Disclaimer: Do you think I'm a millionaire? No? Well then, why would you think I own Avatar?

Warning: Okay. Here are where NEW warnings come in. First off, there are some pretty explicit sexual innuendo in this, and I don't mean in the good way. If you are of faint heart or something, I suggest caution. There's NOT going to be any fucking or anything like that, but pretty close to it. So… yeah. Erm… I suppose, don't flame me for not reading the warning?

And I'm sorry about 'To break a Dragon's Wings'. Really.

Suffering while I'm depending on seasons,
Roots under me are embracing the earth...
--Lacuna Coil

"I can't take it anymore!"

The water Aang had been bending now splashed to the floor.

"Hey!" Sokka cried, as some of the water managed to get on him. "Watch it!"

Zuko sighed at that as he lay on the futon, bored. It had been two long months and it was still pouring outside like there was no tomorrow. And sadly, these arguments were pretty much an everyday thing. Sighing again, he placed a hand on his stomach, which was starting to bulge a little bit.

With another hand, he popped a berry into his mouth before reaching onto the floor beside him where there was a bowl half-full with various types of berries. Iroh managed to bring them along with rice and other various types of easily carried food every morning. Zuko had no idea, and found he'd rather not know, how exactly his uncle got them. Yun was lying beside him, curled up into a tight little ball and fast asleep.

"Aang! What's wrong?" Katara asked as she gently bended the water outside the tiny window.

Aang groaned. "We're wasting time, that's what! I should be Earthbending, not sitting in a stupid inn!" In his anger, Aang accidentally flicked his wrist and water hurled itself towards the left.

"AANG!" Sokka screamed, sitting up from his makeshift bed and quickly took off his shirt to shake it dry. Zuko's cheeks flushed a bit at that, and he quickly looked away.

Iroh, who had been snoring loudly in the background, now woke up with a jolt. Yawning loudly, he glanced around the small room and sighed when he saw Aang frustrated. "Arguments again?" He asked Zuko in a low voice. Zuko nodded.

Aang, meanwhile, paid no heed to what he was doing. "I'm tired of being here and doing nothing! This city is in the Earth Kingdom, but no one I've seen is an Earthbender!" Water once again sprang up and drenched Sokka, who had just managed put on his shirt again. Sokka let out a loud groan as he took off his shirt yet again before quickly scooted over to where Zuko was lying, out of the water's line of fire, so to speak. Iroh shot him a weary look, but let Sokka alone. They had been sharing a room for two months and Sokka had made sure to keep the flirting to a minimum. A fact that Zuko, himself, was secretly glad of. It was just too confusing to be around him… Not to mention he couldn't deal with a cynically over-protective uncle that would trigger.

So Iroh turned his attention back to the young Avatar. "We have spent a long time here, yes, but we have had time to rest.—"

"Resting won't teach me Earthbending!" Aang yelled, water splashing where Sokka had once sat.

"No, it will not." Iroh admitted patiently. "But it does teach you patience, which is key to Firebending. Think of this as early training."

"Training!" Aang screeched. "But I can't even Firebend! And where am I going to find a teacher for that?"

Zuko exchanged glances with Iroh, before he cleared his throat loudly. Katara and Sokka glanced at each other worriedly.

Aang, however, ignored them completely as he kept ranting, too wrapped up in his own problems. "Great. Now I need a Firebending teacher. As if I didn't have enough problems already!"

Zuko once again cleared his throat, feeling his temper rising.

"And where am I going to find a Firebender! And—OW!" Aang yelled as a small ball of fire barely missed his ear. Massaging his ear, Aang glared at Zuko. "What was that for!"

But Zuko had already snapped. "And what are we!" Zuko raged, twirling a small ball of fire around on his palm. "Pieces of metal?"

Aang's eyes widened in realization. "Oh—"

"You think you've got problems! I don't see you wanting to puke every morning…" Zuko sulked.

Aang sighed as he finally calmed down. "Sorry…I'm just stressed. I mean, with Azula on our tail…--"

Zuko sat up. "What?"

Everyone cringed. This wasn't going well.

Aang's eyes widened. "Er…nothing!" He quickly exclaimed, but it was too late.

Zuko stood up slowly, ignoring Yun who squeaked in surprise. "What did you say?"

