Chapter Text
Iroh II had endured a lot of berating in his life. He cut his hair in scandalous fashion and ran off to work on a Water Tribe ship at eighteen. He joined the United Forces two years after that. Throughout it all he worked under drill sergeants, captains, and commanders yelling inches away from his face.
Not to even mention the ire his mother, the Firelord herself, held for his decisions. She never needed to raise her voice though— her tone and disapproving facial expressions were always more than enough.
Still, even with such a history, his greatest critic was always himself, and that internal voice of his was shrilly reminding General Iroh that he had managed to make his own namesake dislike him in a span of a mere few hours.
The defensive side of him wanted to argue that the situation he had been put in wasn’t fair, but life wasn’t fair. He had swallowed that bitter pill many times in differing forms of condescending nobles and sunken grave ships filled with his dead men at the bottom of Yue Bay. It never got easier.
Air Temple Island, still bathed in majesty by the misty clouds, got a gasp out of his great-great granduncle when their pilot ship got near enough.
Iroh II couldn’t help himself. “I was amazed by it too. Well, I first saw it as a drawing in a textbook, but you know still…it’s a great place,” he trailed off. Iroh II decided he was going to focus on looking for the lone, orange light that was meant to guide boats to the island’s only dock from now on.
“I’ve never seen one unburned.” The elder said in a wistful tone.
“This world is a better one,” Iroh II added. Iroh I shifted to give him a peculiar look, but nothing more was said.
In the heart of Air Temple Island, there was an office of plants, tomes, and electric light where Tenzin formally introduced himself as the leader of the Air Nation and as son of Avatar Aang, which had the elder Iroh blanch. Iroh II could only imagine how disorientating this could all be. Still, Iroh I composed himself well and introduced himself in the traditional Fire Nation fashion Iroh II had learned.
“And are you familiar with General Iroh of the United Forces?” Tenzin gestured in his direction. Iroh II had no intention of letting Iroh I know of their familial relation. He had already botched their first meeting, and then he’d have to explain why he was a General in the United Forces instead of a General in the Fire Nation.
“I have made his acquaintance,” Iroh I said. There was a wariness in his voice that Iroh II was sure he was responsible for. Tenzin merely raised an eyebrow at him but chose to not question.
“Could you tell me how you got here?”
Iroh I complied, and Iroh II listened on. Apparently, the Wani was trying to stay out of port for a while.
“Why avoid ports?” Tenzin interrupted.
“There is an admiral in our time who can be difficult to deal with. We were going to dock once we were a few more leagues north. Then the skyline of Cranefish Village appeared, and we realized that this was not the place we knew.”
Tenzin began to scribble it all down, and Iroh II got the feeling that Iroh I was omitting details.
“And Iroh informed me you went to the port authority. What did you tell them?” Tenzin leveled his gaze at Iroh II, and the man got the feeling he would be meeting with the port authority in just a few short hours to get the entire visit slashed from the records.
“Do you have any tea? It has been a long night for someone my age,” Iroh I remarked.
Iroh II took an out when he saw it. “I can prepare a pot,” he said, having already taken a step towards the door.
“Thanks, Iroh,” Tenzin acknowledged.
Iroh II couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief once he was alone in Air Temple Island’s familiar halls again.
Iroh II lasted approximately five seconds in the kitchenette unscathed until he was pushed back with a gust of wind, drenched, and then hit straight on with a well thrown spoon.
“What the—”
“A Fire Nation soldier!” exclaimed a young voice. Iroh II craned open his eyes.
In the kitchenette, near the icebox were two water tribe children alongside a bald kid with arrows, all three looked ready for a fight. His brain was on rapid fire, reminding him that yes Tenzin did technically call him about this, but that was very different than facing the reality that was before him.
He rubbed his eyes anyways. When he opened them again, Chieftain Sokka, Master Katara, and Avatar Aang were still standing there as children. Iroh II couldn’t get over how young and scared they looked. Iroh could see it in their stillness. At that moment, they were convinced he was going to bend fire at them—at children.
“Not a fire nation soldier,” he croaked. He raised his arms in a show of surrender.
