Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Foolish, that’s what he was.

So foolish, that he had let himself get hurt while pursuing The Avatar, yet again. 

The pain in his throat was as indescribable as the pain from when he had gotten his scar.

Zuko had blacked out, and when he came to, his uncle was at his bedside, caressing his hand and staring into the distance.

He… didn’t exactly remember what happened. Though, he distinctly remembered the glint of a knife. 

Or was it a sword?

He couldn’t remember. 

He had sat up on his bed, which had drawn his uncle’s attention to him. 

He had tried to speak… which had not ended well.

His uncle had shushed him and pressed him back down into the bed. He had explained the situation, and how, unfortunately, the healer on the ship could do very little about the damage to his throat.

Zuko had wanted to scream, and had opened his mouth to do so, but couldn't. His throat hurt so bad , and he stopped trying to make noise.

His uncle had given him a sad look and pat his shoulder, apologizing again.

Zuko shook his head. This wasn’t time to ruminate his lost voice. Perhaps his voice may even come back on its own, anyways, and he was worrying for nothing.

He was just outside of the cell Zhao was holding The Avatar in. He couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

It had been insultingly easy to break into the stronghold, and Zuko wasn’t sure if he should be concerned by the lack of guards, or proud of his skills.

The thawing frog that was croaking nearby on the floor gave him a little pause. But, he let it go. Stranger things had happened.

He entered, and The Avatar began screaming until his chains were sliced through. Then began the barrage of questions.

“Who are you? Are you here to rescue me?”

They didn’t have time for this. He motioned for them to get going and The Avatar followed.

The Avatar (Did he even know this kid’s name?) stopped when he noticed the thawing frogs nearby, kneeling to pick them up.

“Wait, my frogs!” He cried as Zuko dragged him away by his clothes. “My friends need to suck on them!”

Zuko kind of wanted to gag at that. But he didn’t and they continued their escape.

They almost made it past the first wall, when sirens had sounded and the rope they were using was cut.

—

He had to admit, he was a little impressed at The Avatar’s ingenuity. Using a broken spear as a makeshift glider while carrying him over the stronghold and using the ladders as stilts was honestly impressive.

And they had nearly made it. Until they fell and Zhao had ordered The Avatar to be captured alive.

Almost on instinct, Zuko had pressed his blades to the boy’s throat and Zhao had allowed them to leave.

They were almost to the edge of the forest when Zuko heard something whizz through the air and the world went dark.

—

When he came to, he was sitting on a pile of leaves somewhere in the forest. He made a huff of protest when his head throbbed.

The Avatar was sitting nearby him on a tree root, speaking in a low voice about an old friend or… something. 

Man, his head really hurt

And he was starting to feel a little nauseous. The press of his wooden mask into his face probably wasn’t helping either.

“-before the war started, I had friends in all the nations. I was even close friends with someone from the Fire Nation. His name was Kuzon. He was a firebender. Fighting these other firebenders reminds me of him, sometimes.”

The Avatar turned to him expectantly, smiling softly but sadly. Like he knew something. 

But… Zuko’s mask was still on. So was his dark outfit. And his dual dao was right next to him. Had the boy really not taken the chance to remove his mask like he was expecting him to?

Perhaps it was the grief of losing all of his friends that made him look sad like that? Zuko didn’t know.

He also noticed the little dried smear of blood on his neck. One of Zuko’s blades must have accidentally nicked him when he passed out.

He stayed quiet, unable to speak anyways. 

The Avatar took his silence as hesitation, “Anyways, I wanted to thank you for rescuing me.” and hopped off of the root.

The boy stood just outside of Zuko’s reach, waiting. 

Zuko really wasn’t sure what the kid was waiting for.

He hesitated, then slowly rose from his spot, wincing as his body protested. His vision swam momentarily and Zuko could have sworn he saw black spots while he waited for the world to stop spinning. Then, after steadying himself a few times, he finally finished rising.

The airbender inched backwards nearly imperceptibly as he rose, but the firebender noticed.

At least, it seemed The Avatar had some sense of self preservation.

He grabbed his swords, and the airbender took a full step back, toward the root he had been sitting on, no longer being subtle.

But, Zuko stayed quiet and began walking the other direction, after sheathing his swords. 

His mask was on, so his cover wasn’t blown. But he was in no condition to fight with the other boy at this moment. Especially considering his throat was still healing and he was now actively fighting the urge to vomit.

This seemed to shock The Avatar. (Man, he really needed to learn this kid’s name)

“W-wait!” He cried, using his airbending to catch up to Zuko and walk by his side. Still out of the firebender’s immediate reach, but closer than before. He walked at the same pace the firebender was walking.

“I-” He began rambling, once more, but the prince didn't pay attention to what he was saying. Instead, Zuko huffed in irritation behind his mask.

Did this kid seriously become attached to him just because he was rescued? 

… Well, he supposed not many people were really on his side. It was understandable to want to keep in touch with any allies he could find.

Zuko stopped, and turned his body to face the other boy, who had stopped walking when he did.

The prince gave a tilt of his mask.

The Avatar blinked up at him before fiddling with the hem of his clothes. Which, Zuko was now realizing, were really dirty and had holes and tears from the arrows of the Yuyan archers.

“I was wondering why you saved me?” His slate eyes looked back up to the eye’s of Zuko’s mask.

Zuko paused. Well. He had saved the kid to re-capture him and bring him to his father. And also so Zhao wouldn’t capture him. But with Zuko’s physical condition, he really couldn’t do that right now. Nor could he answer the boy.

The prince turned and continued walking. The Avatar hurried, again, to keep up with him.

“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” 

Zuko had to take deep breaths under his mask to keep calm. He couldn’t reveal his identity now and risk further damage while stranded in the middle of the woods.

He turned to The Avatar once more, drawing one of his swords and striking a line in the ground between them.

The airbender –who had startled and looked ready to run when he had drawn his sword– looked down, puzzled at the line in the dirt.

“Huh? What’s that mean?” He questioned, big innocent eyes looking between Zuko and the line.

In response, Zuko pointed at himself –with his sword– then the direction he was traveling in. And then pointed at the airbender and back the way they had come from.

It was an obvious request to split up.

“You… want to split up?”

Zuko nodded. 

That hurt his head and made him want to throw up.

“But why ?”

Zuko could have slapped him.

Instead, he took a few more deep breaths and glanced around. There was nothing but forest in all directions. Perhaps he could make a break for it?

“Um, Mr. Spirit, before you go, I was actually wondering if you would mind coming with me to a swamp nearby?”

A swamp??? He just asked to split up.

Zuko shook his head, pointing once again, to the direction he had been walking. His head throbbed once more at the action.

The Avatar’s brow’s furrowed, and he looked even more confused.

“Okay… I guess this is goodbye then?”

Zuko nodded once, firmly. He really needed to lie down if the bile creeping up his throat was anything to go by.

The Avatar frowned and watched as Zuko began backing up. Before finally turning around and walking forward.

He didn’t fully trust this kid not to follow him, so he glanced back, only to notice the boy was gone from where he was standing.

Fuck.

Zuko just hoped he wasn’t watching him as he began sprinting through the forest back to his ship.

—

When he was almost to the port, he stopped to switch his outfits out. 

