Aang groaned as he creeked his eyes open. He sat up in the bed and stretched his limbs while groaning. The sky was still dark which meant that the rest of the Gaang were still sleeping. This was good enough for him, that means no one would pester him while he tried to escape. Aang made the bed before jumping out the window. He floated to the ground with his airbending then crept towards his flying bison.

Appa opened his eyes then turned his head towards the airbender. He begrudgingly stood up once Aang lept onto his head then turned around so he was facing the palace.

"Appa yip yip!" Aang cried with a whisper as he whipped the rope on his horns.

Appa lifted his tail and slapped it on the ground before taking off into the sky. Aang looked back at the palace as it grew smaller. Two figures came out of the palace and looked into the sky. Tears welled up in his eyes as Katara and Sokka frantically waved at him. He turned around to focus on the task at hand which was steering Appa.

"Please don't worry about me," Aang prayed.

Katara and Sokka watched their friend leave with sad eyes.

"How long will he be gone?" Katara asked.

"This is temporary," Sokka assured her. "We just need to keep them separated so they can calm down."

"And how long will that be?"

"A couple days at the most but we need to spend that time figuring out what Zuko actually wants from Aang."

"I prefer if it was extended to a few weeks just to be on the safe side."

"Okay fine, but we need to focus." Sokka went inside the palace. "There has to be something Aang can do to lessen Zuko's resentment."

Zuko folded his arms across his chest as he leaned on the wall. "Unless you are an expert on reviving the dead I don't think it's going away."

"Okay but can you both speak to each other?" Katara asked.

"It hasn't been two days yet."

"Okay fair point, but what is it that you want from him?"

"Bring my dad back or..." Zuko thought real hard before speaking again. "Find my mother. Now if you excuse me I have a funeral to arrange."

Once Zuko departed Katara was left puzzled. "Find his mother?"

She went back to her brother to relay the information.

"Does he even know where she is?" Sokka asked.

"No."

"And we can't revive Ozai either even if he wanted to."

"Maybe we can talk to Iroh."

"Yeah he's like a walking wisdom fountain. Maybe he can find out what Zuko wants."

Down in Ba Sing Se Iroh was heating up some tea. He grabbed the cup on the shelf then poured the steaming hot tea inside. He gave it to a customer who tipped him before walking away. After the customer was dealt with Iroh turned to his helper.

"Thank you for your assistance Aang."

"No problem Iroh," Aang replied, his face completely neutral.

Iroh poured two cups of tea for them then handed one to Aang. "Why don't you take a break and enjoy some tea."

Aang firmly grabbed the tea then softly snatched it from Iroh's hand. He made his way to the back of the teashop to drink in peace. Iroh shook his head as he sighed. If Aang was cranky then who knows how Zuko was holding up. He looked up upon hearing the door open and cracked a smile at the two water tribe siblings. He turned the stove off before making his way to the doorway.

Katara and Sokka saw Iroh then quickly walked into the kitchen. Katara closed the door behind her after she entered. The water tribe siblings smiled as soon as they saw Aang and went to hug him. Aang managed a small smile as his friends embraced him.

"How have you been holding up?" Katara asked.

Aang put a hand over his eyes in annoyance. "I'm thirteen years old Katara, I'm pretty sure I can take care of myself."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Sokka asked.

"Helping Iroh," Aang replied sipping his tea.

"Oh, that's nice of you," Katara noted.

"So what brings you to the tea shop?"

"We need to talk to Iroh."

Aang's grey eyes clouded with sadness.

"But me and you can still chat before we leave," Sokka added.

"Okay Sokka."

Sokka led Aang into the dining room so Katara could chat with Iroh alone.

"You know Zuko better than anyone right Iroh?" Katara asked.

"Let me guess he and Aang are starting to fight because Aang killed Ozai even though he technically advocated the idea," Iroh laughed dryly.

"You already heard I guess?"

"I already told Zuko not to lash out at Aang. I understand the pain he's going through but I don't want their friendship to end because his tyrant of a father is gone forever."

"Zuko told me that the reason he's angry at Aang is because you don't have that many years left."

"I understand that too which I can't fault him for. Though I fear if he lets his wound and resentment fester he's going to create a whole war against Aang. I don't want them to kill each other over this."

"Me neither. How many days will it take before Zuko and Aang can talk to each other without them wanting to kill each other?"

"Well it's going to take time for Zuko to heal. He's not taking the arrangements for Ozai's funeral easy and he's been hostile lately. I think it'll be best to keep the two separated for a while."

"Yeah I guess so."

Aang and Sokka walked up to Katara and Iroh.

"We'll see you later alright?"

Aang hugged the water tribe siblings. "Alright, I'll see you again soon."

Once they left Aang frowned as he pondered upon the relationship he had with the former banished prince turned Firelord. Despite being frustrated and angry with Zuko's attitude he undoubtedly hated the fact that he could kind of understand where he was coming from. When he found out that the Fire Nation killed every single airbender he was angry beyond belief so it wouldn't be fair to put all the blame on Zuko. That said he often pondered why Zuko advocated the idea only to try to kill him afterwards. He sagged his shoulders and hung his head in defeat.

"This is so frustrating. I don't know what to do."

"Try to use this time to calm down so you can talk to Zuko," Iroh advised.

"Alright." Aang sipped the rest of his tea. "But the problem is that, well, you know how Zuko is."

"I know, which is why I rather have you two separated." The elder sighed as he looked out the window. "The problem is that what he wants is impossible for you to achieve."

"Which is..."

"Revive Ozai which will never happen or find his mother who was banished when he was ten."

"Do you know where she is?" Aang asked a hint of hope in his voice.

"No one knows where Ursa went. Zuko's been sending search parties to look for her but she still hasn't been found."

Aang dipped his head and put his hands over his face. "How long is this separation trial suppose to last?"

"Until you two will be able to talk to each other without wanting to kill each other."

Aang glared at Iroh with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me, a time limit isn't going to help you. And I heard about that mini fight you two had at the palace."

"So what do you propose I do?"

"Just wait until the time is right. It hasn't been a week yet."

"Fine."

Aang got up and walked a few steps until he felt Iroh's hand on his shoulder. He looked back for a second then faced forward.

"Please just give this a chance," Iroh pleaded.

Aang turned to the elderly man. "I will but I need Zuko to communicate and cooperate with me. There's only so much I can do and I have the weight of the world on my shoulders." Iroh released his shoulder. "I don't know how to give him closure but I'm not giving up on him."

"That's what I like to hear. Now do you mind serving this tea to the customers?"

Aang gripped the tray to balance the steaming hot drinks then moved to the dining room. Iroh watched Aang put the cups on the tables making sure not to drop the tray. Little by little the tea shop emptied out leaving only Iroh and Aang. Iroh took out fifty silver pieces then put it in a small brown cloth bag. Aang gratefully took the bag and stuffed it in his robes to conceal it.

"Thank you," they said to each other simultaneously.

Aang said his goodbyes once he left the tea shop. He walked outside to see his flying bison stretching and yawning. Guess he was tired of waiting. The air nomad leaped onto his head, grabbed the reigns, and whipped them.

"Yip yip Appa, let's go home."

Appa groaned as he took off into the sky. Aang wiped the tears building up in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and get the day over with. He didn't know how long it would take before he could face the fire nation let alone Zuko.