To say that cleaning up after the war had been hard was a gross understatement. With the revenge-seeking rebels and the fiery crowds that insisted he didn't deserve his father's crown, even sleep soon filled with paranoia and fear.

The Sages tried their hardest to support Fire Lord Zuko during this rough aftermath, but there was only so much they could do. Massages and fruit tarts were nothing when there were threats waiting right outside the hall.

Zuko could barely keep himself from feeling bitter toward his absent friends. Aang, Katara, and Sokka had their own messes to clean up. Iroh, Toph, and Ty Lee were off pursuing the blissful fun they'd never been allowed to have. Mai had tried to stick by him, but the frequent arguments had only made things worse for both of them. Finally, every member of his immediate family was missing—physically or mentally.

After an assassination attempt put the final nail in the coffin, Fire Sage Shyu urged Zuko to take a vacation in more neutral territory. However, a month passed before Zuko was thoroughly convinced that the Capital would not crumble to the ground during his leave.

"…Yes, sir, it's all secured," his men assured him as they waited for the ferry to arrive.

Zuko was tempted to ask about something else, but the servants' weary tone of voice stopped him. It occurred to him that they were probably just as anxious for his departure as he was.

"Okay," he said instead. "I'm, uh, supposed to blend in, right? Then I need to board it alone. You're dismissed."

And for the first time in years, Zuko found himself walking alone. He prayed Kyoshi Island wouldn't make him regret it.

"Nice redecorating you guys did."

The Kyoshi Warrior looked up from her plate with stifled laughter. If she hadn't still held some resentment towards him, she would've been happy to see that he was the same awkward boy he'd always been.

"Well, it wasn't hard to improve upon the burned buildings we had," Suki remarked.

Zuko decided to take the fact that she insulted him without malice as a good sign. "So, uh… why is it always so empty here?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't revert back to irritation.

Suki raised her eyebrow as cries of children rang from outside, proving him wrong. "You mean why Team Avatar doesn't visit me much anymore," she said, more as a statement than a question. "I could ask you the same thing."

Zuko was tempted to give up on the conversation right then and there, but the empathy in her eyes stopped him. "It's okay; I know how it is," she said. "When you finally feel at home, they all leave… save for one. And on the first day, you're closer than ever. Then the next… you can't remember what you saw in them. And there they go—the last person who understood."

At Zuko's sad smile, Suki quickly backtracked. "Don't get me wrong. I still hate you," she reassured him. "But the Kyoshi Warriors just don't get it, so it's not like I have anyone else I can talk to about it."

"Good. I still hate you too," Zuko said, grinning. It wasn't a monumental conversation, but it had something he hadn't been able to have in a long time—normalcy, with no one inching around his feelings or taking on a patronizing tone when he tried to talk about his problems. Sitting on the worn, olive carpet with Suki, things felt real again.

"Come on, Zuko. I've seen you fight for real before. I didn't propose a rematch because I wanted an easy victory."

Zuko looked up guiltily from his spot on the sandy ground. There was none of the expected taunting in her voice—just disappointment, which somehow hurt all the more.

"Alright, but you asked for it," he said, grinning as he regained hold of his swords. He hadn't wanted to reignite Suki's hatred for him (true hatred, not the teasing kind), but it seemed deliberately losing would've done just that.

"You've gotten a lot better since we first fought," Zuko said between dodges. "…That came out badly, didn't it?"

"Yes," the warrior replied with a smirk. "But it's still true. I guess getting your butt kicked by two fiery brats is a pretty good motivator for improvement."

"You're welcome then…?"

Zuko thrust his sword roughly against her arm, but the battle was far from over. Suki feigned resignation and let her fans go slack—just long enough for him to feel victorious—before pinning him to the ground.

"No fair," he protested between pants. "I didn't realize it wasn't over."

"Hey, you never said I couldn't use your naivety against you," she shot back, but she was smiling—a genuine smile, rather than her usual smirk.

Just as it sunk in that he'd just been beaten by a friend and didn't even have to worry about it starting a fight, giving Zuko that comfortable feeling he'd been missing, Suki leaned in and kissed him. His swords dropped out of his hands as he tried to regain his senses.

It was far from a bad kiss. It was passionate and made the rest of his body go numb, but it was so not right. Even if Sokka and Suki had grown apart, there was still a code against those things, wasn't there? And Ty Lee was a Kyoshi Warrior, right there on the island, and she'd inevitably find out and tell Mai and their arguing would restart and then the rest of the Avatar's crew would hate him and Suki for causing so much drama and and and—

Apparently, Zuko's lack of response shook her out of it, for Suki pulled back and awkwardly shifted off of him. "I ruined it, didn't I?" she muttered, looking anywhere but at him. "This was supposed to be about starting over, not having to worry about wars or… or relationship drama."

"No, it was my fault," Zuko sighed. "For… falling on the ground. If I'd beat you, maybe it wouldn't have happened."

"Yes, all the blame's on you for daring to be weak," Suki remarked, but the smile was gone. "Let's just forget it, okay? You lost, instantly got up from the ground, and I took pity on you and let you go rest."

Zuko nodded, forcing a smile as he pushed himself upright. "That was very noble of you to do."

Suki gave him a fake smile in return and pointed over to a small, white building. "The shower's right over there, unless you'd rather stay dirty."

"Hey, you look pretty messed up yourself," Zuko retorted, but he walked off before things could get any more awkward.

Kyoshi Island undeniably left him with a fresh, hollow feeling, but he wasn't sure if it was regret.