… and maybe to also throw up.

Strange.

The knot holding his mask on felt a little tighter than he remembered. It was probably just his head hurting, though.

—

His uncle questioned where he had been all night when he returned, sounding worried. But Zuko just waved his hand, a clear dismissal. 

He returned to his quarters and laid down on his bed.

His head still throbbed, but the urge to vomit was quelled for now. 

He wondered if his uncle had any soothing tea, but squished the thought down quickly.

His gauze wandered to the Fire Nation flag in his room, and The Avatar’s words replayed in his mind.

He rolled over, frowning. He still needed to recover. He shouldn’t waste his time dwelling on this.

Chapter Text

From the tree tops, Aang watched as the prince sprinted back to his boat. 

He was still confused on why Zuko had let him go so easily. But, he decided not to look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth.

He stopped at the edge of the trees and observed as the firebender boarded his ship and waved off uncle’s worry. Now that he knew Zuko made it back safe, he could leave.

Aang began running back through the forest to the swamp and his friends. His musings would have to wait until he was back at the ruins and his friends were healthy again.

When he finally returned and gave his friends their frogs, Sokka asked him, still probably delirious:

“Aang, how was your trip? Did you make any new friends?”

Aang flopped down on Appa’s tail, sighing.

He… didn’t know. 

What was Zuko’s motivation in this? Had the prince finally given up capturing him?

He hadn’t seemed hostile. Maybe tying his mask back on was a good idea, after all.

“Maybe? I don’t know. But, I really hope so.” Aang rolled over, huffing.

The siblings sat and sucked on their frogs for a little longer before Aang heard them yelling in protest.

—

Nope. He’s still a flaming jerkwad. 

Aang thought bitterly to himself as they bent their respective elements toward each other.

They were at the abbey, and the monk couldn’t exactly say he was surprised that Zuko had tracked them down.

They both hit each other with a big blast and were sent flying onto opposite rooftops of the abbey.

Aang didn’t have much time to ponder Zuko’s motives after that, considering he was now fighting Zuko and some crazy lady with a giant… mole? 

He took note of Katara’s necklace hanging off the prince’s arm and focused all his attention on getting that back instead.

—

He did feel a little bad the mole(?) had gotten spooked, it was just an animal that was taking orders, after all. 

But he didn’t dwell much on it, because his friends were safe and Zuko and the lady who had been helping him were both now paralyzed.

It is a little weird that Zuko hadn’t screamed at them or his uncle while they were fighting, though. 

The airbender spared a glance at the prince —who was staring at his uncle, looking confused— as he and his friends boarded Appa. The now unparalyzed bison gave a happy rumble as they lifted off.

Thinking back, he hadn’t heard a single word from the firebender, only a few low groans of pain. Not even his normal firebending grunts he tended to let out while they fought.

However, all thoughts of Zuko abruptly left his mind when he realized they all had no idea what the plan was, and he voiced this out loud. 

“So… where do we go?”

And his friends —no, his family — told him they were coming with him to the North Pole, and that even though they wanted to see their own blood family, he needed them more.

Aang was so happy, but he reminded himself of Katara’s necklace and handed it over, and then they joked about giving Zuko a kiss to thank him for bringing it back.

—

At least he knew where he stood with Zhao. 

He taunted the Admiral into lighting his own ships on fire. Zhao was behaving exactly as Aang had hoped he would.

Though, a comparison to Zuko came up in his taunts, and Zhao was a lot angrier than he had been with any of the others.

It reminded Aang of his confusing relationship with the prince. He still wasn’t sure where they stood, because on one hand Zuko had let Aang go, only to attack them again. Why?

He continued poking fun at Zhao, whose ships were now nothing but burnt crisps as he thought to himself.

Both Zhao and Zuko were pretty angry and fought with fury.

But —at least from the interactions Aang had with the admiral so far— he was actually preferring the prince.

Zuko… well, he was chasing them, yeah. And Aang didn’t know why that was, but at least Zuko kept his word when he promised something, and never taunted Aang with the reminder of his people’s death.

To be honest, he hadn’t really taunted Aang at all. 

The most he did was talk about honor and how he was bringing Aang to his father.

Zhao, on the other hand, really wasn’t the nicest person, and definitely didn’t seem like a man of his word. 

Aang recalled that Zhao had said he would keep him alive, but just barely.

The airbender shuddered slightly at the next blast of fire that singed his clothes due to his attention slipping.

Said admiral landed in front of the airbender, and Aang pushed his thoughts and comparisons to the side for now, as he wrapped up the fight.

—

Aang began to think, once again, about Zuko while they flew from the Northern Air Temple to, hopefully, the North Pole.

He still didn’t understand why the prince had saved and let him go. It made no sense. And?? He hadn’t said anything. 

Katara and Sokka began bickering behind him, but he paid it no mind. There was nothing but water as far as the eye could see, still, and Aang was thinking.

Almost as if sensing his distress, Appa let out a loud rumble, in what Aang believed was supposed to be a comforting way.

He leaned off the side of his bison’s head, toward a furry ear and thanked his animal companion. “Thanks buddy.”

He righted himself, and gave Appa a little pat on the head, before taking the reins back into his hands.

It still made no sense, but he felt a little better about it now.

Was there an ulterior motive? Like gaining Aang’s trust? Or maybe, recapturing him at a later time? Or even just to spite Zhao?

He didn’t know, and the bickering siblings pulled him into their conversation. He allowed the distraction. He didn’t really want to think about it any more.

—

Fuck fuck fuck fuck, fucking shit.

Of course Zhao noticed his fucking swords because why wouldn’t he?

Zuko was in the middle of packing everything he could. He stuffed his mask and swords into a makeshift rucksack. 

Well, it was more of a bindle without a stick. But, he’d rather call it a rucksack.

If he knew Zhao —and he did know Zhao— there was no way for this to end without something bad happening.

Zuko wasn’t a fan of fleeing, but he suspected something larger was at play, especially considering everyone was off the ship, including his uncle.

He heard something. A noise that shouldn’t have been made, considering the ship was empty.

Fuck- shit- he needed to hurry.

After throwing some coins into his rucksack, which he then tied to his clothing/body in any way he could, he left his room.

He could have sworn he heard hurried footsteps, but he pushed that aside, rushing to leave his ship.

He was on the front of the deck, toward the bow of the ship, when he heard a familiar squawk.

The prince turned to face the pirate captain’s iguana-parrot, eyes growing wide in horror.

No. 

Zhao wouldn’t.

Sadly, the rational side of Zuko knew Zhao would. 

He took the parrot as a sign to get the fuck off his ship, and jumped over the edge of the deck.

Right as his feet left the metal, an explosion went off.

He was close enough that he got blown outward, away from the ship. 

The prince got burnt a little from the fire and heat, and a few scraps of metal and glass had hit him. He went under the water, struggling to take a final breath. More explosion debris hit the firebender in the water, something even hit his arm and face, but all he could focus on was getting up and away from the still exploding ship.

Zuko gasped when he resurfaced, gulping in fresh air. The adrenaline was numbing any pain he may have felt. 

His ship was up in flames, but at least he had his rucksack. Miraculously, the bag had avoided most of the explosion because he had instinctively turned to face it.

