Zukaang Bai seng Sai.

"Excuse me sir, but have you seen this particular flying mammal around latel-"

WAM! The door crashed in Aangs face. He jumped back, then looked at the ground sadly, sighing.

He glanced at the sky, a soft, clear mixture of purple and blue. He decided that was all

the searching for Appa he could do that day.Before he lifted off with his glider,

however, he spotted a small, tucked away tea shop. He didn't know why he noticed it,

and he certainly didn't know what possessed him to do inside, but he did. He was immiediatley

greeted by the scent of hot, fragrant tea that made him wave away his small urge to just leave.

He walked up to the counter. Iroh had recognized his light footsteps from the moment aang set foot in the door.

He had immiediately sent Zuko in the back to do whatever vague task he could come up with.

He pulled his hat down and walked up to aang. Aang didn't recognize him, and smiled, saying "Excuse me!

Can I have a cup of silver needle tea?" Roughly, deepening his voice, iroh mumbled, "I'm afraid, uh, tatoos

are not allowed in the shop." Aang looked so disapointed that Iroh added, "I will bring your tea outside to you when it is ready."

Aang grinned and said,"Thank you!" Then, he began to squint at Iroh, asking," Have I ever met you before?

You seem familiar..." "Um, I am afraid you will have to move along, uh, outside, don't want any trouble, move along..."

Stammered iroh nervously, shooing Aang outside. He sighed in relief, then got around to making aangs tea.

Aang looked at the door, sure that he recognized the man. He shrugged, dismissing the thought, and sat down

in front of the building. Wwuump! " Ooph! DAMN!" Roared a disturbingly familiar voice. Okay, I KNOW I've

met whoever that is! thought aang excitedly.

He ran to the back of the tea shop. Who else but Zuko,

lying tangled in a heap of boxes his uncle told him to move. As zuko struggled, aang's eyes widened

and he hid. Zuko, becoming EXTREMELY angry now, began thrashing and screaming wildly.

"UNCLLLLE!" He fumed . "Ughh!" aang leaned a little further away from his hiding spot, a little further, little further,

until Thump! Aang fell on his face in front of prince Zuko. It took Zuko a moment to register Aang.

His good eye widened in surprise, while the other only grew to almost normal size. The avatar?

Thought Zuko in almost drugged wonder. He corrected himself : aang. As they stared into each other's eyes,

neither quite out of thier shock enough to let thier common sense kick in to make them attack, or seem

agressive or upset, Zuko noticed how incredibly blue Aang's eyes were.

He's beautiful...

What? cried Zuko inwardly.

Aang noticed how Zuko, though

an enemy, showed a more vulnerable side when he was not coldly hiding all emotions and bottling his

heart up. He showed fear, sesitivity, and, frankly, that he WAS a human being, if a human being

trapped under a pile of boxes.

Zuko suddenly seemed back in reality, trying not to think about that thought-

What thought? That thought, that- He is so- Don't think about that thought!

He looked embarrased suddenly, finding himself in such a state in front of someone who he thought

probably hated him would start coldly laughing, just like

Really Zuzu? Defeated by a stack of crates! How proud THIS must make you! You know,

I think, with this new addition to your pile of failed attempts at gaining honor, youv'e

succesfully gotten your place at the throne!

Azula, her voice thick with sarcasm, and say something so hurtful he would be

unable to contain his rage. That would

Aang is so beaut- Don't think about that thought!

make him forget that thought.

I dont' want to don't want to forget that tho- Aang is-

DON"T THINK ABOUT THAT THOUGHT!

Aang uneasily considered asking Zuko if he needed help,

but was strangely shy. Well, not that strangely.

Zuko had tried to kill him on several occasions.

Still, Aang knew it was wrong to leave Zuko there. If those boxes

shifted wrong under any more thrashing of Zuko's, they could cut off his

trachea, suffocating him, or could

even crush him. However, Aang was afraid that Zuko's pride might not be able to take another blow.

