It was hot. Aang blinked rapidly, sweat stinging his eyes. The sun cheerfully beat down on him, Katara, Sokka, and Toph, unaware that it’s heat was an unwelcome passenger on the trip. Appa drifted aimlessly in the oppressive air, tail hanging limply save for a few halfhearted beats to keep them in the air. Every once in a while he gave a pitiful groan, which Momo answered with a quiet chirrup.

I could bend us some wind, but it’s just too hot, Aang thought, staring ahead blearily. He couldn’t even remember where they were headed, if they had a destination in mind, or even if it was very important.

“The heat fried my brain,” he said to no one in particular, but Sokka responded, splayed on in the middle of the saddle.

“Yeah. I think I’ve sweat out half my body fat,” he complained. “If it doesn’t cool down soon there’s not going to be much of me left.”

“Stop complaining,” Katara said , lifting her braid up over her head to keep it off her neck. “We’re melting too.”

“Yeah, but you’re a girl,” Sokka said, rolling over, back to the sun. “You have way more body fat than me.”

“What?!” Katara said, eyes narrowing.

Here we go. “Hey, look!” Aang interrupted, not wanting to hear the argument. He pointed at the forest below, where a long streak of dark blue flowed. “A river! We should stop and cool off.”

“Good idea,” Toph said, wiping sweat from her brow.

Katara glared at Sokka for a moment longer before nodding. “Yeah, we probably need it,” she said with a faint but sincere smile.

“Alright!” Sokka and Aang said together and Aang guided Appa downwards toward the forest below. Appa dodged the trees easily and landed in the water with a great, thunderous splash.

“Appa, ssshhh!” Sokka said, holding one finger to his lips, looking around. “The Fire Nation‘s still after us, remember?”

Aang quickly stripped down. “Come on, Sokka,” he said, jumping and hovering over the water for a moment before landing, water spraying. “Appa’s just happy.”

“He’s right, though,” Toph said, sightless eyes turned towards the forest. “The Fire Nation could be anywhere.”

That’s kind of creepy, Aang thought. The Fire Nation is after me. If anything happened to them it’ll be my fault. He swam over to Appa. “Shh, boy. We probably should be more quiet,” he said, rubbing the bison’s forehead.

Katara smiled, standing in hip-deep water. “Hey Sokka,” she said, bending water up.

“Yeah?” Sokka said, eyes closed as he floated in the water.

“Do you remember what you said about me having more body fat than you?” she asked, water hovering at her fingertips.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, “it’s a fact. Girls have more body fat than boys. You can’t get mad at basic biology.”

“Oh, yeah?” Katara said, eyebrows raised. “Well, take this!” She cut her arms downward and the wave followed the motion, splashing on top of Sokka and pushing him beneath the water. Aang doubled over with laughter as Sokka shot up and out of the water, taking huge gulps of air.

“Katara, that wasn’t funny!” he yelled, voice cracking as he pushed his air out of his face.

“Yeah it was,” Toph said, smirking. “And weren’t you the first one saying we should be quiet?”

“Admit it Sokka, she got you,” Aang gasped, trying to catch his breath..

Sokka looked like he was going to argue the fact, but sighed and shook his head. “Yeah, whatever,” he said, dropping back into the water, floating on his back. “Now, how about you kids leave me along, huh? I’m trying to enjoy this!”

Katara snorted. “C’mon, Toph,” she said, “let’s go see if we can find some food.”

“Sure,” Toph said, getting out of the ankle deep water she’d been in.

“Wait,” Aang said, “should we split up? I mean, the Fire Nation could be anywhere,” he said, repeating Toph’s warning. “Maybe we should stick together.”

Katara smiled. “We’ll be fine,” she said, assuring him. “Toph and I are both pretty strong benders, right? We’ll be fine, at least to get back here and escape if something happens. Okay?”

No, not okay, Aang thought, but he smiled. “Just be careful,” he said.

“Of course,” Katara said and she and Toph disappeared into the trees.

“You’re still worried, huh?” Sokka said and Aang looked at him. Sokka had a grin on his face and it held none of the sarcasm or mockery it usually did. It was the smile of someone who understood and Aang remembered all the times Sokka said he had to protect the younger three.

“The Fire Nation isn’t after you guys, just me,” he said. “If anything happens to any of you, it’ll be because of me.”

Sokka raised his eyebrows. “Oh? I would’ve though that it was because the Fire Nation is bent on controlling the world.”

Aang splashed at him. “You know what I mean!”

Sokka nodded. “Yeah, I do. But Aang, we’re all here because we want to be. We made the choice to stay and help you. So,” here Sokka waved his hand in the air nonchalantly, “if anything happens to any of us, it’ll be ours - and the Fire Nation’s - fault.”

Aang thought about that for a moment before grinning at the older boy. “Thanks, Sokka.”

“Hey, no problem,” Sokka said. His stomach grumbled. “I hope the girls get back soon. I’m starving!”

“Uncle, we don’t have time for this!” Zuko said, golden eyes narrowed as he scouted the area. He could see nothing alarming in the dense, shadowy forest they were in: no sign of the once loved red garb of the Fire Nation. Still, he couldn’t shake the sense that something wasn’t right.

His uncle, however, had a much different point of view. “We shouldn’t over exhaust ourselves,” Iroh said. “The Fire Nation is after us, true, but if we kill ourselves avoiding them, what is the point?”

Damn the man. Zuko sighed. “Fine,” he said, temper nearing the breaking point. “But only for a moment.” Though Uncle’s idea of a moment is much different from mine, he thought.

“Of course, of course,” Iroh said, all smiles. “Let’s go this way. I can hear the rush of water. It would be nice to wipe the sweat off.” He lead the way and Zuko followed, brow furrowed. “Did I ever tell you about the time when your father-”

“Please, Uncle,” Zuko cut him off, “please don’t speak of my father.” Zuko didn’t know what feel was worse when he thought of his father: the overwhelming grief that nearly brought him to his knees, or the tiny bit of betrayed anger that shamed him.

Iroh winced. “I apologize,” he said. Zuko didn’t reply and Iroh touched his shoulder. “Prince Zuko, your father had a great military mind. But he failed at being a family man.”

“Enough. Why do you speak of this now?” Zuko demanded, and Iroh smiled.

“Stop blaming yourself for how things turned out. He was a fool to make you leave,” Iroh said. “He could not have asked for a more loyal son. It is a pity he did not realize this himself.”

Zuko looked down, having nothing to say to that.

“So,” Iroh said, clapping his hands. “Let us get to that water. I would enjoy a bath.”

“Hey, Sokka,” Aang said, “Katara and Toph have been gone for a while.” He was sitting in the water in Appa’s shadow. Momo was napping on his shoulders, the flying lemur making small noises as it breathed.

Sokka yawned. “Don’t worry,” he said. “They’ve only been gone for a few minutes.”

Sudden rustling caught their attention and Aang grinned, relieved. “Hey, you-” he was cut off when Sokka grabbed him by the shoulder. “What?” Aang asked.

“That’s not the direction they left in,” Sokka said in a low voice. Aang blinked up at him and looked again, eyes widening.

“Who’s there?!” he yelled as Sokka scrambled over to Appa and got his boomerang, his clothes, and Aang’s clothes.

“Put these back on; it’s hard to look powerful when you’re in your underwear,” he whispered. They both shimmied into their clothes as two people stepped out of the trees.

“The Avatar,” Zuko said, eyes widening, hands reflexively curling into fists.

“Zuko?” Aang gulped, immediately falling into a defensive stance.

