Author's Note: To any and all readers, I apologize for not updating for… Four months! Holy Diesel, has it really been that long? SORRY! Here is an update. Enjoy!


"Suki, is that you?"

The young woman froze when she heard her name called out by such a familiar voice. Suki turned and was not surprised to see Katara standing a few stalls away in the Ba Sing Se's marketplace. The two were friends long ago… Long before the Waterbender's brother had unjustly broken her heart. "Katara," she greeted politely. "What are you doing here?"

Katara's smile only widened as she walked closer to the stall her old friend stood in front of. "Aang and I were traveling nearby Ba Sing Se gathering Air Nomad descendents. We stopped in town for a few days to see my brother and some other old friends before we both depart; after this visit, he'll be in the Southern Air Temple for the next four years…" She gave a sad sigh.

Suki nodded slowly, although she had already forgotten half of the useless drabble, everything after my brother. "Oh, so you still talk to Sokka?" she asked bitterly.

The Waterbender placed her hands on her hips and huffed quietly. "Yes, I do. He's my brother after all, and I don't see him very often nowadays because I'm traveling he's working for Aunt Wu… Only the Spirits know the reason behind that."

"Yeah, they do," Suki responded dismissively. "He's probably working for the psychic to keep in touch with his precious Moon Spirit. It seems like the only person he wants in his life is his dead girlfriend."

Katara fumed. "Suki, how could you say such a thing? He may be an idiot every once in a while, but he's still a good guy; besides, it's not like he married you thinking you were Yue, or something creepy like that. He just had some past emotions he needed to sort out…"

"For four years, Katara?" Suki was yelling at the girl, paying no mind to the confused shopkeeper who had only now noticed the argument. "Why are you defending him, anyways? Him! The guy who hurt me!"

"Because… Because…"

"Because he's your brother? You don't have to support every time, you know! He makes bad decisions, and you're not forced to have faith in him every time! Katara-"

"Because I know how he feels, OKAY?"

Suki fell silent as she watched Katara descend to the ground, lace her arms around her legs, and gracefully throw her head into her folded limbs. The Kyoshi Warrior sat down next to her friend down as the young girl began to sob softly.

Noticing Suki's presence, Katara lifted her head and quickly dried her eyes with the back of her hand. "Jet…" she began, with the slightest quiver in her voice. "I once knew a boy named Jet, back during the war. We weren't on good terms for the most part, but it didn't take much for me to fall for him. He was the leader of the Freedom Fighters – a group of kids I watch now and again. Back then, their mission was to eliminate the Fire Nation at whatever cost. But he was done with that; he even came here to Ba Sing Se to start over again. And then, he…" She started crying softly again, but went on. "He died. He died, damn it! Before he even had a chance to turn his life around."

"Katara…" Suki said softly. "Oh, Katara…"

Katara smiled through her tears. "Ever since, I've been watching over those kids, because I'm sure that Jet would have wanted me to. If he were still alive, we'd probably be watching them… Together."

Suki silently gaped. "Katara… Does Aang know that you feel this way about Jet?"

Katara looked back at her friend with sadness in her soul. She slowly shook her head. "No. Telling Aang would certainly kill him. But for the past four years, I've fallen in love with Aang - not because he filled some void Jet left, but because I really, sincerely love him for whom he is."

The teary girl stood suddenly, and Suki rose as well. "Katara…" she wanted to reassure her friend, but she wasn't entirely sure what to say.

"I'll be fine," the Waterbender responded with a smile. "But right now I have to go pick up The Duke from school. I'll see you around town. Okay?"

"Yeah."

"And Suki?"

"Yes, Katara?"

"I think you should reconsider your hostility towards Sokka." Her shimmering eyes were no longer crying, they were simply deep pools of unadulterated compassion. "It really does hurt to lose someone you love."

"Of course," the warrior responded quietly as Katara walked away.

For the first time in a long time, Suki actually started to wonder if there really was a legitimate reason behind why she hated Sokka.

/~*~\

"Good job today, class," Toph yelled to the groaning of the children. "But I think you all know that that means I expect you all to be twice as killer tomorrow!"

"Yes, Sifu Toph!" one lonely voice yelled – that of The Duke.

Every other child groaned quietly, to which Toph responded by sending a light tremor beneath their feet. "Class dismissed," she growled as the students scurried out of the room. She felt the footfalls of one student approaching her desk. "Duke," she affirmed, "What's up, kid?"

His posture shifted and his heartbeat sped up as he raised his right hand. "Here," he said. "I made this for you. For Valentine's Day."

She frowned as she started to recognize that his hand was clamped around something… A piece of paper? "Duke, you know I can't read this."

She felt his heart beat faster, and suspected that he had turned red from embarrassment. "Erm… Right. I forgot."

