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Memories from Western Airtemple	By : DarthAnimus Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > AU/AR - Alternate Universe/Alternate Reality > Slash - Male/Male Views: 16187 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own "Avatar: the Last Airbender" or the characters. I don't make any profit out of writing this.

Chapter List
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Memories from Western Air Temple
Chapter 2
Tentative Contact

The first morning Zuko spent with the Avatar and his friends was a lot less awkward of an occasion than dinner from the previous night. For one thing, the sun renewed Zuko’s spirit and the daylight made the temple look a lot less threatening.

“Good morning, everyone”, Zuko spoke out as he walked out through the temple entrance. There were glances towards him and a couple of half-hearted replied but Toph actually gave him a smile and replied: “Morning, Firecracker.”

“Good morning, Zuko”, came another voice, its tone friendly even though hesitant and Zuko looked at deep grey eyes and offered a weak smile back fore making his way to sit beside Toph, much like the previous night.

Thinking of the Avatar by a name seemed to be much easier to do now that he could see the boy’s face clearly and so, when he realized that Aang was looking at him expectantly, he decided to try it: “What is it, Aang?”

The young airbender looked startled for a moment, probably because of the casual address, and then flushed in embarrassment at having been caught staring. It was with a nervous smile that the boy answered: “I was wondering if we could get started on some firebending today.”

Opening his mouth to reply, Zuko did not get to speak out even the first syllable of his answer when the waterbender, Katara, cut in with a stern tone: “I’d prefer if you did not start firebending right away.”

Both males turned their eyes to the girl and Zuko immediately noticed the way blue eyes glared at him. The waterbender did not trust Zuko around Aang, obviously. He could see where the girl was coming from with this but this really was not the time or place for the girl to have such doubts in him when Aang needed to learn to bend fire as soon as possible.

“How about you give it a few days to let Zuko settle in properly before you begin”, Katara suggested and despite the disappointment evident on his face Aang nodded his head in agreement. There was an unspoken addition to the girl’s words and Zuko doubted he was the only one who heard them even though the Avatar did not. What Katara had really meant with her words was: ‘I want to see how well Zuko does before you begin.’ It was obvious that the waterbender meant for these few days to be a test of sorts for Zuko, so that she could see just how serious he was about his intentions.

Next thing Zuko knew the girl still glowering at him shoved a bowl of something akin to porridge at his face and the firebender got distracted from his thoughts when he had to grab the bowl quickly in order to avoid the scenario where its contents spilled into his lap. Deciding that it would be better that he avoided any and all conflicts with Katara, the prince began eating his breakfast without another word.

There seemed to be a somewhat tense atmosphere in the air, probably caused by the others also being aware of Katara's hostility. It was actually very surprising that the one to break through the tension was the smallest member of the group, the little boy whose name Zuko had not heard yet. The child's voice was actually very friendly when he asked Zuko if the teen would like to join him and Teo, the boy in the wheelchair, on a trip to look around the temple a bit. It offered the perfect opportunity to avoid Katara for the day and Zuko agreed with a nod. The boy smiled widely at him and offered a small hand for Zuko to shake and said: "I'm The Duke."

Giving a shaky attempt at smile Zuko accepted the hand and gave it a squeeze before giving a try at starting a conversation: "How did you end up joining the team, The Duke?"

The boy's face brightened even more and The Duke started a tale that was the perfect distraction from the apprehension boiling in Zuko's stomach: "I used to belong to this group of freedom fighters when I first met Aang and the others and when we heard about the invasion plan, me and Pipsqueak joined them." The Duke's face gained a thoughtful, even slightly worried, look then. "The leader of our group was called Jet." Zuko's hands jerked at the name and the firebender hissed, hoping that no one noiced. "He was so brave and much stronger than any of us and he was as much our older brother as he was out leader. He left to find new members for our group but never returned." The sad tone was only barely noticed by Zuko, who was struggling to control his breathing. There was no way it could be the same person... And then The Duke spoke the words that caused the prince to pale: "If there was one weakness that Jet had it was his rather obsessive nature. He would never see any citizen of the Fire Nation as anything but an enemy, even the civilians." The boy looked at Zuko with a desperate gaze. "That doesn't mean he is a bad person, though! He's just a bit closed-minded."

Smiling weakly at the memory of Jet's friendly smile and taking a shivering breath when it morphed into a look of hate Zuko shook his head to clear his mind before touching his fingers to The Duke's arm briefly as he spoke gently: "Of course it doesn't." The firebender then jerked himself away from the boy, not willing to think about the scruffy-looking rebel that had attempted to befriend him. He proceeded to eat his breakfast once more and noticed Sokka's blue eyes look at him curiously, the Water Tribe boy's expression one of deep thought.

Zuko glared at his porridge intently, determined to not let that look bother him. There was no way anyone could know that he had ever as much as met Jet; even if the rebel had ever mentioned him, he had only known Zuko as Lee. It was not possible for Sokka to simply guess that Zuko had any connection at all to Jet. But still, the firebender had to wonder; what had happened to Jet to keep him from returning to his friends and comrades? Jet was obsessive to a fault but he would never abandon his people.

Shaking his head once more in irritation Zuko shovelled porridge into his mouth, determined to stop thinking about such things. Who cared what had happened to Jet? The freedom fighter had been nothing but a thorn in Zuko's side ever since he had started suspecting him to be a firebender. Before that... Zuko snarled as his thoughts wondered once more. Jet had never been his friend; he had never even known the first thing about Zuko. There was no reason for him to worry since he had no attachment to the other. He should just forget about it.

A melancholic look passed on Zuko's face as he bit back a sigh. Why was it so hard for him to forget? Why could he never forget his painful memories?

To be continued...
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Memories from Western Airtemple