Sokka’s grip tightened in his weapon. “What do you want?!” he yelled, brandishing his boomerang.

Iroh winced at the thunderclouds darkening Zuko’s face. He stepped forward, hands up in a peaceful gesture. “We’re here simple to cool down,” he said. “We’re certainly not going to try to capture you.”

What?! “Uncle, that’s the Avatar,” Zuko exclaimed unnecessarily. “He’s wanted by the Fire Nation!”

“Well, so are you,” Aang said. “Twice over, even!”

Sokka and Iroh stepped back and shrugged at each other at that odd announcement while Zuko and Aang started at each other.

“If I’d been able to capture you, I could have regained my honor and my place in my family,” Zuko said.

“But…why would want to regain your honor and family from a man who was so quick to throw you away?” This honest, earnest question left Zuko reeling; he had nothing to say to it. He knew he was in the wrong here, and he wasn’t even sure he wanted to take the Avatar back to the Fire Nation anymore. He knew he couldn’t say that.

“You don’t understand,” he said, eyes narrowing.

“You’re right, I don’t,” Aang said easily. There was another moment of silence.

“So…what are we doing?” Sokka asked, hand still gripping his boomerang but he was out of his customary battle stance.

“What’s going on?” The four of them turned and saw Katara and Toph, who both had armfuls of orange, red, and purple fruits.

“Ah, I’m not really sure!” Aang said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

“Nothing, nothing,” Iroh said quickly, not wanting to have to fight the waterbender and earthbender. "Just an unexpected meeting."

Katara cut her eyes over to Sokka, who shrugged. "I have no idea what's going on," he said. "They haven't tried anything yet, but that doesn't mean they won't."

Iroh stepped forward. "My nephew told me that you offered to heal me after Azula attacked. Is that true?"

Katara blinked. "Uhm, yes," she said.

Iroh bowed to her. "I deeply thank you," he said, and smiled. “Let me assure you, had I been awake, I would have taken you up on your offer." He glanced at Zuko. "Prince Zuko does not have the hands or demeanor of a healer, I'm afraid."

"Uncle!" Zuko hissed, and Katara giggled despite herself, clutching the basket of fruit to her chest.

"Hey, can we decide what we're doing and do it already?" Toph said, pale eyes narrowing. "These baskets are heavy. Are we fighting or not?"

Aang thought for a moment. "Uhm, could you guys wait for just a second?" he asked Zuko and Iroh, before grabbing Sokka's arm and pulling him over to Katara and Toph. "So, what're we going to do?" he asked.

Toph shrugged. "I don't really care either way," she said, eyes on the ground. "Though it seems stupid to get in a fight when they're not really after you anymore."

Katara huffed. "She's right," she said. "We don't have any reason to fight them." She glanced back at Zuko and Iroh. “Besides, Iroh seems friendly enough.”

"Friendly? No reason?!" Sokka repeated. "Katara, they're Fire Nation!"

"Not really," Aang said. "Weren't they banished? So now they're criminals, just like us." He thought for a moment. "Wow, I never thought I would say something like that."

Sokka shook his head. "Yeah, but even still, if the Fire Nation is after them too then we should stay away. We're already being chased, we don't need to give the Fire Nation any extra incentive."

"We're not asking them to join us," Katara pointed out. "We're just talking about whether or not we let them stay without fighting. Okay?" She raised her eyebrows and turned back to Zuko and Iroh.

"We're not going to fight you, if you want to stay here," she said, smiling. "There's plenty of room for us all."

Waterbending peasant, Zuko thought, automatically seeking out the Avatar. He was sitting beside the Water Tribe boy, whispering something frantically to him before the two burst into obnoxious laughter. Zuko frowned, thoughts going back to after he'd rescued the Avatar from Zhao. 'Do you think we could have been friends? the boy had asked. Zuko shook his head. Whatever. Still, the thought gnawed at him as he watched the four of them sitting together, passing around fruit. What would that easy comfort be like? He mentally reprimanded himself and turned away from them decisively, noticing Iroh watching him.

“What?” he asked defensively and Iroh shook his head, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re too suspicious, Prince Zuko,” he said, settling comfortably beside the river, dipping a hand in the water experimentally. “I was merely looking at you.” He looked over at the waterbending girl. “May I have some of those?” he asked.

Katara looked at the fruit, then over at the old man. “Uhm…” she glanced at Sokka, who shook his head furiously; Toph, who shrugged; and Aang, who nodded. “Sure,” she said, grabbing several of the fruit. She stood and Aang stood up with her.

“I’ll go with you,” he said, grinning.

They walked over to Iroh and Zuko and Katara held out the fruit. “Here you go,” she said brightly enough, and Iroh nodded to her.

“Thank you very much,” he said graciously, and examined the fruits. “I’ve never seen these kinds before.”

Katara shrugged self-consciously. “Well, I don’t really know what kind they are,” she said. “But we’ve had them before and they’re really good.”

He smiled. “I’ll trust your judgment,” he said.

Uncle could hold a conversation with anyone, Zuko thought, gaze shifting back to the Avatar, who was looking back at him. “What?” Zuko said, feeling his cheeks redden and hating it.

Aang blinked. “What? I didn’t say anything,” he said. “So…where’re you guys headed?”

“None of your business,” Zuko said. Don’t act like we’re friends, Avatar. He mentally winced at that thought and again his thoughts returned to Aang’s question. ‘Would we have been friends?’

“Okay,” Aang said, shrugging. “I was just asking.” Well, it’s nice to see some people don’t change, he thought ruefully.

“Hey, Aang,” Sokka called out, eyes narrowed as they settled on Zuko. “Come over here, I want to tell you something!”

Aang waved his hand. “Okay!” He looked back at Zuko. “Well, good luck getting to wherever you guys are going!” he said and shot off, the speed of the Air Nomads present in him. He make it to Sokka with a little gust of wind. “Hey, what is it?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Sokka said, shrugging. “I just didn’t like you over there.”

Aang blinked. “But…now Katara’s over there by herself,” he pointed out. “Shouldn’t you be worried about her too?”

“She’s talking to the old guy and he seems okay,” Sokka said. “But I don’t trust Zuko at all.” He shook his head and lowered his voice to a near whisper. “They shouldn’t even be here, we shouldn’t be all together. It’s like painting a huge sign on our backs saying ‘come get us!’”

“But we haven’t seen the Fire Nation for a while now,” Aang said. “Maybe they’re nowhere around here?”

Sokka sighed. “Yeah, yeah.” He paused. “But even so, wouldn’t that be hilarious. Can’t you just see Zuko with words painted all over him?” He guffawed. “That would be awesome!”

Aang laughed, shaking his head. ‘Sokka, you’re weird!” he said, a grin on his face.

Zuko watched the two of them, a unsettling feeling at the pit of the stomach. He knew the feeling well; jealousy. He got to his feet. “I’m leaving,” he said, and Iroh looked up at him in surprise.

“But we’ve barely rested,” he said, eyebrows raised. “Surely you’re not going to push an old man harder than he’s comfortable with?”

“You’re fine,” Zuko snapped. “Stop acting like you’re weaker than what you are.” He glanced over at the Avatar and the Water Tribe boy, eyes narrowed. “I’ve had enough with this company.”

“Please brother, stay,” a new voice called out and Zuko whirled around, hands clenched into fists.

“Azula!” he said and vaguely noted the gasps and commotions behind him. A rustle of wind signaled the arrival of the Avatar at his back and Zuko resisted the urge to look back at him.

