I'm trying to update this and my Naruto fic once a week. So far It's going well.

By the time Aang came back, everyone was already on Appa's saddle, waiting for him.

He nodded at them, holding two large bags of supplies.

"You need any help with those?" Toph offered, surprising the airbender.

Aang shook his head, smiling. "No, I got it, thanks." He jumped on Appa with a little boost from his airbending and set the bags down.

"You guys ready to go?" He asked, walking to Appa's head.

With most of them saying yes, Aang grabbed Appa's reins and said the famous words.

"Yip, yip."

The rest of the flight to the Fire Nation went surprisingly well, there were no more arguments.

Sokka, to Aang's shock actually listened to him and stayed quiet. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Aang bought lots of meat, who knows.

Katara kept ignoring him and gave him the cold shoulder as usual. He made no more attempts to hash things out, she clearly wanted nothing to do with him and he had to accept that.

As for Toph, Aang wasn't sure. At times it really seemed like she hated him but then every now and then she'd check up on him and would keep him company.

It surprised him and he didn't understand it, but he sure as hell wasn't going to complain. It felt nice to have casual chats with someone again.

When they finally made it to the Fire Nation, they heard horns blowing loudly, announcing the Fire Lord's return and making everyone except Zuko flinch on the saddle.

Sokka whistled, impressed "Do you always get a grand welcome like this?"

Zuko nodded. "Yeah, it's a tradition."

Landing on the ground, they saw multiple guards arriving quickly, ready for their Fire Lord's orders.

Zuko got off Appa and nodded at the guards with a friendly smile on his face.

"Welcome back, your majesty!" the guards bowed.

"It's good to be back." Zuko said and he truly meant it.

"Zuko!" they all looked where the voice came from and saw Mai running toward her boyfriend, a rare grin on her face.

She threw herself in Zuko's arms and buried her face in his shirt, breathing his scent in.

"Woah, Mai!" Zuko exclaimed, chuckling. "It's good to see you too." he hugged her tightly.

Aang looked away from them, stomach clenching.

Would he ever have someone that loved him like that or was he destined to live alone for the rest of his life? Of course he was happy for Zuko. The firebender deserved it, but he couldn't help his bitter thoughts.

He hadn't had anyone that truly loved him since Gyatso. Sure he's had friends, and he still had Zuko and Suki but it wasn't the same.

Gyatso was like a father to him.

Aang was certain that if his old mentor saw him now, he'd hate him. He'd hate what Aang had become.

Gyatso had such high expectations for him too.

All for nothing.

He was snapped out of his dark thoughts by Mai.

"Avatar Aang? Is that really you?" She gasped, eyes widening. Usually she wasn't very expressive but she couldn't hide her shock.

Zuko hadn't told her anything about the Avatar being back, and to be honest she thought he had died years ago.

"Yup, it's me." He forced a smile on his face. "I didn't know you and Zuko were together?"

"We've been together for a while now. Aren't you surprised to see me here with him? Last time we saw each other, I tried to kill you." she stated, face now blank.

Aang laughed nervously at the blunt reminder.

"Yeah, how could I forget..." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly and glanced at Zuko. "But if Zuko trusts you, that's good enough for me to leave the past behind."

Zuko nodded and grinned. "I appreciate it, Aang."

A ghost of a smile twitched at Mai's lips, but she said nothing, only nodded.

"I, for one, still don't feel comfortable around you." Toph stated bluntly, arms crossed over her chest.

Sokka nodded in agreement but didn't say anything, he didn't feel like getting stabbed today.

Suki and Katara exchanged looks. They were in the middle, they had no problems with Mai but didn't quite trust her either.

It would take some time.

Zuko cleared his throat, sensing the tension in the air. "Anyway, where's Uncle?" He turned around, directing his question at Mai.

"Should be somewhere in the palace drinking tea or sleeping, where else?" she deadpanned, examining her nails.

Zuko smiled. "That sounds like Uncle Iroh, alright."

Suddenly, his smile disappeared and he looked back at the airbender, frowning.

"Aang, can I have a word with you before we part ways?"

Aang was surprised but agreed. He could feel everyone's gaze on his back but ignored it.

He jumped off Appa, and the two walked a good distance away from the others.

Aang bent two earth stools with a stomp of his feet and sat down on one.

Zuko sat down on the other one, sighing.

"Aang, I'm worried about you." The firebender rasped out, going straight into it.

Aang's drew in a sharp breath. "Why?"

"C'mon Aang, I'm not dumb." Zuko looked at him, rolling his eyes. "You're not getting enough sleep, and you're under a lot of stress."

Aang's eyes widened.

How?

"The same thing happened to me a few years back, I see the signs." Zuko explained, already knowing what he was thinking.

Aang let out a tired sigh, running a hand down his face. He might as well just tell him everything at this point. "I don't know what to do or where to go, Zuko." he lowered his head. "Soon everyone will go back to their families and loved ones, leaving me on my own."

"I feel so lost."

The firebender nodded. "What if you didn't go back to being alone."

"What do you mean? I have nowhere else to go."

"Yes, you do. The Southern water tribe."

Aang's head shot up. "What? No!" He yelled, immediately shooting the idea down. "Not an option."

"Why not?"

Aang glared at him. "Well first of all, it's not my home, I can't stay there for long."

"Secondly, THEY hate me over there!" He barked, annoyed at Zuko for even considering it.

"You don't know that." Zuko shot back, lips pursed.

Aang looked at the older boy like he had finally lost it. "I know that Sokka hates me and Katara wants nothing to do with me."

"Not to mention, the people of the tribe are not exactly happy with me either."

"Why?"

"Why, because due to the Avatar's absence the Chief's kids were kidnapped and many people were killed." he deadpanned, pushing down his bubbling irritation at Zuko.

"Right." Zuko rubbed his temples. "Aang, what I'm trying to say here is that maybe Sokka and Katara want you to go with them deep down, even if they don't show it."

"No, they don't." Aang narrowed his eyes. "Like I said, Sokka hates my guts and Katara isn't exactly fond of me either. They've made that very clear."

Zuko stood up. "Trust me. I know things are rough right now between you and them, but they don't want you to leave them again either, especially Katara."

Aang's eyes softened and he looked down sadly. "That's not true. They don't care about me anymore."

"I see the looks Katara sneaks at you every now and then, she loves you." Zuko continued, insisting. "If you miss this opportunity and let her go, she'll move on completely from you."

Aang's eyebrows furrowed. Could it really be true? Did Katara still care about him?

The idea of Katara wanting nothing to do with him made his heart churn.

"Fine, I'll try asking them." The airbender finally agreed, standing up as well.

Aang smirked. "I'll trust you on this Zuko, but if it goes horribly wrong and Sokka beats me up or something I'm blaming you, just so you know."

"I'll happily take that risk." Zuko joked, before he looked away, voice going quiet. "I don't want you to be alone."

Aang smiled warmly at the firebender. "I know. Thanks for looking out for me, Zuko."

They hugged one last time and returned to everyone.

Zuko said his goodbyes to the whole group, before he finally parted ways with them.

This chapter was very dialogue heavy, huh? I'm sorry if it was a little boring. The next chapter will hopefully be more exciting.