When We Say
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His mother used to tell him bedtime stories. Most of them were adventure stories, action-packed and exciting. But sometimes the adventures were mixed with a bit of romance, and the hero of the story, instead of carrying the head of his enemy, would carry a pretty princess who he had just saved. The plot didn't really matter, because all these stories ended in the same way- happy. When his mother was still with him, he would always think of growing up to be Fire Lord, marrying some pretty Fire Nation girl, probably Mai, and living happily, as those men in those stories did.
But Zuko soon realized that life can't be that easy. It all happened suddenly- him talking back to his father, his father burning his face and banishing him, and the start of his search for the Avatar. He didn't even have time to breathe when he was suddenly forced to turn from boy to man. And he took it like a man; he did everything he needed to do in every way he could, making so many mistakes along the way before finally realizing his one true destiny- to help out Aang in saving the world.
And even that time wasn't as easy as he hoped it would be. It took a long time for them to be convinced of his sincerity, and even if he did get accepted into "Team Avatar", there was still that one person who just couldn't trust him. Katara.
At first he understood why she wouldn't trust him. He did, after all, betray her trust back at Ba Sing Se. But as the days went on, he became frustrated. He had thought that that girl, out of all of them, would be the most forgiving, the most compassionate, the most understanding. Aang once said that she really is all those things, just not to him. Soon, he became obsessed with earning her approval; her opinion of him was what mattered to him most. And when she did finally forgive him, he realized that he wasn't doing all those things just for the sake of being forgiven, but it was because of something else. He tried to find out what it was, and when they were watching the Ember Island Players, he suddenly realized what he was feeling- love. He wanted to bang his head against the wall until he died. How could he let himself fall for that waterbender? He knew there was no way she was going to reciprocate his feelings, and he has enough on his plate already without that rejection. But in spending time with her, laughing with her, arguing with her- everything they did together- he felt there was something different, something developing between them, something definitely deeper than friendship. He would watch as her eyes brightened up whenever they would be left alone together. Her smiles were getting wider, her laughter more contagious. Then the answer struck him and shocked him. She was in love with him, too. Even if she doesn't say anything, he knows. He then recalled those stories told by his mother, and suddenly they seemed so real. His mother had told him once that when you find your true love, you just know. And he does. Whenever he sees Katara, he knows. And he knows that she feels that way, too. He loves her, she loves him. It was all so easy.
But life isn't a bedtime story. When they stepped back to look at the world, they remember that it does not revolve around them, nor does it stop spinning for them. They have a world to save, and expectations to fulfill. They have their own lives that need to go on. Aang needed Katara. The world expects her to be with him. Zuko had Mai. The whole Fire Nation expected her to be Fire Lady. And so they succumbed to these expectations; they tried to forget each other and the true love that was supposed to prevail in the end.
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He watches them as their lips unite in a passionate kiss, a kiss he had dreamt of sharing with her countless times before, but was now being fulfilled by someone else. He smiles sadly, but deep inside, he cries. He knows she is crying inside, too. But she can't come with him; he can't take her away. She's got her life. A life that didn't include him.
He better be treating you right…
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I hated that. I think it was so poorly and hastily done, but I just needed to get that story written. But please still review! Thank you! Just a quick fact: the end scene was supposed to be Zuko's perception of the final scene of the final episode of the series. Anyway, the inspiration for that story is the song "When We Say" by AJ Rafael. It's one of my favorites. It was quite some time ago when I was listening to it and I realized that that song is so Zutara. It's so sad. Ok, I'm babbling now, I have to stop. Review!