After the party ended (very late into the night) Rei was walked back to her room by Zuko. She was all smiles and giggles as he opened the door for her and waited for her to walk in. Rei, however, just stood staring at the prince. A blush threatened to flood his cheeks.
"So did you uh, enjoy your birthday?" Rei's smile widened.
"Yes! I had much fun!" She kept staring at him and he forced himself to look away, least devilish thoughts enter his mind.
"And do you like your presents?"
"Very much. I do not deserve this much kindness." They had all given her something special: Aang gave her a air bending toy, Katara gave her a carved water nation bracelet, Toph earth bended her a miniature Appa figurine, Sokka and Suki bought her a pair of fans, and Zuko gave her his mothers tiara (the same one she had worn to the Ember island playhouse).
"So you're happy?" Zuko laughed.
"The happiest I have ever been." Her smile suddenly fell, "I will miss everything so much." Zuko turned to look at her again, confused. She looked distant and hurt, as if afraid for some reason.
"What do you mean?" She snapped her head up and looked at him, the smile instantly back in place.
"I must put my things away now." She hurried into her room and set all of her presents on the small wooden table before running a slim hand over her mothers chest. Zuko watched from the door frame as the saddened look fell over Rei once again.
"Rei, what's-"
"I wish for you to open this with me." She said with a smile before plopping down on the floor, the box on the floor in front of her. With a playful laugh she turned to Zuko again and motioned for him to join her. He smirked before entering the room, closing the door behind him. When he sat next to Rei he leaned his back against the wall and waited for her to proceed.
Rei slowly lifted the top from the chest and set it to the side. The box was filled with the most random of items. Ancient fire nation garments, numerous letters, a book of crushed flowers, and a single black jewelry box. Rei pulled said object and pushed the chest away. With great care and excitement she slowly opened the box.
"Oh wow." Zuko breathed as he moved to get a closer look. Inside this tiny case were two objects. A folded piece of parchment and a strange necklace. Handing the paper to Zuko to unfold, Rei pulled out the jewelry and examined it.
It was a small circular pendant held up by a thin golden chain. While the chain itself was stunning, nothing compared to the breathtakingly beautiful pendant. A solid gold circle upon which rested a circular jewel the color of the rising sun. The diamond sparkled like a million stars and seemed almost to grow brighter the longer Rei looked at it. The girl gently stroked the precious artifact and noticed that the necklace could actually separate into two different parts, the beautiful gold or the unimaginable sun.
"Rei…Look." "Zuko…Look." They both said at the same time. They would have laughed were it not for the serious looks on both faces. Silently and seamlessly the two swapped objects.
At first the piece of paper Rei received confused her. It was nothing more than a rough sketch of a man standing in a doorway. He was rather tall and had slightly shaded hair which reached his elbows. The clothes he wore seemed oddly familiar to Rei, as did the person himself. Only when her eyes reached his face did Rei understand the man in the door way was absolutely and irrefutably her own father. Where she received her eye color from her mother, Rei inherited every other beautiful feature from her breathtakingly handsome father. His full mouth, his straight nose, even his small ears all belonged to her. He even had a small tattoo on the center of his visibly smooth forehead.
"Rei, is that…" Zuko questioned, leaving the end hanging in the air.
"Yes Zuko… It is." She looked up at him and could feel tears forming in her eyes. Zuko's rough hands gently brushed the liquid away before they could stain Rei's cheeks or the sketch.
"Wow, he looks just like you." With a smile Rei placed her free hand on top of the prince's and the two sat staring at each other.
"Yes."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes." Slowly the space between them disappeared and their lips touched. What started out as an innocent gesture quickly turned into an act of wild passion. Rei pulled herself tight against Zuko's body as he twisted so her back rested against the floor. One of his arms lay above her head for support while the other held onto her waist. Her hands fluttered around his neck and back as the kiss deepened. Soon Rei lay gasping for breath as Zuko followed the line of her jaw with his soft lips. Her hand was fisted in his hair so she quickly pulled him back to her lips with a smile.
Eventually, the sun brightened the cloudless sky and light fell soflty upon the house. Zuko's head rested on Rei's chest as they both gazed upon the white sun.
"Your heart is racing." He murmured as Rei began to play with his hand, Her soft fingers tracing on his rough palms.
"Your skin is warm." The prince smiled before turning his head to gaze at the white haired woman. He opened his mouth to say something when a sparkling object caught his attention. The necklace lay near Rei's head and Zuko grabbed it, getting to his knees. Rei noticed that the red diamond had lightened.
