Many Earth Kingdom protesters had gathered around the locked gates of Yu Dao. The Fire Lord was inside. It's been almost a year Iris hadn't seen him, still the thought of meeting up again, made the pit in her stomach worse.

"Fire Nation out! Harmony now! Fire Nation out! Harmony now!" The protesters shouted angrily.

Toph and Aang hugged each other tightly while Iris followed Sokka and Katara towards the big crowd.

"Is that Smellerbee?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, he's with the Freedom Fighters," Sokka said.

"You mean: 'she' is with the Freedom Fighters," Iris corrected him as they stopped in front of the crowd.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Sokka said smiling nervously at her and lying.

Iris gave him an unconvinced look and then she turned her attention on the Freedom Fighters as Smellerbee said excitedly...

"Look, everybody! It's the Avatar and the Defender!"

"Yeeah! Avatar Aang! Defender Iris! Avatar Aang! Defender Iris!" They all shouted excitedly.

Aang smiled excitedly at them and Iris smiled firmly, both raising their hands trying to stop them.

"Aang! Iris! We were hoping you two would come! So what's the plan of attack? The Freedom Fighters are at your service!" Smellerbee said looking at the two air bending siblings.

"We appreciate your confidence, Smellerbee, but we really just want to talk to Zuko," Aang said.

"What?!" Smellerbee shouted, "The time for talking was over as soon as the Fire Lord broke the Harmony Restoration Movement!" She said angrily "Besides you're not getting into that City without a fight. Fire Nation troops are everywhere,"

"Oh, don't worry about them," Iris said hitting the fist of her one hand in the other and she tried to walk towards them and kick their ass.

But Aang stopped her placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We'll break open a new Gate just for you two! Just give us the word," Sneers said.

"That won't be necessary, Sneers. We'll find a way in," Aang said.

Iris sighed boringly "Always the peacekeeper," she said and she took her staff from her back twisting it a couple of times around.

"You ready, sweetie?" Aang asked smiling at his girlfriend.

"I'm ready, sweetie," Katara answered smiling back at him.

Aang wrapped his one hand around Katara's waist, supporting her on the air with him as they flew above the gates with his glider.

"Sweetie'? Seriously?" Toph asked boringly.

Iris sighed "Don't ask," she said and she took off with her glider, following from behind.

"I know, right? Sooo Oogie!" Sokka commented.

They reached the other side really quickly. Katara got immediately in her stance as they came face to face with almost six Fire Nation soldiers.

"Flamio, hotmen!" Aang said kindly.

Iris face-palmed her forehead "Enough with this 'flamio', I told you, the slang has changed!"

"Common, Iris, we don't want a fight," Aang whispered at her and then he turned again at the soldier in front of him.

"This City is under the protection of the Fire Lord himself! No one may enter without his express permission, not even the Avatar and the Defender. Leave now!" One of the soldiers said.

"Please, I'd like to talk to Fire Lord Zuko, that's all," Aang said calmly and kindly.

The soldier got in his stance "You were warned," he said and he immediately shot a fire blast towards Aang.

Iris got between them using her fire bending to turn the fire against the soldier. The soldier, being busy striking Iris's fire blast, he did not notice Aang trapping his feet in the ground.

"We don't want to fight," Aang said in his earth bending stance.

"Speak for yourself," Iris said getting in her fire bending stance.

The other soldiers just stared at them in surprise and terror. Who would want to fight with the Avatar and the Defender?

"What are you dolts waiting for?! Attack!"

The soldiers attacked, sending fire blasts in both air bending siblings. Iris used her fire bending and her earth bending, sometimes trapping their feet on the ground and some others protecting herself from the fire or shooting fire blasts. She hadn't taken her water pouch this time. Aang was only avoiding the fire blasts flying around and jumping with his air bending.

"Aang!" Katara shouted worriedly.

"Don't worry, sweetie! I can handle them, just give me a sec!" Aang said smiling at her while he dodged another fire blast.

Iris came from behind with a strong air blast that blasted the soldier who attacked Aang, away.

"Sis, we do not want to hurt those people," Aang said avoiding some other fire blasts.

"Are you kidding me?! I haven't seen blood in about a year!" Iris protested and she continued fighting them.

One of the fire blasts actually started burning his shirt.

"Aang, you're on fire!" Katara shouted worriedly.

