruesome explosion at a research facility in the Fire Nation.]

"She did mention living in the Fire Nation. How the hell did she end up in the Earth Kingdom?"

"Children slip through the system. She managed to survive. I think that child is a lot like you, Sokka."

He frowned. "I became a spy to help children like her. But if this is still happening-" He crumpled up the paper. "I have to get back to Izumi. If I'm lucky, the worst she did was take a nap instead of studying."

Suki laughed. "She might be one of the cutest kids I've ever seen. I'll pop over tomorrow after work to visit. I'd love to see her tonight but I invited Zuko out for dinner. Poor guy's been down the entire week."

"You sure it's a good idea to be working there? I heard they arrested someone just last week under suspicion of her being a spy."

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not a spy, then." She winked. "Go on then. Tell Izumi I have a new chapter for that Bond fanfiction we're writing."

"Sure. Wait, what?"


"Boss, look, the kid's waking up!"

"Good. Idiot, how could you even douse her with that much chloroform?"

The voices weren't in her head but they were still loud enough to make it hurt. Izumi felt sick and as her vision cleared, she threw up all over someone's shoes. 

"God, this brat!"

There was raucous laughter from somewhere to her right. "So, little girl, how exactly do you know that elusive son of a bitch, Moonlight?"

My men say they traced a unique transmission from Moonlight. That bastard duped me and my beloved Camille but lucky for me, this brat could be the perfect bait for revenge.

Izumi trembled. Her hands and legs were tied but worse, the horrible man was going to hurt Papa! She'd been bored at home and knowing that he kept his spy gear in a chest, she had wandered into Papa's bedroom. She had found a strange box and poked the buttons but somewhere, the transmissions had been intercepted by enemy spies, oh, this was worse than any trouble she had ever been to.

Papa will find me. He cares for me. 

"Boss. Moonlight is a master of disguise. He's not gonna risk his life for this kid. He probably cut his losses already and ran off!"

Ran off. 

"No!" Izumi looked up. It was the horrid man snarling at one of the men in front of her. "It is possible that Moonlight was careless once. He probably never expected a child to blow his cover like that. But whether this is a trap or not, I will not stand him breaking Camille's heart!"

"Also, he blew your plan to take over Cabbage Corp and gain control of one of the biggest industrial players within the four nations."

"Yes! We will wait for Moonlight. Now, what to do with the brat?"

At that moment, there was a screech of tire wheels from outside. Cheering filled the warehouse as a body was dumped in front of the boss, a sack over his head. "Hey, boss! Guess who we caught at the apartment?"

"Papa!"

"Man, this guy is the real deal though." The man who had tossed Papa's body was rubbing his chin, he looked like a giant eggplant with bruises all over him. "Put up quite a fight."

"Yeah, you baby. Go lie down. You did good." The boss waved a hand at him and he nodded. He turned to Izumi and she could swear he winked at her. But then she heard the boss yelling. "Hey, wait! Utor! There are two of you!"

A sudden bang and smoke filled the warehouse. Izumi felt something loosen the bonds that tied her to the chair and then realized it was the giant eggplant guy who had grabbed her. Taking a risk like this, strolling into enemy territory, it's too dangerous. I need to get Izumi out before I engage with these guys.

"Pa-"

"Hey, don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."

Izumi. I'm going to protect you. Even when you're not with me, I will make sure you're safe.

They burst out into the courtyard. Izumi was trying very hard not to cry but seeing her Papa all beaten up like this, she was finally seeing exactly how terrifying the situation was. He put her down. "Listen here, little girl."

"Izumi"

"Izumi, listen to me. This is just a game. We're playing tag. If I surprise them, I can win the match. You need to let me win, right? I just saved you so you know I can win."

Izumi thought her father was a better liar but still, she nodded. He held out a piece of paper. 

"Good. Now take this. Run straight down this gate and keep going, you'll see a blue building. That's a police station. Izumi, give them this paper. I can't win unless you take this paper to the police. And then you and I will be winners."

More importantly, you will be safe from all this. I'll rework the plan so I won't need a kid. This is too dangerous for Izumi.

"Pa-"

"Go! Run!"

Izumi turned and ran. Her heart was pounding but she ran all the way down the gate and down the street.

Papa is a bad liar, she told herself. He wasn't going to leave her alone. He was going to come back.

The piece of paper fluttered in the wind. Papa cared for her. He had a mission to complete. He was going to come back. 


