The first thing Hakoda noticed upon boarding Prince were his children. Then the Avatar. Then the Dragon of the West.

He blinked.

The old man was wearing Earth Kingdom green. And he did not look particularly happy.

The other sailors were mostly familiar as well- and they were also wearing green instead of red. None of them looked particularly happy either.

They were all tense- ready for a fight. Based on what'd happened last time they'd met that wasn't a bad assumption.

Hakoda had another moment to think on it before he realized that the Fire Nation Prince, his children and the Avatar had been traveling together for quite some time.

And that they were still alive.

But if they were all here- where was Zuko?

Hakoda didn't think about that much longer because he was running forward and suddenly Sokka was right in front of him and he was holding his son as close as he could.

"Sokka," he said, voice nearly breaking before he turned towards Katara, holding an arm out to her too. She hesitated, looking torn for a fraction of a second before she stepped into his embrace as well.

He wanted to hold them, hold them close and never let go, but the tension levels on deck had not abated as the two sides stared at each other.

He let go, taking a step backwards. Hakoda nodded to the Dragon. He paused for a moment. What was he supposed to call the man anyways? Dragon? Old man? Zuko's Uncle?

"Iroh," he said, "It looks like we need to talk."

…-…

Iroh watched Hakoda for a long moment. He'd talked to Aang, and Aang had agreed to act as a hostage if the situation demanded it. Iroh really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Katara and Sokka might have been more effective- but they also might have made Hakoda desperate. And desperate people did stupid things.

"What are your intentions?" Iroh asked. He needed to get back to Zuko- needed to help him- but he couldn't go to Zuko, not now, not until he was sure Hakoda wouldn't attack them.

Hakoda hesitated for a long moment.

"What are yours?" he asked.

"We are trying to end this war." Iroh said bluntly, and there was something beautiful about being able to say aloud something that had rested in his heart for six years now.

Hakoda watched him for a long moment. "How?" he asked, and Iroh smiled. It was not a kind smile, or a gentle smile. It was a dragon's smile, full of teeth and jagged lines and sharp edges.

"It's quite simple really," Iroh said, "We find allies that can help us convince the world we want peace. We go to the Fire Nation and I challenge my brother to an Agni Kai. I win. And we make peace."

…-…

Aang watched Hakoda and Iroh argue.

They seemed to almost enjoy it, though every couple of minutes Iroh glanced towards the door leading below deck- towards Zuko.

"Why didn't you tell us you wanted to end the war last time?" Hakoda asked.

Iroh smiled, though the smile was sad. "Zuko wasn't ready yet. He was still so loyal to Ozai- and he is a terrible liar. You would not have believed us, even if what I said was true."

Hakoda seemed to watch him for a long moment, before asking, "Where is Zuko?"

Iroh's sad smile saddened further.

And Aang decided that he'd had quite enough waiting.

Sure- it was a spirit sickness that Aang apparently, even with his super cool Avatar powers, couldn't help.

Sure- he hadn't even known the guys real name until an hour ago.

But Zuko was still Li.

And Li was Aang's friend.

It didn't really take much sneaking to sneak below deck- Katara and Sokka weren't really watching him anyways. They were too excited to see their dad.

And Aang was happy for them- he really was- but sometimes… sometimes they would talk about people they knew and missed and Aang would talk about people he knew- and it was different.

Because the people Aang knew weren't ever coming back.

…-…

Iroh and Hakoda finished their discussion and Iroh breathed a sigh of relief as he was finally able to go to Zuko.

Riko and Aang were there with Zuko, and Iroh hesitated for a moment, watching them.

Aang launched into another story and Iroh smiled. Zuko had been without friends for far too long. And now he didn't have to be.

…-…

Zuko couldn't see. The world was dark- he was drowning far, far under the ocean waves- the ocean sighed softly around him- there were voices in the ocean, soft whispers that he could almost hear if he just listened hard enough- and then the moon was there and laughing and suddenly Zuko wasn't under the ocean anymore.

He was in an Agni Kai, but Father wasn't there- instead it was Azula.

Azula laughed and the laughter was mad and blue fire burst around them.

The fire morphed, forming two blue dragons that swirled around the two of them in crazed circles.

"Give up!" she shouted, "Kneel- kneel like you knelt to Father. I will let you sleep."

And Zuko hadn't realized it before, but he was so tired- his bones felt heavy- he wasn't even sure how he was standing-

And then Uncle was there. Uncle was there- holding back Azula's flames. Changing them. Blue flame flared orange and the two dragons, one still blue and one newly orange, fought. "Wake up!" Uncle shouted, "Zuko- wake up!"

And Zuko listened.