Chapter17: Training and Big Talks

"Hold your legs! Yes, just like that! Now centre your core and give me a good punch." Harry grunts in effort, before throwing a fist, carefully keeping his torso still. He'd been dragged in the middle of his cleaning by Iroh, who finally had some time to teach him how to use firebending properly. Well, firebending without the fire aspect.

"Don't get distracted!" Harry snapped back his fist, dropping back in a squat. He'd never done this much physical activity in the wizarding world as he had in the past few weeks. He'd thought he was active for wizards, but in this world, he was extremely weak. Having to run around the globe was exhausting, and bending here required the benders to be in shape, in close contact with their own bodies, something that Harry was dearly lacking.

"Kick, now." The wizard inhaled sharply before shifting his weight to his left foot, being careful to keep his torso straight as he twisted slightly to the side to kick with his right foot. The leg barely reaches his stomach, his flexibility being close to zero. His thoughts start to blur slightly as he continues to try to punch and kick the air, adjusting his body according to Iroh's instructions.

Ever since the incident about a week ago, Zuko has been almost avoiding him, always looking deep in thought. Harry hadn't tried to approach him. Their relationship was complicated, if it could be called a relationship. In the span of two weeks, they had gone from bare tolerance to a tentative friendship, something that Harry hadn't thought possible, given how Zuko's actions had reflected on him and his friends.

Recently, especially in the past week, Zuko had mellowed down. The temper tantrums that he used to have were now few and far between, replaced with gloomy silence and a waging war inside his heart. The wizard wasn't used to this kind of treatment from him and often found himself gazing at him with contemplation. He was so different than anyone else he'd ever met, but at the same time, he could relate to an extent of what he was going through, trying to find his way in a world that kept trying to tell him who he is. Harry was still unaware of all that happened in the prince's path, but none of it made the Fire Nation look good.

Nowadays, Zuko kept to the shop for most of the day, going out to the town fountain to think, but doing nothing nefarious that Harry could see from his spying. While unexpected, he was glad for the reprieve because it allowed him to focus more on the ancient wizarding scrolls that he had been neglecting. Unfortunately, he hadn't cracked much from the scroll in Latin, only key words like magic, door, and wizards. His only knowledge of the language comes from spells, which are a variation of Latin, not the actual language. It's not like there's a Latin class in Hogwarts, although he wishes there had been.

A sudden kick in his peripheral vision startles him out of his thoughts as he dodges to the side instinctively, looking wide-eyed at a smirking Iroh who had high kicked him, higher than the wizard ever expected him to kick.

"If this is too boring for you, we can move on to non-bending fights." The old man thrust a punch at him before stepping forward with a speed Harry didn't expect, trying to swipe his legs from underneath him. Harry managed to dodge the punch by stepping to the side, partially avoiding the leg underneath him, but not enough that he retained perfect balance. Iroh stood back up, using the power from his crouch to swipe his other leg towards Harry's head with a kick. The wizard barely managed to block it with his forearm, causing him to stumble back. The grin on Iroh's face hadn't faded, prompting Harry to believe that simply dodging wasn't going to get him out of this one.

He dodged a few times, barely managing to stay standing before he gathered the wits to try and attack the other. He was pretty sure that he was going to be swept on his back as soon as he tried to attack, not even counting the fact that Iroh was probably holding back on him.

Harry waited until Iroh had his body twisted away from a kick to try and aim his own kick, having a lot more confidence in his legs' strength rather than his arms. He braced himself, stabilizing his torso as he shifted to to try and kick Iroh in the side. The old man was clearly expecting this, for Harry barely had time to blink before Iroh's free hand was wrapping around his ankle. He thought of a nasty curse word as his ankle was grabbed with more force than should be necessary and a fist punched him in the face. Hot blinding pain emerged from his nose, but he ignored it in favour of dropping down and punching Iroh's stomach.

The other firebender immediately hopped away from him, a kind and gentle smile on his face. "Good, you continued to fight even after being hurt. That's the most important thing in a fight, standing back up and continuing to fight even through injuries." Harry clutched his nose as he glared slightly at the other, "Did you have to demonstrate it to me by almost breaking my nose?" he asked wryly. Iroh only chuckled before getting in another stance, "Again!"

XxX

It was a few hours later that Harry walked out of the room with more bruises than he had ever had in his life. The shop was closed today, which Harry was simultaneously glad for because it allowed him to relax in one of the chairs and annoyed because it was the whole reason he had gotten a training session in the first place. He sighed deeply, wincing at the sting that the inhale put on his nose. He took out his wand, casting a few Epiksey on himself. Salathiel, who had been eating something in the kitchen, slithered up his pant leg before settling on his shoulders, making the essence of a content sigh from a snake.

"This place has much food for me to enjoy. Even if there are far too many humans for my liking." The snake hissed in his ear, basking in Harry's body heat. Harry snorted, coming up to gently scratch under the snake's chin.