Then Zuko began to speak, hesitantly. "uhhh, Do you think..."

He struggled to continue. aang pitied him, and said," Here,

let me help you."

He walked over and airbended the boxes that weren't touching Zuko away,

so that there was no chance that an accident could cause falling boxes to crush them both.

then, he earthbended Zuko in the ground, then back out a few steps away from

the heap, all in 2 or 3 seconds. Zuko tried to land on his feet when he flew out of the ground,

but, unfortunately, they were bleeding and too weak to stand on. Aang realized

that Zuko was not surprised by this, and had to have been in terrible pain.

Aang noticed sweat pouring from Zuko's face, and Zuko grimaced in both pain and shame.

"Geez! You need medical help Zuko!"

Zuko looked at him with fire in his eyes, clearly saying," NO SHIT!"
"sorry.." said aang in a small voice.

How odd! To be apologizing to ZUKO!

Obviously, Aang couldn't take him to Katara, the only healer he knew.

She wouldn't understand. He sighed. He liked Katara, really,

but sometimes it seemed, really, as if she was blinded by

her emotions. Besides, there was no way they could happen, with her

and toph so tightly wrapped around each other's finger that

no plier would ever seperate them. Suddenly, he wondered,

if two girls could then what about two b-

Zuko and Aang and Zuko and Aang, ZukoAangZukAang Zu-

Shut up mind! He thought annoyedly. Stop-

I wonder what it would feel like? Is Zuko a soft or rough lover?

Gold eyes, and blue eyes, Air and Fire, they both fly,

they both- it's like looking at a sunset! His eyes-

SHUT UP! Get off wierd topics! Zuko is bleeding!

That reminded him of his current problem.

Well, Aang thought, maybe I could try to heal him... He decided

to go ahead and try.

"Zuko! I could try to heal you..."

The look on Zuko's face told aang that he didn't trust that one bit.

'Or not... umm... I, think theres a medical center on the upper ring around here!

And I can fly you."

Zuko started to protest, mistrust in his eyes, but then caved. Ive got no other

option.. He thought miserably.

" You can't possibly fly me on your glider, right? I'm too heavy!"

Aang laughed freely. "I've flown two or three people as heavy or heavier

than you on my glider! But since your still weak, I'll have to hold you

for... safety reasons." As aang talked, his face began to blush,

just as Zuko's did, when he said or thought about holding the older

boy. aang walked over, and put his arm on Zuko's back, and both of thier

hearts hammered as Aang pulled Zuko to his feet. Aang peeked at Zuko,

who was currently peeking at Aang. It was incredibly awkward for the next few moments.

"So, uh.. ready, to go?"

Aang stammered.

'...Yeah, I guess I-"

"OH!" cried aang, so surprised he almost dropped Zuko.

"what?" Zuko cried back.

aang had remembered several things at once.

First, he hadn't even put a bandage on Zuko's wound.

Second, he was supposed to be home hours ago.

Third, the old man in the tea shop had been Iroh!

Aang told Zuko only that he needed to put a bandage on Zuko's wounds.

Zuko's face got so red that for a moment Aang thought his head would just pop

like a bubble off of boiling water. The blush was from embarrasment. His Visible wounds

were just on his legs, but the worst ones, the ones that gave the most blood,

that he knew aang would discover, were... Well, almost ON his crotch.

He had barely missed an unexpected castration. The thought of Aang that

close, in that place...

His eyes, that face, Aang is so be- DON"T THINK ABOUT THAT THOUGHT!

"Oh god..." Mumbled Zuko. Aang's worried face peered over him. Aang was privately

shocked that he had developed such a protective feeling over Zuko.

"Are you Ok?" Asked Aang anxiously.

"...I,.. I think we should just go to the medical center."

Aang got a stern look on his face.

"Zuko, we need to get those wounds covered up! If you lose much more blood,

you will bleed to death!"

