A/N - Oh man guys, did you all think I had just up and abandoned you? Your patience must be strong at this point, what will all the waiting for Korra Book 2 to come out, amirite?

Well for those who have stuck in there, thank you so much for your patience. I got a second job added on to my already full time job and it took some time to adjust.

So without further delay, please enjoy the next chapter of What Lies Within...

Chapter 6: What Dreams May Come

That night Zuko dreamed of the blue spirit. He had abandoned the mask a while ago and hadn't really given it a thought since. Yet there it was, glistening in the sun of his subconscious mind.

The blue spirit was a symbol of redemption in the fire nation…or it was a symbol of betrayal. And you could really tell a lot about a person based on how they deciphered the story.

The blue spirit was supposedly a great warrior, from a clan of other equally great warriors (typical fire nation folk lore, Zuko always found it terribly monotonous). The clan however, splits apart over some pointless dispute, and he is torn apart from his twin brother.

Then, blah blah blah the story goes on for about fifty chapters. And in the end one brother blows up the gorge in order to finally stop the battle, sacrificing his own life in the process. The other brother can't see the value in his brother's choice, and swears revenge against the opposite clan, claiming that one day he'll find a way across to defeat them all. But apparently he never does…

How someone couldn't figure out a way to cross a simple gorge was beyond Zuko, but he supposed, it was just a story.

The brother who sacrificed himself to end the fighting became the blue spirit, the color of peace and harmony. And many years later the other brother perished and became the red spirit, for his anger and blood lust.

Zuko remembered his father and sister thinking that the blue spirit was a fool, and even more so: a traitor. And the red spirit was the tragic hero who never lived out his goal.

The fire nation prince would always smile softly in feigned agreement, rather than invite their ridicule upon himself. But deep down, he always considered the blue spirit to be the real hero, not the red.

In his dream he was the blue spirit, but then he was also watching the blue spirit. He switched back and forth in his mind a thousand times it seemed, so it was almost as if he was watching himself…watch himself? And then finally, the blue spirit fell into the gorge and was about to hit the ground, when Zuko woke up with a start.

He gasped in the cold night air and quickly reached for his face, feeling for a mask. But all he was met with was smooth skin, sans for the charred scar.

He took a deep breath, and felt the pressure of his heart pounding in his chest. He had apparently broken out in a sweat during his dreams and it was making the cold air cut through him all the more.

"Zuko, you alright?"

The Fire Bender looked up, trying to recall where he was.

That's right, he was in the war balloon, with Aang. They were taking shifts sleeping so that both of them could get some rest, and it had been his turn. Had he known the sort of turmoil his dreams would bring him, he would have just let Aang sleep twice as long.

Zuko slowly began to sit up. His back ached - the floor of the war balloon was hardly soft. And he had told Aang to keep the one blanket to himself while he steered the ship, claiming his Fire Bender blood would keep him nice and toasty while he slept.

Yeah, that was clearly a lie.

He walked over to Aang and sat down on a wooden crate of supplies, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks. Just a bad dream I guess."

Aang smiled sympathetically at the groggy young man, he certainly understood how terrible nightmares could be.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, we're almost there. I can see it!"

Zuko looked over the edge of the balloon. Indeed, there was land in the distance and they were getting closer to it by the second. The sun was just beginning to rise, illuminating the shore and the forest of palm trees.

"You sure that's it?"

"Definitely."

As Zuko squinted into the distance trying to ascertain the lay of the land as best he could, he didn't notice the blanket had been draped around his shoulders, until things suddenly began to feel a bit warmer.

He looked down at the cotton fabric wrapped around him and then up at the Avatar.

"Your turn, Hotman!"

Zuko smiled lightly, he was probably blushing a bit but he was sure the veil of early morning darkness would hide that.

He pulled the blanket up higher to keep his neck warm, immediately being met with that same minty scent he had noticed earlier in his room. He was starting to become familiar with it. He wondered if all the Air Nomads once had a similar smell or if it was uniquely Aang's.

The balloon touched down on the beach. The sun had finally made its way above them, warming the shoreline, and Zuko along with it. He shed the blanket and threw one leg over the balloon's edge.

The Fire Bender hopped down to the ground and began to survey their surroundings. After a moment's thought, he cleared his throat to speak. But before he could get the words out, an air scooter landed immediately to his side, kicking up sand into his face.

Zuko sputtered and spit the tiny grains from his mouth, while at the same time shielding his eyes from the remaining onslaught. "Aang!"