"Nothing." Aang answered, but Zuko wouldn't be deterred.

"Azula is tracking us? She knows we've joined you three?" Zuko glanced around the room to see any sign that he was wrong, but all he saw were grim faces. "She does, doesn't she." It wasn't a question.

Iroh sighed and nodded, not looking at his nephew.

Zuko felt his temper flare at the nod and the fact that no one was willing to look at him. "And you all knew!" He screamed, the temperature of the room rising with his temper. "Why didn't any one tell me?"

"We didn't want to stress you…--" Iroh tried to sooth his nephew.

"Worry me! She's my sister! I'm more worried about not knowing where she is or what she's up to!"

"We didn't want to put you under more stress…--" Aang tried to explain.

"More stress! I'm NOT STRESSED!" Zuko screamed, flames bursting from his fists.

"Uh…yes you are—" Sokka immediately fell silent at the glare he was receiving.

"I can't believe this!" How long have you all known!" Zuko yelled, but when he saw he wasn't going to get an answer, he asked again, this time in a vehement tone. "How long…"

"Two, almost three, months." Aang revealed guiltily.

Zuko let out a scream of fury at that, while throwing his hands up in mock surrender. "That's it. I can't TAKE ANYMORE! I'm off and YOU'D ALL BETTER NOT FOLLOW ME!" Zuko growled as he jerked open the door so hard that it seemed like a miracle that it didn't fly off its hinges. "AND DO SOMETHING WITH THAT STUPID DRIPPING!" He yelled back as he disappeared down the hallway.

Katara sighed as she picked up Yun to prevent him from following Zuko, and then shut the door. "He's bored out of his mind, isn't he?"

"We all are. There's nothing to do here but drink and gamble." Sokka complained as he slipped on his shirt again.

Aang glanced up at the corner ceiling, where there was a huge hole patched up quickly with some boards. Rain was leaking through the spaces in between the boards, and dripping down into a bucket, which they had placed there. "Should we do something about that?"

Iroh shook his head and smiled. "It'll give something for Zuko entertain himself with." Then, after an afterthought, "But of course, if he tries to burn the roof down, we'll fix it."

Aang nodded, then smiled. "He took it better than I thought he would." He blinked at the glares he was receiving. "Whaat? I mean, he didn't set anything on fire…"

"True." Katara admitted, as she bended some of the water from the bucket outside. "But he has currently run off in a rage, and more likely will hold a grudge against us for a really long time."

Aang winced. "Oh yeah."

There was a soft silence, then, "Do you think he'll be okay?" Sokka spoke up, looking wearily at Iroh. Iroh, however, just nodded.

"He'll be fine."

"But what if he gets lost?"

"He won't get lost." Iroh answered confidently.

Zuko was lost.

Or more specifically, the inn they were staying at was lost. But that was still not helping him with the fact he was wandering the streets cold and soaked to the bone.

Sighing, Zuko looked around the empty streets and saw no indication of where he was. He had, in his desperation, knocked on a few doors, but no one opened them.

Zuko glanced up at the storm-gray sky. It was dark enough to be evening, even though that was still a few hours off. Rain was pouring like there was no tomorrow and Zuko was sorely tempted to use firebending, but he dared not risk it.

He sighed as he stopped under a small terrace to stay out of the rain. Glancing around, Zuko took off his hood and slowly slid the tie that held his hair together, out. Looking at his reflection in a puddle, he sighed inaudibly, and pouted. He was getting fat.

Sure, it was a barely noticeable little bulge, but it was enough for him to have to loosen his pants just a wee bit. Zuko was suddenly thankful for the cloak now. It was nice and warm, even when wet. Also, it hid his form well, and actually made him look much thinner then he actually was. He had no doubt that it would keep on hiding him well. Plus Sokka thought him cute…

Glancing quickly back at his reflection to try and distract himself, Zuko flushed at the thought. Since when did he care about what people thought? But…it felt kinda…nice…that Sokka was trying to flirt with him, although he almost always ended up insulting him instead.

Shaking his head a bit, Zuko shoved the thoughts away, and instead concentrated on pulling his hair back into a pony-tail again. His hair had grown back completely, but was all tangled and messy. Even with the pony-tail and all, it was still all over the place. They didn't have a hairbrush, anymore because Katara had had to sell it for some copper coins.

