Shouto's feet hurt from walking so far, but he didn't say anything and kept going. Shouto was aware he had a lot of talents when it came to combat, and most things physical, but if there was one thing he was spectacular at, it was going on when he thought he could not.

His grip tightened on the pack he was carrying. It must be something else besides exhaustion. Walking didn't make his feet feel like a pair of fifty-pound weights. His father's training did that, but nothing so mundane as walking.

"Maybe we should rest for a little while." Iroh suggested.

"Nonsense. We've only been walking for an hour or two." Zuko responded, whirling on them. When his eyes landed on Shouto's the frustrated expression melted away. "You don't look well."

"I feel fine." Shouto lied. He didn't want to be a bother, and just wanted to be able to follow them wherever they went.

"Are you sure? You're very pale." Zuko reached his hand up, placing it on Shouto's forehead. "And your cheeks are flushed." His hand moved to cup Shouto's face. "I think you have a fever, you're very warm."

"Um…" Shouto didn't know what to say. He tried forming words but his brain seemed to have short-circuited for some reason.

"We should rest for now, and don't you dare breathe on me. I'm not getting whatever you've caught." Zuko took his hand away sharply, as if his skin burned. Shouto hadn't been sick since he was little, he'd forgotten how dreadful it felt.

"It is perhaps a side-effect of the poison." Iroh said.

"You and your obsession with tea has caused this." Zuko sighed. "This will slow us down for at least a day or two."

"You could leave me." Shouto said. "I'll be fine. You should go." Zuko glared at him, it made Shouto feel like a bug about to be squashed.

"Don't be stupid." Zuko sneered, "You wouldn't last a day on your own, you bumbling idiot." He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "We have to find somewhere to stay and get you medicine for this stupid poison."

Shouto tried to pay attention, but Zuko's voice was very muffled and whenever he moved his head things were going in slow motion, he felt sick and his body felt heavy. Shouto didn't even realize, but he fell unconscious right in the middle of Zuko's sentence.

He knew this because when he awoke, everything was completely different from the surrounding trees, hard ground, and cold air he'd gotten used to. Now there was something soft under him and he noticed that his usually cool side felt somewhat warmer than usual.

Shouto turned to his right and saw Zuko laying beside him. He felt his face heat up, but at the same time didn't know why. He figured it was because of the unnatural heat he felt on his right side, unlike anything else he'd felt before.

Shouto slowly sat up and took in his surroundings. He was in someone's home, but he didn't know whose home it was. He really hoped that whoever the owner was, they were still alive and Shouto was not the accidental accomplice in a murder.

But of course, Zuko and Iroh would never kill someone… well, Iroh would never kill someone… Shouto thought he would never kill someone.

His worries faded when an unfamiliar woman came through the door. "You're awake." She said and smiled.

Shouto nodded dumbly and then asked, "Where are we?"

"We're just a home on the edge of town. You were fairly sick earlier today, but we managed to find the right herbs to cure you. Though we had predicted you'd sleep through the night so this is a bit unprecedented." She said the words softly, trying not to wake up Zuko, he supposed. "It's late though so you should probably get some more rest."

Shouto nodded and she left the room without another word. Shouto sighed and laid back down, his hands resting on his stomach. He did feel a lot better now than he had earlier today.

And he was glad Zuko hadn't left him, even if he had half expected him to. Considering he hadn't, it only solidified the notion that Zuko was worth trying to save, that he was worth fighting for.

Shouto turned his head and sighed softly, falling asleep soon after.

His eyes sprung open though, in the middle of the night. He heard footsteps shuffling around and hushed whispers. Shouto sat up and squinted through the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusting. Zuko was grabbing their bags and Iroh was watching him, they were quietly whispering, but Shouto couldn't hear anything they were saying.

"Zuko?"

Zuko paused, and then turned, "Perfect, you're up, get ready, we have to leave."

"What, where?" Shouto asked. "Why?"

"We're refugees, moron. And we're Fire Nation refugees. I don't expect you to know what that means, but to put it simply, nobody in the entire world is going to help us but us. Not when they find out who we are."

"If." Iroh said pleasantly. Zuko violently zipped the bag up and narrowed his eyes at the older man.

"When." He repeated and slipped the bag on his shoulders. "Now come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Anywhere that isn't here. The people here already know too much as it is."

"We could always silence them and assume their identities." Shouto said before he could stop himself. Damn his very tiny filter. Zuko was looking at him like he was an alien with a huge head and puppies for eyes. Bad Shouto, bad! You're supposed to pull Zuko into the light not give him ideas about murder! Besides, you're supposed to be a hero!

