𝑺𝑬𝑬𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑰𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑹 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

22 ~ sound of goodbye

AN: Hi, hello, greetings. 
I'm back again ayy.

He decided on this a while ago; to tell them the truth about everything. He just needed Aang to wake up, so they'd all be there, and now that he did...it was time he did what he decided to do. But the words died on his tongue the moment he saw Aang's weary face. The words twisted themselves into something unrecognisable, something incoherent, and no matter how much he wanted to say them, he couldn't. Like scalding metal dragging down his throat, he swallowed them and kept his mouth shut, only allowing the wetness of his eyes to make itself known.

Aang was the only one not crying for he was too tired, even after a sleep that long. 

So Guren took him in his arms and squeezed him tight, caging his lithe shoulders with his broad form. So little...so weak and fragile, yet so strong and capable. That was what Aang was. And now he was in this state because of Guren, because of his foolishness. His small hands gently dragged against Guren's back, rubbing soft circles as if Guren was the one who needed comfort.

And maybe he did.

_

When the time came, he called the four of them. 

And so he began. 

"I lied." 

He expected Aang to be the first one to question it, but Sokka beat him to it. "Lied? About what?" There was confusion to his tone, an underlaying level of anxiousness as well. 

"About not knowing Azula and Zuko. About...my father." He waited and waited, but nobody said anything, as if urging him to continue. And he did. "I lied about my past, not fully, but I downplayed major parts of it. My father wasn't a regular Fire Nation soldier, he was the general."

If a pin dropped he'd probably hear it. Utter and complete silence washed over the room, tension filling every crook and cranny, dread following right after. 

"...General?" Katara was quiet, too quiet. 

He nodded. 

"Zuko and Azula were the prince and princess...and you were the general's son." 

Guren looked at Sokka. "Yes. My father was instructed to be Azula's Firebending teacher. As time passed, I got to know both Azula and Zuko, and, in the end, we became inseparable. Until I was forced to flee, that is." 

"Did this have something to do with your mother?" 

Again, he nodded. "She was a Waterbender, an enemy in the Fire Nation's eyes. As such, my father was deemed a traitor. I didn't know what happened to either of them when I was taken to the Northern Water Tribe. General Fong was the one who told me how they both died; my mother burnt to ashes by my father, and my father earned a public execution a day later."

There was only silence.

"Then you met the siblings years later..." Toph commented, "Must've been a shock." 

A shock? It was more than that. "They've changed, both of them. They're not longer little children that clung to my side. But I am no longer who I was either."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Katara's voice was soft, and she wasn't looking at him. "Why keep it a secret?" 

Was she...serious? "My father was the general of the nation that killed your mother, why wouldn't I keep it a secret? And Aang, weren't the Airbenders eradicated as well? At that time, the correct choice was to keep some things secret."

Perhaps he was too direct with his words, too insensitive, because the moment the words left him, everyone except Toph had leaned away, identical expressions twisting all of their features; pain.