Footsteps caught his attention right then, and Zuko looked to his right and started a bit in surprise. The stranger was a large man, both in build and in size and would easily tower over him. The man wore a dark brown cloak; similar to the one he was wearing. Zuko watched him pass wearily, not really liking the way the stranger blatantly stared at him as he passed. When the stranger turned a corner, Zuko let out a sigh in relief and quickly put on his hood. Then he stepped out into the rain, heading the opposite way the man had come from.

A sigh escaped his lips as Zuko realized that he was nowhere near his destination. The streets were still muddy, but now they were filthy too. Wrinkling his nose, Zuko realized he had reached the slum part of the city. Glancing around, he quickly moved on.
Zuko stared wearily at the bar across the street from him. Roaring laughter echoed from it and light poured out from the place. But as warm and dry as it looked, it didn't look welcoming at all. The entire neighborhood was dead around it…but…now that he took a better look around the place, he realized that there was no neighborhood. The whole place consisted of restaurants, bars, gambling halls, foreign inns, and other places people could enjoy themselves. Zuko frowned and turned to go when…

"Not lost, are we sweetie?"

Zuko started, surprised and caught off guard. The same man he had seen pass him by was now standing a couple of feet in front of him. Zuko didn't know what scared him more, that he never heard the man approach him (or for the fact, stalk him), or that that man had just called him 'sweetie'.

The man, meanwhile, was grinning at him in a strange manner. "Where you headin', hon?"

Zuko shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do. Should he say something? As creepy as the guy was, there was no one else around to give him directions…and he sure hell wasn't going to go into one of those bars. "To the inn near the east city entrance." He admitted finally.

The man laughed. "That's no where around here, hon." Then the man took a step towards him, now just a few inches away. Zuko, however, held his ground, refusing to back away and show weakness.

"Ya look cold, hon. Wanna go in?" The man hinted towards the bar across the street but Zuko immediately sensed danger.

"No thanks." He replied stiffly and turned to go. The man laughed at that. "Oh, but I insist." He replied, and Zuko suddenly found his wrist being grabbed tightly by a massive hand.

Zuko was caught off guard. Jeez, the guy was fast! But before he could do anything, the man jerked him closer.

"I want you to meet a few friends of mine…" He hissed into Zuko's ear, making a cold chill run down his spine.

Then, before Zuko even had a chance to protest or do something, the man whirled him around and began dragging him to the bar.

Zuko immediately started to struggle, trying to twist out of the massive man's hold, but the hand just tightened around his thin wrist. Once again, Zuko was tempted to use firebending, but before he had a chance to decide, they reached the bar and the man shoved him roughly through the open door.

Zuko stumbled inside, almost tripping through the door. But before he had a chance to catch himself, the man jerked him up by the wrist and dragged him further in.

"Hey Ching! Whatchya got there?"

The man that held Zuko by the wrist grinned as he nodded to a man sitting at a table. Many more men, all huge in build and size, surrounded him. Some, like the man sitting and the one holding Zuko, wore coarse brown clothes, while others wore dark blue clothes. Zuko felt his breath hitch as he glanced around the bar. The whole place was filled with similar men, all huge and muscular. Soldiers. Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom soldiers.

Zuko was quickly brought back from his thoughts however, by the man, Ching, suddenly jerking him forward a bit and resting his free hand onto his shoulder, but not before pulling Zuko's hood off. "Found him wanderin' around outside."

The man who was sitting at the table now stood up, a large grin plastered on his face. "Now that ain't right." He tisked as he strode haughtily over. "A pretty thing like you shouldn't be out all alone…Right men?" His grin widened as a roar of agreement rose up from the others all around the bar as they now started to pay attention to their 'guest'. Then, the man glanced at Ching. "Brought him here to warm up, didn't you?"

Ching grinned coyly. "'Course I did, Shen. Can't leave a pretty thing like this in the streets now can I?"

A roar of laughter rose from the men as Zuko's cheeks reddened a bit. He wasn't quite sure what the men wanted with him, but whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Shen, meanwhile, chuckled. "Aw, he's blushin'… Ya managed to bring in a real cute one, Ching." His eyes lingered on Zuko's scar for a bit. "Too bad that pretty face has such an ugly scar…But…I ain't never seen such eyes." Shen nodded in admiration. "They make up for that scar big time." Then, he took a step back and looked Zuko over. "Wonder what else makes up for it?" He muttered, earning whoops and laughter from the men as Zuko went beet red.

