Disclaimer: For Disclaimer, please refer to the epilogue or first chapter.

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Chapter 2:

The door closed leaving behind a loud slamming noise and a puff of air left the sheets as he flung himself onto the bed. The four-poster bed swayed slightly before becoming calm once more. He grasped hold of the dark sheets as he buried his head into the soft surface.

He had changed. Changed a great deal from back when they were children. His identity was not whole and his mind drifted to his Uncle and his Avatar-hunting adventures. He tossed on the bed, the mattress precisely hugging the curves of his spine. A confused look rested upon his damaged face.

He stayed like that. Tossing and turning many times as the sun was shone lowering through the small slit of the curtained window. Only two people came knocking on his door, both were servants wondering if he needed some food or a bath. He slept in hour intervals, not being able to find peace. He was fighting a battle within himself.

He didn't arouse out of his room when the sun began to rise, touching off of the distant horizon, either. A new knock rang through the dark room, and Mai's voice broke the silence.

"Zuko, come out of there. Come on, don't you think you've sulked enough? I mean, this is really dragging on and I wanted to go shopping today. You did say you would get me something expensive, didn't you?" Mai's tone was as cold as usual and her requests were materialistic and unhelpful to Zuko's current state of mind.

"Leave me alone," Zuko strongly urged her through clenched teeth. Wrapped in twisted blankets, his face was barely seen through them. He wore the sheets like a hooded cape and the pillow he used as a face mask. He was confused, troubled, and in dire need of direction. His confidence, in needing his Father's approval to be happy, was diminishing and his trust in the Fire Nation and their current leader was troublesome.

There was a few more bangs and more meaningless words spoken by Mai, but she didn't seem to try for too long. She left within ten minutes of coming. The silence was suffocating, but he welcomed it with open arms. He thought of his mother, how he wished she could be comforting him right now. Something to ease the pain he felt within his heart.

It was starting to become evening again, and still he had nothing to eat and not been able to get much sleep. His eyes were puffy and he could smell wafts of tender mooselion coming in from the cracks under the door. He had guessed the servants had left it there in case he felt hungry later. His eyes drooped, and once again he was asleep, but he doubted that it would be for long.

Meanwhile, in the dark hallway outside of the Prince's room, a petite young lady snuck her way through. The hallway, that was crowded and busy with people in a tizzy just hours earlier, was now silent and dark. She let out her held breath and stole a bobby-pin from her hair. The old fashioned lock wasn't hard for her to pick. Her tongue caught at the corner of her mouth, concentrating her eyes on her mission.

She was rewarded by a click of the mechanism unlocking and, turning the knob, she enter the room that hadn't been opened since yesterday.

The small amount of light that was filtering through the hallway flooded the room quickly and spilled across the bed where a lump was found amongst the tangled mess of sheets. A gentle smile took her lips and closing the door behind her, she cautiously walked towards the muddled heap.

When realizing that the lump was breathing evenly and not stirring, she felt safe enough to relax her movements. She made it to the side of the Prince's oversized King bed in about twelve steps. She counted as she went, trying to busy her mind with that instead of thoughts of her being alone in the Prince's room with the lumpy sheets.

She stood, watching the sheets breathe for a few minutes before finally gaining the courage to lower herself to sit on the edge of the bed. She rested her hands on either side of her bottom, hoping that she didn't disturb the sheets with her sudden presence. The lumpy sheets didn't move.

Her bottom sunk into the soft mattress hugging her. It took all her being not to bounce on the bed, knowing that would be a telltale sign that someone was here. But, it was so tempting. She bit her bottom lips with resolution. After a beat, she had control again and pulled at one end of the sheet. Under the sheet, she found a head resting on a rather large pillow.

The pillow was sunken in on one side, showing how the Prince favored to sleep most nights. His hair was plastered to his forehead and neck from night sweats and his breathing was a little hoarse. She worried over him for a moment before knowing he wasn't sick. It was an emotional sickness.

She brushed his hair away from his face, smoothing it as she went with long, thin, agile fingers that were filled with tenderness. Her fingers worked through his messy hair, concern furrowing her brows. She couldn't heal his insides.

A familiar tune crept into her mind and she hummed a few bars before she could put words to the sweet familiar melody.

"Oh, on the first evening of Agni,

From somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world.

Oh, and on the second evening,

All the children of the nations join hands and compose a waltz."

She hummed the sweet tune, not recalling the rest of the words that were taught to her. She couldn't even remember where she heard the tune, but the Prince seemed to react to the melody and clung his cloth-covered hands onto the girl's lap. She was surprised at first but her face softened and welcomed him into her. She brushed his hair soothingly, while still humming that ever repeating song.