"Do you want me to help you?" Rei flashed him a smile and a nod before pulling her old pendant over her head. She then took the drawing, refolded it, and wrapped the pendant around it. Once it was secure she placed it back in the black case and returned the case to the wooden chest. With shaking hands Zuko lowered the necklace in front of Rei before re-clasping it in the back. He finished and allowed the pendant to move freely, and it fell just above Rei's chest. She turned around to show Zuko and blushed slightly when she felt his eyes boring into her. In a swift movement he had Rei in a tight hug that she gladly returned. She felt him smile as he pressed his lips against her forehead.
"It's beautiful." He said in a whisper. Rei looked up and stared straight into his golden eyes. A soft pale hand reached out and cupped the princes' scarred cheek. He flinched slightly as her smooth hand slid over his ruined flesh, but from the look in his eyes he didn't dislike her touching him.
"Yes, it is." Zuko wanted to laugh but the serious look in Rei's eyes drew him short. She was being completely honest and this fact caused him to blush.
"I'm nothing compared to you." His voice darkened at the end and Rei's hand dropped.
"I wish you could see in yourself what others see Zuko… What I see." He dropped her gaze and brought his hands together.
"All I see are the failures, the mistakes. That's all I am." A calloused hand unthinkingly reached for his scar but Rei grabbed onto it before it could move.
"You think this scar makes you a failure… I think it makes you a hero." He was about to protest when he looked into Rei's mirror colored eyes and fell silent. "Without this scar, you would have never grown into the wonderful person that you are today. Without all of your failures, you would have never had the strength to make the right choices. If you weren't the way you are, I would not…" She stopped short and dropped her hand once again. Zuko winced at the loss of contact, but more from Rei's pained expression.
"You wouldn't what?" She looked at him for a long time, several emotions flickering in her glassy eyes.
"I would not have met you." She finished softly, not meeting his blistering gaze. Rei's heart raced with fear that the prince could not feel. She couldn't let him know…wouldn't let him know. Zuko suddenly cupped her face with two calloused hands and gently forced her to look back into his liquid golden eyes. With that he brought her lips to his and once more they kissed.
"You know what I've been thinking lately," He continued after several minutes, his face barely an inch from hers.
"Hmm?"
"We were destined to meet."
"What do you mean?" She managed to breathe out, her eyes closed. With a chuckle Zuko brought Rei into a hug and she sighed contently in his chest as he lay on the ground, one hand behind his head and one rubbing Rei's arm absentmindedly.
"Its hard to explain. I switched sides because I felt like I was missing… something. Then one day you show up and everything changes. Aang is stronger, the group is closer, I'm happier. And it's not just the way you act… since you first arrived I've felt…drawn to you." Rei looked up at him but his gaze was fixed on the ceiling. "It's like, I need to be near you. I can't help but follow you, like on the island how. Just being near you gives my a weird feeling, like I have more power or energy." He laughed quietly to himself. "It's like you're the sun. You give me strength and guidance." His golden eyes finally slipped to meet hers. Her expression was mangled.
"Zuko…" She wanted so badly to tell him how she felt, to tell him of her father, to tell him everything… But she knew it would never be alright. Never.
"Yeah?" He yawned slightly. "What is it Rei?"
"Thank you for all you've done for me."
"No problem." He yawned again, his head sinking to the floor with a soft clunk. "I'm always here to… help…" With that his eyes closed and his breathing slowed, his chest rising and falling peacefully. Rei watched him with a smile before laying her head on his chest and closing her eyes.
I will always remember you.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Zuko woke up several hours later to a clean but empty room. He scratched his shaggy head in confusion before standing up and walking onto the hallway. He stretched has arms as a yawn roared from his mouth.
"Why are you up so late?" Katara questioned as soon as Zuko arrived in the courtyard, where everyone she and Suki were watching Aang and Toph training.
"Good morning to you too." Zuko replied with another yawn as he walked down the wooden steps onto stone. "Where's everyone else?"
"Sokka is searching through our supplies and who knows where Rei could be." Suki replied with a smile as she helped Katara fold clothes. Zuko stood scratching his head for a few minutes while Toph and Aang finished training with a respectful bow.
"You've been improving pretty well Twinkle-toes. Maybe soon you'll be able to beat an old lady!" Toph laughed heartily as she walked past Zuko into the house. Aang sighed in mock despair.
"Don't worry Aa-AHHHHH!!" Katara screamed as Rei fell from the porch roof, like a plum flash, right into the pile of clothes. "Rei! What are you doing!"
"I'm sorry Katara!" She said as she scrambled to her feet. "Allow me to assist you!" She grabbed hold of a shirt and, sticking her tongue out in concentration, she began to fold. In about a minute she handed Katara a perfectly folded shirt…in the shape of a flower.
"Err, how about I finish this Rei?" She said with an awkward laugh while Suki burst into giggles before noticing the glittering object hanging around Rei's neck.
"Wow Rei! Where did you get that necklace?" The warrior asked loud enough for everyone to hear and come to investigate, everyone except a certain banished prince, who stiffly sat down on the wooden steps. Rei looked down at her mothers' pendant with a small smile.
