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“So.. Ba Sing Se-”
“I swear to Agni, if you’re bringing this up
now-”
“Can you think of anything else to talk about?”
Zuko huffs, blowing his hair out of his face and failing to peer over at Aang; they’re both completely stuck against the grate, and if Zuko wasn’t grumpy and frustrated before, he sure was now. Aang was continuously attempting to strike up a light-hearted conversation to keep the mood up, but Zuko wasn’t having it.
Aang sighs, “I’m sorry… I know it’s uncomfortable, but we have to talk about it eventually.”
“We don’t
have
to.”
It’s Aang’s turn to huff; it’s colder than Zuko’s, but no less powerful with frustration. “How can we ignore it? We’ve
kissed,
Zuko; you saved me, and Appa!”
“I’m not as good as you think I am, dumbass!” Zuko yells suddenly, breath tasting of smoke as his anger bubbles. “Fuck- I saved you from Zhao because
I
needed to bring the Avatar to my father, not a piece-of-shit admiral like him. I was banished, and if I wasn’t able to find the Avatar, I could kiss my old life behind; he would’ve gotten all the praise while I would be the laughing stock for the Fire Nation… as if I wasn’t already.”
“Well you got that life back, didn’t you?”
“And I hated every fucking second of it!” Zuko yelled, and he groaned, almost smacking his forehead against the bars if he hadn’t caught himself. He could feel the anger bubbling inside him; it felt almost foreign now, and he hated how scared that made him feel. “The moment I saw Azula, and you- you
fell,
it was fucking terrifying.”
“Zuko…”
The silence between them is tense for a few minutes, before the bright rays of the rising sun suddenly peaks over the ancient buildings; it blinds them for a few seconds, Zuko hissing under his breath, before he squints to peer at the warmth.
Aang’s fingers flex against the bars, unwrapping them a few times before they relax, “You know, I would’ve thought you’d hate mornings, like Sokka does... but you’re always awake before the rest of us.”
“...My favourite part of the day used to be the morning, when I was travelling with Uncle,” Zuko confesses quietly. “He’d get me up at the crack of dawn every morning and just… go through firebending forms with me; it always pissed me off, but he kept doing it. He would say that… waking up in the sun was good for a Firebender’s body.”
Aang sighs in content, eyes closed as if soaking in the morning rays like an etiolated flower; when he opens his eyes again, the sun is obstructed by a tall figure standing above the pair, eyebrow raised.
“Who is down there?”
-
The sun is no less warm as they climb the mountain, stare down the eyes of the masters with mixed expressions of fright and awe; it practically scorches them as the rainbow flames surround them, but then cradles their young bodies with the warmth of a proud parent. It’s warm in Aang’s hands after, when he conjures the flames by himself and laughs in pure delight that in turn, warms Zuko’s own heart.
It’s warm when Zuko pulls the blanket from Aang’s sleeping body the next morning, having to practically drag the Airbender out of camp so they wouldn’t wake the rest of their group. Aang yawns, peers at the sunrise with a delighted smile and then looks at Zuko.
“You’re really pretty in the sunlight,” He says randomly, and Zuko chokes, tensing when Aang presses a chaste kiss to his lips and takes the stance Zuko had just instructed seconds earlier. He giggles at the violent shade of red across Zuko’s face, his embarrassment obvious, but he rolls his eyes with a good natured smile and instructs another pose.