Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Zuko was shaking. He couldn’t stand the excruciating pain from his left eye. It burns. 

It burns.

He dropped his clothes. He couldn’t keep packing if he was in this much pain. But he had to be gone by the next day.. He fell backwards onto his bed, shoved his face into a pillow, and let out a muffled scream of agony. A few sobs slipped out after the scream, his eyes tearing up. 

Stop it. Stop it right now. I need to get the hell out of here.. He thought. He took a moment to collect himself, then packed the last of his things. He sighed, and decided to lay down in the few minutes he had left in this palace. Before exile. Before starting his search for the Avatar.

..The Avatar.

He sat up.

He’s supposed to bring harmony to the world.. Right?

…

What if…

Zuko watched as the soldiers loaded everything onto the ship. He turned to his uncle and looked him in the eye.

“Uncle?” 

“Yes, Zuko?” Iroh replied.

“Later tonight- Can we talk? In private?”

Iroh smiled. “Of course! Shall I brew some tea for this?”

Zuko chuckled. “Sure.”

The last of the things were loaded onto the ship. Zuko and Iroh boarded the ship.

And so, the search begins…

Zuko heard a knock on his door and looked up. “Yes?”

Iroh entered, with a warm smile and two cups of tea. “You said you wanted to talk?”

He nodded and took his cup. He took a sip of tea, then put the cup down on his nightstand.

“I wanna tell you something. But- You cannot tell anyone .” He looked up at his uncle. “Promise?”

Iroh nodded. “Your secret is safe with me.” He rested his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. ”What do you need to tell me?”

Zuko sighed. “It’s about the Avatar.”

Iroh seemed puzzled. “What about the Avatar?”

He was hesitant. “.. You know how Father told me I had to capture him- to restore my honor?”

Iroh nodded.

“And that I said I would do whatever it takes?”

He nodded again.

“..That’s not the real reason I want to find the Avatar.”

Zuko took a deep breath.

“I want to team up with him. And end Father’s tyranny.”

Iroh smiled. “Zuko..” He put his tea down and wrapped an arm around him. “I’m proud of you.”

Zuko looked up at him in surprise. “I- You’re not mad!?”

Iroh laughed. “Of course not! This war has lasted for far too long.” He made eye contact with Zuko. “It’s about time someone ends it!”

Zuko smiled. He smiled a glad, genuine smile. 

…It’s been a long time since he last smiled like that.

A COUPLE YEARS LATER…

Zuko tapped his fingers along the railing of the ship. It had been so long. He was growing impatient. He had searched the air temples. No one. He searched some Earth Kingdom islands. No one. He could’ve searched the rest of the Earth kingdom, but it’s so gigantic. It would take months just to search the entire kingdom, and what if the Avatar wasn’t there? Months of pointless searching. That’s why he decided to search the Water Tribes next. The North was heavily fortified, so he determined he should go to the Southern Tribe first, try his luck there.

He needed to find the Avatar. He was desperate. He would turn the world upside down, tear through entire continents, just to find him. He needed this. He needed him . It had been so long. So long.

He sighed, and shivered a bit. He was not used to the cold of the South. He gazed at the snow and ice. He wondered how one was able to survive in such a climate, and for so long. 

Then there was a loud noise. He looked up to see a blinding light- a beacon. His eyes widened. Was this it? Had he finally found him?

“The Avatar!” He yelled. It caught everyone’s attention. “Follow the light!”

“Yes, sir!” A soldier yelled.

As the ship started sailing towards the light, the light disappeared. But that didn’t matter. They were close. So close. If they could just get over there quick enough they’d find him. 

We’re so close.

Finally.

They arrived.

But, there was no one there.

Just an iceberg. Shattered. 

Zuko balled his hands up into fists.

No.

No.

He isn’t here.

He isn’t here!?

We’ve searched for so long.

So fucking long.

He couldn’t have just disappeared.

Not again.

“Set a course for the village!” He yelled.

“We will find the Avatar.”

Chapter Text

As the ship came crashing into the snow, Zuko began to hear the screams of the Southern villagers. He didn’t want to scare them, but his crew didn’t exactly help with that. He sighed, and as he stepped down the ramp towards the village, the gates opened.

Out of the gates came a man that seemed to be around the same age as Zuko. A few inches shorter, with his hair shaved at the sides. His face was painted, probably some sort of war paint, and he seemed to be trying to look fierce. He also held a club-like weapon of sorts. Why was he alone? Shouldn’t he have an army of some sort?

Zuko couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy. He must be so scared, facing Fire Nation soldiers alone. 

He turned towards his crew and threw a hand up. “Halt.”

The soldiers stopped in their tracks, looking down at Zuko from the ramp, confused. Zuko turned back to face the Water Tribe man, and spoke.

“We come with no intent to injure anyone. I just have a proposition to make.”

A soldier spoke. “Sir, what’re you-”

Zuko glared at him. “ Quiet . If you interfere, I won’t hesitate to give you a scar matching mine.” That was a lie, of course, he didn’t really wanna hurt him that badly . He just knew that the only way to get him to comply was to threaten him.

The soldier hesitated, then nodded and stayed quiet.

