Author's Note:

Zuko

Zuko couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed. He'd been so caught up in Aang that he forgot about the people around them. Some of what they talked about probably shouldn't have been shared with so many people, but it was too late now. If that wasn't bad enough then Aang drew his attention over to his uncle. Uncle looked stricken and guilt flared in Zuko's chest. He hadn't meant to tell him some of those things, at least not that way. His uncle hadn't needed to know about all of that. Biting back a sigh he moved away from Aang and over to where his uncle was staring at him, looking horrified and necessarily guilty. It wasn't like Iroh had any reason to be guilty. Once he reached the older man he didn't bother with words right away, he simply pulled his uncle into a hug, using the physical contact to help calm Iroh down. He could tell it was working even before the slightly shaking arms came up around his back.

"I'm alright Uncle," he told him quietly "As I said before, it's a long story. And a lot of it isn't nice, but we're here now and I'm not hurt. So it's fine." He could feel it as the older man took a deep, calming breath before he pulled back to nod.

"Right you are, Nephew," he agreed with a smile that was slightly shakier than normal "I do want to hear the full story sometime soon." Zuko gave a wry smile at that.

"Well, it sounds like you aren't alone in that matter. We'll likely explain at least most of it to Lady Kanna, Katara, and Sokka in the igloo." Iroh took another steadying breath before nodding.

"Of course. We should probably follow them then. It isn't polite to keep a lady waiting. Especially one as beautiful as Lady Kanna." Zuko didn't bother fighting back his amused huff at that and shook his head at his uncle's antics, earning him a startled look from the man. Unable to resist, Zuko flashed Iroh a bright, playful smile.

"Don't ever change Uncle," he told the now openly gaping man "I love you just the way you are." With that parting shot, albeit a truthful one, Zuko turned and started making his way to Aang. It amused him how long it took his uncle to collect himself and follow, but Iroh did manage to catch up before they reached the young Avatar. Thankfully Iroh was on his right side so Zuko was able to glance at him out of the corner of his eye and catch the bright expression on his uncle's face. Mission accomplished. Turning his attention back to Aang he put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder before using his other hand to gesture forward "Lead the way?" Aang flashed him a grateful smile before making his way farther into the village. Zuko fell into step with Aang with an ease born of familiarity, walking just slightly behind him and to his right. He did notice that his uncle shifted to be at his left as well, helping cover that side in somewhat unfriendly territory, not that either of them were really expecting a fight.

Aang led them directly to a specific igloo, but even if the hadn't been guiding them Zuko was pretty sure he would have been able to make his way there. Sokka and Katara were both standing just outside of it, watching them approach. Katara looked mostly curious and somewhat awed, by this point. Sokka was still watching them with suspicion, Aang too by this point, which made Zuko feel somewhat guilty. Once they arrived Katara nodded and made her way inside. Sokka just glared at them.

"After you," the suspicious Water Tribe teen told them shortly. Aang obeyed with a slightly sheepish smile that Zuko could barely catch and Zuko gestured for his uncle to follow the boy in before going in himself. Unsurprisingly, Sokka followed them in shortly after that. Zuko was pretty sure that Sokka just wanted to make sure that he was at their back instead of the other way around, which was understandable all things considered. Once they were inside Lady Kanna gestured for them to sit. Katara moved to sit next to her grandmother and Sokka moved to sit on her other side, clearly planning to protect her if necessary. Zuko subtly indicated to Aang for him to sit on the side closer to Lady Kanna, hoping that Sokka would trust Aang at least a little more than the two firebenders in the igloo. Zuko settled down next to the young Avatar with his uncle taking the spot between him and the Water Tribe warrior.

"Now," Lady Kanna said firmly "Explain." Her eyes shifted between the three outsiders, but she seemed to notice how Iroh was looking at the younger two and so she fixed her attention on them. Zuko exchanged a look with Aang before turning his full attention to the formidable older woman.

"It's a long story," he warned them, but her expression didn't change so he continued "It's also fairly unbelievable. I'm living it and I barely believe it." He and Aang glanced at each other again before the younger boy took over.

Aang

The atmosphere in the igloo was tense, but Aang hoped that he'd be able to get through this explanation and convince them that he wasn't lying. He knew how far fetched this story was going to sound. In all honestly, he wasn't sure he would be able to sit through trying to explain it without the steady presence of the Fire Nation youth at his right. Having a friend with him, one that was sharing his experience in this, made the whole situation much more bearable.

"It is really hard to believe, but it's the truth." At Kanna's even nod Aang pressed on "Zuko and I," he gestured at the exiled prince "Seem to have been sent back from almost a year from now." Katara's eyes widened in shock at that, but Sokka didn't look impressed. Kanna simply nodded for him to continue, she almost seemed to have expected something of that sort. "The last thing I remember before waking up out on the ice with Katara and Sokka is facing down Fire Lord Ozai during the comet that is coming in a little less than a year." He grimaced and looked down "I lost and the spirits had to step in to fix things. So they sent me back." He paused and glanced at Zuko "I thought I was sent back alone until Zuko showed up."