Toph laughed heartily. "Well, read it to me!"

"Ah," he replied quickly. "It's a picture."

Toph's laughter died down as soon as she heard it. She could have recognized the lie from a mile away… But she didn't want to press him further, considering he was already very embarrassed; how lame is it to read some message to a blind girl? "Really?" she said whimsically. "That's too bad. I bet it's really pretty, much better than anything Sokka could draw."

This won laughter from the boy. "I doubt it."

"Nonsense!" Toph yelled as she slapped the boy on his back. "You're all right. You know that, kid?"

The boy's heart beat faster. "Thank you, Sifu Toph."

"I thought I told you already! When class is out, just call me Toph."

"Yes… Toph."

She laughed again. "Now, get outta here, Duke!" she yelled at the boy. "I've got a boyfriend to visit in an hour, and I still have to pack."

Toph could feel the boy's heart nearly stop all together. "Yes, Sifu Toph," he mumbled. He alone changed the context of the conversation; they were, for that moment, no longer were they allies that were bonded by a war, just a student and his teacher.

Toph just shrugged at his strange attitude as she walked towards the entrance of the arena. "Keep cool, Duke." She yelled as she disappeared through the rocky door.

When The Duke finally left, he crumpled up that precious card and threw away.

/~*~\

"Tell me about the Earth Kingdom," Azula demanded rather sharply.

Jet just chuckled at her assertiveness. "I didn't see much of the actual Earth Kingdom, per se. I saw the world from the treetops."

"You lived in trees? Is that …normal?" she asked slowly. She could never see herself living in something as substandard as a tree when all her life she'd been living in a palace. The fugitive brushed off the thought as soon as it came up; she wasn't a pampered princess anymore; she'd have to learn to live like a peasant now that she was on the run.

Jet laughed in response. "No, regular Earth Kingdom citizens live in houses. Up in the trees, there was no one but my Freedom Fighters and me," he smiled. "Damn, that seems like such a long time ago."

She paused; wondering if treading on this ground would offend him again. "When was the last time you saw them?"

"When I died," Jet answered in a low voice.

Azula was simply shocked. "Died?"

"Yeah. Do you know Long Feng?"

Azula's voice grew harsher at the name. "I do. How could I forget such a mutt?"

Jet smiled deviously at her demeanor. "Yeah. Well, he almost killed me once. Delivered one sharp blow and left me for dead under Lake Laogi. At first, it was the Avatar, his friends, Smellerbee and Longshot – two of my Freedom Fighters – who stayed by me. Then Aang and friends left to save the day, and the other two stayed down there with me until they were sure I was a goner…"

He grinned widely as Azula scoffed. "No cliff hangers! Just finish the story!"

"All right then, your majesty!" He laughed when she tensed at the nickname. "I was visited by a spirit while my health was failing… It said it would grant me a last chance to live as long as I promised to fight to liberate the entire world. I did, and almost immediately, I began to recover. Three days after my friends had gone, I was fit as a fiddle. The next day I joined the Ba Sing Se Battalion, and the day after that I was on a boat to The Fire Nation. You know." he pointed to the tall structure on the deck. "Back when boats didn't have these doohickies that got people places faster. By the time we finally arrived, the war was already over. So, being the good little soldiers that we are, we just stuck around there for four years and squashed any threat of invasion to the Earth Kingdom."

"That's an interesting story," Azula said.

"Neh," Jet complained. "It would have been a lot more interesting if I actually fought in the war." He eyed her suspiciously. "How about escaping from the Boiling Rock, eh? That sounds like an even more interesting story."

She shrugged. "Not interesting at all. I got lucky, I guess."

Jet shook his head. "I really don't believe it," he said solemnly. "You really are the Fire Nation Princess. All this time, I thought you were cruel and wicked."

"I am."

"Not completely. Not like everyone else said you'd be." He smiled as he mussed her hair. "Who knew a few years in the world's most inescapable prison would really shape you up!"

She scowled at the boy, who responded with a hearty laugh. After at least ten seconds of holding a straight face, she finally laughed along. What? She complained to herself. It's funny. It really is.

"Are you 'Jet'?" a voice called from beside them.

Both young adults quickly grew silent. Jet turned and noticed a stewardess who held a small note in one hand. "That's me," he confirmed.

She smiled. "Sir, our crew just received a Messenger Falcon with a note attached. It was addressed to you, so the captain didn't open it. The message is closed by General How's seal." She extended her hand towards him, and a rolled up parchment was handed to the boy.

The color drained out of Jet's face as he slowly reached for the note. When it was in his hands, the stewardess watched him warily as he began read, and then at the girl, who looked oddly familiar. Azula's cold eyes stared fiercely into those of the attendant until the female cowered. She bowed and left, not wanting to disturb the couple any longer.

