A/N: I took a few liberties when it comes to how A:tLA's version of Earth ticks. Since it's supposed to be based on our Earth with a few key differences, I figured its overall characteristics would be the same: round, tilts on its axis, rotates in hours, etc... Zuko and Katara were married on the summer solstice. Making it winter in the South Pole now. Just in case there's any confusion, I wanted to clarify that. This point is also going to come back later. 83

Thanks for reading!

Critical Point

Ch. 4

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"I am NOT getting on that thing."

There were many things a person could talk Zuko into doing if they tried hard enough, but for this he was determined to put his royal foot down. He would much rather be down at the village unpacking the luggage, but Aang wanted to take advantage of the few hours of light they would get today. Ty Lee and Katara had wanted to go with and, somehow, Zuko had ended up getting dragged along.

Bundled from head to toe in the blue furs of the Water Tribe did little to soothe Zuko's irritation. Winter didn't hesitate to settle in the South Pole so shortly after the solstice, the days now reduced to a mere few hours of dim light before the sky darkened again. The sharp cold that seemed to eat away at him regardless of how many layers of clothing he was buried under wouldn't have been so bad if he could see the damn sun! But even the sun seemed to shy away from the bitter and merciless winter, its light barely reaching above the horizon before hiding again.

As if that weren't enough, Katara was suggesting that he, the Fire Lord destined to restore the honor of his country in the eyes of the rest of the world, go sliding up and down the South Pole on the back of an otter penguin. Penguin sledding - really? Did commoners not ever have anything better to do with their time? Zuko's gaze shifted from his wife to the fat, mangy creature next to her, both staring up at him expectantly. Aang wasn't here to back him up, either, not that he would if he was considering he had gone after his penguin like he was twelve again. He had already taken off, and Ty Lee, caught up in his excitement, was not far behind. Zuko was alone in this battle, a battle in which he had a sickening feeling he was losing. It was freezing, his firebending was considerably weakened thanks to the extreme temperature, there was no sun, and Katara was trying to convince him to play nice with wild animals. Who knew where that otter penguin had been! Why couldn't they stay on that tiny, inhabited, boring, warm island for their "honeymoon" instead?

"Just give in," Katara insisted, unable to keep the wide grin off her face.

"No."

"Come on, just one slide, and I won't bother you about it anymore. Promise."

"No- Katara, let go of me!"

"What a baby." She giggled and kept tugging on his arm.

"Touching the Fire Lord is punishable by death, just so you know!"

Katara snorted. "I'm sure you have it in you to forgive me," she shot back. "Let's go, Zuko. After this, you won't be a humorless stiff anymore."

"I am not a humorless stiff!"

"Prove me wrong, then."

Oh, oh, she just had to bring his pride into the argument, didn't she? Unable to think of a counter, Zuko glared at her with all the glare his eyes could glare. Katara just gave him a sweet smile in return. Damn that smile of hers! It made him want to - well, he wasn't sure what but it made him want to do something about it.

So much for his royal foot.

"So, how do I make this thing go?" Zuko demanded impatiently. He was now sitting on the stupid thing like she had wanted and yet the otter penguin hadn't budged an inch.

Katara couldn't pass up the opportunity to play with him a bit. "Well, for starters," she began, crossing her arms over her chest and wearing an expression of displeasure, "don't slouch like that. What if I get kidnapped or something? Is that how you're gonna mount your noble steed to come rescue me?"

Zuko raised his eyebrow. Someone had been reading too many folk tales again. "It's an otter penguin," he answered.

"I'm not picky."

"And why would anyone rescue you? You would get out just fine on your own." It was meant to be a compliment, truth be told, but Zuko's current irritation made his words sound biting and sarcastic. It annoyed Katara even more that Zuko was apparently not getting her humor.

"Zuko."

He was wary of that sudden smile that appeared on her lips. "What?" he asked, cautious. The sky seemed darker for some reason.

"Lean forward a bit."

"Eh? Like this- AAAAAAHHHH!"

