(Originally posted July 11, 2023 on AO3)

"You're going to try and go to other villages to ask them to help us? And dad actually said I could go with you?" Katara asked incredulously.

"Yep!" Aang confirmed with a grin. "I specifically asked for you to come. I know how much you wanted to get out of the village, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity."

Katara beamed and pulled the airbender into a hug. "Thank you so much, Aang!"

Zuko frowned slightly when he noticed the flush that appeared on Aang's face as he pulled away from the hug, and his eyes moved back and forth between his friend and the Water Tribe girl for a moment. Why did that small interaction bother him so much?

Aang chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, it wasn't just me. Lee also vouched for you, and so did Sokka."

Katara smiled brightly at Zuko. "Thanks, Lee. I appreciate it." She then turned to her brother and squeezed him into an extra-tight hug. "And Sokka... I always knew you had a heart."

Sokka rolled his eyes, but was unable to hide his own smile. "Yeah, yeah. Like Aang said, I know how much you want to get out of the village. You're welcome, baby sister," he said, patting her lightly on the head. Katara immediately released her brother from the hug and gave him a couple of light slaps on the arm.

Zuko felt strange watching the two siblings tease one another like this. Azula used to tease him all the time, but she was never this... good-natured about it.

"Wait, but what about the Southern Raiders?" Katara asked, brow suddenly knotting with anxiety. "What if they come while we're gone?"

"Oh yeah!" Sokka said. "Aang had another... magical vision or whatever last night. Apparently we have three months until they attack."

Katara slumped her shoulders in relief, releasing the breath she had been holding. "Thank the Spirits. I just hope that will be enough time..."

"It's plenty of time, Katara. We'll unite the Southern Water Tribe, build our army. The Raiders won't even know what hit them!"

"You shouldn't become complacent," Zuko said with a frown. "Anything could happen between now and then. And we're going to need to take this mission seriously if we want the Tribe to stand any chance against the Raiders. From what your dad said, it sounds like this isn't going to be an easy task."

"Come on, Lee," Sokka said, throwing his arm around Zuko's shoulders, causing the Fire Prince to stiffen. "Lighten up a bit! We've got the Avatar on our side!"

Zuko gingerly removed Sokka's hand from his shoulders and stepped to the side. "Earlier today, you said you were 'a practical guy' who's 'skeptical about this magic stuff', and suddenly now you're putting all of your stock in Aang?" he said with a deepening frown. "He's not just some... superpowered weapon you can use for a guaranteed win against your enemies! He hasn't even learned waterbending yet! He came here because he wants to help, not because it's his duty as the Avatar."

The siblings both looked taken aback for a moment, then exchanged somewhat guilty-looking glances.

"I'm sorry, Aang," Katara said. "I hope we haven't given off the impression that we're relying on you to fight our battles for us."

"Or that the fact that you're an ancient super-powered magical being is the only reason we care about having you around," Sokka added.

"It's okay, guys," Aang replied kindly. "What Lee said may have sounded a bit harsh... but he's right. I may be the Avatar, and someday I'll master all four elements, but I'm still just one person. Right now, it seems like what the people of the Southern Water Tribe need most is to unite and stand together against the Southern Raiders."

Zuko smiled proudly as he watched Aang speak with such wisdom. His friend really was starting to grow up. He glanced at the Water Tribe siblings, who seemed to have been inspired by Aang's words, both nodding with new understanding.

"Well, I guess this means I'd better start packing," Katara said, perking back up.

"Oh, I already made us a packing list," Sokka replied. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Really ," Katara replied skeptically, folding her arms. "What's on this list?"

"Just the essentials. Blankets. Some blubbered seal jerky. You know, so we have something to eat."

Katara gave her brother a deadpan look. "Sokka. I know we can restock our supplies once we get to Penguin's Landing, but it takes a whole week to get there. Two weeks if the weather's bad. You really don't think we need anything else?"

"Actually," Aang chimed in, holding up an index finger. "Since we're going to be taking Appa, it hopefully won't take that long. But it would probably still be good to pack a bit more than that."