There were flaming debris surrounding him in the water. He needed to get to shore, or the dock, as fast as possible.

The wounded prince swam as best as he could with his heavy robes soaked with water limiting his movement.

Finally, when he made it to shore, he found his uncle, standing in front of the now smoldering ship, head bowed in mourning.

Zuko never wanted to see that look on his uncle’s face again.

He tried to yell out to his uncle that he was alright. But, his throat protested this, and all that came out was a weak cough-whine that was overshadowed by the sounds of parts of his ship still burning. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off.

The firebender looked around him, desperately, for something that might make noise, or something to throw at his uncle, to get him to look . But there was nothing within immediate reach, and his body was exhausted.

He huffed and puffed, dragging himself toward what was left of the dock.

The prince tried yet again to make a loud noise. To do something with his useless throat, but again, unsuccessfully, his throat protested and he barely made a quiet grunt.

His uncle still stood there, quietly.

Zuko let out a whine in between his panting, finally reaching the edge of the dock, and smacked it as hard as he could with some piece of metal he found nearby.

That made a loud noise. It was loud enough that it attracted his uncle’s attention.

His uncle…

Black spots danced in and out of his vision, and he leaned onto the dock as his uncle came, rushing to his side.

His uncle encircled his arms around him, and Zuko allowed himself to relax in the embrace, wrapping his arms around the older man.

And oh. The man looked so relieved and so happy and grateful to see him again. Zuko felt his good eye welling up, but his uncle didn’t mention it.

“Prince Zuko,” Iroh sniffled, burying his face in his shoulder, “I thought I lost you.”

He let the older man bask in the embrace for a moment longer. The dark spots were still in his vision, which was swimming now, and he could feel blood (and seawater) dripping down his body.

Maybe… his uncle wouldn’t mind him taking a nap. He could rest… just for a little while.

The world went dark as his uncle continued to murmur into his shoulder.

—

Well… that could have gone better.

Being unable to talk was turning out to be even more inconvenient than he had thought.

As he mused, he carried The Avatar’s unconscious body along the snowy fields surrounding Agna Qel'a.

There was an ongoing blizzard, and he was using the fire breathing technique his uncle had taught him in preparation for the North Pole.

He never really thought that breathing would make that much of a difference, like his uncle often said, but he was wrong and this may be the only thing keeping him alive.

He breathed deeper, and recalled how he had wanted to snark at the Avatar’s waterbending companion, but couldn’t.

He had decided to go for stealth and snuck up on her instead of shouting an insult like he normally would have. It definitely caught her off guard, but then she had caught him off guard when he realized how much her skills had improved since he last saw them.

She had almost won after encasing him with ice, but then the sun rose and Zuko was strong enough to break out and snatch the glowing Avatar away.

Point was, it sucked that he couldn’t say any witty remarks in response to the waterbender’s jeers.

She had hounded him about why he hadn’t said anything, and why he was still chasing them and this and that.

Honestly, it kind of seemed like she really needed to blow off some steam and say some of the things she had been shouting.

Zuko pushed this to the side though after finally taking note of some shelter off in the distance.

The prince continued his trek in the snow, shivering. His breath of fire wasn’t working as well now, considering he was as tired and cold and injured as he was.

Once at the ice cave, he set the airbender down on the ground, tied him up, and started a fire with whatever he could get his hands on. 

The fire gave off minimal heat, and Zuko breathed a sigh of relief. It was better than nothing.

He looked at the bald monk lying on the ground with his limbs bound.

Zuko was a firebender, and firebenders tended to run warmer than other benders and non-benders. 

If he was this cold…

The firebender rolled his eyes. There was no need to feel compassion for the one person standing in his way of getting home.

But… if The Avatar died…

Zuko let out a small grunt of annoyance and heaved the smaller boy into his arms, before depositing him close to the fire.

He didn’t dare put the airbender any closer out of fear his clothes might catch fire.

After a moment, Zuko pressed a cold hand to the monk’s forehead, which was far colder than his hand.

The prince sighed again, hoping the fire would be enough to warm the other by itself.

After a moderate amount of time, he pressed his hand, once again, to the boy’s forehead to check if he had gotten any warmer.

He was either the tiniest bit warmer now, or Zuko’s own temperature had dropped. Regardless, the monk’s body heat wasn’t rising fast enough for the firebender’s liking.

Didn’t he once hear about treating potential hypothermia victims with body heat from another living being?

Zuko shuddered at the cold, looking down to the other.

Maybe…? 

He took a seat next to him, pressing his legs to The Avatar’s.

It didn’t feel like enough. Maybe he could try to do something else? Like holding a small flame nearby on the kid’s side?

He did that, cupping a small fire in his palm and holding it near the airbender’s side. He took extra care in making sure the flame didn’t spread outward or grow larger than he wanted. 

He glanced at the other’s face, arrows and eyes still glowing a soft white that lit up the surrounding cave a little less than the fire he had made.

After a while, Zuko could feel his body growing heavy with exhaustion. 

Using his breath of fire on the way to the cave and then controlling a small flame so no sparks flew and accidentally burnt the unconscious body he was trying to warm had taken a lot out of him, on top of the cold and injuries he had sustained.

He brushed his hand on the other’s forehead once more, pleasantly surprised to note that the airbender seemed to be at a normal body temperature at last.

He squashed the flame in his palm, no need to spend any more energy and chi on this.

The prince slumped against the wall, fatigue finally winning. He was tempted to close his eyes and rest, but didn’t want to.

He glanced between the boy and the blizzard raging outside. They’d probably be there for a while. Maybe he could doze a little.

—

Zuko huffed when he rechecked The Avatar’s temperature. Despite being right next to the fire (Which, looking at it now, it was nothing more than a pile of smoldering ashes.), the boy’s skin had managed to grow cold again.

The prince allowed himself to panic a little, the storm outside was still raging and he had no way of getting the airbender out of the North Pole and to his father, nor did he have anything to rekindle the fire with. On top of those things, the airbender took a weird and out of place breath that concerned Zuko.

Zuko shuffled back over to The Avatar, pressing against him and relighting his hand. He held it close to the boy’s side again, willing the heat to stick this time. He couldn’t keep this up forever. He made sure his palm was mostly between the fire and the boy, just in case his consciousness slipped momentarily.

This was exhausting.

He was already feeling rather bitter about everything, and now The Avatar was trying to die on him?? 

The prince let out another huff, upset. Suddenly, a blinding light whizzed past him and landed on the airbender, engulfing him in the strange glow.

Zuko didn’t let go of the fire in his palm. 

Was that a bad sign? Did something happen to The Avatar? Was Zuko not quick enough?

His questions were answered when the glowing stopped and the boy’s eyes blinked open.

Zuko and The Avatar stared at each other for a long moment in surprise. Then, The Avatar’s gauze traveled down to where the prince still held a flame. 

The firebender squashed the flame, standing up and scrambling away from the other boy, who was still staring at him.

The Avatar raised an eyebrow, “What? Nothing to say?”

Zuko scowled at the other.

“What were you doing with your hand?” The airbender began squirming in his binds.

Zuko was tempted to hold him still, but did not. He knew the ropes would hold well, and The Avatar wasn’t above blasting Zuko across the cave if he approached.

