"And every time I get better, we stop. It's been six days since we started and we're still just doing the basics!" Aang couldn't figure out why Zuko kept holding him back.

"Maybe he's trying to sabotage you so it's easier for the Firelord to beat you," Katara said.

"No, he just has a different teaching style. Listen to him, do what he says, and you'll get it," Toph said.

"Have you considered that he's just weird? Or crazy? Or both?" Sokka said.

"Sokka, sometimes I think you're the wisest of us all," The Avatar said as Toph sighed.

"If you have a problem with my teaching style…" Zuko had been listening the whole time.

"And if I do?" The Avatar shot back. He normally wouldn't have been so disrespectful, but lately he had been more temperamental. Zuko looked like he was going to respond, but just gestured to their usual training spot.

Aang created another blast of fire after only five minutes this time, and it was even bigger than ever. He could contain it to a point, but the flame got out of control and spread. Zuko immediately stopped the fire and asked the Avatar, "Can you not handle this? How will you stand a chance against my father if you can't handle a simple flame?"

"What do you mean? That was a huge flame!"

"That's the problem! You have no control over your bending."

"I could have put the fire out!" Aang was yelling now.

"No, you're falling into the same pit that my father and sister and I did! And it's a long climb back up!" Zuko was matching the Avatar's volume now.

"I'm nothing like Ozai or Azula, or, or… like you used to be."

"You sure are bending like them!" Zuko included who he used to be as 'them.'

"Leave me alone! My bending is fine! It's better than yours!" The Avatar threw his hands in the air.

"You want me to leave you alone," Zuko said, ignoring the last comment, "Fine. Then stop acting like a kid with blasting jelly and starting acting like the Avatar!"

"You can't expect me to stop the entire Fire Nation!" One of his motions started a small spark behind him.

"Not a nation. One man."

"Why me? Why not someone else?" The Avatar started to back away now.

"Because no one else can! Because no one else will!" Zuko advanced towards him. The weight of Zuko's statement awoke him from his recent rage. "Turn around," Zuko said with a jerk of the head. Aang looked behind him and saw that he had started a fire that had spread to some nearby plants and had scorched the left side of a monk statue's face.

The Avatar quickly bended some water from a fountain and put out the fire. Then he fell to the ground with his head in his hands. He was silent for a long time before mumbling, "I feel sick."

"That feeling is horror," Zuko said as he hovered over The Avatar, "at yourself. Over the destruction you caused." Zuko knew that feeling. He had felt it many times before. Namely, after his father's most recent war meeting.

"Now, are you ready to listen to me?" Zuko asked. The Avatar nodded. "Okay, get up." Zuko extended his hand to The Avatar with a slight smile on his face. The Avatar took his hand and got up.

"Remember, Aang, power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles," Zuko said. The sun was now setting, so Zuko thought that he should end the lesson there. They bowed to each other and sat down with sweat dripping from their face.

"So," Aang said, "do you think I have a shot of beating the Fire Lord?"

"Right now? No, no," Zuko chuckled at this thought, "but you have the most potential to of anyone I've ever met."

After a long silence, Aang got up and said, "Alright, lets go get some dinner."

"Mine probably has spit in it."

Aang laughed, "No, Katara wouldn't do that."

It occurred to Zuko that Aang thought that he was joking.

That night at dinner, Zuko sat next to Aang around the fire with everyone else. He appeared to be one of them, but everyone knew that he was out of place; a puzzle piece that didn't fit forced into place. The only one who felt as if it was one group was Aang, who was telling some old stories to Zuko. The whole time, Katara stared daggers at Zuko, as if to say, "Now that you're friends, you're on even thinner ice. Don't screw it up."

A/N: Again, sorry for the long wait. Allow me to suggest other Avatar fanfiction to help ease the wait between chapters! Parlor Tricks by Lyralocke and Thou Bitter Sky by SoloMoon. Both are great fanfictions.

PLEASE review. Seriously, they're coming in by a trickle. It doesn't encourage me to continue, because I don't know if people are reading or if they like it. And a cookie to anyone who figures out what avatar fan-work (fiction, art, video) is the line "Because no one else will" from.