“We’re surrounded,” Aang said under his breath to Zuko, glancing back at Sokka, who was look off to the side. Probably some Fire Nation soldiers, Aang thought, glance darting over to Katara and Toph, who had immediately fallen into defensive stances. He turned his attention back to at Azula, who had a malicious grin on her face.

“Well, well,” she said. “This is most fortunate for me. The two traitors and the Avatar, right here for the taking.” She laughed, the sound cold and sharp.

Zuko hissed. “So, you come here bringing these soldiers instead of fighting us yourself. Coward!” he yelled, ignoring Iroh’s hand on his shoulder.

“Right. I’m a coward,” she said, arching one dark eyebrow. “Not you, the banished prince, the criminal, the traitor, the boy who won’t come to his country and take his well-deserved punishment.” She shook her head. “You’re pathetic.”

Zuko took a step forward but two hands, one large and familiar while the other small and foreign, stopped him.

“Zuko, we must worry about those surrounding us,” Iroh said urgently.

“Come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” Aang said. A sudden upheaval of earth between them and Azula bought them some time. Aang grabbed Zuko’s arm. “Let’s go!”

“Aang!” Sokka yelled, but was cut off when a soldier rapped him in the back of the head. He slumped to the ground.

“Sokka!” Aang yelled, immediately leaving Zuko and Iroh. Jumping high in the air, he brought his staff down in a sharp vertical cut, sending wind rushing outward towards the three red clad soldiers surrounding Sokka. They fell back with a cry and Toph liquefied the earth beneath them, sending them sinking waist deep into the dark, sticky mud.

Katara knelt beside Sokka and hefted his arm over her shoulders. “Sokka, are you alright?!” she asked, blue eyes on the Fire Nation soldiers to their immediate left. “Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, rubbing his head and stumbling to his feet gracelessly. “We’ve got to get out of here.” He looked up as Aang landed beside him. “Aang, we’ve got to go!”

“Yeah, but…” Aang glanced over at Iroh and Zuko, who were back to back against the soldiers. “We can’t just leave them!”

Sokka opened his mouth to argue that point but a blast of fire sent him reeling backwards. “Gah!” he cried, stumbling into Toph. She righted him easily enough and held her hand out, palm up. Pausing for a moment, she jerked her arm up abruptly and a block of rock shot out of the earth, shielding them for the time being.

“Aang, they’re not our problem,” she said, pale eyes narrowing.

Yeah, but… “I’m not leaving them,” he said. “You guys go, I’ll catch up with you later!” Not waiting for them to reply, he jumped away, staff in hand.

***

“You’re so pathetic, Zuzu,” Azula said, blue flames raising in the air. “Father will be so pleased when I bring you back for punishment.” Her eyes narrowed. “It’s time you stop embarrassing our family.” She shifted her weight and Zuko tensed for the attack. She swung out her arm in a wide arc, sending flames lashing out venomously against Zuko and Iroh.

A shock of wind intercepted the flames path and Aang settled down beside Iroh, gray eyes on Azula.

“Avatar,” Iroh said, glancing at him for a moment before his gaze shifted back to Azula. “You should leave, quickly!”

“I can’t just leave you,” Aang said.

Azula laughed. “Oh, this is priceless,” she said. “Have you decided to band together?” She smirked. “That really does make it that much easier for me.”

Zuko glanced over at Aang. Stupid, idiotic child, he thought venomously. “Avatar, get out of here!” he hissed. “You‘re just going to get us all killed!”

Aang grinned. “Call me Aang,” he said, twirling his staff effortlessly as he looked around at the ten or so soldiers surrounding them. “And I think you do need my help, so stop arguing.”

Azula sneered. “Enough talk,” she said, stepping forward. She gave a cursory glance at the surrounding soldiers. “I want them all alive,” she ordered before darting forward, blue fiery daggers in her hands as she headed towards Zuko. She lashed out at him, dagger coming close to his throat and he dodged and leaped backwards, punching a narrow stream of fire at her. She sidestepped it and pulled one hand back, preparing to send out another but a powerful gust of wind knocked her off balance. Zuko pushed his advantage and jumped forward, shooting fire out of each fist before twisting around and sending a spiral of fire towards Azula. She dodged all of this, much to Zuko’s enraged dismay, and stood, sneering at Zuko.

Aang turned back to the Fire Nation soldiers, biting his tongue. Wow. Azula might be really powerful, but these guys are easy! he thought, sidestepping their attacks easily. Jumping backwards, he swung his staff horizontally, then vertically, sending two powerful gushes of wind towards them. They fell backwards to the forest floor. Aang jumped high in the air, arching his back and kicking wind downward, crushing the soldiers the ground. He glanced over at Iroh, who was holding his own against three soldiers. Well, he seems to be doing well enough on his own, Aang thought before looking back at Zuko, who was standing still, in a face off with Azula. Uhm, I wonder if I should interrupt them?

Azula smirked and brought her hand back, swinging it forward wildly. A wide arc of fire shot through the air and Zuko ducked low, feeling the heat of the flames warm his back. He stood up and immediately fell back, face stinging from a sharp, heated slap. He could hear Azula laughing. Hands balling up into fists, he lashed out, sending flames out wildly with a loud yell. Azula dodged them nimbly and, while she was distracted, Zuko reached back and punched her. There was no fire, no bending to this punch, just frustrated rage and brute strength. It sent Azula tumbling backwards, hands coming up to stifle the blood gushing from her nose.

Finally. I finally got her, Zuko thought, though he knew that she would spring back in no time. “Uncle, let’s go!” he yelled, and together they started running. Zuko heard the crackling of flames before he felt them and he turned, pushing Iroh away roughly. Iroh fell to the left and against a very surprised Toph.

“You guys!” Aang said, and it was one of the few times Zuko had ever heard him angry. “Get out of here! Get Appa and go!” He twirled his glider up and over his head, sending a small eddy against some of the soldiers.

Katara paused. “But Aang…” she said, and he turned abruptly on her.

“Go!”

Katara jumped and backed away. She glanced at Sokka uncertainly and he nodded. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, turning and running. Katara paused and looked at Iroh, who was kneeling down beside her, holding his stomach.

“Iroh, come on!” she yelled, waterbending a whip and snapping it at a Fire Nation soldier who was advancing on the fallen man. “Toph, help me!” she said, and together they helped the man up.

“Uncle,” Zuko muttered and turned back to Azula. She narrowed her eyes and punched a raging fire and Iroh. Aang stabbed his glider to the ground and used it to jump high, lashing one leg out. The gush of wind intercepted the fire, sending it flying harmlessly away.

“Leave them alone!” Aang yelled, twirling his glider over his head. Azula snarled and cut her hand in an abrupt, horizontal motion. Aang weaved to and fro away from the flames and jumped when a hand came down on his arm. He drew his arm forward and shoved his elbow back, jumped forward and out of the soldier’s grasp. Lifting his glider high in the air, he rotated it around like a top, using it to float into the air.

“Zuko!” he yelled, gray eyes looking for the banished prince. “Grab hold of me!”

What?! Zuko looked up at the Avatar high above him. He made to leap into the air but a blast of fire stopped him. He glanced behind him at the soldiers and, in front of him at Azula.

“Sorry, brother,” she drawled, “but this reunion isn’t over yet.” She glanced up at Aang as well, smirk slipping from her lips slightly. “You’re not going anywhere, Avatar,” she said. “Soldiers, get him!”

Five soldiers jumped into line and simultaneously kicked powerful flames towards Aang. “Whoa!” he said, attempting to outmaneuver them but there was too many and he ended up falling to the ground gracelessly.

“Oww,” he said, rubbing his right leg before shooting up and brandishing his glider. Zuko came up behind him and they stood back to back, surveying the many soldiers surrounding them.