"The fluffy flying monster? " Sokka exclaimed, turning to look fearfully at Appa, who was lying against the village wall a few feet away. Multiple children were climbing all over the bison, who appeared completely unbothered, while Momo was attempting to build some sort of snow sculpture on the ground in front of him. The lemur chattered irritably when one of the children grabbed his tail, yanking it back and abandoning his snow sculpture to fly over to Aang's shoulder.

"Appa's not a monster!" Aang replied defensively with a slight frown. "And flying's not so bad once you get used to it! Just ask Lee."

Sokka glanced at Zuko, a skeptical expression on his face.

"It's really not that bad," Zuko confirmed.

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it."

After spending the majority of the next few days resting and being debriefed by Hakoda and Bato about Water Tribe culture and customs to be aware of while traveling, Aang, Zuko, Sokka, and Katara were finally ready to begin their journey to the first village.

"Make sure to watch out for each other," Hakoda said, hugging both Sokka and Katara tightly and appearing reluctant to let them go. He then turned to Aang and Lee. "Thank you again for doing this for us. Remember what we went over. Now, I don't normally ever say this, but... let Sokka do the talking, at least to start."

"Hey!" Sokka said, folding his arms. "I've been practicing my diplomacy skills, dad! You don't have to worry about a thing."

Hakoda and Bato shared a look that said they didn't quite believe him, but neither argued.

"Got it," Aang confirmed with a nod.

"And remember to show each village this," Bato said, handing Aang a scroll. "It has our official village seal, so that should hopefully make things easier if Sokka isn't able to sway them with words alone."

"And if all else fails, don't spend too much time trying to convince them. It won't be worth it," Hakoda added. "Just move on to the next village. This isn't something that should be rushed, but we also have to remember that time is of the essence. The sooner the other villages can send us help, the more time we'll have to prepare."

Zuko frowned, already dreading the very real possibility of the majority of these villages either outright refusing to help, or simply no longer existing . What if they didn't succeed at all? Could the warriors of Wolf Cove alone hold off a Southern Raider attack without sustaining major casualties?

"Nephew."

Iroh's words snapped him out of his anxious thought spiral. He blinked a few times and looked his uncle in the eye. "What is it, uncle?"

"Take care of yourself and your friends." He was silent for a moment, then leaned in a bit closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And please be careful. Don't be reckless. Remember your breathing if you get too cold."

"I won't, uncle." Zuko smiled slightly, finding it odd yet heartwarming to see his uncle so concerned about his well-being. He was suddenly reminded of his mother, and felt sad, yet grateful at the same time. He may not have Ursa anymore, but at least he knew he had one other family member who genuinely cared about him.

At last, the four companions climbed up onto Appa's saddle, and echoes of disappointed murmuring emanated from the children below as their parents shooed them away from the bison's legs and tail.

"All right, first time flyers, hold on tight!" Aang announced from where he sat on Appa's head, reins in hand.

Zuko sat relaxed in his normal spot on the left side of the saddle, while Katara was sitting neatly at the front in lotus pose, hands clasped together with a look of anticipatory excitement on her face. He smirked when he saw the way Sokka was sitting—the Water Tribe boy had taken the spot at the very back of the saddle, and while he was doing his best to appear relaxed, Zuko could tell that he was already gripping the sides of it like he was holding on for dear life.

"Yip yip!"

Appa roared, causing Sokka to flinch, and took off into the clear midday sky.

"We're really flying!" Katara breathed in awe, looking over the edge of the saddle. "You can open your eyes now, Sokka."

Sokka slowly opened one of his eyes, then the other. When he had seemingly realized he wasn't dead, he gingerly crawled over to where his sister sat and leaned over to look down at the ground below. A wide grin slowly spread across his face, and he began to laugh. "We're flying!" he exclaimed. "We're really flying !"

Katara said nothing, and simply looked at her brother with a knowing smile.