Avatar Aang, the man he last saw at the age of nine in a solemn bedside vigil lowered his arms and peered at him. Sokka to his side hissed loud enough for Iroh II to overhear.
“Aang! Don’t let your guard down! He’s wearing a red uniform.” Okay fair point.
“I am General Iroh of the United Forces. It is an honor to meet you three again,” he said and gave them a deep bow.
Aang gave him a bow back with a hand gesture that was a little different than the one Iroh knew, and Katara lowered her water pouch.
“Again?” questioned Katara.
“I know this can be disorientating, but yes. I knew all of you.”
“And you just dress up as a fire nation soldier because…” Sokka still held his boomerang in a tight grip.
Iroh wondered if Tenzin thought it a good idea to tell time travelers the intricacies of the future. He resolved he would keep his explanations brief. “I’m part of the United Forces. It started as a worldwide peace keeping organization, but nowadays we also protect the United Republic which you’re in right now. I wear red because I’m a firebender and an officer, not because I represent the Fire Nation.”
“Hmmm,” Sokka went aloud. Katara nodded to Aang, and they shared a glance with the future chieftain.
“Oh alright, we won’t keep him prisoner,” Sokka grumbled.
“Prisoner?” exclaimed Katara. “That wasn’t the plan at all, Sokka.”
Sokka looked abashed. “What? We could have used him as ransom or something. Wind blast him into prince jerkbender next time we run into him.”
Chieftain Sokka was theorizing how to catapult him into his teenage grandfather, so Iroh made sure to pinch himself just to be triple sure this was happening to him.
“So, are you from the Fire Nation?” Aang asked, cutting above the siblings.
Iroh II nodded. “I was raised in Caldera. It’s still the capital in this time too.”
“But you’re here on Air Temple Island in the middle of the night. Something must be happening. War councils aren’t assembled for no reason,” Sokka deduced. Aang looked pained at the thought of a war council assembling at an air temple.
“No, there’s no war so no war council. Especially not here.”
Did Tenzin not tell them anything? Was Iroh II breaking some cosmic laws right now? Should he tell them about the Wani ?
“Tenzin is handling it,” he deflected. The children looked so uneasy. He changed his mind. Certainty had to be better than not knowing. Cosmic laws be damned. These kids already had dealt with enough uncertainty and would deal with it for the rest of their lives. Iroh wanted to give them a reprieve. Besides if he led them to a conclusion that wasn’t the same as point blank spelling it out for them.
“But yes, there is an old Fire Nation ship that appeared in the harbor.”
That was all the words the trio needed to let out a loud, annoyed sigh. “Not him again,” Katara muttered.
“Is he here like on the island here? If you really want to help us, you’ll get us out or even better kick him out.”
Aang looked conflicted at Sokka’s demand. “But that means leaving Tenzin.”
Sokka pinched his nose bridge. “I don’t know if you heard General-not-as-evil-as-the-average-firebender over there, but Zuko is here somehow with his ship!”
“Couldn’t Tenzin fight him?” Katara mused.
“He wasn’t on the ship,” Iroh interrupted. The three visibly relaxed. “And the ship is on its way North to Yu Dao. Only Unc-General Iroh— Iroh I, the general from your time— is here, and he has come in hopes of working with Tenzin to get back to his time.”
“So, it’s a truce?” clarified Sokka.
“It should be, and I know Tenzin. He will do everything to ensure your safety. You don’t have to worry here,” he emphasized. Sokka still looked skeptical, but Katara and Aang seemed to have taken his words to heart.
“So, what are you three doing here so late at night?”
“Raiding for snacks of course! We’ve been camping for the past month!” Sokka explained.
“Have you ever had an airbender fruit pie?” Aang got out of the icebox the aforementioned dessert.
“I have. My favorite one is the purple,” Iroh said, remembering his first slice on his fifth birthday. Avatar Aang had made it for him himself.
“It’s in the Fire Nation now?” asked Katara. Iroh in the meantime had found her a knife to cut along with some plates in the cabinets that hung over the sink.
“Not really. I mean there’s a few Air Nation cuisine restaurants in the capital, but it’s still difficult for them to replicate because airbending is needed for the eggs.”