“Idiot,” Zuko said, glancing over his shoulder at Aang. “You should have left when you had the chance.”

“I couldn’t just leave you,” Aang said, shrugging. “Nice to know you would have if the situation was reversed.”

Would I have? But Zuko didn’t have time to ponder that question, as Azula jumped up from behind the line of soldiers and butterfly kicked him in the stomach. He fell back, hand whipping around to punch in her hard against her shoulder blade as he went down.

Aang twisted around, swinging his glider in a wide arch in an attempt to hit her but Azula ducked and uppercut him, hard knuckles digging into the tender underside of his chin. The force of the blow sent Aang flying up and backwards, back hitting the ground painfully. As Aang laid there for a moment, dazed, Zuko jumped back up and shot out a surge of fire, sending Azula jumping back.

“Get up, Aang,” Zuko growled and Aang did, stumbling up to his feet and rubbing his jaw.

“That really hurt,” he complained, twirling his glider around his shin and pointing it at Azula. Before he could retaliate against her the soldiers surrounding them responded, and Aang and Zuko suddenly had well over a dozen sharp, painful looking spears pointing at them.

“Thanks for standing there,” Azula said, eyes narrowing. “I really appreciate it.” She nodded and turned away. “Chain them up and take them to the brig.”

She can’t seriously be thinking we’re just going to stand here, Zuko thought, glancing at Aang, who was hanging limply in the grasp of one, much larger, soldier.

“What-” a sharp blow to the head stopped him and darkness covered his world.

Aang awoke with a start. Owww, my head, he thought. He tried to reach up and rub it, but his arms wouldn’t cooperate.

“Wha…oh no,” he said, looking down at himself. Heavy chains were bound tightly around his torso and securing his arms to his sides. His legs were bound together at the ankles and knees and he was laying down on his side.

Grunting, Aang hefted himself up to a sitting position and looked around. He looked around what he guessed was the prisoners’ room of Azula’s ship. Probably a torture chamber, he thought, shuddering. It was dark with no lanterns and one tiny window near the ceiling. It had three bars going across and three going up and down and Aang knew there was no way he was getting through there.

“Zuko?” he called out, looking around. “Are you in here?” Nothing. Maybe she separated us? For a moment, Aang thought Azula might have killed Zuko, but a low groan in the corner alerted him and he looked over, gray eyes wide. “Zuko?!” Aang said, eyes wide. “Is that you?”

Who else would it be? Zuko thought but didn’t attempt to speak. His head throbbed and a flash of searing pain lanced through him with every breath he took. Possibly broken ribs, he thought. It wouldn’t have surprised him if Azula had taken a few cheap blows at him while he was unconscious. He opened his eyes and rolled them over to the Avatar, who was staring at him.

Wow, he doesn’t look so good, Aang thought, visibly wincing at Zuko’s face. Both of his eyes were black and swollen and he had several bruises on his cheeks.

“Zuko? Can you hear me?” Aang asked.

“Of course. You’re sitting right there,” Zuko rasped, closing his eyes. It hurt to talk. It hurt to breath. Now’s not the time to worry about it. Later when he was out of harm’s way.

“Wow, you don’t look so good,” Aang said, and winced. “Ah, sorry about that.” He looked around at the small, dark room. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Yes,” Zuko said but he didn’t attempted to get up. He had chains covering him, same as Aang, but since Aang was smaller than him, they didn’t seem quite as oppressive. “She’s taking us to the Fire Lord,” he said, gasping from pain. “We have to get of here before we get there or we won’t get another chance.” He paused for a moment. “We wouldn’t stand a chance at escaping. He…he wouldn’t risk losing either of us.”

Aang nodded. “We’re not getting anywhere with these on us,” he said, wriggling against the chains. “We’ll have to get out of them somehow.”

Zuko sighed. “And how are you going to do that?” he asked, closing his eyes.

Aang blinked. “Well, can’t you, I don’t know, melt them or something?” he asked, blinking. “I mean, you are a firebender and fire melts stuff.”

What. “Would you like me to melt first, or you?” Zuko asked. “Firebending isn’t an exact art. We both would get burned alive before the chains would melt off us.” He didn’t add that if he were a more powerful firebender, he could melt the chains without burning either of them. He doesn’t need to know that, Zuko thought, oddly uncomfortable with the Avatar thinking he was weak.

Aang sighed. “Oh,” he said, looking down at the chains. “Do…do you think they have the others?” he asked after a moment. Katara, Sokka, Toph. Be okay, he thought.

“They’re fine,” Zuko said, avoiding Aang’s dejected gaze. “I’m sure Uncle Iroh, the two water tribe kids and that earthbender got on your sky bison and flew away.”

“They have names,” Aang said, leaning back away the way, wincing as the chains pinched at his skin.

“Whatever,” Zuko said, rolling his eyes. “They’re all fine so stop worrying about them.” Although why I’m telling him that, I don’t know, he thought, furrowing his brow. Why did he care whether or not the Avatar worried about his friends? “You should be more worried about us.”

“Yeah,” Aang said, but Zuko wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with him or if he just didn’t have anything else to say. “Your sister,” Aang continued, “she’s insane.”

Despite himself, Zuko snorted. “She is that,” he muttered, glancing at Aang, who smiled at him.

“So, what are you and-” but Aang didn’t get to finish the thought when the cell door opened with a slam. Two large Fire Nation soldiers stepped in, both smirking wildly.

“Well, isn’t this nice,” the first soldier said, securing the cell key in his armor. “The Avatar and the banished prince. The Fire Lord will be pleased, huh?” he said, nodding to the second soldier.

“Ah, yes. And we helped capture them. We’ll probably get a promotion for this,” he said, eyes gleaming.

Zuko rolled his eyes from his prone position on the floor. “Do you really think Azula will let you take any credit for this?” he asked. “She’ll take it all for herself.”

“Yeah,” Aang said, grinning. “She’ll probably blame you for Iroh escaping.”

“Shut it, Avatar,” the first soldier snarled and stepped forward. He drew his hand back and slammed it across Aang’s cheek. Aang fell back with a pained cry but the soldier brought him back up and smashed his knee into Aang’s stomach.

Stop it! “Are you not able to handle the truth?” Zuko said, ignoring the pain around his ribs.

The soldier ignored him and picked Aang up by the collar of his top. He slammed his fist into Aang’s abdomen. Aang gasped for air and leaned heavily against the soldier before sliding down his body and to the floor.

“Stop it!” Zuko yelled, glaring at both of the soldiers. “Have you no honor?! He can’t fight back!” He looked at Aang, who was laying motionless on the floor. A dreadful rage was swiftly rising in Zuko at the sight and he looked back up at the soldiers, gaze deadly.

“Shut up, traitor,” the second soldier said, pointing at Zuko. “We would be doing this to you but Princess Azula told us to leave you alone.” He grinned and it wasn’t a comforting sight. “Said she’d take care of you herself.”

Zuko gaped up at him. “Doesn’t the Fire Lord want us alive?”

The soldier snickered. “We didn’t say anything about killing you, did we?” he said.

“But it’s no fun when they stop screaming,” the first soldier said, poking Aang roughly with the toe of his boot. “He didn‘t take much and he‘s already out cold. Some all powerful being. Let’s get out of here.” He looked over at Zuko and sneered. “See you later, traitor,” he said and they both left, slamming the cell door behind them.

It was quiet for a moment before Zuko said, “Avatar? Are you” okay? Alive? “awake?” No answer. “Avatar, wake up! I had no idea you were so weak!”