The other shivered, and Zuko could almost see the airbender’s eyes light up in realization. 

The boy’s jaw fell open, and he shouted at Zuko from his place on the floor. “Wait!? Were you trying to keep me warm?!”

He was caught!

Zuko’s scowl turned into a cringe, and he felt blood rush to the unscarred parts of his face. He quickly turned his good side away from The Avatar, hoping the airbender wouldn't notice the blush creeping up on his neck.

This was embarrassing. He sort of wanted to die, just to get away from this situation.

The Avatar was unaffected, and seemed to light up even more at Zuko’s reaction. “So you were!”

The boy began inching (if this were any other situation, Zuko would have laughed at how ridiculous he looked) as best as he could over to the firebender, babbling on with questions that the prince wasn’t particularly inclined to answer.

Just then, the snow near the entrance to the cave began moving on its own, and before Zuko could blink, he was encased in ice up to his neck, then thrown to the floor and covered in snow.

The prince shivered, he could feel his body temperature rapidly dropping, and paired with his prior exhaustion and overusing his bending, his grip on consciousness was slipping away.

His eyes closed against his will, and the last thing he registered was talking nearby.

—

“You’re alive!?”

Of course that’s what Zhao decided to focus on most. 

Not the fact that he had angered a very powerful spirit. Not the fact that Zuko was about to whoop his ass. Not the fact that he had just admitted to trying to assassinate the crowned prince of the Fire Nation.

Zuko’s lips curled into a sneer, and he charged at the Admiral.

—

The fish had just… taken Zhao. And Zhao had let it happen.

That was… Zuko didn’t know how to feel about it.

On one hand, Zhao was a terrible man and shouldn’t have as much power as he did, but on the other, he was still one of Zuko’s people.  

He was still a prince, his duty was still to his people.

But… he had offered his hand and Zhao had rejected it.

Chapter Text

Aang was even more confused than before. He had woken up to Zuko pressed against him, trying to keep him warm in a cold cave, despite the prince looking close to death himself.

Katara had come to his rescue and froze the firebender. (But… the teen had mostly been staring at Aang. He hadn’t moved to attack him once. )

And! The teenager still hadn’t said anything! Not a single word! Even when Aang was word-vomiting in a way that made even his own friends want to smack him!!

He had begged Katara to bring Zuko along, even mentioning that the prince had exhausted himself trying to keep Aang from freezing to death. That seemed to confuse the waterbender, and ultimately she had agreed.

Sokka had protested, but quieted down after a word or two from his sister. 

Then, they took off to go fight the Fire Nation admiral. And both the admiral, and Zuko had disappeared.

And now here Aang was, flying over the ocean to some Earth Kingdom general.

If anything, Zuko’s actions in the cave had only served to further confuse the monk, and the stress was starting to visibly show.

He lightly tugged on Appa’s reigns when land finally came into view.

Aang decided to leave the matter alone to digest at a later date. (Again)

—

Zuko was thinking by himself. 

Azula had found them and told them that father wanted them home…

Home…

She had been shocked to discover Zuko couldn’t use his voice anymore, but the shock was quickly covered up by something else. There was a glint in her eyes that wasn’t there before once she knew he was mute.

Zuko didn’t want to think about that.

This could be a set up, but… he wanted so, so badly to believe that it was true.

He shoved his doubts to the side. Father wanted him home!

—

Azula always lies. Azula always lies. Azula always lies-

Dammit!

Of course it was too good to be true! Why would anything that came out of his sister’s mouth be genuine?! She always lies!

How could he have been so stupid? She’d been like this since they were kids! She’s always lied!

And to think, he really believed her! 

He had failed so many times! Of course his father didn’t want him back! Who would want a failure like him for a son??

And then she went and mocked him, and told him he could never amount to anything important because he couldn’t speak.

Her words…

No! Azula lies! It’s what she does best! She literally just lied to try and trick him! How could any of her words have any merit?!

But… maybe she had a point. Being a Firelord would be incredibly hard if he couldn’t speak.

He slumped further down against the tree he sat on.

His uncle cast him a worried look from where he was setting up a campfire and called out to him.

“Prince Zuko! Come join me by the fire!”

He really didn’t want to. He was perfectly content brooding. But, when he glanced at the older man’s face, his resolve broke. 

He stood, stumbling over to the campfire, and his uncle poured him tea.

Tea??? Where did his uncle even get the pot- 

Nevermind. His uncle was a mystery and Zuko didn’t have the strength to ponder over questions he wouldn’t get answers to.

The older man took a sip from his own cup and gave Zuko a gentle smile.

He… really didn’t deserve this kindness. This was far too much for a failure and a disgrace like himself. He was only really weighing his uncle down-

Said man cleared his throat, and the teen realized he must have asked a question.

He tilted his head, and his uncle sighed and repeated the question, “Prince Zuko, would you like to talk about whatever’s troubling you? You have been sulking on that tree for the better part of an hour, and it seems to be worse than your normal mood swings.”

Zuko could tell that the retired general was trying to lighten the mood and get him to open up, but he really didn’t feel like talking about it right now. 

He shook his head, then turned away. He missed the frown that crossed his uncle’s face.

“Alright, nephew. But my old ears are always open if you ever need.” The man dropped the subject.

—

“Hey! Come back!”

Aang had just seen a young girl and a flying boar. He sprinted, using his airbending to his advantage, when he turned a corner and had to stop. He stumbled in shock, falling backward into the mucky water.

“ Zuko? ” He whispered, mostly to himself.

The Blue Spirit gave no reaction. Standing tall, he stared down at Aang from his place on the tree root.

A purple butterfly fluttered into the airbender’s vision, and his attention snapped to it. It was very out of place, and Aang couldn’t help himself. But, when he looked back up, the Blue Spirit was gone.

What just happened??

—

Zuko was unhappy with how things were going. 

He was tempted to break out his Blue Spirit mask and dual dao swords (he had stashed them away before leaving for the North Pole, then recollected them), but a lot of the people he observed looked like they needed money just as much as he and his uncle did. 

And, they still had a coin or two left over in his bag from when he transferred the items in his rucksack to a sturdier bag that also happened to be easier to carry.

He coughed weakly, and his uncle began to fret over his health while seated next to him on the street.

—

Zuko… was not doing well. At all. And he couldn’t lie to himself any longer that he wasn’t sick. Lying on a cave floor, burning up, really helped put things into perspective.

His uncle had been taking care of him the whole time. 

Something ugly and disgusting, that had previously settled deep in his gut, reared it’s head.

He couldn’t stay with his uncle. He had to leave. Azula was right, and he would never amount to anything. He would only ever drag his too kind uncle down with him. They could hardly afford food, and two mouths were harder to feed than one.

And what of The Avatar? He was in no position to ever return home now, so, really, what was the point of chasing them?

Not to mention, The Avatar was just a child. He looked younger than his sister, so why was he the most wanted person in the Fire Nation?

Maybe… if he couldn’t do anything for his nation, maybe he could do some good elsewhere? He had seen all sorts of horrible injustices that were ignored or pushed under a rug. And if he were to do this, he wouldn’t need a voice.

Zuko smiled the tiniest bit to himself, his mind was now set.

He took a few more days to recover, so the fever was lessened. 