"This was my mother's, a gift from my father. Zuko and I discovered it last night along with a drawing of my father." Katara's eyebrows raised at Rei's soft tone and her eyes shot over to Zuko, who she discovered was watching the white haired girl closely. The water bender's gaze switched between both people observantly.
"It's really beautiful Rei." Aang said as Rei showed them the stone. Toph took it in her hands carefully and her unseeing eyes widened.
"I've never felt rock like this before. It's…unreal."
"Rei, has the jem changed color?" Zuko asked curiously from his spot. Rei walked over to him knelt next to him, allowing him to hold it. "It's much lighter than it was last night." Rei put a hand around his and looked him in the eyes.
"I feel that it changes with the sun. Much like a fire bender." She explained with a laugh before straightening up.
"So Rei…Where were you this morning?" Katara asked suddenly which caused the spirit girls' face to light up immensely.
"I woke very early this morning and took a walk. I ended up in the village and received a gift from a large woman." Rei searched through her pockets until she pulled out a neatly folded flier.
"What do you mean a present?" Suki questioned suspiciously. The others drew closer to the spirit girl as she began to unfold the paper.
"She said she gave away new life and when I informed her that I was quite content with my life as it is she laughed at me. Once I informed her of my wonderful friends, she insisted that I bring Suki, Katara, and Toph with me." She presented the salon advertisement and everyone gasped in relief. Katara put down the finished laundry and took the coupon as Toph walked back out munching on some fire flakes.
"A spa day?" Suki questioned. "It actually sounds…nice."
"We haven't done something like this since Ba Sing Se." Katara commented as she handed the flier to Suki. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea."
"Oh please. All that smelly, girly-girl stuff!" Toph scoffed at the women. "No thank you."
"You do not want to spend time with us Toph?" Rei asked sadly.
"It's not that Rei. I'm just not into the whole make up, clean thing."
"Obviously." Katara whispered to Suki, who stifled a giggle.
"What was that sugar queen?" Toph demanded threateningly. Katara jumped at her harsh tone before smiling.
"Nothing Toph. Except you don't really seem to take that much care of yourself."
"Why should I care what I look like?! It's not like I can see myself!"
"Katara, Toph, stop!" Rei yelled. "It has been a while since we have left the house on an adventure. It could be very healing, physically and spiritually."
"I agree with Rei." Suki jumped in. Sokka appeared suddenly clutching at his stomach. "Lets go! We've never really had a girls day before and now we have a free one!"
"What are you all talking about?" Sokka grouched from the door. "I'm hungry Katara, when's lunch?"
"Whenever you make your self something to eat. We're going out." She snapped before thrusting the laundry basket into Aang's arms with a smile. "The girls are going out and the boys can do some work for a change."
"What are you-" Sokka started.
"I guess I can go. I do like mud baths." Toph interrupted, throwing a dirty rag at Zuko's face which flopped down to the floor leaving a scowling prince.
"Can someone tell me what's happening?"
"I'll grab some money incase we get hungry." Suki explained before disappearing past Sokka.
"What the-"
"Aang, I would like you to practice what I've been teaching you. Meditate before and after and remember that balance is life." Rei patted him on the bald head before walking across the courtyard to the front gate where Toph and Katara were waiting. Aang and Sokka shared a confused glance before shrugging and entering the house.
"Rei, wait." Zuko called as she passed the fountain and the spirit girl turned with wide eyes and a smile. Katara and Toph adjusted their fire nation gear quickly.
"Yes Zuko?"
"Here." He pulled out his mothers golden crown and placed in on her head, fully covering up her tattoo. His fingers lingered on her smooth skin for a few extra moments before his hands dropped down to the sides. Rei burst into a smile as her hand went to trace the band that fit perfectly around her smooth forehead.
"Thank you Zuko." She lightly cupped his scarred cheek with a tenderness that shocked him before Suki appeared again, moneybag in hand.
"Lets go!" Katara glanced over at where Rei was walking from Zuko. Her soft white hair, high in a ponytail, had lashed across Zuko's face when she had turned. Katara stared intently at his expression as he watched Rei walk to the gate. His golden eyes flicked to Katara's accidentally and a shadow of a blush crossed his cheeks before he turned and stomped into the house. Katara felt her own jaw drop.
A-A-A-A-A-A-A
The Steaming Springs Salon consisted of a semi-natural hot spring, a large beauty salon, several meditation rooms, and a masseur. The girls were scrubbed, scraped, and cleansed of any dirt in the hot springs first. They then received soothing green tea masks that hardened as their nails were trimmed down and painted by a team of experts. After that they were split off into pairs, Katara and Rei went to receive massages, while Toph and Suki had their hair trimmed and styled.