The otter penguin took off like a shot, a faster launch than normal since the couples' bantering made it impatient to get on with the sliding already. Its rider was heavier than what the animal was used to, but this otter penguin was the biggest in the flock and quite proud of its strength, thank you very much. Very rarely did full grown humans partake in this childish sport, so this was a golden opportunity to show off what most other otter penguins wouldn't be able to do in their entire lives. Perhaps that cute little female penguin it had its eyes on for the past season was watching. Surely she would be impressed. The screaming human on its back was certainly drawing enough attention.

High speed topsy-turvy fun and games was not something Zuko had been exposed to often, if ever, as a child. The only children he had grown up with were his sister and her friends, and, well, being the only boy around a bunch of girls tended to not bode very well. With the wind slamming against his eyes and ears, the first two minutes of sharp turns, free-falling, and nearly going completely upside down were nothing short of terrifying. Then he started to calm down a bit because, if he really thought about it, it actually was kind of thrilling and - sort of - fun. He didn't think he had ever gone this fast before or done anything really that would be considered daring and borderline life threatening, at least not for the sake of simply having a good time. As he started to become more accepting of the nearly sickening velocity, Zuko's cries of panic began to dissolve into soft if nervous laughter. He even loosened his death grip on the otter penguin's back, much to the critter's relief because it was starting to become rather uncomfortable. Maybe he could enjoy this ride a little - in a I-might-as-well-make-the-most-of-the-last-few-minutes-of-my-life kind of enjoyment. However, Zuko quickly discovered that he wasn't brave enough to take in the scenery of white snow and towering mountains of ice rushing past him. His lunch actually didn't taste better the second time.

He could hear Katara whooping and hollering not far behind him. A few turns later and she was next to him, dark hair streaming behind her and eyes bright with laughter. "Come on, slowpoke!" she taunted, reaching over and pushing on his shoulder. Her playful shove caused Zuko to wobble and nearly tip over which almost made his otter penguin slide off course if it didn't quickly use its flippers to right itself again.

"D-don't do that!" Zuko exclaimed once he regained his balance, feeling his blood pounding against every single vein in his body. All that terror he thought he had managed to push to the side came rushing back to him. Even his penguin barked in displeasure.

"Ha ha, you're such a big baby," Katara teased and then stuck her tongue out at him. She was really asking for it, wasn't she? "Come on, I'll race you."

"You win then," Zuko shot back. He was no longer in the mood to indulge in her freakish and death defying whims. Unfortunately for him, his otter penguin had other ideas. It saw that the animal Katara was riding on was its old rival back in the flock, who also had its eyes on that same female. The two gave each other side glares of a silent challenge and then Zuko's penguin slammed its fins into the ground.

"KATARA!" Zuko shrieked, almost falling off his penguin again when it suddenly increased its speed without warning. "How do you make it stoooop!"

Katara was also caught by surprise when her own otter penguin also pushed itself faster as if determined to keep up with the other two. "I-I don't know what's going on!" Katara replied, giggle a little. "I guess they do want to race!"

"Katara, they're freakin' penguins!"

She shrugged even though Zuko couldn't see it because he was ahead of her and clinging for dear life to his otter penguin again. This time the animal didn't mind the grip and the slight pain only made it that much more determined to win this race and defeat its long standing rival once and for all. The other human may be smaller, but that would make victory all the more sweeter if it won with the heavier rider.

Zuko couldn't laugh or scream or open his mouth for anything. Even closing his eyes did nothing to push back the motion sickness wringing his stomach in tiny, agonizing knots. He had thought he wouldn't be effected by something as trivial as motion sickness, especially after spending almost three years out on the ocean, but the damn penguin managed to prove him wrong. Ugh, if he didn't get off this ride soon, he was going to hurl, and with Katara behind him… on one hand, that would be hysterical and she definitely deserved it, but on the other hand, they had only been married little more than a week and therefore had not reached such a personal level between them just yet. Gritting his teeth, Zuko fought to keep the bile from climbing too high up his throat for her sake, at least.

The end had been a solid victory. Both for the large otter penguin over its rival, and Zuko over his stomach. As his penguin barked and gloated at the loser, Zuko went for the nearest pile snow.