Then, after he knew his uncle had fallen asleep, he took out a parchment paper he had managed to snatch off some passerby on the street, and grabbed a piece of still hot charcoal from the smoldering fire pit. 

His uncle slept on his side nearby, facing the wall, away from the teen.

He began to write, chewing on his lip to keep the pained expression that threatened to flash across his face at bay.

Uncle,

I think we need to part ways, so I can figure out my own path.

It was a bullshit, pathetic excuse and he knew it. He just hoped his uncle would believe it.

I’ve been thinking a lot, and I have a feeling I need to be on my own, to figure things out. Thank you for taking care of me, I wish I could say that out loud.

        -Zuko

The prince chewed his lip thoughtfully, glancing between the sheet and his uncle a few times. He set the note down on a warped stone that stuck a little further out of the ground than the rest.

He turned to his uncle and bowed low, as low as he possibly could while being slightly feverish and woozy still.

Finally, he grabbed his small bag, filled only with his mask and swords, and headed away.

—

Something was wrong.

Iroh’s eyes blinked open, and when there was no more noise he sat up.

He had awoken to a gentle skrtch skrtch skrtch ing noise and lied still. After a bit, the noise stopped, he heard clothes ruffle, then some footsteps that got further and further away.

The man surveyed the area, noting the lack of his Nephew and his Nephew’s bag first. 

That… was not a good sign.

The firebender’s gauze fell on the piece of paper that had not been there before. He quickly rose, feeling a sinking pit in his stomach. 

He grabbed the note, skimming through it, then re-reading it to confirm what he had just read.

“ Oh, nephew …”

Iroh breathed out a shaky breath. He looked around the cave they had been dwelling in for the past few days, and noted that his nephew had also left him the ostrich-horse.

He began to pack all they had, quickly gearing the mount up.

His nephew wanted to separate? That was fine. It may even be good for him. But Iroh would be following to make sure nothing happened, and that the boy made the right decisions. 

—

Aang finally had his answer of who the girl he had seen in the swamp was, but he was no closer to figuring out why he had also seen the Blue Spirit.

That is, until he came across a wanted poster.

He was alone, exploring Gaoling and scoping the area out in general. Currently, he was by an entrance, just outside of the city. 

The airbender blinked, gently plucking the piece of parchment off the notice board. 

Wanted

The Blue Spirit

There was a surprisingly well drawn picture of the mask, along with the dual dao swords. The swords were crossed behind the mask in an X. It reminded Aang vaguely of a skull and crossbones.

Dead or Alive

Highly dangerous and always armed. Non-bender. Enemy of the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.

Reward:

Hold on a second, there was a bounty?? Did Zuko know?

What… what was Zuko doing ??

It occurred to the monk just how long it had been since he had last seen the prince. He glanced around him, before crumpling the paper up and hiding it in his clothes.

Aang would have to revisit this later, for now though, he was busy with gaining an earthbending teacher. (She was cool, but man was she stubborn)

—

The last thing Toph was expecting when she felt someone nearby was for it to be an old man (and an ostrich-horse?) following who he assumed was his nephew, but, here she was, having tea with the guy.

But, he wasn’t condescending, and he didn’t see her as weak or fragile, so she had warmed up to him quickly.

He had actually given her some pretty solid advice, and had shared a little bit about himself and his nephew. 

Like how he wasn’t completely sure it was his nephew, but he had a hunch. And:

“Many things have happened in his life recently. There have been a lot of big changes. And he was actually so stubborn that when he left, he was still getting over an illness.” The old man had laughed at that, but it sounded a little sad.

“I worry that he may never realize that honor is his own, and not something one can be given. He is still trying to find his way, and how to be his own person. But, if he needs me, I’ll be there.” There was a smile in his voice, and Toph smiled in response.

“Your nephew is very lucky, even if he doesn’t know it.” She had responded.

After thanking him for the tea and words of wisdom, and suggesting a few words of wisdom of her own, she was on her way to find her new friends.

—

Zuko was… very tired, to put it bluntly. 

His fever had come and gone, but most recently, it seemed to be getting worse.

Zuko had been traveling the Earth Kingdom on foot, and it really wasn’t helping with his sickness. What was wrong with him, anyways?? One day he’s fine, then the next he’s on his knees, gasping for breath. And he was having strange dreams, too.

He had also begun to make a name for himself, helping Earth Kingdom peasants behind the facade of The Blue Spirit.

He had actually ended up revealing his identity to an Earth Kingdom family he had been staying with, when he defended them. They shunned him once they knew he could create fire. 

The prince tried to not let it hurt him. But, there was only so much pretending that he could do.

The firebender had been tracking The Avatar for a few days now after hearing word that his sister was following him on their father’s orders.

Not because he might've been worried for the bald monk. It was just because he needed to get back at his sister. No other reason.

Finally, he reached an abandoned town, the fighting had already begun and buildings were being lit on fire and blown apart. He quickly donned his mask and blades before jumping into the fight.

Both The Avatar and his sister had looked surprised for a second when they saw him, likely not expecting it. 

But then the look in Azula’s eyes hardened and she was aiming everything she had at him.

“How surprising! Two of the Fire Nation’s most wanted in the same place at the same time! The Firelord will be so overjoyed.” 

Zuko suppressed a shudder and glanced at the airbender who was trying his best to get the Princess to focus on him again, but she was not having it, and continued fighting Zuko.

Well, it was more like Azula punching flame after flame at him, and him dodging as fast as he could. He didn’t want to reveal that he could firebend, or both she and The Avatar would get suspicious. Though, judging by the look his sister was giving him, he suspected she was already speculating.

He stumbled a few times due to his fever induced fatigue, and she managed to singe his clothes and get a few burns in.

Eventually, the airbender had enough and blasted her through a wall with his airbending, which allowed the prince a much needed breath.

The adrenaline pumping through his veins was just barely dulling Zuko’s dizziness.

The Avatar shot him a look that he didn’t understand, but before he had time to question it, Azula was shooting fire at them again with a loud battle cry.

—

Somehow, the airbender had ended up buried in rubble, Zuko at his side, trying to pull him free, when Azula stepped into the doorway and lit the building on fire. 

The prince could hardly think with how hot he was and how the world was swimming.

But then, the waterbender, and her brother, and his uncle, and some earthbending girl he’d never seen before were there, and they were outnumbering Azula.

The Princess was on defense now, backed up and into a corner. 

She began talking, raising her hands up in defeat, “I know when I’m beaten, you got me.” 

She continued, “A princess surrenders with honor.”

That felt like that was a jab at him, and he gave her no reaction.

But, Zuko knew Azula. He knew she always lied. He knew she always had an ace up her sleeve.

Instinctively, he tensed, the adrenaline was almost gone now, and the fever was catching up to him, but he knew something was coming.

He just couldn’t tell who Azula would land on.

His body went weak and limp and he fell, right as he heard his sister’s lightning crackle. He could feel it right above him, though. If his body hadn’t given up on him when it did, he most certainly would have died.

Zuko let the warmth of his fever lull him into a little nap, battle sounds and shouting filling the air.

He awoke to quiet whispering. The mask was still on his face, but he had been laid on his back, and something cold and soothing was touching the spots where his sister had burnt him.

His head hurt .

