Hello all! I'm baaaack! Starting last chapter, none of this story is pre-written. So forgive me if writing styles vary from chap. to chap. a bit and updates are slow. I don't rightfully know where this story is going myself! Don't worry, I have faith in me.

Thanks to my reviewers: Dracoelric, TTavatarfan, and jeankitsune

Especially thankness to: Kibamonkey. You're my #1 fan! lol! Sorry i tooked so long... But man I'm not a writing machine!

And of course, Crystalline Maxwell: You're cool beans and it's great to bounce ideas off you.

THIS STORY IS AN ORIGIONAL WORK OF MY OWN. HOWEVER, IT WAS INSPIRED BY MY READING OF CRYSTALLINE MAXWELL'S "RECLAIMING HONOR." NEITHER STORY IS A PLAGARISM OF THE OTHER. FURTHERMORE, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO READ HER STORY, AS IT IS WELL WRITTEN AND, FOR LACK OF BETTER WORDS, AWESOME.

I DO NOT OWN AVATAR OR ANYTHING PERTAINING TO IT. NOT THE CHARACTERS, NOT THE SHOW, NOTHING! Because if I did... seriously... I'd never be so cruel as to make people wait this long for the next season! But alas, it is not so... And now that I have disclaimed... no suing!!!

And so on with the show!!!


Last Time on Finding Honor:

"Lay down on your stomach." he ordered. Aang gave him a quizzical look, but complied. He was too tired to fight right now. With a sigh, Zuko placed the new blanket over the boy and sat next to him. He began to rhythmically pat the monk's back. This, Zuko knew, served two purposes. First, it would help to knock free the mucus that Zuko had heard earlier when he had listened to Aang's lungs. Second, the teenager knew that it would help to lull Aang to sleep. He remembered his own mother doing this often enough. She used to sing to him too, sometimes... Zuko shook his head, clearing himself of his reveries. Of course he would not sing to this little brat... but... Giving in, Zuko began to talk softly to Aang, saying things like "It's time to rest now. Calm down..." and "Shut your eyes, for Agni's sake you need to sleep." Half an hour later, a bone-weary Zuko stumbled out of the Avatar's cell. Looking back, he could see the silhouette of a young bald monk, resting peacefully on his pallet. "Don't EVER repeat anything that went on tonight." The teen growled to his two guards. But of course they knew better than to say a peep about that night... And plus, why share such an endearing occasion with the others? No, they would keep this just between them.


Neither Aang nor Zuko awoke until late into midday. When the prince finally consented to open his eyes and greet the day, he found that the first thought to present itself into his mind was that of food. His stomach blatantly agreed with his brain on this thought: he was starved! With the begrudging groan of someone who would much rather stay in bed for the rest of eternity, Zuko pulled himself from the warmpth of his blankets and began to clean himself up for what remained of the day. On his way down to the mess cabin, the fire-prince halted momentarily by his uncle's bedroom door.

"Ah, Prince Zuko. You're awake. I was beginning to wonder if you'd miss all three meals today, instead of just two."

"No, hunger woke me, uncle." Replied Zuko civilly.

"Ah." Replied Iroh, meeting Zuko at the door and silently beginning to walk with hus young nephew down to the kitchen area. "If I may ask, my prince, why is it that you were so tired?" The wizened old man asked, feigning curiosity. Iroh already knew, roughly, what had kept his nephew up all the night before. However, it was always best to hear things straight from the dragon's mouth, so to speak.

"I was up late last night." Zuko's short answer did not seem to daunt Iroh's determination.

"Oh? Why was that?" The old man probed.

Zuko let out a frustrated growl, irked that his uncle had yet again beat him at verbal Pai Sho. "If you must know, uncle," the prince grumbled out, "I was up half the night with the Avatar. The little brat is sick and I sure as hell can't have him dying on me. A dead Avatar is of no use to me."

"Oh, the poor boy. Well that explains the noises I heard last night. What was wrong with him?"

Zuko bit the inside of his cheek, trying to keep his temper somewhat in check. Why did his blasted uncle have to continue on this Agni-cursed train of conversation?!

"How was tea this morning?" Zuko strained through gritted teeth, trying valiantly to change the subject.

"Oh, it was very nice. However, I was told that you borrowed some of my personal stash of eucalyptus and menthol leaves last night. Were they for the Avatar?" Never once did Iroh's voice waver form its usual cheeriness, as he continued to probe his nephew about the previous night.