Okay, given the sound of his horrible retching, Katara felt a little bad. It wasn't like she had been trying to make him go through an awful time, she just thought he had more a backbone for this sort of thing. She tried not to listen - because it really did sound gross - and instead focused on the two otter penguins. The large one was still gloating over its victory in the race before waddling off back to the flock while the smaller one squawked loudly in protest and followed.

Zuko finally emerged from behind the snow pile, wiping his mouth and looking a little weak in the knees. He was caught off guard when he saw the remorseful look Katara was giving him. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I didn't think you would have a bad time."

Any thought of being angry with her completely vanished. "No, no," he protested, waving his hands. "I-it wasn't that bad, really. Just kind of surprising. And, ah, I'm not used to this kind of, um, excitement. It was actually a really interesting experience." Well, that was one way of looking at it. He definitely hadn't been bored that entire ride.

"So, you'll go penguin sledding again?"

"Um…" Zuko wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't want to make her feel bad by declining, and yet at the same time the idea of getting back on that penguin made him want to dive back to his snow pile.

"Zuko! Katara!"

Aang's voice cutting through the frosty air rescued Zuko from that awkward question in which no good could come out of. "Good grief, it took you two long enough," Aang remarked, shaking his head. "Ty Lee and I got here ages ago."

"Someone was having penguin issues," Katara answered, shooting a meaningful grin at Zuko.

"It wasn't that bad," Zuko shot back. He had only dry heaved. His lunch was still in his stomach where it belonged.

"It's okay, Zuko, you don't have to explain," Aang assured him with a smile. "Everyone on this side of the South Pole could hear your screaming."

Zuko flushed brightly as the other two laughed at his expense. With a small growl, he threw his hood back over his head and stormed off - "Ah, Zuko, the village is the other way!" - backtracked and then stomped in the direction Katara was pointing.

"I think I made a mistake taking him penguin sledding," Katara said in a soft voice as she watched Zuko leave in a huff.

"Nah, the timing is just poor," Aang replied. "It looks like Zuko's been in a bad mood since we left the island. I'm sure he would have enjoyed it if he was feeling better."

Katara couldn't really look at Aang's smile. Gosh, this was awkward. She was alone with Aang for the first time in over a year. The last time they were alone together had ended up in her trying to blubber out a goodbye through her tears. She felt both a little silly and a little sad about it. Standing with Aang in the place where they first met, she couldn't say she was completely over him, and she couldn't say that her earlier fury over this marriage had been entirely due to her childish frustration in not getting her way. Katara would be the first to admit that her relationship with Aang hadn't been the deepest or most profound, but it still had been something meaningful and probably would have evolved into more if given the chance. However, she tried not to think about it because it would never happen. Unless Zuko suddenly dropped dead - and let's be honest, that would be a horrible thing to happen - Katara was stuck in holy matrimony with him till death do they part. She had consented to this, so she would be strong enough to live with the consequences.

It was still difficult to see that Aang was taller than her now. He must have hit a growth spurt in the past year or something, he was almost Zuko's height. His voice sounded deeper, too, but still caught in an awkward and somewhat embarrassing state between boy and man it couldn't get out of. She closed her eyes for a brief second, trying to keep her mind from traveling down that masochistic road of what could have been.

"You all right, Katara?" Aang asked.

"I'm fine," she said. "But Zuko… maybe it's just the cold. The Fire Nation experienced its share of winter, of course, but it was nothing comparable to the South Pole.

"You think so?" Aang bit his lower lip, not sure how to express his thoughts. Personally, he thought it more had to do with what Ty Lee said about Mai. Everyone knew Zuko didn't let go of anything easily. Half of their problems wouldn't have occurred if he did. So the idea that Zuko still felt something for Mai and was bitter about it was not that farfetched.

"You think it has something to do with Mai," Katara spoke up. Aang nodded, not for the first time wondering if she could actually read minds.

Katara's face felt hot as she stared down at one of her boots kicking the fluffy snow. Each kick caused a small shower of sparkling white powder. "It's not like any of us wanted this to happen," she added.

Aang found Katara's snow kicking to be quite fascinated and he watched as the snow leaped into the air and then settle back down again like an ocean wave at the tip of her foot.

"Can't really say I entirely understand him."

