"Aang," Zuko walked up to him later that night as everyone was heading to bed.
Aang felt his heart speed up as he thought Zuko was going to try hurting him or something, but his frown seemed difference somehow, it was angry but it seemed more guilty as he stopped a few feet from him.
"I'm sorry about before, I know I said I'd leave tonight but I can't," he told the avatar and Aang looked at him but looked down.
"I know, I didn't know Katara was going to be so upset, she never cries accept for when she's really upset about something, I never wanted to hurt her like that," Aang gulped as the two stood near the fire.
"That's something we can relate to, Katara is both our friend," Zuko nodded.
"Then what can we do?" Aang asked softly crossing his arms.
"I know I've made a lot of mistakes, I regret a lot of them, my excuses aren't to justify myself, it was wrong of me, but I was given a second chance for a reason..." Zuko looked down as Aang looked at him confused.
"I know my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world," he said seriously as Aang stared at him but his grey eyes softened.
"I think you are suppose to be my fire bending teacher..." Aang nodded.
"Really?" Zuko looked up at him surprised.
"Yes... But this is your only chance, I don't want to see anyone I love hurt ever again," Aang purse his lips.
"I won't let you down, we can start tomorrow," Zuko smiled softly and Aang walked away without saying another word.
Zuko inhaled softly relieved and went to go back to his room.
He stopped in the door way of his room as he saw katara playing with Durk and Momo as they where chasing a ring of water in the air. He knocked on the door.
"Hope I'm not interrupting," Zuko said calmly as Katara smiled at him.
"Well just a little," she sat back crossing her legs.
"Aangs going to let me teach him fire bending," Zuko sat on the bed as Katara sat on her knees on the floor as she crossed her arms over the bed looking up at him.
"Really? That's great!" She gasped happily.
"I think I might actually get him to trust me," Zuko smiled softly looking at the ground.
"You've changed," Katara got on the bed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Zuko kept his hands in his lap.
"We all see it," she touched his cheek to turn his face to her as her fingers skimmed his scar kindly. Zuko smiled a little back.
"We should get to sleep," Zuko brushed her hair behind her ear and Katara nodded getting up.
"Zuko," she stopped at the door way looking at him.
"I..." Katara gulped as she pursed her lips. Zuko tilted his head to the side confused as she paused.
"I'm happy for you," she sighed walking out to her room.
——
"I know your nervous but you have to remember, fire bending in and of itself is not something to fear," Zuko stood across from Aang as they stood out in the open on the upside down roof of the temple.
"Okay... not something to fear," Aang sighed softly to himself.
"But if you don't respect it, it'll chew you up and spit you out like an angry Komodo rhino!" Zuko raised his voice a little making Aang step back fearful with a small cry.
"Now show me what you got," he went back to calm with his arms crossed. "Any amount of fire you can make,"
Aang inhaled deeply and held his breath as he took a step and punched to the side only to make barely any fire, just made smoke.
"Maybe I need a little more instruction, a demonstration perhaps?" Aang smiled nervously at him.
"Good idea, maybe take a couple steps back," Zuko agreed and Aang took a lot of steps back.
Zuko inhaled and went swipe his fist to the side and went into a stance but only a little fire went out.
Aang applaud quietly from the side.
"What the fuck was that?" Zuko looked at where the 'fire' was once in disgust.
"That was the worst fire bending I've ever seen," he scoffed at himself.
"I thought it was... nice..." Aang shrugged
Zuko went to try again as he punched and kicked with little bursts of fire. He growled in frustration.
"Why is this happening?!" He cried out.
"Maybe it's the altitude?" Aang rubbed his head just as confused.
"Yea maybe..."
——
The two went to a different spot as Aang sat on a stump boredly as he watched Zuko struggle.
"Just breathe and-" he punched again only for a puff of fire. Aang yawned leaning back.
"That one kinda felt hot," he sat back up.
"Don't patronize me! You know what it's suppose to look like!" Zuko snapped at him.
"Sorry sifu hotman," Aang gulped.
"Stop calling me that!" Zuko yelled clenching his fists.
Sokka walked over eating an apple as Zuko had his head down in defeat and Aang looked over at him.
"Hey jerks, mind if I watch you two jerks jerkbend?" Sokka teased sitting down.
"Get out of here!" Zuko yelled pointing in any other direction.
"Okay take it easy, I was just kidding around," Sokka laughed a little as he got back up brushing himself off.
