Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 58 of Sparks Ignite! I know the last chapter didn't end on a happy note but this chapter gives a little light in this dark time. I hope you all enjoy it! As always, I do not own avatar or its characters. Onto the story!

Fate and Destiny are a funny thing. They are so permanent, but yet can be changed by the smallest thing. It can cause the moon and the sun to collide. Or the most opposite Sparks to Ignite.

Chapter 58: The Puzzle Pieces

Katara spent the next day packing her things. She didn't have much, most things were provided for her at the palace. But she did have a few personal items, from home. People had already begun coming into her room to redecorate. They were testing paint colors on the walls and changing the bedding. Every time somebody came in, they looked at her with sad eyes. They didn't speak much, which she appreciated. But they would give her their condolences in their eyes, as if somebody had died.

She put the last of her things into a box and looked around. It was a very strange experience. She had called this place home for so long, but yet when she looked around, it wasn't home. This room wasn't her home. Right now, she didn't know what that meant, or where it was.

Everything felt wrong and foreign to her. It was like somebody had taken 10 pieces from 10 different puzzles and tried to fit them together. Even if you got it to work, it didn't make a picture. Every solution they found didn't have a pretty picture at the end, nothing gave them a happy ending. She wouldn't stop searching for that happy ending, but she just couldn't reach it here. Not in this room, where everything felt wrong to her.

Katara heard a knock at the door and looked up to see Iroh peaking his head in. She graced him with a small smile. He took a step into the room and spoke, "Your boat is ready for you"

She nodded silently and took another look around the room. Then she furrowed her brows and looked down at her feet, "Am I wrong Uncle?" she asked him.

Iroh sighed and shook his head, "He will understand… He's thinking with his heart right now… But once he begins to think with both his heart and his mind… that's when great things will come…"

Katara looked down at her feet again, thinking for a moment, "If something changes…"

"You will be the first to know… I'll make sure of it…" Uncle told her, "You will not miss anything my dear…"

She nodded slightly, visibly gulping. Uncle took a few steps towards her, "My nephew is very resilient… And I do not think for a second that this will stop him in being so…"

"I know that… I just… Do you think this is possible? Are we doing this all for nothing?" a few tears fell from her eyes. She had these thoughts often when she laid in bed at night. But she never spoke them aloud, scared that if she did then they would come true. But she always felt safe with Iroh, knowing he knew exactly what to say.

Iroh smiled at her, he sighed for a moment and pondered this before speaking, "Zuko is doing everything I wished I would have done for my love… He is searching high and low for a solution and I do not believe he will stop until he does…"

"But… is it even possible Iroh?" she asked him again, still unsure about the question.

He smiled once more, "You and I both know I can't see the future young one… But I do have a great feeling about this one…"

Katara looked out the window and sighed, she nodded and smiled slightly to herself. She took a deep breath, looking around the room once more before following Iroh down the hallway.

Zuko sat in his office, looking over the same paperwork he had been looking at all afternoon. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, his eyes glazed over the pages in front of him. He knew it was a matter of hours, maybe even minutes before Katara left for the southern water tribe.

He hadn't spoken to her since that day in his office. He wasn't sure if he should. He knew he flew off the handle at her and she didn't deserve to be talked to like that. But her leaving felt like giving up. It felt like that was her throwing in the towel and now he was stuck with Mai for the rest of his life. He practically shuddered at the thought.

A knock rang on his door and he grumbled a reply, not entirely in the mood for visitors. But his mother came into the room and he knew that he couldn't send her away, so he looked up at her, "What can I do for you mother?" he asked, trying to seem genuine but it came out entirely too forced.

"I was just surprised to see you not heading towards the dock to say goodbye to Katara… I thought we could walk down together" she told him, standing tall in front of him. It made him feel 12 years old again.

"I'm not going" he told her, affirmative. He looked back down at his papers, pretending to be engaged in what he was reading. But if he knew his mother at all, and she knew him, they both knew that she could read right through that.

Ursa sighed and sat down in the chair across from him, "You can't hide from her forever…"

"I'm not hiding… I just don't think I'm the person she wants to see right now…" he spoke, still not seeming engaged in the conversation.

