It was late, well past midnight, and soon-to-be Fire Lord Zuko could not sleep. He'd lain in bed for hours, Katara dozing peacefully at his side, before he could not stand his nerves any longer. He was restless, and he needed to go for a walk. He quickly threw on some more decent loungewear (in the unlikely event that he would run into a servant or guest who was, for one reason or another, sharing his bout of insomnia) before exiting the room quietly so as not to wake his bride-to-be. He then set off down the corridor, lost in thought and not particularly sure where he was going. He found himself in the palace courtyard about ten minutes later.

He stood amongst the pews that lined both sides of the pathway to the altar that he and Katara would journey down the following afternoon. He silently praised the decorators that had been hired as he gazed around the open area in amazement. There were tall, spiraling columns made of orange stone mingling with blue. The arch, which Toph had actually conjured up, displayed an ornate design of fire dancing in a thunderstorm. The large spice fruit tree off to the left mothered about a dozen lanterns that hung from its branches. That's where he noticed her, sitting on the bench at the base of the trunk, staring right back at him.

Mai. It had been months since he'd seen her last and even longer since they'd spoken a word to each other. She and Ty Lee had quickly and surprisingly established a strong bond with Toph, and they spent most of their time in the Earth Kingdom as Fire Nation ambassadors. He hadn't known that she would return for the wedding. He hadn't even known that Katara invited her.

He hesitated a moment before starting towards her. As he got closer, he noticed something different in her typically expressionless eyes that wasn't normally there. He sat down beside her and a few minutes passed before either of them spoke.

"I didn't think you'd come back," he finally said.

"Neither did I," she admitted.

A few more awkward moments passed and Zuko cleared his throat. "So, how are you liking the Earth Kingdom?"

She gazed thoughtfully at him. "It's… Different. Not too warm, not too cold. There's always a breeze. Ty Lee seems to like it enough."

He nodded. "When did you arrive? I assume she accompanied you on the way back?"

"Yes," she murmured. "We reached the palace early this morning." She looked at him in such an expectant way that made him believe she was waiting for something.

"Are you here on official business, or…" He trailed off as she produced a small scroll from an inside pocket of her robe. She held it out to him and he took it. He proceeded to unravel it and read the contents inside. It was a wedding invitation. So Katara had invited her.

"I didn't come back to object to your marriage or try to stop the two of you from becoming a union. I know Katara probably expects me to and only invited me out of diplomatic politeness."

He shook his head, still staring down at the scroll in his hand. "No. She doesn't. She invited you because she needed to."

"Exactly."

"No, you don't understand. She needed to invite you because I needed to see you."

Silence. Then, "What do you mean?"

Zuko bowed his head as all the memories of their summers together and the anger and guilt he felt for ending things so abruptly hit him full-force. He recalled the days in the beginning of their relationship when they would lounge lazily in the shade of the palace gardens, leaning against each other affectionately. He was reminded of how they'd grown to love each other so dearly that they'd almost considered running away together. Almost. It was also brought to mind the way he'd fallen even harder for a tan, blue-eyed Waterbender during his quest to capture the Avatar.

The letter he sent her after he had chosen to side against his father… It tore him apart to write it. He had known what he was doing would completely shatter her heart, but that didn't stop him. He had just felt a certain spark with Katara that he had never felt with anyone else. Not even Mai. He hadn't been happy about it. He hadn't wanted to break things off, but Zuko wasn't stupid, and knew his feelings couldn't be helped.

So if she hated him for what he'd done, he couldn't blame her, because he knew that her feelings could not be helped either.

"Mai… I'm so sorry."

"Zuko, please-"

"No. You deserve an apology. You deserve a lot more than that, actually. You deserve an explanation, a better one than what I gave you in that stupid letter."

"I'm really not looking for an explanation, Zuko. I'm fine now. Yeah, I was upset about it for a while after it first happened, but I got over it. I'm over it. Really, I am."

"I just couldn't help the way I felt about her," he continued, tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes. "I know I wasn't being fair to you. I know I could have ended things better. I'm sorry, I really am. We had been so happy together… But I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I truly am sorry, Mai. You didn't deserve all that pain and heartbreak."

She grasped his chin and turned his head so that he was facing her. "Zuko, I forgive you. It's taken me a while, but I've finally realized that our lives hadn't even started yet when we were still together. We were thrown together by chance, and partially by boredom. There was really nothing else to do except bask in each other's company. I guess we were just lucky that it had blossomed into love."

He stared at her for a moment and sighed. She was right. Not that he hadn't already known that everything she'd just said was true. He had just never been able to find the proper words to describe the situation quite as well as she had.

"Katara will make a beautiful bride," she declared with a small smile. "She's headstrong and wise beyond her years. She'll be able to keep the country, and you, in line," Mai added teasingly.

He couldn't resist cracking a grin at his former flame. "Yeah, you're right. She's always looking after the ones she cares about. Only the Gods know why she's settled for a guy like me, but I'm glad she did. I wouldn't be where I am today without her… Or you."

The small, upward curve of her lips turned into a full-on grin too as she turned to gaze at the stars. "I'm happy for you. I really am." With that, she gracefully stood up and retreated to her room somewhere in the palace, leaving the future Fire Lord feeling calmed and comforted in the courtyard.