"Uh oh."

They had stopped for lunch. Sokka was holding one of their packs. He turned it upside down and shook it. A few crumbs fell on his feet. "We're low on supplies. Really low."

"I thought we had more than that," Katara said. She looked at their lunch. "This could be our last good meal for a while, until we get more."

Sokka raced over and started shoveling food into his mouth. "Better enjoy it while I can!"

Aang got out the map. "I don't know any interesting places near here. This'll be a real adventure!"

Katara looked at it with him. "Let's pick somewhere quiet. Somewhere peaceful, far away from Fire Nation business. Somewhere we can just get supplies and get out without having to save a town again."

Aang pointed to a spot. "How about here? 'Rosewoods.' I like the sound of that. How bad can a nice forest with roses in it be?"

"With a name like that, it has to be a tourist town," Katara added. "And it's completely isolated. It's as far from the Fire Nation as anyone could get. It's perfect!" She took the map and marked the spot.

"Good," Sokka said. "I've had enough of tangling with the Fire Nation. We haven't had to run from fireballs for a while now, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"We agree," Katara told him.

"I know being the Avatar means saving people, but there's only so much you can - Wait, you do?"

"We're agreeing with you, Sokka," Aang said. "Get supplies and get out. No making new friends."

Sokka squinted suspiciously. "Uh huh."

"I agree with Sokka," Zuko said.

"I don't need any more distractions," Aang said. "When there's fighting, I always want to distract people from it. But I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to face my problems head on, like a real Avatar."

"I don't like the sound of that," Zuko muttered.

"I'll prove that I will stand up for peace, no matter what. I can be trusted!"

Zuko clenched his fists. "You'll never convince me of any of that. Just give up."

"No," Aang said. "I'm not going to give up and I'm not going to run away. Not this time."

Zuko crossed his arms. "Let's see how long this lasts."

"It's not a whim! I really mean it!"

"You're an airbender," Zuko said, as if that explained everything.

"So?" Sokka challenged. "What are you saying? Are you saying airbenders can't commit?"

"Yes," Zuko said. "That is exactly what I'm saying. There's no way this airhead could ever face anything head on."

"I'm the Avatar," Aang protested.

"Maybe you will be some day," Zuko shot back. "But you aren't one now."

Sokka shook his head. "Nuh uh. You do not get to say that. You're not an Avatar, last I checked. You're just a firebender. Stop talking about things you don't know anything about."

Zuko stopped talking. Nothing about his expression changed. But he lowered his head so that he was glaring at his bowl and resumed eating in silence. Sokka took that to mean he'd won. He was right, the firebending jerk was being unreasonable, and hopefully the jerk would be nicer to Aang in the future. Hopefully. Sokka didn't really expect anything to change, but he wouldn't dash anyone else's hopes. He wasn't mean or cruel enough to do that.

But he was wrong. He had no idea what he'd just started.

.

He's wrong. I'm - no! I'm not. There's nothing… He's wrong. No, stop thinking that!

Zuko remained completely silent through the rest of lunch, while boarding the bison, and after that, too. He couldn't afford to speak. He needed every last ounce of his energy to squash down that traitorous part of himself that was trying to say traitorous things. It wanted to speak. It wanted to open his mouth and tell Sokka he was wrong, and why he was wrong. Zuko was so busy trying to stop it from doing so that he didn't even see the outside world.

The fight raged on and on. His thoughts would put together most of a traitorous idea. Zuko would sense this and head himself off before he could fully think it. The diversion would take him to another almost-realization, and he would block that too. On and on this went, Zuko repeatedly distracting himself in order to avoid these thoughts he did not want to have.

I would kill for a town to save right now, he thought when he had a spare moment to do so. A fight with Zhao. Anything!

But there was nothing compelling enough to stop him from thinking. If there was, it would also have been compelling enough to overcome his intense inner focus and attract his attention. There was nothing like that around.

I'm not - I am - he's wr - no - I - the Avatar - no! - we - why am I thinking this - it's not - it is - stop!

It was exhausting. Zuko didn't notice slapping away Iroh's concerned hand. He didn't hear anyone's voice. The fight to stop himself consumed all he had.

And then some. Eventually, he failed to stop a thought in time. He's wrong. The Avatar and I have so much in common. The floodgates opened. All the realizations he had been avoiding streamed through on this first one's heels. We both talk to spirits. We both interact with all four elements. I may not be an Avatar, but I know what it is to learn from and understand all the elements. The Avatar only knows one element and half of another. I know three elements and half of a fourth. I could teach him how to be the Avatar. It's not hubris!

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut, and his hands, and his chest. But it was too late. He had thought all of those things. He felt sick to his stomach, and regretted eating lunch. What? How could I… It's not true. I am going to be Firelord. A Firelord doesn't do any of those things. I can't be able to teach him that stuff. I can't. Goosebumps rose all over his body. These thoughts and realizations endangered his future. They threatened the only goal he'd ever had in his entire life.