The plates with a heaping slice of pie were passed out to each of them. The trio sat at the small table while Iroh took to leaning against the sink.
“I’m going to light a fire, but just to warm up the slice. Is that okay?”
They consented to the culinary use of fire with a mix of wariness and curiosity, and Iroh made sure to show them the tiny flame before putting it to use. There shouldn’t be any harm in showing them that fire could be used to cook in addition to destroy.
“Why do you warm it?” Aang asked him, having already taken his first bite. “Monk Gyatso always had us eat it cold.”
“My grandfather showed me this, but I guess it’s because firebenders like stuff hot?”
“Eh, firebenders,” Sokka muttered.
“Could you heat mine?” Aang surprised him, but Iroh took his plate and delicately bent a flame underneath for just the right amount of time.
“Which is better?” Katara asked after Aang took a bite. Iroh II was curious too. He really should have at least begun brewing that tea for Tenzin and Iroh I but curiosity had kept him here up till this point. Might as well experiment with dessert with a trio of time travelers.
“Definitely cold,” Aang said with a mouthful of pie. “But the Fire Nation twist does give it a different texture.” He cleared his throat. “That reminds me of Kuzon. He once put fire flakes over a bowl of thukpa and told me it tasted better.”
Kuzon? That was someone Avatar Aang had never brought up. Iroh didn’t realize he asked the question until he was roped into an explanation where Avatar Aang had a fire nation friend from Sozin’s time.
Iroh listened from his designated spot at the sink as the conversation became one more of Katara and Sokka asking Aang what his childhood was like and quietly assembled the tea set.
He picked ginseng because it was his great-great uncle's favorite, and got started brewing, trying to remember the exact number of seconds to heat the water. He had grown up drinking tea of course, but the Republic City habit of drinking coffee in defiance of the rest of the world’s preferences had him hooked too.
“You’re not going to bust us, right?” Sokka asked just before Iroh picked up the tray holding a pot of ginseng tea (hopefully not scalded) alongside two teacups. He had to keep himself from smirking at the comment. Chieftain Sokka, one of history’s largest figures, was asking him of all people not to reveal that he was eating pie past lights out.
Katara and Aang looking on hopefully didn’t help him.
“Your secret is between me and Agni as long as you remove the evidence,” he gestured to the dirty plates.
“Katara! You’re my favorite sister. Did I tell you that?” Sokka said a few notes higher, expecting his sister to do the “remove the evidence part.”
The girl rolled her eyes. “I am your only sister, Sokka. We are washing the dishes.”
“But you’re the waterbender—” Sokka is soon drenched like him. “Hey! Not fair!”
Iroh made his exit to the quiet chorus of children lightly bickering over dishes. Aang gave him a small wave goodbye which Iroh returned. He felt much lighter than when he had entered.
The United Forces general wasn’t entirely surprised when he returned to Tenzin’s office to find that his namesake had departed. It was only a few hours till dawn, and Iroh had spent much longer than usual making tea and was sworn to secrecy as to why.
He was surprised to see Tenzin was holding his head in his hands.
“That bad?”
“Does it take half an hour to brew tea as a firebender these days?” Tenzin’s dry delivery didn’t help how tired he sounded.
“Yes.” Iroh slid the door shut behind him. He set down the tea set and began to pour it out a cup for Tenzin and himself. The monk straightened up and took a sip. Upon seeing no reaction, Iroh was relieved it wasn’t outright repulsive to him.
“I’m sorry, Iroh,” Tenzin said after his second sip.
“What for?” What did Tenzin have to apologize for? He was put on the spot this evening and had coordinated everything.
He sighed. “For making you go out and retrieve them. I know you weren’t received with open arms.”
Iroh’s stomach churned. His namesake must have detailed his less than stellar introduction. A grimace overtook his face as he remembered how defeated Tenzin looked just a few minutes ago. “Then I think I should be apologizing. That must have made him not very amenable to talking with you.”
“It was fine,” Tenzin started out. “He wants to find your grandfather and get back to his time. I showed him to a guest room and agreed to tell him about his role in the Hundred Years War tomorrow.”