Zuko's jaw dropped in disbelief. Oh no… These men weren't thinking of using him as a common whore now were they? They'd better not if they value their lives… His hands tightened into fists.

Shen saw this and laughed. "What's wrong, hon? Don't like flirtin'? You wanna get right down to the action?"

Zuko's jaw dropped again as the laughter renewed. Oh no. He so was not going to take this. In a split second, he jerked his wrist out of a caught-off guard Ching and swung a fist right at Shen's nose. There was a nasty crack, and then--

"FUCK!" Shen yelled as he reeled backwards, clutching a broken nose. "You goddamn whore--!"

"I am not a whore!" Zuko yelled at the stunned men, struggling to keep his temper in check.

There was a silence, then—

Zuko let out a cry in pain as Shen stomped the ground and a small wave of dirt shoved him backwards so that he flew into a table. Groaning, he quickly pushed himself up.

Shen wiped some blood away from his nose and shot him a smirk. "Well, well, gentlemen. Looks like we've got a little fighter on our hands." There were scrapes of chairs as the men started to stand up and close in on Zuko. "But that's all right. We like ours a little feisty, don't we?"

Wide grins rose to the men's faces as they let out a roar in agreement. Shen's smirk widened as he looked back at Zuko. "Still wanna fight, hon? It ain't gonna change the outcome…"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. Oh yes it will…He thought to himself. But he had to be careful not to firebend… He really didn't want to reveal who he really was-- His thoughts were interrupted by one of the men next to Shen hurling some water at him.

Zuko quickly dodged the water whip, before throwing a sharp kick at a guy nearest to him. The guy let out a groan as he fell back. Another guy jumped at him, forcing Zuko to dodge to the left, before having to jump backwards to avoid a water whip. It soon became a blur to Zuko as he began dodging various types of Earth and Water bending and other various attacks. He was careful not to firebend, although he dearly wanted to. But now was not the time—

Zuko let out a yelp as a water whip caught him at the side of his face and knocked him backwards. Another water whip curled quickly around his waist and spun him around, throwing him off balance and causing him to crash backwards into a table, toppling it over. But before he could get to his feet, he was surrounded.

Shen's smirk was still plastered on his face as he shoved his way through the crowd, followed closely by Ching. He stopped right in front of Zuko as Ching cruelly jerked him to his feet. "I told you it wouldn't change the outcome, sweetie." He hissed as he grabbed Zuko's forearm and jerked him close. "Let's see how well you kiss…" With that, he bent down and crushed his lips against Zuko's, earning whoops and laughter from the others.

Before he could think twice, Zuko gasped in surprise, involuntarily allowing Shen to slip his tongue inside. Zuko's eyes widened and he tried to clamp his teeth down but right then Shen started to twist his arm painfully. The pain caused Zuko to gasp involuntarily, and allowed Shen to explore a bit longer before pulling back for air. "Damn you kiss good." Shen commented, grinning widely. "And damn you taste good too."

Zuko snarled and tried to slap Shen with his free hand, but this time, Ching caught his hand from behind. "Now, now, hon. We don't want none of that, now do we?" He chided as he ran a hand across Zuko's ass. "And damn, you've got such a nice, tight ass."

Zuko went red as others started to run their hands across his ass too, feeling him up. "Stop it!" He hissed as he struggled against them, managing to kick one in the shins.

Shen just kept on smirking. "Why should we? We've been in the army for eighteen long years, fightin' them damned Firebenders. We haven't had any fun in years, and when we were so looking forward to stopping here for some fun. But these folks just barred themselves into their little homes and we ain't seen no fresh meat for days. Then you came along." With that little explanation, Shen slipped a hand into Zuko's cloak and began to feel him up. "Now enough chit-chat. Let's get you out of those wet clothes and dry you off, now shall we?"

