A/N I forgot to put a disclaimer in this in the first chapter. So, here it is: I own nothing but my own OCs, and any poems or songs that may eventually turn up in this story unless otherwise noted.

Destiny sure does feel strange, even when you're expecting it. Zuko muses to himself. Once Azula and Ozai were locked away, he was crowned Fire Lord. He looks around his room. The same one he'd had since he was a child. Everything is still as it was when he left to join the Avatar. A fine layer of dust has settled on everything.

Guess I'll have to clean up. He runs a hand over some books, stopping as a rolled paper falls to the floor. He reaches for it and opens it. It is a picture that he'd painted once for Father, when he was very young. It depicted him and his mother playing with the turtle ducks. He'd painted himself firebending at an unseen target with his mother looking on proudly as she continued to feed the ducks.

I must have been only nine when I painted this! I completely forgot about it. I wonder how it got here. I didn't think Mother knew of it. I wonder why I never tried to give it to Father. He thinks as he wonders over to his bed. He lays down on his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Dad's going to kill you! No, really, he is." He blinks and looks to the door, half expecting to see his sister there, as she was all those years ago, excited to watch his demise.

"Everything I've done, I did to keep you safe. No matter what happens, no matter how things may change, never forget who you are." He cradles the painting to his chest, a lump growing in his throat. Getting up, he tucks the painting into a pocket. He closes the door behind him as he leaves, shutting out those ghosts in his mind.

I need to see Mai.

He disguises himself in his cloak, although everyone is likely asleep at this late hour. He needs the walk, and he needs it alone.

As he wanders past the familiar buildings, memories continue to stream through his mind. And out here in the streets of the city, he
finds happier thoughts. How his mother loved the flowers at the local shop, the time he disguised himself and went to work for the store owner for a day to earn his choice of flowers for his mother. The time he went out to some of the struggling communities, at the bidding of his mother, and worked alongside them for a day, playing with their children, looking through their shops, helping on a smaller farm. He was in disguise then too, of course. Father would never have approved.

Mai is outside, getting water from the well, when he reaches her house. She doesn't see him arrive until he's almost next to her.

"Hello, beautiful." He whispers. She jumps a little, but to her credit, she manages not to scream.

"Zuko! Where have you been? I thought you would have sent for me or come to see me sooner." She says, although she doesn't sound angry. He envelopes her in a hug.

"I had a visit with Uncle and some friends. And I've had to see to a few matters at the Palace. I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

"You are someone worth waiting for." She kisses his cheek. He kisses her back, but she pulls away and studies him.

"What's on your mind, Zuko? You have that moody look in your eyes. Not that I'm complaining. You're still adorable." She rests her head on his shoulder as they wander inside.

"Is everyone asleep?" He asks. She nods. "I've been thinking a lot about my mother. Father mentioned once that she was banished. Not dead. I don't know if he was lying or not. But I want to look for her. I've already sent out scouts and a few have sent promising reports. But it's also not exactly safe out there for Fire Nation citizens. There are still riots and fights. And now that the war's over, it makes more sense to bring them all back and avoid potential scenes. I want to start repairing the Fire Nation's image. We can't do that if our citizens are out there, getting attacked and having to defend, or starting fights in bars. You know."

"You're leaving? Already? But you just got back. You're the Fire Lord now, Zuko! You can't abandon your country just to go looking for your mother. Can't the Avatar help you? You taught him firebending. He owes you a favor." She crosses her arms and pouts. Zuko bites back a smile. She's so cute when she's hating the world.

"The Avatar owes me nothing. If anything, I owe him. He gave me my throne back. He helped me achieve my destiny. And he may have ended the war, but he still needs to restore balance. We have an entire elemental culture that was extinguished. We need the Air Nomads to keep the balance. He has to find a way to bring it all back. He has more on his plate than my mother and any one nation."

They sit down on the couch in her living room. Mai moodily grabs a star fruit from the bowl on the table in front of her and starts eating.

"I'll leave my Uncle Iroh in charge while I'm away. He's perfectly capable of looking after things while I'm away. Azula and Father are locked up, and they aren't going anywhere. I'll assign some guards to look out for you and your family. I promise you that I'm going to take every possible precaution to protect the Fire Nation. It's my home, after all."

"I'll go with you. I'm capable of defending myself. I don't want you going alone. You shouldn't have to be alone in this." She looks deep into his eyes. "I want to be there for you. I wasn't able to really be there when you needed me most." She reaches to touch his scar.

"That's not your fault. And besides, I kind of want to be alone with this for a while." He isn't sure how she'll feel about him talking with certain members of his family for information. "It's a lot to take in, and I'm still not sure I really believe it. If I need you, I'll send for you, or I'll come and get you. I promise. Besides, someone has to look out for Ty Lee with that new boyfriend of hers."
They both get a little chuckle out of that one.

"Well, alright. But if I even think anything went wrong, or if you don't write, I'm coming after you!"

A/N I played with the continuity from the show a little bit here. The final scene where the gang is at Iroh's tea shop and Sokka is trying to "capture the moment" happens before Zuko goes to see Ozai. I skipped it here because it's more of an end to the show than a beginning to this story. But it has happened already.