Thank you so very much for all the follows on this story!

I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

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Everything was perfect. The war was over, the Nations were rebuilding, and Zuko had his throne. All was going as smoothly as it could ever have been.

But sometimes, perfection cannot last.

Mai loved Zuko. Ever since she was a child, she had been infatuated with him. That infatuation had slowly, quietly, calmly evolved as they grew. She didn't need pretty things or uplifting words, she just needed him. Being in his arms was enough for her.

But slowly, quietly, calmly, she came to the realization that Zuko did not love her.

He was as passionate as she was withdrawn, yet no passion surfaced when they were together. He kissed her, hugged her, was the perfect boyfriend, yet no burning desire was detectable behind the actions. He was the center of her world, but she was not the center of his.

She didn't cry at night, didn't try changing anything, no trying to provoke any emotion. She didn't blame herself, didn't even blame him. She just accepted it.

She was content to wait for the inevitable. She was perfectly fine with the knowledge that they could not last. So when the day came when all they could do was stare blankly, quietly, calmly at nothing, she was not surprised. She wasn't angry when he said they had to part, didn't share his confusion about where everything went wrong.

They had fizzled out, slowly, quietly, calmly. They were too different to be compatible; one too much of a fighter to let go until the very end, one too comfortable with letting go when it finally came. Their quiet breakup was mutual and without harsh feelings to the other. They remained friends, but Zuko still felt a pang of regret and longing and still wondered where it went wrong. Neither heart was broken, but both had grown numb.

When they both received invitations to Sokka and Suki's wedding, they traveled together without any drama.

No, the drama came when Aang and Katara showed up. Zuko couldn't help but notice how much the blue-eyed waterbender had changed. She seemed lifeless and broken, while her 13-year-old boyfriend was as happy as ever.

So when the fight started, Zuko couldn't say he was completely surprised by it. He was surprised, however, at the Avatar's lack of understanding and how oblivious he seemed to how much his Forever Girl had changed. She was no longer the same person she had been when the war had ended barely a year before, and neither was the world. None of Team Avatar was the same.

When Katara froze Aang to the roof of the pavilion, the young boy nearly entered the Avatar State out of pure frustration. He couldn't understand how or why his perfect life was falling apart in front of his eyes. Because of his naivety, he hadn't seen how slowly, quietly, calmly his girlfriend had broken.

When everyone else ended up soaking wet after she melted the ice to slam him into the ground, he lost it completely. Screaming and crying, Aang and Katara had a full-out Agni Kai with water. The fight finally finished when Toph, the only one of the small wedding party who wasn't standing stock-still, raised a wall of rock between them.

Katara screamed one last insult at Aang before telling him it was over and fleeing into the woods. The dumbfounded Avatar and wedding party alike only watched as she ran. Finally, after a few minutes, Aang spun his glider and flew off in hopes of patching what could never be fixed. The rest of the group organized searches and headed off.

Zuko and Toph, teamed up together, were the ones to find her. The knowledgeable earthbender hung back and sent Zuko ahead knowing only him and him alone could heal Katara's broken soul. Slowly, quietly, calmly, it had been broken by her obsessive loyalty to Aang. But slowly, loudly, passionately, and with understanding, it could be healed.

Lying beneath a rock, shivering and sobbing, was where he found her.