The men whooped as Zuko struggled against their touches. "Stop it!" He growled as he managed to kick Ching in the balls. With a hiss in pain, Ching immediately let him go, allowing Zuko to twist himself free. But the freedom only lasted two seconds as Shen hit him hard across the face, causing Zuko to stagger a bit to the left. Then, before Zuko could even think of how to react, Shen whirled him around and shoved him onto a table. Zuko quickly pushed himself off of it, but not before he felt Shen wrap his arms around his waist and felt something hard and big settle itself under his ass. Zuko's eyes widened as he froze. No.

Only ONE person has EVER managed to shove himself up his ass, and it sure as hell wasn't THIS guy. And Spirits above him, it sure hell wasn't going to BE this guy either. Not while he can still help it.

He felt Shen's hands start to slip off the cloak and felt his temper rise. He wasn't going to let this egotistical rapist have his way with him. He didn't care if they packed him up and sent him to Ba Sing Sei, he was going to use his firebending. He allowed his fists finally to heat up as he readied himself for the offensive, when something small and white sprang passed the horny onlookers and landed on the table, squeaking and barring its teeth at Shen.

Shen's hands stopped in the middle of slipping off Zuko's cloak as they all stared at the livid little two-tailed fox in front of them. "What the--?"

Zuko stared in blatant surprise at Yun. How…?

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Nearly everyone jumped at the booming voice to their left. Zuko snapped his head to the side and saw his Uncle and Sokka shoving their way through the crowd, not hesitating to hurt anyone who got in their way.

Zuko jolted back from his surprise and quickly whirled around, shoving Shen off of him and kicking him right in the balls, causing Shen to double over in pain. But before Zuko could move, Ching jerked him back by the hair.

Sokka snarled at that and quickly rammed Ching in the ribs, causing Ching to let go both in surprise and in pain. The other men started to move towards them, ready for a fight, but quickly backed off when Iroh flipped one of them over, causing the man to land on his back with a nasty crack. Iroh snarled at them as he moved closer to his nephew.

"Get outside, now, Zuko."

Zuko slid into a fighting stance. "I can fight, Uncle—"

"Outside. NOW." Iroh ordered harshly in a low voice.

Zuko quickly backed off; sensing the silent warning his uncle was giving him. This was one of the rare occasions when Iroh completely lost his cool and when that happened…it was best to not argue.

"You, Boy, follow him out." Iroh growled to Sokka, who didn't even wait for Iroh to threaten him the second time. He quickly grabbed Zuko by the wrist, and dragged him outside, shoving anyone who tried to stop them aside.

The rain was still pouring none-stop outside, but Zuko didn't care as he broke away from Sokka and ran across the street. "I have never been glad to be outside." He commented as he let out a relieved sigh and twirled around, staring up at the storm clouds.

Sokka smiled softly as he walked slowly over to Zuko, watching the other keep twirling around in the rain, letting it soak him all over again. There was a small squeak and Sokka glanced down just in time to see Yun dash by him and jump up.

Zuko whirled around and gently caught the little fox and hugged him to his chest. "You really are lucky, aren't you?" He told the little fox as he hugged him a little tighter and lifted him up to look at him. Yun just happily squeaked and licked Zuko's hands with its tiny pink tongue.

Sokka chuckled a little at that. It was rare to see Zuko like this, but it was nice seeing a change in his usual gloomy and snappish attitude. Sokka grinned as he watched Zuko twirl around again, moving his body gracefully despite the slippery road, and clutching the little fox gently, yet firmly to his chest. Suddenly, Sokka longed to wrap his hands around those hips and draw Zuko close, placing hungry kisses on his red lips…

Sokka shook his head to clear it, before he got horny. Zuko didn't need to have to deal with him being horny right after he nearly got raped…

Raped.

That word brought him back to reality and he looked up, concerned. "Are you okay?"

Zuko stopped twirling and looked at Sokka. "Yes." He answered simply. "A bit bruised but nothing else."

Sokka stepped close to him, so that he was just a few inches away and gently brushed a stray strand of Zuko's hair away from Zuko's face. "Are you sure?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure." He stressed. "I was just thrown around a bit." He paused before turning away and muttering, "Not to mention completely humiliated…"

Sokka frowned and gently grabbed Zuko's wrist, causing Zuko to look back at him. "What about the baby?"

"The baby's fine. I made sure of that." Zuko answered earnestly. "How did you find me?"

