Authore's Note: Alright, this is so overdue I can't even find words to describe how sorry I am. To try and make it up to my readers, I will attempt to post two more chapters while I'm off school for Holiday break. For those who will continue to read my story, despite how I broke my promise about updating, I would like to thank you for giving me this chance to make it up to you.
My Love Is Eternal
Chapter 2
My Tears Unshed
Aang stood below the hand crafted altar that he had carved from the earth and added different affects to the rock built gazebo from uses of the other elements. Sokka was smiling behind him, carefully holding onto the ring that would be placed on Toph's callused hand in a few minutes and then stay there forever. Beside him was Long Shot watching over Kazuki to make sure he didn't loose the ring he was holding that Toph would give to Aang and he would treasure. Kimiko was throwing the flower petals a few steps before the blushing bride as she and Iroh walked down the isle, whispering encouragement of the future between them.
Ty Lee and Smellerbee stood by each other, holding matching and smaller bouquets of green and yellow flowers; their grins identical. The only difference was their sizes. Smellerbee was still shorter than Ty Lee and now that she was six months into her pregnancy, her stomach was the size of a watermelon. The Duke, Pipsqueak, and Jee, the only bachelors left of the group, were all standing by each other, trying to look manly and not cry.
A lot of citizens from all over the world were also there to celebrate, this was the Avatar's wedding after all, but Aang had insisted on a small ceremony with only their closest friends. Toph had agreed.
As Toph finally stood beside him, Aang lifted her veil to stare into her shining blind eyes. He gripped her hand and turned to the minister that had begun to chant his memorized vows.
Aang took one last look around the group of his friends and the people he considered his family. He took a long look at his bride and he turned to the minister as he squeezed Toph's hand. I wish Katara was here. He wiped a single tear from his eye, not knowing whether it was from sadness of happiness. "I do," he stated firmly and then bent down to kiss his new wife.
Tears streamed down Smellerbee's face as she gripped onto Long Shot's arm and sobbed into his shoulder. His hat was tipped down, covering his face, but that didn't stop his shoulders from shaking with his own sobs as the couple watched their only child lowered into the grave.
"Why?" Smellerbee screamed into his shoulder between her sobs. "We did everything Duke said." She complained as she lifted her face and glanced at the small grave that had been specially made by the forest. "Why her? She was going to be our special little girl. Our little baby," Smellerbee buried her face against Long Shot again and he wrapped his arms around her. "Why our little baby?"
Aang's hands shook as he carved into the headstone. His eyes were blurring with tears and he couldn't stop the shaking from spreading from his hands to his entire body. Toph took the stone from him and finished the carving.
Elisa came into the world on a beautiful morning at the beginning of autumn. Stillborn.
"Why?" Smellerbee's voice went hoarse as she watched the tiny casket get covered up by the freshly dug earth. Long Shot hollowly at the sight and then lowered his head to hide behind his hat again.
They would never again go through the pain that pregnancy had brought them.
"Why did you hit him, Zuki?" Ty Lee signed as she frowned. Kazuki sniffled and rubbed the dark bruise on his cheek. Kimiko sighed and shook her head.
"He deserved it," She spoke up for her brother. "Tak called us freaks because we don't have parents and Kazuki insisted that they had to fight because he had to defend our honor." Sokka and Iroh passed secret grins to each other and only held back their laughter when Ty Lee glared up at them.
"That doesn't give you any right to hit another kid, Zuki." Ty Lee's hands flew into motion as she started to sign on about using words and not fists and a bunch of other things that Kazuki interpreted as a bunch of 'piece loving circus people mumbo.'
When she was finished and placed her hands on her hips, looking sternly down at the boy, Sokka cleared his throat. "Well, Kazuki, you didn't use your bending did you?" Kazuki shook his head. "Alright, so it was a fair fight. Did you at least win?"
"Of course I did. And when Tak's friends jumped in, Kimie added in and together we beat their butts until they started crying for their mommies." He grinned.
"You weren't supposed to tell that part." Kimiko slapped her brother on the back of the head.
"Ow," he mumbled as he rubbed his sore head and shot a glare at his sister.
"Well, as long as you won, that's all that really matters." Sokka grinned. Ty Lee slapped her husband on the back of the head. "Ow," Sokka mumbled as he rubbed his head.