She sighed again, seeing right through his act, "I know you don't like this…"

Zuko cut her off, scoffing, "You have no idea…"

Ursa paused for a moment, before continuing, "But you have to understand her point of view… The girl was willing to give up her entire life for you and this country… A country that killed her own mother… And she was doing it gladly… Now that was ripped away from her… She's under a lot of stress… And she just needs a clear head…"

Zuko didn't respond, even though he was clearly listening, his eyes not even scanning the page in front of him. Ursa took this as a sign to continue, "Even if you don't want to admit it, you will have better luck working at the advisors from afar then head strong… We have to make counter moves and even more so, Katara leaving may just be the counter move that you need…"

This caused Zuko to look up, "What do you mean?" he asked her.

Ursa cocked her head to the side, "My son… do you really think the advisors will think you are continuing to fight if Katara has left? Them thinking they are in the clear, may just be the upper hand you're looking for…"

Zuko looking down at the paper and back at her, "Does Katara know of this?"

"Her and I had a discussion after your argument… She was going to change her mind and stay…" she told him. Zuko quickly stood up, putting his papers to the side, "I need to go to the dock…"

But overhead, the sound of the horns of the ship blew, signally the ship last call for passengers.

"Go" Ursa told him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, "Give Katara my best… Now Run."

Zuko took off down the hallways, pushing past servants and guards as he did so. He just hoped he made it in time.

Katara stood at the dock, looking back at the palace. When the horns rang out, she let out a breath.

"I guess he's not coming…" she spoke softly, before looking down at the ground. Iroh placed a hand on her back, "I'm sure that it is not by his own choice…"

Katara wished she could believe him, but part of her knew why he wasn't coming. But she still graced him with a smile and pulled him in for a hug, "Goodbye Uncle…"

"Goodbye my dear… I hope to see you soon now" he told her, being his usual optimistic self.

She pulled away and nodded slightly, offering him a small smile. She turned around to the boat and began to walk forward onto the ramp. She remembered a time when she was afraid of these boats, how the large iron steel frightened her. But now it seemed like it was second nature. She hadn't been on one often, but she remembered Zuko sailing into the south pole on one, and sailing back to the fire nation with him. She smiled at the good memories, but she knew this wouldn't be one of those memories.

But as she began to walk up the ramp, she heard a voice yell behind her. She stopped, but didn't turn around yet. She waited until the voice got closer.

"Katara!"

She turned around at the familiar voice, and smiled at the Fire Lord, in full robes running towards her. He ran up the ramp to her and instead of speaking, he locked his lips with her.

They were caught in each other's embrace, their mouths together, not needing any other words then that. It was like she melted into his arms, and she felt him physically relax in the embrace, as if all his worries washed away like the tide against the boat.

He pulled away and looked at her, "I couldn't let you go without doing that one last time…"

Her words caught in her throat, not knowing quiet what to say. But he spoke for her, "We're going to get through this… I will figure this out… I promise…"

She looked up at him and smiled. She let herself fall into his embrace once more, tucking her heat into his warm chest, as he wrapped his arms around her middle. She felt safe there and for the first time since the announcement, it felt like everything was going to be okay. And it was like all the puzzle pieces had fit together. It wasn't the palace that was her home, but it wasn't the south pole either.

It was him.

He would always be where her heart felt at home.

But they both knew what had to happen first. That it would take a war that they both had to fight.

She pulled away, even when his warmth wanted to suck her back in. They held onto each other until the very last second, their fingertips the last to leave each other. When they let go, they both felt cold, like they were hit with a tidal wave.

They gave each other, one last smile, before Zuko backed up onto the dock and Katara walked onto the boat.

The ramp raised and the anchor came up, but their eyes never left each other, not until both the boat and dock were out of sight.

Iroh placed a hand on his nephew's shoulder. Zuko looked back at him and offered him a warm smile, "Come on Uncle… We have a puzzle to solve…"

Ta-Daaa! I hope you guys liked that chapter! I think it gave a little hope in a very dark time in this story. Everything seems hopeless but I promise it's not! There is hope! Our characters just have to find it! Also a crazy long chapter so surprise! So keep on reading! Until next time!