But Aang was too distracted with the fight to hear what she said "What'd you say?" he asked.

"Your clothes! They're on-!" Katara said shouting and then she stopped. "Oh, for crying out loud!" and she bent the water from a small fountain kicking all the soldiers' butt in seconds, shouting "Stop. Trying. To. Set. My. Boyfriend. And. His. Sister. On. Fire!"

Iris and Aang looked around the place with all the soldiers on the ground, some of them frozen, the others badly wounded, all of them wincing.

"Whoah!" Aang said in awe rubbing the back of his neck.

"I didn't know you had it in you," Iris said looking at Katara with a smile on her face.

"Aang, Iris, are you okay?" Katara asked turning at the other two.

"We're fine," Aang said.

"Aaaah!" they heard a long scream from behind.

Aang turned around only to see another Fire Nation soldier attacking. Iris and Katara bent the water to icy spikes, targeting him up close and stopping him suddenly.

"Give it a rest, for Agni's sake!" Iris shouted angrily.

"They just want to talk!" Katara said angrily.

"Katara, stop!" a familiar voice heard from behind.

Iris and Aang turned around only to see Zuko! Iris's eyes widened and she instinctively made a step behind. Zuko had wrapped Katara's wrists, stopping her from bending and drifting her hands forcefully behind her back.

"Let go, Zuko! You're hurting me! Don't make me hurt you back!" Katara shouted angrily at him and wincing.

"I'm hurting you?! What are you doing to my soldiers?! My people?!" Zuko asked angrily.

"Zuko, step back!" Iris said warningly, getting in her stance.

"Let go of her, Zuko! She said you're hurting her!" Aang demanded angrily getting his stance as well.

"First, she had to agree to stop attacking my people!" Zuko exclaimed.

"Your damn soldiers attacked first!" Iris shouted.

"Let her go NOW!" Aang demanded angrily making a step further.

"I am the Fire Lord! I have to protect the citizens of the Fire Nation!" Zuko shouted angrily.

"Snap out of it!" Iris said.

"Iris, let's take it with fly-blow off-getting punched technique," Aang said giving a brief look at his sister.

"This isn't how they call it, but... okay," Iris agreed.

Together, they took a deep breath and they unleashed a really long and powerful air blast that blasted Zuko away from Katara. Zuko hit the ground, but he immediately woke up and he started sending fire blasts towards Aang.

Aang and Iris bent the water protecting themselves from the fire blasts.

"We came here to talk to you, Zuko!" Iris shouted angrily.

"Talk to you as a friend! But you've changed! You're forgotten what we fought for!" Aang shouted angrily and then he got in the Avatar State "Maybe Avatar Roku is right. Maybe a promise is a promise!" Aang said with all the voices of the Avatars.

He started raising up in an air ball and the winds around became more violent.

Iris's eyes widened... No, no, no, no, no... Sorry, bro, but I'm not gonna let you! She thought and she immediately got between them as to protect Zuko if she'd have to.

"Aang! Stop! If you enter the Avatar State in such an emotional way, you won't be able to control yourself!" Katara shouted.

"I'm not going to let you do this, Aang!" Iris shouted.

Aang still, not being able to control himself, he shot two powerful fire blasts towards Zuko.

Zuko immediately bowed behind, accepting his friend's judgment. But Iris wasn't going to let him anyway. She got between them raising an earthly shield that protected them from the fire blasts. But they were too strong anyway, that the impact blasted them both away.

Katara got to reach closer to Aang and she cupped his face "You have to calm down. Please, sweetie, for me," she said pleadingly and Aang landed back down on the ground getting off the Avatar State.

Iris found Zuko on top of her, staring down at her with a small gleam of happiness and awkwardness in his eyes. His feet settled at the sides of her waist and his hands pinned on the floor at the level of her eyes. Still, the warmth of his body radiated onto hers. How much had she missed it?

"This... is awkward," Iris said hesitating, but she couldn't take her eyes off of his. She felt Zuko's ragged breath tickling her chin and her lips and she took a deep breath trying to calm down her nerves.

"You said it," Zuko said looking in her eyes. He had missed a lot that deep purple color.

When he found himself leaning closer, he immediately pulled himself up, remembering that he already had a girlfriend. He got up lending a hand at Iris and they both turned their attention back at Katara and Aang.

Aang had passed his one hand around Katara's shoulder, helping himself stand up after the Avatar State's exhaustion.