"Katara?"

The snow went completely still. "I'm just saying I'm not bitter about it, not anymore," she clarified. "Yeah, it sucks we had to break up like we did, but if you were to get another girlfriend, I would still be happy for you. Mostly." She now found herself able to look at Aang in the eye. "I don't want you to forget me, but… I don't want to you to force yourself to hang on to me. I just - " She paused when she realized she was wringing her fingers to death and she shoved her hands behind her back to keep them still. "I just want you to be happy, Aang. That's all I want."

Truth be told, a nasty little part of Aang wouldn't be too terribly distraught if Zuko suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. However, that kind of thinking was more trouble than it was worth so he had spent the better part of the previous year keeping such thoughts locked deep away. At least Katara married Zuko, and not some strange creepy guy with bad hygiene and a horrible personality. Zuko had decent personal hygiene and his personality was getting better these days. He had it in him to make her happy, Aang was sure. Soon enough she would forget about her relationship with Aang, and while that truth somewhat sickened him, on a completely selfless standpoint this entire situation would be much better that way. With that in mind, he grinned as he ruffled her hair. "You're such a good girl, Katara."

She rolled her eyes with a snort and playfully smacked his hand away.

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Over the past three years, the Southern Water Tribe village had finally grown enough to be truthfully called a "village". There were more huts than tents now, the population larger since the men had finally returned from the war and several people from the sister tribe in the North had taken permanent residence. The little tribe in the South had never been anything grand, but it was slowly shaping into a town better than it had ever been. The one aspect that remained the same was the large communal fire burning bright and cheerful in the tiny town's center where the residents gathered to feast on the day's hunt. And for tonight, everyone would celebrate the return of their sister who had now become a queen and welcome her new husband with open arms.

Zuko had been to the Southern Water Tribe a few times in the past for trade negotiations, but now that he was simply here as Katara's husband, the tribe seemed much friendlier and warmer toward him. Chief Hakoda had welcomed Zuko with a firm handshake only to suddenly pull the surprised Fire Lord in a bear hug as an initiation of sorts into the family. Zuko had mumbled a few "thank yous" and kept his hood on to hide his embarrassment. Apparently the Fire Lord was a much different person when he wasn't on official business.

"He's actually really shy," Katara had explained when Hakoda watched his son-in-law all but run from him.

"Really?" Hakoda had glanced at her, blinked, and looked back Zuko. "I never would have guessed." In Hakoda's opinion, he had found Zuko to be quite the charismatic, smart, charming, and even a little witty. To see that this same young king also had a shy side was quite the eye opener.

In the end, Zuko had done enough for the tribe to make up for the time when he first came to the South Pole. Thanks to Zuko and his Nation's demand for seal blubber, the Southern Water Tribe now had a reliable economy which attracted other traders and then people who wanted to settle in the tribe for business practice. No one held a grudge against him. However, their friendliness did little to lift his bad mood and the more time that went by, the more Katara wondered if she really did make a mistake with the penguin sledding.

The delicious smell of whale meat and sea prunes wafted from the large kettle as Katara helped herself to some stew, one of the many meals being served on this festive night. Smaller fires surrounded the communal pit where everyone gathered in little groups to share stories and laughter and general camaraderie. Katara left Zuko sitting by himself as close to their own little fire as possible to get dinner. It wasn't like he was going to move to get his own. "Okay, Katara," Sokka whispered as he joined her at the kettle, kneeling close to her, "what's going on? Why is Zuko acting like he's about to revert to his old self?"

"He's just sulking, hold this for me please." Katara pushed a bowl full of stew into Sokka's hands while she filled another.

"You're getting his food for him?"

"Why not? Besides, I told you. He's sulking. He probably won't move from that spot no matter how hungry he gets."

"Yeah, I guess having everyone hear you screaming like a little girl doesn't do wonders for your virility." Sokka snickered at the memory. He and Suki had been helping Toph unload her luggage in their hut when Zuko's high pitched shrieking had cut through the afternoon air like a whale tooth scimitar. The big important Fire Lord reduced to a baby while riding otter penguins. Oh, this story was going to be told for generations to come if Sokka had anything to say about it.