The water tribe man seemed skeptical. “And how am I supposed to know you won’t just burn the village to the ground the second you get a chance to?”

Zuko thought for a moment. “..Well. If I bend even a spark of fire, you can kill me on the spot. I won’t fight. I won’t struggle.”

The soldiers shifted uncomfortably at the prince’s idea.

The man squinted. He took a second to think about it, then nodded. “Fine. I’ll let you talk.” He got out of his battle stance, arms folded. “But first. Who are you?”

Zuko put on a small smile. “I’m Zuko. What’s your name?”

The man widened his eyes. “Wait- Zuko? As in, Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation!? ”

His smile faded. “..Yes. Although, I’m.. Not fond of the title anymore.”

The man had a puzzled expression, then spoke. “..I’m Sokka.”

Zuko wasn’t very good at introductions, but he decided to say what everyone says. “Nice to meet you, Sokka. Now, let’s talk..”

Sokka nodded, and sat down in the snow, Zuko hesitated, then sat down as well.

“The reason I’m here,” Zuko began, “Is because I have been searching for the Avatar for a few years now. I saw a beacon of light coming from nearby, but by the time I got there, there wasn’t anyone there. So, I decided to come to your village to see if any of you know anything about his whereabouts.”

Sokka scrunched his nose in suspicion. “.. Why are you looking for the Avatar? Does it have to do with the Fire Lord?”

Zuko shook his head. He could hear his crew behind him, whispering to each other. He knew they were becoming wary of him.

He knew that he could be attacked immediately after saying what he was about to say. He couldn’t firebend, Sokka could uphold his end of the deal and kill him on the spot.

He would have to rely on dodging attacks, and hand to hand combat. 

He looked up at Sokka. “I want to team up with him.”

A soldier stepped forward. “Sir, what the hell do you mean by teaming up with the Avatar? ”

Zuko stood up and looked at the soldier. “I mean, ” He said, “That Fath- .. Fire Lord Ozai needs to be taken down. ”

The soldier scowled. “You’d dare to disrespect the Fire Lord again!?” A ball of fire appears in his hand. Sokka gasps. “You’re a disgrace. ” 

There was a painful, melancholy expression on his face. “..I know.”

All chaos broke out. Firebending from nearly every direction. Fighting. Everywhere .  Zuko was trying his best to defend himself. To defend Sokka. To defend the entire village .  

Then, Iroh entered the fray. Holding off the soldiers. Even using the fire breathing technique. He made his way to Zuko, and stood in front of him. Large plumes of fire shoot out of his hands, towards the soldiers. They all back up. Iroh stands tall.

“Leave!” He yells. “Go back to the fire nation!” 

He gives a terrifying glare to the fear-struck soldiers. “Or you won’t be able to go anywhere .”

The soldiers hesitate, then retreat back onto the ship. Zuko breathes a shaky sigh of relief as the ship departs. He turns to Sokka

Sokka stood there, dumbfounded. “Wwwhat the hell just happened???”

“We just fought off the enemy.” Zuko replied. “Now, do you know where the Avatar i-”

Zuko gets cut off as he hears the gates to the village open…

Chapter Text

A short child emerged from the village. He had a shaved head, adorned with blue arrow tattoos. He held what looked like a strange staff sort of thing. At first glance, Zuko was confused. An Air Nomad? He wondered. Then he realized..

This child had to be the Avatar.

How was he so young ? He’s supposed to be around a century old by now..

“ You .. You’re an Air Nomad. ” Zuko muttered. “I never thought I’d see one in the flesh..”

The child tilted his head, perplexed. “Why do people keep saying things like that? What’re we, exotic animals ?” He giggled.

“..You don’t know?” He stood there, astounded. The child seemed confused.. But Zuko needed to get to the point. He stepped toward the child and crouched down to his level. “Are you, by chance, the Avatar?”

The child’s face fell. Sokka had a mildly surprised, confused look on his face. 

“I..” The child paused. He sighed. “Yes. My name is Aang.”

“Waaaiiittt. You’re the Avatar!? And you never told us!?” Sokka exclaimed.

Aang looked up at Sokka. “We’ll talk about it later.” He looked back to Zuko.

He put on a small smile for Aang. “Well, it’s nice to meet you.” He stood. “And, uh.. Would you be okay with my uncle and I teaming up with you?” Iroh walked over to Zuko, put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled.

Aang nodded. “Yeah, I guess?”

Sokka grabbed Aang’s shoulder. “ Wait. They’re from the Fire Nation. Are you sure we can trust them?”

Aang looked at Sokka, concerned. He opened his mouth to speak, but then Zuko interrupted.

“Look- I know it’ll be difficult to trust us. My father hurt your tribe. He hurt the entire world. And he hurt me. Badly.” He hesitated. “I know what it feels like to be terrified of him. My situation may not be as bad as everyone else’s, but I understand. And I want it to stop. The stuff he’s done to me- the stuff he made me do to myself.. Nobody deserves this. This war needs to stop, and I am more than willing to help end it.”

Sokka still seems suspicious of them, but he’s less tense now. Aang is as well.

“..Alright,” Sokka said, “I guess we can trust you guys.”

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. 

“I mean, if either of you can teach me to firebend, I’m all for it. We can team up.” Aang said.