The Avatar turned and realized what was happening. The ball of air instantly ceased spinning and dissipated, "Sorry, Zuko!"

He reached forward with a tattooed arm and brushed the remaining sand from Zuko's tunic, "So where do we go from here?"

Zuko scanned the palms once again, as he had been doing before he was so rudely interrupted. In the distance he saw something that looked as if it was made from stone. Some sort of building, or structure perhaps. He supposed it was worth a shot.

Suddenly he felt a soft hand on his face, "What are you doing?"

"I got some on your face, let me get it for you."

Aang swiped the sand from Zuko's good cheek, and then gently brushed at the other side, being mindful of his scar, which might be sensitive to tiny grains of sand grinding against it. Once again Aang's kind and gentle ministrations felt all too foreign to Zuko. It was something he hadn't experienced since he lost his mother so many years ago.

"There, all gone." The Avatar smiled at his work.

Zuko shook his head slightly to remove himself from a trance he hadn't realized he was in, "You're just lucky it didn't get in my eyes, Aang!"

He stepped past the grinning Air Bender, choosing to ignore his stifled laughter. He wasn't sure how long it would take to get to the stones in the distance, but he guessed it would be at least an hour…

As miserable as it had felt at the time, Zuko would have traded this stifling heat for the biting cold of the early morning war balloon in a heartbeat. The sun was merciless, and although the palm trees offered some shade, they did nothing for the humidity.

Aang was starting to become whiny too, which wasn't making the situation any easier. Zuko couldn't be too hard on him though, the poor guy hadn't eaten anything all day.

When the two had cracked open the supplies of the war balloon they had found nothing but dehydrated meats, much to the vegetarian monk's dismay. None of the palm trees that surrounded them seemed to be of the fruit bearing variety either.

If worse came to worse, he could probably force the Avatar to eat some of the meats he had brought along for their trek. He wouldn't like it, but it would be better than dying of starvation.

"This heat is horrible! How much longer till we get there, Zuko? You said it wouldn't be more than an hour!"

Zuko's eye twitched. He took a deep breath to try and regain his patience, which was becoming more threadbare by the minute. He wasn't used to the normally good-natured Avatar being this obnoxious. He knew it was just the hunger getting to him, but if the Air Bender asked why they weren't there yet one more time…well, let's just say he was lucky Zuko's fire bending was gone.

"Aang…as I've said several times already…I don't know how much longer. I've been here as many times as you have."

Aang crossed his arms in frustration. Deep down he knew none of this was actually Zuko's fault, but he currently felt like his brain and his stomach were in a fight for which was going to cave in on itself first, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

His stomach let out a deep churning growl and Aang placed a hand over it. The two benders had long since abandoned the top part of their clothing in favor of saving them from being drenched in sweat. Aang felt the organ move under his palm as it twisted in protest beneath his skin.

Zuko turned towards the shorter boy with pity, the anger he had felt moments ago dissolving. It was one of those growls that came from a truly hollow stomach.

He asked softly, "Are you sure you don't want to try meat, just this once?"

Aang shook his head slowly, "I can't betray my people by doing something like that. Not even if it's just one time."

Zuko stared at the Avatar for a moment more, before once again observing their surroundings. These blasted palm trees were just a tease. In the palace gardens he grew up in, Zuko had seen palms that bore bananas, nuts, berries…but these ones were useless.

And there didn't seem to be any other edible plants around. If Aang wouldn't eat the meat there really was nothing else that could be done…

Zuko looked back at the Air Bender, who was beginning to look a little pale to go along with his weariness. He knew the only real option was to get them there. He didn't know what they were heading towards, but it was something other than endless palm trees, and a change in scenery might mean something edible would appear.

It was a long shot, and it was also the only choice they currently had. But Aang wasn't looking too well. At this rate he might not make it.

The fire nation prince walked over to the Avatar and crouched down in front of him, turning first so his back was facing him, "Alright, hop on."

"What?"

"Hop on, I'll take you the rest of the way."

Aang felt a heat tinge the tip of his ears, "I..I don't need you to carry me, Sifu!"

"Aang I heard your stomach, you're ready to fall over so just let me help you."

"But I'm too heavy and you're tired too!"

"First of all, you are certainly not too heavy, pipsqueak. And second of all, I'm not as tired as you because I actually ate breakfast."