Katara giggled, though she tried to hide it. "Please, Sokka, don't bring it up," she said despite her own smile.

"I'm not guaranteeing any-"

"Sokka."

He sighed. "Okay, okay, warrior's honor, I will try not to mention Zuko's shameful display of manhood ever again."

"Thank you."

A pause. "You know," Sokka began and his somewhat hesitant way of speaking after joking about Zuko only seconds before made Katara pause and look at him, "I love Suki. More than anything else in the world."

"Yes…"

"But, for the longest time, and I think maybe to this day, a part of me is still with Yue. I think of her every time I see the moon. Well, I'm sure everyone who saw what happened does, but you know what I mean."

Katara bit her lower lip, unsure how she felt about where he was going with this.

"And it's okay to feel that way, Katara. I'm sure everyone, at least everyone who matters to you, understands. I know I promised you that I wouldn't interfere, so don't think I am. I just -" He sighed. "I just want you to be happy. The both of you. I don't like seeing you frown, ever. And I definitely don't like Zuko acting like he's going back to being the Honorary Jerkface of the Rawr Rawr Brotherhood."

"He's not," Katara interjected. "It's the extreme cold and lack of sun. He doesn't like it and of course he's going to sulk about it."

"I really don't think that's it."

"Ty Lee mentioned Mai's new boyfriend, non-boyfriend, male person over a week ago. I thought that might have been the case, too, but I'm pretty sure he's over that by now. I don't doubt he still thinks of her. I still think of Aang, a lot actually, but I'm moving on. There's nothing that can be done between us, anyway, and Aang knows that."

"Katara, your feelings and Zuko's aren't the same."

"Didn't I already tell you that we're going to be fine?"

"Forcing something to work is only going to make it worse."

"Whatever, Sokka, I'm not forcing anything," Katara snapped, and snatched the bowl from his hands. "I don't expect you to understand, anyway. You got to marry the person you love."

She might as well have stabbed him with her ice spear move. Yet, Sokka was used to these moods of hers and just sighed again as he watched her join Zuko at their private little fire before helping himself to stew.

Zuko sat hugging his knees and staring into the flames, not bothering to look up at the night sky filled with stars and color and never failed in taking a visitor's breath away. His face emerged from his hood when Katara sat down next to him, handing him his dinner. "Pouting or not, you still gotta eat," she said as he took the bowl from her. "This should warm you right up."

"Thanks."

"Are Fire Benders really that sensitive to cold?"

Zuko shrugged. "I can keep myself warm for a short while, but it's exhausting. Usually it's better to just tough it out."

"I see."

The stew smelled a little odd to him so Zuko took a cautious bite, then his eyes widened. "This is good," he remarked, discovering that he kind of liked it.

Katara beamed. "Really? Thanks."

"You made this?"

"Ah, ha ha, well, actually I helped make it. Gran Gran did most of the work, really." She glanced away and began twirling one of her hair loopies around her finger, embarrassed at her sudden eagerness for his approval. At least it seemed like Zuko was getting out of his bad mood. Forcing, Sokka had put it. She wasn't forcing anything and where he would get a silly idea like that was beyond her.

"It's weird not seeing the sun, though," Zuko said.

Katara blinked at him, her finger pausing in her hair loopie.

"I mean, because you mentioned that this place could make me feel weird because I'm a Fire Bender," he clarified.

"Is that why you're so irritated?"

"I'm irritated?"

Katara rolled her eyes. Zuko was like an open book written in large elementary school level kanji. There was nothing difficult to read about him. "You've seemed rather uptight ever since we got here."

"Oh. I… didn't know I was giving that impression."

Tap dancing around her, was he? Katara pursed her lips in a slight pout, seeing that she wasn't getting anywhere with him. She could push if she really wanted to, but knowing Zuko, he would just retreat back into his hood and then he wouldn't eat, and then she would be up all night feeling bad because he was childish enough to refuse eating over her prying in spite of how hungry he actually might be, and then she would feel responsible for him going hungry because she couldn't help herself. He really is a big baby, she thought as she took a hearty bite of stew. Ah, much better. She relished in the meaty juices of her homeland cuisine sliding down her throat and warming deep in her belly. She'll let Zuko have his way for the time being, but the moment she got him alone, she was going to get to the bottom of his recently unpleasant attitude.