Zuko smiled. “Alright.” He thought for a moment. “Is there anybody else we should meet?”

Aang’s face lit up. “Yeah! I’ll go get her!” He ran back into the village.

Zuko and Sokka looked at each other in silence. Zuko was subconsciously observing Sokka, which he usually did with soldiers and guards to try and guess their strength. It was a difficult habit to break, he couldn’t help it.

Aang returned with a girl that looked a bit similar to Sokka. She was a bit shorter, and she had hair tied into a braid with loops on the sides. 

“This is Katara!” Aang exclaimed. “I met her, like, 20 minutes ago, and we’re already good friends.” He had a cheeky little smile on his face. Katara tried and failed to hold back a chuckle, then she looked over at Zuko and Iroh. Her face changed. She seemed.. Uncomfortable. That wasn’t too surprising, but it still stung.

“ Katara! ” Sokka cried. He grabbed Aang’s arm and pointed to him. “He’s the Avatar. ” He looked towards Aang. “And for some reason , he didn’t bother to tell us!?”

“ Sokka , leave him alone. There’s a lot happening right now, we can talk about this later. ”

Sokka rolled his eyes. “ Fine.” He let go of Aang. “Well, what do we do now? We can’t exactly stop a war all huddled up in the village.”

Aang made eye contact with Sokka. “Of course! Plus, I need to master three whole elements. Katara and I both need to learn to waterbend, and there aren’t any other waterbenders here. So, logically, we should head north.” He looked at Zuko. “And, on our way there, maybe you and your uncle could teach me firebending as well.”

Zuko was confused. Aang had only mastered airbending? 

He did mention needing to be taught firebending earlier, but Zuko didn't think much of it.

“Wait- So, you’ve had a whole century to master all the elements, yet you’ve only mastered airbending? And why do you look so young? ”

“Well, it’s a long story.. It’s sunset already, we should spend the night here, then we can get ready to leave for the North tomorrow.” Aang remarked. “Besides, I’d like to penguin sled one more time!” He smiled and looked over at Katara.

Zuko nodded. “Alright, then.” He looked at Sokka. “Uh.. Do you have anywhere my uncle and I could stay for the night?”

Sokka squinted. “I guess we could make arrangements.” He gestured toward the village gates. “..Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

“Please, Father. I only had the Fire Nation’s best interest at heart. I’m sorry I spoke out of turn!”

“You will fight for your honor.”

“I meant you no disrespect. I am your loyal son.”

“Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!”

“I won’t fight you.”

“You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher. ”

-

Zuko jolted awake. He was shaking. Breathing heavily. He’d had these nightmares for years, he should be used to them by now.. But that didn’t matter. He needed to prepare to leave for the North. 

But he couldn’t get up. His heart was racing. He was panicking. Again .

He fully submerged himself in his blankets. He shoved a bit of blanket in his mouth to muffle his sobs. He dug his nails into his arm. He needed  to distract himself. His uncle was sleeping right next to him, and Zuko really didn’t want to bother him.

Shit. Not now. Any time but now.. He thought.

It took him a few minutes for him to force himself to calm down. The tears eventually stopped, his eyes now a bit puffy from the crying. He stood, and wiped his eyes a last time.

During the chaos before the soldiers left, Iroh had retrieved some of Zuko’s things from his quarters. It was all in a trunk. He went over to the trunk and found some comfortable clothes to wear. A black fitted sweater, with a red juban on top of that, then a black sleeveless robe on top of that. He also wore some slightly baggy red pants, tucked into his boots. He began to go through the trunk, putting things he knew he would need for sure in a bag. Anything else could be left behind.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. He was so exhausted. He looked over to Iroh. He was snoring so loudly. If the nightmare hadn’t woken Zuko up, Iroh’s snoring definitely would. He sighed. 

It’s early, Zuko thought. ..I guess I can get a bit more sleep before everybody else wakes up.

-

Zuko stretched as he exited the room he slept in. He looked around. Aang, Sokka, and Katara were standing nearby, talking.

This was the first time Zuko had seen Sokka without the war paint.. He blushed a bit.

Woah. Why’s he kinda.. He couldn’t finish his sentence in his head. Wait- Shit, no- He shook his head to try and snap himself out of it. He felt his face cool down. Iroh came out of the room, and stood next to Zuko.

“You alright, Zuko?” Iroh asked.

Zuko looked down at Iroh. “Huh? Uh, yeah, why?”

He chuckled. “You just seemed a bit.. Lost in thought.”

“Uh.. yeah.”

It was silent for a moment. Awkwardly silent.

“..Should we go over there with the rest?” Zuko asked.

Iroh shrugged. “Sure.”

They walked over to everyone else. Aang gave them a big smile and waved, Katara looked them up and down then avoided eye contact. Sokka just waved a bit. Zuko smiled a bit and waved back.

“So.. what’s the game plan?” Sokka asked.

“We’ll load our stuff onto Appa, then we’ll leave soon after.” Aang replied.

“Hm? Who’s Appa?” Zuko asked.

“He’s my sky bison!” Aang replied. “He should be right outside the village right now.”

Zuko nodded in response.