"Yes! Ok?! Yes, the tea was for the Avatar. He has a freaking cough! Now can we please, please, stop talking about that snot nosed little brat?!" Zuko huffed, flames shooting from his nostrils.

Iroh sighed. "Well of course. If you wanted to change the subject, you should have just said so."

Zuko stomped off into the kitchen, thoroughly annoyed by his uncle. At times like these, the prince would often wonder how he was able to keep his sanity living on the same ship as his uncle. The man had a way of driving him absolutely crazy! But Agni if he couldn't help but love the man. With a resigned sigh, Zuko began to eat his breakfast (or early dinner, one could call it, since it was getting late). Then he picked up the soup that he had requested the cook to make, and made his way down to the Avatar's cell. By the time he reached the cold metal bars that separated him from his ticket home, Zuko's rage had all but boiled itself out. Of course, this is not to say that he was in a cheery mood. Far from it. But at least he had stopped fuming. The prince nodded to the two guards, who knew without speaking that they were to let the prince and his captive be unless they were called for. Then he entered the cell. The figure on the floor looked up wearily, and the boy's crystalline blue eyes met and held onto the prince's gold ones.

Aang had slept peacefully for many hours, until around 9am, when his lungs decided that he'd had enough rest, and proceeded to wake the boy through a series of violent coughs. The rest of the morning had seen Aang attempting to get some rest between episodes of coughing fits and sometimes violent gagging. But the child's body was weary, and so finally it once again pulled him back into rest. This time his sleep was far from peaceful. Nightmares riddled his mind, but by this time the child had learned how to suffer such sleeping horrors while hiding his suffering from any onlookers. So it had been that, not ten minutes before Zuko had arrived, Aang had awoken from one such nightmare. Since his back was to the bars of his cell, he was sure to keep up the farce that he was still sleeping. The young monk allowed tears to spill silently from his eyes, marveling at the simple fact that he had any tears left in him to cry. His throat was dry, he felt like there was cotton in his mouth, and his lips were mercilessly cracked. Weariness and worry fought over his body, but in the end worry won, with the added help of illness. As the boy's eyes drooped for the millionth time that morning, Aang heard the ringing of an unmistakable set of footsteps. At the sound of the metal door to his cage being opened and closed once more, the airbender turned to look towards what he felt was his eminent doom. The bright gold of Zuko's eyes slid to meet with the airy blue of Aang's own.

As Aang and Zuko caught and held one another's eyes, a spark was ignited in both of their hearts, though neither knew of it's presence just yet. Unknowingly, each had left a bit of the other in their souls. Like it or not, they were a part of one another.

Of course, just try telling that to them.

Zuko wordlessly broke the visual encounter and stooped by Aang, feeling the boy's forehead for any hint of a fever. Yup, it was still there. Man, you could fry a turtleduck egg on that boy's head. "How is your cough, Avatar?"

Aang shut his eyes wearily, and in doing so he squeezed out a tear, remnant from the crying he had been doing before the prince's arrival. "Ok.. I guess.." he choked out. Zuko helped the boy sit up, propping his back against a wall for support, and offered Aang the bowl of soup he had brought with him. "This should help your throat, and it's got at least something akin to food in it. Did you drink the water that was left for you?"

Aang shook his head, gulping gingerly at the soup in an attempt to spare his raw throat from any more agony.

"Grrgh! You need to drink, Avatar! You're dehydrated. You won't get any better if you don't drink!" Snapped the short-tempered prince.

The sick boy squirmed uneasily, tears of frustration springing to his eyes. "But… I can't…It hurts…" he croaked out with what was as close as he could muster to a whine. "Why can't you just leave me alone?!" Aang cried out, pulling his blanket over his head to try and block out the Prince and his anger.

Zuko growled. "Believe me, I'm not exactly enjoying this! You're so…. Helpless! Geez! Grow up, brat. Stop throwing it on other people to take care of you!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Zuko knew he'd made a huge mistake. But he wasn't about to go back on his words now! The day Zuko apologized to Aang would be the day the airbenders took over the world.

The words hurt…. More than Aang could ever say. Why? Because, in Aang's eyes, the Fire Prince's words were true. The child's head dropped, his shoulders slumped, and his voice left him.

"Eat your soup." Ordered Zuko. Aang complied. As the child finished, Zuko stood and began to leave. "I expect that water to be gone by tonight." With these words, Zuko left the child to his silent grief.


Well the...the...th..the...that's all folks!!!!! Untill next time. Feed the writer!