"You do know those weren't meant for you, right?"

"Why leave them out for anyone to eat then? You humans are stupid."

Harry huffed another laugh, before tilting his head to stare at the ceiling, ignoring Salathiel's slight protests as the snake dropped from his shoulders to his upper back, his body long enough to have the end of his tail and his head on each of the wizard's collar bones.

"Yeah, we really are."

Harry knew he should go out and find the gaang. Already letting them believe he's been dead for weeks was a jerky move. He'd feared Zuko would follow him in the beginning, and rightfully so if the prince's attitude at the time was any indication. He would've been followed and given away his friend's position to the guy that wanted to capture Aang. So, lying low and hoping to sneak out had been a good move at the time, and it still was. While Zuko seemed to have mellowed out, there was no way to be sure that he wouldn't try and capture the airbender again. Even after all that happened in the few weeks they'd been stuck together.

So why did it make him feel so guilty? Why was there a squeeze in his chest every time he thought of sneaking out to meet them again?

He wanted to see them again, of course, even if he was 100% sure that Toph and Katara would hit him for the stunt he pulled, he was excited thinking of seeing them again. They were his anchor to this world, and the friends that he didn't think he would make here. He was glad for their acceptance for who he is, the ease in which they made way for him in their dangerous lives.

But he likes it here as well. He likes making tea for customers, helping them, even if it's just a little with their already difficult life. He likes talking to Iroh, who always seems understanding and patient with him. He likes feeding Salathiel and pampering him. He likes the way earthbender robes look on him, he likes to go to the local fountain and bask in the afternoon sun. Even if he hates it, he likes to train with Iroh, getting to know how this world works, its simplicity compared to what he's used to.

He … he likes walking with Zuko. He likes the small snarky conversation they have. He likes the way they simultaneously roll their eyes at Iroh when he tries to be too sophistical. He likes being able to tell him about his home, and for the other to make him feel normal. Not like an alien from another universe, but as Harry. He likes that Zuko helps to make him shine. Not the wizard from another universe, not the saviour, not the freak, Harry.

Or at least, he did.

The way Zuko had been ignoring him for the past week, Harry wasn't sure if it was just him that imagined all the … stuff they'd managed to get to in the past few weeks. Was he really that desperate for someone to understand that he'd imagined how Zuko saw him? Maybe he just saw him as a former enemy. Harry still wasn't sure if he saw Zuko as a friend … so why was he so upset about this?

"This is so stupid…" he sighs, looking like the picture of a sulking teen.

"Yes, this is stupid. You could be giving me more bread; instead, you're looking at the ceiling like you will find prey."

Harry laughs once more, standing back up and heading to the kitchen where Salathiel had been already finished the already started loaf of bread. He opened the pantry, pulling out another loaf, tearing into small pieces to feed the snake on his shoulders.

"How are you still hungry, you just finished a quarter of a loaf?"

"When you are hunted, you have to store every bit of food you have at your disposal."

"But you're not hunted anymore."

Salathiel conveniently bit into the loaf of bed, allowing him to avoid to respond. The wizard rolls his eyes, slowly petting his snake's scales. He allows himself to relax a little bit, the thoughts that were clouding his head fading away as he concentrated on the repetitive motion.

Harry stayed in the kitchen for the few hours left in the afternoon, entertaining Salathiel with food and pets. Pao and Iroh joined him for supper, eating a simple but pleasant meal that Iroh had cooked himself. Pao looked kind of awkward in the middle of the little group, clearly unsure how to act, especially with Salathiel going around and stealing some more bread. Harry didn't know if snakes could get fat, but he guaranteed that Salathiel would be the first, he mused as he fed him another bite of bread. A shadow passing by his peripheral vision made him turn his head, seeing a green cloak flutter towards the stairs for a second. The wizard pauses in his petting, considering.

"Thanks for the meal, Iroh, it was very good! I'm going to go take some air, though." Iroh didn't even look remotely surprised, only nodding at him with a gentle smile. Harry set down Salathiel before rushing off, much to Pao's dismay. He climbed the stairs leading to the roof, unsurprised to see Zuko sitting on the edge of the small building, with his legs dangling off.

The wizard hesitated slightly, the other pretending like he didn't hear him. He slowly approached him, and when there was no movement, he sat down next to him, not close enough to touch, but enough to reach out. Silence hangs between them as they gaze at the city around them.

"You know, I think Iroh saw you sneaking around, you weren't that discreet." He jokes, hoping to elicit a response, but Zuko doesn't move. Harry doesn't dare turn his head to fully look at him, so he doesn't know what he's thinking.

"I'm sure you could have gone to eat, I know I make you uncomfortable, but I don't want you to miss out on time with your uncle."

Zuko doesn't even flinch, continuing to stare ahead. A familiar frustration starts to build up in his gut after the silence hangs for too long.

"Can you at least tell me why you're so uncomfortable with me?" Harry sees him twitch, but nothing beyond that. "Never mind." He mutters, getting up and starting to walk out before Zuko's voice interrupts him.