"Hehe... jerkbending, still got it..." Sokka laughed as Zuko whined a small groan to himself as Aang watched confused.
——
That night Zuko walked to the group during dinner.
"Listen everybody, I got some pretty bad news... I lost my stuff," Zuko announced to them all.
"Hey I didn't take your stuff," toph put her hands up immediately as some looked at her.
"I'm talking about my fire bending, it's gone," Zuko sighed looking down.
Katara burst into giggles as Zuko glared at her.
"Sorry sorry I'm just laughing at the irony, you know nice it would've been for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago?" Katara covered her mouth as she looked at him.
"Hilarious kat," he said unamused.
"I'm just saying, it's a funny time to loose your bending," She hummed.
"Well... it's not lost, it's just weaker for some reason," Zuko explained.
"Maybe your just not as good as you think you are," Katara shrugged holding her bowl.
"Ouch," toph commented from the side.
"Maybe it's because I changed sides," Zuko thought for a moment and Katara snorted again but didn't say anything for a moment.
"That's ridiculous," she rolled her eyes sipping from the bowl.
"I don't know maybe it isn't," Aang bit his lip awkwardly.
"Maybe your firebending comes from rage, and you just don't have enough anger to fuel it the way you use too," he explained.
"Soooo all we need to do is make Zuko angry," sokka chimed in happily. "Easy enough!"
Zuko stood there with his arms crossed as sokka poked him with the handle of his sword with a childish laughter bouncing from side to side annoying the fire bender.
"Okay! Knock it off!" Zuko snapped and sokka dropped the sword and covered his head from Zukos out burst.
"Yea totally not raging anymore," suki smirked.
"Look, even if your right, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore," Zuko growled linking the bridge of his nose frustrated.
"Zuko I don't think it's cause your not... as hot headed as before," Katara set her bowl down. "You where fine at fire bending when it was just us, and you've been good for a while,"
"There has to be another way," Zuko agreed with his eyes narrow.
"Your going to need to learn how to draw your fire bending from a different source, I recommend the original source," toph said putting a hand over her chest with a shrug.
"How's he suppose to do that? By jumping into a volcano!" Sokka smiled smugly as everyone groaned at the joke.
"That's your son," suki patted Hakoda on the arm.
"Your boyfriend," Hakoda sipped his dinner.
"No, Zuko needs to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is," toph told them looking ahead at nothing specific.
"So is it jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asked quieter.
"I don't know, for earth bending the original benders were the badger moles," toph set her bowl down with a small smile.
"When I was little I ran away and hid in a cave, that's where I met them," she explained. "They were blind just like me so we understood each other, I was able to learn earth bending not just as a martial art but as an extension of my senses,"
"For them, the original earth benders, it wasn't just about fighting, it was their way of interacting with the world,"
"That's amazing toph," Aang smiled in awe of her. "I learned from the monks but the original air benders were the sky bison,"
"Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy!" He looked back at appa who grumble back loudly.
"Well this doesn't help me, the original fire benders were the dragons," Zuko pursed his lips and looked over as durk flew up on his shoulder with a chirp.
"I thought they were extinct before meeting durk, he's the last one and only a baby," he sighed rubbing his head.
"So they don't stay snake size?" Sokka raised an eye brow.
"No they could get bigger than the fire nation palace, or as a mountain," Zuko looked back at him. Sokka paled with wide eyes as durk yawned.
"What do you mean? Roku had a dragon and there was plenty of dragons when I was a kid," Aang smiled at him.
"Well they aren't around anymore okay!" Zuko snapped harshly making some of the kids jump.
"Okay okay I'm sorry, I just thought with your dragon..." Aang trailed off motioning.
"Maybe theres another way, the first people to learn from the dragons were the ancient sun warriors," Zuko turned away as durk crawled across his shoulders and rubbed his nose against Zukos ear telling him he's hungry.
"Sun warriors? I know they weren't around when I was a kid," Aang raised his eye brows walking over to him.
"No, they died off thousands of years ago, but this civilization wasn't to far from where we are now, maybe we can learn something by poking around the ruins," Zuko explained to him as he kept his eyes to the ground with a scowl.
"It's like the monks use to tell me, sometimes the shadows of the past can be felt by the present," Aang said gently and Zukos face softened as he looked at the kid.
"So what? Maybe you'll pick up some super old sun warrior energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?" Sokka interrupted as he wiggled his fingers.
"More or less, either I find a new way to fire bend or the avatar has to find a new teacher,"