Aang gave a start and rolled over slowly, chains clacking against each other, and looked at Zuko. Zuko mentally winced at the news bruises already cropping up on Aang’s face.

“Say something,” Zuko demanded, unnerved by this unusual silence. Granted, the circumstances pretty unusual, but still. “Nothing happened to your tongue.” Are you okay?

Aang smiled slowly and stuck out his tongue.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. “What are you…” he began, outraged, before pausing. Eyes widening he said, “is that…the cell key?!”

Aang spit the key out and grinned. “Yep,” he said triumphantly, before wincing. “I got it when I pretended to go unconscious.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow, feeling grudging respect for the Avatar. Again. “That’s why you didn’t say anything while they beat you,” he said. “And those idiots didn’t even notice that they lost it.”

Aang nodded., wriggling around to pick up the key with one hand. With a bit more maneuvering he got the key to the keyhole and unlocked the chains. “Yeah, Fire Nation soldiers really aren’t that smart,” he said, snickering. He crawled over to Zuko and rolled him over, wincing at Zuko’s pained expression. “Sorry! I’ve got to find the lock,” he said. Wow, he still looks more beat up than me, Aang thought. It’s awful.

Zuko saw his expression. “Don’t pity me,” he said, scowling. Don’t look like that. “The lock is near my right shoulder, I can feel it.”

Aang unlocked the chains, and they hung limply, but heavily, on Zuko’s frame. Zuko shrugged out of them slowly, holding his torso stiffly so to keep from jostling his ribs too much.

“Are you okay?” Aang asked, noticing his expression. “Is there anything hurt on the inside?”

Damn it. “My ribs,” Zuko admitted, “I think they may be broken.”

“You want me to check?” Aang asked, raising his hands up and wriggled his fingers. “Sokka taught me how!”

The water tribe peasant, Zuko remembered. “No. I’ll be fine.”

Aang didn’t really believe him, but he let it be. He’s just being proud, he thought, thinking back to something Katara had said before. He doesn’t want to accept help from anyone. “Well, okay,” Aang said, bending himself up to his feet. “Are you ready to go?”

Zuko smirked. “I think I’ve had enough of this place,” he said. “There will be guards outside this room. I’ll-”

“I’ll go first,” Aang interrupted. “Hey, you’re more injured than I am.”

“You were just beaten,” Zuko said, narrowing his eyes. “I’m stronger, I should go first.”

You’re stronger? Aang didn’t say that out loud but he had a hard time keeping the grin on his face. “That’s why you should go last,” he said, “so that I can startle them and you can use your fire bending to get them.” He cocked his head to one side. “Okay, ready?” he asked not waiting for Zuko‘s argument. He stood with his back against the wall beside the door. Zuko stood in front of it, hand on the handle.

“Ready,” he replied, and pulled the door open. Immediately two guards turned and surged towards them, fire crackling at their fingertips. Aang dipped low and shot air upwards, slamming one of them to the ceiling. Zuko backhand slapped the other guard and swung his leg high in the air, kicking him in the face.

“Let’s go,” Aang said, and together they ran down the narrow, winding hallway. It wasn’t long before they came to the doorway at the end, along with five more guards.

“What th-” the exclamation was cut short as Zuko kicked him in the stomach and shoved his shoulder against the soldier’s abdomen. He turned abruptly to help Aang but stopped when he saw the other four soldier’s on the floor, unconscious.

“Come on,” Aang said, dropping down to the ground and rummaging through the soldier’s armor. “One of them has to have the key to that door.”

Zuko watched him for a moment before doing the same. “You know a lot about escaping,” he said, quietly bitter.

Aang grinned. “I’ve had a lot of practice,” he said fumbling through the heavy armor. “But I can’t find the key.”

“I’ve got it,” Zuko said, picking of the small oddly shaped object. Getting to his feet and wincing all the while, he stood beside the door and glanced at Aang, who nodded. Zuko slid the key into the lock and turned it, pulling the door open. He peaked through the small crack.

“Do you see anything?” Aang whispered, crowding beside him and looking through the crack.

What are you… “I don’t see anyone,” Zuko said, sliding away from Aang, an odd, fluttering feeling in his chest. “Let’s go.” He opened the door and darted through , Aang following close behind.

It was lighter in this hallway, which made Aang think they were closer to freedom. I hope so, he thought, gray eyes glancing at Zuko. He doesn’t look so good. It was true; Zuko was holding his abdomen with one arm as he ran, occasionally taking pained gasps. Aang, for his part, was feeling the back burn of that beating taking it’s toll. Huh. I’m not doing that great either, he thought ruefully.

They came to another door, this one free from any guards.

“Now what?” Aang said, looking up at the door.

“It’s probably the door to the deck,” Zuko said, “so there are going to be plenty of soldiers. And maybe Azula.” He gave Aang a long side-glance. “How well are you at waterbending?” he asked, one eyebrow slowly raising.

Aang bit the inside of his cheek. “I…guess we’ll find out,” he said. It’s probably better not to tell him that Katara’s only taught me a few basic moves. “We’re going to jump overboard. Just follow me.”

Zuko nodded. “Stay underwater and waterbend us as far away as quickly sa possible,” he said.

“Okay,” Aang said, a trill of excitement on his voice as he took hold of the door handle. “On three. One-”

“Two,” Zuko said, staring hard at the handle.

“Three!” they said together and Aang flung open the door, darting out with Zuko behind him.

He was right; the deck was filled with Fire Nation soldiers. Most of them were training and sparring. When they heard the deck door open, however, they stopped what they were doing and looked at the two prisoners.

Zuko spotted Azula, who was one of the people standing farthest away from them. Good, he thought, not wanting to have to go through her to get to water.

“Come on!” Aang yelled, grabbing Zuko’s hand, “we’ve got to get going!”

“Stop them!” Azula said, jumping forward. The soldiers immediately started blasting out shot of fire and Aang airbent both him and Zuko high into the sky, dodging the flames.

“We’re almost there,” Aang said, changing his course down towards the water. “Don’t let go of me when we hit the water!”

Zuko tightened his hold around Aang’s waist, not sure if he was hurting Aang but not wanting to chance them parting. Neither of us would stand a chance by ourselves, he thought, though deep in his mind, he knew the Avatar would deal with it better than he would.

A sudden flash of red-hot fire flew up directly in front of Aang and he gasped, scrabbling midair to get away from it. Ow, ow, ow! He thought as the flames blistered the side of his face. He jerked backwards and felt the strong arms around his waist loosen. “Zuko?” he said, glancing back over his shoulder.

Zuko hung from Aang’s waist and frantically kicked his legs, looking down at Azula. She was hanging off of his legs, expression murderous. “Aang, just keep going!” he yelled, flailing his legs. “Azula, let go!” he said, looking at her.

“Never!” she yelled, nails digging into his skin. Zuko could feel his arms slipping from around the Avatar’s waist. He tried to tighten his grip, fingers digging into the tender skin of Aang’s abdomen but he kept slipping until he could do nothing but let go. He cried out and immediately started fighting off Azula as they fell to the water.

Aang knew his jump was losing its strength and he started falling out of the sky. Have to find Zuko as soon as I hit the water, he thought, twisting in the air so that he would dive into the water. He could feel blisters forming on his cheek and more fire from the soldiers following close behind.

The shock of the water hit him in the face and Aang floundered a bit before looking around frantically. He couldn’t see Zuko or Azula, and that really wasn’t a good thing. Glancing up out of the water, Aang could see several shots of flame skid over the water’s surface.

Sorry guys, your fire’s not going to penetrate this water, Aang thought, before diving lower in the water. Zuko, where are you?!