Iroh laughed and wiped a tear from his eye. "I don't care what that Tak boy has to say, you are all related and that is all that matters." He grinned and nobody slapped him due to the fact that his words were insightful and he was the Dragon of the West; no one wanted to start a fight with him.
"You're trying to replace us." Kazuki insisted as he wiped at his eyes. He was fourteen. Fourteen year old boys do not cry, he told himself angrily and continued to wipe at his eyes.
"We're not trying to replace you guys. We love you both very much and there will always be a special place in our hearts solely for you two." Sokka sat down on the side of the bed and stroked Kazuki's back. Kimiko held out her hand and Ty Lee took it with a smile as she slowly and carefully sat down, one hand supporting the large belly that she had grown accustomed to.
"Besides, Zuki," Kimiko added to try and comfort her brother. "It's been proven that babies can learn sign language before learning how to speak. Think about how Auntie Lee can now talk to someone who can actually speak her language and not complain about it." She grinned and caught the faint smile on her brother's face.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kazuki turned the situation into a joke. "And besides, unless Auntie Lee has twins, she can't really replace both of us."
"I doubt we'll be that fortunate." Ty Lee signed and they all laughed.
"…Happy Birthday dear Kimiko and Kazuki, happy Birthday to you!" The group sang, off keyed, as the twins grinned at each other and then blew out their candles in one breath. The group clapped and cheered as they started to cut and serve the cake.
"I still say that Auntie Lee has the best singing voice out of all of you." Kazuki joked as he grinned at his aunt. Ty Lee's shoulders shook as she mutedly laugh and the rest of the group laughed along with her.
"My, I can't believe you two are really sixteen." Iroh sat down at the end of the table and grabbed a fork as he took a slice of the cake. "I'm getting too old for all of this excitement and partying."
"Granddad, please, this isn't partying. This is the same thing we've been doing for the past sixteen years. Except we get cake instead of some dessert I can't pronounce." Kimiko stabbed her cake and sighed. "It's nothing special, really."
"Yeah, Tak said that when he turned sixteen his family went to the city to celebrate and he was able to pick out whatever he wanted from the market. He said there was so much stuff there that he had to walk the streets for over an hour before he figured out what he wanted." Kazuki explained excitedly as he chewed with his mouth full.
"Why couldn't we have done something like Tak did?" Kimiko asked as she pouted and looked from Sokka to Iroh.
"I've always said I never liked that Tak kid. Besides, he's full of it. His parents are just as boring as we are and they didn't take him anywhere. When you see him tomorrow you ask him what he did pick from the market and tell him to show it to you." Sokka pointed his fork at them challengingly. "I'll bet you that he doesn't have anything special to show you."
Kazuki and Kimiko sighed and passed a look between each other. "Besides," Smellerbee spoke up. "You guys got all of this junk." She pointed over her shoulder at the pile of presents sitting in the corner of the main room of Sokka and Ty Lee's home. "You really don't need anything else."
"Yeah, and it's not like there's anything special in the marketplace. You couldn't get Aang's gift anywhere else but from the Avatar's hands." Pipsqueak pointed out.
"That's not the point." Kimiko complained. "It's not the stuff that we wanted."
"We wanted to do something, see somewhere." Kazuki insisted. "You guys are always telling us about all the places you were able to visit and all the things you guys saw when you went traveling with Uncle Aang. You guys were our age and you got to see half of the world. We've never been out of this no-place town."
"You should be thankful that you have a place to call your own." The Duke placed his glass of milk on the table. "Half of us here were forced to travel the world, searching for some place we could call home. You guys are fortunate enough to have a loving home in a safe town."
"Right," Kazuki sighed. "I just wished we could have seen something that our mom or dad might have seen when they were still alive."
The room instantly went quite at the mention of Zuko and Katara. Kazuki and Kimiko knew that the topic of their parents was a sensitive subject and they didn't normally bring it up.
"Well, I have yet to give you two my gifts." Iroh stood up and walked around the table to his grandchildren. He pulled two boxes a long, skinny blue box out of his sleeve and presented it to Kimiko as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, Kimie."
He motioned to Jee and the man handed him a large, red box. Iroh sat it down before Kazuki and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Happy Birthday, Zuki. You two can open them now."
