It is a strange feeling—Katara not hating him. He's constantly surprised when she includes him in conversion, or asks him a question. Which she's been doing, often. It's better than being snapped at, he supposes, but Zuko has never much liked talking about himself. As they eat dinner—better than usual, thank goodness for the Ember Island house's intact spice cabinet—he can tell that Katara's eyes are on him, and that she's about to ask something. Okay, Zuko thinks, this is what friends do. It's friendly. Be cool.

"So, Zuko," she begins, setting down her bowl, "there's something I've been wanting to ask you. It's just—we all know you're on our side now, but I'm confused about why. I mean, what made you change so suddenly when a few months ago you hated us?"

It is, unfortunately, a good question. "Um," says Zuko.

"Come to think of it, I'm confused about that too." Zuko glares and Sokka shrugs.

"Not to gang up on you Zuko," says Aang goodnaturedly, "but while you're at it why'd you save me from Zhao?"

Damnit, he thinks. "Um. Well, okay. I didn't hate you—"

"Well it sure seemed that way when you were chasing us around the world—"

"Let him finish," says Suki, punching Sokka in the shoulder.

"It wasn't personal!" Zuko says. "Which, um, obviously doesn't make it better. But I never had anything against you personally. I just needed to capture the Avatar—Aang."

"To win the war?" asks Aang, frowning.

Zuko shakes his head. "No. I mean, yeah, I guess, but mostly just so I could go home."

There is a brief moment of confused silence, and Zuko realizes, suddenly, that none of them know.

Toph breaks the silence. "What do you mean, 'go home'?"

If only Katara still hated him. "I was banished. So I couldn't go home. Unless I captured Aang." He can feel the questions budding, so he continues. "It's a long story. But anyways…so that's why I saved you from Zhao. Cause if he captured you, then I couldn't. Obviously. And then my uncle and I were fugitives for a while—because he helped you at the North Pole—and we traveled around the Earth Kingdom, and I guess I realized that people really hated the Fire Nation. And why. But in Ba Sing Se Azula offered me a chance to go home, so I betrayed my uncle. And you guys. Sorry. Anyways, I got home and I just felt…angry. It wasn't anything like I'd thought it would be because I knew everything the Fire Nation told us was a lie, and I hated myself for what I did to my uncle. And I realized that I've known for a long time that my father is…not a good person. So I told him I was going to help you take him down, and I left."

He stops. It's a thorough explanation. But he can sense that more questions are coming.

"You just told the Firelord you were gonna help the Avatar take him down?" Toph sounds, to his surprise, impressed.

Zuko shrugs. "More or less."

"And he was fine with that?"

He smiles. "Not really—he shot lightning at me. But I redirected it and got away. Obviously."

Everyone is frowning now. Damnit. Sokka shifts uncomfortably. "Your dad shot lightning at you? But couldn't that kill you?"

"Well. Yeah." He can tell that he is making things worse. But what else could he say?

"Jeez," says Toph.

"That's horrible," says Aang. Katara is quiet, but he can feel her eyes on him.

"So," begins Sokka, "You mentioned that you were banished—"

"That's a long story," says Zuko, again, as Katara glares at her brother.

"Well, Zuko," says Aang, ever the peacemaker, "I'm glad you're here."

"Thanks." And that, thankfully, concludes the conversation.

He hears them, later that night. The Ember Island house's walls are thin, and Katara is not exactly whispering. "I don't know why you always have to be so insensitive!"

"How was I insensitive? He was telling a story and I asked a follow-up question!" Sokka sounds a little offended.

"Zuko made it really clear that he didn't want to talk about being banished. And you just kept pushing!"

A brief pause. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I was just curious—I didn't think."

"Why do you think it happened, though?" asks Suki, softly. "It would've had to be his dad who banished him, right?"

"I don't know." Katara is quieter now, her anger deflated. "But if his dad was willing to shoot lightning at him…"

"Can you imagine Dad doing something like that?" There's no response, but Zuko imagines Katara shaking her head vigorously.

"It kind of checks out though, doesn't it?" Suki sounds thoughtful. "I mean, he's this scary guy who burns down my village hunting Aang. And then you meet him and he's, like…a nice person. Super awkward, but nice. It's been hard to reconcile that with everything else. I guess having a terrible family will do that to you."

"I think," says Katara, after a pause, "that his life has been a lot more messed up than we thought." They quiet down after that, but Zuko stays awake longer than he'd like. It's hard, opening up to people. And it's hard to be back in this house. Maybe that's why he found Katara's questions so difficult—he's already on edge, already reminded every waking minute of his family. But there's nothing for it—they're all going to stay curious. And now Sokka, Aang, Toph, Suki, even Katara, they're his friends. He doesn't particularly want to answer their questions. But he supposes it's a little touching that they'd like to know.