Azula struck forward, her nails clawing across Zuko’s face. He cried out, air bubbles rushing to the surface, and swam backwards away from her, kicking a leg out and catching her across her face.

Azula paused in her attack, knowing it was useless under the water. Neither of them could use their bending underwater and he had the advantage when it came to brute strength. She snarled noiselessly and surged upwards to the surface.

Zuko watched her suspiciously for a moment before raking his arms forward in the water. Where is Aang? he thought, eyes peering into the clear water. He felt the pressure of water pushing him down before thin, strong arms curled around his neck and tightened. Zuko automatically gasped, the sting of water in his lungs causing him to panic. He could see Azula’s smirk out of the corner of his eye and he clawed at her arms, blunt fingernails doing nothing as he frantically trying to get her off of him. His vision started dimming as oxygen deprivation started to sink in. Damn it, he thought, grip on Azula’s arms loosening.

A sudden circling of water caught his attention and Zuko’s nearly closed eyes opened to see Aang floating in front of him. The Avatar’s expression was unusually grim and Zuko could see an odd line of water in Aang’s hands. Waterbending, he thought, and he curled under Azula, flipping her over his back and into Aang’s line of fire.

Here we go! Aang thought, whipping the water forward against Azula. He didn’t know if this was a real Waterbending technique or not, but it worked; Azula was thrown backwards in the water, an enraged, frustrated expression on her face.

Aang didn’t wait for her to retaliate. He grabbed hold of Zuko’s arm and sent a blast of water towards Azula, shooting himself and Zuko away from her. He turned and started swimming, slicing through the water with breathtaking speed. Have to get Zuko out of the water, he thought, changing his course upwards towards the surface.

The two of them shot out of the water with a spray of water and Aang inhaled deeply. “Zuko, you okay?” he asked, hearing the older boy’s breathing against his back.

Zuko blinked rapidly, breath shallow. “I’m…I’m fine,” he panted, arms coming around Aang’s chest unconsciously. “We have to get out of here before they regroup,” he said, hearing yells behind them. “Let’s go.”

“Right!” Aang said. “Hold on to me!” He raised his arms in the air and cut them backwards, causing them to shoot forward through the water. He ducked down low and continued the successful, if funny looking waterbending.

Soon enough, the sounds of the ship and the ship itself were gone and the only sounds they could hear were birds flying ahead.

Aang slowed the waterbending motion until he was doing nothing more then treading slowly in the water. “I’m going to take a break,” he said, wiping his brow. “We should be okay now.”

Zuko blinked and quickly raised his head from where he was resting it on Aang’s shoulder. “Right,” he said, looking around. “We should find some land.”

Aang could feel his muscles ache. “Good idea,” he said. “Can you swim by yourself for a second? I’m going to see if I can see some land.”

Zuko was oddly reluctant to let go of Aang. Stop being stupid, he snarled to himself, letting go of Aang. You’re fine.

Aang took a breath, ducked under the water, and shot upwards into the air. As soon as he got to the highest point he could reach, he looked around quickly, gray eyes narrowed as he scouted the area. “Ah! I saw some!” he said, falling back to the water. Landing with a splash, Aang paddled over to Zuko and grabbed his hand. “C’mon,” he said, excited. “There’s some not far away.”

Zuko pulled himself out of Aang’s grip firmly. “I can swim,” he said, eyes narrowed. He started swimming in the direction that Aang had pointed.

Aang blinked. What’s with him? he thought, before shrugging and swimming after him.

“It wasn’t very far away,” he said, easily keeping up with the lagging Zuko. “It looked like a forest. We’ll be able to hide in there and look for the others.”

Zuko didn’t say anything. He was too busy concentrating on trying to stay afloat as he swam painfully in the water. Have to make it, he thought, wincing.

Aang raised an eyebrow and swam ahead, touching Zuko’s arm.

“I’m fine,” Zuko snarled, jerking away from Aang. “Let’s just go.”

Aang huffed and grabbed his arm again. “Stop it!” he said, “stop being so proud! There’s nothing wrong with me helping you so stop arguing!”

They stared at each other for a moment, legs treading in the water, before Zuko looked away. “Fine,” he said, unaccountably flustered. “Let’s just get going.”

Aang nodded and started waterbending them towards the land, Zuko holding onto his shoulders. They swam in silence for a while before Aang spoke up.

“When we get back to the others, do you think we could all travel-”

“When we get back to the others, we’re going to go our separate ways,” Zuko snapped, arms tightening on Aang’s shoulders. “Now stop talking and swim.”

Aang frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Fine,” he said and started concentrating on swimming. “I just thought we would be safer traveling together, that’s all.”

They were quiet during the rest of the swim.

When they finally made it to shore, Aang struggled ashore and lay there for a moment, panting. “We made it,” he said, grinning weakly up at Zuko. “Land!”

Zuko looked around cautiously, eyes studying the dark forest directly in front of them before looking down at Aang. “We’re not safe, yet,” he said. “We need to get further inland and find Iroh and your friends.”

Aang sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, getting to his feet slowly and wincing as he jostled his bruises. “Wounds feel a lot better in water,” he said, rubbing his abdomen.

“We don’t have time for this,” Zuko said, “Azula’s probably right behind us in the water. Her ship can move a lot faster than we can, remember?” He started walking towards the forest. “We’ll deal with our injuries after we make camp.” He glanced at Aang, taking in his pinched features and how he held his stomach. He deliberated for a moment before sighing. “We won’t walk for too long,” he muttered and started walking again.

Aang followed him, spirits dampened. I’m suppose to be the Avatar but I can’t help anyone, he thought, and glanced up at Zuko. Nobody.

The walked for what seemed to be hours but was probably no longer than one. They stepped over tree stumps and ducked under outreaching limbs, sighs and groans of pain muffled so that both young men could keep their pride. The sun’s rays had slowly darkened and disappeared and all they had to see with was the light of the moon. Finally, Zuko stopped at a small clearing under a tall, thick, leafy tree.

“We’ll make camp here,” he said, voice loud in the silence of the forest. I think this will be far enough for now, he thought and looked over at his companion. He’s not looking well. “Gather some wood. We can make a fire.”

Aang blinked and pushed against the tree, standing on his own. “Okay,” he said, not wanting to argue that maybe it would be better not to have a fire. Zuko’s more worried about safety then I am, Aang thought as he scooped up bits of wood. If he says it’s okay, then it’s okay.

Zuko took the wood from Aang wordlessly and set it beside the small fire he’d bended. He threw a few of the smaller sticks into the fire and held his hand over it, bending it taller, bigger, more powerful.

Aang laughed as he sat down across from Zuko. “You come in handy,” he said, grinning.

Zuko felt a small thrill at that and viciously squashed it. Stop that, he told himself firmly. He chanced at glance at Aang, who was looking into the fire, a small smile still playing on his lips. Zuko narrowed his eyes as he studied him and blinked when Aang sneezed violently.

“You need to get out of those wet clothes,” Zuko muttered, getting to his knees. “At least your top. I need to check your injuries.” He motioned for Aang to get up and Aang did, looking at him uncertainly.

“Uhm, but what about you?” Aang asked, hurrying to take off his shirt as Zuko glared at him impatiently. “Did you say that Azula hurt your ribs?” he continued, holding his top against his chest.

Zuko frowned, hand grabbed Aang’s hands, lowering them to his sides roughly. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the bruised on the slim chest and abdomen. That looks painful, Zuko thought, running his fingers over darkened flesh. A laughed stopped him and he looked up at Aang’s face. “What?” he asked shortly.

