Some years ago, we used to eat together on the same table. In our busiest day, we wouldn't mind to slept together in meeting room. We share our good and hard times together. Me, Sokka and Aang.
I recognize Aang sometimes sit alone watching sunset and holding on his bracelet. Said it was a charm made by Katara for their bethrodal. He was a happy and free man I always known. Whenever we got trouble or stressed out, he would told us his most valuable moment about him and Katara. People sometimes do that kind of thing, the would recall their happiest memory to relieve the stress that reality give. It's kind of a way to run away from reality that overwhelmed you. That's what Aang's doing when he stressed out.
On our holiday, Sokka would vissit Kiyoshi Village, Aang vissiting South Water Tribe village, and I, ... I stay in Republic City. They call me "workaholic" for a good reason.
That's how he told us about his memories with his fiance. They would take some trips together, just the two of them. Seeing new things, witness the greatness of nature, discover something new. He would describe what places they vissit and I'm heading on those places to find Katara.
Tonight the moon looks so bright. I found her somewhere in a cape where Katara found Aang about 7 years ago. It's about two weeks since she runaway now, and I found her walking alone with no mantle to sleep, no cooking utensils to cook. She completely on her own and so independent. Of course she is. She's Katara, probably the strongest waterbender I've ever met. She would not die for hunger or unable to survive the wilderness.
I take long range from her location to jump out of my dragon and climb the trees. Jumping from branch to the other branch, I move without a sound. I was a stealth in my youth, know as the Blue Spirit. It's one of a perfect skill to learn for surviving. After reaching the closest branch, I jump behind her and arrest her from behind as if I tried to kidnap her.
She struggle around and finally moving her hands to control my arms.
"Oh shit! Blood bending!"
She drive my body to the tree, and turn around to look at me. "I was shocked until you swore, Zuko."
"Gah! Who can defeat this?" I try to regain control over my body, but it's useless. I see a cunning smile on her face and she control my body down laying on the ground.
"Okay, this is creepy. I give up." Now I'm lying on the grasses. Vulnerable.
She sit on my crotch. "As creepy as I thought somebody tried to kidnap me."
"Glad to see you can protect yourself."
She hold my hands with hers, then lean her body closer to mine. "How did you found me?"
"Praying to the spirits."
"So which spirits leads you here?"
"Moon spirit. Can you let me go now?"
"No, I like it this way; you under my control." But later she said genuinely, "I missed you."
She move her face closer to mine, her lips touch mine only to pulled it away soon after she realize I didn't kissed her back.
"W, what?"
I admit, I stop respond her. With Katara sit on me, I look away from her to the breaking wave across the cape. "You missed Aang."
She stand up immediately and walks away a few steps. Starring at the side of the cape. Her face looks depressed. I stand beside her, "Hakoda says he was sorry."
"Sokka told you, right?"
"About what?"
"About Aang."
I don't know how to answer. I want her to tell me the truth, what was going on between her and Aang, or their relationship now. I thought she would tell me soon, but I heard nothing up until now.
"I have to get you back home. Your friends are worried about you." I whistle and my dragon arrive.
"That's it?"
"What?"
"You just find me here and drive me back home?"
"What else I should do? I promised everyone to return you back home."
"We had been separated for two weeks..."
"Almost two weeks."
She looks upset now, not really sure but I think it's because of something I said.
"Don't you feel ... after see me again ... and you're just...and when we kissed, you ... what's wrong with you?"
I jump off my dragon's back and walk towards her. "Katara, I think I can't continue this relationship any further."
Her eyes widened and soon looks wet. "Why? What did Sokka told you? Or did father told you something? Is it because of Aang?"
"Look where we stand now." I look at the cape, sunset will looked beautiful if we enjoy it here. Just what Aang always told us about his sunset date at a cape near Makara village. "My old friend in Republic City used to told me stories about his girlfriend of South Water Tribe. They would go for a trip, watching sunset by the end of a beautiful cape where the ocean was wide."
"What?"
I walk to the end of the cape, feel the wind blow hard and chilling my skin. "This place saving lots of precious memories of the past. When the love whas over, they would come back here for reminiscene. She missed him."
"Zuko, I'm here not for Aang!" She shook her head desperately, "I'm here to make sure that everything is over now! And ... all I can think of was you... don't you see, I'm in love with you!"
"Then why didn't you tell me about you? About Aang? You keep hiding something from me about your past."
I sighed, "everything's so confusing now. I'll leave South Pole to some random place after taking you home."
"We had our duels, our fights, our team work, our redemption, even our betrayal and I learn how to forgive people from you, ... and after everything that we've going through ... you still confuse about me?" She whispered. "You really think I would treat you as Aang's subtitute?"
I don't know. Probably because I always denied to think about her, or maybe I'm just an ignorant that busy repressing my feelings. I don't even know who's the girl I loved. Mai or Katara? I thought my feeling for Katara just because it's always been exciting with her. Adventures, experiences, dynamics, she's a beautiful girl and motherly.
Several days ago, when she was gone without a trace, I feel afraid. The fear of losing her was more than losing a lover or a best friend. I want her to be save and sound. I don't care if when I found her, I will saw her with Aang. I want her to be alive and well.
I approach her and kiss her lips out of the blue. Telling her how precious she meant to me. She was surprised, of course, but later she kiss me back.
"He was so childish ..." She begin to tell me about her story with the avatar. "... I'm getting tired of him, sometimes when he didn't feel like it, he just run away or hide him self under the rocks he build with earth bending. I can't talk to him, and I tired of his way to avoiding what I think is important. So I told him, I want to break up. He never agree, he told me to think about what I did that makes him upset. He's just so ... childish!"
"So, technically you still his girl."
"Everybody keeps telling me to calm and try tounderstand him more. But nobody even care about what I feel. And more than that, I found him consistently writing letters with some Earth Kingdom girl."
"Girl? Are you sure? Probably just Uncle Iroh. They were pretty close."
She shook her head. "A girl, named Yunna. I had tracked her down because I was so curious and jealous."
Tears rolling down from her eyes, "she has a baby, about several months. Without a father."
"Probably Aang just give her sympathy because she's a single mother."
"I don't know, Zuko..." She embrace me looking for comfort.
"But we should get back now. I promised your father."
"Don't, I don't want to go back. Did you have any idea why he sent Sokka back to Republic City?"
Suddenly I recognize that Sokka return to Aang's place.
"Before my brother left, Did he warn you anything about me and Aang? Did he ensure you to stay away from me?"
This brother and sister sure have the similar way of convincing people.
"He was trying to avoid any fight between you and Aang because of me..." Katara grab my arms, "don't go back."
I walk away from her, starring at the north. Across the ocean, there is the wide Earth Kingdom. I'm in a crucial crossroad. Leave her or stay. For all my life, I've been doing stupid things with wrong choices. This time, I will do it right. I ask her to return, at first she refuse. But after I told her what's going on at Zutork village, she stop refusing and return with me to Hakoda's place.
