Dreams

The boy laughed, danced in front of him, reminded him that he was forever out of his reach. Every time Zuko stepped forward the Avatar would move further away from him. So close yet so far; smiling yet taunting.

Zuko dropped onto his knees, defeated. The grief was almost unbearable. He'd never go home, never regain his honour, never have the chance to rule the Fire Nation, never see his father again.

The Avatar glided closer to him, still wearing that unbearably cheerful smile. "You're not giving up are you?" Zuko bowed his head and didn't reply. His eyes closed as he readied himself for the gloating taunts. He wouldn't give the boy the pleasure of seeing him cry.

Zuko was surprised when he felt a hand on his cheek and heard the Avatar talking to him gently. "Never forget who you are Zuko; never stop trying." Zuko was angered that the Avatar would ever dare to repeat his mother's words. His anger dissipated as the Avatar began to speak again. "Never stop chasing me."

Then the Avatar did something totally unexpected. He kissed him.

Zuko awoke abruptly. His heart was pounding and a cold sweat had broken out over his body. The last scene of his dream – no – nightmare, kept replaying in his mind. It was the same every night. The Avatar would lean forward and…

Zuko got up and jammed his feet into his boots before heading up onto the deck of the ship. He desperately needed some fresh air.

It was still the middle of the night and there was nobody about. Zuko was able to lean against the railing and stare into the darkness before him without being disturbed. He shivered as the cold air passed over his naked chest. In his haste to escape the confines of the ship's hull he had forgotten to put on a shirt.

As he stood there silently Zuko's thoughts returned to his dream. Recurring dreams were supposed to mean something. What did his mean? There was no possible way it could have the obvious meaning. Zuko would not entertain such a ridiculous idea. But why else would that kiss haunt him like it did?

Iroh watched his nephew from the doorway. He was worried about Zuko and his nightmares. Zuko would not confide in him what they were about but Iroh could see that whatever it was about had shaken him severely.

It wasn't the first time Zuko had been plagued by bad dreams. After he was banished Iroh had often been awoken by his screams. Every night the Fire Duel would be replayed in his nephew's mind and all Iroh could do to help was pat his shoulder when he awoke in a cold sweat.

These dreams were different though. For one, whenever Iroh enquired about the nightmares Zuko would blush and brush Iroh off. This indicated that the dreams were disturbing but not horrifying. It made Iroh wonder if his nephew's hormones were playing a part in this gross disruption of sleep. Maybe Zuko had acquired a love interest that he didn't want? Or perhaps he was just scared because he was dreaming about doing something entirely inappropriate with a faceless woman? Either way, the only way Zuko was going to overcome these problems was by talking about them. No good would come about if Zuko kept everything bottled up inside.

With a sigh Iroh returned to his quarters, deciding it was best to let his nephew come to his own decisions about this subject. Meanwhile, Zuko stood at the rail as if no time had passed since he had first arrived.

"Prince Zuko, we have spotted the Avatar!"

Zuko spun around in the direction the soldier was pointing. He opened up his telescope and searched the sky for the notorious flying bison. He soon spotted the creature landing not that far away. He closed his telescope and turned to face the helmsman. "Follow the Avatar; full speed!"

The helmsman nodded and the ship began to glide faster through the water. Zuko's eyes were once again locked onto the place where the Avatar had been heading. He was so close. This time the Avatar would not escape. Even if Zuko was suffering from lack of sleep he would not let such a thing stand in the way of his honour. This time the Avatar was his – for good.

Appa landed in a forest close to a river. The three travellers and Momo gratefully climbed off the bison's back and started to stretch their disused legs. "Do you think we should set up camp here or just take a break before moving on?" Sokka asked the others.

"I think we should stop here since we're hidden and close to a stream," Katara voiced as she looked around the sight.

"Yeah, I doubt Zuko could find us here," Aang added.

"Good point," Sokka said before starting to organize the others. "I'll go find something to eat; Katara, you help Aang unload Appa then collect the wood for the fire."

"Right away your majesty," Katara said scathingly.

Sokka glared at her before stomping off into the forest. Aang, meanwhile, concentrated on Airbending Appa's saddle off of the bison. His mind wasn't totally on the task though. Something at the back of his mind was bothering him. It had started when he mentioned Zuko. Ever since the young firebender had rescued him from Zhao's fortress he had been unable to get him out of his mind. For a moment Aang felt they had shared a connection. He was still disappointed Zuko hadn't been interested in his friendship.