Sokka had to laugh at that as he remembered. "You should thank that little fox of yours for that. It started panicking about an hour ago. And we finally got tired of waiting around for you, so we let him out and it immediately shot off, trying to find you. Me and Iroh followed and well…yeah. We got here just in time, I think." He finished lamely.

Zuko smirked a little. "Yeah. I suppose you did. I just hope uncle doesn't completely massacre them in there. It'll be a pain having to wash all that blood out from his clothes." Zuko winced a bit.

Sokka chuckled, even though he knew he'd most likely have suffered the same fate if Zuko hadn't let that incident go. "He's very protective of you, isn't he?"

Zuko sniffed. "You don't even know the half of it."

There was a small silence after that, disturbed only by Yun letting out a tiny yawn and climbing into Zuko's pocket.

"Why didn't you use firebending?" Sokka finally blurred out, not able to take it any longer.

Zuko looked back from the bar, where dulled sounds of complete chaos could be heard. "There were about thirty Earth and Water benders in there, all of them twice my size and at least three times my build. They've been fighting Firebenders for a longer time than I have even lived. Not good odds at all, I think." Zuko paused a bit. "Plus, if they found out who I was…" He let the sentence hang; knowing Sokka could fill in the blanks. "And…I didn't want to endanger the baby anymore than necessary." He finally admitted in a shushed voice, flushing a bit. He seemed to be doing that a lot today.

Sokka frowned, understanding. Then let out a sigh as he smirked a bit. "You just love putting yourself in danger, don't you?"

Zuko snorted and crossed his arms. "Not my fault danger likes me better."

Sokka laughed at that and wrapped his arms around Zuko, pulling him close. Zuko stiffened in surprise at the embrace, but then relaxed and hesitantly buried his face into Sokka's shoulder. He didn't like hugs…they'd always felt so…foreign to him. But this one felt…good. Like when his uncle hugs him…though not quite. This one was a bit different but he…liked it. It felt…nice.

Sokka smiled as he felt Zuko bury his face into his shoulder. Slowly and carefully, he let his hands trickled down so that he was holding Zuko by the waist. He could feel the small swell of the other's stomach and couldn't hold back a secret smile. Soon Zuko'll be holding and twirling a baby around. Their baby. And he wasn't going to let anyone touch Zuko, no, not while he was around. Zuko was his and his only.

Tightening his hold a bit, Sokka quickly shoved that last thought away. It was freaking him out a bit to be so…possessive of someone. He'd never felt that way…not even around Yue. Yes, he'd liked her and he hated the way Hahn had tried to take advantage of her, but he'd never felt possessive of her. No. This was a first.

Suddenly, though, he felt Zuko shift a bit and start, before quickly pushing him away and rushing off. Sokka blinked and whirled around, to see Iroh emerging from the bar, looking tired, but satisfied. Sokka sighed as he watched Zuko run over to greet his uncle.

Zuko has a nice figure… He realized suddenly, as he saw the drenched clothes sticking unto the Firebender's body, showing the shapes and curves off nicely. Quickly shaking his head to clear it, Sokka began walking over to the two.

"Uncle!"

Iroh glanced up to see Zuko hurrying over to him.

"You didn't kill them, did you?"

Iroh ignored the question, focusing more on what was important. "Are you all right, nephew?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Uncle!" Zuko snapped. "You didn't kill anyone did you—"

"Zuko, are you sure you are all right?"

"Uncle! I'm fine! Just a few bruises here and there, but nothing else, I swear. Spirits! You're just like Sokka…" He murmured, earning a scoff from Iroh. Zuko rolled his eyes at the old man. "Now are they still breathing in there?"

"Yes, they are." Iroh finally answered. "Although I highly doubt that some of them will be able to have some of that fun anymore." He smiled a little as he wiped his bloody hands onto his wet cloak.

Zuko just blinked at that last part, not really getting what his uncle meant. Sokka, on the other hand, let out a snort in laughter. There were times he really liked that old man.

Iroh glanced around. "We should leave as soon as possible. I doubt it is safe to stay here anymore."

Zuko sighed but nodded. "Great. More wet clothes…"

Sokka just laughed.

There. A nice, long update. Whew. And I'm sorry about my other story. Really. Hope this makes up for it…a bit…

R&R please.