Everyone else carried on with their conversation. But Zuko wasn’t paying attention to anything anyone was saying. All he could pay attention to was Sokka. He couldn’t tell why, though.. He was subconsciously fidgeting with the cuff of his left sleeve. His mind was in a completely different place at the moment.

“Zuko? Zuuuuko. Earth to Zukooo..” 

Zuko blinked at the hand waving in front of his face. “I- Huh?” He looked down to see that Aang was the one trying to get his attention.

“Go get your stuff, we’re packing right now!” Aang exclaimed, with his usual wide, goofy grin. “We’ll be right outside the village.”

“Alright.” He turned to go get his bag. When he got it, he exited the village to see a huge creature. It had six legs, horns, and arrows similar to Aang’s along its body. He couldn’t help but feel a bit.. Intimidated.

Aang noticed that Zuko had arrived. “Want me to help you get your bag up there?”

“Uh, sure.. I guess?” 

As Aang took Zuko’s bag and hoisted it up onto Appa’s back, Zuko couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about how awkward that was. He’s been awkward this whole time . He tried to think of what Iroh would tell him. Being awkward is okay, it happens to everyone at some point. ..Or, something like that.

He leaned against the icy walls of the village. He watched the others as they loaded their stuff onto Appa. Aang was hugging Appa and saying a few things to him. Katara was securing everyone’s things onto the saddle. Iroh was making sure he didn’t forget anything. Sokka was bugging Katara.

..Zuko wondered what it was like. To have a good relationship with a sibling. To have a sister that wasn’t fucked in the head.

..It seemed nice.

So nice.

Chapter Text

After what seemed like forever, they were finally leaving. Zuko helped Iroh get onto Appa, then waited for everyone else.

Once everyone was on, Aang grabbed the reins and smiled even bigger than usual. “Appa, yip yip!”

Then, Appa started flying. Zuko wasn’t prepared for that. He held onto the edges of the saddle. He looked around, and the others seemed to be doing the same. It was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one doing this for the first time.

After a few minutes, he got a bit more used to it and hesitantly let go of the saddle. He wasn’t used to being in the air. After all, he had been on a ship for the past couple years. 

He curled up in a bit of a ball, rested his elbows on his knees, and just fidgeted with his fingers. His nails were getting long again. He never knew when he was supposed to cut them. He always just let them grow until Iroh pointed it out.

“..Aang?” Katara asked. Zuko looked over at her, then looked at Aang.

“Yeah?” Aang responded.

“..Why didn’t you tell us you were the Avatar?”

Silence filled the area for a moment. Aang sighed. 

“..Because I never wanted to be.”

More silence. 

“But Aang , the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war.”

“And how am I gonna do that?”

“By mastering all the elements! Look, I know it sounds difficult, but we’re already making great progress! You can learn waterbending once we get to the North..” Katara glanced over at Zuko and Iroh, pointing at them with her thumb over her shoulder. “And they can teach you to firebend on our way there.” Her voice sounded a bit more.. Mildly annoyed when she said that. “We just need someone to teach you earthbending, then we’re all set!”

Aang turned to Katara and smiled. “Yeah! And , we can learn waterbending together!”

Katara smiled back at Aang, then turned to Sokka. “And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some firebender heads on the way.” She looked at Zuko and Iroh again. “Uhh. No offense.” Again, she sounded mildly annoyed. Zuko understood though.. Of course it would be hard to gain trust.

“None taken!” Iroh responded with a smile.

Sokka smiled a bit. “I’d like that. I’d reeeaaally like that.”

Just hearing Sokka’s voice made Zuko feel.. At ease for some reason. The hell? It was just his stupid voice..

“Then we’re in this together!” Katara exclaimed.

Aang’s grin widened even more. He fumbled through his things and pulled out a scroll. “All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow. 

Aang used his airbending to get onto the saddle, then unrolls the scroll. A map of the world.

He pointed to three places on the map, jabbing his finger into the paper. Two locations in the Earth Kingdom, one in the old Air Nomad territory.  “Here, here, and here.”

Katara pointed to one of the places on the map. “What’s here?” 

Aang giggled. He pointed to one of the Earth Kingdom locations. “Here, we’ll ride the hopping llamas!” He pointed to the Air Nomad territory. “Then waaaaaay over here, we’ll surf on the backs of koi fish.” Katara, Sokka, Zuko, and Iroh were staring at Aang with a confusion of sorts. “Then back over here, we’ll ride the hog monkeys. They don’t like people riding them, but that’s what makes it fun!”

Everybody seemed to look at each other, then back to Aang, then at each other, then at Aang again. He still had that cheeky grin, as always. Sokka couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, then everyone burst into laughter, including Aang. 

After the laughing died down, Zuko spoke.

“So, care to explain how you seem so young?” 

“Uh, sure.” Aang replied. “So, 100 years ago, Appa and I got caught in a storm, yada yada, Avatar state, trapped in iceberg for 100 years, bada bing bada boom, next thing I know, I’m stumbling out of an iceberg with Sokka and Katara there. So, I guess I’m technically 112 years old?”

..It took Zuko a second to process all that information. “ Oooooh. That explains.. A lot. ”

“How ‘bout you ?” Aang asked.