"Aang! Watch what you're doing!"

The shout broke Aang out of his musings and he quickly dropped the saddle on top of Momo. Luckily Momo was quick to notice the impending danger and managed to escape unharmed. Aang rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oops?"

Now that darkness had descended upon the land Zuko felt ready to launch his sneak attack. The men were in position and awaiting the signal. If they were quiet they could disarm the Avatar and his friends before they knew what hit them.

Everything was going according to plan until some fool stepped on Momo's tail. The little lemur's screech woke up the sleeping teens and alerted them to the danger around them. Zuko cursed under his breath as the Avatar jumped to his feet and blew the nearest soldiers backwards with his Airbending. The Water Tribe Girl and boy were by then also on their feet and preparing to attack.

"Separate them!" Zuko ordered his men, hoping that sheer numbers would be enough to subdue them.

The soldiers were able to follow their orders for once. Katara was pushed away from the river while Sokka was pushed towards it. Seeing his friends were struggling, Aang decided to draw away the soldiers. He jumped up into a tree and shouted, "Hey, over here!" before retreating deeper into the forest.

Zuko made a quick tactical calculation. He sent most of the men into the woods but left a few at the camp to deal with the two teens from the Water Tribe. Zuko joined those pursuing the Avatar, not wanting to miss out on watching his victory unfold.

Aang jumped from tree branch to tree branch, narrowly avoiding being hit by fire blasts and spears. He retaliated by blowing a few soldiers off their feet and then continuing on in a different direction. By the time the soldiers were back on their feet Aang and the others were out of sight.

It took awhile but soon Aang had left them all behind. But, just to be careful, he continued on a ways before deciding that he was safe. Aang jumped down and looked about, wondering in which direction his friends were.

A jet of fire came out of nowhere. Aang had to fall to the ground to avoid being hit. Then, suddenly, his arms were pinned to the ground, a body was pressing down on his own and a pair of deep amber eyes were boring into his soft grey ones. Aang had lost all the soldiers but he hadn't lost Zuko. The young prince had seen the need for stealth and his plan had come to fruition. He had Aang right where he wanted him.

"Hello Avatar," Zuko whispered, his lips curling up in a cruel smirk.

"Zuko," Aang replied coldly. "Get off me."

"Now why would I do that when I have you right where I want you?"

As young and innocent as Aang was, he still knew what a double-entendre was. Monk Gyatso had given him the 'birds and the bees' speech before he'd run away from the Temple. His friend Kuzon had also taught him the meaning of the words 'rape' and 'homosexuality'. It was therefore no surprise that Aang's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened to the size of saucers.

It took a few seconds for Zuko to realize why the Avatar had become silent and rigid. He immediately jerked away from the boy shouting, "Not like that!"

Seeing that Zuko was no longer holding him down, Aang used his Airbending to get back onto his feet. He locked eyes with Zuko who still seemed mortified that Aang would ever think such a thing. Also, was it Aang's imagination or was Zuko blushing? It was hard to tell when there was only the moon's illumination to go by but he could have sworn he saw Zuko's cheeks become darker than normal.

Both teens stood in silence for awhile. Neither one moved a muscle. The atmosphere was tense. Neither knew what to do.

Finally Zuko broke the silence. "Why would you think that?"

Aang blinked, not understanding the question. "What do you mean?"

"Why would you think I meant what I said in anything other than a…" Zuko couldn't think of words to describe what he was trying to say.

"Well, we were in that position," Aang replied, a blush dusting his cheeks.

Zuko was quiet for a moment as he thought about it. He hadn't meant it that way; it had never crossed his mind to use it in that way. He just meant that he'd finally captured him; he'd finally captured the Avatar. He'd finally captured the one he had spent every waking minute thinking about. He'd finally caught the one that haunted his dreams…His dreams…

"It's your fault," Zuko whispered as everything clicked into place.

Before Aang knew what was going on he was thrown back against a tree, Zuko towering above him. Aang looked up in fear as Zuko grasped his arms in a vice like grip. Deep amber eyes that were so close were burning with hatred. And that hatred was all directed at Aang.

"You're the one that has been sending me those dreams, those nightmares!" Zuko accused.

"What dreams? What nightmares?" Aang asked as nails dug through his clothes into his skin.

"The ones where you laugh and taunt me! The ones where I can never reach you! The ones where I'm forever shamed! The ones that always end with you kissing me!"

