He turned away from his mother's portrait, his mind made up. He was going to join the Avatar. It had always been his destiny, and now he would finally act upon it.

Zuko grabbed his bag and his sword, and pulled the hood of his ornate cloak over his head. It was time for him to go, and never look back. The faster he was gone, the better. Slinking down the hallways was a second nature to him, especially remembering all the times he had played hide-and-go-seek with Mai. Mai, he groaned. He couldn't take the time to leave her a letter- she would be furious. He felt his stomach churn inwardly, Agni did he love her, but it was better for her to be in the dark about everything. She'd be safer that way- free from persecution and accusations of treason.

"Zuko? Is that you?"

Zuko turned, drawing his dual blades as a defensive mechanism. His raised an eyebrow upon seeing the person who called his name.

"Ty Lee?" he said.

The aura sensing girl smiled, and then frowned as her eyes trailed to his swords, then the bag slung over his shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" She queried sweetly.

"I-I'm meeting Mai. We're going on a-a picnic." He said pathetically.

"You're going on a picnic- with swords and that hideous bag?" She squeaked disapprovingly "Your chi is awful! Are you anxious about something?"

Zuko swore under his breath. He had the perfect time planned to leave, when Azula was getting her hair done, his father having tea, and Mai practicing with her stilettos at her house. He had entirely forgotten to factor in the annoying brunette acrobat. "No-no, I'm fine."

Ty Lee's eyes narrowed. "You're lying. I just came from Mai's- she's going to practice all day. She never mentioned seeing you."

Zuko knew he was the worst liar in the entire Fire Nation, so he did what he considered the smart thing to do. He turned and set off at a dead run. His boots quickly clicked at the floor, and he heard her slippers pattering against the floor, matching his pace and then some. Suddenly, he felt a sharp jab at the base of his neck and collapsed into an undignified heap on the cold floor. He tried to move, but found that his limbs refused to respond to any of his attempts at motion.

Ty Lee crouched on the floor next to him, and a small hand wrapped around him, awkwardly turning him face up, propping him against the wall. Large grey eyes stared him down. "What are you running from?" She queried rather perceptively, whipping her puffy bangs out of her face.

Inwardly, Zuko groaned. The girl was far too emotional and far too generous with her chi-blocking movements. He'd never be able to leave unless he gave her some sort of answer. But he felt a twinge of guilt for running; after all, she had no idea what he was doing, or where he was going. She was rather dim, in his opinion; so she couldn't know that everything they'd been taught to believe was wrong. The entire Fire Nation, everything that they stood for, was a lie. He slowly opened his mouth, trying to say something she'd believe, but far from the truth. He gave a half-hearted attempt at a laugh, "I wanted to see if you could catch me."

Ty Lee clapped her hands together happily, "Of course I could, silly! You're one of the slowest people I've ever met!" As she looked back down at him, she heard him sigh under his breath. She placed her hands on her curvaceous hips. Zuko gulped. "No- no, you're still lying." Her face lit up and she shifted, kneeling directly across from him, her face inches away from his, "You're going on an adventure, aren't you!"

Zuko started, but then gave her a genuine smile. If only he could stall long enough. "I guess you could say so…but just a small one."

Ty Lee smiled ecstatically, "Where! Oh, please, please, please tell me…I promise I won't tell!"

"I'm…going…places. Far away. It's a…erm….-''

"Zuko…"

"Yes?"

"Please. Take me with you!"

"Ty Lee!" Zuko was dumbfounded. "I um, no! I can't - I mean, I'm-"

Ty Lee looked at him harshly, "I'll keep blocking your chi until you say I can come with you." Her face saddened; "It's boring here, and Azula has gotten really stiff..." she trailed off, looking at the floor. Zuko was drawn to place a hand of her shoulder. He wondered if she ever knew that the Azula she considered her best friend never really existed, just a false exterior. Another Fire Nation lie.

His mind snapped back to his current predicament, and he scolded himself for getting distracted. His options were few and far between, and none of them were too pleasing. He knew that Azula would be back in a few moments, and maybe, just maybe he could convince the acrobat to let him go quietly.

"I've got one condition for you."

The girl cocked her head like a small puppy, "What?"

"We leave now, and no one knows we're going." The words sputtered out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying.

Ty Lee's face broke into sunshine incarnate "Really? Oh Zuko, thank you!" She pounced on him, forcing his back to collide painfully with the wall and smashing her face into his chest. "I'm so glad!"

"No, wait! That's not what I meant! I, I-"

ALMOST ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!

A loud cry erupted from far, far down the hall, followed by the sound of things ablaze.

Azula.

"Ty Lee…Ty Lee! Listen to me!" Zuko whispered urgently, "We have to go. Now."

Ty Lee propped herself up again, beaming at him once more. She jabbed him in the upper arm, and Zuko could feel his element, as well as his confidence flowing through him once again. He stood up and stretched his limbs, the stretched a hand out to the girl. He would not risk her running away from him.

Though, as her soft hand grasped his, he knew that wouldn't be a problem.

And five years later, as he stood on the Fire Lord's balcony, overlooking the reconstruction of the new capitol, it still wasn't a problem. A soft hand was still holding his.

She had never let go.