"I mean... big deal, we're flying." Sokka said, attempting to appear nonchalant, though the look in his eyes betrayed him.

Several hours into their flight, a daydreaming Zuko was suddenly jolted back to reality when he heard Aang gasp. Quickly calming himself, as he knew better by now than to immediately assume danger, he peered over the edge of the saddle. Unsurprisingly, he spotted a large gathering of small black dots on the snowy ground below.

"What? What is it?" Sokka exclaimed, whipping out his boomerang. He had been napping with his hood over his face, and it was still covering his eyes. "Are we being attacked by the Fire Nation?"

"Is everything alright, Aang?" Katara added, a concerned expression on her face.

"Everything's fine," Zuko answered with a yawn and a small wave of his hand. "He just spotted some–"

"PENGUINS!" Aang exclaimed.

"–penguins."

Thankfully, their descent was much more graceful than it had been the last time Aang had spotted otter penguins. The Avatar landed Appa on a snowy embankment overlooking the hundreds of creatures, and quickly hopped off of the bison's head, landing gently in the snow.

Zuko quickly began to experience a strong sense of deja vu as he too climbed down from the saddle. Strangely, he felt somewhat disappointed that Aang hadn't offered to give him a helping hand this time. He had no idea why, as he was more than capable of dismounting the bison on his own.

When he turned around, he saw that Katara and Sokka were both looking down at the snowy ground with equally apprehensive expressions. He was just about to explain the easiest way he had found to dismount from the saddle when Aang walked past him and held up his hand to Katara.

"Here Katara, let me help you!" Aang offered brightly.

Katara smiled gratefully, taking his hand. As she lifted her leg over the edge of the saddle, however, she lost her balance. Unsurprisingly, Aang was quick to catch her, cushioning her fall with airbending. He quickly put her down when they reached the ground, and while she clearly did not notice the Avatar's reaction, Zuko , on the other hand, had suddenly become painfully aware that Aang's cheeks were flushed, and it did not seem to be due to the cold.

Without warning, an uncomfortable, prickly feeling began to manifest in Zuko's chest. Was it anger? Annoyance? It was difficult to describe.

Jealousy? a small voice in the back of his head posited.

He shook his head and turned around to face the overlook of penguins, gripping his forearms tightly. Why on earth would I be jealous?

The logical side of his brain was able to put two and two together easily enough. Aang clearly had a crush on the Water Tribe girl. It made complete sense—she was kind, pretty, and smart. Any guy would like a girl like that. Zuko liked her too. But because "like" was the extent of his feelings, it did not make sense for his jealousy to be directed towards Aang when he did not feel that way about Katara. That left Katara herself as the only person left in the situation for Zuko to feel jealousy towards.

Against his will, he found himself for the second time in the span of less than a week thinking about his own strange reactions around Aang. Like the sparks he felt when their hands touched. Or the butterflies he felt in his stomach whenever Aang hugged him. Or how he felt like his face was on fire and his heart was going to burst out of its chest whenever he stared at Aang too long and the Avatar caught his eye...

No. That can't be right, he thought, beginning to feel panicked.

By his own logic, wouldn't that mean that he had a crush on Aang?

"I told you, I don't need help! I've got it!"

Sokka's protests were a welcome distraction from Zuko's increasingly distressing thoughts. It seemed that Katara and Aang were both trying to help Sokka down from the saddle, where he was hanging on precariously.

"You can just let go," Zuko said, pinching his nose as he walked up to the scene with a sigh. "It's not that far of a drop."

Sokka turned his head around and glared at Zuko for a moment. He then sighed and did as Zuko had suggested, letting himself drop, landing on his feet in the snow below, where he was steadied by Aang and Katara. He immediately waved them away and smoothed the front of his coat with his gloved hands.

Aang looked at Katara with an inquisitive brow, and she shrugged, seeming to indicate that this was just Sokka being Sokka.

Aang then spotted Zuko, and his face lit up again as he sprinted over to him. He slung an arm around his shoulders, causing the Fire Prince to immediately begin to blush fiercely, much to his frustration. "So, are you ready to finally try penguin sledding, hotman?"

