Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Avatar the Last Airbender.

A/N: Hey guys! So here is the last chapter before the epilogue! Thank you to those who have stuck with this story through the end. S/O to new reader: caligirl538! You rock :)

I stood in the doorway to my living area, my hand frozen from where it had been about to release my hair from the tight bun on top of my head. It wasn't that anything was extremely out of place; the immaculate paintings that Kuei had had sent over for me stood out proudly on the wall, the light and dark green hues of the large sitting pillows blended nicely with the yellow wall, and the little brown table sit proudly in the middle of the pillows, little leaves etched around the edges. No, nothing was out of the ordinary. . . .

Except Zuko was sitting on one of the pillows, quietly sipping tea.

It hadn't been long since I had last seen him, not long at all. Two days after I left Ba Sing Se, he had woken up. Three days after that, we had all met here in Yu Dao to discuss its future. Aang had made a really impressive speech about how Yu Dao could become the start of the new world. It was still under discussion, but if this were to work, the council, which included all of my friends and I, would meet once a month to discuss the stability of Yu Dao's government. I would stay here to assist Mayor Morishita as well as oversee the Yu Dao government often to prepare us for the meetings with the council.

That had been yesterday.

I had assumed that, like Aang, Katara, Sokka (Toph was becoming busier with her metalbending school), Zuko had gone home but here he was, sitting in my living area, drinking my tea. Why was he here? What could he possibly want? I could only chalk it up to the fact that I had purposefully avoided eye contact and conversation with him yesterday as much as possible. Sure, maybe I was being stubborn (childish, Fen said) but I wasn't through avoiding him.

I took a step back, hoping that maybe if I just snuck back out, he would never notice me. I could have Fen come in and tell him that I wasn't feeling well or something. But, of course, my plan wasn't meant to succeed. As soon as I took that first step, Zuko looked up at me. He set his tea down and stood up. "Luli."

For a moment, I just stood there, not quite sure what to do next. "Fen!"

My friend and advisor was next to me so fast, that I knew she had been nearby. She had a horribly innocent smile on her face and I just knew, I knew that this was somehow her doing. Before I could say anything though, she was wrapping her arm around mine, turning to address the Fire Lord. "Fire Lord Zuko, if you'd give us a moment, Luli will be out to see you shortly."

With that, she dragged me off down the hall way, turning down another corner where she pushed me into my bedroom, closing the door. Since I had made her my advisor, she had definitely become a lot bossier which I suppose I needed. Sometimes though, she did overstep her boundaries. "What in the world is going on?" I asked her in harsh whisper. My new home was fairly big and we were far enough away from the living area but I didn't want our voices to carry.

"I'm putting my nose in where it doesn't belong," Fen answered with a straight face. "He was going to ask you himself if he could come over for tea but I knew you'd say no, so I invited him myself. It's time for the two of you to fix this."

"There's nothing to fix."

"Are you serious? Every time you guys are in a room together, it's like being squished by camelephant! There's so much tension between the two of you that even Sokka has noticed it and Katara tells me that Sokka doesn't notice anything! It's going on a year and a half now and you two are still . . . broken!"

"There's nothing to fix!"

"Luli." Fen reached forward and placed her hands on my shoulders. "I get it. You two have a lot of history and – and maybe you're scared. I get that too. But if you two are ever going to be able to cooperate, not for your own sakes but the sake of Yu Dao, then it's your responsibility to fix this because yes, there is a 'this' to fix. Whatever he has to say, whatever the two of you decide it'll be for the better."

I stared at Fen for a moment before I sighed, placing my hands over hers. "I knew I made you my advisor for a reason."

"Because I am incredible. Now hold still." Fen reached up and pulled my bun loose. Despite my protest she grabbed a comb and quickly ran it through my now back length hair, not caring when it got caught on tangles. She pushed my hair behind my ears, stepping back to examine me. She grinned. "Great."

"What was that for?"

"Let's go!"

Again ignoring me, Fen pushed me back in the direction of the living area. She shoved me into the living room and when I turned to face her, to yell, to scold, or something, she slammed the door shut in my face with a cheeky grin. Glaring at the door, I huffed out an annoyed sigh.