Sokka was furious. It didn't matter that Izumi was safe. It didn't matter that he nearly failed his mission. He was mad at himself, mainly. Tong, that idiot. He had underestimated him. He had gotten cocky that Tong would never guess his identity and even if it had been Izumi that broadcasted his whereabouts, it had been this idiot that figured it out. 

He kicked a charging man aside and punched another. Through the remaining haze of smoke, he counted nearly a dozen men running toward him. He leaped to the side as one tripped over a booby trip he'd installed a few seconds ago. Within seconds, the warehouse was filled with a powdery white substance that looked like-

"Is this flour?"

As the men panicked, his handy boomerang dispatched them quickly enough for him to approach Tong, cowering near the back. Sokka slid his boomerang back into its holster and cocked his gun to Tong's head. "If you look up, I'll blow your face off."

Tong nodded. "I figured you out, Moonlight." He flinched as Sokka pressed the gun deeper. "You fooled me and Camille once but next time-"

"There will be no next time, Tong."

"You-"

"For the sake of your daughter, Tong, shut up. Remember that I was your right-hand man for months. I know you and I know how much you love your daughter. I also know Camille and what exactly she is capable of. Do you know how many crimes she's committed, Tong?"

"Camille would never-"

"If you want her to have a normal life outside of jail or worse, then you will never mess with me ever again, do you understand? If I ever see you again, that will be the last thing you and your daughter will ever see,"

Tong would do anything for his daughter. I understand that now. I would do the same for mine.


Izumi was bored. In Spy Wars, Bondman was always fighting but she supposed Princess Honey was probably bored waiting for him to rescue her. But in the end, he did save her so Izumi knew she had to wait. 

A shadow passed over her. "Izumi."

She looked up. "Papa!"

He smiled at her although she could read his confusion. "What are you doing outside the house?"

"I played tag!"

He picked her up. "Well, did you have fun? I'm sorry I couldn't play. I came here to do some shopping but it looks like the supermarket is boarded up now."

Papa's a bad liar.

"I don't want to play, Papa. I wanna go home. Izumi and Papa go home together."

He patted her on the head. For once, thank you for not listening to me. "Alright, we're going home now." His hand stilled.

Crap! We're gonna have to move now that the apartment has been compromised. 

"We're going to a new house. You'll like it. Maybe you can ask Suki to help you decorate your room again."

"Why not Izumi and Papa's house?"

"I, uh, I found a snake there. Huge snake."

"I don't like snakes."

"Me neither. So we're going to find a new place."

They hopped on the train. Izumi pointed at the walls of the Omashu Courtyard. "We live in the castle?"

"If there's one for sale." He ruffled her hair. "We still have to study for the test tomorrow."

"No!"

Notes:

They're bonding! Sokka and Izumi are ready for the next mission but Omashu Academy is a formidable opponent. There's a key player missing but will they find him in time? Find out in the next chapter!

(I'm just building suspense. We all know he'll show up. We just don't when. So stay tuned.)

Also, I found this art of Sokka in a suit so give some love to artcraawl on IG

A/N: Be friendly and look me up on tumblr!

Chapter 3: a spark in the dark

Summary:

A new player emerges.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

"Zuki."

"Suko!"

It was a particularly hot afternoon yet the other employees at Omashu's Public Administration Office were baffled to find Zuko and Suki sipping steaming cups of tea in the employee lounge.

"Why, Zuko, I didn't even know you were capable of taking a break!" Meng cried, her eyes eagerly scanning over the newest staff member. Suki rolled her eyes. "And here I thought all you ever did was work!"

Zuko simply smiled. He'd been content to relax with Suki for the last five minutes of his break but his coworkers seemed to creep up on him whenever he did so. Suki had laughed when he described them as a "gossiping colony of ants" (which really was the nicest thing to say about them, in his opinion) but she'd also told him they were like that when she joined the PAO a year ago. "You're the only man in the group, aside from Zhao, that lecherous creep. They're only being friendly." But to be frank, Zuko was still more afraid of his coworkers than his section chief. His section chief didn't corner him to ask-

"By the way, Zuko. I'm having a party at my place this weekend. You should come. But you must bring a date!" Song was, by far, the nicest member of the team but between her, Meng and Jin, Zuko felt a little like a prized item displayed at an auction. "Suki, you'll come too?"

"Must I bring a date too?" Suki grumbled.

The conversation faded as Zuko pondered over who to invite as his date. He'd ask Mai but she was still on bed rest and as wonderful as she was, he couldn't ask Ty Lee to leave her wife for a night so she could pretend to date him. Azula-

"Suki, do you want to go with me?" He muttered, the other ladies giggling to themselves. Suki gave him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Zu. I'll be going with Jie. She's visiting this weekend and I don't want to leave her alone at home."