"'Hotman'?" Sokka repeated with a smirk, walking up behind them. "What kind of a nickname is that?"

Zuko and Aang glanced at one another. "Uh..." Zuko began.

"Ohhh wait, I get it! It's because you're so angry all the time," Sokka concluded.

"I'm not angry all the time!" Zuko retorted.

"Leave him alone, Sokka," Katara interrupted. "Aang, you mentioned penguin sledding the day we first met you, didn't you?"

"Yep! I can't believe you've lived here your whole lives and neither of you have even tried it before!" Aang replied excitedly. "Even your dad and Bato seemed to know what I was trying to do when they found us."

"They did?" Katara asked, looking surprised.

"Well, now that you mention it, in one of his stories, dad did mention something about him and Bato riding on penguins when he was a kid," Sokka said, holding his chin thoughtfully. "I always just thought it was one of the crazy things he and Bato used to do to mess with Gran-Gran."

"Sounds like penguin sledding to me!" Aang said with a grin. "The last time I visited the Southern Water Tribe nearly a hundred years ago, all the kids loved penguin sledding."

"Really? I wonder why dad never taught us," Katara mused.

"I don't know, but it definitely sounds like it's a custom that needs to be revived with the younger generation," Aang said, and he gestured his arm towards the flock. "Follow me, everyone!"

As Zuko and the Water Tribe siblings followed Aang down the snowy embankment towards the flock of penguins, Sokka began to chatter to Aang about their diplomacy plans for when they reached Penguin's Landing. Zuko heard a familiar chattering and looked up to see Momo, who circled in the air above the group for a few moments before finally deciding to land on Zuko's shoulder.

"Hi there, Momo," Katara said, reaching out a gloved hand to gently scratch the lemur's head, and he purred at her touch. "You really seem to be good with animals, Lee."

"Oh. I do?" Zuko replied, taken off guard by the comment.

"You definitely are. I know I've only known you for less than a week, but from what I've seen, Momo and Appa love you just as much as they love Aang."

Zuko snorted. "I seriously doubt that."

"It's pretty obvious to me," Katara smiled. "I always see it as a good sign when animals like people."

Zuko cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"Animals are a good judge of character," Katara explained. "They can sense things that most people don't."

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise. It felt... nice to hear that someone other than Aang and Iroh thought of him as a decent person.

However, at the same time, Katara's words made him feel extremely guilty. He was lying to everyone about who he really was, and he was forcing Aang to participate in that lie.

Strangely, though, deep down, Zuko enjoyed using this fake identity. Lee wasn't a Fire National. Lee's family wasn't responsible for the genocide of an entire culture and the last one hundred years of pain and suffering in the world. Lee's people weren't the ones currently planning to attack the Southern Water Tribe.

"All right, everyone!" Aang announced as they finally reached the flock of penguins. "First lesson of penguin sledding: catch an otter penguin."

Zuko smirked and shook his head. "You couldn't even make it past the first lesson the last time you tried."

"Those penguins were too slippery," Aang said, waving his hand in dismissal. "I'm sure these penguins will be much easier to catch."

This time, the airbender tried tiptoeing over to one of the penguins as quietly as he could. However, just as before, he was unsuccessful, the penguin quickly slipping out of his grasp as he landed face-first into the snow.

Sokka laughed out loud at the scene, slapping his knee with his palm. " That's not how you catch an otter penguin," he said, wiping a tear from his eye as he caught his breath.

"Go ahead, Sokka," Aang said as he flipped around, though he seemed genuinely unbothered by Sokka's laughter. "Show me how it's done."

" This is how you catch a penguin," Sokka said confidently. "You've just gotta be more assertive." He marched up to one of the penguins, who stared at him. Sokka stared back at it for several moments, and neither of them moved. Suddenly, Sokka leapt forward with a yell.

This unsurprisingly spooked the penguin, who was quick to escape Sokka's grasp and was gone before he could even touch it, causing the Water Tribe boy to also fall face-first into the snow.