Zuko had never heard anything about bleeding to death before, so he was

forced to believe Aang. He gulped and nodded. He felt another throbbing at his midsection,

beautiful, he's so- DON"T!

but it wasn't his wounds, and it wasn't painful. It was so full and extreme, though, that

it was almost painful.

Aang sighed inwardly, and, through shakig hands, began to remove Zuko's pants.

Zuko gasped slightly, and that sent another wave of heat through them both.

As his pants came down, Aang's finger brushed Zuko's inner leg, keeping

them both trying to contain thier raw nerve.

Aang saw that Zuko's underwear was stained as well,

and immiediately realized why Zuko had been againts bandaging up his wounds.

He began to reach towards Zuko's underwear. When Aang reached it, and Zuko

felt Aang's fingers on his bare midriff, steam poured out of his nose, straight upward,

and Aang at first thought Zuko was going to spit flame at him, then realized

that Zuko was every bit as strained as Aang, trying not to explode.

Aang got hold of Zuko's underwear, which, of course, was pulled over a large lump in Zuko's crotch, which

Aang was desperately trying not to touch,or look at, or think about.

Aang knew what it was, of course,

and knew what it implied, but was trying to make this normal. Night had fallen over the boys. Aang had decided

much earlier that he would just come home in the morning, not rushing himself, an tell everyone that

he had been searching for Appa. He had secretly laughed at the time, thinking how much it seemed

like an unfaithful husbands weak excuse when he had been out all night with a lover. It was seeming closer

and closer to the truth.

As Aang began to pull it down, his fingers, once again, brushed Zuko, but this time, somewhere

much more vital, and that was it. Zuko moaned, and pulled Aang down on top of him, and Aang, who

was more than willing, was happy to oblige.

Aang and Zuko's moans and cries alerted somebody someone's

attention, however. Iroh was in the front, looking for Aang, to bring him his tea. He looked around,

and saw noone. Only when he heard Zuko's loud orgasm did he realize he hadn't seen Zuko since

earlier. He mistook passion for pain, and stealthily snuck to the back, planning to attack Zuko's attacker.

He peered over a stack of boxes that had fallen out, but instead of seeing Zuko and some unknown

attacker, he saw something that made him almost start laughing, cying, puking, and screaming

all at once.

He saw aang and Zuko so intimate with each other that Iroh was actually

apalled. A man with his age and wisdom was not usually offended so easily, but two young

kids, two boys, SO intimate, and passionate, and newd... Even one of those would have stunned him,

but together! He stumbled away , back towrd the tea shop. He could not, he realized, bring this

up to Zuko.

He sighed. Poor boy... he thought. To have so much else to sort out, so much other things confusing him...

And then this. While it is probably ecstasy right now, he knew that when Aang left, Zuko would be more mixed

up than ever. he seriously wondered, for the first time, if this might not tip Zuko over the edge.

Iroh knew the stories of both young banished men, and young "other" men ( meaning gay, pedifile,

and transsexuals) , which often led to insanity or suicide. To be one of both... Iroh sighed,

and went back inside, seeming to have grown much older during his two minute trip.

Aang and Zuko were laying, finally having exhausted themselves, on top of each other, fatigued, but happy.

Zuko had no wish to go to the medical center now, of course. He felt better than good.

Zuko softly stroked aangs hair, and smiled. Aang couldn't believe what a day it had turned out to be!

All he had wanted was some tea! But, he thought dreamily, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Suddenly, both of the boys reason and logic came back. Aang would have to go back to the gAang.

Could they ever really BE together? The same way that ordinary people could? Could they get married?

Katara and toph and sokka and, well, eveyone else, HATED Zuko! What would they do? Aang couldn't desert the

gAang, but he couldn't just pretend nothing ever happened between him and Zuko! And he couldn't just

be on his merry way after.. this! Before tonight, Aang had been a straight virgin! Everything was so unclear...

TO BE CONTINUED...