Too Far Away

With nowhere else to go, Zuko and his Uncle Iroh are forced to flee into hostile territory, accompanied by a friend who's determined to help them.

-

"Why did you stand up for me?" Song Lee asked suddenly.
He turned his head to face her. She was still looking at the sky. "When?"
"After Mio attacked me. You didn't have to help, but you did."
"Song Lee, he was going to kill you."
"Okay. That doesn't answer the question. Are you avoiding answering?"
"No, I'm not avoiding answering," said Zuko. "You weren't able to fight back fairly, and he was going to kill you, so I stopped that from happening."
"What if he had killed you, too?"
Zuko smiled to himself and looked back up at the sky. "He wouldn't have," he said, knowing that he was probably being arrogant but not caring. "He couldn't even bend."
"So you stood up for me because you didn't want me to die?"
"Well, we've had that conversation before. I promise that I really don't want you dead."
"I didn't believe you the first time," she said, and he looked at her again. "I thought you might be making fun of me."
"What?"
"I believe you now."
He felt truly upset. "But why didn't you believe me before?"
"At the time, I wanted me dead, too."