𝑺𝑬𝑬𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑰𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑹 •𝒃𝒙𝒃•

31 ~ glimpse of us

And just like that, the space between them widened. Not in a literal sense. From the moment they reunited, Zuko kept pushing against the boundaries Guren had set. Against the walls he had brought up. He kept pushing and pushing until...Guren couldn't push back. He stopped struggling against him. He stopped and...Zuko waltzed right back into his life, became a part of it again, against all odds.

"Until you make your peace with it, you shall have neither of me."

Now their positions switched. Guren could almost see them—the walls—slowly building themselves up brick by brick. Thick, invisible walls, encasing Zuko, hiding him away.
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Wasn't...there a difference between them? One so carefree and...unknowing of life, and the other built out of sweat and tears, out of heat. They were different. They weren't the same...were they? How could they be? None of them were the same, so why was it expected of Guren to think of them as that? Wasn't it fine to...separate it all? To turn a new page and start over? Ignore the past and focus on the present? No, no, no, it didn't work like that, did it? How come? Why couldn't it work the way he wanted it to? Why couldn't it be easier? Why couldn't it be more simple? Why must there be problems?

Ah, he hated this.

A hypocrite, that's all he was now, right? But...how could he think of Little Wolf as Zuko? Little Wolf was...a facade, just as Little Vixen and even Little Bird were. Damn it, he's got all of this wrong. He already did it—thought of them as the same. Why would he keep pushing him away then, from the beginning, long before Ba Sing Se? Why would he...be so stricken by Azula? For he thought of them as his little companions, that the change he witnessed in them forced him to separate their existences.

Little Wolf. Prince Zuko.

Little Vixen. Princess Azula.

Little Bird. The General's Son.

The weight on their lithe shoulders was far too heavy. Pretending made it all that much easier to bear. To dissociate from the reality they lived in, even just for a few moments, few instances.

Breathing came easier.

Playing came easier.

They didn't need to think.

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For the next few hours, all Aang did was practice under Zuko's guidance.

Only once Sokka proposed they take a break did they stop. And what kind of break did he choose? A beach party, as if they've not resided on the seaside for the last few...who knows how many days? It certainly seemed to brighten everyone's spirits, at least, so that was a plus.

While they partied, he came closer to the shore, but did not go into the water.

"Not going in?"

He glanced to the side and saw Suki.

"Not a fan of water."

She furrowed her brows, before asking, "Didn't you live in the North Pole?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, "Doesn't mean I liked living there."

A quiet hum left her. "I guess all of us have some things we hate..." Then she looked to the side and Guren did the same. They saw Sokka running around, carrying all sorts of things and building...something. "...and some things we love."

For a split moment, his eyes darted across the beach, and landed on Zuko.

"Hm...so that's it." Suki muttered.

Blinking, Guren quickly looked away and towards her. "What is?"

She shook her head. "Nothing..." With an exhale, she added, "nothing at all."