\\\

A part of Mai really wanted to stab Ty Lee in the throat for mentioning her somewhat-but-not-really boyfriend in front of Zuko, but the rest of her wondered why she should even care. Zuko was the married one here so what was she supposed to do for the rest of her life? Pining over something that could never be was stupid, pointless, and an ultimate waste of her time.

Of course it still hurt a little seeing him now, but she had been expecting that. She wasn't here for him, anyway. Katara was her friend along with everyone else in the gang. This was the first time she had friendships that didn't involve being bossed around or frightened out of her mind. And she actually, really, liked being with other people. She liked being with them. So when she had been invited to go on this little outing Zuko was setting up for Katara's wedding present, there was no way she was going to pass up this opportunity. If it hurt being around Zuko in the meanwhile, well shoot, it wasn't like he hadn't hurt her before.

At the moment however, Mai wanted to be alone. To think, to breathe, to get a hold of herself again. This usually came easier if target practice was involved, but it was too dark to see if her daggers hit their mark, much less finding them if they got lost. Instead, she opted to lay on the ground, the furs she wore protecting her from the snow.

Mai was never really one for sunsets - orange was such a horrible color - but she loved the stars. Millions of diamond drops glistened in the black sky, adorned with streams of color. She had read of the polar auroras in her geography books at school but had never seen them for herself. A sky like this certainly didn't exist in the Fire Nation. What would have happened, she couldn't help wondering, if she had been born here instead of there? Let's take this a step further, what if she had been born a star?

Well, she was hardly the sparkling type and just sitting up there in the sky sounded as lively as getting a manicure while being talked to death by a gossipy stylist wearing too much makeup, but Mai supposed she wouldn't mind. Stars were like higher beings, beyond human, beyond all this mortal nonsense. The stars had no worries, could never be bored, didn't have ridiculously proper parents with their ridiculously proper standards, didn't have idiotic ex-boyfriends who were dense and hot-headed and clingy and too proud to ever ask for help and -

The stars were never lonely. So many of them. Always together. Always…

"Mai?"

At first, Mai thought she had only imagined him calling out to her, but she heard the crunching of snow, she quickly jumped to her feet, brushing the snow off her arms and backside. The one time she didn't want Zuko around and here he was. She always thought she was cursed, but now she was really starting to believe it from the bottom of her heart.

"I, uh, didn't mean to scare-" Zuko cut off when Mai gave him a formal bow, a typical greeting when being approached by your country's monarch. He frowned. "You don't have to do that."

"Vacation or not, you're still the Fire Lord, Your Highness," she replied, her voice polite and stiff.

"Mai, come on."

She straightened and stared at him, her face void and cold as the eternal winter around them. Idiot. She didn't trust herself to be informal with him. She couldn't even if she wanted to. She had that right revoked when he dumped her - again. At least he had the guts to break up with her in person this time. When Zuko saw that she wasn't going to help the conversation along, he took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you."

She still only stared at him.

"Uh, yeah," Zuko faltered for a second, making it difficult for anyone to believe that this was the same man who ran a nation trying to make up for all its past transgressions against the world, and then blurted, "Do you like him?"

There were a few times in the past, not often but an instance here and there, when Mai didn't think she would find anything in life more satisfying than giving Zuko a solid punch in the face. Fortunately for him, he was the Fire Lord and she was now just the ex-girlfriend. Face punching was a no-no. "I'm seeing him," she replied at length. A corner of her mouth lowered, irritation rising. Her personal life was none of his business, not anymore. She didn't really know herself if she liked this new guy that much, anyway. Yeah, he was interesting and easy to talk to and made her feel like she wanted to be around him more often, but that hardly qualified as the newfound love of her life by any stretch.

"What's his name?"

Perhaps if she indulged Zuko enough, he would go away. And no, it had absolutely did not have anything to do with her wanting to talk to him in some way. "His name's Li."