So he blocked them away. It was too late to stop them, but he could at least avoid dwelling on them. Considering them. He turned himself around and looked over the side of the saddle. By now, they were flying steadily among the clouds. He saw a wisp of cloud blow past. The air spirit and water spirit were very good friends, and they liked to play together.

He closed his eyes again. He couldn't see things like that. He didn't want to see.

.

Sokka dropped his jaw open and clutched his chest. Then he put a hand on his chin and scrunched his face up. Then he widened his eyes and made his lips tremble.

Aang laughed. He'd worried about doing so at first. But Zuko hadn't noticed either Sokka's mocking exaggerations of his facial expressions or Iroh asking him if he was all right, so Aang let himself laugh as loud as he cared to. He wasn't sure why his traveling companion was suddenly dead to the world, and he didn't care. Sokka was too funny!

Sokka continued to make weird faces. Aang stopped laughing long enough to catch his breath and check to see if Zuko was still dead to the world. He was startled to see him looking over the side of the saddle instead. But Aang had only just stopped laughing. He must have heard. It was probably okay. Aang looked back at Sokka sticking his thumbs in his ears and waggling his fingers with his tongue hanging out and burst out laughing again.

Iroh was laughing too. "What are you two laughing about?" Katara asked.

"Sokka's making funny faces," Aang told her.

"Sokka!"

Sokka stopped and allowed himself to laugh from the general mood of merriment. "What? I don't have anything else to be doing."

"...Just don't overdo it. It sounds like somebody's about to fall off."

Sokka made a few more silly faces, then called it quits. Aang picked up his staff and called for Momo. "Wanna go flying, Momo?" He leaped out of the saddle without waiting for an answer.

He closed his eyes. For a few seconds, he felt the full downward force of gravity. Then he swung his staff around, spread its wings, and redirected all that force sideways. It felt as natural as if they were his own wings. This was what it was to be a creature of the air! He angled his staff properly and zoomed upward, past the saddle, and let out a cry of exhilaration. It felt so good to fly! It came so naturally to him. He might learn other elements, but Aang couldn't imagine belonging to them as much as he belonged to the air.

He swooped and dived, chased Momo and had Momo chase him. It was wonderful. With air in his wings he was free and powerful, graceful and skilled. There was nothing he need fear. He could not be overwhelmed. If something frightening approached, he could dance away from it easily and leave it behind. Aang had never had great troubles before, so he hadn't realized flying could have this effect. He realized it now as his shoulders felt lighter than they had in days.

Something compelled him to glance down. He met Zuko's eyes. The firebender was looking up at him from the saddle, arms folded over the sides. He reminded Aang of a tiger trapped in a cage. And for the moment that they met eyes, was that yearning Aang saw?

It was just a moment. Aang flew past him and dipped down over Appa's head. His body continued to fly like nothing had changed, but his mind was elsewhere. Suddenly, he understood. He had agreed to let Zuko travel with him because the firebender thought he had no choices. Aang had forgotten that in the days since, what with Zuko changing the easygoing climate on the bison and starting fights and making demands. He didn't seem trapped. But he still was, just as much as he had been when he had command of his own ship. And now Aang knew that Zuko knew it, too. He knew he was trapped and he wanted to be free.

Aang understood exactly where all the conflict was coming from. It was a tiger lashing out, slamming its six paws against its cage and snapping at the bars.

The epiphany left him too stunned to fly. He swooped back up to the saddle and landed. Momo followed. The lemur tucked his wings away, stretched, and looked for someone's lap to sleep in. Apparently neither Sokka's nor Iroh's laps were suitable. He pricked his ears up, tilted his head, and slowly, with tail flicking, approached Zuko. Zuko was still turned away with his back to the saddle. Momo sat on his left and chattered at him.

It looked like nothing would happen at first. Then Zuko turned sideways and leaned against the edge of the saddle on his right side, allowing Momo to sit on his lap. The lemur curled up there and went to sleep. Zuko petted him gently. He kept his head turned to his right, away from the others, looking out into the air.

Aang tightened his grip on his staff. He knew Zuko must be wishing he could fly, too.

.

The spot Katara had marked on the map was far enough that they couldn't reach it in only a half-day of flying, so they camped for the night. The camp was in a clearing in the middle of a forest.

"It's getting colder," Zuko said, holding his hands out to the fire. "I'm not sleeping outside anymore. From now on, I get the other space in Uncle's tent."

Katara stirred the soup they were making. It was mostly water, with a few edible plants and scraps of fish from a minnow thrown in. They were most definitely going to go to bed hungry tonight. "To be honest, I'm having trouble remembering why we made you sleep outside in the first place," she confessed.

"Revenge," Zuko reminded her. "Just like everything else you've been putting me through."