Iroh was experienced in a lot of things: firebending, commanding, and the terrible bureaucracy that followed him everywhere. Spiritual matters were another thing entirely. He was raised to venerate Agni like the numerous generations before him. He knew his prayers and practices, but spirits and their actions wrought on the world were wild, free— so different from High Temple teachings of Caldera.
“So, it’s safe to tell them about the past?”
Tenzin frowned. “In the time between getting my parents and uncle settled and your arrival, Jinora and I searched the library for anything and everything about time travel, dimension travel, hallucinations, you name it, but we didn’t find anything, so we’re approaching this with caution. I’m letting them know as much as they need, but nothing more. We wouldn’t want to be the reason something ends up drastically different.”
“You’ll tell him enough, so he trusts you,” summarized Iroh.
Tenzin nodded, and Iroh got the idea the master didn’t like the tightrope walking this situation required either.
“And Raiko? I had three ships out in the bay corralling their cruiser plus General Iroh already went to the port authority before I arrived.”
“That’s not the only unusual thing that will get Raiko’s attention.” Tenzin opened a drawer and slid across the desk a copy of the morning news. Iroh scanned the headline confused.
AVATAR STATUES ACROSS WORLD GLOW ONCE MORE
AVATAR KORRA REPORTED SAFE IN S. POLE
The rest of the front page (Fire Nation and Southern Water Tribe ambassadors condemning Kuvira and a report on Varrick Industries’ newest historical mover show commencing season 2’s production) seemed trivial in comparison.
“Avatar Aang. He must be the reason,” Iroh said breathlessly. “And Raiko knows something supernatural has happened. Well, he doesn’t know the specifics, but we both know he and his men will be all over this.” Iroh examined the top of the newspaper again.
“Why else would Raiko have the press write through the night for this?” How else would the morning paper be delivered so early?
“He’s likely trying to distract the public from the referendum, but if he finds out…” Tenzin trailed off.
“He’ll use them somehow. Knowing Raiko, he’s already celebrating.”
“Then you understand,” Tenzin looked him dead in the eye, “that it’s our job to keep them hidden and get them home. The less people who know the better. I was lucky they turned up here. Most of our acolytes are aiding relief efforts in the Earth Kingdom or at the Western Air Temple this rotation. It’s only Jinora, myself, and a few acolytes here for retreat.”
“I can get to the port authority in less than half an hour and insist that the Wani is under my purview.” Iroh II hated how much of this sounded like an operation.
“Your men and Air Temple Island aren’t the only ones who know. My sister just called…My mother, this world’s version, is missing.”
“Missing?” repeated Iroh. He remembered how defeated Tenzin looked when he entered. If Master Katara was missing, that meant…
“Did you tell her the truth?” Trepidation was written across Tenzin’s taut face.
Tenzin’s hands tightened around the teacup. “I did. A-At least Kya called me before going to the local authorities, but still the faster we get them back to their time the faster our world’s versions hopefully return.”
Iroh swallowed. His grandfather, the one he spent his entire childhood with, was probably also gone. “I should expect a call from my mother?” He tried to keep his voice steady, but Tenzin still saw through him.
Putting a hand on his shoulder—something Tenzin has never done before— he encouraged Iroh to finish his tea. He did, and it failed to flush out the sour taste in his mouth.
“I’ll call her first, Iroh. I’ll explain what’s happening,” Tenzin offered.
“I’ll go to the port authority now and try to get ahead on that,” he said distantly. He would be useful. He had to be. The United Forces General made the motion to leave, but before he could step out of the warmly lit office Tenzin’s voice stopped him.
“Why didn’t you tell him who you were? It would have made your night easier.”
Why didn’t Iroh do it? His captain asked him the same question once she pieced everything together. Was it because he feared his namesake wouldn’t believe him? Was it because he wasn’t where he supposedly belonged: in the Fire Nation palace surrounded by luxury? He chose to tell Tenzin none of these reasons.
“Master Tenzin, you know how it feels to worry about measuring up to family.”
The look on the monk’s face told Iroh that he was right.
Iroh II spotted a lone figure in the courtyard looking off into the mists.
He knew who it was, and so Iroh II lightened his steps and prayed to Agni he didn’t disturb the man further.
It’s a sight that stuck with him long after his trip across the bay.