The prince huffed a pained breath, and suddenly two people were standing directly above his face

Zuko panicked, letting his instincts take over as he scrambled to get away.

There was shouting, but his mind was reeling, still slightly confused.

The only thoughts in his mind were that of danger, need to escape, and oh no, there was a fiery hand coming toward his eye. Not again not again not again-

He had almost made it out of the town when he suddenly couldn’t move anymore. His feet were stuck in rocks.

Huh?? What was happening?

The girl in green he saw before was shouting at the others, and he tried to focus on that to ground himself.

“-you crazy?? His heartbeat is so quick and erratic-” He couldn’t quite make it out, but he focused harder, trying to listen, “-clearly spooked the poor guy! Can you imagine waking up with a temperature that high and having two strangers shove their faces in your face??”

The firebender surveyed the group. There was The Avatar, the green earthbending girl, and the water tribe siblings that traveled with The Avatar. He didn’t see his uncle, though he recalled the older man being involved in the fight.

He was confused, but he wasn’t as startled anymore. It was kind of funny to watch this small kid go off on people taller than her like that. The fever haze was mostly gone now. But he still felt exhausted.

“But-” The airbender had tried to protest, only to immediately get chewed out by the earthbender.

The Avatar at least looked a little sheepish, and so did the boomerang guy.

The girl shook her head and looked in his general direction. That was when he noticed how cloudy her eyes were.

She stomped on the ground, and suddenly he could move his feet again.

He shuffled uncomfortably, and suddenly everyone’s attention was on him.

A barrage of questions hit him all at once and he didn’t even know where to start. How could he let them know he didn’t speak??

He held up a hand and all chatter stopped. Thank fuck.

Zuko lowered his hand, then pointed to his throat and shook his head. He hoped that would get the point across.

“You… can’t speak?” Someone asked. (Boomerang guy, he thinks)

He shook his head again.

It was silent for a minute. Then, The Avatar tilted his head and asked with big, confused eyes: “What? Why not??”

Zuko winced under the mask. He really hadn’t wanted to discuss this.

But, his hesitance seemed to make the rest of the group curious too.

“Did you take a vow of silence?” “Were you injured in a big awesome fight?” “Is it something I can heal?” “Were you born that way?”

The group began talking over each other again, and he figured he was never going to get them to leave it alone, nor would he escape, if he didn’t answer somehow (The earthbending girl was making weird faces at him). So, he reached up to the fabric at the base of his chin, and pulled it down to reveal the scar he had obtained on his throat.

They went quiet, except for the girls of the group. 

The waterbender gasped, while the green girl demanded to know what happened. “What?! What’s wrong?? Someone narrate for me, ‘cause my feet can’t see it!”

The waterbender looked like she was shaking as she answered, “He has a scar on his neck. It’s… yeah.”

Zuko pulled the fabric back up, feeling uncomfortable. A heavy silence fell over the group. 

He noticed The Avatar sending him a weird look again. 

Seriously, what was up with all the weird looks??

Zuko shuffled his feet uncomfortably, missing his uncle. He glanced between the group and the edge of the town, though they couldn’t see where he was looking under the mask.

“Okay! Team huddle!” The boomerang guy suddenly shouted, and they all moved away from him, the earthbending girl giving him one last unseeing glance before she turned all the way around.

They muttered amongst themselves, and Zuko realized this was his chance to escape. He pivoted and hurried away as quietly as he could manage. 

His head throbbed again.

Chapter Text

Iroh returned to the abandoned town after retrieving his mount and supplies from where he had stashed them nearby.

It had pained him to leave his nephew (He was assuming, at least) like that, but because of how sick the boy clearly still was, he figured he would be struggling to walk still.

There was a lot of shouting coming from within the town, and the man couldn’t help but feel worried. 

He picked up his pace and hurried to the clearing where The Avatar and his companions were bickering.

“-not my fault he left! I can’t even see!” The young earthbender was currently face to face with the waterbender. (Katara, he vaguely recalled.)

“Don’t you see with your feet?! Wouldn’t you have known he was leaving?? Couldn’t you have earthbent and kept him here?!?” Katara shot back. 

Iroh’s eyes grew wide as he looked around the area for any sign of the masked boy, but found none.

Sensing his distress, the earthbender’s head whipped in his direction, which made the rest of the group also glance his way.

“Oh! You’re back!” The Avatar (Aang) excitedly made his way over to him.

“Hello! I see our masked friend has disappeared?” He voiced his worry out loud, but tried not to let his concern show.

The earthbending girl must have had her suspicions due to their prior conversation, because she shot a sad look of sympathy and apology his way. He wasn’t upset with her for letting his nephew go, though.

“Ah… yeah.” Aang rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly from his spot in front of Iroh, and looked apologetic, too. 

Did he know?

The boy continued, “We were in a group huddle, discussing what should happen when he slipped away.”

“Ah, I see.” Iroh nodded, stroking his beard. “And what was your final verdict? I must admit, I am quite curious.”

Katara spoke up this time, “We were gonna invite him to join us, he seemed pretty sick and by himself. I also didn’t finish healing all his burns before he got spooked.” 

The girl looked troubled at this, and her brother (Sokka) rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

Iroh nodded again, “Well, I should be on my way now.”

The earthbender winced and spoke up, “You’re still tracking your nephew, right? Good luck.”

The man made himself smile, despite the looks of surprise he received from the rest of the group. “Yes, I am. Thank you.”

—

Zuko’s uncle rode off into the distance on his ostrich-horse. 

Aang felt guilty. 

That was Zuko’s uncle, and Toph had said he was looking for his nephew. And his nephew had been right there. But Aang had let him get away.

Not only that, but?? Zuko had a bounty, and had just fought his sister with Aang. And the last time he captured Aang, he kept him warm in the ice cave. 

Seriously?? Whose side was Zuko on??

He pushed his thoughts aside and turned to the earthbender, noticing the Water Tribe siblings doing the same. 

“You knew Zuko’s uncle this whole time?” Sokka was the first to speak, voice rising in pitch.

“Who’s Zuko? I met that old man after our fight, and he gave me tea and good advice, then told me he was following his nephew.” His earthbending teacher scrunched up her face.

Katara and Sokka both went quiet, so Aang spoke up.

“Zuko is the prince of the Fire Nation. He’s been following us since I woke up from the iceberg. But, he hasn’t been around much lately, and the last time he captured me, he tried to keep me from freezing to death. 

“That old man is Zuko’s uncle, and he’s been traveling with him the whole time, but he hasn’t really tried to capture me, and he even went against some admiral when the admiral tried to kill the moon spirit.”

Toph blinked at him, digesting the information she was just given.

Katara spoke up this time, “Zuko’s bad news, and if his uncle is nearby, that means he’s probably nearby.”

Aang kind of wanted to laugh at that. Katara had no idea how right she was.

Actually… Aang should probably tell them all about it. It had slipped his mind the first time at Pohuai Stronghold, and now that it happened again, he should really say something.

“Um, guys-” He began, but was cut off when his friends began talking over each other. 

Well, maybe he could wait until things were settled.

—

Everything was so hot…

Zuko coughed weakly behind his mask. He really should just take it off. 

His unhealed injuries stung.