“Sorry,” Aang said, twisting away from Zuko’s fingers, grinning. “I’m ticklish.”

Zuko sighed heavily and leaned back. “I think you’ll live,” he said, rolling his eyes. “It doesn’t look like you have anything worse than bruises. Does it hurt when you move?”

Aang shrugged and put his shirt by the fire, letting it dry out. “Just a little achy and sore,” he said. “But hey, that’s nothing I can’t handle.” He looked at the fire for a moment before looking back at Zuko, grinning. “Your turn!”

“Wh-what?” Zuko said, sitting back. Aang followed him and tugged at him shirt.

“Come on, I need to see if your ribs are broken or just sore,” Aang said, “the last thing we need is to let something like that go on for any longer than it needs to.”

Zuko weighed the options, ignoring Aang’s mockery of his earlier impatient stare. For one thing, he’s right, Zuko rationalized. But… He looked at Aang , who was beginning to look confused and just a tiny bit hurt.

“Fine,” Zuko bit out, jerking off his shirt and wincing slightly. “Make it quick.”

Aang raised his eyebrows. “Yes, sir,” he said, reaching out and touching Zuko’s torso, fingers gentle as he trailed them over his ribcage. “Okay, now, how did Sokka say…?” Aang muttered to himself, biting his lip as he poked and prodded.

If Zuko had been listening, he would have been disturbed to hear that. But, at that moment, he was too busy coaching himself. Don’t squirm, don’t squirm, he chanted mentally, closing his eyes. This is nothing. There’s no reason to be so uneasy. It’s just the Avatar. He opened his eyes and looked down at Aang, who’s brow was furrowed as he stroked -not stroked!- touched Zuko’s bare skin and it was too much like what Zuko had been denying himself.

“That’s enough,” Zuko said, “You haven’t found anything. I’m fine!” Get away, get away.

“Just wait a second,” Aang said, not bothering to look up. “I want to be sure.” Aang wasn’t sure why he didn’t listen to Zuko’s order.

Zuko shook his head. “Stop it,” he said, jerking Aang up. “ I said stop!”

Aang frowned. “Fine! I was just trying to help, anyway!” he said, not backing down an inch. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Zuko, I’m trying to be your friend!” Aang was fed up. He was tired and hurt and his back ached and he really, really didn’t want to argue with Zuko.

Zuko blinked, not expecting Aang to react like that. And his mouth immediately went dry when he realized just how close he’d jerked Aang; their faced were scant inches away and Zuko realized that he wanted nothing more to close the distance between them.

“I…my apologies,” he muttered, gold eyes staring into gray ones.

Blinking, Aang cocked his head to one side. “Zuko, what..?” Aang started, attempting to pull away. Zuko’s hold tightened on his shoulders.

“Shut up,” Zuko said, though he could feel his cheeks redden. “Just, just for a moment.” What are you doing?! he screamed at himself. Stop this! He knew that the reasonable, logical thing to do would be to let Aang go, let all of this go, get back to Uncle and walk away. But Zuko, in his deepest thoughts, could admit that he wasn’t a particularly reasonable man.

“You said,” he said abruptly, “you said that if things were different, that we could have been friends.” His grip on Aang’s shoulders tightened reflexively and immediately loosened at Aang’s wince. “Do you still think that?”

Aang blinked. “Well…sure,” he said, nodding enthusiastically. “That’s why I said we should all travel together. It would be safer but I also think that, well. We could all be friends.” Except you and Sokka, he added mentally, but didn’t say it out loud. He didn’t think Zuko would take very well to that.

That’s enough. Friendship is enough, now stop it! But Zuko plunged forward. “And…and if I wanted more,” Zuko said carefully, suddenly finding it hard to look Aang in the face. “What would you say to that?”

Aang gasped and jerked out of Zuko’s grip. “No!” he said, jumping to his feet. “I can’t believe you still want to take me to the Fire Nation after all that’s happened!” he said. Zuko, who had felt a flash of both despair and rage when Aang first started speaking, jumped to his own feet.

“What are you talking about?!” he said, gesturing violently. “I didn’t say anything about taking you back there!” he shook his head. “I’ve come to terms with never going home again. And even if I wanted to take you to my father, how would I do that? I’m wanted too, remember?”

“Then what are you talking about?” Aang asked, staring at him suspiciously.

Zuko frowned. Somehow, I’ve messed this up, he thought. “What I mean is…” And I don’t know how to fix it. He looked at Aang, who was looking at his expectantly, and sighed. “Never mind,” he muttered, laying his shirt beside the fire next to Aang’s. “It’s not important.” Zuko jumped at slight pressure on his shoulder and looked over at Aang.

“Hey, I’m sorry,” Aang said sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to act like you’re still a bad guy. I just didn’t understand. I still don’t, but I guess you’ll figure out whatever it is and tell me. Or not. Whichever.” He shrugged and grinned.

Zuko deliberated for a moment, before shutting up the voice in his head that told him to just let it go. He reached out and touched Aang’s cheek, thumb stroking his jaw line clumsily. “I think I’ve figured it out,” he said, determination hardening his voice.

Aang wasn’t sure what to say; the hand on his cheek was making him feel a little weird. “Oh! That’s, uhm, great, Z-” warm lips descended on his and Aang froze.

Zuko closed his eyes and lifted his other hand, framing Aang’s face as he kissed him, lips barely brushing over his. It was warm and soft and Zuko wanted more. He slanted his lips over Aang’s and flicked his tongue out hesitantly.

Aang shuddered and pushed against Zuko’s shoulders. “W-what?” he stuttered, eyes so wide it looked painful. “Zuko, wha-”

“Listen,” Zuko said against Aang’s cheek, “Listen. You said we could be friends, and I asked if we could be more. This is what I meant.” He kissed Aang again, on the corner of his mouth. “I don’t want to take you to the Fire Nation,” he said, watching Aang. “This is what I meant.”

Aang blinked rapidly, trying to figure all of this out. “You…like me?” he asked.

Cheeks suddenly ablaze, Zuko looked away. “Ah, I suppose,” he said, resisting the urge to pull away.

Aang thought about this for a moment. The banished prince of the Fire Nation likes me. The guy that tried to capture me and my friends. Well. “You really like me, right?” Aang said. “This isn’t like all of those weird fling things that Sokka seems to get with at least one girl in every town we stop at?”

Zuko wasn’t sure what weird things Aang was talking about, but he did know one thing: he was nothing like that peasant. “Yes,” he said defensively, “I really do like you.”

“Okay,” Aang said, nodding. “Then it’s okay.”

“O…what?” Zuko exclaimed, frowning. “What does that mean?!”

Aang grinned widely at him. “It’s okay if you like me,” he said and Zuko frowned, a thundercloud on his brow.

“Oh really?” he said, “and why is that?”

Aang knelt beside his shirt near the fire and touched it experimentally, seeing if it was dry. “Because I think I like you a little bit too,” he said.

Zuko opened his mouth but found he didn’t have anything to say. In fact, the only thing he really could think about was that he likes me too?! “Are you joking?!” Zuko asked, brow slamming down into a fierce frown. “Because if you are…”

Aang shook his head. “No,” he said, tugging his top on before looking at Zuko, puzzled. “Why would I joke about something like that?”

“Because…” Because I don’t get what I want. I’m not meant to. But Zuko couldn’t say that, so he just shook his head. “Never mind.” He stood there for a moment, not sure what to do.

Aang didn’t have any such problems. “We really should get some sleep,” he said, poking the fire with a stick before standing up on his tiptoes and yawning widely, stretching his arms towards the sky. “Since we’re going to have a really busy couple of days.”

