driftfleet | one fish, two fish, red fish, (blue fish)!!

[ He wants to question those names as unusual but... well, "Killer Bee" and "Rock Lee" aren't very normal names in his world either and they still have the audacity to exist. ]

Ino claims she's the only one from mine. I suppose that remains good news for me.

Some people from your world aren't that bad.

[ fuck your entire family, but. ]

Naruto and Sakura were nice enough.

[ zuko ignores the sudden pawing of the now awake fox who 100% heard his name. the small thing is clingy af. ]

[ Sasuke's gaze trails over to the creature but he doesn't address it, luckily not making the connection. ]

... yeah, they are. [ Saying it is like pulling teeth, but it's the truth. ] It's strange already, not being able to sense him. During the war...

Well, it probably isn't important.

You're probably galaxies away. It would be strange if you could sense him.

[ zuko absently lets the fox push around his hand. firebenders are naturally warm. it's a curse zuko bears. ]

What's not important?

[ nosy af ]

[ It was Sasuke's less than subtle way of weaseling his way back out of a conversation he regrets starting, and he wonders if it's better or worse to try even harder to shut him out.

That's not his goal here, is it? He told himself he'd learn from this experience, but he's so quick to revert to his old defensive ways. ]

During the war Naruto and I received a power that connected us. Even when separated by distance, I could sense him... It didn't matter how far it was.

But here I can't feel him at all.

[ oh.

zuko can see how that was super problematic for naruto given sasuke's penchant for attempting to murder him.

-- probably not the right thing to say. ]

... worlds like these tend to be cut off from everything else.

[ that power surely would've been taken away in adstringendum, by the animus. surely the atroma are no different. besides, isolation makes people easier to manipulate. you have no choice but to compromise. ]

[ Really Naruto would've been the one to abuse the ability just to hunt Sasuke down rather than the reverse, or at least until Sasuke had decided to enact his own plan. Everything had fallen apart so quickly. ]

I see that now. I'll need to develop a method for adjusting quickly to the change. [ Because he does not handle loneliness well if he dwells on it. And yet he regularly forces himself into situations where he has to. ]

That method being breaking into other people's personnel rooms?

[ it's said without any malice, and zuko picks up the fox to collect up a book he was sitting on, placing it back down on the desk. the small animal yawns before tucking itself into a furry white ball against zuko's leg. ]

[ He still bristles, hearing some accusation of neediness in those words and it makes him want to get up and walk out immediately.

One slow, deep breath. ]

No. Something I can distract myself with individually. I'll start training more. [ Because that's what he needs. ]

[ ooh, a struck nerve. and zuko studies him for a moment before deciding to just

blatantly ignore the training thing ]

... do you make tea a lot?

[ zuko points towards the cup.

bc you make it like GARBAGE nah not really he's just curious. ]

[ ... wait, what? He looks genuinely confused by the shift to small talk, to actual normal people conversation. His specialty. ]

... I used to. It's been a long time.

[ he leans back into the drawers of his desk, pulling open (another picked lock, smh) another drawer to remove some cannisters of tea leaves. hoarded, carefully. ]

I figured. It looks terrible.

[ sorry were you expecting encouragement ]

Though I guess adjusting to only having one hand is difficult when you're pouring.

[ Sasuke just looks down at the cup, not seeming particularly insulted. Zuko isn't wrong on either count, after all. ]

Aa. I wasn't skilled at it as a child either. My father used to say the same thing.

Mm.

[ zuko is pretty sure ozai has Several Opinions about zuko that are far worse than his tea making abilities, but he pushes hiimself up to sit on the desk completely, crossing his legs underneath him as he pries open a can. ]

My old firebending master used to make me pour tea with an arm behind my back to make sure my hands weren't shaking.

[ zuko is certain that had been iroh's idea ]

And to practice control of heat, and water, by boiling kettles -- give me your cup.

[ Ozai was definitely worse than Fugaku, no arguments here. Sasuke looks down at that cup, however, finishing off the last sip and ensuring it's empty before lobbing it over to Zuko with naturally perfect aim. ]

How precise... My first lesson involved standing on a dock over my family's lake, trying to produce as large a fireball as I could. Much less subtle. [ Good... times. ]

[ zuko catches it without looking up, still parsing through his tea canister with his free hand. ]

I wasn't able to produce flames until I was older.

[ older being... four or five. zuko can't really remember, but azula is definitely the faster learner of the two. he's always had to play catch up and work twice as hard for what he has, but that's entirely the reason why zuko is the stable one, right? ]

And when I did, they weren't easily controlled, so -- they thought it was better to focus on the basics, with me -- where's my kettle...

[ there is no hot plate in zuko's personnel room, mostly because he... obviously doesn't need one. and so he unfolds his legs to hop down from the desk, placing the canister on the table behind him to truly go through his desk, figuring out where he put it. ]

Anyway, I found out it's a lot harder to focus your energy to boil water than it is to blow up a building.

[ he found that out the hard way, as it were ]

[ Sasuke only managed at age seven or so and definitely developed a complex over being "behind". ]

I could have told you that one. I always had a habit of using too much power too early on whether my body could handle it or not. [ He watches Zuko rummage around with some quiet amusement, leaning over to rest his elbow on his knee while he watches him work. Helping him would probably defeat the purpose, or at least make it too easy on him. ]

Is it also harder to keep your space organized than it is to blow up a building? You're getting warmer... Ah, colder with that drawer. Go left again.

I usually don't have people break into my room and go through my stuff.

[ underneath his breath, and zuko moves to the drawer indicated, pulling it open to find his small kettle, along with a bottle of water. he undoes it and pours the water into the kettle neatly, without spilling a drop, and sets it on top of a nearby potholder. ]

Obnoxious... there.

[ with a brief touch of his fingers, the kettle whistles. ]

I didn't move anything. [ in his defense!! ]

But if I really wanted to hide that I had been in here, I could've. [ Finally he pushes himself up, setting the sword on the cushions behind him as he steps closer to observe more closely. ]

Can you generate that kind of heat with any part of your body or just your hands?

[ to answer, zuko inhales and exhales a burst of flame, which he catches neatly in his left hand, dispersing it with a shake of his wrist. ]

It's just a refocusing of chi.

[ -- to give a better answer, and zuko eyes the kettle for a moment before glancing at the cup on the table. ]

What kind do you want?

[ As usual Sasuke first focuses on the fire, unwilling to take his eyes off it until it's gone... for safety or just out of interest, who knows. But that's a good question, one that has him settling his stare on each canister in turn before then reaching for the first.

A pop of the lid, and he leans over to smell it, patiently repeating the process with each and every one before pointing out the third. Jasmine. ]

... you can call it what you like, but I can't exactly produce fire with my feet.

That's inconvenient.

[ seriously, that sucks. and zuko picks up the third container, tipping it neatly to fish out some tea leaves -- but he pauses slightly, his expression flickering for half a second before continuing to work.

zuko is not nearly as good at iroh in the timing and perfection of brewing tea, but at least someone in that household raised the boy with some amount of tradition and delicacy. so he's quiet, waiting patiently, tapping the kettle every so often to make sure the water is the right temperature before slowly pouring it into the cup. ]

[ Sasuke clicks his tongue, an entirely wordless but perfectly clear 'you don't have to tell me' spoken in broody teenager language.

They're both just standing there without a word and somehow it's a comfortable silence, neither of them the type to feel the need to fill it needlessly. It allows him to better focus on what Zuko is doing anyway, again waiting for the smell to waft up before he decides he's satisfied with his choice. ]

What temperature did you heat it too? [ How precise are you, exactly. ]

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