But overall, he was a teenager, and dark thoughts often came with the territory. "Never mind. I didn't mean anything by that, I swear."

"Oh no, you definitely meant something. You're not a spy for my father, are you?" Zuko glared at him and crossed his arms. Fuck, one comment and he was being accused of spydom.

"No." was all he could manage to say.

"Then why would you say that? Why would you suggest killing the people who helped you."

"Everything just… comes out." Shouto wished he knew how to put it more tactfully, but he really didn't.

"You know, I never actually thought that you could be my father's spy until now but it all makes sense! You're a recluse who doesn't know anything about the nation you live in, and you just 'happened' to join Zhao's unit soon after you'd met me, but really, you were told to keep an eye on me and report back to my father. That's what the notebook was for, why you were asking all those personal questions, you wanted to see how I would react! And then, when I was getting out of hand you told father to send Azula after me! That's why she was there, that's why you didn't help me and uncle fight her! You're just a spy, it all makes sense. I'm so stupid! All that made up stuff, it makes sense!"

"You have it wrong." Shouto said softly, but wasn't heard over Zuko's ranting.

"You lied to me!"

Shit.

This wasn't going well.

Somebody save him.

He didn't want to die.

Zuko looked like he was going to kill him for real this time.

Would now be the appropriate time to tell him he was kidding about the 'just make it quick' thing? He had things to live for!

"No, I—" Shouto sighed. "Look, let's save this conversation for later, you wanted to go, so let's go."

"I'm not going with you if you're a spy!"

"I'm not a spy!"

Shouto saw some lights turn on underneath the crack in the door. "Come on, we have to go." Shouto grabbed Zuko and threw him over his shoulder. Zuko seethed and threatened to set his clothes on fire, but he was smart enough to keep it quiet.

The cool night air hit him when he opened the door quietly and closed it again, just as soundlessly.

Iroh followed him as he moved further and further away from the house.

Once they were far enough away, Shouto slowly put Zuko down. He had been easy to carry, but it wasn't that surprising, considering he was barely as tall as some of his smallest classmates, and his frame was rather narrow as well.

He had his arms crossed and he was almost calm, which was scary in and of itself. "You're a spy." His tone left no room for argument, but Shouto tried to squash it in there.

"I'm not!"

"He does not seem like a spy." Iroh said.

"Well if he seemed like a spy he wouldn't be a very good one!"

"I'm not a spy, I swear!"

"Why should we trust you! I don't even—ugh, you know what, it doesn't even matter. We can't travel together since I'm suspicious of you! You've probably been reporting us to Azula this entire time! And you know what, I'm not going to let you stick around to find out."

Damn, everything was falling apart, going down the drain. Stupid Shouto, why had he said something so strange. And if he really thought about it, Shouto would've probably thought the same thing Zuko was now.

Well, maybe not the exact same, but he would've thought he was trouble. "No, wait, please, I can explain." Shouto said quickly. "I really just don't have a filter."

What was happening to him? The words were falling out of his mouth faster than his brain could stop them. He usually wasn't so forceful, but he wasn't about to be left in this strange world alone, either. "Take me prisoner, if you want, if that's what makes you feel safer, but please don't leave me."

"Zuko, he is not someone your father would hire. You would know that if you had been paying attention." Iroh said gently, placing a hand on Zuko's shoulder.

"Fine, he is not a spy. However, you are hiding something, and I will find out what it is, rest assured!"

Shouto truly hoped he never had to say what he was hiding, that he was from a different world. It would only complicate things unnecessarily. "Alright." Shouto conceded, a bit calmer now. The breaths were coming easier to him.

"Come on," Zuko said and led the way. They came upon a sort of creature that Shouto had never seen before, but apparently it was like a horse. Iroh tried to dissuade Zuko from taking it but reluctantly joined him and Zuko once it became clear he wasn't changing his mind.

They rode all night, resting at last when the first ray of light surfaced. Shouto closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting sleep overcome him.

He was awoken at noon and they kept moving, running into some people who seemed to be hunting down Zuko and his uncle. "Here, you drive."

"Okay." Shouto took the reins. It couldn't be any different from driving a car, right? It took Shouto a total of five seconds to remember he didn't know how to drive a car. And it took another five for him to realize he was going to crash, and two to see his life flash before his eyes.

Then the animal swerved at the last second and Shouto nearly flew off. It had obviously deemed him an unworthy rider because it tried to throw him off again.

Shouto didn't know what to do, so he just held on as hard as he could and tried not to fall off.