He stumbled, tripping over nothing. Once he was righted, he tripped again, this time over a tree root. 

The prince could hardly breath, and he was wheezing and gasping for air.

He didn’t bother to catch himself and remained on the ground. Though, the firebender turned his head to the side to breathe properly.

Everything was hot. His clothes, the ground, his mask, the breaths of air he huffed out.

His body trembled, even though he didn’t feel cold, and his head pounded.

Through the fog of his fever, he distantly heard sounds of the forest. 

Rays of sunlight peeked through the leaves, and animals made noise. He could tell it was a nice day.

Zuko felt like he was boiling alive.

It was too hot.

He felt exposed and vulnerable lying on the ground like this, but his limbs —which were now twitching and spasming— were too weak and tired to move.

The prince let out a little whimper.

This is pathetic. He shouldn’t be acting like this over a measly little cold.

His body however, did not listen to him, and he felt a wave of exhaustion pass over him.

He kind of wished his uncle had recognized him under the mask, and had demanded he come with the older man. But he had been gone when Zuko had awoken.

He tried his best to squash down the feelings of hurt he felt.

Clouds began to cover up the sun, and the firebender blinked tiredly off into the distance.

Distantly, he felt his eyes close and his consciousness slipped away.

—

Something felt off as they wandered through the forest.

For whatever reason snoozles needed to catch some food, so here they were, traveling on foot while he wandered a little ways away, trying to catch something with a pulse.

Pulse… 

Her eyes widened as she picked up a weak and stuttering pulse nearby. “Guys!”

Everyone’s attention snapped to her, and she began hurrying over to the faint heartbeat.

She stopped right in front of someone, they were breathing little gasps of air and she could feel them trembling on the ground.

The others were right behind her and let out their own gasps at the sight.

“It’s him…” Katara breathed.

“He doesn’t look too good.” Sokka added.

Aang stayed quiet, but she could feel his pulse quicken like the water tribe siblings’.

Toph huffed, “Who is it?” She couldn’t tell who it was because their heartbeat was stuttering and barely beating.

“It’s the mask guy!” Sokka shouted, and Toph could hear the fear in his voice. 

Man, he must look as bad as his heartbeat sounded.

Katara moved, and Toph heard her uncap her waterskin to start healing the masked stranger, when said stranger suddenly jerked up and awake.

“Not so fast, Masky.” She bent rock-cuffs on his wrists and ankles to keep him from running away again. 

His heartbeat quickened at this, and although she felt a little bad, she didn’t pay it much attention. 

He seriously needed help right now. 

His uncle was worried about him.

Katara muttered her thanks and began to work on the guy, kneeled at his side. She barked some orders to Sokka, demanding he grab some things from Appa’s saddle and help her out.

The masked guy squirmed for a little bit, heart skyrocketing to rates she wouldn’t have thought possible considering his condition. 

Though, eventually he seemed to simmer down and quit squirming. The earthbender couldn’t tell if it was because he was exhausted, or he realized they were helping, not hurting.

She didn’t remove the cuffs though, he wasn’t getting up in the middle of a healing session again.

Toph turned her concern to Aang while Katara worked. He had been very quiet the whole time. It was suspicious. 

She dragged tugged him a little ways away by his sleeve.

Once she was sure they were still in view of the others, but far enough they wouldn’t hear if they spoke in low tones, she turned to face him.

“Alright, what’s up with you? You’ve been acting weird about this guy.” 

The other boy’s heartbeat picked up again, but she stared in his direction, giving her best glare.

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Toph.” He sighed.

She punched his arm, “Bull! You better tell me what’s up right now, Twinkletoes.”

“Okay, fine. I was gonna talk about it with everyone together earlier, but, you were all talking over each other. And I-” 

She punched his arm again, harder this time. He yelped, and she could hear the fabric rustling as he rubbed where she had hit him.

“Quit stalling and get to the point.”

Toph felt him flinch at that. 

“Sorry, sorry. Anyways, the masked guy is Zuko.”

Toph rolled her eyes, just for show. “No shit sherlock.”

“What?! You knew too?”

“No, but based on my conversation with Uncle Tea and how sick this guy is, I was kind of expecting it.” She felt a little bad she hadn’t learnt the old man’s name, but Uncle Tea was an incredibly fitting nickname, and she planned on calling him by it even if she did find out his name.

Aang hummed in thought, then spoke again, “I wanted to ask about that. What exactly did his uncle say?”

“Well, he told me it’s okay to rely on others, then mentioned that he was following his nephew, who had left while he was sick. Then, I told him to tell his nephew that he loved and needed ‘im, thanked him for his tea, and left.”

“So… the sickness and Uncle Tea being nearby is what made you guess?” Aang asked, and Toph felt a little pride at how quickly her nickname had been picked up.

She nodded in confirmation. “Mmhhhmm. Even while he was fighting the crazy chick with us earlier, I could feel how erratic and not-normal his heartbeat was. He passed out in the middle of the fight. It’s actually way weaker than it was before, which is why I didn’t realize it was the same guy.”

“Well, there’s actually more I wanted to say.” The airbender spoke softly now, “Zuko… he broke me out of a Fire Nation stronghold a while ago while wearing that disguise. The only reason I knew it was him was because an arrow hit his mask off and he was unconscious. I re-tied his mask and he… let me go after.”

Toph tapped her chin in thought, “You said you wanted to tell the others?”

“Yeah.” He still spoke softly. 

She could feel the air shift as he nodded.

“Well, I don’t know if we should. Sugar Queen already said she disliked him, I don’t think she’d like traveling with him if she knew. Plus, isn’t he in disguise for a reason? Shouldn’t it be on his terms that he reveals his identity, or whatever?” Toph felt like it might be more of a personal matter. Especially considering the guy couldn’t speak.

Aang hummed quietly, “Should I tell them about the bounty, then? I mean, we’ll probably find more posters, especially now that he fought Azula.” 

“Bounty?” Toph parroted, she hadn’t heard anything about that.

“Oh! Yeah,” She heard the rustling of paper and felt him moving. “I found this wanted poster with a reward for his capture. I don’t know if he knows yet.”

“We could probably tell Snoozles and Sugar Queen, unless it says ‘Zuko is under that mask’ on it.”

“Okay.” She felt his foot tap on the ground as he shifted his weight. She could tell he was debating the pros and cons of what he wanted to say next. Toph heard the crumpling of a paper (Probably the wanted poster) and the rustling of fabric as he —she assumed— put it back in his clothes. She knew he was just stalling for time, though.

Aang finally spoke after another pause, “By the way… I’m… actually not sure what side he’s on. Which is why I was wanting to tell you all. But, I want to believe he’s on ours now.” 

Toph hadn’t thought about that. “At least I know now, and we can both keep an eye on him. Snoozles and Sugar Queen don't need to know yet. And… I mean… you could ask him? So far, you said he’s been nice both with and without the mask, and you also said that both times the mask was on, he wasn’t attacking you. Plus, he’s pretty sick right now, and probably can’t put up much of a fight. If he turns out to be trouble… maybe we can keep him prisoner? Or something?”

She heard Aang take a breath to speak, but was interrupted by Sokka running over to them, yelling about meat? She didn’t really pay attention, she could care less.