Zuko was puzzled. “Hm? What do you mean?”

“As far as I understand, you’re Fire Nation royalty, right? Why haven't you just gone back to the palace or something?”

Zuko fell silent. He thought for a moment.

“..I’d rather not talk about it.”

Chapter Text

Zuko was struggling a bit to set up his tent. Everyone was setting up their sleeping areas, since they stopped to camp out. He sighed, took down what he had set up and started to rebuild it.

“Want some help with that?”

Zuko looked up from the ground to see Sokka. He blushed a bit.

“Uh- Yeah- Yes please.” He responded.

Sokka nodded, crouched next to him, and started helping Zuko out. He was guiding him through all the steps. This was the longest Zuko had ever heard Sokka’s voice.. It was nice. Stupid, but nice.

Whenever Sokka’s hand brushed against Zuko’s, he just blushed even more.

Sokka looked at Zuko. “You’re all red in the face.” He smirked.

Zuko scrambled in his mind for an excuse. “I, uh, I’m just.. Embarrassed that I couldn’t do such a simple task on my own.”

Sokka shrugged. “Alright.” He patted Zuko’s shoulder. “Uh, sleep well. Night.” He walked back to his own tent.

Zuko was a shade of bright red now. It was just a simple pat on the shoulder. Just a pat on the shoulder. Why was he panicking so much? Not panicking panicking, like he did this morning, but.. He didn’t know how to describe this kind of panic. It felt.. Good? Why? Panic was usually the worst feeling ever. 

He was so confused. He retreated into his tent before anyone could notice his face. He grabbed a water bottle and drank some to try and cool himself down. He collapsed backward onto the ground, head on pillow.

Zuko had never felt this way before. It was weird. Was this what it felt like to ‘have butterflies in your stomach?’ He never understood that phrase. Maybe that was even weirder than what he was currently feeling. He knew it meant someone was nervous or something, but how did someone even come up with that phrase? Did they know what it was like to literally have butterflies in their stomach? Was it that comparable to nervousness?

His thoughts were going at 500 miles per hour at this point. Jumping from subject to subject, most of the subjects being Sokka. Zuko had literally just met this man yesterday. Why was he thinking about him so much? He never thought about anyone else like that before. Was this normal? Was he insane?

Soooo many thoughts. Everywhere. All over the place. His thoughts were getting loud. Too much. It would be so convenient if he could just plug his ears to stop hearing his thoughts, but nope , that's not how it works. That was so annoying.

His thoughts circulated back to Sokka. His cute face. His voice. His dumb jokes.

Thinking about Sokka made Zuko.. weirdly happy. He even smiled a bit. He was lightly tapping his fingers along the floor. He was calming down. He rolled onto his side, curled into a bit of a ball, and took his ponytail out. His scalp hurt after having his hair up all day. It also felt a little weird. He wasn‘t very used to it. However, he was able to adjust after a couple minutes. 

He wanted to change into more comfy clothes, but he didn’t feel like getting up. After what felt like weeks of just lying there, he sluggishly stood up to change. After he got more comfortable, he laid back down. His face was still a bit warm. He was still confused. His stomach still felt weird.

Why was he feeling like this? Did he not trust Sokka? ..No. He probably trusted him way more than he should, considering they’d only known each other for two days. Was that it? He trusted him too much ? He thought for a moment. No. He already trusted Aang a lot as well, but didn’t have those emotions towards him .

He sat there for a while, considering any and all possibilities he could think of. None seemed to fit. None seemed to explain it. None at all.

If he asked others about this, how would they react? Would they think he was weird? Crazy ? Would they understand? Did other people experience the same exact thing? Was he the only one?

He was starting to get tired. Very, very tired. It was probably at least 45 minutes past when he usually went to sleep by now. He sighed, reached for his blankets, pulled them over himself, and tried to fall asleep.

..He still spent an hour thinking about Sokka before finally falling asleep.

Chapter Text

Zuko listened to Aang as he started to ramble to Katara about the Southern Air Temple. It seemed he wanted to visit it.. Shit. That place was basically a whole buttload of emotional baggage waiting for Aang.

“Aang, I know you’re excited, but it’s been a hundred years since you were home.” Katara said.

Zuko wanted to join in on the conversation, but didn’t, knowing that Katara still didn’t trust him one bit. 

“That’s why I’m so excited! ” Aang exclaimed. 

“Yeah, but.. Things can change a lot over time.”

“I know, but I need to see it for myself.” Aang jumped down from Appa, landing lightly on his feet.

Suddenly, there was a loud snoring noise. Zuko looked over to see Sokka, in a sleeping bag, snoring to his heart’s content. He chuckled and stood up, walking over there.

“Sokka, wake up!!” Aang lightly kicked Sokka’s side. “We’re going to the Air Temple!”

Sokka groaned and rolled onto his side, back towards Aang. “Sleep now. Temple later.” Zuko giggled a bit at those words. He was sometimes like that when tired, too.

Aang sighed. He looked around, picked up a stick off of the ground, and started dragging the end of it all over Sokka’s sleeping bag. “Sokka! Wake up! There’s a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!”

Sokka screamed and, still in his sleeping bag, jumped up onto his feet and jumped around a bit. “Get it off! Get it off!!” He screamed again.