Zuko, Aang, and Katara all laughed heartily, while Sokka flipped around and pouted from where he sat on the ground below.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Katara chuckled. "I think I know how to catch a penguin."

"Be my guest, little sister," Sokka said, brushing the snow off of his pants and coat. "But if the Avatar and your extremely knowledgeable older brother couldn't catch one, what makes you think you can?"

Katara smirked. "Watch and learn."

She rummaged in her coat pocket for a moment, then pulled out a small sack. From inside the sack, she retrieved what looked to be a small, dried fish. As soon as she had pulled the fish out, several penguins turned their heads towards her.

"Hey, those are my —I mean, our snacks!" Sokka protested.

Katara ignored her brother and simply tossed one dried fish at him, Aang, and Zuko each.

Within seconds, the three boys were swarmed by otter penguins, and Zuko quickly held his fish up high before any of them could get it. "Aang, what do we do now?" he asked frantically, swaying back and forth as the penguins continued to swarm him from below. He looked over at his friend to see that he was struggling to not become completely engulfed by his own crowd of penguins below him, while Sokka had already been completely knocked down.

"Just pick one, grab it, and push it onto its stomach!" Aang replied. "Gently!" he added.

"Just grab it?" Zuko repeated. He didn't think that was the best way to handle any animal. I can at least give the one I want the fish first, he thought.

He decided to bestow it to the largest one, who took it from him happily. The others sniffed Zuko for a few more moments afterwards, and dispersed again upon seeing that he had no more fish to offer.

However, the large penguin remained at his side despite having finished its snack. Zuko stared at it for a moment, and it stared back at him. Eventually, he reached a hand forward and cautiously placed his palm on the penguin's head. The penguin chirped and waddled closer. Zuko began to gently pet the penguin's head, and it closed its eyes happily.

"Uh... I don't know if you can understand me," he began, feeling somewhat ridiculous. "But I'm gonna gently... push you. Is that okay?"

The penguin chirped again. Zuko decided to take this as a 'yes', and gently pushed on its back. Almost immediately, it flopped onto its belly, much to Zuko's surprise.

"Wow, great job, hotman!" Aang praised, having freed himself from his penguin hoard after choosing his own penguin.

Zuko smiled brightly at this compliment, feeling his ears grow slightly warm.

"Katara, help! " Sokka yelled from underneath his own mass of penguins. His arm was the only part of him that was visible as he held the fish up as high as he could.

"Just pick one and give it the fish, Sokka," Katara replied, having just chosen her own penguin with little effort.

Sokka did as he was told and tossed his fish to the nearest penguin, which was about half the size of Zuko's. The little penguin gobbled up the fish, and the rest dispersed. Very much frazzled, Sokka reached out a hand apprehensively toward the penguin, just barely tapping its back, and it too flopped onto its belly.

"Thanks Katara! I can't believe I forgot the most important step in catching a penguin," Aang said with a chuckle, patting his penguin on the head.

"No problem," Katara replied with a proud smile.

"Okay, everyone," Aang continued. "Step two is simple. Just hop on your penguin and push yourself forward!" He demonstrated by climbing onto his own penguin's back, then turned around to wait for the rest of them to do the same.

Before long, the four of them were sailing down the snowy slope at high speed on the backs of the penguins. Zuko held onto his penguin tightly, afraid that if he wasn't careful, he would fly off tumbling into the snow behind him.

"Isn't this fun?" he heard Aang yell with a laugh, and turned to see his friend riding up next to him, grinning widely.

Aang's ease and joy were contagious, and Zuko felt himself loosening up slightly, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Y-yeah!"

"How do you control this thing?!" Sokka shouted. Zuko craned his neck around to see that he was zigzagging somewhat erratically behind them. He looked quite comical riding on the small penguin, who thankfully seemed completely fine despite the size of the person he was carrying. Katara rode up next to him on her penguin and grabbed onto his hood, which kept them both steady.

