Zuko looked back into his bedroom. The red canopy of the unmade bed, the working desk cluttered with unlit candles…. It does not look like it's inhabitant is about to leave forever. And yet, he has to. And as long as he has the pictures of the one's he loves with him, and their memories and wisdom safely stored in his heart, he doesn't care – wherever he is; he is home.

So as he turns to leave his life of royalty behind, he place he grew up in, he is stopped by the most unlikely candidate.

"Hi Zuko!" Ty Lee chips, the wide smile on her face looking slightly forced.

"What do you want?" The prince demands, his hands reaching reflexively for his dual swords. He has no time for delays.

The fake smile turns into a mock pout, as the acrobat asks,

"Are you going to kill me, Zuko?"

He is surprised by the tone of her voice. It sounds hurt, cold, and the malicious tone sends an unwanted shiver down his spine as he is reminded of his sister. What happened to the cheerful, bubbly girl he grew up with?

"Hmm…" She says, pressing her lips together. "Now how did I know you would be here? How did I know you were going to leave us all?"

Zuko is thoroughly confused, and has no idea where she is going with this. Doesn't she understand the seriousness of the situation? She should be by his sister's side, defending her from attacks from the avatar's friends.

"If this is some ruse to stall me till Azula gets here-"

"Azula!" the girl shrieks, her eyes narrowing to slits. "No Zuko, this time, it's about me. But of course," She chuckles bitterly, "you don't know me."

She looks him straight in the eye, as her own start to water, but her stream of angry words continues.

"Before you leave, Zuko, I think you should get to know me; so that your memories of this palace aren't scarred by thoughts of a sister who never loved you, a girl friend whom you couldn't take with you, and a girl who is far too chirpy to be the lethal fighter she is.'

Zuko's eyes widen.

"You think I'm stuck in this little Ty Lee world, where everything is perfect all the time! Well, I'm not, and you know what else?" She asks, poking him in the chest, "I. Know. You."

Her narrowed eyes are lined with tears. Zuko is taken aback. How was he to know he took his words to heart?

"Ty Lee," he starts, his intentions sincere, but his actions rushed. "I-"

She knocks the hand reaching for her shoulder away.

"You didn't know?" She completes his sentence, the hurt evident in her voice. "Just because you don't know me doesn't make it true the other way around."

Her voice becomes soft now, with a resigned tone to it.

"When your mother died, and you would find those baskets of your favourite fruit, and those letters that you thought came from Mai because she couldn't come see you under Azula's watch…. They were mine. When you were banished, and you found that portrait of your mother, that's now inside your bag? I put it there. So don't you dare claim that I don't know you. Your uncle's not the only one you've been ungrateful to."

Zuko looks down, ashamed.

"So how did I know you were going to be here? How did I know you have a picture of your mother with you right now? And why did you not know that I would be here to say goodbye?"

"I'm sorry." He says, truly meaning it.

"I know you are." She admits.

"Are- are you coming with me?" He doesn't know what to say.

She purses her trembling lips and shakes her head. He knows what she means. She cannot leave Mai. He wouldn't have it any other way.

"I promise, I'll make it up to you Ty Lee." His smile is genuine, but he cannot ignore the sense of urgency creeping up on him.

"You have to go." She says suddenly. And before he knows it, he is in her arms, being hugged in the most loving and protective way. She simply cannot stand to see him go.

"Goodbye Zuko."

"Goodbye." I rare smile plays on his lips.

And as he turns to leave, he can hear her say softly, "Good luck" and even softer, so that her words might have been but a whisper in the wind,

"I hope you find what you're looking for."