Zuko had been sleeping, but it wasn't pleasant. Tormented by his thoughts even in his dreams, he didn't like the feeling. He felt alone. Again he replayed his Mother being taken from him, his sister deceiving him, and his Father creating the biggest rift in his life. His scar that had shown his Father's disapproval of him for so many years. He wanted his Mother. He curled up into the fetal position allowing the darkness to swallow him, wishing for death to come.

Just when he thought that everything was lost and gone forever, he heard a faint melody from some distant place. The tune seemed familiar and he squinted through the darkness in the direction he thought the melody came from. He saw a light up ahead and a figure stood in that light. It was his Mother!

She held her arms out and she was humming the repetitive refrain to the lullaby she sung to him every night as a child. He used to love that song. The soothing tune always helped him find sleep and, even as he grew older, he said he didn't need it any longer but he yearned for her to sing it once more.

He reached for her, their fingertips barely skimming each others. He reached farther this time and was reluctant to give up. He finally reached her and clung to her front. He grabbed on with tears streaming down his face. He looked up into his Mother's young beautiful face and saw that calm loving smile he loved so much.

"Mother, mother, I've missed you. I'll never let go of you. I'm not going to let you go again!"\

His mother said nothing, just stared at her son with kind crinkled eyes and kept humming her tune. It wasn't long before he found her slowly disappearing and soon only the tune was left echoing in the emptiness. "NO!"

Zuko was upset. He wanted her back. Wanted his mother. He suddenly realized he was dreaming and forced himself awake.

His eyes opened wide and he was surprised to still hear the same tune from his dream. The tune was coming from just above him. His hands felt warm from holding onto something tightly. He tried to focus his eyes in the darkness and saw a pair of pale pants. Still confused at what he found after opening his eyes, he wondered if her was still dreaming.

His head was warm where it rested, but it didn't feel like the same texture as his pillow. He moved his head, until he was staring up towards the ceiling and what stared back at him was another face. A smiling face that he could make out even in the darkness.

"Ty Lee?"

She watched the waking Zuko stirring in her lap. The only thing she could think of doing was continuing her humming and smoothing his hair. She found the Prince to be quite cute when just waking up.

They sat in the darkness, both silent except for the hummed tune. Zuko went to speak, but Ty Lee made a shushing noise, breaking the melody while she rested a finger against her lips.

They sat in silence, longer this time. No song was heard, just the smooth feel of Ty Lee's fingers working through the Prince's tousled hair. He used the moment given to him to relax for once. He didn't move his head away from her touch and allowed the spell that she held over him to continue with the brushing of her fingertips.

Just staring at one another they felt content. The room grew darker and darker as the nighttime noises and firelight glowed from the small slit the window left.

Zuko was the first to break eye contact. He stared at that little slit that showed life outside the room still existing.

"How long are you planning on running away from everything?" Ty Lee had surprised him yet again.

"I'm not running away! I'm just, not in the mood for anything concerning anyone or any thing," Zuko replied back. He crossed his arms awkwardly underneath the sheets over his chest, his head still resting on her warm lap.

She stifled a laugh. "Zuko, I would classified that as running away. Or hiding. Whichever you want to call it, it's the same thing. What are you running from?"

He didn't grant her an answer. She cocked an eyebrow at this. "Oh, so we are going to play this game, huh? Well, don't forget that I know you better than almost anyone. I know your weakness."

Zuko rolled his eyes and gave her a look to say 'yeah, right'. Ty Lee took that as a challenge.

She was always good at finding things, like physical weaknesses in people, since she was a little kid. She reveled in new discoveries and every person's weaknesses were different. Zuko was mainly strong in physical strength, but there was one spot that he would succumb to her. Right between the ribs.

Her fingers stop their perusal of his hair and went towards his middle. He was an easy target. Totally wide open for Ty Lee. Though his arms were crossed, her nimble and sleek fingers found their way directly to the spot she knew all too well.

She was surprised that he was looking away and did not remember about all the times she had used this same weakness when they were kids. She smirked a devilish smile and began the torture process. She never backed down from a challenge.

She flex her fingers for a moment before testing the area she knew of.

'Poke.'

Zuko's head turned back quicker than a mousetrap going off. His face was red and his eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare use that?!"

Ty Lee smiled triumphantly. "Oh, yes I would!"

She began a full frontal attack now, poking his ribs, rubbing her fingers into his sheet covered chest. Zuko's face turned redder and redder as he tried to keep himself composed, but he could only take so much.

He finally had to let out his held breath and, with it, let out something that Ty Lee hadn't heard from him since before his Mother vanished. Zuko was laughing. Full out, belly-shaking, knee-slapping, head-back laughter.

The laughter was so contagious, that Ty Lee started giggling with him. Zuko, not willing to give up without a fight, struggled against the girls ceaseless tickling. He squirmed in her lap, fighting her off, but his hands were caught under the sheets and he couldn't break free.