"You've gotta relax!" she yelled back. "The penguin's movements mirror yours, and it's jerking around because you're freaking out!"

Sokka took a deep breath and attempted to do as his sister said. Thankfully, it seemed to work, and he steadied somewhat.

When Zuko turned back around, however, he suddenly felt a spike of terror as he saw what they were approaching. Towering in front of them were large formations of ice. "Aang, shouldn't we stop?"

"We can go through the caves!" Aang replied, pointing to a large, round hole in the ice, then turned around to address Katara and Sokka. "Just follow me, guys!"

Katara nodded, still holding on to her brother's hood.

"Aang, I don't know if I can steer very well in there," Zuko yelled anxiously. "I think I should just get off now!"

"Don't worry," Aang said. "Just take my hand!"

Without hesitation, Zuko grabbed on tightly to Aang's right hand, and they flew into the ice cave. Thankfully, it was completely rounded out, making it easy to continue sledding inside.

"Do you wanna do something cool?" Aang asked with a grin.

"Uh... sure?" Zuko replied. He was finding it more and more difficult to say no to the airbender these days.

"Okay, hold on tight!"

Aang's right hand squeezed Zuko's, and with his left hand, he sent an air blast behind them, propelling them into a spiral around the walls of the ice cave. Zuko should have been terrified, but he trusted the Avatar. He laughed aloud as they spun through the rest of the cave, eventually slowly coming to a stop on the other side of the tunnel.

When Zuko opened his eyes, he was suddenly very aware that Aang's hand was still in his own, and felt his face flush deeply.

"Are you okay, Zuko?" Aang asked, brow furrowing in concern. "You must be pretty cold, your face is red from the wind! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made us go so fast."

Zuko quickly released Aang's hand and began smoothing his windblown hair down. "No, don't be sorry! That was actually a lot of fun!" he reassured the Avatar, thanking the Spirits that Aang simply thought it was the climate that was causing his face to turn red. "Thanks for finally showing me–"

"AAAAAAAAAA!"

"Sokka, we're stopping."

Both Aang and Zuko turned around abruptly to see Katara and Sokka sliding to a halt behind them, the former still grabbing hold of the latter's hood. Sokka had his eyes squeezed shut, while Katara looked like she'd had just as much fun as Aang and Zuko had.

"Oh," Sokka said, opening one eye slowly, then the other, and breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that they were out of the cave.

"Wasn't that fun?" Aang said, hopping off of his penguin, who immediately got up and began to waddle away. Zuko felt himself being gently pushed to the side as his penguin stood as well. He gave it another pat on the head, and it waddled off to follow Aang's. Katara managed to dismount from her penguin just as easily, while Sokka's tiny penguin knocked him over into the snow as it stood up.

Katara helped her brother up and turned back towards Aang and Zuko. However, something behind them seemed to have caught her eye, and her expression quickly grew serious and somber, as did her brother's.

Zuko turned around to see what they were looking at, and he felt the blood drain from his face as he saw what appeared to be a Fire Navy ship in the near distance ahead of them. He had been so distracted when they had exited the cave that he hadn't even noticed.

Was Aang's vision wrong? Are the Southern Raiders already here? he thought anxiously, reaching behind him with both of his hands to grab the hilts of his broadswords

"It's okay, Lee," Katara said calmly, surprising him. "That ship is an old one."

Aang and Zuko shared a concerned glance, then began to follow the siblings as they walked closer towards the ship.

It was indeed a Fire Navy ship, though by Zuko's best guess, it appeared to be several decades old. It looked as though it had been punctured by ice that had risen from the ground, rendering it inoperable.

Waterbenders, Zuko realized.

"This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl," Katara explained as they approached the ship. "It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks on my people."

A familiar wave of guilt swept over Zuko's body again. It was becoming more and more overpowering every time he felt it.

"Fire Nation," Sokka growled. "The next firebender I see, I'll... Katara, are you okay?"

