Disclaimer: Okay, this took me longer than expected. I hope you enjoy it and have fun waiting for the next chapter! I don't own Avatar.

When Zuko awoke, he was certain of two things. One, the hay he was laying on was growing increasingly itchy by the second. Second, Mai was no longer next to him. Upon being aware of the second, dread flooded his mind. Where had she gone? Surely she hadn't left. He thought foolishly of himself when the door to the rustic barn creaked open. Mai stared at him, startled. She hadn't expected him to be awake. Zuko noticed that she was barefooted and her hair was dripping wet.

"Uh…where did you go?" He asked dumbly, puzzled. Mai snorted and slunk into the room.

"To take a bath." She was annoyed; he could recognize the vehemence in her voice. It also seemed that Mai had taken the liberty of washing the earth kingdom clothes that she hated so. Compared to his salt-encrusted tunic, hers was the epitome of clean. Zuko finally stood, brushing dirt and hay from his robes.

To her, he was perfect this way. The prince's hair was unruly, he smelled of the earth, and he had creases on his face and arms from lying on hay all night. He looked positively ridiculous. Mai willed herself to walk towards the fire pit and retrieve her shoes. She sat down, ignoring Zuko, and slipped them onto her feet. Then with great deliberation, she began the task of styling her black, shiny hair.

He had always wondered how exactly she did it, and here she was performing the girlish ritual in person. Zuko's eyes followed her hands as she knotted her hair into buns and pulled strands here and there. He couldn't help thinking that he could never, ever doing something like that to his hair so quickly, so flawlessly. Women were strange indeed. Zuko then decided that he didn't want her to know he was watching her execute her morning routine, so he took to rolling the blanket into a bundle and tidying up around the center fire pit. At about the same time Mai stood, through arranging her hair, the barn door creaked open. Suki's head appeared, followed by her body. She walked smartly, a more obvious smile on her face now.

"I know that you were planning on leaving today, but word's gotten around that the Avatar is coming here. Soon."

"The Avatar…is alive?" Zuko stammered; he prayed that it was true. Otherwise, he was certain that guilt would swallow him. Suki smiled as though she were about to burst.

"Yes. Yes, he is. I think it would be good for you to stay." She turned as left with a bit of a pep in her step, even though she stumbled slightly, Zuko noticed. He wheeled, looking to Mai. She only stared; she clearly wasn't as relieved as he was.

"Are you sure you want to stay? They'll likely try to kill you."

The thought had occurred to him, though he had chosen to ignore it.

"But if we leave, we'll be going back home anyway, yes? We can't just stop trying and fade into the background. It would be better to meet them here and see rather than at the fire nation." It made sense, really. It would certainly make them seem more suspicious; showing up on enemy territory claiming to want a truce. That would make them laugh for sure. Laugh right before bending them into oblivion. Real fun.

Mai waited a moment, mulling over his words.

"You may have a point." Zuko put forth a half-hearted smile, glad that Mai could see it his way. She brought her hand to one pigtail, biting her lip.

"So we stay?" Mai brought her eyes up to his. Zuko hesitated, and then finally decided.

"Yes, we stay."

The morning went by slowly, almost excruciatingly so. That is, of course, until a horde of stampeding adolescent girls made their way to the Unagi's bay as fast as their tiny legs could take them. This apparently was the sign Suki had mentioned; they would know when the Avatar had arrived when the town was emptied of its tiny resident females. Zuko couldn't help thinking that there was a reason that these people adored him so. The Avatar was their salvation, here to sweep them off their feet, away from the tyrant fire nation. It had been Mai's idea, and preference that they stay with the Kyoshi warriors, reasons being: one, to appear non-threatening among mutual allies and two, so they wouldn't disrupt the children's girlish glee with an imminent battle.

Mai could see the anticipation tying knots in Zuko's stomach. He knew that he would have to remain civil and not retaliate. The same went for her. There was no way to gauge how the Avatar and his crew would react. They were totally playing by ear on this one.

There was no doubt about who was responsible for the footsteps outside. Zuko sighed; there was no avoiding it now. He was crouched over one of the warriors, serving her some tea. Whether it was to seem hospitable or docile, he was not sure. Perhaps it was both. Mai simply stood to his right, leaning on the wall. In any case, the expression that washed over Avatar Aang's face was beggaring description. First it was surprise, of course. Then anger. Zuko rose to his feet, keeping his temper in check, and turned to face the crowd.

"Zuko!" It was Katara. That was her name, wasn't it?

"Ughh…why does this keep happening?" The water tribe boy groaned. Sokka. Hakoda's son. It was then that they noticed Mai.