Katara took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through her nose. "I'm sorry. That wasn't fair. You didn't order the raids against us. We shouldn't treat you like you did."

"He did chain us to the wall though," Sokka recalled.

"I agree with my nephew. That's no reason to treat anyone with disrespect," Iroh said sternly. "He has agreed to join you. That means he has agreed to stop chasing you. Why would you want to give him any reason to break that arrangement? It doesn't make much sense."

"Actually -" Aang thumped his staff on the ground beside him for emphasis. "It does." He stood up. "I've done it. I know how to make peace. I understand what's wrong, and I know exactly what we need to do to fix it."

Zuko looked up at him. "Nobody say anything," he warned, although nobody had made a move to speak. He leaned back against a tree. "I want to hear this."

"I understand what's wrong," Aang repeated. "Katara, Sokka. You guys think Zuko has all the power, and you feel helpless. But Zuko thinks we have all the power, and he feels helpless. Everybody's lashing out for the same reason. We have to help each other feel stronger. That'll stop the anger and fighting."

"You?" Sokka asked. "Helpless? You're a prince. Everybody's had to give you everything you want your whole life."

Zuko's face twitched. "That's not at all true. You know nothing of what it means to be royalty."

"Sitting in a fancy palace, eating foods that fancy palace cooks serve up at your whim, snapping your fingers for servants to pick you up and carry you places on their backs. Sounds pretty powerful to me."

"It's the opposite, actually," Zuko said. "Everything you just said is true. So many people put so much effort into raising me. Do you have any idea the responsibility that puts on me? I have to pay them back. I have to be such a good Firelord that all that effort and money was worth it. It's a huge burden. You'll never know what it's like to start your life with a debt and spend the rest of your life trying to pay it off. It's like constantly digging myself out of a hole. Does that sound like power to you?"

Silence. Sokka blinked. "You feel guilty about it?"

"Of course I do," Zuko murmured. "Just by existing, I'm a burden on thousands of people who don't know me and have no reason to care about me. Wouldn't you feel guilty about that?" His voice sharpened to a dagger point. "Or would you love being waited on hand and foot and never think twice about the people whose backs you're breaking?"

Sokka reared back. "I…" He looked down. "I never thought about it that way."

"You people will never know what it's like to live like that. You can do whatever you want, and it's okay. It doesn't trouble anybody. You have nothing to worry about." Zuko looked at them all with plain, undisguised envy. "And you think I'm the one who can do whatever I want? You're all idiots then."

Katara looked up at Aang. She smiled and nodded to him before turning back to Zuko. "What do you want, Zuko? What would make you feel better?"

He opened his mouth. Closed it. Vague scattered signs of an inner war flickered across his face. Then he squeezed his eyes and fists shut and summoned his strength. "Stay away from me," he ordered. "I have to constantly second guess everything I do in order to avoid becoming a traitor and proving Zhao right. Don't make me do that. Stay far away from me. This is a temporary arrangement of convenience, and nothing more."

The camp went completely silent. Aside from the fire's crackling, nobody spoke. Nobody would deny his claim, yet somehow it was a shock. In some vague way that couldn't be described, it hurt. The only one not visibly shocked was Zuko, who glared at each of them in turn. "Well?"

"Fine." Sokka shrugged. "I'd rather not talk to you anyway. We have nothing in common."

Katara checked the soup and gave it another stir. "I can't promise that. It goes against everything I stand for. Weren't you the one who told me to trust what I believe?"

"Well?" Zuko asked of Aang.

Aang's eyes filled with water. "But…" He sniffled. A tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away before it could go very far. "I… Okay. If you really insist."

Zuko's eye twitched. There was a reason he needed to keep such a stern glare on his face, and a reason why he had needed to summon his strength. But it didn't show. "I do insist," he said in a voice as firm as ever.

The soup was ready. It was eaten in complete and sullen silence. Sokka didn't even ask for a larger serving. He wasn't hungry. Aang let Momo take several mouthfuls from his bowl. So did Iroh. When dinner was done, the fire was put out and the ashes scattered. And everybody retreated to their tents for the night.

"Zuko… Are you sure that was what you wanted?" Iroh asked.

"I would have felt bad no matter what I asked for. I might as well ask for the right thing."

"Are you sure that was the right thing?"

"Of course. I have to be the best Firelord I can be. I would never allow myself to become a traitor." Zuko pulled his blankets over himself. "Good night, Uncle."

"Zuko?"

"What?"

"I was prince myself once," Iroh said. "You don't have to feel so guilty, Nephew. Royal treatment is a natural part of being royalty. Everyone who's ever served you knew what they were signing up for. It's not as if you ever abused the staff; on the contrary, I heard you were as courteous as any boy your age. It's all right."

"No." It sounded like Zuko could say more, but he didn't. "Good night, Uncle."

Iroh sighed. "Good night, Nephew."