Katara had begun to shake slightly. She grasped her forearms and turned around. "Yeah. I'm fine. I was just thinking about mom." She was silent for a moment. "What if something like that happens again when the Raiders come back?"

Sokka wrapped his sister into a hug. "Hey, it's okay. We've got Aang, Lee, and Mushi to help us, remember? And that's why we're on this important diplomatic mission. It's gonna be different this time."

Katara pulled back from the hug and wiped her teary eyes with her sleeve. "Thanks, Sokka. You're right. I won't give up hope."

Zuko now had enough context clues to deduce that the Southern Raiders had most likely killed Katara and Sokka's mother, and he felt sick to his stomach. "I'm... I'm so sorry," he choked out, tears welling in his own eyes. He knew what it was like to lose a mother.

"It's okay, Lee," Sokka said, seeming surprised at Zuko's emotional reaction. "But thank you."

Aang put a hand on Zuko's upper back in a gesture of comfort. He appreciated it, but it didn't lessen the guilt.

"I'm sorry we ended up here, you guys," Aang said. "We should head back to Appa so we can get back on our way to the village."

"It's not your fault, Aang," Katara said with a small smile. "I still had lots of fun penguin sledding. Thanks for showing us."

"I was mildly terrified for most of it, but I guess it was kind of fun," Sokka added.

Katara raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Mildly?"

"Whatever."

"You guys go on ahead," Aang said. "We'll be right behind you. Lee and I, uh... have to take a bathroom break!"

"Oh. Okay!" Katara replied, blinking several times, and coughed awkwardly. "Take your time!"

The two siblings then turned back to walk towards the ice cave, continuing to bicker as they walked.

When Katara and Sokka had gotten far enough that they were out of earshot, Aang turned back around. "Zuko... are you okay?"

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. "Not really. Just... more reminders of the horrible things my nation and family did."

"Zuko, we've talked about this before. You didn't do any of that. You're not your nation or your family."

"But the same blood runs in my veins."

"Your blood doesn't determine the kind of person you are. You do. Sure, you've made some mistakes in the past, but you recognized you were wrong, and you changed. Now, you're doing the right thing."

"Am I?" Zuko countered angrily, tears welling in his eyes again. "I'm lying to everyone about who I am. I'm a coward. I told myself it was for the good of the mission, but... it's really because I'm ashamed for people to know who I really am." He plopped onto the snowy ground, holding his head in his hands.

Aang was silent for a moment. "Well, what about me?"

Zuko wiped away the tear that had fallen from his good eye with his sleeve and looked up at the airbender in confusion. "What about you?"

"You said you're ashamed for people to know who you really are. But I know who you really are, and you're my best friend."

Zuko stared at the Avatar wide-eyed for a moment, the feeling of warmth that was now blossoming in his chest slightly lessening the sting of guilt.

"But... when they find out where I'm from, that I'm part of the same family and nation that did all of this to them..."

"Zuko, look me in the eyes," Aang said, crouching down directly in front of him and grabbing him firmly by the shoulders. Zuko did as he was told, though he found it very difficult to hold his friend's gray gaze. " I know all of that, and I still like you all the same."

"Yeah, but–"

"You. Are. Not. Your. Family," Aang reiterated. "You're you . And you're a good person. Katara and Sokka know it. You just need to be honest with them, like you were with me."

Zuko felt his face begin to grow warm again and desperately willed it to stop. He tried to continue holding Aang's gaze, but broke away both from it and his grasp, turning to the side and praying to the Spirits that Aang didn't notice. "I... I know I need to tell them the truth. I just don't know how... and I know it's not going to go well."

"Yeah, probably not at first," Aang said bluntly. "I'm sure they'll be mad at both of us for a while. But it's better to tell them sooner rather than later. Like Iroh said."

Zuko groaned. "I know..."

"I'm not going to force you. I'm just giving you advice."

"I know," Zuko repeated.

"You'll be okay, hotman," Aang reassured with a small smile, and held out his hand again to help Zuko to his feet. "Come on. We should catch up with Katara and Sokka before they think we got lost."