Thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I really do appreciate them. And now, I am giving you the readers the chance to influence this fic. I want to know what side pairings I should add in, if any. In this chapter I have suggested one possible pairing but if nobody likes it I'll abandon that idea. These pairings won't dominate the fic but they will add spice and stop the supporting characters being totally ignored. Give me your suggestions and I will see what I can do with them.

Chapter 3

Zuko groaned as the two shrill, insistent, voices started up again. It was too early in the morning for these arguments. He pulled Aang closer to him and mumbled in his ear, "Why do they have to do this first thing on a morning?"

Aang, who was a light sleeper, replied, "I don't know; I'm not a mind reader."

For the past few days Toph and Katara had been at each other's throats. It was the simplest things that set off these arguments. Toph would not be doing anything while the others worked so Katara would go over and give her a lecture on pulling her weight and then Toph would go on about how she was self-sufficient and then there would be lots of shouting. Nobody liked this, especially Aang since Toph would later take out her fury on him by being extra mean during his training.

"Toph, you are the most insensitive, unfeminine-"

"Shut up Sugar Queen! You wouldn't know what sensitivity was if it went and bit you in the backside!"

"Would you two be quiet? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"Shut up Sokka!"

Zuko groaned again as Aang wriggled out of his grasp. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To get breakfast; I don't want Toph to drag me away before I've eaten like yesterday."

Zuko yawned as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes with his fist. "I hate mornings," he muttered as he walked over to where Iroh had boiled some tea.

Iroh smiled as the two sat down next to him. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"We did until we got our wake-up call," Aang said as he took the offered tea.

Iroh looked over worriedly at the two girls. "I feel like I should intervene but I am also very attached to my limbs."

"They'll stop eventually," Aang said in what he hoped was a confident tone.

Just then Toph brought down her foot making the earth tremble. "That is it! I've had enough of you and your complaining; I'm leaving!"

"What?!" Aang cried, leaping to his feet. "Toph you can't go – you've not finished teaching me Earthbending!"

"I don't care! I've had enough of her Sweetness and nothing you say or do can stop me leaving." To prove her point she brought her foot down again so that Aang fell over backwards. She then stormed off into the forest, not once looking back.

Aang stared in horror as she disappeared from view. "I can't believe this; she's gone!"

Katara turned to Aang, suddenly realizing what she'd done. "Aang I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

Aang sighed. "No it isn't."

"Actually it kind of is." Aang glared at Zuko while he sipped his tea nonchalantly. Zuko glared right back. "What? She was the one who made her feel uncomfortable."

Iroh put down his cup and slowly got to his feet. "I will go talk to her. I'm sure once she's cooled down she will see sense."

Aang studied his tea as Iroh walked further away. "So what am I supposed to do today if I'm not learning Earthbending?"

"I'll start your Firebending instruction if you like," Zuko said evenly.

Aang smiled widely. "That would be great!" He then stopped to consider this. "Wait, we're not going to stand around breathing all day are we?"

"At first, yes."

Aang groaned. "Great, I can hardly wait."

"Sarcasm will get you nowhere."

"But it gets Sokka everywhere."

Sokka sat up, still in his sleeping bag. "Ha-ha, that was truly hilarious Aang."

"I know." Aang and Zuko shared a secret smirk before finishing their tea.

It didn't take Iroh long to find Toph. She was sat on a rock brooding with her back to him. She knew he was coming though. "There's no way you can convince me to go back."

"I know that," Iroh said placidly. "I was just wondering if you wished to talk about your problems."

"I'm not the one with the problem – she is!"

Iroh sighed wearily. "May I sit down?"

"If you must."

Iroh positioned himself opposite Toph. The girl looked grumpy and not the least bit in the mood to discuss her problems. "Am I correct in thinking that this is the first time you've been around a bunch of people entirely your own age?" Iroh took her silence as an affirmative. "If that is the case then it is only right that there should be some conflict. To be in any situation for the first time is difficult and it takes a lot of practice to get along with people."

"Are you saying that this is my fault?" Toph asked indignantly.

Iroh quickly held up his hands defensively. "No, no, that isn't what I'm trying to say! What I'm trying to say is that living in such close contact with people can be difficult at first. My nephew and I are almost as new to the group as you. As you may have noticed this can cause conflict. You are not the only one who has not gotten on well with Katara."

Toph laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot about the time Angry Boy got really annoyed with her and they started fighting."

Iroh tried very hard not to laugh. "I'm sure my nephew would very much appreciate the nickname you've given him."

Toph grinned. "You think so? I've not had a chance to try it out on him yet."

"It is probably for the best," Iroh said before realizing they had gone off topic. "Anyway, I hope you see now that squabbles happen all the time when you are new in the group and you shouldn't take offence."

"But it seems like Katara is always gripping on at me."

"Perhaps that is true, but have you ever wondered that she might have a point. Please don't be offended by what I say but don't you think you could do more to help?"