Kazuki and Kimiko both spared a glance at each other and then grinned as they pulled the lids off of their boxed gifts. Their eyes widened in awe as they stared at their revealed presents. Kimiko pulled the satin blue necklace at and stared at the round blue stone in the middle of the fabric. "It's beautiful, Granddad." She quickly tied the necklace around her neck and touched the pendant.
"Wow, Granddad, this is awesome!" Kazuki pulled the blue, smiling mask out of the box and held it up to his face. "Where did you get these?"
"The necklace was your mother's and the mask was your father's." Iroh announced and watched as the twins touched their items with a fond gentleness. "Your mother received that necklace from her mother and her mother received it from hers. I knew that your mother would be honored for you to carry on the family tradition." Iroh smiled as Kimiko continued to trace the pendant.
"Your father wore that mask when he needed to take up the disguise of the Blue Spirit. With that mask on, he would take out his dual swords and use only the skills of the swords to help him do the right thing." Iroh glanced up at Aang and smiled. "With the mask on, he didn't have to do what he normally would have to do, but could simply do what he knew needed to be done."
"Wait, my dad wouldn't use his Firebending when he wore this mask?" Kazuki asked as he placed the mask carefully into the box again. Iroh bit his lip as a single tear slid down his eyes from the memories of his nephew in the days past. Aang caught the sight of Iroh's pain and cleared his throat to draw the attention to him.
"No, he would take up a new persona and be the silent savior, the Blue Spirit." Aang spoke up and all the eyes in the room turned to him. "Even though your dad, in the earlier years, sought to capture me, he once saved me from Zhao while he was wearing that mask. I didn't know it was him at first and I never told anyone that I had ever had a run in with the Blue Spirit, but he saved my life that night. In fact, if he hadn't rescued me that night, who knows what would have happened."
"Can you tell us the story, Uncle Aang?" Kimiko asked as she smiled and continued to trace the carved pattern of her pendant. Aang's heart clenched at the sight of Kimiko's smile and Katara's necklace. Now that Kimiko was sixteen, she was the splitting image of Katara. And the necklace only made that image stronger.
"Sure," Aang smiled as he wrapped an arm around Toph's waist. "It all started when Sokka got sick…"
"What do you want to name her?" Ty Lee signed as she looked into the cradle that held their treasured bundle of joy. The newborn kicked her little legs under the yellow blanket. Her bright blue eyes peeked from behind her eyelashes as she fussed and tossed her head from side to side. The soft patch of brown hair, already growing on her round head, accentuated her slightly dark skin.
"I'm not sure," Sokka admitted as he looked down at his firstborn. The room smelt of honey from when the others had celebrated the birth and Kazuki had spilt the honey while he was adding it to his tea. "What names do you have in mind?"
"You name her, Sokka; I'll name the next one." Ty Lee grinned and Sokka couldn't help but smile as well. He continued to stare down at his little girl and a sad smile spread across his face.
"Katara would have loved to meet her niece." Sokka reached into the cradle and picked her up, cradling her gently as he rocked on his legs from side to side, calming her fusses.
"You can name her after Katara, if you want to." Ty Lee suggested. Sokka looked down at the little figure in his arms and shook his head.
"No," A small tear rolled down from the corner of his eye and he smiled as it splattered on her head. "Katara would want me to move on and would complain that there's too many 'K' names around here already." He pressed a kiss to her head and met his wife's shining eyes. "Welcome to the family, Pamela."
"Zuko," Katara's soft voice filled his ears and he opened his eyes to view the lovely woman looking down at him, a smile on her tan face. "Are you just going to lie here all day or are you going to get up and live the day?" She nudged at his bare side with her foot, kicking some sand onto his abs with the movement.
"I'm coming, Katara." Zuko sat up slowly and looked around at his surroundings. The beach was currently in high tide and the waves were getting close to where they had set the umbrella up. The sun was bright and the sky was cloudless but there was a gentle breeze that helped to cool them down. "Alright, Katara, let's go."
"We can't go yet, Zuko, it's not your time." Katara's smile softened and her eyes saddened as she sat down beside her beloved. "We can't go, Zuko, but you can still live your days out happily. You just have to get up and live."