Aang didn't move, still hesitant. Zuko glanced over his shoulder and up into the Air Bender's eyes with a smirk, "You'd be surprised how much energy you get from eating delicious meat."

Aang's face split into a grin, "Well fine, if you're so full of meaty strength!"

He leaned forward and gently clung to Zuko's back as the taller bender began to stand up. He put his arms around his neck, making sure to stay low enough to not choke him. Zuko wrapped an arm around each of Aang's legs and hiked him up into a comfortable carrying position.

"Alright then, comfy?"

"Um, yeah I think so."

"Good, lets get going."

Zuko began to make his way towards the stone structure. He sighed in relief, it was significantly closer now than when they had first started, and it made him feel safer to carry Aang rather than let him burn out his strength by battling hunger as they walked.

A while later, Zuko was nearing the stones he had seen off in the distance when they first touched down on the island. He was thankful for this, as Aang had fallen asleep on his back at some point along the way and seemed to be producing excess heat in his unconscious state. The bare skin of his toned torso pressed flush against Zuko's back was making them stick together with sweat.

Zuko had been a little grossed out by the feeling at first, but with the options being either to wake the sleeping Avatar or to just deal with it, he chose the later.

The environment had gradually started changing as they got closer to their destination. What once was an endless sea of palm trees now had a dappling of other plant types, a stream that seemed to be winding through the forest, and Zuko definitely saw some birds and lizards out of the corner of his eye. It gave him hope that they were heading towards something good.

As he looked around, he noticed a plant that he was positive was edible. Uncle used to pick them along the trails they traveled before making their way to Ba Sing Se. And although his guardian didn't have a flawless record for only eating things that were safe, Zuko had seen him consume more than enough (and survive) to know they checked out.

He turned his face towards Aang's, which was resting on his right shoulder, "Aang, you awake?"

The smaller bender murmured incoherently in his sleep. Zuko smiled as he shifted to lower Aang down gently onto the soft wild grass that grew near the stream, which seemed to have manifest itself from somewhere deep within the grove of palms and followed Zuko as he walked. Regardless of where it came from, he was thankful to have the fresh water at their disposal. He then proceeded to find as many of the surrounding berry bushes as he could, using his tunic as a makeshift satchel to carry them.

When he finally finished, he returned to the still sleeping Avatar. He stared for a moment, knowing that for once, nobody was around to see. Aang looked absolutely stunning in his sleep. Completely peaceful, with even the smallest of smiles gracing his lips.

The thin layer of sweat that coated his body seemed to make him glow in the soft dappled sunlight that fell through the trees. And his blue arrow tattoos shone brightly against the greens and browns of the forest.

Zuko kneeled down next to his sleeping form, knowing he couldn't let him nap for too long. It seemed a shame to wake him from such a pristine state, but they were on a mission.

He softly shook Aang's shoulder, saying his name quietly under his breath.

Aang stirred in his sleep, but didn't awaken.

"Aaaaang…time to get up."

The Air Bender stirred again, and murmured in his sleep as he had on Zuko's back.

"Zu..k.."

Zuko stopped, instantly removing his hand from Aang's shoulder. He was still asleep, but apparently talking. And…saying the prince's name?

"Aang?"

"Z..uko."

Zuko felt his breath hitch in his throat. Was this really happening? He obviously knew that people sometimes talked in their sleep. But in the palace of fire nation royalty, everyone was as tight lipped as humanly possible, and thus he had never actually witnessed it before.

The Fire Bender wasn't sure what he should do in this situation. You weren't supposed to wake people who were sleep-talking right? Or was that sleep walking? Either way, he had heard somewhere that it was dangerous to wake them up, because they would go into shock and freak out…or something. And if somehow it triggered the Avatar State, that could be very bad…

"Zu...please.."

Zuko's stomach practically jumped. Clearly Aang was dreaming about him, but he couldn't possibly imagine what he was doing in the Air Bender's subconscious mind. But maybe there was a way he could find out…

Now sitting cross-legged on the grass, he leaned forward slightly towards the Avatar's face so that he could properly hear when he whispered, "please what, Aang?"

"Pls..don't.."

Another stomach lurch. Aang had to be dreaming about the days when he was constantly being hunted by the banished prince of the fire nation. Meaning he wasn't having a dream, but a nightmare.

Guilt flooded Zuko as he looked upon Aang's sleeping form. His eyebrows were beginning to knot together, as if he were undergoing some sort of torture. Whatever he was doing to the young bender in his mind must have been horrible.