At some point it stopped but Shouto still had his eyes closed, and hands clenched tightly. "What were you doing!" Zuko cried.

"I don't know… I forgot I didn't know what to do."

"You forgot…"

"Yes."

Zuko opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, and then closed it, shaking his head and got on. The people who'd attacked them lay unconscious on the side of the rode, at least, Shouto thought they were unconscious. Shouto couldn't turn his head away from them until they were well out of sight.

They again, rested in another clearing, "Shouto go gather some firewood, it'll be getting dark soon."

Shouto nodded, and wandered off. As Shouto was gather the wood he'd been asked to get, he realized it was very possible Zuko just wanted to get him away so he could leave without him.

But he didn't think Zuko would do that, he hoped he wouldn't do that, because Shouto had nowhere else to go, and no way of getting home. He didn't have any other friends here and as far as he knew, no one in his world was even looking for him. He didn't even know if time worked the same here as it did in his world.

When he'd gathered enough wood, he walked back, some under each arm. He stepped over some bushes back into the clearing and saw only Iroh there. "Where'd Zuko go?"

"He left."

Shouto felt his heart sink. "Is it because he thinks I'm a spy?"

"No, or…" he sighed. "I don't know. I don't know this time. I just hope he's okay."

Shouto nodded, "He's lucky to have you. I wish I'd had someone like you." Someone to help him, save him. But there had never been anyone like that. He'd thought his mother, but she was torn away from him, and she had hurt him.

He didn't blame her, but she had, and she'd left them. Him and his siblings, and he wished he could let go of that anger, because he knew it was irrational. It was his father, he'd hurt her, so much.

But how could she leave them? She was their mother, she was supposed to protect them, no matter what. Shouto loved her, but he didn't ignore his feelings either. He knew things would never be the same between them, he knew they would never be like they used to. Not after the way she'd looked at him the last time he'd seen her.

One day he would face her, but he was so afraid. Afraid he would see that look on her face again, and he was more afraid of that than having the image of his mother's look of disgust and terror as his last image of her.

"Perhaps, but it seems you did fine regardless."

"I'm glad you think so." Shouto brought his hand up and covered the left side of his face.

"Tea?"

Shouto paused and then took it, sipping it quietly, wondering what was going to happen to him next.

Bonus:

"You know what would make this fight even better?" Katsuki asked, watching Aang fight the Blind Bandit in the ring below.

"What, Kacchan." Izuku asked, his eyes shut tightly like this was some sort of horror movie.

"Blood. Lots more blood."

"Oh yes, that would be just wonderful." Izuku grumbled sarcastically.

"I know. See, I told you I was a genius. And if it was a battle to the death, you know she'd win, the Blind Bandit."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you actually liked someone for a change."

"Like, is a very strong word." Katsuki said. "She seems like someone I could tolerate."

"Don't you tolerate everyone?"

"I do not tolerate just anybody. You for example, I don't tolerate you."

"Oh really? Then what word would you use? I mean, it's not like you're planning my murder, right?"

Katsuki didn't say anything and stared straight ahead at the arena. "Right, Kacchan?"

"Alright, alright, nerd. Shut up! I don't tolerate you, I just don't murder you, no matter how much I want to."

"How do you expect to be a hero when you say things like that?"

"Stop talking or my restraint might slip."

Izuku shut his mouth and turned back to the arena. "I guess she lost."

"No she didn't. Twinkle toes cheated."

"How so, and don't use her nickname, you know his name's Aang!"

"He cheated cus he can wield more than one element. That's not fair, it's cheating. It's like if someone's quirk was that they could have four different quirks!"

"Then that's their one quirk, so it's not cheating."

"Yes it is."

"You just can't accept that he beat her fair and square."

"You're right, I can't accept it, she's obviously superior so he must've pulled some cheap trick."

"I really don't think he did."

"Well then it's a good thing no one asked for your opinion, nerd."

Izuku stared at him for a couple minutes and then sighed, not pressing the issue any further. "You win this time then, I guess."

"I don't win anything 'this time' I win everything all the time."

Izuku just sighed and refused to say anything else to him for the rest of the day.

A/N Here's the new chapter! Hope you enjoyed the bonus too. And there probably won't be anymore on this meeting as I'm going right into 'Zuko Alone' now. I think they will all meet up in two, maybe three more chapters. And from this point on, Zuko and Shouto's relationship will only continue to grow. Only, Shouto's really dense and Zuko is socially awkward so... this'll be a challenge and I'm willing to listen to any ideas you guys have on moving their relationship for and anything you might want to happen (nothing too graphic pls). Thanks for reading, reviews are love, see you soon, bye!