I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender of any of its characters.

Chapter 1: Sunset

Aang watched Zuko as he executed a firebending kata. He was staring at an imaginary enemy and fought him with great passion, showing Aang the complicated technique. But Aang wasn't thinking about the moves Zuko was doing in front of him; in fact, he was hardly even thinking about anything. Except he watched with amazement, as always when Zuko firebent, the movement of his strong arms, his dark hair flying in the wind, the power that shone in his eyes, determination visible in every move he made. Determined against?... Aang couldn't tell. But he could guess. Whenever Zuko firebent, Aang could feel that raging fire inside of him, and it made him want to comfort him.

The monk cleared his head and started to realize how late it was. The sun was low in the sky already, and the landscape was starting to take orange colors. He thought about Zuko again, the hate he had for his sister and his father and yet, he knew Zuko was capable of great love, if he accepted the love that others gave him. That, Aang thought, was probably the reason Zuko's uncle never gave up on him.

"Aang?" The boy suddenly raised his head when he realized he'd been staring at Zuko. The Fire Prince had an almost worried expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a bit... tired, I guess."

"You're right, it is getting late, we should probably stop for the day. Plus it's a full moon tonight, so maybe Katara will want you to train waterbending with her."

"I can train for a while longer."

"Are you sure? You seem pretty tired."

"I'm okay, don't worry, Zuko."

"Fine, let's just do some breathing exercises."

"Good idea", Aang answered.

This was a calming exercise, and Aang had breathed with Zuko for hours before, so he was no stranger to it. In fact, he enjoyed it a lot.

Master and apprentice walked together to their usual spot to practice breathing, which was on top of the hill they trained on.

Aang and Zuko sat down next to each other, and after a few moments they started breathing in sync, their torsos rising and lowering in the same slow and calm and soothing rhythm.

Seconds passed and Aang was still thinking about his surroundings and Zuko's last words.

Minutes passed and Aang thought only of Zuko.

An hour had passed and Aang took Zuko's hand in his own. Their fingers were already close and the slightness of the gesture made it that much more meaningful.

Zuko returned a gentle stroke without as much as thinking about what it implied. When he did think about it, the thought which would have terrified him in normal circumstances now seemed acceptable enough for him, in the calm lucidity of meditation.

This was no ordinary couple, because they had met in circumstances almost as strange as the ones they were in at that moment, and them holding hands did not encourage them to do something but made them drown deeper into their meditation; their relationship was a relationship of fire, and of bending, and Zuko was both Aang's master and his admirer for the wisdom he found in him.

Of course, neither Zuko nor Aang could know where this situation was going; because it felt as natural as breathing together, and air and fire were leading them to where they had never thought they would go.

/Author's commentary

Although the time of the story has little matter in the way it unfolds, it does have something to do with how the Gaang accepts our favorite fire prince. So for anyone wondering, the whole story takes place at about the time of the episode "The Firebending Masters", and Zuko has pretty much fit in with the group.

As much as I would have loved to write about the process of Zuko's acceptance, I could never have bested what DarthAnimus already did in "Memories From Western Air Temple", which any Zukaang fan should by the way check out. Yes, I know, 60 chapters is long. But don't lose courage, the relationship does actually advance at one point. I'm rambling again. Now go read the next chapter.