"Oh, I suppose Azula and that circus freak are here too?" Apparently they had failed to notice that Zuko was actually helping the Kyoshi warriors.

"No. They're not." Mai said passively, her hands limp by her sides. Katara was reaching for her bending water, Zuko saw. The prince resisted the urge to take a fighting stance. He must have blinked, because all of the sudden, Mai was standing infront of him, breaking foot long icicles across her thigh. Katara was stunned. Not only had this woman caught the frozen daggers, but also she had not retaliated with those stilettos of hers.

"Sokka!" Suki emerged from the back entrance. She smiled wide and ran as best as she was able to him. His blue eyes lit up and he caught her in his arms.

"Suki!" He planted a kiss on her painted lips. "What are you doing back on Kyoshi?" Suki hesitated, glancing at Mai, then responded.

"We found Appa, he was in pretty bad shape, but we were attacked…by Azula. You can probably figure out where they got their Kyoshi disguises. In the end, we had to come back to recover."

"I'm just glad you're okay!" Sokka proclaimed, kissing Suki once again.

"Oh, right." Suki looked back to Zuko and Mai. "I guess you want me to do the explaining."

Zuko snorted, "If you would. They're clearly not going to listen to us."

Suki took a deep breath then began to tell the tale. It was an interesting story indeed; the Gaang listened intently to the account of Zuko's voyage, the destruction of his ship, Hakoda's rescue, and their arrival on Kyoshi.

"You met dad?" Sokka almost shouted.

"Yes, yes we did." Zuko said confidently.

"Is all of that really true, Zuko?" It was the first time Aang had said anything. His eyes were sharp and seemed to bore into Zuko.

"Yes."

"Toph?" Aang whispered to the blind earth bender. She nudged him roughly in the side.

"This is wood we're standing on, Twinkle toes. I can't tell you if it's the truth or not." Toph whispered back. The whole story sounded plausible, but it was Zuko. Then again, what reason would he have to be alone with Mai if it were not true? Azula certainly wouldn't have sent them here. Aang could not stop the part of him that shouted that they weren't lying. He was about to voice his thoughts, but the look on Zuko's face stopped him. The prince was staring beyond them, to the doorway. It was Iroh, beaming at his nephew.

"Prince Zuko!" He greeted genially, walking briskly to Zuko's side. Iroh embraced him warmly. Zuko was equally glad to see his uncle.

"Uncle! How did you escape the Dai Li?"

"I had help from a certain lady-friend." The kindly old general winked at Mai. She smirked, dipping her head in respect. Zuko turned to her.

"When…why didn't you tell me?"

"The details aren't important." Mai waved her hand in dismissal. Zuko shrugged, slightly annoyed by her flippancy. He allows Iroh to release him from his bear hug, and then speaks.

"I think I understand now, Uncle. You were right." The prince took a deep breath. "There's a balance that has to be maintained. The fire nation is responsible for some major unbalancing." Zuko smiled bitterly.

"Well, that's good enough for me!" Sokka came to his feet, grinning wide. "If you can meet my dad and be free to go, he must've thought you were okay!" Zuko smiled, a rare sight in this company.

"I am proud of you, nephew." Iroh put his hand on Zuko's shoulder, his face glowing with delight.

Aang walked over to them, a friendly expression once again characterizing his youthful face.

"If you're related to Iroh, you can't be all bad. And Suki seems to trust you. And Sokka and Katara's dad." He let an embarrassed blush cross his cheeks. "So what do you say, Zuko? Truce? Will you help us take down Ozai?" Zuko closed his eyes slowly, weighing the choices. Of course he had decided hours ago, if it did indeed come to this, that he would side with the Avatar. Why not? He clearly wasn't going to regain his honor through Azula, perhaps not even through the Avatar's capture. It was a difficult truth to swallow, but he knew it would be better to accept it than to live hoping for the impossible. Zuko would have to regain his honor by defeating his father, the most powerful fire bender on earth. And what of Mai? Would she be dragged into this because of him? No. She had no one else to turn to now. Only him. I am not a hero. Mai would stay by his side to the end.

"We will." Zuko clasped hands with the Avatar, the enemy. No, the Avatar, the ally. Aang was smiling so much, Zuko was sure that his face would split in two. Mai then came to his side, her usually pallid face slightly richer. She offered a smile to only him. It was the beginning of a new chapter for both of them. Who knew what would be in store?

Notes: Could it be? A truce? How long can this last? Will the Gaang plus some make it to the fire nation? Where has Azula slunk off to? Some answers and more questions await in the next chapter! Please review! ;D