"That's," he started to say through his laughter, "It!"

He finally pulled his hands out from under the suffocating sheets and took her hands forcefully away from his stomach. However, this action caused the already precariously placed Ty Lee to become more unstable, even for the spry girl.

She tumbled off the bed, bringing Zuko with her. Her back hit the cold floor, and her head banged against the solid wood. Zuko, acting quicker than he had thought he could, put his hands down where they fell, holding his body up so as to not fall on top of Ty Lee who was now sprawled on the floor.

Ty Lee's eyes were crinkled and closed in pain from banging her head and she slowly opened them up to see Zuko staring down at her with concern. "Are you alright?"

She didn't answer. Her arms lay above her head, and her eyes traveled down Zuko's body. It seems their bodies fell, but the sheets were firm in not moving too far off the bed. They clung around Zuko's hips, but they left his chest bare.

From the small amount of light that permeated into the room, Zuko's body glistened. Pectrorals, wash-board abs, and toned muscle mass reflected in her dreamy stare. Her eyes came back to his, and she stared at him with those wide, tootsie-roll brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, I..."

Nothing else was said. They came closer to one another, Zuko drawing down to her while she anxiously waited with anticipation. The distance between them closed to only centimeters. Zuko closed his eyes, but opened them quite suddenly.

Ty Lee had placed a finger on his lips and looked sadly into his face. The usual smile that was at a constant, was absent. "Zuko, we can't."

Zuko flushed with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. He knew he couldn't but he was so drawn. Knew the reasons why it was wrong, but couldn't help but feel that attraction towards her.

She kept her finger on his lips until she placed her other hand on his cheek. "Mai's my friend. My best friend, and you're her boyfriend. Whether or not we want to, we can't do this to her."

She looked away, a far off look on her face. Zuko turned his body away from her and lay his back against the cold floor as well, raking a hand through his hair. "I know that."

He was short with her. The mood had changed so suddenly. What happened to the laughter that had filled the room just moments earlier? Zuko stared up at the dark ceiling.

"Are you running from Mai? Is that it?"

"No." His answer was clipped yet again. Ty Lee blew a few strands out of her face.

"Are you angry because of Azula or your Father or-"

"I'm upset because I'm confused! I don't know what way is up anymore!" His voice was high-pitched and he was throwing his hands around in frustration. "I wanted my Father's approval. I wanted him to be proud of me but, to do that, I had to conform to his ideals. My sister is constantly conspiring against me, and my supposed 'girlfriend' only wants me to buy her things."

He paused for a moment as he sat up and bent his knees, resting his elbows on them. He continued, "I keep thinking about my Mother and feeling really alone when I should feel accepted and welcome after finally returning to the Fire Nation. Yet, I'm left constantly longing for the days when I was traveling with my Uncle in search of the ever elusive Avatar."

He felt the weight slowly lifting off his shoulders as he spoke more and more. "I keep looking back at my past and wondering why things had to change so much. Why things seem so confusing now. I just feel like sometimes I want to-"

He couldn't finish. Ty Lee had sat up as well, and now was pulling him into a tight hug. She held him tight, rubbing his back warmly. He could feel her smile in his shoulder. He brought his hands up to wrap around her, but he faltered. He let them fall to his sides.

"You're not alone, and you shouldn't feel that you need to change for anyone. Become the person you aspire to be, Zuko. Don't you remember anything I tell you?" She laughed lightly and continued in saying, "Life is tough, but you can't run away from it all. You need to face it and make your own decisions. Make your own choices. You can't allow other's expectations to hold you down. You're the only one living you life, aren't you?"

She pulled away from him and stared into his face, smiling brightly. "And you're never alone Zuko. You always have me. I'll always-"

Zuko stole her words. Stole her words away so that she couldn't even remember what she was saying. She was melting. Melting into Zuko, into his arms, into his lips.

Zuko kissed her.

His kiss was strong, passionate and full of emotion, just as she would expect from the Fire Nation Prince that she knew so well. And a thorough expansion of emotions took her over as the kiss lingered on. Happiness, sadness, glee, jealousy. She wanted to deepen the kiss, she wished she was able to kiss him like this all the time but, knew that would never happen.

She reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, breaking their lips apart. "I have to go."

This time Zuko was left. The door closing him back into his darkness, he raised a hand to his lips, wondering why he never felt this sensation before from all the times he had kissed Mai. What have I started?

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A/N: Okay, so here is the second chapter and third part to my wonderful Tyko, Zulee, whatever, fic! I don't know what it is, but I am having a blast writing this. And I thank you reviewers who are giving me the feedback I long for. Please keep reviewing and I hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I am enjoying writing it.

...kjh...

Thanks yet again! More to come soon...