"I always knew what was expected of me." His voice is quiet, lacking the usual spite of life. It makes Harry stop and turn around to look at his back. "I was the Crown Prince, I had to get stronger to uphold my father's legacy. I had to be as strong as Azula, prove to him I was worthy of continuing the legacy he had started. Then…" he trails off, long enough for Harry to come and sit back down, looking at the horizon as well.

"Then my father's general wanted to do something horrible, just, let people die for war. Sacrifice them like they were nothing. Their people." Harry expected Zuko's face to be filled with anger, but instead, his eyes are sad, his eyebrows gently turned down. "I couldn't believe he would do that, so I said something. I openly spoke out against the Fire Lord's generals, at my first war meeting, how stupid could I be?" he said, his voice bittersweet, like he'd tasted something sour.

"He told me that I had to redeem myself, that I had disrespected him and needed to do an Agni Kai for it. I was ready to, prepared to. I knew I had messed up that I need to atone for my action, but in a way, I wanted to prove myself, prove that what they were doing was not good."

Harry looked at him sideways, already afraid of what was going to happen next.

"But it was him, he was the one handling my Agni Kai. I couldn't go in front of my father, couldn't fight him. He was my father." He spit the word out with a whisper, the whisper of a child clinging to their parents.

"But he told me that I had to fight him. To fight for my honour. He was my father; how could I ever fight my father like that? And then he told me the words that I had never forgotten. That I should learn respect, and that suffering will be my teacher." He fidgets with the scar adorning his face as he speaks, demonstrating to Harry very clearly how he made him suffer. Harry feels a pit in his chest open, horror and anger rising from deep within him. But Zuko is not done, so he stays quiet.

"To my father, I had shown weakness, something he could never understand nor allow. So, he banished me, told me the only way I could go back home again was to restore my honour by capturing the Avatar. Of course, I felt hurt by what he did, but I understood it. That I had shamed my father with my behaviour, that by capturing the Avatar, I was ready to be at his side again.

Three years passed like this, of just hoping to catch a glimpse of the Avatar, to prove to my father that I'm not a useless or someone to be ashamed of, but a prince who can stay proudly by his side." For the first time of this entire conversation, Zuko demonstrates an emotion other than deep resentment. Confusion.

"But then, I met the Avatar, and so many people who told me I was evil for doing my purpose, what I was sent out to do. Uncle Iroh has been trying to tell me for years that this destiny that was given to me by my father, isn't my destiny at all. But how can that be? When all I've ever done is follow my father, the Fire Lord. He's my father, he loves me, I know it." Harry looks away, the sentence echoing in his mind, reminiscent of the first years of innocence he had with the Dursleys.

"Uncle Iroh told me that I'm the one who must make my destiny. But without my honour, without my home, who am I? How can I even think to abandon them, especially in this war? Everything is so confusing, and I hate that it's so confusing." He bits out, real anger colouring his tone. "I shouldn't be guessing myself; I should be honoured to serve the Fire Lord's mission. Even questioning leaving his side is treason. So why does it come so easy to me?" He stops himself, a huff of a laugh torn out of his throat as he turns to stare at him.

"And you, you hated me. I tried to capture your friend over and over again, make you break the honour that you have with the avatar, and yet, you still saved me. I was the only one that was seen firebending, it would've been easy to abandon me to the authorities, make me run away from here." He laughs harder, a sharp laugh that doesn't involve humour at all.

"It would've made more sense for you to leave me, after all, the avatar is here in this city. You could reunite and go against my father, but you decide to stay and save me. I remembered how you were here, that you were sent by spirits, a spirit of fire! So maybe, maybe the spirit was giving me another path, a new mission, a new purpose to follow. And then…" he trails off, clenching and unclenching his fists by his side.

"But then you told me to go away. That you weren't my saviour that I wasn't anything special, that you saved me because you wanted to. That you weren't something I should look up to as well.

You glow with magic; you try to save so many lives and be there for all the people here. You don't even have anything to do with what's happening here, and yet, you still choose to help the Avatar in his journey, aid me, your enemy. You tell me to choose for myself what I want to do that maybe home, isn't home anymore." They stare at each other for a moment, one more breathless than the other before the prince turns away and tilts his head to look at the dazzling stars up above.

"I've been ignoring you because I don't know what to do. You make me feel things that I've never felt before. You make me angry, yet happy. You make my choices so much harder, yet you're so easy to talk to, that I've even started to monologue. Harry, you ma—" he cuts himself off, inhaling sharply in surprise, before tilting his head to follow something in the sky. Alarmed, Harry raises his head as well, only for his jaw to drop slightly at the sight of Appa racing off towards the royal palace that Harry can faintly see in the distance. They both stare at the sky bison for a moment before a big boom resounds from the castle, right as the animal disappears out of sight.

They both stare at the sight for a minute, before staring at each other once more.

"What the—"