Author's Note: Don't worry guys. I haven't dropped this story, or any of my others. Life has just picked up so writing slowed down. I don't plan on letting any of these die before they're finished, but there may be times where updates slow down. I do apologize for that, but life happens. I work a full time job and am helping raise a two year old. Free time is scarce.

In the end, it was well over a week before Toph could sneak out of her family estates again. It took that long for her parents, and the guards, to relax. It clearly drove her crazy to be stuck at home so Zuko made sure to visit her each night, if only for a couple of hours. He did have to get some sleep after all. The night she finally slipped free she showed up at their shop an hour after closing like nothing had happened and the two firebenders greeted her in the same fashion, welcoming her in and getting her tea and cake. It was only after they settled down at the table that the conversation shifted to a more potentially dangerous topic, literally.

"I still want to spar with you," she told Zuko bluntly, pointing her fork at him "I've never sparred against a firebender before."

"I'm still not sure that's a good idea Toph," Zuko groaned, knowing he wasn't going to win the argument, but still feeling the need to try "It won't be safe, for either of us."

"Perhaps," Iroh cut in evenly, looking at Toph "Once you find a place that you both can bend safely you can start by having him show you the more common bending movements. It would be best to hold off on sparing until you have a grasp on what each movement he makes might cause, firebending wise." There was a pause before Toph sighed.

"Fine," she grumbled "That makes sense. But once I've got that down we're definitely sparring." Zuko let out a small breath of relief.

"Fine," he agreed as well. That would buy him time, and make things safer for her. He knew he wouldn't get out of sparring with her, but at least it wouldn't be right away. "But either way we've got to find somewhere we can bend without anyone seeing us or stumbling across us."

"Leave that to me," Toph grinned "I'll look around and find somewhere we can go."

"Just keep in mind that fire produces light," Iroh pointed out calmly "And light can carry a good distance in the dark. So wherever you go it would probably be best to put up walls around you to help keep that light in. And put out any fires that catch so that smoke doesn't become visible, though that isn't as important at night. It's harder to see." Toph hummed thoughtfully at that before nodding and finishing her cake.

"Alright. I'll keep that in mind. Once I find somewhere I'll let you guys know and you can come and check it out with your vision knowledge. That way we can be sure no one will be able to see anything."

"That sounds reasonable," Iroh agreed. Toph grinned and finished her tea, putting her cup down before standing.

"Right. I'm gonna go start looking. See you two later."

"Travel safe," Iroh replied easily, causing Toph to roll her eyes good-naturedly.

"Yeah yeah. I'll be careful." She waved a dismissive hand causing Zuko to laugh quietly.

"See you later Toph," he called as she made her way out the door, causing her to raise a hand in farewell before shutting it behind her.

In the end, it took around a week for them to settle on a place for them to go and bend. Two possible locations Toph found were turned down by the pair of royal firebenders for one reason or another, but the third suited them all just fine. The same night that they decided on a location they decided to stay a bit later and actually start using the space for what they'd chosen it for. Toph raised a set of stone walls around the place and Iroh made his way off to the side to sit on a rock and watch the two younger benders. Since this was their first time trying something like this he wanted to be available to help them if they needed anything. Especially if Zuko had the problem Iroh feared he would. Taking a seat he settled down to listen to them plan on how to accomplish the task of helping Toph predict firebending.

"Right, let's get started!" Toph grinned at Zuko "Let me see what you've got Sparky." Zuko grinned right back, something that was becoming more and more common to Iroh's delight, and moved closer to the center of the area.

"Alright," he agreed "I'll go through some of the basic forms first so you can get an idea of how firebending tends to feel on the ground. And I'm going to aim my fire at the walls so you can feel where the flames hit depending on the stance as well, sound good?" Toph nodded at that.

"Sounds good to me!" She was clearly ready to get going. Knowing her she was probably wanting to get past this part so they could get on to actually sparring each other.

"Just stay where you are," Zuko instructed her as he fell into a ready stance "Until you know how to predict where the fire is going to be I don't want to risk you accidentally walking into any of it."

"Yeah, yeah," Toph waved a hand. She sounded annoyed, but Iroh was fairly certain that she'd follow the sound advice given. She was far from stupid. "Just get on with it." Zuko rolled his eyes at her, but did as she asked, starting with the most basic move. Just a straight punch of flame.

Smoke. Just like Iroh had feared and expected Zuko didn't produce any flames, instead there was a puff of smoke that left the boy staring at his hand in shocked confusion. There was a moment of silence where they all took in what had just happened, Toph probably getting something from their heartbeats based on how she frowned and tilted her head. Then Zuko shifted and snapped out a kick, only to get the same result.

"I was afraid this might happen," Iroh spoke up before his son could work himself up into a worried frenzy, earning him the attention of both youths.

"What? What happened?" Toph asked, moving hesitantly over to Zuko's side.

"I couldn't produce any fire," Zuko told her, sounding a bit lost. "Father. What do you mean you were afraid this would happen? What's going on?" With a small sigh, Iroh pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to the two of them.

"Tell me son, where were you taught your flame comes from?"

"Inside," Zuko replied automatically "Fire comes from our inner flame. Our soul." Iroh nodded, noting how Toph was clearly listening with interest.

"And what were you taught to use to draw it out?" Again Zuko's response was automatic.

"Force of will. Drive. Ang-" he cut off, eyes widening in realization.

"Good," Iroh gave him a small smile "You understand now." Zuko sighed and nodded, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Well I don't!" Toph cut in with a frown "What's going on?" Iroh turned his attention more fully to the young earthbender.

