A/N Yes, I'm back. I'm alive. I have writer's block on my other stories. And this story is not funny in the least. What can I say? I'm busy, I'm depressed, home alone, and its dark outside. That always makes things worse.
Anyway, this takes place after Iroh's alleged death. Zuko has recently joined the Gaang, but there are no guarantees that he's going to stay. No, these don't count as spoilers since none of that has happened yet. And if the newest episode (City of Walls and Secrets?) disagrees with anything I said here, sorry, haven't seen it yet.
Unfortunately, there are minor spoilers for Secret of the Fire Nation. Very minor, and if you haven't seen it, you might not even catch them, but they are there.
Dedication: Because you were always there for me when I needed it the least. And you stuck around when I really did need you, too.
Disclaimer: Looks up name of Avatar writers to ask if I look like them to you. Decides to be lazy and puts this up instead.
It would only be a few weeks now. Not much more than a month. And then the Fire Nation would strike the final blow. And the world would end. For Zuko, at least.
And at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to be heroic and selfless and think about how many would die. All that he could think of was that he wasn't even going to reach his seventeenth birthday, much less become Fire Lord and do any of the things he had wanted to do with his life. His life, his world would end.
"Hey." The Avatar walked up beside him.
Go away, Zuko thought. I'm contemplating my impending doom. But what he said was something different.
"What do you want?"
In phrasing.
"I just want to talk." The younger boy raised his hands in a peaceful gesture.
"I don't."
Aang considered that for a moment. He remembered how he had felt when he'd lost Appa. How Katara had helped him through it. What had she said? He couldn't remember any of the words. They had been lost in the chaos of the following days, in the war and confusion and death.
All he remembered was that she had offered him a hug, and he had refused it. He wondered if she had been hurt. Was there still time to apologize? In a few weeks, it might be too late. If he couldn't do this right, it would all end without another chance for anyone.
"I…" Aang paused, wondering how to put this into words. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry. About what happened to your uncle."
Zuko turned and glared at him. Why was this boy so insistent that they were friends?
"I want to get rid of my sister, Avatar. Not save the world. Not be a hero. I just want this to be over."
Hesitation. Aang didn't know what to say. Thoughts flashed into his mind, but no words, nothing that could help Zuko.
"In the… I mean… With…"
"Say what you mean and get it over with," Zuko snapped. He mentally vowed not to listen to anything the Avatar said. It wasn't as if any of this mattered. In a few weeks, it would be the end.
"Since I came to this time, I've met a lot of people," Aang blurted. "I've met a boy who grew up without being able to walk, because of this war. I've met a girl who lost her mother, because of this war. I met people… children, not much older than me, who had to hide abilities that were once considered a blessing, because of this war. I've met people who never once said a happy word never once laughed, because of this war.
"I've met children with losses so great that they were driven insane. Children who refused to speak, because they didn't know anything to say that wasn't terrible. Children who thought that it was their responsibility to protect everyone, even the adults. Children who killed other children, because of where they were born. Because of this war.
"I've met people with only one parent, with no parents at all. I've met people who never knew what peace was like, who grew up, lived, and died in a world that was torn and destroyed by war.
"People like your uncle."
Zuko turned away. He wished that it was easier to ignore this boy. He wished it was easier not to care, even if it was almost the end.
But Aang wouldn't be quiet. He wasn't finished.
"And the odd thing was, I realized that nothing ever really ended. Life didn't stop because of a war. People still got married, they still had children, even in a world that was destroying itself with a war that might never end.
"I met a girl who was born without ever so much as seeing a sunrise, but who still laughed, and joked, and Bended like any other kid. I met a boy who was hardly old enough to be trusted to go to the bathroom on his own, shouting 'Show no fear!'
"I met a boy who learned to fly. I met a family that had a baby even though they were refugees. A family that named the baby Hope. I met a group of people who sang songs, completely ignoring the fact that they could die a thousand horrible ways, any day now.
"I met a girl who could still go on about pink auras and even join the circus, no matter what her people were doing to everyone else. I met people who fell in love, who laughed, who became friends with people they knew could die any day now.
"I met people, children, not much older than I was who learned to do incredible things that they would never have been able to do in another time or place. They could fly, when the couldn't walk. They could see, when they were born blind. They could have festivals, and complain about food, get into trouble, grow up, no matter what terror was going on around them.
"Because of this war."
Aang fell silent for a moment. He stared at his hands, hoping that Zuko understood what he had met, hoping that he hadn't said too much, wondering if he should say more.
"Nice speech," a voice behind him said. Turning, Aang realized that Katara, Sokka, and Toph had joined them.
"But it needs finishing," added Katara.
To everyone's surprise, it was Zuko who took up the thread.
"Since I was banished, I've been all over the world. I've seen people from places that I thought were backwards and uncivilized, and realized that they actually might know more about the intricacies of the world than I did, just because they were honest, and good, and didn't stop to worry about what people thought of them.
"I've met a girl who taught herself to do incredible things, things that people in my homeland can only do after years of tutoring and lessons, and daily practice. I've met a boy who learned to be a warrior, and protected his people with nothing more than a few children and a stick for years.
"I've met a child who was told for as long as she could remember that she couldn't do anything, but still grew up to do more than anyone could imagine. I've met a boy who had amazing powers, and could actually bring himself to use them. To pretend that he wasn't a child, and take on responsibilities that not even the most powerful adults in this world have ever managed.
"And…" here Zuko paused for a moment, and then shook himself and continued. It wasn't as if anything mattered, right before the end.
"And I've met a boy who I should have met a long time ago, who hid himself far away from where anyone in the Fire Nation might see him, because of this war. Who pretended to be someone else, someone who wasn't good, or kind, someone who didn't…"
"Care," finished Katara.
"I wonder why," Sokka mused.
"Probably," Toph said, "Because he thought it was the end."
"He was wrong." Aang stood up, and looked at his friends. "It wasn't the end. It isn't the end.
"It's the beginning."
And somehow, Zuko believed him.