Haru had had a morning routine for several years, starting soon after his father's capture. Unusually for a man his age, the earthbender was not only a morning person, he had a tendency to rise with the sun. Strategic retreat to the Western Air Temple had not changed this, and neither had the unexpected arrival of Prince Zuko.

One morning as Haru stretched in preparation for his morning run, he noticed the scarred prince was also awake, and watching him. The young refugee arched an eyebrow at him; in turn Zuko shrugged. The earthbender returned to stretching; when he got ready for his run around the Temple, Zuko was still watching him. Haru hesitated, then tilted his head in a clear invitation.

From that morning on, prince and merchant worked out together at dawn, never speaking a word. In spite of that, both learned things about each other: Zuko could easily see Haru's desire for strength to protect his friends, while Haru could see Zuko's determination to right the wrongs he and his bloodline had done.

When they talked during the day, neither mentioned their morning routine, preferring to keep things quiet: by their very natures, Aang, Toph, and the Duke tended to be noisy, Teo due to his disability would not have been able to join them regardless, Sokka preferred to spend his mornings sleeping, and as for Katara…

The waterbender remained openly hostile towards the prince to an extent that startled Haru, though it honestly didn't surprise him. Katara was empathic and passionate, and from what Sokka had told him, she did not forgive easily. If she found out that Haru and Zuko were spending time together, it was likely she wouldn't be too happy with them.

Briefly Haru had wondered why Katara's opinion of him mattered so much, but had chalked it up to his gratitude to her for rescuing him and the other earthbenders of his village. This lasted until the night she kissed him.

Now he was even more confused, as she never spoke of that single, chaste kiss, nor did she act as though it had even happened. Perhaps it had been a dare from Toph. He disliked this thought, but for Aang's sake — the Avatar's infatuation with Katara was only painfully obvious, and had been from the first time they had met — he would choose to believe it. Bringing himself in as a rival for Katara's affections could have unpredictable results with the already-guilty boy, and their situation was far too precarious for that.

This, then, was another reason for not speaking of his sessions with Prince Zuko — it could only needlessly complicate matters. Best to keep things simple.

Except nothing about this was truly simple.

Annoyed, Haru got up and went to practise earthbending after making certain Teo and the Duke were otherwise occupied. This way he wouldn't have to hold back.

As the sky grew dark, Zuko frowned. Haru hadn't returned. The others had also noticed, and were starting to ask questions. The older earthbender was generally punctual and on those occasions when he did need some time to himself, was always back by dinner. Asking questions, however, was not getting anything done.

The annoyed prince split away from the rest of the gang to start searching for his… no. Haru was not his friend. Friends left and betrayed you.

Haru was not his friend.

Zuko cast those thoughts aside and focused on tracking the other teenager. He couldn't have gone too far, after all…

It was hard to see in the dimming light, but Zuko had amazingly good vision despite the scar over his left eye and thus he noticed the cleverly hidden rope edge. Haru had apparently gone up, and so he would follow.

Climbing that rope was not an easy task, but Zuko's whole life had been a series of such things, and so he was merely out of breath by the time he reached the surface, rather than exhausted. As he got his breath back, the prince realised that he could smell something.

Smoke.

One golden eye narrowed, and the prince carefully tracked that scent until he saw the freshly-churned earth, the scorched trees. He realised immediately what had happened, and hissed a curse.

Haru must have been ambushed and overwhelmed — captured, most likely, as bait for the Avatar. He couldn't be dead; if he was dead a body would have been left here — or, admittedly, burned, but he couldn't smell the particular stink of burnt flesh and bone. It was hard.

By now, full dark had fallen. Zuko dared not call up a fire to see by, however small. Luckily, the moon was just full enough that he was barely able to make out a trail. Someone had been dragged away.

Staying low to the ground, Zuko followed the barely-visible trail. He was at least experienced at this, much more so than the rest of the group. He had more than enough skill to sneak up on whoever had grabbed Haru.

It was a long trip, both because of the care the firebender took to keep quiet and unnoticeable and because of the head-start they had on him. Finally, however, when the moon had reached his peak, he found the camp.