Oh, right. Unlike Zuko, Suki actually had a whole circle of friends she could invite. Zuko's circle included his sister, his sister's ex-girlfriend, and his sister's ex-girlfriend's wife who also happened to be his ex-girlfriend.

“You’re overthinking it.” Suki patted his hand. “If you’d like, I know someone who can accompany you to the party.”

Zuko grimaced. “You mean; you want to set me up?”

Suki shrugged. “It was just an idea. But honestly, it’s just a party. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be happier if you just enjoyed yourself.”

That was easier for her to say, Zuko thought waspishly as he walked home after work. People like Suki and Song were, for a lack of a better word, normal. They had normal lives with a normal family and normal friends and Zuko was, decidedly, not. While he didn’t care much for what other people thought about him, he had promised Azula that he would live the kind of life she thought civilians lived. For a second, he stopped to wonder if Azula actually knew what she was talking about. But given that she had studied hard and risen up the ranks to become an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Fire Nation, one of the most elite positions a civil officer could hold, he could only assume she knew a tad better than him

“Still, I don’t think it’s fair that you use your colleague to spy on me like that, Zula.” Zuko almost whined over the phone later that night, Azula had called after dinner, already wondering what he was going to wear to the party. For the umpteenth time, he wondered how exactly Azula managed to befriend Jin’s husband, and biting his tongue, he wondered if it was the opposite—and if yes, how she had let them befriend her.

“I worry about you, brother. As much as I prefer you to be dull and normal like our parents were, I don’t know how much you’ve adjusted to Omashu.” Zuko could hear the distaste in her voice, she would have preferred he moved to the Fire Nation with her but she also knew that he would much rather be close to Iroh, who lived only an hour away in Ba Sing Se. “It seems too provincial, even for you.”

“For you, perhaps.” Zuko laughed. “But this place is good. I have settled well and frankly; I don’t need more.”

“What about a partner with whom you can raise children?” She asked bluntly.

“I didn’t peg you as someone who’d like children.” He smiled at the memory of a 3, 7, 11 years old Azula in an imperious stance, demanding Zuko pay attention to her.

It had always been the two of them. Mother was a faint memory with Azula’s eyes and Father was long gone before any of them. And Uncle had only found them recently so Azula barely knew him and unlike Zuko, she didn’t want to. For her, it was Zuko and when she had time, Mai and Ty Lee.

He was still reminiscing about the past when the phone rang again. “Hello, Blue Spirit.”
-
The Royal Hotel was once the summer palace of Omashu’s Royal Family and normally, Zuko would’ve stopped to admire the décor. This time, he strode straight past the gilded paintings and straight to the elevator that would lead him to the penthouse suite.

“Hey- “

“I’m sorry to interrupt.” He shifted his mask down, only his grin visible under the flickering lights. While the Royal Hotel had been mostly renovated, they kept the traditional sconces, lit with fire. A slight shift of his wrists pulled the flames to his gloved fingers. Another twitch and they sharpened into deadly bolts. “Respectfully, I mean to meet the traitorous scumbag staying in Room 1304.”

He threw the bolts at the guards; they crashed into the door hard enough to break it open. Inside, there was a shriek. “Who goes there?”

“Vice Minister Ogodei from the Engineering Department?” The flames shifted into his preferred weapon of choice – dual blades –that he spun casually as he entered the room. “What a pleasure to meet you, sir. May I have the honor of taking your life?”

The Vice Minister of the Engineering Department wouldn’t–couldn’t, since his throat was slit completely—scream before he fell to the floor.

When Mother left and it was just three years old Azula and six years old Zuko, Zuko had gone to Master. No tricks, he demanded. Just give him something to do. Anything. As long as he was paid, he would do anything.

And so Master trained him to be an assassin. Taught him the skills of the trade and when he was completely trained, Zuko had done whatever work Master had asked of him (and the occasional house cleaning because Azula was terrifyingly intelligent but she couldn’t even wash a spoon.)

He was still cleaning up when a shadow crossed the rooftop of the Omashu Royal Hotel and slipped into the Public Administration Office, striding silently as Zuko had done earlier, straight toward the employees’ records.

Sokka shuffled through the piles, grinning at Suki’s profile (“recent graduate from Kyoshi Academy. No known history of terrorism or subterfuge.”). His fingers came to rest on a dark-haired man with golden eyes, and an awkward smile on his ID photo.