Zuko laughed, as did Aang. Sokka realized what was happening and turned to give Aang a look.

“Great, you’re awake! Let’s go.” Aang said, still giggling a bit every few seconds.

Sokka packed up his stuff, loaded it all onto Appa, then they were off. After about ten minutes of flying, Sokka’s stomach grumbled. He frowned.

“Hey, stomach, be quiet, all right? I’m trying to find us some food.” He rusted through a small bag he had and furrowed his eyebrow. “Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?” He squinted and looked around at everyone. 

“Oh. That was food?” Aang rubbed the back of his neck. “I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry.”

Zuko held back another laugh. Sokka got angry and yelled at Aang a bit. But, not really in the way Zuko was used to. Usually, when he or someone around him was yelled at, it was terrifying. But this , this was different. It was more.. Lighthearted?  

Zuko smiled. This seemed nice. Unfamiliar, but nice. He usually didn’t like unfamiliarity. He always tried to stay rooted in what he liked. He had specific routines. Although, nearly everything had changed recently. He was still adjusting. Needing to get used to so many things. The feeling of flying. Having some nice people around other than Iroh. Whatever the hell the stuff he was feeling last night was. It was all strange to him.

Before Zuko could continue his train of thought, he snapped out of it.

Sokka sighed. “No wonder the fire smelled so good..” 

Zuko chuckled. “Uh, yeah, the fire did smell pretty nice.” 

Yeesh. Was I being awkward again? Zuko thought. He was getting better at socializing a while ago. But, after being with Aang and the others, he realized that he really only thought that because of him trying to be intimidating all the time. Now that he was letting loose, he was back to being awkward 24/7. 

He could hear Aang and Katara talking, but he didn’t care to listen. He was just there, all up in his thoughts. He got like this a lot. Not all the time, but most of the time. He was just off in his own little world in his mind.

He felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up to see Iroh. “Yeah?”

“Are you alright, Zuko? You seem awfully quiet.”

“Uh, yeah. Just thinking.”

Iroh seemed skeptical, but nodded and let it go.

“There it is, the Southern Air Temple!” Aang exclaimed.

Zuko looked up to see an absolutely gorgeous sight. The architecture was amazing, atop a mountain surrounded by clouds. But.. it seemed empty. No sky bison like Appa. No other animals. No people. It was completely still, as if it had been frozen in time.

Appa landed, and everyone got themselves situated on the ground. Aang stood, hand on the side of Appa’s head. 

“We’re home, buddy. We’re home .” Aang muttered.

Zuko couldn’t help but feel bad. Aang was so oblivious.. He didn’t believe that the Fire Nation had wiped out all his people. Aang had so much hope. He was so optimistic, it was almost painful to see. 

..Zuko couldn’t even begin to imagine how Aang would react to the truth.

Chapter Text

Everyone was walking along the paths on the cliffs. The rock had been weathered and chipped with a century of no one to manage it. The paths were just wide enough for a person to be able to walk along it without hugging the cliffside as they went.

Sokka’s stomach grumbled. “So, where do I get something to eat?” He asked.

Katara looked over her shoulder to give him a look. “You're lucky enough

to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an airbender temple, and all you can think about is food ?”

Sokka shrugged. “I’m just a simple guy with simple needs.”

Aang smiled and pointed to an area with wood.. Things jutted out of the ground. They varied in height, and there were two posts at each end that seemed like targets of some sort. “So that’s where my friends and I would play airball,” he started. He pointed over to a larger ledge. “And over there is where the bison would sleep. And..”

Aang sighed.

Zuko frowned. Was Aang already beginning to realize the truth? Or was he still oblivious? In denial? He couldn’t tell.

He opened his mouth to ask Aang if he was okay, but got interrupted.

“..What’s wrong?” Katara asked.

“..This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison.. Now there's just a bunch of weeds.” Aang looked down. “I can't believe how much things have changed.”

It was silent. Zuko looked behind him at Iroh. They made eye contact. They both knew. They could both tell. Today was about to be a horrible day for Aang.

“So, uh…” Sokka said, breaking the silence. “This airball game.. How do you play?”

Aang looked over at Sokka and smiled.

-

Zuko couldn’t help but laugh. Sokka was absolutely getting his ass beaten. It was adorable how hard he was trying.

Aang knocked Sokka over again and laughed. “Aang seven, Sokka zero. ” He giggled.

Sokka sighed. “Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt.” He looked behind him. His eyes widened. 

“Guys..” He mumbled. “Check this out.”

Zuko raised an eyebrow. He jumped down from the higher ground, and walked over to Sokka. He looked at where Sokka was pointing and quietly gasped.

..An old Fire Nation helmet.

“.. Fire Nation. ” Sokka and Zuko said at the same time. They looked at each other, concerned. 

“..We should tell him.” Sokka said, standing and looking at Katara.

Katara sighed. “Aang, there's something you need to see.”

Aang looked over at her. “Okay!”

Katara hesitated. She turned around, and waterbended the snow on the higher ground to fall and cover the helmet. Zuko sighed.

“What is it?” Aang asked.

Katara clasped her hands together. “Uh..” She gestured to the snow. “Just a new waterbending move I learned!”