"I look after myself – nobody else has to - so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that that's not how things work in a family. It would be fine if everyone took care of themselves but a lot of the time they can't. Some will have a greater skill than others in one area than in others so a group uses that skill to benefit the rest. Since that skill is benefiting the group that person technically doesn't need to do anything else to contribute. However, if someone in that group is struggling with something that person should want to help them because they care about that person and want to make them happy. That is what a family does and I do believe that the only reason Katara nags you is because she wants you to take a bigger part in our little family. You might want to be independent but there is nothing wrong with letting the ones who love you help you."

Top sat quietly for a moment, brooding over Iroh's words. "Do you really think we're a family?"

Iroh smiled gently. "In time I do believe we could be."

Zuko led Aang away from camp to a place that was clear of obstacles and (most importantly) quiet. They sat down opposite each other and got into their meditating positions. "Remember to take deep, even breaths," Zuko said quietly. "Clear your mind and concentrate on your breathing. Forget all the distractions around you."

Aang did as he was commanded. He concentrated on his breathing and his focus. For a long time he was able to retain his focus. Unfortunately, Aang then got bored and his focus flew out the window. He started fidgeting ever so slightly. His mind started drifting to other things like Zuko's breathing. It was a steady rhythm of inhale and exhale. At first it became his new focus. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, he began to imagine the rest of Zuko. It was a clear picture in Aang's mind. The strong jaw; the powerful torso; the scar that accentuated the angles of his face; the smooth hands and soft lips that drove him wild.

Aang blushed deeply as he imagined what those fine features could do. Zuko had him pressed close to that strong chest, his hand tilting Aang's face the right way so that their lips could meet in a kiss of blissful passion…

"You're not concentrating!"

The abrupt shout broke Aang out of his fantasy. When his eyes opened he saw Zuko glaring at him. The only defence Aang's dazed mind could come up with at that moment was, "How can I concentrate when you're sat there tempting me like that?"

Aang realized his mistake when Zuko's eyes widened, a soft blush spread across his cheeks. Aang tried to stutter an apology but was stopped when Zuko raised his hand. "Forget it," he said before leaning in closer to Aang.

Aang smiled shyly when he saw that the meditation was being postponed. "Okay," he said before accepting the kiss he'd dreamed of.

"So what's the deal with Angry Boy and Twinkletoes?"

Iroh frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Angry Boy seems to be nicer to him than anyone else and they're always sitting really close together or sleeping next to each other. You said you were new to the group so what's the deal? Do they know each other from before or something?"

"Ah," Iroh said uncomfortably. "Katara didn't tell you about them?" Toph shook her head. Iroh scratched the back of his, not feeling one hundred percent alright with explaining this to such an impressionable youth. "Well, you know how men and women fall in love and get married?" A nod. "Well the same thing can happen to two women or two men; they can fall in love with someone of the same gender and want to spend their lives together – much like your parents I assume."

"Wait a minute, you're telling me those two are…"

"You are correct, they are indeed a couple."

Toph stared at Iroh in open-mouthed shock for some time. Eventually she recovered and said, "Well that definitely explains a lot."

Iroh nodded then looked up at the almost fully risen sun. "If you have no more questions perhaps we should go back. I'm sure Katara will have had time to think over what she has done as well. Would you be willing to accept her apology?"

"I guess," Toph said as she pushed herself off the boulder.

Iroh smiled as they silently walked back in the direction of camp. On the way they heard something and decided to take a minor detour to find out what it was. When they found out they wished they hadn't. Zuko had Aang pinned to the floor and was suckling on the young Avatar's neck while his hand made its way under Aang's shirt. Aang's eyes were closed in bliss, short moans and whispers of Zuko's name passing his parted lips.

"I don't think my parents ever did that."

The short sentence ended the pleasure of the two lovers. Both heads snapped round and cheeks became an even darker red than before. "Uncle," Zuko managed to choke out. "What are you…?"

"We didn't see anything," Iroh said quickly. He grabbed hold of Toph's shoulder and steered her away from the embarrassing scene, wishing he himself was blind. Iroh may not be prejudiced but he preferred to not have to think about the things his nephew was doing with the Avatar.

Once they were gone there was a very awkward silence. "The moment's been ruined hasn't it?" Aang stated more than asked.

Zuko sighed as he moved away from Aang. "It has," he answered.

Again, there was an awkward silence. "Will you teach me to shoot fireballs out of my hands now?"

"No."

"Aww, come on Zuko," Aang whined pathetically.

"Not until you've learned to control yourself and your bending." Aang crossed his arms and huffed like a child that hadn't gotten their way. Zuko found such a pose adorable and couldn't help smiling. "Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean you get to cut corners. It was months before my Firebending teachers even considered allowing me to handle any sort of flame. However, since you have to master all the elements in a short period of time we'll start handling fire a lot earlier than that."