"Katara," Zuko frowned. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"You will, Zuko, you will soon enough." She frowned and he reached up to cup her face in his hand. "You just have to wake up, Zuko. Wake up--"
"Lord Zuko," Lee's voice invaded Zuko's dreams and his eyes jerked open. "Wake up, Lord Zuko, wake up."
"What?" Zuko snapped as he sat up and the sheets rolled off of his bare torso. "What is so important that you had to disturb me from my slumber? You know I only find joy in my dreams, Lee. Now what do you want?"
"I'm sorry, Lord Zuko, but it is you uncle. He wishes to speak to you now." Jee informed him as he fidgeted in the doorway.
"If he wants to talk to me so badly, then he should have come in here and woken me himself." Zuko growled as he laid back down and pulled the covers up to his shoulders.
"I'm afraid, my Lord, that your uncle is bedridden." Jee frowned.
"What?" Zuko snapped as he once again sat up in bed. He threw his feet over the side of the bed and quickly stood and headed to his wardrobe to pull his robe on. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? What does he got? If it's a cold then he'll want some ginseng tea by his bedside and if it's a--"
"My Lord, it's nothing like that it's just…" Jee paused and took a deep breath before he met Zuko's eyes. "Your uncle is getting on in his years, my Lord. I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but he's not as young as he use to be and your weekly escape plans put a lot of strain on him." Zuko's mouth closed and he tightened his robe around himself, suddenly feeling a chill. "He wishes for you to visit with him for a while. He fears…that he doesn't have much time left."
"What are you talking about, Jee? Uncle Iroh isn't…he's just sick. He might be a bit delusional too, but…he's just sick. You shouldn't take anything that he says seriously right now. I remember this one time," Zuko forced a smile to cross over his face. "When he accidentally thought this one plant was a rare white dragon bush and he brewed it in some water, thinking it would make some tea. It turned out that it was this poisonous plant. Uncle swelled up with these red rashes all over his face. Then he thought he found some berries that would cure it, or cause blindness. I wouldn't let him do anything else after that and got him into the nearest town to get some proper medicine." Zuko coerced a chuckle and fidgeted with the strings on his robe. "That was sometime right after my banishment and a part of me thought Uncle was doing it simply to cheer me up. I wouldn't really be surprised." He drifted off, lost in his memories and stared sadly at his bare feet.
Jee cleared his throat and Zuko looked up at him. "My Lord, why don't we go visit your uncle now and you can reminisce over the good times with him?" He suggested with a gentle smile. Zuko nodded and solemnly followed Jee out of his room and down the hallway, lined with a few guards like there always was right after one of Zuko's failed escapes, to Iroh's bedroom.
Zuko knocked on the door. "Uncle Iroh, it's me. Jee told me that you wanted to talk to me." He announced himself and waited quietly for a response.
"Come in, Zuko." Iroh's voice spilled through the heavy wooden door and Zuko smiled as he opened the door.
"Are you coming in as well, Jee?" Zuko asked as he turned to look at his second in command. Jee shook his head but offered a small smile.
"I talked with your uncle this morning. You two deserve to have your private moment as well." Jee hesitated for a moment, and then continued. "I'll wait right outside though and if, if you need me, just call, okay?" Zuko nodded and entered the room, closing the door behind him.
"Uncle," Zuko frowned as he looked around the poorly lit room. "Why do you have the candles so low?" Zuko raised his hand to focus his mind on the candles but Iroh's voice stopped him before he made the candles burn brighter.
"Zuko, I…I don't look so good right now and the candle light is starting to bother my eyes a bit. Just leave them as they are and come sit next to me, nephew. I wish to talk with you before I pass on." Iroh propped a pillow behind himself and slowly sat up. Zuko took a seat on the edge of the bed and took his uncle's hand in his own.
"What are you talking about, Uncle? You're not going anywhere. You're the Dragon of the West, a legend of the Fire Nation; nothing can defeat you, not even creatures sent from the Spirit World." Zuko smiled and squeezed his uncle's skilled hand.
"I wouldn't take on the Spirit World when it's come to take me away. My time is coming, Zuko, I'm too old to fight. Also, I'm ready to be reunited with my Lu Ten; it has been too long since we were separated." Iroh smiled. "But before I can be with my first born son, I have to make sure that my other son is taken cared of." Iroh squeezed Zuko's hand back.