"I like her."

Turning, I saw Zuko watching me, a slight smile on his face. I shot another glare at the door before I walked over to sit on the pillow on the opposite side of the table from the Fire Lord. "She's – something else."

I took my time putting sugar in my tea and stirring it, all the while avoiding making eye contact with the boy in front of me. He cleared his throat and I forced myself to look up. He was still so very handsome, gold eyes bright and intense. I had spent so much time trying not to look at him that I had forgotten what it actually meant to do so. I reached up to push my hair behind my ears, forgetting that Fen had already done that for me. "You look well."

Zuko opened his mouth to say something but then he stopped, nodding his head. "Thank you . . . You do too. Look well, I mean. How is – how is your injury?"

"Better, thank you."

The silence returned in which both of us focused on our tea. This time, I cleared my throat, clutching my hands in my lap. Let's get this over with. "So . . . did you come here to speak to me about the Yu Dao government?"

"What?" Zuko looked shocked that I had even asked. "No, of course not."

"Then what is it?"

He frowned, looking down at the table. "I – well I thought we should maybe clear the air. . . . We should talk about what happened between us."

All of the sudden it felt way to hot, my living area to small. The window was open but it didn't feel like there was any air coming through. I stood abruptly, shaking the small table when my knee hit it. Zuko's eyes followed me, alarmed. "I'm – I can't do this right now."

"What?"

"I'll send Fen in to escort you out." I made to turn away from him. I was going to lock myself in my room and never come out ever again. The table rattled once more and I came to a sudden stop. Looking back, I glared at Zuko who had grabbed a hold of my wrist in his firm grip. "Let go of me."

"Stop running away from me," he said, his voice just as fierce.

"I'm not –"

"Yes you are! First, at my coronation, then in Ba Sing Se when you wouldn't let me get a word in, and then when you came here before I woke up –"

"Not everything's about you, Zuko! I left your coronation to take care of my people, I came here to –"

"Stop it! Stop trying to always have the last word! We're going to sit here and you're going to listen for once!"

"I don't have to –"

"You said you didn't walk to talk about this inside of Ba Sing Se, right? Well, we're not in Ba Sing Se anymore, not right now, and you don't get to decide what I'm going to do anymore. Sit down, Luli."

I was furious. I could call the guards, have them remove him but I'm sure that would go oh so splendidly. I snatched my hand away from his, crossing my arms. "Fine."

With that, I plopped back down on my pillow, glaring daggers at Zuko but he was returning my gaze fire for fire. Finally he shook his head, crossing his arms as well. "Spirits, I never realized how ridiculously stubborn you are."

I opened my mouth to respond but shut it again when Zuko sent me another scathing glare. He sighed, looking at me. "Okay. . . . I thought about what you said last year, at the Jasmine Dragon. You said that what we had out there was just something we needed at the time. I chose to think you were right because it made sense. I had needed you out there. You made me feel like I was a good person but also . . . because right before that, before you interrupted me, I was going to tell you that I cared about you. I was going to tell you that when you saw Mai and I together, it hadn't meant anything, not like you and I did – but I was confused."

"By what?" I couldn't help but ask.

"By us."

"You kissed me first!"

"I know! I know I did and I meant everything that happened between us but we didn't make sense, not really. You were an Earth Kingdom girl and I was from the Fire Nation, but I knew that I felt something for you. Even Mai told me that I had some thinking to do, after you saw the two of us together. I thought about it and I decided even though we were seemingly so different it didn't matter and I was going to tell you that. But I was scared of what that meant . . . and then you gave me an out."

"An out!?" I was two seconds from storming out again but Zuko was ready. His hands clamped down on mine on the table, holding me still. That didn't stop me from talking though. "I can't believe you! An out?"

"Wasn't that what you were doing for yourself?" Zuko accused. "You automatically assumed that I was going to hurt you so you got there first, shut me down."