Between nodding in agreement to Sokka, Aang leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Thanks Toph.”

Toph nodded. “Anytime, Twinkletoes.”

—

Zuko was still confused.

The Avatar’s group wasn’t currently attacking him and the Water Tribe girl had even healed his burns. He was quite shocked that none of them had taken off his mask, otherwise, he thinks they wouldn’t be willingly helping him.

His fever was a huge hinder in fully comprehending everything that was happening around him, but he definitely understood enough to know that they were traveling and wanted him to come with.

Why?

He was a stranger to them with the mask on, and an enemy with it off.

Why were they so trusting?? How could they trust so easily??

Though, he sometimes caught The Avatar staring at him a little longer than he would think normal. So, maybe they weren’t fully trusting like he thought. He could understand. Having an entire nation hunt you down would probably make you skeptical of anyone trying to join.

But Zuko wasn’t going to try to capture him anymore. He has no place in the Fire Nation now, so there’s no reason for him to chase the boy any longer.

But was he trying to join? This felt more like he was being forced to.

Still, he couldn’t deny the scrutiny hurt.

This mask was supposed to be a barrier, so no one would be able to judge him based on appearances anymore. No one would scream that he was Fire Nation when they saw his eyes , no one would linger a little too long on his scar, no one would give him a pathetic, pitiful look when they noticed his sunken in cheeks and the rags he was wearing.

Unless, it was just The Avatar (Was his name Aang? The fever made it hard to tell) who wasn’t trusting him this time, considering boomerang guy (Sokka, he had managed to pick up) and the waterbender girl (He still didn’t know her name) had seemed fully accepting of him.

He had noted that the earthbender girl (Tall? It was getting a little hard to think.) would sometimes stare in his direction, but she was blind, so he didn’t think too hard on if she was actually thinking about him. Plus, she seemed fully supportive of him “joining”.

His thoughts were interrupted by boomerang boy sliding into his vision. He handed Zuko a cup of water and a bowl of rice with cooked vegetables that the Water Tribe girl had been making while chatting with The Avatar and the earthbender nearby. He didn’t eat it. That would mean he would need to remove his mask, so he just held both items in his hands.

The non-bender plopped down at Zuko’s side, rambling and god, his head hurt .

Zuko wished that he would just get to the point.

“-And your swords! You used them so well! We should spar sometime! Some one-on-one non-bender sparring!”

He… wanted to spar. With Zuko. And thought Zuko was a non-bender.

His vision swam just a little as he tilted his head and shrugged in response. It was the most he could do, considering green girl still hadn’t removed the earth that was tethering his feet to the ground. She had refused when the Water Tribe girl had asked, saying she fully expected Zuko to run again. (She wasn’t wrong but it was beginning to feel like they were kidnapping him.) At least she had removed the ones from his wrists, though.

“Oh, right. You’re still sick. Well! It still applies to once you get better.”

Zuko didn’t know how to feel about that. His well-being was being considered, and it was an odd feeling. His uncle had always considered it, but he was the only one.

“Anyways, we’re gonna start traveling again soon. You’re coming with us, right?” And the boomerang boy looked at him with the biggest lion-puppy eyes he had ever seen. Azula had had some convincing ones when she was younger, but he could always see the malicious intent hidden deep within them, but this guy’s were genuine.

He wanted to say no. To shake his head. To refuse. But before he could, the waterbender answered for him.

“Of course he is, Sokka. He’s too sick to be on his own.”

Fuck. This wasn’t good. He really shouldn’t travel with people who considered him an enemy.

Maybe… Maybe he could teach The Avatar firebending? The kid hardly knew how to wield water and the prince had yet to see him earthbend. (That must be why Tall is traveling with them. To teach him earthbending.) He wasn’t trying to hunt The Avatar any more, and he should probably learn some firebending in case he needed it-

“Say, what’s up with the mask, eh?” He could have sworn The Avatar perked up when his mask was mentioned, but he had no time to think about it because the water tribe boy elbowed Zuko’s arm hard from where he sat beside him and the bowl and cup the firebender had been holding both went flying straight into the ground.

Zuko’s eyes lingered a little on the spilled rice and vegetables, before turning back toward the very apologetic looking teen.

“Sorry! I’ll grab you another bowl- uh-” The other sprang from his spot on the ground and scooped the bowl and cup from the ground before hurrying over to his sister.

Zuko watched with vague amusement as the waterbender scolded her brother on being more careful. And soon enough, the other was back with another bowl and cup, face pinched up in an apologetic wince.

Odd.

“Here you go, Masky. Sorry again about knocking those out of your hands, I didn’t mean to.” Zuko winced under his mask at the nickname as he, once again, went back to just holding the items.

The blue eyed boy looked at him weird when he resumed holding items. Then, his eyes widened and he smacked a hand against his forehead. “Right. The mask. You haven’t taken it off, so you probably wanna eat by yourself so you don’t have to show us, huh?”

That would be wonderful. Thank god this guy was smarter than Zuko gave him credit for sometimes.

He nodded, almost a little too eagerly. But, the other didn’t have a chance to say anything else before a wall of earth sprung from the ground beside him, separating the both of them.

The prince could hear some yelling from the other side, but it was too muffled and the wall was too high for him to make it out.

After a minute, the wall parted just enough for the earthbender to waltz through before closing behind her.

“I’m blind, so you can eat with your mask off.” That… made sense. He still hesitated, casting a glance toward the wall.

“Don’t worry,” She plopped down in front of him, facing the wall. Her hands were touching the ground beneath her. “I’ll make sure no one tries to peak. And when the mask is back on you can tap me or hit the ground or something so I know everything’s good.”

Wow, she had really thought ahead.

He hesitated once more before removing the blue mask and digging in to his meal.

She talked while he ate, once or twice moving a fist or foot as she spoke. Whenever she did, he heard a loud yelp from the other side of the wall.

When he was almost halfway done with his meal, she turned to him, tilting her head. Her unseeing eyes looked directly through him, but it felt like she was staring at his soul.

The unease he felt was gone as quickly as it had come, because she shifted and threw her legs over his legs and leaned back onto the ground with her hands behind her head in a display of casual comfort.

“Mind if I ask some questions? You can tap me or the ground once for yes and twice for no.”

Zuko blinked, arm stopping mid air, still holding his fork.

She… had thought out how to communicate with him.

He felt his good eye well up a little bit, but blinked it away and tapped the ground twice.

He did not mind if she asked questions, but he wouldn't guarantee an answer for all of them. The prince resumed eating, moving his bowl and cup to his lap and the ground so he had one hand free to answer her.

“Cool.” Green girl’s expression turned serious, “First thing’s first: Are you on our side? You don’t have any bad intentions, right? You weren’t fighting that crazy stalker with us just 'cause you had a personal grudge against her and we happened to be there at the same time, right?”

Oh, good, this one was easy to answer.

He was definitely on their side now. And yeah, maybe he had a little bit of a bone to pick with his sister, but there was no way he could go back to the Fire Nation now.

He tapped once on the ground, because yes he was on their side and had no ill intent, and instantly, the girl’s expression softened.

She smacked the palm of her hand against the dirt below the two of them and the bindings on his legs were gone.

Wow, that was a lot of trust to be dishing out. She hardly knew him.