There was silence between them. Zuko was breathing deeply to calm himself. He was leaning in so closely that his breath ghosted across Aang's face and lips. It made Aang's heart race as he stared into narrowed eyes. Eyes that were filled with a deep loathing as well as something else, something hidden. Aang didn't know what it was about those eyes but he felt himself being pulled in. The next thing either of them knew they were kissing.

Zuko half expected to wake up screaming. It was round about this time that he always awoke from his nightmares. He didn't wake up though. Instead he closed his eyes and loosened his grip on the Avatar's arms. It felt strangely nice to feel soft lips moving against his own, to have someone wrap their arms around him in an intimate embrace. It was strange, but he found himself thinking he could get used to it.

Aang, too, didn't care that he had seemingly lost his mind. After his outburst Zuko was almost gentle with him. He would never have expected any of this from the so-called cold-hearted prince of the Fire Nation. However, it somehow seemed right that Zuko would hold him possessively against him whilst kissing him tenderly.

They broke apart and stared breathlessly into each other's eyes. Slowly, awareness returned to them and they wondered why they had done it. It was all so wrong and yet so right. They were intoxicated by the other's touch, drunk on the ecstasy the kiss had brought about. All they could do was stare and struggle to find a way out of either burning gold or polished silver.

"Is this what your dreams are like?" Aang whispered, scared that if he spoke too loudly the moment would be ruined.

"No, this was much better," Zuko whispered back.

There was silence before Aang spoke again. "What now?"

"I don't know," Zuko replied. "I need to capture you so I can go home."

"And I need to master all four elements to stop the war."

"We can't do both."

Again, silence. "Do you believe in destiny?" Aang asked.

"Of course."

"Everyone's told me that it's my destiny to end the war. The world needs to be at balance – no element is superior to the others. As the Avatar it's my destiny to restore balance. What if it's your destiny to help me? I will need to learn Firebending someday after all."

"But it's my destiny to become Fire Lord," Zuko pointed out.

"If the current Fire Lord is defeated then you will become Fire Lord," Aang opposed.

"But then I'll be fighting my father."

Aang sighed and they lapsed into silence. Why were they both born into the state of being enemies? Why couldn't Zuko be from the Earth Kingdom or one of the Water Tribes so that these decisions could be so much easier to make?

Zuko raised his hand and cupped Aang's cheek. This boy had power over him and he had never realized it until now. A strong bond had now been formed between them and Zuko would never be able to look at the Avatar the same way again. He no longer had the heart to capture him, imprison him against his will. He didn't much feel like letting him go either. He wanted him by his side, with no shackles to restrain him, forever.

Zuko let his hand drop and backed away from Aang. "The Fire Nation and North Pole are a long way away from here," he stated off-handedly. "By any means of travel it will take awhile to reach either destination. Perhaps by the time we reach the crossroads we'll know which the right path to take is."

A smile spread slowly across Aang's face. He moved forward before using his Airbending to reach up and kiss Zuko's cheek. He felt the patch of skin underneath his lips become hot and moved back to see Zuko pretending not to be embarrassed by the whole situation.

"So how are we going to explain all of this to the others?" Aang asked.

"I was thinking if I took you to the ship unconscious there would be no question's asked," Zuko replied evenly.

"I don't think that will sit well with my friends."

"Whoever said they were coming along?"

"Zuko!"

Zuko smirked at the slight whine in Aang's voice. "They're your friends – you've got to deal with it on your own."

"And what are you going to tell your crew?"

Zuko internally winced. He had forgotten that he would now have to explain all of this to his uncle. Zuko was definitely not looking forward to that. "I'll tell them the next man to ask will be thrown overboard."

Aang was disappointed by this reply. One reason for this was because he had wanted to steal ideas from Zuko on how he could explain this to Katara and Sokka. He was also jealous that he couldn't just threaten his friends like Zuko planned to threaten his crew.

Zuko noticed the sour face and smirked. "What's wrong Avatar?"

"It's Aang, not Avatar," Aang corrected him. "And I'm just getting impatient that you're not making a move."

"I'll make a move when we get to the ship," Zuko replied.

Aang blushed and produced a small smile. Then, taking Zuko's hand, they walked back towards the others, one step closer to their true destinies.

I've edited this slightly because when i looked back over it i saw that I'd missed words out. This version is now correct and should make sense.

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