"But isn't that what happened? You – you chose Mai because 'we didn't make sense' which, I must say, is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard." I was ashamed that tears were threatening to come to my eyes. I shook my head, trying to clear my head. "Isn't she wondering where you are? Why are we even having this conversation? What's the point?"

"Mai and I broke up months ago," he said in this dismissive kind of way, like it didn't matter, like it didn't mean anything.

I stared at him, incredulously. "What am I to you?"

"What?"

"Am I – am I just your back up or something?"

Zuko stared back at me, just as shocked. "Luli, I would never think that about you. I can't believe you'd think that I would."

"It just seems like you've always conveniently broken up with Mai when –"

"Mai and I broke up because I was being foolish, that's true but we had been having trouble for a while. I started to see more and more that we were the ones that didn't make sense. You and I did."

"You just said –"

"I realized it never mattered where we from because I get it now. Luli, I make you angry!"

I blinked at him. "If that's your basis for a healthy relationship, than you've seriously got some thinking to do."

"No – no what I mean is. . . . Look, you said that I made you want to be a better person. I think – no I know that's what you do for me and that's what relationships are about. Balance. I do make you angry. I make you want to argue which may not always be a good thing but on the other side you make me smile and – and do silly games like play 'This Makes me Happy', even if it's incredibly ridiculous sometime. You're different since we've met and I know I'm different too but I know it's for the better. We give each other balance, Luli."

The first question that came to mind was: was I better? Sometimes, I did feel angrier but, no that wasn't it. I felt stronger for sure, like I could deal with most anything. If I hadn't met Zuko, I probably never would have left my city with Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph. I would have never tried to learn how to defend myself and my people. For sure, I was not the same person I had been back in the beginning but I liked the new me. I suppose I did start to change after I met Zuko.

The next thought that came to me was that it, everything he was saying, made sense. . . . No! NO. There was absolutely no way I could go through with this again. "Zuko – you broke my heart. You broke my heart not once, but multiple times."

"I know. Agni knows I don't deserve any more chances, not from you and I'd understand if you. . . . Luli, you are incredibly important to me. I'd want you in my life, even if it was a just as friends but – I would understand if that were impossible as well. All I'm asking for is one chance, just one. Let me take you to the festival tonight. No guards, no titles, just you and me."

I had forgotten about the festival as busy as I had been. Mayor Morishita thought that a festival would take everyone's minds off of what had happen just outside their gates last week. People did seem excited and preparations had been going on even before I had gotten here.

"I – don't know."

"Just give me a couple of hours. . . . Please?"

"And then what?"

"And then – well, we either figure out where we go from here or we go our separate ways for good."

It would be easier to say no right now. To end this whole thing before it even got started. . . . "Two hours," I found myself saying.

Zuko left me alone to get changed, promising to be back an hour to pick me up when the festival started. Fen, who of course had been listening the whole time, said that this was an incredibly unexpected but exciting turn of events. I could only roll my eyes while she pulled clothes from my closet, tossing them on the bed to decide what which was best.

"Do you think I'm being stupid?" I asked her, softly. When she looked at me, confused, I looked down. "You know, for giving him another chance, for even considering it."

Fen pulled one more item out of the closet, considering. "I think that you're trusting and forgiving, which is a lot harder than being angry at him all the time. I think you love him. I think he's stupid for not realizing how amazing you were the first time around and I think he realizes that too. . . . Here put this on."

I caught the garment she had tossed at me. "You're pretty amazing too, you know."

Fen grinned. "I know. . . ."

Moments later, we stood in front of my tall mirror, Fen behind me with her hands on my shoulders.

"Hey," she said. She had finally decided on a long green tunic with matching leggings, tying it all together with a red sash and headband to keep my hair out of my face. When I met her eyes in the mirror, she gave me a small smile. "Do yourself a favor and don't think about your decision until the end of your time with him. Just be yourself and let yourself have fun for once in a while."

I returned her smile. "I'll try."

There was a knock on the door and before I could so much as change my mind, Fen was pushing me outside, where I bounced into Zuko. I was really going to have to talk to her about how pushy she was!

Zuko tapped my shoulder and I turned, looking up at him. His hair was down now and there was a small hesitant smile on his face. "Ready?"