Aang gave him a sideways glance. "Promise?"

"Promise," Zuko said before sealing it with a kiss.

Aang smiled and moved back for another kiss. Zuko's hand cupped the boy's cheek as he kept the kiss slow and tender. Aang's eyes were half-lidded as their lips hovered close together, both undecided as to whether to leave it there or continue.

"Perhaps we could do a little work with fire now," Zuko muttered as his golden eyes connected with Aang's silver ones.

Aang leaned forward and pecked Zuko's lips. "Love you."

"I know."

They shared one last kiss before getting up to resume Aang's Firebending training.

"And when we walked past they were on the floor kissing!"

Zuko and Aang froze when they heard Toph's statement. She was sat next to Katara, telling her all about what she hadn't seen them doing. The two had obviously called a truce and had now engaged in one of a girl's favourite pastimes - gossiping.

"Do you know what kind of kiss it was?" Katara probed eagerly.

"No, my Earthbending couldn't tell me that – but I do know that Aang was enjoying it, weren't you Aang?" Toph said, turning around with a wide smile that verged on being considered creepy.

Katara suddenly blushed like the kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She didn't mind talking about such things when they weren't there but when they were she felt unwilling to humiliate her friends like that. "Oh, hey, I didn't see you there."

She got no reply since both boys were wishing the ground would swallow them up already. Zuko was also wishing that something heavy would fall on Toph, but that's not important right now.

"Err, we'll go and sit over here now," Aang said before leading Zuko out of hearing range of the two girls.

The two teens collapsed on a soft patch of grass and sat in silence for awhile. "Girls are crazy," Zuko said as he moved onto his back.

Aang nodded in agreement. His eyes darted over to said crazy girls. Katara kept looking over at them so that must mean they were still being discussed. Aang sighed and looked around absently, letting his thoughts drift wherever they may. One such thought made him frown. "Zuko, you know how they say there is a fine line between love and hate?"

Zuko didn't but he said, "Go on," anyway.

"I was just thinking: what if Toph and Katara like each other?"

"What?"

"I mean, they argue a lot and then get along like the best of friends. What if they do like each other? If two guys can fall in love there shouldn't be anything wrong with two girls falling in love."

"Is this some weird fantasy of yours?"

Aang's cheeks darkened considerably. "No!"

"Good," Zuko said as he sat up, his finger gliding down Aang's cheek. "Because I'm the only one you're allowed to fantasize about." He then claimed Aang's lips in a smooth, fluid motion.

Aang pulled back quickly and whispered, "Zuko, they're still watching us."

Zuko let out an irritated sigh as he lay back down on the grass. He listened to the sound of the two girls giggling and silently cursed women in general for annoying him and ruining his fun. He was distracted from his list of reasons why women should be eradicated from the earth when Aang's head appeared on his stomach. Zuko raised an eyebrow at this. "You do know that this will only excite them."

"What do you mean? I'm only using you as a pillow."

Zuko glared at him. "Is that all I'm good for now? Being your pillow?"

Aang hummed thoughtfully. "Yep, pretty much."

Zuko growled threateningly. Aang realized he'd gone too far and jumped to his feet. He took off like a shot, Zuko right behind him shouting, "Get back here you stupid little Airbender!"

Aang didn't stop though, just grinned. He ran out of camp and in the direction of the river, meeting Sokka coming up the path. They were on a collision course and Aang was going too fast to stop in time. Sokka cried out and braced himself for the impact that never happened. At the last second Aang used his Airbending to jump over Sokka, making Sokka think he was safe. That is, until Zuko crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Sokka shouted as he tried to push Zuko off him.

Zuko ignored him, scrambling to his feet to resume chasing the annoying little Airbender. Aang was waiting to the side of the path, waving cheekily. As soon as Zuko started coming at him, Aang used his superior speed to lead Zuko on a game of 'Catch me if you can'.

After they'd been running for what seemed like forever, Zuko finally had to stop and catch his breath. He glared at Aang as the young Avatar continued to wear that annoying grin of his, looking as if he'd hardly broken into a sweat. As Aang came closer Zuko puffed out, "I hate you."

Aang continued to smile. "I hate you too," he said before pecking Zuko's cheek.

Zuko shook his head as he lowered himself to the floor, leaning back against the nearest tree. Aang did the same, only he decided to lie on his back with his head in Zuko's lap. The banished prince looked down and their eyes connected. "How come you're not tired after all that running?"

"I am tired – just not as tired as you," Aang replied simply.

To prove his point he then yawned and closed his eyes. Zuko sighed. "And I'm back to being a pillow."

Aang chuckled. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"No, I guess not," Zuko said as he gazed out at their calm surroundings, folding his arms behind his head. "You do know that if we can't find our way back I'm going to kill you?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Just checking," Zuko said with a small smile as both he and Aang allowed themselves a moment of serenity before returning to the madness that was their camp and family.

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