A fire roared in the middle of a circle; the soldiers gathered around it. They'd put up not one but two guards, each stationed some yards from the fire, both with their backs to it. This would make things harder for him.

And there lay Haru, bound hand and foot and lying on his side. The earthbender was a mess, though his wounds seemed to have been treated — so not bait, Zuko realised, but someone they wanted to interrogate. Possibly already had, as Haru's left eye was swollen shut, though that might have been a memento of the fight. They'd been careful when tying the boy up. Rope wound up his legs, from his ankles to his knees, and his arms were tied elbow-to-wrist behind him. Perfect for making sure a bender couldn't bend.

From this distance, he couldn't tell if Haru was unconscious, and he dared not move closer lest the guards notice him. Retrieving his — no, Haru was not his friend, dammit! — would not be an easy task.

But it had to be done.

Fleetingly, Zuko wished he hadn't thrown the Blue Spirit mask into Lake Laogai. It would have made concealing his identity a little easier — no. He had made his choice. He would accept the consequences of that choice now. Taking a deep breath, he began to make plans. Diving in heedless of what might come, as was his wont, would only get Haru injured further or killed.

Spirits, he wished his uncle was with him now. Iroh would have known what to do.

Finally, he managed to come up with a working plan and slipped behind one of the trees, taking care to keep his movements quiet. Sharpening his focus — difficult, he wasn't used to bending on such a small scale — Zuko managed to start a small blaze at the base of the tree, just out of sight. He kept it small as he slowly backed away and to the side, taking cover. Once he felt he was ready, he let the fire have its head.

It had been a dry summer, luckily, so the tree was quick to catch fire — and, as he'd hoped, draw attention. There was some brief arguing, then about half the squad ran to contain the fire, rather than have it spread and potentially endanger them. He waited until they were at the tree, then ran for the remainder of the soldiers, throwing fire quickly and precisely.

Unfortunately, two of them were benders themselves; Zuko had to throw himself to one side to avoid the return-fire. As he rolled to his feet, another soldier ran at him; Zuko barely avoided his trident.

Didn't think this through! Didn't think this through!

By now the other soldiers were on their way back, alerted to his presence —

And the ground shook under their feet, throwing all of them to the ground.

What—!

The soldiers began to rise, but the ground shook again, and Zuko turned to Haru. The earthbender had rolled over onto his back and, as Zuko watched, arched his spine, forcing his torso into the air, then threw himself back down against the ground, causing the earth to shake a third time.

From the pained look on the other boy's face, however, he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. Zuko scrambled to his hands and knees, making his way to the other boy, and drew his knife from his belt. Two quick cuts and Haru was free; Zuko helped him to his feet and they both ran.

At one point Haru turned and leapt, coming down harder than Zuko would have believed possible. That landing dislodged a huge portion of earth, which the long-haired boy drew further up, and then pushed out at the pursuing soldiers. They attempted to scatter, but Haru seemed to be drawing on the principles of a tsunami for his land-wave; only one soldier avoided the brunt of the hit and even then the edge clipped him and threw him to the ground.

But Zuko saw him panting. He had to be exhausted, especially after a bending like that. He wouldn't be able to keep up the pace; certainly he wouldn't be able to pull another stunt like that. Not without a big meal and rest.

Fortunately, it had done the trick. They managed to lose their pursuers entirely and, in the predawn light, began the long trek back to the Western Air Temple. Luckily, the Avatar had taken his flying bison and gone looking for the oldest of their group; never in his life had Zuko been so happy to see the huge beast. Aang helped them aboard and immediately turned them for home.

Haru curled up on his side while they flew, and Zuko gently tended to the new injuries he'd picked up in their short fight.

"Knew you'd come for me," Haru said, low enough that Aang couldn't hear.

Zuko glanced at his face, startled. "What? How?"

"S'what friends do," the earthbender murmured, then slipped into unconsciousness.

The fallen prince stared at him. "Friends…," he whispered.

…maybe Haru was his friend after all.