I nodded and we made our way to the town square.

I did as Fen suggested; I did not think (too hard) about the decision I was going to have to make. I focused on Zuko and I let him drag me around to the different booths that had been set up. There were games and different food stuff. I laughed at the face he made when he tried deep-fried pickled radishes and he laughed at me when I tried fire gummies and nearly burned my tongue off. We shared a fruit tart (which was incredibly delicious).

Mostly we talked which was a change for us. He told me about the decision that led to him listening to Ozai and I, begrudgingly, understood his reasoning even if I didn't necessarily agree with it. I told him about my dream that led me here (minus the hand holding). But then we just talked about silly things. I learned things about Zuko I hadn't known before and told him things about myself.

Zuko won a cat owl doll for me at a booth where the merchant used earth bending to move small pillars around for the customers to try and toss rings over. It took Zuko two tries but he was very determined and I loved that little cat owl.

Before I knew it, those two hours were up and Zuko was walking me back towards my house, my arm wrapped around his. When we stopped at my front door, I turned to face him, still laughing at a story he had been telling me.

"So just how many times did you fall into the turtle duck pond?"

Zuko grinned. "I was a very clumsy child."

"I can tell."

When my laughing calmed down, we just stared at each other for a moment, Zuko with his hands behind his back, me with my hands clutched in front of me, the cat owl under my arm. Zuko's smile faltered slightly. "That wasn't as horrible as you thought it would be was it?"

"It – it wasn't horrible at all," I admitted, looking down. "I had a great time. This was . . . this was the most fun I've had in a long time, honestly."

"I'm glad." Silence overcame us again. I didn't know what to do now and I think Zuko was waiting for me to make the first move. When it became apparent that I wasn't going to, he cleared his throat. "So…."

When I met his gaze this time, he looked nervous and almost worried, as if what I was going to say next would be so incredibly important. I sighed. "Zuko, I –"

"It's okay," Zuko interrupted, not meeting my eye now. "I said I would understand whatever decision you made. So, I'll just –"

I quirked an eyebrow. He didn't even know what I was going to say and he was just going to leave? I could see him starting to turn, head away back to Mayor Morishita's house where he was staying.

"So how would this work?"

Zuko stopped, his body turned sideways as he turned his head to look at me. "How would what work?"

I crossed my arms, taking a deep breath. "Let's just say, hypothetically. . . . Hypothetically, okay?"

"Okay."

"Let's just say that hypothetically, you're important to me as well . . . that I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you, even if it was just as a friend – how would this," I said, gesturing between the two of us, "work? As you said earlier, you're Fire Nation, I'm Earth Kingdom. It's not just who we are, it's where we live. We're not exactly a trip down the street away."

Zuko was trying not to smile, I could tell. He took a step back towards me. "Well . . . it would mean messenger hawks and air ships and boats. I'd come visit you and you can come visit me so I can show you around the Capital, properly this time."

"What if some Earth Kingdom boy decides he wants to court me?"

Zuko frowned. "I'd throw him in the Boiling Rock Prision."

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "That hardly seems fair. It's not like he'd know we were . . . courting."

His eyebrows rose. "Is that what we're doing?"

"Is it?"

Zuko reached forward, taking my hands in his. "Then I'd have to make a proclamation or something. Tell everyone that Fire Lord Zuko is courting Princess Luli. . . . And then, I'd still through him in prision."

I laughed, looking up at Zuko. He was smiling down at me softly and I tried to wipe the smile from my face. "This is all hypothetical of course."

"Of course." He was closer to me now and was it just my imagination or was he leaning towards me?

"So no getting any ideas, Zuko."

"Of course."

"I mean it."

This time he ignored me but I was surprised when his arms slipped around my waist, lifting me off my feet in a strong hug. I let out a surprised laugh, flinging my arms around his shoulders.

Okay. So maybe this wasn't such a bad idea.

A/N: WHOA! Longest chapter to date! There will be one very last chapter, an epilogue and then that will be it. Again, I really appreciate all of you for sticking with me! See you for the last one!