Steering his mind away from more perverse thoughts, Zuko nodded. “Yes, but one of us should stay away just in case Azula finds us,” he said sitting down at the foot of the skeletal tree. “We’ll take shifts. I’ll go first.”

Aang nodded. “Okay,” he said, walking over to Zuko. Zuko looked up at him, feeling anxious but hiding it well. Aang leaned down at ghosted his lips over Zuko‘s. Leaning back, Aang grinned at him and turned to find a play to lie down. Zuko’s hand shot out and grabbed his wrist and Aang looked back at him in surprise. Zuko didn’t say anything though; he just looked at Aang. I’ve said enough, he thought, don’t make me say anything more.

Fortunately, Aang seemed to get the point. He grinned, a little shyly, and nodded. Sitting down beside Zuko, he leaned back against the rough bark of the tree. “Good night,” he said around a yawn, leaning his head against Zuko’s shoulder. Zuko froze for a moment before settling against the tree, staring into the fire.

Zuko knew he had to take this with a grain of salt. He wasn’t a lucky person, nor was he someone that fate looked down upon kindly. He knew that as soon as he started feel comfortable with this turn of events, that it would be taken away from him. And he knew that both he and Aang were in incredibly precarious situations. And there was the war to worry about.

And yet, he thought, chancing a glance down at Aang. And yet somehow, at this moment, it all seems worth it. He gazed at Aang for a moment before shaking his head. Stop being an idiotic sap, he admonished himself, back to staring in the fire. He couldn’t help the tiny smile that played on his lips.

Aang groaned softly and opened his eyes slowly, blinking. His head was resting on Zuko’s shoulder and Zuko’s head was resting on his, arms curling around him tightly. He looked up, dislodging Zuko’s head from it’s resting place, and looked around. The fire had gone out long ago and sunlight was streaming down through the tree branches.

“Zuko,” he said, shaking Zuko’s shoulder. “Come on, it’s morning.” He nearly screamed when Zuko bolted up, fire at his fingertips. “Whoa, whoa!” Aang said, squirming against him. “You’re okay, it’s just me!”

Zuko blinked rapidly and looked at Aang. Oh hell, he thought, fire disappearing from his hands as his face blossomed red. He lowered his hand back to where it had been laying and scowled.

“Are you okay?” Aang asked, eyes wide. “Were you having a nightmare?”

“Of course not!” Zuko said, feeling his face redden even further, if possible. “You startled me, that’s all.”

“Oh, sorry,” Aang said, rubbing the back of his head. “I didn’t mean to.”

Zuko shook his head. “Never mind,” he said, looking around, finally noticing that the fire was gone and the sun was shining. “It’s morning? I fell asleep.” He shook his head. “We could have been ambushed during the night.”

Aang shrugged. “We weren’t,” he said. “So it’s okay.” He paused for a moment before grinning, a little shyly, at Zuko. “Uhm, are you going to let me up?” he asked, nudging against Zuko’s arms.

Zuko blinked and his arms instinctively tightened around Aang’s thin shoulders before letting go. “Sorry,” Zuko said, the faded blush flaring back to life.

Aang laughed and shook his head. “Well, it’s not like I minded!” he said, leaning up and kissing Zuko nonchalantly.

Before Zuko realized what he was doing, he caught Aang’s head and held it, lengthening the kiss. He pulled Aang closer and felt his arms loop around his waist. Zuko moaned slightly, not know how he’d gone seventeen years without this. It was beginning to be something of an addiction. Opening his mouth, he tasted Aang’s lips before pressing between them slowly.

“Z-Zuko,” Aang breathed, the word muffled from Zuko’s tongue. Zuko fell backwards onto the ground, bringing Aang with him so that they laid chest to chest. The kisses grew longer, rougher, until Zuko rolled over and pinned Aang beneath him. He ate at Aang’s mouth, tipping his head back and kissing him so long and deep that Aang whimpered. Zuko pulled back and Aang gasped for air, thin chest rising and falling with his quick breaths.

“Sorry,” he said, unable to stop himself from leaning down and brushing his lips against Aang’s. “I…I didn’t mean to-” A finger to his lips stopped him and he blinked.

Aang smiled up at him, moving his hand upwards to touch Zuko’s cheek, too clumsy to be a caress. “I’m okay,” he said. “Do I really look like I mind?”

At that, Zuko smiled back, faint and small and Aang would have gasped at the sight had Zuko not leaned down and kissed him again. Zuko used one hand to hold himself, hovering, over Aang’s body while the other drifted down Aang’s side. Aang moaned softly and draped his arms over Zuko’s back, hands pressing him closer.

Zuko’s lips parted from Aang’s wetly and slid down his neck, biting. It was gentle but Aang gasped and arched up, fingers clenching on the thin material of Zuko’s top. “Zuko…wait,” he said. “We have to -ah!- f-find the others.” The sentence ended in a moan as Zuko sucked the tiny hurt he’d caused on Aang‘s neck.

He’s right. I know he’s right, Zuko thought. Somehow, though, nothing else seemed nearly as important as the boy laying beneath him. He brought his mouth back up to Aang’s and meshed their lips together, eyes closed tightly. He didn’t want to stop.

Aang was having trouble himself, despite telling Zuko that they needed to go. He returned Zuko’s kiss with equal enthusiasm, tongue dueling with Zuko’s for control. Finally, he turned his head, Zuko’s lips falling to his cheek. “Zuko, come on,” he said. “We have to get going.”

Zuko heaved a sigh and placed one final kiss on Aang’s cheek before withdrawing slowly, clearing his throat as he pulled away. Aang sat up and his face did a slow burn as he realized what they’d been doing.

“Uhm…” Aang said, and Zuko interrupted him.

“Let’s get rid of any evidence that we made camp here,” Zuko said, turning abruptly away and stood in front of the fire, kicking dirt over the ashes.

You idiot, he thought. What were you trying to do, maul him? You scared him! You mess everything up! He paused for a moment, hands curling and uncurling into fists.

Aang watched him for a moment before standing up. Straightening his clothes, he looked around at the footprints they’d left in the soft sand of the clearing. Pick up a broke tree branch, Aang brushed it over the sand, erasing their footprints. He chanced a glance at Zuko.

“Are you mad at me?” The soft question caught Zuko’s attention and he looked over his shoulder at the other boy.

“Why would I be mad at you?” Zuko asked. He hadn’t meant for the question to sound as gruff as it did and he winced before turning to face Aang. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Well, then what’s wrong with you?” Aang asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zuko sighed and turned away. “I…you’re not the one I’m mad at,” he muttered, staring into the trees. “I’m. I didn’t mean to do that. Like that. I mean, I’m sor-” he was interrupted as Aang came over and tapped him gently on the head.

“Zuko,” Aang said, shaking his head. “You worry too much!” He touched Zuko’s arm. “C’mon, it’s time for us to get going. Who knows what kind of trouble the others are getting into while we’re gone.” He grinned and started walking ahead. “Actually, that’s a good question. I wonder what they’re doing while we’re gone?” Aang thought out loud.

Zuko watched him for a moment. “My uncle is probably teaching them the value of tea,” he said finally, longer legs quickly catching up with Aang. “While the Water Tribe boy is constantly testing everything to make sure it’s not poisoned.” Aang laughed loudly at that and Zuko looked away, a smile twitching on his lips.

A soft touch at his hand brought his attention back to Aang, who grinned at him and curled his small hand around Zuko’s larger one for a moment. Zuko looked back at him, face reddening but unable to look away.

“Let’s go.”

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