But maybe, Zuko thought, he could lead him out of it…

"Don't what, Aang? What do you want me to stop doing? Just say the word and I'll stop…"

"No. Zu..don't…stop.."

Zuko blanched, slowly processing the words he had just heard.

Don't…stop?

A blush immediately spread across Zuko's face. The words echoed through his mind. Don't. Stop.

He tried to calm himself down. Maybe he was reading way too much into it. Maybe he was just being a pervert, which only caused him to be flooded with guilt once more.

Then again, Aang did kiss him…then again Aang did say he was interested in him, at least to a certain extent.

No. This was the Avatar: a pillar of purity and of moral value. There was no way he was having a..a….

"Ohhh…Zu..ko. ah.."

Zuko clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from making a noise. What that noise would have manifested itself as once it escaped his mouth he didn't know…but to say he was shocked would have been a complete understatement.

Suddenly Aang's furrowed brow took on a whole new meaning for him. And upon closer inspection, Zuko could see the small beads of sweat that were starting to form on his forehead arrow.

Was Aang having a…

"a sex dream…" Zuko whispered the words out loud, just to make sure he wasn't just dreaming this all himself. Being a young man, Zuko was certainly no stranger to them…but Aang?

And not only that, but a dream with him in it! If Zuko didn't know what to do before, he certainly didn't know what to do now. Should he just leave until the dream was uh…over. Should he wake Aang up and risk everything he had been told about waking sleep-talking or walkers or whatever coming true!

And yet…something in Zuko's mind was egging him on. Egging him on to do something. He wasn't sure what that something was exactly…but he knew now that the seed of curiosity had been planted in his mind, he wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

It was as if hearing your name being whispered between two people standing nearby. Once you hear it, you can't get it out of your mind no matter how hard you try.

He had quickly jerked his face away upon realizing what was happening, and now Zuko dared to look at the monk's sleeping form once again.

Was it wrong to try to get more information from Aang? After all, it was sort of an invasion of privacy…

Zuko sighed…he supposed he really wasn't very good at being good after all...

"Um..Aang?

Aang made a low sound from deep in his throat, but didn't respond.

"Aang, are you um…happy with what I'm..doing?"

Zuko slapped a palm to his forehead harshly. What in the world was he saying! The words sounded so stupid out loud that he almost couldn't handle himself.

"Hrmm Zuk..feels so.."

Zuko snapped to attention again.

"Feels so what, Aang?"

"Good.."

Zuko was thankful Aang was fast asleep because he could almost guarantee the blush was almost radiating off his skin at this point.

Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat. There was no turning back now, and he knew it.

"Tell me what…what you want me to do.."

Aang shifted a little in his sleep. His lips parted in preparation to reveal his answer. Zuko subconsciously leaned in even closer, eager to hear the response. And then…

Zuko was suddenly staring into half lidded slate gray eyes.

Oh. Spirits. He woke up.

"Um, Aang! I uh, good to see you're awake! I thought you might be having a nightmare and..!"

Zuko felt a pulling at the back of his neck, and before he could register that it was Aang's hand, his lips were pressed against the Air Bender's once more.

But unlike the first time, Aang was not easing into it. His mouth was needy and craving something that Zuko was clearly too paralyzed in his surprised state to provide.

He felt another pull, this time at his arm. He broke away from Aang's warm lips to look squarely into his still half lidded eyes.

"Zuko, please…"

Zuko's heart was pounding in his ears as he realized Aang was leading his arm down. Down past his chest, past his hollow stomach…

Zuko suddenly knew exactly where his hand was being led. And his mind raced with what he would do once it reached its destination. Should he give in? This was quite obviously what Aang wanted, but was he ready for this? And was this what Zuko wanted…

Aang stopped at the waistband of his pants.

"Zuko…"

The Fire Bender heard his name uttered in a breathy whisper as it escaped the Avatar's lips, and a shiver traveled down his spine. This…was what he wanted. And if it would make Aang happy, he would gladly comply.

Zuko took a deep breath, his nerves firing on all cylinders with a mixture of nervousness and excitement at the prospect of what was about to take place.

But then, Zuko felt the grip on his hand loosen. His hand dropped with a small slap against Aang's thigh, and when he looked back up into Aang's face he saw…

"He fell back asleep!"

Zuko stared blankly at the Air Bender, mouth agape. This was a joke right? Some cruel joke that either the Avatar himself, or maybe even some vengeful Spirit had concocted to torture him for all his past sins. There was no other possible explanation!