"You know that I have always looked at you as my own, right?" Zuko nodded and subconsciously moved closer to his father figure. "Zuko, you have made me so proud over the years. You didn't allow your father to corrupt you, you stayed the same, sweet boy that your mother raised well and you followed your heart."
"Uncle," Zuko choked a sob down and looked at his last recognized family member. "You're just sick. If I was able to get Katara," he paused at saying her name allowed and then continued. "If Katara was here, she would be able to heal you and you'd be better. You wouldn't have to talk about this nonsense of passing on and entering the Spirit World. Just, you have to tell Jee to let me go find Katara. I'll find her--"
"Zuko, stop, she's dead. I can't keep telling you this forever. Katara died giving birth to your two lovely children. As soon as you can understand that, as soon as we know you're stable again, you can see your kids and you can treasure them like I treasure you." Iroh pleaded with Zuko. "Please, Zuko, just understand that Katara is gone. Understand that before I join her, please."
"I can find Katara, Uncle." Zuko ignored him and felt his body begin to shake. "Let me find Katara and she can heal you. Please, Uncle, let me find Katara. She'll make you feel better."
Iroh sighed and shook his head. "Oh, Zuko, I fear that I will have to join Katara in the Spirit World and continue to look over you before I can truly rest and be with my Lu Ten." He brought up his free hand and ran it over Zuko's head. Zuko had kept his ponytail over the years but his hair had started to grow back on the rest of his head. Iroh cupped Zuko's face and brought Zuko's face closer so he could press a kiss to his nephew's forehead.
"Just remember, Zuko, I'm proud of you. No matter what, despite everything that's happened, I'm proud of you." Iroh insisted as Zuko nodded his head.
"Thank you, Uncle," he paused. "For everything, for always believing in me even when I didn't believe in myself, thank you."
A knock on the door interrupted their quiet moment. "I'm sorry to intrude," Jee stuck his head in. "But your other visitors are here."
Iroh nodded and looked at Zuko one last time. "You've grown up into a wonderful man. Just remember your morals and never do something that you know would upset Katara." Iroh silently pleaded and Zuko nodded his head and stood.
"If you'd just let me go get her, she could--" Iroh shook his head no and Zuko stopped. He turned to face Jee and nodded his head once then headed back to his own room, but stopped to listen outside the door.
"Jee, like I told you this morning, please just watch over and encourage him." Iroh repeated and Jee nodded.
"Of course, Iroh, I would do so even if you haven't asked. Zuko is my friend and I really do think he can get better." Jee smiled sadly. "He was talking about you this morning and he actually sounded like the old Zuko again."
"I'm glad." Iroh smiled. "Send them all in now, please." Zuko took a deep breath and finally headed back to his room. He knew that his uncle had become close with the Avatar and his group of friends over the years, but he still couldn't forgive them for stopping him from getting to Katara all of those times.
He locked his door behind himself and sat on his unmade bed, burying his face in his pillow and not shedding a single tear. His uncle, his friends, his everything had died on the same day as Katara did. He had shed all of his tears back then and refused to shed anymore.
A. N.: I know you guys don't want to hear my excuses, but I participated in NANO this year which took up all my time during Novemeber and once I finished, I had a horrible writer's block. Still, that's not really an excuse so I will attempt to make it up to all of you with two more chapters during these next two weeks.
Just one thing; you really shouldn't hold my lack of updates against me. I have a life outside of typing fanfiction. I did NANO so I could prove that I could someday write my own story that I could maybe earn money off of. Not to mention the fact that I am a Junior in High School; this is my most important year of school and I really have to focus on my studying and my sport so I get into a good college. Also, life is unpredictable and a lot has happened to me consisting of unpleasent memories and I really don't need to be recieving messages threatening me to update. It's just not appreciated. I am really sorry for not holding my word about the updates but I needed to get my bareings under me again in real life.
Now that I'm stable, I feel like I can write once more and I will continue to update at a regular pace now, after these two rapid fire chapters are out. I'll set that pace later. For now, I just would like to apologize one last time and even if I don't get any more reviews, I will be writing this story simply because it is fun for me to do so. I can really relate to Zuko now since someone very dear to me has passed away.