Zuko gave her such an incredulous look, Mai was taken back to a time when he was introducing her to some Earth Kingdom peasant he had met and had called himself that. Mai couldn't believe it. Was he really this self-centered? Every other guy and his cousin was named "Lee" or some equivalent thereof. She almost laughed. Almost.

"Li?" Zuko echoed.

"It's short for 'Liang'."

"Oh."

Mai took the opportunity to try returning to the village but Zuko grabbed her hand to stop her. Immediately, she whirled around, snapping her wrist out of his grasp. "What is it?" she demanded, her irritation growing to the point where she forgot this was her Fire Lord she was speaking to, no matter how much of the nervous ex he was acting.

"Are you happy?"

"Why do you care?"

Zuko reached forward and Mai stiffened when she felt his hand on her face and his thumb brushing something warm and wet from the corner of her eye. Her heart plummeted to her stomach as a thousand excuses raced through her mind, it was snow warmed by her body heat, it was only natural for eyes to get watery in the cold, it -

Next thing Mai knew, she was pressed against Zuko with his arms holding her tight. Oh, no, no, no, they were not going to play some scene from a cheesy romance story she sometimes liked to read while taking a hot bath, this was not happening, she was going to get away from him. She squirmed in his arms, but Zuko refused to let go. Then Mai stopped struggling, but she hadn't put up much of a protest to begin with, not really, her weapons heavy and useless beneath her clothes. He always had that effect on her, stupid, rendering her defenseless whenever she was around him. So what if he was warm? So what if he smelled good? So what if whenever she was close to him, she stopped feeling like a tiny star lost in an empty universe?

"I did love you, Mai."

"Don-"

"I still do."

Oh, crap, he said it. He actually said, the big idiot. Mai's grip tightened on his sleeves, her face burning against his chest. Mai had nothing. No witty comeback. No threats. No reminder that they were over, finished, stick a chopstick in them and all that. Let's not forget he was married. Whatever, she hated him now, and not in some weird expression of affection during her quasi-dark phase she had gone through as a younger teen, she really, truthfully, honestly hated-

Zuko's breath was hot against her ear, and when his cheek touched her she shivered. Just a slight tilt of her head was all it would take and for a short moment, she could pretend he was hers again. Because maybe she did miss him a little and maybe she did think of him more than she should be and maybe, just maybe, she -

She pushed away from him. Gently. She took a few steps back to keep a safe distance between them. She had been wrong. No matter where that little star settled, it would always eventually be thrown out to another dismal galaxy. She forced herself not to look at Zuko as she turned around and went back to the village, leaving him to stand alone beneath the colorful, uncaring night sky.

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Katara kept her back pressed tight against the large rock she was standing behind, her face so hot steam might as well have been coming out of her ears. That was… that had been so intense! When she had gone off to go see if Mai was okay, she hadn't expected Zuko to find her first and she definitely had not been expecting any of that scene played out before her. And Zuko had sounded so, so heartbroken.

And here she had been thinking he was acting like a child. I'm such an idiot, she thought. I really am the biggest idiot. He still loved her. During their entire engagement, regardless, he still stayed in love with Mai. And Katara never once stopped at all to try and understand Zuko's feelings, assuming he felt the same way she did. Sokka had been right. She and Zuko were completely different. Argh, I can't believe I'm so stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stu-!

"Katara, why are you hitting yourself in the head?"

Katara lowered her fist when she saw Aang staring at her. Without a word, she grabbed his arm and began tugging him back to the village. "Katara, wha-!"

"Shhhh, keep your voice down! And don't go that way!" she hissed at him.

"Why, what's over there?"

"Um, ha ha, nothing - important."

Aang narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he glanced over his shoulder at the rock and then back at Katara. "Uh huh," he remarked dryly. "I thought I saw Zuko go that way. You were eavesdropping, weren't you?"

Okay, so maybe she shouldn't have done that, but it was like witnessing a vegetable cart wreck, you just couldn't tear your eyes - or ears - away. "I think we should leave those two alone for a while," she said softly. However, she couldn't help feeling a little grateful for stumbling upon that scene. Because now she believed she fully understood the situation. Out of all of those who had been hurt in this arranged marriage, Zuko was the one who was hurting the most.

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End 4