Aang grinned. “Nice one! But enough practice. We have a whole temple to see!”

Sokka looked at Katara as Aang hopped onto another path.

“You know, you can’t protect him forever..”

Katara stayed silent. Everyone started to walk with Aang, letting him lead the way. A few minutes later, Sokka grabbed Katara’s arm as Aang entered a building nearby. Zuko looked over at Sokka.

“Katara, firebenders were here. You can’t pretend they weren’t. ” Sokka said. 

“I can for Aang’s sake. He’ll be devastated if he finds out what the Fire Nation did.” She responded. Zuko sighed. It was inevitable that Aang would find out what happened- Why was Katara so insistent on hiding it from him? It was pointless.

“Hey, guys!” Aang called. Everyone whipped their heads towards him. “I want you to meet somebody.”

Zuko was confused. Meet someone? There wasn’t anyone else there. They all died a hundred years ago. Then, Aang gestured to a statue.

Oh. Zuko thought. That makes sense.

“Who’s that?” Katara asked.

Aang smiled. “That’s Monk Gyatso. He’s the greatest airbender in the whole world! He taught me everything I know.”

“..You must miss him.” Katara said.

“..Yeah.” Aang stood there in silence, and looked up at the hallway behind Gyatso’s statue. He took a step towards it.

“Where are you going?” Katara asked.

Aang looked at her from behind his shoulder. “The air temple sanctuary. There’s someone there I wanna meet.”

-

“But, Aang, no one could’ve survived in there for a hundred years!” Katara exclaimed.

Aang looked over at Katara. “ I survived in that iceberg for a hundred years. Of course someone could survive in there!”

 Katara paused. “..Good point.”

Zuko doubted that logic. Aang was the Avatar , surely that played a part in why he survived in the iceberg. How did he even get in an iceberg anyway?

“Katara, whoever’s in there might help me figure out all this Avatar stuff. Gyatso said so.” Aang said.

“And, whoever’s in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats!” Sokka exclaimed, licking his lips.

Zuko chuckled. “I doubt it.” He looked towards Aang. “Air Nomads are vegetarians, right?”

Aang nodded.

“Then yeah, there’s probably not any meat in there.” Zuko said

“Aw, man. ” Sokka replied.

“Don’t worry, I can see if I have any leftover food and give it to you later.”

Sokka grinned. “Alright!”

The group stopped. Zuko looked away from Sokka to see a huge door, with a complex mechanism on it.

Sokka folded his arms. “I don’t suppose you have a key .”

“The key, Sokka, is airbending. ” Aang replied. He sent a gust of air into the tubes of the mechanism. The three swirls turned around, and the door opened.

“Helloooo??” Sokka yelled. 

“Anyone home?”

Chapter Text

As Zuko entered the room beyond the door, he blinked a few times to get used to the dark. He could just barely see everyone else well enough to follow them. He instinctively used his firebending to create a torch of sorts above his palm, illuminating the hall leading to the room up ahead.

Everyone looked at Zuko when there was the sudden light from his fire, and he avoided eye contact with anyone. He hated being noticed like that. It was always so awkward .

After a couple minutes of Sokka complaining about his hunger and Katara scolding him, they finally reached the room. It was full of stone statues, arranged in a pattern spiraling towards the center of the circular room. The walls had hundreds of rows of statues along them, which seemed to tower above him by miles. 

“Whoa,” Aang breathed. He and Katara walked towards the center of the spiral, and admired the statues.

“Air, water, earth, fire..” Katara said, pointing to the four centermost statues respectively. “..It’s the Avatar cycle! These are all your past lives, Aang!”

Aang grinned. “Cool!” 

The two of them looked over at the statue in what was almost the very center. There seemed to be room for another statue or two. It depicted an old man from the Fire Nation. Zuko could’ve sworn he knew who that was, it was on the tip of his tongue. He knew he’d learned about the previous Avatar in his Fire Nation history lessons as a child, but he just couldn’t remember his name.

“Who is that?” Katara asked.

Aang looked up at the statue. “It’s Avatar Roku. The Avatar before me.”

Katara seemed puzzled. “There isn’t a plaque there or anything. How’d you know that?” She asked.

Aang shrugged. “I dunno. I just.. Knew. ”

Suddenly, a noise came from the hall behind them. Everyone snapped their heads to look at where the sound came from. There was a shadow that seemed to get bigger, who or whatever casting it getting closer..

“Firebender!” Sokka exclaimed. Everyone darted to hide behind a statue. “Shhh!! Everyone be quiet!”

“ You’re the one making noise! ” Katara whispered. Everyone covered their mouths, trying not to make a sound. 

Sokka unsheathed his boomerang (which Zuko found adorable), peeking at the entrance from around the statue, watching the shadowed figure get closer and closer. He raised his boomerang to attack, then the threatening figure emerged from the shadows.

Or.. It was more like a small, cute creature. It squeaked and itched its ear with it’s ridiculously tiny paws.

Aang gasped. “Winged lemur!!” He exclaimed.

“Dinner!!” Sokka cried. Zuko couldn’t help but laugh at Sokka’s reaction.