Azula turned back to the boy, who was looking back over the ocean; the piece of paper he had received a minute ago was clenched in his fist. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"General How's cut my vacation time down," he said through clenched teeth. "I only have five hours in Ba Sing Se tonight, then I have to sail back to The Fire Nation for another few years."

Azula wasn't sure what to say, even when he seemed so distraught. She lightly stroked his hair - something her mother used to do to calm her down. "Hey, five hours is plenty of time," she said. "You'll see your friends and be back on this wretched ship in no time. Back to saving the world, right?"

Jet turned back to her and chuckled. "Is this your first time comforting a human being? Because you're really bad at it."

Azula huffed. "Well? At least I tried."

They both laughed again as the sun slowly crept across the sky.

/~*~\

Smellerbee had walked into the Jasmine Dragon to converse with the old man about her current situation, not listen to the grumbling of waiting customers. In her travels, she had only seen Iroh a few times after meeting him on her first trip to Ba Sing Se… They initially started off on the wrong foot when he mistook her for a boy. She may not have known him too well, but she'd heard enough from Katara and others to figure out that he's known for giving good advice.

Annoyed, she bypassed the line of people (much to the annoyance of the already grumpy people), and went straight to the desk where the man stood. People behind her jeered and yelled at her to get to the back of the line. "I'm not buying nothing, so pipe down you nimwits!" Smellerbee yelled behind her.

Iroh smiled from behind the desk. "Is there something I can do for you, my dear?"

Smellerbee slammed her fist against the table. "Yeah, grandpa," she responded in a raspy voice. "I need advice and I need it now."

"You seem very anxious," he smiled. He poured a quick cup of tea and handed it to the petite girl. "Take this," he commanded, "Go sit down while I prepare these nice customers' orders, and I shall be with you in a second."

She nodded as she walked to a table a few yards away. She slowly sipped from the cup while watching Iroh prepare orders for the the line of men and women. By the time Smellerbee had taken her last lukewarm sip of tea, Iroh was walking to the table with two more cups at hand.

"My, Smellerbee," he began as he handed the girl a second cup. He blew steam off the small cup he kept in his own hand. "Please tell me what is on your mind."

She shifted uncomfortably and asked, "Why do we fall in love with all the wrong people?"

The man frowned. "I don't know what you mean, Smellerbee."

"I mean," she sighed, "why do we fall for people who do things we don't like?"

Iroh smiled silently and shook his head; the young girl felt her cheeks grow red with frustration and embarrassment. "What's so funny, old man?"

"Nothing at all," Iroh said sincerely. "You are in love at such a young age?"

She looked away from the table and out the window. "I… don't know."

"That's awful, really," Iroh sipped his tea. "In this time, most young men and women do not have faith in finding true love easily. Apparently, you are no acception."

She growled. "I thought I loved Longshot, okay? But he never speaks – to me or anyone else for that matter. Katara told me that the only way to truly know if he loves me is if he tells me so. And he won't. So I can't tell how he feels about me." She clenched her tiny fist, but her raspy voice softened a bit. "Sometimes, his eyes say everything he's thinking. But sometimes, that's just not enough."

"Such a shame that you have been blinded by one small flaw," Iroh commented as he raised the tea to his mouth.

"Small?" She pounded the cup against the table, causing some of the tea to spill. "He doesn't tell me how he really feels about me! In what world is that just a small flaw? He could just toying with my emotions for all I know!"

Smellerbee was standing now looking down at the man who sat quietly drinking tea. How could he remain calm at a time when she herself felt like exploding? "Smellerbee," Iroh said softly. "Please, sit down so we can continue our conversation."

She lowered herself into the chair quietly and slightly embarrassed by her outbreak. When she was sitting, Iroh continued.

"Love is a strange thing," he said slowly. "We believe in it because it makes us feel whole. It is brought to us by people who show tenderness, and is lost when we feel neglect. You believe that this boy is neglecting you, correct? I believe that he is not. You feel attachment toward Longshot. And from what I've seen, he depends on you tenfold."

"But sir…" She was much quieter now. "How can I love someone when he has a flaw I can't stand?"

"My dear girl," Iroh said softly. "If we fall in love with someone, we must fall for all that they are; not just the good, but the bad as well. All people have both good and bad, and it is not fair to only like a half of what they are. Any love, if that's what you feel, is strong enough to endure the tenderness of the other. Only those who are truly in love can be strong enough to love the good and bad in a person equally."

Smellerbee stood and smiled. "I have to go," she said abruptly. "Thank you for the tea."

Iroh bowed to the young girl. "I hope that when you follow your heart, it brings you nothing but bliss."

She bowed in return before leaving the tea shop and running home.

/~*~\