“Zuko Sozin. Age: 27 years old. Born: Fire Nation. Family: both parents, deceased; one sister, living. Marital Status: Single.”

There was a sticky note stuck at the back of the folder. Investigate status.

-
Am I being sold off?”

Sokka sighed, something he’d been doing more often since he had met Izumi. Behind him, Izumi spun left and right, trying to get her father’s attention and also avoid the dressmaker’s sharp needles. Last night, Suki had pointed out that Izumi still wore the black dress she had been given at the orphanage. Sokka, in one of his rare moments of indulgence, had carted Izumi to the dressmaker on Main Street and while trying not to reveal that he didn’t know anything about children’s fashion trends (or fashion trends in general), he ended up buying almost half of the children’s line.

“Papa!”

“Only if you’re bad.” He called out. Getting Izumi ready for school wasn’t the hard part; she had been attentive and obedient and he could tell she was sincerely trying her best. The hard part came after: the invitation for Izumi and both of her parents to attend the parent-teacher interview at Omashu Academy.

“My, my Miss Izumi, your father is right there. Stand still for just one minute, hmm?” The dressmaker was trying to pin a cloud of cotton monstrosity around Izumi and luckily, she didn’t seem too irate. She was a nice woman, probably in her mid-forties but as Sokka remembered, she had an arrest history. Even if it was from underage drinking, it wasn’t worth the attempt. What he needed was someone who had reason to cooperate and he thought he found someone but Suki was adamant that Zuko Sozin was not to be brought into this mission. She had been characteristically stubborn but Sokka sensed there was more to it. As it was, he had a week to find someone and prepare for the interview and at this point, he was considering if maybe he could pretend to go to the bathroom in the middle of the interview and come back in another disguise, claiming to be his partner.

“Excuse me?”

Sokka startled. Looking to his left, he was astonished to see the man he had just been thinking of: Zuko Sozin, holding a paper bag. He was dressed smartly in a black overcoat pinned to his neck and his dark hair was tied loosely in a bun. Where had he come from?

“Ah, Zuko.” The dressmaker got up, dusting her knees. On the pedestal, Izumi seemed to be relieved but Sokka was distracted. How had Zuko just passed him like that, without any indication that he had been moving at all? He might as well have just appeared on the spot.

“Hello, Miyuki. My suit has torn. I’m sorry but would it be possible to get it mended as soon as possible? I need it by tomorrow night.” He passed over the paper bag. Suddenly, his eyes flitted over to Sokka.

His eyes were the color of the sun. Involuntarily, Sokka gulped.

“You’ve been staring at me since I walked in here.”

“I-” How did he notice? Was Sokka losing his edge?

“Why?”

“I, um,” C’mon Moonlight, you’re better than this! “Please don’t misunderstand! You’re very attractive.” Really, really better than this!

To his horror, Zuko stepped closer. He really was an attractive man, pale and slender and he smelled faintly of smoke and lilies.

“Papa!” Izumi’s voice cracked through the haze in his brain. “I’m measured!”

Zuko shifted backward. His ears were red. Sokka felt himself heating up as well. He hadn’t prepared for this and even though Suki had completely refused to involve Zuko in his mission, he didn’t want to either. Now, he wanted to know him, regardless.

It was like someone had struck him between the eyes. He blinked. No, while Zuko fit the criteria he originally looked for, he was far too intuitive. It would jeopardize the mission. He gritted his teeth but then he noticed his daughter staring solemnly at the other man. She heaved a great sigh. “How Izumi misses Mama!”

“What are you doing?”

She ignored him, swaying closer to Zuko. “Izumi’s Mama is gone. I’m so sad.”

Zuko looked at him. Sokka sighed again. “My wife passed away two years ago. I’ve been doing my best to raise her as a single father but–”

Izumi’s wails grew louder. “If only I had another Papa, I would be happy.” Sokka put a hand over her mouth.

There was a long pause but surprisingly it was Zuko that spoke first.

“Would you like to get a cup of tea? Th-The cafe next door is nice.”

Behind his hand, Sokka felt Izumi grin. But he didn’t have time to question her; he was already straightening up, fixing his coat, smiling. “Yes.”

Notes:

As you may notice, the plot will start to shift here although a major portion of it is still inspired by SpyxFamily. Zuko is within eyesight but Sokka seems to have specifically chosen him (is it love? or something more?). As always, I'm on tumblr as zumerkka so feel free to reach out!