The two of them both started taking slow steps toward the lemur. Aang reassured the little thing that it would be okay, and that it was his new pet. Meanwhile, Sokka was ranting about how delicious it looked. Sokka scared off the creature, and it bolted out of the entrance. 

“Wait!! We aren’t gonna eat you! ” Aang exclaimed, both him and Sokka sprinting down the hall to chase the small creature. Zuko laughed, as did Iroh. Katara gave the two of them a look, then went back to observing the Avatar statues.

Iroh gestured for Zuko to follow him, and they both went over to the edge of the room near the doorway to sit down.

“Next time we make a pit stop, I should make tea,” Iroh started. “I’m parched. ”

Zuko chuckled. “You brought your tea stuff?” He asked. Then he thought it over. “Of course you did. You always do.”

The two of them chuckled, carrying on with their conversation. The topic of it kept changing- From tea to the lemur, the lemur to their travels so far, their travels to other various topics. After a while, Iroh grabbed Zuko's hand, observing it.

“Your nails are getting long again.” He looked up at him and smiled. “Forgot to cut them again?”

Zuko nodded. “Uh, yeah.. My nails aren’t exactly the first thing on my mind most of the time.” 

Iroh put Zuko’s hand down. “Alright. I’ll remind you to cut them next time we set up camp.”

Suddenly, the room became lighter. Zuko looked over at the statues, his good eye widening. The eyes of each statue were glowing a light blue. Katara, who was standing in front of Roku’s statue, gasped.

“.. Aang. ” She murmured.

It was only then that Zuko knew something had to be wrong. 

.. Oh no. Zuko thought

.. He knows.

Chapter Text

Running over to Aang felt like the longest thirty seconds of Zuko’s life. His legs were burning. He was hyperventilating. 

Zuko, Katara, and Iroh arrived at the scene.. And it was terrifying.

Strong gusts of wind were flying everywhere, pushing the three of them back. Aang was hovering off the ground, eyes and tattoos glowing that light blue from earlier. He was surrounded by a sphere of air, slowly rising higher and higher.

Zuko frantically looked around for Sokka. He was nearly being blown away by Aang’s airbending, with only debris to hold on to in order to stay on the mountain. He was trying to say something to Aang, with a panicked look on his face, but all his words were whisked away by the wind. 

Zuko and Katara both ran over to get closer, struggling against the wind pushing them back. Zuko could barely stay on his feet, and neither could Katara. Katara managed to get closer to Aang than Zuko, yelling words of comfort that Zuko couldn’t hear. 

Suddenly, Zuko felt lighter. He looked down to see his feet lifting off the ground. His eyes widened as he was blown back. He screamed, grabbing hold of some debris close to Sokka. His heart was racing, and the panic was winning. His hands were shaking, just barely with a strong enough grip to keep holding on to the debris. He struggled, flailed his legs around in the air a bit, and firmly planted his feet on the ground. He shuffled to a place where he could have a stronger grip, now a couple feet away from Sokka. 

Sokka took notice of this, and did something similar, the two of them now standing next to each other, clinging on to that debris for dear life.

After what felt like hours, the wind began to die down. Aang descended to the ground, his arms limp, head hanging low. Katara stepped closer to him and caught him as he fell, holding him close. Zuko breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Sokka. They exchanged glances, still breathing heavily. Sokka looked back to Aang and Katara, and Zuko turned towards his uncle, who was running over to check if everyone was alright. 

Zuko ran to Iroh, hands still a little shaky. Iroh grabbed him by his upper arms.

“Are you alright!?” Iroh exclaimed worryingly, some small slivers of panic laced in his expression. 

Zuko let out some breaths he didn’t realize he was holding, and spoke. “I.. Yeah. I think so.”

Iroh exhaled and pulled Zuko into a tight hug. That moment just now was purely terrifying.

..There were bound to be more moments like that in the future.

Everyone had returned to the Sanctuary by now. Sokka was sitting on the stone floor. Aang was looking up at Roku’s statue. Katara was near Aang, doing something else. Zuko and Iroh had sat down, leaning against the wall again. Katara walked up to Aang, and they talked to each other a bit. Zuko wasn’t really paying attention to what they were saying, though. His mind was in another place right then.

It was all really starting to sink in. I betrayed my nation. He thought. My own father.  

He thought a few moments more. 

..But does it matter?

We’ve only brought pain and suffering to the world for the past 100 years.

..It’s about time we fix it.

Zuko wanted to continue his trail of thought, but he needed to pay attention to his surroundings. He looked up from the ground to see the small creature from earlier. A.. winged lemur? Was that what Aang called it? Zuko couldn’t remember. It had a tiny armful of fruits and vegetables with it. It scurried over to Sokka and dropped the food in his lap.

Sokka’s face lit up, and he instantly started digging in. Zuko smiled. It was good to know that Sokka finally got the food he’d been complaining about the whole time. Aang chuckled.

“Looks like you’ve made a new friend, Sokka.” Aang remarked.

“Can’t talk. Must eat.” Sokka replied, wolfing down his food.

The lemur scurried over to Aang, flying onto his arm. Zuko went back into his thoughts, not hearing when Aang gave the lemur a name. He’d figure it out himself later.

After all, he had more important things to worry about.