Chapter Seven

Sokka had been acting strange. Katara had noticed immediately, and that was most definitely because she grew up with him. For Aang, it took a little longer to notice. He didn't exactly have that same instinct. It had been a few weeks since he'd left the palace and he hadn't heard from either Suki nor Zuko. Not that he really minded, what exactly would either of them have to say? Now the group was heading over to the Fire Nation since Zuko wanted to ask Aang something.

    "You'd think he would send a hawk." Sokka huffed out of nowhere, glaring at the fluffy clouds around them.

    "What?" Aang muttered, turning to look at the water tribe boy.

    "I mean... Appa probably gets tired from flying all the way over to the fire Nation, so why couldn't Zuko just send a hawk?"

     "He said it was important, Sokka." Katara replied softly, careful with her tone since her brother seemed particularly emotional.

     "Whatever."

_

    Zuko paced his room alone in anxiety. Aang would arrive any minute along with Katara and... He swallowed... Sokka.

    Shaking the nerves from his mind, he took some deep breaths. There was no one there to help him relax, Iroh was still settling in and he didn't want to bother him.

    A sharp knock at the door caused the troubled Firelord to flinch. He cleared his throat and took in another sharp inhale.

    "Come in." His voice was shaky.

    A guard opened the door, the red of his uniform still startled Zuko a bit. He'd gotten used to the Kyoshi warriors. He bit his lip to distract himself from the image.

    "The Avatar has arrived sir." The guard said softly before closing the door again.

    Zuko started paceing again. What was he going to do? Was Sokka going to avoid him? Was Aang? Was Katara? Had Sokka told them how he'd kissed him? Probably not. The thought was surprisingly convincing. Sokka wasn't really one to kiss and tell.

    He was doing a lot of scheduled breathing today. Zuko breathed out in an attempt to laugh but his nerves just made it sound like an exasperated sigh. Which it could have been.

    Walking into the throne room, he trailed his eyes in the floor. God why was he so nervous?

    "Hey Zuko!" Aang cheered, giving him a wave.

    Seeing Aang's cheery smile put his mind at ease. Looks like Sokka didn't say anything. Katara stood beside Aang, their hands clasped together. Her gaze was a little less welcoming, though she still wore a soft smile.

    "Aang, Katara," Zuko greeted, returning the smile. "Thank you for meeting me," He hesitantly looked around the room. "Where's Sokka?"

    "He's outside with Appa. He's kind of in a bad mood so we told him he could just hang out there." Aang explained, seemingly not suspicious of the water tribe boy's strange mood.

    "Sorry to hear it." Zuko choked out.

    Was that his fault?

    "So, what's up?" Aang asked, giving Katara's hand a little squeeze.

    "Well, as you know... My mother is still alive as far as I know and she's out there somewhere... So," The new topic let him calm down and take his mind off the drama. "How would you feel about having another mission? To help me find her?"

    "Of course!" Katara blurted before Aang could say anything.

    "Yeah! Sounds interesting," Aang agreed. "Any leads on where she is?"

    "Mm, about that..." Zuko mumbled.

    "Is it my turn to talk yet brother?" A voice sneered from the shadows.

    The three turned towards the source; Azula. She stepped out into the dimly lit room and sauntered over. A strange grin on her face.

    "Azula is the only person my father would talk to so... She's the only one who knows where our mother might be." Zuko explained.

    "Zuko-?!" Aang started but was cut off.

    "Don't worry Avatar. I want to find her as much as he does. I won't be hurting anyone and he won't keep me restrained," Azula said, standing beside Zuko. "That was the deal."

    "Zuko, you can't be serious." Katara protested, her hand poised by her water pouch just in case.

    "Please, trust me? It's the only way I'll find her." Zuko pleaded, touching Katara's shoulder.

    Katara sighed, visibly unconvinced. She forced an unsure smile and Zuko gave her a grateful one in return.

    "So, let me get this straight," Aang piped up, glancing back and forth between Zuko and Azula. "Azula, is coming along unrestrained?"

    "Yeah. Exactly." Zuko nodded.

    "Alright... Well... Uh... When are we leaving?" Aang scratched the back of his neck.

    "As soon as my uncle gets here. He's watching over the throne while I'm gone." Zuko responded matter of factly.

    "And when is that?" Katara mumbled.

    "Tomorrow morning. I'll show you to your rooms." Zuko instructed, beckoning the duo to follow him.

    Ty Lee walked out hesitantly and grabbed Azula. Another Kyoshi warrior joined her.

    "Traitor." Azula hissed at the brunette as she was escorted out of the room.

    "Do you want to go grab Sokka, Katara?" Aang looked over at his girlfriend, giving her a smile.

    "Sure." She nodded, glancing at Zuko to see his reaction.

    He flinched but continued walking without a word.

    "No. I'll just hang out here with Appa." Sokka protested leaning against the edges of the saddle.

    "Come on Sokka. Please?" Katara sighed. "Or at least tell me why you're avoiding him?"

    "I-" Sokka started but cut himself off, sulking. "It's complicated alright? I don't even know what exactly happened myself."

    "I see," Katara sighed. "I'll bring you out a blanket."

    "Thank you."

_

    Zuko stared out the window at Sokka's figure lying on Appa's back. He faced away from the palace and had the blanket up over his ears. Zuko could only really make out the shape of his chocolate brown hair spilling over the saddle. A sharp sigh escaped his lips and he frowned at himself.

    How could he let this happen? Why was he so incredibly dense. He couldn't even figure out that Meng was Sokka all along and ended up kissing him too. He didn't regret the kiss. But that didn't mean he wasn't confused about it.

    Turning away from the window, he took a breath, trying his best to let the situation go. Gay relationships had been banned in the Fire Nation since Sozin ruled. Of course, he could change that now since he was the Firelord. And as Ozai had put it "whatever he says goes". He wasn't sure how the water tribes viewed the topic however -due to his banishment and fixation on hunting down Aang- he hadn't bothered learning anything about the other nations. He did know what Iroh had told him, but that wasn't a lot.

    He looked at his door and bit his lip slightly in thought. Maybe he could ask Katara?