"Unlike other benders, firebenders draw our flames from within ourselves. We draw it forth and use our chi to feed it. We are taught from a young age that the best way to draw it out is through anger. But there is a flaw to that ideal. Can you guess what it is?" Toph frowned, but replied rather quickly.

"If you draw it out with anger, then you can't bend if you aren't angry." Iroh nodded.

"Very good. That is exactly the problem. It is not a common problem for most firebenders this day and age. War gives plenty of reasons to be angry and it is easy to draw fire out in the heat of battle because of that."

"So...Zuko isn't angry enough to bend?" Toph guessed before grinning "I could fix that."

"That won't be necessary," Iroh cut in quickly before the mischievous teenage earthbender could start causing trouble "And would likely do more harm than good." Iroh refocused on his son "Anger is the method taught because it is the easiest for a child to understand and draw on and it is a method that lasts through the war. It is not, however, the only method. Or even the best. As you can see it has failures. Such as the one you are experiencing now. The truth is that the fire we bend can be drawn out by many means. Fire is the element of power, will, and drive. It is that will and drive that draws the flames from our core via our breath. Anger is an easy way to draw up willpower but is not the only way. You need to find a new source for your drive. One that will last you through your lifetime and not falter simply because you are happy with the life you are living." Zuko's expression was creased in thought and he gave a slow nod. After a long moment he turned to look at Toph.

"Sorry, I don't think we'll be able to get to this tonight. Probably not for a couple of days. I'm going to need to think on this problem some." Toph was clearly disappointed but shrugged it away.

"Alright then. It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. Thankfully earthbending isn't nearly that complicated." Zuko laughed slightly at that.

"That's because if it was more complicated plenty of earthbenders wouldn't be able to do anything with it. Too many of them have nothing but rocks for brains." He danced to the side to avoid her fist as she lashed out at him for the dig, though she was grinning "What? You're telling me that you think The Boulder would be able to handle a more thoughtful bending." Toph paused before letting out a loud laugh.

"True," she agreed "Just don't go thinking that I've got rocks for brains." Zuko's expression gentled some.

"Nah. Not you Toph. You're plenty smart."

"You bet I am!" Toph agreed with a shark-like smile "Smart and strong and powerful. That's me." Zuko shook his head, not in disagreement, but in amusement and Iroh could only admire how Toph had pulled the older boy out of the slight slump he had shifted into. She really was a gift to have around.

"We should head back to town," he pointed out, drawing them from their conversation "It would be best if we all get some rest for the night." Toph sighed before shifting and bending the walls back into the ground as if they'd never been there.

"Alright then," she agreed "I'll see you two later. I've got an Earth Rumble tomorrow and my parents have some big dinner planned the night after that. So I'll be by the night after that."

"See you then," Zuko agreed.

"Travel safe," Iroh added. Toph gave a jaunty wave before taking off back towards town in her usual method. IE, diving into a tunnel underground and running on large mounds of earth underground. Iroh shook his head in amusement as she vanished from sight, the hole closing up behind her, before turning to Zuko and placing a hand on his arm. "Let's head home."

Zuko didn't argue and they made their way back to the shop in relative silence. Zuko was clearly thinking so Iroh left him be. Once they had arrived home and gotten ready for bed Zuko stopped him just outside the door to his room.

"What do you use to draw out your fire?" he asked. Iroh had been expecting the question, but it didn't make it less complicated to answer. It was hard to fully explain it without giving up the secrets of the dragons.

"For me it's...a little complicated to explain," he said slowly, thinking through his words as he said them "On my travels, I've learned many things and met many people. I even spent some time in the old Sun Warrior ruins. I learned a lot there, but...I'm not sure how to explain what I learned. It's something you would have to experience for yourself. If you want we can plan to go by there sometime. We could take a vacation at some point I'm sure. I think you would learn as much from there as I did." Zuko tilted his head and seemed to be taking in what he was told. From his expression Iroh could guess that Zuko could tell that there was more to the situation than Iroh was saying, but after a long moment he nodded.

"That sounds nice Father. Perhaps we should plan to make that trip. Not right now though. We haven't had the shop long enough to be taking a vacation." Not really waiting for a reply Zuko stepped forward and gave Iroh a quick hug before turning and heading toward his own room "Goodnight Father."

"Goodnight Son," Iroh called back, feeling both relieved and a little guilty. At least Zuko seemed to understand the situation enough not to press, though the boy probably thought that whatever was being kept from him was Order business. Oh well. Shaking his head to clear it, Iroh turned and made his way to his own room to rest for the night. The sun would rise soon enough and wake them for a new day.

To Iroh's surprise and pride it only took Zuko a couple of days to figure something out for himself. It was a short time after closing down the shop and Iroh was brewing up a cup for himself up in their living area when Zuko came out of his room to sit across from him. Without a word, he cupped his hands in the space between them and easily summoned a bright, steady flame above his palms. Iroh beamed at him.

"What did you figure out?" he asked, filled with pride for his adopted son.

"I..." Zuko paused, frowning slightly at his flame "I want to protect people," he admitted "Toph. The people here. Our own soldiers back home. I don't know how to do that yet, but I want to try." His expression shifted to one of determination and he looked up to meet Iroh's gaze with his own. "Can you teach me more about your order? I want to help." Iroh blinked in surprise before giving Zuko a warm, proud smile.

"Of course Son," he agreed, filled with pride and joy for the boy sitting across from him. Ozai had attempted to burn away Zuko's desire to protect others, but he had obviously failed. Zuko's will was strong. Stronger than Ozai's cruelty. Iroh had never been more proud of him. "Of course I will." With that the flame vanished and Father and Son settled down to talk over tea.