As Hakoda caught up with his children, Lu Ten found Zuko again. They had not really talked at length since Ba Sing Se when Zuko had told Lu Ten off for faking his death five years ago. Already, Lu Ten could see a drastic change in Zuko. It was more like when he was young – he was open and kind. Not the bitter young man he was when he was a refugee.

"I understand why you can't come with me to find Iroh," Lu Ten said. "But I do have one thing I've wanted to ask you."

"What is it?" Zuko wondered.

Lu Ten swallowed, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer to this. "Do you…do you hate me for everything that's happened?"

Zuko's eyes widened at his cousin's words, but his expression softened. Lu Ten watched as Zuko considered this. He didn't look angry, but he was clearly shocked. He thought for so long that Lu Ten feared he might not answer at all.

"No, I don't hate you," Zuko finally said. "Back in Ba Sing Se, I meant what I said. I thought that what you did was stupid and selfish."

Lu Ten was stung but did not interrupt.

"But now I've seen what the Fire Nation has done to the world," Zuko continued. "Even when I was the prince again, I couldn't stand the things I had seen our people do. I understood how you must have felt at the idea of returning to that life. I still don't agree with your methods, but I at least saw how you got to that point. And there was no way you could have known the effects of that. I can't fault you for how my father manipulated those events."

"Is that why you didn't reveal me?" Lu Ten asked.

"Actually, no," Zuko said bluntly. "I was still angry at you. I kept your secret for Uncle."

"So, I'm guessing you still haven't forgiven me, huh?"

"Oh, I forgive you. I have been shown more forgiveness than I deserve lately, and I'm really happy to do the same."

As he spoke of the forgiveness he received, he looked mostly at Katara. Lu Ten was touched. Zuko had grown up, and at last forgave him for the chain of events that were ultimately his fault. It was though a great weight had been lifted from his heart.

"I'm glad to hear it, Zuko," Lu Ten said. "And I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks," Zuko returned. "I'm glad we can be friends again."

"We were pretty close before I went to war," Lu Ten recalled. "I mean, you were pretty little, I'm surprised you feel that way."

"Are you kidding? I worshipped you!"

Lu Ten laughed. "I was your first fire bending teacher, do you remember?"

"Yeah, actually!" Zuko said. "You taught me the first few stances and stuff!"

"Your mother was furious at me," Lu Ten said. "She said that three was much too young to be learning fire bending. But I thought it was better you learned to control it. In fact, my daughter is that age and I was teaching her before I left."

"Your daughter is a fire bender?"

"Yep," Lu Ten said with a nod. "A good one so far."

"I can't believe Mom got mad at you…" Zuko trailed off. "You were a good teacher."

"Well, Aunt Ursa did not think a fourteen-year-old had enough experience to teach her son."

"Hey, do you remember the trips we used to take to Ember Island?" Zuko asked. "And the awful plays my mom would drag us to?"

Lu Ten groaned at the memory. "Yes! Geez, they were awful! But, your mother loved theater. My dad used to fall asleep during the shows."

Zuko chuckled. "He did! And he would snore!"

"Do you remember that time he snored so loud that the actor actually broke character and said something to him?! And then he was mortified when he realized he was talking to the prince!"

Zuko and Lu Ten both burst into a fit of laughter. It had been a long time since either of them had laughed like this. They never thought they would look back on their memories in the Fire Nation with such fondness. Lu Ten wiped a tear from his eye.

"Man, those were actually some good times," he said.

"Yeah," Zuko sighed. "You know, I think that was the last summer before you and Uncle left for Ba Sing Se."

"I think you're right," Lu Ten agreed. "It was just a few months after that we left."

"I went to that house when I was back home," Zuko said. "I took a trip with Azula and her friends, and I went to the beach house."

"What did you do?"

"We burned a bunch of stuff."

Lu Ten snickered. "I bet that felt good."

"It did," Zuko said. "It was liberating."

"Yeah. We had the façade of the perfect family. We had good times, but that was because we didn't know what was really going on."

Zuko looked at the ground. "Yeah. It makes me feel strange about missing it."

"Me too," Lu Ten said. "Believe it or not, I did miss home. Especially my father. And you."

Out of nowhere, Lu Ten pulled Zuko into a hug. He knew Zuko was not used to being shown this kind of affection, but clearly the Avatar and his friends had an effect on him. Zuko barely hesitated before returning the embrace. It was as if they were holding a brother. In a way, they were. Both were princes, both were exiles, and both of them knew the harsh reality of their upbringing. Most importantly, they were both helping put an end to the atrocities caused by their forefathers.