"This was the best idea ever." Katara mumbled as a short woman rubbed the knots from her shoulders. Rei had been finished for several minutes, being virtually stress free, and now sat tinkering with a small stringed instrument. Pleasant chords shifted through the air as the woman finished and left with a bow. Katara remained lying face down on the soft bed. "Hey Rei. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course Katara." Rei said with closed eyes as the music continued.
"Did something happen between you and Zuko?" A loud snap shot through the air as a string broke and Rei's eyes flew open.
"Why do you ask?" Her voice was soft and controlled, Katara didn't turn to face her.
"I've just had this feeling lately. You two seem very close."
"I am close with everyone. I have great feelings for everyone." Rei's smile was genuine but held something behind it.
"Yeah but with Zuko it seems different." Katara continued. "You two are really... close."
"I'm much closer with Aang." This time Katara's eyes flew open as her head twisted to face the spirit girl. Blue eyes met mirror-lilac ones for a moment of hostility.
"What do you mean?"
"It is a spirit quality. The Avatar and I are very similar on a spiritual level." Katara sized the girl up for a few additional minutes.
"Oh... but there has to be something going on with you and Zuko, I mean he's really nice to you and you disappeared together that one day."
"Because He was instructed to keep me away from the house." Rei laughed in an effort to throw off her friend. "Besides Katara, I disappear with Aang on a regular basis, and you think nothing of this." She laughed again, but the repeated action angered Katara. She sat up and faced the spirit girl with a scowl.
"You and Zuko talk all the time."
"I am talking to you now, and I have spent many hours conversing with Aang. What is the difference?"
"You know a lot about Zuko and he knows a lot about you. More than any of us do, by a long shot." Katara insisted, her voice snapping.
"Aang knows everything about me. And I know everything about him." Rei laughed again after Katara jumped to her feet. "It's a spirit world thing."
"Zuko and you are always together."
"Everyone is always together. You and Toph and Sokka and me and Aang an-"
"Aang doesn't look at you the same way Zuko does!" Katara snapped, silencing Rei for several moments.
"What?" Rei asked in confusion.
"I've noticed it for a while now, but today it was obvious." Katara sat next to the white haired girl, who was staring at her friend in shock.
"And how does Zuko look at me?"
"It's hard to explain. He looks at you… only you. He doesn't see anything else. And his entire persona changes when you're around. He's drawn to you, like some sort of invisible pull. I can see him leaning towards you, every time you're there. But that's not how I knew." He tilted her head and smiled slightly. "It was the way he looked at you this morning that tipped me off. Like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time." Rei was silent as Katara gazed at her. "Do you love him?"
"What?!" Katara laughed lightly as a blush flew to Rei's pale cheeks.
"I know he's drawn to you, but it also seems that you…shine when you're together. You get happier and brighter and just even more beautiful. So… Do you love him?" Rei did not look at the water bender as a silence enveloped the room once again. "It's ok Rei, you can trust me. Are you in love with Zuko?"
"Yes." Rei said with finality which caused Katara to burst into a smile. "But he cannot know. Please don't tell him." Her reflective eyes bore into Katara with desperation and the water bender's smile faltered slightly. "Please!"
"Of course I won't tell him!" She promised. "But, would it be so bad if he knew? He must be feeling the same Rei."
"No Katara. There is no point to him knowing."
"What are you talking about? With the way he looks at you he's-"
"The same way Aang looks at you Katara?" This brought the water bender up short. Rei rose to her feet and gazed down at her bewildered friend. "He has confessed to you, hasn't he?"
"H-How do you know? Did he-Aang tell you?"
"I know Aang the way I know myself. I told you that I am the closest to him. It is a spirit connection we share. The Avatar state brings us closer together and we've been trying to unblock him for weeks. We know everything about eachother… Up to our last training session that is."
"Are you serious?"
"His favorite place to be scratched is the back of his right ear, just beneath the ear-lobe. He is afraid of giant spiders. And his favorite color is ocean blue, because it is the color of your eyes when you are happy." Katara grew silent at this honest information, she had thought that only she knew the first two facts. "He loves you Katara. A selfless, pure, and true love."
"I-I just don't know..." Rei walked over to an open window. The room they were currently in was on the second story of the salon and over looked part of the beach and the ocean.
"I know little about this world Katara and try to take nothing for granted. However, I do know something about time and how quickly everything can change and disappear. I hope you also come to realize this before it's too late." Before Katara could reply the doors burst open and Suki and Toph ran in.
"We should probably leave. One of the girls tried to massage Toph's foot and she got thrown through a wall."
"Toph!" Rei acted shocked towards the earth bender, who grinned in response.
"She surprised me."
A-A-A-A-A-A-A
Sorry that this took so long but I just received a rush of inspiration half way through and i had to redo the entire thing!! LOL!! Review PLEASE!!!