"And do you have any proof of this claim?" Kanna asked evenly, causing Aang to frown.

"Well, nothing physical," he replied, shifting uncertainly "But I know things that I wouldn't if I hadn't come back." He paused and glanced at the two younger Water Tribe members "Katara, Sokka, and I traveled together for a long time, before." Kanna looked at him expectantly, but suddenly Aang couldn't think of anything. Luckily, Zuko came to his rescue.

"You're mother's name was Kya," Zuko's voice was quiet and almost apologetic as he looked at Sokka and Katara "She was killed by the Fire Nation six years ago. She was protecting Katara by pretending to be the last waterbender in the Southern Water Tribes." All three members of the Water Tribe tensed, but Zuko continued on "Your father's name is Hakoda and he is the chief of your Tribe. He, along with the other men of the Tribe, left to fight the Fire Nation two years ago, leaving Sokka in charge of defending the Tribe. Sokka wanted to go with him when he left, even putting on the warrior's paint, but Chief Hakoda wouldn't let him come because he wasn't an adult yet. Chief Hakoda's best friend's name is Bato." Zuko paused to take in their expressions before pressing on with facts that he knew "Katara's necklace is a betrothal necklace, but it was handed down to her from her mother, who got it from Lady Kanna," he nodded to the older woman "Who got it from a waterbending master named Pakku, from the Northern Water Tribe. From what I understand, Lady Kanna, you left the Northern Water Tribe due to their views on women." Aang straightened at that.

"Yeah! Master Pakku was really strict and kind of a grump! He didn't even want to train Katara at first. She had to go learn in the healer's hut instead," he paused and tilted his head "Though, that might have been a good thing considering how many times she saved our lives with that healing." He shook his head and got back on track "Anyways! Katara got really angry with him because he wouldn't teach her, and wouldn't let me teach her either, so she challenged him to a fight!" He grinned at the memory "He tried to just walk away but she smacked him in the back of the head with a water whip so he agreed to fight her. She lost, of course, she hadn't had any real training and Master Pakku had years of experience, but then he saw her necklace." He shook his head with another wide grin "He agreed to teach her after that." All three of the Water Tribe members were staring at them now. Katara's hand had come up to grip her necklace like a lifeline. Sokka didn't look like he wanted to believe it, but his quick glance at his Gran-Gran seemed to tell him that he had to. Kanna's eyes were wide and her breathing was slightly faster than normal. After a moment she closed her eyes to collect herself. After a long moment of silence, Kanna spoke.

"You're telling the truth," she was simply stating a fact and Sokka visibly deflated, looking somewhat lost "This is...a lot to take in." The older woman scanned around at the people in the room before fixing her gaze back on Aang "Tell us everything. If you're here to do things better then we need to know what we're working with." Aang glanced at Zuko at that and wasn't surprised to find the older boy looking at him too. Zuko must have seen the question on his face because he shrugged.

"Out of everyone I'd say Katara, Sokka, and Toph are the people who deserve to know the full story. I'd like Uncle to know as well and I don't see why Lady Kanna can't be told." Zuko frowned slightly and paused, tapping his fingers against his leg "You explain things from your end first then I'll go through my part. We should probably get as much information on the table as we can. And that includes the two of us being completely up to date on things. The more we know the better our chances are." Aang hesitated before nodding. That made sense.

"It's a really long story," he warned them, looking back at Kanna "And..." he paused and glanced at Zuko uncertainly "Some of it probably won't make much sense until we get closer to the end..."

"What he means," Zuko cut in evenly at their obviously confused expressions "Is that for the majority of the story Aang and I were not allies. I spent the majority of the next year attempting to capture him so that I would be allowed to return home to the Fire Nation. There are several points in time that paint me in a rather bad light. It wasn't until after the Solar Eclipse that I joined his group."

"But I trust him," Aang cut in quickly "Zuko did some bad things for a while, but he never actually hurt us. And he proved himself a lot after he joined us. So..." he grimaced and shrugged "Just...keep that in mind while I explain, ok?" Katara and Sokka exchanged somewhat wary looks before looking at their Gran-Gran. After a long moment, Kanna nodded.

"Very well," the older woman agreed "We will keep that in mind and allow you both to finish your stories before we make any judgments." Katara and Sokka seemed to follow her lead and nodded as well, though Sokka's was more grudging than Katara. Aang beamed at them at that.

"Thanks!" he said happily before shifting to get more comfortable on the ground. Without thinking much about it he shifted to lean against Zuko's side, getting comfortable against the older boy's warm side. He could feel Zuko stiffen slightly in surprise before he relaxed and slowly placed an arm around him. Zuko was still very unused to friendly physical contact. That's why Aang and Toph had made it their mission to help him get used to it. Aang was going to miss his partner in Zuko-cuddling crime, but he would simply have to do as much as he could on his own. Once he was comfortable Aang settled down to begin explaining his part of the story.

"For me, this all started over a hundred years ago..."