"I can't believe it, I might've done something terrible without even thinking it through. Zuko, I'm so-" Aang tried to apologize and Zuko cut him saying.

"The girls are right. We both need to calm down and talk," Zuko said.

"Are you kidding me?!" Aang exclaimed angrily, his eye twitching from anger.

Iris covered her ears immediately knowing what would come next.

"THAT'S WHAT I WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!"

~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~

"Did you know that Yu Dao is the oldest of all the Colonies?" Zuko asked as they walked around the streets of Yu Dai "...Many of the Fire Nation families here immigrated over a hundred years ago, when Yu Dao was just a tiny village at the bottom of the valley. Together with the Earth Kingdom, people who were already here, they built all this. Yu Dao now makes the finest metalwork ever produced, using both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom expertise. That's why this is one of the richest Cities in the world," Zuko explained.

Iris found herself yawning boringly. Did I have to know all this? She thought.

"It doesn't seem like the Fire Nation citizens and the Earth Kingdom citizens share equally in that wealth," Katara commented.

"It's not prefect, Katara. But all the City's people, including the Earth Kingdom, are better off now than they were a hundred years ago," Zuko said.

"The history lesson is great and all, but none of that matters!" Aang said turning at Zuko.

"By betraying the Harmony Restoration Movement you're going to start another war," Iris said from behind.

"Look, Iris, Aang, when I came here a week ago, I had planned to personally enforce the removal of Yu Dao from the Earth Kingdom. But then..." Zuko started explaining about Mayor Morishita's family

"...so I stayed. I saw what my people created here. I saw what the Harmony Restoration Movement would destroy. I changed my mind. Ever since my coronation, I've had trouble finding peace..."

"...Now I think I've finally figured out why. I'd forgotten about my people. I know you two defeated the Fire Nation, Aang, but my people still deserve respect," Zuko said.

"We two defeated the Fire Nation?! You mean: we all defeated the Fire Lord!" Aang shouted angrily.

"It'd be disrespectful to take from them a life they spent generations building! I won't let you do it!" Zuko shouted angrily.

"Harmony requires Four separate Nations to balance each other out! You can't have balance if one Nation occupies the other!" Aang shouted angrily and he turned around looking at his sister "What do you think, Iris?! You agree with me right?"

Iris hesitated. She had to admit that Zuko was kind of right about it. She looked at the family of Mayor Morishita, Fire Nation with an earth bender, still creating a perfect family.

"Well..." Iris said hesitantly "...it's a really complicated matter," she said rubbing the back of her neck nervously not really knowing what to answer.

"Maybe Yu Dao can be an exception," Katara muttered hesitantly.

"What?!" Aang snapped angrily.

"It's just a thought," Katara said smiling nervously at her boyfriend.

"Exceptions should be made for all the remaining colonies. Most of them have been around for well over a century. They're older than you, Aang, even older from Iris," Zuko said.

Iris raised an eyebrow and she crossed her arms. I'm not that old... She thought offended.

"You have got to be joking. That would make peace impossible!" Aang exclaimed angrily.

"Well, regardless, the Earth king needs to be a part of whatever it happens!" Iris said getting between them trying to avoid another fight.

"If Aang, Iris and I can arrange a meeting, will you be there, Zuko?" Katara asked.

"I'll be there," Zuko answered.

"Talking's good, I guess," Aang said frowning.

They all turned around to leave. But Iris stopped walking away when she felt Zuko's hand on her shoulder stopping her from walking.

"Iris, please, we need to talk," Zuko said.

Aang and Katara turned around looking at the others. Iris closed her eyes briefly taking a deep breath. "You guys, go on. I'll catch up with you," Iris said.

Aang and Katara nodded and they started walking away. Iris turned and looked at Zuko, folding her arms against her torso.

"I just... I just wanted to ask if you're okay," Zuko said softly.

Iris looked up at him. She noticed the shadows of insomnia under his eyes. She cupped his face, brushing her thumb over his cheek. Zuko closed his eyes, enjoying each of her touch on his pale skin.

"Maybe that's something I should ask. Troubles with sleeping?" Iris asked.

Zuko took her hand from his cheek, gently, bringing in touch with his lips and kissing the back of her hand. "Nothing important," he said not wanting to worry her. Just only five attempts in my life... He thought bitterly.

"Five attempts in your life?!" Iris exclaimed.

