Crumbs!!! || Fire Lord Zuko ||
That should have been the warning.
But no....Zuko had convinced himself he could handle two turtle ducks. Manageable. Containable. He was the Fire Lord. He had handled war, politics, Azula.
Two round, judgmental waterfowl should not have been his downfall and yet....Weeks later, the palace gardens looked…different.
Zuko stood at the edge of the pond, very still, very quiet, staring at the water like it had personally betrayed him.
Because the water was moving.
It was rippling with tiny shapes.
Small, round, fluffy turtle ducklings, their little shells barely formed, their soft down puffing out as they waddled and tumbled over each other in chaotic little clusters.
Behind him, his daughter's voice rang out.
Zuko didn’t turn, because he already knew what his child was up to. “Izumi,” he said slowly, very slowly, like speaking too fast might make it worse.
He turned and there she was.His daughter. His pride and joy....Beaming.
Absolutely radiant with pride.
Tiny hands full....full of baby turtle ducks, carefully (not carefully) stacked in her arms like she had personally harvested them from the earth itself. Two more waddled at her feet, tripping over each other as they tried to keep up.
“Crumbs!” she repeated, delighted.
Zuko looked at her, then at the babies, then slowly, very slowly, turned his gaze back toward the pond.
The original two....Bread and… the other Bread—floated nearby, entirely unbothered, watching like proud, chaotic parents as their offspring took over the Fire Nation one tiny quack at a time.
Zuko blinked, rubbed his eyes then dropped his shoulders. “…I will never be free.”
From the side, Sokka folded his arms, nodding like this was the most predictable outcome in history. “You let it happen.”
“I did not let anything happen—!”
“You gave her two breads.”
“I was trying to fix a problem!”
“You created a population.”
A small cluster of ducklings waddled straight over Zuko’s boots.
He didn’t move, didn't even react.Just stared straight ahead as one of them attempted to climb his foot like it was a mountain.
From behind, you approached softly, your presence warm and calm even in the face of absolute animal-induced chaos. Your eyes softened instantly at the sight of them, a quiet smile forming as you crouched slightly.
“…They’re very cute,” you murmured.
Zuko turned his head, very slowly. “They’re multiplying.”
“They’re babies,” you corrected gently.
As if on cue....just to spite him.
A wave of tiny crumbs rushed past him.
Zuko closed his eyes briefly. “I can’t even step anywhere,” he muttered.
One of them chirped loudly at him.
It chirped again then bit his boot.
From behind him, Aang laughed outright, completely unhelpful. “You’ve got a whole turtle duck dynasty now!”
“I don’t want a dynasty!”
“You’re the Fire Lord, that’s kind of your thing!”
Zuko dragged a hand down his face. "This is a nightmare! I just wanted one!"
“Too late,” Sokka said. “You’ve been outnumbered.”
Izumi, meanwhile, had carefully set her handful of “crumbs” down, immediately crouching to herd them back together with serious, focused determination.
“No run! Stay crumbs!” she instructed, as if they had any intention of listening.
They scattered instantly.
Zuko didn’t even hesitate.
He crouched automatically, hands out as he awkwardly tried to block off their escape routes, his movements stiff and uncertain as he attempted to corral the tiny chaos.
“Stop...don’t go that way!!! no—”
Another waddled between his hands.
A third climbed onto his sleeve.
You smiled softly behind your hand, stepping in beside him, gently guiding a few of the crumbs back toward Izumi with careful, patient movements.
“It’s okay,” you said quietly. “We’ll take care of them.”
Zuko looked at you, then at Izumi, then at the swarm. “…We’re going to need a bigger pond.”
Sokka snorted. “You’re going to need a bigger Fire Nation.”
Zuko didn’t even argue.Because as another wave of crumbs waddled past his feet and he knew.
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