Grand Spectrum

Suffocation had to be the most horrible way to die, Zuko decided as he stepped into the shadows of the trees spreading out around the forest clearing. It was odd that he would have such morbid thoughts after a battle that had been won, especially with the joyous atmosphere of the victory party that was still in full swing on the clearing he had left behind. But Zuko felt that the thoughts were justified, considering just how heavy the pressure weighting down on him in the light of the bonfires had been. If the feeling of being slowly suffocated had been so hard to handle when it was not life threatening, Zuko had to wonder just how it felt like to truly drown.

It had felt so weird, so very wrong to celebrate the death of his own father. Because that was what the people out there were doing, deep down, even when they cheered about freedom and peace. Zuko knew that things were better now; he also knew that a man like his father could not have been stopped unless he was to die. That had been the case with all three Fire Lords that had been leading the war.

Zuko was expected to be different. Of course the prince fully intended to stray clear from continuing in his father's footsteps, but he was still doubting that this truly was the right way to put the warring forces inside himself to rest. Zuko did not really have much faith in his ability to not succumb to Sozin's heritage inside himself even though Aang seemed to have unrelenting trust in him. Even his own uncle had said that the circle would close completely only after Zuko had taken the throne and the old man had not been wrong yet.

Was he truly ready to lead a whole nation, Zuko wondered. Did he really have what it took to bring Fire Nation back to its former glory after a hundred years of war? Zuko truly wished that Iroh would stay by his side at least for the first few years. He would need the man's guidance even though he would not object if his uncle decided to leave the palace to start a teashop somewhere, which was his one true dream, one he had almost accomplished in Ba Sing Se.

A sigh escaped Zuko at the memory as he leaned his back against a tree. Maybe he should go through all the important lessons his uncle had given him throughout the years. The most useful one was probably the one about how the philosophy of one element could be used in understanding the other ones as well. The essence of all the elements together was balance and if Zuko could use that same method in his life then maybe he could bring out an era of peace.

Each element had distinctive features that could be deployed in different areas of dealing with other people, and most of them were clear and easy to recognize. First of all earth was unrelenting, the way one should be when faced with enemies. Zuko had been that when he had faced down Azula for the throne in the Fire Nation palace. And like air, one should be gentle towards friends. That was how Zuko had earned the friendship of Aang and his friends in the first place. And when dealing with people who you needed to get along with even when they were not your friends, you would need to be flexible like water and open for other opinions. Zuko had been all of that and that had helped him get here to this point. But he could not think of anything that would serve as fire's role in the spectrum. Fire was a fierce element and Zuko did not think it was a good idea to act fierce against anyone if one wanted to bring about peace.

"Zuko?" came a soft voice and the prince jumped before turning his surprised gaze to Aang. The Avatar had appeared between two nearby trees and was watching Zuko curiously as the boy questioned: "Why are you out here? Are you having a private party?"

Unable to fight off the smile that came to his face, Zuko felt a wave of fondness that always came whenever he was faced with the young boy. Turning his eyes back to the shadows of the forest the prince spoke: "I just needed some time to think."

"Oh", the boy uttered and there was some shuffling as he came closer to Zuko. "I think I understand. Everything is going to be different from now on."

Slowly, Zuko nodded his head. In the cool, silent night he was very aware of Aang's body moving closer to his own. He had always paid attention to such a thing but there, in that place and at that time, he seemed to have an almost sixth sense that was trained solely on the Avatar.

A weight settled on Zuko's shoulder and the teen turned his face to meet Aang's calm expression, his golden eyes meeting the deep grey ones that reflected silvery light in the night. Somehow, they were both aware of the very things the other had left unspoken; they knew that they shared the same emotions without uttering a single word to each other.

Aang was a caring soul. Zuko knew this and so he was painfully aware of the fact that only Aang would mourn the passing of Fire Lord Ozai in addition to Zuko's own grief. And the Avatar's gentle gaze told Zuko that the younger boy also knew that Zuko was, even if only slightly, sad to know his father was gone.

They were very similar to one another, Zuko and Aang. They thought about the same things and felt the same way about life and the world. They felt the same way about a great number of things, actually, and in Aang's eyes Zuko could see that the notion also included what they held in their hearts for each other. It was only a matter of grasping those feelings and bringing them to light.

Surprisingly it was Aang who moved first, lifting a hand to gently cup the side of Zuko's face and bringing the prince's head down so that their lips could meet in a slow, sensual kiss. Throughout the act they both kept their eyes open, one rare metal meeting another one with an intense look of need.

After pulling back from the kiss Aang continued to stare at Zuko with that same wide-eyed gaze and Zuko met and returned it without the slightest hesitation. A hand slipped inside the firebender's own as Aang started to lead the way further into the woods, Zuko following wordlessly, for nothing needed to be said.

As the shadows grew deeper and larger, the loud sounds of music playing faded away, soon followed by the even louder resonance of laughter until the only sounds Zuko could hear in the forest were the wind and a distant bird, as well as the breathing of two young males, coming in and out in perfect synch.

That night at that place Zuko came to the realization of the essence of the last element. When heated bodies met in a manner that brought a thin line of sweat to the surface of his skin, Zuko felt the fire within himself burn brightly. Buried in tall, moist grass the two benders' bodies moved like their united breaths from moments ago and Zuko felt Aang's passion burn hotly with his own.

Love powerfully and when with the ones you love, burn with a passion that is hot like the flames of the sun. And Zuko burned, burned so much that he was certain that his soul would turn to cinder. And yet he did not care, for Aang burned just as hotly and just as much as him. Their unified passion was a flame that grew from red into the hottest option of white, after which came the wheezing blackness of ashes. With that the circle became complete, and that was when Zuko cried.

The End

Ending Notes: I wrote this thing AGES ago and it was originally supposed to be the second last chapter of MfWAT. I scrapped that idea, though, since I've come to the conclusion that Zuko and Aang are going to be all over each other way before this point. But I liked the philosophy so I decided to turn this chapter into a one-shot.

In case you're wondering about the crying Zuko-bit, I would think Zuko could be a bit overwhelmed emotionaly in a situation like that. I like Zuko angst. That's probably why I write him so tragic.