Disclamer: Avatar is not mine! But OMG I can't wait for the movie!!!

AN: sorry but I'm reposting. A spammer was harasing me and I really hate that!! I hope you guys forigve me and you still all support me. please remember to review so I'll write even faster!

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Chapter 1: Hearts in Pain

Family… it was a word that felt like poison to Zuko. A thinly-veiled word that meant nothing more than a simple blood connection, the meaning spouted in those childish movies about family being about love and trust had turned sour in his mind. Maybe once upon a time he'd felt his family had been something like that, but since his mother had died… Family meant Pain.

Zuko touched his face lightly, feeling the texture of the bandages and warm skin under his cold fingers. His face…

His sister was to blame. She had set him up, burned his face, and then tried to set the house on fire – only to place the blame on him as he was being taken away in the ambulance writhing in agony.

And his father had believed her. Believed her lies… and then denounced him from the family.

There was so much pain in his heart. The lies, the betrayal, and the abuse he'd suffered growing up… his father used to hit him. And it hurt, even more so on the inside than the bruising showed. Yet nobody cared about him, and whenever people began to suspect anything, his father bribed them to stay quiet. All the while he continued to abuse him – over and over again.

He didn't know if he would ever be able to cry from that eye again.

His uncle patted him on the shoulder. "Men have to be strong and never show their tears," he told him quickly and quietly. The man poured a cup of tea for him and passed it over. Zuko craddeled it in his hands, feeling the warmth spread up his lean, tanned arms.

He observed his uncle for a while as the man sipped his own tea, his aged face relaxing as the scent of jasmine steam rose in swirls from the cup. "Uncle, you believe me, right?" he asked.

"I know you've got a kind heart underneath it all," Iroh replied flatly. He was being vague. Zuko felt his heart wrench as he was sure the man doubted him. Iroh placed his tea down. "What will you do now that my brother has kicked you out of his home? You should stay with me. Help me run the tea shop."

"No, but thank you," Zuko shook his head. He knew he if were to stay with his uncle, it would be showing weakness to depend on him. Nobody could see him as independent, they still treated him like a small child. "I have a lot of things I want to think about. I'll find a place on my own."

It had been a month ago since that day and now he was out of the hospital. He'd found a new place to live. Kinda – it was a hotel – but they welcomed long-staying guests as well, especially someone as famous as him. They couldn't resist adding Millionaire "Prince" Zuko to their list of those that stayed in the grand suite.

Still, he wasn't exactly that young man any longer, was he? The first night of his stay he placed his hands on the edge of the basin and stared at himself in the mirror. The eye patch he had decided to wear hid his injury, but it was obvious he was no longer the handsome playboy that graced the covers of the gossip magazines. He could only pretend that everything was alright now despite the injury and being kicked out of the house. He'd have to pretend he was indifferent to it all, that he was still strong. He wouldn't let his family feel satisfied that they'd broken him.

Yet his heart ached with pain, too much pain.

He glanced at the razor sitting next to the basin.

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Katara jumped as fingers flicked her on the forehead. She rubbed the pain away and grimaced up at her friend Toph. The girl took no notice of her irritated expression; she couldn't, considering she was blind. Regardless, she was able to organise and run the cleaning services better than anyone else.

"Stop daydreaming," Toph placed her hands on her hips. "The gand suite needs to be cleaned. That "Prince Zuko" guy is staying there and the management wants him taken care of."

Katara sighed. It was never a fun day when Toph was in a serious mood. She looked around the break area, making sure nobody else was around. Even if Toph was like this, there was something serious of her own she wanted to ask. "Toph, do you think I'm pretty?"

The girl snorted. "What's the use of asking me?" she retorted. "You're as pretty as you think you are. Now get up to that room and clean."

Katara groaned. A terrible answer from Toph, as usual – but who else could she ask? Toph was the only friend she had, and asking her brother was just… creepy. She gave up, walking dejectedly towards her locker and pulling her maid uniform out. She grimaced again though. "Toph, you said the one staying in that room was some guy called 'Zuko', right?"

"Yeah," she replied. "He's one of those playboy types, always in the news with a new woman or some scandal."

"Ugh… I hate those types," muttered Katara. She found it unfair, people that could just strut around parading their status off and rubbing everyone's faces in it. People that could open their wallet and pull out a wad of cash they hadn't even worked a day in their life for. What about people like her? She'd had this job since she'd become old enough to work and she slaved away, cleaning up things people like that "Prince" never had to look at. She never got to dress up, go shopping for anything more than t-shirts and plain pants, and she never felt like she could be pretty.

And here she was, with this horrible body that made her ashamed. Somehow, despite how little she ate, she never looked any better. She couldn't be like the pretty, thin girls that people like that "Prince" always had hanging off her arm. She wasn't pretty, that's what she had to accept. She was just… average. Love seemed like a foreign, strange idea now. Nobody would ever want to love a girl like herself. She had no idea if finding someone who loved her for her would ever happen, and even less of an idea that true love was just around the corner for her.

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AN: Please leave reviews, I would looove to know what you're think.