Zuko's eyes widened "How did you know?" he asked surprised.

"It's this whole... Defender mind-reading thing, still trying to control it," Iris explained. She placed her hand on her chin skeptically. "You know what? I'll send word to Mai,"

"Mai?!" Zuko asked surprised "Why Mai, I thought you two didn't like each other?" He asked confusedly.

"Who do you think forced her uncle to get her out of prison?" Iris asked crossing her arms.

"You?!" Zuko asked confusedly his eyes widening.

"Yup, that was me. Mai can get in touch with Ty Lee, the Kyoshi Warriors can be the best guardswomen for your royal butt," Iris said sourly.

"Iris, I'm fine, I can take care of myself. I'm just worried about you," Zuko said making a step closer.

"Why would you be worried about me?" Iris asked despite the fact that she already knew what he meant. "You should be worried about your Nation, Zuko, not me. I'm fine," Iris said bitterly looking away from his eyes.

"You're not, I know you, Iris, you're not 'fine'," Zuko said cupping her face forcing her eyes back at his.

Iris closed her eyes enjoying the warm touch of his fingers on her cheek. She moved her negatively knowing that she shouldn't enjoy it that much. "Don't do that," she said opening her eyes.

"I missed you," Zuko said caressing her cheek gently "I'm lost without you,"

Iris felt tears forming in her eyes. The feeling was more than mutual. She had missed him just the same "Me too," Iris said choking a small sob as she forcefully pushed herself away from his arms.

She looked sadly at him. Zuko tried to reach to her but she opened her glider and she started flying away...

~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~

Iris saw Appa flying above the City, assuming her friends were on in and she flew towards it. She landed between Aang and Sokka on that saddle and Toph was sitting at the opposite of her with her legs loosely spread on the saddle.

"Iris, what happened?" Katara asked worriedly and curiously.

"Nothing that concerns you," Iris answered immediately.

Sokka leaned closer to Toph whispering "I bet ten copper coins they kissed,"

"I bet ten they didn't," Toph whispered back at him.

"Were you crying?!" Aang asked worriedly.

Toph smirked and she opened the palm of her hand towards Sokka.

Sokka groaned angrily losing the bet and he took out ten copper coins placing them on Toph's hand.

Sokka and Toph received two smacks on their shoulders Katara "Can't you two try to be a little bit more mature from time to time?!" she lectured them.

"It was Sokka's idea," Toph said immediately pointing at him.

"Hey!" Sokka exclaimed irritated.

"I don't totally get why you three need to talk to the Earth King. Zuko knows he's wrong, doesn't he? The Fire Nation Colonies have got to go!" Toph said.

"It's complicated Toph. There are a lot of... issues involved," Katara said.

"Plus talking's always good, right?" Aang asked looking at Katara.

Silence fell between them for a long moment. All of their minds trying to figure out solutions on the problem, until Aang said...

"Sweetie, Iris, when we were back there... thank you for not letting me do something I'd regret," Aang said gratefully looking both at his sister and Katara.

"If you ever have to... you know... fulfill your promise... you can't let it happen like that. You have to be cal enough to know that you're making the right decision," Katara said.

"I won't let you do it, Aang. I won't let you kill him," Iris said bitterly looking away from the others.

Aang placed his hand on her shoulder "I know you won't," he said.

Katara pulled Aang in a tight hug "I just hate to see you getting like that, sweetie," she said.

"Um, Aang? Katara? You're giving me the Oogies over here!" Sokka said warningly from behind.

Katara pulled back angrily growling and exclaiming "I'm so sick of hearing about your stupid 'Oogies' Sokka! I don't even know what that means!"

"You don't want to know," Iris said sourly.

"I can explain, give me your hand," Toph said

Katara looked confusedly at Toph and she handed her over her arm curiously to see what her friend was going to do. Toph took out her long tongue licking Katara's hand...

"OOGIE!"

~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~0~o~

Zuko walked down the hall of his Palace, towards his throne. He had just reached the Fire Nation Capital.

"So the Fire Lord has returned,"

He heard a familiar voice and he turned around "Mai!" he walked towards her "The mob outside Yu Dao is gone. For now, at least, the Fire Nation Citizens are safe,"

"You left without saying anything. I had to figure out where you were from the letter Iris sent me," Mai said taking her hands away from her back and the one held a letter.

"She sent