Zuko pushed himself away from the Avatar's sleeping form and quickly rose to his feet. He turned his back to the once again "innocent" sleeper, and let a noise of pure frustration resonate through the air. Let not waking a sleep-talker be damned, this was just plain cruel! The forest birds echoed Zuko's anger, they squawked loudly at him with irritation at being frightened from their nests.

After he had released his yell, his fists now clenched in his hair, he heard a gentle yawn from behind him. Followed by a voice…

"Zuko? What's all that racket about?"

Zuko jerked around as fast as lightning, his eyes glaring at the adorable tease waking up from his horrible, torturous dreams of suffering!

Aang rubbed his eye cutely and smiled up at Zuko. "How long was I asleep?

"Long. Enough."

"Oh…sorry about that. I get really tired when I haven't eaten in a while. I also talk in my sleep sometimes when I go to bed hungry, was I doing that at all?"

Zuko's jaw was clenched so tightly he feared he might crack a tooth. But he managed to pry it open wide enough to respond, "Yes."

"Oh."

They stared at each other a moment. Had Zuko not been seething with anger, it would have been quite the awkward situation for him. Aang somehow didn't seem to notice this.

"Well..thanks for letting me sleep! I had some uh, pretty crazy dreams."

Aang averted his gaze and looked a bit sheepish. This made Zuko let up on his anger, but just a bit. Did he remember? He certainly seemed embarrassed enough.

"Oh did you now?"

"Yeah I um..did I say anything..you remember?"

Now Zuko was almost sure of it. Aang did remember, and not only that, he seemed to think that the moment when he was half awake and pulling Zuko's arm towards his nether regions was also part of his dream.

He smirked, if Aang was going to torture him (even if it wasn't intentional) it was only fair he got a little thrown back.

"Hmm nope, not that I can recall. Oh, but I think I did hear you say my name once. Was I in your dream?"

Zuko saw Aang's eyes widen in horror, "Umm yeah I think so! We were flying..racing actually! I was riding Appa and you were on a giant moose lion! A FLYING moose lion! Isn't that crazy!"

"That is crazy, Aang! I guess that's why you were telling me not to stop, huh?"

Zuko didn't think it was physically possible for Aang's eyes to widen further, but they did, "Yeah! Because you were losing and said you were going to drop out of the race and so I started yelling back to you 'NO! Zuko don't stop! You know so you would finish the race!"

The prince's smirked widened as Aang's voice got increasingly frantic through the story, but decided he should stop before the Avatar's eyes widened to the point of popping out of his head, "Sounds neat."

"Oh it was!"

Zuko walked past Aang to gather up the berries he had collected earlier from their pile on the forest floor. And when he finally had his back turned to the Air Bender once again, he heard that familiar sharp slap of a palm against a forehead.

The two benders walked towards the entrance to the stone pyramid. Aang had eaten his fill of the berries and was feeling significantly better. Zuko was still feeling strange about the whole situation, but the fact that Aang seemed to be somewhat embarrassed about it made him feel a little more at ease.

It wasn't that he wanted Aang to feel bad, in fact that couldn't have been further from what he wanted. But when they had kissed in his room at the Air Temple, Aang had seemed so calm and collected about it afterwards that it had been a bit jarring to the prince.

Of course, Aang didn't know that his "dream" had, in part, actually happened. He had no clue what Zuko had seen or been a part of. The Fire Bender felt a little bad about keeping that secret from him. But if it was between that or telling the Avatar that he had actually lived out part of his sex dream, he'd take the first option.

Aang seemed to have recovered from his initial shock as well. Where at first he had munched the crisp berries in silence, passing secret glances at Zuko and then quickly looking away whenever they were met, he now seemed to have that familiar spring in his step.

And best of all, now that he had something in his stomach, the whining had altogether ceased, much to Zuko's relief.

"So you really think we should go into the pyramid?"

"I think it's worth a shot. It's the only thing I've seen around here that isn't just more acres of palm trees. And besides, pyramids are only built when there's something worth keeping..."

Aang nodded in agreement as they rounded the final corner.

Zuko immediately stopped in his tracks. There, above the gaping entrance to the pyramid, was the carved stone face of the blue spirit.

A/N - Gasp! What does it mean? So did you guys like it? I certainly hope so, especially after that long hiatus. Reviews are much appreciated! I love hearing feedback of all kinds. Thanks for reading, ya'll!